Opinion / Columnist

This is a second in a series of articles on a report by the Zimbabwe Democracy Institute on the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) titled BVR, Zec and the Struggle Against Political Decay: A Light at the End of the Tunnel? and related important issues as part of the Zimbabwe Independent's plan to cover the entire electoral process - that is what happens before, during and after elections - ahead of next year's general election.The Zimbabwean electoral problem fits well in what is conceptualised as machinations of a competitive electoral authoritarianism or, put more vividly, a militarised form of electoral authoritarianism founded on a serious synthesis of Zanu-PF and the security forces.This despotic concoction has been generously dispersed across key state institutions that are looked upon by citizens for credible and acceptable elections such as the judiciary, legislature, executive and ultimately Zec so that the decisive authority of the people's vote is neutralised.Since electoral processes serve as a gateway through which to transition to democracy, accountability and equip the citizens to control the erosion of quality of government in a polity, they have been a sphere of government vis-a-vis citizen tug-of-war in Zimbabwe. Moreover, being a central lynchpin and indicator of the people's authoritative and decisive power in defining who gets what government position, when and how, electoral processes have attracted so much interest, brewed extinction fears and enticed overwhelming jealous-guarding in authoritarian regimes than nowhere else in our lifetime.This dark electoral shadow has persistently haunted Zimbabweans since the beginning and/or intensification of political decay in the late 1990s in what was once celebrated as the "Jewel of Africa". Elections and electoral processes have become the hottest zone guarded with serious investment in gluttonous clientelism, patrimonialism and militarisation of key state institutions.Zec has been the main target of this relentless capture of the state from the people whilst hoodwinking hungry and desperate citizens into outrageous compradors in this Zanu-PF process of "power retention by all means accessible till donkeys grow horns'". Thus, the germane problem in Zimbabwe rests on "the quality and conduct - not necessarily the outcome - of elections".Competitive electoral authoritarian regimes are usually typified by ritual-styled conduct of pseudo multiparty elections in a rigged electoral playing field infested with fraudulent voters' roll, casting and counting of ballots, massive disenfranchising of opposition stronghold, biased state media and capture of the judiciary, legislature and electoral management institutions by the incumbent party leading to electoral results that contradict the will, expectations and yearnings of the public.This has been a characteristic syndrome in Zimbabwe. The executive habitually compromises the judiciary through populating the bench with Zanu-PF Trojan horse judges, turning the legislature into a rubberstamping puppet of Zanu-PF, subverting Zec into a Zanu-PF appendage, seen when it froze the announcement of Mugabe's defeat for five weeks in 2008 and later on publicly blocked scrutiny of the 2013 election voters' roll until a day towards elections where it further concealed scrutiny by giving tonnes of hard copies in open violation of the electoral law obliging it to timeously avail electronic copies for easy and precise scrutiny.The Zanu-PF regime has gone further up the ladder of electoral authoritarianism, it intensified the military factor, in the process making the problem grimmer and more impregnable. The most notable surprise gift that Zanu and/or President Robert Mugabe emerged from the Mozambican bush packaged for the people is the transmission into their heads that Zanu-PF got legitimacy to govern by war, and by war it should leave power. Mugabe briefed unsuspecting Zimbabweans of this calculated electoral fascism as early as in 1976 when he said: " our votes must go together with our guns; after all any vote  shall have been the product of the gun. The gun, which provides the votes, should remain its security officer, its guarantor."This was a clear communique to anyone that Zanu was not going to accept any election result besides a win in the 1980 election and forevermore, unless otherwise defeated militarily. It was a clear promise that the military will always be its electoral gerrymandering Trojan horse.In no surprise, soon after winning the 1980 elections, it went on a ruthless electoral campaign codenamed Gukurahundi that saw it unleashing its militia, a concoction of the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) and a North Korean-trained 5th Brigade into the opposition Zimbabwe African People's Union (PF-Zapu) stronghold in Matabeleland where in their moment of madness, an estimated 20 000 people were slaughtered in cold blood until the opposition leader Joshua Nkomo accepted to surrender his party to Zanu-PF through the 1987 Unity Accord. A brief moment of sanity persevered until the emergence of a serious nationwide power contender, MDC, in 2000 when the moment of madness resurfaced till date.This metamorphosed into a "governance-by-operations" militaristic style of policy implementation" that seemed tailored to emasculate the MDC electoral base ahead of 2008 harmonised elections. For instance, in 2005, the military was unleashed in Operation Murambatsvina, which depopulated an estimated 700 000 urban families or 2,4 million people who were the source of the MDC's electoral victory. This was aimed at disorganising potential voters and buying them off through Operation Garikai-Hlalani Kuhle, which saw such people being given Zanu-PF residence in a highly patrimonial manner.Unlike the pre-1987 one which was suffered by black Ndebele ethnic peoples, the second moment of madness is suffered by all black and white opposition party people regardless of race or tribe. Mugabe reiterated his liberation struggle war cry in the 2008 campaign in these words: "We fought for this country, and a lot of blood was shed. We are not going to give up our country because of a mere x. How can a ballpoint fight with a gun?"This has posed as a serious challenge to the possibility of having any change via elections with or without BVR. This statement has chilling effects among officials in charge of electoral processes. Given the history of Zanu-PF's consistent and predictable trustworthiness when it comes to punitive promises of this manner, it follows that the already decayed human factor in those electoral institutions is assured of doing everything to make Zanu-PF win.Another Zanu-PF cut-throat military sabotage of change possibilities has been the capture and control of electoral processes by the security forces and un-teething the judiciary to prevent its possible impartial exercise of constitutional safeguard of elections. In the 2008 elections, the Joint Operations Command (Joc) - a security apparatus made of heads of the air force, army, police, prison service, and central intelligence - was responsible for violence, delays and the executive's clinging to power by hook and crook.Apart from above-stated annals of institutional decay, there has been serious human factor decay in key institutions responsible for ensuring the conduct and administration of credible elections as a corollary of deepened electoral authoritarianism in Zimbabwe. This has been explicated by conflation of Zanu-PF and the state wherein, he who sees Zanu-PF sees the state and in all state organs at all levels, the ruling party is supreme, it has become a politicised party-state.This conflation of the party, state and militarisation of the latter has been evident in electoral processes in all previous elections thus making regime change the least thinkable possibility.In 2004, a Delimitation Commission (DC) was created by the Zanu-PF leader and a military-related chair, former Judge Advocate responsible for military tribunals in the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) and High Court Judge, Justice George Chiweshe was appointed, he later on chaired Zec from 2005 to 2008 (CiZC, 2011). It was in his chairmanship that Zec lost its credibility when it held election results for five weeks in breach of the electoral laws of the country just because it was apparent that their patron, Mugabe, had lost election to MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai. It is this same Justice Chiweshe whom Mugabe promoted to be to Judge President in May 2010 (CiZC, 2011).Brigadier-General Douglas Nyikayaramba once served as chief executive officer of the Electoral Supervisory Commission (ESC), a military chief known - like many other Zimbabwean generals - of declaring his support for Zanu-PF and that he will not salute opposition political leaders. To account for names of security personnel appointed to key government institution would require a voluminous charter. The evidence of militarisation and Zanu-PF/state conflation is compelling and outrageous.It was no surprise that the serious manipulative loopholes were uncovered later in the 2013 voters' roll by the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (Zesn) (2013) report. More shocking among them were: (i) urban population (the opposition stronghold) was systematically disenfranchised by being under-registered compared to rural ones (where Zanu-PF has significant support), (ii) many urban youths did not appear on the roll compared to their rural counterparts (while it is a known fact that these are the people who vote for change), (iii) some were turned away over allegations of wrong documentation or missing name on the roll, (iv) too high proportions of aged and assisted voters on the roll, significant concentration of dead peoples' names on the roll, (v) serious cases of multiple registrations and obviously voting and as such, and (vi) Zec announced an unbelievable Zanu-PF win (a 48% increase from the previous performance) in the whole harmonised election where MDC-T declined from its previous performance with worrying percentages (Zesn, 2013).Moreover, the Research Advocacy Unit analysis of the 2013 voters' roll revealed that the roll had a worrying frequency of duplications amounting to above 800 000 voters. Zec has moved on to issue a tender to a Chinese firm, Laxton Group Limited to supply the BVR kits for registering voters. Although this move has been allegedly based on economic considerations of the lower costs and experience related to the company, this move has raised fears in view of the strong "Look East" policy of Zanu-PF and its desire to use any means possible to retain power.Zimbabwe Democracy Institute is an independent political economy think-tank.
In the shadows of the Alabama Music Hall of Fame  literally - a couple thousand or so would-be singing stars waited for their shot at fame Thursday. On a sunny but not punishing September day, "American Idol" led open-call auditions outside the Tuscumbia museum. The TV singing competition show is returning in 2018 and on a new network, ABC. The show debuted in 2002 on Fox, enjoying a 15-season run with some staggering numbers. According to a 2011 Deadline report by writer Nellie Andreeva, 37.44 million viewers watched the 2007 "Idol" season premier. "Idol" alumni went on to commercial (61 million album sales) and critical success (14 Grammys). The show produced country superstar Carrie Underwood, hitmaking force of nature Kelly Clarkson and glam-pop god Adam Lambert, the latter a vocalist strong enough to sing Freddie Mercury's parts to acclaim on tour with classic-rockers Queen. By the time the final Fox season premiered in 2016 though, "Idol" ratings had plummeted to 10.96 million, according to Rick Porter of website TV By The Numbers.

In 2017, American Idol may not quite the cultural phenomenon it once was.

But since Alabama performers have excelled on past "Idol" seasons - including Ruben Studdard, Diano DeGarmo, Paul McDonald, Bo Bice and 2006 winner Taylor Hicks  the show holding tryouts in the state, particularly in the musically-rich Muscle Shoals area, made for exciting atmosphere. By Matt Wake | mwake@al.com

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In addition to Tuscumbia, the American Idol audition bus tour is hitting around 20 other cities, ranging from major markets (Chicago, Atlanta, etc.) to not so major markets (Fargo, N.D., Asheville, N.C., Key Biscayne, Fla. and Provo, Utah). Jonathon Ridgard, has been a producer on American Idol for the last couple seasons. I think one of the unique things about American Idol is were the only travelling show, Ridgard says. He resides in Los Angeles and is originally from Ireland, hence his dashing accent. We go to smaller cities. We cross the country several times, and I think for that very reason we do find that unique talent in places that people wouldnt necessarily come to the bigger cities to audition for.

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Matt Wake | mwake@al.com

By 8:45 a.m. Thursday, the Alabama Music Hall of Fame parking lots were more than full, and attendants were guiding vehicles to a freshly mowed field well behind the facility.

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Matt Wake | mwake@al.com

Hopefuls began lining up for American Idol well before the scheduled 9 a.m. audition start time, some got here around 3 a.m., I was told. Closer to processing, the line evoked the entrance of a large music festival.

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Matt Wake | mwake@al.com

A few of those in line to audition had obviously devoted time earlier to styling. Many others looked like they were just wearing what theyd wear any other Thursday. More than a few of the young people waiting, those auditioning must be between 15 and 28, were carrying guitars to accompany themselves with. (That said, parents of many of the younger contestants also stood in line.) There were some ukuleles too. And at least one dude brought a saxophone.

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Some of those who arrived early said once the process started, they only had to wait in line 30 minutes or so before auditioning. However, by start time, the line had stretched completely around the Alabama Music Hall of Fame side lawn and all the way to the museums entrance. While waiting in line, some groups of "Idol" hopefuls would break into spontaneous singalongs of tunes such as "Bohemian Rhapsody" and a gender-flipped version of "My Girl."

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Matt Wake | mwake@al.com

Birmingham dialysis technician Cordarius James, 27, previously tried out for American Idol in 2014 and has been a fan of the show since season one. I love that it stars careers and makes dreams come true, James says. He left his home at 3 a.m. Thursday to leave for Idol auditions and was going to sing The Righteous Brothers orchestral-pop classic Unchained Melody for the table judges here. I just love the process, James says. Its gives a chance to those who want it and I think Im one of those who really want it. James says back home he performs as a busker in Birminghams Eastlake area and his favorite Idol alumni include Ruben Studdard, Bo Bice and La'Porsha Renae.

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Madisons Samantha Stratton, 18, had been practicing her version of Maroon 5s 2002 piano-rock hit Sunday Morning for a couple weeks. A recent Bob Jones High School grad, Stratton says her favorite past Idol singer is definitely Kelly Clarkson.

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Matt Wake | mwake@al.com

Mario Flores, 19, of Florence was encouraged by his family and friends to audition. He started watching American Idol last year. For his audition Flores, who plans on beginning his community college studies in January, was planning on singing an untitled original song hed written.

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Matt Wake | mwake@al.com

Tytiana Pendleton, 20, of Huntsville was planning on singing Step Aside by gospel artist Tamela Mann for her audition. Pendleton, who works in retail, has been watching American Idol since she was 11. Asked for her favorite singers from past seasons, she says, I dont know any of their names, I just enjoy watching it. She arrived at the Tuscumbia audition site around 7:15 a.m. Pendleton had just found out about Idol auditions here the day before.

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"Idol" hopefuls, including 26-year-old Oakman elementary school teacher Kara Jones, are required to bring a completed hard-copy application to open-call auditions. Questions on the form, which is titled Whats Your Story?, involve subjects like occupation, hobbies and what well-known singer other people compare them to. Idol applicants are also required to bring a photo and valid ID to present during processing.

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Matt Wake | mwake@al.com

This is reality TV. So a megaphone-wielding Idol staffer encouraged singers waiting in line to audition to go crazy as video operators zoomed by on a golf cart.

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Matt Wake | mwake@al.com

There was a noticeable law enforcement presence at "Idol" auditions Thursday. No less than eight blue-lights-flashing automobiles, a group of horse-mounted officers and this guy on a Segway.

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Matt Wake | mwake@al.com

Once winding their way through a final, corral-like section of the main line, applicants were processed underneath a canopy. After that, they waited to be brought up to the table judge lines, in groups of four. The Alabama Music Hall of Fame lawn between this checkpoint and the table judges was sectioned off in police "do not cross line" yellow tape.

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"Were looking for star quality," producer Jonathon Ridgard says. "Were looking for somebody that we could see on the American Idol stage, hopefully somebody thats going to go through the competition and ultimately win it." Everyone who arrived to open-call by 5 p.m. Thursday in Tuscumbia would get to audition for one of four table judges. Ridgard said the judges included senior "Idol" producers and record producers. He declined to give the record producers' names. Once hopefuls get their turn in front of a table judge, stationed under white canopies, they each get about 60 seconds to sing. "Idol" arrived in Alabama a day or two before auditions. Staffers visited the Alabama Music Hall of Fame, as well as famous recording studios in the area, including Sheffield's Muscle Shoals Sound and Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals. "To see the talent thats come out of this area is incredible," Ridgard said, "so were really excited to see who were going to find here."

Things with "Idol" production are pretty discrete. The show "doesn't do numbers," a publicist told me, and that restriction includes: how many people auditioned in Tuscumbia, how many singers would be chosen from here, the range in number of how many singers have been chosen from previous 2017 open-call sites, when in 2018 this season will premier, etc. "Idol" also reps wouldn't even say what the next step would be for singers who passed the Tuscumbia audition - only that those selected would be one step closer to being on TV, performing for "Idol" celebrity judges, which are scheduled to include pop star Katy Perry. However, more than one Tuscumbia singer who made Thursday's cut told me "Idol" producers informed them they'd be singing in New Orleans in two weeks, at a second audition.

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Once the table auditions got going, multiple singers often would be auditioning at the same time, just a few feet from each other. This created some awkward and humorous overlapping of vocals. Parents, children, loved ones and other supporters of those auditioning watched the proceedings, from behind the yellow police tape. Singers who exhibited ability/moxie received cheers and wooos from a camping-chair seated throng located in the shade, about 30 feet or so behind the judges.

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The stereotypical average "Idol" open-call applicant might be karaoke types, but there were some local working musicians auditioning too. The siblings Jackson Beasley, 22 and Lawson Beasley, 24 of talented Huntsville pop-rock The Beasley Brothers were among them. Lawson was going to sing "This Love," a Maroon 5 tune their band has been covering live for years. Jackson was doing a newer Vince Gill song Down To My Last Bad Habit. "It starts strong which is a key for something like this," Jackson says. "You want to hit the strong part of the song immediately because they may cut you off." Lawson says, "I think local bands and singers should definitely give ('Idol' auditions) a shot. It was never really close by before, so we thought it would be nice to give it a shot for the experience.

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Wearing octagon-shaped mirror sunglasses, Brandon Blake sang a version of Michael Jackson's "The Way You Make Me Feel" in front of a judge's table - complete with "jazz-hands" flourishes as he stretched notes. He did the MJ tune after singing an original song called "Just Friends." After finishing the original, the judge he performed for asked him to sing a second song, in front of a second judge. "My heart was beating really fast," Blake says. A 25-year-old Huntsville resident, Blake grew up singing choir and musical theater and currently works as a waiter. He didn't end up making the "Idol" cut Thursday, unfortunately. But he says judges encouraged him to audition again next year. Blake says his favorite "Idol" singers include Carrie Underwood ("She's like the Beyonce of country music") and Jennifer Hudson. "What I like about 'American Idol' is they look for everyday people with really good voices," says Blake, who's auditioned for NBC's "The Voice" twice before. "Whereas some of the other shows might not be looking for everyday people." During the Tuscumbia "Idol" auditions, he was focused on "not bringing the nerves to the vocals." There was excellent camaraderie among the singers auditioning Thursday, Blake says. "Everybody is just really happy to be here and interested in what everyone else brings to the table vocally and talent wise. I've probably made eight new friends today, and exchanged social media information and everything."

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Matt Wake | mwake@al.com

Singers table judges selected Thursday included LaAnderea Robinson, 21, of Jackson, Ala. A clothing salesperson by trade, Robinson sang Andra Day's "Rise Up" and, after judges asked her to sing a second tune, Whitney Houston's "I Look To You." Robinson grew up singing in the church since the age of six. She'd been practicing for Thursday for about a week. Robinson had previously auditioned for "The Voice," but this was her first time for "Idol." After finishing her second song Thursday, the judges told her, "Congratulations! You've won the golden ticket," referring to the eight by 10 yellow piece of paper given to selected singers. She says, "I was shocked but then I was like, 'Wait? What does that mean?'" So where does she go from here? "Hopefully to the next round." A fan of "Idol" alumni Fantasia, Jennifer Hudson and Carrie Underwood, Robinson says she loves singers who really express their emotions. "You can have a beautiful voice but passion is really what you need."

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Singers judges selected from open-call table auditions were sent to an auxiliary area, on the other side of an "American Idol" tour bus parked on the lawn. Here, a show rep videotaped interviews with each selected singer. The singers were also each videotaped singing into a microphone here. By around noon Thursday, five or so singers from the Tuscumbia audition had made it this far. In addition to Robinson, these singers included Haley Bobbitt (22, of Pinson), Gray Cauthen (22, Decatur), Jon Harrison (25, Columbiana) and Brandon Elder. "American Idol" open-call auditions are next headed to Boston, then Rapid City, N.D. As far of any singers selected from Tuscumbia are concerned, we'll have to stay tuned.

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An Alabama inmate died Friday after authorities say he was attacked, and stabbed to death by a group of fellow prisoners.

The Alabama Department of Corrections identified the slain convict as Cedric Jerome Robinson. He was 33.

The assault happened about 8:30 a.m. at the Bibb County Correctional Facility in Brent. ADOC spokesman Bob Horton said Robinson was attacked by the group inside one of the facility dorms. He was taken to the Bibb Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 8:42 a.m.

A second inmate who also treated for stab wounds, but his injuries were reported as non-life-threatening.

Surveillance video inside the dorm shows four inmates attacking Robinson and the second inmate, Horton said. Prison officials have identified the suspects as Dominique Covin, Roderck DeLaune, Anthony Bright, and Byron Epps. Makeshift weapons used in the stabbings were recovered. It is unclear at this time what led to the attack.

Robinson was convicted of credit card fraud and criminal possession of a forged instrument in Mobile County in 2016 and was serving a six-year sentence. All four suspects are serving sentences for robbery convictions and are now facing capital murder charges.

Officials have placed the correctional facility on lockdown until DOC completes its investigation.
Two young men are charged with capital murder in this week's shooting death of a Birmingham high school student.

Birmingham police on Friday announced formal charges against Jhontaye Cobb, 17, and Aubrey King, 18. They are charged in the Wednesday killing of Terrius Hilliard, a 15-year-old Jackson-Olin High School student.

Both teens are being held in the Jefferson County Jail on $250,000 bond. Cobb, in an unrelated case, was shot in early August.

Police said Friday's shooting stemmed from a dispute earlier in the day Wednesday at school

Initially police arrested three teens, but one of them was released from custody on Thursday. A vigil for Terrius was set for Friday night in Ensley.

The shooting happened at 5:14 p.m. Authorities said Terrius and another young man were walking along Ensley Avenue toward the recreation center when a white Dodge Charger drove by them at the intersection of Ensley Avenue and 15th Street and someone opened fire. Lt. Sean Edwards said police found multiple shell casings in the street.

Terrius was shot in the chest. He tried to flee and collapsed in the 1800 block of Ensley Avenue. He was taken to UAB Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 5:44 p.m.

Police at the scene Wednesday said the initial evidence indicated Terrius was targeted, but did not elaborate. Several hours after the shooting - about 8 p.m. - three potential suspects were taken into custody. Police tried to stop a white Dodge Charger matching the suspect vehicle. The trio attempted to elude police, but officers flooded the area and tracking dogs helped hunt down the suspects.

Following the shooting, the high school was on lockdown as a precaution on Thursday. School officials issued this statement on Terrius' death: "Birmingham City Schools is mourning the loss of a young Jackson-Olin High School student. As a school family, tragedies like this affect us all. As our school community processes this loss, we will provide counseling and support to any student and staff in need. We extend our heartfelt sympathy to the family."

"This incident, like so many others, is senseless,'' Birmingham Police Chief A.C. Roper said Thursday. "This teenager lost his life and we're detaining three teenagers who were armed with guns and driving a stolen car.''
A battle over tax money in Madison County schools systems that overlap into Limestone County is nearing a settlement of the 2014 lawsuit.

Madison City and Huntsville City schools - which have students residing in Limestone County attending their schools - have reached an agreement with Athens City and Limestone County schools that would share the tax money.

At a press conference Friday, Madison City Superintendent Robby Parker described it as a "compromise."

The final steps are approval by the Alabama Department of Education, then approval from Limestone County Circuit Judge James Woodroof to grant a joint motion to dismiss that will be filed by all parties.

The new agreement is set to go into effect on Oct. 1 - the start of the 2018 fiscal year.

The Huntsville board of education approved the settlement in a resolution Thursday. That resolution (see at end of story) outlines a complex formula by which the schools will divvy up ad valorem taxes as well as proceeds from a 1-cent sales tax earmarked for education.

"It is a compromise," Parker said. "We feel like it's wise for us to move forward without going into a protracted, uncertain lawsuit and spending taxpayer dollars - dollars that could be going to our children. We are very relieved to be where we are."

The lawsuit had been particularly crucial for Madison schools. Part of the city is located in Limestone County and about 25 percent of its student population resides in Limestone. The school system also has schools located in Limestone County, including James Clemens High School.

According to Parker, the agreement stipulates that each school system will receive ad valorem taxes from residences within the boundaries of their system and share the 1-cent sales tax. A separate 1-cent sales tax, known as the constitution tax, will remain solely for Limestone County and Athens schools.

While acknowledging that Madison schools did not "get everything we wanted," Parker said it was good news for the system to have a settlement in place that yields a compromise.

Growth in parts of Madison in Limestone County has seen a sharp increase in recent years - spurred in part by the 2011 opening of James Clemens.

Madison schools students living in Limestone County accounted for 17 percent of the system's student population when James Clemens opened. That percentage is now up to 25 percent, which represents about 2,700 students, Parker said.

In a 2016 op/ed for AL.com, former Madison Superintendent Dee Fowler said that the loss of funding from Limestone County taxes cost the system $1.7 million last year. Parker declined to spell out how much Madison expects to receive in taxes via the settlement until it is finalized.

Huntsville City Schools resolution by pgattis7719 on Scribd
Gov. Kay Ivey has issued a full state of emergency for Alabama with the approach of Hurricane Irma.

Alabama is expected to begin feeling the effects of the powerful storm late this weekend and into the beginning of next week.

"We continue to closely monitor the path of Hurricane Irma," Ivey said in a press release. "Although at this point it does not appear that Alabama will face the brunt of the storm, we will certainly be affected and we must be ready to respond, no matter what comes our way."

This evening's announcement comes after previously issued limited states of emergency to address immediate needs.

"By declaring a full State of Emergency we are ensuring that all resources and personnel are in place to respond, in the event they are needed here in Alabama or elsewhere," Ivey said. "All Alabamians should remain weather aware and follow all guidance from their local officials."

The governor's also announced Friday night the creation of a webpage http://governor.alabama.gov/irma as a source of information for Alabama residents and Florida evacuees. The site will be updated as more information becomes available. The site currently has links for how to find hotels, shelters and campgrounds, as well as traffic conditions and other available state resources.

This state of emergency, which takes effect immediately, activates the State Emergency Operations Center and Emergency Operations Plan.
As many as 800 tractor trailers loaded with relief supplies are at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery waiting to be deployed to Florida and Georgia as the areas brace for Hurricane Irma.

Col. Eric K. Shafa, Commander of the 42nd Air Base Wing at Maxwell, said the installation is serving as staging area for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Tractor trailers began rolling into Maxwell yesterday and will be deployed, if needed, after the storm. The trucks contain supplies such as water, food, generators and cots.

"This is a significant hurricane and our hearts and prayers go out to our friends and the families down in Florida," Shafa said. "We're willing to help out in any way we can."

Crews from FEMA and the Defense Logistics Agency are at Maxwell to receive relief supplies and direct distribution following the storm.

In addition to serving as a staging area, the Montgomery Air Force base is also offering a haven for equipment and military personnel fleeing the storm. Sixty helicopters and 200 people from a Navy unit in Jacksonville, Florida are currently housed at Fort Rucker and Shafa said they are receiving calls from military and law enforcement agencies from states in the path of storm.

"We have calls coming in every hour," Shafa said. "We're prepared. We have a very good location here to be able to help any units, any personnel."

Hurricane Irma is projected to hit south Florida on Sunday before making its way up the peninsula and into Georgia early Monday.
Update:



A curfew has been put in place in Chatham County, Georgia, including Savannah, from 10 p.m. Sunday through Monday at 6 a.m. Only emergency personnel and law enforcement officers will be allowed on the roads.

Gov. Nathan Deal also expanded a state of emergency for all of Georgia's 159 counties, citing the potential for heavy rains, strong wind and potential flooding.

"Virtually the entire state of Georgia is going to be impacted by this hurricane," Deal said Sunday. "There are certainly things we cannot control."

Earlier:

Hurricane Irma's westward shift is prompting a change in the emergency declaration for Chatham County, Georgia.

Gov. Nathan Deal is altering his executive order on mandatory evacuations for all of Chatham County. The new order leaves in place a mandatory evacuation order for Zone A - the area east of Truman Parkway - but changes Zone B (Truman Parkway to I-95) and Zone C (west of I-95) to voluntary evacuations.

All three of the zones had been under a mandatory evacuation order.

"Chatham County's phased evacuation zones B and C are primarily at higher elevations than its coastline and provides a sufficient area to stage resources and necessary first responders preparing to serve the coast of Georgia in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma," the new executive order reads.

I-16, which had been changed to allow only westbound traffic, will reopen for normal operations today at 4 p.m. EDT (3 p.m. CDT).

The latest hurricane track has Irma making landfall somewhere on Florida's west coast on Sunday before tracking northward along the peninsula. The storm hit Cuba Saturday morning as a Category 4 before weakening to a Category 3 with winds of 125 mph. The storm is expected to strengthen again before making landfall in the U.S.

While its path on land still contains some uncertainty, Georgia areas such as Savannah and Atlanta remain among the places that could be impacted by destructive winds and heavy rains. A zone stretching from Fernandina Beach, Florida to Edisto Beach, South Carolina - a span that includes the Georgia coastline - are under a Hurricane Watch.

Tropical force winds of up to 45 mph with gusts of 60 mph are expected Monday along the Georgia coast.

Ninety-four Georgia counties remain under a state of emergency.

Other Irma news from Georgia:

Georgia cancels classes

The University of Georgia will be closed Monday, Sept. 11 with all classes, campus events and activities cancelled.

University residence halls will remain open. A decision on Tuesday operations will be made by noon on Monday.

Georgia Tech monitoring storm

Georgia Tech officials said they are monitoring Irma's progress but as of now the Atlanta campus remains open. Georgia Tech's Savannah campus is closed through Tuesday, Sept. 12. Classes in Savannah has been cancelled for the week of Sept. 11-15.

Schools closing

Several schools in Atlanta and in coastal Georgia are closed for multiple days ahead of Irma's arrival. In coastal Georgia, Bryan County, Savannah-Chatham County, McIntosh County, Monroe County and Glynn County Schools closed Friday, and will remain closed Monday and Tuesday. In metro Atlanta, Butts County, Griffin-Spalding County, Lamar County and Pike County Schools will be closed Monday and Tuesday.

Atlanta airport

Storm conditions are also being monitored at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson Airport.

Delta Air Lines is warning travelers to expect disruptions in Atlanta operations on Monday.

"With strong winds and extended rain expected in Atlanta Monday, Delta is recommending customers who are transiting its Atlanta hub on Monday to modify their itineraries around Atlanta on delta.com," Delta said in a written statement.

Delta is also waiving certain change fees for travelers who booked through Sept. 17 to fly to or through Atlanta.

Wild Adventures closes

Wild Adventures Theme Park in Valdosta, Georgia is closed Sunday, Sept. 10.

"Safety remains our number one priority," said General Manager Molly Deese. "With the threat of Hurricane Irma so close, we made the decision to close Sunday so our guests, team members and their families can prepare for the oncoming storm."
Troy University will close early next week as the latest track of Hurricane Irma shows the massive storm taking a western turn.

"The safety of the university community is our highest priority; therefore, we have made the decision to cancel classes at all Alabama campuses on Monday and Tuesday to allow students to safely travel home, or make other preparations for the approach of this storm," University President Dr. Jack Hawkins, Jr. said.

Provisions will be made to shelter students who remain in Troy, Hawkins added.

The university's campuses in Alabama - Troy, Montgomery, Dothan and Phenix City - as well as sites in Florida and Georgia, are included in the closure. The Alabama campuses plan to reopen on Wednesday.

All Troy online classes will be suspended on Saturday until Wednesday morning.

The university's on-campus game against the Alabama State University Hornets will be played on schedule.

According to the National Hurricane Center, Irma will reach the southwestern tip of Florida around 8 a.m. Sunday before moving up the peninsula. The storm will cross over into south Georgia and the southeast corner of Alabama around 7 p.m. Monday.

Tropical-force winds could reach the southern half of Alabama by 7 a.m. Monday, according to the NHC's Friday night projections. Eastern and northern Alabama and southern Tennessee could see as much as 5 inches of rain from Irma.

Irma made landfall in Cuba on Friday night, strengthening again to a Category 5 storm with sustained winds of 160 mph. The center of Irma is located about 300 miles southeast of Miami and is moving west at about 13 mph.

A hurricane warning is in place for the southern half of Florida with a hurricane watch for the northern half.
United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit. QIAN JING ZHOU, Petitioner, v. JEFFERSON B. SESSIONS III, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY GENERAL, Respondent. 16-2900 Decided: September 08, 2017

PRESENT: GUIDO CALABRESI, ROBERT D. SACK, DEBRA ANN LIVINGSTON, Circuit Judges. FOR PETITIONER: Gerald Karikari, New York, NY. FOR RESPONDENT: Chad A. Readler, Acting Assistant Attorney General; John S. Hogan, Assistant Director; Lindsay Corliss, Trial Attorney, Office of Immigration Litigation, United States Department of Justice, Washington, DC.

UPON DUE CONSIDERATION of this petition for review of a Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) decision, it is hereby ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that the petition for review is DENIED.

Petitioner Qian Jing Zhou, a native and citizen of the People's Republic of China, seeks review of a July 29, 2016, decision of the BIA, affirming a July 20, 2015, decision of an Immigration Judge (IJ) denying Zhou's application for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). In re Qian Jing Zhou, No. A205 429 496 (B.I.A. July 29, 2016), aff'g No. A205 429 496 (Immig. Ct. N.Y. City July 20, 2015). We assume the parties' familiarity with the underlying facts and procedural history in this case.

We have reviewed the IJ's decision as modified by the BIA, and so address only the adverse credibility determination. See Xue Hong Yang v. U.S. Dep't of Justice, 426 F.3d 520, 522 (2d Cir. 2005). The applicable standards of review are well established. See 8 U.S.C.  1252(b)(4)(B); Xiu Xia Lin v. Mukasey, 534 F.3d 162, 165-66 (2d Cir. 2008) (reviewing adverse credibility determinations for substantial evidence).

For asylum applications like Zhou's, governed by the REAL ID Act, the agency may, [c]onsidering the totality of the circumstances, base a credibility finding on inconsistencies and omissions in an applicant's statements and evidence, without regard to whether those inconsistencies go to the heart of the applicant's claim. 8 U.S.C.  1158(b)(1)(B)(iii); Xiu Xia Lin, 534 F.3d at 163-64 & 166 n.3. However, the more central an inconsistency is to a claim of past persecution, the more substantial it is. See Xian Tuan Ye v. Dep't of Homeland Sec., 446 F.3d 289, 295 (2d Cir. 2006). We defer  to an IJ's credibility determination unless, from the totality of the circumstances, it is plain that no reasonable fact-finder could make such an adverse credibility ruling. Xiu Xia Lin, 534 F.3d at 167. We conclude that the agency's adverse credibility determination rests on substantial evidence.

The agency reasonably found Zhou not credible based on the omission from the church letter of her arrest and detention, which was the event central to her claim of persecution. See 8 U.S.C.  1158(b)(1)(B)(iii); Xian Tuan Ye, 446 F.3d at 295 ([A] material inconsistency in an aspect of [an applicant's] story that served as an example of the very persecution from which he sought asylum  afforded substantial evidence to support the adverse credibility finding.); Xiu Xia Lin, 534 F.3d at 166-67 & n.3 (An inconsistency and an omission are  functionally equivalent for credibility purposes). Zhou's fluctuating and contradictory explanations do not compel a different conclusion because she expressly testified that the letter was offered to corroborate her alleged arrest and detention. See Majidi v. Gonzales, 430 F.3d 77, 80 (2d Cir. 2005) (A petitioner must do more than offer a plausible explanation for his inconsistent statements to secure relief; he must demonstrate that a reasonable fact-finder would be compelled to credit his testimony. (internal quotation marks omitted).

The IJ also reasonably declined to otherwise afford weight to the church letter, finding it questionable and implausible that an underground church in China, operating secretly, would need a letterhead and seal for its documents. We defer to the agency's determination of the weight afforded to an alien's documentary evidence. Y.C. v. Holder, 741 F.3d 324, 334 (2d Cir. 2013); Xiao Ji Chen v. U.S. Dep't of Justice, 471 F.3d 315, 342 (2d Cir. 2006) (holding that weight afforded to evidence is largely within IJ's discretion). This inference was sufficiently grounded in record and was not based on speculation, given Zhou's testimony that her church was small in order to avoid detection by the police. Siewe v. Gonzales, 480 F.3d 160, 168-69 (2d Cir. 2007) (an implausibility finding based on inference is reasonable if grounded in record facts, or even a single fact, viewed in the light of common sense and ordinary experience). Zhou's argument that the IJ erred in requiring official authentication is misplaced. Cf. Cao He Lin v. U.S. Dep't of Justice, 428 F.3d 391 (2d Cir. 2006). Here, the IJ simply questioned the veracity of the church letter as uncharacteristic of a small informal underground house church seeking to remain secret. We afford IJs considerable flexibility in determining the authenticity of such documents from the totality of the evidence and in using documents found to be authentic in making an overall assessment of the credibility of a petitioner's testimony and, ultimately, of her persecution claim. Shunfu Li v. Mukasey, 529 F.3d 141, 149 (2d Cir. 2008); see also Siewe, 480 F.3d at 167 (Decisions as to  which of competing inferences to draw are entirely within the province of the trier of fact. (internal quotation marks omitted)).

Nor did the IJ err in declining to give weight to the remainder of the corroborating evidence or in finding it insufficient to rehabilitate Zhou's claim. An applicant's failure to corroborate his  testimony may bear on credibility, because the absence of corroboration in general makes an applicant unable to rehabilitate testimony that has already been called into question. Biao Yang v. Gonzales, 496 F.3d 268, 273 (2d Cir. 2007); see also 8 U.S.C.  1158(b)(1)(B)(ii). Zhou provided no objective evidence to corroborate her husband's testimony that he attended church in the U.S. with her and the IJ reasonably gave his testimony diminished weight: the church letters did not mention him, he previously applied for asylum based on a different form of Christianity, and he was an interested witness. See Y.C., 741 F.3d at 334; Xiao Ji Chen, 471 F.3d at 342. Nor did the country conditions evidence rehabilitate the claim. As the IJ found, the background evidence in the record identified no incidents of persecution in Zhou's home province of Fujian. See Jian Hui Shao v. Mukasey, 546 F.3d 138, 142, 148, 156-57, 165, 170 (2d Cir. 2008).

Given the inconsistencies concerning the sole incident of past harm, it cannot be said that no reasonable fact-finder could make such an adverse credibility ruling. Xiu Xia Lin, 534 F.3d at 167; Xian Tuan Ye, 446 F.3d at 295. The adverse credibility determination is dispositive of asylum, withholding of removal, and CAT relief because all three forms of relief are based on the same factual predicate. Paul v. Gonzales, 444 F.3d 148, 156-57 (2d Cir. 2006).

For the foregoing reasons, the petition for review is DENIED. As we have completed our review, any stay of removal that the Court previously granted in this petition is VACATED, and any pending motion for a stay of removal in this petition is DISMISSED as moot. Any pending request for oral argument in this petition is DENIED in accordance with Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 34(a)(2), and Second Circuit Local Rule 34.1(b).

FOR THE COURT:

Catherine O'Hagan Wolfe, Clerk
Protesters are demanding the removal of Patriarch Theophilos III over his involvement in selling church land.

Hundreds of Palestinians rallied on Saturday in occupied East Jerusalem against the selling of church property to Jewish settlers.

Protesters demanded the removal of Patriarch Theophilos III over his involvement in selling church land and called for an end to Greek dominance over their church.

They held up signs reading: We demand the freedom of the Orthodox Church from Theophilos and from corruption and Church land belongs to the church and its congregants  not to Theophilos and his gang.

Demonstrators also chanted: Theophilos, you collaborator. Our land is not for sale and We want national unity, to free the Patriarchate.

The people are demanding unity, transparency, and not to Arabise the church, because the church is already Arab Palestinian, Ayman Odeh, head of the Joint List in Israels parliament, said in a statement at the protest.

In the 21st century, we are here are to ensure that this a national cause. We are here to say there are those who aim to transform the conflict from a national one to a religious one. This is a conflict between illegal occupation and between the people of Jerusalem  Christians and Muslims, Odeh added.

There is no excuse for the selling [of] any piece of land. This land is for our people. They succeed by dividing us, or bribing us. I ask you all to sit together to form unity and to pinpoint our demands and to foster unity to succeed in this just cause.

The rally comes amid fears in the Palestinian Christian community that Israel is attempting to weaken the Christian presence in the country.

READ MORE: How Israel is targeting Palestinian institutions

In a joint statement released this month, patriarchs and church leaders in Jerusalem expressed their concern over what they termed breaches of the status quo that governs holy sites and ensures the rights and privileges of churches.

The statement condemned a recent Israeli court ruling over the selling of two strategically located hotels near Jaffa Gate in the Old City and a large building in the Muslim Quarter to the Israeli Jewish settler group, Ateret Cohanim, which aims to expand the Jewish presence in the occupied city. The court approved the sale in early August, giving Ateret Cohanim rights over the property for a period of 99 years.

The judgement in the Jaffa Gate case  which we regard as unjust, as well as [a] proposed bill in the Knesset which is politically motivated that would restrict the rights of the Churches over our own property, are further assaults on the rights that the status quo has always guaranteed, the statement noted.

The patriarchs and church leaders also vowed to support a high court appeal against the judgement and called on fellow church leaders around the world to stop further attempts to change the status quo.

The Greek Orthodox Church is the second-largest owner of land in the country. The controversial deal between the church and Ateret Cohanim was made in 2004 and came to light a year later.

Although the deal was initiated by Theophilos IIIs predecessor, Irenaios, who was deposed from his position for his actions, activists and residents believe Theophilos III was responsible for concluding the deal with the settler organisation.

The Patriarch will continue to use bribes. We will not allow these bribes to continue. This church is an Arab church and its administration should be Arab. The Patriarch must be an Arab  whether Palestinian or Jordanian. We will not accept anything else, Alif al-Sabbagh, a member of the Arab Central Orthodox Council in Palestine and Jordan, told Al Jazeera at the protest.
Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh  Rohingya as old as 105 are pouring into Bangladesh in the hope of finding peace and some semblance of a future, as the Myanmar army and allied mobs lay waste to their homes and villages in the western region of Rakhine.

In lines stretching deep into the horizon, tens of thousands of Rohingya  80 percent of whom are women and children  have crossed into southeast Bangladesh after making the long and arduous trek from the impoverished region of Rakhine state.

It was the hardest thing Ive ever done, said Tahera Begum, 22, who gave birth to her second child in a forest on the way to the border.

Relaying accounts of massacres at the hands of Myanmar security forces and Buddhist vigilantes that started on August 25, the sick, wounded and elderly have received a cold and hostile reception by their closest neighbour.

Who will take us? Halima desperately asked after recalling how she was beaten by a mob in front of her children while fleeing to the border.

The Rohingya, an ethnic group the majority of whom are Muslim, who have lived in Myanmars Rakhine State for centuries, have suffered decades of repression under the countrys Buddhist majority.

Stripped of their citizenship by the military junta in the 1980s, they have endured killings, torture and mass rape, according to the United Nations.

So far, at least 270,000 Rohingya have fled since August 25, bringing the total number who have sought refuge in Bangladesh since October 2016 to more than 450,000.
Group calls on army to also lay down arms allowing humanitarian groups to provide much-needed aid in Rakhine.

Rohingya fighters in Myanmar have declared a month-long unilateral ceasefire in their fight against the army to enable aid groups to address a humanitarian crisis in Rakhine State.

The ceasefire announced on Saturday in a statement by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) is scheduled to start on Sunday.

READ MORE: Message to the world from Mohammed, a Rohingya





ARSA strongly encourages all concerned humanitarian actors to resume their humanitarian assistance to all victims of the humanitarian crisis, irrespective of ethnic or religious background during the ceasefire period, the group said.

The statement also called on Myanmars military to also temporarily lay down arms.

Nearly 300,000 Rohingya have fled from Rakhine to neighbouring Bangladesh and 30,000 non-Muslim civilians have been displaced inside Myanmar after the military launched a counter-offensive following attacks by ARSA on 30 police posts and an army base last month.

Witnesses say entire Rohingya villages have been burned to the ground since the security forces operation, while the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned of the risk of ethnic cleansing, appealing to the countrys authorities to end violence against the majority-Muslim Rohingya in Rakhine State.

Calls for safe access

The impact of ARSAs ceasefire declaration is unclear. The group does not appear to have been able to put up significant resistance against the military force unleashed in Rakhine.

Al Jazeeras Florence Looi, reporting from the city of Yangon in Myanmar, said the army had not responded yet, but it would be hard for them to reject the ceasefire.

It will be more difficult for the Myanmar military to say it is carrying out an operation that many rights groups have said looks more and more like a campaign of ethnic cleansing, and of disproportionate targeting of Rohingya civilians instead of Rohingya fighters, she said.

READ MORE: Who are Rohingya Muslims?

Joy Singhal, of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), told Al Jazeera from Yangon that the ceasefire from both sides was essential for the work the group intends to carry out in Rakhine State.

We are asking for a safe access to be able to meet a large amount of humanitarian needs, including emergency food supplies, safe drinking water, transportation for the families to a safer area, he said.

IFRC is scaling up its operations in Rakhine State after the United Nations had to suspend activities there following government suggestions that its agency had supported the rebels.

Myanmars government had invited IFRC to assist them, according to Singhal.

The authorities will coordinate and facilitate the distribution of aid, so some of the Rohingya fear they will be neglected.
Regional government more determined than ever to hold plebiscite, Catalan leader says, despite Madrids opposition.

The president of Spains Catalonia region has called for mass demonstrations next week, vowing to press ahead with an independence referendum  a move that the central government in Madrid insists would be illegal.

We have the full force of the state against us, Carles Puigdemont told a meeting of party officials on Saturday in the city of Barcelona.

Faced with judicial proceedings and threats  the regional government is more determined than ever to hold the plebiscite as planned on October 1, he said.

OPINION: Why Catalonia should be given a say on its future

On Wednesday, Catalonias regional parliament voted to push ahead with the referendum, sparking the countrys deepest political crisis in 40 years.

In the early hours of Friday, the separatist-controlled body upped the ante by passing a bill outlining a transition to a possible independent republic.





Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy shot back at the Catalan governments plans.

There will not be a referendum, he told officials from his conservative Party Popular on Saturday.

Its my duty to preserve national unity, Rajoy said, adding that the laws passed by the regional government paving the way towards a referendum illegal and anti-democratic.

As it was expected, Spains Constitutional Court on Friday suspended the call for the referendum after agreeing to review an appeal by central authorities in Madrid.

OPINION: The case against Catalan secession

Puigdemont, a lifelong proponent of independence for the wealthy region in northeast Spain, is hoping to mobilise supporters in a show of legitimacy in the face of Madrids threats to halt the vote by any means possible.

He urged supporters of independence to take to the streets on Monday  the regions national holiday.

On Monday, we will overwhelm them peacefully and democratically, as always, he said.

Opinion polls show that Catalans are evenly divided on independence. But more than 70 percent want a referendum to take place to settle the matter, similar to the plebiscite held in Scotland in 2014.

The Catalan government staged a symbolic independence referendum in 2014, when more than 80 percent of participants voted to split from Spain  though only 2.3 million of Catalonias 5.4 million eligible voters took part.

READ MORE: Thousands protest as former Catalonia head stands trial

The Catalonia region, centred around Barcelona, generates 20 percent of Spains gross domestic product and has a population of 7.5 million people. It self-governs in several important areas, including police, health and education.

But key issues such as taxes, foreign affairs and most infrastructure are in the hands of the Spanish government.

Both Catalan and Spanish are spoken, and many Catalans feel strongly about their cultural heritage and traditions.
Proposed sanctions over nuclear arms buildup would include oil embargo,assets freeze and punishment of guest workers.

The United States has formally requested a UN Security Council vote on Monday on the toughest sanctions yet against North Korea despite resistance from China and Russia, as Pyongyangs state media calls for a nuclear arms build-up.

Washington has presented a draft UN resolution calling for an oil embargo on North Korea, an assets freeze on leader Kim Jong-un, a ban on textile exports and an end to payments of North Korean guest workers.

Diplomatic sources said Russia and China opposed the measures as a whole, except for the ban on textiles, during a meeting on Friday of experts from the 15 Security Council members.

This evening, the United States informed the UN Security Council that it intends to call a meeting to vote on a draft resolution to establish additional sanctions on North Korea on Monday, September 11, a statement from the US mission to the United Nations read.

READ MORE: Peace with North Korea is still possible

The statement declined to say what text would be voted on  the original draft Washington first presented on Wednesday, an amended text or another version.

In North Korea, which was marking the nations founding anniversary on Saturday, local media issued fresh calls for a nuclear arms build-up, in defiance of the mounting international sanctions.

The defence sector, in step with the partys Byungjin policy (of developing the economy and nuclear weapons at the same time), must make cutting-edge Juche weapons in greater quantities, Pyongyangs Rodong Sinmun newspaper said in an editorial, referring to the national philosophy of Juche or self-reliance.

Gift packages

North Korea conducted its fifth nuclear test on September 9 last year, and then carried out a sixth a week ago, saying it was a hydrogen bomb that could be fitted onto a missile  prompting global condemnation and calls for further sanctions.

In July, it tested two intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) that appeared to bring much of the mainland US into range.

Kim himself has called the ICBM tests gift packages that the North was delivering to the US bastards.

One month after a ban on coal, iron and shellfish imports from North Korea, diplomatic sources said council members are seeking new measures to punish Pyongyang for its sixth and largest nuclear test on September 3.

The diplomats expressed optimism for the US-backed measure, despite Russia and Chinas reticence.

I dont really see a veto at this point, and I think we will reach agreement, because all members have shown a willingness to negotiate, an expert on the matter said on condition of anonymity.

A ban on oil and oil products is the toughest point, a source familiar with the discussions said.

The Russians and the Chinese are categorically opposed.

READ MORE: Is war coming to North Korea?

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said it is too early to talk about a vote at the Security Council on new North Korea sanctions, insisting any pressure should be balanced against restarting talks.

Along with pressure on the North Korean regime to induce it to abandon provocations in the implementation of its nuclear and missile programs, it is necessary to emphasise and increase the priority of efforts to resume the political process, Lavrov said.

Russia is also opposed to sending back to their country North Korean expatriates who are an important source of revenue for the Pyongyang regime, sources said.

The US wants tough sanctions to be imposed to maximise pressure on Pyongyang to come to the table and negotiate an end to its nuclear and missile tests.
The image, meant to prompt discussion about immigration, is the latest installation by French artist JR.

A photo of a giant toddler stands in Mexico and peers over a steel wall dividing the country from the United States.

The boy appears to grip the barrier with his fingers, leaving the impression the entire thing could be toppled with a giggle.





A French artist who goes by the moniker JR erected the cut-out of the boy that stands nearly 20 metres tall and is meant to prompt discussion about immigration.

On Friday, a steady stream of people drove to the remote section of wall near the Tecate border crossing, about 64km southeast of San Diego.

Border officers warned visitors to keep the dirt road clear for their patrols and not pass anything through the fence.

WATCH: Can Mexico stand up to Trump? (8:41)

On the Mexico side, families scrambled down a scrubby hillside to take selfies with the artwork. Children in school uniforms played tag under the scaffolding supporting the photo.

People on each side of the wall waved to each other.

JR has done other large-scale portraits around the world, with much of his recent work focused on immigrants.





He told reporters at Wednesdays unveiling of the portrait that he was spurred by a dream in which he imagined a kid looking over the border wall.

And when I woke up, I wondered: What was he thinking?' he said. Like for us we know all the implications, what it represents, how it divides, but for a kid, I didnt have the answer.

A year later, when JR was scouting for the perfect spot for his project, he noticed a house in Tecate near the border wall. He and a Mexican friend knocked on the door to see about the possibility of locating it around there.

After they drove away, it occurred to him that the one-year-old at the home who had been staring at them reminded him of the boy he had dreamed about.

JR and his friend immediately went back. The artist asked the woman if he could photograph her son. She knew his work and agreed.

Meet Kikito, he turned 1 year old last April. The piece is visible close to the Tecate border for a month pic.twitter.com/xfDBzQ1DYV  JR (@JRart) September 7, 2017

JR told the New York Times that the idea that borders should be closed is for him, not a discussion.

As an artist, I try to bring back perspective, he said. For this little kid, there are no walls and borders.

OPINION: Im a DACA recipient and this is what will happen to me

The artwork was unveiled the week US President Donald Trump said he would end a programme that has allowed young immigrants who were brought to the US without documents as children to remain in the country.

The administration also accepted more proposals for its plans to build a continuous wall along the more than 3,200km border.

JR said he did not intend for the project in Tecate to coincide with the news about the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals programme, known as DACA.

Sections of wall on the Mexican side have been covered with paintings of everything from butterflies to an upside-down American flag.

READ MORE: Mexican LA  History, culture and resistance

JR has erected other large-scale portraits in the slums of Paris, from the top of buildings in Rio de Janeiro, and set up giant photo booths from Israel and Palestine to the US.

The latest piece will remain in Tecate for a month. JR hopes people will view it from each side.
Hamas leader heads to Cairo to discuss mechanisms to ease Gazas siege, in first such visit since his election in May.

The head of Palestinian group Hamas, Ismail Haniya, has travelled to Cairo to hold talks with senior Egyptian officials about the blockade of Gaza, on his first such visit since his election in May.

Hamas controls the Gaza Strip, a densely populated coastal territory that shares borders with Egypt and Israel, with which it has fought three wars since 2008.

For much of the last decade, Egypt has joined Israel in enforcing a crippling blockade that has deprived the enclaves roughly two million inhabitants of most basic commodities, including food, fuel and medicine.

READ MORE: Egypt and Palestine discuss Hamas-Cairo rapprochement

A Hamas statement on Saturday said the delegation would discuss mechanisms to ease the siege on Gaza and other issues of mutual concern.

An Egyptian source confirmed Haniyas arrival with a delegation for talks on the border crossing, security and power supplies, Reuters news agency reported.

Following the talks in Cairo, the Hamas delegation may conduct a tour of some Arab and Muslim countries, Anadolu Agency reported, citing a well-informed Hamas source.

The source did not specify which countries the tour would include.

READ MORE: What is next for Hamas?

The Gaza Strip has seven border crossings linking it to the outside world. Six of these are controlled by Israel, while the seventh  the Rafah crossing  is controlled by Egypt, which continues to keep it tightly sealed for the most part.

Hamas has been seeking to improve relations with neighbouring Egypt in a bid to convince Cairo to open the territorys border with Gaza  its main gateway to the outside world.

Haniya, 54, was elected leader of Hamas political bureau in May. The group maintains a sizeable armed wing in Gaza since seizing the enclave from Fatah in 2007.
Officials expect death toll to rise as rescue workers race to find survivors of Thursdays devastating earthquake.

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto has declared three days of national mourning following Thursdays powerful earthquake that has killed at least 61 people.

The power of this earthquake was devastating, but we are certain that the power of unity, the power of solidarity and the power of shared responsibility will be greater, Pena Nieto said in a televised address on Friday.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) reported the magnitude of the earthquake that hit southern Mexico late on Thursday as 8.1, but the president described it as an 8.2-magnitude quake  the largest registered in [Mexico] in at least the past 100 years.

READ MORE: These are the deadliest quakes of the past 100 years

He said it was bigger than the one in 1985 that killed more than 10,000 people in Mexico City.

On Friday, police, soldiers and emergency workers raced to rescue survivors from the rubble of houses, churches and schools that were split down the middle.

Pena Nieto said that 61 people were killed, including 45 who died in Oaxaca state, 12 in Chiapas and four in Tabasco. More than 200 people were injured across Mexico, officials said.

Al Jazeeras David Mercer, reporting from Mexico City, said that as rescuers reach the coastal areas in southern Mexico, close to the Guatemalan border, the death toll is expected to continue to climb.

A disaster zone

The worst-hit city was Juchitan, on the narrow waist of Oaxaca known as the Isthmus, where 36 quake victims died.

About half of Juchitans city hall collapsed in a pile of rubble and streets were littered with the debris of ruined houses.

On Friday, a crowd had formed outside the city hall, a Spanish colonial building where two policemen were trapped in the rubble.

Rescuers managed to extract one and were still working to save the other 18 hours after the earthquake.

God, let him come out alive! said a woman watching as four cranes and a fleet of trucks removed what remained of the buildings crumbled wing.

A police officer who had been working for days told AFP news agency that he could not remember an earthquake this terrible.

The whole city is a disaster zone right now. Lots of damages. Lots of deaths. I dont know how you can make sense of it. Its hard. My sister-in-laws husband died. His house fell on top of him.

A hospital also collapsed, Pena Nieto said after touring Juchitan and meeting with residents. The patients were relocated to other facilities.

The president said authorities were working to re-establish the supply of water and food and provide medical attention to those who need it. He vowed the government would help people rebuild and called for people to come together.

READ MORE: Powerful earthquake rattles Mexico

Elsewhere, the extent of destruction was still emerging. Hundreds of buildings collapsed or were damaged and power was cut at least briefly to more than 1.8 million people.

The Interior Department reported that 428 homes were destroyed and 1,700 were damaged in various cities and towns in Chiapas.

Homes made of clay tiles and wood collapsed, said Nataniel Hernandez, a human rights worker living in Tonala, Chiapas, who warned that inclement weather threatened to bring more down.

Right now, it is raining very hard in Tonala, and with the rains, it gets much more complicated because the homes were left very weak, with cracks, Hernandez told The Associated Press.

Hurricane Katia makes landfall

The tremors epicentre was 123km southwest of the town of Pijijiapan, at a depth of 70km, according to USGS.





Tsunami waves have been measured off Mexicos Pacific coast; the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said waves of one metre above the tide level were measured off Salina Cruz. Officials, however, said there was no major damage from the sea.

The earthquake was also felt in much of El Salvador, as well as Guatemala, where at least four people were injured and several dozen homes damaged.

The earthquake struck as Mexicans were also bracing for Hurricane Katia, which made landfall on Friday night on Mexicos Gulf coast as a Category 1 storm.

It is one of three active hurricanes currently in the Atlantic Ocean alongside Irma and Jose.

Katia landed with sustained winds of 75 mph (120 kph), according to the US National Hurricane Center.

The arrival of Katia may be particularly dangerous for slopes affected by the earthquake. Avoid these areas, Pena Nieto tweeted on Friday.

Mexico sits atop five tectonic plates, making it prone to earthquakes, and has two long coastlines that are frequently battered by hurricanes.
Seven-year-old found inside school toilet with his throat slit after bus conductor allegedly sexually assaulted him.

Angry parents have protested outside a private school in Indias northern Gurugram city over the murder of a seven-year-old pupil.

The boy was found with his throat slit inside a toilet of the Ryan International School in Gurugram, a financial and technical hub, located in the southern suburbs of the capital, New Delhi.

A bus conductor, named only as Ashok, was arrested late on Friday night after investigations, Gurugram deputy commissioner of police Simranjit Singh told reporters.

The man had attempted to sexually assault the boy and attacked him with a knife when the child tried to raise an alarm, Singh said.

READ MORE: A dark trade  Rape videos for sale in India

Acting principal Nirja Batra was suspended, but agitated parents protested outside the school and at various locations in Gurugram on Saturday demanding further action against education authorities.





They said the crime took place on school premises and accountability needed to be addressed for the lack of security for their children.

The school could not ensure basic safety for my son. I want action against the school administration, Varun Thakur, the childs father, said.

Singh said local authorities would conduct a separate investigation on lapses by the school, following which action would be taken.

Hundreds of parents had barged into the school building on Friday, flung furniture around and broke windows and glass award cases.

A total of 10,854 cases of child rape were reported in India in 2015.

Activists say that many more cases likely went unreported. In most cases, the perpetrator knows the victim.
Bangladesh braces for new surge after nearly 300,000 Rohingya Muslims flee Myanmars Rakhine State in last 15 days.

Nearly 300,000 Rohingya have fled Myanmars Rakhine State into Bangladesh in the 15 days since new violence erupted and the United Nations is braced for a further surge, officials said.

The exodus figure has jumped about 20,000 in a day and from 164,000 on Thursday. Bangladesh authorities plan to build a camp that could house a quarter of a million people.

Some 290,000 Rohingya arrived in Bangladesh since August 25, Joseph Tripura, a spokesman for the UN refugee agency, told AFP news agency.

New violence started on August 25 after Rohingya fighters attacked police posts in Rakhine, triggering a security forces crackdown.

READ MORE: Who are the Rohingya Muslims?

Those who have fled across the border have accused the Myanmar military of staging reprisal attacks on Muslim villages.

Officials said the UN has found more Rohingya in Bangladesh villages and areas which were previously not included by relief agencies.

Agencies are now bracing for a new increase in numbers.

Dipayan Bhattacharyya, acting World Food Programme (WFP) head in Bangladesh, told AFP the situation is very volatile.

We started with planning for an influx of 120,000. Then we made a resource planning for 300,000. The current influx has almost now reached 300,000. Bhattacharyya said.

Most of the Rohingya are arriving by foot or boat across Bangladeshs 278km border with Myanmar, a fourth of which is made up by the Naf river.





The Rohingya have long been subjected to discrimination in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, which denies them citizenship.

Myanmars government regards them as illegal migrants from Bangladesh, even if they have lived in the country for generations.

IN PICTURES: The perilous journey of Rohingya refugees

Refugee camps near Bangladeshs border with Myanmar already had about 300,000 Rohingya before the upsurge in violence last month and are now overwhelmed.

Tens of thousands of new arrivals have nowhere to shelter from monsoon rains.

Those flocking into Bangladesh have given harrowing accounts of killings, rape and arson by Myanmars army. Myanmar authorities deny any wrongdoing.

Most have walked for days and the UN says many are sick, exhausted and in desperate need of shelter.
The Syrian army and allied forces have broken ISILs siege on Deir Az Zor military airport, state media said on Saturday, hours after US-backed fighters announced a separate push against the armed group in the oil-rich eastern province.

State news agency SANA said the breach came after the forces advancing from the cemetery southwest of the city linked up with the forces holding the air base.

The latest advance of the Russia-backed forces came days after they ended another siege on residential districts of the city as they seek to remove the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, known as ISIS) from its last major stronghold in Syria.

READ MORE: Syrias civil war explained from the beginning

Earlier on Saturday, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a coalition of Kurdish and Arab fighters, said they had also launched an anti-ISIL offensive from the north of Deir Az Zor city, aiming to clear the group from territory east of the Euphrates River.

The operation brought them into a race with the government forces marching in the same direction.





Ahmad Abu Khawlah, head of SDFs Deir Az Zor Military Council, said his forces had begun fighting to push ISIL out of the remaining territory in Hasakah province and further south in Deir Az Zor in eastern Syria.

The announcement came as Syrian government forces, backed by Russian air power and Hezbollah fighters, closed in from the south of Deir Az Zor city in a separate military campaign against ISIL.

The duelling battles for Deir Az Zor highlight the importance of the key eastern province, which has become the latest epicentre of the international war against ISIL, raising concerns of an eventual clash between the two sides.

Al Jazeeras Mohammed Jamjoom, reporting from Beirut, the capital of neighbouring Syria, described the double offensive as a race against the clock to see which of these two competing forces can have dominance in this oil-rich area.

He added: Whoever is going to get more of this province is going to control more of the oil, and this really sets up what has been a regional rivalry to see who can take over more territory in Syria since the beginning of this war.

Battle for Raqqa

The Syrian conflict, which started as a popular uprising against President Bashar al-Assad in 2011, has drawn the military involvement of several world powers. Peace talks have repeatedly failed to bring an end to the war.

The SDFs new push comes as its fighters are still involved in a major offensive to capture Raqqa from ISIL.

Three months into the battle, they have taken around 60 percent of the city, and much more difficult urban fighting still lies ahead.

Earlier this week, Syrian troops and their allies reached Deir Az Zor, breaking a nearly three-year-old ISIL siege on government-held parts of the city in a major breakthrough in their offensive against the group.

In a victory statement, the Syrian military said Deir Az Zor will be used as a launching pad to recapture the remaining ISIL-held areas along the border with Iraq.

READ MORE: Russia says several top ISIL leaders killed in Syria attack

The troops arrival to Deir Az Zor city brings Syrian forces and their allies a step closer to controlling the oil-rich eastern province and its capital bordering Iraq. The region has some of Syrias largest oil fields, whose revenue is vital to the states dried coffers.

Syrias military command announced on Saturday they had removed ISIL fighters from the provinces Taym oilfield, southwest of Deir Az Zor city, on the other side of the Euphrates.





They also seized part of a main highway running from Deir Az Zor downstream to the city of al-Mayadeen, to which many ISIL fighters have retreated, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitor. said.

That advance would help block potential ISIL reinforcements from al-Mayadeen, it added.

Wars fought within wars

SDF officials say the timing of the new push is not related to government forces reaching Deir Az Zor earlier this week, and was planned months in advance.

Deir Az Zor is a main connection point and a very important geographic area, said Syrian Kurdish official Nawaf Khalil, who is in Germany but frequently visits northern Syria. He said the battle for Raqqa requires fewer fighters now than it did in its earlier stages.

READ MORE: Anyone can rule Syria, but not this regime

The US-led coalition fighting ISIL said in an email to The Associated Press that the SDF will decide when the conditions are right for an offensive.

Asked about concerns of a possible clash between the SDF and Syrian troops, the coalition said: We urge all forces to concentrate their efforts on our common enemy (IS).





So far, the rival campaigns have mostly stayed out of each others way, and Washington has welcomed Syrian troops fight against ISIL.

Both the US and Russia have an interest in avoiding a clash between the SDF and Syrian forces and may devise a strategy that will allow both sides to share control of the vast province.

US officials have suggested they are not seeking a confrontation with Assads forces.

Al Jazeeras Jamjoom noted that concerns over an eventual clash between the rival anti-ISIL campaigns showcased once again just how complicated the terrain is within Syria.

You have wars being fought within wars  that has been happening for years now  but the prospect of some type of clashes going on between these two competing forces and their regional backers, that really is an interesting question, he said.

It will be interesting to see how it is dealt with, if there is any type of back-channel communication going on between the Americans and the Russians in order to avoid [an altercation].
Jubas plans to hold delayed presidential poll next year risks deepening and extending conflict, UN says.

South Sudans plan to hold elections next year risks deepening and extending an already devastating civil war, the United Nations warned.

Haile Menkerios, the UN secretary-generals special envoy to the African Union, expressed concern about the elections planned for July 2018 during a joint meeting of the visiting UN Security Council and the African Unions Peace and Security Council.

South Sudans election can only be held in a stable environment where people are not displaced by violence and hunger and in which they are able to express their political views free from intimidation, the envoy said on Friday.

President Salva Kiir seeks an election that will be the first vote on his leadership since South Sudan won independence in 2011 from Sudan.

Presidential elections set for 2015 were delayed by the civil war that began in late 2013.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed in the conflict and two million people have fled the country, while the UN estimates that six million people, or half the population, are severely food insecure.

Multiple attempts at peace deals have failed, and the UN and aid groups have said South Sudan has become the most dangerous country in the world for humanitarian workers.

The United States this week imposed sanctions on two senior South Sudan government members, a former official and three companies accused of undermining peace, security and stability in the East African nation.

South Sudans leadership has failed to fulfil the hope of this young nation and need to be told that theres no alternative to inclusive and genuine dialogue to resolve the differences, the chair of the African Unions Peace and Security Council, Smail Chergui, told Fridays meeting.
Turkish citizens should be careful in Germany before elections later in September, Turkeys foreign ministry says.

Turkey has told its citizens visiting or living in Germany to be careful and keep their composure against racist and xenophobic slurs in advance of the countrys upcoming federal elections.

It is advised for our citizens in Germany or planning to visit this country to be even-tempered, keep themselves out of political discussions and absent themselves from rallies held by terrorist groups ahead of the elections, said the Turkish foreign ministry in a statement published on its official website on Saturday.

It also said political leaders in Germany were using anti-Turkey rhetoric in their election campaigns and voiced the aim of blocking Turkey from becoming a member of the European Union.

READ MORE  Erdogan  Era of bowing to Western pressure is over

The political atmosphere in the aforementioned country is under the influence of far-right and racist propaganda, said the ministry.

It is worrying that a chancellor-candidate political leader in Germany has recently made statements including clear racist elements and German officials took no measure about it.

Almost two weeks before the September 24 general elections, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her centre-left rival Martin Schulz clashed over Turkey policy in a TV debate on Sunday night.

During the televised event, Schulz made a proposal to halt Ankaras EU membership talks and freeze 4 billion euros ($4.68bn) in pre-accession funds.

Last month, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on ethnic Turks living in Germany to vote for those who are not hostile to Turkey in the elections.
UN special envoy to the region calls on government to respond to the legitimate expectations of the Togolese people.

The United Nations urged Togo to respond to peoples legitimate expectations as police clashed with protesters demanding an end to the 50-year ruling family dynasty for a third day on Friday.

Thousands of people have taken to the streets since Wednesday to demand that President Faure Gnassingbe step aside in the biggest challenge to his familys power since the death of his father in 2005.

Mohamed Ibn Chambas, the UN Special Envoy for West Africa and the Sahel, called on all parties to preserve peace and security, which are valuable assets in West Africa.

Chambas, who met Gnassingbe on Thursday, has delayed his departure and is staying in Togo for further discussions, his spokesman said.

I remain convinced that all parties want to move forward on the reforms  in order to reach a consensus to respond to the legitimate expectations of the Togolese people, Chambas said in a statement.

READ MORE: Togo blocks internet as protests continue

Police used tear gas to disperse protesters who were burning tyres in the opposition stronghold of Be in the capital, Lome, on Friday, Reuters news agency said.

But the unrest was less widespread than in previous days and in other areas of the seaside capital, including the centre, traffic had resumed and shops were reopening amid a heavy police and paramilitary presence.

Security forces cleared barricades erected by the protesters.

Residents said text messages and phone calls were still restricted on Friday. The internet has also suffered outages, according to watchdog Internet Without Borders.

The presidents father Gnassingbe Eyadema seized power in a coup in 1967 and ruled for 38 years before his death.

In response to protests, he introduced a 1992 constitution that brought in multiparty democracy and limited presidential terms to two.

Ten years later, legislators scrapped the term limit so Eyadema could run for another term.

However, ever since Gambian long-time leader Yahya Jammeh was forced out after losing an election last December, West African countries have become unanimous in accepting two terms as the limit on presidential office  the only exception being Togo.

READ MORE: Togo protesters demand constitutional reform

The current president, who has encouraged investment to try to turn his tiny nation into a business, banking and shipping hub modelled on Singapore or Dubai, this week sought to appease opponents by tabling a draft bill to reform the Constitution and reintroduce a two-term limit.

But opposition leaders reject it because it could still enable Gnassingbe to rule until 2030.

The protests that followed Faure Gnassingbes first election victory in 2005 triggered a violent security crackdown in which about 500 people were killed, but this week security forces appear to have avoided bloodshed so far.
Ex-Priest Daniel McCormack Ruled Sexually Violent, Remains Detained

By Stephen Gossett in News on Sep 8, 2017 11:00PM



Getty Images / Photo: Scott Olsen / Protesters demonstrated in 2006 in the wake of the McCormack scandal.

Daniel McCormack, a former Chicago priest and convicted child molester, will stay in custody at a state institution after a judge ruled on Friday that he is a sexually violent person who still poses a risk to abuse children, according to reports. At the same time, the judge stopped short of determining whether or not McCormack will be "indefinitely" committed.

McCormick pleaded guilty in 2007 to sexually abusing five boys while he was a priest and teacher at St. Agatha Parish, on the West Side. (He is alleged to have abused more than two dozen boys.) He was sentenced to five years in prison.

But McCormack has since remained in state custody after his release date, in a Rushville facility, after the state of Illinois filed a petition in 2009when he first became eligible for paroleto have the ex-priest deemed sexually violent, and thereby be detained further.

I have no reasonable doubt that you will engage in future acts of sexual violence, the Judge Dennis Porter told McCormack at the ruling on Friday, according to the Sun-Times.

"They know how dangerous he is, they know how cunning he is, how manipulative he is," said Marc Pearlman, an attorney represents multiple McCormack victims, according to ABC7.

At the bench trial, forensic psychiatrist Dr. Angeline Stanislaus reportedly testified for the state that McCormack has a pedophiliac disorder and posed a high risk to commit further offenses.

The Chicago Archdiocese has paid out at least $7.5 million in lawsuit settlements to men who have alleged that McCormack abused them, according to the Tribune.
Gainesville residents are bracing for the worst as Hurricane Irma creeps closer to Floridas coast, but some UF students would rather be closer to the storm.

Hurricane Irma has veering toward the west coast of Florida and is expected to make landfall in the Florida Keys Sunday morning, according to the National Hurricane Center. Tropical storm force winds have already been recorded in the Keys, and thousands have lost power in Miami-Dade County on Saturday morning, according to the Miami Herald. The storm has also caused extensive damage in the Caribbean, according to the New York Times.

Sarah Mar, a 19-year-old UF nursing sophomore, chose not to go home to her family in Cutler Bay, located in Miami-Dade County, because she worried about not being able to return to Gainesville in time for classes, which have been canceled through Monday.

Mars home is in a mandatory evacuation zone, and her family has already relocated to her grandparents house in Miami Lakes.

I kind of wish this would have happened in high school so I would have at least been there, Mar said.

Jared Machado, a UF political science sophomore, would have driven into the storm  if he had a way to.

It sucks that my whole family is down there and Im the only one  the only family member  thats out of Miami right now, the 19-year-old said.

Students at UF without a car have limited ways to get home in a crisis, he said. Machado said his family decided it was best for him to stay in Gainesville while they wait out the storm in West Miami.

They dont call them natural disasters for no reason, Machado said. You dont know what to expect.

While his travel limitations keep him in Gainesville for now, Machado said he will return to Miami if the need arises.

If my family needs me, Im on the next bus, plane, whatever, he said. Im going back down there to help.

The threat presented by Irma has brought comparison with Hurricane Andrew, which hit South Florida with 168 mph winds and destroyed hundreds of homes, according to the Miami Herald. As of Friday night, the sustained wind speeds of Irma are 155 mph.

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Miamis strong, he said. The people there are strong. Theyre optimistic about it, which makes me feel a little bit better.
Four years of research could be lost if Hurricane Irma hits Fort Pierce.

Carey Minteer, assistant professor of weed biological control at UFs Indian Research and Education Center in Fort Pierce, evacuated her lab area and prepared her field research for the hurricane.

To prepare for the hurricane, Minteer and her team brought plants, insects and greenhouses indoors. They also backed up their data. However, there are still lab plants outside.

If the hurricane comes through and messes up my plants, thats potentially four years worth of data that could be useless depending on what the damage is, Minteer said.

Minteer and her research team conduct much of their studies on biological control of invasive plant species on outdoor fields at the research center. The Minteer labs current research on air potatoes and brazilian peppers has been going on for four years.

Minteer and her team also had to disassemble outdoor tents that have the potential to be damaged in the hurricane.

Usually, taking down our tents takes about two weeks. We had to do it in two days, Minteer said. It took a lot of people and a lot of hard work.

The lab also sent leaf beetles to Florida homeowners who requested them before taking down the tents. The beetles serve as biological controls to the invasive air potatoes in Florida and are a part of her labs four-year-long study.

The potential threat Hurricane Irma poses on her research adds an additional level of stress for the lab group, Minteer said.

We all have to worry about our homes and our livelihood and our safety, Minteer said. But we also have to worry about data and long-term experiments.

crespess@alligator.org

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@camille_respess
In preparation for Hurricane Irma, a major storm expected to hit late Saturday night, UFs Housing and Residence Education has created a plan to keep residents safe.

A hurricane warning was issued Saturday morning for Gainesville and UF canceled classes until Tuesday, according to UF Public Safety. Gov. Rick Scott released a statement Thursday night ordering all schools, state colleges and state universities to close Friday through Monday.

Despite most student services being down, housing and residence staff are expected to report to work at regular hours, according to a Thursday night statement from UF Public Safety.

Residents families can stay in the dorms if necessary, said Todd Morrone, the associate director of housing for public and governmental relations.

In 2004, we were faced with severe hurricanes and we allowed our residents families who evacuated their homes to stay in the dormsas well, Morrone said.

As of Wednesday, Mayor Lauren Poe declared a state of emergency for Gainesville, according to Alligator archives.

Calvin Mosley, the director of university housing residence life, wrote in a Wednesday email to residents that food would not be a concern. Mosley said students should get their own food supply for three days.

Housing units not having food service facilities will be provided food if the emergency period extends beyond 24 hours, he said.

For Raniya Martin-Davis, a 17-year-old UF health science freshman, it was easy to feel the urgency in local stores as everyone scrambled for goods but found empty shelves. Being originally from New Jersey, Martin-Davis said the hurricane was a complete shock for her and her family.

My RA and housing staff at Broward Hall are easing my nerves and reassuring me that I will be safe, she said. I feel everything will be okay, and Ive bought enough food and water for the days to come.

To further secure the safety of residents, UF Housing released a list of specific safety instructions.

The Steinbrenner Band Hall has been designated as the on-campus shelter for all students, faculty and staff. Doors will open at 10 a.m. on Sunday, and people can get entry with a Gator 1 Card. Families are permitted, but students must be with their family at all times. The Southwest Recreation Center will also be open for the UF community and the general population the same day.

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A UF alumnus, Pablo Campo, fled his home in Tampa as the storm traveled west to stay at the on-campus shelter. Campo was initially heading to Alabama, but he said running out of gas midway was a concern and Gainesville was his best option.

With the storm shifting westward, I figured I wasnt safe in my small apartment especially since my parking lot floods even with the smallest of rains, the 25-year-old said. I didnt know which way to run, but when I heard UF was opening the shelter, I was incredibly relieved.

With previous hurricanes UF has experienced, like Hurricane Matthew in 2016, Reitz Union was used as a hurricane shelter.

Morrone said housing staff will be in constant communication with UF Emergency Management officials to closely monitor the storm.

We will release any further information in a timely manner with our community, he said, The safety of our residents is our priority.
2 In Custody After Man Shot On The Green Line Friday Night On Near West Side

By Rachel Cromidas in News on Sep 9, 2017 3:47PM



CTA Green Line, photo via Chicagoist Flickr Pool User Stephanie Barto.

A 30-year-old man was seriously injured in a shooting on the CTA Green Line Friday night, just as the train was approaching the Near West Side's Ashland station. Some CTA Green and Pink Line train service was temporarily halted Friday night in the wake of the shooting.

The man had apparently been arguing with two other men on the train around 7:20 p.m. before a fight broke out and someone fired a shot. The man was shot in the left shoulder and taken to Stroger Hospital in serious condition, according to police.

It's currently unclear to police who owned the gun; police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi told the Sun-Times that the gun may have belonged to the man who was shot. Police have arrested two suspects in the shooting.
Mark Twain, quoting Disraeli, once said There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics. So it has been with the recent story that White Christians are a minority, To paraphrase Twain again, the reports of Christianity's demise have been greatly exaggerated.

The headline was framed as if America was becoming outright pagan.

Buried deep inside the story was this admission:

Christians of all races and denominations still make up nearly 70 percent of the U.S. population. But that number is likely to shrink as the much younger populations of Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists continue to grow. -- Huffington Post

It seems the pagans are not quite at the ramparts, yet.

I would love to see the underlying statistics. The first question that hit me would be: Does White Christian include White Hispanics? A considerable number of Hispanics can be considered white. Indeed, anyone familiar with demographics knows that there is a gray area in the stats: White (non-Hispanic) is often a separate category. So is Hispanic (of all races). Often left out is Hispanic (White).

While many Americans might not be thrilled with the number of Muslims in America, their numbers are relatively small. America is barely 1% Muslim, and some of that number includes Black Muslims, who often quote the Bible, and have Baptist grandmothers praying for the salvation of their wayward souls and a return to Jesus.

Canada is 3% Muslim. Much of Europe is far worse. As nations go, the United States is one of the least Muslim major nations on the planet. You would never know it from the Huffington Post article. Nor would you know that Muslim groups often inflate their numbers.

Islam survives by crushing proselytization. It cannot compete with free thought, so it kills it. A good percentage of the children of those Muslims will become Christian in one generation in America. Islam has no social answer to street preachers.

There is a second matter to consider: the nature of American Christianity; and to a lesser extent Australian Christianity.

While most Western nations have freedom of religion, it is still common that in Europe that you will be born into a denomination and die in it. Northern Germany and Scandinavia are heavily Lutheran. England was historically Anglican. Southern and Western Europe was heavily Catholic. Eastern Europe was heavily Eastern Orthodox Christian. Scotland was Presbyterian/Calvinist. Their culture and their societies still are to this day, even as they lapse into functional atheism. There were some exceptions, but this rule of thumb is broadly true.

America is like no other nation on earth. Christianity is taken quite seriously by a large part of the population. That population has fled mainstream churches for being dead and ritualistic. Mainstream Protestantism is dying out, as is a large part of mainstream Catholicism. Catholicism survives, chiefly because of immigrants who enter America as Catholics. However, it does not take long for those immigrants' children to end up in Evangelical churches. Barely one half of American Latinos are Roman Catholic. The Evangelicals are growing by leaps and bounds.

Meanwhile, the serious bible believing congregations are thriving. These do not operate like the older denominations. They are rather informal. Many do not show up on statistics. A lot of these groups are members of home church congregations, which are not 501(c)-3 registered; but are just a collection of believers who meet in homes to study the bible, as was done in the first century.

A new movement is Messianic Judaism, which is essentially Evangelical theology melded with Jewish holidays and history. These people, though absolutely believing that Jesus is both God and Messiah -- they would say Moshiach -- might not call themselves Christians, in order to distance themselves from the crimes of historic organized Christianity; but be assured they are quite Christian in their theology. There are up to a quarter million of these in America, and most of them are Gentile. The well-known Messianic Rabbi Jonathan Cahn would fall into this mix.

A third trend, among many, is to avoid churches altogether, and find a good internet preacher. A classic case would be that of Charlie Garrett at the Superior Word. His theology is classic Evangelical Christian -- probably closest to historical Baptist doctrines in theology. He runs a small storefront church in Sarasota, Florida. However, he regularly has 6 to 8 thousand viewers a week show up on his YouTube channel to watch his sermons, bible studies, and prophecy updates.

People watch him from all over the world, many sending him bandanas for his balding head, along with pictures and some stories of their conversions. Charlie Garrett rarely asks for money -- though he might recommend an outside charity. He regularly condemns the prosperity preachers. What is amazing is how often people write Garrett and say that they are so fed up with dead churches that his weekly netcast has become their de facto church. Some viewers around the world have opened up their home to groups to watch him when he streams live. It is not even that Garrett asked for this. Rather the mainline churches have so abandoned the gospel that people have flocked to him on YouTube and Facebook.

All his videos and audio are free, and there is no donate button on his site. He and his small congregation pay for almost everything. Yet, he has had Christian visitors fly in from Germany to come to his church. Sometimes, people send him donations to pay for after-church pizzas. All of this is voluntary. He rarely asks for it.

Most interesting is that Preacher Garrett befriended an Israeli Jewish believer with an Arab Christian wife who send him video updates from Israel once a week.

And Charlie Garrett is far from unique. YouTube is full of such good preachers who have bypassed normal channels to appeal to Christians who are fed up with mainline denominations.

Such people fall out of the statistics; but they are growing.

The mainstream media should not be so quick to gloat. Christianity is quite alive and well in America. It is far from a minority. And conservative, Evangelical Christians are growing. What is dying out are the pretenders.

Scrutinizing the past seven years, Pew finds that, amid the rise of the nones and other popular talking points, the fate of evangelicals is proving much brighter than Christianity at large. -- Christianity Today

A lot of the people who identify as none -- meaning they do not identify with any denomination -- may be more Christian than one realizes.

Another Calvary Chapel preacher I know bemoans the lack of young people in the churches. Of course, this preacher, an excellent one by the way, is not on the internet. I have told him that were he on the web, he could attract a larger audience. I told him to write an app.

As major religious institutions have corrupted themselves, and as the society-at-large paganizes, Christians have left the decaying denominations and reconfigured themselves in home gatherings akin to the original breeding ground of Christianity in the first century. They tend to avoid denominational affiliation altogether, and to be rather conservative theologically. They do not get numbered in the statistics.

According to the American pollster George Barna, as many as 30,000 house churches were established as of 2009, and it is estimated 6 -12 million Americans attend them. Those arent easy figures to track, as you can imagine. -- Stand Up for the Truth

As Christ prophesied, the gates of hell will not prevail against [his church].'

The culture may be going pagan, but the real church (not any denomination) is still going strong.

Mike Konrad is the pen name of an American who wishes he had availed himself more fully of the opportunity to learn Spanish in high school, lo those many decades ago. He writes on the Arabs of South America at http://latinarabia.com. He also just started a website about small computers at http://minireplacement.com.
For the past five weeks, Fox News conservative host and rising star Eric Bolling had been left to twist in the wind. On August 4, a 900-word anonymously sourced HuffPost article by a former Democrat party fundraiser-turned-journalist alleged that Bolling had sexually harassed three female co-workers by sending them a lewd text message several years earlier. The next day, Bolling was suspended by the channel pending an internal investigation. On Friday, September 8, it became known that he and Fox News had agreed to part ways amicably, according to a statement attributed to Fox News and widely reported in the media. (Bolling and his attorneys, who have consistently professed his innocence and filed a $50 million defamation lawsuit against the HuffPost writer, had no immediate comment.)

Fox News also announced on Friday that the program Bolling formerly co-hosted at 5 P.M. E.T., The Fox News Specialists, has been canceled effective immediately. Its final episode aired on Thursday. The hour long shows replacement starting next Monday will be a news hour with rotating hosts.

An episode of The Specialists: L. to R. Erin McPike (guest), co-hosts Eboni Williams, Eric Bolling and Kat Timpf, Jessica Tarlov (guest)

Down the Memory Hole: Fox News Specialists Web site Friday Sept. 8, 2017

A visit to the Specialist programs website (the URL has since been deleted) at Fox News dot com on Friday afternoon displayed a simple white page titled Gone. The two lines of text read The requested resource. . . is no longer available on this server and there is no forwarding address. Please remove all references to this resource. By Saturday September 9, the URL redirected to a page of Fox News Shows which did not yet include anything in the 5 oclock hour vacated by The Specialists.

Charles V. Payne

Meanwhile, in the midst of this miasma, there was a tweet on Friday from conservative financial analyst Charles V. Payne with some good news for his fans.

I'm back hosting Making Money w/ Charles Payne tonight on @FoxBusiness helping Americans take control of their financial destiny.  Charles V Payne (@cvpayne) September 8, 2017

Payne was a frequent guest and substitute host on the Fox News Channel who had his own popular show since 2014 on the Fox Business Network. Payne had also been suspended by Fox and off the air since July 6 when the National Enquirer published a story alleging that he had sexually harassed a female on-air contributor for three years.

Payne has maintained his innocence from the outset and Foxs internal investigation apparently cleared him of any wrongdoing since, as he tweeted, he was resuming hosting his FBN show starting on Friday evening.

These and other developments involving Bolling, the cancellation of The Specialists, and Payne raise more questions than they answer.

Whats going on here?

The context to keep in mind is the chaos that has consumed Fox News during the past year, kicked off by allegations of sexual harassment by former program host Gretchen Carlson. Carlsons lawsuit in July 2016, which was later settled for $20 million, opened the floodgates for a raft of similar complaints and lawsuits by a number of female Fox staffers, who worked both on- and off-camera. A domino effect resulted in the ouster of Fox News co-founder Roger Ailes (who has since passed away), FNCs #1 host Bill OReilly, several other FNC executives, and now Eric Bolling. Payne is the only individual accused of sexual harassment or impropriety who has been allowed to return to his job.

Its interesting, of course, that this news about a significant shake-up at Fox News was dropped quietly on a Friday as most of the nations and the medias attention was being focused on the looming weather apocalypse courtesy of Hurricane Irma that is about to hit Florida. Fox News offered no information beyond the brief formal notice that Bolling and The Specialists were gone. Paynes tweet was apparently the only source about his return to Fox.

Eric Bolling

Its also curious that Fox News apparently tried to make the lead of the story dropped on Friday the fact that The Specialists  described in most media accounts courtesy of Fox News as Bollings show  was being canceled. First off, the program, which premiered on May 1, was never Bollings show. He was one of three co-hosts, including rising star Eboni Williams, who played a prominent role when Bolling was on the program and who clearly took the lead after his suspension. (Fox let it be known that Williams, and the shows third co-host Kat Timpf, would continue at Fox News as contributors and, presumably in Williamss case, as a future marquee talent with the potential of hosting her own show.)

Although it was widely considered to be a weak and ill-considered program, The Specialists was surprisingly holding its own in the ratings, both with and without Bolling. It usually won its time slot at 5 P.M. in both total viewers and the all-important younger viewer demographic against the weak competition on MSNBC and CNN. So why would it be canceled now?

The Most Likely Answer: As it was widely reported on August 15, the Fox News Channel prime time line up is about to undergo a major shake-up, with the under-performing show The Five (unwisely moved to 9 P.M. E.T. on May 1) set to return before long to its original 5 P.M. time slot, lately occupied by The Specialists. The cancellation of the latter show on Friday September 8, and associating its demise with Bollings, conveniently sets the stage for that to happen. In other words, the ouster of Bolling appears to provide cover for getting rid of The Specialists by associating it with Bollings ouster  even though Bolling had already been expunged from The Specialists. Not coincidentally, liberating Eboni Williams from The Specialists which was going nowhere fast (in terms of its potential for growth and approval by television critics) frees her up for a more prominent, cable news star role in the future, possibly hosting her own show in prime time, especially as Fox News continues its slow but unmistakable drift to the left.

Back on August 16, I reported here that a high level source at Fox News assured me that the new fall prime time schedule at Fox News after Labor Day would see Tucker Carlson remain at 8 P.M., Sean Hannity move to 9 (challenging Rachel Maddow in her #1 show on MSNBC), and (most likely) Laura Ingraham in a new show at 10. On September 8, this same source, in the wake of Bollings departure and the cancellation of The Specialists, assured me that although Nothing is 100%. It will be what I told you, meaning the schedule previously described and reported by me on August 16 will eventually happen.

Peter Barry Chowka is a widely published author and journalist. He writes most frequently these days for American Thinker. His website is AltMedNews.net. Follow Peter on Twitter.
The recent effort to reform the Polish judiciary has come under fire as an assault on democracy and is loudly condemned by the Western media. In the campaign against the reforms, no arguments for reforms were presented and no serious discussion of the root causes of the problem emerged. Therefore, it is important to consider all viewpoints.

First, it shall be noted that the Polish judiciary to this day operates under the cloud of Stalinism. Not only its structure derives from those dark days but also the majority of people administering justice have close ties to Stalinist elites, their heirs, and collaborators. The allegedly independent Poland since 1989 has been unable to assure accountability for communist crimes. To this day, successors of Stalinism and Martial Law control the Polish judiciary.

People who are quick to condemn the Polish undemocratic reforms should study the case of Adam Slomka, an activist of the Solidarity Movement first persecuted by the Martial Law judges, and next persecuted in the post-1989 Poland by the same judges for demanding justice for Martial Law crimes. His story explains why restorative justice must be implemented in Poland. After all, about seven hundred judges and one thousand prosecutors of the Jaruzelski junta to this day administer justice in Poland.

The first ever serious attempt to reform the judiciary in order to assure basic sense of justice was undertaken only in July 2017 by the government of Prime Minister Beata Szydo with the strong support from the public. The proposed legislation met European standards and did not violate the Polish Constitution. However, it met with robust organized resistance instigated by Martial Law security forces. The protests ultimately forced President Andrzej Duda to veto two out of three judiciary reform bills that passed the Parliament.

The Supreme Court made particularly egregious contribution to the destruction of any sense of justice in Poland, both in terms of human suffering and economic injustice by blocking the lustration process and shielding judges and prosecutors from the Stalinist period and their Martial Law successors, from facing justice. Portraits of Stalinist judges who committed serious crimes against humanity are on display in the hallways of the Supreme Court for their successors to follow, and they do. They protect interests of their clique at the expense of the people.

Today, former KGB-trained intelligence officers fight against judiciary reform by launching a massive disinformation campaign against the reform of the court system, their last vestige of power. With media support, they led street protests under the slogan of defending democracy. Professional provocateurs, agents from defunct communist intelligence services, and activists from NGOs linked to Moscow, openly called for the overthrow of the democratically-elected government of Prime Minister Szydo, and made death threats against chairman of the governing Law and Justice Party (L&J) Jarosaw Kaczynski. They appealed to the public to defend their freedoms allegedly endangered by Kaczynski, the greatest adversary of the former communists. Kaczynski never bowed to the Soviet power and never opted for collaboration. He symbolizes the iron will to eradicate communism with all its vestiges and derivatives, and restore elementary sense of justice in the deeply harmed Polish society.

The 2015 elections gave the absolute majority to the non-communists for the first time since WWII. In accordance with their electoral mandate, the L&J shakes up the 80-year-old power structure and pursues greatly overdue restorative justice. The reform of the judiciary should have been implemented back in the early 90s. Unfortunately, because of the 1989 pact with the Walesa faction of the Solidarity, the communists blocked necessary reforms and assured themselves full impunity for the next quarter-century.

The contribution of the justice system to injustice that burdens the Polish society is enormous. For the past 80 years, courts have been dividing the Polish people between those who have rights and those who dont. Those who fought against Soviet oppression did not have any rights before the communist courts. This rule also applied to their families and descendants for decades afterward. Such attitudes were never eradicated and breed grave injustice to this day.

Military prosecutors linked to communist intelligence services oversaw the first investigation of the 2010 Smolensk crash that killed President Lech Kaczynski. The same prosecutors who in 1981 persecuted Solidarity in the name of brotherly alliance with the Soviet Union controlled the investigation of the 2010 Smolensk crash. It was not until 2016 that these Martial Law criminals were finally demoted by the government of Prime Minister Szydo. Their salaries of about 20,000 PZL went down to the average salary of about 2,000 PZL.

In response, they called on the public to disobey the rule of law. With massive backing from the media, the post-communists attempted to block by force the legislative process in the parliament. They terrorized and threaten elected officials, disseminated guidelines how to overthrow the government, attacked individual member of the governing party and their families. They act with impunity knowing that their media and courts will protect them.

The Polish judiciary is so dysfunctional that in defending its vested interests it encourages disobedience and violation of law. Judges lead anti-government protests while the courts protect criminals and punish law enforcement officers who bring criminals to justice. All major crimes, assassinations, and scandals that have been rocking Poland for the past decades, such as the Marshalls Affair, Amber Gold, Sowa and Friends, Warsaw Reprivatization, OFE, FOZZ, etc., were covered up and blocked by the compromised judiciary.

Recent protests in defense of democracy are instigated by former apparatchiks of the deadly Jaruzelski regime, including members of the Martial Law security apparatus, who never faced justice for their crimes. They use terror against the democratically elected government to assure themselves further impunity. In a bizarre twist of history, the West hands them the heros welcome while the East rejoices.
Some well-known conservatives are worried that President Trump is flipping on major issues:

1. General McMaster has fired all the publicly known foreign policy conservatives from the National Security Council.

2. Trump finally called Jihad accurately, reversing decades of pussyfooting lies; but now McMaster is going back to Jihadophile rhetoric.

3. Nuclear martyrdom regimes like North Korea and Iran are getting ever closer to Armageddon, and Trump seems to be helpless.

4. Israel and India are both historically threatened by Jihad, and are now alleged to be on the outs in the Trump White House.

5. Is he a Republican or not? By coming to an agreement with the Democrats in Congress, Trump seems to be switching party labels.

I can't read Trump's mind, but on policy questions we know he has been saying pretty much the same things for decades. So, his true beliefs probably haven't changed in just 230 days as POTUS. People who keep saying the same thing for 20 years don't flip on a dime.

So, what is he doing?

My guess is that this is the Great Trump Wiggle, and no, he hasn't put McMaster in charge of his mind.

Why wiggle? Because by now Trump has been assailed on the Media-Left for so long, that he's publicly flipping to give out Good Guy signals to the moral retards of the left. His own ideological supporters have also hemmed him in. When Trump feels stuck that way, he seems to like to do a double backwards somersault, and then see where the other pieces are falling.

If that's true, we are seeing a big tactical move, but not necessarily a strategic change. The long term objectives remain the same. We always have to remember that he's a businessman, and such people are pragmatic in their tactics. If one approach doesn't work, you try another one.

Plus, Trump has his early military school training and loves George Patton, who always pulled surprises when the enemy thought he was stuck. Having had two fabulously successful careers in hotly competitive businesses, this isn't the first time Trump has felt hemmed in by friends and enemies.

We also have to remember that Trump always plays a double game: One to capture the 24-hour news headlines, and one for real. Melania's high heels set liberal women and fashionistas into a stuttering uproar earlier this week. Meanwhile he was planning a move on DACA.

He does these things very fast, very flexibly, very unpredictably.

Notice how the leftomedia have suddenly calmed down after the Schumer deal? That move put the cowardly Republicans in Congress on notice: They don't have a strangle-hold on Trump.

On McMaster supposedly purging all the hawks on foreign policy, you have to remember that Bannon and Gorka are only one phone call away. They've supposedly been tossed out of the White House, but nobody knows the phone calls going on behind the scenes.

Sundance has made a brilliant case for Trump's strategic move on oil prices. After decades of eco-mongers sabotaging US energy production, Trump has flipped the anti-energy strategy on its head. Ecofanatics essentially made the United States dependent on the Saudis, and put the Kingdom in control of oil prices. Today, domestic production has roared back, and the world price is therefore dropping.

This threatens:

1. The Gulf states, including the Saudis and Iran.

2. Russia, a major natural gas exporter.

One result of accelerating US energy production was Trump's very successful wedge between the Sunni oil powers plus Israel (which is needed by the Arabs for military tech and intel, against the new Axis of Evil, which would be the Norks and Iran (which always secretly cooperate on missile and nuke development). China has been outed to the world as Kim III's enabler, and Trump is calling China's bluff.

If China turns against Kim, they can apply painful pressure on North Korea's nuclear program, which also deals a blow to the Mullahs of Iran. Both of those thug regimes are rushing to nukes and ICBMs, and the Democrats have kicked that smoking hand grenade down the road ever since Jimmuh Cottuh. Now Trump is holding the nuclear hot potato, and he is fielding maximum military threats against Pyongyang together with actual economic leverage through the price of oil, which the United States can now influence.

On the Jihad War against the West, you might remember that Obama, Bush I and II, and Bill Clinton never let the word "Jihad" pass their lips. They just paid blackmail, in one way or another. They looked helpless, and all the wolf-packs around the world were circling and drooling.

Which is why Trump's first strategic move was to rebuild US power, with re-industrialization, border enforcement, energy, and visible military shows of power.

With crazy-looking nuke regimes, you never know if they're faking it, and that's their strategy. So, Kim III has regular photo ops with scary missiles and big bombs. Kim could in fact attack us, now that the Norks have simply screwed us on their nuclear "treaty," negotiated by Maddy Albright under Clinton.

If Kim III attacks us, we have only a few options. Anti-missile systems are reasonably useful, but they can be overwhelmed by multiple simultaneous attacks. We therefore have to turn all the possible launch sites into smoking ash as soon as we are sure an attack is on the way. If any ICBMs are still launched against us, we only have minutes to destroy them in the (slower) launch phase, in mid-flight going out of (or into) the atmosphere, and near the targets.

This is the most frightening crisis since JFK and Khruschev's Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. But there are a few things to remember. One of them is that South Korea and Japan are much better armed than they let on. If Kim launches, he will be dead with seconds. Japan and South Korea also have US anti-missile systems and Aegis cruisers. So, there are a number of anti-missile attack points, as close to the likely flight path as possible.

A second major point is that Russia and China are just as vulnerable to North Korean missiles as Japan and Hawaii. Putin talks big, but he can't be happy to have crazy-talking folks with nukes within range of Vladivostok.

The Iranians could simultaneously attack Israel and its Sunni enemies, just as WWII Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in support of Hitler's armies in 1942. That may be why Trump just sold another enormous array of military hardware to the Saudis, who are tacitly cooperating with Israel on mutual defense, along with the other Sunni Gulf States. Together, the Sunni states and Israel have first-rate intelligence on the mullahs.

The rational bet is that this crisis is a major bluff from Kim, but that China and Russia will pull the leash on North Korea and Iran before putting themselves in danger. As Sundance points out, the strategic field has already been set by Trump's domestic energy expansion.

Lower oil prices put tremendous pressure on the producers. A real assault would also destabilize world currencies. China's economy is tasting the early fruits of prosperity, and it is not going to relish a return to misery and famine that would inevitably follow a conflict.

We are seeing a very, very nasty and dangerous crisis, no question about it.

The only good thing is that Obama, Hillary, Bill, and Jimmah are not in charge.
The violence in Charlottesville on August 12 has been used to promote the lefts box of political chocolates: Republicans are addicted to racism. President Trumps ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals on the heels of Charlottesville . . . is [a] signal[] to champions of hate and bigotry that their voices matter most. It is cause to end President Trumps voter fraud commission. Defund the Jefferson Memorial. Ban open carry of firearms. Attack free speech. Redouble Linda Sarsours Womens March activism. Rename New Yorks Trump Park.

Charlottesville became a rallying cry for Democrats and social justice warriors. This helps explain the false narrative about Charlottesville promoted by the liberal news media.

At his August 22 rally in Phoenix, President Trump did his best (and funniest) New York, street-talking, blue collar verbal dismembering of the increasingly of out-of-touch, ideologically blinded elitists in the liberal news media. He lambasted the fake news reporting about his comments that both sides were responsible for violence in Charlottesville earlier that month.

Trump knew Americans outside the liberal political establishment bubble would understand exactly what he was saying as he goaded the hopelessly deranged and dishonest liberal news media.

The liberal news media took the bait and fell hard over that speech. CNNs Don Lemon seemed to fight back a fit of weepish emotions by first insisting Trumps criticisms of the press had nothing to do with Lemons upcoming smug and melodramatic response about an unhinged president. CNNs Eric Bradner, pushing the narrative that Trump is mentally unstable, called the speech a 77-minute presidential therapy session in front of thousands of supporters.

Then came news reported on August 29 by Josh Meyer at Politico that the Department of Homeland Security warned Charlottesville and Virginia officials three days before the tragic events of August 12 that leftwing antifa and white supremacists were preparing for violence at their competing protests, and that it would likely be the worst clash to date between these two groups of maladjusted reprobates.

In other words, Trump was not only right after-the-fact about Charlottesville, but the violence from both sides was predicted, and city and state officials were warned about it. It has been over a week since the news about this DHS warning broke, but The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, and the major networks and liberal news media have ignored it.

At least one protester injured that day has filed suit against the city and state police chiefs for allegedly issuing a stand-down order that allowed the violence to escalate. There is a clear case of negligence by public safety officials for failing to take basic security precautions and snuff out violence early in the protests, which led to escalation and tragedy.

The lawsuit, however, is the work of liberal social justice warriors, blaming only the police chiefs, ignoring the role of the violent left that day and in events leading up to it, and failing to mention Governor Terry McAuliffe and his administrations clear role in preparations for the security of events that day. Objective lawyers would have sued the deep-pocket Commonwealth of Virginia, especially given McAuliffes official press release the day of the violence saying, In the days and weeks leading up to this event, my Administration engaged in extensive planning and preparation to ensure that the rally in Charlottesville could be held in a safe and lawful environment.

Thats gold for plaintiff attorneys.

What this SJW lawsuit does to protect Democrat political officials by omission is startling. The Charlottesville police chief, after all, seemed to handle a July 8 protest by the KKK in textbook fashion. He was later criticized by city social justice warriors, however, because his department only arrested violent antifa counter-protesters but no KKK members at the July event.

In other words, the chiefs good law enforcement in July wasnt politically correct enough for his leftwing critics. The disengagement of the police at the deadly August 12 protest noted by multiple witnesses -- including the ACLU of Virginia, and the subsequent spread of violence, seem rather clearly to have been the result of political pressures from the left.

But that never fitted the SJWs or liberal news medias dishonest narratives.

The tragic events gave the ambitious Governor McAuliffe a national platform, and left-wingers could point a finger at white supremacists, giving cover to their violent, strong-arm allies in antifa. Certainly, the August 12 Charlottesville events provided better ratings for the news media than the July 8 arrests of over 20 leftwing antifa protestors. Adding to the appearance of a whitewash, the City of Charlottesville hired their own investigator, a Democrat and Obama-appointee former U.S. Attorney who happens to be a donor to the citys mayor. The events leading up to Charlottesvilles violence require a Department of Justice investigation instead

As everyone outside the liberal establishment bubble had already gathered, however, Trump was right all along about Charlottesville. Don Lemon and nearly everyone else in the liberal news media except Politico have been AWOL in reporting about this DHS warning to Charlottesville and Virginia officials. The DHS warning devastatingly crushes their false narrative about Charlottesville, Trumps comments, and, well, conservatives who believed Trump and were therefore considered racists.

The liberal news medias refusal to acknowledge the role of leftwing politics and the thuggish antifa in the Charlottesville violence then took another hit in a second piece by Josh Meyer at Politico on September 1, that in 2016 the Obama DHS classified antifa as a domestic terrorist organization.

Quoting a senior law enforcement official tracking domestic extremists, Meyer writes, These antifa guys were showing up with weapons, shields and bike helmets and just beating the sh** out of people.  Theyre using Molotov cocktails, theyre starting fires, theyre throwing bombs and smashing windows.

As repulsive as the white supremacist message is, it appears their additional arming in preparation for their Charlottesville protest was in response to the known and expected violence of the leftwing antifa. Meyers report continues, Almost immediately, the right-wing targets of the antifa attacks began fighting back, bringing more and larger weapons and launching unprovoked attacks of their own, the documents and interviews show.

In describing how the law can be so stubborn that it reaches sometimes foolish results, Charles Dickens used the character Mr. Bumble in Oliver Twist to say that "the law is a ass - a idiot."

Not that many Americans didnt already know the mulishly stubborn and foolish ways of the liberal news media, but Charlottesville has proven these ideological purveyors of propaganda, with their constant false narratives and refusals to be fair, to be an even bigger ass than we thought.
In 1936, Winston Churchill said of the British Conservative Party, So they go on in strange paradox, decided only to be undecided, resolved to be irresolute, adamant for drift, solid for fluidity, all-powerful to be impotent. 

Churchills statement applies just as appropriately to the Republican Party in 2017 America as it did the Conservatives of the 30s. The Conservative Party in Britain sat idly by while the Nazis rearmed and prepared for war. In much the same way, the Republican Party has remained useless in slowing the rise of a ubiquitous, debt-ridden federal government. This Republican Party told voters if they won the House in 2010 they would effectively control the powers of the purse, stopping ObamaCare dead in its tracks. After winning a House majority, Republican leaders excoriated Ted Cruz over his 21-hour filibuster-style speech attempting to persuade the GOP to strip ObamaCare of funding through House legislation. Mitch McConnell explained that it was better strategically to wait until Republicans won the Senate then they would remove every root and branch of ObamaCare. Soon after winning the Senate, Republicans explained that President Obama would simply veto any legislation passed, so to effectively eliminate ObamaCare the Republicans needed control of the executive branch also. Now that same party has control over all three branches of the federal government and its messages is. We need more Republicans in elected office so that we can repeal ObamaCare. While Republicans have a litany of excuses for their utter incompetence, a closer look reveals these excuses to be a dishonest cover for a more pernicious explanation for their inadequacy.

Democrats and the media express the need for bipartisanship. The Republicans love using this belief in compromise to excuse their failure to accomplish their conservative agenda. Republicans tell us they are trying to compromise with the Democrats, and that takes time. Republicans tell us that this is how D.C. works. There are two major problems with this line of reasoning. First, this political adage is only used when the Republicans are in the majority. How many times did the mainstream media use the term bipartisanship when the Democrats controlled the Presidency, Senate, and House? How many commentators excoriated the Democrats for passing ObamaCare without a single Republican vote? Second, bipartisan solutions in recent history have all meant the same result would occur: the Democrats get 75% of what they want, the Republicans get none of what they want, and we are told conservatives should be happy that Democrats didn't get 100% of what they wanted. At present the bipartisan bills being discussed are bills concerning net neutrality, increased infrastructure spending, and a bill to strip President Trump of part of his executive powers concerning the current special counsel investigation. It is difficult to see how any of these bills further any aspect of a conservative agenda. The only time in recent memory that Republicans successfully negotiated any cuts in spending in a bipartisan agreement was in the sequestration agreement, and those cuts affected one of the areas of the federal government that is actually completely constitutional and necessary: defense. When was the last time a compromise was struck where the parties agreed to cut 50% of an agencys budget instead of 60%? That's a compromise that conservatives could live with because that agreement would further their agenda to shrink the size of government, but this kind of agreement seems to be a fantasy. The only compromises we have seen of late are ones that further the lefts agenda.

Some have argued that the Republicans are simply incompetent. They want to accomplish the promises they campaigned on, but they are simply too inept to complete the task. After all, they are up against a morally bankrupt party who will do anything to slow their agenda. Republicans must also deal with a media that opposes them from the outset. While true, these factors do not explain why, now that the GOP has control of both houses and the Presidency, it is still unable to bring about conservative reforms. At this point the party is out of excuses. Now the sound logic of Occams razor can't be denied. The most simple, therefore most logical, explanation as to why the Republicans do not bring about the conservative agenda they promise can only be one thing: they never had any intention of bringing about any of those promises.

What can be done to restore the GOP to a party with conservative ideals? Grassroots conservatives must pressure the Republicans in office to keep their campaign promises. Push them to follow the lead of Ronald Reagan in the 1980s and Newt Gingrich's Contract for America in the 1990s, and prove to the American people that the Republican Party believes in the principles it espouses. President Reagan was able to open up the private sector to produce 16 million new jobs through tax cuts, deregulation, and the shrinking of government spending. The Contract with America not only made clear to voters what the principles of the Republicans were, it also displayed the partys ability to fulfill its promises. The Contract presented to voters a clear vision, and exhibited Republicans seriousness by laying out specifics, that once elected, they could be held accountable.

Conservatives must pressure the party to remove Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan, and any of their close associates from any leadership position and replace them with true conservative leaders. The GOP leadership has continuously blocked conservative measures from moving to the floor. Ted Cruz or Mike Lee should replace McConnell as Senate Majority Leader and Mark Meadows or Jim Jordan should replace Paul Ryan as Speaker of the House. A popular phrase used in the Reagan administration was personnel is policy. Reagans staff used this phrase as a justification for removing the holdovers from the Carter Presidency. As long as members of Carters staff were still serving, they would obviously continue to pursue the Carter administrations policy. If establishment Republicans continue to serve in leadership positions there is no reason to believe that there will be any significant changes in policy.

Conservatives must be more involved in the primary process. This is where a considerable impact can be made. Principled candidates must make it to the general election or else there is no real opportunity for change. Bold conservative candidates like Roy Moore in Alabama and Jarrin Jackson in Oklahoma need grassroots support. The Freedom Caucus, with around 40 dues-paying members, was able to play a major role pushing for a bill that would actually repeal ObamaCare. Even though they were unsuccessful in getting a bill passed, they were a focal point of the negotiations, providing an example of how influential a conservative caucus can be. Could you imagine the effect a Senate with 15 Mike Lees or a House with a freedom caucus of 100 solid constitutional conservatives would have on legislation?

The Republican Party must quickly embrace the values for which they advocated and fulfill their campaign promises. Republicans must produce free market healthcare reforms that lower the cost of health care and provide an array of insurance options for the American people. Daniel Horowitz has put together 20 ideas to cure Americas healthcare crisis that conservatives have promulgated for years. Most significantly, they must start by repealing ObamaCare. The grassroots groups that have made possible GOP victories will eventually find a more loyal party to support in the future, or, at minimum, a party that will not lie to them about its central pledge for eight years. More importantly, as the government continues to devour what is left of a free-market health care system, the country may finally reach a point beyond which it can recover. If the Democrats are able to bring about a single-payer healthcare system, it would seem an insurmountable obstacle for conservatives to overcome. These are pivotal years for the conservative movement.

Churchill referred to 1934-35 as the Locust Years because those were crucial years that should have been spent preparing for war and instead they were eaten up without any result. What do we have to show for electing a Republican House, a Republican Senate, and a Republican President? Will 2017-2018 be the years the locusts have eaten?
The BBC boldly explores the topic of menstruations impact on women with demanding jobs, in an article titled, Can period leave ever work?

Menstrual leave, a policy that affords women suffering extreme period pain one or two days off work, already exists in several countries around the world, but has been widely criticised as counterproductive, often reinforcing negative stereotypes of female workers. In some Asian countries, including Japan, Indonesia, Taiwan, South Korea and certain Chinese provinces, women are allowed to stay home for a designated part of their monthly periods. Few take advantage of it, though, many citing fear of sexual harassment or perceptions of weakness. And when the Italian parliament considered introducing national period leave in March, many wondered whether eligibility for three paid days a month off risked discouraging employers from hiring women in the first place.

Its a dilemma for progressives, isnt it?

On the one hand, the view that period leave is just basic human rights  that a standard biological process should never be shameful. On the other hand, the dogma is that women can do anything men can do. Period. (pardon the pun).

Now, try to hold these ideas simultaneously and you end up with cognitive dissonance.

As a friend puts it:

So, the argument is/will be that women can do all the things men can do except when they cant. Maybe someone will explain how this movement for menstruation leave from work comports with the idea of women combat soldiers, sailors and pilots. Not to mention pre-menopausal presidents.

"President Harris, will not be available the following days.
Back in April, House Republicans asked the Justice Department to take a fresh look at the possibility of indicting former IRS official Lois Lerner for her role in the targeting scandal.

Yesterday, DoJ informed the House that they determined that reopening the criminal investigation into Lerner's actions would not be "appropriate."

Washington Examiner:

"[T]he Department determined that reopening the criminal investigation would not be appropriate based on the available evidence," Assistant Attorney General Stephen Boyd wrote in a letter to Kevin Brady, the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. Brady called that a "terrible decision" that suggested political appointees are not held accountable under the law. "I have the utmost respect for Attorney General [Jeff] Sessions, but I'm troubled by his Department's lack of action to fully respond to our request and deliver accountability," the Texas lawmaker said in a statement. Peter Roskam, the Illinois chairman of the tax subcommittee, also criticized the decision, terming it "a miscarriage of justice." Previously, the lawmakers had suggested that the Obama Department of Justice had declined to prosecute Lerner in 2015 because it was taking political cues from Obama. In 2014, their committee had voted to refer Lerner to the Justice Department for prosecution for her role in the targeting scandal. From 2010 to 2012, Lerner led the division of the IRS that subjected some nonprofit organizations, including Tea Party and conservative groups, to added scrutiny when they applied for tax-exempt status, a controversy that she acknowledged in response to a planted question at an event in 2013. Brady's panel concluded that Lerner influenced the division to target right-leaning groups. Boyd wrote Friday that the department "carefully reviewed" its original 2015 decision not to prosecute, and had new attorneys independently review the investigation. He said that to convict Lerner, it would be necessary to prove that she intentionally discriminated against the groups based on their political views.

The IRS defense is absurd. They claim that overzealous minor bureaucrats in the Cincinnati office were solely responsible for hundreds of conservative groups being investigated. They weren't "targeted" at all, says the IRS.

But without evidence of "intent," it becomes impossible to prove that Lerner was criminally liable in a court of law. Of course, it would have been helpful - if not decisive - if the IRS hadn't destroyed thousands of emails and dozens of computer hard drives. But there, too, the IRS is claiming it made an innocent mistake.

If this proves to be too much for you and I to believe, we're not alone. But the difference between identifying an obvious pattern of illegal behavior and proving the malevolent intent of the agency in a court of law is the difference between bringing Lerner to justice and allowing her to get away with it.

A completely unsatisfactory state of affairs.
Since its foundation, by Ayatollah Rouhollah Khomeini, the regime of Iran has succeeded in maintaining its absolute power through the massive use of torture and executions of its citizens. They are now trying to cover up their crimes.

The ugly reality is that thousands of Iranians were sent to the gallows and torture chambers for absurd and preposterous charges of enmity against God or spying for external powers. In the 1980s, thousands of educated youth of Iran, who had been sympathetic to the opposition groups, were executed by the mullahs. In summer of 1988 alone, based on the decree of Khomeini, 30,000 political prisoners, most of whom were members or supporters of the Mujahedin (PMOI or MeK), were executed.

Four decades of savage suppression by the mullahs has frustrated Iran's people who now look for any opportunity to show their abhorrence for the government. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, President Hassan Rouhani and other Iranian officials are, more than ever, frightened of another mass uprising. According to the report from the National Council of Resistance in Iran (NCRI), Amnesty International has launched a campaign on Monday calling on the authorities of the Iranian regime to urgently stop the destruction of a mass grave in the southern city of Ahvaz.

At least a dozen political prisoners killed during a wave of mass extrajudicial executions in August and September 1988 are buried in the mass grave.

Film footage obtained by Amnesty International shows the site is gradually being buried beneath piles of construction waste after a construction near the area began earlier this year.

Bulldozing the mass grave at Ahvaz will destroy crucial forensic evidence that could be used to bring those responsible for the 1988 mass extrajudicial executions to justice. It would also deprive families of victims of their rights to truth, justice and reparation, including the right to bury their loved ones in dignity. By joining Amnesty Internationals campaign, people can help to press Irans authorities to stop the imminent destruction of the site, said Philip Luther, Amnesty Internationals Research and Advocacy Director for the Middle East and North Africa. He added: Instead of desecrating the mass grave with piles of rubbish and waste and further tormenting families, who face repression for their efforts to protect the memory of their loved ones, the authorities should be upholding their duty to preserve all Irans mass grave sites so that investigations can be carried out into the 1988 extrajudicial executions and other mass killings.

Amnesty International is calling on people to join the campaign by promoting the hashtag #MassGraves88 on social media.

The Iranian regime executed more than 30,000 political prisoners, the overwhelming majority of whom were activists of the Peoples Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), upon a direct fatwa by Khomeini in July 1988.



The victims were buried in secret mass graves. The 1988 massacre was described as the worst crime in the history of the Islamic Republic by the late Hossein-Ali Montazeri, the heir apparent of Khomeini, the founder of the regime, at the time.

Many perpetuators of this crime currently hold high positions within the regime.

Hassan Rouhani, the president of the Iranian regime and many of his cabinets principal figures held positions of influence in the summer of 1988 and were well aware of the massacre. Some were prominent participants in it, and indeed Rouhanis first-term Justice Minister, Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi, was one of four members of the Tehran death commission.

Last month Pour-Mohammadi was replaced by Alireza Avaie. He filled a similar role on the death commission in Khuzestan Province, the same province in which a mass grave is being destroyed.

A few days after the replacement, upon an order by Ali Khamenei, Pour-Mohammadi was appointed as an advisor to head of the Iranian regimes judiciary Sadegh Larijani.

Hassan Mahmoudi is a human rights advocate, specializing in political and economic issues relating to Iran and the Middle East. @hassan_mahmou1
Zambia launches the construction of a China-funded mega-road project on September 8, 2017. [File Photo: sohu.com]

Zambia on Friday launched construction of a China-funded mega-road project that connects the southern and central parts of the country to the mining towns in the Copperbelt province.

The construction of the 321-kilometer Lusaka-Ndola dual carriageway, including the bypass roads in Kabwe and Kapiri Mposhi, and 45 kilometers of the Luanshya-Fisenge-Masangano Road will be done by China Jiangxi Corporation for International Economic and Technical Cooperation (CJIC) at a cost of 1.2 billion U.S. dollars, a loan from China's Exim Bank.

The road, to be constructed in four years, will create over 3,000 jobs for local people.

Zambian President Edgar Lungu, in remarks delivered during the launch of commissioning works in central Zambia's Chisamba district, said the project will present one of the modern symbols of the friendship between Zambia and China after the Tanzania-Zambia Railway line constructed in the 1970s.

The Zambian leader said the construction of the road will improve the flow of traffic and drastically reduce road traffic accidents that are common on the current narrow road.

He also highlighted the economic benefits of the dual carriageway, saying it was cardinal to transiting vehicles to and from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and other countries in the southern African region.

"Increased traffic on our roads due to the booming economic activities in various sectors, especially in the mining sector, requires an appropriate response such as this one," he said.

Yang Youming, the Chinese Ambassador to Zambia, said the construction of the dual carriageway will make the country a hub of transportation in the region.

The two countries, he said, have cooperated greatly in infrastructure development over the years, adding that China will continue supporting Zambia's infrastructure improvement.

"Locating in the center of southern Africa, Zambia is poised to become a transportation hub for the region. And China is experienced in infrastructure development, leading in the world with work efficiency and project quality. I therefore see great prospect for China-Zambia cooperation in transportation infrastructure development," he said.

Xu Guojian, the president of CJIC, said that his company had attached great importance to the project and that rounds of studies have been conducted to ensure that it was perfectly done.

According to him, the company has undertaken more than 200 projects in Zambia since 1987 when it entered the market.
When is the left going to quit looking at people in exclusively political terms? Leftists' vaunted compassion toward people over profits is about to take a hit in its reaction to Hurricane Irma's hit on south Florida.

This Twitter collection of leftist tweets, cheering Hurricane Irma for harming Florida's supposedly Trump-supporting residents really shows the disgusting malice that still exists in the by-any-means-necessary crowd. Wipe out the old Trump supporters? Can't wait for Irma to smoke all them Trump supporters? Hope Irma also destroys the homes of Trump supporters? Take Trump and his supporters away? Round up all the Trump supporters and leave them directly in Hurricane Irma's path? That's their sentiment - they are literally cheering the hurricane for its vast destructive power over human life.

What it shows is that less than a year after the election, the left still hasn't gotten over it. Its post-election malevolence towards others remains as livid and lethal as it was on the day after Donald Trump was elected president.

Oh, and for their information, Florida is a purple state, not a red one and it's the bluest part of Florida that's being hit by the hurricane. In addition to being burned up with hatred, the left remains bone-stupid.
Dont you just love it when leftists respond to scandal by adopting a patronizing tone, tacitly telling critics that they are stupid? Especially when the stakes are high.

When Kris Kobach, the Secretary of State for Kansas, and Vice Chairman of the Presidential Commission on Election Integrity, revealed:

1. there were 6,540 same-day registrants who registered to vote in New Hampshire using an out-of-state drivers license to prove their identity. (snip) 2. According to New Hampshire law, a new resident has 60 days to obtain a New Hampshire drivers license. (snip) 3. So if those 6,540 voters were bona fide New Hampshire residents, they would get their drivers license no later than January 7, 2017. However, the numbers tell a very different story. It turns out that, as of August 30, 2017  nearly ten months after the election  only 1,014 of the 6,540 same-day registrants who registered with an out-of-state license had obtained a New Hampshire drivers license. The other 5,526 individuals never obtained a New Hampshire drivers license. And, of those 5,526, only 213 registered a vehicle in New Hampshire.

This demonstrates that there were more than enough suspicious same-day registrations to have swung the states electoral votes and senatorial race to Democrats. If not proof as Kobach alleges, then certainly worthy of investigation.

Christopher Ingraham, of the Washington Post, started out with a sneer in the lede when he took on Kobach.

Writing in a paid column for far-right political media website Breitbart.com

This is too easy:

Kind of like Christopher Ingraham writing a paid column for the newspapering/lobbying arm of one of the worlds three richest men?

Chris, youre better than this.

In fact, Ingraham has shown in the past that he learned from a mistake he made when sneering at the peasants in the Washington Posts Wonkblog. But the perils of sneering in the absence of an understanding of human nature are not yet obvious to him.

Ingraham became famous when, in wonkish fashion, he went by the numbers (a statistical index ranking of places in America by "six measures of climate, topography, and water area that reflect environmental qualities most people prefer") and named Red Lake County, Minnesota the absolute worst place in America.

As anyone with common sense could foresee, this set off an avalanche with far-reaching consequences. Ingraham subsequently admitted that he thought he was simply dashing off a quick story a few hundred words, a map and some charts -- standard data journalism fare  and called it a day. He had not understood human nature.

The response he got, the invitation for a visit he received, his public change of mind, and his eventual move of his family to Red Lake County, Minnesota are all recounted by the Star Tribune which calls it a story most Minnesotans have heard  and gleefully boasted about.

I have to admire a man who can take admitting a mistake to this level.

But on the New Hampshire data, instead of fraud, Ingraham posits;

there's a far simpler explanation: Most of those voters were college students from out of state, who are perfectly allowed to register and vote in New Hampshire under state law  with or without a New Hampshire driver's license. New Hampshire Public Radio did an investigation into this very question back in February. They received data on 5,903 same-day registrants with out-of-state licenses from the secretary of state's office. Over 4,000 of them resided in college towns, suggesting they were simply out-of-state college students. The remainder were spread more or less evenly across the state.

But Ingraham once again does not understand human nature.

Richard Baehr hits him with a dose of reality in an email:

This does not resolve the issue. If most of the voters with out-of-state drivers licenses were students (say 2/3), how do we know that they did not also vote in their home state, using their home address with the same state ID to vote twice?

Should we count on their honesty?

Protections to rid the rolls of those who have died or moved, or to catch double voters in two states are close to non-existent. There are many hundreds of thousands of people registered in two states.

Given the fact that college education rends to indoctrinate youngsters with moral relativism and far left ideology, honesty would not be the universal response. Since political power is lusted after by many, voluntary compliance is no safeguard at all. Especially if there is no mechanism to cross check voter registration. The lure of doubling of their voting power, especially to help in a swing state, was certainly present for residents of collge towns.

That is why we need a national database to cross check voter registrations nationally. The response to Kobachs initiative to do so has been portrayed by the MSM as overwhelmingly negative.

Forty-four states and the District of Columbia have refused to provide certain types of voter information to the Trump administration's election integrity commission, according to a CNN inquiry to all 50 states. State leaders and voting boards across the country have responded to the letter with varying degrees of cooperation -- from altogether rejecting the request to expressing eagerness to supply information that is public.

To which Kobach responded:

Responding to news reports that 44 states had declined to cooperate with the commissions request, Kobach called that figure patently false, more fake news and said 14 states and D.C. had done so, while 36 others either agreed or are considering participating, with 20 of those agreeing outright.

The breadth and intensity of the pushback is a strong indicator that elimination of fraud could cost the Democrats dearly. As with voter ID, all sorts of bogus arguments are marshaled, often resting on emotion, to oppose common sense safeguards that apply elsewhere when something of value may be obtained by fraud, unless prevented by enforcement of laws.

It's human nature, and progressives are convinced they can change it.
Senate Democrat Leader Charles E. Schumer, quoted in the New York Times, September 8, 2017 on the agreement that he and House Democrat leader Nancy Pelosi reached with President Trump to fund government spending for three months: "'It was a really good moment of some bipartisanship...'" In the next to last paragraph of the story, readers learn that Republicans proposed "an 18-month deal on government spending and the debt limit only to run into resistance from the Democrats." The article then noted that the Republicans "proposed a six-month deal as a compromise, but Democrats insisted on a three months agreement. Mt. Trump then surprised the Republicans by agreeing with the Democrats."

As of September 8th, the Times has yet to offer editorial comment on this example of "bipartisanship," leftist-style. The lead letter to the editor, September 8, on this bipartisan deal, however, from Michael Scott in San Francisco, included the following:

"While I am generally loath to say nice things about this president because his words and actions are usually beneath the dignity of the office, I have to give him credit for understanding one thing about Washington: If you want to get anything done, you have to deal with the Democrats." Isn't Mr. Scott suggesting that to get things done in Washington, the president must accept Democrat diktat?

Has President Trump concluded that the only way he can continue as president is to take orders from the left? Has the president decided that the only way to put an end to the vicious Hate Trump campaign, filled with lies about colluding with Russia, lies about his political views, mendacious aspersions about his character, demonizing him beyond all human recognition -- is to surrender policy to the left? Or is President Trump now engaged in political rope-a-dope, lulling the left to be certain that he is now their -- not Putin's -- puppet? That is to say, is Donald J. Trump now so mortally wounded a president, so weakened by the media-intelligence complex, that they no longer need to bother forcing him from office?

Stated more directly and succinctly: has the Swamp won? Are the American people to continue to suffer the "ambitious sacrifice of the many to the aggrandizement of the few"?

Or did President Trump agree to the left's demand for a three-month deal on financing government because all he needs is three months to complete the probes that will reveal the truth about RussiaGate, about illegal surveillance of American citizens by the Obama administration, about the collusion by the U.S. intelligence chiefs and major media outlets for purpose of rigging, yes, rigging the 2016 president election, thereby undermining our governing processes -- and falsely accusing foreign powers of interfering in American democracy?

To the extent that Republican denizens of the Swamp supported the fraud of RussiaGate, and, indeed, have been quick to bolster, generally, leftist attacks on the president, President Trump's "deal" with Schumer and Pelosi provided just comeuppance to the GOP's Trump-loathing establishment.

Kimberley A. Strassel, in her September 8th Wall Street Journal column raises questions as to whether the FBI, under James Comey, worked with Fusion GPS, an anti-Trump political research firm and (former/) British spy Christopher Steele "to engineer a Kremlin-planted dossier that has roiled Mr. Trump's entire presidency." May the Almighty grant that the truth about the media-intelligence anti-Trump campaign will be revealed on or before December 15, that the president's vital work of draining the Swamp is resumed to successful completion.
Republicans have struggled implementing their legislative agenda. One notable exception has been their ability to roll back expansive rules implemented under the Obama administration -- especially those rammed through at the last minute -- to relieve the economy from excessive regulatory burdens. A rule in the works on beryllium exposure in the abrasive blasting industry provides an example where an agency under President Trump has taken a step in the right direction, but could still go further.

In January, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) finalized a rule regarding beryllium exposure in certain industries. The rule drastically reduced the permissible exposure limits for workers and included ancillary provisions regulating such things as recordkeeping and personal protective equipment.

Unfortunately, the rule was vastly expanded at the last minute before being finalized. After the rule had already gone through the usual process whereby affected businesses and the public can provide feedback and input, regulators decided to target additional industries. Rather than stick to its initial goal of reducing exposure to beryllium alloys, OSHA decided that the rule also would cover abrasive blasting in the construction and shipyard industries.

Prolonged exposure to certain types of beryllium can lead to chronic beryllium disease, which affects the lungs, and elevated risks of lung cancer. But materials used in abrasive blasting, which recycles waste products like coal and copper slag from power plants and refining processes, contain only trace amounts of the mineral form of beryllium -- as much as 22,000 times less than in some beryllium alloys like those originally targeted by the rule.

To justify the expanded regulation, OSHA claimed that it would prevent 96 premature deaths each year. It provided no scientific basis for this claim. Nor could it justify its fanciful assertion that the rule would somehow conjure up $575.8 million in savings and benefits per year.

What we do know, on the other hand, is that there has been no documented case of beryllium-related illness in the abrasive blasting industry. We also know that compliance will cost businesses dearly, and that OSHA did not follow proper procedure when it roped in the abrasive blasting industry. This is why some members of Congress strenuously objected to the expanded rule, and OSHA ultimately was forced to backtrack.

OSHA just closed comments on a new rule which would partially undo its own overreach by excluding construction and shipyard industries from the ancillary regulations. This is a step in the right direction. However, it is still applying to abrasive blasting the permissible exposure limit of 0.2 micrograms per cubic feet over eight hours, down from the current level of 2.0 micrograms. This might be reasonable for industries dealing with beryllium alloys, but imposing the requirement on abrasive blasting is arbitrary and without strong scientific backing.

A number of OSHA regulations were already in existence regarding potential beryllium exposure in the construction and shipyard industries, such as standards for ventilation, respiratory protection, and hazard communication. Yet by failing to follow proper procedure with regard to these particular industries, OSHA never bothered to demonstrate that existing protections were inadequate before heaping costly new burdens on American businesses.

Thankfully, OSHA has partially reversed course. However, part of the expanded rule that was slipped by without adherence to regulatory procedure remains. The new administration can demonstrate its commitment to protecting American jobs by insisting that OSHA correct the entirety of its Obama-era mistake instead of just reversing only some of the erroneous regulations it attempted to place on industries that use abrasive blasting.

Andrew F . Quinlan is the co-founder and president of the Center for Freedom and Prosperity (@cfandp).
The Rohingya Muslims if Myanmar are being systematically driven from their homes by the Myanmar military, making them refugees in their own country.

Most human rights groups are referring to the campaign as ethnic cleansing. But it doesn't appear to matter to the US government what is happening to the Rohingyas, as the Trump administration maintains a studied indifference to what is happening there.

Washington Post:

Not wanting to undermine the Asian countrys democratic hero, the U.S. is cautiously criticizing what looks like a forced exodus of more than a quarter-million Rohingya in the last two weeks as Myanmars military responds with hammer force to insurgent attacks. But neither the Trump administration nor lawmakers are readying sanctions or levying real pressure on Aung San Suu Kyis government. And a bill making its way through Congress even talks about enhancing U.S.-Myanmar military cooperation. Further normalization of the military-to-military relationship with Burma is the last thing we should be doing right now, said Walter Lohman, Asia program director at the right-leaning Heritage Foundation. What a terrible signal to be sending. Human rights groups are equally appalled. The U.N. says 290,000 Rohingya have fled from Myanmar, the country also known as Burma, into neighboring Bangladesh since Aug. 25. It is the biggest flight of the long-suppressed minority in a generation. The Rohingya are denied citizenship in Myanmar and widely hated by majority Buddhists who regard them as illegal immigrants, although many have lived in the ethnically diverse Southeast Asian nation for generations. The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, which has previously warned of the risk of a genocide in Myanmar, says the widespread destruction of homes and villages suggests an effort to ethnically cleanse the region of its Rohingya population and to prevent their eventual return.

As with most tales of oppression, there are two sides to the story. The Rohingyas are employing terrorism to press the government for their rights. In fact, this latest round of oppressive actions by the government came after a terrorist attack on a military base.

But the disproprotionate response by the Myanmar military and a deliberate effort to sweep the country clean of Rohingyas - not to mention the innocents killed, raped, and driven out of their ancestral homes - is overkill.

What's even more troubling is the silence of former Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi. You would think a human rights activist would speak out forcefully against the abuses by the military. But she apparently is playing politics with the issue as she would become very unpopular if she spoke out on behalf of the Rohingyas.

That tragedy unfolding in Asia can be halted if the US were to exert its influence. But there appear to be larger strategic concerns on the mind of the US government, so the mass exodus will continue.
The US is ready to offer a sanctions package on North Korea that goes far beyind any other sanctions efforts previously created. The new sanctions resolution will be introduced to the UN Security Council perhaps as soon as Monday.

What makes these sanctions radically different from other attempts to rein in North Korea's missile and nuclear programs is that the United States did not consult with Russia or China in developing the package.

Fox News:

The new push could potentially cause a rift with China, North Koreas ally and trading partner, as well as with Russia. The speedy U.S. action is prompted by Washingtons concern over what North Korea leadership claims was a hydrogen bomb test last weekend, as well as its recent missile launch over Japan, several diplomats said. Britain's U.N. Ambassador Matthew Rycroft stressed that maximum possible pressure must be placed on North Korea to give diplomacy a shot at ending the ongoing crisis. Rycroft said a proposed ban on all oil imports and textile exports, as well as prohibiting North Koreans from working overseas -- which helps finance the countrys nuclear program -- was "a proportionate response" to North Korea's "illegal and reckless behavior." Under the U.S. plan, all foreign financial assets of the government and its leader, Kim Jong Un, would be frozen. The U.S. also identified nine North Korean ships that failed to comply with the previous U.N. resolutions. The U.S. proposal would authorize any U.N. member state to stop these vessels on the high seas without their consent and use "all necessary measures" -- which in U.N. language includes force -- to carry out an inspection and direct the vessel to a port. The U.S. demand for the Security Council to take swift action was viewed as a clear gauge of how seriously the Trump administration views the situation in North Korea. "My sense is they believe that they don't have time for a delicate diplomatic dance," Professor Joseph DeThomas of Pennsylvania State University, a former U.S. ambassador and State Department official who dealt with North Korea, told the Associated Press in a telephone interview Friday. "The other possibility ... is they want to see the color of China's money. "They're putting down the marker here and saying, `OK, Are you prepared to do what is necessary to put pressure on North Korea at a moment when we're simply out of time?"'

In essence, the US is telling China and Russia to put up or shut up. If China and/or Russia veto the measure, it will prove how unserious they have been about pressuring their North Korean allies to abandon their nuclear program. The time for playing the big power game is over. North Korea's nukes represent an existential threat to much of the world. If China and Russia are sincere about avoiding a ruinous war, they will get on board and either vote to support the new sanctions or abstain and allow them to pass the council.

Thankfully, the US has an excellent representative to make the case for drastic sanctions. UN Ambassador Nikii Haley has spoken clearly and forcefully before the Security Council, making a convincing case against North Korea. She has also proved adept at cajoling UN members behind the scenes. Even some liberals have offered grudging admiration for her efforts.

But it will be a tall order for Haley to convince Russia and China that these extreme sanctions are necessary to avoid war. China, especially, doesn't want war on the Korean peninsula, but have proven themselves to be unwilling to exert the kind of pressure on North Korea that would get them to change their behavior. As a matter of national policy, China does not support sanctions, so the best that Haley can hope for is to convince China not to stand in the way of the rest of the world in sanctioning North Korea.

It may be that even with these draconian new sanctions, North Korea will not yield its position. If that's the case, the US could then claim that they've tried all diplomatic routes (except a direct meeting with Kim) and there is only one alternative left.

That decision by the president will come sooner rather than later.
The South Pole has become a popular destination for Chinese tourists in recent years. During the 2016-2017 travel season, China exceeded Australia to become the second largest origin of tourists in Antarctic, following the United States. [Photo/Shanghai Daily]

With increasing numbers of Chinese tourists heading for the South Pole, China is pushing through domestic legislation on Antarctic activities to regulate related human activities and better protect the environment there, officials said on Thursday.

The domestic legislation is in urgent need and needs to be speed up, said Qin Weijia, director of the Chinese Arctic and Antarctic Administration, during the 2017 annual meeting of the Asian Forum for Polar Sciences, which was held in Shanghai.

During the 2016-2017 travel season, China exceeded Australia to become the second largest origin of tourists to Antarctica, following the United States. The travel season is usually between November and March.

A total of 5,286 Chinese tourists traveled to the South Pole during that period, accounting for 12 percent of the total number of tourists, according to the International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators.

Qin added that the total number of expedition members from Chinas state-organized Antarctic expedition was only around 5,000 during the past 30 years.

He said only four of the Antarctic Treatys 29 consultative members do not have domestic laws regarding Antarctic regulations, and that includes China. The other three are India, Poland and Ecuador.

With international regulations on the protection of the Antarctic getting increasingly detailed, Chinas domestic legislation is in urgent need, Qin said.

He added that the international rescue operation for trapped Russian vessel Akademik Shokalskiy in the Antarctic in 2013 triggered discussion on how to share rescue bills in such Antarctic rescues.

Qin said that domestic regulations would contribute to regulating coordination on related rescues if tourists encountered accidents on the South Pole.

The legislation aims to both regulate activities among ordinary residents like tourists, as well as state-organized activities on the Antarctic, Qin said.

In April, Lin Shanqing, deputy director of the State Oceanic Administration of China, also said that the national legislative body has started to pay attention to the promotion of legislation on domestic Antarctic law, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Extremely popular

Eying the booming business, travel agencies in China started offering charter cruise tours to the pole.

In November and during the Spring Festival holiday, Tongcheng, an online travel operator, organized two charter cruise trips with more than 800 tourists in total to visit the South Pole.

Taking MS Midnatsol of Hurtigruten Cruises, they visited the China Antarctic Great Wall Station, watched penguins, whales and seals, crossed Drake Passage, appreciated magnificent glaciers, and tried ice-swimming in the South Pole.

Middle-aged people and seniors were the major participants, with more than 50 percent of South Pole cruise passengers aged above 50 years of age, the travel agency said.

"Celebrating the Spring Festival in the South Pole is becoming a fresh and exciting way for Chinese to experience travel overseas, and seniors are more interested than youngsters," said Wang Kai, vice president of Tongcheng. "Visiting the South Pole and stepping onto the pure holy land is the dream of many people.

On the website, a 23-day tour including the South Pole, Falkland Islands, Chilean Fjords and Chile, setting off on December 15, is priced at 87,999 yuan per person for the cheapest suite. The cheapest 35-day itinerary is 132,999 yuan per person.

Some travel agencies offer high-end itineraries with experts specializing in ocean, wildlife and history hosting guides and in-depth exploration experiences on the pole.

They are priced from 189,000 yuan to 665,000 yuan per person minimum on HHtravel, a luxury travel operator affiliated with Ctrip.

The majority of luxury tourists are senior managers at companies and private entrepreneurs aged between 35 and 50 years old, HHtravel said.

Deng Shen, a 28-year-old professional traveler who has been to about 100 countries, was at the South Pole in January and February this year.

She did not rely on travel agencies and booked a cruise ticket to the South Pole online herself.

"A ticket can only be secured if you book it at least six months or one year in advance of your departure because of the South Pole trip boom among Chinese," she said.

Deng said tourists are required not to bring any food or beverages onto the pole, and they are also told to keep a distance from wildlife.

She said she did not see uncivilized behavior on the pole, but she heard it was chaotic when charter cruise ships arrived as many people jostled to the front. She said she heard that there were also some Chinese tourists chasing penguins.

But the South Pole is the most beautiful among all these places I have ever visited. It is heaven.
Uganda vows to attack gays with a homos-sniffing machine

The Ugandan government is on the look out for homosexuals. Helping it to detect homos and porn actors, especially those misusing applications like Whatsapp with sex acts is a gadget imported from South Korea  thats the country exporting porno fridges.

The machine was ordered last year. Its just been delivered, reportedly. But who ordered it? And does it work?

In 2016, Ugandas Red Pepper newspaper spoke with Father Simon Lokodo, the countrys Minister of Ethics and Integrity. Red Pepper is the Ugandan tabloid that in 2014 named the countrys 200 top homosexuals, a day after President Yoweri Museveni signed into law a bill toughening penalties for gays: a fine of UGX 10 million ($3000) or up to 10 years in jail, or both.

The paper has an enthusiastic interest in gay sex.

The story began with a photo of the gay-hunting politician underscored with the caption, Homos Want To Rape Me  Fr. Lokodo. Readers were told:

The amiable man of God, who quit priesthood after being appointed minister in 2011, told Red Pepper in an exclusive interview that ever since he waged a war on homosexuality, shameless homos have decided to fight back by insulting him with gay sex advances. Lokodos most recent brush with the bum-drillers happened last week when  together with police  he stormed and foiled a gay pride parade that was being planned at Kabalagala in Kampala city.

Thoughts soon turn to the gay-detecting machine. Lokodo explained his war on homosexual love:

We are going to attack and attack. I have fresh tactics. One of them is a censor gadget or machine. We are going to procure this machine and it will detect homos and porn actors especially those misusing applications like WhatsApp with sex acts. The South Koreans are programming it. And very soon we will ship it into the country and all the evil will be busted.

How the machine works, we dont know. Perhaps the machine works a bit like the mysterious E-meter, the Scientology device, which, according to that group does nothing. It is an electronic instrument that measures mental state and change of state in individuals and assists the precision and speed of auditing. But does nothing.

TechZim has a theory about the G-meter.

The machine will detect pornographic pictures, videos or graphics taken or saved on phones, computers or cameras. How does the pornography detection machine work though? This machine is not the first attempt at detecting porn on devices. There are several products already available, the Paraben Porn Detection Stick being an example. The Stick uses advanced image analysing algorithms to identify facial features, flesh tones and body parts that are potentially pornographic among other things. The Stick actually works to a certain extent. It errs on the side of over-zealousness as it flags normal photos as pornographic more frequently than the opposite. The Stick however only scans for images and not videos which are harder to scan. Ugandas machine does both, which it should at $88,000 because the Paraben Porn Detection Stick costs around $129.

Worryingly, the machine can also tap Virtual private networks (VPNS).

An interesting tidbit about the machines technology is that it can trace traffic from VPNs and proxy networks such as Tor. With such leads, they can they block the nodes routing traffic from the VPNs in question. This means that we are unlikely to see a repeat of what happened during the social media blackout that was instituted in February during election time, when VPN clients were downloaded 1.5 million times to bypass restrictions.

Heres the anti-porn committee being sworn in:

Worrying stuff.

Anorak

Posted: 9th, September 2017 | In: Key Posts, News, Politicians, Technology Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
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
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!
TarragonaThis Saturday at noon Spain's Guardia Civil raided the premises of Valls weekly newspaper El Vallenc. Four Spanish gendarmes turned up at the newspapers HQ on carrer Colom, in the southern town of Valls (Catalonia) in search of any material that might be used to hold the referendum on independence slated for October 1. They came in at about 11.30 and there are four of them. So far they havent searched the premises, they only asked to speak to the director of the newspaper, said a source from El Vallenc. The police operation is still in progress.

Outside the weeklys office, a group of about three hundred people gathered in answer to a call on Twitter by the Catalan National Assemblys local chapter in Valls. Demonstrators are shouting slogans in favour of the referendum and against the raid and are chanting: Where are the ballot slips? Oh, where could they be?, mocking the ongoing police operation.

At one point a group brought out a ballot box and cast a symbolic vote, under the watchful gaze of the Spanish gendarmes.

The raid comes less than 24 hours after the Guardia Civil eventually entered the premises of Indugraf, a print shop in Constanti where they had been monitoring the comings and goings of employees for two days. The search yielded no results because, according to company sources, they gendarmes found nothing to do with the independence vote. This Saturday Indugraf has been searched again. Company sources speaking for the Catalan News Agency confirmed that seven Guardia Civil officers raided the print shop at 12.45 looking for referendum print material. The day before they had spent two hours in the building, following instructions from Tarragonas district attorney.

Local media tip-off

Tarragonas online newspaper La Republica tipped off the Spanish authorities when it ran a story about an alleged conspiracy whereby Indugraf was allegedly printing referendum ballot slips commissioned by El Vallenc under instructions from the Valls city council, which is governed by a separatist coalition (PDeCAT and ERC). Valls Mayor Albert Batet and the publisher of El Vallenc, Francesc Fabregas, have denied the allegations.

The president of the Catalan National Assembly, Jordi Sanchez, was quick to respond on Twitter: Guardia Civil raiding El Vallencs offices. Spanish Inquisition is alive and kicking against free press. WE SHALL VOTE.

Catalan president Carles Puigdemont, also on Twitter, wrote: All my support to @elvallenc in police raid searching for trouble, not ballot slips. Our best response: to fill the streets on National Day & ballot boxes.
So far Rs 3.42 lakh crore loan has been disbursed to over 8 crore people under the scheme.

MUDRA loan is available for non-agricultural activities for up to Rs 10 lakh.

New Delhi: The Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana (PMMY), which provides access to institutional finance to small business units, has helped in creating 5.5 crore jobs with industrialised states being major beneficiaries, a report said.

Industrialised states like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra have been the biggest beneficiaries of the PMMY, it said.

The MUDRA scheme was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 8, 2015 with an objective to fund the unfunded.

So far, Rs 3.42 lakh crore loan has been disbursed to over 8 crore people under the scheme, mostly small entrepreneurs, a report by SKOCH said.

A substantial number of these people are those who were not involved in any kind of business before.

MUDRA loan is available for non-agricultural activities for up to Rs 10 lakh. Activities allied to agriculture, such as dairy, poultry, bee-keeping etc, are also covered.
BJP Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy had then called for his sacking, saying he was mentally not fully Indian.

New Delhi: With India trailing China on economic growth after demonetisation, former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan has said the government should not have done chest-thumping on being the fastest-growing economy without achieving very strong GDP expansion for 10 years.

He said India can lecture the world on things such as culture and history, but on growth, it should do that only after achieving 8-10 per cent rate for 10 years.

Dr Rajan, the only central bank governor in two decades who did not get a second term, courted controversy when in April last year he had called rising India a one-eyed king in the land of blind.

BJP Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy had then called for his sacking, saying he was mentally not fully Indian. Refusing to comment on Dr Swamys remarks, Dr Rajan said his comment was taken out of context.

Not that I was forecasting anything; I was merely saying we have to be a little cautious about being too bullish about ourselves. That remark was made in April 2016, every quarter since then, our growth has fallen. So, I would argue in hindsight, and I didnt have any reason to believe that would be the case, but caution was warranted, he maintained.

Indias GDP growth slowed to 5.7 per cent in April-June this year, down from 6.1 per cent in preceding three months. China clocked 6.5 per cent growth rate in both the quarters. He said the pace of expansion needs to pick up to eight per cent or nine per cent with higher private investment and revival in exports.

There are so many other things that we can lecture the rest of the world  cultural achievements, historical achievements etc, but on growth, let us lecture once we have achieved another 10 years of 8-10 per cent, he advised.

An 8-10 per cent growth for 10 years would be an extraordinary achievement, but that is the growth rate needed for 10 years to reach the level of middle income, he stressed. We should not go chest-thumping. I would prefer that we establish another 10 years of very strong growth of 8-10 per cent.
Prasad asked that how one could expect a fair probe when Rahul Gandhi had already accused right-wing elements for the killing.

Journalists hold placards during a protest against the killing of journalist Gauri Lankesh, who was shot dead by motorcycle-borne assailants outside her residence last night, in Bengaluru. (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: The BJP on Friday went on the offensive to counter the Opposition particularly Congress charges that right-wing elements were allegedly involved in the cold-blooded murder of senior journalist Gauri Lankesh.

Union law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad took on the Opposition charges raised by Rahul Gandhi, who has been blaming BJP and RSS for the journalists murder. While asking him to refrain from politicising the issue, he wondered how the Congress leader did not question his partys government in the state for its failure to provide security to the journalist. Mr Prasad asked that how one could expect a fair probe when Rahul Gandhi had already accused right-wing elements for the killing.

The matter also spilled over into social media. Senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh was attacked by the BJP for putting up an abusive post on Twitter against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Initially, Mr Singh had put up a Youtube video with an abusive caption against the PM. He had attributed the abusive caption of the Youtube video to a senior TV anchor. Later, Mr Singh apologised to the anchor and claimed that he had nothing to do with the absuive language used against the Prime Minister.

An angry BJP spoksperson, G.V.L. Narasimha Rao, however, lashed out at Mr Singh and said, His crass comments against the Prime Minister demonstrate the degeneration of a party that takes prides in its great legacy. These comments amount to insulting 130 crore people of India whose mandate is vested in the Prime Minister. The Congress party will have to publicly apologise for the filthy abuse of its front-ranking leaders who in the wake of repeated electoral drubbings have degenerated into abusive trolls on social media.

Mr Singh, so far did not appear to be in any mood for an apology instead hit back saying, BJP should not lecture me on moralities, it has called the slain journalist names. Mr Singh also asked what kind of cultural background the BJP leaders who had called Gandhiji a traitor come from.

The BJP also tried to counter the #BlockNarendraModi campaign on Twitter saying that He (Modi) never blocks anyone and following someone is not a character certificate. There had been allegations that the Prime Minister was following the trolls on Twitter.

Mr Prasad kept reiterating the journalists brother Indrajit Lankeshs remarks that the assassination could have been carried out by Naxalites. Flashing copies of news reports quoting Indrajit Lankesh, Mr Prasad said, Indrajit Lankesh is on record having saying that his sister was working actively to ensure the surrender of Naxalites. Was she doing it with the consent and approval of the state government? If so why was she not provided adequate security? There were rumours that Gauris estranged brother Indrajit was expected to join BJP before the Karnataka Asembly polls, which he has denied so far.

Hitting back, the Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surejwala said, The BJP and the law minister have given a controversial and a condemnable statement and shamed the entire nation by linking Gauri Lankesh with the Naxalites. Mr Surejwala also alleged that the trolls being followed by the Prime Minister had openly celebrated the murder of Gauri Lankesh on social media. Mr Surjewala who questioned the silence of the Prime Minister on the murder of Gauri Lankesh also wanted to know why he (Modi) follows the trolls.

The Congress also wanted the BJP to respond to Karnataka MLA Jeevrajs alleged remarks that Gauri Lankesh would not have been killed is she hadnt written articles against RSS

Mr Shankar also raised the issue of the killing of RSS workers in Kerala. Why is that all my liberal friends who speak so eloquently and strongly against the killing of a journalist... maintain conspicuous silence when so many RSS and BJP workers were killed in Karnataka and Kerala.
The laywer-politician was environment minister of state from 2011 to 2013.

Chennai: The Central Bureau of Investigation on Saturday evening searched the premises of former environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan in Chennai.

An FIR has also been lodged against the former minister under Section 120B Prevention of Corruption Act for abuse of "official position and criminal conspiracy".

CBI also filed an FIR against Electrosteel Casting Ltd and others under Section 120B PC Act.

The central agency is also conducting raids across Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Ranchi and Odhisha in connection to the case.

The lawyer-politician, formerly a member of the Congress Party, was thrice elected to the Rajya Sabha from Tamil Nadu.

At a press conference in January, 2015, Natarajan announced she had resigned from the Congress alleging the party machinery, led by general secretary Rahul Gandhi, had maligned her.

In a letter to party president Sonia Gandhi, she said she was being made the scapegoat for the policy paralysis in the then UPA. She said her stance on certain industrial projects  halting them  was seen as an impediment to the then governments changing attitude from pro-environment to corporate-friendly during the run-up to the 2015 general elections.

With Agency Inputs
The Pakistan forces fired small arms, automatics and mortars along Line of Control (LoC) and the Indian Army retaliated strongly.

New Delhi: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday reached Srinagar for his four-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir. He will hold talks with Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and Governor NN Vohra.

Soon after Singh arrived in Srinagar, reports emerged that Pakistan violated ceasefire in Poonch sector. The Pakistan forces fired small arms, automatics and mortars along Line of Control (LoC) and the Indian Army retaliated strongly.

In his four-day visit, the home minister is scheduled to hold talks with the officials of the state and discuss the current situation. He will meet all the stakeholders and also hold a press conference.

The home minister will also discuss the roadmap to ensure long term solutions to the problems people are facing in the valley.

The Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, in August, met Rajnath, reportedly, to drum up support for preventing attempts to remove special status to the state under the Constitution.

Mehbooba is caught in a catch-22 situation over the ongoing matter in the Supreme Court on revoking Article 35-A of the Constitution.

Rajnath Singh had earlier said that a solution to the Kashmir problem, besides terrorism, Naxalism, and the northeast insurgency, will be found before 2022.

Rajnath Singh's visit comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi from the ramparts of Red Fort said his government was committed to bring back the "lost glory" of Kashmir.
Reddy said the government had stepped up the investigation, and deputed abundant personnel to SIT.

Bengaluru: The state government announced a bounty of Rs 10 lakh for anyone who can provide vital information on the assailants who killed journalist and activist, Gauri Lankesh as the SIT probing the murder case hit a brick wall with the grainy CCTV footage proving to be of little help in identifying the gun-wielding motorbike-borne assassin or assassins.

The case, so far, is nothing but a blind murder case, the team told this newspaper.

Shifting their focus, sources close to the investigation said that the SIT team which returned to Lankeshs home to recreate the murder scene on Friday, now suspect that Lankeshs assassins may have come from outside Bengaluru and had probably holed out in one of the many lodges that dot the Bengaluru South and West divisions and may have even changed their place of residence many times over.

Since Friday morning, special teams have fanned out to check on stayers at the lodges, focusing on people staying for a longer duration as it was suspected that the killers had been following Lankesh for the last 15-20 days before they struck on Tuesday night.

We were sure to begin with that we would get clues about the killers through the CCTV footage. But, there were many white cars and scooters passing the frames. We couldnt identify Lankeshs car or the bike-borne assassins, a police source said.

We believe the assassins may be hired killers and had come to the city to execute their job 20-30 days ago, sources added.

Amid suspicions that the killers may not have checked out and had simply vanished using the road leading out of Raja Rajeshwarinagar to the Mysore highway as their getaway route, investigators are looking to see if the same names surface in the registers of different lodges, and if any of them do not show up in the check out ledgers.

Its the Right wing: Reddy

After a meeting with chief minister, Siddaramaiah, DG and IG, R.K. Dutta, SIT chief, B.K. Singh, Bengaluru city police commissioner, T. Suneel Kumar and intelligence chief, A.M. Prasad, home minister, R. Ramalinga Reddy said the SIT was expediting the investigation. We are exploring the right and left wing and other angles, the state home minister said.

Mr Reddy said the government had stepped up the investigation, and deputed abundant personnel to SIT. They are doing the job round the clock. They are collecting information from all sources, he said, adding that this included investigating threats from the left wing and the family, with importance given to the threats from right-wing activists as the case bore similarities with the killing of Dr. M. M. Kalburgis and that Lankesh openly criticised right-wing ideologies.

Sources said that though the Naxal angle is being probed, it had taken a back seat. In any incident involving Naxals, they will leave some clue to show that it is their act. In most of the cases, they throw Naxal related pamphlets at the crime scene to make it clear that why they committed the act. But in this case, no such signs are there. As Lankesh explicitly criticised and aired her views against right wing ideology, we have given importance to that angle. On the personal front, we have not got any reason that would lead to a murder, an official said.

On Friday, the SIT held several rounds of meeting to discuss the probe done so far and to exchange information gathered by various teams. The SIT officials also held talks with forensic experts, who also visited the crime scene.

The modus operandi and the weapon used in the crime are similar to Dr. M. M. Kalburgis case. However, we are yet to receive certain articles from the police, which they seized from the crime scene. Only after examination and analysis of the bullets, cartridges and studying the nature of injury can we come to a conclusion whether both the murders are committed by the same gang, an FSL expert said.
Prosecute anyone indulging in any activity that creates law and order problem: Court.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday banned violent protests, dharnas, rallies, road/rail rokos or any activity over Neet examination issue which will result in law and order problem in Tamil Nadu in the aftermath of the suicide of dalit student Anitha.

In an interim order on a PIL filed by advocate G.S. Mani, a three-judge bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A.M. Kanwilkar and D.Y. Chadnrachud in its interim order, however, allowed peaceful protests without disturbing law and order.

We may clearly state here that a peaceful protest or criticism or dissent is different than creation of a law and order situation. Every citizen of this country has a fundamental right to peacefully protest and demonstrate, but not to cause a situation that results in violence and paralyses the law and order situation, it said.

The bench said it is directed that it shall be the obligation of the chief secretary, the government of Tamil Nadu and the principal secretary, ministry of home, government of Tamil Nadu, to ensure that law and order is maintained throughout the state in the wake of the present situation in respect of the Neet examination. The chief secretary shall see to it that anyone involved in any kind of bandh or activity that disrupts the normal life and detrimentally affects law and order in the State of Tamil Nadu, shall be booked under the appropriate law.

The bench issued notices to the chief secretary and principal home secretary and directed listing the matter on September 18. The state advocate-general shall assist the court on that day.

The bench passed this order taking note of a similar interim direction given in 2007 to stop agitations in support of Sethusamudram project and a judgment of the Kerala high court banning rallies and bands, which was affirmed by the apex court.

Earlier, advocate Mani brought to the notice of the court that the situation in Tamil Nadu was precarious with various political parties, students and others resorting to all forms of agitations, demonstrations, human chain protest, road and rail rokos causing law and order problem and hardship to the people. He pointed out that in 2009 the apex court by an interim order stopped the DMK from staging a dharna in support of Sethusamudram project. As the present situation was tense the court could pass a similar order.

Advocate Mani said the agitation in Tamil Nadu against NEET, which had been upheld by this court, was very dangerous and State authority was unable to keep the law and order situation under control. He said these agitations are held for political mileage. Some of the political parties in the state of Tamil Nadu, instead approaching State authority to bring the standard of State syllabus equal to CBSE syllabus for Class XI & XII, they are instigating the innocent students and larger public to hold Protests.

The petitioner said one political party had announced that human chain protest to condemn the State government, which would be a dangerous game of spoiling the future of students of Tamil Nadu, he said and sought a direction to the State government to prevent such rallies and dharnas in any form.
The conference was attended by 67 rebel outfits including representatives from Khaplang faction of NSCN.

Guwahati: A day after spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar claimed that efforts are on to persuade anti-talk faction of Ulfa(I) and Khaplang faction of NSCN to join the peace process, the elusive Ulfa chief Paresh Baruah warned the spiritual guru to refrain from indulging in such appeals.

In a letter signed by Ulfa(I) chief Paresh Baruah to Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, the Ulfa(I) chief said, You have repeatedly asked us to join the false, biased and ridiculous peace talks held by the Indian government. We would like to decline your request again to join the mainstream peace talks because we only follow the revolutionary stream that will lead to an independent Assam.

In his letter circulated on email to local newspapers on Friday, the Ulfa(I) military commander also rebuked the spiritual leader for his appeal to give up arms.

You have raised concern over our armed struggle. We have picked up arms to protect ourselves. Our struggle would not have gained recognition if we did not pick up arms. Our armed struggle will continue. I urge you not to ask us to lay down arms in hope of your empty promises.

The statement of Ulfa chief came close on the heels of the spiritual leaders remark that he was in touch with Ulfa(I) and NSCN(K) and efforts are on to persuade them to join the peace process.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar was in Guwahati to address northeast indigenous peoples conference.

The conference was attended by 67 rebel outfits including representatives from Khaplang faction of NSCN.

The spiritual guru said, From the last 10 to 12 years we are working to bring the militant outfits of the region into the mainstream, we are working to bring them to the negotiating table. However recently we had a big break through.

He pointed out, Around 68 militants surrendered in Manipur another 500 are waiting to see how these surrendered militants are doing and what is the kind of rehabilitation package they are getting. Thousands of youngsters outside the country are waiting to come to mainstream.

Mr Sri Sri Ravi Shanka who left for Arunachal Pradesh on Friday said that northeast India is gradually moving from conflict to cooperation, from militancy to understanding and development.

In the past there has been trust deficit between the militants and government. However now militant outfits are saying no more tear when we have someone to listen to our voice, he said.
The matter is pending before the Supreme Court, Mr Naqvi said at the Parliamentarian Conclave.

Patna: It would be difficult for the government to offer any relaxation to Rohingya Muslims, who have fled Myanmar, minority affairs minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said here on Saturday.

The matter is pending before the Supreme Court, Mr Naqvi said at the Parliamentarian Conclave. I do not think we will be able to give any relaxation to them when their nation has refused to keep them, he said.

The SC has sought the view of the government on a petition challenging its decision to deport illegal Rohingya Muslim immigrants back to Myanmar.
The two countries have been constantly in touch on the contentious fishermen issue, which is a major point of concern especially in Tamil Nadu.

New Delhi: Visiting Sri Lankan foreign minister Tilak Marapana met his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj and Prime Minister Narendra Modi separately on Saturday at meetings in which bilateral issues between the two countries were discussed.

The two countries have been constantly in touch on the contentious fishermen issue, which is a major point of concern especially in Tamil Nadu. The Indian government has been working with Sri Lanka on a solution so that ties do not come under strain on this score.

In a statement, the government said, Mr Tilak Marapana, minister of foreign affairs of Sri Lanka, paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi today afternoon. The Prime Minister congratulated Mr Tilak Marapana on assuming his new responsibility as foreign minister of Sri Lanka. The Prime Minister referred to his fruitful visit to Sri Lanka in May for the International Vesak Day. The Prime Minister reaffirmed the high importance that India attaches to its relations with Sri Lanka. Both countries enjoy deep and broad-based ties. The Prime Minister conveyed that he looked forward to continue to work closely with the President and the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka to further strengthen and expand bilateral cooperation.

In another statement, the MEA said, The minister of foreign affairs of Sri Lanka is on an official visit to India from September 8-10. This is his first overseas visit after assuming the office as the foreign minister on August 15. External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj held delegation level talks with the visiting Sri Lankan minister and his accompanying delegation. The two sides discussed the entire gamut of bilateral relations and ways to further deepen the historically close and friendly relations between the two countries. The external affairs minister also hosted a lunch in honour of the visiting dignitary.

Meanwhile, Ms Swaraj will also hold delegation-level talks under the aeges of the India Afghanistan Strategic Partnership Council in New Delhi with Afghan foreign minister Salahuddin Rabbani on Monday. India is expanding cooperation with Afghanistan at a time when Kabuls ties with Islamabad have soured.
Curfew has been imposed in the area and mobile internet services have been suspended.

At least 10 policemen were also injured in the clashes that took place in Jaipurs Ramganj area. (Photos: ANI/Twitter)

Jaipur: Curfew was imposed in Rajasthan's Ramganj area in Kota District on Saturday, a day after one policeman died and over 10 people were injured during a clash.

Violence erupted after a policeman allegedly thrashed a woman while dispersing a crowd that had gathered on the street.

Other eyewitnesses, however, said the violence occurred after a policeman tried to stop a man on motorbike during routine checking. Police claimed that the man tried to escape and was hit by a cop.

Situation turned violent after hundreds of people gathered at a police station in the area in protest and started throwing stones on the cops.

The police were forced to use tear gas to disperse the mob that went on rampage setting on fire a power house, a few vehicles including an ambulance. They attacked journalists too, police said.

"Curfew has been imposed till further orders in Manak Chowk, Subhash Chowk, Galta Gate and Ramganj police station areas of the city following violence in which a police station was attacked and vehicles burnt," police said.
In the festive month of October it will be almost impossible to give salaries to staff in absence of financial aid from the government, said Tiwari.

New Delhi: The Delhi BJP on Friday alleged that the Arvind Kejriwal government is blackmailing and interfering in the functioning of Delhi University colleges by stopping funds with intent to impose its cadre on governing bodies of 28 colleges.

Raising the issue of a letter sent by a Delhi governments Education Department to the registrar of Delhi University, the Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari has said that every word of the letter reflects the political frustration of the Kejriwal government and looks like an attack on the autonomous status of the Delhi University.

It is a matter of concern that the Kejriwal government in its letter of threat to the Delhi University registrar has openly said that funds to the 28 fully aided colleges will not be released till the university accepts the Delhi governments proposal on Constitution of governing bodies according to its own wishes. Further the letter has put on halt the process to recruit not only permanent but even ad hoc teachers for the 28 colleges, said Mr Tiwari. Mr Tiwari claimed that as a result the Kejriwal governments August 30 letter the teaching process in all of these 28 colleges will collapse within next few days jeopardising the careers of lakhs of students and over 2,000 teaching and non teaching staff of these colleges.

In the festive month of October it will be almost impossible to give salaries to staff in absence of financial aid from the government. Its a conspiracy to disturb the teaching and learning process of students most economically poor background, added Mr Tiwari.

Mr Tiwari questioned the move since AAP had promised in its manifesto to open more colleges in Delhi but in last two years and nine months they have drawn up no plans for opening of new colleges and today due to the governments misacts 28 Colleges are on a verge of closure.
The L-G also directed the PWD to start work on landscaping and beautification of all major roads in the city in a time-bound manner.

New Delhi: Lieutenant-governor Anil Baijal on Friday held a meeting to review the progress of desilting of drains in the national capital for the prevention of waterlogging. The L-G directed the Public Works Department (PWD) to prepare a roadmap for the cleaning of the drains based on its past learning for the next year.

The CEO of Delhi Jal Board informed the L-G that PWD, DJB and local bodies are exploring the possibility of creating rainwater harvesting systems along the roadsides where water accumulates in large quantity, as a long-term solution for this problem. Regarding mechanical cleaning of drains, it was directed that new mechanical machines should be procured at the earliest.

The L-G also directed the PWD to start work on landscaping and beautification of all major roads in the city in a time-bound manner. Mr Baijal directed the public works department (PWD) to hire consultants, who will submit their report within one month for executing the work.

The directions were issued at a meeting chaired by the L-G. The meeting was attended by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, chief secretary M.M. Kutty and other senior officers.

During the meeting, the engineer-in-chief (PWD) informed that the work will commence from February next year after obtaining various approvals and clearances.

The LG directed that landscaping central verging of all major roads including minor roads (60-80 feet) of Delhi which are about 1,280 km length shall be taken up by PWD simultaneously in a time-bound manner, the LG office said in a statement. It was stressed that the quality of greening and landscaping of the roads should be uniform.
The incident occurred around 11pm outside Bastian hotel located on Linking Road, Bandra (west).

Mumbai: Bouncers of Bastian Hotel went berserk and thrashed the paparazzi seconds after actress Shilpa Shetty and her husband Raj Kundra left the place late on Thursday night.

The bouncers thrashed press photographers and two of them identified as Narendra Kunchikurve (29) and Ashutosh Kadar (23) were arrested by the Khar police and subsequently released on bail when produced in a local court.

The Khar police has registered a case and is yet to ascertain the reason behind the attack. Meanwhile, the hotel has claimed that the bouncers were personnel of Tough Security and has discontinued the firms services.

The incident occurred around 11pm outside Bastian hotel located on Linking Road, Bandra (west).

The two accused bouncers thrashed two photographers black and blue as the latter clicked pictures despite being requested not to. The photographers claimed that they tried contacting the police helpline but did not get any response. The entire incident was captured on cameras with the footage showing the two bouncers beating the photographers mercilessly.

Bastian hotel released a statement that services of the security agency to which the bouncers belonged have been terminated following the incident.

We are shocked and saddened by the incident that took place outside Bastian last night. During last nights incident, the people involved were personnel of Tough Security who is hired for Bastian via external vendors, as is the practice. We do not want to take the risk of this happening again and we personally apologise to the media involved. We are gathering information to offer to take care of all medical bills that may have resulted due to this incident, the statement read.

The police is now recording statements of all concerned. An officer from Khar police station said, Two of the wanted bouncers of the restaurant accused of beating photographers have been arrested. They targeted Robin Chawla and others with their metal bracelets. Further probe is underway.
Prima facie evidence proved that LPG gas cylinders explosion led to the eruption of fire.

The accused were produced before the metropolitan court in Andheri and were remanded to judicial custody.

Mumbai: The Juhu police arrested three persons in connection with Prarthana building fire in which seven were killed.

The accused have been identified as Tinubhai Mannabhai Patel alias Kiran, the building contractor, Shiju Kunjpe John (34), site engineer and Prashant Dagdoji More (38), site supervisor.

The trio was arrested for failing to take adequate security measures that led to the incident in which seven persons were killed. The accused were produced before the metropolitan court in Andheri and were remanded to judicial custody.

A case under sections 304(a) (causing death due to negligence), 338 (causing hurt and grievous hurt), 285 (negligent conduct), 34 (acts of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has been filed.

The fire department had lodged an FIR with the Juhu police station against the developer and contractor of Prarthana building. The fire broke out in Prarthana building on Wednesday night, claimed seven lives.

While the cause of the fire is still being investigated, prima facie evidence proved that LPG gas cylinders explosion led to the eruption of fire.

The victims were charred to death at the ground floor of an under-construction building. The deceased persons were construction workers. The labourers used stoves for cooking for which the LPG cylinders was needed.

From the mangled remains at the spot, the police recovered four LPG cylinders and damaged stoves among other items.

Seventeen people were injured in the incident out of which 11 are receiving treatment at Cooper Hospital.
Chidambaram also rubbished the governments claims that the number of terrorist- and naxal attacks had gone down after demonetisation.

Mumbai: Former finance minister P. Chidambaram on Saturday continued his tirade against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government, terming Modis monetisation decision a disaster for the country. It has been proved a monumental disaster by former PM Manmohan Singh. The decision could not meet a single aim stated by the government, said Chidambaram.

The former finance minister was speaking at a press conference followed by public lecture organised by the Maharashtra Congress. In an aggressive stance against demonetisation, Chidambaram said, They had said this decision was against black money and fake currency. But in just a few days since the decision, the forces found fake Rs 2,000 notes. What is the meaning of that!

Chidambaram also rubbished the governments claims that the number of terrorist- and naxal attacks had gone down after demonetisation. Terrorist attacks in Kashmir have increased in 2017 and so also the number of soldiers martyred in these attacks. Therefore, the governments claims on this front too ring hollow, the Congress leader said.

Chidambaram has been addressing the business community and other professionals on issues related to GST and demonetisation. His Mumbai lecture was part of this endeavour.

For six consecutive quarters, GDP is sliding. I dont see any improvement. Dr Manmohan Singh had predicted a 2 per cent decline which is coming true now. India is no more the worlds fastest developing economy and the Modi governments policies are responsible for it, he said.
Their actions helped relieve rescue centres in Texas which were already overcrowded with displaced animals after the deadly storm.

Southwest Airlines flew more than 60 animals thousands of miles across the US into a facility in San Diego. (Photo: AP)

Even as Irma gears up to lash against the coast of Florida, with US seeing one of the biggest evacuations for safety ever, a US airlines came into news for saving the lives of dozens of animals following the devastation left at the wake of Hurricane Harvey.

Southwest Airlines flew more than 60 animals thousands of miles across the US into a facility in San Diego.

The news, which was originally published in The Telegraph UK says that their actions helped relieve rescue centres in Texas which were already overcrowded with displaced animals after the deadly storm.

Speaking to The Telegraph UK, Linda Rutherford, Chief Communications Officer pof Southwest Airlines said that the devastation of Hurricane Harvey has impacted a number of communities along the Gulf and they were happy to partner with the Helen Woodward Animal Center to extend hope to Houston by transporting shelter animals to a new home in San Diego, while making additional space for family pets whose humans are currently displaced.

Southwest has teamed up with with Helen Woodward Animal Center (HWAC) in San Diego who said the animals faced being euthanised before they stepped in.

Speaking about the incident, Mike Arms, HWAC president said that the animals are the silent victims of the devastation caused by Harvey.
Indian prosecutors said that she was the victim of an honor killing planned by her mother and uncle.

Surjit Singh Badesha, 72 and Malkit Kaur Sidhu, 67, are wanted in connection with the murder of Jaswinder Kaur Sidhu, who was 25 at the time of her death. (Photo: Pixabay)

Montreal: Canada's Supreme Court on Friday ruled that two of its citizens can be extradited to India for their alleged role in an honor killing 17 years ago.

Surjit Singh Badesha, 72 and Malkit Kaur Sidhu, 67, are wanted in connection with the murder of Jaswinder Kaur Sidhu, who was 25 at the time of her death.

The suspects, both Canadian citizens of Indian origin, are the uncle and mother of the slain woman.

Jaswinder Kaur Sidhu's body was found with her throat slit in June 2000 in Punjab state.

Indian prosecutors said that she was the victim of an honor killing planned by her mother and uncle, who furiously opposed the young woman's marriage to a poor rickshaw driver, something the victim had kept secret for a year.

After revealing her marriage to her family, the victim reportedly flew from Canada to India to reunite with her husband, Mithu Sidhu.

The couple was later attacked as they rode a scooter in a village near Sangrur, Punjab in June 2000. Her husband was severely beaten and left for dead while Sidhu was kidnapped and later killed.

The slain woman's mother and uncle allegedly hired the thugs that carried out the attack.

Seven men were eventually convicted of the crime in India, but several of those convictions were overturned on appeal.

The family has denied involvement in the killing.

Three people were found guilty of the murder in India, and authorities for years have been seeking the extradition of the two Indo-Canadians.

Canada's justice minister granted an extradition in 2014, but the ruling was reversed on appeal in 2016.

On Friday, the nine Supreme Court justices unanimously authorized the extradition.

"In this case, it was reasonable for the minister to conclude that, on the basis of the assurances he received from India, there was no substantial risk of torture or mistreatment" of the suspects "that would offend the principles of fundamental justice" in the Canadian constitution, the ruling read.

In so-called "honour" killings, carried out to protect what is seen as family pride, reasons for disapproval can include having relationships outside of one's caste or religion.
Irma killed at least 20 people in the Caribbean and left thousands homeless as it devastated small resort islands.

This satellite image obtained from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows Hurricane Irma at 1145 UTC on September 6, 2017 (Photo: AP)

Miami: Irma trained its sights on Florida and officials warned more than 5 million people that time was running out Friday and ordered them to evacuate ahead of the deadly hurricane as it followed a path that could take it from one end of the state to the other.

By early evening, Irma was a slightly weakened Category 4 storm with winds of 155 mph (250 kph) and forecasters said it could be back up to Category 5 when it comes ashore near Key West on Sunday morning.

Forecasters adjusted the storm's potential track more toward the west coast of Florida, away from the Miami metropolitan area of 6 million people, meaning "a less costly, a less deadly storm," University of Miami researcher Brian McNoldy said.

Nevertheless, forecasters warned that its hurricane-force winds were so wide they could reach from coast to coast, testing the nation's third-largest state, which has undergone rapid development and more stringent hurricane-proof building codes in the last decade or so.

"This is a storm that will kill you if you don't get out of the way," National Hurricane Center meteorologist Dennis Feltgen said. "Everybody's going to feel this one."

Irma killed at least 20 people in the Caribbean and left thousands homeless as it devastated small resort islands known for their warm, turquoise water.

In Florida, gas shortages and gridlock plagued the evacuations, turning normally simple trips into tests of will. Parts of interstates 75 and 95 north were bumper-to-bumper, while very few cars drove in the southbound lanes.

"We're getting out of this state," said Manny Zuniga, who left his home in Miami at midnight Thursday to avoid the gridlock. "Irma is going to take all of Florida."

Despite driving overnight, he still took 12 hours to reach Orlando - a trip that normally takes four hours. From there, he and his wife, two children, two dogs and a ferret were headed to Arkansas.

In one of the country's largest evacuations, about 5.6 million people in Florida - more than one-quarter of the state's population - were ordered to evacuate and another 540,000 were told to leave the Georgia coast. Authorities opened hundreds of shelters for people who did not leave. Hotels as far away as Atlanta filled up with evacuees.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott said people fleeing could drive slowly in the shoulder lane on highways. He hasn't reversed the southbound lanes because he said they were needed to deliver gas and supplies.

"If you are planning to leave and do not leave tonight, you will have to ride out this extremely dangerous storm at your own risk," Scott said.

Tony Marcellus racked his brain to figure out a way to get his 67-year-old mother and 85-year-old grandfather out of their home five blocks from the ocean in West Palm Beach. He lives 600 miles away in Atlanta. He checked flights but found nothing and rental cars were sold out, so he settled on a modern method of evacuation.

He hired an Uber to pick them up and drive them 170 miles to Orlando, where he met them to take them to Atlanta. He gave the driver a nice tip.

"I have peace of mind now," said Marcellus' mother, Celine Jean. "I've been worried sick for days."

Several small, poor communities around Lake Okeechobee in the south-central part of Florida were added to the evacuation list because the lake may overflow - but the governor said engineers expect the protective dike to hold up. Many people in the area said they wouldn't leave because they either had no transportation or nowhere to go.

Disney World parks will close early Saturday and remain shuttered through Monday, as will Universal Orlando and Sea World.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez said he planned for enough space to hold 100,000 people before the storm arrives, although most shelters were only beginning to fill on Friday.

Hurricane Andrew in 1992 revealed how lax building codes had become in the country's most storm-prone state, and Florida began requiring sturdier construction. Now, experts say a monstrously strong Irma could become the most serious test of Florida's storm-worthiness since then.

Andrew razed Miami's suburbs with winds topping 165 mph (265 kph), damaging or blowing apart over 125,000 homes. Almost all mobile homes in its path were obliterated. The damage totaled $26 billion in Florida's most-populous areas. At least 40 people were killed in Florida.

CoreLogic, a consultant to insurers, estimated that almost 8.5 million Florida homes or commercial properties were at extreme, very high or high risk of wind damage from Irma.

Police in the Fort Lauderdale suburb of Davie said a 57-year-old man who had been hired to install hurricane shutters Thursday morning died after falling about 15 feet (5 meters) from a ladder and hitting his head on a pool deck. The man's name wasn't immediately released.

Forecasters predicted a storm surge of 6 to 12 feet above ground level along Florida's southwest coast and in the Keys. As much as a foot of rain could fall across the state, with isolated spots receiving 20 inches.

With winds that peaked at 185 mph (300 kph), Irma was once the most powerful hurricane ever recorded in the open Atlantic.
Pak anti-corruption watchdog files cases on the basis of probe by SC-appointed JET.

Islamabad: Pakistans National Accountability Board (NAB) filed four corruption references against the Sharif family and finance minister Ishaq Dar in Islamabads accountability court on Friday.

The inquiry team of NAB arrived at the court in Sector F-11 to submit the references with the registrar of Judge Mohammad Bashir.

The documents, packed in 16 cartons, were brought on two vehicles, whereas the records of Azizia Steel Mills, London flats and 16 offshore companies had also been made part of the investigation.

NAB spokesperson overtly rejected media reports that the registrar had raised objections, citing incomplete photocopies, and said all references had been forwarded to trial court.

NABs executive board on Thursday had approved to file three references against deposed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, his sons, daughter Maryam Nawaz, son-in-law Mohammed Safdar while one against finance minister.

Fourteen -year imprisonment hovers over the Sharif family and finance Minister Ishaq Dar if the NAB rules out that violation of Section-9 of the NAB Ordinance 1999 has taken place.

Mr Dar is facing section-14C of the NAB Ordinance 1999, which deals with the possession of assets beyond known sources of income. If Mr Dar is proven guilty he could be handed over 14-year imprisonment.

Similarly, ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is facing sub-section 9A in three references. The aforementioned section deals with illegal money and exchange of gifts.

The countrys top court, in its July-28 verdict, had directed the accountability watchdog to file references against Sharif family and Mr Dar under the light of the startling revelations made by Panamagate Joint Investigation Team (JIT) during its 60-day inquiry.

The cases have been initiated after the Supreme Court on July 28 disqualified 67-year-old Sharif for dishonesty and ruled that corruption cases be filed against him and his children over the scandal.

The apex court had tasked the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to register corruption cases against him, his children, son-in-law and the finance minister within six weeks.

The references were prepared on the basis of the material collected and referred to by the Joint Investigation Team (set up by Supreme Court) in its report and any other material collected by NAB during the course of investigation, the NAB said.

The cases have been filed with anti-corruption court of Rawalpindi-Islamabad following the court orders before the end of the deadline of September 8, a NAB official said.

The cases were approved on Friday by NAB chairman Qamar Zaman Chaudhry at special meeting of the senior officials. One of the cases against Sharif, his children and Safdar is about purchase of four luxury flats in Park Lane area of London.

The second one is against Sharif and his son Hussain and is about setting up of Azizia Steel Company and Hill Metal Company. The third case is against Sharif and his two sons and is related to several private companies set up by the family and which have been already identified in the judgement of the court. The fourth came is against Dar for possessing assets beyond his known sources of income.
8.2-magnitude tremors countrys worst in 100 years.

People gather on a street in downtown Mexico City on Thursday during an earthquake. (Photo: AFP)

Mexico City: One of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded in Mexico struck off the country's southern coast, toppling hundreds of buildings and sending panicked people fleeing into the streets in the middle of the night. At least 61 people were reported dead.

The quake that hit minutes before midnight Thursday was strong enough to cause buildings to sway violently in the capital city more than 650 miles (1,000 kilometers) away. As beds banged against walls, people still wearing pajamas ran out of their homes and gathered in frightened groups.

Rodrigo Soberanes, who lives near San Cristobal de las Casas in Chiapas, the state nearest the epicenter, said his house "moved like chewing gum."

The furious shaking created a second national emergency for Mexican agencies already bracing for Hurricane Katia on the other side of the country. The system was expected to strike the Gulf coast in the state of Veracruz late Friday or early Saturday as a Category 2 storm that could bring life-threatening floods.

President Enrique Pena Nieto said Friday evening in a televised address that 61 people were killed - 45 in Oaxaca state, 12 in Chiapas and 4 in Tabasco - and he declared three days of national mourning.

The worst-hit city was Juchitan, on the narrow waist of Oaxaca known as the Isthmus, where 36 quake victims died. About half of Juchitan's city hall collapsed in a pile of rubble and streets were littered with the debris of ruined houses. A hospital also collapsed, Pena Nieto said after touring the city and meeting with residents. The patients were relocated to other facilities.

The president said authorities were working to re-establish the supply of water and food and provide medical attention to those who need it. He vowed the government would help people rebuild and called for people to come together.

"The power of this earthquake was devastating, but we are certain that the power of unity, the power of solidarity and the power of shared responsibility will be greater," Pena Nieto said.

Mexico City escaped major damage, but the quake terrified sleeping residents, many of whom still remember the catastrophic 1985 earthquake that killed thousands and devastated large parts of the city.

Families were jerked awake by the grating howl of the capital's seismic alarm. Some shouted as they dashed out of rocking apartment buildings. Even the iconic Angel of Independence Monument swayed as the quake's waves rolled through the city's soft soil.

Elsewhere, the extent of destruction was still emerging. Hundreds of buildings collapsed or were damaged, power was cut at least briefly to more than 1.8 million people and authorities closed schools Friday in at least 11 states to check them for safety.

The Interior Department reported that 428 homes were destroyed and 1,700 were damaged in various cities and towns in Chiapas.

"Homes made of clay tiles and wood collapsed," said Nataniel Hernandez, a human rights worker living in Tonala, Chiapas, who warned that inclement weather threatened to bring more down.

"Right now it is raining very hard in Tonala, and with the rains it gets much more complicated because the homes were left very weak, with cracks," Hernandez said by phone.

The earthquake's impact was blunted somewhat by the fact that it was centered 100 miles offshore. It hit off Chiapas' Pacific coast, near the Guatemalan border, with a magnitude of 8.1 - equal to Mexico's strongest quake of the past century. It was slightly stronger than the 1985 quake, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The epicenter was in a seismic hotspot in the Pacific where one tectonic plate dives under another. These subduction zones are responsible for producing some of the biggest quakes in history, including the 2011 Fukushima disaster and the 2004 Sumatra quake that spawned a deadly tsunami.

"There is damage to hospitals that have lost energy," he said. "Homes, schools and hospitals have been damaged."

In Tabasco, one child died when a wall collapsed, and an infant died in a children's hospital when the facility lost electricity, cutting off the ventilator, Gov. Arturo Nunez said.

The quake triggered tsunami warnings and some tall waves, but there was no major damage from the sea. Authorities briefly evacuated a few residents of coastal Tonala and Puerto Madero because of the warning.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center reported waves of 3.3 feet (1 meter) above the tide level off Salina Cruz, Mexico. Smaller tsunami waves were observed on the coast or measured by ocean gauges elsewhere.

In neighboring Guatemala, President Jimmy Morales appeared on national television to call for calm while emergency crews surveyed damage. Officials later said only four people had been injured and several dozen homes damaged.

The quake occurred near the point of collision between three tectonic plates, the Cocos, the Caribbean and the North American.

The area has seen at least six other quakes of magnitude 7.0 or greater since 1900. Three of those occurred within a nerve-wracking nine-month span in 1902-1903, according to Mexico's National Seismological Service.

Scientists were still reviewing data, but a preliminary analysis indicated the quake was triggered by the sudden breaking or bending of the Cocos plate, which dives beneath Mexico. That type of process does not happen often in subduction zones. Usually, big quakes in subduction zones occur along the boundary between the sinking slab and the overriding crust.

"It's unusual, but it's not unheard of," said seismologist Susan Hough of the USGS, describing how stresses on the seafloor can produce big earthquakes.
Saudi Arabia led the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain in cutting ties with Qatar in June.

Qatar said it had received the demands on June 22 with just 10 days to meet them, which would mean they would have until Sunday to comply. (Photo: AFP)

Riaydh: Saudi Arabia on Saturday suspended any dialogue with Qatar, accusing it of distorting facts soon after a phone call between the rulers of both countries offered hope of a breakthrough in the three-month-old Gulf crisis.

Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani , spoke to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to express interest in talks, state media from both sides said, in the first public engagement between the leaders after the US president offered to mediate in the crisis.

Saudi Arabia led the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain in cutting ties with Qatar in June, accusing it of bankrolling Islamist extremist groups and of being too close to regional rival Iran. Doha denies the accusations.

The crown prince "welcomed this desire," the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) initially reported, adding "details will be announced after Saudi Arabia reaches an agreement with UAE and Bahrain and Egypt".

But the prospect of a thaw quickly died down after SPA subsequently accused Qatar's state media of wrongly implying that Saudi Arabia had initiated the outreach.

"The contact was at the request of Qatar and its request for dialogue," SPA said, citing a Saudi foreign ministry official.

"Qatar is not serious in dialogue and continues its previous policies. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia declares that any dialogue with Qatar shall be suspended until a clear statement explaining its position is made in public."

The development came after US President Donald Trump on Friday spoke separately with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE.

"The President underscored that unity among the United States' Arab partners is essential to promoting regional stability and countering the threat of Iran," the White House said.

"The President also emphasised that all countries must follow through on commitments... to defeat terrorism, cut off funding for terrorist groups, and combat extremist ideology."

When he offered to mediate, Trump said he believed the dispute could be solved "fairly easily".

- 'Climbdown from brinkmanship' -

Despite the deadlock, observers said the telephone call between the Qatari and Saudi rulers itself was a sign that tensions were dissipating.

"The fact that the telephone call took place and the offer of dialogue was made is significant in itself," said Kristian Ulrichsen, a fellow at the Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University.

"(It) signals a climb down from the brinkmanship that has characterised so much of the Gulf standoff since June," Ulrichsen told AFP.

But diplomatic efforts led by Kuwait, a key mediator in the crisis backed by Western powers, have so far failed to achieve a breakthrough.

In Washington on Thursday, Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah offered Trump an upbeat assessment of his efforts so far.

But in a statement early Friday, the Saudi-led bloc showed no signs of backing down as it questioned the Kuwaiti emir's statement that Qatar would be willing to accept their 13 demands.

The demands include shutting Doha-based broadcaster Al-Jazeera, closing a Turkish military base in the emirate and downgrading Qatari diplomatic ties with Iran.

The bloc also voiced "regret" about the Kuwaiti ruler's statement "on the success of mediation in stopping military intervention".

Instead, the four Arab states stressed that "the military option has not been and will not be considered" under any circumstances.

Riyadh and Doha are both key allies of the United States, which has sent mixed signals on its policy towards the nations.

Trump, who chose Saudi Arabia for his first overseas visit as president in May, two weeks before the crisis erupted, immediately expressed staunch support for Saudi Arabia.

Some other US officials including Secretary of State Rex Tillerson adopted a more measured tone.

Qatar hosts a huge US air base, home to the headquarters of Centcom -- the regional command which leads operations against the Islamic State jihadist group.

Sheikh Tamim is set to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel for talks on September 15, in what will be his first trip to a western capital since the crisis began.
Satanists have put in circulation some rosaries devoted to evil. These were made to deceive Catholics, so that evil spirits could haunt them. Some strange symbols are stamped on the religious objects. Worshippers are warned against masonic medals as well.

Manila (AsiaNews/CBCP)  "Kapanalig listeners, be careful as the rosaries you might be using could actually be infested or cursed, said Fr Ambrosio Nonato Legaspi, chief exorcist of the diocese of Novaliches, in a warning to Filipino Catholics about satanic rosaries and religious objects.

According to the head of the Office of Exorcism (Libera Nox) of the Diocese of Novaliches, a group called Illuminati have put in circulation some rosaries consecrated to evil.

These were made not only to be simply given away but to deceive Catholics . . . so that evil spirits will haunt them, he explained.

Philippe De Guzman, who helps the priest in exorcisms, said that the satanic rosaries in question often have strange symbols that cannot be identified by an untrained eye.

Most of the time, they are made of plastic with images such as a snake wrapped around a cross, a pentagram, and a sun with rays, the symbol of the Illuminati.

Fr Ambrosio urges his fellow priests to bless the religious objects according to traditional Catholic rites to exorcise them, especially if the owners have experienced paranormal experiences.

These items should not only receive an ordinary blessing where water is just sprinkled  as most priests commonly do  but need the Catholic ritual to frighten the demon away.

The priest also warns Filipino Catholics of the existence of particular Masonic medals. Apparently, these look the same as those of Our Lady of Grace, except for a compass, a Masonic symbol, located at the bottom of one of the two faces. The Church condemns Freemasonry, as anti-Christian and anti-Catholic.
by Mathias Hariyadi

Anna and Petrus crown their dream of meeting their relatives. Millions of Chinese left Shantou for Southeast Asia in the early 1900s. The Chinese are one of Indonesias most important ethnic groups. Under Suharto's regime, Chinese products and traditions were banned.

Jakarta (AsiaNews)  After 20 years planning the trip, Anna and her older brother Petrus were overwhelmed by the joy of meeting in person some distant cousins in Jieyang, an industrial suburb of Shantou, Guangdong province, China.

The thrill felt by these two Indonesians from Pontianak (West Kalimantan) was even greater when they reached Huliai (100 kilometres from Jieyang), where they met an old woman, daughter of their forebear, who left in the early 20th century to find fortune in Pontianak.

The brother and sister are ethnic Chinese. Anna is a homemaker and lives in Johor Bahru (Malaysia) with her two daughters and husband, a Malaysian Chinese. Petrus lives in Pontianak, where he runs a small shop. Both lead a simple life.

To crown the dream of discovering their Chinese roots, they asked some Jakarta friends for some financial help. AsiaNews went along with them on their trip, which began last week at Kuala Lumpur Airport, where Petrus joined Anna after flying in from Indonesia.

About 20 years ago, a mutual friend in Pontianak visited Jieyang for the same reason: meet family members in his ancestral land. On that occasion, the friend told his Chinese relatives that other Sino-Indonesians from Shantou lived in his city.

His stories and pictures sparked the same desire to travel in Anna and Petrus. Despite financial difficulties and communication problems with China, the two siblings were able to get to Guangdong.

The two spent five days of family reunion in Shantou during which they were able to visit some of the historic places where their ancestors had lived before moving to Indonesia.

Shantou is where millions of Chinese left for Southeast Asia starting in the early 1900s. Ships full of migrants sailed to Singapore and other countries in the region, including Indonesia. When Mao came to power, emigration turned into flight.

"Our grandparents were on one of those boats, Anna said. They decided to leave their land for economic and political reasons, as the cultural revolution got underway. They did not even know where they would land at the end of a 40-day trip into the South China Sea. Some of their fellow travellers died during the crossing. But in Pontianak they managed to rebuild a life. "

The Chinese are one of the most important ethnic groups that make up Indonesias multicultural society. However, family reunions are rare in China. This is due to a number of reasons, including the high cost of travel.

In addition to financial reasons, family ties and relations are absent, lost during the years of President Suharto's authoritarian regime, when all Chinese products and traditions were banned in Indonesia.

Even today, Indonesians of Chinese origin are often victims of prejudices and incidents of intolerance both for their successful economic status and as a religious minority (many are Christians) in the most populous Islamic country in the world.
by Bernardo Cervellera

He underwent an ear operation. He was banned from attending the funeral of an elderly witness to the faith, Fr John Wang, who spent 12 years of in a prison camp. The bishops secretary was also taken to prevent him from attending Fr Wangs funeral.

Rome (AsiaNews)  Mgr Peter Shao Zhumin, bishop of Wenzhou (Zhejiang), is in a Beijing hospital for treatment (picture 1). Since May he has been closely monitored by police and the Religious Affairs Bureau, unable to perform his episcopal functions.

For the Holy See he is the ordinary bishop of Wenzhou, but the government does not recognise him as such because he belongs to the underground Catholic community.

Because of this he has been constantly prevented from serving his diocese and congregation, subjected to "religious education" to get him to join the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, the Church's supervisory body, whose purpose is to build a Catholic community separate from the Holy See.

Mgr Shao was taken by police in April, a few days before Easter. According to some of the members of his diocese, he is currently in Beijing, from where the picture of him in pajamas (pictured) was sent. He is said to have undergone an ear operation.

His departure for Beijing prevented him from attending the funeral of a great witness to the faith, the underground priest Fr John Wang Zhongfa (picture 2), who died on 2 September.

Fr Wang, 86, after 1956  when he was still a seminarian  spent 12 years of forced labour in Baoanzhi (Inner Mongolia). After purging his sentence, he was banned from his home town, Qianku, and opted to remain in the province. It would be another 12 years before he could return home.

In the diocese, he worked extensively for evangelisation, promoting priestly vocations and a diocesan institute for the missionary nuns of the Heart of Jesus.

Over the past few weeks he had been hospitalised and Mgr Shao had been granted permission to visit him, always escorted by religious officials. But he was not allowed to attend the funeral.

Likewise, police detained Mgr Shaos secretary, Fr Paul Jiang Sunian, and took him to a secret place to prevent him from attending Fr Wangs funeral.

The faithful hope that Fr Jiang that Mgr Shao may able to return to the diocese soon.

The German government has publicly expressed itself for Mgr Shaos release. Even the Vatican, in a rare critical pronouncement, expressed "serious concern" about the bishops fate.
During the Mass, Francis told those present that Even if it may seem that you are getting yourself dirty or stained, get involved, which means to be brave and have evangelical courage. For him, the Church is not a customs house. She wants open doors because the heart of her God is not only open, but pierced by the love that has become pain."

Medellin (AsiaNews)  Pope Francis celebrated Mass today in Medellin (pictured) in front of about a million people according to organisers. During the service, he said that the Church in Colombia is called to commit itself, with greater boldness, to forming missionary disciples.

Medellin, where the pope launched his appeal, is Colombias second largest city, its main industrial hub, and for years symbol of drug trafficking. It also has a particularly important place in the history of the Latin American Church.

It was here, in 1968, that the Second Assembly of the Latin American Bishops Council (Consejo Episcopal Latinoamericano, CELAM) took place. Those were the years of Vatican II. Paul VI came to open the assembly, which John Paul II cited in his visit to Colombia in 1983.

Francis's appeal is also a direct reference to Aparecida, where the Fifth Conference of the Latin American Episcopate took place in 2007. Cardinal Bergoglio was the author of the final document of that assembly and he is particularly close to it.

With it in mind, Francis today said: "Disciples who know how to see, judge and act, as stated in that Latin-American document born in this land. Missionary disciples that know how to see, without hereditary short-sightedness; looking at reality with the eyes and heart of Jesus, and only then judging. Disciples who risk, act, and commit themselves.

"Even if it may seem that you are getting yourself dirty or stained, get[ting] involved. This means we are called upon to be brave, to have that evangelical courage which springs from knowing that there are many who are hungry, who hunger for God, who hunger for dignity, because they have been deprived. As Christians, help them to be satiated by God; do not impede them or stop this encounter.

For the pontiff, therefore, it is important first of all that the disciple not cling to certain practices that come closer to the way of some of the Pharisees than to that of Jesus. In this case, he noted, they are "paralyzed by a rigorous interpretation of the law. Jesus, however, does not stick to a seemingly correct observance. He teaches "that being in relationship with God cannot be a cold attachment to norms". The first trait that must shape the life of the disciple is instead to reach out "to what is essential."

In fact, discipleship cannot simply be motivated by custom because we have a baptismal certificate. It must begin with a living experience of God and his love. It is not something static, but [is] a continuous movement towards Christ, it is ongoing training by listening to his word.

Because We cannot be Christians who continually put up do not enter signs, nor can we consider that this space is mine or yours alone, or that we can claim ownership of something that is absolutely not ours. The Church is not ours, she is Gods; he is the owner of the temple and the field; everyone has a place, everyone is invited to find here, and among us, his or her nourishment. We are simple servants and we cannot prevent this encounter.

"Peter Claver understood this," Francis said referring to the Jesuit who in the 1600s devoted himself to helping black slaves deported to Latin America and whom he will venerate tomorrow in Cartagena.

"Slave of the blacks forever was the motto of his life because he understood, as a disciple of Jesus, that he could not remain indifferent to the suffering of the most abandoned and downtrodden people of his time and that he had to do something to alleviate it."

Finally, off the cuff, the Holy Father went on to say that the Church is not a custom house. She wants open doors because the heart of her God is not only open, but pierced by the love that has become pain."

Referring to the episode of the Marriage of Cana, Francis noted that Jesus "sends for everyone, healthy and sick, good and bad, everyone! This is our service". This means "eating Gods bread, eating God's love, eating the bread that helps us survive."

I have come here precisely to confirm you in the faith and hope of the Gospel. Remain steadfast and free in Christ, in such a way that you manifest him in everything you do; take up the path of Jesus with all your strength, know him, allow yourselves to be called and taught by him, and proclaim him with great joy.

Let us pray through the intercession of Our Mother, Our Lady of Candelaria, that she may accompany us on our path of discipleship, so that, giving our lives to Christ, we may simply be missionaries who bring the light and joy of the Gospel to all people.
At Parque Las Malocas, in the presence of the victims of violence, military, police and ex-guerrillas, Pope Francis celebrated the Great Meeting for National Reconciliation. Some victims and two former guerrilla fighters related their testimonies. The land of Colombia is "sacred ground because it was "watered by the blood of thousands of innocent victims and by the heart-breaking sorrow of their families and friends.

Villavicencio (AsiaNews)  Colombia, open your heart as the People of God and be reconciled. Fear neither the truth nor justice. Dear people of Colombia: do not be afraid of asking for forgiveness and offering it, said Pope Francis in his address to the Colombian people Friday afternoon in Parque Las Malocas during the Great Meeting for National Reconciliation. Some of the victims of the violence, military, police and former guerrilla fighters were present along with the bishops.

The gathering was the culmination of the popes journey. The Holy Father wants to push people "to take the first step" towards reconciliation. The country after decades of war and hundreds of thousands of victims is beginning to see some signs of peace.

Before Francis spoke, some dances were performed to represent Psalm 85 ("Love and truth will meet; justice and peace will kiss) and two former fighters, Juan Carlos and Deisy related their stories. They left the FARC the self-defence group and now work to rehabilitate youth who use drugs or were involved in militant groups. They were followed by the testimonies of two victims of violence, Pastora Mira Garcia and Luz Dary, also engaged in the rehabilitation of people affected by psychological disorders and physical injuries caused by attacks.

The pope closely followed the testimonies, saying I have been looking forward to this moment since my arrival in your country. [. . .] I am here not so much to speak, but to be close to you and to see you with my own eyes, to listen to you and to open my heart to your witness of life and faith.

Calling the land of Colombia sacred ground, Francis described it as A land watered by the blood of thousands of innocent victims and by the heart-breaking sorrow of their families and friends. Such sacredness is underscored by the presence of the Christ of Bojaya, the broken crucifix without arms and legs, mutilated and scorched by a bomb the exploded in a church on 2 May 2002, killing scores of worshippers.

To see Christ this way, mutilated and wounded, questions us. He no longer has arms, nor is his body there, but his face remains, with which he looks upon us and loves us. Christ broken and without limbs is for us even more Christ, because he shows us once more that he came to suffer for his people and with his people. He came to show us that hatred does not have the last word, that love is stronger than death and violence. He teaches us to transform pain into a source of life and resurrection, so that, with him, we may learn the power of forgiveness, the grandeur of love.

Speaking about the testimonies, the pontiff noted that these are stories of suffering and anguish, but also, and above all, [. . .] stories of love and forgiveness that speak to us of life and hope; stories of not letting hatred, vengeance or pain take control of our hearts.

Citing Pastora Mira and turning towards her, he added, violence leads to more violence, hatred to more hatred, death to more death. We must break this cycle which seems inescapable; this is only possible through forgiveness and reconciliation. And you, dear Pastora, and so many others like you, have shown us that this is possible. [. . .] It is the Crucified One of Bojaya who has given you this strength to forgive and to love.

Speaking to Luz Dary, who gave the pope a crutch (he gave the other to a person in need), Francis said, Your crutch is a symbol of the more important crutch we all need, which is love and forgiveness. By your love and forgiveness, you are helping so many people to walk in life.

The pontiff also spoke about the powerful testimony of Deisy and Juan Carlos, two former guerrilla fighters. They helped us to understand that, in the end, in one way or another, we too are victims, innocent or guilty, but all victims. We are all united in this loss of humanity that means violence and death.

Noting their present work with young people, he added, There is also hope for those who did wrong; all is not lost. Of course, justice requires that perpetrators of wrongdoing undergo moral and spiritual renewal. As Deisy said, we must make a positive contribution to healing our society that has been wounded by violence.

It can be difficult to believe that change is possible for those who appealed to a ruthless violence in order to promote their own agenda, protect their illegal affairs so they could gain wealth, or claim  dishonestly  that they were defending the lives of their brothers and sisters. Undoubtedly, it is a challenge for each of us to trust that those who inflicted suffering on communities and on a whole country can take a step forward. It is true that in this enormous field of Colombia there is nevertheless room for weeds You must be attentive to the fruit care for the wheat and do not lose peace because of the weeds. 

Truth is necessary for reconciliation. The pope cited Juan Carlos, who had emphasised this aspect, and let us glimpse in his testimony, throughout this long, difficult, but hopeful process of reconciliation, it is also indispensable to come to terms with the truth. It is a great challenge, but a necessary one. Truth is an inseparable companion of justice and mercy. [. . .] Indeed, truth should not lead to revenge, but rather to reconciliation and forgiveness. Truth means telling families torn apart by pain what happened to their missing relatives. Truth means confessing what happened to minors recruited by violent people. Truth means recognizing the pain of women who are victims of violence and abuse.

Colombia, open your heart as the People of God and be reconciled. Fear neither the truth nor justice. Dear people of Colombia: do not be afraid of asking for forgiveness and offering it. Do not resist that reconciliation which allows you to draw near and encounter one another as brothers and sisters, and surmount enmity. Now is the time to heal wounds, to build bridges, to overcome differences. It is time to defuse hatred, to renounce vengeance, and to open yourselves to a coexistence founded on justice, truth, and the creation of a genuine culture of fraternal encounter. May we live in harmony and solidarity, as the Lord desires. Let us pray to be builders of peace, so that where there is hatred and resentment, we may bring love and mercy.

Francis went on to say that he wished "to place all these intentions before the image of the Crucified One, the black Christ of Bojara". The great meeting ended with a prayer attributed to Saint Francis ("Lord make me an instrument of your peace") and with the greeting of some children. The pope then travelled by car to the Parque de los Fundadores where the Cross of Reconciliation is located, with a broken Christ like the Crucifix of Bojaya.
Bakersfield, CA (93308)

Today

Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low around 40F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low around 40F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph.
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Former Bomet Governor Isaac Ruto joined his Jubilee true after he defeated NASA yesterday. The former CoG leader said that he knew that the Deputy President William Ruto is the King of Rift Valley and claimed that he had no powers of getting votes in South Rift."If you cannot beat them, join them." "They were eating meat and we were salivating, I just decided to join in the race of eating meat," he said.On Friday he won a declaration of support from former Bomet Governor and NASA Principal Isaac Rutto.Today I have returned to where I belong, Ruto told a cheering crowd.Emurua Dikir MP Johanna Ngeno of Kanu, who has been a fierce critic of DP William Ruto, also returned to the fold at a Jubilee rally at Kapkatet grounds in Kericho county. Ngeno pledged to work with the government and called on the DP to unify the Kalenjin nation.We are here and we have come to support you and vote for you so you continue working for Kenyans, Ruto declared.This ended days of speculation on his next move after his humiliating defeat.He is a good man because he has decided that at all costs this time round we must walk together. Gideon is here, Isaac is here, we shall walk together, Ruto said.The community is bigger than me, bigger than Ruto and anyone else. that is why we are saying we closed the shop there and vowed to come back home, he said.The Rift VAlley region elders from different tribes urged their people to support DP Ruto until 2022. The elders said that they will reach their fellows in Turkana to support the DP Ruto bid.Former Nyeri Senator Mutahi Kagwe yesterday said Jubilee has almost locked up support from the entire Rift Valley and now will focus on Turkana.The northernmost county of the Rift Valley voted for Raila on August 8 and its Governor Josphat Nanok has been a close ally of the former Prime Minister.It is very clear now. Indications are that even those people who were against Uhuru Kenyatta and Jubilee, in the beginning, have seen the winning combination. It would be good for Turkana to support the President because of all the development projects he has lined up for the area, Kagwe said.The job of elected leaders doesnt belong to the IEBC, it doesnt belong to the High Court or Raila, but the people of Kenya, President Uhuru Kenyatta said."The People of Kenya will exercise their will in 17th October and people must vote. We are happy and hope to win again. The votes are with the people and not the courts. We will make sure we retain our seats." President Kenyatta Added.
A Hurricane Watch is posted for Pinellas, Hillsborough and Polk counties in the Bay News 9 viewing area.

A Hurricane Warning is posted for Manatee County and parts south.



A Storm Surge Watch is in effect for north of Venice to Anclote River and Tampa Bay.



Hurricane Irma is still projected to come up through South Florida as a major hurricane.

If you should lose power but still have wifi access or cell phone data you will be able to watch Bay News 9:

As Irma reaches Florida, more watches and warnings will be issued.

Irma is forecast to directly impact Florida based on the latest track and forecast models with a projected landfall Sunday morning in South Florida, however bands of rain will spread north to Central Florida starting Saturday night.

Preparations locally should be brought to completion in anticipation of hurricane force winds among other hazards.

Pinellas County mandatory evacuations for Zone A residents started Friday at 6 a.m.

Manatee County voluntary evacuations began at 7 a.m.

Evacuations started at 8 a.m. Friday in Hillsborough County. It's for those registered with the county as special needs residents who live in Zone A. There are two shelters for those residents: USF Sundome and Strawberry Crest.

Voluntary evacuations are in place for Polk County residents who live in manufactured and mobile homes, or in areas of the county that historically are prone to flooding following heavy rains. Residents are strongly recommended to take advantage of open shelters during Hurricane Irma.



In Pasco County, a mandatory evacuation has been ordered for residents living west of US 19.



This evacuation also is for Pasco residents living north of Fox Hollow Drive, west of Little Road. Order also includes residents south of Fox Hollow Drive to the south county line between Regency Park Blvd./Rowan Rd./Seven Springs Blvd. and Little Rd., effective 6 p.m.



The order also is for special needs residents and people living in manufactured homes, mobile homes, RVs and anyone living in low-lying areas or areas prone to flooding.

Irma should continue to move away from the Turks and Caicos Islands and toward the southeastern Bahamas Friday morning. The core of the hurricane will then move between the north coast of Cuba and the Bahamas during the next day or two and then head toward Florida Sunday morning.

Hurricane hunters have found that Irma is going through an eyewall replacement cycle and is a powerful category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.

While there will be some fluctuations during the next few days, Irma is expected to remain a major hurricane until landfall.

In preparation of Hurricane Irma, seven Greater Tampa Bay nonprofits, led by the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay, has set up the Tampa Bay Disaster Relief and Recovery Fund so local residents and beyond can aid in the regional recovery effort. Donors can go here to donate.

Walmart has also pledged $1 million towards relief and recovery efforts.

We are deeply concerned about the devastating impact Irma is expected to have on the families and communities we serve, said Kathleen McLaughlin, president of the Walmart Foundation and chief sustainability officer for Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. We are committed to recovery efforts for our customers, associates and neighbors and will be there to help them through this difficult time.

Latest Updates:

11:50 p.m. - In Hernando County evacuations have been expanded to all areas west of U.S. 19.

11:45 p.m. - The U.S. Postal Service has suspended all operations in the Suncoast district of Florida until further notice in an abundance of caution regarding Hurricane Irma. This means all retail and delivery operations are suspended as of Friday, Sept. 8 at 7:30 p.m. for all post offices, stations, branches, and finance units within the 3-digit ZIP code ranges of 321, 327, 328, 329, 335, 336, 337, 338, 339, 341, 342, 346 and 347.

8 p.m. - The United States Coast Guard ordered condition "YANKEE" for Port Tampa, Port Manatee, and Port St. Pete as of 8 p.m., closing the port to inbound vessel traffic. Before the port closed, ships with gas were unloaded to tankers that then delivered gas to the Tampa Bay area.

Condition "YANKEE" is ordered when sustained gale force winds threaten the port within 24 hours. The condition also mandates that all oceangoing commercial vessels greater than 500 gross tons must leave the port.

The next and final elevated alert status is "ZULU", where all port operations are suspended.



5 p.m. - In anticipation of Hurricane Irma, Walmart has made a commitment to provide support for relief efforts through cash and product donations of at least $1 million to organizations helping in response.

4 p.m. - 7 Greater Tampa Bay nonprofits have set up the Tampa Bay Disaster Relief and Recovery Fund in preparation | Read story



3 p.m. - Bridges to Anna Maria Island will close to westbound traffic starting Saturday at 6 p.m.



2 p.m. - With Hurricane Irma approaching, all Spectrum wifi hotspots will be open across the state so that Floridians can stay connected with families, friends and important emergency services that will help them get prepared and reach emergency personnel if needed.

1:30 p.m. - Lots of new closings, including: Polk, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pinellas, Pasco and Hernando County Publix stores to close Saturday at 8 p.m. And Tampa International Airport will suspend operations at 8 p.m. Saturday. Click here for more closings.



11 a.m. - A Hurricane Watch is posted for Pinellas, Hillsborough, Polk and Manatee Counties in the Bay News 9 viewing area.

10 a.m. - Excerpts from Gov. Rick Scott Friday morning Irma news conference:

If you do not need to be on the roads, please don't travel. Find shelters in your area.

"All tolls across Florida roadways have been waived."

If you're concerned about evacuating, call 1-800-342-3577 for assistance.

"We need gas stations to stay open as longs as possible for residents to be able to travel to safety."

Unfortunately you are going to see (gas station) lines and unfortunately you are going to see outages.

"The Gas Buddy app is a great tool to find gas stations with fuel."

Over 17,000 people have signed up to volunteer, exceeding goal number. Volunteers are always needed. (1-800-FLHELP1)

"In times like this we band together. We will get through this together. FL is a wonderful melting pot of amazing people."

"Evacuate, keep everybody safe."

8 a.m. - PINELLAS COUNTY: Starting at 10 a.m. today and continuing through the evacuation window, access to the barrier islands will be restricted to the following:

Residents

Property owners

Business owners and employees

Individuals with legitimate business needs

6 a.m. - In preparation for Hurricane Irma, Pinellas County Human Services is coordinating with local partners to distribute evacuation transportation information for homeless residents. Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA) will provide transportation for homeless individuals to local emergency shelters. There is no fee for this service.

Transportation services will take place on Friday, Sept. 8, from 2 to 7 p.m. and again on Saturday, Sept. 9, from noon to 5 p.m., to any of the following locations in:

Clearwater

 St. Vincent de Paul  1345 Park St., St. Petersburg

 Salvation Army  1400 4th St. S.

 Solid Rock Church  4224 28th St. N.

 St. Vincent de Paul  384 15th St. N.

Tarpon Springs

 St. Timothy Lutheran Church  812 E. Tarpon Ave.

 The Shepherd Center  304 S. Pinellas Ave.

Make sure to watch our Tropical Updates each hour at :49

 What exactly are the spaghetti plots?

 Information You Need | Supply Checklist





Remember that the spaghetti model plot does not indicate the strength of a system or even development at all. It only predicts where this broad area of low pressure is expected to go.
COLUMBUS  Columbus Public Library Director Drew Brookhart is leaving his position to return to Colorado.

Brookhart, who has led the local library since December 2014, announced his resignation Wednesday. Hell leave the position Oct. 1 to become director of the Gunnison County Library District back in his home state of Colorado.

With young children the benefits of being close to family have become crystal clear, he wrote in an email to Mayor Jim Bulkley and Columbus City Council members. The position also offers considerable opportunity for professional growth.

Brookhart, who earned degrees from the University of Colorado and University of Denver, was working as a librarian in Aspen, Colorado, when he was selected to take over as the library director here after Jill Owens left the position.

In his resignation letter, Brookhart thanked the library and library foundation boards, city officials and staff and volunteers for their support over the past two-plus years.

I have a deep appreciation for the support I have received from the Columbus community, he wrote. I am more than grateful for the many opportunities I have had to grow both personally and professionally.

The Columbus Public Library Board contributes a level of community engagement for the library that is profound, he continued. The dedication, kindness, caring, and enthusiasm of the Columbus Public Library staff is unmatched.

Brookhart, who was 31 at the time of his hiring, pledged to assist in the transition process at the local library.

Attempts to reach him Thursday and Friday for comment were unsuccessful.

Bulkley said he was surprised when Brookhart called him Wednesday afternoon with the announcement.

I was disappointed to hear this news, but upon learning more about the opportunities that Drew has in front of him I was happy for him and his family, the mayor said Friday in an email.

In the short time that Drew has been library director he has brought a professional style to that position, Bulkley added. He has been a great coordinator in working to pull together the necessary parts and pieces that will eventually lead to a new library/cultural arts center.

Fulfilling that vision will be a major task for the next library director.

Columbus residents voted 1,768 to 1,517 in April against issuing up to $8.5 million in bonds to pay for a roughly 45,000-square-foot library/cultural arts center along 14th Street between 23rd and 24th avenues.

However, the project is far from dead.

Library officials plan to gather more public input, continue raising money and potentially make some design changes to increase public support for the facility before a second bond vote is scheduled.

The rejected plan had an estimated price tag of $16 million, but the goal is to cover at least half the construction costs with private donations, grants and library foundation money. So far, the private fundraising effort led by the library foundation has secured approximately $5.3 million.

The bonds would have been repaid with revenue from the half-cent local sales tax voters already extended in May 2016.
Keith Johnson of Nederland clicked the hose into his gas tank on Friday and watched the numbers tick rapidly upward on the pump.

"The prices are going up all over," he said. "That's what you get with shortages. And of course what happened to Corpus Christi."

Johnson, who works for waste disposal company Republic Service, said gas prices rose in Nederland from $2.15 to $2.39 over the past week.

According to AAA, the average gas price for Texas jumped from $2.17 a gallon to $2.54 in the past month.

In the Beaumont-Port Arthur area, average prices rose from $2.19 to $2.40 over the past week after local oil refineries shut down in response to Harvey.

As several oil refineries across the Gulf Coast slowly work to come back on line, AAA reports the gas prices in 26 states have gone up from 25 to 44 cents from a week ago.

Some refineries are still assessing damage, including Total Petrochemicals in Port Arthur, according to the company's Tricia Fuller. Others, meanwhile, are beginning to get up to speed.

Motiva's Port Arthur refinery, the largest in the country, will be at 40-percent capacity by this weekend.

AAA spokesperson Jeanette Casselano suggested gas prices

may go higher after Irma hits Florida.

Irma, which the National Hurricane Center reported Friday afternoon was almost 400 miles wide with sustained winds of 155 mph, is expected to disrupt Florida's refineries and pipelines, which could further boost prices.

"Consumers will continue to feel pain at the pump stemming from Harvey, with gas prices potentially increasing an additional 5 to 10 cents in the week ahead," AAA's Casselano said. "States in the South, Southeast and mid-Atlantic are most likely to see the biggest surges as these states receive the bulk of their supplies from the Gulf Coast.

Johnson, who has been driving all across Southeast Texas delivering trailers to Republic Service employees who lost their homes in Harvey, said he isn't surprised to hear gas prices may go up.

"Doesn't surprise me any," he said. "Everybody's going to feel that pain at the pump for a while."

TCollins@BeaumontEnterprise.comTwitter.com/tadamcollins
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Texas agricultural officials fear thousands of cattle may have died in the aftermath of Harvey, resulting in losses to ranchers of tens of millions of dollars.

With more than 1.2 million head, the counties affected by Harvey are home to 1 in 4 of all beef cows in Texas, the nation's largest producer.

Officials are still tallying the damages, but one report said that 250 cows were found in a pile after being washed down the Colorado River. Others found alive are often hungry, thirsty and worn out.

"We're finding cattle in waist-deep water," said Sid Miller, Texas Agriculture commissioner. "But when we try to drive them to dry ground, many of them just collapse, they're so exhausted."

For those that do survive the rescue, standing in water for days can cause stress or illness.

Dr. Dan Posey, a veterinarian and clinical professor with the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, said cattle standing in water will have weakened skin and hooves that are susceptible to infection. And the stresses of prolonged standing, lack of food and no drinkable water could make the cattle susceptible to respiratory disease.

"Not all of them will recover even though they were rescued," Posey said.

$10.7B in sales a year

Between 2011 and 2014, sales of beef cattle and calves in the state averaged $10.7 billion annually, according to the Texas A&M Agri-Life Extension Service and Agri-Life Research. Cattle account for half of Texas' agricultural cash value.

But while crops damaged by Harvey's torrents will likely be insured, most ranchers don't insure their herds, often citing costs, with the possible exception of a prized breeding bull here or there.

Thus, cattle raisers could be out hundreds of thousands of dollars if an entire herd were to drown. An average beef cow sold for $1,500 in May at the Oklahoma National Stockyards, branded as the world's largest stocker and feeder cattle market.

The Livestock Indemnity Program with the U.S. Department of Agriculture could provide some aid to ranchers, but Miller said it likely won't be enough.

"It's a pittance," he said. "We'll have to appeal to Congress to put some more money in that fund, I'm sure."

After Hurricane Ike in 2008, economists at Texas A&M estimated more than $430 million in direct agricultural losses. Of that, cattle losses totaled $13.3 million and damages to fences, hay and the like were $23.3 million.

Harvey could be more costly because it affected a larger area, said David Anderson, an A&M professor and agriculture economist.

"I think the fears of our losses are oftentimes bigger than what the actual number of dead animals turn out to be, but this was a big storm," Anderson said. "I think it's just going to take us some more time to find out."

Either way, he doesn't expect it to affect meat prices in grocery stores. Ranchers along the coastal regions of Texas mostly have beef cows used for breeding. Their calves are sent to Panhandle feedlots, where they grow to their full weight before going to meat packers.

Short-term meat prices may be affected if a major storm hits the Texas Panhandle. If ranchers lost cattle being prepped for meat packers, that could affect supply more immediately.

Ultimately, Anderson said, the number of cattle lost in Harvey won't be large enough to affect the nation's beef production, which is on track to yield a record amount next year.

"The long-term trend in the U.S. over the past couple of years is increasing beef production," he said.

Awaiting rescue

Some cattle in Southeast Texas were still waiting to be rescued on Friday, and various entities are providing food to the stranded livestock. The Texas Army National Guard, for instance, has used CH-47 Chinook helicopters to deliver more than 75 tons of hay.

The Texas Department of Agriculture and the A&M Extension Service are collecting donations of animal hay and feed, which will be needed to feed cattle as pastures recover. The Agriculture Department has also received more than $42,000 for its State of Texas Agriculture Relief Fund to help farmers and ranchers rebuild fences, restore operations and pay for other agricultural disaster relief.

The Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association has likewise established the Cattle Raisers Relief Fund for monetary donations.

"We've weathered a lot of storms here in Texas from other hurricanes to droughts to wildfires to other floods," said Jeremy Fuchs, director of public affairs for the Cattle Raisers Association. "Each have their challenges, but in each case the industry has come together to help get those folks back on their feet and back up and running. So we're extremely confident in the long run there's not going to be a large impact on the health of the Texas industry."

As the waters recede and ranchers begin collecting cattle, many will find their livestock mixed in with that of other ranchers.

It will be easy to return the branded cattle once floodwaters subside. But more time, and detective work, will be needed for cattle that aren't branded. Officials will have to match the breed, color, age and other identifying characteristics to ranchers' records and missing-cattle reports.

Andrea.Rumbaugh@Chron.com
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A murder trial came to an abrupt halt Monday after a juror told the judge hearing the case that he had been under the influence of alcohol while listening to testimony.

The trial of Joshua Gonzales, 30, began May 1 in the 437th District Court. Gonzales is accused of fatally shooting Matthew Bailey-Vo on Feb. 25, 2014. The men had been involved with the same woman and came into conflict, according to court records. Gonzales has said he fired in self-defense. Bailey-Vo was shot once in the head.
OSCEOLA  Christian Ludvig Gaedeke, 92, of Osceola, passed away Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2017, at Annie Jeffrey Memorial County Health Center in Osceola.

Memorial services will be held 10 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 13, at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Osceola with Pastor Dan Cloeter officiating. Visitation will be 5-6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the church. Inurnment will be in Osceola Cemetery with military rites by Osceola Legion Post 91. Dubas Funeral Home of Osceola and Stromsburg has been entrusted with arrangements.

Christian was born Sept. 15, 1924, to William Fredrick August and Minnie M. (Auman) Gaedeke, the youngest of seven children, at Silver Creek. He attended country school through the eighth grade and graduated from Silver Creek High School. He served in the United States Marine Corps from Jan. 22, 1945, to Nov. 30, 1946.

On Jan. 25, 1948, he was united in marriage to Gladys Marie Carlson at Fairview Church near Silver Creek. They lived at Swede Home where Chris drove a maintainer doing road maintenance for Polk County. They then moved to Osceola where he worked at Smith Elevators. In 1956, they moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he was employed at Ryerson Steel Company and due to his father-in-laws failing health they returned to Osceola in 1960. After returning Chris opened the Standard gas station along the highway. It was during that time when Chris and Gladys began building their own home where they created a lifetime of memories. Chris later managed the Co-op Service Station in Silver Creek and later worked at the Stromsburg Co-op Service Station. He then went to work at Dale Electronics in the maintenance department where he did carpentry and electrical work for over 20 years, retiring Aug. 28, 1991. After his retirement he continued working at various jobs in the community.

He enjoyed carpentry and woodworking of all kinds, including building kitchen cupboards, working in the yard with their flowers and polka music and dancing. He was a member of the Osceola Legion, Masonic Lodge, Tehama Shriner of Hastings, Order of the Eastern Star and Dale Employees Retirement Association.

Survivors include one daughter, Lynda (Michael) Patience of Shelby; three grandchildren, Jeanne (Duncan) McMillian of Abilene, Texas, Kevin Patience of Laurens, Iowa, and Hyde Patience of Shelby; one great-granddaughter, Keira McMillian of Abilene, Texas; nieces, nephews and a host of other relatives and friends.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Gladys, who passed away Jan. 4, 2015; one infant son, Donn LeMars Gaedeke; parents; sisters, Julia Pipkie, Alwena Nyffler, Amy Larson and Anna Ferris; and brothers, Ralph Gaedeke Sr. and William Gaedeke Jr.

Memorials are suggested to the family in lieu of flowers.
The National Weather Service has extended flood warnings for rivers and bayous in Southeast Texas and Southwest Louisiana.

Pine Island Bayou extended until September 12 at 3 a.m.

extended until September 12 at 3 a.m. Sabine River near Orange extended until September 11 at 4:30 a.m.

extended until September 11 at 4:30 a.m. Sabine River near Deweyville extended until September 14 at 3 a.m.

extended until September 14 at 3 a.m. Calcasieu River near Salt Water Barrier extended until September 10 at 6 p.m.
Guiseppe Barranco/Photo Editor

A C-130, which is a large military aircraft, will begin aerial mosquito control this afternoon in coordination with the Texas Department of State Health Services and FEMA, according to information from the Jefferson County Emergency Management Office.

The aircraft will be flying at low altitudes, the department said, so residents should not be alarmed.
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Update (Sept. 9): As of 1:11 p.m, the boil water notice has been lifted, according to information from the City of Beaumont. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality made the determination through laboratory results, the department said.

Average residential water use in Beaumont is 22 million gallons per day.

"This is just one part," said City Manager Kyle Hayes. "We have a lot of work to do. We have more than 2,000 flooded homes in the city."

"We want to help people return to normal ASAP," Mayor Becky Ames said.

Initial steps to take, per the city:

First flush hot water faucets for fifteen minutes, and cold water faucets for five minutes or until it feels cold.

Flush your refrigerator filter for a least a quart of water, or change the filter.

Ice cubes from refrigerators: automatic ice dispensers should be emptied of ice made during the boil order and run through a 24-hour cycle, discarding the ice to assure purging of the icemaker water supply line.

Run your dishwasher empty for a full cycle.

Humidifiers: Discard any water used in humidifiers, Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP), oral, medical or health care devices, and rinse the device with clean water.

Clean, then flush every toilet with a quick flush

Change All Water Filters Currently In Use

Clean & Sanitize All Pet Bowls

Previous Report (Sept. 7): One of the water pump stations on the Neches River is back up and running, according to the Beaumont Police Department.

The Lawson Pump Station, a permanent site that delivers water to the treatment facility on Pine Street, began working yesterday at 3:30 p.m., according to a statement.

"It is reliable and will provide consistent adequate water amounts," the statement said.

The pressure is stable and preliminary tests required by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality are underway.

It will take 24 hours to process the tests but as soon as they all pass inspection, the city will give the all clear to lift the boil advisory, the statement said.

The city asked that you do not call to report open fire hydrants because they are flushing out water lines purposefully as part of the restoration process.

The second pump station, pictured above, has not re-opened yet.
The Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas awarded The University of Texas at Austin's Dell Medical School a $2.3 million grant to increase colorectal cancer screenings, Community Impact reports.

Here's what you should know:

1. The project will work to raise the screening rate in Travis County, Texas. Only 35 percent of Travis County residents undergo screenings.

2. For low-income Travis County residents or for those without insurance, waits can often be up to six months before they receive a screening.

3. Project Leader Michael Pignone, MD, said in a release, "Weve made tremendous advances in colon cancer over the past 20 years, and its been a very collaborative and gratifying effort. But we have a large population of people who have not benefited from that yet."
The following health IT vendor contracts and go-lives were reported during the past week.

Florida Hospital Zephyrhills, a member of Altamonte Springs, Fla.-based Adventist Health System, launched remote intensive care unit services with Advanced ICU Care.

Yale New Haven Health and Yale School of Medicine, both based in New Haven, Conn., partnered with Appriss Health to integrate their EHRs with the state prescription drug monitoring program.

Perry Memorial Hospital in Princeton, Ill., will implement the Cerner Millennium EHR system.

Sacramento, Calif.-based Sutter Health will use Qventus' artificial intelligence platform to improve inpatient pharmacy operations.

Linville, N.C.-based Charles A. Cannon, Jr. Memorial Hospital launched a partnership with TeleHealth Solution to provide its patients with 24/7 remote hospitalist coverage.
In the midst of its transition to the Epic EHR, Englewood (N.J.) Hospital and Medical Center has named Ravikanth Koganti its vice president of information technology and CIO.

Mr. Koganti most recently served as corporate director of information systems at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital in New York City, and he has held a number of other positions in health IT since 2004.

At Englewood, Mr. Koganti will oversee the completion of the hospital's Epic implementation and all other IT-related activities, including business and clinical initiatives.

Mr. Koganti holds master's degrees in aerospace engineering and electrical engineering from Gainesville-based University of Florida.
Brentwood, Tenn.-based for-profit hospital operator RCCH HealthCare Partners eliminated 62 jobs at Lewiston, Idaho-based St. Joseph Regional Medical Center Thursday, The Lewiston Tribune reports.

RCCH HealthCare Partners acquired St. Joseph Regional May 1. The cuts represent 6 percent of St. Joseph Regional's staff, and comprise the hospital's CMO Michael Rooney, MD, other executives and nurses. No other physicians were included in the layoffs, and some affected services may be relocated.



RCCH HealthCare Partners pointed to declining patient volumes during the hospital's ownership transition as reason for the cuts.

"It impacted most departments across the hospital," Jeff Atwood, a spokesman for RCCH HealthCare Partners, told The Lewiston Tribune.



In a release to the publication, St. Joseph Regional's interim CEO Cindy Cowie added minimal investments in services and physician recruitment affected the decision, which led to staff outnumbering patient need.
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The darkness and gloom brought to the Texas Gulf Coast by Hurricane Harvey last month has dissipated as neighbors and volunteers help the Houston area recover, says a Nebraskan aiding American Red Cross efforts there.

Floodwaters have receded, and residents are working to rebuild their lives, said Karen Franco of Omaha.

"Theres only hope ahead," Franco said in a phone call Friday from Houston.

Franco, a 51-year-old hairdresser, might also be considered a disaster-relief enthusiast.

She's one of 44 Red Cross volunteers from Nebraska deployed in Texas and Florida to respond to hurricanes Harvey and Irma.

Franco arrived in Texas on Aug. 29 and has spent most of her time helping at the Red Cross operations center in downtown Houston. Her tasks include coordinating and expediting supply shipments to shelters.

On Tuesday, she and other volunteers covered hundreds of supply pallets with tarps in anticipation of rain that never fell, she said.

Emergency rescue vehicles continue delivering meals and supplies to people, and nonprofits and authorities are working in concert with each other.

More than 3,500 Red Cross disaster workers are on the ground in Texas, with an additional 430 on the way, said Dick Dinsdale, a spokesman for the Red Cross region that includes Nebraska, Kansas and southwest Iowa. The organization also has more than 150 representatives helping in Louisiana.

On Friday, Red Cross crews were moving supplies and volunteers into the Southeast as Hurricane Irma advanced on Florida, Dinsdale said.

Franco said she has been amazed at the logistics of the Red Cross's operation, and her time in Texas reinforces the importance of volunteering in times of need, she said.

Franco has run a salon out of her home for 20 years but is now studying emergency management and nonprofit administration at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

She's been drawn to disaster relief in times of need since a tornado leveled Joplin, Missouri, in 2011, she said.

After driving there on her own and assisting recovery efforts, she started volunteering with other organizations and responding to other disasters sites in Nebraska and the region.

She encourages others to help out when disasters strike across the country or down the road.

"Its never convenient or easy to do that, but what it pays your heart is beyond any money you can obtain, Franco said.
A Belfast man has been remanded into custody accused of an alleged online fraud over GAA All-Ireland final tickets.

Wesley Brennan (30) spoke only to confirm that he understood the charges against him at Belfast Magistrates' Court on Saturday.

Brennan, with an address at College Green, appeared on a total of 11 offences across two bills of indictment.

In relation to the alleged GAA online ticket fraud, Brennan was charged with fraud by false representation on dates between August 21 and September 7, this year in that he allegedly created false advertising with intent to cause loss to a named victim and "at least two other people."

On that same indictment, Brennan was also accused of stealing a PS4, a controller and six games worth 500.

The nine counts on the second indictment accuse Brennan of two counts of fraud by false representation, six counts of theft and one of driving while disqualified, allegedly committed on various dates between March 24 and July 6 this year.

Giving evidence to the court, a police detective constable said he knew the circumstances behind each of the offences and he believed he could connect Brennan to them.

As no application for bail was lodged with the court, District Judge George Conner remanded Brennan into custody to appear again via videolink on September 29.
Police have issued a fresh appeal over a HMRC scam which cost a Londonderry pensioner her life savings.

Police are urging members of the public to protect themselves against fraudsters claiming to represent HMRC following several reports of incidents in east Belfast on Friday.

PSNI chief inspector David Moore said: "On each occasion an elderly person was contacted by telephone, by an aggressive male claiming to be from HMRC.

"Threats of police arrest and legal action were issued by the individual in their attempt to coerce the elderly people to pay a non-existent debt. Thankfully no personal details were given or payments made, and each incident was reported to police.

"HMRC will never contact you by telephone and ask for payment of tax arrears or threaten you with arrest. Scammers are inventive and can be very convincing, but each scam is designed to tempt you to drop your guard.

"If you are at all suspicious about a call that you receive, hang up and phone the organisation that the person is purporting to represent to check their authenticity. Ideally make the call from another telephone so you can be sure the original caller has not remained on the line."

Last month, one victim (69), received a threatening call from scammers claiming to be from HMRC, saying she would be arrested if she failed to pay back-tax.

The woman from the Waterside area of Londonderry, who has asked to remain anonymous, was instructed to go to her First Trust Bank and tell cashiers the credit transfer was for medical expenses. She lost 4,000. Her bank said the money can't be recovered, her daughter said.

She added that the family is furious over the brazen theft.

"She started to panic that she was in trouble when the call came," her daughter said.

"I'm furious. We didn't know anything about it as she didn't tell us.

"It was 5pm that night when we heard."
A 30-year-old man is due in court charged in connection with an online GAA All-Ireland ticketing scam.

He is charged with fraud by false representation and theft.

He is due to appear before Belfast Magistrates Court later today.

Police say, as is normal procedure, all charges will be reviewed by the PPS.

This week, the PSNI has issued a warning over a GAA All-Ireland ticket scam.

Police said an alleged fraudster claimed to be from Antrim GAA and offered tickets for cash.
Karen Ireland's article in the Belfast Telegraph yesterday, detailing how she wept when her operation was cancelled minutes before surgery, prompted an outpouring from readers who had also been let down by the health service. Explaining how she'd arranged time off work and organised childcare only to be told her op wasn't taking place, Karen pleaded with the leaders of the DUP and SF, Arlene Foster and Michelle O'Neill, to sort out the crisis. Here, some of those who reacted to her story tell Karen about their own experiences - and vent their anger and frustration at politicians for not tackling the crisis.

Frankie Hutchinson Braniff (25), a sales adviser and model, lives in Holywood with her partner Christopher and her son Oliver (almost one). She says:

I was badly burned as a child. My pyjamas went up in flames one Christmas morning when I was two years old and I suffered really bad third-degree burns on my left-hand side.

I didn't let it hold me back and I went into modelling, but every two years I have to have surgery with skin grafts. The last time I was due, I couldn't have it, as I was pregnant with Oliver.

When I got the letter to say my surgery was scheduled I was excited and looking forward to a bit more healing. I was due to go in on Wednesday when I got a call to say there was a crisis in the beds in the burns unit at the Royal and they couldn't operate.

I was devastated as I had taken time off work, my partner had organised time off work and I had got a nursery place for Oliver during the time I would be recuperating.

I still have to pay for that, which is very frustrating, the whole thing has been very upsetting. I have nothing but praise for the team in the burns unit, from the consultants and nurses through to the secretaries. They have all been fantastic with me. In fact, the secretary was really emotional when telling me my operation had been cancelled.

They are real people with real emotions just trying to do their job in very difficult circumstances. It is a vicious cycle which costs thousands of pounds because the theatre wasn't used that day. Eventually I will get my date, but that will take away from someone else due to be operated on and so the cycle just goes on.

It is not good enough.

Kathryn Wylie (52), who has several part-time jobs, lives in Markethill with her husband John and their two grown-up children Ryan (25) and Joanne (24). She says:

I have been waiting since January to have a hysterectomy and my operation has now been cancelled at Craigavon Area Hospital on three occasions. The latest one was on Thursday when I was phoned at 6am just as I was getting ready to go to the hospital. I was told there were too many sick people in the hospital and that only cancer operations were going ahead.

Before that, my operation was cancelled in both June and July when I was called at 4pm on the day before both were due to take place and told they had no bed for me and I could not be admitted.

I was packing my bag when the call came. I was devastated, and for this to have happened three times now makes me really angry both with the hospital and with the politicians.

I have three part-time jobs and I had cancelled my work as I thought I was going to be in hospital and then recuperating.

I am utterly disgusted and just want some answers from someone as to why this keeps happening to me.

Angela (52, who didn't want to reveal her full identity) lives in Finaghy and has two grown-up sons. She says:

I was due to have a hip replacement last year. The afternoon before the operation was due to take place I was getting ready to go into Musgrave Park Hospital when I got a call to say that they had no beds and the operation was off.

I was in floods of tears as I had got myself built up and ready for going in to have the operation.

I was fortunate in that I did have the operation done the next month, but it was still a big ordeal. My poor mum has been less fortunate. She is 83 and has been on the waiting list since May last year for two knee replacements. They were going to do one first, then the other.

Time has moved on and now both knees are as bad as each other. Every time she phones there is no news as to where she is on the waiting list.

Mum is in severe pain and can't even go to the shop across the road anymore. The last information she was given was that it would probably be the new year before she has her op. This just isn't good enough as she is in pain day and night.

Grainne O'Sullivan, from Holywood, explains how faulty air conditioning led to her dad James Cushnahan (74), from Dunmurry, having his op cancelled. She says:

Dad had issues with his knees so I took him to see a private doctor at the Ulster Independent Clinic. He was told he needed a full knee replacement and he could either pay to have it done or go on the waiting list.

He decided to go on the waiting list and almost a year later he got a date in May of this year. I organised my children and my diary so I could go to Craigavon Area Hospital with him. We were at the hospital at 7.30am and no one saw us until 8am. He was kept waiting in the corridor until he got a bed at 11.30am. The consultant and anaesthetist both saw him in the corridor.

Finally, at 2.30pm, they came and told him it was time to go to surgery and I said goodbye to him and left to go and get some lunch. At 3pm I had a call from a withheld number. It was my dad to say that his operation had been cancelled as the air conditioning had broken down in the theatre and all surgery was being cancelled. I couldn't believe it, after waiting so long and being in the hospital all day.

When the consultant came around he explained to my dad that without air conditioning there was more risk of infection.

He was told he would go to the top of the list and once more we began the round of phone calls to see where he was on the list. He was very sick and weak for a couple of days as he had been given pre-op medication.

Eventually, after some toing and froing, he got a date for July 19. I asked that to avoid any stress he be brought in the night before and go first on the list.

The hospital were great at accommodating this, and this time he had his operation stress-free. He was in hospital for a couple of days and then home, and it was a great success.
Arlene Foster and Theresa May look on as DUP MP Jeffrey Donaldson signs paperwork with Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury Gavin Williamson inside 10 Downing Street

The DUP has denied claims that money from its 1bn deal with the Conservatives will not be released until Stormont is back up and running.

The party agreed the extra public spending for Northern Ireland in June in exchange for supporting the minority Tory Government.

However, according to the BBC, a Stormont civil servant claimed "not a penny" of the money will be released until the DUP and Sinn Fein agree a return to power-sharing.

The DUP has said the money does not depend on Stormont being restored.

A DUP spokesman said: "The DUP secured extra funding for Northern Ireland following the agreement with the Conservative Party at Westminster.

"Our priority is to ensure money is spent on our hospitals and mental health services; this includes our desire to see a functioning Executive with a Health Minister in place to deal with pertinent issues facing the department.

"Downing Street has previously confirmed that the confidence and supply arrangement recognises the need for investment in Northern Ireland, even it if proves impossible for an Executive to be formed.

"We want to see those funds benefiting the people of Northern Ireland as soon as possible."

DUP MP Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, who signed the deal with the Tories, called the BBC's claims "nonsense".

He said: "Do the BBC seriously believe the DUP would have signed up to an agreement to secure an additional 1bn for Northern Ireland and made it conditional upon the Executive being formed?

"We are very clear in our agreement with the Government the agreement will only stand if the money is being delivered, regardless of whether there is a functioning Executive.

"The BBC would do well to come and talk to people like myself rather than anonymous civil servants to find out what is going on."

Downing Street and the Treasury have not responded to requests for comment on the claims.

In July the Treasury told the Belfast Telegraph the money was available for the power-sharing Executive to spend on key priorities and that it would not "sign off on projects".

The deal includes 250m of additional funding for the health service and 50m for education, with other funding set aside for infrastructure projects.

When the Conservative-DUP deal was signed in June, DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds said the extra cash was not dependent on the power-sharing Executive returning.

Last month East Antrim MP Sammy Wilson accused Northern Ireland Secretary James Brokenshire of "abdicating his responsibilities" by not releasing the money.

According to the BBC, the UK Treasury strongly opposed the deal from the outset and there is a power struggle between Prime Minister Theresa May, who needs the support of the DUP to prop up her administration, and Chancellor Philip Hammond.

However, the BBC source acknowledged that while there may be "push-back" among some Treasury officials, the reality of the 'confidence and supply' arrangement will mean that the extra resources will still be delivered even if Stormont talks fail.

Senior Conservatives involved in negotiations have previously said that if there is no Stormont deal, direct rule ministers will spend the money negotiated by the DUP.

It is understood DUP politicians have been in regular contact with Conservative ministers and that further high-level meetings are planned for next week.

In a written statement to Parliament ahead of the summer break, Mr Brokenshire also said it would be up to an Executive to agree how it wanted to spend the money. Stormont has been suspended since the snap election in March. It is understood there has been a "definite shift" in relations between the DUP and Sinn Fein in finding agreement this week.

The BBC said: "Deputy leader of the DUP, Nigel Dodds MP, was invited to respond to the story and was later interviewed on air by Mark Devenport. The BBC News NI Online story featured a response from an official DUP spokesperson."
A student from Northern Ireland on a government-backed travel scheme nearly ignited a diplomatic incident after straying into North Korea without permission.

Reece Kidd crossed into the pariah state by accident during a boat trip in China.

The former pupil of St Patrick's Grammar School in Downpatrick narrowly avoided being seized by border troops in a region beset by political unrest.

Governments around the world have slammed the actions of Pyongyang leader Kim Jong-un over his nuclear ambitions and ballistic missile testing.

The 22-year-old was in China as part of the Saltire Scholar programme that offers talented students placements with overseas companies.

Reece moved to Scotland in September 2014 to study software engineering at the University of Stirling.

The Foreign Office urges UK citizens to stay away from North Korea and advises against all but essential travel to the country.

It warns that tensions are high and that foreigners face severe penalties or punishment from local authorities.

Reece posted an account of his trip on the website of Entrepreneurial Scotland, which organised the placement for him at Fidelity Investments in the Chinese city of Dalian.

He travelled across the Yalu River with a local family and said he wanted to visit North Korea as it seemed a "hip place".

The blog post, which has since been deleted, said: "I accidentally crossed the North Korean border.

"Took a weekend break to Dandong, China, which is right beside North Korea.

"I was just enjoying the sun when the driver turns around the corner and we go right along the guard tower. I see some soldiers in the distance, resting beside the water.

"We drive right along beside them before pulling over. They are North Korean uniforms."

The student, who is blond, realised his hair colouring would mark him out as a foreigner to the troops.

The blog continued: "Two thoughts go through my head.

"First, I don't want to be trapped in a North Korean prison. Secondly, I should have worn a cap."

A spokesman for Entrepreneurial Scotland said his actions had been naive and did not reflect the standards of the programme.

He added that the student had apologised and now understood the danger his lack of judgment placed him in. "Scholars are encouraged to absorb and respect the culture of the places they visit during their internships," he said.

"Prior to travelling they are fully briefed on the safety aspects of the countries they visit and their responsibilities.

"Given the escalating tensions in this part of the world this scholar's naive actions as reported in his blog do not reflect the standards we expect from those on the programme.

"The blog has now been deleted and we have spoken with the individual concerned, who fully appreciates his lack of judgment and apologises for his actions."

A University of Stirling spokesman said: "We are aware of this incident and understand that the student regrets his lack of judgment.

"As with all Saltire Scholars, he received a full safety briefing before travelling and understands his actions were below the standards expected on the programme."

He added: "We are relieved that nobody involved came to any harm."
Two men including one armed with a gun have threatened a man at a house in west Belfast.

Police say the pair called to the door of a house at Forest Street at around 11pm on Friday, and threatened the male occupant to leave the area.

"One of the men was reported to have been armed with a suspected firearm," police said.

"I would ask anyone who witnessed this incident or who has any information which could assist us with our enquiries to contact detectives at Musgrave on 101 quoting reference number 1569 08/09/17 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111."
Houston is trying to dry itself out and recover from the historic floods of Hurricane Harvey.

It will take years and billions of dollars.

Unlike New Orleans in 2005 after Katrina, the country's fourth-largest city was as prepared as any metropolis can be for a thousand-year flood.

And unlike New Orleans, Houston's city government was not horribly corrupt and incompetent.

In Houston, no poorly built or badly maintained federal government levies broke open, instantly flooding whole neighborhoods with sea water up to their rooftops and killing nearly 2,000 people.

In Houston, where so far about 40 have died, nearly 1.7 million residents left voluntarily or were ordered to be evacuated by local officials before the flood waters crested.

On a federal level, President Trump is doing and saying the right things, though his critics in the media will never admit it.

They're busy looking for any way to blame him for everything that goes wrong in Houston while complaining he's been too upbeat and hasn't shown the proper degree of empathy.

They're no doubt already trying to link his personal contribution of $1 million to a kickback from Putin.

It's still early, but so far the federal government's response has not caused more trouble for Houston's people or created any political firestorms.

The Federal Emergency Management Administration is on the scene, throwing its money around and promising much, much more.

FEMA clearly has learned some lessons since its failures dealing with Katrina.

It was much better prepared for a major disaster and it's not trying to hog the relief and rebuild process.

FEMA now knows its proper place and its most important role -- providing federal relief money and supporting state and local governments.

FEMA's administrator, Brock Long, encouraged "all citizens to get involved. Donate your money, figure out how you can get involved as we help Texas find a new normal going forward after this devastating disaster."

It was nice to see FEMA encouraging private organizations and individuals to help, but millions of Americans around the country were a step ahead of Long's call.

The bearded bass fishermen and flat-bottomed boat owners of the informal "Cajun Navy" and thousands of other individual boaters drove straight to Houston to help people evacuate or pluck them from rooftops.

Like thousands of individuals, charities, churches and community groups, they answered Houston's call for help spontaneously out of the goodness of their American hearts.

Americans have a history of helping out in disasters at home and abroad and it's been going on long before Jimmy Carter's administration created FEMA in 1978.

After a third of the city of Chicago was destroyed by the fire of 1871, it was private individuals, companies and charities that rebuilt it, not government.

Before the fire was even put out, the people of Cincinnati held a rally, raised $160,000 and sent it to Chicago. Other cities did the same, raising the equivalent of nearly $100 million in today's money and donating much more in food and clothing.

The same thing happened in 1889 when 2,209 people of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, were swept to their deaths by a wall of water from a broken dam.

Americans from coast to coast contributed millions of dollars and sent so many relief supplies by rail to Johnstown that they were asked to stop.

As the city of Houston and its people already are learning, that kind of spontaneous private generosity is not just a tradition, it's part of America's DNA.

Today it's easier than ever to help victims of natural disasters. Thanks to websites like PayPal you can send a $25 donation to the reputable charity of your choice with a click or two.

That's what I did, and when I get back home to Los Angeles, I'm going to go around the corner to the Red Cross office and give to Houston the old-fashioned way -- with a check.
Secretary of State James Brokenshire says the continuing payment of wages to Northern Ireland's MLAs - despite the fact Stormont hasn't sat since January - should be examined.

In a speech to the British-Irish Association in Cambridge last night, the Secretary of State warned that the current situation of drift could not continue indefinitely.

In the absence of devolution, he said that Northern Ireland was on a "glide path" to greater UK government involvement in the day to day running of the province.

"We will need to consider carefully a range of other issues reflecting public concern, including whether it can continue to be justified to pay Assembly members who have not met for several months now," he said.

Last week the Belfast Telegraph revealed that primary legislation is required to change salaries and allowances for members of the Assembly.

But Alan McQuillan, who sat on the Independent Financial Review Panel (IFRP), said the Secretary of State could stop MLA wages in just a couple of weeks if he chose to do so.

Up to 14m is been paid to Stormont's 90 MLAs in salaries, expenses and pension contributions per year. They are still getting paid despite the Assembly not sitting for nine months.
Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams says he is not "naive" about the challenges facing the parties amid talks over restoring devolution but that a solution must be found.

Northern Ireland has been without a devolved government at Stormont since the collapse of the Assembly in January.

Mr Adams was speaking in New York last night.

"In the past fortnight Sinn Feins leader in the north Michelle ONeill has met with all the party leaders and the Irish and British governments," he said.

"For more than a week Sinn Fein and DUP leaderships have been engaged in intensive private dialogue to explore whether a basis for renewed negotiation exists.

"Despite the enormous challenges in trying to find a possible agreement we believe it is incumbent on us all to find a solution which brings about a serious step change in how the institutions must operate.

"Next week will see the commencement of formal inclusive negotiations between all of the parties and two governments. I am not naive about the challenges facing all of us but I am hopeful that we can end the current crisis and restore the political institutions on the basis of equality and respect. That is Sinn Feins objective and intent in the negotiations."
The founder of a lifesaving night bus service that has reached out to thousands of people is stepping down from his role at the charity.

Joe Hyland MBE, founding chief executive of the SOS bus service, said he has resigned from his position after 10 years at the helm of a charity that has saved countless lives.

The outreach project is easily identified by its big yellow buses that are dotted throughout Belfast and other parts of Northern Ireland at night.

Opened in 2007, the 60ft bus first served the Shaftesbury Square area at night offering food, tea and coffee and medical treatment to the public.

Last month, Joe handed in his notice, bringing an end to his tenure following a mutual decision between Joe and the charity's board.

"It wasn't any easy decision to make," he said.

The 62-year-old cited the charity's financial future as a major factor in deciding his next step.

"The environment that we have built SOS in has been really tough," he added.

"Like all charities we have suffered over the last few years because of cuts and austerity but we have managed to fight and build this thing and SOS today has grown to three big buses worth 160,000.

"We collect from 19 different stores and supermarkets. In total we collected 36,000 trays of food. We are feeding lots of people using mini-buses and volunteers who are out every day and every night.

"We reached a point where the pressure on funding was enormous and I was the major funder and it was my networks that was providing most of the money and it was killing me.

"Last year really hurt me when I had to find a quarter of a million pounds in the last three months of the year. Not unfairly, my board said you can't keep on growing this thing, whereas I want to keep on growing it and my board want to make it safe and sustainable.

"I left reluctantly and wasn't overly happy with it."

The charity, which was given the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service, first started as a provision of night-time services on the streets of Belfast.

It has since grown into other areas including a schools' Education and Empowerment Programme and a rapidly growing food redistribution programme.

It comes at a high cost, however and the bill for running the charity has gradually grown to around 10,000 a week.

Joe added: "I am worried as I was the major fundraiser and they (the board) have taken on that responsibility.

"These are services that are needed more today on the streets of Belfast than they ever have been. We had a 54% increase in the number of young people we looked after between 2015 and 2016.

"There are more drugs out there than ever, but there's fewer police.

"I am not happy as our youngsters are often left to their own devices when they need us most, and that's why I created SOS."

Speaking about his future plans, he said: "I've been approached to do some things and they excite me.

"I have had 10 of the most fabulous years with 240 volunteers and a wonderful team in the office and great staff.

"I know I want to continue making a difference on the streets of Belfast."

Stephen McClelland, chairman of the board said: "As a result of Joe's outstanding vision, leadership and dedication, the last 10 years have seen the charity grow into a significant organisation committed to enhancing the well-being and safety of our community.

"Since founding the charity with two other leading business people in 2007, Joe's hard work and commitment have been recognised in several ways.

"We wish Joe every success for the future and recognise the debt of gratitude we owe him.

"The Board of Trustees of SOS NI has every confidence in the Staff Team as Pete Loughins now takes up the position of interim chief executive going forward."
Norman Dickson doesn't need to be reminded that he's a war hero.

Indeed, even at the age of 96 the memories remain vivid.

And the sprightly veteran, who is originally from Comber, has a host of medals testifying to the courage he displayed on the battlefields of the Second World War.

Even so, former Royal Engineer Norman remained vexed about the precious beret and badge he lost many years ago.

Not any more, however, because today the Co Down pensioner will be presented with replacements by people grateful for the role he and so many others played in the conflict.

Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph from the Portaferry residential home where he now lives, the father-of-four recalled some of the horrors he experienced.

"I saw all my mates - all young lads - being blown up and there was nothing I could do about it," he said, wiping away tears.

"I lost a brave lot of friends. On one occasion they blew up a boat off the Isle of Wight and there were no survivors."

Mr Dickson, who has 10 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren, pointed to the deeply scarred rims surrounding both his ears.

"That's where the mice ate me," he said. "They were so hungry. They also ate my back.

"A friend fell asleep one night and fell into a pig pen and they ate him alive. It happened on a farm in Holland."

Norman started his training at the Ballykinler base in south Down before going to England, where it was his job to check that the boats were suitable for landing. Also trained in explosives, he said he had no fear of handling them and said he believed it was "your own fault if you made a mistake".

"I didn't make any mistakes," he added.

He remembers taking part in the D-Day landings in 1944 when, along with three other colleagues, he was tasked with transporting 90 tonnes of ammunition and artillery shells.

He also remembers sailing to Gold Beach in Normandy on boat number 51 laden with shells and "with the sea practically above our heads".

Norman not only holds the War Medal, but also the France and Germany Star, the 1939-45 Star and, earlier this year, he was also awarded the Legion of Honour Medal for his participation in the D-Day landings.

"I've very proud of all my achievements but the Legion of Honour medal is probably the most special to me because it's the biggest medal that ever entered Ireland," he said.

The youngest of 10 children, and a twin, Norman - who said he's being well looked-after by care home manager Frances Mullan and her team - recalls existing on little other than chocolate during his soldiering days.

"We had a big bar of chocolate that we all carried about in the tops of our trousers," he said.

"I used to have one square of it for breakfast, one square for dinner and one square for tea. I lived on that for about five years and whatever else I managed to steal."

Although he lost his beloved wife Sarah, who passed away very suddenly in 2013 at the age 89, Norman, who down the years also lost his nine siblings, remains very philosophical about death.

"It was one of those things; when you die, you die," he said.

He also said he fondly thinks of a Dutch farmer he met during his time in combat who wanted him to return to Holland to marry his daughter.

"I can't remember the girl's name but I think about her father often these days," Norman confided.

Sitting in a room beside him in Ard Cuan, his home of nine months following a hip operation, are his daughter Carol (67) and her husband James Davidson (67), who revealed how fate plucked Norman from the claws of death.

"His platoon was split in two," explained James.

"Norman had to go into hospital to get his tonsils out so they took someone from the other half of the platoon and put him in his place and they were sent to sea.

"The next day the commanding officer came in and told Norman that the boat had been hit and that all his mates had been killed."

He added: "Norman always reminds us that it could have been him."
Scene of the incident on the farm in Co Armagh

Thelma Gorman with then Agriculture Minister Michelle ONeill at 2014 Armagh Show

Tributes have been paid to "an absolute lady" who died in a farm accident yesterday afternoon.

Well-known Armagh cattle breeder Thelma Gorman (67) was killed while moving livestock.

Crews from both the Ambulance Service and Northern Ireland Air Ambulance were called to the scene at Drumhirk, but Mrs Gorman's life could not be saved.

The PSNI and Northern Ireland Health and Safety Executive are investigating the incident.

Mrs Gorman's family have been farmers in the Armagh area for generations.

She had been involved in the breeding of pedigree Simmental cattle for many years.

She was also a director of the Armagh County Agricultural Show.

In 2016 Mrs Gorman was honoured as an 'Unsung Hero' of Northern Ireland's tightly-knit farming world.

Ulster Unionist councillor Jim Speers told the Belfast Telegraph: "I knew Thelma Gorman and her family well.

"This is an absolute tragedy. She was an absolute lady, a lovely person. This will be a terrible blow to her family."

Mr Speers said Mrs Gorman was a very caring woman, who was dedicated not only to her family but also to the local community.

"She was a long-time stalwart of the Armagh Show and it wouldn't be what it is today without her help and guidance," he added.

"Thelma and her husband Peter also provided valuable respite care for children with learning disabilities.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with her family.

"This is another tragic example of how dangerous farming can be.

"But at this moment the community will be focusing on providing sympathy and support to the family."

Newry and Armagh DUP MLA William Irwin also expressed his shock at the death.

He said: "I knew Thelma well and I am really saddened by this awful news.

"I want to express my sincerest condolences with her husband and family circle at this very difficult time. Thelma will be greatly missed in the community by all who had the pleasure of knowing her."

Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Lord Mayor Gareth Wilson told the Belfast Telegraph: "This is a devastating tragedy for the Gorman family.

"My prayers are with her family circle, and especially her husband Peter."
Alan Black, the sole survivor of the Kingsmill massacre, outside Belfast Coroner's Court

A document which could contain "fundamental" information about the Kingsmill massacre may have gone missing, a lawyer has told an inquest.

The 42-year-old document provides details about a cross-border panel set up by the RUC and Garda the previous year to share security information between the two forces, the barrister said.

Sean Doran QC said: "One of the chief questions was whether there was joint protocol between the Royal Ulster Constabulary and the Garda.

"A technical panel was established in and around 1974. This panel produced a report in 1975.

"The correspondence suggests that report has not been located by the Garda despite extensive searches both at national level and in the national archives.

"It may well be the PSNI are able to locate those reports".

He said he had been notified of the existence of the document through correspondence from the Republic's chief solicitor's office about the cross-border police panel.

Coroner Brian Sherrard said: "These matters are of importance to our community as a whole, as well as to the interested parties.

"It would be useful if we can redouble our efforts to locate (the documents).

"They seem to answer many fundamental questions about the nature of co-operation (between RUC and Garda officers)."

Alan Kane QC criticised the Republic's involvement in the inquest.

He said: "We don't know where these documents are and really there is no effective co-operation being supplied by the Garda."

The barrister for the bereaved added: "It's time that the Republic of Ireland actually dealt with this matter seriously."

The Kingsmill massacre occurred in 1976 when workmen in a minibus were stopped by gunmen in rural south Armagh.

The workers were lined up at the side of the road and the only Catholic among them was ordered to flee.

Ten of the men were then shot dead. An 11th man, Alan Black, survived despite being seriously injured.

Witnesses have said the attackers then crossed the border into Monaghan before crossing again to Armagh.

No-one has ever been held to account for the murders.

Last year, an inquest into the killings was opened but was halted after just one month in June 2016 when PSNI arrested a man in connection with the case.

However, the decision was made not to prosecute the man due to insufficient evidence.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has warned Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams that the Troubles cannot be used as an excuse to "whitewash" what he described as the "senseless killing" of Louth farmer Tom Oliver.

In his first comments on the murder, Mr Varadkar said there is "no question" of any amnesty being extended to the IRA figures who carried out the atrocity.

Mr Oliver, a father-of-seven, was abducted, tortured and brutally murdered by the IRA on July 19, 1991.

A local priest who attended the post-mortem remarked that "it looked like they'd dropped concrete blocks on every bone in his body".

Senior gardai have been reviewing the murder for the past eight months and have appointed a dedicated officer to liaise with the Oliver family.

The Irish Independent revealed this week that members of the victim's family are still afraid to speak out publicly, for fear of retribution.

Mr Adams has been accused of compounding the family's trauma after he claimed in an interview with his local radio station LMFM that the death was "politically motivated" and that the killers should not go to jail.

Speaking for the first time about the murder, Mr Varadkar rebuked Mr Adams over his comments. "The murder of Tom Oliver was a heinous act," the Taoiseach told the Irish Independent.

"There can never be any justification for the deliberate murder of civilians in any circumstances and there is no question of an amnesty.

"The Troubles cannot be used as an excuse by anyone to whitewash over such a senseless killing."

It has also emerged that Mr Adams himself was holidaying with family in the Cooley area of Co Louth on the day Mr Oliver was murdered.

"I was actually in, by complete fluke, I was on holidays down in Galway and came back up. I was in the Cooleys at the time Tom Oliver was killed. I was with my family in the Cooleys at that time," the Louth TD said in an interview with Prime Time on RTE in 2015.

In the same interview the Sinn Fein leader reacted angrily when it was suggested by presenter Miriam O'Callaghan that he was the "court of appeal" that sanctioned the murder.

Mr Adams denied the claim, describing the accusation as "reprehensible".

But the Sinn Fein president is under extreme pressure after he said last week that jailing the IRA murderers of the farmer would be "totally and absolutely counterproductive".

Senior gardai believe the fresh investigation is making progress.

It has been ongoing for over eight months, however details of the review only emerged in recent weeks.

Mr Oliver was dragged from his home in the Cooley Peninsula before being beaten and murdered by IRA terrorists.

His body was found the following day in Armagh.

The IRA claimed responsibility for the murder and made the announcement in An Phoblacht.
Cambridge University is looking at scrapping hand-written exams  breaking with more than eight centuries of tradition.

The move is being mooted as students increasingly rely on laptops or other electronic devices to take down notes in lectures.

Academics have said it is becoming harder and harder to read scripts provided by students, given they are not used to writing by hand.

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Speaking to the Telegraph, Dr Sarah Pearsall, a lecturer at the universitys history faculty, said: As a faculty we have been concerned for years about the declining handwriting problem  it is harder and harder to read these scripts.

A pilot scheme has already been tested in the history and classics faculties, with the Digital Education Strategy now out for wider consultation, the paper said.
The damage at Orient Bay on the French Carribean island of Saint-Martin

Aerial photos provided by the Dutch Defence Ministry show storm damage to St Maarten in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma

Aerial photos provided by the Dutch Defence Ministry show storm damage to St Maarten in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma

The chairs of the Commons Foreign Affairs and International Development committees, Tom Tugendhat and Stephen Twigg, said Britain's response to Hurricane Irma has been "found wanting".

In a letter to Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and Priti Patel, they wrote: "While we welcome the increase in funding for disaster relief in the British Overseas Territories to 32m and the fact that personnel, equipment and the RFA (Royal Fleet Auxiliary) Mounts Bay were dispatched to the area before the hurricane struck, arriving in Anguilla the day after its devastation, we are concerned that many in the UK's overseas territories in the Caribbean are still in grave need.

"In Anguilla, Montserrat and the British Virgin Islands (BVI) and Turks and Caicos, our response still requires improvement and the arrival of HMS Ocean in two weeks' time will be later than any of us would wish.

"We do recognise that information and analysis is required to tailor a proportion of the relief sent to meet conditions on the ground, but there are also predictable needs and demands in such circumstances."

They said they expect the Government to take a role in the long-term reconstruction of communities devastated by the storm and urged the ministers to set out what they are doing to prepare for the arrival of Hurricane Jose, which could affect already-hit areas.

Relief efforts are under way on islands devastated by Hurricane Irma as a second "extremely dangerous" storm threatens the Caribbean. Some already-ravaged areas are preparing for further possible damage as Hurricane Jose, which has been upgraded to category four, travels through the Atlantic.

Medical supplies and other aid are being flown from the UK to the areas worst affected by Irma following a 32m pledge from the British Government.

The Government of the Turks and Caicos Islands, which were "pummelled" overnight, declared a national shutdown as the hurricane continued its destructive path towards America.

The death toll from Irma has risen to 20, with four more people believed to have died on the British Virgin Islands, it is reported.

US President Donald Trump warned Americans in Irma's path to "get out of its way".

He tweeted: "Hurricane Irma is of epic proportion, perhaps bigger than we have ever seen. Be safe and get out of its way, if possible."

The National Hurricane Centre said the storm was likely to move near the north coast of Cuba and central Bahamas yesterday and today, and approach Florida by tomorrow. Life-threatening wind and rain and a storm surge are expected in the Turks and Caicos Islands into Saturday.

Forecasters said Hurricane Jose could affect already-hit areas, with the British Virgin Islands on tropical storm watch, and the Commonwealth islands of Barbuda and Antigua and British territory of Anguilla on hurricane watch.

Yesterday Downing Street said: "Three flights departed this morning carrying Marines and engineers as part of the MoD task force.

"Tomorrow another C17 will leave carrying two Puma helicopters. And the RFA Mounts Bay ship is due to arrive in the British Virgin Islands... bringing aid and helicopters to help deliver supplies."

It said supplies aid are to be loaded on to HMS Ocean, which has been diverted from the Mediterranean to the Caribbean.
ScanSource Strengthens Portfolio with Lifesize Addition

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By Maurice Nagle

Web Editor By Maurice NagleWeb Editor

Communication and collaboration is the straw that stirs business. Video conferencing is nearly ubiquitous across the industry landscape, as it is a cost-effective way to meet with colleagues and customers from around the globe. Whether youre planning an upcoming event or making that presentation to seal the sale, video conferencing is quite the valuable tool.





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Businesses of all shapes and sizes are demanding cloud-based solutions  from the conference room to the c-suite. And, Lifesize fills this void nicely, as it provides hosted and cloud video services, in addition to HD voice and video systems, which empower resellers to offer more comprehensive conferencing solutions from the ScanSource portfolio.

As the hosted video conferencing market continues to grow, our partners are looking for additional ways to deliver video solutions to fit their varying customer needs, said Rich Long, president, ScanSource Communications (News - Alert). The Lifesize portfolio will be a strong addition to our video solutions offerings within our ProAV practice.

The Lifesize platform is easily integrated into third-party endpoints, so within minutes HD communication and collaboration can commence. Now falling under the ScanSource umbrella, resellers of Lifesize conferencing solutions gain the benefit of ScanSource training, support, demo equipment and more.

Partnering with Lifesize, a company that has long been at the forefront of video collaboration, provides our customers with additional cloud solutions and services to enhance their range of AV applications, added James Vickerage, president, ScanSource Imago.

Those in the United States or Canada can acquire Lifesize solutions from ScanSource Communications. Those in Europe must contact ScanSource Imago.

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Edited by Mandi Nowitz
UK police officers are being flown out to help with the relief effort (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

British police officers will be deployed along with almost 500 troops as part of the countrys efforts to step up support to the Caribbean islands left devastated by Hurricane Irma.

Following criticism of its response to the disaster, the Government announced a 32 million aid package and pledged to double any public donations to the British Red Cross appeal for victims of Hurricane Irma, up to 3 million.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced: The UK has just under 500 troops currently in the region.

This is made up of marines, engineers, and a number of medics and specialists, including Army and RAF personnel.

They have arrived on numerous flights that took off yesterday and today which have also brought aid and a Puma helicopter.

Army soldiers have deployed from RFA Mounts Bay on the British Virgin Islands and marines secured the airport to open it for military flights before a A400 flight landed on the British Virgin Islands, bringing a further 50 marines.

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Further flights are expected tonight, said an MoD spokesman on Saturday.

By the end of the evening there will be well over 100 marines and troops on the island, their priority will be establishing security and law and order before providing humanitarian assistance before the arrival of Hurricane Jose.

The National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) announced that British police officers will provide support to the British Virgin Islands force as part of the relief effort.

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It said two members of the UK police cadre, who support the military in times of international crisis, flew out on Friday, while a further 53 British officers from 14 police forces, including the Metropolitan Police, are due to leave from RAF Brize Norton in co-operation with the MoD.

The officers will support the local police force to maintain law and order, as well as helping to find missing people, including British nationals, the NPCC explained.

The organisations lead for international policing, Chief Constable Andy Marsh, said: We received offers of support from officers across the country as soon as this crisis began.

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These officers, and the many others who volunteered, signify our commitment to help those in need and humanitarian instinct of the British police force, no matter where in the world.
The UN refugee agency has made deals with countries, including Denmark, to take in a number of refugees each year

Denmark's minority centre-right government does not want to accept any refugees this year who enter the country under a UN quota system, an official said Saturday.

The UN refugee agency has made deals with countries, including Denmark, to take in a number of refugees each year.

Since 1989, Denmark has accepted about 500 such refugees every year.

But now Denmark "doesn't want to commit ourselves," said integration minister Inger Stojberg, considered an immigration hardliner.

"I don't believe we have room for quota refugees this year."

Ms Stojberg said Denmark had received about 56,000 spontaneous asylum-seekers since 2012 and many of them are expected to try to bring relatives. She said that those already in Denmark should be integrated first.

The anti-immigration Danish People's Party, which backs the government, supports the law proposal.

Holger K. Nielsen, a senior member of the small opposition Socialist People's Party, said it was "totally wrong of Stojberg to close the door to quota refugees", adding she was letting down "the weakest refugees in the world".

No date for a vote in the 179-seat Parliament was set.

Denmark received about 20,000 asylum-seekers in 2015, a small number compared with its Swedish and German neighbours.

Last year Ms Stojberg said the reception of refugees through the UNHCR programme had been postponed, saying Danish authorities should have "a little breathing room to better take care of those who have already arrived".

In Turkey, authorities said 40 Syrian migrants were stopped Friday from illegally crossing to Greece. The migrants, among them 18 children, were stopped off the western province of Izmir.

In footage filmed from a coastguard boat, the group is seen in a rubber dinghy.

As the coastguard vessel approaches, one man lifts and then briefly lowers a small child toward the sea, while another man raises his arms in prayer. The coastguard then pulls in the dinghy and transfers the migrants to its boat.

Turkey and the European Union signed a deal last year to curb the illegal flow of migrants to Greece. Turkey is host to more than three million Syrians who have fled the ongoing civil war in their country.

AP
Pope Francis has brought together thousands of victims of Colombia's 50-year conflict with their former persecutors, presiding over a prayer for reconciliation in the hope of solidifying the country's peace process and healing still-fresh wounds.

In the highlight of his Colombia pilgrimage, Francis flew into an area once besieged by left-wing rebels to pray with victims and urge them to overcome their grief by forgiving their assailants.

And he urged the ex-fighters to have the courage to seek that forgiveness, saying peace would fail unless both sides reconciled.

Looming large over the ceremony in the central city of Villavicencio was a poignant symbol of the conflict: a mutilated statue of Christ rescued from a church that was destroyed in a 2002 rebel mortar attack in the impoverished town of Bojaya.

The battle-scarred torso, missing its arms and legs, was front and centre on stage as a tangible reminder of one of the war's worst massacres.

"As we look at it, we remember not only what happened on that day but also the immense suffering, the many deaths and broken lives and all the blood spilled in Colombia these past decades," Francis said at the foot of the statue.

He told the crowd he wanted to come to Villavicencio to pray and weep with them and help them to forgive.

He embraced victims and perpetrators alike, calling for truth and justice, saying families deserved to know the fates of missing relatives and children recruited to fight.

But he also called for mercy, saying truth should never lead to revenge.

He heard four heart-wrenching stories of courage in the face of loss and of guilt-ridden fighters who were now working to amend their wrongs.

Pastora Mira lost her father when she was six and later a husband, daughter and son over the next few decades.

She recounted how three days after burying her youngest son in 2005, she cared for an injured paramilitary fighter in the son's bed.

Upon seeing the boy's photo he confessed to having been one of the killers and told of the torture that preceded his death.

"I thank God and little mother Mary for giving me the strength to treat him without causing harm and in spite of my incredible pain," Ms Mira said as Francis looked on in solemn silence.

Francis has made reconciliation the central theme of his five-day trip after promising to visit the country upon the signing of last year's peace deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

The event drew thousands of victims from all walks of life - soldiers who lost limbs clearing landmines, mothers whose children were forcibly recruited by the rebels never to be seen again and farmers driven off their land by the right-wing paramilitaries.

"When you forgive you still have the scar of the wound, but yes, I have definitely forgiven from my heart," said Paulina Mahecha, whose daughter disappeared in 2004 while studying to be a nurse.

She arrived at the event bearing photos of her daughter around her neck and a banner accusing the army, police and paramilitary groups over her disappearance.

Juan Enrique Montiel, a former paramilitary member, said he realised he could not start a new life until he faced his victims and apologised.

"We made a lot of victims, so (it is necessary) for us to get where we are, being able to walk without fear as a civilian," he said.

Following the event, Francis joined reconciliation with another major theme of his papacy, concern for the environment, by planting a peace tree at a cross honouring the conflict's more than eight million victims including the dead, disappeared and displaced.

Before the event, the former commander of the FARC published a public letter to Francis.

"Your frequent reminders about the infinite mercy of God move me to beg for your forgiveness for any tear or pain we have caused Colombian society or any of its individuals," said Rodrigo Londono, better known by his nom de guerre Timochenko.

The long-time rebel commander, who is undergoing medical treatment in Cuba following a stroke, said he regretted that he was unable to be present.

Declaring himself a "devout admirer" of the first Latin American pope, he praised Francis' insistence on the dignity of every human being and criticism of an economic system in which rich nations loot the riches of the poor.

In another sign that the Pope's message of reconciliation may be getting through to the deeply polarised nation, the mayor of Medellin said President Juan Manuel Santos would pray on Saturday at a Mass in Colombia's second-largest city with his predecessor and arch-rival, Alvaro Uribe.

Previously the two had refused to appear together at any papal events.

Francis started the day by celebrating Mass in Villavicencio, where he beatified two priests intimately identified with Colombia's conflict. The Pope declared them martyrs who "shed their blood for the love of the flock to whom they were entrusted".

AP
The United States has called for a vote on Monday on a UN resolution that would impose the toughest-ever sanctions on North Korea, a move that could lead to a showdown with the country's biggest trading partner China and its neighbour Russia.

The Trump administration adopted a totally new approach with this resolution, circulating an American draft on Tuesday and setting a vote six days later.

With previous sanctions resolutions, the US spent weeks and sometimes months negotiating the text with China and then presenting a resolution to the rest of the Security Council for a vote.

Several diplomats said the US demand for a speedy council vote was aimed at putting maximum pressure on China and reflected Washington's escalating concern over North Korea's latest nuclear test, which its leaders touted as a hydrogen bomb, and its recent ballistic missile launch over Japan.

The UK's UN ambassador Matthew Rycroft, who backs "robust" new sanctions, said Thursday that the US proposals to ban all oil imports and textile exports and prohibit North Koreans from working overseas - which helps fund and fuel the country's nuclear and missile programmes - are "a proportionate response" to its "illegal and reckless behaviour".

Mr Rycroft stressed that "maximum possible pressure" must be exerted on North Korea to change course and give diplomacy a chance to end the crisis.

The proposed US sanctions would also freeze all foreign financial assets of the government and its leader, Kim Jong Un.

The US draft also identified nine ships that have carried out activities prohibited by previous UN resolutions and would authorise any UN member state to stop these vessels on the high seas without their consent and use "all necessary measures" - which in UN language includes force - to carry out an inspection and direct the vessel to a port.

Diplomats said all 15 Security Council members discussed the draft on Friday, and both China and Russia appeared willing to negotiate.

Russia has said sanctions are not working and President Vladimir Putin expressed concern that a total oil cut-off could hurt the North Korean people.

Beijing and Moscow have called for a resolution that focuses on a political solution and have proposed a freeze-for-freeze that would halt North Korean nuclear and missile tests in exchange for the US and South Korea halting their joint military exercises - an initiative rejected by the Donald Trump administration.

There was no word on the outcome of negotiations, and whether any changes sought by the Russians and Chinese were acceptable to the United States.

A brief statement from the US Mission to the United Nations late Friday said: "This evening, the United States informed the UN Security Council that it intends to call a meeting to vote on a draft resolution to establish additional sanctions on North Korea on Monday, September 11."

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who called the nuclear risk in North Korea the most dangerous crisis in the world today, told reporters Tuesday that "the unity of the Security Council is absolutely crucial".

He said that only a united council can provide the pressure needed to enable successful negotiations to take place to denuclearise the Korean Peninsula.

AP
Eschewing tradition: the Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Nuala McAllister, chose not have grace said at her installation dinner

In a world where millions are starving and the major countries are desperately trying to prevent a nuclear war, it may seem unimportant that the new Lord Mayor of Belfast, Nuala McAllister, chose not to have grace said at her installation dinner last week.

Instead there was the extraordinary spectacle of the new Presbyterian Moderator Dr Noble McNeely saying prayers at his table at the request of fellow guests .

It is difficult to imagine a literally more graceless start to the year by any Lord Mayor whose role it is to be inclusive, and it says a great deal about the sad state of politics, religion and culture in our province.

Perhaps we should not be too hard on her personally, as she is entitled to her views, however, the one way not to be inclusive is to break with a well-established tradition at City Hall which, to my knowledge, has not caused offence to anyone in the past.

So far, I have never heard anyone of a different faith to Christianity or of no particular faith making a complaint because a cleric gave thanks for food, at the start of a formal dinner.

In my travels in the Third World I have seen much hunger and suffering, and it is a haunting experience which few who have not been there can really appreciate.

Therefore a prayer about gratitude for food at a formal dinner has an honoured place in our public life, and should be respected as such.

Of course, a Lord Mayor can decide many important details about an installation dinner, including the guest list, the music and other matters, but it is not a private occasion such as a wedding meal or a birthday or retirement party.

A Lord Mayor, in office, is not a private person, and for 12 months he or she is required to represent all the people of the city. Therefore there is a protocol to be followed and this requires experience and common sense which on this occasion was missing.

Whether or not an individual Lord Mayor believes in Christianity is beside the point. Most of the greatest traditions of Western civilisation have been founded on Christianity and, as the Times columnist Lord Finkelstein, from the Jewish community, noted, in our modern post-Christian Britain, we ignore the rich and meaningful traditions of Christianity at our peril.

This is particularly true in Northern Ireland where a greater proportion of Christians attend church here than in any other part of the British Isles.

The best of Christianity is something worth cherishing, and those who still try to do so in a secular world deserve to be recognised and honoured for trying to do their best for our society.

These people were not honoured or respected at the installation dinner of our current Lord Mayor and Ms McAllister ought to have known better.

The Alliance Party was founded by my old friend the late Sir Oliver Napier (and others) to bring together people of tolerance and mutual respect in a divided society, and if he was alive today he would be appalled by an Alliance Lord Mayor who showed such a lack of tolerance for people who differ from her on their religious views.

All of which compounds my worry that the Alliance Party has lost its way in a miasma of trying to be ultra-modern and being all things to all people.

I am not homophobic but I was appalled by the Alliance Party's decision to require election candidates to support same-sex marriage.

This is a remarkable lack of toleration for individual conscience on such a delicate matter, and begs the question about the Alliance Party's claim of liberalism.

Equally controversial is the Alliance backing for the idea of installing a window in City Hall for gay, lesbian and transgender people who have made a contribution to the city. Why not a window for fat men, or slim ladies who have made such a contribution - and since when has it been an achievement to be gay or heterosexual?

Sadly, the Alliance Party has lost the run of itself. Ms McAllister's lack of grace at City Hall will give further food for thought to many people like me who used to vote Alliance but may have to re-think our choices.
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Astrology is the millennia-old practice of studying the movements of the stars to determine their influence on our lives. Mixing the scientific and the mystical, this ancient art is still popular today in the familiar form of horoscopes and zodiac signs.

Those who practice astrology refer to twelve equal divisions of the belt-like region of the sky, called zodiac, that corresponds to the apparent path of the sun in order to forecast a persons future. This prediction is called a horoscope.

Each zodiac sign corresponds to a certain birth month, and each of these signs are affected in different ways by major celestial disruptions.

Few such disruptions are as spectacular as a total solar eclipse, wherein the moon passes between the Earth and the sun, blocking it out for a few moments as stellar plasma peeks out around the edges of this dark disk. Fairly rare events, eclipses have historically been looked at with reverence and fear, and have a habit of snatching away the familiar both in the physical sense, as well as the astrological.

Indeed, its strange coincidence that a total eclipse can happen at allthe sun is around 400 times larger than the moon, but it is also almost exactly 400 times farther from the Earth, making the two celestial bodies appear nearly the same size from our human perspective. This means that the moon can perfectly block out the sun, creating an eclipse.

Sounds like there just might be greater forces at work here, doesnt it?

Its natural to look up into the universe and wonder if it all means anything. According to astrologists, it does, and we can know ourselves better by familiarizing ourselves with our zodiac signs, and how the cosmos affect them.

Do you know how a total solar eclipse affects your own sign? Read on to find out!

Aries

If you were born between March 21st and April 20th, your zodiac sign is Aries. Heres how an eclipse can affect you.

The time surrounding an eclipse may usher in both creativity and change for an Aries. This newfound creativity can result in a new ability to express yourself, but may also simultaneously feel as if your life is being turned upside down.

But fear not! This change is for the better, and a fresh start is coming. Be sure that you take advantage of both your fresh start and creative expression to change your life for the better.

Taurus

The sign of Taurus belongs to those who were born between April 21st and May 20th. For these people, an eclipse signals an usual time of change for the normally-stagnant Taurus.

Like Aeries, youll begin to see some major life changes under an eclipse. For a Taurus, these changes will be both necessary and beneficiala solar eclipse will get you out of the rut youve dug for yourself in your family or romantic relationship situations.

A bonus for Taurus: this is a time to take what you want. If you focus on your goals during this time, you may just achieve your dreams.

Gemini

Born between May 21st and June 20th, those of the Gemini sign are in for a treat during an eclipse.

For you, change is going to look like new approaches to relationships, learning, and self-expression. This is a great time to start a new job, move to that new location, or to embark on that degree youve always wanted.

Now is the time for letting go of the past and forging ahead. Dont let anything hold you back, and youll experience renewal and invigoration in all of areas of your life.

Cancer

If you were born between June 21st and July 20th, you were born beneath the sign of cancer. Despite its name, this is a great sign to be under during an eclipse.

Now is the time for you to finally find harmony and support at homea big change for you. Use this newfound stability to go after all of the projects youve been wanting to work on, and youll find a new level of happiness.

Leo

Born between July 21st and August 20th, those under the sign of Leo will receive a clean slate during an eclipse.

Now is the time to get rid of those bad habits youve been trying for years to kick. This transition may leave you with the feeling that youve been swept up by uncertainty, but know thisits for the better. This is your chance to leave your negative habits behind and embrace something better.

Virgo

If you were born between August 21st and September 20th, youre a Virgo. And under an eclipse, you can expect an eclipse to herald a potentially rocky time.

As the sun darkens, youll find yourself looking inward, kicking off an intensely introspective part of your life. You may not like what you find, but now that youre finally slowing down and taking account of yourself, you can change things.

Dont waste the opportunityits not often youll get this chance.

Libra

If you were born between September 21st and October 20th, youre a Libra, and an eclipse will kick off a time of renewed friendship for you.

If youve been foundering in life because of a lack of cooperation with others, now is the time to connect. Seek out those beloved people youve been putting off for various reasons, and get together. Talk out your issues and projectsyoure much more likely to solve them with a little help from those around you.

Scorpio

Born between October 21st and November 20th, the fiery Scorpio will see some old issues coming to the surface.

This might be an unpleasant experience, but as the moon passes between the sun and the Earth, its time to deal. Get your affairs in orderparticularly your financial affairsand youll usher in some positive life changes that will last well into the next year.

Sagittarius

November 21st to December 20th is the date range you need to be born in to be a Sagittarius. And if this is your sign, an eclipse will have an especially positive effect on your life.

This is the time for personal growth. In fact, the eclipse will bring with it an irresistible desire to grow beyond your present boundaries, and to forge a new path through life.

If you want to find that elusive balance between pleasure and responsibility, this is the time to do it.

Capricorn

You may like schedules and predictability as a Capricorn, born between December 21st and January 20th, but youre about to get just the opposite.

First of all, youre going to find new levels of support from those around youpeople that you havent seen in ages will show up in your life, unannounced.

And second, you may find yourself presented with new financial opportunities that involve others, such as joint loans or investments. Make shrewd use of this, and youll find yourself receiving a great return.

Aquarius

Born between January 21st and February 20th? Youre an Aquarius, and the eclipse is going to inspire your oddball mind to think up some great new ideas and give you a greater shot at the romance of your dreams.

As an Aquarius, youre inspired by the weird and the different. This period of unusual darkness will provide you with just what you need to jumpstart a mind numbed by sameness.

At the same time, you may be headed toward a new relationship in the coming monthskeep an eye out for the signs of love. Your crush might just start getting a twinkle in his or her eye soon.

Pices

Finally, the sign of Pisces falls between February 19th and March 20th. If this is you, listen to what the eclipse is telling youas darkness falls, you need to learn to slow down. If you dont, youre going to burn out.

While you might feel infinitely industrious, youre only human, and everything you have going on in your life is going to catch up to you eventually. Take some time to pay attention to your health, daily habits, and mental health. Think about the routines you go through each day, and weed out those that are unhealthy.

Above all, make a little room in your life for rest. If you dont, youll have a much harder time achieving long-term success.

A Time of Change

If you havent noticed, a solar eclipse is a time for change, sometimes inverting the usual predictions for each sign. While this may be uncomfortable for many, its also a great opportunity to see life from a different perspective for a while, and to get a fresh start with that information.

Embrace eclipses when they happen, and youll fulfill your potential all the better.

Wesley Baines is a graduate student at Regent University's School of Divinity, and a freelance writer working in the fields of spirituality, self-help, and religion. He is also a former editor at Beliefnet.com. You can catch more of his work at www.wesleybaines.com.
Demonstrators hold signs with the picture of slain Indian journalist Gauri Lankesh during a protest in New Delhi, Sept. 7, 2017.

Three days after Indian journalist Gauri Lankesh was gunned down outside her home in the southern state of Karnataka, police have not identified her attackers.

Lankesh, 55, editor of Lankesh Patrike, a Kannada weekly and publisher of her own weekly Gauri Lankesh Patrike, was shot and killed by unidentified assailants outside her Bangalore home on Tuesday. Police sources said they were examining closed-circuit TV (CCTV) footage of the attack.

The journalist was identified as an outspoken critic of Hindutva politics, an ideology seeking to define Indian culture in terms of Hindu values, and Prime Minister Narendra Modis Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) government.

No arrests have been made yet. The investigation is on. We are examining all evidence and all angles. The CCTV footage is being examined, Jinendra Kanagavi, deputy commissioner of police in Bangalore told BenarNews.

Asked if investigators received any tips into the killing, Kanagavi replied, Nothing directly has emerged. We are working in different directions. Different teams have been constituted to work on it.

The state government announced a reward of 1 million rupee (U.S. $15,638) for information leading to the conviction of her killers.

Demand for judicial probe

As investigators showed no progress, news groups demanded a judicial probe and a fair and impartial investigation following protests throughout the country.

Protests were held in Chennai, Hyderabad, Dharwad, Thiruvananthapuram, Pune, Mumbai, Kolhapur, Ahmedabad, Lucknow and Gorakhpur on Wednesday. In Delhi, several media organizations, journalist associations, students and left-wing politicians gathered to protest at the Press Club of India.

A joint resolution adopted by the Press Club of India, Press Association and Indian Women Corps had called upon the government to put all efforts to investigate the matter in a fair and impartial manner to restore confidence among journalists in the country.

We want a judicial probe and speedy trial into the matter instead of a SIT (Special Investigation Team) inquiry. There is so much anger not just among journalists, but in the whole of society, Shobhna Jain, president of the Indian Women Press Corps, told BenarNews. Police should be transparent in disclosing the stage of investigation so people known what is happening,

Lankehs brother, Indrajit Lankesh, told an Indian TV network he was convinced his sister was killed because of the ideas she expressed. It might be the right-wing extremists or it might be the Maoists because of the background, Indrajit said.

Messages of support

This murder is an attack on the free voice in the country. The widest possible unity is needed to check this kind of intolerance, S.K. Pande, president of the Delhi Union of Journalists, told BenarNews. A war is being launched against voices of reason, rationality and those believing in scientific temper. The free spirit of ideas is being attacked in this manner.

Jaishankar Gupta, president of the Press Association who knew Lankesh, told BenarNews, Gauri was an outspoken journalist. Her murder is not just one but is in a series of such acts.

A BJP official responded to allegations the party was promoting right-wing extremism.

A condemnable act of killing a woman journalist is being cynically exploited by desperate opposition and anti-BJP voices in the media to raise intolerance. In Indias federal structure, it is the opposition, Congress party in Karnataka that is responsible for preventing such incidents and bringing the culprits to justice, national spokesman G.V.L. Narsimha Rao, told BenarNews.

Meanwhile, the opposition Indian National Congress (INC) party accused BJP of crushing dissent voices.

Anybody who speaks against the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh, the BJPs ideological think-tank) is attacked and even killed. They want to impose only one ideology which is against the nature of India. Sometimes the PM (Narendra Modi) speaks under pressure, but the entire idea is to crush dissent and this is resulting in a very serious problem in India, INC Vice President Rahul Gandhi said in a tweet.
Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak delivers his speech after boarding a Malaysia Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) train during the official launch of the MRT Sungai Buloh-Kajang rail line in Kajang, Malaysia, July 17, 2017.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak will meet U.S. President Donald Trump for talks next week amid criticism that the White House would host a tainted leader linked to a multi-million dollar corruption scandal thats being investigated in Washington and half a dozen nations.

The visit would mark the 60th anniversary of U.S.-Malaysia bilateral relations and include discussions on ways "to strengthen and broaden" the ties and expand regional cooperation with one of Americas closest partners in Southeast Asia, the White House said ahead of the Sept. 12 meeting.

Najib, meanwhile, has highlighted trade and security as among topics of discussions during his first White House visit since taking office in 2009, saying that the two countries, which are key allies in the fight against terrorism, were eyeing an elusive bilateral trade agreement.

"I hope that the United States will regard Malaysia as a reliable partner in the question of trade, investment, security partnership and combating terrorism, he told the Malaysian media on Friday.

But the run-up to the Najib-Trump talks has been dominated by criticism from groups in Malaysia and the United States against the White House for hosting Najib, whose international standing has been hit by his alleged role in a multi-billion dollar scandal at a state development fund called 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

The U.S. Justice Department is among crime-busting agencies in six countries, including Singapore and Switzerland, probing the scandal at 1MDB from which a total of more than $4.5 billion have been allegedly siphoned off.

Najib is alleged to have received nearly $700 million originating from 1MDB, based on lawsuits filed by the U.S. Justice Department, which said last month that it has launched a criminal probe into the issue.

Last year, it had filed more than two dozen lawsuits in a bid to recover assets allegedly stolen by businessmen associated with 1MDB. Those assets include a diamond necklace for Najibs wife, Rosmah.

The U.S.-based Wall Street Journal in a stinging editorial questioned the White House decision to have a meeting with Najib when he had jailed Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim and is a suspect in a corruption scandal that spans the globe.

It asked the White House to find a diplomatic excuse to cancel the visit. Any embarrassment is better than giving a scandal-tainted leader a White House photo-op, the newspaper said.

Opposition: Publish auditor-generals report

In Malaysia, opposition leaders on Friday urged the government to make public a report by the countrys auditor-general on the 1MDB scandal before Najibs departure for the United States.

Various speculations have been hovering the minds of Malaysians on why this meeting was made, including whether it is an attempt to close the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) case, said Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, the opposition leader in parliament and wife of the jailed Anwar.

If the report is not published, the meeting  could be seen as an attempt to clean-up Najibs name, she said in a statement.

An opposition lawmaker has been ordered jailed for 18 months for violating the Official Secrets Act (OSA) by disclosing a page from the auditor-generals report on the 1MDB issue.

U.S.-based Human Rights Watch said Najibs government was resorting to laws such as the OSA and Sedition Act and the Communications and Multimedia Act (CMA) to go after people who had criticized him over the 1MDB affair,

Still, Trump may find the meeting fruitful as he could discuss issues critical to the United States, such as North Korea and counterterrorism with Najib, some analysts say.

Yes, no doubt, North Korea will be on the agenda, said Azmi Hassan, a geopolitical professor at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia amid reports that Trump is courting Southeast Asian leaders to tighten sanctions on Pyongyang over its illicit nuclear weapons program.

Malaysia is among many Southeast Asian nations that maintain economic and diplomatic ties with North Korea.

It downgraded relations with Pyongyang after suspected North Korean spies assassinated Kim Jong Nam, the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, at a Kuala Lumpur airport in February.

Hata Wahari in Kuala Lumpur contributed to this report.
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Jem's Birding & Ringing Exploits in the Eastern Province and elsewhere in Saudi Arabia
Amid rumors about boats with undocumented nationals coming to shore, and countrywide warnings of terrorist plots, Mon State authorities have attempted to reassure the public, pledging that all security precautions are being taken  and that no such boats have washed up.

Mon State Minister of Security and Border Affairs Colonel Win Naing Oo said at a September 7 press conference that joint security teams have been beefed up in Mon and Kayin (Karen) states, and in Bago and the Tanintharyi regions to monitor land and water entry points.

Security arrangements have been made to prevent unwanted incidents that could breach security and [lead to] issues from Rakhine State spreading into our state, he said. He added that rumors circulating about boats entering Bilu Island in Chaungzone township were not true.

On September 5, the office of the Tatmadaw Commander-in-Chief issued a warning that commercial and political hubs like Yangon, Nay Pyi Taw, Mandalay and Mawlamyine could be targeted by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), a group the government has declared an extremist terrorist organization. Ongoing fighting between ARSA and the Tatmadaw has been restricted to northern Rakhine State. Violence flared there after ARSA staged a coordinated, lethal attack against security posts on August 25. Over 17,000 people have since been evacuated from the conflict area according to the government, while an additional over 146,000 people have fled to neighboring Bangladesh, according to UN estimates.

We have already made security arrangements. We have increased the security by 100 percent. All forces have been alerted, Mon State Chief Minister U Aye Zan said at a separate, September 6 press conference.

Township, ward, and village-level administrators have been instructed to prepare and submit security plans, according to Ye township administrator U Tin Nyunt.

Unusual incidents need to be reported every hour. Up-to-date reports must be submitted if there are any significant [incidents], he said.

A ban against firecrackers will also be observed, according to Ye township police officials.
PR Newswire

NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 8, 2017

NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., Esq., a partner at the law firm of Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF"), announces that KSF has commenced an investigation into Alere Inc. (NYSE: ALR).

On July 11, 2016, Alere announced the recall of INRatio, one of its premier blood testing products, from the market. However, the Company had reportedly known of serious problems with INRatio for years but failed to disclose that information or withdraw the product sooner, even when, for example, it doubled the size of Quality Assurance staff to handle the growing number of consumer complaints related to it. The problematic INRatio tests caused inaccurate, and hence harmful, results for consumers who relied on the test for the proper administration of anticoagulation drugs, as well as other companies who utilized it in their research or clinical trials.

Because of the actions of Alere executives, including but not limited to those relating to INRatio, the Company has been exposed to an investigation by the U.S. Attorney's Office as well as significant litigation by both consumers and shareholders. Recently, in the securities class action lawsuit brought by shareholders who sued Alere for violating federal securities laws, the Court refused to dismiss claims relating to the INRatio recall, allowing those claims to go forward.

KSF's investigation is focusing on whether Alere's officers and/or directors breached their fiduciary duties to its shareholders or otherwise violated state or federal laws.

If you have information that would assist KSF in its investigation, or have been a long-term holder of Alere shares and would like to discuss your legal rights, you may, without obligation or cost to you, call toll-free at 1-877-515-1850 or email KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn ([email protected]).

About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC

KSF, whose partners include the Former Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti, Jr., is a law firm focused on securities, antitrust and consumer class actions, along with merger & acquisition and breach of fiduciary litigation against publicly traded companies on behalf of shareholders. The firm has offices in New York, California and Louisiana.

To learn more about KSF, you may visit www.ksfcounsel.com.

Contact:

Kahn Swick & Foti, LLCLewis Kahn, Managing [email protected] Covington St.Madisonville, LA 70447

View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/alere-investigation-initiated-by-former-louisiana-attorney-general-kahn-swick--foti-llc-investigates-the-officers-and-directors-of-alere-inc---alr-300516031.html

SOURCE Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC
The public is invited Saturday to a flag retirement ceremony at the Army Heritage and Education Center starting at 9:30 a.m.

The Lewis B. Puller Jr. Marine Corps League Detachment 524 will conduct its 10th annual ceremony where it will properly dispose of hundreds of old, faded, worn-out and beyond-repair flags.

The U.S. Flag Code states, The flag, when it is in such condition that it is no longer a fitting emblem for display, should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning.

The Flag Code was adopted on June 14, 1923  now known as Flag Day  by the National Flag Conference that was attended by U.S. Army and U.S. Navy representatives and other national groups, according to U.S.Flag.org.

Its disrespectful to the flag to just throw it out with the garbage, said Jim Grove, a former Marine and member of Detachment 524. Local residents can contact Grove at 243-3788 to arrange for the pick-up of unserviceable flags by Marine Corps League members.

There are also boxes at two locations to drop off unserviceable flags prior to the Sept. 16 ceremony: VFW Post 477, 2104 W. Trindle Road and Carlisle Amvets Post 274, 1580 Ritner Highway.

The public is welcome to bring any unserviceable flags with them to the ceremony, which will include the singing of the National Anthem, the Pledge of Allegiance and comments by Carlisle Police Chief Taro D. Landis, who is a veteran of the Marine Corps and the U.S. Army.

The ceremony will conclude with the firing of a rifle salute and the playing of taps by the Cumberland County Honor Guard.
Cumberland County District Attorney David Freed has been nominated to serve as U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

His nomination by President Donald Trump was among those announced by the White House on Friday. Also, Scott W. Brady was nominated for U.S. attorney for the Western District.

I am honored to be nominated to lead the hard working career prosecutors and civil attorneys in the Middle District, Freed said.

Freed is serving his 12th year as the district attorney. He previously served five years as first assistant district attorney in Cumberland County prosecuting homicides, violent felonies, arson and drug felonies, and was a deputy prosecutor in York County. He also has been in private law practice focusing on civil litigation.

Freed is the former president of the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association and has been a member of its executive committee since 2007. He received his B.A., cum laude, from Washington and Lee University and his J.D. from the Dickinson School of Law.

U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., and U.S. Sen. Bob Casey praised both appointments.

I am pleased that President Trump intends to nominate Scott Brady and David Freed to be U.S. attorneys for the Western and Middle Districts of Pennsylvania, Toomey said in a statement. Both Mr. Brady and District Attorney Freed are seasoned prosecutors who possess a wealth of legal experience from their work in the public and private sectors. I am confident that they will serve with honor and an unwavering respect for the rule of law. I look forward to the Senate confirming them swiftly.

U.S. Attorneys play a vital role in keeping communities safe, upholding the rule of law and ensuring the fair administration of justice, Casey said. These nominees are experienced and distinguished attorneys in their field who are well regarded by their colleagues. Mr. Brady and District Attorney Freed have prosecutorial experience and have served Pennsylvania and our nation with distinction.

Brady is the head of litigation for Federated Investors Inc. He previously served as an assistant U.S. attorney in Pittsburgh from 2004 to 2010, where he prosecuted white collar crime, violent crime and drug trafficking offenses. Brady also served as an associate at Jones Day and at Reed Smith LLP, where his practice focused on multidistrict litigation, white collar criminal matters and internal investigations.

He clerked for Judge Thomas M. Hardiman of the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. Brady serves as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. Prior to law school, Mr. Brady worked in emergency relief and development in Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia. He graduated from Harvard University and the Pennsylvania State University School of Law.
Over the past year several Farmington area churches have made a concentrated effort to better reach out and serve the community. From "adopting" schools and emergency service agencies to providing free supplies, it's a way to serve others in a very tangible way.

Now those churches will come together for a look at what they've done individually in the past year, and to discuss how they can better serve moving forward. That event is for Sept. 16 at Open Heart Assembly, formerly Farmington First Assembly.

The church, along with nine other churches, will discuss how to continue making a positive difference.

Melissa Davis is the wife of Pastor Kevin Davis. The couple attended a training session in 2013 for Rural Compassion - a ministry through Convoy of Hope - to assist churches in rural communities with outreach efforts.

At that time the church adopted Jefferson Elementary. That "adoption" meant the church volunteers try to help the school staff as much as possible. They show up on the first day of school to stand outside and simply greet the students with a positive attitude. They have assisted with landscaping, painting, and have gone in during evening or weekend hours and cleaned all the desks.

The church also donates lots of classroom and craft items to the school's teachers for use however they see fit, and sometimes prepare chili or soup for the staff when they will be putting in a long day during parent-teacher conferences.

We began to do that in November of 2013, she said. Within that year we began having teachers from other schools come to us and say Can you adopt us, too? We could really use some help.'

Over that years period of time, I had about five teachers from different schools asking me the same thing. I had one teacher come to me three times and she'd say really, we need something.'

The couple were invited to speak during a Rural Compassion event in Washington, Missouri in 2015 about their work at the school  a training event similar to the one they first attended when they found out about the ministry.

At that time the two felt it would be beneficial to expand the ministry capability to other churches in the area.

Initially the couple presented the program to some to local ministers without much feedback. Then, one year later when asked back again, a majority of the churches at the meeting expressed an interest in the program.

In the spring of 2016, Open Heart  along with Covenant Bible Church, Memorial United Methodist Church, Nazarene Church, Christian Church, Solid Rock Fellowship, Farmington Presbyterian Church, Farmington Church of God, New Life Assembly and First Assembly of God in Park Hills  began offering services through Rural Compassion to other schools in the district, along with providing services to the Farmington Police Department and Farmington Fire Department.

The Sept. 16 event is a time for the churches to come together and share a time of worship and stories of the difference this ministry has made in the community.

Thats the purpose of this day  to have a reunion, she said. We are going to come together, share some of our stories what were doing and how were reaching people  a reunion to share those stories.

Officials with Convoy of Hope made the decision to visit Farmington when word of the growth of the ministry got back to officials in Springfield.

Spending the day in Farmington will be a camera crew, documenting what the local congregations have done. Davis admits thinking of a video shoot is outside of my comfort zone but she knows the impact such a video will make.

Once that story gets out, it is going to be worldwide, she said. That story will go out worldwide and, I believe that we will have teams of people wanting to come to Farmington to do outreach.

I fully believe that, within the next year or so, well have people coming to Farmington to say, we want to help your town.'"

A number of representatives from the school district, plus the local emergency personnel and representatives from the city  those who have been impacted by the ministry of these churches the last year - are invited to attend the Sept. 16 event.

I think its going to be a great day of celebration and celebrating our community, she said.
DEAR ABBY: My boyfriend and I go away once a year and leave our two toddlers with family. This year, their aunt couldn't watch them, so we asked his cousin "Renee," who we have always liked, to watch them. She agreed, and we paid her $150 for the weekend. We also bought food she liked and stocked the cupboards with foods the kids eat. We knew Renee was having difficulty because her husband just lost his job, and they are about to be homeless (not because of his job loss). We explained the kids' routine and left.

When we got back, she yelled at us for taking longer than expected to get home (due to circumstances out of our control) and stormed out. We realized after she left that almost all the food we had bought for her and our kids was unopened. The packs of diapers were also unopened, and a lot of their clothes were stiff from urine. The next day, when his dad gave him his breakfast, our 2-year-old started wailing and ate twice as much as normal.

We are at a loss as to why Renee neglected our kids, since she always seemed like a great mom to her own. My boyfriend is extremely angry and struggling with guilt. I just want to tell his cousin off and never speak to her again. Your thoughts? -- FURIOUS OUT WEST

DEAR FURIOUS: I don't blame you and your boyfriend for feeling as you do. But I don't think telling his cousin off and never speaking to her again would get you the answers you deserve. There must be a reason why your children's needs were neglected.

You say her children seem to be fine. Before writing her off, take a closer look at her children, because this may be how they are being treated, too. And if that's the case, the family, and possibly child protective services, should be made aware of it.

DEAR ABBY: Lately, I've noticed something curious with responses to the question, "What time?" when setting a date. When people offer to do something for me, I'll ask, "What time would be best?" Rather than answer, they go on to ask me 12 different questions, and we get nowhere. I just want them to choose a time! If it's not good for us, I'll tell them.

Personally, I feel if they're doing us a favor, they get to choose the time. It's incredibly frustrating being stuck in a game of, "Well, what time is good for YOU?" back and forth for five minutes. I just want an answer. Then I can make it work or offer another suggestion if need be. I never had this problem before, but now it's happening fairly often, particularly with women over 40. Is there another way I should handle this? -- SCHEDULING IN SPOKANE

DEAR SCHEDULING: These people may be trying to be considerate by asking the questions they do. When the back-and-forth starts, all you have to say is, "Tell me when you'll be here and we'll be ready," and I'm sure they will comply.

DEAR ABBY: My parents are in their 80s. Both are of sound mind and body. However, they never saved for their retirement and never talked to a financial adviser to help them make financial decisions. Dad receives a pension, but upon his death, Mom will receive nothing. This is the way they set it up years ago. They own their home, and that's about it for their assets.

Mom has told me several times they should be in our will instead of others we have chosen. My husband and I have saved for our retirement with our employers over the years. Because my parents haven't done it, we don't feel it is our responsibility to provide for their old age. Should we contact our financial adviser, who will get a chuckle out of this? -- NOT OUR FINANCIAL PROBLEM

DEAR NOT YOUR PROBLEM: Your financial adviser may, indeed, get a chuckle out of it -- but it's not funny. The idea that you should put your aged parents in your will is far-fetched. The odds of your predeceasing them are not promising. The next time your mother suggests it, point out that if Dad dies, the house will have to be sold so that she is provided for. If she dies first, he should be fine financially.

DEAR ABBY: My husband had a heart attack last year, and since then he has become extremely volatile. He explodes for no reason and threatens me. He does not want me to talk about it to his doctor, and he's scaring me regularly. I don't know what to do. I think it may have to do with all the medications he's taking, but I'm not "allowed" to talk to the doctor. He is moody and making me fearful. Help. -- SCARED IN NEW JERSEY

DEAR SCARED: Obviously, something isn't right. Call the doctor anyway. If the doctor refuses to talk with you, write him a letter about the changes in your husband's behavior, his explosive temper and your concern that it might be medication-related. If, after that, nothing changes, talk with a licensed mental health professional about what has been going on.

If you feel you are in danger, call 911. You should not have to live in fear, and if this isn't resolved, you may have to leave the marriage for your own safety.

DEAR ABBY: I have been living in my current home for eight years and frequently receive letters addressed to previous occupants, including medical bills and notifications from the DMV. (I don't open them; the envelopes have return addresses.) How long am I obligated to stick the letter back in the mailbox with "Return to sender"? I'm getting the impression the former occupants use this false address to avoid paying their bills. It makes me feel dirty and complicit when their mail comes to me. -- COMPLICIT IN MARYLAND

DEAR COMPLICIT: Why are you jumping to the conclusion that what's happening is nefarious? The former occupants may have forgotten to turn in or renew their change of address notice, or change the address on their driver's license. Stop feeling guilty for something that really has nothing to do with you. The next time one of those envelopes arrives, instead of writing, "Return to sender," write: "Not at this address."

DEAR ABBY: We have an adult relative who seems to feel it is appropriate to color a picture out of a coloring book in lieu of a gift or money for graduations, weddings, etc. She also seeks approval from everyone at these events to comment on how beautiful it is, to praise her for her coloring ability and how much time it took. We are tired of getting coloring book pictures as gifts. How can we get her to stop? -- MIFFED IN MINNESOTA

DEAR MIFFED: You may be tired of receiving those artistic efforts, but to say that to the relative who gave them to you would be beyond rude. Accept them graciously, and thank the person for the "time and effort" it took to complete them. What you do with them afterward is your own business.

DEAR ABBY: A longtime friend of mine, "Mia," married a little over a year ago and moved a few hours away. They have been having trouble in their marriage, but have been trying hard to make it work. Mia is now pregnant, and her baby is due next month.

Over the past few months her husband has been messaging me on Facebook. He hasn't said anything overtly sexual, but it is clearly flirtatious. I don't know him well, so I either don't respond or give one-word answers.

I feel what he's doing is inappropriate, but I'm unsure how to proceed. He's extremely sensitive and reactive to rejection. I'm afraid if I confront him, I will no longer be welcome in their home. I'm also worried that if I tell Mia, she'll be devastated and our friendship will be ruined. Any advice would be appreciated. -- ANONYMOUS READER

DEAR ANONYMOUS: If you deal with this directly, your friend's husband will likely deny it and become defensive and punitive. Unless his flirtation becomes overtly sexual, continue to ignore it. Do not respond immediately to his messages. If he asks you why, say you are busy. If you feel you must comment, keep it casual, remote and brief. And always ask him to relay regards to his wife. It may remind him that he's married.

DEAR ABBY: Under what circumstances do you ask your adult offspring (still living at home, working, doing their own laundry, somewhat feeding themselves) to contribute money toward household expenses? -- JUST WONDERING IN PENNSYLVANIA

DEAR JUST WONDERING: At what point? I recommend you do it tonight!

DEAR ABBY: I have a friend, "Charlene," whom I met through a local charity organization. We have many things in common, including the fact that we're both retired, and we enjoy each other's company. Charlene is slim (not skinny), very energetic and fit for her age.

The problem is, it's impossible to share a meal with her. As soon as the food is served, Charlene starts a constant commentary about "how big the portions are" and how she "couldn't possibly eat" what is before her (it doesn't matter how little is on the plate). Often, she DOES actually eat most of her meal. Then the ongoing comments start about how she was such a pig, she won't be able to eat another thing all day.

I don't know if she thinks she's setting a good example (I am not slim), or if she has some psychological issues surrounding food. I am tired of this routine. Is there any way I can ask her to stop without hurting her feelings? -- SICK OF HEARING IT IN IDAHO

DEAR SICK: I can see how sitting through repeat performances of those refrains would get old fast. Of course there's a way to get her to stop. All you have to say is, "You know, when you say that, it prevents me from enjoying MY meal, so please don't do it when you're with me."

DEAR ABBY: I have been selected to attend a symposium in New York that will be attended by one or more members of the British royal family. While I feel no animosity toward the royal family, some of my ancestors died fighting for freedom from English rule during the American Revolution.

I think it would be a grave dishonor to my ancestors to address the royals as "Your Highness" or any other term that suggests they are above me, especially since this gathering will take place on U.S. soil. How can I address them in a way that would be respectful, but would not demean the sacrifices of my ancestors? -- KEN IN OHIO

DEAR KEN: Be polite and gracious. Do not raise the subject of the American Revolution, because I am quite sure they are already well aware of it. To smile and say, "It's nice to meet you," would not dishonor your ancestors or embarrass the sponsors of the symposium, and that's what I recommend you do.

DEAR ABBY: I am the mother of a large family. On Sundays, some of them come over to visit me. Sometimes they'll get into arguments and get really angry.

Because this is happening in my home, what position am I to take? I was told by one of my daughters that I should not allow them to come here anymore. Because I am not involved in the argument, I don't feel I should do that.

I enjoy my daughters visiting me. I don't want to tell them they cannot come to their mother's house. What do you advise? -- MOM OF MANY IN THE WEST

DEAR MOM OF MANY: You're the mother. If your family's heated arguments make you uncomfortable -- and a pitched battle would qualify -- you are within your rights to tell them you prefer they argue elsewhere because it upsets you. I do NOT advise you to exercise the "nuclear option" by banishing them from the premises, because to do so would be an overreaction.

DEAR ABBY: I have been in two relationships. The first was with a girl a couple of years older than I am. We were together for several years before she cheated on me and dumped me. I was crushed. The next girl was a few years younger. She did the same thing after we were together a year.

What am I doing wrong? Fidelity is important to me, and they both knew it from the start. How can I avoid this in the future?

I have never been a controlling person. I was always fine with my girlfriends going out with their friends without me if I couldn't go for some reason. (That's how they ended up meeting the other guys.)

The people in lasting relationships I've seen watch each other like hawks, and never allow their significant other to be in the company of the opposite sex without them. Is this normal? Should I be like them? That seems controlling, but clearly, my "no boundaries" relationship style has backfired on me. -- CHEATED ON IN NEW YORK CITY

DEAR CHEATED ON: Few things can ruin a relationship or a marriage like obsessive jealousy can. Watching one's partner "like a hawk" is stifling. It will eventually drive the person away, as you will see as you continue to observe the couples you have mentioned. Please don't try to change the person you are because YOU are just fine.

I believe that in relationships there has to be a certain amount of responsibility. If someone is mature enough to be involved romantically, that person should be willing to admit if things aren't working out. Being cheated on is painful, and being dumped is equally so. Not every relationship leads to marriage, but rather than sneak around to avoid a frank conversation, it's better to practice the Golden Rule.

DEAR ABBY: I am in a predicament. My therapist is great, but sometimes I think she shares too much. Last time I went, she was running late. When I finally got into her office, she told me the previous patient was nonverbal and had painted her nails during the session. Later in the session, she confided that years ago she had been date raped.

Abby, I am in counseling because my father raped me when I was 15 (I am now 24). Her sharing has me worried because I don't want her telling others what I say or do during counseling. Further, her story of the date rape scared me. She described a situation that is not uncommon for me to be in, and it caused something almost like a flashback in me. I think what she did was insensitive, to say the least.

I have nobody else to ask, so what should I do? I'm getting counseling for free now due to my income, and it took months to get set up with a counselor. Should I report her or accept that this was a mistake and say nothing? If I need to report her, how would I go about doing that? -- CONFLICTED ABOUT IT

DEAR CONFLICTED: You should change therapists because it appears this one has more problems than you do. As to what agency you should report her breach of professional ethics to, contact the state organization that has licensed her to practice.

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069
Update 9.45am: A City Councillor has said that relocating homeless Dubliners to rural Ireland is not the solution to the housing crisis.

Minister for Housing Eoghan Murphy said at yesterday's Housing Summit that he would give homeless families the chance to move out of the city, and receive assistance for doing so.

Chairperson for Dublin City Council's Housing Committee Daithi Doolan said: "This is not the magic wand to the housing crisis.

"What I want to see in the Minister's plan is a commitment to three things: affordable housing, an increase and release of those funds for us to build Local Authority houses, and the third and final thing is to cut back on the red tape that's burying our projects in the Customs House, going from a four-stage procurement process to a one-stage procurement process."

Daithi Doolan

Earlier:

The Government's answer to the homelessness crisis has been unveiled.

In the lead-up to winter time, 200 extra emergency beds will open and family hubs will be created with a cost of 10m.

Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy (left) and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar attend a meeting with local authority chiefs to discuss the housing crisis at Custom House in Dublin.

A Homeless Inter-Agency Group is also being established to deliver homeless services.

Some have said that it falls short of what is really needed, considering around 3,000 children are homeless in Ireland today.

The full list of measures introduced by Minister @MurphyEoghan following today's #HousingSummit can be read here: https://t.co/kYycr2XDj8  Peter McVerry Trust (@PMVTrust) September 8, 2017

However, Peter McVerry Trust CEO Pat Doyle of the believes it is a positive step forward.

"We welcome the addition of 200 new beds, emergency beds coming into the sector before Christmas," he said.

"That will get 200 people off the street,

"The Trust, in partnership with the Dublin Regional Homes Executive, will be providing at least 70-80 of those beds, and we're well placed to deliver them.

"When we do then, it will bring the total number of beds that we're providing this side of Christmas to people in emergency services to 520."
Future fathers are being urged to give up alcohol to reduce the risk of their babies being born with birth defects.

The chair of nursing and widwifery at Trinity College Dublin has said that it is possible that alcohol could have an effect on the man's sperm which could pass a problem on to a child.
Parents from the Ballinteer Educate Together school in Dublin say they have invited Minister Richard Bruton to visit their "temporary" building - but he has not responded to them.

It is now over 100 days since they marched on the Dail demanding action over a five-year wait for a new school.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has acknowledged that women in Ireland do not enjoy full equality "in lots of different fields".

His comment came while answering questions in Longford yesterday, about an earlier call by the Children's Minister for "reproductive justice" for Ireland.
Latest: Tourists returning from areas in the Caribbean which have been hit by Hurricane Irma have described the experience as "like being in a nightmare".

Watch live updates here:

British tourists Thanai Caesar and Rochelle Fyffe spoke of their fear, having been in Antigua when Irma struck.

They said the walls of their boarded-up accommodation shook and they could hear things banging against the building outside.

"I feel like the hurricane itself was like being in a nightmare and it was just horrible because the outcome wasn't actually as bad as on other islands, so I don't even want to imagine what the other people felt," Ms Fyffe told Sky News at Gatwick Airport.

"We couldn't sleep the whole night because we were just scared," Ms Caesar added.

Shilan Ghafoor and Hari Jami, who had their honeymoon cut short, called for more help for locals braced for a second storm.

"To be honest it just makes you think because the people who are out there, they're so limited, they don't have enough resources, they don't have enough help and the hurricane has been three days now, four days, and now they're just picking up the pieces, they're anticipating another one," Mr Ghafoor told Sky News.

"I think a lot more should be done from us worldwide to help them out."

Hurricane Irma is now hurtling towards Florida with 125 mph winds on a new projected track that could put the Tampa area rather than Miami in the crosshairs.

The Tampa area has not taken a direct hit from a major hurricane in nearly a century.

"You need to leave - not tonight, not in an hour, right now," Governor Rick Scott warned residents in the evacuation zones ahead of the storm's predicted arrival on Sunday morning.

For days, the forecast had made it look as if the Miami metropolitan area of six million people on Florida's Atlantic coast could get hit head-on with the catastrophic and long-dreaded Big One.

The westward swing in the hurricane's projected path overnight caught many on Florida's Gulf coast off guard.

By late Saturday morning, few businesses in St Petersburg and its barrier islands had put plywood or hurricane shutters on their windows, and some locals groused about the change in the forecast.

"For five days, we were told it was going to be on the east coast, and then 24 hours before it hits, we're now told it's coming up the west coast," said Jeff Beerbohm, a 52-year-old entrepreneur in St Petersburg.

"As usual, the weatherman, I don't know why they're paid."

Tampa has not been struck by a major hurricane since 1921, when its population was about 10,000, National Hurricane Centre spokesman Dennis Feltgen said.

Now the area has around three million people.

Forecasters warned of a storm surge as high as 15 feet along a swath of south-west Florida and beyond.

"This is going to sneak up on people," said Jamie Rhome, head of the hurricane centre's storm surge unit.

With the new forecast, Pinellas County, home to St Petersburg, ordered 260,000 people to leave, while Georgia scaled back evacuation orders for some coastal residents.

Irma has left more than 20 people dead in its wake across the Caribbean, ravaging such resort islands as St Martin, St Barts, St Thomas, Barbuda and Antigua.

The storm weakened slightly in the morning but was expected to pick up strength again before hitting the Sunshine State.

Meteorologists predicted its centre would blow ashore on Sunday in the perilously low-lying Florida Keys, then hit south-western Florida and move north, ploughing into the Tampa Bay area.

Though the centre is expected to miss Miami, the metro area will still get pounded with life-threatening hurricane winds, Mr Feltgen said.

On Saturday morning, the state was already beginning to feel Irma's muscle.

Nearly 30,000 people had lost power, mostly in and around Miami and Fort Lauderdale, as the wind began gusting.

In Key West, 60-year-old Carol Walterson Stroud sought refuge in a senior centre with her husband, granddaughter and dog.

The streets were nearly empty, shops were boarded up and the wind started to blow.

"Tonight, I'm sweating," she said. "Tonight, I'm scared to death."

In one of the biggest evacuations ever ordered in the US, about 6.4 million people in Florida - more than a quarter of the state's population - were warned to leave.

Petrol shortages and gridlock plagued the evacuations. Parts of interstates 75 and 95 north were bumper-to-bumper.

Some 54,000 people crowded 320 shelters across Florida.

At Germain Arena not far from Fort Myers, on Florida's south-western corner, thousands waited in a snaking line for hours to gain a spot in the hockey venue-turned-shelter.

"We'll never get in," Jamilla Bartley lamented as she stood in the parking lot.

The governor activated all 7,000 members of the Florida National Guard, and 30,000 guardsmen from elsewhere were on standby.

Major tourist attractions, including Walt Disney World, Universal Studios and Sea World, all prepared to close on Saturday.

The Miami and Fort Lauderdale airports shut down, and those in Orlando and Tampa planned to do the same later in the day.

With winds that peaked at 185 mph, Irma was once the most powerful hurricane ever recorded in the open Atlantic.

Given its mammoth size and strength and its projected course, it could still prove one of the most devastating hurricanes ever to hit Florida and inflict damage on a scale not seen in the area in 25 years.

Cuba

Earlier in the day Irma battered Cuba with deafening winds and relentless rain today while a second hurricane threatened to lash already-reeling islands elsewhere in the Caribbean.

Cuban coastal cities were clobbered by high winds from Irma that upended trees, toppled utility poles and scattered debris across streets.

Roads were blocked and witnesses said a provincial museum near the eye of the storm was in ruins.

There were no immediate reports of casualties in Cuba in addition to the 22 dead left in Irma's wake across the Caribbean, where the storm ravaged such lush resort islands as St Martin, St Barts, St Thomas, Barbuda and Anguilla.

Many of Irma's victims fled their battered islands on ferries and fishing boats for fear the second hurricane, Jose, would destroy or drench anything Irma left untouched.

On the Dutch side of St Martin, an island divided between French and Dutch control, an estimated 70% of the homes were destroyed by Irma, according to the Dutch government.

Officials said Jose was forecast to dump more rain on the island's buildings, many of which lost their roofs to Irma.

As Irma rolled in, Cuban soldiers went through coastal towns to force people to evacuate, taking people to shelters at government buildings and schools - and even caves.

Video images from northern and eastern Cuba showed uprooted utility poles and signs, many downed trees and extensive damage to roofs.

Eastern Cuba, home to the island's poor, rural population and a major sugarcane-growing area, faces a difficult recovery, with its economy in tatters even before the storm because of years of neglect and lack of investment.

Civil Defence official Gergorio Torres said authorities were trying to tally the extent of the damage, which appeared concentrated in banana-growing areas.

Looting was reported on St Martin. Curfews were imposed there and on St Barts, and French and Dutch authorities announced plans to send hundreds more troops and police to keep order.

It was not immediately known whether US President Donald Trump's luxury property on St Martin had been damaged.

On Anguilla, Vanessa Croft Thompson crammed into her home's laundry room with her husband, her best friend and their children along with their cats and dogs, as Irma's floodwaters swamped her house.

The storm peeled off her roof, rained water inside, and sheared paint from her walls.

"Our hurricane-proof door was bending in, it was warping... and the entire house was shaking like it was an earthquake," she said.

Ms Thompson, the head of the English department at Anguilla's only high school, said: "I don't even know something that's not destroyed.

"There's nothing here that hasn't been ripped apart by Irma."

Update 7pm: Hurricane Irma has battered central Cuba, knocking down power lines and damaging properties - after already devastating parts of the Caribbean this week.

It's now been downgraded to a Category 3 storm - but forecasters expect it to strengthen again as it heads towards Florida - where evacuation orders for up to 6m residents are in place.

The US state's governor Rick Scott issued this stark warning.

"This is a life threatening situation. If you have been ordered to evacuate you need to go right now."

Residents and tourists in the path of the historic storm - estimated to be the size of France - are being warned the "situation could deteriorate significantly" as it bears down on the US mainland.

Having regained its category five status overnight the hurricane has weakened to category three as it batters the north coast of Cuba.

But it is expected to regain its strength before hitting the Florida Keys on Sunday morning with 110 mph winds.

More than six million people in Florida and Georgia have been warned to leave their homes as the National Hurricane Centre warned the storm will bring "life-threatening" wind, with forecasters predicting storm surges of up to 15 ft.

Update 4.22pm: It is likely that the eye of powerful Hurricane Irma will strike the Keys, south-western Florida and Tampa Bay region, the National Hurricane Centre said.

While the core of the massive storm is expected to miss the populated Florida south-east coast, forecasters say the Miami region will still experience life-threatening hurricane conditions.

Its winds weakened to 130 mph when it hit Cuba, but Irma is forecast to regain strength over the ultra-warm Florida Straits and hit western Florida as a strong category four storm.

The storm is likely to come ashore on Sunday.

Hurricane centre spokesman Dennis Feltgen said a direct hit into the Tampa region, which has not felt a major hurricane since 1921, has long been a concern.

Update 2pm: The window for Florida residents to safely evacuate narrowed Saturday as Hurricane Irma's outer bands blew into the southern part of the state.

The hurricane was on a predicted path for landfall southwest of the heavily populated Miami metro area.

The enormous storm weakened slightly to category four with maximum sustained winds of 130 mph, but it was expected to pick up strength again as it takes aim at Florida.

The storm was forecast to reach the Florida Keys on Sunday morning before moving up the state's Gulf Coast.

The National Weather Service said damaging winds were moving into areas including Key Biscayne and Coral Gables on Saturday, while gusts of up to 56 mph were reported on Virginia Key off Miami.

In one of the country's largest evacuations, about 5.6 million people in Florida - more than one-quarter of the state's population - were ordered to leave, and another 540,000 were ordered out on the Georgia coast.

Authorities opened hundreds of shelters for people who did not leave. Hotels as far away as Atlanta filled up with evacuees.

Update 1.50pm: Hurricane Irma has regained its category five status after data showed its windspeeds had risen as it tears past Cuba.

Officials in the Sunshine State warned "time is running out" to escape danger areas, calling on anyone remaining there to follow the mandatory evacuation orders.

The low-lying Florida Keys will be struck first when Irma arrives on Sunday and authorities are reportedly considering withdrawing emergency teams from the islands.

Meanwhile the last flights from major airports in Miami and Fort Lauderdale left on Friday evening and the last services from Orlando and Tampa international airports will be on Saturday evening.

Among those hoping to be on one of the remaining departures was Cathy Robson, the mother of British tennis star Laura Robson.

She tweeted to British Airways: "Is TPA (Tampa) to LGW (Gatwick) still on tmrw?? Cant get through on the phone. My mum's been evacuated & planning on staying by the airport."

The National Hurricane Centre (NHC) has forecast Irma will reach the Keys and southern Florida on Sunday morning, bringing devastating winds, rain and storm surges up to 12ft high.

Hopes the storm had weakened were dashed when an Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter aircraft found sustained windspeeds had increased to nearly 160mph, with gusts higher still.

Forecasters had further dire news for some of the Caribbean islands reeling in Irma's wake as data suggested Hurricane Jose was "almost a category five" with sustained winds up to 155mph.

Jose is expected to come close to the devastated northern Leeward Islands on Saturday.

The NHC has issued hurricane warnings for the Commonwealth islands of Barbuda and Antigua and British territory of Anguilla, while t he British Virgin Islands are on tropical storm watch.

Irma claimed at least 20 lives and left thousands of people homeless when it smashed into the region on Wednesday.

Five of the 22 people reported to have died during Irma are said to have come from the British Virgin Islands and Anguilla.

Earlier: Newly-strengthened Hurricane Irma is heading towards south Florida with 160 mph winds after battering Cuba early todday and leaving more than 20 dead across the Caribbean.

Irma regained category five status last night as thousands of people in the Caribbean fought desperately to find shelter or escape their storm-blasted islands and more than six million people in Florida and Georgia were warned to leave their homes.

Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and the eastern part of Cuba reported no major casualties or damage by mid-afternoon yesterday after Irma rolled north of the Caribbean's biggest islands.

Many residents and tourists were left reeling after the storm ravaged some of the world's most exclusive tropical playgrounds, known for their turquoise waters and lush green vegetation, among them St Martin, St Barts, St Thomas, Barbuda and Anguilla.

Irma smashed homes, shops, roads and schools, knocked out power, water and telephone service, trapped thousands of tourists and stripped trees of their leaves, leaving an eerie, blasted landscape littered with sheet metal and splintered timber.

Yesterday, looting and gunshots were reported on St Martin, and a curfew was imposed in the US Virgin Islands.

Many of Irma's victims fled their islands on ferries and fishing boats for fear of Hurricane Jose, a category four storm with 150 mph winds that could punish some places all over again this weekend.

"I don't think it takes a rocket scientist to know that further damage is imminent," said Inspector Frankie Thomas of the Royal Police Force of Antigua and Barbuda.

On Barbuda, a coral island rising a mere 125 feet above sea level, authorities ordered an evacuation of all 1,400 people to neighbouring Antigua.

The dead included 11 on St Martin and St Barts, four in the US Virgin Islands, four in the British Virgin Islands and one each on Anguilla and Barbuda.

Also, a 16-year-old junior professional surfer drowned Tuesday in Barbados while surfing large swells generated by an approaching Irma.

Many victims picked through the rubble of what had once been Caribbean dream getaway homes.

On St Thomas in the US Virgin Islands, power lines and towers were toppled, a water and sewage treatment plant was heavily damaged and the harbour was in ruins, along with hundreds of homes and dozens of businesses.

Opera singer Laura Strickling and her husband, Taylor, moved to St Thomas three years ago from Washington so he could take a job as a lawyer. They rented a top-floor apartment with a stunning view of the turquoise water of Megan's Bay.

Ms Strickling huddled with her husband and their year-old daughter in a basement apartment along with another family as the storm raged for 12 hours.

"The noise was just deafening. It was so loud we thought the roof was gone," she said, adding that she and the three other adults "were terrified but keeping it together for the babies".

Ms Strickling, who used to visit her husband in Afghanistan when he worked there, added: "I've had to sit through a Taliban gunfight, and this was scarier."

When they emerged, they found their apartment was unscathed and the trees had no leaves.

Irma threatened to push its way northward from one end of Florida to the other, beginning Sunday morning, in what many fear could be the long-dreaded, catastrophic Big One.

Evacuees clogged roads across Florida and Georgia, as far north as Atlanta.

Meanwhile, more than 1,000 miles to the east, authorities commandeered a ferry from Montserrat with room for 350 and began moving people from Barbuda to the larger island of Antigua.

The owners of several fishing boats also volunteered to help.

Frankie Thomas said few structures were left standing in Barbuda, and even those that were not destroyed had some damage.

On St Martin, which is divided between Dutch and French control, cafes and shops were swamped, and the storm left gnarled black branches denuded of leaves.

Battered cars, corrugated metal, plywood, wrought iron and other debris covered street after street. Roofs were torn off numerous houses.

Little was left of St Martin's Hotel Mercure but its sign, painted on a still-standing wall.

William Marlin, prime minister of the Dutch side of St Martin, said recovery was expected to take months even before Jose threatened to make things worse.

"We've lost many, many homes. Schools have been destroyed," he said. "We foresee a loss of the tourist season because of the damage that was done to hotel properties, the negative publicity that one would have that it's better to go somewhere else because it's destroyed. So that will have a serious impact on our economy."

Jalon Shortte said riding out Irma in his top-floor apartment on Tortola, in the British Virgin Islands, was the scariest thing he has ever been through.

The air pressure hurt his ears, trees fell on his roof, windows blew out and a door came off, he wrote on Facebook. The storm even took paint off the walls, he said.

His Facebook page was filled with images he took from around Tortola of sunken yachts, crushed vehicles and mounds of debris. He said looting was rampant.

Amid the devastation, Mr Shortte worked to bring a water desalination plant online.

"We have to stick together and rebuild," he said.
Call me unromantic, but I disliked a lot about the fabled "Sixties" the first time around. Some of the music was good, but otherwise 1968 was among the worst years in American life. The center nearly failed to hold.

As if the Vietnam War were not bad enough, the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert F. Kennedy made it feel as if America's democratic institutions might not survive. Eager for "revolution," hothouse warriors in the SDS and Weather Underground did everything possible to promote anarchy -- from rioting to setting off bombs. During the 1968 Democratic National Convention, pitched battles between street fighters and Chicago police brought chaos and a massive voter backlash.

The most immediate result, brilliantly chronicled in historian Rick Perlstein's book "Nixonland," was the criminal presidency of Richard M. Nixon.

So I found it heartening to see Perlstein take to Facebook to scold the latter-day anarchists of "Antifa." There was nothing subtle or scholarly about it.

"Stop destroying the left, you infantile (bleeps)," Perlstein wrote.

Can I get an amen?

In a subsequent post, the historian quoted an eyewitness account of Antifa goons assaulting KKK-style marchers at a "white power" demonstration in Berkeley, California, of all places.

"Yesterday, at the anti-Alt-Right rally in Berkeley," Leighton Woodhouse wrote, "I watched groups of masked Antifa members in Black Bloc formation swarm individuals who were apparently antagonizing them, and pummel them with their fists, feet and flagpoles. When the victims tried to escape, they were run down, and in at least one case, cut off by the Antifa mob and beaten down some more."

A similarly vivid account of Antifa bullying by photojournalist Mike Kessler appeared in The New Republic. The irony was that until the masked, black-clad social justice warriors appeared, the Berkeley crowd had decisively outnumbered, ridiculed and shamed "alt-right" marchers as the pathetic goobers that they are.

Much as thousands of peaceful citizens on Boston Common had so outnumbered white supremacists a week earlier that they took off their little bedsheets and went home without even trying to harangue the crowd.

That's all that ever needs to happen.

But I don't even need to turn on Fox News to know that Sean Hannity and the rest of the merry band of Trump apologists on right-wing media are playing up Antifa as the moral equivalent of Bolshevik revolutionaries.

Well-meaning journalists such as the Washington Post's Margaret Sullivan and The Atlantic's Peter Beinart are certainly correct to argue that there's no real comparison between left- and right-wing political violence in the United States. The "alt-left" Trump described scarcely exists, and had almost no role in the Charlottesville tragedy.

Beinart cites Anti-Defamation League statistics showing that 74 percent of politically motivated murders in the U.S. since 2007 were committed by right-wing extremists, versus 2 percent by leftists.

The news media's tendency to soft-pedal the far-right motives of killers from Timothy McVeigh to Dylan Roof has long been an instance of willful blindness.

Journalists on the left correctly fear that won't be the case with Antifa.

Also on Facebook, journalist Lindsay Beyerstein explains that she's covered many protests halfway sabotaged by Antifa antics: "I always thought of them as self-indulgent parasites because they'd show up at demonstrations organized by other people and capture the news cycle with petty property destruction."

But when masked intruders quit breaking windows and start carrying weapons, things can change fast. "Paramilitaries facing off in the streets is god's gift to fascism," Beyerstein adds. "Not everyone likes racism and militarism, but everyone likes safety and order. If we've already got safety and order, fascists have nothing to offer casual supporters."

But she predicts that if real "violence comes, the backlash is going to come down as hard against the entire left as it did against the alt-right after Charlottesville."

That's certainly what happened during the Sixties.

My late father taught me an oft-repeated expression I always took as the essence of Americanism. "You're no better than anybody else," he'd growl, "and NOBODY'S BETTER THAN YOU." There was more than a little Irish nationalism in what he said, but he definitely meant it. So do I.

Most Americans do, too. Even under Donald Trump, the great majority remains deeply attached to the fundamental premises of democratic citizenship. They want to believe that we're all in it together -- America, that is -- and they react against anybody threatening that belief.

So that when Alabama segregationists attacked peaceful civil rights demonstrators with clubs, tear gas and dogs, the majority sympathized with the victims -- and brought about the end of Jim Crow. But after rioting tore Chicago apart in 1968, they went the other way. Hard.

Nobody needs the help of Antifa militants and the idiot professors making excuses for them to reject the KKK.

But let them start real trouble, and we'll all end up wishing we'd never heard of them.

Arkansas Times columnist Gene Lyons is a National Magazine Award winner and co-author of "The Hunting of the President" (St. Martin's Press, 2000). You can email Lyons at eugenelyons2@yahoo.com
The United States has called for a vote on Monday on a UN resolution that would impose the toughest-ever sanctions on North Korea, a move that could lead to a showdown with the country's biggest trading partner China and its neighbour Russia.

The Trump administration adopted a new approach with this resolution, circulating an American draft on Tuesday and setting a vote six days later.

With previous sanctions resolutions, the US spent weeks and sometimes months negotiating the text with China and then presenting a resolution to the rest of the Security Council for a vote.

Several diplomats said the US demand for a speedy council vote was aimed at putting maximum pressure on China and reflected Washington's escalating concern over North Korea's latest nuclear test, which its leaders touted as a hydrogen bomb, and its recent ballistic missile launch over Japan.

The UK's UN ambassador Matthew Rycroft, who backs "robust" new sanctions, said Thursday that the US proposals to ban all oil imports and textile exports and prohibit North Koreans from working overseas - which helps fund and fuel the country's nuclear and missile programmes - are "a proportionate response" to its "illegal and reckless behaviour".

Mr Rycroft stressed that "maximum possible pressure" must be exerted on North Korea to change course and give diplomacy a chance to end the crisis.

The proposed US sanctions would also freeze all foreign financial assets of the government and its leader, Kim Jong Un.

The US draft also identified nine ships that have carried out activities prohibited by previous UN resolutions and would authorise any UN member state to stop these vessels on the high seas without their consent and use "all necessary measures" - which in UN language includes force - to carry out an inspection and direct the vessel to a port.

Diplomats said all 15 Security Council members discussed the draft on Friday, and both China and Russia appeared willing to negotiate.

Russia has said sanctions are not working and President Vladimir Putin expressed concern that a total oil cut-off could hurt the North Korean people.

Beijing and Moscow have called for a resolution that focuses on a political solution and have proposed a freeze-for-freeze that would halt North Korean nuclear and missile tests in exchange for the US and South Korea halting their joint military exercises - an initiative rejected by the Donald Trump administration.

There was no word on the outcome of negotiations, and whether any changes sought by the Russians and Chinese were acceptable to the United States.

A brief statement from the US Mission to the United Nations late Friday said: "This evening, the United States informed the UN Security Council that it intends to call a meeting to vote on a draft resolution to establish additional sanctions on North Korea on Monday, September 11."

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who called the nuclear risk in North Korea the most dangerous crisis in the world today, told reporters Tuesday that "the unity of the Security Council is absolutely crucial".

He said that only a united council can provide the pressure needed to enable successful negotiations to take place to denuclearise the Korean Peninsula.

- AP
This star kept Kelce from retiring; have Philly fans seen last of Wentz?
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Medical device maker Abbott has decided to discontinue sales of its most premium stent Absorb. On Friday, it applied to the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) for withdrawal of this stent.
and its temporary workers at the Jamshedpur plant who were on a strike since Tuesday today agreed to end the four-day impasse.

The ice-breaker came in after the unions agreed to the management offer to take 200 of the over 4,500 temporary workers on to the rolls annually. At the reconciliation meeting held yesterday, the workers had turned down instead asked for upgrade of at least 500 workers annually.

Following the settlement, the company said, the plant has resumed normal production. The plant makes around 400 units of commercial vehicles a day, which had come down to 60-70 during the strike.

"We've successfully concluded our discussions with the workers representatives and they've appreciated our offer of providing permanency to 200 workers per year as we've been following in the past.

"Following this, the section of the temporary workers, who were instigated and misguided by the vested parties have ended the agitation and the matter stands resolved," told PTI through an official statement.

When contacted workers also confirmed the development and said a 10-member team representing their cause met with the management and resolved all the issues earlier in the day. The plant is functioning normally and to partly meet the production of around 700 units, the union has decided to work tomorrow as well.

Around 4,500 temporary workers, around 600 of them women, with active support of a union of the Jamshedpur plant were on strike from Tuesday protesting non-payment of revised three-year wage agreement signed with permanent workers' union early last month and higher incentives on par with the permanent workers and making at least 500 of them into rolls annually.

According to union leaders, the strike so far has resulted in production loss of around 700 vehicles a month. The plant makes around 9,000 units a month in three shifts.

As per union, while around 4,500 permanent workers at the plant were given a wage hike of Rs 12,500 per month, the temporary workers' were given only Rs 1,500-2,000. But when the wages were paid early this week, the permanent workers got only Rs 6,500 extra whereas the temporary ones were paid as per the now-defunct agreement, they claimed.

A permanent worker on an average gets Rs 30,000-32,000 a month, while a temporary worker gets Rs 12,000-13,000, the sources said.
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Muslim organisation Jamat-e- Islami Hind (JIH) on Saturday appealed the government to allow Rohingyas to stay in the country till their "constitutional and citizenship rights" are restored in Myanmar.

The Rohingyas Muslim minority from the Rakhine state of Myanmar have been fleeing to Bangladesh and India amid reports of alleged persecution.

"We appeal to the Indian government to continue allowing the Rohingya Muslims who have taken refuge in India to stay as refugees till the time their constitutional and citizenship rights are restored in Myanmar," the JIH president Maulana Syed Jalaluddin Umari said in a statement.

Some 16,500 Rohingyas from Myanmar are registered with the United Nations Human Rights Commission(UNHRC) in India. About 40,000 are said to be staying illegally.

Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju had recently said the Rohingyas, whether they are registered under the UNHCR or not, are "illegal immigrants in India and hence they stand to be deported".

Umri also urged the government to talk to Myanmar and "pressurise" it for restoration of the constitutional and citizenship rights of the Rohingyas.

The organisation also appealed to the international community to supply food and other necessities to those who are living as refugees in India and Bangladesh.

The JIH vice president, while asking for intervention of India to stop violence against Rohingyas, alleged that the government was maintaining "silence" over the humanitarian "catastrophe".

"We feel that India should use its influence over Myanmar to stop the violence. India's silence on such a humanitarian catastrophe is quite puzzling," he said in the statement.
It would be difficult for the government to offer any relaxation to Rohingya Muslims, who have fled Myanmar, Union Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said on Saturday.

The matter is pending before the Supreme Court and the government is also looking into it, Naqvi said at the 'Parliamentarian Conclave' here.

"But I do not think we will be able to give any relaxation to them (Rohingya Muslims) when their nation has refused to keep them," he said.

The Supreme Court had on September 4 sought the view of the government on a petition challenging its decision to deport illegal Rohingya Muslim immigrants back to Myanmar. The matter has been posted for September 11.

Union minister Kiren Rijiju had on Tuesday said the Rohingya people are illegal immigrants and stand to be deported.

Violent attacks allegedly by Myanmarese army men have led to an exodus of Rohingya tribals from the western Rakhine state in that country to India and Bangladesh.

Many of them, who had fled to India after a spate of violence earlier, have settled in Jammu, Hyderabad, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi-NCR and Rajasthan.

On the Uniform Civil Code, Naqvi said the government believes in moving ahead on the issue after evolving a consensus.

The Constitution has clearly stated that the State should evolve a consensus for the implementation of the UCC, he said, adding that the Law Commission had also sought the opinion of various stakeholders on the issue.

The minister said the appeasement policy had hijacked the empowerment of minorities in the last several decades and that the Centre had adopted the policy of "empowerment without appeasement".

This has ensured socio-economic-educational empowerment of poor sections of minority communities in the last three years, Naqvi said.

Providing basic amenities in minority concentrated areas has been the government's priority in the last three years, he said.
Senior Congress Party leader Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday suggested that people like senior journalist Gauri Lankesh were being eliminated because of the existence of an ideological conflict while denying at the same time that his party had never said that the BJP or the RSS was responsible for her murder.

Kharge told ANI, "Never said RSS-BJP behind this, but definitely there's an ideological conflict. Maybe people are being murdered due to that."

"The culprit should be put behind the bars as soon as possible. The police should speed up the investigation. Everyone should work unitedly to restore law and order. The culprit should be taught a lesson. I have talked to the Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Home Minister as well. Sonia Gandhi is also concerned about it and had also talked to the Chief Minister," he added.

He further said that criminals are getting encouraged because of the ideology of government.

Senior journalist Gauri Lankesh was shot dead on Tuesday night outside her residence in Bengaluru's Rajarajeshwari Nagar by some unidentified assailants.

As per the reports, four bullets were fired at her, three which hit in her head and chest.

Her last rites were held at Bengaluru's Chamrajpet Cemetery on Wednesday.

Lankesh was the editor of the Gauri Lankesh Patrike, a tabloid described as an "anti-establishment" publication.

A Special Investigation Team (SIT), comprising of 19 officers, headed by IGP Intelligence B K Singh, has been formed to probe her murder.
founder-president and (BJP) member has said the construction of the in Ayodhya will start on or before 2018.

Speaking to ANI, Khatiyar said the land solely belongs to Lord Ram and no one else.

"If any Muslim community has supported the building of the Ram Mandir, then it is welcome news and,if more people come out in support of building the temple, I will be very happy," said Katiyar.

Talking about the construction of the temple Katiyar said that it will be started soon.

"It is not necessary that it will be constructed in 2018, the construction work can start before 2018," Khatiyar said.

He further said that this is "Ram Janam Bhoomi" and there is nothing there except Ram.

Earlier on July 6, at least three trucks of red stones were brought for building the Ram temple in Ayodhya, under the supervision of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP).

The stones were unloaded at Ayodhya's Ramsevak Puram, the storehouse for construction set up by the VHP.

The carving of stones for the temple is being done under the supervision of an organisation of VHP, 'Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas' and saints.

In August this year, the Supreme Court had said that it will commence final hearing of the long-standing Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title dispute from December 5, a day before the 25th anniversary of the demolition of the medieval-era structure.

The apex court, after an intense deliberation for more than one-and-half-hours on August 12, reached a consensus on commencement of the hearing on a total of 13 appeals filed against the 2010 judgement of the Allahabad High Court in four civil suits.

The high court had ruled a three-way division of the disputed 2.77 acre area at Ayodhya among the parties -- the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and the Lord Ram Lalla.

Another sect of the Muslims under the banner of Shia Central Waqf Board of Uttar Pradesh recently went to the court offering a solution that a mosque could be built in a Muslim- dominated area at a "reasonable distance" from the disputed site in Ayodhya.

However, its intervention has been opposed by the All India Sunni Waqf Board which claimed that judicial adjudication between the two sects had already been done in 1946 by declaring the mosque, which was demolished on December 6, 1992, as that belonging to the Sunnis.

A specially constituted bench, headed by Justice Dipak Misra, asked the contesting parties to complete the translation of the exhibits of the documents likely to be relied upon into English within twelve weeks since these were in eight different languages including Hindi, Sanskrit, Urdu, Persian, Pali and Arabic.

The bench, also comprising Justices Ashok Bhushan and Abdul Nazeer, asked the Uttar Pradesh Government to complete within ten weeks the translation of the evidence recorded for adjudication of the title dispute in the high court into English.

The bench made it clear that the parties would have to strictly adhere to the time frame fixed by it and that no adjournment would be given under any circumstance.

The top court said it would not allow the matter to take any shape other than the civil appeals and would adopt the same procedure as was done by the high court.

It said it would strictly go by the Civil Procedure Code and the Evidence Act.

The court has said that the is a sensitive and sentimental issue which needs to be settled amicably and through consensus.

The court suggested that if required, a principal mediator can be chosen by the court to settle the issue.

The first recorded instances of religious violence in Ayodhya occurred in the 1850s over a nearby mosque at Hanuman Garhi. The Babri mosque was attacked by Hindus in the process.

Since then, local Hindu groups made occasional demands that they should have the possession of the site and that they should be allowed to build a temple on the site, all of which were denied by the colonial government.

In 1946, an offshoot of the Hindu Mahasabha called Akhil Bharatiya Ramayana Mahasabha (ABRM) started an agitation for the possession of the site.

In 1949, Sant Digvijay Nath of Gorakhnath Math joined the ABRM and organised a nine-day continuous recitation of Ramcharit Manas, at the end of which the Hindu activists broke into the mosque and placed idols of Rama and Sita inside.

People were led to believe that the idols had 'miraculously' appeared inside the mosque. The date of the event was December 22, 1949.

Former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru insisted that the idols should be removed. However, K. K. K. Nair, a then local official known for his Hindu nationalist connections, refused to carry out orders, claiming that it would lead to communal riots. The police locked the gates so that the public (Hindus and Muslims) could not enter.

On December 6, 1992, the VHP and its associates, including the BJP, organised a rally involving 150,000 VHP and kar sevaks at the site of the mosque.

The ceremonies included speeches by the leaders such as L.K. Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharti.

The mob grew restive through the duration of the speeches, and stormed the mosque shortly after noon.

A police cordon placed there to protect the mosque was heavily outnumbered.

The mosque was attacked with a number of improvised tools, and brought to the ground in a few hours.
The first day of search of the Dera Sacha Sauda headquarters near Haryana's Sirsa town on Friday ended with a few computers, a luxury SUV and some currency notes being seized, official (old and new currency) being seized, officials said.

Officials said that five children were found inside the Dera premises in the search which will continue on Saturday.

The authorities seized a few computers and hard disks, one Toyota Lexus luxury SUV and some currency notes (both old and new) amounting to a few thousand rupees during the search, said Haryana government deputy director Satish Mehra.

Officials involved in the search remained tight-lipped about the recoveries made inside. Sources said that a couple of rooms in one of the buildings had been sealed and that the search operation could take a long time.

The search operation began amid tight security and curfew in the area on Friday morning. The media was stopped at some distance from the Dera premises to avoid any controversy.

JCB machines, locksmiths, forensic experts and dog squads were called in to assist a comprehensive search operation launched by security agencies and district authorities at the Dera premises.

Internet services in Sirsa district were suspended by local authorities on Friday.

Sirsa: Security forces stand guard at the main entrance to the Dera Sacha Sauda headquarters, in Sirsa district of Haryana on Friday, ahead of the search operations inside the premises. PTI Photo

The search was being conducted under the supervision of court commissioner A K S Pawar appointed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

Senior district administration and police officers, along with para-military forces and Haryana Police, were involved in the videographed operation around the sprawling 700-acre campus. Duty magistrates were appointed for various zones of the Dera.



Officials from police, Revenue, Health, Education, Tourism and other departments also participated. Bomb disposal squads and commandos were also deployed inside as a preventive measure.

All roads leading to the headquarters from Sirsa and nearby places were sealed.

The Dera is spread over two campuses, 600 acres and over 100 acres respectively, about eight km from Sirsa and 260 km from Chandigarh. It houses a stadium, a hospital, educational institutions, luxury resort, bungalows and markets. Hundreds of people and sect followers permanently live and work in the mini-township.

The premises, where the sect chief lived, known as the "gufa" (cave), is itself spread over an area of nearly 100 acres. It is said to have ultra-luxury facilities. The campus has palatial bungalows of his other family members, none of whom are in the premises since August 25, when the sect chief was convicted of rape and sent to jail.

Security was tightened around the Dera headquarters since Wednesday following the approval granted by the Punjab and Haryana High Court to the state government to "search and sanitise" the premises.

Dera administration chairperson Vipassana, who is a close aide of the sect head, had issued an appeal to sect followers urging them to cooperate in the search operation.

Hours before the search operation began, the sect's mouthpiece "Sach Kahoon" on Thursday admitted that human remains were buried inside the premises. The Dera newspaper, while defending the action of the Dera management in burying the human remains, said this was done as the sect chief encouraged followers to donate the remains to the sect for burial and prevent these from being immersed in rivers, causing pollution.

Ram Rahim was convicted on two counts of rape of two female disciples in 1999 by a CBI special court in Panchkula on August 25. He was later sentenced to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment and is lodged in the District Jail at Sunaria near Rohtak.

His conviction led to violence in Panchkula and Sirsa in Haryana, leaving 38 people dead and 264 injured. Isolated incidents of violence were also reported from Delhi and several other places in Punjab.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, which brought rampage in the US state of Texas, the Consul General of India here has appealed to Indian diaspora to raise USD 1 million worth of funds for relief operations.

Consul General of India (CGI) Anupam Ray urged the Indian-American community to coordinate large scale funding for the relief and reconstruction to support the historic storm's victims.

"The idea is to consolidate the fund raising efforts of the community and present an aggregated picture of the community's efforts," Ray told PTI.

"To show our commitment to, and support of, the greater Houston community, we would like to organise a fund raising effort to support the mayor's fund for Relief and Rebuild Texas Fund by Governor Abbott," he said, adding that they have set a goal to raise USD 1 million.

The Indian-American community in Houston met at the Indian Consulate after Ray's appeal to coordinate a fund-raising effort by the community.

Ray explained that the two funds set up to help the rebuilding effort in south and southeast Texas by the governor will allow members of the community to identify and track their contribution by writing a code on their mode of donation.

In addition, those wishing to become signatories to the appeal to attract others to donate can do so by having their name added to the list of individuals, organisations and companies which have already done so.

He indicated that the desire is to help build a strong "Indian brand" in the region and that the three Indian oil companies with offices here -- GAIL, Oil India and ONGC had committed to contributing USD 10 thousand each.

Also, Michael Dell, founder and CEO of Dell Computers, has declared that he will donate an amount equivalent to what is given to the governor's fund.

Gitesh Desai, president of SEVA International, who had been actively coordinating with majority of volunteers, requested to include his organisation as one of the beneficiaries along with the mayor and the governor's relief funds.

The SEVA International is working on the ground and has rescued 687 people so far from the catastrophic floods brought by Harvey.

Jagdip Ahluwalia of the Indo American Chamber of Commerce said the Chamber would help businesses re-establish. India house pledged to raise USD 50K for each fund.

IACF president-elect Mahesh Wadhwa pledged USD 100k, with USD 25k coming from current president Vanitha Pothuri. Arun Verma of Sri Sita Ram Foundation also pledged USD 10k.
A midair selfie over the green waters of Seychelles Islands, those epic celebrations till the crack of dawn, the dance, the music, the achievements, the opinions and all those beautiful stories of human connections that are liked and shared, expressed and engaged. feeds have the DNA of a good life. But what becomes of it when youre at your weakest?
Jammu Liberation Front chief Yasin Malik was arrested while other senior separatist leaders were placed under house arrest ahead of their proposed protest at the NIA headquarters in Delhi, even as Union Home Minister arrived in Srinagar on Saturday to hold talks on the issue.
A civilian was injured after Pakistan, on Saturday, violated ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, by resorting to firing on forward posts.

Pakistan's ceasefire violation on the LoC has come on a day Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh begins his four-day visit to the state.

The firing from across the border in Debraj, Krishna Ghati and Ishapur in Mendhar sector started around 10.30 am, prompting retaliation by Indian troops guarding the border, a police official said.

However, there was no immediate report of any casualty.

The incident occurred near Sagra village of Mankote area. The injured has been shifted to hospital, the police official added. ALSO READ: Yasin Malik arrested, Rajnath Singh arrives in Kashmir

The firing exchanges started between the Indian and Pakistani Army after the latter resorted to unprovoked, indiscriminate ceasefire violation, Defence Ministry sources said.

The Pakistani Army is using mortars, automatics and small weapons to target Indian military and civilian facilities in the area, the defence sources said. "Indian positions are retaliating strongly and effectively," a defence personnel said.

Two Army porters were injured in Pakistani firing, which lasted for ten minutes, on September 7.

Earlier, on September 1, Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) Kamaljit Singh of the Border Security Force (BSF) sustained bullet injuries due to enemy fire from across the LoC at a forward post in Krishna Ghati Sector, an officer said.

He was provided first aid and evacuated from the post but unfortunately succumbed to the injuries, he said.

On September 4, Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire twice by firing at forward posts along the LoC in Degwar and Maldalyan areas in Poonch and along the International Border (IB) in Arnia sector of Jammu.

On September 3, Pakistan Army initiated unprovoked and indiscriminate firing of small arms, automatics and mortars in Krishna Ghati sector in Poonch along the LoC.

Before that, on August 30, Pakistani troops resorted to firing and shelling in the Nowshera sector, targeting forward posts and civilian areas.

On August 27, five civilians, including a woman and two minor boys, were injured in a ceasefire violation by Pakistani troops in the Shahpur belt of Poonch district.

A day before, on August 26, BSF troops had retaliated against violations and killed three Pak rangers. On August 25, a BSF Jawan was injured in sniper fire by Pak rangers along the international border in Jammu.

On August 23, senior Army commanders of India and Pakistan held a flag meeting on the LoC in Poonch sector and agreed to institute mechanisms for durable peace and tranquillity.

The two sides agreed to keep channels of communication open between local commanders at the LoC, a spokesman had said.

The year 2017 has seen a sharp increase in ceasefire violations by Pakistani forces.

Till August 1, there were 285 such violations by the Pakistan Army, while in 2016 the number was significantly less at 228 for the entire year, according to the Army figures.
We are the nowhere people, says Mohammad Haroon. Myanmar doesnt recognise us, and now the Indian government has issued an advisory that it will deport us.
Former finance minister P Chidambaram on Saturday defended Congress Party Vice President Rahul Gandhi's statement on the murder of senior journalist Gauri Lankesh and said the fact is that 'anyone speaking against right wing extremist ideology is under threat'.

Addressing a press conference here, Chidambaram said, "The fact of the matter is that anyone speaking against right wing extremist ideology is under threat. Rahul Gandhi is not blaming anyone for the murder of Gauri Lankesh. It is for the police to decide who the culprit is. However, the fact is that a fearless journalist was killed, and the government and police need to solve the matter."

Responding to statements made by various political leaders, Chidambaram stated that the matter need not be politicized, and such statements must not account for anything, as they are mere political statements.

"Like AR Rahman said, this is not the India our forefathers created, and this is not the India I want the future generations to live in. This must change. The severity of the matter must not be drowned in political statements," said Chidambaram.

Lankesh was killed on Tuesday at her residence in Bengaluru's Rajarajeshwari Nagar by some unidentified assailants at around 8-8:30 pm.

As per reports, three bullets were pumped in her body.

Following this, Rahul Gandhi opined that anybody who speaks against the ideology of the BJP-RSS is 'pressured, beaten, attacked and even killed.'

Gandhi averred that those responsible should be caught and punished.

He further took on Prime Minister Narendra Modi stating that he is a skilled Hindutva politician, adding that whatever he says has two meanings.

"It is very sad that a journalist against fanaticism was killed. The entire country is with her. Truth cannot be suppressed," he added.

Lankesh was the editor of the Gauri Lankesh Patrike, a tabloid described as an "anti-establishment" publication.
At the ongoing goods and services tax (GST) Council meeting in Hyderabad on Saturday, states strongly raised the issue of difficulties faced by traders in registering and filing GST returns.
On one side, the pothole-ridden roads of Ahmedabad are getting a quick makeover, while on the other, the state government bureaucrats are getting new visiting cards printed in Japanese.
A few decades ago, the idea of a talking to an audio speaker to control home lights or the air conditioner would have seemed ludicrous. Today, smart household appliances, powered by the Internet of Things, are a reality that most of us are familiar with. People are starting to see the benefits of the growing number of connected devices and smart assistants in their homes. The fast pace of technology development over the past few years has brought us to a point where connected devices and machine-to-machine communication hold the key to a more advanced, sustainable and smart future.

Disclaimer: Views expressed are personal. They do not reflect the view/s of Business Standard.
In view of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) filing portal encountering increasing technical glitches, the Council has decided to set up a five-member ministerial panel to oversee its functioning and smoothen the process, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Saturday.
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18 states to be connected to the National Consumer Help Line by March 2018 .

Shri Ram Vilas Paswan, Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution held a Press Conference today to brief about the National Consumer Helpline (NCH) in New Delhi. Speaking to the media, Shri Paswan said that 6 Zonal Helplines will be launched in the country from coming October. Every zonal helpline will have 10 consumer desk. In this way, 60 consumer desk will work additionally in the country apart from National Consumer Helpline. .

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Shri Paswan informed that earlier 14 NCH counters were working for redressing the grievances of the consumer, which has been increased to 60. He said that earlier average response time was taken about 7 minute in the National Consumer Helpline which is now almost instant available .

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Shri Paswan further stated that the number of people lodging complain on the National Consumer Helpline has increased by almost 3 times. National Consumer Helpline received 1.30 lakh complaints in 2014 by consumer which increased to 3 lakh in 2017. .

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The Minister said that the 18 states will be connected to the National Consumer Help Line by March 2018. .

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The Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu has said that every city in the country should become Smart City and we must put efforts in that direction. He was addressing the gathering after performing Bhoomi Poojan for the Ranchi Smart City, in Ranchi, Jharkhand today. He also laid foundation stone for Urban Civic Tower, Convention Centre and Jharkhand Urban Planning and Management Institute in the Campus of Ranchi Smart City Area. The Governor of Jharkhand, Smt. Droupadi Murmu, the Chief Minister of Jharkhand, Shri Raghubar Das, the Minister for Urban Development and Housing Department, Government of Jharkhand, Shri C.P. Singh and other dignitaries were present on the occasion. .

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The Vice President said that the state of Jharkhand is adorned with natural beauty and forty percent of India's mineral wealth is in the state. He further said that mineral resources of Jharkhand should be used for public welfare, especially for the person standing last in the line. For the success of the Smart City transparency and order in the system is also required, he added. .

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The Vice President said that the Smart City means beautiful, where all types of facilities are available to the citizens. He further said that electricity, drinking water, better education, medical and transportation facilities are available. For the smart city, the role of public representatives and general public with the government is crucial and together, all should contribute for the formulation of this. .

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The Vice President said that there is no place for violence in democracy and those who commit violence should never be encouraged. The security of each person is very important and peace needed for the development, he added. .

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Following is the text of Vice President's address: .

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"Friends, I am extremely delighted to lay the foundation stone of Ranchi Smart City. .

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A total of 90 cities have been selected for smart cities in the entire country and Ranchi in Jharkhand became the first city in the country where Bhoomi Poojan Program for building smart city is concluded, in the coming days Ranchi will become an inspirational city in the country. Selection of Ranchi is not merely selected as I was Urban Development Minister, but Ranchi has all those points which were necessary for the selection of a Smart City. All citizens of the state should discharge their responsibility for the construction of this smart city and decide your role in the task. The people will participate in the programme if the government is transparent, accountable and trustworthy. .

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No plan can be successful without the participation of the people. Smart City project is given to Ranchi with the efforts of citizens of Ranchi. Ranchi will be the country's first Green Field Smart City. This city will be an inspiration for entire Jharkhand. .

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Jharkhand is having 40% of country's minerals, abundant natural resources and a visionary Chief Minister. Just make the people of the state smart and take advantage of this opportunity to ensure their participation. .

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If the world is moving then why should we stay behind? It is necessary for the country that all the cities of India are smart and this is also the goal of our Prime Minister. People need to change their thinking. People think that what will happen if we become a smart city, they come out from such a thinking. The smart city will work for the state as a light house and help people to move in the right direction, as in the ocean the light house indicates the ships the correct path. .

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If Smart City is there, then there will be other necessary facilities, including better health, education, basic amenities. The Center and the State Government are providing 500-500 crore rupees for the construction of Smart City, but all of us have to dedicate ourselves to the resources to build it. .

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Smart City means beautiful city, where all facilities are available for citizens. Facilities like electricity, drinking water, education, medical, transportation etc. It will be a success only when we work with transparency and accountability. Jharkhand has to give a message to the whole country by completing the Ranchi Smart City in time. .

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When I was the Minister of Rural Development in the then Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee's Government, he thought of strengthening the National Highway, which was also opposed why tax payers money is spent for the road construction. But Shri Vajpayee created the four National Highways and facilitated the movement of people, everyone accepted it and welcomed the change. Later I told Shri Vajpayee the plan to build roads in the village, it was also opposed. But the Pradhanmantri Gram Sadak Yojana was launched by showing his zeal for the development of the village and went on joining the village to the city. It is necessary to understand that we need to change with time. Center, state government, panchayat and general public all should discharge their responsibilities. .

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State will develop as long as the law and order in the state is normal. The theory and ideology are different. Those who oppose should convince the people with their ideology and come out through elections and become Chief Minister, Prime Minister and People Representatives. It will be acceptable to all but it is not your right to do this with the gun. The Vice President said that violence has diminished in Jharkhand to a large extent. Human rights activists raise voice only when the Maoists are killed, but they should also raise their voice when a Policeman martyrs. Those who commit violence should not get encouragement. .

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The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh inaugurated the North East Calling" festival, here today. The North East Calling" event is being organised by the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), Government of India under its Destination North East series of this year. The purpose of the event is to promote the art, culture, heritage, cuisine, handicrafts, business and tourism of North East India. .

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On the above occasion, Dr Jitendra Singh also launched North East Venture Fund, which is a joint initiative of Ministry of DoNER and North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Ltd. The objective of the fund is to promote entrepreneurship and Start up in the North Eastern Region. It is the first dedicated Venture Fund for the region with a corpus of Rs 100 crores. The Minister also launched North East Tourism Development Council with objective to promote sustainable tourism in North East India. .

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The Business to Business (B2B) conference is also being organised during the event. On the occasion, three MoUs were also signed in the presence of the Minister. The first MoU was signed between North East Tourism Development Council and the Yes Bank. The other two MoUs were signed with the Ministry under Science & Technology Interventions in the North East Region (STINER) aiming at enabling STINER and promoting NISARGRUNA technology of BARC in bio-energy technology in association with Tripura State. .

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Speaking on the occasion, Dr Jitendra Singh complemented that Ministry of DoNER and the young Assistant Secretaries attached to this Ministry, for giving their commitment and passion in organising this event. He also appealed to the public to come and visit the festival and understand the richness of culture of North East. He said that that such events will not only enrich the economy and culture of North Eastern region, but will also bring the rest of India more closer to the North East. He said that the development, upliftment and growth of North East has been on the priority of the Government under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. He said that the focus has not only been bringing North East closer to the rest of country, but also to bring rest of India closer to the North East. He said that these events, that too in the heart of National Capital, help the artisans and people of North East to showcase their talent. He also informed that similar events will be organised in various parts of the country in future. He said that Ministry had organised Destination North East festival in Chandigarh recently. The Minister said that there is a lot to learn from North East for the rest of India. He said that some states of North East are having two digit growth rate and the literacy rate is also high in this region. He said that rest of India also needs to follow North East in terms of cleanliness. .

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Highlighting the initiatives taken by the Ministry for the North East region, the Minister said that the DoNER Ministry had introduced a concept of DoNER at doorstep". He said that during each given fortnight, at least eight Union Ministers from New Delhi visit Northeast which means that one Minister each is available in each of the eight States every 15 days. This helps them to make an assessment of the development works related to their Ministries and also enables them to gain first-hand inputs from the local population there, he added. He said that Purbashree stalls have been set up at Dilli Haat for the products of North East region. He also said that the rail and air connectivity is also on the focus of the Government. .

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Highlighting other initiatives, the Minister said that foundation stone of Barak Hostel in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus was laid this year. He also said that last year, the Foundation Stone of a Hostel exclusively for Northeast girl students was laid in Bangalore University. He also informed that a North Eastern Cultural and Information Centre will be set up in Delhi soon. He said that Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has allotted a land measuring 5341.75 sqm. (1.32 acre) at Sector-13, Dwarka, New Delhi, to North Eastern Council (NEC) for the purpose of construction of this Centre. He also talked about setting up of Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Centre for Policy Research & Analysis" at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Shillong and Brahmaputra Study Centre in the Guwahati University. .

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Speaking on the occasion, Shri Naveen Verma, Secretary (DoNER) said that this event has been coordinated with the efforts put by the Assistant Secretaries attached to the Ministry. He said that this event coincides with the 16th Anniversary of the Ministry. He said that this is an occasion to take stock of the achievements and also to introspect what needs to be done. .

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Dr. R. Chidambaram, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government also complemented the Ministry of DoNER and said that they are ready to provide any support to the Ministry. .

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The senior officers the Ministry were also present on the occasion. .

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The Closing Ceremony of the event will be held here tomorrow evening. The Cabinet Secretary Shri P K Sinha will be the Chief Guest at the Closing Ceremony. During the Closing Ceremony, winners of various contests (Photography and Caption Contest, video contest, Choreography Contest for Colleges on the theme Connect NE", Quiz Competition for schools and colleges, Best North-Eastern attire in the crowd, Home Chef Contest) will be awarded. .

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The two-day event includes showcase of rich culture of North East, including Music Festival for bands of North-East, Cultural Night for Dances of North-East, Handloom Demo Show presenting the clothes of North-East, Exhibitions of activities being undertaken in NE, stalls by various Central Government ministries showcasing the works being undertaken by them in the region, stalls by State Governments offering opportunities in their states, stalls for Sale of products of NERAMAC and NEHHDC, variety of food stalls including sale of delicacies of NE, contests for all sections of young population to expose them to NE, B2B Summits on Food Processing, Tourism and Start-up opportunities in the North-East. .

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The entry to this two-day event, being held at India Gate lawns from 11.00 AM to 10.00 PM, for the general public is free. .

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Mr. Tilak Marapana, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka calls on Prime Minister

Mr. Tilak Marapana, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi today afternoon.

Foreign Minister Tilak Marapana is on a three-day bilateral visit to India.

Prime Minister congratulated Mr.

Tilak Marapana on assuming his new responsibility as Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka. Prime Minister referred to his fruitful visit to Sri Lanka in May this year for the International Vesak Day.

Prime Minister reaffirmed the high importance that India attaches to its relations with Sri Lanka. Both countries enjoy deep and broad-based ties. Prime Minister conveyed that he looked forward to continue to work closely with the President and the Prime of Sri Lanka to further strengthen and expand bilateral cooperation.
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Shri Rajnath Singh asks authorities to expedite implementation of the PMs Development Package in a time bound manner; It will create jobs for the people of state," he said .

Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh arrived in Srinagar today on a four-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir. He was received at the airport by the states Deputy Chief Minister Dr. Nirmal Kumar Singh, senior minister Shri Abdul Rehman Veeri and Senior Officials of the State Government. .

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I am going there with an open mind and I am willing to meet anyone who will help us in finding solutions to problems facing J&K," said Shri Rajnath Singh in a tweet before leaving for Srinagar. .

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Soon after his arrival the Union Home Minister had an hour long one-to-one meeting the Chief Minister Ms. Mehbooba Mufti. Shri Rajnath Singh later reviewed the status of implementation of the Prime Minister's Development Package (PMDP) for Jammu and Kashmir with the Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister Dr. Nirmal Kumar Singh, Union Home Secretary Shri Rajiv Gauba, Chief Secretary of J&K, Shri BB Vyas and Senior Officers of the MHA and State Government. .

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The Union Home Minister asked the authorities to expedite the implementation of the PMDP in a time bound manner. Shri Rajnath Singh said it will create jobs for the people of J&K. .

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The PMDP, a Rs.80,068 crore package announced by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on November 7, 2015, covers 63 projects pertaining to 15 Ministries of the Government of India. The Union Government has already sanctioned Rs.63,000 crores for the various projects, which amounts to 78 percent of the total cost of the PMDP package. An amount of nearly Rs.22,000 crore has been released. .

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Nearly two years after the PMDP-2015 was announced, five of the 63 projects have been completed. These include the prestigious Chenani-Nashri tunnel costing Rs.781 crore, announcement of remuneration to Special Police Officers (SPOs) from Rs.3,000 per month to upto Rs.6,000 per month as well as assistance provided for Pucca and Kuchcha houses damaged during the 2014 flood. .

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The land acquisition in respect of semi-Ring Roads in Jammu and Srinagar will be completed within two months. The four-laning of Jammu-Udhampur section of National Highway, NH-1A, is nearing completion. Nineteen road connectivity projects costing about Rs.43, 000 crore are under implementation in the State, which are progressing satisfactorily. .

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An investment of about Rs.5,810 crore under Power Sector is being made to improve the transmission and distribution network in the state. Besides, the Central Government is supporting the State with an investment of Rs.3,790 crore on Pakaldul hydroelectric project. .

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For the construction of AIIMS at Awantipora and Jammu, Rs.2,000 crore each are being made available and an amount of nearly Rs.91 crore has been released. Besides, IIT, Jammu and IIM, Jammu have already started functioning from temporary campus and the setting up of permanent campus is under progress. Similarly under the Health Sector, Rs.900 crore is available for completion of ongoing health infrastructure. Rs.200 crore has been utilized. The work on the comprehensive management of Jhelum was reviewed and found satisfactory. The DPR for Phase-II is being prepared. The rehabilitation plan for migrants of Jammu, PoK and Kashmiri Pandits was also reviewed. It was noted with satisfaction that the projects are progressing satisfactorily. During the meeting, other developmental projects under Urban Development, Solar Energy, Horticulture, Tourism etc were also reviewed. The Chief Minister assured the State Governments full support in the implementation of the PMDP and on all other fronts. .

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Later, as many as 24 delegations of various organizations, including social, trade, travel and business from across Kashmir Valley called on Shri Rajnath Singh. They included Travel Agents Association of Kashmir (TAAK) Kashmir Hotels and Restaurants Associations, Kashmir Shikara Association, House Boat Owners Association, and various other Tourism sector organizations, Youth delegation, Kashmir Pandit Sangharsh Samiti (KPSS), Sikh delegation, Fruit Growers & Dealers Association, JK Shia Association, All Gujjjar & Bakerwal Conference, Pahari association and Self employed Women Association. .

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The delegations apprised the Union Home Minister about the varied problems relating to their respective organizations and submitted memorandum and requested for their resolution of issues on priority. .

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Insurgencies often end up betraying the ideals that motivated them. seems no different. In no time, it has shed its intellectually most powerful motive: the full restoration of sovereignty to the House of Commons.
Two of the worlds largest developers are battling over more than $1 billion in virtual-currency options, in a dispute that may help establish the leading player in providing new payment technologies to financial .
After Equifax revealed that sensitive data on two of every five Americans was exposed in a cyberattack, thousands logged onto a company website to see if they were at risk. For many, the site didnt work at first. But for those who got through, a nasty surprise was waiting.
Reid Hoffman, the founder of LinkedIn and a billionaire Silicon Valley venture capitalist, has made a half-dozen or so investments in recent months with a specific aim: to counteract the influence of President Trump.
As threatened to engulf virtually the entire state of Florida in deadly winds, driving rain and surging seas, the largest evacuation in the states history saw hundreds of thousands of people scrambling into crowded county shelters and jamming highways as they fled north from the storm.
The US said it would seek a vote Monday on a draft United Nations Security Council resolution on North Korea, as it pushes for fresh sanctions against the regime after its recent nuclear test.
North Koreas sixth nuclear test on September 3  of what was possibly a hydrogen bomb  prompted a flurry of Western media think pieces attempting to explain the past and predict the future.
FOCUS ON DEFENSE CAPABILITY DEVELOPMENT IN SOUTHEAST ASIA AND OCEANIA
With an aim to strengthen health systems and explore emergent avenues and platforms for collaboration between various agencies and stakeholders in the north-east region, the second North East Health Care Summit 2017 was organized by the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) in partnership with the Ministry of Development of the North East Region (MDoNER), the Government of Sikkim and the Sir Thutob Namgyal Memorial Hospital (STNM) on the 8th and 9th September. This also marks the centenary celebrations of the S.T.N.M. hospital in Gangtok.

The summit was inaugurated by Sikkim's Ministerof Healthcare, Human Services and Family Welfare, Arjun Kumar Ghatani along with Member of Parliament from Sikkim PD Rai. Also present on the occasion were Alok Kumar Srivastav, Chief Secretary, Sikkim, Dr. K Bhandari, Director-General-cum Secretary Health, Sikkim, Mr. Jayanto Narayan Choudhury, Vice President PHFI, Dr. KB Gurung, Medical Superintendent STNM Hospital along with a host of senior government health officials from all the north eastern states of India.

In his address, Arjun Kumar Ghatani, Minister, Healthcare, Human Services and Family Welfare, Sikkim, congratulated the organisers - PHFI, STNM Hospital and DoNER for organizing the second edition of the North East Healthcare Summit in Sikkim that highlights key issues in today's evolving healthcare scenario pertinent to Northeastern parts of India.

"Health records and parameters in Sikkim are the best amongst northeastern states, for which I would congratulate our Chief Minister for his visionary leadership because of which the government-backed Comprehensive Annual and Total Check-up for Healthy Sikkim (CATCH Sikkim) now reaches out to people even in the remotest areas of the state. But poor healthcare services in the Northeast and the need to enhance manpower, including setting up of more medical colleges in the region the requirement of the day. There is an urgent need to review the progress of schemes sanctioned by centre or the NEC towards the improvement of healthcare services in the region, especially infrastructure, in addition to finding out better ways and means to remove health problems and inaccessibility to quality healthcare especially in rural areas of the region."

Ghatani also appealed to the attending delegates specially attending health officials from other north east states and other organizations to work towards the improvement of healthcare services in the this region, and come-up with a time bound whitepaper which can be implemented immediately.

In her video address, Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, Director General ICMR, said, "Northeast is one of the most vibrant regions in India, but its health indicators have unfortunately lagged behind rest of India on many counts. With so much technological and infrastructure advancements, it is time to bring about a rapid improvement in the public health indicators, especially in light of the renewed commitment by the central government towards the entire North-east region."

Lamenting that there is an absence of private sector interest and investment in North East, and hoping that the central government under its look east policy will allocate increased resources towards healthcare in this region, Mr. PD Rai, Member of Parliament from Sikkim said, "I am happy that this summit has brought together political leaders, policy makers, healthcare professionals and implementers once again on a common platform to deliberate upon strategies for meeting public health challenges for the northeastern region. There is an urgent need to engage amongst ourselves in the sister states for enhancing public health and advancing technology in this region, ensuring better reach, quality and coverage of health services."

Jayanto Narayan Choudhury, Vice President, Public Health Foundation of India, said, "Already active in the region through its various capacity building and training programmes, Public Health Foundation of India, and its affiliate Indian Institute of Public Health in Shillong, aim to improve health outcomes in the entire Northeast region through educational, research, training, policy and advocacy activities. With a view to complement various state and national level health initiatives, PHFI will happy to actively assist all the 8 NE states to come up with a forward looking plan to improve the health scenario in the entire region, and so that NE becomes a major healthcare hub for entire Southeast Asia."

Dr. K Bhandari, Director-General-cum Secretary Health, Sikkim in his address congratulated the department of health, Sikkim and the staff of STNM Hospital as the hospital celebrates it 100 years.

He said, "The 2nd North east Healthcare summit comes at a time when we are thick and thin into our centenary celebrations. Through this summit we further commit ourselves at STNM to aim higher towards providing high quality super-speciality patient care services, and undertake medical and community Health Research further. Through the outcomes of the deliberations, we will augment the vision of the summit to develop Human Resources in all fields related to health and facilitate the North Eastern States in framing better health policies as envisioned in the National Health Policy 2017 by the centre."

Health care has emerged as one of the most challenging sectors as well as one of the largest service sector in India which constitutes around 6% of India's GDP and employs over 4 million people. Though India is witnessing some remarkable improvements in healthcare across the country, North-eastern states are still lagging behind in meeting the required healthcare standards. The north eastern states account for only 3.8% of India's total population but the diverse and sparse population, geographical and socio-political constraints, along with connectivity to mainland and other states hamper the implementation of health programmes. As a result, despite being the most vibrant regions in the country, North-East lags behind in its health indicators. As with other regions of the country, the major issues with healthcare delivery in north-eastern states are lack of infrastructure and manpower. This is further accentuated by the organizational and systemic and operational and management issues. The challenges in scaling up public health efforts in the north eastern states - across a wide spectrum of programme needs - can be strategically tackled by high-quality, skilled workforce and by initiating and carrying out transformational reforms in health policy development and design of appropriate structures and processes for their effective implementation. It also requires a strong coordination, management, and technical capacity.

This year's 2nd Northeast Healthcare summit concentrated on emerging health concerns in the region with a special emphasis on the current scenario in North East and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

The themes for this year's summit were: Mental Health & Substance Abuse, Non-Communicable Diseases, Health Policy, Service Delivery & Health Systems Strengthening, and Environmental Health.

Leading health care professionals, hospitals, government health departments from all North East States, academia, multilateral, bilateral, bilateral organisations and other stakeholders took active part in the summit and will, through the outcomes of the summit, provide a roadmap to develop technical assistance to the state governments of the North-East States engaging civil society partners for implementation of public health projects and programs in NE.

The summit falls under the umbrella of Project Swasth Uttar Purv, under the aegis of DoNER Ministy that is committed to address the identified and felt needs of the eight states of the North-East by promoting policy and programme relevant research, by filling critical information gaps, conducting health summits and Health Conclaves, conducting impact assessments and cancer awareness programs, evaluating innovations for improving the outreach and effectiveness of health systems, ultimately developing a robust public health cadre in the North East.

One the sidelines of the summit, a Healthcare Media interactive workshop was conducted as a pre-cursor to the Summit, that provided media with nuances of healthcare criticalities and development in the state, and the Northeastern region so that press reporting on health issues can be strengthened and acknowledged actively in publications.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Afghanistan Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani will visit India next week.

During his visit, he will call on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and will also hold bilateral talks with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.

The visit comes weeks after US President Donald Trump announced a new policy on Afghanistan and sought sought more help from India in Afghanistan.

Speaking from the Fort Myer military base in Arlington Trump had said, "We will develop a deeper strategic partnership with India, but we want them to help us more in Afghanistan."

"Another part of South Asia strategy for America to further develop its strategic partnership with India, the world's largest democracy and key security and economic partner of US. We appreciate India's important contribution to bring stability in Afghanistan. But, India makes billions of dollars in trade with the United States and we want them to help us more with Afghanistan especially in the area of economic consistence and development," Trump said.

Afghanistan's Ambassador to India Shaida Mohammad Abdali hailed United States President Donald Trump's new policy for Afghanistan and urged Pakistan to join the fight against terrorism sincerely to sustain peace in the region.

"President Trump's remarks were very clear. It has still open the window for cooperation and partnership, but clearly the lack of that...he also hinted at a strong action. I think this is an opportunity for everyone, including Pakistan to adhere to the principles of state government, to fight terrorism sincerely, for the sake of everyone in the region," Ambassador Abdali told ANI.

"If there is genuine fight against terrorism for peace and stability, there is still an opportunity for partnership, but if that's not there, the words were clear and we hope that words are also transferred into action, and if there is lack of sincerity in the fight against terrorism, action will be as it was spoken in his (Donald Trump) remarks," he added.

Describing Trump's policy as a very comprehensive strategy, the envoy said it focused more on terrorism and it is very multifaceted.

Emphasising that India has been a genuine partner, the envoy said New Delhi has been standing alongside Afghanistan, especially after fall of Taliban.

"India's assistance is in multifaceted ways. You can see India's assistance in development of peace , security, economic, culture and education in many fields, there is always room for more ....and we hope India will do more," he said.

Speaking about Trump asking India's help in Afghanistan, the envoy said, "I am glad, I wish this had been the case long time back, that India to be partnered with on peace and stability in Afghanistan and the wider region. I am glad right now, the U.S. in this current strategy has focussed more and we look forward to a strong India-U.S. partnership with Afghanistan."

India has also welcomed Donald Trump's new policy on Afghanistan and said that New Delhi shares the concerns and objectives as entailed by the former in his recent address.

"We welcome President Trump's determination to enhance efforts to overcome the challenges facing Afghanistan and confronting issues of safe havens and other forms of cross-border support enjoyed by terrorists. India shares these concerns and objectives," India's External Affairs Ministry spokerperson Raveesh Kumar said, in a press statement.

"We are committed to supporting the Government and the people of Afghanistan in their efforts to bring peace, security, stability and prosperity in their country. We have been steadfast in extending reconstruction and development assistance to Afghanistan in keeping with our traditional friendship with its people. We will continue these efforts, including in partnership with other countries," the statement added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa released a souvenir commemorating the 10th annual Katre Memorial Lecture in Bengaluru on Saturday.

Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa, Chief of the Air Staff, gave the key note lecture.

The event was attended by aviation professionals from Indian Air Force, Defence Research and Development Organisation, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Aeronautical Society of India (AeSI) and other allied aviation industries. The event was organized by Air Force Association, Karnataka Branch in association with HAL and Aeronautical Society of India (AeSI) Bangalore Branch.

President AeSI Dr. CP Ramanarayanan Bangalore chapter also welcomed the guests and talked about futuristic Aeronautical Technology.

The event started with invocation by the children of Air Force School, Aircraft Systems and Testing Establishment (ASTE).

Air Marshal PP Rajkumar President Air Force Association Karnataka Branch delivered a welcome address in which he explained the genesis of annual Katre Memorial Lecture and talked of the immense contribution of the late Air Chief towards the growth of aviation in India during his distinguished career spanning over 40 years in the Indian Air Force and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

Chairman HAL Mr T Suvarana Raju gave a talk on Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) - Indian Air Force Relations. President AeSI Dr. CP Ramanarayanan Bangalore chapter also welcomed the guests and talked about futuristic Aeronautical Technology.

Wing Commander MK Kulkarni, Secretary, and Air Force Association Karnataka Branch proposed the vote of thanks.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Bangladesh High Commissoner Syed Muazzem Ali met Indian Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar in New Delhi on Saturday and apprised him of the problems caused due to Rohingya Muslims amid their rising exodus from Myanmar's Rakhine State.

According to the sources, High Commissoner Syed Muazzem Ali said Bangladesh is facing many problems due to Rohingya Muslims as they are fleeing Myanmar to escape escalating violence in their Rakhine State.

Rohingyas are not recognised by Myanmar as its citizens and are called Bengali by them and Leaders of countries with majority Muslim populations including Malaysia, Indonesia and Bangladesh have led efforts to increase pressure on the Myanmar government.

So far, an estimated 270,000 Rohingya refugees have fled from the violence affected Myanmar's Northern Rakhine state and sought refuge in Bangladesh where the limited shelter capacity is already exhausted, the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said on Friday.

Amid a dramatic increase in the number of refugees fleeing violence in Myanmar's Northern Rakhine state, UNHCR called for urgent action to address the root causes of the recent surge in violence, so that people are no longer compelled to flee and can eventually return home in safety and dignity.

"In the last two weeks, an estimated 270,000 Rohingya refugees have sought safety in Bangladesh. The limited shelter capacity is already exhausted. Refugees are now squatting in makeshift shelters that have mushroomed along the road and on available land in the Ukhiya and Teknaf areas," said a UNHCR said in a briefing in Geneva.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was on a two-day visit to Myanmar, said that India shares Myanmar's concern about extremist violence in Rakhine state and hoped that all stakeholders together can find a solution in which unity and territorial integrity of the country is maintained.

In a joint statement following the exchange of agreements between India and Myanmar PM Modi, said, "We share your concerns about extremist violence in Rakhine state and violence against security forces and how innocent lives have been affected."

''Whether it is a peace process or any other special issue We hope that all stakeholders together can find a way out in which unity and territorial integrity of Myanmar is respected. At the same time we can have peace, justice, dignity and democratic values for all," said PM Modi.

Prime Minister said, "Your courageous efforts towards the Myanmar peace process is worthy of praise.

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The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Sunday said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Democratic Alliance (NDA) Government is trying hard to humiliate the Congress Party and others for political gains.

"There is a fresh crime registered against the former environment minister of UPA. This is allegedly yet another scam uncovered. It seems that the BJP and NDA Government is hell-bent to pick up one after the other ministers and then try to humiliate Congress or bring disrepute for political gains," NCP leader Majeed Memon told ANI.

He added that the BJP is taking an interest in Tamil Nadu because the politics there is at peak.

"People are not going to be easily swayed by such allegations which maybe without merits. Natarajan will be given opportunities to explain few questions raised by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). This is too early to humiliate somebody because you cannot hurl accusations with an intention to take revenge," he asserted.

Another NCP leader Nawab Malik said, "The way case has been registered against former environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan for that the violation of forest act is there."

"If anybody violates the act and giving any kind of favour to any private organization then there is investigation going on. If she has violated the law then law will take its course," he added.

Earlier in the day, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered an F.I.R. against Natarajan and raided her premises in Chennai.

The CBI also filed an F.I.R. under section 120B PC Act and for criminal conspiracy and abuse of official position.

Electrosteel Casting Ltd., its then Managing Director Umang Kejriwal and others were also named in the F.I.R.

At the time of filing this report, the CBI was conducting searches at five different locations, namely Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Ranchi and Odisha's Sundergarh in connection with the case.

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As many as 5.6 million people have been evacuated as life-threatening category-5 Hurricane Irma is heading towards Florida, the south-easternmost U.S. state after making landfall in Cuba.

"The storm is here," Governor. Rick Scott said at news conference on Saturday, noting that 25,000 people had already lost power.

He said the storm surge could reach 12 feet. "This will cover your house," he said. "You will not survive all this storm surge."

A curfew comes into effect in Palm Beach from 3 p.m. local time on Saturday. Hurricane Irma, regaining to category-5 intensity, is causing tropical storm-force winds in Florida with speed 140 miles per hour ahead of its arrival. Outer rain bands have already reached the peninsula.

Officials predict Irma will bring heavy rains and possible 12-foot storm surges in some parts of Florida, requiring military ships, aircraft and thousands of troops to help in evacuation, rescue and response efforts.

Hurricane Irma has left a trail of destruction and death across the Caribbean and prompted large scale evacuations in American history.

Forecasters said Irma, a hurricane of remarkable size and power that already has battered islands across the Caribbean, would approach South Florida by Sunday morning and is likely to slam into its southern tip before tracking north across a heavily populated area.

The National Weather Service says that damaging winds are moving into areas including Key Biscayne, Coral Gables and South Miami, CNN reported.

Gusts of up to 56 mph (90 kph) were reported on Virginia Key off Miami as the storm's outer bands arrived. The Hurricane is currently moving along the coast of Cuba about 215 miles away from Miami, as it makes its way towards the U.S. peninsula.

Ships, military personnel and equipment have been deployed to respond to Hurricane Irma. So far, the Pentagon has sent six ships, an aircraft carrier, numerous aircraft and thousands of gallons of fuel to the region, as well as activated thousands of National Guard troops in Florida and Puerto Rico.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) activated the Florida National Guard on Tuesday in anticipation of the hurricane. About 4,000 troops were activated on Friday, and Scott said he expected the entire force of more than 8,000 would eventually be called into duty.

Puerto Rico, meanwhile, activated its 5,200 National Guard troops, while the U.S. Virgin Islands activated its nearly 700-member unit for assistance, according to the Pentagon.

United States President Donald Trump's homeland security adviser Tom Bossert said on Friday that he had spoken to Pentagon and State Department officials and insisted they were prepared to tackle Irma response efforts quickly.

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The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered an F.I.R. against former Environment and Forest Minister Jayanthi Natarajan and raided her premises in Chennai.

The CBI has also filed FIR against the former minister under section 120B PC Act and for criminal conspiracy and abuse of official position.

Electrosteel Casting Ltd., its then Managing Director Umang Kejriwal and others have also been named in the F.I.R.

At the time of filing this report, the CBI was conducting searches at five different locations, namely Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Ranchi and Odisha's Sundergarh in connection with the case.

More details are awaited.

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Swati Mahadik, wife of Colonel Santosh Yashwant Mahadik, who lost his life fighting the terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir in 2015, has been commissioned as Army Officer on Saturday.

She joined the Indian Army as Lieutenant.

Swati, a graduate from the University of Pune, cleared the Service Selection Board (SSB) examination in 2016 and was undergoing further training at the Officers Training Academy in Chennai.

"When you lose someone who is close to you it hurts. His (Colonel Mahadik) first love was his uniform and his unit, so I just had to wear this. It just happened and I did not even work harder for this. Even my family was with me, so I know I will be able to do it. After wearing this uniform, I want to know what work has to be done and I will learn it," Lieutenant Swati told ANI.

Colonel Santosh Yashwant Mahadik, the commanding officer of 41 Rashtriya Rifles, was killed in a counter-infiltration operation in the Manigah forest of Kupwara district.

An officer from the elite 21 Para-Special Forces unit, Colonel Mahadik was awarded a Sena Medal for gallantry during Operation Rhino in the North-East in 2003.

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Customs officials at Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) seized eight gold bars of foreign origin, weighing 932 grams, and worth Rs 29, 19,956, from a passenger who arrived from Dubai on Friday.

The seizure was affected at 7.50 a.m. by the Custom Officers of the Air Intelligence Unit, based on specific intelligence.

According to Air Intelligence Unit, the passenger concealed the gold bars in trouser pockets and socks.

Further investigations are underway.

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The head of Kapisa Ulema Council was gunned down in Afghanistan's eastern province of Kapisa on Saturday.

Gul Mohammad Hanifyar, was gunned down by a number of unknown armed gunmen who came on motorcycles and opened fire on him.

"The incident took place in Khum Rubai village in Hese Dowom-e-Kohistan district in the province and Hanifyar and one of his bodyguards were killed on the spot," Tolo News quoted Qais Qaderi, the provincial governor's spokesman, as saying.

Police have started an investigation into the incident, he said.

No one has claimed responsibility of the murder.

A number of local government and security officials have been killed in different incidents in Kapisa province in the past few months. Another Ulama Council Chief Maulvi Abdul Rahim Hanafi had also been killed and five of his students were wounded in a bomb attack in the adjacent Parwan province few months ago.

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Oregon SB 719 calls for the forced confiscation of property by the police with NO due process, NO accusation or conviction of a crime. SB 719 allows people with NO mental health credentials to make assessments of other's states of mind and it allows people with no mental health credentials (judges) to punish people they have never met or spoken to. The law authorizes "extreme risk protection orders," which temporarily forbid a person from possessing or purchasing weapons if the person is deemed an imminent threat to themselves or others. The law provides no guidance for the police who are tasked with confiscating the firearms of the person who has not been accused of or tried for a crime.
The Indian Ministry of External Affairs has urged Myanmar that the situation in Rakhine state due to outflow of Rohingya Muslims be handled with restraint and maturity.

Ministry of External Affairs has urged Myanmar that the situation in Rakhine state be handled with restraint and maturity, focusing on the welfare of civilian population alongside those of the security forces.

"It is imperative that violence is ended and normalcy in the state restored expeditiously. India remains deeply concerned about situation in Rakhine State and outflow of refugees from that region", the statement added.

The statement added that during Prime Minister Narendra Modi recent visit to Myanmar had expressed his concern at the 'casualties of security forces as well as innocent lives'.

He had also urged a solution based on respect for peace, communal harmony, justice, dignity and democratic values. It was agreed that India will provide assistance under the Rakhine state development programme in conjunction with the government of Myanmar.

''Whether it is a peace process or any other special issue We hope that all stakeholders together can find a way out in which unity and territorial integrity of Myanmar is respected. At the same time we can have peace, justice, dignity and democratic values for all," said PM Modi.

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One terrorist gunned down by security forces on Saturday evening in Imam Sahib area of Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian district.

Earlier, the terrorists attacked the army vehicle here. In retaliatory fire the unidentified terrorist was killed.

Operation is still underway. Further details are awaited.

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New Railway Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday expressed grief on the sad demise of journalist Gauri Lankesh and said that the Karnataka Government must ensure to punish the culprits.

"Every person who loses his or her life is very distressing. I am sad for what has happened in Bengaluru and hope that the government of Karnataka would take necessary steps to bring the culprits to books and ensure safety and protection of every citizen of the state," the Railway Minister told media.

Senior journalist and activist Gauri Lankesh was shot dead at her residence in Bengaluru's Rajarajeshwari Naga.

Lankesh was the editor of the Gauri Lankesh Patrike, a tabloid described as an "anti-establishment" publication.

Following this, major protest demonstrations have been planned across India, especially in prominent parts of Karnataka.

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Senior Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit on Friday said that Jammu and Kashmir Conference president (JKNC) Farooq Abdullah should wait and watch until the Investigation Agency (NIA) completes its investigation after it conducted raids in connection with a terror-funding case and Line of Control (LoC) trade case.

"Let NIA do their work, if NIA is investigating or something else we will get to know. I'll ask Farooq sahab to wait until the investigation is completed. We have trust on NIA," Dikshit told ANI.

He also said that the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) could be using its money power to break the Conference party.

Expressing similar sentiments, Congress leader Tom Vadakkan said, "Well these are issues which can be debated till the cow returns home but the point is NIA is investigating and we should give them time to investigate. Let them find out who is financing them.

Earlier, Jammu and Kashmir National Conference president (JKNC) Farooq Abdullah had said he would not acknowledge the NIA raids until it brings out some results.

Addressing the media, Abdullah said nobody would bow down due to the torture of the NIA and the Government of India.

"I will acknowledge the NIA raids only if they bring any consequences. If they are being conducted to threaten people and to torture them, then I would like to tell the Centre and the NIA that no matter how much they torture us, nobody will bow down before them," he added.

The NIA on Thursday carried out searches at 11 more locations i.e. nine in Kashmir valley and one each in Jammu and Gurugram, in connection with the Jammu and Kashmir terror funding case and Line of Control (LoC) Trade case.

The locations related to Hurriyat leaders namely Ghulam Nabi Sumji and Syed Aga Hassan Budgami and close aides of Shabbir Shah viz. Zameer Sheikh and Razzaq Choudhary were searched.

The offices of the Chartered Accountants of Hawala operator Zahoor Watali and residences of suspect LoC traders were also searched.

They are suspected of fuelling secessionist and subversive activities in Jammu and Kashmir .

During the searches, FDs worth over Rs 1 crore and lots of incriminating material, suspect's financial records, property-related documents and electronic devices have been seized.

Earlier, Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief and top separatist Yasin Malik was arrested in Srinagar by the NIA.

Malik, who had warned to launch a protest against the NIA in Delhi, was nabbed from his Abi Guzar office in Srinagar.

On Wednesday, separatists Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik had said that they will protest outside the NIA headquarters on September 9 against, what they termed as, 'vilification of Kashmiri' people by the investigation agency.

However, Malik had alleged that the Centre was foisting one issue or the other every month on the people of Kashmir.

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The Management Development Institute (MDI), Gurugram and Logix ITS India LLP (LOGIX) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to edify its executives for management lessons.

Signed by Professor Sangeeta S. Bhardwaj, Dean (EGP), MDI Gurugram and Country Director of Logix Prashant Mathur, the MoU will be valid till October, 2020 and further extended if mutually agreed.

LOGIX has formulated this scheme for its employees with an objective to develop and groom the capability of its selected employees to take up higher roles and responsibilities in the organisation.

Under this MOU, employees selected by LOGIX based upon certain eligibility and selection criteria will get an opportunity to pursue 'Executive Post Graduate Diploma in Management,' which is recognized as Post Graduate Diploma in Management- Part time (hereinafter referred to as the PGDM- Pt) by AICTE at MDI Gurugram.

The Post Graduate Diploma in Management- Part time will be a 3-year non-residential course. MDI will arrange project visits (within or outside India) as and if required by the course curriculum along with other campus facilities. LOGIX is intended to sponsor its employees every year depending on their needs.

LOGIX'S Higher Education Scheme for its employees is focused at developing and grooming the capability of its employees to take up higher roles and responsibility in the organization. MDI will ensure that the recommended students fulfil the Institute's eligibility criteria for admission, informed the institution.

The MDI will also screen the students before admission and follow its regular procedure including conducting a written test, group discussion, interview etc.

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Bharatiya Janata party President Amit Shah on Saturday said that the policies of the Democratic Alliance (NDA) government are made with the purpose of bringing step by step stability in India in the next 30 years.

Shah was addressing a meeting organized by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) here.

The party President said that after coming to power, the BJP government has made many long-term reforms for the country's development.

"After the formation of the government, we started taking long term decisions and we seek to provide a stable policy regime for the next 30 years", he said.

"The BJP Government that took office three years ago has completely transformed the thought processes of the people and has been successful in creating 'Brand India'. It is now for the Indian industry to cash in on the high pedestal that the economy has been placed," Shah said, and added, "Our vision and mission is to push the reforms agenda to its logical conclusion so that it leads to transformative changes in the economy and the lives of the people."

In defence of the demonetisation that inconvenienced the Indian public last year, the BJP President said that the Narendra Modi-led government does not feel shy of taking decisions that may be irksome in the immediate term but claimed that they have far reaching reforms in the long run.

He later added that demonetisation was perfect example of the government's effort to delink development for all form of vote bank pressures. The move, he said, has unnerved black money generators and increased the tax base, which will go on to increase the size of the formal economy.

At the occasion, he slammed the former UPA government and accused it of causing an economic slowdown until BJP took to power in 2014, and also took a shot at former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

"The governance was dubbed as policy paralysis as all the ministers in the UPA Government acted as if they were the Prime Minister and no one recognized the Prime Minister as the Prime Minister," Shah said.

Shah said that Modi-led government, on the other hand, has upheld the federal structure of governance, and added that government's 'Pragati Programme' was testament to it.

He also dubbed the introduction of Goods and Services Tax (GST) as a 'One-Tax, One-Nation' reform measure which will address the problem of regional development imbalance and ensure all-round development of the country within 15 years.

He also stressed the success of the government in areas of road building, rural roads, railway projects, village electrification, regional air connectivity, laying of the optical fibre network, and the drive to provide housing to all by 2022.

Shah concluded with the claim that GDP growth touched a high of 8% in PM Modi's rule.

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Older individuals, especially men, with hip fractures are more than 3.5 times more likely to die within 12 months as compared to their non-injured counterparts, warns a recent study.

The findings suggested that hip fracture was likely to be a contributory factor in 72 percent of mortality within 12 months after the index hospital admission.

Excess mortality risk at 12 months was higher in males than in females, and in the 65-74-year age group compared to older age groups.

A study looked at the 12-month mortality of older persons presenting to hospitals in Australia with hip fracture.

It is the first large population-based matched cohort study exploring excess mortality risk from hip fracture in the Australian population while accounting for pre-injury comorbid conditions.

The team linked hospital and mortality data from four Australian states.

For 9,748 individuals aged 65 years and older who had a hospital admission with a primary diagnosis of hip fracture in 2009 were matched 1:1 on age, sex, and postcode of residence with a cohort of non-injured individuals selected from the electoral roll.

The findings indicated that individuals with hip fracture were more than 3.5 times more likely to die within 12 months compared to their non-injured counterparts.

Co-study author Dr Reidar P. Lystad from the Australian Institute of Innovation at Macquarie University said, "With an ageing population in Australia, the burden of hip fractures is expected to increase in the coming decades."

"Our findings suggest that, with the hip fracture trauma itself a main predictor of excess mortality, efforts may best be directed at primary and secondary prevention of the fracture itself," Lystad added.

The research appears in Archives of Osteoporosis journal.

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Just hours after he parted ways with Fox News following a probe into claims of sexual harassment, Eric Bolling has been hit by more devastating news.

Bolling's 19-year-old son was found dead in Boulder, Colorado, where, according to his Facebook, he was studying economics at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Bolling confirmed the news on Twitter, saying that he and his wife are "devastated" and that details are still unclear.

"Adrienne and I are devastated by the loss of our beloved son Eric Chase last night. Details still unclear. Thoughts, prayers appreciated," he wrote.

While a cause of death has not been confirmed, sources told TMZ.com that Eric Chase Bolling, Jr died from a drug overdose.

According to the insiders, he was having a hard time dealing with the trouble his dad was having at the network and was extremely embarrassed by the stories and was "emotionally upset."

The sad news comes hours after Bolling, who anchored Fox News' 'Cashin' In.' and co-hosted 'The Specialists' and 'The Five,' had been removed from his job following allegations that he harassed colleagues.

"Fox News Channel is cancelling The Specialists, and Eric Bolling and Fox have agreed to part ways amicably. We thank Eric for his ten years of service to our loyal viewers and wish him the best of luck," the network said in a statement.

Several TV commentators, including Fox News' Sean Hannity, took to the social media to express their condolences.

"To my dear friend, please know we all love you, will be here for you and your family," wrote Hannity.

Another former colleague of Bolling, Geraldo Rivera, tweeted, "Gut-wrenching news about Eric Bolling's 19-year old only son Eric. Erica and I weep for the Bolling family This is horrible, our condolences."

"So awful," said CNN anchor Don Lemon. "My heart goes out to Eric and his family."

Katie Pavlich, a commentator who frequently appears on Fox News, tweeted: "Overwhelmed by the news of Eric Bolling's son. How absolutely horrific and devastating."

Mike Cernovich, the alt-right internet commentator, tweeted: "Male suicide is one of the most underreported issues of our time. RIP Chase Bolling."

Andrew Kaczynski, a journalist with CNN's KFile unit, wrote, "This is very sad on a human level, regardless on what you thought of Eric. Thoughts for the family."

Bolling reportedly had texted an unsolicited photo of male genitalia to at least three female co-workers years ago.

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Afghanistan's Military officials in the northeast zone on Friday said that at least 120 Taliban fighters, including their 20 commanders, have been killed in the last one month in airstrikes and land operations by the security forces in Afghanistan.

Kunduz Police Chief General, Abdul Hamid Hamid said, "At least 26 militants were killed in our operation in a few villages (in Kunduz) and 19 others were wounded. The area is fully cleared of insurgents," the Tolo News reported.

The Military officials have said that the level of conflicts has gone down in some provinces including Badakhshan and Baghlan following the military operations.

"Taliban has suffered heavy losses in the airstrikes," Commander of the Second Regiment of the military corps Colonel Ziauddin said.

Feared of airstrikes and night raids, the Taliban militants have decreased their activities in the province, Badakhshan officials said.

"Our efforts are ongoing and we will remove their main strongholds in Wardooj and Yumgan districts (in Badakhshan) in the near future," commander of Afghan Army's Second Regiment in Badakhshan Naeem Majidi said.

Meanwhile, a number of Army soldiers said the airstrikes that target the Taliban and other insurgents are effective for their ground operations.

"When their (Taliban's) key commanders are killed in airstrikes or land operation, it positively impacts the morale of the soldiers," a soldier, Wahid said.

"The enemy's morale is low and they cannot fight against us," Salahuddin, another soldier, said.

However, the Taliban spokesman refuted the claims, saying that the given number is not right.

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In an effort to familiarise surgeons and hospital administrators in Trichy and Madurai with computer-assisted surgeries, the da Vinci surgical robot will drive into these cities on September 11 for a live demo.

Robotic Surgeries, where a robot assists the surgeon, scores over conventional surgery by minimising blood loss, dramatically reducing post-operative recovery time, and bringing precision in executing the procedure, thus saving healthy tissue from damage.

Tamil Nadu already boasts of two surgical robots in Coimbatore and one in Chennai. The roving robot's visit to Trichy and Madurai is a part of the 20 city tour of the da Vinci Surgical robot. It has already visited Dehradun, Rishikesh, Bhopal, Indore, Raipur, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Visakhapatnam, Rajahmundry, Vijayawada and Tirupati in the last 10 weeks.

The 'Roving Robot' project has been instituted by Vattikuti Technologies, distributor of da Vinci Surgical Robots and Vattikuti Foundation, evangelist for robotic surgery and Intuitive Surgical Inc., USA, makers of da Vinci Robot.

"A 3-dimensional high definition vision system and 10 times magnification gives the surgeons to work with tiny wristed instruments that bend and rotate far greater than the human hand enabling superior outcomes, quick recovery and much shorter hospital stays," said Gopal Chakravarthy, CEO, Vattikuti Technologies.

A da Vinci surgical robot brings in human wrist-like movement with its instruments and offers a 10 times enlarged 3-dimensional view. And that is exactly what a tour of a da Vinci surgical robot across India is trying to demonstrate. Surgeons in the two cities will get a first-hand look at how a surgical robot works and understand the situations in which its benefits unfold.

The da Vinci 'Roving Robot' will be available to surgeons, doctors and hospital administrators in Trichy (at Kauvery Hospital Sep 11-13) and Madurai (Vadamalayan Hospital Sep 15-16 and Meenakshi Hospital Sep 18-20). With multi-disciplinary robotic surgery proving its efficacy in India in the last six years, the road show's goal is to highlight computer-assisted surgeries ability to vanquish various forms of cancers, particularly in the medical disciplines of Urology, Gynaecology, Thoracic, Gastro-intestinal and Head and Neck.

Vattikuti Technologies, Vattikuti Foundation and Intuitive Surgical Inc. have an ambitious plan to spread the use of Robotic surgery in India. Vattikuti Technologies has partnered with scores of hospitals in India since 2011 in drawing a roadmap for success of the robotic program as well as supporting training of surgeons. So far, the number of da Vinci Surgical robots in India stands at 51 installations, manned by 275 trained robotic surgeons in 47 hospitals in 20 cities.

Eminent robotic surgeons--Dr Ajit Pai, Surgical Oncologist, Apollo hospital, Chennai and Dr Srivatsa Narasimha, Uro-Oncologist, HCG, Bengaluru--would share their experiences as Robotic Surgeons at a special interactive session with surgeons, physicians and hospital administrators from Madurai and neighbouring towns on September 20.

As cancer spreads relentlessly across India, with 15 lakh new cancer cases every year according to the National Cancer Registry, computer-assisted surgery will help in fighting it aggressively and effectively.

To address the scarcity of trained surgeons and the cost of computer assisted procedures and equipment Vattikuti Technologies and Intuitive Surgical Inc. USA and Vattikuti Foundation is showcasing the technology by mounting the surgical robot on a mobile vehicle to simulate an operation theatre setting as it educates doctors and surgeons about the benefits.

Vattikuti Technologies and Surgical Robot makers Intuitive Surgical Inc., USA will offer hospitals the da Vinci Robot along with instruments required for the next three years at a special price point.

"The 4-armed Roving Robot will help surgeons in smaller towns experience the capabilities of a da Vinci Surgical Robot in removing affected tissue while retaining healthy tissue," said Chakravarthy.

The da Vinci surgical system enables surgeons to operate minimally invasively through a few small incisions while controlling the robotic instruments from a nearby console. It allows surgeons to operate with enhanced vision and precision.

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The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday said that the murder of a seven-year-old student of Ryan International School is unfortunate and concerned agencies need to focus on coming up with a solution.

"It is a very tragic and most unfortunate incident. Already the police is working on it and the person has been apprehended. There will be a requirement for everyone concerned to apply their mind in how such a situation should not happen. Our children have to safe in school and in that the concerned agencies and organizations will need to apply their head and come up with solution so that these incidents do not take place in future," BJP leader Nalin Kohli told ANI.

Another BJP leader Anil Jain said that the entire society is standing with the victim's family.

"Only the family knows what they are going through. I got to know that the school's principal has been suspended. The government will take strong required steps in the matter. If there are faults in the school's security then actions will be taken accordingly," he added.

Earlier in the day, senior lawyer Ram Jethmalani had said that Gurugram's Ryan International School is ultimately responsible for the murder of its student in the school premises.

Talking to ANI, Jethmalani said, "There should be an absolute liability of the school management because they are ultimately responsible. The children are given to them in their guardianship."

A Gurugram Court on Saturday sent the accused to three-day police remand.

The accused was nabbed after the body of the class II student was found inside the toilet of the school, with his throat slit, on Friday.

Also, the principal of the Gurugram-based school was suspended.

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Senior Congress leaders have expressed shock over the alleged murder of a class II student of the Ryan International School, whose body was found lying in a pool of blood on Friday.

Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit said, "This is a very shocking incident that an innocent child is being murdered in school. Police should take immediate action."

Echoing similar sentiments, another Congress leader Tom Vadakkan said that the Haryana police will act appropriately and get the culprits.

He further said, "School must realise that the parents hand over their children, their loving ones to the school with a sense of responsibility and with a sense of belief that they will be safe."

"If schools turn up to be graveyards or killing grounds it's very sad," Vadakkan said.

Earlier, the Ryan International School had expressed grief and assured co-operation in the investigation.

A statement released by the school authority stated that, "We are deeply saddened by the tragic incident that occurred at our school today, involving a class II student - Pradyuman Thakur. He had suffered critical injuries and was immediately rushed to the hospital by the school head-Neerja Batra. Despite all attempts, unfortunately, his life could not be saved due to his injuries".

"The police are investigating this matter and we have assured our full support and co-operation towards the investigation of the same. The perpetrators of this heinous crime must be dealt with appropriate action. Our hearts and prayers are with the family," the statement further noted.



#Gurugram: Father of victim reached Police Commissioner's office with lawyer to demand action against management of #RyanInternationalSchool pic.twitter.com/ZarjsUqP1O  ANI (@ANI) September 9, 2017

Hours after the incident, the Gurugram Police confirmed that the accused bus conductor who was arrested in the murder case of Ryan International School student tried to sexually assault the lad before killing him.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Simardeep Singh told that accused Ashok, a resident village Ghamroj in Haryana, killed the boy when he tried to raise an alarm.

"The accused is a bus conductor and was arrested. He attempted to sexually assault the boy and when the boy raised an alarm he killed the boy. During the preliminary investigation, the accused tried to sexually assault the child," the DCP told the media.

The Gurugram Police earlier in the day detained at least three suspects after the student was found dead in the washroom of Ryan International School here.

The detained suspects included a bus conductor, a driver and a school staff member.

However, the authorities of the school denied negligence.

Speaking to the media, school caretaker Neerja Batra said that the kid was alive when they saw him lying in the pool of blood.

"The child was looking serious. We didn't lose a minute. The kid was alive when we saw him lying in the pool of blood. We took him to the hospital immediately. Police are here to investigate the matter and after investigation one can say from where the knife came inside the school premises," she added.



Heavy security in #RyanInternationalSchool after a 7yr old boy was found dead with injury marks in school premises yesterday #Gurugram pic.twitter.com/r26pQFmc6H  ANI (@ANI) September 9, 2017

Also, State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) K Krishan said that the matter has been taken very seriously.

"We are taking the matter very seriously. A Team is already there in the school to find what happened and ensure it never recurs," he said.

The father of the victim had said that it was a "clear case of murder."

"It was a normal day. I left my child in the school and then went back to home. After I reached home, I got a call from the school saying that he is in the hospital and he is bleeding and that he was found lying down on the floor of the washroom. After this, I rushed to the hospital and by the time I reached, my child was no more. It is a clear case of murder, don't know what happened but I am sure it's murder," said the father.

The body of the class II student with his throat slit was found inside the toilet of the school located at Bhondsi in Gurugram earlier today.

Now, the police are investigating whether it is a case of murder or an attempted suicide.
A six-year-old student on Saturday died after being run over by a school bus in Kavi Nagar Police Station area.

Deceased Soumya was a student of Silver Sign School who was returning to her home from school. The incident happened on Highway number 24.

The bus driver, Rajvir, has been arrested. According to the driver, the incident happened when he was reversing the bus.

After the incident, an agitated mob vandalised the bus and attempted to set it on fire.

Further investigation is on.

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Condemning the terrorist attack in Shopian, defence expert Shivali Deshpande on Sunday said that apparently, the terrorists want to express that they do not welcome any of the Central Government's policies.

"Probably they want to give a message to the Central Government that they do not welcome any of Centre's policies. 'We do not want any of the Indian policies to work in Kashmir,' is their message. The terrorists and Pakistan need to understand who is harbouring terrorism and that Kashmir is our part and we are going to retaliate on the terrorists," Deshpande told ANI.

"These are the messages that our security forces have given to these terrorists. The forces have to be absolutely alert and upright. We are sad that one policeman was martyred and some were injured as well," she added.

Deshpande continued that the Indian Government wants to give a strong message to the Kashmiris that they are here for developments and nothing else.

Earlier on Saturday, a 19-year-old girl suffered injuries during an encounter between the terrorists and the security forces in Imam Sahib area of Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian.

The injured girl Khusboo Jan, residence of Shopian, was shifted to a nearby hospital.

Meanwhile, two terrorists were killed during the encounter.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday said that truth should come to fore in the mystery surrounding around the death of senior journalist Gauri Lankesh.

Siddaramaiah said that this after meeting the mother and the sister of Gauri here.

The Karnataka Chief Minister said that Gauri must receive justice and assured the state government is putting all its efforts to nab the perpetrators.

Senior journalist Gauri Lankesh was shot dead on Tuesday night outside her residence in Bengaluru's Rajarajeshwari Nagar by some unidentified assailants.

As per the reports, four bullets were fired at her, three which hit in her head and chest.

Her last rites were held at Bengaluru's Chamrajpet Cemetery on Wednesday.

Lankesh was the editor of the Gauri Lankesh Patrike, a tabloid described as an "anti-establishment" publication.

A Special Investigation Team (SIT), comprising of 19 officers, headed by IGP Intelligence B.K. Singh, has been formed to probe her murder.
Simardeep Singh, the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Haryana on Saturday said that a special committee is formed to probe the alleged murder of seven-year-old boy of Gurugram-based Ryan International School.

The body of the class II student, with his throat slit, was found inside the toilet of the school on Friday.

He further said that the police have taken action against the security agency of the school.

"We talked to the boy's father and other relatives. We have told them everything, what the culprit has admitted, what all evidence we have got. They are satisfied with the investigation. They demanded that action should be taken against the authorities of the school. The principal has been suspended. The security agency has also been changed and enquiry has been made against it. It has been given in written for a new security agency," he told ANI.

"We have formed a new committee headed by DEO (District Education Officer) to probe the matter. The record will be checked. Preliminary investigation has been done," he added.

Earlier in the day, the accused bus conductor was sent to three-day police remand by the Gurugram court.

Earlier, the principal of school was suspended, said lawyer of victim child.

"Action against school management is sure. The principal of the school has been suspended," the lawyer of the victim told media.

The seven-year-old was allegedly killed by the school bus conductor, who was arrested yesterday.

The accused also confessed that he killed the boy.

Hours after the incident, the Gurugram Police confirmed that the accused bus conductor tried to sexually assault the child before killing him.

DCP Simardeep Singh had earlier told that accused killed the boy when he tried to resist.

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Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Tilak Marapana met his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj on Saturday and held discussions on a range of bilateral issues aimed at further strengthening the India-Sri Lanka partnership.

Marapana, who is on a three-day visit to India, will also call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi later in the day.

This is Marapana's first overseas visit after assuming office as Foreign Minister.

He is being accompanied by Prasad Kariyawasam, Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and M.A.K. Girihagama, Senior Director General of the South Asia and SAARC Division of the Ministry.

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At least four people were killed and three others got injured on Friday evening after a suicide bomber attacked a busy restaurant in Somalia's southwestern city of Baidoa .

A police officer in Baidoa, Abdukadir Mohamed Abdi, had confirmed the casualties, Anadolu Agency reported.

"It was rush hour, and lots of civilians were inside the restaurant when the attacker detonated his suicide belt," Abdi added.

Southwest state minister for security, Hassan Hussein Mohammed, also confirmed the casualties in the attack.

No individual or group has claimed the responsibility for the attack so far.

However, Somalia-based insurgent group al-Shabaab has claimed many such attacks in the country.

Baidoa is the fourth largest city in Somalia.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The United States has called on the United Nations Security Council to vote on Monday on a draft resolution for imposing new sanctions against North Korea that would include freezing the assets of leader Kim Jong Un over its sixth and powerful nuclear test.

"This evening, the United States informed the UN Security Council that it intends to call a meeting to vote on a draft resolution to establish additional sanctions on North Korea on Monday," the U.S. Mission to the United Nations said in a statement.

The draft resolution includes a full ban on exports of oil to North Korea, a full ban on textile imports from North Korea, a ban on North Korean labourers generating earnings overseas, and the asset freeze, which will also target members of the ruling worker's party, the diplomat said, calling it a "hard-hitting, ambitious resolution," CNN reported.

North Korean ally China and neighboring Russia hold veto power on the Security Council. A draft resolution needs nine affirmative votes from members of the Council and zero vetoes from permanent members in order to pass.

The International community condemned North Korea for testing the hydrogen bomb on August 27, marking the sixth time the isolated state has tested a nuclear weapon.

The major powers than convened an emergency session of the security council where U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley argued forcefully for harsher sanctions, saying, "enough is enough," and that Kim was "begging for war."

"We have taken an incremental approach, and despite the best of intentions, it has not worked," Haley said. "War is never something the Unites States wants -- we don't want it now. But our country's patience is not unlimited. We will defend our allies and our territory."

Moreover, South Korea Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon said that North Korean leader is likely to launch another intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) "on September 9."

"The situation is very grave. It doesn't seem much time is left before North Korea achieves its complete nuclear armament," the prime minister told a meeting of defense ministers in Seoul Thursday.

"A special measure is urgently needed to stop their recklessness.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Saturday said that stern action will be taken against Ryan International School if lapses are found on their part.

The chief minister's reaction came after a seven-year-old student was brutally murdered in the school's toilet.

Khattar said that the authorities have been directed to complete all formalities within seven days.

"This is very sad incident and a very heinous crime. The administration has nabbed the suspect and I have directed the authorities to complete formalities within seven days. I would also request the court to punish the perpetrator as earliest as possible," he said.

"We have asked for report and the principal of the school has been suspended. Whatever lapses will be found will be acted against," he said.

He said that the government will soon issue circular to instruct all schools in the state to tighten their security measures.

On the being quizzed about any decision to cancel Ryan International school's registration, Khattar said that action will be taken as per the reports.

Khattar said there is no question of CBI probe in this matter as the Haryana Police have successfully nabbed the perpetrator and he has accepted him crime.

"There is no question of CBI enquiry, the Haryana Police have arrested the culprit. There is no matter of transferring the case to the CBI," he said.

Meanwhile, Haryana PWD Minister Rao Narbir Singh met the family of the boy found dead in Gurugram's school toilet and assured the victim's kin that probe will be done to their satisfaction.

"I have assured them that the probe will be done to the satisfaction of the family," Rao Narbir said.

He further told the reports that it is the tendency of common people to ask for Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe and decision will be taken on the same later on.

Meanwhile, a Gurugram Court earlier in the day sent the accused involved in the murder of a seven-year old student of Ryan International School to three days of police remand.

The accused was nabbed after the body of the class II student was found inside the toilet of the school, with his throat slit, on Friday.

Meanwhile, the school authorities, represented by Acting Principal Neerja Batra, assured that security measures will be reviewed immediately and all necessary improvements would be made.

"Following the tragic incident at our school yesterday, the school authorities have seriously taken up the review of the security measures at the school. All necessary improvements and measures are being audited and reinforced with the help of experts. We are also seeking advice from the Police department to guide us in this regard," the official notice of the school said.

"While, we are all in great shock and grief at the loss of life of our beloved student Pradhyuman Thakur, we are taking these steps simultaneously to ensure vigorous safety measures in place for all our students and staff. We are closely working with the investigating authorities so that we could be guided further with their expertise," it further noted.

Earlier, the principal of the Gurugram-based school was suspended, the lawyer of the victim's parents said.

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At meeting held on 08 September 2017

The Board of Fortune Financial Services (India) at its meeting held on 08 September 2017 has appointed Shaili Maheshwari as an Additional Non Executive Director of the Company with effect from 7 September 2017.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News

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Some 290,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled to Bangladesh to escape the ongoing violence in Myanmar's Rakhine state since August 25, the UN office here said on Saturday.

In a report, the Inter Sector Coordination Group said a majority of the new migrants, some 143,000, were staying in temporary settlements and existing camps, while around 90,000 are being hosted by local communities, reports Efe news.

The remaining 56,000 have been housed in makeshift settlements, while a significant number have been camping on the side of the road that connects Ukhia with Teknaf, the southwestern border areas of Bangladesh where almost all the new arrivals have been concentrated.

"Sectors have prepared a preliminary response plan with a requirement of USD 77,100,000 to deliver urgent, life-saving assistance to 300,000 new arrivals," said the Group which also insisted on the immediate need for food.

The violence erupted following an attack by a Rohingya insurgent group on police and military posts in Rakhine, leading to a violent offensive by the Myanmar army.

According to official figures, the death toll has exceeded 400. Indiscriminate firing at local communities and torching of entire villages and other human rights violations were also reported.

Late last year, more than 80,000 Rohingyas had crossed over to Bangladesh to escape an aggressive military offensive in the region after an insurgent attack on border posts.

Before the crisis erupted, between 300,000 and 500,000 Rohingyas have been living in Bangladesh, out of whom only 32,000 enjoyed refugee status.

--IANS

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Nearly 300,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled Myanmar into Bangladesh in last 15 days since new violence erupted and the US is braced for a further surge, officials said, adding that it urgently need $77 million to assist the violence hit people in Rakhine state.

"Since 25 August, an estimated 290,000 people are believed to have crossed the border from Myanmar to Bangladesh, tripling the Rohingya population in two weeks," read a press release issued by the UN Resident Coordinator's office in Bangladesh, Prothom Alo reported.

"The $77 million requested by the new plan will allow agencies to scale up their response to meet the rapidly growing needs of the new arrivals."

It went on to say that the new settlements have formed and are expanding rapidly, however people in these sites have little access to basic services.

Resident Coordinator Robert Watkins said: "With the movement of people showing no signs of stopping, it is vital that agencies working have the resources they need to provide emergency assistance to incredibly vulnerable people who have been forced to flee their homes and have arrived in Bangladesh with nothing."

"Before this latest crisis agencies were already working on the ground, but the influx has overwhelmed the services that were in place. To support the new arrivals there is now an urgent need for 60,000 new shelters, as well as food, clean water and health services, including specialist mental health services and support for survivors of sexual violence," he said.

To support the implementation of the Response Plan, the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) has allocated US$7 million.

New violence started on August 25 after Rohingya fighters attacked police posts in Rakhine, triggering a security forces crackdown.

Those who have fled across the border have accused the Myanmar military of staging reprisal attacks on Muslim villages.

The Rohingya have long been subjected to discrimination in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, which denies them citizenship.

Myanmar's government regards them as illegal migrants from Bangladesh, even if they have lived in the country for generations.

Refugee camps near Bangladesh's border with Myanmar already had about 300,000 Rohingya before the upsurge in violence last month and are now overwhelmed.

Those flocking into Bangladesh have given harrowing accounts of killings, rape and arson by Myanmar's army. Myanmar authorities deny any wrongdoing.

--IANS

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Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Saturday flew in an F-16 fighter during a training mission becoming the country's first Prime Minister to have done so.

Abbasi visited the newly-established Airpower Centre of Excellence (ACE) at an operational air base of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF).

The facility is a premier institution and has been equipped with state of the art facilities and infrastructure. Besides training PAF personnel, this institute would also train the combat crew of friendly air forces by conducting multinational, training exercises, Geo TV reported.

Abbasi was also briefed on the ongoing exercise 'Saffron Bandit' and was informed that the first multinational exercise will be held in October with the participation of personnel from 19 air forces.

--IANS

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Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K.Palaniswami on Saturday said electoral alliance of his AIADMK with the BJP for the local body elections would be taken ahead of the polls.

Interacting with reporters at Kanchipuram, around 60 km from here, Palaniswami said the decision on alliance will be taken once the election dates are announced.

The question on alliance was posed to Palaniswami as the Minister for Milk and Dairy Development K.T.Rajenthra Bhalaji on Friday said there was nothing wrong with aligning with the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Palaniswami also said with 134 legislators, the AIADMK commands majority in the assembly.

Meanwhile Fisheries Minister D.Jayakumar on Saturday told reporters here that the government would prove its majority in the assembly if DMK calls for a floor test.

Jayakumar also claimed that legislators backing T.T.V.Dinakaran, the party's sidelined Deputy General Secretary, would extend support to Palaniswami.

He said that the general council meeting of the party will be held on September 12 near here.

--IANS

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Hitting back at Congress General Secretary Digvijaya Singh for his retweet of a derogatory remark against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday said that he was ashamed that the Congress leader was once a Chief Minister and belonged to his state.

"Jako prabhu darun dukh dehi, taki mati pehle har lehi (If God wants to bestow pain on someone then first of all he will take away his intellect from him)," Chouhan told IANS.

"I am ashamed that he was Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh. The man, who had been Chief Minister for 10 years and is a national general secretary of the oldest party of the country, has used such words for the Prime Minister of the country," he said.

"Even ruffians don't use such words on roads. I feel ashamed even uttering that word," he added.

Chouhan was reacting to Digvijaya Singh's retweet in which he used a derogatory remark against the Prime Minister, but later insisted that the words were not his after a controversy erupted.

Singh had retweeted a meme of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that said: "My two achievements - Made fools of bhakts, made bhakts out of fools" in Hindi. The meme had used an uncivilised word for "fool" in Hindi.

Digvijaya Singh shared the tweet with a disclaimer: "Not mine but couldn't help posting it. My apologies to the person concerned. He is the best in the 'Art of Fooling!'"

Chouhan said that he was ashamed that Digvijaya Singh belonged to Madhya Pradesh.

"He is using such words after attaining this level in . I am ashamed that he belongs to Madhya Pradesh," he said.

Chouhan said that Singh should at least maintain some decency. "He has crossed all the limits of decency. He must maintain some decency," Chouhan said.

He said Singh always preferred to be in the limelight by saying controversial things. "If he continues like this then the Congress will be decimated and only God can save the party," he said.

--IANS

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A pianist from Bengaluru jumped to death from a highrise building in suburban Bandra on Saturday morning, police said here.

The deceased has been identified as 29-year old Karan Joseph, a well-known name in the Indie music world, said Mumbai Police spokesperson and Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Rashmi Karandikar.

"We have registered an accidental death report at Bandra Police Station. Police is carrying out a preliminary inquiry in the matter and his mobile is being sent to the forensic lab," DCP Karandikar told the media.

According to investigators, Joseph had come to Mumbai and was living with a female friend Rishi Shah on the 12th floor of Concorde Apartments in Bandra since last month.

As Shah and some of their friends were watching television this morning, Joseph suddenly got up, ran to the window and jumped down.

His friends immediately informed local police and he was rushed to Bhabha Hospital, were he was declared dead on admission.

Police, who did not recover any suicide note from the site, are investigating the motives leading to his suicide.

Joseph's family in Bengaluru had been informed and they were expected here soon to take possession of the body, police added.

Often called a "child prodigy" for his excellent command over piano, which he started playing at the age of five, Joseph passed with top honours from the Bangalore School of Music, Royal School of Music and the Trinity College of Music.

Later, he learnt to study piano professionally at the Berklee College of Music, in Boston, USA, where he trained under veterans like Danilo Perez, Hal Crook and Jeff Covell.

Over the years, he played piano and performed at many events and venues like Blue Frog in Mumbai, Opus, Bflat & Herbs and Spices in Bengaluru, Shisha Jazz Cafe in Pune, and Rockwood Music Hall, Smalls, Fat Cat, 55 Bar and others in New York.

He also performed with Pentagram on MTV Unplugged and in the past had performed with Victor Wooten, Mike Stern, Dennis Chambers, David Binney, Amit Heri, L. Subramanium and Prasanna.

Music industry paid tributes to Joseph -- who played for the Mad Fingers music group -- terming him a genius who deserved to be far more celebrated than he was.

"Destroyed. Karan Joseph, one of the most incredible Indian musicians has committed suicide. Played with Pentagram on our MTV Unplugged set," music director Vishal Dadlani tweeted.

"He was a genius. He was quite big on the Indie music scene. Wonder what could have pushed him to the brink," Dadlani reacted to the media.

--IANS

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Union Minister Manoj Sinha on Friday strongly criticised the cancellation of booking of BJP President Amit Shah's event at a West Bengalgovernment-owned indoor stadium, terming it as "a violation of democracy".

Claiming that his strength in Bengal is increasing, the BJP leader said such incidents would not be able to stop its rise in the state.

"The strength of Bharatiya Janata Party in West Bengal is constantly on the rise. No matter how much injustice is done, no one can stop the BJP from increasing its strength in the state," he said on the sidelines of an event here.

Shah was supposed to hold a programme in state owned Netaji Indoor Stadium during his visit to the state September 11-13. According to state BJP leadership, the stadium authorities earlier accepted the booking but later denied it stating the stadium was booked for the entire month barring the days of Durga Puja.

The stadium authorities however maintained that the booking was never accepted as the stadium was "already occupied".

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday had slammed the party, accusing it of deliberately trying to stir up a controversy over the issue. She contended that even the state government did not get access to the Netaji Indoor Stadium for their own meeting on Thursday as it was previously booked.

--IANS

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The CBI on Saturday said it has registered an FIR against former Union Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan for allegedly granting speedy clearances during her tenure for diverting forest land for mining in violation of laws.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) also conducted multiple raids on Natarajan's properties in Delhi and other cities and her premises in Chennai.

The FIR against Natarajan, who held office during the UPA-II government, was registered on Thursday.

Besides Natarajan, those named in the FIR are Umang Kejriwal, the then Managing Director of Electrosteel Casting Ltd, apart from other unidentified persons.

The case was registered on charges of criminal conspiracy and abuse of official position under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The charges pertain to clearance given for diversion of land in Saranda forest in Jharkhand's Singhbhum district to mining company Electrosteel in alleged violation of the Forest (Conservation Act) in 2012.

The permission was rejected by Minister of State for Environment Jairam Ramesh, but when Natarajan assumed the post, she allegedly cleared it.

"Jayanthi Natarajan, the then Minister of State for Environment and Forests, accorded the approval for diversion of 55.79 hectares of forest land for non-forestry use to ECL (Electrosteel Casting Ltd), though the same had been rejected by the earlier Minister of State...without any change in the circumstances after rejection," the CBI FIR said.

It said this approval had been granted without adhering to the advice of Director General (Forests) and directions of the Supreme Court in this regard.

During the Lok Sabha election campaign last year, Narendra Modi had coined the term "Jayanthi tax", referring to public perception about the manner in which environment clearances were given during her tenure. After she left the Congress, even her erstwhile party colleagues referred to "Jayanthi tax".

Natarajan had stoutly denied the allegations and said: "Let them prove that. I welcome any inquiry to prove if I have committed any wrong. I have done my duty without any blemish. When my own party has treated me shabbily, why not Modi?"

The CBI had registered a preliminary inquiry in the case in 2014 on the allegation that unidentified Jharkhand government officials in 2005 recommended a proposal of Electrosteel Casting Ltd to the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest for leasing 192.50 hectares of land for the mining of iron and manganese ores in Saranda forest.

The ministry cleared the proposal for 55.79 hectares of forest land submitted by the company on February 4, 2012 for non-forestry use out of 192.50 hectares of land, in violation of mining laws, environmental laws and the directions of the Supreme Court.

--IANS

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A team of doctors was rushed to the District Jail in Sunaria near Rohtak town in Haryana on Saturday after rapist Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, the chief of Dera Sacha Sauda sect, complained of ill health.

It was not immediately known what health issues the disgraced sect chief was facing.

A team of five doctors was sent to the prison premises to examine Ram Rahim.

Security agencies beefed up security measures in Rohtak town, about 10 km from Sunaria, and particularly around the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (PGIMS).

Police sources said the team of doctors from PGIMS examined Ram Rahim on Saturday and found him fine. The doctors told the jail officials that there was no immediate need to shift him to hospital.

Ram Rahim had feigned health concerns on August 28 just minutes after he was sentenced to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment. Doctors had examined him and found him fine.

Ram Rahim was convicted in the 1999 rape cases by a CBI special court in Panchkula on August 25. His conviction led to violence in Panchkula and Sirsa in Haryana, leaving 38 people dead and 264 injured. Isolated incidents of violence were also reported from Delhi and several other places in Punjab.

--IANS

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The Haryana Police have launched a probe into the suicide of a Dera Sacha Sauda sect follower in Charkhi Dadri district, a police official said on Saturday.

The victim, Sombir's, body was recovered by family members from a well in Balkara village.

Family members told the police that Sombir was under stress in the past few days as he had got 12 acres of his land registered in the name of the Dera.

He was made a partner in the resort constructed inside the sect headquarters near Sirsa town by the now jailed chief, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.

Ram Rahim is in prison after being sentenced to 20 years' rigorous imprisonment for rape by a CBI special court.

--IANS

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Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah on Saturday said the number of total direct tax payers has doubled in the last three years from 37 million to 64 million.

Shah in an industry interactive session at Ficci, said 300 mn new bank accounts were opened and seven crore people benefited from the Mudra bank (which benefits small entrepreneurs).

"We have worked very hard to carry forward the country's economy and demonetisation is an example," Shah said, adding that the BJP government focused on long-term gains rather than short-term benefits.

He also said: "We have not linked the policy decisions with the vote bank. Due to this, our political loss may have happened."

The Narendra Modi government does not believe in taking such decisions that "look good to people", but believes in taking decisions which are "good for people".

"If every house has a toilet, electricity and LPG cylinder will GDP increase or not? This will not only increase the GDP but also raise the living standard of people," he added.

Shah also said that political stability is necessary for economic and industrial development. "For the first time in 30 years a single majority party has come to power and people of India played a decisive role in this change."
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and US President Donald Trump held a phone conversation and discussed the regional developments on Saturday.

Citing Turkish Presidential Press Office, Xinhua reported that both leaders highlighted the significance of a continued cooperation for further strengthening bilateral relations and stability in the Middle East.

During the phone talk, Erdogan and Trump agreed to meet during the UN General Assembly in New York later this month.

--IANS

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The Delhi University Chief Election Officer (CEO) on Saturday appealed to the varsity students to turn up in large numbers to cast their votes on September 12 -- the day students' union election takes place.

CEO S.B. Babbar said students must proactively exercise their voting right, since the representatives thus chosen were not only their voice but their reflection as well.

"As sensitive and mature students, you should understand that your representatives are not only your voice but your reflection too," Babbar said in a statement.

"(Y)ou must express your choice by exercising your voting right to elect responsible and responsive representatives, who can act as an effective interface between you and the administration, besides ensuring a peaceful environment, conducive for academic and professional development," he added.

The CEO further quoted former President of the country A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, according to whom the voting is a "sacred right and onerous responsibility", which the citizens owe to their "motherland".

"The University is your "alma mater", a Latin phrase, which translates to a nourishing/ kind (alma) mother (mater)". Won't you care for your 'mother' that intellectually nourishes you or will you take that day as another holiday?" he urged.

The reason behind the appeal, as noted by the CEO, is continuously low turnout in the previous Delhi University Students' Union elections.

He observed that only one-third of students had turned up in the elections conducted during the last few years.

-- IANS

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Expelled Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) leader Binay Tamang on Saturday said he, along with his friends, will hold a fast unto death after the September 12 all-party meeting to press the government for ending suffering of people in the north Bengal hills.

"We will hold a big public meeting. To put pressure on the government and seeing the suffering of the public, my friends and I, on any day after September 12, will go for fast unto death for the cause of Gorkhaland, Terai, Dooars and the hills. If (GJM leaders) Roshan Giri and Bimal ji (Gurung) are committed to the cause, then they should join in. They have not committed to it yet," said Tamang, the GJM's former Assistant General Secretary.

Tamang, who was also the chief coordinator of the party, was expelled along with another party leader on September 1 on charges of conspiring with the state's Mamata Banerjee government to derail the Gorkhaland movement.

Meanwhile, a eight-member delegation of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) and other hill parties on Friday met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi and pressed for "tripartite talks" on the Gorkhaland issue.

The delegation consisted of GJM MLAs Rohit Sharma and Sarita Rai, party's central committee members Swaraj Thapa and Ashok Lama, General Secretary Giri, Communist Party Revolutionary Marxist's Arun Ghatani, Akhil Bharatiya Gorkha League's Biplov Rai and Gorkhaland Rajya Nirman Morcha's Dawa Pakhrin.

"I was surprised to learn that Roshan Giri, who had a lookout notice on him, went beyond the law and attended the meeting in Delhi. He was there openly. Who is in collusion with the state.. is it me or Roshan Giri? This is clear," said Tamang.

Meanwhile, the GJM, in a statement, after the meeting, said: "Raising the one point agenda of Gorkhaland, the delegation members requested the Union Home Minister to initiate the process of tripartite talks on statehood issue."

The GJM also informed Rajnath Singh that it would attend the bipartite meeting called by Banerjee on September 12.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
UN General Assembly President Peter Thomson has said that "fairness and logic" will force the long-stalled Security Council reform to take place, with Africa as the prime mover.

Thomson, who completes his presidency next week, told reporters on Friday that there has to be a new approach to the reform process and "what is required in the IGN (Inter-Governmental Negotiations on reforms) is for people to change their fixed positions".

He likened the tangled reform process to the legendary Gordion Knot and said: "What is going to force it, the untying thereof, is the gross unfairness, a whole continent not having a permanent member.

"It was fine in the 1950s, it is not fine today. Africa has to have permanent membership of the Council and there are other countries, of course, which have staked their claim as well."

"The Gordion Knot eventually got untied," Thomson said. "I am a great believer that in this organisation and in most organisations fairness and logic eventually wins out as long as people are dogged and IGN is a dogged process."

The five permanent members of the Security Council "have huge role in this regard because of the Charter and it is quite frankly one in which there has to be a change in the equation somewhere at some stage," he added.

The Security Council reform process, in which India as an aspirant for a permanent seat is heavily invested, was stalled again in the current UN General Assembly (UNGA) session, further losing the momentum gathered in the 2014-15 session under President Sam Kutesa.

The Gordion Knot that Thomson spoke of was tangled mostly around the question of adding permanent members to the Security Council, which is vehemently opposed by some countries.

The current session decided in July to push the reform negotiations to the session starting next week and to convene the "Open-Ended Work Group" on equitable representation on the Council and increasing its size.

Thomson said he has some ideas to move forward the process that has been bogged down for more than two decades and that he will discuss them with the next UNGA President Miroslav Lajcak and with Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

He conceded that the reform process is driven by member nations and "no Secretary-General or an individual like me can say we have to do this or do that. That is not the way. It has to be a communal thing."

But he added that may be Guterres has a role to play as well in moving the negotiations.

Guterres's spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters earlier on Friday that the reform process "is firmly in the hands of the Member States. We know the challenges, we know the issues, we know it's under discussion."

Soon after his election Lajcak told the UNGA: "There is a high degree of accord that the time is up to transform the Security Council into a 21st century body.

"I intend to work closely and consult widely with you on how to push forward agreement our leaders made at the 2005 World Summit" for reforming it.

(Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in)

--IANS

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Actor Farhan Akhtar has expressed his grief over the gruesome murder of Pradhuman, a class 2 student at a school in Gurugram.

Farhan on Friday took to Twitter to share his sadness.

"My dear Pradyuman, My heart weeps for you and for your family at this time of unimaginable grief and pain," he tweeted.

Pradhuman was found dead on Friday by a school staffer in the washroom with his throat slit. A knife, presumably the murder weapon, was found near the body.

An angry mob on Saturday broke the lock of the school's main gate. Nobody from either the local administration or the Manohar Lal Khattar government was available for comment.

The principal of the school in Bhondsi has been suspended, informed sources said. An independent investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation or a High Court judge has been demanded.

The protesters, including Pradhuman's parents, demonstrated outside the office of the Commissioner of Police on Sohna Road and demanded the arrest of the "real culprit".

Protests were also held outside a hospital on the Mehrauli-Gurugram (MG) road where the child's body was lying after the autopsy on Friday.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Following the death of a father and son within 12 hours here due to suspected dengue, civic authorities ruled out the vector-borne disease as the cause of the son's death.

The authorities also claimed the father may have been infected with the disease outside the state. Ghosh's relatives, however, have alleged the duo died from dengue based on test reports.

Fifty-three-year-old Siddharth Ghosh of Kasba near south Kolkata passed away at a private hospital on September 7 at 3 a.m. while his 13-year old son Deep died on the same day around 1.30 p.m. at the Institute of Child Health.

Deep's death certificate from the Institute of Child Health says "cardiorespiratory failure in a case of severe dengue with encephalitis in a known case of hypothyroidism".

Kolkata Municipal Corporation's member mayor in council (health) Atin Ghosh said the father was depressed because of his son's epilepsy and the deaths could have been linked to those conditions.

"There is a travel history behind the deaths. Siddharth had gone to Chennai for treatment and contracted fever from there," Ghosh on Saturday said, adding everything is being done to prevent dengue cases.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Four persons were killed as heavy monsoon rain wreaked havoc across the city, a civic official said on Saturday.

"Three persons, including a couple died on Friday night when a huge tree fell on their car near Minerva circle in the southern suburb," Bruhat Bengaluru Mahangara Palike (BBMP) spokesman Suresh told IANS.

The victims were Ramesh, 42, his wife Bharati, 38, and her brother Jagadish, 46.

The mishap occurred when the victims stopped their car under the tree amid the downpour and waited for it to subside.

A BBMP rescue team pulled their bodies out of the mangled car and sent them to the nearby state-run Victoria Hospital for autopsy.

City Mayor G. Padmavathi announced Rs 5 lakh compensation to the family of the victims.

In another incident, the body of a teenager was recovered from an overflowing water drain at Seshadripurm in the city's western suburb.

"The victim has been identified as Arun, 18, who accidentally slipped into the drain near Shivananda circle and was washed away for some distance before our staff located his body and pulled it out," added Suresh.

A record 65mm monsoon rain from Friday evening till midnight uprooted about 60 trees and scores of electric poles, blocking vehicular movement and snapping power lines in several residential and commercial localities.

The downpour also inundated low-lying areas and flooded subways, passages under flyovers and rail bridges as the rain water overflowed from the clogged drainage system.

"We have formed 21 special teams to clear the roads of uprooted trees and unclog the sewage system for letting the rainwater flow into the storm water drains across the city," Padmavathi told the media on Saturday.

With the south-west monsoon remaining active, the city has been receiving moderate to heavy rain over the last 10 days, which improved the ground water levels and filled ponds, lakes and water bodies in its urban and rural districts.

The met office has forecast that moderate to heavy rain will continue over the next two days, with squally winds and an overcast sky.

--IANS

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The family of slain journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh met Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah at his residence here on Saturday to inquire about the probe into her killing.

"Indira Lankesh, Gauri Lankesh's mother met me today. I have reassured her of government's resolve to swiftly bring Gauri's killer to justice," Siddaramaiah tweeted.

Talking to the media after the meeting, he said he had assured Indira Lankesh that the government would "put all efforts to trace the accused".

"(Congress President) Sonia Gandhi also spoke to me. She had asked me to see that the accused persons are caught immediately," he added.

Lankesh, 55, was gunned down at her residence here on Tuesday by three unidentified men who fled from the spot.

--IANS

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Hurricane Irma smashed into Cuba and the Bahamas as it drove towards Florida on Saturday after hitting the eastern Caribbean with its devastatingly high winds, killing at least 24 people and leaving catastrophic destruction in its wake. At least five million people were told to evacuate from Florida.

It made landfall on Cuba late on Friday night, regaining its maximum intensity as a Category 5 storm, striking the Camaguey Archipelago with 160 mph winds, the US media reported.

A hurricane warning was in effect in Cuban provinces of Camaguey, Ciego de Avila, Sancti Spiritus, Villa Clara and Matanzas, while floods have been reported in the northeast.

Hurricane Irma is due to hit Florida Keys on Sunday morning, crossing over the entire state over a 30 hour period.

As many as 5.6 million people were told to evacuate from Florida -- more than a quarter of the state's population. At least 540,000 people in parts of Georgia were also told to flee as the storm headed towards the American mainland.

"This is a storm that will kill you if you don't get out of the way," said National Hurricane Centre meteorologist and spokesman Dennis Feltgen.

Feltgen said the storm has a really wide eye, with hurricane-force winds that cover the entire Florida peninsula and potentially deadly storm surges on both coasts.

Tom Bossert, US Homeland Security Adviser, said: "Please listen to your local authorities. You need to evacuate from south to north - that is a staggered and carefully thought-out process."

In West Palm Beach police were going door to door, urging people to obey the mandatory evacuation order.

Rick Scott, the Governor of Florida, said they were working to ensure that fuel was available for cars to get to shelters. He told people they should not wait, and should leave now.

Irma claimed its first victim in Florida, even before making landfall, when a 57-year-old man fell from a ladder while fitting storm shutters at his home, reports said.

Irma is now tracking a path down the coast of Cuba towards the Bahamas, where it is due to reach early on Saturday, before hitting southern Florida early on Sunday.

Florida's major theme parks, including Walt Disney World, Universal and SeaWorld, will remain closed throughout the weekend.

The US military was on Friday night mobilising thousands of troops and deploying several large ships to aid with evacuations and humanitarian relief, as the air force removed scores of planes from the region.

The Red Cross said an estimated 1.2 million people have already been affected by Irma and that figure could rise sharply to 26 million.

US President Donald Trump said in a videotaped statement that Irma was "a storm of absolutely historic destructive potential" and called on people to heed recommendations from government officials and law enforcement.

--IANS

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Hurricane Irma, which is expected to cause havoc in southeastern US, has resulted in an evacuation order for over 5 million people throughout Florida, state authorities said.

Florida hurricane programme manager, Andrew Sussman said late Friday night that about 5.6 million Floridians have received the evacuation order due to the mortal threat that Irma poses, now a Category 4 hurricane and whose effects are expected to be felt statewide, reports Efe new.

"Not tonight. Not in an hour. Now," said state governor Rick Scott from the capital, Tallahassee, stressing on the urgency of people who have received an evacuation order to leave their homes and go to shelters.

On Thursday night, Scott ordered the shutdown of all state colleges and universities until next week in order to make them available as shelters from Irma's first effects, whose eye will reach South Florida on Sunday morning.

However, many shelters set up in Miami-Dade County and neighbouring Broward have closed their doors having reached their maximum capacity on Friday.

In Miami-Dade County itself an evacuation order has been issued for more than 650,000 people, the largest so far, as reported by local daily Miami Herald.

Between Thursday and Friday, the northern state highways have reported considerable traffic jams in what is already an unprecedented exodus of residents and tourists visiting South Florida.

Florida Power and Light Company (FPL), a leading provider of electricity in the state, has anticipated that at least 4.1 million clients will lose power as a result of the impact of Irma approaching Florida.

FPL forecast widespread damage in areas where it provides service in addition to significant impact on areas with more population and have already stationed 13,500 workers in the state, especially in South Florida, for rapid response to emergencies, the company said in a statement Friday.

In accordance with federal mandates, the firm has issued an Unusual Event statement to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission to proceed with the gradual closure of the nuclear plants.

According to the National Hurricane Centre (NHC), projections indicate that Irma would pass more towards the western coast of the state, away from Miami which has the highest population density.

Currently, the hurricane made landfall in Cuba's Camaguey archipelago at 11 p.m. on Friday night.

At least 24 people were killed this week when Irma pummelled northern Caribbean islands such as Barbuda and the Virgin Islands.

When it had first made landfall on Wednesday morning, Irma sustained maximum wind speeds of at least 185 mph for at least 37 hours, longer than any storm on record.

The Red Cross estimates 1.2 million people have already been battered by the storm.

--IANS

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Sunny Deol doesn't want to be a part of the race to be the No. 1 star in Bollywood. The actor says he would rather show his talent as an artiste than focus on attaining stardom.

With acting in his genes, Sunny, son of veteran actor Dharmendra, entered Bollywood with "Betaab" in 1983. He says he was never part of the race in the industry.

"There never has been competition. We make it into a competition. It is not a sport that (we have to see) who will cross (a line) to come first and who will come second. I don't take it as a competition. I never took it as a competition. I came as an actor... as your films start getting successful you become a star. But I still prefer to be an actor (rather than a star)," Sunny told IANS over phone from Mumbai.

"When you are an actor, nothing bothers you because you are enjoying your work," he added.

After spending over three decades in the industry, Sunny says he still has miles to go.

"I never look back at the journey because it is still on. I never take a pause to look back and go down memory lane... I like to take every day as a new day and move ahead. I have done so many films. I have enjoyed all the work that I have done," the actor said.

Sunny says "as an actor you get to do something new every time" and the profession never bores you.

"It is not a nine-to-five job where you are not enjoying yourself... We don't see if it is a Saturday or a Sunday or religious holiday or any public holiday. That is the kind of madness we have in our field. We love it and enjoy it," he added.

From being a lover boy, a spy, an army officer to an action hero, Sunny has done varied roles in his career and given hits like "Border", "Damini", "Chaalbaaz", "Gadar: Ek Prem Katha" and "Ghatak".

But he made a place for himself as an action star of Bollywood with lines like "Dhai kilo ka haath", "Tarik pe tarik", the hand-pump scene being etched in the minds of one and all till date.

The actor is seen doing more of action-comedy roles like "Jo Bole So Nihaal", "Yamla Pagla Deewana" and "Poster Boys", which released on Friday.

"Poster Boys", which also stars Bobby Deol and Shreyas Talpade, is a story of three men who are shocked to find their photos being used as part of a vasectomy campaign. The film is produced by Sony Pictures Networks Productions, Sunny Sounds Pvt Ltd, actor Shreyas Talpade and his wife Deepti Talpade.

Sunny says choosing more of action-comedies is not a conscious step.

"It is what comes to you... At the end of the day, we are hunting for scripts and subjects and, so far, the ideas which have come across, which are interesting, have been these ones," he said.

The actor will be launching his son Karan with "Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas". Clearly, acting runs in their family.

"When my dad came into the industry, he did various kind of films and was not too choosy... I love films, I enjoy acting... That is how even Bobby (brother) came and that is how even my son is going to enter.

"We basically want to enjoy rather than become stars. If your work is good, you are acknowledged for it and people love you for it."

At the moment, Sunny says he is busy with his son's film.

"That is my utmost priority and between that, as an actor, whenever I can do bits and pieces, I do. But at the moment, I am focused on that," he added.

(Sugandha Rawal can be contacted at sugandha.r@ians.in)

--IANS

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Indian Air Force chief B.S. Dhanoa on Saturday hinted at more Pathankot-type terror attacks on military bases in the country.

"...The military will continue to get targeted, like it happened at Pathankot. They (terrorists) will try and surprise us by attacking in a totally new location," he delivering the annual lecture in the memory of late IAF chief, Air Chief Marshal L.M. Katre here.

A heavily-armed terror group from across the border attacked IAF's Pathankot base on January 2, 2016, and seven security personnel were killed before the 10 terrorists were killed in a operation lasting for three days.

"Post Pathankot terrorist attacks last year, the IAF has carried out a series of measures to enhance its ability to protect," said Air Chief Marshal Dhanoa.

Reiterating that the IAF had strengthened the defence of its bases, he said intense training had been carried out to counter 'fidayeen' attacks.

"As a service, we are prepared for a conflict at a very short notice," he said.

Ruling out any large-scale terror attack on civil structure as in the 26/11 Mumbai attack, Dhanoa said the military would be targeted.

"The possibility of a large-scale terror attack on civil infrastructure like it happened in Mumbai on 26/11, or on Parliament (on December 13, 2001), is slightly remote, as it will invite worldwide condemnation," he said.

On the strategic environment, Dhanoa said on the northern border, there was a difference in the Indian and Chinese perception of the Line of Actual Control (LAC), which is sometimes at "so much variation that it results in a standoff, which hopefully gets resolved".

Referring to the recent standoff at Doklam, Dhanoa clarified that there was no airspace violation from either side as fighters on both sides maintain at least 10 km distance from the LAC.

China, however, maintains a continuous air presence in Tibet and the strength of its presence increases and decreases as per the exercises, he said.

"In case the relationship (between the countries) deteriorates, a buildup of infrastructure is the first step that anybody would take before they envisage any offensive operation in this sector," he added.

Noting that the IAF was replacing its low-end weapons with indigenous ones, the Air Chief said the top-end weapons were imported.

"If we don't import, our low-end weapons will not be able to survive. We need the top-of-the-line weapons to win the deep battles," he said.

Reaffirming that the IAF was committed to indigenisation, he said the IAF does not pay only lip service to indigenization, as it paid with the lives of its test pilots and engineers.

"Since Independence, 17 air force pilots and engineers died in air accidents during testing of the indigenous aircraft," he noted.

--IANS

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In a marked shift of stance, India on Saturday called for restraint on the part of the Myanmar government to end the violence in Rakhine state - days after New Delhi dissociated itself from a joint statement by the World Parliamentary Forum in Bali that included a reference to human rights in Myanmar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his support for the NLD governments crackdown on terror groups in Rakhine during his visit to Nay Pyi Taw.

"India remains deeply concerned about the situation in Rakhine state in Myanmar and the outflow of refugees from that region," the External Affairs Ministry said in a statement in the evening.

"We would urge that the situation in Rakhine state be handled with restraint and maturity, focussing on the welfare of the civilian population alongside those of the security forces," the statement said.

"It is imperative that violence is ended and normalcy in the state restored expeditiously."

Earlier this week, an Indian parliamentary delegation, led by Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, refused to be a part of the Bali Declaration adopted at the World Parliamentary Forum on Sustainable Development held at Nusa Dua in Indonesia, in a show of support for the Suu Kyi government just hours after Prime Minister Modi ended his bilateral visit.

"This was in view of the fact that the declaration, which was to be adopted at the conclusion of the Forum, was not in line with the agreed global principles of sustainable development," said a press release issued by the Lok Sabha Secretariat.

The Bali Declaration, which was joined by India's neighbours Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, had expressed concern about the violence in Myanmar's Rakhine state, where the UN says at least 1,000 Rohingya Muslims have been killed, and 300,000 have fled to Bangladesh in the past two weeks.

The declaration had "called on all parties to contribute to the restoration of stability and security, exercise maximum self-restraint from using violent means, respect the human rights of all people in Rakhine State regardless of their faith and ethnicity", as "there can be no sustainable development without peace".

The MEA in its statement on Saturday said: "We had earlier strongly condemned the terrorist attacks on Myanmar security forces in Rakhine state."

"The two countries have since shared their determination to combat terrorism and not allow its justification under any pretext."

"During Prime Minister's recent visit to Myanmar, he had expressed his concern at the casualties of security forces as well as other innocent lives."

"He had also urged a solution based on respect for peace, communal harmony, justice, dignity, and democratic values," it stated.

India also offered development assistance in Rakhine in cooperation with the Myanmar government.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Modi, in a joint address to the media in Nai Pyi Taw with Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, said that India shared Myanmar's concerns over the Rakhine situation but did not mention anything about alleged human rights violations against the Rohingyas, tens of thousands of who have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh, with many thousands spilling over to India.

"We are partners in your concerns over the loss of lives of security forces and innocent people due to the extremist violence in Rakhine state," Modi said.

The latest exodus began on August 25, after Rohingya insurgents attacked police posts in Rakhine, leading to a violent offensive by the Myanmar Army.

India also faces the problem of Rohingyas fleeing into the states bordering Myanmar. The government has said it would deport all Rohingyas living in India illegally but the Supreme Court has said that it will hear on September 11 a plea seeking a direction to the central government not to deport about 40,000 such refugees back to Myanmar.

--IANS

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The Minister of State for Home, Kiren Rijiju, is looking for a round of applause for not driving the Rohingya refugees in India into the sea or shooting them; all that he wants is their deportation.

It is, however, doubtful whether the process of exiling them will be uncomplicated since it is bound to raise humanitarian concerns in India and elsewhere.It is not easy to harshly deny shelter to a group which has had to leave their own country, viz, Myanmar, in dire circumstances.

Rijiju probably believes that branding them as potential terrorists since they are Muslims will be persuasive enough. But it is not an argument which will be readily accepted.

Moreover, the issue of deportation has been complicated by, first, Myanmar's reluctance to accept them and, secondly, by the unwillingness of the emigrants themselves to return to a "home" which they no longer consider safe in view of the recent army actions against them.

Even if the Myanmar army was targeting the insurgents among the Rohingyas, the fact remains that the victims were innocent men, women and children as is usually the case. Because of the conflict between the army and the rebels, the ordinary civilians had no option but to flee.

A contributory cause for their flight is the fact that their legitimacy as citizens of Myanmar has for long been under a cloud. Described as the most friendless people in the world, the Rohingyas are virtually strangers in their own country because the law in Myanmar does not recognise them as one of the country's ethnic communities.

The reason is that the Rohingyas migrated over the centuries from what is now Bangladesh to Rakhine, previously Arakan, and continue to speak a patois of the Bengali language.

However, notwithstanding their presence in Rakhine from way back in the 15th century and earlier, they are still regarded as aliens by the Myanmar government and have faced repeated army crackdowns.



Even the ascent to power of the Nobel Laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi, who herself faced persecution from the military regime, has made little difference to the condition of the Rohingyas.

She has blamed the terrorists for the "huge iceberg of misinformation" about the community which has begun to attract the attention of the world and has promised to protect everyone, whether they are citizens or not.

But the trek to Bangladesh of an estimated 164,000 Rohingyas and Malayasia's assurance that it is ready to provide shelter to those travelling by boat to the country show that the world is waking up to the unfolding horror in Myanmar.

For all practical purposes, Myanmar can be said to have dumped its problem on its reluctant neighbours. But how long the latter can play host to this unassimilated group is open to question. There are already stirrings of unease in Bangladesh, which is bearing the brunt of the exodus from Myanmar.

That the Rohingyas will head for Bangladesh is understandable as it is their ancient homeland. But Dhaka is now trying to seek international assistance to settle some of the refugees on an uninhabited island in the Bay of Bengal since Bangladesh itself is overcrowded and some of its citizens are known to infiltrate into India.

Since the problem is bound to persist for some time, India cannot afford to appear unsympathetic about the tragedy.

It may not join Israel in assisting the army in Myanmar unlike the European Union which has an arms embargo in place lest the weaponry is used for "internal repression". But for India to be in favour of the summary expulsion of the refugees amounts to being cold and uncaring.

The lack of compassion can seem all the more strange since India has traditionally opened its doors to persecuted minorities, starting from the Parsis in the 8th century to the Tibetans, the "East Pakistanis" in 1971, the Sri Lankan Tamils and others.

In contrast to this benevolence, the gruff rejection of the calls for temporary accommodation of the Rohingyas is patently unfeeling and brings little credit to the country.

The argument about the presence of terrorists is unconvincing since such elements cannot but constitute a tiny fraction of the total number of refugees. It is unfair and illogical to brand an entire community as the terrorist.

What is apparently more to the point is the Hindutva lobby's mistrust of the Muslims in general. But even if the government comprises people who subscribe to the Hindutva worldview, it should endeavour to raise itself above such ideological considerations in view of the oath of allegiance to a non-partisan Constitution and look at an issue without any sectarian bias.

Such an absence of prejudice may be difficult for the Hindutva hardliners who still regard the Muslims in India as children of the 12th-century invaders. But the government has to be far more open-minded.

(Amulya Ganguli is a political analyst. The views expressed are personal. He can be reached at amulyaganguli@gmail.com)

(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 Supreme Court of Canada has paved the way for extradition of Jassi Sidhu's mother and uncle to India in a June 2000 honour-killing case in Punjab.

On Friday, in an unanimous judgment by a nine-judge bench of the apex court the siblings were ordered to be deported for their involvement in plotting Sidhu's murder for marrying a low-caste rickshaw driver.

The top court overruled a lower court order that had stopped the deportation of the two accused from Maple Ridge near here.

In what became Canada's most talked-about honour-killing case, Surjit Badesha and his sister Malkit Sidhu had hired contract killers to eliminate Malkit's daughter Jassi (Jaswinder) Sidhu in June 2000, for marrying into a lower caste.

Canadian-born Jassi Sidhu, a Jat Sikh girl, had met Sukhwinder Singh (Mithu) in Jagraon during her visit to Punjab in 1996 and fallen in love.

The two secretly married in 1999 when she travelled to India.

Jassi was murdered near Mithu's village in June 2000, when the couple was going on a scooter. They were waylaid by hired contract killers.

Punjab Police investigations confirmed it was an honour-killing plotted by Malkit Sidhu and Surjit Badesha sitting in Canada.

Based on evidence of 266 phone calls that Badesha had with the hired killers, India formally requested Canada in 2005, to extradite Badesha and Malkit Sidhu to face trial.

In May 2014, an extradition judge in the British Columbia Supreme Court in Vancouver ordered that Jassi's uncle and mother must be deported to India to face trial.

But the British Columbia's Appeal Court overturned the deportation order against the mother and uncle of Jassi Sidhu on the grounds of India's "appalling" record on treatment of prisoners.

Friday's order by the country's apex court cleared the decs for their deportation.

Vancouver journalist Fabian Dawson, who broke the story 17 years ago and later wrote a book titled "Justice for Jassi", told IANS: "Today's decision is significant because it ends the case in Canada.

"Now the Indian justice system comes into play... It is the start of another chapter in the quest for justice for Jassi," Fabian added, "I fear for Mithu because there have been several attempts on his life because he is the principal witness in the case."

(Gurmukh Singh can be contacted at gurmukh.s@ians.in)

--IANS

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Over 15,000 Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) from across Karnataka, who had been protesting since Thursday, called off their agitation late on Friday evening after the state government agreed to meet their demand for higher wages.

"We have called off our protest as the state's Health Minister (K.R. Ramesh Kumar) has agreed to give each ASHA Rs 3,500 a month from the state coffers," said Rama T.C., a member of the All India United Trade Union Centre (AIUTUC), a body to which the Karnataka State Samyukta ASHA Workers' Association is affiliated.

ASHAs are trained female community health activists under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) of the National Health Mission (NHM), so as to provide a connect between the community and the public health system.

The women are trained by the government to provide information to people in rural areas about health, sanitation, nutrition, conduct ante-natal and post-natal checkups, and providing medical assistance to women during their deliveries, etc.

"This amount from the state will be alongside the payment the workers would be receiving from the central government by way of performance-based incentives," she said.

"The state government has also agreed to set up a corpus fund, through which the women can be helped in the event of any death happening in their family, etc," Rama added.

Through a sit-in demonstration at Freedom Park here since Thursday morning, thousands of ASHAs from the state demanded that their jobs be regularised and they be given a fixed pay of Rs 6,000 a month.

"The state has not agreed to the amount we had demanded, but earlier ASHAs did not receive even Rs 1,500 from the state. So they are happy with the raise," Rama said.

"Considering the amount of work our women put in each month, attending to delivery calls even at unearthly hours, there has been no proper payment system. Some haven't received their payment for over three months," D. Nagalakshmi, the Secretary of Karnataka State ASHA Workers' Association told IANS earlier.

In rural areas, there is one ASHA for every 1,000 people. There are a total of about 37,000 ASHAs in Karnataka.

--IANS

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The Indian embassy in Kazakhstan said it is closely monitoring the situation after a mass brawl broke out at a construction site in capital Astana and the government ordered the expulsion of 60 Indian workers from the country.

"Following media reports about an incident at the Abu Dhabi Plaza construction site on the evening of September 2, we have been informed that this happened when one of the workers had trouble swiping the access card to enter the construction site, which led to an altercation.

"Unfortunately, this incident, a company administrative matter, escalated into a brawl between the workers and security staff. Since the incident, the workers and security staff have returned to normal duties.

"We have been advised by the concerned parties that about 60 workers and security staff have been subjected to disciplinary measures including repatriation. We continue to closely monitor the situation," the Indian Embassy said in a post on its Facebook page.

According to Eurasianet.org, a massive brawl broke out in Astana late on September 2, provoking a diplomatic scandal.

It all reportedly began when Indian labourers hired to build the high-rise Abu Dhabi Plaza went on a drinking spree, seizing the opportunity of a day off work on the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha.

Police representative Almas Sadubayev said that the first clash occurred when a group of the Indians, who live in housing units on the building site, attempted to leave the territory but were prevented from doing so by a security guard concerned at their inebriated state. The labourers ganged up on the guard in force and physically assaulted him. Local colleagues came to the defence of the guard, giving rise to the brawl, eurasianet.org said.

It quoted the New Times website as saying that the fighting drew in as many as around 700 people, who pelted police with stones when reinforcements were called in.

The deputy head of the General Prosecutor's Office, Andrei Lukin, said 41 people were detained, all of them Kazakhstani citizens.

Astana Mayor Aset Isekeshev, India's Ambassador to Kazakhstan, Harsh Kumar Jain, and leading representatives from the company building the Abu Dhabi Plaza went to the scene of the unrest.

Isekeshev said later on his Facebook account that there had been negotiations and that the tensions had been defused. The mayor also urged people to refrain from idle commentaries on the situation to avoid sowing further trouble.

--IANS

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Luxury vehicle manufacturers on Saturday expressed their disappointment over GST Council's decision to hike the cess on mid and high-end cars.

After the Council meeting in Hyderabad, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that while status quo has been maintained for small cars (petrol and diesel), hybrid cars and 13-seater vehicles, the GST Council decided to increase the cess rates for some segments.

Consequent to the GST Council's decision, the cess on mid-segment cars has been increased by two per cent, for large segment cars it has been increased by five per cent and for SUVs by seven per cent.

Roland Folger, MD and CEO of Mercedes-Benz India termed the decision to increase the cess as "very unfortunate".

"With this increase in cess now, the prices are bound to leap back to the pre-GST regime, in some cases higher than the pre-GST regime, thus negating altogether the benefits of GST regime," he said.

According to Rohit Suri, President and Managing Director, Jaguar Land Rover India, the hike in cess will impact demand, investment and job creation.

"While the increase in cess will impact consumer demand, investment and job creation," he said, adding that they were "glad that the government and GST Council took note of our concerns and somewhat moderated the increase in cess".

Last month, the Finance Ministry had disclosed that the decision to recommend a hike in cess cap was taken after the GST Council noticed that post the roll-out of GST, the total tax incidence on motor vehicles had come down as compared to pre-GST regime.

However, Abhishek Jain, Tax Partner, EY said: "The auto industry would be largely happy as the GST Council only marginally increased the cess for mid size, large cars and SUVs and did not increase it by 10 per cent which was the upper cap approved by the Ordinance."

--IANS

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French President Emmanuel Macron and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Friday concurred on the need for the international community to put more pressure on the North Korean regime so as to avoid an escalation after its provocative nuclear and missile tests, officials here said.

Macron made a phone call to Xi in view of China's influence in the North Korean crisis and both leaders had a detailed discussion on the issue, Efe news reported.

They recalled the international community's criticism on North Korean provocations and agreed that the situation demanded new pressures from the international community to force North Korea to negotiate and avoid dangerous escalation. Both leaders promised to remain in close contact.

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi had said on Thursday that his country would support new measures against Pyongyang following the latest nuclear test by the Kim Jong-un regime.

The measures should be aimed at "harming the nuclear and missile program of the government of DPRK (North Korea's official name) while helping restart dialogue and negotiation," the Minister said.

--IANS

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Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday slammed the Centre's approach towards health, saying the Modi regime is only concerned about private hospitals and not government ones.

"There is a view among the people that the Indian government healthcare system can be run by private hospitals. For a country like India where you have poor people, you simply cannot do away with public hospitals," said Gandhi in a recorded video message.

Gandhi said the government is not spending the money required for boosting the public healthcare system.

"Every time I have been there is because of encephalitis problems among patients. I categorically told Prime Minister Narendra Modi that there is a problem in the hospital. Everybody was complaining -- doctors and patients and all," said Gandhi, referring to the BRD Hospital in Gorakhpur where over 60 children died in five days.

He said the UPA regime had always focused on increasing the amount of money for health care.

"We pushed as hard as we could to improve the public health care system. But the current government simply does not care about it," said Gandhi.

--IANS

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As NASA's asteroid-bound spacecraft OSIRIS-REx approaches Earth for its September 22 gravity assist, a ground-based telescope has captured images of the spacecraft.

This is the first Earth-based view of OSIRIS-REx since its launch on September 8, 2016, NASA said on Friday.

The images were taken on September 2, by the Large Binocular Telescope Observatory located on Mount Graham in Arizona.

OSIRIS-REx was approximately 12 million kilometres away when the images were taken, NASA said.

The Large Binocular Telescope is a pair of 8.4-metre mirrors mounted side by side on the same mount, that can work together to provide resolution equivalent to a 22.7-metre telescope.

The telescope typically conducts imaging of more distant objects but took this opportunity to look for OSIRIS-REx with a pair of wide-field cameras (one per mirror) as the spacecraft approaches Earth for its gravity assist.

This encounter will change the spacecraft's trajectory and set it on course to rendezvous with asteroid Bennu, where it will collect a sample of surface material and return it to Earth for study in 2023.

The OSIRIS-REx mission team is collecting other images of the spacecraft taken by observatories and other ground-based telescopes around the world during this period -- approximately September 10-23, depending on location and local conditions.

--IANS

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Ice stupa architect Sonam Wangchuk feels the idea of needs to be updated to sync with challenges like global warming.

The Ladakhi engineer-turned-education reformer says issues like pollution need to be looked upon as a form of "violence" and called for " Version 2.0" to address these forms of violence.

"This (form of) that we have was created to solve some problems that we had 5,000-10,000 years ago and today its a totally different situation because it doesn't address (current challenges) and more and more young people are getting disinterested (in religion)," Wangchuk said here.

Speaking at an interactive session organised by CII Eastern Region and Young Indians (Yi) Kolkata Chapter, Wangchuk said: "These guiding philosophies need to be updated and I always half-jokingly say we have all kinds of versions in everything... How about Religion Version 2.0?"

Likening man-made environmental concerns to "violence", the educationist flagged modern lifestyle choices that harm the environment.

"Today, we have evolved from that form of violence to another form that isn't even considered violence.

"We look at a gun and say this is a weapon, we look at a rocket-launcher and say this is a weapon of mass destruction, but we don't look at a car and we don't call it a weapon of mass destruction, whereas today's violence is caused by our lifestyle," he explained.

"When we go in these gleaming cars, every four kilometres we are dropping a bomb of one kg of carbon dioxide and that's what is causing the earth to warm but we don't look at those things as violence," he said.

Batting for a fresh perspective on religion, he said: "I feel the idea of religion needs to be updated to include these actions also. We don't have religions that say I don't use cars for long drives, or I don't use lifts because that is violence."

Wangchuk is the founding director of the Students' Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL). He is also known for designing the SECMOL campus that runs on solar energy and uses no fossil fuels for cooking, lighting or heating.

Wangchuk's design builds on the experimental work of fellow Ladakhi engineer Chewang Norphel, who created flat artificial glaciers.

The ice stupas freeze glacial meltwater into towering conical mounds resembling Tibetan religious stupas. These ice stupas behave like mini-glaciers, slowly releasing irrigation water for the growing season.

--IANS

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Congress-affiliated National Students' Union of India (NSUI) on Saturday accused the Delhi University Chief Election Officer of being "partisan" and of "selectively going against" non-ABVP candidates.

The NSUI had approached the CEO for the extension of the campaigning period to make up for the time lost owing to the cancellation of its presidential candidate Rocky Tuseed's nomination -- a decision which was subsequently overturned by the High Court on Friday.

However, "he CEO refused to extend campaign time saying that the office was constrained by Lyngdoh Committee guidelines of conducting polls within 56 days", the student group said in a statement.

The group argued that the election office was bound by a bigger mandate of Lyngdoh Committee, which was to "conduct free and fair elections".

"It is obvious that our candidate has been highly disadvantaged due to this arbitrary decision of the CEO," it said.

The CEO was also targeted for being a partisan in favour of RSS-affiliated Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP)-- an arch opponent of NSUI.

The student group said that despite there being a written complaint against the ABVP candidates "of assault and criminal intimidation", the CEO has failed to take any action against them.

"If the CEO is acting in an independent and non-partisan manner, he must immediately take action against the ABVP candidate and extend campaign time," it added.

NSUI's presidential candidate for university students union election Rocky Tussed was allowed to contest polls by the Delhi High Court yesterday after his nomination was cancelled by the CEO on Wednesday.

CEO S.B. Babbar had dropped Tuseed's name from the candidate list on account of his being subject to disciplinary action at Shivaji College where his entry was banned in 2014.

--IANS

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Pakistan and China will hold the eighth round of their Free Trade Agreement (FTA) talks in Beijing next week, with both sides having failed to strike an agreement over the second phase of duty reductions.

The talks will be held on September 14 and 15, The Nation reported.

Talks on the second phase of duty reduction under the FTA have been on for more than two-and-a-half years.

Pakistan and China had agreed to revise the FTA by the end of December 2015.

However, Beijing is unwilling to accept Islamabad's demand to revive preferential treatment for exportable products under the second phase of the FTA. Both the countries had held seven meetings but failed to develop an understanding on preferential concessions to each other.

China is demanding to reduce duty to zero per cent on 90 per cent tradable products under the proposed revised FTA, which is not acceptable for Pakistan. "The negotiating team on FTAs must work vigorously to conclude the agreements in best interest of Pakistan," said Federal Minister for Commerce Pervaiz Malik while chairing a briefing on Pakistan-Thailand and Pakistan-China FTAs. Taimur Tajammal, Joint Secretary (FT-1) and also the chief negotiator on the FTA, briefed the minister on the state of negotiations with China and Thailand.

The minister expressed satisfaction over the progress of FTA negotiations and the preparation of the negotiating team and directed them to work vigorously to conclude the agreements in best interest of Pakistan and at the same time addressing the concerns of the local industry.

Speaking to the negotiating team, the minister was of the view that while negotiating FTA with Thailand, Pakistan is also looking to access a huge untapped market of the whole East Asian Region. From the same region, Pakistan has already concluded successful FTAs with Malaysia and Indonesia, the minister said.

--IANS

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The Pakistan Foreign Office on Saturday summoned Myanmar's ambassador and recorded its protest over the plight of Rohingya Muslims.

According to a statement, Pakistan asked ambassador U Win Naing to take concrete step against the cruelties on Rohingyas. It also demanded that the Myanmar government should immediately stop "brutalities" on the Rohingyas.

The Foreign Office asked for an investigation against the culprits of these atrocities and make them accountable for these crimes. It added that Myanmar should act upon the Kofi Annan Commission's report and suggestions on the issue.

Naing assured that he would convey Pakistan's concerns and protest to his government.

--IANS

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Priyanka Chopra, who was present at the premiere of her production "Pahuna: The Little Visitors" at the Toronto International Film Festival, called the movie her "passion project" because it allowed her to have the voice of the north-east heard on the big screen.

Purple Pebble Pictures, which Priyanka co-owns with her mother Madhu Chopra, has produced the film.

The film opens with insurgent violence forcing people in a Nepalese village to flee to Sikkim. Little Amrita, her brother Pranay and their baby brother Bishal are among those fleeing with their parents, relatives and other villagers. As these people flee through the mountain forests, the little kids are told some frightening fireside stories by one of their uncles that Christian priests in white kidnap children and eat them.

In the deep jungle, Amrita and her two brothers get separated from the rest, and the film depicts how they survive by sticking together, how their fear that Christian priests are kidnappers almost comes true and how their story finally ends happily.

Speaking at the film's world premiere here, Priyanka said, "It was a hard film to shoot because it is not an easy region and there were shooting difficulties but Paaki and her team and my mom braved through it."

She said the film aims to put the spotlight on India's ignored north-east region and innocent children who get caught up in the violence.

"This (north-east) is a part of India which does not get seen too much, does not get too many people coming and visiting. But it is a little piece of heaven.. the stories, these kids and the perspectives that you saw when it comes to conversions, when it comes to religion, when it comes to kids being replaced and not knowing their parents and where they are going...it is such a special and important story and I think Paaki told it very well," said Priyanka.

Writer-director Paakhi A Tyrewala said at least nine to 10 producers rejected her film before she approached Priyanka who gave her the green signal.

"I was sick of being rejected," she said.

(Gurmukh Singh can be contacted at gurmukh.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.)
Thousands of people took to the streets across Asia to denounce Myanmar's treatment of the Rohingya Muslim minority as some 290,000 of them have fled to Bangladesh to escape the ongoing violence in Myanmar's Rakhine state since August 25.

More than 1,000 people have been killed in the violence, according to an UN estimate. Political and Islamic groups, along with other civil society organisations, joined protests in Bangladesh's capital on Friday to urge Myanmar to "stop committing genocide" and take back those who have sought refuge elsewhere, CNN reported.

Some 290,000 Rohingya Muslims fled to Bangladesh to escape the ongoing violence in Myanmar's Rakhine since August 25, the UN office here said on Saturday.

The violence erupted following an attack by a Rohingya insurgent group on police and military posts in Rakhine, leading to a violent offensive by the Myanmar Army.

Protesters criticised Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Myanmar's de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and called for her Nobel Prize to be withdrawn. Protests also took place in Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia and Pakistan.

The government of Myanmar blames terrorists for starting the violence. Marchers in Dhaka expressed their outrage at reports of abuse coming from Myanmar, the report said.

"I've joined the rally to express my solidarity with the Rohingya people," activist Mahfuza Haque Neela told CNN. "The Rohingya people, including women and children, are being killed ... women are being raped."

The rally was partly organised by protest group Gonojagoron Mancha, whose leaders said they plan to besiege Myanmar's embassy in Dhaka on Monday if the government does not take action.

Over a thousand Muslim devotees belonging to the organisation Islamic Movement Bangladesh joined a rally in the capital's Paltan area. The movement's leaders demanded the immediate deployment of UN peacekeepers in Rakhine and the implementation of the recommendations made by a commission led by former UN head Kofi Annan.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party urged the country's government to "force Myanmar to take back the Rohingyas".

Dhaka's Buddhist community also protested Myanmar's treatment of the Rohingyas. Security was beefed up around Buddhist temples and other institutions in Dhaka and elsewhere.

About 200 protesters rallied outside Myanmar's embassy in Malaysia on Friday urging Kuala Lumpur to sever diplomatic ties with Yangon. The protest was led by the youth wing of the predominantly Muslim Malaysia's ruling party, the United Malays National Organisation, after Friday prayers.

Thousands of people in Pakistan from all walks of life took to the streets in major cities on Friday to condemn the crackdown on Rohingyas. In Karachi, more than 2,000 people demonstrated outside the Karachi Press Club, media reports said.

In Indonesia, hundreds of protesters gathered near the famous Borobudur temple in Central Java, and hundreds more outside the Myanmar Embassy in Jakarta.

Meanwhile, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu criticised Suu Kyi in an open letter posted on Twitter. "I am ... breaking my vow of silence on public affairs out of profound sadness about the plight of the Muslim minority in your country, the Rohingya," Tutu wrote.

"What some have called 'ethnic cleansing' and others 'a slow genocide' has persisted -- and recently accelerated. The images we are seeing of the suffering of the Rohingya fill us with pain and dread ... If the political price of your ascension to the highest office in Myanmar is your silence, the price is surely too steep."

Suu Kyi said her government is trying to help "everybody who is of our country, whether or not they are our citizens".

In a statement on Friday, US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley urged Myanmar to implement the Annan commission's recommendations.

--IANS

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With two major hurricanes hitting the United States and another one possibly on its way, it is appropriate to review some of the science behind these dangerous storms.

A hurricane is a cyclonic storm that occurs in the Atlantic Ocean. It is defined as a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms producing heavy rain. Other areas of the globe have such storms; in the Pacific Southwest they are called typhoons and in the Indian Ocean the name cyclone is used.

Hurricanes are named for the Mayan god Huracan, one of their creator gods, who blew his breath across the water and brought forth dry land.

Tropical cyclones typically form over oceans near the equator where large bodies of relatively warm water exist. Acting as a Carnot heat engine, they derive their mechanical energy through the evaporation of water from the ocean surface. This water ultimately recondenses into clouds and rain when the moist air rises and cools to saturation.

The recent rainfall in the Houston area is a testament to how much water can be stored within the clouds. Harvey unloaded over 50 inches of rain east of Houston, the greatest amount ever recorded in the Lower 48 states from a single storm, beating the previous record of 48 inches set during tropical cyclone Amelia in 1978.

Scientists estimate that a hurricane the size of Irma releases heat energy at the rate of over 200 x 10%5E18 Joules per day clocking in at about one 1,000 Giga Watts continuously for their brief life. To put this into perspective, this is equivalent to 70 times the energy consumption of humans throughout the entire world and it is all fueled by simple sunshine hitting the active regions.

The wind flow of a hurricane is characterized by air rotating rapidly around a center of circulation while also flowing radially inwards. As air flows towards the center, large sections begin to rotate counter-clockwise in order to conserve angular momentum, a result of the Coriolis Effect due to the rotation of the Earth. At an inner radius, air begins to ascend upwards and has the strongest near-surface winds of the storm. Weather scientists call this the radius of maximum winds and it is here that the eyewall forms. At this location air rises most rapidly, clouds reach to their highest altitude, and precipitation is the heaviest.

The greatest wind damage occurs where a hurricanes eyewall passes over land. Most people know that a hurricane may have a central eye where descending air sinks over a layer deep enough to suppress cloud formation, thereby creating a clear region of calm weather. The eye is normally circular in shape, and is typically 30 miles in diameter, though eyes as small as 2 miles have occurred as in the case of Hurricane Wilma. Some typhoons in the Pacific have recorded eyes as large as 230 miles.

As in the case of Harvey, coastal regions are particularly vulnerable to the impact of a hurricane. Damage here is usually caused by high waves due to winds and storm surges from inherent low pressure regions within the eye.

Because hurricanes draw in air from such a large area they can concentrate the precipitation of the water content in the air. This continual replacement of moisture-bearing air by new moisture-bearing air allows continuous rainfall far beyond a simple rainstorm. This sometimes causes extremely heavy rain and river flooding in regions up to 30 miles from the landfall coastline, taxing the drainage facilities not designed for such an event.

For the Northern Atlantic Ocean, hurricane season occurs from June 1 to November 30 with a peak on September 10. When a hurricane moves over land it usually dissipates quickly because it does not have the warm water needed to power itself. If, however, the path carries the hurricane back again to ocean water, it could regenerate causing more damage when it returns again to a coast.

In 1961 the United States government attempted to weaken hurricanes through Project Stormfury by seeding the storm with silver iodide crystals. It was thought that the seeding would cause supercooled water in the outer regions to freeze, causing the inner eyewall to collapse and thus reducing the rotational wind.

According to Wikipedia, the winds of Hurricane Debbie dropped as much as 31 percent after seeding, but within days Debbie regained its full strength. Another project called Cirrus even involved dumping dry ice on the hurricane. It was realized early on that all of these approaches suffer from the fact that hurricanes are just too large and short-lived for any of the weakening techniques to be practical.
Left-unity made a clean sweep in the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union (JNUSU) polls on Sunday grabbing all four seats for the central panel.

In the vote count concluded in early hours of Sunday, the election office announced Left alliance's Geeta Kumari as the President-elect for the JNUSU, who defeated the closest candidate Nidhi Tripathi of the RSS-affiliated Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) by a margin of over 400 votes.

Kumari got a total of 1,506 votes against Tripathi's 1,042. Shabana Azmi of Bhagat Singh Ambedkar Phule Students' Association (BAPSA) ranked third with 935 votes.

Simone Zoya Khan, Duggirala Krishna and Shubhanshu Kumar from Left alliance were elected Vice President, General Secretary and Joint Secretary of the students union respectively.

CPI-Marxist party's Students' Federation of India (SFI), CPI-Marxist-Lenin (ML)-affiliated All India Students' Association (AISA) and an independent left group Democratic Students' Federation had formed a coalition to fight the election jointly.

Running for the post of President, Aparajita Raja of CPI-affiliated All India Students' Federation (AISF) could muster only 416 votes, while more students (127) chose to go for 'None of the above' (NOTA) option than voting for Congress-backed NSUI's Varshnika Singh, who received 82 votes.

Khan, the Vice President-elect of the union, received 1,876 votes against 1,026 of ABVP'S Durgesh Kumar, who was the second closest.

The University had held the election on Friday in which a total of 4,620 students cast their ballots to choose their representatives for next one year.

With the results, leftist groups maintained their hegemony intact in the campus known to be a bastion of communist parties.

Last year also all four central panel seats had gone to the SFI-AISA alliance. AISF had not fielded any candidate in that election.

The left had formed the alliance anticipating a tough competition from the ABVP -- an ideological offspring from right wing RSS-BJP stable.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The race to rescue those trapped in the rubble continued on Saturday after at least 61 people were killed in the most powerful earthquake to hit Mexico in a century that struck off the southern coast, toppling houses, damaging hospitals and government offices, and sparking mass evacuations.

Another 200 people were injured, President Enrique Pena Nieto said, as he declared a national day of mourning, BBC reported.

Rescue efforts following the earthquake, which struck the nation's Pacific Coast late on Thursday, were focussing on the worst-hit states of Tabasco, Oaxaca and Chiapas. Tens of thousands of emergency packs, as well as 100 extra police officers and rescue dogs were sent to Juchitan, in Oaxaca, said to be the worst affected town.

At least 17 deaths were reported in Juchitan. The town hall and a number of other buildings were destroyed or badly damaged.

The 8.2-magnitude quake was felt by about 50 million people across the country. It was the strongest earthquake Mexico has experienced in 100 years, the President said. In September 1985, a magnitude 8.0 earthquake killed an estimated 9,500 people in and around Mexico City.

Nieto said 45 deaths had been reported in Oaxaca, 12 in Chiapas and four in Tabasco. The quake damaged 1,700 homes, 700 schools and 18 other public buildings in Chiapas, according to preliminary estimates.

At least one person was killed in Guatemala, its President said.

The massive earthquake struck at 11.49 p.m., with its epicentre located 119 km southwest of Tres Picos, Chiapas, Mexico's seismological service said. It also triggered a tsunami warning and the evacuation of thousands of people in coastal communities in Chiapas. The warning was later lifted.

Throughout Friday, the region was shaken with scores of aftershocks.

Pope Francis, addressing an open air Mass on a visit to Colombia, said he was praying "for those who have lost their lives and their families". The earthquake was more powerful than the 1985 tremor that hit close to Mexico City and caused thousands of deaths.

Videos on social media showed significant tremors in various parts of the country, as well as major damage to buildings and infrastructure. Traffic lights could be seen shaking, videos showed.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH) on Saturday condemned the acts of violence being committed against the Rohingya Muslims of Myanmar and appealed to the UN to pressurise Yangon to restore the "constitutional and citizenship rights" of the community.

"The terrible acts of violence against the Rohingyas still continue. The social media is rife with videos showing the horrible acts of crimes against them.

"More than two lakh people of that community have been displaced so far," Mohammed Salim Engineer, Secretary General, JIH, told the media here.

"We appeal to the UN and all major human rights groups to pressurise the Burmese government to take steps for stopping the persecution of Rohingyas and restore their constitutional and citizenship rights," he said.

He also appealed to all those governments where the community members have taken refuge to take care of them.

On Tuesday, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said Rohingyas are illegal immigrants and stand to be deported from India.

The Minister of State for Home asserted on September 5 that nobody should preach to India on the issue as the country has absorbed the maximum number of refugees in the world.

"I want to tell the international organisations whether the Rohingyas are registered under the UN Human Rights Commission or not. They are illegal immigrants in India," Rijiju had told reporters here.

The civil society organisation also condemned the murder of Kannada journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh, 55, who was gunned down by unknown assailants at her Bengaluru home on September 5.

Calling her a strong voice against the casteist and communal forces, the Jamaat termed her murder "a chilling message to all journalists" committed to create a "climate of fear".

"The murder is a direct assault on the freedom of expression... The cowardly attack is threat to freedom of press and rule of law in the country... We condemn it," Engineer said.

The Jamaat welcomed the Supreme Court's directive to the states to appoint a senior police officer as nodal officer in all districts to stem the menace of cow vigilantism.

"The Jamaat hopes this will serve as a dire warning to the cow vigilantes who take law into their hands. It will also make the states take action against the communal and bigoted who spread violence in the name of religion," said Engineer.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
All 68 passengers and crew members of a Bhutan Airlines flight were safely evacuated after smoke was seen coming out from the aircraft during its preparation for take-off from the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport here on Saturday, an official said.

"Bhutan Air flight B3 700 going to Bangkok was held at taxiway F2 after smoke was observed by another pilot. However nothing was found after the necessary check carried out by fire personnel," said Airport Director Atul Dikshit.

"A total of 61 passengers and seven crew members disembarked and all are safe," he said.

According to an Indian Coast Guard statement, Commandant K.R. Arjun and Deputy Commandant Pankaj Mishra, who were at the force's hangar, saw smoke coming from the Bhutan Air (A5 BAB) airbus and observed that all its emergency chutes were deployed. The airbus was on a taxiway just 150 metres from its hangar.

Coast Guard officials provided first-aid to approximately 20 passengers with bruises, cuts and sprains, it said.

The Bhutan Airlines flight landed in Kolkata airport as scheduled. It was on ground for a little less than a hour with the standard APU operating procedure in operation. After embarkation of transit passengers bound for Bangkok, the aircraft had just finished pushed back for taxiing when the smoke was seen, said the airline's Station Manager Joseph.

"The aircraft was on taxiway F2 and the Captain after starting both the engines, shut down the APU and was requesting ATC (air traffic control) to taxi off, when he received a call from a pilot on Indigo aircraft VT-INS that smoke was seen coming out of the tail section of the aircraft around the APU area," he said.

The aircraft was thoroughly inspected by flight engineer and having no major damages, was ferried to Bangkok for reinstalling the emergency slides as without them installed, it is not authorised to carry any passengers, a statement said.

Meanwhile, all the stranded passengers in Kolkata were boarded on a relief aircraft that arrived from Bhutan's Paro and took off for Bangkok after a delay of almost six hours, Joseph added.

--IANS

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External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Saturday held a meeting with visiting Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Tilak Marapana.

"Building upon a close & historical bilateral relationship. EAM @SushmaSwaraj met Sri Lankan Foreign Affairs Minister Tilak Marapana today," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted.

The two leaders had met earlier this month in Colombo when Sushma Swaraj went there to attend the Second Indian Ocean Conference.

Marapana, who arrived here on Friday on a two-day visit to India, assumed office only last month.

He is also scheduled to call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi later on Saturday.

--IANS

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Setting up new benchmarks in skill development, the Pearl Academy awarded certificates to the first batch of women inmates of Tihar Jail who have completed their course from the 'Tihar Fashion Laboratory' at the convocation here on Saturday.

The certification course was aimed at linking creative exploration and market understanding.

Determined to keep its spirit of restorative rehabilitation, the Delhi Prisons in collaboration with Pearl Academy had set up Tihar Fashion Laboratory in February this year to provide women inmates in Jail no.6 with set of skills that will enable them to create avenues for self-employment, entrepreneurship and ensure that they can lead an independent life after finishing their sentence.

The inmates have been trained by the academy in pattern making and construction of Indian wear.

Sudhir Yadav, Director General of Prisons, Tihar Jail, and Professor Nandita Abraham, CEO, Pearl Academy, awarded the certificates and encouraged the inmates, said a statement.

Also present on the occasion to extend their support to this unique initiative were Delhi Law and Justice Minister Kailash Gehlot, and Delhi Commission for Women Chairperson Swati Jaihind.

"The Pearl Fashion Laboratory initiative has seen an amazing response and participation from inmates. I am happy that they have completed their course and have been imparted with skills that will help them lead an independent life after prison," said Yadav.

Abraham said: "This certification programme is a unique initiative that has helped the women inmates to learn self-sustaining skills and has equipped them with the means to earn a livelihood in their life-after-prison."

A cultural programme and fashion show were also organized to mark the convocation ceremony of the first batch. Garments showcased at the fashion show were designed by the students of Pearl Academy and were made by the inmates.

The show saw joint participation from Pearl Academy students and Tihar inmates, who walked the ramp to showcase the collection.

--IANS

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Journalists, academicians, writers, poets, artists and social workers took out a rally here on Saturday to protest against the brutal killing of senior journalist Gauri Lankesh. She was shot multiple times by unknown miscreants outside her residence in Bengaluru on September 5.

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar, Tripura Board of Secondary Education President Mihir Deb, Agartala Press Club President Satyabrata Chakraborty and veteran journalist Gautam Das were among those taking part in the protest march that went around the capital city.

Various organisations including Agartala Press Club jointly organised the protest rally.

Different other organisations including NGOs and students have also organised separate protest demonstrations and rallies in different parts of Tripura since Wednesday.

--IANS

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Two militants were killed and a girl injured on Saturday in a gunfight broke out in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian district after militants fired on a military vehicle. police said. The exchange of fire was still on.

Police said hiding militants fired at the army vehicle in an area between Imam Sahib and Barbugh village of Shopian in the evening and troops returned the fire, killing two militants.

"A local girl identified as Nusrat has sustained bullet injury in the cross fire and has been taken to the hospital for treatment," a police officer said.

"The operation in the area is still going on and police reinforcements have been rushed to the spot," police said.

Earlier reports had said the security forces had surrounded Barbugh village on information that militants had been hiding there.

--IANS

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U Mumba showed remarkable composure in the last five minutes as they registered a comfortable 51-41 win over Patna Pirates in the Inter Zone Challenge Week of the fifth Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) here on Saturday.

Kashiling Adake scored 15 points while Shrikant Jadhav chipped in with 13 as U Mumba asserted their dominance over their rivals.

Pardeep Narwal's heroic effort of 21 points went in vain as Patna paid the price for a lacklustre first half performance.

It was a close affair in the first five minutes as both teams exchanged raid and

tackle points to be level at 3-3. Darshan Kadian made a successful raid in the sixth

minute as U Mumba led 4-3. Monu Goyat scored a raid point for Patna Pirates in

the eighth minute to level the match at 5-5.

Anup Kumar scored a raid point as U Mumba led 8-5 after nine minutes. U Mumba inflicted an all out in the 10 th minute to lead 11-5. U Mumba kept Patna star main Pardeep Narwal quiet for the first 10 minutes.

Shrikant Jadhav made a successful raid in the 12 th minute as U Mumba led 14-8. Pardeep Narwal opened his account in the 15 th minute as Patna Pirates trailed 9-17. Narwal followed it up with a three more points as Patna Pirates trailed 12-18.

Kashiling Adake scored a raid point as U Mumba inflicted an all out to lead 24-14 at the end of the first half.

The second half saw both teams trade raiding points as U Mumba led 27-19 after

22 minutes.

Pardeep Narwal and Monu Goyat kept collecting raid points but Patna Pirates couldn't reduce the lead as they trailed 23-31 after 26 minutes. Patna Pirates inflicted an all out in the 29 th minute to cut the deficit to just two

points.

Shrikant Jadhav settled U Mumba's nerves as he scored with two raids as they led

38-31 after 32 minutes. Darshan Kadian then scored another point as U Mumba

extended their lead to 41-32 in the 34 th minute.

With less than five minutes to go Pardeep Narwal made a successful raid as Patna

Pirates trailed 36-42.

It was all U Mumba in the last five minutes as they scored nine point compared to Patna's five to win the match 51-41. Pardeep Narwal ended with 21 points but his effort went in vain.

--IANS

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The United States said its military carried out an airstrike that killed one terrorist in Somalia, media reports said.

The US Africa Command (Africom) said on Friday that the Thursday afternoon precision airstrike occurred near Barawe, Somalia, about 270 km southwest of the capital, Mogadishu.

Africom said the attack was coordinated with the Somali government as a direct response to actions by Al-Shabab actions, which has carried out attacks on African Union peacekeeping and Somali forces, Xinhua news agency reported.

"The US conducted this operation within the parameters of the authorities granted by the President in March 2017, which allows US forces to conduct lethal action against Al-Shabaab within a geographically-defined area in support of partner forces in Somalia," Africom said.

"Al-Shabaab has publicly committed to planning and conducting attacks against the US and our partners in the region," it said.

The militant group, which wants to turn Somalia into a fundamentalist Islamic state, most recently claimed responsibility for a series of attacks in Mogadishu and southern Somalia.

Africom vowed that the US forces will continue to use all authorized and appropriate measures to protect Americans and to disable terrorist threats.

"This includes partnering with AMISOM and Somali National Security Forces (SNSF); targeting terrorists, their training camps and safe havens throughout Somalia, the region and around the world," it said.

--IANS

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ELKO  Statements read by family members and the defendant moved a courtroom to tears Thursday before the sentencing of a man convicted in the hit-and-run death of the president of the Elko Federal Credit Union last year.

Daniel Vasu, 28, was sentenced to 8 to 20 years and ordered to pay a $2,000 fine on one count of failure to stop at the scene of an accident involving personal injury or death, a category B felony, in Elko District Court.

Vasu pleaded guilty to the charge in May, almost a year after he was suspected of hitting Elko Federal Credit Union President Doug Schwartz with his Jeep on the evening of June 22, 2016, on Commercial Street in front of Machis Grill and Saloon.

A photo of Vasus vehicle was posted on social media sites and news outlets in an effort to locate the driver. Vasu was arrested the next morning.

Schwartz died of his injuries at Northern Nevada Regional Hospital several hours later.

In handing down the sentence, Judge Nancy Porter told the court she received letters from people on Vasus behalf saying that he made a mistake.

But leaving the scene was more than a mistake, it was bad judgment, Porter continued.

District Attorney Chad Thompson called lead investigator Dennis Price to exemplify  the motive in leaving the scene after hitting Mr. Schwartz.

Price explained investigators learned through surveillance video, phone records, interviews and collaboration from Vasu, that Vasu consumed alcohol at the Blind Onion, the Tiki Hut, Goldies Bar, the Stray Dog Pub & Cafe, and returned to the Tiki Hut.

He knew he was drunk, it says so on his own text messages, Thompson said, and still got behind the wheel.

In asking for the maximum of 8 to 20 years, were not asking for the death sentence or even his entire life, Thompson said. Were asking a statement be sent to the community, Thompson continued.

We cant prosecute alcohol, but we have to send a message  that you dont get behind the wheel after doing this, Thompson said.

Defense attorney Sherburne Macfarlan said Vasus sentence has to consider a number of factors. The impact of this offense on Mr. Schwartzs family and friends and will continue to have on [them]. But you also have to consider the impact it will have on the defendants family and friends.

Macfarlan asked for a fair sentence of 24 to 72 months, explaining that Vasu did not have any prior criminal history and in all likelihood, he is probably going to do more than the 24 months.

Macfarlan referred to letters from Vasus mother, family and friends describing Vasus character.

Those people are obviously not condoning what Mr. Vasu did and the harm that he has caused, but they are pointing out that Mr. Vasu does in fact have some very fine characteristics, Macfarlan said.

I am in no way trying to diminish the impact of Mr. Vasus conduct on the Schwarts family  and friends, Macfarlan continued. Nothing can be done to repair the damage.

Offered by Porter to speak, Vasu read a letter to the court and members of Schwartzs family.

I express my sincere remorse for my irresponsibility and dangerous actions. There is no excuse for it. I wish I could take it all back, all of it, Vasu said.

But I want to own up and deal with my consequences. Im sorry I didnt that day, Vasu said. I want to show people they need to know whats right. They need to do whats right in any case, in any circumstance.

Victim impact statements read by Schwartzs wife Diane and son DJ offered forgiveness to the defendant and described Schwartzs contributions to his family and the community.

Diane Schwartz said while her husband was in the hospital, he wouldnt allow others to assume a drunk driver hit him.

He forgave you as he lay in the hospital, she said tearfully. Doug still continued to say that we shouldnt be accusing because we simply didnt know.

I thought it was important for you to know that he gave you the benefit of the doubt, Diane Schwartz said. I also want you to know I forgive you.
Calling for immediate measures against vector-borne diseases in South East Asia region, the WHO on Saturday said there is an urgent need for more trained entomologists in the region, followed by collaboration of cross-border programmes on vector control.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), countries also need to establish and strengthen effective entomological surveillance systems.

The surveillance systems can help study local mosquito species, their susceptibility to insecticides, monitor insecticide resistance, as well as vector and human behaviours that may allow mosquitoes to avoid interventions and thereby maintain disease transmission.

"There is a need to collaborate to fill the gap of trained entomologists, strengthen cross-border collaboration for vector control and align their vector control programmes," said Poonam Singh Khetrapal, Regional Director for WHO South East Asia Region Office (SEARO).

Khetrapal was speaking at the 70th Regional Committee Session of WHO South East Asia Region being held in Male.

According to the global health body, Vector-borne diseases account for more than 17 per cent of all infectious diseases, causing more than 1 million deaths annually. With South East Asia region having the highest burden of vector diseases, more than 2.5 billion people in over 100 countries are at risk of contracting dengue alone.

One of the emerging factors that is putting South East Asian countries on the backfoot against vector diseases is the scarcity of trained entomologists.

The global health body reiterated that proven and cost-effective interventions, such as the use of insecticidal nets, indoor spraying, use of larvicides and eliminating mosquito breeding sites need to be further promoted through stronger community engagement.

"Vector-borne diseases disproportionately affect poor populations and impede economic development through direct medical costs and indirect costs such as loss of productivity and impact on tourism. We need to prioritise action to prevent and respond to these diseases," Khetrapal said.

Stating that region bore a high burden of vector-borne diseases, including dengue, malaria and lymphatic filariasis, Khetrapal said: "Though all countries in the region have been making efforts to address the problem, the full potential of vector control is yet to be realised."

--IANS

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Actor Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub plays a Muslim wrongly accused Of terrorism in "Sameer". He says that he was initially reluctant to do the film as he feels that "people start looking at your name and thereafter your religion, when you do a character in a political film."

In an interview he speaks on what it means to be a Muslim in India today.

Q.In your new film 'Sameer' you play a Muslim engineer student wrongly accused of terrorism. How did you react to the part when it was offered to you?

I think it was more about what the film was trying to say rather than only my character. But still, I felt a bit of reluctance as people start looking at your name and thereafter your religion, when you do a character in a political film. But then I thought if I am clear in my head and heart about why I am doing a role, then I should not care.

Q. A lot of Indian Muslims feel gagged, cornered and pushed in the current political scenario in the country. Do you feel they are justified in their apprehensions?

I think the overall scenario is definitely disturbing in many ways. The whole game of 'Shakti pradarshan' from all the segments is a serious issue. So the polarity being engineered by vested interests is making everyone a bit apprehensive.

Q. In your new film 'Sameer' the ATS is shown to randomly pick up suspects of terror activities and torture them. Would you say this is an accurate portrait of the situation?

We have seen many cases where innocent people have been wrongly suspected of terrorism and then after many years of trial they are proven not guilty. But by then their lives are destroyed. Our film 'Sameer' focuses on this issue.

Q. As a thinking empowered Indian Muslim, how isolated or assimilated do you feel to mainstream India given today's political scenario?

As you yourself say, I am an empowered and now even a privileged Muslim, so it's really easy for me to flow through the disturbing and chaotic events around me. But I have to confess that even I am targeted sometimes on my views just because I have a name. And I don't mean just the Islamic name. But also a name that's reasonably known.

Q. Our film industry has always been known to be extremely secular and non-discriminatory. Do you feel that to be true even now ?

I think that is something I am really proud of. I've never felt discriminated against in my place of work.

Q. Your brilliance as an actor has been repeatedly proven in film after film. Why are you seen playing the hero's best friend rather than the hero?

(laughs) I think we should ask this question to the producers and directors. I am playing the lead in 'Sameer'. So maybe I am now finally being promoted.

Q. Kangana Ranaut recently sparked off a debate on nepotism in Bollywood. Would you agree with her that it's very tough for an outsider to make it in Bollywood?

Yes, I guess only a blind person can say that there is no nepotism. But it's still not a hopeless situation. But yes , if you're an outsider you have to really prove yourself and that too in much harder circumstances. Though we can definitely see a fast and positive change to it.

Q. So far how has your experience in Bollywood been? Does it anger you when you have to play second fiddle to actors with not half your talent?

I hsve had a roller-coaster ride, it was great fun. I am a very patient person, so I know things will change for the good.

Q. Tell me about your plans in the near future?

I do not plan anything in my life, if I do I will stop enjoying it. I am shooting for 'Thugs Of Hindostan' with (Amitabh) Bachchan Saab and Aamir Khan, and Aanand Rai's next with Shah Rukh Khan. Right now my focus is on 'Sameer'. As we know it's a political thriller with a bold statement, which motivated me to sign this film. There are very few people who have the courage to take a stand on a political issue in these vulnerable times.

--IANS

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Hidden by a peepal tree and flanked by a mausoleum and a temple, with a church and the district court complex a stones throw away, stands the Conflictorium, a one-of-a-kind museum of conflicts in the country. The location itself is testimony to its existence.
Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker P Dhanapal today issued notices to AIADMK MLAs belonging to the sidelined TTV Dhinakaran camp, who had expressed lack of confidence in Chief Minister K Palaniswami.

The notices, issued for the third time, directs the 19 dissident legislators to personally appear before Dhanapal on September 14, sources said.

The MLAs have been asked to explain why action should not be taken against them on a plea for their disqualification by Government Chief Whip, S Rajendran.

"They will respond to it," Dhinakaran merely said when reporters sought his response to the notice at Tirunelveli.

The development comes on a day when speculation was rife about the whereabouts of Dhinakaran loyalist MLAs with some reports saying they could be at Coorg in Karnataka moving away from Puducherry yesterday.

Dhinakaran has a total of 21 MLAs supporting him.

His 19 loyalist MLAs gave a representation to Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao on August 22 seeking Palaniswami's ouster.

Yesterday, one of the 19 MLAs, S T K Jakkaiyan switched loyalty to Palaniswami camp, even as three more MLAs pledged their support to Dhinakaran.

Reportedly, Jakkaiyan has also been sent notice asking him to furnish his reply.

Raj Bhavan has not officially released any statement on whether these three MLAs, E A Rathina Sabapathy, V T Kalaiselvan and S Karunas (an ally of AIADMK who won on ruling party's two leaves symbol) had given indiviudal letters expressing lack of confidence in Palaniswami.

On August 24, Rajendran had said that the 19 Dhinakaran camp legislators had indulged in anti-party activity implying "voluntary relinquishing" of their respective membership.

Such MLAs were also liable to be disqualified under Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, he had said.

Pointing this as well as a relevant rule, he had said that he had submitted a memorandum to Dhanapal seeking their disqualification.
Nearly 1.3 million worshippers flocked to a mass by Pope Francis today in the Colombian city known as the stronghold of the late drug lord Pablo Escobar.

On the third stop in a four-city Colombian tour, Francis held an open-air mass in Medellin, home of the cocaine cartel depicted in the hit Netflix series "Narcos."



The Argentine pope, 80, has spent the trip pleading for reconciliation following a peace agreement that ended Colombia's half-century civil war. Francis met with victims and ex-fighters.

In Medellin he also urged the Church to get out its comfort zone in order to confront challenges such as Colombia's peace process.

"The Church is 'shaken' by the Spirit in order to lay aside comforts and attachments," he said in his homily.

"We should not be afraid of renewal. The Church always needs renewal... Renewal entails sacrifice and courage."



Medellin is the political stronghold of former president Alvaro Uribe, the leading opponent of a recent peace accord between the government and the FARC rebel group.

Organizers of the mass said 1,293,000 people were in attendance.

"The pope has come to Medellin to talk about vocation," said Marcela Hincapie, 40, who spent all night waiting to take her place at the service.

"I would like the church to help the young people, drug addicts, hitmen and those who get involved in drug trafficking," Hincapie told AFP.

Francis supported the contested peace process that has led to Colombia's biggest rebel group, the FARC, disarming and turning into a political party.

The government pushed the FARC accord through congress despite resistance from critics who said the rebels were getting off too lightly with amnesties and alternative sentences.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The BJP today said it has received an overwhelming response from young supporters to party president Amit Shah's programme in Gujarat tomorrow where he will reply to their questions via video conference.

The event, 'Adhikham Gujarat' (resolute Gujarat), will see more than 1.5 lakh youth in the age group of 16 to 35 years join Shah live through video conferencing across over 250 centres in the state, BJP state president Jitu Vaghani said.

Union and Gujarat ministers would also be present at some of the centres, he said.

Union Minister of Rural Development, Panchayati Raj and Mines, Narendra Singh Tomar is expected to be present in Vadodara, Minister of State in PMO Jitendra Singh at Himmatnagar in Sabarkantha district, and Union Minister of State for Home Hansraj Ahir at Gandhidham in Kutch, Vaghani told reporters.

Member of Parliament Anurag Thakur will also join them in Rajkot, he said.

The party has received over three lakh questions for Shah through social media platforms, most of which are related to issues like the place of youth in politics, job scenario, health situation in the state, floods, GST, demonetisation, agriculture, education and road infrastructure, among others, he said.

The event aims at mobilising the ruling party's young support base as a part of its campaign for state Assembly elections due later this year, he said.

Shah will reply directly to questions put to him by youth joining him from 250 centres across the state through video conferencing while seated at Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Auditorium in Ahmedabad, he said.

We have received an "overwhelming" response from youth for the event on social media platforms. More than 1.5 lakh youth are expected to participate," Vaghani said.

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At least 15 people were injured, nine of them critically, after a passenger bus collided with a truck near Birtola in Odisha's Sundargarh district today, police said.

The injured were taken to hospitals in Bonai and Chandiposh, Additional Superintendent of Police, Bonai, P K Jena said, adding, some of those with serious injuries were shifted to Rourkela Government Hospital and Ispat General Hospital.

The mishap took place when the passenger bus was on its way from Bonai to Rourkela, and the truck came from the opposite direction, proceeding towards Lahunipara, police said.

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The two day 124th Annual Conference of United Planters Association of Southern India (UPASI) will begin in Coonoor in nearby Nilgiris District on September 13.

Minister of State (Independent Charge) for MSME Giriraj Singh will be the chief guest for the conference and there will be a half day session on Commodities in the morning of the inaugural day.

Representatives of Tea/Coffee/Rubber and Spices Boards will make presentations at the conference, to be chaired by the Joint secretary (Incharge for Plantations), Ministry of Commerce, Government of India, Santosh Kumar Sarangi, an UPASI release said.

There would be an interactive session on Environment and Forests the next day,which would be attended by officials from the Ministry of Forest, Environment and Climate Change and also officials from the Forest Department of three states of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

The UPASI Industrial Exhibition will be held coinciding with the conference, it said.

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A five-year-old girl was allegedly raped by a peon inside the premises of a private school today in Gandhi Nagar area of Shahdara here, police said.

The accused, identified as Vikas (40), has been arrested, said Nupur Prasad, deputy commissioner of police, Shahdara.

The incident comes a day after a seven-year-old boy was gruesomely murdered for resisting sexual assault by a bus conductor in a Gurgaon school, which sent shock waves across the country.

Vikas had been working in the school for the last three years. Previously he worked as a security guard in the same school, the police said.

He took the girl inside an empty class room around 11.45 am when he was walking on the corridors after handing over lunch boxes to teachers, the police said.

After raping the girl, he threatened her of dire consequences, they added.

The matter came to light after the girl complained of bleeding and pain in her private parts to her mother. She was taken to a hospital where her medical examination confirmed sexual assault, the police said.

Traumatised by the incident, the girl was sent for counselling.

According to the police, during her conselling the child said she was assaulted by "a man wearing a cap" and also described his physical attributes.

On the basis of the description, Vikas was nabbed, the police said.

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The Centre has till now disbursed a total of Rs 62,599 to Jammu and Kashmir under Prime Minister's Development Package (PMDP) for the state, Union Home Ministry officials said today.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who is on a four-day visit to the state, reviewed the progress of the implementation of PMDP project at a meeting which was attended by Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh, state chief secretary B B Vyas and officials from his ministry here.

"The Centre has already sanctioned Rs 62,599 crore which amount to 78 per cent of the total cost of the PMDP package," officials said after the meeting.

"The total cost of PMDP is 80,068 crore for 63 projects. PMDP includes assistance for rehabilitation of flood affected people. Rs 1,200 crore were given for the purpose and the project is complete now," they said.

The project also includes the four-laning of Chenani- Nashri section of the National Highway which has also been completed.

The cost of this project, which includes the longest road tunnel in India, was Rs 781 crore.

Singh also reviewed the rehabilitation package for Jammu migrants which has been implemented under the PMDP, they said.

Earlier, Singh met Mehbooba and the two leaders discussed various issues including development and security challenges facing the state, the officials said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Idaho bills parent of juvenile $84,500 after wildfire

BOISE, Idaho (AP)  Idaho officials have sent an $84,500 bill to the parent of a juvenile after fire investigators determined the juvenile started a wildfire with mortar-style fireworks.

The Idaho Department of Lands in a news release Thursday says the July 7 brush fire burned 420 acres of grazing land near the northern Idaho town of White Bird.

Officials determined the fire was caused by negligent behavior and Idaho law requires the person responsible be billed for firefighting costs.

Federal, state and local agencies responded to the wildfire.

Officials didnt release the name of the person who received the bill.

Idaho State Forester David Groeschl says humans have caused more than two-thirds of wildfires on lands protected by the Idaho Department of Lands so far this year.

Shutdown after uranium-tainted spill at mine

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP)  A Wyoming uranium mine halted some operations following two spills of water tainted with relatively low levels of the radioactive element, including one spill that was among the biggest on record for the industry in the top uranium-producing state.

The spills happened at Ur-Energys Lost Creek mine 70 miles northeast of Rock Springs. A more than 200,000-gallon spill Aug. 18, followed by a 10,000-gallon spill Tuesday, prompted Littleton, Colorado-based Ur-Energy to partially halt operations.

Workers shut down part of the mine unit where the spills occurred so equipment could be inspected, company officials told Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality regulators in an email on file with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and posted by the NRC online.

The water contained relatively low levels of uranium, federal and state regulators said Friday.

The level of activity is very low and would not be a danger to public health and safety and both spills were contained on site, NRC spokesman Victor Dricks said.

How long the equipment was to be shut down while Ur-Energy officials investigated the ruptured pipes that caused both spills was unknown. The bigger spill flowed about 350 yards (meters) though workers were able to recover 3,200 gallons with a vacuum truck.

Company officials did not return messages seeking comment.

Vigil planned for chickens killed in egg-farm fire

ERDA, Utah (AP)  Animal rights activists are planning vigils this weekend to honor the lives of more than 100,000 chickens that were killed when an egg farm caught fire in Tooele County.

Authorities say an electrical or mechanical problem with manure-handling equipment sparked the Tuesday-morning blaze at Fassio Egg Farms in Erda, west of Salt Lake City.

The animal rights group Direct Action Everywhere said in a news release Friday that they want to raise awareness about the fire. They have vigils planned on Saturday and Sunday morning.

Fire officials say water tanks at the farm didnt have enough water to quench the blaze and a generator powering the water pumps was dangerously close to the fire.

Fassio official Corby Larsen says between 120,000 and 150,000 chickens died in the fire at two of the farms largest chicken coops.

No workers were hurt.
Pakistan's new prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi today became the country's first premier to fly in a US-made F-16 fighter aircraft, media report said.

Abbasi, during a visit to the newly-established Airpower Center of Excellence (ACE) at an operational air base of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), flew in the single-engine supersonic multirole fighter aircraft.

The 58-year-old became the first-ever prime minister of Pakistan to participate in an air force sortie, Geo reported.

The US-made F-16 fighter aircraft belonged to the No 9 Squadron of the PAF.

The facility at the Mushaf Air base in Punjab's Sargodha city is a premier institution which has been equipped with state-of-the-art facilities and infrastructure.

Besides training PAF personnel, the ACE would also train the combat crew of friendly air forces by conducting multinational, training exercises, the report said.

Abbasi was briefed by Air Chief Sohail Aman on the ongoing exercise 'Saffron Bandit' and was informed that the first-ever multinational exercise will be held in October and would have participation from personnel from 19 air forces.

'Saffron Bandit' is a combat exercise by PAF involving fighter jets and ground troops with elements from the Army Aviation and Army Air Defence. It is held once in three years.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A student brought a gun to his Ohio high school and began shooting, but the quick actions of a school employee prevented bloodshed.

Police in Columbus, the US state's capital, accused 18- year-old Adan Abdullahi of firing a gun inside Schioto High School last morning -- sparking multiple calls of an "active shooter."



The entire incident was over within minutes, however, thanks to the actions of a school employee, police said.

A staff member "was able to talk to that person while he was still armed, and at least calm him down long enough for us to take him into custody," Columbus Police Chief Kimberly Jacobs told a conference.

No one was injured in the incident.

Abdullahi was arrested and charged with a 2nd degree felony count of shooting inside a "school safety zone," police said, adding that additional charges were possible.

Dozens of emergency personnel responded to the scene, and escorted students out of the school building. School officials transported students to a another facility.

The school serves grades six through 12, and is geared toward special needs and "emotionally disturbed students," according to Scioto school's website.

One student told The Columbus Dispatch newspaper that he heard a gunshot while in his classroom.

"We all went into a lockdown and we had to just go hide near the lockers," Ian Addis told the newspaper.

After evacuation, children were reunited with their parents in what TV station WSYX described as an emotional scene filled with hugs and tears.

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BJP MP Varun Gandhi today said he was against the idea of issuing whip by parties on every issue and advocated that people's representatives should have the right to express their views freely inside Parliament.

Gandhi said whips are issued by parties on "90 per cent issues" restricting MPs from airing their own views.

"I am against the idea of issuing whip on every issue as I want to express my view also... Parties should not issue whips on at least 50 per cent issues to let their members air their views," he said while addressing 'Parliament Conclave' here.

The BJP MP from Sultanpur also advocated for the e- petition system saying it is currently in place in countries like England, Australia and New Zealand.

This system should also be adopted in India to give space to common people instead of restricting the doors of Parliament for its members only, he said.

In this system, if 10,000 people sign an e-petition, the prime minister or the minister concerned will have to reply to it. When such a petition is signed by more than one lakh people, it has to be debated in the parliament, Gandhi said.

He said the time has come when the people should also have a say in the scrutiny of policies and schemes.

"It is my opinion that Parliament should be the centre for formulating policies. It should not become a place for politics alone," Gandhi said.

MPs have increased their salaries four times in the past five years, he said, adding, "I am not against hike in salaries of MPs but I am certainly opposed to the system of parliamentarians themselves getting their pay hiked."



Parliament had worked for 130 days a year during 1952- 1972, but its working days have declined to 60 days a year in the past 15 years, the BJP MP said.

He said 51 per cent bills were passed without any discussion in the past 10 years, while 61 per cents bills were passed even without sending those to the government's advisory committees during the same period.

Praising the Odisha government for mandating its Assembly to work for at least 110 days a year, Gandhi suggested that the Bihar should also follow it.

He stressed on the need for infusing new blood in politics, especially from a place like Bihar, which, he said, has no dearth of talents.

On personality driven politics getting prominence, Gandhi said there is nothing wrong in it as personality driven politics is getting prominence across the globe.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
AirAsia India has suspended a pilot for smoking in the cockpit while operating a ferry flight from Hyderabad to the national capital, and aviation regulator DGCA is probing the incident.

The incident took place last month and there was no passengers onboard as it was a ferry flight.

A source said the commander of the flight was found smoking in the cockpit, following which immediate action was taken by the airline.

An AirAsia India spokesperson said the airline apprised the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) about the breach that took place on a ferry flight from Hyderabad to Delhi immediately after the incident.

"The captain has been suspended with immediate effect and the case is being investigated by DGCA. The airline will comply by the regulator's instructions," the spokesperson said in a statement.

While various violations get reported, not often are there incidents of smoking in the cockpit.

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BJP national president Amit Shah will be on a three day visit to the city from September 11 to 13 to expand the party's base in Bengal.

According to West Bengal BJP general secretary Sayantan Basu, Shah is scheduled to arrive in the city on September 10 at around 11 pm and hold hold meetings with party's leaders at the ICCR the next day.

"On September 12 he is scheduled to meet party workers who are victims of violence perpetuated by TMC and will also meet the intellectuals of the city," Basu told PTI.

Basu said Shah is scheduled to hold a press meet on September 13 and will also hold a meeting with a merchant chamber of commerce.

According to state BJP sources, detailed report of party's rise in vote share in the just ended civic polls in seven municipalities will be placed before him.

Shah had last visited Bengal in April this year.

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A 47-year-old bank manager was allegedly murdered in the wee hours of Saturday in Chhatrapati Nagar locality of Satara area near the city, police said.

Police are yet to ascertain the reason behind this murder.

The deceased has been identified as Jitendra Holkar, who was working as a branch manager with a district bank at Shekta village in Paithan tehsil of the district.

The assailants entered his house in the wee hours and slit his throat after tying his hands with strings, investigating officer Shushila Kharat said.

The deceased's wife Bhagyashree in a statement to the police said she was sleeping in her son's room and it was locked by the killers so she could not rush to the rescue of her husband.

She said that the assailants were thieves who were telling her husband to hand over whatever he had. The killers are yet to be identified.

Satara police have registered a case of murder.

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A delegation of BJP legislators today met President Ram Nath Kovind and sought his intervention into the alleged "unconstitutional and undemocratic functioning" of the Delhi government.

Leader of Opposition Vijender Gupta, who led the delegation, said that in the meeting, they took up the issue of special enquiry committees and standing committees of the Delhi Assembly which were allegedly "taking over executive functions" of the government.

A letter was handed over to the president seeking his intervention in the matter, he said.

"We deem it our duty to draw your kind attention to the opinion of the additional solicitor general of India whereby he has commented on illegal house committees of the Delhi Assembly like special inquiry committees and the department related standing committees. He has held them unconstitutional and illegal in nature," Gupta said quoting the letter.

"These committees are taking over the executive, judicial and investigative functioning of the Delhi government," he alleged.

He alleged that the Delhi government was functioning in an "undemocratic and unconstitutional" manner.

The delegation which included OP Sharma, Manjinder Singh Sirsa and Jagdish Pradhan, urged the president to intervene in the matter and advise the concerned authorities to settle it as per the constitutional provisions.

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Triggering a public debate, a member of Travancore Devaswom Board has demanded lifting of ban on entry of non-Hindus to temples.

Reacting to the demand, president of Travancore Devaswom Bord (TDB), which manages several temples, said it could not be implemented 'unilaterally'.

Reacting to the demand, Minister for Tourism and Devaswom, Kadakampally Surendran wanted to avoid 'unnecessary' debate on the issue and said except in Sree Krishna Temple in Guruvayour, there was no bar for entry of non-Hindus in temples.

However, he said the issue of Guruvayour Krishna temple was serious and it has to be resolved after a public hearing.

"No temples in Kerala seeks any certificate (regarding religion) for entry", he added.

Ajay Tharayil, Congress leader and member of TDB, said in a facebook post that those who believe in temple and idol worship should be allowed in temples.

He also said that he has not placed this request in the Board meeting as he wanted the issue to be discussed in public first.

"I will place the matter before the Board later", he said.

A unilateral decision can not be taken on the matter, TDB President Prayar Gopalakrishnan told reporters here.

It has to be discussed with Thanthri Samajam (outfit of priests), Temple Advisory Committees and also with authorities of other four Devaswom Boards in the state before reaching a decision, he said.

Cochin Devaswom Board, Malabar Devaswom Board, Koodalmanikayam Devaswom Board and Guruvayour Devaswom are the other temple managing committees in the state.

There was no restriction for devotees in the name of religion for entry in several temples temples including famed Lord Ayyappa shrine in Sabarimala now. However, this discrimination exist in some temples as per the rule of that particular shrine, Gopalakrishnan said.

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The CBI booked former environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan for alleged abuse of her official position in diverting forest land for a steel plant in Jharkhand in violation of law, and carried out searches at her residence.

The CBI registered an FIR against her in connection with the clearance given during her tenure in 2012 for diversion of forest land for mining in alleged violation of law and against the the advice of officials, sources in the investigative agency said.

Sources said the searches were conducted at Natarajan's residence in Chennai, besides premises of some other accused in New Delhi, Kolkata and the mining company's office in Odisha's Sundergarh.

The FIR has been filed against Natarajan, Umang Kejriwal, the then managing director of Electrosteel Casting Limited, and the company.

The case pertains to clearance given for diversion of forest land in Saranda Forest in Singhbhum District of Jharkhand to mining company Electrosteel in alleged violation of Forest (Conservation Act) in 2012.

The permission was initially denied by Minister of State for Environment Jairam Ramesh but granted when Natarajan assumed office. She was MoS with independent charge of the ministry between 2011 and 2013.

"Jayanthi Natarajan, the then Minister of State for Environment and Forests, accorded the approval for diversion of 55.79 hectares of forest land for non-forestry use to ECL, though the same had been rejected by the earlier Minister of State...Without any change in the circumstances after rejection," the CBI FIR alleged.

It said approval was granted ignoring the advice of Director General Forests and directions of the Supreme Court.

The agency had registered a preliminary enquiry in the matter in 2014 on the direction of the Supreme Court.

The enquiry showed that ECL signed an MoU with the Jharkhand Government for setting up a steel plant in Jharkhand in 2004. The production capacity was increased from one million tonne per annum to three million tonne yearly in 2007.

In 2006, the Jharkhand government asked union ministry of mines for grant of lease of 192 hectares of land in favour of ECL. The mines ministry said before allowing grant of mining lease all rules must be complied with.

On April 17, 2008 the state governnment sought approval of the Environment and Forests Ministry for diversion of 55.79 hectares of forest land for non-forestry use out of the total area of 192 hectares, according to the findings during the preliminary enquiry (PE).

The Forests Advisory Committee considered the proposal twice before rejecting it on the ground that the area where mining was proposed to be conducted was part of core zone of the Singhbhum Elephant Reserve and critical to wildlife conservation, it said.

The matter reached the then Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh on the recommendation of the state government.

Ramesh observed on April 23, 2010 that there was no need for reconsideration if the land was part of the core zone of the Singhbhum Elephant Reserve and also noted that all previous approvals for mining there should be cancelled, it said.

After its proposal was rejected, the company approached the then prime minister with a plea for its reconsideration.

This represenation was forwarded by the then principal secretary to the Prime Minister to secretary, environment and forests, for consideration and appropriate action, the PE findings, now part of the FIR, said.

The matter went back to the FAC, which again rejected the proposal for diversion of the land, saying no new facts were brought to its notice to warrant altering its stand on the issue.

When Natarajan took over as Minister of State for Environment on July 13, 2011, the then chief minister of Jharkhand requsted her to consider the proposal "pragmatically". The file was marked to her on August 26, 2011.

The CBI alleged that when the matter was pending with her, Umang Kejriwal met her in September 2011 to present the company's case.

After the meeting, she noted on the file asking if any report has been received from the state regarding the mines located in the core area of the reserve.

On receipt of information sought by her, the matter again reached Natarajan. The DG Forest had advised her to refer the matter to the FAC, which had already rejected the proposal.

"On this, Natarajan as the then Minister vide a detailed order dated February 4, 2012 accorded the approval for diversion of 55.79 hectare of forest land as detailed in the proposal sent by the Jharkhand Government," the CBI said.

It said the findings revealed a "criminal conspiracy" between Natarajan and Kejriwal, and abuse of official position by the minister.

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China and Pakistan have agreed to strengthen anti-terrorism and security cooperation along a $50 billion economic corridor that links the restive regions of the two countries through a network of rail and road projects.

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) connects Xinjiang province in northwest China with the deep-water Gwadar port on the Arabian Sea in southwestern Pakistan. It faces challenges from Islamic militants in both the regions.

The CPEC, a part of Chinese President Xi Jinping's Belt and Road (B&R) initiative, runs through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and India has raised an objection to the project.

The security cooperation agreement was reached when Meng Jianzhu, head of the Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the Communist Party Central Committee, met visiting Pakistani Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif and Pakistani National Security Adviser Nasser Khan Janjua yesterday in Beijing.

Reports have said that Pakistan deployed a 15,000-strong military force to protect Chinese nationals working on various projects linked to the . This includes 9,000 Pakistan Army soldiers and 6,000 para-military forces personnel.

About 71,000 Chinese reported having visited Pakistan last year.

Meng praised Pakistan's efforts in counter-terrorism and called for strengthened anti-terrorism and security cooperation in building the ambitious economic corridor.

"China and Pakistan, as good friends, friendly neighbours and all-weather strategic cooperative partners, have always firmly supported each other's core interests," Meng said.

Chinese State Councillor Yang Jiechi met Asif.

"Promoting the all-weather strategic cooperative partnership between China and Pakistan is an unchanged policy," Yang said.

He called for advancing the project and strengthening communication on issues of regional security.

Asif said maintaining friendly relations with China is the cornerstone of Pakistan's foreign policy.

Pakistan would take the opportunity provided by the to boost bilateral ties, he said.

Yesterday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi praised Pakistan's anti-terrorism record when he met Asif.

"Pakistan is a good brother and iron friend of China. No one knows Pakistan and understands Pakistan better than China," he said.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Explosion on the Sun; biggest storm in the USA (video)

On September 6, a magnificent explosion took place on the side of the Sun close to the Earth, as a result of which huge quantities of ionized particles were transported to the atmosphere, which was accompanied by a magnificent polar fleet in Norway last night. Head of the Meteorological Center of Hydro meteorological Service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Republic of Armenia, Gagik Surenyan informs. The tropical typhoon Irma, which has reached its final 5th stage, approaches the shores of Florida. In a devastating hurricane the wind speeds up to 300 km/h, 1000-1200mm of rain is forecast in 1 day. For a contrast, Gagik Surenyan brings the example of Yerevan, where the annual precipitation is 300mm. The Voice of America reports that the US state of Florida is preparing for the tornado called Irma that moves towards there after destroying several islands in the Caribbean. It will arrive in Florida early Sunday morning. The Irma hurricane, which is currently heading to the US state of Florida, destroyed almost all the structures on the island of Barbuda in the Caribbean Sea. Nearly 1 million people are deprived of electricity in Puerto Rico. And if the hurricane's so-called eye-center passes over Florida, the consequences will be catastrophic. As Sett Borstenstein says, Irma has set a record for its strength throughout the world. It's already blowing for 37 hours, at 285km/h. By the way, on Irmas way there are also the resort of President Donald Trump Mar-a-Lago and a number of other properties. Trump informed reporters that Florida is well prepared to meet Irma. Video below
Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra today asked budding lawyers to master the skill of presenting facts of the cases before courts.

The CJI, who was felicitated by the Bar Council of India -- apex bar body -- praised women advocates and judges for their endeavours in the field of advocacy and judiciary and asked them as well as their male counterparts not to deviate from the principles of the profession.

Justice Misra, who succeeded Justice J S Khehar as the CJI on August 27, expressed gratitude to the bar and advised budding lawyers to get mastery over facts of the cases being fought by them.

"Everyday, we judges are taught by lawyers. If a young lawyer is not recognised by this country, his ambition will be scuttled," he said.

Praising women lawyers and judges, the CJI said that they were doing a great service to the nation.

Besides the CJI, several apex court judges, including Justices Arun Mishra, A M Khanwilkar, D Y Chandrachud, L N Rao, S Abdul Nazeer and Navin Sinha, graced the occasion.

Speaking at the function, Justice Misra highlighted the importance of a strong and independent bar and said it was necessary for a strong judiciary.

"If the bar is not strong and its independence is compromised, the judiciary will become very weak. The bar's duty is to keep the judiciary in a perspective. Bar is our protection," he said.

BCI chairperson Manan Kumar Mishra raised the issue of rising vacancies in judiciary.

"With the new CJI among us, we hope that vacancies across high courts in the country would be filled up speedily," he said.

He emphasised that bar bodies like the BCI should be consulted by the judiciary in appointment of judges.

"We don't know why the bar has been given a step-motherly treatment by judiciary. We hope that in times to come, the BCI's autonomy is respected and not compromised," he said.

He also raised the issue of frequent strikes by lawyers and said that the BCI was aware of the situation.

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Clashes broke out during protests in support of a Palestinian family evicted from their home in occupied east Jerusalem, AFP journalists have said.

Around 150 Palestinians and leftwing Israeli activists protested the eviction of the Shamasneh family yesterday, with scuffles between police, protesters and Israeli settlers, AFP reporters on the scene in the Sheikh Jarrah district said.

At least four people, including a young child, were detained by police while settlers sprayed gas at the demonstrators, the reporters said.

An Israeli civilian attacked an AFP video reporter without provocation, punching his camera, which hit his nose.

As the reporter reacted to the attack, police officers on the scene intervened to defend the civilian, and hit the journalist several times.

AFP's management said it protested "against this attack and asks Israeli authorities to ensure that journalists can carry out their work in complete safety."



The Shamasnehs, including 84-year-old grandfather Ayoub, were forcibly evicted on Tuesday from their home of more than 50 years, after a court ruled Israeli Jews the legal occupants.

They had for years been fighting a court battle against Jewish claimants who said the building was their family property, which they fled when east Jerusalem was occupied by Jordanian troops in the 1948 war that led to the creation of the Jewish state.

Under Israeli law, if Jews can prove their families lived in east Jerusalem homes before the 1948 war they can demand that Israel's general custodian office release the property and return their "ownership rights".

During that war, thousands of Jews fled Jerusalem as Jordanian-led Arab forces seized the city, while hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled from land that was later to become Israel.

No such law exists for Palestinians who lost their land.

The Shamasnehs say they had paid 250 shekels ($70) a month to the general custodian since 1967, an arrangement used by the settlers' side as proof that the family acknowledged its status as tenants.

In 2013, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled in favour of the Jewish claimants.

Tuesday's eviction was the first in the neighbourhood since 2009, according to Israeli anti-occupation group Peace Now.

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One of the most powerful earthquakes ever to hit Mexico was followed by a Gulf coast hurricane, dealing a one-two punch to the country that killed at least 63 people as workers scrambled today to respond to the twin national emergencies.

The 8.1 quake off the southern Pacific coast just before midnight Thursday toppled hundreds of buildings in several states.

Hardest-hit was Juchitan, Oaxaca, where 36 people died and a third of the city's homes collapsed or were uninhabitable, President Enrique Pena Nieto said late yesterday in an interview with the Televisa network.

In downtown Juchitan, the remains of brick walls and clay tile roofs cluttered streets as families dragged mattresses onto sidewalks to spend a second anxious night sleeping outdoors.

Some were newly homeless, while others feared further aftershocks could topple their cracked adobe dwellings.

"We are all collapsed, our homes and our people," said Rosa Elba Ortiz Santiago, 43, who sat with her teenage son and more than a dozen neighbors on an assortment of chairs. "We are used to earthquakes, but not of this magnitude."



Even as she spoke, across the country, Hurricane Katia was roaring onshore north of Tecolutla in Veracruz state, pelting the region with intense rains and maximum sustained winds of 120 kph.

Veracruz Governor Miguel Angel Yunes said two people died in a mudslide related to the storm, and he said some rivers had risen to near flood stage, but there were no reports of major damage.

Veracruz and neighboring Puebla states evacuated more than 4,000 people ahead of the storm's arrival.

The Hurricane Center said Katia could still bring 3 to 6 inches (7.5 to 15 centimeters) of additional rain 25 to 37 centimeters) to a region with a history of deadly mudslides and flooding.

Pena Nieto announced yesterday that the earthquake killed 45 people in Oaxaca state, 12 in Chiapas and 4 in Tabasco, and he declared three days of national mourning. The toll included 36 dead in Juchitan, located on the narrow waist of Oaxaca known as the Isthmus, where a hospital and about half the city hall also collapsed into rubble.

Next to Ortiz, 47-year-old Jose Alberto Martinez said he and family members have long been accustomed to earthquakes.

So when the ground started moving, at first they simply waited a bit for it to stop until objects began falling and they bolted for the street.

"We felt like the house was coming down on top of us," Martinez said, accompanied by his wife, son and mother-in-law.

Now, he didn't feel safe going back inside until the home is inspected. Right next door, an older building had crumbled into a pile of rough timbers, brick and stucco, while little remained of a white church on the corner.

Rescuers searched for survivors yesterday with sniffer dogs and used heavy machinery at the main square to pull rubble away from city hall, where a missing police officer was believed to be inside.

The city's civil defense coordinator, Jose Antonio Marin Lopez, said similar searches had been going on all over the area.

Teams found bodies in the rubble, but the highlight was pulling four people, including two children, alive from the completely collapsed Hotel Del Rio where one woman died.

"The priority continues to be the people," Marin said.

Pena Nieto said authorities were working to re-establish supplies of water and food and provide medical attention to those who need it. He vowed the government would help rebuild.

"The power of this earthquake was devastating, but we are certain that the power of unity, the power of solidarity and the power of shared responsibility will be greater," Pena Nieto said.

Power was cut at least briefly to more than 1.8 million people, and authorities closed schools in at least 11 states to check them for safety.

The Interior Department reported that 428 homes were destroyed and 1,700 were damaged just in Chiapas, the state closest to the epicenter.

"Homes made of clay tiles and wood collapsed," said Nataniel Hernandez, a human rights worker living in Tonala, Chiapas, who worried that inclement weather threatened to bring more structures down.

"Right now it is raining very hard in Tonala, and with the rains it gets much more complicated because the homes were left very weak, with cracks," Hernandez said by phone.

The earthquake also jolted the Mexican capital, more than 1,000 kilometers away, which largely lies atop a former lakebed whose soil amplifies seismic waves.

Memories are still fresh for many of a catastrophic quake that killed thousands and devastated large parts of the city in 1985.

Mexico City escaped major damage, though part of a bridge on a highway being built to a new international airport collapsed due to the earthquake, local media reported.

The quake's power was equal to Mexico's strongest in the past century, and it was slightly stronger than the 1985 quake, the US Geological Survey said. However its impact was blunted somewhat by the fact that it struck some 100 miles offshore.

The epicenter was in a seismic hotspot in the Pacific where one tectonic plate dives under another. Such subduction zones are responsible for some of the biggest quakes in history, including the 2011 Fukushima disaster and the 2004 Sumatra quake that spawned a deadly tsunami.

In the Gulf coast state of Veracruz, tourists abandoned coastal hotels as winds and rains picked up ahead of Hurricane Katia's landfall and workers set up emergency shelters.

"The arrival of (hashtag)Katia may be particularly dangerous for slopes affected by the earthquake. Avoid these areas," Pena Nieto tweeted.

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Delhi BJP-SAD legislator Manjinder Singh Sirsa today met President Ram Nath Kovind, seeking his intervention for protection of two "historic" gurudwaras in Sikkim.

Sirsa, who is also general secretary of the Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee, alleged that the Gurudongmar Sahib and Chungthang Sahib gurudwaras in Sikkim are facing danger of "extinction" due to actions of the local authorities.

"This is a very controversial matter that needs immediate attention," he said.

He claimed that a letter has been issued by the local sub divisional magistrate (SDM) regarding "encroachment and illegal construction" by Chungthang gurudwara while a status quo was granted by the Supreme Court on the status of Gurudongmar gurudwara.

Both are historic gurudwaras that were visited by Sikhism's founder Guru Nanak Dev in the 15th century on his return from Tibet, Sirsa said.

The gurudwaras have been the subject of a dispute between local Buddhists and Sikhs.

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Two suspected members of an inter-state drug cartel involved in supplying marijuana, were arrested and 548 kgs of the drug worth Rs 54 lakh was seized from them, the police said today.

The marijuana, packed in cartons, was transported from Orissa to Delhi in the parcel van of Bhubaneswar Rajdhani Express, they added.

A senior Delhi Police officer said that the marijuana was transported using the parcel van at least twice a month and the Railways was not aware about the contents of the parcel.

A senior Railways official accepted that they have no means to ascertain the contents of individual packages but random checks are conducted.

"The leaseholder has to give a declaration about the goods he is carrying in the van but there is no way we can check every parcel. We randomly check the packages. However, contents of the packages are not checked individually," he said.

The official said this is the first such case that has come to his notice.

The Delhi Police Crime Branch had received information that Jagdish Kumar Arya (44) and Sarvan, residents of Faridabad (Haryana) were involved in supplying marijuana from Orissa to Delhi through Rajdhani Express, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Bhisham Singh.

During investigation, it was found that the gang was using Bhubaneswar Rajdhani to transport marijuana in connivance with some railway personnel.

The contraband was kept in a parcel van of Rajdhani Train and transported to New Delhi.

The police received a tip-off on September 5 that Arya would come to take delivery of the consignment at New Delhi railway station and then travel to Faridabad, said the officer.

Arya was nabbed near Rajghat traffic signal with eight cartons of marijuana.

During investigation, another tip-off was received that another consignment of marijuana was coming through Bhubaneswar Rajdhani at the New Delhi station.

A raid was conducted at the New Delhi station where six cartons, offloaded from the parcel van of Rajdhani train and received by one Saroj Subudhi, who was nabbed.

During interrogation, he revealed that he has a firm in the name of 'Saroj Parcel Service' at New Delhi station and he was working with one Anil who had an office at Bhubaneswar and who had the lease licence of the parcel van.

The cartons were booked by Anil who was in contact with Sarvan, said the DCP.

Sarvan would give Rs 10,000 for each parcel having marijuana to Subudhi and Anil.

Railway officials said parcels are randomly checked, but are opened only if they raise suspicion.

Railway staff then get RPF or GRP officials to investigate. However, packages are also opened if any tip-offs are received from the police.

Then the packages and their related items are taken over by the concerned authorities, officials said.

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As many as 68 people were evacuated from a Paro-bound Drukair plane at the airport here today after the commander received information of smoke being emitted from the aircraft.

There were no reports of injury to any passenger in the incident which took place at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport here this morning, an airport source said.

The evacuation was done soon after the push back of the aircraft. An inspection of the plane was carried out but no fire was detected in any part of the aircraft, the source said.

According to the source, the Drukair-Royal Bhutan flight KB 501 had just pushed back for taxiing when the pilot of another nearby aircraft informed the flight commander of some smoke (being emitted) in the aircraft.

The commander immediately asked the crew to deploy emergency chute to evacuate the passengers at the tarmac itself, the source added.

The Airbus A319 had 61 passengers and seven crew members on board, the source said adding the aircraft has been grounded for further inspection.

Drukair officials were not available for comments.

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Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh today flayed former deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and the SAD for allegedly unleashing a negative, anti- people agenda with their misleading statements and baseless charges against the Congress government.

Categorically rejecting the charges levelled by Akalis that the Congress government backtracked from its promises, the chief minister blamed the party squarely for the fiscal mess in the state.

"The financial crisis prevailing in the state was a result of the ill-conceived and corrupt policies of the erstwhile SAD-BJP government," said the chief minister, adding that this, coupled with the delay in GST contribution from Centre, had led to the delay in salary disbursement of government employees this month.

"The Badals and their associates were engaged in brazen loot during the decade of their rule, leaving the government exchequer reeling under an unprecedented debt and had the audacity now to blame the Congress government for the crisis prevailing in the state," Singh said, hitting out at Sukhbir for earlier alleging non-performance on the part of the government over the past six months.

In a statement, the chief minister said not only had his government implemented most of the promises made by the Congress in its manifesto but had done so in the face of severe financial problems.

Notwithstanding the economic crisis in the state, his (Congress) government had fulfilled all its major promises, from social welfare schemes to drugs elimination to industrial development and waiver of farm loans, he said.

The chief minister lambasted Sukhbir for allegedly continuously misguiding the farmers over the issues of debt waiver and 'kurki' abolition, accusing him of playing with their lives to further his own political agenda.

"By negating the hard facts and figures on employment, the SAD president was also trying to undermine the confidence of the youth, who were suffering the consequences of the Badal government's total failure to protect them from the menace of drugs and unemployment," he said.

Bereft of any serious issue to criticise the Congress government, the Akalis had adopted a destructive approach and were resorting to unfounded allegations in a desperate bid to malign his government and its excellent performance since taking over in March this year, said the chief minister.

"Sukhbir Singh Badal and the SAD have unleashed a negative, anti-people agenda with their misleading statements and baseless charges against the Congress government," he said.

The Badals were trying to rake up non-issues to create a platform to take their political ambitions forward, Singh alleged, adding that their entire focus was on misleading the people of Punjab and on diverting public attention from their own misdeeds of the past 10 years.

That, he said, was the reason for the Akalis to resort to street politics instead of playing the role of a constructive opposition in the interest of the people of Punjab.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A fire broke out tonight on the first floor of the State Bank of India (SBI) branch on the Parliament Street, the Delhi Fire Services (DFS) said.

The fire services received a call around 9.25 pm alerting them about smoke emanating from the first floor of the building, a DFS official said.

Nine fire tenders were rushed to the spot, said an official.

Police said the firemen broke open the locks of the building and entered the premises to douse the blaze.

The firemen are still at work, the DFS official said, adding that the cause of the fire was not known immediately.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
France's meteorological agency today issued its highest warning for the Caribbean islands of St Martin and St Barts as Hurricane Jose bore down, three days after they were hit by Hurricane Irma.

The alert warned of a "dangerous event of exceptional intensity," as the Category Four storm passed at a distance of around 100 kilometres.

The islands could expect winds that could reach 120 kilometres per hour, up to 100 millimetres of rain and waves of between six to eight metres, forecasters said.

St Barts is a French overseas territory, as is the French part of St Martin, which is divided between France and the Netherlands.

Twelve people were killed on the two islands by Hurricane Irma, thousands of buildings were flattened and the authorities are struggling to control looting.

President Emmanuel Macron scheduled a top-level meeting in Paris late today to review the situation, especially regarding security, the president's office told AFP.

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, Defence Minister Florence Parly and Interior Minister Gerard Collomb were scheduled to take part.

The French interior ministry said 410 gendarmes and 80 police have been deployed, with 150 more gendarmes set to arrive after the hurricane leaves the area tomorrow.

Eleven people have been arrested for theft, it said.

The French state-owned reinsurer CCR today estimated the damage at USD 1.4 billion.

All air and sea links with the two islands have been cut.

Irma is now heading for Florida, where a total of 6.3 million people have been ordered to evacuate, according to state authorities.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Rafayel Kotanjyan: I do not play; I live in the character (video)

Once my mother, a resident of Leninakan, comes to Yerevan to be admitted to a medical institution and meets my father, who was born in Kars. I was born in Tbilisi, where my father was sent to work. Maybe if we didnt move to Yerevan, if I didnt attend the school after Mayakovski and didnt meet the teacher of the Russian language, who had dreamt about the actors profession but for some reason had chosen pedagogy, and who awakened my love to the stage, I would probably listen to my father and become an engineer, says Rafayel Kotanjyan, Peoples Artist of the Republic of Armenia. He was a student of high-level filmmaking when he was shot in Gaydas Diamond hand film. A small scene but warm memories. I dont play, - says Rafayel Kotanjyan, - I enter and live in the character. He has never had lack of characters both in the theater and in films. He has been shot in different film studios, in the best films of the best directors. There were many happy days in the theater, - he says.- I played the best characters in Dramatic Theatre. There were performances that were played 300-500 times. In a theatre, you have an opportunity to refine the character, but in films you play and thats it; at best, you can choose the best take from a couple of takes. Happiness is a good family and a favorite job. In this respect, I am a happy person. Today is Rafael Kotanjian's jubilee.
An 11-year-old child, who was abducted on Thursday night while returning from tuition here, has been rescued from the jungles of Rataul village in Baghpat district, police said today.

Senior Superintendent of Police H N Singh said Sahil, son of Omprakash Singh, resident of New Karhera colony was abducted by unknown persons in Rajendra Nagar.

Sahil's tutor Neeta Paul had sent him to call a girl student living near her residence in Angoori Park. While the girl reached the tutor's house, Sahil did not return, prompting his tutor to inform the police.

Soon police swung into action even as the parents of the child tried to search him. Police also retrieved footages of the CCTV cameras installed in that vicinity but could not find any clue.

Ompraksh told the police that his wife received a call for ransom of Rs 10 lakh. Following the call Sahil's father along with police reached the spot to deliver the ransom money and rescue the child from the kidnappers, officials said.

When they reached the spot, the kidnappers fled the spot after seeing the lights of police vehicles but left the child there, the SSP said.

He added that the police did not chase the kidnappers because the priority was to save the life of the child.

SSP Singh said police have got clue of the kidnappers and will nab them soon.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The police today promised to conclude investigations and file a charge sheet within seven days in the gruesome murder of a seven-year-old in a Gurgaon school on Friday, an incident that sent shockwaves across the country.

The district authorities also formed a three-member panel to find out if Ryan International School, Bhondsi, had followed security norms. The Manohar Lal Khattar led Haryana government, meanwhile, ordered a security review of schools across the state.

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) also formed a two-member fact finding committee to probe the incident and sought a report from the school within two days.

Gurgaon Police Commissioner Sandeep Khirwar claimed that arrested schoolbus conductor Ashok Kumar's involvement as the perpetrator of the heinous crime had come to the fore clearly.

Kumar was inside the toilet, waiting for any student to come inside with the motive of sexual assault. The deceased was the first student who entered the toilet, the Gurgaon police commissioner said.

He said the child resisted Kumar's assault following which the bus conductor murdered him. The child's throat was slit.

"Kumar said he was terrified and had to kill the minor so that he does not disclose the crime to the school management. He left the knife in the washroom and washed his hands before escaping from there. He pre-planned the crime," Khirwar told PTI.

He said the police will conclude investigations and file a charge sheet within seven days.

We will demand the constitution of a special court for a fast track trial in this case so that the accused can be given a strict punishment, Khirwar said.

"Kumar's clothes and knife, which he used in the crime, have been sent for forensic examination. During his three day police remand, we will re-examine the sequence of crime and probe every detail," the officer said.

Earlier in the day a local court remanded Kumar to three days in police custody.

Khirwar assured that a thorough and professional probe will be carried out.

The accused spoke to some TV channels and on being asked whether he had committed the crime responded in the affirmative.

"I had lost my mind," he said when asked about the motive. Asked about the knife, he said it was already there in the school bus and he had come to wash it.

The grief-stricken family of the child was however said they were not satisfied and sought a CBI probe.

Speaking to mediapersons, the deceased's mother alleged that the school had informed them that the child had fallen after fainting as she demanded a CBI probe.

Angry family members staged a protest for over two hours outside the school premises demanding a CBI probe. They demanded that the school management be booked.

At a press conference, Commissioner Khirwar said that a three member panel comprising the district education officer, block education officer and an officer of the women and child department had been formed to probe any negligence or security lapses by the school management.

The panel will submit its report Monday and on its basis suitable action will be taken, he said.

Khirwar said that the registration of the security agency hired by the school management had been annulled.

The acting principal of Ryan International School was suspended and all the security staff removed.

"The Ryan International School management has suspended acting principal Neerja Batra and removed all the security staff," District Public Relation Officer R S Sangwan said.

After the post-mortem, the boy's body was handed over to his family and his last rites was performed at the cremation ground in Bhondsi where hundreds had gathered.

They raised slogans against Gurgaon MLA, Umesh Aggarwal, Sohna MLA, Tejpal, and Haryana PWD minister, Rao Narbir Singh, who had come to express condolences.

The boy's father, who works as a quality manager with a private firm in Gurgaon, accused the school administration of negligence.

According to forensic expert Deepak Mathur, who conducted the post-mortem, said "The deceased had two cuts on his neck. His throat was almost completely slit. Hemorrhage and excessive blood loss caused the death".

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar condemned the crime terming the incident as "heinous and unfortunate."



Those guilty will not be spared, he said adding that the concerned authorities were asked to file a challan within seven days.

"We will appeal to the court to give harsh punishment to the accused as early as possible," he said.

Patting the district administration for "acting swiftly", he said that the school bus conductor had been arrested. Khattar said that a security review of schools across the state would be conducted.

HRD minister Prakash Javadekar also termed the incident as "unfortunate" and assured that justice would be done.

Several protests over the murder were held all over the city and traffic was disrupted in many parts. Part of busy Delhi-Jaipur highway, Alwar-Sohna road and a few arterial roads were blocked.

Ryan International School issued a statement saying that "Following the tragic incident at our school yesterday, the school authorities have seriously taken up the review of the security measures at the school. All necessary improvements and measures are being audited and reinforced with the help of experts."



We are also seeking advice from the Police department to guide us in this regard, it said.

"While, we are all in great shock and grief at the loss of life of our beloved student, we are taking these steps simultaneously to ensure vigorous safety measures in place for all our students and staff. We are closely working with the investigating authorities so that we could be guided further with their expertise," the school statement said.

The accused, Kumar, is a resident of Ghamdoj village in Sohna and was hired by school bus contractor around seven months ago, the police said.

Villagers in Ghamdoj alleged Kumar had been framed and said he had no previous history of being involved in any crime.

The CBSE said that it had formed a fact finding committee to look into the incident.

"V Arun Kumar, principal of Govt Senior Secondary School in Preet Vihar and Kailash Chand, Deputy Commissioner at KVS, have been appointed as the panel members. The panel will have to visit the school within 30 days and submit a report no later than October 16," an official added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A "deeply concerned" India today asked Myanmar to handle the situation in the Rakhine state with "maturity and restraint" while focusing on the welfare of the civilian population along with that of the security forces and asserted that it was imperative that violence ends there.

The Indian statement came in the backdrop of the continuous exodus of Rohingya Muslims from the Buddhist- majority country in the wake of violence against them.

In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that India remains "deeply concerned" about the situation in the Rakhine state and the outflow of refugees from that region.

"We would urge that the situation in Rakhine state be handled with restraint and maturity, focusing on the welfare of the civilian population alongside those of security forces. It is imperative that violence is ended and normalcy in the state restored expeditiously," the statement said.

The statement also referred to India's strong condemnation of the terrorist attacks on Myanmar security forces in the Rakhine state.

The two countries have since affirmed their shared determination to combat terrorism and not allow its justification under any pretext, it said.

The Indian statement came even as Bangladesh High Commissioner Syed Muazzem Ali called on Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar to discuss the issue.

Nearly 300,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled to Bangladesh from Myanmar's Rakhine state since August 25 when the fresh wave of violence erupted.

However, the MEA statement made no mention of the meeting.

During prime minister's recent visit to Myanmar this week, he had expressed his concern at the casualties of security forces as well as other innocent lives, the MEA statement said.

He had also urged a solution based on respect for peace, communal harmony, justice, dignity and democratic values, it added.

The statement also noted that during the prime minister's Myanmar visit it was agreed that India would provide assistance under the Rakhine State Development Programme in conjunction with the Myanmarese government.

India had refused to be a part of a declaration adopted at an international conference recently in Indonesia as it carried "inappropriate" reference to violence in Rakhine state.

An Indian parliamentary delegation, led by Speaker Lok Sabha Sumitra Mahajan, dissociated itself from the 'Bali Declaration' adopted at the 'World Parliamentary Forum on Sustainable Development' held in Indonesia.

According to media reports, the violence began when Rohingya militants attacked police posts in Myanmar's northern Rakhine state.

Rohingya residents -- a stateless mostly Muslim minority -- allege that the military and Rakhine Buddhists responded with a brutal campaign against them, according to the reports.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Bangladesh, which is facing a big influx of Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar, today explained its situation to India and the pressure it was under due to the migration.

Bangladesh High Commissioner Syed Muazzem Ali today called on Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar during which the two sides discussed the issue of Rohingya Muslims in detail.

During the meeting, which lasted for more than half-an- hour, the Bangladesh envoy also talked about the need for the international community to intervene and put pressure on Myanmar to address the exodus, sources in Bangladesh High Commission here said.

They said the Bangladesh government was providing shelter to these refugees out of humanitarian considerations but it was putting a lot of pressure on the country.

"Thousands of Rohingya Muslims are coming to Bangladesh daily. It is creating a lot of problem for the country," an official in the Bangladesh High Commission said.

According to the United Nations, nearly 300,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled Myanmar's Rakhine state into Bangladesh since August 25 when fresh wave of violence erupted.

According to media reports, the violence began when Rohingya militants attacked police posts in Myanmar's northern Rakhine state.

Rohingya residents - a stateless mostly Muslim minority in a Buddhist-majority nation - allege that the military and Rakhine Buddhists responded with a brutal campaign against them, according to the reports.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who concluded his three-day visit to Myanmar on Thursday, expressed solidarity with the government there against the "extremist violence" in the Rakhine state.

Modi also urged all stakeholders to find a solution that respects the country's unity.

India also refused to be a part of a declaration adopted at an international conference recently in Indonesia as it carried "inappropriate" reference to violence in Rakhine state from where Rohingyas have fled to Bangladesh.

An Indian parliamentary delegation, led by Speaker Lok Sabha Sumitra Mahajan, dissociated itself from the 'Bali Declaration' adopted at the 'World Parliamentary Forum on Sustainable Development' held in Indonesia.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
India and China have agreed to set up industry specific working groups for increasing exports with a view to bridge trade deficit with Beijing, Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu today said.

"Concerned about growing trade deficit with China, we agreed to set up industry specific working groups, to promote more exports from India," Prabhu said in a tweet.

He is in the Philippines capital Manila to attend the fifth East Asia Summit (EAS) Economic Ministers' Meeting. The minister would also participate in the trade ministers' meeting of 16 RCEP member countries tomorrow.

Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a mega trade pact among 16 countries which aims to cover goods, services, investments, economic and technical cooperation, competition and intellectual property rights.

At the sidelines of EAS meet, the minister met his Chinese counterpart Zhong Shan to discuss ways to promote bilateral trade between the countries. Both the ministers agreed to attend the Joint Economic Group Meeting.

The department of commerce in a series of tweets said Prabhu invited Chinese businesses and industry to invest in India and offer facilitation of investments in special economic zones.

"Both ministers agreed to set up product/sector specific joint working group (JWG) to promote exports and bilateral trade," the department added.

Prabhu, who recently took charge of the ministry, also met Japanese minister of economy, trade and industry Hiroshige Seko, Korean trade minister Hyun Chong KIM and Australian minister for trade, tourism, investment Steven Ciobo.

India's trade deficit with China narrowed marginally to USD 51.08 billion in 2016-17 from USD 52.69 billion in 2015- 16.

India wants greater market access in China for its goods and services like IT and pharma products. The country has also insisted upon China to increase investments.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The second round of discussions between India and Pakistan on Ratle and Kishanganga hydroelectric projects, over which Islamabad has raised objections, will take place in Washington on September 14 and 15 under the aegis of the World Bank.

Union Water Resources Secretary Amarjit Singh will lead the Indian delegation comprising representatives from the Ministry of External Affairs, Power, India's Indus Water Commissioner and Central Water Commission.

"A multi-disciplinary (Indian) delegation led by our secretary (Singh) will hold second round of technical discussions on Ratle and Kishenganga hydroelectric projects with Pakistan and the World Bank on September 14 and 15," a senior official said today.

The first round of discussion had taken place in Washington on July 31 and August 1 this year, the official said.

Following the first round, the global lender had also issued a factsheet giving its stated position on the IWT under which India is allowed to construct hydroelectric facilities on the shared Indo-Pak rivers.

As per the IWT provisions, India does not require any approval or clearance from third party for constructing projects such as Kishenganga on the Western Rivers.

The World Bank had also maintained that the first round discussions were held in a spirit of "goodwill and cooperation".

Pakistan had approached the World Bank last year, raising concerns over the designs of Ratle (850 MW) and Kishenganga (330 MW) hydroelectricity projects located in Jammu and Kashmir.

It demanded that the World Bank, which is the mediator between the two countries under the 57-year-old water sharing pact, set up a court of arbitration to look into its concerns.

On the other hand, India asked for appointment of a neutral expert to look at the issues, contending the concerns Pakistan raised were "technical" ones.

Following this, the international lender had in November 2016 initiated two simultaneous processes--for appointing neutral expert and establishment of court of arbitration--to look at technical differences between the two countries in connection with the project.

The simultaneous processes, however, were halted after India objected to it.

After that, representatives of the World Bank held talks with India and Pakistan separately to find a way out. The first and the upcoming second round are being considered as part of the same effort by the World Bank.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Indian diaspora in the US has been urged to raise USD 1 million to support relief efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, one of the most destructive storms in American history that killed more than 50 people.

The consul-general of India (CGI) in Houston in Texas, Anupam Ray, urged the community to coordinate their funding.

"The idea is to consolidate the fund-raising efforts of the community and present an aggregated picture," Ray told PTI.

"To show our commitment to, and support of, the greater Houston community, we would like to organise a fundraising effort to support the mayor's fund for Hurricane Harvey Relief and Rebuild Texas Fund by Governor Greg Abbott," he said, adding that they have set a goal to raise USD 1 million.

Harvey which hit the US Gulf coast last week brought the heaviest rainfall in American history, soaking Texas with more than 52 inches and forcing thousands of people out of their homes.

Indian Americans in Houston met at the Indian Consulate after Ray's appeal. Ray explained the two funds set up by the governor will allow the Indian-American community to track their contributions through a code.

He indicated that the idea is to build a strong "Indian brand". The three Indian oil companies with offices in Houston - GAIL, Oil India, and ONGC - had committed USD 10,000 each.

Michael Dell, founder and CEO of Dell Computers, declared he will donate an amount equivalent to what is given to the governor's fund.

Gitesh Desai, president of SEVA International, requested to include his organisation as one of the beneficiaries along with the mayor and the governor's relief funds. The SEVA International had rescued 687 people from the catastrophic flooding brought by Harvey.

Jagdip Ahluwalia of the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce said it would help businesses re-establish. India House, a nonprofit organisation, pledged to raise USD 50,000 for each fund. IACF president-elect Mahesh Wadhwa pledged USD 100,000, with USD 25,000 coming from current president Vanitha Pothuri. Arun Verma of Sri Sita Ram Foundation also pledged USD 10,000.

Qatar's ambassdor to the US, Meshal bin Hamad Al Thani, said the Persian Gulf nation was donating USD 30 million to help people in Texas recover from Harvey.

The United Arab Emirates, pledged USD 10 million to help with local and state recovery efforts.

The donations from Qatar and UAE were announced as the leader of Kuwait, which has been mediating the Qatar crisis, was in Washington discussing the dispute with President Donald Trump and other American officials.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Indian Embassy in the US today opened a round the clock helpline for Indians in need of help in the wake of hurricane Irma, which American officials said could have a catastrophic impact on Florida when it makes landfall there.

"We are keeping sort of minute to minute watch on developments. We have set up hotlines. We are in touch with community leaders in Florida area," Indian Ambassador to US Navtej Sarna told PTI after a review meeting he had on hurricane Irma preparedness.

The hotline number is 202-258-8819.

Sarna also decided to bolster strength of the Indian Consulate in Atlanta, Georgia, with hurricane Irma expected to make landfall on Florida tomorrow morning. Florida comes under the jurisdiction of the Atlanta Consulate.

"We have asked our Consul General in New York (Sandeep Chakravorty) to proceed to Atlanta to lead the support effort," Sarna said.

"Rushing to Atlanta to bolster strength to our Atlanta Consulate for Irma Hurricane," tweeted Chakravorty, as he headed for Atlanta.

The Consulate in Atlanta is fully prepared to assist any evacuees, the Indian Ambassador to the US said.

"We are also ensuring that emergency passport and visa services are available," Sarna said.

Email for emergency visa requests is



visa.Washington@mea.Gov.In.

Notably, Florida is one of the major tourist destination for Indian visitors. August-September are one of the peak season months.

According to 'rand USA', as many as 29 per cent of Indian tourists visit Florida, which along with Hawaii is the third top destination for Indians after New York and California.

In 2016, as many as 1.17 million Indians visited the US and spent a record USD 13.6 billion.

Sarna said the Indian Embassy here is also in touch with the Indian Embassy in Venezuela, France as well as the head office in Delhi "to see how it can (provide) necessary support on this" in the Caribbean island of St Martin, which has been badly damaged as a result of hurricane Irma.

"While our main focus is on Florida, at the same time, we are standing by to assist" St Martin, he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
An Indian-origin engineer in Singapore has been sent to 10 days in prison and banned from driving for five years by a court for negligently causing injuries and eventual death of another motorist.

S N Vasutavan, who turns 70 tomorrow, admitted he made an unauthorised left turn, resulting in the collision of his car with the motorcycle of Muhammad Arafat Baharudin, 19, in May last year, The Straits Times reported.

Arafat subsequently died from multiple injuries.

The charge said Vasutavan, travelling with his family members in the car, failed to keep a proper lookout for other road users while making a left turn into the side road leading to the carpark, according to the Singapore Daily.

He was not supposed to make a left turn as the directional arrows on both centre and leftmost lanes of the road indicated that vehicles were permitted to travel only straight.

Arafat, riding at a speed of 102kmh to 107kmh, was flung off the machine and landed on the side road.

The motorcycle, taking the impact, also hit and injured Chinese nationals Lin Jianan, then 17, and Chen Wei, then 25, who were walking along the walkway.

Vasutavan has had 10 traffic violations between 1994 and 2013. He compounded the offences, which included speeding, careless driving, making an unauthorised U-turn and illegal parking.

His lawyer Ramesh Tiwary said in mitigation that Vasutavan had checked before he filtered left and did not see the motorcyclist. This was because the rider was going at almost double the speed limit, and this affected his ability to stop.

District Judge Diana Haven Ho has allowed Vasutavan to begin his sentence on September 15.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Statement by the Spokesperson on the conflict resolution and reconciliation efforts

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Todays Shushi, Occupied and Cleared of Armenians, is a Real Example of Turkish-Azerbaijani Policy of Ethnic Cleansing of Artsakh

Ookla, the the global leader in internet testing and analysis has awarded Ucom

Sweden will hold the Presidency of the Council of the European Union

Ameriabank: At the Vanguard of Armenia's Banking Sector

STATEMENT OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARTSAKH

SUBSCRIBERS OF UCOMS ALL TIME BEST OFFER TO ENJOY ADDITIONAL BENEFITS

Armenia-Azerbaijan: EU sets up monitoring capacity along the international borders

PACE co-rapporteurs on Armenia concerned by reports of alleged war crimes or inhuman treatment perpetrated by Azerbaijans armed forces

There is still 35% gender pay gap: Sona Ghazaryan

Global Finance Names Ameriabank the Safest Bank in Armenia

Mikayel and Karen Vardanyans provided 136 million AMD support for the overhaul of the Myasnikyan statue, which was in unsafe state of disrepair

Believe me, as a representative of a country which uses the Schengen system very often, it is quite important. Vardanyan

I really look forward to having answers from the Azerbaijani side for these alleged gross human rights violations: Secretary General

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I call on Armenian and Azerbaijani parliamentarians to use this Assembly as an agora of opportunities President Tiny Kox

UCOMS SPECIAL OFFER OF THE UNLIMITED INTERNET IS NOW TERMLESS

There is no place for the death penalty in a State that respects human rights: PACE General Rapporteur

EU and CoE call on two Member States that have not yet acceded to this Protocol  Armenia and Azerbaijan  to do so without delay

An urgent debate requested on "The military hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan".

UCOM AND PES-PES CONTINUE COOPERATION WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF EDUCATIONAL PROJECT

The statement of the meeting between Prime Minister Pashinyan, President Aliyev, President Macron and President Michel of October 6, 2022

Largest Corporate Bond Program at the Securities Market of Armenia Completed Successfully

The statement of the Defender on the video of the execution of Armenian PoWs by the Azerbaijani armed forces

LEVEL UP ONLY FOR STUDENTS: UCOM OFFERS X2 AND X3 MORE INTERNET

STATEMENT BY SECRETARY ANTONY J. BLINKEN

This criminal act is another proof that the Armenophobia policy. Tatoyan

Nikol Pashinyan, Nancy Pelosi discuss a number of issues related to the Armenian-American agenda and regional developments
Four Indian-origin men have pleaded guilty to charges of their involvement in a multi-million USD telephone impersonation fraud and money laundering scheme in the US perpetrated by India-based call centres.

Nisarg Patel, 26, of New Jersey, Dilip Kumar Ramanlal Patel, 30, of Florida and Rajesh Kumar, 39, of Arizona each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit fraud and money laundering offences. The pleas were entered before US district judge David Hittner of the Southern District of Texas.

All three have been in federal custody since they were arrested in October 2016.

In a related case, Dipak Kumar Sankalchand Patel, a resident of Pennsylvania, also pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. He has been in federal custody since his arrest in May this year.

Nisarg, Dilip and Rajesh and 53 others, besides five India-based call centers have been charged for frauding American people through a money laundering scheme in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in the Southern District of Texas in October last year.

According to admissions made in connection with their pleas, the three men and their accomplices perpetrated a complex scheme in which people from from call centers located in Ahmedabad called people living in the US, posing as officials from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Using information obtained from data brokers and other sources, the accused targeted threatened people in the US with arrest, imprisonment, fines or deportation if they did not pay money, which the accused alleged they owed to the US government.

Those who agreed to pay money to the scammers were instructed how to make the payment, including by purchasing stored value cards or wiring money. After the payment, the call centers would immediately turn to a network of "runners" based in the US to liquidate and launder the fraudulently obtained funds.

In connection with his guilty plea, Nisarg admitted that beginning in around June 2013 and continuing through December 2015, he acted as a domestic runner in the criminal scheme, liquidating victim funds for conspirators from India-based call centers and organisational co-defendant 'HGLOBAL'.

He communicated about the fraudulent scheme with various India-based co-defendants via telephone, email and WhatsApp text messaging.

Dilip Kumar admitted that he to had served as a runner, liquidating victim scam funds per the instructions from his accomplices in India, who were running the fake call centres.

He communicated via phone and email in furtherance of the criminal scheme with his India-based associates, including by sending lists of re-loadable card numbers to be activated and loaded with funds siphoned off from the victims.

Kumar also operated as a runner, laundering scam proceeds from reloadable cards and purchasing money orders using those funds in and around south-central Arizona at the direction of both domestic and India-based co-defendants.

He admitted to using fraudulent identification documents, including drivers' licenses, to receive wire transfers of money directly from victims of the fraud scheme.
The Iraqi air force and the US-led coalition have stepped up a campaign of airstrikes on the Islamic State group-held town of Hawija today ahead of a planned ground assault there, according to Iraq's minister of defense.

Also today, the secretary general of the Arab league visited Baghdad to encourage political dialogue with Irbil as Iraq's Kurdish region pushes forward with plans to hold a referendum on independence September 25.

Despite ongoing military operations to clear out the last pockets of territory held by IS, the looming referendum has increased tensions between the central government and the Kurdish region.

"There are large operations underway ahead of the liberation of Hawija and surrounding areas," Iraqi Defense Minister Erfan al-Hayali said, explaining that his forces were working closely with Iraqi Kurdish forces known as the Peshmerga as well as the coalition.

During the operation to retake Iraq's second largest city of Mosul, Iraq's military coordinated attacks with the Kurdish Peshmerga forces. After a grueling nine-month fight Mosul was declared liberated in July.

It is unclear if Iraqi security forces and the Peshmerga will continue to cooperate once the referendum is held.

Last month, the Iraqi military command overseeing the IS fight declared victory in Tal Afar, west of Mosul and announced Hawija, 240 kilometers north of Baghdad, would be the next battle against the extremists.

The stepped-up coalition strikes are targeting IS territory in western Anbar as well as Hawija, said US Army Colonel Ryan Dillon, coalition spokesman.

"Coming off of their victory in Tal Afar (Iraqi security forces) will use a lot of the same techniques," Dillon said. "Simultaneous attacks proved to be very successful as did operations ahead of time to let civilians know what to do."



Defense Minister al-Hayali said his forces began radio broadcasts and leaflet drops on Hawija warning civilians of the planned push.

The United Nations said the operation to retake Tal Afar forced some 20,000 people to flee, according to counts by Iraqi authorities.

When the fight for Hawija begins, the UN estimates some 60,000 people will be impacted.

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The language palette of Priyanka Chopra's Purple Pebble Pictures is all set for new additions - Assamese, Malayalam and Gujarati.

This was revealed by Madhu Chopra, the actor's mother and head of the production company, on the sidelines of the 42nd Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) on Friday.

Speaking exclusively to PTI after the world premiere at TIFF of Purple Pebble's Nepali-language, Sikkim-set film "Pahuna: The Little Visitors", written and directed by debutante Paakhi A Tyrewala, Madhu said, "We are delighted that we will be working with veteran Assamese filmmaker Jahnu Barua next."



Having already produced films in Bhojpuri, Marathi and Punjabi, the banner is now in the process of giving finishing touches to the screenplay of its first Bengali film, "Nalini", which tells the story of a 17-year-old Rabindranath Tagore finding his first love in Maharashtra during a stay there with his elder brother and ICS officer Satyendranath Tagore.

The banner is at the same time finalising plans for films in Malayalam and Gujarati as well, Madhu said.

Regarding the upcoming Barua film, the producer said, "We approached him for a collaboration with us. He asked for some time to make up his mind. He recently gave his go-ahead to the project."



Purple Pebble Pictures, which plans to bankroll at least three films a year on an average, has submitted the script for the Tagore film to the vice-chancellor of Viswa-Bharati University for final vetting.

"The film is about a towering figure and deals with sensitive aspects of his life, so we cannot afford to slip up at all," Madhu, a former Army doctor who now presides over her daughter's film production activities, said.

Tyrewala has showered lavish praise on the production company for its approach.

"I had the desire and confidence that I could direct a film, but the film wouldn't have happened had they not backed me to the hilt. They are hands-on but very non-interfering," she told this correspondent.

At the premiere of "Pahuna", Tyrewala had divulged how a string of Mumbai producers had rejected her script.

She was a woman and a first-time director wanting to make a children's film in Sikkim. Nobody saw any potential in the project until she approached Priyanka.

"She said she would back my film for the very reasons that the others had rejected it," the director said.

"Pahuna" tells the story of three children separated from their parents as the family flees political unrest in Nepal.

They end up in Sikkim and confront their fears and uncertainties with childlike innocence, hope and tenacity.

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In a bid to provide international work experience to its law students, the O P Jindal Global University has launched an initiative which will open several internship opportunities to Indian students in Australia.

The Jindal Global Law School's (JGLS) initiative 'Young Leaders Externship Advancement Programme' (YLEAP) in Australia was launched by the university's Centre for India Australia Studies (CIAS), a press release issued by the university said.

It said the YLEAP allows students to gain valuable international work experience in law firms and government organisations and provides a unique stepping stone for Indian students who are considering a potential career in Australia.

Commenting on the development, JGU Vice Chancellor, C Raj Kumar, said, "As a global university, JGU always strives to provide unique global opportunities to our students. The Australian education system is truly world class and we have close ties with some of the leading global universities based in Australia."



The Law Council of Australia recently recognised the JGLS degree, making it much simpler for its graduate students to become qualified to practice law in Australia, the press note said.

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The Home ministry has received a report from the Karnataka government on the killing of senior journalist Gauri Lankesh by unidentified persons in Bengaluru, an official said.

The state chief secretary in his factual report gave a detailed account of the sensational killing and the follow-up action by the police.

The report also mentioned that the state government had set up a special investigation team to probe the case and find out those involved in the murder of the 55-year-old journalist, the Home ministry official said.

The report came after the ministry asked the Karnataka government to inform it about the details of the incident.

The report was sought after Home Minister Rajnath Singh asked Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba to do so.

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The CBSE today formed a two-member fact finding committee to probe the killing of a seven-year- old student in Gurgaon's Ryan International School and sought a report from its management within two days.

The move by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) comes following outrage among parents after the student was found with his throat slit in the school washroom yesterday.

"A two-member fact finding committee has been set up to enquire into the tragic murder of the student in the school premises. The school has also been asked to submit a report within two days along with the copy of the FIR," a senior board official said.

"V Arun Kumar, principal of Govt Senior Secondary School in Preet Vihar and Kailash Chand, Deputy Commissioner at KVS, have been appointed as the panel members. The panel will have to visit the school within 30 days and submit a report no later than October 16," the official added.

The panel will probe whether the death occurred due to negligence on the part of the school authorities and if the school had adopted all safety measures as per CBSE affiliation bye-laws.

Its report will also dwell on whether the authorities reported the incident to police and the district education officer, besides the circumstances leading to the death of the student.

Earlier today, the acting principal of Ryan International School here was suspended and all the security staff were removed.

Angry parents and locals gathered outside the school premises this morning and protested for over two hours demanding a CBI probe into the gruesome murder while expressing dissatisfaction over the investigation being carried out by the Gurgaon Police.

They also demanded that the school management be booked for the killing of the boy.

The police said the Class II student was allegedly killed by a bus conductor, Ashok Kumar, who also tried to sexually abuse him. The accused was arrested hours after the gruesome murder.

Kumar was today remanded in police custody for three days by the Gurgaon Civil Court.

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-AsiaNet/ -- A comprehensive exhibition where you can watch, listen, and experience.

Korea Energy Agency (Nam-Hoon Kang, president) has announced that "Korea Energy Show 2017" where you can have a panoramic view at one stop of the renewable energy industry in a variety of forms at hall 4-5, KINTEX, Ilsan, is scheduled for September 19 (Tuesday) through 22 (Friday). Photo - https://photos.Prnasia.Com/prnh/20170831/1931383-1-b Korea Energy Show 2016 Opening Ceremony The exhibition, the 37th show sponsored by Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and organized by Korea Energy Agency is the largest and comprehensive exhibition of its kind countrywide, provides a show of an attendant participatory type as well as an exhibition essential to energy businesses. On the occasion of introducing the 37th annual event, over 280 companies, local administrations and other affiliated agencies concerned are expected to participate in the annual event. The exhibition site embraces over 1,000 booths headed by 5 special halls including New and Renewable Energy Hall, ICT Building Energy Hall, Transportation Energy Hall, Overseas Businesses Hall, and Energy Policy Hall. Over 100 buyers from some 16 countries are expected to attend.

At the New and Renewable Energy Hall, one can watch at one stop new and renewable energy technologies which are now receiving recognition worldwide.

Corporations such as Hanwha Energy and Doosan Corporation is scheduled to introduce solar light and fuel cells while at the same time giving consultations on solar energy enterprises such as farming village solar light, miniaturized solar light for the home.

At the ICT building Energy Hall, where companies like LG Electronics Inc., Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., Kyungdong Navien Co.,Ltd., Daeyeol Boiler are housed, attendants can have a first hand look at products such as smart home/building systems, white goods and heating/cooling appliances. At the ultra-mini electric vehicle trial ride space of Transportable Energy Special Hall that houses corporations including Reno-Samsung, Hyundai and Nissan, attendants will be given a chance to have a trial ride on electric vehicles.

At the Overseas Corporation Hall, companies like Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.

(China), Qnergy (U.S.) will be displaying measuring equipment, EMS and so forth. Lastly, local autonomous bodies including Taegu Metropolitan City, Asan City of Choongnam Province are going to introduce Smart cities and energy about self-help to villages at the Energy Policy Hall.

With a variety of accompanying events such as 'employment consultation' to introduce job openings at energy related companies, the "energy film talk concert" featuring introductions about energy used in the movies, as well as special displays, is expected to attract attendants coming from various social strata including students, job seekers, housewives and business concerns looking for a solar light business.

"Arkwave Solutions Korea Co.,Ltd," a participating company, is now developing a highly effective clean boiler by applying ecology-friendly energy technology contributing toward the reduction of green-house gases. As well as supplying to the world market high-efficient heating equipment by utilizing high technology such as a nano thermal coating technology, a nano glass heat generating boiler with a glass heat pipe, an eddy current heat generating boiler using magnet as the best energy-saving product "Any Homes", a manufacturer of electric power saving devices, is expected to introduce "any home saver" at this exhibition. "Any home saver" is a product that offsets harmonic waves of electric appliances and saves energy when plugged into an outlet, thereby saving on electric power consumption up to 20- 30%. The product, which has passed the standard of the "IECEE CB", an international certification system, in 2014, has been selected as the superior invention of the year by the Korean Intellectual Property Office, is now used in industries as well as homes "Hyundai Enersys", have registered 10 patents for 'index hole turbine', a turbine which operates well under low temperature and low pressure, lowering power production costs down to 80% or over. It is leading company in the new energy technology industry importing has acquired the new energy technology unique to the industry is now shipping out small-scale power generating systems of 2000kw in capacity in exports worldwide as well to the domestic market.

Jin-hee, Kang, public relations general manager of Korea Energy Agency, said, "The upcoming Korea energy show is expected to be held as the futuristic energy festival representing the Republic of Korea, with its rich displays and diverse opportunities of export consultation, experiencing events and so forth." She also added that the expectations are high for the event to provide an excellent opportunity to arouse interest in the future energy like energy-saving technologies and policies as the time moves forward to the new energy era.

The Korea energy show 2017 is free of charge for those who have pre-registered via the energy exhibition website. Various gifts will be given to the registrants by a draw. Kdot Co., Ltd



Seonhye Choi



energy@k-dot.Com



tel. +82-2-313-7819



Source: Korea Energy Agency.

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Kulsoom Nawaz, wife of Pakistan's ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif, today underwent a second surgery in London in connection with her throat cancer.

She had undergone her first surgery for early-stage lymphoma last week.

Sharif and his sons -- Hasan and Hussain -- remained in hospital in London during the second surgery. They appealed for prayers and for the fast recovery of Kulsoom.

Although, the ruling PML-N had declared her first surgery successful, doctors have suggested more surgeries. The PML-N also declared today's surgery "successful".

Sharif, who was supposed to return last Friday, has extended his stay because of the condition of his wife.

"Nawaz Sharif will only return after his wife's health improves," Senator Pervaiz Rashid, a close aide of Sharif, said.

"Mian Sahib will wait for some more reports before deciding about his date of return to Pakistan," Rashid said.

Rashid, however, rejected rumours that Sharif may not return to Pakistan to face corruption and money laundering cases against him in the accountability court.

"Mr Sharif will face the accountability like he did in the past and he will return soon after the recovery of his wife," Rashid said.

Asked about the Sharif family members' obtaining American visas, Rashid said, "The Sharif family members had only obtained the US visas in connection with Kulsoom's treatment. Nawaz Sharif has no plans to leave for America."



Sharif left for London on August 30 to see his ailing wife who has been diagnosed with early-stage lymphoma. The Sharif family, quoting doctors, had said "her cancer is curable".

Kulsoom is the PML-N's candidate for Lahore's NA-120 by- poll scheduled to be held on September 17. Her daughter Maryam is running her election campaign. Maryam chose to stay in Pakistan to run Kulsoom's election campaign.

According to the PML-N, Kulsoom had not been well for quite sometime but Sharif preferred to pitch her on his constituency making her a possible candidate for the prime minister's slot.

The seat fell vacant after Supreme Court disqualified Sharif on July 28 in Panama Papers case.

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Activists of the CPI(M) and CPI held a protest near the venue of the meeting here on Saturday.

Led by CPI leader K Narayana, slogan-shouting Left activists were stopped by the police when they were walking towards the Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC), where the meeting is being held.

They were whisked away in a van, the police said.

Narayana demanded that common man be given relief under the new tax regime, which came into force on July 1.

Some other Left leaders said the GST (Goods and Services Tax) imposed on weavers should be removed.

The 21st meeting of the is being held here to discuss technology glitches in GSTN portal, imposition of higher cess on luxury and SUV cars and reduction of tax rates on about two dozen items.

The high-powered council, which is responsible for implementation and regulation of GST, comprises state finance ministers and is headed by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

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Indian automobile giant Mahindra USA has pledged to contribute USD 1.5 million for relief, recovery and rebuilding efforts in Texas and Louisiana states where hurricane Harvey has wreaked havoc, the company said today.

The Houston-based entity, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mumbai-headquartered Mahindra group, has provided tractors and utility vehicles to dealers for immediate use in rebuilding efforts.

The company is supporting the Greater Houston Community Foundation and the American Red Cross which are directing funds to benefit the areas impacted by Harvey.

The combined donation of cash, services and equipment will be USD 1.5 million in relief for the cities and counties.

According to the company's CMO/VP Strategic Planning, Cleo Franklin, "Equipment is immediately available to government entities, companies and customers to ease the burden of access to a larger fleet for clean-up efforts".

"As a Houston-based company, our employees and dealers have been directly impacted by Harvey. We are saddened to see the devastation left behind, not only in our community, but throughout the region and our sympathies are with the storm victims.

"Mahindra is focused on the recovery and rebuilding process to help our neighbours and friends rise from this storm stronger than ever," said Franklin.

Stephanie Thurman, Director of Human Resources, Mahindra NorthAmerica said: "Mahindra employees are personally involved in the recovery efforts through this company initiative as well as working in their affected communities to offer assistance in whatever way they are able".

Mahindra NorthAmerica (MNA) is part of Mahindra Group's Automotive and Farm Sector.

The company, which began selling tractors in the US in 1994, has seven distribution points in North America.

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Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita today inaugurated the headquarters for a planned five- nation force to combat jihadists in the Sahel region, officials who attended the ceremony told AFP.

The HQ is located in central Mali at Sevare, about 10 kilometres east of Mopti, in a region that has been hit by a wave of terror attacks in recent months.

The five-battalion, 5,000-strong force, decided at a summit in Bamako on July 2, is to comprise troops from Niger, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Burkina Faso.

It has an annual budget of about USD 496 million a year, although so far only about USD 127 million has been pledged. The participating countries rank among the poorest nations in the world.

A plan seen by AFP today calls for the first battalion to be operational this month, and in October "cross-border operations will take place in the tri-frontier zone" shared by Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso.

France, which has 4,000 troops serving across the Sahel region with a counter-terror mandate, is a major backer of the initiative.

French President Emmanuel Macron has been pitching for support from other European nations, especially Germany.

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A 34-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly killing an elderly woman in west Delhi's Khyala, the police said today.

They said the accused, Subhash, had worn the septuagenarian's clothes after killing her as his clothes were blood-stained.

Eyewitnesses had informed the police about it and CCTV footage also showed the man fleeing from the area wearing a salwar-kameez, they added.

He is a drug addict and is currently unemployed, the police said.

The incident came to light on the morning of September 7.

Laxmi Devi lived alone as her husband had passed away 30 years ago. Her nephew, Vinod Kumar, had informed the police about her killing.

The house was found to be ransacked.

After receiving a tip-off, the police arrested the accused from near BR Ambedakar Chaupal in Karala Village, the police said.

During interrogation, he said that he had gone to the house to rob her. However, he got scared that she would reveal his identity and so he stabbed her multiple times with a poker used for crushing ice and robbed some valuables, the police said.

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A Chandigarh policeman was suspended for allegedly slapping a man who filmed him talking on the phone while riding a bike.

A video of head constable Surinder Singh slapping the local went viral on social media. He was allegedly not even wearing his helmet properly.

When the local pointed out the traffic violation, the cop allegedly slapped him. The incident took place yesterday at the Sector 36/37 dividing road here.

Former union minister and Congress leader Manish Tiwari sought action against the policemean while uploading the video on his twitter handle.

"-@IG_CHANDIGARH -DGP Chandigarh Tejinder LUTHRA ji if video in this tweet is true plz suspend this police official for assaulting a Citizen,"(sic) Tiwari wrote.

Chandigarh police SSP Traffic Shashank Anand said the head constable has been suspended for misconduct and violating traffic norms.

He was also challaned for not wearing his helmet properly and speaking on the phone while driving, the SSP said.

The driving license of the cop has been seized and it will be sent to the transport and licensing authority for suspension for three months, he said.

The head constable was posted in the security wing of the Chandigarh police.

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A 22-year-old civilian was today injured in a ceasefire violation by the Pakistani Army along the Line of Control in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, the police said.

The Pakistani troops opened fire from heavy weapons and mortars from across the border in Debraj, Krishna Ghati and Ishapur in Mendhar sector starting at around 10.30 am, prompting retaliation by Indian troops guarding the border, a police official said.

The latest ceasefire violation coincides with Home Minister Rajnath Singh's four-day visit to the state.

The civilian, Mohammad Younis, was injured when a shell exploded in his village in Balnoi sector this morning. A buffalo was also killed and a house damaged in the shelling, the official said.

The exchange of fire was continuing between the two sides when the reports last came in, he said.

Today's firing comes barely two days after Pakistani troop targeted a forward post along the LoC in Poonch, injuring two Army porters.

The firing on September 7 lasted only for 10 minutes.

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The External Affairs Ministry said today that it was monitoring the situation and communicating with the Indian diaspora in the US, Venezuela, France and the Netherlands in the wake of deadly Hurricane Irma.

The ministry's spokesman Raveesh Kumar said the Indian missions in the four countries were in touch with local government officials to provide assistance to the affected Indians.

"Our missions in Venezuela, the Netherlands, France and the US are constantly monitoring the situation following destruction due to hurricane Irma. They are in constant touch with the Indian diaspora affected by Irma and with local government officials to provide all possible assistance," Kumar said in a series of tweets.

Irma, a category 5 hurricane with winds swirling at 260 kilometres per hour, barrelled towards Florida after making landfall in Cuba's Camaguey Archipelago. It killed at least 19 people and damaged thousands of homes on the Caribbean islands.

France said at least 10 people have been killed across its Caribbean territories with seven more missing. Two people died on the Dutch side of the Saint Martin island.

The External Affairs Ministry spokesman tweeted telephone numbers for Indians to contact in case of emergency: Embassy of India, Venezuela (+58 4241951854/4142214721); Netherlands (+31247247247); France (0800000971).

The Indian embassy in the Netherlands tweeted that they were in touch with the Dutch government.

The Indian embassy in Caracas in Venezuela was also monitoring the situation in Saint Martin and "coordinating the welfare of all Indians living there.

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Amid the sounds of snare drums, saxophones and sobbing, Mexicans today began mourning some of the 66 dead after a one-two punch from a monster earthquake and a Gulf coast hurricane.

Hardest hit was Juchitan, a Oaxaca state city where 36 people died when the magnitude 8.1 quake toppled buildings.

Slow-moving funeral processions converged on one of Juchitan's cemeteries from all directions today sometimes causing temporary gridlock when they encountered each other at intersections.

The cemetery swelled with mourners and noisy serenades for the dead. Pallbearers carried the caskets around rubble the quake had knocked from the simple concrete crypts.

Jittery amid continued aftershocks, friends and relatives of the deceased had hushed conversations in the Zapotec language as they stood under umbrellas for shade from the beating sun.

Paulo Cesar Escamilla Matus and his family held a memorial service for his mother, Reynalda Matus Martinez, in the living room of her home, where relatives quietly wept beside her body.

The 64-year-old woman was working the night shift at a neighborhood pharmacy when the quake struck Thursday night, collapsing the building.

"All the weight of the second floor fell on top of her," said her son, who rushed to the building and found her under rubble.

He and neighbors tried to dig her out, but weren't able to recover her body until the next morning when civil defense workers brought a backhoe that could lift what had trapped her.

Fearful of crime, the pharmacy kept its doors locked, and Escamilla Matus wondered if that had cost his mother the time she needed to escape.

Scenes of mourning were repeated over and over again in Juchitan, where a third of the city's homes collapsed or were uninhabitable, President Enrique Pena Nieto said late yesterday in an interview with the Televisa network. Part of the city hall collapsed.

The remains of brick walls and clay tile roofs cluttered streets as families dragged mattresses onto sidewalks to spend a second anxious night sleeping outdoors.

Some were newly homeless, while others feared further aftershocks could topple their cracked adobe dwellings.

Rescuers searched for survivors with sniffer dogs and used heavy machinery at the main square to pull rubble away from city hall, where a missing police officer was believed to be inside.

The city's civil defense coordinator, Jose Antonio Marin Lopez, said similar searches had been going on all over the area.

Teams found bodies in the rubble, but the highlight was pulling four people, including two children, alive from the completely collapsed Hotel Del Rio, where one woman died.

"The priority continues to be the people," Marin said.

Larissa Garcia Ruiz was grateful to escape with only a broken arm when her house collapsed as she and her family slept.

"I only woke up when I heard screaming," said the 24- year-old cradling her wrapped arm.

Her mother managed to just push the daughters and her blind husband through the back doorway before a massive section of thick wall fell, trapping her.

As Larissa tried to help rescue her mother, another piece of rubble fell, breaking her arm. Other relatives and friends finally managed to release the trapped woman.

All around them people yelled for help that night. "Nobody helped us," her sister Vicenta said. "Everybody got out as best they could."



In addition to the deaths in Juchitan, nine other people died in Oaxaca, while twenty-five people were killed by the quake in neighboring states. Two others died in a mudslide in the Gulf coast state of Veracruz after Hurricane Katia hit late yesterday.

Pena Nieto said authorities were working to re-establish supplies of water and food and provide medical attention to those who need it. He vowed the government would help rebuild.

Power was cut at least briefly to more than 1.8 million people due to the quake, and authorities closed schools in at least 11 states to check them for safety.

The Interior Department reported that 428 homes were destroyed and 1,700 were damaged just in Chiapas, the state closest to the epicenter.

Just one day later, Hurricane Katia hit land north of Tecolutla in Veracruz state, pelting the region with intense rains and maximum sustained winds of 120 kmph.

Veracruz Governor Miguel Angel Yunes said two people died in a mudslide related to the storm, and he said some rivers had risen to near flood stage, but there were no reports of major damage.

Veracruz and neighboring Puebla states evacuated more than 4,000 people ahead of the storm's arrival.

The Hurricane Center said Katia could still bring 7.5 to 15 centimeters of additional rain 25 to 37 centimeters to a region with a history of deadly mudslides and flooding.

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Militants today opened fire on a police party in south Kashmir's Anantnag district, killing a cop, police said.

Militants attacked the police team near Anantnag bus attack. They fired indiscriminately on them, killing a policeman, a police official said.

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The Civil Hospital in Nashik, Maharashtra, where 55 infants died in the last one month, would soon get more funds and incubators, Maharashtra health minister Dr Deepak Sawant said today.

Sawant today visited the hospital and reviewed the facilities available there. He also sanctioned Rs 21 crore for woman and child section of the hospital.

"The hospital will get five additional incubators," Sawant added.

Hospital authorities had said yesterday that it has 18 incubators.

"Newly-born babies come to the Civil Hospital from places as far as 200 km away. Every year some 28,000 children are admitted to this hospital. Sometimes the figure touches 50,000," he said.

Almost half of the babies admitted to the hospital are born outside, and such babies are more likely to develop bacterial infections, the minister said.

Arrival of "migrant citizens" in the city in April and May also leads to rise in cases of bacterial infection overall, he said.

Fifty-five infants died in the special newborn care unit of the hospital in August, authorities had said yesterday.

Since April, 187 infants have died in the unit, civil surgeon Suresh Jagdale had told PTI.

"Most of these deaths occurred because the infants were brought from private hospitals at a stage where there was little chance of recovery. The deaths were also due to reasons like premature birth and lung weakness," he had said, ruling out possibility of medical negligence.

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The NIA, which has arrested Kashmiri separatists as part of its probe into terror funding, should be allowed to work in a professional manner, Union minister Jitendra Singh said today.

Singh stated this in response to former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah's comments on the arrest of separatist leaders by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) which is investigating terror funding in the valley.

Abdullah had said yesterday that he would accept the NIA raids on separatists as "genuine" only if the probe finds something against them.

"NIA is a professional unit, which runs on certain rules," Minister of State in the PMO Singh said.

"It will be better if we let it work in a professional manner," he said.

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Odisha Governor S C Jamir today said the state has everything for tourists from ancient monuments and temples, beautiful long coastline, exquisite art and craft and naturally blessed diverse flora and fauna.

"The state has everything what it takes to delight eyes and provide well being for the body and peace to mind, offering both physical and spiritual relaxation," Jamir said while addressing the valedictory session of the 33rd IATO Annual Convention here.

He said the tourism industry is regarded as one of the most important and fastest growing industry around the world.

Stating that tourism generates growth and employment across the whole country, Jamir said the travel industry in fact represents a decisive share of the revenue of many small localities.

The air linking to Malaysia has been established and E-visa is definitely a good step in this regard, he said.

Satyajeet Rajan, deputy director general (Tourism), Government of India, Mona Sharma, principal secretary, Tourism, Odisha, Pronab Sarkar, president, IATO, Rajiv Mehra, vice president, Rajeev Kohli, Sr vice president and Lally Mathews, honorary secretary also addressed the gathering.

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To curb malpractices at petrol and gas stations, the government on Saturday said oil marketing companies (OMCs) have agreed to install high-security devices to check refill of fuel and gas.

The deadline for installation of new security devices will be decided next week.

Presently, security devices are installed at petrol and gas stations but have become prone to tampering and manipulation. These devices will be replaced with new ones in view of rising frauds at petrol/gas stations.

"Oil marketing companies have agreed to install high-security devices. The timeline for installation will be decided next week," Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan told reporters at a press conference.

Three devices  Electronic Flow Meters, Tamper-proof Electronic Seals and Pulsar  have been tested by the Legal Metrology Department, a senior Consumer Affairs Ministry official told PTI.

The department has floated tenders for procuring the Electronic Flow Meters and the bids for the other two devices will be issued shortly, he said.

This has been finalised after two months of consultation by both Petroleum and Consumer Affairs Ministries with OMCs.

Already, major OMCs such as Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) have started giving training in different states, he added.
Pakistan today summoned the Myanmar envoy and lodged a strong protest over the ongoing violence against the Rohingya Muslims in the Rakhine state, leading to the exodus of about 270,000 refugees to Bangladesh.

Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua summoned Myanmar's Ambassador to Pakistan U Win Myint and sought effective measures to prevent the recurrence of such violence, providing security to Rohingya Muslims, the Foreign Office said.

She conveyed "a strong protest of the government and people of Pakistan at the ongoing violence against the Rohingya Muslims in the Rakhine state in Myanmar", it said.

Janjua asked for upholding their rights to live and move without fear and discriminations, urgent investigations into recent violence against the Rohingya Muslims and holding accountable those involved in these serious crimes, it said.

She said that as part of a durable settlement of the problem, the swift implementation of the recommendations of the Kofi Annan Commission was emphasised, which include urgent and sustained action to prevent violence, maintain peace, foster reconciliation, assure unhindered humanitarian access and address the issue of citizenship.

The envoy assured the foreign secretary to convey the concerns of the government and people of Pakistan to the Myanmar government, the foreign office added.

According to UN estimates, over 1,000 people may have been killed in the crackdown launched by Myanmar army in Rakhine state. About 270,000 refugees, mostly Rohingya Muslims, have fled to Bangladesh in the last two weeks.
A senior Sri Lankan parliamentarian has proposed setting up of a common memorial in the country to commemorate thousands of Tamils killed during the three- decade-long brutal civil war against the LTTE.

Tamil minority groups in Sri Lanka observe May 18 as the day of commemoration every year, it is the same day when the 30-year-old conflict ended in 2009 with the death of the LTTE leader Velupillai Prabakaran.

Leader of the pro-government Eelam Democratic People's Party (EPDP) Douglas Devananda called for setting up of a war memorial to remember the Tamils who were killed in the conflict.

He said the Sri Lankan government is not against setting up of the memorial.

"It is absolutely vital that we commemorate each and every person who died in the war. This should not be limited to one race or community. Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslim and Burghers were all affected by the war," Ruwan Wijewardene, Sri Lanka's State Minister for Defence said, responding to a private members' motion by Devananda.

Devananda said since a majority of the victims came from north and eastern districts the defence ministry felt that the monument could be constructed at the north central capital of Anuradhapura. The third Friday of May could be kept as the day of commemoration.

The Sinhala majority groups resist such commemorations.

Reacting to the government's willingness to set up a war memorial, Joint Opposition spokesman Ranjith Soysa said that the move would be harmful to reconciliation and peace among communities.

"This would only divide the communities," Soysa said.

According to the government estimates, around 20,000 people are still missing due to various conflicts including the 30-year-long separatist war with Lankan Tamils in the north and east which claimed the lives of at least 100,000 people.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Kerala Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran today claimed the Centre has denied him permission to attend a tourism meet in China without any valid reason, prompting Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who dubbed the incident as "unfortunate", to take up the matter with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

According to the tourism minister's office here, the communication regarding denial of permission for the visit to attend the United Nations World Tourism Organisation meet (UNWTO) in Chengdu between September 11-16 was received yesterday.

Surendran, a minister in the CPI(M)-led LDF government, told PTI that the External Affairs Ministry denied permission to attend the high-profile tourism meet without citing "any valid reason".

"We should know the reason behind denying permission for the China trip. The state government will take up the matter with the PMO. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will bring the issue to the notice of the Prime Minister," he said.

Chief Minister Vijayan termed as "unfortunate and disappointing" the incident.

In a letter to Prime Minister Modi, Vijayan said, "It is unfortunate that a state delegation headed by the minister for tourism has been denied the opportunity to participate in an international forum."



He also asked the prime minister to reconsider the decision of the Union Ministry of External Affairs.

A similar letter was also written to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.

The objective behind the visit was to learn from international experts about developing the tourism sector in Kerala, Vijayan said.

The theme of the tourism meet -- 'Tourism and Sustainable Development Goals - Journey to 2030' -- was relevant and of significant importance as Kerala has been taking several initiatives in this area, he said.

The minister was an invitee to the 22nd session of the General Assembly of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO).

The invitation to the 22nd session of the meet was extended by the Secretary General, UNWTO.

Earlier Surendran alleged that the "only reason could be the narrow politics played by the BJP that resulted in the denial of permission for the trip".

"As of now, the possibility of attending the meet is nil," he added.

According to the tourism minister's office here, the communication denying the permission to attend the meeting was received yesterday.

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Union Railways and Coal minister Piyush Goyal today slammed the Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal alleging that it was indulging in "communalism" by stopping one community from celebrating its religious festival.

"In an attempt to appease a section of the society the (Mamata Banerjee) government is trying to stop one community from celebrating its religious festival. This must stop forthwith," Goyal said when asked about the recent comment of state Education minister Partha Chatterjee that Centre was trying to saffronise education.

"The Modi government has not taken a single step to cause any harm to any section of the society. We believe in equal opportunity for all," he said on the sidelines of a programmme at the IIMC here.

"It is sad that the state government is politicising each and everything," he said.

Goyal said that "Trinamool Congress is losing support and the people in the state are yearning for a change in 2019."



Reacting to the killing of journalist Gauri Lankesh, Goyal said that any person losing his/her life is very sad and hoped that Karnataka government will take necessary steps to book the culprits.

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Pope Francis presided over a tearful act of reconciliation Friday between ex-fighters and victims of Colombia's civil war, urging "truth" and "justice" for victims of the half-century conflict.

Wounded and bereaved civilians and former fighters exchanged words of forgiveness and wept as Francis urged the country to move on from Latin America's longest conflict.

"Throughout this long, difficult, but hopeful process of reconciliation, it is... Indispensable to come to terms with the truth," Francis said in the central town of Villavicencio.

"Truth is an inseparable companion of justice and mercy. Together, they are essential to building peace."



On the third day of his Colombian tour, Francis held a mass followed by a symbolically-charged ceremony of "prayer for national reconciliation."



Visibly moved, the 80-year old Argentine pope heard testimony from Colombians who said they had forgiven their tormentors for their sufferings.

Pastora Mira Garcia spoke of how her father, husband and two children were killed by armed groups in the northwestern Antioquia region.

She recalled caring for a wounded paramilitary fighter who later admitted he was one of those who had tortured and killed her son.

"Now I place this pain and the suffering of thousands of Colombian victims at the feet of the crucified Christ, so that it may be transformed into a blessing and forgiveness to break the cycle of violence," she said.

As Francis led the prayer service later, Garcia wept, seated near another witness, former paramilitary member Deisy Sanchez Rey.

Garcia told AFP afterward that she felt "totally reconciled and able to invite many other people to do the same."



Francis backed the contested peace process that has led to Colombia's biggest rebel group, the FARC, disarming and turning into a political party.

The government pushed the FARC accord through congress despite resistance from critics who said the rebels were getting off too lightly with amnesties and alternative sentences.

A separate official ceasefire has also been clinched with the last active guerrilla group, the ELN.

The conflict erupted in 1964 and drew in leftist guerrillas, right-wing paramilitaries and drug gangs as well as state forces.

FARC leader Rodrigo Londono asked Francis in an open letter Thursday for his "forgiveness for any grief or pain we have caused to the people of Colombia."



At the prayer ceremony, Juan Carlos Murcia, 38, told of his 12 years in the FARC after being recruited as a 16-year- old boy.

He lost his left hand while handling explosives. He now runs a sporting foundation to keep young people away from drugs and violence.

"I ask for forgiveness if at any time I caused pain to a family or a person," he said in an interview.

"Today, I feel proud. My heart has been relieved. I feel an inner peace."



On a wall during the reconciliation prayers hung a mutilated Christ effigy that was all but destroyed by a deadly FARC bombing in the western town of Bojaya in 2002.

During the ceremony, Luz Dary Landazury recalled nearly losing a leg from a landmine laid by guerrillas.

She now works to protect people from landmines left over from the conflict.

She left one of her crutches as an offering to the Bojaya Christ.

Pope Francis was joined in the mass by leaders from indigenous communities stricken by the conflict.

He planted a tree in a gesture of reconciliation and environmental protection.

At the morning mass, Jesus Mario Corrales, 52, said he was dislodged from his land by the FARC in the late 1990s and later also abused by paramilitaries.

The Colombian conflict has left 260,000 people confirmed dead, 60,000 unaccounted for and seven million displaced.

"Besides forgiveness, I want them to return the bones... so we can pray for our relatives," Corrales said.

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Charles, the heir to Britain's throne, today became the longest-serving Prince of Wales in history.

The 68-year-old broke the record of Queen's Victoria's oldest son Albert, who went on to become King Edward VII after holding the title of Prince of Wales for more than 59 years before becoming monarch.

Charles, who turns 69 in November, is already the oldest heir apparent.

However, as Albert - known in the family as Bertie - was made Prince of Wales when he was barely a month old, while Prince Charles was not given the title until July 1958, when he was nine, it has taken until now for him to overtake his great-great-grandfather.

The milestone today came a day after his wife, Camilla - Duchess of Cornwall, named a Royal Navy aircraft carrier after her husband at the ceremony at Rosyth Dockyard, Fife, in Scotland.

"I name this ship Prince of Wales. May God bless her and all who sail in her," she said at the ceremony involving the traditional break of a whisky bottle.

The 65,000-ton carrier, the seventh in the British Navy to be named after the Prince of Wales, is due to start sea trials in 2019.

Clarence House in London is the official residence of the Prince of Wales, but in 2006 his Duchy of Cornwallbought Llwynywermod, a Welsh home for the prince.

The estate near Myddfai, Llandovery in Carmarthenshire, is used by Prince Charles for meetings, receptions and concerts, and as the base for his several yearly visits to Wales, including the annual week of summer engagements, known as Wales Week.

Prince Charles is the 21st Prince of Wales in the current line. Albert Edward was created Prince of Wales on December 8, 1841 when he was just one-month-old.

He acceded to the throne as Edward VII on 22 Jan 1901, meaning he served as Prince of Wales for 59 years, one month and 14 day.

Prince Charles was created Prince of Wales when he was nine years old on July 26, 1958.

He has now held the title for 59 years, one month and 15 days.

The Prince of Wales is historically the title bestowed upon the heir to Britain's throne.

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Engineer-turned-educationist Sonam Wangchuk, who has changed the education landscape of Ladakh, today said private schools cannot be the answer to nation's needs.

"The nation needs masses and government schools are like oceans while private schools are like ponds," Wangchuk, whose education reforms in government schools has been hailed globally, told a CII event here.

"I have often been asked why I did not build a private school and my reply was you could either make a great little pond and raise its level by several metres or you could add on to the water of the ocean. For me the ocean matters more," he said at the interactive session of the CII Eastern Region and Young Indians (Yi) Kolkata Chapter here.

Wangchuk, instrumental in the launch of Operation New Hope in 1994 - a collaboration between the government, village communities and the civil society to bring reforms in the government school system, said it was then decided to work on government schools where common children have to go.

Stating that earlier there was 95 per cent failure rate in board exams, Wangchuk said there is a massive drop in the failure in school board exams courtesy the alternative learning practices and other innovative measures undertaken in the operation.

Wangchuk, the founding director of the Students Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL) who came to the spotlight in 2009, when his story inspired Aamir Khan's character of Phunsukh Wangdu in the film 3 Idiots, said he now has plans of setting up the Himalayan Institute of Alternatives which will have different disciplines - busines, tourism and others.

"The school of business will run real life companies, the school of tourism will run hotels and home stays, the school of environmental studies will have live application labs where students can work together with experts and use their acquired skill in soving natural calamities," he said.

As part of the business module the students can self-finance their education," he said.

The estimated cost for completing first phase of the project was Rs 1.5 crore. Rs one crore received in a global award received by him will be used as seed fund, he added.

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A professor from a college in Mumbai allegedly killed his wife and later attempted suicide at his residence in Kolsewadi in Kalyan.

Sanjay Teli (37) has been admitted to a private hospital at Kalyan and is being treated for the injuries he suffered after he cut veins of his hands and neck in an attempt to end his life, said police PRO Sukhada Narkar.

The professor has been booked under section 302 (murder) of the IPC for killing his wife and further probe was on by the Kolsewadi police of Kalyan division, said police.

The motive behind the killing is still not known as the injured professor is not in a position to speak at present, said Narkar.

It was at around 11.30 am that the professor attacked his wife, Vidya, also 37 who worked with a beauty parlour in the area with a knife and killed her when no one was around. Later he attempted suicide, said police.

The two sons of the couple were not at home at the time of the incident, police added.

Based on the complaint given by the younger son of the couple, who is a student, police have registered the offence against the professor.

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Violent protests broke out atHubballi in north Karnataka against candidates from other states appearing for a bank examination today.

Hundreds of students from Karnataka boycotted the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection-Regional Rural Bank (IBPS RRB) exam and prevented candidates from other states from taking it.

A banking aspirant from Hubballi allegedly attempted suicide by slitting his wrist with a blade, police said.

As the situation spun out of control, police said they resorted to a mild lathicharge to disperse the agitating mob.

A protester said the "outsiders" were taking away opportunities from the Kannadigas, while state-level leaders were tight-lipped over the issue.

She alleged "outsiders" in Grameen Banks not only ignore Kannada, but also impose their language on the Kannada speaking people.

A local activist of Karnataka Rakshana Vedike, a pro-Kannada outfit, alleged the exam had become a platform to demean the local talent and encourage outsiders.

Similar agitations were reported in some other parts of the state too.

Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh chief secretary Dinesh Kumar discussed the issue with his Karnataka counterpart and requested that necessary arrangements be made to ensure safety of Telugu candidates.

Speaking to TV channels in Hubballi, the aggrieved Telugu candidates alleged the locals did not let them write the exam and attacked them.

AP CM N Chandrababu Naidu and his deputy N China Rajappa reviewed the situation in the afternoon.

Rajappa in a statement said "the attack on Telugu candidates was unfortunate".

"We are taking up the issue with the Karnataka and central governments to ensure such attacks do not recur. We will also request the Centre to open examination centres in Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada," he said.

Pradesh Congress Committee president N Raghuveera Reddy also condemned the alleged attack and said he spoke with Karnataka minister Ramalinga Reddy on the issue.

"I asked the Karnataka minister to provide security for Telugu candidates and he assured me that required steps are being taken to prevent such incidents," Raghuveera said in a statement.

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Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi today accused the central government of "condemning" thousands of people to death due to poor health care system in the country.

He blamed the BJP-led NDA for the state of affairs in the public health care system and said ever since it came to power it has reduced the budget for the sector.

"The current government really does not care about health care in the country. That is a fact," he said in a video message in the wake of the deaths of several children in various state-run hospitals.

Gandhi said there is a view in the government, in fact among people, particularly those affluent, that the Indian health care system can be run by private hospitals.

"This is simply a lie," he said, adding, "in a country like India, where most people are poor, one simply cannot do without a public health care system. You simply cannot do away with public hospitals that are effective and efficient. This just will not work."



"You are condemning thousands and thousands of people to death because you do not have a public health care system that works," he said in the video message, posted on his official Twitter handle.

Gandhi also accused the government of spending nowhere near the amount of money required in the sector and said when the Congress-led UPA was in power it spent a lot more to improve the public health care system.

He said every time he has been to Gorakhpur was due to encephalitis problem and categorically told Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the press that there was a problem developing in the hospital, as everybody, including doctors and patients, were complaining. He was apparently referring to the BRD Hospital in Gorakhpur, where several children had died in August.

Responding to criticism by the BJP that he went on a "picnic" when he visited the victims, Gandhi said, "The people who say this, that is how they conceptualise it for themselves. They view any show of empathy, any attempt at understanding people's pain, any attempt at trying to hold hands as a cynical exercise. That is how they think, that is their mind."



He said for him, as a political leader, visiting Gorakhpur when it was in pain, visiting the victim families was an extremely powerful experience.

"I was able to hold their hand and tell them that I am here with you. Much more importantly, they were able to tell me what they faced and they were able to explain to me that the government of India has let them down," he said.

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Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh today interacted with more than 20 delegations from different walks of life on the first day of his four-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir.

Singh, who arrived here in the morning, said he had come with an open mind and was willing to meet anyone who helps the government find solutions to the state's problems.

Officials said around 24 delegations of social, trade, travel and business organisations from the Kashmir Valley called on Singh, whose visit is seen as a follow-up to the prime minister's Independence Day speech in which he had reached out to the people of the region.

Representatives of travel agents, hotels and restaurants owners, and shikara and house boat associations met the minister.

Singh also interacted with delegations representing different communities, including Kashmiri Pandits, Sikhs, Shias, Gujjars, Bakarwals and Paharis.

Fruit growers and self-employed women also met the minister, the officials said.

The delegations apprised Singh of their problems and submitted memoranda to this effect. The meetings lasted more than three hours.

Singh also reviewed progress on the implementation of the Rs 80,000-crore Prime Minister's Development Package for Jammu and Kashmir and directed officials to expedite work.

At a review meeting chaired by the minister, officials said the Centre had already sanctioned Rs 62,599 crore, about 78 per cent of the package amount, and released Rs 22,000 crore.

The meeting was attended by Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, her deputy Nirmal Singh, state chief secretary B B Vyas and officials from the Union Home Ministry here.

"The total cost of 63 projects under the PMDP is Rs 80,068 crore. The project includes assistance for rehabilitation of flood-affected people. Rs 1,200 crore was given for that purpose and the project is complete now," an official said.

The four-laning of the Chenani-Nashri section of the national highway has been completed. The project, which includes the longest road tunnel in India, cost Rs 781 crore.

The PMDP, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 7 November 2015, covers 63 projects pertaining to 15 Union ministries.

The officials said five of the 63 projects have been completed.

Land acquisition for semi-ring roads in Jammu and Srinagar will be completed within two months. The four-laning of the Jammu-Udhampur section of the national highway is nearing completion while 19 road projects costing about Rs 43,000 crore are being implemented in the state, they said.

About Rs 5,810 crore is being invested in the power sector to improve the transmission and distribution network in the state.

Besides, the Central government is supporting the state with an investment of Rs 3,790 crore on the Pakaldul hydroelectric project, the officials said.

For the construction of an AIIMS at Awantipora and Jammu, Rs 2,000 crore each has been made available and an amount of nearly Rs 91 crore released.

Besides, IIT Jammu and IIM Jammu have already started functioning from temporary campuses and the setting up of permanent campuses is underway.

Rs 900 crore was sanctioned for completion of the ongoing health sector projects, the officials said, adding Rs 200 crore had been utilised.

The work on the comprehensive management of the Jhelum was evaluated.

Singh also reviewed the rehabilitation plan for migrants of Jammu, PoK and Kashmiri Pandits.

The minister also assessed the progress made on other developmental projects related to urban development, solar energy, horticulture and tourism.

The chief minister assured the state government's full support in the implementation of the PMDP and on all other fronts, they added.

Earlier in the day, Singh arrived at the Srinagar airport where he was received by Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh and senior officials of the state government.

During his stay, he is likely to meet Governor N N Vohra and top civil administration and security officials.

The officials said the home minister is scheduled to visit Khanabal in south Kashmir's Anantnag district where he will interact with CRPF and police officials.

South Kashmir has been on the boil over the past one-and- a-half-year and has witnessed several encounters between security forces and militants.

Singh will also visit Naushera in Rajouri district and Jammu district during the four-day visit.

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Actor Reese Witherspoon said she is encouraging women to be more ambitious and do away with the stigma surrounding them.

The 41-year-old actor said she believed ambitious women have the power to "change (the) society", reported FemaleFirst.

"A couple of years ago I wrote a speech of Glamour Women of the Year about why ambition in women is considered a dirty word. And we do kind of think, they've done all these studies at Harvard and Colombia about how women who have ambitious qualities are seen as selfish or self-serving, and it's actually completely the opposite.

"Usually they have a mission or a drive to help other people, or accomplish something. So I'm just trying to take the stigma off the word so we can encourage more little girls to be ambitious, because I do think that's how society will change," Witherspoon said on "Good Morning America".

Recently, the "Big Little Lies" actor slammed sexism prevalent in Hollywood, saying big studios are uninterested in making films with "female-driven material".

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With questions being raised about the law and order situation in Congress-ruled Karnataka following journalist Gauri Lankesh's killing, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram today said what is more relevant is who is being targeted.

"Congress may be in government, another party may be in government. (But) People who are being killed are people speaking against religious bigotry, majoritarianism, superstition, religious intolerance. That is the point," he told reporters here.

"Please don't miss the point. You are missing the forest for the trees," he said, answering a slew of questions on the role of the Congress government in Karanataka, which earlier saw the killing of Kannada scholar M M Kalburgi.

Chidambaram acknowledged the Karnataka government's failure to find those who killed Kalburgi more than two years after his assassination.

He, however, said investigation was progressing in the killings of CPI leader Govind Pansare and rationalist Narendra Dabholkar, with the suspected role of right wing 'Sanatan Sanstha' coming under the scanner.

"I think the government of Karnataka must quickly investigate the (Lankesh) case, find the culprits and bring them to justice and the court must quicken the process of trial and pronounce the verdict. That is the only way in which we can restore confidence that people who have a different view will not be killed in this country," he said.

Chidambaram agreed with the concern expressed by celebrated music director A R Rahman over the killing, and said this is not the India which the founding fathers had dreamt of.

He defended Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi's statement that anybody who spoke against the ideology of the BJP and RSS was "pressured, beaten, attacked and even killed".

"He (Rahul) did not say so-and-so killed. His point was that people who speak against extremist, right wing ideology are under threat," Chidambaram said.

He, however, refused to answer questions on his senior party colleague Digvijay Singh's controversial re-tweets about Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he does not follow social media.

On the recent deaths of children in Uttar Pradesh hospitals, he said, "This is the worst publicity India can get."



Even though his party suffered a string of poll reverses, Chidambaram said it should not be written off, but did not answer the question about whether Rahul Gandhi should be made the Congress president.

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Authorities today foiled the plans of separatist leaders Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Mohammad Yasin Malik to hold a protest outside the NIA headquarters in Delhi by taking them in preventive custody.

While Mirwaiz and Geelani have been placed under house arrest, Malik was arrested from his Maisuma residence here late last night and lodged at the Kothibagh police station before being moved to Central Jail, a police official said.

He said Malik, who was arrested on Thursday and shifted to the Central jail, was released yesterday morning.

The separatist trio had announced on Wednesday their plans to visit Delhi today for holding a sit-in outside the NIA headquarters and court arrest against what they termed as vilification of Kashmiri people by the investigating agency.

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BJP president Amit Shah today visited former Gujarat chief minister Keshubhai Patel at his residence in Gandhinagar to condole death of his son Pravin Patel.

Pravin (60) died of cardiac arrest in US today, BJP leaders said.

Shah, who arrived here this evening, went straight to Patel's house on being informed about the demise of his son in the US, BJP spokesperson Harsad Patel said.

Shah condoled the death of his son during the meeting, he said.

Apart from Shah, Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani also condoled the death of Pravin Patel.

"Pravin and I had studied together in Rajkot he was of my age. He has died at a young age. I have spoken to Keshubhai and conveyed my condolences," Rupani told reporters.

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In an inspiring example of grit and courage, the wife of Colonel Santosh Mahadik, who was killed fighting terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir nearly two years back, today joined the army as an officer after 11 months of gruelling training.

38-year-old Swati Mahadik, a mother of two, was commissioned in the Army as an officer in the Army Ordnance Corps.

Her husband Col Mahadik, a recipient of the Sena medal for gallantry, was killed in an anti-terror operation in Kupwara in north Kashmir in November 2015.

He was an officer from the Army's elite 21 Para Special forces and according to his colleagues, he was known for always leading from the front.

Following her husband's footstep, Swati had joined joined the Army's Officers Training Academy (OTA) in October last year.

"Swati Mahadik was today commissined as an officer after she completed her training at the OTA in Chennai," said a senior Army officer, who did not wish to be named.

He said Swati will join the Army Ordnance Corps in Pune.

Another woman -- Nidhi Dubey -- was also commissioned as an officer today. Nidhi had also lost her husband who was a Naik in the Army.

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A Paro-bound Drukair plane, with 68 passengers and crew members on board, was evacuated after the commander received information of smoke being emitted from the aircraft at the airport here today.

All the 61 passengers were deplaned at the tarmac itself through emergency chutes soon after the push back of the aircraft this morning, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport director Atul Dikshit said.

According to an Indian Coast Guard release here, its Commandant K R Arjun and Deputy Commandant Pankaj Mishra, who were at its hanger, saw smoke being emitted from the aircraft soon after it was pushed back for taxiing and alerted the authorities.

Coast Guard officials provided first-aid to approximately 20 passengers with bruises, cuts and sprains, it said.

The Coast Guard rushed its ambulance unit and duty team, and provided assistance to the passengers and the crew and guided them to a safe apron area, the release added.

Subsequently, support team of the Airports Authority of India reached the spot and took over the formalities of evacuating passengers and further necessary clearances.

The airport fire fighting team could not immediately ascertain the cause of the smoke, the airport director said said.

The Airbus A319 had 61 passengers and seven crew members on board, a source said, adding that the aircraft was grounded for further inspection.

Airline officials were not immediately available for comments.

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Three men have been arrested in connection with a robbery-cum-killing case that occurred last month in Seemapuri area of Shahdara, police said today.

On the intervening night of August 29 and 30, the police were informed by one Sagar that three men came to an old woman's house in their neighbourhood for committing a robbery.

After hearing their noise, Sagar's father Suraj Prakash stationed himself outside the woman's house. As his father stood outside the house, two men came out of it carrying guns, the police said.

One of them was wearing a helmet and was also having a black bag in his hand. The helmet-wearing accused shot at Prakash and the other accused fired in the air, they added.

Prakash suffered a bullet injury in his chest and died. Both the accused fled the spot along with their third accomplice who was waiting with a motorcycle, the police said.

The CCTV footages from the area were analysed and it was found that the accused had fled towards Shaheed Nagar. On the basis of CCTV footages, one Wasim was nabbed.

He led the police to his accomplice Bunty on September 7. Subsequently, the third accused, Sohail was arrested yesterday near DLF Mod, new Seemapuri here, the police said.

Sohail is Wasim's brother-in-law. Wasim met Bunty in a Jaipur jail where the duo was lodged in connection with separate cases of snatching around a year ago, the police said.

Wasim and Bunty made a plan to commit crimes in Delhi after getting released from jail. After getting released from jail, Wasim called Bunty to come to Delhi. Wasim, Bunty and Sohail needed money for their personal expenses.

The local associates of Wasim gave him information that an old lady was residing in Old Seemapuri and they hatched a plan to rob her, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Shahdara) Nupur Prasad.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Cyberabad Police today detained three foreign nationals for overstaying in the country and are questioning them, a senior official said.

"They were picked up on charges of overstaying... And are being questioned," Cyberabad Police Commissioner Sandeep Shandilya told PTI.

The police, however, declined to reveal their identity or nationality.

Shandilya dismissed reports in a section of the media that the three persons were detained on "terror charges".

The commissioner said the police seized an Indian passport from one of the detained persons and that it seemed "fake".

A probe is underway, Shandilya said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A day after Congress described the adoption of Tibetan Rehabilitation Policy, 2014 by Arunachal Pradesh government as 'whimsical', BJP today said extension of this policy by the Centre is actually a continuation of one adopted by Congress earlier.

"The Tibetan Rehabilitation Policy, 2014, extended by Narendra Modi government is nothing but a continuation of the existing policy," state BJP senior vice-president Dominic Tadar said in a statement.

The central policy with the Tibetan refugees have been extended by consecutive central governments in the past including the government led by Congress, he said.

Arunachal Pradesh's BJP government decided to adopt the Tibetan Rehabilitation Policy, 2014, in the state last month and there have been protests in the state since then.

State Congress president Takam Sanjoy yesterday said that the decision to adopt the policy was "whimsical" decision to adopt the Policy, 2014, will create a new social disorder in Arunachal Pradesh if implemented.

The guideline of the policy states that Tibetan refugees may be allowed to undertake any economic activity and relevant license or permit may be issued to them, and they are also permitted to take jobs in any field.

Sanjoy said the policy was prepared by the Centre without consulting any state government.

As per a 2009 estimate, 1,10,095 Tibetan refugees are living in 45 settlement areas in different parts of the country including Tenzing Gaon, Miao and Tezu in Arunachal Pradesh, the BJP state president said.

The facilities would extended only to Registration Card Holders as refugees certified by the Central Tibetan Relief Committee (CTRC), Tadar said.

The Government of India consults with the CTRC on regular basis on the problems of Tibetan refugees, he said.

Tadar said the 20-year lease agreements of land for settlement and other businesses are signed only with CTRC and no individual Tibetans can do so.

The settlements of refugees are restricted to only demarcated areas as per lease agreement with the respective state governments which are being regulated by the Centre from time to time with CTRC.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Strongly defending the NEET, over which protests are raging in Tamil Nadu, the state BJP today said it had been formulated as Prime Minister Narendra Modi wanted to help economically poor students pursue medial courses.

Addressing a public meeting of the party here, state unit chief Tamilisai Soundararajan also said BJP would organise demonstrations on September 14 in support of the National Entrance cum Eligibility Test (NEET).

She said it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi who helped poor students pursue medical education and that was the main reason for NEET.

Referring to the meeting organised by the opposition parties led by DMK here against NEET yesterday, she said it was negative politics and would not help in the development of the students' standards.

The state has been witnessing protests against the NEET after Anitha, daughter of a daily wage earner, allegedly committed suicide in Ariyalur district on September 1 reportedly upset over not getting a medical seat.

Attacking the DMK, Soundararajan said though the party was in power for 18 years it could not retrieve Katchatheeu, an islet ceded by India to Sri Lanka in the 1970s', but now it was talking about it.

She assured that Tamil would be made official language if BJP was elected to power in the state.

The BJP leader charged DMK Working President M K Stalin with speaking about love for Tamil for self-gain.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte today issued a stern warning to looters on the storm-ravaged Caribbean island of St Martin, saying police and troops would crack down on pillaging.

"Looters must realise that police and defence personnel are ready to take strong action," he told reporters at a hastily-called press conference.

For the third day running since Hurricane Irma pummelled the island on Wednesday, Rutte held crisis talks with his cabinet to discuss the situation.

Some 70 per cent of all homes have been left badly damaged on the island, which is shared between the Netherlands and France, Interior Minister Ronald Plasterk said.

About 33,000 people live on the southern part which with other Caribbean islands like Aruba and Curacao are part of the kingdom of the Netherlands.

Rutte refused to say what specific orders hundreds of Dutch troops and police had been given to stop the looting.

But he admitted the looting had "not yet been brought under control," adding the "circumstances were complicated."



Some 230 Dutch troops are already on the island, and another 100 will arrive by Monday.

If necessary, another 150 will be deployed to the Caribbean, Rutte said.

Evacuations have begun though. Some 65 people, many of them dialysis patients and other emergency medical cases, have been already taken off the island, most heading for Curacao.

Some communications and power has been restored, and many of the main roads are now passable again.

Once Hurricane Jose has passed later today, the Dutch will try to evacuate others including tourists desperate to flee the ravaged island, Rutte said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
US President Donald Trump has signed a USD 15 billion hurricane relief package passed by Congress, one that also raises the debt ceiling and avoids a looming shutdown by funding government into early December.

Hours earlier the House of Representatives voted 316 to 90 to approve the package, which was the result of an agreement struck between Trump and congressional Democrats in a hurried effort to free up emergency funding after Hurricane Harvey swamped Texas, and as a second monster storm bears down on Florida.

The Senate easily passed the bill Thursday, 80 to 17.

Trump signed the measure yesterday "providing much needed support for storm survivors," White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said on Twitter.

The bill extends US borrowing authority and funds the federal government until December 8, and frees up emergency relief funding just as Florida braces for a direct hit from Hurricane Irma, which has already been blamed for 17 deaths across the Caribbean.

Some Republican conservatives had strongly objected to the deal because they wanted a stand-alone hurricane relief bill unconnected to efforts to raise the federal borrowing limit and keep the government open.

All 90 House members against the measure were Republicans, including four from storm-ravaged Texas.

"Disaster assistance should be considered on its own -- not to advance another agenda," Texas Republican Mac Thornberry said after voting against the package.

House Republican Sean Duffy called the deal "foolish," stressing Trump inadvertently handed Democrats substantial leverage ahead of fiscal debates in December, in large part because Republicans will be pressing ahead at that time with a tax reform bid.

Congress's immediate focus however was funneling sufficient funding to government authorities like the Federal Emergency Management Administration, which has been helping victims of Hurricane Harvey that recently pummeled Texas, and is preparing for devastation in Florida.

House Republican Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, whose Florida district was bracing for a direct Irma impact, expressed her "heartfelt gratitude" to Congress for the aid.

Of the $15.25 billion in relief funding, about half is designated for FEMA's disaster relief fund.

FEMA has burned through much of its funding, due to the scope of Harvey and technical advancements that allow the agency to distribute money more quickly than in previous disasters.

Trump's homeland security advisor Tom Bossert said FEMA was operating at full tilt, "but there will be a break in their operations if they run out of money. That's why that supplemental legislation was so necessary."



With Harvey relief efforts expected to top USD 100 billion, lawmakers and officials agreed that the latest aid should be just a first step in broader federal assistance to come.

"Congress came and stepped up in a bipartisan way," Bossert told reporters at the White House.

"We're going to have to go back I'm sure for additional resources as these storms continue to hurt our states and our citizens," he added.

As Floridians prepared for the storm or evacuated, Trump assured that authorities were ready for Irma.

"It's a really bad one, but we are prepared at the highest level," Trump shouted to reporters as he boarded a helicopter for Camp David, the retreat in Maryland where he will hold a weekend cabinet meeting and monitor the storm.

The National Hurricane Center offered blunt warnings about the "extremely dangerous" storm.

"Irma is likely to make landfall in Florida as a dangerous major hurricane, and will bring life-threatening wind impacts to much of the state regardless of the exact track of the center.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
President Donald Trump has spoken with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey.

The White House says Trump in the call today emphasized the common commitment of the United States and Turkey to work together to increase regional stability.

According to Turkish presidential sources, Erdogan and Trump spoke about the importance of their nations' strategic partnership and bilateral relations.

They also agreed to meet in New York during the U.N. General Assembly.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Two DYFI, the CPI(M)'s youth wing, workers and an RSS activist were injured in two separate incidents of attacks on them allegedly by rival party members in the district, the police said today.

In one of the incidents which occurred last night, the Democratic Youth Federation of India workers were injured when a bomb was hurled at them allegedly by RSS activists while the duo were travelling on a two-wheeler at Thokilagadi Paraparimbil.

The injured have been admitted to Thalassery Co-operative Hospital, the police said.

In the other incident, the RSS worker was injured after he was hacked allegedly by CPI-M workers at Chittariparambu.

He had been admitted to the Indira Gandhi Hospital at Thalassery.

Kannur district, one of the politically sensitive regions of Kerala, has witnessed a series of clashes between CPI-M and RSS-BJPworkers in recent months.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The UK government has set a temporary export bar on the bust of Queen Victoria, valued at around 1.2 million pounds, to prevent it from leaving the country.

The government hopes to find a buyer for the white marble sculpture within Britain to preserve it for display at a UK institution.

"I would be delighted to see this unique piece on display in a UK institution, where the public can enjoy and admire it," said John Glenn, the Minister for Arts.

The bust was commissioned by the Army & Navy Club to celebrate Victoria's Golden Jubilee and was created by Alfred Gilbert, best known for the famous Eros statue at Piccadilly Circus in London, between 1887 and 1889.

The UK's department of culture, media and sport issued the export bar following a recommendation by the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest (RCEWA).

The RCEWA made its recommendation on the grounds of the sculpture's outstanding significance to the study of Gilbert.

"This monumental portrait bust of the Queen-Empress is not only an important icon made at the apogee of British power but a complex and hugely sympathetic image. It is also a tour de force of marble carving, a medium which Gilbert rarely employed," said RCEWA member Lowell Libson.

A decision on the export licence application will be deferred until December 7, which could be extended until April next year if a serious intention to raise funds to purchase it is made at the recommended price of 1.2 million pounds.

Arts minister John Glen said offers from public bodies for less than the recommended price through the private treaty sale arrangements could be considered.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Citing the "dramatic floods" in India and Nepal, UN chief Antonio Guterres has urged nations to commit to the historic Paris deal to address the threats posed by climate change as natural disasters become frequent and more devastating.

Weeks of torrential monsoon rains and catastrophic flooding in India, Nepal and Bangladesh have devastated the lives of millions of children and families.

UNICEF estimates that almost 16 million children and their families are in urgent need of life-saving support. Since mid-August, there have been at least 1,288 reported deaths.

"First of all, climate change today is undeniable. In the US, as in Portugal and other parts of the world, we are seeing heat waves, we are seeing dramatic floods ? Sierra Leone, India, Nepal ? we always had floods in the past but now natural disasters are becoming more frequent, more intense and with more devastating consequences," Guterres said.

He said as deserts are progressing, glaciers diminishing and sea levels starting to rise, it is clearly a threat to humanity.

"To fight it we have today an important instrument ? the Paris Agreement. We need to make sure that all countries commit themselves to that [accord]," he said.

Without naming the US, which has decided to pull out of the climate accord, Guterres said wherever countries are not able to commit to the climate deal at the government level, societies, the business communities and cities should lead the process.

The Paris climate deal aims to prevent the Earth from heating up by 2 degrees Celsius since the start of the industrial age. The US is the second largest emitter of greenhouse gases after China.

"?In this way, we can be able to meet the Paris Agreement, but with an increased ambition because Paris is not enough to be able to contain global warming at the level that is acceptable," he added.

With the world facing the challenges of terrorism, extremism and the refugee crisis, Guterres said the UN must be an instrument for a surge in diplomacy for peace. He said nations must forget their and come together to put an end to these tragic series of crises, violence and conflicts.

"Because these conflicts are also becoming more and more interlinked and more linked to global terrorism. So we need to fight terrorists where they are, but we need to address the root causes of terrorism," he said.

Guterres asserted that there is need for nations to come together to solve conflicts and at the same time build cohesive societies where "people can feel they belong, where they don't feel discriminated [against] and respect human rights, to make sure that terrorist organisations have more and more difficulties recruiting people".

"So we need ? in sustainable development, in human rights and in a peace and security approach ? to combine all the UN instruments in order to be able to defeat terrorism," he added.

Earlier this week, Guterres had said that India, China and the US have experienced the most natural disasters since 1995 as he urged nations to get serious about keeping the ambition high on climate action.

"The United States, followed by China and India, have experienced the most disasters since 1995," Guterres had said, adding that last year alone, 24.2 million people were displaced by sudden-onset disasters ? three times as many as by conflict and violence.

Guterres had said the UN stands ready to support relief efforts in any way possible. He added that the number of natural disasters has nearly quadrupled since 1970.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The United Nations have accused the European Union of "turning a blind eye" to the brutality faced by migrants held in Libya, and urged "serious action" to protect them.

"Some migrants die of thirst, hunger or easily-cured illnesses, some are tortured or beaten to death while working as slave labour, others are just casually murdered," UN human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said yesterday.

Zeid detailed these and other abuses -- including the rape of women "in some cases, every night" -- that hundreds of thousands of migrants are suffering at the hands of authorities in Libyan detention centres in the country.

He said their situation had been "appalling" during dictator Moamer Kadhafi's rule but had turned "diabolical" since his ouster.

Italy and the European Union have been financing, training and providing aid to Libya's coastguard to stop smugglers from taking migrants and refugees in flimsy boats across the Mediterranean to Europe.

Migrants are then sent to detention centres.

The number of migrant arrivals in Italy in July was down dramatically against a year ago, suggesting efforts to train and better equip the North African country's coastguard could already be having an impact.

But Zeid said such efforts -- including the plan by European and African leaders last month to prevent people from crossing the Mediterranean -- are a "failure" because they do not deal with the "human calamity".

His comments echoed those of medical charity Doctors without Borders (MSF) made a day earlier.

MSF president Joanne Liu on Thursday published an open letter describing "the horrific situation" for refugees and migrants in detention centres she visited last week.

Libya's detention of migrants "must be named for what it is: a thriving enterprise of kidnapping, torture and extortion," she wrote in a letter to European governments.

Zeid said he agreed with Liu's assessment.

"I fully support her analysis" and "share her disgust" at what she "describes as the 'cynical complicity' of those who support returning migrants to Libya while turning a blind eye to what is going on there," he said.

He called for "serious action" to protect the migrants, adding: "We should not continue to avert our eyes from this brutal reality".

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary Rajive Kumar today directed officials to run the 'Swachchta Hi Sewa Hai' campaign from September 15 to October 2 and ensure hundred per cent participation of village pradhans, public representatives and common people.

"The officials should review the work regularly and also do adequate planning for the next day. The progress report of daily work should be uploaded on the departmental website to make this campaign a success," Kumar said in a video conference.

"For better execution of the campaign, a nodal officer should be appointed in each block," he added.

The chief secretary also reviewed the work done by officials under Swachh Bharat Mission.

He said that special efforts should be made to reach out to the families of freedom fighters, and special events should be organised under their leadership.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
US-backed fighters launched a new offensive today to oust the Islamic State group from swathes of Syria's eastern Deir Ezzor province, a top commander announced.

The Syrian Democratic Forces are already fighting for IS's de facto capital in Raqa, and they will now aim to clear the jihadists from territory east of the Euphrates River, said Ahmad Abu Khawlah in a statement.

Syrian regime forces are fighting a separate offensive to oust IS from the Deir Ezzor provincial capital.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje today launched the first processed olive tea, produced from the olive plants in Rajasthan.

The 'Olitia' tea has been produced by Olitia Foods Pvt Ltd following an MoU signed between the state government and the company during the Global Rajasthan Agritech Meet 2016.

While launching the tea Raje said this innovative product would earn an international identity to the olive produced by Rajasthan farmers.

She said that the state government's efforts for promoting olive cultivation in Rajasthan started yielding positive outcomes.

The target of doubling farmers' income by 2020 could only be achieved by implementing such innovations, she said.

The chief minister also tasted the olive tea and praised it.

During this, she was shown other agri-processed products being produced in Rajasthan.

She urged for better marketing of such agri-products so that the hard working farmers earn good returns.

State Agriculture Minister Prabhulal Saini said that being an antioxidant and anti-diabetic drink, the olitia tea is very good for health.

He further shared the details of increasing trend of olive production in the state.

Director of Olitia Foods Dharampal Garhwal said this was the world's first processed olive tea, which has been produced in Rajasthan.

Countries like UK, USA and Gulf Countries had shown deep interest into this product, he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced his government will sell oil and other commodities in currencies like the Indian ruppee, Chinese yuan and Japanese yen, in a bid to weather US-imposed sanctions on the embattled country.

"I have decided to start selling oil, gas, gold and all other products that Venezuela sells with new currencies, including the Chinese yuan, the Japanese yen, the Russian ruble, the Indian rupee among others," he said during a television broadcast.

"A economy free from the US imperialist system is possible."



Washington's tough new sanctions on Caracas bar US banks from trading in new bonds issued by the government or the state run oil company PDVSA. The goal is to restrict Venezuela's access to vital bond and equity markets.

The aim is to "deny the Maduro dictatorship a critical source of financing to maintain its illegitimate rule," the White House said.

Maduro railed that they amounted to a financial and economic blockade, as ratings agency Fitch downgraded Venezuela and warned default was now likelier.

The country has to make USD 3.8 billion in debt payments in October and November, while its foreign currency reserves have sunk under USD 10 billion.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A woman allegedly committed suicide after strangulating her 7-year-old twins today in Kharigaon locality of Kalwa as she was reportedly upset due to their sickness, the police said.

The incident took place between 2 pm and 6 pm and the bodies were found by the woman's husband on returning home from work, they said.

He alerted the neighbours who in turn called the police.

"We suspect that the 32-year-old woman strangulated the boys to death and later hanged herself from the ceiling of the house," an official from the Kalwa police station said.

The police recovered a suicide note from the house wherein the woman had said that she was fed up with the children's sickness, the official said.

The family was staying at Anand Vihar housing complex in Kalwa.

The bodies were sent to the government hospital for post- mortem, said the police adding, they are investigating the reasons for the extreme step.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
By Ben Hirschler

MADRID (Reuters) - Two AstraZeneca drugs tackling lung cancer in different ways delivered impressive clinical results on Saturday, helping the British group offset July's big clinical trial setback in the disease.

Particularly notable was the success of the infused immunotherapy medicine Imfinzi in helping non-small cell lung cancer patients with inoperable mid-stage disease that has not spread widely around the body.

Chief Executive Pascal Soriot said it gave AstraZeneca a chance to intervene earlier in lung cancer, distinguishing it from rivals that have made more progress in tackling advanced or metastatic disease.

Results from a large clinical trial showed patients survived on average 16.8 months without their disease worsening when given Imfinzi, against just 5.6 months for those on placebo.

Solange Peters of the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois in Lausanne, who was not involved in the study known as Pacific, told the advantage of more than 11 months provided by Imfinzi was "absolutely amazing".

It is the first medicine to show superior progression-free survival in such patients. These individuals typically receive a combination of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, but only around 15 percent of them are still alive after five years.

Significantly, while there were more reports of toxicity in patients taking Imfinzi, the level of severe problems was similar in both groups.

"What we hear from the experts is that they think this is practice-changing," Soriot told reporters.

AstraZeneca had already said Pacific and another study called Flaura met their pre-defined goals, but the exact scale of the benefits was only disclosed at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) congress in Madrid.

The results were also published online in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Analysts believe using Imfinzi in so-called stage III lung cancer opens up an annual sales opportunity worth around $2 billion. Importantly, AstraZeneca has a lead of two to three years over rivals in this particular area.

HIGHER SALES FORECASTS

Soriot said analyst forecasts were now likely to rise - and the initial stock market reaction was positive, with AstraZeneca shares gaining 2 percent in extended trading after the results were unveiled late on Friday U.S. time.

The stage III market is smaller than for advanced lung cancer, where a combination of Imfinzi and tremelimumab failed to work as hoped in the Mystic trial. That setback wiped $14 billion off AstraZeneca's shares in July.

Early success in Mystic would have given AstraZeneca the chance to establish the first immunotherapy combination in advanced lung cancer, ahead of rivals Bristol-Myers Squibb, Roche and Merck.

But Soriot says early-stage disease - where a cure is potentially possible - is now a big opportunity for AstraZeneca, which is also testing Imfinzi earlier than stage III.

"The early lung cancer population will grow with more cancer screening," he said.

The Flaura trial, meanwhile, demonstrated the ability of AstraZeneca's new pill Tagrisso to hold lung cancer at bay in patients with a certain genetic mutation that is particularly common in Asia.

The study showed Tagrisso, which AstraZeneca has predicted will become a $4 billion-a-year seller, was significantly better than older medicines that act in a similar way.

Patients on Tagrisso went 18.9 months on average before their disease worsened, against 10.2 months for those given either Roche's Tarceva or AstraZeneca's Iressa.

ESMO spokesman Enriqueta Felip of Spain's Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology said Tagrisso's edge over older medicines and its good tolerability meant it should be considered a new first-line treatment option.

AstraZeneca is in discussions with global health authorities about seeking marketing approval to extend the use of Imfinzi and Tagrisso, based on the Pacific and Flaura data.

(Reporting by Ben Hirschler; Editing by Mark Potter and Dale Hudson)

(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 GST Council today met for the 21st time to discuss some of the issues after the implementation of the Goods and Service Tax or GST. During the meet, various states raised the challenges faced by traders and enterprises in registering and filing GST returns.

Jammu and Kashmir Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu came out with an idea to set up a small group of ministers to examine the issue of technical glitch in GST network. This recommendation came after the report that the GSTN software had witnessed some technical glitches after which the last date of filing had to be extended.

Drabu spoke to Business Standard and said: "There are issues with GSTN; there is no doubt about it. But these are transitional and some are operational. We will discuss it with the Council. I would recommend that we set up a small group of ministers to examine and work out a way forward in 2-3 months."

J&K Finance Minister isn't the only person to raise this issue. Ahead of the meet, West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra had also raised the similar concern and asked the Finance Minister to present the white paper on the GST preparedness before the GST council.

According to a PTI report, the Council has extended the last date for filing of sales return or GSTR-1 by a month to October 10.

Telangana Finance Minister E Rajender asked the government to scrap GST on ongoing work contracts. He also advocated for lower GST rate on granite, marble industry and the beedi sector. "Telangana is a new state, and the burden of high tax on some of the state government projects may pose difficulties in terms of revised estimates and budgets," Rajender said ahead of the meeting.

According to reports, Telangana also sought tax relief for some of the public utility projects such as irrigation schemes, state-run schemes which are meant to provide drinking water to every household and a two-bed room housing scheme for the poor.

The council has over the past 10 months ironed out various contentious issues and decided on a four-tier tax structure of 5 per cent, 12 per cent, 18 per cent and 28 per cent.
"The AFP has recently greatly increased the number of dedicated officers in their COCA team from about two or three to nine. This will inevitably lead to a significant increase in the work flowing through to my office.
He said the past several years had been characterised by trying new things: "The last few years have really been about innovation and it's really so interesting as a teacher and as a team of teachers to innovate and create something new and teach in a way that is definitely not mainstream in its methodologies."
THIS WEEK IN CAPE BRETON: Raising the peace flag, reviewing future plans for Centre 200 and more

SYDNEY  During a time of conflict around the world and with racial tensions on the rise in many parts, its clear there are those who want to find a bright, positive light wherever they can. Over the next several days, the YMCA of Cape Breton will ...
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.

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BMW North America has joined forces with ALPINA to create a one-off model to celebrate the BMW Car Club of America.



Called the BMW ALPINA B6 xDrive Gran Coupe BMW CCA Edition, the model features an ALPINA Blue Metallic exterior and a titanium exhaust system with tailpipes that are finished in carbon fiber trim.

Bigger changes occur in the cabin as drivers will find Opal White leather upholstery, piano black trim, and embossed headrests. The car has also been equipped with white contrast stitching and a special BMW CCA Edition inscription on the center console. Rounding out the changes are Opal White piping on the floor mats and a special plaque in the engine compartment.

Like the standard model, the car is equipped with a twin-turbo 4.4-liter V8 engine that develops 600 hp (447 kW) and 590 lb-ft (799 Nm) of torque. It is connected to an eight-speed automatic transmission and an all-wheel drive system that enables the car to accelerate from 060 mph in 3.6 seconds before hitting a top speed of 198 mph (318 km/h).

The standard model has a base price of $124,300 but this particular car will be part of the 2017 BMW CCA raffle.

Video

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Presented at last years Guangzhou Auto Show, the Baojun 510 can now be had with an automated manual transmission.



The China-only small SUV costs less than a new Ford Fiesta in the States, retailing between RMB 68,800 and RMB 75,800, depending on the selected trim, which equals to $10,580-$11,660 at todays exchange rates.

Joining the manual transmission versions, the new model features a 1.5-liter engine, which is married to an automated manual gearbox. The SUV can be equipped with steering wheel paddle shifters, for what the automaker describes as a sporty driving performance, in addition to other amenities.

These include the semi-open panoramic sunroof, automatic air conditioning, heated and folding side mirrors with electronic adjustment, 8-inch LCD screen with smartphone connectivity and reversing camera, keyless entry, push-button start, and cruise control.

On the outside, it retains the look of the Baojun 510 manual, but offering a distinctive styling are the added LED DRLs, while inside it gets black and brown surfaces, and extra sound insulation, which is said to have been applied in 34 different areas.

PHOTO GALLERY
Besides being accused of faking his own kidnapping among other things, Lapo Elkann is also known for his flashy way of transforming cars, including this Tailor Made Ferrari 458 Italia, which used to be his ride.



Purchased new some 7 years ago, the Italian supercar received a camouflage paint scheme, green wheels, camouflage detailing of the calipers, and the replacement of the Scuderia Shields on the front wings with a couple of peace signs.

The engine bay adds more camouflage, as does the interior, which features special two-tone inserts, dark brown leather, and contrasting rosso cavallinos stitched in the headrests.

The grandson of Gianni Agnelli and Fiat heir held on to his Ferrari 458 Italia until 2016, when it was auctioned to raise money for a foundation that researches HIV/AIDS. With Lapo himself in the attendance, this 458 Italia was sold for 1 million ($1.19 million) during the Cannes Film Festival, and the man that purchased it then is now looking to part ways with it.

RM Sothebys have the exotic machine listed for their Ferrari  Leggenda E Passione auction, on September 9, in Modena, Italy, and estimates that it will sell for 250,000-350,000 ($297,582-$416,615). This is significantly more than the new Ferrari 812 Superfast, which can be had new for less than $300,000, depending on the market.

PHOTO GALLERY
Photo: Test of Humanity Route map

Organizers of the annual Test of Humanity mountain bike race in Summerland are hoping for rain this weekend as they prepare for the fundraiser scheduled for Sept. 17.

With the Finlay Creek wildfire burning nearby, and fire hazard still extreme, race director Nic Seaton says they have been following a very cautious fire safety plan as they enter a key weekend.

With generous help from Pentictons Argo Road Maintenance and Quastuco Silviculture, who have provided water trucks, water tanks and fire suppression equipment, we are planning to finish the final preparations in the staging area on Saturday. If the conditions remain stable, or improve over the next week, then we are well equipped to host the event.

More than 300 mountain bikers of all ages and abilities from across Western Canada are expected at the event to support Canadian humanitarian projects in Ethiopia. The trail follows the western ridge of Garnet Valley, where farther north, some properties are under an evacuation alert.

If the Summerland Fire Chief asks us to cancel the event, we will do so right away. We have already notified all our participants that this is a possibility, but everyone is working together to try and make it happen, Seaton said.

Over the past six years, the event has raised over $270,000.
Madison Erhardt

The Kelowna Curling Club is celebrating 75 years this weekend.

"We have an open house this weekend starting Saturday from 1:00 to 4 p.m. It's going to be a spectacular event lots of stuff happening, as well as the beautiful trophies to get your photo taken with, says Kelowna Curling Club, Jock Tyre.

World champions will be attending the event. The banquet on Saturday will feature a guest speaker from TSN, Bryan Mudryk.

"People don't realize that Kelowna is the largest curling club in Canada and it gives an opportunity to celebrate curling in Kelowna. When Kelowna was a small town in 1942 some thought far enough ahead to start planning for curling and here we are 75 years later, Tyre added.

The family friendly event will have free hotdogs on hand as well as a bouncy castle while Mom and Dad can check out the history and silent auction.

As for the next 75 years Tyre says the club is always trying to reach new heights.

"We are planning on renovations all the time, trying to get bigger, better and stronger and we are hoping that in the next few years we will be hosting a Brier," he added.
Photo: Contributed

Organizers of the annual B.C. Thanksgiving Food Drive are hoping to give people a reason to be thankful this year.

The seventh annual food drive is scheduled for Saturday, September 16, and in the days leading up to the collection, volunteers will be dropping grocery bags off at area houses that residents can put items in which will then be given to the Vernon Salvation Army Food Bank.

With the influx of wildfire evacuees this summer, the local food bank has been strained to keep up with demand.

The local food bank is entirely dependent upon the generosity of the donors and volunteers who gather, sort and stock the food that is provided to those who qualify for support, said Uriah Kane, food drive executive co-director.

Last year's BC Thanksgiving Food Drive collected over 428,934 pounds of food for food banks across British Columbia.

Kane said they are hoping to break last year's total of 14,000 pounds of food collected in Vernon.

The food bank has a number of high-priority items it is hoping to collect this year including dry pasta, pasta sauces and canned fruits and vegetables, said Kane.

Volunteers will be collecting the food between 9:30-11:30 a.m. Any food that is not picked up can be dropped off at the Salvation Army House of Hope, 3303-32nd Ave., between 9:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday to Friday.
Photo: RDOS One of the cabins slated for demolition

The Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen is hiring a demolition contractor to tear down several ramshackle structures at the Kennedy Lake Resort south of Princeton.

A request for quotations posted to the district's website states 14 structures are slated for demolition, consisting of a number of poorly maintained seasonal cabins and RV shelters.

Its just the ones that decided not to conform, RDOS Princeton rural Director Bob Coyne said, referring to a court order demanding hundreds of illegal structures built on the property by members of the public take out building permits.

The RDOS has been dealing with the property since 2003, after discovering hundreds of cabins and RV shelters on the 300 acre-property.

Although the site zoning allows 335 structures and RVs on the property, it currently contains more than 400. Most of them are seasonals and owned by people outside the region, with very few people living on the property full-time.

Following the initial crackdown and court order, hundreds of cabin owners became compliant by taking out a building permit or by making changes to their structures.

Its actually looking pretty good out there, theyve come a long ways, Coyne said.

The RDOS has maintained that it has always been a safety issue, with many of the structures prone to collapse.

The demolition contractor will have until Oct. 31 to complete the job.
Photo: Dave Ogilvie

UPDATE: 5:35 p.m.

A man involved in the crash on Highway 97 in West Kelowna on Friday night said no left turner hit any cars, but alleged that a left turner did cause the accident.

He said that a left turner stopped dead in the middle of the road, forcing him to hit the brakes which resulted in him being rear-ended.

The two-car crash occurred at Highway 97 and Elk Road on Sept. 8.

- with files from Colton Davies

ORIGINAL: 6:30 a.m.

Roads were rain-slicked when two cars collided in West Kelowna Friday night.

The vehicles collided at Highway 97 and Elk Road about 10:55 p.m. when a left turner struck a PT Cruiser.

The road was wet, but it had stopped raining at the time.

Police, firefighters and paramedics attended the scene.

Injuries in the crash were minor, and one person was treated in an ambulance.

One southbound lane of the highway was closed for a short time.
Photo: CTV Monday Sept. 11, national leadership candidate Jagmeet Singh will host an event in Penticton at Craft Corner Kitchen.

A pair of events are planned for the South Okanagan to help NDP party faithful elect a new national leader.

A new leader will be selected Sept. 18 and on Sept. 10 at 11:30 a.m., Penticton NDP will host a debate viewing party on the big screen upstairs at the Barley Mill Pub, 2460 Shaha Lake Rd.

Party members, political pundits and those interested in progressive dialogue can take in the debate with the option of a cold beverage or a hot brunch.

Then on Monday Sept. 11, national leadership candidate Jagmeet Singh will host an event in Penticton at Craft Corner Kitchen, 557 Main St., from 4:30-6 p.m.

This is a free, public event that will give locals a chance to share issues that matter to them and hear about Singhs vision for all of Canada.

We are proud to plan events that provide opportunities to start productive dialogues and actively progress issues that need attention in our community, said Tina Lee, president of the Penticton NDP Constituency Association. As a community, we like to be involved in political processes and decision making and were going to create as many spaces for that as possible.
Photo: Martin Weilmeier Storm action on the Peachland waterfront during this spring's flooding crisis in the Okanagan.

Extreme weather events will become more common and more intense in the Okanagan, says a climate expert.

This spring, the Valley saw historic flooding, followed by prolonged heat and dry weather, breaking temperature and low precipitation records.

Weve already seen a 1 C rise in global temperatures and are already seeing the impacts with back-to-back floods and wildfires that are more intense and extreme, Maximilian Kniewagser told the annual general meeting of the Okanagan Basin Water Board.

There are challenges, but we can adapt to a 1 C increase. Its only going to get worse if we get to 2 C, and as a global community we cant adapt beyond 2 C. So thats where mitigation comes in."

Kniewagser is director of the Pembina Institutes B.C. climate policy program. He spoke Friday at the Westbank Lions Community Centre in West Kelowna.

Above 2 C, there will be loss of biodiversity. Food will be scarce. Rich countries will do fine, but the implications for humanity as a whole will be unprecedented... We are standing at an inflection point  a turning point, he added.

Kniewagser said the Okanagan offers great opportunities to be a leader in clean technology innovation, while also providing sustainable resource sector jobs in forestry and agriculture.

The path forward is doable, and our province is in a good place to embrace a clean economy and produce the goods and materials that will be in demand in the changing global economy," he said.

Shaun Reimer, head of public safety and protection with the B.C. Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development, was the point man in this spring's flooding crisis in the Okanagan. He controls the dam in Penticton that lets water out of Okanagan Lake.

He explained how low snowpacks suggested a potential drought this summer, but then unexpected precipitation and warm weather caused stream flows into the lake that exceeded the ability to let water out.

We broke our own records for rainfall and have a new high water mark for the Valley, said water board executive director Anna Warwick Sears. How do you manage around extreme precipitation? There are some things you just cant adapt to, so its important we bring mitigation into the conversation.

"Drought planning, restoring wetlands to hold flood waters, and promoting landscapes that require less water during hot, dry summers  are all forms of adaptation."
Photo: Len Olsen RCMP have confirmed two people died in a fiery crash on Highway 97 Friday morning.

RCMP have confirmed two people died in a fiery crash on Highway 97 Friday morning.

Const. Melissa Wutke said two vehicles collided head on at around 7:30 a.m., killing both drivers.

One of the vehicles burst into flames.

The accident happened northwest of Madeline Lake Road 15 km from Falkland, closing Highway 97 for several hours while police and the BC Coroner Service investigated the scene.

No other persons were involved. The identities of the drivers is being withheld pending next of kin notifications, said Wutke.
Photo: Cecelia Louis-Ralston Wildfire officials assess the K Mountain fire from the air.

The K Mountain fire near Keremeos showed no growth over night.

Justine Hunse, BC Wildfire Service fire information officer, said the fire is still at seven hectares and is showing no aggressive behaviour.

A light rain is also reportedly falling in the area which will boost firefighting efforts.

Hunse said officials are surveying the fire from the air to see if there is any way to safely insert ground crews to battle the blaze.

Fire crews are unable to access the fire on the ground due to the incredibly steep terrain.

Hunse described the fire to be burning almost vertically.

"The way that helicopters drop water and that air tankers drop retardant over a fire, it's not effective in the way that it is when they're unloading over flat surfaces," she said.
Photo: Contributed Hector Padron carries his mattress as evacuees are moved to another building with more bathrooms while sheltering at Florida International University ahead of Hurricane Irma in Miami.

With the window closing fast for anyone wanting to escape, Irma hurtled toward Florida with 125 mph winds Saturday on a projected track that could take it away from Miami and instead give the Tampa area its first direct hit from a major hurricane in nearly a century.

"You need to leave  not tonight, not in an hour, right now," Gov. Rick Scott warned residents in the evacuation zones ahead of the storm's predicted arrival on Sunday morning.

For days, the forecast had made it look as if the Miami metropolitan area of 6 million people on Florida's Atlantic coast could get hit head-on with the catastrophic and long-dreaded Big One.

The swing in the hurricane's projected path overnight caught many on Florida's Gulf coast off guard. By late morning, few businesses in St. Petersburg had put plywood or hurricane shutters on their windows, and some locals groused about the change in the forecast.

"For five days, we were told it was going to be on the east coast, and then 24 hours before it hits, we're now told it's coming up the west coast," said Jeff Beerbohm, a 52-year-old entrepreneur in St. Petersburg. "As usual, the weatherman, I don't know why they're paid."

Tampa has not been struck by a major hurricane since 1921, when its population was about 10,000, National Hurricane Center spokesman Dennis Feltgen said. Now the area has around 3 million people.

The new course threatened everything from Tampa Bay's bustling twin cities of Tampa and St. Petersburg to Naples' mansion- and yacht-lined canals, Sun City Center's sprawling compound of modest retirement homes, and Sanibel Island's shell-filled beaches.

With the new forecast, Pinellas County, home to St. Petersburg, ordered 260,000 people to leave.

Irma has left more than 20 people dead in its wake across the Caribbean, ravaging such resort islands as St. Martin, St. Barts, St. Thomas, Barbuda and Antigua.

The storm weakened slightly in the morning but was expected to pick up strength again before hitting the Sunshine State.
Photo: Google Street View Witnesses said the 27th Street Subway was robbed at around noon.

Witnesses are telling Castanet a Vernon fast-food restaurant was robbed Saturday morning.

Few details are available, but witnesses said the 27th Street Subway was robbed at around noon.

One person said the suspect used pepper spray on store employees.

Castanet will have more information as soon as it becomes available.
Denmark's minority centre-right government doesn't want to accept any refugees this year that come in under a U.N. quota system, an official said Saturday.

The U.N. refugee agency has made deals with countries, including Denmark, to take in a number of refugees each year. Since 1989, Denmark has accepted about 500 such refugees every year.

But now Denmark "doesn't want to commit ourselves," said Integration Minister Inger Stoejberg, considered an immigration hardliner. "I don't believe we have room for quota refugees this year."

Stoejberg said Denmark had received about 56,000 asylum-seekers since 2012 and many of them are expected to try to bring relatives in. She said those already in Denmark should be integrated first.

The anti-immigration Danish People's Party, which backs the government, supports the proposal.

Holger K. Nielsen, a senior member of the small opposition Socialist People's Party, said it was "totally wrong of Stoejberg to close the door to quota refugees," saying she was letting down "the weakest refugees in the world."

No date for a vote in the 179-seat Parliament was set.

Denmark has received about 20,000 asylum-seekers in 2015, a small number compared with its Swedish and German neighbours.

Last year, Stoejberg said the reception of refugees through the UNHCR program had been postponed, saying Danish municipalities should have "a little breathing room to better take care of those who have already arrived."
Photo: File photo The Cariboo Regional District has lifted the evacuation alert for the Kleena Kleene area to all clear.

Effective immediately, the Cariboo Regional District has lifted the evacuation alert for the Kleena Kleene area to all clear.

An evacuation alert or order may need to be reissued as wildfire activity continues in the area, air quality remains poor and additional areas within the CRD remain on evacuation alert or order.

To ensure public safety, stay out of fire affected areas and obey all warning and hazard signs.

Residents are strongly encouraged to register online for the Cariboo Chilcotin Emergency Notification System to receive a text, call or email regarding evacuation alerts and orders.
Photo: Contributed

Surrey RCMP are seeking information after a teenaged girl was attacked in the city centre area Friday night.

Insp. Warren Tyson said police are appealing for any information that may lead to the identity of a possible suspect.

On Sept. 8, at approximately 10:44 p.m., police received a report of a female youth who was on her way home when she was grabbed by an unknown male on 133 Street to the north of Old Yale Road.

The 15-year-old victim managed to free herself from the suspect and run home, said Tyson. Surrey RCMP's general duty members were immediately dispatched to the area. The suspect fled prior to police arrival and has not been located.

The suspect is described as a dark-skinned male, in his 20's, 5'8" tall, 160 pounds and wearing all black clothing.

The victim is physically uninjured, however, she is understandably upset by the incident, said Tyson.

While the investigation is still in its early stages, Surrey RCMP are reminding those walking to remember a few simple steps to heighten their safety, including:

Dont take short cuts. Use main routes and avoid lanes, forested or secluded areas.

Walk with friends when possible.

Trust your instincts and your feelings.

Anyone with more information is asked to contact the Surrey RCMP at 604-599-0502 or Crime Stoppers, to remain anonymous, at 1-800-222-TIPS or www.solvecrime.ca.
Photo: Facebook There has been an outpouring of love for Eclipse the dog after he was found emaciated and lying on the side of a Surrey road.

There has been an outpouring of love for Eclipse the dog after he was found emaciated and lying on the side of a Surrey road.

The fully grown Great Dane was about half the weight he should have been when a Good Samaritan found him and took him to the Surrey Animal Resource Centre.

He was weak, emaciated, with a large, infected mass on his hind leg and was crawling with fleas, said a statement on the SARC Facebook page. This boy eats like hes never seen food in his entire life, making his poor condition that more painful to look at, but giving this deserving dog his meals has become one of our favourite parts of the day.

Eclipse has a long road to recovery in front of him with mounting veterinarian bills which include blood work/urinalysis, long term antibiotics, biopsies and specialists appointments to remove the large mass.

Eclipse will need to gain some weight and clear up the infection before he can have his surgery.

The Surrey Animal Resource Centre is accepting donations to help cover his medical costs. Donations can be made in person or cheques mailed to the Surrey Animal Resource Centre, 17944 Colebrook Road, V3Z 1C1, Surrey, B.C.
Photo: Contributed Police in the Maine city that's home to Stephen King played a prank to coincide with the opening of the horror film It.

Police in the Maine city that's home to Stephen King played a prank to coincide with the opening of the horror film "It," based on King's book.

The police department said Thursday on Facebook that a red balloon was "found" floating near the department's stuffed duck, which has been the department's mascot over the years.

A red balloon is the calling card of Pennywise, the sewer-dwelling, homicidal clown in "It." The book is set in Derry, Maine. King has said the fictionalized town is based on Bangor.

Lt. Tim Cotton joked in the Facebook post that the balloon's discovery was "a little creepy."

He says King says he has "no idea" how the balloon ended up behind the secure doors of the police department.

The feature film "It" opened Friday.
The PM made his remark at a reception for Ivica Dacic, Serbian First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, in Hanoi on September 8th.

Underscoring the importance of his guests visit on the context of Vietnam and Serbia marking the 60th anniversary of relations establishment (1957-2017), Phuc said he believes the visit will help propel bilateral cooperation, particularly in trade to make the economic partnership between the two countries be on a par with their fruitful political ties.

He lauded practical contents discussed at a recent talk between Dacic and Deputy PM and Foreign Minister of Vietnam Pham Binh Minh.





PM Phuc also urged both countries to increase people-people diplomacy and exchange of delegations at different levels, and to boost engagements between their ministries, localities and businesses.

Noting that bilateral trade remains limited at USD25 million in 2016, he stressed the need to assist Vietnamese and Serbian firms in cooperating and studying each others markets.

Vietnam is willing to become a gateway for Serbia to reach Southeast Asian markets, Phuc stated.

For his part, Dacic reported to his guest outcomes of the talks with his Vietnamese counterpart, during which both sides agreed to stimulate trade partnerships.

Considering Vietnam-Serbia relations a longtime and traditional friendship, the diplomat said Serbians, despite geographical distance, want to increase multifaceted affiliations with Vietnamese.

He highlighted the necessity for both countries to support each other and work together at international forums, and to sign more cooperation agreements across sectors.

He proposed the sides improve defence relations and organise more visits of business delegations./.
Deputy Minister Suh Choo-suk highlighted progress in cooperation between Vietnam and the RoK and the two defence ministries.

He said that the RoK is willing to support Vietnam in areas of Vietnams demand such as personnel training, foreign language teaching, overcoming war aftermath, including dioxin detoxification, bomb and mine clearance, and maritime security.

Besides, the RoK side will work closely with Vietnam in cyber security, including the training of experts and sharing of experience, the deputy minister said.

He particularly noted the joint work in peace keeping, with the RoK sharing with Vietnam its experience in the UN peace-keeping activities through the exchanges of delegation and personnel training assistance on the foundation of a cooperation agreement signed in September 2015.





Deputy Minister Vinh said that it is necessary to take a new approach to collaboration to cope with newly-emerging security challenges such as those related to cyber security, genetic modification, biotechnology, robot, and artificial intelligence.

He held that the two countries have built close defence cooperation across many areas.

Especially, the RoK has assisted Vietnam greatly in overcoming war aftermaths. Recently, the country offered USD20 million to Vietnam for bomb and mine clearance in some central localities, he noted.

At the same time, the Vietnam-RoK maritime security affiliation has also been fruitful, contributing to the safeguarding of Vietnams sovereignty and maritime routes in one of the most complicated area in the world.

The RoKs present of three second-hand vessels to the Vietnam Coast Guard has greatly helped with the operation of the force, said Vinh.

Regarding the situation in the Korean Peninsula, he confirmed Vietnams stance of supporting a nuclear weapon-free area, as well as the settlement of issues through peaceful measures in line with international law and with respect for interest of all parties.

The two sides also discussed a number of regional and international matters of shared concern.

The Vietnam-RoK defence policy dialogue at deputy ministerial level is held annually with the first one taking place in 2012.

During his stay in the RoK from September 6th-9th to attend the sixth Seoul Defence Dialogue 2017 and the Vietnam-RoK defence policy dialogue, Deputy Defence Minister Nguyen Chi Vinh paid a courtesy call to RoK Minister of Defence Song Young-moo.

Song Young-moo extended an invitation to visit the RoK to his Vietnamese counterpart Ngo Xuan Lich. He said that the RoK hopes to sign a statement on joint vision on Vietnam-RoK defence cooperation during Lichs visit.

On September 7th, Deputy Minister Vinh led the Vietnamese delegation to attend the sixth Seoul Defence Dialogue 2017 (SDD), which is a multilateral dialogue and cooperation mechanism for discussion of regional and international issues.

The two-day dialogue brought together about 250 defence leaders and policy makers from more than 30 countries worldwide.

Themed Visions for Security Cooperation in the Age of Uncertainty, the four-session dialogue focused on nuclear and missile threats posed by the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) and security on the Korean peninsula; measures to build trust at sea; challenges to cyber security and defence cooperation; new terrorist forms and global cooperation in counterterrorism.

The participants also looked into the fourth industrial revolution, defence science and technology, identities of future wars and defence policy.

As a keynote speaker at the opening ceremony, Australian Defence Minister Marise Payne stressed the significance of maintaining the law-based international order and avoiding the potential of conflicts.

Regarding bilateral defence cooperation between Australia and countries in the region, the minister said Australia has agreed to open English language classes to help Vietnam prepare for peace-keeping operations in South Sudan.

On September 6th, deputy defence ministers of the RoK and ASEAN nations also engaged in a dialogue that looks towards a new Northeast Asia of peace and security.

Addressing the event, RoK Deputy Defence Minister Suh Choo-suk highlighted ASEANs key role in the regions large-scale integration process, contributing to nurturing the practice of dialogue and cooperation between its member countries.

ASEAN has rolled out various multilateral cooperation mechanisms such as the ASEAN 3, the East Asia Summit, the ASEAN Regional Forum and the ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting.

At the end of 2015, the ASEAN Community was formed with a population of 640 million, aiming to raise the groups GDP to USD2.5 trillion in 2025.

Suh Choo Suk noted that three orientations for ASEAN-RoK future cooperation are to ensure sustainable prosperity, increase bilateral exchanges, and maintain a peaceful and secured Northeast Asian region.

Speaking at the meeting, Deputy Defence Minister Nguyen Chi Vinh lauded the RoKs first-time organisation of the dialogue between ASEAN and RoK deputy defence ministers.

The dialogue creates a new communication channel for both sides to strengthen their cooperation toward practical outcomes, he added.

The official stated Vietnam supports the initiative and is willing to join hands to make it a success.

On the sideline of the Seoul Defence Dialogue 2017, Vinh met with his Canadian counterpart Jody Thomas on September 7th.

Vietnam always thinks of Canada as an Asia-Pacific nation and values defence ties with Canada, he said, adding that the ties, however, is yet to meet its full potential.

He asked the Canadian side to boost collaboration with Vietnam, particularly in training Vietnamese officers in English and French to prepare them for UN peacekeeping missions.

Vinh invited Canadian officers to learn the Vietnamese language at universities in Vietnam and study military arts at the National Defence Academy of Vietnam.

He said Vietnam welcomes Canadian naval ships to visit the country for joint search-and-rescue drills and hopes to boost cooperation with Canada concerning air force, cyberspace and alleviation of war consequences.

For her part, Jody Thomas said Canada is committed to promoting peace and security in Asia-Pacific.

Canada will increase its engagements with Vietnam in marine police cooperation, anti-terrorism and humanitarian aid./.


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The event is part of activities marking the 55th founding anniversary of Vietnam-Laos diplomatic relations, 40 years of the signing of the Vietnam-Laos Treaty of Amity and Cooperation, and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of Vietnam-Cambodia ties.

The participants focused on discussions on measures to enhance the efficiency of education among youngsters on traditional friendship and comprehensive cooperation among the three countries, as well as ways to promote connectivity among young entrepreneurs of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.

They also shared experience in supporting youngsters in setting up shop and beginning startups, along with solutions to foster cooperation among the youth of the three countries in volunteer activities for the community and social welfare.

Le Quoc Phong, First Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union Central Committee, said that the youth organisations have shared sound cooperation both bilaterally and multilaterally. They have also coordinated closely at multilateral youth forums such as the ASEAN, ASEAN Plus, the Mekong Sub-region Youth Forum and the World Federation of Democratic Youth.





Nguyen Van Thang, Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union of Hanoi, said that the youth organisations should focus on three major issues: popularising the Party and States policy in encouraging innovative startups; supporting the youth in accessing capital and connecting domestic and foreign startup communities; and providing policy advices in support of young peoples startups.

The Lao delegation suggested that youngsters of the three countries should alternately hold a forum to share experience in startup and attracting investment.

Meanwhile, the Cambodian delegation proposed the formation of a young entrepreneur council of Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos, and an annual forum for young businesspeople to meet and exchange.

In the framework of the conference from September 7th-9th, the participants laid flowers at the statue of President Ho Chi Minh and visited a number of historical sites in Ho Chi Minh city as well as the Vietnam National University - HCM city and the Saigon Hi-Tech Park.

The Vietnam-Lao-Cambodia Youth Cooperation Forum was first held in Vietnam in 2014 as an initiative of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union. The annual forum has been held in turn among the three countries./.
The MoHs Preventive Medicine Department said on September 7th that representatives of the ministry and some institutes recently had a working session with Prof. Scott ONeil from Australias Monash University, who leads the global Eliminate Dengue Program, to discuss the plan.





The department said dengue fever is currently a major public health issue. It has become an epidemic nationwide with tens of thousands of infected cases every year. Notably, in 2017, dengue fever has broken out in many localities and lasted for many months with total cases much higher than the previous years, especially in Hanoi.

The disease is transmitted via Aedes aegypti mosquitoes which are present in almost all localities in the country. Dengue prevention has encountered an array of difficulties since there havent been any vaccines or specific medicine. The key prevention measure is to control mosquitoes.

A promising measure that has been piloted in Tri Nguyen island, the south central province of Khanh Hoa is to infect Aedes aegypti mosquitoes with Wolbachia bacteria and then release them into the environment.

Wolbachia is a natural bacterium present in about 60 percent of insect species, including some mosquitoes. However, it is not usually found in the Aedes aegypti mosquito.

Global scientists succeeded in infecting Aedes aegypti mosquitoes with Wolbachia and proved that this bacterium can curb the growth of dengue, Zika and other viruses inside the mosquito and their transmission to human.

While female mosquitoes with Wolbachia pass this bacterium to following generations, those without Wolbachia are unable to reproduce when they mate with male mosquitoes with the bacterium. Therefore, the long-term effect of the use of Wolbachia will be maintained while the number of mosquitoes will not increase.

The Preventive Medicine Department said the research team of the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology and Australian scientists successfully raised Aedes aegypti mosquitoes with Wolbachia. These mosquitoes were introduced in Tri Nguyen island in two phases, from April to September 2013 and from May to November 2014.

Surveys in recently years showed that while the number of dengue fever cases in Khanh Hoa was very high, there hasnt been any concentrated dengue fever hotbeds in Tri Nguyen island since the last release in 2014. In August 2016, the MoH recognised the safety and effect of Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes and the use of these mosquitoes received support from the local community, the department noted.

The Eliminate Dengue program in Vietnam is asking for permission to pilot the release of Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes in a small mainland area in Nha Trang city from late 2017./.
A convoy carrying Islamic State militants and their families traveling through Lebanon on July 31, 2017, headed for Syria's northwestern province of Idlib, as part of a ceasefire deal between the jihadis and Syria and Hezbollah. (AFP/Getty Images)

BEIRUT  At Russia's request, the U.S. military on Friday called off its surveillance of a convoy of Islamic State fighters that has been stuck in the Syrian desert for the past 10 days, saying it is now up to the Syrian government to resolve its fate.

The decision to withdraw the warplanes that have been circling over the convoy came after Syrian troops advancing through the province of Deir al-Zour passed the point where the convoy is located, leaving it behind Syrian army lines, according to a military statement.

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The convoy became stuck in the no man's land between the frontlines of the Syrian Army and the Islamic State, after the U.S. military bombed the road ahead to prevent it from reaching Islamic State territory in eastern Syria. It had been traveling there from western Syria under the terms of a deal struck between the Islamic State and the Lebanese Hezbollah movement to end fighting along the Lebanese border.

Because Syrian troops are now in control of the area, the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State agreed to a Russian request to halt the surveillance, in the interests of deconflicting the rival Russian- and U.S.-backed efforts to defeat the militants, the statement said.

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The military added that it would continue to try to prevent the militants on board the buses from reaching Iraq.

"The regime's advance past the convoy underlines continued Syrian responsibility for the buses and terrorists. As always, we will do our utmost to ensure that the ISIS terrorists do not move toward the border of our Iraqi partners," said Brig. Gen. Jon Braga, director of operations for the Coalition.

U.S. military officials had previously said that they would not allow the buses to reach any Islamic State controlled area, in Syria or Iraq. It is unclear whether the Syrian advance into the area means the terms of the Hezbollah-brokered deal will now be fulfilled, and the buses will be allowed to proceed to their original destination, the Syrian border town of Bukamal.

The original convoy of 17 buses loaded with Islamic State fighters and their families had already broken up, with six managing to head back into Syrian government territory, and 11 getting stuck after the bombing of the road. The U.S. military did not bomb the convoy itself because of the presence of women and children on board.

There were several reports that some individual fighters managed to escape across the border into Iraq, and Hezbollah said in a statement on Saturday that some buses had made it into to Islamic State territory, without giving details. An official linked to Hezbollah said the number was four.

But the U.S. military said it was sure no buses made it into militant controlled areas. The military also said it killed 85 fighters in the vicinity of the buses who were attempting to escape.

Suzan Haidamous contributed from Washington
Chicago high-rise construction boom is evident on North Wells Street in River North. From left, construction activity transforms a former parking lot, The Gallery on Wells (center), and 640 North Wells. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)

A flock of construction cranes fills the sky. Downtown's population is soaring. The skyline is changing and so is the texture of city life.

A generation ago, West Madison Street was Chicago's Skid Row home to winos and flophouses. It is now a chic strip of sushi joints, cycle studios, preschools and a gourmet ice cream shop. But the architectural fare consists of bland apartment high rises that have drawn complaints of monotony.

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In River North, the old Ed Debevic's, a faux '50s diner best known for gum-snapping, table-dancing waiters and waitresses, is gone, replaced by an eye-grabbing apartment tower whose cantilevered wedges of glass resemble a Jenga game in midstream. Yet that building is an anomaly amid the bland, form-follows-finance high-rises popping up elsewhere in the neighborhood and around the city.

So it goes in The Great Chicago Post-Recession Building Boom. A surge of tall buildings, the vast majority of them housing rental apartments, is creating a densely populated, urban core  call it the Super Loop  that is pushing far beyond the borders of the traditional downtown. But the Super Loop is patently un-super in at least one respect: It lacks a new version of the technological and aesthetic innovations that made Chicago's reputation as the cradle of modern architecture.

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As Mayor Rahm Emanuel prepares to host the second edition of a global architecture biennial that will exhibit cutting-edge design ideas, most of the new high-rises are based on tired commercial formulas. They are merely better versions of the exposed-concrete boxes, stacked atop parking garages, that have marred the blocks west of North Michigan Avenue. They make the leap, in other words, from awful to mediocre.

To be sure, there are exceptions, like the under-construction Vista Tower, by Chicago architect Jeanne Gang, a staggered mountain of glass that will become the city's third tallest building when it is completed in 2020. But the quality of a city's built environment is determined far more by the typical building than the exceptional one. And there are still too many typical buildings that are banal, graceless expressions of architect Cass Gilbert's immortal observation: A skyscraper "is a machine that makes the land pay."

After the recession, a wave of high-rises Projects 12 stories or higher since 2010 Completed

Under construction

Proposed Source: Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat

Consider, though, the bright side of the building boom, which has been overshadowed by the violence wracking parts of Chicago's West and South sides. For city lovers who believe that density, rather than sprawl, is the ideal path to cutting car use, saving energy and halting the effects of climate change, these are, in many ways, the best of times:

Nearly 229,000 people now live in the central area roughly bounded by Lake Michigan on the east, the Stevenson Expressway on the south, Ashland Avenue on the west and North Avenue on the north, according to an analysis of population data done for the Tribune by Chicago-based demographer Rob Paral.

That's an increase, since 1990, of more than 82,000  more than the population of Evanston. Three-quarters of the gain has occurred since 2000 as waves of high-rise residential construction  first primarily condominiums, then, after the recession, chiefly rental apartments  remade the city's core.

Taken by itself, the Super Loop would form Illinois' second-largest city, easily topping No. 2 Aurora, which has about 201,000 residents.

The population surge is mirrored (literally) in the skyline and its myriad glass-sheathed towers. Since 2010, developers here have erected more than 70 high-rises and started construction on at least another 40 citywide  most in the Super Loop, according to figures compiled for the Tribune by the Chicago-based Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, which tracks skyscraper construction worldwide.

Because those figures are limited to structures that are at least 12 stories tall, they actually understate the building boom's impact. On the former site of Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Studios in the West Loop, for example, developer Sterling Bay is erecting a nine-story headquarters for McDonald's Corp. It soars above the old meatpacking houses that give the area its grit and exemplifies, by virtue of its location west of the Kennedy Expressway, how downtown has spread far beyond its longtime borders.

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Where the growth is Projects built, under construction or proposed by neighborhood since 2010 53 River North West Loop South Loop Loop Streeterville North Lakefront Hyde Park Illinois Medical District Milwaukee Ave. Corridor 39 32 25 16 10 10 8 6 53 River North West Loop South Loop Loop Streeterville North Lakefront Hyde Park Illinois Medical District Milwaukee Ave. Corridor 39 32 25 16 10 10 8 6 53 River North West Loop South Loop Loop Streeterville North Lakefront Hyde Park Illinois Medical District Milwaukee Ave. Corridor 39 32 25 16 10 10 8 6 Source: Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. Note: Neighborhoods listed are defined by CTBUH.

The three most active high-rise construction zones are River North, the West Loop and the South Loop. The Loop, birthplace of the skyscraper and still the place where tourists flock for docent-led tours to explore its development, ranks fourth.

Few would have predicted this burst nine years ago, when the Great Recession froze the city's skyline in place and left an embarrassing hole in the ground, still unfilled, on the construction site of the Santiago Calatrava-designed Chicago Spire, which was to be a 2,000-foot-tall, twisting condominium skyscraper.

As the economy has strengthened, developers have moved to capitalize on the demand for city living, particularly among members of the millennial generation. Telltale signs of their presence: stylish, 20-somethings walking tiny dogs, pushing baby strollers and getting around on Divvy bikes.

"It's the re-urbanization of America," said John Lahey, chairman of Solomon Cordwell Buenz, a Chicago-based firm that specializes in residential high-rises.

It's also a shift in the urban map: The once-frayed edges of downtown, home to the poor and working-class, are now the glittering home of the affluent. Rental rates, while less expensive than on the coasts, still leave many priced out. City officials last month proposed a pilot program to generate affordable housing in gentrifying areas of the Near North and Near West sides as well as along Milwaukee Avenue. But changing the trajectory of the marketplace won't be easy.

It is also proving difficult to live up to the legacy of Chicago's past building booms, which in the 1880s produced the first skyscrapers and in the 1960s and 1970s pioneered structural advances that allowed skyscrapers like the 108-story Willis Tower to rise to unprecedented heights. While the city's reputation as a wellspring of innovation derives chiefly from its tall office buildings, its residential towers, such as Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's structurally expressive high-rises at 860 and 880 North Lake Shore Drive, have been equally influential.

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Very little in the pre-Recession building boom lived up to that high standard. West of North Michigan Avenue, in River North, it produced so many exposed-concrete eyesores  boxy residential high-rises stacked above blank-walled parking garagesthat former Mayor Richard M. Daley was forced to pledge in 2002 that there would be "no more ugly buildings."

The new wave of towers isn't ugly, but is it inspiring and innovative? Hardly.

To assess its impact, head to North Wells Street in River North, where three apartment high-rises have transformed an outpost of the fading car culture.

Higher population Population by census tract <1,000 1,000- 1,999 2,000- 4,999 5,000- 9,999 10,000 or more 1990 Detail area Former Cabrini-Green Homes Lakeshore East 2011-15 <1,000 1,000-1,999 2,000-4,999 5,000-9,999 10,000 or more 1990 Former Cabrini-Green Homes Lakeshore East Detail area Chicago 2011-15 Less than 1,000 1,000-1,999 2,000-4,999 5,000-9,999 10,000 or more 1990 2011-15 Detail area Chicago Former Cabrini-Green Homes Lakeshore East Source: Analysis of census data by Rob Paral and Associates. Note that census tracts can change boundaries from census to census.

A Howard Johnson motel bit the dust to make way for the 34-story Exhibit on Superior. A glitzy Planet Hollywood (later a Gino's East), originally adorned with fake metal versions of pink and green searchlights, has been replaced by The Gallery on Wells, a 39-story high-rise. And the theme park-y Ed Debevic's came down for the 23-story 640 North Wells, a glassy eye-grabber.

In contrast to the car-is-king approach of their predecessors, some of these buildings introduce touches of pedestrian-oriented urbanity.

Exhibit on Superior, for example, is set back from Wells, making room for a patch of greenery and restaurant seating that provides much-needed open space. Apartments wrap the perimeter of the tower's parking garage podium, preventing the dreaded blank-walled look. At 640 North Wells, the parking garage is clad in a handsome veneer of porcelain. City officials have encouraged such changes with new regulations and design guidelines.

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"I think there have been quite a few lessons learned" from the pre-Recession building boom, said David Reifman, commissioner of the city's Department of Planning and Development.

Yet you can't legislate good design. The Gallery on Wells, by Loewenberg Architects, is essentially a reprise of the firm's hulking towers set atop parking garages. It's just dressed-up in brick in a weak attempt to relate to the low-rise brick buildings of the nearby gallery district from which it takes its name. Exhibit on Superior, by bKL Architecture, is an ordinary box, albeit with more sophisticated brick tailoring. 640 North Wells, by Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture, at least breaks out of the box with its bold sculptural look.

Alex Milanoski, development chair of the River North Residents Association, a citzens group that monitors new construction, hopes the increased density brought by the new towers will attract new businesses that fill empty storefronts in the area. But the new high-rises, in his view, have made this stretch of Wells "pretty cavernous."

"I appreciate the higher density," Milanoski said, "but it definitely needs to be done in a mindful manner."

Income change Median household income by census tract, in 2015 dollars $30K- $59K $60K- $99K $100K- $119K $120K or more 1990 Detail area Former Cabrini-Green Homes Lakeshore East 2011-15 $30K-$59K $60K-$99K $100K-$119K $120K or more 1990 Former Cabrini-Green Homes Lakeshore East Detail area Chicago 2011-15 Less than $30K $30K-$59K $60K-$99K $100K-$119K $120K or more 1990 2011-15 Detail area Chicago Former Cabrini-Green Homes Lakeshore East Source: Analysis of census data by Rob Paral and Associates. Note that census tracts can change boundaries from census to census.

City officials are trying to strike such a balance in the booming West Loop, which attracts scores of visitors to its Randolph Street restaurant row and Fulton Market district yet is struggling to retain the character that made those areas attractive in the first place. Between 2000 and 2016, the West Loop's population surged to 10,860 from 4,409; the number of housing units skyrocketed to 6,408 from 2,111; and the number of households with children grew to 613 from 234.

Those figures are contained in a draft of West Loop urban design guidelines that the Department of Planning and Development issued last month. The guidelines were prompted, the draft says, by public concerns over a loss of existing character and scale in the West Loop, the density and height of new buildings, the need for access to sunlight, a lack of open space and the monotonous architecture of new developments. In response, the guidelines call for such things as avoiding abrupt changes in height, and building taller and thinner towers to allow more sunlight to penetrate to street level.

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Such an approach can make a significant difference, as illustrated by 1001 S. State St., a 40-story South Loop apartment high-rise by Solomon Cordwell Buenz.

In contrast to a hulking, brick-faced tower across the street, the building's exterior is broken into guitar-like curves, faced in glass and canted at an angle to provide residents views of Willis Tower. Though 1001 South State's base contains a parking garage, it is sliced on a diagonal, opening up a ground-level seating area that brings a shot of street life to a section of the South Loop that lacks the vitality of River North and the West Loop.

Like 640 North Wells, 1001 South State tweaks the tower-on-a-parking-podium formula to good effect. But it remains a marginal shift, not a fundamental one. Elsewhere around the world, architects are exploring bold new paradigms.

High-rise construction in five largest U.S. cities Projects 100-meters or higher from 2010 to 2021, completed, under construction or proposed. New York 181 Chicago 59 Houston 23 22 Los Angeles Philadelphia 10 New York 181 Chicago 59 Houston 23 22 Los Angeles Philadelphia 10 New York 181 Chicago 59 Houston 23 Los Angeles 22 Philadelphia 10 Source: Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat

In Milan, the wide balconies of a two-tower residential complex called the Vertical Forest contain hundreds of trees, as well as thousands of shrubs and plants. The design, by the Boeri Studio, is based on the concept of "biological architecture," which relies on a screen of vegetation, rather than conventional walls and mechanical systems, to filter sunlight, control temperatures and save energy.

In Singapore, a residential complex called Reflections at Keppel Bay links pairs of curving towers with landscaped sky decks that are assembled at ground level and jacked into place at different levels between the high-rises. The design by Studio Libeskind, integrates the decks into its multi-building silhouette  in contrast to the new Chicago high-rises, where recreation decks are typically plopped atop parking garage podiums.

While I haven't seen these buildings firsthand, it's clear that they open new doors with new thinking. Chicago architects are fully capable of such work, as their international projects show. But they often find their overseas clients more receptive to experimentation than the ones they work with here.

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As the 2017 Chicago Architecture Biennial prepares to open, then, the city occupies the unaccustomed position of boasting more innovation in the horizontal realm  evident in the vibrant landscapes of Millennium Park, The 606 trail and the downtown Riverwalk  than in the vertical one. The growth of Chicago's Super Loop is a boon for the city. But the high-rise architecture, while an upgrade from the last building boom, remains underwhelming compared with the heights of technological and aesthetic innovation of the city's past.

The biennial, a showcase for new ideas and architectural talents, is coming at the right time.

bkamin@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @BlairKamin
I walked out to my car on Friday morning, into the mellow light of early September, and just as I was about to open the driver's door, thinking what a peaceful day it was, I stopped.

I stared for a moment, the way you do when you can't quite comprehend that things are not in the expected order. Something was wrong, but what?

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Then I saw.

The rear window on the car's passenger side had been smashed, and the back seat, where I'd made the mistake of leaving my bike overnight because I planned to take it somewhere the next day, was empty.

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I felt a slow burn rising. The gall. The mess. The heartbreak. I'd loved that old yellow bike.

The burn was about to explode into fury when I heard a little voice from the ether.

"Perspective," the voice said. "You are not living through a hurricane."

If a stolen bike and a shattered window were my biggest worries, the voice reminded me, life was not bad.

Even so, I couldn't let the car sit on the street, open to the weather and predators, so I went inside and called a car repair company, which channeled me to a call center in Nevada.

"It's weird, our computer's really slow today," the guy on the phone said. "But the whole world's crazy right now, isn't it? What's that new hurricane? Jose?"

He had hurricanes on his mind, too, and while we waited for the computer system to work, we talked about the storms, along with wildfires in the West, the 8.1 earthquake in Mexico and, in non-weather-related disasters, the Equifax credit hack.

I thought of the emails I'd just traded with a friend who was evacuating Savannah, Ga., as Hurricane Irma bore down; of the recent photo one of my brothers sent me of ash, from a catastrophic nearby wildfire, raining on his Oregon front yard; of photos from a Houston friend who had tried to keep Hurricane Harvey at bay by plugging towels into the window seams.

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I thought, too, of all those young, fully Americanized immigrants who in the past few days, since the president rescinded the order that protected them, have lived in fear of being deported.

Yes, the world seemed crazier than usual, so crazy that I was discussing it with a stranger, and I got the sense that we both were buoyed by the solidarity of talking about it.

And yet he and I were both relatively safe. His biggest fear that day was the Nevada heat. I had no distress more urgent than a violated car.

In the cosmic scheme, we had life easy. What's the proper response to such good fortune? A sigh of relief or a pang of guilt?

Every now and then, a calamity, or convergence of calamities, comes along that makes us feel the whole planet is out of kilter. We're in a moment like that now, and in our virtually connected world, we feel like witnesses to everything, near and far, all the time.

In my Facebook feed, I've watched photos of flooded homes followed by photos of happy vacationing hikers.

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Someone posts in anguish that she can't reach her brother in Houston. Someone else posts a rave review of a restaurant meal.

Meanwhile, someone else chides the happy posters: How dare they display their fun when others are suffering?

A few days ago, a Facebook friend posted that she and her family were having serious problems. Her tone wasn't complaining. It was apologetic. She wanted her Facebook community to know she felt bad that she couldn't engage the big issues for a while.

In our virtual world, we're called upon to live in many places at once. It can be rattling and confusing.

But empathy and social responsibility don't require abandoning our routines or our pleasures, or pretending that we don't have problems too, even if in the big scheme they're small. Paying attention to the world around us doesn't require us to neglect our private worlds.

Shortly after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, someone sent me a poster of a poem by Adam Zagajewski, "Try to Praise the Mutilated World." It doesn't excerpt well, but the final lines are:

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Praise the mutilated world

and the gray feather a thrush lost,

and the gentle light that strays and vanishes

and returns

I keep it tacked up as a reminder that the world is continually mutilated and that one way we help to repair it, and ourselves, one way we maintain perspective, is to keep our eye on the small, good things.

mschmich@chicagotribune.com

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Twitter @MarySchmich
Warning: Contains violence and strong language. On the Far South Side, three people were fatally shot while standing in the street late on Sept. 9, 2017, in Chicago. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune) (Chicago Tribune)

Four people were fatally shot, including a man shot by police, and 22 other people were wounded in separate shootings across Chicago from Saturday morning to early Sunday.

More than half of the shootings took place during a violent six-hour period from 10 p.m. Saturday to 4 a.m. Sunday. That includes a triple homicide in the Roseland neighborhood on the Far South Side.

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About 11:40 p.m. Saturday, the group was standing behind a parked car in the 11400 block of South Yale Avenue when two men came out of a nearby alley and opened fire, police said.

A 26-year-old woman and a 30-year-old woman were each shot multiple times. A 36-year-old man was shot in the neck.

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All three were pronounced dead at 11:59 p.m. at the scene.

The 36-year-old man was identified as Tyson White, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office. The 36-year-old woman was later identified as Jacquell Mosley, of the 11600 South Harvard Avenue, while the other man was identified as Dominic Morris, of the same block where the shooting took place, according to the medical examiner's office.

On the Northwest Side, a Chicago police officer fatally shot a 19-year-old driver after the officer was struck by the car, said Sgt. Al Stinites, a police spokesman.

The police shooting happened just before 1 a.m. Sunday during a traffic stop in the 2200 block of North Laramie Avenue in the Hanson Park neighborhood, police said. The driver was pronounced dead, Stinites said.

The officer was taken in serious condition to an area hospital.

Triple shooting on West Side

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On the West Side, a triple shooting happened shortly before 2 p.m. Saturday in the 300 block of South Campbell Avenue, police said. The victims, two 23-year-old men and a 28-year-old man, were all shot in the leg and taken to Stroger Hospital, where their conditions had stabilized, police said.

About eight police officers were at the scene Saturday afternoon. A spoon was placed upright into a grass lawn to mark where a bullet casing had landed.

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Two cars parked along the block appeared to be hit. There was a bullet hole near one car's rear license plate, and an SUV had a shattered back window.

A group of neighbors crowded outside their building after hearing the gunshots and watched for more than an hour as police investigated. Neighbors said the block is generally has few disturbances.

Other shootings:

Two people were shot about 4 a.m. Sunday while they were outside in the 5400 block of South Wabash Avenue in the Washington Park neighborhood on the South Side. The shooter walked up to them and shot a 31-year-old man in the right leg, police said. A 41-year-old man was also shot in the right leg, and his condition was stabilized at the University of Chicago Medical Center. The younger man's condition was stabilized at Stroger Hospital.

About 4 a.m. on the Northwest Side, a 28-year-old man was shot in the left arm in the 4300 block of West North Avenue in the Hermosa neighborhood, police said. The man was riding a bicycle when someone inside a black SUV shot him in the arm, police said. He was taken in good condition to West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park.

About 2:35 a.m. on the West Side, someone shot a 21-year-old man while he was standing in the 3300 block of West Madison Street in the East Garfield Park neighborhood, police said. He was wounded in the left arm, and his condition was stabilized at Mount Sinai Hospital.

On the West Side, two people were shot about 2:25 a.m. in a drive-by shooting in the 5100 block of West Chicago Avenue in the South Austin neighborhood, police said. They were walking when someone inside a gold van opened fire. A 39-year-old man was shot in the right foot, and a 29-year-old woman was grazed in the left ankle. Both were listed in good condition at West Suburban Medical Center.

About 2:10 a.m. on the West Side, a 27-year-old woman was shot in the left hand while she was inside a gas station in the 100 block of North Western Avenue in the West Town neighborhood, police said. Her condition was stabilized at the University of Chicago Medical Center.

On the Northwest Side about 1:30 a.m., a 29-year-old man was shot in the leg while he was walking to a bus stop in the 2300 block of North Cicero Avenue in the Cragin neighborhood, police said. As the man was walking, a car pulled up and shot at him. The man called a friend who took him to Community First Medical Center, where his condition was stabilized.

Illinois State Police were called to St. Bernard Hospital after a woman who suffered a graze wound in a shooting near 87th Street on the Dan Ryan Expressway sought treatment there, according to a police news release. The 26-year-old woman suffered a graze wound to the head while driving north about 12:25 a.m. while she was driving with a male passenger. Someone in a vehicle the two didn't recognize fired several shots at them, hitting the woman. All traffic was routed off the expressway at 87th Street until 2:55 a.m., according to police.

About 12:10 a.m. on the Northwest Side, a 29-year-old man was seriously wounded in a shooting in the Galewood neighborhood. He was driving in the 2100 block of North Melvina Avenue when someone standing on a sidewalk shot him in the head, police said. He was taken in serious condition to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood.

About 10:10 p.m. Saturday on the West Side, a 27-year-old woman was shot in the left arm during a drive-by shooting in the 4000 block of West Van Buren Street in the West Garfield Park neighborhood, police said. She was standing in a backyard when a dark-colored sedan drove by and someone inside shot at her. Her condition was stabilized at Stroger Hospital.

A 42-year-old man accidentally shot himself in the right leg while he was getting out of a car about 9:35 p.m. in the 11500 block of South State Street in the West Pullman neighborhood. He shot himself when the seatbelt got caught with the gun's holster, causing the gun to go off, police said. The man was taken to Roseland Community Hospital, where his condition was stabilized. The man has a concealed carry permit, police said.

About 7:45 p.m. on the Southwest Side, a 19-year-old man shot himself in the leg while he was in the 8000 block of South Richmond Street in the Wrightwood neighborhood, police said. His condition was stabilized at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn.

About 5:15 p.m. on the Far South Side, two men were wounded in a shooting in the 100 block of East 105th Street in the Rosemoor neighborhood. The men, 40 and 39, were standing near a vehicle when a blue car approached and an occupant fired shots, hitting the older man in the chest and leg and the other man in the back, according to police. The 40-year-old was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in serious condition, and the 39-year-old was taken to Roseland Community Hospital, where his condition had stabilized, police said.

On the West Side, a 16-year-old boy was shot about 4 p.m. in the 5000 block of West Harrison Street in the Austin neighborhood. Earlier, police said the shooting occurred in the 4700 block of West Gladys Avenue. Attackers approached the boy, and at least one of them fired shots, grazing the boy in the arm. After he "relocated" to the Gladys address, where paramedics found him. He was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was listed in good condition, police said.

About 1:45 p.m. on the South Side, a 67-year-old man was shot in the hip and abdomen in the 800 block of East 46th Street in the Bronzeville neighborhood. Earlier, police said the man was 60 and it happened in the 4600 block of South Drexel Boulevard. The 67-year-old was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where his condition had stabilized, police said.

Shortly before 9:30 a.m. on the South Side, a 27-year-old woman was in a parking lot in the 2900 block of South Dearborn Street in the Dearborn Homes neighborhood when she was approached by a man she had dated, police said. The man tried to start a conversation, but when she refused, the 27-year-old man produced a gun and shot the woman in the right shoulder and left hip, police said. The gunman fled but was caught by officers and arrested. The woman was taken to Stroger Hospital, where her condition had stabilized, police said.

About 6:15 a.m. on the South Side, a female victim who was being robbed in the Gresham neighborhood was able to get possession of the gun and shoot the attacker, police said. The shooting happened in the 8000 block of South Ashland Avenue. Police said a man was in custody. Charges were pending.

Check back for updates.

Chicago Tribune reporter Marwa Eltagouri contributed.
UK Ambassador to Vietnam Giles Lever said fighting wildlife trafficking is becoming increasingly important for both the UK and Vietnam.

To protect wild animals and eradicate illegal wildlife products, stronger political commitment is crucial, as is improving the law enforcements capacity and promoting community awareness, he emphasised.

He added Vietnam plays an important role and its cooperation with the UK can help determine solutions and implement them.





Colonel Nguyen Van Chieu, Deputy Director of the external relations department of the Ministry of Public Security, said Vietnam pays attention to protecting biodiversity and wild animals, especially endangered ones. It has joined many international conventions, set up specialised forces such as environmental police, and signed cooperation agreements with customs forces in this field.

He noted on September 6th, customs officers at the Saigon Port Border Gate and anti-smuggling police seized more than 1.34 tonnes of elephant ivory.

At the two-day conference, participants looked into challenges in the fight against the illegal wildlife trade.

Representatives of the UK Border Force, British Airways and Heathrow Airport shared experience in coordinating law enforcement units, airport management agencies and airlines, personnel training, the role of local administrations, and caring for seized wild animals./.
Calvin L. Carter III of Rockford, Ill., was sentenced on Sept. 8, 2017, to four life terms plus 280 years in prison for the 2014 killings of his ex-girlfriend, her two young sons and her boyfriend. (Winnebago County Sheriff's Office)

ROCKFORD, Ill.  A Rockford man was sentenced Friday to four life terms plus 280 years in prison in the 2014 killings of his ex-girlfriend, her two young sons and her boyfriend.



Associate Judge Fernando Engelsma appeared emotional as he sentenced Calvin L. Carter III, 24, who did not appear in Winnebago County court, The Rockford Register Star reported. The judge called the killings "cold and calculated."



"These children were executed," Engelsma said. "It wasn't simply a murder."



Carter's defense attorney immediately filed an appeal. Carter was convicted in July on 133 counts. He waived his right to attend sentencing and didn't provide a written statement to be read in court. Prosecutors asked for two life sentences. Carter's attorney didn't specify an amount.

Investigators said Carter fatally shot 24-year-old Martia Flint, along with her sons  6-year-old Tyrone Smith III and 4-year-old Tobias K. Smith  in a Rockford apartment. Also killed was 24-year-old Demontae Rhodes.



Flint's mother, Rolanda Collins, testified at the sentencing hearing that she wanted Carter locked up forever.



"May the same demons you worshipped terrorize your soul in hell," Collins said.



Prosecutors said Carter killed the four after Flint broke up with him to rekindle a relationship with Rhodes. Carter's defense argued the case was built on circumstantial evidence.
A Cook County judge has ruled that Mayor Rahm Emanuel does not have to produce an index of private emails and text messages he sent and received, dealing a setback to the Chicago Tribune in its continuing fight with the city over the mayor's electronic communications.

Judge Kathleen Pantle made the ruling Thursday in the Tribune's ongoing lawsuit that alleges Emanuel skirted the state's open records laws by refusing to release communications about city business that he had conducted through private accounts.

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Pantle, in a previous ruling, sided with the Tribune when she ruled that the state's public records law does not distinguish between official and personal accounts so long as the matter relates to government business. She later ordered the city to give to the Tribune an index of certain emails and text messages the mayor sent and received.

An index typically includes the identity of the sender and receiver, the time and date of the communication, a subject line, and why any of the records were being withheld.

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The city provided a partial index of Emanuel's communications. The Tribune, however, argued the index was incomplete because it did not include emails stored on the mayor's private accounts that the mayor's personal lawyer determined did not relate to public business.

Emanuel's administration argued that the state's open records law, the Freedom of Information Act, does not require an agency to index records that do not involve public business.

Pantle agreed with Emanuel.

"The fact that he used his own cellphone (or tablet) to send texts relating to the transaction of public business and that he used his private email account to transact public business does not transform the purely personal texts and emails found on his private devices or in a private email account into public records for which he needs to index."

The Emanuel administration declined to comment about Pantle's latest ruling in the two-year-old case.

The Tribune on Friday promised to continue pressing its case for access to Emanuel's electronic communications.

"We will continue this case with the judge's previous, key ruling in our favor intact, affirming that the public must have access to records about public business even if it is conducted on personal devices such as smartphones," said Peter Kendall, the Tribune's managing editor.

The Tribune in the past raised further concerns over Emanuel's personal lawyer making the call over which communications on those personal accounts were private and which related to the public's business.

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Pantle swatted back that argument, as well. She noted that Emanuel's personal lawyer, Michael Forde, gave a sworn statement that shows he "conducted an adequate search for public records that resided on the Mayor's private devices and in his private accounts."

"The Court recognizes that allowing the Mayor's personal lawyer to make the threshold decision as to segregating private from public records involves trusting him to make honest decisions," Pantle wrote. "However, the Illinois Supreme Court through the adoption of its rules puts that trust in lawyers involved in civil litigation every day and in every civil case that involves discovery."

Pantle's ruling, however, did not address whether Forde improperly withheld public records that need to be in an index. She wrote that was "an issue for another day."

The legal fight over Emanuel's communications stems from Tribune public records requests seeking electronic communications related to the city's scandal-marred red light camera program, as well as email and texts sent between the mayor and Michael Sacks, a top adviser to Emanuel and contributor to his campaign fund.

She also had previously refused to dismiss the Tribune's lawsuit, even after the city argued that the requests amounted to an "unprecedented and unreasonable invasion of privacy."

tlighty@chicagotribune.com

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A photo made available by NASA shows an illustration of NASA's Cassini spacecraft above Saturn's northern hemisphere prior to one of its 22 grand finale dives. (NASA/JPL-Caltech / EPA)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.  NASA's Cassini spacecraft disintegrated in the skies above Saturn early Friday in a final, fateful blaze of cosmic glory, following a remarkable journey of 20 years.

Confirmation of Cassini's expected demise came about 7:55 a.m. EDT. That's when radio signals from the spacecraft  its last scientific gifts to Earth  came to an abrupt halt. The radio waves went flat, and the spacecraft fell silent.

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Cassini actually burned up like a meteor 83 minutes earlier as it dove through Saturn's atmosphere, becoming one with the giant gas planet it set out in 1997 to explore. But it took that long for the news to reach Earth a billion miles away.

The only spacecraft to ever orbit Saturn, Cassini showed us the planet, its rings and moons up close in all their splendor. Perhaps most tantalizing, ocean worlds were unveiled on the moons Enceladus and Titan, which could possibly harbor life.

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Dutiful to the end, the Cassini snapped its "last memento photos" Thursday and sampled Saturn's atmosphere Friday morning as it made its final plunge.

Program manager Earl Maize made the official pronouncement:

"This has been an incredible mission, an incredible spacecraft and you're all an incredible team," Maize said. "I'm going to call this the end of mission."

Flight controllers wearing matching purple shirts stood and embraced and shook hands.

More than 1,500 people, many of them past and present team members, had gathered at California's Jet Propulsion Laboratory for what was described as both a vigil and celebration. Even more congregated at nearby California Institute of Technology, which runs the lab for NASA.

Project manager Earl Maize, center, shakes hands with Bill Heventhal in mission control at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. after confirmation of Cassini's demise on Sept. 15, 2017. (Jae C. Hong / AP)

NASA's science mission director, Thomas Zurbuchen, made note of all the tissues inside JPL's Mission Control, along with the customary lucky peanuts. Team members were clearly emotional, he said.

"These worlds that they found, we never knew were there, are changing how we think about life itself," he said. "And so for me, that's why it's truly a civilization-scale mission, one that will stand out among other missions, anywhere."

Project scientist Linda Spilker noted Cassini has been running "a marathon of scientific discovery" for 13 years at Saturn.

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"So we're here today to cheer as Cassini finishes that race," she said.

The spacecraft tumbled out of control while plummeting at more than 76,000 mph. Project officials invited ground telescopes to look for Cassini's last-gasp flash, but weren't hopeful it would be spotted against the vast backdrop of the solar system's second biggest planet.

This Grand Finale, as NASA called it, came about as Cassini's fuel tank started getting low after 13 years exploring the planet. Scientists wanted to prevent Cassini from crashing into Enceladus or Titan  and contaminating those pristine worlds. And so in April, Cassini was directed into the previously unexplored gap between Saturn's cloud tops and the rings. Twenty-two times, Cassini entered the gap and came out again. The last time was last week.

Flight director Julie Webster reacts in mission control at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. after confirmation of Cassini's demise on Sept. 15, 2017. (Jae C. Hong / AP)

The leader of Cassini's imaging team, Carolyn Porco, a visiting scholar at the University of California, Berkeley, was so involved with the mission for so long that now, "I consider it the start of life, part two."

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Cassini departed Earth in 1997 and arrived at the sixth planet from our sun in 2004. The hitchhiking European Huygens landed on big moon Titan in 2005. Nothing from Earth has landed farther. Three other spacecraft previously flew past Saturn, but Cassini was the only one to actually circle the planet.

In all, Cassini collected more than 453,000 images and traveled 4.9 billion miles. It was an international endeavor, with 27 nations taking part. The final price tag was $3.9 billion.

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European space officials joined their U.S. colleagues to bid Cassini farewell.

"It's a very historical moment," said the Italian Space Agency's president, Roberto Battiston.

There were lighthearted touches as well. During its broadcast NASA played a video clip of the Cassini Virtual Singers, spacecraft team members who belted out, "Tonight, tonight, we take the plunge tonight ..." to the music from "West Side Story."

Scientists are already eager to go back and delve into the wet, wild worlds of Enceladus and Titan. Proposals are under consideration by NASA, but there's nothing official yet. In the meantime, NASA plans sometime in the 2020s to send an orbiter and lander to Europa, a moon of Jupiter believed to have a global ocean that might be compatible for life.

"Yes, we really want to go back" to Saturn, Zurbuchen said. "It's such a wonderful system, we don't want to leave it alone."
Gubernatorial candidate and state Sen. Daniel Biss, seen here on Aug. 17, 2017 at the annual Democratic Chairman's Brunch in Springfield, dropped his running mate of less than a week over differences on Israel. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Daniel Biss' recent running-mate folly was just the latest in a series of goofy events associated with the Illinois office of lieutenant governor.

In 1986, a follower of the loopy Lyndon LaRouche with the anodyne last name of "Fairchild" took advantage of voter inattention and indifference to win the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor, forcing the Democratic gubernatorial nominee, Adlai Stevenson III, to leave the ticket. He ran and lost as a third-party candidate.

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In 1994, Republican Lt. Gov. Robert Kustra grew so bored with the largely ceremonial nature of the office that he announced (but later withdrew) a plan to resign and become a radio talk show host.

After January 2009, when Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn assumed the governorship after the ouster of Rod Blagojevich, the office remained vacant for nearly two years.

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In 2010, political unknown Scott Lee Cohen was the surprise winner in a six-candidate Democratic primary to run with Quinn. Disquieting revelations about his personal life compelled him to resign in favor of Sheila Simon, and inspired a change in the law requiring candidates for governor to choose their running mates.

This has led to overheated strategizing  Chicago Ald. Ameya Pawar, 47th, recently chose the mayor of far downstate Cairo as his second banana, and Biss, a state senator from Evanston, picked and then chose to abandon Chicago Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, 35th, a socialist whose views on Israel turned out to differ strongly from Biss'.

Friday, Biss replaced Rosa with African-American state Rep. Litesa Wallace of Rockford, but great damage to his campaign has been done.

And we're still waiting for Democratic businessman Chris Kennedy to name his pick, likely another effort at a demographic balancing act similar to J.B. Pritzker's choice of African-American state Rep. Juliana Stratton. Eliminate the headache, the distraction and the obligatory pandering already.

Get rid of the position  eight states already don't have a separate office of lieutenant governor  and establish a line of succession to the governorship through the other constitutional offices, ideally by party.
Joliet police are investigating the deaths of three people who were found shot to death in a home on the city's far west side Thursday, Sept. 7, 2017, Chief Brian Benton said. (Alicia Fabbre / Daily Southtown)

Joliet police continue investigating the deaths of three 22-year-olds who were found shot to death in a home on Joliet's far west side Thursday afternoon.

The victims appeared to have been shot to death sometime overnight, Joliet police Chief Brian Benton said Thursday evening. The Will County Coroner's Office on Friday identified the victims as Anthony M. McGee, 22, of West Chicago; Gabriella M. Rueda, 22, of West Chicago; and Emmanuel Hernandez-Arroyo, 22, of Plainfield.

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"We don't believe this was a random act," Benton said, adding police are investigating the deaths as homicides.

All three suffered multiple gunshot wounds according to the coroner's office. Final cause and manner of death will be determined at a later date pending toxicology, police and autopsy reports.

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Benton said police were called to the home for a death investigation around 3 p.m. Thursday. He said the caller told police about the bodies in the home.

Benton said several people were at the home Wednesday night for a party. He could not say whether the victims lived in the home, were related or were partygoers. But all three victims were found inside the home in the same room and there were no signs of a break-in, Benton said.

Will County court records show an Anthony M. McGee, 22, had lived in the home on Great Falls Drive and was released from prison in April after serving time for a 2015 charge of unlawful use of a weapon by a felon. According to the Illinois Department of Corrections, McGee was paroled on April 17, and was scheduled to be discharged in 2019.

Benton said many of the people at the party left by the early morning hours on Thursday. Investigators do not believe there was a large group in the house when the killings took place, Benton said.

"Everybody is just in a state of shock," said one neighbor who did not want to be named.

Police late Thursday talked to a group of family members who had gathered across the street from the home. Family members declined to comment.

Anyone with information is being asked to call Joliet police investigations division at 815-724-3020.
Will County officials said they want a board member on Gov. Bruce Rauner's newly created Opioid Overdose Prevention and Intervention Task Force.

Members of the county board's Public Health and Safety Committee agreed to nominate Dr. Kathleen Burke, Will County's director of substance abuse disorders to be on that task force.

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Burke told the committee Thursday about the governor's latest initiative and said the county had been employing many of the strategies suggested by Rauner.

With a five-year state grant, the county hired Burke last year to tackle the local heroin epidemic.

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"He is acknowledging that this is an issue in Illinois, not a law enforcement issue, but a mental health issue," Burke said.

The task force will be co-chaired by Lt. Gov. Evelyn Sanguinetti and Dr. Nirav D. Shah, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, and plans to look at ways to prevent expansion of the opioid crisis, provide treatment for those with opioid-use disorder, and reduce the number of opioid overdose deaths.

The governor's office couldn't be reached for comment late Friday.

According to the governor's office, its plan includes:

 Safer prescribing of opioid medications.

Education.

Increased use of naloxone, an overdose reversal drug.

Data monitoring and communication.

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Increasing access to care.

Support for substance abusers who are in the court system.

Burke has already initiated many of these strategies in Will County. She has trained all first responders in Will County in the use of naloxone, and in partnership with the Robert Crown Center, has brought educational programs into local high schools.

"They are on the right track and it is everything we are doing here," Burke told the committee.

She hopes to work with the governor's task force to waive the state's limit of 15 beds that a treatment facility can have for substance abuse patients.

"There are a heck of a lot more than 15 people who need help," she said, adding that she is meeting with Stepping Stones Treatment Center in Joliet to see how they can increase capacity.

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Burke's other initiatives include:

Abolishing the term "addict" to eliminate social stigmas about substance abuse disorders.

Educating judges to understand that addiction drives the behavior of offenders.

Working on a medical assistance program with the Family Guidance Center, to give Vivitrol to those being released from jail, to reduce cravings for opioids.

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Expanding the Safe Passage program to all police departments in Will County, where substance abusers can turn themselves in to get help.

The governor's office reported that since 2013, the number of heroin deaths in Illinois has nearly doubled, and the number of prescription opioid deaths has almost quadrupled.

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Last year, there were 1,889 opioid overdose deaths, an increase of 76 percent from 2013.

Records have also shown a ten-fold increase in deaths involving fentanyl , a synthetic opioid, between 2013 and 2016, according to Rauner's office.

The Will County coroner's office reported 44 heroin-related deaths for the first eight months of this year.

slafferty@tribpub.com

Twitter @SusanLaff
Today the World Trade Organization is settling four disputes between Ukraine and Russia: in two of them Ukraine is a claimant, and in another two the country is a defendant, Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade, Ukraine's Trade Representative Natalia Mykolska said in an interview with the Dzerkalo Tyzhnia.Ukraine (ZN.UA) weekly.

According to her, one of the Ukrainian complaints concerns railway communication and wagons: in this case the Ukrainian side has advanced most of all. The decision in it is expected in April 2018.

"The Russian side is deliberately dragging out the process with a variety of procedural traps, starting with the appointment of arbitrators. Unfortunately, the Russian Federation does not allow us to move as quickly as we want," Mykolska said.

The second lawsuit concerns the prohibition of transit - this case also moves slowly.

"We have been paying a lot of attention to the legal advisers involved in this matter in order to avoid dragging out by Russian Federation because, from the point of view of the economy and interests of the state, this business is very important. It concerns not only the prohibition of transit imposed by the presidential decree and the blocking of transit for a number of goods to third countries, but also the ban in the decisions of the Rospotrebnadzor [Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing]. "These are actually four large groups of claims," Mykolska said.
Niceforo Macedo-Hernandez, from left, 46, with his son, Sabas Macedo, 19, and daughter Melissa Macedo, 16, in a 2016 photo at Sabas' graduation. (Macedo family)

The McHenry County sheriff was sued Friday over his refusal to release an inmate who, his lawyers say, should be freed on bail under a new state immigration law.

Lawyers representing the Crystal Lake man, Niceforo Macedo-Hernandez, say McHenry County authorities are not complying with the Trust Act, which Gov. Bruce Rauner signed into law last week and which says that, without a judge's warrant, state and local authorities can't arrest or detain people based on their immigration status alone.

The suit is the latest effort to free Macedo-Hernandez, a Mexican immigrant who was arrested in August on a misdemeanor domestic battery charge. When his family tried a week ago to pay his $500 bail, county authorities first declined, citing an immigration hold. Eventually they accepted the bond payment, but instead of releasing him to his family, he was transferred into the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement , which has begun deportation proceedings.

At least two other immigrant inmates in McHenry County Jail have also been denied release under similar circumstances since the Trust Act went into effect.

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Illinois State Police and Cook, DuPage, Kane and Lake county sheriff officials say they are complying with the law by releasing inmates who post bond, even if they have immigration holds.

McHenry County Sheriff Bill Prim's office, however, issued a statement Sept. 1 that it was seeking more time to interpret the new legislation and that it wanted to move "slowly and cautiously, with public safety as our foremost consideration."

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"The defendant in question is charged with a crime of violence, which makes us even more reluctant to make hasty decisions," the sheriff's office stated. "The defendant, through his attorney, has agreed to allow us additional time to investigate the matter further by continuing the (court hearing on the question) until next week."

But Macedo-Hernandez's attorneys say the sheriff broke that good-faith agreement, which was also discussed in front of a judge at an emergency hearing, by allowing the inmate to be transferred to ICE custody prior to the continuation of the hearing.

Prim's office has declined to answer questions about their interpretation of the Trust Act, including why the office accepted Macedo-Hernandez's bond payment but then didn't release him to his family.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, stated in official documents that there was probable cause to show that Macedo-Hernandez is a "removable alien." He also has a prior simple battery conviction in McHenry County.

On Tuesday, a McHenry County judge handling the criminal case ruled it was not his position to tell the sheriff how to handle the case, suggesting it should be addressed in civil court, which led to the filing of the lawsuit.

Another circuit judge made a similar determination Friday when a lawyer sought an emergency hearing for another inmate, Pascasio Martinez, who the lawyer said was also denied release, despite paying bond, because of an ICE hold.

Macedo-Hernandez, 46, has lived in McHenry County for about 22 years, works as a landscape laborer and has three children, according to the lawsuit and family members.

He was arrested on Aug. 9 and is accused of grabbing a relative's arm and scratching her, according to lawyers involved in the case.

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In addition to Macedo-Hernandez, the suit against the sheriff has two other anonymous plaintiffs.

Plaintiff John Doe No. 1 is a county resident in his late teens who has lived in the U.S. since infancy and has applied for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, which President Donald Trump recently announced he will end.

That plaintiff apparently is not in jail, but his immigration status, coupled with the sheriff's refusal to comply with the Trust Act, places him at risk of unlawful detention, the suit states.

John Doe No. 2 is a man in his mid-40s who, according to the suit, was charged with a misdemeanor traffic offense earlier this year. Because his case is ongoing, he must appear in court for it, which places him at risk of unlawful detention, the lawsuit contends.

The governor's office referred questions about the new law to Illinois State Police. State police spokesman Master Sgt. Matthew Boerwinkle said that troopers bring their detainees to county jails and notify ICE officials if they arrest anyone whoICE has asked be detained. But if a suspect posts bond, they are free to go.

Attorney George Kililis waits outside the McHenry County Correctional Facility as he tries to get Niceforo Macedo-Hernandez, 46, from Crystal Lake, released on bond on Sept. 1, 2017 in Woodstock, Illinois. (John Konstantaras / Chicago Tribune)

George Kililis, an attorney for Macedo-Hernandez, has called the sheriff's refusal to release him "outrageous" and "inhumane."

On Friday, Kililis again sought intervention from the McHenry County courts on behalf of Martinez, who was jailed Aug. 31 and accused of felony aggravated DUI while driving with a revoked license, according to court documents.

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But Judge Sharon Prather said she has no authority to order the sheriff to release someone. State's Attorney Patrick Kenneally, representing the sheriff, argued in court that the point was moot anyway, because the inmate was no longer in the sheriff's custody  presumably because Martinez, too, has been transferred to ICE custody for possible deportation.

Kililis has vowed to continue fighting the matter in court.

Amanda Marrazzo is a freelance reporter.

rmccoppin@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @RobertMcCoppin
Justin Plackowska, left, and Olivia Dworakowski were murdered in Naperville in 2012. Elzbieta M. Plackowska is charged with their murders. Her trial is expected to begin Tuesday. (Handout / WGN-TV)

Charged with the stabbing deaths of her son and a young girl left in her care, a Naperville woman goes on trial starting Tuesday in a courtroom proceeding that will heavily hinge on dissenting views of her mental state at the time of the alleged crime.

Elzbieta Plackowska, 45, will stand trial starting Tuesday on two counts of first-degree murder in a bench trial before DuPage County Judge Robert Miller. Her attorneys, Assistant Public Defenders Kristen Nevdal and George Ford will present an insanity defense.

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Both defense attorneys, and State's Atty. Robert Berlin, who will try the prosecution case with Assistant State's Atty. Nicole Wilkes-English, declined to comment on the eve of trial, though both sides acknowledge that the psychological testimony will play an important role in the trial's outcome.

Plackwoska has been in custody since Oct. 30, 2012. On that evening, Plackowska, accompanied by her 7-year-old son, Justin, was babysitting Olivia Dworakowski, 5, at the townhouse where the young girl lived with her mother, a nurse who was working her night-shift job at a dialysis lab.

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Around 10 p.m., when Marta Dworakowski returned home from work and was unable to get inside her home, she called police. Naperville police entered the residence and discovered what Berlin in 2012 called a "scene of unimaginable horror."

In the master bedroom lay the bodies of Justin and Olivia. Each had been stabbed dozens of times and their throats had been slashed. Alongside them were two dogs that had also been stabbed to death. At a news conference after Plackowska's arrest, Naperville Police Chief Robert Marshall called the scene the most gruesome he'd witnessed in his law enforcement career.

Elzbieta Plackowska (DuPage County Sheriff's Office)

Authorities say that after killing the children, Plackowska ended up at a Naperville residence where her adult son was. He called police.

In interviews with police, Plackowska said she had taken the children to church before returning to the Dworakowski home. The children, she said, were jumping on the bed when she walked in and told them to get on their knees and pray, and then began stabbing Justin and then Olivia as they begged for their lives, authorities said.

Plackowska told police that she heard voices from the devil, and she killed the children to save their souls. But she also said she quarreled with her husband, a long-haul trucker, and had killed their son to make her husband feel the same pain she felt, authorities said.

Plackowska's mental health has been evaluated by experts called in by prosecutors and defense. The defense expert is Dr. Phillip Resnick, a noted forensic psychiatrist who has been involved in several high-profile cases including those of Jeffrey Dahmer, Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh and "Unabomber" Ted Kaczyinski.

Resnick is expected to testify sometime during the second week of what is expected to be a two-week trial.

Insanity trials proceed differently than standard criminal trials. Prosecutors still must present evidence that Plackowska committed first-degree murder, and then the burden shifts to the defense, which is required to present clear and convincing evidence that she was not sane at the time.

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If found not guilty by reason of insanity, Plackowska would be committed to a secure mental health facility. But if the judge is not convinced she was mentally ill, Plackwoska could face a mandatory sentence of natural life in prison if found guilty of the murders of both children.
William Curl accepted a plea for killing an NIU student Toni Keller but then tried to take it back. A judge denied his request Friday. (Illinois Department of Corrections)

The attorney for a man who pleaded guilty to killing a Northern Illinois University student who attended high school in Naperville said he deserves a new trial because of alleged problems with his previous legal counsel, but a prosecutor called the claims "unsubstantiated whining" as a three-day hearing concluded in DeKalb County court Friday.

William Curl, 40, will learn next month whether a judge will allow him to withdraw his guilty plea to the murder of Neuqua Valley High School graduate Antinette "Toni" Keller, an NIU freshman whose badly burned body was found in a DeKalb park in October 2010.

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After hearing closing arguments, Judge Robbin Stuckert said she will issue her written ruling Oct. 6.

In May, the judge granted Curl a hearing to present evidence that his 2013 plea deal should be withdrawn. In court filings, Curl said State's Atty. Richard Schmack had threatened to prosecute Curl's 13-year-old son for Keller's murder if Curl didn't plead guilty. Public Defender Thomas McCulloch, who represented Curl in 2013, also pressured him, Curl said.

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Both Schmack and McCulloch testified Friday and both flatly rejected Curl's allegations. McCulloch said Curl "absolutely" understood the plea negotiations that resulted in Curl receiving a 37-year sentence for Keller's murder.

"We were reporting back to Mr. Curl every step of the way," McCulloch testified.

Northern Illinois University freshman Antinette "Toni" Keller, a graduate of Neuqua Valley High School in Naperville, disappeared Oct. 14, 2010, after saying she was going to walk toward a park in DeKalb. Her burned remains were found in the park, and a DeKalb man pleaded guilty to murder. (Northern Illinois University)

Attorney Daniel Transier, who represented Curl, criticized McCulloch for not attempting to have videos of Curl's police interview suppressed, saying it was the major piece of evidence against Curl. But McCulloch said he opted against the motion for strategy reasons, and the motion was unlikely to succeed.

McCulloch also disputed Curl's contention that the attorney feared the exposure of courtroom cameras, which had been requested by the media in the case.

"I'm not a fan of extended media coverage, but it's not for the reason that I'm afraid of the media," McCulloch said.

In closing arguments, Assistant State's Atty. Stephanie Klein said that Curl's hearing had produced nothing more than "unsubstantiated whining" and Curl failed to meet the legal standard that would allow him to withdraw his plea.

"His problem is not that his attorneys were infective," Klein said before a courtroom gallery that included Toni Keller's parents. "His problem is he is guilty."

Keller, a Plainfield resident, had told friends she was going to a DeKalb park to sketch. Her body was found there two days later. Curl, who has a history of mental illness, told police that he found her body and burned it, but also told officers that he and Keller were having sex in the park when she struck her head on a rock and died.

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Clifford Ward is a freelance reporter.
Bill Mego was a freelance columnist for the Naperville Sun newspaper for close to 30 years, offering weekly takes on a variety of timely topics affecting residents.

"He was kind of the town observer. He always had a following, and people were very comfortable writing him and calling him," said former Naperville City Councilman Robert Fieseler. "And he was a thinker. He didn't just buy into things. He had strong beliefs but was not an in-your-face kind of guy, so when he wrote about (something), it was in a sense of curiosity as opposed to a sense of accusation."

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Mego, 73, died of sepsis on Sept. 1 at Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield, said his wife of 42 years, Nancy. Mego had been in declining health for the past two years.

Born in Chicago's Roseland neighborhood, Mego moved with his family in 1951 to a house in Naperville that his parents built, at the corner of Wright Street and Porter Avenue. He graduated from Naperville Community High School, which now is Naperville Central High School and then studied for two years at Beloit College before transferring to the University of Wisconsin at Madison, where he earned a bachelor's degree in molecular biology.

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Mego then earned a master's degree in molecular biology from Wake Forest University. He considered pursuing doctoral studies at Duke University, but ultimately attended Florida State University, where he earned a doctorate in 1970 and studied with one of molecular biology's pioneers, J. Herbert Taylor.

Desiring to return to Naperville after earning his PhD, Mego found work in the Chicago area in 1972, when he began teaching at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He taught at UIC until the early 1980s, and also taught computer graphics and robotics courses at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago from 1976 until 1991.

Byron Grush, a boyhood friend, taught animation alongside Mego at the School of the Art Institute and recalled suggesting the creation of a course in robotic art.

"It was way beyond me, but I asked Bill to pull it off, and he did, and it was great," Grush said.

In 1984, Mego took a job at Argonne National Laboratory as a consultant, working to coordinate federal labs' work with various industries, his wife said. After leaving Argonne in 1996, Mego worked as a consultant handling troubleshooting for various companies. He also assisted his wife with her architectural graphics business.

Mego's writing career began in 1988, when the Naperville Sun's then-editor and publisher, Harold White, placed an ad seeking residents to write opinion pieces for the paper. Close to a dozen residents responded, including Mego, and a rotating slate of guest-written opinion articles began appearing in print. White was a big fan of Mego's work, and as other writers left, White eventually asked Mego to write his own opinion column.

Ron Keller, the conductor and music director of the Naperville Municipal Band, recalled Mego's friendship and his strong support of the arts.

"We seemed to agree on a lot. He had a deep love for Naperville and especially the history of Naperville and preserving the history of the community," said Keller, noting that Mego and his wife enjoyed frequenting band concerts.

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In an Aug. 4 column, Mego invoked his love of outdoor music in his argument that the school year should start later than it does.

"Most summer activities happen in the second half of June and in July because high school activities are already beginning Aug. 1," Mego wrote. "What got me thinking about this was the schedule for outdoor music, one of the greatest things about summer. August and September are absolutely beautiful months in DuPage County, and yet you get the feeling that by the time you get to them, summer is over. I've always thought, for example, that the DuPage County Fair, one of our great treasures, should be held a little later, when it's cooler and drier. Fortunately, the weather this year was terrific and turnout should have been much higher than during last year's hot, rainy week."

Mego never retired from writing his Naperville Sun column or from other work.

"He always was interested in biology and writing," his wife said.

"He was a genuinely good person and (there) wasn't a mean bone in his body," Grush said. "He believed in truth and in logic and he put that forward."

In 2011, Mego authored an adventure novel, "The Limbus of the Moon," about two people traveling around the world in a search for a poisonous sea anemone that has the potential to be used for medicinal purposes. At the time of his death, Mego was about one third of the way through a sequel novel, his wife said.

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In addition to his wife, Mego is survived by a son, Will; a stepson, Tim Straubing; a stepdaughter, Kim Straubing; and three grandsons.

There were no services.

Bob Goldsborough is a freelance reporter.
Naperville will host events to remember the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

This year's event will begin at 6 p.m. Monday, Sept. 11, at the Cmdr. Dan Shanower Memorial, located behind the Naperville Municipal Center, 400 S. Eagle St., along the Riverwalk. In case of rain, the event will be inside the Municipal Center Council Chambers. The Naperville Municipal Band will play at 5:45 p.m.

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In addition, from noon to 12:30 p.m., a special 30-minute concert on the bells of the Millennium Carillon in remembrance of Sept. 11 will occur. This will include a solemn tolling of the "Big Joe" bell followed by "In Memoriam," a carillon piece written following the events of Sept. 11 meant to be played in bell towers throughout the world. Patriotic selections and others that focus on the themes of hope and peace will make up the remainder of the concert. Carillon music can also be heard beginning at 5:30 p.m.

This year's featured speaker at the Shanower Memorial remembrance will be Lanson W. "Lanny" Russell, who retired as Chief of the DeKalb Fire Department in July 2008 following a storied 44-year fire service career. Russell was a chief for 31 years, serving four departments: Peotone, Villa Park, Downers Grove and DeKalb. While in Peotone, Russell was part of the team that established the first all-volunteer paramedic program in Illinois, and he was fire chief in DeKalb when the deadly shooting that took the lives of five students and injured another 18 occurred at Northern Illinois University.

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Russell is a graduate of the Executive Fire Officer Program at the National Fire Academy and the Senior Executive Institute at the University of Virginia. He is a past president of the Illinois Fire Chiefs Association and the DuPage Fire Chiefs Association and has served on the Board of Directors of the Illinois Fire Chiefs Educational and Research Foundation for almost 40 years.
A Valparaiso woman has been arrested in connection with a pipe bomb found in a vehicle Saturday afternoon, the Porter County Sheriff's Department said Saturday.

An early release from Porter County Sheriff's Department spokeswoman Sgt. Jamie Erow said a 32-year-old woman was arrested in Valparaiso and faces a level 5 felony charge of possession of a destructive device. While the incident is still under investigation, Erow said in the release there is no connection to a pipe bomb incident that occurred Sept. 6.

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Erow said in a later release that Porter County officers were dispatched to Division Road and Woodruft Drive around 11:50 a.m. Saturday when a passerby saw a black Hyundai car parked on the roadway with damage to the its back end. One of the officers found the woman asleep at the wheel, Erow said.

When the officer woke her up, he asked for permission to search the car, Erow said. A box on the passenger's side contained what looked to him like a pipe bomb with a fuse attached, according to Erow, so the Porter County Bomb Squad was called to clear the area and disable the device.

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The woman, who has not yet been formally charged, was taken into custody, Erow said in the release. During questioning, the woman told detectives she dropped off a friend at work in the morning and then "drove around to clear her mind" because she had a headache, Erow said. She pulled over on Division at Woodruft and fell asleep, Erow said.

She told detectives and Bomb Squad officers that the device belonged to a former boyfriend, and she had it for two weeks, Erow said. The woman said she was going to take it to a friend to disable because she "didn't want to take it to the police station," Erow said in the release.

Detectives and Bomb Squad officers determined there was no further threat to the public, Erow said.

Division between County Road 250W and County Road 325W was blockaded to traffic, and a few residents near the car were evacuated for safety, Erow said in the release. The road was reopened at 1:50 p.m., Erow said.

Formal charges are forthcoming, Erow said.

Michelle L. Quinn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
Patrons line up for food during the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana community food giveaway at Wicker Memorial Park in Highland on Friday, Sept. 8, 2017. (Kyle Telechan / Post-Tribune )

Jim Stanton was determined to be the first person to go through the line at the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana mobile market Friday at Wicker Memorial Park in Highland.

"I knew if I came early I would get first pickings and get better stuff," he said of his 6 a.m. arrival for the event that started at 3 p.m.

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Stanton, of Hammond, was only one out of the several hundred people that showed up at the park to receive free food to feed themselves and their families. For few hours, the Food Bank brought the supermarket to the people.

"For us it's a way for us to give back," said Steve Beekman, executive director. "It's just an amazing experience to be able to hand someone food with no strings attached."

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Proof of residency was the only required requirement.

This was the first of two mobile market events hosted by the Food Bank to create awareness for Hunger Action Month.

People went through a line picking out food to stuff into their bags or place into their shopping carts. They were grocery shopping without having to check out at a register.

People were able to select from cereal, canned vegetables, ground beef, bread, rice, boxed macaroni and a variety of fruit.

"We focus on really high nutritious foods with fresh produce, fruits, vegetables and other needed items," Beekman said. Each person received nearly 40 pounds of food, he said.

Othella Boyd, who also got in line before sunrise, said the wait was well worth it.

"Anytime you don't have to go buy it, it's worth it," she said.

Beekman said he understands how critical it is to provide food to those who may need a little help in life.

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"Everyone at the food bank has a passion of helping people in need," he said. "Food is such a basic necessity that everyone needs and we know that people struggle for a variety of reasons."

In 2016, 12.3 percent, or 15.6 million American households, were food insecure, meaning they lacked the resources to provide quality food for all household members, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

At 14.4 percent, the food insecurity in Indiana was higher than the national average, according to the most recent data available from 2015. The food insecurity rate in Lake and Porter counties were 15.3 and 11.1 percent, respectively.

The atmosphere at Wicker Park was festive not only for the people receiving food but also the volunteers.

Chavonne Anderson said it made her feel good to be able to help other people.

"I just wanted to give back," she said.

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As people continued to file into Wicker Park, Beekman said he expected to serve close to 700 people.

The Food Bank of Northwest Indiana will be host its second mobile market from 4-6 p.m. Tuesday at South Haven Christian Church in Valparaiso. People will be required to provide proof of residency to receive food.

jaanderson@tribpub.com

Twitter @JavonteA
Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman has said that Ukraine backs the consideration of the withdrawal of Russian armed forces from Transdniestria by the United Nations General Assembly and counts on support of the initiative to send the peacekeeper mission to Donbas by Moldova.

The press service of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine reported on Friday that Groysman met Prime Minister of Moldova Pavel Filip in Odesa. The prime ministers discussed cooperation between Ukraine and Moldova.

"Kyiv is interested in political stability in Moldova. It supports the principles of territorial integrity of the neighbor state. It believes that it is appropriate to include the issue of the withdrawal of Russian armed forces from Transdniestria to the agenda of the UN General Assembly," the press service said, citing the Ukrainian premier.

Groysman said that Ukraine counts on support of its initiative to send UN peacekeepers to Donbas by Moldova.
Adam Frisch keeps calm waiting for all ballots to be counted in CD-3
The investigation's preliminary findings indicate that a Toyota Camry with Georgian license plates was blown up in central Kyiv on Friday evening by means of a planted explosive device, which killed Georgian citizen Timur Makhauri and severely injured his wife; the third passenger, a child, was not harmed, Ukrainian Interior Ministry spokesperson Artem Shevchenko said.

"There were three people in the car, namely a man, who died, a woman who sustained serious injuries, with medical specialists struggling to save her life, and a child, who survived the incident and whose life is not in danger," Shevchenko said at a news briefing on Friday evening.

A criminal case has been opened into the incident on charges of "premeditated murder committed using a publicly dangerous method," he said.

"Preliminary findings indicate that an explosive device planted in the car went off. The victim is a citizen of another state, he is a citizen of Georgia, and his identity has been determined," Shevchenko said. "This is an individual known quite well in the criminal world, and his name is Timur Makhauri. He is a citizen of Georgia, and he had firm connections with various Chechen circles," he said.

Shevchenko said the woman who was in the car was preliminarily identified as Makhauri's wife. He acknowledged, though, that certain inquiries taking some time have to be conducted to certainly establish the relations between the man killed in the blast, the injured woman and the child.

Shevchenko said the attack was targeted precisely against Makhauri.

Timur Makhauri, a member of a Ukrainian volunteer battalion who fought in eastern Ukraine, was killed in a car explosion near the Bessarabsky Market in central Kyiv on Friday, several people who knew Makhauri said in an interview shown earlier by the 112 Ukraine television channel from the scene of the incident.

In commenting further on this information, Shevchenko said the so-called Sheikh Mansur and Dzhokhar Dudayev battalions, with which Makhauri fought, have never had official status and were paramilitary units.

Makhauri, known also as Ali Dubayev and Ruslan Papaskeri, was detained on Basseina Street in central Kyiv in January 2017. Police then detained two armed men in a Mercedes ML, one of whom was Makhauri. A Glock and a Stechkin pistol loaded with live rounds were seized from the driver. The man also had documents indicating that he was a scout of an international volunteer peacekeeping battalion based in Donbas.

The commander of this battalion, Muslim Cheberloyevsky, confirmed to journalists that the man detained in Kyiv belonged to his battalion.

The Pechersky District Court of Kyiv ruled on February 28, 2017 to authorize a plea agreement with the prosecution, under which Makhauri was given five years of imprisonment suspended for three years, with the obligation to regularly report to probation institutions until the expiration of the probation period.

Media also reported that Makhauri had been arrested in Turkey on murder charges in the fall of 2012. However, following several judicial hearings, a court in Istanbul freed him three years later.

After leaving a Turkish prison, Makhauri moved to Ukraine, where he was subsequently detained for carrying weapons in January 2017.
Representatives of the Defense Ministry of Ukraine have visited Georgia with a working visit within the framework of the project on the establishment of the School of Defense Management on the basis of the National University of Defense named after Ivan Cherniakhivsky.

The significant work of the Ukrainian delegation was devoted to studying the experience of the activities of the Defense Institutional Building School (DIBS) in Tbilisi, the press service of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine reported on Friday.

The Ukrainian side was presented the experience of the institution in the training of personnel for the security and defense sector of Georgia, highlighted the problematic issues of the functioning of the school, the specifics of the development of programs and the involvement of instructors in conducting classes.

For their part, representatives of the Ukrainian delegation demonstrated a presentation on the implementation of the project of the School of Defense Management at the National University of Defense named after Ivan Cherniakhivsky.
The China International Publishing Group (CIPG) was a crowd puller on the opening day of the three-day South African Book Fair in Johannesburg on Friday.

China's leading publishing group CIPG is exhibiting over 250 titles of books and postcards from seven of its publishing houses.

South African Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa visited the Chinese stand and wrote best wishes for Chinese in the country.

Ramaphosa was also given some books written by the Chinese President. Some of the books were about the Chinese civilization and how China became the second biggest economy in the world.

Zhen Wen, counsellor of cultural affairs at the Chinese Embassy in South Africa told Xinhua that it is important for Africans and Chinese to learn about each other's culture and history to strengthen their relations.

"We always support cultural exchange with our African friends. There have been various changes in China in the last decades and this exhibition shows our achievements with our African friends," he said.

Vusi Dlamini from Umtapo Publishers booked Chinese President Xi Jinping's book, "Up and Out of Poverty," saying "this book talks about the dream we share as South Africans. It talks about how we can eradicate poverty and become economically viable."

Dlamini told Xinhua that last year he also visited China and bought Xi's book, "The Governance of China". Dlamini wants South Africa and other African countries to follow the Chinese example targeting especially rural areas for development and governance.

"I want to have some historical books about the former (South African) President Nelson Mandela and the liberation to be translated to Mandarin and sold in China. I am looking for partners from China for this project," said Trevor Mokeyane from another South African publisher.

CIPG is taking part in the South African Book Fair for the second time. They exhibited books covering a wide range of topics like politics, economy, culture, art, history, travel, Chinese teaching and children's books.
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Contracts worth over 80 billion yuan (12.4 billion U.S. dollars) have been signed at an ongoing high-tech expo in southwest China's Sichuan Province.

During the 5th China Science and Technology City International High-tech Expo held from Thursday to Saturday in Mianyang city, a total of 117 contracts worth 88.689 billion yuan were signed, up by 25.5 percent compared to last year's event.

Companies from over 40 countries and regions joined the expo. Israel is the guest of honor at this year's expo.

On Thursday, China and Israel announced a plan to strengthen cooperation in ten major areas, including information, artificial intelligence and green cars.

The expo is an annual event jointly held by the Ministry of Science and Technology and Sichuan provincial government. The past four expos attracted a total of 56 countries and regions and witnessed the signing of 2,107 contracts worth 345.28 billion yuan.
The State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC) will invest 82.6 billion yuan (12.8 billion U.S. dollars) to improve the power grid in the northwestern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous region.

According to an agreement signed by the SGCC and the regional government on Friday, power transmission projects featuring extra-high voltage will be built to lift Xinjiang's outbound power transmitting capacity to 25 million kilowatts by the end of 2020.

In addition, 22.4 billion yuan will be used to upgrade power networks in rural areas, so that poverty-stricken areas have access to electricity. By the end of 2019, all poor villages in the region will have improved power networks.

The SGCC will employ Xinjiang residents in a variety of jobs from 2017 to 2020, while the regional government will give no less than 90 million yuan per year to support the building of the local power grid.
China's recent ban on initial coin offerings is not expected to deter the commercial usage of blockchain technology, analysts said. Rather, they believe the ban to be a necessary step for better regulation of the technology.

Sheng Songcheng, a senior official of the central bank, said during an interview with China Business Network that blockchain is a promising technology and such scrutiny will only push the industry toward a healthier path.

"To eliminate the market frenzy once and for all so that everyone can start again by following the new rule is a very meaningful strategy," Sheng said. "Cryptocurrency is the most well-known practice of blockchain. It is impossible to stop it, but it is time for efficient scrutinizing."

China's top regulators, including the central bank, have banned ICO practices, an increasingly popular application of blockchain globally, which has helped Chinese startups raise almost 2.6 billion yuan ($400 million) in the first half of the year, according to a report by experts on the internet financial security technology.

The crackdown led to a 20 percent fall in the price of Bitcoin from $5,000 to $4,000 three days after the ban, as China has one of the largest number of cryptocurrency owners.

A fintech worker who requested anonymity said the Beijing-based company he worked for has stopped its ICO project.

"Certain regulation is necessary," he said. "But as ICO has been such an efficient way for tech companies to raise funds, I believe it is more likely to be a short-term ban until they can regulate it efficiently."

"ICO could have been a creative tool for startup if used well," said Huang Zhen, director of the research institution of financial laws in the Central University of Finance and Economics. "Currently, there is an unhealthy frenzy toward ICO which has attracted lots of players without adequate knowledge about blockchain or ICO. Such irrational investment can lead to potential financial risks."

The ban "is to protect the financial technology sector and investors with strong regulations, and stop illegal fundraising," Huang added. "It will help both startup owners and investors to stay away from irrational investment behavior."

Yu Liang, chief operating officer of Qingsongchou Network Technology Co Ltd, one of China's leading blockchain companies, said the commercial application of blockchain is still rare in China and the ban on ICO will not stop the industry from growing, but encourage those in the industry to use the tool in a legal way.

"Blockchain has a promising future in the financial sector, from what is happening in the world," Yu said. "Its nature of decentralizing, transparency and tamperproof makes it applicable in wide areas such as charity."
Wang Qishan, head of the Communist Party of China (CPC) disciplinary body, has asked supervisory officials to remain calm and clear-headed.

Wang, head of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), made the remarks at a commendation conference on Friday.

He spoke highly of accomplishments at all levels since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, and said that a number of outstanding individuals had emerged in the anti-graft battle and that those recognized by the conference were only the tip of the iceberg.

Officials should review their work during the past five years to discover problems and deficiencies, he said.

"We should continue to improve our political standpoint and consciousness, be modest and prudent, and continue to make great achievements for the Party and the people," Wang said.

"Discipline inspection and supervisory bodies at all levels should adhere to the highest standards," he said.
Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, condemned on Friday the "Hong Kong independence" slogans that were displayed in the city's universities, adding that such remarks were in violation of the country's sovereignty, territorial integrity and development interests.

"'Hong Kong independence' runs against the 'one country, two systems' principle and the Basic Law as well as the overall and long-term interest of society," Lam said.

Lam also denounced a poster at the Education University of Hong Kong that gloated over the death of the son of the city's undersecretary for education. She said such remarks were "entirely disrespectful, against the moral values of society and coldblooded".

Lam, describing the incidents at the universities as "having overstepped the bottom line of society", said that freedom of speech had its limits and academic independence should not be used as an excuse to advocate fallacies.

She said university administrations should take timely and appropriate action to handle the incidents and appealed to society to join forces to "rectify such abuses of freedom of speech" while safeguarding the city's core values and defending moral standards.

Lam made the remarks one day after a group of Chinese University of Hong Kong students and alumni voiced strong objections to the university student union's separatist advocacy on campus.

Slogans that advocated "Hong Kong independence" were spotted in various locations inside the campus after the new semester started, and were soon removed by school authorities.

Offensive posters also were found on a public billboard at the Education University of Hong Kong ridiculing the death of Undersecretary for Education Christine Choi Yuk-lin's son, who died after jumping off a high-rise in Jordan, Kowloon, around noon on Thursday.

Secretary for Education Kevin Yeung Yun-hung also said displays in public areas should be "morally sound and legal".

He noted that the Education Bureau is against the "independence" fallacies and students should not waste time discussing such issues because they are against the Basic Law.

The city's education head also stressed that moral and legal considerations should be taken into account when people exercise freedom of speech.

The city's academics and lawyers also expressed strong criticism over the illegal and insensitive remarks that appeared at universities.

Lau Siu-kai, sociologist and former top adviser to the Hong Kong SAR government, said some of the students took advantage of the tolerant and relatively relaxed environment on campus to advocate illegal fallacies or taunting messages that crossed the line for society, messages that would in turn backfire.

"Giving students a more tolerant environment doesn't mean that there is no bottom line, no matter if it is morally or politically," Lau said.

Priscilla Leung Mei-fun, a Hong Kong lawmaker and lawyer, said universities have the "ultimate duty or liability" for excluding illegal posters advocating separatism on campus.
Timur Makhauri, a member of a Ukrainian volunteer battalion who fought in eastern Ukraine, was killed in a car explosion near the Besarabsky Market in central Kyiv on Friday, several people who knew Makhauri said in an interview shown by the 112.Ukraine TV channel from the scene of the incident.

One of these people who introduced himself as a friend of Makhauri's cousin said the man had served in the so-called "Sheikh Mansur Chechen battalion."

Another man who introduced himself as Makhauri's comrade-in-arms, said the latter fought in Donbas "with the Dzhokhar Dudayev battalion."

"This is Timur Makhauri. He used to belong to our Dzhokhar Dudayev battalion. He took part in the first and the second Chechen wars," he said.

Makhauri had previously survived several attempts to kill him, he said.

The man also insisted that the woman and the child who were in the same car were not Makhauri's wife and child.

One of the two men said later that Makhauri, a citizen of Georgia, had not recently been a member of the battalion and was permanently residing in Kyiv.

Interfax-Ukraine could not immediately obtain official confirmation of this information.

The Kyiv police department reported that a man sustained fatal injuries, a woman had her leg torn off, and a child was in satisfactory condition after the car explosion.

"The law enforcement received a report on the explosion of a Toyota Camry on Skoropadsky Street at 6:10 p.m. A team of investigators from the territorial and main police departments, units of patrol police, bomb disposal experts, and members of the expert service were dispatched to the said address. Law enforcement personnel are examining the adjacent territory and speaking with witnesses," it said.
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U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday that military action against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) was not inevitable.

"Military action would certainly be an option. Is it inevitable? Nothing is inevitable," said Trump here during his joint press conference with visiting Kuwaiti Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.

Trump also warned that while he would prefer "not going the route of the military," military action against the DPRK was something that "certainly could happen."

One day before his remarks, Trump told reporters on his way to Bismarck, North Dakota that military action against the DPRK was "not a first choice."

The DPRK on Sunday detonated a hydrogen bomb that can be carried by an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), the DPRK's Central Television announced.

The DPRK's nuclear testing and launches using ballistic missile technology violated United Nations (UN) Security Council resolutions.

China's permanent representative to the UN Liu Jieyi on Monday condemned the latest nuclear test by the DPRK and urged the country to return to the track of dialogue. China will not allow chaos and war on the Korean Peninsula, he said.

Liu said the suspension-for-suspension proposal and dual-track approach put forward by China together with the Russian proposal of a step-by-step approach is a realistic and feasible roadmap for the settlement of the issue, asking the relevant parties for due consideration and positive responses.

The idea of a dual approach involves parallel efforts to move forward both de-nuclearization and the establishment of a peaceful mechanism on the peninsula. The initiative of suspension-for-suspension calls for the DPRK to suspend its nuclear and missile activities and for the United States and South Korea to suspend their large-scale war games.
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Foreign Minister Khwaja Asif in a joint press conference with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on September 8 in Beijing.

Foreign Minister Khwaja Muhammad Asif met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on September 8 in Beijing. The two leaders discussed the strengthening of bilateral relations and the prevailing regional situation.

Appreciating the all weather friendship between Pakistan and China, Foreign Minister said these relations were founded in the principles of mutual-trust, equality, non-interference, harmonious co-existence and win-win cooperation based on common agenda of socio-economic development. He expressed great satisfaction in the spirit of mutual support to each other on the issues of their vital national interest.

Emphasizing that CPEC offered a unique opportunity for the two countries to integrate with regional trading routes, the Foreign Ministers reaffirmed mutual commitment of both governments to continue effective implementation of the projects under this initiative.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi reiterated China's consistent support to Pakistan's sovereignty, territorial integrity, stability and development. Lauding Pakistan's remarkable achievements in counter-terrorism, he stated that Pakistan has been at the forefront of international efforts to combat terrorism for a long time, which the international community should recognize and appreciate.

The two Foreign Ministers also exchanged views on issues of peace and stability in the region, particularly in the context of President Trump's South Asia review focusing on its policy in Afghanistan. They agreed that there was no military solution to the conflict in Afghanistan and there was need for continued efforts for a politically negotiated settlement under an Afghan-led Afghan-owned peace process.

They also agreed to continue to work together bilaterally as well as through trilateral forum for promoting peace, stability and development in Afghanistan and the region. In this regard, Pakistan reiterated support for China's offer to host the first trilateral meeting of Foreign Ministers of Pakistan, China and Afghanistan later this year.

This was the first visit of Foreign Minister Khwaja Muhammad Asif to China after assuming his office last month. During the visit, he also called on the head of commission for political and legal affairs of CPC central committee Mr. Meng Jianzhu and State Counsellor Yang Jiechi.
A man checks a wind power generating facility installed on a ship of an offshore engineering company in Qidong, Jiangsu province. The city has innovated shipping-related technology in recent years to improve efficiency. [Photo/Xinhua]

China has compiled a new index to reflect the contribution of new growth drivers to the country's economic growth, said its statistical head on Thursday.

"After five years of exploration and application, China has established a statistical system that can reflect the development of the country's new growth drivers and industries," said Ning Jizhe, head of the National Bureau of Statistics.

He made the announcement at the ninth meeting of the heads of national statistical offices of the BRICS countries in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province.

The New Growth Driver Index shows the role of economic vitality, digital economy, restructuring, knowledge capacity and innovation as new growth drivers.

Each of the five is again measured by way of a sub-index.

The new index has 2014 as its starting point. In 2015, it reached 129, up 29 percent year-on-year, said Ning.

The rise of the index in 2015, the latest year for which data is available, shows that China's new growth drivers are expanding at a fast pace.

China's economic vitality is growing, said a development report on China's new economic momentum, released for the first time by the NBS at the BRICS meeting.

The Chinese Academy of Science and Technology for Development, a think tank affiliated to the Ministry of Science and Technology, released a similar index in January to reflect the role new growth drivers, such as innovation and emerging industries, have played in expanding the Chinese economy.

That index had continued to grow in the 2012-15 period.

China has made strenuous efforts to restructure its economy, with focus on maximizing the potential of the economy through encouragement of innovation and support for the development of some key emerging areas such as new materials, artificial intelligence, internet and the digital economy.

NBS data show that from January to July, China's patent applications rose by 8 percent year-on-year to 1.83 million.

During that period, China's online retail sales increased by 33.7 percent, 6.2 percentage points higher than the same period of last year.

In the Global Innovation Index rankings compiled by the World Intellectual Property Organization, China stood at the 22nd place this year, up from 34 in 2012 and is the highest among mid-income economies.

The two-day statistical office head meeting of BRICSBrazil, Russia, India, China and South Africaopened in Hangzhou on Thursday, shortly after the three-day BRICS Summit ended in Xiamen in East China's Fujian province.

NBS' Ning urged statistical authorities of the five countries to improve cooperation and standards of statistical work related to new growth drivers.

Xinhua contributed to the story.
China's top regulators, including the central bank, have banned ICO practices. [Photo/VCG]

China's recent ban on initial coin offerings is not expected to deter the commercial usage of blockchain technology, analysts said. Rather, they believe the ban to be a necessary step for better regulation of the technology.

Sheng Songcheng, a senior official of the central bank, said during an interview with China Business Network that blockchain is a promising technology and such scrutiny will only push the industry toward a healthier path.

"To eliminate the market frenzy once and for all so that everyone can start again by following the new rule is a very meaningful strategy," Sheng said. "Cryptocurrency is the most well-known practice of blockchain. It is impossible to stop it, but it is time for efficient scrutinizing."

China's top regulators, including the central bank, have banned ICO practices, an increasingly popular application of blockchain globally, which has helped Chinese startups raise almost 2.6 billion yuan ($400 million) in the first half of the year, according to a report by experts on the internet financial security technology.

The crackdown led to a 20 percent fall in the price of Bitcoin from $5,000 to $4,000 three days after the ban, as China has one of the largest number of cryptocurrency owners.

A fintech worker who requested anonymity said the Beijing-based company he worked for has stopped its ICO project.

"Certain regulation is necessary," he said. "But as ICO has been such an efficient way for tech companies to raise funds, I believe it is more likely to be a short-term ban until they can regulate it efficiently."

"ICO could have been a creative tool for startup if used well," said Huang Zhen, director of the research institution of financial laws in the Central University of Finance and Economics. "Currently, there is an unhealthy frenzy toward ICO which has attracted lots of players without adequate knowledge about blockchain or ICO. Such irrational investment can lead to potential financial risks."

The ban "is to protect the financial technology sector and investors with strong regulations, and stop illegal fundraising," Huang added. "It will help both startup owners and investors to stay away from irrational investment behavior."

Yu Liang, chief operating officer of Qingsongchou Network Technology Co Ltd, one of China's leading blockchain companies, said the commercial application of blockchain is still rare in China and the ban on ICO will not stop the industry from growing, but encourage those in the industry to use the tool in a legal way.

"Blockchain has a promising future in the financial sector, from what is happening in the world," Yu said. "Its nature of decentralizing, transparency and tamperproof makes it applicable in wide areas such as charity."
Airbnb users experience the natural beauty of the outdoors in London without having to step outside a home because it contains hundreds of trees and plants. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Airbnb Inc, a US-based home-sharing service provider, will continue to grow its presence in China, hiring local employees and working closely with the government to further tap the potential of the country's fast-growing inbound travel market.

China is one of the most important markets for Airbnb, and the company will continue to develop the nation's market, providing better services and products for Chinese consumers, as well as speeding up localization efforts here, said Chris Lehane, head of global policy and public affairs of Airbnb.

"Currently, Airbnb offers 120,000 active listings in China," Lehane said. There have been "2.5 million guest arrivals at listings within China for all time, a 287 percent year-on-year growth rate."

The home-sharing player has established an engineering base in China, its only such operation outside North America, to adapt quickly and meet Chinese customers' peculiar requirements.

In the next year, Airbnb will double its investment in China, triple the size of the local workforce, continue to hire local engineers, and strengthen cooperation with the Chinese government, according to the company.

Lehane said Airbnb supports the Chinese government's positive attitude toward the sharing economy and will respond positively.

At present, Airbnb has formed partnerships with Shanghai Pudong district, Shenzhen, Chongqing, Guangzhou, and Chengdu. By providing training programs and encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship, Airbnb helps those regions benefit from the sharing economy with local tourism development and cultural communication.

In March, it announced it would adopt a new Chinese name "Aibiying", which means "welcome each other with love," and stepped up efforts to localize its services in China. It integrates Chinese payment methods including Alipay, and offers its customers the ability to log in through WeChat.

"Our approach in China has historically been outbound travel, which means people from China travel to different parts of the world  An interesting phenomenon is that over 80 percent of Airbnb Chinese guests are millennials," he said, adding that the company will put more effort into exploring the inbound travel market.

From 2008 to date, there have been more than 5.3 million Chinese guest arrivals at Airbnb listings all over the world, and there was a 142 percent increase in outbound travel on the Airbnb platform last year. Moreover, Airbnb generated economic activity value worth 2.1 billion yuan ($325 million) for China last year.

Founded in August 2008 and based in San Francisco, Airbnb is a major player in the international sharing economy, currently offering 4 million listings across 191 countries. Since 2008, there have been more than 200 million total guest arrivals at Airbnb listings around the world.

Ma Tianjiao, an analyst with the Beijing-based internet consultancy Analysys, said nowadays, Chinese travelers are willing to try something different during a trip.

"They are not satisfied with hotels. Home-sharing platforms offer diverse living experiences."
A man speaks on the phone outside the Bank of China head office building in Beijing, March 30, 2016. [Photo/VCG]

SYDNEY  The Bank of China (BOC) celebrated the 75th anniversary of its Sydney branch on Friday at an illustrious event attended by numerous Chinese and Australian dignitaries.

For those on hand, the event signified a great deal more than the bank's incredible success over the decades, for many the milestone represented the enduring friendship and strengthening relations of the two nations.

When explaining the fascinating history of the BOC branch, Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Philip Lowe described the anniversary as "a story of resilience and friendship."

"When conflict came to Singapore in 1942, Mr Parkane Hwang from the Bank of China's Singapore branch decamped and sort a visa to travel to Australia to establish a branch of the Bank of China in Sydney," Lowe told Xinhua.

"One can only imagine it must have been a difficult and stressful time, but true to Australia's welcoming nature, especially for those in need, the visa was granted."

Less than one year later, a banking license was also given to Hwang and according to archival records, this was considered a clear sign of friendship between Australia and China, because at the time it was very "unusual" for such licenses to be granted.

Shortly after the Chinese bank's inception down under, the then Reserve Bank governor Hugh Armitage wrote a letter to the branch.

"I feel sure that the entry of your bank, into the Australian banking system will not only be of great value in facilitating business relationships between China and Australia but it will also help to foster the increasing bond of friendship between our respective countries."

For Lowe, "75 years later this statement remains just as true as it was in 1942, despite the tremendous changes we have seen in both of our countries."

From somewhat humble beginnings as the first Chinese bank to operate in Australia, the BOC has been a remarkable success and has steadily increased its size and business scope.

"The Bank of China now has 10 branches in Australia and its assets in Australia have grown by A$37 billion ($29.94 billion), an increase of 1,000 times since 1985," Chinese Ambassador to Australia Cheng Jingye said.

"Sydney's branch is also the first Chinese bank in Australia to issue banking cards, supporting both Australian dollars and RMB and successfully issued the first eight year-RMB bond in the Australian market."

As well, the branch now holds the distinction of being appointed as Australia's RMB clearing center, making it easier for various Australian and Chinese companies to do business.

But the ambassador also pointed out that the economic accomplishments of the organization are not what he is most proud of.

"The Bank of China in Sydney, also fulfills social responsibilities with participation in various activities organised by local communities," Cheng said.

"The story of the branch mirrors the development of China-Australia relations which have grown from strength to strength over the past 45 years," he added.

"Our exchanges and cooperation in various fields have reached and preceded width and depths."

Former prime minister Bob Hawke also shared the emotional sentiments of Cheng and he congratulated the bank on its long and proud history down under.

"I've had the opportunity of watching the remarkable development of China," he said.

"There is no other country that has benefited so much, from the economic revolution of China, as we have in this country and the development of the relationship between our two countries, your bank, The Bank of China, has played an indispensable role."

"I wish your bank all the best in the future and trust that we will continue to grow together in harmony and a wave of growing prosperity for the people of our two great countries and for the people of our region."
SHANGHAI  The Australian Business Chamber signed an agreement with the Hangzhou Wine Association on Friday on trade and investment.

Four Australian exporters in different industries also signed Memorandum of Understanding with Chinese partners on Friday. Among them, eco-friendly botanical cleaning producer Koala Eco will soon be launched on shopping website NetEase Koala. Mineral water from Go Fresh International and wine from Swan Wine Group will also enter the Chinese market.

Wine has been one of the fastest growing areas since the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement came into effect in late 2015. Australian wine exports to China increased 44 percent in 2016.

Tax breaks also led to more Australian fruit, seafood, dairy products and beef coming to China. Total trade between China and Australia reached A$155 billion in 2016, 23.1 percent of Australia's total foreign trade.

According to Niall Blair, trade minister of New South Wales, some Chinese companies have gone to Australia to invest in farms, where they produce fruit such as oranges and apples and which they ship back to China.

Paula Martin, general manager of the Australian Business Chamber, said that 158 export businesses from Australia has undertaken 304 projects since the chamber launched the "Export Growth to China" program and more than 100 Australian companies have worked with Chinese companies on orders worth more than A$7 million.

China has been Australia's largest export destination and import source since 2009.
A Dell computer counter in a shopping mall in Nantong, Jiangsu province. [Photo/China Daily]

XIAMEN  Cooperation among BRICS countries - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - will become an engine of global economic development, a senior executive of Dell has said.

Dell has large-scale investments in Brazil, India, China and South Africa and this "reflects the important position BRICS countries hold in the global economy," Huang Chenhong, Dell's global senior vice president and president of Dell Greater China, told Xinhua in a recent written interview.

Huang was one of the representatives of the 79 companies on the Fortune Global 500 list that attended the BRICS Business Forum, an important side-event of the BRICS summit. More than 600 companies from China and abroad attended the forum held Sunday and Monday in Xiamen, a coastal city in East China's Fujian province.

"BRICS cooperation is the result of economic globalization and also a driver for promoting and deepening global economic cooperation," Huang said on the sidelines of the forum. "For Dell as well as other international enterprises, BRICS countries are not only markets, but also growth drivers."

Huang said cooperation should not be limited to that among the BRICS countries or that between the five countries and other emerging economies. "Only by sticking to investment and trade liberalization can BRICS cooperation become the engine of the global economic development."

Huang also said BRICS countries have great potential in such areas as intelligent manufacturing and internet economy. "If BRICS countries have concrete and viable action plans in these areas, establish effective cooperation mechanisms and find new directions for development, it will be great news for transnational enterprises."

Besides, Huang said the fruits of BRICS cooperation can be promoted and copied in countries along the Belt and Road, namely the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. "This will bring broad space for cooperation to the business community, especially foreign companies in China."

In 2013, China proposed the Belt and Road Initiative aimed at building trade and infrastructure networks connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient Silk Road trade routes to seek common development and prosperity.

As a practitioner, beneficiary and promoter of the Belt and Road Initiative, Dell has been enhancing local cooperation for the better localization in purchasing, research and development, manufacturing as well as sales and service, the senior executive said.

Dell also expected that the establishment of a comprehensive logistic system with transportation via sea, air and land will greatly improve the efficiency of supply chains, Huang added.

Facing the increasing growth of trans-border e-commerce and logistics in BRICS trade, Huang said Dell will conduct all-round cooperation with its partners in supply chains, Information and Communications Technology (ICT) enterprises and other domestic companies involved in the Belt and Road Initiative in such areas as markets, networks, products and services, as an effort to promote communications in information technology among BRICS nations.

Dell is a multinational computer technology company based in Texas, the United States. Xiamen, the Chinese city that hosted the ninth BRICS Summit, has become Dell's largest manufacturing base in the world with a daily output of 80,000 pieces of equipment.

Dell CEO Michael Dell visited China in 2015 and announced the "In China, For China" 4.0 strategy, under which Dell will invest $125 billion in China over the next five years, contributing $175 billion to imports and exports while sustaining 1 million jobs.
JERUSALEM  Israel is keen on enhancing its technological and economic cooperation with China, Israeli Economic Minister Eli Cohen told Xinhua in a recent interview.

"We are willing to see more Chinese companies operating in Israel and in the next 30 years we will see more tremendous technological change, and we are willing to increase the cooperation between China and Israel," Cohen said.

Cohen said companies from the US and Europe were the dominant investors in Israel in the past years, but "now we are starting to see a change that more Chinese companies are coming together."

Cooperation between China and Israel in the fields of economy and trade started long time ago. To celebrate the 25th anniversary of their diplomatic ties, the two sides this year announced to set up an innovative comprehensive relationship.

Cohen said he had the great honor to visit China in March with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and attended an innovation conference in Beijing.

More and more business delegations from both sides are visiting each other to explore opportunities of promoting trade and economic cooperation, he added.

So far, China has become the largest trade partner in Asia for Israel and Israel's third largest global trade partner. Statistics show that the bilateral trade volume between China and Israel reached $11.35 billion a year.

In recent years, Chinese companies have become gradually active in making investment in Israel from the traditional sectors to medical services, clean technology and internet.

Some leading Chinese firms such as Huawei, Legend and Xiaomi have set up R&D centers in Israel. Bright Food Group has purchased Tnuva, the largest food manufacturing company of Israel.

Companies such as China Civil Engineering Construction Corp and China Railway Construction Group have worked as investors and constructors in Israel's infrastructure sector for years.

"It is very important to emphasize that Israel and China are not competitors. We are complementary to each other, and we should try and will work together," said Cohen.

He said that two countries should continue to strengthen their economical ties and technological information exchange.

Sources from Invest in Israel, one-stop-shop for foreign investment in Israel run by the Ministry of Economy and Industry, said that China and Israel are in the final stage of finalizing the free trade agreement.

Israel, known as a "startup nation" and " the silicon valley of Middle East," boasts huge advantages of technological innovation.

Cohen noted that the world has changed greatly in the last two decades as it has shifted from its heavy reliance on oil and gas companies in the past to technological ones today.

"In the new technological world, Israel is a key player in all these relevant fields," he said. "Although we are a very tiny country with approximately 8-9 million people, we are actually changing the world and this is our goal in many aspects of life."
BEIJING  China's State Council Friday released a guideline on accelerating supply-side structural reform in agriculture, specifying major tasks and targets for the sector's development in the coming years.

By 2020, China plans to foster a modern system for the grain industry and raise the ratio of high-quality grain by around 10 percentage points, according to the guideline.

China is also eyeing an annual average expansion of around 7 percent in the added value of the industry, with the increase of the grain processing rate to 88 percent. By 2020, the number of grain companies with yearly business revenue of more than 10 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) should exceed 50, the guideline said.

Major tasks for the development of the industry include invigorating leading enterprises, innovating new growth models and speeding up restructuring and upgrading to boost the supply of green and high-quality products.

The State Council stressed that more fiscal, tax and financing support should be extended to the industry, and favorable policies in land and power use should be put in place to facilitate industry development.

It asked local authorities to formulate detailed plans suitable to their regions for better industrial development.

After years of bumper harvests, China no longer struggles with food shortages, but structural problems remain: some agricultural products are over-supplied and some still rely heavily on imports, while homegrown produce struggles to compete with foreign rivals.

China's central rural work conference has stressed the need for better quality and efficiency in agriculture, with a focus on improving farmers' incomes and produce quality in 2017.

Earlier official data showed China's grain output dipped in 2016 as its planting area shrank and per unit yield edged down. National grain output stood at about 616 million metric tons last year, down 0.8 percent, compared with a year earlier.
An unauthorized opposition rally against the Zapad 2017 joint Belarusian-Russian exercise in Belarus is taking place in the center of the Belarusian capital on Friday.

The rally was initiated by opposition politician and 2010 presidential candidate Nikolai Statkevich.

Around 150-200 protestors have gathered in Oktyabrskaya Square in central Minsk. They are protesting the holding of the Zapad 2017 exercise in their country. The demonstrators are carrying white-red-white tricolors - the Belarusian national flag in 1991-1995, which has become an opposition symbol. They are chanting the slogan "Long Live Belarus!" The organizers have brought loudspeakers and are playing music.

The police are not interfering with the rally.

The Russia-Belarus Zapad 2017 maneuvers will be held on September 14-20.
URUMQI  The State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC) will invest 82.6 billion yuan ($12.8 billion) to improve the power grid in the northwestern Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

According to an agreement signed by the SGCC and the regional government on Friday, power transmission projects featuring extra-high voltage will be built to lift Xinjiang's outbound power transmitting capacity to 25 million kilowatts by the end of 2020.

In addition, 22.4 billion yuan will be used to upgrade power networks in rural areas, so that poverty-stricken areas have access to electricity. By the end of 2019, all poor villages in the region will have improved power networks.

The SGCC will employ Xinjiang residents in a variety of jobs from 2017 to 2020, while the regional government will give no less than 90 million yuan per year to support the building of the local power grid.
DHL Supply Chain and Huawei Technologies jointly launched a Narrowband Internet of Things, or NB-IoT, application for improving logistics at manufacturing sites on Wednesday at an automotive site in Liuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

The application is also aimed at raising the efficiency of the domestic logistics industry, the executives concerned said.

Supported by a range of industrial multimedia IoT protocols and interfaces, it offers connectivity, smart operations and device management functions at manufacturing sites.

"Waiting time for drivers will be halved from an average of 40 minutes to 20 minutes, and risks of manufacturing delays are significantly reduced as materials arrive in time and resources are optimized by the IoT solution," said Markus Voss, chief information officer and chief operating officer of DHL Supply Chain.

Leveraging existing infrastructure and limited investments, the IoT solution is designed to facilitate and streamline yard management for inbound-to-manufacturing logistics, which can significantly improve inbound processing time at the site, said Voss.

According to Zou Yin, CEO of DHL Supply Chain Greater China, the NB-IoT solution has been developed by adapting technologies of Huawei and China Mobile.

"Exploring new technologies like NB-IoT is one of many ways we are forging forward with our digitalization journey in China," said Zou.

"The cross-industry effort made by Huawei and DHL has enlightened industrial players to find a way out amid the fragmented logistics industry battling all these years with high cost due to the uneven resources, supply and demand of products," said Lin Guolong, director of the Shanghai Maritime University Logistics Research Center.

Lin said the fast development of e-commerce requires logistics to be more efficient and approachable, with higher service standard and lower cost. Despite its fast growth, logistics cost stays high; so, intelligent logistics via the IoT seems to be the answer.

The 2016 Commerce Logistics Operations Report released by the Ministry of Commerce said a total of 11.1 trillion yuan ($1.7 trillion) was spent on logistics last year, up 2.9 percent year-on-year and accounting for 14.9 percent of the GDP.

The percentage is much higher than 6.5 percent of the United States, Japan and Germany, and 3.5 percentage points higher than the global average.

"The high logistics cost, the warehouse land price as well as the management cost are the biggest hurdles confronting China's logistics development," Sun Xiaobo, a professor specializing in logistics from Beijing Normal University, was quoted as saying by Modern Logistics News.

The Liuzhou project is also an effort to cash in on the additional value from the IoT-applied international logistics industry.

"By 2025, the internet of things will have the potential to generate up to 1.77 trillion euros ($2.12 trillion) in additional value for the international logistics industry. Our goal is to enable a more integrated logistics value chain through greater connectivity, enhancing the customer experience," said Voss.
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China's Ambassador to Britain Liu Xiaoming said China was not the key to the Korean nuclear issue, and called for negotiations and dialogue to defuse tensions.

The latest nuclear test by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea is driving up regional tension and raising international concerns. Some Western media have blamed China for not doing enough to curb the DPRK.

In a signed article published on the Daily Telegraph on Friday, Liu Xiaoming, who served as China's ambassador to the DPRK before taking the diplomatic job in the United Kingdom, dismissed such criticism and said China was not the key to the DPRK crisis, the nation wants peace in Korea, and the key to solving the nuclear crisis lies with the United States and the DPRK.

"China's contribution to resolving the Korean nuclear issue is there for all to see," Liu wrote in the article.

"As a close neighbor and a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China has always kept in mind the big picture of maintaining regional peace and stability, and made tireless and persistent efforts to facilitate a negotiated solution."

Liu added he had been personally involved in the process.

"It was thanks to China's hard work, with the support of other parties, that the diplomatic efforts, from Three-Party Talks to Six-Party Talks, were able to sustain momentum and produce three joint documents between 2003 and 2007," he said.

The joint statement on Sept 19, 2005, outlined a roadmap for the DPRK to abandon its nuclear program and for peace on the Korean Peninsula.

Liu said China has comprehensively and strictly implemented all the 16 Security Council resolutions since 2006, and reached out extensively to other parties to promote peace talks. China's role has been "active, responsible and constructive".

"To say China is not doing its part is untrue and irresponsible," he said.

The veteran diplomat added he believed "to find the key to the Korean nuclear issue, one must understand the 'lock'." Liu said at the center of the tension is security, or a sense of insecurity due to the serious mistrust between the DPRK and the US.

"It is up to the two parties that hold the key to apply the right cure by demonstrating good faith for dialogue and by working towards the goal of preventing the escalation of tensions," he said.

Liu added China was ready to help, "but you cannot put out a fire if someone continues to pour oil over it, or find fault with or even frustrate firefighting efforts."

He said he believes the only way out of the current impasse is through negotiation and dialogue, and the only solution should be a political one.

"Eight years of Six-Party Talks showed that peace on the Korean Peninsula could be maintained and progress towards denuclearization remains attainable as long as there is dialogue, " Liu said.

When talks were stalled in 2008, the situation drifted out of control. The DPRK quickened the development of its nuclear and missile technologies, and has conducted six nuclear tests and fired dozens of missiles since.

To halt the deterioration of the tension, China has proposed "double suspension"  the DPRK suspending its nuclear-related activities and the US suspending military drills with the Republic of Korea to return to the negotiation table.

Liu said he believed this would help move the "dual track approach" forward by advancing denuclearization and peace-building at the same time, leading ultimately to the replacement of the Armistice Agreement with a peace treaty.

He urged the US and the ROK to immediately call off the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense missile system, which threatens China and other countries in this region and damages trust and cooperation on the nuclear issue.

The ambassador reiterated China stood ready to work with other parties toward denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula, restoring peace and stability, and solving the issue through dialogue and negotiation.
HONG KONG -- China's Hong Kong and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) announced Saturday the conclusion of the negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and a related Investment Agreement.

The announcement was made at the second ASEAN Economic Ministers-Hong Kong, China Consultations (AEM-HKC Consultations).
HANOI - A middle-aged man left his home in Hanoi on a recent morning and walked toward a nearby passenger car that was waiting to pick him up on Le Van Luong Street.

Mau Quang Minh, 40, a university lecturer, would then guide 20 Vietnamese people visiting the Fenghuang ancient town in Central China's Hunan province.

"This will be my seventh time to visit there," Minh said, as the car turned at a crossroad to pick up more passengers.
The sixth Kubuqi International Desert Forum shared China's experience in tackling desertification for the past 30 years, reiterating the importance of natural laws and green economic development.

The forum was held in the Kubuqi Desert in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region on July 29. The Kubuqi Desert is China's seventh-largest sand area, measuring 18,600 square kilometers.

The desert is one of the birthplaces of the sandstorms that can strike Beijing.

The straight distance from Beijing to Kubuqi is around 800 km, making it the nearest desert to Beijing.

The local people there modified their overall plan to combat desertification under the guidance of a systematic scientific and technological outlook. Now, the word "desert" has been redefined by desertification fighters.

Elion Resources Group, a green technology and finance company, has been part of the Kubuqi desertification-control project since 1988.

At the forum, the company shared its expertise in reclaiming land in desert regions by planting the Chinese herb licorice.

Licorice plants are drought tolerant and can grow on uncultivated land, making it a pioneer plant for optimizing desert soil properties.

The legume bacteria living around licorice plants' roots have a nitrogen fixation effect, increasing the soil's fertility.

One licorice plant can help to reclaim 0.1 square meter of desert.

In most circumstances, the plant grows upright toward the sky.

Elion innovated the planting method, making one licorice tree become capable of reclaiming 1 sq m of the land, 10 times more than before.

Besides planting licorice, the company also works together with local residents with the support of new technologies. The company has succeeded in reclaiming over 6,000 sq km of desert, mostly by planting desert-friendly plants.

Starting as a small company mining a salt field, Elion has invented more than 100 environmental technologies, as well as more than 100 technological solutions to improve the desert environment.

To date, Elion has invested more than 38 billion yuan ($5.82 billion) in improving the enrionvmental conditions in the desert.

The company's input has generated more than 500 billion yuan in environmental wealth. The whole project pulled 102,000 local farmers out of poverty.

"Only if we respect nature and observe its laws, can we transform the issue of desertification into opportunity. Thereafter, we can turn the fiscal burden caused by deserts into green GDP," said Wang Wenbiao, chairman of the company.

Thanks to the efforts made by local people, in today's Kubuqi, people can see flocks of sheep and cattle grazing under the solar panels; the panels feeding electricity into the national power grid; and the boundless, starry sky above the darkened desert, which attracts more and more visitors.

With the theme the Green Belt and Road Initiative, Sharing Desert Economy, the sixth forum is a practical response to the proposal that "green mountains and clear water are as good as mountains of gold and silver".

The replicable and practical experience represents a stimulating approach contributed by China to the global desertification control effort.

A senior Chinese official said in a congratulatory letter to the forum that China has always attached great importance to combating desertification and has made remarkable achievements. Kubuqi is a good example of China's success in containing desertification and China offers its experience to the international community, the official added.

The letter also noted that since its founding 10 years ago, the forum has become an important platform for nations to exchange their experience in combating desertification and achieving the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification - a binding international agreement on land issues - agreed that the land reclamation project in the Kubuqi Desert has set a good model for the rest of the world, creating a new way under the framework of marketization, industrialization and shared public benefits.

The road explored by Kubuqi locals aims to be a balanced solution to drive the sustainable development of sand-control, ecology, livelihood and economy.

The forum was sponsored by China's Ministry of Science and Technology, the State Forestry Administration, the Inner Mongolia People's Government, the United Nations Environment Programme and the Secretariat of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification.

China has about 2.6 million sq km of desert and another 1.7 million sq km of desertified land, which together is about a tenth of the world's total.

Thanks to the authorities' efforts, desert and desertified areas in China have on average been reduced by about 4,000 sq km annually in recent years.

liyou@chinadaily.com.cn

Capitalizing solar and thermal energies in the Kubuqi Desert, Elion develops an ecological photovoltaic industry. It integrates desertification control, power generation, plantations, animal husbandry and poverty alleviation.Provided To China Daily

(China Daily 09/09/2017 page11)
As the secretary-general of the Yongqiao Circus Association in Anhui province, Zhang Yongheng joked that he is constantly caught between the welfare of animals and human beings.

Seven years after the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development issued a guideline that banned Stated-owned zoos from hosting circus performances featuring animals, Zhang and his association have yet to find a solution to revive the century-old business.

Before the guideline was issued, a circus troupe that featured animals could rake in millions of yuan a year by touring the country, according to the association. Most of the performances took place in zoos.

An investigation by the State Forestry Administration later found that 53 zoos across the country were guilty of animal abuse during circus acts. This led the central government to ban the use of animals in such performances.

"The number of circus troupes has dropped from 400 at its peak to around 280 today," said Zhang.

"It's not that people are less interested, but animal rights supporters have been really fighting hard against such performances," he added.
Britain's Victoria & Albert Museum and Chinese conglomerate China Merchants Group have confirmed their joint project, a new cultural center in Shenzhen, will open in December.

Experts from the V&A the world's largest decorative art and design museum have worked with Chinese partners over three years to help develop Design Society, a new cultural hub in the industrial city in south China.

Design Society, which is based in the Sea World Culture and Arts Centre in Shekou district, comprises a multipurpose hall, theater, restaurants, retail spaces and multiple galleries, including a new outpost of the V&A.

The first exhibition at the new V&A Gallery, which has been designed by London design studio Sam Jacob, will feature more than 250 products, furniture and graphic design pieces from 31 countries, spanning from 900 AD to the present day.

The V&A signed a five-year agreement in 2014 with industry and property conglomerate China Merchants Group to collaborate on the project, formerly called the Shekou Design Museum.

"The V&A has a long history of working in and with China," said Tim Reeve, the museum's deputy director. "This project is enabling us to connect with the fast-moving design, manufacturing and creative scene here in Shenzhen, as well as sharing our collections, knowledge and expertise in one of the most energetic and progressive cities in the world."

The V&A is also collaborating on a cultural center in Dundee, Scotland, as the institution makes inroads into exporting museum design.

The move is part of a growing global trend. New York's Guggenheim Museum has a development in Bilbao, Spain, and is planning a gallery in Helsinki, Finland. France's world-famous Louvre Museum is looking to expand from Paris to Abu Dhabi.

"This pioneering collaboration between a UK museum and a Chinese partner is part of a new approach to our international engagement strategy," Reeve said. "We are looking to develop new longer-term international collaborations, which enables us to engage in more creative ways, by building a global network of trusted partners with whom we can share the idea of the V&A."

Brendan Cormier, lead curator of the V&A gallery at Design Society, said the Shenzhen project forms part of a general shift in China away from mass production and toward design and innovation.

"There is perhaps no country banking more on design than China," Cormier said. "Although the gallery will consist of objects in the V&A collection from around the world, our research for the show began first with trying to map out the current state of design in China."

He added: "The country is heavily committed to moving away from low-cost manufacturing by focusing instead on value-added design."

Design Society is scheduled to open on Dec 2.
China Daily

The Republic of Korea announced on Thursday that it had completed the installation of the remaining four launchers of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense anti-missile system, and the battery will be operational as soon as the United States finishes its internal procedures. A THAAD unit comprises six truck-mounted launchers, 48 interceptors (eight each launcher), and AN/TPY-2 radar and other ancillary equipment.

The deployment of THAAD, to begin with, is contrary to ROK President Moon Jae-in's earlier statement that the antimissile system should not be deployed in a hurry. In fact, when US troops in the ROK started deploying THAAD on April 27, a couple of weeks before he took office, Moon "strongly objected" to the move.

Moon changed his decision mainly for two reasons: the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's sixth nuclear test on Sunday, which has made the ROK feel even more insecure; and the importance Moon attaches to Seoul's ties with Washington and the deployment of THAAD is a good way of expressing that.

On May 31, three weeks after he took office, Moon told visiting US senators that his administration won't change the decision to deploy THAAD. On July 29, one day after the DPRK tested a ballistic missile, he ordered the installation of the four remaining launchers. And after the DPRK conducted a nuclear test on Sunday, he accelerated the deployment of THAAD.

Seoul's security concern is understandable, but THAAD won't protect the ROK against intercontinental ballistic missiles and nuclear bombs. So, by hastening the deployment of THAAD, Moon is actually strengthening the US-ROK alliance.

Moon's other actions also bear this fact out. He paid a five-day visit to the US from June 28, becoming the first ROK president to do so in less than two months of being sworn in. Besides, the entrepreneurs accompanying him on the visit plan to invest $12.8 billion in the US states that voted for US President Donald Trump in last November's presidential election.

By deploying THAAD, Seoul is also trying to put pressure on Beijing to persuade Pyongyang to not create more trouble, because some politicians in the ROK have the wrong notion that China is partly responsible for the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue. In fact, to put more pressure on China to "rein in" the DPRK, some ROK politicians want Seoul to buy nuclear submarines from the US and allow it to deploy more strategic weapons in the ROK.

What they don't realize is that such tactics will only widen the distance between Beijing and Seoul, especially because the deployment of THAAD in the ROK poses a challenge to China's security and strategic interests, and might prompt the DPRK to continue, even expedite, its nuclear program. As a result, the situation not only on the Korean Peninsula but also in the whole of Northeast Asia will worsen.

True, Moon made efforts to improve relations with the DPRK after taking office, but Seoul-Pyongyang ties will not improve if THAAD continues to pose a threat to other countries and thus escalate tensions on the peninsula - and undermine Sino-US trust. In other words, by deploying THAAD, the ROK is also compromising its own interests.

When Moon served as the chief presidential secretary to former ROK president Roh Moo-hyun from 2007 to 2008, China and the ROK enjoyed very good relations and agreed on many aspects of the peninsula nuclear issue. That was a major reason why China had high expectations from Moon when he took office. Moon himself said he attaches great importance to the ROK's relations with China, but by accelerating the deployment of THAAD he has only hurt bilateral ties.

We hope Moon will make sincere efforts to improve bilateral ties and his administration will work with the Chinese government for the betterment of the people of the two countries.

The author is a researcher of Asia-Pacific studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
The explosion of a Toyota Camry in central Kyiv on Friday evening, which killed Georgian citizen Timur Makhauri and injured two other people, can be classified as 'a terrorist attack' rather than 'a premeditated murder', the Ukrainian National Police Service said.

"After the evaluation of all existing evidence and in case some additional circumstances are determined, a motion will be forwarded to prosecution agencies on re-classifying the criminal proceedings opened originally under Ukrainian Criminal Code Article 115 Part 2 as one covered by Criminal Code Article 256 (terrorist attack)," the National Police Service press service said on Friday.

Law enforcement agencies, including investigators, forensic specialists and bomb disposal experts, are carrying out the necessary primary procedures at the crime scene, it said.

"Police officials are examining the adjacent territory and the damaged vehicle, questioning witnesses, and gathering evidence. The evidence gathered will later be subject to expert evaluation, based on the results of which a final decision will be made on classifying the event," it said.

It was reported earlier that a Toyota Camry with Georgian license plates was blown up in central Kyiv on Friday evening by means of a planted explosive device, which killed Georgian citizen Timur Makhauri and severely injured a woman in the car; the third passenger, a child, was not harmed.

Ukrainian Interior Ministry spokesperson Artem Shevchenko said a criminal case had been opened into the incident on charges of "premeditated murder committed using a publicly dangerous method" (Ukrainian Criminal Code Article 115 Part 2).

Several people who knew Makhauri said in an interview shown by the 112 Ukraine television channel at the scene of the incident that he had fought with a volunteer battalion in Donbas.
War films dominated the summer film releases, and you could not find two more contrasting examples of the genre than Wolf Warrior II and Dunkirk. In one sense, the only thing that links them is the loose heading of "war" and the theme of evacuation, but both have strong political messages.

Dunkirk is based on the escape of large parts of the British Army from continental Europe after the British and French armies were routed by the forces of Nazi Germany in 1940. Director Christopher Nolan conveys the sense of claustrophobia, doom and desperation felt by the encircled British as they are hemmed in by gray seas and gray skies around the northern French town of Dunkirk.

The film is uncomfortable to watch, and even the soundtrack is unsettling, especially when punctuated by the screech of German dive bombers. The film only lightens at the end, when the scale of the evacuation is revealed and the possibility of a brighter future is suggested. The violence of the film is impersonal, with shots from nowhere and torpedoes from under the sea. Only in the air does the combat seem more personal.

The evacuation of Dunkirk forms an important part of Britain's self-image, the victory clawed back from the defeat that preceded its solitary opposition to German domination in Europe and ultimately led to redemption in 1944 and 1945 with the liberation of Europe and the defeat of Germany and Italy - albeit with the help of the Soviet Union and the United States.

This self-image is a major facet of English nationalism, which often seems to be stuck in World War II and resents Britain's involvement with the European Union. Nigel Farage, a prominent anti-European political leader, tweeted: "I urge every youngster to watch Dunkirk".

But the romantic image of Britain's past is only possible with a great deal of cherry-picking. It is unlikely that we will see a film of Britain's greatest military disaster in Singapore in 1942, where it lost more soldiers than in Dunkirk, or a portrayal of its role in the 1948 partition of India, which led to the death or displacement of more than 10 million people.

China's Wolf Warrior II avoids historical pitfalls by being a fictional action thriller that only occasionally strays into realism. But director and lead actor Wu Jing still tries to project messages via the medium of an unashamedly entertaining action film. The film is set in a fictional African country where China is playing an important role in providing healthcare, economic development and security. While other international players leave the region amid a civil war, the People's Liberation Army Navy stands by and eventually comes to the rescue of Chinese and Africans.

The fictional world of Wu Jing is a mirror of China's Belt and Road Initiative development projects and the recent establishment of a Chinese base in Djibouti. Wu's message is that China is playing a major role in the world, and that provides the backdrop for his action movie.

Britain's future would be a problematic subject for filmmakers at the moment, so the past continues to provide a focus. Dunkirk was just the first of three films to be released this year that feature Britain's wartime prime minister Winston Churchill - the other two are Churchill and Darkest Hour. Maybe we will need to wait for the release of the 25th James Bond film in November 2019 to get some illumination about where Britain sees itself.

The author is a senior editor at China Daily UK. conal@mail.chinadailyuk.com
China invented paper money more than a millennium ago during the Tang Dynasty (618-907), and Chinese innovators are now at the forefront of technological changes that could abolish cash for good. With banknotes rapidly going out of fashion in the electronic age, China's Alipay just made it even easier for consumers to spend their money by rolling out facial recognition payments.

In the first commercial application of the technology at a fast food restaurant in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang province, customers can now settle the bill by having their face scanned by a so-called "Smile to Pay" app.

It took hundreds of years for the concept of paper money to spread from China to the rest of the world, but the modern pace of technological uptake means facial recognition payments will not be confined to China for very long. Just 50 years after the world's first cash dispenser was installed in suburban London, subsequent generations have become accustomed to dispensing with physical money almost entirely and using their charge cards for everything.

Barclays, the British high street bank that installed the first ATM, now allows customers to transfer money verbally via a voice application on their cellphones. In theory, it doesn't matter much how we pay our bills, whether it is with gold coins, notes, electronic transfers, cards, cowrie shells or even smiles. The essential thing is that everyone has trust in the method of settlement.

Paper money only took off because traders were confident they could safely deposit their gold and silver with China's national treasury in exchange for negotiable promissory notes.

When Marco Polo described the use of paper money to his medieval European contemporaries, nobody believed him. It was to be centuries before the concept was adopted in Europe. Some of the older generation today are similarly resistant to change and are horrified that one day cash may disappear altogether. Alarmed by tales of online scammers - the 21st century version of the pickpocket - many older people are reluctant to make payments online.

They also believe the physical act of taking hard-earned cash out of your wallet and seeing it disappear into the shopkeeper's till makes it less likely you will make an impulse purchase with the simple wave of your card or your cellphone.

The existence of easy credit in many countries can also mean consumers with a credit card burning a hole in their pocket end up spending money they don't have. Recent research in Malaysia indicates that, while four out of 10 credit card holders pay their debt in full every month, 10 percent fail to make the minimum payment of even 5 percent of the outstanding amount. So the method of payment, it turns out, can affect spending habits.

Others are concerned about leaving an electronic trail of every purchase they make, an invitation to be pestered by marketers and advertisers, and prefer the anonymity of old-fashioned hard cash. The anonymity of cash can, however, be exploited by tax-avoiders and money-launderers. Governments and monetary authorities, therefore, have an interest in the trend toward electronic payments that can be more effectively monitored.

However, with some retailers already promising - or should that be threatening? - to go completely cashless in years to come, recent research in the United Kingdom indicate that such a move could mean them losing up to half their customers, particularly the older ones.

But, in the end, the eventual transformation toward a cashless society now appears inevitable. That said, the old rules that have governed the use of money since it was first invented will remain in force: Beware of thieves and fraudsters, both in the real and virtual worlds; avoid impulse purchases of stuff you really don't need; and try not to spend money that you haven't got.

The author is a senior editorial consultant for China Daily. harveymorris@gmail.com
Christopher Nolan promotes latest film Dunkirk in Beijing.[Photo/Xinhua]

Director Christopher Nolan's name in the marquee is a huge draw for Chinese audiences

With his latest war film Dunkirk, Christopher Nolan yet again has his name buzzing across China. As of Sunday, only its third day of public screening in the Chinese mainland, the film had already raked in over 197 million yuan ($30.1 million).

On Douban, a major Chinese film rating platform, Dunkirk is currently rated 8.6 out of 10, sitting comfortably in the top 10 percent of both war and history films.

For many Chinese fans, the director was the main drawcard.

"I went to see the film because of Nolan," says Huang Ziyun, a moviegoer, whose opinion was echoed by many others. "His films have always delivered, so I had faith and high expectations in this one."

"I'm also very interested in films that depict history," she says.

The film did not disappoint. Telling the story of the evacuation of British and French soldiers who were surrounded by the German army during a fierce battle in World War II, Dunkirk puts the audience through an immersive experience that many have found unique.

"There were many scenes that imposed an oppressive feeling on me, such as the scene where a number of young soldiers hid in a cabin which became the target for German soldiers' shooting drill," says Shen Cong, a viewer in Beijing.

"It dragged the audience to the battleground right from the get-go," says a user named QueerasfolkChina on Douban. "The three storylines overlapped one another, making us struggle and panic inside out."

He was referring to the storylines that consisted of a week for the soldiers desperately waiting for a beach rescue, a day for a family sailing from England to the rescue, and an hour for a group of fighter pilots shielding the rescue from the air, which intertwined with each other and converged in the end.
Xianwuren Dance Studio Lotus

Date: Sept 24 - 7:30 pm

Venue: National Center for the Performing Arts

Price: 80-400 yuan

The dance drama tells the story of a clay modeler at the Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, who after perceiving the beauty and sincerity of the "Lotus" (a sacred image in Buddhist poetry), creates a painted statue for the Dunhuang caves. Choreographer Zhao Xiaogang borrows the exquisite body language of the Dunhuang wall murals and Buddhist statuary to tell the story of this clay modeler's journey of cultivation and learning, searching for the origin of life, as he carries his sculpture great distances across land and sea. It celebrates humanity's persistent search for true love, goodness, and cherished wishes.
Cui Tiankai (left), China's ambassador to the US, chats with US Senator Steve Daines, from Montana, in an agricultural forum at the Morgan Ranch in Belgrade, Montana, on Sept 8, 2017. [Photo by Chen Weihua/chinadaily.com.cn]

The Chinese Ambassador to the United States, Cui Tiankai, and US Senator Steve Daines, from Montana, co-chaired an agricultural forum at the Morgan Ranch in Belgrade, Montana, on Friday.

About 20 people from the Montana agricultural sector, the Chinese embassy in Washington and US-based Chinese companies discussed how to expand agricultural cooperation between Montana and China.

China is the largest market for US agricultural exports.


An unauthorized opposition rally protesting the upcoming Zapad 2017 joint Russia-Belarus exercise took place in the center of the Belarusian capital on Friday.

The rally was initiated by opposition politician and 2010 presidential candidate Nikolai Statkevich.

Around 150-200 protestors gathered in Oktyabrskaya Square in central Minsk, where opposition leaders held their impromptu rally.

"There is a high likelihood that [Russia] might leave its troops and equipment here [in Belarus] to use them later against our independence," Statkevich told the assembled. "Today we are showing that we are against [this]," he said.

At the conclusion of the rally, those assembled issued a resolution against the Zapad 2017 being held in Belarus.

Afterwards, protestors walked towards Victory Square, where they laid flowers at the Eternal Flame memorial.

Next, they walked down Independence Avenue to Yakub Kolas Square, the site of a monument to Grandfather Talash (a member of the partisan movement during the Soviet-Polish and Great Patriotic wars, a popular hero and one of the symbols of the partisan movement). The protestors made a symbolical oath at the monument, having sworn in front of an Orthodox priest to serve and to fight for the independence of Belarus.

After that, the rally was declared over.

The police did not interfere with the demonstration.
18 Must-Read Classic Christian Books for the Intellectually Curious: 18. Praying God's Word 08 September, 2017 by Michael Gryboski , |

18. Praying God's Word: Breaking Free from Spiritual Strongholds

American evangelist and author Beth Moore's 2000 book analyzes how to apply Second Corinthians talk of Christians demolishing "arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God ..."

This book is available to purchase here.
Four days after three Texas churches sued the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for barring them from relief funding, the President took their side.

Donald Trump tweeted Friday night:

Churches in Texas should be entitled to reimbursement from FEMA Relief Funds for helping victims of Hurricane Harvey (just like others).

Becket, the religious liberty legal group representing the damaged churches, applauded his remark, saying, It's great that the President sees that FEMAs policy of treating churches worse than every other nonprofit is wrong.

Jack Graham, a Trump adviser and Dallas pastor, applauded the President, but indicated some hesitancy around the case. Christians and churches give & serve willingly but very thoughtful of the President to desire to support our work, he tweeted.

Several have suggested that churches offer services out of a sense of charity, and not to be compensated. Yes, there are church-and-state issues here, but ...

1
Before I became a disaster psychologist, I was a youth pastor.

My first job in ministry was at a small, rural church near the Indiana-Illinois state line. It didnt take me long to realize I was in over my head. Nothing had prepared me for some of the serious struggles the youth in our community were facing. After a couple of years, I decided to go on to graduate school in psychology to better prepare for lifes disasters, like the trauma and grief I had seen in the lives of some of my students.

After I graduated, our family moved to South Mississippi for my first college teaching gig. Our first Sunday there, we attended a church service down the road from our house. I still vividly remember the pastor solemnly walking to the pulpit, and in a slow Southern drawl saying, If you remember Camille, youll know what Im about to say.

The pastor went on to describe how the killer storm Hurricane Camille had devastated Mississippi in the late 1960s. He then warned about a rapidly approaching hurricane that some thought might be even worse: Hurricane Katrina.

I remembered all the post-9/11 public service ads that stressed how one common household item was crucial to everyones preparedness kit. As soon as I got home, I started rummaging through our drawers and unopened boxes to look for this lifesaving resource. Then I found it. The holy grail of preparedness, or so I thought: duct tape!

I was standing in the living room looking out our window, gripping that duct tape. I knew a threat was rapidly approaching, but all I could think was, Now what?

Once again, I was in over my head. Nothing had prepared me for the devastation that was about to rip through our community. Within weeks of Katrinas landfall, I began reaching out to pastors to study how churches were responding. Twelve years later, with trips across the globe and too many disasters to list, Im still studying disasters. During this time Ive also weathered my own personal disaster of facing cancer, too.

Pastors I work with often ask me, Whats the biggest disaster threat facing the church today? Heres what Ive concluded: The biggest threat facing the church isnt a disaster eventits how people in the church think about disasters. The way you and your church think about disasters will determine what actions you will take to prepare and care in a disaster-filled world.

I dont say this to minimize the threat or impact of recent disasters. Ive never seen a storm like Hurricane Irma, one of the most powerful Atlantic Ocean hurricanes to be tracked, which poses immediate danger. Recently Hurricane Harvey struck the United States, becoming one of the costliest natural disasters in our countrys history. Countless other disasters like the wilfires in Montana and the flooding in South Asia are happening. These all pose real threats.

Yet, when I consider disasters within a broader contextwithin the grand scheme of past and possible eventsits how we think about disasters that keeps me up at night. Too many pastors and congregations have bought into ideas about disasters that just arent true. Embracing these myths puts more people in harms way, risks diminishing our Christian witness, and threatens our ability to act as the hands and feet of Christ.

Myth 1: The odds of a disaster impacting my church or community are slim.

Disasters are actually happening more and more. You may have thought you were just imagining it, but you arent.

A couple of years after Hurricane Katrina, I spoke to a group of pastors in the Mississippi Delta about the importance of preparing for disasters. They assured me hurricanes wouldnt travel so far north, so they werent sure why I was there. I had just started to respond when the noise of a passing train forced me to pause. After it passed, I asked the pastors what was on the train. They told me it regularly transported chemicals and oil from the coast to points further north. They had never noticed the risk on the rails in their own backyard. Sadly, a few years later a flood devastated their community.

Since the 1980s there has been a roughly 400-percent increase in natural disasters globally. Granted, not all of these events are Katrina-sized disasters, but a disaster is still a disaster. Unnatural disasters like terrorist attacks, mass shootings, and technical disaster (e.g., chemical spills) are also on the rise.

Despite these statistics, the fact is, we tend to be bad at estimating risk. So bad, in fact, that experts describe our response as the ostrich effect. Just as the name implies, research has shown that people tend to mistakingly ignore real potential threats.

The biggest threat facing the church isnt a disaster eventits how people in the church think about disasters.

On the other hand, some people overestimate specific threats, and live in fear of large-scale disasters like a tornado or terrorist attack, despite the fact that more people in the United States die annually from heat waves and snowstorms.

Disasters are happening in places that may not have been at risk traditionally. We can no longer rely on the heuristic that previous disasters are a good indicator of the sorts of disasters a community may face in the future. This rule of thumb isnt as reliable as it once was. Changes in extreme weather pattens, sea-level rise, social tensions, global unrest, economic disparities, population growth, and shifts where people live are just a few reasons why.

But even the most unprepared churches need not give up hope when disaster hits. When a massive flood submerged the building his church was planning to remodel and launch as a new campus under five feet of water last summer in Baton Rouge, Healing Place Church campus pastor Ryan Frith described the experience as shocking and surreal. Never would we have imagined a flood like this happening, he said. Nobody on our team had done disaster relief before or had even worked in a warehouse. But after the water receded, they were able to turn their church campus into a distribution center, cooking meals and handing out fresh groceries. For a month and a half, they were able to reach thousands of people a day through all of the activity on the property. We truly got to see God take all things and work them together for good. Our plan was to start having church, but Gods plan was for us to first be the church.

Myth 2: Disasters dont discriminate.

There is some truth to this. No matter who you are, or how much money you have, disasters can impact anyone. However, disasters do not affect all people equally. They disproportionally impact the socially and economically vulnerable.

Disasters are one of the biggest moral and biblical justice issues facing the church and society.

Disasters often magnify injustices by putting a spotlight on disparities already present in a community. I was involved with a program to help traumatized children after the 2010 Haiti earthquake. I had helped in Haiti years before. But it wasnt until after the disaster that I learned of a far less visible disasterRestaveka Haitian cultural form of modern-day child slavery. The earthquake made this unthinkable practice even more prevalent. The earthquake had left many children and youth orphaned, and others with families that were no longer able to care for them. Human traffickers rushed to exploit the situation.

The poor, medically fragile, very old, young, and minorities suffer more than others. For example, some immigrants and refugees may live in fear of deportation, and as a result, might not ask for the help they need to rebound. Elderly people in high crime areas live in fear of being harmed and may not open their door to people they dont know, even if those people are trying to help them survive a heat wave. People living in poverty may not have the resources to evacuate and get to safety when that means paying for extra gas and a hotel.

People become vulnerable for a wide variety of circumstances, ranging from age to job status. The most vulnerable and underserved also tend to live in less prepared areas and lack the resources to rebuild what disasters destroy. Thus, it normally takes them longer to recover than people with more resources and social connections. According to the Conservation of Resources stress model, disasters cause spirals of loss. It takes more resources, time, money, energy, and social support to recover, and for the most vulnerable, this is a debt from which they may never be free. However, our teams most recent study found even when disasters lead to loss of basic survival resources (e.g., food), drawing on spiritual resources helps protect survivors psychological resources (e.g., hope, optimism).

Theres actually no better time than this very moment to start thinking about disaster ministry.

When a low-income apartment building close to Wheaton Bible Church in Wheaton, Illinois, burned down on a Sunday morning six years ago, pastor of community life Chris McElwee was able to pivot an existing ministry in the complex and mobilize the church immediately. As the fire was being put out, they started helping the residents deal with immediate and future needs. Our church already had a presence in the community through an afterschool program we started, and through the case management and ESL programs we provided to this complex. I think the key to us doing so well in this crisis was the relationships we had with the stake holders before the crisis hit. We had already established trust with the community. Relationships are the key. Knowing everyone ahead of time sped up the way we could respond.

And this experience created future ministry opportunities, as well. We continue to serve the community even though the fire is a distant memory, McElwee says. Responding well certainly deepened our relationships and let the community know we are a credible resource.

If the church is to pursue disaster justice we must do better at living out the teachings of . We need to do more than just respond to disasters; we must also tackle the underlying injustices that put the vulnerable at greater risk.

Myth 3: Theres not enough timeor this isnt the right timefor my church to start thinking about disaster ministry.

Theres actually no better time than this very moment to start thinking about disaster ministry. Once a disaster strikes, its much more difficult to plan a response. Even if you are staring down the crosshairs of Hurricane Irma or recently weathered Hurricane Harvey, I want to encourage you to take action now.

In a recent Humanitarian Disaster Institute study, our team found most pastors and churches werent ready when Hurricane Katrina struck, but that they still made a significant positive impact in helping their congregations and communities recover. We also found that when time is running out, churches can still play a vital role in helping their congregations and communities prepare, like utilizing crisis communication strategies, echoing evacuation messaging, and taking steps to minimize risk. Maybe your church has been caught off guard by recent disasters. Rather than focus on what wasnt done, prayerfully attend to what can still be done, no matter where you are in the disaster life cycle (i.e., preparedness, immediate response, long-term recovery). Your church is actually more prepared for disaster ministry than you may realize.

Dont think of disaster ministry as an extra. Its a part of the churchs DNA.

A great way to begin, even if you are reading these amidst being evacuated from your community, is to start by thinking of ways to pivot the ministries that God has already blessed in your church. If you have a strong childrens ministry, begin there. Does your church already deliver meals to the elderly? Then thats where your church should start.

If a disaster strikes in your community, people are going to come to you and your church for help, even if its leveled. There are several reasons people you may have never met before are going to seek out your church. Disasters cause people to ask a lot of big questions about God. The church is the place where survivors can find true hope, meaning, and long-term spiritual care.

There may also be people in your church who feel called to building your churchs disaster ministry into something bigger, given the green light and some space. Sharon Davis, executive director of Oakdale Community Development Corporation (OCDC) at Oakdale Covenant Church in Chicago, attended our Disaster Ministry Conference and immediately went to her pastor about starting a disaster ministry. He gave her the go-ahead and helped her assemble a team that immediately got to work figuring out the specific risks in their community and how their church was equipped to speak into them. They found that the churchs large population of dementia patients from nearby retirement communities had very unique health and safety risks that they needed to be better trained on and prepared for. Now Oakdale has even stronger relationships with this community, having demonstrated concern for their needs and a willingness to help in a tangible way.

By building relationships and ministries that already exsist in your church, whether you realize it or not, you're building disaster resilience.

Conclusion

Though disasters may reveal inconsistences in our thoughts and injustices in the communities we call home, disaster ministry reveals Gods love, mercy, and grace. God has called his people to care for those in need, and where there are disasters, there is an immediate and pressing need. His commandment to bring good news and healing to those suffer is clear. As Christians we are created in the image of a loving, merciful, and gracious God, whose Son taught us to open our hearts and to use our talents in service of the kingdom. If we start thinking about disasters differently, it just might help you and your church to more effectively reduce harm during a disaster, save lives, and extend your ministry to those who need help the most.

Dr. Jamie D. Aten is a disaster psychologist and the founder and executive director of the Humanitarian Disaster Institute at Wheaton College in Illinois. His latest books include the Disaster Ministry Handbook and Spiritually Oriented Psychotherapy for Trauma . In 2016 he received the FEMA Community Preparedness Champion award at the White House. You can follow Jamie on Twitter at @drjamieaten or jamieaten.com.
Sculpture is a catalyst for a re-engagement with the elements and matter

Sir Antony Gormley talks to Billy Jobling about the inspiration for his landmark sculpture A Case for an Angel I (1989), which is being offered in the Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Auction in London on 6 October

Poised to take flight, yet anchored to earth by its leaden form  thats the paradox at the heart of Sir Antony Gormleys landmark sculpture, A Case for an Angel I (1989). The life-size figure, cast from the artists own body, boasts an 8.5-metre wingspan. In 2008 it filled the front hall of the British Museum as part of its sculpture exhibition, Statuephilia. It was also a precursor to probably Gormleys most famous work, Angel of the North, the vast Cor-Ten steel figure that towers over Gateshead in northeast England. A Case for an Angel I comes to auction on 6 October in the Post-War & Contemporary Art Evening Auction at Christies London. Here, Gormley reveals his inspiration for the work, its relationship with Angel of the North, and why it remains so special to him. Your call for a return to the body in an age of diffused and displaced experience seems more relevant now than ever. How does it feel to look at A Case for an Angel nearly 30 years on? Antony Gormley: The central thrust of my work remains the same: to try to make objects that are reflective instruments. I believe that sculpture can provide a catalyst for first-hand experience and that representation has to be replaced with reflexivity. At a time when more and more of us are sedentary and increasingly relate to the world through meta image, I want to refocus on first-hand experience. I think sculpture is a catalyst for a re-engagement with the elements and matter. A Case for an Angel seems to suggest both containment and vindication. Could you talk about the choice of title?

AG: The work is a box for a thing, and it is putting a case forward for imagination over pragmatism. It could be argued that as no one has ever seen an angel, it is necessary to continue to imagine them. As a child, I was always conscious of having a guardian angel. I have evolved away from this childish, magical thinking but nevertheless wish to acknowledge the power and positive effect of believing ourselves protected. The work acts as a sounding board for the presence of the viewer. We all exist within the bounding condition of a body which contains a mind that can transcend the limits of the body. The tools of modernity have allowed us to transcend the limitations of terrestrial existence: to see people who are not present and escape gravity to experience the all-seeing aerial perspective. These are faculties that we would have considered divine only a century and a half ago. This god-like technology has resulted in an atrophy of the imagination. The work can also be seen as a meditation on our relationship with this technology that has extended the capability of the body, but at the same time transformed it. Paul Virilios phrase maximum velocity, minimum mobility springs to mind: in escaping our atmosphere and fulfilling the full promise of aviation an astronaut has to be strapped in, immobile. In gaining capability we may have lost agency. In making the possibility of flight real, we may have lost the ability to imagine it.

The tools of modernity have allowed us to transcend the limitations of terrestrial existence... This god-like technology has resulted in an atrophy of the imagination

These paradoxes, inherent in the extension of mind through technology, are expressed in my work by the absolute, static nature of the sculpture and the way that it forms a barrier to movement. The top of the wings of A Case for an Angel I describe a perfect horizon, and it could be that the work offers us an opportunity to sense our own intrinsic ability to reach beyond the physical limits of the horizon, imaginatively. The surface of the work is divided by only two seams that form a cross. A vertical seam divides the body into two halves, reinforcing the human bodys bilateral symmetry: we have two arms, two legs, two nostrils, two lungs, two sides of the heart, two kidneys, two ovaries or testicles, and this bilateral symmetry is replicated in the two sides of a brain.

In its form and structure, the angel suggests the necessity of balance and hopefully provides an instrument which could be used to achieve it. The inherent cruciform in the angel exists already within the body, in the relationship between sexuality and consciousness or the brain and the genitals and the ability of the arms to reach out to embrace the wider world. The cross was in the body long before any body was nailed to one. The reflexive nature of the work demands that it is seen on the same plane as the viewer, that it confronts the experience of present space-time and invites a hiatus or a stop. It is critical that the work is literally grounded. On a plinth, the work becomes symbolic and denies its primary haptic body-mirror function, as well as denying its ability to be a visual blockage. It is important that the wings act as an impediment at eye level. The reflexive potential of the work can act only by denying continuance of passage. The work is normally exhibited at the centre of a space, halfway down an empty gallery, where the viewer must duck down to get past or simply be stopped. The image of flight as spiritual aspiration in your work first appears in Vehicle, 1987, before being developed in the Case for an Angel series. How did you arrive at this point, and how did you see the work in relation to your wider practice? AG: The work comes out of a series of extended body forms that starts with Tree (1984) and Field (1984-85) and continues with Home and the World (1986-87) and Home and the World II (1986-96). The first Home and the World is a body-case with an extended tongue and the second is a walking lead body-case with a six-metre longhouse as a replacement for a head.

The work is both an evocation of the experience of mindfulness and hopefully an instrument that encourages it
Actor Blake Heron, star of the beloved movie "Shiloh," was found dead in his Los Angeles home on Friday, Sept. 8, 2017.

According to TMZ, his girlfriend found him and called the paramedics, who tried to revive Heron for 40 minutes before pronouncing him dead at the scene.
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An officer blocking traffic from high water at the Eldridge Parkway exit on the Katy Freeway was struck Friday night, according to the Houston Police Department.

An 18-wheeler drove through the cones blocking the exit around 11:45 p.m.and struck the patrol car, according to HPD Lt. Larry Crowson.
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For those who have flooded and lost their washer and dryer, Procter & Gamble is providing a resource often pushed to the side when dealing with the loss of homes, cars and livelihoods - laundry.

The Tide Loads of Hope Truck will collect, wash, dry and fold up to 100 loads of laundry per day (up to two per family) at several locations throughout Houston.
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In the wake of Hurricane Harvey, dozens of government and community organizations have stepped up to help residents affected by the floods. For those who have lost homes, cars, pets and loved ones, these resources provide a guide for getting back on your feet after the destruction wrought by one of the most destructive storms in decades. This list is by no means exhaustive, but is a good start to begin the process of rebuilding.

Government assistance

Go to DisasterAssistance.gov to fill out a questionnaire to begin the process of applying for federal aid from FEMA.

Apply for federal aid for recovery of storm-caused damages and loss at FEMA.gov, or call the FEMA helpline at 1-800-462-7585. To register for recovery you will need:

Your Social Security number. If you don't have one you still may be eligible for aid if there is someone in your household with one.

For businesses, you will need the Social Security number of the responsible party for the business.

Insurance information.

Financial information.

Your family's gross total household income at the time of the disaster.

Contact information and the address and phone number where the damages occurred.

Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) or direct deposit information (optional).

Banking information - bank name, type of account, routing and account number - if you are approved for assistance.

HoustonRecovers.org is the central hub for information on Harvey recovery. It will be updated once emergency operations are completed. Call the City of Houston Office of Emergency Management for information at 311 or 713-837-0311.

The City of Houston Helpline offers information on food assistance, water safety concerns, referrals to shelters and other information. Call 311 or 713-837-0311

For information on tax relief available for those living in the disaster areas go to IRS.gov or call IRS customer service representatives at 800-829-1040, available 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Friday.

Housing assistance

The Salvation Army of Greater Houston, 1500 Austin, has three emergency shelters open to assist evacuees and those who have lost their homes: Harbor Light Center, 2407 N Main; Sally's House, 1717 Congress; and Family Residence, 1603 McGowen; as well as 30 mobile kitchens providing hot meals, snacks and water to over a dozen neighborhoods in and around the Houston area. Call 713-752-0677.

Those eligible for FEMA's Transitional Shelter Assistance program may be able to stay at a participating hotel free of charge temporarily if they are unable to return home. For a list of participating hotels, go to femaevachotels.com, or contact FEMA to apply or with questions at 800-462-7585.

Harris County Housing and Community Resource Center helps with locating emergency shelters, rental properties and financial assistance. Call 713-696-1998.

Rebuildinghouston.org helps senior, disabled and veteran homeowners in Harris County with home rebuilding efforts. Call 713-659-2511.

Airbnb is helping find temporary housing for those displaced by the floods. Call 855-424-7262.

Legal assistance

The State Bar of Texas's Disaster Hotline is answered in English, Spanish and Vietnamese and connects low-income people affected by a disaster with legal aid providers in their area who can help with issues such as replacing lost documents, answering insurance questions, helping with landlord/tenant problems, and handling consumer protection concerns such as price-gouging and contractor scams during the rebuilding process. Callers can leave a message at any time at 800-504-7030.

The Houston Bar Association has expanded its LegalLine program. Volunteer attorneys will assist affected residents with legal advice on landlord/tenant matters, insurance, FEMA assistance, property, lost documents and other storm-related issues. Lines are open 3-5 p.m. Monday-Friday through Sept. 20. Call 713-759-1133 or 866-959-1133.

Food assistance

For a list of food pantries and other food assistance, contact the Houston Food Bank at 832-369-9390.

For disaster food stamp benefits, call the Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (DSNAP) at 877-541-7905.

The Houston Health Department opened four Women, Infants and Children (WIC) sites dedicated to help people affected by Harvey's unprecedented flooding. Open 9 a.m.-5 p.m., the sites will begin registering pregnant women, women who recently had a child, infants and children under the age 5 for WIC benefits. Sites are at the George R. Brown Convention Center and Walmart stores at 111 Yale Street, 11210 W. Airport and 9460 W. Sam Houston Parkway. Call 832-393-5427.

Property assistance

The National Flood Insurance Program answers questions for policyholders about the claims process at 800-621-3362.

To find an abandoned car, go to findmytowedcar.com or call 832-394-4869.

The Texas Department of Insurance has advice on what to do if your home or auto was damaged by Harvey, the insurance claims process and contractor fraud prevention and have extended its call center hours to 8 p.m. Call 800-252-3439 or go to tdi.texas.gov.

Harris County homeowners who have any type of property damage from Hurricane Harvey can now report it on the Harris County Appraisal District's phone app, where they will be given options to identify whether the damage was to the home or garage. The app also provides an event damage report that lists options for the amount of water, an estimate of damage caused by a tornado or roof leaks and a section for fire damage. When the homeowner is ready to submit the report, they take a photo of the front and back of their driver's license to verify the property owner's identity. Call 713-821-5805 or email help@hcad.org.

Medical assistance

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration's Disaster Distress helpline is available 24/7, 365 days a year, for people who are experiencing emotional distress related to any natural or human-caused disaster. This toll-free, multilingual and confidential crisis support service is available to all residents in the United States and its territories. Call 800-985-5990 or text TalkWithUs to 66746 to connect with a trained crisis counselor.

Nonprofit assistance

United Way of Greater Houston offers a 24-hour helpline to assist disaster victims get the resources they need. Call 211.

Interfaith Ministries of Greater Houston provides help for those in need, focusing on homebound seniors, refugee families and other vulnerable populations who will need extra resources after the storm. Call 713-533-4900.

Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston has a Flood Relief Hotline. Call 713-874-6664.

The Islamic Society of Greater Houston is providing food, shelter and other emergency assistance. Call 832-941-0766.

Business assistance

The U.S. Small Business Administration offers low-interest, long-term disaster loans to small businesses, private non-profit organizations, homeowners and renters to repair or replace uninsured/underinsured disaster-damaged property. Apply at disasterloan.sba.gov/ela or call 800-659-2955.

The Texas Association of Business is offering assistance to business owners via a hotline during normal business hours. Call 512-637-7714 or email hurricane@txbiz.org.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture offers food, emergency housing, as well as farmer and rancher assistance to individuals and small businesses affected by severe storms and flooding. Call the Hurricane Harvey Information Line for Texas Producers at 866-680-6069.

The U.S. Small Business Administration and the Texas Gulf Coast Small Business Development Center Network opened a business recovery center where business owners can access a variety of specialized services free of charge. The Harris County center is located at 2302 Fannin and is open 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday- Friday and 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday-Sunday.

Cleanup resources

CrisisCleanup.org helps connect volunteers with those in need of help cleaning up. Call 844-965-1386.

Magpies Gifts Bellaire is picking up dirty laundry from flood victims in Belliare and Meyerland, having it cleaned and returning it to the owners as they go through the cleaning process. Message them on their Facebook page to arrange a pick up.

Locate missing loved ones or report fatalities

To report or locate a missing child, call the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 866-908-9570.

To find family or friends or to register yourself as safe, go to safeandwell.communityos.org/cms/.

To report the location of a body, call 911. Please do not attempt to move or disturb the body in any way.
Russia's hybrid military forces have attacked Ukrainian armed forces' positions in Donbas 35 times in the past 24 hours, and five Ukrainian soldiers had been injured, the press service of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) headquarters has reported.

"After 18:00 Russian backed militants continued shelling ATO forces positions mainly in the coastal area and Donetsk area. The enemy also used mortars in some cases," ATO HQ reported on Saturday morning.

In the Donetsk area, militants opened fire twice shelling Ukrainian positions near Pisky. During almost two-hour shelling more than 20 mines of various calibers were fired. Also, militants used grenade launchers, large-caliber machine guns and weapons of the infantry fighting vehicles. In addition, at the end of the day, the Ukrainian Armed Forces' positions were under the grenade launcher fire several times in the Avdiyivka industrial zone and at Butovka mine. At about 18.00, after shelling the Ukrainian fortifications in the outskirts of Semyhiria using the infantry fighting vehicles and anti-aircraft gun by militants, a soldier of the Ukrainian Armed Forces was wounded.

In the coastal area militants used 82-mm mortars near Maryinka. Fire from the grenade launchers was opened near Starohantivka. Small arms and large-caliber machine guns of the enemy were used in the vicinity of Lebedynske and Talakivka. At about 22.00 as a result of firing the positions of the ATO forces from the grenade launcher near Vodiane one more Ukrainian soldier was injured.

In the Lugansk area, the facts of the use of grenade launchers by militants were recorded twice at Krymske and once near Stanytsia Luhanska.
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The antidote for a catastrophic storm is the steady stream of volunteers who come to the disaster area.

Houstonians flocked to the George R. Brown Convention Center, NRG Center, the Houston Food Bank and smaller shelters and distribution centers to help. They were joined by volunteers who descended on Houston from all corners of the country and the world before the rains had even stopped.

University of Houston student True Furrh started the "UH Harvey Relief Carpooling & Volunteer Opportunities" Facebook group on Aug. 29 - as the rains were beginning to recede - by adding 50 people on his friends list. As of Wednesday, the group had over 1,200 members.

The group, he said, was meant to coordinate potential student volunteers as those trapped on or off campus looked for ways to help the community. It's a microcosm of the volunteer organizing efforts taking place throughout the city.

"I saw that there was a gap in coordination, and I knew the university would be making a specialized response," Furrh said. "I wanted to do this in the meantime to get people out there and working."

Furrh's parents work at Lone Star Legal Aid, whose office caught on fire Aug. 29 during the height of the flooding. They helped set up legal aid clinics at Harris County's GRB shelter.

Though the storm has passed and recovery efforts in Houston and Texas are well underway, volunteer assistance will be needed for weeks, if not months, to come. Here are some ways you can help rebuild:

Call the Harris County Volunteer hotline at 281-656-1533 or visit volunteerhouston.org to sign up for shifts at shelters and donation sorting centers in the greater Houston area.

BakerRipley is asking for volunteers at NRG, GRB and other major shelters in the area. Sign up at volunteer.bakerripley.org.

Apply to work as a volunteer through the Red Cross at redcross.org for major shelters and donation centers, including Toyota Center.

Texas Muck Map is coordinating volunteer efforts to remove wet carpets, flooring and drywall to prepare affected houses for renovations. Sign up at texasrescuemap.com.

The Houston Food Bank is seeking volunteers for food preparation and other duties. Visit the Food Bank's website to register as a volunteer.

The Houston Furniture Bank is seeking volunteers for furniture distribution, helping to move furniture in the warehouse and other duties. Call 713-842-9771 or email info@houstonfurniturebank.org for more information.

The South East Texas Regional Advisory Council is connecting licensed caregiver volunteers with hospitals and health providers in need. Sign up to volunteer at surveymonkey.com/r/HurricaneHarveyClinicalVolunteers.

Lord of Life Lutheran Church in The Woodlands is partnering with Interfaith Ministries for clothing distribution. Volunteers can sign up by calling the church at 281-367-7016.

Houston Volunteer Lawyers is asking attorneys to volunteer their time and expertise to provide legal help to storm victims. Register to volunteer at makejusticehappen.org.

The Islamic Society of Greater Houston is calling for volunteers to man its donation distribution centers across the city. For a list of distribution centers and to sign up to volunteer, visit isgh.org or call 832-941-0766.

Check helphoustonharvey.com for an updated list of shelter volunteer opportunities in the Houston area.
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Mark Garfield did not know when his power would be restored, but he would not complain about the wait.

Too many lost too much to bemoan the temporary loss of electricity. Instead, he returned to his neighborhood, crowded with as many CenterPoint trucks as rumors swirling about when power would return, and looked at the bright side.

"I'm trying to keep everything in perspective," Garfield said after a day in his neighborhood in the Memorial and Eldridge area. "We don't have water in our house. We have numerous friends from church, Sunday school and living out here for 25 years that really have severe problems. Some have 3 feet, 4 feet, 5 feet of water in their houses."

Still, life changes without power. Most of the power throughout the area had been restored. Most that had been lost, as with Garfield's neighborhood, had been from flooding at the substation, rather than hurricane winds.

More Information RECOVERY TIPS Still without power? If you have a generator, use it with care. Keep it out of enclosed spaces. Do not connect a generator to the home's wiring system without proper isolating equipment. Turn it off when you leave the house. If heading to the store, grab non-perishables such as canned meats and fruits and vegetables that require no cooking and little or no water. Eat perishable items first, then the canned goods. Treat all lines on the ground as if they are energized. That means, stay away from them. A car charger for your cellphone can be a lifeline when power is out. If the rest of your neighborhood has power and you don't, call CenterPoint Energy. Cook meat on a gas stove or barbecue grill. The best light comes from candles with hurricane globes. If you are going to work, plan your wardrobe and take your clothes out of the closet the night before. Take time to catch up on your sleep. Embrace good old-fashioned entertainment like games, storytelling and conversation. Be kind. Everyone will be emotionally drained. See More Collapse

As of Tuesday evening, CenterPoint reported that 99.8 percent of its customers had power. Still, that left more than 5,000 in the dark, many with work to be done.

"It's frustrating, but I think it's understandable," said Nicole Saegusa, who left her home in the Energy Corridor when the substation there was flooded. "I trust that they're doing what they can. Obviously, if the whole substation is underwater, it takes a lot of work to get that fixed.

"We're one of the lucky ones that didn't actually flood. We haven't had power since last Monday."

Saegusa and her family have lived in hotels, moving back into their area in time for the delayed first day of school on Tuesday.

Like many in the area, Garfield and his family have stayed with relatives and friends, moving around while waiting for the power to be restored.

"Like my grandmother used to say, fish and family start to stink after three days," Garfield said. "We don't like to wear out our welcome. We've kind of jumped around.

"We still have a business to run," said Garfield, president of Ecosystems Management Co., a landscape architecture firm. "We have to get that up and going again. We have people who work for us for many years. They're part of our family. We have to get that going again so they can pay their bills."

With that in mind, Garfield said he has been closely reading the reports in the Houston Chronicle and following conversations on the social network app Nextdoor. Mostly, as with so many, he just waits and counts his blessings.

"We've been sitting out front and visiting with neighbors," he said. "It's kind of a bittersweet circumstance. We've had the opportunity to meet people we've never met before, and they're just delightful people. It's such a damn shame we had to have such an incredible disaster."
Dear Abby:

My parents are in their 80s. Both are of sound mind and body. However, they never saved for their retirement and never talked to a financial adviser to help them make financial decisions. Dad receives a pension, but upon his death, Mom will receive nothing. This is the way they set it up years ago. They own their home, and that's about it for their assets.

Mom has told me several times they should be in our will instead of others we have chosen. My husband and I have saved for our retirement with our employers over the years. Because my parents haven't done it, we don't feel it is our responsibility to provide for their old age. Should we contact our financial adviser, who will get a chuckle out of this?

Not Our Financial Problem

Dear Not Your Problem:

Your financial adviser may, indeed, get a chuckle out of it - but it's not funny. The idea that you should put your aged parents in your will is far-fetched. The odds of your predeceasing them are not promising. The next time your mother suggests it, point out that if Dad dies, the house will have to be sold so that she is provided for. If she dies first, he should be fine financially.

Dear Abby:

My husband had a heart attack last year, and since then he has become extremely volatile. He explodes for no reason and threatens me. He does not want me to talk about it to his doctor, and he's scaring me regularly. I don't know what to do. I think it may have to do with all the medications he's taking, but I'm not "allowed" to talk to the doctor. He is moody and making me fearful. Help.

Scared in New Jersey

Dear Scared:

Obviously, something isn't right. Call the doctor anyway. If the doctor refuses to talk with you, write him a letter about the changes in your husband's behavior, his explosive temper and your concern that it might be medication-related. If, after that, nothing changes, talk with a licensed mental health professional about what has been going on.

If you feel you are in danger, call 911. You should not have to live in fear, and if this isn't resolved, you may have to leave the marriage for your own safety.

Dear Abby:

I have been living in my current home for eight years and frequently receive letters addressed to previous occupants, including medical bills and notifications from the DMV. (I don't open them; the envelopes have return addresses.) How long am I obligated to stick the letter back in the mailbox with "Return to sender"? I'm getting the impression the former occupants use this false address to avoid paying their bills. It makes me feel dirty and complicit when their mail comes to me.

Complicit in Maryland

Dear Complicit:

Why are you jumping to the conclusion that what's happening is nefarious? The former occupants may have forgotten to turn in or renew their change of address notice, or change the address on their driver's license. Stop feeling guilty for something that really has nothing to do with you. The next time one of those envelopes arrives, instead of writing, "Return to sender," write: "Not at this address."

DearAbby.comDear Abby P.O. Box 69440 Los Angeles, CA 90069 Andrews McMeel Syndication
The question of what to do with a flooded car is relatively easy for those with comprehensive car insurance, provided the insurance payment is big enough to buy another vehicle to replace the one that flooded.

But it quickly becomes complicated for those who owe more on their vehicles than what insurance companies say they're worth. Or for those who had no comprehensive coverage in the first place and must rely on qualifying for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Insurance companies have different formulas to determine whether they will write off the value of damaged vehicles, but generally vehicles are "totaled" if the cost of repairs is greater than the value of the car. Often vehicles are considered total losses if water reaches into the electronic control panels.

State Farm said last week that it has already received 32,500 auto claims related to Hurricane Harvey in Texas. State Farm expects about 80 percent to be considered total losses.

For owners with comprehensive car-insurance coverage -the portion of policies that cover flood damage - insurance companies are obligated to pay the current market value of the damaged vehicles, according to the Texas Department of Insurance. Insurers, however, are not responsible for paying what is left on the loan unless an owner has guaranteed auto-protection coverage, which is known as "GAP" coverage. GAP covers the spread between the vehicle value and what's left on the loan.

Vehicle owners who don't have GAP coverage and owe more than what the cars are worth are likely to be responsible for paying the difference. Owners who don't have a loan on their damaged cars will receive the full value of any insurance settlement. Typically, they have to sign over the title of the vehicle to the insurance company before they can receive payment.

Some owners negotiate higher settlements after insurance companies determine the initial value of the car. Consumer advocates say it's worth asking for a higher payout; it helps if you have documentation, such as receipts for features installed after purchase that may have increased the value of the car.

Owners of flooded vehicles can also apply through FEMA for low-interest loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration. The loans can provide up to $40,000 to replace damaged property, including flooded vehicles.

Vehicle owners who don't have comprehensive auto insurance and are declined for an SBA home loan have another option: They can ask FEMA for a grant to repair or replace their vehicles, according to FEMA.

To request help, file an application with FEMA at disasterassistance.gov or call 800-621-3362.
When Hurricane Harvey hit, thousands lost homes, cars, clothes and other treasured possessions. Many also lost their electronics, including smartphones, tablets, computers and other gear.

If you're one of those who watched an iPhone sink below the brown soup that coursed through neighborhoods across the region, it may be too late for you this time. But there are things you can do to protect yourself from future bouts with high water.

If you had gadgetry that got wet or became submerged, here's hoping you turned it off as soon as you fished it out of the drink, if it was still powered on, and then dried off the exterior. And hopefully you left it off. If there's any water in it and you power it back up, it could short-circuit and be forever bricked.

To remove water, there's the old trick of dropping it into a bag of uncooked rice, which will indeed draw out moisture. But rice is dusty, and its grains can find their way into power and headphone-jack ports. It's not the best approach.

A better option is to use silica gel. If you happen to have silica gel packets that came in packaging for electronics, you can use several of those, dropped into a plastic bag with your damaged device. There are also silica-gel rescue pouches - such as the Kensington EVAP or the Nine Lives Wet Phone Fix - that do the same thing. It's also a good idea to remove the SIM card and, if it is replaceable, the battery before doing this. In all cases, leave your device in the bag or pouch for at least two days before pulling it out and checking if it works.

One thing you definitely don't want to do: try to dry a device with forced air, such as a hair drier, compressed air or a vacuum cleaner. These methods can push water deeper into your device's nooks and crannies.

Even if drying out your device gets it working again, if you dropped it in floodwaters you'll want to get it checked quickly by a repair shop. Floodwater contains particulates and potentially nasty chemicals, and any sort of muck inside could cause damage later.

There are a few things you can do to prepare the next time heavy weather is threatening.

Buy a water-resistant smartphone. Most modern, flagship smartphones - such as the iPhone 7 or the Samsung Galaxy S8 - can be dropped in water and quickly fished out and will be fine. There are videos online showing iPhone 7s sitting in glasses of water. Don't try it at home, but they're fun to watch!

Get a water-resistant case. If you're not up for shelling out big bucks on a flagship smartphone, consider a water-resistant case from a manufacturer such as Otterbox or LifeProof. They can be bulky and ugly, but you'll appreciate this unsightly protection when your device takes a dive.

Get insured. When you buy a smartphone, tablet or laptop, you can add insurance to protect against loss, including water damage. But carefully read the fine print - some may have a hefty deductible for replacement; others may cover one type of damage but not another. Some plans, such as AppleCare&, can be rolled into the device's payment schedule, but others must be paid up front.

Go high. If you're home or business is in imminent danger of flooding, get your gear to the highest ground possible. Place smartphones, tablets and other smaller electronics you don't need to keep with you in double plastic Ziploc-style bags and place them in the highest part of the building - such as the top shelf of a closet. The same goes for desktop and laptop computers. And if you have the time and the expertise, consider removing the hard drives from critical desktops, double-bagging them and taking them with you if you must leave.
Wine isn't the first thing most people think about when floodwater enters their home. Still, those who collect the good stuff might be wondering how it keeps after a power outage, or if it can be damaged after bottles are submerged in floodwaters. Here's what to know:

Wine generally is fine after being submerged in water. "You're always reading about old wines recovered from shipwrecks that are surprisingly drinkable," Spec's fine-wine buyer Bear Dalton said. "It's really no big deal."
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If you have flood insurance and think you are getting shortchanged on flood-repair funds, you can fight back. You can file an appeal with your insurance company, you can ask your contractor to step in on your behalf, or you can hire a public insurance adjuster.

In much the same way Houstonians hire property-tax representatives to dispute property valuations before the Harris County Appraisal District, homeowners can hire their own adjusters to negotiate with insurance companies on their behalf. Adjusters assess damage and calculate the cost of repairs and, if necessary, make a case for additional funds.

Nationwide, public adjusters charge as much as 15 percent of the total value of the settlement, according to the Insurance Information Institute. But in Texas, their fees are capped at 10 percent.

Public adjusters often see damage that insurance adjusters miss, said David Barrack, executive director of the National Association of Public Insurance Adjusters in Potomac Falls, Va. And they see costs that homeowners might not have sought coverage for as part of an insurance settlement.

One common problem is matching new building materials with existing structures. A few boards of new siding, for example, may not match the existing siding, so a public adjuster can step in and ask for the entire wall of siding to be replaced, Barrack said. Or maybe new tile on a roof doesn't match the existing tile, again requiring a large area to be replaced, rather than just a few small patches.

Independent adjusters can also recover more insurance money for policyholders. A study in Florida by the state Legislature found policyholders represented by public adjusters received average payments of $17,000, compared to $2,000 for those who did not hire their own advocates, for 2005 hurricane claims.

The wide disparity of payouts was similar when the Florida Legislature studied insurance payouts for noncatastrophic claims. Policyholders who used public adjusters received payouts six times higher than those who didn't, according to the study.

Of course, it's not guaranteed a public adjuster will recover additional funds. The home-owner, meanwhile, would still be required to pay the adjuster's fee. Building experts say some homeowners negotiate an arrangement in which they pay the fee just on the difference between the insurance company's initial offer and what a public adjuster eventually negotiates.

Ann Nelson, president of the Houston chapter of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry, said that from her experience, it's a good idea for homeowners to hire their own adjusters.

"They know what to do and what to say," said Nelson, who also owns a foundation-repair company in Houston. And they can step when homeowners are overwhelmed with moving their belongings and beginning the repair process.

Many people have never had to file a flood-insurance claim, she said. "A public adjuster can help hold your hand."
Saying he was aiming for a "land speed record" on recovery from Tropical Storm Harvey's devastation, Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday handed out more than $135 million in advances from the federal government to Harris County and the city of Houston, the first chunk of what officials hope will be a sustained, expedited response to one of the worst natural disasters the country has ever seen.

The city received $91.2 million and the county $44.6 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency via Abbott, money they said would be critical to the gargantuan clean-up effort underway, as well as spurring their ability to address critical housing needs after 136,000 homes and other structures in Harris County were flooded during Harvey's onslaught.

"We have a need for speed," Abbott said at a news conference at the Harris County Office of Emergency Management. "We want to rebuild communities as swiftly as possible."

While the spotlight to date has been on local rescue and recovery, as well as FEMA's aid outreach, Friday's news conference provided a glimpse into the role the state will play in the rebuilding effort after Harvey.

Abbott said the funds provided Friday were the first chunk of a "new model" of more quickly delivering advances from the federal government as local governments like the city and county focus on the boots-on-the-ground recovery.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said he and legislative leaders could consider, without a special session, moving funds from the 2019 budget into the current budget year to help with recovery.

Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp, who is overseeing the Harvey recovery for the state, said Austin's role was to "clear the path" for local recovery efforts by easing regulations. Abbott, he said, already has removed restrictions on bidding and contracting for mosquito control for areas affected by Harvey, which came ashore as a hurricane northeast of Corpus Christi on Aug. 25 before being downgraded to a tropical storm that poured almost 52 inches of rain on the Houston area.

Sharp said the state was working with FEMA on a way to quickly repair flood victims' homes - a program in which contractors would be sent into affected homes to conduct permanent, structural repairs so displaced residents could move back in.

He said FEMA still was working out how to suspend some of its regulations to implement such a program. He could not immediately provide a timeline for when such an initiative could be implemented.

Sharp said the first step was to set up disaster recovery centers - fixed and roving sites where FEMA and other agency representatives could help each flood victim with recovery needs. That would include the new housing repair program, Sharp said.

He said he expected recovery centers to be up by Monday evening. The centers likely will be a combination of "mega centers," sites in offices or other buildings, and roving "mobile" centers that can reach the county's farthest pockets.

Abbott said a representative from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency would be embedded with the state during recovery efforts.

As to whether the state would commit any additional funds beyond the federal advances and local expenditures, Abbott said the state has spent $220 million for emergency responders and military response, and that more spending is a "matter of cash flow management."

The money given Friday was far short of what local leaders had asked for earlier this week. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner had sent a letter to Abbott Monday asking for state and federal resources outlining the "unprecedented" nature of the storm that put an "extreme economic strain on the city and its residents."

Turner asked for advance funding of $300 million for debris removal and shoring up public infrastructure, and to establish at least 15 to 20 disaster recovery centers. He also asked Abbott to provide $60 million in state relief emergency funds, request FEMA to move quickly on a re-housing program and clear other regulations.

Emmett sent a separate letter asking for $75 million in advance funding, half of a preliminary estimate of $150 million for debris removal and "emergency protective measures."

Turner said Friday further money would be needed, and that Friday's allocation was "just the beginning."

Turner said getting less than asked for would not slow the city's cleanup effort.

"We are pushing the pace," he said.

The funds and the state effort, Emmett said, would help the county help those most in need: "It's these individuals that need to get back in their houses and getting the disaster recovery centers set up so that people who are out of their homes, away from their school districts, get back to their normal lives as soon as possible."
After nearly two weeks of growing fears about the demise of Jill Renick, the Omni Hotel's spa manager who disappeared as Harvey-induced floodwaters ravaged Houston, relatives reported Thursday that her body had been found.

The 48-year-old was last heard from just before 6 a.m. on Aug. 27. She called the front desk for help while, her family believes, she was trapped in one of the hotel's elevators.

Her remains were found inside the Omni building off South Post Oak, according to a statement from her family.

"We are heartbroken," Renick's sister, Pam Eslinger, 62, in the statement. "To know Jill is to have loved her. She could light up a room just by walking in and adored life. She was loved by so many people, and we will feel the impact of her absence in our hearts forever."

Renick stayed the night of Aug. 26 to help guests through the expected weather, Eslinger said.

Neither the Houston Police Department nor the Omni confirmed Renick's identity, though HPD spokeswoman Jodi Silva said a body was found at the hotel Thursday morning.

Kristen Cadenhead, a spokeswoman at the Omni Hotels corporate headquarters in Dallas, confirmed a body was found in a ceiling above the lower level of the Houston hotel.

She said staff searched every area of the hotel they could access. She noted that HPD previously concluded that Renick was not in the hotel or parking garage after "thoroughly searching" the building.

HPD officials confirmed searching at least one hotel elevator without finding Renick but have declined to say whether police searched other parts of the property.

Name not yet on list

On Thursday night, Harris County's official death toll from the storm remained at 30 and officials have not added Renick to the list. At least 70 people have died or are feared dead from Hurricane Harvey in the Houston region and beyond.

The storm's flooding claimed the life of a Houston man who spent 20 years in and out of prison and was facing a life sentence last year for drug possession. Grace by a judge granted him five years of probation and he began his life anew through a re-entry program.

Joseph Dowell headed to work in a downpour on Aug. 27. The 43-year-old did not want to disappoint the people who helped him land a job in the city's Public Works Department. On the way, he hit high water on Wayside Drive and called his supervisor.

"Man, OK, be careful," Jesse Eleby said he advised.

The Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences confirmed Thursday that his body was found in a wooded area in the 3500 block of North Wayside Drive. His name had not been added, however, to the official count of storm-related fatalities.

Nurse caught in current

Loved ones of Keisha Williams are mourning the Houston nurse who planned to ride out the storm by taking care of her beloved nursing home patients while clocking hours to provide for her two daughters.

The night of Aug. 26, the 32-year-old took her girls to a relative's home, then headed to work. When flooded roads blocked her way to the Jacinto City Healthcare Center, she ended up at a friend's house. By Aug. 28, Greens Bayou near her home had receded and the path to the Woodforest Chase complex was puddle-ridden but passable.

"She went back to her apartment to get the school clothes she'd just bought the girls and to get their dogs," said Jolie Tillman, the paternal aunt of Williams' daughters.

The nurse lost her life when floodwaters rose quickly and she got caught in a strong current in the parking lot. The Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences recovered her body, which was flung across a fence, on Aug. 30 in the 12400 block of Woodforest Blvd.

"It's really hit me pretty hard," said her grandmother, Marie Williams. She lost Keisha's mother to illness in 2012 and enjoyed spending time with her granddaughter.

"She'd come and visit all the time," the 74-year-old said. "We'd go to dinner after church. I'm going to miss her."

The Furr High School graduate first became a certified nursing assistant, then a licensed vocational nurse and team leader at work. Her next goal was to become a registered nurse.

"She just worked so hard," Tillman said. "It was important for her to do that to show her girls how important it is to work and have a strong work ethic."

Her daughters - Kiaja Elkins, 13, and 10-year-old Kinaya Elkins - learned that their dogs, Tiger and Doughboy, survived the storm.

A funeral for Williams, who would have turned 33 on Sept. 2, is planned for 11 a.m. Saturday at Pleasant Green Missionary Baptist Church, 10912 Wallisville Road.

Found in Ship Channel

The Harris County morgue on Thursday asked for the public's help in locating relatives of a man discovered Aug. 31 in the Houston Ship Channel.

Gary Wayne Sanchez, 58, is about six feet, one inch tall. He has dark salt-and-pepper hair with a beard of dark hair with gray flecks. He is not among the institute's confirmed storm-related fatalities because his cause and manner of death are pending, agency spokeswoman Tricia Bentley said.

Anyone related to Sanchez or with information about his family is asked to called the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences at 832-927-5001.
The energy released in an explosion of a device in a Toyota Camry car downtown Kyiv killing Georgian citizen Timur Makhauri and injuring two more persons equaled from 600 grams to 1 kilogram of TNT equivalent, the Ukrainian interior minister's advisor, Zoryan Shkiriak, has said.

"The investigation continues. According to preliminary information of experts, the energy released in the explosion was from 600 grams to 1 kg of TNT equivalent. All the required operational and investigative actions are underway and circumstances are being clarified, Shkiriak on the 112.Ukraine TV on Saturday.

He said that the place of installation of explosives in the car and its type is being clarified.

The investigators are working out several versions of this crime.

"We are working on all the versions that are possible ... Taking into account the deceased person, he was not an ordinary person, today everything is being done to establish all the circumstances of this crime. I could be, of course, the FSB, that is Russian security service. It may be a contract murder. It may be personal enmity and skirmish between the business and criminals. The operational-investigation groups must be given an opportunity to actively work in order to thoroughly understand this heinous crime," Shkiriak said.

He also did not rule out that one of the factors in the murder of Makhauri could be his participation in the anti-terrorist operation (ATO) in the Donbas.

Later, on his Facebook page, Shkiriak said that currenctly the following possible versions of the crime are being worked through: 1) willful murder; 2.) an act of terrorism; 3) Russian intelligence services; 4) skirmish between the business and criminals; 5) personal dislike; 6) personal revenge.

In turn, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) reported that the Russian intelligence services had long been "hunted" for Makhauri, who died in the center of Kyiv on September 8.

"Ali Timaev, nickname -"Timur Makhauri", was born on April 4, 1978 in the village of Guchum-Kale, Itum-Kalinsky district, the Chechen Republic. Using all possible means he fought against the "Putin" regime. He was Ramzan Kadyrov's personal enemy. Intelligence services of the Russian Federation and the Chechen Republic were permanently haunting him," the SBU wrote on its Facebook page.

According to the Ukrainian security service, Makhauri during the period from 1999 to 2000 participated in military operations against Russian troops in the Republic of Dagestan, and received a gunshot wound. In 2008, he took part in the Georgian-Russian war on the side of Georgia. He maintained friendly relations with the fighters who took part in the fighting in the ATO area.

"He was hunted for a long time by the Russian security services. Totally, he was assassinated three times, including on March 8, 2009 in Tbilisi by an explosion of the entrance of an apartment building. Then Ali survived," the SBU reported.

As reported, a Toyota Camry with Georgian license plates was blown up in central Kyiv on September 8 by means of a planted explosive device, killing Georgian citizen Timur Makhauri and severely injuring his wife; the third passenger, a child, was not harmed.
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It had been two weeks since Harvey made landfall and still water stood in Jon Hockenberry's street  water that had ruined his new home, damaged his cars, soaked his possessions.

Much of Houston had dried. But here, in leafy neighborhoods such as Hockenberry's, west of the Beltway and near Buffalo Bayou, the smelly floodwaters remained. It slowed the recovery process.

It snarled traffic. And it offered a constant reminder of the disaster that had damaged home after home.

It was a disaster that would linger. A retired Shell employee, Hockenberry, 63, and his wife had moved less than a year ago into their new, custom-built, Tuscan-style house.

FARED BETTER: These Houston neighborhoods made it through

People there never knew homes in the area to flood. He'd thought the lot would be safe. But several feet of water flowed through nonetheless, stretching from a bayou neighbors said swelled as the waters drained from the reservoirs.

Now Playing: Drone video provided by Aaron Benzel shows widespread flooding near Tomball and Cypress Creek parkways in Houston in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. Video: Houston Chronicle

The shining new appliances, the cherished wood floors and the furniture  both heirloom and new  would all need to be replaced.

Tasks at hand were plentiful enough to keep Hockenberry up at night. Thoughts woke him in the early morning hours, he said. The things he had lost. The things he had left to do.

He planned to rebuild the home as it had been.

"The flood won't be over for another two years for me," Hockenberry said, referring to the work of fixing his home.

And still water remained in the street, lined by house after uninhabitable house.

It puddled too a few blocks over, in the culdesac where 62-year-old Lisa Agnew lived. She and her husband had hurried to get their furniture up on soup cans and bricks before they'd left. A futile effort.

"We were naive to think that this would take care of it," she said, gesturing toward a block.

Still, Agnew kept up a positive attitude. As many in the neighborhood repeated time and again, it was just stuff.

"We'll be fine," she said.

More than 2 feet of water had entered the home, spurred by the actions around the reservoir.

They'd saved some sentimental items in the house, where they'd lived for 31 years and raised their children, but not all.

Her childhood scrapbook lay open, drenched, on the scraped floor.

"This just broke my heart," she said, flipping through its pages.

And an antique car, which family members rode in after wedding receptions, remained in the garage, also ruined.

"You want to see the saddest thing in the world?" her son said as he took someone to see it.

And yet, like Hockenberry, they planned to fix their house to stay. The neighborhood was one the family loved. Kids rode without fear around the streets on their bikes. They walked to the community pool for swim team.

Debris piled on yards higher than peoples' heads. Yards were barely visible. Many had been forced to find other places to stay. Some hired crews to clear their houses; others did it themselves, with help from friends.

On a main thoroughfare, other neighbors manned a station for donations and directing volunteers. They'd been providing meals  koalches that day for breakfast, Jimmy John's, Chik-fil-A and pulled pork sandwiches for lunch  as well as cleaning supplies, first aid and, yes, cold beer.

The "Glen General Store," they called it, named for the neighborhood, Memorial Glen.

"How would you describe our neighborhood? It's like no other," said Cheryl Stein, 50, who manned the station Friday afternoon. "It's a small town in a big city."

That night, they planned to have a block party.

They'd even come up with their own slogan for the area, printed in bold white letters on navy blue yard signs.

GLEN STRONG.
The summers final Live on the Waterfront concert was held Wednesday evening at Prince Arthurs Landing. The popular series in Thunder Bay has completed nine weekly shows that began on July 13. Wednesdays concert was unique as it was held one hour later in the evening to mesh with the 10 p.
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Ukrainian soldiers, who are on duty in the front line of the anti-terrorist operation (ATO) area, would receive an additional UAH 10,000 each, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has said.

"The extra pay for staying in the ATO zone has been considerably increased. The recent increase was made in August 2017 under my order. Ukrainian soldiers in the front line will receive UAH 10,000 additionally," he said in the military unit of Kalynivka, Vinnytsia region, on Saturday.

He said that the inventory and logistics management of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the National Guard has improved. The divisions have modern weapons and equipment. Material and food support has significantly improved.

The president said that National Guard soldiers will receive over 450 apartments in 2017.

"After my instructions, according to the plan for reforming military divisions in full compliance with NATO standards, a draft resolution has been drawn up that will change the calculation of payments to military servicemen. I want to thank the government that my proposals were supported and approved on August 30," Poroshenko said.
We talked to one of these guides, Curtis. He told us how ...

6 A Lot Of Harmful Info Was Spread By Guides With Personal Agendas

One good thing about Google is that for the most part, it doesn't have an agenda -- though people can try to game it with SEO, and the site has made changes in hopes of fighting "fake news." And sure, it allows for "sponsored" search results, but those are clearly labeled. You ask Google a question, it'll give you a bunch of results, and you can decide for yourself whether the answers provided by CNN are more reliable than the ones on Infowars. ChaCha guides like Curtis used the same tools we all use today to answer questions:

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"When we got a question from a texter and we didn't have an answer at the ready, we Googled it most of the time, or used Wikipedia. You'll be happy to know we actually used Cracked on occasion. I remember being about weirder things for Cracked, but it was a more than acceptable site to use." But since you were getting the answer texted to you, there was no way to vet the quality of the source your guide picked. Curtis noted that "a lot of guides quoted the first answer they found. The answer could be from Harvard or NBC or something good, or it could be from some guy's blog. Or they got the answer from a site that mixed things up."

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Curtis got burned by his own employer on this once: "There was a time where I was dating a girl from New Hampshire and I couldn't remember the capital. I discreetly texted that to ChaCha and I got back 'Nashua.' I asked her if she ever went to the Capitol up in Nashua, and she looked REALLY offended."
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Used as an operational airfield in both world wars, if you lived near RAF Kenley during those eras you would have seen iconic aircraft like the Spitfire and Hurricane flying overhead.

Now known as Kenley Aerodrome, the airfield was visited by the likes of former Prime Minister Winston Churchill and the Japanese emperor.

First opened in 1917 as an Aircraft Acceptance Park  where aeroplanes were tested and flown before being sent to squadrons on the Western Front and other areas of conflict  this year mark's the airfield's centenary.

Richard Smith, aviation historian and author, has published a book on the history of RAF Kenley, called 'Kenley Scramble', and has spoken to the Advertiser to give readers an insight into the airfield's rich history.

The 61-year-old, who lives in Hornchurch, Essex, said: "It all started during the First World War in 1917. It was started by a local man who used to live in the Coulsdon area and who was interested in aviation.

"When the war broke out he volunteered to serve and was selected to organise the Aircraft Acceptance Park for the Royal Flying Corps.

"Kenley was chosen as he knew the area and aircrafts were brought over in crates, assembled and then tested before they were sent out to squadrons around the country."

Situated just south of London, RAF Kenley was seen as an ideal place for a Fighter Command Sector Station during the Second World War and was one of three RAF stations protecting London against the German Luftwaffe.

After the First World War the airfield was maintained as an operational unit and was further developed during the 1920s and 1930s, with more squadrons arriving.

Many of the pilots stationed at Kenley during this period would go on to achieve high ranks in the Royal Air Force, including Douglas Bader who became famous after losing both of his legs following a crash in 1931, but re-joining the RAF and flying again in 1939.

During the Second World War, the airfield's squadrons were heavily involved during D-Day, the Dunkirk evacuation and the Battle of Britain against the German Luftwaffe, whose plan was to defeat the RAF and invade Britain.

Along with other RAF fighter aerodromes, Kenley played an important role in securing victory against the German Air Force in those hectic months between July and October 1940.

Mr Smith said: "Kenley was a very important airfield during that period. The emperor of Japan at the time was shown around Kenley [about a year before Japan joined the war as Britain's enemy] and was given a flying show during his visit.

"Winston Churchill, who lived in the area, became the Honorary Air Commander for number 615 Squadron and regularly practised flying there and, when war broke out Kenley, was pivotal in the Battle of Britain and Dunkirk."

One of the darkest days in Kenley's history came on August 18, 1940, when the German Luftwaffe attacked and caused ten hangars and twelve aircraft, including ten Hurricanes, to be destroyed and the runways badly damaged.

After the Battle of Britain was won, in 1940, Kenley was on the offensive and mainly operated against enemy targets until the war was over in 1945.

Mr Smith added: "Kenley eventually closed in 1974 when the RAF took the decision to move out. Post-war it was used by jet aircraft and all that is there now is the 615 Volunteer Glider Squadron and the Surrey Hills Gliding Club."

While Kenley is now used for other means, it stands as one of the best preserved World War 2 fighter airfields in the country.

Mr Smith will be attending the Kenley Heritage Day, Sky Heroes Event, at Kenley Airfield today (Sunday, September 10) and will be signing copies of his book from midday to 5pm. He will also undertake another signing at The Botley Hill Farmhouse, in Warlingham, on Friday, September 15 between 3 and 5pm.

Mr Smith's book is priced at 12 and can be ordered direct from www.mitorpublications.co.uk or from most bookshops using the ISBN No 978-0-9557180-9-0.
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The new head teacher at Forest Academy in Shirley says he wants to increase pupil numbers at the school because he believes it has the capacity to take in more.

Wayne Cooper was appointed head at the school in Bridle Road for the start of the academic year, taking charge last week.

Although the 46-year-old said there would be no major short-term changes at the school, he has long-term ideas that he is yet to discuss with The Synaptic Trust, which runs the school.

One of those ideas is finding ways to increase pupil numbers, because he says it has the capacity to take in more than the current 400 pupils. And having a school at full capacity shows it has a good reputation and people want to send their children there.

"I want to do a lot more collaborative work with the trust and explore more joint ventures," Mr Cooper said. "My vision really is to make the school the hub of the community and increase pupil numbers as well.

"Once people come into the school it is hard to leave because it has that feel to it. Almost two communities are coming together, the Shrublands and Shirley communities, and it's about improving the reputation of schools in the local area.

"It is a good school and I fell in love with it the moment I walked in and I hope others will too."

Mr Cooper was raised in Croydon and believes that will help him succeed in improving the school.

He went to Kingsley Primary School, Norbury High Manor School and then Selhurst High School in his younger years, and is looking forward to working in the borough he grew up in.

He said: "The main message is that I'm from Croydon. I understand the area and what it's like to come from a culturally diverse town. I want to promote pupils' voices and contribute to their learning.

"And I'm really looking forward to having the support of local people, friends, former colleagues and being back in my community."

The Synaptic Trust, which runs Shirley Children's Centre as well as three other schools in Croydon: West Thornton Primary Academy, The South Norwood Academy and The Woodside Academy.

Mr Cooper moved to London in 2004 and then to Cambridgeshire more recently where he worked his way up the teaching ladder, something else that he feels will benefit him.

He said: "I wanted to work outside London. I wanted to teach different children and I knew I couldn't be a head teacher until I had taught every year group and could talk to my teachers having had that experience."

Raring to go for this academic year, Mr Cooper has taken the last week to get to know his students and their parents as best he can.

He said: "I am excited. A new head teacher means new energy. I make it my priority to be out at the gates in the morning and the parents I have spoken to seem happy and so do the children."
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A young woman who was beaten and "made into a slave" by her husband has spoken out as Croydon is revealed to have shocking levels of domestic violence.

The 23-year-old says she was manipulated and emotionally tortured by her partner who sought to control every aspect of her life.

She even considered taking her own life, saying: "I thought [at the time] 'It's better to die than to live in this situation'."

But the young Croydon mother, who cannot be named for her own safety, pulled herself back from the brink of suicide for the sake of her child and bravely took the decision to flee her abuser after years of suffering.

Now the mum-of-one says her life is "like heaven".

She is one of thousands of domestic abuse cases recorded in Croydon, which has has seen the highest levels of any London borough every year since 201

Since the financial year ending in 2012 (April 1, 2011 to March 31, 2012) the borough has recorded 18,715.

The mother, who spoke to the Croydon Advertiser to highlight what some women, and men, are going through and to show that you can escape abuse, said: "It got to the point where I thought it was better to die than to go on.

"I thought 'it's better to die than to live in this situation'.

"It was hell. Every day was hell, it was torture. He was a good looking guy, in the beginning he was really nice.

"Then, when we were married things changed, when we reached London. He wanted his wife to do everything he said. It was like he owned me.

"I worked for him constantly around the house, all the time he would tell me I was useless, he would hit me. I was made into a slave."

In 2016/17 reports of domestic abuse in Croydon totalled 3,827. This is a significant rise from the 2,267 incidents in 2011/2012  and the numbers have risen every year compared to the previous 12 months.

Care workers dealing with victims of domestic abuse say the figures show just how many people, predominantly women, are in need of help breaking out of violent and manipulative relationships.

The young woman who spoke to the Advertiser came to the UK from another country, brought without legal status or any knowledge of English. She says that, once isolated from her familiar language, friends and family, the abuse began.

She said: "I ran away from my home to be with him. I ran away from my family and went to live with his.

"If I didn't do what he wanted he would beat me. He would make excuses for the cuts and bruises on my face, saying that I had fallen.

"If anyone came to the door, he would speak to them because he knew English and I didn't. He would say nothing was wrong. I couldn't tell anyone what I was suffering.

"He took me to London. I couldn't speak the language, I had no family and no friends. I depended on him to survive, and he knew this. He would use this against me.

"I had no status in this country. I was young and didn't understand.

"My husband brought me, and said if I didn't do what he said I would be taken away by the authorities and I would have my daughter taken away from me.

"He would insult me constantly, say I was worthless  and you start to believe it. You hate yourself.

"One time after a very bad beating I called the police. In 2016, my daughter was a baby but she saw everything that happened. I don't know why, but I gave him another chance. But men like this can't change.

"It got worse. He would hit me, abuse me. My daughter would see it all. She was the only thing I cared about.

"I was ready to kill myself, to end it all. But I couldn't leave her with him. I finally decided to leave."

The young woman sought the help of Croydon and Bromley Women's Aid, a group which helps victims of domestic abuse in Croydon, where last year the wards of Broad Green and Selhurst recorded the first and second highest numbers of domestic abuse indents in the capital.

Although finding it difficult to open up at first, she was guided to the first happiness she had known in years by the staff at the charity.

She has now urged all those who find themselves in a position like hers to seek help.

"It is like heaven for me now," she said. "I have a freedom I have not known before. I am in a much better place.

"I believe there are lots of people out there just like me. I can't tell them enough  come forward, go and look for help."

This is a view shared by the care worker who first met the young woman when she arrived at the doors of a women's shelter in Croydon, desperate for help.

The member of staff at Croydon and Bromley Women's Aid, who cannot be named, said: "She came into the refuge and I was with her from the first day.

"She told us what had happened to her. In this job it can be very difficult to hear all the different things women have been through.

"Her story has similarities with other women  there is manipulation, violence and emotional abuse.

"But I love my job, and I wouldn't change it for the world, because you get to see the people get better, to see the smile on her face now is just fantastic.

"She and her daughter are happy."

If you suffer from domestic abuse you can contact Croydon and Bromley Woman's Aid on 020 8313 9303 and you will be treated with the strictest confidence and sensitivity.
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Connecticut residents won't have to travel far to see colorful fall foliage this year. Washington, Connecticut will be a top spot for leaf-peeping, according to a recent list released by U.S. News & World Report.

The report named "50 small towns across America with gorgeous fall foliage." Washington joins towns from Stowe, Vermont to Homer, Alaska on the list.

"When the air becomes brisk, picturesque small towns draped in amber, yellow and orange tones tempt us to hit the trails, savor leisurely wine tastings and delight in leaf-peeping in classic and lesser-known destinations," the site writes.

Click through the slideshow above for a look at some of the best small towns to catch foliage this fall, and here for the full list.

This year's expected spectacular displays will be in stark contrast to last year, when dry conditions dulled the colors and duration of foliage across the state.

"Connecticut's woodlands are poised to present a brilliant display of colors this fall given spring and summer rainfall amounts and moderate temperatures," Christopher Martin, Director/State Forester, Division of Forestry, Bureau of Natural Resources, DEEP told the Connecticut Office of Tourism.

Washington offers leaf-peers striking sights without having to drive out of state. According to the state's Department of Energy and Environmental Protection fall foliage report, peak foliage is expected to arrive in the northern part of the Connecticut in mid-October.

"One of the best ways to experience nature in its full glory is taking a 100-mile loop through Litchfield Hills from Torrington along state Route 8," U.S. News & World Report writes. "Another scenic 46-mile loop from New Milford to Mount Tom State Park winds past historic covered bridges and picturesque hiking trails."

Washington First Selectman Mark Lyon said he was not surprised to learn that his town landed on the list.

"We have a typical New England town, rolling hills ... and spectacular fall foliage," Lyon said. "We also have Lake Waramaug, which is a heritage lake, and you can drive around (it) and see the hillsides reflected down in the water."

The town is visited by many leaf-peepers in the fall, he added.

"We have a number of what I would call picturesque village centers with church steeples that are often photographed. They're typical New England fall foliage scenes," he said.
Are you searching for more podcasts to entertain and inspire you? Entrepreneur Magazine Editor-in-Chief Jason Feifer gives us details on his two podcasts, Problem Solvers and Pessimists Archive. Then, Gfycat co-founder and CEO, Richard Rabbat, reveals why your content creation team should invest in making GIFs. Chase Jarvis of CreativeLive closes out the episode with a lesson on battling burnout.

Related: This Entrepreneur Discovered a Multimillion-Dollar Business Idea When He Got Stranded in Mongolia's Gobi Desert

Discover more about segments and guests below ...

[00:00:00] Captivating Content on Entrepreneur Podcast Network

Are you searching for inspiring and informative business podcasts? Look no further than the Entrepreneur Podcast Network! Entrepreneur Magazine Editor-in-Chief Jason Feifer is back to fill us in on a new podcast series hes hosting called Problem Solvers, one of many great shows available on the network. Feifer stepped into the world of podcasting over a year ago as a side-hustle not knowing if it would ever lead to a meaningful ROI. This leap of faith taught Feifer an invaluable lesson: learning new skills is the ultimate return on investment. Learn more about the great podcasts Feifer is involved with.

[00:05:48] Entrepreneur = Problem Solver

Have you ever been blind-sided by a problem within your business? Youre not alone. Problem Solvers with Jason Feifer is a new podcast focusing on surmounting the trials and tribulations of owning a company. Feifer encourages listeners to stay nimble in the face of obstacles like Kristen Tomlan, the mastermind behind New York City confectionary sensation, DO. Want to hear how Tomlan scaled her business to keep up with insane demand? Be sure to check out her recent spotlight on Problem Solvers.

[00:11:30] Easing Growing Pains When Scaling a Business

Is your company facing a popularity boom? Congratulations! Now brace yourself for a serious growth spurt. Entrepreneur Magazine Editor-in-Chief and host of Problem Solvers Jason Feifer tackles how to align your team's core vision while scaling a business. For a deep dive on this topic, listen to a recent Problem Solvers episode featuring Camp No Counselors. Changing gears, we learn more about Feifer's personal podcast, Pessimists Archive, which examines fear surrounding historic technological advances.

[00:18:21] Is your attention span getting shorter?

Social networking platforms are fighting tooth and nail for every second of your precious time. Smart devices could be the culprits behind this concentration deficit. Gfycat Co-Founder and CEO Richard Rabbat says that the moment we put a computer in our pocket, the way we consume media content changed forever. As the war for attention rages on, Rabbat predicts which social media platforms will reign supreme. Plus, find out what makes GIFs (short, looping videos without audio) simply irresistible.

[00:27:41] Quick and Easy GIF Creation with Gfycat

With our ever-shrinking attention spans, GIFs may represent the future of communication, even in business. GIF genesis is no longer limited to artists using complicated editing software; Richard Rabbat explains how Gfycat has democratized the creation process. You can now generate GIFs that connect with your core audience in a matter of moments. Discover how.

[00:33:22] Extinguishing Burnout with Chase Jarvis

Are you suffering from burnout? Changing careers isn't necessarily the right answer. CreativeLive Founder and CEO Chase Jarvis explains the lamentable malaise you're feeling is less about your occupation and more about your mindset. Jarvis offers his top tips to keep burnout at bay.

Entrepreneur Radio, hosted by award-winning broadcast professional Alan Taylor, equips fans with the critical information necessary to grow their business through practical advice and thought-provoking interviews. Tune in live on Saturdays 2 p.m. EST/11 a.m. PST and Sundays 10 a.m. EST/7 a.m. PST and listen to weekly episodes on demand on Entrepreneur.com.

Related:

Top Podcasts, GIF Creation and Fighting Burnout

This Entrepreneur Discovered a Multimillion-Dollar Business Idea When He Got Stranded in the Gobi Desert

How to Protect Your Company's Most Valuable Asset



Copyright 2017 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved



This article originally appeared on entrepreneur.com


(Xinhua) 10:46, September 09, 2017

The City of Chicago plans to join the bid after Amazon, an online retailer store, announced the decision to open its second headquarters in a North American metropolitan area Thursday.

By doing so, Chicago also aims at the 50,000 jobs the headquarters will offer.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has more than once talked with Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos about the opportunity, Crain's, a weekly business newspaper in Chicago, quoted a source close to City Hall as saying.

"We expect HQ2 to be a full equal to our Seattle headquarters," said Bezos in a news release. "Amazon HQ2 will bring billions of dollars in up-front and ongoing investments, and tens of thousands of high-paying jobs."

When choosing the location for its second headquarters, Amazon prefers "a stable and business-friendly environment" and "urban or suburban locations with the potential to attract and retain strong technical talent," the news release said.

In July this year, Amazon has doubled the size as well as the work force in its Chicago office.

It is estimated that Amazon headquarters in Seattle has contributed 38 billion dollars to the city's economy from 2010 to 2016.
Pa. Dems could flip the House of Reps. Here's what that might mean
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Holidays for me are increasingly about turning off and tuning out, so taking a smart watch on holiday was probably not the ideal context for writing a comprehensive review. With an entire week spent lazing by the pool and rarely venturing outside the hotel, there was not much in the way of activity to track and the motivating summit graphic used to record my levels of activity remained empty.

Montblanc Summit at the beach in Majorca  Paul O'Neil

But like most smart watches, the Montblanc Summit comes into its own when you are travelling. Because I use a Google Calendar and the EasyJet application, the watch kept me constantly updated on where I needed to be and when I needed to be there, even sending me handy hints like which luggage carrousel to head to for my bags. In this respect the watch is an extension of your smartphone and will therefore be as useful to you as your smartphone is. In my case, unfortunately, after reading an insightful article on how apps are designed to get you addicted, I took a severe approach to how I allow my phone to handle notifications, whittling the disturbances down to the strict minimum. But features like to Google Assistant and the voice-activated Google translator are perfect for the international globe trotter who needs to buy a coffee in Italy or a train ticket in Japan (I imagine the former would be a breeze, but would advise some caution for the latter). Handy pre-loaded apps like Foursquare and Uber drum home the point that this is a watch for the upwardly mobile and tech-savvy.



Im a firm believer that smart watches, especially those produced by established luxury watch brands, should still be exemplary in their time telling capabilities. The Montblanc Summit excels here, leveraging the brands heritage to offer classic Minerva-inspired chronograph dials and the sportier Timewalker dials from this years latest models on its 1.39 inch AMOLED display, which is protected by a sapphire crystal. But just like the mechanical incarnations these dials only work well on an aesthetic level with the corresponding case and strap, so the beautiful 1858 chronograph configuration looks a bit odd with the black PVD case and red rubber NATO strap that I tested. This innovative strap, combining the qualities of rubber with the suppleness, comfort and security of a NATO strap, works much better with some of the other permutations available. With three different cases (all-black PVD, brushed steel and balck PVD and all-steel) and a choice of colourful rubber straps and classic leather straps, there are enough possibilities to cater for even the most demanding tastes.



The Montblanc Summit finds itself in a crowded marketplace, competing with very similar offerings from TAG Heuer and, more recently, Louis Vuitton. While each has its own unique characteristic (modularity for the TAG, travel-linked special features for the Louis Vuitton and that cool strap for the Montblanc Summit), the Summits biggest advantage by far is its price: at under 1,000 Swiss francs it is far cheaper than both its main competitors.
The sensational TV drama Doctor Foster returned this week to rave reviews, many noting the good doctor is now insane with jealousy.

Our eponymous heroines revenge on her cheating husband has struck a chord with women everywhere, and she is being hailed as the poster girl for every wife whos been betrayed.

For the uninitiated, were into the second series. In the first, watched by ten million people, Gemma Foster was a successful medic and mum, happily married to Simon when she found he was having an affair with a friends 23-year-old daughter, Kate.

The sensational TV drama Doctor Foster returned this week to rave reviews, many noting the good doctor is now insane with jealousy. Pictured above, actress Suranne Jones

The first series ended with Simon and pregnant Kate moving out of the village of Parminster while Gemma remained behind  drinking excessively, bereft, divorced and a single mum to son Tom.

In series two, things get worse. Her ex and his new wife return to the village with their perfect new baby. They move into a multi-million pound mansion while she and Tom are still in their modest family home.

Unsurprisingly it affects her sanity. She sneaks into Simons plush new house when no ones at home. She turns up uninvited at his wedding party  only to discover all her so-called friends are there.

Soon shes back glugging wine from the bottle and dissolving her wedding ring in acid, a metaphor for the revenge she is plotting on him.

So why are so many women rallying around this poor, deranged doctor? Because, as one tweeted: I feel like Simon cheated on me. Im fuming.

Being the victim of infidelity is every woman (and mans) nightmare, which is why Doctor Foster has touched such a nerve. A friend who counsels divorcing couples tells me its normal to want revenge. Its part of grieving for a lost relationship.

First, she says, you suffer SOS  shock, outrage and sorrow. Then vengeance kicks in.

Its healthy to imagine cutting his reputation to pieces along with his suits; to see in your mind the public showdown where you prove to everyone he is the complete b*****d.

But in your mind is where all these thoughts should remain, says my counsellor friend. Act on your feelings of vengeance and you only diminish and harm yourself.

The best way to get even is to build a better life for yourself  to make them jealous of you. Revenge  as we see through Dr Fosters breakdown  is a dish best never served.

Brucie-shaped hole in Strictly

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone, Strictly Come Dancing is back tonight for its 15th series  the first since Brucie died. He was the beating heart of Strictly, but he will live on  not least because his replacement, Tess Daly, is so fatuous shell serve as a permanent reminder of how much we miss him.

The fantasist known as Nick, who cost police 2.5 million investigating his false claims of abuse by a VIP paedophile ring, may face charges. Why may face them? Jemma Beale was recently found guilty of falsely accusing 15 men of rape and has been jailed for ten years. If there is to be any justice, a man who falsely cries rape should be treated the same as a woman.

Former lingerie model Miranda Kerr says now that shes married to billionaire Snapchat mogul Evan Spiegel, she plays a more traditional role.

It isn't your frocks he loves, Miranda

Former lingerie model Miranda Kerr says now that shes married to billionaire Snapchat mogul Evan Spiegel, she plays a more traditional role.

At home, I slip into my feminine and empower Evan to be in his masculine. I make sure to light the candles and have a nice dinner and a nice dress on.

With great respect to Mirandas home-making skills, I suspect the last thing on Evans mind when he first encountered the Victorias Secret model was seeing her in a nice frock.

Westminster Wars

EU president Jean-Claude Juncker has attacked David Daviss Brexit negotiating skills, accusing him of instability. How ironic, coming from a hard-drinking, unelected eurocrat, reputed to be rather unstable himself  and thats just after lunch.

Surprised to hear that Comrade Corbyn was caught taking Holy Communion in a Catholic Church, since hes an atheist. But then hes an unashamed hypocrite who is now trying to wreck the Brexit Bill when, for the past 30 years, hes been a Eurosceptic, even voting to leave the EEC back in 1975.

Tories used to pay 1,500 a seat to hear David Cameron speak. Today, you can buy a Conversation with Dave for 5.40, if youre prepared to travel to South Dakota for the privilege. The event is being held at Rapid City, apt given his rapid fall from grace.

Theresa May has denied a rift between herself and her Chancellor Philip Hammond. Given pictures of him ostentatiously yawning by her side during her answers in PMQs, we may need a little more convincing.

The Government has been criticised for not doing enough for victims of Hurricane Irma in British Overseas Territories, including the British Virgin Islands where Richard Branson has his celebrity playground Necker. The Virgin boss says the region needs major help: Necker and the whole area have been completely devastated. Perhaps Branson might care to chip in from what hes saved as a tax exile.

It's all in the name

Two months after the birth of her twins, Amal Clooney, nee Alamuddin, is back at work and its announced shes to be the keynote speaker at a high-profile annual event for women in San Franciscos Silicon Valley next year.

She will follow in the footsteps of Hillary Clinton, nee Rodham. Organisers describe Amal as a woman of strength, courage and compassion.

Commendable as both women are, neither would have got an invitation to be in the audience, let alone on the stage, if it werent for the fact they are married to very rich, very famous men, whose names they have taken.

So much for feminism, ladies.

Omnipresent Clare Balding is one of the big stars demanding the BBC urgently sort out the gender pay gap. Not a moment too soon. Lets hope a pay rise for Clare  who, Im afraid, is becoming insufferably boring  means she can sit back and relax a bit, so well see less of her on TV.

For good reasons, including the fact that teenage boys and girls need privacy during puberty, many parents are upset about 20,000 being spent on gender-neutral loos at a school in Cardiff. Despite our ridiculous obsession with gender fluidity, my objection is based on a simple fact of life. Boys are messy  and never put the seat down.
A mother-of-four has detailed how she almost died of the same severe morning sickness condition that is currently affecting pregnant royal Kate Middleton.

Jenn Morson, a mother of four, suffers from hyperemesis gravidarum, a disease that affects up to two per cent of pregnant women, and causes extreme nausea and vomiting.

The Annapolis, Maryland, resident was only five weeks into her first pregnancy when she first started experiencing debilitating symptoms, as she recounted in a piece published by Cosmopolitan.

Serious illness: Jenn Morson, a mother of four, suffers from hyperemesis gravidarum, a disease that affects up to two per cent of pregnant women

At first, Morson thought she was going through morning sickness, like many other pregnant women, and tried typical remedies such as ginger ale, saltine crackers, and ginger chews.

She even spent more than $100 to purchase electric shock bands that she was told might help, but quickly realized that nothing could relieve her extreme nausea.

'I puked until it felt like my stomach was being wrung out like a wet washcloth. If I was conscious, I was vomiting,' she wrote.

The mom went to the ER on several occasions, but doctors didn't spot the condition and instead kept treating her dehydration before sending her on her way.

Signs: The mom of Annapolis, Maryland, was only five weeks into her first pregnancy when she started experiencing debilitating symptoms that didn't go away

Duchess: Kate Middleton (pictured in 2013 while pregnant with Prince George) has suffered from hyperemesis gravidarium during all three of her pregnancies

'When I felt like I might just die, I would drag myself into the ER, and after waiting for hours because I wasn't a high priority, they would do some tests, determine I was severely dehydrated, flood me with IV fluids, and send me home, saying, "morning sickness happens, it just means the baby is healthy!" with well-meaning sympathy plastered on their faces,' Morson recounted.

The treatments provided her with short-term relief, but it wasn't long until the vomiting resumed. By the time she was due for her next OB appointment, the mother had lost 10 per cent of her body weight and was exhausted.

Yet, her doctor remained unconvinced as to the seriousness of her condition, and after suggesting she try the same usual remedies she had already used without success, prescribed some anti-morning-sickness pills.

But apart form causing her to sleep, the drugs didn't help Morson, so she took herself back to the ER.

There, doctors found ketones in her urine, meaning her body was using too much of its own energy because it was so depleted.

Diagnosis: Morson (pictured with her husband) learned the name of her condition after several ER visits

'In other words, this was not me being a wimp about nausea. My body was patently rejecting anything I put in it on account of the pregnancy,' Morson wrote.

She received her hyperemesis gravidarum diagnosis that night, and was treated thanks to medication injected directly into a semi-permanent IV line, as well as vitamins and fluids.

After a few days, the mom became able to eat and walk a little, but still needed a nurse to come to her home and help her shower once a week.

Her symptoms eased off around the 20th week of pregnancy, when Morson started taking oral medications again.

During her second, third and fourth pregnancy, the condition returned, but the mom now knew the diseased and was able to make sure she received appropriate care.

'Without that one doctor who finally recognized what was happening, neither myself nor my four children would be here,' she added.

The Duchess Of Cambridge, 35, who announced earlier this week she is expecting her third child, has suffered from the same condition ever since becoming pregnant with Prince George.

She had to be hospitalized during her first pregnancy, and received home care while expecting Princess Charlotte.

This time around, she is also being treated in Kensington Palace, and has had to cancel an engagement. She was also absent as George headed to his first day of school with his father, Prince William, today.
Egypt's naval forces rescued a group of 17 Malaysian and Egyptian holiday-goers after their yacht sank in the Red Sea off Egypt's coast on Thursday, the military said in a statement.

The tourist boat sank 35 miles southeast of the Red Sea coastal town of Safaga due to bad weather conditions, military spokesman Tamer El-Refaie said.

Those rescued comprised nine Malaysians and eight Egyptians, though a search is still ongoing for one missing Egyptian, the spokesman added.

Rescue teams were dispatched from a naval Red Sea base after receiving an SOS message saying the boat had broken down and was sinking.

Medical and administrative assistance has been provided to those rescued, all of whom are in good condition, the spokesman said.

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For any follower of fashion, the name Christian Dior is one synonymous with iconic style.

Now the legendary fashion house, which recently marked 70 years in the industry, is throwing open its doors with a comprehensive exhibition spanning it's history.

Christian Dior: Seventy Years of Haute Couture, currently showing at the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, tells the story of the famed house from its inception through to the present.

The exhibition features a stunning collection of imagery including this portrait of a couture creation by John Galliano for Christian Dior

Other breath-taking images on display include this Raf Simmons for Dior bar coat

The incredible creation forms part of the 140 garment collection on show

The exhibition also showcases the work of milliner Stephen Jones, who has created elaborate headpieces for Dior creative directors John Galliano, Raf Simons and Maria Grazia Chiuri.

On display are couture creations by its founder, Christian Dior, as well as the seven designers who have headed up the label since.

The retrospective features stunning pieces by Yves Saint Laurent, Marc Bohan, Gianfranco Ferre, John Galliano, Raf Simons and its first female creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri.

Here, Femail takes a behind-the-scenes look at some of the signature gowns, breath-taking evening dresses and dramatic designs that make up this impressive exhibition.

Scroll for video

Christian Dior mannequins in the salon of House of Dior's headquarters, 30 Avenue Montaigne, Paris 1957

Installation view of The House of Dior: Seventy Years of Haute Couture at NGV International, 27 August7 November 2017

Installation view of The House of Dior: Seventy Years of Haute Couture at NGV International, 27 August7 November 2017

The retrospective also features gowns worn by celebrities including Miranda Kerr Nicole Kidman, Natalie Portman and Jennifer Lawrence.

'The exhibition will invite Australian and international audiences to discover some of the most significant couture designs of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries,' said Tony Ellwood,' director of the NGV.

Miranda Kerr wearing the long-sleeved high-necked satin gown on her wedding day earlier this year

The absolutely beautiful Grace Kelly-inspired wedding dress was designed by current Dior creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri

Nicole Kidman (pictured) alongside her 1997 John Galliano for Dior gown which features in the exhibition

Installation view of The House of Dior: Seventy Years of Haute Couture at NGV International, 27 August7 November 2017

'The exhibition will be a celebration of Dior's most landmark moments and designs, including their iconic 'New Look' silhouette, which revolutionised women's fashion in the 1950s, through to the present-day contemporary aesthetic.'

In addition to the 140 garments on display, the exhibition will have on display a vast array of accessories, sketches, photographs, and other archival material.

It will also feature the work of milliner Stephen Jones, who has created elaborate headpieces for Dior creative directors John Galliano, Raf Simons and Maria Grazia Chiuri.

Installation view of The House of Dior: Seventy Years of Haute Couture at NGV International, 27 August7 November 2017

Installation view of The House of Dior: Seventy Years of Haute Couture at NGV International, 27 August7 November 2017

Installation view of The House of Dior: Seventy Years of Haute Couture at NGV International, 27 August7 November 2017

Installation view of The House of Dior: Seventy Years of Haute Couture at NGV International, 27 August7 November 2017

The comprehensive showcase is also set to include special artisans from the Christian Dior Couture atelier in Paris.

The highly-skilled craftspeople will be working on couture garments at various times during the exhibition, demonstrating their extraordinary technical abilities.

A sketch by Christian Dior for the autumnwinter 1949 haute couture collection

The exhibition will have on display a vast array of accessories including shoes and hats

Signage from the Christian Dior parade at David Jones, Sydney, August 1948

The National Gallery Victoria exhibition will also tell the Australian story of Dior, where in 1948 David Jones hosted a Sydney fashion parade of 50 Christian Dior creations  the first complete collection to be shown outside Paris.

The iconic department store still takes inspiration from the famed fashion house today with its signature houndstooth branding.

House of Dior: Seventy Years of Haute Couture is on at NGV International, 27 August7 November 2017
Skin cancer survivor Terri Dwyer has shared a shocking image of the damage UV rays have done to her face as she reveals she is going through another health scare.

The former sun worshipper has twice been diagnosed with malignant melanoma and now has concerns about a mole that's recently changed shape.

The ex-Loose Women star, who made her name playing barmaid Ruth Osborne in Hollyoaks, believes her cancer was caused by using sunbeds in her teens.

She is speaking out to warn others about the dangers and has backed a campaign calling for the UK Government to follow in the footsteps of Australia and ban sunbeds.

Terri Dwyer has revealed an image of her sun-damaged face taken with a UV camera

The former Loose Women star says doctors believe her cancer was caused by using sunbeds in her teens

Terri, 44, told MailOnline: 'I had a sunbed at home when I was 18. Then after that I was always bronzing myself on holidays abroad and didn't always wear sunscreen.

'The dangers of getting bronzed isn't something you worry about when you're young. I wish I could go back and have a word with my younger self.

'Doctors can't be 100 per cent sure, but they have said it's very likely that my use of tanning beds caused my cancer.

'I'm backing the "Tan Ban UK" campaign because I worry young people still aren't getting the message.

'It took around 30 years of campaigning the ban to come into force in Australia so it's not going to happen overnight.'

Mole scare

Terri, who lives in Cheshire with husband Sean, feared the disease would rob her sons Caiden, 11, and Kylan, seven, of their mother and said she is extremely grateful her cancer never spread.

Melanoma  which is mostly caused by exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light from the sun and sunbed use  is the least common but most dangerous form of skin cancer.

Cases have doubled since 1973 and it affects more than 14,500 people in the UK and 80,000 in the US. It is the most common cancer in women in their 20s.

Terri admitted that she was a big sun worshipper when she was younger and thought nothing of having sun beds and bronzing on the beach  often without sunscreen

The mother-of-two is pictured with her husband Sean enjoying the sun

When caught in its early stages, it is almost always curable with surgery, but when it metastasises  that is, spreads to other areas of your body  it is notoriously difficult to treat.

Terri now has check ups every three months and is very careful to get any changes in her moles examined.

She said: 'I try not to be paranoid but I do check them out and my husband keeps an eye on them too.

'I have noticed one that looks a little suspicious and I will very soon be getting myself to the doctor to get it assessed.'

Surgery

Terri's cancer ordeal began in spring 2014, shortly before she was due to go on a family holiday to Italy.

She said: 'I've always had lots of moles on my skin but one on my back was giving me concern so I went to my doctor.

'I thought I was being silly and probably wasting her time but she was no-nonsense about it and said this needs to be removed.

'I'd had a couple removed in the past but they'd turned out to be nothing to worry about, so I suggested we wait until I came back from my holiday.

The actress is backing a campaign for the UK to follow Australia and ban tanning beds

'But she was very strict in saying, no, this needs to come off now, today.

'When I got back I was told it was malignant. They told me I had stage two cancer, which means it's localised but could have spread via the lymph nodes.

'I burst into tears. The c-word is terrifying. Nobody thinks it will happen to them.'

Terri had a tense wait for weeks before it was confirmed the cancer hadn't spread.

Then last year, she had another mole removed, which again to her shock turned out to be melanoma.

'It was terrifying to get it twice. It highlights the importance of getting any small change in moles checked out.'

The ordeal was all the more painful because Terri had lost both of her parents to cancer at a young age.

Terris mother Doreen died at just 44 of ovarian cancer, which spread to her lungs and lymph nodes. Her father Tony died aged 50 of stomach cancer.

'When I was naively tanning I never thought that one day I'd be fighting skin cancer and worrying about leaving my children motherless,' she added.

Campaign for a sunbed ban

Terri is backing the 'Tan Ban UK' campaign by sunscreen brand SunSense, which has launched a petition to challenge the government to ban sunbeds in the UK.

It's hoped it receives the 100,000 signatures required for the topic to be discussed by Parliament.

The company argues that the statistics alone should provide enough reason to introduce a ban.

Using a tanning bed before age 35 increase the risk of melanoma by 75 per cent

A persons risk for melanoma doubles if he or she has had more than five sunburns, according to researchers from the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg in Germany.

Individuals who have used tanning beds 10 or more times in their lives have a 34 per cent increased risk of developing the disease compared to those who have never used tanning beds, found a study published in the Journal of American Academy of Dermatology in 2014.

Furthermore, using a tanning bed before age 35 increase the risk of melanoma by 75 per cent, research reported in the International Journal of Cancer found in 2006.

Dr Fabrizio Spada, research and development manager at SunSense said it's shocking that some people see using tanning beds as a way to obtain a 'base tan' before further unprotected sun exposure.

'As long as sun beds are available to the public, there is a need for guidelines and legislation to reduce the risk associated with their use,' he said.

'By reducing solarium use, future cases of skin cancer can be significantly reduced, along with the associated disease, health care costs and, in some cases, death.

To sign the petition visit here.
Does Donald Trump have a mental illness? Its a question that has been gaining more and more traction since he was elected President.

Lately its reached fever pitch on social media, with many people convincing themselves  and others  that he must have some sort of mental health problem: that hes a narcissist, a psychopath, or psychotic, or that he has dementia.

Last week, Dr Allen Frances, a psychiatrist of world renown who oversaw the editorial team that wrote the manual on how to diagnose mental illness, finally spoke out on this. While hes been scathing about the President, Dr Frances has criticised the armchair diagnoses that Trump has been given and has categorically ruled them out.

Dr Max says that the debate around Donald Trump's mental health is not only unhelpful but downright offensive

Im pleased that someone with his gravitas has said this. While I dont like Trump or much of his politics, the debate around his mental health is not only unhelpful but downright offensive.

Firstly, what has prompted many people to question his mental health is that they find his views unpalatable. They simply cannot understand why someone would think those things.

But having offensive views is not a mental illness. You can disagree with people and not like them, without them having to have a serious psychological problem.

Evoking mental illness as a reason is profoundly lazy, as it avoids having to engage in debate. It allows the persons views to be dismissed out of hand, explained away by an aberration of their mind rather than a view that should be debated and beaten.

But the suggestion that if Donald Trump can be shown to have a mental illness, then he isnt fit to be President, is also grossly offensive to those with mental illness.

Having a mental illness does not  and should not  preclude you from holding public office. The world is full of people with a mental illness doing brilliant work.

The natural conclusion to Trump is mentally ill is that those with mental illness shouldnt be leaders. This is utter tosh. And its repellent because it perpetuates the stigma of mental illness.

What has been particularly shocking is that its not just lay members of the public who have been wading in on Trumps mental health, its professionals. They should be ashamed.

As theyve not actually assessed him professionally, everything they say is just guesswork. And it does mental health professionals and their patients a great disservice to suggest this is all there is to reaching a diagnosis. The profound damage that can occur when professionals stray into making diagnoses from afar is considered a gross violation of professional ethics under what is known as the Goldwater rule, which emerged out of a situation not dissimilar to now.

The rule, which has been in place since 1973, prohibits U.S. psychiatrists from offering opinions on someone they have not personally evaluated.

It came about following the 1964 presidential campaign when a self-aggrandising, anti-establishment figure, who mobilised disenfranchised, right-wing voters, ran for president. His name was Barry Goldwater. Liberals loathed him and did all they could do discredit him, while one magazine, Fact, approached 12,000 psychiatrists, asking if they thought him psychologically fit to be president.

The vast majority didnt respond but over 1,000 did, saying they didnt think he was fit to be president. Some suggested a diagnosis.

Goldwater lost the election, sued the magazine for libel and won substantial damages.

The parallels between Trump and Goldwater are obvious, except that Trump became President.

There is nothing new in this: throughout the history of psychiatry, this technique for discrediting people has been used by unscrupulous people to silence, remove, eradicate or weaken opponents.

In the Communist bloc countries it was commonplace, for example, to brand critics as insane. As well as discrediting them, this provided an excuse to forcibly institutionalise them.

Mental illness was used to crush democratic processes  and it should make all of us profoundly uncomfortable that we have so easily strayed back into similar territory.
DIARY OF A WARTIME AFFAIR by Doreen Bates (Penguin 9.99)

DIARY OF A WARTIME AFFAIR

by Doreen Bates (Penguin 9.99)

Doreen Bates was born on April 25, 1906, and grew up in Tooting, South London.

She went to Croydon High School, then studied history at London University. As part of a new generation of independent young career women, she worked as a civil servant at the Inland Revenue  and it was here that she fell in love with an older, married colleague, William Evans (E).

Throughout her long life, Doreen kept a diary, in which the remarkable story of her affair with E is chronicled.

She was a natural writer, with the rare ability to observe and capture intense emotions.

Edited by the twins (now grandparents themselves) who were born of the affair, this is a captivating and intimate account of the life of a clever, brave and sensitive woman.

I CONTAIN MULTITUDES by Ed Yong (Vintage 8.99)

I CONTAIN MULTITUDES

by Ed Yong (Vintage 8.99)

In one of Hans Christian Andersens fairy stories, an old scientist peers through a microscope at a drop of water, and sees magnified there a host of little creatures, living lives as busy, turbulent and dramatic as those of human beings.

As Ed Yong demonstrates here in his bestselling account of the microbes that have swarmed over the face of the Earth for the past few billion years, Andersens vision was far from fanciful.

Microbes are not just all around us, they are inside us. Even when we are alone, we are never alone, he writes. Every one of us is a zoo in our own right.

If this sounds alarming, Yongs enthusiasm for bacteria is infectious, as he describes the beauty of luminescent bacteria in the Hawaiian bobtail squid and the benefits of our microscopic neighbours.

PAX ROMANA by Adrian Goldsworthy (W&N 9.99)

PAX ROMANA

by Adrian Goldsworthy (W&N 9.99)

Like most imperial powers, writes historian Adrian Goldsworthy, the Romans felt that their domination was entirely right, divinely ordained and a good thing for the wider world.

This view was not, of course, universally shared.

At the end of the first century, the Roman historian Tacitus records a Caledonian war leader telling his men that the Romans create a desolation and call it peace.

The reality, as chronicled by Goldsworthy, is somewhere between those two extremes.

To some of its territories, Roman rule brought generations of peace, yet millions died or were enslaved by their ruthless aggression.

Goldsworthys lively and thought-provoking history gives a vivid impression of Roman peace from the point of view of both the conquerers and those conquered.
THE WARDROBE MISTRESS by Patrick McGrath (Hutchinson 14.99)

THE WARDROBE MISTRESS

by Patrick McGrath (Hutchinson 14.99)

Its January 1947, and bombed-out London is experiencing the coldest winter that anyone can remember. Food and fuel are rationed and, for Joan, the eponymous wardrobe mistress of a West End theatre, life is even grimmer when her husband, the celebrated stage actor Charlie Grice, dies suddenly.

Understudy Frank Stone successfully steps into Charlies role as Malvolio in Twelfth Night  and as Joans companion in bed. Joan almost believes Charlies spirit lives on in his stand-in, but then, she uncovers a shocking secret about her husband.

Patrick McGrath takes us backstage in the London theatre  and you can just about smell the greasepaint. But he also opens out his story to embrace the zeitgeist of the time, the misery and deprivation of post-war Britain, the persistent running sore of fascism and the feeling that life after victory isnt what it was supposed to be.

A chilling novel of grief, passion and unfulfilled longing, where secrets lurk in every dark alley.

STRANGER by David Bergen (Duckworth 18.99)

STRANGER

by David Bergen (Duckworth 18.99)

ISO is a patients assistant at a Guatemalan clinic where wealthy American women go to solve their fertility problems. She falls in love with Eric, a charming, charismatic American doctor, and believes he will leave his wife, who has had treatment at the clinic, for her.

But Eric has a serious motorcycle accident and returns suddenly to the U.S. Iso is pregnant but, though poor, she refuses the clinic directors demand that she give up her child for adoption.

Rushed into the clinic for the birth, she unwittingly signs over her baby to Eric and his wife.

Determined to recover the child, Iso sets off on a perilous journey, travelling illegally across borders to Mexico, then the U.S. In what is often an edge-of-the-seat trip, this brave, resourceful young woman puts to the test notions of what borders are and questions the entitlements they give us.

DINNER AT THE CENTRE OF THE EARTH by Nathan Englander (W&N 14.99)

DINNER AT THE CENTRE OF THE EARTH

by Nathan Englander (W&N 14.99)

Kidnapped from Paris after betraying his Israeli secret service masters for humanitarian reasons, Z has been held captive in a secret prison in the Israeli desert for 12 years, his guard his sole companion.

The only other person who knows he is there  and so the only man who can order his release  is the General, to whom Z frequently writes, asking to be set free. But Z doesnt know the reason for the Generals lack of reply is that, for years, he has been in a coma  and there is little chance he will awaken.

In Englanders Kafkaesque novel, the situations of the two men grimly reflect one another: each is locked in limbo.

Z can do nothing but think of the past and where his life went wrong, revealed to the reader in a series of often gripping flashbacks. Meanwhile, although politics seem incapable of resolving the Israeli-Palestinian problem, love finds a way through the impasse via the tunnels beneath the border.
SALT CREEK by Lucy Treloar (Aardvark Bureau 9.99)

SALT CREEK

by Lucy Treloar (Aardvark Bureau 9.99)

After a succession of bad business investments, Stanton Finch flees from the comforts of Adelaide to the remote and inhospitable Coorong in South Australia in 1855.

But his wife ails, the terrain is intractable and the dispossessed Aborigines are a constant reproach  so much so that Stanton decides to educate Tully, a native boy, almost as if he were his son.

Observing her familys implosion is 15-year-old Hester, whose intelligence and clear sight lie at the heart of this superb novel.

He has spent most of his life hoping, she says of her father, as the struggle to battle depression and disillusionment is agonisingly played out by parents and children.

Empathetic and beautifully written, the story drives deep into the pioneering experience with the confidence of a writer perfectly at ease with her subject.

A COLUMN OF FIRE

A COLUMN OF FIRE by Ken Follett (Macmillan 20)

by Ken Follett (Macmillan 20)

In the third of the Kingsbridge Series, Protestant Ned Willard returns home from Calais in 1558, determined to marry Margery Fitzgerald who has haunted his exile.

Unfortunately, Margery is a Catholic and Rollo, her brother, has other plans for his marketable sister. Like many, their love story seems destined to dissolve in the face of huge social change.

Personal contentment being off the cards, Ned finds himself in the service of the powerful in France  but, with the accession of Elizabeth I, will his fortunes change?

Deploying a substantial cast of characters, Follett unrolls a familiar history of religious and political ferment and turns it into accessible and enjoyable fiction.

A caveat  at more than 750 pages, its tough on the biceps.

TREASONS SPRING by Robert Wilton (Corvus 18.99)

TREASONS SPRING

by Robert Wilton (Corvus 18.99)

In 1792, the French Revolution is turning unpredictable and violent. Factions gather in the fashionable salons and the streets are awash with spies.

The National Convention is headed by the unscrupulous Joseph Fouche, who is searching for important correspondence of King Louis. So, too, is the mysterious Scotsman Keith Kinnaird, who has travelled to Paris at the behest of his friend, Henry Greene, who is also missing. How are they connected?

Robert Wiltons fictional device is to insert documents into his narratives in the manner of an historian.

Here, the story is built up with alternating reports from the Comptrollerate-General for Scrutiny and Survey and dramatised episodes.

A clever, sophisticated novel emerges of a revolutionary psychosis into which are swept all manner of lovers and liars, innocents and manipulators.
The headline on this piece is pretty much the title of my life. Theres always a new vintage, blend, food pairing, talented winemaker and vineyard to discover.

My job as a wine sleuth is to unmask great wine at a favourable price. And for leads, France is bustling with hidden intelligence  as long as you know where to look.

France is littered with famous wine-producing regions, from Champagne to Bordeaux. Most people think of the latter for red wine but its zesty whites are a real find and still great value. Down the road in Bergerac you can find further brilliance and bargains such as the Grand Reserve Bergerac Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2016 (12%) for 7 in Sainsburys. Gascony, the Loire and Costieres de Nimes are all further safe havens for top kit with low prices conjured by the know-how of history and the passion of next-generation winemakers.

In areas such as Jura, there is already a growing cult of appreciative thirsty wine fans  get into the neighbouring wines of Savoie while you still can. And pick your winemaker with care  the who of wine is often as important as the where. Paul Mas, for instance, is a widely available southern French brand whose key to quality is in large part down to the winemaker, Jean-Claude Mas.

Which brings us neatly to the source of your wine. For French bargains, Asdas Wine Atlas range is worth diving into, along with Aldis new French listings. Fan of Malbec? The Forgotten One Cahors 2014 is a mighty Malbec in Aldi (12.5%) for 6.99. Staying with the south, Frances Languedoc has rich pickings  Domaine Les Yeuses Les Epices Syrah PGI 2014 (13.5%) is a red gem in Majestic for 8.99.

But the secrets out. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to infiltrate the joys of life behind enemy wines.
SHOW OF THE WEEK

Follies

Rating:

Olivier stage, National Theatre Until 3 Jan 2018 2hrs 15 mins

Who says  as some claim  that Stephen Sondheim doesnt write good tunes? Follies, a glorious mix of camp Broadway belters and angst-ridden ballads, has so many it leaves you breathless.

The setting is a derelict New York theatre, where ex-showgirls of the Weismann Follies have been invited to one last reunion before it is demolished. Some are still game old gals, performers to the end; others have gone on to normal lives.

Two such are former backstage friends Sally and Phyllis, now mired in unhappy marriages (there isnt any other kind in Sondheim). The twist is that they are seen alongside their younger selves, revealing youthful follies, as ghostly showgirls stalk the debris-strewn set like sequined lost souls.

The setting is a derelict New York theatre, where ex-showgirls of the Weismann Follies have been invited to one last reunion before it is demolished



Scenes of past and present intertwine, triggering feelings of nostalgia, regret, of missed chances and unresolved desires. The latter  with Sally still in love with Phylliss husband  is fertile ground for James Goldmans book and Sondheims genius in mining relationships.

Janie Dees Phyllis, barely concealing lifes let-downs beneath surface sangfroid, memorably delivers Could I Leave You?, an excoriating put-down of smooth, philandering husband Ben.

As Sally, Imelda Staunton (already with Oliviers for Sondheims Gypsy and Sweeney Todd) is all fixed grin and over-blonde hair. She reveals her own emotional hell in a raw rendition of Losing My Mind (a 1989 hit for Pet Shop Boys and Liza Minnelli) that really does suggest someone on the edge.

To all this, Sondheim adds pastiches and showstoppers, tributes to the stage musical. And there are some doozies: the anthemic Broadway Baby (Di Botcher induces goosebumps) and Im Still Here, the ultimate tale of an actresss survival  first youre another sloe-eyed vamp, then someones mother, then youre camp  from the redoubtable Tracie Bennett. Dame Josephine Barstow also does an entrancing One More Kiss.



As Sally, Imelda Staunton (above right with Janie Dee), who already with Oliviers for Sondheims Gypsy and Sweeney Todd, is all fixed grin and over-blonde hair

Dominic Cookes production is less ravishing than the 1987 London premiere  Beautiful Girls sees the aged ladies gingerly descending a fire escape rather than a big staircase  though there is no lack of sparkle. The 1987 version had a more upbeat ending too. I missed some of the emotional heft of the piece then; 30 years on, with a larger rear-view mirror, I was stirred as well as theatrically thrilled.

Late Company 1hr 15mins

Trafalgar Studios, London Until Saturday

Rating:

There are echoes in Canadian Jordan Tannahills play of dozens of dramatic dinner parties in hell, and of one in particular: Yasmina Rezas God Of Carnage, in which two sets of parents meet to discuss the bullying of one of their children.

One freely accepts the Reza set-up  the child lost a couple of teeth  because the playwright is less interested in the childrens behaviour and more in showing how adults can behave as badly as their offspring. But in Late Company it stretches credulity that the parents of Joel, a gay 16-year-old driven to suicide by school tormentors, would invite their sons chief persecutor and his parents round for a meal.

And frankly, the pasta with clams gets in the way of an often sharply observed examination of 21st-century parenting, of grief, and of where the blame lies in a possibly avoidable tragedy.

Director Michael Yale draws excellent performances from his cast, and David Leopold (front centre) is outstanding as the adolescent Curtis

Brittle, snooty metal sculptor Debora claims the dinner is intended to be a healing process. Which it turns out to be, though only after open sores have been exposed and new wounds inflicted, as the characters attack one another for what they did and what they failed to do for troubled Joel.

All have seen things from their blinkered perspective. But why did Joels father show his wife videos of their son dressed as a woman and lip-synching to Rihanna? And surely Joels diagnosis of depression should have been taken more seriously?

Director Michael Yale draws excellent performances from his cast, and David Leopold is outstanding as the adolescent Curtis, who has least to say but whose grunts and hot, silent tears suggest he feels and understands most.

It stretches credulity that the parents of Joel, a gay 16-year-old driven to suicide by school tormentors, would invite their sons chief persecutor and his parents round for a meal

Georgina Brown

Wait Until Dark

Richmond Theatre Touring Until 2 Dec

Rating:

Frederick Knotts play was made famous by its 1967 film adaptation, starring Audrey Hepburn. Sadly, not even the Hollywood icon could redeem this risibly clunky production.

The would-be thriller begins with two baddies bumping into each other in a flat in Sixties Notting Hill. Amid the swish interiors lies a dead body: theyve been set up. Roat (Tim Treloar), the murderer, and the only vaguely intimidating hard guy in the show, turns up and blackmails them into hunting down a drug-stuffed doll.

They try to trick Susy, the flats blind occupant, into handing it over. But in wily Susy they get more than they bargained for. Especially when she joins forces with her house help Gloria (a gloriously sulky Shannon Rewcroft).

Above, a spirited Karina Jones with Oliver Mellor in this would-be thriller that just isn't scary - thanks to some poor physical theatre, fight scenes are more panto than petrifying punch-up

The problem is its not scary. Thanks to some very poor physical theatre, fight scenes are more panto than petrifying punch-up (cue audience laughter).

Jones is the first blind actress to play the lead. Her performance, and the plays emphasis on Susys courage, portray how society underestimates those with disabilities. But thats one of the few rays of light here.

Gwendolyn Smith
Ghosts of the Tsunami Richard Lloyd Parry

Cape 16.99

Rating:

Six years ago, on the afternoon of March 11, 2011, Richard Lloyd Parry was sitting in his newspaper office in Tokyo when he felt gentle vibrations coming upwards through the floor.

Next came the tinkling of window blinds, followed by the drawers of the filing cabinet sliding open by themselves, the swaying of the building and low groans emerging from its depths, a heart-sickening noise suggesting deep and mortal distress, like the death sound of a dying monster.

It was frightening, but Tokyo is a city where earthquakes are far from unusual, and they were miles from the epicentre. Walking outside afterwards, Lloyd Parry noticed almost no visible damage. Central Tokyo calm and undamaged, he reported at 16.26, In 30 mins stroll I saw one cracked window and a few walls.

'It was as if neighbourhoods, villages, whole towns were being placed inside the jaws of a giant compressor and crushed'

But  unusually for a journalist  he had underestimated things. Japan had in fact just been hit by the fourth most powerful earthquake in history, so powerful that it had knocked the Earth ten inches off its axis and moved the entire country 4ft closer to America. And, within an hour, the coastal areas were experiencing something infinitely more terrible.

A tsunami followed, with waves 120ft high, roughly the same as a ten-storey building. One hundred people had just died in the earthquake: 18,500 were to die in the tsunami. The following morning, Lloyd Parry drove to the coast, which, in some areas, was three miles further inland than it had been the day before. It was, he says, an apocalypse. I saw towns that had been first flooded, then incinerated; cars that had been lifted up and dropped on to the roofs of high buildings; and iron ocean-going ships deposited in city streets.

The tsunami produced scenes of surreal horror, like an updated version of a painting by Hieronymus Bosch, with intact houses spinning across fields with flames dancing on their roofs. It was a ravenous, all-consuming monster, travelling at 40mph, devouring everything in its path, sucking up vast, 60ft trees and then using them as battering rams.

It stank of brine, mud and seaweed. Most disturbing of all were the sounds it generated as it collided with, and digested, the stuff of the human world: the crunch and squeal of wood and concrete, metal and tile. In places, a mysterious dust billowed above it, like the cloud of pulverised matter that floats above a demolished building. It was as if neighbourhoods, villages, whole towns were being placed inside the jaws of a giant compressor and crushed.

'I saw.... cars that had been lifted up and dropped on to the roofs of high buildings; and iron ocean-going ships deposited in city streets'

One survivor described it as like being inside a cocktail-shaker, another like being trapped inside a washing machine. Yet the weakness of both these domestic images shows that the tsunami lay outside human experience, and therefore outside the power of language.

Richard Lloyd Parry wanted to write a book about the tsunami and the human devastation it wrought, but didnt know where to begin. He had written daily news reports, but the events that constituted the disaster were so diverse, and so vast in their implications, that I never felt that I was doing the story justice.

How do you write about the deaths of 18,500 individuals? He began to worry that the disaster was beyond the imagination, and beyond his own capacity to feel. In the weeks afterwards, I felt wonder, pity and sadness. But for much of the time I experienced a numb detachment and the obscure sense of having completely missed the point.

Somehow, this particular tragedy struck him as a distillation of all the arbitrariness and horror that had engulfed the country that day

It was only when he came across the ruins of a small coastal village, 200 miles from Tokyo, in a forgotten part of Japan, that he realised he had finally found a means of encompassing the general in the particular, and of turning bleak statistics into human stories. At the Primary School in Okawa, 74 children had lost their lives: only four had escaped.

Statistically speaking, only a tiny percentage of the overall deaths from the tsunami in Japan had been schoolchildren  most schools had been specially built at a distance from the coast  but somehow this particular tragedy struck him as a distillation of all the arbitrariness and horror that had engulfed the country that day.

First came the earthquake. The shaking was so strong, I couldnt stand up, recalls one villager, who was unable to open her car door. Birds disappeared, along with their song. A while later, one woman remembers noticing that the creek had run dry. The water was in the process of withdrawing, ready to come back again with a vengeance.

'The shaking was so strong, I couldnt stand up, recalls one villager, who was unable to open her car door. Birds disappeared, along with their song

At the primary school, the electricity was cut off, but the deputy headmaster heard warnings of the coming tsunami on his battery radio. Unlike in other schools, there were no clear procedures for dealing with it. Some pupils and parents suggested that they should all climb the tall hill at the back of the school  Well die if we stay here!  but the teachers told them to calm down. They would, they said, be much safer staying at the school.

And there they all remained, to be swept away with an almighty roar, minutes later. It wasnt like the sound of the sea, recalls one villager, who had escaped to the hillside. It was more like the roaring of the earth, mixed with a kind of crumpling, groaning noise, which was the houses breaking up. And there was a fainter noise, too. It was the voices of children. They were crying out Help! Help! But, within minutes, their voices grew weaker. And then silence.

For British readers, there will be unmistakable echoes of the horror of Aberfan, where 116 schoolchildren and 28 adults were buried under an avalanche of coal slurry. One of this books many virtues is that it gives a human face to the people of Japan, who are so often characterised as distant and inscrutable.

It wasnt like the sound of the sea, recalls one villager, who had escaped to the hillside. It was more like the roaring of the earth, mixed with a kind of crumpling, groaning noise'

Ghosts Of The Tsunami deals mainly with the aftermath of the tragedy  days, weeks and months in which parents continued doggedly looking in the mud for their children, knowing full well that there was no chance of finding them alive. Their testimonies are almost unbearably moving.

On the day after the tsunami, one mother is led to a hall, where her daughter Chisatos body is laid out. She looked very calm, just as if she was asleep. I held her and lifted her up, and called her name over and over, but she didnt answer. I tried to massage her, to restore her breathing. But it had no effect. I rubbed the mud from her cheeks, and wiped it out of her mouth...I wiped and wiped the mud, and soon the towels were black so I licked Chisatos eyes with my tongue to wash off the muck, but I couldnt get them clean, and the muck kept coming out.

Lloyd Parry has chosen to focus his attention on another distraught mother, Naomi, whose daughters corpse was lost for several months. Every day, Naomi searched for her. In June of that year, she attended a week-long course, emerging as one of the only women in Japan to have a licence to operate a mechanical digger. In August, fishermen found a torso, bobbing in the sea, a lump of something. Without arms. Without legs. Without a head, says Naomi. And this was my daughter. A week later, Naomi is back on her digger, searching for other lost children.

Six years on, one of the four child survivors still carries a photograph of his old classmates in his school bag. If I carry it in my bag, I feel as if they are having lessons with me, he explains.

In an understated way, Ghosts Of The Tsunami is not only a vivid, heartfelt description of the disaster, but a subtle portrait of the Japanese nation, its strengths and weaknesses. In one way, their belief in keeping calm and carrying on can be debilitating. Lloyd Parry despairs at the minimal outcry at the governments stubborn refusal to take full responsibility for the dithering that caused those children to perish.

But, perhaps controversially, he also argues that the Japanese sense of duty and community, even in the most catastrophic circumstances, leaves the UK in the shade. I pictured a school gymnasium in north-east England, rather than north-east Japan, in which hundreds of people were living and sleeping literally head to toe. By this stage, they would have been murdering one another.
Keeping track of your period is far from a novel concept. Some scholars have even proposed that the markings on the Ishango bone  an ancient African artefact  may have been an early lunar calendar to track menstruation. What has changed, however, is the technology. No more marking P in your diary, as I did. Now you can chart your cycle on your smartphone.

Tracking your hormonal cycle offers important insights into female health. Its a useful step for understanding PMS, detecting conditions such as endometriosis and charting fertility. I definitely support it as part of a womans health programme, says consultant gynaecologist Michael Dooley.

Flo recently added a fan  the supermodel and mother of five Natalia Vodianova, who calls it life-changing

Health platform Flo is the first to use artificial intelligence to give accurate cycle predictions. To date, the free app has ten million users globally, monitoring different stages in the hormonal cycle from menstruation to pregnancy, early motherhood and menopause. By anonymously logging information such as symptoms, weight and moods, each user receives personalised feedback about their reproductive health.

Flo recently added another fan  the supermodel and mother of five Natalia Vodianova, who calls it life-changing. She began using Flo this year to track her fertility. After two days, Flo knew me better than my partner. After a week, it knew more about me than I did, Natalia told my colleague Miranda Thompson when they met recently.

After Flo told Natalia that her daughter Neva, 11, was a candidate for the HPV (human papilloma virus) vaccination, she contacted the apps founder and joined as a key investor and director. Its an incredible tool for women. The more you know about your body, the more you know how to be healthier. Natalia will encourage Neva to use Flo when the time comes. I want her to know that having a period is a beautiful time to take care of yourself.

When Natalia was growing up in the Soviet Union, you didnt talk about what was happening to your body. She adds, When my boobs started to grow, I thought something was wrong with me. My mother said nothing. I was too ashamed to talk to my grandmother about it, so I just worried.

Encouraging openness around periods is fundamental to Natalias global campaign Lets Talk About It. Period. This month, she is travelling to India, where menstruating women are often considered dirty or unclean, to speak out on period stigma and empower women.

Natalia thinks society should be more considerate when women have their period, particularly at work. If youre sick, sometimes you cant go to work. Its the same when women have bad period pains. It should be taken seriously, she says. Her take-home message to women is dont be ashamed to talk about it.

Kinn is a certified organic home and body range, based on essential oils

Since this month is officially Organic September (soilassociation.org), heres a natural favourite. Kinn is a certified organic home and body range, based on essential oils. The plant-based products, all made in Britain, were developed by mother and daughter Marie Lavabre and Sophie Lavabre-Barrow, who adapted family recipes formulated by Maries uncle Marcel Lavabre, a leading aromatherapist. Their eco-friendly, non-toxic products do the job admirably, smell gorgeous and look super stylish, thanks to designer Flo Bayley (who introduced me to Kinn). Kinn Washing Up Liquid, 3.50, Bathroom and Kitchen Cleaners, both 4.25, and Floor Wash, 5; bath and body products, from 14, all kinn-living.com.

When I scalded my wrist recently, I slathered on Magic Skin Repair Gel, an aloe-vera-based product with essential oils, notably myrrh and helichrysum. The pain subsided immediately. A second application removed the hurt for the rest of the day. A day later, the two-inch burn was red, with a few blisters, but there was no pain. This cooling gel by 1001 Remedies is recommended for acne, spots, rashes and other skin blemishes. 25.60, victoriahealth.com.

When I scalded my wrist recently, I slathered on Magic Skin Repair Gel, an aloe-vera-based product with essential oils, notably myrrh and helichrysum

Email your questions to sarah@sarahstacey.com

Always consult your doctor if you have a medical problem.
Egypt's defence minister Sedky Sobhy headed to South Korea on Saturday upon an invitation from his South Korean counterpart Song Young-moo with the aim of boosting military cooperation between the two countries, Al-Ahram Arabic news website reported.

Sobhy, who is accompanied by a high-level military delegation, is set to meet with a number of top South Korean officials including high-ranking army members.

Sobhy is expected to discuss a number of issues regarding military and security cooperation between the armies of the two countries.

On March 2016, Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi visited South Korea and met with then-president Park Geun-hye, where they signed nine memorandums of understanding in the fields of industry, education, transportation and justice.

Following El-Sisis visit, South Korea vowed to provide Egypt with a financial package worth $3 billion for export credits and to develop infrastructure in the transport, energy and water resources sectors.

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When HELGA SCHNEIDER finally discovered the real reason her mother had abandoned her, aged four, in war-torn Berlin, the consequences were devastating. Her painful story has now been made into a film. Adriaane Pielou reports

Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp is now a memorial and museum

Ten in the morning, in a Vienna hotel. Outside, the Let Me Go film crew, newly arrived from London, are unloading their equipment. In the lobby, the films director Polly Steele is pacing up and down, her phone clamped to her ear. In the restaurant, actress Juliet Stevenson, the films star, is having breakfast. And sitting in the lounge, waiting for a coffee, is the reason Polly and her crew are here: 80-year-old Helga Schneider.

As a four-year-old in wartime Berlin, Helga sobbed by the front door as her mother abandoned the family to join the SS and become a concentration-camp guard. In her 20s, Helga left Germany, moved to Italy, married an Italian and tried to throw off every Germanic element of her identity. Her efforts didnt work, and in her 60s, after decades of feeling haunted, traumatised and unlovable, she wrote a short, shocking book  which became a worldwide bestseller  about the repercussions of having the worst kind of Nazi for a mother. It is this book that has inspired Pollys film.

Films dont tell womens stories enough. They dont get inside womens heads enough, says Polly, snatching a few minutes to talk. I came across Helgas book by accident, while browsing in a bookshop. It was sticking out of the shelf, just as if someone had left it like that, wanting it to be discovered, and Id barely read two pages before I was engrossed.

Its a compelling story. SS guard Traudi Schneider didnt just follow orders, she loved her job; took pride in carrying out her gruesome duties. On her release from prison in 1948, having served three years for war crimes during which she had shown no remorse for her actions, she made no effort to get in touch with the daughter from whose arms she had coldly disentangled herself in 1941. Between then and Traudis death in 2002 Helga saw her mother on just two harrowing occasions. These events have dominated Helgas life.

I have not one happy memory of my mother, Helga tells me. Since the age of four I have spent just a few hours with her, but she has haunted me all my life. Beautifully groomed and with a warm, energetic manner, she looks every inch the Italian she has tried to become. Ive read her book, though, and when you get inside her head  to use Pollys phrase  it soon becomes clear that psychologically she is still, in part, the aghast, abandoned German child.

Helga's only photograph of herself with her brother as children

Helga can clearly remember the day her mother left: how she caught hold of her mothers long hair as she bent down to scold her for making such a fuss, her 19-month-old brother screaming in his cot as the door slammed shut behind her. A concerned neighbour knocking at the door; her grandmother temporarily moving in the next day; her father away, fighting for the Fuhrer.

At four she was too young to understand why her mother had left, and everyday life in wartime Berlin, spent cold and hungry in the familys communal cellar as bombs fell above, soon submerged memories of her. Within a year Helgas silent, uncommunicative father had remarried. Ursula, an icy woman who loathed Helga, forbade any talk of Helgas mother.

Her stepmother was so devoted to the Third Reich that she arranged, via a sister who worked for the propaganda minister Josef Goebbels, for Helga to be among the group of children who in December 1944 would meet Hitler in his underground bunker in Berlin. Helga had to spend the preceding days in the bunker, being fattened up  she ate until she was sick  and put under sunlamps so that the Fuhrer would be shielded from the true effect of the war on Germanys children. Hitler seemed so old and grey, says Helga with a slight shudder of distaste. One arm withered, hanging by his side. Shuffling along but with a penetrating gaze. I can still remember the feel of his hand  it was so clammy.

Helga Schneider, whose book Let Me Go has been turned into a film

It wasnt until the war ended that Helga began to hear adults murmur about the mass killing of Jews in concentration camps, but she had no idea her mother had any link to the camps. When her father came home from the war, Helga tearfully demanded to know where her mother was, only to be told, furiously, that this was a subject to stay away from. For decades she assumed that meant her mother had disappeared because shed been unfaithful. It was not until 1971 that she saw her mother again and learned the truth.

By then Helga had moved to Italy, trying to assume a new identity. She had lost touch with her father and Ursula, married an Italian (gaining a mother-in-law who disliked her for not being Italian) and had a son. Feeling in need of something inexpressible  I had a black hole in me I needed to fill  she had tracked down her mother to a flat in Vienna so that her five-year-old son, Lorenzo, could meet his grandmother.

On the train from Bologna I was thinking, Well, if she betrayed my father, I can forgive her, she says. But to her shock, the mother she hadnt seen for 30 years showed no interest in what Helga had been doing in the intervening years, no interest in her grandson and was almost gleeful when Helga asked where and why shed gone away in 1941.

She said, very proudly, I worked at Auschwitz. I was in the SS. She said shed had to go because she had sworn an oath of absolute allegiance to the SS. Then she said, And Ive always dreamt of seeing this on you! She opened her wardrobe and brought out her old SS uniform jacket.

Her mother also tried to press on Helga a jumbled handful of gold jewellery: spoils from the camps. She remembers recoiling as a little chain, the sort small girls are given for their birthday, spilled out of her mothers pale bony fingers, realising it must have been ripped from a child on her way to the gas chamber. She was trying to draw me in, into the ideology, and I couldnt take it. It was disturbing how much I resembled her. She said, We are as alike as two eggs! I told her, You didnt want me as a daughter and now its me who doesnt want you as a mother! After about 40 minutes, I took my son and ran.

Helga left feeling traumatised as well as sickened by the expensive items in her mothers flat, which  as Traudi didnt work  suggested she was being funded by some Nazi organisation still looking after its own. Once back home in Bologna, Helga contacted the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Vienna, which documented Nazi atrocities, and asked to see the files on her mother. They made grim reading.

SS guard Traudi Schneider, she learned, had been so efficient at her job in Sachsenhausen, Ravensbruck and Auschwitz-Birkenau, herding women and children into the gas chambers, then shovelling their bodies into the crematorium ovens, shed been promoted to a position reserved only for the most hardened: tying inmates on tables so that the Nazi camp doctors, led by the infamous Dr Josef Mengele, could perform their grotesque medical experiments. For instance, two prisoners would each have a leg amputated and the doctors would then swap the legs and observe the effect of various drugs on the transplant process.

The shock of reading the files sent Helga into a deep depression. Unbearable, that my mother was involved in all that. I couldnt breathe. I couldnt sleep. I had to get medication. I felt like an accomplice  as if I, too, was guilty of genocide, guilty of the death of many people. I thought of what my son might think as he grew up. So I tried to bury all thoughts of my mother. I was determined to never see her again.

Twenty-seven years later, however, she did. By then  1998  Helga was a widow of 61, her husband having died of cancer. One morning a garish pink envelope arrived  a letter from a friend of her mother. Traudi had been behaving oddly, wrote the friend. She would furiously mop her floor until she flooded the landing, buy great quantities of food and then throw it all away. She had ordered a white coffin for a little girl, then sat mute in the undertakers office. The friend felt that Traudi  who was now in a Vienna nursing home  needed to be institutionalised. Would Helga consider meeting her mother one last time? Reluctantly, she agreed. I thought perhaps the strange behaviour pointed to a desire for redemption. Perhaps she had repented and I could at last free myself from her.

Juliet Stevenson as Helga with Lucy Boynton as Helgas granddaughter, left, and Karin Bertling as her mother, right, in scenes from Let Me Go

At first her befuddled mother failed to recognise her. My daughter is dead, she insisted. Then she seemed disgusted: I dont want an old hag for a daughter! Despite her dementia it soon became clear she remained an unrepentant Nazi, girlishly thrilled when Helga told her about her meeting with Hitler. She also had clear memories of the war years. Sensing Helgas interest in her time in the camps, however, she became craftily coy, insisting a repulsed Helga call her mutti (mummy), kiss her and bring her flowers before shed talk about Auschwitz (Our doctors were outstanding professionals! she insisted).

Its the compelling drama of this last mother-daughter meeting that is at the heart of Pollys film. But as Helga disappears to be made up for an interview being filmed for the DVD, Polly  who made her name on the famous documentary Tantrums & Tiaras about Elton John  says it wasnt so much the Nazi element of Helgas book that drew her in.

What really struck me was the theme of how the effects of trauma are passed on down the generations, she says. Im particularly interested in family constellation therapy, which is based on the idea that the repercussions of traumatic events dont die with the people directly affected but echo down the generations, often manifesting as terrible guilt or depression or chronic illness. When I first met Helga to discuss the possibility of a film, she was very warm, but it was obvious she is also very dark. She is clearly carrying a burden. I came away exhausted.

Helgas complex life has been so plagued with tragedy  her brother killed himself, she has no idea what year her father died and she is reluctant to speak about her son  that it soon became obvious Polly wouldnt be able to tell a completely biographical story. Thus, to emphasise the theme of trauma seeping through the generations, her film has Helga living in London rather than Bologna, and with a daughter and granddaughter rather than her real-life, childless son Lorenzo. The actress Polly found to play SS guard Traudi Schneider, Karin Bertling, dominates the film, giving an extraordinary performance of crafty, wheedling malevolence.

Hitler at a 1934 rally.Helga's stepmother arranged for her to meet him in December 1944: 'I can still remember the feel of his hand  it was so clammy,' she says

In addressing the question of what makes a mother willingly abandon a child, the film makes it clear that in Helgas mothers case, the brutal answer would seem to be blind loyalty to a greater love: Hitler. But the film also explores how inherited trauma can allow a mother to be physically present with her child yet emotionally absent, thus abandoning them psychologically.

By late morning Helga is with us again. She has watched Juliet Stevenson play her in a scene in which Helga leaves the hotel for the nursing home (although she wont get to meet Swedish actress Karin  in real life a slight, sweet, fey woman whose nursing-home scenes have already been shot in a house in Surrey). It is 15 years since Traudi died; anyone who has read Helgas book will feel only disgust towards her, and the film will add to that number. I have to ask: did Helga also hate her mother? She sighs. I tried. But I couldnt hate her; she was my mother. I just didnt love her. But I have a lot of bitterness.

Let Me Go will be released in selected cinemas and by digital download on 15 September by Evolutionary Films
A determined ambulance driver with a heart of gold has been hailed as a hero after coming to the rescue of a desperately ill baby in need of complex cardiac surgery.

When parents Geeta and Ashish Bharti saw their two-day-old baby struggling for breath, they called for an ambulance to take their newborn to hospital in Delhi.

But, despite the newborn's critical condition, hospital after hospital in the city turned the baby away.

The Bhartis, who are from Shahdara, alleged they were turned away by half a dozen leading medical institutes on Friday.

Geeta, a housewife, was not in a condition to comment further, but her husband told Mail Today that they faced harassment everywhere, as hospitals kept referring them onto other institutions.

The newborn baby had access to a limited supply of oxygen as the ambulance tried to have him admitted for emergency care

These included AIIMS, GB Pant, St Stephen's, GTB, Lok Nayak and Kalawati Saran.

The businessman said the institutes, some run by the centre and others by the Delhi government, refused to admit the poorly baby on grounds including a lack of beds and medical facilities.

However, a ray of hope came in the form of CATS ambulance driver Viresh Dhaiya.

He explained: 'I received a call from the patient's family members at 2am and the pick-up point was St Stephen's Hospital.

'When I reached it, I was asked by the parents of the child to travel to GB Pant Hospital. The baby was really in a critical condition and on oxygen support inside the ambulance. He was not able to breathe.'

Dhaiya went on: 'Obviously, this is the golden period for any critical patient. At 3am, we reached GB Pant Hospital where doctors informed about a lack of medical facilities and referred the case to AIIMS.

'It was around 3.45am when we reached there and the story repeated itself. We wasted around an hour-and-a-half at AIIMS casualty and duty doctors proposed the case be transferred to Kalawati Saran Hospital.'

Hero ambulance driver Viresh Dhaiya who refused to stop driving until a hospital finally admitted the seriously ill two-day-old baby

By the time Viresh drove them to Kalawati Saran, renowned for its paediatric facilities, it was 4.30am.

The parents were in a dejected state as they struggled for two hours to get the child admitted.

Dhaiya said the baby was next referred to RML Hospital.

There was enough oxygen inside the vehicle to support the newborn for just four hours.

He added: 'So, for four hours we were moving from one hospital to the other. And the oxygen supply was about to run out and the baby could have died.

'So, I mustered up courage to speak to the doctors at RML and the two-day-old baby was finally admitted.

'It was six in the morning, and the parents were still pleading with the doctors. Because of God's grace, we were successful, and now the baby is in the paediatric ICU at RML Hospital. He is in a critical condition still.'

Delhi's Directorate General of Health Services has not yet responded to questions about the case.

The two-day-old baby has serious heart problems

GTB Hospital director Sunil Kumar was unavailable for comments, while medical superintendent of GB Pant hospital, Dr Dharmendra Gupta, also did not respond.

Arti Vig, head of AIIMS media and protocol division, said she was unaware of the matter and was out of town.

Dr AK Gadpayle, director of RML hospital, said that he did not have much information on the case, adding: 'I am still not aware of the criticality of the case. But now I'm looking at the matter very closely. The baby is in the paediatric ICU.'

Danish Bharti, Ashish's cousin, said: 'There was a moment, when we thought that we had lost the child as his heartbeat stopped and we thought that we should have visited a private hospital.

'Government hospitals just harass us mentally and physically. If this is the condition in Delhi, we can easily understand the mental trauma of parents who lost their children at BRD hospital in Gorakhpur.'

RML Hospital

Dozens of babies died last month at the institute in Uttar Pradesh, some allegedly because of a lack of oxygen.

Danish said: 'We are grateful to our ambulance driver, who managed to speak with doctors at RML Hospital and helped us fight for our rights.

'Now my nephew is in the paediatric ICU. His echocardiogram will be done tomorrow (Saturday) and accordingly doctors will operate upon him.'
Have we become desensitised to pain? I think we have. Just the last week brought news of more babies dying in Nashik (after Gorakhpur and Farrukabad), a seven-year-old had his throat slit in his school toilet, and a senior journalist was shot dead on her doorstep in cold blood.

Debate

Desensitisation can lead to two outcomes. Either one becomes a venom spewing troll, stripped of all humanity. Someones death becomes a cause for celebration. Instead of two minutes of silence, one is bombarded with a cacophony of rage.

The second outcome is a kind of misanthropy. Some of us feel tempted to withdraw from society, which sadly now translates into not much more than withdrawing from social media.

In the case of Gauri Lankesh, the debate took a bizarre turn. More and more coverage was dedicated to the obnoxious response of the troll army; little was told to us about her magazine, what she wrote, what she stood for.

The troll displaced reason, even in Lankeshs death. A tree fell, but we concentrated on the raven cawing in the branches.

Journalist Gauri Lankesh, who was gunned down at her home in Bengaluru

Its a vitiated atmosphere one lives in. Any suggestion of why this is so will lead to more abuse and mudslinging.

Lapsing into silence, at times, seems the only thing one can do. I know there are calls not to be silenced, to speak louder than ever before, but this is easier said on social media, than done in real life.

We live in a world where ideological divisions are being thrust on people. Choose now or else.

This can be terribly sapping for the average citizen, who might be live quite happily without ideology.

Many of us wake up and all we want to do is get on with the struggle that day to day life is.

Politics should happen in the background. For those who of us who are not obsessively active on Twitter, and dont spend our living days and nights forwarding absurd fake news to each other on WhatsApp, there is no physical space left to have reasonable conversations.

New Delhi: Demonstrators hold placards with the picture of journalist Gauri Lankesh during a 'Not In My Name' protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi

We live in a time of judgmental mistrust. Everyone wants to know which side you are on. Everyone is trying to gauge who you are from your social media posts.

Real life interactions with familiars and strangers are laced with suspicion.

Here are three instances of my interactions with the minority community. I go to my barber; Yogi has been anointed the chief minister in UP. The barber is unusually talkative that evening. He is angry. I get the feeling he expects me to say something but I dont. Its uncomfortable.

Could I be an RSS supporter? I can feel the air turn.

Collection

I meet an old college friend, now the headmaster of a school. He is a believing practising Muslim, married to another. He refuses to talk politics.

Every time the topic comes up, as it does in drawing room conversations nowadays, he changes the subject.

A Muslim gentleman, who has read a book of mine and reads my columns, calls saying hed like to meet me. He collects miniature cars and comic books, and wants to show me his collection.

He inherited a small hotel from his father and lives in a peaceful small town in north India.

At one point, he leans towards me and whispers: 'I hope you are a JNU type, like us?' A sentence like this would have been completely unnecessary some years ago. I tell him I really dont know what these types mean, but Im not a supremacist of any kind.

I am an atheist, and I have no problem with people who choose to follow whatever faith they might want to.

Meanwhile, the Twitter feed of a right wing friend of mine is getting on my nerves.

Dalits, Muslims, women, all are a target of his hate. It begins at 9am and ends at midnight.

Unlike Trump, he doesnt tweet at odd hours. Sometimes I wonder if he met the white supremacists at Charlottesville, screaming 'No Jews, No Blacks', if theyd have anything at all to say to each other.

Opinion

He calls me one afternoon. I tell him Im attending a litfest at Habitat Centre, that I have a session in ten minutes.

He launches into a tirade about how Im like all the other phonies who hang out in phony places like IHC, that he knows what kind of people go there.

Within seconds hes slotted me into a type. Old school friends, who all vote BJP, stop talking to me after what they perceive as my anti-saffron opinion pieces.

Years of friendship, washed away by politics.

My friends on the left are cool towards me for what they see as me not really choosing a side and taking a stand.

Maybe its all in my head. Maybe Im being paranoid. But then thats the age we live in, where friends become enemies and everyone thinks of the other as inherently evil.

I dont know how human beings can live in a permanent state of 'versus'. It must be exhausting to wake up and start tweeting hate.

Perhaps its not. Supremacists wake up with certitude, which can be soothing, more soothing than waking up with a whole lot of questions and no answers whatsoever.

The writer is the editor of 'House Spirit: Drinking in India'
Investigators digging into the murky world of flamboyant guru Ram Rahim Singh have uncovered two secret tunnels, including one that connected the Dera Sacha Sauda chief's residence with a hostel for female disciples.

An illegal firecracker factory was also unearthed on the second day of a massive sanitisation exercise at the sect headquarters in Haryana's Sirsa district.

The search operation began after a court last month found the self-styled godman guilty of raping two of his followers in a case that dates back to 1999.

Police with recovered cartons of firecrackers and explosive materials from the Dera premises in Sirsa on Saturday

He was sentenced to two consecutive 10-year jail terms, one for each conviction.

Satish Mehra, deputy director of the state's information and PR department, said: 'Explosive material has been recovered from Dera premises. An illegal factory used to make crackers has been found in the Dera premises. The factory has been sealed.'

An empty box of AK 47 cartridges, 84 cartons of fire crackers and chemicals from the illegal factory, besides hundreds of pairs of shoes, designer clothing and caps, were also found, and official said.

A window-shaped secret tunnel that connected the Dera chief's private residence, also known as gufa, to the sadhvis (female disciples) hostel was found during the search, according to Mehra.

Sirsa: Vehicles of the search team move towards Dera Sacha Sauda on the second day of the search operations inside the Dera headquarters on Saturday

The other fibreglass tunnel detected by security forces opened some five kilometres away from Ram Rahim's private residence, he added.

The illegal firecracker factory has been sealed and a case under the Explosives Act has now been registered against the factory owner, Mehra said.

Some chemical material to be used in making firecrackers was also found.

Search teams recovered 84 cartons of fire crackers from the illegal factory, he added.

Ram Rahim used secret tunnels to meet female disciples

The search will continue on Sunday.

The colourful sect leader's rape conviction led to deadly riots by his followers last month in Haryana as well as parts of Punjab and Delhi, with dozens of people being killed and hundreds injured.

Information about the rapes surfaced in an anonymous letter sent to the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2002.

Sirsa: Police with recovered 85 cartons of firecrackers and explosive materials from the Dera premises

A deserted view of Dera Sacha Sauda

Scrutiny of the ashram increased when a journalist investigating the sect was shot dead the same year.

Haryana Police also decided to dig up a mass grave inside the Dera complex after some people, who were earlier associated with the sect but later left, alleged that Ram Rahim was behind the death of those who opposed his activities and had them buried inside the 70-acre campus of the sect.

The guru of bling, a burly, bearded man who has scripted and starred in his own films, commands a near-devotional following - he claims in the millions - in Haryana and Punjab.
A daughter whose Muslim parents murdered her eldest sister in front in a so-called 'honour killing' insists they are innocent and still visits them in prison, her former best friend has revealed.

Mevish Ahmed remains loyal to Iftikhar and Farzana Ahmed, despite them suffocating 17-year-old Shafilea Ahmed by stuffing a plastic bag down her throat as her four siblings looked on in 2003.

Even after they have spent five years behind bars, Mevish, 26, in is regular contact by phone and text and visits them frequently, the friend said.

Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, Shahin Munir, the best friend who found out about the murder and gave key evidence at the 2012 trial, said: 'I think there are a lot of emotions in play.

Defiant: Mevish Ahmed, who watched her Muslim parents suffocate her eldest sister Shafilea in a so-called 'honour killing', insists they are innocent and visits them in prison, her former best friend told MailOnline

Killers: Mevish remains loyal to parents Iftikhar and Farzana Ahmed (above), who murdered 17-year-old Shafilea by stuffing a plastic bag down her throat in front of her four siblings in 2003.

Speaking out: Mevish's former best friend Shahin Munir, above, gave evidence in the 2012 trial which helped jail the couple over Shafelia's murder.

'She is in contact with them by phone or text. I know she still supports them, she still visits them [in prison] and helps them.

'Mevish would still deny that they did anything. Even though it was me she was talking to, she would still deny it.'

Mevish still lives in the family home in Bradford where the murder took place, Shahin, 27, added, and is unable to shake off her parents' mind games.

'When you grow up in an environment that is so controlling, it is very hard to break away from it,' she said.

Sentencing the couple, Mr Justice Evans described the level of control the parents exerted over Mevish.

He said: 'Mevish, after a period of trying to live independently, was recaptured and brought home, and has since become compliant with your wishes.'

He added: 'You killed one daughter, but you have blighted the lives of your remaining children.'

A recent documentary showed how taxi driver Iftikhar, 57, and 54-year-old Farzana killed Shafilea because she did not fully conform to the traditions of 'rural Pakistan'.

'Honour killing': Shafilea's parents avoided justice for nine years, insisting in television interviews that they were not guilty. The documentary (above) showed how an inadvertent nod made by the killer father on television betrayed his guilt to a body language expert.

Unmasked: It later emerged that Ifthikar , above, was a bigamist who married Farzana behind his first wife's back, abandoning their three-year-old son. He had also 'embraced western culture', dated white girls and loved going to discos in tight jeans.

Jailed: Shafilea's parents were finally arrested in 2010 when the victim's younger sister, Alesha, told police about the 2003 killing. Their trial heard how her mother commanded her father in Urdu to 'just finish it here', Alesha said.

Her parents avoided justice for nine years, insisting in television interviews that they were not guilty.

The documentary showed how an inadvertent nod made by her killer father on television betrayed his guilt to a body language expert.

It later emerged that Ifthikar was an bigamist who married Farzana behind his first wife's back, abandoning their three-year-old son.

He had also 'embraced western culture', dated white girls, loved going to discos in tight jeans and preferred to be known as 'Buzzer'.

The pair were finally arrested in 2010 when Shafilea's younger sister, Alesha, arranged for her own house to be robbed in an apparent cry for help before telling police about the killing.

At the trial, Alesha, who is now in a witness protection programme, described in graphic detail how Shafilea was killed.

Her mother commanded her father in Urdu to 'just finish it here', she said.

The couple then forced Shafilea onto the sofa and pressed a plastic bag into her mouth, blocking her airways.

Alesha said her sister's eyes were wide open and her legs were kicking. She realised Shafilea was dead when she went limp.

Her father punched her sister's lifeless body in the chest and later she saw her mother preparing sheets, black bags and rolls of tape in the kitchen, she said.

She then saw her father carrying a bundle which she understood to be her sister's corpse.

Mevish wrote details of the killing in letters to Shahin, who testified against the parents.

One of Mevish's letters said: 'They treated [Shafilea] like s***. Even when she was a kid, she'd get beaten. I'd do anything to change that night. I wish I'd never seen, but I did. I even seen the suitcase they took her in. They knocked me over and smacked me coz I seen.

'How did that happen coz I was there? Why didn't I stop it. Imagine if people knew what I was writing now. That's it. I'd be gone.'

But in an extraordinary development, Mevish defended her parents on the witness stand, claiming that her letter describing the murder was 'fiction' and casting doubt on her best friend's testimony.

Damning: Shahin had been told about the killing in letters from Mevish. She testified against the parents, showing the court photocopies of the letters as well as her own diary (above)

Evidence: Mevish wrote in one of her letters: 'They treated [Shafilea] like s***. I'd do anything to change that night. I wish I'd never seen, but I did. I even seen the suitcase they took her in. They knocked me over and smacked me coz I seen'. Shahin wrote about it in her diary (above).

She also admitted making silent phone calls to Shahin, though said that this was a joke rather than an attempt to bully her into retracting her statement.

At the trial, the judge said: '[Mevish] came to court and was placed in the sad position of having to deny her own words in order to try and help the parents she and no doubt all your surviving children still care for.'

As a result, Shahin's friendship with Mevish broke down. 'Before I came forward I did tell [Mevish] I would [give evidence] do so. She knew I used to keep a diary. She completely changed. She wasn't my friend anymore.

'She came round once and demanded to have my diaries, and held my wrist against the wall. It was then that I thought something was very much changed.'

In recent years the two friends have spoken several times in an attempt to rekindle their friendship. It was during the course of these conversations that Shahin realised that Mevish was still in close contact with her parents.

'Whenever we have spoken over the past few years it has only ever ended up in an argument,' Shahin said. 'We both just realise that the friendship is not going to work. Mevish would still defend them now.'

The two friends last spoke last year. 'I accepted we aren't friends anymore and I understand,' she said. 'It's quite sad because we used to be close. She still blames me for her mum and dad being behind bars.'

MailOnline has contacted Mevish for a response to her friend's claims.

Shahin said deciding to give evidence in the trial was agonising, as she too had been living in fear of physical violence even though she was not related to the killers.

'It was such a difficult position to be in. I really believed the police wouldn't be able to press charges because they would deny it, and then both of our lives would be in danger.

In custody: At taxi driver Ifthikar's, above, 2012 trial, the judge said: '[Mevish] came to court and was placed in the sad position of having to deny her own words in order to try and help the parents she and no doubt all your surviving children still care for'

In touch: Shahin says Mevish is still in close contact with her parents and insists they didn't kill Shafilea. Pictured: Farzana being taken to court in 2012

Shahin said she last spoke to Mevish last year: 'I accepted we aren't friends anymore and I understand. It's quite sad because we used to be close She still blames me for her mum and dad being behind bars', she added.

'Mevish said I could never say anything to anyone, even if it happened to her. I was so afraid. I thought if I went to the police I would put both of us in that position, and we would get killed.

'I didn't want the same thing that happened to Shafilea to happen to her. I had to weigh up the decision to put our lives at risk.'

The moment that she was given Mevish's letters revealing details of the murder was a turning point, she said.

'We arranged to meet when she was in town with her mum,' Shahin recalled. 'I was in H&M, and she came in and dropped them on the floor, she didn't even look at me. I had to keep my head down so her mum wouldn't see.

'When I got them I went straight home, went into my bedroom, shut the door and sat on my bed and read them.

'It's horrific. Reading them, you understand exactly what happened. There had been loads of news about Shafilea, and then to actually have it there on paper. To think it was done in front of her family.'

In the nine years between the murder and the parents being brought to trial, the 'honour killing' was kept secret within the family, Shahin said. 'But as time went on it became more difficult to keep the secret.'

Giving evidence was the hardest decision Shahin had ever had to make, she told Mail Online. 'I didn't want the same thing that happened to Shafilea to happen to her. I had to weigh up the decision to put our lives at risk.' Pictured: Shafilea's coffin being taken from her Bradford home

Shahin said she is glad that the new documentary has brought the subject of honour killings into the public debate once again. Pictured: Forensic police teams discover Shafilea's body close to the River Kent in Cumbria.

She added that she is glad the new documentary has brought the subject of honour killings into the public debate once again.

'There's no such thing as an honour killing. It's just plain murder. I think it's disgusting for a parent to be able to do that to their own child. You should love them no matter what.'
Todd Roberts, from the Antioch Community Church in Sheffield, was powerless to pay rent or utility bills during the 28 day freeze

A pastor has branded HSBC 'appalling' after his church's account was frozen for four weeks as part of the bank's botched crackdown on financial crime.

Todd Roberts, from the Antioch Community Church in Sheffield, was powerless to pay rent or utility bills, while staff had to go without their salaries.

Calls to HSBC every day for three weeks achieved nothing and on September 1 the church was locked out of telephone banking - leaving it unable to even speak to representatives.

Pastor Roberts, 41, criticised the bank for failing to give a satisfactory explanation for the freeze, which began after his business cards stopped working on August 11.

It ended on Friday, exactly four weeks later, one day after MailOnline contacted HSBC to ask them to comment on the issue.

The lender was forced to tighten its rules on money laundering after being fined 1.2billion by US authorities for handling cash on behalf of Mexican drug cartels.

But Pastor Roberts said its overzealous approach had left his church in an 'acute financial situation', and made him unable to dedicate time to caring for his flock.

Calls to HSBC every day for three weeks achieved nothing and on September 1 the church was locked out of telephone banking - leaving them unable to speak to representatives

Pastor Roberts criticised the bank for failing to give a satisfactory explanation for the freeze, which began after his business cards stopped working on August 11

He told MailOnline: 'To have this happen was appalling, frustrating and incredibly stressful. It has completely broken our trust and put us in an acute financial situation.

'We've been unable to pay our staff, bills or rents. I've been doing nothing I should be this week - it's all been this.

'We also didn't know if we were able to receive income, as we rely on donations to keep going.'

HSBC has introduced aggressive rules which see organisations lose access to their money if they are late completing questionnaires or lengthy phone interviews.

Why is HSBC freezing hundreds of accounts? The lender is desperate to avoid further punishment in the US after being fined 1.2billion for laundering cash for Mexican drug lords. It has introduced aggressive rules which see organisations lose access to their money if they are late completing security questionnaires or lengthy phone interviews. Hundreds of small businesses have been affected  as have charities. Firms most likely to be affected are those with foreign exchange accounts or that pay foreign suppliers. Advertisement

Hundreds of small businesses have been affected  as have charities, and HSBC was one of the two most prolific closers of charity accounts in the past two years.

A senior HSBC executive phoned Pastor Roberts on Thursday evening to say the account would be unblocked the following day.

Pastor Roberts said: 'I understand the need to prevent criminal activity, but I felt like my organisation was under threat through no fault of my own.

'We are a small, independent church serving the local community with four staff including me - we do not have a big organisation that can back us up.

'When it was clear that nothing was being done, we thought we had to go to the press. We are grateful this has now been dealt with.

An HSBC spokesman told MailOnline: 'We aim to help all our customers complete necessary "know your customer" reviews as smoothly as possible.

'And we recognise the process can be challenging for smaller businesses and organisations.

A HSBC spokesman said: 'Although we have been expanding our team of specialist bankers supporting charities, we apologise to those customers who have experience difficulties'

'Although we have been expanding our team of specialist bankers supporting the charity sector, we apologise to those customers who have experience difficulties.'

More than 300 charities have had accounts shut by lenders since 2015, forcing many to close down altogether.

Although the problem is thought to be widespread, many charities are reluctant to speak out because they are too frightened of being locked out again.

Has your charity's account been frozen by HSBC? Sent information and documents to rory.tingle@mailonline.co.uk Advertisement

Antioch Community Church is not the first to be affected by HSBC's heavy-handedness.

All Saints Church in Harpenden, Hertfordshire found more than 19,000 was frozen in the churchs HSBC account following a fundraising drive.

Associate Reverend Linda Williams and other locals were unable to access the funds for a fortnight.

HSBC reopened the account only after Rev Williams went on the radio.

If we have a cash-flow problem, well have to take the money out of reserves, and we cant continue like that, she said at the time.
A fire ripped through a luxury apartment block in Sydney's south-west overnight, causing damage to four stories.

Emergency services were called to the unoccupied building on Shepherd Street in Liverpool just before 8.30pm on Thursday following reports of a fire.

It took firefighters several hours to extinguish the flames, 7News reports.

A fire ripped through a luxury apartment block in Sydney's south-west overnight, causing damage to four stories

Emergency services were called to the unoccupied building on Shepherd Street

More than 70 firefighters reportedly had trouble getting water to the top of the block, where piping had not yet been installed.

But NSW Police said the building  which is still under construction  received only minor damage.

Officers from Liverpool Local Area Command established a crime scene, which will be examined by specialist officers to determine the cause of the fire.

More than 70 firefighters reportedly had trouble getting water to the top of the block

It's not yet known if the blaze was deliberately lit.

Inquiries are continuing.

Police urge anyone with information related to the incident to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or use the online reporting page.
A man is accused of using a Hawaii vacation rental to receive a package sent from California containing 11 pounds of methamphetamine.

Crystal meth is one of Hawaii's most popular illicit drugs. Drug traffickers often use the mail to smuggle it into the island state, where it sells for a premium.

Walter Rolando Atemio Dominguez Garcia was staying at an Airbnb vacation rental in east Honolulu in June when postal inspectors intercepted the package addressed to him, court documents said.

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Police arrested a Hawaii man after he allegedly mailed 11 pounds of crystal meth to an Airbnb

Garcia even went as far as to leave a review of the room he sent the drugs to located on Wilhelmina Rise.

'We have zero tolerance for this kind of behavior and have permanently banned this user from our platform,' Airbnb spokeswoman Mattie Zazueta said in a statement Thursday.

'Airbnb reached out to the authorities to assist them with their investigation and we will help them in any way we can. There have been over 200 million guest arrivals in listings and negative incidents like this are incredibly rare.'

Airbnb has permanently banned Garcia from the website.

In July, postal inspectors intercepted a package containing another 11 pounds of meth addressed to Garcia at an apartment in Waikiki, according court documents.

In August, he allegedly tried to sell three pounds of meth and three ounces of cocaine to an undercover officer for $30,000.

When he was arrested, he asked investigators if 'it was from the first package or from the second package.'

Alexander Silvert, his federal public defender, said he doesn't yet have much information about the case.

Earlier this week, a magistrate judge ordered that Garcia be detained without bail. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for September 19.
Young gun Channel Nine reporter Seb Costello is expected to return to TV screens this week after he mysteriously went on leave about three weeks ago.

Nine said the Europe correspondent - who vanished from the airwaves after covering the Barcelona terrorist attacks - will be back 'this week, as planned'.

The disappearance of Costello, 30, from the airwaves sparked whispers in media circles and left viewers wondering 'where is Seb?' on social media.

Nine's Europe correspondent Seb Costello (pictured) will return to air this week after the network said he went on leave last month

Costello (pictured with media personality Eddie McGuire) is seen as an up-and-comer at the Nine Network

Nine has threatened legal action about any 'false or defamatory' reports about Costello, who is the son of Nine's chairman, the former Federal Treasurer Peter Costello.

When Daily Mail Australia contacted Nine to ask about a previous report which claimed that Costello had missed live crosses - including a Today Show cross that had purportedly been promoted on air - network spokesman Terry Stuart pinned the blame on rival network Channel Seven.

'Your suggestion that there was a promo that Seb Costello would be crossing to the Today show is false. There was no such promo,' Mr Stuart said. 'We are aware that Channel Seven has been calling journalists telling them thisbut (the) fact is, there was no such promo.' Seven was approached for comment.

Meantime, Costello has not been on air for close to three weeks, with previous Europe correspondent Tom Steinfort instead flying over from Sydney to hold the fort in London.

Seb Costello (left) is the son of former Federal Treasurer and Nine chairman Peter Costello

Costello was recently posted to the network's London bureau before going on leave

A sample of some of the social media messages sent to Seb Costello (above)

This week Steinfort covered a series of stories from the network's London bureau, including Prince George's first day at school and the 20th anniversary of Princess Diana's death.

Meantime, viewers flooded social media with questions and well wishes for the young reporter.

'Hey mate, hope you are OK. If you need to, please remember your family and friends are there for you no matter what,' one Twitter user said.

'Hey man, are you still alive?' a friend asked.

'Seb where are you? #9news ' tweeted another.

Nine previously told other media Costello had 'worked tirelessly over the last two weeks without a day off' before taking leave.

Costello also recently covered Cassie Sainsbury's arrest in Bogota, Colombia.
Opposition says the laws shouldn't be changed just to suit one politician

He is also campaigning for a 150kg weight limit and for on-the-spot fines

Senator Williams called on colleagues to follow his push for heavier restrictions

Nationals senator John Williams is calling for speed restrictions for elderly and disabled people who drive mobility scooters on footpaths.

In an ambitious new push, Senator Williams called on his colleagues at a Nationals federal conference in Canberra to back a proposal for a 6km/h footpath speed cap.

He is also campaigning for a weight limit of 150kgs to be enforced, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

Nationals senator John Williams is calling for speed restrictions for elderly and disabled people who drive mobility scooters on footpaths

Senator Williams called on his colleagues at a Nationals federal conference in Canberra to back a proposal for a 6km/h footpath speed cap

The call follows his wife, Nancy, being injured in a run-in with a speeding gopher last year, from which she required a hip operation.

With the current Australian speed limit 10km/h for scooters on footpaths, Senator Williams says many accidents could be avoided if it were lowered.

He questioned whether an elderly person was any safer behind the wheel of a scooter than a car.

'You're a danger to the public if you drive a car down a road but you're not a danger if you drive a scooter down a footpath?,' he asked.

He is also campaigning for a maximum vehicle weight limit of 150kgs to be enforced (stock photo used above)

'They are a tremendous assistance for those who are frail or immobile, but we have got to have safe footpaths as well.'

His move has been met with a frosty reception from managing director of Scooters Australia, Peter Fraser.

'Just because Senator Williams' wife was injured in a mobility scooter accident is no reason to change the law to suit one politician,' he argued.

The call follows his wife, Nancy, being injured in a run-in with a speeding gopher last year, from which she required a hip operation

The campaign also involves a push for registration schemes and on-the-spot fines for speed infringements.

Mobility scooter user, Barbara Lund, an 89-year old resident of an aged-care facility in Canberra's Red Hill, said she couldn't see the danger of the vehicles, provided the rules were adhered to.

Ms Lund said driving her scooter gave her rare access to independence something she'd missed dearly since loosing her car licence.
U.S.-backed Syrian fighters are preparing an offensive against the Islamic State group in eastern Syria along the border with Iraq in a race with government forces marching in the same direction against the extremists in their last major holdout in Syria.

The dueling battles for Deir el-Zour highlight the importance of the oil-rich eastern province, which has become the latest epicenter of the international war against the Islamic State group, raising concerns of an eventual clash between the two sides.

The race to reach the Iraqi border will also shape future regional dynamics, determining whether the United States or Russia and Iran will have more influence in the strategic area once the extremist group is defeated.

Iran has been one of President Bashar Assad's strongest backers since the crisis began in March 2011 and has sent thousands of Iranian-backed fighters and advisers to fight against insurgent groups trying to remove him from power. The U.S. enjoys wide influence in northeastern Syria where hundreds of American troops and advisers are helping the predominantly Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces, one of the most effective in fighting IS in Syria.

The U.S.-backed fighters are up against a huge challenge to reach Deir el-Zour, especially while they are still fighting to liberate Raqqa from IS. Three months into the battle, they have liberated around 60 percent of the city, and much more difficult urban fighting still lies ahead.

This week, Syrian troops and their Iranian-backed allies reached Deir el-Zour, breaking a nearly three-year-old IS siege on government-held parts of the city in a major breakthrough in their offensive against IS. In a victory statement, the Syrian military said Deir el-Zour will be used as a launching pad to liberate the remaining IS-held areas along the border with Iraq.

The troops' arrival to Deir el-Zour city brings Syrian forces and their allies a step closer to controlling the oil-rich eastern province and its capital bordering Iraq, a major boost for Tehran's growing influence in the area. The region has some of Syria's largest oil fields, whose revenue is vital to the state's dried coffers.

Washington has been determined to block the formation of an "Iranian corridor"  of Shiite-controlled land stretching from Tehran to Damascus  and for months has been eyeing the area southeast of Raqqa near the Iraqi border.

U.S.-backed Syrian rebels had been gathering in Tanf in southeastern Syria to march toward Deir el-Zour, but their plans were disrupted in June when Syrian troops reached the border with Iraq, obstructing their path. The only way left for the SDF to enter the eastern province appears to be from the northeastern province of Hassakeh, where Syrian activists say the U.S.-backed fighters have been gathering and stepping up preparations for an attack.

A U.S.-trained group, the Deir el-Zour Military Council, which is part of the SDF, is expected to launch the attack against IS in Deir el-Zour under the cover of airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition within days. SDF officials say the imminent attack is not related to government forces reaching the city earlier this week, and was planned months in advance.

Syrian Kurdish official Nawaf Khalil, who is in Germany but frequently visits northern Syria, said the SDF attack on Deir el-Zour could begin at any moment, adding that the battle for Raqqa now no longer needs a large number of fighters.

"Deir el-Zour is a main connection point and a very important geographic area," Khalil said referring to the province linking several Syrian regions with western Iraq.

The U.S.-led coalition fighting IS said in an email to The Associated Press that the SDF "will decide when the conditions are right for an offensive."

Asked about concerns of a possible clash between the SDF and Syrian troops, the coalition said: "We urge all forces to concentrate their efforts on our common enemy (IS)."

Washington has welcomed Syrian troops' fight against IS. Both the U.S. and Russia have an interest in avoiding a clash between the SDF and Syrian forces and may devise a strategy that will allow both sides to share control of the vast province.

U.S. officials have suggested they are not seeking a confrontation with Assad's forces.

"We are in the killing-ISIS business. That is what we want to do, and if the Syrian regime wants to do that ... and show that they are doing just that in Abu Kamal or Deir el-Zour or elsewhere, that means that we don't have to do that in those places," said coalition spokesman Col. Ryan Dillon in June referring to a town on the Iraqi border, and using a different acronym for IS.

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said last month during a visit to the Middle East that the Middle Euphrates River Valley will soon be liberated, as IS takes hits from both sides of the valley that bisects Iraq and Syria.

"You see, ISIS is now caught in between converging forces," Mattis said.

Ahmed Abu Khawla, the commander of the Deir el-Zour Military Council, says he commands a force of 4,000 fighters, mostly from Deir el-Zour province.

"We are an organized army. We are not militias or separate brigades. We have a unified military leadership and an operations room to coordinate," he told the AP.

"The plans for the Deir el-Zour campaign have been in the works for over a year and half but Raqqa took precedence because of international considerations," said Abu Khawla.

Abu Khawla said his group has already liberated 93 villages in northwestern rural Deir el-Zour including, more recently, the village of Abou Khashab. Asked about potential confrontations with government troops, he said: "If the regime wants a confrontation or directs one bullet at us we will respond."

He also said that the SDF is already forming a local civilian council to administer the area after the military operations.

Ahmad al-Ahmad, who heads the opposition's Syria Press center, said the SDF does not have the manpower to control Deir el-Zour, adding that government forces have brought in lots of troops and Iranian-backed gunmen for the battle.

"The regime wants to reach the border with Iraq to open a land line to Iran through Baghdad," al-Ahmad said, adding that they are capable of doing that.

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Landing back at base in a rickety Avro Anson in the early hours of June 2, 1945, Flight Lieutenant Arthur Reid stepped on to the tarmac and closed his lifes most harrowing chapter.

For four years he had climbed aboard a bewildering array of military aircraft without question or hesitation. With every mission he had placed himself at the mercy of unenviable odds and, more often than he cared to think about, the gamble had looked unwinnable.

It had certainly proved so for many of his fellow officers  dashing young airmen just like him blown out of the skies over enemy terrain, their lives obliterated in black smoke and terminal tailspins.

RAF hero Arthur Reid (pictured) climbed back into the cockpit for the first time in 72 years when he flew in a Spitfire

Mr Reid (pictured) waved to his family who were watching on proudly from the tarmac. The Spitfire hurtled along the runway at Cumbernauld Airport, Lanarkshire

Little wonder that, as he waited for his demob papers that summer, 24-year-old Mr Reid considered his flying days over.

Here he was, blessed to be back on terra firma in one piece after riding his luck in all manner of cramped and sputtering bone-shakers  every one of them a target for Hitlers forces.

With memories like those, why go anywhere near an aeroplane again? Ever?

That, at least, was the RAF veterans position until a fortnight ago.

Days later, at the age of 96, Mr Reid was climbing into a flying suit, strapping on a helmet and hurtling down a rainy runway in a Spitfire.

Woohoohoo! he cried in delight, moments after take-off, as pilot Matt Jones banked steeply then barrelled past his passengers family on the tarmac a few hundred feet below.

After an interruption of 72 years, the 192 Squadron signal officer was airborne once again  and loving every second of it.

That took me back a bit, he admitted moments after disembarking from the aircraft which, in the intervening years, has become perhaps the most beloved and iconic in British aviation. You get a terrific kick when it takes off.

Mr Reid, 96, appeared emotional as the Spitfire cruised above the Scottish countryside. It was the first time he had been in the skies since the end of the Second World War

Moments after take-off, Mr Reid (pictured) cried Woohoohoo! as pilot Matt Jones banked steeply then barrelled past his passengers family on the tarmac a few hundred feet below

His return to the skies may have lasted a mere 25 minutes and taken him no further than a few dozen miles from base  but it concludes an extraordinary story of wartime heroism, duty and grit, with more of the same qualities many decades later.

It also proves something else about the airmen who risked everything for Britain in wartime: they never leave the RAF. Not in their hearts.

The last time Mr Reid was this close to a Spitfire, World War II had yet to be won  and he was several thousand feet up in the sky.

We had an instrument called IFF [Identification Friend or Foe] and when you put it on it made you a friend on the radars and if you switched it off you were an enemy, he recalls.

Sometimes we used to switch it off and wait two minutes and then wed have a Spitfire on each wing, waving to us. They were great lads, the Spitfire pilots.

If his family were unable to convince him to return to the skies in more than seven decades, you might wonder, how on earth was he coaxed back into an aircraft at 96?

The answer, he says, is this time it was his other family doing the asking. The RAF is a family to me and when youre in a family and somebody wants help then you help them.

It was the RAF Benevolent Fund which had called to ask if Mr Reid would consider a flight in a refurbished Spitfire to mark the launch of an operation giving Scots the chance to fly in the classic fighter aircraft from Cumbernauld Airport, Lanarkshire.

His first reaction to the voicemail message, says his son, Arthur Jnr, was: Ill no be doing that.

Then, after a few minutes reflection, he asked: Is this for the RAF?

My dad never left the RAF family but he had no real contact with it for a long, long time, says his son. I think he saw it as a call-up almost, like it was his duty to do it.

Back when Mr Reid was regularly taking off in military aircraft, friends in Bomber Command were dying at an alarming rate.

He was painfully aware that only good fortune had kept him alive in his years on a dozen types of military aircraft, including the Wellington, the Halifax and the Mosquito.

And, by the end of his years of service, he was dwelling much more than he used to on the mechanics of those clanking flying machines taking him into troubled skies.

He recalls: I got a phobia about the aircraft flaps and always felt they werent sitting right. And, in a Wellington, when you took off at first there was a sort of momentary pause in the engine and my heart stopped every time that happened.

There had been no shortage of near misses.

There was the time, for example, when he came down with conjunctivitis and had to miss a mission. All who flew on it were killed.

On a training exercise, the entire crew of a Wellington perished when its wings came off on landing and the aircraft exploded. When his own Wellington landed moments later, similar fractures were found on its wings.

And so, in 67 years of marriage, his wife Dorothy quietly accepted that foreign holidays would not be a fixture in their lives.

A thrilled Mr Reid said: As soon as they shut it up and it was all Perspex around me, that brought it all back

Her husband had done his flying during his twenties and that was the end of it  and he was not a keen sailor either.

I always felt guilty about it, says Mr Reid, whose wife died last year aged 92.

We used to have most of our holidays in Largo in East Fife and later we went to Blackpool and Devon but never outside Britain.

His son adds: All through my childhood he has more or less always said that he wouldnt fly. He always just felt that he had had his luck, that hed had some frights, that a lot of his friends were gone and there had been one or two close-run things.

Yet, in common with many of the airmen who faced appalling odds in wartime, Mr Reid is understated about the perils.

It was just a job, he says now. It was a thrill when I joined, something new and great.

It was only after youve been up and down a few times that it wasnt quite so funny.

Any of the boys in Bomber Command could tell you much better stories than mine.

That is debatable. For the story of Mr Reids RAF service is that of a communications man on missions to jam the frequencies used by German fighters, battleships and submarines to co-ordinate their attacks on British bombers.

Without men like him attached to the highly secretive 192 Squadron, many more bombers would have been shot down before reaching their targets.

The RAF veteran said with a chuckle:Yeah, that was good. I would recommend it to anybody

He admits that, much of the time, the missions he flew from Norfolk at RAF Feltwell and later RAF Foulsham were so secret that he did not have a clear idea of their purpose.

Nor was he fully aware of the role of the shadowy figure behind the black curtain whose face he and his fellow crewmen never saw.

IN fact he was a civilian expert in airborne counter intelligence engaged in such sensitive code-breaking work that even those he flew with were strictly for-bidden from communicating with or even seeing them.

He was so secret that I never saw him. But we knew they were in uniform and they had a complete record as if they were crew members because of the risk of being shot down and the Germans knowing they had got hold of a scientist. Youd see the curtain, but you wouldnt go near it.

When we all came to leave there was not one of us who knew what wed been doing for the last year. It was complete secrecy.

As his family discovered over the years, there was not much even of what the Flight Lieutenant had gleaned from his time in the RAF that he was willing to share.

His son says: He has relayed one or two stories where he was quite lucky. But when I was younger he would say, I cant tell you that because of the Official Secrets Act. He really wouldnt say very much at all.

Marrying in 1949, Mr Reid went on to become a warehouse manager in Leith and the couple had two children, Barbara, 60, and Arthur, 57.

With no interest in flying again, gradually his involvement with his other family faded.

Only in his nineties, with the perspective of many decades on those perilous years in the skies, has he reforged those family connections.

His son says: When Mum was still here he got involved in one of the lunch clubs and, after Mum passed away, he got more involved in the RAF Benevolent Fund and the RAF Association. Its just a new branch of his life.

As the gatekeepers of the Bomber Command Memorial in Green Park, London, the fund hosts an annual service there for veterans each June. A spokesman for the fund said: Arthur is a big supporter of the memorial, obviously having flown Bomber Command and so he helps us fundraise for the upkeep.

He attends many air shows and festivals with us each year, signing Bomber Command books and helping raise money.

Thus the groundwork was laid for the airmans triumphant return to the skies.

When the Sussex-based Boultbee Flight Academy decided to expand its Spitfire trips business into Scotland, it contacted the fund to see if there were any veterans interested in a spin.

Mr Reids son Arthur says: They were really looking for a World War II veteran, preferably Scottish, to go up in the plane.

It took just ten minutes of reflection after 72 years of dismissing the notion out of hand for the airman to change his mind.

Little over a week later, as rain pattered steadily on the tarmac, Mr Reid climbed a set of steps and negotiated himself into the rear compartment of this two-seater version of the design classic.

Then, moments later, the Perspex canopy came down, jets of fire spat from the side-mounted exhausts and the propeller roared into life.

In the back seat, the passenger raised a gloved hand to wave at his family. He was still smiling.

Then, its tiny rear wheel off the ground, the aircraft tore down the runway and soared, taking everyones breath away.

What was going through his mind? Those wartime missions, the blend of dread and excitement which characterised them?

Was he focusing on the flaps or listening for that engine pause like the Wellingtons used to make?

Actually, I was feeling a bit sickish, he admits, so I spent about five minutes breathing deeply.

That was around the length of time pilot Matt Jones took to complete a circle and fly back over the runway where Mr Reids family was watching.

Mr Jones said: I kept checking that he was fine and he said he was but he was fairly quiet at first. Then, as we did the flypast of the runway I heard him shout, Woohoohoo!. I think he was enjoying it by then.

Yeah, that was good, confirmed the RAF veteran later with a chuckle. I would recommend it to anybody.

On the ground, mouths were agape. Here was an aircraft which had helped shape these islands history and, on board, an airman who had done the same.

Mr Jones said: It was a huge pleasure to fly with him. The Spitfire always looks a little awkward on the ground. You really need to see it in the air to appre-ciate what a magnificent aircraft it is.

For 25 minutes Mr Reid took in the vistas of the only peacetime flight of his long life  and, for a few moments, his twenties seemed like yesterday.

He said: As soon as they shut it up and it was all Perspex around me, that brought it all back.

So how about it? A budget airline flight to Alicante next? The shuttle down to London maybe?

He shoots a withering look. No more planes. This time, he means it.

Find out more about the charitable work of the RAF Benevolent Fund at www.rafbf.org
The event is one of a series that the royals are attending to commemorate the nation's war dead, ahead of the Remembrance Sunday ceremony at the Cenotaph in Whitehall. Queen Elizabeth, who died nine weeks ago at the age of 96, considered Remembrance Sunday one of the most significant and important engagements in her royal calendar and missed just a handful of services in her historic 70 years as monarch. This year marks the King's first year as head of state and will double as a tribute to the late Queen. Charles (right) and Camilla (inset) were joined by the Prince and Princess of Wales (pictured left), the Earl and Countess of Wessex, the Princess Royal and Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Duke of Kent and Princess Alexandra. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his wife (bottom right) were also in attendance. Kate was glowing in a tailored belted black blazer and flowing calf length skirt, with three poppies pinned to her collar. Camilla also opted for a black dress, adorned with sequined poppies and a delicate red poppy brooch, along with her favoured Van Cleef drop earrings. The King, meanwhile, showcased his collection of medals and wore a single poppy for the occasion.
Tributes have flooded social media for cancer fighter Connie Johnson, who died on Friday, aged 40.

Ms Johnson raised $5 million for cancer research through her foundation Love Your Sister alongside her brother, actor Samuel Johnson.

Being remember as an 'inspirational, beautiful woman', Ms Johnson entered hospice for terminal breast and liver cancer earlier this year.

Connie Johnson (pictured), the sister of actor Samuel Johnson, passed away Friday after a long battle with breast and liver cancer

Being remember as an 'inspirational, beautiful woman', Ms Johnson (pictured) entered hospice for terminal breast and liver cancer earlier this year

Hundreds of thousands of people are sharing their tributes online, remembering Ms Johnson

Carrie Bickmore was one of the thousands of people sharing their tributes to Ms Johnson

Australian comedian Anthony 'Lehmo' Lehmann wrote she was a 'beautiful person who gave so much to so many' (pictured)

Actress Katie Ritchie shared her tribute, thanking Ms Johnson for everything she did

Many people shared their touching tributes to the cancer warrior, saying she 'won hands down'

Ms Johnson is being remembered as a 'hero, a teacher, a warrior and an Australia legend'

Huge numbers of online tributes flooded social media since Ms Johnson's death Friday

'What a fighter,' ABC's Leigh Sales posted to Twitter.

'So sad to hear the news of the passing of Connie Johnson. A beautiful person who fave so much to so many. Thoughts are with her family #RIP,' Australian comedian Anthony 'Lehmo' Lehmann wrote.

'A life so well lived. A person so well loved. A crusade so well fought. Rest in peace Connie Johnson,' Australian comedian and actress Denise Scott posted.

Hundreds of thousands of touching tributes have been posted since the news was announced Friday evening.

Studio 10 host Sarah Harris was emotionally touched by The Project's tribute, breaking down into heartfelt sobs live on air.

'It was a very emotional show for this hormonal and pregnant mama. Sending so much love to Connie Johnson's little boys (sic). What a woman she was,' Ms Harris wrote on Instagram.

A tribute wall title Love For Connie has been created following her passing, for people wishing to post messages to Ms Johnson and her family

The mother-of-two had entered hospice earlier in the year, with her brother Samuel (pictured together) continuing to provide updates on her condition through the pair's Love Your Sister page

Comedian Denise Scott was amoung the hundreds of thousands who shared touching tributes

'What a brave and wonderful woman' journalist Stephen Quartermain shared (pictured)

Ms Johnson had a tirade of cancers throughout her life after she was first diagnosed with bone cancer at 11-years-old

Ms Johnson had a tirade of cancers throughout her life after she was first diagnosed with bone cancer at 11-years-old.

After beating it, the cancer warrior was diagnosed with a tumour in her womb at 22-years-old.

Later, Ms Johnson was diagnosed with breast cancer and had a double mastectomy along with grueling rounds of chemotherapy and radiation before being told her cancer was terminal in 2010.

Ms Johnson (right) had a tirade of cancers throughout her life after she was first diagnosed with bone cancer at 11-years-old with her brother (left) supporting her the whole way

Ms Johnson sadly leaves behind her two sons Willoughby, 11 and Hamilton, who turns 10 on September 26 (both pictured)

Studio 10 host Sarah Harris was emotionally touched by The Project's tribute, breaking down into heartfelt sobs live on air

'Not all heroes wear capes, but this one now wears angel wings. Rest in peace,' one wrote

Thousands of people are describing Ms Johnson as a 'cancer warrior and fighter'

'Not all heroes wear capes, but this one now wears angel wings. Rest in peace,' one person wrote.

'Connie Johnson didn't 'lose' her cancer battle. She won hands down!,' another posted.

'She certainly gave [cancer] a black eye, and a bloody nose. A genuine heroine,' one other person shared.

Thousands of people described Ms Johnson as a 'warrior woman' who 'punched cancer right in the face', inspiring millions.

'Go well Connie Johnson. Cancer warrior, fundraiser, fighter, mother and sister. What a legacy you leave. Love to Sam,' someone shared.
Next Monday afternoon, Matt Campbell will stand outside BBC Broadcasting House in Londons Portland Place, protesting about the killing of his brother, Geoff, and 66 other Britons, in the 9/11 terror attack at the New York World Trade Centre.

After the horror on September 11, 2001, there was no trace of Geoff. The 31-year-old risk analyst had been attending a conference on the 106th floor in the North Tower, a short stroll from the Manhattan apartment where he lived with his American fiancee, Caroline.

At first, his family clung to the hope he was alive, until one year later fragments of a shoulder blade bearing Geoffs DNA were found among Trade Centre rubble at a landfill site.

Matt began asking questions. He has not stopped since. He, and others who will be at the BBC protest, refuse to accept the official story about 9/11: that four U.S. airliners were hijacked by Islamist terror chief Osama Bin Ladens pilots. Two were flown into New Yorks famous Twin Towers, which collapsed.

Doubts continue to be cast on the official explanation for the 9/11 terror attacks in New York (pictured)

A third rammed into the U.S. Defence Headquarters at the Pentagon in Washington DC. The last went down in rural Pennsylvania, 150 miles north of the capital, after a tussle between the hijackers and passengers, later portrayed in the Hollywood film United 93.

Seven hours later, a third tower at the World Trade Centre, WTC7, fell to the ground over seven seconds, even though no plane had hit it.

The red building, 100 yards from the 110-storey Twin Towers, was less than half their height at just 47 floors, and few people even know of its existence. It had already been evacuated after the planes had hit the main towers.

In total, 2,977 people died, provoking President Bush to mount the War On Terror that led to the invasion of Iraq, with the UK in tow.

Yet as Mondays anniversary approaches, Matt, a former City worker who is married with three children and lives in Sussex, insists that 9/11 did not happen in the way we have been told and that there has been a huge official cover-up to disguise the truth.

There are so many questions that the Americans and the British Establishment refuse to answer, he says. I believe that my brother and thousands of others were murdered on 9/11 and there has been a cover-up. We, as a family, are still overcoming this tragedy, but we will never stop seeking the truth.

He is not alone in his quest. A survey in U.S. magazine Live Science last year revealed that most Americans (53 per cent) believe the U.S. Government has concealed  and continues to conceal  vital information about the 9/11 attacks. Crucially, a team of engineers at the University of Alaska concluded this week, after two years of forensic research, that fire could not have caused the collapse of WTC7.

Indeed, though the official story is that WTC7 was weakened by fires caused by debris from the attack, its the only steel skyscraper in the world ever to collapse purely as a result of a blaze.

Geoff Campbell (pictured with fiancee Caroline Burbank) was one of 67 Britons killed in the attack. His brother Matt refuses to believe the official 9/11 explanation

And a new book by an academic who has become an authority on 9/11, Professor David Ray Griffin, says that to believe that this building fell to the ground without explosives being involved is asking the public to believe in miracles.

Griffin, a retired philosopher at Claremont School of Theology in California, adds in his bestseller Bush And Cheney: How They Ruined America And The World, about the ex-president and his vice-president Dick Cheney: There is a growing consensus that 9/11 allowed the U.S. to adopt extreme, unwarranted policies. They include the War On Terror and the attacks on Afghanistan and Iraq as first steps in taking control of the Middle East.

He, and other 9/11 sceptics such as Matt, have asked if the attack was, in fact, a copy of Operation Northwoods, an aborted plan during John F. Kennedys presidency to stage terror attacks in America and blame them on Communist Cuba as a pretext for a U.S. invasion to overthrow dictator Fidel Castro.

In other words, on that September morning in 2001, did the White House fail to stop  or even fabricate  an outrage against its own civilians so as to provide a pretext for war on Al Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden?

Although there have been countless conspiracy theories about 9/11, the idea that the U.S. Government connived in it still appears utterly implausible and has, of course, been denied by U.S. intelligence services and the White House.

Initially  like most people in America and Britain, including Matt Campbell  Professor Griffin dismissed any notion that the attacks were an inside job aimed at triggering the war on terror.

It was a year later that he changed his mind, when he was writing about American imperialism and 9/11 for his latest academic work.

This week a team of experts said that fire could not have caused the collapse of WTC7 (circled), adding further fuel to conspiracy theories

As part of his research he had come across a timeline of the days events based on newspaper and television accounts. It raised several anomalies that caused him to doubt the official version of events. And, however outlandish it seems, his argument bears consideration.

One of the most puzzling anomalies was that none of the hijacked planes was intercepted by fighter jets, even though there would have been plenty of time to do so and it is mandatory procedure in the U.S. if there is any suspicion of an air hijack.

In the nine months before 9/11, the procedure had been implemented 67 times in America. Then there were the irregular stock market dealings before the tragedy.

An extremely high volume of put options  bets on the price of shares falling  were purchased for the stock of Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, the international financier that occupied 22 storeys of the World Trade Centre.

Even more remarkable was the volume of put options traded on American and United Airlines, which operated the four aircraft hijacked by the terrorists.

On these two airlines, and only these, the level of share trade went up by 1,200 per cent in the three days before the catastrophe. As the shares dropped in response to 9/11 the value of these options multiplied a hundredfold. Someone, somewhere, made $10 million in profit.

But, of all the conundrums, the most perplexing is how the three World Trade Centre towers fell to the ground.

The official version is that the Twin Towers collapsed because their steel columns were melted by the heat from the fuel fires of the two crashed planes.

This explanation has been repeated in White House briefings, official inquiries into 9/11, leaks by the U.S. intelligence services and almost every TV documentary on the attack in the U.S. and the UK.

However, sceptics say the science does not stand up. They argue that steel does not begin to melt until it reaches around 2,800f, and open fires of jet fuel  such as those in the Twin Towers inferno  cannot burn hotter than 1,700f.

Official reports state the steel in the third tower reached a maximum of 1,100f.

Professor Griffin and other sceptics believe the Twin Towers were deliberately blown up. They claim their controversial theory is corroborated by first-hand testimony from firefighters at the scene.

In oral histories of 9/11 by New York Fire Department staff which have been made public, almost a quarter suggest they heard explosions going off before the World Trade Centre towers collapsed. Of the South Tower, firefighter Richard Banaciski said: There was just an explosion. It seemed like on television when they blow up these buildings. It seemed like it was going all the way round like a belt . . . all those explosions.

Colleague Kenneth Rogers heard them, too. He said: There was an explosion in the South Tower. Floor after floor after floor. One floor under another after another . . . I figured it was a bomb because it looked like a synchronised kind of thing.

And Fire Captain Dennis Tardio recalled: I hear an explosion and I look up. It is as if the building is being imploded from the top floor down, boom, boom, boom. I stand in amazement. I cant believe what I am seeing. The building is coming down.

But a more extraordinary challenge to scientific reason would happen on the day of the attacks in respect of the third tower, WTC7, which contained the offices of the secret service, and then mayor Rudy Giulianis emergency command centre, fitted with bullet- and bomb-resistant windows as well as secure air and water supplies.

In 2008, a U.S. Government-ordered report by the prestigious National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) concluded a six-year probe into the WTC7 attack.

Bystanders interviewed by U.S. television that day said there were bang, bang, bang sounds before it fell down. Yet NIST insisted there was no evidence of a controlled explosion.

The fall was provoked by fires on multiple levels. The heating of floor beams and girders had caused a critical support column to fall, initiating the fire-induced progressive collapse that brought the building down.

This week, eminent Alaska University engineers dismissed this explanation. Dr J. Leroy Hulsey, Chair of the universitys Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, said: Fire did not and could not have caused the failure of this building.

Griffin adds: We are led to believe that for the first time in the known universe, a steel-framed, high-rise building was brought down by fire without the aid of explosives or incendiaries.

More clearly miraculous was the precise way in which WTC7 collapsed [straight down, with an almost perfectly horizontal roofline] into its own footprint. This is the kind of free-fall implosion that can only be caused by a world-class demolition company.

But there is another perplexing matter regarding this third building. It concerns the bizarre TV reports in the U.S., and the rest of the world, that it had collapsed when it was clearly still upright  announcements made 23 minutes before it had actually fallen down.

One piece of BBC World footage shows a studio anchor talking to news correspondent Jane Standley, who is standing in front of the clearly visible WTC7 tower.

The anchor says: The 47-storey building, situated very close to the World Trade Centre, has also just collapsed. It seems that this was not the result of a new attack. It was because the building had been weakened during the morning attacks.

Then, oddly, the link to Standley breaks up and is lost.

Of course, this may just be a mistake made on one of the most hectic news days ever. Certainly, the BBC seems to think so.

In a statement made in 2007, a spokesman said: In the chaos and confusion, I am sure we said things which turned out to be untrue or inaccurate, but at the time were based on the best information we had. We no longer have the original tapes of our 9/11 coverage, for reasons of cock-up, not conspiracy.

This response  and the question of why the BBC announced the fall of WTC7 before it actually happened  has enraged those fighting for the truth, such as Matt Campbell. They say a series of 9/11 documentaries put out by the BBC have not been impartial or scientifically accurate.

It is why he, and other Britons who disagree with the official version of 9/11, have chosen to make their protest outside BBC headquarters on Monday.

This unlikely rebel, a trained theoretical physicist, former IT expert in the City, and now a reflexologist, has refused to pay his BBC licence fee for the past four years.

He claims: The BBC has presented information to the public that breaks its own editorial guidelines. In at least one documentary, it removed the sounds of huge explosions going off in WTC7 moments before its collapse.

I think my brother Geoff and many others were murdered in an event that conflicts with what we have been officially told.

I believe there has been BBC complicity in a deliberate cover-up about how thousands died on that day nearly 16 years ago, he said yesterday as he braced himself for the sad anniversary.
James Henderson and Heather Kerzner

Heather Kerzner, the ex-wife of South African billionaire Sol Kerzner, put her money where her mouth is when she agreed to marry Bell Pottinger chief James Henderson on Valentines Day.

Shortly after Henderson proposed over dinner at Scotts restaurant in Mayfair, Kerzner invested a large sum in his PR firm, presumably hoping that the well-connected pair could forge a working, as well as a romantic, partnership.

But now that Bell Pottinger is on the brink of collapse due to a scandal that forced Henderson to resign as CEO last weekend, the future of both unions seems uncertain.

A friend of Hendersons tells me that his November wedding to Heather is off.

The wedding has been postponed, the friend says.

No new date has been set yet.

Heather seems to have been bowled over by Henderson after the pair (right) were introduced by the Duchess of York in 2015 following Heathers divorce from Kerzner, an octogenarian hotelier described as South Africas answer to Donald Trump.

This spring, the wealthy divorcee took a 15 per cent stake in Bell Pottinger and became its major shareholder. Following her investment, she and Henderson owned almost 40 per cent of the company.

However, Bell Pottingers South African connections soon turned toxic.

This week, the PR firm was expelled from the industry trade body after being accused of orchestrating a campaign that incited racial hatred to promote the interests of the Guptas, one of South Africas most powerful business dynasties.

The scandal has damaged Hendersons reputation, and it is unclear whether Heather will get her money back from Bell Pottinger, which is reported to have debts of almost 6million.

Heather, 48, and Henderson, 52, have six children between them. Before the scandal broke, they had drawn up plans for a two-part society wedding in London: a Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday, then a party organised by Tom Freud, nephew of PR guru Matthew Freud, on Saturday.

This week, Heather said the impact of the crisis on her and Henderson has been devastating.

It has been horrendous, she said.

Nothing enrages proud feminist Miriam Gonzalez Durantez more than being called the missus of former deputy PM Nick Clegg.

So the Spanish lawyer has launched a furious attack on a magazine that used a photo of her cradling her newborn son to illustrate a story about her professional involvement in a Brexit seminar.

Miriam, who goes by her maiden name professionally, was appalled that the industry publication The Drinks Business used a picture of her and Nick standing outside hospital following the birth of their youngest son Miguel, who is now eight.

Nothing enrages proud feminist Miriam Gonzalez Durantez more than being called the missus of former deputy PM Nick Clegg

According to the glamorous mother-of-three, who has said women are not defined by who we marry, the image is sexist.

Miriam posted the photo on social media and wrote: I am asked to participate in a seminar on the impact of Brexit on duties and regulations in the drinks industry, and The Drinks Business magazine announces it with a picture of me and Nick coming out from hospital from delivering my then-baby.

Perhaps I should teach them a lesson on non-sexism and use the seminar to talk about the effects of Brexit on breastfeeding!

Italian president Sergio Mattarella got more than he bargained for when he invited the Duchess of York to a cocktail party in Rome.

Fun-loving Fergie had an unfortunate wardrobe malfunction as she left the Celebrity Fight Night charity bash at the Quirinal Palace. The hem of her dress got caught on her sleeve and her little black dress became an extremely little black dress.

When in Rome, make an exhibition of oneself . . .

Italian president Sergio Mattarella got more than he bargained for when he invited the Duchess of York to a cocktail party in Rome

Pupils at 13,000-a-term Eton are born with silver spoons in their mouths, and need a lackey to polish them. Prince Williams old school requires a deputy butler for College Hall. Duties will include maintaining the vast and valuable collection of college silver, and stock-keeping in the college wine cellar. No word on what would-be Carsons can expect to earn. Etons job ad says: Salary to be discussed.

Princes William and Harrys best friend, entrepreneur Guy Pelly, left creditors 560,000 out of pocket when his Chelsea nightclub, Public, collapsed amid reports of punters urinating in the surrounding streets.

Pelly, who has been a company director 15 times aged just 35, has since announced his nightclub days are over, after marrying American heiress Lizzy Wilson and becoming father to daughter Willow.

But his latest venture isnt raking in millions just yet. Blackfire Limited, which Pelly founded in 2015 to distill spirits, has posted a loss of more than 100,000 in its first set of accounts.

Bottoms up.

Rupert Murdochs stylish ex-wife Wendi Deng, 48, found herself standing next to a mannequin sporting an identical Gucci dress at the Bergdorf Goodman store in New York this week.

Last night at launch of Gucci Decor, but who wore it better? she asked on social media.

Rupert Murdochs stylish ex-wife Wendi Deng, 48, found herself standing next to a mannequin sporting an identical Gucci dress at the Bergdorf Goodman store in New York this week

If she was fishing for compliments, she succeeded. Still looking good girlfriend, said one fan, even a potato sack dress will look good on you.

Im sure that Tony Blair would agree.
BBC Asian Network's Tommy Sandhu (pictured) has been sacked over Whatsapp messages sent to a female radio producer

The BBC has fired a star Asian Network radio host in a row over racist and sexual slurs  and fears an embarrassing employment tribunal.

Tommy Sandhu  who also fronted BBC1s Sunday Morning Live  was suspended last month when it emerged he was part of vile phone messaging groups.

At least four Asian Network staff had used the WhatsApp messaging service to share sexual comments about female colleagues, as well as homophobic slurs and a derogatory term for Pakistanis.

The BBC refused to confirm Mr Sandhu had been sacked, but said allegations of inappropriate behaviour were always taken extremely seriously.

BBC insiders are braced for an embarrassing unfair dismissal case.

Mr Sandhu, 40, said: At this stage I am taking legal advice, but I want to underline that at no point did I engage, comment or reply to any racist comment on any WhatsApp group.

Mr Sandhu claimed he was being punished for failing to police comments by others in the group.

WhatsApp is encrypted but these messages were accidentally linked to a BBC laptop where they were found by assistant producer Amanpreet Kaur, about whom the men had made sexist comments.

While Mr Sandhu was initially suspended, the Corporation got rid of two of the other men, while a fourth was allowed to stay with a written warning.
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Cuba is currently bearing the brunt of Hurricane Irma - and first reports show that the island's north central coast resembles the horrors of other Caribbean islands impacted by the storm.

Irma barreled in for a direct hit at Ciego de Avila province around midnight and left Caibairen and most other areas in that region without power.

Choppy seas, grey skies, sheets of rain, bending palm trees, huge waves crashing over sea walls and downed power lines filled the state run television's evening newscast on Friday night.

Experts have warned that Saturday morning is sure to provide scenes of much greater devastation as Irma works its way along the northern coast westward through Sancti Spiritus and Villa Clara provinces.

On Friday Irma momentarily slowed to category four before returning to its prior category five intensity as it scraped over Cuba's north coast.

It is expected to stay in the area into Saturday before making its way into the central Bahamas.

Irma has so far left in its wake a ravaged string of Caribbean resort islands strewn with splintered umber, corrugated metal and broken concrete.

Wind speeds are currently at 160 mph and are not expected to slow throughout the night.

So far there are at least 24 people dead as a result of the storm, including nine in unspecified French territories, one in Barbuda, one in Anguilla, two in St Maarten, four in the British Virgin Islands, four in the US Virgin Islands, and three and Puerto Rico. The victim in Barbuda has been identified as two-year-old Carl Junior Francis.

Irma is expected to strengthen into a category five storm again before slamming into the Florida Keys later this weekend.

As it advances towards south Florida, the state has so far asked 5.6 million people to evacuate - more than a quarter of the state's population. The storm is currently expected to hit the Florida Keys on Sunday morning and southwest Florida later that afternoon.

'This is a storm that will kill you if you don't get out of the way,' said National Hurricane Center meteorologist and spokesman Dennis Feltgen.

The National Weather Service also tweeted out a warning to anyone still in the Florida Keys, saying 'Nowhere will be safe.'

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Stormy weather and waves are seen in Nassau, Bahamas as Hurricane Irma starts to pummel the islands

Rough seas start to pound the Nassau coastline as Hurricane Irma moves through the Southern Bahama Islands and along the coast of Cuba on Friday

Irma is hitting Cuba along with all of the islands of the Bahamas, though some parts of the island are expected to feel the fore of the storm much more strongly than others are. Palm trees are pictured swaying in the wind in Caibarien, Cuba on Friday night

Hurricane Irma (left) and hurricane Jose (right) are pictured in the ocean as they inch nearer and nearer to Florida. Irma is currently over Cuba and the Bahamas and expected to make land fall in Florida later this wekeend

A satellite image from 10.45pm Friday shows Hurricane Irma driving over Cuba and the Bahamas and towards southern Florida, leaving death and destruction in its wake in the Caribbean

A Twitter user in the Bahamas shared a photo of a beach in the Bahamas on Friday evening before the storm had hit and when the water had receded so far back it looked like the sea went dry

A man carries a matress to a safer place on September 8 in Cuba ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Irma there. Though it has slowed to category four it is still expected to leave destruction in its path

Cubans carry their belongings on September 8, 2017 ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Irma in a northern town. Irma is expected to hit the area late on Friday night and linger there until Saturday morning

Irma left towns throughout the Caribbean devastated and at least 24 people dead. A photo shows that piles of rubble mixed in with tree branches are seen where once buildings had stood in Marigot, St Martin

As it advances towards south Florida, the state has so far asked 5.6 million people to evacuate - more than a quarter of the state's population. Ominously dark clouds are seen over Miami's skyline prior to Irma's arrival on Friday

Photo from Friday September 8 shows the boat strewn on the shore of Inagua in the southern Bahamas after the passage of Hurricane Irma through the area

View of the aftermath of Hurricane Irma on St Maarten, where roughly 95 percent of the buildings were completely destroyed

'This is a storm that will kill you if you don't get out of the way,' said National Hurricane Center meteorologist and spokesman Dennis Feltgen. Pictured a photo form September 8 shows the aftermath of Irma in the British Virgin Island of Tortola

According to CNN, the Bahamas should be spared the worst of the storm, though the hurricane has yet to take full force in the region.

'We are waiting for the worst of it,' Cyril Vanier, CNN reporter said.

'The forecasts here have been proved slightly wrong - but in a good way. We're talking tropic storm-force winds. We're not expecting here int he capital Nassau anything that would threaten the structure of buildings.'

The area could still very likely flood, but it is so far looking like they are going to be spared the worst bits of the bad weather. People there are currently heading to the highest and safest houses or to one of 24 shelters.

Startling images from the past several days show the devastation the deadly storm has left in its wake on more than a half-dozen Caribbean islands.

The hurricane took a particularly heavy toll on the French-Dutch island of St Martin, where homes, stores, ports, airports, gas stations and power stations were left in shambles after Irma made landfall there as a Category 5 hurricane on Wednesday, packing winds of up to 185mph.

Gnarled black branches of leafless trees, street after street now littered with piles of corrugated tin, plywood, wrought iron, battered cars and unidentifiable objects that were once parts of someone's life.

The Dutch government on Friday raised its estimate of casualties caused on the Dutch part of the island to two dead, one of natural causes, and 43 wounded.

Of those wounded, 11 are in critical condition, Interior Minister Ronald Plasterk said at a press conference.

Two hundred Dutch soldiers are assisting on the island from two nearby ships as it struggles to restore its airport and main harbor in order so that it can receive more aid.

French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said on Friday nine people were killed, at least seven were missing, and 112 others were injured in St Barthelemy and the French part of St Martin.

The overall death toll stands at 24 Friday evening, and is only expected to rise as rescuers reach some of the hardest-hit areas.

The hurricane smashed homes, schools, stores, roads and boats on Wednesday and Thursday as it rolled over islands long known as turquoise-water playgrounds of the rich.

It knocked out power, water and telephone service, trapped thousands of tourists and stripped the lush green trees of leaves, leaving an eerie, blasted-looking landscape. Authorities reported looting and gunfire in St Martin, and a curfew was imposed in the US Virgin Islands.

Palm trees bend in the strong winds in Dunmore town, Bahamas on September 7. The storm slowed to a category four over Cuba and the Bahamas but is expected to pick up again to category five when it hits Florida

Cubans carry a boat out of the sea on September 8, 2017 ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Irma in Caibarien, the only town in the Cuban north central zone under a hurricane warning

A picture taken on September 7, 2017 shows inhabitants of the Sandytown neighborhood in Marigot, St Martin, clearing debris in a street

A photo taken on September 7 shows damage in Orient Bay on the French side of St Martin after the passage of Hurricane Irma

Before and after phtoos of Barbuda appear to show that, following Irma, the island has been nearly stripped of all vegetation

Heavy toll: St Martin has so far been affected the most severely by the storm, which killed four people and injured dozens more on the island

Ground Zero: A photo taken on September 7 shows devastating damage in Orient Bay on the French Caribbean island of St Martin, which took a direct hit from Irma this week

A picture taken on September 7 shows ravaged houses on the shoreline of Marigot on the French Caribbean island of St Martin, after the passage of Hurricane Irma

Aerial view of devastation following Hurricane Irma at Bitter End in Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands September 8

The wrecked Bitter End In Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands, is seen from a different angle in the wake of Irma

A devastated airfield, with the air traffic control tower still standing in the center, is seen on Beef Island, British Virgin Islands, on Friday

Aerial view of devastation following Hurricane Irma at Cow Wreck beach on Anegada, British Virgin Islands September 8

Powerful winds tore apart many homes and bungalows in Anegada, British Virgin Islands

What looks like a hotel complex on Saba Rock, British Virgin Islands, is seen laying in ruins after the monster storm

Aerial view of devastation following Hurricane Irma on Eustatia Island, British Virgin Islands

Aerial view of devastation following Hurricane Irma at Mafolie on St Thomas, US Virgin Islands, where a pool looks to be still intact after the hurricane

St Thomas, US Virgin Islands, was battered by the category five storm, which has left the resort island in shambles

The tiny eastern Caribbean island of Barbuda, where a two-year-old child was killed, was reduced 'to rubble', Prime Minister Gaston Browne said. The storm flattened nearly 95 per cent of all structures on the island, and there were more bad news for the battered landmass in the form of Hurricane Jose, which is expected to make landfall on Saturday, bringing winds of up to 150 mph.

Stevet Jeremiah, whose son Carl Junior Francis, was the sole casualty reported on Barbuda, said the boy was swept to his death after the hurricane ripped the roof off her house and filled it with water.

'There was so much water beating past us. We had to crawl to get to safety. Crawl,' she said.

'I have never seen anything like this in my life, in all the years I experienced hurricanes. And I don't ever, ever, ever want to see something like this again.

'Two years old. He just turned two, the 17th , last month. Just turned two.'

Her neighbors found Carl Junior just after sunrise after his body was swept away.

In the British overseas territory of Anguilla, another person was killed and the hospital, airport and power and phone services were damaged, emergency service officials said.

Irma was the strongest hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic Ocean and one of the five most forceful storms to hit the Atlantic basin in 82 years, according to the US National Hurricane Center.

And now, because Hurricane Jose is hot on Irma's heels, almost all of Barbuda's population of 1,400 people has been evacuated to Antigua, its larger sister island. Jose is currently a category four storm, but the US National Hurricane Center said it's close to becoming category five.

In this Thursday photo, a building is seen stripped down to the beams on the hard-hit island of Barbuda

The storm killed one person on Barbuda and flattened nearly 95 per cent of all structures on the eastern Caribbean island

Hurricane Jose is expected to make landfall on the storm-ravaged Barbuda on Saturday, bringing winds of up to 150 mph

Piles of debris are seen on Barbuda on Thursday, just days after the catastrophic storm

Aerial view of devastation following Hurricane Irma in Tortola, British Virgin Islands September 8

An undated handout picture acquired from the Facebook account of Hubert Haciski on September 8 shows a boat resting on its side on the island of Tortola in the British Virgin Islands, after it was hit by Hurricane Irma

Tree branches, street signs and poles are seen littering a road in Tortola, British Virgin Islands, in the wake of Irma

The next big one: A satellite map show Jose, now a Category 4 hurricane, churning on Friday afternoon 380 miles away from the northern Leeward Islands in the Atlantic

In Jose's cross-hairs: The map charts Jose's course, which will take it to Guadalupe and San Juan

Destruction: Dozens of cars were thrown around the hotel car park by the 185mph winds which tore through St Martin

Downgraded to a Category four hurricane, Irma pummeled the Turks and Caicos Islands early Friday after saturating the northern edges of the Dominican Republic and Haiti with torrential downpours.

Communications went down as the storm slammed into the islands, and the extent of the devastation was not immediately clear.

The hurricane also spun along the northern coast of Cuba, where tens of thousands of people were being moved to safety, including thousands of tourists along a shoreline dotted with all-inclusive resorts.

US, Dutch, French and British authorities used warships and military planes to rush food, water and troops to the stricken zone.

The frightful storm then took aim at the southeastern Bahamas, where 20-foot storm surges are expected Saturday.

Palms trees are seen toppled on the ground outside Beaches resort in Turks and Caicos, having been snapped like toothpicks by the hurricane

Fearsome gusts of wind brought by Irma uprooted this sign at the village of Grace Bay in Turks and Caicos

The sun rises on a battered Providenciales, in the Turks and Caicos Islands, on September 8, after the island was ravaged by Irma

Large trees are pictured laying on the ground in Providenciales, in the Turks and Caicos Islands, on Friday

While Irma continues to wreak havoc in the Caribbean, before making the dreaded turn towards Florida this weekend, and then Georgia early next week, Hurricane Jose is now following close on its heels.

On Friday, Jose strengthened into a Category 4 hurricane in the central Atlantic. A hurricane watch is in effect for Antigua, Barbuda, Anguilla, Dutch St Maarten, French Caribbean St Martin and St Barthelemy.

A tropical storm warning is also in effect for Antigua, Barbuda, Anguilla, St Martin, St Barthelemy and St Maarten.

A tropical storm watch has been issued for Montserrat, St Kitts, Nevis, Saba, St Eustatius, the British Virgin Islands, St Thomas and St John.

Hurricane Irma devastation is seen on the French Caribbean island of St Barthelemy

Monster winds accompanying Irma ripped off roofs and toppled trees on St Barthelemy in the Caribbean

St Bathelemy has sustained dramatic damage as a result of the category five hurricane

A new hurricane watch is in effect for St Barth's, now that Jose has strengthened to a category four storm

A car is pictured resting upside down next to a battered home on a cliff in St Barth's after the storm

Washed up: Cars on the beach in Marigot near the Bay of Nettle on the French Collectivity of St Martin after the hurricane battered the coast

Images of devastation caused by Irma coming out of the Caribbean this week offer a glimpse of what could lie ahead early Sunday for Florida, which braced for what many fear could be the long-dreaded Big One, with the Miami metropolitan area of 6million in the cross hairs.

Irma was at one point the most powerful recorded storm in the open Atlantic. It could be one of the most devastating storms ever to hit Florida, a state that has undergone rapid development since the last major hurricane struck a dozen years ago.

Florida residents and tourists faced gas shortages and gridlock on inland highways as a half-million people in Miami-Dade County were ordered to clear out before it's too late.

Debris is piled up next to the houses on the seashore in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, September 8

A man feeds pigeons next to a fallen power pole in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

Locals walk along a street covered with fallen trees in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

A man walks past boats lying on the seashore in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

Men clean a wastewater canal in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, September 8

A woman takes cover from the rain as Hurricane Irma moves off the northern coast of the Dominican Republic, in Nagua, Dominican Republic, September 7

View of wreckage in the vicinity of the Santurce neighborhood in the aftermath of the hurricane Irma, in San Juan, Puerto Rico on Thursday
It's supposed to be a ghost town - but there are plenty of mortals to be found in Miami Beach if you look.

And those who have chosen to remain as Hurricane Irma, which is expected to be Category 5 when it touches down in Florida, agree they are not The Walking Dead.

They believe they are safer where they are than if they had evacuated inland or moved north to avoid the 155mph fury of the largest storm ever to form in the open Atlantic Ocean.

And despite seeing pictures of the devastation Irma has wrought in Caribbean islands such as Barbuda, St Martin and Tortola, they have faith in their sturdy homes just yards from the Atlantic coast.

Many who have chosen to stay in Miami Beach despite evacuation warnings as Hurricane Irma looms believe there are safer staying where they are (Pictured, Marie Fonseca, left, and her friend, Flavio Sobe, say they are going to tough out the storm)

Only one restaurant, at the Boulevard Hotel, on famed Ocean Drive, remained open. Manager Ram Luis (pictured) said there were nine staffers on duty but there would normally be 20

Nikki Aliosmanova (left) and her boyfriend, Alex Rizov (right), from the UK plan to enjoy South Beach, which has been made a ghost town, as their very own private beach

'Where am I going to go?' asked real estate consultant Marie Fonseca as she headed back to her apartment for cigarettes she had forgotten to take with her on a stroll around town with her friend Flavio Sobe.

'I had one person I know in hysterics saying: "You have to leave now, come and stay with me!" But she's in Tampa and that looks like it could get hit worse. Good luck with that one.'

Her friend, Sobe, told DailyMail.com he will ride Irma out with as many people as possible in his apartment along South Beach's Collins Avenue.

'I've put a note on my Facebook telling people with nowhere else to go to come to my place. They should bring happiness and pets,' he said.

And partying is the way to go, added Sobe.

'You know what the first things to run out were when news of this hurricane started? - lube, alcohol and condoms. That's the Miami way of dealing with it.'

Ironically, Sobe shouldn't be in South Beach at all this weekend. He is due to start a new job in New York next week and should have already left. But four flights out were canceled meaning his last few nights in Florida will be spent with Irma.

Danielle Sharon also found her plans went awry. She and husband Theodore were due to be on a cruise down the Danube, but they too found their flight to Europe canceled.

'Once that happened I never even thought of leaving town,' Sharon, 67, said as she walked her 15-year-old French Poodle Boubou outside her apartment block.

'I'm not scared. I rode out Hurricane Andrew here and I can ride out Irma too,' she said.

Lorna Jaquiss (pictured) said she believed her apartment block was strong enough to withstand Hurricane Irma. As a general contractor for restaurants she will be one of the first to be called on to help rebuild Miami Beach if Irma's damage is as bad as many believe it could be

Ramon Onate, 59, who is homeless (pictured), says he is hoping to find shelter in town

The strip of fine sand that gives South Beach its name would normally be packed towel-to-towel with locals and floods of tourists at this time of year, but instead the town was deserted

Sharon lives on the 11th floor and her apartment faces inland so she believes she will be safe from both storm surge and the worst of the winds.

'If it gets really bad I'll go in to the hallways, she said. 'This is my home and it's safer than any other place.'

She said she has plenty of supplies - although bottled water isn't one of them. 'I've got plenty of empty bottles and I'll fill them with water, but there's no way I'll buy bottled water at the price they sell it.'

Others had less chance to get out of town. Homeless Ramon Onate, 59, hopes to find shelter from the storm in town.

'I'll be OK,' Onate said in broken English as he rattled off his social security number and date of birth to DailyMail.com, before realizing we were not law enforcement.

'I wouldn't want to leave anyway. This is where I live.'

By early Friday afternoon Miami Beach was pretty well closed as officials placed a mandatory evacuation order on the barrier island town that is home to 92,000 residents and normally teems with tens of thousands more visitors.

A 7-Eleven on Washington Avenue had the word 'Open' scrawled several times in red spray paint on the plywood that is boarding it up, but it was closed

Hurricane Irma is set to make landfall in the US around Sunday morning with wind gusts potentially reaching near 155mph (Pictured, few people stroll on Collins Avenue)

By early Friday afternoon Miami Beach was pretty well closed as officials placed a mandatory evacuation order on the barrier island town that is home to 92,000 residents

A 7-Eleven on Washington Avenue had the word 'Open' scrawled several times in red spray paint on the plywood that is boarding it up. But it wasn't. Someone had written the word 'Not' in white after failing to get in.

And tantalizingly, dozens of in-demand bottles of water were left on full view in the window of a nearby Walgreen's that will not open its doors until after the storm has passed.

On famed Ocean Drive, only one restaurant, in the Boulevard Hotel, remained open on Friday. It planned to close by 7pm, morning manager Ram Luis told DailyMail.com.

'We only have nine members of staff on duty,' he said. 'We would normally have about 20, but we have told anyone who doesn't have somewhere safe to spend the night to get out.'

The hotel itself was shuttered. 'We could have filled it three times over,' said Luis, 32. 'But we're really open to the ocean so we couldn't guarantee it would be safe.'

Luis himself planned to head to his home in Hialeah once his work at the restaurant is over and hunker down for the duration of the storm. 'I'm in Zone B,' he said of the areas of evacuation priority that city officials in Miami have drawn up.

'I'm hoping there will be no flooding there. There shouldn't be.'

A bicyclist, one of the few left, video records while cycling down Ocean Drive in Miami

A boarded up store on Collins Avenue reads: 'Never Give Up Miami' with a heart on plywood

Sand bags and spray foam that hardens to stop water entering through the door lays at the entrance of a store on Washington Avenue

Lorna Jaquiss, who was eating lunch with her 11-year-old niece in the restaurant, is another who is determined to stay in town. 'My apartment block was built in 1950 so it's withstood a lot and I believe it's strong enough,' she said.

'I could have left but I have decided to stay,' she said. 'If it gets really bad we go into the hallways away from the windows.

'When Andrew hit I moved inland to a house. We lost the roof there but the apartment was OK.

'We have everything we need to survive for several days so I am not worried in the slightest.'

Jaquiss also has work to consider. As a general contractor for restaurants she will be one of the first to be called on to help rebuild Miami Beach if Irma's damage is as bad as many believe it could be.

'It is not work I want, but it could be work I have to do, so I want to be here so I can do it,' she said.

Danielle Sharon and her dog Boubou walk on Collins Avenue. She says she's staying put: 'I'm not scared. I rode out Hurricane Andrew here and I can ride out Irma too'

'I can guarantee you that I dont know anybody in Florida thats ever experienced whats about to hit South Florida,' said William Long, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, on Friday (Pictured, a cyclists rides on Collins Avenue)

The strip of fine sand that gives South Beach its name would normally be packed towel-to-towel with locals and floods of European tourists at this time of year.

Instead, one couple from England had an entire stretch all to themselves.

'We've watched as fewer and fewer people have been here every day,' said Nikki Aliosma Nova, a hotel manager from Walthamstow, East London.

'Now there is just the two of us.'

Nikki and her boyfriend, Alex Risov, who runs the New Moon pub in London's Leadenhall Market, are on a two-week vacation in Miami. 'The hotel assures us we will be safe, so we are staying put,' said Nikki.

The pair planned the trip to celebrate both their birthdays. Alex turned 32 on Friday while Nikki celebrates her 34th on Sunday, the day the hurricane is due to hit.

As Alex joked: 'It won't be fireworks for her birthday this year, it'll be something much more spectacular.'
If you're struggling to find a date this weekend, it might have more to do with where you live than your personality.

Results from the 2016 census show the hotspots around the nation for single men and women, but we aren't living close enough to meet.

The data highlights the dilemma that popular bachelor hotspots are no where near the areas where there is a large number of single women.

The ratio of single men and women in Australia aged 25 to 34 is 117 men to 100 women, making it difficult to meet someone in your area (stock image)

The ratio of single men to single women in Australia, in the 25 to 34 age range, is another reason finding a date might prove difficult, with 117 single men to 100 single women.

Nationally, there are 564,000 single women and 658,000 single men aged 25 to 34.

If you're looking for a single guy, your best chance would be to move to Perth, where there are 58,000 single men and 46,000 single women.

While the numbers show the big city picture, they also pinpoint post codes with the highest number of singles.

Sydney's suburb of Lakemba has the highest ratio of single men, 292, to 100 single women, while Double Bay has 100 single women to 65 single men.

The ratio of single men to single women in Australia is 117 to 100, proving difficult to find a date (stock image)

If you're looking for a man in Melbourne, Fawkner is the bachelor hotspot with 209 single men per 100 single women.

While those looking for a single woman in Melbourne should head to the bayside suburb of Elwood, where the ratio sits at just 71 single men to 100 single women.

The data is tabled by The Australian, which suggests single ladies take the No 19 tram up Sydney Road in the direction of Fawkner, for a good shot at finding love.

The men in Brisbane are hiding out in Coopers Plains according to the data, with 150 men per 100 women, while the single women seem to be in Deception Bay, with 100 women per 74 men.

It might be easier to travel to find a date than take your chances in your area (stock image)

If a farmer takes your fancy, head to the South Australian town of Lucindale, a farming community near Naracoorte, where there are 15 single men aged 25 to 34 and no single women.

In Brunswick Heads, near Byron Bay, there are 208 single women and only 181 single men.

For all capital cities across Australia, there are 119 single men in the target age range to 100 single women.

Sydney tops that with 120 single men to women, while Perth takes first place for the highest ratio with 126 single men to 100 women.
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The largest evacuation in US history is under way with more than 5.6million people being told to leave their Florida homes before Hurricane Irma strikes.

The state's governor, Rick Scott, urged people who had not left yet to leave as soon as possible. He warned those who plan to stay that they may have to ride out the dangerous storm at their own risk.

He explained that the biggest concern with the powerful hurricane is the predicted storm surge that will come along with the lashing winds and heavy rains.

The storm was downgraded to Category 4 yesterday before being pushed back up to Category 5 - but has again been relegated to Category 4 this morning by the National Hurricane Center.

Andrew Sussman, the state's hurricane program manager, said the total of those urged to flee Florida includes people throughout the southern half of the state as well as those living in inland Florida in substandard housing.

Florida is the nation's third-largest state with nearly 21million people, according to the U.S. Census.

Universal Studios joined Disney World, SeaWorld and Legoland in closing as the megastorm heads north.

Meteorologists expect the powerful hurricane to hit the state tomorrow. The hurricane is currently raging off the northeastern coast of Cuba, with wind speeds of 160mph. The outer bands of the hurricane have already reached the U.S., with south Florida and the Keys experiencing increased rain and wind speeds.

Hurricane Irma made landfall in Camaguey archipelago, just off the northern coast of Cuba, around 11.10pm ET yesterday. This is the first Category 5 storm to hit the island since 1924.

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The above map shows Hurricane Irma's current projected track towards the U.S. and up the state of Florida this weekend

Get out: The largest evacuation in US history is under way as more than 5.6million people have been ordered to leave Florida before Category 4 Hurricane Irma strikes the Sunshine State. Above traffic is pictured on the northbound lanes of I-95 near the Georgia-South Carolina border

Florida's Gov. Rick Scott urged people who had not left yet to leave as soon as possible. He warned those who plan to stay that they may have to ride out the dangerous storm at their own risk. Above an empty road is pictured in Key Largo, Florida on Friday

Few cars traversed the normally rush hour traffic gridlocked streets in downtown Miami on Friday

People wait to enter Miami Southridge High School that is being used as a shelter for evacuees as Hurricane Irma approaches

Traffic backs in the north-bound lanes of Interstate 75 near the Georgia-Florida state line as people flee Hurricane Irma

Hundreds of people gather in an emergency shelter at the Miami-Dade County Fair Expo Center in Miami, Florida

At Miami Coral Park Senior High School, evacuees fill every corner at the evacuation center

Above an empty street is pictured in the heart of downtown Miami as one man rides his bicycle

Above boarded up buildings are seen in preparation of Hurricane Irma during a mandatory evacuation in Miami Beach, Florida

Above Gustavo Mejia (left) and his nephew Juan Mejia (right) take a selfie in front of a boarded up hotel in Miami

A surfer enjoys the waves as people in the area await the arrival of Hurricane Irma in Miami Beach

Yvette Sedeno, 62, left, and Ray Sedeno, 62, install storm shutters on to their windows on their lanai while preparing for the arrival of Hurricane Irma on Friday, in Dade County, which is south of Miami

From space: The deadly hurricane is passing by Cuba's northern coast on its way to Florida

In this geocolor image GOES-16 satellite image taken on Friday, Hurricane Irma, center, approaches Cuba and Florida, with Hurricane Katia, left, in the Gulf of Mexico, and Hurricane Jose, right, in the Atlantic Ocean

Hurricane Irma is driving toward Florida passing the eastern end of Cuba as Hurricane Katia (L) is also seen in this NASA GOES satellite image taken at 5.37pm ET on Friday

A photo of Hurricane Irma on Thursday, taken by NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik on the International Space Station.

Pictured above is an image of Hurricane Irma (left) and Hurricane Jose (right) taken around 9.30pm ET on Friday

'Obviously Hurricane Irma continues to be a threat that is going to devastate the United States,' Brock Long, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), said at a press conference Friday morning. 'We're going to have a couple rough days.'

The storm was first downgraded from a Category 5 to a Category 4 earlier on Friday morning.

But on Friday night, it was again made a Category 5 storm before being relegated back to 4 early this morning.

Government officials along with the National Hurricane Center have cautioned that Irma is 'extremely dangerous' with maximum sustained winds of 155 mph. That's strong enough to bring down power poles, uproot trees and rip the roofs off of homes.

Apocalyptic scenes played out across the Sunshine State, as millions of people fled Hurricane Irma's wrath.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott advised for residents in the southern coastal evacuation areas to leave by midnight.

'If you are planning to leave and do not leave tonight, you will have to ride out this extremely dangerous storm at your own risk,' Scott said at a Friday press conference.

He also urged residents on the Gulf Coast to take evacuation orders seriously since Irma's path has moved slightly west.

'You are not going to survive this if it happens,' Scott said. 'Now is the time to evacuate.'

CURRENT EVACUATION ORDERS FOR THE U.S. FLORIDA Mandatory evacuations Monroe County: This mandatory order stands for the entire Florida Keys. About 31,000 people were evacuated as of 6pm Wednesday Miami-Dade County: Mandatory evacuations for all of Zone A, all of Zone B, and portions of Zone C. Broward County: Voluntary evacuations of mobile homes and low-lying areas; mandatory evacuation of all areas east of U.S. 1 including barrier islands beginning Thursday Brevard County: Mandatory evacuations for Zone A, Merritt Island, barrier islands, and some low-lying mainland areas along Indian River Lagoon beginning Friday Lake Okeechobee: Florida officials want residents to evacuate the area directly south of Lake Okeechobee. A voluntary evacuation was issued for the cities of South Bay, Lake Harbor, Pahokee, Moore Haven, Clewiston, Belle Glade and Canal Point. Mandatory evacuations for these cities will be put into effect Saturday morning. Collier County: Mandatory evacuations for Goodland, Everglades City, Chokoloskee, and all mobile homes beginning on Friday Glades County: Residents in zone A must evacuate by noon Friday. Everyone living in an RV park, mobile home or a building constructed before 1992 must also evacuate. Flagler County: Mandatory evacuations for nursing homes, all varieties of assisted living facilities, and community residential group homes within coastal and Intracoastal areas and voluntary evacuation for zones A, B, C, F beginning on Thursday; mandatory for Zones A,B,C,F, and substandard housing beginning on Saturday Lee County: Mandatory evacuations for barrier islands  Bonita Beach, Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel, Captiva, and Pine Island beginning Friday morning Martin County: Mandatory for barrier islands, manufactured homes, and low-lying areas beginning Saturday Palm Beach County: Mandatory evacuations for Zone A and B, voluntary for Zone C Pinellas County: Mandatory evacuations all mobile homes and Zone A Indian River County: Mandatory evacuations for low lying areas go into effect on Saturday St. Johns County: Mandatory evacuation go into effect Saturday morning for Zones A and B Duval County: Residents in Zones A and B and those living in mobile homes and low-lying homes are instructed to evacuate immediately Nassau County: Mandatory evacations go into effect at 6pm Friday for people who live in zones A, C and F Citrus County: Mandatory evacuation for residents west of U.S. Highway 19, those living one and a half miles east of U.S. 19, Crystal River residents, residents living in low-lying areas, and residents living in mobile homes, manufactured homes and all unsafe structures. Hernando County: Mandatory evacuation for coastal zones A and B and mobile homes countywide. Hendry County: Mandatory evaciation for Clewiston, Hookers Point, Harlem, Flaghole, Montura Ranch Estates, and communities within the Mid-County MSBU which incudes Ladeca, Pioneer Plantation and Leon-Dennis Subdivision. resiednts in no-slab build homes, mobile homes trailers and RVs are under voluntary evacuation. Sarasota County: People living in evacuation Zone A are to leave between 2pm Friday and 8pm Saturday. Pasco County: Mandatory evacuation for residents who live west of U.S. 19, north of Fox Hollow, west of Little Rd and special needs residents throughout the county. Voluntary evacuations: St. Lucie County: Voluntary evacuations DeSoto County: Voluntary evacuation for people in low-lying/flood prine areas and residents living in mobile homes and RV parks Charlotte County: Voluntary evacuations on Don Pedro Island, Knight Island, Little Gasparilla Island, Gasparilla Island, Manasota Key and those living in mobile homes Okeechobee County: Voluntary evacuations of low-lying areas prone to flooding Volusia County: Voluntary evacuations of residents in beachside, low-lying areas and in RV, mobile or manufactured homes. Polk County: Voluntary evacuation for residents in manufactured homes and flood-prone areas Hillsborough County: Voluntary evacuations for residents in Zone A who are registered for special needs shelters staring 8am Friday. Manatee County: Voluntary evacuations for Zone A Highlands County: Voluntary evacuation for residents who live in low-lying areas and manufactured mobile homes. Taylor County: Voluntary evacuation for residents who live in low-lying areas and manufactured mobile homes. Alachua County: Voluntary evacuation for residents who live in low-lying areas and manufactured mobile homes. Hardee County: Voluntary evacuation for residents who live in low-lying areas and manufactured mobile homes. Lake County: Voluntary evacuation for residents who live in low-lying areas and manufactured mobile homes. GEORGIA Georgia ordered the evacuation of the state's coastal areas. It applies to all areas east of Interstate 95, including the city of Savannah. The above map shows the counties in Florida that currently have mandatory or voluntary evacuations. Note that evacuations may only pertain to certain residents or areas within the county Towns to the south of Lake Okeechobee are under evacuation over fears that the dam could overflow The governor of Georgia has also ordered the evacuations of the state's coastal areas, including the city of Savannah Advertisement

The earliest reasonable arrive time of tropical-storm force winds in Florida will begin on Saturday around 8am

The latest forecasts show Hurricane Irma hitting Miami Sunday evening and then travelling directly up the state to Georgia

As of Friday night, Irma was battering Cuba and the Bahamas with winds up to 160mph and moving at 12mph

More than half of Florida is either on hurricane warning or hurricane watch in relation to Irma

Heavy rainfall is expected with the powerful storm as some areas will see over 24 inches of rain fall

In addition, winds are expected to be extremely dangerous with some ares experiencing 90 per cent hurricane force winds

The hurricane as of 12:15pm on Friday, as seen from radar satellite when it was Category 5. The hurricane is currently a Category 4 storm

The forecasts show that dangerous storm surges could begin as early as Saturday night before the storm even hits Florida.

It's then expected to track directly up the state, crossing the state line into Georgia early next week.

Virginia's Gov. Terry McAuliffe declared a state of emergency to help the state get ahead of any damage caused by Hurricane Irma. The declaration also allows Virginia to provide assistance to other states who will be impacted by the storm.

Virginia may face possible flooding, high winds and storm surge as a result of Hurricane Irma.

'It is unfortunate that just as our nation has begun the process to repair the catastrophic damage from Hurricane Harvey, that we are faced with another extreme storm,' McAuliffe said on Friday.

'However, if there is one lesson we can take from the tragic events that occurred in Texas, it is that we must redouble our preparation efforts.

'The order I issued today is intended to both protect our commonwealth and to make sure we have every option at our disposal to help our neighboring states when Irma makes landfall.'

A state of emergency allows the commonwealth to mobilize resources, including the Virginia National Guard, and pre-position people and equipment to assist in storm response and recovery efforts. All Virginians must prepare in advance for the potential impacts of this historic hurricane.

Hurricane Irma killed at least 24 people in the Caribbean and left thousands homeless as it devastated small islands in its path. And it's already proved deadly in the U.S. A man installing hurricane shutters on his Florida home fell off a ladder and died on Thursday.

The National Hurricane Center issued hurricane warnings for the Keys and parts of South Florida and Lake Okeechobee. It added a storm surge warning and extended watch areas wrapping around much of the peninsula.

For Irma, forecasters predicted a storm surge of 6 to 12 feet above ground level along Florida's southwest coast and in the Keys. As much as a foot of rain could fall across the state, with isolated spots receiving 20 inches.

Scott has been pleading with his citizens all week to evacuate if they are ordered to, and to prepare - no matter the direction of the storm.

Social workers and police officers gave Miami's estimated 1,100 homeless people a stark choice on Friday: Come willingly to a storm shelter, or be held against their will for a mental health evaluation.

Officials - backed by a psychiatrist and observed by an Associated Press team - rolled through chillingly empty downtown streets as dawn broke over Biscayne Bay, searching for reluctant stragglers sleeping in waterfront parks.

'We're going out and every single homeless person who is unwilling to come off the street, we are likely going to involuntarily Baker Act them,' said Ron Book, chairman of the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust.

Officials in Miami detain a person who is homeless into shelters ahead of powerful Hurricane Irma. Officials detained at least five people to admit them into a psychiatric ward because they suspected a mental illness

An official in Miami speaks with homeless people about moving to shelters ahead of powerful Hurricane Irma

People use their cellphones near boarded up stores in preparation of Hurricane Irma in Miami Beach, Florida on Friday

A message to Hurricane Irma is written on the facade of a boarded restaurant on Friday in Miami Beach, Florida

An empty beach is seen before the arrival of hurricane Irma in Miami, Florida on Friday

Traffic along Interstate 75 north, rear, crawls toward Atlanta as drivers flee Hurricane Irma on Friday in Griffin, Georgia

The Worth Avenue shopping district is shown after a mandatory evacuation order went into effect on the barrier island of Palm Beach, Florida on Friday

Invoking the 'Baker Act' - a law that enables authorities to institutionalize patients who present a danger to themselves or others - is not something law enforcement does lightly, but officers detained at least six people by Friday afternoon. Under the law, they can be held up to 72 hours before the state would have to go to court to prolong their detention.

'I am not going to sign suicide notes for people who are homeless in my community. I am just not going to do it,' Book added. 'That's why you have a Baker Act. It's there to protect those who can't otherwise protect themselves.'

Book's group was working closely with police, who acknowledged that the effort is unusual: Officials said it is the first time Miami has invoked the law for hurricane preparedness.

About 70 people willingly climbed into white vans and police squad cars Friday, joining others who already arrived at shelters.

About 600 others were thought to remain outside somewhere, exposed to the storm, despite mandatory evacuation orders for more than 660,000 people in areas that include downtown Miami and coastal areas throughout the county.

Scott has also ordered all state offices, schools, colleges and universities to close from Friday until Monday to free up space for evacuation shelters and staging. Most school districts and universities had already voluntarily agreed to close due to the looming arrival of Hurricane Irma over the weekend - but many school districts and colleges in north central and northwest Florida had remained open.

Boarded up stores are seen in preparation of Hurricane Irma during a mandatory evacuation in Miami Beach, Florida, on Friday

Business owners left less-than-polite messages for the incoming storm on boarded up windows in Miami Beach Friday

A strip club is boarded up in preparation of Hurricane Irma during a mandatory evacuation in Miami Beach, Florida on Friday

Tourists wait with their luggage as they prepare to leave in advance of Hurricane Irma during a mandatory evacuation in Miami Beach, Florida on Friday

A popular tourist area of South Beach is deserted during a mandatory evacuation in advance of Hurricane Irma in Miami Beach, Florida on Friday

Hundreds of people gather in an emergency shelter at the Miami-Dade County Fair Expo Center in Miami, Florida on Friday

Anthony Exposito and Cindy Varahona buy plywood for shutters at a Home Depot in Miami, Florida on September 8, 2017, ahead of Hurricane Irma

Oscar Villanueva ties plywood sheets to his car outside a Home Depot in Miami, Florida on September 8, 2017, ahead of Hurricane Irma

Robert Johnson fills gas containers at a gas station in Miami, Florida on September 8, 2017, ahead of Hurricane Irma

Jessica Cespedes and Nick Cespedes pack their vehicle with items as they evacuate their condo since the area is in a flood zone of Miami on Friday

'Floridians are strong and resilient. In times like this we band together and help each other. We will continue working around the clock to help you prepare and after the storm we'll be here to lift each other up and recover. We will make it through this together. Florida is an amazing melting pot of loving people,' Scott said.

Gas shortages and gridlock plagued the evacuations, turning normally simple trips into tests of will. Interstates 75 and 95 north were bumper-to-bumper, while very few cars and tractor-trailers drove on the south lanes.

Floridians fleeing Hurricane Irma have turned Atlanta's freeways into a ribbon of red neon brake lights, with traffic in some spots barely moving.

Thousands of the evacuees have been funneled to the city, since so many of them are heading north on Interstate 75 straight to Atlanta.

Some ended up at Atlanta Motor Speedway, which opened its vast camp grounds to anyone trying to escape Irma.

It took 21 hours for Suzanne Pallot of Miami to reach Atlanta Thursday, in an SUV packed with four other people, their luggage and two cats.

After a night at a relative's house, she heard weather forecasts predicting tropical storm force winds for Atlanta on Monday. So the group decided Friday to keep moving, this time to Memphis, Tennessee.

Manny Zuniga left his home in Miami at midnight Thursday, planning to drive through the night to avoid the traffic gridlock that he'd seen on television. It still took him 12 hours to get 230 miles to Orlando - a trip that normally takes four hours. Zuniga is headed for a relative's house in Arkansas with his wife, two children, two dogs and a ferret.

'We're getting out of this state,' he said, filling up the gas tank of his tightly-packed SUV in Orlando. 'Irma is going to take all of Florida.'

Mari and Neal Michaud loaded their two children and dog into their small sport-utility vehicle and left their home near Cocoa Beach about 10am, bound for an impromptu vacation in Washington, D.C.

Using a phone app and calls to search for fuel along the way, they finally arrived at a convenience store that had gasoline nearly five hours later. They said the 60-mile trip up Interstate 95 should have taken an hour.

'There was no gas and it's gridlock. People are stranded on the sides of the highway,' Mari said. 'It's 92 degrees out and little kids are out on the grass on the side of the road. No one can help them.'

Florida Governor Rick Scott warned that all of the state's 20 million inhabitants should be prepared to evacuate as Hurricane Irma bears down for a direct hit on the southern US state

Dogs sit inside their cages as hundreds of people gather in a pet-friendly emergency shelter at the Miami-Dade County Fair Expo Center in Miami, Florida, September 8, 2017, ahead of Hurricane Irma

Christina Grimann, of Germany, was hoping to go on a cruise out of Miami, but now she is headed to Atlanta, GA to escape Hurricane Irma. At Miami International Airport, the last flights will be this afternoon with the airport closing tonight at 6pm. Most travelers are taking flights to anywhere they can find

U.S. President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago mansion is shown with shutters on the windows after a mandatory evacuation order went into effect on the barrier island of Palm Beach on Friday

The historic Mar-a-Lago is sandwiched on a narrow strip of land between the Atlantic Ocean and an intercoastal waterway

Traffic rolls at a crawl on the northbound lanes of Florida's Turnpike near the intersection of I-75 in Wildwood on Friday

A traveler looks at a monitor listing canceled flights at Miami International Airport on Friday

A worker trims branches from trees near power lines in a downtown neighborhood in Orlando, Florida in preparation for Irma on Friday

Mang Don Man, of Miami, attends to her seven-month-old baby Vung Vaang Nuam as they eat lunch at a Red Cross shelter set up at North Miami Beach Senior High School on Friday

People at a Red Cross shelter set up at North Miami Beach Senior High School eat lunch on Friday

Noel Marsden said he, his girlfriend, her son and their dog left Pembroke Pines north of Miami with plans to ride out Irma in Savannah, only to find the city was also shutting down because of Irma. Marsden isn't sure where they'll all end up.

'I've got a buddy in Atlanta and a buddy in Charlotte. We'll wind up one of those two places because there are not hotels, I can tell you that,' he said.

The governor said people fleeing could drive slowly in the shoulder lane on highways. He hasn't reversed the southbound lanes because he said they were needed to deliver gas and supplies.

The Homeland Security Department is temporarily waiving federal restrictions on foreign ships' transportation of cargo in order to help distribute fuel to states and territories affected by hurricanes Harvey and Irma.

In a statement Friday, acting Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke said, 'This is a precautionary measure to ensure we have enough fuel to support lifesaving efforts, respond to the storm, and restore critical services and critical infrastructure.' The seven-day waiver specifically affects shipments of refined products, such as gasoline, in hurricane-affected areas.

The Jones Act prohibits such shipments between U.S. points aboard foreign vessels. The last such waiver was in December 2012, for petroleum products delivered after Hurricane Sandy.

Above, some of Key West's famous roosters being evacuated during the storm were wrapped in newspaper and tape

A person stands on a lifeguard stand at an empty South Beach on Friday in Miami Beach, Florida

St Johns County, Florida residents wait for the arrival of sandbags at Mills Field early Friday morning in Jacksonville, Florida

Customers buy supplies and wood to secure their property in preparation of Hurricane Irma early Friday in Miami, Florida

Florida residents flee Hurricane Irma as traffic backs up on I-75 at its intersection with the Florida Turnpike on Thursday

Boarded up buildings on normally bustling South Beach are shown on Friday, in Miami Beach, Florida

Heavy traffic traveling north bound on Interstate 75 moves slowly, as a major evacuation has begun in preparation for Hurricane Irma on Friday in Forrest Park, south of Atlanta

Luis Garcia, right, packs a car that he and five other members of his extended family will use to evacuate north from their home in Miami Beach on Friday

A business owner boards up windows of a restaurant ahead of the expected arrival of Hurricane Irma in downtown Miami, Florida on Friday

Orlando city employees and volunteers fill sandbags for residents as they prepare for Hurricane Irma on Friday

The above graphic shows Hurricane Irma compared to 1992's devastating Hurricane Andrew, the costliest hurricane in Florida's history

Airline seats out of Florida were in short supply as well but American, United and Delta all said Thursday that they were adding extra flights in the next couple days.

CURRENT HURRICANE WARNINGS IN PLACE: Jupiter Inlet southward around the Florida peninsula to Bonita Beach

Florida Keys

Lake Okeechobee

Florida Bay

Southeastern Bahamas

Cuban provinces of Camaguey, Ciego de Avila, Sancti Spiritus, and Villa Clara

Central Bahamas

Northwestern Bahama Advertisement

Shockingly enough, an armed man caused extra panic and delays at Miami airport on Thursday night after he was shot by police - prompting the evacuation of an entire terminal.

Officials across Florida, meanwhile, opened shelters for people who chose not to leave town. Florida's emergency management division says thousands of people are already huddling in shelters ahead of Hurricane Irma. Most of the evacuees are gathered in shelters in Broward and Miami-Dade counties, where catastrophic Category 4 winds are expected to hit this weekend.

Miami Mayor Carlos Gimenez said 23,000 people are currently in shelters in the county ahead of Hurricane Irma. He added that the county has the capacity to house 100,000 in shelters during this emergency.

Miami-Dade has 43 shelters operating, seven are at capacity or closed, the mayor said tonight at a news conference.

Miami- Dade County opened 43 shelters and seven are at capacity.

Evacuation orders are multiplying by the hour in Florida. Currently the entire southern tip of Florida is under evacuation, and those orders continue county by county almost all the way up the east coast.

Several small communities around Lake Okeechobee in the south-central part of Florida were added to the evacuation list because the lake may overflow, the governor said - but he added that engineers expect the protective dike around the lake to hold up.

Some residents in downtown Miami were also advised to leave, if they leave near one of the city's two dozen construction cranes.

Construction sites across Irma's potential path in Florida are being locked down to prevent building materials, tools and debris from becoming flying missiles in hurricane winds.

The horizontal arms of the tall tower cranes, however, will remain loose despite the potential danger of collapse. City officials say they cannot be tied down or moved. Miami officials say it would take two weeks to move the cranes.

South Carolina's Gov. Henry McMaster ordered mandatory evacuations of eight barrier islands in Beaufort, Jasper and Colleton counties on Friday.

The evacuations begin at 10am on Saturday, as some of those areas are still recovering from Hurricane Matthew, which skimmed along the South Carolina coast less than a year ago.

The largest barrier island involved in the evacuation is Hilton Head, which has more than 40,000 permanent residents.

On Thursday, the governor of Georgia also ordered the evacuation of the state's coastal areas, including the large city of Savannah - about 540,000 people. However, just where the storm will enter Georgia is to be determined. Forecasts show it could enter the state Monday anywhere from the Atlantic coast to the Alabama state line. The last time Georgia was struck by a hurricane of force Category 3 or higher happened in 1898.

A man bikes past a restaurant boarded up in preparation for hurricane Irma in Miami, Florida on Friday

People line up to refill propane during preparations for hurricane Irma in Miami, Florida on Friday

People line up to get gas during preparations for hurricane Irma in Miami, Florida on Friday

Cars line up in long lines waiting to get sandbags in preparation for Hurricane Irma on Friday

Supplies are loaded into a truck at the Sea Esta mobil home park during preparations for Hurricane Irma in Hallandale, Florida on Friday

People load up a car with supplies at the Sea Esta mobil home park during preparations for Hurricane Irma in Hallandale, Florida on Friday

A house is boarded up at the Sea Esta mobile home park during preparations for Hurricane Irma in Hallandale, Florida on Friday

Customers buy plywood sheets to protect their homes at a Home Depot in Florida City, Florida on Friday

Traffic rolls at a crawl along the northbound lanes of Florida's Turnpike near the intersection of Interstate 75 in Wildwood, Florida on Friday

Ryan Kaye loads sandbags into his truck at a makeshift filling station provided by the county as protection ahead of Hurricane Irma on Friday in Palm Coast, Florida

As additional evacuations continue to be announced, Irma could potentially create one of the largest mass exoduses in the country's history.

Forecasters warn the storm could hit anywhere from Florida to North Carolina over the next few days. The most severe impacts will be felt on the eastern side of Florida, including Miami, West Palm Beach, Melbourne, Daytona Beach and Jacksonville.

AccuWeather founder, Dr Joel N Myers, said there was no way the U.S. was going to avoid another catastrophic weather event.

'There will be massive damage in Florida. (It will be) the worst single hurricane to hit Florida since Hurricane Andrew in 1992,' he said. 'It's a monster hurricane out there - it's bringing along with it something to be feared.'

According to Credit Suisse, the storm has the potential to do $125billion worth of damage.

NASA has secured Kennedy Space Center and SpaceX launched an unmanned rocket for an experimental flight. Kennedy closed its doors to all nonessential staff and a crew of about 120 people will ride out the storm on site.

Most of the critical buildings at Kennedy are designed to withstand gusts of up to 135 mph. Irma's wind could exceed that if it reaches Cape Canaveral as a Category 5 storm.

Irma poses a bigger menace to power supplies in Florida than Hurricane Harvey did in Texas because Irma is packing near 200 mile-per-hour winds that could down power lines, close nuclear plants and threats to leave millions of homes and businesses in the dark for weeks.

Customers at a Home Depot buy wood to secure their property in anticipation of Hurricane Irma early Friday in Miami, Florida

Hanz Paez, left, and Cirous Amiri, right buy wood at a Home Depot in South Miami Dade to secure their property in anticipation of Hurricane Irma early Friday in Miami, Florida

Amy Nacollari, left, greets her friend Mandy Varna at a bus stop in Miami Beach, Florida, Friday

Leonel Geronimo, stuffs food into his suitcase as he and others wait for a bus in anticipation of Hurricane Irma in Miami Beach, Florida, Friday

Liz Hankins and James Kiernan, of North Lauderdale, fill trash bags with sand on Pompano Beach, Florida in preparation for Hurricane Irma on Friday

Gretchen, left, and Ron Levine of 'A Paw Above' in Hollywood, Florida, take care of 20 dogs and 21 cats as they have been inundated with pet care requests by people fleeing Hurricane Irma on Friday

And another concern is two nuclear power plants in the storm's track.

Florida Power & Light's Turkey Point and St. Lucie plants, which can supply power to almost two million homes, are under threat.

Spokesman Peter Robbins said: 'Based on the current track, we would expect severe weather in Florida starting Saturday, meaning we would potentially shut down before that point.'

The company, a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Inc, is watching the weather and would adjust any plans as necessary.

It can take more than 24 hours to shut down a reactor, so the decision will have to be made well in advance.

DEVASTATION CAUSED BY HURRICANE ANDREW IN 1992 Hurricane Andrew was a Category Five hurricane that struck the Bahamas and Florida in mid-August 1992. It was the most destructive hurricane to ever hit Florida, and the costliest to the United States until Katrina in 2005. The storm sustained wind speeds as high as 165 mph and passed directly through Miami-Dade County. It stripped many homes of all but their foundations, and destroyed more than 63,500 homes. The storm cost a total of $26.5 billion in damages and left 65 people dead. Hurricane Andrew was a Category Five hurricane that struck the Bahamas and Florida in mid-August 1992. Pictured is the devastation it left Advertisement

But bosses are confident the power plants can weather the 185mph storm, as they both have a track record of surviving hurricanes.

The last major hurricane - a storm with winds of at least 111 mph - to hit Florida was Wilma in 2005. Its eye cut through the state's southern third as it packed winds of 120 mph; five people died. Andrew slammed into Florida as a Category 5 storm in 1992 and at the time was the costliest hurricane in U.S. history with damages of $26.5 billion.

With winds that peaked at 185 mph, Irma was the most powerful hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic.

President Donald Trump said Hurricane Irma 'is a storm of absolutely historic destructive potential.'

In a video posted to Facebook, the president urged those in Irma's path to be vigilant and heed the recommendations of all government officials.

Trump said his administration is doing all it can to help with disaster preparations, and the U.S. 'stands united' to address the storm.

He said, 'We will endure and come back stronger than ever before.'

Trump also spoke briefly to reporters Friday before boarding Marine One to travel to Camp David for the weekend. He told reporters, 'Hopefully everything will go well.'

After struggling to hear the shouted questions from reporters, he said that while the storm is 'a really bad one,' the U.S. is prepared for the dangerous major hurricane heading toward Florida.

Trump's exclusive Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach - the unofficial Southern White House - sits in the path of the storm.

US Air Force Reserve weather officer Maj. Jeremy DeHart flew through the eye of Irma at 10,000 feet Wednesday and through Hurricane Harvey just before it hit Texas last month.

He said Irma's intensity set it apart from other storms.

'Spectacular is the word that keeps coming to mind. Pictures don't do it justice. Satellite images can't do it justice,' DeHart said.

The five living former U.S. presidents said Thursday they would team up to create the 'One America Appeal' to raise money for storm recovery as Texas and Louisiana seek to regroup from Harvey and Florida and the East Coast brace for Hurricane Irma.

Above, destruction seen in Puerto Rico after the storm passed north of the island on Thursday

Three people died in Puerto Rico after the storm scratched the island. Above, a scene of Puerto Rico after the storm

Palm trees blow in the gale-force winds when Hurricane Irma hit Haiti on Thursday

Fronds are blown off palm trees and streets are flooded with storm surge in the Dominican Republic on Thursday

Marine firefighters from the French city of Marseille board a plane to help the storm ravaged French Caribbean

In this undated photo provided by the British Ministry of Defence on Friday taken from a Royal Navy helicopter, a RLC Mexeflote approaches Sandy Bay Village beach, in the British oversees territory of Anguilla loaded with the 2 JCBs, 1 flatbed lorry, fork lift truck, BV 206 multi terrain vehicle, a Land Rover and a mobile generator

Hurricane Irma destroyed 90 percent of the tiny island of Barbuda (above) when it made landfall early on Wednesday. The Caribbean island was reduced to rubble, according to its Prime Minister Gaston Browne

Destruction: Dozens of cars were thrown around the hotel car park by the 185mph winds which tore through St Martin

This Wednesday photo shows storm damage in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in St. Martin

The hurricane recovery effort was announced by former presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush and Jimmy Carter.

Online donations can be made at OneAmericaAppeal.org.

Trump tweeted his support of the plan: 'We will confront ANY challenge, no matter how strong the winds or high the water. I'm proud to stand with Presidents for #OneAmericaAppeal.'

As people along the East Coast anxiously watched the behemoth, Irma battered the northern Caribbean, killing at least 24 people and leaving thousands homeless after destroying buildings and uprooting trees.

Nine deaths were reported in the French Caribbean (St Martin and St Barthelemy), three in Puerto Rico, four in the U.S. Virgin Islands, four in the British Virgin Islands, two on the Dutch side of St. Maarten, one on Barbuda and one on Anguilla.

Waves as high as 20 feet were expected in the Turks and Caicos. Communications went down as the storm slammed into the islands, and the extent of the devastation was unclear.

Irma rolled past the Dominican Republic and Haiti on Thursday and spun along the northern coast of Cuba on Friday morning before it hit the island.

Thousands of tourists were evacuated from low-lying keys off the Cuban coast Thursday in anticipation of 20-foot storm surges. Buses loaded with tourists began streaming out of Santa Maria, Cayo Coco, Cayo Guillermo and other keys dotted with all-inclusive resorts.

The Maersk Line container ship Sealand Illinois heads out to sea after leaving the Port of Miami on Friday. The ship is headed to Portugal, according to a marine traffic website

British tourists wait for a ride as they leave ahead of the expected arrival of Hurricane Irma in Miami, Florida on Friday

A customer watches news reports at a French restaurant ahead of the expected arrival of Hurricane Irma in Miami, Florida, on Friday

Residents in Jacksonville County, Florida shovel bags of sand on Friday, ahead of Hurricane Irma

All residents of the area were under mandatory evacuation orders from the Cuban government, which was moving tens of thousands of people from vulnerable coastline.

French, British and Dutch military authorities rushed aid to a devastated string of Caribbean islands. Warships and planes were sent with food, water and troops after the hurricane smashed homes, schools and roads, laying waste to some of the world's most beautiful and exclusive tourist destinations.

The first islands hit by the storm were scenes of terrible destruction.

The cafes and clothing shops of the picturesque seaside village of Marigot were submerged in brown floodwaters. The toll could rise because rescue teams had yet to get a complete look at the damage.

Looting was reported in St. Martin. Annick Girardin, minister for France's overseas territories, described on BFM television Friday 'scenes of pillaging' of televisions as well as food and water. She lamented 'how people can take advantage of the distress of others' and said it's essential for police to restore order and ensure urgent care for victims.

The U.S. Consulate General in Curacao said it believes about 6,000 Americans are stranded on St. Martin. It said it was working with the U.S. and other governments to try to figure out how to get the Americans off the island either by air or boat. Frantic Americans were calling home to relatives to try to get them off the island ahead of Hurricane Jose.

The hospital on St. Thomas was destroyed and dozens of patients were being evacuated to St. Croix and Puerto Rico by the U.S. Coast Guard. Local official said a U.S. Navy hospital ship was arriving as early as Friday to care for unknown numbers of injured and two Air Force C-130s transport planes were bringing in food and water.

Power lines and towers were toppled, leaves were stripped off plants and trees, a water and sewage treatment plants was heavily damaged and the harbor was in ruins, along with hundreds of homes and dozens of businesses. Gov. Kenneth Mapp imposed a 6pm curfew.

The primary focus for now is 'making sure people have meals, water and shelter,' Mapp said. 'An event of this magnitude is very chilling.'

Irma also slammed the French island of St. Barts, tearing off roofs and knocking out electricity in the high-end tourist destination.

French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said 100,000 food rations were sent to St. Barts and St. Martin, the equivalent of four days of supplies.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said the storm 'caused wide-scale destruction of infrastructure, houses and businesses.'

'There is no power, no gasoline, no running water. Houses are under water, cars are floating through the streets, inhabitants are sitting in the dark in ruined houses and are cut off from the outside world,' he said.

An armed man caused extra panic and delays at Miami airport on Thursday night after he was shot by police - prompting the evacuation (above) of an entire terminal

Big waves smashed a dozen homes into rubble in the Dominican fishing community of Nagua, but work crews said all the residents had left before the storm. Officials said 11,200 people in all had evacuated vulnerable areas, while 55,000 soldiers had been deployed to help the cleanup.

In Haiti, two people were injured by a falling tree, a national roadway was blocked by debris and roofs were torn from houses along the northern coast but there were no immediate reports of deaths. Officials warned that could change as Irma continued to lash Haiti, where deforested hillsides are prone to devastating mudslides that have wiped out entire neighborhoods of precariously built homes in flood zones.

'We are vulnerable. We don't have any equipment to help the population,' Josue Alusma, mayor of the northern city of Port de Paix, said on Radio Zenith FM.

French President Emmanuel Macron's office said he would go to the islands as soon as the weather permits it.

On Barbuda, nearly every building was damaged when the hurricane's core crossed almost directly over the island early Wednesday. About 60 percent of its roughly 1,400 residents were left homeless, Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne said.

Brian McNoldy, a hurricane researcher at the University of Miami, said Irma could easily prove to be the costliest storm in U.S. history.

'Take it seriously, because this is the real deal,' said Maj. Jeremy DeHart, a U.S. Air Force Reserve weather officer who flew through the eye of Irma at 10,000 feet.

Farther out in the Atlantic, Hurricane Jose, a Category 4 storm with 125 mph winds, posed a potential threat for Saturday to some of the same islands ravaged by Irma.
Lebanese security forces arrested a former mayor of the town of Arsal near the Syrian border on Saturday in connection with the capture of Lebanese soldiers, security sources said.

Ali al-Hujeiri also stands accused of collusion with the Nusra Front Islamist group, al Qaedas former Syria branch, the sources said.

Militants from the Nusra Front and Islamic State (IS) militant group briefly overran Arsal in 2014 and captured a number of soldiers before they withdrew during clashes with the army.

Nusra Front released 16 soldiers in 2015 in exchange for the release of jailed Islamists.

IS killed all nine soldiers it had captured.

Both groups were driven from their last foothold at the Syria-Lebanon border in recent separate offensives by the army and Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah.

It was not immediately clear which group of captured soldiers Hujeiri was being accused over.

Lebanese President Michel Aoun said this week the army was investigating the circumstances that led to the capture of the soldiers killed by IS.

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Jens Stoltenberg (pictured) has warned the world is more dangerous now than it has been for a generation

The world is more dangerous now than it has been for a generation, the head of Nato has said.

Jens Stoltenberg said terrorism, the crisis in North Korea and a newly-belligerent Russia under Vladimir Putin meant the political situation was more unpredictable than at any time in the past 30 years.

It is a more dangerous world, he told The Guardian.

We have proliferation of weapons of mass destruction in North Korea, we have terrorists, instability, and we have a more assertive Russia.

The secretary-generals intervention, during a break from visiting British troops in Estonia, comes before the mobilisation of an estimated 100,000 Russian troops on the EUs eastern borders.

Asked whether he had known a more perilous time in his 30-year career, Stoltenberg said: It is more unpredictable, and its more difficult because we have so many challenges at the same time.

From next Thursday, over six days, Russian and Belarusian troops will take part in what is likely to be Moscows largest military exercise since the Cold War.

An estimated 100,000 personnel will be active around the Baltic Sea, western Russia and Belarus without the supervision required under international agreement.

Mr Stoltenberg said terrorism, the crisis in North Korea and Russia under Vladimir Putin meant the political situation was more unpredictable than at any time in the past 30 years

Meanwhile, North Korea has launched a ballistic missile over Japan, threatened the US Pacific territory of Guam and has tested a possible thermonuclear device, incurring the wrath of Donald Trump.

Mr Stoltenberg, the former prime minister of Norway, would not comment on whether the US Presidents bellicose threats to Pyongyang had exacerbated the current situation in south-east Asia.

He said: I think the important thing now is to look into how we can create a situation where we can find a political solution to the crisis.

At the same time I fully understand and support the military message that has been implemented in the region... as they have the right to defend themselves.

They have a right to respond when they see these very aggressive actions. I also support the presence of US troops and capabilities in Korea.
Anti-Apartheid campaigner Desmond Tutu has condemned Burmas Aung San Suu Kyi for her silence on the ethnic cleansing of Muslims in her country.

Critics have accused the Burmese leader  and Nobel peace prize winner  of turning a blind eye to the violent persecution of Rohingya Muslims.

The 85-year-old South African archbishop, who was also awarded a Nobel peace prize, said the unfolding horror had forced him to speak out against a woman he considered a dear sister.

In an open letter to Suu Kyi, he wrote: Your emergence into public life allayed our concerns about violence being perpetrated against members of the Rohingya.

Anti-Apartheid campaigner Desmond Tutu (right) has condemned Burmas Aung San Suu Kyi (left) for her silence on the ethnic cleansing of Muslims in her country

But what some have called ethnic cleansing and others a slow genocide has persisted  and recently accelerated ... My dear sister: If the political price of your ascension to the highest office in Myanmar [Burma] is your silence, the price is surely too steep.

We pray for you to speak out for justice, human rights and the unity of your people.

He joined a growing list of figures calling on Aung San Suu Kyi to intervene in the conflict. Malala Yousafzai, the youngest ever peace prize winner, said on Monday the world is waiting for Suu Kyi to act.

The Rohingya comprise some 1.1million people in Buddhist-majority Burma who have long complained of persecution.

According to UN estimates, up to 300,000 Rohingya could be displaced into neighbouring Bangladesh due to clearance operations by the Tatmadaw, Burmas armed forces.

The army says it is rooting out terrorists among the Muslim population.

Burmas government claims about 400 people have been killed so far, though UN officials estimate the death toll to be more than 1,000.

Suu Kyi (pictured with Pope Francis) has been accused of turning a blind eye to the violent persecution of Rohingya Muslims

Suu Kyi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, receiving the award for her non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights while standing up against military rulers.

But more than 386,000 have now signed an petition on the website Change.org calling for the award to be revoked.

She defended her response to the crisis for the first time on Thursday, but did not refer to the Rohingya specifically.

Instead, she said: We have to take care of everybody who is in our country, whether or not they are our citizens.

Desmond Tutus intervention comes as the UN refugee agency announced an estimated 270,000 Rohingya have sought refuge in Bangladesh over the past two weeks.

Vivian Tan, a spokesman for the agency, said: The numbers are so alarming.
With the road from Brazils Sao Paulo to the southern city of Curitiba running for some 250 miles, the Israeli secret service Mossad agent prepared himself for a long drive. What would make the journey more challenging, however, was that he would be tailing the car in front.

That vehicle contained a 40-year-old man called Wolfgang Gerhard. The agent knew a lot about him, and there was a lot he didnt like.

The former head of the Hitler Youth in Austria, Gerhard remained a fanatical Nazi long after the war, to the extent that he regarded many Brazilians as half-monkeys.

But the agent, Zvi Aharoni, had known worse Nazis. Just two years before, in 1960, he was part of the team that had sensationally kidnapped Adolf Eichmann from outside his modest home in Buenos Aires and spirited him back to Israel, where the man known as the architect of the Holocaust was put on trial and hanged.

And now Aharoni was back in South America, on the trail of yet another notorious Nazi in hiding, and the man in front of him was hopefully going to lead him unwittingly right to his doorstep.

Dr Josef Mengele: A man whose name continues to chill even to this day (pictured in 1942)

For Wolfgang Gerhard was none other than the link man between the outside world and a man whose name continues to chill even to this day  Dr Josef Mengele.

The Israelis had long wanted to capture this most evil of men, who, in his role as a doctor at Auschwitz, had not only performed sadistic and murderous experiments on young twins, but had also overseen the selections of tens of thousands of Jews, in which Mengele had indicated with a mere flick of the wrist who was to live and who was to be immediately gassed.

Not for nothing was Dr Mengele known as the angel of death.

Zvi Aharoni was to be spared a long drive, for after a mere 25 miles, Gerhard turned right and headed up a rough track. The agent knew it would look suspicious to follow, and so he returned to the capital.

For the next few days, Aharoni and his team dreamed up ways to investigate who and what lay down that track. Eventually, they hit on the idea of a picnic, and so one Sunday, Aharoni and two other agents drove up the track, and somewhat brazenly started to eat some sandwiches near a small group of farm buildings.

Within minutes, three men emerged. Two were Brazilian, but one was clearly European. Could it have been Mengele?

Aharoni tried to grab his camera, but the men were too close to take a surreptitious shot. I thought the man may well be Mengele, Aharoni later said. In fact, I was sure of it. He had a moustache, he was the right height. There was a striking similarity with the photographs we had.

Convinced that he had finally found his man, Aharoni flew to Paris in order to consult with the head of Mossad, Isser Harel.

The agent was certain that Mengele could be kidnapped, but to Aharonis dismay, his boss ordered him to drop it. It was the end of the Mengele case, Aharoni would bitterly recall. Having been a soldier I had learned to take orders, so I did what I was told.

As a result of that fateful decision, Josef Mengele would get to live out his days in Brazil  in complete freedom. He would die from a stroke at the age of 67 while swimming in the sea in February 1979, unapologetic and unpunished for the most dreadful of crimes.

So why did the head of Mossad order the hunt for Mengele to be stopped? Until this week, it has never been possible to answer satisfactorily this most vexatious of questions.

Dr Mengele pictured third from left at a picnic in Sao Paulo, Brazil

Mengele was, after all, the worst of men, the very embodiment of the evil  not only of the Holocaust, but also of the perverted medical thinking that led a young doctor from a prosperous family in Bavaria to deem it acceptable to torture and kill children in the name of science.

Surely this was a scalp too valuable for the Israelis to give up on?

But this week, thanks to the release by Mossad of their bulging three-volume file on Mengele, we are finally able not only to learn the truth of why the hunt was abandoned in 1962, but also how the Israelis would later resume their search in the late Seventies.

The file reveals one of the most extraordinary clandestine manhunts ever undertaken, which stretched some 40 years until 1985, when Mengele  albeit his corpse of six years  was tracked down to an obscure graveyard in the Sao Paulo satellite town of Embu. But what makes the story of Mengeles escape from both Mossad and justice especially frustrating is that for so many of those years this most wanted of men had, at times, been able to live openly under his real name.

Towards the end of the war, Mengele did indeed go into hiding. Calling himself Joseph Memling, he fled, taking his medical notes, from Auschwitz as the Red Army approached the camp in January 1945.

For the best part of four years, Mengele lived and worked as a farm worker in Bavaria.

The comedown from exercising the power of life and death over thousands of people to hoeing potato fields was a huge one, and Mengele became increasingly embittered. He was also enraged by what he felt were the lies being spread about him, and until the end of his life he was adamant that he had not only saved lives, but had also carried out work that would improve the racial purity of mankind.

Mengele (right) posing for a photograph with his son Rolf in 1977

It was during this period that Mengele would occasionally see his wife Irene at a lake some eight miles from the farm, though he would only very rarely see his son Rolf who had been born in 1944.

Immediately after the war, Mengele may have fretted about being discovered, but he need not have done.

Despite his name appearing on the official list of war criminals, the Allies were not still entirely sure whether he was called Mendelei, Margde, or indeed Mengele, and few, if any, attempts were made to track him down.

Nevertheless, an increasingly anxious Mengele decided that he wanted to create a new life.

In 1949, travelling under the name Helmut Gregor, and assisted by his familys wealth derived from a successful farm machinery business, Mengele escaped over the Brenner Pass and through northern Italy to Genoa, from where he boarded a ship to Argentina  the most popular retirement home for Nazis on the run.

When Mengele arrived in Latin America clutching little more than his biological notes, he lacked friends, but there was a network of sympathisers who were eager to help him.

References made to Mengele in various post-war trials had started to make the angel of death something of a celebrity in fascist circles, and after several weeks of enduring none-too-salubrious lodgings, Mengele soon found himself housed in the grand suburban villa of a Nazi sympathiser.

For the next few years, Mengele was to forge a successful bourgeois life, setting up businesses, and even  remarkably  acting as a representative for the Mengele family firm. By the mid-Fifties, Mengele, then in his mid-40s and divorced from Irene, became a man-about-town in Buenos Aires, and would eat out regularly.

He was also making plans to marry Martha Mengele, the widow of his late brother.

In April 1955, after obtaining a passport in the name of Helmut Gregor, he travelled to Europe to meet Martha. The marriage was born more out of convenience than love, in order to ensure that Martha did not subsequently marry someone who would prove to be troublesome on the board of the Mengele firm.

While he was in Europe, Mengele also met his son, Rolf, although the boy was only told that the visitor was Uncle Fritz.

After the success of the trip, an emboldened Mengele returned to Buenos Aires and  astonishingly  registered himself at the West German embassy under his real name, and actual place and date of birth. He was even issued with a German passport. In 1958, Martha and her son joined Mengele, and the couple married  and were even listed in the Buenos Aires phonebook under the name Mengele.

The very notion, then, that Mengele was in hiding or feared for his life was clearly farcical.

For a short while, all was well. However, in September of that year, a German called Hermann Langbein, who had been compiling a dossier on Mengele for many years, presented a state prosecutor in Bonn with evidence that Mengele was in Buenos Aires, and that the authorities should act.

With a West German legal apparatus riddled with former Nazis, it appears that Mengele may well have been tipped off, and in March 1959, he moved to Paraguay on his own, citing political reasons.

Mengeles 15 months in Paraguay would prove to be among his most unhappy. He hid in a two-bit town called Hohenau in the southeast of the country, living among poor farmers of German ancestry whom Mengele openly regarded as hicks.

Though he would quickly gain Paraguayan naturalisation that made him immune from extradition, Mengele was made even more nervous by the dramatic events of May 1960, when Adolf Eichmann  whom he occasionally met at a German cafe in Buenos Aires  was kidnapped by Mossad and smuggled to Israel by jet.

Mengele's official identity card

Mengele was sure that the Israelis would also look for him  and his fears were well grounded, for it later emerged that the Eichmann kidnap team did indeed scour Buenos Aires looking for him.

And the following month, the Germans started half-hearted extradition proceedings against Mengele in Argentina, though by then, he was in Paraguay. But for Mengele, all this was too close, and in late 1960, with the help of the former Hitler Youth leader Wolfgang Gerhard, he moved to Brazil.

Unbeknown to Mengele, Mossad was not giving up. Its agent Zvi Aharoni had persuaded a Dutch former SS officer called Willem Sassen to work for it, and by early 1962, Sassen had uncovered the association between Wolfgang Gerhard and Mengele.

But despite all these efforts, in July that year, the operation  so tantalisingly close to snaring Mengele  was halted.

The question remains  why? For many years, it has long been suspected that the spy agency had decided to devote its resources either towards the hunt for an eight-year-old boy who had been abducted out of Israel, or against the German scientists developing rockets in Egypt that could be used against the Jewish state.

The newly released Mengele file reveals that, according to Yosef Chen  a historian and former Mossad agent who has written an accompanying study of the documents  the reason is because, despite Aharonis seeming certainty, Mossad was simply not sure it had its man. There was somebody who was more certain it was him and someone else who was less certain and it was not entirely clear if it was him, said Mr Chen this week.

In any case, you cant do anything upon first sighting. You have to gather all the information and to check all possibilities and then decide what to do.

For the next few years, the hunt went into abeyance, during which time the Israelis would indeed concentrate on contemporary enemies rather than chase ghosts.

However, with the election of Menachem Begin as Israeli PM in 1977, that policy was to change. The hitherto secret minutes of a cabinet meeting held that year conclude with the ominous words: We decided to instruct Mossad to renew the search for Nazi war criminals, especially Josef Mengele, with a view to bring them to trial in Israel. If they cannot be brought to trial  kill them.

Mossad tried every trick in the spys handbook to find Mengele, who was, by then, living in a bungalow in an anonymous suburb of Sao Paulo.

One potential weak link was Mengeles son Rolf, who lived  and continues to live  in Germany, and who shared a birthday with his father. The Israelis tapped Rolfs phone, hoping to record a conversation between the two men on their birthday, March 16. But when the day came, they had no joy.

The reason  unknown to the spies  was because by the time of that call, in 1983, Mengele had been dead for four years. Nevertheless, the mission continued. Rolfs mail was intercepted, his home broken into, his documents photographed. All yielded nothing.

The Israelis then tried perhaps the oldest method available  the honeytrap. A female agent was employed to get close to Rolf, with a brief to be attractive, intelligent and able to fill the role of a private secretary. But that ploy did not work, either.

In the end, it was not the Israelis who found Mengele. As the 40th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz approached in 1985, the outrage that Mengele was still seemingly free gathered a head of steam, and the U.S. and German authorities mounted a concerted hunt for the Angel of Death.

A search was made of the home of a fixer who worked for the family firm, which revealed correspondence indicating that Mengele had died in 1979.

Mengeles skull and bones were soon unearthed from the Embu graveyard under the gaze of the worlds media. Though many were cynical, and believed the near-legendary Mengele had faked his own death, dental and X-ray records confirmed that the skull belonged to the doctor.

This was confirmed by a DNA test by the pioneering British geneticist Alec Jeffreys in 1992  ironically, using the very field of genetics that had been so corrupted by the evil doctor.

Ultimately, the hunt for Mengele was a failure. A lot of years and time and many attempts went into trying to trap Mengele and its a shame they didnt reach the desired goal, Yosef Chen said this week.

For Mengeles victims, that this most evil of men escaped justice still represents something more than just a shame.
Former bikie kingpin and Bandidos enforcer Jacques Teamo has been jailed for bashing his friend and landlord.

The 48-year-old was sentenced to 18 months behind bars at Southport Magistrates Court on Friday, after the court heard he used 'standover tactics' to attack the man who was letting him live at his house.

The court heard that the friend owed $2500-3000 and had agreed to let Teamo and his two children stay at his Tugun property.

Former Bandidos kingpin Jacques Teamo has been jailed for bashing his friend and landlord (pictured outside court in 2016)

The 48-year-old was sentenced to 18 months behind bars at Southport Magistrates Court on Friday (pictured in 2015)

However the friendship turned sour after Teamo and his family overstayed their welcome by a few months.

During a confrontation between Teamo and his friend in June, the court heard the former bikie assaulted the man.

'You've punched him to the head  you've followed him out to the car,' Magistrate Joan White said, according to the Gold Coast Bulletin.

'This isn't just an ordinary assault,' she said.

'This is standover tactics on your behalf because you wanted to stay in this house.'

Despite the 18-month sentence, the tattoo parlor owner will be eligible for parole on December 7.

He was also ordered to also pay $500 in criminal compensation and was not charged with trespassing.

The sentence is not the first for Teamo, who was handed a 13 months suspended sentence for his role in the 2014 bikie brawl at Broachbeach.

The former bikie was sentenced for punching his friend in the head and using 'standover tactics'

He was also ordered to also pay $500 in criminal compensation and was not charged with trespassing

He was among more than 20 Bandidos who stormed Aura restaurant in September 2013 during a turf war with rival gangs.

Just a year earlier in 2012, the tattooed now-ex bikie was shot by Mark Graham, a member of rival gang Mongols.

The Robina Town Centre shooting also led to an innocent woman being shot by Mr Graham.

Teamo's lawyer Chris Hannay felt the sentence for the June assault was a 'bit over the top'.

'Very disappointed. This is a bloke who's changed his ways, hasn't got into trouble for four or five years,' Mr Hannay said.
The Duchess of Cornwall smashed a bottle of malt whisky over the Prince of Wales yesterday and several thousand people burst into applause  led by the prince himself.

Britains newest aircraft carrier may have at least a year to go before it even floats  and it will be years before the first plane lands on board.

But, as of yesterday, Ship 2 in the Royal Navys 6billion Queen Elizabeth Class carrier programme was formally named HMS Prince of Wales, becoming the sister ship to HMS Queen Elizabeth, which has just taken up residence in Portsmouth. Each weighing 65,000 tons and capable of carrying 1,600 crew and personnel, the two ships are by far the largest in Royal Navy history.

The Duchess of Cornwall smashed a bottle of malt whisky over the Prince of Wales yesterday and several thousand people burst into applause  led by the prince himself

Since ships are always named by women, the duchess was the guest of honour at Rosyth Dockyard yesterday, with the prince at her side in his admiral of the fleets uniform.

Dressed in a navy blue dress and coat by Fiona Clare and a Philip Treacy white and navy blue hat, the duchess reminded the quayside gathering of naval chiefs, families and civilian workers that this was the seventh Royal Navy ship to bear this illustrious name.

The last Prince of Wales, launched in 1939 , had a short but distinguished career, hosting a meeting between Churchill and Roosevelt and attacking the German flagship Bismarck. Having been branded unsinkable  just like the Titanic  she was sunk by the Japanese in the South China Sea in 1941 with the loss of 327 men.

The duchess welcomed a gallant trio of the survivors yesterday, including former boy seaman Chris Peacey who had been just 17 at the time, having lied about his age to enlist. The duchess also paid tribute to her own naval forebears, among them six admirals including Augustus Keppel. Unfortunately, one of [his] many claims to fame is that he lost most of his teeth to scurvy!

Having concluded with the immortal words  May God bless her and all who sail in her  she pressed a button that released a bottle in a hessian sack, draped in red, white and blue, against the bow.

This being a Scottish dockyard, the customary champagne had been replaced by a bottle of the Princes favourite malt, Laphroaig. There was much holding of breath. Many regard a non-breaking bottle as a bad omen.

A reassuring brown trickle down the hull showed that it had worked. No one was more relieved than Emma Lennox, 27, the naval architect deputed to construct the bottle-smashing contraption. Weve tested it so many times but you never know, she said afterwards.

The day was a vital landmark for the Royal Navy which regards its two new carriers as heralding a new chapter in Britains maritime story. Although the Queen Elizabeth is only at the sea trials stage and the Prince of Wales is far from completion, this project has still come a very long way. As the Defence Secretary, Sir Michael Fallon, pointed out at this weeks pre-naming dinner in London, the new carrier programme has already gone through the hands of four prime ministers and nine defence secretaries.

The duchess (pictured at the event) welcomed a gallant trio of the survivors yesterday

One can but wonder what might happen if Jeremy Corbyn is the PM who finally takes delivery of all this kit. The main political parties were represented yesterday, along with Britains most senior allies and all three armed services. The ship will have formal ties with both the Welsh Guards and the Royal Lancers, who had turned up with a Scimitar tank yesterday. It looked like a childs toy parked against this sky-blocking grey behemoth.

On a day like this, the First Sea Lord, Sir Philip Jones, did not opt for understatement. This ceremony, and all that it represents, demonstrates the United Kingdoms determination to see through our strategic intent and to fulfil the promise of our maritime renaissance, he declared.

If building one carrier is a statement of national ambition, then building two is an unmistakable sign of commitment, to our own defence and that of our allies.

With two carriers, Britain can always have one on operations, unlike the French whose solitary carrier can only operate between repairs. After two flypasts and some stirring music by the band of the Royal Marines, the crowds adjourned to celebrate.

The prince and the duchess were introduced to the veterans who had served in the previous Prince of Wales, among them Rear Admiral Sir Peter Anson, a junior midshipman when his ship was hit.

He was sunk again in his next ship the following year and, after 24 hours in the water, was taken prisoner by the Japanese for three years. People ask me why I stayed in the Navy but I suppose I was too stupid to do anything else, he explained.

His wife, Elizabeth, delighted the Duchess with a postscript to the story about her naval ancestor who had lost his teeth. Sir Peters own forebear, Admiral Anson, was his commanding officer at the time and ordered the ships carpenter to make Augustus Keppel a set of wooden dentures.

The Prince of Wales  or Duke of Rothesay as he is always styled when in Scotland  was later introduced to some of the families of the 10,000 people involved in the ships construction.

Among them was 18-month-old Imogen Holm who took a great fancy to his gold braid, much to the princes amusement: I was fascinated by all this, too, when I was a child, he said. Imogen was enthralled and positively furious when the prince had to move on.

But then there is so much about the Navy that can be confusing to outsiders, not least the fact that, as of yesterday, the Prince of Wales and Queen Elizabeth are now sisters.
Traditionally, former Chancellors of the Exchequer  unless their tenure ended in disgrace  are held in high regard.

Having occupied one of the three Great Offices of State, their views are still heard with respect. Indeed, often their comments have the power to move the financial markets.

Nigel Lawson is a classic example. Though it is almost 30 years since he relinquished control of the national finances, his opinions on economic issues carry great weight.

Traditionally, former Chancellors of the Exchequer  unless their tenure ended in disgrace  are held in high regard

Not so George Osborne. His conduct since he was sacked by Theresa May after the Brexit referendum has been shameful, and his oft-expressed views are increasingly treated with contempt.

Its instructive to compare Mr Osborne with Ken Clarke, who preceded him as Conservative Chancellor.

Mr Clarke, one of Britains finest ever Chancellors, stayed on as an MP after the Tories were defeated by New Labour in 1997. Over previous years, he had tried unsuccessfully three times to be elected Tory leader. Even now, he remains an MP, aged 77, and is Father of the House (the longest-serving member of Commons.)

Though he has held controversial and sometimes unpopular views  most notably as an ardent Europhile  Mr Clarke has always debated with fairness and good humour.

By comparison, Mr Osbornes behaviour has been a disgrace.

As soon as he left the Government in the summer of last year, he emulated his hero Tony Blair and used his political connections to make as much money as possible for himself.

With justification, he was rebuked as Six Jobs Osborne.

Not so George Osborne. His conduct since he was sacked by Theresa May after the Brexit referendum has been shameful, and his oft-expressed views are increasingly treated with contempt

Apart from staying on as an MP (with a taxpayer-funded salary of 74,962), he became an adviser to the U.S. financial giant BlackRock (one day a week on 650,000-a-year), unpaid chairman of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, editor of the London Evening Standard (four days a week), on the books of the Washington Speakers Bureau (786,450 for 14 speeches) and was a fellow at the McCain Institute for International Leadership in America (120,212).

After accusations about the risk of conflicts of interest  indeed, BlackRocks business was said to have benefited from changes in pension regulations effected while Mr Osborne was Chancellor  he stood down as an MP but later was also made an honorary professor of economics at Manchester University.

Obsessively, he has used his position as editor of Londons highly respected evening newspaper (which distributes 1.6 million free copies on weekdays) to pour poison and scorn on Mrs Mays government.

One typically bilious editorial column last week compared Mrs Mays premiership to the Living Dead in a second-rate horror film that staggers on oblivious.

Witheringly, the anti-Brexit Osborne wrote that the PM was in office but not in power, said the UKs place in the world is diminished and concluded that Britain deserves a better movie than this.

Admittedly, Mr Osborne has been consistent in his pro-EU views but such petulant and unforgivingly vindictive language debases politics.

The truth is that his blitzkrieg against Mrs May will cause her some hurt, but I believe that it is doing far more to damage Mr Osbornes own reputation.

Mr Osborne has been consistent in his pro-EU views but such petulant and unforgivingly vindictive language debases politics

By repeatedly attacking the Prime Minister in such an arrogant, malevolent and poisonous way, the peevish architect of Project Fear is guilty of small-minded, unpatriotic self-indulgence  which implies it is only people such as him that matter in politics.

What claptrap. The fact is that his disloyalty to his own party leader is an insult to those Tory party workers and volunteers who do all the hard work at the grassroots to get people such as him elected to power.

These activists canvass, deliver campaign material and hold meetings out of love of their party and country. They also do it out of a sense of public service  something Mr Osborne shows little sign of valuing, or even understanding.

In view of this, I am surprised to hear well-informed talk that Mr Osborne plans to go to next months Conservative Party conference in Manchester  the annual gathering of the Tory clan.

In what capacity does he expect to attend? Will it be as a newspaper editor, following events from the Press Centre? Or will he be wearing another hat, as lobbyist for one of his business employers, cynically using his status as a former Chancellor to campaign for changes to the law and for regulatory reform that will benefit the companies that pay him such vast sums?

Or, will Mr Osborne imperiously put himself forward as a political player and try to drum up support for his disreputable campaign of hatred against Mrs May?

Judging on past form, he will try to combine all three roles. This is utterly wrong and demeans both journalism and politics.

True, other former senior politicians have taken jobs on newspapers. One famous example was Bill Deedes, who became editor of the Daily Telegraph after a stint as Tory Cabinet minister in the Macmillan government.

Yet Deedes, a much-loved man, never sought to mix his various roles. He was scrupulous in distinguishing between his work as a journalist and as an ex-politician. Nor did he use the pages of his newspaper to pursue vendettas and personal agendas.

I suggest that Mr Osborne would be wise not to attend the Tory conference. His presence would be offensive to Conservative members, who are honest, decent and courteous people.

That courtesy would be sorely tested  and many members would be justified in treating George Osborne with the contempt he so richly deserves.

When campaigning began to succeed Edward Heath as Conservative leader after his second consecutive General Election defeat, in 1974, the bookmakers put Sir Edward Du Canns chances at 8-1, well ahead of the 50-1 outsider Margaret Thatcher (who, we all know, went on to win). This was not surprising, considering the controversial businessman was the master of the black arts of Westminster.

Following the death this week at the age of 93 of Sir Edward (a one-time chairman of the industrial giant Lonrho), I was reminded of an anecdote that summed up his predominance. A young MP had asked the Tory knight for the time.

My dear boy, drawled Sir Edward. What time would you like it to be?

The new political season has opened with Theresa May in a far stronger position than most observers predicted in the aftermath of her General Election disaster.

This improvement in her fortunes is not down to chance.

Huge credit goes to Chief Whip Gavin Williamson, who  working with Downing Street Chief of Staff Gavin Barwell  has reinvigorated morale and discipline in the Tories parliamentary party. Williamson is turning into one of the finest Tory whips, comparable to 20th-century greats.

I am reminded of war hero Carol Mather, who served Margaret Thatcher and on one occasion quelled backbench panic by saying: The trouble with these young men is that they have never been under fire.

And, also, Alastair Goodlad, who held the Conservatives together in John Majors final, difficult months in No. 10.

The Two Gavins, though, need the support of a strong party chairman to give vitality to the party in the country.

Current chairman Patrick McLoughlin has failed in this important task.

Is it too much to hope that Iain Duncan Smith can be lured from the backbenches to take on this crucial job?

After a long spell of backbench obscurity, Mark Field has been promoted to Foreign Office minister.

I fear, though, that the former City solicitor is out of his depth.

Last week, he delivered a pathetic speech during the emergency Commons debate over the hideous ethnic cleansing of minority Muslims in Myanmar (formerly Burma). Mr Field gave the impression that the victims were to blame for the violence.

Above all, he failed to condemn Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyis government.

It was a spineless performance which gave no sense that our government is awake to the horror or the gravity of the tragedy.
Rivera was found in a pool of her own blood after being attacked on a NYC street by Hall in 2014

The 31-year-old was known in some sports circles as 'Black Mama'

Trevis Hall (pictured) , 31, was convicted of homicide at the Queens County Criminal Court on Thursday

A former professional fighter was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Thursday after being found guilty of bludgeoning to death his ex-girlfriend on a New York street in 2014.

Trevis Hall, 31, was convicted of homicide at the Queens County Criminal Court after prosecutors successfully argued that the former featherweight boxer killed Margarita Rivera in December 2014 .

Hall was arrested after attacking Rivera with a pipe and stabbing her numerous times with items he purchased at a Home Depot.

Police said they found Hall unconscious inside a dumpster following a failed suicide attempt.

Hall ambushed Rivera on Watson Place in Jamaica the afternoon of December 1, 2014, and stabbed her multiple times in a chest

According to court testimony, Hall ambushed Rivera on Watson Place in Jamaica the afternoon of Dec. 1, 2014 and stabbed her multiple times in a chest, according to NBC 4 News. He also repeatedly beat her in the head with a pipe.

Following the verdict, Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown called the sentence a just resolution to the case.

'Breaking up with someone should not equal a death sentence, but in a violent rage this defendant carried out a brutal execution of his former lover,' Brown said in a statement, adding that 'the sentence imposed by the court today is more than warranted.'

Hall had once been a Golden Gloves winner and was known in some circles as 'Black Mama.'

NBC reported that Rivera was found in a pool of her own blood following the attack. When they asked who had hurt her, she managed to say 'Tre' three times.

Rivera later succumbed to her wounds at Queens Hospital.
Australian National University Arab and Islamic studies lecturer Dr Raihan Ismail (pictured) believes banning the burqa could create more isolation for women

A university academic has taken part in the controversial burqa debate, saying banning the burqa would allow men to control women more.

Australian National University Arab and Islamic studies lecturer Dr Raihan Ismail told Daily Telegraph women would become more isolated if the Australian government banned the burqa.

'Let's say that some women are actually forced to wear a niqab by an oppressive husband or father or brother who controls them,' Dr Ismail said.

'If you banned the niqab they would be further isolated and the oppression would continue in another form.'

While Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is against the idea to ban the burqa, former prime minister Tony Abbott supports the move, calling the burqa a 'confronting' and 'imprisioning' garment.

'Maybe we do need to think about whether this garment is appropriate to be worn in places that are dedicated to upholding Australian values,' Mr Abbott told 2GB.

The discussion comes after Nationals MP George Christensen's motion, calling on the government to ban burqas.

'I do believe quite strongly that full facial coverings should be banned in all government buildings and in public areas,' Mr Christensen wrote on his Facebook page.

Dr Ismail told News Corp some women covered their faces for cultural reasons and if they were forced not to wear the burqa, it could cause discomfort.

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson (pictured) seized on the poll, saying burqas in public places put 'the entire country at risk'

Senator Hanson wore a burqa into the Senate recently (pictured) claiming no security guards asked for her ID

'One woman told me she was sexually abused as a child and the niqab was her way of dealing with her traumatic past and protecting herself,' she said.

'If they have worn it since they were young they might fell uncomfortable without it.'

A Sky News/ReachTEL found 44 per cent of people strongly supported banning the burqa in public places, while a further 13 per cent supported it.

'If you banned the niqab they would be further isolated and the oppression would continue in another form,' Dr Ismail told News Corp (stock image)

The discussion comes after Nationals MP George Christensen's motion, calling on the government to ban burqas (stock image)

Of the more than 2800 people surveyed, 19 per cent strongly opposed a ban, 12 per cent opposed, while the rest were undecided.

Mr Turnbull said the federal parliament did not have the power to ban the burqa but legally people are already required to show their faces for identity purposes.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Dr Ismail for comment.
Customers are being kept in the dark about the filth, rats and cockroaches plaguing restaurants, councils say.

Dirty cafes, pubs, fast food outlets, bakeries and restaurants can keep their problems secret because they are not required to display hygiene scores. As a result, customers are being put at risk of serious food poisoning.

Environmental health teams score outlets from zero to five, based on factors such as kitchen cleanliness, cooking methods and food management.

But in one recent case the owner of an Essex pub and a director were ordered to pay a total of 43,358 after rats were found nesting under the fridge in its kitchen.

Restaurants are not currently required to display hygiene ratings, leading many dirty eateries to take advantage and dodge displays

And in a prosecution brought by Hillingdon Council, a West London fast food restaurant and its director were ordered to pay 19,518 when mouse droppings were found in the food preparation area.

The Local Government Association (LGA) wants ministers to improve regulation and enforcement, including requiring businesses in England to display hygiene score with prosecutions for those which do not.

Food businesses in Wales and Northern Ireland are already required to display ratings in a system that can shame outlets into cleaning up their act. LGA spokesman Simon Blackburn said the system could improve hygiene standards and consumer confidence in England.

All food premises in England should be forced to display Scores on the Doors ratings when EU laws governing food safety are converted into UK law after Brexit to improve hygiene standards and protect people from harm, the Local Government Association urged.

Council environmental health teams score food outlets from zero to five based on factors such as kitchen cleanliness, cooking methods and food management.

Businesses in Wales and Northern Ireland are legally required to display their rating. However, in England, businesses do not have to display the rating they have been awarded, with those scoring low marks much less likely to put them on show to customers.

The government has set out its intention to convert EU law into UK law on the day we leave the European Union. With EU laws impacting many of the council services that affect peoples day-to-day lives, the LGA said councils must play a central role in deciding whether to keep, amend or scrap them.

Local government leaders say current EU laws regulating food safety - vital to improve standards and reduce the risk to people of eating unsafe food cooked in dirty kitchens  are good and need to be kept after Brexit.

But the LGA wants the Government to see Brexit as an opportunity to strengthen these food safety laws and empower councils by legally extending the mandatory display of Scores on the Doors to England.

This would not only improve consumer confidence and raise standards, but also reduce the need for, and therefore cost of, enforcement action by councils.

Concerns over food hygiene are heightened as the UK prepares to leave the EU following the Brexit vote

The LGA believes that businesses - including restaurants, pubs, cafes, takeaways, sandwich shops, supermarkets and delicatessens  that fail to comply should be fined or prosecuted.

Cllr Simon Blackburn, Chair of the LGAs Safer and Stronger Communities Board, said: The conversion of EU law as part of Brexit will impact on many council services that affect peoples day-to-day lives, including how to protect people from being served unsafe food.

The post-Brexit review of EU laws gives the Government choices. We believe that food hygiene laws need to be strengthened, where necessary, with Scores on the Doors ratings being a good area of opportunity to do this.

With mandatory hygiene rating display already in force in Wales and Northern Ireland, the UK leaving the EU provides a crucial opportunity to toughen up food safety laws by extending the legislation to England as well.

'Food hygiene standards and compliance levels have risen since the scheme was introduced in Wales.

The lack of a hygiene rating sticker in a business means customers are left in the dark on official kitchen cleanliness levels when eating or buying food there.

A food hygiene rating distinguishes between appearance and reality. A food outlet may have nice decor but that doesnt mean that hygiene standards are good enough to avoid being served a dodgy burger or salad that could pose a serious risk to someones health.

Councils have seen some shocking examples of poor or dangerous hygiene and always take action to improve standards at rogue food premises.

Making the display of hygiene ratings compulsory in England is good for business. Not only would it incentivise food outlets to improve or maintain high hygiene standards - which would reduce the risk of illness for customers - it would also improve consumer confidence and save taxpayers money by reducing the need for, and cost of, enforcement action by councils.
The war of words between Brussels and the British Government intensified last night as Boris Johnson hit back at criticism of Brexit Secretary David Davis.

EU officials were accused of treating the UK with contempt on Thursday after it emerged that European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker had suggested Mr Davis was lazy and unstable.

But yesterday, on a visit to Estonia, Mr Johnson called for EU leaders to work together with the UK.

The Foreign Secretary played down rising tensions with the EU as he joined British troops on exercises in the eastern European state

The Foreign Secretary, who has a habit of grabbing military kit during photo opportunities, seemed to be relishing his experience in the tank. He even had his name emblazoned on the camouflage jacket

Asked if he was confident that Mr Davis would get a deal with the EU, the Foreign Secretary said: Absolutely, with rock solid confidence. His comments came as the European Parliaments chief negotiator, Guy Verhofstadt, sparked uproar by accusing Britain of poisoning relations between the two sides with its post-Brexit immigration plans.

Minutes of a private meeting suggested Mr Juncker had told colleagues that Mr Davis was unstable and wasnt taking the negotiations seriously.

It sparked fury among Tory MPs who said the EU was treating Britain with contempt. But Mr Verhofstadt blamed the UK for ill-will. He said Home Office post-Brexit immigration plans, which were leaked this week, had poisoned the diplomatic well.

Detailed plans for how Britain will manage its borders after Brexit emerged on Tuesday. They suggested ministers will take a tough line on migration.

Low-skilled migrants could be forced to leave after two years as part of efforts to slash net migration, the proposals said.

Last night Tory MP Peter Bone said Mr Verhofstadts comments dont make sense. He added: There is good will from the British side, but there is an EU elite who are out of touch with both their own countries and the UK.

Speaking to reporters in the Estonian capital Tallinn, Mr Johnson was upbeat about the outcome of talks. He insisted that finding a solution for the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic after Brexit is not beyond the wit of man.

The EU parliamentary's chief negotiator Guy Verhofstadt ramped up the rhetoric again today

Mr Johnson pulled the helmet down firmly on his head before the tank started moving

The Russian embassy took to Twitter to ridicule Mr Johnson for his photo op, saying his Moscow counterpart Sergei Lavrov did not need to carry out such stunts

On Thursday Michel Barnier, the EUs chief Brexit negotiator, said he was worried by Britains plans for the border arrangement with Ireland and asked London to come up with creative proposals.

But Mr Johnson said: I think we can all work together to come up with a solution on that one. It is not beyond the wit of man. Weve had a common travel area between the North and the South of Ireland for getting on for a century and were going to continue to make that work.

Mr Johnson also reiterated Londons stance  firmly rejected by the EU  that the divorce talks should run alongside discussion about the post-Brexit relationship between the two sides.

The bloc wants to solve key exit issues before opening talks about any future trade cooperation with Britain. Mr Johnson disagreed, saying the legal clause for leaving the EU  Article 50  did mention taking into account a future relationship with the departing country.

Mr Johnson waved for the cameras as the Challenger tank sped over fields and through a wood

Article 50 makes it very clear that the discussion about the exit of a country must be taken in context with discussion of the future arrangements. And thats what were going to do, he said.

He also dismissed Brussels' stance that trade terms can only be considered after the divorce terms are settled.

'Article 50 makes it very clear that the discussion about the exit of a country must be taken in context with discussion of the future arrangements. And that's what we're going to do,' he said.

Referring to the question of the Irish border, Mr Johnson said: 'I think we can all work together to come up with a solution on that one. It is not beyond the wit of man.

'We've had a common travel area between the north and the south of Ireland for getting on for a century and we're going to continue to make that work.'

Mr Johnson took the helm of a tank and met an unlikely doppleganger in the form of an army sniper during his visit to Estonia today.

The Foreign Secretary went for a ride in a British Challenger tank wearing army fatigues over his suit and tie.

And he appeared to see the funny side when he came face to face with a soldier whose camouflage gear bore an uncanny resemblance to his own famously tousled locks.

UK troops are in Estonia as part of a major Nato mission in the Baltic states to deter Russian aggression.

The records revealed Mr Juncker, who has been forced to publicly deny claims he is an alcoholic, slammed Britain's chief negotiator at a meeting in July with Michel Barnier, the EU's representative in the talks.

Mr Barnier today tried to play down the reports at a press conference minutes after the shocking comments were made public for the first time.

Mr Davis has faced criticism for not attending every day of the face-to-face negotiating sessions.

Last week he returned to London on Monday night following a brief welcome and returned on Thursday for a press conference.

Mr Juncker's comments emerged as Mr Barnier released a raft of new papers setting out the EU's negotiating position on sensitive issues including the future of the Irish border, customs arrangements, intellectual property rights, public procurement and data protection.
In response to continued criticism that the industry encourages eating disorders

Related Anorexia nervosa diagnosis more common in women with celiac disease

French fashion companies Kering and LVMH will stop hiring excessively thin models worldwide under a new charter developed in response to continued criticism the industry encourages eating disorders.

France banned ultra-thin models under a 2015 law though it only stipulated models needed a doctors note attesting to their health based on age, weight and body shape. Proposals to include a minimum body mass index were dropped after industry pressure.

Kering and LVMH said their charter will now go further than the French legislation. All their fashion brands have committed to banning models below French size 34 for women and 44 for men. Size 32 in France corresponds to size 0 in the United States.

We hope to inspire the entire industry to follow suit, thus making a real difference in the working conditions of fashion models industry-wide, Kering CEO Francois-Henri Pinault said in the statement.

Fashion insiders have long said that clothes hang and drape better on tall, androgynous women, while Western cultures often associate thinness with wealth, youth and desirability.

But criticism over how models are treated has prompted several countries to bring in protective measures. Besides France, Israel banned ultra-thin models in 2013 while countries such as Italy and Spain rely on voluntary codes of conduct.

The two French companies, whose labels include Christian Dior, Givenchy, Yves Saint Laurent and Gucci, said their charter would guarantee the the well-being of models. It also forbids the hiring of girls under 16 to pose as adult models.

The brands committed to working solely with models who can provide a doctors certificate obtained less than six months before a shoot or fashion show attesting to their good health and to put a psychologist at their disposal during their work.

The new rules, which follow a wave of criticism of fashion companies this year, will come into effect ahead of Paris Fashion Week this month.

In March, Kerings Balenciaga fired two casting directors after they reportedly left over 150 models waiting for hours in a dark stairwell while they went for lunch.

Also in March, Frances advertising watchdog asked Kerings Yves Saint Laurent to modify two ads after complaints that they were degrading to women.

One featured a reclining woman in a fur coat and fishnet tights with her legs spread wide and the other shows a model in a leotard and roller skate stilettos bending over a stool.

Britains Advertising Standards Authority also banned an Yves Saint Laurent ad in 2015 that featured a very thin model whose ribcage was showing.

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Patients are being assessed over the phone by hospital consultants rather than having a face-to-face appointment.

The cost-saving initiative is being quietly rolled out across the country to try to cut the number of patients referred to outpatients clinics.

Normally, those with a long-term health problem who require further investigations or treatment are referred to a specialist hospital consultant.

Under the new system, the consultant can then decide whether they should see the patient themselves and, if not, may advise the GP on how to treat them.

Patients are being assessed over the phone by hospital consultants rather than having a face-to-face appointment (stock image)

Many doctors back the new service and claim it will reduce waiting lists and free up appointments for those most in need.

But charities and patient groups are worried that serious medical problems will be missed as a result of consultants not seeing patients face-to-face.

The Consultant Connect service is the latest initiative to try to reduce the number of hospital outpatients appointments, which cost the NHS 200 a time.

It is already in place in 44 of the 207 Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGS)  local health boards  in England alongside 31 hospital trusts, serving a total of 12 million patients.

Last month the Mail revealed how GPs in certain areas of the country were being told to seek approval from a panel of doctors before referring patients to clinics, although a patients GP will retain responsibility and make the final decisions.

And on Thursday, we disclosed that half of GPs say they want to close their lists to new patients so they can provide safe care to those already on their books.

The British Medical Association, which organised the survey of GPs, accused ministers of failing to give enough cash to doctors overwhelmed by ever greater demand on their services.

The Consultant Connect service is run by a private company and CCGs pay a set fee to sign up. Its own data claims it can reduce avoidable referrals to outpatient clinics by around 67 per cent.

The cost-saving initiative is being quietly rolled out across the country to try to cut the number of patients referred to outpatients clinics (stock image)

But Margaret Jeal, acting chairman for the charity Action for Sick Children, said: A lot depends on whether the specialist asks the right question and the GP interprets the symptoms correctly.

If this doesnt happen, youll get children with serious conditions slipping through the net.

Tom Gentry, of the charity Age UK, said: We know geriatricians can take so much from a face-to-face meeting that they dont get from notes.

When identifying frailty, they use this phrase, You know it when you see it.

Just doing things over the phone misses those subtleties.

We also know from older people that its very important to them that they see a specialist in person to discuss what might be a range of quite complex problems.

In a trial of the system in Sunderland, 22 per cent of patients avoided an unnecessary referral, while in one West Midlands CCG, the number of outpatient referrals dropped by 6 per cent over a three-month period.

In Bath, where the service has been running since December 2015, more than 1,600 patients have been saved a hospital attendance, at a cost saving of 711,000 to local commissioning groups.

Dr Charles Bodmer, consultant endocrinologist at Colchester General Hospital, in Essex, where the system was introduced in 2015, said many patients did not need to see a specialist.

Before, we would get referral letters from GPs about things that we felt we didnt need to see the patient for, he said. What we end up telling patients in clinics is often what we could have told them months beforehand over the phone.

But Dr Bodmer added that not all consultants were in favour. Some dont want to be part of it, he said. Theres a cohort who dont like giving advice without seeing the patient. The advice I give depends on relying on a clinical assessment the GP has made so I have to trust that.

Dr Kathryn Patrick, a GP in Yeovil, Somerset, said that having a direct line to an expert could save lives.

She described one case where a patient turned up at her surgery with a possible minor heart complaint and she was able to send his ECG directly to a cardiologist  who asked him to go to hospital for an assessment.

Jonathan Patrick, chief executive of Consultant Connect, said: We are not saying were a panacea in every case; there are times when an appointment with a specialist, or a hospital admission, is the only option.

But there is anxiety when a patient doesnt know whats wrong with them, and has to wait for a hospital appointment. If you can have your mind put at rest on the spot, for some patients that will be preferable.

A consultant can often glean more about the subtleties of a patients condition from a phone call than from an emailed referral from a GP.

As a patient I dont want anyone to gamble with my health and patients who need referrals will still get them.
Sea salt harvested from oceans around the world and a favourite of discerning cooks is contaminated with plastic, scientists have found.

Tiny pieces of the material have been found in sea salt on sale in the UK, Europe, the US and China.

It confirms that plastic litter reaching oceans is being broken down and getting in to our food.

Previous studies have found that fish such as cod, as well as shellfish and crustaceans including scampi caught off the British coast, contain plastic particles.

Tiny pieces of plastic have been found in sea salt on sale in Europe, US and China (stock image)

Researchers believe the majority of the contamination comes from microfibres and single-use plastics such as bottles.

Sherri Mason, a professor at the State University of New York at Fredonia, said: Not only are plastics pervasive in our society in terms of daily use, but they are pervasive in the environment. She said plastics are ubiquitous, in the air, water, the seafood we eat, the beer we drink, the salt we use  plastics are just everywhere.

Professor Mason collaborated with researchers at the University of Minnesota to examine microplastics in salt, beer and drinking water.Her research looked at 12 kinds of salt, including ten sea salts from around the world that are sold in US grocery stores.

Many contained plastic and her findings suggest Americans could be ingesting upwards of 660 particles of plastic every year, according to a draft of her report seen by the Guardian. It is believed that once plastics enter the sea they become a magnet for toxins and pollutants. However, there is an absence of research on the effects of eating them on human health.

Scientists first found plastics in salt in China in 2015. Microscopic particles from face scrubs, cosmetics, and plastic bottles were found in samples of 15 salt products in Chinese grocery stores. Earlier this year, scientists from France, the UK and Malaysia tested 17 types of salt from eight countries. All but one contained tiny plastic particles. Following a Daily Mail campaign, Britain has announced a ban on the use of plastic microbeads in products such as face scrubs.

Environment Secretary Michael Gove is investigating the introduction of a deposit and refund scheme for plastic bottles. Earlier this week, the Scottish Government said it will press ahead with a deposit and refund scheme on bottles in a scheme similar to those operating in Germany and Scandinavia.

Research from the University of Plymouth also found that more than one in three fish caught by trawler in the English Channel, including cod, haddock and mackerel, contained plastic particles.

Meanwhile, studies by experts at the University of Exeter have found that the entire food chain of sea creatures  from zooplankton through to crustaceans or copepods, mussels, crabs, lobster and fish  have effectively become contaminated by microplastics.
Millions of Australians watched the incredible bond between a brother and a sister on an emotional journey.

Samuel Johnson, 38, devoted the last few years of his life to his big sister, Connie, 40, who passed away after a long terminal cancer battle on Friday.

The pair created a charity, Love Your Sister, which over the years raised $5 million for cancer research and continues to 'go bananas at the prospect of swearing cancer to death'.

Millions of Australians watched the incredible bond between siblings Connie (right) and Samuel (left) Johnson

Ms Johnson's emotional cancer journey with Mr Johnson by her side touched millions of hearts

Ms Johnson (pictured) died in hospice on Friday after a terminal battle with cancer

Much to his sister's surprise, Mr Johnson quit his 25-year acting career, where he won a Gold Logie, to work on the charity full time.

Sharing the touching news to the charity's Facebook page last year, Mr Johnson said he couldn't work while his sister was battling cancer.

'I cannot play pretend on telly while our families are falling,' he wrote.

'[Now] I can be a part of the new moonshot and help kick cancer in the face-hole once and for all.'

However, his sister sternly quipped back with the same playful humour Australians came to love, telling him to wash his mouth out with soap.

'Did you think about this? Were you drunk? There's no rule against you talking to me before you make such a big decision,' Ms Johnson replied.

Mr Johnson, 38, devoted the last few years of his life to his big sister, who always had a close bond (both pictured when younger)

Mr Johnson quit his 25-year acting career, where he won a Gold Logie, to work on the sibling's charity Love Your Sister full time

Ms Johnson has two young sons, Willoughby, 10, and Hamilton, 9, and husband Mike (pictured together)

'You and your tanties, you should've grown out of them by now silly.'

Since creating the Love Your Sister foundation the pair raised millions through a number of fundraisers, including the iconic unicycle ride across Australia.

'Connie's naughty little brother' famously road a unicycle for 364 days in 2014 to remind 'young mums to check their boobs', raising almost $1.5 million for cancer research.

The Gold Logie winner, who is famously known for his role as 'Molly', dedicated his award to his sister, chocking back tears as he asked Australians to donate to the charity.

Mr Johnson dedicated his Gold Logie award to his sister, chocking back tears as he asked Australians to donate to the charity

'Connie's naughty little brother' (left) famously road a unicycle for 364 days in 2014 to raise money for cancer research

Mr Johnson declared he wouldn't rest until $10 million was raised for the charity

More than $5 million has been raised by the two siblings since they began the journey

Mr Johnson declared he wouldn't rest until $10 million was raised.

In tune with the public cancer journey the inseparable siblings shared, Mr Johnson wrote an admirable thank you letter to his big sister 'Little Miss Connie Cottonsocks' a few months before she died in hospice.

'Thanks for teaching me that now can still be awesome, even when you've so nearly run out of now and have no more real awesome left,' he wrote.

'I wish I could soften your pain, or lessen you fear, or give you something tangible, but tangible clearly isn't in season.

'I'm proud to walk you to the hardest part of the road. The end. The only part of the road in your life that must sadly be traveled alone,' Mr Johnson wrote in a letter to his big sister

'Thanks for holding my hand along the way. It's been a stunning f***ing ride. I want another turn,' Mr Johnson wrote

Hours before Ms Johnson passed away Friday, she was visited by the Governor General who gave her The Order of Australia medal

'I'm proud to walk you to the hardest part of the road. The end. The only part of the road in your life that must sadly be traveled alone.

'Thanks for holding my hand along the way. It's been a stunning f***ing ride. I want another turn.'

Ms Johnson leaves behind two young sons, Willoughby, 10, and Hamilton, 9, giving her brother 'Uncle Puddles' two very important jobs.

Hours before the warrior woman passed away Friday, Ms Johnson was visited by the Governor General who gave her The Order of Australia medal.

'Her eyes danced like when we were kids. She looked so alive,' the post read on the charity's Facebook page.

'Thanks to our new mate Pete Cosgrove, for making us all laugh in amoungst all the pomp.

'And kudos to our new Lady Cottonsocks, for being exactly who she is.'
One of the young bullies who tormented a South Australian teenager until she ended her own life had a relentless history of harassing her schoolmates.

A mother left devastated by the death of 13-year-old surf life saver Libby Bell has revealed how her daughter was also a victim of bullying - from one of the same children who drove the young girl to end her own life.

The mother who doesn't want to be named told Nine.com.au her 'heart dropped' when she heard of Libby's death on August 28.

Libby Bell, from Adelaide, was just 13 when she took her life last Monday after what her family believe was an attack of online and physical bullying

Friends and family (pictured) have gathered at the Moana Surf Life Saving Club, where Libby was an active member since 2013

Libby was a Year 8 student at Seaford Secondary School

The woman's daughter had been targeted for eight months during primary school. It was a campaign of terror which started with cruel texts from unknown numbers.

'She was told to kill herself, told no one likes you, everyone hates you, asked why are you still here? It was vicious.'

'My daughter was really proactive as far as blocking the contact, but it didn't help.'

The mother said the school did help her daughter as much as they could but when the threats continued and police would not lodge a complaint she decided to confront the bullies herself.

'I know what I did wasn't right but I didn't see another alternative and after that they completely left her alone.'

Libby was a Year 8 student at Seaford Secondary School.

Her distraught family have led tributes to their 'beautiful, friendly' girl and have urged parents to talk to their children about what they might be dealing with.

Clint Gow-Smith, Libby's uncle, said it was important for children to understand it is 'cool to speak up'.

'She had a million-dollar smile, her face lit up the room, she just had a beautiful smile  that was our Libster,' Mr Gow-Smith told Adelaide Now.

'We understand schoolyard behaviour and what starts off as pointless teasing and ridicule which can soon escalate. So please, as a parent, hold your babies tight and for the teenagers, we plead for you kids to talk and walk tall.'

'She had a million-dollar smile, her face lit up the room, she just had a beautiful smile,' Libby's uncle said

The teenager was allegedly filmed while being bullied at a fast food restaurant last year, one of many incidents her family believe led her to taking her own life.

While friends posted moving tributes to the outgoing young lifesaver, a family friend has started a GoFundMe for the Bell family.

Friends and family have since gathered at the Moana Surf Life Saving Club, where Libby was an active member since 2013.

A shrine has been created in her memory, and Surf Life Saving SA chief executive Clare Harris paid tribute to a 'much loved and respected' girl.

'We are grieving the sudden and devastating loss of Libby,' she said.

'Staff and volunteers ... stand with her family, friends and our members as we pull together to support each other.'

The Education Department has said it had 'very strong' anti-bullying policies.

'It is really important that we are clear that bullying does have consequences,' said child development executive director Ann-Marie Hayes.

A shrine has been created in her memory at the life saving club (pictured)

For confidential support call, please contact Lifeline: 13 11 14 and www.lifeline.org.au

Kids helpline: 1800 55 1800 www.kidshelpline.com.au

Headspace: 1800 650 890 www.headspace.org.au
The deputy to White House chief of staff John Kelly has allegedly annoyed Trump aides with her no-nonsense attitude and 'lack of collegiality'.

In a report published by Politico, Kirstjen Nielsen has made it clear from the beginning that her demeanor is hardworking and strict, and she expects those she works with to follow suit.

'Gatekeepers are generally not beloved,' Jonathan Hoffman, assistant secretary of public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security, told Politico. 'But that's why it's an important job.'

Kirstjen Nielsen, the deputy to White House chief of staff John Kelly (pictured together, August 2017), has allegedly annoyed Trump aides with her 'lack of collegiality'

Nielsen has been under Kelly's wing for years. When he headed the Department of Homeland Security, she served as Kelly's chief of staff before being brought to the White House (pictured together, August 2017)

Nielsen has been under Kelly's wing for years. When he headed the Department of Homeland Security, she served as Kelly's chief of staff.

And when President Donald Trump named Kelly to succeed Reince Priebus as chief of staff, the four-star general brought along Nielsen, who holds degrees from Georgetown University and the University of Virginia Law School.

According to Politico, 'more than 10 senior administration officials and outside advisers' have said they believe Nielsen has been brought in to 'clean up all the messes'.

For example, Nielsen sends out emails announcing internal policy and planning meetings that now contain a stern warning that any subordinates who disclose private information will be immediately ejected.

And it's this attitude that has her described as being 'dismissive and lacking in collegiality'.

'These people worry that Nielsen - who now occupies former chief strategist Steve Bannon's old office - is at risk of squandering the morale boost that accompanied the arrival of the four-star general and the hope for a fresh start,' Politico reported.

Nielsen, for instance, 'routinely cancels meetings with senior officials if someone shows up late' and 'phone calls often go unreturned', Politico reported.

She also allegedly 'controls time with Kelly the same way Kelly is seeking to control time with President Donald Trump - staffers who linger too long in the chief of staff's office are interrupted and hurried along'.

Many likened Nielsen to Nurse Ratched the cold, heartless nurse who presides over a mental hospital in the 1962 novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, as well as the 1975 film.

Nielsen (pictured, August 2017) reportedly 'routinely cancels meetings with senior officials if someone shows up late' and 'phone calls often go unreturned' and many worry this will 'squander a morale boost' in the White House

Many likened Nielsen to Nurse Ratched the cold, heartless nurse who presides over a mental hospital in the 1962 novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, as well as the 1975 film (played by Louise Fletcher, left, seen with co-star Jack Nicholson)

While Nielsen may have the backing of Kelly, she has apparently failed to establish a personal relationship with the president (pictured, Thursday), something Trump advisers say is a misstep in understanding how the structure around him functions

While Nielsen may have the backing of Kelly, she has apparently failed to establish a personal relationship with the president, something Trump advisers say is a misstep in understanding how the structure around him functions.

However, many in the president's administration dismissed this criticism and presented her as a welcome addition to the White House.

'Kirstjen is a great addition to the White House and has been helpful in bringing fresh perspective and new structure to the team,' White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told Politico.

And Counselor Kellyanne Conway told the publication:'She's hardly parachuted into the White House uninitiated.'

'She's been the chief's chief at DHS for the first six months of this administration, when many of the major issues like the travel ban, wall construction, ICE, FEMA and DACA, were running through that Cabinet department.'

And while she may not have 'expected nor sought' her new position, Conway says that like General Kelly, Nielsen is 'motivated by duty, honor and country'.
A foster father in Cairns has been jailed for sexually abusing a six-year-old girl who was in his care.

The 41-year-old man, who is not named to protect the child, was found guilty of 12 offences at Cairns District Court on Thursday.

The abuse came to light after police raided the mans home last September, uncovering a cache of child pornography, including a 55-second video and pictures he took of the six-year-old girl while he sexually abused her.

Details of the horrific acts he performed on the girl were discussed in court as Judge Judge Brian Harrison declared it as 'one of the most serious examples of a breach of trust that I have ever seen'.

A 41-year-old man was found guilty of sexual abuse offences at Cairns District Court on Thursday

'You so callously and so cruelly abused that trust that was placed in you by authorities and took advantage of her for your own sexual gratification,' Judge Harrison said, according to the Cairns Post.

The man and his then-fiance were registered foster carers when they began caring for the girl and her two sisters in early 2016, the court heard.

Crown prosecutor Rebecca Christiansen said the man later admitted to police he had been sexually attracted to young girls since he was a teenager.

The man and his then-fiance were registered foster carers when they began caring for the girl and her two sisters in early 2016 (stock image)

Police also found more than 6700 pornographic images, many of which featured children, in the home in Cairns' southern suburbs.

One image also contained acts of bestiality.

Police located the man after he had shared some of the material online.

Ms Christiansen said the former foster father tired to shift the blame for his actions onto the child during a police interview, and showed a 'lack of remorse'.

'This was a high level gross abuse of trust. It will have a significant long and short-term affect on the child,' she said.

He was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in jail but will be eligible for parole in November next year.
A leading Jewish activist believes the ground-breaking prosecution of three anti-Islam protesters for religious vilification will only breathe life into their far-right movements.

Avi Yemini has spoken out over the cases of leading white nationalist figures Blair Cottrell, Chris Shortis and Neil Erikson, who were convicted of inciting serious contempt, revulsion and ridicule of Muslim people.

The trio caused uproar after beheading a dummy during a protest opposing plans for a mosque to be built in Bendigo, Victoria.

Jewish Activist Avi Yemini has spoken out over the cases of three leading white nationalist figures who were convicted of inciting serious contempt and ridiculing Muslim people

Australia First candidate Chris Shortis (pictured) alongside two other men caused uproar after beheading a dummy during a protest opposing plans for a mosque to be built in Bendigo, Victoria

They became the first people to be convicted Victoria's Racial and Religious Tolerance Act since its introduction in 2001, The Australian reported.

But Mr Yemini has slammed the decision to take the men to court, believing the result will only increase support for such movements.

'Instead of debating the issues with these people, we are just trying to shut them down, we are trying to lock them up or take them to court,' Mr Yemini said.

'It is so stupid. The fact they went through the courts has just gained them so much more support.'

The men had previously taken to Facebook to share hateful material before the content was removed but the former Israeli Army Officer believes taking away their free speech will only worsen the problem as they go 'underground.'

'That is the danger; not when Blair has a microphone or is saying it on his Facebook page. There is a danger in shutting down free speech and we are at the beginning of it. The only way to combat the alt-right in Australia is to let them have their say.'

The three men, including Blair Cottrell (left) and Neil Erikson (right) had previously taken to Facebook to share hateful material before the content was removed but the former Israeli Army Officer believes taking away their free speech will only worsen the problem as they go 'underground.'

Mr Yemini has slammed the decision to take the men to court, believing the result will only increase support for such movements

And his fear the case could be used as a catalyst was vindicated as the three men received strong support in court from fellow alt-right leading figures including Australia First Party chairman Jim Saleam.

Despite Reclaim Australia founder Catherine Brennan's normally distant approach, she contacted the men personally on the day of their conviction to reveal her concern.

The convictions will not deter the political activities of the three accused with Australia First candidate Mr Shortis still able to run for Senate.

The three men are expected to appeal the decision.
A crane tipped over and crashed into an Atlanta home Thursday while residents were inside and split the property in two.

Operators were using the machinery to remove an oak tree from their backyard at the 1100 block of Alexandria Court in Brookhaven.

Andy and Suzanne Williams, who were inside the home at the time, were able to escape and no one was injured, but their home completely destroyed, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

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Photo shows picture of the Brookhaven home before a crane split it in half

A crane crashed into an Atlanta home Thursday in the 1100 block of Alexandria Court

A crew was using the crane to remove an oak tree from the backyard

Residents were in the home at the time of the accident but were able to escape unharmed

Andy and Suzanne Williams were able to escape without injuries

Channel 2 Action News said the accident occurred because the crane had been carrying too much weight on one of its ends.

'The structural wall runs through the center of the house and came to the left of it. We will figure out if the wall is still intact, that will be the big question mark,' Andy Williams told the news station.

'The most important thing is that we got out of the house alive, and we're very grateful and we thank God, for sure, for taking care of it,' Suzanne Williams added.

Neighbors in the area and miles away said they were able to hear the alarming crash Thursday.

The crane company told the family it will finance the damages and rebuild their home, if need be.

It reportedly took three other cranes to remove the one from the damaged home.

'The most important thing is that we got out of the house alive, and we're very grateful and we thank God, for sure, for taking care of it,' Suzanne Williams told Channel 2

It took three other cranes to remove the crane from the damaged home
William Tyrrell may be one of the country's highest profile unsolved missing children cases, but there are concerns the million-dollar reward won't see justice.

A former police chief told Daily Telegraph the government's plans to boost cold case payment rewards wouldn't catch any more criminals.

With hundreds of families wanting answers, former police assistant commissioner John Laycock said increasing unsolved homicide cases to $1 million wouldn't solve the murders.

A former police chief revealed monetary rewards don't solve cold case homicides of those including William Tyrrell (left) and Matthew Leveson (right)

Former police assistant commissioner John Laycock said increasing unsolved homicide cases to $1 million wouldn't solve cold cases

William Tyrrell's (pictured) reward of $1 million is the highest in NSW and is still unclaimed

Mr Laycock told the publication rewards were a publicity tool and history had shown rewards hardly solve murder crimes, with no cases being paid out since 2013.

More than $22 million throughout 233 cold cases are unclaimed including the $1 million reward for William and a $250,000 reward for Matthew Leveson.

However, Mr Leveson's parents Mark and Faye Leveson said they had to 'beg' for the reward in their son's unsolved case to be increased to a quarter-of-a-million.

Ms Leveson believes more cold cases could be cracked if higher rewards were offered.

'As people's relationships change and they break down, somebody who knows something might think 'I'll get back, I'll go to the police with information',' she told 2GB radio last month.

Mr Laycock said history had shown rewards hardly solve murder crimes, with no cases being paid out since 2013

However, Matthew Leveson's mother Faye Leveson (pictured) believes more cold cases could be cracked if higher rewards were offered

'Even if it just solved one case, that's the one family, it's worth it,' Ms Leveson said last month

'Even if it just solved one case, that's the one family, it's worth it.'

With Victoria and South Australia already offering rewards in line with a criminal's penalty, NSW could follow suit.

Opposition Leader Luke Foley said Labor would introduce legislation to allow $1 million rewards for cold cases that result in a maximum jail sentences, reported Daily Telegraph.
Only three months ago Sydney's hottest socialite couple were embroiled in an ugly court battle.

But now Anthony Bell and Kelly Landry have been spotted together for the first time since the bitter AVO legal feud.

The pair seemed to be enjoying the warm spring day in Sydney with their two young daughters, Thea, three, and Charlize, five, on Saturday.

Only three months after Anthony Bell and Kelly Landry were embroiled in an ugly court battle, they have been spotted in public for the first time (pictured Saturday)

The pair seemed to be enjoying their spring day out in Sydney with their two young daughters

Ms Landry was sporting a relaxed hair style matched with a set of simple earrings (pictured)

The former Getaway presenter was wearing a flowing blush blue dress and light tan cardigan

Ms Landry, 38, was seen pushing a double seated pram while Mr Bell, 45, walked beside her

Laughing in the sunshine, Ms Landry, 38, was seen pushing a double seated pram while Mr Bell walked beside her carrying a small orange toy bike.

The mother-of-two was sporting a long, flowing, blush blue dress which appeared to be blown in the bay side breeze.

The former Getaway presenter also wore casual white canvas shoes and a tan coloured knit cardigan.

Ms Landry's long hair was worn out in a relaxed style paired with a pair of tortoise shell sunglasses, simple stud earrings and a small black cross body handbag.

The mother-of-two seemed to be all smiles while the young family enjoyed the sunshine

Ms Landry was spotted holding a newspaper in the company of Mr Bell and their daughters

Mr Bell was spotted walking with one of his daughter's small orange toy bikes (pictured)

The family outing was complete young daughters, Thea, three, and Charlize, five

Mr Bell appeared to be feeding his daughter while wearing a casual Puma track suit ensemble

The young family were spotted taking a casual stroll, with Mr Bell dressed for the occasion in a grey hooded Puma jumper, loose black Puma track pants and a pair of navy blue Nike runners and navy blue cap.

Ms Landry and Mr Bell shared some laughter over a relaxing lunch at an outdoor eatery, the mother-of-two with a folded newspaper in one hand.

The 45-year-old father was even seen helping feed one of his young daughters.
The tomb was discovered along with a number of others by an Egyptian archaeological mission led by Mostafa Waziri

In a gala ceremony held in Draa Abul-Naga necropolis on Luxor's West Bank on Saturday, Minister of Antiquities Khaled El-Enany announced the discovery of an 18th Dynasty tomb of god Amun-Res goldsmith, Amenemhat (Kampp 390), and a Middle Kingdom burial shaft for a family.

Luxor Governor Mohamed Badr attended the ceremony as well as members of parliament, the Greek and Cypriot ambassadors to Egypt, as well as China's cultural attache and the Swiss head of mission.

The discovery was made by an Egyptian archaeological mission led by Mostafa Waziri. The newly discovered tomb includes an entrance located in the courtyard of another Middle Kingdom tomb, Kampp 150.

The entrance leads to a squared chamber where a niche with a duo statue depicting the tomb owner and his wife is found on one end. The statue shows Amenemhat sitting on a high backed chair beside his wife who wears a long dress and wig.

Between their legs stands, on a smaller scale, a small figure of one of their sons. Waziri told Ahram Online that the tomb has two burial shafts: the main one for the tombs owner and his wife.

It is seven metres deep and has a collection of mummies, sarcophagi and funerary masks carved in wood along with a collection of ushabti figurines.

The second shaft was uncovered to the left of the tombs main chamber and bears a collection of 21st and 22nd dynasty sarcophagi subject to deterioration during the Late Period.

In the open courtyard, the mission stumbled upon a collection of Middle Kingdom burial shafts, where a family burial of a woman and her two children was unearthed. It includes of two wooden coffins with mummies and a collection of head-rests.

Osteologist Sherine Ahmed Shawqi, who studied the mummies bones, explains that early studies on these mummies show that the woman died at the age of 50 and that during her life she was suffering from cavities that led to abscesses in her jaw and a bacterial disease in her bones.

"This woman probably cried extensively as the size of her carbuncular are abnormally enlarged," Shawqi said, adding that inside the coffin the head-rest of the deceased woman was found as well as a group of pottery vessels.

Studies on the mummies of her two children show that they were two adult males of age ranging between 20 to 30 years old. Both mummies are in a very good state of conservation with the bones still having mummification liquids.

Waziri asserted that one of the male mummies shows that he was suffering from cavities during his life while the second shows that it was probably put later in the same coffin because the bones were bare.

Archaeologist Mohamed Baabash, who is a member of the excavation team, said that during excavations the mission stumbled upon several funerary objects, some of which belong to the tomb owner.

Among the discovered artifacts are limestone remains of an offering table; four wooden sarcophagi partly damaged and decorated with hieroglyphic text and scenes of different ancient Egyptian deities; and a sandstone duo statue of a trader in King Tuthmose IIIs temple named Mah.

A collection of 150 ushabti figurines carved in faience, wood, burned clay, limestone and mud brick was also unearthed. The mission also unearthed a collection of 50 funerary cones, 40 of which are evidence of the presence of other tombs belonging to four officials.

The exact location of the latter has not been yet found. These officials are Maati, Bengy, Rourou and vizier Ptahmes. The other stamps belong to Neb-Amun, the grain harvester and supervisor of Amun's grain storehouses, whose tomb is probably TT145, and Nebsenu, the high priest of Amun whose tomb is probably Kampp 143.

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Incredible footage filmed from an airplane flying high in the sky shows the unique and mesmerizing aerial view of Hurricane Irma.

The video shows massive-sized clouds shaped in a circular motion showcasing the eye of the powerful Category 5 storm.

The 43-second long clip was shared to a Twitter page belonging to Air Force Reserve on Friday afternoon and has already been shared thousands of times.

The tweet was captioned: 'Incredible view of #hurricaneirma from #ReserveCitizenAirmen Capt. Phil Blancher. @USAFReserve Hurricane Hunters will fly 'til landfall.'

Stunning: Incredible footage filmed from the inside of an airplane flying high in the sky shows the unique aerial view of Category 5 Hurricane Irma

The video shows massive-sized clouds shaped in a circular motion showcasing the eye of the powerful storm

The 43-second long clip was shared to a Twitter page belonging to Air Force Reserve on Friday afternoon and has already been shared thousands of times

The largest evacuation in US history is underway as more than 5.6million people have been ordered to leave Florida before Hurricane Irma strikes the Sunshine State.

The state's Gov. Rick Scott urged people who had not left yet to leave as soon as possible on Friday. He warned those who plan to stay, that they may have to ride out the dangerous storm at their own risk.

He explained that the biggest concern with the powerful hurricane is the predicted storm surge that will come along with the lashing winds and heavy rains.

Andrew Sussman, the state's hurricane program manager, said Friday the total of those urged to flee Florida includes people throughout the southern half of the state as well as those living in inland Florida in substandard housing.

Florida is the nation's third-largest state with nearly 21million people according to the U.S. Census.

Meteorologists expect the powerful hurricane to hit the Sunshine State on Sunday.

As of Friday night, the hurricane is moving west at 12 mph and located 345 miles southeast of Miami and is now a Category 5 storm.

Florida's Gov. Rick Scott urged people who had not left yet to leave as soon as possible on Friday. He warned those who plan to stay, that they may have to ride out the dangerous storm at their own risk. Above an empty road is pictured in Key Largo, Florida on Friday

Hurricane Irma made landfall in Camaguey archipelago, just off the northern coast of Cuba, around 11.10pm ET. This is the first Category 5 storm to hit the island since 1924.

The outer bands of the hurricane reached the U.S. late Friday night with south Florida and the Keys experiencing increased rain and wind speeds.

'Obviously Hurricane Irma continues to be a threat that is going to devastate the United States,' Brock Long, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), said at a press conference Friday morning. 'We're going to have a couple rough days.'

The storm was first downgraded from a Category 5 to a Category 4 earlier on Friday morning.

But as of Friday night, it is back again to being a Category 5 and will be the fourth Category 5 that has hit US mainland.

Hundreds of people gather in an emergency shelter at the Miami-Dade County Fair Expo Center in Miami, Florida on Friday

Government officials along with the National Hurricane Center have cautioned that Irma is 'extremely dangerous' with maximum sustained winds of 155 mph. That's strong enough to bring down power poles, uproot trees and rip the roofs off of homes.

Apocalyptic scenes played out across the Sunshine State, as millions of people fled Hurricane Irma's wrath.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott advised for residents in the southern coastal evacuation areas to leave by midnight.

'If you are planning to leave and do not leave tonight, you will have to ride out this extremely dangerous storm at your own risk,' Scott said at a Friday press conference.

He also urged residents on the Gulf Coast to take evacuation orders seriously since Irma's path has moved slightly west.

'You are not going to survive this if it happens,' Scott said. 'Now is the time to evacuate.'
Eric Garner died three years ago after police officers arrested him for selling untaxed cigarettes

The New York City Civilian Complaint Review Board has asked the NYPD to discipline a police officer they say is responsible for Eric Garner's death in Staten Island three years ago.

Letters written to both Garner's family and the NYPD have been sent informing each party of CCRB long-awaited decision, according to an anonymous source who spoke to The NY Daily News.

In 2014, Garner was arrested for illegally selling untaxed cigarettes.

Footage of the incident showed police officer Daniel Pantaleo use a banned chokehold technique on Garner to bring him down and make an arrest.

But as officers swarmed on Garner, he repeatedly stated that he couldn't breathe, and he ultimately suffocated to death.

Officer Daniel Pantaleo (pictured) used a banned choke hold technique on Garner used to bring him down to the pavement and make an arrest

Footage posted to the internet of the incident stoked outrage across the US, with many complaining that the authorities had used disproportional in order to arrest Garner.

'This is just more evidence as to why the federal government should bring civil rights charges against this officer,' said Rev. Al Sharpton said to Attorney General Jeff Sessions during a spring meeting.

'This is all the more reason why this officer should be fired,' he added.

The Attorney General did not offer comment on CCRB's decision Friday, according to The Daily News.

A federal grand jury still weighing charges in the case, while Department of Justice met with the Garner family in June.

Esaw Garner, wife of Eric Garner, joins protesters demanding further action against the police officers responsible in the death of Garner

Gwen Carr, the mother of Eric Garner, joins activists, community leaders and other family members who have lost loved ones in incidents involving the New York City Police Department

'The NYPD is aware that the Executive Board of CCRB has elected to move forward with their findings and recommendations pertaining to the actions of Officer Pantaleo,' an NYPD spokesman said via email.

'The New York City Police Department will not proceed with any internal disciplinary proceedings, at the request of the Department of Justice and due to their ongoing investigation.'

A spokesperson for New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio expressed empathy with the Garner family, but said it was necessary to respect the judicial process.

'The death of Eric Garner was tragic, and the investigative process has been understandably painful and trying for his family and loved ones,' said De Blasio spokesman Austin Finan.

A mourner places a candle at a memorial for Eric Garner, who died while being arrested by New York City police, in Staten Island

'Still, the Mayor has consistently said the Administration will respect the Department of Justice's request and afford it time to complete its investigation. If it should decline to bring charges against Officer Pantaleo, the NYPD is prepared to pursue departmental charges.'

Stuart London, who is representing Pantaleo, said that the CCRB made their decision without speaking with his client.

'It is highly irregular  and a violation of my client's due process rights  for charges to be substantiated without speaking to the subject of the investigation,' London said.
Daniel Coverley, who is 150cm tall, with blue eyes and brown hair disappeared from Lyndhurst Crescent in Box Hill North on September 5

Police fear for a 16-year-old boy who went missing in Melbourne four days ago.

Daniel Coverley, who is 150cm tall, with blue eyes and brown hair disappeared from Lyndhurst Crescent in Box Hill North on September 5.

Police have now released a photograph of the teenager in the hope he may have been seen.

The young man is known to frequent the city's eastern suburbs.

Anyone who sees him is urged to call Box Hill Police Station on 03 8892 3200.

Police have concerns for his welfare due to his age and he requires medication.
Meet Jason Lynch.

For 33 years the charismatic man from Darwin in Australia's Top End enjoyed a physical lifestyle, backpacking around the world and enjoying the great outdoors.

This all stopped suddenly when he was diagnosed with dystonia.

A debilitating illness which he had never heard of until the day his neck started lurching sideways in painful spasms he had no way of controlling.

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Jason Lynch, 33, enjoyed a physical lifestyle before being struck down by dystonia

The illness is a neurological disorder that causes muscles to contract or spasm involuntarily

Since that day the once energetic traveler has had to give up many of his great loves, kayaking, hiking, exploring.

The physical toll on his mind and body has prompted him to raise awareness for the disease which has dramatically reshaped his life.

He has done that with a confronting video.

The video shows the 33-year-old's head jerking violently to the right.

A physiotherapist's voice can be heard behind the camera as the young man stands head twitching, following her instructions.

The imagery is powerful but it is the subtitles, written in Jason's own words, which show the heartache evident in his story,

'My name is Jason, and this is dystonia,' the captions read through involuntary head movements.

Jason has shared a confronting video with the hope of raising awareness of the illness

The heartrbreaking video shows Jason struggling with everyday activities because of his illness

'I'd never heard of it, my life and body were normal and healthy only a month ago.

'It's relentless and debilitating at its worst.

'I am only 33 years old, now faced with a movement disorder. There's no cure'.

The heartbreaking video was posted on June 6, 2017.

'I don't want my reality to be pictures of memories, but most of all I just want the Dystonia to stop,' he said.

After the video flicks through his treasured memories it opens on another confronting scene.

A Go Fund Me page has been set up for Jason to raise money for his treatment and care

Jason can be seen struggling with his dystonia while trying to eat a bowl of cereal at the table.

He appears to get frustrated as he tries to stop the involuntary jerks with his hand and shoulder before giving in and putting his spoon down.

Dystonia is a neurological disorder that causes muscles to contract or spasm involuntarily.

A Go Fund Me page has been set up for Jason to raise money for treatment and care not covered by the Australian health system.

Lucy Arnott, who set up the page, wrote Jason's condition requires 'specialised and often experimental treatment'.

'Jason is a ridiculously unique, resilient, positive person and is not taking this lying down.

Jason requires specialised and 'often experimental treatment' costing in excess of $100,000

'He would probably hate this being said, but it is genuinely inspiring to watch the way he's dealing with what he's up against.'

As part of Jason's treatment international trips are being planned, inlcuding visits to the United States, Canada and South Korea to see specialists.

The cost of those trips is expected to be more than $50,000.

Jason himself posted an update on the page saying watching the videos of him struggling with his illness was 'gut-wrenching'.

Jason said the fundraising effort was also about generating awareness and to help other sufferers

'There's a huge amount of anxiety and regretfulness with putting myself out here, and going ahead with this.'

He said the fundraising effort was as much about generating awareness for dystonia and to help other sufferers.

So far the page has raised more than $21,000 of a $100,000 goal.
The son of Virgin billionaire Richard Branson is heading to the devastated British Virgin Islands as he prepares for the 'harrowing' experience of seeing his home in ruins.

In an appeal three days after Hurricane Irma smashed into the overseas territory where his father owns an island, Sam Branson said simply: 'If you have boats, then please get them to the BVI.'

The islands' governor, Gus Jaspert, said there had been devastating damage and 'reports of casualties and fatalities' following the storm.

He added: 'I am truly heartbroken by this news. May God bless and protect the territory and our people.'

In an appeal three days after Hurricane Irma smashed into the overseas territory where his father owns an island, Sam Branson said simply: 'If you have boats, then please get them to the BVI'

Sam shows a pile of suitcases and boxes packed with food and clothing that he is planning to take to the islands - one of which, Necker, is owned by his father - today

The hurricane has left apocalyptic scenes behind it in the Caribbean, killing 24 so far, and causing enormous levels of destruction in St Martin, Barbuda and others.

Richard said early this morning that there 'needs to be an enormous aid effort' after the island was 'decimated', as the British Government's relief effort begins.

He branded Irma 'the storm of the century', but also warned about Category 4 Hurricane Jose, which is following in its wake.

As a consequence of Jose, the entire island of Barbuda - 'except for a few persons who resisted the call' - has been evacuated, its prime minister said.

Barbuda, a tiny island of about 1,600 residents, was one of the most severely impacted when the eye of the hurricane passed over it on Wednesday, destroying telecommunication systems and cell towers.

According to Prime Minister Gaston Browne, the storm damaged about 90 percent of the buildings, leaving the nation 'literally a rubble'.

Richard Branson, discussing the British Virgin Islands, said: 'The boats are piled up like matchsticks in the harbour. Huge cargo ships were thrown out of the water and into rocks. Resorts have been decimated.

'The houses have their roofs blown off; even some churches where people sheltered have lost roofs. But the whole British Virgin Islands community is rallying round.'

In a video posted to his Instagram account, his son Sam explains that he has spent a 'very long day' organising to fly back to the BVI with supplies.

Richard Branson said: 'The boats are piled up like matchsticks in the harbour. Huge cargo ships were thrown out of the water and into rocks. Resorts have been decimated.' Pictured: A car flipped by the storm

Huge stretches of the British Virgin islands were destroyed in the savage storm. Pictured: A boat overturned by the winds

Devastation: A Jeep that has been smashed up by the storm stands idle in front of a flipped boat

Downing Street, meanwhile, said it was waiting for 'a full picture of intelligence to come through' of the Caribbean, adding: 'Three flights departed this morning carrying marines and engineers as part of the MoD task force'

Wreckage: Many boats on the islands have been destroyed by the storm

He shows a pile of suitcases and boxes packed with food and clothing that he is planning to take to the islands - one of which, Necker, is owned by his father - today.

Sam, a photographer, explains: 'Going to do my best to help the people on the ground there.'

In an appeal to boat owners, he adds: 'Stock them with Tarpaulins, food, water, batteries, torches, clothes, water purification tablets and anything else you think might be useful.

'Going to be harrowing to see my home and so many others beloved place so decimated but will do all I can to get aid to the people that need it most!'

Here comes the cavalry: Members of 24 Commando Royal Engineers disembark with kit and supplies from a RAF C17 in response to Hurricane Irma on British Virgin Islands

The Government explained that the Department for International Development's disaster response centre was sending out supplies of aid to be loaded on to HMS Ocean as well as aircraft. Pictured: The troops on the ground in the BVI today

The first British troops were deployed to the Caribbean as part of the UK's humanitarian relief effort for British Overseas Territories

The above map shows Hurricane Irma's current projected path after it battered islands in the eastern Caribbean

Jose can be seen coming hot on the heels of Irma - with the British Virgin Islands set for more difficulties as it passes by

Hurricane Jose is expected to pass near or east of the northeastern Leeward Islands today and is currently threatening several islands that were seriously damaged by Hurricane Irma - including, potentially, the British Virgin Islands

From space: The deadly hurricane is now passing by Cuba's northern coast on its way to Florida

Paradise lost: This car has been flipped on its side and almost completely destroyed by the devastating winds of Hurricane Irma

On his blog, meanwhile, dad Richard - who spent the storm in his wine cellar while his island was devastated - said he and his team have been doing 'everything we can to help the community' in the BVI.

He said: 'The wonderful team have been going around to all of our team members on Virgin Gorda to check they are safe and well.

'There is a huge amount of damage to buildings, but fortunately everyone we have seen so far has been ok.

'There needs to be an enormous aid effort. Please get the word out to anyone who can help further. We have Necker Belle coming in from Barbados with food, water and supplies and we hear others are sending boats.'

Barbuda, a tiny island of about 1,600 residents, was one of the most severely impacted when the eye of the hurricane passed over it on Wednesday, destroying telecommunication systems and cell towers

According to Prime Minister Gaston Browne (left), the storm damaged about 90 percent of the buildings, leaving the nation 'literally a rubble'

Piles of debris are seen on Barbuda on Thursday, just days after the catastrophic storm destroyed most of the island

The storm killed one person on Barbuda - a two-year-old child - and flattened nearly 95 per cent of all structures

Hurricane Jose is expected to make landfall on the storm-ravaged Barbuda on Saturday, bringing winds of up to 150 mph

He also said that 'man-made climate change is contributing to increasingly strong hurricanes causing unprecedented damage,' adding: 'The whole world should be scrambling to get on top of the climate change issue before it is too late  for this generation, let alone the generations to come.'

Downing Street, meanwhile, said it was waiting for 'a full picture of intelligence to come through' of the Caribbean, adding: 'Three flights departed [yesterday] morning carrying marines and engineers as part of the MoD task force.'

A spokeswoman added: '[Today], another C17 will leave carrying two Puma helicopters. And the RFA Mounts Bay ship is due to arrive in the British Virgin Islands ... bringing aid and helicopters to help deliver supplies.'

The Government explained that the Department for International Development's disaster response centre was sending out supplies of aid to be loaded on to HMS Ocean, which has been diverted from the Mediterranean to head for the Caribbean to help with the disaster relief efforts.

Hurricane Irma smashed into the British Virgin Islands as a Category 5 storm before weakening to a Category 4 storm. It has now returned to a Category 5 storm as it heads to the USA via Cuba

Aftermath: The hurricane has so far killed at least 24 people across the Caribbean and laid waste to vast areas

Scenes of catastrophe have emerged in the aftermath of the deadly storm

The governor of the British Virgin Islands, Gus Jaspert, said there had been devastating damage and 'reports of casualties and fatalities' following the storm

Wipeout: Hundreds of vessels have been put out of commission by Irma, which is one of the most powerful storms to ever hit the Atlantic

The aid heading for HMS Ocean includes 10,000 buckets and 5,000 solar lanterns, the spokeswoman said.

Today, the Government pledged to match any donations made by the public to the British Red Cross appeal for Irma's victims.

Secretary of State for International Development Priti Patel said that for every 1 given to the scheme, the Government will add a pound - up to 3million.

The cash will go to the badly hit British Overseas Territories of Anguilla, British Virgin Islands and Turks and Caicos as well as to the wider region.

Priti Patel said: 'The overwhelming generosity of the UK public in times of crisis is one of the things that makes Britain truly great.

'This will help get water, food, shelter and power to those left devastated by Hurricane Irma.'

The pledge is in addition to 32million already put aside for the region by the Government.

One resident on the islands said his home has been absolutely destroyed - and with it most of his possessions.

Dan Perkins told MailOnline he was not on the islands when the storm hit, but has been told that about the damage done to his property.

He said: 'My house started at the top of the hill and ended up at the bottom of it, so I'm told.

'I now own pretty much what I took with me in my suitcase. I'm sure it will sink in soon, but right now we have to focus on the most important things - people who are missing and hurt.'

He added: 'It's just stuff at the end of the day.'

Miami (above) is no longer on track for a direct hit but because Irma is so large, it will still suffer storm surge and heavy wind

People are being evacuated from the parts of the state in buses. Those who cannot get out of far enough themselves are to take shelter in one of the dozens of centers being set up

Britons still in the path of Irma, meanwhile, have been warned that situation 'could deteriorate significantly' as it bears down on the US mainland.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has said its ability to provide assistance may be 'extremely limited' and advised those affected to make their own contingency plans.

More than six million people in Florida and Georgia have been warned to leave their homes as the hurricane continues to batter the north coast of Cuba.

Prime Minister Theresa May said work was taking place with US authorities to ensure British expats and tourists in Florida are protected as millions of locals and visitors flee to safety.

But the latest travel advice issued by the Government states: 'Across the United States, it is important that you follow the advice of the local authorities, including any evacuation orders.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has said its ability to provide assistance may be 'extremely limited' and advised those affected to make their own contingency plans

'The situation could deteriorate significantly. Our ability to provide assistance may be extremely limited.

'You should ensure you have your own contingency plans in place and consider your travel plans very carefully.'

Elsewhere, British tourists were returning to the UK from the Caribbean, having had their holidays cut short.

Thanai Caesar and Rochelle Fyffe were in Antigua when Irma struck.

'I feel like the hurricane itself was like being in a nightmare and it was just horrible because the outcome wasn't actually as bad as on other islands, so I don't even want to imagine what the other people felt,' she told Sky News at Gatwick Airport.

Elsewhere, British tourists were returning to the UK from the Caribbean, having had their holidays cut short. Pictured: Irma over Cuba

They said the walls of their boarded-up accommodation shook and they could hear things banging against the building outside.

'We couldn't sleep the whole night because we were just scared,' Ms Caesar said.

Shilan Ghafoor and Hari Jami, who returned early from their honeymoon in Barbuda, called for more help for locals braced for a second storm.

'To be honest it just makes you think because the people who are out there, they're so limited, they don't have enough resources, they don't have enough help and the hurricane has been three days now, four days, and now they're just picking up the pieces, they're anticipating another one,' Mr Ghafoor told Sky News.

'I think a lot more should be done from us worldwide to help them out.'

The Foreign Office has set up a hotline for people affected by the disaster and for people whose loved ones may be affected, on 020 7008 0000.
Former spy and and legendary thriller writer John Le Carre has compared the election of Donald Trump and Brexit to the rise of fascism in the 1930s in Spain, Germany, Italy and Japan.

The 85-year-old writer released his 24th novel, marking the return of his Machiavellian spy chief George Smiley after a 27-year hiatus.

To mark the release on Thursday of the book, 'A Legacy of Spies', which traces its origins back to his very first novel 'The Spy Who Came in From the Cold', Le Carre addressed an audience at the Royal Festival Hall in an event to support Medecins Sans Frontieres.

Author John Le Carre, whose real name is David Cornwell has compared Donald Trump's election in the United States to the rise of fascism in the 1930s across Europe and Japan

Le Carre, 85, accused Trump, pictured, of stirring racial hatred claiming it is contagious

According to The Guardian, Le Carre told his audience: 'Something truly, seriously bad is happening and from my point of view we have to be awake to that.

'These stages that Trump is going through in the United States and the stirring of racial hatred  a kind of burning of the books as he attacks, as he declares real news as fake news, the law becomes fake news, everything becomes fake news.

'I think of all things that were happening across Europe in the 1930s, in Spain, in Japan, obviously in Germany. To me, these are absolutely comparable signs of the rise of fascism and its contagious, its infectious. Fascism is up and running in Poland and Hungary. Theres an encouragement about.'

Le Carre, is the pen name for David Cornwell, who worked for British Intelligence between 1950 and 1964.

His first book, The Spy Who Came In From the Cold, was the first featuring George Smiley, his thoughtful spymaster at 'The Circus'. While the public were aware of Ian Fleming's James Bond, who made his debut in the 1953 novel Casino Royale, Smiley was the antithesis of the suave and sophisticated former naval commander.

While Bond relied on gadgets and an implausible ability to survive certain doom while seducing women, Smiley had the appearance of a mid-level administrator whose wife was having a secret affair with a colleague who was also supplying intelligence to the Russians.

Le Carre published his 24th novel this week, A Legacy of Spies, marking the return of his rather tubby and bespectacled spymaster George Smiley after a 27-year hiatus

Smiley's character is based loosely on le Carre's 14-year career with British intelligence, which coincided with some of the most dangerous periods of the Cold War.

During the Southbank Event, Le Carre said: 'You can't actually make a character without putting something of yourself into each one.

'Smiley will always be that bit older and wiser than me.' .

While Le Carre and his fictional spy have aged in the subsequent years, the author reignites the thrill of Cold War espionage in his latest tale, adding a contemporary streak.

In an earlier interview with BBC Radio, he said: 'It was terribly hard to write this book during the period of Brexit and the ascendancy of (US President Donald) Trump and I'd like to think that Smiley was aware of a sense of aimlessness which has entered into all our minds.

'Smiley, who has spent his life defending the flag one way or another, feels alienated from it. He feels a stranger in his own country.'

'A Legacy of Spies' traces a 1960s operation which pitted the British secret service against the German Stasi security service, ending with the death of an agent and a woman he tried to take to the West.

Le Carre, pictured here in 1964 around the time he resigned as a British intelligence officer, spent 14 years as an 'agent runner' giving an insight into the secret world of espionage

Now decades later, Smiley's former assistant Peter Guillam has come out of retirement to provide an account of the operation alongside the spy himself.

Speaking in London, Le Carre said he felt compelled to continue the story: 'I would go on writing even if I was not going to be published.'

'The author is lucky enough to be alive and his character is insisting that he is alive too,' he added.

JOHN LE CARRE John le Carre was born David Cornwell and worked for British intelligence between 1950 and 1964 Le Carre was an 'agent runner' and worked for both MI5 and MI6 Towards the end of his intelligence career, he wrote his first novel 'The Spy Who Came in From The Cold' in 1963 The novel introduced his tubby bespectacled spymaster George Smiley of 'The Circus' The book was made into a movie with Richard Burton in 1965 Le Carre has written 24 novels in his career, including Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and Smiley's People The BBC adapted one of his contemporary novels, The Night Manager, into an acclaimed mini series A new mini series based on The Spy Who Came in From The Cold is set to be released in 2018 Le Carre still writes his novels in long hand using a fountain pen Advertisement

Those accustomed to sex symbol James Bond, complete with his snazzy gadgets, will find a strikingly different spy in the 'tubby, bespectacled, permanently worried' Smiley.

In an interview with The Sunday Times, he said: 'I suppose what Smiley and I have in common is that we find it difficult to remember happiness. It's not something that comes naturally to me, I have to work on it.'

Le Carre said Smiley had previously sacrificed his humanity for the sake of the Cold War 'cause'.

Now 'he has the humanity but the cause has been taken away from him,' the author said.

'The sense of allegiance to his country - which country? which Britain? - has disappeared,' he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

The author, who turns 86 in October, has also opened up about his own spying past and spoke on Thursday about his activities as an 'agent runner'.

'Quite contrary to the perception of agent running, this is a pastoral duty. You go in offering whatever you can offer - much more than just money and re-settlement. It's companionship of a kind,' he said.

The author has kept out of the gossip columns while continuing to work as a prolific writer after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

The novel which followed that historic moment, 'The Night Manager' (1993), was transformed into a successful miniseries for the BBC..

Le Carre's anti-heroes have been adapted for cinema or television six times, most recently in 2010 with 'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy', with actor Gary Oldman portraying Smiley on the hunt for a mole within Britain's intelligence services.

While Le Carre's new novel, his 24th, sees a return to the intrigue of Cold War espionage, its pages were put together against a very different political backdrop.

While the dry detail of Brexit negotiations are unlikely to create a page-turner, Le Carre makes his europhile views clear in the novel when Guillam asks his former boss whether his life's work was for Britain. 'No. For Europe,' Smiley responds.

Commenting on Smiley, Le Carre said: 'I think his whole genesis in life - his private dream, as he now expresses it - is the salvation of Europe.

'That was, for him, the battlefront of the Cold War - for him, that was where the soul of Europe was being fought for. So, when he looks back on it all - or I do, if you like - he sees futility.'
Moments before a man was fatally stabbed at a Melbourne restaurant, revellers could be seen dancing and singing karaoke.

Deni Dimovski, in his 30s, died after gatecrashers allegedly stormed Korzo Grill House in Caroline Springs around 2.15am Saturday, the Herald Sun reports.

The incident is believed to have occurred during an 'exclusive party' at the Macedonian eatery, with a flyer for the night advertising the 'Taste the Macedonian and Balkan cuisine' event.

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Deni Dimovski (pictured) died after gatecrashers allegedly stormed Korzo Grill House in Melbourne's west around 2.15am Saturday

Footage from Korzo Grill House's social media page earlier in the night showed revellers at the party singing and dancing.

However, things turned ugly when a another group of people arrived and gatecrashed the 30-person private function.

Mr Dimovski's parents, who live in Macedonia, are believed to have been notified by relatives, according to News Corp.

'We feel very sad for his parents, theyre the ones it will hurt the most,' his cousin Gupapka Dimcevska said.

Moments before he was fatally stabbed a revellers could be seen dancing and singing karaoke, during an 'exclusive party' at the Macedonian eatery

A flyer for the night could be seen advertising the 'Taste the Macedonian and Balkan cuisine' event, where the incident is alleged to have occurred

Ms Dimcevska said her cousin's death had been 'devastating' to the family and that it was out of character for him to be caught up in such trouble.

She added: 'He was gentle, not a troublemaker; he was very kind... It wasnt in his character to be making trouble.'

The restaurant's owners Jim and Jasmina Ribarovski told The Age that he had been a loyal customer and he would be sorely missed.

'He was also a very close personal friend who unfortunately lost his life in the most tragic circumstances,' Mr Ribarovski said.

The reason for the brawl remains unknown, with officers stating those involved fled the scene shortly afterwards

The reason for the brawl remains unknown, with officers alleging those involved fled the scene shortly afterwards.

Paramedics were called and attempted to treat the man but he could not be revived.

Investigations are ongoing with detectives attending the scene Saturday morning to search for clues.

Anyone with information or who may have witnessed the incident is urged to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Both men are safe on the cruise but hope to make it back to Perth by Thursday

They boarded the ship before an earthquake struck off the Mexican coast

The pair are on board the cruise ship Carnival Victory while on holiday

Perth friends Jason Tabrum and Kyle Preece are stuck off the coast of Mexico

Perth friends Jason Tabrum and Kyle Preece are stuck off the coast of Mexico

Perth friends Jason Tabrum and Kyle Preece are stuck off the coast of Mexico

Perth friends Jason Tabrum and Kyle Preece are stuck on board a cruise ship off the coast of Mexico, as the country prepares for a possible tsunami.

The pair, both from West Leederville in Western Australia, boarded the Carnival Victory in Miami and were set to enjoy a fun-filled cruise before realising the danger that Hurricane Irma posed to Florida.

Speaking to PerthNow, the pair said they had to make a decision between leaving the cruise and risking a likely cancelled flight to Las Vegas, or staying on the boat.

Jason Tabrum (left) and Kyle Preece (right), both from Perth, are stuck at sea off the coast of Mexico between tsunami warnings and Hurricane Irma

'We are roughly tracking a day ahead of the hurricane, we are headed past Mexico at this rate however Mexico just had its largest earthquake in a century and are at risk of tsunami, the coast is also being evacuated,' Mr Preece told the publication.

'We are not sure when we will return to Miami for the aftermath, but we will not be docking anywhere and are stuck on the boat for days.'

The ship was making its way past Key West and heading towards the Mexican coast on Saturday.

Mr Preece said there were initially around 2700 passengers on the ship, but that number has now dropped between 200-300.

Before the storm: Mr Preece's Facebook post just days before the earthquake in Mexico stranded the pair at sea

View of the aftermath of Hurricane Irma on Saint Martin island in the Caribbean

At least 61 people have been reported dead after a massive 8.2 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Mexico on Wednesday night.

It is one of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded for the nation and hit just days after Hurricane Irma began its landfall in the Caribbean.

Both Mr Preece and Mr Tabrum said they've been spending their time on the cruise watching the news and hoping to make it back to land before Thursday, when they are expecting to fly home.

While the timing has meant their holiday has been interrupted, the pair said they're still worried about the citizens in Florida and Mexico.

Three Hurricanes, Irma, Jose and Kaita, are expected to make landfall on Sunday in Florida

'It's definitely going to be an experience I don't think we'll ever forget, but it's not great timing for a holiday. It's just unfortunate really,' Mr Preece said.

'Most people remaining on the cruise are still smiling but you can tell everyone's pretty concerned with what's going on and stuff.'

Many people, mostly citizens of Florida, disembarked the ship to rush home and board their houses and collect their belongings and pets, the pair said.

While it could 'definitely be worse' for the Perth friends, the swell where they were on Saturday was still quite rough.

In a freak weather event, Hurricane Irma is expected to make landfall in Florida on Sunday, around the same time as two other hurricanes, Jose and Kaita.

It also comes just a month after Hurricane Harvey devastated Texas.
Deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce has been left looking even redder than usual after a failed attempt to steal a kiss from Fiona Nash.

The Nationals deputy leader called Mr Joyce to the podium at their Canberra party conference, but when he leaned in for a peck on the cheek she unintentionally brushed him off.

The awkward encounter provoked laughs from the crowd, causing the red-faced party leader to call Ms Nash back for a second try.

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Deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce (pictured, right) has been left looking even redder than usual after a failed attempt to steal a kiss from Fiona Nash (pictured, left)

'I missed it, I tried to kiss you!' said Mr Joyce as someone in the audience yelled out: 'Have another go!' Nine News reported.

The party leader then said: 'Now I know how Donald Trump feels,' a possible reference to when the Polish First Lady unintentionally snubbed the US president.

Addressing the Nationals Party Federal Conference, Mr Joyce then took the opportunity to make light of the issue of his citizenship.

'Worse things can happen, feel like I've just fallen under a long white cloud,' he jokes to groans from the crowd.

The Nationals deputy leader (pictured, left) called Mr Joyce (pictured, right) to the podium, but when he leaned in for a peck on the cheek she unintentionally brushed him off

The deputy prime minister has been under fire since it was revealed he is a dual New Zealand citizen, with the matter referred to the High Court of Australia.

Mr Joyce went on to cover more serious topics, warning Australians could face a long blackout-plagued summer.

'Somewhere between floor 13 and 14 the lift will stop with you in it - an uncomfortable experience if you need to go to the bathroom,' he said.

The awkward encounter provoked laughs from the crowd, causing the red-faced party leader to call Ms Nash back for a second try (pictured, Mr Joyce on the right)

He called on politicians to turn to coal power, and said baseload supply must be ensured.

The impending closure of the Liddell power station in New South Wales was discussed, and compared to the shutting of Hazelwood in Victoria.

'We don't want the Victorian Labor experience becoming our national experience,' he told the conference.

During the Canberra conference the Nationals voted for a five-year phase-out of subsidies for providers of renewable energy, freezing them for the next year.
A teenage victim of the Manchester Arena bombing described returning to the newly rebuilt venue as one of the hardest days of her life.

Brave Millie Robson was left with shrapnel and bolts in her leg when suicide bomber Salman Abedi blew himself up on May 22.

But the 15-year-old, who has revisited the arena where 22 people were killed, has encouraged other survivors do the same.

Millie, from County Durham, wrote on Thursday: 'Today was one of the toughest of my life. Revisiting Manchester arena and seeing the place where my life changed forever is something I couldn't even think about doing a few months ago,' The Mirror reported.

Millie Robson, 15, was in hospital for more than two weeks after she was left with shrapnel and bolts in her leg from the Manchester Arena attack in May

'Nevertheless, today surrounded by my family & best friend we allowed ourselves to gain closure from the difficult visit & truly showed me and laura how lucky we were that night. life is so precious & shouldn't be taken for granted. Ever.'

The arena is set to reopen today and charity bosses have released a picture of the renovated foyer in a bid to prepare people help those affected by the attack.

The We Are Manchester benefit show, which is to be headlined by Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, will also feature support from Courtneers, Blossoms and Rick Astley.

She was visited by the Queen while recovering while her mother Marie and father David sat at her bedside

But the 15-year-old, who has revisited the arena where 22 people were killed, has encouraged other survivors do the same. She is pictured with her father David, mother Marie and the Queen during her recovery in hospital

Millie got to meet her hero Ariana Grande at the One Love Manchester on June 4

Millie has revisited Manchester Arena where the horrific attack that claimed 22 lives took place. She has encourage others to do the same

The arena is set to reopen today and charity bosses have released a picture of the renovated foyer in a bid to prepare people help those affected by the attack

PETER KAY WILL JOIN LINEUP FOR FIRST ARENA SHOW SINCE TERROR ATTACK Car Share star Peter Kay will return to Manchester Arena to introduce headline act Noel Gallagher TV funnyman Peter Kay is set to introduce headline act Noel Gallagher at the We Are Manchester Conert. The Car Share star, 44, of Bolton, will be returning to the site of one his early jobs, after working at the arena as a steward in 1995. He said the arena has 'always been a massive part of my life' and that he was deeply affected by the tragedy in May. Boxer Ricky Hatton, of Stockport, will also introduce an act on stage as Russell Kane hosts the evening. The concert will support the Manchester Memorial Fund Advertisement

More than 100 people were also injured in the attack during an Ariana Grande Concert on May 22 this year.

Millie said she was leaving the arena with friend Laura Anderson when the bomb went off.

She would then spend more than two weeks in hospital and was visited by the Queen.

And two days after she was discharged, Millie met Ariana Grande at the One Love concert in Manchester.

Visits were arranged by the Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Foundation for Peace.

In a station, the foundation's chief executive Nick Taylor said: 'Today, people affected by the 22nd May attack have been invited back to the City Room (where the bomb exploded) in advance of the space being reopened to ticket holders for the We Are Manchester concert.

'There has been huge interest in this private advance visit which has been strongly police regulated and supported by event security, the Peace Foundation and Victim Support.

'The return to operation of the City Room is vital to facilitate the reopening of the Arena. Significant remedial work has already taken place to repair damage to the area and longer term repair work will continue over the coming months.

'Visiting the City Room is clearly a sensitive issue and is not appropriate for all families or survivors, however it is important that we were able to facilitate this time for people to see the space and ask any questions before it reopens.

'Many other people have also been affected by the attack and by releasing this accompanying image we also hope that this will help to prepare future concert goers for their return to the Arena.

'The City Room will now remain closed until it opens to ticket holders on Saturday at 17:00.'
A female instructor and male aviation student who went down in a light plane crash one kilometer from Port Macquarie Airport on Friday night are recovering in hospital.

The two 25-year-olds were found by emergency crews after a distress beacon was activated about 8.30pm.

The aircraft reportedly transmitted a mayday call shortly after leaving Port Macquarie Airport, but contact was unable to be made with the plane, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

The two 25-year-olds were found by emergency crews after a distress beacon was activated about 8.30pm

A man is in a critical condition and a female is stable after a light plane they were travelling in lost power and crashed in dense bushland near Port Macquarie Airport

The aircraft was discovered an hour and 47 minutes after the Australian Maritime Safety Authority registered the distress call.

It was found in dense bushland near Lincoln Park Road, where both the male and female had sustained multiple injuries.

The crash was spotted by a passer-by, according to Australian International Aviation College chief pilot Kevin McMurtrie, the Daily Telegraph reports.

Mr McMurtrie revealed in a statement it was power loss that caused the crash, but the reason for the loss was unknown.

The aircraft transmitted a mayday call shortly after leaving Port Macquarie Airport, but contact was unable to be made with the plane

'Our company is co-operating with the Australian Transport Safety Bureau in investigating the accident,' he said.

The male was winched onto a Westpac rescue helicopter and taken to John Hunter Hospital where he remains in a critical condition.

He suffered head, chest, arm and leg injuries, while the pilot received fractures to her upper arm, pelvis and shoulder.

There were discovered an hour and 47 minutes after the Australian Maritime Safety Authority registered the distress call

The light plane, believed to be a Diamond 40 (stock pictured), went down south of Port Macquarie Airport

She was taken to Port Macquarie Hospital and was moved to Liverpool Hospital Friday afternoon where she continued to be treated for non life threatening injuries.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authoritys Peter Gibson told Port Macquarie News that the plane was believed to be a Diamond 40 light aircraft.

He also confirmed that it was from the Australian International Aviation College, which trains predominantly Chinese students.

The male was winched onto a Westpac rescue helicopter and taken to John Hunter Hospital where he remains in a critical condition (emergency crews pictured assisting the male)

Crews from NSW Police and SES, along with Ambulance and Fire and Rescue were involved in the search and extraction.

Investigations were undertaken by two Australian Transport Safety Bureau investigators on Saturday.

A spokesman from the ATSB said investigators were not expected to report on the underlying cause of the crash for several months.

The pair were pulled from the wreckage around midnight with the man airlifted to Newcastle's John Hunter Hospital (pictured) in critical condition
Harriet Harman branded Jacob Rees-Mogg a 'deadbeat dad' after he confessed to never changing a nappy following the birth of his sixth child, Sixtus.

Labour's former deputy leader mocked the 'Rees-Mogg model' of fatherhood while campaigning for MPs to be allowed six months of paid leave after having a child.

But the Tory backbencher hit back against the criticism, saying he would 'lose little sleep over Harriet Harman's disapproval'.

Labour's former deputy leader(left) mocked the 'Rees-Mogg model' of fatherhood while campaigning for MPs to be allowed six months of paid leave after having a child

Ms Harman told The Guardian: 'Men who don't change nappies are deadbeat dads  and that includes Jacob Rees-Mogg.'

The Camberwell and Peckham MP wants the rules changed so Commons members can nominate colleagues to cast votes on their behalf while they care for a child.

Ms Harman pointed out that 17 babies had been born to women MPs since 2010 and they had not benefited from a system of leave.

She has submitted her proposals to the Speaker's Commons Reference Group on Representation and Inclusion, which meets next week.

Mr Rees-Mogg pictured with the sixth addition to his family, Sixtus

Before a speech to women from across the north of England at a Labour event in Newcastle, Ms Harman said: 'Women have babies - that is a fact of life.

'Women are in Parliament - that's a democratic imperative.

'The baby needs time with the mother, the mother needs time with the baby and the constituency needs to be properly represented at all times.

'We need a proper system of baby leave to square that circle. It's long overdue.'

The row over Mr Rees-Mogg's stance on fatherhood comes after the Tory backbencher was attack for saying he was against abortion even in cases of rape.

Challenged over his position on social issues, he told ITV1's Good Morning Britain earlier this week: 'I'm completely opposed to abortion. Life begins at the point of conception.'

Speaking to the Daily Mail, he said: 'I'm allowed to say what I think and people are absolutely entitled to say back what they think.

'I believe in free speech - and protecting it - is very important.

Mrs Harman wants the rules changed so Commons members can nominate colleagues to cast votes on their behalf while they care for a child

'Rape is a great evil and a terrible crime, but that's not made better by then aborting the unborn child.

'The Catholic Church's teachings are authoritative. To take a life after a rape is not the answer.

'Life begins at the point of conception. One can only feel compassion for a woman in these situations - which, of course are rare - but it's hard to see how taking a child's life makes them better.'
The clinic of a controversial doctor who boasted about getting children out of compulsory vaccinations has been raided by police and the medical regulator.

The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency and Victoria Police reportedly searched the clinic in Mitcham, in Melbourne's eastern suburbs, on Friday morning.

Dr John Piesse worked at the raided clinic - the Nerida James Natural Healing Centre - before he agreed to stop practising medicine.

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The clinic of Melbourne doctor John Piesse (pictured) who boasted about getting children out of compulsory vaccinations has been raided by police and the medical regulator

'There is no doubt I am being personally targeted by the government,' Dr Piesse told Daily Mail Australia.

'I wasn't present when the raid took place but they confiscated computers and caused mayhem,' he said.

Dr Piesse believes he is acting within his legal rights and says the government 'does not respect its own laws'.

'There is a legal clause in the Public Health and Welfare Act saying doctors can give exemptions,' he said.

The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency and Victoria Police reportedly searched the clinic in Mitcham (pictured), in Melbourne's eastern suburbs, on Friday morning

'The government doesn't want to discuss it, they just want to attack and destroy,' Dr Piesse (pictured) said

He said vaccination science in general is 'woeful' and more studies need to be done.

'The government doesn't want to discuss it, they just want to attack and destroy,' he said.

'Thousands of children have had their lives destroyed by vaccinations - I fear for the well being of our children and future generations.'

Dr Piesse believes raids like Friday morning's prevent doctors from doing what they believe is right.

'There are very few doctors willing to do it [make vaccination exemptions] because they'll get attacked. Doctors don't dare do it.'

Dr John Piesse (pictured) worked at the raided clinic - the Nerida James Natural Healing Centre - before he agreed to stop practising medicine

A spokesperson from AHPRA confirmed their staff attended a premises on Friday.

'Because this was part of an ongoing investigation we cannot comment further,' they said.

Victorian Health Minister Jill Hennessy has previously expressed concerns about Dr Piesse, and says children's health and safety are being put at risk, The Age reported.

'His arrogant boasts against vaccination are frustrating and irresponsible,' said Ms Hennessy.

'It is completely irresponsible for people  particularly clinicians who are entrusted with the health of our community  to ignore the science and encourage parents not to immunise their children.'

Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt has said the government is prepared to come down hard on doctors who oppose vaccination.

'There will be no sympathy, none at all, from the government if the authorities take the strongest possible decisions,' he said.

Dr Piesse entered into the agreement with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency on August 31 while they investigate claims against him.

It came a week after the GP declared he would continue to advise people on vaccination exemptions 'until they deregister' him.

Dr Piesse agreed to stop practising in the interim and could still have his licence suspended pending the health authorities' enquiries.

Dr Piesse, second left at the back, spoke at a screening of controversial documentary Vaxxed earlier this month and reportedly told attendees that doctors can get around both 'no jab no play' and 'no jab no pay' regulations

He is among three general practitioners who are currently under investigation after allegedly offering services to parents who are against vaccinations, according to the Herald Sun.

Dr Piesse has reportedly seen at least 450 children since 2015, but said he had not provided a letter of exemption against immunisations for 'every one', The Age reported.

He was advised on August 31 that his medical registration could be suspended while the investigation occurred.

Adamant that he had 'tried to help' and had done nothing illegal, Dr Piesse stated last week that he planned to continue advising parents.

'I will... until they basically deregister me... unless I can be persuaded that what I am doing is wrong,' he said.

The Melbourne GP was previously captured on camera at an anti-vaccination film screening bragging about helping hundreds of families.

He was filmed telling attendees that doctors can get around both 'no jab no play' and 'no jab no pay' regulations, with the clip subsequently posted on an anti-vaccination Facebook page.

Adamant that he had 'tried to help' and had done nothing illegal, Dr Piesse had previously said that he would continue advising parents until he was 'deregistered' (stock photo)

'I am a doctor who has been working hard for 18 months to try and help parents get exemption from 'vaccinated pain for vaccinated play,' with mixed success,' he claimed.

'I want you to know it is possible to get the exemption so there is hope,' he told the crowd.

Naturapathic physician Nerida James  who is Dr Piesse's colleague  also spoke at the screening to tell of the families they had helped.

'We can support you. We have been supporting about 600 families thanks to Dr John Piesse,' she said.

Dr Piesse reportedly had reportedly explained that parents needed a doctor's letter of 'contrary indication' to help children avoid vaccinations.

Legislation introduced in 2016 means childcare services must now obtain evidence of a child's immunisation history or note for medical exemption, before enrolment.

After news of the investigation into Dr Piesse broke, the anti-vaxxer community raised nearly $100,000 to help him retain his medical registration.
Spanish police have busted two major Ibiza drugs gangs in a week following a crackdown on the party resort of San Antonio.

Five Britons are due to appear in court today following the seizure of drugs including thousands of ecstasy pills at a house in the town.

Cocaine, speed and magic mushrooms as well as LSD and a large amount of cash was also discovered during a police raid at the property on Thursday.

Officers used a sniffer dog called Malcolm to locate the drugs during the operation, the third major narcotics raid in a week by police in the Balearic Islands.

Spanish police arrested five Britons following a raid on a house on Ibiza on Thursday

The men have been arrested on suspicion of supplying drugs to revellers on the party island

The men, aged 18 to 30, are suspected of supplying drugs to revellers outside nightclubs and bars hosting scheduled party events in San Antonio.

They are expected to be remanded in custody pending an ongoing criminal investigation following todays hearings, which will take place in private in Spain as is normal where only trials are held in public.

Several Brits appeared in court in Ibiza on Wednesday accused of dealing in San Antonios West End area following the seizure of drugs including cocaine, cannabis resin, ecstasy and hippy crack during raids at the start of the week at two separate properties in the town.

Last Thursday 12 Britons were among 14 people held by heavily-armed Civil Guard officers during an operation focused on the party strip of Punta Ballena in Majorcas party resort of Magaluf which led to the seizure of three kilos of cocaine worth 150,000.

Ten of those arrested were remanded in custody on Saturday after appearing before an investigating magistrate in closed court hearings.

A Spanish police sniffer dog named Malcolm located the suspected drugs in the house in San Antonio which was the third major narcotics bust on the Balearics in the past week

Thursday's arrests were masterminded by a Majorca-based specialist anti-drugs unit

The men are accused of supplying drugs outside clubs and nightclubs in San Antonio

The latest bust followed an investigation launched several weeks ago after a local discovered a shoebox with more than 10,000 ecstasy pills inside during a country stroll in an area of San Antonio called Ses Paisses.

The five Brits held on Thursday were all in the same house raided by the Civil Guard, who mobilised Majorca-based officers from a specialised organised crime and anti-drugs unit to lead the operation and were supported by a helicopter.

The house is a detached whitewashed single-storey property opposite a petrol station in Ses Paisses.

Spanish police this morning confirmed they had taken down two suspected drugs gangs in San Antonio in the past week.

In their first official comment on the two operations, they said they had seized several types of drugs and nearly 50,000 from the two groups.

A spokesman for the Civil Guard in Majorca said in a press release: 'The Civil Guard with the arrest of 15 people has smashed two important drugs gangs focusing principally on the San Antonio nightlife scene.

'Officers believe both groups operated separately without being in any way related.

'The members of both criminal groups are suspected of peddling drugs on the street although they also worked outside nightspots where parties and other events were being organised so they could take advantage of the crowds that were expected and make more profit.

'Ten people of different nationalities were arrested at the start of the week following a lengthy investigation on suspicion of drugs offences and membership of a criminal organisation.

'During searches of three properties where the detainees lived in San Antonio, officers seized 160 grams of methamphetamine, 135 grams of cocaine, 375 grams of magic mushrooms, 65 ecstasy tablets, 15 grams of MDMA powder, 61 capsules of nitrous oxide, one kilo of cannabis resin and 20,000.

'"Six of the detainees have been remanded in prison following a court appearance."

Referring to Thursday's arrests, which formed part of Operation Domino Shore, the force spokesman said: "In a raid on a house in San Antonio, five British nationals were arrested and officers seized 174 grams of cocaine, 1,204 ecstasy tablets, 46 grams of speed, 73 LSD tabs, 20 grams of cannabis resin, three grams of magic mushrooms and four capsules of nitrous oxide, as well as weighing scales and other drug paraphernalia and EUROS 31,905 (POUNDS 29,08) and POUNDS 280 in cash.

'The LSD seized had not been seen in the Balearic Islands for several years.'
Four men were stabbed outside a Sydney pub Friday night when a brawl broke out between three security guards and two men.

The altercation occurred outside the Smithfield RSL in the city's west around 10.15pm, where one of the men produced a knife.

A male aged in his mid 40s was arrested and taken to Fairfield Police Station for questioning, but was later transported to Westmead Hospital where he was treated for a head injury.

The man remains in hospital under police guard with detectives set to commence further questioning on his release.

Three involved were rushed to hospital at the time of the incident and two are still being treated for non life threatening injuries.

A 45-year-old man was treated on the scene for a stab wound to his head before being taken to Westmead Hospital, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

Two men, also believed to be in their 40s, were treated on the scene, with one sustaining a stab wound to his neck, and the other a wound his chest and neck.

It's understood both men are in stable conditions at Liverpool Hospital.

Another male was also treated for a stab wound to his hand.

Four men were treated for stab wounds after a brawl broke out outside western Sydney's Smithfield RSL on Friday night about 10.15

Three involved were rushed to hospital at the time of the incident and two are still being treated for non life threatening injuries

While multiple injuries resulted from the scuffle, Commissioner Mick Fuller said the outcome could have been much worse had the police not been so quick to respond.

'These type of crimes we move in quickly, we did in this case, and whilst four people are injured, we do have the offender in custody,' he said.

'It's a strong message, you come out looking for trouble in New South Wales and we'll be there to protect the community.'

Officers from Fairfield Local Area Command established a crime scene in the area and launched an investigation.
A man who holed up in his house on the British Virgin Islands as Hurricane Irma raged outside has spoken of his terrifying experience - and said the Caribbean paradise has become an 'apocalyptic wasteland'.

Paul Exner, president of expedition firm Modern Geographic Sailing, detailed his desperate fight to survive as 175mph winds battered his island home.

He said he lashed his windows tight with old dock line while he and his wife and young children hid behind a baby changing table 'as glass and rock flew into the glass eventually breaking pane by pane'.

Paul added: 'We sang Christmas songs and ate peanut butter sandwiches with Eoin (who is three and a half) and Ava (nine-months-old). My wife Liz is an amazing person. Too much great things to say about Liz, but she is the love of my life.'

Paul Exner had to hook up his phone to a car battery so he could get the message out about the 'apocalyptic' scenes on the British Virgin Islands after Hurricane Irma knocked out most communications

He also claimed that the prison on the island of Tortola had been blown open as inmates were kept back by an armed guard until being 'let go'.

There are also many people who have been left homeless, he said, as well as reports of deaths.

There is currently no way of confirming Paul's claims, but other residents on the British Virgin Islands have relayed similar accounts.

He added that there is a 6pm-6am curfew in place as communication lines remain down and the island begins the task of recovering from the storm's damage.

In a video he recorded, Paul appears in the car park of a hotel using a 'mobile connectivity box' rigged up to a car battery.

Paul Exner said there is 'total devastation all around,' adding: 'No infrastructure at all. Island will need food and water soon. We can live in our house for another two weeks as a family'. Pictured: A car overturned by the storm

Huge stretches of the British Virgin islands were destroyed in the savage storm. Pictured: A boat overturned by the winds

He explained that there is 'total devastation all around,' adding: 'No infrastructure at all. Island will need food and water soon. We can live in our house for another two weeks as a family.

'We are gathering spare plywood and and materials to rebuild. No power to house. Hand tools only.

'Tomorrow we deal with hurricane Jose 90 miles to our north.'

The son of Virgin billionaire Richard Branson, meanwhile, is heading to the devastated British Virgin Islands as he prepares for the 'harrowing' experience of seeing his home in ruins.

In an appeal three days after Hurricane Irma smashed into the overseas territory where his father owns an island, Sam Branson said simply: 'If you have boats, then please get them to the BVI.'

In an appeal three days after Hurricane Irma smashed into the overseas territory where his father owns an island, Sam Branson said simply: 'If you have boats, then please get them to the BVI'

Sam shows a pile of suitcases and boxes packed with food and clothing that he is planning to take to the islands - one of which, Necker, is owned by his father - today

The islands' governor, Gus Jaspert, said there had been devastating damage and 'reports of casualties and fatalities' following the storm.

He added: 'I am truly heartbroken by this news. May God bless and protect the territory and our people.'

The hurricane has left apocalyptic scenes behind it in the Caribbean, killing 24 so far, and causing enormous levels of destruction in St Martin, Barbuda and others.

Richard said early this morning that there 'needs to be an enormous aid effort' after the island was 'decimated', as the British Government's relief effort begins.

He branded Irma 'the storm of the century', but also warned about Category 4 Hurricane Jose, which is following in its wake.

As a consequence of Jose, the entire island of Barbuda - 'except for a few persons who resisted the call' - has been evacuated, its prime minister said.

Barbuda, a tiny island of about 1,600 residents, was one of the most severely impacted when the eye of the hurricane passed over it on Wednesday, destroying telecommunication systems and cell towers.

According to Prime Minister Gaston Browne, the storm damaged about 90 percent of the buildings, leaving the nation 'literally a rubble'.

Richard Branson, discussing the British Virgin Islands, said: 'The boats are piled up like matchsticks in the harbour. Huge cargo ships were thrown out of the water and into rocks. Resorts have been decimated.

Devastation: A Jeep that has been smashed up by the storm stands idle in front of a flipped boat

Downing Street, meanwhile, said it was waiting for 'a full picture of intelligence to come through' of the Caribbean, adding: 'Three flights departed this morning carrying marines and engineers as part of the MoD task force'

Wreckage: Many boats on the islands have been destroyed by the storm

'The houses have their roofs blown off; even some churches where people sheltered have lost roofs. But the whole British Virgin Islands community is rallying round.'

In a video posted to his Instagram account, his son Sam explains that he has spent a 'very long day' organising to fly back to the BVI with supplies.

He shows a pile of suitcases and boxes packed with food and clothing that he is planning to take to the islands - one of which, Necker, is owned by his father - today.

Sam, a photographer, explains: 'Going to do my best to help the people on the ground there.'

In an appeal to boat owners, he adds: 'Stock them with Tarpaulins, food, water, batteries, torches, clothes, water purification tablets and anything else you think might be useful.

'Going to be harrowing to see my home and so many others beloved place so decimated but will do all I can to get aid to the people that need it most!'

The above map shows Hurricane Irma's current projected path after it battered islands in the eastern Caribbean

Hurricane Jose is expected to pass near or east of the northeastern Leeward Islands today and is currently threatening several islands that were seriously damaged by Hurricane Irma - including, potentially, the British Virgin Islands

From space: The deadly hurricane is now passing by Cuba's northern coast on its way to Florida

Paradise lost: This car has been flipped on its side and almost completely destroyed by the devastating winds of Hurricane Irma

On his blog, meanwhile, dad Richard - who spent the storm in his wine cellar while his island was devastated - said he and his team have been doing 'everything we can to help the community' in the BVI.

He said: 'The wonderful team have been going around to all of our team members on Virgin Gorda to check they are safe and well.

'There is a huge amount of damage to buildings, but fortunately everyone we have seen so far has been ok.

'There needs to be an enormous aid effort. Please get the word out to anyone who can help further. We have Necker Belle coming in from Barbados with food, water and supplies and we hear others are sending boats.'

Barbuda, a tiny island of about 1,600 residents, was one of the most severely impacted when the eye of the hurricane passed over it on Wednesday, destroying telecommunication systems and cell towers

According to Prime Minister Gaston Browne (left), the storm damaged about 90 percent of the buildings, leaving the nation 'literally a rubble'

Piles of debris are seen on Barbuda on Thursday, just days after the catastrophic storm destroyed most of the island

The storm killed one person on Barbuda - a two-year-old child - and flattened nearly 95 per cent of all structures

Hurricane Jose is expected to make landfall on the storm-ravaged Barbuda on Saturday, bringing winds of up to 150 mph

He also said that 'man-made climate change is contributing to increasingly strong hurricanes causing unprecedented damage,' adding: 'The whole world should be scrambling to get on top of the climate change issue before it is too late  for this generation, let alone the generations to come.'

Downing Street, meanwhile, said it was waiting for 'a full picture of intelligence to come through' of the Caribbean, adding: 'Three flights departed [yesterday] morning carrying marines and engineers as part of the MoD task force.'

A spokeswoman added: '[Today], another C17 will leave carrying two Puma helicopters. And the RFA Mounts Bay ship is due to arrive in the British Virgin Islands ... bringing aid and helicopters to help deliver supplies.'

The Government explained that the Department for International Development's disaster response centre was sending out supplies of aid to be loaded on to HMS Ocean, which has been diverted from the Mediterranean to head for the Caribbean to help with the disaster relief efforts.

Hurricane Irma smashed into the British Virgin Islands as a Category 5 storm before weakening to a Category 4 storm. It has now returned to a Category 5 storm as it heads to the USA via Cuba

Aftermath: The hurricane has so far killed at least 24 people across the Caribbean and laid waste to vast areas

Scenes of catastrophe have emerged in the aftermath of the deadly storm

The governor of the British Virgin Islands, Gus Jaspert, said there had been devastating damage and 'reports of casualties and fatalities' following the storm

Wipeout: Hundreds of vessels have been put out of commission by Irma, which is one of the most powerful storms to ever hit the Atlantic

The aid heading for HMS Ocean includes 10,000 buckets and 5,000 solar lanterns, the spokeswoman said.

One resident on the islands said his home has been absolutely destroyed - and with it most of his possessions.

Dan Perkins told MailOnline he was not on the islands when the storm hit, but has been told that about the damage done to his property.

He said: 'My house started at the top of the hill and ended up at the bottom of it, so I'm told.

'I now own pretty much what I took with me in my suitcase. I'm sure it will sink in soon, but right now we have to focus on the most important things - people who are missing and hurt.'

He added: 'It's just stuff at the end of the day.'
Madeleine McCann's parents are appealing to the European Court of Human Rights in attempt to silence the Portuguese ex-police chief who claimed their daughter is dead and they are responsible.

Goncarlo Amaral, 57, claimed in his book The Truth Of The Lie that the three year old died at Kate and Gerry's Praia da Luz holiday house and the couple covered it up.

The McCanns won a libel case against Amaral in 2015 and he was ordered to pay them 250,000 euros (209,000) each in damages.

Former detective Goncalo Amaral (pictured) wrote a widely discredited book saying Madeleine died in the house

Kate and Gerry outside court in 2014 when they successfully sued Amaral for damages over the claims he made in his book

But this was overturned on appeal and that decision upheld in another court this April, meaning Amaral is now able to sue the McCanns for damages potentially totalling tens of thousands of pounds.

To prevent this, Kate and Gerry, both 49, have lodged an appeal with the European Court of Human Rights. They now wait for the date of their Strasbourg showdown with Amaral to be confirmed.

A source close to the couple told The Sun: 'They discussed the situation with their legal team and they decided that ultimately it was worth fighting the decision of the Portuguese court.

'They are upset that the court made this ruling but are also desperately upset at Amaral's claims which are ludicrous and hurtful.'

April: A moving interview with Madeleine's parents, in which they revealed they have still not given up hope on seeing her again

Family spokesman Clarence Mitchell told MailOnline: 'I can confirm that Kate and Gerry McCanns Portuguese lawyers lodged an appeal application in the Amaral case with the European Court of Human Rights in July of this year.

'The Court acknowledged the application in August and its admissibility is now being examined. Kate and Gerry will not be commenting on any aspect whatsoever as it remains entirely a matter for their Portuguese lawyers.'

It is understood that the result of the appeal will not be known for at least four years.

Around 30 British detectives were working on the UK side of the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine (pictured)

In April Amaral claimed in a TV interview that Madeleine's body was cremated after she was abducted in 2007.

Amaral said she may have been hidden in another British woman's coffin as she was cremated, and said the church where Madeleine's parents prayed was key.

He said: 'We had information three figures went into the church via a side door at night. They had a box and there was to be a cremation of a British woman.

'It is possible the child's remains were in this box and cremated as well. The parents had the key to the church.'

During a TV interview in April BBC presenter Fiona Bruce asked the McCanns: 'One of the police officers in Portugal has been a thorn in your side for many years, he was thrown off the investigation but then he wrote a book ... and you fought it through the courts.

'At the moment you've lost and he's won. Is this the end for you now, are you going to continue to fight him?'

Mr McCann replied: 'I think the short answer is we have to because the last judgment I think is terrible.

Gerry and Kate, carrying Madeleine's favourite Cuddle Cat in her hand, were faced with the sudden shock of their daughter disappearing in 2007 (pictured)

'I think it's also important to say that when we lodged the action was eight years ago, and the circumstances were very different, where we felt there was real damage being done to the search for Madeleine at that time, particularly in Portugal.'

Mr McCann added that it was important to challenge Mr Amaral in the European courts on behalf of the wider family, including his children.

Agreeing that Mr Amaral's claims needed to be challenged, Mrs McCann said: 'I find it all incomprehensible to be honest

'It has been very upsetting, and it has caused a lot of frustration and anger which is a real negative emotion.'
A 15-year-old boy who took a shotgun into school hidden in his trousers after plotting a Columbine-style mass shooting has been sentenced to a six year detention order.

The 'polite, model student' armed himself with the deadly weapon with the intent of gunning down classmates - but had a last minute 'change of heart'.

A court heard he was seconds away from carrying out 'a shooting that would have taken a dreadful place in the history of truly wicked crimes' committed in Britain.

The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, brought his father's double-barrelled shotgun into Higham Lane School on June 13 along with 200 cartridges and a knife

He hid the shotgun in his trousers during the first period in school and went into a side room to prepare the weapon and don ear defenders before changing his mind about killing his friends

Instead, he called police and said he felt a 'white hot anger' and wanted to harm 'anyone' before police arrived at the scene on June 13, pictured

The boy, who cannot be named, took the double-barrelled shotgun and 200 cartridges from his dad's cabinet as well as a knife, balaclava and ear defenders.

He then spent his first lesson with the firearm concealed in his trousers at Higham Lane School, in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, on June 13.

But as the teen was putting on ear protectors in preparation of his massacre in a side room alone he suddenly saw sense and phoned 999.

He told call-handlers he felt 'white hot anger' and intended to harm 'anyone' before adding: 'I don't know why I have it, I just had to get it out.'

The court heard the incident could have had 'appalling' consequences - similar to the Sandy Hook, Virginia Tech and Columbine High School massacres in America.

The youth pleaded guilty to possessing the shotgun and the cartridges with intent to endanger life in June and was sentenced at Warwick Justice Centre on Friday.

Upon hearing his fate, the boy's mum burst into tears, while he sat emotionless in the class-panelled dock, having earlier been allowed to sit in the main body of the court.

Judge Andrew Lockhart QC, who also sat in court rather than the bench, told the youngster: 'You have lived a good life and it is plain to me that this event was outside the character that you have exhibited for your whole life.

'You had led a good and productive life up until this point, being a model son and pupil.

'You had been suffering social anxiety disorder and severe depression, and had often felt yourself to be angry or hopeless.

The youngster pleaded guilty to possessing the shotgun and cartridges with intent to endanger life at the school, pictured, during a hearing at Warwick Justice Centre on Friday

Judge Andrew Lockhart told the boy: 'You have lived a good life and it is plain to me that this event was outside the character that you have exhibited for your whole life'

'Very sadly you had not shared that with your parents or anyone else, which doubt contributed to the condition worsening.

'You were a well respected pupil at Higham Lane School in Nuneaton.

'This school with 1,230 students enrolled - the place of education for them and the place of work for a large number of teachers and ancillary staff.

'A place where children are left by their parents to be safely educated.

'That Tuesday morning, you got up and as far as your parents were concerned were behaving perfectly normally as you prepared for school.

'Your mother left and then you began your preparation for this offence, seeking out the key for the secure shotgun cabinet, taking out the lawfully held 12 bore double barrelled shotgun and no less than 200 cartridges.

'You took up ear defenders to protect your hearing in the shooting that you anticipated.

'It is safe to conclude that you bore the intention to endanger life and planned an offence where life was to be endangered across the course of at least one and a half years.

The boy was also carrying a balaclava and a knife at the time, pictured, of his planned attack

'What was your intention? By your plea it is plain that it was to endanger life and you were to say the 999 operator and later to others that at the time that you intended at some point in that period to use the gun to hurt somebody else - 'anybody'.

'You did this because you said you felt angry and upset.

'The actions that you took was to excuse yourself from the lesson of a trusted and kind teacher and to go to a small room in order to prepare the gun to shoot at others.

The consequences of what might have occurred had you carried your plan into effect are too awful to contemplate Judge Andrew Lockhart QC

'You assembled the shotgun from the consistent parts, you took up two cartridges and loaded it.

'You got as far as fitting the ear defenders. It was then that you saw sense and emerging from the offending called 999 and sought the help you needed.

'All who might have been a target would have been whole innocent victims without any argument with you - the targets of your pent-up feelings and aggression.

'Had you begun to shoot I have no doubt that serious injury and death who have resulted and it is impossible for me to predict how many might have been hit.

'Once an incident of shooting begins it is impossible to predict how it will end.

'The consequences of what might have occurred had you carried your plan into effect are too awful to contemplate.

'The event was, on your own admissions made at the time, just moments away.

'A moment in time separates the pupils and staff of this school from being the subject of a terrible event and a shooting that would have taken a dreadful place in the history of truly wicked crimes committed in this country.

'I am satisfied that the best way of achieving these things is to sentence you to a term of detention.'

The court heard the boy took the weapon, which he used with his father for clay pigeon shooting, after finding the key to a locked cabinet.

Prosecutor Nigel Stelling said: 'In a report given to the court, the deputy head of the school said he was regarded as a polite, model student.

'Up to the morning of June 13 neither his parents nor anyone at the school were aware of any significant difficulties.

'On the day in question, he looked for and found the keys to his father's gun cabinet.

'No-one, as he walked to school was aware that he had the gun or the cartridges.

'He attended punctually his first lesson.

The 999 call handler instructed the boy how to disarm the shotgun before police arrived

'After about ten minutes or so he spoke to his teacher saying that he had a music lesson to attend.

'It was regarded as unusual, but because he was in no way, shape or form and unruly pupil, he was allowed to leave the class.

'What happened next was a call to 999 by himself. He told the call handler about the gun and the ammunition.

'He said that the shotgun was loaded and he was within the school. He said that it was with the school.

'The call handler was asked if he had any mental health issues and he said 'not diagnosed'.

'He went on to say that he had 200 cartridges, the majority of which were stored in a bag.'

The call handler was also told of how the boy was depressed and had mood swings and suicidal thoughts.

When asked how long he had been feeling this way, he said: 'About a year, just getting sadder and sadder'.

The 'heroic' call handler then instructed him on how to disarm the weapon, and the boy then left it outside the classroom.

A teacher then found the boy in the classroom and comforted him while the police arrived.

Delroy Henry, defending, said: 'It is significant that the weapon was not brandished.

'It is significant that the weapon was not used to instil fear in those around him.

'He is a boy of previously good character.

'In fact, he is of exemplar character as it is his teachers themselves who have given him glowing character references.'
A woman was forced into hiding after a police officer allegedly leaked her address to the man accused of raping and torturing her.

The Queensland mother is now calling for the law to be changed to protect other victims of domestic violence.

The woman, who cannot be identified, immediately fled her home in April this year when she discovered her ex-partner had found out where she lived.

Queensland shadow Minister for the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence Ros Bates addresses the media after woman was forced into hiding when a police officer allegedly leaked her address to the man accused of raping and torturing her

'My heart went into my throat and my body went cold,' she said on Saturday.

It is believed the man, who is on bail, was given the woman's address by a police officer despite multiple warnings on the internal police system stating her contact details were not to be revealed to him.

The incident is the third time in less than a year a person accused of domestic violence in Queensland has been given their victim's address, The Sunshine Coast Daily reported.

Just this month a man on remand for allegedly assaulting, strangling a torturing a woman was given her details by the Queensland Department of Child Safety.

The woman's case was only acted upon this week after she wrote to Police Commissioner Ian Stewart as well as Police Minister Mark Ryan and Domestic Violence Minister Shannon Fentiman (pictured)

In May this year a Queensland police officer faced disciplinary action for giving a domestic violence victim's location to her ex-partner in November 2016.

The officer accused of the most recent leak is being investigated by the Ethical Standards Command.

Liesl Wharton, spokeswoman for domestic violence support group Red Heart Campaign, said it was hard to believe the incident was an accident.

'These are not mistakes, these are not slip ups,' Ms Wharton said.

The Queensland mother is now calling for the law to be changed to protect other victims of domestic violence, and wrote to Queensland Police Minister Mark Ryan (pictured)

'Police can see that there is a note on the system that says do not supply this individual's information to anyone and somehow this has been ignored.'

The woman's case was only acted upon this week after she wrote to Police Commissioner Ian Stewart as well as Police Minister Mark Ryan and Domestic Violence Minister Shannon Fentiman.

She said a legislative overhaul was needed given she had never shared her address with police and it was passed on to them from the Department of Transport.

'I don't feel I can give my information to anyone in any position of power,' she said.

The incident is the third time in less than a year a person accused of domestic violence in Queensland has been given their victim's address (pictured is a stock image)

'I feel angry I'm not the only one this has happened to. This is not a one-off event.'

She has also called for the police officer involved to be stood down pending the investigation.

Mr Ryan said he had been reassured the woman was being offered extra support from the police domestic violence team while the investigation was under way.

'I expect our police to act with integrity and accountability at all times, particularly when it comes to dealing with victims of domestic violence,' he said.

Opposition spokeswoman Ros Bates said it was the third time this year a terrified woman had been forced to flee again because Labor's domestic violence system failed to protect her.

She said legislation needed to be changed so victims' details could not be readily accessed and shared throughout departments.

'It's a recipe for another murder,' Ms Bates said.

National domestic violence helpline: 1800 737 732 or 1800RESPECT. In an emergency call triple-zero (000).
Rebecca Brock, 18, was discovered in a pool of blood inside a hotel room. Her family are angry at Spanish police at not investigating a possible criminal element to her death

Mystery still surrounds the case of a British law student found dead in Ibiza after five bags of ecstasy tablets exploded in her stomach - with UK police claiming there are holes in the Spanish investigation.

An English coroner concluded this week that Rebecca Brock's death was most likely caused by MDMA intoxication after the drugs exploded in her stomach but added, 'How these bags were in her stomach, we will never know.'

Rebecca's family is angry at the Spanish police for not examining the possibility the 18-year-old was forced to ingest the tablets by someone with a criminal motivation.

They have been informed in private by UK officers that something about the probe 'stinks', reported The Sun.

Nottingham Coroners' Court heard staff found Rebecca unresponsive in her room at the Hotel Marco Polo on September 28 2015.

Spanish police began an investigation after the amount of the Class A drug MDMA, otherwise known as ecstasy, found in her system was 'double the level' of a normal fatal dose.

Her mother Margarita Brock told an inquest how she believed her daughter may have been forced to swallow the drugs.

Fighting back tears, she said her daughter would not have willingly taken the pills because she was unable to swallow tablets.

Mrs Brock revealed how her daughter had openly talked about experimenting with cocaine in the past but did not think she would've taken so much ecstasy in one go.

Rebecca Brock, 18, was discovered in a pool of blood inside a hotel room after travelling to the party island for a friend's birthday

Rebecca made three trips to Ibiza in quick succession in 2015, one in July, the next in August and the third in September.

This led Spanish police to initially investigate claims she was a drugs trafficker.

But Mrs Brock insists her daughter did not swallow the drugs willingly and that someone must have forced her to do so.

And the lack of investigation into a possible criminal element in Rebecca's death is not the only criticism meted at the Spanish authorities.

Concerns have also been raised about the accuracy of toxicology tests carried out on the student's body.

Toxicologist Dr Stephen Morley said Spanish authorities had found that Becky had died around 48 hours before she was found in her room.

Nottingham Coroners' Court heard staff found the 'academically gifted' student (right) unresponsive in her room at the Hotel Marco Polo on September 28 last year

He said traces of alcohol and a 'potentially fatal concentration' of ecstasy were found in her body.

However, the conclusion that Rebecca died on September 26 could be problematic, as she had not been seen after the early hours of September 23.

Nottinghamshire coroner Mairin Casey said: 'Becky's parents, Margo and Martin, dearly cared for her.

'Becky was an engaging young person, was extremely sociable and had many friends including many sustained friendships.

'I'm also aware she established friendships in short periods of time. She had a close relationship with her family - especially with her sister.

The court heard Rebecca, of Nottingham, had also suffered from body image issues in the past and lost a significant amount of weight in 2015

'She had parties at her house where friends would come and go. She was an independent young woman, she was only 18 when she went to study abroad.

'She was a very gifted young woman - academically gifted. She didn't seem to struggle with exams and school work.

'She did have some issues relating to her physical health. She had some body image issues, undergoing other possible conditions.

She had experimented with cocaine in the past but her mother did not think she would've taken so much ecstasy in one go

'She was diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome in 2015. There was a remarkable, significant loss of weight in the summer of 2015.

'Outside of school she enjoyed dance, drama and singing - she had high expectations of herself.

'In July 2015 she had gone to Ibiza and she went again in August - so September was the third trip.

'In July when she attended with her sister, Anika, she did try cocaine - this was not unusual for young people going to Ibiza.

'Her sister had not taken up the offer of cocaine. The reality is in July she had experimented.

'The trip to Ibiza in September, Becky had been taken to university in Holland and she was keen to experience the closing down parties and end of season parties.

'She had two friends, Hannah and Ellie, celebrating birthdays in Ibiza. I don't believe Ellie was aware Becky was in Ibiza.

'How these bags were in her stomach we will never know.

'On this trip to Ibiza nobody actually saw Becky take drugs at the time - that is my understanding. What is plain is that nobody can give an explanation as to how this came into her system.'

Nottinghamshire coroner Mairin Casey added: 'We remain, sadly, without some information that is particularly significant to the family and indeed for me.

Spanish authorities had found that Becky had died around 48 hours before she was found in her room

'On September 22 Becky flew to Ibiza from the Netherlands - it was something she had organised herself.

'She was captured on CCTV imaging and it is clear she had checked into her hotel.

'On her arrival Becky had various communications.

'(Becky and her friends) planned to meet on the night of September 22 and they went to a club - with many of them socialising together.

'She didn't have any contact with anyone after September 23.'

The coroner concluded: 'The evidence given (by the experts) was extensive and today I rely on their reports to make the following findings.

'Becky died of MDMA intoxication commonly known as ecstasy.

Her mother Margarita Brock told an inquest how she believed her daughter (right) may have been forced to swallow the bag of drugs

'I find that no other substance was found in her body that could have contributed to her death.

'I find that she had not taken alcohol other than in a moderate amount. There was no evidence of a form of assault.

'I find it impossible to say how a pack or packs were ingested. How these bags were in her stomach we will never know.

'It is like that Becky became unwell and confused and most probably died a short time thereafter.

'It is not possible to say whether she would have been conscious or not. The conclusion I arrive at is this is a drug related death.'

Reflecting on the outcome of the police investigation and subsequent UK hearing, Mrs Brock said: 'The coroner probably said it all. I don't want to add much more than that.

'There are some answers but there are also some clear gaps.'
The vehicle belonging to a pregnant Maryland high school teacher who was reported missing after she failed to turn up to the first day of class has been found by police.

Laura Elizabeth Wallen, 31, had not been seen or heard from since Monday when she sent her family a series of text messages.

Her vehicle was discovered in Howard County, which is approximately a 20-minute drive from her last known location, according to Fox 5 TV.

Photos of her vehicle, which was found in an apartment complex, were obtained by WJZ-TV and posted on Twitter.

The vehicle matches the description of the car that police were searching for earlier in the week - a black 2011 Ford Escape.

She sent a 'troubling' message to her family about an hour after she was last seen at about 8.30am on Monday at her condo in Olney where she lives alone.

The investigation is being handled by Montgomery County Police, which has jurisdiction over Olney.

Video from WJZ

Laura Elizabeth Wallen, 31, has not been seen or heard from since Monday when she sent her family a series of text messages from Olney, Maryland

Her vehicle (seen above) was recovered in nearby Howard County, which is a 20-minute drive from her home

The vehicle matches the description of the car that police were searching for earlier in the week - a black 2011 Ford Escape

Her father Mark Wallen went to her condo but could not find her.

Wallen, who teaches history and law, then failed to show up to work on Tuesday at Wilde Lake High School in Columbia.

It set off alarm bells for her father who immediately contacted police.

Wallen's family said she is four months pregnant. They said she was excited about her baby and had posted her sonogram on her refrigerator.

She also spent days preparing her classroom for the school year, according to friends.

Wallen, who teaches history and law, then failed to show up to work on Tuesday at Wilde Lake High School in Columbia

Wallen's family said she is four months pregnant. They said she was excited about her baby and had posted her sonogram on her refrigerator

'That obviously puts an enormous amount of worry on us because she is out there somewhere and she has a baby, so that's a really scary thing,' her sister Kadi told NBC.

Her father suspects someone is behind the teacher's disappearance.

Police have described her as a white female who is 5'5' tall and weighs 200 pounds. She has blonde hair and blue eyes.

Police say the family are concerned for Wallens emotional and physical welfare.

'By all appearances, she seems to be just a solid and committed person who would not behave this way,' said Montgomery County Police Capt. Paul Starks.

'She has been given awards as a teacher in the past. I think she enjoys a close relationship, not only with her sister, but with her parents.

They all still live very close to one another in the Olney area, see each other frequently and communicate even more frequently by phone.

'The lack of contact, the no communication since Monday is completely out of character, and that has what has family and police concerned.'

A number of family, friends, students, and acquaintances took to social media in an effort to aid the search.

The hashtag #bringwallenhome was trending on Twitter, as concerned love ones plead with the public for information leading to her safe return home.

Police have instructed Wallen's family not to make any statements to the news media for fear that it could interfere with the investigation.

Students are planning to meet at the school on Saturday to help in the search for their missing teacher.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Montgomery County Police Department's non-emergency number at 301-279-8000.
Wetherspoons is set to slash prices on all of its food and drink for one day only in a bid to convince the Government to lower booze taxes.

The pub chain is well known for its cheap pints but it is knocking off a further 7.5 per cent as part of the protest.

It is one of thousands of businesses across Britain supporting Tax Equality Day on Wednesday September 20th.

Under UK law pubs and restaurants are forced to charge 20 per cent VAT on food and drink - but supermarkets do not have to do the same.

Wetherspoons is slashing prices at its hundreds of outlets across the country - for one day only in a protest against taxes

This allows Tesco and its rivals to sell alcohol at a much lower price, encouraging drinkers to stay at home to socialise with friends rather than go out.

Wetherspoons - which has just under 1,000 outlets across the country - wants the Government to permanently lower the tax.

The company's chairman Tim Martin, said: 'We are proud to support the campaign to reduce the level of VAT in the pub industry.

'On Tax Equality Day, customers in our pubs will find the price of their drinks and food to be lower than normal. We are keen to highlight the amount which customers would save, if VAT in pubs were lowered permanently.

'So, for example, the total price of a meal and drinks, for a customer, would be reduced from 10 to 9.25 on Tax Equality Day.

The company's chairman Tim Martin, said: 'It is a win-win situation for the government and our industry'

'A reduction in the level of VAT, on a long-term basis, will generate growth and create jobs in the important leisure and hospitality sector.

'Creating tax equality among pubs, restaurants and supermarkets will fulfil many government objectives.

'It will create more jobs and raise the amount of taxes which the government receives, since pubs and restaurants pay more taxes and create more jobs than supermarkets do.

'It is a win-win situation for the government and our industry.'
An unidentified man is suing Mount Sinai St Luke's Hospital in New York City for $2.5million about the hospital mistakenly sent his HIV diagnosis to his workplace

A New York City man's HIV diagnosis was mistakenly sent to his workplace by a hospital.

The man, a former Actors' Equity employee, has filed a $2.5million negligence suit against Mount Sinai St Luke's Hospital for their 2014 mistake, the New York Daily News reports.

The man is in his early 30s and is unidentified. In court documents he is named as 'John Doe'.

He told the Daily News: 'My most intimate and personal secrets were broadcast for anyone who happened to be walking by my office fax machine.'

He added: 'For years now, I have been struggling to cope with how my life was changed by the unbelievably careless act of the people who I trusted with my care.'

The man quickly left his company after the accidental reveal.

He had asked the hospital's Spencer Cox Clinic to send his documents to a post office box.

The hospital had previously paid the US government a $387,000 fine relating to the 2014 incident but has not yet agreed to a settlement with the man

Mount Sinai St Luke's admitted the error and paid a $387,000 fine to the United States Department of Health and Human Services.

The hospital conceded that the action of its employees constituted a violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.

However, the hospital has not agreed to a settlement with the man as of yet.
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Hurricane Irma has reached landfall in Florida as 130mph winds are set to batter their way north through the state in one of the worst storms to hit the area in living memory.

Just hours before the northern eyewall of the hurricane hit the Lower Florida Keys, it was upgraded to a category 4 storm and by 7am it was just 15 miles from Key West.

At 5.40am, the National Weather Service in Key West issued a stark warning to the city's residents, saying: 'Extreme, hurricane-force winds are imminent in the Lower Florida Keys. If you are here, please go to interior room away from windows.

'Treat these imminent extreme winds as if a tornado was approaching and move immediately to the safe room in your shelter. Take action now to protect your life. You should already be taking cover.'

Forecasts predict winds of up to 130mph and will rip through southern Florida as it travels between 6mph and 8mph up the western coast of the state.

Donald Trump sent a message to those caught up in the brutal hurricane, saying: 'This is a storm of enormous destructive power, and I ask everyone in the storms path to heed all instructions from government officials.

'The US Coast Guard, FEMA and all Federal and State brave people are ready. Here comes Irma. God bless everyone.'

Irma's outer bands pummeled Miami and parts of southeast Florida on Saturday afternoon. Two tornadoes hit Broward County after the National Weather Service issued a tornado watch.

There is also a deadly threat of 15ft storm surges with residents being urged not to return home given the enormous outer bands as emergency officials told those who had ignored evacuation orders that it was too late.

'Fifteen feet is devastating and will cover your house,' governor Rick Scott said on Saturday. 'Do not think the storm is over when the wind slows down. The storm surge will rush in and it could kill you.'

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Two tornadoes hit Broward County after the National Weather Service issued a tornado watch on Saturday afternoon. Pictured above is a tornado on Fort Lauderdale Beach

There were gusty winds in Miami early on Saturday morning but they were feeble in comparison to the 130mph winds expected in regions which will be hit directly

Thousands took shelter at the Germain Arena in Estero, Florida on Saturday night as Irma inched closer to the state

People take shelter at Key West High School in Key West, Florida, USA, as Hurricane Irma approaches the southernmost city in the US

The National Weather Service had earlier warned that tornadoes were commonly spawned by a hurricane and could could damage far away from the center of the hurricane, while storm surges could cause more fatalities than any other hurricane hazard.

The latest update from the National Weather service indicated there were wind gusts 'near hurricane strength' - about 79mph - recorded in the Florida Keys.

Around 6.3million people have been told to evacuate in anticipation of Irma and there are 70,000 people in evacuation shelters across Florida. The state said Saturday that more than 400 shelters are open, mostly in schools, churches and community centers.

Time is running out for anyone who is now planning to leave, with the outer bands of Irma arriving in parts of southern Florida with heavy rain and strong wind gusts which make it impossible to drive.

An overnight curfew has been imposed in Miami to stop opportunistic looters taking advantage of the countless coastal homes which now stand abandoned. The city was on course for a direct hit but it was thrown a sudden lifeline on Saturday when the storm changed course as it pounded Cuba.

On Saturday, Florida's Governor Rick Scott warned bleakly: 'You will not survive the storm. If you are in an evacuation zone, leave.'

Brock Long, the chief of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, warned residents in the Florida Keys who have not heeded warnings: 'You're on your own until we can actually get in there, and it's safe for our teams to support local and state efforts.'

More than 200,000 homes and businesses in Florida have lost power already. Florida Power and Light said on its website that more than half of those outages were in the Miami-Dade area, where about 600,000 people have been ordered to evacuate.

Residents in the Keys have been warned for days that they must pack up and leave before Irma hits. Some defiantly stayed, vowing to ride out the storm despite the warnings that the decision may cost them their lives.

'The message has been clear - the Keys are going to be impacted, there is no safe area within the Keys, and you put your life in your own hands by not evacuating,' Long told CNN.

The entire Florida Keys were supposed to be emptied and firefighters went door to door in mobile home parks, urging residents to get out. People who refused to evacuate were not being arrested, but were told they wouldn't be rescued once the storm arrives.

'You can call, but we're not coming,' Pinellas Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said.

Early on Sunday morning, footage started to emerge of Key West being battered by the storm.

Trash cans can be seen hurtling down the street in winds described as hurricane-like, trees have been ripped from the ground crushing vehicles and properties and sparks have started to fly from the powerlines above the quaint houses.

Webcams set up for live streams of the city were wiped out before 6am as the hurricane neared.

In Florida's south-west, officials expect storm surges as high as 15ft from Hurricane Irma

People take up shelter and settle down for the night on the floor of the school gym in Key West surrounded by their earthly possessions and their pets

Rough surf churned up by the approaching hurricane damage the docks at Whale Harbor in the Florida Keys as winds and rain from the outer bands of Hurricane Irma arrive late Saturday

Key West residents attempt to get some sleep (right) as they rest up on the floor of the Key West High School gym

High winds brought on by Hurricane Irma damaged the roof of this building in Sunny Isles Beach in Florida on Saturday

A livestream video captured residents taking selfies in Key West, Florida on Saturday despite the catastrophic storm tearing towards the city

There is also a deadly threat of 15ft storm surges with residents being urged not to return home given the enormous outer bands

Forecasts from the National Hurricane Center show that the impact of Hurricane Irma will stretch into Georgia, the Carolinas, Tennessee and Alabama.

A hurricane watch is in effect for the Georgia coast northward to Edisto Beach, South Carolina. Tropical storm warnings are in place along the Georgia and South Carolina coasts. Tropical storm watches also extend as far as eastern Alabama.

THE LIFE-THREATENING STORM SURGE EXPLAINED A storm surge is not a wall of water or a tsunami. Hurricane winds push water toward shore. It can happen quickly and far from a storm's center, inundating areas that don't typically flood. A storm surge doesn't just come from the ocean. It can come from sounds, bays and lakes, sometimes wells inland. Large hurricanes tend to create a greater storm surge over a broader area, and coastal features such as bays can act like funnels and back water up into rivers and canals. Forecasters say it kills more people than the strong winds. The National Hurricane Center forecasts water levels up to 15 feet above ground for the Florida Keys. The flooding threat extended far beyond the path of Irma's eye. The Atlantic coast from Miami to Isle of Palms, South Carolina, could see up to 6 feet of storm surge. About 1,000 miles of coastline from Tampa Bay to the mid-South Carolina coast could see storm surge. Advertisement

So far Irma has claimed at least 24 lives after torturing the Caribbean. The death toll will likely rise as recovery missions continue.

There were no immediate reports of casualties in Cuba. Nine deaths were reported in the French Caribbean (St Martin and St Barthelemy), three in Puerto Rico, four in the U.S. Virgin Islands, four in the British Virgin Islands, two on the Dutch side of St. Maarten, one on Barbuda and one on Anguilla.

The storm toppled Cuba on Friday night and Saturday morning, pounding the island nation with 160mph winds and unprecedented rain.

Officials were desperate for anyone in the affected zones to get on the road before the conditions picked up on Saturday afternoon.

Seven thousand National Guard troops were brought in to help deal with the catastrophe. People in Florida were being told to prepare three days worth of food and water to ride out the storm.

Carl Roberts said he had Chinese food, a case of water and a million-dollar view in his 17th floor Gulf front condo, which is all he needed to weather the massive storm.

'No. 1, I don't have anywhere to go,' said Roberts, an attorney. 'And I'm on the 17th floor. I have security shutters, so I should be quite safe here.'

Carol Walterson Stroud figured Irma would turn elsewhere at first. Then, she didn't evacuate Key West because she's a nervous wreck driving alone, and her husband - 'a hard-headed conch' - wouldn't leave.

She is now hunkered down in a nearby senior center with her husband Tim, their granddaughter Sierra Costello, and dog Rocky. Her daughter, Breanna Vaughn, refused to leave her animals in her home a few blocks away.

'I'm afraid,' Stroud said. 'Tonight, I'm sweating. Tonight, I'm scared to death.'

The most threatening part of the storm is the wind speed and storm surges it will trigger.

Surges of 10 to 15ft are expected in parts of coastal southern Florida and could contribute to life threatening flooding on land. Heavy rain is also forecast and this will exasperate the situation in inland parts of the state.

Unlike Hurricane Harvey which wreaked havoc on Texas last week, Irma is predominantly a wind and surge event, FEMA Chief Brock Long said on Saturday.

Cars ride in the shoulder to pass other cars in evacuation traffic on I-75 N, near Brooksville, Florida on Saturday

Strong winds caused by Hurricane Irma struck Miami on Saturday afternoon (above).

A view of the empty I-95 on Saturday afternoon as storm clouds rolled over Miami on Saturday

A toppled electricity pole in Miami where strong winds are already impacting the city, hours before the worst conditions hit

People in Miami Beach, Florida, ignore warnings to stay indoors on Saturday and brave the rain as Hurricane Irma approaches

Arnold Naintre leans in to the wind in Miami Beach on Saturday before the worst of the conditions set in

The storm surge had already begun in Boynton Beach on the east coast on Saturday with water fast encroaching on the land

The outer bands of Hurricane Irma struck Miami on Saturday afternoon, bringing heavy rain and winds to the city

People brave the rain as the outer bands of Hurricane Irma hit Miami Beach on Saturday afternoon

In Miami Beach on Saturday, strong winds had toppled palm trees on the abandoned streets before the rain began

A lone jogger in Miami on Saturday morning as the city awaits Hurricane Irma. Miami is still at risk of storm surges and heavy winds

There were very few cars on the road in South Beach, Miami, on Saturday as Hurricane Irma approached

Flamingos at the zoo in Miami take refuge in a shelter as Hurricane Irma approached on Saturday morning

Students enter a shelter at the Florida International University in Miami on Saturday after being evacuated

A surfer in Miami Beach takes advantage of the rougher water before the rain on Saturday morning

A woman enters the ocean at Miami Beach on Saturday afternoon as Irma approaches despite emergency services' warnings to leave the area. Right, a man who was more appropriately dressed for the conditions has his rain poncho blown in his face

Florida's animals take up shelter in the county jail as inmates are evacuated in convoy of convict buses Mo the sloth and Kramer the emu are as innocent as they come, but they are doing time in a Florida county jail to protect them from the worst of Hurricane Irma. So are many horses, pigs, goats, sheep, tropical birds, alligators, snakes, turtles and a few other species that the sheriff's office cares for at a farm for abandoned, abused, confiscated or donated animals. Once the 426 humans who normally occupy cells at the Monroe County Jail were evacuated by bus to lockups in Palm Beach County, there was an opportunity to move 250 animals indoors, rather than leave them exposed to Hurricane Irma's storm surge, flooding rains and pounding wind. Mo the sloth eating an ear of corn as it is evacuated from the Monroe County Sheriff's animal farm Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017, in Key West, Fla. The 250 animals from the farm were relocated to the city jail 'We're as ready as we can be,' Zoo Miami spokesman Ron Magill said. Five dolphins were moved from the Florida Keys to central Florida in advance of the storm, but most zoos in the Miami area said they were trying to keep their animals in place and secure from whatever Irma will bring. Authorities in Palm Beach County were being alerted to many animals chained or caged in yards by fleeing owners - these pets have been rescued and will have new homes, they said. 'We are pretty clear, when you surrender your animal you give up your rights,' Dianne Sauve, the director of Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control, told the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Hundreds of thoroughbreds were moved from low-lying areas of Gulfstream Park, near Miami, to training facilities and barns farther north. Some animal shelters were relocating dogs and cats to safer facilities, and a humane society near Tampa said it needed temporary foster homes for more than 100 dogs. 'We live in a hurricane-prone area so our facilities are designed to accommodate these storms,' said Brian Dowling, the general curator at Lion Country Safari in Palm Beach County, where lions, chimpanzees, rhinos and more were staying put. 'Obviously, everything can't be hurricane-proof.' Many of their animals were moved into pens designed to hold up even if nearby buildings were lost in storms or tornadoes. Others were kept in their usual day-to-day habitat, some even with gates left open within their normal spaces. The reason, Mr Dowling said, is simple, animals sense when things are not right, and raising their stress can complicate matters. 'We allow those animals to decide where they want to go,' Mr Dowling said. 'It actually reduces the stress level considerably. Their instincts tell them how to ride out the storm.' SeaWorld Orlando and Busch Gardens Tampa Bay was keeping workers on-site at all hours to care for and monitor the animals. SeaWorld also took in the five adult male dolphins from Dolphin Discovery in Duck Key, where officials said they will stay 'until they can be safely returned to their home in the Florida Keys'. Irma provided another reminder of what hurricanes have done to the state's ecosystem. A quarter of a century after Hurricane Andrew, its impact is still seen in the Everglades, where the invasive Burmese pythons decimating populations of native mammals are believed to be descended from exotic snake breeding facilities that were destroyed in the wind. Most exotic animals that wandered loose in Andrew's wake were recovered, but not the pythons. With only very large alligators to challenge them, the pythons have thrived in the wetlands. Estimates range from 10,000 to 100,000, but their presence can be seen in the near-total absence of rabbits or other small animals reported by hunters who are now paid by the state to kill the snakes. Advertisement

In the largest evacuation effort in US history, millions of people in the Sunshine State and in parts of Georgia have been told to leave their home before Irma strikes on Sunday afternoon.

All of southern Florida is under either a hurricane watch or warning and there will be severe weather in more northern parts of the state.

On Saturday, Miami officials warned people who have already fled their homes not to return despite Irma's change in course.

A curfew is in place in the city to deter people from going outside and mandatory evacuation orders are still in place in Miami Dade County and other surrounding areas.

It will last from 7pm until 7am in the City of Miami but others are also being introdcued Mayor Tomas Pedro Regalado told a press conference on Saturday that it was designed to prevent looting which was seen in Hurricane Katrina and Wilma.

'There are many empty homes in the city of Miami and we saw with Katrina and Wilma, bad people used the fact there was a storm and that there was confusion and they broke into houses, into cars.'

Evacuees fill Germain Arena, which is being used as a fallout shelter, in advance of Hurricane Irma in Estero, Florida

People fill out information forms as they stand in line at the Germain Arena in Estero, Florida, on Saturday

7.000 National Guardsmen have been mobilized in Florida to help cope with the catastrophe. Above, two guardsmen help two elderly evacuees move their belongings into a shelter in Estero, Florida, on Saturday

Despite warnings to stay off the roads, some vehicles were seen on the US 1 Highway which leads to the Florida Keys on Saturday. Residents in the Keys have been told that 'nowhere is safe' and that they must evacuate

People line up waiting to be allowed in to the stadium in Estero, Florida, on Saturday

Jerry McCarthy and Florence Collins wait to be allowed in to the Germain Arena in Estero, Florida

Children play outside the Germain Arena in Estero, which is on the southwest coast, as they wait to get inside to shelter

There was a snaking queue outside the arena on Saturday of Floridians who are now desperate to escape the storm

In Savannah, Georgia, elderly people wait to board a bus to be evacuated out on Saturday

A woman in Savannah, Georgia, waits to be let in to the Savannah Civic Center

In Riverview, Florida, there was barely any water left on the shelves of a supermarket but the wine and beer aisle was fully stocked. One shopper took advantage of it and loaded up on bottles

In Naples, Florida, shopkeepers heeded warnings from officials about the looming winds and boarded up their store fronts

In Daytona Beach, residents boarded up their windows in anticipation of Irma's deadly winds

Metal shutters cover the entrance to a Target store in Port Orange which sits just south of Daytona Beach

All of the airports in southeast Florida are now closed and anyone who is still there is being told to leave urgently or take refuge in one of the shelters being set up.

In Miami, officials admitted they were 'rewriting the book' as they went along to try to prepare for Irma.

Evacuees who have been able to get to a shelter compared the cramped conditions inside to Guantanamo Bay.

Some people are being turned away as high schools and other public spaces reach capacity.

Despite it no longer sitting directly in Irma's path, there were fears Miami could be reduced to a 'third world country' by its winds.

Towering cranes which officials did not have the time to remove before the weekend are at risk of toppling and the windows of the many high-rise apartment buildings will shatter under Category 4 or 5 force sustained winds, storm-chaser Ben McMillan told Fox News.

Every flight out of Miami's International Airport was cancelled as Irma approached

There were no planes whatsoever out of southern Florida on Saturday but others fled higher up in the state in anticipation of Irma

The eye wall of Hurricane Irma is seen above from this WC-130J on Air Force Super Hercules

'IT'S NOT LOOKING GOOD FOR US': TAMPA BRACES FOR IRMA AS PATH CHANGES As Hurricane Irma's path suddenly changed on Saturday, Tampa was suddenly on track for a direct hit from the deadly storm. The city sits on the west coast of Florida and was not initially included in forecast for where the worst affected regions will be. The entire state is preparing for tropical storm conditions and nowhere will be entirely free of its conditions but Tampa is now the city where it is expected to make landfall. After the new forecast emerged on Saturday, Tampa's Mayor Bob Buckhorn spoke to CNN after the new forecast was revealed. He said ominously: 'It's not looking good for us but we are hunkered down and ready to react.' Irma will strike Tampa on Monday, bringing heavy rain and wind for several hours. The real concern is the storm surge the rain will trigger. Buckhorn warned residents in evacuation zones to get out now before the winds grow too strong. 'There will be people who think they can ride this out. We hope they will be OK. But once the winds hit or go above 40mph, our police and fire fighters cannot come to get you.' In a sinister sign-off, he added: 'We never expected a storm of this magnitude. We're going to do the very best we can,' adding: 'Keep us in your prayers.' Many people on the east coast had fled to Tampa among other west coast cities where they thought they would be safer. They were faced with a grave set of circumstances on Saturday as Irma moved. Advertisement

The monstrous hurricane has already claimed at least 24 lives in the Caribbean and wiped out entire small islands.

Cuba and The Bahamas were battered by the storm on Friday night and Saturday during the day. Irma made landfall on the island nation at around 11.10pm on Friday as a Category 5 hurricane. Its eye hovered over the northwest tip on Saturday.

The winds were ferocious, reaching 160mph in parts of The Bahamas and destroying a wind measuring device in Cuba. The center of Hurricane Irma cleared the Cuban coast Saturday night and entered the Florida Straits, where bathtub-warm water of nearly 90 degrees will enable the storm to intensify.

'This is the first Category 5 storm to hit the island since 1924. Obviously Hurricane Irma continues to be a threat that is going to devastate the United States,' Brock Long, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), said at a press conference Friday morning. 'We're going to have a couple rough days.'

The outer bands of the hurricane have already reached the U.S., with south Florida and the Keys experiencing increased rain and wind speeds.

This was the heartbreaking picture in Caibarien, Cuba, on Saturday after the worst of Hurricane Harvey had passed

Strong waves brought by Hurricane Irma hit the Malecon seawall in Havana on Saturday

Locals watch flooded streets following the passage of Hurricane Irma in Havana on Saturday

Cubans survey the damage outside their homes after surviving Caibarien, Cuba, on Saturday afternoon

In Cuba on Saturday, residents had already begun the clean-up operation hours after Irma passed. Above, men survey a toppled electricity pole in Havana

In Caibarien, Cuba, a van sits abandoned in the middle of the street after being battered by Irma on Saturday

CNN's Patrick Oppmann in Caibarien, Cuba, on Saturday morning battled winds of more than 100 mph. He had to retreat inside shortly after this broadcast

This is what Cuba looks like right now. @cnn_oppmann's lights just went out while reporting on Hurricane #Irma. https://t.co/RoOuUY8Bud  CNN (@CNN) September 8, 2017

WIND GUST SPEEDS WHEN IRMA HITS Naples - 137mph Keys - 120mph Tampa - 120mph Miami - 86mph Fort Myers - 137mph Emergency services stop rescuing people when sustained winds reach 40mph. Advertisement

The storm was first downgraded from a Category 5 to a Category 4 earlier on Friday morning. But on Friday night, it was again made a Category 5 storm before being relegated back to 4 early this morning.

CNN's Patrick Oppman live tweeted about the terrifying conditions on Friday night. On Saturday, once the storm had downgraded slightly, he went on the air to try to deliver his broadcast.

It gave a frightening picture of the reality on the island which is still largely made up of 1950s architecture and infrastructure.

Oppman struggled to keep his rain coat out of his face and had to retreat into a cupboard of the house where he and his team were filming.

Government officials along with the National Hurricane Center have cautioned that Irma is 'extremely dangerous' with maximum sustained winds of 155 mph. That's strong enough to bring down power poles, uproot trees and rip the roofs off of homes.

The forecasts show expected to track directly up Florida before crossing the state line into Georgia early next week.

Virginia's Gov. Terry McAuliffe has also declared a state of emergency to help the state get ahead of any damage caused by Hurricane Irma.

The declaration also allows Virginia to provide assistance to other states who will be impacted by the storm. Virginia may face possible flooding, high winds and storm surge as a result of Hurricane Irma.

'It is unfortunate that just as our nation has begun the process to repair the catastrophic damage from Hurricane Harvey, that we are faced with another extreme storm,' McAuliffe said on Friday.

'However, if there is one lesson we can take from the tragic events that occurred in Texas, it is that we must redouble our preparation efforts.

'The order I issued today is intended to both protect our commonwealth and to make sure we have every option at our disposal to help our neighboring states when Irma makes landfall.'

A state of emergency allows the commonwealth to mobilize resources, including the Virginia National Guard, and pre-position people and equipment to assist in storm response and recovery efforts.

All Virginians must prepare in advance for the potential impacts of this historic hurricane.

Social workers and police officers gave Miami's estimated 1,100 homeless people a stark choice on Friday: Come willingly to a storm shelter, or be held against their will for a mental health evaluation.

Officials - backed by a psychiatrist and observed by an Associated Press team - rolled through chillingly empty downtown streets as dawn broke over Biscayne Bay, searching for reluctant stragglers sleeping in waterfront parks.

'We're going out and every single homeless person who is unwilling to come off the street, we are likely going to involuntarily Baker Act them,' said Ron Book, chairman of the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust.

Invoking the 'Baker Act' - a law that enables authorities to institutionalize patients who present a danger to themselves or others - is not something law enforcement does lightly, but officers detained at least six people by Friday afternoon. Under the law, they can be held up to 72 hours before the state would have to go to court to prolong their detention.

A line of people outside the Alico Arena in Fort Myers in southwest Florida on Saturday afternoon

Evacuees embrace as they prepare to settle in to the stadium in Estero, Florida, on Saturday before Hurricane Irma

A woman cradles her dog in the Miami-Dade County Fair and Exhibition, a pet friendly shelter

A man carries his mattress as he is evacuated to another building with more bathrooms at Florida International University, one of the many shelters in place

At the airport in Orlando, people frantically tried to flee the state or head further north as Hurricane Irma approached

'I am not going to sign suicide notes for people who are homeless in my community. I am just not going to do it,' Book added. 'That's why you have a Baker Act. It's there to protect those who can't otherwise protect themselves.'

Book's group was working closely with police, who acknowledged that the effort is unusual: Officials said it is the first time Miami has invoked the law for hurricane preparedness.

About 70 people willingly climbed into white vans and police squad cars Friday, joining others who already arrived at shelters.

About 600 others were thought to remain outside somewhere, exposed to the storm, despite mandatory evacuation orders for more than 660,000 people in areas that include downtown Miami and coastal areas throughout the county.

All Florida's state offices, schools, colleges and universities were ordered to close from Friday until Monday to free up space for evacuation shelters and staging.

The Homeland Security Department is temporarily waiving federal restrictions on foreign ships' transportation of cargo in order to help distribute fuel to states and territories affected by hurricanes Harvey and Irma.

Acting Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke said: 'This is a precautionary measure to ensure we have enough fuel to support lifesaving efforts, respond to the storm, and restore critical services and critical infrastructure.'

The seven-day waiver specifically affects shipments of refined products, such as gasoline, in hurricane-affected areas.

The Jones Act prohibits such shipments between U.S. points aboard foreign vessels. The last such waiver was in December 2012, for petroleum products delivered after Hurricane Sandy.

President Donald Trump and members of his Cabinet bowed their heads in prayer as they met at Camp David in Maryland on Saturday to discuss federal preparations for Hurricane Irma (above) as the storm prepares to strike Florida

U.S. President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago mansion is shown with shutters on the windows after a mandatory evacuation order went into effect on the barrier island of Palm Beach on Friday

Above, some of Key West's famous roosters being evacuated during the storm were wrapped in newspaper and tape

The above graphic shows Hurricane Irma compared to 1992's devastating Hurricane Andrew, the costliest hurricane in Florida's history

Irma poses a bigger menace to power supplies in Florida than Hurricane Harvey did in Texas because Irma is packing near 200 mile-per-hour winds that could down power lines, close nuclear plants and threats to leave millions of homes and businesses in the dark for weeks.

And another concern is two nuclear power plants in the storm's track.

DEVASTATION CAUSED BY HURRICANE ANDREW IN 1992 Hurricane Andrew was a Category Five hurricane that struck the Bahamas and Florida in mid-August 1992. It was the most destructive hurricane to ever hit Florida, and the costliest to the United States until Katrina in 2005. The storm sustained wind speeds as high as 165 mph and passed directly through Miami-Dade County. It stripped many homes of all but their foundations, and destroyed more than 63,500 homes. The storm cost a total of $26.5 billion in damages and left 65 people dead. Advertisement

Florida Power & Light's Turkey Point and St. Lucie plants, which can supply power to almost two million homes, are under threat.

Spokesman Peter Robbins said: 'Based on the current track, we would expect severe weather in Florida starting Saturday, meaning we would potentially shut down before that point.'

The company, a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Inc, is watching the weather and would adjust any plans as necessary.

It can take more than 24 hours to shut down a reactor, so the decision will have to be made well in advance. But bosses are confident the power plants can weather the 185mph storm, as they both have a track record of surviving hurricanes.

The last major hurricane - a storm with winds of at least 111 mph - to hit Florida was Wilma in 2005. Its eye cut through the state's southern third as it packed winds of 120 mph; five people died. Andrew slammed into Florida as a Category 5 storm in 1992 and at the time was the costliest hurricane in U.S. history with damages of $26.5 billion.

With winds that peaked at 185 mph, Irma was the most powerful hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic.

President Donald Trump said Hurricane Irma 'is a storm of absolutely historic destructive potential' and cautioned people in its path to 'get out of its way' and not worry about possessions.

In a video posted to Facebook, the president urged those in Irma's path to be vigilant and heed the recommendations of all government officials. He said property is replaceable but lives are not, and that safety must come first.

Trump said his administration is doing all it can to help with disaster preparations, and the U.S. 'stands united' to address the storm. He said: 'We will endure and come back stronger than ever before.'

The president and members of his Cabinet bowed their heads in prayer, led by Vice President Mike Pence, as they met at Camp David in Maryland on Saturday afternoon.

The meeting was to discuss federal preparations for Hurricane Irma as the storm prepares to strike Florida.

Trump's exclusive Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach - the unofficial Southern White House - sits in the path of the storm.
Tommy Roome was jailed for 14 years for the manslaughter of former celebrity bodyguard Ricky Hayden

The mother of a tragic celebrity minder has slammed members of the jury who cleared her son's killer of murder and instead convicted him of manslaughter.

Victim Ricky Hayden, 27, was wearing just a pair of boxer shorts when he rushed outside his home after spotting two youths on a moped he suspected of eyeing up his brother's scooter.

His assailant Tommy Roome was just 19 when he used a machete to hack at Mr Hayden in September 2016.

Speaking outside court after Roome was sentenced to 14 years for manslaughter, the victim's mother blasted the jury.

'We are here today to let people know this system is rubbish,' said Suzzane Hedges.

'They need to get rid of the jury and have people who know what DNA is, not people who fall asleep. We are hard-working people. We got no justice.'

Michael Turner QC, mitigating, told the Old Bailey that the jury had convicted Roome of manslaughter on the basis that he 'inflicted the fatal injury but without intent and without realising he was causing really serious harm.

Mr Hayden's family and friends clapped and shouted 'yes' as the killer, Tommy Roome, received his jail sentence with a further five years to be served on extended licence.

The cheers and jubilation at the sentence continued outside court as Ms Hedges told reporters Roome could 'rot in hell'.

His father, Paul Hayden, said: 'We have got to get these knives off the streets. My son died for nothing.'

Ricky Hayden was killed outside his home by a machete-wielding teenager on his moped. His mother Suzanne Hedges (right) said today the family do not feel they have got justice

The victim's family had earlier vented their anger outside court by waving banners and placards and saying justice had not been done.

The judge told Roome he showed a 'compete absence of any compassion' for killing a well-respected man who 'unlike you made something of his life'.

He said his actions came 'within a hair's breadth of the crime of murder'.

In a victim impact statement read in court, she said the family had been 'crushed' by her son's death.

She said: 'Ricky was our boy. He was kind, caring and honest with a cheeky streak.'

Ms Hedges last spoke to him on the phone when he called her up just to say 'I love you'.

Ms Hedges described listening to the 'sickening' details of the case in court and the way her son was attacked while he was 'vulnerable, unarmed, unprepared, confused and wearing nothing but his underwear'.

Ricky's father Paul Hayden and his sister April also attended the Old Bailey this morning

The teaching assistant added: 'I would have given my own life in a heartbeat just to have saved him the pain and fear he must have felt at that moment.'

Sentencing Roome, Judge Philip Katz QC said it was a 'shocking' killing witnessed by numerous people.

The judge said: 'I am sure that your use of a knife was not a sudden or spontaneous reaction to a meaningful threat of violence from the Haydens.

'I am sure when you stabbed him Ricky was unarmed wearing boxer shorts and bare footed.

'In the circumstances you knew perfectly well that using such a weapon to stab anyone might easily cause lethal injury.'

Hayden (left) had been a security guard at the wedding of Peter Crouch and Abbey Clancy

Rising tide of knife crime in the capital Fifteen teenagers have died in knife attacks in London already this year. Figures released earlier this year showed a 20 per cent increase in the rate of knife attacks in the capital involving injuries to victims last year, up from 3,663 to 4,415 in 2016/17. Assistant Commissioner Martin Hewitt said at the time the figures were released that teenagers were carrying knives to boost their 'status' and for perceived self-protection. He said: 'The crime picture has evolved and so must we in the way we police, recruit and operate.' Advertisement

Prosecutors said Mr Hayden, his 21-year-old brother Perry and their father, 55, were confronted by Roome and Tarrell Hinds, then 19, who were armed with two large machetes.

Jurors were told the pair had gone to Gibbfield Close that day to look for two other brothers with whom Roome was involved in an ongoing dispute.

Kevin Malamba, also 20, from Southwark, south London, who admitted perverting the course of justice, was sentenced to 30 months in detention.

Roome, now 20, of Chadwell Heath, east London, was found not guilty of murdering Mr Hayden by a jury at the Old Bailey, but convicted of the lesser charge of manslaughter.

Hinds, also 20, of Chigwell, was cleared of involvement in the killing, in Romford, east London, on September 13 2016.
Thirteen active-duty soldiers were among the twenty men arrested in a prostitution sting in Bell County, Texas.

The men ranked from private to major, reports the Killeen Daily Herald.

The men paid for 'sex' that ranged in cost from $60 to $200. In actuality, they were paying investigators who were seeking to do a sting, an operation that generally involves deception.

One man left his wife and mother waiting in his car in a hotel parking lot while he went inside for sex.

Another requested a 'two-fer', or sex with both a minor and an older woman. Yet another also asked for sex with a minor.

Four of the 13 active-duty soldiers implicated in a prostitution sting in Bell County, Texas are pictured. From left to right: Jimmie Joiner, 23; Gregory Hughes, 34; Stanley Ervin, 41; and Joseph Bartolomei, 44

The prostitution sting was executed to combat sex trafficking, authorities said. Pictured left to right are three of the 13 soldiers implicated: Kendrick Davis, 28; Carlos Castillo, 33; and Ernest Grant, 39

Pictured left to right are three more of the soldiers: Xavier Horne, 22; Michael Culpepper, 36; and Natalion Seymour, 38

Pictured left to right are the remaining three soldiers: Adrian Upshaw, 22; Dontae Johnson, 35; and Donta White, 35

It is not clear whether these two men, both of whom could be charged with felonies, were soldiers or not.

All men will be charged with solicitation of prostitution, a crime that in Texas can carry a maximum prison sentence of two years and a fine of $10,000.

Five of the twenty men were arrested at a hotel in Salado, Texas and the remaining fifteen were arrested at a hotel in Killeen, Texas.

The arrested men were booked in the hotel rooms. All were released on bonds ranging from $1,500 to $2,500, reports KWTX.

In total, 20 men were caught in the sting. The seven non-soldiers, from top to bottom and from left to right, are: Romelle People, 49; Sean Muselman, 41; Leonard Slade, 30; Christopher Webster, 32; David Hunter, 47; Denzel Clifton, 24; and Robert Lassiter, 33

The Bell County Sheriff's office told Stars and Stripes that the sting was done to combat sex trafficking in the region.

Twelve of the soldiers implicated in the sting are Donta White, 35; Gregory Hughes, 34; Jimmie Joiner, 23; Kendrick Davis, 28; Stanley Ervin, 41; Xavier Horne, 22; Adrian Upshaw, 22; Carlos Castillo, 33; Ernest Grant, 39; Natalion Seymour, 38; Joseph Bartolomei, 44; Dontae Johnson, 35; and Michael Culpepper, 36.

Many of the soldiers were stationed at Fort Hood, near Killeen. It is not yet clear how their military careers might be affected.
A mystery police informant is behind Australia's biggest drug bust, single-handedly infiltrating and bringing down an alleged crime syndicate.

Known only as Male Witness 1 (MW1), the police asset gained the trust of Michael Ibrahim before meeting the cagey alleged drug kingpin Hakan Arif face-to-face in Dubai.

After helping orchestrate multiple alleged shipments of illegal drugs, MW1 set up the final sting that would bring down Arif and Ibrahim brothers Michael and Fadi.

MW1 first met Michael Ibrahim on November 10 2016 at the Sheraton Hotel in Sydney, according to court documents obtained by The Daily Telegraph.

The two were introduced by an old family friend of the Ibrahims, Ryan Watsford, a former Double Bay real estate agent.

It took MW1 only nine months to dismantle the alleged drug syndicate, snaring the Ibrahims and members of two warring crime families, the Ahmads and the Elmirs.

Known only as Male Witness 1 (MW1), the police asset gained the trust of Michael Ibrahim (pictured above)

Fadi Ibrahim is pictured going through security at Sydney Airport before flying to Dubai

Drugs: MDMA, stamped with a recognisable Audi logo, was seized in the Netherlands

On his second meeting with Michael Ibrahim they allegedly discussed importing drugs from Lebanon at the Intercontinental Hotel in Double Bay.

Michael allegedly told MW1 he had '50 litres [assumed to be pseudoephedrine] in Lebanon and 50 kegs of coke in Lebanon'.

Less than a week later they met again at a cafe where MW1 was given a BlackBerry - the alleged syndicate's preferred communication device.

The reason for MW1's speedy initiation into the group was his claim to have a 'door service' that allowed him to import anything into Australia undetected.

It is alleged Michael saw an opportunity to profit from using MW1's service, and set to work recruiting underworld figures.

At this third meeting Michael allegedly first mentioned Moustapha 'Fairy' Dib, who had his conviction for the killing of schoolboy Edward Lee in Punchbowl in 1998 overturned in an appeals court.

MW1 gained the trust of Michael Ibrahim (left) before meeting the cagey alleged drug kingpin Hakan Arif (right) face-to-face in Dubai

An AFP photo shows Michael Ibrahim, Ryan Watsford and a man believed to be MW1 together

A police photo shows Michael Ibrahim meeting with an unknwon person in Rose Bay, Sydney

Moustapha 'Fairy' Dib (left) allegedly met Ahmad 'Rock' Ahmad (right) in Sydney

Dib then allegedly joined the group at the 21 Espresso cafe and they took a stroll to nearby Guilfoyle Park.

On December 29 Watsford allegedly told MW1 that Dib was not entirely convinced about him, but planning continued nonetheless.

By the time Dib's Lebanon connections in late February this year the two were closer and Dib allegedly asked if MW1 could help import cocaine from Sudan or the Netherlands. MW1 replied that he could, and it is alleged plans sprung into action.

By May 2017 the syndicate was allegedly in the process of buying a $1million shipment of MDMA from Arif - nicknamed Mr Billionaire.

MW1 then met Nejmi 'The Boss' Saki who was allegedly Arif's main supplier of drugs, putting him one step closer to Mr Billionaire.

Haul: 498kg of MDMA, 116kg of cocaine and 15kg of meth were allegedly found

Michael Ibrahim is seen using a BlackBerry phone while inside a warehouse on CCTV

Images released by the AFP show images of a service station on Liverpool Road in Sydney

MW1 collected the shipment on May 26 and sent Michael Ibrahim a text message confirming he had the product in the Netherlands.

Meanwhile in Sydney, Ibrahim and Dib allegedly met Ahmad 'Rock' Ahmad and Hassan 'Fraka' Fakhreddine who represented Mr Billionaire in Australia.

The previously warring families, including Dib and Elmir, allegedly united together under the guidance of MW1 and arranged to transport 500kg of MDMA, stamped with a recognisable Audi logo, and 20kg of cocaine.

The drugs were allegedly transported from Netherlands in two separate pick-ups without a hitch, and MW1 set about organising a third drug import through Elmir.

Ryan Watsford, an old family friend of the Ibrahims and former Double Bay real estate agent

Michael and Fadi Ibrahim are pictured with their mother and John Ibrahim. Neither their mother or John are accused of any offences

Fadi Ibrahim is pictured outside Central Local Court in Sydney on May 13, 2011

Police raided properties in Sydney over an alleged drug smuggling syndicate

It is alleged that MW1 then convinced Michael Ibrahim to fly first-class to Dubai, joined by Fadi and Elmir, so that the men had an alibi when the alleged drug haul - 498kg of MDMA, 116kg of cocaine and 15kg of meth - touched down in Sydney.

Two months after the third successful drug importation, members of the alleged drug syndicate met up in Dubai to celebrate the enormous haul.

But they had no idea that police, acting on months of detailed intelligence, were finalising plans to pounce and make coordinated arrests across three continents.

Up to 570 AFP officers were involved in raids, aided by NSW Police and investigators in the United Arab Emirates and The Netherlands.

AFP Assistant Commissioner Neil Gaughan confirmed investigators had arrested 17 people in three countries - nine men and one woman in Sydney, five men in Dubai and two men in The Netherlands.

Police are now working to extradite the men from Dubai back to Australia, where they will be forced to prove their allegations in court.




Russia has dropped the biggest non-nuclear bomb ever detonated on ISIS fighters near a Syrian city, according to unconfirmed reports.

The Aviation Thermobaric Bomb of Increased Power (ATBIP) - also known as the Father of All Bombs' - was reportedly dropped by the Syrian city of Deir ez-Zor.

Activists posting on Twitter on September 7 claimed to have seen the bomb in action.

The Aviation Thermobaric Bomb of Increased Power (ATBIP) - also known as the Father of All Bombs' - was reportedly dropped by the Syrian city of Deir ez-Zor

This was the same day the Russian Defence Ministry revealed it has killed several top Islamic State group commanders in a Facebook post.

'As a result of a precision air strike of the Russian air forces in the vicinity of Deir Ezzor city, a command post, communication centre and some 40 ISIS fighters have been killed,' it said.

These included US-trained 'minister of war' Gulmurod Khalimov, who has a $3 million bounty on his head, and the high-profile commander Abu-Muhammad al-Shimali.

So far, there has been no confirmation from the Russian Defence Ministry that the Father of All Bombs was dropped during the strike.

ISIS 'minister of war' Gulmurod Khalimov and Abu-Muhammad al-Shimali were both killed in a Russian airstrike on the same day the Father of All Bombs was allegedly dropped

The Father of All Bombs has rarely been officially photographed or videoed.

The huge munition works by releasing a cloud of flammable gas over its target before detonating, creating a deadly pressure wave that can crush hidden bunkers.

FATHER OF ALL BOMBS Releases a cloud of aluminium powder and ethylene oxide before detonating. Weighs just over 14,000 pounds Blast equivalent to 44 tons of TNT Named Father of All Bombs to assert its supremacy to the American Mother of All Bombs. Source: The Warzone Advertisement

When it was first tested in 2007, Russian military sources said it was 'comparable to nuclear weapons'.

A weapon in its same class, known as the Mother of All Bombs, was dropped by the Americans on a network of ISIS tunnels in Nangarhar province, Afghanistan.

A crater left by the blast is believed to be more than 300 meters (1,000 feet) wide after it exploded six feet above the ground. Anyone at the blast site was vaporized.

President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House that he was 'very, very proud' and called the operation 'really another successful job'.

The huge munition works by releasing a cloud of flammable gas over its target before detonating, creating a deadly pressure wave that can crush hidden bunkers.
Two men were involved in a physical altercation over plywood at a Home Depot store in North Miami on Tuesday.

The fight erupted as panicked Floridians formed long lines and emptied out the shelves at the store in anticipation of Hurricane Irma.

Locals in South Florida were in a rush to stock up on supplies at the Home Depot when one customer, Joshua Shempko, said he was struck by another shopper during an argument over plywood, WPLG-TV reported.

He just hit me, Shempko told a Home Depot employee moments after the altercation.

He grabbed me and then he lunged, he said.

Two men (seen far left and far right) were involved in a physical altercation over plywood at a Home Depot store in North Miami on Tuesday

Joshua Shempko says that an unidentified man 'grabbed him and lunged' at him while the two men were shopping for plywood

Shempko gives chase as the alleged attacker tries to escape through the main exit

He just hit me, Shempko told a Home Depot employee moments after the altercation. The other person involved in the altercation is seen right walking away

After Shempko complained to a Home Depot employee, his alleged attacker is seen walking away

Shempko was interviewed by WPLG-TV after sustaining a noticeable cut on his face.

The alleged attacker initially tried to flee the scene, though he was detained by police officers soon afterward.

Hurricane Irma dipped in intensity as it passed over Cuba, with maximum sustained wind speeds falling to 130 miles per hour, but is forecast to regain strength as it moves away from the island, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said on Saturday.

The storm will reach the Florida Keys on Sunday morning and is expected to be near the southwest coast of Florida on Sunday afternoon, the NHC said.

The alleged attacker tried to escape but he was detained by police officers nearby

Irma would remain a powerful hurricane as it approaches Florida, it said.

Miami was thrown a lifeline on Saturday as Hurricane Irma's path veered west, narrowly avoiding a direct hit from the storm.

Irma is expected to move up the southwest coast as a Category 4 hurricane on Sunday, bringing with it 130mph winds and life threatening rain.

It is not likely to make landfall on US soil until the early hours of Monday when meteorologists now predict it will hit Tampa as a Category 3 storm.

Irma is so powerful that no matter where it hits and even before it does, the entire southern section of the state is at risk of storm surge, deadly wind and rain.

Nervous Floridians formed long lines at the Home Depot in North Miami to stock up on supplies

The shelves at the store (above) were emptied as locals prepare for the arrival of Hurricane Irma

More than 5million people have been evacuated in anticipation of it and 50,000 people are in shelters across the state.

On Saturday morning, Governor Rick Scott, who has been pleading with residents for days to leave evacuation zones before Irma hits, said: 'This is a catastrophic storm. We have never seen this before. The storm is bigger than our state.

In the largest evacuation effort in US history, millions of people in the Sunshine State and in parts of Georgia have been told to leave their home before Irma strikes on Sunday afternoon.

All of the airports in southeast Florida are now closed and anyone who is still there is being told to leave urgently or take refuge in one of the shelters being set up.

In Miami, officials admitted they were 'rewriting the book' as they went along to try to prepare for Irma. Evacuees who have been able to get to a shelter compared the cramped conditions inside to Guantanamo Bay.

Some people are being turned away as high schools and other public spaces reach capacity.

As of Friday night, only 21 of the 42 planned shelters in Miami Dade County, which takes in a huge swathe of the city, had been announced.

The monstrous hurricane has already claimed 24 lives in the Caribbean and wiped out entire small islands.

On Saturday morning, it had Cuba in its grip and was pounding the country with torrential rain and winds of up to 130mph.
Jesse H. Bullock Sr, 37, died on Thursday morning near Moline, Illinois

A father has died in the same river where his two sons drowned four years ago.

Jesse H. Bullock Sr, 37, died on Thursday morning when his truck ran off the road and into the Edwards River near Moline, Illinois, not far from where his two boys drowned in a 2013 swimming accident.

Young brothers Jesse Bullock Jr, 12, and Nic Bullock, 9, were wading in the shallow river on a hot summer day when they suddenly fell into a deep 15-foot drop-off.

At the time, grieving father Bullock Sr said the boys had been working all week in the fields and had just wanted to cool off.

'It was an accident. We knew the risk of letting them go down there. We're country boys. A hot summer day, you go fishing. Relax,' he told WQAD.

First responders at the scene of Bullock's death. His car ran off the road into the Edwards River

In 2013, Bullock and his wife Emily grieved the death of two sons, Jesse Jr and Nic, who drowned in the same spot where Bullock has now died in a car crash

Jesse Bullock, 12, (left) and Nic Bullock, 9, (right) drowned in the Edwards River in July 2013 when they were wading in the water and fell into a deep-15-foot drop-off. They are pictured with their mother, Emily, and youngest brother

'Me and my friends grew up here. I know a couple hundred people that have been in and out of that water all their lives,' said Bullock Sr.

Bullock Sr was a Navy veteran and volunteer firefighter with the Keithsburg Fire Department, according to his obituary.

He worked as a mechanic and on dredges in the nearby Mississippi River.

The cause of the crash was not immediately clear. The Mercer County Coroner did not immediately return a message from DailyMail.com on Saturday.

'The vehicle was in the stream, actually in the stream bed,' Mercer County Sheriff David Staley told WQAD.

'Ironic, I guess, that it happened in the same location' as the sons' drowning, said Staley.

Bullock Sr was a family man who enjoyed fishing, working on cars, off-roading and spending time with loved ones, his obituary said.

He is survived by his wife Emily and children Savannah and Thomas.
A man has been charged with murder over a fatal Fathers Day shooting in Victoria.

A 30-year-old man was arrested and accused of killing Joshua DiPietro, 31, who was shot in the head while sitting in a car in Rosebud, south-east of Melbourne.

The alleged killer was arrested in the town two days after the shooting and has been charged with one count of murder and three counts of conduct endangering life.

Mr DiPietro was shot while in a car with a friend after spending the day with his parents, according to police. He later died in hospital.

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Heavily armed police have arrested a man who barricaded himself inside a house on Melbourne's Mornington Peninsula following the shooting death of a 31-year-old (pictured is Josh Dipietro) on Father's Day

The 30-year-old charged with murder was remanded in custody and will appear in Melbourne Magistrates Court on Sunday.

He arrested after an overnight stand-off with police, and was an associate of Mr DiPietro.

The 30-year-old, who was living in a tent on a property in Rosebud, was taken into custody early on Tuesday after an operation that started about 8pm on Monday when he told police he had a hostage.

Josh Dipietro was shot in the head shortly after enjoying a lunch with his parents in the seaside town

'Homicide squad is following up the fatal in Rosebud on Sunday and as a result we identified a person of interest who is an associate of the victim,' Homicide Squad Detective Inspector Mick Hughes told reporters.

The female hostage, believed to be the man's partner, was released about 3.40am on Tuesday.

Heavily armed police moved in on the property about 6.30am and following a series of loud bangs the man was arrested.

'He subsequently has been injured by the police dog that was used in that arrest,' Det Insp Hughes told reporters.

'He is in police custody and is seeking medical attention for a severe bite to his leg.'

The man was arrested after a nine-hour standoff with police in Rosebud, south of Melbourne

Josh Dipietro was shot while he was sitting in the passenger seat of a Mitsubishi Pajero on the Mornington Peninsula.

Dipietro, who is known to police, was airlifted to The Alfred Hospital after the attack in Rosebud but died on Monday.

Police now say the victim may have attended the property where the stand-off occurred on the day of the shooting.

Detectives have spoken with the Dipietro's family and a friend who was driving the Pajero as police investigate who fired the gun and why.

'We certainly believe this was a targeted attack, it was very specific: shots fired into the car,' Detective Inspector Mick Hughes said on Monday.

Dipietro (pictured), who is known to police, was airlifted to The Alfred Hospital after the attack in Rosebud but died on Monday

Mr DiPietro had spent Father's Day with his parents before he was fatally shot in the head

'He had Father's Day lunch with his parents, he spent about four hours with his folks,' Insp Hughes said.

'Mum dropped him off at the Dundas Street, Rye, milk bar, kissed him goodbye and told him she loved him and she last saw him sitting on a seat outside the milk bar.'

It was from there he was collected by a friend, and it's thought the pair were heading to the RSL for a drink when the shooting happened.
Relief efforts are under way on the British islands devastated by Hurricane Irma as a second 'extremely dangerous' storm threatens the Caribbean.

Medical supplies and other aid are being flown from the UK to the areas worst affected by Irma following a 32 million pledge from the British Government.

The death toll from Irma has risen to 20 - with a further four people believed to have died on the British Virgin Islands.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said aircraft carrying around 230 personnel, made up of engineers, marines and medical specialists, will take rations and medical supplies to places affected including Barbados and the British Virgin Islands.

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Members of 24 Commando Royal Engineers were pictured landing in the British Virgin Islands this morning after landing in an RAF C17 plane

Officials said it has been difficult to gauge the extent of the damage because communication lines have gone down

But the Department for International Development (Dfid) has sent advisers to the area to assess the wreckage.

More than 200 Royal Marines, along with engineers, specialists, medical supplies, and aid, including emergency shelter kits, rations and clean water, have been flown out to the region.

The Prime Minister also sought to give assurances to the British territories that the Government's support would include a focus on long-term rebuilding.

She said: 'I give them this commitment  I recognise that our immediate concern is ensuring the support is there and every effort is there as this hurricane is devastating these islands, but at the Cobra today I also ensured that a piece of work was being put in place, already started, on long-term planning.'

RFA Mounts Bay has helped to restore power and communications as well as clear the airport runway in Anguilla, and will next provide relief in the British Virgin Islands, Dfid said.

HMS Ocean is due to take equipment and aid supplies from Gibraltar to the Caribbean on Monday.

Members of 24 Commando Royal Engineers were pictured landing in the British Virgin Islands this morning after landing in an RAF C17 plane.

Mounts Bay's Commanding Officer Capt Stephen Norris RFA said last night: 'My people worked tirelessly throughout the day with determination and flexibility to support the Governor and the people of Anguilla.

'Although Anguilla suffered extensive damage, normal signs of life were returning - some roads open and the local population beginning a recovery and clear-up operation.'

The Chinook helicopter was loaded with equipment ahead of its meeting with the HMS Ocean task group, which will provide aid to the Caribbean

HMS Ocean is due to take equipment and aid supplies from Gibraltar to the Caribbean on Monday. Pictured: Royal Engineers arriving with aid today

Medical supplies and other aid are being flown from the UK to the areas worst affected by Irma following a 32 million pledge from the British Government

Buckingham Palace said the Queen will be making a significant personal donation to the Hurricane Irma appeal organised by the British Red Cross.

The government of the Turks and Caicos Islands, which were 'pummelled' overnight, declared a national shutdown as the hurricane continued its destructive path towards America.

Forecasters said another storm - Hurricane Jose - could affect already-hit areas with the British Virgin Islands on tropical storm watch, and the Commonwealth islands of Barbuda and Antigua and British territory of Anguilla on hurricane watch.

The British Virgin Islands, which saw houses reduced to their foundations and many roads impassable in the wake of Irma, has already declared a state of emergency.

Buckingham Palace said even the Queen will be making a significant personal donation to the Hurricane Irma appeal organised by the British Red Cross. Pictured: Royal Engineers in the British Virgin Islands

Theresa May's spokeswoman dismissed criticism that the UK lagged behind France and the Netherlands in taking care of its territories in the path of the hurricane

RAF Oldiham personnel loading equipment in the Chinook as part of Op Ruman

As the hurricane sweeps through the Caribbean, the RAF load equipment as part of an aid mission

Images posted on social media showed entire structures razed to the ground, with debris scattered across the streets.

There has been criticism of the Government's response to Irma, the most powerful hurricane ever to hit the Atlantic, with some saying more should have been done to prepare for the devastation.

Labour MP Virendra Sharma, who sits on the International Development Committee, said there had been a 'lack of vision and lack of proper response', despite indications the hurricane was coming.

But Theresa May's spokeswoman dismissed criticism that the UK lagged behind France and the Netherlands in taking care of its territories in the path of the hurricane.

Aftermath: The hurricane has so far killed at least 24 people across the Caribbean and laid waste to vast areas. Pictured: The British Virgin Islands

Hurricane Irma smashed into the British Virgin Islands as a Category 5 storm before weakening to a Category 4 storm

The Government is working with the US authorities to ensure 'everything can be done' before the storm arrives, she said.

Meanwhile British police officers will be deployed as part of the efforts to step up support to the Caribbean islands left devastated by Hurricane Irma.

Almost 300 military personnel have left the UK as part of Operation Ruman, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said.

The NPCC announced that British police officers will provide support to the British Virgin Islands force as part of the relief effort.

Paradise lost: This car was flipped on its side in the British Virgin Islands and almost completely destroyed by the devastating winds of Hurricane Irma

It said two members of the UK police cadre, who support the military in times of international crisis, flew out yesterday, while a further 53 British officers from 14 police forces are due to leave from RAF Brize Norton in co-operation with the MoD.

The officers will support the local police force to maintain law and order, as well as helping to find missing people, including British nationals, the NPCC explained.

The organisation's lead for international policing, Chief Constable Andy Marsh, said: 'We received offers of support from officers across the country as soon as this crisis began.

'These officers, and the many others who volunteered, signify our commitment to help those in need and humanitarian instinct of the British police force, no matter where in the world.'

Wreckage: Many boats on the British Virgin Islands have been destroyed by the storm

Irma was first classified as a tropical storm on August 30 and rapidly intensified over the following days. Winds reached a peak of 130mph but soon became the strongest for more than a decade when sustained winds peaked at 185mph.

Thousands of British tourists believed to be in the Caribbean have been warned to follow evacuation orders while some have been advised to stay in their hotel rooms.

Holiday firms said they are monitoring the situation and some have cancelled flights or offered to amend bookings for those due to travel to affected areas in the coming days.

Hurricane Irma's trail of destruction

In Fort Lauderdale, Erik Petersen, 40, described the atmosphere as 'pretty tense'  adding that there was much more worry than last year, when the Sunshine State braced itself for Hurricane Matthew.

The dual American-British citizen told the Press Association: 'People aren't just talking about this as a hurricane, they're talking about it as the hurricane.

'I've had a few people ask if I'm considering going somewhere else in Florida, but this thing's the size of Texas. Roads are clogged, hotels are full, gas is running low. I'd rather face this thing in a house in Fort Lauderdale than in a car in a traffic jam somewhere outside Orlando.'

The Foreign Office has set up a hotline for people affected by the disaster and for people whose loved ones may be affected, on 020 7008 0000.
The grieving parents of a woman who died a month before her 30th birthday have paid tribute to their 'beautiful daughter'.

Sherry Campbell, a special needs teaching assistant from County Down, was found by her father, Shannon, after she choked to death on a piece of steak.

Mr Campbell discovered her body in the kitchen after coming downstairs at 4am on Thursday thinking Sherry had fallen asleep watching the television.

Sherry Campbell, a special needs teaching assistant from County Down, was found by her father, Shannon, after she choked to death on a piece of steak

He told The Belfast Telegraph: 'It was a sight I will never forget.

'It was terribly bad luck, a terrible shock, and it has been a complete and utter nightmare.'

Ms Campbell's was inspired to take up her job by her mother, Fionuala, who is also a special needs teaching assistant at the same school.

Remembering her daughter, she said: 'You have no idea how proud we were of her.

'She was kind and sometimes she gave too much, but she said that it was better to do that than not.'

A close family friend said: 'She lived in the family home and she was the apple of their eye, their princess - her daddy always said, "You're my little princess".

Mr Campbell discovered her body in the kitchen after coming downstairs at 4am on Thursday thinking Sherry had fallen asleep watching the television

Ms Campbell's 30th birthday would have been on October 12, where a party was planned at the Royal Ulster Yacht Club in Bangor.

Mark Weir, Principal of Strangford College - where Ms Campbell taught - described her as a 'much loved and valued member of the school community'.

He wrote on Facebook: 'It is with great sadness that I have to tell you of the sudden death of Ms Sherry Campbell, a much loved and valued member of our school community.

'Sherry was a Teaching and Learning Assistant, and a former student of Strangford College.

'The students were told this morning, by their teachers, in their class groups.

'Parents - your child may or, may not wish to talk about this, however it is likely that he, or she, may need extra love and support from you in the days ahead.'

Friends and colleagues also paid their respects to Ms Campbell.

Linda Braiden Adgey commented: 'So so sad thoughts and prayers with her family and friends gone to soon.'

Elizabeth Johnston wrote: 'Such sad news. I just can't take it in. My thoughts and prayers are with Fionuala and Shannon. But also with the school community.'

And another well-wisher said: 'Devastating news thoughts and prayers with her family so sad gone far too soon.'
Horrifying footage shows an enormous swarm of locusts devouring everything in their path in a Russian town.

Innumerable insects filled the skies of Ninovka, in the south of the country, to the horror of locals.

The video, which was shot last month, shows a group of fishermen as they battle past the swarm of locusts.

It comes as huge migrations of the flying insects have devastate farms in southern Russian and surrounding regions.

Innumerable insects filled the skies of Ninovka, in the south of the country, to the horror of locals

The video, which was shot last month, shows a group of fishermen as they battle past the swarm of locusts

It comes as huge migrations of the flying insects have devastate farms in southern Russian and surrounding regions

In come cases, whole pastures have been destroyed leaving farmers without food to feed their cattle

Officials said trying to scare the insects off with noise - which had worked previously - failed this year, according to Russian media

But resourceful fishermen have made the most of the swarms  catching the insects in nets to use as bait.

In some cases, whole pastures have been destroyed leaving farmers without food to feed their cattle.

They say the arrival of the yearly swarms are signalled by long periods of hot, dry weather.

But resourceful fishermen have made the most of the swarms  catching the insects in nets to use as bait.

Officials said trying to scare the insects off with noise - which had worked previously - failed this year, according to Russian media.
A handful of storm junkies defied evacuation orders and eight-foot waves to go surfing off Miami Beach today.

Yacht captain Graham Cavanaugh, 53, told DailyMail.com he was confident he could resist the huge surge generated by Hurricane Irma.

Taking to the water near South Point Park he said: 'I know the sea. I've been going out there 35 years. Conditions are not that great, I'm looking for a clean waves, less whitewater, but I'll give it a go.

'Anything you do in life is calculated but the risk is minimized if you know what you're doing. At this moment there is the least amount of danger because the beach is clear. Other surfers are more of danger than Mother Nature herself.'

Cavanaugh's mother Gaytan, 84, his wife Yvonne, 44, and son Dylan, 12, are all taking shelter at a Holiday Inn inland in the city of Dania, 25 miles north.

Yacht captain Graham Cavanaugh, 53, told DailyMail.com he was confident he could resist the huge storm surge generated by Hurricane Irma

Cavanaugh takes to the waves as the outer bands of Irma ominously darken the skies above Miami Beach and wind kicks up waves of up to eight feet against the shore

Several surfers were spotted riskily seeking waves on Miami Beach Saturday, as time ran out to escape the wrath of Hurricane Irma before landfall

'My wife just said have fun. She wouldn't come to the beach. I'm not worried. It's going to the West Coast. You will not see me here tomorrow if it's 70mph winds - I'm not stupid.'

In South Beach, some fitness-obsessed 'remainers' who defied emergency evacuation orders passed the time by doing boot camp classes in the lobby of their high rise.

Others donned workout gear to run up and down stairs after the elevators were switched off to avoid the threat of people getting trapped when the power goes.

By early afternoon Saturday residents were still wandering around the ghost-like streets and cycling through the driving rain to take selfies and live Instagram videos despite the looming threat of tropical storm winds.

On West Avenue where luxury condos overlook Biscayne Bay last minute preparations were still underway to tether yachts to private jetties.

Waves were already lapping onto the wooden decking by midday, and water was bubbling up through manholes in the swank bayside neighborhood that is notoriously flood-prone.

Gaetan Mondet and six-months-pregnant wife Carole decided to stay inside their sixth floor apartment overlooking the water, joining other holdouts who have decided to stay put

High winds had already begun to make their presence known in Miami Beach on Saturday, about 24 hours before Hurricane Irma is expected to make landfall

Pockets of residents loosely organized themselves into groups to pool resources and appoint first aiders.

A Facebook group, South Beach Locals Staying Home for Irma has 150 members.

Gaetan Mondet and six-months-pregnant wife Carole decided to stay inside their sixth floor apartment overlooking the water.

'This building is like a bunker. It has been here for more 50 years and survived several major hurricanes. I wouldn't entrust the safety of my wife and unborn child to some flimsy inland motel,' said Mondet, 30, a sales director from Bourg-Saint-Maurice in the French Alps.

The couple entertained themselves by organizing a game of monopoly for neighbors in the Mirador North building.

'We have lots of supplies and a great community here. And most importantly of all, we are six floors up,' added Carole, 29, who works for an accounting firm.

'My sister is not thrilled that I have ignored a mandatory evacuation zone. But we have to do what we feel is safest.'

Many who have chosen to stay in Miami Beach despite evacuation warnings as Hurricane Irma looms believe there are safer staying where they are (Pictured on Friday: Marie Fonseca, left, and her friend, Flavio Sobe, say they are going to tough out the storm)

Only one restaurant, at the Boulevard Hotel on famed Ocean Drive, was open Friday. Manager Ram Luis (pictured) said there were nine staffers on duty but there would normally be 20

Although Miami Beach is supposed to be a ghost town, there are plenty of mortals to be found if you look.

And those who have chosen to remain as Hurricane Irma, which is expected to be Category 5 when it touches down in Florida, agree they are not The Walking Dead.

They believe they are safer where they are than if they had evacuated inland or moved north to avoid the 155mph fury of the largest storm ever to form in the open Atlantic Ocean.

And despite seeing pictures of the devastation Irma has wrought in Caribbean islands such as Barbuda, St Martin and Tortola, they have faith in their sturdy homes just yards from the Atlantic coast.

'Where am I going to go?' asked real estate consultant Marie Fonseca as she headed back to her apartment for cigarettes she had forgotten to take with her on a stroll around town with her friend Flavio Sobe.

'I had one person I know in hysterics saying: "You have to leave now, come and stay with me!" But she's in Tampa and that looks like it could get hit worse. Good luck with that one.'

Nikki Aliosmanova (left) and her boyfriend, Alex Rizov (right), from the UK plan to enjoy South Beach, which has been made a ghost town, as their very own private beach on Friday

Her friend, Sobe, told DailyMail.com he will ride Irma out with as many people as possible in his apartment along South Beach's Collins Avenue.

'I've put a note on my Facebook telling people with nowhere else to go to come to my place. They should bring happiness and pets,' he said.

And partying is the way to go, added Sobe.

'You know what the first things to run out were when news of this hurricane started? - lube, alcohol and condoms. That's the Miami way of dealing with it.'

Ironically, Sobe shouldn't be in South Beach at all this weekend. He is due to start a new job in New York next week and should have already left. But four flights out were canceled meaning his last few nights in Florida will be spent with Irma.

Danielle Sharon also found her plans went awry. She and husband Theodore were due to be on a cruise down the Danube, but they too found their flight to Europe canceled.

'Once that happened I never even thought of leaving town,' Sharon, 67, said as she walked her 15-year-old French Poodle Boubou outside her apartment block.

'I'm not scared. I rode out Hurricane Andrew here and I can ride out Irma too,' she said.

Lorna Jaquiss (pictured) said she believed her apartment block was strong enough to withstand Hurricane Irma. As a general contractor for restaurants she will be one of the first to be called on to help rebuild Miami Beach if Irma's damage is as bad as many believe it could be

Ramon Onate, 59, who is homeless (pictured Friday), says he is hoping to find shelter in town

The strip of fine sand that gives South Beach its name would normally be packed towel-to-towel with locals and floods of tourists at this time of year, but instead the town was deserted

Sharon lives on the 11th floor and her apartment faces inland so she believes she will be safe from both storm surge and the worst of the winds.

'If it gets really bad I'll go in to the hallways, she said. 'This is my home and it's safer than any other place.'

She said she has plenty of supplies - although bottled water isn't one of them. 'I've got plenty of empty bottles and I'll fill them with water, but there's no way I'll buy bottled water at the price they sell it.'

Others had less chance to get out of town. Homeless Ramon Onate, 59, hopes to find shelter from the storm in town.

'I'll be OK,' Onate said in broken English as he rattled off his social security number and date of birth to DailyMail.com, before realizing we were not law enforcement.

'I wouldn't want to leave anyway. This is where I live.'

By early Friday afternoon Miami Beach was pretty well closed as officials placed a mandatory evacuation order on the barrier island town that is home to 92,000 residents and normally teems with tens of thousands more visitors.

A 7-Eleven on Washington Avenue had the word 'Open' scrawled several times in red spray paint on the plywood that is boarding it up, but it was closed

Hurricane Irma is set to make landfall in the US around Sunday morning with wind gusts potentially reaching near 155mph (Pictured, few people stroll on Collins Avenue)

By early Friday afternoon Miami Beach was pretty well closed as officials placed a mandatory evacuation order on the barrier island town that is home to 92,000 residents

A 7-Eleven on Washington Avenue had the word 'Open' scrawled several times in red spray paint on the plywood that is boarding it up. But it wasn't. Someone had written the word 'Not' in white after failing to get in.

And tantalizingly, dozens of in-demand bottles of water were left on full view in the window of a nearby Walgreen's that will not open its doors until after the storm has passed.

On famed Ocean Drive, only one restaurant, in the Boulevard Hotel, remained open on Friday. It planned to close by 7pm, morning manager Ram Luis told DailyMail.com.

'We only have nine members of staff on duty,' he said. 'We would normally have about 20, but we have told anyone who doesn't have somewhere safe to spend the night to get out.'

The hotel itself was shuttered. 'We could have filled it three times over,' said Luis, 32. 'But we're really open to the ocean so we couldn't guarantee it would be safe.'

Luis himself planned to head to his home in Hialeah once his work at the restaurant is over and hunker down for the duration of the storm. 'I'm in Zone B,' he said of the areas of evacuation priority that city officials in Miami have drawn up.

'I'm hoping there will be no flooding there. There shouldn't be.'

A bicyclist, one of the few left, video records while cycling down Ocean Drive in Miami

A boarded up store on Collins Avenue reads: 'Never Give Up Miami' with a heart on plywood

Sand bags and spray foam that hardens to stop water entering through the door lays at the entrance of a store on Washington Avenue

Lorna Jaquiss, who was eating lunch with her 11-year-old niece in the restaurant, is another who is determined to stay in town. 'My apartment block was built in 1950 so it's withstood a lot and I believe it's strong enough,' she said.

'I could have left but I have decided to stay,' she said. 'If it gets really bad we go into the hallways away from the windows.

'When Andrew hit I moved inland to a house. We lost the roof there but the apartment was OK.

'We have everything we need to survive for several days so I am not worried in the slightest.'

Jaquiss also has work to consider. As a general contractor for restaurants she will be one of the first to be called on to help rebuild Miami Beach if Irma's damage is as bad as many believe it could be.

'It is not work I want, but it could be work I have to do, so I want to be here so I can do it,' she said.

Danielle Sharon and her dog Boubou walk on Collins Avenue. She says she's staying put: 'I'm not scared. I rode out Hurricane Andrew here and I can ride out Irma too'

'I can guarantee you that I dont know anybody in Florida thats ever experienced whats about to hit South Florida,' said William Long, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, on Friday (Pictured, a cyclists rides on Collins Avenue)

The strip of fine sand that gives South Beach its name would normally be packed towel-to-towel with locals and floods of European tourists at this time of year.

Instead, one couple from England had an entire stretch all to themselves.

'We've watched as fewer and fewer people have been here every day,' said Nikki Aliosma Nova, a hotel manager from Walthamstow, East London.

'Now there is just the two of us.'

Nikki and her boyfriend, Alex Risov, who runs the New Moon pub in London's Leadenhall Market, are on a two-week vacation in Miami. 'The hotel assures us we will be safe, so we are staying put,' said Nikki.

The pair planned the trip to celebrate both their birthdays. Alex turned 32 on Friday while Nikki celebrates her 34th on Sunday, the day the hurricane is due to hit.

As Alex joked: 'It won't be fireworks for her birthday this year, it'll be something much more spectacular.'
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Mexico began the heartbreaking task of digging up the dead in the wake of the devastating one-two punch blow dealt by a hurricane and powerful earthquake.

Emergency workers have found at least 66 bodies in the rubble as the massive clean-up operation begins.

The 8.1 quake off the southern Pacific coast hit just before midnight Thursday and toppled hundreds of buildings in several states. It is one of the most powerful recorded in Mexico's history.

Hurricane Katia then pummeled the east coast on Saturday, wreaking more havoc across the country. The powerful storm even caused a mudslide in the city of Xalapa.

Rescue workers stand in front of the rubble of a part of the municipal palace in Juchitan, Mexico, on Saturday, two days after an earthquake struck the southern coast

A man wades past a car parked in a flooded street in Vega de Alatorre, Mexico, on Saturday just hours after the hurricane hit

A woman stands in her home after a mudslide sparked by storm Katia killed several people in the neighborhood, in Xalapa

A shocking aerial image taken in in Ixtaltepec, state of Oaxaca, shows the damage the 8.2 magnitude earthquake inflicted on Mexico's Pacific coast

Workers sift through the rubble from a destroyed house that was toppled during the earthquake

People retrieve their belongings from the ruins of their homes, knocked down by a quake, in Ixtaltepec, Oaxaca

A bed covered in debris is seen in a destroyed house in Juchitan, Mexico. The country is now facing the wrath of a hurricane from the east

Mexico began the heartbreaking task of digging up the dead after one of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded and a raging hurricane dealt a devastating one-two punch to the country

Members of the 'Topos' (Moles) specialized rescue team dug through piles of debris looking for folk's loved ones and hoping to find some that were still alive

A hat rests over the coffin of German Torres, a victim of the powerful earthquake that hit Mexico's Pacific coast

Hardest-hit from the earthquake was Juchitan, Oaxaca, where 36 people died and a third of the city's homes collapsed or were uninhabitable, President Enrique Pena Nieto said late Friday in an interview with the Televisa news network.

In central Juchitan, the remains of brick walls and clay tile roofs cluttered streets as families dragged mattresses on to pavements to spend a second anxious night sleeping outdoors.

Members of the 'Topos' (Moles) specialized rescue team dug through piles of debris looking for folk's loved ones and hoping to find some that were still alive.

Soldiers of the Army and Navy also joined in on the search and rescue, hoping to locate the bodies still missing in the wreckage.

Pena Nieto announced that the earthquake killed 45 people in Oaxaca state, 12 in Chiapas and four in Tabasco, three in another and he declared three days of national mourning.

The epicenter of the earthquake, according to Nieto was 123km southwest of the town of Pijijiapan.

A man carries a crutch as he rides a bicycle in the aftermath of the earthquake at a damaged site in Juchitan

Parts of Mexico are picking up the pieces after the devastating earthquake. The above picture shows a building flattened in Ixtaltepec, the state of Oaxaca

People hurt by the earthquake receive medical attention but can't stay in hospitals because they were wrecked by the destruction

Patients lie down on beds in a provisional hospital on a basketball court in Juchitan

Relatives of 38-year-old earthquake victim German Torres attend his funeral in Juchitan, Oaxaca state

An excavator moves debris at this damaged site in Juchitan. The earthquake with magnitude of 8.2 and epicenter in the state of Chiapas, hit the south of Mexico on Thursday

Rescue workers have begun to stockpile emergency supplies to give out to residents affected by the earthquake and storm

Soldiers of the Army and Navy continue with the work of people search in the rubble

Rescue workers know as Topos Azteca clear the debris of a building damaged by the earthquake

A hotel split practically in half shows the destruction caused by the earthquake

The 8.1 quake off the southern Pacific coast just before midnight Thursday toppled hundreds of buildings in several states

Hardest-hit was Juchitan, Oaxaca, where 36 people died and a third of the city's homes collapsed or were uninhabitable, President Enrique Pena Nieto said late Friday in an interview with the Televisa news network

The US Geological Survey said the magnitude of the earthquake late on Thursday was 8.1, but Pena Nieto said on Friday it was 8.2, making it the largest in Mexico in 100 years.

Hurricane Katia was roaring onshore north of Tecolutla in Veracruz state, pelting the region with intense rains and winds on Friday.

Katia, which brought rain to the state of Veracruz when hitting the coast late on Friday, was about 115 miles (185 km) west northwest of the Gulf Coast port of Veracruz early on Saturday morning, the NHC said.

A family grieves over the casket of a loved one who perished in the destruction of the earthquake that killed 64 people

Pena Nieto announced that the earthquake killed 45 people in Oaxaca state, 12 in Chiapas and 4 in Tabasco, and he declared three days of national mourning

In central Juchitan, the remains of brick walls and clay tile roofs cluttered streets as families dragged mattresses on to pavements to spend a second anxious night sleeping outdoors.

Katia now is stalling over Mexico's Sierra Madre mountains and the maximum sustained winds are now down to near 40 mph. It was expected to continue to dissipate over the course of Saturday.

Officials in Veracruz said Katia could cause landslides and flooding. They urged people living below hills and slopes to be ready to evacuate.

Gov. Miguel Angel Yunes has already said that two have died in a mudslide since the hurricane hit according to the Washington Post.

Hospital patients had to be evacuated from crumbling hospitals and laid out under the shade of trees

Those that could get to shelter struggled to find places on the hard floors to sleep but a vast amount of people were forced to sleep on mattresses outside

The epicenter of the earthquake, according to Nieto was 123km southwest of the town of Pijijiapan

He also reported that 2,866 people were evacuated from their homes.

Mexico's national emergency services said this week that Katia was worrying because it is very slow-moving and could dump a lot of rain on areas that have been saturated in recent weeks.

State energy company Pemex has installations in and around the coast of Veracruz but has not reported any disruption to its operations there.

The US Geological Survey said the magnitude of the earthquake late on Thursday was 8.1, but Pena Nieto said on Friday it was 8.2, making it the largest in Mexico in 100 years

Soldiers remove debris from a partly collapsed municipal building felled by a massive earthquake

A third of the Juchitan's homes were either collasped or made uninhabitable

Hurricane Katia was roaring onshore north of Tecolutla in Veracruz state, pelting the region with intense rains and winds on Friday

Rescuers searched for survivors Friday with sniffer dogs and used heavy machinery at the main square to pull rubble away from city hall, where a missing police officer was believed to be inside.

One rescue included pulling four people, including two children, from the collasped Hotel Del Rio alive even though one woman had died there as well.

The city's civil defence co-ordinator, Jose Antonio Marin Lopez, said similar searches had been going on all over the area since the previous night.

Katia, which brought rain to the state of Veracruz when hitting the coast late on Friday, was about 115 miles (185 km) west northwest of the Gulf Coast port of Veracruz early on Saturday morning, the NHC said

Katia now is stalling over Mexico's Sierra Madre mountains and the maximum sustained winds are now down to near 40 mph. It was expected to continue to dissipate over the course of Saturday

Gov. Miguel Angel Yunes has already said that two have died in a mudslide since the hurricane hit according to the Washington Post

As Katia reached the Mexican Gulf Coast, Hurricane Irma, one of the most powerful Atlantic storms in a century, walloped Cuba's northern coast.

Millions of Florida residents were ordered to evacuate after the storm killed 21 people in the eastern Caribbean and left catastrophic destruction in its wake.

Meanwhile, Hurricane Jose continued to move northwestward in the Atlantic and was blowing winds of 145 mph as a Category 4 storm about 160 miles east of the Northern Leeward Islands early on Saturday morning. (Writing by Dave Graham; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)

He also reported that 2,866 people were evacuated from their homes

Workers worked to board up homes and hotels in the area in anticipation of the storm which has since gotten weaker

Mexico's national emergency services said this week that Katia was worrying because it is very slow-moving and could dump a lot of rain on areas that have been saturated in recent weeks
A New Jersey transgender woman is filing suit after she felt 'humiliated, intimidated and abused' by an off-duty police officer who forced her to pull down her pants because she had been accused of shoplifting.

The transgender woman, who is transitioning into a man, was wearing a prosthetic penis, reports NJ.com.

She was at a Food Fair grocery store in Paterson on May 12 when the man, who was working security and wore an Essex County sheriff's uniform, approached her to demand to see what was in her pants.

Pictured is the Food Fair in Paterson, New Jersey, where a transgender woman was forced to drop her pants after she was accused of shoplifting. The woman, who is transitioning into a man was wearing a prosthetic penis. She has alleged in a lawsuit that she 'felt scared, humiliated, intimated and abused'

She told the officer that she was a transgender woman who wears a prosthetic penis. The officer said he would call a female officer to inspect her.

A female cashier ended up doing the inspection in a store restroom.

The suit notes that the transgender woman 'felt scared, humiliated, intimated and abused'.

The officer apologized after the ordeal.

The transgender woman's attorney said he believes that the officer saw the prosthetic penis and believed it was store merchandise.

The suit alleges false imprisonment and discrimination and seeks monetary damages.

Neither the officer nor the transgender woman have been identified.

An Essex County spokesman told NJ.com that he was not aware of the lawsuit.
A pregnant woman has been attacked by her boyfriend and forced to deliver her baby seven weeks early after he doused her in flammable liquid and set her on fire, according to police.

Andrea Grinage, 30, was found with critical burns over much of her body around 11.45am Friday in Capitol Heights, Maryland, when police and fire crews responded to reports of a fire.

Grinage was forced into labor by the horrific trauma and gave birth to a baby girl, named Journey Aleah, seven weeks early. Mother and baby are both recovering.

She was already the mother of two boys, ages 8 and 15, her father Arthur Grinage Sr said in an appeal for help on a GoFundMe campaign.

Andrea Grinage, 30, was found with critical burns over much of her body around 11.45am Friday in Capitol Heights, Maryland. She delivered her baby seven weeks early

Grinage was discovered when fire crews responded to a fire at her apartment complex

Grinage lost everything in the fire, which started when her boyfriend doused her in an accelerant and set her on fire, her father said

'Everything was lost in the fire and she must begin a new with your help. She has a long road to recovery and unknown medical cost. PLEASE stop domestic violence!!' the father wrote.

The suspect in the vile assault is believed to be the father of the newborn baby.

Arthur Grinage Sr said that the incident stemmed from the pregnancy and the boyfriend's immature attitude towards fatherhood.

'It all stems from him not wanting to take responsibility of him being a newborn dad,' the dad told WJLA.

'He didn't want that. And once a baby is conceived it's too late for all that. You either step up and be a dad or you walk away.'

The victim's father said her boyfriend had attacked her and set her on fire because he was not ready for the responsibility of being a dad

Before giving birth to a baby girl on Friday, Grinage was already the mother of two boys ages 8 and 15 (pictured), her father Arthur Grinage Sr said in an appeal for help on GoFundMe

Andrea Grinage was able to tell investigators who had attacked her, and said that she suspected he was headed to Washington DC to attack other members of her family.

Detectives were able to get the suspect on the phone and talk him into turning himself in.

The suspect has not yet been publicly identified by law enforcement.

Cops praised Grinage for maintaining her composure for the sake of her new daughter, who is healthy and doing well.

'These are not the circumstances under which this baby was to be born,' Prince George's County police spokeswoman Jennifer Donelan told NBC Washington.

'She was very brave. We want her family to know how brave she was, suffering as badly as she was - critically burned, worried about her unborn child, dealing with those injuries and was able to share that information with us so that we could get moving with our investigation and locate this person,' Donelan said.
The son of Fox News host Eric Bolling - who was fired on Friday after claims of sexual harassment - has died.

Eric Chase, 19, Bolling's only child with wife Adrienne, died on Friday evening, just hours after his father was parted ways with the cable giant.

Bolling, 54, confirmed the tragic passing of the University of Colorado Boulder student in a tweet on Saturday afternoon, saying that he and his wife were distraught.

'Adrienne and I are devastated by the loss of our beloved son Eric Chase last night. Details still unclear. Thoughts, prayers appreciated' wrote Bolling.

He also later tweeted authorities have told him that there were no signs of self-harm and that an autopsy will take place next week.

The shocking news was first reported in a tweet by journalist Yashar Ali, who also broke the story last month about alleged lewd texts sent by Bolling to female staff members at Fox News.

Bolling insists the allegations are false and has filed a $50 million lawsuit against Ali.

'Very sad news, Eric Bollings son, who was only 19, died last night,' wrote Ali earlier on Saturday afternon. 'By all accounts, Eric was incredibly devoted to his son. Heartbreaking.'

Fox News released a statement on Saturday, saying: 'We are very saddened to hear of the passing of Eric Bolling's son.

'Eric Chase was a wonderful young man and our thoughts and prayers are with the entire Bolling family.'

Eric Chase (right), 19, the son of former Fox News host Eric Bolling (left), has passed away. The circumstances of his death are unclear

Confirmation: The tragic death of Eric and Adrienne Bolling's only son was confirmed by the former Fox news host in a tweet

Initial findings: Bolling later tweeted that his son's death did not appear to have been from self-harm

Eric Bolling's son Eric Chase is pictured here in 2015 before his prom. The caption from his father on the snap read 'My guy is growing up'

A source close to the Bolling family told DailyMail.com: It is believed he died Friday night. No doubt everything his father has been through lately has weighed heavily on his child

Chase (seen right with his father a November 2016 photograph) was attending school in Boulder, Colorado at the time of his death

A source close to the Bolling family told DailyMail.com: It is believed he died Friday night. No doubt everything his father has been through lately has weighed heavily on his child.

Bolling's former colleague at Fox News, primetime host Sean Hannity, tweeted on Saturday: 'To my dear friend, please know we all love you, will be here for you and your family.'

Don Lemon, a host on rival network CNN, tweeted: 'So awful. My heart goes out to Eric and his family.'

Andrew Kaczynski, a journalist with CNN's KFile unit, tweeted: 'This is very sad on a human level, regardless on what you thought of Eric. Thoughts for the family.'

Another former colleague of Bolling, Geraldo Rivera, tweeted: 'Gut-wrenching news about Eric Bolling's 19-year old only son Eric. Erica and I weep for the Bolling family This is horrible, our condolences.'

Katie Pavlich, a commentator who frequently appears on Fox News, tweeted: 'Overwhelmed by the news of Eric Bolling's son. How absolutely horrific and devastating.'

MSNBC host Joy Reid tweeted: 'This is incredibly sad. Just heartbreaking for this family. Deepest condolences.'

As of Saturday afternoon, there was no official confirmation as to the cause of death

Yashar Ali, a contributor to New York magazine and the Huffington Post, broke the news on Saturday that the 19-year-old son of former Fox News host Eric Bolling had died

Ali was the reporter who initially broke the story in Huffington Post last month about the alleged lewd texts sent by Bolling to colleagues at Fox News, resulting in an internal investigation

Bolling's former colleague at Fox News, primetime host Sean Hannity, tweeted on Saturday: 'To my dear friend, please know we all love you, will be here for you and your family'

Another former colleague of Bolling, Geraldo Rivera, tweeted: 'Gut-wrenching news about Eric Bolling's 19-year old only son Eric. Erica and I weep for the Bolling family This is horrible, our condolences'

Don Lemon, a host on rival network CNN, tweeted: 'So awful. My heart goes out to Eric and his family'

Katie Pavlich, a commentator who frequently appears on Fox News, tweeted: 'Overwhelmed by the news of Eric Bolling's son. How absolutely horrific and devastating'

Andrew Kaczynski, a journalist with CNN's KFile unit, tweeted: 'This is very sad on a human level, regardless on what you thought of Eric. Thoughts for the family'

MSNBC host Joy Reid tweeted: 'This is incredibly sad. Just heartbreaking for this family. Deepest condolences'

Bolling and his wife, Adrienne (above together), have been married since 1997. They have one son together, Chase

The tragic death took place one day after it was learned that Bolling agreed to leave the network following an investigation into claims of sexual harassment.

Three of Bolling's colleagues claimed that he sent them unsolicited photos of male genitalia via text message.

The rising Fox News host was suspended during the investigation and left the network where he has anchored several different shows for the past 10 years.

'Fox News Channel is canceling The Specialists, and Eric Bolling and Fox have agreed to part ways amicably,' a network spokesperson told DailyMail.com.

'We thank Eric for his ten years of service to our loyal viewers and wish him the best of luck.'

After the allegations emerged back in August, Bolling had maintained his innocence and tweeted: 'I will continue to fight against these false smear attacks! THANK YOU FOR CONTINUED SUPPORT'.

The rising Fox News host was suspended during the investigation and will now leave the network where he has anchored several different shows for the past 10 years

After the news was announced that he was leaving Fox, Bolling tweeted: 'I will continue to fight against these false smear attacks! THANK YOU FOR CONTINUED SUPPORT'

The network began investigating Bolling, who is married, after two of the women who claimed to have received the photo worked with Bolling at Fox Business Network, while a third woman works at Fox News, Huffington Post reported.

The women all claim they did not solicit the messages and that they knew the message was from Bolling, who has been married to his wife since 1997, because they recognized the phone number from previous informal and work-related interactions.

Huffington Post reported that the messages were sent several years ago on separate occasions.

After receiving the messages reportedly from Bolling, the women told their colleagues that they were deeply offended and upset.

One of the women replied to the 54-year-old anchor instructing him to never send her photos of male genitalia ever again; he reportedly did not respond.

A dozen sources told Huffington Post that at least two of Bolling's female colleagues at Fox Business and one at Fox News received the photos of male genitalia from Bolling.

The identities of the women have not been released to the public. Bolling had previously denied all allegations against him.

It was announced last month that Bolling is reportedly suing the Huffington Post reporter who broke the story claiming that he had sent several female co-workers lewd photos.

Ali tweeted last month that he is being personally sued by Bolling for $50 million in damages for the story which led to the Fox reporter's suspension on Saturday.

'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,' Ali tweeted on Wednesday.

'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,' he added, writing that he 'stand(s) by my reporting + will protect my sources.'

Bolling is represented by Michael Bowe - a lawyer from the same firm as Marc Kasowitz, President Trump's personal attorney until July.

The defamation lawsuit seeks $50 million in damages for 'the defendant'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.

'As a result of the defendant's actions, the plaintiff has been substantially harmed,' the summons sent to Ali stated.

Since the allegations emerged against Bolling, a Fox News guest, who claimed in the past she was sexually harassed by Bill O'Reilly, came forward to claim she was also on the receiving end of unwanted advances by Bolling.

Since the allegations emerged, Caroline Heldman (above), a Fox News guest, who says she was sexually harassed by Bill O'Reilly, came forward to claim she was also on the receiving end of unwanted advances by Bolling

Heldman claims she was the victim of unsolicited sexual advances from Bolling between 2008 and 2011 when she would regularly appear on the network. During a 2011 appearance on Bolling's show Bulls & Bears, he referred to her as 'the great Dr. McHottie' (above)

Caroline Heldman, a 44-year-old Associate Professor of Politics at Occidental College in Los Angeles, made 'hundreds' of appearances on Fox between 2008 and 2011, many of which were on Bolling's show Bulls & Bears.

Between appearances, she claimed Bolling, 54, called and texted her to invite her to New York to 'have fun'. On one occasion when she was in town, he took her into his office and told her it was his favorite place to have sex, she said.

He called her 'Dr. McHottie' on air and, she said, would sometimes call her afterwards to apologize 'and then do it again'.

Heldman made her accusations in a lengthy Facebook post on Saturday in which she also claimed that 'several other women' received similar treatment from him.

'My only surprise is that it took this long for people to come forward about Bolling's behavior, which has been wildly inappropriate for years,' she wrote.

Bolling denies ever making inappropriate and unsolicited contact with her.

Heldman made the accusations in a lengthy Facebook post after Bolling was suspended

His attorney Michael Bowe told DailyMail.com: 'Mr. Bolling never had any interactions with Ms. Heldman of a sexual nature, and any such accusation would be false and defamatory.'

The father-of-one co-hosted the Fox News show The Specialists and hosted Cashin' In.

His show The Specialist only just premiered in May. He previously served as one of five anchors on the network's show, The Five.

Prior to joining the network in 2008, Bolling worked at CNBC and was a former commodities trader.

In the past year, the network has faced numerous accusations of sexual harassment and assault by Fox Business and Fox News on-air talent and executives.

Former Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes resigned last year after ex-Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson filed a lawsuit accusing him of sexual harassment.

Numerous current and former Fox News hosts have accused Ailes of harassment since he was forced out of the company.

Twenty-First Century Fox paid out $50million to settle sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuits at Fox News in the last 12 months.

The figure was disclosed in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Worrying reports of erupting violence have emerged from St Maarten, the southern half of the Caribbean Island it shares with St Martin, in the wake of Hurricane Irma.

Several people who are stranded on the island say looters have begun raiding hotel rooms and homes to profit from the natural disaster.

One woman claimed they attacked US and British tourists who became stranded when say some who have spoken to relatives on the island.

Troops were called in on Friday to offset the problem.

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There were terrifying reports of looting and violence coming out of St Maarten on Friday in the wake of Hurricane Irma

Massimiliano Napoliello, the manager of a bar in Maho Beach, issued a desperate plea for help on Facebook.

'The situation in SXM is a HELL! NO WATER NO FOOD NO ELECTRICITY NO COMMUNICATION!!

'They are completely isolated and there are CRIMINALS carrying GUNS AND KNIVES SHOOTING and looting all over!! NOTHING IS WORKING, THERE ARE NO RULES, THERE IS NO LAW AND NO PROTECTION RIGHT NOW!!' he said.

At the Simpson Bay Resort and Marina, looters went in to unoccupied rooms to steal TVs, one staff member said on Twitter.

'A small minority of sxm-er's were looting our unoccupied rooms until the Dutch military arrived. Not essentials - taking TV's,' he said.

The same man said a bank was robbed the next day.

Laura Conroy's family were stranded on the island and are now awaiting rescue from US military planes.

They are taking American citizens to the more developed Puerto Rico.

She said that through the intermittent contact she has had with her sister, she learned that looting was a problem. 'Many US citizens are being attacked and robbed,' she told DailyMail.com.

Massimiliano Napoliello, the general manager of Sky Beach, a bar in Maho Beach, shared this desperate plea on Friday

In St Martin, the French occupied half of the island, police men deterred other looters after Hurricane Irma

There were snaking queues at the airport as people desperately waited to be taken off the island

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte warned the situation was already 'serious' and made worse by communication problems after 185mph Irma laid waste to infrastructure.

Witnesses on the Dutch side of the island say people are roaming the streets armed with 'revolvers and machetes' while Rutte said most people are surviving without power and running water.

Extra troops and police are arriving on the southern part of the island, which is shared between France and the Netherlands, and part of their job is to help keep order, officials said.

Troops are being called in to stop looters armed with guns and machetes on hurricane-ravaged St Martin with food, water and medicine running low, it has emerged. Dutch soldiers are pictured patrolling the streets on the Dutch side of the island

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte warned the situation was already 'serious' and made worse by communication problems after 185mph Irma laid waste to infrastructure. A Dutch soldier keeps watch on the island

Witnesses on the Dutch side of the island say people are roaming the streets armed with 'revolvers and machetes' while Rutte said most people are surviving without power and running water. A Dutch Royal Navy officer speaks to a driver at a check point on the island

Up to 95 per cent of the island was destroyed as the hurricane pummeled its shores on Wednesday

Up to 95 per cent of the island was destroyed as the hurricane pummeled its shores on Wednesday.

The badly damaged airport and port have now 'been opened for military purposes,' Rutte told reporters, adding 'we are doing everything possible to get aid to the area.'

He said food, water and security were the priorities on the island, known in Dutch as Sint Maarten.

'We will not abandon Sint Maarten,' he said, adding that officials were also sending medicines, tents, tarpaulins and hygiene kits as fast as possible to the Caribbean.

'The military has two tasks after arriving there. Firstly to ensure that there is food and water, but also to ensure security,' Rutte said.

'There are people on the streets armed with revolvers and machetes,' one witness told the Dutch newspaper AD on Friday. 'The situation is very serious. No one is in charge.'

Extra troops and police are arriving on the southern part of the island, which is shared between France and the Netherlands, and part of their job is to help keep order, officials said

This was the scene at the island's world famous international airport after the hurricane had lashed it with ferocious winds

Dutch officials have confirmed that one person was killed on the Dutch part of Saint Martin by the Category Five storm, before it was downgraded early Friday to a four as it barrelled towards Cuba and Florida.

Earlier today it emerged that Dutch King Willem-Alexander will fly to the Caribbean to inspect the coordination of relief efforts.

The Royal House announced the visit Friday, saying the monarch will assess in Curacao 'whether and when it is possible to visit St. Maarten' and nearby Dutch islands Saba and St. Eustatius, which were less severely damaged by Irma's winds.

A headquarters in Curacao is helping coordinate a military operation to deliver supplies to the 40,000-strong population of St. Maarten.

The tiny country, which shares an island with the French territory of St. Martin, has been autonomous since 2010, but remains part of the Dutch commonwealth.

Dramatic aerial pictures show scenes of devastation on a Caribbean island after it was ravaged by the most powerful hurricane the Atlantic has ever seen. At a port area, shipping containers were strewn like children's building blocks (pictured)

Astonishing images show the scale of the destruction on the island of St. Maarten in the aftermath of a direct hit by Category 5 Hurricane Irma

Massive waves continued to crash into the coastline of the Dutch side of St Martin last night in the aftermath of the storm

Prime Minister Mark Rutte says that most people are surviving on the island without the basic necessities of life. Power, running water and most communications were knocked out by the powerful storm and looting has been reported by local authorities struggling to keep control of the island.

He said the first plane already has landed at the airport in the capital, Philipsburg, and navy vessels have unloaded vital supplies in a race against time before the next storm arrives.

Hurricane Jose is forecast to pass through the region Saturday, but Rutte says it's not expected - at the moment - to directly hit St. Maarten as Irma did Wednesday and winds will likely be significantly weaker.

Rutte and Interior Minister Ronald Plasterk say troops are helping stretched local authorities on the autonomous territory to uphold law and order amid looting of stores. St. Maarten is the Dutch side of St. Martin, an island split between Dutch and French control.

'Save us from HELL': British man describes chaos as armed looters smash into stores

A British man has spoken of the 'hell' left in the wake of Hurricane Irma.

Martin Lucas lives and works on the paradise isle of St Martin. But yesterday the piano player described how law and order was breaking down as desperate islanders were trying to survive.

He said locals armed with machetes were smashing into shops and apartments to find food and water.

Martin, from St Columb, Cornwall, said: 'I'm okay but I've had better days. I haven't been able to eat properly, drink properly, wash for four days now. The whole island has now power, water, toilet facilities.

'We've now got a breakdown in law and order. People with machetes breaking into shops and apartments taking what they need. It is a very violent and dangerous place.'

A headquarters in Curacao is helping coordinate a military operation to deliver supplies to the 40,000-strong population of St. Maarten

Martin, in his 30s, and his US fiancee took cover in a concrete bunker designed to thwart the power of 150mph hurricanes - but not 230mph hurriacanes.

He said the eye of the storm hit the island and rocks and boulders were tossed through the air, along with cars.

Windows were blown out like they were paper, he said.

Martin went on: 'People are very scared. I have hardly slept and I have run out of words to describe what is happening.

'We are trying to survive. It is the worst experience. You cannot comprehend what it feels like.

Wooden structures were obliterated by ferocious winds that battered St Martin on Wednesday

Princess Juliana airport on the Dutch side of St Martin was famed for its proximity to the beach with tourists gathering to watch planes land just over their heads. But this was the scene after it was ravaged by howling winds as Irma crashed into the island on Wednesday

'We were in our apartment and the storms was approaching and it was hours and hours away. The concrete building we wer in literally shook.

'The windows were torn out like paper and cars were flying through the air. Cars were on fire and fires were breaking out all over the place.

Everything went silent when the eye of the storm was over us. It is hell. It is like the worst disaster movie. But it's real.

'Hollywood could not recreate this. Everything has gone. Nobody is safe right now.'

And they are living in fear of being hit by another hurricane in the next two days.

Martin appealed to the British Government to send ships to help the area.

He said they needed a Dunkirk style armada of big ships and little ships to get people to safety.
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Devastating pictures show the misery Hurricane Irma has inflicted on parts of Cuba.

The Category 5 storm hit eastern parts of the island nation on Friday and Saturday as it carried on a destructive path from the Caribbean to the south coast of Florida.

More than one million of the 11million residents were evacuated while 120mph winds and 30ft waves wreaked havoc across larges swathes of the country.

Now, they will return to complete devastation, and some areas may have to wait weeks until the floods subside.

Havana, the nation's capital, is experiencing flooding and high coastal waves. However, it is not expected to sustain significant damage. Thousands of tourists on the island were brought to Havana for safety.

Cuban media reports do suggest extensive damage in other parts of the country.

Power was out and cellphone service was spotty in many regions as Irma neared the end of a 200-mile trek westwards along the top of the island.

The total death toll from the storm climbed to 25 people as of Saturday morning, reports the New York Times.

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A man walks across a flooded street in the Villa Clara province, 200 miles east of Havana, in the wake of Hurricane Irma

A building severely damaged by the passage of Hurricane Irma in Caibarien, Villa Clara province, 200 miles east of Havana

Waves crash against the seafront boulevard El Malecon ahead of the passing of Hurricane Irma, in Havana, Cuba on September 9

Waves as high as 30 feet crashed down on the north coast of Cuba. Havana, pictured, was not expected to be heavily damaged

Cubans wade through the rubble from a collapsed building in Havana on September 9

Sheets of zinc are seen spread on a street in Remedios as Hurricane Irma batters the town

Residents of Caibarien, which was aggressively hit by the hurricane beginning on the night of September 8, are pictured walking in the rain on the 8

A sea wall is breeched by overflow as a bulk carrier leaves the bay of Havana, Cuba, on Saturday

Cubans stand by a collapsed building in Havana on September 9. Many tourists were evacuated to the Cuban capital

A woman rides a bike past palm trees felled by Hurricane Irma, in Caibarien on Saturday

One resident of Nuevitas, a large port town that is a 7-hour drive east from Havana, told the Washington Post: 'The streets are full of rubble. There are houses with their roofs ripped off. Even the oldest trees in town have been knocked down.'

Irma barreled in for a direct hit at Ciego de Avila province around midnight and left Caibairen and most other areas in that region without power.

Choppy seas, grey skies, sheets of rain, bending palm trees, huge waves crashing over sea walls and downed power lines filled the state run television's evening newscast on Friday night.

Winds as fast as 124 mph blew through Caibarien on Saturday morning, CNN reports. Waves as high as 30 feet have battered the north coast.

Waves crash against the seafront boulevard El Malecon ahead of the passing of Hurricane Irma

Waves up to 30ft tall piled over the seafront walls as 120mph winds lashed the island nation

Residents walk along a street in Caibarien to survey the damage caused by Irma on Saturday

Police patrol near the sea wall in Havana on September 9. Since hitting Cuba, the storm has been downgraded to a Category 4 hurricane

People in Remedios, Cuba are pictured walking on the street as Hurricane Irma pounds the seaside town on September 9

Workers stand near an electricity pole that was knocked down by heavy winds in Havana on September 9

In Caibarien, residents swept mud from beachside homes after the storm surge drove three feet of seawater up the shore. In streets carpeted with fresh green seaweed as the water receded, people said it was the strongest cyclone ever to hit the town.

'Sheets of zinc that came flying into our backyard also damaged the kitchen wall and we lost many roof tiles,' said Angel Coya, 52, adding he was optimistic that Cuba's Communist government would help repair the damage. 'We have to keep on.'

Irma's turn northward was expected to occur around 150 miles east of the capital. Nevertheless, authorities shut off power in large parts of the city and evacuated some 10,000 people from central Havana near the Malecon seawall because of fears of flooding from the storm surge.

By Saturday evening, the sea had penetrated two blocks over parts of the city's historic seafront boulevard, and the waters were expected to advance farther as the surge grew. Restaurants on the seaside drive pulled down their shutters and stacked sandbags against the storm.

Still, many Cubans expressed a sense of relief after the eye of the first Category 5 storm to make landfall on the island since 1932 passed over the northern keys, just grazing the mainland with its full force.

'Honestly, I expected worse. I thought I would come back and find the roof gone,' said Yolexis Domingo, 39, using a machete to hack the branches off a tree that fell in front of his house in Caibarien. 'Still, it is going to be a while before I can come back to live here. The water came up to a meter high and some of the roof flew off.'

Irma also hit Camaguey Province as a Category 5 storm for the first time in 85 years.

The hurricane is expected to hover around Cuba's north coast before making its way into the central Bahamas.

Since hitting Cuba, the storm has been downgraded to a Category 4 hurricane. But it is expected to strengthen into a Category 5 storm en route to the Florida Keys and Miami.

The Floridian metropolis is, as of Saturday afternoon, beginning to experience stormy weather.

As it advances towards south Florida, the state has so far asked around 6million people to evacuate - nearly a third of the state's population. The storm is currently expected to hit the Florida Keys on Sunday morning and southwest Florida later that afternoon.

'This is a storm that will kill you if you don't get out of the way,' said National Hurricane Center meteorologist and spokesman Dennis Feltgen.

The National Weather Service also tweeted out a warning to anyone still in the Florida Keys, saying 'Nowhere will be safe.'

The storm has so far left in its wake a ravaged string of Caribbean resort islands strewn with splintered umber, corrugated metal and broken concrete.

Wind speeds were reported as high 160 mph and were not expected to slow throughout the night.

So far there are at least 24 people dead as a result of the storm, including nine in unspecified French territories, one in Barbuda, one in Anguilla, two in St Maarten, four in the British Virgin Islands, four in the US Virgin Islands, and three and Puerto Rico. The victim in Barbuda has been identified as two-year-old Carl Junior Francis.

According to CNN, the Bahamas should be spared the worst of the storm, though the hurricane has yet to take full force in the region.

'We are waiting for the worst of it,' Cyril Vanier, CNN reporter said.

'The forecasts here have been proved slightly wrong - but in a good way. We're talking tropic storm-force winds. We're not expecting here in the capital Nassau anything that would threaten the structure of buildings.'

Stormy weather and waves are seen in Nassau, Bahamas as Hurricane Irma starts to pummel the islands

Rough seas start to pound the Nassau coastline as Hurricane Irma moves through the Southern Bahama Islands and along the coast of Cuba on Friday

Irma is hitting Cuba along with all of the islands of the Bahamas, though some parts of the island are expected to feel the fore of the storm much more strongly than others are. Palm trees are pictured swaying in the wind in Caibarien, Cuba on Friday night

Hurricane Irma (left) and hurricane Jose (right) are pictured in the ocean as they inch nearer and nearer to Florida. Irma is currently over Cuba and the Bahamas and expected to make land fall in Florida later this wekeend

A satellite image from 10.45pm Friday shows Hurricane Irma driving over Cuba and the Bahamas and towards southern Florida, leaving death and destruction in its wake in the Caribbean

It is so far looking like The Bahamas are going to be spared the worst bits of the bad weather. People there are currently heading to the highest and safest houses or to one of 24 shelters.

Startling images from the past several days show the devastation the deadly storm has left in its wake on more than a half-dozen Caribbean islands.

The hurricane took a particularly heavy toll on the French-Dutch island of St Martin, where homes, stores, ports, airports, gas stations and power stations were left in shambles after Irma made landfall there as a Category 5 hurricane on Wednesday, packing winds of up to 185mph.

Gnarled black branches of leafless trees, street after street now littered with piles of corrugated tin, plywood, wrought iron, battered cars and unidentifiable objects that were once parts of someone's life.

The Dutch government on Friday raised its estimate of casualties caused on the Dutch part of the island to two dead, one of natural causes, and 43 wounded.

Of those wounded, 11 are in critical condition, Interior Minister Ronald Plasterk said at a press conference.

Two hundred Dutch soldiers are assisting on the island from two nearby ships as it struggles to restore its airport and main harbor in order so that it can receive more aid.

A Twitter user in the Bahamas shared a photo of a beach in the Bahamas on Friday evening before the storm had hit and when the water had receded so far back it looked like the sea went dry

A man carries a matress to a safer place on September 8 in Cuba ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Irma there. Though it has slowed to category four it is still expected to leave destruction in its path

Cubans carry their belongings on September 8, 2017 ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Irma in a northern town. Irma is expected to hit the area late on Friday night and linger there until Saturday morning

Irma left towns throughout the Caribbean devastated and at least 24 people dead. A photo shows that piles of rubble mixed in with tree branches are seen where once buildings had stood in Marigot, St Martin

As it advances towards south Florida, the state has so far asked 5.6 million people to evacuate - more than a quarter of the state's population. Ominously dark clouds are seen over Miami's skyline prior to Irma's arrival on Friday

Photo from Friday September 8 shows the boat strewn on the shore of Inagua in the southern Bahamas after the passage of Hurricane Irma through the area

View of the aftermath of Hurricane Irma on St Maarten, where roughly 95 percent of the buildings were completely destroyed

'This is a storm that will kill you if you don't get out of the way,' said National Hurricane Center meteorologist and spokesman Dennis Feltgen. Pictured a photo form September 8 shows the aftermath of Irma in the British Virgin Island of Tortola

French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said on Friday nine people were killed, at least seven were missing, and 112 others were injured in St Barthelemy and the French part of St Martin.

The overall death toll stands at 24 Friday evening, and is only expected to rise as rescuers reach some of the hardest-hit areas.

The hurricane smashed homes, schools, stores, roads and boats on Wednesday and Thursday as it rolled over islands long known as turquoise-water playgrounds of the rich.

It knocked out power, water and telephone service, trapped thousands of tourists and stripped the lush green trees of leaves, leaving an eerie, blasted-looking landscape. Authorities reported looting and gunfire in St Martin, and a curfew was imposed in the US Virgin Islands.

Downgraded to a Category 4 hurricane, Irma pummeled the Turks and Caicos Islands early Friday after saturating the northern edges of the Dominican Republic and Haiti with torrential downpours.

Communications went down as the storm slammed into the islands, and the extent of the devastation was not immediately clear.

The hurricane also spun along the northern coast of Cuba, where tens of thousands of people were being moved to safety, including thousands of tourists along a shoreline dotted with all-inclusive resorts.

US, Dutch, French and British authorities used warships and military planes to rush food, water and troops to the stricken zone.

Palm trees bend in the strong winds in Dunmore town, Bahamas on September 7. The storm slowed to a category four over Cuba and the Bahamas but is expected to pick up again to category five when it hits Florida

Cubans carry a boat out of the sea on September 8, 2017 ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Irma in Caibarien, the only town in the Cuban north central zone under a hurricane warning

A picture taken on September 7, 2017 shows inhabitants of the Sandytown neighborhood in Marigot, St Martin, clearing debris in a street

A photo taken on September 7 shows damage in Orient Bay on the French side of St Martin after the passage of Hurricane Irma

Before and after phtoos of Barbuda appear to show that, following Irma, the island has been nearly stripped of all vegetation

Heavy toll: St Martin has so far been affected the most severely by the storm, which killed four people and injured dozens more on the island

Ground Zero: A photo taken on September 7 shows devastating damage in Orient Bay on the French Caribbean island of St Martin, which took a direct hit from Irma this week

A picture taken on September 7 shows ravaged houses on the shoreline of Marigot on the French Caribbean island of St Martin, after the passage of Hurricane Irma

Aerial view of devastation following Hurricane Irma at Bitter End in Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands September 8

The frightful storm then took aim at the southeastern Bahamas, where 20-foot storm surges were expected Saturday.

The tiny eastern Caribbean island of Barbuda, where a two-year-old child was killed, was reduced 'to rubble', Prime Minister Gaston Browne said. The storm flattened nearly 95 per cent of all structures on the island, and there were more bad news for the battered landmass in the form of Hurricane Jose, which is expected to make landfall on Saturday, bringing winds of up to 150 mph.

Stevet Jeremiah, whose son Carl Junior Francis, was the sole casualty reported on Barbuda, said the boy was swept to his death after the hurricane ripped the roof off her house and filled it with water.

'There was so much water beating past us. We had to crawl to get to safety. Crawl,' she said.

'I have never seen anything like this in my life, in all the years I experienced hurricanes. And I don't ever, ever, ever want to see something like this again.

'Two years old. He just turned two, the 17th, last month. Just turned two.'

Her neighbors found Carl Junior just after sunrise after his body was swept away.

The wrecked Bitter End In Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands, is seen from a different angle in the wake of Irma

A devastated airfield, with the air traffic control tower still standing in the center, is seen on Beef Island, British Virgin Islands, on Friday

Aerial view of devastation following Hurricane Irma at Cow Wreck beach on Anegada, British Virgin Islands September 8

Powerful winds tore apart many homes and bungalows in Anegada, British Virgin Islands

What looks like a hotel complex on Saba Rock, British Virgin Islands, is seen laying in ruins after the monster storm

Aerial view of devastation following Hurricane Irma on Eustatia Island, British Virgin Islands

Aerial view of devastation following Hurricane Irma at Mafolie on St Thomas, US Virgin Islands, where a pool looks to be still intact after the hurricane

St Thomas, US Virgin Islands, was battered by the category five storm, which has left the resort island in shambles

In this Thursday photo, a building is seen stripped down to the beams on the hard-hit island of Barbuda

The storm killed one person on Barbuda and flattened nearly 95 per cent of all structures on the eastern Caribbean island

In the British overseas territory of Anguilla, another person was killed and the hospital, airport and power and phone services were damaged, emergency service officials said.

Irma was the strongest hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic Ocean and one of the five most forceful storms to hit the Atlantic basin in 82 years, according to the US National Hurricane Center.

And now, because Hurricane Jose is hot on Irma's heels, almost all of Barbuda's population of 1,400 people has been evacuated to Antigua, its larger sister island. Jose is currently a category four storm, but the US National Hurricane Center said it's close to becoming category five.

While Irma continues to wreak havoc in the Caribbean, before making the dreaded turn towards Florida this weekend, and then Georgia early next week, Hurricane Jose is now following close on its heels.

On Friday, Jose strengthened into a Category 4 hurricane in the central Atlantic. A hurricane watch is in effect for Antigua, Barbuda, Anguilla, Dutch St Maarten, French Caribbean St Martin and St Barthelemy.

A tropical storm warning is also in effect for Antigua, Barbuda, Anguilla, St Martin, St Barthelemy and St Maarten.

A tropical storm watch has been issued for Montserrat, St Kitts, Nevis, Saba, St Eustatius, the British Virgin Islands, St Thomas and St John.

Hurricane Jose is expected to make landfall on the storm-ravaged Barbuda on Saturday, bringing winds of up to 150 mph

Piles of debris are seen on Barbuda on Thursday, just days after the catastrophic storm

Aerial view of devastation following Hurricane Irma in Tortola, British Virgin Islands September 8

An undated handout picture acquired from the Facebook account of Hubert Haciski on September 8 shows a boat resting on its side on the island of Tortola in the British Virgin Islands, after it was hit by Hurricane Irma

Tree branches, street signs and poles are seen littering a road in Tortola, British Virgin Islands, in the wake of Irma

The next big one: A satellite map show Jose, now a Category 4 hurricane, churning on Friday afternoon 380 miles away from the northern Leeward Islands in the Atlantic

In Jose's cross-hairs: The map charts Jose's course, which will take it to Guadalupe and San Juan

Destruction: Dozens of cars were thrown around the hotel car park by the 185mph winds which tore through St Martin

Palms trees are seen toppled on the ground outside Beaches resort in Turks and Caicos, having been snapped like toothpicks by the hurricane

Fearsome gusts of wind brought by Irma uprooted this sign at the village of Grace Bay in Turks and Caicos

The sun rises on a battered Providenciales, in the Turks and Caicos Islands, on September 8, after the island was ravaged by Irma

Large trees are pictured laying on the ground in Providenciales, in the Turks and Caicos Islands, on Friday

Hurricane Irma devastation is seen on the French Caribbean island of St Barthelemy

Monster winds accompanying Irma ripped off roofs and toppled trees on St Barthelemy in the Caribbean

St Bathelemy has sustained dramatic damage as a result of the category five hurricane

A new hurricane watch is in effect for St Barth's, now that Jose has strengthened to a category four storm

A car is pictured resting upside down next to a battered home on a cliff in St Barth's after the storm

Washed up: Cars on the beach in Marigot near the Bay of Nettle on the French Collectivity of St Martin after the hurricane battered the coast

Images of devastation caused by Irma coming out of the Caribbean this week offer a glimpse of what could lie ahead early Sunday for Florida, which braced for what many fear could be the long-dreaded Big One, with the Miami metropolitan area of 6million in the cross hairs.

Irma was at one point the most powerful recorded storm in the open Atlantic. It could be one of the most devastating storms ever to hit Florida, a state that has undergone rapid development since the last major hurricane struck a dozen years ago.

Florida residents and tourists faced gas shortages and gridlock on inland highways as a half-million people in Miami-Dade County were ordered to clear out before it's too late.

Debris is piled up next to the houses on the seashore in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, September 8

A man feeds pigeons next to a fallen power pole in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

Locals walk along a street covered with fallen trees in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

A man walks past boats lying on the seashore in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

Men clean a wastewater canal in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, September 8

A woman takes cover from the rain as Hurricane Irma moves off the northern coast of the Dominican Republic, in Nagua, Dominican Republic, September 7

View of wreckage in the vicinity of the Santurce neighborhood in the aftermath of the hurricane Irma, in San Juan, Puerto Rico on Thursday
As Hurricane Irma gripped Cuba on Friday and Saturday, a CNN reporter braved the 100mph-plus winds to give a frightening live broadcast from the heart of the storm.

CNN's Patrick Oppmann and his team were stationed in Caibarien and had to take cover intermittently as they rode out 160mph winds and rain.

On Friday, before conditions reached their worst in the city, he took to the airwaves for a heroic broadcast where he was filmed being thrashed in the face by his own clothes as the winds blew.

Scroll down for video

CNN's Patrick Oppmann in Caibarien, Cuba, on Saturday morning battled winds of more than 100 mph. He had to retreat inside shortly after this broadcast

This was @CNN_Oppmanns view of Hurricane #Irma as it lashed Caibarien, Cuba, before heading off to the Florida Keys https://t.co/WbFelcU3Uu pic.twitter.com/Ze9WvmH71w  CNN (@CNN) September 9, 2017

On Friday night, he was forced to retreat into a house with his camera crew to take shelter.

Once inside, Oppmann continued updating fans on Twitter.

He described how the hurricane was giving Cuba 'holy hell' and watched as 'waves' gushed through the streets he said he had walked on hours before.

Cuba was tortured by the hurricane for hours over Friday and Saturday.

Oppmann continued to struggle with his clothes as he tried to deliver his broadcast

Oppmann carried on tweeting through the day and night to describe the conditions

Irma made landfall there on Friday night at 11pm and battered the coast and parts of The Bahamas.

It finally began moving away from the island nation on Saturday afternoon and is now on track to hit the Florida Keys later on Saturday night.

Then, it will barrel up the southwest coast of Florida before making a direct hit on Tampa on Monday.

The east coast has been given a sudden lifeline by its change of course but people are still being warned to take the storm seriously.

Storm surges will see water in parts of Miami rise up to up to 10ft. There will still be hurricane force winds in most of southern Florida, no matter where Irma hits.
A top-secret operation by British agents in Libya to stop terrorists being smuggled into Europe by people-traffickers has been shut down after an assault by government militia.

The notorious Nawasi Brigade stormed the operations base in Tripoli of the UKs National Crime Agency (NCA)  dealing a devastating blow to efforts to prevent terror attacks in Europe, highly placed sources in Libya have told The Mail on Sunday.

Hard-line jihadis and gangsters who make up the militia are now the nominal coastguard security  but, in fact, are working with people-smugglers for a cut of their vast income.

1. Terrorists hide among boats: Criminal gangs of people-traffickers have transported vast numbers of migrants  each paying thousands of pounds  on dangerously overladen boats crossing from Libya into Italy. The authorities in Europe are powerless to stop the human flood and they fear terrorists are hidden among the new arrivals

Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj  head of the Government of National Unity recognised by the United Nations  is powerless to defy the Nawasi Brigade, one of three militias that control Tripoli.

Three NCA intelligence officers had made dozens of reconnaissance visits over many months to the port complex in the city, where they had been working alongside police in the search for jihadis on a terror watch-list.

The NCA had planned to set up a large-scale operation involving British personnel and using cutting-edge surveillance technology later this year. The agency had recently applied to Libyas Ministry of the Interior for the green light to start its counter-terrorism deployment in the country full-time.

Its mission had become even more urgent after the Manchester bombing in May, in which Salman Abedi killed 22 concert-goers. British-born Abedi was of Libyan origin and is believed to have received terrorist training in the country.

Security services fear that terrorists are making their way into Europe hidden among migrants  they take flimsy boats from Libya to reach Italy, from where they can travel elsewhere on the Continent. Already this year more than 100,000 migrants have crossed the Mediterranean.

2. UK counter-terror op shut down by militia: Officers from Britains NCA had been watching for terrorists in Tripoli

While many will plead asylum as refugees from war or human-rights abuses, the vast majority are economic migrants, according to the United Nations. Two of the terrorists who took part in the November 2015 Paris attacks, in which 130 people were murdered, slipped into Europe using forged passports, hiding among the flood of refugees from the war in Syria.

Coastguard officials, angered by the loss of an opportunity to work closely with the British, told The Mail on Sunday: The NCA team came over to Tripoli after the Manchester bombing and agreed that we might have been able to prevent that atrocity if our joint operations HQ had been up and running.

The Nawasi Brigade gunmen stormed the port complex in Tripoli on July 19. Arriving in armoured vehicles, they threatened police staff with machine-guns, shouting: Get out! Get out! We have taken over!

More than 70 police officers were forced to leave immediately, and forbidden to take any files or equipment. A senior police officer who witnessed the attack said: We know these men. They work with the people-traffickers and make money from smuggling African migrants on to boats. They call themselves protectors of public morals, but they are nothing but a bunch of gangsters, opportunists.

Some of them wore combat gear. Others, the religious ones, wore jalabiyas, the traditional robes. They are powerful in Tripoli and the government is weak and hopeless. We informed Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj, but he said he knew nothing, he had been out of the country. In reality he is terrified of the Nawasi Brigade and the other militias.

But their operation was shut down by the Nawasi Brigade, the armed militia acting as the official security using government badges

The NCA has protested to the European Union Borders Assistance Mission to Libya (EUBAM).

A delegation of three senior officers from Britain had been working with Libyan police chiefs to draw up plans for a base where they would use state-of-the-art technology to face-match terrorists on their wanted lists with those in Libyan detention centres, and intercept phone calls between traffickers. On previous visits, the officers have combed through files to detect terrorists among the criminals arrested for trafficking of drugs, people and fuel, which are all rife along the coast of Libya.

The NCA officers have had access to traffickers and illegal migrants at detention centres, where they were able to interrogate them and assess the scale of the threat to Britain.

British intervention in the human-trafficking crisis in Libya has never been more needed. Last week, Scotland Yard Deputy Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu warned that UK border checks were a weak point for national security at a time when 600 extremist plots were being investigated.

Pictured are the badges the armed militia were using

Italian authorities, infuriated by Libyas inability to halt the migrant crisis, which has seen 600,000 people clambering on to its shores in the past four years, are already taking matters into their own hands.

They called a halt to EU plans to train Libyan coastguards and return six patrol boats they have held since the 2011 revolution, and instead sent a warship bristling with weapons to drop anchor off the Libyan coastline last month.

Italys Defence Minister Roberta Pinotti has threatened to send up to five more warships. But Italys proactive measures are not being welcomed, least of all by the police force run out of the coastal headquarters by the Nawasi Brigade. A source said: We are totally against this aggressive action by Italy, our former colonial masters. We are told that al-Sarraj asked for their assistance but if so he has acted alone, disempowering us at the very time that our offices have been taken over by criminals.

General Khalifa Haftar, the self-styled head of the Libyan National Army, who leads an alternative national government in eastern Libya, immediately issued orders to all of the countrys naval bases to confront any marine unit entering Libyan waters without permission of the army.

In the chaotic aftermath of Libyas 2011 revolution, the hastily formed National Transitional Council invited in the armed militias which helped to defeat dictator Muammar Gaddafi, and gave them government salaries and status. There are currently about 250,000 armed former revolutionaries operating in the country.

3. How route from North Africa to Italy is soft underbelly of Europe: With virtually nothing to stop people-traffickers operating in Libya, the way is left open for terrorists from across the Middle East to pay for passage on boats sailing towards Italy, from where they can vanish into any part of Europe

In March, the Nawasi Brigade was tasked by al-Sarrajs Presidential Council to separate warring factions of two other militias in Tripoli. Muslim Brotherhood factions currently control the Central Bank, which receives the countrys oil revenue and disburses government funds.

The European Council on Foreign Relations, an international think-tank which conducts independent research and promotes debate within European countries, warns that migration through Libya is increasing.

Matthia Toaldo, senior policy fellow for the Middle East and North Africa, said: Policies in Libya are facing stalemate. It is a dismal picture, though a significant component was to build up the capacity of Libyas coastguard.

This optimistic note has now been snuffed out by the crushing of the NCAs initiative.

An NCA spokesman said: The NCA does not routinely confirm or deny operational activity.

An EU spokesman said: We are aware of this incident.

Paris bombers smuggled into Europe hidden among Migrants Panic: Spectators at the France and Germany match in Saint Denis flee after the attack Terrorist: Bomber al-Mahmod The terrorists who have hidden among migrants to get into Europe include Ahmad al Mohammad and a man travelling under the name M al-Mahmod, suicide bombers at the Stade de France stadium on the night of the November 2015 Paris attacks. The two Iraqi members of Islamic State had used forged passports to cross into Greece, and days later were in central Europe, going on to link up with IS cell members in France. Dozens of jihadis pretending to be migrants have been arrested or have died while planning or carrying out attacks in Europe. The route into Greece has now been largely closed off, forcing terrorists to look instead to the crossing from North Africa. Advertisement

The ruthless gangs behind a 6bn a year trail of misery

By Michael Burleigh, Historian and Terror Expert

More than 600,000 migrants have reached Italy by sea from Libya since 2014, with 12,000 dying during the crossing.

Every stage of this involves criminals  Europol estimates people-smuggling is worth 6 billion a year to Arab and North African criminal gangs.

For extortionate fees, they shepherd migrants from Chad, Eritrea or Niger  not to mention Bangladesh and Pakistan  to Libya, and then send them out to sea, either to drown or to be picked up and deposited in Italy, where the Mafia get involved.

In Italys Calabria, the powerful and violent Ndrangheta has siphoned off 36 million from more than 90 million disbursed in aid to migrant reception centres.

More than 600,000 migrants have reached Italy by sea from Libya since 2014, with 12,000 dying during the crossing

The less powerful Sicilian Cosa Nostra has come to an arrangement with Nigerian gangs in return for a cut of money they earn from drugs and prostitution in the islands capital Palermo. Now a third group of criminals has joined the feast, except this time in an effort to stop migration at source in Libya  which explains why the numbers of migrants fell dramatically by 50 per cent in July and then by 86 per cent in August.

Italy is the only European government with close connections with the UN-backed Government of National Accord in Tripoli. They have used this connection to operate a crafty sleight of hand, which enables Italy to pay money to the Libyas ministries of defence and interior.

This is, in turn, disbursed to two militias which control the Libyan town of Sabratha, a major centre for people-smuggling.

Their role, for which they are generously paid, is to intimidate local smugglers and to run jails in which would-be migrants are confined.

The Italians have also imposed restrictions on the humanitarian charities which, they say, are acting like an offshore taxi service for people-smugglers.

Finally, the Italians have joined the French, Germans and Spanish in paying the governments of Chad and Niger to beef up their own border controls, something which seems to have worked with Nigers neighbour Burkina Faso.

The Italians pragmatic approach appears to be working  for them at least.

The human-traffickers are said to be moving to Morocco, from where there has been a sudden spike in people-smuggling to Spain.

Additional reporting: Ned Donovan
A reluctant Theresa May was bullied into calling the disastrous June snap Election by over-confident Brexit Secretary David Davis.

And when it ended in disaster, distraught husband Philip feared his tearful wife may have to resign for the sake of her wellbeing.

These are just two of the bombshell disclosures in a new book about the Election.

A reluctant Theresa May was bullied into calling the disastrous June snap Election by over-confident Brexit Secretary David Davis

Betting The House, by political journalists Tim Ross and Tom McTague, also claims:

Panicking May was close to quitting on Election night  until Boris Johnson promised not to force her out;

She denied that she was so shattered she wanted to throw in the towel;

Chancellor Philip Hammond was livid at being excluded from the Election campaign and regarded Mays manifesto as economic degeneracy.

And when it ended in disaster, distraught husband Philip feared his tearful wife may have to resign for the sake of her wellbeing

Tory MPs will be shocked by the way the authors say moves to persuade May into gambling her fate on a surprise Election on June 8 were led by Davis, who pushed her into it .

He was desperate to delay the next Election to stop the EU forcing him to accept a poor Brexit deal in 2019  on the brink of an Election the following year. Davis wanted an Election and set about getting one, says the book.

Marr 'leaked result of key BBC exit poll' Andrew Marr was last night at the centre of claims that he leaked the exit poll which revealed Theresa May had blown her majority in the snap Election. The BBC host rang Fiona Hill, then Mrs Mays chief of staff, before the 10pm release time to warn her that the poll predicted a hung parliament. The Corporations staff are sworn to secrecy about the results because releasing them before people have stopped voting could move the financial markets and allow insider dealing. Last night, Mr Marr said he had called Ms Hill literally seconds before 10pm, adding: She seemed to already know. I think she had been tipped off already. We have to get reaction from No 10. Advertisement

Davis told Mays Australian election guru Sir Lynton Crosby: No one is closer to Theresa May than I, and I, Philip Hammond and Theresa really run the country. Im urging her to have an Election as early as possible. Were well ahead in the polls and well win.

When a stunned Crosby disagreed, Davis bragged: Im persuading her.

Initially, May was also against the idea  as was her husband. Ive said before I dont want this to happen and Im concerned about how people will respond, she said.

The book lifts the lid on her despair on Election night. When her husband broke the news of the damning exit poll to her, it took a minute for her to understand the scale of the disaster but, when she did, a devastated May broke down and wept.

Her co-chief of staff Nick Timothy, who was forced to resign for his part in the Election, believed May herself should consider stepping down to save her from vicious recriminations. The book says Timothy was not alone. Even husband Philip wondered whether she should resign.

The book says May was so terrified Johnson would use the Election to oust her, she held up her phone in joy when he texted her his backing.

She knew she was finished if he did not support her.
A waitress at a restaurant in Canada says she was told by her female manager to wear a bra at work which constitutes a violation of my rights as a person to dictate my undergarments.

Genevieve Loiselle wrote a post on Facebook detailing the incident, which took place at East Side Marios in Timmins, Ontario, a small town about 440 miles north of Toronto.

When I arrived to work tonight I was called into my managers office, Loiselle wrote on her Facebook page.

She firmly stated that I must start wearing a bra to work.

As a feminist I made a personal choice not to wear one. She replied that it was part of my uniform.

Genevieve Loiselle, a waitress at a restaurant in Canada, says she was told by her female manager to wear a bra at work which constitutes a violation of my rights as a person to dictate my undergarments.

Loiselle wrote a post on Facebook detailing the incident, which took place at East Side Marios in Timmins, Ontario, a small town about 440 miles north of Toronto

Loiselle said that when she asked to see the restaurants uniform policy, there was no mention of brassieres.

As if you would impose servers to wear a thong. No you can't do that, it's undergarments, she said.

I just felt judged from the start.

She said that her boss would then report her to the human relations office.

'When I arrived to work tonight I was called into my managers office, Loiselle wrote on her Facebook page last week. She firmly stated that I must start wearing a bra to work'

As a feminist I made a personal choice not to wear one. She replied that it was part of my uniform

I can clearly see your nipples and that they are pierced, Loiselle says her boss told her.

I felt judged, harassed, and ashamed, she wrote.

I asked her if she would force a man to wear a bra if he had breasts and she said no, it was not the same thing.

People don't look at women's bodies the same way they look at men's bodies, Loiselle says her boss told her.

Loiselle describes herself as smaller-chested and hence she felt more comfortable not wearing a bra, according to CBC.

Loiselle says that she doesn't feel 'comfortable' about her job security after the matter was referred to the restaurant's corporate offices. The East Side Mario's in Timmins, Ontario is seen in the above stock image

I'm not prancing my breasts around, she said.

I understand if I had a see-through shirt, but my shirt's black and it's all the way up to my neck.

She said that the day after the incident, the manager walked back her demand that she wear a bra.

The issue is now being handled by management, though Loiselle said that she doesnt feel as secure in her job since going public with her story.

I really dont feel that comfortable here, she said.

The restaurant is closed for two weeks for renovations.

In June, a British barmaid claimed that she was fired from her job because she turned up for work without a bra.

Kate Hannah, 22, posted a furious rant on Facebook, accompanied by a picture of the grey, crew neck t-shirt that she says was deemed unacceptable by her boss.

She said that she wore the t-shirt to Bird and Beer in Beverley, East Yorkshire, after her manager's brother allegedly made an inappropriate remark to her.

There were even calls for her to take legal action after she shared her side of the story on social media.
On Thursday, June 8, Theresa May wakes to a cool, overcast Election morning.

As she votes, in her lucky leopard-skin kitten heels, May has good reason to feel confident. Her campaign consultants hired at great expense have led her to believe she is on course for a healthy win.

The signs from Australian campaign consultants Sir Lynton Crosby and Mark Textor, as well as American pollster Jim Messina, a former adviser to Barack Obama, suggest the Tories will win at least 350 seats  a majority of 50 or more.

On Thursday, June 8, Theresa May wakes to a cool, overcast Election morning. As she votes, in her lucky leopard-skin kitten heels, May has good reason to feel confident

At 10pm, the results of the official exit poll will be broadcast live on TV. It is a massive piece of research providing a clear and usually accurate guide to the final tally of seats. Anyone working on the project is sworn to the strictest secrecy.

By 9.30pm, the final forecast is ready. The polls results are market sensitive. According to BBC insiders: Theres never a leak.'

This year, there is a leak.

At 9.40pm, Professor John Curtice, the academic from the University of Strathclyde in charge of the exit poll, is ready to reveal his results. A handful of the most senior journalists and executives from the BBC, Sky and ITV, who commissioned the research, gather in a room behind the studio where David Dimbleby will make his announcement at 10pm.

Back at Tory headquarters, they receive an important phone call. Its Obama. The former US President knew someone working on Labours campaign who told him Corbyn is going to lose 20 or 30 seats  not enough to force Corbyn out. Obama told a Tory friend to pass on an encouraging message: Labour are expecting to lose seats, meaning the Tory majority will go up. And the disastrous Corbyn is here to stay.

Earlier, Crosby sent Nick Timothy, Mays co-chief of staff, a text. How you holding up?

I feel good, thanks, Timothy replied. What do you reckon?

Crosbys response is positive but contains a note of caution. We should do well. My hesitation is any Labour ground effort that we are not picking up the impact of.

All are waiting for the 10pm exit poll. Shortly before, May adviser Fiona Hills phone buzzes. It is a contact from the BBC, tipping her off about the exit poll results.

Hill grabs Timothy and pulls him into a side room off the main floor.

Ive just heard the exit poll  theyre predicting a hung parliament, she says. Are you winding me up? Timothy asks.

Who leaked this most sensitive information, breaching the tightest security rules?

Shortly before the announcement, one person who calls Hill is Andrew Marr, the BBC politics presenter. He talks to her about the poll prediction and asks for her reaction.

But Marr now insists the conversation took place only seconds before the official announcement. He believes Hill had already been given the results by somebody else. Were there two leaks from the BBC to the Tories that night?

With crucial seconds ticking down to 10pm, Hill hugs a No 10 colleague. It is all going to be okay, she says. Somethings funny with the exit poll, dont worry about it.

Dont grimace at Trump gropes, PM was warned It is a Westminster tradition for Prime Ministers to use the first Sunday back after New Year to outline their vision for the next 12 months in a major, set-piece TV interview. On January 8, 2017, a new show was launching and its presenter was a woman. Skys Sophy Ridge had bagged the big interview for her first show. During her preparations for the interview, Theresa Mays communications director Katie Perrior became concerned that Ridge could pull a stunt. Donald Trump had just supplied the perfect question: what did Mrs May feel about newly unearthed video of the US President-elect saying his celebrity status gave him the ability to grope women whenever he liked, adding that you can grab them by the p****? Donald Trump had just supplied the perfect question: what did Mrs May feel about newly unearthed video of the US President-elect saying his celebrity status gave him the ability to grope women whenever he liked, adding that you can grab them by the p****? As she waited to collect the PM from her Sunday morning church service in Sonning, Berkshire, Perrior knew she would have to find a way to prepare her boss. She decided she would just have to say it. Prime Minister, its possible she will be asked what you think of Donald Trump saying he can grab women by the p****. In the front seat of the Government Jaguar, the police protection officer snorted. Mrs May said: Right. How would you like me to respond? Perrior told her the camera was likely to zoom in on her face in a close-up, because they would be expecting her to grimace in the way she sometimes does. I dont do that, the Prime Minister said. You do, Perrior replied. Dont do it. Keep completely and utterly still  poker face. They want to be able to say, this is the face Theresa May makes when she talks about Donald Trump. In the end, Mrs May remained perfectly composed, waiting, expressionless, for Ridge to finish her question, before answering: I think thats unacceptable. Advertisement

As Big Ben strikes 10pm, Theresa May cant watch. Instead, she asks husband Philip to watch for her.

She wants to hear whatever the momentous news is to be from him, not from the TV. Philip stands in silence at the home they share in Sonning as the exit poll flashes up on the screen.

The Conservatives dont have an overall majority, intones Dimbleby.

Philip goes to find his wife. He tells her the news and hugs her. It takes a minute for her to understand the scale of the disaster but, when she does, a devastated May breaks down and weeps.

Marr comes on screen to discuss the astonishing exit poll numbers.

Well, the reaction of senior Conservatives  and Ive talked to a few  is that they flatly dont believe it.

Inside CCHQ, it is as if all the air has been sucked out of the room. Timothy winks at a colleague. Dont worry about that, its all fine, he says. Nothing weve seen says anything like it.

Crosby and Messina say the poll could be an epic blunder and Hill does not believe it. May is shocked but remains calm. In the war room, Crosby decides someone has to cheer up the staff for the long night of work ahead. F*** it, he says. The BBCs never been right about anything in their lives.

Boris Johnson has had a burger and a pint of Youngs ale and settles down in front a projector screen beaming the BBC News live into his local Uxbridge Conservative Association. When the result was announced his reaction was the same as everyone else in the room, crushing surprise and astonishment, says one Tory.

Johnson knows attention will rapidly shift to him and his chances of replacing May in No 10. Ignore your phones. No-one talks to anyone, he orders his aides.

At 11.59pm, Timothy hears the news he has been dreading. The Tories hold on to Swindon North  but with a swing to Labour. Oh f***, he says. He chats to strategy director Chris Wilkins. They wonder aloud whether Britain is hours away from seeing what Prime Minister Boris Johnson would look like.

Timothy believes May should consider stepping down. He does not want her to suffer the vicious wave of recriminations that will inevitably follow. Perhaps for her own good, she should go.

He is not alone. Even her husband, Philip, who is distraught for his wife, wonders whether she should resign, according to one member of Mays team.

A rumour later circulated that May did discuss whether she should quit that night. May herself has denied it. The chairman of the partys influential backbench 1922 Committee Graham Brady texts May, urging her to stay calm. The gist is simple: Dont contemplate doing anything precipitous.

When May returns to CCHQ at 4.30am, she heads straight into a meeting with Messina, election expert Lord Gilbert, Crosby, Textor, Timothy and Hill. May stares at the people who designed her campaign, who told her where to go and what to say, and who led her to think it was all working. Gilbert, Crosby and Textor all look pale. Crosby mumbles sorry.

Then May expresses her frustration. I just dont understand, she says. Youve asked me to go round all these seats, Ive gone round these seats. Youve told me that the numbers were good and feedback was good  and weve barely won any of them. She spends 45 minutes locked away in the small VIP room with her team. Chief Whip Gavin Williamson is getting reports of MPs canvassing colleagues for rival leadership bids. Two men are in the frame: Johnson and David Davis. I need to speak to DD, says May.

This is critical: not only is Davis the man who pushed for the Election to be called in the first place, he is also in charge of the Brexit negotiations. He assures May that he is staunchly loyal.

Meanwhile, Johnson sends a text message, expressing his backing and sympathies. The Foreign Secretary tells May to keep her chin up, adding, we are with you and behind you. She is so delighted by the text message that she holds up her phone and shows it to her advisers. Johnson returns to his official residence in London where he sits up watching the rest of the results come in. Poor Theresa, poor Theresa, he mutters to those in the room. I hope she is okay.

Back in Downing Street, May decides it is time for some honest conversations. She rings a few senior members of the Cabinet whose support she will need. The Prime Minister is asking her rivals to put their cards on the table.

Never mind the voters, she couldnt inspire own team During the Election campaign, Theresa May was not only refusing to take part in televised head-to-head Election debates with Jeremy Corbyn  she was also avoiding her own activists toiling at CCHQ. Advisers Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill were worried about her health, in case she should be struck down by a virus before polling day. She didnt come into the office very often because it was basically a pit of germs, a Tory source says. There were quite a lot of germs flying around. But Mrs Mays absence came at a cost to staff morale and Timothy, Hill and Election experts Lynton Crosby and Lord Gilbert were all told the troops needed their leader. After three or four weeks, people are working hard. Its a bit dysfunctional managerially in here, just get her in, one staffer recalls saying. Get her to rally the troops. They havent heard from her. They are fighting for someone theyve never spoken to, theyve never seen. When the Prime Minister did emerge and address the war room, it was hardly the rousing rallying cry the staff required. In the digital age a speaker knows they have lost their audience when they start checking their phones for interesting items on Twitter. It was all too late, according to several staff. One witness described it as simply a repeat of the stump speech everyone in the building had heard her make dozens of times already  not the kind of rousing address that would fire up her weary workers. It was all strong and stable and the risks of Corbyns coalition of chaos. I couldnt believe it, the witness said. This was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom talking in the middle of an Election to her own campaign staff and she couldnt even hold the room. Advertisement

At around 8am, she calls Johnson. If she is going to stay on as PM, she needs confirmation of his intentions, especially amid rumours that his allies are plotting a coup.

According to one witness, May tells Johnson: Its not the result we hoped for, but I intend to form a government. Can I count on your support or do you intend to stand against me? Johnson makes it clear that he will be staunchly loyal.

Nearly four months earlier, on Thursday, February 16, the Tory Partys top brass had gathered at Chequers for the most sensitive political discussion: how to win an Election.

But instead of bringing harmony, the secret Chequers away day sparked a conflict at the heart of Mays Election team, a clash between reforming chief-of-staff Timothy and Crosby, the man she had hired to design her Election campaign. This schism was to prove fatal to her hopes of winning the mandate she craved.

Present with Crosby was long-serving Tory election expert Lord Gilbert, who had been central to David Cameron winning an unexpected majority in 2015. In his Chequers presentation, Mays chief speech writer Wilkins set out a radical agenda: overhauling social and industrial policy. She had to be the person who always fought for relentless change, Wilkins said. May invited her guests to sit down to lunch around the large table in the dining room.

Crosby quipped that it was possible to tell a lot about a leader from the menus they serve. Some guests noted the eccentric: chicken lasagne, served with boiled potatoes.

The logic behind Wilkins and Timothys programme was clear: their approach was working. It had catapulted May to a healthy lead over Labour and Corbyn in the polls. But Crosby was unimpressed. The plain-speaking Australian regarded Wilkinss presentation as classic populist woolly bullshit.

Grand political theories dreamt up by thinkers in their studies didnt impress him. By the way, mate, its not about being the change candidate, its about doing what people want, Crosby told the gathering.

Wilkins says: In the campaign, we basically just screwed the brand completely, hers and the partys. We suddenly became the establishment candidate and Corbyn the candidate for change.

Three weeks later, the PMs commitment to her Lenten fast would be tested to the full at a meeting with her team. Her senior advisers wanted to talk and their purpose was deadly serious: for the first time, they were formally proposing a snap Election. For the first time, she was ready to listen. One evening after work in the week of March 20, the PM met Timothy, Hill and Wilkins in the Downing Street flat.

They sat on sofas and sipped glasses of wine. May laid out two bowls of crisps. They told her  and her husband  why she should call an Election now.

She was instinctively nervous, one of those present recalls.

Mays concerns were threefold. She had only just made it to No 10, and there was a risk that the Election could go wrong and the Tories could lose. She was concerned that calling a snap vote would bring added insecurity to the country, but most of all, about how the public would react, after she had promised so many times that there would not be an early Election.

The aides knew they needed to persuade Philip too. A decision of this magnitude did have to be a joint thing, one of Mays team explains. Philip is an important adviser for her. She relies on him a lot privately. Philip May raised the same concerns as his wife, worrying how the public would react. He also wondered how previous occupants of No 10 had fared when they called snap elections.

May was still unsure.

Few have won the PMs trust as quickly in government as her buccaneering Brexit Secretary, David Davis. A former SAS reservist, Davis is nothing if not self-assured. He is known for always having a ready smile and a cocksure confidence. He has been described as a rare example of someone who can swagger sitting down.

Davis wanted an early Election. As he war-gamed the next two years of Brexit talks, he was sure a vote now rather than in 2020 would deny his European adversaries the chance to pressure Britain into accepting a poor deal in 2019, on the brink of an Election the following year.

Call a snap Election, thump Corbyns Labour Party and then thump the EU in the Brexit talks, was his argument. Davis wanted an Election and set about getting one.

Three weeks before Easter, he called Crosby, telling him: No-one is closer to Theresa May than I and I, Philip Hammond and Theresa May really run the country.

Then he startled Crosby.

Davis wanted an early Election. As he war-gamed the next two years of Brexit talks, he was sure a vote now rather than in 2020 would deny his European adversaries the chance to pressure Britain into accepting a poor deal in 2019, on the brink of an Election the following year

Im urging her to have an Election as early as possible. Were well ahead in the polls and well win. The Australian wasnt convinced. Support is broad but shallow, he replied. Polls in this climate are superficial. They sort of say whats going on but are not stress-tested to the impact of a campaign.

But Davis had made up his mind and was determined to make up Mays and Crosbys too. Im persuading her and I just wanted you to think about it, he said.

Crosby declined to engage in a discussion. Little by little, Mays caution turned to confidence. It was time to be bold. She was close to making up her mind before she left for her holiday in Wales.

Timothy and Gilbert travelled to the Mays home in Sonning for an Election summit, with Patrick McLoughlin, the Tory chairman. May said: Ive got a reputation for just getting on with the job, for doing the right thing. Would calling an early Election put that at risk?

Gilbert saw the risk that the public would think May was just trying to gain narrow political advantage. Crosby was the least enthused about the idea. Hasnt she ruled this out several times, he asked Gilbert. Why does she want an Election now? Im not so sure Id be calling an Election.

Eventually, Crosby agreed to help, even though he did not want to lead the campaign. He commissioned a poll on the publics readiness for another Election campaign. The results were clear: nobody wanted one. Crosby sent the findings in a memo to May  revealed in last weeks Mail on Sunday  which did not mince its words about the risks of Mays Election gamble.

People thought things were uncertain and they were sick of change, says Crosby. Some people argue that voters want change. They dont want change, they just want a few problems fixed and the world to calm down.

When May returned from her Welsh walking trip, she called Timothy and Hill. She had made her mind up.

Timothy was elated. Nick was saying, it took David Cameron and George Osborne four years to change the face of the Conservative Party and weve done it in nine months, according to one insider.

Hubris was rife  they were going to win over all these new voters, winning over Labour territory. That was going to be Nicks legacy.

At 11.06am on Tuesday, April 18, May dropped the biggest political bombshell in a generation: She was calling an Election on June 8.

Most of the Cabinet had found out only minutes earlier.

 Tim Ross and Tom McTague, 2017

Betting The House: The Inside Story Of The 2017 Election by Tim Ross & Tom McTague is published by Biteback on Sep 28, priced 12.99. Offer price 10.39 (20% discount) until Sep 24. Pre-order at mailbookshop.co.uk or call 0844 571 0640, p&p is free on orders over 15. Tim Ross is UK government reporter for Bloomberg News and Tom McTague is chief UK political correspondent for Politico.

Hammond frozen out - and a manifesto up in flames

The Election campaign highlighted the simmering frustration of Philip Hammond over his exclusion from the inner circle in Downing Street.

This came to a head with the Tory manifesto, after the aides who prepared it decided not to publish a costings document itemising how each policy pledge would be paid for.

For the Chancellor, wedded to steering the economy safely through the turbulence of Brexit, this amounted to economic degeneracy.

The Election campaign highlighted the simmering frustration of Philip Hammond over his exclusion from the inner circle in Downing Street

How could he credibly argue the Conservatives were fiscally responsible?

But the campaign leadership ruled that publishing the partys internal calculations could backfire and so they decided not to do it, even though the document existed internally.

If we have to prove our fiscal credibility, then we have a problem, Mays policy adviser Will Tanner told Hammond. Labour clearly has a problem. We dont.

The Chancellors frustration had been brewing for weeks.

He had been locked out of the manifesto process, felt he should have had a bigger role in the air war media campaign and should have been asked to approve the public spending plans earlier.

Critically, he wanted to make sure the manifesto did not tie his hands at future Budgets.

Attack dog's Spitfire skirmish Inside Conservative Campaign Headquarters, there was an air of disarray bordering on chaos as the manifesto launch approached. They were trying to find a suitable venue. Two days before its debut, the options included an event in the centre of Newcastle, which was deemed too risky, and a speech at an air museum packed with World War II planes. Theresa Mays chief of staff Nick Timothy thought presenting the manifesto on the eve of delicate Brexit negotiations with the PM surrounded by Spitfires would send an unfortunate message, but Election campaign chief Lynton Crosby liked the idea. Theresa Mays chief of staff Nick Timothy thought presenting the manifesto on the eve of delicate Brexit negotiations with the PM surrounded by Spitfires would send an unfortunate message, but Election campaign chief Lynton Crosby liked the idea In an email to Timothy, his co-chief of staff Fiona Hill and others, Crosby wrote: I dont think the Second World War issue is relevant or a problem and you won it. Nice contrast with the anti-defence Corbyn. When this was abandoned, the logistics team spent hours in a frantic search for a venue in Middlesbrough that could handle large numbers of journalists, TV equipment and the security requirements of accommodating the entire Cabinet and the PM. None could be found. There was no obvious rationale for Middlesbrough other than that it was a target seat. Only on May 17, the day before the launch, did CCHQ find a venue in another apparently random town in the North: a converted water mill in Halifax. Advertisement

The problem was he had clashed too many times with Mays chief of staff, Nick Timothy.

The Prime Ministers view of Hammond was little better than Timothys, who disliked the Chancellor, although Mrs May was more careful how she expressed it. The closest she would get to venting her own frustrations would be to raise her eyebrows at the mention of his name in campaign meetings.

No 10 aides regarded Hammond with suspicion and at times contempt for what they saw as a lack of political nous and a tendency to talk too much out of turn.

Timothy didnt want Hammond to see the full manifesto until his boss was happy with it.

The Chancellor was eventually allowed to examine it, hours before it went to the printers.

With Hammond excluded, Timothy brought Hammonds deputy, Treasury Minister David Gauke, into the No 10 circle of trust. Gauke was seen by Mays team as loyal and competent.

May, Timothy and co-chief of staff Fiona Hill had called a snap Election, but knew little about how to organise a campaign themselves.

The low point  before the devastation of the result itself  came on May 22, when the Prime Minister used a press conference to scrap her flagship manifesto pledge to reform social care, the so-called dementia tax, four days after announcing it.

Channel 4s Michael Crick said May looked weak and wobbly, not strong and stable. Another pundit called it a manifesto of chaos. The proposal made May look mean. But her U-turn made her seem weak  and worse, untrustworthy.

May tried to pretend it was not a U-turn. Nothing has changed, the Prime Minister famously said after the volte-face.

The manifesto was a pile of s***, a member of the Conservative operation says.

According to her speech writer Chris Wilkins: People dont mind you doing U-turns if it shows you are listening and if you explain what you are doing  so to change the policy and then claim youre not changing it was devastating to the brand. You are just another politician.

An MP with 20 years Commons experience, May apparently had an instinct for what was happening to her campaign and feared the worst. According to one senior figure: She was very worried. She would take it all on herself, saying, Im going to lose this Election. 

Springing an Election with no notice was a decision akin to a headteacher at a sleepy primary school volunteering for a full Ofsted inspection  and then refusing to prepare.

Weeks before she stepped out of No 10 to make her shock snap Election announcement, the PM chaired a meeting of her Cabinet.

One Minister after another told her the manifesto should be as vague as possible. Hammond was among those who advocated a minimalist approach.

As the man often dubbed Theresa Mays brain, Timothy oversaw the manifesto. He was her chief policy adviser and had total authority over the Downing Street machine. About a week before the Election was announced, Timothy asked Cabinet Office Minister Ben Gummer to take charge of writing the manifesto.

Gummer was deeply unhappy at the prospect of an early Election and told Timothy. He did not believe the large poll lead meant the Tories were unbeatable.

But he accepted Timothys offer. The drafting itself was highly secretive. Hammond was frustrated at his lack of access and further antagonised by being virtual banned from appearing in the media during the campaign.

Boris Johnson repeatedly demanded access to the full manifesto text. He was told he could not have it  he was not deemed to be trustworthy. No doubt Boris wanted to leak it, so he wasnt going to see it. No one was going to see it, said a source.

Australian Sir Lynton Crosby  who ran the Election campaign  warned that detailed, policy-rich manifestos could be a problem. I hate policy, it only causes problems, he would say.

The feedback from research was that the social care policy caused a few alarm bells to ring but Mays team believed they could handle it. Then came the crunch meeting. On Sunday May 14, Gummer drove to meet Timothy and Hill at the Mays house in Sonning.

The manifesto was due to go to the printers that Tuesday  ready for the official launch on the Thursday. Always the model of amiable hospitality, Philip May made a pot of tea, produced some biscuits, and then left his wife and her advisers to their meeting at the dining room table.

Gummer pointed out some of the most dangerous areas  including social care. These are the toughies, he said. Fiona Hill was particularly nervous about social care.

The good news was that people needing care could keep 100,000 of their wealth, compared to the previous level of 23,000. But it was laborious to explain.

According to some sources, Hill thought it meant 100,000 was the maximum people would pay. It was the opposite.

Gummer argued: Given this is what we know were going to do, its dishonest to leave it out.

May decided that giving more detail rather than less was the right thing to do. That meant keeping the care policy in full.

The day before the manifesto was printed, Crosby and fellow Election campaign organiser Lord Gilbert told Timothy they were very concerned about the social care plan.

Hill again expressed doubts but Timothy played his trump card: the PM understood the risks and wanted to keep it. Crosby and Gilbert had no answer to that.

Barely had May announced the social care plan than the backlash began.

It was called unspeakable, heartless and worse. The stage was set for her humiliating U-turn four days later.
Noel Edmonds, broadcaster and businessman who is taking legal action against Lloyds bank, over losses to his companies, career and reputation

On the evening of January 18, 2005, Noel Edmonds closed the door of his Devon manor house and walked towards the nearby woods, intent on ending his own life.

Broken and lonely, he was barely recognisable as the irrepressible, pullover-clad TV host who had for decades appeared on our screens in Top Of The Pops, House Party and Multi-Coloured Swap Shop.

In his pocket was a stock of prescription pills he had been hoarding for a year, and in his hand a bottle of vodka, grabbed from his drinks cabinet to wash the tablets down.

This was a Noel Edmonds in the depths of despair, a man whose seemingly gilded life had come crashing down around his ears. And his persecutor? Shockingly, he says, it was a high street bank  Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS)  and one crooked banker in particular.

To Noel, a man who once had everything, it seemed as if there was simply nothing left to live for.

He says: HBOS had robbed me of my marriage, my family, my businesses, my long-standing friend and business partner; my income, my investments, my self-respect, my reputation, my privacy, my physical and mental health. It cost me my security, my image rights, my collection of classic cars  and very nearly my life.

Today, in a hugely emotional interview, Noel, 68, opens up for the first time about an episode that came close to destroying him  and about the behaviour of a banking system he now condemns as evil.

After years of struggle, he finally feels strong enough to seek redress for the financial and emotional damage he has suffered.

He is claiming 300 million from Lloyds, which bought HBOS at the height of the financial crisis. Thats how much he believes he has lost from the potential earnings he believes he would have had from his once-flourishing business interests.

Noel accuses the bank of saddling his companies with crippling fees and interest charges and of making unreasonable demands for personal guarantees that put his home and treasured possessions at risk.

It is a legal battle that is being watched closely by scores of other, non-famous business owners, who also believe their firms were pillaged by rogue bankers who effectively looted a series of sound businesses and blew the proceeds on exotic holidays, sex parties and prostitutes.

Broomfield Manor in Devon, home to Noel Edmonds, this image was taken in 1988

Looking back on the day that was so nearly his last, he explains that he chose the woods because they were powerfully associated with the memory of his late mother.

After she died, I took her things to a particular area that had power for me, where I had always felt comfortable, and one day I set fire to them, he recalls.

There was a mound in the wood and I remember dousing my mothers clothes and paperwork and setting fire to them. It went whoof. I looked up and thought, Mum, I hope you dont mind, I hope you understand. There was a bang, and an aerosol can flew out of the fire and missed me by an inch. I thought: Oh damn, Mum, you didnt want me to burn that stuff.

Two years later, that was the place I went to try to kill myself.

Was he, in his desperation, trying to reunite with his mother? No. I dont know, he stumbles. Ive thought a lot about that dark place I got to. Thankfully, it is beyond the comprehension of most people.

Yes, people suffer from depression. But it is not quite the same as the space you go into when all reason goes, when rationality and logic and hope vanish. Life without hope is no life. There is no logic. How illogical, when you adore your children and family, to do that.

The destruction Noel suffered at the hands of what he calls the HBOS criminals was both personal and financial.

Not only had the dispute laid waste to his business empire, but it precipitated the end of his marriage, too.

Before taking what he thought would be his last steps into the forest, Edmonds had written a letter to his then wife, Helen, and recorded messages on Dictaphone tapes to each of his daughters, Charlotte, Lorna, Olivia and the youngest, Alice, who was just seven.

Does he remember what he said on the tapes? Yes, but how much do you want me to cry? he says quietly. It was goodbye.

To understand what pushed the previously effervescent Edmonds to the depths of attempted suicide and the battle for justice he feels he is waging today, you need to delve beneath his television persona of Mr Blobby notoriety.

From the late 1970s, he had been building a business portfolio in parallel with his TV career, a decision he says was based on a fascination with the corporate world sparked when he was asked to host conferences for big firms such as the delivery group DHL.

Even as a young radio DJ  he filled in on Radio 1 for Kenny Everett from the late 1960s  he says he had a business-like approach.

Some disc jockeys would turn up 15 minutes before the show, while I probably put in four hours of preparation work for every show I did, he says. I took it very seriously.

Liz Davies and Noel Edmonds pictured at the TV Choice & TV Quick Awards at the Dorchester Hotel, Park Lane, London in September 2009

By the early 1990s, Noel believed his attempt to merge his broadcast fame into the business world was starting to pay off.

He was one of the first celebrities to establish himself as a brand  a common idea now, but ground-breaking back then. He set up his first company, providing sponsored helicopters  Noel is a qualified helicopter pilot  in 1985.

By the end of that decade he had conceived the idea of the Unique group of businesses, ranging from independent radio production to talent management.

His hit show Noels House Party had reached the end of its hugely successful ten-year run and after 30 years at the BBC he says he wanted to spend the next ten years of his life concentrating on his Unique businesses, seeking a more meaningful life.

Noel had just turned 50, and his plan was to make a smooth transition out of television and slot into a second career as a businessman at the helm of his Unique group.

His lawyer and friend Paul Pascoe was installed as the chief executive and the financial brains while, thanks to his TV fame, Noel could open doors and pique the interest of potential customers and partners.

Yet those hopes of a golden late middle age, he says, were totally destroyed by unscrupulous employees of HBOS, in particular Mark Dobson, 56, a former manager later sentenced to four-and-a-half years for his involvement in the HBOS Reading scandal.

Edmonds also names David Mills, 60, a consultant at a firm called Quayside Corporate Services which claimed to specialise in turning around troubled companies.

Mills was jailed for 15 years for bribing bankers at HBOS Reading with sex parties and expensive watches to push firms to use Quaysides services. But instead of helping them recover, Mills and his cohorts were squeezing them for huge fees and stripping them of their assets. HBOS has written off 245 million worth of loans relating to the affair.

Noel says that Dobson and Mills targeted me and, operating in the most cold, calculating and evil fashion imaginable, totally destroyed the group of companies in which I had invested so much of my time, reputation and money. He adds: I use the word evil because there is no other way to describe the people who wrecked my life and now perpetuate my agony.

Edmonds was never a client of the Reading branch. But he says in 2004 his previously good relationship with the bank began to deteriorate when Dobson, a specialist in distressed assets or businesses in difficulty, was put in charge of running Uniques borrowing.

Noel believes that subsequent events, in the form of the convictions of the HBOS Reading bankers and outside consultants, prove Dobson was orchestrating the destruction of his business for their profit.

What they did to me  they upped the fees, they upped the interest charges. They knew the assets were there.

In my case it was property assets. They knew exactly what I was worth. They targeted businesses owned by people who had worth, and that were functioning well enough that they could withstand additional fees.

Did he break any banking agreements, default on any payments, or fall into arrears? No. We were servicing all debts and overdrafts at all times. We had a 1.5 million facility and we probably went quite close to it, but whats the point of a pint of milk if you dont use all the milk?

Desperate to wrestle free of the banks control, he decided reluctantly to sell shares in Unique Broadcasting Company that the lender held as security. The proceeds of these shares, for which he had received several lucrative offers, would have wiped out his debt entirely. But he claims the bank forbade the sale  he believes in order to keep him in its clutches and take even more in fees and charges.

The shares subsequently fell in value. In the end HBOS invoked a personal guarantee from Noel and he felt forced to hand over 1.6 million. He says he believed at the time the move was unjust, but agreed because of the intense pressure he was under. The banks seemingly inexplicable actions, he explains, had drained him of all confidence: I wondered whether I was just a crap businessman.

Even worse, the banks action was set to cost him Broomford, the beautiful estate he regarded as a haven for himself and his family.

Noel is convinced his companies could, given time and the right backing, have grown into a serious empire. His talent agency had expanded into comedy, with artists on the books such as Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan who have gone on to huge fame, and into the lucrative voice-over market.

He believes it would have been one of the most successful agencies in the industry, and adds that it only needed one format to come good for his TV production outfit to become immensely valuable.

Bankers are financial terrorists, he declares. Money is their god and greed is their faith. They see no other logic than the pursuit of their religion.

The public should, he says, have been able to trust men such as Fred Goodwin, the former chief executive of RBS at the time of the financial crisis, and James Crosby, who ran HBOS during that period.

Goodwin and Crosby ought to be investigated. Neither of them have been properly investigated.

Today Noel has once again found happiness with his third wife Liz, 48, who he first met as a make-up artist on Deal Or No Deal. Liz, he laughs, has given him some face-powder so he doesnt look too shiny in the photographs.

But it is a rare moment of light relief and for the most part the mood is sombre, when we meet.

He can barely bring himself to talk to me about the destruction of his earlier family life, but in his submission to a review by Professor Russel Griggs of entrepreneurs who claim their firms were driven to the wall by HBOS, Noel gives a soul-baring account, saying it shattered my most precious gifts, my marriage and my family.

The stress that I was suffering was also  despite my best efforts  seeping into my family like poison and making all our lives joyless, his testimony continues. My daughters should have been enjoying happiness, stability and security.

Happier days: TV Presenter Noel Edmonds pictured with his racing car to be entered for the Le Mans 24 hour endurance race. He said that HBOS 'robbed' him of his loves, his business interests, his self-respect and his mental health

While he and Pascoe, the chief executive, were concentrating on the business, my wife increasingly became both a distressed and unwilling passenger. Our whole world, which we had spent years building, was in the process of disintegrating at the hands of a bank which should have been our ally.

In a desperate attempt to relieve the pressure on himself and his family, he began selling off his most treasured possessions including his collection of classic cars, which he was buying as a pension.

These, he says, had to be sold for less than they were worth. They subsequently achieved significant values at auction, he says. He estimates his losses at a minimum of 7 million plus interest.

Noel also had to dispose of his music collection, broadcasting memorabilia, paintings, antique furnishings and personal items adding up to 1 million at todays prices, by his reckoning.

Probably the most ironic thing was selling my name, he says, talking of the sale of his image rights for 1.3 million.

Well, its not your own name because I dont own my name. I think we have it back now, but for a while I didnt own it.

In late 2004, he instructed his land agent to find a buyer for the Broomford Estate. And as he put it: The loss of family life in our Devon haven was indescribably painful for all of us.

Unable to withstand the maelstrom of stress the marriage fell apart. He and Helen divorced in July 2005 after 19 years, a parting that he describes as a tragedy that it is impossible to exaggerate.

As the strain mounted, Noel was drinking more than usual and admits he was using wine as a crutch. I am not a big drinker but I was undoubtedly drinking far, far too much, though never to a point of being incapable of doing anything, he says.

Was he a functioning alcoholic?

I dont think so. But what is an alcoholic? A person who needs alcohol to get through the day  yeah I did. I would look forward to having a bottle of wine in the evening.

His depression mounted over a pretty grim Christmas.

And then, in January, came that dark walk to the woods and the moment when he was determined to end it all.

He has no recollection of what happened after he swallowed the pills and the vodka, though he knows now he was found by a security guard and rushed to hospital in Exeter.

His first memory after the failed attempt was of being driven from Exeter to the Priory Hospital in Bristol, by a friend, Brian Cameron.

There, he was placed on suicide watch, which he describes as a truly humiliating experience, and stayed for weeks until he felt strong enough to face the world again.

He took out an injunction preventing any media reporting, but this year decided to speak out, partly because he believes too many people, particularly men, are tempted to take their own lives.

He has made generous donations to The Samaritans and drawing on the optimism and perseverance instilled in him by his parents, Noel has somehow clawed his way back to a positive mental state. They were part of a very strong energy that got me through, he says.

Having hit the very bottom, I have huge strength on the way up. The dark force that is Lloyds cannot beat me and people like me.

A Lloyds Banking Group spokesman said: We cannot comment on individuals, but our first priority remains getting compensation to customers affected by the fraud.

We have already made offers to over half the customers participating in the review.

While we continue to believe that the review is the best way to get swift and fair compensation to customers where detriment has occurred, for those who choose not to participate, we will seek to resolve these matters outside the review as appropriate.

For help with mental distress, contact The Samaritans online at www.samaritans.org or call 116 123 in the UK or 116 123 in the ROI.

Star blames jailed banker for financial collapse

Mark Dobson was part of a cabal of corrupt bankers and consultants connected to HBOSs branch in Reading, Berkshire.

Mark Dobson who was was jailed for four-and-a-half years for his part in a 245 million loans scam alongside other corrupt financiers who squandered the profits on high-end prostitutes and luxury holidays

He is also the man that Noel Edmonds blames for destroying his business empire, in a separate case.

Dobson and five others were jailed in February for a total of nearly 50 years for what the judge described as an utterly corrupt 245 million fraud that left hundreds of small business owners cheated, defeated and penniless. Many of them also lost their homes.

Dobson worked for Lynden Scourfield, a senior HBOS banker who gave inappropriate loans to businesses, which allowed his associate, business consultant David Mills, to make huge profits from high consultancy fees at the expense of small businesses the bank was supposed to help.

Millss consultancy loaded its victims with unmanageable debt before taking them over and stripping them of their assets.

Scourfield was rewarded with bribes of luxury foreign holidays, watches, cash and sex parties, while Mills bought a 2.5 million super-yacht on the proceeds of the scam.

Noel Edmonds says his business Unique Group collapsed due to the actions of HBOS, in particular Mark Dobson after he took out a business loan with the bank.

Edmonds believes some of his business assets were passed by Dobson to Mills.

I even blame them for my prostate cancer

Noel was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2013 and believes that the stress of dealing with HBOS triggered the disease.

I am absolutely sure the negative forces acting on me impacted on my health, he says.

There is a wealth of information from various clinical studies of a direct link between stress and cancer. I am absolutely certain there was a link in my case.

I dont say cancer was caused by the stress, but that my health deteriorated to such an extent I got prostate cancer.

I always had good health. People, to this day, very kindly say, You must have a portrait in the attic because you never seem to age, says the TV presenter, who does indeed look a decade younger than his 68 years.

Thankfully, he has been in remission since 2015 and believes that a return to his customary optimistic outlook after a decade of stress and depression helped his recovery.

I am certain that positive energy assisted my doctors work in ridding me of the cancer, he says.

Noel was treated by renowned oncologist Professor Mark Emberton of University College London Hospital, a champion of High Intensity Focused Ultrasound or HIFU therapy.

HIFU destroys cancer cells  but not healthy cells  by, in effect, cooking them at 70 to 80 degrees while leaving the prostate gland intact.

The treatment claims a very high success rate.

Nonetheless, Noel says: It is very unpleasant. It wiped me out, but I avoided the chemo and being radiated. In June 2015 I was given the all clear.

Whats left of the mass of the tumour is looking OK now. I was very, very fortunate.

I had none of the classic symptoms but fortunately I have six-monthly medicals so it was picked up.

I wanted to keep it quiet, initially, but so many men die of ignorance each year.

Edmonds does not, however, like to use the word cured.

He also believes  in contrast to accepted medical wisdom  that everyone has the disease in latent form and that it could be triggered at any time.

I am in remission. There is no such thing as a cure for cancer. I dont say I have a cure for cancer, because the best you can be is in remission.

We all have it and you never know when its going to come and have a nibble.

prostatecanceruk.org
She was dubbed Baroness Thrift after sharing her tips on how to run her stately home on a budget.

But Baroness Patricia Rawlings is now battling to hold on to the country estate after her former lover launched a legal bid to force the sale of the 7 million property they once shared.

Lady Rawlings, 78, lived with millionaire financier Paul Zuckerman, 72, in their North Norfolk mansion Burnham Westgate Hall  not far from the Royal estate at Sandringham  until they separated in 2009.

Lady Rawlings is locked in a legal battle with her former lover over the North Norfolk estate

The former Government whip continued to live in the 13-bedroom, Grade II listed Georgian mansion, dividing her time between there and her other home in Westminster, London. But now Dr Zuckerman has lodged a claim in the High Court, demanding that the house is sold so he can receive a share of the equity in the property he and Lady Rawlings jointly own after buying it in 1991.

He is also asking the court to order Lady Rawlings to provide him with a key fob allowing access to the property in Burnham Market, known as Chelsea-on-Sea due to its large number of well-heeled second-home owners.

Lady Rawlings, who is understood to be resisting the claim, was criticised for being out of touch in 2013 when she called for the Government to promote the use of electric blankets on beds as a way of reducing family fuel bills. She revealed more tips for thrifty living in 2014, telling Tatler magazine that discarded crusts from melba toast could be used as boiled egg soldiers.

Lady Rawlings and Dr Zuckerman bought the property in 1991 and are in an equity dispute

Burnham Westgate Hall, which has 15,870 square feet of living space and stands in 38 acres, was put up for sale with a guide price of 7 million by Lady Rawlings in 2011. The house  originally designed by the great Georgian architect Sir John Soane  was later taken off the market.

Lady Rawlings and Dr Zuckerman bought the property in 1991. The couple carried out extensive renovations by unblocking fireplaces, ripping up lino and restoring period features.

Dr Zuckerman wants the estate sold so he can take a share of the equity

Lady Rawlings was House of Lords spokesperson for media, culture and sport from 2010 to 2012 and was previously a Shadow Foreign Affairs and International Development spokesman. She was also Conservative MEP for South West Essex from 1989 to 1994 and has campaign posters from her time in the European Parliament hanging in one of her lavatories. Her five-year marriage to businessman David Wolfson, the former chairman of Great Universal Stores who is now Baron Wolfson of Sunningdale, ended in 1967 and she never married again.

She made the headlines in 1971 when her former fiance, American oil tycoon Ralph Stokin, broke off their relationship and demanded the return of diamonds and rubies worth 250,000 he had given her. He took her to the High Court but the case was settled out of court. Dr Zuckerman, who is the son of the late zoologist Lord Zuckerman, sits on the boards of the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts at the University of East Anglia in Norwich and the CGIAR campaign group, which promotes agricultural science to reduce global poverty.

Inside Westgate Hall, which the former lovers are now engaged in a legal battle over

He is seeking a court order to force Lady Rawlings out of the house so it can go on the market as a vacant property and for a trustee to be appointed so the sale can proceed without further hindrance.

The legal claim also demands that she pay occupation rent to Dr Zuckerman after living in the property for the past eight years.

A spokesman for Dr Zuckermans lawyers said Lady Rawlings was due to file her response in the next week or so. Lady Rawlings did not respond to requests for comment.
A Michigan woman who sacrificed the chance to undergo chemotherapy in order to give birth to her sixth child died early Saturday.

Nick DeKlyen told The Associated Press that his wife, Carrie DeKlyen, died surrounded by family at University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor.

He said among his last words to her were, 'I'll see you in Heaven.'

'We stayed by her until she took her last breath,' Nick DeKlyen said. 'It's in God's hands now.'

Doctors removed Carrie DeKlyen's feeding and breathing tubes on Thursday, a day after she gave birth to her daughter Life Lynn DeKlyen. Carrie, 37, chose to forgo chemotherapy to treat her brain cancer since it would have meant ending her pregnancy.

Last week, surgeons performed an emergency cesarean section to save her baby just five weeks after she was left unconscious from a stroke.

Carrie was 24 weeks and five days pregnant at 5.30pm Wednesday when doctors delivered her sixth child, a girl named Life.

Carrie DeKlyen, 37, found out she was pregnant with her sixth child, Life, after doctors found a terminal brain tumor that was causing her extreme headaches. She died early Saturday a few days after giving birth to her daughter, Life

Carrie and her husband (back row) have six children together. Their youngest daughter Life Lynn will remain in the hospital for four to five months

'She's going to be fine,' Nick said. 'She's going to be here for four or five months, but we expect her to be a healthy baby. ... The doctor just said the timing (of the birth) couldn't have been more perfect.'

Carrie's breathing and feeding tubes were removed on Thursday after the birth and her husband said she was hours away from dying.

'My wife loves the Lord and she loves her children more than anything,' he said Friday.

'It's painful,' he added. 'But this is what she wanted. She wanted to protect this child.'

Carrie discovered she was pregnant in April, days after she was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor, the same one John McCain has.

On July 28, at just 19 weeks, Carrie suffered a traumatic stroke. She was unconscious on and off a ventilator ever since.

Doctors at the University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor were trying to wait till end of September for Life to be delivered at 28 weeks, but they decided on Wednesday that they could not wait any longer, as the baby had been moving less and less and they were worried she would die in Carrie's womb.

Surgeons warned the family that Carrie could die on the table during the delivery because she still relied on a machine to help her breathe and the cancer had worn down her body.

Her baby survived the delivery, weighing 1lb and 4oz. But Carrie's body was no longer capable of handling the damage from the cancer.

The Cure 4 Carrie Facebook page announced her death with a Bible verse. Her husband Nick said: 'My wife loves the Lord and she loves her children more than anything

Before her stroke: Carrie was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer in April. Pictured: Carrie in the hospital with Jez, Laila, Nevaeh and her husband Nick

Carrie was diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme diagnosis, a terminal brain tumor that was originally the size of a clementine.



At the time, she and her husband Nick, 39, didn't know she was pregnant.

When she found out she decided to forgo chemotherapy to keep the child. Although it could have extended her life and shrunk the tumor, it would have killed the baby.

Doctors have yet to test the risks of chemotherapy on a baby during the first trimester.

Those first months are crucial for a baby because most of the internal organs are developing and the drugs could hinder that.

Chemotherapy is also more likely to cause a miscarriage during the first trimester.

So Carrie opted for radiation treatment in hopes it would keep herself alive long enough to have her child.

She also had two surgeries, one to try to remove the tumor and the other to drain the liquid, but both have no helped her situation.

People with this aggressive form of brain cancer only have a 10 percent chance of surviving five years after diagnosis.

The mother, from Wyoming, Michigan, had been unresponsive at the hospital since the end of July.

Doctors had to put her into a medically induced coma after she suffered a dangerous stroke from the tumor that continues to grow in her brain.

The stroke left her off and on a ventilator for over a month as she fought to breathe on her own without exerting too much energy on her body.

Towards the beginning of her coma, she was responsive and would occasionally open her eyes or move her limbs.

Doctors were hopeful that she would maybe even wake up from the coma once the swelling in her brain went down.

Sonya, Carrie's sister-in-law, has been keeping people updated on Carrie's progress through a Facebook account. On Wednesday, doctors told the family they needed to deliver Life because of Carrie's current condition

But the tumor continued to grow and with that growth comes the need to constantly drain her skull from excess fluid.

Doctors tested Life's size and health on Wednesday because they were worried about her viability outside of the womb.

She measured last week in the three percentile range for size at 24 weeks and five days old.

Her mobility grew less and less over the weeks, which prompted the doctors to decide to deliver her tonight for fear that she would die in Carrie's womb if they didn't.

At 24 weeks, Life is considered in the extremely preterm category.

She also developed a small amount of fluid in her brain.

This fluid can cause minor symptoms for Life or severe brain damage, but doctors won't know more until they monitor her more.

On average, 63 percent of babies born at 24 weeks survive in the United States, and Life is now another baby who so far is doing OK outside the womb.

The normal gestation period for an infant is 40 weeks old.

Some problems that doctors were worried about when they deliver a baby this young is the high risk of developing a neurological disability.

These disabilities can include something as severe as an inability to walk or control their muscles or something mild such as having a learning disability.

Nick said they expect her to remain in the hospital for four to five months to get her larger and more healthy.

He said she is gaining weight and almost breathing on her own.

Life has all of her organs intact but the fluid in her brain could cause her problems later on.

Carrie and Nick have been married for 17 years. Their sixth child was a shock but they decided together to forgo chemotherapy and keep her

Fighting: Carrie, pictured after her first surgery to remove her tumor. It was just days before she found out she was pregnant with her sixth child

Carrie's husband Nick has been staying at the Ronald McDonald House in Ann Arbor, Michigan, since Carrie went unconscious so he can be close to his wife and baby while they fight for their lives.

Carrie and Nick have five other children besides Life: Elijah, 18; Isaiah, 16; Nevaeh, 11; Leila, four; and Jez, two.

Sonya DeKlyen Nelson, Nick's sister, created a Facebook page, Cure 4 Carrie, to keep family, friends and supporters updated on Carrie's struggle during her cancer diagnosis.

She also created a GoFundMe page to help raise awareness of what the family is going through to help pay for Carrie and the baby's care.

So far, the page has made close to $98,000 with more than three thousand shares on Facebook.

What is glioblastoma? The most aggressive tumor that forms from glial cells in the brain Glioblastoma is the most aggressive tumor that can form in the brain and was also found in John McCain last month. Patients have a 10 percent chance of surviving five years after their diagnosis. It is made up of a mass of cells growing in the brain, and in most cases patients have no family history of the disease, according to the American Cancer Society. The tumor won't spread to other organs, however, once it is diagnosed, it is nearly impossible to target. Unlike other types of brain cancer which are more specifically located, glioblastoma can occur in any part of the brain. Because the tumor likely already spread deep into the brain by the time it is diagnosed, the cancerous tissue is incredibly difficult to remove. It is mostly found in men between the ages of 50 and 60 with previous history of cancer, so it is incredibly rare that Carrie got the cancer. Symptoms: Symptoms can include blurred vision, severe headaches, trouble with memory and dizziness. Carrie experienced three weeks of severe headaches before doctors found her tumor. In order to diagnose the disease, doctors will do a CAT scan or MRI, and then biopsy the tumor and run pathology tests. Treatment: Chemotherapy is one option to treat glioblastomas, though it is relatively ineffective because of the blood wall surrounding the brain that protects it. That barrier makes it difficult for the drugs to reach the tumor. Radiation is another option the Senator's doctors will employ, however because of the chance of harming other organs or brain tissue, they will only be able to use a low dose. The low dose might shrink the cancer, but will not kill the entire tumor. Carrie opted to do radiation since she could no longer do chemotherapy since it would terminate the pregnancy. Although the radiation might have shrunk the tumor some, the doctors say Carrie's tumor continues to grow. The tumor makes it impossible to remove every microscopic growth. Therefore, it will continue to grow. Advertisement




Attacked: Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn

Jeremy Corbyn faces accusations of turning his back on Brexit-backing Labour voters ahead of a crunch Commons vote over formally quitting the EU.

Labour frontbencher John Healey told Mr Corbyn he was sending the wrong message to voters in the partys northern heartlands by forcing MPs to vote against the EU (Withdrawal) Bill tomorrow.

The row will embolden rebels planning to defy a three-line whip and side with the Tories.

The draft legislation, which will formally end the supremacy of EU law in the UK, is expected to pass its first Commons hurdle, with Tory Remainers likely to keep their powder dry until detailed discussion of the proposals.

But Mr Corbyns team insist that the Bill amounts to a huge power grab by Ministers. In stormy exchanges at last weeks Shadow Cabinet meeting, sources say Mr Healey, Labours housing spokesman, said: We are sending the wrong signal to the country with this. We have to vote for the Bill.

Another source said: Jeremy cant just turn his back on Brexiteers in northern constituencies who flocked to vote for him.

Mr Corbyn did not respond directly to the attack. And last night, MP Graham Stringer condemned his party leadership for flip-flopping over its Brexit approach. He told The Mail on Sunday: People hate political parties that promise one thing and do another.

But at an anti-Brexit march in London yesterday, Lib Dem MP Sir Ed Davey condemned the Brexit negotiations as an embarrassment for Great Britain.

Why voters will not forgive Labour if we vote against the Brexit Bill

By Labour MP Graham Stringer

People hate political parties that promise one thing and do the opposite.

The Lib Dems were destroyed as a parliamentary force at the 2015 election when they trebled tuition fees having pledged to abolish them.

Astonishingly The Labour Party seems not to have learnt this lesson.

Tomorrow, the House of Commons will vote on the EU (Withdrawal) Bill which rescinds the Act of Parliament which took the UK into the Common Market, the EUs predecessor.

It also transfers EU law into our law.

This is a vital step in the complicated process of implementing last years referendum decision to leave the EU.

'I have no doubt that Jeremy Corybn, Leader of The Labour Party, has as much distaste for the anti-democratic EU as I do'

In this years General Election, only three month ago, The Labour Party committed to fully honoring the referendum.

It was therefore surprising that last week the Shadow Cabinet announced it was going to try and stop this necessary legislation in its tracks by voting against the Bill at its second reading.

I have no doubt that Jeremy Corybn, Leader of The Labour Party, has as much distaste for the anti-democratic EU as I do.

We voted, as did John McDonnell, the Shadow Chancellor, against the Lisbon Treaty which gave more power over our country to the Brussels bureaucrats.

This flip-flopping plays straight into the hands of those same bureaucrats who want to punish us or in the words of the unbearably arrogant Michel Barnier, the EUs head negotiator on the Brexit talks they want to teach the British people a lesson.

They are frightened that other countries will leave the EU if the UK gets a good deal.

These modern day Marie Antoinettes are working towards justifying having no deal at the end of the negotiation even though they know that EU citizens have more jobs at risk than we do.

After all, the EU has a 70bn trade surplus with us.

This U-turn by Labour will be used by them as evidence that Parliament is not serious about leaving.

I can think of only two plausible reasons why Labour is letting down many of its supporters with this change of policy.

There is a view that if the Government is defeated on this there will be another General Election.

This is not credible.

Under the Fixed Term Parliament Act, there needs to be a 2/3 majority of all MPs in the House of Commons to call a General Election.

'We voted, as did John McDonnell (pictured) against the Lisbon Treaty which gave more power over our country to the Brussels bureaucrats'

The Conservative turkeys are not going to vote for an early Christmas.

They have certainly learnt their lesson from the last General Election, which they opportunistically called buoyed by a 23 point poll lead.

Their failure to get a majority guarantees they will not take the risk of going to the country when they are two points behind in the polls.

Oddly for a party that is committed to redistributing wealth and influence away from London, the four top positions in the Shadow Cabinet and the Shadow Brexit Secretary are all London MPs.

The cosmopolitan view of Brexit and the world is very different from the rest of the UK and undoubtedly influenced this mistaken change in direction.

I believe profoundly that political parties and MPs are rewarded by the electorate for sticking to their principles and not taking short term tactical decisions.

The issue in question here is democracy.

Labour should support this Bill and the countrys decision to leave the EU.

I am not blind to the fact that in detail this is a deeply flawed Bill.

The Conservative Government is grabbing power to itself that should properly be with Parliament.

The Bill as it stands gives the Government unprecedented powers to change the Law without proper Parliamentary scrutiny.

This is where The Labour Party should concentrate its fire and force the Government to retreat.

Labour promised a jobs-first Brexit in its manifesto.

Changing direction to give succour to those people in the European Commission who want to do this country damage is not a way to deliver those jobs.

 Graham Stringer is MP for Blackley and Broughton.
Actress Lee Na-young will return to the big screen after her marriage to fellow actor Won Bin and the birth of her child in 2015.

The film tells the story of a North Korean women, played by Lee, who abandons her family to defect but is later joined in the South by a resentful son. The motherly role is an unexpected one for Lee, who will begin filming in October. The film is expected to be released sometime in early next year.

Lee was so impressed by the work of the film's director Yun Je-ro that she volunteered to work for free.

The project is Yun's commercial debut, and though he is mostly unknown among the general public, he is a rising star in the industry.

Having studied in France, Yun has made six short films, many of which were invited to international film festivals.
British fruit farmers hit by the Brexit squeeze on migrant workers are buying land in Europe to grow their fruit.

Under pressure from the falling pound and growing evidence that EU workers no longer wish to commit themselves to Britain, farmers are buying agricultural land in Poland and Holland.

Laurence Olins, of the trade association British Summer Fruits, said crops had gone to waste this year due to a 20 per cent shortfall in seasonal pickers, and the prospects for 2018 looked worse.

British fruit farmers hit by the Brexit squeeze on migrant workers are buying land in Europe to grow their fruit

He added: Farmers are buying in Poland and Holland and more will do so as time goes on. If we cant get the labour here, British companies will go there.

'It will mean Britain will be importing more fruit from abroad.

He warned that by next summer, you could have Wimbledon strawberries grown by a British company in Holland  and costing up to 50 per cent more.

Fruit farmers are calling for special work permits of six to nine months for seasonal staff.
He made his name with the catchphrase 'We'll save ya', but by next weekend Aussie Home Loan boss John Symond may be better known for his extravagant party-throwing antics.

Mr Symond, who turns 70 this month, will be jetting to luxurious Monte Carlo on Friday for a four-day birthday spectacular on his 75-metre superyacht dubbed 'The Grand Voyage'.

Sydney developer John Boyd and hospitality baron Justin Hemmes are expected to be among the 200 star-studded guests on board who are already describing the feat as 'the party of the decade,' reports the Daily Telegraph.

Mr Symond, who turns 70 this month, will be jetting to luxurious Monte Carlo on Friday for a four-day birthday spectacular on his 75 metre superyacht (pictured with his wife Amber, 45)

While the $100 million dollar yacht (pictured) will be available for playtime everyday, guests will be spending their evenings in the five-star celebrity favoured Hotel Hermitage where room prices range from $600 to $45,000

Sydney developer John Boyd and hospitality baron Justin Hemmes are expected to be among the 200 star-studded guests on board (yacht pictured) who are already describing the feat as 'the party of the decade,' reports the Daily Telegraph

While the $100 million dollar yacht will be available for playtime everyday, guests will be spending their evenings in the five-star celebrity hotspot Hotel Hermitage, where room prices range from $600 to $45,000.

Kim Kardashian, Prince William and F1 heiress Tamara Ecclestone are also fans of the hotel.

Guests will be ferried from the hotel to 'Hasna' the mega-yacht each day - which was a birthday gift to Mr Symond from himself.

Guests will be ferried from the hotel (pictured) to 'Hasna' the mega-yacht each day - which was a birthday gift to Symond from himself

Kim Kardashian (left), Prince William (centre) and F1 heiress Tamara Ecclestone (right) are also fans of the hotel

The yacht boasts an eight-metre swimming pool with waterfall, a three-metre jacuzzi and a 'beach club', where many of the birthday festivities are expected to be held.

And to ensure his gift is the centrepiece the Australian millionaire has asked all other guests with superyachts to use the designated accommodation rather than moor next to his boat.

In total it's expected the high-flying banker will spend upwards of $7 million on the lavish affair.

In total it's expected the high-flying banker will spend upwards of $7 million on the lavish affair (pictured Hotel Hermitage)

Mr Symond will be moving to London with his wife Amber McDonald, 45, at the end of this year after selling his $60 million Point Piper mansion in 2016.

The couple were married in an opulent affair in the mansion's palatial backyard last year surrounded by their four children from two previous marriages.

They chose to celebrate their honeymoon at home.
The controversial investigation into allegations that Sir Edward Heath was a paedophile has been dramatically widened, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.

Officials at Britains biggest ever public inquiry confirmed that they are to study the findings of an explosive police report into claims that the former Prime Minister was a child abuser.

The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse  set up to investigate claims that a Westminster paedophile ring was covered up by the Establishment  will now look at the outcome of Operation Conifer, a two-year inquiry into Heath led by Wiltshire Chief Constable Mike Veale. His confidential report is due to be published in the next few weeks.

The controversial investigation into allegations that Sir Edward Heath was a paedophile has been dramatically widened, The Mail on Sunday can reveal

A spokesman for the IICSA told The Mail on Sunday last night: In the context of the Westminster investigation, the inquiry will be interested to see and consider the outcome of Wiltshire Polices investigation into allegations against Sir Edward Heath.

It is believed to be the first time the inquiry has referred specifically to the Heath investigation.

The statement follows a little-noticed change on the IICSA website on August 30 that the scope of its Westminster inquiry is to be widened to take account of recent police investigations.

The amendment did not refer to Operation Conifer, but The Mail on Sunday has been told that it was linked to the imminent conclusion of Mr Veales probe.

The website added the IICSA would be reviewing, collating and aggregating the work of previous investigations, some of which may not be in the public domain.

The Mail on Sunday revealed earlier this year how Mr Veale defied pressure to call off his investigations because he believed some claims were 120 per cent genuine.

The developments came as one Tory MP warned his party not to try to stop Mr Veale from publishing his findings.

Several Conservative politicians have called Operation Conifer, which has cost 1.5 million, a waste of time and public money. They say it is pointless because Sir Edward died 12 years ago and could never be prosecuted.

But Tory MP Andrew Bridgen said Mr Veale had been wrongly vilified and there were powerful voices who would like to silence Operation Conifer.

Mr Veale was a courageous and honest policeman and must be allowed to complete his investigation, free of abuse, intimidation or pressure, Mr Bridgen writes in todays Mail on Sunday. There should be no cover-up, regardless of any embarrassment to the Conservatives  or anyone else.

In February, this newspaper reported that more than 30 people had come forward to Wiltshire Police with allegations of sexual abuse by Sir Edward. The alleged victims were said to have given strikingly similar accounts of incidents, even though the individuals were not known to each other.

According to some sources, the findings of Operation Conifer support claims that Sir Edwards alleged crimes were reported to police years ago but buried by the Establishment.

Inquiry One: Wiltshire police probe Wiltshire Police have been investigating child abuse claims against Sir Edward Heath for the past two years. Led by Chief Constable Mike Veale Operation Conifer has cost taxpayers 1.5 million so far and will finish in the next six weeks. Led by Chief Constable Mike Veale Operation Conifer has cost taxpayers 1.5 million so far and will finish in the next six weeks At one stage there were 20 people working on the case: six detectives, a PC and 13 civilian staff. They have interviewed Heaths former friends, staff and sailing companions, fellow politicians and civil servants, and even examined his papers in Oxfords Bodleian Library. A panel of experts was brought in to provide independent oversight of Operation Conifer following claims that it was a witch-hunt, and a waste of money given that Heath is dead and so cannot be prosecuted. Two people were arrested and questioned following claims made as part of Operation Conifer but in April they were told they faced no further action. After the investigation is closed, a summary will be published, while a fuller report will be handed to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse to consider as part of its investigation into an alleged VIP paedophile ring in Westminster. Advertisement

Inquiry Two: VIP sex ring report The public inquiry into historic child abuse was set up by David Cameron in July 2014 after growing pressure from MPs and campaigners who feared the Establishment had covered up sex crimes by public figures. Professor Alexis Jay became the fourth chairman last summer but immediately faced a fresh crisis as counsel to the inquiry, Ben Emmerson, was suspended and then resigned But the inquiry struggled to get off the ground as the first two chairmen, Baroness Butler-Sloss and Dame Fiona Woolf, were forced to quit over perceived conflicts of interest. The inquiry then chose New Zealand judge Dame Lowell Goddard to take over, but she too quit after a year in charge. Professor Alexis Jay became the fourth chairman last summer but immediately faced a fresh crisis as counsel to the inquiry, Ben Emmerson, was suspended and then resigned. Several other lawyers left and a series of survivors groups severed their links over their concerns about the inquirys leadership, scope and lack of progress. The inquiry finally held its first public hearing in February this year after spending some 20 million, but it could last as long as a decade and cost more than 100 million. Advertisement

Some of those who said he abused them are believed to have told police they went on to commit sexual abuse themselves as a result.

Operation Conifer was set up in 2015 in the wake of the Jimmy Savile scandal, but Mr Veale came under pressure to abandon it last year after separate claims of a paedophile ring at Westminster involving the late former Home Secretary Lord Brittan and ex-Defence chief Lord Bramall were found to be groundless.

The claims investigated by Wiltshire Police, understood to date from the 1960s to 1990s, are not linked to the discredited evidence of the man known as Nick, who made the false claims against Lord Brittan and Lord Bramall. The Met has now apologised and paid a reported 100,000 compensation.

Allegations that Sir Edward was involved in satanic orgies have been dismissed as fantasy by one expert asked to review the case.

Several senior politicians have dismissed allegations against Heath as absurd and unfounded. Former Tory Foreign Secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind complained Sir Edwards reputation was being besmirched.

Former Cabinet Secretary Lord Armstrong of Ilminster, who was Sir Edwards private secretary in No 10, criticised the inquiry in a letter to The Times last week, saying the allegations were totally uncharacteristic and unlikely.

Lord Armstrong referred to unspecified concerns about the conduct of the inquiry and called for an independent review of the investigation by a retired judge.

And Wiltshire Tory MP James Gray said: I do not believe the allegations against Sir Edward. If Mr Veale fails to justify his inquiry, he will be in serious difficulties.

Sir Edwards sexuality has been the source of speculation for decades. Some believed he was gay, others said he was asexual. At one point, he was being investigated by five police forces: the Met, Wiltshire, Hampshire, Kent and Jersey.

The claims, some of which were proved false, include alleged links to a convicted brothel keeper known as Madam Ling-Ling.

A paedophile dossier compiled by Labour peer Baroness Castle, a member of Harold Wilsons Labour Government in the 1970s, said Sir Edward offered young boys trips on his yacht. In a separate incident, one man claimed Sir Edward picked him up in the 1960s when he was a 12-year-old hitchhiking in Kent and lured him to his Mayfair flat.

A IICSA spokesman declined to say if the change in its official stance, as detailed on the website, was to enable it to consider the findings of Mr Veales report.

Wiltshire Police said it had not yet sent its findings to the national inquiry, but expected to do so within the next six weeks.

REPORTING TEAM: Simon Walters, Glen Owen, Martin Beckford and Brendan Carlin

Thirty alleged victims and an inquiry mired in controversy

By Martin Beckford

The police investigation into Sir Edward Heath was controversial from the very beginning.

Superintendent Sean Memory stood outside the gates of Arundells, the late PMs home in Salisbury, to declare in a televised statement that anyone who believes they may have been a victim should come forward.

Wiltshire Police has since acknowledged this was inappropriate, while Supt Memory is now on sick leave and being investigated for misconduct over an unrelated matter.

FLASHBACK: How The Mail on Sunday has reported the probe

The original claim under investigation was that the trial of a brothel keeper had once collapsed because she threatened to reveal how she procured boys for Heath.

But the Independent Police Complaints Commission watchdog later said there was no evidence of a cover-up.

More than a dozen people came forward to make allegations against Heath, who died in 2005 and who had been widely regarded as completely asexual by friends.

Detectives were accused of going on a fishing expedition by interviewing former Downing Street staff, Heaths yacht crew and even the editor of Private Eye magazine, which had published jokes about Sailor Heath.

The most contentious allegation, however, was that Heath was linked to a network of paedophiles who held satanic orgies and stabbed children in churches.

The lurid claims were dismissed as fantasy by an expert in ritual abuse cases. Dr Rachel Hoskins concluded they were false memories unearthed in therapy.

She was also alarmed to discover that detectives were studying the discredited statements made by a man known only as Nick, who had falsely accused military chiefs and MPs, including Heath, of being part of a murderous VIP sex ring. After The Mail on Sunday revealed the astonishing allegations, Wiltshire Chief Constable Mike Veale strongly defended his investigation, declaring in a rare open letter: This is not a fishing trip or witch-hunt.

Earlier this year this newspaper told how Mr Veale is convinced the claims against Heath are 120 per cent genuine.

The number of alleged victims to come forward has risen to more than 30 and some of their accounts are strikingly similar.

Because Heath is dead and so cannot stand trial, his guilt or innocence can never be proven, and so the controversy over the accusations will likely continue long after Operation Conifer finishes its work.

My party may not like it, but there must not be a cover-up, says Andrew Bridgen, MP for North West Leicestershire

I was greatly concerned when I read a letter in the Times on Friday concerning the police inquiry into claims of historic child sexual abuse by former Prime Minister Sir Edward Heath.

The letter from Lord Armstrong of Ilminster, who was Sir Edwards Downing Street private secretary, criticises Operation Conifer, led by Wiltshire Chief Constable Mike Veale.

It refers to unspecified concerns about [its] conduct and calls for an independent review of the investigation by a retired judge. In my view this is both unjustified and improper.

Lord Armstrong, who went on to become Cabinet Secretary, has made no secret of the fact that he thinks Sir Edward is innocent. He has described the allegations as totally uncharacteristic and unlikely.

With all due to respect to Lord Armstrong, I believe he would be well advised not to interfere.

He is not the only one who has criticised Mr Veale: he has been vilified by sections of the media and some of my fellow Conservative MPs.

My message to them is: Leave Mr Veale to do his job.

The timing of Lord Armstrongs intervention is no coincidence. Mr Veale has indicated that he intends to publish a summary of the findings of Operation Conifer shortly. It would be wholly wrong if the Establishment had any part in this investigation.

It is natural that some will be sceptical about the investigation into Sir Edward. A separate inquiry by the Metropolitan Police, called Operation Midland, collapsed last year after the main allegations were found to be groundless.

For decades, rumours about Jimmy Savile were dismissed by institutions such as the BBC, terrified about the impact of negative publicity on their reputation

Mr Veale declined calls to abandon his inquiry on the grounds that he believed the allegations concerning Sir Edward deserved to be taken seriously, on their own merit.

I congratulate him for doing so. I believe he is an honest, courageous and diligent police officer who deserves the chance to complete his investigation and announce his findings in public.

There are powerful voices who would like to silence Operation Conifer. My own party will be severely embarrassed if it transpires the claims against Sir Edward were true. But that is no reason for covering it up.

We have been here before. For decades, rumours about Jimmy Savile were dismissed by institutions such as the BBC, terrified about the impact of negative publicity on their reputation. It seems we have not learned our lesson. Sometimes the unthinkable does occur, and our knee-jerk reaction should not be to put a lid on it.

A brief period followed during which the chastened forces looked into historic allegations of abuse. But the process was tainted by a few bad apples who spotted the chance to revel in the limelight  and possibly make some money in the process.

But that should not be used by the Establishment as an excuse to shelve the entire process.

For all the problems associated with investigating these historic allegations, we have learned the hard way the perils of sweeping them under the carpet.

If we assume that all accusers are fantasists, we compound the distress of genuine victims who have carried their burden in secret for years.

As an MP, I have taken a close interest in trying to help these victims  the powerless against the powerful, battling to be heard when the weight of the state is lined up against them.

That is why Chief Constable Veale must be allowed to complete his investigation, free of intimidation of any sort.

Referring to the inquiry, set up when she was Home Secretary, Theresa May said last week: If we turn a blind eye to this abuse, as has happened too much in the past, more crimes will be committed and more children will be suffering in silence.

The Prime Minister is right.
He has risen to the occasion on both episodes of The Great British Bake Off after its switch to Channel 4, thanks to his outstanding cookery skills.

Triumphing with his BLT sandwich cake and biscuit chess board, Steven Carter-Bailey has delighted the judges.

But his culinary talents have also helped him with a remarkable deflation  he has shed an astonishing five stone since swapping junk food for home cooking.

Great British Bake Off favourite Steven Carter-Bailey (pictured before his weight loss) shed five stones by swapping junk food for home cooked meals

Now, for the first time, Bake Off fans can see marketing manager Steven, 34, as he was before he got serious about cooking.

Facebook pictures of him as a teenager, posted by his father Michael James, show a chubby figure unrecognisable from the slim, suave baker he is today.

In one photograph, he stands hand on hip with his sister Katie James, to whom he has said he is very close.

He is also pictured as a podgy child, smiling alongside her and their two younger brothers, Joseph and Jack.

Mr Carter-Bailey, who is favourite to win the new series after being the star baker for two weeks in a row, took a light-hearted quip at his embarrassment at one of the chubby teenager photographs, commenting: 50 quid to remove it what the **** happened to me?

His father, who lives in Buckinghamshire, replied: Just love those chubby cheeks and both chins.

Mr Carter-Bailey (pictured) has been a hit on Bake Off. Judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith have described his bakes as perfect and exquisite

He has hinted at a difficult relationship with Mr Carter-Bailey, who chose to change his surname.

Speaking about his son, Mr James admitted: I dont see him very much at all. I see his sister more. Steven is 34 years old, he can do what he likes. If he wants to paint his face black and walk on his hands, he can.

Im not really interested. I dont watch Bake Off. I would have been much more interested if he had joined the military or was a lorry driver.

Judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith have described Mr Carter-Baileys bakes as perfect and exquisite, which has left fans of the former BBC show curious as to whether he is a professional chef  contradicting Bake Off rules.

Although there is no evidence that he is anything but a keen home baker, his Instagram page boasts some impressive creations, including a Minions-themed cake.
As Hurricane Irma approaches after wreaking havoc on the Caribbean, some Florida Keys residents are staying put and taking selfies next to massive waves despite orders to evacuate.

Florida and Georgia officials have encouraged six million people to evacuate before the storm hits.

But shocking photos from the US's Southernmost Webcam show Floridians are brazenly ignoring their instructions and are snapping photos next to giant waves.

One man was knocked over by a wave that crashed over the barrier as he took a photo.

He stood on top of the barrier to get the perfect view of the churning waters before getting smacked by the wave and being pushed back onto the ground. The man stood up and walked away as if nothing happened.

Scroll down for video

A man was seen taking a photo second before a wave crashed over the barrier at the the US's southernmost point

He is pushed back a few feet then stands up and walks away as if nothing happened. Hurricane Irma is currently a category three storm

As of 5pm on Saturday, Irma was just 115 miles southeast of Key West and had sustained winds of 125mph.

The Key West National Weather Service tweeted Friday: 'THIS IS AS REAL AS IT GETS'

'NOWHERE IN THE FLORIDA KEYS WILL BE SAFE.'

'YOU STILL HAVE TIME TO EVACUATE.'

Even though Irma is projected to be one of the most vicious hurricanes to make landfall in the Sunshine State, some Floridians aren't letting it affect their daily routine.

From a bar stool at Macs Club Deuce at Miami Beach, Kathleen Paca told the New York Post: Its not going to be that bad. Im on the second floor and have impact windows. Ive thrown coconuts at my windows and they dont break.

Carl Roberts, a lawyer, justified staying put to the paper, saying: 'No. 1, I dont have anywhere to go.'

'Hurricane damage is primarily water rising. And Im on the 17th floor. I have security shutters, so I should be quite safe here.'

What evacuation order? Two cyclists smiled while taking a selfie at the US's southernmost point as massive waves crashed over the barriers

The Key West National Weather Service has encouraged everyone in the Florida Keys to evacuate before Irma hits on Sunday

Governor Rick Scott announced Saturday approximately 76,000 people have been left without power because of the Category three hurricane.

Elsewhere in Miami, people were seen walking outside amid strong wind gusts as Irma approaches Florida.

People were seen surfing in Miami, even though professional surfer Alan Burke died in Barbados while riding a giant wave caused by Irma.

Brock Long, the chief of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, warned residents in the Florida Keys who have not heeded warnings: 'You're on your own until we can actually get in there, and it's safe for our teams to support local and state efforts.'

A surfer in Miami Beach takes advantage of the rougher water before the rain on Saturday morning

A satellite image on Saturday shows Hurricane Irma as it makes its way away from Cuba and towards Florida. The outer bands of the storm have already begun thrashing southern Florida with strong winds and rain

Residents in the Keys have been warned for days that they must pack up and leave before Irma hits. Some defiantly stayed, vowing to ride out the storm despite the warnings that the decision may cost them their lives.

'The message has been clear - the Keys are going to be impacted, there is no safe area within the Keys, and you put your life in your own hands by not evacuating,' Long told CNN.

So far Irma has claimed at least 24 lives after torturing the Caribbean. The death toll will likely rise as recovery missions continue.
Thousands of pupils across the country saw their term starts delayed due to teacher training days

Furious parents have hit out at schools for delaying the start of the new term by holding training days just after teachers have enjoyed six-week holidays.

Thousands of pupils across the country did not return to school until well into the first week of the academic year, causing problems for working parents who had to stay at home or arrange costly childcare.

Some took to social media to ask why teachers do not cut short their generous holidays and carry out the five required in-service training (inset) days before the first week of term.

One said on Mumsnet: As a parent, its hard enough trying to juggle work and childcare during the holidays, but I completely fail to understand why teachers get about 13 weeks holiday a year and then take additional days for training.

'Why cant they take a little bit less holiday (its only five days, so thats 12 weeks holiday  still way more than anyone else) and make it easier on parents?

Catherine Hardy, from Cheshire, launched an internet petition calling on the Government to change the system.

She complained: My childrens school has just announced an extra week of inset days on the end of the summer holidays.

Teachers are now facing calls to cut short their 'generous' holidays by irate parents

How on earth am I supposed to cover what is now a full seven-week break? Why cant schools hold this training in the holidays, compensating staff accordingly?

Inset days are usually spread over the academic year.

They have sparked controversy in the past after staff at one school were spotted at a wedding while others held training at the Cheltenham races and during a trip to Spain.

The founder of Parents Outloud, former Ofsted inspector Margaret Morrissey, said: The Government should reform the system so that training time is reduced and teaching time increased.

A spokesman for the National Association of Head Teachers said inset days were introduced in 1988 under a Conservative government with teachers required to attend training in addition to the 190 days assigned for teaching.

Both the Department for Education and Ofsted have recognised that teacher workload is having a negative impact on recruitment and retention, so asking them to give up more of their free time than they already do is not going to help.
Angkor Wats glories and the sombre spectre of the Killing Fields are often what comes to mind when thinking of Cambodia.

But this intriguing country is now forging a new frontier, offering up its islands, with their uncrowded, sandy beaches, as the perfect antidote to days spent exhaustively touring temples.

Like many others, my boyfriend Oscar and I previously had visited the famous and grisly landmarks of this once troubled country, where the Khmer Rouge killed and tortured thousands of its own people. We were looking for something different.

Asian adventure: Angkor Wat is the very famous, unmistakable icon of Cambodian tourism

So after visiting Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, we took an extraordinary seven-hour drive to the south, across lush green countryside, past villages and waving children, to remote Koh Rong, one of Cambodias largest islands an hours boat trip from the modern town of Sihanoukville.

With four small fishing villages and a string of tiny guesthouses, this six-mile long, two-mile wide island, (population just over a thousand) has been on the back-packing circuit for a decade. But its now attracting mainstream tourists looking for a laid-back vibe at low prices.

What strikes you on arrival at the low-key resort of Sok San - where we stayed - is the tranquility. Perched on the beachfront and built simply with locally harvested wood, it is small (rooms are a simple wooden bungalow with a verandah at the front) and romantic, with prices starting at just 45 a night.

We wondered at first whether thered be enough to occupy us for five days, but we need not have worried. The fabulous fresh fruit at breakfast, the friendly staff at the Beach Bar and the sheer, unpretentious calm of the place kept us content.

Oasis: With its tiny guesthouses, Koh Rong has been on the back-packing circuit for a decade

Beach resort: Sarah checked into the low-key resort of Sok San, where rooms start at just 45

On our first day, Oscar, always one to seek adventure, got gloriously lost (and significantly sunburned) on a scooter, riding through the forest, visiting coves and becoming trapped in a ravine - requiring locals to help him get out.

On the beach I spotted couples playing volleyball, while others jogged or simply strolled in the surf. I, meanwhile, relished the chance to do nothing much at all.

Walking the island one evening, we came across a quirky little restaurant, The Moon, where we sat at a table by the beach and tucked into the best Khmer curry of our trip - a blend of Cambodian spices, not unlike a Thai curry, for the princely sum of 4.

We sat at a table by the beach and tucked into the best Khmer curry of our trip for the princely sum of 4

Our only companion, aside from friendly locals, was a strident, honking goose.

We were sad when it was time to leave. But there was a significant, largely forgotten temple, Banteay Chhmar, we had chosen to visit, some 106 miles northwest of Siem Reap.

It meant another long drive but the moment we arrived we knew it had been worth it. The army of pink lotus flowers guarding the ancient moat had long since closed their petals against the sun. The trees seemed to sigh in the shimmering heat.

But as we clambered over the ruins of Banteay Chhmar, once one of Cambodias most important temples, we were rewarded by being the only visitors, whereas Angkor Wat gets a million a year.

Built by Khmer King Jayavarman VII in the 12th century as a tribute to his son who had been killed in battle, this vast 128 hectare Buddhist temple had an expansive moat, six pools and 56 tall and intricately carved face towers (there are just five surviving) and took 20 years to build.

Historical remains: Banteay Chhmar, once one of Cambodias most important temples, was built by Khmer King Jayavarman VII in the 12th century as a tribute to his fallen son

That it has survived is something of a miracle: the jungle and monsoon rains have eroded the monuments and caused some of the great towers to tumble; then came the brutal Khmer Rouge regime in the Seventies.

Banteay Chhmer was one of its last strongholds and the temple was only opened to the public in 2007 after the authorities had cleared the last of the landmines which ringed the area.

The ancients might weep to see it in ruins - though there has been some restoration by the Global Heritage Fund and British conservationist architect John Sanday.

Pictures of graceful temple dancers emerge unexpectedly from the face of a tumbled stone; Buddha is seen etched on another, while a line of carved demon and spirit figures (though some have lost their heads) greet you at one of the processional entrances.

Later we ate at a table overlooking the monuments, laid with a crisp white tablecloth, serenaded by musicians playing classical tunes. It was a delicious evening, rounding off a perfect holiday in a country which offers the best of both worlds.
He was only announced as the new Bachelor on Thursday morning.

And it seems the choice of Arie Luyendyk Jr as the next contestant is going to be a contentious one.

On Sunday, it seems an ex of the 35-year-old race car driver had some choice words about Arie in response to a tweet from show creator Mike Fleiss.

Uh oh: It seems the choice of Arie Luyendyk Jr as the next Bachlor contestant is going to be a contentious one

Infamous dialogue: An apparent ex of Luyendyk, Sydney Stempfley, chimed in with some less than complimentary commentary

'I work for you, #BachelorNation,' wrote Mike, 'trying to make the best possible decision. Not easy!'

Former Bachelor Sean Lowe then innocently tweeted back 'may I suggest @ariejr?'

That's when an apparent ex of Luyendyk, Sydney Stempfley, chimed in with some less than complimentary commentary questioning his monogamy credentials.

'The show would be perfect for @ariejr up until it comes to choosing just one,' she snapped, before ending with a stinging crying-tears-of-laughter emoji.

Trouble brewing: On Sunday, it seems an ex of the 35-year-old race car driver had some choice words about Arie in response to a tweet from show creator Mike Fleiss (pictured)

In the mix: Former Bachelor Sean Lowe then innocently tweeted back 'may I suggest @ariejr?'

According to People, Stempfley hails from Cincinnati and graduated from Miami University in 2016.

The publication also confirmed via a source that the blonde was dating the racer until he recently ended things.

It seems it was sudden and that 'she's hurt' by the outcome.

Indeed, the recent college grad's Instagram feed is populated with many loving images of the couple.

In love? Indeed, the recent college grad's Instagram feed is populated with many loving images of the couple

Over: The blonde was dating the racer until he recently ended things

One photo of the duo apparently on a hike is gushily captioned 'My tall, still somewhat dark, and handsome.'

In a recent People interview, it seems that Stempfley may have misunderstood the nature of their relationship as more serious than it actually was.

He told the magazine that since dating Emily Maynard on her season of The Bachelorette in 2012, he's only had one serious relationship which ended more than a year and a half ago.

He added 'Ive had a really successful couple of years. Ive put my nose down and worked really hard. I think a lot of times for men, success and business in life really sort of gets them ready for marriage  I truly believe that. Im at a place in my life where Im ready to buy a bigger house and have somebody to share that with. Im ready to start a family!'
Eva Longoria balances a life as as an actress, director, bombshell, wife and friend.

So the 42-year-old star was quick to dismiss the idea that women 'cant have it all' in an interview for Haute Living's latest issue.

In the editorial, the actress/filmmaker sizzles in a sultry singlet and backside-baring gown while getting real about the pressure working women face and how she pushes through in her chat with the mag.

Brains and beauty! Eva Longoria sizzles in this month's Haute Living, where she got real about the pressure working women face while sporting a number of sexy looks in her spread

The former daytime darling radiated sex appeal as she switched between a backside-baring gown, sultry singlet and white sweater wore san-pants in the spread.

Balance beam! The starlet talked about how she balances being an actress, director, wife and friend in the Fall issue of the mag

Eva, who wed Mexican businessman Jose Antonio Bastion in May of last year, proved she was much more than a pretty face in HL's Fall issue.

The Texas native got real about the value of female friends, how things sparked between her and her media mogul man, and how she nurtures her inner confidence in the interview.

The Texas native balked at the idea that women have to choose between work, love and family.

'Its a myth that you cant have it all,' Eva explained bluntly.

'When I was younger, I got some great advice: you can have it all- just maybe not all at the same time.'

She continued, 'That doesnt mean you should stop trying to balance everything and strive to be the best you can be everyday.'

The multi-hyphenate filmmaker also shared how nowadays her confidence stems from knowledge much, much more than the opinions of others.

Haute looks! The former daytime star radiated sex appeal while switching between a backside-baring gown, sultry singlet and white sweater wore without pants throughout the spread

Choice words: The 42-year-old dismissed the idea that women 'cant have it all' by sharing sage advice she got as a younger woman - 'You can have it all- just maybe not all at the same time'

'I feel very, very confident in the things that I know,' Eva explained, 'I know how to direct; I direct really well. I know how to act; I know how to produce.

She continued: 'When I feel confident its because Im well-researched, I am resourceful, I am prepared.

'Im at my most powerful when Im prepared to do something, whether its acting, directing, my charity work, speaking or doing a photo shoot.

Learning to own her strength: Eva, who's married to businessman Jose Baston, also talked about how her confidence now stems from knowledge, rather than resting upon the opinions of others. Above the Latin beauty and her love are seen at Cannes in May

Third time's the charm! The multi-hyphenate filmmaker tied the knot with Mexican media mogul Baston last year, marking the starlet's third marriage. Above the pair are seen in Cannes

The power player also talked about her famous role as Gabriella Solis on the ABC dramedy Desperate Housewives.

Though she solidified her star on the show, the master's degree holding diva told fans not to hold their breath for any sort of series reunion.

'Everybody always asks me if were doing a remake,' said the starlet, 'I always say no because [creator Marc Cherry] says no, and only because we did... 24 episodes a year for ten years [180, to be exact].

One of Eva's next projects is the star-studded All-Star Weekend directed by Jamie Foxx.

Goodbye Wisteria Lane! Though the Desperate Housewives alum solidified her star on the show, she told fans not to hold their breath for any sort of series reunion

The Latin lovely couldn't help but gush about the Academy Award winner during the chat.

'Hes an amazing human being. I mean, hes not even a friend, hes family. So when he asked me to do this, I was like, "Done,"' she explained.

You can find Eva's issue of Haute Living on newsstands now. All-Star Weekend is currently in post-production and due out early next year.
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The king of FM radio and 'best mate' of 'Teflon' John Ibrahim has moved to Mosman.

Kyle Sandilands, 46, and his equally polarising girlfriend Imogen Anthony, 26, have reportedly settled into an 'exquisitely private,' $4,000 waterfront pad.

'The neighbours are beside themselves,' a disgruntled local told the Sydney Morning Herald, perhaps fearful the usually quiet Burran Avenue may soon turn into a nightly block party.

'The neighbours are beside themselves': Kyle Sandilands, 46, the king of FM radio and 'best mate' of 'Teflon' John Ibrahim has moved to Mosman, alongside his girlfriend Imogen Anthony, 26 - and the locals reportedly aren't happy

'Exquisitely private': The polarising pair have reportedly settled into this 'exquisitely private,' $4,000 waterfront pad in Mosman's 'usually quiet' Burran Avenue

One of the neighbours, according to the publication, is millionaire horse breeder John Messara, although there's no indication it's him who made the alleged complaint.

And what better place for Kyle, his scantily-clad, model girlfriend and their collection of luxury cars to call home than this 5-bedroom, 4-bathroom abode - steeped in controversial history.

The tri-level property was owned by disgraced HIH founder Ray Williams, according to Fairfax.

Mosman bound! One of the neighbours, according to the publication, is millionaire horse breeder John Messara, although there's no indication it's him who made the alleged complaint

That's something you CAN bank on! Once they return from their epic trip to Burning Man Desert Festival in Nevada, Kyle and Imogen will be able to keep the party going in their 'Hollywood Style,' Master Suite

They added: 'The property featured in the corporate collapse of the insurance giant when it was revealed Williams' associate Brad Cooper agreed to pay $5.6 million for the Mosman home.'

The publication also noted that the current owner was listed as Shelley Kathleen Wilson, the wife of 'secretive' professional gambler Zeljko Ranogajec.

Once they return from their epic trip to Burning Man Desert Festival in Nevada, Kyle and Imogen will be able to keep the party going in their 'Hollywood Style,' Master Suite.

Suite life! So what makes it so Hollywood? How about the all-black marbled ensuite and adjoining spa, featuring his and her basins, allowing Kyle to get up early for radio and perform his feasibly extensive morning routine without disturbing Imogen

Plenty of choice! Although she could choose one of the other 4 bedrooms, which all feature remarkably spacious wardrobes and noise dampening carpets

Throw in an extra kitchen! The abode also offers separate dining rooms for formal and casual gatherings, and a fully stocked games room with its own kitchen

So what makes it so Hollywood? How about the all-black marbled ensuite and adjoining spa, featuring his and her basins.

Now Kyle can get up for his 6am radio start and perform his feasibly extensive morning routine without disturbing sleeping Imogen.

Although she could choose one of the other 4 bedrooms, which all feature remarkably spacious wardrobes and noise dampening carpets.

Breathtaking! According to it's Domain profile, the pad is an 'exquisitely private waterfront home,' that enjoys 'spellbinding views spanning the full breadth of Middle Harbour'

How private? Every room in the abode features stunning water views, and although private, doesn't appear to boast potential issues for any extra-savvy, boat-owning paparazzi, who may well be able to see right in

The abode also offers separate dining rooms for formal and casual gatherings, and a fully stocked games room with its own kitchen.

According to it's Domain profile, the pad is an 'exquisitely private waterfront home,' that enjoys 'spellbinding views spanning the full breadth of Middle Harbour.'

Plent of room for horsing around! One of the neighbours, according to the publication, is millionaire horse breeder John Messara, although there's no indication it's him who made the alleged complaint

Steeped in history: The tri-level property was owned by disgraced HIH founder Ray Williams

Heavily featured! They added: 'The property featured in the corporate collapse of the insurance giant when it was revealed Williams' associate Brad Cooper agreed to pay $5.6 million for the Mosman home'

The listing concluded: 'Enjoy the crashing waves on the rocks beneath its high majestic, unbeatable cliff top position.'

Every room in the abode features stunning water views, and although private, doesn't appear to boast potential issues for any extra-savvy, boat-owning paparazzi, who may well be able to see right in.

Judging by Kyle's unfiltered discussions of the couple's private affairs on national radio, any takers may well be in for quite the interesting show.
The powerful 8.2 magnitude quake struck off Mexico's far southern Pacific coast just before midnight Thursday, about 100 kilometers from the town of Tonala. It was the biggest quake the country has experienced in more than 100 years, Mexico's president said.

Authorities say the death toll likely will continue to rise as more information becomes available.

Governor Alejandro Murat told reporters that 17 of those confirmed dead came from the town of Juchitan, located near Mexico's southeastern tip. The city was devastated, and streets were filled with debris. Much of Juchitan's city hall building collapsed into a pile of rubble.

Fifty-eight people have been confirmed dead after a massive earthquake struck southern Mexico Thursday night, the governor of Oaxaca said Friday.

Authorities say the death toll likely will continue to rise as more information becomes available.

The powerful 8.2 magnitude quake struck off Mexico's far southern Pacific coast just before midnight Thursday, about 100 kilometers from the town of Tonala. It was the biggest quake the country has experienced in more than 100 years, Mexico's president said.

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto said Friday the earthquake toppled houses in southern Chiapas state and that the earthquake was bigger than a 1985 earthquake in the country that killed thousands. "It was a major earthquake in scale and magnitude, the strongest in the past 100 years," he said.

The earthquake triggered a 1.0-meter-high tsunami, according to The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. There were no immediate claims of destruction caused by the tsunami.

Rodrigo Soberanes, who lives near San Cristobal de las Casas in Chiapas, told the Associated Press that his "house moved like chewing gum." Chiapas Governor Manuel Velasco said in a televised interview that "Homes, schools and hospitals have been affected" by earthquake damage.

The quake was felt as far away as Mexico City and Guatemala City. Residents of the Mexican capital fled into the streets, many in their pajamas, for fear buildings would collapse. "I had never been anywhere where the earth moved so much. At first I laughed, but when the lights went out I didn't know what to do," said Luis Carlos Briceno, an architect, who was visiting Mexico City. "I nearly fell over."

The U.S. Tsunami Warning System initially said the earthquake was a potential tsunami threat to several Central American countries, but have since rescinded that warning.


The Sydney accessories designer has been upfront about her strong feelings for The Bachelor's Matty J on the matchmaking series.

And after Laura Byrne revealed 'you know I want this' to the hunk on Thursday night, the show seems to have hinted her win on social media.

Mere days out from the finale, The Bachelor Instagram account posted a suggestive image of Matty kneeling in front of the brunette beauty.

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So, is she the winner? Channel Ten appears to hint Laura Byrne as Bachelor winner as they release image of Matty J kneeling in front of brunette beauty

Laura, 30, is one of three ladies left competing for the marketing manager's affection.

On Thursday night's episode she introduced Matty J to her beloved rescue pup Buster and her family.

The official Instagram account for the show published a photo from their date on Saturday morning, writing: 'Laura is just a girl, standing in front of a guy, with a three-legged dog asking him to love them.'

'Asking him to love them': The Instagram account used a suggestive image of Matty J kneeling in front of Laura and her rescue dog Buster as they claimed she was 'asking him to love them'

In the image slideshow, Matty can be seen on the floor patting her dog as they lock eyes in a loving stare.

Another image also saw the pair cuddling while in the presence of Laura's family.

'I really don't think u would pose for a pic like that if u were not going to choose Laura': Fans were quick to speculate that the post was a confirmation and forewarning of her 'winner' status

Fans were quick to speculate that the post was a confirmation and forewarning of her 'winner' status.

'I really don't think u would pose for a pic like that if u were not going to choose Laura,' one viewer wrote in regards to the slideshow of intimate pictures.

Another added: 'Well we now know the winner, clearly...'

Daily Mail Australia have reached out to Channel Ten for comment.

'Well we now know the winner, clearly...' Fans claimed the post was a 'clear' indicator and hint that the brunette beauty was the winner of the series

Will they end up together? After inviting Matty J to a family dinner, Laura pleaded with the reality star to tell her if he was '100 per cent certain' about his affections, as she revealed 'you know I want this'

After inviting Matty J to a family dinner, Laura pleaded with the reality star: 'Are you 100 per cent certain (about the relationship)?' but he was unable to give her an answer.

Laura then reminded him: 'You know I want this.'

The pair have locked lips on numerous dates during the show, however Matty J has also shared ample smooches with her two rivals Elise Stacy and Tara Pavlovic.

Laura is currently odds-on favourite to win by Sportsbet at $1.45, with Elise following and Tara as the outside chance at $6.

The Bachelor continues Wednesday at 7:30pm on Network Ten, with the finale set to air on Thursday night from 7.30pm
She returned from Burning Man only three days ago.

But Australian model Elyse Taylor was looking very different on Friday, as she shared an emotional moment with her 91,000 Instagram followers.

The Victoria's Secret pinup girl was snapped sending off her daughter Lila, three, for her first day of school at elite private institution Avenues: The World School in Manhattan, New York.

'First day of school': Australian model Elyse Taylor was snapped sending off her daughter Lila, three, for her first day of school at elite private institution Avenues: The World School in Manhattan, New York

'First day of school,' she captioned the image, with a crying emoji at the end.

The 30-year-old kneeled down and kissed Lila on the cheek as they embraced before she headed off for school.

Lila looked very excited to be attending yet still uncertain, as she clutched a white stuffed animal in her right arm while standing close to her mother.

Lila is currently attending the expensive private school, where it costs parents more than $45,000 a year and boasts that lessons can be streamed from a child's sick bed or even overseas.

Lucky: Lila is currently attending the expensive private school, where it costs parents more than $45,000 a year and boasts that lessons can be streamed from a child's sick bed or even overseas

Single life: Elyse has been a single mother since she split from husband Seth Campbell early last year

Mother of one: Elyse shares three-year-old daughter Lila with ex-partner Seth Campbell

Elyse has been a single mother since she split from husband Seth Campbell early last year.

And despite raising Lila on her own, she is still finding time to have some fun.

Earlier this week Elyse was in a very different setting - the debaucherous Burning Man Festival.

Legs for days! Model Elyse Taylor flaunts her trim pins in tiny shorts as she poses with scantily clad friends at Burning Man Festival

The beauty flaunted her slender legs in skimpy shorts as she posed for photos with her equally scantily clad friends.

Elyse revealed on Instagram her trip to the week-long Nevada desert festival, where attractions include an 'orgy dome', was her 'first burn.'
On Monday she was hanging out in Quebec City, Canada with new husband Gian Luca Passi de Preposulo.

But it seems Jessica Chastain opted to go solo to the premiere of her new film Molly's Game at the Toronto International Film Festival on Friday.

The 40-year-old actress wowed on the red carpet in a navy, sleeveless number which featured a cascade of sequins starting at the neck.

Loner: It seems Jessica Chastain opted to go solo to the premiere of her new film Molly's Game at the Toronto International Film Festival on Friday

More eye-catching however was a long vertical split down the front, which offered up just a hint of her porcelain decolletage.

Contrasting with her elegant frock, her famous fiery tresses were pulled back into a practical ponytail.

Her visage was adorned with smoky eye make-up, subtle blush and rose lipstick.

Sparkling: The 40-year-old actress wowed on the red carpet in a navy, sleeveless number which featured a cascade of sequins starting at the neck

Peep show: More eye-catching however was a long vertical split down the front, which offered up just a hint of her porcelain decolletage

Classic: Her visage was adorned with smoky eye make-up, subtle blush and rose lipstick

It seemed she was having a ball, even without her new spouse, as she even took some time to sign autographs before heading into the theater.

Of course other celebs were on hand for the high-profile screening, as it's the latest picture from Hollywood mainstay Aaron Sorkin.

Co-star Idris Elba decided to keep things casual for his red carpet appearance.

Generous: It seemed she was having a ball, even without her new spouse, as she even took some time to sign autographs before heading into the theater

The Luther actor, 45, looked laid-back and suave in a black trench coat and white t-shirt combination.

Some worn jeans, slate grey hiking-style boots and classic shades rounded out his look.

His stunning guest opted for a black leather jacket over a strapless crop top and black skirt duo.

Nothing fancy: Co-star Idris Elba decided to keep things casual for his red carpet appearance
She recently stirred up controversy for relating the US hurricanes to Donald Trump.

But on Saturday actress Jennifer Lawrence was sticking to discussing her new film, the psychological horror Mother! which is set to hit theatres later this month.

The 27-year old Hollywood starlet gave an exclusive interview to Yahoo! Be on Saturday, where she discussed her 'explosive' starring role in the thriller.

Horror star: On Saturday actress Jennifer Lawrence was sticking to discussing her new film, the psychological horror Mother! which is set to hit theatres later this month

'The layers of the film were so interesting and unique,' she told Yahoo! Be.

'It was just these explosive ideas,' she said of the demanding role, which sees her spend a good portion of screen time in terror.

The Passengers star added: 'It was such an incredible journey to take a character through.'

Jennifer appeared in a twenty second video on the website promoting the upcoming blockbuster, which stars Javier Bardem, Michelle Pfeiffer and Ed Harris.

The film, from lauded Black Swan director Darren Aronofsky, has been shrouded in mystery, with short, terrifying trailers leaving audiences confused by what the plot may actually entail.

Revealing: The 27-year old Hollywood starlet gave an exclusive interview to Yahoo! Be on Saturday, where she discussed her 'explosive' starring role in the thriller

Intense: 'It was just these explosive ideas,' she said, adding: 'It was such an incredible journey to take a character through'

The plot follows the story of a woman who moves to the country with her husband for a serene life, when they are visited by a mysterious couple who stay with them.

The film is due to be released on September 15th, and is expected to be a cult horror hit.

Strange: The plot follows the story of a woman who moves to the country with her husband for a serene life, when they are visited by a mysterious couple who stay with them

Award winning: The film is from lauded Black Swan director Darren Aronofsky

Confusing? The project has been shrouded in mystery, with short, terrifying trailers leaving audiences confused by what the plot may actually entail

It comes after the Hunger Games star received heavy backlash for her negative comments surrounding US President Donald Trump on Friday.

As a result of the president's inactivity on climate change, Jennifer claimed that the country was now feeling 'mother nature's wrath and rage.'
Poppy Delevingne shunned ballgowns in favour of a sultry ab-flashing trouser co-ord as she attended the Harper's Bazaar ICONS party at the Plaza Hotel during New York Fashion Week on Friday.

The model, 31, looked sensational as she paraded her toned abs in the midriff-exposing number, with her trousers sitting high on her waist to accentuate its narrow circumference.

She displayed her pert bust by wearing a scanty bralet top, and shrugged a stylish floor-skimming purple kimono over her shoulders.

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Ab-tastic: Poppy Delevingne, 31, shunned ballgowns in favour of a sultry ab-flashing trouser co-ord as she attended the Harper's Bazaar ICONS party at the Plaza Hotel during New York Fashion Week on Friday

Poppy's kimono featured a gold embellished design, which adorned the sleeves of the cover up and adorned the back in an intricate pattern.

She styled her bleach blonde tresses into a sleek low side pony tail, and added a pair of large gold hoop earrings to glisten at her jawline.

The beauty painted her visage with peach make-up to highlight her glowing complexion, and laughed as she pulled a series of poses to work the camera.

Poppy added height to her statuesque frame with a pair of strappy sandals, and her cigarette style trousers featured a tapered ankle to give prominence to the slender shape of her legs.

Loving life: The model looked sensational as she paraded her toned abs in the midriff-exposing number, with her trousers sitting high on her waist to accentuate its narrow circumference

Detailed: Poppy's kimono featured a gold embellished design, which adorned the sleeves of the cover up and adorned the back in an intricate pattern

Dazzling: She styled her bleach blonde tresses into a sleek low side pony tail, and added a pair of large gold hoop earrings to glisten at her jawline

The Harper's Bazaar icons are hand selected by the magazine's global fashion director, Carine Roitfeld, and the exclusive ICONS party was sponsored by luxury brands Laura Mercier and Swarovski.

September issue cover star The Weeknd was also in attendance with girlfriend Selena Gomez, and entertained the crowds with a set of his hits while they sipped on drinks provided by Belvedere and Moet & Chandon.

Blonde bombshell Poppy also made a low-key appearance when she headed out from her hotel earlier on Friday.

Model behaviour: Poppy added height to her statuesque frame with a pair of strappy sandals, and her cigarette style trousers featured a tapered ankle to give prominence to the slender shape of her legs

Exclusive: The Harper's Bazaar icons are hand selected by the magazine's global fashion director, Carine Roitfeld, and the exclusive ICONS party was sponsored by luxury brands Laura Mercier and Swarovski

The fashionista ditched her catwalk glamour for a casual ensemble as she showed off her model-honed legs in a tiny denim miniskirt.

Embracing her slim physique, the style maven tucked her plain white tee into her thigh-skimming garment to showcase her incredibly tiny waist.

Looking glamorous as ever, Poppy looked positively radiant as she went make-up free and wore her golden locks in a loosely-tousled style.

The sister of Cara Delevingne swapped her trademark sky-scraper heels for a pair of flat trainers, not needing to add to her statuesque height.

Leggy lady: Poppy made a low-key appearance in a casual ensemble when she headed out from her hotel in New York City on Friday

Wow: The fashionista, 31, ditched her catwalk glamour (R) for a casual ensemble (L) as she showed off her model-honed legs in a tiny denim miniskirt

Keeping her look fresh: She toted a leopard print shopping handbag and pulled on sexy sunglasses as well as huge golden hoop earrings for a hint of sparkle

Keeping her look fresh, she toted a leopard print shopping handbag and pulled on sexy sunglasses as well as huge golden hoop earrings for a hint of sparkle.

Poppy was flying solo, away from her long-term lover and husband James Cook.

Proving their marriage is a soaring success, she hailed James as the 'best date ever' on Instagram after a recent event Men of The Year Awards with GQ magazine.

The couple are going stronger than ever, having toasted to their third anniversary together in May earlier this year.

James popped the question to his stunning girlfriend in October 2012.

The lovebirds went onto exchange their vows in a lavish ceremony at St. Paul's Church, in Knightsbridge, London in May 2014.

They then enjoyed a honeymoon in Marrakech, Morocco, where their second ceremony took place.

As for her career, Poppy landed her debut role inGuy Ritchie's King Arthur: Legend of the Sword as she continues to move away from modelling into the acting sphere.

Walk on the wild side: Poppy was seen departing her hotel clad in a striking leopard print coat on Sunday

Striking: The model had her ice white locks tied up in a chic half updo and showed off her cleavage in a lacy vest top, paired with Frame skinny jeans and boots
Her sister may have gotten a head start on modelling, but on Friday, Bella Hadid proved she's a force of her own on the runway.

Bella, 20, stomped the catwalk braless in a low cut white blazer at the Brandon Maxwell Spring/Summer show, wearing a scandalously high-slit skirt to match.

The brunette's older sister Gigi also modeled in the gig in a more demure selection, rocking a white fuzzy sweater.

White hot: Bella and Gigi Hadid walked the runway at Brandon Maxwell's Spring/Summer fashion show in New York City on Friday

Scandalous: Braless Bella, 20, wore a blazer that was low-cut with a skirt that was dangeously high-slit

Gigi, 22, still flashed the flesh with a thigh-high slit in a rather large silk sea foam green floor-length skirt that was worn with matching heels.

The girls posed backstage in matching pink numbers as they waited to do another lap down the runway.

Gigi looked every bit the Barbie doll with her blonde locks in a pink blazer with blue jeans as her sister wore a darker variation of the same blazer.

Sister act: The Hadid's posed backstage in matching pink numbers as they waited to do another lap down the runway

Cut from the same cloth: The elder Hadid sister wore skinny jeans which showed off her red satin heels, while Bella sported baggy-legged denim which swayed as she walked

Barbie girl: 22-year-old Gigi resembled a living doll for her turn on the catwalk with a pink bag

The elder Hadid sister wore skinny jeans which showed off her red satin heels, while Bella sported baggy-legged denim which swayed as she walked down the carpet.

Maxwell's show also featured Jourdan Dunn, who wore an extravagant black blazer which was short in the front and long in the back.

Dunn, 27, was braless like Bella as she showed off her stuff in the racy number which was paired with blue jeans and black heels.

What the fuzz: Gigi, born Jelena Noura Hadid, rocked a fuzzy sweater with a sea foam green skirt and heels

Blonde ambition: Gigi followed in her model mother Yolanda Hadid's footsteps, now she is one of fashion's most in-demand faces

For the show's grand finale, Karlie Kloss stormed the catwalk in a massive hoop skirt.

The 6ft2in stunner proudly displayed the larger-than-life garment that was paired with another fuzzy sweater.

Her retro look was exaggerated further with a pair of gigantic horse earrings.

Grand finale: Karlie Kloss took to the runway in this massive hoop skirt at the show's end

Making a scene: The 6ft2in stunner was hard to miss in the gigantic garment, which had leopard print detail

Wild: She also sported huge white horse earrings, which could have been a nod to her former best friend Taylor Swift, who has a song called White Horse

Though not likely, the earrings could have been a nod to her former best friend Taylor Swift, who has a song called White Horse.

Kloss and both Hadid sisters will be heading to Shanghai, China later this year to walk in the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show.

The hotly anticipated made-for-TV event is usually filmed in late November and airs on CBS in December.

Last look: The stunner gave an over-the-shoulder gaze before returning backstage in the dress

Blazing hot: British model Jourdan Dunn, 27, also strut her stuff in the show in this over-the-top blazer

She's not Dunn: The stunner also went braless underneath her low-cut garment for the show

Off duty chic: Earlier in the day Bella went braless in a frilly peasant-style top with nude cargo pants and heels as she left the Jason Wu fashion show

Leggy: The star wowed as she left the fashion show clad in the nude ensemble

Pouty: The star pursed her full pout as she strutted down the street
She's quickly turning into a style icon.

And on Friday, Selena Gomez demonstrated her fabulous sartorial taste again when she attended a Harper's Bazaar NYFW event in New York City.

The 25-year-old Fetish songstress delighted in a high-necked pastel pink number that skimmed her thighs, revealing her toned gams.

Dapper duo! On Friday, Selena Gomez demonstrated her fabulous sartorial taste again when she attended a Harper's Bazaar NYFW event in New York City with boyfriend The Weeknd

Crimson stilettos added a few inches to her petite 5ft5in frame.

Accessories included a green alligator skin clutch, several rings and small hoop earrings.

Her raven locks were parted in the middle and pinned up in the back.

Beau The Weeknd, 27, looked dashing in a velvet jacket tuxedo, which featured numerous gems on the lapel.

Simply chic: The 25-year-old Fetish songstress delighted in a high-necked pastel pink number that skimmed her thighs, revealing her toned gams

Terrific tresses: Her raven locks were parted in the middle and pinned up in the back

Shiny: Beau The Weeknd, 27, looked dashing in a velvet jacket tuxedo, which featured numerous gems on the lapel

Enjoying themselves: The couple appeared to be having fun at the event together, and couldn't help but laugh lovingly to one another while on the red carpet

Lovers: Things got a little steamy for the cameras

The couple appeared to be having fun at the event together, and couldn't help but laugh lovingly to one another while on the red carpet.

Of course other A-listers were on hand for the tony event, which was held at the storied Plaza Hotel.

Rock legend Courtney Love, 53, went with a decidedly conservative black frock, though she did add some bling in the form of diamond straps and a diamond encrusted belt.

Demure: Rock legend Courtney Love, 53, went with a decidedly conservative black frock, though she did add some bling in the form of diamond straps and a diamond encrusted belt

Fun with florals! More pop royalty followed in the form of Michael Jackson's progeny Paris, 19

Swanky: She spent some time posing with DJ and friend Carline D'Amore, who had chosen a velvet pants and coat ensemble for the occasion

Perfect in purple! Recording artist Ciara, 31, also made a splash showing of her post-baby body in a sparkling violet number that managed to showcase both her ample cleavage and remarkably fit legs

Out of character: Bella Thorne, 19, was surprisingly covered-up in a long, glamorous gown which hugged her gym-honed curves

More pop royalty followed in the form of Michael Jackson's progeny Paris, 19.

The young model opted for a fun floral number which was floor length and included cut outs at the hips.

She spent some time posing with DJ and friend Carline D'Amore, who had chosen a velvet pants and coat ensemble for the occasion.

Recording artist Ciara, 31, also made a splash showing of her post-baby body in a sparkling violet number that managed to showcase both her ample cleavage and remarkably fit legs.

Bella Thorne, 19, was surprisingly covered-up in a long, glamorous gown which hugged her gym-honed curves.

Representing the fashion world, Victoria's Secret darling Josephine Skriver, 25, stunned in an off-the-shoulder crop top with matching split skirt, both by Alice McCall.

Flattering: Representing the fashion world, Victoria's Secret darling Josephine Skriver, 25, stunned in an off-the-shoulder crop top with matching split skirt, both by Alice McCall

Red hot! Supermodel Martha Hunt, 28, ensured all eyes were on her thanks to a cherry red PVC dress with spaghetti straps

A true pro: Always the stunner, Nina Agdal, 25, wowed in a satiny black backless dress which showed off her perfectly sculpted legs thanks to a thigh-high split

Leaving little to the imagination! Fellow model Shanina Shaik, 26, showed off her toned limbs in a coppery number which just covered the important bits

Rosie? Candice Swanepoel, 28, went heavy metal with a blazer and trouser combination with featured stripes made out of rivets

Not too fancy: Poppy Delevingne went with a more minimalist look, opting for a simple black crop top and trouser combination, over which she layered a royal purple kimono

Supermodel Martha Hunt, 28, ensured all eyes were on her thanks to a cherry red PVC dress with spaghetti straps.

Always the stunner, Nina Agdal, 25, wowed in a satiny black backless dress which showed off her perfectly sculpted legs thanks to a thigh-high split.

Fellow model Shanina Shaik, 26, showed off her toned limbs in a coppery number which just covered the important bits. She paired it with some unique fluffy heels.

Candice Swanepoel, 28, went heavy metal with a blazer and trouser combination with featured stripes made out of rivets.

Next generation: Aspiring models Amelia and Delilah Hamlin strutted their stuff with Amelia deciding on a black full-length garment with sequins on the front, and Delilah going for a more exposed look

Icon: Modeling legend Brooke Shields, 52, showed she can still definitely hold her own in a white asymmetrical top paired with a sassy black skirt

Of course the beauty sexed up the look by opting to forgo a bra.

Poppy Delevingne went with a more minimalist look, opting for a simple black crop top and trouser combination, over which she layered a royal purple kimono.

Aspiring models Amelia and Delilah Hamlin strutted their stuff with Amelia deciding on a black full-length garment with sequins on the front, and Delilah going for a more exposed look.

Modeling legend Brooke Shields, 52, showed she can still definitely hold her own in a white asymmetrical top paired with a sassy black skirt.

Coy: Some actors showed up as well, such as Orange Is The New Black's Dascha Polanco, 34

Black fishnets added an edge to her classic look.

Some actors showed up as well, such as Orange Is The New Black's Dascha Polanco, 34.

She delighted in a classic pearl-colored off-the-shoulder gown.

Visually varied: Sucker Punch's Jamie Chung, 34, also went elegant in a multi-patterned full length gown complete with train

Cute couple: Born in the USA star Cara Santana, 33, chose a plunging teal frock for her photo op with husband Jesse Metcalfe, 38

Sucker Punch's Jamie Chung, 34, also went elegant in a multi-patterned full length gown complete with train.

Born in the USA star Cara Santana, 33, chose a plunging teal frock for her photo op with husband Jesse Metcalfe, 38.

Of course members of the Kardashian clan were also present for the fashion maven shindig.

Silver star! Kim, 36, looked divine in a metallic silver strapless dress with matching choker necklace

Sheerly amazing! Younger sister Kendall Jenner, 21, definitely turned a few heads with her sheer number, which showed off her black underwear

Good as gold! Friend and fellow model Hailey Baldwin, 20, opted for a gold frock with a plunging neckline which also managed to flatter her shapely hips

BDSM fan? Reality star Lisa Rinna, 54, of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills also went for a daring look composed of a very low-cut black leather dress

Eye-catching: Hip hop star Nicki Minaj, 34, went with a glittering, multicolored strapless gown which showed off her ample assets

Kim, 36, looked divine in a metallic silver strapless dress with matching choker necklace.

Younger sister Kendall Jenner, 21, definitely turned a few heads with her sheer number, which showed off her black underwear.

Friend and fellow model Hailey Baldwin, 20, opted for a gold frock with a plunging neckline which also managed to flatter her shapely hips.

Wonder woman? Actress and singer Victoria Justice, 24, looked fetching in what looked to be a black sheer toga-style mini paired with some striking black boots

Shades on: Amber Rose, 33, looked like her typically stylish self in a thigh-length black velvet dress with deep-v neckline and thigh-high boots

Edgy? Plus sized Sports Illustrated personality Ashley, 29, apparently tried to go for a bondage inspired outfit which featured a simple black dress paired with an elaborate leather belt-suspenders combination

Not complex: Shay Mitchell, 30, of Pretty Little Liars fame also kept things relatively basic with a black dress which included some subtle gold fringe accents

Peek-a-boo! Canadian-born model Winnie Harlow, 23, definitely made a statement with see-through Marchesa garment made out of crumpled sheer layers of fabric

Reality star Lisa Rinna, 54, of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills also went for a daring look composed of a very low-cut black leather dress.

Hip hop star Nicki Minaj, 34, went with a glittering, multicolored strapless gown which showed off her ample assets.

Actress and singer Victoria Justice, 24, looked fetching in what looked to be a black sheer toga-style mini paired with some striking black boots.

Stunner: Victoria's Secret model Sara Sampaio, 26, showed off what made her famous as she flaunted her lengthy legs in a black bodysuit coupled with a sheer skirt with waist high split

What a sheen! The inimitable Cindy Crawford, 51, impressed in a bust-cradling jump suit completely covered with midnight blue sequins

Like she's done this before: Of course Adriana Lima, 36, also put on quite a display, thanks to her clingy, plunging black wrap dress that also revealed her amazing gams

Amber Rose, 33, looked like her typically stylish self in a thigh-length black velvet dress with deep-v neckline and thigh-high boots.

Plus sized Sports Illustrated personality Ashley, 29, apparently tried to go for a bondage inspired outfit which featured a simple black dress paired with an elaborate leather belt-suspenders combination.

Shay Mitchell, 30, of Pretty Little Liars fame also kept things relatively basic with a black dress which included some subtle gold fringe accents.

Canadian-born model Winnie Harlow, 23, definitely made a statement with see-through Marchesa garment made out of crumpled sheer layers of fabric.

Victoria Angles: Fellow Brazilian beauty Lais Ribeiro, 26, also showed off her legs, albeit in a less flashy, geometric pattern mini, which was also missing a sleeve

Having fun! Luke Cage star Rosario Dawson, 38, sported a Pollack-esque pattern dress as she did a little jig for the cameras

Beaming: Bradley Cooper's partner Irina Shayk, 31, flashed a rare smile in a sophisticated multi-layer black number with asymmetrical shoulders

Can't miss her! Project Runway star Heidi Klum, 44, decided that gold was the color for the evening, as she sported a tiny dress, wide belt and pointed toe heels coated in the metallic hue

Victoria's Secret model Sara Sampaio, 26, showed off what made her famous as she flaunted her lengthy legs in a black bodysuit coupled with a sheer skirt with waist high split.

The inimitable Cindy Crawford, 51, impressed in a bust-cradling jump suit completely covered with midnight blue sequins.

Of course Adriana Lima, 36, also put on quite a display, thanks to her clingy, plunging black wrap dress that also revealed her amazing gams.

Me-ow! Blonde beauty Kelly Rohrbach, 27, was apparently embracing a nature theme, as her mini dress was completely covered in various animal prints

Fellow Brazilian beauty Lais Ribeiro, 26, also showed off her legs, albeit in a less flashy, geometric pattern mini, which was also missing a sleeve.

Luke Cage star Rosario Dawson, 38, sported a Pollack-esque pattern dress as she did a little jig for the cameras.

Bradley Cooper's partner Irina Shayk, 31, flashed a rare smile in a sophisticated multi-layer black number with asymmetrical shoulders.

Very open: Youth in Oregan star Nicola Peltz, 22, definitely wasn't shy, opting to display her choice of underwear brand just above the waistband of her sheer skirt

Family affair! Robin Wright, 51, and daughter Dylan Penn, 26, were both on the same page in terms of color with the family deciding on a black theme

Project Runway star Heidi Klum, 44, decided that gold was the color for the evening, as she sported a tiny dress, wide belt and pointed toe heels coated in the metallic hue.

Socialite and reality star Paris Hilton, 36, opted for a severe frock with rivets up each side and a sheer hem.

Blonde beauty Kelly Rohrbach, 27, was apparently embracing a nature theme, as her mini dress was completely covered in various animal prints.

Chic chick: Justin Bieber protege Madison Beer, 18, kept things simple in a black strapless dress with small cutouts at the hips

Youth in Oregan star Nicola Peltz, 22, definitely wasn't shy, opting to display her choice of underwear brand just above the waistband of her sheer skirt.

Robin Wright, 51, and daughter Dylan Penn, 26, were both on the same page in terms of color with the family deciding on a black theme.

Justin Bieber protege Madison Beer, 18, kept things simple in a black strapless dress with small cutouts at the hips.
Karl Stefanovic may have been unfaithful to his good 'friends' Mercedes Benz on Father's Day weekend.

Images surfaced last week of the Today host looking 'uncomfortable,' hopping into a flashy car made by rival brand Audi.

It may be because he's driven 'Mercs around for several years in return for hosting gigs on behalf of the German car maker,' according to The Age.

Unfaithful? Karl Stefanovic may have been unfaithful to his 'friends' Mercedes Benz on Father's Day weekend

Not part of the deal? Images surfaced last week of the Today host looking 'uncomfortable,' hopping into a flashy car made by rival brand Audi (alongside girlfriend Jasmine Yarbrough)

The image in question shows a check-shirt clad Karl, 43, and his younger model girlfriend Jasmine Yarbrough, 33, hopping into a black Audi.

He shot a downcast look as he opened the door, although the couple were both spotted smiling as they drove away.

According to the publication: 'Stefanovic appears to have a problem even saying the rival Audi brand's name.'

They cited his recent blowup over the Logies moving from Melbourne, comparing the idea to moving 'Hamilton Island Race Week to Fitzroy Island.'

Drive Merc-razy! It may be because he's driven 'Mercs around for several years in return for hosting gigs on behalf of the German car maker,' according to The Age

'The event has been called Audi Hamilton Island Race Week for over a decade,' they wrote.

'Without Audi's dollars, the annual sailing extravaganza wouldn't happen, which makes Stefanovic's comparison of moving it to Fitzroy Island somewhat redundant.'

The Today Host was also seen perched in prime seating, front-row centre at the Mercedes Benz Fashion week this year.

Karl and Jasmine's Audi joyride took place on the Gold Coast, ahead of Father's Day weekend.

Say my name: The publication claimed Karl may even have an issue simply saying Audi's name on-air, citing his recent blowup over the Logies moving to Melbourne

Complaints! He compared the Logies' move to moving 'Hamilton Island Race Week to Fitzroy Island,' despite the fact it's been called 'Audi Hamilton Island Race Week for over a decade'

The pair appeared in high spirits as they stepped off the plane and into the sunshine of Jasmine's hometown.

After disembarking from their plane the pair headed over to a car hire service, picking up the flashy black Audi for their trip away.

Karl split from his wife Cassandra Thorburn last September after 21 years of marriage.

Joyride! Karl and Jasmine's Audi joyride took place on the Gold Coast, ahead of Father's Day weekend (pictured at Mercedes Benz Fashion week)
She was chosen as host of Friday night's Daily Front Row Fashion Media Awards in New York City and After Party with Kim Crawford Wines.

And Ashley Graham made sure celebrity attendees like Kim Kardashian, Kendall Jenner and Kaia Gerber got quite the show as she took to the mic to front the event.

The 29-year-old model chose a very revealing ruby-toned one-shoulder mini dress that showed off her undergarments for the high-profile gig.

On display: Ashley Graham fearlessly rocked this ruby mini dress on the red carpet of the Daily Front Row Fashion Awards in New York City on Friday night

Her gown featured an extremely high slit that showed off her shapely legs as she posed for photographers on the red carpet.

The brunette's locks were worn down with a center part for a simple look that let her dress do all the talking.

Ashley chose glittering black shoes to match the shiny look of her tiny garment, and accessorized with Eva Fehren jewelry.

Confident: The sheer dress showed off her bra and underwear for the event she was hosting, and accessorized her outfit with glittering jewels by Eva Fehren

She's a pro! The 29-year-old model didn't appear to be nervous for the very high-profile gig

Once inside, Graham looked like a pro as she took to the stage and addressed the audience.

She mingled with VIP guests like Kris Jenner and VMAN editor-in-chief Stephen Gan once her hosting duties were over.

Ashley has been hitting up multiple events during fashion week in New York, including the ELLE kickoff party on Wednesday.

Storyteller: Graham spoke passionately about fashion at the event which took place during New York Fashion Week

Ashley appeared to attend the party without her husband, film director Justin Ervin, who she married in 2010.

Back in May, the sexy brunette revealed that her family didn't initially accept her inter-racial marriage, but has since come to love her husband.

'I naively hoped everyone would be colorblind,' Ashley confessed.

VIP: She mingled with VIP guests like Kris Jenner and VMAN editor-in-chief Stephen Gan once her hosting duties were over

Leggy: The barely-there garment showed off nearly every inch of her shapely bronzed legs

Gal pals: Ashley hugged CR Fashion Book EIC Carine Roitfeld for a segment they did on stage

In the excerpt from her new memoir A New Model: What Confidence, Beauty, and Power Really Look Like, the body confidence advocate explained that she was 'shocked' at her grandmother's reaction to her new beau.

'I brought Justin home to Nebraska. Now, I should probably mention that Justin is black, and that I didnt grow up around many black people. The sum total of what I learned about African American culture in school was Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and the Underground Railroad.'

Ashley credits Justin for being understanding and patient with her family and their prejudice.

Quick change artist: She was later seen at a Harper's Bazaar event
In a statement, the government said it had given Kim Hyong-gil 72 hours to leave Mexico in order to express its "absolute rejection" of North Korea's recent nuclear activity, describing it as a grave threat to the region and the world.

The Mexican government on Thursday said it had declared the North Korean ambassador to Mexico persona non grata in protest against the country's nuclear tests, an unusually firm step that moved it closely into line with Washington.

Mexico has traditionally sought to steer clear of diplomatic quarrels, but in the past few months it has adopted robust language to condemn the governments of Venezuela and North Korea as they descended into increasing international isolation.

Facing a rocky relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump because of his threats to tear up the North American Free Trade Agreement, Mexico has backed him diplomatically on issues that imply no great political cost for the government.

"North Korea's nuclear activity is a serious risk for international peace and security and represents a growing threat to nations in the region, including fundamental allies of Mexico like Japan and South Korea," the Mexican government said.

Mexico's step followed a tide of international condemnation of North Korea for repeated missile launches in recent weeks that intensified again following a nuclear test on Sunday.

An official at the Mexican Foreign Ministry noted, however, that President Enrique Pena Nieto's government was not breaking diplomatic ties with North Korea.
She's been back to her glamorous self at the Toronto International Film Festival after unrecognisable pictures of her portraying Queen Elizabeth I surfaced.

And Margot Robbie turned up the fashion stakes even higher by stepping out with a stylish Yves Saint Laurent handbag worth thousands of dollars this Friday.

Taking to Instagram to showcase the expensive accessory, the 27-year-old posted a picture of herself strolling through a car park with the simple caption 'And it begins... #tiff.'

She hearts it! Margot Robbie looked effortlessly chic with the quirky but classic heart-shaped handbag slung over her shoulder as she attended the Toronto International Film Festival on Friday

She let down her luscious blonde locks in a messy wave and rugged up by wearing a loose trench coat.

Margot also put in a stylish appearance at TIFF at Bisha Hotel & Residences on Friday.

She looked fashionable in stripes as she sat on the IMDB Studio Hosted By The Visa Infinite Lounge panel ahead of the premiere of her new movie, I, Tonya, later that night.

She's been back to her glamorous self at the Toronto International Film Festival after unrecognisable pictures of her portraying Queen Elizabeth I surfaced

Keeping it simple: The Australian actress, 27, looked stylish in stripes and a Ji Oh skirt as she sat on an IMDB panel ahead of the premiere of her new movie, I, Tonya, on Friday

Chic: Margot Robbie put in a stylish appearance at the Toronto International Film Festival at Bisha Hotel & Residences on Friday

The blonde bombshell looked incredible in a chic ensemble of a black pencil skirt by Ji Oh, featuring large button detailing.

Margot - who's playing Olympic figure skater Tonya Harding in the biopic - teamed the number with a striped half-sleeved sweater.

The former soap star ditched the red wig she has been sporting on the set of Mary Queen Of Scots in England in recent weeks and was back to blonde.

Plenty to smile about: Margot, who's playing Olympic figure skater Tonya Harding in the biopic, teamed the number with a striped half-sleeved sweater

Margot looked radiant, wearing her short golden locks in loose waves, and accentuating her stunning features with natural make-up.

She shared a laugh during the panel with Sebastian Stan and Allison Janney, both of whom are her co-stars in the upcoming feature film.

I, Tonya has so far received largely a positive critical response, with many commentators praising Margot for her convincing performance.
Sylvia Jeffreys braved a chilly spring day on Saturday by throwing on a bikini and heading to Redleaf Beach in the Sydney suburb of Double Bay.

With husband Peter Stefanovic mostly staying on dry land, the 31-year-old stripped out of a jumper and shorts to reveal a pale orange bikini underneath.

As she waded into the water, the TV host showed off her taut stomach and svelte figure.

Swim fan: Sylvia Jeffreys took advantage of a sunny Spring day on Saturday by throwing on a bikini and heading to Redleaf Beach in the Sydney suburb of Double Bay

Water baby: Sylvia stepped cautiously into the water with her arms raised

With the weather peaking at 17 degrees Celsius, the blonde appeared to cringe at the cold water as she gingerly stepped into the waves.

Sylvia held her arms in apparent surprise, before making her way into the popular swim spot.

Once fully submerged, the Channel Nine star appeared to realise her mistake, seen pulling a shocked expression before swimming quickly back to shore.

Brrr! Once fully submerged, the Today show host appeared to realise her mistake as she made a shocked face and began swimming back to shore

Out she comes! The journalist walked back out of the water giggling

Nice nails! Her red manicure stayed perfectly in place after her swim

Happy lady! The journalist seemed very refreshed by her swim

The journalist walked back out of the water giggling, clearly refreshed by her swim.

Appearing amused by her dip, Sylvia pointed at someone in the distance, perhaps her husband Peter.

Don't go in! Appearing amused by her dip, Sylvia pointed at someone in the distance, perhaps husband Peter

Warning! She also stopped for a chat with a man on the shore who was holding goggles, perhaps warning him of the water's temperature

She also stopped for a chat with a man on the shore who was holding goggles, perhaps warning him of the water's temperature.

Earlier, Sylvia had arrived at the beach with Peter, both dressed in more wintry attire.

Carrying a red and white striped towel, Sylvia sported long-sleeved, black jumper that was made of a woollen fabric and an army green felt hat.

Warmer: Carrying a red and white striped towel, Sylvia had on a long-sleeved, black jumper that was made of a woollen fabric when she arrived at the beach

Comfy: Peter also carried a towel, and was barefoot in bright orange shorts with an amusing shirt bearing the face of a cat worn underneath a navy jacket

Beach babes: Peter and Sylvia headed to the beach from their car

Casual chic: Sylvia added a green felt hat and a pair of sunglasses to her ensemble

She paired the look with loose, khaki shorts and slides, and carried a dark green bag.

Peter also carried a towel, and was barefoot in bright orange shorts with an amusing shirt bearing the face of a cat worn underneath a navy jacket.

Earlier, Peter shared snaps from their day out, including a shot of Sylvia enjoying a coffee at a cafe by the shore, to which he added a sweet heart-eyed emoji.

Loved up: Earlier Peter had shared snaps from the newlywed's day out, including a shot of Sylvia enjoying a coffee at a cafe by the shore, to which he added a sweet heart-eyed emoji

Peter also shared a shot of Redleaf beach, tagging the location and adding a drawing of a heart to the image.

Sylvia and her fellow TV host hubby were married at a lavish, star-studded wedding in the Southern Highlands in April.
She's hustling through New York Fashion Week with ease.

Bella Hadid showed that she's the golden girl in New York this week at the Max Mara boutique reopening on Friday night.

The 20-year-old supermodel stunned in a tiny golden bralette and matching jacket for the fashionable affair.

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Stay golden: Bella Hadid showed that she's the golden girl in New York this week at the Max Mara boutique reopening on Friday night

Bella showed off her toned tummy in the shiny golden top as she mingled with friends at the celebrity-filled party.

Her golden high-waisted pants covered her belly button and highlighted her slender figure.

The 5ft9in brunette stunner added inches to her lengthy frame in a pair of chunky golden stilettos.

Bella of the ball! The 20-year-old supermodel stunned in a tiny golden bralette and matching jacket for the fashionable affiar

She added a pair of chunky dangling gold Chanel earrings with her sparkling three-piece suit.

The runway queen's makeup was minimal aside from a dash of mascara and rosey pink lip gloss.

Her short brunette hair was tucked behind her ears and parted to the side.

Work! Bella showed off her toned tummy in the shiny golden top as she mingled with friends at the celebrity-filled party

Friends! Jennifer Morrison and Bella Hadid enjoyed the reopening of the Max Mara boutique on Friday night in New York

Just the three of us: Bella Hadid, Maria Giula Maramotti and Jennifer Morrison enjoyed NYFW festivities on Friday in New York City

Bella's stayed busy in the city during the famed fashion week, walking in the Jason Wu show following her appearance on the runway alongside sister Gigi for Brandon Maxwell on Friday.

Both Hadid sisters will be heading to Shanghai, China later this year to walk in the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show.

The hotly anticipated made-for-TV event is usually filmed in late November and airs on CBS in December.

Runway: The supermodel walked in the Jason Wu SS 2018 Collection at Fulton Market on Friday
She was spotted enjoying a quick dip at Redleaf Beach earlier in the day.

And on Saturday afternoon, Sylvia Jeffreys continued her sun-soaked weekend outing with husband Peter Stefanovic as they took to Sydney Harbour for a ferry ride.

Taking to Instagram to document the experience, 31-year-old Sylvia shared a photo of the pair sitting on the deck of the vessel as they cruised towards the Opera House.

Fun day out! On Saturday afternoon, Sylvia Jeffreys continued her day out with her husband Peter Stefanovic

'Weekending with @peter_stefanovic,' she captioned the photo.

Sitting starboard side, the stunner looked all rugged up with Peter's arm around her.

Protecting her eyes from the warm Spring sun, Sylvia donned a pair of designer Celine shades.

Taking the ferry: Taking a selfie, Sylvia captured the Sydney Opera House in the background of her sunny shot

Morning swim: Earlier in the day, Sylvia was spotted at Double Bay's Redleaf Beach enjoying a morning dip in an orange two-piece bikini

Taking to Instagram Stories, the TV journalist posted another shot captioning it; 'Ferry spam'.

And the afternoon didn't end there, heading to a pub with a friend to bet some money on some horse racing.

Earlier in the day, Sylvia was spotted at Double Bay's Redleaf Beach enjoying a morning dip in an orange two-piece bikini.

Stunner: Sylvia flaunted her taut stomach and svelte figure in her bikini

Chilly? Sylvia was quick to leave the water after being confronted by its chilly temperatures

Flaunting her taut stomach and svelte figure, the stunner was seen gingerly tip-toeing into the water as she braved the springtime chill.

Deciding that the water was far too cold for such a bold move, Sylvia grimaced and made her way back to the shore.

Later on in the day, Sylvia was seen warming up with a black jumper and a warm cup of coffee.

Day off: She's the Today show host who was spotted enjoying a quick dip at Redleaf Beach earlier in the day
He's the male 'it' model who landed Vogue Australia's prestigious September cover.

And on Saturday, Jordan Barrett got heads turning once again as he attended the Daily Front Row's Fashion Media Awards in New York.

The 20-year-old Male Model Of The Year award recipient showed off his killer looks, but seemed to leave his shirt at home.

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Male Model Of The Year: On Saturday, Jordan Barrett got all heads turning at the Daily Front Row's Fashion Media Awards

Adhering to the black tie dress code, Jordan was seen donning an un-ironed blazer which did little to hide his bare chest and a series of gold chains that draped low on his chest.

He also paired his look with matching slim-fitting suit trousers for the evening.

And it wasn't just a shirt the Byron Bay native was missing- Jordan also left his socks at home.

Man of the hour! With his signature blue-eyed gaze, Jordan posed with his hands in his pockets and one leg astride

Stylish: He completed his look by styling his luscious blonde locks messily off of his face

With his signature blue-eyed gaze, Jordan posed with his hands in his pockets and one leg astride.

He completed his look by styling his luscious blonde locks messily off of his face.

Last month, Jordan revealed that he plans to make his acting debut in the near future, telling The Daily Telegraph that he will star in the short film Carte Blanche from Czech director Eva Dolezalova, shot in America.

What can't he do? Last month, Jordan revealed that he plans to make his acting debut in the near future, telling The Daily Telegraph that he will star in the short film Carte Blanche from Czech director Eva Dolezalova, shot in America

His plans: 'Hopefully if all things go well, there will be something else coming up on that side in October filming in Australia'

'Hopefully if all things go well, there will be something else coming up on that side in October filming in Australia,' he told the publication.

Jordan added that his move into acting was a case of 'making hay while the sun shines.'

'I am just trying to do as much as I can and take advantage of the opportunities,'he said.
She's The Bachelor contestant who labelled Matty J Johnson a 'coward' after he booted her from the hit reality show.

And Elora Muger took stock on Saturday when she stepped out in form fitting active wear for lunch with family and friends in Double Bay.

The 27-year-old fitness trainer looked every bit the gym maven, wearing a pair of grey leggings that flaunted her peachy derriere.

Back to reality: After being eliminated from The Bachelor, Elora Muger took stock on Saturday when she stepped out in form fitting active wear for lunch with family and friends in Double Bay

Form fitting: The 27-year-old fitness trainer looked every bit the gym maven, wearing a pair of grey leggings that flaunted her peachy derriere

She completed her ensemble with a burgundy top and a pair of white trainers.

With her raven locks blowing effortlessly in the Sydney breeze, it appeared that Elora had treated herself to some post-bachelor retail therapy as she was seen clutching a brown paper bag of goodies along with a black leather handbag.

Elora looked chuffed to be in the company of a fellow raven haired gal-pal with the pair laughing merrily as they walked, arm in arm, to eatery the Indigo Cafe.

Shopping spree: With her raven locks blowing effortlessly in the Sydney breeze, it appeared that Elora had treated herself to some post-Bachelor retail therapy as she was seen clutching a brown paper bag of goodies along with a black leather handbag

Palling around: Elora looked chuffed to be in the company of a fellow raven haired gal-pal with the pair laughing merrily as they walked, arm in arm, to eatery the Indigo Cafe.

Upon arriving at the cafe, Elora was joined by what looked to be family members.

She was seen helping an elderly woman, possibly her grandmother, into the eatery, lovingly placing a hand on the woman's back for support as she lifted her walker onto the sidewalk.

She also found time to dote on a toddler, who she carried in her arms as the group made their way to the lunch date.

Assistance: She was seen helping an elderly woman, possibly her grandmother, into the eatery, lovingly placing a hand on the woman's back for support as she lifted her walker onto the sidewalk

After Matty sent Elora packing after he rejected her advances at a cocktail party, the ousted Bachelorette lashed out at her potential suitor, labeling him a 'coward' for kicking her out without holding another cocktail party.

Speaking to news.com.au after her elimination, Elora revealed that she was left heartbroken by Matty.

'It was really unfair of him to go straight to the rose ceremony  it was a cowards move,' she said.

Following her exit from the mansion, an insider told Daily Mail Australia that Elora had a 'full meltdown'

'She got the boot had a full meltdown. She even demanded Simone (Ormesher) fly up and keep her company for four days,' the source exclusively told Daily Mail.

Not happy: After Matty sent Elora packing after he rejected her advances at a cocktail party, the ousted Bachelorette lashed out at her potential suitor, labeling him a 'coward' for kicking her out without holding another cocktail party

The insider also alleged that Elora sent out a Snapchat video filming herself burning the memorabilia she collected during her time in the mansion.

'Then she put all the roses she dried out, her date cards she saved and the selfies from their first date in a bin and set it on fire. She sent the video with the caption: 'F**k you Matty J'.

Speaking with Now to Love, Elora rubbished the claim saying she 'didn't remember' sending the offending message.
Stephanie Davis caused shock among fans on Saturday when she took to Instagram to share an image in which she was branded 'painfully thin'.

The 24-year-old former Hollyoaks star sparked huge debate in the comments section as concerned followers urged the star to eat yet other fans insisted her worried fans were merely 'body shamers' and claimed she looked healthy.

Having jetted away with her nine-month-old son Caben, the star is moving beyond her troubles after her court case with ex Jeremy McConnell who was found guilty of assaulting her leading to a suspended prison sentence and restraining order.

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Worried: Stephanie Davis caused shock among fans on Saturday when she took to Instagram to share an image in which she was branded 'painfully thin'

Embattled Stephanie suffered a difficult 2016 after a convoluted and public feud with Jeremy, who was arrested and later appeared in court on the assault charge while she was also accused of GBH following a fracas in a London hotel room.

Despite her woes, she is moving onwards and upward with her son yet she once again concerned her adoring fans when she posed for her picture in which she wore skin-tight trousers and a tight black top with the slogan: 'Girls support girls'.

With the reaction to the shot, her followers were conflicted as some insisted she was looking too thin while others lashed out at women on the feed for defying Stephanie's feminist message adorned across the top.

Users penned: 'Look how skinny she is... So skinny !!!!... Too skinny eat please... You look incredibly thin and not your usual healthy glowing self please stay strong and healthy x... Omg she looks so skinny hope your ok...

Figure flaunting: The 24-year-old former Hollyoaks star sparked huge debate in the comments section as concerned followers urged the star to eat yet other fans insisted her worried fans were merely 'body shamers' and claimed she looked healthy

'So skinny... Gorgeous lady but looking painfully thin... Your tiny... Looking slim here... You look far to thin hun'.

Others however hit back swiftly, writing: 'Absolutely beautiful x... So sad that everyone is commenting on her weight! She is a slim girl anyway and she has been through so so much lately so it's understandable.

'Hopefully while you are away you can get some perspective and get your health and heart back on track... Alot of these posts are proving this tshirt wrong. Not supporting at all. Even though people are saying skinny its still body shaming!

'Looking lovely...People saying she to slim should keep it to there self it not what she need to hear believe me I've been there...

Defiant: In yet more social media storms, the day before Stephanie posted an extremely sultry bathroom snap, after cruel trolls jibed her for spelling her own son's name wrong

'she has been through a lot and our bodies react to grief and pain in different ways... so you paint that smile on your face and when you are ready you will get bk to full health sending love'.

MailOnline has contacted a representative for Stephanie for comment.

In yet more social media storms, the day before Stephanie posted an extremely sultry bathroom snap, after cruel trolls jibed her for spelling her own son's name wrong.

She went topless under a bathrobe for the sexy shot, flaunting her ample cleavage by leaving it slightly undone to expose her chest.

Awkward: She went topless under a bathrobe for the sexy shot, flaunting her ample cleavage by leaving it slightly undone to expose her chest

Stephanie came under fire after spelling her nine-month-old son Caben-Albi's name wrong while filming a Instagram video in an embarrassing social media gaffe on Thursday, but her phone may have simply auto-corrected the word.

The Celebrity Big Brother star made an Instagram video where she showed off a gold pendant engraved with both her and her son's name - spelling it Cavern instead of Caben.

She wrote: 'Would like to say thank you for my mummy and me necklace with caverns name on and a star for my angel baby.' She later posted a pic of the pair together at the airport, alongside the caption: 'Me and My Mummy are OFF.'

Mishap: The CBB star made an Instagram video where she showed off a gold pendant engraved with both her and her son's name - and she spelt it Cavern instead of Caben

Sweet: She later posted a pic of the pair together at the airport, alongside the caption: 'Me and My Mummy are OFF'

'I hate the sound of the hoover and hair dryer so I hope I'm ok with my first time on a plane! Here goesssss'. The beauty previously sparked concern among fans after posting a cryptic tweet.

Taking to Twitter, Stephanie shared a snap in which she cradled her son Caben-Albi with the accompanying caption: 'So long guys.'

Some of her 440,000 followers swarmed the comments section to voice their worry, with one user writing: 'Hope you are ok Steph, Caben needs you', among other concerned messages.

Despite the concern, a source close to Stephanie told MailOnline said her tweet was taken out of context she was merely jesting about everyone saying she was moving to Hollywood, nothing for anyone to worry about.

'So long guys': Stephanie previously sparked concern among fans after posting a cryptic tweet

Stephanie and Jeremy's relationship began when they starred together on Celebrity Big Brother in January 2016 before becoming embroiled in a toxic romance which first ended in April - a month before she announced she was expecting.

Once he was proved to be the father Jeremy swore to step up and moved from his native Dublin to be with her in Liverpool.

However Stephanie was reportedly 'shaken' after calling the police on Jeremy at her home. Merseyside Police confirmed to MailOnline that Jeremy was taken into custody after voluntarily coming to the station.
She's the outspoken wife of One Nation founder and Hell's Kitchen star David Oldfield who made quite a splash on season one of Real Housewives Of Sydney.

And Lisa Oldfield is ready to do battle on season two of the hit Foxtel reality show, sharing a photo of a survivalist's backpack to prove her point.

Taking to Instagram, Lisa who is also a 'doomsday prepper' shared a photo that showed a backback featuring several items one might need in the event of an apocalypse.

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Ready! Lisa Oldfield is ready to do battle on season two of the hit Foxtel reality show, sharing a photo of a survivalist's backpack to prove her point

The image showed a first aid kit, axe, knife, flashlight, watch, gloves, water bottle and a Zippo lighter.

In captioning the photo, Lisa revealed that she was not only ready for a second season of the reality show, but also for a zombie infestation and fallout from growing tensions in North Korea.

'I'm ready for #zombies #kimjongun and the second season of #rhosydney,'she wrote, adding the hashtags #prepping and #bugout

Reality apocalypse: 'I'm ready for #zombies #kimjongun and the second season of #rhosydney,'she wrote, adding the hashtags #prepping and #bugout

'I'm ready for #zombies #kimjongun and the second season of #rhosydney #rhos #prepping #bugout

Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald in March, Lisa confirmed that her and David were indeed preparing for doomsday.

'We have been preparing for an apocalyptic event for years,' she said. 'We currently have 125,000 litres of fresh water stored away and 5,000 cans of SPAM [processed meat].'

'We have been preparing for an apocalyptic event for years,' she told the Sydney Morning Herald. 'We currently have 125,000 litres of fresh water stored away and 5,000 cans of SPAM [processed meat].'

Lisa also revealed that they were building a bunker saying; 'We are building a new shelter which will be able to sustain an atomic explosion. You know, we live in uncertain times. 'Who knows what will happen.'

Husband David confirmed this on a recent episode of cooking reality show Hell's Kitchen after being prompted by some gentle ribbing by team-mate Sam Frost.

When Sam asked David if he was indeed preparing for a doomsday event, he revealed that he and Lisa were stockpiling weapons.

'To a degree, but not ridiculously so,' he replied. 'What we've got is lots of food, lots of water and we have a lot of guns and ammunition.'
Her ex-partner of 11 years Liev Schreiber adopted two adorable six-month-old puppies that survived Hurricane Harvey on Wednesday.

And showing the strength of their relationship, Naomi Watts was seen walking the two newest canine additions to her family in New York City on Friday.

The Mulholland Drive actress, 48, looked stunning as she slipped into a casual ensemble for her sun-soaked dog walk, showing off her natural beauty by going make-up free for the occasion.

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Happy family: Naomi Watts was seen walking the two adorable puppies that survived Hurricane Harvey and were adopted by her ex Liev Schreiber in New York City on Friday

Looking relaxed as she walked puppies Kapoy and Chestnut, the star highlighted her trim figure in an ivory t-shirt paired with slightly baggy jeans.

Forgoing the heels for the occasion, she donned ivory strappy sandals, and accessorised with dainty gold dropper earrings.

Her platinum bob was styled in loose waves and parted on the side.

Natural beauty: The Mulholland Drive actress, 48, looked stunning as she slipped into a casual ensemble for her sun-soaked dog walk, showing off her natural beauty by going make-up free for the occasion

Cute: Looking relaxed as she walked puppies Kapoy and Chestnut, the star highlighted her trim figure in an ivory t-shirt paired with slightly baggy jeans

Sweetie pies: Her cute pooches looked equally as happy to be out and about with their new mum as they were seen excitedly exploring the street on their leads

Amicable: The pair, who split last year, have remained good friends as they co-parent their two sons

Her cute pooches looked equally as happy to be out and about with their new mum as they were seen excitedly exploring the street on their leads.

The brave rescue dogs had been airlifted out of their flooded Houston shelter to the New Jersey non-profit organization, Home For Good Dog Rescue.

Liev- who turns 50 next month - dutifully FaceTimed the selection process with Naomi and their sons Sasha, 10; and Samuel, 8 as he was backstage at the LIVE! With Kelly and Ryan show.

New additions: Liev- who turns 50 next month - dutifully FaceTimed the selection process with Naomi and their sons Sasha, 10; and Samuel, 8 as he was backstage at the LIVE! With Kelly and Ryan show

'Oh my god, look how cute!' Naomi gushed on speakerphone.

'Oh wow those two are so cute they're the best. They're from Texas. Look, Sasha! Look, guys! There are dogs here. That one is so cute!'

Liev (born Isaac) and the British-born Australian - who amicably split a year ago after 11 together - added the courageous canines to their existing fur-family, Bob and Ziggy.

Called Kapoy and Chestnut: The brave rescue dogs had been airlifted out of their flooded Houston shelter to the New Jersey non-profit organization, Home For Good Dog Rescue

Which one? The star was seen chatting to his sons as he selected the new puppies

The 48-year-old Oscar nominee gushed on speakerphone: 'Oh wow those two are so cute they're the best. They're from Texas. Look, Sasha! Look, guys! There are dogs here!'

Decisions: Liev (born Isaac) and the British-born Australian - who amicably split a year ago after 11 together - added the courageous canines to their existing fur-family, Bob and Ziggy

Turns out Schreiber successfully 'arm-wrestled' a producer on the daytime talk show, who already had dibs on one of the pups.

'Home at last!' the Les Liaisons Dangereuses thespian later wrote on Instagram.

'Look what I just got. Couple of orphans from Houston checking out the Big Apple for the first time. Thank you #kellyandryan #harvey.'

'I go into a dust up': Turns out Schreiber successfully 'arm-wrestled' a producer on the daytime talk show, who already had dibs on one of the pups

The Les Liaisons Dangereuses thespian later wrote on Instagram: 'Home at last! Look what I just got. Couple of orphans from Houston checking out the Big Apple for the first time'

Pictured August 29: The record-breaking Category 4 tropical cyclone claimed the lives of 71 victims, flooded thousands of homes, and displaced more than 30K people

The record-breaking Category 4 tropical cyclone claimed the lives of 71 victims, flooded thousands of homes, and displaced more than 30K people.

The Yale School of Drama grad currently produces and stars in the fifth season of Ray Donovan, and next Sunday's episode will feature Oscar-winning guest star Susan Sarandon.

And Liev is nominated for three trophies - including outstanding lead actor in a drama series - at the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards, which airs September 17 on CBS.

'Shabbos Goy': The Yale School of Drama grad currently produces and stars in the fifth season of Ray Donovan, and next Sunday's episode will feature guest star Susan Sarandon (R)
She's one of Hollywood's brightest and most loved stars.

And on Saturday, Julie Andrews revealed she didn't always see herself as a great actress.

Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, the nearly 82-year-old revealed there was a time when she kept her 1965 Mary Poppins Oscar hidden in an attic because she didn't believe she was worthy of it.

Truth: On Saturday, actress Julie Andrews revealed she kept her 1965 Oscar Award for Mary Poppins hidden in her attic because she didn't feel as though she deserved it

'For years, I kept it [the Oscar] in my attic because I felt I did not deserve it, or that it was given to me out of kindness because I didn't receive the role in My Fair Lady on film,' she revealed.

But nowadays, Julie says she's learnt to acknowledge her hard work and has brought her award out of hiding and now displays it proudly.

'These days, it's front and centre in my office,' she continued.

Hidden away: 'For years, I kept it [the Oscar] in my attic because I felt I did not deserve it, or that it was given to me out of kindness because I didn't receive the role in My Fair Lady on film', she said

Now she's loud and proud! 'These days, it's front and centre in my office', she beamed

Still working: But even after five children, ten grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, Julie continues to make her mark in the industry

But even after five children, ten grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, Julie continues to make her mark in the industry.

After raving views, Julie's stage version of My Fair Lady which she directed is returning back to Sydney for a second time.

Again staying gracious and humble the Sound Of Music leading lady credited its success to it being a 'love story that emerged at the height of the great golden era of Broadway musicals.'

Her direction: After raving views, Julie's stage version of My Fair Lady which she directed is returning back to Sydney for a second time

Her wish: And as an outspoken feminist herself, Julie hopes the musical makes a strong reference to the movement

And as an outspoken feminist herself, Julie hopes the musical makes a strong reference to the movement.

Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald in June, the actress who's celebrating 70 years in the business this year hopes women find it hard to watch.

'It is very, very sexist,' she says.

'Young women in particular will and should find it hard. You have to remember that this story is set just a couple of years before the rise of the Suffragette movement.

'Women's right's aren't there yet but emancipation is where she's [Eliza Doolittle] heading. I firmly believe that,' she continued.
She's known for her dazzling sartorial collection.

And Kate Beckinsale, 44, put on a typically stylish display as she wore a dark floral co-ord to LAX airport in Los Angeles, California on Friday.

Her trousers skimmed over her long, lean legs, and were slightly cropped to reveal her stylish footwear.

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Gorgeous: Kate Beckinsale, 44, put on a typically stylish display as she wore a dark floral co-ord to LAX airport in Los Angeles, California on Friday

The actress elongated her pins with her heels, which featured a peep toe to expose her perfect pedicure.

She shrugged her jacket over her slim frame, which matched the trousers with its swirling dark floral design.

She styled her auburn tresses into curls with a centre parting, and shielded her eyes from the sun with a pair of large dark sunglasses.

Kate's outing came after it emerged her brief fling with her much younger beau Matt had fizzled out.

Matching: She shrugged her jacket over her slim frame, which matched the trousers with its swirling dark floral design

The aspiring actor had been just three years older than Kate's only child, daughter Lily, 18, whose dad is Hollywood star Michael Sheen.

A source told Us Weekly: 'They went on a couple of fun dates. It fizzled out weeks ago. She's happily single and has a lot going on.'

The fling came after Kate split from director husband Len Wiseman. She was married to the filmmaker for 11 years before they called it quits in 2015.

Kate was previously in a long-term relationship with Michael from 1995 to 2003.

Glossy: Kate styled her balayage auburn tresses into curls with a centre parting, and shielded her eyes from the sun with a pair of large dark sunglasses

And as her daughter Lily heads off to university, Kate has opened up about living alone for the first time in decades.

'It's incredibly exciting and scary,' she told The Mirror. 'But then, I quite like being scared. I've lived under a structure of school terms for a long time.

'Now I have this open landscape which I haven't had since I was 22. Separating is really hard, but it's really important.

'It's the time when you are really called on to be an adult, and the most adult thing you can do is let your children go.'
She and her husband of 10 months, Mackenzie Hunkin, announced at the end of August that they are expecting their first child together.

And embracing her pregnancy figure, Louise Roe looked sensational as she showcased her blossoming baby bump in a slinky black gown while attending Harper's Bazaar's ICONS party in New York on Friday evening.

Sweetly cradling her stomach with one hand, the TV presenter couldn't have looked happier as she stole a kiss from her beau on their arrival to the bash.

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Smitten: Louise Roe, 35, looked sensational as she showcased her blossoming baby bump while stealing a kiss from husband Mackenzie Hunkin at Harper's Bazaar's ICON party in New York on Friday evening

Louise stunned in a glamorous midi-dress that skimmed over her svelte frame and boasted a chic neckline that cut-in at either side.

Her outfit choice made sure to highlight her pregnancy curves and she added some height to her ensemble with a pair of stylish slip-on heels.

The brunette beauty wore her glossy locks in a low ponytail, styling her tresses into an understated slick back style. She accessorised with a large pair of gold statement earrings and finished off her ensemble with a flawless make-up look.

Posing on arrival, Louise made sure to draw attention to her bump, cradling her stomach with one hand.

Sweet: Louise made sure to draw attention to her blossoming baby bump, as she sweetly cradled her stomach with one hand

Blissfully happy: The mother-to-be was then joined by husband Mackenzie, who was suavely clad in a two-piece suit and bow tie and he too couldn't keep his hands away from her bump

The mother-to-be was then joined by husband Mackenzie, who was suavely clad in a two-piece suit and bow tie, with the blissfully happy duo unable to resist locking lips in front of photographers.

Their appearance at New York Fashion Week comes after Louise had announced her baby joy via her Front Roe blog.

She shared the pair's happy news with her followers, revealing she is over five months pregnant and will welcome the couple's baby in January 2018.

Louise wrote: 'I am excited to announce that my husband Mackenzie and I are expecting our first baby. As my belly grows a bit each day its becoming more and more real. Its been such an amazing journey to this new chapter of our lives.'

Happy news: Louise announced she is expecting her first child with Mackenzie via her blog Front Roe

The British star discovered she was pregnant in early May, just as she was about to board a plane to Cannes in the South of France.

As she and director/producer Mackenzie 'weren't actively trying' for a baby, she mistook her morning sickness for illness.

Louise explained: 'We were living as happy newlyweds, remodeling our home, traveling, and just enjoying each other.

'Mackenzie and I had chatted about trying to get pregnant for a few months, and while we werent actively trying yet, I had started to think about getting as healthy as possible should anything happen. So it came as a HUGE surprise.'

Bumping along: The TV presenter shared the happy news with her fans, revealing she is over five months pregnant and will welcome the couple's baby in January 2018

'We were literally an hour away from getting on a plane to France and I was at home with a horrible cold,' she added.

'When I picked up the test, I thought I was hallucinating  there it was PREGNANT! I showed Mackenzie, then frantically sent him out to pick up about 5,000 more tests for me to take.

'Each one came back the same. We looked at each other in shock, which turned into giggles, hugging, freaking out  and turning around to immediately head to the airport for Cannes. It was insane!'

The former The City star revealed she struggled with morning sickness in the early stages of her pregnancy, forcing her to cut back on her jet-set lifestyle of shoots, travel and meetings.

Mama to be: The British star discovered she was pregnant in early May, but as the couple 'weren't actively trying' for a baby, she mistook her morning sickness for illness.

Louise explained: 'The early days of my pregnancy were the hardest. Once I hit about six weeks, I had horrible morning sickness  which in reality was just round-the-clock sickness. I was horribly nauseous and more fatigued than Ive ever been in my life.

'Not being able to tell any friends, family or even coworkers was extremely lonely and difficult during those days. I didnt feel like myself and knew that I wasnt performing to my usual standard, but I couldnt tell anyone why.'

The brunette explained she has now slowed things down work-wise considerably as she prepares for her new arrival in January 2018.

Although Louise and Mackenzie do know the gender of their baby, they have decided to keep it to themselves for now, saying: 'Right now were enjoying these last few moments of having it just between us two.'

Bridal goals: The couple tied the knot in front of 150 friends and family members in a stunning ceremony at Eton College Chapel in Windsor, south-east England, in October 2016

Newlywed bliss: Louise said she and Mackenzie (pictured on honeymoon in Italy's Amalfi Coast) were enjoying the early days of marriage when they discovered she was expecting

Louise and Mackenzie first met while they were working on MTV matchmaking show Plain Jane in 2011.

Four years after they met, friendship turned to romance and the director popped the question during a romantic trip to Aspen, Colorado, in January 2016 after just over two years of dating.

The TV star said of their romance: 'The fact that we spent all those seasons setting up couples, and ended up falling in love ourselves, feels very serendipitous.

'We started out as great friends which was an amazing foundation for our relationship, so when we finally went out on a date, it felt very natural.

'He always has me cracking up, and has the ability to instantly brighten my mood no matter the circumstances of life. I cant wait to see him with our little one!'

'We ended up falling in love ourselves': Louise and Mackenzie first met while they were working on MTV matchmaking show Plain Jane in 2011

The couple tied the knot in front of 150 friends and family members in a stunning ceremony at Eton College Chapel in Windsor, south-east England, in October 2016, before honeymooning on Italy's stunning Amalfi Coast.

Louise started her career as a fashion journalist, writing for the British editions of ELLE and Vogue, among others, before moving to the US in late 2009.

The TV presenter shot to fame on the second season of MTV reality show, The City, alongside fellow fashionista Olivia Palermo, before going on to host Plain Jane, NBC's Fashion Star and the red carpet during awards season for Access Hollywood.

To see Louise's full blog post, visit http://louiseroe.com/2017/08/28/im-pregnant/
A cavalcade of celebs hit the black carpet Friday night for the 2017 Harper's Bazaar celebration of ICONS By Carine Roitfeld.

Karlie Kloss turned up in a slinky black dress with a neckline that plunged far enough to show off her cleavage and enviably flat midriff.

The 25-year-old was a scene-stealer at the celebrity-strewn event, which was thrown at The Plaza Hotel by Swarovski, Fujifilm, Stella Artois, Infor and Laura Mercier.

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Showstopper: Karlie Kloss hit the black carpet Friday night for the 2017 Harper's Bazaar celebration of ICONS By Carine Roitfeld

Her full-sleeved outfit was cinched in at her trim waistline with a shimmering belt, and she flashed her knockout legs through a dangerously high thigh-slit.

Teetering on ankle-strap stilettos, Karlie posed alongside Jourdan Dunn.

The 27-year-old Jourdan's hot pink pantsuit perfectly accented her slender frame, and she'd clashed it elegantly against a white pair of heels.

Sizzling: She'd turned up in a slinky black dress with a neckline that plunged far enough to show off her cleavage and enviably flat midriff

Karlie's openly a fan of at least one of the fete's sponsors, having showered Laura Mercier with praise to In The Gloss in the past.

She'd rhapsodized that she 'cant live without Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage - I actually use it to do a nude lip; my lips are really dark so I like to take the color down a little bit. Its truly the best concealer.'

Karlie's been busy over the past few days, flinging herself from show to show at New York Fashion Week.

'Best concealer': Karlie's openly a fan of at least one of the fete's sponsors, having showered Laura Mercier with praise to In The Gloss in the past

Fellow models: Teetering on black ankle-strap stilettos, Karlie posed alongside Jourdan Dunn

On Thursday, she'd hobnobbed with Anna Wintour at the Calvin Klein show, and the previous night she'd swung by the Tom Ford show at Park Avenue Armory.

She'd revealed on Instagram August 30 that she'll be one of the models walking the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in Shanghai.

The announcement captioned a throwback photo of her in a gold fly-winged ensemble, walking the brand's 2014 show in London.

Karlie had herself once been a Victoria's Secret Angel, holding the title from 2011 until 2014.
She has been battling it out in the Samoan wilderness on Ten's second season of Australian Survivor.

But Anneliese Wilson has revealed that she also suffered a secret battle with depression during filming as she struggled with feelings of self-doubt.

Speaking to news.com.au, the 24-year-old spoke candidly about her mental health struggle and admitted she felt down throughout the show.

On Sunday, Survivor's Anneliese Wilson revealed she was suffering from depression while filming the grueling program

'I was always feeling so down and low,' she said.

'It's hard because I went in felling so confident in myself, and came out feeling low.'

'You go through all these thoughts, like maybe I wasn't as good as I thought I was,' she continued.

Her struggle: 'It's hard because I went in felling so confident in myself, and came out feeling low'

Battling on: Still working on rebuilding her confidence, the Melbourne native credited her fellow castaways for being an amazing support during her struggles

Still working on rebuilding her confidence, the Melbourne native credited her fellow castaways for being an amazing support during her struggles.

But it isn't the first time Anneliese has been faced with a major challenge.

Speaking to TV Week Magazine before the show's debut, she revealed she'd lost a staggering 35 kilograms over the last five years.

Challenge accepted: But it isn't the first time Anneliese has been faced with a major challenge

Weightloss struggle: 'From primary school all the way through to the end of high school, I was just 'the fat kid''

'From primary school all the way through to the end of high school, I was just 'the fat kid',' she said.

Making a change from the age of 19, the blonde beauty said she'd 'developed more social skills' to put her 'personality across and be more approachable.'

Expressing her sarcastic side, the student said her weight loss would assist her in the Samoa wilderness.

'I've been hungry for five years now, so I don't think the lack of food will be an issue,' she joked.

If you or anyone you know is suffering from mental illness call Lifeline on 13 11 14.
They announced their engagement in May.

And on Friday, Joseph Duggar married fiance Kendra Caldwell in a romantic, Arkansas wedding.

Joseph, who began courting Kendra in March after six months of 'talking,' is the sixth member of the family to make it down the aisle.

Newlyweds! On Friday, Joseph Duggar married fiance Kendra Caldwell in a romantic, Arkansas wedding. They are pictured at their engagement in March

The handsome groom, 23, spoke to People about his nuptials to his 19-year-old bride.

'It is an amazing feeling to be husband and wife,' he began.

'It's something that I've always dreamed of to have a wife and to raise a family in a way that honors the lord. We are to very excited to see what God has in the future for us.'

Love story: Joseph, who began courting Kendra in March after six months of 'talking,' is the sixth member of the family to make it down the aisle

In a post-wedding interview with TLC, the couple shared their first kiss experience.

'[We] had our first kiss,' began Joseph. 'That was,' he began, before his new wife interjected.

'Amazing,' she said, smiling, as she looked her husband.

'It was...You know, you always have expectations of the first kiss but it blew all those expectations away. It was amazing.'

'...When I said "I do," to Kendra, it was an amazing moment because I knew that I was devoting my life to Kendra forever, he said, as his wife hugged him.

'It is an amazing feeling to be husband and wife': The handsome groom, 23, spoke to People about his nuptials to his 19-year-old bride

Kendra looked gorgeous in a sparkling, Renee Miller cap-sleeve gown with a princess skirt bottom. Joseph was dapper in a navy, three-piece suit with a blush time.

The groom described the moment he saw his wife walking down the isle.

'Whenever I saw Kendra walking down the isle, I couldn't hold back. I started crying,' he confessed.

The couple had a total of 22 bridesmaids and groomsmen, including many of Joseph's brothers and sisters and Kendra sister and mother.

Their wedding colors were navy with hints of yellow, blush and maroon.

Their rehearsal dinner, held at the couple's church on Thursday, featured Mexican cuisine with cupcakes, ice-cream and salty treats to nibble one.

Cute story! Joseph and Kendra first met when he visited the family of brother-in-law Austin Forsyth, who's married to his sister Joy-Ann. They would later get engaged at their wedding

According to ET, Joseph and Kendra first met when he visited the family of brother-in-law Austin Forsyth, who's married to his sister Joy-Ann.

The newlyweds would go on to get to know each other for half a year, before beginning a two month courtship in January.

In March, Joseph proposed to his now-wife at the wedding of Joy-Ann and Austin, appearing to nod at how the two met.

A sneak peak of their big day will premiere on TLC GO on Monday, Sept. 18 followed by a one-hour special in October.
She's been been loved up with her now-wife Lee Cormack for almost 15 years, with the pair tying the knot in a civil partnership in 2012, before getting married in 2016.

But Susan Calman admitted that she found herself lusting after a man for the first time recently, when she slapped eyes on Strictly Come Dancing professional Gorka Marquez shirtless as she prepared to make her debut on the hit BBC show.

The Scottish comedian, 42, told MailOnline exclusively: 'When I walked into the dressing room, one of the male dancers, and I'm not going to say who - Gorka - had his top off.

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Dancing queen: Susan Calman has admitted that she felt herself lusting after a man for the first time while preparing for her new stint on Strictly Come Dancing

'I have actively avoided contact with the male species for my entire life, and even I went, "Holy s***, hes beautiful!" And you stand there next to these gods.'

However, while she's been enjoying preparations ahead of the new season's anticipated Saturday night debut, the host of BBC's The Boss has admitted that she finds it difficult to explain the process to her wife after a gruelling day of rehearsals.

'I went home and my wife asked how it was going,' recalled Glaswegian star, who added: 'There arent words to process what's happening sometimes!'

Heart-throb: The comedian revealed to MailOnline that she caught a glimpse of Strictly heart-throb Gorka Marquez - and was immediately enamoured

Happily married: Despite her tongue-in-cheek comments about Gorka, the Scottish comedian is openly gay and has been with her wife Lee Cormack for almost 15 years

While Susan is out and proud about her sexuality, she said that she's 'not disappointed at all' that there no same-sex dancing partners on Strictly.

'I made the decision to dance with a man,' she asserted. 'I think sometimes, politically, there's nothing more powerful than having an openly gay woman on the biggest show on TV with her wife on the front row, doing what she wants to do.'

And while she has been questioned about adding her own voice to the debate, Susan has insisted that she's perfectly happy to dance with a member of the opposite sex. Her dancer partner will be revealed during Saturday's show.

Fresh crop of stars: Susan is among a fresh crop of stars appearing on the latest season of Strictly, alongside Aston Merrygold and Debbie McGee (pictured)

TBC: It is not yet publicly known who Susan will be teamed up with for her ballroom experience

'I want to learn how to dance,' she continued of pressure she has faced from critics within the LGBT community. 'I have protested I have picketed, fought, been spat on, been punched  and I want do dance.

'A lot of people are supportive about my decision but it's making this about my sexuality, instead of a woman wanting to learn how to dance.

'If someone else wants to do same sex then thats fine, but to put the weight of the LGBT community on me and changing platforms and perceptions is unfair and upsetting. It's become a bigger deal than it should have.'

Strictly Come Dancing 2017 is set to kick off on Saturday at 7pm on BBC One.
She stars in Tully, a comedy about motherhood.

And Charlize Theron knows all too well about the topic, as she picked up daughter August from an LA preschool on Thursday.

The 42-year-old adopted her little one in July 2015, after first adopting son Jackson in March 2012.

Going home with mom! Charlize Theron, 42, picked up daughter August from an LA preschool on Thursday

The South African beauty looked lovely in a black tank paired with a set of distressed denim.

Charlize was comfortable in a pair of Birkenstock sandals, which coordinated perfectly with her casual chic look.

The pretty blonde wore her chin-length hair down and accessorized with a set of shades and a thin bracelet.

Little August looked adorable in a print top, white shorts and sneakers.

Casually chic: The South African beauty looked lovely in a black tank paired with a set of distressed denim

Not present during her trip to the preschool was the star's eldest son, Jackson, six.

The Atomic Blonde star is a single parent to both her children, whom she adopted in 2012 and 2015.

In an April interview with Ellen, the star spoke of her kids, and credits 'the incredible village' it takes to raise them.

How does she do it? The Atomic Blonde star is a single parent to August and son Jackson, six. She is pictured with August on Thursday

'I'm a single mom and I have an incredible village that helps me raise these two beautiful kids,' she began.

'In the mornings I have them alone and they kind of work against each other sometimes. One kind of decides to freak out and then both decides to freak out, I don't know why they decide to do that. You think they'd stand there and be considerate like, "well that one is freaking out right now, I'm not gonna freak out." They don't do that.'

'I'm an only child so I didn't grow up with siblings and so I had no idea the beauty that siblings have with each other. Like it really is one of the most incredible things I've ever witnessed. To see how much they love each other and to see how much they're excited to see each other. They're so in love with each other, it's really beautiful.'

Charlize can next be seen in three films, Gringo, Flarsky and Tully, out next year.
Jeremy McConnell, 27, has appeared to delete nearly all traces of his nine-month-old son Caben-Albi from Instagram, leaving just two snaps of himself and his baby.

The reality star took to the photo-sharing site on Saturday and seemed to embark on a deleting spree on his account, with there now being no photos of his ex-girlfriend Stephanie Davis, 24, on the page and just a couple of himself and Caben.

Jeremy's last picture with his son dates back to May, with the second left on his page being posted in March earlier this year.

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Unusual move? Jeremy McConnell, 27, has appeared to delete nearly all traces of his nine-month-old son Caben-Albi from Instagram, leaving just two snaps of himself and his baby

The Irish model had welcomed son Caben into the world back in January, having previously denied Stephanie's paternity claims that her child belonged to him.

Proven to be his via a DNA test shortly after his birth, Jeremy appeared to embark on a relationship with his son and had reunited with Stephanie, but their tumultuous romance came to an abrupt end, with Jeremy later being found guilty of assaulting the former Hollyoaks star.

He was spared jail and given a suspended sentence, along with a restraining order to ensure he is unable to contact Stephanie for three years.

Cull: Jeremy's last picture with his son dates back to May, with the second left on his page - a black and white photo of him holding Caben shirtless - being posted in March earlier this year

Appearing to remove any signs of their past from social media, Jeremy left two treasured snaps of himself holding their son Caben, with the former Celebrity Big Brother star posing shirtless in both.

His most recent post on his page is an image of himself promoting a teeth whitening brand at the beginning of August, while every other post dates back to before March earlier this year.

MailOnline have contacted a representative for Jeremy for comment.

Gone: The reality star took to the photo-sharing site on Saturday and seemed to embark on a deleting spree, with there now being no photos of his ex-girlfriend Stephanie Davis, 24, left

Deleted: Other photos of himself and Caben together, like the one above, have also been removed

His cryptic social media activity comes after Stephanie had sparked concern among her own Instagram followers after sharing an image in which she was branded 'painfully thin'.

The actress sparked huge debate in the comments section as concerned followers urged the star to eat yet other fans insisted her worried fans were merely 'body shamers' and claimed she looked healthy.

Having jetted away with her nine-month-old son Caben, the star is moving beyond her troubles after her court case with ex Jeremy.

Worried: Jeremy's unusual social media activity comes after Stephanie had caused shock among fans when she shared an image of herself in which she was branded 'painfully thin'

Embattled Stephanie suffered a difficult 2016 after a convoluted and public feud with Jeremy, who was arrested and later appeared in court on the assault charge while she was also accused of GBH following a fracas in a London hotel room.

Despite her woes, she is moving onwards and upward with her son yet she once again concerned her adoring fans when she posed for her picture in which she wore skin-tight trousers and a tight black top with the slogan: 'Girls support girls'.

With the reaction to the shot, her followers were conflicted as some insisted she was looking too thin while others lashed out at women on the feed for defying Stephanie's feminist message adorned across the top.

Users penned: 'Look how skinny she is... So skinny !!!!... Too skinny eat please... You look incredibly thin and not your usual healthy glowing self please stay strong and healthy x... Omg she looks so skinny hope your ok...

Figure flaunting: The 24-year-old former Hollyoaks star sparked huge debate in the comments section as concerned followers urged the star to eat yet other fans insisted her worried fans were merely 'body shamers' and claimed she looked healthy

'So skinny... Gorgeous lady but looking painfully thin... Your tiny... Looking slim here... You look far to thin hun'.

Others however hit back swiftly, writing: 'Absolutely beautiful x... So sad that everyone is commenting on her weight! She is a slim girl anyway and she has been through so so much lately so it's understandable.

'Hopefully while you are away you can get some perspective and get your health and heart back on track... Alot of these posts are proving this tshirt wrong. Not supporting at all. Even though people are saying skinny its still body shaming!

'Looking lovely...People saying she to slim should keep it to there self it not what she need to hear believe me I've been there...

Defiant: In yet more social media storms, the day before Stephanie posted an extremely sultry bathroom snap, after cruel trolls jibed her for spelling her own son's name wrong

'She has been through a lot and our bodies react to grief and pain in different ways... so you paint that smile on your face and when you are ready you will get bk to full health sending love'.

MailOnline has contacted a representative for Stephanie for comment.

In yet more social media storms, the day before Stephanie posted an extremely sultry bathroom snap, after cruel trolls jibed her for spelling her own son's name wrong.

She went topless under a bathrobe for the sexy shot, flaunting her ample cleavage by leaving it slightly undone to expose her chest.

Awkward: She went topless under a bathrobe for the sexy shot, flaunting her ample cleavage by leaving it slightly undone to expose her chest

Stephanie came under fire after spelling her nine-month-old son Caben-Albi's name wrong while filming a Instagram video in an embarrassing social media gaffe on Thursday, but her phone may have simply auto-corrected the word.

The Celebrity Big Brother star made an Instagram video where she showed off a gold pendant engraved with both her and her son's name - spelling it Cavern instead of Caben.

She wrote: 'Would like to say thank you for my mummy and me necklace with caverns name on and a star for my angel baby.' She later posted a pic of the pair together at the airport, alongside the caption: 'Me and My Mummy are OFF.'

Mishap: The CBB star made an Instagram video where she showed off a gold pendant engraved with both her and her son's name - and she spelt it Cavern instead of Caben

Sweet: She later posted a pic of the pair together at the airport, alongside the caption: 'Me and My Mummy are OFF'

'I hate the sound of the hoover and hair dryer so I hope I'm ok with my first time on a plane! Here goesssss'. The beauty previously sparked concern among fans after posting a cryptic tweet.

Taking to Twitter, Stephanie shared a snap in which she cradled her son Caben-Albi with the accompanying caption: 'So long guys.'

Some of her 440,000 followers swarmed the comments section to voice their worry, with one user writing: 'Hope you are ok Steph, Caben needs you', among other concerned messages.

Despite the concern, a source close to Stephanie told MailOnline said her tweet was taken out of context she was merely jesting about everyone saying she was moving to Hollywood, nothing for anyone to worry about.

'So long guys': Stephanie previously sparked concern among fans after posting a cryptic tweet

Stephanie and Jeremy's relationship began when they starred together on Celebrity Big Brother in January 2016 before becoming embroiled in a toxic romance which first ended in April the same year - a month before she announced she was expecting.

On learning he is Caben's father, Jeremy swore to step up and support Stephanie and had moved from his native Dublin to be with her in Liverpool.

It had been recently reported that Stephanie was left furious with her ex-beau after rumours surfaced of his romance with make-up artist and former flame Mandi Flood on social media.

She had jetted overseas to avoid having the romance 'thrown in her face', with a source claiming to The Sun that she believes Jeremy's latest fling is a 'dig' at her.

They said: 'Steph hit the roof when she saw the pictures of Mandi and Jeremy together. Theyve known each other for years and although they have hooked up in the past, it was nothing serious.

'Steph asked Jeremy to cut all contact with her when they were together. Jeremy did it for an easy life, but now hes single again hes met up with Mandi and is letting his hair down.

Upset: Reports recently claimed Stephanie had been left furious with her ex-beau after rumours surfaced of his romance with make-up artist and former flame Mandi Flood (above)

'Steph thinks its a dig at her and has taken it really personally. She thinks Jeremy is trying to wind her up.'

It's said Jeremy had dated Mandi during one of his many breaks from Stephanie during their on/off relationship. It appears the duo have become close once more, as Mandi has been sharing photos of herself with the former Beauty School Cop Out star on her Instagram page.

She gushes about him in her captions, branding him hilarious and declaring that she has missed him. Alongside a post, shared at the beginning of September, Mandi is seen cuddling up to Jeremy.

She penned: 'Missed him for the laughs still laughing,' before adding in another: 'Just like old times.'
Artist Bosco Sodi, posing next to his art installation titled "Muro," says it "can't get more Mexican than this: Mexican water, Mexican sun, Mexican air, fire, Mexican earth"

A wall created from 1,600 handmade Mexican bricks appeared in New York's Washington Square Park on Thursday -- only for it to be torn down a few hours later.

Mexican artist Bosco Sodi, 46, says he decided to build a wall destined for destruction in January, when President Donald Trump arrived in the White House.

In light of Trump's promise to build a wall along the US-Mexican border, Sodi set out to demonstrate "how when people come together, they can destroy any wall, be it mental, political, psychological or physical."

New York-based Sodi explained he came up with the idea while making bricks with local craftsmen in Oaxaca, Mexico, who told him about their experiences of illegal immigration to the United States.

The work, standing some six feet tall and 26 feet long (two meters tall and eight meters long), was dismantled by passers-by -- who were able to take their red brick home, complete with the artist's signature.

The first brick was removed by a representative of the office of Mayor Bill de Blasio.

Sodi added the wall was 100 percent "made in Mexico."

"You can't get more Mexican than this: Mexican water, Mexican sun, Mexican air, fire, Mexican earth," he said.

"Each piece is created using a unique process; they are made in rustic kilns, and each kiln burns differently, resulting in differences in textures and colors."

Washington Square Park, in Lower Manhattan, has played host to numerous anti-Trump protests.
French President Emmanuel Macron and Chinese President Xi Jinping, pictured at the G20 summit in Hamburg in July 2017, discussed the situation in North Korea during a phone call

Chinese President Xi Jinping called on France to help ease the situation in North Korea during a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron, state media said Friday, days after Pyongyang's largest ever nuclear test.

The conversation came one day after statements from China supporting stronger sanctions against Pyongyang and "necessary measures" at the UN Security Council, where China and France both hold vetoes.

"China hopes that France, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, will play a constructive role in easing the situation and restarting dialogue" on North Korea, Xi said, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

North Korea triggered global alarm Sunday with its most powerful nuclear blast to date, claiming to have successfully tested a hydrogen bomb.

During the call, the Chinese leader expressed his desire for the "denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula," which he had also noted during a conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel hours earlier.

Macron told Xi that France is willing to strengthen cooperation with China to promote the proper settlement of the nuclear issue.

Macron "reiterated the international community's condemnation of North Korea's provocations," the French president's office told AFP.

"These provocations call on the international community to place new pressure towards the goal of bringing Pyongyang back to negotiations and avoiding dangerous escalations," it said.

On Thursday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi had said: "China agrees that the UN Security Council should respond further by taking necessary measures."

Earlier, Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert said the German leader and Xi both agreed to support tougher sanctions against North Korea.

China, which is the North's biggest ally and accounts for 90 percent of its trade, is seen as key to efforts to convince Pyongyang to abandon its weapons programme.

Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States are the other veto-wielding permanent members of the security council.

Xi also spoke to US President Donald Trump over the phone Wednesday, telling his American counterpart that China remains firm in its wish to resolve the situation through talks leading to a peaceful settlement.

The US has accused North Korea of "begging for war" and pushed for the "strongest possible measures" against Pyongyang.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who held talks with Xi in eastern China during the BRICS summit earlier this week, has repeatedly insisted that further economic pressure on Pyongyang will not work.

Beijing has been infuriated by Seoul and Washington's full deployment of the Thaad missile defence system in South Korea, which the allies say is to defend against threats from the North.

The four remaining launchers were deployed on Thursday, and South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Friday the installation was an inevitable decision to protect his country from Pyongyang's provocations.

"While North Korea's nuclear and missile technologies continue to advance, we have no choice but to increase our defense capabilities to the maximum level," he said.

However, Moon said the full deployment of the US missile shield in South Korea was "temporary".
Family members of Lebanese soldiers, who died after they had been taken hostage in 2014 by the Islamic State group and whose remains were found along the Syrian border and repatriated, mourn during an official ceremony on September 8, 2017

Lebanon on Friday held a day of national mourning for 10 soldiers kidnapped and executed by the Islamic State group in the region on the country's eastern border with Syria.

President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister Saad Hariri took part in an official ceremony to honour the men at the defence ministry in Yarze, outside Beirut, which was also attended by grieving relatives.

The coffins of the men, draped in the Lebanese flag, were marched into the ministry courtyard by soldiers as sobbing family members dressed in black looked on.

The remains of the soldiers were retrieved from the border region last month after a battle against IS in the area that ended with an evacuation deal.

"Our joy in the victory over terrorism remains sorrowful, for we were hoping to free you unharmed from the terrorists and return you to your army and your families," said army chief General Joseph Aoun.

Under the deal that ended the operation, surrendering IS fighters led Lebanese authorities to the site of the remains.

DNA tests this week confirmed that they belonged to the soldiers, most of whom were kidnapped from the Lebanese town of Arsal in August 2014.

They were among a group of 30 troops and police kidnapped by IS and Al-Qaeda's former Syrian affiliate in 2014, 16 of whom were released in a prisoner swap the following year.

The families of the remaining soldiers waged a lengthy campaign pressing the government to obtain information about their missing loved ones.

The army said the missing troops were its "top concern" in its offensive against an estimated 600 IS fighters in the hilly border region.

The deal that ended the assault saw IS fighters and some civilians evacuated to eastern Syria.

It has been controversial in Lebanon.

On Friday, Hussein Youssef, father of one of the killed soldiers and de facto spokesman for other relatives, urged accountability for anyone who had "trifled with the dignity of Lebanon, the country, the army and the lives of the soldiers."

The soldiers, from different parts of the country, will be buried in their hometowns in separate ceremonies.

Lebanon's government has declared Friday a national holiday, and the streets of the capital were virtually empty with public institutions but also most shops closed for the day.
A camp in Kikwit, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, for people fleeing violence in the Kasai region, where the UN says its workers have seen destruction and suffering on "an enormous scale"

The United Nations warned Friday that its staff had witnessed destruction and suffering on "an enormous scale" in the Democratic Republic of Congo's volatile Kasai region.

Staff from the UN's refugee agency who returned last week from the Kamonia territory at the country's border with Angola had seen "entire villages burnt down and civilians in a dire situation," spokeswoman Cecile Pouilly told reporters in Geneva.

"We are witnessing massive destruction and human suffering," she said.

The mission was UNHCR's first into an area which has been at the centre of the fighting, and where "basic services have largely stopped and lawlessness prevails", Pouilly said.

In an area near the border town of Kamako, UNHCR staff found that nine out of 10 villages had been burnt down in attacks by armed groups or destroyed in fighting between local fighters and government forces.

"Local armed groups have systematically destroyed or pillaged health posts, schools and public buildings," Pouilly said, adding that "hundreds of children have been separated from their parents or have witnessed their murders."

The violence in Kasai erupted last September after the death of a tribal chieftain, known as the Kamwina Nsapu, who rebelled against the authority of President Joseph Kabila's regime in Kinshasa and its local representatives.

The killing sparked clashes that have escalated, with alleged rights violations including extrajudicial killings, rapes, torture and the use of child soldiers.

The violence has claimed more than 3,000 lives, according to a tally by the Roman Catholic Church, and about 1.4 million people have been displaced by the violence.

Pouilly said the UNHCR mission to Kamonia had been possible because of gradual improvements in access for humanitarian groups to the Kasai region.

On Friday the agency called on the authorities to give humanitarian organisations full access to those in need of protection and assistance.

"We are also asking for improved safety and security in the area, which will allow the refugees and the internally displaced to eventually return home," Pouilly said.

UNHCR said it needed more funds as it ramps up its presence in the region, where it is deploying staff and opening three offices.

So far, it said, it has received only 17 percent of the $102.5 million it needs this year to respond to the situation in DR Congo and in neighbouring Angola, where about 33,000 Congolese have sought refuge since April.
The crown prince "welcomed this desire," the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported, adding "details will be announced after Saudi Arabia reaches an agreement with UAE and Bahrain and Egypt", the Arab bloc that cut ties with Qatar in June

Qatar's ruler phoned Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to express interest in talks to resolve a three-month-old diplomatic crisis, Saudi state media said early Saturday.

The crown prince "welcomed this desire," the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported, adding "details will be announced after Saudi Arabia reaches an agreement with UAE and Bahrain and Egypt", the Arab bloc that cut ties with Qatar in June.

The phone call by Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, came after US President Donald Trump offered on Thursday to mediate in the crisis, saying he believed the dispute could be solved "fairly easily."

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt announced on June 5 they had cut diplomatic and economic ties with Qatar, accusing it of bankrolling Islamist extremist groups and of being too close to Iran.

They also shut down air, maritime and land links and imposed economic sanctions on Qatar.

The gas-rich emirate denied the claims and accused the four countries of attacking its sovereignty.
Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, phoned the Saudi Crown Prince to express interest in talks to resolve the three-month-old diplomatic crisis that has roiled the gulf

Saudi Arabia on Saturday suspended any dialogue with Qatar, accusing it of distorting facts soon after a phone call between the rulers of both countries offered hope of a breakthrough in the three-month-old Gulf crisis.

Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, spoke to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to express interest in talks, state media from both sides said, in the first public engagement between the leaders after the US president offered to mediate in the crisis.

Saudi Arabia led the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain in cutting ties with Qatar in June, accusing it of bankrolling Islamist extremist groups and of being too close to regional rival Iran. Doha denies the accusations.

The crown prince "welcomed this desire," the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) initially reported, adding "details will be announced after Saudi Arabia reaches an agreement with UAE and Bahrain and Egypt".

But the prospect of a thaw quickly died down after SPA subsequently accused Qatar's state media of wrongly implying that Saudi Arabia had initiated the outreach.

"The contact was at the request of Qatar and its request for dialogue," SPA said, citing a Saudi foreign ministry official.

"Qatar is not serious in dialogue and continues its previous policies. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia declares that any dialogue with Qatar shall be suspended until a clear statement explaining its position is made in public."

The development came after US President Donald Trump on Friday spoke separately with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE.

"The President underscored that unity among the United States' Arab partners is essential to promoting regional stability and countering the threat of Iran," the White House said.

"The President also emphasised that all countries must follow through on commitments... to defeat terrorism, cut off funding for terrorist groups, and combat extremist ideology."

When he offered to mediate, Trump said he believed the dispute could be solved "fairly easily".

- 'Climbdown from brinkmanship' -

Despite the deadlock, observers said the telephone call between the Qatari and Saudi rulers itself was a sign that tensions were dissipating.

"The fact that the telephone call took place and the offer of dialogue was made is significant in itself," said Kristian Ulrichsen, a fellow at the Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University.

"(It) signals a climb down from the brinkmanship that has characterised so much of the Gulf standoff since June," Ulrichsen told AFP.

But diplomatic efforts led by Kuwait, a key mediator in the crisis backed by Western powers, have so far failed to achieve a breakthrough.

In Washington on Thursday, Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah offered Trump an upbeat assessment of his efforts so far.

But in a statement early Friday, the Saudi-led bloc showed no signs of backing down as it questioned the Kuwaiti emir's statement that Qatar would be willing to accept their 13 demands.

The demands include shutting Doha-based broadcaster Al-Jazeera, closing a Turkish military base in the emirate and downgrading Qatari diplomatic ties with Iran.

The bloc also voiced "regret" about the Kuwaiti ruler's statement "on the success of mediation in stopping military intervention".

Instead, the four Arab states stressed that "the military option has not been and will not be considered" under any circumstances.

Riyadh and Doha are both key allies of the United States, which has sent mixed signals on its policy towards the nations.

Trump, who chose Saudi Arabia for his first overseas visit as president in May, two weeks before the crisis erupted, immediately expressed staunch support for Saudi Arabia.

Some other US officials including Secretary of State Rex Tillerson adopted a more measured tone.

Qatar hosts a huge US air base, home to the headquarters of Centcom -- the regional command which leads operations against the Islamic State jihadist group.

Sheikh Tamim is set to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel for talks on September 15, in what will be his first trip to a western capital since the crisis began.
Russian Ambassador to the UN Vasilly Nebenzya (L) speaks with US Ambassador Nikki Haley (R) and Chinese Ambassador Liu Jieyi (C) after a UN Security Council emergency meeting over North Korea's latest nuclear test

The US has formally requested a UN Security Council vote on Monday on tough new sanctions against North Korea despite resistance from China and Russia, as Pyongyang's state media calls for a nuclear arms buildup.

Washington has presented a draft UN resolution calling for an oil embargo on North Korea, an assets freeze on Kim Jong-Un, a ban on textiles and an end to payments of North Korean guest workers.

Diplomatic sources said Russia and China opposed the measures as a whole, except for the ban on textiles, during a meeting Friday of experts from the 15 Security Council members.

"This evening, the United States informed the UN Security Council that it intends to call a meeting to vote on a draft resolution to establish additional sanctions on North Korea on Monday, September 11," a statement from the US mission to the UN read.

The statement declined to say what text would be voted on -- the original draft Washington first presented Wednesday, an amended text or another version.

In North Korea, which was marking the nation's founding anniversary Saturday, local media issued fresh calls for a nuclear arms buildup, in defiance of the mounting international sanctions.

"The defence sector, in step with the party's Byungjin policy (of developing the economy and nuclear weapons at the same time) must make cutting-edge Juche weapons in greater quantities," the Rodong Sinmun said in an editorial, referring to the national philosophy of "Juche" or self-reliance.

North Korea's exported labour

North Korea conducted its fifth nuclear test on September 9 last year, and then carried out a sixth a week ago, saying it was a hydrogen bomb that could be fitted onto a missile -- prompting global condemnation and calls for further sanctions.

In July, it tested two intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) that appeared to bring much of the mainland US into range.

The mouthpiece of the North's ruling party called for more "miracle-like events" such as the two ICBM tests to deter the United States which it said was bent "decapitating" leader Kim Jong-Un.

In another commentary, Rodong Sinmun said the US would continue receiving "gift packages in different shapes and sizes" as long as it sticks to what it said was a hostile policy against the North.

Kim himself has called the ICBM tests "gift packages" that the North was delivering to the "US bastards".

- Deal on the horizon? -

One month after a ban on coal, iron and shellfish imports from North Korea, diplomatic sources said council members are seeking new measures to punish Pyongyang for its sixth and largest nuclear test on September 3.

The diplomats expressed optimism for the US-backed measure, despite Russia and China's reticence.

"I don't really see a veto at this point, and I think we will reach agreement," because all members have shown a "willingness to negotiate," an expert on the matter said on condition of anonymity.

A ban on oil and oil products is the "toughest point," a source familiar with the discussions said.

"The Russians and the Chinese are categorically opposed."

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said it is too early to talk about a vote at the Security Council on new North Korea sanctions, insisting any pressure should be balanced against restarting talks.

Members of North Korean women's union hold a dance party at the plaza of the Monument to Party Founding in Pyongyang to celebrate the 69th anniversary of North Korea's national day

"Along with pressure on the North Korean regime to induce it to abandon provocations in the implementation of its nuclear and missile programs, it is necessary to emphasize and increase the priority of efforts to resume the political process," Lavrov said.

Russia is also opposed to sending back to their country North Korean expatriates who are an important source of revenue for the Pyongyang regime, sources said.

The United States wants tough sanctions to be imposed to maximize pressure on Pyongyang to come to the table and negotiate an end to its nuclear and missile tests.

The proposed raft of sanctions would be the toughest-ever imposed on North Korea.

Britain has given early backing to the measure.
Staff of the Nakumatt supermarket chain gather in front of candles lit to mark the second anniversary commemorations of the Westgate shopping mall attack by militants

On the inside Nairobi's Westgate mall is a shiny shopping centre, all sparkling glass shop fronts, Bose-conveyed muzak and boutiques stuffed with expensive imports. On the outside it is a fortress.

Four years ago, Islamic militants raided the mall killing at least 67 people. They tossed grenades over the balustrade from the pavement then stormed through the front entrance and up the car parking ramp shooting as they went. The modus operandi was reminiscent of the Mumbai attacks five years earlier.

Yet Westgate has drifted into what Caine Prize-winning Kenyan writer Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor describes as "our national propensity to amnesia for 'bad things'."

Two years after the mall reopened, Westgate remains glossy and new, as if nothing happened. There's plenty for the well-heeled shopper but not even a plaque for the dead.

"Westgate has been erased from the public imagination," says Patrick Gathara, a Kenyan cartoonist, blogger and curator of online publication The Elephant.

"The reopening of Westgate was a narrative of triumph. That we had won somehow."

On that clear September Saturday in 2013, the gunmen sought out non-Muslims and foreigners but their targeting was sloppy. They killed largely at will, for hours waylaid only by an ad hoc crew of plainclothes police and licensed civilian gun owners.

- Don't ask questions -

Today a repeat assault would be hard to pull off. Tall metal railings and thick bulletproof glass line the mall on the pavement side. There are metal detectors, sniffer dogs and dozens of security guards at the entrances but unarmed in line with Kenyan law. There is a 'No Stopping At Any Time' signpost close to where the terrorists stopped their car.

There are cosmetic changes on the inside as well. A gourmet burger joint where many died has moved from the ground floor terrace at the entrance to the third floor food court and replaced by a noodle bar.

The ground floor atrium coffee bar has been revamped, the main cafe reconfigured and the superstore -- all sites of slaughter -- relocated.

Other construction is still underway which means the rooftop car park where children and their parents were killed at a cookery competition is out of bounds.

Gathara has pushed repeatedly and unsuccessfully for a public enquiry to answer the questions around Westgate.

The government line was that security forces heroically battled as many as 15 terrorists, armed to the teeth, during a four-day siege.

But in reality there were just four gunmen, the security response was too late for most of the dead who were killed in the first hours. During the subsequent days, it is alleged soldiers looted shops and blasted open safes before blowing up the rear of the building.

The Government Printer, an obscure department housed in a musty downtown office, is stacked with the reports of commissions of enquiry and investigations conducted, written up, filed and forgotten. Gathara says he's often asked why he bothers, "rehashing these things that we really can't do anything about."

- Condemned to repeat the past -

Unlike the pure tragedies of Paris or Bamako, London or Barcelona, Kenyans know their security forces failed.

Worse still, the tragedy of Westgate has been sullied and cheapened.

This is one reason why Kenya has developed "a pathology of not only trying to forget but to obscure memory," said Billy Kahora, a writer and editor at the Kenyan literary network Kwani Trust.

"Just throwing these things under the rug means they come up again and again and you've learned nothing," says Kahora.

Two years after Westgate four more jihadist gunmen from the same Shabaab group attacked a university in the eastern town of Garissa. They held platoons of soldiers at bay while murdering 148 mostly young, Christian students.

When victims' families wanted to set up a memorial for the Westgate dead, they did so alone. A monument was put up in a forest, funded by private donations, and saplings were planted.

After the 2015 Garissa attack too it was left to family members and angry social activists to hold vigils. In both cases, the state was noticeably absent.

"All this trauma keeps piling up on people and at some point something's got to give," says Gathara.
The team is expected to return to Goa in March next year

A team of six naval officers are starting a historic and gruelling around-the-world mission on Sunday -- the first circumnavigation of the globe by an Indian all-female crew.

Lieutenant Commander Vartika Joshi, who is leading the voyage which will begin in the western state of Goa, told AFP the project was "revolutionary" in bringing women to the helm and would inspire others in the country.

In recent years, the Indian navy has sought to open its doors to women to take on more challenging roles, with the latest project winning the backing of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who urged the crew to "project India's capabilities and strengths across the world".

The navy commissioned a 17-metre (56-foot) yacht "Tarini" in February for the mission, with the crew kicking off preparations for the voyage in 2014.

"For me it's a matter of conquering a feat that has been achieved by a chosen few," Lieutenant Commander Pratibha Jamwal told AFP.

"It's not been an easy journey in terms of preparation but as they say 'the more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war'," she added.

In recent years the Indian navy has allowed women to take on more challenging roles

Retired naval officer Captain Dilip Dhonde, who undertook India's first solo around-the-world expedition in 2009-10, mentored the crew.

The team sailed twice to Mauritius and once to Cape Town in preparation.

"It is going to boost the spirits of everybody across the country. Not just women but it can also be an inspiration for the male counterparts. Our aim is to rekindle the spirit of adventure," Joshi said.

Their journey will feature stops in Australia, New Zealand, the Falkland islands and South Africa. They are expected to return to Goa in March next year.
Organisers say the exhibition -- titled "Spectrosynthesis" -- is the first show centred around LGBTQ issues to be held at an Asian government-run museum

An LGBTQ art exhibition billed as the first of its kind in Asia opened in Taiwan on Saturday, just months after the island's top court ruled in favour of gay marriage.

A papercutting depicting two men having sex on a train and life-size charcoal sketches of naked homosexual couples embracing are among the artworks on display at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in the capital Taipei.

An installation piece outside the museum invites the public to scratch messages on painted black blocks, revealed at night when colourful LED lights shine from within.

Others explore darker themes, including a dreamlike video inspired by a murder case 16 years ago, when a man accidentally killed his partner while having sadomasochistic sex.

Organisers say the exhibition -- titled "Spectrosynthesis" -- is the first show centred around LGBTQ issues to be held at an Asian government-run museum.

It brings together works by 22 artists from Taiwan, China, Hong Kong and Singapore, most of whom are homosexual and one is transgender.

Taiwan is one of the freest Asian societies when it comes to homosexual rights, attracting tens of thousands to its annual gay pride parade

Taiwan is one of the freest Asian societies when it comes to homosexual rights, attracting tens of thousands to its annual gay pride parade.

The island is set to become the first place in the region to legalise same-sex unions after its highest court in May ordered parliament to amend relevant laws within two years.

But there is still opposition, with thousands taking to the streets in protest before the court ruling.

MOCA director Yuki Pan says she hopes art can play a role in closing that divide, helping viewers learn about some of the issues the LGBTQ community faces.

"Through feeling and empathy, people may be able to understand the pain of being marginalised and vilified by society," Pan told AFP.

"We feel a little bit nervous about the show, but I believe it will help us to advance human rights through art," she said.

Oppression of the LGBTQ community is a prominent theme throughout the exhibit.

A video made by Hong Kong composer Samson Young shows a choir but their singing is muted -- symbolising the "unheard" and "marginalised" voices.

The exhibition brings together works by 22 artists from Taiwan, China, Hong Kong and Singapore, most of whom are homosexual and one is transgender

Chinese artist Xi Ya Die took to traditional Chinese papercutting to tell of his first sexual encounter with a man and how he struggled with guilt as a man married to a woman.

One of his five pieces on display depicts a man sewing as he sits on pins with his leg entwined with a snake, which he says shows the pain and fear he felt suppressing his homosexuality.

"I've experienced a lot of pain, helplessness, and oppression in my life," he said.

"There are no words for the suffering I felt."
Chittagong Medical College Hospital has been overwhelmed since fresh violence broke out in Myanmar's Rakhine state two weeks ago, triggering a flood of mostly Rohingya refugees across the border

Nurses at the Bangladeshi hospital treating 16-year-old Rohingya refugee Mohammad Junaed for a bullet wound have had to tie him to his bed to stop him jumping out of it in pain whenever the morphine starts to wear off.

The traumatised teenager should be in intensive care after he was shot in the head allegedly by soldiers in his native Myanmar just days ago.

But his family, who fled the fighting across the border with little more than the clothes they were wearing, have no way of paying the fees.

"They (soldiers) shot him just above the eye and he is utterly traumatised. He is in enormous pain," the boy's father Mohammad Nabi told AFP at the Chittagong Medical College Hospital where he is being treated.

It is the only hospital in the area with the facilities to treat serious gunshot wounds and has been utterly overwhelmed since fresh violence broke out in Myanmar's Rakhine state two weeks ago, triggering a flood of mostly Rohingya refugees across the border.

It quickly ran out of beds, leaving many of the 70 Rohingya refugees being treated there to find a space on the floor.

Two have died, several are in a critical condition -- and more are arriving all the time.

Surgeon Kamal Uddin said resources at the hospital in the southern city of Chittagong, some 200 kilometres (125 miles) north of the Myanmar border, were severely strained.

Impoverished Bangladesh has been overwhelmed by the huge numbers of refugees flowing over the border, many of them sick or injured and all of them exhausted after the long and dangerous journey

"We are battling to provide better treatment for these poor people, but they are critically injured and their fate remains uncertain," he told AFP.

The United Nations says 270,000 Rohingya, a Muslim minority, have flooded into neighbouring Bangladesh since deadly violence erupted in Buddhist-majority Myanmar's Rakhine state two weeks ago.

Witnesses say entire villages have been burned since Rohingya militants launched a series of coordinated attacks on August 25, prompting a military-led crackdown.

- Indiscriminate firing -

Junaed's father Nabi, a 57-year-old widower from Maungdaw township, was separated from the rest of his six children when they fled, although he has since heard they all made it across the border.

The youngest, 14, was also shot and is being treated at one of the clinics near the border.

Bashir Ullah said he was shot in the leg by soldiers who burned dozens of houses in his village near Maungdaw in Rakhine, Myanmar's poorest state.

"They started firing indiscriminately as we ran for our life. I fell on the ground and a bullet hit my leg," Ullah told AFP as he cried out in pain.

"I am lucky. I was hit by bullets, but did not lose much blood."

The United Nations says 270,000 Rohingya, a Muslim minority, have flooded into Bangladesh since deadly violence erupted in Buddhist-majority Myanmar's Rakhine state two weeks ago

He said dozens of people from his village had been killed -- a claim that AFP cannot independently verify, although it is clear that the recent fighting is the fiercest in Rakhine in years.

Myanmar's government, led by Nobel peace prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, has rejected allegations of atrocities and placed the blame for the violence squarely on the Rohingya militants.

Impoverished Bangladesh has been overwhelmed by the huge numbers of refugees flowing over the border, many of them sick or injured and all of them exhausted after the long and dangerous journey.

Hossain Jahur, 22, said troops came to his village in the middle of the night and dragged him and his family from their home.

"They beat and tortured us. At one stage I tried to flee, but a soldier threw a bomb at me. It blew off parts of my hand," he said.

Despite his wounds, Jahur managed to walk to the border, and then on to the hospital in Chittagong for treatment.

But his long-term future is far from clear.

"The Myanmar army want to drive the Rohingya people out, even though our ancestors have lived there for centuries," he said.

"We are like dogs to them."
The officers who died after killing army chief Khoantle Motsomotso were also suspected of involvement in the 2015 killing of former army commander Maaparankoe Mahao

When rival officers gunned down Lesotho's army chief and were then killed by his bodyguards, hopes that the mountain kingdom had escaped its cycle of violence also perished.

The shoot-out this week at a military barracks in the capital Maseru underscored the struggle between the military and politicians over who is in control.

Elections in June were meant to be a fresh start after years of efforts by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) regional group to strengthen democratic governance in the tiny nation engulfed by South Africa.

But the bloody gunfight left the SADC exasperated at Lesotho's continued record of political violence.

"We have a problem of long drawn-out politicisation of the army," National University of Lesotho political science lecturer Mafa Sejanamane told AFP.

"Politicians plot, murder and steal public resources without fear of consequences as a result of their alliance with elements of the military."

The officers who died on Tuesday after killing army commander Khoantle Motsomotso were also suspected of involvement in the 2015 killing of former army chief Maaparankoe Mahao.

SADC had called for their prosecution over Mahao's murder -- provoking stiff resistance from the military elite and the previous government of prime minister Pakalitha Mosisili.

Criminal charges became more likely when Mosisili lost power in the June election to Thomas Thabane, who was aligned with Mahao.

Thabane has vowed to implement the SADC's recommendations on prosecutions and on major army reforms -- making enemies within the military and in Mosisili's camp.

- Vendettas and factions -

The competing factions, which stretch across the military and politics, pursue a tit-for-tat vendetta that was further reinforced by the recent election -- the third vote since 2012.

"Only the rule of law and the depoliticisation of the security forces, as well as harnessing of regional support, could end Lesotho's troubles," political analyst Nthakeng Pheello Selinyane told AFP.

Selinyane said a key player behind the unrest was former army chief Tlali Kamoli, who was sacked in 2014, then led soldiers in an apparent coup attempt where they seized control of police headquarters.

Kamoli was later reinstated before being forced to retire last year.

"Kamoli was openly voicing hatred towards Prime Minister Thabane ... while enjoying the opposition's cheers," Selinyane said.

A SADC report into the 2014 crisis stated that the Lesotho military had a "disregard of civilian rule" dating back to a coup in 1986.

The new government admits the army has held the levers of power in Lesotho, a country with a population of just two million.

"The military can only be brought to order through the unadulterated implementation of the SADC recommendations on reforms," Home Affairs assistant minister Machesetsa Mofomobe told AFP.

SADC has since sent a rapid-response team to Maseru to investigate the shoot-out, expressing dismay that the region's high hopes for the election may have been dashed.

"From the SADC point of view, we thought that the Lesotho problem had ended" with the election, said South African President Jacob Zuma, reacting to the army commander's death.

Stable government would help Lesotho tackle its gruelling poverty and the world's second-highest HIV rate, but its politicians and military look set to be preoccupied by in-fighting for years to come.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, here shown on September 3, 2017, is to visit Latin America

Benjamin Netanyahu is set to become the first sitting Israeli premier to visit Latin America, in a trip that includes Argentina 25 years after the country's embassy was bombed there.

The tour, which will see agreements boosting trade and cooperation with South American countries, is part of Israel's move to broaden the scope of its diplomacy and trade to new regions, including parts of Asia and Africa.

Netanyahu will leave Israel on Sunday to visit Argentina, Colombia and Mexico between September 11-15 before heading to New York for the United Nations General Assembly.

He will also meet with Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes while in Buenos Aires.

The "historic" visit will be the first to Latin America by a sitting Israeli premier, Netanyahu said ahead of the trip.

"We're now developing ties with Latin America -- it's a huge market in a large bloc of important states," he said at a Jewish New Year's toast with Israeli diplomats on Wednesday.

According to Netanyahu, the ongoing conflict with the Palestinians is less of a concern to the international community than in previous years.

"The underlying assumption was that if we reach an agreement with the Palestinians, which we wanted and still want, it will open the world to us. There's no doubt that would help, but the world is opening even without it," he said.

The visit is expected to enable further growth in commercial ties between Israel and Argentina.

"There is a good opportunity to increase investment and trade," a senior official in the Argentine foreign ministry said.

The Argentina trip will have special significance, with Netanyahu attending memorial ceremonies for the 1992 bombing of the Israeli embassy and 1994 bombing of a Jewish centre there.

The embassy bombing killed 29 people and wounded 200, with members of the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah blamed for the attack.

Eighty-five people were killed and 300 wounded in the Jewish centre bombing.

Argentine investigators accuse five former Iranian officials of ordering Hezbollah to carry out that bombing. Iran denies any involvement.

- In search of allies -

The two attacks devastated Argentina's Jewish population, the largest in Latin America at about 300,000 people.

Netanyahu will begin his trip in Argentina, where he will be from September 11-12, followed by Colombia on September 13 and Mexico on September 14.

He will meet the presidents of the three countries as well as members of their Jewish communities.

Israel is in constant search of allies who will vote in its favour at UN bodies, where it is frequently targeted over its occupation of the Palestinian territories, and such concerns have played a key role in Netanyahu's foreign relations.

The country is also a major player in the defence industry, with some $550 million in exports to Latin America in 2016.

Beyond that, its expertise in areas including high-tech, water technology and agriculture are also sought after by other nations.

Agreements with Argentina will be signed on issues including public security, customs and social insurance, Netanyahu's office said.

In addition, Argentina will make a declaration regarding the transfer of some 140,000 historic files and pictures surrounding the Second World War-era to enable further research of the Holocaust.

Israel and Colombia will sign agreements on science and tourism cooperation, and in Mexico the memorandum of understandings will be on space, aviation, communications and international development, Netanyahu's office said.

A delegation of businesspeople is set to travel with the premier.

"There are about 150 Israeli companies functioning in Mexico, over 100 in Colombia and an increasing number also in Argentina," said Modi Efraim, head of the Israeli foreign ministry's Latin America section.

An Israeli firm's spyware, however, came under scrutiny in Mexico earlier this year.

International experts investigating the disappearance of 43 students in Mexico in 2014 were targeted with the spyware after it had been sold to the government, the experts said.

It is made by a secretive Israeli firm called NSO Group, owned by US private equity firm Francisco Partners Management.
Floridians prepared for Hurricane Irma which is expected to be a catastrophic storm and that could pose a serious financial challenge for insurers

Florida insurance companies have not been tested to see if they can withstand a historic storm like Hurricane Irma, and an industry expert warned that "all bets are off" if the damage is as catastrophic as predicted.

The ferocious storm was expected to slam into Florida overnight Saturday, and had been upgraded to a maximum-strength Category Five storm went it struck Cuba late Friday.

Irma will cover the entire state, ripping through one of the most highly-developed regions in the United States, including the upscale areas around Miami, where hundreds of billions of dollars in real estate are at risk.

As a result, the disaster could leave some insurers struggling or unable to pay claims from policyholders as they dig out after what is expected to be one of the most destructive storms ever to hit the United States.

As of Friday morning, damage forecasts stood at around $100 billion, according to disaster modeling firm Enki Research.

Shahid Hamid, an expert on the insurance industry who oversees stress testing for Florida state regulators, told AFP he had serious concerns about the ability of local insurers to absorb a shock of this magnitude.

As director of the insurance laboratory at Florida International University's hurricane research center, Hamid tests companies to see whether their financial positions are secure enough to handle a flood of hurricane-related claims.

Although all companies passed the most recent round of testing, the stress tests did not contemplate the "exceptional scenario" of a $100 billion storm, Hamid said.

- 'All bets may be off' -

"This raises the question how many insurance companies can really cope with a hurricane like Irma," he said.

"If the losses are exceptionally high, then all bets may be off."

Officials at Florida's Office of Insurance Regulation said Friday they could not respond to AFP queries as their office was closed. But in a statement issued Wednesday, the office said it communicated with company executives to confirm their readiness for Irma.

Florida, a state prone to hurricanes, has seen considerable changes in its insurance market since Hurricane Andrew, which in 1992 dollars tore a $27 billion path through southern Florida.

After brand-name insurers like State Farm and Prudential fled the local market, Florida improved building codes to reduce storm damage and promoted reinsurance to cushion insurers from such claims.

The state also created an insurer of last resort known as Citizens Property Insurance Corporation.

Michael Peltier, a spokesman for Citizens, said about half of its 450,000 policies were concentrated in the southern counties of Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach.

However, the company did not have estimates for potential damage or claims.

- A bigger threat than Andrew -

Steven Weisbart, chief economist at the Insurance Information Institute, an industry-supported body, told AFP he doubted any insurer would go belly up because of the storm.

"It's unlikely that you will see a solvency event for insurers in the Florida market place," he said, and the industry overall is well capitalized, running a $700 billion surplus.

In the event a company did fail, US laws require surviving insurers to cover their liabilities, he said.

However, Hamid remained concerned.

About 70 percent of the buildings in southern Florida pre-date Hurricane Andrew and thus were not be built to the stricter, contemporary building codes -- and many of these were never retrofitted, he said.

And even those tougher requirements would be of little benefit in storms stronger than Categories 2 and 3.

"While the insurance industry in Florida is in a much better position than at the time of Andrew, it is also facing a potentially much bigger threat in Hurricane Irma, provided the current forecast comes true," he said.

"I hope that will not be the case. I am praying for a change in the hurricane track."
Refugee camps near Bangladesh's border with Myanmar already had about 300,000 Rohingya before the upsurge in violence and are now overwhelmed

Nearly 300,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled Myanmar's Rakhine state into Bangladesh in the 15 days since new violence erupted and the United Nations is braced for a further surge, officials said Saturday.

The exodus figure has jumped about 20,000 in a day and from 164,000 on Thursday. Bangladesh authorities plan to build a camp that could house a quarter of a million people.

"Some 290,000 Rohingya arrived in Bangladesh since August 25," Joseph Tripura, a spokesman for the UN refugee agency, told AFP.

New violence started on August 25 after Rohingya militants attacked police posts in Rakhine, triggering a security forces crackdown. Those who have fled across the border have accused the Myanmar military of staging reprisal attacks on Muslim villages.

Officials said the UN has found more Rohingya in Bangladesh villages and areas which were previously not included by relief agencies.

Agencies are now bracing for a new increase in numbers.

Dipayan Bhattacharyya, acting World Food Programme (WFP) head in Bangladesh, told AFP "the situation is very volatile."

He added: "We started with planning for an influx of 120,000. Then we made a resource planning for 300,000. The current influx has almost now reached 300,000. Now the WFP and the other UN agencies on the ground may have to review it again if the influx continues unabated."

- Desperate and hungry -

Hungry Rohingya are running towards every food truck that arrives in the camps.

Highlighting the uncertainty, Bhattacharyya said: "People are very desperate to get whatever assistance they can get in terms of food, shelter and water. They are deprived of everything. They are desperate for just basic survival."

The WFP started distributing 25-kilogramme rice sacks to families who have just arrived.

Most of the Rohingya are arriving by foot or boat across Bangladesh's 278 kilometre (172 mile) border with Myanmar, a fourth of which is made up by the Naf river.

The Rohingya have long been subjected to discrimination in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, which denies them citizenship.

Myanmar's government regards them as illegal migrants from Bangladesh, even if they have lived in the country for generations.

Refugee camps near Bangladesh's border with Myanmar already had about 300,000 Rohingya before the upsurge in violence last month and are now overwhelmed.

Tens of thousands of new arrivals have nowhere to shelter from monsoon rains.

The latest figure takes the number of Rohingya refugees who have arrived in Bangladesh since earlier violence erupted last October to 377,000.

Those flocking into Bangladesh have given harrowing accounts of killings, rape and arson by Myanmar's army. Myanmar authorities deny any wrongdoing.

Most have walked for days and the United Nations says many are sick, exhausted and in desperate need of shelter.

Bangladesh authorities on Saturday asked the International Organisation for Migration to build a new makeshift camp, a government official told AFP.

The authorities fear that the Rohingya could move to other parts of Bangladesh which would create new problems.

"All the newly arrived Rohingya will be brought in this makeshift camp and housed," Cox's Bazar magistrate Khaled Mahmud told AFP, adding they were already moving Rohingya who took shelter on the roads.

A Bangladesh minister said the government had decided to create a huge new camp on nearly 2,000 acres of land near an existing UN facility.

"The land we've identified for the camp will accommodate 250,000-300,000 people," Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury, disaster management and relief minister, told AFP.

He added that new arrivals will be registered and given aid.

Dhaka has repeatedly asked Myanmar to take back the Rohingya and address the causes of exodus.
Maye Musk, mother of Elon, walks the runway for the Concept Korea show during New York Fashion Week on September 8, 2017 in New York

The modeling world is often accused of worshipping at the fountain of youth, but at the grand old age of 69, Maye Musk, mother of Elon, is having a moment.

Mother of three and grandmother of 10, the silver-haired siren with luminous skin, who frequently breaks into laughter, is walking tall alongside a bevy of younger models at New York Fashion Week.

If it helps being the mother of the most lauded inventor-entrepreneur of his generation, valued by Forbes at $20 billion, then so does social media and the industry's gradual embrace of more diverse models.

She is determined to make the most of her moment in the sun. "Forever -- until they stop calling!" she smiles when asked how long she plans to keep working, her 70th birthday looming next year.

Her's has been an extraordinary life. Musk has modeled since the age of 15 in South Africa where she migrated with her Canadian parents as a child. For decades she has worked as a nutritionist.

She married engineer Errol Musk and the couple had three children. Elon, 46, is the eldest, but all are remarkable. Kimbal, 44, has founded a chain of farm-to-table restaurants and daughter Tosca, 43, is a filmmaker.

She and her husband separated after nine years of marriage, and the period that followed was not always easy. After some years, she left South Africa and returned to Canada when Elon went there to study.

She likes to recall the time she had "three teenagers in a rent-controlled apartment in Toronto," but today she lives in California close to her children and grandchildren.

"I would color my own hair... and you don't even think of getting out for drinks or dinner with people because you can't afford it," she tells AFP. But she always worked, she says proudly.

She's appeared on billboards in Times Square in commercials for Virgin America and Target. "Nobody knew it was me because I did not have a name out," she says.

Her name. The one she shares with Elon.

So did being the mother of the CEO of Tesla help her career take off?

- 'Appreciate every last bit' -

She signed recently with IMG -- one of the most prestigious modeling agencies in the world -- has chalked up magazine appearances and been cultivated by brands known to favor celebrities, like rag and bone.

New York Fashion Week

Kyeong Ji, who organized a runway show of young Korean designers in which Musk starred Friday, says "of course it is helpful," but neither is it the only reason she was booked.

"Her beauty is different, very strong and noble. She has such an ostentatious smile, gracious, strong and a transcending beauty and intelligence... she has every single thing!" Ji said.

Musk has developed something of a following in South Korea since she graced the cover of Vogue Korea.

When it comes to her eldest son, she doesn't want to talk but she does confirm with a smile, that she drives a Tesla.

And she does recognize that social media, to which she contributes daily on Instagram, "helps a lot" and that clients like booking a model "who has a reputation and is well known."

For more than 50 years, she says work has been steady. As she neared 60, she decided to leave her hair natural.

"I just was tired of coloring," she explains.

Musk, mother of the famous boss of Tesla, getting fitted before taking part in the Concept Korea show

When it comes to her recent success, other factors, she says are an ageing population and the fact that there is "not much competition" when it comes to models hovering around the septuagenarian stage.

"I appreciate every last bit," she says. "All the people really love us," she says, of how older models are received on the runway.

"I think designers are figuring that out... They just want to show there is diversity and that they appreciate older women and why not? Everybody has a mother and a grandmother."
A refugee camp in Bangladesh, where forces were on the lookout for any efforts to use the violence against Rohingyas in neighbouring Myanmar to rally homegrown extremists

Bangladeshi security forces were on alert for attempts by homegrown Islamist militants to use the violence against Rohingya Muslims in neighbouring Myanmar to recruit new fighters, a top official said Saturday.

Nearly 300,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled Myanmar's Rakhine state for Muslim-dominated Bangladesh in the 15 days since the latest fighting erupted, according to the United Nations.

Many of those have arrived with harrowing accounts of deaths and rapes at the hands of Myanmar troops and Buddhist militias.

Images purportedly showing atrocities against the Rohingya have flooded Bangladeshi social media, triggering an outpouring of sympathy among locals, who have historical ties with the community.

Monirul Islam, the head of Dhaka's police counter-terrorism unit, said forces were on the lookout for any efforts to use the violence against Rohingyas to rally homegrown extremists.

"We have taken appropriate surveillance measures and are on alert against the move by the inactive militants to draw inspiration from this (violence against Rohingya) or use it for recruitment purposes," he told reporters.

Bangladesh has a history of homegrown extremist groups, including those who fought alongside the Mujahideen in Afghanistan against the Russians before returning home to form their own groups.

Officials said they were particularly concerned that some of the homegrown groups would recruit students from the thousands of Islamic seminaries in the country to fight for the rights of the Rohingya.

"But we are all on alert so that no quarters can create disorder by exploiting the humanitarian crisis in Myanmar," he said.

Several fringe Islamist leaders have already issued calls to arm Rohingya refugees and help liberate Arakan, the Bengali name for Rakhine.

Bangladesh's government has a long-standing policy of "zero tolerance" towards extremism and hosting insurgent groups of neighbouring nations.

After the latest violence broke out, Dhaka proposed joint military operations with Myanmar against Rohingya militants fighting in Rakhine state.

On Friday, more than 15,000 supporters of Islamist parties in Bangladesh staged demonstrations after weekly prayers, part of wider Muslim protests across Asia protesting the killings of Rohingyas by Myanmar's army.
This is why Sea-Eye is coming back

German aid group Sea-Eye said Saturday it was resuming its migrant rescue operations in the Mediterranean, a month after pulling out when Libya barred foreign vessels from a stretch of water off its coast.

"Sea-Eye has decided to resume its rescue missions in the Mediterranean which had been halted for a month," the NGO said in a statement.

However, its two ships, the Sea-Eye and the Seefuchs, would now operate in a perimeter of 70 to 90 nautical miles from the Libyan coast, it said, "to take account of the constant threat from the Libyan coastguard and to not compromise the safety of the crews".

Sea-Eye said its decision to return was partly prompted by events on September 2, when the Seefuchs was called on to help with a rescue mission 50 miles off Libya in which 16 people in a wooden boat were saved from drowning.

"This case shows that claims by Frontex and the EU that there are no more refugees, and therefore no more drowning people, off the Libyan coast are false."

Frontex is the EU's border management agency.

Survivors last week reported that two more vessels, rubber boats filled with migrants, had set out at the same as they did, the NGO said. Those boats and their passengers disappeared without a trace.

- 'Irresponsible' -

"The deal between European countries and the Libyan coast guard is irresponsible," Sea-Eye chairman Michael Buschheuer said in the statement, because it allowed "a situation contrary to international law" to continue.

"We owe it to the people in need to stay on site and undertake rescue operations when necessary," he said.

Tensions have risen since the Libyan navy last month ordered foreign vessels to stay out of a coastal search-and-rescue zone, a measure it said was specifically aimed at non-governmental groups.

Libyan authorities have accused charities of aiding human smugglers with their rescues at sea, hampering efforts to crack down on the illegal migration route.

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.

Migrant aid ships have played a key role in assisting the rescue operations.

Sea-Eye says it has helped save some 12,000 lives since April 2016.
Two days of anti-government protests this week saw hundreds of thousands of people take to the streets of Togo's capital Lome

Nigeria's former president Olusegun Obasanjo has urged Togo's leader Faure Gnassingbe to introduce limits on presidential terms, after huge anti-government protests this week.

Obasanjo, a former military ruler in the 1970s who was also civilian president from 1999 to 2007, told BBC television in an interview that Gnassingbe had to respond to the demands.

"I believe he should have a new constitution that will have a limit to the number of terms that anybody can be president and he should abide by that," he said on Friday evening.

Obasanjo side-stepped questions about whether Gnassingbe should step down, 12 years after he became president when his father, Gnassingbe Eyadema, died.

Gnassingbe Eyadema ruled the tiny West African nation for nearly 40 years after coming to power following a military coup.

Obasanjo, whose supporters made a failed bid to change the constitution to allow him to seek a third term, questioned whether Faure Gnassingbe still had anything to offer Togo.

"I believe whatever he has to do in terms of development, whatever ideas he has, he must have exhausted them by now, unless he has something new that we don't know," he added.

Presidents who were still in office after "12, 15 years, some of them up to 30" were becoming a "rare commodity", he said.

Two days of anti-government protests this week saw hundreds of thousands of people take to the streets of Togo's capital, Lome, and other cities across the country.

Opposition supporters are calling for a maximum of two five-year terms for presidents and a switch to a two-round voting system.

The government has proposed a bill on constitutional reform to parliament, which returns for an extraordinary session on Tuesday.
Jean Ping and his friends are free to fly again

Gabon's opposition leaders, including former African Union chief Jean Ping, are free to travel again, the government said Saturday, nearly a week after banning them from leaving the country.

The interior ministry grounded the politicians, opponents of President Ali Bongo, on Sunday because of "inflammatory comments by Jean Ping" calling for "public disorder, rebellion and insurrection".

But as of Friday evening "public order and internal security" were no longer threatened, the ministry said.

Ping, a 74-year-old career diplomat, was narrowly defeated by incumbent Ali Bongo in Gabon's presidential election last year and accused the administration of electoral fraud.

A number of demonstrations have been held in support of Ping in cities around the country, leading to numerous arrests and clashes with police in the capital and the seaport of Port-Gentil.

On August 18, Ping called on the Gabonese "to rise up as one to solemnly mark (his) rise to power", remarks which prompted the travel ban.

The interior ministry said the "temporary administrative measure" had been aimed at leaders of political parties and others at the heart of the Coalition for the New Republic (CNR), which supports Ping.

Former prime minister Casimir Oye Mba and Albert Ondo Ossa, a former presidential candidate, both said they had been prevented from boarding flights out of Gabon during the ban.
A bullet-riddled car is seen at a garage in the Iraqi city of Mosul on September 6, 2017

Two months since Iraqi forces recaptured Mosul from Islamic State group fighters, Mohammed Seddiq's bullet-riddled car is still off the road and his fruit and vegetable shop has yet to reopen.

Much of Iraq's second city lies in ruins and many businesses are still at a standstill, even those that produced the famous muslin cotton fabric for which Mosul was renowned before the jihadists seized it in 2014.

Three years ago, Seddiq, 32, owned two cars, but the jihadists set fire to one and the other was damaged by mortar shells and bullets.

With all the garages still closed in his west Mosul neighbourhood, he sought out a mechanic in the industrial zone in the city's east which was less severely damaged by fighting.

He expects the repairs to cost $1,000. In the meantime he will have to pay for taxis using his savings because "the state has announced that it will reimburse for cars and houses, but up to now nothing" has been paid.

Many of the cars awaiting repairs at Ghezwan Aqil's workshop were damaged when bulldozer-driving jihadists used them to form barricades against advancing Iraqi troops.

An Iraqi mechanic works on a car damaged by fighting in Mosul on September 6, 2017

Their owners cannot afford to buy new cars and are prepared to wait one or two months for the repairs instead.

Aqil says that sometimes he will reduce a customer's bill by half depending on their circumstances.

Even after Mosul's recapture life is uncertain and insecurity is rife.

"There have been many burglaries," says taxi driver Mohammed Salem.

"And people have been detained by unidentified groups. No one knows what happened to them," the 33-year-old adds.

"There are regular problems between the various armed forces, especially the paramilitary units," Hossam Eddine al-Abbar, a member of the provincial council of Nineveh, of which Mosul is the capital, tells AFP.

The presence of the Hashed al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilisation) paramilitary units, dominated by Iran-backed Shiite militias, has stirred tensions in the Sunni-majority city.

- 'Infiltrated by terrorists' -

Mosul's Old City has been reduced to rubble by fighting and the iconic leaning minaret of its Al-Nuri mosque left in ruins

Without genuine reconciliation between communities, there are fears that the country could once again descend into violence.

"The best way to control (armed groups) is to integrate them into the regular forces that enjoy much more trust among citizens than paramilitary forces," Abbar said.

Omar al-Allaf, a local tribal dignitary who oversees Hashed al-Shaabi units, rejects the idea.

His men will never join the police because "they are infiltrated by terrorists", he says.

In 2014, as IS staged a rapid advance across northern Iraq, police and military personnel abandoned their posts to the jihadists with barely a fight.

That allowed the group to establish its "caliphate" across parts of Syria and a third of Iraq's territory including Mosul.

Today, many police in the Iraqi city are demanding their reinstatement, but the process of identification and investigation of each one takes time, Abbar said.

"More than 13,000 policemen have yet to return to their jobs despite our requests to the authorities in Baghdad," he added.

Mosul's famed Old City was reduced to rubble by the fighting and the iconic leaning minaret of its Al-Nuri mosque, the image of which adorns the 10,000 dinar note, left in ruins.

For many of Mosul's displaced, it is impossible to envisage a return to a city where, in addition to finding nothing left of their previous life, they risk losing more.

In the past year, a million Iraqis have fled their homes in Nineveh province.

They joined millions more displaced across the country by fighting in the cities where the jihadists had seized territory.

Across the country, all are waiting for reconstruction to begin.
Syrian forces have launched an offensive to retake the whole eastern city of Deir Ezzor

Syrian troops Saturday broke the Islamic State group's siege of the eastern Deir Ezzor military airport, state media reported, days after ending another siege on residential districts of the city.

State news agency SANA said the breach came "after the forces advancing from the cemetery southwest of the city linked up with the forces holding the airbase".

The troops had launched a new push on Friday towards the besieged military airport, as part of its multi-pronged offensive to retake the whole eastern city from the jihadists.

Since 2014, IS has held swathes of Deir Ezzor province, which borders Iraq, and about 60 percent of the provincial capital.

Jihadists had encircled two regime-held enclaves in the western half of Deir Ezzor city, and the army on Tuesday broke through one of the besieged pockets.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also confirmed troops had breached the siege.

"By breaking the siege on the military airport regime forces have been able to link up all the neighbourhoods they hold in western parts of Deir Ezzor city," the Britain-based monitor said.
A freeway is empty as winds and rain in the outer bands of Hurricane Irma arrive in Miami

Hurricane Irma began pummeling Florida late Saturday, threatening almost the entire southeastern US state after cutting a deadly path of destruction through the Caribbean.

Tens of thousands of Floridians were hunkering down in shelters for a direct hit from the monster storm, after more than 6.3 million -- nearly a third of the state's population -- were ordered to evacuate.

For those still at home, it was already too late to escape the wrath of what could be the worst hurricane in storm-prone Florida.

"If you have been ordered to evacuate anywhere in the state, you need to leave right now. Not tonight. Not in an hour. Now. You are running out of time to make a decision," Governor Rick Scott said hours before wind gusts began to lash the island chain known as the Florida Keys.

He said some 76,000 people had already lost power, cautioning that "it's going to get worse... This is going to be massive."

At North Collier Regional Park, a designated shelter just outside the city of Naples, anxious evacuees prayed they and their loved ones would remain safe when the storm made landfall.

"All we wanted to make sure is to feel safe and whatever happens we just have to start I guess from the beginning," Viviana Sierra said.

MacDill Air Force Base, the military installation home to US Central Command, issued mandatory evacuation orders with the eye of the storm expected to pass over its home city of Tampa early Monday. The Kennedy Space Center was also closed.

The White House said President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and their cabinet were briefed on Hurricanes Irma and Jose, with Trump warning on Twitter that "this is a storm of enormous destructive power."

After blasting through the nearby Cuban coastline, Irma weakened from a maximum-strength Category Five to a Category Three storm, though it was still packing winds of 125 miles (200 kilometer) per hour.

With near-hurricane force winds lashing the Florida Keys starting around 8:00 pm (0100 GMT), the Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC) warned that "Irma is forecast to restrengthen" as it approaches mainland Florida.

There was a serious threat of flooding from storm surges of up to 15 feet (4.5 meters) along Florida's west coast -- enough to cover a house.

At least 25 people have been killed since Irma began its devastating march through the Caribbean earlier this week.

Terrified Cubans who rode out Irma in coastal towns after the storm made landfall Friday on the Camaguey archipelago reported "deafening" winds, uprooted trees and power lines, and blown rooftops.

There were no immediate reports of casualties, but officials reported "significant damage." A total of 1.5 million people were evacuated.

- Mass exodus -

Winds and rain begin to hit the beach as outer bands of Hurricane Irma arrive in Miami Beach, Florida

In Florida, cities on both the east and west coasts of the peninsular state took on the appearance of ghost towns, as nervous residents heeded insistent evacuation orders.

The storm was expected to move along or near Florida's southwest Gulf coast by Sunday afternoon.

But Irma is so wide that authorities were bracing for destructive storm surges on both coasts and the Keys, the chain of low-lying islands that stretch south of Miami toward Cuba.

And hurricane-force winds are expected to lash the peninsula as it rolls north toward Georgia.

A tornado funnel cloud has already formed off the coast of Fort Lauderdale, with the NHC warning that "a few" more were possible in south and central Florida.

On highway 75 along the western coast of Florida, a steady stream of cars pressed northward as thousands fled at the last minute from the fast-approaching killer hurricane.

Bumper-to-bumper traffic snaked north out of the state, with mattresses, gas cans and kayaks strapped to car roofs.

Strip malls, fast food restaurants and retail giants were all closed for business.

In Key West, police opened a "shelter of last resort" for those who had ignored mandatory evacuation orders.

Scott Abraham, who lives on the fifth floor of a beachfront apartment building in Miami Beach, is planning to ignore evacuation orders and ride the storm out with his wife and two kids.

"If I lived in a house I would have left, but if it gets flooded here it's going to take a week at least to come back. I don't want that," he said.

Local residents return home after the passage of Hurricane Irma in Caibarien, Cuba

Warning that Irma would be worse than Hurricane Andrew -- which killed 65 people in 1992 -- Scott, Florida's governor, said all 20.6 million Floridians should prepare to flee.

Cuban-American Orlando Reyes, 82, was forced to leave his assisted living facility in Miami Beach.

Tourists wait in front of boarded-up storefronts as they prepare to leave Miami Beach ahead of Hurricane Irma

"It is frightening," he told AFP at a shelter in Miami. "We had to leave without a cent, without taking a bath, or bringing anything."

- Path of destruction -

The storm smashed through a string of Caribbean islands, beginning with tiny Barbuda on Wednesday, followed by the holiday islands of Saint Barthelemy and Saint Martin.

Also affected were the US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and the Turks and Caicos. The Bahamas were spared Irma's worst.

"Houses are smashed, the airport is out of action," Saint Barthelemy resident Olivier Toussaint said.

"Upside-down cars are in the cemeteries. Boats are sunk in the marina, shops are destroyed."

Another powerful storm, Category Four Hurricane Jose, was heading toward the same string of Caribbean islands Irma has pummeled in recent days, though it was now forecast to be weaker than initially expected.

The deteriorating weather grounded aircraft and prevented boats from bringing relief supplies to hard-hit islands.

Irma's path through the Caribbean has left a shambles of a string of islands, like this scene of destruction in the French island of St Martin

The US military was mobilizing thousands of troops and deploying several large ships to aid with evacuations and humanitarian relief, as the Air Force removed scores of planes from the southern United States.

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Zimbabwe's first lady Grace Mugabe and vice-president Emmerson Mnangagwa have been locked in an increasingly acrimonious fight over who will take power when the 93-year-old Robert Mugabe dies

Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe said on Saturday that he may name a preferred candidate to replace him as a bitter succession battle between his wife and the vice-president grinds on.

But the 93-year-old liberation leader turned autocrat ruled out simply appointing his favoured figure and said his ruling ZANU-PF party must make the final decision.

The president's wife Grace Mugabe and vice-president Emmerson Mnangagwa have been locked in an increasingly acrimonious fight over who will take power when Mugabe dies.

"I can have my own candidate but that person must fight it out with other candidates at the congress," Mugabe said at a youth rally attended by thousands of supporters in Bindura, a farming town 90 kilometres (56 miles) north of the capital Harare.

"The constitution says the leader is chosen at the congress."

Mugabe, who has ruled Zimbabwe since independence in 1980, said that it would be unprecedented for the presidency to be handed over to an appointee without the ruling party's input.

"We have never done it before that... I will leave or give power to Mrs Mugabe, or Emmerson or Mphoko as my successor," he said, referring to his wife, his first deputy Mnangagwa and his second-vice president Phelekezela Mphoko.

"I follow the regulations very strictly. I cannot leave my wife in power like they do in some French (speaking) countries. We do not do that in ZANU-PF, we have a good history."

Mugabe's wife was once dismissed as a light-weight shopping addict with no political instincts, but Grace has recently emerged as a serious challenger for power.

Aged 52, the first lady has dropped heavy hints that she aspires to the presidential palace and has publicly called on her husband to name a successor. She has been increasingly active in public life in recent months and now leads the ZANU-PF women's wing.

Mnangagwa, 74, was appointed to the post in 2014 and is seen by some foreign diplomats as the figure most likely to reform Zimbabwe's fractious politics and moribund economy if elevated.

Mugabe has already been named by ZANU-PF as its presidential candidate for polls due in 2018.

The president, who often travels abroad for medical treatment, has repeatedly condemned factionalism within his own party in thinly veiled rebukes to Mnangagwa and his wife's public posturing.
Syrian government forces broke a years-long jihadist siege of the Deir Ezzor military airport on September 9, 2017 as they pushed an offensive against the Islamic State group

Syrian troops broke the Islamic State group's siege of Deir Ezzor military airport Saturday, dealing a fresh blow to the jihadists who also face a new offensive from US-backed fighters elsewhere in the province.

Oil-rich Deir Ezzor province borders Iraq and is a strategic prize for both the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Russian-supported government troops.

Since 2014, IS has held swathes of the province and about 60 percent of its provincial capital, encircling two regime-held enclaves in the western half of Deir Ezzor city.

Government troops broke the siege of one of the pockets on Tuesday, and began a new assault on IS positions around the strategic airbase on Friday.

Syria army breaks IS siege on Deir Ezzor air base

On Saturday, the troops ended IS's encirclement of the airport, state news agency SANA said, "after forces advancing from the cemetery southwest of the city linked up with the forces holding the airbase".

State television quoted the unnamed head of the airbase as saying IS had fiercely attacked the airport for years. "We will continue fighting until we recapture all of Deir Ezzor city," he said.

Russia, a key Syrian government ally, said its warplanes had provided cover to the Syrian ground forces, carrying out "massive air strikes" that helped the troops break the airport siege.

"Syrian government forces, with Russian air support... inflicted a crushing defeat on IS around Deir Ezzor surpassing all the other victories achieved in the past three years," the ministry said.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the advance enabled Syrian troops to "link up all the neighbourhoods they hold in western parts of Deir Ezzor city".

The government's progress in Deir Ezzor came as IS faces growing pressure in both Syria and Iraq, where it has suffered a string of defeats.

- 'Operation Jazira Storm' -

The jihadists have lost Iraq's second city, Mosul, and more than half of their de facto Syrian capital Raqa.

Deir Ezzor province is the last one in Syria still largely under jihadist control.

Syrian pro-government forces hold a position near the village of Al-Maleha, in Deir Ezzor, on September 9, 2017 as they battle the Islamic State group

On Saturday, the SDF said it had begun clearing IS from areas east of the Euphrates River, which cuts diagonally across Deir Ezzor province, slicing it in two.

"We are taking the first step to liberate territory east of the Euphrates River in Deir Ezzor," Ahmad Abu Khawlah, who heads the SDF's Deir Ezzor Military Council (DEMC), told AFP.

"Pivoting towards Deir Ezzor was inevitable."

Abu Khawlah said US-led coalition air strikes had already helped his forces advance "around 30 kilometres (20 miles)" in the first day of "Operation Jazira Storm".

The commander of the US-led coalition, Lieutenant General Paul Funk, welcomed the start of the SDF operation.

"The very existence of ISIS poses a real threat to the civilised world and our way of life," Funk said in a statement, using another acronym for IS.

"Our collective effort will defeat them."

The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces launched September 9, 2017 an offensive to clear IS east from swathes of oil-rich Deir Ezzor province

Military operations were focused on the hilly desert area in northeastern parts of Deir Ezzor province, the Observatory said.

- 'No safe haven' -

The coalition has bombed IS targets in Syria and Iraq since 2014 and is now backing the SDF's offensive to capture Raqa.

The SDF has seized around 65 percent of Raqa city, which lies directly west of Deir Ezzor province.

"Daesh will have no safe haven in the Euphrates River Valley," coalition spokesman Colonel Ryan Dillon said earlier, using the Arabic acronym for IS.

Abu Khawlah said SDF forces were not coordinating with the government or with Russia on military operations.

The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, an alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters, are battling jihadists in their bastion of Raqa and in Deir Ezzor province

But the coalition, the SDF, Syria's government and Russia have agreed on a "de-confliction line" in northeast Syria to prevent them clashing.

According to the coalition, the line runs from Raqa province southeast along the Euphrates towards Deir Ezzor.

"The de-confliction line with the Russians is necessary in the complex and congested battlespace over eastern Syria," Dillon said.

Syria's conflict erupted in 2011 with protests demanding that President Bashar al-Assad step down, and has since evolved into a complex, multi-front war.

More than 330,000 people have been killed and millions have fled their homes, but global efforts at reaching a peace deal have faltered.

Next week, Kazakhstan will host talks on a set of safe zones across Syria agreed by world powers this year as a first step towards a political solution.

And the United Nations is hoping to gather members of the Syrian opposition and the government for negotiations in Geneva in October.

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Homes, shops and government buildings were destroyed when Hurricane Irma slammed the Caribbean island of Barbuda this week, while a huge stretch of its once glorious 11-mile west coast beach has been wiped out.

Destruction was so widespread that authorities have ordered the entire population of 1,800 to evacuate as Hurricane Jose approached the island over the weekend.

By mid-day Saturday Jose, a Category Four hurricane, was tracking towards the north-west and no longer expected to hit Barbuda, but it remained under a Tropical Storm warning.

Authorities on Barbuda -- one of the two islands that make up the nation of Antigua and Barbuda -- have only begun to measure the damage caused when Irma struck the island as a powerful Category Five hurricane overnight Tuesday to Wednesday.

"Terrifying," "horrific" and the "worst damage seen in a lifetime" were some of the descriptions from residents as they emerged from their shelters after Irma's passage.

A child died when Irma, the strongest storm ever recorded to form in the Atlantic, struck the island.

Authorities said 30 percent of properties were demolished by the monster storm.

- Surviving in a wardrobe -

Sira Berzas, a native of Spain who has lived in Barbuda for almost 20 years, survived the storm by hiding in a wardrobe

Barbudans swapped tales of hiding in wardrobes and showers as 157 mile (252 kilometer) per hour wind from Irma ripped off roofs, uprooted trees and knocked down walls.

Sira Berzas, 40, spent more than an hour huddled in a wardrobe with a friend after Irma tore the roof off the home they were hiding in.

"I have never been so scared in my life. Jackie and I were holding on to each other and basically saying our goodbyes," Berzas told AFP.

When the eye of the hurricane came, she said, "we ran outside in our underwear screaming for help. Luckily there was a police truck which took us to a safer building."

In the rush to safety "we had to leave Jackie's kitten behind," said Berzas, who lost her Pink Sand Beach home, bar and restaurant to the disaster.

Thankfully Houdini lived up to his name. The kitten was later found crouched in a corner of the ruined house, trembling but alive.

- Fleeing Hurricane Jose -

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Hundreds of Barbudans were transported on Friday to Antigua via a Venezuelan military plane for safety ahead of Hurricane Jose.

Many have family to visit on the sister island, but others had no idea where they would stay when they arrived.

"I don't know where we are going when we get to Antigua -- or how we will get there," said Beautymey John, who was on a dock waiting to board a boat to safety with her five children.

"I would rather stay here, it doesnt feel right to leave. We have to try and start again," she told AFP.

Other Barbudans also said they were determined to rebuild their homes and livelihoods.

Teacher Maurice George, 30, said the small bag he was taking to Antigua contained the bare essentials, but vowed to return as soon as the secondary school he works in reopens.

"It is heart-breaking to see our island looking like this," he said.

"But where some people see devastation, I see an opportunity to rebuild," he added.
A woman cares for her child as cholera victims sit on beds at a provisional French non-governmental organization Medecins Sans Frontieres clinic in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2008

The World Health Organization on Saturday sounded the alarm over a cholera outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo which has already claimed 528 lives and reached "worrying proportions".

The UN says cholera is a major public health problem in the country with millions of cases registered every year. Last year, the disease claimed 817 lives there, according to the WHO.

"The cholera outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has reached worrying proportions with 20 out of 26 provinces affected by the disease" the UN agency said in a statement.

Cholera is transmitted through contaminated drinking water and causes acute diarrhoea, with children facing a particularly high risk of infection.

There are between 1.4 and 4.3 million cases of the disease worldwide each year, and as many as 142,000 deaths, according to WHO statistics.

As of September 2, Congolese authorities had recorded 24,217 suspected cases, it said.

The outbreak has affected several cities and towns in the east, west and north, as well parts of the capital Kinshasa.

WHO said the disease could resurface in the sprawling central Grand Kasai region where the infrastructure and sanitary conditions are skeletal. The last cholera outbreak here occurred in 2003.

The UN health body said it was donating $400,000 to help deploy technical teams in priority zones and called on Congolese authorities to back efforts to stem the disease by cleaning up mounds of garbage and ensuring the supply of clean drinking water.
Prince Moulay Hicham, cousin of Morocco's King Mohammed VI, in a September 17, 2012 picture

Morocco's Prince Moulay Hicham, King Mohammed VI's first cousin, said on Saturday he had been expelled from Tunisia on the day he arrived to attend an academic conference.

"Policemen came to my hotel shortly after my arrival yesterday (Friday) and I was taken to the airport," the prince told AFP.

Moulay Hicham, who lives in the United States, had travelled to Tunisia for a conference organised by Stanford University on the political transition in Tunisia after the 2011 Arab Spring uprising.

Known as the "rebel prince" for his outspoken criticism of Morocco's political system, Moulay Hicham said he had demanded to be given a "document to justify my expulsion, since I had done nothing wrong".

"The policemen were embarrassed; they only spoke about a 'sovereign decision' and agreed to cancel the entry stamp on my passport," he said.

He said his treatment had been "respectful and professional" and that he was put on an Air France flight to Paris.

"I had come to discuss the challenge facing Tunisia's democratic transition," he said, but declined to speculate why the Tunisian authorities expelled him.

There was no immediate comment from the interior ministry in Tunis.

But an organiser of the conference, Houssem Aoudi, called the expulsion order "a tough blow to Tunisian democracy".

The conference was organised by Stanford University's Centre on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law.
Tiffany Trump only returned to college matter of weeks ago in order to start her law school studies, yet she still found the time to take a night off from the books and attend New York Fashion Week.

The 23-year-old sat front row at two shows on Saturday, kicking off her day of sartorial fun at the show for Shanghai-based label Taoray Wang, before moving on to some late-night entertainment in the form of Philipp Plein's show-turned-music concert.

The first daughter's day of fashion fun comes just months after her last visit to NYFW ended in controversy when it was reported that her front row presence at Philipp's show caused some fashion editors to move seats so as to avoid sitting next to her.

Style star: Tiffany Trump attended two shows at New York Fashion Week on Saturday, starting off at Taoray Wang

VIP: The 23-year-old sat front row at the show, to which she wore a black strapless Taoray Wang dress with a white ribbon belt at the waist

Fashion favorite: Tiffany added a pair of Christian Louboutin shoes to her ensemble, and wore her blonde hair down in a straight style around her shoulders

An evening on the town: The fashion show must have been a fun break for Tiffany, who has just started studying at Georgetown Law School

Friends: Tiffany attended the show alongside her friends, controversial socialite Peter Brandt Jr. (left) and designer Andrew Warren (right)

That rather dramatic turn of events certainly didn't stop Tiffany's favorite designers from inviting her to attend their shows this season; indeed, this is the second season in a row that the first daughter has had a front row seat both at Taoray Wang and Philipp Plein's events.

Looking resplendent in a Taoray Wang black strapless frock and white sash, which actually featured on the runway, Tiffany smiled sweetly for the cameras as she took her seat next to her close friends, controversial socialite Peter Brandt Jr. and designer Andrew Warren.

Tiffany is arguably the label's most famous US-based customer, as it seeks to make increasing inroads into the US market and has been a firm supporter of the label for a while now; she even wore a Taoray Wang outfit to her father's inauguration in January.

In fact - far from wanting to distance herself from the Trump administration, as some other brands have done - the label's Chinese designer Wang Tao actually joked about wishing her New York store had opened last season, so positive was the impact of Tiffany's front row attendance at her fall/winter collection last February.

Missing something? While her friends kept their mirrored sunglasses on throughout the show, Tiffany opted to go without the accessory

Fascinated: Throughout the show Tiffany made sure to get the best view of each of the looks

Spotted something you like? Tiffany looked thrilled to be attending the show

Pals: The first daughter has long supported the Chinese brand's designer Wang Tao and often attends her fashion week shows

'I think that really attracted lots of attention for the brand,' Wang told AFP. 'In a very good way.

'I like the woman who's independent, confident and not afraid to speak for [herself],' added Wang, who designs for the powerful, professional and modern woman - leaders in government, business, finance and law.

'Tiffany is one of my customers too.'

On the third day of fashion week, Wang fused East and West, sending down the runway a spring/summer 2018 collection that stayed true to her DNA of sharp, wearable suiting, but given a Baroque flare.

Inspired by a concert of music by 17th century composers Handel and Purcell at the Shanghai Symphony Hall, performed by a 'very fashionable' group of young Chinese musicians, Wang added Baroque flourishes to her trademark modern, minimalist, clean lines.

Twinning! The same black strapless asymmetrical Taoray Wang dress that Tiffany wore also featured in the runway show (left)

Fashionable foundation: Wang's spring/summer 2018 collection stayed true to her DNA of sharp, wearable suiting, but was given a Baroque flare

Details: Wang added stiff silk ruffle-style belts - think Baroque ruffle at the neck reimagined as a belt - and ruffle-style pleats on the shoulder

She added stiff silk ruffle-style belts - think Baroque ruffle at the neck reimagined as a belt - and ruffle-style pleats on the shoulder.

'Normally I wouldn't really be brave enough to try all this decoration but I'm quite happy with it,' she said.

Following the Taoray Wang show, Tiffany wasted no time in moving onto another of her NYFW favorites, Philipp Plein, ensuring - of course - that she had time for a quick outfit change in between.

Having put on a rather demure display at Wang's catwalk event, Tiffany opted for something slightly more edgy and daring for her second show of the day, wearing a black Philipp Plein dress, with dazzling black and silver heels, and putting her long blonde hair up in an intricate up-do.

The design featured several cut-outs on the arms, as well as some sheer panels on the front near the hemline, and Tiffany accessorized the rather daring ensemble with a choker necklace, earrings and a simple black clutch.

Up next! Later in the day, Tiffany moved on to the Philipp Plein show, another one of her New York Fashion Week favorites

Friends in fashion: She was again accompanied by her designer pal Andrew, although Peter seemed to have skipped this show

Dressed: Tiffany wore a black dress by the show's designer that featured several fun cut-outs at the arms, and also had Philipp's name printed along the hem

Another show, another outfit! She also added a different pair of shoes, this time opting for some dazzling heels, and put her hair into an up-do

Spotted! Fashion editor Rachel Tashjian tweeted this image of Tiffany enjoying a performance by Future at the show, which took place at Hammerstein Ballroom

And just like Taoray Wang's designer, it seems Philipp Plein has no reservations about openly supporting Tiffany as an ambassador of his brand, offering her a design that bore his name in glitter across the front.

Tiffany's glamorous ensemble was fitting given the concept of the show - which was more of a musical gig-turned-party than a simple catwalk event.

Guests at the fashion week show were treated to musical performances from rapper future and Nicki Minaj, as well as an energetic runway appearance from Kanye West muse Teyana Taylor who close the show with aplomb, writhing down the runway in a leotard, and even flashing a nipple pasty in the process.

Both Tiffany and Philipp will no doubt be pleased that her appearance at this season's show seems to have been much less dramatic than February's event, when it was reported that several fashion editors moved seats in order to avoid sitting next to the first daughter.

At the time, several writers claimed that Tiffany's appearance wreaked havoc on the seating assignments because no fashion editors wanted to sit next to her.

Strutting her stuff: It was a late night for Tiffany, who was escorted out of the show by secret service agents

Ready for bed? The first daughter looked a bit tired as she climbed into a waiting SUV, after leaving the show, which didn't start until after 10pm

Awkward: Last season it was reported that fashion editors switched seats at the Philipp Plein show in order to avoid sitting next to Tiffany

Controversy: Fashionista.com editor-in-chief Alyssa Vingan Klein tweeted that her presence at the show caused a fair amount of drama

Late start: Elle.com editor Nikki Ogunnaike added that the show also started an hour late, giving editors time to move away from their seats

Alyssa Vingan Klein, the editor-in-chief of Fashionista.com, wrote on Twitter that seating was a mess because Tiffany was essentially being shunned.

'Seating s***show at Philipp Plein because no editors want to sit near Tiffany Trump. SHOCKER,' she wrote.

'Tiffany Trump had a front row seat as well, which led several editors to request to be moved and, in a couple of cases, leave altogether,' Alyssa added in her write-up of the show.

Nikki Ogunnaike, a senior fashion editor at Elle.com, responded to Alyssa's tweet by revealing that she and her colleagues had moved seats.

'We moved and are down the hall. Come thru,' she wrote.

Statement: While Tiffany's ensemble was certainly more daring than her earlier look, it paled in comparison to the bondage-style outfits being showcased on the runway

Superstar: Adriana Lima appeared in the show wearing an over-sized T-shirt and a leather cage-style skirt

Something for everyone: The collection was full of urban-inspired designs, but also had a feeling of fun and whimsy thanks to sweet details like cartoon embellishments and frilly socks

Locked up: The caged skirts and bondage-style leather harnesses were one of the key features in the show

'Phillip Plein at 10PM: 1 hour late start, editors fleeing just so they don't have to sit behind Tiffany Trump,' Nikki tweeted a few minutes later.

Pictures from the show see Tiffany sandwiched between her friend Andrew and another blonde attendee, but former Wall Street Journal fashion columnist Christina Binkley shared photos of the empty seat next to her earlier in the night

'Nobody wants to sit next to Tiffany Trump at Philipp Plein, so they moved and the seats by her are empty,' she wrote.

Christina took a photo of the available seats next to Tiffany, adding: 'Empty seats next to Tiffany Trump.'

However a source who witnessed the incident insisted that the empty seats next to Tiffany were actually reserved for the fashion label's CEO's family - and were only made empty when editors who had accidentally sat in them were asked to move.

Stealing the spotlight: Kanye West muse Teyana Taylor closed the show, strutting her stuff and dancing down the runway in a risque bodysuit

Floored: At one point, the dancer and model dropped to the floor and began writhing around on the runway

Something saucy: Dita Von Teese also performed at the star-studded show

Closing it out: Future and Nicki Minaj entertained guests with an energetic musical performance on stage at the Hammerstein Ballroom

The seats next to Tiffany had been reserved for the CEOs family but were occupied by several fashion editors,' the source explained.

'The picture was taken in between the editors getting up to move and the family sitting down.

It was later reported that Tiffany had also spent much of the evening avoiding fellow guest Madonna, after the singer made several harsh comments about her father's presidency.

The New York Post claimed at the time that Tiffany was very concerned about avoiding Madonna who recently said she 'thought an awful lot about blowing up the White House' during her speech against the president at the Women's March in Washington, D.C.

The iconic singer ended up arriving over an hour late to the show, and she was seated across the room from Tiffany.
Mali's President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, pictured in August 2017, inaugurated the Sevare, Mali, headquarters of an antiterrorism force comprising troops from his own country as well as Niger, Chad, Mauritania and Burkina Faso

Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita on Saturday inaugurated the headquarters for a planned five-nation force to combat jihadists in the Sahel region, officials who attended the ceremony told AFP.

The HQ is located in central Mali at Sevare, about 10 kilometres (six miles) east of Mopti, in a region that has been hit by a wave of terror attacks in recent months.

The five-battalion, 5,000-strong force, decided at a summit in Bamako on July 2, is to comprise troops from Niger, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Burkina Faso.

It has an annual budget of about $496 million (423 million euros) a year, although so far only about $127 million (108 million euros) has been pledged. The participating countries rank among the poorest nations in the world.

A plan seen by AFP Saturday calls for the first battalion to be operational this month, and in October "cross-border operations will take place in the tri-frontier zone" shared by Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso.

France, which has 4,000 troops serving across the Sahel region with a counter-terror mandate, is a major backer of the initiative.

French President Emmanuel Macron has been pitching for support from other European nations, especially Germany.
BANGKOK (AP) - The Latest on violence in Myanmar's Rakhine state and the flood of ethnic Rohingya refugees into Bangladesh (all times local):

12 a.m.

Former South African archbishop Desmond Tutu is urging Myanmar's leader Aung San Suu Kyi to intervene to stop the persecution of the Rohingya Muslim minority in the Southeast Asian country.

Newly arrived Rohingya Jamie Hasan, right, and his wife Hag Bano rest inside a school in Kutupalong refugee camp, Bangladesh, Thursday, Sept. 7, 2017. With Rohingya fleeing by the thousands daily across the border, pushing existing camps in Bangladesh to the brink, the government in Dhaka pledged to build at least one more. The International Organization for Migration has pleaded for $18 million in foreign aid to help feed and shelter tens of thousands now packed into makeshift settlements or stranded in a no man's land between the two countries' borders. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

Tutu tells his fellow Nobel Peace Prize winner in an open letter that it is "incongruous for a symbol of righteousness" to lead a country where violence against the Rohingya is being carried out.

"My dear sister: If the political price of your ascension to the highest office in Myanmar is your silence, the price is surely too steep," Tutu says. The letter was sent Thursday to Suu Kyi through Myanmar's embassy in South Africa.

Rohingya have described large-scale violence perpetrated by Myanmar troops and Buddhist mobs - setting fire to their homes, spraying bullets indiscriminately and ordering them to leave or be killed.

Suu Kyi has dismissed the Rohingya crisis as a misinformation campaign.

___

7 p.m.

Turkey's first lady and foreign minister are visiting Bangladesh to learn why about 164,000 ethnic Rohingya Muslims have fled from neighboring Myanmar in the past two weeks.

First lady Emine Erdogan and Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu visited a refugee camp housing more than 50,000 people and talked with residents, including a young person with a bullet injury, about ongoing violence in Myanmar's Rakhine state.

Bangladesh officials also briefed them on how they are attempting to provide shelter, food and health care to the huge numbers of refugees.

The first lady told reporters that Turkey will do everything possible to help the Rohingya, and that her husband, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, would take up the issue at this month's U.N. General Assembly meeting.

Many of Rohingya have said they are fleeing violence by Myanmar soldiers and Buddhist mobs in Rakhine.

The violence began with attacks by Rohingya insurgents on police on Aug. 25. Government forces retaliated with what they called "clearance operations."

___

5:30 p.m.

The U.N. refugee agency says 164,000 Rohingya have flooded into Bangladesh since violence erupted in Myanmar on Aug. 25.

The revised refugee number confirmed Thursday by UNHCR spokeswoman Vivian Tan was likely to go up further, with thousands still crossing the border every day.

The influx has pushed refugee camps to the brink in Bangladesh, leaving tens of thousands to squat in open fields or to occupy muddy patches in a no man's land between the two countries' borders.

___

4:15 p.m.

Myanmar's leader Aung San Suu Kyi told reporters her government was working to improve life for Rohingya Muslims, but that "it's a little unreasonable to expect us to resolve everything in 18 months" since her administration took office.

"We're trying to progress as quickly as possible on the development front, because one of the biggest problems is the matter of very limited resources," she said Thursday.

She said her government was looking to implement certain recommendations made last month by a commission led by former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

The commission urged quick and decisive measures toward economic development and social justice measures to counter deadly violence between Buddhists and Muslims in Rakhine state.

___

1:50 p.m.

New fires are burning in a Myanmar village that had been abandoned by Rohingya Muslims, and where schoolbooks with text from the Quran were seen ripped and left on the ground. That intensifies doubts about government claims that members of the persecuted minority have been destroying their own homes.

Journalists on a government-controlled trip saw the fires Thursday in Gawdu Zara village in northern Rakhine state, from which some 146,000 Rohingya have fled since ethnic violence erupted about two weeks ago.

An ethnic Rakhine villager who emerged from the smoke said police and Rakhine Buddhists had set the fires. The villager ran off before he could be asked anything else.

No police were seen at the village beyond those who were accompanying the journalists. But about 10 Rakhine men with machetes were seen there.

Reporters saw no Rohingya in that village or others that they were allowed to see Thursday.

___

This item has been corrected to show that schoolbooks with text from the Quran, not Qurans, were seen ripped.

___

12:30 p.m.

Pakistan is urging the world to put pressure on Myanmar, where renewed violence has forced out tens of thousands of Rohingya Muslims.

Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif says the Rohingyas' plight is "a challenge to the conscience" of the world and that Pakistan was committed to providing humanitarian aid to them.

The ministry issued a statement containing his opening remarks at a conference of Pakistani diplomats on Thursday.

Political parties and clerics have organized rallies across Pakistan to express their solidarity with Rohingyas and to condemn Myanmar's leader Aung San Suu Kyi for the reported massacres of Rohingyas. Her government has counted 400 deaths and says most were terrorists.

The violence began with insurgent attacks on police Aug. 25 and government forces retaliated with what they called "clearance operations." Some 146,000 Rohingya have fled since then.

A police officer stands guard around the debris of burnt houses in Ah Lel Than Kyaw village in northern Rakhine state Myanmar Thursday, Sept. 7, 2017. Security officials on Thursday took journalists to a still-smoldering Rohingya village where officials say members of the Muslim minority set fire to their own homes and vehicles. (AP Photo)

Pakistani protesters rally against ongoing violence against the Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar, holding a placard that reads, "Wake up rulers of Muslim countries," in Lahore Pakistan, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2017. The U.N. refugee agency said some 123,000 Rohingya refugees have fled to Bangladesh since violence erupted in Myanmar on Aug. 25, and that established refugee camps were now at "breaking point." (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
BEIRUT (AP) - Israeli warplanes struck a military position near the Mediterranean coast in western Syria Thursday, killing two soldiers, the Syrian army said, in a stronghold of President Bashar Assad that is also heavily protected by the Russians and Iranians.

The airstrike targeted a facility near the town of Masyaf, in Hama province, described by some as a missile producing factory, amid Israeli outrage over Iran's growing influence in the war-torn country.

Other reports suggested the facility was tied to Syria's chemical weapons program.

In a statement, the Syrian army said the Israeli warplanes fired several missiles from Lebanese air space, and warned of the "dangerous repercussions of such hostile acts on the security and stability of the region."

"We will do everything to prevent the existence of a Shiite corridor from Iran to Damascus," said Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who declined commenting directly on the strike in an interview with Israel's 100FM Radio Thursday. He said Israel isn't "looking for adventures, and we don't want to be dragged into this fight or another."

"We are determined to prevent our enemies from harming or even creating the possibility of harming the security of Israeli citizens."

Israel has carried out several airstrikes against suspected arms shipments it believed to be bound for Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group, which is fighting alongside President Bashar Assad's forces, over the course of Syria's civil war, now in its seventh year. Israel has also struck several Syrian military facilities since the conflict began, mostly near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Assad, not wanting to draw Israel into his country's war, has never retaliated.

The airstrike comes amid heightened tensions over Iran's growing reach in Syria. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed recently that Iran is building sites in Syria and Lebanon for the manufacture of "precision-guided missiles" with the aim of deploying them against Israel.

Thursday's air raid was seen as a message to both Russia and Iran that Israel can strike anywhere in Syria. It was also a rare instance of Israel striking a Syrian government facility rather than an arms shipment and harked back to an Israeli airstrike that destroyed a suspected, partially constructed nuclear reactor in the eastern city of Deir el-Zour exactly 10 years ago.

This week, Israel is conducting a massive drill along its border with Lebanon simulating war with the Iranian-backed Hezbollah.

It was not immediately clear if the facility struck Thursday was used for the production or storage of chemical arms. Syria denies having or using such weapons.

Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said two facilities were hit in Thursday's airstrike, a scientific research center and a nearby military base where short-range surface-to-surface missiles are stored.

"Many explosions were heard in the area after the air raid," said Abdurrahman, whose group relies on a network of activists across the country.

He said Lebanese Hezbollah fighters and Iranian military officials often visit the site, adding that those killed and wounded were Syrians.

A local opposition media activist said the facility that was struck is a factory that produces missiles under the supervision of Iranian experts. He said those killed and wounded were Syrian soldiers guarding the facility. The activist spoke on condition of anonymity out of security concerns.

Days after the April 4 chemical attack on the town of Khan Sheikhoun, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned 271 employees of Syria's Scientific Studies and Research Center. Washington said the agency is responsible for developing and producing non-conventional weapons and the means to deliver them.

The airstrike is the furthest north since Russia joined the war in September 2015 with a major air campaign to aid Assad's forces.

In October 2016, Russia deployed a battery of S-300 air defense missile systems to protect a Russian navy facility in the Syrian port of Tartus and Russian navy ships in the area. Moscow also has long-range S-400 missile defense systems and an array of other surface-to-air missiles at the Hemeimeem air base in Syria's coastal province of Latakia, about 70 kilometers (43 miles) from Thursday's strike location.

Israel and Russia maintain open communication lines and a "mechanism" to prevent their air forces from coming into conflict with one another. It was not clear whether Thursday's strike was coordinated with Moscow, and there was no immediate comment from the Russians.

Yaakov Amidror, Israel's former national security adviser and a former general, said the strike targeted a weapons development and manufacturing site that was producing arms for Hezbollah.

Former Israeli military intelligence chief Amos Yadlin wrote on Twitter that the facility produces precision missiles, chemical weapons and barrel bombs.

Thursday's strike comes a day after a U.N. probe found the Syrian government responsible for a chemical attack in April in northern Syria that killed more than 80 people.

Meanwhile on Thursday, a convoy of 40 trucks carrying 1,000 tons of humanitarian aid arrived in Deir el-Zour after troops secured a corridor to the eastern city. The land convoy is the first since Syrian government forces and allied militiamen breached a nearly three-year-old siege by the Islamic State group on government-held parts of the city on Tuesday.

The Syrian official news agency SANA said the convoy reached a garrison known as Brigade 137 on the southwestern edge of the city, carrying thousands of food baskets, fruits and vegetables, medicine, and school books and stationary.

The aid convoys arrived at the city by way of a military road that links the recently liberated military garrison to the town. They were greeted by jubilant civilians, who gathered around the trucks.

"No more hunger after today," proclaimed Mohamed Ibrahim Samra, the governor of Deir el-Zour before the cameras.

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Associated Press writer Ilan Ben Zion in Jerusalem contributed to this report.
CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (AP) - A small plane that went missing has been located in a mountainous area in West Virginia.

Bridgeport police Chief John Walker told The Exponent Telegram another plane was able to spot the missing aircraft but searchers hadn't reached the site by Thursday evening.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the site is near Jacksonburg in Wetzel County.

The FAA says two people were onboard the Cirrus SR20 when it went missing Tuesday. The agency hasn't identified the passengers.

Delaware Coastal Airport Manager Jim Hickin said the plane is registered to SGLJ Inc. of Carbondale, Illinois.

The FAA says the plane went off the radar between 11:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Tuesday at North Central Regional Airport in Clarksburg. The FAA notified law enforcement officials in northwest West Virginia on Wednesday morning.

The plane took off from Georgetown, Delaware, on Tuesday. It was destined for Fleming-Mason Airport in Flemingsburg, Kentucky.

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Information from: The Exponent Telegram, http://www.theet.com
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) - They call it the Big One - a mythic, massive hurricane that would obliterate the densely populated southeast coast. And it has long been the stuff of Florida's nightmares.

Irma, it appears, could be it. The storm has triggered near-panic in a region of more than 6 million people that includes Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, clustered along a narrow ribbon of coastline that has seen nearly double-digit population growth over the past five years.

Isabella Janse Van Vuuren just arrived - she left her home in South Africa two weeks ago to start a job as a stewardess on a yacht, which she and other crew members spent time securing. As Irma approached, she was trying to decide whether to stay or go.

FILE- This Sept. 5, 2017 file photo shows residents in a long line waiting to purchase water at BJ Wholesale in preparation for Hurricane Irma in Miami. With images of Hurricane Harvey's wrath in Texas still fresh and 25-year-old memories of Hurricane Andrew's destruction, warnings that Hurricane Irma might be the long-dreaded "big one" has brought many Floridians close to panic. Lines for gas, food and supplies stretched outside businesses as the South Florida region of more than 6 million people rushed to prepare for Irma, which forecasters say could strike over the weekend as a Category 4 or 5 storm. (Roberto Koltun/Miami Herald via AP, File)

"I'm terrified," she said. "I'm not used to this. I just want to go into a cave and hide, basically. This is not a nice feeling."

But for veterans of life in the Sunshine State, hurricanes are as Floridian as oranges and Mickey Mouse. And every hurricane season brings with it the chance of cataclysm.

In 1928, a hurricane caused Lake Okeechobee to burst its banks, unleashing a 20-foot (6-meter) wall of water that killed an estimated 2,500 people. The event was a key part of Zora Neale Hurston's classic 1937 novel, "Their Eyes Were Watching God."

"All gods who receive homage are cruel," she wrote. "All gods dispense suffering without reason. Otherwise they would not be worshipped. Through indiscriminate suffering men know fear and fear is the most divine emotion."

Another famed storm, the killer 1935 Labor Day hurricane that swept across the Florida Keys, is central to the plot of the 1948 movie "Key Largo," which starred Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall.

Irma could be the strongest hurricane to hit southern Florida since Andrew in August 1992, which caused widespread damage south of Miami. It killed 15 people and indirectly caused the deaths of 25 more in Miami-Dade County alone, according to the National Hurricane Center.

"It was very scary. We just had no idea how bad it was going to be," said Rosi Ramirez, who went through Andrew as a child in Homestead.

She's leaving Florida for South Carolina with her three children. "I don't want my kids to go through that traumatic experience. I hadn't thought about Andrew in a while. But now I am seeing some flashes of what we went through. It is all coming back."

Floridians have not been directly hit by a major hurricane since Wilma in 2005, but if they needed any reminder of what might await them, they saw the catastrophic flooding and damage caused by the storm Harvey in Houston. Jenna Wulf, a native Floridian who is six months pregnant, said seeing the damage caused by Harvey made her family more cautious; she stocked up on water Saturday and the hurricane shutters are going up on her home in suburban Plantation.

"I think it's such devastation that you'd be silly not to go through the motions," she said. "I'm nervous because I'm pregnant and because I have a baby already. I'm trying not to watch (the news) because I think it's causing more panic."

Andrew is often considered the worst storm in South Florida's history. But in terms of fatalities, it didn't come close to the "Great Miami Hurricane" of September, 1926, which killed 372 people when it came ashore directly over the city, carrying with it a 10-foot (3-meter) storm surge. Many died after apparently thinking the worst was over when the storm's relatively calm eye passed over Miami, only to be caught without shelter in the second part of the hurricane, according to a National Weather Service history.

"Residents of the city, unfamiliar with hurricanes, thought the storm was over and emerged from their places of refuge out into the city streets. People even began returning to the mainland from Miami Beach. The lull lasted only about 35 minutes," the history says.

"The intensity of the storm and the wreckage it left cannot adequately be described," it says.

The hurricane brought a halt, at least temporarily, to a growth boom which saw Miami's population more than double to more than 100,000 in just six years. Today's population of Miami-Dade County is about 2.7 million.

Craig Pittman, an environmental reporter at the Tampa Bay Times and the author of the bestselling book 'Oh, Florida,' said the mythic Big One is just that - a myth. Hurricanes are just a fact of life in a state that is hit by the big storms more often than any other state. And even if the Big One were to strike, he doubts that it would deter people from living in - or visiting - what many consider paradise.

"We're the state that's constantly trying to kill us," he said. "We're the state with sinkholes, shark bites, alligators and lightning. And we get hit by hurricanes. Yet people keep flooding here day after day."

People like Austin Spitler, a former Miami Dolphins player who moved from Ohio nine years ago. He said he never considered a potential storm as a reason to leave.

"It never crossed my mind, to be honest with you," Spitler said. "It was the lure of the sun and the sand. The beautiful weather far outweighs any of the hurricanes that come through."

But he added: "I hope I'm not eating my words."

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Associated Press writers Kelli Kennedy in Fort Lauderdale, Adriana Gomez Licon in Miami and Tamara Lush in Tampa contributed to this story.

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Follow Curt Anderson on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Miamicurt

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HURRICANE NEWSLETTER - Get the best of the AP's all-formats reporting on Irma and Harvey in your inbox: http://apne.ws/ahYQGtb

City of Miami volunteers help residents fill free sandbags Thursday, Sept. 7, 2017, in Miami, as residents prepare for Hurricane Irma. A hurricane watch is now in effect for the Florida Keys and parts of South Florida. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)

Workers shutter Mango's Tropical Cafe in Miami Beach, Fla., Thursday, Sept. 7, 2017. The National Hurricane Center issued a hurricane watch for the Florida Keys and parts of South Florida, the first of perhaps many watches and warnings along the Southeastern coast over the next several days. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

Key Westers James Sandlin, left, and Chloe Hodgdon, take advantage of a deserted "Southernmost Point of the United States" park to take a photo while waving to relatives via a nearby webcam in Key West, Fla., on Thursday, Sept. 7, 2017. The location is usually packed with dozens of tourists, but in advance of Hurricane Irma's assumed landfall this weekend, county officials have issued mandatory evacuations for both visitors and residents. Following evacuation orders, residents are warned that first responders may not be able to provide assistance during the storm. (Rob O'Neal/The Key West Citizen via AP)

In this Sept. 6, 2017 file photo, Max Garcia of Miami, waits in line to purchase plywood sheets at a Home Depot store in North Miami, Fla. With images of Hurricane Harvey's wrath in Texas still fresh and 25-year-old memories of Hurricane Andrew's destruction, warnings that Hurricane Irma might be the long-dreaded "big one" has brought many Floridians close to panic. Lines for gas, food and supplies stretched outside businesses as the South Florida region of more than 6 million people rushed to prepare for Irma, which forecasters say could strike over the weekend as a Category 4 or 5 storm. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier, File)
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - The evidence was insufficient to convict the man now serving a 60-year sentence for a 2014 gunfight that left a bystander dead on New Orleans' Bourbon Street, a defense lawyer told Louisiana appeal court judges Thursday.

Trung Le was convicted of manslaughter for the death of a nursing student visiting from Hammond, Louisiana, and attempted manslaughter in the wounding of nine other people, including tourists from neighboring states and one from Australia.

The gunfight happened early on June 29, 2014, as tourists walked the famous street of nightspots in the historic French Quarter.

In the 2016 trial, the defense said Le fired in self-defense. And in Thursday's arguments at Louisiana's 4th Circuit Court of Appeal, Judge Edwin Lombard raised the question of whether Le had a "stand-your-ground" defense.

"Trung Le simply doesn't have that argument," New Orleans Assistant District Attorney Laura Rodrigue said. She said video of the shooting caught by surveillance cameras clearly shows Le shooting first, about eight seconds before the other man - who has never been identified - fired back.

Defense lawyer Sherry Waters later noted testimony from the prosecution's own witnesses - two friends of Le's who were with him that night - that they felt threatened and feared they would be shot.

Prosecutors noted that Le's friends had given conflicting stories to the police and said there was no evidence they feared for their lives or safety when the gunfire broke out.

Prosecutors said evidence indicated Le's friends had been robbed of some marijuana more than an hour before the shooting in a drug deal gone bad. Rodrigue argued that they summoned Le, who showed up on Bourbon Street armed and started firing after the group spotted the man and confronted him.

The three-judge 4th Circuit panel gave no indication when it would rule.
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - Alaska's capital city is trying a new approach to deal with its shoplifting problem: counseling.

The city plans to enter into agreements with willing participants to defer prosecution or sentencing pending completion of specific steps. The steps include setting and achieving self-identified goals and a shoplifting treatment program. Participants also will have to pay restitution.

The move follows legislative changes that restricted the use of jail time as a punishment and questions about the effectiveness of jail time as a deterrent.

In this Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2017 photo, Amy Mead, municipal attorney for the City and Borough of Juneau, poses in her office in Juneau, Alaska. The city is planning a one-year pilot program aimed at addressing repeat shoplifters. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer)

The program is a partnership between the city law department and behavioral health and support organizations that will focus on repeat offenders.

Susanne DiPietro, executive director of the Alaska Judicial Council, said she was not aware of other programs like this one that use counseling to target repeat shoplifters. The program is based on practices shown to be effective for other groups of people, she said.

Amy Mead, the municipal attorney for the City and Borough of Juneau, said she is not sure if or how well the federally funded, one-year pilot program might work. "We have to try something," she said.

An annual state crime report shows 1,212 larceny-thefts - a category that includes shoplifting and bike thefts - were reported in Juneau in 2016. That compares with 995 in 2015 and 740 in 2014. Before 2014, the number of larceny-thefts in the city had been gradually declining, from 1,279 in 2010, crime statistics show.

Statewide, the number of larceny-thefts increased from 15,156 in 2015 to 17,683 last year.

Some have blamed the state Legislature's passage last year of a criminal justice overhaul. The new law among other things limits the use of jail time for low-level misdemeanors, such as thefts involving a value of less than $250.

Lawmakers this year considered changes following public outcry about crime, but they took no final action.

The impact of the 2016 law is unclear, DiPietro said. The state, which has been in a recession, is also facing what officials have called an opioid epidemic and has seen budget cuts that have affected prosecutors and law enforcement, she said.

"It's really hard to know how all of that's interacting with each other and/or how it may be affecting the crime rate," DiPietro said.

The data she has seen on prosecuting and jailing low-level offenders indicate it's not effective in deterring them, she said.

Juneau and the state have shared the load in prosecuting misdemeanors, and Juneau has taken on more as state budget cuts forced the district attorney to focus on more serious crimes, Mead said. Under the 2016 law, the municipal penalty had to match the state penalty, she said.

The pilot program hopes to begin accepting participants next month. The focus will be on an estimated 40 to 50 people seen as habitual offenders, Mead said.

Talia Eames is program coordinator for the Second Chance Reentry Program, which is run by the Central Council Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska and a partner in the pilot program.

There's a misconception that the new program is about giving "free hugs to criminals," Eames said. "It's being compassionate, but still holding people accountable," she said.

For local residents who might be wary of this approach, "I would just say that we have to do something different," she said. "This is not going to make the problem worse."
LONDON (AP) - Growing up in a small Italian farming town, Andrea Guerini Rocco dreamed of pursuing a career in economics in a big, bustling city.

Three years ago, he thought that city would be London. He did his undergraduate studies at the London School of Economics, earning good grades and working at analyst internships he was passionate about. He was able to afford the lower tuition for European Union students - half what other international students pay - and he didn't need a visa to work and live in Britain.

Yet Britain's vote to leave the European Union changed all that. When the country leaves the bloc in 2019, there's no promise that the financial and immigration perks for incoming European students and workers will remain.

In this undated photo provided by Vittoria Durazzano, 22-year old Andrea Guerini Rocco poses for a photo in London, making plans to start a master's in economics at New York's Columbia University this year. Rocco turned down an offer from the London School of Economics, (LSE) because of the imminent British Brexit split with Europe, and he's not alone as many foreign students are making new plans. (Vittoria Durazzano via AP)

So after the Brexit vote, when Rocco was preparing to enroll in a master's degree, he decided to move to Columbia University in New York instead. Tuition is pricy in the United States and he'll need more paperwork - but at least there's clarity. He knows what he's signing up for and can plan ahead.

"If Brexit was not happening I would have stayed in London," the 22-year-old said. "The university is great. I love LSE."

He isn't alone in having to reassess his plans. More than 60,000 EU students attend British universities, bringing in brain power and diversity for employers and more than 400 million pounds ($518 million) of tuition money with them each year. That's on top of the 500 million pounds these British universities receive in EU funding annually.

This year, EU applications to U.K. schools dropped for the first time in at least five years, by 5 percent. More than 2,500 young, bright Europeans took their talents elsewhere, rather than face the uncertainties of Brexit. The British government has promised that EU students who started before Brexit will pay reduced tuition prices and that they'll stay visa-free until 2019 - and that's about all they've promised.

If the British government doesn't provide clarity for EU citizens on visas and education funding, U.K. universities could lose over 1 billion pounds a year and some of their top students. That's fewer bright minds staying and contributing to the British economy after graduation, innovating and producing - and paying taxes - in Britain.

Until the government tells young EU nationals what they can expect post-Brexit, Britain's education, financial and other crucial sectors may find themselves struggling to attract and retain the talent needed to stay competitive.

The Russell Group, which represents 24 U.K. universities, including LSE, Cambridge and Oxford, has repeatedly asked the British government to provide clarity for EU students, including assurances that they will be able to stay and work in Britain after graduation.

Some of the damage to Britain's image as a welcoming environment seems to have already been done. Adrian Thomas, the director of communications at LSE, says some of the applicants he's spoken to were spooked by the focus on immigration in the Brexit debate.

Felix Heilmann, who is starting his second year at Oxford, was at home in Germany last year as he watched the Brexit referendum votes rolling in. He was prepping for his first year and had been excited to start studying at one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in the world.

But that excitement turned to anxiety about how the referendum would affect his tuition, immigration status and social experience.

"There was a very big feeling of 'Am I still welcome?'" Heilmann said.

While he hasn't noticed any blatant discrimination at Oxford, he says EU students on campus are weighed down by the insecurity of their future options. He's not sure if he'll stay in the U.K. for graduate school, something he once took as certain.

If EU students no longer get discounted tuition rates after Brexit, Heilmann and others like him will likely further their education at schools outside the U.K.

Stefano Caselli, Dean for International Affairs at Bocconi, one of Italy's top business schools, says their applicant numbers have been on the rise since last year. He says Italian students who once flocked to the U.K. for a good education are now looking to earn a high quality degree at home.

That trend could rise faster if the prices of a school like LSE nearly doubles from 9,250 pounds ($12,062) to 18,408 pounds ($24,005) for EU students. That jump is a huge difference for Europeans, who grew up in a culture where higher education is relatively inexpensive and families don't save up to pay for it.

"Today, many schools in Europe are offering programs in English. The faculty is diversified, with an incredible placement rate," Caselli said. "And when you have all these parameters, you start saying 'Why would I move to the U.K.?'"

If Europe's best and brightest choose continental schools like Bocconi, it's not just British universities that suffer but also companies in Britain that will find it more difficult to recruit new talent.

The finance industry, London's economic backbone, is particularly vulnerable. Reza Moghadam, vice chairman for capital markets at investment bank Morgan Stanley, notes that around 80 percent of the finance industry's recruits came from U.K. universities, but only 20 percent are British-born.

"We do need global talent," he told a conference this summer. "The global diversity is important in terms of delivering global services."

Financial recruiters will have two options if European students head elsewhere for university - accept lower talent from a smaller pool of applicants or build pipelines that extend beyond British schools.

But their tendency to rely on British-educated recruits is partially what makes finance-focused schools like LSE and London Business School so popular. If top talent goes elsewhere, and recruiters follow them, it erodes the schools' brand name power.

Thomas says LSE's reputation is strong enough to combat the Brexit uncertainty that is working against it. Unlike many other U.K. schools, he says, LSE's applicant numbers didn't decrease post-referendum "because LSE on your CV is a read-through to a great job at the end of the day."

David Kurten, the education spokesman for the U.K. Independence Party, which campaigned in favor of Brexit, also believes the appeal of schools like LSE and Oxford will endure. He noted that applications from international students outside of Europe, particularly East Asia, are on the rise, despite the fact those students pay higher tuition fees than EU students.

"For every one EU student that doesn't want to come, there's two or three from China and the Far East who do," Kurten said.

Such optimism is cold comfort for Rocco, who can't risk his financial future and his resident status on a brand.

"If you need to pay the international student fees, you're basically forced to go elsewhere," Rocco said. "Most (Italian) students at LSE are middle class, so that tuition change is quite relevant. If this changes in the future, we expect Italian students at LSE to basically disappear."

In this Sunday, Sept. 3, 2017 photo, people walk around Oxford University's campus in Oxford, England. The number of EU applicants to British universities fell this year for the first time since 2012, as EU nationals remain uncertain of what their rights will be in post-Brexit Britain. (AP Photo/Caroline Spiezio)
COX'S BAZAR, Bangladesh (AP) - The U.N. said Friday that an "alarming number" of 270,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled violence in Myanmar by crossing into Bangladesh in the last two weeks.

The new figure confirmed Friday by U.N. Refugee Agency spokeswoman Vivian Tan is much higher than the 164,000 the agency had previously estimated had arrived since Aug. 25.

"This is an alarming number," Tan said. "The existing camps are full to the capacity. There is a lot of pressure on relief agencies to accommodate the rising numbers."

FILE - In this Sunday, Sept. 3, 2017, file photo, Myanmar's Rohingya ethnic minority refugees scuffle for food rations distributed by Bangladeshi volunteers near Cox's Bazar's Gundum area, Bangladesh. The U.N. refugee agency is reporting a surge in the number of Rohingya Muslims who have crossed into Bangladesh from Myanmar, with an estimated 270,000 arriving in the last two weeks. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue, File)

She said the new number was still a "rough estimate," and based on an assessment that involved a host of aid agencies operating in the area. Some aid groups also had identified "new pockets of people that we did not know about before, mainly in villages" where Bangladeshi communities had taken them in, but also some new settlements and clusters in difficult-to-access areas.

Makeshift camps were quickly appearing and expanding along roadsides, Tan said.

She said it was possible some people who received help from multiple agencies could have been counted twice.

The exodus from Myanmar's northern Rakhine state began Aug. 25 after Rohingya insurgents attacked police posts. The military responded with what it called "clearance operations" to root out any fighters it said might be hiding in villages of Rakhine state.

The Myanmar government says nearly 400 people have been killed in fighting it blames on insurgents, though Rohingya say they Myanmar troops and Buddhist mobs attacked them and destroyed their villages.

It's not known how many Rohingya remain in Rakhine state. Previously the population had been thought to be roughly 1 million.

Journalists in northern Rakhine state saw active fires in areas Rohingya had abandoned, adding to doubts over government claims that Rohingya themselves were responsible for setting them.

Associated Press reporters who have been in Rohingya camps all week saw a surge in the number of people entering Bangladesh on Thursday and Friday.

An increasing number of Rohingya were also arriving by boat, with 300 boats reaching the Bangladesh town of Cox's Bazar from Myanmar on Wednesday alone, according to the International Organization for Migration.

"Sea routes are particularly dangerous this time of year, when boats are known to frequently capsize in rough seas," the IOM said in a statement.

Dozens of Rohingya have died in capsizings since the exodus began, and there are other dangers as well. On Monday, the AP saw an elderly woman whose leg had been blown off when she set off a land mine.

Land mines were planted years ago along parts of the border. Bangladeshi officials say Myanmar soldiers have planted new explosives since the latest wave of violence began, though the Myanmar military denies it.

"It may not be land mines, but I know there have been isolated cases of Myanmar soldiers planting explosives three to four days ago," Lt. Col. S.M. Ariful Islam, commanding officer of the Bangladesh border guard in Teknaf, said Friday. He added that he was aware of at least three Rohingya injured in explosions.

There are now massive crowds of Rohingya in the streets of towns including Cox's Bazar and Teknaf, with relatively few soldiers or police and even fewer signs of aid agencies.

At a small makeshift mosque made of bamboo sticks and plastic sheets, a small group of new arrivals offered prayers Friday, the holiest day of the week in Islam.

Later, members of a local organization were seen distributing aid, throwing packets of puffed rice and old clothes into huge crowds of Rohingya. There are no clearly organized points of distribution.

Tan, of the refugee agency, said it was distributing aid through a local organization that preferred to keep a low profile.

U.N. agencies have released $8 million in emergency aid in the area, but were pleading for millions more.

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AP writers Ashok Sharma in New Delhi and Katy Daigle in Bangkok contributed to this report.

FILE - In this Sunday, Sept. 3, 2017, file photo, Myanmar's Rohingya ethnic minority refugees walk after crossing the Bangladeshi border near Cox Bazar's Kanjopara area Bangladesh. The U.N. refugee agency is reporting a surge in the number of Rohingya Muslims who have crossed into Bangladesh from Myanmar, with an estimated 270,000 arriving in the last two weeks. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue, File)
JERUSALEM (AP) - Israel's attorney general took a step Friday toward indicting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's wife for corruption in a scandal that deepened the mounting legal problems of Israel's first family.

Attorney General Avichai Mandleblit announced he is considering charging Sara Netanyahu with graft, fraud and breach of trust for alleged overspending of over $100,000 in public funds on private meals at the prime minister's official residence.

Friday's announcement is the procedural first step ahead of leveling formal charges against Sara Netanyahu.

FILE - In this Sunday, May 21, 2017 file photo, Sara Netanyahu the wife of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a ceremony celebrating the 50th anniversary of the liberation and unification of Jerusalem, in Jerusalem. Israel's attorney general took a step closer to indicting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's wife for alleged misuse of public funds. (Abir Sultan, Pool Photo via AP, File)

The Justice Ministry said in a statement that she will have the opportunity to plead her case at a hearing before any charges are filed.

Investigations that Netanyahu improperly hired a political supporter as an electrician, used government money to buy furniture for their private beach house, and used state funds to pay for her late father's medical care were dropped for lack of evidence, the attorney general's office said.

A similar notice was issued to Ezra Saidoff, a former official at Netanyahu's official residence, for suspected involvement in the case.

The Netanyahus dismissed accusations of wrongdoing against Sara Netanyahu as "absurd" in a Facebook post on the prime minister's official page on Thursday. The prime minister doubled down on the denial in another post Friday, saying the accusations "will evaporate in the hearing" like other suspicions against the prime minister's wife.

An indictment of Sara Netanyahu would not pose a direct threat to Netanyahu. But it is an embarrassing blow to the prime minister, who is facing a series of criminal investigations into his personal and financial dealings.

Emanuel Gross, a legal expert at Haifa University, said Mandelblit's announcement is a standard legal procedure that is "very preliminary," and won't absolutely result in an indictment.

"We cannot be sure what will happen after the hearing," he said. "We have to wait and see."

The potential indictment threatens to reinforce the unflattering reputation the Netanyahus have gained for enjoying an expensive lifestyle out of touch with common Israelis. The Netanyahus have repeatedly charged that they are victims of a political witch hunt and hostile media.
Irma's victims in the Caribbean brace for another hurricane

ST. JOHN'S, Antigua (AP) - Tens of thousands of Irma victims across the Caribbean fought desperately to find shelter or escape their storm-blasted islands altogether Friday as another hurricane following close behind threatened to add to their misery.

With Irma and its 155 mph (250 kph) winds taking aim at the Miami metropolitan area of 6 million people, the death toll in the storm's wake across the Caribbean climbed to 22.

Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and the eastern part of Cuba reported no major casualties or damage by mid-afternoon Friday after Irma rolled north of the Caribbean's biggest islands.

But many others farther east were left reeling after the storm ravaged some of the world's most exclusive tropical playgrounds, known for their turquoise waters and lush green vegetation. Among them: St. Martin, St. Barts, St. Thomas, Barbuda and Anguilla.

Irma smashed homes, shops, roads and schools; knocked out power, water and telephone service; trapped thousands of tourists; and stripped trees of their leaves, leaving an eerie, blasted-looking landscape.

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Miami shelters homeless against their will as Irma closes in

MIAMI (AP) - On what is likely the last clear day in Florida before Hurricane Irma's monster wind and rain, social workers and police officers are giving Miami's estimated 1,100 homeless people a stark choice: Come willingly to a storm shelter, or be held against their will for a mental health evaluation.

With the outer edge of the storm approaching Friday, these officials - backed by a psychiatrist and observed by an Associated Press team - rolled through chillingly empty downtown streets as dawn broke over Biscayne Bay, searching for reluctant stragglers sleeping in waterfront parks.

"We're going out and every single homeless person who is unwilling to come off the street, we are likely going to involuntarily Baker Act them," said Ron Book, chairman of the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust.

Invoking the "Baker Act" - a law that enables authorities to institutionalize patients who present a danger to themselves or others - is not something law enforcement does lightly, but officers detained at least six people by Friday afternoon. Under the law, they can be held up to 72 hours before the state would have to go to court to prolong their detention.

By then, Irma's howling winds and terrifying storm surge should be somewhere north of the city.

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Death toll rises to 60 in powerful Mexico earthquake

MEXICO CITY (AP) - One of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded in Mexico struck off the country's southern coast, toppling hundreds of buildings and sending panicked people fleeing into the streets in the middle of the night. At least 60 people were reported dead.

The quake that hit minutes before midnight Thursday was strong enough to cause buildings to sway violently in the capital city more than 650 miles (1,000 kilometers) away. As beds banged against walls, people still wearing pajamas ran out of their homes and gathered in frightened groups.

Rodrigo Soberanes, who lives near San Cristobal de las Casas in Chiapas, the state nearest the epicenter, said his house "moved like chewing gum."

The furious shaking created a second national emergency for Mexican agencies already bracing for Hurricane Katia on the other side of the country. The system was expected to strike the Gulf coast in the state of Veracruz late Friday or early Saturday as a Category 2 storm that could bring life-threatening floods.

The head of Mexico's civil defense agency confirmed the deaths of 45 people in the southern state of Oaxaca. Another 12 people died in Chiapas and three more in the Gulf coast state of Tabasco.

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Congress sends aid bill, debt hike to Trump

WASHINGTON (AP) - Congress on Friday sent President Donald Trump a massive package of $15.3 billion in disaster aid linked to an increase in the nation's borrowing authority that angered conservative Republicans who hissed and booed senior administration officials dispatched to Capitol Hill to defend it.

Hours later, Trump signed the measure into law.

The House voted 316-90 for the measure that would refill depleted emergency accounts as Florida braces for the impact of Hurricane Irma and Texas picks up the pieces after the devastation of the Harvey storm. All 90 votes in opposition were cast by Republicans, many of whom seethed after Trump cut the disaster-and-debt deal with Democratic leaders with no offsetting budget cuts.

"You can't just keep borrowing money. We're going to be $22 trillion in debt," said Rep. Jeff Duncan, R-S.C.

The aid measure is just the first installment in government spending that could rival or exceed the $110 billion federal response after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, though future aid packages may be more difficult to pass. The legislation also funds the government through Dec. 8.

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Clinton book relives Democrats' agonizing defeat

NEW YORK (AP) - In a candid and pointed new book, Hillary Clinton relives her stunning defeat to Donald Trump, admitting to personal mistakes and defending campaign strategy even as her return to the stage refocuses attention on a race Democrats still can't believe they lost.

Clinton is unsparing in her criticism of Trump and also lays out some of the factors she believes contributed to her loss: interference from Russian hackers, accusations leveled at her by former FBI Director James Comey, a divisive primary battle with Bernie Sanders, even her gender. She also addresses common criticisms of her campaign, including the idea that she didn't have a compelling narrative for seeking the presidency and that she ignored Midwestern turf where Trump picked up enough white working-class voters to win several battleground states.

"Some critics have said that everything hinged on me not campaigning enough in the Midwest," Clinton writes in the book "What Happened." ''And I suppose it is possible that a few more trips to Saginaw or a few more ads on the air in Waukesha could have tipped a couple of thousand voters here or there."

"But let's set the record straight: we always knew that the industrial Midwest was crucial to our success, just as it had been for Democrats for decades, and contrary to the popular narrative, we didn't ignore those states," she wrote.

Clinton already is taking some criticism - complete with mockery from late-night television hosts - for planning book-tour stops in the Great Lakes and Midwestern states that ultimately cost her the election. But she writes that her campaign had more staff and spent more on advertising in both Michigan and Pennsylvania, two states she lost, than President Barack Obama did when he won them in 2012.

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Deal with Trump, GOP retirements have Dems riding higher

WASHINGTON (AP) - Relegated for months to playing defense, congressional Democrats are rising again. They've been revitalized by the deal their leaders cut with President Donald Trump this week and by a trickle of GOP retirements that have boosted their hopes of capturing House control next year.

It's unlikely the startling agreement between Trump and top Democrats on increasing the federal debt limit, which surprised and undermined Republicans, augurs an era of broad bipartisan cooperation. Trump has shown no clear governing philosophy, can abruptly shift views and still favors policies Democrats abhor like erasing the Obama health care law. Many Democrats find it hard to even contemplate working with him.

For now, however, Trump's agreement with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to extend the government's borrowing authority and keep agencies open for three months gives the Democrats plenty of clout. When Congress revisits those must-pass issues in December, Trump and GOP leaders will need Democratic votes, opening the door to possible Republican concessions on protecting young immigrants from deportation, bolstering President Barack Obama's health care statute and other issues.

The House sent Trump the legislation Friday - which he quickly signed - with the three-month extension plus $15 billion in aid for victims of Hurricane Harvey. In the 316-90 result, all 90 "no" votes came from the chamber's 240 Republicans, underscoring the likelihood Trump will need Democrats in December.

"It gives us a possibility for passing the Dream Act on that bill," Pelosi told reporters Friday. That's a Democratic measure that would chisel legal safeguards into law for about 800,000 immigrants brought to the U.S. as children and now here illegally.

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Winds, fire, floods and quakes: A nutty run of nature

WASHINGTON (AP) - With four big hurricanes, a powerful earthquake and wildfires, it seems that nature recently has just gone nuts.

Some of these disasters, like Friday's earthquake in Mexico, are natural. Others may end up having a mix of natural and man-made ingredients after scientists examine them. We also always tend to look for patterns and order in chaos, even when they aren't there, psychologists say.

"Nature's gone crazy," mused Jeff Masters, meteorology director at the private service Weather Underground. "Welcome to the future. Extreme weather like this is going to be occurring simultaneously more often because of global warming."

A look at a rough few weeks in North America:

HURRICANE QUARTET

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Smaller US cities struggle with high teen gun violence rates

WILMINGTON, Delaware (AP) - When the shots rang out - "pop, pop, pop," and then a thunder roll of gunfire - Maria Williams hit the floor.

The bullets sprayed through her front door and window, leaving perfectly cylindrical holes in the glass. They blasted across the nursery, where her 2-year-old daughter's toys were strewn on the carpet. They burrowed into the kitchen cabinetry - and hit her teenage son and daughter.

Amid their screams, "All I could think of was, 'I'm not losing another child,'" Williams recalled, tears streaming down her cheek.

Her 18-year-old stepson - William Rollins VI, known as Lil Bill - had been gunned down two years before, another victim of Wilmington's plague of teens shooting teens. His shooter was 17.

Wilmington isn't Chicago or Los Angeles, Baltimore or Detroit. It is a city of less than 72,000 people known primarily as the birthplace of chemical giant DuPont and as a cozy home for big banks and Fortune 500 firms. But an Associated Press and USA TODAY Network analysis of Gun Violence Archive data - gathered from media reports and police press releases, and covering a 3 year period through June of this year - reveals that Wilmington far and away leads the country in its rate of shootings among young people ages 12 to 17.

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Equifax breach: Criticism from lawmakers, what people can do

NEW YORK (AP) - There's no way around it: The news from credit reporting company Equifax that 143 million Americans had their information exposed is extremely serious.

Crucial pieces of personal data that criminals could use to commit identity theft - Social Security numbers, birthdates, address histories, legal names - were all obtained. That's information that cannot change. And once that data is out there, it's basically out there forever.

"The crown jewels of personal information were exposed and potentially stolen," said John Ulzheimer, an independent credit consultant who previously worked at Equifax.

Equifax's key role in the financial industry makes this breach more alarming than previous ones at Yahoo or retailers. It's a storehouse of personal information, like how much people owe on their houses and whether they have court judgments against them.

Lenders rely on the information collected by three big credit bureaus - Equifax, TransUnion and Experian - to help them decide whether to approve financing for homes, cars and credit cards. Credit checks are sometimes done by employers when deciding whom to hire for a job.

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Pope preaches forgiveness in former Colombia war zone

VILLAVICENCIO, Colombia (AP) - Pope Francis traveled Friday to an area once besieged by leftist rebels to pray with victims of Colombia's long conflict, urging them to overcome their grief by forgiving their former assailants.

At an open-air Mass in the central city of Villavincencio, Francis praised those who had resisted "the understandable temptation for vengeance" and instead sought out peace. He said their choice in no way legitimized the injustices they suffered, but rather showed a willingness to build a peaceful future together.

"Every effort at peace without sincere commitment to reconciliation is destined to fail," he warned.

The highlight of his daylong visit was to be what the Vatican has termed a "great prayer meeting for national reconciliation," bringing victims and victimizers together before a poignant symbol of the conflict: a mutilated statue of Christ rescued from a church destroyed in a rebel mortar attack.

It was bound to be a deeply emotional gathering for Francis, who has made reconciliation the central theme of his five-day trip Colombia after promising to visit the country upon the signing of last year's peace deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.
PRAGUE (AP) - The Czech Parliament's lower house has rejected a government proposal to annul a 2000 law that bans Czech companies from supplying equipment for Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant.

The proposal rejected Friday took into account a 2015 deal that saw international sanctions on Iran lifted in exchange for the country curbing its nuclear activities.

Iran has one operational nuclear plant in the southern port city of Bushehr. It is planning to build more reactors there.

Last year, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and the country's nuclear chief, Ali Akbar Salehi visited Prague to discuss nuclear cooperation. Iran is seeking help from European nations to improve its civilian program.

Iran has denied ever seeking atomic weapons.
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) - The lives of some top officials with Kenya's electoral commission are under "serious threat" from the government ahead of the new presidential election next month, opposition leader Raila Odinga claimed Friday.

Odinga, who successfully challenged President Uhuru Kenyatta's re-election in court, told reporters that some commission officials have received "very threatening emails" and their security has been withdrawn.

"We are actually in a very dangerous situation in this country," Odinga said. He also urged Kenyatta to resign.

FILE - In this Sunday, Aug. 13, 2017 file photo, Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga gestures to thousands of supporters gathered in the Mathare area of Nairobi, Kenya. The re-run of Kenya's presidential election after the Supreme Court invalidated the Aug. 8 vote for irregularities has exposed high-profile observer missions to allegations that they endorsed a faulty process. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File)

Kenya's government did not comment on Odinga's claims.

The electoral commission is under pressure by the opposition to reform after the Supreme Court nullified Kenyatta's re-election and cited irregularities in last month's vote. Odinga had gone to court claiming vote-rigging.

The new election is set for Oct. 17. Commission Chairman Wafula Chebukati has appointed a special team to oversee the new vote, excluding six top officials the opposition has accused of electoral fraud

Kenyatta has said the electoral commission should not be changed and has warned the judiciary not to interfere.

The president on Friday demanded that the electoral commission do its job and stop "monkeying around."

Speaking during a campaign rally, Kenyatta said his government won't let Kenya's economy be ruined by uncertainty. The stock market of East Africa's commercial hub has lost millions of dollars since the Supreme Court's ruling a week ago, he said.

"Independent institutions, you must recognize that as much as we respect you we cannot stand by and watch you dilly-dally and continue to destroy our economy and job opportunities for young people," he said.
The court's verdict comes at a crucial juncture in the row between Governor Arif Mohammed Khan and the state government over a slew of issues.
TACOMA, Wash. (AP) - A federal grand jury has indicted a Washington state couple accused of sexually abusing children after an airline passenger reported seeing text messages about the abuse on a man's phone during a flight.

The U.S. Attorney's Office says 56-year-old Michael Kellar and 50-year-old Gail Lynn Burnworth were indicted Wednesday and will be arraigned later this month.

They were charged with conspiracy to produce child pornography, the News Tribune (http://bit.ly/2f9gSmc ) reported.

Kellar was also charged with attempting to entice a minor and Burnworth was also charged with child rape, molestation and sexual exploitation of a minor.

Lawyers for the two declined comment.

They were arrested after a passenger reported seeing text messages on Kellar's phone discussing giving children drugs so they would be unconscious while being abused.

A federal pornography charge conviction would mean a minimum of 15 years in prison, and could result in a sentence up to twice that. The enticement charge could result in a 10-year minimum sentence and up to life behind bars.

Police in San Jose, California, arrested Kellar in the city's airport July 31 after a flight from Seattle.

The plane passenger told authorities that Kellar was sitting in front of her and texting about the abuse with a large font on a large smartphone. The font and screen were so big that the passenger was able to take photos of Kellar's text conversation, police said.

The passenger alerted the flight crew.

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Information from: The News Tribune, http://www.thenewstribune.com
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, are heading to Camp David for a Cabinet meeting and updates on Hurricane Irma, according to his spokeswoman.

"This will be a working weekend," White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters on Friday. Saturday's Cabinet meeting will include updates as Irma bears down on Florida, she added.

The first lady tweeted that she looks forward to hosting Cabinet members and their spouses.

"Much work to be done as we monitor #Hurricane Irma," she wrote.

Trump first visited the government-owned retreat in Maryland's Catoctin Mountains and called it, "rustic." He recently tracked Hurricane Harvey's rampage through Texas, Louisiana and other places from there.

Presidents have been going to the refuge about 70 miles from the White House for seven decades. Camp David covers more than 125 acres, with a cabin for the president and about a dozen cabins for guests.
NEW YORK (AP) - A meeting about the fallout to Donald Trump's presidential campaign over the "Access Hollywood" tape was a litmus test that cost New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie a potential Cabinet post.

That's what former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon says in a "60 Minutes" interview that will air Sunday on CBS.

Bannon, Christie and then-Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus met with Trump on the weekend after the Washington Post obtained the video that showed Trump talking with Billy Bush about groping women.

FILE - In this April 29, 2017, file photo, Steve Bannon, chief White House strategist to President Donald Trump, tours The AMES Companies, Inc., with the president in Harrisburg, Pa. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

Bannon says the weekend showed who really had Trump's back.

Christie's spokesman said Friday that the Republican governor had been offered multiple Cabinet positions and turned them down and that any assertion to the contrary was incorrect.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - Christmas trees are popping up in a small Kansas town as residents prepare to celebrate the holiday early for a 3-year-old boy with terminal cancer.

The Wichita Eagle reports that the town of Lebo will celebrate Christmas on Sunday as a tribute to Christian Risner.

Christian has been diagnosed with Rhabdoid kidney cancer, which has created tumors in his kidneys and lungs. He was placed in hospice last month. Doctors say he has less than three months to live.

The Lebo Baptist Church is hosting a potluck where Santa will visit with toys. A horse-drawn sleigh will take Christian around town to look at the array of trees and holiday lights residents and businesses put up in solidarity.

Christian's mother, Sarah Risner, says she's grateful to be his mother.

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Information from: The Wichita (Kan.) Eagle, http://www.kansas.com
NEW YORK (AP) - Fox News Channel said Friday it has parted ways with host Eric Bolling, who had been suspended last month following allegations that he sent lewd photos to female co-workers.

Fox is also cancelling the program Bolling hosted, "The Specialists." Meanwhile, Fox Business Network is reinstating Charles Payne, a host who had been suspended while the network had investigated charges of sexual misconduct.

Bolling had been working at Fox for 10 years and had been considered a rising star, one of its more vociferous supporters of President Donald Trump. He had the lead role on "The Specialists," which aired at 5 p.m. ET.

FILE - In this July 22, 2015, file photo, co-host Eric Bolling appears on "The Five" television program, on the Fox News Channel, in New York. Bolling has left the network, which is canceling his news program, "The Specialists." The network suspended Bolling in August as it investigated a report of allegations that he sent lewd photos to co-workers. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

Fox said in a statement that the network and Bolling had agreed to part ways amicably. The network has been dogged by sexual misconduct allegations since its late founder, Roger Ailes, left the network following harassment charges in July 2016. Prime time star Bill O'Reilly also lost his job this spring after reports that the network had paid millions of dollars to settle harassment claims against him.

Bolling's lawyer, Michael Bowe, said he did not have a comment beyond Fox's statement. Bolling had filed notice of an intent to file a defamation lawsuit against Yashar Ali, the Huffington Post reporter who had written about the lewd pictures, and Bowe said Friday's action did not affect that case.

Fox confirmed a Los Angeles Times report that Payne was to return to his Fox Business Network show, "Making Money," on Friday. The network said it had completed its review of the accusations against him.

A female political commentator had charged that Payne had granted her airtime in return for a sexual relationship. Payne denied harassment charges but said that he had been romantically involved with the woman.

Fox News said that two other personalities who worked on "The Specialists," Eboni Williams and Kat Timpf, would remain as contributors. News programming will fill the 5 p.m. hour, with rotating hosts, a spokeswoman said.

One long-term option for the time slot could be its old inhabitant. The panelist program "The Five" has shown ratings weakness since being moved into prime time following O'Reilly's departure, and Fox is reportedly in talks with Laura Ingraham to host a regular show.

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AP Business Writer Tali Arbel in New York contributed to this report.
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - A federal appeals court on Thursday ruled that an Alabama police department discriminated against an officer by demoting her after her maternity leave and then refusing to make accommodations that allowed her to breast-feed.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a jury's verdict that the city of Tuscaloosa discriminated against Stephanie Hicks, who is no longer an officer with the Tuscaloosa department. The judges said there was evidence that Hicks was retaliated against for taking an allowed 12-week maternity leave. The court said the department also violated the Pregnancy Discrimination Act by denying accommodations for Hicks to breast-feed, when it had made adjustments for male employees with temporary physical restrictions.

"We find that a plain reading of the PDA covers discrimination against breastfeeding mothers. This holding is consistent with the purpose of PDA and will help guarantee women the right to be free from discrimination in the workplace based on gender-specific physiological occurrences," the three-judge panel wrote in its ruling.

Hicks said she was demoted from the narcotics unit to the patrol division eight days after returning from maternity leave. She requested a temporary desk job because the tight bulletproof vest worn by patrol officers interfered with milk production. She said the department told her she could go without a vest or wear a specially fitted one that she said had gaping holes and would inadequately protect her. Hicks quit and filed a lawsuit against the city.

In upholding the discrimination claim, the judges noted derogatory comments reportedly made about Hicks and that she was reassigned so quickly after returning to work.

The American Civil Liberties Union, which filed an amicus brief in the case, praised the decision.

"The Pregnancy Discrimination Act was enacted so that women would no longer be put in the position of having to choose between having a family and continuing to work, yet that is exactly what happened to Agent Hicks when she was reassigned to patrol," said Galen Sherwin, senior staff attorney with the ACLU Women's Rights Project.

Lawyers for the city of Tuscaloosa could not immediately be reached for comment.

The city had appealed the jury verdict, saying that Hicks had been reassigned for poor job performance. The city also argued that the department had offered to accommodate Hicks by assigning her to a safe beat with access to lactation rooms and a tailored vest.
UNITED NATIONS (AP) - The United States called for a vote Monday on a U.N. resolution that would impose the toughest-ever sanctions on North Korea, a move that could lead to a showdown with the country's biggest trading partner China and its neighbor Russia.

The Trump administration adopted a totally new approach with this resolution, circulating an American draft Tuesday and setting a vote six days later. With previous sanctions resolutions, the U.S. spent weeks and sometimes months negotiating the text with China and then presenting a resolution to the rest of the Security Council for a vote.

Several diplomats said the U.S. demand for a speedy council vote was aimed at putting maximum pressure on China and reflected Washington's escalating concern over North Korea's latest nuclear test, which its leaders touted as a hydrogen bomb, and its recent ballistic missile launch over Japan.

Britain's U.N. Ambassador Matthew Rycroft, who backs "robust" new sanctions, said Thursday that the U.S. proposals to ban all oil imports and textile exports and prohibit North Koreans from working overseas - which helps fund and fuel the country's nuclear and missile programs - are "a proportionate response" to its "illegal and reckless behavior."

Rycroft stressed that "maximum possible pressure" must be exerted on North Korea to change course and give diplomacy a chance to end the crisis.

The proposed U.S. sanctions would also freeze all foreign financial assets of the government and its leader, Kim Jong Un. The U.S. draft also identified nine ships that have carried out activities prohibited by previous U.N. resolutions and would authorize any U.N. member state to stop these vessels on the high seas without their consent and use "all necessary measures" - which in U.N. language includes force - to carry out an inspection and direct the vessel to a port.

Professor Joseph DeThomas of Pennsylvania State University, a former U.S. ambassador and State Department official who dealt with North Korea, said the U.S. demand for quick council action is "an indicator of how the administration thinks time has run out."

"My sense is they believe that they don't have time for a delicate diplomatic dance," he told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Friday. "The other possibility ... is they want to see the color of China's money. They're putting down the marker here and saying 'OK, Are you prepared to do what is necessary to put pressure on North Korea at a moment when we're simply out of time?'"

The diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity because discussions on the resolution have been private, said all 15 Security Council members discussed the draft on Friday, and both China and Russia appeared willing to negotiate.

Russia has said sanctions aren't working and President Vladimir Putin expressed concern that a total oil cutoff could hurt the North Korean people. Beijing and Moscow have called for a resolution that focuses on a political solution and have proposed a freeze-for-freeze that would halt North Korean nuclear and missile tests in exchange for the U.S. and South Korea halting their joint military exercises - an initiative rejected by the Trump administration.

There was no word on the outcome of negotiations, and whether any changes sought by the Russians and Chinese were acceptable to the United States.

A brief statement from the U.S. Mission to the United Nations late Friday said: "This evening, the United States informed the U.N. Security Council that it intends to call a meeting to vote on a draft resolution to establish additional sanctions on North Korea on Monday, September 11."

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who called the nuclear risk in North Korea the most dangerous crisis in the world today, told reporters Tuesday that "the unity of the Security Council is absolutely crucial." He explained that only a united council can provide the pressure needed to enable successful negotiations to take place to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula.

DeThomas agreed that it was unwise to break the unity of the Security Council, but he said the U.S. administration is unlikely to accept "a very watered down approach."

"It's clear that American diplomacy over the past two decades has failed because this is where we are with North Korea, but if we failed, the Chinese ought to be abjectly embarrassed over their failures," he said. "We have no leverage. They have a lot of leverage. They have produced nothing."

"To get the situation contained without war is going to be really hard, and that's if we've got our diplomacy right," he said. "If we start breaking crockery diplomatically, I don't see how you get anywhere without the Russians and Chinese - especially the Chinese."

DeThomas said putting the Chinese "on the other team" won't benefit the United States in the long-term.

He explained that this would force the U.S., and possibly Japan and South Korea, to try to do things unilaterally to increase pressure on North Korea. But he said trying to stop goods and material flowing from China to North Korea without U.N. backing would substitute a U.S.-China confrontation for the current nuclear weapons crisis with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the country's official name.

As for the North Koreans, their official news agency on Friday said the country's "nuclear weaponization ... has reached its final phase."

The KCNA report sharply criticized U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley for playing "the flagship role" in the Trump administration's "hideous sanctions and pressure racket against the DPRK."

The agency called Haley "a political prostitute" and dismissed as "rubbish" her comments at an emergency Security Council meeting Monday following the latest nuclear test that the DPRK is "begging for a war." The agency accused the U.S. of being the "chieftain of aggression and war and wrecker of peace."

The U.S. Mission to the United Nations said it had no comment on the KCNA report, which concluded by saying: "The U.S. administration will have to pay a dear price for her tongue-lashing."
BEIRUT (AP) - U.S.-backed Syrian fighters launched an offensive against the Islamic State group in eastern Syria along the border with Iraq on Saturday, bringing them into a race with government forces marching in the same direction against the extremists in their last major holdout in the war-torn country.

The dueling battles for Deir el-Zour highlight the importance of the oil-rich eastern province, which has become the latest focus of the international war against the Islamic State group, raising concerns of an eventual clash between the two sides.

The U.S.-trained Deir el-Zour Military Council said it was calling its operation Jazeera Storm, after the familiar name for northeast Syria. The Military Council is a part of the predominantly-Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces, which enjoys broad U.S. military support. The SDF are the U.S.'s primary ally in the fight against IS in Syria.

FILE - In this July 22, 2017 file photo, an Arab fighter, left, and Kurdish fighter, right, who fight together with the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), hold their weapons as they prepare to move to the front line to battle against the Islamic State militants, in Raqqa, northeast Syria. U.S.-backed Syrian fighters are preparing to launch an offensive against the Islamic State group in eastern Syria along the border with Iraq in a race with government forces who are marching in the same direction in a crushing assault against the extremists in their last major holdout in Syria. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)

The race to reach the Iraqi border will shape future regional dynamics, determining whether the United States or Russia and Iran will have more influence in the strategic area once the extremist group is defeated.

Iran has been one of President Bashar Assad's strongest backers since the crisis began in March 2011 and has sent thousands of Iranian-backed fighters and advisers to fight against insurgent groups trying to remove him from power.

The U.S.-backed fighters are up against a huge challenge to reach Deir el-Zour, especially while they are still fighting to liberate Raqqa from IS. Three months into the battle, they have liberated around 60 percent of the city, and much more difficult urban fighting still lies ahead.

This week, Syrian troops and their Iranian-backed allies reached Deir el-Zour, breaking a nearly three-year-old IS siege on government-held parts of the city in a major breakthrough in their offensive against IS. In a victory statement, the Syrian military said Deir el-Zour will be used as a launching pad to liberate the remaining IS-held areas along the border with Iraq.

Pro-government forces broke the siege of the city's airport on Saturday, state media reported.

The troops' arrival to Deir el-Zour city brings Syrian forces and their allies a step closer to controlling the oil-rich eastern province and its capital bordering Iraq, a major boost for Tehran's growing influence in the area. The region has some of Syria's largest oil fields, whose revenue is vital to the state's dried coffers.

Syria's military command announced Saturday they had captured the province's Taym oil field from IS militants on Saturday.

Washington has been determined to block the formation of an "Iranian corridor" - of Shiite-controlled land stretching from Tehran to Damascus - and for months has been eyeing the area southeast of Raqqa near the Iraqi border.

U.S.-backed Syrian rebels had been gathering in Tanf in southeastern Syria to march toward Deir el-Zour, but their plans were disrupted in June when Syrian troops reached the border with Iraq, obstructing their path. The only way left for the SDF to enter the eastern province appears to be from the northeastern province of Hassakeh, where Syrian activists say the U.S.-backed fighters have been gathering and stepping up preparations for an attack.

SDF officials say the timing of Operation Jazeera Storm is not related to government forces reaching the Deir el-Zour earlier this week, and was planned months in advance.

"Deir el-Zour is a main connection point and a very important geographic area," said Syrian Kurdish official Nawaf Khalil, who is in Germany but frequently visits northern Syria. He said the battle for Raqqa requires fewer fighters now than it did in its earlier stages.

The U.S.-led coalition fighting IS said in an email to The Associated Press that the SDF "will decide when the conditions are right for an offensive."

Asked about concerns of a possible clash between the SDF and Syrian troops, the coalition said: "We urge all forces to concentrate their efforts on our common enemy (IS)."

Washington has welcomed Syrian troops' fight against IS. Both the U.S. and Russia have an interest in avoiding a clash between the SDF and Syrian forces and may devise a strategy that will allow both sides to share control of the vast province.

U.S. officials have suggested they are not seeking a confrontation with Assad's forces.

"We are in the killing-ISIS business. That is what we want to do, and if the Syrian regime wants to do that ... and show that they are doing just that in Abu Kamal or Deir el-Zour or elsewhere, that means that we don't have to do that in those places," said coalition spokesman Col. Ryan Dillon in June referring to a town on the Iraqi border, and using a different acronym for IS.

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said last month during a visit to the Middle East that the Middle Euphrates River Valley will soon be liberated, as IS takes hits from both sides of the valley that bisects Iraq and Syria.

"You see, ISIS is now caught in between converging forces," Mattis said.

Ahmed Abu Khawla, the commander of the Deir el-Zour Military Council, says he commands a force of 4,000 fighters, mostly from Deir el-Zour province.

"We are an organized army. We are not militias or separate brigades. We have a unified military leadership and an operations room to coordinate," he told the AP.

"The plans for the Deir el-Zour campaign have been in the works for over a year and half but Raqqa took precedence because of international considerations," said Abu Khawla.

Abu Khawla said his group has already liberated 93 villages in northwestern rural Deir el-Zour including, more recently, the village of Abou Khashab. Asked about potential confrontations with government troops, he said: "If the regime wants a confrontation or directs one bullet at us we will respond."

He also said that the SDF is already forming a local civilian council to administer the area after the military operations.

Ahmad al-Ahmad, who heads the opposition's Syria Press center, said the SDF does not have the manpower to control Deir el-Zour, adding that government forces have brought in lots of troops and Iranian-backed gunmen for the battle.

"The regime wants to reach the border with Iraq to open a land line to Iran through Baghdad," al-Ahmad said, adding that they are capable of doing that.

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Associated Press writers Sarah El Deeb and Philip Issa in Beirut and Albert Aji in Damascus, Syria contributed to this report.

FILE - In this July 22, 2017 file photo, Arab and Kurdish fighters with the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), pose for a picture as they prepare to move to the front line to battle against the Islamic State militants, in Raqqa, northeast Syria. U.S.-backed Syrian fighters are preparing to launch an offensive against the Islamic State group in eastern Syria along the border with Iraq in a race with government forces who are marching in the same direction in a crushing assault against the extremists in their last major holdout in Syria. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)

FILE - In this July 22, 2017 file photo, Arab and Kurdish fighters with the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), gather on a pickup as they move to the front line to battle against the Islamic State militants, in Raqqa, northeast Syria. U.S.-backed Syrian fighters are preparing to launch an offensive against the Islamic State group in eastern Syria along the border with Iraq in a race with government forces who are marching in the same direction in a crushing assault against the extremists in their last major holdout in Syria. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)

FILE - In this July 22, 2017 file photo, Abdullah, an Arab fighter with U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), looks through his binocular to an airstrike that hit an Islamic state militant group position, in Raqqa, northeast Syria. U.S.-backed Syrian fighters are preparing to launch an offensive against the Islamic State group in eastern Syria along the border with Iraq in a race with government forces who are marching in the same direction in a crushing assault against the extremists in their last major holdout in Syria. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) - The wife of a Taiwanese activist China accused of subversion said her husband may be pressured into pleading guilty when his trial opens Monday, but she remains hopeful that he can return home safely.

Lee Ching-yu told reporters at a briefing Saturday she plans to travel this weekend to attend Lee Ming-che's trial in the central city of Yueyang. Supporters sitting beside her held up signs calling on China to release the activist.

"At this moment, I want to ask my fellow countrymen for their understanding if they see Lee Ming-che do or say anything unbearable in court outside of his free will," Lee said.

Lee Ching-yu, left, wife of Taiwanese activist Lee Ming-Che, holds a press briefing before her trip to China, Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017, in Taipei, Taiwan. Lee Ming-Che will be tried for subversion by a court in Yueyang city, in China's Hunan province on Sept. 11. (AP Photo/Johnson Lai)

"This is just the Chinese government being adept at the performance" of having someone confess, she added.

Lee Ming-che is accused of subversion of state power, a vaguely defined charge often used by authorities to muzzle dissent and imprison critics.

China's wide-ranging crackdown on civil society has featured a string of televised "confessions" - believed to have been made under coercion - by human rights activists accused of plots to overthrow the political system.

Calls to the court and the activist's lawyer rang unanswered Saturday.

Lee Ching-yu said she hoped her husband would be released. "I'm traveling there not to challenge or to argue, but to go to witness the arrival of justice that will let Lee Ming-che return to Taiwan with dignity, and promptly and peacefully," Lee said.

Lee Ming-che, 42, cleared immigration in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory of Macau on March 19 and never showed up for a planned meeting later that day with a friend in the mainland Chinese city of Zhuhai. He had previously conducted online lectures on Taiwan's democratization and managed a fund for families of political prisoners in China.

Amnesty International and other rights organizations have called for Lee Ming-che's immediate release. They note that Lee is the first foreign non-profit worker to be detained in China after a law tightening controls over such groups came into effect. Lee had been a manager of a non-governmental group in Taiwan before his detention.

The new law says foreign NGOs must not endanger China's national security and ethnic unity and subjects non-profit groups to close police supervision. It is seen by critics as the latest attempt by authorities to clamp down on perceived threats to the ruling Communist Party's control.

Relations between Taiwan and China have been near an all-time low since the election of Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, whose Democratic Progressive Party has advocated Taiwan's formal independence. China cut off contacts with Taiwan's government in June, five months after Tsai was elected.

In a statement Saturday, the Taiwanese Cabinet's Mainland Affairs Council urged Chinese authorities to "properly handle" Lee's case and "quickly respond to the demands of our government and people for Lee Ming-che's safe return to Taiwan."

Lee Ching-yu, second left, wife of Taiwanese activist Lee Ming-Che, holds a press briefing before her trip to China, Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017, in Taipei, Taiwan. Lee Ming-Che will be tried for subversion by a court in Yueyang city, in China's Hunan province on Sept. 11. (AP Photo/Johnson Lai)
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) - A Polish seaman drowned in a harbor in southeastern Sweden where an annual Baltic Sea naval exercise is being held, the Swedish navy said Saturday.

Two Polish seamen fell into the water in Karlskrona late Friday and one of them died, Swedish navy Rear Adm. Jens Nykvist said. Neither was identified and no further details were released.

Sweden's Blekinge Lans Tidning daily said the other seaman remained hospitalized Saturday. Police said no foul play was suspected.

The seamen were among 5,000 sailors participating in the annual Northern Coasts drill with units from Baltic nations and several NATO countries. This year, Sweden is hosting the naval drill.

The Sept. 8-21 exercise is being staged as non-NATO member Sweden hosts another, larger drill with nearly 20,000 troops from Sweden and several NATO countries. The Aurora 17 drill starts Monday and ends Sept. 29.

The Swedish military said the Aurora 17 exercise was designed "to deter potential attackers, and force them to carefully consider the risks of attacking our country."

Meanwhile, 25 Swedish and Russian peace activists gathered Saturday on the Finnish archipelago of Aland in the middle of the Baltic Sea to mark their opposition to the Aurora 17 drill.

Politicians and the arms industry "have something to gain from the rattling of arms," said protester Pelle Sunvission.

The drills are being held amid fears over Russia's military buildup in the region, which also has also seen several reports of airspace violations by Russian military aircraft.

In recent months, NATO military forces have been deployed into countries bordering Russia after Moscow's 2014 annexation of the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine. That annexation prompted fears that Russia could be eyeing other ex-Soviet republics, including Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

Russia and its neighbor Belarus are also holding joint military exercises that begin Thursday. Those exercises have raised concerns among Belarus' beleaguered opposition that Russia could use them to establish a permanent military presence in Belarus, which borders Lithuania and Latvia.
JOHANNESBURG (AP) - The Red Cross says it is shocked by the killing of one of its staffers in South Sudan as dangers to humanitarian workers rise amid the country's civil war.

A statement Saturday by the International Committee of the Red Cross said driver Lukudu Kennedy Laki Emmanuel was shot and killed Friday by unknown attackers after delivering aid in Western Equatoria.

The Red Cross convoy had been clearly marked and all parties in the conflict had been notified of the organization's presence, the statement said.

South Sudan has become one of the world's most dangerous places for aid workers, and a new United Nations report says the situation is worsening. That complicates efforts to reach the estimated 6 million South Sudanese, or roughly half the population, said to be severely food insecure.

At least 84 aid workers have been killed since 2013, including at least 17 this year, the U.N. humanitarian agency says. Most have been local workers.

Hundreds of incidents of aid restrictions have been reported since January, including attacks on humanitarian compounds and the looting of supplies and convoys, a new report by the U.N. agency said Friday. About 300 aid workers have been relocated since January because of security issues.

Both the government and rebel sides in South Sudan's civil war have been accused of restricting aid access. The conflict that began in December 2013 has killed tens of thousands and sent about 2 million people fleeing the country.
'This is your last chance': Irma puts a bull's-eye on Tampa

NAPLES, Fla. (AP) - Hurricane Irma's leading edge bent palm trees and spit rain as the storm swirled toward Florida with 120 mph winds Saturday on a projected new track that could expose Tampa - not Miami - to a direct hit.

Tampa has not taken a head-on blow from a major hurricane in nearly a century.

An estimated 70,000 Floridians huddled in shelters as Irma closed in on the Florida Keys, where it was expected to roll ashore Sunday morning and begin making its way up the state's west coast.

"This is your last chance to make a good decision," Gov. Rick Scott warned residents in Florida's evacuation zones, which encompassed a staggering 6.4 million people, or more than 1 in 4 people in the state.

Earlier in the day, Irma executed a westward swing toward Florida's Gulf coast that appeared to spare the Miami metropolitan area of the catastrophic direct hit that forecasters had been warning of for days.

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Irma turns Caribbean island paradises into nightmares

ST. JOHN'S, Antigua (AP) - Strung like beads along the northeast edge of the Caribbean, the Leeward Islands are tiny, remote and beautiful, with azure waters and ocean breezes drawing tourists from around the world.

The wild isolation that made St. Barts, St. Martin, Anguilla and the Virgin Islands vacation paradises has turned them into cutoff, chaotic nightmares in the wake of Hurricane Irma, which left 22 people dead, mostly in the Leeward Islands. Looting and lawlessness were reported Saturday by both French and Dutch authorities, who were sending in extra troops to restore order.

The Category 5 storm snapped the islands' fragile links to the outside world with a direct hit early Wednesday, pounding their small airports, decapitating cellphone towers, filling harbors with overturned, crushed boats and leaving thousands of tourists and locals desperate to escape.

The situation worsened Saturday with the passage of Category 4 Hurricane Jose, which shuttered airports and halted emergency boat traffic through the weekend.

Looting, gunshots and a lack of clean drinking water were reported on the French Caribbean territory of St. Martin, home to five-star resorts and a multimillion estate owned by President Donald Trump.

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With saxophones and sobbing, Mexicans mourn earthquake dead

JUCHITAN, Mexico (AP) - Slow-moving funeral processions converged on Juchitan's cemeteries from all directions on Saturday, so many that they sometimes caused temporary gridlock when they met at intersections.

A monster earthquake and a Gulf coast hurricane have combined to take at least 67 lives in Mexico, and no place suffered more than the Oaxaca state city of Juchitan, where 37 died as buildings collapsed in the magnitude 8.1 temblor.

The graveyard swelled with mourners and blaring serenades for the dead - the sounds of snare drums, saxophones and sobbing. Pallbearers carried the caskets around rubble the quake had knocked from the simple concrete crypts. Jittery amid continued aftershocks, friends and relatives of the deceased had hushed conversations in the Zapotec language as they stood under umbrellas for shade from the beating sun.

Paulo Cesar Escamilla Matus and his family held a memorial service for his mother, Reynalda Matus Martinez, in the living room of her home, where relatives quietly wept beside her body.

The 64-year-old woman was working the night shift at a neighborhood pharmacy when the quake struck Thursday night, collapsing the building.

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Trump makes nice with Dems, leaving his party confused

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump was in the mood to celebrate after cutting a big deal with opposition Democrats.

Joshing with Northeastern officials in the Cabinet Room, Trump hailed New York Democrat Andrew Cuomo as "my governor" and traded banter with Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, another fellow New Yorker.

"If you just dropped in from outer space, you wouldn't know what the last eight months have been like," said Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., recalling the friendly exchanges between Trump and Schumer during the meeting with New York and New Jersey lawmakers.

That would be the same Schumer whom the president had previously slammed as a "clown" and "Cryin' Chuck."

And now?

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They've been warned: Some insist on riding out Irma at home

REDINGTON SHORES, Fla. (AP) - Carl Roberts has Chinese food, a case of water and a million-dollar view in his 17th floor Gulf front condo - all he needs, he says, to weather the massive storm coming straight at him.

Authorities have beseeched more than 6 million people in Florida and Georgia to evacuate before Hurricane Irma's storm surge and fierce winds make it impossible to flee or be rescued. Many are staying nevertheless, even boasting about surviving Camille, Andrew, Katrina and other storms.

"No. 1, I don't have anywhere to go," said Roberts, an attorney. "And I'm on the 17th floor. I have security shutters, so I should be quite safe here."

Mandatory evacuation orders apply to all barrier islands around South Florida, including Redington Shores, where Roberts' condo complex towers over a narrow reach of sand. The entire Florida Keys were supposed to be emptied. Firefighters went door to door in mobile home parks, urging residents to get out.

People who refused to evacuate were not being arrested, but were told they wouldn't be rescued once the storm arrives.

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Tank failures in Harvey reveal vulnerabilities in storm

More than two dozen storage tanks holding crude oil, gasoline and other contaminants ruptured or otherwise failed when Harvey slammed into the Texas coast, spilling at least 145,000 gallons (548,868 liters) of fuel and spewing toxic pollutants into the air, according to an Associated Press analysis of pollution reports submitted to state and federal regulators.

The tank failures follow years of warnings that the Houston area's petrochemical industry was ill-prepared for a major storm, with about one-third of the 4,500 storage tanks along the Houston Ship Channel located in areas susceptible to flooding, according to researchers.

More of the massive storage tanks could be put to the test in coming days as Hurricane Irma bears down on Florida. The tanks are prone to float and break during floods, and Harvey's unprecedented rainfalls revealed a new vulnerability when the roofs of some storage tanks sank under the weight of so much water.

Federal and state rules require companies to be prepared for spills, but mandate no specific measures to secure storage tanks at refineries, chemical plants and oil production sites.

Although Florida has no oil refineries, it has more than 20 petroleum product storage terminals in coastal communities and about 30 chemical companies with a presence in the state, including a significant number of facilities in the Tampa Bay area, according to the American Chemistry Council and U.S. Energy Information Administration.

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Hurricanes drive addiction issues into public square

In the whirr of preparations for Hurricane Irma, a needle exchange program in Miami's Overtown neighborhood handed out extra syringes to heroin users. Others trying to break from the drug's grasp picked up advance medication from methadone clinics.

Disasters cause stress, and stress can cause relapse for people struggling with addiction, whether their problem is alcohol, tobacco, pills or heroin. Authorities planning for the devastating effects of hurricanes now factor in the heightened danger of relapse and overdose.

The problems of alcoholism and addiction become more public in a storm, said researcher Andrew Golub of the National Development and Research Institutes in New York, who studied illicit drug users in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

"During a storm, it becomes harder to hide and cope with one's addiction in private," Golub said.

Scientists learned from Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy . Drug users took chances during storms, researchers found, avoiding evacuation to stay near their dealers or sharing needles with strangers putting themselves in danger of HIV and hepatitis. Those in treatment missed doses of medications and went back to street drugs to avoid withdrawal sickness. During Sandy, clinics that lost power measured methadone by candlelight.

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Son of ex-Fox News host Eric Bolling dies in Colorado

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) - The son of former Fox News host Eric Bolling has died, just hours after Fox announced that Bolling was leaving the network.

Bolling said in a tweet on Saturday that he and his wife, Adrienne, were devastated by the loss of their son, Eric Chase Bolling. A sophomore at the University of Colorado in Boulder, Eric Chase Bolling died Friday night.

Eric Bolling said the cause of his son's death is under investigation but that authorities told him there was "no sign of self harm at this point" and that an autopsy was planned next week.

Boulder police were investigating a death near the university, but Sgt. Nick Smetzer said the department would not release the circumstances of the death or identify the person who died.

The coroner's office typically releases the names of people whose deaths are investigated after a few days.

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Stephens tops Keys in US Open final for 1st Grand Slam title

NEW YORK (AP) - Sloane Stephens' remarkably rapid rise from a ranking of 957th in early August to U.S. Open champion on Saturday began with the slow work of coming back from surgery on her left foot.

After being off tour for 11 months because of her injury, Stephens easily beat her close friend Madison Keys 6-3, 6-0 in the first Grand Slam final for both, becoming only the second unseeded woman to win the tournament in the Open era, which began in 1968.

"I mean, there is no words to describe how I got here - the process it took or anything like that," Stephens said, "because if you told someone this story, they'd be, like, 'That's insane.'"

After the operation in January, Stephens couldn't walk for a month. It wasn't until May that she would get back onto a tennis court - and even then she was off her feet, plopped on a wood table at a practice facility at UCLA while aiming her racket at balls tossed by her coach, Kamau Murray. From there, Murray said, Stephens progressed to sitting while rolling around on an armless office chair. Two weeks later, Stephens finally was able to stand in place while working on her swing. Another two weeks, and she was allowed to move.

"Definitely," Murray said Saturday, "not fun for her."

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AP Exclusive: Toxic sites in likely path of Irma

MIAMI (AP) - Dozens of personnel from the Environmental Protection Agency worked to secure some of the nation's most contaminated toxic waste sites as Hurricane Irma bore down on Florida. The agency said its employees evacuated personnel, secured equipment and safeguarded hazardous materials in anticipation of storm surges and heavy rains.

The Associated Press surveyed six of the 54 Superfund sites in Florida before Irma's arrival, all around Miami in low-lying, flood-prone areas. There was no apparent work going on at the sites AP visited this past week. The EPA said that if there was no activity, a site should be considered secured but would be closely monitored. The sites were in various stages of federally directed, long-term cleanup efforts.

At the Miami-Dade Emergency Operations Center on Saturday, Republican Sen. Marco Rubio said the EPA workers he's spoken with seem "generally positive" about the prospects for toxic sites remaining secure in the coming hurricane. But "they can't guarantee it 100 percent," he told AP.

"EPA feels they got a handle on it." he said. "They think that the risk is real but certainly not as severe as some other places. Not to minimize it - it's something to think about."

AP was not able to fully evaluate each site's readiness for the hurricane.
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - Gunmen shot and killed at least two people in eastern Kapisa province, including the provincial chief of a religious council, a provincial official said.

Qais Qaderi, spokesman for the provincial governor, said Saturday the religious council chief, Mullah Gul Mohammad Hanafyar, was the target of the attack. He died from his wounds on the way to a hospital. His security guard was the second victim.

The Saturday attack was carried out by gunmen riding a motorcycle who shot Hanafyar as he was about to exit his vehicle near his home, said Qaderi.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but Qaderi said that as many as eight suspects have been arrested and an investigation is underway.

Elsewhere, in western Farah province four police officers were shot and killed by insurgents, said Mohammad Naser Mehri, a spokesman for the provincial governor.

Mehri said that the attack took place Friday while all four officers were travelling from Bala Buluk district to Farah city.

No one claimed responsibility for this attack either, but Taliban insurgents are active in Bala Buluk and often attack security check points and target Afghan security forces using roadside bombs.
The National Hurricane Center says it's looking more likely that the eye of powerful Hurricane Irma will strike the Keys, southwestern Florida and Tampa Bay region. While the core of the massive storm is expected to miss the populated Florida southeast coast, forecasters say the Miami region will still experience life-threatening hurricane conditions.

Its winds weakened to 130 mph when it hit Cuba, but Irma is forecast to regain strength over the ultra-warm Florida Straits and hit western Florida as a strong Category 4 storm. The storm is likely to come ashore Sunday.

Hurricane center spokesman Dennis Feltgen said a direct hit into the Tampa region, which hasn't felt a major hurricane since 1921, has long been a concern.

A lone pedestrian walks through the usual bustling South Beach ahead of Hurricane Irma in Miami Beach, Fla., Friday, Sept. 8, 2017. Florida has asked 5.6 million people to evacuate ahead of Hurricane Irma, or more than one quarter of the state's population, according to state emergency officials. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

He said storm surge there will likely be a major problem.
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump was in the mood to celebrate after cutting a big deal with opposition Democrats.

Joshing with Northeastern officials in the Cabinet Room, Trump hailed New York Democrat Andrew Cuomo as "my governor" and traded banter with Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, another fellow New Yorker.

"If you just dropped in from outer space, you wouldn't know what the last eight months have been like," said Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., recalling the friendly exchanges between Trump and Schumer during the meeting with New York and New Jersey lawmakers.

In this Sept. 7, 2017, photo, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., accompanied by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of Calif. speak Capitol Hill in Washington. Congressional Democrats are rising again. Since President Donald Trump entered the White House in January, they've been relegated to playing defense and pouncing on Republican missteps. But now, they've been boosted by a deal their leaders cut with President Donald Trump on extending federal borrowing authority for three months. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

That would be the same Schumer whom the president had previously slammed as a "clown" and "Cryin' Chuck."

And now?

"In some ways it's almost like they were completing each other's sentences," King said.

On display at that chummy scene Thursday was the Trump who's emerged in full this past week: Trump the independent.

A president who spent months catering to the Republican conservative wing now appears unbound by ideology and untethered by party allegiances.

It's not a complete surprise to his fellow Republicans. They long have worried that Trump, a former Democrat, might shift with the political winds. But Trump's overtures to Democrats have left Republicans in an awkward and perplexing position, undercut by their leader and unsure of what's next.

"Our grass roots are very confused," said Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., head of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, on MSNBC Friday. Meadows said he viewed the deal as a "unique situation because of the devastation in Texas."

Trump's deal with Democrats to raise the U.S. borrowing limit and keep the government running for three month months - all in the name of speeding relief to hurricane victims - quickly passed Congress and gave him the opportunity to savor a victory after months of legislative setbacks.

He's now talking about possible future deals with Democrats - doing away with votes on the raising the debt cap, and shielding from deportation young immigrants living in the United States illegally who came brought here as children.

"I think that's what the people of the United States want to see," Trump said. "They want to see some dialogue."

It's unclear how much of Trump's turnabout is a deliberate strategy to create space for his tax overhaul this fall or simply a deal-maker's gut decision, bargained during an Oval Office session that left his fellow Republicans gobsmacked.

Trump has been frustrated by GOP leaders and blames House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., for his inability to score big triumphs in Congress. He's appeared unconcerned about dismissing their opposition to the debt ceiling deal, focusing instead on the fact that the move has him rare kudos with some television commentators.

Trump sprinkled salt on the wound Friday by reminding GOP leaders via Twitter about their failed efforts to overhaul former President Barack Obama's health law: "Republicans, sorry, but I've been hearing about Repeal & Replace for 7 years, didn't happen!"

In venting about Republican congressional leaders, Trump may just be channeling his supporters. Trump, who essentially hijacked the party two years ago, has positioned himself as the voice of voters who feel alienated from Washington and disdain both parties.

"The Republicans in the Senate did not follow through on their commitment in working with the administration to repeal Obamacare. So what's he going to do?" asked Tony Perkins, the president of the Family Research Council.

Perkins said he didn't think Trump's most loyal supporters would approve of extended dealings with Schumer and House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California. But, he added, "They're just as mad at the Republican leadership as they are the Democrats."

Still, Trump's startling agreement on the debt left Republicans wondering how far he's willing to stray from party orthodoxy in pursuit of a deal.

Their frustrations spilled out during a closed-door meeting Friday with Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and White House budget chief Mick Mulvaney, a former South Carolina congressman, who were sent to Capitol Hill to defend the deal. At one point Mnuchin, a former Goldman Sachs executive and Democratic donor, drew hisses when he asked House Republicans to "vote for the debt ceiling for me," according to Rep. Mark Walker, R-N.C.

From the start of his presidency, Trump has repeatedly labeled Democrats as obstructionists, and few expect his budding alliance with Schumer and Pelosi to be long-lived. Trump is loathed by the Democratic base, many of whom talk more openly about impeachment than cooperation.

But there's little doubt that Trump's talk of "dealmaking" may occasionally open up possibilities for Democrats.

"I think the president, when it comes to making deals, is an enigma," said Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa.

King said he will continue to work with Trump, but acknowledged that the past week had been a "little unsettling" and noted that "conservative allies have been leaving the West Wing at a fairly regular pace."

One of the top aides King was referring to was Steve Bannon. The strategist was ousted in August but remains a vocal proponent of the president's agenda.

Trump announced the deal with Democrats while Bannon was sitting for an interview with CBS News, but the Breitbart executive chairman saved his most pointed remarks for McConnell and Ryan, accusing them of trying to "nullify" the results of the 2016 election.

The headlines on the Breitbart website Friday reflected the anti-establishment wing's distrust of some of Trump's New York allies, as well as party leadership - but not of Trump himself.

Other Republicans are willing to give Trump a pass, for now. "Of course I view him as a Republican," said Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif. He said that when Republicans can't solve a problem by themselves, "then the president has that obligation to be that neutral arbitrator."

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Associated Press writers Laurie Kellman in Washington and David Klepper in Albany, New York, contributed to this report.

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Follow Ken Thomas on Twitter at http://twitter.com/KThomasDC and Catherine Lucey at http://twitter.com/Catherine_Lucey
Four adults were arrested in connection to the death of two children on a Norwood, Colorado farm.

Frederick Blair, 23, of Norwood, Madani Ceus, 37, of Haiti, Natahan Yah, 50, of Haiti and Ika Eden, 53, of Jamaica, now face charges of suspicion of murder and child abuse.

A fifth suspect, Nashika Bramble, is wanted for second-degree murder, criminally negligent homicide, and felony child abuse causing death, according to News 9 Colorado.

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Four adults were arrested in connection to the death of two girls, aged between five and 10, after their bodies were found on a Colorado farm. Frederick Blair (left) and Madani Ceus (right) were among those taken into custody

Nathan Yeh (left) and Ika Eden (right) were also charged in connection with the deaths of the young girls

San Miguel Sheriff's County deputies confirmed the bodies of the two children, between the ages of and 10, were discovered at the rural southwestern farm early Friday.

Sheriff's spokeswoman Susan Lilly said the group recently moved to the area.

Investigators believe the children were dead for at least two weeks before they were found.

Police are looking for Nashika Bramble, who is wanted on charges of second-degree murder, criminally negligent homicide, and felony child abuse causing death

'In my thirty-seven years as Sheriff, I have never seen anything as cruel and heartless as this,' San Miguel Sheriff Bill Masters told the local news station.

Norwood is located about 30 miles (48.2 kilometers) west of the ski resort town of Telluride.

Anyone with further clues on the matter has been asked to contact the sheriff's department at (970) 728-1911.
NEW YORK (AP) - A former New York restaurateur who ran a $12 million Ponzi scheme involving a fictitious wholesale liquor business has been sentenced to five years in prison.

Hamlet Peralta said he was "deeply sorry" for what he'd done as he was sentenced Friday in a Manhattan federal court. The former owner of the Hudson River Cafe pleaded guilty in May to wire fraud.

Prosecutors say Peralta got investors to put up money for the phony liquor business. They say he used the funds to pay for spas and other personal expenses, to renovate his struggling Harlem restaurant and to repay other investors.

Action U.S. Attorney Joon Kim says Peralta "deceived investor after investor through bald lies and forged documents, enticing them with high returns on investments he never made."
CHESTER, S.C. (AP) - A South Carolina man has been sentenced to two years in prison for burning four kittens to death.

The Herald of Rock Hill reports that 27-year-old Christopher Rainey pleaded guilty Friday to arson and ill treatment of animals. Prosecutors say he poured gasoline on a shed at his family's home in Great Falls in May to burn it down with five kittens in it. Rainey blamed his use of marijuana, meth and cocaine while not taking his prescribed medications for mental health issues.

Solicitor Candice Lively says one of the kittens survived.

Lively asked for the maximum sentence of five years, saying Rainey's decade-long criminal record includes two stints in prison for burglary and assaults.

Rainey's mother, Tammy Lane, says he does "crazy stuff" when not taking his prescriptions.
MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (AP) - Uruguay's vice president resigned Saturday amid allegations of corruption stemming from purported credit-card misuse during his tenure as head of state oil company ANCAP.

Raul Sendic announced his departure after a tribunal of his political party determined he may have engaged in "unacceptable use of public funds" and accused him of lying in his defense.

The allegations surfaced in June, when the weekly publication Busqueda reported that between 2010 and 2013, Sendic used corporate credit cards to make purchases at jewelry, electronics, furniture and other stores apparently unrelated to his official business. Journalists Patricia Madrid and Viviana Ruggiero later published a book showing copies of the credit card statements.

FILE - In this Nov. 30, 2014 file photo, Vice President Raul Sendic waves to supporters during a victory rally in Montevideo, Uruguay. Sendic resigned Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017, amid corruption allegations. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico, File)

Appearing before the tribunal, Sendic was unable to explain the purchases other than to say they seemed "strange."

Sendic, who is also a senator and president of congress, tweeted Saturday that he had presented his "indeclinable resignation of the vice presidency" and had communicated the decision to President Tabare Vazquez. He did not address the allegations, which are also being studied by a public anti-graft entity.

It is the first time a vice president has stepped down in the South American nation. Constitutional scholar Martin Risso told the newspaper El Pais that Sendic must present his resignation to congress, which will vote on whether to accept it.

Sendic, 54, has been at the center of several different controversies, making him a frequent target of criticism from the opposition, the media and even his own political allies.

During his time leading ANCAP, the company racked up a huge deficit and required an $872 million bailout to avoid bankruptcy. That provoked a scandal including within his party, with Economy Minister Danilo Astori blaming Sendic and then-President Jose Mujica.

Sendic argued that the deficit resulted from expensive but necessary investments, but opposition politicians filed a complaint citing possible acts of corruption. Among other irregularities, the company allegedly made advertising payments to a nonexistent radio station.

ANCAP also launched a million-dollar TV publicity blitz with a slogan that Sendic later used for his own electoral campaign.

And in 2016, the vice president acknowledged that he did not have a university degree in human genetics after claiming for years that he did.

In early July, President Tabare Vazquez said Sendic had been subjected to "the most incredible bullying I have seen in my life, and I find the cruelty astonishing."

But as more sectors of the ruling Broad Front coalition joined in the criticism, Vazquez changed his position and said he would accept Sendic's resignation if he presented it.

According to the constitution, Sendic should be replaced by the senator who received the most votes in the last elections. That person is Mujica, but the former president could be ineligible due to a prohibition on presidential re-election: He would be unable to take over for Vazquez if necessary.

The senator next in line is Lucia Topolansky, Mujica's wife.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) - Hotel dishwasher Wilman Hernandez waited with his wife and young son at a Miami Beach bus stop, desperately looking for a way to get to a shelter where they could ride out Hurricane Irma.

Hernandez fears the storm will destroy their first-floor apartment. With no car to join the bumper-to-bumper traffic heading north and no supplies other than water, their options, like those of many low-income Florida residents, were limited.

"I have been calling 311 to get information about shelters that are available and no one answers the phone," Hernandez said. "I need to take my family off the beach and to safety."

Wilman Hernandez and his wife Brenda Ramirez, check their phones for the location of shelters and their capacity while waiting for a bus in Miami Beach, Fla., Friday, Sept. 9, 2017. The main hub leading Floridians out of Hurricane Irma's path is bumper to bumper with those who can afford to escape. As Hurricane Irma threatened South's Beach's elite, some booked pricey airline seats, chartered private planes and found fancy hotels like a forced vacation. But many, including the low-wage workers in Florida's tourism industry, couldn't afford to stock up on supplies and struggled to find their way to shelters. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

The scramble to flee from the path of Irma has been a much different experience for those in different income brackets.

In the upscale coastal community of Rio Vista, where multimillion-dollar homes sit on elegant tree lined streets, many residents had secured their boats, spent hundreds or thousands of dollars on supplies or joined the bumper-to-bumper traffic heading north.

Teddy Morse, a Florida native and owner of a car dealership, spent about $7,500 on two generators, 50 gallons of water, 67 gallons of gas, non-perishable foods and other items. He chartered a plane and sent his wife and two young children to Alabama to stay with family, while he stayed behind to check on his businesses and employees.

"You try to do whatever you can to protect your family ... I wish everybody had the ability to take care of their families the way they want to," said Morse, who was allowing his employees to fill their tanks at the dealership, leave their owns cars in the garage and store personal documents at the office.

About a mile away in Fort Lauderdale, 18-year-old Jayvontay John was asking strangers for information about which shelters might be open. He doesn't own a cellphone or computer and was having trouble getting basic information.

"It does worry me ... that I'm not going to able to get to the shelter," he said. "I heard the hurricane is really, really bad."

In Miami, advocates for the homeless patrolled the streets Friday, picking up about 400 people and driving them to shelters voluntarily or under the threat of involuntary hospitalization.

"We were driving in the vans and we had people jumping out into the streets to stop us so we would pick them up ... Those folks were coming out of the woodwork, they knew we were out there," said Ron Book, chairman of the Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust.

Marvin Carter wasn't interested in getting to a shelter. The 62-year-old walked through traffic begging for bus fare, which he hoped would take him a few miles west to an Interstate 95 underpass.

"I've got my sleeping bag ... that's my place," said Carter, adding that he survived Hurricane Andrew in 1992 underneath the freeway.

Deborah Rosenberg, an interior designer, said she bought extra supplies to help those who work in her posh Miami home, offering them food, water and help finding shelter.

But she and her daughters won't be there. They booked a private jet Thursday so they could ride out the storm in their New York apartment. Her husband, who works in the finance industry, joined them Friday. Rosenberg acknowledged felling uncomfortable thinking about her friends and employees.

"It's a complete contrast," she said.

___

Marta Lavandier contributed to this story from Miami Beach.

___

HURRICANE NEWSLETTER - Get the best of the AP's all-formats reporting on Irma and Harvey in your inbox: http://apne.ws/ahYQGtb
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) - Federal prosecutors say a biopharmaceutical firm will pay more than $7.5 million to resolve claims it paid kickbacks to doctors to persuade them to prescribe its fentanyl-based drug Abstral.

The settlement with Galena Biopharma was announced Friday.

Prosecutors say the allegations arose from a whistleblower lawsuit. The person who filed the suit will receive more than $1.2 million from the settlement.

Prosecutors say the kickbacks included more than 85 free meals to doctors and staff from a "high-prescribing" medical practice and paying various doctors a $5,000 honoraria and speakers $6,000 along with expenses to attend an "advisory board" that was planned and attended by the Galena sales staff.
PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) - Ramush Haradinaj, ex-prime minister of Kosovo and a former guerrilla fighter, has been voted the country's new premier.

Parliament on Saturday voted 61 in favor and one abstention to choose Haradinaj, 49, who is also the leader of the center-right Alliance for the Future of Kosovo party. Opposition members boycotted the vote.

"It's a day for opportunities for our country, for our people. My commitment is that this government will serve Kosova, our people, Kosovar citizens," Haradinaj told The Associated Press before the vote.

FILE - In this file photo dated Sunday, June 11, 2017, Ramush Haradinaj, candidate for Prime Minister, speaks to media reporters after casting his ballot during the early parliamentary elections Pristina, Kosovo. The ex-prime minister of Kosovo and former guerrilla fighter, Haradinaj was nominated Thursday Sept. 7, 2017, as the country's new premier and tasked with creating a new Cabinet.(AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu, FILE)

Three months after the June 11 election, Haradinaj's coalition of three parties of former leaders of Kosovo's war of independence from Serbia, with only 39 seats, secured votes from an ethnic Serb group and a minor Albanian one to gain a majority in the 120-seat parliament.

The new cabinet will have 21 ministries distributed among five political parties. Behgjet Pacolli of the smaller Alliance for New Kosovo will be foreign minister.

Haradinaj served as prime minister before from December 2004 to March 2005 before resigning to face a U.N. tribunal for his role as a former leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army in Kosovo's 1998-1999 war for independence from Serbia. He was eventually cleared twice of war crimes charges by the U.N. tribunal.

Serbia, however, still regards him as a war criminal. Kosovo suspended EU-sponsored talks with Serbia earlier this year after Haradinaj was arrested in France on a warrant from Serbia. A French court refused to extradite him.

Haradinaj will be challenged by Kosovo's poor economy, continued tense dialogue with Serbia and a need to pass the border demarcation deal with Montenegro. Brussels has set the border deal as a condition for adding Kosovo to western Balkan countries whose citizens don't need visas to enter the EU's Schengen travel zone.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008 but Serbia doesn't recognize the move. Kosovo and Serbia must continue European Union-mediated talks to normalize ties in order to advance their efforts to join the bloc.

"Our history with Serbia in the past is tragic. But we cannot change the fact that we are neighbors. We have to talk to each other," Haradinaj said.

A further issue is the prospect of former ethnic Albanian senior rebel commanders facing prosecution in the newly established war crimes court in The Hague. The court is expected to issue indictments shortly for crimes against civilians during and after the war with Serbia.

___

Llazar Semini in Tirana, Albania contributed to this report.
DUP MP Ian Paisley has totally denied defamatory inferences in a report that he did not declare trips paid for by the Sri Lankan government.

The party founders son has referred the matter with a full explanation to the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner.

The Daily Telegraph reported that he accepted two holidays to the Indian Ocean island in 2013 for him and his family.

MP Paisley denies 'defamatory inferences' in Sri Lanka holidays report - lawyer

A letter from Mr Paisleys solicitor, Paul Tweed, said: My client totally denies the defamatory inferences arising from the article in todays Daily Telegraph, including those relating to his registration obligations as an MP.

He has now referred this matter, and a full explanation, to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards.

Mr Paisley is one of 10 pro-Brexit DUP MPs helping to prop up Theresa Mays Tory administration after her snap election left her with no overall majority.

He tweeted: The Daily Telegraph article is defamatory. It is devoid of fact or logic. Referred to my lawyer.

I will refer myself to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards.

He posted a picture this week on the social networking site of himself meeting Sri Lankan High Commissioner Amari Wijewardene to discuss NI-Sri Lanka trade deal after Brexit.

Two days later he tweeted a picture of himself with International Trade Secretary Liam Fox discussing our trade agreements post Brexit.

The House of Commons Code of Conduct states that MPs must declare any visit to a destination outside the UK which relates in any way to their membership of the House or to their parliamentary or political activities and which cost more than 300, unless they have paid for it themselves or out of parliamentary or party funds.

The rules state that MPs do not have to register family holidays, as long as they are wholly unconnected with membership of the House or with the members parliamentary or political activities.

Entries in the Register of Members Interests should cover the cost of travel, hotels, meals, hospitality and car hire, and repeat visits should be registered if their combined value comes to more than 300.

Mr Paisleys register entries include a trade mission to Sri Lanka in 2012, as well as a second trip to the island that year as part of a cross-party parliamentary delegation examining post-war reconstruction, funded to the tune of 3,200 by the Colombo government.

There is no mention of the alleged trips in 2013.

Complaints over alleged breaches of the Code are investigated by Parliamentary Standards Commissioner Kathryn Hudson, who reports to the Commons Standards Committee.

This committee, made up of MPs and lay members, has the power to recommend sanctions such as requiring an apology or temporary suspension, subject to a vote in the Commons.
Australian Caleb Ewan claimed his third stage victory in the 2017 Tour of Britain as Hollands Lars Boom maintained his lead in the general classification.

Ewan (Orica-Scott) powered to a convincing win after stage six from Newmarket to Aldeburgh came down to a sprint finish. An early seven-man breakaway opened up a gap of almost three minutes and led for nearly 170 kilometres before finally being swept up with just a few kilometres remaining.

Taking to the top step for the third time in just six stages is Australian fast-man @CalebEwan (@OricaScott)  #OVOToB pic.twitter.com/GqxZqnzWR4  AJ Bell Tour of Britain  (@TourofBritain) September 8, 2017

Ewan, who won two of the first three stages, was then perfectly positioned to negotiate the final tight right-hand turn before storming to the line ahead of Fernando Gaviria (Quickstep), with Dylan Groenewegen (Lotto NL-Jumbo) in third.

Caleb Ewan

The result means no change in the overall standings with two stages remaining, Boom (Lotto NL-Jumbo) holding a lead of eight seconds over team-mate Victor Campenaerts, with Team Skys Vasil Kiryienka a second further back in third.

And the leader of the #OVOToB after the Stage 6 finish in Aldeburgh is... @lars_boom (@LottoJumbo_road)!  #OVOToB pic.twitter.com/1hUru4b6sI  AJ Bell Tour of Britain  (@TourofBritain) September 8, 2017

The highest-placed Briton is Team Skys Geraint Thomas, who is 19 seconds off the lead in ninth place.

Saturdays stage is a 185km ride from Hemel Hempstead to Cheltenham before the race concludes on Sunday with a 180km stage that starts in Worcester and ends in Cardiff.
NHS England is to issue guidance to staff and terror attack victims to warn them about the risk of social media trolls, but also telling them to be wary of journalists.

The organisation has created a new guide to social media, which warns that trolls may target victims, as was seen in the aftermath of the Manchester and London terror attacks.

The guide also issues pros and cons about dealing with the media and tells NHS staff not to respond to journalist tweets asking for interviews or information following an attack.

they found my brother last night. we are heartbroken.  dan hett (@danhett) May 24, 2017

press: that's me done, thanks.

trolls: I mute rather than block, but shout into the void by all means.  dan hett (@danhett) May 31, 2017

It tells victims of terror attacks that positive media coverage can help with any appeals they have, such as searching for loved ones, and can enable them to pay tribute to those who have been killed.

The guide also lists reasons not to speak to the media, including saying more than you intend when you are vulnerable, upset or angry, putting friends and family in the spotlight when they might not want it, and losing privacy that can last a long time.

It also says journalists questions can seem very intrusive, and sometimes blunt.

The guide tells NHS staff that social media can be a good thing when there is a terrorist attack but that statements can turn into an unwanted media story about you, your colleagues and your patients.

Any images or videos of #LondonBridge & #BoroughMarket incidents can be shared with police here https://t.co/LOxDkDtC0E  Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) June 4, 2017

It adds: Social media is always monitored by journalists who are looking for a story and you may find yourself in the wrong place at a journalists right time.

It reminds staff to maintain patient confidentiality and not to reveal identities in photos, and to not reveal things such as the names of hospitals where victims have been taken unless this is already in the public domain.

Staff are also told not to respond to journalists on Twitter, saying: Dont respond to journalists tweets  they are seductive!

The advice for younger people says that journalists who monitor social media can follow up your posts and though that may sound attractive, it can also put your life into wider arenas which intrudes into your personal life or your family or your friends.

Mourners in Manchester after the Arena attack

You can also attract trolls; people who draw the most negative conclusions they can, or question your motives. This is incredibly hurtful  which is what the sender intends  and it will upset you, or make you angry and thats never the best time to think about what you tell.

While the advantages of social media outweigh the disadvantages, the guide advises that after an upsetting event, people should try to stay off social media in case you say more than you intend because of what you experienced.

It adds: Messaging your story can keep you in the trauma; retelling your story can also bring back bad memories and you can even relive the trauma.

People are told not to respond to trolls. The guide says: If you get abusive messages, dont respond or reply but dont ignore them  delete them and do what you can to block the sender from your feed. Consider reporting hateful and abusive messages to the police and service providers.
A woman has told how her cousin and family are lucky to be alive after they survived being in the eye wall of Hurricane Irma.

Sasha Joyce and her father, her husband Brendan and their children sheltered in her fathers house as the storm tore across the island of Tortola in the British Virgin Islands.

The adults lay on top of the children, aged two and four, to protect them as the winds battered the house.

Brendan and Sasha Joyce and their children Keiran and Aiden. (PA)

When they emerged, the other rooms had been swept away, with only the room they had sheltered in surviving.

Sashas cousin Clare Parker, who lives in London, said: My aunt and uncle have lived in the British Virgin Islands for nearly 50 years and have survived many many hurricanes, but they realised that this was a hugely significant one and took all the precautions, they shuttered up and took shelter in a back bedroom thats the most secure.

They were all in that room with the adults lying on top of the small children.

When they came out, the eye wall of the tornado had ripped the concrete house apart.

They walked out of there alive, which is miraculous and we are so grateful for. They are feeling lucky to be alive.

(AP)

She said more aid is vital to help the people on the islands, with food and generators among the things needed.

Irma has torn a destructive trail through several British territories, with the British Virgin Islands said to have born the brunt of the damage.

The death toll from Irma has risen to 20, with four more people believed to have died on the British Virgin Islands, it is reported.

PA Graphic

Mr Joyce, 44, from Glasgow, has lived on the island for more than 10 years and works as a marina manager at Nanny Cay.

His wife Sasha, 34, is from the island and his children Keiran, four, and Aiden, two, were born there.

His sister Frances Joyce, from Glasgow, has spoken to him and said he is devastated by what has happened and worried for the future.

(AP)

She said: The first time he phoned, he phoned me in tears and said were alive, theres nothing else.

He is really worried about food and shelter, and worried about how its going to pan out.

They have two little boys as well, so they are trying to keep them calm.

Back in Scotland were devastated as a family, we feel so helpless as we cant do anything for them, theyre away over there. Its amazing that they are alive.

(Nigel French/PA)

Richard Branson has set up a donation page to help those affected at https://www.virgin.com/unite/bvi-community-support-appeal.

Prime Minister Theresa May has sought to give assurances to the British territories that the Governments support would include a focus on long-term rebuilding.

Some already-ravaged areas are preparing for further possible damage as Hurricane Jose, which has been upgraded to category four, travels through the Atlantic.
Civil servants and politicians who are dealing directly with Brexit are horrified at the potential for a disastrous outcome to negotiations with the European Union, Sir Vince Cable has claimed.

The Liberal Democrat leader said they realise the UK does not have a strong hand in the talks and are worried about the future of the country.

(John Stillwell/PA)

The former business secretary spoke as thousands of demonstrators joined the anti-Brexit Peoples March for Europe through central London, which will end with a rally in Parliament Square.

Before addressing Lib Dem activists who are joining the march, Sir Vince told the Press Association: I think a lot of the people who are dealing with it directly and who dont necessarily have a political axe to grind are pretty horrified actually because they see the potential for disastrous negotiations, they realise Britain doesnt have a very strong hand in these negotiations and they are worried about the future of the country, as I am, as these people are.

(John Stillwell/PA)

Asked who exactly he was talking about, Sir Vince replied: Im talking about people in the other political parties, they go along with Brexit because they say, well people in my constituency voted for it, but deep down they are really, really worried about the consequences, and of course people who are not political.

Sir Vinces comments came at a critical moment for Brexit, with MPs set to vote on the repeal bill, formally known as the EU (Withdrawal) Bill, on Monday for the first time, and amid concerns over the progress of negotiations.

(John Stillwell/PA)

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson on Friday made clear the Governments urgent wish to negotiate trade now, suggesting Article 50 sets out a legal duty to discuss the future relationship concurrently with withdrawal issues including citizens rights, a financial settlement and the Irish border.

But he spoke after senior European figures, including EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier, voiced scepticism that talks would move on to trade relations by October, as hoped, as they have so far failed to deliver decisive progress on withdrawal issues.

(John Stillwell/PA)

Meanwhile, Theresa May was forced to rule out sacking ministers or aides suggested to be involved with a letter signed by between 30 and 40 Tory MPs which set out demands for what was seen as a hard Brexit that differed with Government policy.

Sir Vince said there is now a swelling of people who are deeply alarmed about where negotiations are heading and the confusion and disunity in the Government.

(John Stillwell/PA)

Public opinion will shift as more businesses hold back investment and high quality EU citizens join an exodus out of the country, he said.

Weve already seen the big devaluation (of the pound), and that had has quite a significant impact on peoples living standards, Sir Vince said.

(John Stillwell/PA)

Theres already plenty of evidence that companies are not investing at the moment. They are holding back because of the uncertainty, and those that depend on the single market, the customs union obviously are going to hold back, thats very understandable.

You are beginning to see more and more evidence of an exodus of high-quality, highly trained people from the European Union because of uncertainty about the future, all of these things are happening now and this is just the beginning.
Scottish Labours new leader will be announced on November 18, the partys executive committee has announced.

Committee members met in Stirling to decide the next step in appointing a successor to Kezia Dugdale, who resigned last week.

Following the meeting, the party announced the deadline to sign up to take part in the vote will be October 9.

Now the obituaries are out the way, I'm going back to what I came in to politics to do... fight for the underdog https://t.co/EkRCs0R15I  Kezia Dugdale (@kezdugdale) September 5, 2017

Party members, affiliated supporters and registered supporters who join before that date will be eligible to vote, with membership fees ranging from 3 to 48 a year.

Two MSPs are currently in the running for the job  former trade union organiser Richard Leonard who was elected to Holyrood in 2016, and the partys health spokesman and former deputy leader Anas Sarwar.

Nominations will close on September 17 and the contest will then run for two months, with the vote on November 17.

Eight regional hustings will be held, as well as a Womens and a Young Persons hustings.

Interim Scottish Labour leader Alex Rowley, who has ruled himself out of the race, said: Today the executive of the Scottish Labour party has agreed a process for a leadership election.

Labour is on the up in Scotland. This week we won two by-elections in parts of Scotland the SNP thought were safe for years.

He said the party has begun to regain the trust of the Scottish people, adding: Our next leader will have a great platform to build on, taking us towards the 2021 election where we have a real chance of forming a government.

Kezia Dugdale. (Andrew Milligan/PA)

Ms Dugdale is the third Scottish Labour leader to have resigned since the 2014 independence referendum, with predecessors Johann Lamont and Jim Murphy both having stood down.

She led the party for two years, taking over in the wake of the near Labour wipeout at the 2015 general election when the party lost all but one of its MPs.

Mr Leonard is seen as the left-wing candidate to replace her in contrast to his more centrist rival.

Both leadership hopefuls have praised the UK party leader Jeremy Corbyn, despite Mr Sarwar backing his challenger in the last UK leadership election.

Mr Sarwar said he will unite the party in Scotland, while Mr Leonard said he offers real change.
Dylan Groenewegen won stage seven of the Tour of Britain while Lars Boom retained his green jersey on a fine day for the Lotto NL-Jumbo team.

Groenewegen held off Caleb Ewan (Orica-Scott) on a wet technical finish in Cheltenham to clinch the stage victory.

Celebrations for @GroenewegenD and @LottoJumbo_road after a very hard fought victory on Stage 7 of #OVOToB in Cheltenham! pic.twitter.com/H4TyqiDH73  AJ Bell Tour of Britain  (@TourofBritain) September 9, 2017

Team-mate Boom finished safely in the bunch after the 185-kilometre race from Hemel Hempstead to remain at the top of the general classification with one stage to go.

Riders climb Brill Hill during stage seven of the Tour of Britain

There was a flurry of attacks in the closing stages but none of them were able to stick.

Edvald Boasson Hagen (Dimension Data), Gorka Izagirre (Movistar) and Dion Smith (Wanty Groupe Gobert) launched the final attack in the last 10 kilometres and pulled out a small gap.

But the move could not stick and the bunch was back together for the final kilometre, which included two sharp turns.

Groenewegen came through unscathed to take victory ahead of a fast-finishing Ewan and prevented team-mate Booms rivals taking the vital bonus seconds.

Boom will begin Sundays final stage with an eight-second lead from BMCs Stefan Kung, while Lotto NL-Jumbo team-mate Victor Campenaerts is nine seconds back and Team Skys Vasil Kiryienka a further second adrift.
A Spanish judge has ordered police to search a printers shop and two offices of a regional newspaper in Catalonia as part of an investigation into alleged preparations for an illegal referendum on independence for the region.

A Barcelona-based court said on Saturday that the police searches took place on Friday in the towns of Valls and Constanti in southern Catalonia.

The court said the searches formed part of an investigation into possible disobedience, prevarication and the embezzlement of public funds by Catalan officials.

Recommended reading for the #weekend: Catalonias legitimate right to decide a report by international experts https://t.co/gDqC15OdLX pic.twitter.com/E9L3rtQttI  Catalan Government (@catalangov) September 9, 2017

The regional Catalan newspaper El Vallenc reported that four agents of the Civil Guard entered our newspaper.

El Vallenc said the search took place hours after they had searched the Indugraf business.

Indugraf is a printer in Constanti.

Pro independence supporters

Catalonias president Carles Puigdemont, the regional politician leading the push for independence, said on Twitter that police were not looking for ballots, they were looking for a fight.

The court did not say what police were looking for in the searches.

Media speculation is that the printer and the newspaper could be connected to plans by the regional government to prepare for the independence referendum.

Vitoria

Spains constitutional court has suspended laws passed by the Catalan parliament this week to call for an independence referendum on October 1.

State prosecutors have also targeted Mr Puigdemont and other members of his government with lawsuits for possible disobedience, abuse of power and embezzlement charges.

The pro-independence coalition ruling Catalonia said the vote will be binding and says if the yes side wins it will lead to the independence from Spain by October 3 no matter what the turnout.

Spains constitutional court has previously ruled that only the national government is allowed to call a referendum on secession and that all Spaniards in the country must have a vote when it comes to sovereignty.
By Guillermo Parra-Bernal

SAO PAULO, Sept 8 (Reuters) - AGC Energia SA is in advanced talks to sell the 20.1 percent voting stake it holds in Cia Energetica de Minas Gerais SA to investment bank Banco Classico SA, which could in turn be invited to share control of Brazil's No. 3 power utility, two people with knowledge of the matter said on Friday.

According to one of the people, AGC Energia could fetch around 1.4 billion reais ($453 million) with the sale, which is expected to take place in coming weeks. In a surprise move announced late on Thursday, AGC Energia decided to break off Cemig's shareholder accord, without detailing why.

Such a sale price would represent a premium of almost 100 percent over the value of Cemig's common shares, which fell 2.7 percent to close at 8.29 reais in Sao Paulo. Trading volume on the stock hit the highest level since May on the news.

For almost 15 years, AGC Energia and the state of Minas Gerais, which owns a 51 percent voting stake in Cemig, were tied to an accord that gave the former autonomy to decide strategy. The relation soured after Minas Gerais Governor Fernando Pimentel came to power in 2015 and sought to turn around Cemig, which had grown too big, too fast over the previous decade.

The people said both partners disagreed over plans to cut Cemig's debt and dispose of troubled operations like renewable power firm Renova Energia SA, which could soon be sold.

Cemig's divestiture plans have taken longer than those of rivals, demonstrating the difficulties of trimming a company that expanded beyond power into fiber optics, information technology and gas distribution in recent years. Most of those takeovers have delivered subpar returns.

A partner like Classico, which also is a holder in state-controlled power group Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras SA, "is key to speeding up Cemig's downsizing and liability management," said one of the people, who asked for anonymity because the talks remain private.

Minas Gerais state would be willing to rewrite Cemig's shareholder accord if Classico and AGC Energia agree to sign a deal, the same person added.

Cemig and AGC Energia declined to comment. Efforts to obtain comment from Classico's representatives in Rio de Janeiro were not immediately successful. The state's government did not have an immediate comment.

NEW BUSINESS

Chief Financial Officer Adezio Lima said in July that Cemig will fully dispose of a majority, 43 percent stake in Rio de Janeiro-based utility Light SA and focus on in-house generation, transmission, distribution and sale of electricity.

While Cemig's consolidated debt fell to 12.5 billion reais at the end of June, the utility has lost the rights to operate four hydropower dams and has to repay 4.1 billion reais in liabilities before the end of the year.

The people added that AGC Energia's exit should speed the sale of Cemig's stake in Renova to a unit of Brookfield Asset Management at 9 reais per unit. Reuters first reported the deal on July 7.

Cemig and Light are part of Renova's controlling bloc, and they have already agreed to be bought out by Brookfield, said the person. If the deal is concluded successfully, Brookfield will probably take Renova private, said the person.

Units of Renova, a blend of the company's preferred and common stock, rose 0.7 percent to 7.23 reais on Friday. The stock is up 20 percent this year.

Lima said in July that exiting Renova could take around 60 days. A Sao Paulo-based spokesman for Canada's Brookfield declined to comment.

A unit of infrastructure conglomerate Andrade Gutierrez SA, AGC Energia had been negotiating a way to exit Cemig over the past months, one of the people said.

As part of the shareholder accord with Minas Gerais, AGC Energia had control of several key management positions, including the vice presidency of new business - which negotiated and oversaw Cemig's business expansion, acquisitions and greenfield projects. ($1 = 3.0891 reais) (Reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal; Additional reporting by Luciano Costa in Sao Paulo; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
WASHINGTON, Sept 8 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump spoke separately on Friday with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, United Arab Emirates Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, and Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, the White House said in a statement.

Trump told them that unity among Washington's Arab partners was essential to promoting regional stability and countering the threat of Iran, the statement said.

"The president also emphasized that all countries must follow through on commitments from the Riyadh Summit to defeat terrorism, cut off funding for terrorist groups, and combat extremist ideology," it said.

Trump also spoke to Qatar's al-Thani on Thursday.

Trump told a news conference on Thursday that he would be willing to step in and mediate a dispute among the U.S.-allied Arab states and Qatar, and said he thought a deal could come quickly.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain cut diplomatic and trade links with Qatar on June 5, suspending air and shipping routes with the world's biggest exporter of liquefied natural gas, which is home to the region's biggest U.S. military base.

The nations say Doha supports regional foe Iran and Islamists, charges Qatar's leaders deny.

(Reporting by Eric Beech; Editing by Eric Walsh)
TOKYO, Sept 9 (Reuters) - A group including Bain Capital and South Korea's SK Hynix has raised its offer for Toshiba Corp's chip business to 2.4 trillion yen ($22.3 billion) including a 200 billion yen investment in infrastructure, sources familiar with the matter said.

The offer by the consortium, which is led by the U.S. private equity group and the South Korean chipmaker as well as Japanese state-backed investors, was higher than an initial offer of around 1.94 trillion yen, according to the sources who requested anonymity because the talks were confidential.

Bain and SK Hynix representatives were not immediately available for comment, while Toshiba declined to comment on details of the deal negotiations.

The move comes after sources said Western Digital Corp , which was part of a competing group in final-stage talks with Toshiba, had revised its offer.

The sources said the U.S. company would take a step back from the initial financing consortium to address Toshiba's concerns that a Western Digital stake could lead to prolonged anti-trust reviews.

It was unclear what its latest offer was, but sources previously said it was offering around 1.9 trillion yen.

Toshiba is desperate to sell the unit and cover billions of liabilities at its U.S. nuclear unit Westinghouse. Last week it said it was considering three competing offers including one led by Taiwan's Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn.

All three bidder groups have roped in Apple Inc to bolster their offers, sources have said.

Under their latest offer, Bain and SK Hynix offered to provide a combined total of around 567.5 billion yen, while Apple Inc would provide 335 billion yen, according to sources. Toshiba would keep 250 billion yen in the business, they said.

U.S. technology firms and other Japanese companies were also expected to provide funding, while major banks were expected to provide a total of around 600 billion yen in funds, the sources said.

Bain would have 49.9 percent of initial voting rights in the memory chip business, while Toshiba would have 40 percent and Japanese firms would have 10.1 percent, the sources said.

Toshiba's board is due to meet on Wednesday to consider the offers, sources said. ($1 = 107.8300 yen) (Reporting by Kentaro Hamada; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
By Tim Cocks

DAKAR, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Togo must go the way of other West African nations and swiftly limit presidential terms to two if it wants to prevent protests escalating into a political crisis, the United Nations envoy to the region said on Saturday.

Thousands of people have taken to the streets in the past three days to demand that President Faure Gnassingbe step aside, in the most serious challenge to his family's 50-year ruling dynasty since the death of his father in 2005.

Police have responded with tear gas, although avoiding the bloodshed that has tarnished previous demonstrations, and internet and phone calls have been restricted.

There were no further reports of protests on Saturday, and they seemed to have died down, but the opposition said they would continue until Gnassingbe steps aside.

"It has become unavoidable for Togo to join the rest of West Africa in having term limitations," U.N. Special Representative for West Africa and the Sahel Mohamed Ibn Chambas told Reuters in a telephone interview.

Since Gambia's Yahya Jammeh was forced out after losing an election last December, all West African countries except Togo have accepted two-term limits on presidential office -- bucking a regressive trend across Africa to remove them and re-enable "presidents for life".

"Our main perspective is to advise the Togolese to take those actions to prevent an escalation," he added. "We are in a region where the security challenges are real and menacing and so we don't want to see any deep political crisis."

He said a move by Gnassingbe's government this week to propose a draft bill to reform the constitution and reintroduce a two-term limit was welcome. The opposition has rejected it because it says it would enable him to stay in power until 2030.

"I suspect the devil is in the detail. We have to wait to see the formulation of the draft," Chambas said.

An official in Gnassingbe's cabinet did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but Chambas said he had received assurances during his meeting with the president on Friday that he had "heard the people".

The president's father Gnassingbe Eyadema seized power in a 1967 coup and ruled for 38 years before his death. He brought in a two-term limit in 1992, in response to protests, then scrapped it a decade later when he decided he wanted to run again.

When he died in 2005, the military installed his son instead of the national assembly head, as was constitutionally mandated, stoking protests in which at least 500 people were killed.

Faure Gnassingbe has since sought to remodel Togo as a shipping, banking and airline hub modelled on Dubai or Singapore, with some limited success in port upgrades, regional airline operator Asky and pan-African bank Ecobank.

Chambas urged the government to move swiftly with changes.

"My biggest fear for it to go to the national assembly and there be a total blockage. I hope there will be a clear time line...not a perception that this is a delaying tactic," he said. "That will go a long way towards building confidence."

(Editing by Angus MacSwan)
BERLIN, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Social benefits for asylum seekers in Germany are "quite high" and they need to be harmonised across Europe, the country's interior minister was quoted on Saturday as saying, two weeks before a national election in which immigration is a key issue.

Thomas de Maiziere belongs to Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives, who are expected again to emerge as the biggest party after the Sept. 24 election despite losing some support to the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD).

The right-wing AfD, which has tried to tap into public disquiet over Merkel's 2015 decision to open German borders to more than a million migrants, is expected to win up to 11 percent in the election and enter the federal parliament for the first time.

In an interview published in the regional newspaper Rheinische Post, de Maiziere appeared to target voters particularly concerned by the migrant influx, saying asylum procedures and benefits for asylum seekers needed to be harmonised across the 28-nation European Union.

"What we need next is a standardised asylum system in Europe and we're currently negotiating that in the EU - it can't be that the standards are so different in Romania, Finland, Portugal and Germany," he said.

"Germany is the country that most (asylum seekers) want to live in because the process and conditions for being accepted are relatively generous compared with other European countries and the benefits for refugees are quite high compared with other EU member countries," he said.

De Maiziere said a more harmonised system could involve possible subsidies for migrants to help cover higher living costs in countries such as Germany on top of a uniform amount agreed at the level of the EU.

He also called for common legal standards, saying: "Asylum seekers here can drag out their deportation significantly more than they can elsewhere using various legal paths." (Reporting by Michelle Martin; Editing by Gareth Jones)
IGP Pujith Jayasundara had promoted 2,599 police officers with effect from May 31, 2016.

Police Spokesman SP Ruwan Gunasekara told Daily Mirror that it was for the first time in the recent past that a large number of officers were promoted at one occasion.

According to the decision, 2,075 Police Constables (PC) had been promoted to the rank of Sergeant, 189 Sergeants to the rank of Sub Inspector (SI) and 34 Women Sergeants to the rank of Sub inspector.

Meanwhile, 292 Police Constable Drivers (PCD) had been promoted to the rank of Sergeant Driver while nine Sergeant Drivers had been promoted to the rank of Transport Sub Inspector.

Earlier this week, 177 Special Task Force (STF) officers were also promoted. (Thilanka Kanakarathna)
In the fall of 1950, PN Kaul, a young colonel, was posted in Leh. In his memoirs, he wrote about his life in Ladakh and mentioned a curious incident. He saw thousands of refugees arriving from Xinjiang (then Sinkiang or Eastern Turkestan): (They) came with what little they could carry on their ponies. Many had lost family members in their journey over Karakoram or neighbouring passes. I had a hard time trying to see that they werent fleeced by those connected with their evacuation from Leh.

Consequences

They were fleeing Kashgar, which a few months earlier had been taken over by the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA). Kaul recalls, Our consul general in Kashgar, Captain RD Sathe of the Indian Foreign Service and an ex-army officer, and his wife also arrived in Leh during the winter of 1950, after their difficult journey from Kashgar.

This small sentence is fascinating, because the closure of the Indian consulate in Kashgar is one of the least-known historical facts, but which had tremendous consequences. Strangely, nothing can be found in the Indian archives about it.

However, I once came across a cable from KM Panikkar, the Indian ambassador in Beijing, to KPS Menon, the foreign secretary. Dated August 14, 1950, a few months before Captain Sathe reached Leh; Panikkar writes, Re-opening of the consulate in Kashgar may take considerable time. In fact, I have serious doubts whether the Chinese government will agree to a consulate there, as even the Soviet have not so far been given permission to re-establish their consulate general. If we press for it, multiple-month negotiations will be unavoidable.

Does it mean that in August 1950, the Indian Consulate in Sinkiang was already closed? Incidentally, in Kashgar, India and Pakistan shared the same building, the erstwhile British consulate.

To figure the background of the closure of the Indian Consulate in Kashgar, one has to fish into the Johns Hopkins Universitys archives in the US.

On November 14, 1950, Isa Yusuf Alptekin, the former secretary general of the defunct Government of Turkistan, at that time a refugee in Srinagar, wrote to Owen Lattimore, an influential American scholar.

The Uyghur leader explained, Lue Meng Cheng (Liu Mengqun), who was secretary general of the headquarters for military and political affairs, joined hands unofficially with the Chinese communists in 1949. General Tao Chih Yao (Tao Zhiyue), commander-in-chief of the nationalist army in Turkistan also joined hands with him and became party to his activities. Governor Burhan (Shahidi) also joined them.

It means that the main nationalist leaders defected to the communists, who were received with open arms in Sinkiang; Alptekin said, This surrender meant Russian control over our land again, the consequences of which were still fresh in our minds.

He had no alternative but to escape to India over the most arduous pass, the Karakoram.

The Uyghur leader reached Leh on December 12, 1949. After reaching Ladakh we came to know that 789 of our countrymen had also reached Ladakh as refugees after surrendering arms, ammunition, valuables and extra clothing to the ruthless Chinese soldiers at the border.

Communist rule

In the following years, tens of thousands of refugees would flee the communist rule. Its probably at this time that the new leadership in Sinkiang decided to close the Indian, Pakistani and Soviet missions. The latter would soon be reopened and by 1953, it was thriving with 300 "advisors" directing operations in the New Dominion; Indias consulate, however, would never reopen.

It was only in December 1953 that Nehru declared in Parliament, Some major changes have taken place there (Kashgar). But when these revolutionary changes took place there, it is also perfectly true that the Chinese government, when they came to Tibet, told us that they intended to treat Sinkiang as a closed area.

The communists decision, accepted by India, had tremendous implications: The entire trade with Central Asia from Srinagar and Leh, the lifeline of these regions, suddenly ended. When Beijing today speaks of the One Belt One Road, or an Economic Corridor, it omits to mention that there was a flourishing commerce which was deliberately closed by China itself.

Construction

According to a CIA report of July 15, 1953, the PLA was busy with road construction (across the Indian territory in Aksai Chin area). In late 1952, the 2 Cavalry Regiment, commanded by Han Tse-min, had its headquarters at Gartok (Western Tibet). This regiment had 800 camels. A unit of this regiment, with 150 men, was garrisoned at Rudok (near the Pangong lake). Han Tse-min said when these roads were completed, the Chinese communists would close the Tibet-Ladakh border to trade. The Chinese communists in Sinkiang were telling the people that Ladakh belongs to Sinkiang.

It was definitively a premeditated action to close down the Indian consulate in Kashgar and then, the trade between Sinkiang and Kashmir and central Asia.

The conclusion? First, its ironic Beijing pretends to be upset about Indias non-participation to its OBOR project when the century-old Silk Road was closed more than 60 years ago and remains so today.

Next, like in 1950, China puts its neighbours in front of fait accomplis and later announces that its ready to "talk"; though in that particular case, the Indian consulate in Kashgar never came to the negotiating table. Its perhaps high time it does.

And finally, why cant Delhi declassify these old files, which would show the world how China acted and still acts?
Thats Swati Mahadik on the right in her new uniform, the day (September 9, 2017,) she is commissioned into service as an officer of the Indian Army. With her, are her children Swaraj, and Kartikee.

Shes now Lieutenant Swati Mahadik.

It was nearly two years ago that Swati lost her husband, Indian Army special forces officer Colonel Santosh Mahadik of the 41 Rashtriya Rifles in an anti-terror operation in north Kashmir. A mission in which he was posthumously decorated with the Shaurya Chakra for a breathtaking act of courage that saw him sacrifice his life to save the men under his charge. Nearly a year after his death, Swati stunned many by announcing that she wished to join the Army. Sending her children away to boarding school, she joined the Officers Training Academy in Chennai in 2016.

Heres little Kartikee bidding her father farewell in November 2015. Her mother now passes out as a commissioned officer.

The first full account of the terror encounter  and Col Mahadiks supreme bravery  happen to be documented in Indias Most Fearless, an upcoming book from Penguin by Livefist editor-in-chief Shiv Aroor and Hindustan Times military affairs correspondent Rahul Singh. In the book, Maj Pravin Kumar, who was part of the operation and adjutant at Col Mahadiks unit, speaks of the mission at length and in detail unknown before. An operative part from the book:

"While Col Mahadik was being airlifted to Srinagar, I received a call from his wife. She had already heard, remembers Maj Pravin, then Adjutant at 41 Rashtriya Rifles headquarters. Her question still haunts me. All she asked was Zinda rahenge ya nahi rahenge? Bas itna bata do (Will he live or not? Just tell me that). Maj Pravin did not know what to say. He knew that she knew the truth. But he still hoped that the doctors at 92 Base Hospital, often magicians in their abilities, could bring Col Mahadik back.

She called again a short while later. This time, she asked me a question that haunts me even more, remembers Maj Pravin. She asked how many rounds had hit her husband. I mustered my strength to inform her that he had taken 7 bullets and that he was unlikely to survive. She said nothing further and hung up the phone."

Heres another picture of Lieutenant Swati Mahadik with her family. Livefist wishes her the very best as she enters service.
New U.K. Treasury chief Jeremy Hunt has reversed most of an economic package announced by the government just weeks ago, including a planned cut in income taxes. Hunt said Monday he was scrapping almost all the tax cuts announced last month by the Conservative government of Prime Minister Liz Truss, and also signaled that public spending cuts are on the way. It was a bid to soothe turbulent financial markets spooked by fears of excessive government borrowing. The move raises questions about how long the beleaguered prime minister can stay in office, though Truss insisted she has no plans to quit. She vowed to lead the Conservatives into the next general election, but many in the party want her gone.
Sunday church services remain among the most segregated of American institutions but local religious leaders hold out hope that that may change before the kingdom comes.

Xenophobia, a history of racial prejudice  including forced segregation through Jim Crow laws  and cultural differences make Sunday services among the least diverse social activities, leaders say.

In some ways, Jim Crow is hard-wired into churches and they tend to be much more segregated than the residential communities that surround them, said Valerie Cooper, a professor of religious studies at Duke University. The question is why is it that churches that are voluntary communities so segregated?

Cooper, who served as a professor of religious studies at the University of Virginia from 2005 to 2013, will address the issue in a lecture on Sept. 23 at Westminster Presbyterian Church on Rugby Road. She will address church segregation in an 11 a.m. lecture and how things could change in a 1 p.m. lecture.

Cooper and local religious leaders said the kingdom of God will not be segregated. They said the New Testament provides a picture of Heaven with all races and denominations present.

The Book of Revelations describes a great multitude that no one can count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, and they are all worshipping together, Cooper said. Its a picture of Heaven. Everyone together and worshipping in a joyful way.

The church on Earth, she noted, falls far short.

The truth is that churches are one part of the civil rights movement that was unsuccessful, she said. You cant compel people to treat each other like Christians. There has been some progress, but the issues are deep-seated.

* * *

Some of those issues are rooted in sin, others in the worship cultures that have developed over time, local leaders say.

The Rev. Robert Pocheck, of the First Baptist Church on Park Street, said his church includes a variety of nationalities and ethnic groups and shares space with a Chinese Christian church, but he said there are few African-Americans, even though his church has a strong relationship with the predominately African-American Mt. Zion First African Baptist Church.

The church should look like the community it serves in terms of social, economic and racial composition. We do that well with the social-economic aspect, but we are far more white than wed like to be, he said Wed like to include more people who dont look like us. Thats what Heaven will look like.

There are several reasons most churches are segregated, Pocheck said, but perhaps the biggest reason is xenophobia.

We tend to have a fear of people and things that dont look like us, and for a follower of Christ, thats a sin that needs to be just not repented of, but addressed, he said.

Pocheck said the New Testament makes it clear that the divide between religions and races has been erased through a belief in Christ, but thats difficult in society.

We tend to give into the homogenous principle, and thats not just between races, he said. Weve had people come to church dressed in shorts and flip-flops, and some people look down on that. We have to come to the place where our identity is found in Christ and not something else.

Pastor Kyle Hoover is the lead pastor of Charlottesville Community Church, which meets at Cale Elementary School in Albemarle County. The congregation is comprised of a variety of people from different denominations and focuses more on Biblical teachings and less on tradition.

Hoover said many churches have developed worship styles with different ways of praying, singing and Bible study, and people tend to stay with the services with which they are comfortable.

A lot of the traditions can be very different and they become contributors to the divide, he said. We are worshipping the same God, but the way we do that can be very, very different. The people who are in front of the microphone, who are leading Bible studies and leading the services, are what the church will be like.

Hoover said that the differences in services and worship methods should not prevent churches from reaching out to each other. He said his church and the predominately African-American Ebenezer Baptist Church have held joint services and work together.

You need to expand your experience of other worship styles, to understand that you are not the only way to do things and to have open conversations with people of different races and see how they see the world, he said. You dont have to give up your differences, but you have to find and accept the commonalities.

* * *

Good intentions can be difficult to translate into good results, however. The Rev. Hodari Hamilton, of the First Baptist Church of Charlottesville, said he has served in many predominantly black churches and found challenges in attracting members who were not African-American.

In one, there was a written plan to attract members of other races. Even still, there was a major difficulty in being truly racially diverse, Hamilton said. It is noteworthy that, beyond race, the churches I served were very diverse in theology, understanding of sexuality, formal education and even social economics.

Hamilton said race and racism are persistent challenges for churches wishing to be more diverse.

Many view race as a Pandoras Box to be avoided at all costs. Others risk and often lose life and limb addressing it, he said. I personally know a brilliant, non-African-American pastor in Charlottesville who was determined to address the issue of race from the pulpit. Within six months, he was asked to resign and did.

Hamilton said minorities who join majority-white churches are often expected to deny their racial identities.

This is we dont discuss race here or ignoring all racial matters. This pretending is not true diversity and is not Gods design for community, Hamilton said.

Cooper said many congregations provide subtle messages that someone is unwelcome when they act, think or look different than the majority of parishioners.

When I was at UVa, I had a hard time finding a Methodist church to attend, she said. In one church I attended, they had a Veterans Day celebration in front of a Confederate monument. They thought I was making too big of a deal about it when I complained.

* * *

Cooper said she believes a lot of reticence to desegregate is based in historical racism from the Revolution through the antebellum period and past the Jim Crow era.

For centuries in America and throughout the West, race was regarded as a strongly biological thing, she said. What we thought was a biological issue proved through study of the human genome to be a very small part of the makeup of a person. There really is very little difference biologically between black and white. But theological ideals are harder to die.

Cooper said race is deeply rooted in most American churches as a result of slavery.

We had to do a lot of theological explaining to explain why we had the right to own other people, and those reasons were never repudiated theologically. They just stopped being addressed, she said. Race is not a biological function, but we enforced racial boundaries as if it was a real thing.

Leaders still hold out hope that churches can refocus on their missions and messages and join as a force for change.

If there is any place that should be able to defeat racism, it should be, and is, the church, Hamilton said. Radical love has been and is the answer to race, in and out of the church. This does not mean denying justice or correcting history, but it means loving each other enough to work on a lasting community.

Hamilton said church leaders need to challenge the norm of racially separated churches and acknowledge the personal prejudices that are often excused as preferences.

Cooper agreed.

Christians have the best language about reconciliation. The cross is the story of God reconciling with us. Communion is us forgiving ourselves and each other. There is something wrong if youve never encountered someone different than you in the context of reconciliation, Cooper said.

We havent put our belief in reconciliation to the test, she said. People go to church every Sunday and see no one who doesnt look just like they do and they dont notice it. Were not aware of it and we ought to be ashamed.
RICHMOND  Hurricane Irmas devastating waves and wind will collide with Florida on Sunday, but the storm will weaken by the time it starts to spread rain into Virginia next week and theres no threat of catastrophic effects here.

Irmas track is now in focus

The National Hurricane Center predicts that Irma will hit the Florida Keys on Sunday morning with sustained winds approaching 160 mph, and parts of South Florida will be inundated by a storm surge 8 to 12 feet above ground level.

Irma will spin north-northwest over the entire length of Florida on Sunday night and Monday morning, then through Georgia by Monday night.

The winds will steadily diminish after Irma crosses over land, but power outages from strong gusts and flash flooding from torrential rainfall could stretch as far inland as Atlanta and the Great Smoky Mountains.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, the weakened remnants of Irma will track into Tennessee, but rain showers will extend into Virginia.

Irma will not swerve northeast and make a direct strike on the North Carolina or Virginia coast, which completely rules out any threat of damaging winds and storm surge on the nearby coastline.

Central Virginia wont see excessive rain

Most of Virginia will receive some occasional rain from the remnants of Irma between Monday night and Wednesday, with higher amounts to the west and less to the east.

The rain chance is mostly centered on Tuesday, but showers could begin as early as Monday night and last as late as Wednesday.

It's reasonable to expect that parts of Central Virginia could see an inch of rain during that time, though the exact amount for any location will be higher or lower depending on where the rain showers track.

Therefore, there's no need to take protective action or alter any plans here in Central Virginia, except for the kind of plans that you would normally change when it rains.

SWVa. wont be hit by a deluge

Farther west, the Blue Ridge Mountains will act to enhance the rainfall, and totals in parts of Southwest Virginia could wind up in the 2- to 4-inch range.

That may lead to some localized flash flooding southwest of Roanoke or higher levels on the New River and Dan River, but the threat is not extreme.

Virginia has a long history of flooding rains from the remnants of hurricanes, but the rain from Irma will not be heavy enough or prolonged enough to create a major river flooding situation.

Southwest Virginia will also be closer to the center of Irmas remnant low, so some strong wind gusts to 40 mph could sweep across the ridgelines and bring down tree limbs in higher elevations on Monday night or Tuesday morning.

Tornadoes can briefly spin up in the rain bands of tropical systems after they make landfall, but its too early to know if any tornado threat will materialize on Tuesday here in Virginia.
RICHMOND  One group of young people asked questions of Virginias major-party gubernatorial candidates about issues important to childrens health.

Another group shouted concerns about the plight of so-called Dreamers  children of illegal immigrants now facing possible deportation  at the end of Republican candidate Ed Gillespies presentation to a gubernatorial forum sponsored by Voices for Virginias Children on Friday at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College in Henrico County.

ICE out of Virginia, shouted some of the four to five young people in the audience, referring to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Deportation, not no more, shouted others, prompted by President Donald Trumps decision this week to reverse former President Barack Obamas executive order protecting children of illegal immigrants from deportation.

The outburst briefly disrupted a policy forum Friday afternoon that focused on other big issues facing children  access to health care, including mental health and treatment of addiction; gaps in educational achievement based on income and race; growing up in impoverished households, living in foster care or being caught in the so-called school to prison pipeline.

Gillespie and Lt. Gov. Ralph S. Northam, the Democratic nominee for governor, appeared separately but agreed generally on the importance of solving some of those vexing problems, such as improving the placement of foster care children in permanent families, expanding access to mental health and substance use treatment; and narrowing the educational achievement gap for children in poor or racial minority families.

I believe there is power in every child and I want every child in the commonwealth of Virginia to have the same opportunities Ive had, said Northam, a pediatric neurologist from the Eastern Shore who served in the Virginia Senate before becoming lieutenant governor.

Gillespie, a former political consultant and Republican National Committee chairman from Northern Virginia, said, Theres nowhere in Virginia I wont go because theres no one in the commonwealth I wont serve.

He also said after the forum, in response to the protest, that his father came to America from Ireland to remain with his family. Obviously, it wasnt his choice to come to America, Gillespie said. In the case of the Dreamers, it wasnt their choice, either. I think they should not be deported.

The candidates parted on Medicaid, a federal-state program that Northam wants to expand under the Affordable Care Act and Gillespie does not, although he appeared to back away from failed proposals by Republicans in Congress to cap future federal spending on its share of the program.

Im confident that working with our congressional delegation we can make sure those federal cuts dont take place, said Gillespie, who previously has favored a federal block-grant program to replace the current cost-sharing arrangement with states.

Northam, who has backed Gov. Terry McAuliffes unsuccessful attempts to expand Medicaid in Virginia, faulted General Assembly Republicans for refusing to accept billions of dollars in enhanced federal funding for expanding the program.

We shouldnt give Medicaid dollars to states we compete with, he said.

Gillespie responded to many of the eight questions posed by a panel of high school and college students by brandishing the position papers he has issued on subjects such as education, mental health and substance use.

He appeared most comfortable talking about the importance of overcoming the stigmas of mental illness and addiction, as well as helping find families for children in foster care who in Virginia often age out of the program without a family to support them.

Gillespie also emphasized needs in parts of the state outside of the urban crescent that stretches from Northern Virginia through Richmond to Hampton Roads, talking about the challenges of children in poverty going to school in Southwest Virginia and other rural areas, although he also mentioned George Mason Elementary School in Richmond.

Its hard to focus on school work if your stomach is growling and your shoes dont fit, he said.

Northam appeared to relish a forum focusing on issues he knows well as a doctor and as chairman of the Commonwealth Council on Childhood Success, which advocates ways to expand early childhood education and reduce disparities in achievement.

If one family has the means to send their child to pre-K and the other one doesnt, thats really what starts the gap, he said.

Twice, Northam complimented one of the youth panelists, University of Virginia senior Steven Sherping, for applying for possible admission to Eastern Virginia Medical School. The lieutenant governor graduated from the school and serves there as an assistant professor of neurology.

Sherping, who leads the UVa chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, was joined on the panel by: Virginia Commonwealth University senior Sophia Booker, a former foster child who is completing a degree in social work and psychology; and Morgan Stanley, an 11th-grade student from Blackstone who plans to run for lieutenant governor in the Model General Assembly this year.

Makayla Jackson, a high school freshman from Henrico involved in juvenile justice reforms, was unable to attend.

We think you represent the future of Virginia very well, Margaret Nimmo Holland, executive director of Voices, told the panelists.
New Delhi: IT major Infosys on Friday said the feedback from its clients and stakeholders, despite weeks of acrimony between the founders and former board members, has been "positive and reassuring" and it is now focusing on executing its strategy.

The Bengaluru-based firm has been in the eye of a storm over the past few months, with the two sides clashing over allegations such as corporate governance lapses and irregularities in Infosys' USD 200-million Panaya acquisition.

"Since Vishal left and Nandan came on board, we have had a massive outreach. We have talked to all the stakeholders, clients and employees," Infosys interim CEO and MD U B Pravin Rao said at the Citi Global Technology Conference 2017.

He added that the company has also reached out to investors and industry consultants and "more or less, the feedback has been extremely positive and reassuring".

Rao said Nilekani's return has brought in a sense of stability at the board level.

"Nandan's primary focus as the non-executive chairman is more on the board governance, board oversight but at the same time, he will also be tasked with CEO succession planning," he added.

On August 18, the then CEO Vishal Sikka quit Infosys, citing slander. The following week saw the exit of four board members, including Chairman R Seshasayee, who had blamed co- founder N R Narayana Murthy's "misguided campaign" for Sikka's abrupt exit.

Co-founder Nandan Nilekani was named the non-executive Chairman in a move that was seen as the company bowing to the demands of co-founders and large institutional investors.

Referring to Sikka's exit, Rao said while many clients were "sad" to see him go, at the same time, they acknowledged the fact that "relationship between both the organisations lasts beyond individuals".

"...once we gave them a reassurance of continuity in strategy and stability, they were fairly comfortable," Rao added.

Asked if Infosys would change its revenue guidance for the year, Rao said there were still three weeks to go in this quarter and that focus currently is on strategy execution.

Infosys expects its revenue to grow by 6.5-8.5 per cent in constant currency during FY 2017-18.
New Delhi: Telecom regulator Trai on Friday recommended the government to issue a new licence in the virtual network operator (VNO) category for landline service at the district level.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has suggested the present licence of VNOs may be amended to enable to allow them use fixed line network of various telecom operators for providing the Electronic Private Automatic Branch Exchange (EPABX) services.

The VNOs are entities authorised to provide telecom services like mobile, landline and internet, but only as a retailer for full-fledged telecom operators such as BSNL, MTNL, Airtel and the like.

The Department of Telecom (DoT) has already started issuing licence for VNOs.

The new set of recommendations from Trai has been issued following reference from the DoT for access service by VNOs at district or service area level.

The recommendations will impact EPABX service providers permitted under the scheme called the Direct Inward Dialing (DID) introduced by the DoT in the year 1994 for expansion of landline services.

Trai said that existing DID franchisees should migrate to UL (VNO) Category 'B' licence to continue services.

"New license should not be restricted only to existing DID franchisees and should also be open to new entities intending to offer such services," TRAI said.

The regulator has recommended that the duration of UL (VNO) Cat 'B license shall remain consistent with the guidelines of UL (VNO) and accordingly be issued for a period of 10 years duration and further renewable for 10 years.

Trai has recommended that the entry fee of Rs 1.65 lakh for 10 years of duration of licence shall be applicable to the new permit and the minimum networth of licence holder should be more than Rs 5 lakh per authorisation.
Hyderabad: The GST council, meeting here today, is likely to take up fixing of tax anomalies on a number of common use items as well as the quantum of cess to be hiked on luxury and mid-size cars, officials said on Friday.

It will also take up IT related issues in the GST network which has faced glitches. The all powerful GST Council, chaired by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and comprising his state counterparts, is likely to consider lowering tax rates on over two dozen products, including idli/dosa batter, dried tamarind, custard powder and kitchen gas lighter after anomalies in their fixations were pointed out, officials said.

The Council will also formulate a mechanism to deal with businesses that are deregistering their brands to avoid taxes after the rollout of Goods and Services Tax from July 1.

The fitment committee has proposed to the GST Council to consider May 15, 2017, as the cut off date for considering as a registered brand for the purpose of levy of GST, irrespective of whether or not the brand is subsequently deregistered.

Unbranded food items are exempted from GST, whereas branded and packaged food items attract 5 per cent rate. Hence, many businesses are deregistering their brands to avoid the levy.

The quantum of hike in cess on a range of cars from mid-sized to hybrid variants would be finalised in tomorrow's meeting. The Council had in its last meeting on August 5 approved hike in cess on mid, large size cars, SUVs, hybrid and luxury ones to up to 25 per cent, from 15 per cent. An Ordinance to hike the cess rate has been promulgated and the Council will now look at the quantum of hike.

The states are likely to raise in the 21st GST Council meeting is the technology backbone prepared by GST Networks (GSTN) and how the maiden return filing fared. Due to huge rush of July GSTR-3B return filing on the penultimate date, the GSTN software had witnessed some glitches and the last date of filing had to be extended.

Also the date of final return filing for GSTR-1 was extended to September 10 in view of rush in invoice uploading. Various issues flagged by traders and businesses are likely to be raised by the states in tomorrow's meeting, an

official said.

Even as auto makers continued to demand deferral in cess hike, the Council is likely to go ahead in increasing as it will rectify the anomaly where rates of certain common use items had gone up but luxury cars were costing less under the new regime.

Car prices had dropped by up to Rs 3 lakh following the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) from July 1. This cess has been hiked to up to 25 per cent now on certain makes. Also a new category has been introduced in the Act wherein motor vehicles which have capacity to transport up to 13 persons would attract 25 per cent cess.

The highest pre-GST tax incidence on motor vehicles worked out to about 52-54.72 per cent, to which 2.5 per cent was added on account of Central Sales Tax and octroi. Against this, post-GST the total tax incidence came to 43 per cent.

Under GST, which replaced over a dozen central and state levies in the biggest tax reform since independence, cars attract the top tax rate of 28 per cent.

On top of this, a cess of 1 to 25 per cent has been levied for the creation of a corpus to compensate states for any loss of revenue from implementation of GST.
Mumbai: The Finance Ministry on Saturday morning tweeted this picture that shows the venue of 21st GST Council meet being held in Hyderabad. "21st Meeting of GST Council to begin at 11am today at Hyderabad International Convention Centre in Hyderabad,' the ministry said.

21st Meeting of GST Council to begin at 11am today at Hyderabad International Convention Centre in Hyderabad pic.twitter.com/Y22yhwDAbO  Ministry of Finance (@FinMinIndia) September 9, 2017
New Delhi: India could sell stakes in state-owned companies to fund a bank recapitalisation and revive growth without straying from the path of fiscal consolidation, the former head of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Thursday.

Stronger, better-managed banks should be given the capital they need to absorb losses as a matter of high priority, Raghuram Rajan, who left the RBI last year, told Reuters in an interview.

More than $150 billion of bad debt is crimping credit growth in Asias third-largest economy, and the government and the RBI have been trying to ease the burden on state-run lenders, which account for 70 per cent of all lending.

The expected losses from the bad loans mean banks will need tens of billions of dollars of fresh capital, but the government does not have the money to fund such a bail-out.

One option would be taking on more debt, but that would run counter to Prime Minister Narendra Modis aim of imposing fiscal discipline.

Asias third-largest economy aims to trim its fiscal deficit to 3.2 per cent of GDP in 2017/18, down from 3.5 per cent the year before. Indias success in narrowing its fiscal and current account deficit has helped to attract record levels of foreign investment.

The whole point about the fiscal consolidation process is saying that you are making hard choices, so if you are staying within that you have to find other places where you either cut spending or raise resources, Rajan said.

But he said the government might sell some assets to raise the funds and that a strong performance by the countrys stock market provided a good opportunity for divesting.

Rajan, a former International Monetary Fund economist, had a high-profile three-year term as the head of the RBI, playing a crucial role early in his tenure in stabilizing the currency. He left last year and had refrained from making public comments about the economy until now.

Over the past few days, he has been in India to mark the publication of his new book, I Do What I Do.

During the interview at the University of Chicago offices in New Delhi, Rajan also said that it would make sense to keep Janet Yellen as chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve.

It makes sense, as shes sort of following this process of normalisation, to stick with somebody who is known by the system, because this is a delicate process, Rajan said.

Sources close to the White House and an administration official told Reuters that President Donald Trump is considering many candidates to lead the central bank. Yellens term expires in February.
The murder of a seven-year-old child at a posh school in Gurugram has drawn sharp criticisms from all quarters. Joining in the chorus is filmmaker-actor-activist Farhan Akhtar.

I am numbed. Words fail me. We speak about crime and then move on. This is the mistake we make and this is what encourages crime. The lack of accountability and sustained protest. The most frightening thing is, that the monster who did this horrific deed to the child thought he would get away with something so inhuman. I cant even begin to imagine what the childs parents are going through, says the actor.

My children are as vulnerable as any other child because at school, their parents are not with them. It is the schools responsibility to ensure their safety. I think the school administration has failed not just the child but also proved how damaged our system is, says Farhan wondering how such potential criminals are employed to protect children.

To save some money, you employ dubious people to look after homes and schools. What could be more careless and irresponsible? We immediately need to pass stricter laws against careless employment of unverified people. Because whether they are potential criminals or not is not written on their faces. How do we know that the watchman employed to protect our homes or the bus conductor employed to drive children to school is trustworthy? asks Farhan.

He also feels that empowered sections of society do not exercise enough clout to stop these crimes. Dont just point fingers at actors. It could be any empowered or privileged individual or organisation. We all must join forces to make sure that no potential criminal thinks that he can get away with a crime as heinous as the one committed by that bus conductor in Gurgaon. 

As an actor Farhan feels he cant play anti-socials. Maybe some years ago when crime was not so barbaric, I could have. Now I doubt I will ever play a serial killer, rapist or a child molester just because it would challenge me as an actor. What about the much greater challenge that we face as nation to protect our vulnerable sections? We who have must think twice before using that voice.
Kochi: National-Award winning actor Surabhi Lakshmi is under fire from right wing activists for eating beef on a television show broadcasted on Onam day. On the show Surabhi was seen visiting her favourite hotel in Kozhikode, which is known for its beef dish. She was shown enjoying Porotta with beef fry which irked right wing activists and she was subjected to trolls. Surabhi the other day also posted a selfie showing her Onasadya with a chicken dish. That post also received trolls, most of them abusive, alleging that it hurt sentiments of people.

The actor got support from Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan who reacted to the issue on his Facebook account. "Onam differs from any other festival, as it is a celebration that transcends caste and religious boundaries. It is the festival of the state. The food served for Onam has also got its significance in Malayali life, as it encompasses and reflects the diversity of our culture.

While the Onam feast is exclusively vegetarian in the south, in the northern parts of the state, it is incomplete without meat delicacies. The diversity in food has strengthened with the democratization of our society. There is no infringement in the state with the eating habits of the people. We can be proud of this fact that our society has matured in upholding the values of democracy, secularism and modernity which even reflects through the food-liberty of every individual residing permanently or temporarily in Kerala . Let us preserve this cultural uniqueness of ours, Pinarayi posted.
The actor, all set to be directed by Gopi Ganesh, will start shooting for the remake next month onwards

Even as comedian-turned-lead actor Sunil is gearing up for the release his latest film, Ungarala Rambabu, he has signed another film. According to a source, the actor has agreed to do the remake of Tamil blockbuster Sathuranga Vettai.

After the Tamil release in 2014, many have been wanting to remake this film in Telugu since the last couple of years, and finally it has reached Sunil. The story is different and realistic, thus the film was a big hit in Tamil, says a source.

Ganesh Gopi, who has worked with Puri Jagannadh in the past and directed the 2014 film Romeo, will be directing the film. Sivalenka Krishna Prasad, who recently bankrolled Nani-starrer Gentleman, will produce it along with Ramesh Pillai.

The project is currently in its pre-production phase, and the remaining cast will also be finalised soon.
Actress Lavanya Tripathi has been in the news after recently exiting two movies one after another. The first one she quit was a Telugu film starring Vijay Deverakonda, to be directed by Parasuram. While the other one was a Tamil film which was going to be a remake of the Telugu hit 100 percent Love.

Apparently, there was a big communication gap between the makers of the Telugu and Tamil films, and the actress suffered at the hands of the confusion.

The director of the Tamil film Chandra Mouli called the Telugu film producer, Bunny Vasu, and informed him that Lavanya may not be available to do his Telugu film as she had given bulk dates for his film, says a source from the industry. Chandra further told Bunny that the actress had signed a legal contract and cant take up any other project(s) until the contract was in place.

A worried Bunny passed on the news to Parasuram and they immediately roped in Rashmika Mandanna. Without consulting the actress or her manager, both the filmmakers decided everything on their own; so an irked Lavanya walked out of both the films, reveals the source.
The miners have been striking it rich in the ore-rich forests of Ballari, raking in the moolah to build business empires and fund the rise and fall of governments. But at serious risk is Karnatakas precious heritage, which is slowly getting eroded because of the constant hammering from blasts carried out by mining machines as they tear away at the earths interiors. One such historic structure facing extinction outside the mining town of Sandur in Ballari district, is the 1200-year-old Kumaraswamy temple complex belonging to the Chalukya-Rashtrakuta period. Shivakumar G. Malagi traces the descent of this temple complex from the ancient wonder it was, to a crumbling structure, with its beauty hidden below coats of dust.

To get to the hallowed Kumaraswamy shrine, one has to trek along a narrow dirt track which branches off from a winding, dust-laden road and leads to Kumaraswamy hill in the Swamimalai reserve forest.

It's a perfect picture of serenity - until you shudder hearing the blasts carried out by iron ore mining lessees in Kumaraswamy Hill. There are two to three blasts every day, the temple priest told Deccan Chronicle adding, Everything shakes when it happens. In the ancient complex, one temple is dedicated to Lord Kumaraswamy (Shiva and Parvati's younger son) and the other to Parvati.

These are protected monuments and have been declared to be of national importance under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remnants Act, 1958. But who cares about protecting them? The walls of Kumaraswamy temple complex were once grey but are now red because of the dust perpetually hanging in the air, all because of mining.

The temple Gopuram and temple pond, now polluted with mining dust.

A thousand years ago, no one would have thought of recklessly plundering the earth's riches like the miners of Ballari have been doing now. Or else who would construct such a magnificent temple right in the middle of a sea of ore? The temple complex is in the midst of the mining hotbed of Sandur and so close that contractors have erected their boundary pillars just beside the temple wall, showing their disdain for the rules which govern protected monuments.

Kumaraswamy Hill, referred to as Krauncha Giri in mythology, is believed to be the first abode of Lord Karthikeya in south India. The unique feature of the mountain is its elliptical shape with a diametric narrow pass. According to legend, this gap was created when Kartikeya pierced the mountain in the battle with demon Tharaka, with his weapon to kill the demons who were hidden inside the mountain. This legend is held in high esteem in Hindu texts, including Mahabharata and Skanda Purana. Krauncha Giri is also associated with legends of the revered sages, Agastya and Parasurama. Even poet Kalidasa in the work, Mega Sandesa, describes the gap in the mountain.

Kumaraswamy Temple is located in the south-west corner of the hill. According to one account, the Parvati temple was built by the Badami Chalukyas (7th -8th century) and has the idol of Parvati as the main deity.

The temple now called Kumaraswamy temple, was constructed during the rule of the Rashtrakutas (8th-10th century). It remained in oblivion for a couple of centuries and was discovered by the Ghorpades, the local rulers, in the thickly-wooded Swamimale hill in the 15th century. The Ghorpades declared the temple open to Harijans as early as the 1930s. After learning of this on his visit to Sandur in 1934, Mahatma Gandhi said, A small state in south India has opened the temple to Harijans, the heavens have not fallen. Women were earlier not allowed to enter the shrine. Murarirao Yeshwantrao Ghorpade lifted the ban in October 1996 after which nearly 3,000 women worshipped at the temple.

Ms Sathyabhama Badrinath, regional director, Archaeological Survey of India, southern region, visited the temple complex on September 7 to inspect the impact of mining on Kumaraswamy temple.

In the last two decades, the shrine has fast been losing its sanctity and serenity due to the intense mining in the hill. Recently, the Karnataka government had auctioned seven category C mines, cancelled for gross irregularities to end-users in pursuance of the orders of the Supreme Court. Two iron ore mines, M/s Hothur Traders and M/s Karthikeya Iron ore and Manganese, which are located in Kumaraswamy hill, have been allotted to private steel plants which are expected to resume mining operations shortly.

There are a couple of other mines including state-owned mines operated by NMDC and Mysore Minerals Ltd located in the vicinity of Parvathi and Kumaraswamy temple, waiting for forest department clearance to resume mining in the virgin areas in Kumaraswamy Hill.

You can see cracks all over the temple complex caused because of blasting. The fragile temple is sure to collapse once mining operations resume in the hill, says Pennappa, a devotee from Kamatur village which was one among 14 Inam Villages of the temple during the rule of the Ghorpade kings.

T.M. Shivakumar, an advocate from Sandur says that urgent action is required to conserve Kumaraswamy hill. It is also significant due to its location near the sacred valley of Vibhuthi gudda and is replete with natural springs and evergreen forests rich in medicinal shrubs.

The entire Kumaraswamy Hill range should be declared a heritage site of national importance and a blanket ban should be imposed on mining in the hill, urged Shrishaila Aladahalli, a green activist. Agreeing with him is Chidambar Nanavate, a wildlife enthusiast who contends that there is an urgent need to speed up the conservation of the forests, water system and temple to retain its historic value.

Ironically, despite the rampant mining all around, no action has been taken by either the Central or state government to study its impact on Parvathi and Karthikeya temple. The Supreme Court, in a judgement dated July 1, 2013 had observed that the protection and preservation of ancient monuments has to be necessarily kept in mind while carrying out developmental activities. The need for ensuring protection and preservation of ancient monuments for the benefit of future generations has to be balanced with the benefits which may accrue from mining and other development related activities.

Further, the court observed that the Govt of India will appoint an expert committee/group to examine the impact of mining on monuments declared as protected under the 1958 Act and take necessary remedial measures.

In pursuance of the court's direction, an expert committee headed by Ms Sathyabhama Badrinath, regional director, Archeological Survey of India, southern region visited the temple complex on September 7, 2017. Hundreds of devotees gathered at the temple complex during the committee's visit and alleged that the SC ruling is being blatantly violated by mining contractors and demanded that a blanket ban on mining must be imposed in Kumaraswamy hill range.

Kumaraswamy temple complex isnt the only ancient temple threatened by mining in Sandur, there are fourteen ancient temples atop the hills including the Hari Shankara Temple, believed to have been established by Adi Shankaracharya.

Nations which forget their past and do not care to save their history for posterity are doomed to a lifeless existence amidst steel and concrete monstrosities. Atop Kumaraswamy Hill, the deities to whom countless generations looked for hope and succour, are now waiting to be saved - from the greed of miners for whom history can wait for the ore waits to be plundered.
Southwest Airlines flew more than 60 animals thousands of miles across the US into a facility in San Diego. (Photo: AP)

Even as Irma gears up to lash against the coast of Florida, with US seeing one of the biggest evacuations for safety ever, a US airlines came into news for saving the lives of dozens of animals following the devastation left at the wake of Hurricane Harvey.

Southwest Airlines flew more than 60 animals thousands of miles across the US into a facility in San Diego.

The news, which was originally published in The Telegraph UK says that their actions helped relieve rescue centres in Texas which were already overcrowded with displaced animals after the deadly storm.

Speaking to The Telegraph UK, Linda Rutherford, Chief Communications Officer pof Southwest Airlines said that the devastation of Hurricane Harvey has impacted a number of communities along the Gulf and they were happy to partner with the Helen Woodward Animal Center to extend hope to Houston by transporting shelter animals to a new home in San Diego, while making additional space for family pets whose humans are currently displaced.

Southwest has teamed up with with Helen Woodward Animal Center (HWAC) in San Diego who said the animals faced being euthanised before they stepped in.

Speaking about the incident, Mike Arms, HWAC president said that the animals are the silent victims of the devastation caused by Harvey.
Police have expressed fears of a return of the 'killer clown' trend fuelled by the release of the Stephen King film (Photo: Youtube screengrab)

A scary footage has appeared online that shows a creepy clown approaching a homeowners doorsteps. This comes amid fears that the new horror movie It will cause more such scarily dressed up people to return.

The black-and-white clip, that has been captured by a camera on the doorbell, shows a clown holding black balloons lurking on the lawn, before coming up to the front door and peering into the house.

The incident happened at Green Bay, Wisconsin.

This comes amidst a growing fear that with the release of the new horror film It the trend of scary dressing-up trend will return.

Police have expressed fears of a return of the 'killer clown' trend fuelled by the release of the Stephen King film which stars Bill Skarsgard as Pennywise the clown.

The movie sees a demon take the shape of a clown and lure kids to their deaths.

In fact, the Pennsylvania State Police department has already issued a statement saying that it is anticipated that "creepy clown" sightings could be reported starting as soon as September, in part due to the fact that the movie IT will be released in theatres.

Some are saying that the figure in the clip filmed by the Ring Video Doorbell is thought to be 'Gags' the Green Bay Clown who was spotted by various witnesses in early August.

Photos shared on a Facebook fan page of Gags show a figure dressed in a ragged jumpsuit, over-sized clown shoes and a dirty ruff collar around the neck.

But whatever it may be, it seems Pennywise might actually be real.

You can watch the video here.
The girl took up the offer as she wanted to share the financial burden of the family with her mother (Representational image)

Chennai: The mother of a 15-year-old girl approached the city police commissioners office seeking action against persons who allegedly forced her minor daughter into flesh trade in the pretext of getting her a job.

A. Rani, lived with her two daughters in Koyambedu, and was working as housekeeping staff at a private bank. Her husband had died.

A few months ago, a female acquaintance of Rani, Chitra had approached her and said that she would help her by getting her elder daughter a job. The girl took up the offer as she wanted to share the financial burden of the family with her mother. The girl was taken to Arani in Tiruvannamalai district where she was provided a job as a sales girl in a textile shop. She was provided accommodation at Chitras house.

According to the complaint by the girls mother, Chitras husband is a truck driver and is not home most of the days.

Making use of this opportunity, Chitra invited her friend, Suresh, who had allegedly raped her.

The woman alleged that her daughter was drugged and sexually exploited by Suresh and his friends. The girl, with the help of a friend, managed to escape from Arani and came to her mother a few days ago. She was admitted for a treatment at the hospital, after which the girls mother approached the City police commissioner seeking action against those who abused her daughters modesty.

Police said that the petition has been forwarded to the Anna Nagar deputy commissioner and investigations have begun.
Chennai: A class 12 student who went on a trek with his friends had a miserable time after his leg got stuck between rocks, leaving him immobile for over four hours in a hill in Tiruttani, 80 km from the city on Thursday.

The student V. Rocky is a resident of Keezhandur village in Tiruvallur district. On Thursday, Rocky along with two of his friends bunked school and went on a trek to a hill near the Tiruttani Murugan temple.

While trudging across the slippery rocks, Rocky lost balance and fell in between two rocks. His legs got stuck under the rocks. His friends managed to lift off one of the rocks. But, they couldnt push the other rock away, N. Baskaran, Station Fire Officer, Tiruttani said.

The incident happened around 11 30 am. After making futile attempts to move the rocks, the other boys climbed down the hill to seek help as there were no other people on the hill except them. Fire personnel said that by the time they received an alert, it was 2.30 pm. We tied a rope to the rock and pulled it away. Luckily, for the boy, he escaped with a swollen leg and didnt suffer any fractures, Baskaran said. The boy was moved to the Government hospital for treatment, police said.
Two people were injured in the firing and have been evacuated to the nearest hospital, the officer said, adding that their condition was stable. (Photo: PTI)

Jammu: Pakistani troops on Thursday violated the ceasefire by firing from small arms and automatic weapons along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district, injuring two porters working with the Indian Army, officials said.

"Pakistan Army initiated unprovoked and indiscriminate firing of small arms and automatic weapons from 1145 hours in Poonch sector along the Line of Control (LoC)," a senior army officer said.

Two people were injured in the firing and have been evacuated to the nearest hospital, the officer said, adding that their condition was stable.

Indian Army personnel guarding the border retaliated strongly and effectively. "The firing stopped at 1155 hours," he said.

On September 4, Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire twice by firing at forward posts along the LoC in Degwar and Maldalyan areas in Poonch and along the International Border (IB) in Arnia sector of Jammu, Indian security forces to retaliate.

On September 3, Pakistan Army initiated unprovoked and indiscriminate firing of small arms, automatics and mortars in Krishna Ghati sector in Poonch along the LoC.

On September 1, Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) Kamaljit Singh of the Border Security Force sustained bullet injuries due to enemy fire initiated from across the Line of Control while he was deployed at a forward post in Krishna Ghati Sector in Poonch. Singh later succumbed to injuries.

On August 30, Pakistani troops resorted to unprovoked and indiscriminate firing and shelling from across the border in Nowshera sector, targeting forward posts and civilian areas.

On August 27, five civilians, including a woman and two minor boys, were injured in ceasefire violation by Pakistani troops along the LoC in the Shahpur belt of Poonch district.

Pakistani troops had on August 26 violated the ceasefire in Pargwal area of Jammu district.

A day before, Border Security Force (BSF) jawan K K Appa Rao was seriously injured in sniper fire when Pakistan Rangers violated the ceasefire along the IB in Jammu district.

On August 23, senior Army commanders of India and Pakistan held a flag meeting on the LoC in Poonch sector in Jammu and Kashmir, and agreed to institute mechanisms for durable peace and tranquillity on the border.

On July 17, the BSF and the Pakistan Rangers had held a commandant-level flag meeting in Samba sector along the IB and "committed" themselves to maintaining peace.

In the flag meeting, the two sides had agreed to re- energise instant communication between field commanders, whenever required, to resolve petty matters, a BSF official had said.

Incidents of ceasefire violation by Pakistan have increased sharply this year.

Till August 1, there were 285 such violations by the Pakistan Army, while in 2016, the number was significantly less at 228 for the entire year, according to the Army figures.
New Delhi: The CBI booked former environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan for alleged abuse of her official position in diverting forest land for a steel plant in Jharkhand in violation of law, and carried out searches at her residence.

The CBI registered an FIR against her in connection with the clearance given during her tenure in 2012 for diversion of forest land for mining in alleged violation of law and against the the advice of officials, sources in the investigative agency said.

Sources said the searches were conducted at Natarajan's residence in Chennai, besides premises of some other accused in New Delhi, Kolkata and the mining company's office in Odisha's Sundergarh.

The FIR has been filed against Natarajan, Umang Kejriwal, the then managing director of Electrosteel Casting Limited, and the company.

The case pertains to clearance given for diversion of forest land in Saranda Forest in Singhbhum District of Jharkhand to mining company Electrosteel in alleged violation of Forest (Conservation Act) in 2012.

The permission was initially denied by Minister of State for Environment Jairam Ramesh but granted when Natarajan assumed office. She was MoS with independent charge of the ministry between 2011 and 2013.

"Jayanthi Natarajan, the then Minister of State for Environment and Forests, accorded the approval for diversion of 55.79 hectares of forest land for non-forestry use to ECL, though the same had been rejected by the earlier Minister of State...without any change in the circumstances after rejection," the CBI FIR alleged.

It said approval was granted ignoring the advice of Director General Forests and directions of the Supreme Court.

The agency had registered a preliminary enquiry in the matter in 2014 on the direction of the Supreme Court.

The enquiry showed that ECL signed an MoU with the Jharkhand Government for setting up a steel plant in Jharkhand in 2004. The production capacity was increased from one million tonne per annum to three million tonne yearly in 2007.

In 2006, the Jharkhand government asked union ministry of mines for grant of lease of 192 hectares of land in favour of ECL. The mines ministry said before allowing grant of mining lease all rules must be complied with.

On April 17, 2008 the state governnment sought approval of the Environment and Forests Ministry for diversion of 55.79 hectares of forest land for non-forestry use out of the total area of 192 hectares, according to the findings during the preliminary enquiry (PE).

The Forests Advisory Committee considered the proposal twice before rejecting it on the ground that the area where mining was proposed to be conducted was part of core zone of the Singhbhum Elephant Reserve and critical to wildlife conservation, it said.

The matter reached the then Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh on the recommendation of the state government.

Ramesh observed on April 23, 2010 that there was no need for reconsideration if the land was part of the core zone of the Singhbhum Elephant Reserve and also noted that all previous approvals for mining there should be cancelled, it said.

After its proposal was rejected, the company approached the then prime minister with a plea for its reconsideration.

This representation was forwarded by the then principal secretary to the Prime Minister to secretary, environment and forests, for consideration and appropriate action, the PE findings, now part of the FIR, said.

The matter went back to the FAC, which again rejected the proposal for diversion of the land, saying no new facts were brought to its notice to warrant altering its stand on the issue.

When Natarajan took over as Minister of State for Environment on July 13, 2011, the then chief minister of Jharkhand requsted her to consider the proposal "pragmatically".

The file was marked to her on August 26, 2011.

The CBI alleged that when the matter was pending with her, Umang Kejriwal met her in September 2011 to present the company's case.

After the meeting, she noted on the file asking if any report has been received from the state regarding the mines located in the core area of the reserve.

On receipt of information sought by her, the matter again reached Natarajan. The DG Forest had advised her to refer the matter to the FAC, which had already rejected the proposal.

"On this, Natarajan as the then Minister vide a detailed order dated February 4, 2012 accorded the approval for diversion of 55.79 hectare of forest land as detailed in the proposal sent by the Jharkhand Government," the CBI said.

It said the findings revealed a "criminal conspiracy" between Natarajan and Kejriwal, and abuse of official position by the minister.
The situation in the area is now quite normal like what it was before the standoff started on June 19. (Photo: Representational/DC)

Guwahati: After India and China agreed to end over two-month old military standoff in Doklam, armed personnel of both the countries are now located at least one kilometer away from each others standoff point.

Pointing out that India is not apprehending any trouble in near future, security sources told this newspaper that a core team of security experts, formed by Prime Ministers Office to deal with Doklam standoff, was supervising the de-escalation of deployment in the area.

The situation in the area is now quite normal like what it was before the standoff started on June 19.

Informing that the Indian troops have now been pulled back behind the Bhutanese Army, security sources said that the Indian Army has been giving training to Bhutanese Army personnel on specialized warfare for quite some time.

The intrusion by the Chinese army was noticed during one such joint training exercise and the Indian Army personnel engaged in the training were directed to prevent the Chinese from gaining control over the Doklam area which is strategically important to Indias security, security sources said adding that for training the Bhutanese army, an officer of Major General rank has been posted in Thimphu.

Clarifying that international boundary between India and China has not been demarcated as yet, security sources however said that small incursion by troops of either India or China during the routine patrolling of the area cannot be ruled out.

Informing that there is arrangement to resolve such issues by troops at the local level, security sources said that sector commanders either meet or speak over phone to resolve the problem.

For such meetings, border personnels meeting huts have also been created in a few places along the international border, including one in Bumla in Arunachal Pradesh.

If the issues cannot be resolved even at the sector commander level, only then the governments of the two countries get into the act and try to resolve it through diplomatic channels. The same was the case in Dokalam as the problem could not be resolved by the troops, more so because the area under question falls under Bhutan, security sources said.

Security sources also clarified that India deliberately refrained from engaging in to diatribe that state controlled media of China had started on Doklam. The core team of former army officers and security experts will continue to keep a close watch on international borders with China, security sources said.
A view of the Dera Sacha Sauda headquarters in Sirsa on Tuesday, a day after its chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was sentenced 10 years in jail in each of the two rape cases against him. (Photo: PTI)

Sirsa: An illegal explosives factory was found inside the headquarters of Dera Sacha Sauda during a search operation at the premises, an official said on Saturday.

Explosives and fire crackers were seized, Deputy Director of Haryana PR Department Satish Mehra told ANI.

The police have sealed the Dera premises. Heavy security was put in place at Satnam Chowk in Sirsa as the search operation, which began on Friday, continues for second day.

On Friday, the police seized plastic currency from the Dear headquarters. The plastic currency was also found in the markets near the premises.

These currency tokens, which are given in exchange of money, were used to purchase commodities inside the Dera.

A computer, hard disks, cash and medicines without label or brand were also recovered during the search operation.

A curfew was imposed in the areas surrounding the Dera on Friday and the authorities declare that there will be no relaxation in these areas till the search operation is underway.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court had on September 5 given orders to conduct a search operation at the headquarters of Dera Sacha Sauda, under the supervision of a judicial officer.

This order came after the Haryana Police seized a cache of 33 licensed weapons of the Dera Sacha Sauda. These weapons include 14 revolvers, nine guns, four rifles and other modified weapons.
Bengaluru: After a meeting with Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah, DG and IG, R.K. Dutta, SIT chief, B.K. Singh, Bengaluru city police commissioner, T. Suneel Kumar and intelligence chief, A.M. Prasad, home minister, R. Ramalinga Reddy said the SIT was expediting the investigation. "We are exploring the right and left wing and other angles," the state home minister said.

Mr Reddy said the government had stepped up the investigation, and deputed abundant personnel to SIT. "They are doing the job round the clock. They are collecting information from all sources," he said.

He added that this included investigating threats from the left wing and the family, with importance given to the threats from right-wing activists as the case bore similarities with the killing of Dr. M. M. Kalburgi's and that Ms. Lankesh openly criticised right wing ideologies.

Sources said that though the Naxal angle is being probed, it had taken a back seat. "In any incident involving Naxals, they will leave some clue to show that it is their act. In most of the cases, they throw naxal related pamphlets at the crime scene to make it clear that why they committed the act. But in this case, no such signs are there. As Ms. Lankesh explicitly criticised and aired her views against right wing ideology, we have given importance to that angle. On the personal front, we have not got any reason that would lead to a murder," an official said.

On Friday, the SIT held several rounds of meetings to discuss the probe done so far and to exchange information gathered by various teams. SIT officials also held talks with forensic experts, who also visited the crime scene.

"The modus operandi and the weapon used in the crime are similar to Dr. M. M. Kalburgi's case. However, we are yet to receive certain articles from the police, which they seized from the crime scene. Only after examination and analysis of the bullets, cartridges and studying the nature of injury can we come to a conclusion whether both the murders are committed by the same gang," an FSL expert said.
At least 10 policemen were also injured in the clashes that took place in Jaipurs Ramganj area. (Photos: ANI/Twitter)

Jaipur: Curfew was imposed in Rajasthan's Ramganj area in Kota District on Saturday, a day after one policeman died and over 10 people were injured during a clash.

Violence erupted after a policeman allegedly thrashed a woman while dispersing a crowd that had gathered on the street.

Other eyewitnesses, however, said the violence occurred after a policeman tried to stop a man on motorbike during routine checking. Police claimed that the man tried to escape and was hit by a cop.

Situation turned violent after hundreds of people gathered at a police station in the area in protest and started throwing stones on the cops.

The police were forced to use tear gas to disperse the mob that went on rampage setting on fire a power house, a few vehicles including an ambulance. They attacked journalists too, police said.

"Curfew has been imposed till further orders in Manak Chowk, Subhash Chowk, Galta Gate andRamganj police station areas of the city following violence in which a police station was attacked and vehicles burnt," police said.
New Delhi: The External Affairs Ministry on Saturday said that it was monitoring the situation and communicating with the Indian diaspora in the US, Venezuela, France and the Netherlands in the wake of deadly Hurricane Irma.

The ministry's spokesman Raveesh Kumar said the Indian missions in the four countries were in touch with local government officials to provide assistance to the affected Indians.

"Our missions in Venezuela, the Netherlands, France and the US are constantly monitoring the situation following destruction due to hurricane Irma. They are in constant touch with the Indian diaspora affected by Irma and with local government officials to provide all possible assistance," Kumar said in a series of tweets.

Irma, a category 5 hurricane with winds swirling at 260 kilometres per hour, barrelled towards Florida after making landfall in Cuba's Camaguey Archipelago. It killed at least 19 people and damaged thousands of homes on the Caribbean islands.

France said at least 10 people have been killed across its Caribbean territories with seven more missing. Two people died on the Dutch side of the Saint Martin island.

The External Affairs Ministry spokesman tweeted telephone numbers for Indians to contact in case of emergency: Embassy of India, Venezuela (+58 4241951854/4142214721); Netherlands (+31247247247); France (0800000971).

The Indian embassy in the Netherlands tweeted that they were in touch with the Dutch government.

The Indian embassy in Caracas in Venezuela was also monitoring the situation in Saint Martin and "coordinating the welfare of all Indians living there.
Srinagar: Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday discussed Agenda of the Alliance (AoA), the framework of the PDP-BJP coalition at their one-on-one meeting held in Srinagar.

An official spokesman said that the Chief Minister underscored the need of reaching out to all sections, time bound implementation of the AoA besides seeking regular funding for Prime Ministers Development Package (PMDP). The Home Minister is on a 4-day visit of the State.

The spokesman said that the duo at their meeting discussed the overall situation, implementation of Agenda of the Alliance and execution of the PMDP in the State. He added, The CM impressed upon the need to reach out to all sections of the society in the State which has been duly recognized in the AoA. She said the needs and problems of the people of the State have been recognized in the AoA and its implementation needs to be fast paced.

An official released said that the Home Minister and the Chief Minister recognized the need for timely implementation of the AoA which provides a definite roadmap to resolve the problems confronting the State. The Chief Minister, it added, also requested for regular and timely release of funds for various projects under the PMDP.

Later the Home Minister along with Ms. Mufti took a review of the implementation of the Rs. 80,000 crore PMDP in the State. Mr. Singh impressed upon the officers of the State and Central Government to work in a coordinated manner for the in time implementation of the projects under PMDP. He said the PMDP which envisages a developmental and infrastructural revolution in the State is the biggest financial package for J&K so far.

The Union Home Minister asked the officers to complete the projects within the deadline schedule so that people of the State get the benefit of these projects at the earliest. He also suggested taking the benefits of these projects to common masses so that with their involvement in execution, completion results are achieved at the earliest.

In her intervention, the Chief Minister again sought regular and in time release of funds to the State government for executing these projects. She said that given the limited working season and harsh winters in the State, these releases have to fast-paced and furthered.

Deputy Chief Minister, Dr. Nirmal Singh was also present in the meeting whereas J&Ks Chief Secretary, B B Vyas and OSD to Union Home Minister, Amrindra Kumar Senger briefed the meeting in detail about various categories of projects taken in hand under PMDP.

The meeting was informed 63 projects have been taken up under PMDP by 15 Union ministries through 39 executing agencies. Of them around 80 percent of the projects stand formally sanctioned, the meeting was told.

Out of the total outlay, Rs 21,988 crore have been released under the package and five projects have already been completed while as seven projects are likely to be completed soon, the meeting was informed.

Of the projects in progress, the meeting was informed, are 22 major road projects in the State which include some big ticket works like semi ring road projects for Srinagar and Jammu, Kargil-Zanaskar road, Udhampur-Ramban and Ramban-Banihal stretches of National Highway and which are in various stages of completion.

The meeting was informed that the IIM at Jammu has started functioning from transit accommodation with an off campus at Narkara, Budgam. Similarly, the IIT at Jammu has also started functioning at Jammu and the process of raising infrastructure at the two institutes has also been started. Similarly under AMRUT, the meeting was informed, the DPRs of 56 out of 59 projects have been approved, out of which 27 projects have been started.

Under the Himayat programme, a target of training more than one lakh youth for the coming five years of the State has been fixed with prople placement linkages, the meeting was informed. Similarly indoor stadia are being constructed at 10 district headquarters, the meeting was told.

Among the 11 projects to be taken up for execution include some ambitious projects like Rs 5100 crore Jammu-Akhnoor-Poonch road project, Rs 1,800 crore Srinagar-Shopian-Qazigund road project, Rs 2,700 crore 105 kilometre long connectivity project for various tourist destinations and and Rs 1,800 crore Zojila tunnel project.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday reached Srinagar for his four-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir. (Photo: ANI/Twitter)

New Delhi: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday reached Srinagar for his four-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir. He will hold talks with Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and Governor NN Vohra.

Soon after Singh arrived in Srinagar, reports emerged that Pakistan violated ceasefire in Poonch sector. The Pakistan forces fired small arms, automatics and mortars along Line of Control (LoC), ANI reported, adding that the Indian Army retaliated strongly.

In his four-day visit, the home minister is scheduled to hold talks with the officials of the state and discuss the current situation. He will meet all the stakeholders and also hold a press conference.

The home minister will also discuss the roadmap to ensure long term solutions to the problems people are facing in the valley.

The Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, last month, met Rajnath, reportedly, to drum up support for preventing attempts to remove special status to the state under the Constitution.

Mehbooba is caught in a catch-22 situation over the ongoing matter in the Supreme Court on revoking Article 35-A of the Constitution.

Rajnath Singh had earlier said that a solution to the Kashmir problem, besides terrorism, Naxalism, and the northeast insurgency, will be found before 2022.

Rajnath Singh's visit comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi from the ramparts of Red Fort said his government was committed to bring back the "lost glory" of Kashmir.
Bengaluru: Raising doubts over the commitment of the state government in cracking the murder of journalist and activist Gauri Lankesh, JD(S) state president HD Kumaraswamy said that the formation of Special Investigation Team appeared to be the handiwork of former IPS officer P Kempaiah, who is an adviser to the home minister.

After a party booth level leaders' meeting here on Friday, Kumaraswamy said that the SIT is headed by an officer who is accused of selling seized gold during his tenure in Bengaluru.

In Banasawadi, 3.5 kg gold was seized and the officer allegedly sold half of it and purchased land. The government should take honest officers into confidence and involve them in the investigation. Officers in the SIT are just wasting time, watching CCTV footage three days after the incident, he said.

He wondered if the SIT was formed without the knowledge of Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy and was constituted directly by Mr Kempaiah. The government should not take Mr Kempaiahs advice in investigating the Gauri murder case, he said.

On the suspicion that Naxals were behind the murder, Mr Kumaraswamy said that the Centre cannot make a statement without information. The Centre has its own network in all states and gets information on all activities. The state government should take corrective measures and ensure a proper investigation, he said.

Charging that the state government is trying to gag the media, he wanted to know why a reporter of a Kannada daily was arrested in Mangaluru. But he was not produced before the court, he alleged.

Both the Congress and BJP have no concern for the state. While the state is reeling under drought, Bengaluru is witnessing unprecedented rain and flooding. The government claims that it had released Rs 22,000 crore for Bengaluru. Where did the money go? The Congress is looting money in the name of projects. Congress leaders are hanging on to the Janthakal mining case. Let the JD(S) come to power, all the scams of this government will be exposed, he said.

For the BJP, their motorcycle rally to Mangaluru is the most important issue. They want to disturb law and order. The government tried its best to contain the rally and now the BJP is extending it to all the 30 districts. The whole exercise was unwarranted, he said.
Krishnagiri: This story of an army man giving life to others in his death is heart rending compared to what we have heard about the courageous deed of defense personal. His eyes, kidneys, liver, heart, spleen and skin were harvested in other patients.

The 23-year-old K. Aravind Kumar of Vadakampatti village of Krishnagiri worked as driver in Madras engineering group of the Indian army. He came to his native village on a month's leave for a family function.

Aravind Kumar met with an accident here at Balapalli village while the victim was travelling in a two-wheeler five days ago. First he was taken to the Krishnagiri government hospital and then to the Air Force command hospital in Bengaluru.

With no improvement in his health condition, the doctors declared him 'brain dead'. His family when informed about this, gave consent to harvest his organs to help others in need of them.

"Keeping in mind his bravery he showed in his four years service, he has agreed to harvest his organs to help others," the deceased person's father 55-year-old K.Krishnan told DC.

A grieving Krishnan added: "I am told that his organs will give life for ten people who are in need of it to be alive."

At around 5.55 am on Thursday, the organs were removed from Aravind Kumar and sent to the government run Victoria hospital in Bengaluru and also other private hospitals including one in Chennai. The remains of his body was transported here and burnt at his native village.
Chennai: The Opposition leaders went ahead with the public meeting in Tiruchy to condemn Neet and seek justice for the death of Ariyalur student Anitha, despite police ban citing the Supreme Court order directing the state government to curb violent protests.

Leaders who spoke in the meeting asserted that the Supreme Court had not banned peaceful protests and public meetings, besides lashing out at BJP for demanding a ban on a public meeting.

The Opposition leaders too hit out at the state government for bowing to the demands of BJP leaders to ban the meeting, when there was no such order by the Supreme Court.

DMK working president M.K. Stalin announced protest demonstrations on September 13 throughout the state to demand exemption for Neet and added that further protests would be announced later after consultations among the opposition parties.

He read the police order banning the public meeting and said the order was contrary to the Supreme Court judgment, which had not banned such a meeting. He said BJP deliberately conspired to stop the meeting but the saffron partys designs were defeated by the opposition leaders. He said there were doctors within the state BJP and asked if they came through Neet to become doctors.
Chennai: AIADMK (Amma) deputy general secretary TTV Dhinakarans group has rushed to Madras high court seeking direction to halt a proposed general council meeting of AIADMK party by Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palanisami and Deputy Chief Minister O .Panneerselvam in Chennai on September 12.

On behalf of TTV group a special mention was made by senior counsel TV Ramanujam before Justice CV Karthikeyan on Friday. Ramanujam, who appeared on behalf of MLA P. Vetrivel, a prominent member in the TTV group, submitted that they are going to file a petition seeking to stay of the proposed general council meeting of AIADMK party by CM and Deputy CM at Srivari Kalyana Mandapam on September 12. The judge permitted them to file the petition and this would come up for hearing on Monday.
New Delhi/Chennai: The CBI on Saturday conducted searches at the residence of former environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan after registering a case of corruption against her.

Ms Natarajan has been accused of abuse of power and conspiracy for approving diversion of forest land for a mining project in Jharkhand in 2012 as MoS for environment and forests.

The CBI has registered an FIR against Ms Natrajan for the alleged violation of the Forest (Conservation) Act. Umang Kejriwal, the then MD of the Sundergarh, Odisha, based-mining firm Electrosteel Casting Limited (ECL), the company and some unidentified persons have also been named in the FIR.

Ms Natarajan, 63, was environment minister between 2011 and 2013 in the Manmohan Singh government when she sanctioned the project for mining of iron and manganese inside the core zone of Singhbum Elephant Reserve.

Sources said Ms Natarajan, who quit the Congress in 2015, is abroad and will return very shortly. She is not with any political party at the moment.
Hyderabad: After rumours spread that Maoists may be behind the murder of activist and journalist Gauri Lankesh, the Karnataka police sought the help of Telangana state anti-Naxal intelligence agency about any information they might have regarding this.

TS anti-Naxal agencies are considered to be the most informed about Maoist activities, with their network of Special Intelligence branch offices across the country. According to the TS agencies, no action team of Maoists is active in Bengaluru.

Usually Maoist killings are done by their own cadres and they do not use contract killers, the police said.

A top source in the TS police said, The Karnataka police contacted us seeking details of possible murder theories in the Gauri Lankesh case. We have informed them that we dont have any clues or information that may connect Maoists to the case. Maoists havent issued any statement so far. If they had killed they would have owned up which is their modus operandi.

Interestingly, Maoists havent issued any statement condemning or rejecting the allegations that they were behind the Gauri Lankesh murder. A top IPS official said, Maoists are based in the tri-junction of Karnataka, Kerala and TN. Thats why it may take time for them to react on this. The tri-junction is a safe haven for them.

He said Maoists did not have the capability to carry out targeted killings in urban areas. At this moment their action teams are not active. When they were strong, they killed IPS official Umesh Chandra at SR Nagar crossroads, Hyderabad. in September, 1999. Over the years the capabilities of their action teams and urban striking abilities have decreased drastically.
Minister of Corporate Affairs Arun Jaitley and others at the 21st GST Council meet in Hyderabad on Saturday. (Photo: PTI)

Hyderabad: In a partial success for the Telangana state government, the GST Council meeting, held in the city for the first time on Saturday, agreed to reduce the tax rate on work contracts to construct government buildings from 18 per cent to 12 per cent.

The AP government would be a big gainer as it embarks on constructing its new capital at Amaravati. The GST reduction will reduce the financial burden on the state, as contractors have demanded that the government bear GST on contracts.

Apart from this, there was little to gain for the TS government as none of its major demands found place on the GST Council agenda. All it got was assurances that the dema-nds would be looked into.

The TS government had raised three major de-mands among its 33 objections to the GST.

The first was exemption or reduction of GST on work contracts for projects of public importance such as irrigation projects, Mission Bhagiratha, Mission Kakatiya, power projects, 2BHK housing scheme for poor to five per cent from 12 per cent.

Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao threatened to move the Supreme Court on this issue if GST Council did not reduce the tax rate. He had threatened to write to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union finance minister Arun Jaitley on this.

Responding to this at the press meet, Mr Jaitley said if the GST rate was slashed to five per cent, the government would have to paid back more money to private contractors.

The GST Council only assured to refer the issue to the fitment committee, which will recommend the future course of action in the next GST Council meeting to be held in New Delhi next month.

The other two major demands were reducing GST on granite and beedi industries. The Cou-ncil has assured to look into these issues in its next meeting. Soon after the meeting ended, finance minister Etela Rajender briefed Mr Chandra-sek-har Rao on the outcome of the meeting.

Mr Rao, who is recovering from his eye surgery, is learnt to have told him that he would convene a meeting on the issue where a decision would be taken on whether or not to approach the apex court.

Mr Rajender is learnt to have informed Mr Rao that TS would still have to suffer a burden of Rs 9,000 crore due to higher GST on work contracts even after government buildings are exempted.

Telanganas principal secretary, commercial taxes, Somesh Kumar said, The tax reduction on government buildings is a big relief for us. The GST Council has not rejected our other demands. It has promised to look into our demands positively and referred them to the fitment committee to make suitable recommendations and place them on agenda for the next round. This is only a procedural hurdle. We are confident of the GST Council approving our demands very soon.
New Delhi/Chennai: The CBI on Saturday conducted searches at the residence of former environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan after registering a case of corruption against her.

The agency sleuths conducted searches at five places, including the premises of the former minister in Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata and the companys office in Sundergarh.

Jayanthi Natarajan, the then minister of state for environment and forests accorded the approval for diversion of 55.79 hectares of forest land for non-forestry use to ECL, though the same had been rejected by the earlier minister of state, the CBI alleged in its FIR. It said this approval had been accorded without adhering to the advice of director general forests and directions of Supreme Court in this regard.

Jairam Ramesh was her predecessor and had firmly rejected the mining proposal and even cancelled the earlier mining approvals falling within the elephant reserve.

The CBI recovered several incriminating documents during its searches, sources said, adding that after scrutiny of the seized documents, the CBI will issue summons to the accused for questioning. The agency will also seek clarifications from Jharkhand government in connection with the case, sources said.
Bengaluru: Following the murder of eminent journalist and activist Gauri Lankesh, it is learnt that the state police have decided to provide security to around 25 writers and progressive thinkers.

It is said that the police department reviewed threat perception to various writers across the state and decided to provide them provide protection. The decision was taken after analysing the statements made by progressive thinkers, controversy surrounding it and requisition for security by some of them.

Girish Karnad, Baragur Ramachandrappa. K.S. Bhagwan, Yogesh Master, Chandrashekhar Patil and Patil Putappa, Chennaveera Kanavi have been provided security.
New Delhi: The ministry of external affairs (MEA) said on Saturday that it was monitoring the situation and communicating with the Indian diaspora in the US, Venezuela, France and the Netherlands in the wake of deadly Hurricane Irma.

The ministrys spokesman Raveesh Kumar said the Indian missions in the four countries were in touch with local government officials to provide assistance to the affected Indians.

The ministry of external affairs spokesman tweeted telephone numbers for Indians to contact in case of emergency: Embassy of India, Venezuela (+58 4241951854/4142214721); the Netherlands (+31247247247) and; France (0800000971).


Srinagar: A Jammu and Kashmir policeman was killed and another critically injured when militants targeted them at a bus stand in southern Anantnag town, 55-km from here, on Saturday.

The terror attack took place while visiting home minister Rajnath Singh had begun holding meetings with government functionaries, security forces officials and various stakeholders on the prevailing situation in the restive state.

The police said that the policemen were out on routine duty when the militants fired indiscriminately, injuring Imtiyaz Ahmed and Shakeel Ahmed.

They were rushed to a nearby hospital where the former was declared dead on arrival. Earlier, a Hizb-ul-Mujahideen commander was killed in an encounter with the security forces in Reban village outside the town of Sopore.

Slain militant Shahid Ahmed Sheikh alias Shabir was the district (Baramulla) commander of the Hizb.

A fire fight between militants and forces was also raging in Burbugh village of Imam Sahib area in southern Shopian district. So far, one militant has been killed and a local girl was injured in the clash.

He added that the J&K polices counterinsurgency Special Operations Group (SOG) along with the Armys 22 Rashtriya Rifles and jawans of the CRPFs 92 and 179 battalions laid siege to Dangarpora, Reban village of Sopore to launch a cordon-and-search operation. During the search operation, terrorist hiding in the area fired upon the joint search party. The fire was retaliated ensuing an encounter, he said adding that the slain man who was earlier affiliated with Jaish-e-Muhammad was involved in many anti-social, anti-national and criminal activities. One AK 47 rifle with two magazines and 23 rounds of live ammunition, one grenade and pouch were found on the slain militant, he said.
Hyderabad: Six patients who were injured in the Nerella incident underwent treatment at NIMS hospital where X Ray and ultrasound scans and were done. They were also attended by specialists, urologists and orthopaedic surgeons and were found to be stable.

Health minister Dr Laxma Reddy said on Saturday that all the six patients were attended to September 6 and 7 and that the required investigations were carried out.

Dr Reddy said, The patients were not asked to go away by the hospital. They left on their own and participated in the dharna outside on Thursday night.

A senior doctor on condition of anonymity explained, The six patients have no problems at all, yet they were kept for two days. They came and wanted to be examined which was done due to the presence of political leaders. As the out-patient unit timing was over they were examined in the emergency department. But there is no treatment required for them as in-patients as they were completely stable.

The six patients are 46-year-old P Banayya, 35-year-old M Gopal, 26-year-old Eswar Kumar, 26-year old C Bala Raju, 24-year-old K L Harish and 30-year-old M Mahesh.
Bengaluru: As the investigation into the murder of eminent journalist and activist Gauri Lankesh progressed, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the case is veering around to pinning the blame for the killing on right wing fundamentalists. As there are striking similarities in Ms. Lankesh's killing and other progressive thinkers and rationalists including Dr. M. M. Kalburgi, an SIT official has been sent to Mumbai to bring details of the murder cases of Govind Pansare and Narendra Dabholkar.

Sources said though they have not got any major clues about the killers so far, they suspect the role of some persons who are inclined to right wing ideologies are behind this. "The investigation is being done in four angles - right wing ideology, Naxalism, personal and controversial stories carried in Gauri Lankesh Patrike. But we have not found anything important in the last three angles. But, going by the ideology Ms. Lankesh had and the way she expressed her views and the similarity between her and other rationalists' murders have made us strongly believe that it is a murder carried out by some right-wing fundamentalists," an official said.

Though the SIT firmly believes that this angle led to the murder, they are reluctant to make their conclusion public, as they are treading carefully considering the seriousness of the case. Substantiating this, the SIT officials have held several rounds of talks with the CID team that is investigating rationalist Dr. M. M. Kalburgi's murder. The SIT officials reportedly gathered details from senior police officer, D. C. Rajappa, who was the first investigation officer in Dr. Kalburgi's case.

Further, a DySP rank official deputed in the SIT was sent to Mumbai on Saturday to bring the case details related to the murders of rationalists Govind Pansare and Narendra Dabholkar. "We will study all these cases and its similarities with Ms. Lankesh's murder before we pin the blame on anyone," the official added.
One of the six step wells which are in the temple.

Hyderabad: The Sitarambagh temple is built over 25 acres and has a 50-feet wall, giving the temple a fort like look. In these days and times, it keeps the encroachers out, but there was a time when it protected Hindu women from Razakars. That is the time 10,000 Hindu women took shelter at the temple. We protected them and the food was supplied at the temple, says Arvind Ganeriwal.

The temple is equipped with six step wells of which one is defunct. Not surprisingly, there are three mosques around the temple. The property includes an old Qutub Shahi mosque with a step well, near which Puranmalji constructed the temple complex.

The Ganga-Jamni tehzeeb for which Hyderabad is still famous must have existed till the Razakar movement, for, presumably, after that a wall was built to separate the mosque from the temple, though both of them still use the water from the same stepwell.

Repair uncovers full Hanuman idol

The Sitarambagh temple has a shrine dedicated to Lord Hanuman. The vigraha (idol) that you see now is a discovery even for the family members.

We had been worshipping Hanuman only till the knee, said Arvindji, not knowing that the rest had been buried over a period of time.

The deities Garuda and Hanuman at a shrine in front of the dhwaja stambham. (Photo: DC)

When we were doing Jirnodhar (renovation), we had to work on it carefully. There were sentiments and we could not use a hammer or a chisel, said Arvindji. They used a decoction of soap nuts, buttermilk, curds, rice water and multani mitti and bathed the statue with this till all the pigmentation that had formed over the statue was washed.

One day, a worker in his haste poured the entire decoction into a crack. That is when they finally saw the magnificent idol of Hanuman that was was 6.5 feet tall, 4 feet wide and 3.5 feet thick.

Family had strong ties with the nizam

Puranmalji Ghaneriwal came from Ghaneri village in Rajasthan, about 250 km from Ajmer. It is now known for money lending, but those days it was barter system and he came to the Nizams dominion in Hyderabad to earn money.

Once when Puranmalji was waiting to call on the Nizam, one of the ladies from the harem, apparently from his village, spotted him and took him to the Nizam. And thus Puranmalji got involved in the finances of the Nizam.

The Nizams kingdom was extensive and the Maratha kings were not paying their share of revenue.

Puranmalji sent his son Prem Sundar to do the needful. It is said that he collected the revenue and came back with 100 cartloads of coins. The Nizam, ever grateful, gave them a jagir (granting feudal land), but Puranmalji had foresight and realised that a Hindu could not take donation or even jagir from a Muslim.

So they built a chabutra, a paved terrace, where the then Nizam came and they organised a little function for him and offered nazrana.

The Nizam in return gave the jagir to Puranmalji. The revenue of two villages in Berar (now in Vidharbha) was granted to take care of the running expenses of the temple.

Dr Arvind Kumar Ganeriwal, is a seventh generation descendent of Puranmalji and lives in the temple premises. His brother Ananth Prasad Ganeriwal looks after the Rangji temple in Pushkar, Rajasthan.
Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala has never witnessed a public outcry over non-Hindus worshipping at Sabarimala because the hill shrine has a secular tradition. However, Travancore Devaswom Board member Ajay Tharayil has flagged the issue, saying a 1952 law bars non-Hindus. Leaders across the board have criticised him though TDB president Prayar Gopalakrishnan says any changes in norms at Sabarimala have to be done only after broad discussions. In a Facebook post, Ajay Tharayil said non-Hindus should also be permitted to enter temples coming under the TDB. Currently, Hindus and those giving in writing that they are believers were only allowed to enter. However, many non-Hindus believing in the temple and idol worship enter prominent temples like Sabarimala, Guruvayur and Attukal. Sree Padmanabha Swamy temple does not allow non-Hindus.

Though it is not clear as to why the Congress leader came out with a controversial post at this juncture, sources reveal he was keen to trigger a debate on this issue when the board meeting is on the anvil. Many non-Hindus believing in the temple and idol worship knowingly and unknowingly enter the temple and worship. In such situations, there is no importance for TDBs decision of not allowing them to enter the temples. I hope board president and other members would support my stand, his post read. He also opined that giving a declaration by a person that he believes in Hinduism is an indirect religious conversion.

It is not the responsibility of the board to encourage conversion. The board should issue a new order after amending the one issued in 1952, he added. Rahul Easwar, the social activist, eulogised the two Congress leaders on their "revolutionary comments." These two leaders are following the same path of Mannath Padmanabhan and R. Sankar. The stand taken by them on the statue of Mahabali and temple entry is etched in history, he said in reply to Mr Tharayils Facebook post. However, Mr Gopalakrishnan told DC that he was not aware of the provocation behind Mr Tharayils latest comment. He said the next board meeting on Sep 13 would discuss the issue.

This should be discussed among the temple advisory committee, government, priests, different Devaswom board organisations, Hindu groups, etc.," said Mr Gopalakrishnan who had courted controversy when he ruffled the feathers of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan over his controversial remarks on womens entry into Sabarimala. "Each temple has a tantric tradition. The board or even the government cannot violate the tantric code of a temple. People of all religions are allowed in Sabarimala since that temples tantric code provides for that. Cochin, Malabar, Koodalmanikyam and Guruvayur are the other temple boards in the State.

Meanwhile, Devaswom minister Kadakampally Surendran termed Mr Tharayils demand to permit non-Hindus as out of context and irrelevant. He said he was at a loss of words on the Congress leaders motive. There is no meaning in quoting from the Devaswom rule book of 1952, and forwarding such a demand. Currently, there is no situation in Kerala where non-Hindus are not allowed inside a temple. Such a situation is not there in Guruvayoor either, and hence there is no scope for further discussion on this issue, said Mr Surendran.

On the other hand, BJP state president Kummanam Rajasekharan took a safer stand, saying it was the Hindu organisations that should decide. G. Sudhakaran, the Devaswom minister in the previous LDF government and the current works minister, came down heavily on Mr Tharayil. He termed it as "publicity stunt" and nothing else. In the past, there have been several campaigns demanding entry for non-Hindus in temples. K. J. Yesudas had openly expressed his desire to visit Guruvayur temple on numerous occasions. He holds concerts at Kollur Mookambika temple as a ritual without fail during the Navaratri celebrations, almost every year.
Hyderabad: Veteran Congress leader S. Jaipal Reddy on Saturday said that BJP and the TRS would enter into pre poll alliance for 2019 general elections.

Mr Reddy said he had proof of the negotiations going on between the top leaders of both the parties to strike a pre poll alliance and he would reveal it at an appropriate time.

Speaking at the training camp for Congress activists at Shamshabad, Mr Reddy lashed out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao of making promises to win the 2014 elections.

He said both of them had failed to fulfil any of their major poll promises even after being in power for over three years.

Modi and KCR continue to compete with each other in telling lies to the people. They made false and impractical promises in 2014. After winning polls, they could not fulfil any promise. Now both are again trying to fool the people by coming together and make fresh set of fake promises to win 2019 polls, Mr Reddy said.

Mr Reddy said the CM cannot provide tap water to every household through Mission Bhagiratha by 2019 due to which he will not be able to seek votes in elections.

TPCC chief Uttam Kumar Reddy accused Mr Chandrasekhar Rao of creating land mafias in villages in the name of setting up farmers coordination councils and involving them in land survey.

They are not farmers councils, but TRS committees. They are filled with TRS activists, who are controlled by land mafia. They are trying to terrorise farmers, settle land disputes, grab land in the names of records updation and land survey. The Congress will not allow this. We will set up farmers protection committees in each village to protect farmers from TRS sponsored land mafia, Mr Uttam Kumar Reddy said.
India may be the worlds largest democracy in numerical terms, but are we also so in terms of the practice of democracy? Free and largely fair elections, supervised by a vigilant Election Commission, are, no doubt, great achievements. However, politicians and the public that vote them to power, refuse to take head on certain fundamental questions that seriously question the credentials of our democratic attitudes. One of these questions is the acceptance of dynastic rule by political parties. There is something abhorrent about the worlds largest democracy considering dynastic succession par for the course. While there can be no legal injunction on political leaders appointing their progeny to succeed them, the increasing propensity to do so, and the lack of public outrage at such a practice, is frankly repugnant to the very spirit of democracy. The founding fathers of our Republic would be shocked at the incremental legitimisation of dynastic succession. Mahatma Gandhi actively discouraged his children to cash in on his political legacy, as did leaders like Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, and Dr Rajendra Prasad. In 1959, when Indira Gandhi became president of the Congress Party, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had to face criticism for promoting his daughter. Significantly, he was quick to deny this was his intention. I am certainly not grooming her as my successor, Nehru told his critics. In fact, for some time I was mentally opposed to the idea, but she was chosen, and we worked more like political colleagues than a father-daughter combination.

Congenital haters of Nehru may not believe what he said, but the significant point is that there were critics then who had the courage to question Nehru, and Nehru had the honesty to publicly say that he was mentally opposed to the idea. But, today, what was questioned has become the norm, and what is worse, supinely accepted. Apologists of dynasties argue that if an heir apparent is able to win elections his or her choice is legitimised because it reflects the will of the people. Such a defence is rubbish. It is hardly difficult for the chosen one to win in a constituency carefully nurtured by the parent for precisely this purpose, and for which the entire party works to ensure victory. It is also argued that dynastic succession is valid if the ruling family has made great sacrifices for the nation. This logic devalues the sacrifices by advancing a base reason like the succession of ones progeny as reward.

To be fair, a familys preeminence in politics gives its progeny a natural advantage. This is a dividend that cannot be denied. Nor is there anything intrinsically wrong about a politicians son or daughter following in the footsteps of the parent. But to automatically give to the children of leading political parents the unchallenged status of heir apparent is repugnant. It devalues the party, its leadership, and the principles of a healthy democracy. Why, then, have dynasties become the norm in so many political parties? Is it only because political leaders  far from being mentally opposed to the idea actively promote it  or are the political class and the public as a whole also guilty of acquiescing in the perpetuation of family fiefdoms? I think the answer to both these questions is an emphatic yes.

The ideology of the political class is to eschew ideology on the altar of self-promotion. If this requires the veneration of those in power, irrespective of their credentials to hold it, so be it. The aim is to be a beneficiary of the fruits of power, not to question the undemocratic usurpation of that power. Such an approach breeds the most deplorable sycophancy. No one dares to even remotely question the writ of the dynastic patriarch or the heir apparent. Any deviation from the sanctified script of reverence is immediately equated with disloyalty or revolt. Retributive action is swift and surgical. The result is an atmosphere of frozen conformity and intellectual inertness that is reminiscent of oppressive feudal courts in the era of absolute monarchies. Citizens are also to blame. It is their lack of discrimination and disapproval that allows political dynasties to flourish. Very often they too are a part of the more extended power system. The local MLA or MP whose favours they need would immediately withhold them if he finds that a supplicant has the temerity to question the supreme leader from whom, at the intermediate level, he, himself, derives power. It is a top-down chain of compromise that has made public servility a higher goal than other principles.

The time has come to ask the seminal question why a politician whose power is ascendant will always find enough Indians to salute him, irrespective of the merits of an issue. Are we congenitally servile, or have we just allowed pragmatism to perennially overcome principles? Chadhte sooraj ko sab salaam karte hain (Everyone salutes the rising sun), is an old Indian saying. If hierarchies are secure and unchallenged, the person at its pinnacle, and those who are perceived to be within its orbit, receive unquestioned loyalty. That is why, for instance, chief ministers can get away with appointing their wife, who is a housewife with no experience of public life, administration or governance, to take over the reins of a state. That is why also, a political party, at the national level, whose founding fathers proudly upheld the freedom of opinion and democratic transparency, has today so many of its members who know what needs to change but dont have the courage to say so. And frankly, that is also why, even in those parties where dynasties have not taken over, there is so little freedom of dissent and debate. India is a democracy with an undemocratic malaise at its core. Either this must change, or the label that India is the worlds largest democracy should be amplified to read: India is the worlds largest democracy with the largest number of undemocratic leaders.
India is the first country to have a no-fly list, but should we be proud of this? The amended Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR) regulation, which is already in force, was engendered by the runaway VIP rage syndrome afflicting the country. This shaming list was brought upon the country by unruly VIP air travellers like the Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad, who put up an impossible demand of a business class seat in an all-economy aircraft and the Telugu Desam MP Diwakar Reddy, who created a ruckus at an airport when denied boarding since he was late. If they were to repeat their antics, the two can now be banned for a period ranging from three months to lifetime. It is, however, strange that other domestic carriers will not be bound by the no-fly list of any particular airline.

The regulations do not stop with this lacuna. The staff of airlines are exempted from being featured on such a list even if they are guilty of provoking the flying rage of passengers. Airlines tend to often put passengers under stress. The delays could be for genuine operational reasons, but the airline crew can be unsympathetic. They can go scot free under the new regulations unless one files a complaint to the aviation ministrys Air Sewa web portal or DGCA. Of course, a fair hearing in all such matters is a must before passengers or crew are penalised. Respect for the etiquette of flying must be ingrained in both parties.
Indian cities have changed very much over the last 30 years and this has affected police work. I am not talking of how the cities have grown bigger or become more populous and unliveable for most people, which they have. What is being referred to is the way that they were originally designed and what they have become. Though India is an ancient place, most cities in India are new. Our largest cities, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai, were built by the British less than 300 years ago. Some other cities, like Hyderabad, Surat and Ahmedabad, go back another 200 years or so. Even old Delhi, meaning Shahjahanabad, was built but 400 years ago. Only Kashi can claim to be older, and almost all of Kashi is actually new. The ghats are all relatively recent and of no structure can it legitimately be claimed that it has been around for over 500 years. Compare this with Rome, where the Pantheon, a large building built around 2,000 years ago, is still intact. In Rome the population has always lived around monuments from ancient times and there is a continuity to life in that city, even though the modern additions of bicycles and motor cars and restaurants have come. Other than this life seems like it is unchanged over the centuries in any neighbourhood.

In India it is, of course, totally different. It is the rare neighbourhood in our cities where there is not some new building coming up and many places become unrecognisable to the local who has just been away for a few years. I went back to Surat some time ago, a city I had spent most of my life, and I had to use GPS to find my own home. So why do I say that the change has affected the way the police do their work? The traditional way in which crime has been tackled in India is through the neighbourhood thana and its list of history sheeters, whose photographs are pasted on police station notice boards. This is for new policemen to become acquainted with their area and their regulars. However in Indian cities today, there is enormous churn as people change jobs, move cities, and shift from rented houses regularly. There is no permanence to the urban neighbourhood either in terms of the buildings or the people. However, the system of policing has remained the same. Some assistance has come through technology, such as CCTV cameras. However, even here, unlike in other countries, it is a hit-or-miss affair.

Thefts in middle class houses are still solved by the police rounding up the servants and thrashing them till someone confesses. There is no proper investigation of any crime, including murder. Those who were first at the site of Gauri Lankeshs murder scene noticed that the place was still open for people to casually walk in and out. No forensic evidence of value can remain in such places. A parallel development that has affected police work has been the disappearance of the khabri. The police informer can only be one who is on the periphery of crime, someone doing a little bit of illegal work, whom the police can bully or bribe into giving information. You and I cannot be khabris because we are not in contact with those who are criminals.

After the fall of the Babri masjid and the riots in Mumbai and Surat, and then the retaliatory attacks in the form of bomb blasts, the police lost their khabris, most of whom were Muslims. The communal divide has affected the old model of policing and almost no terror investigation is able to be concluded in India, as news reports show. Modern forensics based investigation is absent and the old model can no longer produce results. In 1996, as a reporter in the sessions court of Mumbai I was approached by Shyam Keswani, the lawyer representing Iqbal Mirchi, the alleged drug dealer who India was seeking to extradite from England. The CBI had sent a team of four people to argue the matter in the Bow Street Magistrates court.

Keswani gave me a copy of the chargesheet, which was about 200 pages. I read through it, and in the entire file there was only one mention of his client. This was on the last page where a line said, also wanted in the case, one Iqbal Memon alias Mirchi. This was all the evidence that the government of India was submitting. Of course Mirchi was not extradited and remains in England. I should say that this is not the fault of the Indian policeman, who is very hardworking. But he is still operating in a system that was instituted by the British to manage neighbourhood law and order rather than solving crime through detection. In Japan conviction ratios are over 95 per cent. Meaning if the police has caught someone in a crime, it is almost guaranteed that the court will find them guilty. There are critics of this system, which like Indias is also dependent on confessional statements, which is often produced through torture. But despite having the same flaws, Indias conviction ratios are well below 50 per cent. The majority of Indians who commit crime, even serious crime, get away with it in India. For this reason, I will not be surprised if the men who murdered Gauri Lankesh, and their paymasters, will never be brought to account. The failure is systemic, and for us to expect that it will work in particular instances is a show of optimism rather than an assessment of the factual reality.
Nanu Gauri..#I am Gauri....The posters are plastered all over town, on every lamp post, on websites and news portals, with Gauri Lankeshs trademark insouciance coming through in that engaging, human, oh so impudent grin. Protests and candle-light vigils are being held in the journalists name, with the next big one slated for this coming Tuesday, under the Gauri Lankesh Hatya Virodhi Horata Vedike banner.

Who was this woman, whose brutal killing at the hands of a faceless bike borne assassin last Tuesday night turned her from a little known, left-leaning Naxal sympathizer and trenchant Narendra Modi and Hindutva critic to a storied cause celebre? Not just in Bengaluru, but across the nation where, within hours of her death, she became the face, the voice, the poster girl of the anti-Hindutva brigade.

Did the opposition BJP sense that a Gauri Lankesh in death could be a bigger threat to their battle for the hearts and minds of India, than when she was alive? Certainly, the alacrity with which one top BJP leader after the other rose to first condole her death much before anybody else had done so, and then push back at the many who drew a parallel between the killings of other left wing writers like Pansare and Dabholkar and Kalaburgi, even as one BJP leader, inappropriately said if she hadnt attacked us, she would have still been alive, cannot have been a coincidence.

Not that there was no Gauri-bashing on social media where she was mercilessly trashed and trolled by the likes of Nikhil Dadhich and Ankit somebody or the other, who called her inappropriate names and all but justified her death. Pro-left or pro-right, theres no place for these growing legion of hate texters who have come to epitomise what our country has rapidly become - heartless, intolerant, unwilling to accept any criticism, any view that goes against theirs. The young people who populate that space, me thinks, the newest weapon in the hands of the old.

Sadly, the degree of hate this time, was not offset by the heartfelt praise from so many of her contemporaries, all of whom spoke of the shock at the manner of her passing  a bullet to her heart. The most moving tribute came from her ex-husband, who summed her up for what she was  the Dona Quixote of our times who couldnt resist tilting at every windmill.

With her funeral seeing more people lining up to pay their last respects than any gathering one has seen in the city in recent times, one can only believe that Gauri Lankeshs battle against those who preyed on the weak must have had some resonance. Where did all these people come from? Were they there, because they were horrified that a woman who lived and worked amongst us, was bumped off in the manner that she was? Was it a sign that the Left, which one thought was on the wane, had more sympathisers on the ground than we had all previously imagined? Or was it a reflection of the growing outrage across the country at the systematic silencing of anyone who stood up, stood out and revelled in their persona as the ultimate iconoclast.

Certainly, nobody looking at Gauri Lankeshs eponymous Gauri Lankesh Patrika (GLP), a tabloid that she ran out of a tiny office in Gandhibazaar, with a print run that may have not crossed a few thousands, would have believed that she had such reach. In fact, that was the one thing that stood out that day when she was laid to rest  with more pomp and ceremony than she would have been comfortable with - the impact of Gauri Lankeshs voice; clearly, far, far wider than anyone had given her credit for. Her killers, maybe, the only ones who knew...

What did she say and do that invited the wrath of these men, that angered them enough to kill her? And who were they, these men who tailed her, and stalked her in the last 48 hours of her life? Who ordered the kill? Who executed the kill order? Going through the last few issues of GLP one can see how she thought nothing of hitting way below the belt, using colourful terminology to describe the RSS and PM Modi, the main target of her bite, sarcasm and wit. The tabloid, which she renamed Gauri Lankesh Patrike after she inherited her iconic father P. Lankeshs mantle and stepped into his overlarge shoes did become a vehicle for all the causes she espoused. For the men who wanted to silence her, it was a red rag to the bull.

But as her stunned sister Kavitha Lankesh told our reporters, they could have trolled her, shamed her, why kill her... Her brother, the film maker Indrajit, started off by pointing a finger at the critics among Gauris Naxal fraternity as being behind her killing. Although, why they would have an axe to grind with somebody like Gauri is a mystery. Even with the pitifully small resources she had at hand (her frends say she augmented her small income by publishing Kannada translations of anti-Hindutva books) she helped rehabilitate ageing Naxals who could no longer fight the good fight, in a cause that has seen little traction in this state. What could they possibly stand to gain by bumping her off?

Whether the killers came from the virulent Right or the Left is to be seen. Either way, its Siddaramaiahs administration, which must rise to the challenge posed by his good friends passing. Not only must the Chief Minister not take his eyes off the big prize  hunting down the killers - he simply cannot afford to allow Gauri Lankeshs murder to hang fire, left unsolved for two years, as he has in the Kalburgi case. He is caught in a cleft stick, of course. The furore over whether the investigations should be handled by the state-run SIT or the central CBI is a no-brainer. The CBI will not go where the CM wants it to  blame it on the right.

But with the citys incredibly slow moving police force reacting at snails pace to the news of her killing, he has an uphill task. Why, the police didnt immediately lock down the city and check all vehicles exiting on the Mysore highway, within minutes of the alert, is a mystery. In any other country, a clampdown would have been put in place, all roads blocked and the CCTV immediately scanned. But hey, in this IT city, its the citizens  not the government  that installs CCTV. And makes even that useless when it switches off the street-lights!

Gauri Lankesh would not have approved!
Surjit Singh Badesha, 72 and Malkit Kaur Sidhu, 67, are wanted in connection with the murder of Jaswinder Kaur Sidhu, who was 25 at the time of her death. (Photo: Pixabay)

Montreal: Canada's Supreme Court on Friday ruled that two of its citizens can be extradited to India for their alleged role in an honor killing 17 years ago.

Surjit Singh Badesha, 72 and Malkit Kaur Sidhu, 67, are wanted in connection with the murder of Jaswinder Kaur Sidhu, who was 25 at the time of her death.

The suspects, both Canadian citizens of Indian origin, are the uncle and mother of the slain woman.

Jaswinder Kaur Sidhu's body was found with her throat slit in June 2000 in Punjab state.

Indian prosecutors said that she was the victim of an honor killing planned by her mother and uncle, who furiously opposed the young woman's marriage to a poor rickshaw driver, something the victim had kept secret for a year.

After revealing her marriage to her family, the victim reportedly flew from Canada to India to reunite with her husband, Mithu Sidhu.

The couple was later attacked as they rode a scooter in a village near Sangrur, Punjab in June 2000. Her husband was severely beaten and left for dead while Sidhu was kidnapped and later killed.

The slain woman's mother and uncle allegedly hired the thugs that carried out the attack.

Seven men were eventually convicted of the crime in India, but several of those convictions were overturned on appeal.

The family has denied involvement in the killing.

Three people were found guilty of the murder in India, and authorities for years have been seeking the extradition of the two Indo-Canadians.

Canada's justice minister granted an extradition in 2014, but the ruling was reversed on appeal in 2016.

On Friday, the nine Supreme Court justices unanimously authorized the extradition.

"In this case, it was reasonable for the minister to conclude that, on the basis of the assurances he received from India, there was no substantial risk of torture or mistreatment" of the suspects "that would offend the principles of fundamental justice" in the Canadian constitution, the ruling read.

In so-called "honour" killings, carried out to protect what is seen as family pride, reasons for disapproval can include having relationships outside of one's caste or religion.
US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley, addresses a Security Council meeting of the United Nations. (Photo: AP)

Pyongyang: North Korea on Friday rebuked US ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, for taking pot-shots at Pyongyang for recent nuclear tests and called her a political prostitute, who has kicked off a hysteric fit.

State-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said, She (Nikki haley) is crazily swishing her skirt, playing the flagship role in Trump administration's hideous sanctions and pressure racket.

KCNA, which is also North Koreas mouthpiece, said, Haley became a laughing stock of the world public for her reckless tongue-lashing devoid of any elementary conception of reason.

Stating that Haley is ignorant to foresee a disaster, KCNA said, Haley is just a beginner in politics and diplomacy as she came under public criticism for her string of rubbish over the ballistic rocket launch of the DPRK in March last.

Criticising her North Korea is begging for war comment, the KCNA said, US ambassador talked as if the DPRK were inviting a war while the US wanted peace.

Earlier this week, during a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting, Haley strongly criticised Pyongyangs sixth nuclear test and said, the country is begging for war, despite United States not being in favour of it.

In the emergency UNSC meeting, Haley had pressed for imposition of even stricter sanctions, in addition to the estimated $1bn in sanctions imposed on the country last month.

"Enough is enough," Haley had said at the meeting. "We have taken an incremental approach, and despite the best of intentions, it has not worked."

United States has been pushing for an oil embargo on North Korea, along with a ban on its exports of textiles and the hiring of North Korean workers.

United States President Donald Trump had sent a strong message to North Korea after the latter's repetitive attempt of nuclear tests. He threatened a military solution to the conflict.

Meanwhile, US also indulged in military drills along with South Korea and deployed the USS Ronald Reagan, a nuclear-powered carrier, in waters between Japan and the Korean peninsula.

North Korea, on Sunday, test-fired its sixth-nuclear hydrogen bomb, just days after test-flying a missile over the north of Japan. Experts believe that Pyongyang is on verge to develop a powerful nuclear weapon.

Media reports speculate that Pyongyang may conduct even larger nuclear test on September 9, which marks the countrys founding anniversary. It had conducted a nuclear test on the same date last year too.
Academics said the students are losing their ability to write by hand en masse because of their increasing reliance on laptops in lectures and elsewhere.

Cambridge University is mulling scrapping written exams as authorities have to deal with increasing illegible handwriting of students.

The top varsity may end its 800-year-old tradition of hand-written exams and allow laptops to replace pen and paper for exams, according to Guardian.

As students increasingly rely on laptops and other electronic gadgets, academics say students are losing the ability to write by hand. Sarah Pearsall, a senior lecturer at Cambridges history faculty, told the Daily Telegraph: Fifteen or 20 years ago, students routinely wrote by hand several hours a day, but now they write virtually nothing by hand except exams... It is difficult for both the students and the examiners as it is harder and harder to read these scripts. She said handwriting was becoming a lost art.

Cambridge already allows students who struggle to write by hand or need extra time in exams to use laptops. But now it may be made available to other students as well as part of the university's Digital Strategy for Education programme that aims to introduce technology that supports teaching and learning.

A Cambridge University spokesman said the review was ordered after students raised concerns that they rarely handwrite during their studies.

A student told MailOnline: I think being able to go back and change your essay  which you cant do when writing- would make things harder as people would run out of time trying to create the perfect answer.

Ms Pearsall said sometimes examiners could not read the answer scripts. They had to be transcribed, meaning students had to return to the university during the summer period to read their answers aloud to administrators, she said.
Riaydh: Saudi Arabia on Saturday suspended any dialogue with Qatar, accusing it of distorting facts soon after a phone call between the rulers of both countries offered hope of a breakthrough in the three-month-old Gulf crisis.

Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani , spoke to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to express interest in talks, state media from both sides said, in the first public engagement between the leaders after the US president offered to mediate in the crisis.

Saudi Arabia led the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain in cutting ties with Qatar in June, accusing it of bankrolling Islamist extremist groups and of being too close to regional rival Iran. Doha denies the accusations.

The crown prince "welcomed this desire," the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) initially reported, adding "details will be announced after Saudi Arabia reaches an agreement with UAE and Bahrain and Egypt".

But the prospect of a thaw quickly died down after SPA subsequently accused Qatar's state media of wrongly implying that Saudi Arabia had initiated the outreach.

"The contact was at the request of Qatar and its request for dialogue," SPA said, citing a Saudi foreign ministry official.

"Qatar is not serious in dialogue and continues its previous policies. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia declares that any dialogue with Qatar shall be suspended until a clear statement explaining its position is made in public."

The development came after US President Donald Trump on Friday spoke separately with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE.

"The President underscored that unity among the United States' Arab partners is essential to promoting regional stability and countering the threat of Iran," the White House said.

"The President also emphasised that all countries must follow through on commitments... to defeat terrorism, cut off funding for terrorist groups, and combat extremist ideology."

When he offered to mediate, Trump said he believed the dispute could be solved "fairly easily".

- 'Climbdown from brinkmanship' -

Despite the deadlock, observers said the telephone call between the Qatari and Saudi rulers itself was a sign that tensions were dissipating.

"The fact that the telephone call took place and the offer of dialogue was made is significant in itself," said Kristian Ulrichsen, a fellow at the Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University.

"(It) signals a climb down from the brinkmanship that has characterised so much of the Gulf standoff since June," Ulrichsen told AFP.

But diplomatic efforts led by Kuwait, a key mediator in the crisis backed by Western powers, have so far failed to achieve a breakthrough.

In Washington on Thursday, Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah offered Trump an upbeat assessment of his efforts so far.

But in a statement early Friday, the Saudi-led bloc showed no signs of backing down as it questioned the Kuwaiti emir's statement that Qatar would be willing to accept their 13 demands.

The demands include shutting Doha-based broadcaster Al-Jazeera, closing a Turkish military base in the emirate and downgrading Qatari diplomatic ties with Iran.

The bloc also voiced "regret" about the Kuwaiti ruler's statement "on the success of mediation in stopping military intervention".

Instead, the four Arab states stressed that "the military option has not been and will not be considered" under any circumstances.

Riyadh and Doha are both key allies of the United States, which has sent mixed signals on its policy towards the nations.

Trump, who chose Saudi Arabia for his first overseas visit as president in May, two weeks before the crisis erupted, immediately expressed staunch support for Saudi Arabia.

Some other US officials including Secretary of State Rex Tillerson adopted a more measured tone.

Qatar hosts a huge US air base, home to the headquarters of Centcom -- the regional command which leads operations against the Islamic State jihadist group.

Sheikh Tamim is set to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel for talks on September 15, in what will be his first trip to a western capital since the crisis began.
But the prospect of a thaw quickly died down after SPA accused Qatars state media of wrongly implying that Saudi Arabia had initiated the outreach (Representational Image)

Saudi Arabia on Saturday suspended any dialogue with Qatar, accusing it of distorting facts soon after a phone call between the rulers of both countries offered hope of a breakthrough in the three-month-old Gulf crisis.

Qatars emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, spoke to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to express interest in talks, state media from both sides said, in the first public engagement between the leaders after the US President offered to mediate.

Saudi Arabia led the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain in cutting ties with Qatar in June, accusing it of bankrolling Islamist extremist groups and of being too close to regional rival Iran.

The crown prince welcomed this desire, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) initially reported, adding details will be announced after Saudi Arabia reaches an agreement with UAE and Bahrain and Egypt. But the prospect of a thaw quickly died down after SPA accused Qatars state media of wrongly implying that Saudi Arabia had initiated the outreach.

The contact was at the request of Qatar and its request for dialogue, SPA said, citing a Saudi foreign ministry official. What was published on the Qatar News Agency is a continuation of the distortion of the Qatari authority of the facts.
Angry parents scuffled with police in riot gear at Ryan international school near New Delhi Saturday after a staff member was arrested for slitting the throat of a seven-year-old boy during a sex assault.



Hundreds of parents on Friday stormed Ryan International school in Gurgaon after the body of Pradyuman Thakur was found in a school bathroom.



Police said he was attacked with a knife after resisting a sex attack inside a lavatory. A bus attendant at the school has been arrested for the killing.



"The accused has confessed to the crime during questioning," Simardeep Singh, a deputy commissioner of police in Gurgaon, told AFP.



The boy resisted the sexual assault and the attacker decided to kill him to cover up the crime, Singh said.



The suspect had been working at the school for eight months, the officer said.



Parents of the nearly 1,000 students at the school tried to storm the campus on Saturday to demand the arrest of school managers over the case.



But hundreds of police in riot gear guarded the building to avoid a repeat of violence on Friday when chairs and cupboards were smashed.



The school has suspended the principal and assured cooperation with the investigators.



Authorities said they had launched an investigation into security at the school.



India's swelling middle class has fuelled the growth of private schools in the country that has a crumbling public education system, but a lack of government regulation is a concern for parents.



Ranked one of the top educational institutions, Ryan international runs nearly 150 schools across India and in the United Arab Emirates.



The school was caught in another controversy last year after a six-year-old student was found dead in a water tank at its New Delhi establishment. Police arrested the principal, a teacher and three other staff for negligence in that case.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak on Saturday said Rohingya Muslims face systematic violence including torture, rape and murder in Myanmar.



Predominantly Muslim Malaysia has spoken out strongly against mostly Buddhist Myanmar over its treatment of its Rohingya minority since violence erupted last October.



In the past 15 days, nearly 300,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh after raids by Rohingya militants triggered a Myanamr security forces crackdown in Rakhine state.



"Based on the reports we have received, (the Rohingya) are discriminated and no mercy is accorded to them," he told reporters at the Subang Airforce base on the outskirts of the capital Kuala Lumpur.



"Actually, it is done in a planned manner so that they are tortured, discriminated, killed and raped," he added.



Earlier Najib witnessed the deployment of two airforce cargo planes with food and medical supplies to the port city of Chittagong in Bangladesh.



"We are sending two planes with biscuits, rice and soap. Malaysia will do whatever it can to help since this is a huge disaster," he said.



Najib also said a reconnaissance team would arrive in Dhaka on Monday consisting of diplomats and military officers to identify further assistance needed by the Rohingya.



Malaysia's armed forces chief said Saturday that Kuala Lumpur would provide a 200-bed military field hospital in Bangladesh if the government there granted permission.



Describing Myanmar's inaction to halt the violence against innocent civilians as "rather disappointing", Najib said he will raise the Rohingya humanitarian tragedy with President Donald Trump on September 12 during an official visit to the White House.



"We have to help because the Rohingya tragedy has reached terrible proportions," he said.

On Friday, the powerful youth wing of Najib's dominant Malaysia's ruling party led a noisy street protest urging Kuala Lumpur to sever diplomatic ties with Yangon.



Malaysia on Tuesday summoned the Myanmar ambassador to voice its "deep concern" over the situation in Rakhine state, where witnesses said entire villages have been burned.



Over 1,000 people -- more than twice the government's total estimate -- may already have been killed in Rakhine, mostly Rohingya, said Yanghee Lee, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar.



As of June this year, there are 59,100 Rohingya refugees registered with the UN Refugee Agency in Malaysia.
Investigations into the gruesome murder of a seven-year-old boy at the Ryan International School here will be concluded in seven days, the Gurgaon police said today.



At a press conference here, Gurgaon Police Commissioner Sandeep Khirwar also said that a three member committee, which is also probing whether the school followed the safety and security norms, would submit a report on Monday.



The police have already arrested school bus conductor Ashok Kumar in connection with crime, that triggered widespread furore.



Khirwar said that Kumar had already confessed to his role in the crime and added that it would be examined if there were others involved.



"We will conclude the investigation into the case in seven days," he said.



Efforts would be made that a fast track court conducts the trial and added that the intent would be to secure maximum possible punishment, he said.



Police officials said that a committee comprising the district education officer, block education officer and an officer of the women and child development department would submit a report on whether the school followed security norms.



That report is expected on Monday and assured that action will be taken on its findings, Khirwar said.



Officials said that it will also be examined whether other schools in the district were following the security norms.



The acting principal of the Ryan International school was today suspended and all the security staff were removed, after the seven-year-old boy was found dead with his throat slit inside a washroom, police officials said.



Angry locals gathered outside the school premises this morning and protested for over two hours demanding a CBI probe into the murder while demanding that a CBI probe be ordered into the matter.



They also demanded that the school management be booked for the murder of boy.



"The Ryan International School management has suspended acting principal Neerja Batra and removed all the security staff," District Public Relation Officer R S Sangwan said.



The boy, a Class II student, was allegedly killed by bus conductor Kumar who also allegedly tried to sexually abuse the minor, officials said. The accused was arrested hours after the gruesome murder.



The post mortem was carried out and the boy's body was handed over to his father, they said.



The boy's father, Varun Thakur, who works as a quality manager with a private firm in Gurgaon, had accused the school administration of negligence.
By-polls in the two Lok Sabha constituencies of Gorakhpur and Phulpur in Uttar Pradesh would not only test chief minister Yogi Adityanath and his party but also the much talked about and possible opposition unity.



Now that bothAdityanath, who represented Gorakhpur in Lok Sabha and deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya, who represented Phulpur were elected to the UP legislative council, by-polls would be held on both seats.



Although the dates for the by-polls have not yet been announced, both the BJP and the opposition parties have shifted gears and started their preparations.



As both the seats fall in the eastern UP region, the results of the two by-polls would also be an indicator of things to come in the bigger battle in 2019.



For Adityanath, Gorakhpur, which he had represented since 1998, would be a huge test, especially since BJP would have to field someone, who was not associated with the Gorakshnath Peeth, of which Adityanath is the 'Mahant' (chief). The Peeth wielded considerable influence in Gorakhpur and also in some adjoining districts.



Adityanath had won the seat by over 3.13 lakh votes in 2014 Lok Sabha elections. BJP, keeping in mind the caste calculations, inducted Shiv Pratap Shukla in the union cabinet in the recent expansion.



BJP emerged victorious in Phulpur for the first time in 2014 and now the party was faced with the daunting task of selecting a nominee who matched his stature.



Samajwadi Party (SP) had finished second on both Gorakhpur and Phulpur seats though it trailed by over three lakh votes at both places.



A combined opposition, however, could pose a few problems for the BJP. Though BSP supremo Mayawati has not shown much enthusiasm for forging a grand alliance, sources said that she may not field her candidate in the two by-polls without formally stitching an alliance with SP-Congress.



''We can put up a good fight and could even win the two seats if our votes do not get split,'' said a senior SP leader here.



BJP leader Vijay Bahadur Pathak, however, exuded confidence that the saffron party would win the by-polls comfortably. ''We will win irrespective of combined candidates,'' he said.
The Modi government want farmers to pursue allied activities such bee-keeping, backyard poultry development, inland fisheries in addition to farming to boost income.



The allied activities are key to the government initiative of doubling farmers income, Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh told DH.



He said as part of the Centre's seven-point strategy to double farmers' income by 2022, the government was encouraging farmers to utilise uncultivated areas for allied activities.



The government has expanded the definition of farmers by including fisheries, poultry, dairy and other allied sectors as it becomes difficult to double the income of farmers who grow only agricultural crops.



Singh on Thursday discussed the seven-point strategy with veteran agricultural scientist M S Swaminathan, who was quite appreciative of the initiatives taken by the government.



It was agreed that hereafter economic viability of farming will depend on the efforts to increase productivity and profitability, Swaminathan said on Twitter referring to the meeting with Singh.



Besides, the minister said he was also pursuing reforms in agriculture marketing to link wholesale market yards to an electronic trading platform.



So far 455 mandis have been linked to this platform. We aim to link 585 major mandis across the country and also have plans to rope in private market yards and direct marketing, Singh said.



The seven-point strategy to double farmers income was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in March last year. It includes increasing productivity by bringing 70 million hectares of farm land under institutional irrigation.



It also focuses on effective use of inputs such as improved seeds, planting material, soil health card and other initiatives. Another area of the target is to reduce post-harvest losses by encouraging farmers to use warehouses to avoid distress sales and promotion of food processing to help farmer add value to his farm produce.



Singh said the government was also working towards reducing the risk of the farmers by creating a security shield through the Prime Minister's Crop Insurance Scheme which covers standing crops as well as pre-sowing to post-harvest losses.
Uttar Pradesh government would conduct a high-level probe into reports that a private medical college had received 14 dead bodies from Dera Sachha Sauda without proper documents.



''It is a serious issue...we will probe the matter thoroughly and ensure stern punishment to the guilty,'' UP health minister Siddharth Nath Singh said here on Saturday.



Speaking to reporters Singh said that the government had already taken cognisance of the report.



The medical college management, however, rejected the allegations and claimed that all formalities had been completed before accepting the bodies. Fourteen dead bodies had been sent from Dera to the college between the month of January and August this year, according to the reports.



''The dead bodies had been donated to the medical college....we have the relevant documents to show the same,'' claimed a senior functionary of the college on Saturday.



He also claimed that every dead body had a photostat copy of its identity besides an affidavit by a close relative stating that it was being donated to the college.



Sources said that the local police had seized documents from the medical college and were examining them. A police team had reached the medical college office on Friday evening soon after reports to this effect were circulated in the local media in Sirsa in Haryana.



Sources also said that prima facie it appeared that necessary formalities had been completed.



Incidentally, the dead bodies had been donated to the medical college after the Medical Council of India (MCI) had denied recognition to the college after it found that there was only one human body with the anatomy department.
Former Congress leader Jayanthi Natarajan was on Saturday accused by the CBI of abusing her official powers while serving as the environment minister in the UPA government to divert forest land in Jharkhand for a mining project.



The CBI, after registering an FIR, raided her premises in Chennai as the sleuths were looking for documents in the case in which she is alleged to have given her consent for diversion of land in Singhbhum district of Jharkhand, ignoring the advice of then Director General of Forests and directions of the Supreme Court. The move was violative of forest conservation law.



The CBI officials stated that Congress MP Jairam Ramesh, from whom she took over as environment minister, had rejected the land conversion proposal. Natarajan overturned the decision after assuming office in 2011.



"Jayanthi Natarajan, the then Minister of State for Environment and Forests, accorded the approval for diversion of 55.79 hectares of forest land for non-forestry use to ECL, though the same had been rejected by the earlier Minister of State...without any change in the circumstances after rejection," read the FIR.



The leader from Tamil Nadu had to step down as environment minister in December 2013 following her controversial decision.



The agency has charged her with graft under the Prevention of Corruption Act, for hatching criminal conspiracy and abusing her official position, which are offences under the Indian Penal Code. The sleuths have also named Umang Kejriwal, the then managing director of Electrosteel Casting Limited, in the case.



Multi-location search



Searches at different locations in Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Ranchi and Odisha's Sundergarh went on late into the evening to ascertain more facts in the case.



Having remained with Congress for three-decades, Natarajan had quit the Congress in January 2015 after her attempts to crossover to the BJP had failed. She had attacked Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, blaming him for first directing her to protect the environment but later publicly rebuking her, prior to 2014 elections, for want of corporate patronage.



Natarajan overturned the decision after assuming office in 2011.



Jayanthi Natarajan, the then Minister of State for Environment and Forests, accorded the approval for diversion of 55.79 hectares of forest land for non-forestry use to ECL, though the same had been rejected by the earlier Minister of State...without any change in the circumstances after rejection, read the FIR.


Militants today attacked a police party in south Kashmir's Anantnag district leaving a constable dead, striking barely a kilometre from the venue of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh's scheduled meeting with security personnel tomorrow, a police official said.



Militants fired indiscriminately on the police personnel near the general bus stand Anantnag, the official said.



He said constable Imtiyaz Ahmad was killed while constable Shabir Ahmad was injured in the firing.



The attack took place a kilometre away from the proposed venue of the meeting of the Home Minister with CRPF personnel tomorrow, the official said.



The area has been cordoned off and a manhunt has been launched to nab the attackers.

Rajnath Singh is on a four-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir.



Singh met Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti in Srinagar today.



He will also travel to Anantnag, Jammu and Rajouri and meet civil society members, leaders of political and social outfits, business leaders and others, a move seen as a follow-up to the prime minister's Independence Day speech in which he had reached out to the people of the strife-hit Valley.
Karnataka Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy today directed the police to ensure the safety of people from the Northeast in the city while at the same time "keep an eye" on their activities.



He said people from the Northeast work in different fields in the city and have formed various associations.



"We need to give them protection. At the same time, we need to keep an eye on them," Reddy said in his maiden address to the police since taking over as the home minister last week.



Regarding foreign students, the home minister said they indulge in "illegal activities" in certain parts of the city which should also be curbed.



Reddy's remarks come in the wake of stray attacks on people from the Northeast and also incidents involving alleged assault on people of African origin some months back.



He also asked the police to work towards ending 'goondaism' from the city.



"I do not know how you are going to end 'goondaism' but you have to achieve it. Make them run away from the state. I do not want anti-social elements loitering around schools and colleges and harassing girls," he said.



Reddy gave directions to check money-lending business, beggary, gambling, sale of psychotropic drug substances, robbery and extortion in the markets.



He also asked officers to refrain from civil dispute cases and focus only on better policing.

He emphasised on strengthening intelligence at the police station level.
Union Railways and Coal minister Piyush Goyal today slammed the Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal alleging that it was indulging in "communalism" by stopping one community from celebrating its religious festival.



"In an attempt to appease a section of the society the (Mamata Banerjee) government is trying to stop one community from celebrating its religious festival. This must stop forthwith," Goyal said when asked about the recent comment of state Education minister Partha Chatterjee that Centre was trying to saffronise education.



"The Modi government has not taken a single step to cause any harm to any section of the society. We believe in equal opportunity for all," he said on the sidelines of a programme at the IIMC here. "It is sad that the state government is politicising each and everything," he said.



Goyal said that "Trinamool Congress is losing support and the people in the state are yearning for a change in 2019."



Reacting to the killing of journalist Gauri Lankesh, Goyal said that any person losing his/her life is very sad and hoped that Karnataka government will take necessary steps to book the culprits.
India's indigenously developed third generation anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) Nag has been successfully flight-tested by premier defence research organisation DRDO in deserts of Rajasthan, marking the completion of development trials.



The defence ministry said Nag has been successfully flight-tested twice by the DRDO against two different targets yesterday in Rajasthan. The missile can hit a target up to seven km.



"The ATGM Nag missile has successfully hit both the targets under different ranges and conditions with very high accuracy as desired by the armed forces," the ministry said.



India has been trying to ramp up its military capability in sync changing security dynamics in the region. The defence ministry said yesterday's flight tests and the trials in June marked the successful completion of development trials of Nag missile.



"With these two successful flight trials, and the flight test conducted earlier in June in the peak of summer, the complete functionality of Nag ATGM along with launcher system NAMICA has been established and marked the successful completion of development trials of Nag missile," it said.
The family of Karan back in Bengaluru has been informed.



Karan, Rishi and some others were in the room when suddenly he went to the window and jumped off.



They later rushed him to a hospital where he was pronounced dead on admission. The body is being sent for post-mortem.



The mobile phone of the deceased is being examined and his social media profile is also being analysed. Condolences poured in on Twitter as people came to know of the incident.



"Karan Joseph was a genius. Should have been far more celebrated than he was. It's really unfair, how the music scene works in India," tweeted composer Vishal Dadlani.



"I did not know him personally. Whatever I had known about him that he was a good pianist," said Shubert Vaz, a veteran Mumbai based pianist.

In a shocking incident, pianist Karan Joseph from Benga committed suicide by jumping off a building at the upmarket and posh Bandra suburbs of Mumbai, on Saturday.Karan (29) jumped from one of the flats on the 12th floor of Concord Building at Bandra West.He has been staying in Mumbai since the past one month with his friend Rishi Shah.The Bandra police station has registered an Accidental Death Report (ADR) and investigations were in progress. No suicide note has been found.
A day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi expanded the Union Council of Ministers on September 3, a meeting of top four ministers had sent mixed signals.



Three senior ministers --Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj and Nitin Gadkari -- drove to Home Minister Rajnath Singh's residence for a discussion.



This was widely speculated in the BJP and other circles as relating to "some consternation" over the fresh allocation of portfolios including the crucial portfolio of defence.



Next day, Modi finally surprised everyone by elevating Nirmala Sitharaman, Rajya Sabha MP from Karnataka, as the first full-time woman defence minister.



Jaitley stood relieved of the dual charge and could focus exclusively on the finance portfolio.



By elevating Sitharaman, Modi sought to send an important message that India has now a woman leader as its defence minister.



As the news sunk in, BJP circles were abuzz with speculation as to why he had handed the portfolio to Sitharaman, who became part of the all-powerful Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS). This panel also includes the PM, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj and Jaitley.



Modi had apparently conveyed to senior ministers that his choice of the next defence minister would be guided by the principle of finding the best hand for the job-- in terms of capability and delivery rather than plain seniority.



Over the last few days, Modi has initiated a system of top BJP ministers interacting informally among themselves and with their deputies for feedback on policy issues, tracking decisions and monitoring deliveries, key officials said.



In fact, a similar meeting was said to have been held last Friday too in one of the ministers' residence. These sessions are supposed to be an informal brainstorming exercise on key issues. This will be a regular practice henceforth.



Although it remains unclear whether the September 2 meeting at Rajnath Singh's residence discussed the reshuffle or allocation of portfolios, the exercise appears to have had the nod of the PM, the officials said.



BJP officials said Modi had discussed his plans for the reshuffle with these ministers, seeking ideas and proposals. Later, he and BJP president Amit Shah held more than two rounds of consultations. Shah, in turn, consulted other leaders down the line.



Shah had also been involving in an exercise that sees him go to the residence of one of the members of the BJP's highest-decision making body, the parliamentary board, by turns.



Significantly, Modi asked new ministers, as well as those, had been promoted to make a courtesy call on President Ram Nath Kovind and Vice President Venkaiah Naidu as well as former president Pranab Mukherjee.
A day after Congress described the adoption of Tibetan Rehabilitation Policy, 2014 by Arunachal Pradesh government as 'whimsical', BJP today said extension of this policy by the Centre is actually a continuation of one adopted by Congress earlier.



"The Tibetan Rehabilitation Policy, 2014, extended by Narendra Modi government is nothing but a continuation of the existing policy," state BJP senior vice-president Dominic Tadar said in a statement.



The central policy with the Tibetan refugees have been extended by consecutive central governments in the past including the government led by Congress, he said.



Arunachal Pradesh's BJP government decided to adopt the Tibetan Rehabilitation Policy, 2014, in the state last month and there have been protests in the state since then.



State Congress president Takam Sanjoy yesterday said that the decision to adopt the policy was "whimsical" decision to adopt the Policy, 2014, will create a new social disorder in Arunachal Pradesh if implemented.



The guideline of the policy states that Tibetan refugees may be allowed to undertake any economic activity and relevant license or permit may be issued to them, and they are also permitted to take jobs in any field.



Sanjoy said the policy was prepared by the Centre without consulting any state government.



As per a 2009 estimate, 1,10,095 Tibetan refugees are living in 45 settlement areas in different parts of the country including Tenzing Gaon, Miao and Tezu in Arunachal Pradesh, the BJP state president said.



The facilities would extended only to Registration Card Holders as refugees certified by the Central Tibetan Relief Committee (CTRC), Tadar said.



The Government of India consults with the CTRC on regular basis on the problems of Tibetan refugees, he said.



Tadar said the 20-year lease agreements of land for settlement and other businesses are signed only with CTRC and no individual Tibetans can do so.



The settlements of refugees are restricted to only demarcated areas as per lease agreement with the respective state governments which are being regulated by the Centre from time to time with CTRC.
Large cars got a GST advantage of 8% but the cess has been increased only by 5% on them, which is still cheaper than the pre-GST era, Jaitley said, adding that small category diesel and petrol cars have been exempted from additional cess.



It was decided by the GST Council that let consumers get the benefit of price reduction on small cars. So we maintained a status quo on that, the minister said.



To a question on why the council decided to hike the tax on big cars only by 5%, Jaitley said, The government has to balance its revenue raising with Make in India.



Two days ahead of the GST Council meeting, the representatives of vehicle manufacturing bodies had conveyed to the government that the move would impact their future plan of expansion under the Make in India initiative.



The council, on a request by the Telangana government for a further reduction on tax on development projects, agreed to expand the definition of "Contract Works".



Over 150 delegates, including senior government officials, attended the meeting held at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre.



The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council on Saturday reduced the tax rates on a number of goods used daily by the people.The council, however, imposed an additional cess on luxury vehicles, SUVs and mid-sized cars.Addressing major glitches in the GST Network (GSTN), the council also extended the deadline for filing tax returns by one month - October 10.The council, headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, set up a five-member ministerial committee to look into GSTNs day-to-day functioning and allowed videoconferencing of state finance ministers as and when the implementation problem arises.We have reduced rates for dried tamarind, roasted gram, raincoats and agarbatti among other things, the finance minister said.Ahead of Dasara, clay idols were exempted from GST. But food brands with registered trademarks as on May 15, 2017, will pay a 5% GST.The food industry had started de-registering their trademark and started selling under the de-registered trademark or the corporate brand. This created an inequality of trade. By this, some got a tax advantage, so we amended the requirements, Jaitley said.Though the states were upset over the malfunctioning of GST Network - the IT backbone of the GST regime - Jaitley said GSTN was facing only transient issues which have been subsequently rectified.Among the services, jobs works contract except in gold under the threshold of Rs 20 lakh was exempted from GST. The same holds true for artisans of the country.The tax rate on government work contract was reduced to 12% from 18%.The council corrected a major anomaly on luxury and other vehicles by hiking the cess to 7% on SUVs and 5% on big cars, including luxury cars.
A "deeply concerned" India today asked Myanmar to handle the situation in the Rakhine state with "maturity and restraint" while focusing on the welfare of the civilian population along with that of the security forces and asserted that it was imperative that violence ends there.



The Indian statement came in the backdrop of the continuous exodus of Rohingya Muslims from the Buddhist- majority country in the wake of violence against them.



In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that India remains "deeply concerned" about the situation in the Rakhine state and the outflow of refugees from that region.



"We would urge that the situation in Rakhine state be handled with restraint and maturity, focusing on the welfare of the civilian population alongside those of security forces. It is imperative that violence is ended and normalcy in the state restored expeditiously," the statement said.



The statement also referred to India's strong condemnation of the terrorist attacks on Myanmar security forces in the Rakhine state.



The two countries have since affirmed their shared determination to combat terrorism and not allow its justification under any pretext, it said.



The Indian statement came even as Bangladesh High Commissioner Syed Muazzem Ali called on Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar to discuss the issue.



Nearly 300,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled to Bangladesh from Myanmar's Rakhine state since August 25 when the fresh wave of violence erupted.



However, the MEA statement made no mention of the meeting.



During prime minister's recent visit to Myanmar this week, he had expressed his concern at the casualties of security forces as well as other innocent lives, the MEA statement said.



He had also urged a solution based on respect for peace, communal harmony, justice, dignity and democratic values, it added.



The statement also noted that during the prime minister's Myanmar visit it was agreed that India would provide assistance under the Rakhine State Development Programme in conjunction with the Myanmarese government.



India had refused to be a part of a declaration adopted at an international conference recently in Indonesia as it carried "inappropriate" reference to violence in Rakhine state.



An Indian parliamentary delegation, led by Speaker Lok Sabha Sumitra Mahajan, dissociated itself from the 'Bali Declaration' adopted at the 'World Parliamentary Forum on Sustainable Development' held in Indonesia.



According to media reports, the violence began when Rohingya militants attacked police posts in Myanmar's northern Rakhine state.



Rohingya residents -- a stateless mostly Muslim minority -- allege that the military and Rakhine Buddhists responded with a brutal campaign against them, according to the reports.
Luxury automobile makers, Audi, Mercedes- Benz and JLR India today expressed disappointment over GST Council's decision to hike cess on mid-sized and large cars and SUVs by up to 7 per cent saying it totally overlooked their contribution to the industry and economy.



Under the new rates fixed today, cess on mid-sized cars has been increased by 2 per cent, while on large cars it has been hiked by 5 per cent and that of the SUVs by 7 per cent.



The council, however, kept rates on small cars and hybrid vehicles unchanged, which came into effect when GST was implemented in July.



Reacting to the hike in cess, Audi India Head Rahil Ansari said: "Even if the rumoured cess hike of 10 per cent was not concluded, the prices will go up again, which is disappointing. We will need to study the impact of this hike on the buyer sentiment".



He further said the taxes on auto industry were already very high and "we expected the unfulfilled potential of this segment to increase after the implementation of GST and rationalisation of taxes".



Expressing similar views, Mercedes-Benz India MD & CEO, Roland Folger said: "The decision to increase the cess yet again is very unfortunate and totally overlooks the contribution we make to the industry and to the economy".



Though, volume wise luxury car contribution to the industry is very low, the value wise contribution is much higher and that has immense potential to grow even more in the future, had there been fair taxation, he said.



"However, by continuous taxation of the segment, the overall revenue generation is going to be hurt, as the increase in price is going to hurt demand," Folger added.



On the impact on prices of vehicles, he said: "With this increase in cess now, the prices are bound to leap back to the pre-GST regime, in some cases higher than the pre-GST regime, thus negating altogether the benefits of GST regime".



Jaguar Land Rover India President and Managing Director Rohit Suri said, "While the increase in cess will impact consumer demand, investment and job creation, we are glad that the government and GST Council took note of our concerns and somewhat moderated the increase in cess".



Under the new rates, popular mid-sized cars like Honda City, Maruti Suzuki Ciaz petrol and the newly launched Hyundai Verna will see prices increase by 2 per cent.



Similarly, luxury cars such as BMW 3, 5 and 7 series, Audi A3, A4, A6 and A8 along with Mercedes C Class, E Class and S Class will now be more expensive by 5 per cent.



On the other hand SUVs, starting from Scorpio and XUV500 from the stable of Mahinndra & Mahindra, Renault Duster, Toyota Fortuner to luxury ones like Land Rover Discovery, Audi Q3, Q5 and Q7, BMW X3 and X5, along with Mercedes GLA, GLC and GLS will all see prices going up by 7 per cent.



In the earlier approved rates, large cars with engine greater than 1,500 cc and SUVs with length more than 4 metres and engine greater than 1,500 cc attracted cess of 15 per cent. Hybrid vehicles also fall in the same category under GST.
Keep improvising and dont be happy wherever you are. Keep innovating, said Seema Rao, Indias first and only women commando trainer.



Delivering a talk on Leadership and Management Lessons from Armed Forces, organised by CII-Yi Mysore Chapter in partnership with Namma Mysuru, by Seema Rao, who was accompanied by her husband Major Deepak Rao, she said, While training more than 15,000 personnel of the Indian defence forces for the past 20 years, there was lot of obstacles but, I managed to overcome it.



She was speaking during Leadership and Management Lessons from Armed Forces by Dr Seema Rao and Major Deepak Rao, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry - Young Indian (CII-Yi), Mysuru chapter in partnership with Namma Mysuru Foundation and B N Bahadur Institute of Management Sciences here recently.



Even when we were facing monetary issues, we did not charge money for the training. The training demanded travelling to some of the riskiest areas. Because of my work commitments, I had to miss my fathers funeral. My father was a freedom fighter and he used to tell how people fought for freedom. So, I also decided to do my mite for the country. When I was 16-years-old, I met Deepak who taught me martial arts, she said.



Despite all the risks that were involved in our jobs we adopted a girl child. Our journey started with unarmed combat and later armed combat, later shooting, counter terrorism and special operation. Keep improvising and dont be happy wherever you are. I started by training police and later armed police, paramilitary force, and special force. Later, we decided to pen down our thoughts, and published books, which have been given to the Home and Defence ministries and also to the FBI, said Seema.



She is a 7th degree black belt in military martial arts, a combat shooting instructor, a fire-fighter, a scuba diver, an HML medallist in rock climbing and Mrs Indian World Pageant finalist. She has also mastered Jeet Kune Do (martial art founded by Bruce Lee in 1967).



Also, recipient of World Peace award by World Peace Congress, US President Volunteer Service Award, three army chief citations and more than 1,000 felicitations from the Indian government.



DH News Service
South Bangalore was the worst affected due to Friday night's rain.



Apart from a huge eucalyptus tree that fell on a car and claimed three lives near Minerva Circle, 136 trees were uprooted across the city, 120 of them in South Zone alone.



A huge tree fell on a car near Ramakrishna Ashram and another in Hanumanthnagar. At many places, huge branches brought down electric poles, disrupting power supply.



Koramangala 4th Block and HSR Layout were waterlogged yet again with black slush entering homes.



So far, it was just rain water that entered our homes but this time, it is thick, black muck. It is getting worse every day, said Kavya K, a resident. Every household spends between Rs 1,800 and Rs 5,000 to clean their homes. Every time we clean the sump, sewage water pollutes it, said Revathi G of HSR Layout.



We were outside and by the time we returned, the house was completely in water. Despite several complaints, nobody from the Palike turned up, she said.



Meanwhile, BBMP commissioner N Manjunatha Prasad said storm water drain work had been neglected all these years. We have been desilting and remodelling SWDs besides building new ones. We have cleared all uprooted trees, said Prasad.



Scene in North Zone



Several trees fell in Seshadripuram and Malleswaram and widespread damage, including waterlogging and flooding, was reported elsewhere.



Around five trees fell in North Bengaluru, damaging vehicles and buildings. The BBMP control room was flooded with phone calls. Nearly 50 complaints were received from Malleswaram alone, a control room officer said.



Manholes closed



A day after a teenager was washed away in a drain, BBMP swung into action to close the open manhole in Shehsadripuram.



Vasanathnagarcorporator Sampath Kumar said he ensured closure of all manholes.



Angry residents blamed the corporator for Friday night's incident. Naveen, a resident of Seshadripuram said, Corporators should ensure that such drains and manholes are closed to prevent such accidents."



Ravi of RT Nagar said, "BBMP covered the spot on Saturday. The boy lost his life due to officials' negligence."



Thanisandra, Fathima Layout and Defence Layout in North Bengaluru were again flooded. We are fed up with authorities and with water flooding our homes again. The BBMP officials are always not reachable, complained Prabhu, a resident of Thanisandra.



For the past 20 years, we have been facing a lot of problems during the rainy season. The authorities have been of no help. We have been spending sleepless night for past two months, said Imtiyaz Ahmad, a resident of Fathima Layout.
Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy held a meeting with inspectors of all police stations in Bengaluru on Saturday and ordered them to crack down on history-sheeters and maintain law and order.



Addressing the inspectors for the first time after taking charge of the Home Department, he pointed to the thousands of hooligans in the city and said they must be reined in at all costs. The government is ready to support and encourage efficient officers but it would not tolerate those who seek the transfer for no reason, he added.



Reddy wants each police station to build its own intelligence gathering network to prevent crimes. He also asked the police to be people friendly and win their confidence instead of scaring them.



On the disturbance caused by paying guest digs in some neighbourhoods, the minister said: "There are reports of many PG digs having late-night parties and disturbing other residents. Police should take action against them without fail. Senior officers, including the commissioner, should go on night rounds and patrol the streets. They should make sure that each restaurant, bar and wine store follows the timings and take action if there is any violation. Besides, police should prevent foreign students from committing crimes."



Reddy also emphasised providing round-the-clock security to information technology corridors and warned to hold station house officers responsible for any failure of law and order in their jurisdiction. He asked them to register FIRs without any delay and instructed the deputy commissioners of police to take conduct public meetings in their divisions.



This apart, the home minister directed the police to invoke the Goonda Act against the peddlers of narcotic drugs. He said the police should not allow betting and gambling activities and crack down on prostitution, video games, skill games, live bands and hookah bars.



DH News Service
BJP leader R Ashoka on Saturday launched a tirade against Bengaluru Development Minister K J George and the civic authorities for their failure to mitigate rain-related disasters in the city.



We told the authorities to take steps about a month ago. Nothing was done. As a result, four people died because of heavy rainfall, Ashoka told reporters. Drains were not desilted, trees were not pruned and vulnerable trees were not identified. The governments inaction is clear, he charged.



BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa will visit rain-affected areas in the city on Sunday, Ashoka said. On the BBMP Mayoral election scheduled to be held on September 28, Ashoka said the BJP planned to move the court to challenge the manner by which the Congress and the JD(S) formed an alliance and got ineligible voters to poll last year. We have 101 corporators out of 198. We arent hungry for power, but if bogus voters were weeded out, then the BJP will have a majority, he said.
The mandate of the Skill India mission, one of Prime Minister Narendra Modis pet projects, will be simplified in order to widen its outreach among the public, Union Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Ananth Kumar Hegde said Saturday.



Theres a need for us to reach out to people with a simple mandate and focus on developing skills that are closer to their lives, Hegde said during his first visit to the BJP head office after being elevated as Union minister. In the very first meeting I had with officials, I told them we need to do away with officialese and usage of technical terms.



He cited the example of medicinal plants, which he claimed outweighed the benefits of allopathic medicine. Chemical-based allopathy has been around for just 100-200 years. Before that, we had our ancient Ayurveda system. To bring this out, we need skills to identify medicinal plants and their properties. This is not science. Its a skill, Hegde said.



The five-time MP from Uttara Kannada said he did not expect being appointed as a Union minister. The popular notion is elections are fought on the basis of caste and money. I can say that I havent spent a single paisa to win an election, he said.
Protests marred the IBPS RRB 2017 examinations to fill up vacancies in Gramin Banks in Karnataka.



While Pro-Kannada organisations sought cancellation of exam, students from Andhra Pradesh staged a flash protest demanding that the authorities permit them to appear for the exam. The examination was cancelled in many centres following the protest. Both the groups blocked the road and protested outside SJM Private Infotech, Annapurneshwari Layout on Ullal Main Road.



Activists of Kannada organisations alleged that injustice was being meted out to the Kannadigas. They wanted preference for state candidates as they would be serving in rural areas.
Ram Rajasekharan, the director of the CSIR-Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI), returned to office on Friday after the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) stayed his transfer to New Delhi.



The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) had transferred Rajasekharan to its headquarters as Director (Special Projects and Initiatives) on August 25, 2017, citing public interest and clause 5 of his appointment order. The CSIR had given Jitendra Jadhav, Director, CSIR-National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), Bengaluru, the additional charge of CSIR-CFTRI.

Rajasekharans transfer was celebrated by pro-Kannada activists, especially among the CSIR-CFTRI staff, who had accused him of being anti-Kannada. They had suggested that he was targeting some Kannada-speaking staff. Kannada Development Authority chairman S G Siddaramaiah had even visited the institute.

Rajasekharan, however, approached the CAT, questioning the transfer before his tenure ended. He was appointed the CSIR-CFTRI director on July 18, 2012, for six years.

Scientists welcome order

Farmers leaders and young scientists at the CSIR-CFTRI had backed Rajasekharan. Kuruburu Shanthakumar of the Federation of Farmers Association and State Sugarcane Growers Association said that as director, Rajasekharan brought in many changes in the institute and guided farmers in adopting scientific methods of farming. The transfer was politically motivated, he added.

A few scientists at the CSIR-CFTRI, upset about Rajasekharans transfer, had launched an online campaign against the order.

A Kannada-speaking scientist at the CSIR-CFTRI, who would not be quoted, said Rajasekharan was a role model for young researchers and that his transfer adversely affected them.

Rajasekharan is a dynamic leader, always approachable and dedicated to the cause of helping farmers. His focus is on ensuring nutritional security in the country, the scientist added.
The Supreme Court is set to hear a plea seeking the cancellation of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumars membership of the state Legislative Council for allegedly concealing a pending criminal case against him.



A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices Amitava Roy and A M Khanwilkar will hear the petition by advocate M L Sharma on Septmeber 11. Sharma also sought a direction to the CBI to register a case against Nitish.



The plea contended that there was a criminal case against the JD(U) leader wherein he was accused of killing local Congress leader Sitaram Singh, and injuring four others ahead of Lok Sabha by-election to the Barh constituency in 1991.



The plea says the Election Commission knew about Nitishs criminal case, but did not cancel his membership of the House.



As per the Election Commissions 2002 order, it is mandatory for candidates to disclose criminal cases against them in affidavits annexed to their nomination papers.



He claimed the Bihar chief minister did not disclose the criminal case that was pending against him in the affidavits since 2004, except for 2012.


The Special Investigating Team (SIT) suspects local support in the chilling murder of journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh and has hinted that the assassins could be from outside the city.



The local support could be the arrangement of two-wheelers for carrying out recce or for the crime itself or providing food, lodging and money.



The investigators are busy tracing the local contacts. "Without local help, it's impossible for even professional killers to carry out such a killing," a senior SIT official. "They would be careful enough to not leave any clues behind."



He added: "We have a few vital clues. We know how the crime was committed and how many people were involved, but we are still working on establishing the assailants' identities."



A source in the SIT said a member of the public had called to inform that someone had asked for directions to Gauri's house. At that time, he didn't know who was Gauri and told the man he doesn't know where she lives. Some residents called the SIT to inform that they had seen something "quite unusual" in Rajarajeshwari Nagar on the night of September 5 when Gauri was gunned down.



Meanwhile, a team of officials from Andhra Pradesh's Anti Naxal Force and central investigating agencies met senior SIT officers to gather information about the case.



In order to fast-track the investigation, the Home Department has reinforced the 21-member SIT with more police inspectors and constables.



On Friday, SIT officials questioned Gauri's brother Indrajit Lankesh whether she faced any threats.




Whistleblowers and Right to Information (RTI) activists facing threat or danger to life will receive police protection within a week, according to a new policy of the State Home department.



Ironically, the policy was notified just two weeks before journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh was shot dead by unidentified assailants.



Notified on August 19, the policy is in line with the RTI Act, 2005 and the Whistleblowers Protection Act, 2011.



A whistleblower or RTI activist who perceives threat or danger to life has to submit an application seeking protection to the Additional Superintendent of Police or the Deputy Superintendent of Police (headquarters). The police will conduct a threat analysis. The quantum, type and duration of security will be decided based upon the assessment of the threat perception, and this process should not exceed a week, according to the notification issued by the Home departments Deputy Secretary (law and order) K Chiranjivi.



Review panels



A district-level committee headed by the deputy commissioner will review cases every three months and also check if the policy is being implemented efficiently. A State-level committee chaired by the Home secretary will meet once in six months to review decisions taken by the district-level committees.



The policy, however, makes it clear that security will not be provided to whistleblowers and RTI activists who are involved in criminal cases or involved in activities which are political/communal/anti-national in nature.


CGG signs agreement with Mozambique Ministry for vast offshore program

CGG announces that it has signed a multi-client data agreement with Mozambique's Instituto Nacional de Petroleo (INP) following a competitive tender process held by INP in 2016.

As a result of this agreement, CGG will shortly commence acquisition of a new multi-client survey of up to 40,000 km2 of 3D data over the Beira High in the Zambezi Delta, covering blocks Z5-C and Z5-D and surrounding open acreage.



Deliverables will include fast-track PreSTM, Final PreSTM and PreSDM. The seismic data will be imaged with the latest 3D broadband deghosting and advanced demultiple, velocity modeling and imaging techniques, including Full-Waveform Inversion.



This survey will form part of a comprehensive, fully integrated JumpStart geoscience program that will deliver a better overall understanding of the prospectivity of the region. Marine gravity and magnetic data will be acquired simultaneously with the seismic to accelerate regional interpretation.





Jean-Georges Malcor, CEO, CGG, said: 'This agreement marks the beginning of a fruitful partnership with the INP to promote the potential of the Zambezi basin and other regions of Mozambique. Our advanced 3D seismic and integrated geoscience program will enable oil companies to confidently de-risk this exciting new exploration area and accelerate development of the country's resources.'

Associated Companies

 CGG


Saudi Arabia today suspended dialogue with Qatar, accusing it of ''distorting facts'', soon after a phone call between the rulers of both countries offered hope of a breakthrough in the three-month-old Gulf crisis. The Saudi Press Agency (SPA) made the announcement an hour after reporting a phone call between leaders of the two countries in an effort to resolve the dispute between Qatar and the quartet of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, spoke to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to express interest in talks, state media from both sides said, in the first public dialogue between the leaders after the United States president offered to mediate in the crisis. The four countries severed diplomatic relations with Qatar in June, accusing it of supporting extremist groups and of being too close to Iran. They also shut down air, maritime and land links and imposed economic sanctions on Qatar. In an earlier report Saturday, the SPA said Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman received a call on Friday from Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, who it said had expressed his desire to start a dialogue with the quartet and discuss their demands. Crown Prince Mohammed welcomed Sheikh Tamim's desire to begin a dialogue and that a decision would soon be announced after Saudi Arabia ''concludes an understanding'' with its three partners, the SPA report said. The phone call was the first publicly reported contact between the two leaders since the start of the crisis. The call came a day after US President Donald Trump said he would be willing to step in and mediate the worst dispute in decades among the US-allied Arab states and Qatar, and said he thinks a deal could come quickly. In a joint press conference with Trump in Washington, Kuwaiti Emir Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah hinted at a potential resolution to the lingering crisis when he said that Doha has agreed to sit at the negotiation table and discuss the list of 13 demands of the Anti-Terror Quartet (ATQ). After reporting the phone call between Crown Prince Mohammed and Sheikh Tamim, another SPA report said that Saudi Arabia was suspending the dialogue, quoting a Saudi official at the Foreign Ministry as saying Qatar's state news agency QNA published a report that ''did not have any relevance to truth.'' The prospect of a thaw quickly died down after SPA subsequently accused Qatar's state media of wrongly implying that Saudi Arabia had initiated the outreach. "What was published by Qatar News Agency is continuation of Qatari authority's distortion of facts," SPA said, adding that any dialogue was now suspended. When he offered to mediate, Trump said he believed the dispute could be solved "fairly easily". In Washington on Thursday, Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, a key figure involved in mediation attempts, met Trump and gave an upbeat assessment of his efforts so far. But in a statement early on Friday, the Saudi-led bloc had showed no signs of backing down as it questioned the Kuwaiti emir's statement that Qatar would be willing to accept their 13 demands. The demands include shutting Doha-based broadcaster Al-Jazeera, closing a Turkish military base in the emirate and downgrading Qatari diplomatic ties with Iran. The bloc also voiced "regret" about the Kuwaiti ruler's statement "on the success of mediation in stopping military intervention". Instead, the four Arab states stressed that "the military option has not been and will not be considered" under any circumstances. Kuwait has emerged as a key mediator in the crisis, while the United States has given mixed signals on its policy. Riyadh and Doha are both key allies of the United States. Trump, who chose Saudi Arabia for his first overseas visit as president in May, two weeks before the crisis erupted, immediately expressed staunch support for Saudi Arabia. But some other United States officials including Secretary of State Rex Tillerson have adopted a more measured tone. Tillerson and Sheikh Mohammed announced in July they had signed an agreement to fight terrorism, built on decisions made at a Riyadh summit in May to "wipe terrorism from the face of the earth". Qatar hosts a huge American air base, home to the headquarters of Centcom - the regional command which leads operations against the Islamic State jihadist group. Sheikh Tamim is set to meet German chancellor Angela Merkel for talks on 15 September, in what will be his first trip to a western capital since the crisis began.








Pakistan's Habib Bank fined $225 mn, pushed out of NYC over terror links

US financial regulators have slapped a $225 million fine on Pakistan-based Habib Bank and forced closure of its New York City branch for breach of New York's anti-terrorism and money laundering laws.

Habib Bank, Pakistan's top lender, is found to have facilitated transactions worth billions of dollars with Saudi Arabia's Al Rajhi Bank that had reported links with al Qaeda, among other breaches.

Officials of the Department of Financial Services also said Habib has repeatedly failed to correct ''glaring deficiencies'' in its internal safeguards for preventing money laundering and terror financing.

Managers in Habib's branch office in Manhattan failed for more than a decade to shore up weak anti-money-laundering controls and sanctions compliance, New York's Department of Financial Services said in orders issued on Thursday.

The bank facilitated at least 13,000 transactions involving at least $250 million through its Manhattan branch without proper screening for prohibited transactions or dealings with sanctioned countries, officials revealed.

"DFS will not tolerate inadequate risk and compliance functions that open the door to the financing of terrorist activities that pose a grave threat to the people of this state and the financial system as a whole," Financial Services Superintendent Maria Vullo said.

''The bank has repeatedly been given more than sufficient opportunity to correct its glaring deficiencies, yet it has failed to do so.''

Habib Bank continued to violate the terms of a 2006 agreement in which it promised to improve its internal controls.

Subsequently, in 2015, the regulators asked the bank to hire an independent consultant to review its dollar-clearing activities.

In a follow-up examination by DFS in 2016, Habib received the lowest rating.

The agreement had called for a review of Habib Bank's dollar clearing transactions by an outside monitor back to 2013, as part of an orderly wind-down of Habib's New York branch.

The bank announced the closure of its Manhattan branch on 28 August.

Habib bank, however, paid a lower penalty of $225 million against the maximum $630 million proposed by the New York regulator.

Karachi-based Habib Bank is Pakistan's largest bank, with $24 billion in total assets, according to DFS. The New York branch has been licensed by DFS since 1978.
Over 130 people have people have availed of humanitarian aid funding following the devastating floods that hit part of the county in late August.

Minister Joe McHugh has announced that 135 people have availed of Stage 1 Humanitarian Aid funding since the Inishowen flood on August 22.

Figures given to the Donegal TD by Social Protection Minister Regina Doherty also show that 13 householders have received Stage 2 payments with another 23 payments currently being processed.

The first of the Stage 3 payments was made this week.

Minister McHugh said Social Protection Staff have also made 36 home visits at the request of homeowners.

In the days immediately after the flood it was important that those affected got the initial emergency funding under Stage 1 of the programme of relief set up by the Government, said the Donegal TD.

The initial stage was to provide emergency income support payments for things like food and clothing in the aftermath of the flood and payments were made immediately.

So far 13 people have received payments under the second stage with another 23 being processed  and payments pending - to cover items like furniture and other essential household items. It is important that those affected know this stage is open now and they should contact the DSP offices in Buncrana and Carndonagh to make a claim.

The third stage is also open with longer term financial support to carry out works such as plastering, dry-lining, relaying of floors, re-wiring and painting. Many homeowners wont be at this stage yet but its important they know it is there for them when they are ready to to avail of the scheme.

Minister McHugh said leaflets explaining the financial supports across a range of areas have been sent to every home in Inishowen.

He said while the payments are means-tested, the level of access is high  with full payments made for those earning 70,000 or less; with even those above that threshold seeing just small adjustments in the benefits.

The recently announced aid package to farmers will see claim forms available early next week, with payments of up to 15,000 available.

The Red Cross will administer aid to small businesses and voluntary groups.
The ISPCA is appealing to Donegal people for loving homes for twenty eight Jack Russell Terrier type dogs and puppies recently surrendered to the charity and currently being cared for the National Animal Centre in Longford.



The ISPCA responded to a call expressing concern for the dogs on the property and found a situation where dogs had been allowed to breed freely and the number of dogs was spiralling out of control.



The majority of the dogs were only eighteen months old or less and included seventeen puppies. They were removed and transported to the National Animal Centre for veterinary assessment. Thankfully they showed no signs of major health issues and are now receiving the best possible care.



Chief Inspector Conor Dowling said: While we are pleased to have been able to intervene before any major welfare issues arose, spaying or neutering would have prevented these unwanted litters of puppies from being born in the first place. The rescue and rehabilitation of such a large number of dogs and puppies places a significant amount of pressure on the ISPCA, both financially and also in terms of accommodating such an influx of animals. Ireland already has a serious problem with stray and unwanted dogs. Owners need to take action to have their pets neutered or spayed now to end this cycle of pet overpopulation.



The ISPCA is reminding pet owners that spaying or neutering not only brings many benefits for both owners and their pets, but it also reduces the risk of certain cancers, having a positive benefit for health and lifespan and curbing unwanted sexual behaviour or marking. In the majority of cases, neutering or spaying is the kindest thing you can do for your pet so please speak to your vet today.



For more information about these dogs and puppies looking for good homes, please visit http://www.ispca.ie/rehoming/dogs_rehoming/, email info@ispca.ie or call (043) 33 25035 (0). The National Animal Centre in Longford is open to visitors Wednesday to Sunday between 11:30am and 4pm where you can meet the many animals in our care. All dogs and puppies will be fully vaccinated, treated for parasites, micro chipped and neutered or spayed before being responsibly rehomed.
Marianna High School opened as a host shelter at 2 p.m. on Friday. The school is located at 3546 Caverns Road.

The local emergency management team had on Thursday said that it would not be open, but that was before Gov. Rick Scott that night ordered all Florida schools closed to make space for the millions of people fleeing Hurricane Irma.

Jackson County Commissioners on Friday morning declared a local state of emergency, putting the community in line for cost reimbursements if the storm damages any county assets.

With the suspected path of the storm shifting slightly westward as of Friday morning, there were fears that Jackson County could be in more danger than believed Thursday, but most models still predicted a direct hit for South Florida. As the storm continues inland, Jackson County could be seeing tropical storm force winds as of Sunday night.

The county emergency management center was to open at Level 2 manpower Saturday morning at 6 a.m. and close down at 6 p.m. that day, then reopen at 6 a.m. Sunday and stay open through the remainder of the storm until it passes out of range.

Law enforcement, fire-rescue, school officials, county road and bridge, and call-takers will be on duty with Jackson County Emergency Management Director Rodney Andreasen. If the storm continues on a track that puts Jackson County in a more direct line with the land-bound hurricane, activation will be notched up to Level 1 with more agencies sending people to help at the center.

Andreasen said he'll ask the Department of Transportation to activate over-the-lanes signage providing information to Interstate 10 travelers about the shelter at MHS. If that fills, he has access to some shelters of last resort that could be used.

Whichever path the storm takes to land, the local area is gearing up in response. A section at MHS will be set aside for special-needs storm refugees, while the main wing will be for others.

The stalls at the Jackson County Agriculture Center on U.S. 90 will be the area horse shelter. As of 10 a.m., a few horses  and one goat  had already been placed and management was expecting another 100 or so, based on phone calls received by that hour. It can hold 250 horses. The building adjacent to the stalls may be put to use as a Red Cross staging area, as well. It is located at 3631 U.S. 90, Marianna.

Plans will be modified as necessary as the storm progresses.

The Florida Army National Guards 144th Transportation Company in Marianna hit the road late Thursday afternoon to assist in the storm, heading from the Armory eastward on U.S. 90 and to Interstate 10. Their destination was not disclosed.

Gov. Scott activated the Guard in stages, and late in the week announced that all Florida National Guard units would be in play by Friday morning to assist in response to Hurricane Irma.

As the soldiers moved out to help, their community was doing what it could to make the storm evacuees who were coming in feel welcome.

The Jackson County Chamber of Commerce and the countys Tourist Development Council were fielding calls and helping scout out possible accommodations and supplies as evacuees reached out through the week.

Chamber Executive Director Tiffany Garling said the local community wants to make sure that the visitors, although they may not be away from home by choice this time around, will leave here with a good feeling for the county. It might be enough to bring them back in brighter days. At any rate, she said, the local community wants to help them in this critical time.

Some local businesses were still unsure Friday at noon as to whether theyll be staying open or closing their doors temporarily as Hurricane Irma bears down on the state in an uncertain path. Local residents should check with their financial institutions and other key contacts to find out what their plans are.

Garling on Friday was also urging local businesses to register with the Florida Virtual Business Emergency Operations Center immediately.

This tool allows you to make us aware of closures and provide updates on the status of your utilities and telecommunications, officials responsible for the center advise. If you are already registered please log in and update your status. The registration address is http://flvbeoc.org/.

With the storm pushing South Florida residents north, there were very few or no hotel rooms left to book in Jackson County as of Thursday morning. That included not only the hotels on Interstate exchange and busy U.S. 90, but the dozen cabins in the Compass Lake in the Hills subdivision. John Laymon, manager there, said the last cabin was snapped up Wednesday night. Because of the emergency, the subdivision relaxed a rule for one party. Normally, only small dogs are allowed but accommodations were made for that guests larger animal in order to ease the evacuees burden.

The new Residence Hub opened early to accommodate storm refugees. It wasnt supposed to get in operation until closer to the end of the month, and in a gradual progression, as rooms were made fully ready in the space. The hotel was once a Ramada Inn, but sat empty until Prathima and Satish Kumar bought it about a year ago and started renovating it.

They had planned to phase in the start-up later this month, opening 10 rooms at a time until all 40 units in the renovated space were fully fitted out. But with hotels across the southeast filling up quickly as the storm progressed, the couple decided to open almost every room. Not all were perfectly ready  some didnt yet have televisions, for instance  but storm refuges were grateful for a place to stay. After they bought the hotel, Satish Kumar remained living in Canada and travels here as often as possible to be with his wife since she took over the management of their first hotel adventure. He hadnt planned to be there this weekend but booked a flight to help his family meet the storm challenge.

Local restaurants were also brimming over with customers as travelers stopped in for a bite to eat in their temporary migration away from the storm. But one man was heading into it. Army veteran Steve Round had just come from helping rescue people in Houston and was on his way to Boca Raton Thursday. He got something to eat and also scoured the local Walmart for a resupply of things hed need when he got to what, by the time he arrives, may be an area in full crisis.

Some important phone numbers :

Jackson County Emergency Management: 482-9678

Jackson County Sheriffs Office: 482-9664

Marianna Fire Department: 482-2414

Marianna Police Department: 526-3125

Jackson Hospital: 526-2200

Jackson County Road Department: 482-9629
Thousands of Floridians have traveled through the Wiregrass area since the mandatory evacuation process began for certain areas of Florida. While traveling through the Wiregrass area, many have found lodging, food, and, most importantly, Southern hospitality.

We left Hallandale, Florida, yesterday at 7:30 a.m., and we finally made it to the rest stop at the Alabama line at 4:30 this morning, said Barbara Southwick. We were exhausted, and everywhere we have traveled through had no hotel rooms available. Thank goodness, the rest area up the road let us sleep in our van and cars. We were all so exhausted. They could have made us leave, but thankfully, they let us rest. For that we are all so grateful.

Southwick noticed one thing right off the bat when she entered Dothan - - hospitality.

Everyone we have met has been just so nice and friendly, Southwick said. We stopped to eat breakfast and everyone just seemed so concerned for us. The perfect example of compassion, one of our vehicles needed to be jumped off, and out of nowhere a man helped us jump off the vehicle.

Southwick is one of thousands who has participated in the mandatory evacuation in Florida.

We were told to get out, Southwick said. I could have stayed because I am a member of the Community Emergency Management Response Team, but I needed to get out. I stayed and helped with Hurricane Katrina, but not this time. It does something to you when you hear first responders tell everyone to get out, and those who refuse well, they get told they will get a toe tag. I have lived in Florida for more than 20 years, and I have never seen anything like this hurricane before. This is going to be devastating.

Southwick and her six family members are headed up north, as they patiently wait to hear what damages their home received.

Derrick Lee and Laketa Collins left their home in St. Petersburg, headed north to avoid the storm.

We couldnt wait to see if we were going to be issued a mandatory evacuation, Collins said. We were told it was best to leave the area, and that is what we did. The stores were already out of food. There was no water in any stores, and by the time we were leaving town, it was completely out of gas. We live between Tampa Bay and the Gulf; we knew if we stayed, the outcome was going to be bad. We loaded up the vehicle, and well, here we are, all six of us. But thankfully, everyone we have crossed paths with has just been so nice. That helps a lot when something like this is taking place.

The next stop for Collins and her family is Tennessee.

We have plenty of food to make the trip, and right now there are no gas shortages anywhere, Collins said. Our goal is to stay ahead of the storm and arrive at Tennessee safely. We are all just glad to be out of Florida, but we want to get off the roads. This storm has been very scary. We just want all of this to be over.
As Hurricane Irma begins to make its approach to the Southeast, local emergency officials are gearing up for some impacts  whether major or minimal.

Most residents went to sleep Thursday night with the Category 4 storm appearing to head toward the Atlantic seaboard. By the time they woke up Friday morning, projections had shifted the Wiregrass directly into the projected path  albeit after Irma is expected to be inland for several hours.

Dothan-Houston County EMA (Emergency Management Agency) has been watching this storm. Weve been preparing for basically the entire week, said Dothan Fire Department Battalion Chief Chris Etheredge, who is serving as the public information officer during the storm. Its been very unpredictable  but I like what (EMA) director (Chris) Judah said: Were prepared to respond, not react.

All of our resources are in place, whether thats to help our neighbors in Florida or Georgia or to take care of our own in Dothan and Houston County.

The Dothan area continued to experience an influx of evacuees from Florida throughout Friday. Etheredge said hotels are currently full from Dothan to at least Montgomery, and officials are currently asking evacuees to continue north toward Birmingham and Huntsville.

The Houston County Sheriff Office is staffing a deputy at the Alabama Welcome Center 24 hours a day to provide assistance to those traveling through the area. Etheredge said the sheriff office is also increasing patrols on back roads in case visitors get lost.

If evacuees reach Dothan but cannot travel any further for whatever reason, a safe haven opened Friday at the Westgate Church of Christ. Cornerstone Church near the intersection of John D. Odom Road and U.S. Highway 231 North is set to open at 8 a.m. Saturday as another safe haven, Etheredge said.

Because of traffic congestion, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (state troopers) and HCSO officials are asking locals to stay away from 231 and the Ross Clark Circle if possible. Etheredge also encouraged those evacuating through the area to use both sides of the circle even if GPS systems tell them to use the western edge.

Some closures and cancellations for next week have begun. Southeast Alabama Medical Center has cancelled all elective procedures scheduled for Monday, Etheredge said, and Troy University has cancelled classes at all of its Alabama campuses for Monday and Tuesday.

Etheredge said the Dale County, Houston County, Henry County and Dothan City schools systems are coordinating efforts to be on the same sheet of music regarding closures. He added officials from those systems will attend the National Weather Service of Tallahasses next major weather briefing, set for Saturday at 8:30 a.m. locally.

Closure decisions will be made Saturday morning.

Etheredge also said assistance and volunteer helplines have been established at 677-4839 or 677-4817. People can report issues, contribute information, ask for assistance and information or volunteer through calling those numbers.

People can also access information through the Wiregrass 211 system and the Dothan-Houston County EMA Twitter account (@DHCEMA). Dothan Fire, Dothan Police and the HCSO also have Twitter and Facebook pages.
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To build the largest and most complete Amateur Radio community site on the Internet - a "portal" that hams think of as the first place to go for information, to exchange ideas, and be part of whats happening with ham radio on the Internet. eHam.net provides recognition and enjoyment to the people who use, contribute, and build the site. This project involves a management team of volunteers who each take a topic of interest and manage it with passion. The site will stand above all other ham radio sites by employing the latest technology and professional design/programming standards, developed by a team of community programmers who contribute their skills to the effort. The site will be something of which everyone involved can be proud to say they were a part. We welcome your comments. The eHam.net Team, Revision 07/2020.
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After 70 years of independence, India continues to languish at the bottom of the comity of nations on every parameter that constitutes real development. The widening economic disparities and relentless violence against Dalits, Adivasis and minorities demonstrate that B R Ambedkars dream of social and economic equality accompanying political equality remains elusive.
During my current ethnographic research on transnational migration from Nepal, I encountered situations that led me to cast an eye on my own family circumstances. This reflection, in turn, suggested that examples from ones life and experience can, at times, complement fieldwork.

As part of research that I began in 2015, I am following the journeys of women who leave Nepal to become domestic workers and carers in the European fringe: Cyprus. I am documenting their stories, hoping to humanise the numbers about migration and trafficking that appear in the media and in academic discussions. As anthropologist Parvathi Raman has argued, statistics at times render the populations in question as a uniform group. To counter this homogenisation, I have tried to highlight how migratory flows consist of many individual and diverse narratives.
Cyber crime seems to evolve and innovate as much as the tech industry it seeks to exploit. In recent times, ransomware has become an especially potent tool of cyber criminals looking to exploit compan...
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For the cost of a train ticket to London (or even less), you can uncover and celebrate Essex's history at the best museums in the county.

These fantastic hubs of knowledge are right on our doorstep, and you might not even have known some of them existed.

They are home to some of Essex's most interested and best safeguarded facts. Like did you know the first crocodile to be brought to the UK was kept in Braintree?

Chelmsford Museum and Essex Regiment Museum

Admission: Free

Discover the town's history with the the Chelmsford Museum, just off of Moulsham Street. Set in Oaklands Park (which also affords visitors free parking for two hours), the museum has permanent exhibits with historical artifacts including coins, ceramics, and glass, as well as temporary displays of 1950s fashion and local art works.

Then, have a look at the illustrious service of the troops of the Essex Regiment, who fought honorably from the 18th century through to the regiment's reformation in the 20th century - and whose successors, a company in the 1st Battalion of the Royal Anglian Regiment, continue to serve with distinction.

2. Prittlewell Priory, Southend

Admission: Free

With a monastic heritage dating back to the 13th century and the Clunaic Order, the Priory offers visitors a chance to see a life into the surprising tumultuous life of the medieval monks. Then, take a look at more modern inhabitants - the last being the Scratton family, whose Victorian alterations turned the Priory into a home.

3. Combined Military Services Museum, Maldon

Admission: Adult 4.75; Child 3.00; Concession 3.75; Family (2 adults/2 children) 15.50

There are enough guns to make the NRA's head spin, but that's not the only strings to its bow - there's also a medieval exhibit, equipment from both world wars, and a fantastic spy collection.

4. Museum of Power, Southend

Admission: Adult: 5.00; Concessions: Senior citizens and students (the latter on production of a current student ID card): 4.50; Children 5 to 15 incl 2:00; Children 4 and under: free

A slightly offbeat idea for a museum as it is based in an old water pumping station. It gives visitors a chance to see the industrial heritage of Britain, with engines from tractors, trains, and more on display. It also hosts a busy calendar of events, as varied as outdoor showings of 'Grease', classic car meet-ups, and even a steam punk fair.

5. Essex Police Museum, Chelmsford

Admission: Free

A more on-beat (pun intended) museum, covering Essex police force's transformation from the grizzly days of Victorian England through to the present. Try on police outfits, examine death masks, and step inside a 19th century cell to see just how bad it was.

6. Colchester Castle

Admission: Adult 7.75; Child (aged 4-16) 4.80; Concessions 4.80*

The former capital of England has a long and rich history, brought together in one of the country's best preserved Norman castles. See a snapshot through time, from the Stone Age, through to the Romans, through to the Anglo-Saxons, through to today.

7. North Weald Airfield and Aircraft Museum

Admissions: Adult 2; Concessions 1.50; Child (5-18) 50p; Under 5s Free

One for all the budding fighter aces out there - North Weald was a key base for the RAF during the Battle of Britain, and museum serves as a memorial the brave airmen throughout the War. It also has themed exhibits on military aviation from 1916 to the present day.

8. Mersea Museum





Admission: Adult 1.00; Children 50p; Under 5s Free

The most easterly island in Essex (and in England) has its own fascinating history, which is captured at this museum. See archaelogical digs from Mersea's distant past, the fishing industry which defined the island, and pore over geological finds. There's a kids section too, so those with young ones need not fear.

9. Southend Central Museum and Planetarium

Admissions: Central museum Free; Planetarium - Adult 5.00; Child and Senior 4.00; Family Ticket (2 adults / up to 3 children) 16.00

Southend Central Museum offers a double whammy for the price of one. The main museum offers a mixture of local history, fine art, and fashion collections, along with hosting events like seafront walks. The only public planetarium in the South-East outside of London (conveniently located inside the Central Museum) gives local stargazers a chance to explore the skies.

10. Kelvedon Hatch Secret Nuclear Bunker

Admission: Adult 7.50; Child 5.50; Family (2 adults + 2 children) 18.00 (Cash only)

Perhaps Essex's worst kept military secret, the bunker is hidden beneath an innocuous looking bungalow (both proofed against nuclear blasts). Investigate several floors of genuine gear from a part of the government's military preparedness between the 50s and the early 90s, giving kids and adults alike a look at the mindset of Cold War British politics.
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Essex residents are being invited to help home a hen, as every year thousands are sent to slaughter houses due to the lack of suitable places willing to take on a new pet.

The British Hen Welfare Trust (BHWT) make it their mission to find caring homes for thousands of commercial laying hens that are destined for slaughter each year, and a re-homing event is coming to Essex.

As part of their annual events around the country, the BHWT will be visiting counties and cities across the country, including Essex, to try and stop the hens being killed needlessly.

The Essex Hen Collection date will be in Great Totham, Maldon, on Saturday, September 30 and Saturday, October 28.

To reserve a hen, animal lovers can head to the BHWT website and fill out an application form.

Although the hens are free to order, the BHWT ask for a donation towards costs of around 5 per hen and it is an Animal and Plant Health Agency requirement that all hens are traceable - meaning personal details will be needed to indicate who is taking on the hen and where it will be kept.

As reported by Lincolnshire Live, a spokesman for the BHWT said: "Thousands of hens across the country will be emerging from their cages into the autumn sunshine and looking for new homes this month.

"With forecasters predicting warm weather to make up for the UK's wet summer, it's a great time to adopt some ex-bats so they can make the most of the sun.

"We are holding several re-homings over the coming weeks and would love to hear from anyone willing to save some lives."

The spokesman said: "We re-home 50,000 ex-commercial laying hens a year, and has re-homed more than 590,000 hens to date.

"At 18 months old they are sent to slaughter by farmers,but the BHWT works to find homes for as many as possible so they can enjoy the rest of their lives as much-loved family pets.

"Better yet, these pets will even lay you eggs for breakfast."

For more information about the British Hen Welfare Trust (BHWT) or to reserve a hen, check out their website.
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There have been lots of new driving laws introduced recently and there's no excuse for not obeying them.

There are tougher penalties on using mobile phones when you're driving and new rules about booster seats, and the police have made it clear that ignorance is not an excuse for disobeying them. And what are the laws on driving in flip flops?

But what about those quirky laws that just seem hilarious or that most of us break without even knowing it? In British law, there are quite a few pieces of legislation that are woefully out of date but have never been repealed so in theory they still exist.

Although it's very unlikely that the police would actually arrest you for most of them.

Here are 10 unusual laws that you may not know existed:

1. Standing on window sills

It is illegal to ask or allow a servant to stand on a window sill to clean it or paint it. (Who knew?)

2. Knocking on people's doors

Known as knock down ginger in the old days, knocking on someone's door and running away before they answer is seen as a fun game to many kids. But under a law from 1839 it's actually an offence to 'wilfully and wantonly disturb any inhabitant by pulling or ringing any doorbell or knocking at any door without lawful excuse'.

3. The plague

It is illegal for someone to knowingly ride in a bus or taxi if they know they have the plague, without informing the driver first. This only applies in London though so you're alright in Essex

4. Entering Parliament

It is illegal to walk into the Houses of Parliament wearing a suit of armour, and it has been the case since 1313.

5. Nuclear explosion

It is illegal under the Prohibition and Inspections Act of 1998 to cause a nuclear explosion. As if we needed telling!

6. Handling salmon

Did you know that it was illegal to 'handle salmon in suspicious circumstances'? We assume this is related to selling stolen or poached fish, but the wording of the Salmon Act of 1986 is fairly amusing...

7. Fixing Easter Day

There is a piece of legislation that says Easter Day must be a fixed day each year  on the first Sunday after the second Saturday in April. This is supposed to apply in the UK, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man but it has never been enacted.

8. Shaking mats

Since1839, it is forbidden to shake or beat a carpet or rug into the street in London. You may, however, shake your doormat into the road but only before 8am.

9. Unlawful pigsties

It is illegal to keep a pigsty in front of your house unless it is duly hidden, so says the Town Police Clauses Act 1847.

10. Washing lines

Despite every depiction of the Victorian slums in the movies, it is also illegal to erect a washing line across a street.
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Get the latest on all the biggest court and crime news in Essex direct from our expert court reporter

A man has been rushed to hospital with a serious gash to his face after he was attacked in Colchester.

Police were called to reports someone had been assaulted in Ferdinand Walk, Colchester at around 10.05am on Saturday, September 9.

There were also reports that someone was damaging cars in the area.

Officers attended the scene and found a man with a serious laceration to his face. He was taken to hospital for treatment.

A spokesperson for Essex Police said: "A search of the area took place and as part of this officers attended an address in Conifer Close.

"A 29-year-old man from London was arrested at Marks Tey railway station on suspicion of GBH. He is currently in custody."

The spokesperson added: "If you witnessed the incident or have any other information about it contact Colchester CID on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111."
Its like being the driver or the passenger. Either way, you will reach your destination. But the question is are you willing to have someone else behind the wheels.



If you are confident you will maneuver past any hurdles along your way; by all means do it yourself. If not; let someone else do it for you, and enjoy the view outside. Choice is yours.





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Hi all,



Good evening. I have a few questions related to signing of tenancy agreement.



1. We viewed a place we like but the house has yet to be repainted and cleaned. We also observed a potential leakage on the AC pipe where the rubber insulations are coming off.



The agent has told us the landlord will have all the maintenance repairs to be done.



Should we insist that all the repairs are done, before we sign on the tenancy agreement? Is it a reasonable practice in Dubai to only sign after all maintenance issues are fixed and painting done?



My concern is that after we sign and cheques are given, they will not want to fix anything.





2. My potential landlord has a company acting for them as POA, and I saw the authorization letter from the landlord to the representative of the company.



My agent who I contacted though, has no authorization letter from the landlord to him stating that he is the representing agent. I kind of expected that to happen since landlords would engage several agents sometimes to look for tenants.



TO be safe, as long as my cheque is written to the landlord, there should be no cases of potential fraud or the agent running away with the money?



Did I miss out anything?



3. Without signing a tenancy agreement, we wouldn't be able to activiate Ejari and DEWA, how would we know if the air con was working in the first place?



Really appreciate advice from the experienced forummers here, thank you!
Hi everyone, Ive been reading as much as I can find on here about applying for the Passeport Talent visa. I'll start with our specific circumstances. Ill try to be as concise as possible.



My wife and I are buying a house in SW France. Our intent is to live there year round. I am a freelance musician and she is an arts administration employee / freelancer (depending on how this all shakes out) for a music ensemble in Chicago. We have enough contract work at various points over the next year (outside of France) to support ourselves and pay our mortgage (which has already been secured with a french bank). The ideal plan is for my wife to be able to work remotely for the Chicago company in France, both continuing to do her normal duties while also adding the in-France-specific work of seeking out development opportunities for the ensemble in France and in other countries in the EU. It is our understanding that this situation is only legit if we are granted a passeport talent visa, which would also enable me to seek out work in France in addition to outside its borders.



We have an appt at the Chicago consul next week. We are trying to decide whether to go for the passeport talent or play it safe and go for a long stay visitor visa and try to build a more substantial case for the p-t when were over there. The advantage is that with the p-t up front wed be wed have a more manageable financial situation and wed be a few steps closer to our eventual goal of permanent residency. The disadvantage is that were worried our pitch might be a longshot and getting declined could keep us here in the states another month or longer.



I have two main concerns that Im hoping those with experience can weigh in on:



1) We received an email from a consul at the Chicago office in which he suggested that we *may* be eligible for the national or international fame/renown rubric. We recognize this is not an airtight fit though. This renown, if we are able to prove it (which I think we can, they have impressive performance history in France), is not hers but that of the US ensemble she will be contracted to represent. Has anyone had similar experience with applying has a 'representative of renown'?



2) Will the fact that we are purchasing a home to live in full time land in our favor by giving evidence that we our serious about integrating with the culture and that we are supporting the local economy through property taxes, utilities, insurance, local goods  or will it appear presumptuous for us to have purchased a home prior to securing a visa and thus anger them?



Please respond if you have input, especially if its re: something were not considering in all this (besides the obvious that it might be risky to buy without having this stuff sorted).



Thanks for any help,

jt
Hi to all on the expat forum , we are new too this forum and would much appreciate any help or advice regarding sourcing a tradesperson. We are based near Bressuire in the Deux Sevres area and are looking for the services of a plumber to repair/replace a gas water boiler and a leaking pipe. We have tried various avenues but nobody seems to be interested or even bothers to respond, so we thought it maybe best to ask for help from those in the know.



In January we will also require help in the installation/ renovation of an upstairs bathroom .



We would really appreciate any help or advice .

Thank you .
Your relationship with the sponsor has not bearing. I am not familiar with the list you mention. If it is a document provided by USCIS in regards to your petition I suggest following it to the letter.



No, I have never heard of the option to request copies of documents in submitted petitions. maybe someone else can shed light on it. Have her husband go through everything with a fine toothed comb as she may be at the stage of tree versus woods.
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Seven first responders injured after explosions at the troubled Arkema chemical plant in Crosby are now suing the company for at least $1 million in damages.

On Thursday, barely a week after the first blast of decomposing chemicals rocked the small town, Houston lawyers Kimberley Spurlock and Misty Hataway-Cone launched a legal battle in Harris County court, accusing Arkema of gross negligence.

Despite past flooding events and advance notice of the impending destruction of Hurricane Harvey, Arkema ignored the foreseeable consequences of failing to prepare, the suit says, leaving trailers of volatile chemicals susceptible to explosion after flooding knocked out the electricity and the ability to cool the heat-sensitive compounds.

The first of nine trailers of organic peroxides exploded early on the morning of Aug. 31, landing a number of first responders in the hospital following exposure to fumes from the chemicals, which ignited and left a 40-foot plume of black smoke that officials later compared to a campfire.

Although the explosions had occurred, no one from Arkema alerted the first responders who were manning the perimeter of the arbitrary mandatory evacuation area, lawyers said Thursday in a news release. Immediately upon being exposed to the fumes from the explosions, and one by one, the police officers and first responders began to fall ill in the middle of the road.

Emergency medical personnel arrived on scene, and were overcome by fumes before even exiting their vehicles, lawyers allege.

The scene was nothing less than chaos, the lawsuit claims. Police officers were doubled over vomiting, unable to breathe.

The seven first responders at the center of the new legal action were all on scene for that chaos and those toxic fumes, according to legal papers. Fifteen Harris County deputies and eight EMS personnel, including Crosbys EMS chief, were hospitalized due to exposure to the fumes.

The legal claim specifically calls out company officials Richard Rowe and Richard Rennard for holding news conferences at which they repeatedly denied that the chemicals were toxic or harmful in any manner, the lawyers write. Plaintiffs relied upon these representations and suffered serious bodily injury as a result.

Twenty homeowners also asked to be added to the suit, according to the lawyers. The Crosby residents claimed to have seen balls of tar fall in their yards and some claimed a tarlike substance covered their roofs after the explosions.

The suit also asks for a temporary restraining preventing Arkema from destroying photos, documents and records relating to the chemical behind the fire.

The Chemical Safety Board announced on Aug. 31 it would be investigating the Arkema explosion. In a statement from board chair Vanessa Allen Sutherland, one aspect of that investigation would be the implications for emergency response efforts.

An Arkema spokeswoman Thursday afternoon promised the company would release a statement later in the day.
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The convoy set out for Houston at 11 a.m. Sunday, a procession of 15 grapple trucks, 30 tractor trailers and a mobile command center heading east on Interstate 10 toward Houston.

Among the vehicles were several vans transporting 62 workers from San Antonio Solid Waste Management, which had dispatched crews to clear storm debris through a mutual aid agreement with the city of Houston.

By Monday the San Antonio crews had begun moving from house to house in Kingwood, an affluent community in northeast Houston. Through the end of Thursday they had filled 277 trailer loads with a total of 3,183 tons of debris.

Ive been in the business for 26 years, and some of these piles, its nothing like Ive ever seen before, said Andrew Gutierrez, the commander of the operation.

Removing mountains of debris from front lawns has helped Houston families move beyond their initial post-hurricane shock, Gutierrez said.

Theyve kind of turned a corner, he said.

In addition to countless individuals who have responded to calls for help, a coordinated force of San Antonio groups and organizations has dispatched volunteers and employees to areas affected by Harvey, while continuing to field a decreasing number of displaced residents in the San Antonio area.

The response for Harvey has been a complete community response, said Henry Van de Putte, executive director of the American Red Crosss San Antonio chapter. I cant think of one nonprofit that hasnt stepped up.

The Red Cross set up three shelters in San Antonio that at one point housed about 1,500 total evacuees, Van de Putte said. People at the shelters ate prepared meals and groceries from the San Antonio Food Bank, which sent more supplies  food, toiletries, clothing  to food bank partners in Houston, Victoria, Corpus Christi and other cities.

I think all of us cant help but think, What if that was me? said Eric Cooper, president of the San Antonio Food Bank. If youre told you can evacuate or stay, where would you go? Or would you evacuate? Your ability to evacuate tends to rely on resources and relationships. If you dont have those, youre stuck.

Smaller organizations have sent aid, too, including the San Antonio-based Texas Diaper Bank. The organization, staffed by nine, has distributed diapers to infants and seniors in Houston, but also smaller areas such as Corpus Christi, Port Aransas and Beaumont.

The diaper bank put out a call for diapers to Texas residents, and has been inundated with shipments from around the country.

Jorge Medina, the banks executive director, said thousands of donations have rolled in every day, including one vehicle from Ontario that arrived with a trailer full of diapers in tow.

The bank has in turn shipped diapers to shelters in southern cities. Relief agencies in those cities, such as the Childrens Hunger Fund, have delivered the banks diapers from house to house.

Another small organization, Operation FINALLY HOME, has helped veterans in Houston clean up their debris-filled homes  many do not have flood insurance  in partnership with New Hope Church in Friendswood, a small city south of Houston.

The organization, a nonprofit with headquarters in New Braunfels, typically partners with builders, developers and corporate sponsors to build houses for veterans. In Houston it is aiding vets who have lost entire floors of their homes.

It will be telling how FEMA and the insurance companies come through, said Rusty Carroll, the executive director. What Ive seen is an immediate and quick response from them. And the contractors coming in working alongside the companies, that is providing a lot of hope.

Gutierrezs team of San Antonio workers has observed similar devastation. They will remain in Houston for 30 days, continuing to clear out damaged furniture and piles of wreckage.

The waters have receded, Gutierrez said. You can see water lines on the houses, but no standing water or mud. All that has subsided.
AUSTIN  Republican Gov. Greg Abbott made a strong show of support for Israel in May, putting his name to a law that prevents state investment or contracts with companies that boycott the country.

Any anti-Israel policy is an anti-Texas policy, he declared at the bill-signing ceremony, held at a Jewish community center.

But, as it turns out, the policy that took effect Sept. 1 is largely symbolic. The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts identified only two foreign companies affected by the ban; the state isnt doing business with either.

Senate sponsor Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, said he is confident the law will act as a deterrent going forward.

We are not only talking about businesses today, but also tomorrow, he said in a statement. Should any think about changing strategies to boycott Israel, maybe they will think twice.

In passing the law this year with bipartisan support, Texas joined a growing group of roughly 17 states that restrict government investment with companies that participate in the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement against Israel. Launched in 2005 by Palestinian groups, the initiative aims to put economic pressure on Israel to stop the countrys settlement of Palestinian territories, among other goals.

The two companies identified by the comptroller deny that they boycott Israel.

It is completely inaccurate to say we have a boycott in place with Israel, said Russ Brady, a spokesman for The Co-operative Group in the United Kingdom, in an email. Co-op members have instructed us not to have any trade with those businesses operating out of the occupied territories It is not a ban on Israeli companies.

Norway-based Kommunal Landspensjonskasse, or KLP, said it excludes a handful that are involved in construction of settlements or the extraction of non-renewable natural resources from occupied territory but is invested in other Israeli companies.

KLP emphasizes that we do not boycott Israel, and are not affiliated with the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement in any way, said Heidi Finskas, vice president of corporate responsibility at KLP, a fund that manages public sector pensions in Norway.

The two companies appear on blacklists compiled by other states, including Florida and Illinois, that similarly ban investment with companies that boycott Israel.

Texas came up with its own list using research provided by two contractors: MSCI Inc. and Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. The state pays the firms $50,000 and $30,000 a year respectively for general research; its not clear how the firms flagged KLP and The Co-operative Group.

Theres a growing market for these types of consultants, as more states move to block investments with certain businesses, including those that boycott Israel or that have ties with controversial foreign governments, such as Syria or Iran, according to John Kuczwanski, a spokesman for the Florida State Board of Administration.

Opponents of those policies argue they curb free speech and limit peoples right to boycott.

James Henson, director of the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas, said the bill is a way for lawmakers to stake out a pro-Israel stance, even if it doesnt have an immediate impact.

The bottom line here really is that, especially for conservatives, support for the state of Israel is kind of a no-brainer, he said. It's a hallmark of Republican foreign policy, but also with a good deal of Democratic support.

Under the new law companies that do business with Texas must sign a contract that includes written verification they dont boycott Israel and wont throughout the length of the agreement.

Creighton said the contract clause is the most significant, but often overlooked, part of the law. That's a huge change in public policy, he said.

amorris@express-news.net
If Harvey taught us anything, its that unchecked development can only exacerbate a disaster.

For years, officials in Houston resisted calls to preserve green space and manage growth, allowing developers to pave over prairie land that could have absorbed huge amounts of water, for instance. Then came the torrential rains of Harvey, dumping 53 inches over several days, flooding 100,000 homes and causing more than $150 billion in damage.

In San Antonio, the topography differs, as do the challenges in preventing floods. But a similar tug of war between environmental and development interests has taken place, even as the region prepares for an influx of 1 million more residents  and accompanying development  over the next 25 years.

With the election of Mayor Ron Nirenberg in June, supporters of sustainable development gained more pull.

As a councilman, Nirenberg pushed for stricter regulations  often unsuccessfully. For instance, he supported a proposal in the citys SA Tomorrow Sustainability Plan that suggested expanding the citys impervious cover rules beyond the Edwards Aquifer recharge zone.

That was rejected after the San Antonio Real Estate Council insisted theres no scientific rationale to support limiting asphalt and concrete.

Nirenberg also wanted an update to the development code last year that would have required developers to use landscape and design techniques known as low-impact development, or LID. Instead, council at the time voted to make the rules voluntary.

The impact of Harvey in Houston has only reinforced Nirenbergs views on smart growth.

We have put half a billion dollars into flood control projects  (and) tightened up some of the development code that was enabling a lot of the building within the floodplain, he said on Friday. We still have to do better. The latest charge on the city is with regard to equity investment, to shore up communities that have been forgotten, not just in street maintenance but flood control.

A primary concern in San Antonio is the potential for upstream development to flood lower-lying portions of the city.

Nefi Garza, assistant director of the citys Transportation and Capital Improvements Department, pointed to ways in which the city compels developers to mitigate runoff. They can build a concrete basin to hold it; help construct an off-site project to handle storm water from the developers area; or pay a fee that goes toward funding regional drainage projects.

In addition, the city requires developers to build a 100-year ultimate event, meaning they must plan for rainfall likely to occur once a century, while also assuming that no development upstream has been mitigated.

Nirenberg said such measures arent enough, particularly as the climate changes and storms worsen.

Its not enough anymore to plan for 100-year floods, he said. Were seeing 500-year floods, were seeing 1,000-year events happening on a more frequent basis.

As far as the biblical amount of rain that Harvey dumped on Houston, no system is capable of handling that amount of rainfall, so our job is to make sure were building our city in a way that when that event occurs, lives will be saved and property damage will be as minimal as possible.

Suzanne Scott, general manager of the San Antonio River Authority, echoed that sentiment.

With 50 inches of rain, I dont believe that LID strategies would have much of a benefit in retaining that type of water because its such a huge amount of water, she said. However, I think overall, as you look at the city and how were trying to develop, looking at more sustainable development techniques could mitigate the impact of some of the smaller storms that we see on a more frequent basis.

Like Nirenberg, SARA has pushed for an expansion of limits to impervious cover.

We had a modification to the (development code) that we were really trying to take forward, Scott said. Ultimately, what got approved was quite a bit less than what we had proposed because it just didnt gain the support of the community.

She added, Here we need to make sure that we keep open space where water can slow down. You can have an impact on slowing water down, spreading it out, letting it soak in.

I think were going in the right direction as a community. Harvey gives us an opportunity to say, there are better ways to develop our community.

bchasnoff@express-news.net
Unity in the work of service. That was the theme of Pope John Paul IIs visit to the Alamo City on September 13-14, 1987  30 years ago this coming week.

I was fortunate enough to have a front row seat to the popes visit as it was my great honor to serve in the capacity of project manager. As such it was my responsibility to plan, organize and manage all operational aspects of the visit with federal, state, county and city governments as well as an army of volunteers, some incredible corporate supporters and a welcoming Texas community.

Over the years the question that I have been asked most often is: How did you get that job? It is a great question. But space does not allow a full response here, so suffice it to say that, after a number of meetings and presentations, I received a phone call from Monsignor Lawrence Stuebben, the Texas coordinator, in October 1986 saying that he had good news and bad news. The good news was that they were offering me the position of project manager. The bad news was that they had no money to pay. I accepted, without hesitation, but with one condition: that my responsibilities would not include the media. This quickly resulted in Express-News reporter at the time, J. Michael Parker, dubbing me No Comment Aguirre, a name he calls me to this very day.

It is important to add an ironic footnote here. It was agreed that I would not have to deal with the press, but when my appointment was covered by the media along with the fact that there was no money to pay me, two local business leaders quietly stepped up and agreed to fund my salary. To this day they remain anonymous but I must use this opportunity to once again acknowledge their generosity.

Just to recap the popes visit, let us review some facts and figures. He arrived on a very hot Sunday morning and departed on Monday. His visit lasted exactly 22 hours and included six events, five popemobile parades and a luncheon with the Texas bishops. His outdoor Mass at Westover Hills drew more than 350,000 people and remains a record for the largest single gathering in Texas history. Crowd estimates for the parades totaled 1 million. Our volunteer corps numbered over 10,000 people and our staff consisted of a total of four  Monsignor Stuebben, Sister Charlene Wedelich, Cathy Eck and me.

I had worked with the Secret Service before and my contacts there provided me access to planning documents from cities that had hosted papal visits. This proved to be invaluable as the extent of the planning and logistics was incredible. Not so much for the pope himself, but for the throngs of people that were expected. Public health and safety was our single largest consideration and it didnt help that the director of public health was making national headlines warning people to stay away by predicting that thousands will die. Thankfully a new director, Dr. Fernando Guerra, was appointed.

Eventually I petitioned the governor, county judge and mayor asking each of them to declare a state of emergency for public health and safety. Once this was done, our efforts took on an entirely new dimension and many new resources were made available to deal with safety and human needs.

Throughout the planning months, I had no shortage of contentious moments with various government officials. But never was there a time when I felt we were not on the same page and had the same goal. There was a spirit and a unity about our collective efforts that, even today, I cannot really put into words.

As difficult and intense as our planning efforts were, there was really only one incident that bothers me to this day. In a routine security sweep of my downtown office it was discovered that my phone lines had been bugged. Someone had tapped into my lines. Things were suddenly much more real from that moment on.

Even though I would not categorize the following as a security or logistical issue, one of the most wonderful experiences about working on the papal visit was the incredible expressions of support that we received from leaders of other faith traditions. Key among those was the Rev. Buckner Fanning, Rabbi Samuel Stahl and Rabbi David Jacobson.

On the evening of Thursday, Sept. 10, Rev. Fanning was hosting an ecumenical prayer service for the popes scheduled Sunday arrival. But at 5:25 that afternoon a wind shear in excess of 75 mph was detected on radar and was heading toward the Westover Hills Mass site. A fast-acting emergency responder, Ben Hoeffner, heard the wind shear aircraft warning from the Kelly AFB control tower and he rushed to the nearby Mass site and, using his loudspeakers, ordered the workers down from the scaffolding and altar just moments before the wind struck, turning the towers into rubble. The beautifully decorated 10-story scaffolding that was the backdrop for the papal altar became a mangled mess of steel. There is no doubt in my mind that Hoeffner saved many lives that day. Unity in the work of service.

The collapse of the altar towers became our greatest challenge  but proved to be our finest hour.

We had exactly 76 hours to come up with a Plan B and restore the altar. Working with Father David Garcia, who was in charge of the Mass event, and thanks to Alamo Architects, Guido Brothers Construction and SeaWorlds Willie Garza and Leo Zuniga, and their heavy construction equipment, we had a plan and were in execution mode by midnight.

Then came the phone call I will never forget. It was from Father Robert Lynch, who was in charge of the popes tour and they had just landed in Miami. Here is how the conversation went:

Robert, I hear you have had some problems.

Yes.

I just have one question. Will you be ready on Sunday?

Yes, we will.

Great. We will see you then. Good luck.

They were trusting that we could get this monumental task done and yet I vividly recall experiencing an extraordinary feeling of calm.

The Mass and every other event went off gloriously and without incident.

After all these years I do not recall how many meetings I attended or how many porta-potty contracts I signed or how many miles of rope I had to purchase. All of that is a distant blur of no real importance. Thirty years of perspective has taught us that the popes visit showcased to the world the very best of Texas and San Antonio. It has revealed the essential truth that indeed this was a time of unity in the work of service to welcome a simple man of faith who would later be declared a saint.

Robert Aguirre is a project manager and consultant.

COMING SUNDAY: Astronaut John E. Blahas distinguished career.
We need to talk up the money side, the pillar of our affluence that agribusiness has been for a couple of hundred years and will continue to be, he said.
What we wanted to do was create this group where everyone came to us and we created this efficient environment where we did trials close by so we could look at all the trials on one day and have an information day, so we had a lot of information on one day, rather than going here and there for different events.
New Bredal owner Ben Nichols (left) and former owner Jorn Ib were kept busy at Dowerin fielding questions on the future of Bredal spreaders in WA. "All under control," Jorn said. "I'll be supporting Ben for the next 18 months to ensure existing customers get the best service with required parts and any advice on Bredal technology.
She is also eagerly awaiting the completion of road works along Cambridge Street, which she has and her customers have had to contend with over the past few months.
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George and Amal Clooney didn't want their children to have "ridiculous Hollywood names".

Amal and George Clooney

The 'Money Monster' star and the human rights lawyer welcomed twins Ella and Alexander into the world in June and were adamant not to give them unusual monikers because they will "already have enough difficulty bearing the weight of their celebrity".

He told Paris Match magazine: "We didn't want to give them one of those ridiculous Hollywood names that don't mean anything. They'll already have enough difficulty bearing the weight of their celebrity."

Meanwhile, George previously admitted he "didn't think" he would be a dad with twins at 56.

He said: "Suddenly, you're responsible for other people, which is terrifying. Amal's like an Olympic athlete. She's doing so beautifully. Right now my job is changing diapers and walking them around a little bit. I really didn't think at 56 that I would be the parent of twins. Don't make plans. You always have to just enjoy the ride."

And the Hollywood star has confessed fatherhood has made him "much older".

He explained: "Its true. He's got me. I'm a mess. But [Amal] is like an Olympic athlete. You've got two kids, you're breastfeeding like crazy. I'm very good, by the way, at diaper changing. This is an all-new adventure for me, but I've been through it with all my friends, so it's not really that much of a surprise. [Fatherhood] has made me much older. It doesn't fundamentally change you, but I'm excited to see who these two people are going to be in life. I'm very proud to be [a dad]. I feel honoured to be a part of it."
Around 22,900 professional buyers from over 50 countries visited the 29th edition of the CPM Moscow, a representation of the concept of East meets West. This is an increase of 7.42 per cent over the previous year. The show also saw participation of 1,300 brands, an increase of 31 per cent over the previous year, and 700 exhibitors from 27 countries.The show was held during August 30-September 2, 2017.

Around 22,900 professional buyers from over 50 countries visited the 29th edition of the CPM Moscow, a representation of the concept of East meets West. This is an increase of 7.42 per cent over the previous year. The show also saw participation of 1,300 brands, an increase of 31 per cent over the previous year, and 700 exhibitors from 27 countries.#

Russia is not only an extraordinary market, but also an extraordinary country. As the leading order trade show for the Eastern European market, CPM Moscow is an extraordinarily diverse pulsating tradeshow that is constantly being further developed. And it all takes place in an extremely fascinating metropolis, which, in terms of its presence and development, is in no way inferior to any other global hotspots, summed up Thomas Stenzel, managing director of the Messe Dusseldorf subsidiary in Moscow. So were all the more delighted that as of October 1, 2017 we will be completely taking over the tradeshow from Igedo Company Dusseldorf, who will continue to act as co-organiser of the event.Philipp Kronen, managing partner of Igedo Company Dusseldorf, who established the tradeshow in 2003, said: The 30th edition of CPM Moscow is coming up soon. In our fastpaced online age full of upheaval and massive global changes, this certainly isnt something we take for granted. So its all the more important that we continue ensuring the success of the fashion business with great continuity, as well as successfully bringing together people, cultures and markets in the future.As a firm foundation for successful business and sustainable brand launches, fully developed structures and a solid programme are what have made CPM Moscow, with the segments Premium, Lingerie and Swimwear Fashion, Accessories and Kids, such an exciting, pulsating platform for European, Far Eastern and Russian exhibitors for almost 15 years now.As well as the recovering market, we mainly have our continuously developing, varied exhibitor services to thank for the encouragingly good results of the 29th edition. This is what makes CPM such an exciting and buzzing tradeshow platform. The country pavillions, for Germany, Italy, Spain, France and Turkey, for example, offered exhibitors interesting opportunities and made taking part even more appealing, summarised Christian Kasch, project manager of CPM.There is a lot of support at CPM Moscow for Western European and Far Eastern exhibitors in particular. But of course our focus, also with regard to our visitor marketing, is very much on the market, said Kasch. Established, professional and extremely topical industry forums also contributed to the increasing numbers at the 29th edition: professional buyers enjoyed substantiated, trendsetting presentations, forums and panels of an international standard as part of the high-profile RFRF  Russia Fashion Retail Forum.The Russia Fashion Retail Forum not only attracts opinion leaders from the Russian market, but is also relevant for every decision-maker in the fashion business whose aim is successful expansion. It informs about developments regarding clothing exports to Russia and gives insights into the current situation of the Russian clothing market, added Reinhard E Doepfer, chairman of the European fashion and Textile Export Council and a key driving force behind the RFRF. Worldwide leading fashion forecaster WGSN provides the ultimate trend overview.The WGSN Buyers Briefing offered a fully comprehensive trend overview. WGSN is particularly important for the professional visitors as they also showcase brands with an international presence, which provides additional support for our Western European and Far Eastern exhibitors, summarised Alexander Radermacher, fashion director of Igedo Company. WGSN also compiles a comprehensive trend report of interesting brands at CPM. This is advertised on the WGSN website, giving selected exhibitors a presence on the worlds most important platform for trends.Other successful elements of the 29th edition include the Top Buyer Lounge, the fashion show line-up of over 40 shows, the BURDA Fashion Contest and the Designer Pool. A particular visitor magnet, especially for international brands and their representatives, was the CPM Fashion Night with celebrity representatives from Russian TV, Eastern European social media stars, influencers, the media and VIPs. (SV)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - September 8, 2017) - RT Minerals Corp. (TSXV: RTM) (the "Company") announces that it proposes to undertake a private placement to raise gross proceeds of up to $550,000 (the "Offering"). The Company proposes to raise up to $200,000 through the sale of up to 4,000,000 non flow-through units priced at $0.05 (the "NFT Units") and up to $350,000 through the sale of up to 5,000,000 flow-through units priced at $0.07 (the "FT Units"). Each NFT Unit consists of one common share and one share purchase warrant (the "Warrant") exercisable into one further common share at a price of $0.07 for a term of one year. Each FT Unit consists of one flow-through common share and one half of a share purchase warrant, with each whole Warrant exercisable into one further common share at a price of $0.07 for a term of one year.

The Offering will be conducted under available exemptions from the prospectus requirements of applicable securities legislation and participation in the Offering will be available to existing shareholders in qualifying jurisdictions in Canada in accordance with the provisions of BC Instrument 45-354 (the "Existing Shareholder Exemption") and similar provisions in other jurisdictions' securities legislation and will be available to persons in qualifying jurisdictions in Canada who have obtained advice as to the suitability of the investment from a person registered as an investment dealer in accordance with the provisions of BC Instrument 45-536 and similar provisions in other jurisdictions' securities legislation.

The Company has set September 7, 2017 as the record date for the purpose of determining shareholders entitled to participate in the Offering in reliance on the Existing Shareholder Exemption. Qualifying shareholders who wish to participate in the Offering should contact the Company as detailed below. If the Offering is oversubscribed, units will be allocated pro rata amongst all subscribers.

The proceeds from the sale of the flow-through portion of the Offering will be used for exploration activity on the Company's 100% optioned Norwalk gold property located near Wawa, Ontario, where the Company is now drilling. The proceeds from the sale of the non flow-through portion of the Offering will be used for general working capital.

The Offering is subject to the acceptance of the TSX Venture Exchange.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Paul Antoniazzi

President and Chief Executive Officer

Toll Free: (877) 581-3170

Tel: (604) 681-3170

Fax: (604) 681-3552

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.
TUSTIN, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 09/08/17 -- Premier Holding Corporation (OTCQB: PRHL) today announced that its subsidiary, The Power Company (TPC), received the "2017 Leaders Diamond" Award from a major deregulated power supplier. This award combines both the volume of sales, connected with the sales of home products, and calculates this with a quality score by customers to create a "Sales Quality" Score, and the team at TPC achieved the highest score among all resellers for 2017.

TPC consistently performs as one of the largest resellers to one of the largest suppliers in deregulated electricity.

Managing Director, Patrick Farah, said: "This being the fourth year winning this award is the definition of consistent excellence. We have always set high goals for the company and we have consistently increased the sales performance of the company. Since joining Premier Holding we have sold nearly a quarter million contracts (RCE's) and with the recently announced plan to merge with a core of synergistic companies we expect to increase our rate of success."

Chairman and CEO of Premier, Randall Letcavage, adds: "The Power Company is not skipping a beat in their continued excellent performance. We anticipate that when we merge them into a combined new company, that this should only be the beginning of great things ahead. As previously reported, we intend to reward our shareholders with a dividend in the form of stock in this new company which we believe should benefit both companies and their shareholders."

Premier Holding Corp. Safe Harbor

This press release contains certain statements that may include "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are often identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "believes," "expects," "anticipate," "optimistic," "intend," "will" or other similar expressions. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors, including those discussed in the Company's periodic reports that are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available on its website at http://www.sec.gov. All forward-looking statements attributable to the Company or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by these factors. Other than as required under applicable securities laws, the Company does not assume a duty to update these forward-looking statements.

About Premier Holding Corporation

The Company provides financial support and management expertise, which includes access to capital, financing, legal, insurance, mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures and management strategies. The Company's mission is to acquire clean technology companies and/or green products and services that are accretive and that can be seamlessly integrated and utilize the overall economics of such products and services for the benefit of its customers. Through subsidiaries we offer renewable energy production, energy efficiency products and services to commercial middle-market companies, Fortune 500 brands, developers and management companies of large-scale residential developments. Additional integrated business offerings include direct energy services as power purchase agreements (PPAs), energy financing and leasing of generation programs in urban and rural real estate environments, lighting efficiency systems and refrigeration systems. For more information, visit PRHL Investors Relations: www.prhlcorp.com.

About The Power Company (TPC)

The Power Company USA, LLC is a professional energy services firm offering brokerage and consulting services with a progressive and unique perspective on energy management based in Chicago, Illinois. Their mission is to assist companies in reducing and managing their electricity expenses. Their diverse portfolio of energy providers, transparent pricing, and unparalleled industry experience offers customers the freedom of exploring all of their options for choosing the best plan and provider. Operating in all currently deregulated states, including Texas, New York and Illinois, TPC and its partners/suppliers have provided an invaluable service to its clients. Their team has consulted and/or serviced such prominent companies, organizations and governmental entities such as: The City of Dallas, Ralcorp, Choice Hotels, Apex Hospital Systems, Mercedes Dealerships, Leona's Restaurant Group, McDonald's, and many others. Because of the large amount of business transacted and their long-standing relationships with Regional Energy Suppliers, TPC is assured to provide the most competitive prices in the industry. For more information, visit: www.thepowercompany.com

Contact Information



For more information contact:

Megan Samson

(949) 260-8070

msamson@prhlcorp.com




LONDON (dpa-AFX) - Rosneft (ROSN.L) said that it closed the deal to acquire a 30% stake in the concessions agreement for the development of Zohr field, the largest gas field in the Mediterranean Sea, from Italian company Eni S.p.A. The cost of Rosneft stake acquisition is $1.125 bln. The Company also refunded its share in past project costs to Eni. The Company becomes a participant of the project to develop the largest deepwater gas field offshore Egypt jointly with other world majors and strategic partners of Rosneft - Eni (60% stake) and BP (10% stake). 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.
The Board of Golden Ocean Group Limited (NASDAQ and OSE: GOGL) ("Golden Ocean" or the "Company") announces that Thomas Semino, primary insider in Golden Ocean, has exercised options to acquire a total of 50,000 shares in the Company in accordance with the terms previously disclosed to the market. The total number of shares outstanding in the Company following this is 144,247,697, each with a nominal value of USD 0.05.

Following the declaration Mr. Semino holds 50,000 shares and 100,000 options in the Company

March 1, 2018

Hamilton, Bermuda

The Board of Directors

Golden Ocean Group Ltd.

This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5 -12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.

This announcement is distributed by Nasdaq Corporate Solutions on behalf of Nasdaq Corporate Solutions clients.

The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.

Source: Golden Ocean Group Limited via Globenewswire


Japanese multinational automobile manufacturer Nissan has started the production of electric car Nissan Leaf . The electric car, according to a report in Gears of Biz, is expected to be shipped in 2018. The car is in production in the Oppama plant in Yokosuka, Japan.

The Nissan Leaf 2017 is available in three variants starting at $30,680 in the US. The three variants include the Leaf S, SV and SL are priced at $30,680, $34,200 and $36,790 in the US market. The engine of all the variants provides same power of 107 HP, but differ in interior features. The Nissan Leaf runs on an 80 KW AC synchronous electric motor with a 30 kWh lithium-ion battery. It comes with a 3.6 kW on-board charger. Its a Zero Emission Vehicle that features a single speed reduction gear, 'Palm-shift' drive selector, hill start assist, front and rear vented disc brakes and four wheel anti-lock braking system.

The higher-priced variant Leaf SL comes with leather-finished interiors and more added specifications such as automatic on/off LED low-beam headlights, leather-appointed seats and heated rear seats.

Other features of the Leaf variants includes NissanConnect, a 7-inch color display with navigation and mobile apps. B-mode regenerative braking drive mode that captures energy while brakes are applied. It also comes with a quick charging port, vehicle dynamic control, a tyre pressure monitoring system and traction control system in all the variants.
Police said Monday that they have set up a task force to overhaul the agency in an effort to prevent the recurrence of tragedies such as the crowd crush in Seoul's Itaewon neighbor...
The Haryana governement has sought to cancel the FIRs lodged against actor-comedian Kiku Sharda for mimicking rape convict and self-styled godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Insan. According to a report by Hindustan Times, the FIRs lodged by the followers of the Dera Sacha Sauda chief against the comedian, on grounds of hurting religious sentiments, might be quashed.

Sharda, who is popular for his portrayal of comic roles in The Kapil Sharma Show, had imitated the convict the head of the cult, in a programme titled Jashan-e-Umeed. According to an earlier report, the episode had aired on TV on 27 December 2015.

The followers did not take to the impersonation kindly and filed FIRs on 1 January 2016, following which, the actor was booked under Section 295A of the Indian Penal Code for allegedly hurting religious sentiments of a community by insulting its beliefs.

However, according to the Haryana additional advocate general Amar Vivek, no offence could be found in Sharda's case. Hence, applications for cancellation of FIRs have now been submitted to the court. Sharda had also spoken out earlier, saying that the complaints were filed as part of an 'act' and was an attack on his own fundamental rights. Therefore, this move could bring him some much-needed relief.

The Dera chief was convicted of raping two women inside the Dera premises and sentenced to a 20 years in prison, on 25 August.
As long as our films are male-centric, well be producing only male stars. What happens to our female stars then? asks Karthik Keramalu in his article for the Firstpost. He argues that the stardom of a female star is short-lived, often limited by age. If they take a break in their career for any reason, he suggests, they either die like Soundarya, or are relegated to supporting roles on return, like Simran. Even then, they do not get the grand welcome that returning heroes do.

In his article, Keramalu inadvertently does the same thing he accuses the film industry and the audiences of doing. In drawing from the work of male stars to support his arguments, he ignores the entirety of female stars who are paving their own paths  different and smaller in market size but distinct paths that should give us much to rejoice.

Are they welcome back?

Keramalu begins his article discussing the return of Chiranjeevi to films last year and reclaiming his throne. He points us in the direction of several others who have returned after sabbaticals, and provides a list of potential (younger) stars, who may have occupied said throne. What would happen if a female star makes a comeback after ten years? he asks, bringing Manju Warrier to my mind. While Keramalu draws his boundaries at Tamil and Telugu cinema, one can not write about returning actresses without including Manjus stellar story.

After a 14-year-long sabbatical, Manju Warrier returned to Malayalam cinema much to the delight of her fans, both in Kerala and elsewhere. She won several awards for her successful comeback film How Old Are You (2014)  a film where she is the hero  including the Manorama newsmaker of the year award, for what its worth.

When Jyothika returned to films in 2015 following a eight-year break, she followed Manjus steps, choosing to remake How Old Are You as 36 Vayathinile (2015) in Tamil. Nayanthara returned to films after a much shorter sabbatical of 11 months with the Telugu film Krishnam Vandhe Jagatgurum (2012). All of them got a roaring welcome across the board, continuing to have flourishing film careers.

Who is on their side?

Keramalu argues, They are no longer paired with the top heroes as newer and younger ladies take the center stage. While this is true when looked at from the perspective of male stardom as the gold standard, it would do us well to see who returning female stars tend to work with.

After working with Kunjako Boban in How Old Are You and with Mohanlal in Ennum Eppozhum (2015), Manju went on to appear alongside Rima Kallingal in Rani Padmini (2015), as Indrajith Sukumarans boss in Vettah (2016) and in C/O Saira Banu (2017), opposite Amala Akkineni, another female star who made a welcome return to films.

It couldnt be clearer that Manju Warrier isnt looking to be the pair to leading stars, but wants to be the leading star in her own right. She has created for herself a place in Malayalam cinema where pushing Mohanlal to the background in a films promotional poster is acceptable to both his and her fans.

Nayanthara, on the other hand, has chosen a different path. Even as she romances Arya in Raja Rani (2013), Ajith in Arrambam (2013), Vijay Sethupathy in Naanum Rowdy Thaan (2015), she slays Karthi in Kashmora (2016), plays a single mother in Maya (2015) and an avenging wife in Nee Enge En Anbe (2014). In Malayalam, she acted in Puthiya Niyamam (2016), getting nearly equal screen time with Mammootty, which is unheard of. She is able to deftly juggle being paired with top heroes and appearing in films where she is the top hero.

The point that Keramalu makes about returning actresses not being offered roles of the heros love interest is indeed true. The reason, which he doesnt discuss, is that there is a pervasive discomfort in imagining a married woman as desirable to a hero in the film, and vicariously to male audiences.

Nayantara herself and Amala Paul  who recently returned to cinema after a sabbatical due to marriage  have enacted physical intimacy with their co-stars on screen. However, neither of them are now in the relationship, for which they took their sabbaticals in the first place.

While married male stars joyfully woo and romance young women on screen, the discomfort caused by a married woman expressing desire seems unshakeable. This is certainly sexist, making it practically impossible for actresses to continue an acting career while also having a family of their own.

The unintended silver lining of this sexist situation, that actresses have so tactfully utilised to their advantage, is that opportunities have opened up for female stars to play their age  an age group whose stories never get told. Manju has done a fabulous job of bringing to fore the stories that are often hidden away. In How Old Are You, she plays a middle-aged woman in search of an identity. In Ennum Eppozhum, she plays a classical dancer, lawyer and a single mother. In Vettah, she is a single mother and a top cop. In Rani Padmini, she is a wife in an unfulfilling marriage, which she goes on a road trip to fix. In C/O Saira Banu, she is a postwoman, foster mother of a young boy. In three years, Manju has done more service for womankind than most contemporary filmmakers can hope to in a lifetime.

Jyothikas careergraph has achieved much less so far, but shows great potential, which I am eager to see. Brammas Magalir Mattum is believed to be ready for release, where she appears along with yesteryear actresses Urvashi, Saranya and Banupriya. She is also reported to be working on Balas Naachiyaar and Mani Ratnams next.

Even after the failure of Nee Enge En Anbe (2012), her first film as the solo lead, Nayanthara has found opportunities in Maya (2015), Dora (2017) and the upcoming Aramm. In fact, in the trailer of Aramm, she says, Munneri adikkardhu thaan veeram (valour is the punch of progress), a dialogue that has long only been uttered by heroes.

Who is watching?

Perhaps Keramalu interprets stardom as the 100-crore club and thousands of fan clubs. On this scale, it is undeniable that female stars dont stand on the same field as their male counterparts. But it would be incorrect to assume they dont enjoy any 'fan fare'  Kavitha Muralidharan reports about a Dora screening that there were larger than life cut-outs, there were celebrations, and there were all the cacophonous cheers when Nayanthara made her first appearance or uttered a particularly appealing dialogue.

While the 100-crore club is a far reach, it is becoming increasingly common that films are sold completely on the stardom of these female stars  without the need for a hero to bring the audiences in. Nayanthara in, Jyothika in, Trisha in and as have become sufficient to sell a film.

From the days when films made for and featuring women were seen as unworthy of investment, today, several female leads today are considered bankable, however small the banking. While the careers and successes of Vidya Balan, Kareena Kapoor, Deepika Padukone and Kangana Ranaut in Hindi, gets talked about with greater intensity, female stars of south India seem to still be overshadowed.

Parvathys Take Off (2017), Anushkas Arundati (2009) and Size Zero (2015), Amala Pauls Amma Kanakku (2016) are among the popular films that not only put the female star front and centre, but also tell stories of women, that have become so rare in our cinema.

In addition, all of these female stars have been vocal about the discrimination they face and their discomfort with the work theyre offered. Jyothika hasnt minced words in calling out the lack of substantial roles for women, Nayanthara stood up for Tamannah when her director was being inappropriate. Manju Warrier and her female colleagues have set up the Womens Collective in Cinema.

In continuing to look through the prism of who is the next superstar? we miss out on the progress we could be part of.

Before we all walk away thinking we have reached post-feminist south Indian cinema bliss, this is not to say that the industry (and our cinema) is now devoid of gender pay gap, sexism, misogyny, and other problems that result from the lack of representation for women in the creative process.

It is to say that female stars are already around us. Until recently, the stardom  and market value  of an actress was defined by who she is paired with. Today, there are several actresses who are carving a place of their own. Soon, they will become superstars, in ways that will be unfamiliar to us. They might not sing their own praises, or have their names in placeholder film titles, or get Twitter emojis and hashtags.

The journey of a female superstar is very unlikely to be similar to that of Chiranjeevi, Rajnikanth or Kamal Haasan. This doesnt make their journey less admirable or their successes any less sweet.
The latest Tamil release Neruppuda starring Vikram Prabhu and Nikki Galrani opened to mixed reactions from the critics.

Written and directed by newcomer Ashok Kumar, Neruppuda features Prabhu as an aspiring fireman who in turn inspires his friends to follow suit. Prabhu's character is the archetypal 'hero' who is looked upon as a leader, decision maker and guide by his friends, his girlfriend (Galrani, who appears for a brief time in the movie) and everybody around him. The film shows how he manages to make his and his friends' lives better, even in times of crises.

But, all of this is too predictable and offers no innovation in terms of the script; so much so that the suspense in the film appears to be contrived.

M Suganth from The Times of India writes:

"Neruppuda, at first, feels like a tried-and-tested action film  a group of youngsters versus a powerful gangster. But Ashok Kumar keeps subverting the masala movie cliches that he throws at us. We think the film is going to be about Guru's (Prabhu) schemes to escape the wrath of Ravi (Madhusudhan), but then something unexpected happens. And just when we are told that the friends are safe, and start to heave a sigh of relief, another unexpected event happens. In fact, the film's intermission is a plot point that most action movies reach only during their pre-climax portion."

Rakesh Mehar from The News Minute says:

"Debutant director B Ashok Kumar tries to compensate for this with a lot of dramatic camera sweeps and heroic close-ups, accompanied by a loud soundtrack. But clearly mass effect doesnt just come from high volume. The real pity is that the starting sequence is actually quite exciting on its own, and has the seeds of a good film in it. If the Neruppuda team had stuck with an honest story about fire fighting, building from there, they might have had a cracker of a film on their hands. And Vikram does give you a sense in moments that he could handle a more genuinely heroic film like that."

Ashameera Aiyappan from The Indian Express opines:

"Neruppuda is an overstretched, hero-glorifying film that barely does anything else. The few minor decoys fail to save the lacklustre screenplay. This could have been a kidnapping gone wrong story, or the story of betrayal. But rather the story just moves hither-thither in an attempt to keep the suspense element. Not much is convincing, even the stunts. The story goes on a completely different tangent just before the climax, another huge letdown and also probably loudest letdown."

Udhav Naig from The Hindu writes:

"The writer employs conventional writing techniques from time to time to make things tick: when the audience thinks that Guru and his friends are finished, they are not. When the audience thinks that Guru is off the hook, he gets into a bigger problem. Unfortunately, these techniques only provide a cosmetic makeover to a script that is bereft of originality. Things do get interesting after the film re-establishes itself late into the second half as an actual whodunit. But the big reveal feels contrived much like the film itself."
A day before Suicide Prevention Week, a young musician reportedly jumped to his death in Mumbai. The incident took place in Bandra on Saturday, 9 September.

Karan Thomas Joseph, also known as 'Madfingers', was a pianist. A Bengaluru resident, the 29-year-old artiste had moved to Mumbai recently, to further his career in the music industry.

In Mumbai, he was staying at the home of a friend, at a high-rise called Concorde, in the suburb of Bandra.

On Saturday morning, at around 8.45 am, Thomas suddenly rushed to the window and leapt to his death from the 12th floor flat. His friends, who were in the apartment at the time, rushed Thomas to the nearby Bhabha Hospital, where doctors declared him dead on arrival.

An accidental death report was filed with the Bandra Police.

It is not known at present if Thomas left behind a note. An India Today report has stated that he had been battling depression for a while.

Thomas didn't seem to have an active social media presence, although his Facebook page included posters of his gigs. He has also uploaded videos of impromptu gigs with Gino Banks and Pink actress Andrea Tariang.

A friend and musical collaborator, Carlton Braganza, had previously described Thomas as a "shy (person) who lived in his own bubble".

Here's a video of one of his performances:
By Sharanya Gopinathan

I wasnt expecting to enjoy the new web series What the Folks, frankly because I thought it was going to be ridiculous. A basic gender swap is such an old technique in so many shows and movies, where you take a sexist or gender situation and switch roles to show how weird sexism can be, and very few of them do it nicely. Fresh in my mind was Pehredaar Piya Ki, where Sony tried to normalise the idea of a romance between a nine-year-old prince and an 18-year-old woman.

The thing with most of these gender swap shows is that theyre either deliberately, irreconcilably bizarre, like the swiftly-cancelled Pehredaar or they force situations where one gender is masquerading as the other, like in Kamal Haasans Avvai Shanmughi or Rani Mukherjees Dil Bole Hadippa!. Even the more measured attempts at gender swap, like the 2010 viral French short film Oppressed Majority where you see a man negotiate a perfect matriarchy (which simply looks like the patriarchy, but exactly in reverse), fail to address realistic complexities when they simply shove men and women into each others roles. The film annoyingly imagined that men and women are exactly the same except for where they stand in the power hierarchy, and automatically glosses over the nuances of how the experience of gender and oppression plays out. It imagines that a matriarchy would look just like a patriarchy, and that men and women have the same emotional processes. Like when the series Mans World imagined that a misogynist having a menstrual period in a cosmic mix-up made any kind of point at all.

Enter, What the Folks. Its a five-part web series about a guy named Nikhil (played by Dice Media regular Veer Rajwant Singh) who has to stay with his wife Anitas (played by Eisha Chopra) parents for a while because of work. The couple have been married for some time, and while Anita remains in Delhi, Nikhil has moved in with Anitas parents, and younger sister Akshata in Mumbai. Straight off, it sets up all the elements of the conventional family drama: The saas-bahu serial in reverse. But instead of throwing Nikhil into ridiculous gendered situations, or pretending that damaads are treated like bahus, it just gives you a realistic, uncomfortable situation that unfolds in its own particular way with its own particular processes. Like when Nikhil totals his father-in-laws car and has to deal with his father-in-laws unique mix of rage, respect for his son-in-law and pride. This is not some easy switched-gender scenario.

As different as it is though, a warning here. What the Folks is enjoyable while it lasts but ephemeral  you could be forgiven for wondering, at the end of 24 minutes, why you dont really remember the details of exactly what happened in the episode you just watched and yet, you know that the last half hour of your life was an enjoyable one.

But by allowing the situation to unfold naturally with no studied commitment to a noble message or secret insecurity it tries to cover up with humour like Govinda in Aunty No. 1, What the Folks actually inadvertently manages to provide some realistic solutions to the problems saas-bahu serials seem to throw up.

Do you know how serials (and men) make it seem like being caught between your maa and biwi is an endlessly fascinating and unsolvable problem? Anita solves it in a second. At the beginning of episode 4, Anita finds out that her parents lied at the previous nights party about Nikhils age, because they are embarrassed that their daughter is older than her husband. Anita takes the time to Skype her parents from work to scream at them for doing something like that and making him feel bad (he doesnt really), and to grill them on why they still dont fully accept Nikhil, forcing them to admit that they do.

That scene amazed me a little for two reasons. When youve been so thoroughly tricked by all the media youve encountered since childhood into thinking that men are really hopelessly stuck between their wives and mothers, you feel a cloud lift when you see Anita snap at her parents. You feel like youve woken up from a trance, and the words of course hiss gently in your brain. There is no problem or quandary, this isnt a quagmire from which there is no escape. Its really just that easy. It reminds you of what the spoof video of the encounter between that dude interrupted spectacularly by his barging-in-the-room toddlers while he was giving an interview to the BBC would've looked like had it been a woman speaking: She carries on the interview, soothes the babies and roasts a chicken effortlessly. When you watch What the Folks, you keep getting the feeling that sometimes, you just need a woman to show them how its done. Dont be a chicken and talk to all parties involved since you are what they have in common.

The show is all about Nikhil, who is genuinely quite likeable while taking up all the screen time. But you feel like Anitas the real takeaway here, despite mostly featuring on Skype and phone calls from an office. Shes firmly on the side of right, vigilant against attack from her parents, shes sympathetic to her husbands (temporary) plight but also hangs up on her husband when he gets too whiny. In negotiating a fairly uncomfortable situation from afar, Anita shows you the variety of ways in which that situation can be handled. So fictional or real-life men who find yourselves in saas-bahu-serial situations, weep no more. Anita has a blueprint.

The Ladies Finger (TLF) is a leading online womens magazine
Patna: Four labourers died on Saturday after they were exposed to poisonous gas inside a septic tank in Bihar's Siwan district, police said.

"Four labourers died in the newly-built septic tank in an under construction building in Nai Basti under Mahadeva police outpost in Siwan," a police official said.

Police said that the labourers died due to suffocation after they climbed into the septic tank to remove construction material.

According to police officials, the labourers were later pulled out of the septic tank and taken to a local hospital where they were declared dead.

Siwan District Magistrate Mahender Kumar said prime facie, it is suspected that they died of suffocation inside the septic tank.

"The district administration will provide a compensation to victims' family under disaster management," he added.

A case has been registered in connection with the incident.
Hyderabad: A case has been registered against hair stylist Jawed Habib following a complaint accusing him of "insulting and demeaning" Hindu Gods in a newspaper advertisement for his salon.

Based on the complaint of K Karuna Sagar, a practising advocate, the Saidabad police station registered the case under IPC section 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs), a senior police official told PTI.

Asked if a notice will be issued against Habib for questioning, he said, "We will take legal opinion and proceed accordingly." When told that the hair stylist had apologised over the matter, the official said,

"We will look into that." The advocate, in his complaint with the Saidabad police, earlier stated that while browsing through a social media service, he came across a photo of an advertisement "issued" by Jawed Habib in a newspaper, allegedly depicting Hindu Gods and Goddesses in a "derogatory and insulting" way.

He said the ad, which carried the caption 'Gods too visit JH Salon', "insulted his religious sentiments."

Sagar sought action against Habib in the complaint.

However, Habib, through a video message posted on his twitter handle, offered an apology over the issue. "One of our partners released the advertisement without our permission in Kolkata. Our system is through franchise.I have been working for 25 years. My only religion is scissors. Sentiments have been hurt.I apologise."

A letter was also posted on the social media handle, in the name of Jawed Habib Hair & Beauty Limited, which read:"We never ever intended to hurt the sentiments of any community. It was done without our knowledge of the company by some local people in West Bengal. We undertake to remove all such

advertisement material from the media."

"If our ad campaign had inadvertently hurt anyone's sentiments we apologise for that to the public at large," the letter said.

Besides Sagar, a student of the University of Hyderabad had also lodged a complaint against Habib with the Gachibowli police over the same issue. He too accused the hair stylist of hurting his religious sentiments. Gachibowli police station inspector S Chandrakanth earlier said that following the complaint they made a General Diary (GD) entry and were seeking legal opinion
Patna: Union minority affairs minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said in Patna on Saturday that it would be difficult for the government to offer any relaxation to Rohingya Muslims, who have fled Myanmar.

The matter is pending before the Supreme Court and the government is also looking into it, Naqvi said at the 'Parliamentarian Conclave' in Patna.

"But I do not think we will be able to give any relaxation to them (Rohingya Muslims) when their nation has refused to keep them," he said.

The Supreme Court had on 4 September sought the view of the government on a petition challenging its decision to deport illegal Rohingya Muslim immigrants back to Myanmar. The matter has been posted for 11 September.

Union minister Kiren Rijiju had on Tuesday said the Rohingya people are illegal immigrants and stand to be deported.

Violent attacks allegedly by Myanmarese armymen have led to an exodus of Rohingya tribals from the western Rakhine state in that country to India and Bangladesh.

Many of them, who had fled to India after a spate of violence earlier, have settled in Jammu, Hyderabad, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi-NCR and Rajasthan.
I keep six honest serving men. (They taught me all I know)

Their names are What and Why and When and Where and Who and How

- Rudyard Kipling

Ever since May 2014, stories have been manufactured, recreated, and redeveloped all to suit a narrative, in total disregard of any journalistic ethic. Be it church vandalism, lynchings, cow vigilantism, baby deaths, train mishaps and now the killing of journalist Gauri Lankesh. Everything plays out not as a news story that should be reported with the facts but as an orchestrated attempt to somehow link the ruling party at the Centre and specifically the prime minister and those close to him, to the story.

Twenty years ago, with editors controlling the print and TV media, this might have succeeded. Today, with social media being a potent and completely uncontrolled force, these attempts are exposed and draw instant ridicule.

Take the latest example. Gauri Lankesh, editor of Lankesh Patrike, a Kannada weekly was shot dead late in the evening on Tuesday, 5 September, outside her home in Bengaluru by unidentified assailants. We still don't have a clue on the identity or the motive of the assailants. At least, most journalists who believe in the phrase "objective journalism" don't, although conspiracy theories abound.

However, the alacrity (give or take 30 minutes) with which certain sections of the mainstream media reacted to Lankesh's murder makes me want to ask them what happened to the 5Ws and H, which they learnt in their journalism course. Every young media student is taught about "WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHY and HOW" when he or she enters a media school. Yet, none of these journalists gave any of the W's a thought when they announced her death on social media.

The sensible ones stayed with the objective line that she had been murdered by unknown assailants, and mentioned her ideological differences with the BJP, stopping short of linking both to the murder. The others, however, smelt an "opportunity" and put the blame on "fascist forces" and the BJP. How did they come to such a conclusion? Did they have proof, evidence, eyewitness accounts? Or did they just follow the old dictum of "strike while the iron is hot" in the hope that some dirt would stick or some link would emerge? There could have been a host of suspects who might have wanted the firebrand journalist eliminated - jealous rivals, family, politicians, ideologues, - just anyone with an axe to grind. Didn't that occur to these journalists? It almost seemed like they had decided the narrative this killing would follow the minute they heard about it. So fascist terror it would be and to hell with the facts  of which there were none.

And then, on Wednesday, they discovered that the brother of the slain journalist was a big supporter of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former Karnataka chief minister BS Yeddyurappa. Worse was to follow. Gauri's sister blamed the right wing and the brother blamed the left wing. Suddenly, the plan to spin the narrative was falling apart. A curious fact was that not one journalist even made the symbolic gesture of demanding the resignation of either Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah or state home minister Ramalinga Reddy.

For a crime so heinous that they could organise nationwide candlelight protests and even blame the prime minister and the BJP for it, they didn't think it important enough to ask for the resignations of the top two in the state? Objective journalism?

Then some 48 hours later, news anchors and editors woke up to the fact that objectivity did matter. They began asking politicians why they were accusing the BJP and other related organisations of the murder, conveniently forgetting that they were doing just that two days earlier. Someone told me on Twitter on Friday, that I was ignoring the "circumstantial evidence." Where was it? Has the police found any even now?

We were always told by our seniors that there are two sides to a story, but it is unfortunate that in these past few years, there has been a deliberate attempt to build a one-sided narrative around every news story, almost like it is pre-planned. And even though an alert social media has uncovered these attempts, it hasn't made the mainstream media any wiser. They continue to shoot themselves in the foot. I won't even go too far back. Like the incidents of the stones being pelted at churches which turned out to be the handiwork of miscreants. If we were to believe the media, cow vigilantes on the prowl were lynching Muslims in trains and on roads, and anyone who ate or dealt with beef. There have been so many such stories which as journalists we can smell a mile away.

Now let's come to the deaths of children in Gorakhpur. Did you know that in the past four decades, 25,000 children have lost their lives to encephalitis in Uttar Pradesh? This sordid fact was brought to light in great detail only after August, 2017 after the deaths at BRD Medical College in Gorakhpur. Some 274 children died in January and February 2017, before Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took over from Akhilesh Yadav, but did you hear about them?

Before August, even more babies had been dying at this hospital (see graphic) yet no journalist reported it. This is not a case of whataboutery. It concerns objective journalism.

For five years, everything wrong that could be covered up by the media was, because it didn't suit the narrative. From March 19, 2017, like a rash, reports of dead babies kept popping up. Didn't the journalists, who suddenly discovered this morbid detail, know this had been occurring with monotonous regularity earlier? You can spin these fairy tales to the gullible and unsuspecting readers but not to journalists who have been around long enough to know the difference between an 'exclusive' and a press release converted into a byline story.

If media houses were that interested in doing stories about infant deaths in hospitals, they should have asked their correspondents around the country to send them stories about such incidents from their centres and do a package. It would have made one helluva story. I don't need to ask 'did they?' because I am pretty sure what the answer is. They can keep up the pretence for as long as they want but to anyone with two eyes, two ears and a nose, the motive of the media was suspect.

Incidents of such deaths were emerging in other states, including Karnataka but the media wasn't interested. It became more obvious that this was a hit job on Yogi Adityanath and the man who put him there. What happened to objectivity, people? If you were to believe the mainstream media, it was only after 19 March this year that India's largest and most populous state had become a living hell. This should be an eye-opener for those who thought Uttar Pradesh stood for Utopia Pradesh.

Now, to this obsession with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. On 7 September, 2013, I wrote a blog where I had said that the manner in which everyone from media to politicians had been hounding Narendra Modi, they were making a huge mistake. It reminded me of 1977 when the Janata Party set up the various Commissions to inquire into the excesses committed by former prime minister Indira Gandhi, her son Sanjay and their cohorts during the Emergency.

The wily Indira Gandhi, ever the astute politician, played the victim so convincingly that midway through the proceedings the tables had turned. By the time the Shah Commission ended its hearings she had everyone, including the media (with a few exceptions), eating out of her hand.

In the run up to the May 2014 elections, the UPA and every other party raised the 2002 bogey. And every time they did that, Modi talked development, jobs and a better life for the poor. He played the victim card to perfection. He did not talk about the Ram Mandir, Hindutva or the riots, while the Opposition had just one theme  Modi is a murderer, fascist, Hitler etc. That backfired as the results proved. Some journalists don't seem to have learnt from that experience. Or can't, or don't want to, so deep is their hatred for the man. There is a fear that he may return in 2019, and then there is no saying how long the BJP will rule this country. Who is to blame for this state of affairs?

The public still believes that the fourth estate is someone it can trust but there are those who are playing with that trust. Frankly, some of the journalists set a pathetic example for their juniors and those who look up to them  and there are many, like me, who still do. Every day, in my classes I teach students how to be good journalists, but now I am not so sure if I can. Can these journalists see that in their unhealthy obsession to end the political career of one man and those around him, they are destroying their own credibility and reputation? The way things are right now, that man is winning the argument.

Mohan Sinha is a retired journalist with 31 years of media experience. He is currently an independent media consultant and teaches journalism at media schools.
Gauri Lankesh was killed because she opposed the right-wing ideology. Its as simple as that. She was a hardcore opponent of the Hindutva narrative and paid for it with her life, much like MM Kalburgi, who was killed two years ago because of his beliefs, which were antithetical to the right-wing ideology.

Killed for thinking differently

But this sort of thing  killing voices that disagree with your opinion  is not new. It has however, become a lot worse ever since Narendra Modi came to power at the Centre in 2014. Now, over three years later, most of India is ruled by the BJP and a number of products of the RSS factory.

At the same time, in Kerala, the Communists kill RSS members because they oppose the Left ideology. This is also to be condemned in the strongest voice. The difference is that those Communists dont go out and celebrate having killed people and say that theyll do it again. Compare that with the gau rakshaks who actually express pride over lynching people and state that they will do it again.

Its important to be clear. This isnt an issue of Freedom of the Press or Freedom of Expression. Its that some people simply dont want to hear different viewpoints. Instead of silencing voices of disagreement, why dont these people come, talk to them and maybe even convince them to see their point-of-view?

But they would rather kill people. They dont even bother listening to others.

The need for dialogue

While the people on the Left are open to dialogue, the RSS or right-wing guys dont even want to enter into dialogue. Never mind giving a person a chance to consider his/her opinions. Its not because they dont have intelligent people who can discuss the Right ideology articulately. There are people like Vamanacharya and Dattatreya Hosabale who are more than capable of expressing their point very well. They should come forward and participate in dialogue.

I have long been asking stakeholders from all sides (Left, Right and in-between) to come together and discuss, debate and argue their views. But there are simply no takers from the Right.

The reason this group of people who use bullets rather than words do so is because they are not sure of their own ideology. If they were secure about their beliefs and ideas, they would have come out and spoken about them.

Threats against journalists

Certainly, they have tried to intimidate me on a few occasions. Ever since Ive been running my online video channel, theyve indirectly tried to let me know that they were watching what I have to say and so on.

The fact is, and without being immodest, Im quite a hard target. Some of these men are have been indulging in violence over a few years. Ive been familiar with violence for the past few decades. So they know better than to try and come after me.

What they do instead is go after soft targets like Gauri and Kalburgi. They target people who wont retaliate. Is this the sort of Hindutva we have to accept?

The journalistic community

By and large, the response of the journalistic community has been to come together after Gauris murder. Especially in Karnataka, journalists from all sorts of ideological backgrounds, whether Left or Right, are speaking in one voice. And they have condemned the horrible act together.

That said, there are some who masquerade as journalists on television, but are a disgrace to the profession. The journalistic community should kick them out. And one of these so-called journalists is actually very intelligent; so why does he have to resort to all this?

What the future holds

Despite how grim things look now, I dont think such ideology-based murders will become more common in the years to come. Gauris was the first such killing in two years, but its still one killing too many.

The people responsible for this murder and that of Kalburgi must find new ways to deal with people who disagree with them. Argue with them, talk to them; they are not children, after all. Tell them where they are wrong and convince them. But doing so with bullets is not the way to make a point.

The author is a gangster-turned-writer and journalist from Bengaluru

As told to Karan Pradhan
Far beyond the rigorous travails of a forensic examination of the crime scene and laborious task of searching and knitting down every single lead to punish the perpetrators, the murder of journalist and activist Gauri Lankesh in Bengaluru is now a complex battle on many fronts  social, ideological and political.

While the social media outrage over Gauri's brutal killing triggered a war of ideologies  on the social and political fronts  the incident's coverage by the media has come under attack as well. Few took on the media as well for its tendency to dish out spot justice based on half-baked information and for bludgeoning the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in the process, even before the motive of the murder has been established.

There are several things at play here. Gauri's body of work which compels one to ask the question what kind of enemies she must have made while dissenting against powerful organisations; her strained relationship with her brother Indrajit who did not see eye-to-eye with his sister on core issues; alleged involvement of right-wing elements; Karnataka Assembly Election due next year and what prevents Chief Minister Siddaramaiah from handing over the probe to the CBI and finally the atmosphere of violence and fear that is fermenting in the state.

The crime and politics of it all

Gauri was shot dead outside her Bengaluru home in Rajarajeshwari Nagar at 8 pm on 5 September by three assailants when she was entering her home.

"A total of seven bullets were fired out of which four missed the target and hit the wall of the house. Three bullets had hit her  two in her chest area and one in the forehead," Bengaluru Police Commissioner T Suneel Kumar said, according to IANS.

Soon after, the news of her death spread like wildfire and social media and civic society erupted in protest. Several eminent personalities and journalists questioned the murder and the deteriorating law and order in Karnataka where killing dissenters has become commonplace. Gauri was the editor of the weekly Gauri Lankesh Patrike  a magazine which has been described as an "anti-establishment" publication  and has come under attack for her views on the politics of the Sangh Parivar in Karnataka.

Gauri Lankesh was a voice that spoke for all of us. A voice that was silenced. #FreedomOfSpeech #justice #heartbreaker #gaurilankesh  Faye DSouza (@fayedsouza) September 5, 2017

Numbed by news of Gauri Lankesh's murder. She was gutsy, level-headed, defianteverything we need in a journalist in these troubled times.  Siddharth (@svaradarajan) September 5, 2017

Poisonous violence of mind being spread on social media to browbeat critics; on street, its the gun that silences dissent. #GauriLankesh  Rajdeep Sardesai (@sardesairajdeep) September 5, 2017

In November 2016, Gauri was sentenced to six months imprisonment by a magistrate's court in the north Karnataka town of Hubbali in two separate cases of criminal defamation brought by two BJP leaders against her tabloid. The court convicted Gauri in two separate judgments pronounced on 28 November, 2016 and imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 each in both cases. The judicial magistrate court, however, also granted the journalist bail to file a plea in a higher court.

Titled Darodege Illida BJP galu (BJP men involved in criminal activities), the article named three people from Hubli  Shivnath Bhat, Venkatesh Mestri and Umesh Dushi  and alleged they were involved in cheating a businessman in the city. It also imputed Dushis involvement and carried his picture. Even though several articles have slammed the speculative-style of reporting in the case  given Gauri's line of work, reports said that there's a high possibility that it could be a political assassination. However, until a logical conclusion is reached upon nothing could be said definitively.

Gauri was an outspoken critic of right-wing Hindutva politics. She was also known for her pro-poor and pro-Dalit stand and she did face political backlash for her ideologies.

According to reports, Gauri in the past worked to rehabilitate Naxals who wanted to return to the mainstream and was one among those involved in the founding of Citizens Initiative for Peace (CiP) in the state. Several of them, including former Naxal leader Sirimane Nagaraj surrendered to the state in December 2015, thanks to her tireless efforts  as did others like Rizwana Begum, Parashuram, Padmanabha, Chennamma, Shivu, Bharathi and Kanyakumari before the Chikmagalur district administration.

Family politics adds to the narrative

When Gauri's father, P Lankesh, one of the most respected journalists and an unwavering editor of Lankesh Patrike, died in 2000, Gauri and her younger brother Indrajit fought over the ownership of the Kannada weekly and the ideology it should follow.

Interestingly, their falling out involved Gauri publishing an interview with a Naxal leader. Indrajit was severely opposed to the editorial call. "The incident led to a vicious spat. Indrajit accused Gauri of turning the magazine into a Naxalite platform, while Gauri allegedly said he had threatened her by pointing a gun at her."

Gauri was seen to be left of centre - while recent speculation put him on the right. Speaking to NDTV, Indrajit said, "She was on the left and I was not on the right because I was just a journalist. My father taught me one thing in the Lankesh school of journalism that you should always be in the opposition part as a journalist."

Convinced that Gauri was killed because of her ideology, Indrajit was one of the first to call out that her sister's murder was not a random incident. Being the de facto spokesperson of the family after Gauri's death, Indrajit was convinced that Gauri was killed because of the ideas she expressed. "It might be the right wing extremists or it might be the Maoists because of the background," he told NDTV.

Gauri's sister Kavita, however, refuted Indrajit's views and said that her sister had been working with the state government for years to rehabilitate the Naxals and they were in "no way" linked to her murder. Kavita reiterated that Indrajit had no clue about Gauri's life. Gauri was living with Kavita.

India Today quoted Indrajit as saying that he had been informed that Naxalites were printing pamphlets that warned their fellow Maoists against joining the mainstream. Interestingly, in July this year, there were murmurs that Indrajit was tipped to join the BJP. The New Indian Express published a report quoting the youngest son of P Lankesh who said, "As of now I am just known to be aligned to BJPs ideology, of course, Yedurappa and Narendra Modis leadership has inspired me to join politics. It is just a thought now, and it is too early to give any kind of confirmation..."

Siddaramaiah's reluctance to hand over the case to CBI

Karnataka is gearing up for the extremely crucial Assembly elections scheduled early in 2018. The stakes are exceptionally high for Siddaramaiah. Under these circumstances, when Gauri was murdered in cold blood, Siddaramaiah took it upon himself and his government to solve the case. This was evident when during the press conference on 6 September, the chief minister, instead of handing over the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), as demanded by Gauri's family, decided to let a Special Investigation Team (SIT) led by an Inspector General-level officer to probe the crime.

He said the Karnataka government was firm on tracking down the culprits at the earliest and directed the Director General of Police to form the SIT. The chief minister added that he had an "open mind" for a probe by the CBI in the case. "But let the SIT investigate. If family members (of Gauri) are very particular, I am with an open mind," he said.

With the elections looming large, the chief minister probably did not want to hand over the reins of an important case to a central agency where neither he nor his government would have any say. And if the Karnataka Police crack the case that would be the best political capital that Siddaramaiah could earn months before Karnataka votes for its next government.

BJP's narrative did not help either The BJP and its ideologue RSS faced the maximum flak after Gauri was assassinated. Suspicions that a fringe Hindutva group was behind the murder grew stronger after reports drew parallels between Gauri's murder and previous killings of rationalists like Narendra Dabholkar, MM Kalburgi and Govind Pansare.

Karnataka home minister Ramalinga Reddy drew parallels among the killings allegedly by fringe Hindu groups. Historian Ramachandra Guha felt that Gauris murder was "part of a pattern that links the deaths of Dabholkar, Kalburgi and (Govind) Pansare".

This link was further bolstered by a senior police official who said that the modus operandi in the Gauri murder seems very close to what had been witnessed earlier. "Bullets were fired on chest and heads, and the three assailants came on a bike. It's very similar to what was witnessed in the murder of Pansare, Dabholkar, and Kalburgi," the police official said.

The official also added that like Pansare, Dabholkar, and Kalburgi, Gauri was also not very influential. "She was not someone who could bring down a government. So, why such killings continue to take place also warrants investigation," he said.

While all fingers pointed at the saffron party, only two BJP leaders went on to condemn Gauri's murder - Smriti Irani and Ravi Shankar Prasad. The top leadership of the party, which includes Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, Arun Jaitley and Rajnath Singh, did not say a word after the murder. Rather the prime minister got embroiled in an ugly social media trend called #BlockNarendraModi.

The hashtag started trending as an outrage against the prime minister and snowballed into a Twitter war as anger over Modi following abusive online trolls on Twitter spilled out on social media and the hashtag #BlockNarendraModi in no time became one of the top trends on the microblogging site. The hashtag was inspired by one Nikhil Dadhich, a pro-right-wing troll, who gushed about the fact that the prime minister followed his Twitter account. Dadhich, in fact, mentioned that in his Twitter profile. Almost 48 hours later, Modi still follows those handles.

Sure, the prime minister following someone on Twitter is not a character certificate, as BJP said, however, the restraint he showed was not enough. And even though not directly related, extreme fringe groups and Hindutva supporters back the BJP and vote for them. "The degree of separation between mainstream and fringe is not significant intrinsically but only functionally. At times even the fringe appears mainstream and vice versa."

Konkan, southern Maharashtra and the recent spate of violence

It is unfair to see Gauri's murder through the myopic glasses of state politics, one must look at the Konkan coast leading all the way up to southern Maharashtra. The Konkan coast is intricately connected with fringe Hindu groups like Sri Ram Sene (accused of delivering kangaroo court-like judgments), Sanatan Sanstha (accused of murdering Dabholkar) and Hindu Jagaran Vedike.

RSS functionary Prabhakar Bhat Kalladka was recently elevated from a behind-the-scenes strongman to the forefront to win the Dakshin Kannada region for BJP. According to this report, it's under him that the fringe groups have become stronger.

According to The Wire, the Sanstha began work in the 1990s mainly in the region bordering Maharashtra and Goa and hence, it now has a good network of followers in Konkan and Goa besides parts of south Maharashtra.

As followers increased, the Sanstha began organising weekly satsangs in temples or conducting moral science classes in schools. It presents itself as a spiritual organisation that works for social uplift and national security, and to rekindle dharma.

Speculations take centre-stage

Thanks to the proliferating regional channels in Karnataka, speculations are fed with enough information  both correct and half-baked. With the state poll not too far away, it is only too obvious that political entities would mould the incident as it suits them from this heap of mostly unverified information to reap the maximum mileage out of it. Justice for Gauri is going to a long-haul battle through this myriad of complexities and one can only hope that it is not denied.
Gorakhpur: The Uttar Pradesh police has nabbed a clerk of the BRD Medical College in connection with the death of dozens of children at the state-run hospital last month, the fourth arrest in the case.

Sudhir Pandey was named in the FIR filed in the case and was arrested from near Khajanchi Chowk under the Shahpur police station area on Friday night on a tip-off, Superintendent of Police Anirudh Siddharth Pankaj said.

Pandey is the fourth accused, nine have been named in the FIR, to be arrested in connection with the case, the SSP said.

Investigating Officer Abhishek Singh said Pandey was produced in a court on Saturday which sent him in 14-day judicial custody.

He said a manhunt is on to arrest the other accused.

Earlier, the police had arrested the then principal of the college Rajiv Mishra, his medico-wife Purnima Shukla, and Dr Kafeel Khan, the then nodal officer of the 100-bed Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) ward of the college.

Following the deaths, mostly of infants, cases were registered under various sections of the IPC, Prevention of Corruption Act and the Indian Medical Council Act against nine people, including the doctor couple, Dr Khan, anaesthetist Dr Satish, pharmacist Gajanan Jaiswal, clerk Sudhir Pandey, assistant clerk Sanjay Kumar Tripathi and gas suppliers Uday Pratap Singh and Manish Bhandari.

Mishra was suspended as principal of the medical college on 12 August after the deaths were reported. He resigned the same day taking moral responsibility.

There were allegations that the deaths happened due to disruption in oxygen supply as the vendor had not been paid for several months.

While the Uttar Pradesh government vehemently denied that shortage of oxygen led to the deaths, a high-power probe committee headed by Chief Secretary Rajive Kumar indicted Mishra and others of laxity and other charges.

The medical college attracted global attention when more than 60 children died at the hospital within a span of a week last month.
Gandhinagar: The BJP on Saturday said it has received an overwhelming response from young supporters to party president Amit Shah's programme in Gujarat on Sunday where he will reply to their questions via video conference.

The event, 'Adhikham Gujarat' (resolute Gujarat), will see more than 1.5 lakh youth in the age group of 16 to 35 years join Shah live through video conferencing across over 250 centres in the state, BJP state president Jitu Vaghani said.

Union and Gujarat ministers would also be present at some of the centres, he said.

Union Minister of Rural Development, Panchayati Raj and Mines, Narendra Singh Tomar is expected to be present in Vadodara, Minister of State in PMO Jitendra Singh at Himmatnagar in Sabarkantha district, and Union Minister of State for Home Hansraj Ahir at Gandhidham in Kutch, Vaghani told reporters.

Member of Parliament Anurag Thakur will also join them in Rajkot, he said.

The party has received over three lakh questions for Shah through social media platforms, most of which are related to issues like the place of youth in politics, job scenario, health situation in the state, floods, GST, demonetisation, agriculture, education and road infrastructure, among others, he said.

The event aims at mobilising the ruling party's young support base as a part of its campaign for state Assembly elections due later this year, he said.

Shah will reply directly to questions put to him by youth joining him from 250 centres across the state through video conferencing while seated at Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Auditorium in Ahmedabad, he said.

We have received an "overwhelming" response from youth for the event on social media platforms. More than 1.5 lakh youth are expected to participate," Vaghani said.
New Delhi: Following the outrage over the death of a seven-year-old boy at a private school at Gurugram on Saturday, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Saturday ordered a review and strengthening of security arrangements in schools across the state.

"Additional chief secretary (ACS, education) has been asked to review the arrangements, including security, installation of CCTVs and facilities being provided in all the schools to prevent recurrence of such incidents," he said.

The Haryana chief minister, who was in New Delhi on Saturday, was asked to comment on the demand for a CBI probe in to the case by the victim's family.

"If all the facts of the case come to the fore then there is no need for any further investigation. But if we find facts are being concealed or we find something big may come out of this case, then we are ready for any kind of probe," he said.

Asked about alleged negligence on the part of the school, Khattar said the district education officer (DEO) had been asked to file a report as soon as possible.

If any lapses were found on the security front by the school, strict action will be taken, strict action will be taken, he assured.

The acting principal of the school has been suspended by its management, he said.

Terming the incident as "heinous and unfortunate", he said that those guilty will not be spared.

The concerned authorities were asked to complete formalities in connection and file a challan within seven days, he said.

"We will appeal to the court to give harsh punishment to the accused as early as possible," he said.

Patting the district administration for "acting swiftly" in this case, he said that the school bus conductor had been arrested.

"Preliminary investigations reveal that the bus conductor was involved in the crime," he said. He said that if lapses were found on the part of the security agency hired by the school action will be taken.

He expressed sympathies towards the family of the child.

The acting principal of Ryan International School was earlier suspended and all the security staff were removed, a day after a seven-year-old boy was found dead with his throat slit inside a washroom.

The boy, a Class II student, was allegedly killed by a bus conductor, Ashok Kumar, who allegedly tried to sexually abuse the minor.

Haryana PWD minister Rao Narbir Singh visited the family of the deceased in Bhondsi.

Meanwhile, a Gurugram court on Saturday sent the accused Kumar to three-day police remand.

Haryana education minister Ram Ram Bilas Sharma said that careless educational institutes would not be spared and stern action would be taken.

Sharma said he would visit Gurugram to console the parents of deceased on 10 September and would also meet senior officers.

He said that school managements should look at the behaviour of the drivers and conductors and ensure that the transport facility is safe.
It is always problematic to base foreign policy and homeland security on social justice, ethics and morality. In an ideal world, Pakistan would have stopped sponsoring cross-border terror, dismantled all jihadi infrastructure and handed over the bad guys to us. Imagine the number of lives that may still be saved, or the goodwill it would generate between New Delhi and Islamabad if Masood Azhar, Hafiz Saeed or Dawood Ibrahim (just to name a few) were deported to India. We could put the animus behind us, live in peace and rewrite history.

It would have been great had China stopped the tendency to salami-slice its way into sovereign spaces to satiate territorial hunger, not to speak of abandoning its habit of bullying neighbours. And nothing would please the world more to see Xi Jinping implement strictly the sanctions against North Korea and bring Kim Jong-un to the dialogue table.

Unfortunately, none of these are likely to happen. We live in a world where nation-states decide their policies based on narrow narcissism. Woolly-headed idealism cannot guide geopolitical moves and strategic interests. India's position on the Rohingya Muslims  as revealed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Myanmar, refusal to back the Bali Declaration at the World Parliamentary Forum or attempt to deport refugees from Indian soil  is based on a rational assessment of realpolitik and security interests.

The Rohingya issue has many dimensions  legal, cultural, ethnic, territorial, religious, democratic, terroristic, humanitarian. It is easy to apply reductionist logic and whittle down the crisis into any one of these dimensions. But in formulating policies, national interest must override all other considerations. This isn't an immoral position to take. As the prime minister, it is Modi's moral and primary responsibility to ensure the well-being and safety of Indian citizens who have voted him to power. Any other considerations must follow after.

In this context, the Indian Parliamentary delegation's decision to object to the reference to Myanmar's human rights violations in the Bali statement is commensurate with its policy. It was a political move anyway on Turkey's part to introduce a comment on the "ongoing violence" in Myanmar's Rakhine state at a forum to reach a global consensus on "sustainable development goals". India may have appeared isolated at the forum, but that is not necessarily a bad thing.

By showing solidarity with the Myanmar government, India has chosen the best among a basket case of difficult diplomatic options. It follows from Modi's recent visit to Naypyidaw and places India on the cusp of a much-needed policy reversal. At a time when Aung San Suu Kyi is under tremendous pressure from the West, India's backing will be well appreciated. How does this help India in the long run? The implications are several.

The immediate one was witnessed in the way Myanmar lent total support to India's fight against terror and also reinforced India's territorial sovereignty. In the joint statement after Modi's bilateral with Suu Kyi, Myanmar "reaffirmed its respect of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India and steadfastly upheld the policy of not allowing any insurgent group to utilise Myanmars soil to undertake hostile acts against the Indian Government. Myanmar also appreciated Government of India for upholding the same principle."

The importance of this declaration from a country which shares a 1,600-km border with India's landlocked northeastern states and is the recipient of massive capacity and policy investments from China can hardly be overstated. Even more so coming right after Doka La. India has, at various times, sought Myanmar's help in flushing out terrorists who operate in the restive border areas.

As Kanti Bajpai writes in The Times of India, "Indian criticism of Myanmar could cause it to become unhelpful on dealing with Indian insurgents sheltering in its territory. In 2015, Indian troops went into Myanmar to flush out a group of insurgents who had ambushed an Indian patrol. The operation had the tacit cooperation of Naypyidaw. Criticising Myanmar for its handling of the Rohingya could badly damage Indian border management efforts in the northeast."

In terms of capacity-building, India needs to play catch-up with China which has turned Myanmar into almost its client state. This holds grave security problems for India and threatens to reverse its maritime advantages in Indian Ocean Region. Modi already faces an uphill task in implementing Act East Policy after decades of insularity have made India an unreliable and even insignificant partner for ASEAN states. Making BIMSTEC work is also incumbent on good relationship with Myanmar.

To quote from Harsh V Pant's piece in The Diplomat, "As Chinas profile continues to rise in Indias vicinity, New Delhi would like to enhance Indias presence by developing infrastructure and connectivity projects in the country. India has found it difficult to counter Chinese influence in Myanmar, with China selling everything from weapons to food grains there, and projecting power in the Indian Ocean will become an even greater challenge if China increases its naval presence in Myanmar. No wonder, Myanmar is at the heart of Modi governments Act East policy with the India-Myanmar-Thailand Asian Trilateral Highway, the Kaladan multimodal project, a road-river-port cargo transport project, and of course BIMSTEC, the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation."

Not to forget that Rohingya's well-documented ties with Pro-Pakistan terrorist outfits present an enormous security challenge. For the likes of Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Muhammad, both of whom have courted members of the community, the communal violence and resultant turmoil present an opportunity to scout for 'talents' and not only muddy the waters more in Jammu and Kashmir but also introduce discord in areas that are peaceful.

Zakir Musa, who is said to be heading an Al Qaeda splinter cell in India, has reportedly threatened Centre against deporting Rohingya Muslims. A similar statement has come from LeT chief Hafiz Saeed. Rohingya insurgents are also receiving assistance from Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, according to the International Crisis Group (ICG).

"In supporting the Suu Kyi government, India has also sent a message of consistency in fight against terror. There cannot be any distinction between 'good' and 'bad' terrorism. Modi was successful in working out a deal to provide development assistance in the troubled Rakhine state. As Bajpai says, under the circumstances, this was probably the best that could have been done."
Jaipur: One person was killed when police opened fire on a mob after it went on a rampage, setting ablaze a power house and several vehicles, following an alleged assault of a couple by a constable in Ramganj area of the city, the police said on Saturday.

Curfew was imposed in four police station areas of the city to bring the situation under control, a senior police official said, adding that internet services were also suspended and schools in the curfew-laden areas have been closed.

"A petty dispute between a police constable and a motorcycle-borne couple late on Friday night led to clashes between the locals and the police, following which the curfew was imposed around 1 am in Ramganj area, where the violence broke out," Jaipur police commissioner Sanjay Agarwal said.

It is alleged that the constable had assaulted the couple over some issue, following which a mob of locals gathered around the Ramganj police station and indulged in arson, setting ablaze five vehicles, including an ambulance and a police jeep, and damaged 21 others, he said.

Police fired tear gas shells and rubber bullets to disperse the mob.

When the situation went out of control, police opened fire on the agitators in which one person, identified as Mohammed Raees, was killed, Agarwal said.

The Delhi-Agra route through Jaipur has also been diverted.

Security forces, including Rajasthan Armed Constabulary (RAC) and home guard jawans, have been deployed in the violence-hit areas, the commissioner said.
Jaipur: The situation in four police station areas of Jaipur, where curfew was imposed after violence erupted late in the night, has been brought under control, a police officer said on Saturday.

"No untoward incident has been reported from the areas where curfew was clamped on Friday night," the officer told IANS.

Earlier, Jaipur Police Commissioner Sanjay Agarwal said curfew was "imposed till further orders in Manak Chowk, Subhash Chowk, Galta Gate and Ramganj following the violence in which a police station was attacked and vehicles burnt".

One person was killed and five policemen were injured.

According to eyewitnesses, the incident occurred when a policeman tried to stop a motorcycle for routine checking in the Ramganj area.

The rider tried to escape but the policeman managed to hit the pillion rider, who was taken to a police station.

Hundreds of people gathered at the police station after the incident. The police tried to pacify them but failed.

There were also reports of stone pelting in some areas of the city and the police, as a preventive measure, had fired in the air to control the violent mob.

Internet services were also suspended.
Militants attacked a police patrol near a bus stand at Anantnag in Jammu and Kashmir killing a policeman and injuring two other cops in the firing on Saturday evening, according to media reports.

Reinforcements have been sent to secure the area, according to CNN-News18. The area has been cordoned off and a manhunt has been launched to nab the attackers.

The policemen were on routine duties at the Anantnag bus stand when they were attacked.

"Constable Imtiyaz Ahmad was killed and two other policemen have been injured," a police official told IANS, adding that the injured policemen have been shifted to hospital and the area surrounded for searches.

The attack came as Rajnath Singh is on a four-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir. Singh met the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday in Srinagar.

The incident took place about 500 yards from the venue of Union home minister Rajnath Singh's meet scheduled for Sunday, reported ANI. The minister is scheduled to address policemen in the Anantnag Police Lines and Central Reserve Police Force troopers in Khanabal area of the district on Sunday.

Singh is visiting the state to talk to officials of state and review the security situation in the Valley. He will also travel to Anantnag, Jammu and Rajouri and meet civil society members, leaders of political and social outfits, business leaders and others, a move seen as a follow-up to the prime minister's Independence Day speech in which he had reached out to the people of the strife-hit Valley.

The home minister had earlier said that a solution to the Kashmir conflict regarding Article 35A, apart from terrorism, Naxalism and insurgency in the northeastern region, will be found before 2022, reported The Indian Express.

The attack comes just hours after a Hizbul Mujahideen militant was killed on Saturday in an encounter with security forces in Sopore township of north Kashmir's Baramulla district.

With inputs from IANS and PTI
Jammu: A civilian was injured on Saturday in heavy shelling and firing by the Pakistani Army on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district.

The incident occurred near Sagra village of Mankote area. The injured has been shifted to hospital, the police official added.

The firing exchanges started between the Indian and Pakistani Army after the latter resorted to unprovoked, indiscriminate ceasefire violation, Defence Ministry sources said.

The Pakistani Army is using mortars, automatics and small weapons to target Indian military and civilian facilities in the area, the defence sources said. "Indian positions are retaliating strongly and effectively."

Pakistan's ceasefire violation on the LoC has come on a day Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh begins his four-day visit to the state.
Kolkata: Newly appointed railway minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday said the target of removing all unmanned level crossings could be achieved within a year, instead of the initial goal of doing it in three years.

"Initially, the Railways had a target of removing all unmanned crossings in three years. But, I told them, why not do it within a year," he said at an event at IIM-Calcutta.

Goyal said around 5,000 unmanned level crossings, which account for nearly 30-35 percent of total rail accidents, need to be removed by the railways in the next one year.

He also advocated the use of technology to reduce manual maintenance of rail tracks, as it entails huge manpower.

"All you need is some infrastructure and a set of communication devices. The RailTel has already prepared the optic fibre network for improving communication," the minister said.

Goyal had chaired a high-level meeting with top Railway Board officials on train safety in New Delhi on 7 September.
Bhubaneswar: Odisha's ruling BJD on Friday hit back at Amit Shah equating him with the 'Blue Whale Challenge', a lethal online game, for "spreading hatred" across the nation, hours after the BJP chief termed Naveen Patnaik as a "defunct transformer".

BJD general secretary and former minister Arun Sahoo also appealed to the youth of Odisha to "steer clear of the line of Amit Shah as he is a political Blue Whale who misleads people.

"He (Shah) is speaking the language of demons."

On Friday, Shah had described Patnaik as a "defunct transformer" and said the people should replace the BJD government for overall development of the state.

"Narendra Modi is like a powerhouse and supplies huge funds to the state. But Naveen Babu is like a defunct transformer because of which people of the state are deprived of development," Shah told a BJP workers' meet on the third and last day of his visit to Odisha.

Accusing Shah of using the language of demons like 'Ravana' and 'Kansa', Sahoo alleged the BJP has been "spreading hatred" across the nation after coming to power in 2014.

On Shah seeking to know from the state government as to what it did with the Rs 4 lakh crore given by the Centre during the last three years, he said, "We are giving one month time to the BJP to give account of how much money the Centre has taken from Odisha and the amount of funds allocated to it."

"The rate of economic growth of Odisha is higher than the national rate of growth and also some BJP-ruled states, including Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh," said BJD spokesman Sanjay Dasburma, who was also present.

BJD Rajya Sabha MP and spokesman P K Deb said, "BJP leaders are blaming us for the Nagada malnutrition time and again whereas such incidents also happen in the states ruled by it, including Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra.

"Children died due to lack of oxygen in UP," he said referring to death of scores of children at a Gorakhpur hospital.

BJP state vice-president Prithiwiraj Harichandan countered the attack saying, "The BJD sees the lotus symbol everywhere like the demon king Kansa used to visualise Lord Krishna all the time." Calling Shah 'Blue Whale' shows BJD's lack of political courtesy, he added.
Srinagar: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who arrived in Srinagar on a four-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday said he has come with an open mind and willing to meet anyone who helps government find solutions to the problems faced by the state.

The official Twitter handle of the home minister said Singh will chair a review meeting of Prime Minister's Development Package and also meet the Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti.

"I am going there with an open mind and I am willing to meet anyone who will help us in finding solutions to problems facing J&K," Singh said in a tweet before taking off from the capital.

I am going there with an open mind and I am willing to meet anyone who will help us in finding solutions to problems facing J&K.  Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) September 9, 2017

Singh said he will be interacting with delegations of civil society in the state during his stay.

The home minister arrived at the Srinagar airport where he was received by deputy chief minister Nirmal Singh and senior officials of the state government, officials said.

During his stay in the state, the home minister is likely to meet Governor N N Vohra, besides meeting top civil administration and security officials, the officials said.

The officials said the home minister is scheduled to visit Khanabal in south Kashmir's Anantnag district where he will interact with CRPF and police officials.

South Kashmir has been on the boil over the past one and a half year and has witnessed several encounters between security forces and militants. Singh will also visit Naushera in Rajouri district and

Jammu district during the four-day visit, they added.
Srinagar: Home Minister Rajnath Singh who arrives in Srinagar on Saturday on a four-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir will meet Governor NN Vohra, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, as well as a cross-section of people including traders and students in an attempt to find a resolution to the Kashmir problem.

Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba and other senior officers of the ministry were also part of the visit. The minister will spend two days in the valley and two in the Jammu region.

Rajnath Singh will first meet the chief minister to discuss the latest law and order situation in the state.

The home minister will also address the state police personnel at the district police lines in Anantnag and troopers of the Central Reserve Police Force in Khanabal.

According to sources, the minister will review the progress of implementation of the prime minister's development package for the state.

Delegations of people from across social, political and religious sections would call on the home minister in Srinagar and Jammu, they said.

Singh has said his visit to the state was "with an open mind" and he "is ready to speak to everyone".

The governor will host a dinner for Rajnath Singh at the Raj Bhawan in Srinagar.

Singh will address the media in Srinagar on Monday before leaving for Jammu.

In Jammu, he will interact with border residents in Nowshera sector of Rajouri district.

Due to indiscriminate shelling and firing by Pakistan, the residents of border villages are often forced to migrate to safer places leaving their livestock, belongings and crops unattended.

The home minister will also address the Border Security Force troopers during his Jammu visit.
New Delhi: Bangladesh, which is facing a big influx of Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar, on Saturday explained its situation to India and the pressure it was under due to the migration.

Bangladesh High Commissioner Syed Muazzem Ali called on Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar on Saturday, during which the two sides discussed the issue of Rohingya Muslims in detail.

During the meeting, which lasted for more than half-an-hour, the Bangladesh envoy also talked about the need for the international community to intervene and put pressure on Myanmar to address the exodus, sources in Bangladesh High Commission here said.

They said the Bangladesh government was providing shelter to these refugees out of humanitarian considerations but it was putting a lot of pressure on the country.

"Thousands of Rohingya Muslims are coming to Bangladesh daily. It is creating a lot of problem for the country," an official in the Bangladesh High Commission said.

According to the United Nations, nearly 300,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled Myanmar's Rakhine state into Bangladesh since 25 August when a fresh wave of violence erupted.

According to media reports, the violence began when Rohingya militants attacked police posts in Myanmar's northern Rakhine state.

Rohingya residents  a stateless mostly Muslim minority in a Buddhist-majority nation  allege that the military and Rakhine Buddhists responded with a brutal campaign against them, according to the reports.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who concluded his three-day visit to Myanmar on Thursday, expressed solidarity with the government there against the "extremist violence" in the Rakhine state.

Modi also urged all stakeholders to find a solution that respects the country's unity.

India also refused to be a part of a declaration adopted at an international conference recently in Indonesia as it carried "inappropriate" reference to violence in Rakhine state from where Rohingyas have fled to Bangladesh.

An Indian parliamentary delegation, led by Speaker Lok Sabha Sumitra Mahajan, dissociated itself from the 'Bali Declaration' adopted at the 'World Parliamentary Forum on Sustainable Development' held in Indonesia.
New Delhi: The Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH) on Saturday condemned the acts of violence being committed against the Rohingya Muslims of Myanmar and appealed to the UN to pressurise Yangon to restore the "constitutional and citizenship rights" of the community.

"The terrible acts of violence against the Rohingyas still continue. The social media is rife with videos showing the horrible acts of crimes against them.

"More than two lakh people of that community have been displaced so far," Mohammed Salim Engineer, Secretary General, JIH, told the media.

"We appeal to the UN and all major human rights groups to pressurise the Burmese government to take steps for stopping the persecution of Rohingyas and restore their constitutional and citizenship rights," he said.

He also appealed to all those governments where the community members have taken refuge to take care of them.

On Tuesday, Union minister Kiren Rijiju said Rohingyas are illegal immigrants and stand to be deported from India.

The Minister of State for Home asserted on 5 September that nobody should preach to India on the issue as the country has absorbed the maximum number of refugees in the world.

"I want to tell the international organisations whether the Rohingyas are registered under the UN Human Rights Commission or not. They are illegal immigrants in India," Rijiju had told reporters.

The civil society organisation also condemned the murder of Kannada journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh, 55, who was gunned down by unknown assailants at her Bengaluru home on 5 September.

Calling her a strong voice against the casteist and communal forces, the Jamaat termed her murder "a chilling message to all journalists" committed to creating a "climate of fear".

"The murder is a direct assault on the freedom of expression... The cowardly attack is a threat to freedom of press and rule of law in the country... We condemn it," Engineer said.

The Jamaat welcomed the Supreme Court's directive to the states to appoint a senior police officer as nodal officer in all districts to stem the menace of cow vigilantism.

"The Jamaat hopes this will serve as a dire warning to the cow vigilantes who take the law into their hands. It will also make the states take action against the communal and bigoted who spread violence in the name of religion," said Engineer.
Gurugram: With questions raised over security lapses that led to the killing of a seven-year-old boy in a school, the Gurugram district administration on Saturday announced a committee to find out whether there were any slip-ups and promised to conclude the probe and filing of a charge sheet within seven days.

"We have set up a committee to prepare a comprehensive report about the security lapses in the school. The report will be submitted by Monday. The further course of action would be taken on the basis of the report," Gurugram deputy commissioner Vinay Pratap Singh told reporters.

He said the committee would also probe whether any such prior incident had occurred on the school campus.

Gurugram Police Commissioner Sandeep Khairwar said the investigation will be concluded within seven days and a charge sheet filed in the case.

Earlier in the day, violent protests took place outside Ryan International School over the killing of Pradhuman, a Class II student, who was found dead on Friday in the washroom with his throat slit. A school bus conductor has been arrested in the case.

Singh said the services of a private security agency hired by Ryan International School has been suspended and the district authority ordered to conduct a security audit of all schools in Gurugram.

"From the legal point of view, we will appoint a public prosecutor. We are on the job in completing documentation of scientific, forensic and technical evidence."

He said the school management has ordered the suspension of the school principal and the action has been taken.

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Saturday also announced a committee to investigate the murder. Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar termed the murder an "unfortunate incident".

"Investigation is going on and police have arrested an accused. I hope that justice will be served," the Minister said.
The murder of a seven-year-old student in Ryan International School, Gurugram, brings to limelight the reality that it is high time private school authorities are held accountable for the safety and security of the school premises. In the last two years, deaths of three students have taken place in posh schools located in Delhi - National Capital Region.

Recovery of a sharp weapon near the body of the child, who was brutally murdered on Friday, is an evidence strong enough to prove that there was serious lapses in the security system of the school.

The body of Pradyumna Thakur was found lying in a pool of blood in the washroom of the school. His throat was slit supposedly with the knife found near his body by an unidentified killer. The boy had reportedly reached the school around 8.15 am. The school authorities called his father around 8.45 am informed him about the death.

On 20 January, 2016, a six-year-old student, Devansh Kakrora, died after he allegedly fell into a water tank in the Vasant Kunj branch of Ryan International School. Though the Delhi police had recorded the death under section 304(a) of the Indian Penal Code, dubbing it a death by negligence, his parents alleged that it was a pre-meditated murder. His father RH Meena is still fighting a case in the Delhi High Court, demanding a CBI probe into his son's death.

Aditya Agarwal, advocate of the case told Firstpost that there are many evidences from which it can be inferred that Devansh's murder was pre-meditated. "The body was recovered from the water tank, which was covered by a very heavy slab. It is beyond the capacity of a seven year old child to lift the slab and get into the tank. Someone else must have lifted the slab," he said. He added that to go to the water tank, the child also had to open a gate which is always locked. He alleged that someone must have unlocked it for him.

Contrary to Devansh's father's claims, the Delhi Police maintains that it was an accident.

The Daily Mail report said that during the investigation, children's belongings like pens, balls and spectacles were recovered from the tank. This, according to the investigators, suggests that the school administration acted in a negligent manner and risked the safety of children.

"When we inspected the water tank, two spectacles, balls, pens and pencils were found. It clearly shows that students had access to the tank. The possible danger was known to the school authorities, but no preventive steps were taken. The articles found in the tank had gathered algae. This again reveals that these were dropped in the tank long ago," the report quoted a police official as saying.

Whatever be the cause behind Devansh's death, negligence on the part of the school authorities was definitely one of the causal grounds. However, rather than accepting the lapses in the school security system, the authorities opted to absolve themselves from responsibility and it was appalling. The school authorities blamed the child for the death, Devansh's parents complained.

"I asked the principal if she knew my child. She said she didn't. I asked her how could she claim that he was hyperactive? She told me that's what the class teacher had said. Look at all this This isn't the work of a special child. My child was bright. They can't just say anything to shift the blame," Devanshs father RH Meena reportedly told Delhi's education minister Manish Sisodia, according to The Indian Express. Anita Rampal, an educationist, condemned the school authorities for this act.

"It is inhuman to blame the dead child for the death. We were shocked to here that comment . The school should take responsibility and take a nurturing nature," she added. No wonder that the school authority's response to Devansh's death was enough to prove its lack of concern for students' security.

The same negligence was evident in the Gurugram branch of the same school, where the murder took place on Friday.

In this case, the question which intriguing investigating authorities is how the knife, with which the child was murdered, entered the school premises. "It is a knife used to cut vegetables. But how did it come to the school premises is certainly a subject of enquiry," a police source told reporters.

The concern with the security of the school has all along been an issue among the parents. In the meetings held earlier, school authorities and parents raised three important issues related to security measures in the school.

"The school was alerted to check whether the close circuit cameras installed in the premises were functioning. The school was also asked to check how some people from nearby villages could easily enter the school premises. Further, a student was found with a pistol earlier in the school premises. Parents had asked the school authorities to maintain vigilance," reported CNN-News 18.

Friday's murder is proof that proper security measure were still missing in the school.

"The so-called prestigious schools in Delhi NCR charge Rs. 4,000 to Rs. 10,000 a month as fees per student. Parents pay this money with a hope that expensive education would bring about better future for students. However, it is painful to see some of them carrying home the dead bodies of their children," Ashok Agarwal, President of All India Parents Association, told Firstpost.

It is important to note here that Pradyumna's death is the third such case in a posh school in Delhi. Last month, a 10-year-old boy, Arman Sehgal, allegedly died after "falling down" at GD Goenka Public School in Indirapuram.

There are serious allegations of some school authorities using their influence to cover up their lapses. Referring to Devansh's death, Ashok Agarwal said, "the Delhi Police is under the influence of the school authority and that is why it did not record the death as a murder."

It was striking enough to see that the police enquiry and the magisterial enquiry of Devansh's death came out with completely different findings. "The magisterial probe into Devansh's death indicates a "heinous crime" and the investigations so far have "ignored" the observations of the child's parents," Delhi government said, according to an The Indian Express report.

The newspaper further quoted Sisodia as saying, "The observation of the parents that the private parts of the child had cotton on them is being ignored. The report is indicating towards a heinous crime."

In contrast to the magisterial report, the police termed it a death by negligence.

Ashok Agarwal also alleged that there was no follow-up action on the school by the state government on the basis of the magisterial report. "The Delhi government failed in fulfilling its responsibility. Whether the Haryana government, under whose jurisdication the Gurugram branch of the Ryan International Public School where the murder took place on Friday falls, take stringent action against the school for its negligence still remains a question," he added.

Ashok Agarwal further said that whoever be the murderer or whatever be his motive, it is the responsibility of the schools to provide security to the students from such criminals. The government should make them accountable for the security in the schools.
New Delhi: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Saturday said it has formed a committee to investigate the brutal murder of a seven-year-old student in Ryan International School in Gurugram.

Union Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar called it an "unfortunate incident".

Pradhuman, a Class II student, was found dead on Friday by a school staffer in the washroom with his throat slit. A knife, presumably the murder weapon, was found near the body.

"We have formed a committee to investigate the incident," a CBSE official said.

The official said more details would be provided later. He added the school would submit its reply on the incident to the board by Saturday evening.

"The brutal murder of a seven-year-old student is an unfortunate incident," Javadekar said, adding it is like a warning to people and schools.

He told reporters that such incidents have raised alarms for parents and school management over the safety of children.

"Investigation is going on and police have arrested an accused. I hope that justice will be served," the minister said.

He also said that it is a matter of concern for every school.

Follow the LIVE updates on this story here.
The Supreme Court will hear advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for two Rohingya immigrants, for the second time on 11 September. The hearing is with respect to a petition challenging the deportation of Rohingyas from India.

The challenge comes in the form of two primary legal arguments. First, on constitutional grounds and second, on the grounds of violation of non-refoulement, the customary international law principle.

The petition alleges that deporting Rohingyas would amount to violation of their rights under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India. There are certain rights under the Constitution which are available to every person irrespective of whether the person is a citizen of India or not. Under Article 14, which provides 'Right to Equality', the apex court has held that any arbitrary action on part of the government will be liable to be struck down.

In the instant matter, the Rohingyas are illegal migrants in the country and the decision to deport them cannot be held as an arbitrary action. It is pertinent to note that Article 14 doesn't prohibit differentiation, it prohibits discrimination. The executive is well within its right to differentiate between citizens and illegal immigrants.

Secondly, Article 21 guarantees 'Right to Life and Personal Liberty'. The idea that their deportation will certainly lead to loss of life is very far-fetched. Therefore, applicability of Article 21 is also not directly relevant to the issue.

The argument relating to the violation of principle of non-refoulement deserves a detailed counter viewpoint. French word refouler, meaning to drive back the enemy, is the root word for the term non-refoulement. Hence, under customary international law, this principle means that countries are prohibited from returning asylum seekers even if there is no treaty obligation for the country to do so.

India is a non-signatory to the United Nations Refugee Convention (UNRC) of 1951. It naturally means that there is no treaty obligation for India to not return asylum seekers. The petition argues that the principle of non-refoulement will be applicable, even in the absence of a treaty obligation.

It is no doubt true that states are bound by certain principles of international law even though they haven't signed any legal instrument to give effect to the same. Such principles are the peremptory norms under international law, known as jus cogens. It is a Latin term, literally meaning 'compelling law'. It has been argued by several scholars that the principle of non-refoulement forms part of jus cogens and therefore, states are bound by it even if they haven't signed the UNRC.

This is a highly-misplaced argument. Ironically, there are instances where the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has itself signed up refoulement agreements. For instance, Tanzania in 1995. Also, United Nations Security Councils resolution number 688 expressed concern over Iraqi Kurds migrating to Turkey and Iran for safety. Turkey, thereby was encouraged to violate the principle of non-refoulement. In view of express violations by UN agencies themselves, the principle's status as jus cogens is disputed at best. Hence, the argument that India is bound by it in the absence of a treaty obligation doesn't hold water.

Further, like all rules, the principle of non-refoulement also has exceptions even if it were to apply in India's case. Herein, the most important exception is threat to national security. It has been widely reported that Rohingyas have been fighting alongside Pakistani terrorists in Kashmir (read here). Chotta Burmi, one of the Rohingya leaders, was killed fighting alongside Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) commander Adil Pathan last year.

Rohingya terror group, Aqa Mul Mujahideen has maintained links with both JeM and Lashkar-e-Taiba. Hence, a large number of their population in India residing illegally poses a very high risk against the interests of Indian nation (read more here).

It is now relevant to the issue that we look into the history of the Rohingya people. It is very interesting to note that Rohingyas, for a long time, have harboured secessionist tendencies from Myanmar. They even wanted to join Pakistan at the time of independence from the British. They made an offer to Muhammad Ali Jinnah to the same effect but their wish did not get materialised because of reluctance on part of Jinnah and the British.

Prior to that, Rohingyas were armed by the British to fight the Japanese during World War II but, they massacred the Rakhine Buddhists instead. This initiated the present-day conflict in the Rakhine state of Myanmar between the two communities. Rohingya freedom movement is still active within the community. It started in the form of declaration of holy war against the new republic of Myanmar. The rebels called themselves 'Mujahids', and a guerrilla army was formed to overthrow the Myanmar state (read more here). This brings us to another exception to the principle of non-refoulement, where states that anyone who is engaged in activities aimed at overthrowing a government can be denied asylum.

It is also very important to highlight that Rohingya is a political construct. The term gained prominence only in the 1950s. In the opinion of several scholars they are just Bengali Muslims (reference). Hence, the point that they have a unique history and culture since 15th century is also highly debatable.

Therefore, even if the principle of non-refoulement were to apply to India, the exceptions to the principle will come to the aid of the stand taken by the government. Thus, it can be concluded fairly well that India is under no legal obligation to extend asylum to Rohingyas.

Raghav Pandey is a research fellow with the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Bombay. He can be reached at raghav10089@gmail.com. Twitter: @raghavwrong
Chennai: In an inspiring example of grit and courage, the wife of Colonel Santosh Mahadik, who was killed fighting terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir nearly two years back, on Saturday joined the army as an officer after 11 months of gruelling training.

38-year-old Swati Mahadik, a mother of two, was commissioned in the Army in the rank of Lieutenant and will be posted with the Army Ordnance Corps in Pune.

Her husband Colonel Mahadik, a recipient of the Sena medal for gallantry, was killed in an anti-terror operation in Kupwara in north Kashmir in November 2015.

"I wanted to be close to him by joining the Army. Uniform was his first love and that is why I have decided to join the army so that I can wear the uniform.

"I want to give a way of life to my children which he would have given to them," Swati told PTI.

Mahadik, 39, was an officer from the Army's elite 21 Para Special forces and according to his colleagues, he was known for always leading from the front.

Following her husband's footstep, Swati had joined joined the Army's Officers Training Academy (OTA) in October last year.

Swati's children  12-year-old daughter Kartikee and 7-year-old son Swaraj  were present at the ceremony where she was commissioned into the army.

"Swati Mahadik was today commissioned as an officer after she completed her training at the OTA in Chennai," said a senior Army officer.

He said Swati will join the Army Ordnance Corps in Pune.

Colonel Mahadik was critically injured during the operation in the Haji Naka forest area of Kupwara and later succumbed to his injuries at a hospital. He was awarded the Sena Medal for gallantry during Operation Rhino in the North-East in 2003.

Another woman  Nidhi Dubey  was also commissioned as an officer n Saturday. Nidhi had also lost her husband who was a Naik in the Army. Like Swati, Nidhi was also commissioned as Lieutenant.
New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Sri Lankan counterpart Tilak Marapana on Saturday held wide-ranging talks exploring ways to further deepen bilateral engagement between the two countries.

"The two sides discussed the entire gamut of bilateral relations and ways to further deepen the historically close and friendly relations between the two countries," the external affairs ministry said.

The vexed fishermen issue is believed to have figured in the talks.

Later, the Sri Lankan foreign minister called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi this afternoon.

In the meeting, Modi reaffirmed the "high importance" India attaches to its relations with Sri Lanka.

It is Marapana's first overseas visit after assuming charge as foreign minister on 15 August.

During the delegation level talks, both Swaraj and Marapana delved on expanding cooperation on a range of areas including trade and investment.

It is understood that there was a discussion on the fishermen issue. Both the countries have held several rounds talks here and in Colombo over the last one year to find a permanent solution to the emotive issue.

There have been several alleged incidents of Sri Lankan Navy personnel firing at Indian fishermen in the Palk Strait and seizing their boats.

The Palk Strait, which is a narrow strip of water separating Tamil Nadu from Sri Lanka, is a rich fishing ground for fishermen from both the countries.

Swaraj also hosted a lunch in honour of the Sri Lankan foreign minister.

Marapana arrived in New Delhi on Friday on a three-day visit which comes days after Swaraj's trip to Sri Lanka to attend the 2nd Indian Ocean Conference.
Srinagar: Authorities on Saturday foiled the plans of separatist leaders Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Mohammad Yasin Malik to hold a protest outside the NIA headquarters in Delhi by taking them in preventive custody.

While Mirwaiz and Geelani have been placed under house arrest, Malik was arrested from his Maisuma residence here late Friday night and lodged at the Kothibagh police station before being moved to Central Jail, a police official said.

He said Malik, who was arrested on Thursday and shifted to the Central jail, was released on Friday morning.

The separatist trio had announced on Wednesday their plans to visit Delhi today for holding a sit-in outside the NIA headquarters and court arrest against what they termed as vilification of Kashmiri people by the investigating agency.
Students from 1.6 lakh government primary schools in Uttar Pradesh will have to attend school on 17 September which incidentally happens to be a Sunday. Why? Because it's Prime Minister Narendra Modi's birthday.

In order to celebrate his birthday, schools have been directed to remain open and with compulsory attendance for students, reported The Times Of India. Anupma Jaiswal, minister of state for basic education (independent charge), added that BJP MLAs in the state will go to one school each and participate in the celebration while taking stock of the facilities in the schools. "MLAs who have adopted schools in their region will go there and promote Prime Minister Modis message of cleanliness as a part of the celebrations," she said.

However, according to The Economic Times, party MLAs have been instructed to pick one school and visit them a day before (16 September) Modi's birthday or a day after (17 September) since it falls on a Sunday.

One of Modi's pet projects Swachh Bharat will be the driving force of Modi's birthday celebrations in schools in Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh. MLAs are expected to distribute sweets amongst students and talk about the prime minister's vision of India and programmes like Swachh Bharat, reported The Economic Times.

Uttar Pradesh BJP spokesperson Chandramohan called Modi an inspirational figure to all. "He is a perfect icon for children because he has led a life full of hardship and today he is the most powerful man in the world's largest democracy," he was quoted as saying by The Times Of India.

Chief minister Yogi Adityanath had cancelled 15 public holidays marking the death or birth of famous personalities in April 2017. There should be no holidays in schools on birth anniversaries of great personalities. Instead, a special two- hour programme should be held to teach students about them. The 220-day academic session has been reduced to only 120 days due to such holidays and if this tradition continues, there will be no day left for teaching in schools, quoted Hindustan Times minister Shrikant Sharma as saying.

Most recently, the Union human resource development ministry sent a directive to all educational institutions to observe a 'cleanliness fortnight' 1-15 September, according to this Hindustan Times report.
Sirsa: The presence of self-styled godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh still lingers on near his Dera (ashram) in Sirsa. Every time security officials or policemen stop a farmer from entering his own field, he looks towards the Dera and lets out a curse. Especially now, with the time ripe for harvesting cotton and spraying pesticides on other crops.

Residents of Shahpur Begu, Kanganpur, Bajekan, Ali Mohammad, Arniyanwali and Nejia  all villages falling within a five-kilometre radius of Singhs headquarters of Dera Sacha Sauda (DSS)  are a troubled lot. The villagers, all farmers, have been facing routine checks, restrictions and some even get barred from stepping into their houses or out of the villages without a proper identity card.

The DSS chief was arrested on 25 August after a special CBI court sentenced him to 20 years in prison for raping a female devotee. After the verdict, thousands of DSS followers had resorted to vandalism in Panchkula, with the chaos leaving 32 dead and more than 200 injured. The town of Panchkula was taken over by tens of thousands of DSS followers after their leader was pronounced guilty. Following his arrest and consequent sentencing, the courts have now ordered a seize and search operation at the DSS headquarters in Sirsa. With the lavish ashram spread over 700 acres teeming with security personnel, the life of those living around it has turned upside down.

Villagers informed Firstpost that the Sirsa district administration has ordered them and labourers to evacuate the fields. This move, officials say, is being taken to avoid any law and order issues among villagers and Dera followers. Also, they say that through this way, they can ensure the ashram inmates do not escape under the guise of farm hands.

Sarpanch of Kanganpur village Gurvinder Singh said they have been asked to keep valid identity cards with them at all times. We are questioned by the officers as to why we want to go our fields, where it is located. In fact, we cant move in and out of the village without facing these questions and providing them with [our identity] proof, he said.

These restrictions have been keeping farmers from tending to their cotton crops, currently in the harvesting stage. Farmers are not able to go and pick cotton from their own fields. If the police officer has even a little suspicion, he might refuse us entry. Cotton worth lakhs on 10,000 hectares of land is going to be ruined if this continues, Singh rued.

Gurjeet Mann, a progressive farmer from Sirsa, said this is also the period in which crops need to be sprayed with pesticides to avoid the onset of diseases like the white fly. He said it's a lengthy process as pesticides need to be sprayed carefully and judiciously.

The farmers need to go to their farms many a time and also need farmhands. Its a matter of life and death for farmers, who have worked tirelessly so that their crop gets picked and sold in market," Mann said.

He stressed that the government should not ignore the interests of farmers and come up with a solution so they dont face any loss.

Suman Devi, who owns five acres on which she has grown cotton, said that while she was able to harvest cotton before the restrictions were clamped, she has been unable to go to the market and sell it.

There are mounds of cotton at home and it has been filled to its maximum limit. There is no space at home even to walk due to this. But they won't allow us to get a tempo and transport the cotton, she said.

Working class taking a hit

Shravan Singh of Begu village said that during the harvesting season, the villages teem with labourers from nearby states but this time, nobody turned up. Even if we force our way to the fields, we cant do much. Men and women from neighbouring districts and state would visit but this time, due to law and order problem, no one is willing to come here and risk their lives, he said.

Saroj Devi, who works with a self-help group in Shahpur Begu village, said the tight security has rendered about 1,200 women who worked as farm labourers jobless. Rajbir Singh, a farmer, said the "curfew" did not let him get his buffalo treated. He said his cow would give 10 litres of milk every day but when she fell ill, he could not take her out for treatment because of the "curfew" and the veterinary expert too refused to come to their village.

Director General of Police BS Sandhu expressed surprise over the restrictions on villagers movement. If something like this is going on, Id ask the local SP to permit villagers to visit their fields, but they would have to produce their identity card, he said.

He insisted that all the restriction are for peoples own safety and to avoid any tiff between Dera followers and the local residents.

(Sat Singh is a Rohtak-based freelance writer and Manoj Kumar is a Chandigarh-based freelance writer. Both are members of 101Reporters.com, a pan-India network of grassroots reporters.)
There is an air of restlessness about Gaggan Anand as he gears up to don the toque at Taj Lands End Mumbai for a curated 19-course dinner for an exclusive 25 guests. It is not nervous energy but the impatience to craft dishes and take diners on his signature roller-coaster food journey  the Gaggan madness.

After all, the desire to create new dishes, away from his comfort cooking is what excites and spurs the Bangkok-based, 39-year-old maverick, Kolkata born chef, of 'Gaggan' fame.

The prospect of this four-city culinary tour de force with Taj Hotels, excites Gaggan no end. After all, he started his career in the kitchens of the Taj and so this trip brings the chef back to his roots, in a way.

Emotional reasons apart, Gaggan tells us why he was keen to undertake this tour: Each region in India boasts of typical ingredients and diverse palates and it will be a challenge to wow diners across these places. The Taj group of hotels have given us a dedicated team of chefs who will travel with us to all four cities and my team is looking forward to working with the chefs at Taj. We will go back with the nirvana of knowledge.

In his inimitable self-assured style, Gaggan reveals that the menu displays colourful emojis only. No names of dishes, as usual. Diners will find out at the end of the meal as to what they ate, informs Gaggan cheekily.

There is an emoji of three flags  the Indian flag, denoting my past; the Thai flag, indicating my present; and the Japanese flag, which signifies my future, he explains. There is a green heart, a watermelon and an aubergine as well, but the menu is steeped in mystery. These are just indications, but my menu in all the four cities  Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru and Chennai  will be full of surprises, quips Gaggan with a smile.

Custard apple, Bhetki fish and prawns are what he confirms will be on the menu in Mumbai. In what form and the exact nature of the dish, of course Gaggan refuses to divulge. Till a few days ago, even the Taj Hotels did not know the exact menu. It was all in my head but now I have crystallised it with inputs from executive chef Anirudhya Roy, Gaggan states.

He further elaborates, Today, I took my team to Swati Snacks, one of my favourite places in Mumbai, to give them an idea of the Indian palate and the spice levels Indians eat, so that they can cook accordingly.

An exponent of progressive Indian cuisine, his menu for these pop-ups will have serious Indian influences, but he is not keen to cook his greatest hits in India. However, he is going to offer a dish or two from the latest, third new menu, that he has just launched at Gaggan, his eponymous restaurant in Bangkok. Fresh seasonal ingredients are what he plans to make use of, to give life to his artistic creations which, as always, will remain true in essence to their source.

As always, he is happy to be back in India. He explains, I want to train my tongue to taste the familiar flavours of Indian street food, which I have grown up eating. It is important to keep that memory alive as a chef. It is the tongue that plays the most important role for a chef, not even our hands.

While he is known to deconstruct Indian street food using various techniques including liquid nitrogen, gels, sous vide and more to extract the flavours and represent them in different forms and textures, for a change he is even attempting a Thai dish or two on his menu for the first time ever. It is not that I was not intrigued by Thai flavours all these years, but I wanted to make sure I had the confidence to do justice to those and now I do, Gaggan clarifies.

He may reinvent Indian food but he is particular about keeping the flavours real. No one can mess with Indian flavours, he declares. All for innovation, he however dislikes fusion just for the sake of it. He says, That is (just) more confusion.

Citing an example, he says, A chocolate paan that I tasted in Mumbai last night, is an absolute no-no, but a guava ice cream at a friends place served with kala namak (rock salt) and chili powder, reminiscent of how one eats a guava in India at home, is laudable and I chide myself for not thinking of that.

Whether it is creating a Gujarati dhokla or khandvi in mousse and snow form with coconut nitro powder and curry leaves, or Norwegian lobster slow cooked with pickling spices, and Goan curry, Gaggans cooking is precise, quirky  and it must challenge him.

The sky is the limit for Gaggan (fitting, considering his name). Easily bored, Gaggan isays he is now eagerly preparing for the next phase of his life post-2020, when he shuts down Gaggan in Bangkok and moves to Japan, a place he loves dearly.

Not one to rest on his laurels and accolades, he dismisses securing the number one spot on the Asias 50 Best Restaurants list for the third consecutive year for his seven-year-old restaurant Gaggan.

For now, he is more concerned about the impending dinners as the creme de la creme in the four cities are gathering to be a part of the Gaggan experience.

Mini Ribeiro is a food writer and critic. Follow her blog here.
Indian intellectuals have never been more alienated from any regime at the centre than they are from the Narendra Modi government but this needs to be inquired into rather than merely regretted.

India has the most popular government in decades, implying a more difficult position for the intellectual than an unpopular government might have created  since agitating against unpopular state policy/conduct is widely understood to be moral duty of the public intellectual in a liberal democracy.

Who is an 'intellectual'?

Broadly speaking, an intellectual is a person who engages in critical study, thought, and reflection about the nature of contemporary society, and proposes solutions for the perceived problems of that society; by speaking out in the public sphere, he or she gains authority as a creator of opinion.

An intellectual is not simply someone who undertakes intellectual activity  however profound  but one who engages deeply with societal issues to understand them and make their complexities widely understood. An intellectual is also someone able to draw abstract conclusions from social experience.

Intellectuals have generally been artists and literary figures, often residing in the academia, but with the increasing specialisation in most disciplines, academics have gradually become a category of their own. The social sciences and the humanities are the spaces most hospitable to the academic-intellectual since the disciplines still intrude upon the public space, in a way that biology or the physical sciences do not today. As an illustration, Charles Darwins work had enormous public implications of a kind that most biology  which is removed from public view  does not have any longer.

The 'Intellectual', the Right, and the Left

If the term intellectual is innocently associated with the left, it is because of the complex intellectual tradition associated with left-wing thought. If one were to consider one of the most contested of disciplines  history, for instance  left-wing constructions of history have found acceptance in universities because there is an intellectual rigour to their methodology. The allegation in India that left-wing history is biased is not a patently false one, because all history writing is biased in one way or another. But the point is not whether such history has a bias but whether the reconstruction of the past by the historian passes examination at the right academic levels. If a saffronised reconstruction of history is untenable in the academia, it is not because it is prejudiced but because its prejudices will not stand up to academic scrutiny, which insists on convincing evidence and argument.

What is acceptable is not arbitrary and there are protocols laid down on how academic research may proceed. This kind of validated research  regardless of biases  is how knowledge accumulates and what is taught at the lower levels can only echo the findings of research, though duly simplified; as students pass into higher education they cannot unlearn things they thought to be true. Feeding schoolchildren invalid knowledge is a sure way of destroying education in India, and will do irreparable harm. The only correct/legitimate way to go about propagating a new Hinduised history, for instance, is to first construct it painstakingly at the university level rigorously, through validated research, and then disseminate it downwards  assuming that this is possible. It is because not enough attention has been paid to the creation of validated knowledge about India that universities in the US are more trusted; Indian philanthropists would rather fund institutions like Harvard to build such knowledge than Indian universities.

The term intellectual has come to acquire pejorative implications to the rank and file of Hindutva because of the perceived left-wing bias in most intellectuals; but, as already suggested, this is because left-wing thought is able to draw upon a multitude of theoretical streams that Hindutva has no access to. The right-wing has also made no efforts to dilute its ideology, at least to make itself attractive to politically unaffiliated intellectuals in various disciplines. It may have found some sympathy among managers, experimental scientists and micro-economists but these categories, while they are also associated with intellectual effort, do not usually generate ideas which permeate public life.

Indian intellectuals and the Government

What has been said hitherto points out the handicaps faced by the Hindu right-wing in its intellectual efforts but I have been silent about how the ideological standoff between the government and the intellectual has been harming intellectual life in the country, in the universities especially.

One of the moral duties of the intellectual in a democracy has been to interrogate the state and the institutions of power. This moral duty, however, is secondary to the primary one  creating valid knowledge.

I would also suggest that an intellectual who interrogates is also adding to knowledge  for instance, Noam Chomsky, Edward Said and Michel Foucault, whose interrogative roles are intimately associated with their intellectual endeavours. One would find it difficult to argue that Chomskys Manufacturing Consent did not contribute to political thought. The Indian intellectual/academic with left-wing affiliations, it would seem, has identified interrogation entirely with agitation and protest at the street level (against nebulous issues like intolerance) and this has been aggravated under the NDA, since the political left has essentialised it as fascist.

Agitations and protests, it is understood, are directed against the government or the state in a democracy since they pertain to what representatives of the public are improperly doing or not doing. One does not normally protest against a natural calamity or crime but one could agitate against necessary steps not being taken. One might propose therefore that except for cases where protests are directed against local governments/institutions all protests today overtly/covertly target the state and the NDA government.

The NDA (or more correctly, the BJP) is broadly descended from a loose coalition once known as the Sangh Parivar brought together by religious extremism, and there were so many groups associated with it that it would be difficult for even the leaders of the NDA to list them out. While the BJP still professes Hindu nationalism as its ideology, it is also a fact that when the NDA came to power in 2014 it did not rely on a Hindu platform, but that of development. By all evidence, its phenomenal popularity since then has not rested on promises to build temples but the public sensing that its leader Narendra Modi is the strongest India has had. The NDA government may still be reliant on Hindutva sentiments but to be fair to it, one finds it difficult to identify an overt act or decision from it which reeks of fascism or communalism. The demonetisation decision hit the traditional constituency of the BJP  the small trader  hardest and a case even exists for a revised understanding of the partys constituency. The NDA, it would appear, is primarily implementing the programmes of the former UPA government and if the former UPA takes credit for the ideas, it was never the thinking up of schemes as much as their implementation which was difficult.

Protest and the Indian intellectual

If one looks back at the instances of protest/agitation by Indias left-wing intellectuals, the first instance one recalls was their protest against the killing of three rationalists on separate occasions, in different parts of India. (The Hindu tradition admits rational thought, although the foot-soldiers of Hindutva seem to be unaware of it.) The killers were never found and it was never established that the same people were behind all three killings. However, a number of intellectuals vehemently protested the growing intolerance in India by returning the awards bestowed upon them by the previous UPA government. The purpose of the gesture is still unclear but it was supposedly to protest against the state, and not the elected government. Still, the state had apparently become more abhorrent with the NDA government running it.

The demonetisation of November 2016 caused a huge number of difficulties for Indias citizens and the economy is yet to recover, but it was enormously popular  perhaps because it was seen as a demonstration of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's strength. Few economists  not even Amartya Sen, Manmohan Singh and Raghuram Rajan  saw economic sense in it, but that cannot mean that it was without a rationale. Indias intellectuals, instead of coming down heavily against demonetisation on humanist grounds, could have speculated on the likely effects of the action, which became extremely popular despite the pain it caused. If the economy suffered, would it not follow that it was the cash/black economy which suffered most? Could not the state have now armed itself with information about the spots where black money was being generated/held? Wealth held as cash is political power outside that of the state, which can be used also to subvert its ends; unaccounted wealth can be held as real estate and merchandise, but bribes are paid only in cash. Demonetisation may have been intended to strengthen the state  a necessary prerequisite for successful state action in future.

The most recent instances where Indias intellectuals have protested pertain to mob lynchings by self-styled gau-rakshaks and Kashmir. Gau-rakshaks are apparently miscreants affiliated to the former Sangh Parivar but it is unfair to trace their doings to the NDA government. The Prime Minister can only be accused of not speaking out strongly enough against the lynchings, but before any blame can be laid at the doorstep of the government, each case will have to be investigated in detail. Miscreants and criminals have taken shelter behind political ideologies before.

But it is probably in relation to Kashmir that the responses of Indias left-wing intellectuals have been most ill-advised. Most of their responses revolve around the historical origins of the Kashmir muddle but I propose that the history of the Kashmir conflict has become immaterial today since both India and Pakistan have painted themselves into corners from which all negotiation is impossible. Any government in India or Pakistan is so pressed upon by public opinion  created by its own propaganda over the decades  that it cannot get the mandate to resolve the issue by conceding to the other. What concerned intellectuals/academics can do is to look at the human rights angle, organise open debates focussed on Kashmir which admit all viewpoints and gradually influence public opinion so that resolving the Kashmir issue is publicly acknowledged as involving negotiation.

What left-wing intellectuals have done instead is to paint themselves as obdurate anarchists preparing for the dismemberment of India on political/moral grounds. They invite separatists to shout azadi slogans, a move which only provokes the nationalists. Gradually, it would seem, left-wing academic-intellectuals are only creating constituencies for themselves, and there is little to choose between right-wing and left-wing constituencies among students. Building political constituencies, one may be sure, is an intellectually less strenuous option than having to create valid knowledge. It may take courage to stand up to a mob but courage against political goons is not the primary requirement from an intellectual.

The NDA government has been trying to bring about sweeping changes in the country but if areas are to be named from which it has been most distant, they pertain to culture and (liberal) education. As already indicated, these are the areas which the Hindu right-wing is ill-equipped to dominate  without also lowering standards all around. It is because of the BJPs unfamiliarity with cultural issues globally that that the term intellectual has become a curse word to the partys rank and file.

India cannot do without intellectuals if it is to be respected in the world and global respect is what the NDA government is striving after. It cannot be justly claimed that the intellectual left-wing represents any threat to the nations integrity and its innocuous radicalism is not much more than political correctness. The BJP dominates politics today, but in its quest for complete dominance may also rest its greatest weakness; when one is so strong as to remain virtually unchallenged it is better to leave to ones adversaries the things they are more adept at.

The NDA will only serve itself by leaving culture and humanities/social sciences education to intellectuals even if, at the moment, they are hostile to it. Such action will also force academics to move out of activism into intellectual labour.

MK Raghavendra is a film scholar and author of seven books including The Oxford India Short Introduction to Bollywood (2016). He is deeply interested in social, political and cultural issues in India.
Agartala: The CPM in Tripura on Saturday said Manik Sarkar would be the Left Front's chief ministerial candidate for the Assembly elections in the state, which is slated to be held in February.

If the Left Front wins the next Assembly elections, Sarkar would be the chief minister for the fifth consecutive term.

"We have no doubt about forming the next government. Manik Sarkar would be the chief minister of the eighth Left Front government in Tripura. He is physically strong and capable of running the government efficiently," state CPM secretary Bijan Dhar told reporters in Agartala.

Replying to a question, he said the party's constitution does not bar a person from contesting elections or holding the post of chief minister for more than two or three terms.

When his attention was drawn to the fact that senior party leader Sitaram Yechury was not allowed a third term in the Rajya Sabha, Dhar said it is the convention in the CPM that one member would not be elected to the Upper House for the third time.

"Moreover, a party general secretary cannot hold any parliamentary post because he is supposed to concentrate more on party works. Harkishen Singh Surjeet was elected as party general secretary and never contested for a Rajya Sabha seat," Dhar said.
Jammu: Former prime minister Manmohan Singh-led policy planning group of the Congress will be arriving in Jammu on Saturday on a two-day visit to study the ground security situation in the state.

The Manmohan Singh-led Congress policy planning group, which also include former Union ministers P Chidambaram, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Ambika Soni, will also meet senior party leaders, including MLAs and MLCs, soon after arriving on Saturday, Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) chief spokesperson, Ravinder Sharma said.

Senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member Karan Singh, he said, is also expected to be the part of the delegation which would meeting representatives of various opposition parties, including the National Conference, the CPM and the Akali Dal.

The group was set by the Congress in April after the situation worsened in the valley due to widespread violence by protesters following the death of eight persons in firing by the security forces during bypolls to the Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency.

The panel would visit Kashmir Valley on 16 and 17 September and Ladakh region on a later date.

The group, who also included several state leaders, will meet 25 delegations during their two-day stay in the winter capital.

They are also expected to meet the delegations of farmers, gujjars, paharis, schedule caste and schedule tribe, the spokesperson said.
Reuters

Best Buy Co., the No.1 U.S. electronics retailer, is pulling Kaspersky Labs cyber security products from its shelves and website, amid concerns that the Moscow-based firm may be vulnerable to Russian government influence.

Best Buy felt there were "too many unanswered questions" and so decided to discontinue selling the antivirus products, said U.S. newspaper StarTribune, which first reported the retailer's decision, citing a source familiar with the matter.

A Best Buy spokeswoman confirmed the report but declined to provide further details. A U.S. Congressional panel had asked government agencies to share documents on the cybersecurity firm, saying its products could be used to carry out nefarious activities against the United States, Reuters reported in July

The U.S. administration had in July removed Kaspersky from its lists of approved vendors used by government agencies to purchase technology equipment.

Kaspersky, which has denied ties with any government, said on Friday the companies had suspended their ties.

According to a previous report, the FBI had interviewed several U.S. employees of Moscow-based cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Lab as part of an agency probe of the company's operations, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents had visited the homes of Kaspersky employees in multiple U.S. cities, though no search warrants were served, according to the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the FBI probe.

The news followed the disclosure by senior U.S. intelligence officials, in a testimony before the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee, that they were reviewing government use of software from Kaspersky Lab, as lawmakers had raised concerns that Moscow might use the firm's products to attack American computer networks.

In response, Eugene Kaspersky, the company's founder and chief executive, had said during a question-and-answer session on Reddit that he would be willing to appear before the Senate to dispel any concerns about his company's products.
tech2 News Staff

The central government is expecting to provide broadband services to one lakh gram panchayats by end of this year, Communications Minister Manoj Sinha said here on Friday.

The government has planned the BharatNet project to provide 100 Mbps broadband connectivity to approximately 2.5 lakh gram panchayats (GP) in the country.

"Under (the) first phase of the project, one lakh gram panchayats are to be connected by laying underground Optical Fibre Cable which is under implementation. Till date, broadband connectivity has been provided to about 33,000 GPs and we expect the connectivity to be provided to one lakh GPs by end of this year," Sinha said at the launch of SpeedPay e-wallet services here.

Optical fibre cable has been laid in the more than one lakh GPs, he added. Punjab National Bank and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd tied up to roll out the wallet services across 10 states in the country.

Under the agreement, BSNL will expand SpeedPay services in Punjab, Chandigarh, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkhand, and Uttarakhand.

"The reach of the service under this partnership will increase to northern and eastern states," said BSNL Chairman and Managing Director Anupam Shrivastava.

Meanwhile, the Assam government had recently signed an MoU with Google India Pvt Ltd to take Internet connectivity to the remotest part of the north-eastern state.

With inputs from IANS
tech2 News Staff

Elon Musk in a recent Instagram post has revealed the full body suit which will be worn by SpaceX astronauts who are scheduled to fly sometime in 2019.

In the picture, the bodysuit is placed next to Crew Dragon, a spacecraft meant to take astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS). The white suit is interspersed with black patches near the shoulder and hands. The look is completed with black boots. Moreover, the headgear, unlike NASA's headgear for astronauts, is a notch up when it comes maintaining a style quotient. It's completely futuristic in design.

When it comes to actual use of this otherwise stylish bodysuit, according to Musk, it is designed in such a manner such that it would be able to acclimatize the astronaut to varied pressure changes in space. In a previous Instagram post where he had posted the upper part of the suit, the SpaceX CEO said, Already tested to double vacuum pressure. Was incredibly hard to balance aesthetics and function. Easy to do either separately.

This suit will be worn by SpaceX astronauts during crewed missions to the International Space Station, which are expected to begin as early as next year.

Astronaut spacesuit next to Crew Dragon A post shared by Elon Musk (@elonmusk) on Sep 8, 2017 at 1:04pm PDT

SpaceX, along with Boeing, is among the first private companies to have won a contract with NASA to launch humans into space on the ISS. According to Space, crewed flights are scheduled for 2018 and flights to the ISS will happen sometime in 2019. These will facilitate adding a seventh crew member to each station mission, effectively doubling the amount of time astronauts will be able to devote to research in space.

Future station crew members will continue the vital work advanced during the last 15 years of continuous human habitation aboard the orbiting laboratory, expanding scientific knowledge and demonstrating new technologies.

As per previous reports, Russia has been receiving tough competition in the global market for satellite launches by SpaceX. The failures of its Soyuz and Proton boosters a couple of years ago have not helped the Russian cause. In public, Russian officials did not acknowledge any threat from SpaceX, but since early 2017, the talk has changed since SpaceX's efforts to build reusable boosters to lower overall costs began showing fruit.
Reuters

The son of a Russian lawmaker accused of stealing credit card data and other personal information has pleaded guilty in two criminal cases stemming from a probe into a $50 million online identity theft scheme, the US Justice Department said on Friday.

Roman Seleznev, 33, the son of Russian parliament member Valery Seleznev, pleaded guilty to one count of participating in a racketeering scheme, and another count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. The charges were filed in federal courts in Nevada and Georgia, and the plea deal for both cases was finalised on Thursday.

In April, Seleznev was sentenced to 27 years in prison by a federal court in Washington for his role in a cyber assault involving hacking into point of sale computers to steal credit card numbers.

He was arrested in the Maldives and brought to the United States to face charges.

The Russian government has previously criticized the arrest, calling it an unlawful kidnapping.

Seleznevs attorney, Igor Litvak, said his client accepts responsibility for his role in the two cyber cases settled on Thursday, but that he intends to appeal his conviction stemming from the third separate Washington case.

We still feel the way he was brought to the US was illegal, Litvak told Reuters. He was basically kidnapped.

The Nevada and Georgia cases involved a credit card fraud ring known as Carder.su, an Internet-based network used by criminals who trafficked stolen credit card data.

In pleading guilty, Seleznev admitted he got involved with the ring in January 2009 and sold compromised credit card data to others on the network.

He also admitted to serving as a casher by working with other hackers to defraud an Atlanta company that helped process credit and debit card transactions. That scheme ultimately let the hackers steal 45.5 million debit card numbers and withdraw $9.4 million from ATMs in 280 cities.
PTI

Tech giant Microsoft's India-born CEO Satya Nadella's first book which explores his personal journey, the company's ongoing transformation and the coming wave of technological change will hit the stands later this month.

The book titled Hit Refresh carries a foreword by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and will go on sale globally on 26 September.

Nadella, 50, said he hoped that the book, which tells the story of Microsoft's quest to rediscover its soul, will inspire people to discover more empathy in their own lives.

"We believed 'Hit Refresh' was the perfect metaphor for all three story-lines of the book. My personal journey so far, the company's ongoing transformation, and the coming wave of technological and economic change," he said in a post on LinkedIn.

"It explores the renaissance of a storied company and the implications of the coming wave of technology, artificial intelligence, mixed reality, and quantum computing, which will soon disrupt the status quo; impact our lives, communities, and economies," he added.

The book which Nadella set out to write two years ago is a set of reflections, ideas, and principles of transformation. On choosing the title of the book, Nadella said when "you hit refresh in your web browser by clicking the little arrow, or hitting function+F5, it updates".

"It does not wipe everything away and start new, as Bill Gates writes in his Foreword to the book. It actually keeps some things and replaces others. Hitting refresh is required for any person and organisation looking to make a sustained impact over a long period of time from athletes, leaders, and artists to cities, corporations, and societies," Nadella wrote.

He said books are so often written by leaders looking back on their tenures, not while they are in the "fog of war".

Nadella, who became Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors of Microsoft in 2014, will donate all proceeds from the book to Microsoft Philanthropies.
Reuters

Apple Incs 11 foreign lawsuits against Qualcomm Inc can proceed while the companys dispute plays out in the United States, a U.S. federal judge in San Diego ruled 7 September.

Qualcomm and Apple are facing off in federal court over Qualcomms licensing for modem chips, which provide mobile data connectivity to devices like the iPhone. Because those chips have become a standard across the mobile phone industry, Qualcomm is required to license them on fair terms.

Apple has alleged that Qualcomm is charging unfair prices for the technology and is engaging in anti-competitive practices. Qualcomm, for its part, has said that it provided fair terms for the parts of technology where it is obligated to do so and that it is within its rights to determine pricing on patents that are not bound by the standards rules.

Qualcomm had sought what is known as an anti-suit injunction against Apple, seeking to temporarily halt 11 separate lawsuits against Qualcomm and its subsidiaries in the United Kingdom, Japan, China, and Taiwan over many of the same pricing and practices issues as the U.S. case.

But Judge Gonzalo Curiel ruled against Qualcomm and said Apple could proceed with those actions while the U.S. case plays out. Apples declarations make evident that it has sought to challenge Qualcomms patent licensing practices and anticompetitive conduct territory by territory, Curiel wrote. While Qualcomm may object to this litigation strategy as duplicative, the Court will not conclude that Apples exercise of its rights under foreign laws is vexatious.

Christine Trimble, vice president of public affairs at Qualcomm, said in a statement, While we are disappointed by todays rulings, we recognize that the motions involved high procedural hurdles.

Apple praised the ruling. We are pleased the federal court in San Diego decided Qualcomm must establish the fair value of its technology and defend its business practices in court before forcing Apple and others to pay exorbitant and unfair rates, which amount to a tax on our own inventions, Apple spokesman Josh Rosenstock said in a statement.

Qualcomm has also brought an action against Apple before the U.S. International Trade Commission seeking to ban imports of some iPhones. Qualcomm filed a separate civil lawsuit accusing Apple of infringing the patents at issue in that action.

Qualcomm also faces an antitrust complaint from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. Meantime, four of Apples contract manufacturers sued Qualcomm on antitrust allegations, and Apple joined that lawsuit.
tech2 News Staff

YouTube has rolled out its High Dynamic Range (HDR) feature to select mobiles.

This feature, which was rolled out, last year in HDR television sets, has now come to Android mobile phones. An update has not been seen in iOS yet.

Android phones for which the rollout has been made are the Google Pixel, Xperia XZ Premium, Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus, Galaxy Note 8 and the LG V30.

However, reviews on this new update are not quite positive. In a Reddit thread, users who have updated YouTube have complained about stuttering videos and of no longer having the full screen mode option. Rather, it directly moves to landscape mode. Another complained about no option of returning to previous resolutions, which was an option provided at the bottom right corner of the video.

Moreover, some claim that the new feature blocks the option of adjusting the brightness level, which often drains battery life.

Meanwhile, a YouTube spokesperson, who wrote to Digital Trends in an e-mail said, Well continue working with partners in mobile industry to bring HDR playback to more devices.

HDR videos support a wider gamut of colours as compared to regular videos. The shadows contain more details and the colours pop out more. The overall image appears more vibrant. Overall, the picture is meant to be a more accurate representation of what the human eye can see.

This facility is available through the latest Chromecast Ultra, or natively in the new range of Samsung SUHD or UHD devices.

Meanwhile, with an aim to provide great video quality while using less bandwidth, global video streaming service Netflix will soon support HDR technology on mobile devices. "Starting with the LG G6 phones that support both Dolby Vision and HDR 10 streams, Netflix would be supporting HDR on mobile devices," Netflix CEO Reed Hastings had told a gathering during a session at Mobile World Congress (MWC) this year.
Beijing: China and Pakistan have agreed to strengthen anti-terrorism and security cooperation along a $ 50 billion economic corridor that links the restive regions of the two countries through a network of rail and road projects.

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) connects Xinjiang province in northwest China with the deep-water Gwadar port on the Arabian Sea in southwestern Pakistan. It faces challenges from Islamic militants in both the regions.

The CPEC, a part of Chinese President Xi Jinping's Belt and Road (B&R) initiative, runs through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and India has raised objection to the project.

The security cooperation agreement was reached when Meng Jianzhu, head of the Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the Communist Party Central Committee, met visiting Pakistani Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif and Pakistani National Security Adviser Nasser Khan Janjua on Friday in Beijing.

Reports have said that Pakistan deployed a 15,000-strong military force to protect Chinese nationals working on various projects linked to the CPEC. This includes 9,000 Pakistan Army soldiers and 6,000 para-military forces personnel.

About 71,000 Chinese reported to have visited Pakistan last year.

Meng praised Pakistan's efforts in counter-terrorism and called for strengthened anti-terrorism and security cooperation in building the ambitious economic corridor.

"China and Pakistan, as good friends, friendly neighbours and all-weather strategic cooperative partners, have always firmly supported each other's core interests," Meng said. Chinese State Councillor Yang Jiechi met Asif. "Promoting the all-weather strategic cooperative partnership between China and Pakistan is an unchanged policy," Yang said.

He called for advancing the CPEC project and strengthening communication on issues of regional security. Asif said maintaining friendly relations with China is the cornerstone of Pakistan's foreign policy. Pakistan would take the opportunity provided by the CPEC to boost bilateral ties, he said.

On Friday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi praised Pakistan's anti-terrorism record when he met Asif.

"Pakistan is a good brother and iron friend of China. No one knows Pakistan and understands Pakistan better than China," he said.
New Delhi: With Hurricane Irma leaving a trail of destruction in its wake, India has asked its missions in Venezuela, the US and in the Netherlands and France whose territories in the Caribbean have been hit hard to remain in constant touch with the Indian diaspora.

"Our Missions in Venezuela, Netherlands, France & United States are constantly monitoring the situation following destruction due to hurricane IRMA," external affairs ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted.

They are in constant touch with the Indian diaspora affected by IRMA & with local govt officials to provide all possible assistance 2/2  Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) September 9, 2017

"They are in constant touch with the Indian diaspora affected by IRMA & with local govt officials to provide all possible assistance," he said.

Kumar also shared emergency numbers in the Indian embassies in Venezuela (+58 4241951854/4142214721), Netherlands (+31 247247247) and France (0800000971) for those affected to get in touch with.

At least 24 people were killed this week when Irma pummelled northern Caribbean islands such as Barbuda and the Virgin Islands.

France and the Netherlands said they had sent aid to islands such as Saint Martin, which is said to be "95 percent destroyed". Saint Martin island is split in two with a French northern part and the Dutch owning the south.

The Red Cross estimates 1.2 million people have already been battered by the storm.

Meanwhile, the Indian embassy in Netherlands issued a separate message saying the Netherlands government, in cooperation with Britain and France, was actively engaged in efforts to ensure safety and disaster relief.

"We are in constant touch with the Dutch government which has informed us that the Dutch military is providing water, food and other disaster relief items," it said. "The Dutch military police are assisting the local police to avoid looting."

According to the message, the Indian embassy in Caracas, Venezuela, is also monitoring the situation in St Martin and coordinating the welfare of all Indians living there.

"We are in constant touch with our ambassador of India in Venezuela," it stated.

French President Emmanuel Macron is set to travel to France's Caribbean territories "as soon as possible" to oversee relief efforts, while the Dutch government is holding a crisis meeting about the damages to its territories.

Damages and casualties have also been reported in the French island of Saint-Barthelemy.
Havana (Cuba): Hurricane Irma weakened slightly to a Category 4 storm on early Saturday, according to the US National Hurricane Center, after making landfall hours earlier in Cuba with maximum-strength Category 5 winds.

The fierce storm was zeroing in on Florida, churning some 245 miles (395 kilometers) away from Miami and packing still powerful maximum sustained winds of 155 miles per hour.

"Some fluctuations in intensity are likely during the next day or two, but Irma is expected to remain a powerful hurricane as it approaches Florida," the NHC said in its latest public advisory.

Irma is expected to strike the Florida Keys late Saturday and Sunday before moving inland, and many residents have joined a mass exodus amid increasingly dire alerts to leave.

In Cuba, government officials reported "significant damage" in parts of the island's center without providing further details, but said there were not yet confirmed casualties.

More than a million people on the Caribbean's largest island have been evacuated as a precaution, authorities said.

Another Category 4 hurricane, Jose, was also swirling in the Atlantic with maximum sustained winds of 150 miles per hour and heading towards the same string of Caribbean islands Irma had pummeled in the days before.

And after striking the eastern coast of Mexico late Friday as a Category 1 hurricane, Katia was downgraded to a tropical storm and "beginning to stall" near the Sierra Madre mountains - though heavy rainfall would still "likely cause life-threatening flash floods and mudslides, especially in areas of mountainous terrain," the NHC said.
Dhaka: Thousands of people took to the streets across Asia to denounce Myanmar's treatment of the Rohingya Muslim minority as some 2,90,000 of them have fled to Bangladesh to escape the ongoing violence in Myanmar's Rakhine state since 25 August.

More than 1,000 people have been killed in the violence, according to an UN estimate. Political and Islamic groups, along with other civil society organisations, joined protests in Bangladesh's capital on Friday to urge Myanmar to "stop committing genocide" and take back those who have sought refuge elsewhere, CNN reported.

Some 2,90,000 Rohingya Muslims fled to Bangladesh to escape the ongoing violence in Myanmar's Rakhine since 25 August, the UN office said on Saturday.

The violence erupted following an attack by a Rohingya insurgent group on police and military posts in Rakhine, leading to a violent offensive by the Myanmar Army.

Protesters criticised Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Myanmar's de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and called for her Nobel Prize to be withdrawn. Protests also took place in Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia and Pakistan.

The government of Myanmar blames terrorists for starting the violence. Marchers in Dhaka expressed their outrage at reports of abuse coming from Myanmar, the report said.

"I've joined the rally to express my solidarity with the Rohingya people," activist Mahfuza Haque Neela told CNN. "The Rohingya people, including women and children, are being killed...women are being raped."

The rally was partly organised by protest group Gonojagoron Mancha, whose leaders said they plan to besiege Myanmar's embassy in Dhaka on Monday if the government does not take action.

Over a thousand Muslim devotees belonging to the organisation Islamic Movement Bangladesh joined a rally in the capital's Paltan area. The movement's leaders demanded the immediate deployment of UN peacekeepers in Rakhine and the implementation of the recommendations made by a commission led by former UN head Kofi Annan.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party urged the country's government to "force Myanmar to take back the Rohingyas".

Dhaka's Buddhist community also protested Myanmar's treatment of the Rohingyas. Security was beefed up around Buddhist temples and other institutions in Dhaka and elsewhere.

About 200 protesters rallied outside Myanmar's embassy in Malaysia on Friday urging Kuala Lumpur to sever diplomatic ties with Yangon. The protest was led by the youth wing of the predominantly Muslim Malaysia's ruling party, the United Malays National Organisation, after Friday prayers.

Thousands of people in Pakistan from all walks of life took to the streets in major cities on Friday to condemn the crackdown on Rohingyas. In Karachi, more than 2,000 people demonstrated outside the Karachi Press Club, media reports said.

In Indonesia, hundreds of protesters gathered near the famous Borobudur temple in Central Java, and hundreds more outside the Myanmar embassy in Jakarta.

Meanwhile, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu criticised Suu Kyi in an open letter posted on Twitter. "I am...breaking my vow of silence on public affairs out of profound sadness about the plight of the Muslim minority in your country, the Rohingya," Tutu wrote.

"What some have called 'ethnic cleansing' and others 'a slow genocide' has persisted, and recently accelerated. The images we are seeing of the suffering of the Rohingya fill us with pain and dread...If the political price of your ascension to the highest office in Myanmar is your silence, the price is surely too steep."

Suu Kyi said her government is trying to help "everybody who is of our country, whether or not they are our citizens".

In a statement on Friday, US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley urged Myanmar to implement the Annan commission's recommendations.
Washington: The United States and Russian envoys are to meet in Finland this coming week in a bid to calm diplomatic tensions that have risen to levels of the Cold War.

The State Department's third-ranking official, Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Thomas Shannon, will meet on Monday and Tuesday with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov. Shannon and Ryabkov have held several rounds of talks this year focused on resolving irritants in US-Russian relations, such as the tit-for-tat closures of diplomatic missions and expulsion of diplomats. They're expected to address broader strategic relations and arms control as well.

On 31 August, in response to an order from Moscow to reduce the US diplomatic presence in Russia by several hundred people, the US ordered Russia to close its consulate in San Francisco and two annexes in Washington and New York. Those actions followed the US seizure of two Russian compounds in Maryland and New York and the expulsion of dozens of Russian diplomats in retaliation for Moscow's alleged interference in the 2016 presidential election.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who are expected to meet this month in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, charged Shannon and Ryabkov earlier this year with exploring ways to resolve bilateral disputes that are hindering broader cooperation on strategic and security issues, such as the war in Syria and the conflict in Ukraine.

Among the top complaints from Washington: the harassment of American government personnel in Russia, a Russian ban on adoptions of children by US families, and Moscow's halting of plans to construct a new US consulate in St Petersburg. Russia's complaints include US sanctions imposed after its annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region and the seizure of its properties.

Two earlier rounds of talks between Shannon and Ryabkov ended inconclusively.

The State Department announced the new talks Saturday and said Shannon will also meet Finnish President Sauli Niinisto and other Finnish officials while in Helsinki.
One Cincinnati-based startup recently launched a DIY kit of smart-home connected products  which includes voice-controlled Amazon Echo Dot technology -- that it says can help senior citizens live independently for longer.

The kit offered by TruSense, with starting prices at about $200 (and a $50-per-month subscription fee), is sold as a package deal that includes a monitoring service and app that allows loved ones to virtually keep track of you remotely, and be alerted if you may need assistance. For now, TruSense is only available in the U.S.

Does the price make sense?

A similar SmartThings monitoring kit costs $250. The $50 a month cost is more than comparable monitoring plans from Lowe's Iris and SimpliSafe, but roughly on par with professional services like ADT and AT&T Digital Life, according to a CNET review. To be worth it in the long run  the app will need to offer accurate data and useful insights. You don't have to pay a monthly fee to use SmartThings gear or an Amazon Echo Dot on its own.

FOX Business caught up with Rob Deubell, vice president of TruSense, to find out more about the company's new product.

FOX BUSINESS: How does the TruSense monitoring system work?

TruSense: TruSenses passive in-home sensors are modern and discreet. Families decide together where to put them, and once connected to the homes wifi, they immediately begin to have their loved-one protected and can get insights into wellness trends that may suggest that further attention is needed- such as a decline in activity levels, whether they are they getting a sufficient amount of sleep, or a sudden change in bathroom frequency.

TruSense can also report how much time caregivers or other visitors spend in the home while also monitoring for safe home temperatures, dangerous water leaks and vehicle GPS. Also, should they be experiencing early stages of dementia and have a tendency to get lost or wander, TruSense can also see their loved ones location.

When a pattern shifts, TruSense notices, and updates the user and the circle of people who theyve chosen via custom notificationsit can even notify the 24/7 emergency monitoring center through a voice integration with the Amazon Echo Dot.

Loved ones and other caregivers that are granted access to the trusted circle by the family can get at-a-glance updates on insights from any device with an internet connection.

FOX BUSINESS: How many seniors have signed on to this system while in stealth mode?

TruSense: We utilized a controlled program while building towards launch as we were creating something new in the market, specifically forging new ground with the TruSense intelligence layer and algorithms. We started by building a small apartment in our warehouse over a year ago where we tested thousands of situations and scenarios to refine the algorithms and ensure they were accurate.

Eight months ago we started working with just a few seniors where we had direct access that provided us with first-hand observations of their life patterns to be certain the system output matched the real world patterns and accurately identified any anomalies that related to potential safety and wellness issues. More recently we extended to a small group of seniors including a program with an independent living facility that provided additional confirmation of the accuracy of TruSense.

FOX BUSINESS: What would you say to critics who point out that technology can sometime malfunction?

TruSense: We have gone to great lengths to ensure that TruSense delivers multiple layers of protection, providing a fail-safe system that provides a safety net. Through integration with multiple technology options (e.g. Echo Dot, Motion Sensors, Pendant) TruSense provides redundancy for additional peace of mind.

TruSense does not require a wearable to deliver 24/7 emergency response. TruSense in-home sensors operate together as a new kind of personal emergency response system (PERS).

TruSense has personalized alerts and notifications when something goes wrong based on customized user thresholds that can trigger a text or voice commands can be used to notify our 24/7 emergency response team via integration with digital assistants such as Amazon Echo.
A few thoughts now one of the hardest hit stocks today. Equifax (NYSE: EFX) lost more than 13% of its value because it gave up the confidential data of 143 million americans in one of the largest data breaches in history.

Names, social security numbers, birth dates, addresses, credit card numbers, driver's license numbers were all exposed in the breach, which was discovered on July 29. But, it took Equifax some six weeks to disclose their extraordinary security breakdown and the attack on millions and millions of their customers and consumers.

The ceo of Equifax apologized -- not nearly as profoundly or as contritely as he should have -- and worse, there's no explanation as to how the cyber attack was carried out or by who.

And now we learn three executives, including the CFO, sold shares of the company just days after the breach was first discovered, earning nearly two million dollars. Equifax claims the executives were unaware of the breach when they sold the stock, but the company should do the right thing and reverse it so there is no question of integrity, while there are so many questions about the company's lack of security and failure to protect the private information of 143 million americans.

But the bad news for consumers doesn't end there. Americans who sign up for Equifax's credit monitoring following the breach could be giving up rights to sue the company. That's outrageous.

New York's attorney general, who I almost never agree with, as well as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau were calling on Equifax to remove the arbitration clause. Conveniently, the CFPBas rule banning arbitration clauses doesn't go into effect until later this month, and even then, it only impacts agreements entered starting next year.

I believe Equifax is acting with ignorance and impunity against the people they have an obligation to protect. I also can't believe the Chamber of Commerce and Business Roundtable aren't calling into account the actions of Equifax and insisting on a higher level of integrity from all businesses entrusted to hold Americans' personal information secure.

Both regulators and Equifax customers should hold the company responsible for its utter failure to protect its customers.
Energy infrastructure companies often offer investors attractive income streams because long-term fee-based contracts underpin the bulk of their assets. Since they can build additional assets that are also underpinned by long-term fee-based contracts, these entities have a slightly easier time forecasting future dividend growth.

Meanwhile, companies that secure a substantial backlog of expansion projects have the ability to forecast monster dividend-growth potential. Take, for example, Kinder Morgan (NYSE: KMI) and Enbridge (NYSE: ENB), which are on pace to double their already lucrative dividends over the coming years thanks in part to their massive project backlogs. Here's a closer look at how soon these companies could be paying twice their current rate.

A short wait

U.S. natural gas pipeline giant Kinder Morgan currently yields a solid 2.6%, which is a well-supported level since it is only about a quarter of the distributable cash flow the company generates from its stable fee-bearing assets. At the moment, the company uses its remaining cash flow to finance growth projects and to reduce debt. However, the gas pipeline behemoth has completed several strategic initiatives over the past year that have helped shore up the balance sheet while also securing a portion of the financing needed for future growth projects. Because of that, the company expects to generate more cash than it needs starting next year. As a result, the company recently unveiled a plan to boost its payout 60% next year and by 25% more in both 2019 and 2020; it also authorized a $2 billion share buyback program. At that rate, the company will double its dividend by 2019.

Given that Kinder Morgan currently pays out only a quarter of its cash flow, it can easily support that higher rate (a 100% increase would still consume only about half its cash flow). In addition, Kinder Morgan has several growth projects underway that should bolster its cash flow over the next few years, providing even more support for its dividend-growth plan.

Overall, it has $12.2 billion of projects in its backlog. While the controversial Trans Mountain pipeline expansion under development by its Canadian subsidiary Kinder Morgan Canada Limited (TSX: KML) makes up a significant portion of its backlog, that project doesn't factor into the near-term dividend equation since it won't enter service until the end of 2019 at the earliest. That said, the company has several natural-gas-pipeline, products-pipeline, and terminal projects under construction that should fuel more than $500 million in incremental adjusted earnings before taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) over the next three years, giving it further padding for the dividend. In other words, it's a rather safe bet that Kinder Morgan will indeed give investors a 100% raise in the very near future.

Steadily winning the race

Canadian energy infrastructure juggernaut Enbridge currently offers investors an even better starting yield of 4.6%. That payout is on solid ground since it consumes only about half of the company's stable cash flow. Enbridge currently uses the other half of its cash flow, along with outside capital from other sources, to finance high-return growth projects. In fact, the company estimates that it has enough commercially secured expansion projects in its backlog to support 10% to 12% annual dividend growth through 2024 while maintaining a 50% to 60% payout ratio. If Enbridge can hit the high end of that range, it would be on pace to double the dividend by 2024.

It's worth pointing out, however, that Enbridge's dividend-growth forecast carries more risk than Kinder Morgan's plan, because it needs to complete a significant percentage of the projects in its backlog to give it the cash flow necessary to support that higher payout level. The company is off to a solid start: It has 31 billion Canadian dollars' ($25.6 billion) worth of projects underway that provide good earnings and dividend-growth visibility through 2020. However, it needs to move forward with a considerable portion of the nearly CA$48 billion ($39.6 billion) of commercially secured longer-term projects further down the pipeline to cover the rest of the projected payout. If it doesn't complete enough projects, it might not deliver the high-end growth needed to double its dividend by 2024. Notably, though, Enbridge has an ample supply of projects focused on cleaner energy sources such as natural gas and wind, which increases the likelihood that it can achieve the high-end rate needed to double its already attractive payout within seven years.

Two ways to collect a high-growth income stream

Kinder Morgan and Enbridge each offer investors an attractive current income stream that appears poised to double in the years ahead. That said, investors have an interesting choice. They can accept less income now with a high probability that the payout will double in just two years, by going with Kinder Morgan. Or they could opt for more cash flow in the near term with the potential to collect twice that rate several years from now, by choosing Enbridge. While either option looks like a winner, it's worth noting that Kinder Morgan's stock price is dirt cheap right now, which opens up the possibility of equally compelling capital gains as the company makes good on its promised dividend growth.

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Matthew DiLallo owns shares of Kinder Morgan and has the following options: short January 2018 $30 puts on Kinder Morgan, long January 2018 $30 calls on Kinder Morgan, and short December 2017 $19 puts on Kinder Morgan. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Enbridge and Kinder Morgan. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Kroger (NYSE: KR) recently announced earnings results for its fiscal second quarter. The nation's biggest grocery store chain showed a slight improvement in operating results. But its pricing battle with rival retailers is heating up and will push profits lower for the full year.

More on that earnings outlook in a moment. First, here's how the headline results stacked up against the prior-year period:

What happened this quarter?

Kroger's sales growth pace improved for the second straight quarter, yet remained far below the 5% or better that shareholders enjoyed as recently as 2015.

Here are some other highlights from the quarter:

Comparable-store sales rose by 0.7% to mark Kroger's first expansion by that metric since the third quarter of fiscal 2016. That growth kept the retailer behind its chief rival Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT), which boosted its comps by 1.8% in the most recent quarter while increasing its profit outlook

(NYSE: WMT), which boosted its comps by 1.8% in the most recent quarter while increasing its profit outlook Kroger's sales volume and customer traffic improved, suggesting minor market share gains.

The digital sales channel more than doubled thanks to a recent e-commerce acquisition.

Operating margin held steady at 2.5% of sales as the company benefited from cost cuts.

Higher interest and tax payments pushed net profit down to $353 million, or 1.3% of sales, from $383 million, or 1.4% of sales, last year. However, Kroger's earnings decline was far steeper after accounting for the prior year's pension plan charges. Adjusted profit dove by 22% to $353 million as the company ramped up its price cuts to protect its market position.

What management had to say

CEO Rodney McMullen focused his comments on Kroger's improving operating trends. "We returned to positive [comps] growth in the second quarter," he said in a press release. "We had strong growth in both loyal and total households," McMullen continued.

Executives highlighted the direct connection they saw between low prices and rising sales volumes. "Traffic is up, unit movement is up, market share is up, and our customers' price perception is excellent and continues to improve," McMullen explained.

Looking forward

That price leadership is proving expensive to the business, with operating margin declining by half of a percentage point over the trailing 12 months.

Investors shouldn't expect a quick rebound, either. Executives have expressed their determination to win any pricing war, whether it comes from comparable peers like Wal-Mart or from Internet-based challengers. Kroger has spent billions on lowering prices over the past decade, McMullen said in June, and the management team has "no intention of giving up the momentum we've gained on low prices."

The good news for the business is that the strategy is delivering results in the form of rising customer traffic and sales volumes. And a lost customer is much more expensive to the business than reduced prices, over the long term.

This competitive approach assures that earnings will fall significantly this year, though. Kroger's confirmed outlook calls for adjusted profit of between $2 per share and $2.05 per share. That would mark a decline from last year's $2.12 per share result. Given the intense pricing pressure in the grocery industry, it's not clear when Kroger will be able to return to its long-term target of improving annual earnings by between 8% and 11%.

10 stocks we like better than KrogerWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*

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Demitrios Kalogeropoulos has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
With My Days of Mercy, Kate Mara and Ellen Page couldnt have picked a more dramatic change of pace for their second time working together. The two actresses and close friends had previously collaborated on Tiny Detectives, a True Detective parody on Funny or Die that made fun of their short statures. Instead of being a vehicle for height jokes, My Days of Mercy is an unlikely love story between two women who are opposite sides of the death penalty debate.

It was definitely heavy, Page told Variety. We didnt have that many days and we were sprinting every day, but I feel like whenever Im around Kate, shes able to find the lightness and the joy and the fun. She was a comfort to me.

My Days of Mercy is premiering at this years Toronto Intl. Film Festival, where it is also looking for distribution. Mara and Page produced the film, as well as star in it. The two had been looking for something to collaborate on for years, asking their agents to bring them potential projects.

The film follows Lucy (Page), whose father is on death row, and who has been left along with her siblings to fend for themselves. They routinely protest against the death penalty  at one such gathering she meets Mercy (Kate Mara), an attorney and the daughter of a police officer whose partner was killed by a man who will be executed. Despite their differences of belief, they are drawn together.

I think we were both sort of in denial about how intense it would be to tell this kind of story, said Mara. It helped to be making it with one of my best friends, because we trust each other so much, and that brings a whole other level of vulnerability to the film.

For Page, who is openly gay, My Days of Mercy enabled her to back a film about the LGBTQ community that is set far apart from coastal cities, in the heart of Ohio. The film was shot in the Midwest in the days leading up to Donald Trumps election victory.

I want to be able to tell stories and play queer characters that present a wide away of what queer people can be, said Page. In many ways this is a very traditional narrative. Its just a love story that happens to be about two women.

When the film opens, Lucy has cut herself off emotionally and is conflicted about her sexuality.

I was just interested in knowing more about how Lucy felt, Page said. Shes put up such a profound defensive mechanism, that shes numb and she has a lot of sarcasm. When she meets Mercy, its about having her heart opened and allowing light to get in. It shatters her reality and allows her to get in touch with beautiful feelings.
Josh Gad thinks some people are worth melting over.

The "Frozen" star said that his co-star, Kristen Bell, saved his family from Hurricane Irma by securing them a room at her hotel in Orlando, Fla.

Gad, 36, praised Bell, 37, on Twitter Friday evening for helping his family before powerful Hurricane Irma roared into the state.

BEYONCE SHEDS TEARS AS SHE VISITS VICTIMS FROM HARVEY

So @kristenanniebell literally saved my parents and my entire family tonight from #hurricaneirma. When they were stranded in Florida, she got them a hotel room at her hotel in Orlando and saved them, my brothers, my sister-in-law and niece and nephew, the Florida native wrote on Instagram along with a selfie of Bell with his parents.

Gad's family were unable to evacuate and were running into problems over where to stay.

Bell, the "Veronica Mars" actress, is hunkered down in Orlando filming her upcoming movie "Like Father." She posted a photo on Instagram Friday of her and an unidentified male at Target getting some supplies before the hurricane.

HURRICANE IRMA, HARVEY ARE NATURES WRATH FOR TRUMP VICTORY, JENNIFER LAWRENCE CLAIMS

Last run to the store for #irma hurricane holdover prep while bracing down in orlando- we didn't have the option to leave so here we are. Just doing our best and trying to stay positive but cautious, and trying to help those who need help prepping. Every person i passed today was assisting someone else- #neighborshelpingneighbors - it was beautiful to see. Sad that a hurricane has to bring out the best in everyone- but happy that the community will be holding hands through this. Im grateful to Gary and the team at @swandolphin in epcot for helping us feel safe while we get through this together, Bell wrote.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott described the Category 3 hurricane as the states most catastrophic ever and has urged about 6.3 million people to evacuate. The storm was expected to make landfall sometime Sunday.
A California man claims he was served a raw hamburger in his meal from a McDonalds in Merced, California and posted a photo on social media to prove it.

Christian Knight, 33, says he ordered a Quarter Pounder at the fast food location and drove home. He ate half of the burger before realizing that something was wrong.

I felt sick immediately, he told The Daily Meal, after he removed the bun. He stopped eating and took a photo to document the evidence, which he posted to his personal Facebook page. He told us that a few hours later, he experienced stomach cramping, diarrhea, and vomiting.

Knight said he tried to reach out to the McDonalds, located across the street from Merced High School, but they did not answer.

He has not yet tried to contact McDonalds corporate office but has kept the rest of the raw burger in his refrigerator, along with his receipt.

The Daily Meal attempted to call the location but no one answered the phone. We also reached out to corporate and will update this story when we get a response. Quarter Pounders (hopefully cooked ones) are here to stay but here are 15 McDonalds menu items youll never see again.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Meal.
New York Fashion Week is making serious strides towards greater inclusivity. Though the festivities do not conclude until Sept. 13, a historic first was achieved last year, with every runway show featuring at least one model of color.

According to data from The Fashion Spot, non-white models comprised over 31 percent of the fashion weeks rosters in February 2017. Stunners including Alicia Burke and Mayowa Nicholas were some of the most casted models overall.

FRENCH FASHION GIANT TO STOP WORKING WITH 'UNHEALTHILY' THIN MODELS

Designers, too, are excited about the promise this positive shift holds for women everywhere.

The customer wants to see what our clothes will look like on their bodies, on their skin tones, designed Christian Siriano told The New York Post.

As greater numbers of women of color grace the catwalks, fashion houses arent stopping there. Kicking off shows for Spring 2018 collections on Sept. 7, Calvin Klein sent a 16-year-old transgender model down the runway and fashion lavel Chromat outfitted two plus-size models with anti-chafing thigh bands, according to reports from The New York Times and Vogue.

PRIYANKA CHOPRA REGRETS ENDORSING SKIN-LIGHTENING CREAM

Nevertheless, some industry insiders believe such castings are more complicated than others.

"We're still seeing tokenism and we're not yet seeing widespread acceptance of models across categories-models of various sizes, ages, races and gender identities," Model Alliance director Sara Ziff told The Fashion Spot.

Even so, increasingly inclusive castings at New York Fashion Week represent progress in the right direction for the sartorial world as a whole.

New York is doing so well [with diversity], and we have a lot of young brands who are super-boisterous. Europe isnt as much on the cusp of what were doing, Siriano added.

FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS

One thing's for certain: inclusive body positivity is always in style. With the official fashion weeks of London, Milan and Paris scheduled to begin later this month, we'll have to wait and see if these fellow fashion capitals will champion inclusivity on the catwalks, as well.
Did voter fraud in New Hampshire save ObamaCare from being repealed?

The Presidential Commission on Election Integrity is meeting Tuesday in New Hampshire and may eventually provide an answer.

A debate is raging in the state, home of the first presidential primary, about whether state election laws were violated last November by out-of-state Democrats who entered New Hampshire and took advantage of the same-day voter registration law to falsely claim they were New Hampshire residents.

The election featured a photo-finish race for president  Hillary Clinton won by 2,467 votes  and in the race for the U.S. Senate. Democrat Maggie Hassan narrowly defeated incumbent GOP Sen. Kelly Ayotte by only 1,017 votes.

Trump won the Electoral College comfortably, but he could easily have been in a position where the Granite States four electoral votes would have determined the outcome of the presidential race.

Since all of New Hampshires neighboring states are Democratic, its likely that if any of their residents crossed into New Hampshire to use the same-day voter registration law to cast ballots most of these people voted Democratic. That could have wound up costing Ayotte and possibly Trump a victory in New Hampshire.

Should that have happened, the implications are huge. Trump won the Electoral College comfortably, but he could easily have been in a position where the Granite States four electoral votes would have determined the outcome of the presidential race.

As for Ayotte, Republicans in the Senate failed to pass a repeal and replace bill for ObamaCare by only a single vote. If Ayotte had been in the Senate, she would have provided that missing vote and ObamaCare would have been repealed. Lawmakers would now be in the middle of a rousing debate over how to replace ObamaCare.

In the 15 states that have same-day voter registration, the vast majority of voters who use the law are recent arrivals whove moved from other states. But apparently not in New Hampshire.

The vast majority of the 6,240 voters in New Hampshire who registered on the same day they cast ballots  70 percent  used out-of-state identification to prove their identities, according to the Public Interest Legal Foundation. Thats something that people who have just moved into the state can do, prior to obtaining New Hampshire ID.

Some of the out-of-state ID holders were no doubt college students using ID from their home states, even though state law requires they get a New Hampshire ID within 30 days of moving into the state to be considered a true resident.

But only about 7 percent of those same-day registrants went on to obtain New Hampshire drivers licenses and only 3 percent have since registered vehicles in New Hampshire  a state with very little public transportation. This raises serious questions about whether many of the people who took advantage of same-day registration to vote were out-of-state residents voting improperly in the Granite State.

Kris Kobach, the vice chair of the presidential commission and the secretary of state for Kansas, says the anomalies are important because they could have swung both the Senate race that Ayotte narrowly lost and the presidential race the Trump barely lost.

New Hampshire lawmakers have already recognized the problems that same-day registration poses for the integrity of their elections.

Last spring, a bill was signed into law that clearly requires anyone registering to vote less than 30 days before an election take one of more specified steps to make New Hampshire the one place, more than any other, from which he or she engages in the domestic, social, and civil activities of participating in democratic self-government. Examples would be changing ones drivers license and registering a vehicle in the state.

So in the future, New Hampshire will have some mechanism in place to ensure that only its residents vote, rather than having drive-in partisans and overeager political activists from other states cancel out the ballot of legitimate voters.
Journalism isnt dead, but the liberal news media are trying hard to murder it in its sleep like Freddy Krueger would. That was evident in the news coverage of President Trumps decision this week to phase out a program known as DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals).

President Obama forced DACA on us in 2012 to allow illegal immigrant children known as Dreamers to gain temporary legal status to stay in the U.S. President Trump said the executive order issued by President Obama was unconstitutional and that its the job of Congress to change immigration laws.

This was a dream scenario for the Trump haters who dominate the media. There was no difference in tone from the far-left talking heads and the so-called journalists. Trumps decision was called cold-hearted, advancing a white supremacy agenda, cruelty or even racist.

The night of the decision, the broadcast evening news shows devoted 99 percent of their coverage to defending DACA. Just 11 seconds were used to mention conservative talking points against the bogus immigration process designed to aid Dreamers. Satan could run for office and the networks would give him more positive coverage than this.

Imagine a sitting senator is prosecuted for bribery for the first time in 36 years. Sounds like a good story. Too bad the major media have either ignored it or hid the fact that the senator is New Jersey Democrat Sen. Bob Menendez.

That wasnt all. Journalists hyped Obamas defense of DACA like they were surprised he defended the garbage he forced on the American public. Because even if you support the Dreamers staying, doing it by executive fiat was wrong and illegal.

The Constitution gives Congress  not the president  the power to pass legislation. Once Congress acts, the president can sign bills into law  but he cant just cut Congress out of the process and pass laws all by himself.

Nearly forgotten former NBC anchor Tom Brokaw tottered over to a microphone to claim, the Republican Party has been declaring war on Hispanics in this country. Only on the left do you equate people who are here illegally with millions who are citizens.

The Associated Press deployed my favorite bit of propaganda from the whole debate. In an article about DACAs impact in Chicago, the wire service referred to illegal aliens as undocumented citizens. Sure, they are bound to be citizens of some country, but not of the United States. Heres the actual BS quote: [Chicago] school officials say about a third of the schools students are undocumented citizens. This is stunning, even in a climate where journalists essentially work for the Democratic Party.

2. Three Strikes And Youre Out: Imagine a sitting senator is prosecuted for bribery for the first time in 36 years. Sounds like a good story. Too bad the major media have either ignored it or hid the fact that the senator is New Jersey Democrat Sen. Bob Menendez.

First we had The New York Times story strangely leaving out Menendezs party affiliation. Then the Times added the senators party affiliation on its third revision, according to News Diffs. And the important information was apparently added only after commenters on the Times website skewered the newspaper for hiding it. Even then, the Times buried the party ID in the fourth paragraph instead of featuring it prominently in the headline. Times Associate Managing Editor for Standards Phil Corbett called it simply a dumb mistake.

Then the broadcast outlets pretty much ignored the Menendez story. Only CBS News managed a brief mention of this pivotal trial. To top it off, NBCNews.com ran an Associated Press story that listed Menendezs party as  Republican. Any one of those items would make the story look fishy. Combine them and you have to wonder if journalists think were all that stupid and easily fooled.

Yeah, they do.

3. We Had Bad Weather, It Must Be Climate Change: Climate change news coverage is far easier to predict than the weather. If its cold in summer, its climate change. If its hot, its climate change as well. Too many storms? Climate change. Too few? You betcha, its climate change.

The United States went more than 12 years without a major hurricane hitting land. (Hurricane Sandy was only a Category 1 storm when it hit.) Journalists have been telling us since Hurricane Katrina that wed have more powerful storms. Sooner or later they were bound to be correct.

So now we have two tragic and large storms and the media want desperately to tie them to climate change. The New York Times, Politico, and lefty journalism operations like ProPublica and the Columbia Journalism Review all pushed the climate change narrative.

Time Magazine hyped: The One Number That Shows Why Climate Change Is Making Hurricane Season Worse. Wacky BillMoyers.com wrote a ridiculous apocalyptic scenario. Under a header titled The Permanent Emergency, it included this quote: As coastal cities slide into ruin and those who can migrate inland do so, inequality and relative depravation will increase.

The truth is that the climate has always changed. There have always been big storms and horrific weather events  droughts, floods, blizzards and more.

Look now for news outlets to pretend that 97 percent of climate scientists support the belief that man is the cause of climate change. This article in the National Review rips that apart.

4. Hats Off To CNN: The news media wasnt making fun of Melania Trumps heels this week. It moved on to hats. CNN featured a complaint about the hat that President Trump wore during his trip to Texas.

The hat was merely a white hat with blue lettering saying USA. CNN decided to feature the frivolous complaints of a far-left organization that exists merely to attack the right. That group is CREW  Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. CNN called it an ethics group.

CREW is part of the group of organizations run by lefty Hillary Clinton fan boy David Brock. He only resigned from chairman of the board in January and is trying hard to raise $40 million for his host of organizations that all target the right.

If you expected to learn any of that from CNN, youd be mistaken. CNN reporter Julia Horowitz didnt point out any of those salient facts. She just helped hype another ridiculous charge against the president. Perhaps her next ethics story ought to be about her employer and not Trump.

Hurray for Hollywood: Nothing embodies the true spirit of Tinseltown like a teen, incestuous lesbian sex scene. Nope, not joking. That was the plotline of this weeks The Sinner on USA Network. A coming-of-age story for an older sister went far below the gutter when the sister decided to teach her younger sister about what her boyfriend did with her. Must be easy to find writing work in Hollywood  as long as you have no morality, ethics or class.

Then there was lefty Ryan Murphys hilarious attempt at horror in American Horror Story: Cult. The story started election night and shows some hilarious liberal meltdowns. The Trump-supporting villain also literally humped his TV. Never doubt thats how the Left Coast views the right.

There is some hope left in Hollywood. The trailer for an upcoming movie is thrilling fans. The true story is based on a popular Christian song, I Can Only Imagine and the trailer has already gotten 31 million views. Maybe some feel-good fare will cure what ails Hollywood this summer. Call it Chicken Soup for Their Souls.
Students are heading back to school and many are dreading the writing assignments their teachers and professors will be giving them. Thats understandable, because most teachers arent preparing their students to succeed in writing in the classroom and on the job.

As a New York Times bestselling author and a former faculty member in the UCLA and New York University writing programs, let me offer a few thoughts about how teachers and their students can finally get writing  right.

Improving writing instruction and writing has never been more important. Thats because in just about all professions, if you cant write you cant work. Poorly written emails, proposals, resumes, tweets and posts get you ignored, laughed at, or even fired.

As journalist A.J. Liebling put it, the way to write is well.

The problem is that few educators know how to teach people to write well. Here are three ways they can do a better job:

First, stop correcting everything in sight.

I recently met with a successful businessman in his 70s who told me that he knew he couldnt write because he had gotten a C on a writing assignment  in seventh grade. Hes not alone.

For whatever reason, most writing teachers have the inaccurate belief that they can correct, shame and otherwise bludgeon their students into writing better.

The problem is that students turn in writing assignments expecting a pat on the head and end up with a sea of red ink. Then they quickly become convinced they are and will always remain lousy writers.

Instead of correcting everything in sight, which depresses students and gives them the idea that they will never write well, do what I do. Find some sentences in your students work  there are always at least a few  that read well.

Maybe the word choice is intriguing. Maybe the musicality of the sentence is pleasing. Maybe the writer made a point firmly and succinctly.

Show students what they did right. Then let them consider the rest of their sentences and ask themselves what they need to do to make those other sentences just as good.

After that, ask students to write a second version of their paper and submit it, so you can see the improvement. This encourages them to review and rewrite their work  a key step to produce better writing.

Pointing out what works isnt the same as giving out ribbons for participation. Instead, youre giving the students a baseline for what good writing looks like. Youre showing them that they already have the ability to write well, and that some of their sentences are at a professional level.

This approach gives confidence instead of destroying the students self-image as writers. It works every time.

Second, stop giving grades for writing.

My biggest fear as a writing professor was that somebody would give me a Hemingway or Melville short story I hadnt read and then stand back and laugh at me as I gave it a B-.

Grading writing assignments either depresses the students when grades are low, or inflates their self-image when the grades are high. Students often cannot distinguish between how an instructor feels about a given assignment and how an instructor feels about a students overall ability to write.

In other words, if you give a student a B- on a writing assignment, she will likely conclude: I am a B- writer and I will always be a B- writer, because the teacher is never wrong.

If you can show me one writer who became a better writer because his or her work was graded, I will give you my autographed edition of The Sun Also Rises.

Third, expose your students to great writing in a wide variety of contexts.

The best way to become a better writer is to become a better reader. But in todays ephemeral, text-and-email-driven world, theres very little emphasis on great writing and great communication.

Teach your students how to recognize great writing when they see it, and most likely some of that greatness will rub off on their own writing abilities.

You can find great writing just about anywhere.

When I was in law school, I would stand up in the law library while reading Supreme Court decisions written by Justice Robert Jackson because they were so powerfully written.

You can find brilliantly written business books, white papers, and speeches to share with your students. In other words, not all great writing comes from the fiction shelf. Show your students that great communicating can take place anywhere  even in the business world.

These three steps will make teachers better at teaching writing and enable them to turn average writers into good and even great ones.

Writing teachers have to step up their game. In a world where we communicate so much in writing, we owe our students nothing less.
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum officially removed a study Tuesday that whitewashed former President Barack Obamas Syrian policy after Jewish and Syrian human rights groups criticized the report.

The study was undertaken by the Holocaust Memorial Museum's Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide, where Cameron Hudson, a former Obama administration national security official, is the director.

"Since its release, a number of people with whom we have worked closely on Syria since the conflict's outbreak have expressed concerns with the study," a message on the museums website now reads. "The Museum has decided to remove the study from its website as we evaluate this feedback."

The research paper, which included a variety of computational models and interviews with experts or policy makers, stated that the Syrian civil war made it very difficult from the beginning for the U.S. government to take effective action to prevent atrocities in Syria, even compared with other challenging policy contexts," the Tablet magazine reported.

The conclusion of the controversial study claims that the support for the anti-Assad rebels or U.S. air strikes against the Syrian government following the 2013 chemical weapon attack would have not reduced the number of people dying  and could have even increased it.

Leon Wieseltier, a Brookings Institution fellow, blasted the study.

Shame on the Holocaust Museum, he said, for releasing an allegedly scientific study that justifies bystanderism.

He told the Tablet: If I had the time I would gin up a parody version of this that will give us the computational-modeling algorithmic counterfactual analysis of John J McCloys decision not to bomb the Auschwitz ovens in 1944. Im sure we could concoct the f------ algorithms for that, too.

Rabbi Shmuley Yanklowitz, a co-founder of Jews for Human Rights in Syria, also joined in criticizing the study, telling the magazine that he was confused by the study as the museum was not created just to focus on preserving Holocaust memory but also on ensuring no future genocides occur.

"To merely say no intervention could have made a difference strikes me as a strange conclusion if I understand it correctly. ... I don't think we have the right to choose inaction when we know the reality on the ground, he added.

Some Jewish communal leaders, according to the Tablet, have privately suggested that the Holocaust Museums authority has been seized for partisan gains and scoring political points by rewriting history.

Ben Rhodes, former deputy national security adviser to Obama who played a role in setting Obamas Syrian policy, was appointed to the museums Memorial Council in the last days of the administration. Former National Security Council members Grant Harris and Daniel Benjamin are also on the museums council.

Obama has been heavily criticized back in 2013 when he issued an ultimatum  the so-called red line  over Syrian dictator Bashar Assads use of chemical weapons  but refrained from acting after it was crossed.

At that time, the White House said more than 1,400 people, including at least 400 children, have died in the chemical attack in Syria.

Shlomo Bolts, a Syrian American Council official, said it was grossly incorrect to suggest that nothing could have been done to save Syria.

"There was a lot that could have been done and that can still be done to stop the mass atrocities in Syria. There are still thousands of civilians in Syria who are being tortured in Assad's jails or fear imminent attacks by Assad forces and there is much that can be done to help them, he added.
Sen. Dianne Feinsteins solid stature on Capitol Hill and in California Democratic politics may be in peril, with progressives purportedly frustrated enough about her views on President Trump, DACA and single-payer health care to possibly mount a 2018 challenge for her Senate seat.

A strong potential primary challenger is state Sen. Kevin de Leon, a Los Angeles Democrat, according to Politico.

Feinstein most recently upset progressives on Tuesday, the day the Trump administration announced the dismantling of DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, the Obama-era executive order that protects young illegal immigrants from deportation.

The 84-year-old senator said she supports DACA but acknowledged the administrations argument that the order is on shaky legal ground, amid legal threats from Republican states' attorneys general, and should be codified by Congress.

We need to pass a law, and we should do it," Feinstein told MSNBC.

Her analysis came several days after being criticized at a town hall meeting in San Francisco for expressing optimism about Trump becoming "a good president. The remark resulted in so much Democratic backlash that she issued a clarification about being under no illusion about Trump.

Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, was elected to the Senate in 1992.

Assuming she runs, shell be tough to beat, Ben Tulchin, a California Democratic strategist, said Saturday.

Tulchin, president of San Francisco-based Tulchin Research, also said Feinsteins solid backing among California Democrats, especially with Bay Area and women voters, make it tough to outflank her in that capacity.

California Democrats until recently appeared on a nearly endless wait to rise in political circles -- with Feinstein and fellow Democrat Barbara Boxer as the states long-standing U.S. senators and fellow party member Jerry Brown serving four straight terms as governor.

However, Boxers retirement allowed former state Attorney General Kamal Harris last year to win that Senate seat. Brown leaves in January after a fourth-and-final term. And Feinstein has yet to say whether shell seek re-election next year.

If victorious, Feinstein would be 91 at the end of that six-year term.

Feinstein has continuously expressed reservations about the so-called single-payer health care plan championed by many progressives, including Vermont Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders, a 2016 Democratic presidential candidate and a potential 2020 challenger.

California state Democratic lawmakers this summer split on such a plan, which would create a universal health care system for residents.

House Speaker Anthony Rendon shelved the Senate-approved $400 billion proposal, arguing it had no funding plan.

Politico also reports 38-year-old businessman Joseph Sanberg is being encouraged to run against Feinstein.

Courtni Pugh, de Leons political director, has tried to tamp down speculation about him possibly making a run for Feinstein's seat amid a purported groundswell of grassroots

Senator de Leon has his head down and is focused on Californias Legislative business, she told Politico.
Twitter members went wild on Sept. 7 when photos surfaced of Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos sprawling lakefront summer home in Holland, Michigan.

User @Davidcrespo ignited chaos with a post of the "cottage" that has that has since been retweeted nearly 5,300 times and liked over 19,000 times. However, its not the first time DeVos 22,000 square foot property has made headlines.

According to Grand Rapids News, the South Shore Drive has been something of a local attraction for years. DeVos and her husband, former Amway CEO Dick DeVos, purchased the estate from her father-in-law Richard in 2007 for $4.5 million.

HURRICANE IRMA SLAMS INTO PRESIDENT TRUMP'S $17-MILLION CARIBBEAN VACATION HOME

Citing city records, Grand Rapid News noted the couple then renovated what had already been a grand home into a massive stone-and-shingle mansion. It now has eight bedrooms, five full bathrooms, three garages and a large infinity pool.

For months, cars have slowed along South Shore Drive as gawkers have followed the construction of the DeVos home, the biggest house in Holland, if not Ottawa County, the paper reported. Their three-story vacation home sets a new standard for size and grandeur among the other million-dollar-plus mansions that line Lake Macatawa, a popular spot with access to Lake Michigan.

THE OBAMAS MAY INVEST IN PROPERTY ON MARTHA'S VINEYARD

We are very excited with it, DeVos told the paper of her new summer residence.

With renovation on the desirably located property, real estate broker Andrea Crossman said the high-end lakefront home looks to be easily worth $10 million.

BILL AND HILLARY CLINTON'S OLD SUMMER GETAWAY SELLS FOR $29 MILLION

To the delight of gawkers both local and virtual, the Secretary of Educations real estate dream didnt come true exactly as planned. Grand Rapids News reported that Holland vetoed zoning requests to build a 10-foot-high stone fence around the perimeter of the property.

All the better for ogling, indeed!

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The remains of a powerful viking  long thought to be a man  was in fact a real-life Xena Warrior Princess, a study released Friday reveals.

The lady war boss was buried in the mid-10th century along with deadly weapons and two horses, leading archaeologists and historians to assume she was a man, according to the findings, published in in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology.

Wrong.

Its actually a woman, somewhere over the age of 30 and fairly tall, too, measuring around [56] tall , archaeologist Charlotte Hedenstierna-Jonson of Uppsala University, who conducted the study, told The Local.

And she was likely in charge.

Aside from the complete warrior equipment buried along with her  a sword, an axe, a spear, armor-piercing arrows, a battle knife, shields, and two horses  she had a board game in her lap, or more of a war-planning game used to try out battle tactics and strategies, which indicates she was a powerful military leader, Hedenstierna-Jonson said.Shes most likely planned, led and taken part in battles.

Read more at New York Post.
NASA has closed Kennedy Space Center in Titusville, FL. as the state braces for the impact of Hurricane Irma.

Arguably NASA's most important launch site, Kennedy will be closed from Sept. 8 to at least Sept. 11, because of the approaching storm.

"The storm currently is expected to make its closest approach to the Kennedy/Cape Canaveral Air Force Station area during the weekend," NASA said in a blog post. "Currently a Category 5 hurricane, Irma could potentially bring heavy rain and strong winds to the spaceport."

SPACEX LAUNCHES AIR FORCES'S SUPER-SECRET MINISHUTTLE

The government agency added that the facilities and infrastructure will be secured. Following the storm, "Kennedys Damage Assessment and Recovery Team will evaluate all center facilities and infrastructure for damage."

This is not the first time Kennedy Space Center has had to deal with a storm of this magnitude and over the years, it has beefed up its preparations.

In 1992, Hurricane Andrew hit the space station, eventually causing all new buildings to be constructed. Located at Cape Canaveral, Kennedy was rebuilt to handle hurricane-force winds of up to 125 miles per hour.

According to latest data from the NOAA, Irma is expected to have "maximum sustained winds" near 155 mph.

In getting ready for the storm, Kennedy used an alert scale knwon as Hurricane Condition (HURCON), which was initially designed for U.S. armed forces. In using HURCON, workers that lease space at Kennedy, which include SpaceX and Boeing, were able to secure their hardware.

Earlier this week, SpaceX, run by Elon Musk, was able to send a secret space shuttle from Kennedy, the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle using its Falcon rocket.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Follow Chris Ciaccia on Twitter @chris_ciaccia
New satellite imagery shows Hurricane Irma battering Cuba before making its way toward Florida today (Sept. 9).

The colossal storm made landfall on the northern coast of Cuba Friday evening (Sept. 8) at a Category 5 hurricane, and since then the eye of the storm has been moving west-northwest along the coast at a speed of about 9 mph (15 km/h), the National Hurricane Center (NHC) reports. You can see the latest satellite videos of Hurricane Irma here.

Irma was downgraded to a Category 3 hurricane at about 11 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT) on Saturday. However, officials warn that it is expected to regain strength once it moves back over warm ocean water later tonight. "Irma is forecast to restrengthen once it moves away from Cuba, and Irma is expected to remain a powerful hurricane as it approaches Florida," the NHC said in a public advisory. [Hurricane Irma in Photos: Latest Views from Space]

In a separate statement, NASA officials predicted that "the core of Irma will continue to move near or over the north coast of Cuba later today, and will reach the Florida Keys Sunday morning. The hurricane is expected to move along or near the southwest coast of Florida Sunday afternoon."

NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral Florida, along the state's central eastern coast, closed yesterday in preparation for Irma's arrival. In a Twitter statement today, KSC officials said the center is entering a secure HURCON 1 condition as the storm approaches. Nearby, the U.S. military's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station had taken its own steps to safeguard the base and spaceport ahead of the storm.

Weather satellites operated by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have been monitoring the storm from space since it formed out in the Atlantic Ocean this week.

A recent view from NASA's Aqua satellite on Saturday morning revealed cold temperatures in the cloud tops of thunderstorms surrounding Hurricane Irma's core, as well as in a band of thunderstorms over the Florida Keys.

NASA and NOAA satellites are also tracking two more storms Irma's vicinity: Hurricane Jose and Katia, a former hurricane that was downgraded to a tropical depression after making landfall over Mexico. [Video: Irma, Jose and Katia Seen from Space]

Email Hanneke Weitering at hweitering@space.com or follow her @hannekescience . Follow us @Spacedotcom , Facebook and Google+ . Original article on Space.com.
Sophisticated satellites are helping scientists monitor the volatility of Hurricanes Irma, Katia and Jose in the Atlantic basin. As the spacecraft capture data on the massive storms, weather agencies can merge the different observations to create accurate forecasts about where the hurricanes are traveling, the strength of their winds and which communities should start emergency preparations.

NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) developed satellites through NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS) to carry instruments into low-Earth orbit that can make nuanced detections of rainfall, cloud formations and the microphysics of these hurricanes.

Some satellites, such as the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory, collect data on their own. In several instances, like with the new Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS), satellites operate collectively as a group  known as a constellation  to create a precise composite understanding of storms. One example is the new Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS), which launched in December 2016 for hurricane tracking. [See Hurricane Irma in Motion in These NASA and NOAA Gifs]

The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) system built and developed the satellites comprising GOES as part of the agency's collaboration with NOAA. NASA continues to build newer GOES spacecraft to help NOAA collect increasingly reliable weather forecasts and seasonal predictions. The satellites can observe various details about a hurricane by watching how heat and light radiate from the stormy area.

Infrared channels on the GOES satellites can detect the presence of tall vertical clouds in the storm, because the infrared channels sense heat radiation and clouds absorb and re-emit the sun's heat differently than non-stormy patches on Earth's surface do, according to NOAA. The taller the cloud, the greater its activity will likely be, and to demonstrate this, infrared images are usually colored to indicate regions where clouds could be most tempestuous.

The GOES satellites also have visible-light channels, which are limited at the night when the sun is not illuminating the hurricane, but have the benefit of taking higher-resolution imagery.

NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) collaborate on the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission, which uses a satellite called the GPM Core Observatory. On board this satellite are two instruments  the GPM Microwave Imager and Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR)  which the satellite uses to assess rainfall. GPM scientists work in unison with NOAA and international atmospheric agencies to measure the specific characteristics of hurricane precipitation to better understand Earth's water and energy cycle. Other agencies participating in this work include the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES) in France, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT).

NASA and NOAA also partnered to develop the Joint Polar Satellite System, which created the primary satellite for NOAA's weather observations, the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP) satellite. According to NOAA, the spacecraft circles Earth 14 times a day to provide full observations and weather predictions for the United States. The newest satellite in this program, JPSS-1, arrived in early September to Vandenberg Air Force Base in California and is currently being prepared for a November launch to accompany Suomi NPP in that satellite's observations. [Space Station Crew Sees Hurricane Irma's Power from Orbit (Photos, Video)]

Satellites small enough to sit on your desk could be the next line of hurricane-observation technology. Just recently, in May 2017, the hurricane-tracking CYGNSS constellation moved into its science-operations phase, NASA officials said in a statement. CYGNSS will accomplish what up until now has been impossible: probing the eye and surrounding inner core of a hurricane from space. Using GPS signals, CYGNSS can penetrate a storm's intense precipitation to get a good look at the eye wall.

NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites work by alternating within timed orbits, so that Terra (originally known as EOS AM-1) passes from north to south over the equator in the morning, while Aqua (originally known as EOS PM-1) passes south to north over of the equator in the afternoon. Using their key instrument, MODIS, or Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, the satellites pick up data in 36 spectral bands, or wavelengths, as the two satellites view the entire Earth's surface every one to two days.

Follow Doris Elin Salazar on Twitter @salazar_elin . Follow us @Spacedotcom , Facebook and Google+ . Original article on Space.com.
According to the Daily Mail, 48-year-old Tricia Belstra was on a Southwest Airlines flight from Colorado to Indiana to attend the funeral of her 25-year-old son Kyle who committed suicide in August after breaking up with his long-time girlfriend.

During the flight, Belstra began to feel overwhelmed and kept the sick bag between her knees. Her flight attendant, a young man who she couldnt identify, poured her drinks and asked her what was wrong.

Belstra told the attendant about her sons death and he consoled her while she cried. As she exited the plane, the young man handed her a note written on a napkin. When Belstra entered the terminal, she started to read the note and burst into tears.

When I got into the terminal I opened it and I read it and just burst into tears because it was so beautiful, Belstra said. For a young man like that to take the time to write that, it just went to my heart. I think it was an amazing thing to do. It was heartfelt and so loving and caring and to think of him writing that made me feel so warm at that horrible time.

The following day, the mother buried her son and held the napkin note throughout the funeral, even showing it to the priest who performed the service and asking him to bless the unidentified attendant.

Belstra has since had the note laminated and wants the attendant to know what it meant to her.

It went a long way, Belstra said. I don't know who this flight attendant is and I don't want to out him if he doesn't want to come out. I just want him to know that what he did was appreciated.

Here is the note from the flight attendant, in full:

In 2004 my family lost my older brother. As traumatic as it still is for me, I cant even pretend to truly know the pain you feel as a mom. I did, however, watch my mothers grieving process (a process that will never end). Firstly, being a mother is about giving birth to a new life as a promise to the future. Your mission doesnt end now  your sons life is bigger than his death and always will be. My mom struggled desperately chasing a far away goal of somehow lessening the pain. As she realized now, the pain hardly lessens. Dont expend your energy trying to chase this. Instead, go all out finding opportunities to experience joy. Visit family, get closer to those youve lost touch with, travel. This is your story and you owe it to yourself and your son to make sure that you survive this. Do not pressure yourself. The world is full of people who do truly care about you, even if it doesnt feel that way. I wont stop thinking about you anytime soon, or how youre doing or what youre up to. Youll come out of this a stronger person and Ill be rooting for you the whole time.

This article originally appeared on TravelPulse.
Those living in the U.S. Virgin Islands  particularly on Saint John or Saint Thomas  are still picking through the rubble. Homes, popular bars, hotels and roads were obliterated seemingly overnight as Hurricane Irma ripped through the Caribbean towns.

And now, as people sift through the wreckage and frantically search for loved ones, theres another potent hurricane, Jose, bearing down on them, following in the wake of Irma.

Communication out of Saint John  home to more than 4,000 U.S. citizens, according to the latest U.S. Census data  is almost completely cut off, residents told Fox News in a series of interviews. Those left on the island with phones with workable batteries spend lots of time waiting in line to scramble atop a damaged pizza restaurant  one of the only areas left on the island where they can get a cell phone signal.

Noelle Hancock, who has lived on Saint John for more than six years, was in Texas to help with relief in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, a massive storm that tore through Texas and Louisiana last week, when Irma wiped through her home.

It was such a helpless feeling, Hancock told Fox News. Shes not sure when she will be able to get home.

After two days of no communication, Hancock was able to briefly speak on Friday to her boyfriend, who remained on the island with their two cats. Along with the pets, he waited out the storm in a friends concrete apartment building. And now that hes safe, hes working with others to help locate those still unaccounted for.

Emily Nakkawita, who lives in New York City, was one of the lucky few able to contact a loved one in Saint John in the aftermath of the storm. Nakkawita shared the text messages sent back and forth with her former roommate, Alesia Georgiou, who now lives in Saint John.

Our steel shutters ripped out of the concrete, and the bolts cracked the concrete when they flew off during the storm, Georgiou said in a text. I was alone in the room when it happened, and I thought I was about to die. My friend grabbed the window and held on. The hurricane glass shattered and then we lost the whole window.

We cant take another direct hit, Georgiou said in another text. It will kill us.

AFTER HURRICANE IRMA HIT, CARIBBEAN ISLANDS BRACE FOR JOSE

Acacia Wallenburg said the whole building shook during the storm, as water rushed in from the ceiling.

For the most part, we couldnt see much of anything  it was just white everywhere. Every once in a while we [would] see an object fly through the air and hope it wasnt going to hit where they were sheltered, Wallenburg told Fox News Friday morning. Along with her boyfriend and two children, Wallenburg was among the few evacuated to Puerto Rico Friday morning.

Wallenburg, who has lived on Saint John for six years, said her home was destroyed in the storm. Most of the roof is gone, shattered glass is throughout the whole house and major flooding is everywhere.

Throughout it all  the loss of homes and businesses  the sense of community among the little group of Caribbean islands is strong.

From nearby Saint Croix, less than 40 miles from Saint Thomas or Saint John, two 42-foot boats prepared to depart for the latter of the two islands Friday  loaded with donations and aid.

Michelle Griffith, an employee of Caribbean Sea Adventures, said the company was working with FEMA and the Coast Guard to deliver aid. As of Friday afternoon, Saint John was the only island to which the boat charter company was allowed to go to, but Griffith said they hope to soon visit other islands in the area as well.

Its a very, very devastating loss, she told Fox News from Christiansted, the Saint Croix town where the company is located.

But Griffith, too, praised others generosity.

Its insane the amount of stuff were getting, Griffith said, adding that stores are selling products at cost value. The community we have here on the islands is enormous.

HURRICANE IRMAS STORM PATH: WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW

Rep. Stacey Plaskett, the delegate from the Virgin Islands, called the damage on Saint John very catastrophic.

On Saint Thomas, she said, the hospital, airport, and the fire station are lost. At least three people are expected dead in the U.S. Virginia Islands; 23 people total.

Its really a very difficult situation, Plaskett told Fox News, adding that the federal and local government has not forgotten the U.S. Virgin Islands.

On Facebook groups, friends have shared messages from those with enough service who were able to check in; family members posted desperate pleas for information on their loved ones. Still others shared credible sites for people to donate and updates about Kenny Chesneys own relief work in the islands.

Teri Wine, a concierge for the Westin Hotel in Saint John and who has lived on the island for 11 years, created one of those pages in the aftermath of the storm. The page has nearly 2,000 members and is a place for people, especially in the continental U.S., to check on their loved ones or homes on the island.

People are grateful to be able to see something at all because thats better than not knowing anything, Wine told Fox News, her voice breaking.

Wine, who was in South Carolina on vacation when the storm hit, said she was worried as the islands economy relies heavily on tourism and hospitality  an industry that is sure to suffer greatly in the aftermath of Irma.

She is scheduled to fly back to Saint John on Sept. 17  depending on Hurricane Jose.

Im ready to be back home, she said. I want to help.

And in praising the community, Wine repeated a line that is often uttered proudly by those who live and work there: You know, they call us Love City. Were a strong community.

Yet even with that community, people are worried about the impending Hurricane Jose. Will there be enough shelter left? Without phone or internet services, will people even know about the coming danger?

Because there are no relief efforts underway to remove rubble, theres a danger the uprooted trees and house roofs laying in the street now could become projectiles flying around at 150 mph, Hancock said.

When she spoke to her boyfriend Friday, he had no idea that another storm was even coming.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said recently it would be "game on" if North Korea were to fire a missile at the United States or its allies, but how fast things would happen is not so clear.

A leading expert in missile defense told Fox News there would not be much time to decide to shoot down a North Korean missile.

This is a game of minutes, but the initial detection of a launch would be really in terms of seconds, said Thomas Karako, senior fellow and director of the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Keep in mind the entire flight time from North Korea to the United States is well under any hour [and] the authority is given in advance. It's predesignated, he added.

There are reports that President Trump has already authorized his national security team to act if a North Korean missile is headed toward Guam, Hawaii or the U.S. homeland.

When any missile is launched around the world, it produces a plume and heat signature that is quickly picked up by U.S. military spy satellites. Almost immediately the information is transferred to the North American Aerospace Defense Command, better known as NORAD, as well as the U.S. Strategic Command, which controls the militarys nuclear forces.

Karako says both NORAD and U.S. Strategic Command quickly assess where the missile is going and decide whether it is a threat to the United States, its allies or any U.S. military forces in the region.

U.S. missile defense has come a long way since its inception 13 years ago. By the end of this year, 44 ground-based interceptor missiles will be housed in silos between two U.S. Air Force bases in Alaska and California.

The last two tests of the ground based interceptors have been successful despite a spotty track record previously.

I'm very confidentthat this system can and will defend the homeland if attacked, said the former head of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, Vice Adm. James D. Syring.

But even this new technology needs improving. Todays kill vehicle from the interceptor missiles dates back to the 1990s, according to Karako.

To protect South Korea and the U.S. territory of Guam, the U.S. military has deployed the THAAD anti-ballistic missile system.

Right now THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) is only operated by the United States military, but there are only a few systems available to deploy.

The United States has only about five or six [THAAD] batteries for the world, said Karako.

The United Arab Emirates has two THAAD batteries and the Saudis have announced they will be purchasing seven batteries, Karako said.

THAAD is a perfect 15 for 15 over its lifetime in controlled tests to destroy short or medium range ballistic missiles, including two recent tests from Kodiak, Alaska which shot down ballistic missiles over the Pacific.

THAAD missiles intercept ballistic missiles when they re-enter the Earths atmosphere.

But Karako says the THAAD battery currently deployed to South Korea is only finite.

THAAD will not protect the 25 million people living in and around Seoul, but it will buy the military time to strike back, according to Karako.

North Korea has hundreds of missiles, the THAAD battery is not there to defend the entire peninsula, said Karako. This is not about having a perfect shield and sitting there and playing catch.

This week, the U.S. Army added four more launchers - over the objections of Russia and China - to join the two already in place bringing the total now to 48 missiles to defend South Korea.

Japan does not have the THAAD system.

Sitting off shore are Aegis destroyers that are designed to shoot down ballistic missiles outside the atmosphere in space.

Protecting Japan are Patriot missile batteries to provide a last ditch protection should any missiles get through the Aegis warships deployed at sea.

The aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan was put to sea this morning from Tokyo Bay for preplanned training exercises at sea, according to the U.S. Navy.

Separately, a ballistic missile defense warship will always be on alert near Japan. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis will join the president and the rest of the cabinet along with their families at Camp David this weekend.

And on Friday, a US Navy official confirmed that four warships had joined the USS Ronald Reagan at sea for a "routine patrol," just a month after the aircraft carrier's month-long maintenance period in Japan. The official says that two of the four warships are ballistic missile defense ships capable of shooting down North Korean missiles.

The four warships carry more than 100 Tomahawk cruise missiles among them.

Ahead of a meeting with Kuwaiti Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Sheikh Mohammed Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah at the Pentagon Thursday, Defense Secretary Mattis was asked by a reporter what would happen if North Korea fired a missile at the United States or threatened any allies this weekend.

"We'll deal with it," he replied.
Floridians disheartened and frustrated by the approach of Hurricane Irma  and the prospect of flooding, property damage and other problems  can at least take solace in the fact that some businesses are offering help.

Cable TV and internet provider Comcast, for example, says it will make internet service available for free across the Sunshine State through Sept. 15, to help Floridians contact emergency personnel and stay connected with friends and family, the Tampa Bay Times reported.

Comcasts Xfinity wifi hotspots will be available throughout the state to anyone who wants to use them  including non-Comcast customers, the Times report said.

Meanwhile, U-Haul said this week that 96 of its Florida stores will offer free self-storage space and U-Box shipping containers to the states residents, the Times reported.

U-Haul announced on Thursday that 96 of it stores across Florida will offer free self-storage and 'U-Box' shipping containers in response to Category 5 Hurricane Irma's projected path toward the state.

The free services will be available for 30 days, the company said.

Meanwhile, home-sharing company Airbnb announced that it would help Floridas Irma evacuees find free lodging in northern Florida and Georgia through Sept. 28, Fox News reported.
Four people were found dead Friday night at a home in Groton, Massachusetts, authorities said  the first homicides in the small town since 1996.

Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said police found two women and an elderly man dead inside the home and another womans body outside. She said they appeared to have died of blunt force trauma.

Ryan said the suspect, 22-year-old Orion Krause, will be charged with four counts of murder and arraigned on Monday. It wasnt known if he is represented by a lawyer. A possible weapon was found, which authorities havent identified.

Fox 25 Boston reported that police were first called to Common Street around 6 p.m. for a report of an individual in need of assistance. Investigators went to a different location on Common Street, where they found the bodies.

According to The Lowell Sun, Krause had shown up naked at the back door of neighbor Wagner Alcocer and said he murdered four people.

Ryan called the slayings a situation of tragic family violence.

According to The Boston Globe, Groton Police Chief Donald Palma Jr. said the slayings were not a random act, and the town of about 10,000 residents is safe.

Groton, a town of stately farmhouses and spacious homes in new subdivisions, is about 40 miles northwest of Boston.

There is no cause for alarm, Palma said. We do believe at this point that the people were all connected and had relationships.

According to The Lowell Sun, records indicate the home was built in 1900. The multifamily home of more than 4,300 square feet is set back from the road and was last sold in 1992 for $328,000.

The Associated Press contribued to this story.
As the window started to close for evacuating Florida before Hurricane Irma arrived, police and social workers took to the streets of Miami in search of the city's estimated 1,100 homeless people.

Their goal: Convince the homeless to willingly enter a storm shelter -- or let them know they can be held against their will for a mental health evaluation.

An Associated Press team tagged along with officials and a psychiatrist as they searched on Friday for people sleeping in waterfront parks, in the path of the potentially catastrophic storm.

"We're going out and every single homeless person who is unwilling to come off the street, we are likely going to involuntarily 'Baker Act' them," Ron Book, chairman of the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust told AP.

The Baker Act is the Florida Mental Health Act of 1971, a state law that allows officials to institutionalize patients for 72 hours if they pose a danger to themselves or others. Beyond 72 hours, the state needs to obtain a court order to prolong their detention.

The law is named for Maxine Baker, a former state representative who worked on mental health issues.

As of late Friday afternoon, officers had detained at least six people.

This is the first time the law has been used in preparation for a hurricane, officials said. Book said invoking the law was preferable to risking deaths on the streets.

"I am not going to sign suicide notes for people who are homeless in my community. I am just not going to do it," Book told AP. "That's why you have a Baker Act. It's there to protect those who can't otherwise protect themselves."

On Friday, officials were able to convince about 70 people to willingly come to the shelters. However, 600 people were thought to remain outside, unprotected against the storm, which prompted the evacuations of more than 5.6 million people.

Ron Honberg, a senior policy adviser for the National Alliance on Mental Illness, said there is always a risk that the Baker Act will be used in violation of people's civil rights, but he said this storm seemed to justify invoking it.

"I think sometimes situations arise that are so dire that safety consideration supersedes everything else," he said. "But you don't want this to be used on people who don't have a mental illness."

The executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida said people need to be encouraged to take shelter during a disaster, but doesnt believe you can force people by manipulating mental health laws.

"This is a democracy, and you can't force people to seek shelter if they don't want to," Howard Simon told AP. "I don't think you can manipulate the mental health laws by assuming that anyone who is homeless and doesn't seek shelter is mentally ill."

The Homeless Trust said it would continue its search for stragglers until winds reach 45 mph, probably by Saturday afternoon. They have already driven more than 400 people to shelters.

"I am not happy to have to do it," said Steven Nolan, whose face has weathered many days of Florida sunshine. "But I'd rather be in there than out here when the storm hits."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A Maryland woman who was seven months pregnant was forced to deliver her baby after she was set on fire by her boyfriend, according to reports.

Andrea Grinage, 31, was critically burned Friday when she was doused with gasoline on Friday in the bathtub of her apartment in Capitol Heights, outside Washington, Fox 5 DC reported. She was taken to the hospital where she delivered a baby girl. Both were in critical condition.

Despite suffering burns over a large part of her body, Grinage told police what happened and who was responsible. She also warned her mother that the boyfriend was on his way to her apartment to harm her, the station reported. He was arrested before he got there.

She was very brave, Prince George's County police spokesperson Jennifer Donelan said, according to the station. We want her family to know how brave she was, suffering as badly as she was, critically burned, worried about her unborn child, dealing with those injuries and was able to share that information with us so that we could get moving with our investigation and locate this person.

Police haven't identified the boyfriend.

Grinage was still on fire as she banged on neighbors doors, according to the station.

Neighbors told WRC-TV they heard Grinage and her boyfriend arguing Thursday night.

Grinages father told the station the baby was born seven weeks premature and was doing okay.

Shes hanging in there, Arthur Grinage said. Shes doing fine. Shes beautiful.

Click for more from Fox 5 DC
The bride-to-be who allegedly conned her fiance and his pals out of more than $17,000 by faking his Ibiza stag do is today said to be hiding in a caravan park.

Rachel Doran's family have disowned her since learning about her claimed scam - as her own brother calls her an "evil cow".

Chris Mahone, 27, was at the airport with 30 mates when they discovered the 29-year-old had only pretended to book the four-day knees-up.

She then fled the couples home near Whitehaven, Cumbria, and a friend told the Mirror she is staying in a caravan park.

Last night Chris was being supported by Rachels brother Ryan, who said the family had disowned her.

"Shes got no f****r now. How a person can do something like that is beyond me.

"Evil cow. No morals."

The bride-to-be, 29, persuaded Chris, 27, to let her take charge of his stag trip to Ibiza, taking $580 from each of the 30-strong group  then forged boarding passes for them.

The excited party then rocked up at the airport on Thursday for a 6.45 a.m. flight ready for a four-day knees-up  only to be told at check-in that their tickets were useless.

The hotel where they were due to be staying also confirmed they had no booking for the party.

After frantic calls home from distraught Chris and his dad Darren, 48, the horrifying truth began to emerge.

Determined not to let it spoil the holiday nine members of the group booked onto a last-minute flight to Ibiza to "make the best out of a bad situation".

One of the revelers on the trip told MailOnline: 'After we found out about the holiday we went inside the airport, went to the desk and asked if there were any flights to Benidorm or Magaluf.

"They offered us $198 return so we said 'f*** it, we're off to Magaluf'. To be honest we haven't even booked a flight back.

"Chris is the nicest person in the world, I just can't believe it's happened to him."

Sources say Rachel was seeking revenge after mistakenly believing Chris had cheated on her.

But the disgraced factory worker has now fled the couples home near Whitehaven, Cumbria, allegedly with the entire stag fund.

One furious reveler said: Shes taken $17,200 from us for a stag do that didnt even exist.

Some of us only earn $260 a week and have been saving since March. Its scandalous.

Chris yesterday told his pals on Facebook: I cant apologize enough. Im sorry boys, I really am.

Loyal pals posted a series of online pictures mocking Rachel, including one of her starring in the film Runaway Bride.

One told Chris: You have nothing to apologize for bro.

Sellafield nuclear worker Chris, who met Rachel three years ago, believed she was doing him a favor when she offered to arrange his stag do.

Friends told how they coughed up a $150 deposit in March and had until July to find the rest.

They were then given authentic-looking travel documents, apparently from a local tour company, before heading to Leeds-Bradford Airport.

Click here to read more from The Sun
As Hurricane Irma continued its devastating run in the Caribbean, Cuba evacuated dolphins held in a dolphinarium in the north of the country, where Irma made landfall Friday night.

The six dolphins were wrapped in wet towels to ensure healthy travel and put on helicopters that took the dolphins to the province of Cienfuegos, the Mirror reported.

As of Friday, they were put in a swimming pool -- but they could be moved again if the hurricane's effects make that necessary, officials said.

Dolphinarum manager Gonzalo Carrero Escobar said the pool offered the dolphins similar conditions to their natural life. But he added that, If the weather situation does not allow us to keep them there, they will be displaced to the saltwater swimming pool of a hotel.

Early Friday, waves as high as 23 feet were slamming into Cubas eastern towns, prompting flooding and power outages, the Miami Herald reported.

Luckily we have only experienced rains, sea penetrations and some winds ... but sincerely, nothing compared to what we were expecting, a local radio station in Baracoa city wrote on Facebook, according to the Herald. 25,000 people reportedly evacuated from the city.

But just as Cubans thought they had escaped the devastation seen on other Caribbean islands, the full strength of Irma slammed the country again Friday evening, hitting Ciego de Avila province around midnight.

As it struck the country with 160 mph winds, on its way toward Florida, Irma was upgraded from Category 4 to Category 5  the most powerful designation by the National Hurricane Center.

And Irma's effects in Cuba reportedly began to look a lot like the devastation seen on other Caribbean islands over the last week.

The full extent of the damage in Cuba remained unclear early Saturday, but devastating scenes were expected to be revealed as the hurricane moved through popular tourist destinations along Cuba's northern coast, with more than 50 hotels, Reuters reported.

Anaida Gonzalez, a retired nurse hunkered down in the central province of Camaguey, told Reuters that There are really strong gusts of wind. It is pouring off and on, and the lights are out.

Irma is now on a path to hit Florida, potentially on Sunday. Florida officials asked around 5.6 million people to evacuate ahead of landfall to avoid a potential catastrophe.
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte appears to be walking back from his controversial crackdown on drugs in the country, claiming extrajudicial killings have been perpetrated by saboteurs rather than police who actually follow the law.

Dutertes comments came this week, following the gruesome deaths of multiple teenagers  reportedly shot or stabbed by police  that rallied the country against the governments drug policy and sparked condemnations from human rights groups.

The apparent willingness of Philippine police to deliberately target children for execution marks an appalling new level of depravity in this so-called drug war, said Human Rights Watch (HRW) in a statement.

These killings demonstrate that Dutertes rejection of the rule of law has made all Filipinos potential drug-war victims, no matter how young, it added.

The Philippines president fired back at his critics Friday, saying his war on illegal drugs was being sabotaged by other groups.

He distanced himself from the death of 14-year-old Reynaldo de Guzman, who was found with around 30 stab wounds after being missing for two weeks. Duterte suggested someone else murdered the teenager as his government does not allow extrajudicial killings.

Take a closer look at it. It is not our work. I do not allow it. We follow the law, Duterte said at a public event, PhilStar reported. There is somebody that is orchestrating something to destroy us. It is intentional. It is a sabotage.

He added: Thats illegal and I wont tolerate it. We have to operate within the bounds of the law. Now if you are an authority, you have gone overboard.

It was a change of tune from a president who last month  just two days after the murder of two teenagers  said police were allowed to kill idiots who violently resisted arrest, Fox News reported.

Your duty requires you to overcome the resistance of the person you are arresting. ... (If) he resists, and it is a violent one ... you are free to kill the idiots, that is my order to you, he reportedly told a police chief.

In his speech, Duterte also mentioned another recently slain teenager: 19-year-old Carl Angelo Arnaiz, who he claims was a relative, PhilStar reported.

Do you think I will allow the police to kill my relative? Watch out. Someones cooking out there somewhere to discredit us, he said.

I have never ordered the killing of children, even the enemy, on bended knees. That's not the rule of democracy ... I would never, ever condone or allow it," he said Wednesday, Rappler.com reported.

He also met with Arnaizs parents and promised that his government will go after the police officers who murdered their son.

"I will pursue the cases against the police and, if need be, they should go to jail," he told the parents.

Meanwhile, one of Duterte's sons is being investigated for an alleged role in a drug-smuggling operation.

Paolo Duterte and the husband of President Dutertes daughter Sara are accused of involvement in a shipment of crystal methamphetamine worth $125.4 million from China to the Philippines, the BBC reported.

The son denied any involvement during his appearance at a Senate inquiry earlier this week, the BBC reported. He said the allegations were only rumors and gossip  all which were baseless.

President Duterte has promised to resign if any of his family members are caught being involved in the drug trade.
Hurricane Irma was downgraded to a Category 3 storm shortly before noon Saturday after its maximum sustained winds weakened to 125 mph, but it was expected to strengthen before moving toward southwest Florida on Sunday.

The National Hurricane Center said Irma was continuing to slam the north coast of Cuba Saturday but had weakened slightly. As of 2:00 p.m. EDT, the storm was located about 145 miles southeast of Key West, Fla.

The storm's center was expected to pass through the Florida Keys around 8 a.m. ET Sunday. The center said there were threats of brief tornadoes.

The center warned that major hurricane-force winds were expected to in the Florida Keys Sunday morning. The storm was expected to dump about 8 to 15 inches of rain in some areas.

Meanwhile, Florida Gov. Rick Scott warned residents Saturday that the storm surge from Hurricane Irma could "cover your house" and ultimately kill you as he urged Floridians to evacuate immediately.

Scott warned residents that a storm surge of up to 12 feet in places will inundate houses.

"This will cover your house. If you've ever watched how storm surges work, it flows in fast, very fast, and then it flows out. You will not survive all this storm surge," Scott said.

He said the storm is "going to go faster than you are."

Scott said some 25,000 people in Florida have already lost electricity as Irma's outer bands have begun hitting the southern part of the state.

Scott also urged people who have not evacuated to leave immediately.

"If you have been ordered to evacuate, you need to leave now. Do not wait. Evacuate. Not tonight, not in an hour. You need to go right now," the governor said.

Residents in western Florida were told they have until 12 p.m. ET Saturday to leave.

The governor said Saturday that more than 70 shelters were opening. There were currently 50,000 shelters opened in Florida ahead of the storm.

Scott said all members of the Florida National Guard have been deployed ahead of the storm. The governor said 1,000 volunteer nurses were needed to help at disability shelters.

Hurricane Center spokesman and meteorologist Dennis Feltgen said Saturday that while Miami would not get the core of Irma it would get life-threatening hurricane conditions.

Forecasters said the track of the storm was shifting west, unlike previous reports that had the storm hitting southern Florida. The National Weather Service said that damaging winds were moving into the southern part of the state, including Key Biscayne, Coral Gables and South Miami.

The latest forecast track predicts the center of the storm will move along Florida's Gulf Coast through Monday.

Forecasters expected the storm to reach the Keys on Sunday morning and approach the states southwest coast by that afternoon.

Cuban officials said the hurricane has damaged crops in the rural eastern part of the country. The extent of the damage was not immediately known. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Trailing Irma in the Caribbean was Hurricane Jose, which neared Category 5 strength as it followed Irmas path  posing a threat of further damage to small Caribbean islands that were already devastated by Irma.

Meanwhile, Hurricane Katia made landfall late Friday north of Tecolutla, Mexico, and weakened to a tropical depression, with winds reaching 35 mph.

Irma temporarily regained Category 5 strength late Friday, but weakened to a Category 4 hurricane as it moved over Cuba. The storm downgraded to a Category 3 storm Saturday morning.

In Cuba, Irma lashed the tourist resort areas of the island nations northern coast.

In Miami Beach, some residents chose to ride out the storm at home instead of heed Gov. Rick Scotts orders to evacuate.

Where am I going to go?" said Kathleen Paca, 56, in a South Beach bar. It's not going to be that bad. I'm on the second floor and have impact windows. I've thrown coconuts at my windows and they don't break.

Updated warnings

The hurricane centers 2 p.m. advisory said that hurricane warnings for the U.S. East Coast were being extended northward to Fernandina Beach.

The hurricane warning for Floridas East Coast was extended northward to the Flagler/Volusia County line to Chassahowitzka.

A storm surge warning has been extended from Chassahowitzka to the Suwanee River. A storm surge watch has been extended north to Isle of Palms, S.C. Most of Florida's coast was under a storm surge warning.

A tropical storm watch was issued north of Fernandina Beach to Altamaha Sound, Ga., with additional watches and warnings possible later Saturday for portions of the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina, as well as portions of the Florida Gulf Coast.

The center of the storm will move near the north coast of Cuba on Saturday, near the Florida Keys on Sunday morning, and near the southwest coast of Florida Sunday afternoon.

The interaction with Cuba's terrain has weakened the storm slightly but it was expected to strengthen as it moved toward the southwest coast of Florida Sunday afternoon.

Meanwhile, the Environmental Protection Agency said dozens of staff were working to help secure some of the nation's most contaminated toxic waste sites as Hurricane Irma bore down on Florida.

The Florida Keys were expected to receive 10 to 20 inches of rain. A few isolated tornadoes may hit Saturday and Sunday in southern Florida.

The Associated Press surveyed six of the 54 Superfund sites in Florida ahead of Irma's arrival, all around Miami in low-lying, flood-prone areas. AP's journalists found minor issues, such as three unsecured, steel drums in a grassy field containing contaminated soil and water.

The Associated Press contributed reporting to this story.
Hurricane Jose was barreling toward St. Martin, St. Maarten and St. Barts on Saturday, just a few days after Hurricane Irma had slammed the two Caribbean islands.

The Category 4 storm had weakened but remained powerful as it swirled toward the islands. Forecasters expected the hurricane to hit the islands with winds of up to 93 mph, along with torrential rains and large waves.

As of 2 p.m. AST, Jose had maximum sustained winds of 145 mph and was moving northwest at 14 mph. It was located about 95 miles east of the northern Leeward Islands.

A tropical storm watch was in effect for Barbuda and Anguilla. A hurricane watch was in effect for St. Maarten, St. Martin and St. Barts, but their governments have all changed it to a tropical storm warning.

HURRICANE IRMA DOWNGRADES TO CATEGORY 3 STORM, EXPECTED TO RESTRENGTHEN BEFORE HITTING FLORIDA



Travel to and from St. Martin, the northern half of which is owned by France and the southern half by the Netherlands, has been halted until Jose passes.

French authorities said Saturday that some 1,105 workers have been deployed to St. Martin and St. Barts to help the islands recovery. By Saturday, damage estimates from Irma reached the $1.44 billion mark.

Jacques Witkowski, Frances director of public safety, said the international airport was not operational. The last airplane flew in to the battered Grand-Case de Saint Martin Airport on Friday. It carried emergency workers to help with reconstruction as well as specialists who aim to re-establish the islands damaged water and electricity systems.

The Dutch government estimated 70 percent of houses on St. Maarten were badly damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Irma. That leaves many of the 40,000 residents reliant on public shelters as they brace for Hurricane Jose.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said the situation remains "grim" on the island where widespread looting has broken out. Rutte said there are some 230 Dutch troops and police patrolling the island. About 200 more troops were expected to arrive in the coming days.

HURRICANE IRMA DEVASTATES US VIRGIN ISLANDS, BUT THEIR SENSE OF COMMUNITY IS UNWAVERING

Meanwhile, Hurricane Katia made landfall in Mexico as a Category 1 storm late Friday but rapidly weakened over land into a tropical depression. The storm could still bring heavy rain over central and northern Veracruz, eastern Hidalgo and northern Puebla.

Powerful Hurricane Irma was continuing to barrel toward Florida where it was expected to make landfall Sunday morning in southwest Florida and Tampa. The storm continued to slam the north coast of Cuba and had maximum sustained winds of 125 mph.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The United States aims to impose the strictest sanctions ever on North Korea, with a vote on a U.N. resolution set to take place Monday amid mounting tensions between the two countries.

The move is said to be unlike previous U.S. efforts, in which the U.S. has spent weeks, and sometimes months, carefully crafting language with China before presenting the resolution to the rest of the Security Council for a vote.

The new push could potentially cause a rift with China, North Koreas ally and trading partner, as well as with Russia.

The speedy U.S. action is prompted by Washingtons concern over what North Korea leadership claims was a hydrogen bomb test last weekend, as well as its recent missile launch over Japan, several diplomats said.

Britain's U.N. Ambassador Matthew Rycroft stressed that maximum possible pressure must be placed on North Korea to give diplomacy a shot at ending the ongoing crisis.

Rycroft said a proposed ban on all oil imports and textile exports, as well as prohibiting North Koreans from working overseas -- which helps finance the countrys nuclear program -- was "a proportionate response" to North Korea's "illegal and reckless behavior."

Under the U.S. plan, all foreign financial assets of the government and its leader, Kim Jong Un, would be frozen. The U.S. also identified nine North Korean ships that failed to comply with the previous U.N. resolutions. The U.S. proposal would authorize any U.N. member state to stop these vessels on the high seas without their consent and use "all necessary measures" -- which in U.N. language includes force -- to carry out an inspection and direct the vessel to a port.

The U.S. demand for the Security Council to take swift action was viewed as a clear gauge of how seriously the Trump administration views the situation in North Korea.

"My sense is they believe that they don't have time for a delicate diplomatic dance," Professor Joseph DeThomas of Pennsylvania State University, a former U.S. ambassador and State Department official who dealt with North Korea, told the Associated Press in a telephone interview Friday. "The other possibility ... is they want to see the color of China's money.

"They're putting down the marker here and saying, `OK, Are you prepared to do what is necessary to put pressure on North Korea at a moment when we're simply out of time?"'

"They're putting down the marker here and saying, 'OK, Are you prepared to do what is necessary to put pressure on North Korea at a moment when we're simply out of time?'"  Professor Joseph DeThomas, Pennsylvania State University

Russia doesnt believe sanctions are working, and President Vladimir Putin fears that cutting of the oil supply could hurt the North Korean people. Beijing and Moscow have called for a resolution that would halt North Korean nuclear missile tests in exchange for the U.S. and South Korea halting their traditional joint military exercises, a notion the Trump administration rejected.

China and Russia appeared willing to negotiate after all 15 Security Council members discussed the draft Friday, according to diplomats who spoke on the speaking on condition of anonymity because discussions on the resolution have been private.

However, the outcome of those negotiations remained unclear, as did whether any modifications proposed by Russia or China were acceptable to the United States.

A brief statement from the U.S. Mission to the United Nations late Friday said: "This evening, the United States informed the U.N. Security Council that it intends to call a meeting to vote on a draft resolution to establish additional sanctions on North Korea on Monday, September 11."

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who called the nuclear risk in North Korea the most dangerous crisis in the world today, told reporters Tuesday that "the unity of the Security Council is absolutely crucial." He explained that only a united council can provide the pressure needed to enable successful negotiations to take place to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula.

Penn State's DeThomas agreed with unity of the Security Council being an important compotent, but noted that a very watered down approach would likely not be accepted by the U.S. administration.

He added, "To get the situation contained without war is going to be really hard, and that's if we've got our diplomacy right," he said. "If we start breaking crockery diplomatically, I don't see how you get anywhere without the Russians and Chinese -- especially the Chinese."

As for the North Koreans, their official news agency Friday said the country's "nuclear weaponization ... has reached its final phase."

The KCNA report criticized U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley, and her flagship role in the Trump administration's "hideous sanctions and pressure racket against the DPRK."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Pope Francis visited Colombia Saturday to console orphans, the poor and sick  and to demand priests and ordinary Colombians look beyond church doctrine to care for sinners and welcome them in.

My brothers, the church is not a customs post, Francis said. It wants its doors to be open.

The pontiff had spent the first half of his trip encouraging the countrys fragile new peace process.

Heavy rain forced Francis to drive to Colombias second-largest city instead of taking a helicopter, delaying the mass that was expected to draw as many as 1 million people.

MEXICO REPORTS AT LEAST TWO DEAD FROM HURRICANE KATIA

The pontiff apologized for the delay as he arrived, thanking the crowd for your patience, perseverance and courage."

At the Mass, Francis urged Colombia's conservative church to look beyond rigid rules and norms of church doctrine to go out and find sinners and minister to them.

"It is of the greatest importance that we who call ourselves disciples not cling to a certain style or to particular practices that cause us to be more like some Pharisees than like Jesus," he said. Those in the early church who stuck so closely to the rules became "paralyzed by a rigorous interpretation and practice of that law," he said.

Francis opening to divorced and civilly remarried Catholics receiving communion has sparked heated criticism from conservatives who note that centuries' long church teaching clearly forbids such couples from receiving sacraments.

In his homily, Francis said that "cold attachment to norms" might bring comfort and assurance to Catholics who need the security of laws, but it belies the Gospel-mandated call to help others who aren't so perfect and need consolation.

URUGUAY VP RESIGNS AMID ALLEGATIONS OF CREDIT-CARD GRAFT

"We cannot be Christians who continually put up 'do not enter' signs, nor can we consider that this space is mine or yours alone," he said. "Everyone has a place, everyone is invited to find here, and among us, his or her nourishment."

After the mass, Francis headed to an orphanage to meet with abandoned children and the sick. He also had a meeting with priests, seminarians, nuns and their families in Medellins La Macarena stadium before returning to Bogota for the night.

On Sunday, he heads to Cartagena to honor St. Peter Claver, a 17th-century Jesuit who ministered to the tens of thousands of African slaves who arrived in the port to be sold. He returns to Rome on Sunday night.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Pope Francis has arrived in the rain-soaked Colombian city of Medellin to console orphans, the poor and the sick and to rally priests and ordinary Colombians to look beyond rigid church doctrine in caring for those living on the margins of society.

Heavy rain forced Francis into a last-minute change of plans to reach Colombia's second-largest city. Instead of taking a helicopter from the international airport outside city, he was forced to drive down the Andes, delaying the start of a Mass that's expected to draw as many as 1 million people.

On his penultimate day in Colombia Francis will also visit a church-backed orphanage to meet with abandoned children. Finally, he'll meet with local priests and seminarians before returning to Bogota for the night.
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U.S.-backed Syrian fighters are preparing an offensive against the Islamic State group in eastern Syria along the border with Iraq in a race with government forces marching in the same direction against the extremists in their last major holdout in Syria.

The dueling battles for Deir el-Zour highlight the importance of the oil-rich eastern province, which has become the latest epicenter of the international war against the Islamic State group, raising concerns of an eventual clash between the two sides.

The race to reach the Iraqi border will also shape future regional dynamics, determining whether the United States or Russia and Iran will have more influence in the strategic area once the extremist group is defeated.

Iran has been one of President Bashar Assad's strongest backers since the crisis began in March 2011 and has sent thousands of Iranian-backed fighters and advisers to fight against insurgent groups trying to remove him from power. The U.S. enjoys wide influence in northeastern Syria where hundreds of American troops and advisers are helping the predominantly Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces, one of the most effective in fighting IS in Syria.

The U.S.-backed fighters are up against a huge challenge to reach Deir el-Zour, especially while they are still fighting to liberate Raqqa from IS. Three months into the battle, they have liberated around 60 percent of the city, and much more difficult urban fighting still lies ahead.

This week, Syrian troops and their Iranian-backed allies reached Deir el-Zour, breaking a nearly three-year-old IS siege on government-held parts of the city in a major breakthrough in their offensive against IS. In a victory statement, the Syrian military said Deir el-Zour will be used as a launching pad to liberate the remaining IS-held areas along the border with Iraq.

The troops' arrival to Deir el-Zour city brings Syrian forces and their allies a step closer to controlling the oil-rich eastern province and its capital bordering Iraq, a major boost for Tehran's growing influence in the area. The region has some of Syria's largest oil fields, whose revenue is vital to the state's dried coffers.

Washington has been determined to block the formation of an "Iranian corridor"  of Shiite-controlled land stretching from Tehran to Damascus  and for months has been eyeing the area southeast of Raqqa near the Iraqi border.

U.S.-backed Syrian rebels had been gathering in Tanf in southeastern Syria to march toward Deir el-Zour, but their plans were disrupted in June when Syrian troops reached the border with Iraq, obstructing their path. The only way left for the SDF to enter the eastern province appears to be from the northeastern province of Hassakeh, where Syrian activists say the U.S.-backed fighters have been gathering and stepping up preparations for an attack.

A U.S.-trained group, the Deir el-Zour Military Council, which is part of the SDF, is expected to launch the attack against IS in Deir el-Zour under the cover of airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition within days. SDF officials say the imminent attack is not related to government forces reaching the city earlier this week, and was planned months in advance.

Syrian Kurdish official Nawaf Khalil, who is in Germany but frequently visits northern Syria, said the SDF attack on Deir el-Zour could begin at any moment, adding that the battle for Raqqa now no longer needs a large number of fighters.

"Deir el-Zour is a main connection point and a very important geographic area," Khalil said referring to the province linking several Syrian regions with western Iraq.

The U.S.-led coalition fighting IS said in an email to The Associated Press that the SDF "will decide when the conditions are right for an offensive."

Asked about concerns of a possible clash between the SDF and Syrian troops, the coalition said: "We urge all forces to concentrate their efforts on our common enemy (IS)."

Washington has welcomed Syrian troops' fight against IS. Both the U.S. and Russia have an interest in avoiding a clash between the SDF and Syrian forces and may devise a strategy that will allow both sides to share control of the vast province.

U.S. officials have suggested they are not seeking a confrontation with Assad's forces.

"We are in the killing-ISIS business. That is what we want to do, and if the Syrian regime wants to do that ... and show that they are doing just that in Abu Kamal or Deir el-Zour or elsewhere, that means that we don't have to do that in those places," said coalition spokesman Col. Ryan Dillon in June referring to a town on the Iraqi border, and using a different acronym for IS.

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said last month during a visit to the Middle East that the Middle Euphrates River Valley will soon be liberated, as IS takes hits from both sides of the valley that bisects Iraq and Syria.

"You see, ISIS is now caught in between converging forces," Mattis said.

Ahmed Abu Khawla, the commander of the Deir el-Zour Military Council, says he commands a force of 4,000 fighters, mostly from Deir el-Zour province.

"We are an organized army. We are not militias or separate brigades. We have a unified military leadership and an operations room to coordinate," he told the AP.

"The plans for the Deir el-Zour campaign have been in the works for over a year and half but Raqqa took precedence because of international considerations," said Abu Khawla.

Abu Khawla said his group has already liberated 93 villages in northwestern rural Deir el-Zour including, more recently, the village of Abou Khashab. Asked about potential confrontations with government troops, he said: "If the regime wants a confrontation or directs one bullet at us we will respond."

He also said that the SDF is already forming a local civilian council to administer the area after the military operations.

Ahmad al-Ahmad, who heads the opposition's Syria Press center, said the SDF does not have the manpower to control Deir el-Zour, adding that government forces have brought in lots of troops and Iranian-backed gunmen for the battle.

"The regime wants to reach the border with Iraq to open a land line to Iran through Baghdad," al-Ahmad said, adding that they are capable of doing that.

____

Associated Press writer Sarah El Deeb in Beirut contributed to this report.
Turkey's foreign ministry has issued a travel warning for Turkish citizens living in or traveling to Germany, citing increased right-wing and racist rhetoric ahead of Germany's Sept. 24 parliamentary election.

In a statement Saturday, the ministry said German candidates have shaped their election campaigns on anti-Turkish discourse to prevent Turkey's membership in the European Union. It also cited fires of "undetermined causes" in immigrant neighborhoods in Germany as well as alleged ill-treatment of Turkish citizens at German airports as a basis for its warning.

The ministry repeated its allegation that Germany was harboring terror groups, including outlawed Kurdish militants and the network of U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, which Turkey blames for last summer's failed coup. Gulen denies the claim.

The statement urged Turkish citizens to exercise caution and avoid political meetings.
The United States has called for a vote Monday on a U.N. resolution that would impose the toughest-ever sanctions on North Korea and could lead to a showdown with the country's biggest trading partner China and its neighbor Russia.

The Trump administration dropped the one-on-one U.S. negotiations with China to hammer out a resolution that took weeks and was a hallmark of all previous sanctions measures. For this resolution, a totally American draft was circulated Tuesday with a vote set six days later.

Several diplomats say the U.S. demand for a speedy council vote is aimed at putting maximum pressure on China.

Professor Joseph DeThomas of Pennsylvania State University tells The Associated Press the U.S. demand is "an indicator of how the administration thinks time has run out."
The U.S. State Department warned thousands of Americans stranded on the Caribbean island of St. Martin to "shelter in place at a secure location" until Hurricane Jose has passed.

The department said approximately 500 U.S. citizens had been evacuated from St. Martin by air, "beginning with those needing urgent medical care." An estimated 6,000 U.S. citizens had been stuck on St. Martin after Hurricane Irma battered the Caribbean earlier this week.

The Associated Press reported that U.S. officials deployed C-130s to take Americans to Puerto Rico.

Carol Basch, a 53-year-old document analyst from Savannah, Ga., was among those evacuated to Puerto Rico on Saturday. Stuck in St. Martin when Irma hit, she huddled for four hours in a hotel bathroom with no tub to protect her. Surrounding herself with pillows, she prayed nonstop as she heard furniture being tossed around her room.

"Windows busted through," she said, adding that one fell on her before she sought shelter inside the bathroom. "The storm kept going and going and going."

"I kept saying, 'Lord, please stop this, and soon, soon,'" she said. "I'm glad I'm alive. I didn't think I was going to make it."

She said locals had welcomed her into their house and gave her food and a sofa to sleep on.

A tropical storm warning remained in effect Saturday evening for St. Martin, which is divided between Dutch and French control.

Looting, gunshots and a lack of clean drinking water were reported on the French side of the island Saturday.

More than 1,100 police, military officials and others were deployed to St. Martin and the nearby French Caribbean territory of St. Barts, where they used helicopters to identify the cars of people looting stores and homes. French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe announced Saturday night that France would be sending more Foreign Legion troops, paratroopers and other reinforcements to St. Martin starting Sunday.

Philippe said the several hundred gendarmes, soldiers and other security forces there were working in "difficult conditions" and needed help.



On the other side of the island, the Dutch government estimated Saturday that 70 percent of houses were badly damaged or destroyed, leaving much of the 40,000 population in public shelters as they braced for the arrival of Jose.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said the situation remained "grim" on the island where widespread looting had broken out and a state of emergency was in force.

Rutte said some 230 Dutch troops and police were patrolling St. Maarten to maintain order and deliver aid and a further 200 would arrive in coming days. The government evacuated 65 dialysis patients from St. Maarten's hospital, which also was hard hit by Irma.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
IT LOOKS like we are going to get more rain from Hurricane Irma.

Rain: the farmers friend.

I was walking down the street in a downpour Wednesday when a lady stopped to talk.

Im tired of rain, I said.

My friend just looked at me and replied, Well, the farmers need it!

I could have predicted that response. Thats what everybody who is not a farmer says.

Contrary to popular belief, farmers dont need rain every day. Im a farmer and I know that for a fact. Crops, like people, also need a little sunshine once in awhile.

Thats especially true this time of the year. The corn and soybeans are pretty much made and most of the hay is either in the barn or in a roll. All we need right now is enough rain to keep the pastures green and help the winter grain germinate.

But the general population is still going to get philosophical every time the windshield wipers get turned on and declare, Well, the farmers need the rain.

Ill bet you dollars to doughnuts that while the Houston area was getting 52 inches of moisture from Hurricane Harvey somebody smiled and said, Well, the farmers need the rain.

While the cows were swimming through the floods in search of dry land and the soybeans were drowning under 10 feet of water I guarantee you somebody said, Well, the farmers need a little rain.

If rain makes farmers smile, then we all might be grinning from ear to ear if Hurricane Irma gets closer than predicted. We wont get as much as Houston, but this stormlike tropical systems in the pastcould drop three months worth of rain on us in 24 hours.

Take my word for it: Farmers would not like that.

The one good thing the recent rains have been accomplishing is washing away the pollen. My sinuses have been killing me for a month now with the fall grasses and ragweed out in full bloom.

If you dont have allergy problems, youre lucky. I had a sneezing fit walking up the street the other day and my eyes were red and swollen and I could hardly see by the time I got to the corner.

It happens every year and only rain clears the air. Of course, that same rain makes more grass and ragweed grow and it will keep growing until the first frost. Thats why people with allergies look forward to winter.

More grass also means more mowing and by this time of year Im ready to cement the whole yard and paint it green. My old mower needs a rest.

Thats the wonderful thing about a drought. You dont have to mow the lawn. You might starve to death because all the crops fail, but you dont have any grass to cut. After Ive mowed grass once or twice a week for five months, brown becomes beautiful.

From all indications, there will be no drought in the foreseeable future because it looks like Irma is going to bring more rain our way, so farmers, get your smiles ready.

No, we wont get as much rain as Houston, but then our topography is different from East Texas so we wont need as much to create a disaster. Just think back to Hurricane Camille in 1969 when the clouds burst over the mountains of Nelson County.

That rain took the pollen, the grass, the crops and the lives of more than 100 people. Lets hope Irma is not as destructive in our part of the world.

But if the downpours do come, dont say, The farmers need the rain.

We really dont.
Finn Blumenthal, the Stafford County toddler with a congenital heart defect who went to the Caroline High School prom in April, will undergo open heart surgery next week.

The goal is that this is the surgery that will bring him to adulthood, Finns mom, Kelly Blumenthal, said. Without it, he 100 percent will not make it.

Finn is not a candidate for heart transplant and there are only two other surgeries that can correct his condition.

However, the Blumenthals learned after a cardiac catheterization procedure last week that Finn is not a good candidate for either of them.

Basically what happened is the surgeon chose the lesser of the two evils and theyre going to do a modified version of it, Blumenthal said.

The surgery is called a Fontan procedure, but because it will be specialized for Finns particular heart anatomy, the family has jokingly renamed it a Finn-tan procedure.

The surgery will take place Thursday at Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia. It is a five- to seven-hour procedure. Blumenthal said the stakes are high.

Just because of the complexity of the surgery, were not sure 100 percent whats going to happen, she said. This is a full reconstruction.

His previous surgeries have been fixing the piping, but this is cutting open his actual heart and separating blue blood and red blood and putting a chamber in it. For him, this is big time.

She said staff members at the hospital told her Finn will be on life support when he comes out of the surgery. He wont be breathing on his own and will be heavily sedated.

The first 48 hours will be critical, Blumenthal said.

She said she has full confidence in the surgeon, Dr. Thomas Spray.

We literally couldnt have a better surgeon, she said. Hes extremely well known in the heart community. Hes been operating 37 years and hes retiring next year so hes not taking on every single case, but he very willingly took on our case. And hes the kindest person.

People say he has magic fingers. We know no matter what happens that were in good hands.

Because they are expecting Finns recovery to take a long time, the Blumenthals likely will be out of town for the Oct. 17 birthday of their older son, Mason, who will turn 4. He will be staying with family while they are away. They also will miss Masons favorite holiday, Halloween, and their favorite family tradition, pumpkin picking.

But the community has been so sweet, Blumenthal said. Belvedere Plantation stepped up and let us have the entire farm for the day and then our neighborhood, Stafford Lakes, is putting out Halloween decorations [early] and letting them trick-or-treat.

Blumenthal said her main goal is to get Finn home again.

I dont care if its a long hospital stay and he has to come home on oxygen or a G-tube, she said. Whatever gets him home.

For updates on Finns condition, visit the Prayers for Finn Facebook page.
On the same night that King George County tested a system that lets residents virtually attend and make comments at Board of Supervisors meetings, county officials took steps to address another technology need thats been a bane to rural areas.

Thats how to get broadband coverage to remote areas, so anyone who desires can use the internet to work from home, research school papers or even log into the King George website and watch Board of Supervisors meetings live. (The new website that allows such participation will be launched Sept. 21.)

King George has received a $30,000 grant from the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development to work on solving its broadband shortages. Its also partnering with the Center for Innovative Technology, a nonprofit corporation in Herndon that will help King George assess its needs and come up with a plan to provide for them.

The Community Development Block Grant and the broadband initiatives the CIT has in place pair up perfectly, said Caroline Stolle, CITs broadband program administrator.

We were waiting for the right locality to come along, she told the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. Why not demonstrate how Virginia can spend its broadband money?

The board agreed to the publicprivate partnership, although Supervisor Jim Howard had several questions about when the county will know how much infrastructure is needed and what it will cost.

Stolle said it will take about a year for the CIT, working with King George representatives, to put together a proposal request. She also hoped CIT could help King George acquire another grant to help with the expense of towers, fiber optics or whatever the infrastructure may be.

King George doesnt have a good track record with broadband investment.

We spent a tremendous amount of money and got nothing, Howard said. Im praying that doesnt happen this time.

In 2006, King George seemed to be ahead of the technology curve when it became the second locality in the state to create a Wireless Authority to address its broadband needs. Two years later, the county signed a contract with Virginia Broadband of Culpeper and gave the business $740,000 in loans for equipment and installation.

Virginia Broadband promised to install equipment on 11 towers and extend coverage to 80 percent of the county within a year, but county officials said those plans never materialized. By summer 2011, the company had 20 customers and hadnt paid back any of the money it borrowed, so King George pulled the plug.

The county later sued, and Virginia Broadband filed for bankruptcy in November 2012.

Since then, residents have appealed to the Wireless Authority, which consists of members of the Board of Supervisors, to help county residents get more connected. In making their pleas, which supervisors agreed with, residents said internet hookups have become as vital a utility as electricity or water and sewer.

Gov. Terry McAuliffe said as much in March, when he called broadband access an essential tool for localities to attract new businesses and thrive, as well as support the diverse needs of their schools and students.

In 2013, frustrated residents formed a group called King George Connect to look into options on their own. They later presented their findings to the supervisors, who took no action.

Some of the group members, including founder Barbara Wagner, are working with Ryan Gandy, the countys economic development on the new broadband grant.
Theres some trashing going on in King George County, but it goes beyond garbage being deposited there.

Some users are dumping on county employees at the King George Regional Landfill and the countys two convenience centers. Use of the facilities is free to King George residents while commercial haulerswho in the past have come from as far away as Delawarepay by the ton to unload at the landfill.

County officials say people who live outside King George are trying to drop off their trash at the convenience centersand then get downright ugly when told the facilities are not open to them.

County employees [are] being cursed, threatened and even ignored by out-of-county residents who drive around the workers and dump their garbage, said Neiman Young, King Georges county administrator.

Theres also an elderly man who recently was banned temporarily from the landfill for threatening violence. He likes to scavenge through the trash for scrap metal, and when confronted recently, said hed like to shoot someone, Young said.

As a result of the harassment, members of the King George Board of Supervisors are taking steps to make the sites safer for workers. Waste Management, which operates the facilities, will install security cameras and sheds where the attendants will sit at the convenience centers off State Route 205 and Bloomsbury Drive.

Signs will be posted saying security cameras are in place and that video could be passed along to the Sheriffs Office.

King George deputies will start patrolling the centers daily. The landfill manager will generate monthly reports that include the license plates or names of repeat offenders. Serious offenders may be prohibited permanently from using the landfill and convenience centers, according to county documents.

The Board of Supervisors also proposes making changes to the county code to reflect some of the new security measures. Residents will be defined as those who live in King George or own property there. Having a post office box in the county is not enough, Young said.

We just sent a trespassing warning letter to one patron who claimed his King George residency was based off of his rental of a P.O. box in the county, Young wrote in an email.When confronted for the third time, he threatened a female employee with bodily harm.

Young said some people are getting King George County stickers illegally, and one change in the county code requires residents to fix the stickers to their windshield. In the future, he wants vehicle registrations to replace the stickers as proof of residency.

A public hearing on the code changes is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Sept. 19 in the board room of the Revercomb Administration Center.

In spring 2015, King George officials wondered if they were seeing an increase in traffic at their convenience centers from Stafford County residents after the Rappahannock Regional Landfill started charging fees in March. Charges at the landfill, located in Stafford, ranged from $4 per visit to $75 for an annual pass.

At that time, Waste Management officials said theyd monitor stickers more closely. Since then, a contractor has been hired to oversee operations at the King George convenience centers while county employees check whos coming and going, Young told the supervisors.

The problem is the county department has only 2.5 positions to cover all the hours at both sites.

Young said he will request more employees next year but wanted to put some instruments in place that dont affect the budget.
Celestine May Sturgill, 66, of Spotsylvania County passed away Wednesday, September 6, 2017 at her home surrounded by her loved ones. Mrs. Sturgill worked for 25 years at Bob Evans in Fredericksburg. She was a member of Calvary Chapel of Spotsylvania. She was a loving wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. Survivors include her husband, Brian C. Sturgill; children Genny Patterson (Mike), Joann Rowley (Walt), John Rowley Jr., and Samuel Rowley (Brenda); 11 grandchildren; one great-grandson; and several brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews. The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday, September 11 at Covenant Funeral Service, Fredericksburg. A service will be held at noon on Tuesday, September 12 at the funeral home chapel. Burial will follow in Confederate Cemetery, Spotsylvania. Online guestbook available at covenantfuneralservice.com.
ON ONE LEVEL, things have never been worse for Democrats. They dont have the White House, majorities in Congress or a reliable fifth vote on the Supreme Court. They hold governorships in only 15 states and hold just 42 percent of state legislative seats. But that in a sense is looking backwardhow they did in past elections. Now, oddly, they are seeing some impressive successes, or at least defending successfully against defeats. And as of now, they have a healthy lead in generic congressional polling, giving them a decent chance to take over the House majority.

Consider that it is entirely possible that we will end 2017 with Obamacare intact, no new tax plan with cuts for the super-rich, no border wall, no spending cuts tied to the debt ceiling increase and maybe even the Iran deal still in place (although we might very well go down the road of non-nuclear sanctions). The Democrats mightremarkablyget a GOP Congress to pass and a GOP president to sign permanent protection for dreamers. Not all of that may pan out, but a great deal of it will. And that brings up the question: Why are Democrats winning more than they are losing? (Republicans are not tired of winning; they really have no wins to speak of other than one Supreme Court justice.)

Part of the explanation certainly is the jaw-dropping incompetence of the White House and the divisions on the GOP side, which force GOP leaders to come to Democrats for votes for the debt ceiling and government funding bills, thereby enhancing Democrats power.

Part of their success (or at least avoidance of failure) has to do with the GOPs shopworn, extreme agenda (e.g. cutting Medicaid) that put off voters and makes Democrats look like they are holding the line against the radical Republicans.

And part of their winning strategy has been, candidly, a role reversal with Republicans. Republicans are now the revolutionaries with schemes to dramatically shake up the status quo while Democrats sound like moderates. (Could we just fix Obamacare? Maybe we shouldnt, you know, destroy Medicaid.) In their newfound role as tinkerers and gradualists, they play to Americans fear of radicalism and the unknown.

In the broader sense, Democrats are making the case for sustained, activist government, a position much more in tune with Trumps populism and the general electorates policy preference than the libertarian-ish philosophy of back-to-the-pre-New Deal Republicans. Theyve made clear that the overwhelming majority of Americans have no stomach for small government.

Democrats have real evidence that we face a serious threat from white nationalism. They are not the worst purveyors of identity politics. They have found full voice in condemning visible racism and in appealing to Americans innate sense of fairness.

Democrats have also become more hawkish on defense, willing to get tough with Russia (because Trump wouldnt) and course-correct on Iran (absent President Barack Obama, there is now strong support for nonnuclear sanctions).

But mostly, I would argue, they have succeeded not when they champion a specific policy but when they defend fundamental values such as the rule of law, religious inclusion, checks and balances, and scientific truthall vital defenses against an overreaching and dangerously erratic president. In rediscovering the stabilizing effect these pillars of democracy can provide, Democrats have been able to transcend some ideological policy fights and find common ground with many independents and some disaffected Republicans.

Anthony Scaramucci, speaking about White House intrigue, complained, There are people inside the administration who think it is their job to save America from this president. Actually, there are people outside the administration who think it is their job to save America from this presidentand by and large they are Democrats.

Democrats are told they need an effective, affirmative economic message. Perhaps, but what they really need is to sustain their newfound image as the party of normalcy, democratic (small d) norms and sanity. If Republicans are willing to forfeit that intellectual ground, theyll soon wind up back in the minority.

Jennifer Rubin writes for the Washington Post.
HYSTERIA OVER U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announcement Tuesday that the Trump administration is rescinding the Obama administrations controversial 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program has reached fever pitch. Less heat and more light is in order.

For starters, federal courts at the district, appellate and Supreme Court level agreed with a coalition of states led by Texas that the executive branch of the federal government does not have the constitutional authority to override Congress with its Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA). DACA is a companion program for children who were brought to this country illegally as children.

On June 23, 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed a ruling by the Fifth U.S. Court of Appeals in United States v. Texas, which stated that federal law does not permit the reclassification of millions of illegal aliens as lawfully present and thereby make them newly eligible for a host of federal and state benefitsincluding work authorization and participation in federal benefit programs such as Medicaid and Social Securitywithout congressional approval.

The Fifth Circuit specifically concluded that DACA had not been implemented in a fashion that allowed sufficient discretion, and that DAPA was foreclosed by Congress careful plan. In other words, it was inconsistent with the Constitutions separation of powers. That decision was affirmed by the Supreme Court by an equally divided vote, Sessions noted.

Simply put, if we are to further our goal of strengthening the constitutional order and the rule of law in America, the Department of Justice cannot defend this type of overreach, he added.

Under the U.S. Constitution, Congress has both the authority and the responsibility to pass laws that determine who is allowed to enter the U.S. and who is not. The executive branchs duty is to enforce those laws, not rewrite them.

So when President Trump stated that he would give Congress six months to come up with legislation dealing with the 800,000 or so Dreamersincluding 12,000 in Virginiawho were already enrolled in DACA, he was actually deferring the decision to the correct branch of government.

Trumps decision to rescind DACA also upholds the rule of law, which is critical for our constitutional system of government to function properly.

However, another coalition of statesincluding Virginiahas filed a lawsuit in the Eastern District of New York challenging Trumps decision. Their state attorneys general claim that eliminating DACA will have many adverse effects on those currently enrolled, including the potential loss of their jobs, health insurance and their ability to pursue higher education.

So the chief law enforcement officials of 16 statesincluding Virginia Attorney General Mark Herringare now making the bizarre argument that an unlawful program that rewards unlawful entry into the country must be preserved.

The irony is that the parents of many Dreamers brought them into the U.S. because they were fleeing from countries that were in chaos precisely because there was no rule of law. But misguided attempts at compassion also threaten the rule of law here. So does selective enforcement of immigration laws already on the books, which has been going on for decades.

That said, children cannot be held responsible for their parents actions, and compassion for Dreamers enrolled in DACA who have lived most of their lives in the U.S. and have not committed any crimes is certainly in order. Although they have no legal right to remain in the U.S., a process that allows them to stay here and work towards eventual naturalization would be the morally right thing to do. But its up to Congress to make that determination, not whoever occupies the Oval Office.

Our immigration system is a hot mess. Congress has failed time and time again to enact much-needed reforms that protect U.S. sovereignty and the citizens of the United States while making it easier for vetted immigrants and refugees to come here in an orderly and legal fashion.

With his DACA decision, Trump has thrown down the gauntlet. Congress now has six months to finally start doing its job.

Under the Constitution, Congress has the authority and the responsibility to pass laws that determine who is allowed to enter the U.S.
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A Pinch of Salt: The election is over, I think, so what now?
Although he was born and reared in Honolulu, Hawaii, Blake Pang, the new regional CEO of the United Way organizations in Linn, Benton and Lincoln counties, seems destined to live in the mid-valley.

As a sophomore political science major at Linfield College in McMinnville, Pang told a friend that if he could live anywhere, it would be Lincoln City and he remembers volunteering with a Habitat for Humanity project in Albany.

I couldnt tell you where it was, but I remember there were three homes in a field, he said.

Nearly 20 years later, and after work stints in Hawaii, Ohio and Washington, Pang, his daughter Audrena, 8, and his mother, Audrey, are unpacking boxes at their home in Albany.

His first day of work was last Friday.

Pang, 37, succeeds Greg Roe, who headed the local United Way for 15 years before recently moving to southern Oregon, where he leads the Boys & Girls Club of the Rogue Valley.

Pang said each of the county organizations will continue to be directed by their own board of directors and he will split his management time among the three offices. (A single United Way organization covers both Benton and Lincoln counties.)

We want to assure people that their donations will be directed where they want them to go, he said.

Pang said that although Linn and Benton counties may be different in socioeconomic and political ways, the basic needs of all families are the same, and those basic needs are the focus of United Way's programs.

People want their families to be safe, for their community to be vibrant and for there to be opportunities for quality education, he said. Every person should have the ability to live his or her own life and to have an opportunity for meaningful work.

Pang called those issues universal but added that different communities may take different paths to reaching those goals.

We dont need to try to fit a square peg in a round hole, he said.

Pang became aware of United Way programs at a young age. His mother worked in the banking industry in Honolulu and was a United Way volunteer.

His prior United Way positions have provided him with the skills needed to make this unique regional management position a reality.

He started as a volunteer in Hawaii, became a loaned executive and then one of 45 staff members working with an $18 million budget.

He then spent four years in Cincinnati, Ohio, where the United Way and American Red Cross had developed a cooperative campaign program.

I learned a lot about partnering with other United Way programs across the state, and was in charge of providing supplies for campaigns and managing our speakers bureau, Pang said.

For the last seven years, Pang worked for the United Way in Spokane, Washington, where there were 16 staff members and a $3.7 million budget. He was in charge of education and collective impact.

That means finding ways for our partner organizations to work collaboratively toward a specific goal, to provide resources and to not duplicate efforts, Pang explained.

In Spokane that meant developing a program called Cradle to Career which focused on improving literacy rates, which would lead toward a more educated workforce.

One program focused on providing children in grades K-3 at just one elementary school with books during the summer break to combat what is known as the summer slide, Pang said. After just one year, there was a remarkable improvement in how much the children retained.

The Linn County campaign is about $650,000 per year and the combined campaign in Benton and Lincoln counties generates about $350,000 annually.

I am fortunate that Greg left this organization on its way up, Pang said. My job will be to create more efficiencies and be entrepreneurial.

Pang said he is also fortunate that all three of the county organizations have very active volunteers.

United Way can be staff-driven, but I believe the real strength comes from having a great group of volunteers and their leadership base, Pang said. The local volunteers and committees are dedicated to what we are doing.

Pang said his management strength comes from being able to multitask.

I can juggle many balls at the same time. I prioritize whats most important and find common ground, Pang said. I also do my research and am decisive.
Meditation: A Daoist meditation group will meet at 9 a.m. Sunday at the First Alternative Natural Foods Co-op north store, 2855 NW Grant Ave. in Corvallis.

The event will feature Daoist Quiet Sitting meditation, also known as "Guarding the One." Basic instruction provided; no experience necessary.

Baha'i devotional gathering: "The Beginning of All Utterance" is set for 10 a.m. Sunday at 5006 SW Hollyhock Circle in Corvallis.

"...and the Word was with God..." The absence of spiritual qualities, like darkness, has no existence in itself. As the light of spirituality penetrates deep into hearts, this darkness gradually dissipates and is replaced by virtue. The Word of God encourages us to be loving and patient with one another; to exercise patience with one another and to have faith that the power of the Word of God will gradually effect a transformation in ourselves and in humanity as a whole.

All are welcome to share readings and conversation.

First United Methodist Church, 1165 NW Monroe Ave., Corvallis: This Sunday at 9:30 a.m. in worship: What exactly is your soul? Scripture offers this word in various contexts, but what do you mean when you use this word? We'll explore the word music, scripture (Luke 10:27), prayer and reflection.

Albany Women's Connection will hold its first fall meeting Wednesday at 10 a.m. at the Phoenix Inn Suites, 3410 Spicer Drive SE, Albany. On the program is home economist Janice Gregg, who will demonstrate making soups with seasonal ingredients. She will share recipes and samples. Janice is also part of a barbershop quartet, which will perform. The featured speaker is Trudy Monsma who will discuss her struggles after her move to the United States during World War II. Jacopetti's Catering will serve brunch. Cost is $12. Reservations are required. Call Suzanne at 541-327-3798 or email awc_reservations@yahoo.com

Taize: A contemplative ecumenical Taize worship service will take place at 7 p.m. Sunday at the Episcopal Church of the Good Samaritan, 333 NW 35th St. in Corvallis.

The monthly event, sponsored by the Corvallis Taize Ensemble, is open to all, and features singing and prayers. Information: 541-753-7622.

Nursing program: "Foundations of Faith Community Nursing: Whole-Person Health Care" is set for Sept. 21 and 22 and Dec. 1 in Salem.

Eight weeks of online classes will run from Sept. 25 to Nov. 20.

The American Nurses Association recognizes faith community nursing as a subspecialty in nursing. Faith community nursing holds the spiritual dimension as central to its practice.

Cost of the course is $400; books are required. The registration deadline is Sept. 15. Further information is available from Jonet Schutz at 503-508-1016 or jonet.e.schutz@gmail.com; the website is www.npnm.org.

What does "Sacred" look like? First Presbyterian Church in Corvallis invites you to use your creative skills to create and submit art that is inspired by the word "Sacred." During the Sunday of Fall Festival (Sept. 24) qualifying pieces will be displayed in or outside the church, 114 SW Eighth St. Submit art to the church office or to church@1stpres.org. Deadline: Sept. 18.
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.
Opening of the 650th Putzchens Markt : Bonn knows fun fairs

Bonn In case you felt like being catapulted into the carnival season already yesterday - youre not far off. The opening of the Putzchens Markt was dominated by merry people in costumes, dancing and having fun.

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The same goes for the fun fair staff - relaxed and cheerful were the attributes all around. Albert Ritter, president of the German fun fair association (DSB), said during the opening of the 650th Putzchens Markt: A thank you goes out to the city of Bonn and its citizens for embracing these traditions, making them part of the city. His words were followed by the request for the 3,500 people in the Bavaria tent to pause for a few seconds: Who wants to set a sign for freedom, peace and tolerance after Berlin and Barcelona, may now stand.

For a brief moment, everyone in the tent stood up. Lord Mayor Ashok Sridharan must have secretly practiced the keg tapping: In his second year on the job he needed just one strike. With this fun fair was officially opened and will run until Tuesday, September 12. It is not clear, if the list of honored guests is this long due to the big anniversary of the fun fair or the upcoming elections - NRW vice minister president Joachim Stamp (FDP) was there as well as Rhein-Sieg.Kreis district administrator Sebastian Schuster.

One major difference compared to last year: 2016, the thermometer showed 35 degrees Celsius and the sun was shining. On Friday, it was only 18 degrees and drizzling rain kept falling from grey skies. True fans dont let that faze them. Several thousands lined the streets during the almost one-kilometre-long parade.

During all this spectacle, one man was absorbed in his thoughts, in the middle of the Bavaria tent: There was a load off Harald Borcherts shoulders. The furious concert of the Beethoven orchestra with the Blaack Fooss on Thursday night and the happy opening day on Friday made him look forward to these coming days.

What he is particularly looking forward to: The Archbishop Rainer Maria Kardinal Woelkis visit on Sunday. At the end of the day there was praise from a professional: The NRW fun fair queen Daryl Fee I. Told the General-Anzeiger: Putzchens Markt is a splendid mix of tradition and modern. Bonn knows fun fair.
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.
One place you do not expect to capture UFOs at is around Washington, DC and especially not during the Cold War in 1952. But, such a thing was captured on film.





July 19, 1952: Perhaps the most amazing UFO incident, and well documented, occurred in our nation's capital. Seven objects were seen on radar.





The air traffic controllers knew something was odd. The movements were impossible by current aircraft standards. Another capital area traffic control tower also confirmed the objects.





Peering our the window of the tower, a controlled reported seeing a bright orange light.





Then, something horrible happened. Seven objects appeared and moved over the White House. Andrews Air Force Base 10 miles away was called.





Although Andrews AFB didn't report anything on radar, an airman looked out the window to see an orange ball of fire with a tail. Suddenly, the object took off at an unbelievable speed. At that time, a controller at National reported a large orange disk. Then, 6 fast moving white tailless objects were seen.





One sergeant reported an orange red light that would stay still, then move in impossible positions and speeds. An object hovered over the radar beacon. Then, all 3 centers tracking it said it vanished.





After much cat and mouse behavior, the disks were last seen 6 hours after they first arrived, all of them turning skyward and flashing away with great speed.





One week later, a National Airline stewardess saw objects above her plane. Soon, radar centers neraby were watching the objects. They were reported to be moving at unusually high speed.





The sightings on radar ended around sunrise and pilots in fighter jets saw the light, but were unable to keep up with it.





The military (of course) explained them as meteors or stars.





This remains one of the most professionally witnessed, documented and threatening encounters with the unknown in our nation's history.





Interestingly, in 1952 an RAF pilot had a UFO incident that left him convinced we are not alone.





Flight Sergeant Roland Hughes was returning to base when he was followed by a 'gleaming silver, metallic disc' which flew alongside him before disappearing at incredible sped.





It's always intriguing to find that a certain year was particularly more active UFO-wise than others. It says that perhaps this was a time of great observation of us or perhaps we were doing something that instigated the need to visit.





In 1952, Project Blue Book began. This was a program to study the explanations for UFOs. Those who believe the government has hidden their own weapons/craft programs by making us believe they are UFOs, this is a significant time. We started seeing more UFOs that year and they officially start a program to study UFOs. That is kind of like parading your beautiful daughter and then starting a beauty pageant. One has to wonder if they took advantage of our thoughts they were from other worlds and acted as if they "gosh-darned dunno" where they came from.





Another camp could look at 1952, a pivotal year where UFO's came to the Capital, causing our government to get concerned and start studying these crazy objects in the sky.





No matter how you look at UFO phenomenon, 1952 was an important year.





MORE INFO:

Project Blue Book ( LINK

UFO's over the White House (LINK)

RAF Pilot's experience (LINK)












Jonathan Talks on Achievements & Nigeria's Restructuring Says "He Led Nigeria With Conscience"

clarajancita at 8-09-2017 03:01 PM (5 years ago) (f)

The immediate past president of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan who was spotted in an interactive session with Nigerian students in Kuching, on Friday, has delivered a powerful speech at the World Peace Summit.

Speaking while delivering the keynote address at a peace summit organised by the Junior Chamber International (JCI) in Malaysia on Friday, former President Goodluck Jonathan says his major inspiration all through his life as a public office holder was to lead with conscience.

The immediate past president of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan who was spotted in an interactive session with Nigerian students in Kuching, on Friday, has delivered a powerful speech at the World Peace Summit.Speaking while delivering the keynote address at a peace summit organised by the Junior Chamber International (JCI) in Malaysia on Friday, former President Goodluck Jonathan says his major inspiration all through his life as a public office holder was to lead with conscience.

The immediate past president who disclosed that such inspiration is in line with his personal philosophy that The immediate past president who disclosed that such inspiration is in line with his personal philosophy that Quote my political ambition is not worth the blood of anybody, added that it was the major reason why he decided to concede defeat to President Muhammadu Buhari during the 2015 presidential election.

I can confidently say that in all my public life, I was inspired to lead by conscience. This is in agreement with my personal philosophy which I first proclaimed while running for the office of the governor of my home state Bayelsa in 2006, and re-echoed when I ran for the office of the president of Nigeria in 2011 and 2015, he said.



Ever since I said that in November of 2006 in Yenagoa, capital of Bayelsa State, I have always lived by it. This philosophy informed my decision to concede the 2015 presidential election, even while the results were still being collated.



According to Reports, Jonathan said it was his decision to always lead by his conscience that inspired him to construct 165 Almajiri integrated model schools to tackle the high rate of illiteracy in the north.

According to Reports, Jonathan said it was his decision to always lead by his conscience that inspired him to construct 165 Almajiri integrated model schools to tackle the high rate of illiteracy in the north. Quote In Nigeria, there were 10.5 million (about 15% of the population) out of school children who were of school age, going by UNICEF figures, as at the time I became president, he added.

Over 80% of these children for which majority are known as Almajiri came from the northern part of Nigeria, where I recorded the least votes in the elections I contested.

Knowing the value of education, I could see that the ugly situation was limiting the opportunities of these children and negatively affecting the development of my country. That was why my administration decided to build 165 Almajiri Integrated Model Schools which combined both western and Islamic education in its curricula.

Speaking on the call for restructuring, Jonathan added that the implementation of the 2014 national conference report will help reduce the current ethnic tension the country, adding that his administration had organised the conference to also promote national cohesion and give Nigerians hope for a better tomorrow.

The conference gave both the young and old the opportunity to exhaustively discuss and agree on the issues that agitated their minds on the workability of Nigerias federal structure, he added.

I believe the recommendations of this confab, if implemented, would go a long way in solving Nigerias structural problems.

Post Reply I am a metro reporter on Gistmania, I have been publishing news materials for over 5 years Posted: at 8-09-2017 03:01 PM (5 years ago) | Hero

Floyd29 at 8-09-2017 03:08 PM (5 years ago)

(f) Shut up and go sit down Posted: at 8-09-2017 03:08 PM (5 years ago) | Gistmaniac Shut up and go sit down Reply

gogoman at 8-09-2017 03:10 PM (5 years ago)

(m) thief of the year Posted: at 8-09-2017 03:10 PM (5 years ago) | Addicted Hero thief of the year Reply

ruthie at 8-09-2017 03:12 PM (5 years ago)

(f) make i no talk wetin they my mind...but one thing is true, he is a peaceful man! Posted: at 8-09-2017 03:12 PM (5 years ago) | Hero make i no talk wetin they my mind...but one thing is true, he is a peaceful man! Reply

tegonwa at 8-09-2017 03:15 PM (5 years ago)

(m) Heiyaa, The Best Ever But His Archiles Heels Happened To Be His Friends.Oga Jona, It's Well.Nawaa O! Posted: at 8-09-2017 03:15 PM (5 years ago) | Gistmaniac Heiyaa, The Best Ever But His Archiles Heels Happened To Be His Friends.Oga Jona, It's Well.Nawaa O! Reply

bayonel3 at 8-09-2017 04:00 PM (5 years ago)

(m) no doubt you are a very good person with good intentions but a very bad leader. I scour the world wide web to bring you interesting stories from around the globe. [email protected] Posted: at 8-09-2017 04:00 PM (5 years ago) | Hero no doubt you are a very good person with good intentions but a very bad leader. Reply

WhaleDog at 8-09-2017 05:14 PM (5 years ago)

(m) Jonathan u no try at all ! In ur time your nija politicician corruption bombarded roof like tsunamis .In ur time d corruption recorded was unprecedented.I'm now left in limbo to know how to rate ur overall performance during those years . Spare me Posted: at 8-09-2017 05:14 PM (5 years ago) | Gistmaniac Jonathan u no try at all ! In ur time your nija politicician corruption bombarded roof like tsunamis .In ur time d corruption recorded was unprecedented.I'm now left in limbo to know how to rate ur overall performance during those years . Reply

pricklong at 8-09-2017 05:26 PM (5 years ago)

(m) YES MR JONATHAN YOU WERE A PRESIDENT OF NIGERIA TRUE TALK THAT IS WHY YOUR GIRL FRIEND PACK OUR MONEY AND RAN AWAY FROM NIGERIA DEZANI MADE THE BIGGEST MONEY IN NIGERIA TELL ME IF YOU DID NOT CHOP HER KPOMO Posted: at 8-09-2017 05:26 PM (5 years ago) | Gistmaniac YES MR JONATHAN YOU WERE A PRESIDENT OF NIGERIA TRUE TALK THAT IS WHY YOUR GIRL FRIEND PACK OUR MONEY AND RAN AWAY FROM NIGERIA DEZANI MADE THE BIGGEST MONEY IN NIGERIA TELL ME IF YOU DID NOT CHOP HER KPOMO Reply

ejikeiyo at 8-09-2017 07:19 PM (5 years ago)

(m) WASTED GENERATION Posted: at 8-09-2017 07:19 PM (5 years ago) | Gistmaniac WASTED GENERATION Reply

crocatum at 8-09-2017 08:31 PM (5 years ago)

(m) Dianzani, flew private jets, had hotels and mansions for herself scattered all over the world, the rest had to hid their bank under their house, the minister of aviation life was at risk, she got herself a war armoured bullet prove car. The nations revenues was meant to satisfy his ministers, because they are so important and the people of the nation are here to worship them. Posted: at 8-09-2017 08:31 PM (5 years ago) | Gistmaniac Dianzani, flew private jets, had hotels and mansions for herself scattered all over the world, the rest had to hid their bank under their house, the minister of aviation life was at risk, she got herself a war armoured bullet prove car. The nations revenues was meant to satisfy his ministers, because they are so important and the people of the nation are here to worship them. Reply

WhaleDog at 9-09-2017 02:24 AM (5 years ago)

(m) Quote from: pricklong on 8-09-2017 05:26 PM YES MR JONATHAN YOU WERE A PRESIDENT OF NIGERIA TRUE TALK THAT IS WHY YOUR GIRL FRIEND PACK OUR MONEY AND RAN AWAY FROM NIGERIA DEZANI MADE THE BIGGEST MONEY IN NIGERIA TELL ME IF YOU DID NOT CHOP HER KPOMO

Bro , u no lie , Jonathan was chopping her kpomo constantly .Na why he opened d gate of heaven for her to dey pack our money .Jona over to u on this allegation . Spare me Posted: at 9-09-2017 02:24 AM (5 years ago) | Gistmaniac Bro , u no lie , Jonathan was chopping her kpomo constantly .Na why he opened d gate of heaven for her to dey pack our money .Jona over to u on this allegation . Reply

onyenmeme at 9-09-2017 06:11 AM (5 years ago)

(m) buhari wey no dey chop una money how far now

Posted: at 9-09-2017 06:11 AM (5 years ago) | Upcoming buhari wey no dey chop una money how far now Reply

yawa_don_gas at 16-09-2017 03:54 AM (5 years ago)

(m) Please please hold on, why e be say everywhere I take even when I wan hide yawa dey there?

Why why?

Na yawa life, yawa goes on Posted: at 16-09-2017 03:54 AM (5 years ago) | Addicted Hero Please please hold on, why e be say everywhere I take even when I wan hide yawa dey there?Why why?Na yawa life, yawa goes on Reply

Floyd29 at 20-09-2017 01:59 AM (5 years ago)

(f) Quote from: pricklong on 8-09-2017 05:26 PM YES MR JONATHAN YOU WERE A PRESIDENT OF NIGERIA TRUE TALK THAT IS WHY YOUR GIRL FRIEND PACK OUR MONEY AND RAN AWAY FROM NIGERIA DEZANI MADE THE BIGGEST MONEY IN NIGERIA TELL ME IF YOU DID NOT CHOP HER KPOMO

HAHAHA Posted: at 20-09-2017 01:59 AM (5 years ago) | Gistmaniac HAHAHA Reply

Novic at 25-09-2017 10:29 AM (5 years ago)

(m) This is serious ooooo..... make I just dey waka pass..... abeg I dey waka pass, I will come and comment later.

This one weak me ooooo, well life must goes on.

I dey waka come bare Posted: at 25-09-2017 10:29 AM (5 years ago) | Hero This is serious ooooo..... make I just dey waka pass..... abeg I dey waka pass, I will come and comment later.This one weak me ooooo, well life must goes on.I dey waka come bare Reply

Novic at 25-09-2017 10:29 AM (5 years ago)

(m) This is serious ooooo..... make I just dey waka pass..... abeg I dey waka pass, I will come and comment later.

This one weak me ooooo, well life must goes on.

I dey waka come bare Posted: at 25-09-2017 10:29 AM (5 years ago) | Hero This is serious ooooo..... make I just dey waka pass..... abeg I dey waka pass, I will come and comment later.This one weak me ooooo, well life must goes on.I dey waka come bare Reply

Novic at 25-09-2017 10:29 AM (5 years ago)

(m) This is serious ooooo..... make I just dey waka pass..... abeg I dey waka pass, I will come and comment later.

This one weak me ooooo, well life must goes on.

I dey waka come bare Posted: at 25-09-2017 10:29 AM (5 years ago) | Hero This is serious ooooo..... make I just dey waka pass..... abeg I dey waka pass, I will come and comment later.This one weak me ooooo, well life must goes on.I dey waka come bare Reply
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Overall, dont let the bhoot mislead you, nothing bhootiya about this story. Had the makers tried to push the envelope, the idea could have been outstanding for a bhootiya comedy.
Property owners on whose property Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) has sought or secured easements are deprived of due process if Pittsylvania County arbitrarily exempts MVP from complying with the zoning ordinance. Property owner adjacent to parcels that MVP has sought or secured easements are also deprived of due process if the county arbitrarily exempts MVP from the ordinance. Special use permits are required for easements of 40 feet or greater according to Pittsylvania Countys zoning ordinance.

On June 28, I sent an email to Westover District Supervisor Ron Scearce inquiring if MVP would be complying with the ordinance. Additional questions and information were sent to staff and elected official over the course of several weeks. There were no responses other than to wait.

A meeting for the work session of the Board of Supervisors was noticed and occurred on Aug. 15. One of the agenda items was discussion of Mountain Valley Pipeline permitting.

At the work session J. Vaden Hunt, county attorney, and Greg Sides, assistant county administrator, informed the board of what staff intends to regulate and not regulate regarding MVP. Their intentions were not based on the zoning ordinance.

Hunt told the board that he has been in communication with other counties that MVP crosses in Virginia and that staff recommends being consistent with these counties regarding enforcement policies. What? These counties ordinances may differ from our duly adopted ordinances.

Hunt does not have the authority to make new law for Pittsylvania County. If he wishes to amend Pittsylvania Countys zoning ordinance to reflect provisions of ordinances of other municipalities, advertised public hearings are required and amendments must be formally adopted by the board.

Hunt incorrectly lead the board to believe that MVP has Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) certification. MVP does not, at the time of this writing, have FERC certification. He used this to explain that the FERC certification exempts MVP from complying with local zoning law.

Hunt erroneously equated the Pittsylvania zoning ordinance as an instrument to site the MVP pipeline. It is common knowledge that siting is out of the countys authority. However, requiring special use permits for easements of 40 feet or greater in width is within the countys jurisdiction prior to FERC certification. MVP is not FERC certified.

For reasons unknown, whether deliberate or through ignorance, the board was misinformed by staff.

How did Hunt arrive at the conclusion that MVP was FERC certified and exempt from certain provisions of out zoning ordinance? An Aug. 8 email from the county attorney to an EQT (MVP) senior staff attorney reads, any update on the mvp legal authotity memo?; i am presenting County Staffs position to the BOS next Tuesday and need it; thanks [sic].

Isnt this like asking the fox to watch the hen house? Dont we pay the county attorney to conduct independent research issues such as this? One might wonder who the county attorney is actually representing in this instance.

The memo, a white paper provided by MVP, cited situations and court cases where the industries referenced had actual FERC certification or, in one instance, where a municipality attempted to amend its ordinance to delay a FERC certified project. Reminder, the MVP does not hold a FERC certificate of public convenience and necessity.

Neither MVP, the county attorney, staff nor the board seemed to notice that the white paper concludes with this statement: FERCs NGA jurisdiction preempts conflicting state and local ordinances, including zoning and building codes. While FERC expects companies to cooperate with local authorities and comply with reasonable local permitting requirements, FERC, and the court, will not require a company to adhere to local requirements that conflict with or prevent the construction of natural gas interstate pipeline facilities approved in a FERC certificate. Reminder, the MVP does not hold a certificate of public convenience and necessity.

The process of securing special use permits, as required by the ordinance, is not a tactic to prevent or delay pipeline construction. MVP could have complied with the zoning ordinance and started the process of securing special use permits two years ago and be done with it. But they did not. Perhaps, in order to avoid the inconvenience and fees associated with compliance, MVP found it more palatable to enlist county staff to employ special enforcement tactics.

Ironically, MVP decided to apply for a rezoning on a parcel it owns and will apply for a special use permit for a lay-down yard in the county. Hunt, Sides and the white paper contend that the FERC preempts local law but MVP decides to comply with the zoning ordinance in this instance? Apparently, unlike the citizens of Pittsylvania County, MVP can chose provisions of ordinances with which it will comply.

The residents of Pittsylvania County are being denied their right to due process because of the decisions rendered by Hunt and Sides in the Aug. 15 work session of the Board of Supervisors. Lack of enforcement and/or special enforcement of the zoning ordinance to accommodate the wishes of MVP erodes public confidence in local laws and those elected and appointed to administer them.
Boise, Idaho (FSCwire) - Thunder Mountain Gold Inc. (the Company or Thunder Mountain) (TSX-V: THM; OTCQB: THMG) is issuing this news release to clarify our disclosure on the South Mountain Project, Owyhee County, Idaho, resulting from a review by the British Columbia Securities Commission.

Non-Compliant Technical Disclosure

The Company filed a technical report for the South Mountain Mine, dated March 23, 2010 (the "Technical Report"). The Company would like to advise that the Technical Report does not comply with the requirements of National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101"). The Company would also like to advise that the mineral resources disclosed are not supported by a compliant NI 43-101 technical report and they should not be relied upon until they can be supported by a compliant technical report. Additionally, on the Company`s Fact Sheet linked to its website, the Company disclosed reference to capital costs related to production. The Company retracts this disclosure in its entirety, as it cannot be supported by a compliant technical report. The Company has not completed a mining study or economic analysis on the project and this disclosure should not be relied upon.

The Company is currently working to correct and rectify all of the identified issues. The Company has engaged SRK Consulting to prepare an updated mineral resources estimate and PEA and a NI 43-101 compliant report is in preparation and will be filed as soon as practicable.

The Company will remove and / or correct all non-compliant NI 43-101 disclosure, and re-post the Fact Sheet to its website.

Edward D. Fields is the Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 responsible for the technical data reported in this news release and on the Company`s website and fact sheet. Mr. Fields was not previously identified as the Q.P. as required under NI 43-101 requirements. The Company has corrected this and will ensure all future disclosure identifies the QP that has prepared, supervised the preparation of, or approved of its disclosure.

Thunder Mountain Gold, Inc, is a U.S.  based exploration company founded in 1935, with direct ownership interest in two U.S. precious and base metal projects. The Company is currently re-financing it`s principal asset - The South Mountain Project  a turn key and former producing high grade zinc-silver-gold project with copper and lead, located in Owyhee County, Idaho. The Company`s Trout Creek Project is a grass roots gold target, drill ready, and located in the Eureka-Battle Mountain trend of central Nevada. For more information on Thunder Mountain Gold, please visit the Companys website at www.Thundermountaingold.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements that are based on the beliefs of management and reflect the Company's current expectations. The forward-looking statements are based on certain assumptions, which could change materially in the future. By their nature, forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. 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. Accordingly, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is provided as of the date of this press release, and the Company assumes no obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances, except as required in accordance with applicable laws.

Cautionary Note to Investors

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) permits mining companies, in their filings with the SEC, to disclose only those mineral deposits that a company can economically and legally extract or produce.

For further information, please contact:

Thunder Mountain Gold, Inc.

Eric Jones Jim Collord President and Chief Executive Officer Chief Operating Officer eric@thundermountaingold.com jim@thundermountaingold.com Tel: (208) 658-1037 Tel: (208) 658-1037

To view this press release as a PDF file, click onto the following link:public://news_release_pdf/ThunderMount09082017.pdfSource: Thunder Mountain Gold Inc. (TSX Venture:THM, OTCQB:THMG)

To follow Thunder Mountain Gold Inc. on your favorite social media platform or financial websites, please click on the icons below.

Maximum News Dissemination by FSCwire. http://www.fscwire.com

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The true extent and impact of the Equifax data breach that occurred this summer and was made public on Thursday, Sept. 7 is yet to be determined, but officials interviewed bysaid the incident could have considerable intersection with state and local agencies.Over the past several years, the increasing use of data and analytics technologies has given government agencies better tools to combat fraud, waste and abuse. Among the most targeted programs historically are those in health and human services, which is why many turn to data verification services like Equifax.Equifax and its fellow big three credit agencies, Experian and TransUnion, offer services of considerable use and value to agencies tasked with confirming information about residents and applicants.Proposals in several states, modeled after legislation from the Foundation for Government Accountability, a Florida nonprofit active in health care and welfare reform, would subject recipients of assistance to more stringent and more frequent eligibility reviews.And the checks could be conducted by private contractors who are motivated to justify their hiring by knocking as many people as possible off the rolls, Statelines Jen Fifield wrote in May In April, Fifield noted, Mississippi passed a law requiring a private contractor to stand up a computer system to do a better job of vetting Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program participants.Ohio and Oklahoma have considered similar actions, she noted, while Missouri and Wyoming passed their own such laws last year.A 2012 Illinois crackdown on Medicaid fraud, utilizing a third-party contractor to identify people who might be ineligible for the program led to nearly 150,000 policy cancellations and savings of an estimated $70 million.In 2015, the cost of fraud, overpayments and underpayments in assistance programs represented about $136.7 billion, according toTony Lauro, senior security specialist for public sector at Akamai Technologies, a Massachusetts-based content delivery network and cloud services provider, said the Equifax breach could reveal significant public-sector exposure.I think this is one of those types of breaches that kind of crossed platforms of your industry vertical, if you will, because its dealing with consumer or user data that is used by many different parties, Lauro said.He pointed out that many different agencies and private-sector businesses often have access to a persons Social Security number and drivers license number  and unlike our credit card numbers, these high-value pieces of data follow us for life and have a far greater potential for exploitation.An October 2015 data breach in Georgia underscored this fact, when the Secretary of State's office was alleged to have improperly released private information  including dates of birth and driver's license numbers  to purchasers of voter registration data.There needs to be an industry standard of when you notify someone whose data you have when a breach occurs. And this goes for state and local agencies as well. Because if agencies dont have the trust of their people whose data that they support and need for them to function, there could be a massive breakdown in just how the state and local ecosystems even work, Lauro said.In an email, Missouri Chief Information Security Officer Mike Roling said he believes many states may use Equifax indirectly through the big CMS [Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services] bridge.Equifax Workforce Solutions, a business unit of Equifax Inc., has worked with CMS since 2013. It announced in May 2015 it had been awarded another year-long extension of its ongoing contract with CMS to provide income and employment verification for Americans applying for health insurance subsidies under the Affordable Care Act.CMS said in an August 2013 fact sheet that if it is unable to confirm application data by comparing it with Internal Revenue Service and Social Security Administration information, submissions are then compared with wage data provided from Equifax.The Equifax data breach announced Sept. 7 is believed to affect as many as 143 million Americans, or more than 44 percent of the U.S. population. But it remains unclear exactly how many states employ Atlanta-based Equifax, and how many may have been affected by the breach.Ohio Medicaid does not interface with Equifax, Brittany Warner, press secretary for the Ohio Department of Medicaid, said via email, meaning the department does not employ Equifax to screen or verify applicant or customer information.Bret Crow, communications director at the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, said via email that the agency does use an Equifax service to verify employment status and income, and to determine eligibility for assistance. But Crow said the state believes no data was compromised.As we were assured today after speaking with the company, none of the employer-furnished data we query concerns credit card numbers, so no customer data was compromised, Crow said.
Audi AI traffic jam pilot. The Audi AI traffic jam pilot is a Level 3 system, whereby the car takes over the task of driving in certain situations. The driver no longer needs to monitor it permanently, as with a Level 2 system; the driver must merely be capable of taking back responsibility on the systems prompting.

Audi AI is the umbrella term for its new generation of high-end assistance technologies extending all the way up to highly automated driving. Three of them will be available for the first time in the new A8: the Audi AI traffic jam pilot (the first Level 3 autonomous traffic jam feature on the market); the Audi AI (remote) parking pilot and the Audi AI remote garage pilot. The core of the systems which Audi is developing for piloted driving is the central driver assistance system control unit (zFAS), which is also making its debut in the new Audi A8.



AI traffic jam pilot: topology of the actuators. Click to enlarge.

The driver activates the traffic jam pilot with the AI button on the center console. On freeways and highways where a physical barrier separates the two carriageways, the system takes over the driving task if the car is traveling at less than 60 km/h (37.3 mph) in nose-to-tail traffic. The traffic jam pilot manages starting, accelerating, steering and braking. It can also handle critical situations such as vehicles cutting in closely in front.

The signals that the traffic jam pilot needs for highly automated driving are supplied by the central driver assistance controller (zFAS). With the traffic jam pilot active, the driver can relax. Drivers can take their hands off the steering wheel permanently and, depending on national laws, focus on a different activity that is supported by the carsuch as watching a TV program on the 10.1-inch display in the center console. In this instance the Audi virtual cockpit supplies abstract representations that symbolize the motion and surroundings of the new A8.

During highly automated travel a small camera in the driving area detects if the driver tires or falls sleep. If that happens, a multi-stage warning is given. As soon as the speed rises above 60 km/h (37.3 mph) or the line of vehicles breaks up, the traffic jam pilot informs the driver that they need to take charge of driving once again. If they ignore this prompt and the subsequent warnings, the new A8 is braked to a standstill.

The introduction of the Audi AI traffic jam pilot requires the statutory framework to be clarified in each individual market, along with the country-specific definition of the application and testing of the system. In addition, a range of approval procedures and their corresponding timescales will need to be observed worldwide. Audi will therefore be adopting a step-by-step approach to the introduction of the traffic jam pilot in production models.

Audi AI remote parking pilot and garage pilot. With the Audi AI remote parking pilot and the Audi AI remote garage pilot, the A8 drives independently and without a driver into a parallel or right-angle parking space in several maneuvers, or forward into a garage. Both systems access the steering, accelerator, brakes, tiptronic and also the optional dynamic all-wheel steering.

What is new here is the driver is outside the car throughout the entire parking maneuver. The driver starts the maneuver from a smartphone by pressing the Audi AI button in the myAudi app. To monitor it, the driver holds it pressed and watches a live display from the cars 360 cameras on the smartphone. Once the parking maneuver is over, the system automatically engages the tiptronic P position and switches off engine and ignition.

When ready to drive off, the driver can start the A8 by smartphone and drive it out of the parking space or garage again. If the driver is still behind the wheel, he or she also has the option of activating the parking pilot using the AI button in the center console. Like the AI button in the myAudi app, it needs to be help pressed throughout the entire process.

The sedan can also be steered accurately into a garage if it needs to describe an arc. Inside the garage, the A8 can approach very close to the walls and obstructions such as bikesor it will interrupt entering if there is not enough space for the car. This special function benefits especially from the innovative laser scanner and is not available in any other competitor model.

Sensors. The new A8 features a new, complete set of sensors. The full set comprises:

twelve ultrasonic sensors on the front, sides and rear;

four 360 cameras on the front, rear and exterior mirrors;

one front camera on the top edge of the windshield;

four mid-range radars at the vehicles corners;

one long-range radar on the front;

one infrared camera (night vision assist) on the front; and

one laser scanner on the front.





Sensors and cameras, with zFAS. Click to enlarge.

zFAS and sensor fusion. Until now, driver assistance systems were managed by spatially isolated control units. Audi will be the first automobile manufacturer to bundle these in a central domain architecture. To this extent, the function portfolio, the required sensors, electronic hardware and the software architecture have been combined into a single central system. Right from the outset, full attention was paid to this, and especially to the safety concept.

As a result of the vast sensor information bundled in the zFAS, it computes an entire model of the vehicle surroundings at lightning speed and provides this information to all assistance systems. It is thus also the central interface for all functions of piloted driving.

Audi developed the zFAS with an international leading team of technology partners. It integrates high-performance chipsthe Tegra K1 from NVIDIA, the Aurix from Infineon, and the Cyclon V from Alterawhich are supplemented by the EyeQ3 processor from Mobileye, the world leader in image processing algorithms for the automobile industry. Its modular concept makes the zFAS flexibly scalable and thus future-proof.

Artificial intelligence and machine learning. Artificial intelligence will soon make it possible for piloted vehicles to react appropriately in highly complex situations, similar to the way in which a human driver would, or perhaps even better. As a sub-branch of information technology, artificial intelligence looks at equipping machines with similar capabilities to those of human beings. This might be achievable, for example, using machine learning.

Machine learning is therefore a pre-requisite for artificial intelligence. The basis for this comes from mathematics and statistics. In the most complex of situations, algorithms will independently find patterns and rules  and will make decisions based on these. In the not- too-distant past, research in the field of artificial neural networks (i.e. the imitation of signal connections within the human brain) made major progress. Deep learning emulates networks of the brain on a computer. This requires enormous computing power and a broad base of data.

In intelligent and piloted vehicles, there will be numerous use cases for machine learning in the future. Thus Audi is evaluating different methodsfor example supervised learning or deep reinforcement learningwith the aim of finding the optimal approach for each of these use cases. To this end, Audi is working closely with top businesses from the software field, as well as with leading universities.

One of the most important fields of application of machine learning is currently object and environment recognition. In the Audi A4, A5, Q5 and Q7 models, object recognition has already been implemented in series production with the help of supervised learning. For this purpose, a trained system is used: the learning process is thus complete before the car goes into production.

Even in the new Audi A8, supervised learning is used for object recognition. Image processing developed by technology partner Mobileye is based, among other things, on the deep learning method. This involves deep neural networks being trained using various data sets. In this way, the neural network learns to classify a diverse range of objectsas cars, as cyclists, as pedestrians. The data retrieved as part of this process is then made available to the final version of the driver assistance system software as well as to that of piloted driving.

Through this process, the new Audi A8 also detects free spaces, i.e. spaces in which it can drive. This is a major requirement for the new Audi AI traffic jam pilot.

The laser scanner. Audis laser scanner is mounted in the front bumper. This component, roughly the size of a fist, emits light pulses on several vertical planes. A mirror distributes them fanned out over a field about 80 meters (262.5 ft) deep and through a beam range of 145 degrees. The wavelengths of the flashes are in the near infrared range, making them invisible and harmless to the human eye.

They are reflected by the objects in front of the car and are returned to the laser scanner in far less than a microsecond. There, they are detected by photodiodes. The time this process takes is used to compile a detailed, deeply contoured image of the surroundings. Together, the long-range rada, front camera, and laser scanner form a trio of sensors, the various strengths of which complement each other.

The laser detects all kinds of objectsincluding non-metallic oneswith precision and has a wide beam angle. When it comes to those criteria it beats radar, which has a range of up to 250 meters (820.2 ft), a greater height range and persistently delivers readings even in rain and fog.

Laser scanners and radar also work in the dark if the front camera comes up against its limits despite the bright headlights of the new A8. In good visibility conditions it produces high-resolution images of the vehicles near and mid-range surroundings. Thanks to the image database it is capable of classifying many individual objects, such as automobiles, trucks, cyclists and pedestrians. Deep learning methods are used for the first time by the image processing system. It uses neural networks as part of its self-learning approach when determining which characteristics are appropriate and relevant for identifying the various objects. This satisfies another key condition for progress towards autonomous driving.

With the highly connected sensor technology, the assistance systems in the new A8 also respond even sooner to objects, for instance when they detect the end of a tailback and initiate a brake applicationan advance on the previous model. Even the navigation profits from sensor data fusion and enables the sedan to identify its position with absolute precision in many situations.

41 driver assistance systems. The fourth-generation A8 offers 41 driver assistance systems. Audi groups the assistance systems in three packages: Park, City and Tour, with the Tour package standard in Germany. Customers who opt for the Audi AI assist package plus obtain all three packages and also the Audi AI remote garage pilot.

The Audi AI Park assist package comprises the Audi AI parking pilot and the wide-angle 360 degree cameras that make maneuvering safer. The driver can have various views of the cars immediate surroundings displayed on the on-board monitor, to some extent with superimposed guide lines. Maneuvering assist provides steering movements and independently applies the brakes to avert the risk of bumping into static and moving objects. To protect the alloy wheels, the Park package also includes a curb warning.

The newly developed crossing assist is part of the City assist package. If the mid-range radars detect critical crossing traffic in front of the car, the system warns the driver and makes a brake application if need be. The new A8 also alerts the driver to risks when changing lanes. The exit warning system indicates vehicles or cyclists approaching from the rear when opening the door. Light guides in the doors indicate the danger optically. Cross traffic assist kicks in if the new A8 is reversing out of a right-angle parking space.

Another feature of the City package is the pre sense 360 safety system. It detects collision hazards all around the car and initiates targeted preventive measureswhether a full brake application, adjusting the seats or tightening the belts. The Audi AI active suspension additionally raises the body in the event of a side-on collision, deliberately directing the external forces towards crash-active structures. This new function is called Audi pre sense side and is part of the pre sense 360 system. It, too, uses the sensors integrated into the central driver assistance controller (zFAS), including the mid-range radars at the corners of the vehicle with a measuring range of about 75 meters (246.1 ft).

The central system in the Tour assist package is the adaptive driving assistant (ADA). It is a progression from the adaptive cruise control (ACC) of the previous model and also integrates a lane assist function and traffic jam assist. This means the driver has support for longitudinal and lateral control over the entire speed range from 0 to 250 km/h (155.3 mph). Bottle neck assist guides the new A8 through construction sites and similar zones. The system in addition promotes an efficient driving style by incorporating navigation data and car-to-X content such as traffic sign information.

The A8 is the only model in its competitive field to accelerate or slow down in response to speed limits, bends, junctions and roundabouts without the need for driver intervention, while automatically drawing on route information from the navigation system. To complement the predictive advice in the Audi virtual cockpit, the driving pedal in the new A8 emits pulses.

The Audi pre sense front safety system, also part of the Tour package, can prevent rear-end collisions or reduce their severity. It incorporates a warning and braking function for vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists. The system is active over the cars entire speed range up to 250 km/h (155.3 mph).

The Tour package also includes turn assist and collision avoidance assist. Turn assist monitors the lane of oncoming traffic when turning across it, thus helping to avoid a collision with an oncoming vehicle. It also monitors oncoming vehicles turning across the lane of the A8. It is the only model in its field of competitors to feature collision avoidance assist that also offers individual wheel braking as well as steering assistance, for more precise avoidance of obstructions. Camera-based traffic sign recognition and emergency assist, which brings the automobile to a standstill if the driver is no longer able to do so, complete the range.

Park assist and night vision assist are available as standalone options. The latter uses an infrared camera to detect pedestrians and larger wild animals at long distances in the dark and warns the driver of their presence.
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Haiti - News : Zapping...





Diaspora : IRMA, message from the Embassy of Haiti

The Embassy of Haiti in Washington DC calls for caution to Haitian compatriots in Florida and invites them to evacuate areas at risk. "We encourage our compatriots in Florida to follow the instructions of local authorities, to reach temporary shelters."



Red Alert raised but...

The red alert is lifted but the risk of landslides and flooding remains on the Great North. The resumption of domestic and international flights and transports is authorized under the responsibility of the transport companies. The ban on cabotage operations is maintained for the northern coast of the country where dangerous sea conditions remain until Saturday evening.



It's the old border bridge that has ceded

"The bridge linking Haiti to the Dominican Republic between Ouanaminthe and Dajabon remains solid and viable. It was the old, out-of-service bridge that fell under the effects of hurricane IRMA," said Aviol Fleurant, Minister of Planning.



Reopening of Embassies of France and USA

The French Embassy and its consular section will re-open their doors to the public on Monday 11 September. The US Embassy will resume regular operations on Monday, September 11, including the full range of consular services.



Food for the Poor in the field

Following the passage of Hurricane Irma, the team of "Food For The Poor" made a field visit Friday morning and found that the Northeast department was heavily hit. They noted flooded rivers, destroyed rice fields, damaged houses, cooking utensils, school materials and important parts carried away by the rise of water in the community of Malfety of 12,000 inhabitants, located at the entrance of Garate, not far from Garde Saline and the city of Fort-Liberte.



Message of sympathy from the Ministry of Education

"Sympathy to victims and families of educational agents affected at the passager of Hurricane IRMA in the Great North of the country," Ministry of Education.



HL/ HaitiLibre


















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U.S. waives Jones Act before Hurricane Irma hits

Grassroot Institute of Hawaii praises waiver to help hurricane victims

News Release from Grassroot Institute

HONOLULU, HAWAII, Sept. 8, 2017 >> The U.S. government today temporarily waived the Jones Act to provide relief for victims in Florida as Hurricane Irma approaches.

The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, a non-partisan think tank, praised the decision by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to issue an emergency waiver of the Jones Act, an almost-century old shipping law that requires the carriage of goods and passengers between U.S. ports to be on vessels built and flagged by the U.S. and crewed predominantly by Americans.

Kelii Akina, Ph.D., president of the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, said, We praise the federal governments decision to provide a waiver of the Jones Act in preparation for Hurricane Irma. The waiver from the burdens of this outdated shipping law will help save many victims in Florida.

He continued: This waiver is a recognition by the federal government that the Jones Act is a hindrance to providing goods for the American people. More importantly, this pro-active effort to temporarily lift this unnecessary, self-imposed burden on shipping will help Florida deal with the destructive effects of Hurricane Irma.

Akina concluded: Florida is dealing with shortages of fuel and other hazard supplies. This waiver will enable more ships to provide disaster relief to people who so desperately need it.

* * * * *

DHS Signs Jones Act Waiver

News Release from US DHS, September 8, 2017

WASHINGTON  Today, in recognition of the severity of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, Department of Homeland Security Acting Secretary Elaine Duke approved a waiver of the federal Jones Act. This waiver will ensure that over the next week, all options are available to distribute fuel to states and territories impacted by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, both historic storms. The waiver will be in effect for seven days after signature and is specifically tailored to transportation of refined products in hurricane-affected areas.

This is a precautionary measure to ensure we have enough fuel to support lifesaving efforts, respond to the storm, and restore critical services and critical infrastructure operations in the wake of this potentially devastating storm, said Acting Secretary Duke.

Hurricane Harvey significantly disrupted the distribution of fuel across the Southeastern states, and those states will soon experience one of the largest mass evacuations in American history while at the same time well see historic movements through those states of restoration and response crews, followed by goods and commodities back into the devastated areas.
Hawaii Republican Joins Local Volunteers Deploying to Orlando

From Honolulu County Republican Party, September 8, 2017

As many of you know, Irma is a Category 5 super storm moving across the Caribbean with 175+ mph sustained winds -- and Irma has her eye on Florida. Republican Governor Rick Scott has ordered mandatory evacuations for the Florida Keys and low-lying parts of Miami-Dade and Broward counties, but warned that others in Florida need to watch Irma's path and be ready to move.

Gov. Scott also urged Floridians to not only get ready, but to get ready to give back in advance of Hurricane Irma. Thats why volunteers with the Red Cross, Salvation Army, and other organizations are standing by. But they are not enough to provide aid in the case of a devastating direct impact on South Florida by Irma.

Yesterday, with hurricane Irma poised to hit Florida soon, the Hawaii Red Cross was already preparing to provide relief efforts in the Sunshine State and deployed local volunteers from Oahu (4), Kauai (1), and Big Island (1) to Orlando. One of our own Republican members is amongst this group of brave volunteers.

Deb Arguello, a Republican member from HD-41 and national convention delegate to Cleveland in 2016, is heading to Orlando. In a statement before departing Deb said, I've volunteered and trained on and off with the Red Cross since retiring from the Air Force in 2014. Every time there is a disaster I always wish I could be there to help on the ground, and being part of Red Cross gives me that opportunity. I will be going as part of the Red Cross Shelter Management Team. Well be setting up and managing a shelter for Florida families affected by Hurricane Irma, providing them food and comfort while they wait to return to their homes.

While Floridians are moving away from Irmas path, Deb is one of many brave volunteers from Hawaii heading into the eye of the storm. Deb also stated, "They were originally going to send me to Austin for Harvey. Now Im going to Orlando for Irma."

Although going as part of the Shelter Management Team, Deb is also trained on the Red Cross Disaster Assessment Team, and could easily transition from shelter management to disaster assessment once Irma passes.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to all Floridians and our deepest appreciation goes to our nations brave volunteers like Deb Arguello. Godspeed, take care, and return home safely.

Respectfully,

Brett Kulbis




We're a family of seven living in Georgia where Andrew's working as a professor at GSU. You can read more about us here
Four men were brought before the Special Criminal Court yesterday charged in connection with the murder of a father-of-two outside a pub four years ago.

Peter Butterly (35) was shot dead at the Huntsman Inn at Gormanston, Co Meath.

Four men appeared in court following early morning arrests yesterday in Dublin, Cavan and Meath.

Ammunition

Frank Murphy (58), of McDonagh Caravan Park, Triton Road, Bettystown, Co Meath, was charged with the murder of Mr Butterly, membership of the IRA, possessing a 9mm Beretta semi-automatic pistol and ammunition to commit murder in 2013.

When the charges were read to him in court, he replied: "All bulls**t, all lies."

The court heard that, when accused at his address of membership, as well as gun and ammunition possession, Murphy replied: "I am not a member of the IRA."

The court was also told that, when the charges were read to him in the confines of the court, after the murder charge was put to him, he had replied: "All rubbish. All lies."

His older brother, Laurence Murphy (60), who also lives at the caravan park, was charged with membership of the IRA and said "not guilty, deny everything" when the allegation was put to him in court. The court heard that, when charged at his address, Laurence Murphy answered: "This is rubbish."

When the charges were later read to him in court, he said: "Not guilty. Deny everything."

A third man, Michael McDermott (60), of Riverdale House, Garrymore, Ballinagh, Co Cavan, was charged with the murder of Mr Butterly, membership of the IRA, possession of a 9mm Beretta and ammunition to commit murder.

He made no reply when charged.

A fourth man, 37-year-old Ray Kennedy, of Whitestown Drive, Blanchardstown, Dublin, was charged with being a member of the IRA.

Warrants

He made no reply when charged and did not stand up or identify himself in court when requested.

All four were remanded in custody to appear before the Special Criminal Court again next Thursday.

Counsel for each of the accused asked the arresting gardai if warrants had been issued prior to detention.

They were told in reply that there had been no warrants.

Mr Butterly was shot several times in the car park outside the Huntsman on March 6, 2013, and died of his wounds.
Two men charged after gardai seized cocaine worth about 100,000 on the streets have been sent for trial.

Emmanuel Thomas (44) and Udo Okike (52) were both served with the book of evidence when they appeared on bail before Blanchardstown District Court.

The pair were arrested as part of a joint, intelligence-led operation between state secur- ity services.

It involved Customs, the Garda Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau and Blanchardstown Garda Drugs Unit.

Mr Thomas, of Avondale Park, Mulhuddart, is charged with possession of cocaine and having the drug for the purpose of sale or supply.

He is also charged under Section 15A of the Misuse of Drugs Act, which applies when the value of the drug is more than 13,000.

Searched

The cocaine was allegedly found after the accused's home was searched by officers on October 7 last year.

Mr Okike, of Boulevard Cruise Park, Tyrrelstown, is also charged with possession of cocaine and with having the drug for sale or supply at the same time and date.

He is further charged under Section 15A of the Drugs Act.

State solicitor Anne Collins said the book of evidence was ready and had been served on both men, who go forward to the next sittings of Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

Judge David McHugh gave the men the formal alibi caution.

He assigned defence solicitor Eddie O'Connor and Valerie Buckley as well as two junior counsel on free legal aid.

Mr Thomas must provide gardai with a mobile phone number and ensure that he can be contacted at all times under his terms of bail.

The men have not yet indicated how they will plead to the charges.
A Dublin criminal serving a 69-year driving ban turned into an internet sensation overnight after a video of him riding a horse through a Dublin pub went viral.

Footage of a man riding the horse in the Cabra House was posted on a number of social media sites and has since been viewed hundreds of thousands of times.

The Herald can reveal that the amateur jockey is in fact career criminal Robert 'Bob' Hosey (50), who was last year given a 69-year driving ban.

Cheering

Hosey, who has more than 50 previous convictions, was captured on camera riding the horse through the north Dublin pub as punters egged him on.

Filmed last Saturday night, it shows locals cheering as he makes his way through the bar before passing out of a door on to the street.

On one Facebook page alone the video has been viewed more than 250,000 times.

Before his new-found internet fame, Hosey was more familiar in criminal circles and was a prominent mourner at the funeral of Eamon 'The Don' Dunne.

Only last year, Hosey was handed a 69-year driving ban after being convicted of driving without insurance for the 14th time.

He was also given a five-month custodial sentence, with his own solicitor stating there was not much he could say apart from the fact that Hosey should not have been driving.

Asking why he drove again while uninsured, the judge said: "Why does he continue driving, knowing that if he is caught there is only one place he is going?"

Hosey's solicitor said he "very stupidly agreed to drop the van to his brother-in-law".

Hosey was also previously given a suspended sentence after being involved in a violent brawl which erupted shortly before a man was shot dead.

Eamon O'Reilly (25) was shot dead at point-blank range following a pub row in January 1998.

His brother, Brian O'Reilly, who carried the coffin at Eamon Dunne's funeral, was present during the incident and was later convicted of violent disorder, along with Hosey. They received suspended sentences.

Speaking on 98FM's Dublin Talks earlier this week about the viral video, John Carmody, of the Animal Rights Action Network (ARAN), voiced his anger and expressed his concern over the horse's welfare.

Joke

"This is no laughing matter. It was mortifying, embarrassing and downright disrespectful to that poor creature," he told host Adrian Kennedy.

"For the most part, anyone that has a horse in those communities says they love their horse. This has gone beyond a joke."

However, many callers were quick to say they had no issue with the video.

One man said he knew the owner and claimed the horse had won a race earlier that day in Co Meath.

"He is always looking after that horse. There is no cruelty there," he said.
The kingmakers of RTE are about to choose Bryan Dobson's successor on the flagship Six One news.

Insiders said the new anchor is due to be announced in the coming weeks and the post will not be advertised.

Dobson has been king of the castle on the programme for 21 years.

However, the top executives will not be poaching a star journalist from another news organisation at home or abroad.

It would be seen as bad form, or near impossible, to bring in an outsider at a time when the station is trying to reduce its workforce with a big round of redundancies.

"A new presenter of Six One will be appointed in due course," said an RTE spokeswoman last night.

Dobson (57) moves at the end of next month to replace the retired Cathal Mac Coille on RTE Radio One's Morning Ireland.

Swap

His move could trigger a series of staff changes, resulting in the biggest musical chairs job swap since the departure of Pat Kenny from RTE triggered a round of promotions.

Earlier this week, the Herald broke the story that Sharon Ni Bheolain could be joining Dobson in leaving the Six One news in a further shake-up at the national broadcaster.

Now speculation is mounting of further changes to the teatime TV news in November, with a suggestion that Ni Bheolain will become the anchor of the 9pm news.

Sources inside Montrose said that all options are being explored.

Video of the Day

These include appointing two new presenters at the Six One desk in a "substantial" revamp of news and current affairs.

Ni Bheolain has worked with Dobson for 13 years. In 2013, she hinted she was open to a change, saying she was "looking for something new".
Education Minister Richard Bruton has said parents can be reassured they are not sending their children to fire traps, despite breaches of fire safety regulations found at five schools.

The Department of Education and Skills confirmed a week ago that breaches of fire safety standards were found at three Dublin primary schools, one in Greystones, Co Wicklow, and another in Mullingar, Co Westmeath.

Fire safety audits commissioned by the department found breaches at Powerstown Educate Together National School, as well as Belmayne Educate Together National School and St Francis of Assisi Nation- al School, both in Belmayne.

The other two primaries are in permanent buildings at Gaelscoil na gCloch Liath in Greystones and Mullingar Educate Together National School.

All five were put up in 2008 under a rapid-build programme.

The breaches prompted the department to commission more fire safety audits at a cross-section of 25 as yet unnamed schools built over the past 20 years.

Despite concerns over insufficient compliance with requirements of fire retardants used in the schools' construction, children are not at risk, the minister said yesterday.

"We've been working very closely with the fire officers," Mr Bruton said.

"These buildings are not dangerous. The issue here is that fire certificates set out certain provisions in relation to the delay times for fire spreading and that requires certain components in the building to be up to a very particular standard.

"We found in the case of some schools that this wasn't the case.

Alarm

"There was an audit undertaken and the corrective work is being done as we speak and will be completed very shortly."

The minister stressed that the audit of more than two dozen more randomly-selected schools built over the past two decades is merely a precautionary measure and not a cause for alarm.

"We are in view of the higher public concern around fire safety," he said.

"We have decided to conduct an audit of all buildings on a sample basis that were built in the past 20 years to ensure that all buildings are meeting the specifications set out in the fire certificate.

"So this is taking proper precautions to deal with issues that are of public concern.

"But I think any parent can have confidence that this is not about a building being dangerous. They've been built to higher standards than most homes.

"But we want to make sure that any commitment that was made in the fire certificate when the building was designed and built is being fully honoured."
An abandoned mine land project in Russell County received a national award for environmental excellence.

The Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energys Hurricane Fork Gob Pile Project was awarded a 2017 Abandoned Mine Land Award from the Office of Surface Mining and Enforcement, a bureau of the U.S. Department of Interior, according to a DMME news release.

The department carried out a project that cleared Southwest Virginia of the single, worst mine-related impact to water quality in the Clinch River, the release states.

Since 1987, the department has been working to remove the hazard. In 2014, it received approval to move ahead with the project from the Office of Surface Mining.

The department removed a 1.5 million-ton gob pile in Hurricane Fork.

Gob piles are piles of waste made up of a small amount of coal mixed with shale from old coal mining operations and often seen as waste by operators, the release states.

Gobco, an Abingdon-based company, was contracted to remove the gob pile, which was taken to Dominion Energys Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center, where it was burned for electricity production.

Hurricane Fork was one of the projects where there was a lot of positive environmental results, Walt Crickmer co-owner and manager of Gobco, said in a statement. Working with DMME and Dominion Power to remove the one million tons of waste coal that was polluting the Clinch River makes this project one of the most memorable we have completed.
While Hurricane Irma will dump torrential rain and blast whipping winds on Florida when it makes landfall early Sunday, the Tri-Cities area is expected to experience only watered-down weather impacts.

Locally, the storm is expected to bring a few inches of rain and stronger winds after the weekend, according to weather officials  much milder than the 150 mph winds and more than 10 inches of rainfall expected in Florida.

However, Irma will affect the coastal parts of Virginia. Gov. Terry McAuliffe declared a state of emergency ahead of the storm Friday. His office said in a statement that the order allows the state to mobilize resources, including the Virginia National Guard.

Wet and windy weather

By the time the Tri-Cities experiences weather effects from Irma, its status could be reduced to a tropical storm.

Sam Roberts, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Morristown, Tennessee, said the window of the most severe weather in the Tri-Cities will be Monday night through Tuesday afternoon, when conditions will be wet and windy, but not damaging.

Roberts said to expect about 2 inches of rain in most areas and wind gusts as strong as 25 miles per hour.

Areas of higher elevation, above 3,000 feet, could experience stronger winds. Its possible that some trees will go down, he said.

Monday could be breezy during the day, but the winds will pick up Monday night, Roberts said. The days following Tuesday could have light showers and cloudy conditions, with the system exiting to the east by Friday.

[Hurricanes] actually weaken pretty rapidly by the time we see the first initial rain dance, Roberts said. The way its going to go up the Florida peninsula, its going to be over land for some time.

The areas mountainous terrain helps break up the precipitation, according to Roberts. The worse weather will occur to the south and east. The Carolinas will get significantly more rain, he added.

Lending a hand

When Sullivan County Emergency Medical Services Chief Jim Perry found out Wednesday that he needed to create a team to send to Florida, he said he was flooded with volunteer requests.

The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency deployed more than 150 people, including emergency personnel, nurses and urban rescuers, to aide recovery efforts.

Sullivan County sent an ambulance strike team consisting of five people, two ambulances, a command vehicle and a support trailer. That group joined others from Greene and Washington counties.

Theres going to be so many evacuations, and the local resources are going to be totally overwhelmed in Florida, Perry said. Being able to go in and lend a hand  thats why were here. Thats what we do.

The team has the supplies, including clothing and medications, to stay 14 days if necessary. It headed to Chattanooga Friday morning and arrived in Tallahassee later in the day.

Where evacuees can go

Bristol Motor Speedway has opened its campgrounds to evacuees of the hurricane. Those in need can call the ticket office at 423-989-6900 to receive more information about what services BMS will provide, according to Communications Manager Chris Lawyer.

With severe weather forecasted to directly affect numerous states throughout the Southeast in the coming days, Bristol Motor Speedway's campgrounds are open to evacuees of Hurricane Irma, BMS said in a news release. Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with those in the path of the hurricane.

National forests in the South have waived fees, making all campgrounds available for those who are displaced. Cherokee National Forest and the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests are among the opened campgrounds.

The U.S. Forest Service recommends calling ahead or checking websites to determine what is open and available.
We are on the cusp of an unprecedented population of drug addicts: babies. Our seven-month investigation into newborns with neonatal abstinence syndrome concludes today with one salient fact: This isnt going away.

Anyone who has given a moment to listen to the distinct, chilling shriek of NAS babies can only fathom the pain saturating their first experiences in life. The cry, a deceptively simple label, hides a trauma we cant understand but that we all must nonetheless translate into action.

Weve shared the efforts of those on the front lines of this relatively new battle.

Weve exposed the challenges and the numbers behind countering the condition.

Weve introduced the stories of those directly impacted when mothers give more than genetics to their babies.

Now, were calling for more legislative action at the state and federal level.

Tennessees leadership has been proactive, thanks to efforts locally from Sullivan County District Attorney General Barry Staubus and in state government from House Speaker Beth Harwell, R-Nashville. But even those initial efforts eclipse the commensurate role of its neighbor, Virginia.

When Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring was asked about NAS during his visit with our editorial board in July, he admitted he knew little about the topic  a testament to Virginias passivity on the issue. Since the numbers in the commonwealth went unnoticed until visibly multiplying roughly five years ago, traction for medical and legal intervention is mediocre at best.

Virginia can follow a cue from Del. Todd Pillion, R-Abingdon, who introduced a bill that allows identification of barriers and recommendations for treatment for NAS babies. Southwest Virginias NAS rates are the highest in the commonwealth, and the inaccessibility of care and education is only exacerbated by the absence of record-keeping and investigations  a gap that challenged us when we were developing this project.

If Virginias senators, Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, are dedicated to their constituents in the southwestern tip, they should 1) react with legislation to the surging numbers; 2) integrate the voiced concerns from law enforcement and medical professionals; 3) consider the fact that some Virginians cross into Tennessee for care for their NAS-prone newborns; and, most importantly, 4) build a mutually beneficial partnership with Tennessee to offer a more comprehensive strategy of care.

But action is also limited by classic political stalemates.

Without enough gathered data, the issue of NAS babies lacks the momentum to command attention in the nations capital. But NAS is so new; compiling those records to build a convincing case requires years and perhaps decades of evidence.

Moreover, were challenged with limited exposure on a geographically larger scale. As all know by now, we are the epicenter of the opioid crisis: We are others case study and their over-coffee conversations. Our locality also regularly places us on the outskirts of the governments field of vision in favor of more prominent metropolitan hubs.

We are necessarily stunted by time and distance. Its the helplessness of this situation that creates the most frustration.

Our case, then, needs to appeal to the climbing costs to demonstrate the need for federal initiative. As a local example, the eight NAS births in Sullivan County from 2000-2002 cost between $520,000 and $720,000; for 2017, the 56 reported cases have cost upwards of over $5 million. Considering our regional economic depression  and the proposed cuts in health care reform at a national level  we will be unable to sustain these numbers for long. How much monetary damage needs to happen for our government to act?

Based on testimonies we heard from educators and counselors, children who were former NAS babies already exhibit aggravated behavioral and mechanical difficulties  and it may be another decade before more corollaries emerge. How much damage needs to accumulate before something is done?

If we cant protect the babies, whos going to? asked Sullivan County Sheriffs Office Detective Tracy Haraz.

If we ignore the agonizing cry of NAS babies, we fail to anticipate further and widespread occurrences  and fail to prevent a wave of another bleak drug-related issue that well later ask why we didnt do something about sooner.

We are at the forefront of this growth, both figuratively and physically. What we do now will determine the direction for generations ahead  and its clear we cant stop here.
Rachel Carson's expose shocked the world. And we're better for it

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HICKORY  The Catawba Valley Guardian ad Litem Association (GALA) will host its inaugural motorcycle ride, Changing Gears, Changing Lives, to support the guardian ad litem program for the 25th Judicial District in North Carolina.

The event will be Sept. 16 at Blue Ridge Harley Davidson in Hickory, and registration begins at 9 a.m.

The folks that want to come out, but dont have a bike can still come and enjoy themselves, learn about the program and have a good time, organizer Lee Traxler said. I know some folks that are going to be doing that and they wouldnt get on a bike if you paid them.

The Catawba Valley GALA Vice President Lorie Abee reiterated the sentiment.

Anybody is welcomed to come  it isnt just for bikers, Abee said. I don't have a bike, but I will be there that day and just enjoying being there and seeing the community support.

So far, Traxler said he has seen a wide variety of folks preregister for the ride.

We have doctors coming, lawyers coming, welders coming  we have people from every possible walk of life coming, Traxler said. They are all equally capable of making this big difference.

If you want to be part of this, come out.

Guardian ad litem

The guardian ad litem program consists of volunteers who advocate for children in the foster care system.

The program has been in North Carolina since 1983, and the program has been in all 100 counties since 1992.

The purpose of (the program) is to give these children a voice in court, Judicial District 25 Administrator Sydney Smith said.

Once volunteers have been trained and sworn in, they are handed a caseload and jump into investigating.

They take a case and investigate the allegations that are being made about the situation, visit the child and anyone pertinent to the case, and then report to the court what their recommendations are for this child, Smith said.

Although Social Services handles the same type of cases, Smith said their focus is on reuniting the family unit.

They are looking at it as a family unit, which is fine, Smith said. We look at it as solely what is in the best interest of the child.

Smith says anyone who is interested can volunteer  no legal background is required. However, participants must be 18 years old and complete the training process.

Before training, potential volunteers must participate in a background check, submit three references and interview with a program manager.

We (also) have attorneys that are in court for every hearing to represent the childs legal rights in the abuse and neglect cases, Smith said. The important part is that they are giving a voice to a child who is voiceless otherwise.

In Catawba County, there are about 280 children in need, and about 200 of those children are uncovered cases who do not have an assigned volunteer, Smith said.

We have about 50 volunteers right now, and we hope to have at least 30 new volunteers by next year, Smith added.

The lack of volunteers is the biggest reason to raise awareness for the program in the community, Smith said.

In Burke County, there are about 280 children in need, but the group only has 10 volunteers, Smith said. In Caldwell County, there are about 30 volunteers and about 190 children.

Of course, we want 100 percent coverage, but we will feel good if we have 80 percent coverage for our cases, Smith said.

Catawba Valley Association

Although the Catawba Valley Association and the guardian ad litem program work hand in hand at times, they are separate entities.

We basically do fundraisers and raise awareness about the program to help the children who are in foster care, Catawba Valley Association President Tracy Gimble said.

Gimble said the association was created four or five years ago with the intent of helping fund foster childrens educational needs.

The state doesnt have the funds to provide money for certain things like extracurricular activities, sports, music and educational needs, Gimble said. That is where we come into play and try to (provide).

Gimble said funding these items for foster children gives them a chance to have the same privileges as their peers and other children.

Right now, we are very low in foster parents, so some of our children (end up) going to group homes and group homes in other counties, because we dont have places to put them, Gimble said.

Gimble hopes the Changing Gears, Changing Lives motorcycle ride will spark an interest in the community to not only be involved with the guardian ad litem program, but also to be involved with fostering.

We thought this would be a good idea to raise awareness about the children in our community so people understand what issues we are facing, Gimble said. This is our future; this is where we live, and we need people to come forth and help take care of these kids and do what we can.

To preregister for the event, visit www.cvgal.org/register-now-changing-gears-changing-lives-charity-ride/.

For more information about the guardian ad litem program, visit www.catawbacountync.gov/state/gal/.
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Thousands of fans in Delhi-NCR swayed to the music of American DJ duo Andrew Taggart and Alex Pall, popularly known as The Chainsmokers. The venue was Greater Noida on Friday. A day earlier, they had performed in Mumbai.

In an exclusive interview, Alex, 32, and Andrew, 27, who collaborated with actor Priyanka Chopra for the 2012 track Erase, tell us that they want to act with her in a film. We have no plans as of now, but were open to working with her again, says Alex. Andrew quickly adds, We want to act with her now. We have already done a song [together], so now we want to act in a Bollywood movie with her!

They had plans to meet actor Shah Rukh Khan, though that fell through. We were supposed to meet Shah Rukh Khan in Mumbai, but because of the schedule everything got messed. He seems pretty cool, we wouldnt mind hanging around with him. He looks like a pretty cool dude who would be easy to get along with, says Alex.

So, are they interested in Bollywood films? Hell, yeah! they say, almost in unison.

The Chainsmokers are currently on their Road to Ultra concert tour. At the Greater Noida show, fan frenzy peaked as they performed tracks such as Something Just Like This, Dont Let Me Down, and a mashup of their covers.

Talking about how both of them have been in contact with their Indian fans, Alex says, Ive been talking to a bunch of kids on Instagram and they were already nice and excited. I had asked everyone on Twitter what songs they like and we got [a] bunch of responses.

Their 2016 track Closer became a worldwide rage and got them superstardom overnight. However, in their mind, theyre still kids who like cool music.

That song gave us an identity, says Alex. In a lot of cases with DJs, people know their music but dont know [what] they look like. But then Closer became a hit song and we were performing it on various platforms. We felt famous for the first time, which feels really strange because till date, were still the same kids who are trying to make cool music.

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Richa Chadha, who had accompanied her Fukrey co-star Ali Fazal to the premiere of Victoria And Abdul at the 74th Venice International Film Festival, says that they never felt the need to make their relationship public as they are just two humble actors and not the Obamas.

Richa was asked about her trip to Venice and her public appearance with Ali, who plays a pivotal role in Victoria And Abdul with the Hollywood legend Judi Dench.

People are writing shit on my social media accounts like love jihad and all that non-sense, so I find it really humorous. We are not Barack Obama (former US President) or Michelle Obama to make our relationship public. We are just two humble actors. So, I dont think anyone cares about it. But the fact that I took a trip to Venice to be with him... I think that says something, Richa said.

Earlier this week, Ali told a leading daily that its their friendship which grew over time.

Talking about her upcoming movie Fukrey 2, Richa said, In Fukrey, I am paired with Chu Cha (Varun Sharma), so I cannot leave him. My first love is Chu Cha and for that, I feel sorry for Ali but I have to be with Chu Cha. The teaser of the film has already come, so of course, the trailer will also come closer to (films) release.

Ali and Richa co-starred for the first time in the 2013 film Fukrey, and they are said to have been dating since over a year.
Hillary Clinton relives her stunning defeat to Donald Trump in her candid and angry memoir, What Happened. She has admitted to personal mistakes and defended her campaign strategy even as her return to the stage refocuses attention on a race Democrats still cant believe they lost.

Clinton is unsparing in her criticism of Trump and also lays out some of the factors she believes contributed to her loss: interference from Russian hackers, accusations levelled at her by former FBI Director James Comey, a divisive primary battle with Bernie Sanders, even her gender. She also addresses common criticisms of her campaign, including the idea that she didnt have a compelling narrative for seeking the presidency and that she ignored Midwestern turf where Trump picked up enough white working-class voters to win several battleground states.

Some critics have said that everything hinged on me not campaigning enough in the Midwest, Clinton writes in What Happened. And I suppose it is possible that a few more trips to Saginaw or a few more ads on the air in Waukesha could have tipped a couple of thousand voters here or there.

But lets set the record straight: we always knew that the industrial Midwest was crucial to our success, just as it had been for Democrats for decades, and contrary to the popular narrative, we didnt ignore those states, she wrote.

Clinton already is taking some criticism  complete with mockery from late-night television hosts  for planning book-tour stops in the Great Lakes and Midwestern states that ultimately cost her the election. But she writes that her campaign had more staff and spent more on advertising in both Michigan and Pennsylvania, two states she lost, than President Barack Obama did when he won them in 2012.

She acknowledges that if theres one place where we were caught by surprise, it was Wisconsin, saying that polls showed her ahead until the end. But while she did not visit the state in the fall, she noted that her surrogates blanketed the state.

In Wisconsin, Democratic pollster Paul Maslin called it a bitter irony that Clinton is now trying to reach voters  or consumers  in states he believes her campaign mostly ignored. But he said its ultimately a side show from a has-been. Let her do whatever shes going to do for whatever reason shes doing it, but it doesnt matter. Theres just so much else happening every day with Trump, Maslin said. He said he hopes Clinton understands that most Democrats are beyond blaming her for November. For her sake, I hope she can sell enough books, but if she thinks shes affecting the debate in any way, I think shes more delusional than anyone thought.

Clintons anger is most sharply focused on Comey. She said that all of the theories about why she lost need to be tested against the evidence that I was winning until October 28, when Jim Comey injected emails back into the election.

She called her use of a private email server while serving at the State Department dumb but accused Comey of tarnishing her image and called him rash for publicly re-opening the probe in the campaigns final days. She also owns up to other mistakes, saying her comment about putting coal miners out of business was the mistake I regret the most and that her paid speeches to Wall Street banks were bad optics.

Many Democrats have viewed Clintons return to the spotlight with trepidation, fearing it could trigger another round of infighting over the future of the party between her more centrist supporters and Sanders progressives.

Michigan Democratic Chairman Brandon Dillon, whose state Clinton lost by about 10,000 votes, said Clintons book can help Democrats try to learn the right lessons from 2016. But he said Democrats and other activists on the left should avoid using Clintons re-emergence to rehash 2016.

Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton during their presidential town hall debate at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, US, in October 2016. (Reuters/File Photo)

Theres a clear difference between all Democrats and any of the Republicans. Thats what we should be focusing on, Dillon said.

In a recent interview, Clinton campaign spokesman Brian Fallon argued that history will render a favourable verdict on Clinton and her approach to Trump. All of these things she tried to warn people about that were a theoretical concern, ... now its real, said Fallon. Hes the president.

In the book, obtained by The Associated Press ahead of its release date, Clinton is unsparing in her assessment of the president, calling him a clear and present danger to the country and the world. She says she considered saying to Trump: Back up, you creep. Get away from me when he loomed over her shoulder during a general election debate.

But Clinton, who has a reputation for avoiding blame for her failures, said she takes responsibility for all of her campaigns mistakes. You can blame the data, blame the message, blame anything you want -- but I was the candidate, she writes. It was my campaign. Those were my decisions.

She also expressed frustration over what she felt was unfair media coverage. What makes me such a lightning rod for fury? Im really asking. Im at a loss, she asks her readers, before concluding: I think its partly because Im a woman.
It is 5.50am and my father and I are on our two wheelers, heading towards the organic farm where we are volunteering in Auroville, the French township in Tamil Nadu.

At 6.10am, the coordinator tells us we need to pick rucula from the bed, segregate the heads after a quality check, and wash, weigh, pack and label it to be dispatched to the local prosperity system. My father, the coordinator, and I spend an hour hunched over the rucula bed. As we work, the coordinator tells us how voluntourism has changed the way people travel. Many digital-nomads (people with location-independent professions such as writing, coding, editing etc., who practice slow travel) have contributed to the farm in terms of website content and photos for an online presence. In exchange, the farm provides bed and breakfast for four hours of work in the fields.

Voluntourism is a great way to travel, but it also calls for tremendous discipline. To do physically exhausting work from 6am every day means late-night socialising goes for a toss. Thats why very few youngsters go for it. It requires the stability of a disciplined life even without fixed geographical coordinates.

After an hour, my father and I ready the harvest for dispatch. As I wash the leaves tub by tub, my father compares the Indian kids back home and the non-Asian youth who are working with us in the farm. The sun blazes down, and the day is getting hotter.

Such art installations can be spotted all over Auroville (Divya Rai)

Another hour-and-a-half, and we have neatly arranged 54 packets of rucula in a basket marked dispatches. In another hour, these packets will be on the retail shelf.

By now, my father is bored and fidgety. A farmer himself, this is something he has people to do for him at his farm. At 9am, a bell goes off and everyone rushes to the tool shed to deposit the equipment. Then we head for breakfast.

As we take our place on a ledge in the foyer, two girls sit opposite us. They are enthused because India seems safer than theyd been told it would be. Though they want to explore more of the country, they only have an Auroville visa, which is different from an Indian visa.

What is volunteer tourism?

Also called Voluntourism, travellers participate in voluntary work while on holiday, typically for charity

Headed back to our guest house, we stop at the financial service centre to get our Auro-cards topped up. The Auro-card is the only mode of payment for most Auroville bodies. The township has had cashless economy for as long as I have known it.

Day of play

We reach the guest house and get ready for the day. Between 11am and 12.30pm, I sit at the Visitors Center Cafeteria. It has the fluffiest of idli, filter kaapi and good Internet connection. I am working on a story to be submitted to a publication in Delhi.

At Tantos pizzeria, they hand roll the base in front of you and ingredients are sourced from local farms (Divya Rai)

Visitors Center is the first contact point for people on a day trip to Auroville. It has shops with merchandise from entrepreneurs around the area, and information on the town.

By 12.30pm, I have used all the Internet I need for the day. I slot the remainder of work for the afternoon and head to the guest house for lunch. On my way back, I cross Tantos pizzeria, my favourite eatery. They hand roll the base in front of you, and almost all the ingredients are sourced from local farms.

At the guest house, my companion for the meal is a girl who is learning hatha yoga. She leaves for her class at 5am, and I dont see her for dinner. Shes been living here for three months. We chat over our meal of spaghetti and nannari syrup, a local produce based on ayurveda.

Indians take too many pictures! says a non-Indian girl. And send so many Facebook requests!

Soon our other mealtime friend, an architect joins us. Post-lunch I take a nap, while others sit in the common area with their work. After my siesta, I finish the article Im working on. My parents take off for Pondicherry, 7kms from Auroville. In the last two weeks, my parents have gone to theway more than I ever have in all my holidays at Auroville.

At 6pm, a friend calls to ask if Id like to see her after her Capoeira class for a quick chai at Dinesh Dhaba. Before leaving my room, I slather on anti-mosquito cream for the fourth time this day. Others use a neem-oil concoction, but it is too hot for me to use oil.

I reach our designated place and a mini jam-session is in progress. An Indian student is excitedly making a video on his phone. No videos please, one of the two girls sitting ahead of me protests. The boy stops and is too taken aback to do anything for the next 15 minutes. This is the first time Ive seen someone here more interested in recording the moment than actually living it.

Indians take w-a-y too many pictures! says one of the two girls to the other. And send so many Facebook friend requests! her friend rolls her eyes. They turn to look at me, smiling sheepishly. I smile back.

How to volunteer at Auroville Go through SAVI (Aurovilles body for students, volunteers and interns). The application process is available at www.auroville.org. SAVI has details for both, informal and academic internships. It needs a commitment of minimum two months and the stay is charged according to your requirement of accommodation and facilities. September to February is the peak season for tourists, and you need to plan well in advance. The weather is warm and humid in these months; it often rains without warning. Auroville has almost negligible nightlife and it is so by design. Languages spoken are English, Tamil and French. Mode of payment for Auroville bodies is Auro-card, which is issued by the Financial Service Center.

Natural beauty

As I leave the dhaba, I see my parents riding past. We decide to see if we can have dinner at Solar Kitchen, which uses the suns energy to partly cook the food.

Food wastage is a big no at the Solar Kitchen (Divya Rai)

A table at Solar Kitchen needs to be booked in advance. They take food wastage very seriously: after you are done eating, you bin the leftovers in a trash can, which is then placed on a weighing scale that tells you how much food you have wasted. If you are dubious about a particular food item, they encourage you to try a small quantity first. I am in two minds about the potato and pumpkin soup, and the server offers a quarter of the original quantity. I am glad because it isnt something I fancy, but I do not have leftover food.

After dinner, my parents and I leave for a play called Water (an English translation of a classic Tamil play, Thanneer, Thanneer).

At the venue, there is a lot of VIP security, which is quite un-Auroville-like. Sure, Lt. Governor Kiran Bedi is the chief guest, but its unusual. A VIP or chief guest does not fit into the ethos of Auroville.

After the play, my parents want to watch a film, but I yawn as a reply. Clearly, Ive grown way older than my parents who are both 60+ and are able to pack much more in their day than I can. It is 9.15pm, and w-a-y past our bedtime by Auroville standard time.

The Brunch Insiders View If you are looking for a nice place for a complete rejuvenating and relaxing experience then head to the Quiet Healing Centre. It is a place where you will be able to discover a deep sense of contentment, happiness and peace. (Source: Trip Advisor) The Matrimandir in Auroville is a must-visit for parctitioners of Internal yoga. Known as the Temple of The Mother, it was built over 37 years. It was initiated by The Mother of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram. (Source: Lonely Planet) Those who are fans of good dark chocolate, must surely pay a visit to Mason & Co. From here you can take your pick from flavours like espresso and coconut. These are made using organically-grown cocoa as well as cocoa butter from local farms.

(Source: Conde Nast Traveller)

On our way back, we hear a drum-jam session at the African Pavilion. We stop for a little while to enjoy the delightful music; we feel so alive. I sit on a log of wood. Ten minutes later, someone taps me on the shoulder. I need to get up. They need the musical instrument I am sitting on.

Finally, we head back. The night is cool, calm and alive with croaking of frogs. Auroville is magnificently washed in moonlight and solitude; the moment seems like a blessing from the universe.

Some great voluntourism options in India

Sadhana Village: Situated near Pune, this project is dedicated to residential and educational care of disabled children and empowerment of rural women. Log on to http://sadhana-village.org

Sikkim Himalayan Academy: This ones ideal for those who love working with students. Volunteer at this free residential school for underprivileged kids who come from remote mountain areas of Sikkim. For more details, access http://www.sikkimhimalayanacademy.org

Spiti Ecosphere: Take your pick from physical labour to cultural learning here. Participate in a greenhouse project, construct a solar passive structure or experience life as a local in the Spiti Valley. Check out http://www.spitiecosphere.com

The author is a freelance food photographer and a travel blogger. She has a special love for slow travel and off-beat destinations. She dreams of having a small place of her own in the hills some day.

From HT Brunch,September 10, 2017

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The GST Council on Saturday formed a five-member ministerial panel to oversee the technical glitches that the tax filing portal was increasingly encountering.

The return filing date deadline of GSTR-1 for July, that was to end on Sunday, has also been extended by a month till October 10.

In view of taxpayers increasingly complaining about the GST portal not functioning properly which was posing difficulties for them in return filing, the issue was raised by states at the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council, state finance ministers said here.

We have formed a five-member ministerial group to oversee technical issues. GSTR-1 has been extended till October 10, Jammu and Kashmir Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu told reporters here after the Councils 21st meet.

Mauvin Godinho, Goa finance minister, said The complaint came from certain states that GSTN was not working as envisaged. A committee will be formed by Council Chairman Arun Jaitley to oversee the GSTN functioning. Everything is being streamlined. They will make corrections and everything will start moving in two weeks time.

West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra said that no registration would be required for artisans having up to Rs 20 lakh turnover.
India and China have agreed to set up industry specific working groups for increasing exports with a view to bridge trade deficit with Beijing, Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu on Saturday said.

Concerned about growing trade deficit with China, we agreed to set up industry specific working groups, to promote more exports from India, Prabhu said in a tweet.

He is in the Philippines capital Manila to attend the fifth East Asia Summit (EAS) Economic Ministers Meeting. The minister would also participate in the trade ministers meeting of 16 RCEP member countries tomorrow.

Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a mega trade pact among 16 countries which aims to cover goods, services, investments, economic and technical cooperation, competition and intellectual property rights.

At the sidelines of EAS meet, the minister met his Chinese counterpart Zhong Shan to discuss ways to promote bilateral trade between the countries. Both the ministers agreed to attend the Joint Economic Group Meeting.

The department of commerce in a series of tweets said Prabhu invited Chinese businesses and industry to invest in India and offer facilitation of investments in special economic zones.

Both ministers agreed to set up product/sector specific joint working group (JWG) to promote exports and bilateral trade, the department added.

Prabhu, who recently took charge of the ministry, also met Japanese minister of economy, trade and industry Hiroshige Seko, Korean trade minister Hyun Chong KIM and Australian minister for trade, tourism, investment Steven Ciobo.

Indias trade deficit with China narrowed marginally to USD 51.08 billion in 2016-17 from USD 52.69 billion in 2015- 16.

India wants greater market access in China for its goods and services like IT and pharma products. The country has also insisted upon China to increase investments.
Tata Motors and its temporary workers at the Jamshedpur plant who were on a strike since Tuesday agreed to end the four-day impasse on Saturday.

The ice-breaker came in after the unions agreed to the management offer to take 200 of the over 4,500 temporary workers on to the rolls annually. At the reconciliation meeting held on Friday, the workers had turned down instead asked for upgrade of at least 500 workers annually.

Following the settlement, the company said, the plant has resumed normal production. The plant makes around 400 units of commercial vehicles a day, which had come down to 60-70 during the strike.

Weve successfully concluded our discussions with the workers representatives and theyve appreciated our offer of providing permanency to 200 workers per year as weve been following in the past.

Following this, the section of the temporary workers, who were instigated and misguided by the vested parties have ended the agitation and the matter stands resolved, Tata Motors told PTI through an official statement.

When contacted workers also confirmed the development and said a 10-member team representing their cause met with the management and resolved all the issues earlier in the day. The plant is functioning normally and to partly meet the production of around 700 units, the union has decided to work on Sunday as well.

Around 4,500 temporary workers, around 600 of them women, with active support of a union of the Jamshedpur plant were on strike from Tuesday protesting non-payment of revised three-year wage agreement signed with permanent workers union early last month and higher incentives on par with the permanent workers and making at least 500 of them into rolls annually.

According to union leaders, the strike so far has resulted in production loss of around 700 vehicles a month. The plant makes around 9,000 units a month in three shifts.

As per union, while around 4,500 permanent workers at the plant were given a wage hike of Rs 12,500 per month, the temporary workers were given only Rs 1,500-2,000. But when the wages were paid early this week, the permanent workers got only Rs 6,500 extra whereas the temporary ones were paid as per the now-defunct agreement, they claimed.

A permanent worker on an average gets Rs 30,000-32,000 a month, while a temporary worker gets Rs 12,000-13,000, the sources said.
A senior scientist from the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has drawn a lot of ire from both on the internet and off it after she filed a case against her cook for lying about being a Brahmin.

Dr Medha Kole on Friday had registered a case of impersonation against her cook, Nirmala Yadav for allegedly hurting her religious sentiments by posing as a Brahmin and hiding her marital status.

Khole said she needed a Brahmin woman who was married to cook food at her house on religious occasions. Yadav, 60, had approached Kole for a job in 2016 posing as Nirmala Kulkarni, a senior police officer said.

When Khole confronted the cook after discovering last Wednesday that Yadav was not a Brahmin, the latter abused and assaulted her, according to the FIR. Kole complained Yadavs lie hurt her religious sentiments.

Based on the complaint, Sinhgad police booked Yadav under Sections 419 (cheating by personation), 352 (punishment for assault or criminal force) and 504 (Intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) of the Indian Penal Code.

While the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Sambhaji Brigade protested against the complaint, the Akhil Bharatiya Brahman Mahasangh, a body representing the Brahmin community, termed the case by Kole unwarranted and said the issue should be resolved mutually.

This is not the first time Kole has filed a police complaint. According to her neighbours, she had filed several cases against them for various petty issues.

On various occasions in the past, Kole had blocked maintenance work in the society. She has also gone to the police station at least 15 to 20 times against us for various reasons, said a neighbour, on condition of anonymity.

Anand Dave, the local unit head of the Akhil Bhartiya Brahman Mahasangh, said while offering a job to prepare food during religious occasions can be a personal choice, the issue could have been resolved amicably without filing a police complaint.

Looking at the age of the cook, we believe the police case was unwarranted and we also think that the issue should be resolved mutually, Dave said.

Yadav received support from right-wing organisations such as Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal.

We met Yadav and extended our support and we also demand Dr Khole apologise and withdraw the case against Yadav, said Sampat Charwad of Bajrang Dal.

Members of Sambhaji Brigade met the joint commissioner of police Ravindra Kadam and sought action against Kole for creating a caste rift in the society.

The case shows the mindset of the complainant, who appears to be utterly casteist, said Santosh Shinde, local unit head of Sambhaji Brigade.

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The Burma GenocideThe pictures going viral on social media, the rivers of blood, beheading of children, burning people alive, you do not have to be a Muslim to protest this or discern the truth, any person with even a tiniest bit of humanity, as to their hearts will quiver with pain. Just to envisage in what state our innocent brothers/sisters would be, bearing all this pain?What else do you call a Genocide? As all the mentioned above falls into the exact definition of a genocide: The deliberate killing of a large number of people of a particular nation or group.Myanmar (Burma) is a country whose 80 percent of the population follows the religion of Buddhism, it is a south eastern country bordering India, Bangladesh, Thailand, China and Laos.The Rohingya people are a stateless Indo-Aryan people from Rakhine State, Myanmar, which they claim to be their homeland for generations. Being an oppressed Muslim minority, almost 400 people have died during the recent clashes between the security forces and the Muslims living there.After all the cruelty and brutality happening there, thousands of Rohingyian Muslims are trying to escape to Bangladesh, they already have 400,000 Rohingyians staying in their country and have said that they cannot host anymore refugees but the Turkish Government has said they will help the Government of Bangladesh in every way possible, if they open doors for the victims of the Rohingyian genocide. Even the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Endrogan has accused Myanmar of genocide against the Rohingya Muslim minority.
In an essay published in the website Scroll earlier this year, Gauri Lankesh wrote of how her home town, Bengaluru, once known for its progressive and emancipatory ethos, was now increasingly captive to patriarchal and authoritarian tendencies. When she was young, wrote Lankesh, women in Bangalore were free to live their own lives, to follow their own instincts, to forge personal and professional paths in a manner unknown or at least uncommon in other cities. But now, she wrote sadly, women in Bengaluru could no longer move freely in public spaces without fear of lecherous goons, fundamentalist fanatics and brainless men in power who point out to outfits that women wear instead of the muck that is filled between the ears of sick men as the root cause of molestation.

Six months after Gauri Lankesh wrote these words, she was murdered, not for what she wore, but for what she wrote. Fundamentalist fanatics had long targeted her, for her fearless criticisms of the hateful and divisive politics that were threatening to tear her state and her country apart. That she spoke so clearly and so sincerely enraged them; as did the fact that she was a woman.

Gauri Lankesh was remarkable in many ways; for her intellectual and personal courage, and for being a genuinely bilingual writer. She first made her mark in the 1990s, writing in English for Sunday magazine. In later years, and especially after the death of her father, the legendary Kannada writer P. Lankesh, she turned to writing more frequently in her mother tongue.

I knew Gauri Lankesh for many years. We ran into each other at rallies and meetings, and at that great Bengaluru institution, Koshys Parade Cafe. I admired her courage, without always agreeing with her views. We stood on the same side as regards religious fundamentalism; but otherwise I was a centrist liberal whilst she was decidedly on the left of the political spectrum. We had our arguments, these conducted with words, as they should be in any civilised, democratic, society.

Other Indians sought other methods to dispute with Gauri Lankesh. Indeed, the men who fired seven bullets at her this past Tuesday were not the first to seek to silence her. For several years, Gauri wrote a most readable column in a leading English language daily. Pressure was brought on the newspapers management to have the column stopped; to their eternal shame, the management succumbed. Gauri Lankesh continued to write fearlessly in Kannada; whereupon right-wing politicians brought an array of cases against her in the lower courts. But that did not stop her from expressing her views either. So she had to be killed?

Gauri Lankeshs murder has been compared to the killing of other brave, independent-minded writers such as Narendra Dabholkar, Govind Pansare, and M M Kalburgi, who were likewise detested by right-wing Hindu fundamentalists. But that Gauri was a woman made her views even more difficult for the bigots to stomach. She had herself remarked on the increasing attitude of fundamentalists of all colours who believe that women have to be shut behind closed doors for their own safety. What if women refused to be shut behind closed doors? What if they chose instead to participate in public life, as citizens and writers? Then the fundamentalists must have them suppressed and silenced.

Gauri Lankeshs death has been widely mourned by ordinary, decent, Indians. On the other hand, it has been ghoulishly celebrated by Hindutva right-wingers. The senior Cabinet Minister, Nitin Gadkari, has denied that the BJP or its affiliates had anything to do with Gauri Lankeshs murder. How, so soon after the event, can he be so sure? Even if the BJP or the RSS is not directly involved in this and similar murders, there is little question that the ruling dispensation has enabled a climate of hate and suspicion that makes such targeted killings of writers and scholars possible. It may be freelancers who actually commit these acts; but they are emboldened by politicians, ideologues and television anchors who demonise all critics of the ruling regime as anti-national. The political climate is now more poisonous and rancorous than at any time since the Emergency.

Speaking to the website Newslaundry in November 2016, Gauri Lankesh observed that in Karnataka today, we are living in such times that the Hindutva brigade welcomes the killings (as in the case of Dr M M Kalburgi) and celebrate the deaths (as in the case of Dr U R Ananthamurthy) of those who oppose their ideology, their political party. I was referring to such people because, let me assure you, they are keen to somehow shut me up too.

More recently, in one of her last public talks, Gauri Lankesh noted that while Karnataka had a long tradition of dissenting writers, they had never faced such intimidation before. We had UR Ananthamurthy, Kalburgi, my own father P Lankesh, Purna Chandra Tejaswi, she said: They were all trenchant critics of Jawaharlal Nehru, of Indira Gandhi, of Rajiv Gandhi. But none of them were ever physically attacked, let alone [receiving] death threats.

This is entirely true, and of the whole of India, not just Karnataka. In the past, independent-minded writers may have had their writings banned or censored, faced court cases, or had their jobs taken away from them. But now, with the rise of political Hindutva, they face the possibility of being physically wiped out. Gauri Lankeshs murder was not the first such; and it may not be the last.

Ramachandra Guhas books include Gandhi Before India

Twitter: @Ram_Guha

The views expressed are personal

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In late November 2014, just as Sabia Singh and her husband Raj were settling down in Britain after having their first child, the government ordered them to pack up and go back to India. Their life was turned into tatters by an accusation, from the government itself, that later turned out to be a lie.

They claimed students like Sabia and thousands like her had fraudulently completed English language tests. But that claim fell apart in court two years later and the government had to apologise.

They had been accused of a crime they say they didnt commit, but they were not shown the evidence against them or allowed to respond to it, one journalist wrote at the time. But the damage to thousands of lives had already been done.

And who was the minister responsible for this debacle? Britains current Prime Minister: Theresa May.

Last week in Britain another such debacle came to light. The same department Ms May used to run had to admit it exaggerated the number of Indian students who had overstayed their visa. They had suggested that nearly one lakh students overall had overstayed their visa. But the real figure was near 5,000 students. It was this claim the British government had used for years to make life harder for foreign students.

Now, I grant you this is not the biggest scandal in the world. And much of Britains rightwing press rarely cares about the lives of Indian immigrants, so it ignored such scandals. Sabia Singhs story only came to light via a journalist, Ian Dunt, who passionately defends immigration.

These scandals should serve as a lesson to Indian students: if youre thinking of coming to study in Britain, think again. You may be better off going to another country: Canada, the United States, Germany, Singapore, Hong Kong, mainland China or even Australia (and believe me, Im no fan of the Aussie government) may be better options.

The British may have the top universities, but they also offer the most student-hostile government in the world. The Conservative government, in power since 2010, when the number of Indian students started falling drastically, has pledged loudly to reduce immigration into Britain.

To fulfil that pledge they have made life hard as they can for foreign students.

During the application process, for example. One student was denied entry into the country because he was slightly short on cash requirements after the rupee fell against the pound.

They also require ridiculous tests. One student was rejected because he couldnt remember the library opening timings, another was refused entry because he didnt know his universitys vice-chancellors name.

Triparna Roy, a student currently studying Management in London told me the regulations made companies more reluctant to take on people on a student visa. Plus, the government barely gives them four months to find a job after their studies have ended. Then they have to leave. Students frequently say that is not enough time to find a job. And if they dont leave then they may be breaking the law.

Surprise, surprise - the number of Indian students coming to Britain has fallen sharply since Theresa May was put in charge of monitoring them. In 2010 around 40,000 Indians were studying in Britain. In just 6 years that number has fallen to less than 17,000 a year. Indian students have been the worst hit.

International students are worth over 7 billion to the UK economy every year, according to one recent study. And yet Theresa May, even as Prime Minister, is willing to shoot her country in the foot to soothe its anti-immigration lobby.

Until the UK improves its debate around immigration and accepts that Indian immigrants present an opportunity not a threat, they should take their talents elsewhere.

Sunny Hundal is a writer and lecturer on digital journalism based in London

The views expressed are personal

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Killing journalists is the mark of a savagely intolerant mind, whether the victims are cartoonists, rationalists, fact-finders or editors. Those who openly gloat about such cowardly, lawless murders bring shame to their country and disgrace to its core values.

As a Hindu in an India that I increasingly dont recognise as the land I was raised to love, I would like to remember how I was brought up, as were many others across Indian communities.

My elders, born in the late 1920s, disdained and discarded caste distinctions and many old taboos, especially about food, because the conditions that led to those distinctions no longer applied as we branched off into non-traditional professions.

I was brought up first by my mother and then by my paternal aunt, both independent working women. My mother, a treasured child raised by progressive parents, was quietly subversive though she gracefully observed the Savitri Vrat and the Varalakshmi Puja.

My fathers sister was a rebel, outside the pale of organised religion from an early age, having seen the cruelty of orthodoxy at close quarters. She eventually left the Communist Party of India too, in protest, after the Soviet Union invaded Hungary, though she abided by the better principles of the Left movement to her dying day.

Besides holding responsible jobs, both women were curiously alike in key ways. I was taught the habit of prayer by my mother and did not hide it when I began to write on religion and culture, which inevitably led to scorn and suspicion from some quarters. But both my mother and my aunt viewed religion as a private matter. They made it clear that there was an inner world and an outer world, the latter mediated by strict codes of citizenly behaviour.

It was considered vulgar to speak loudly and it was forbidden to speak impatiently to servants, subordinates, strangers and elders. My grandparents were like that, too, scornful of caste and superstition while respecting the right to belief across communities as long as it did not insult or oppress others in the name of God.

I think I was fortunate to be raised first by a liberal, reformist Hindu and then by a liberal Lefty, both truly liberal in terms of civilly accepting the right to differ. The key word in both cases was civilly.

Just so, I find that I now have friends who are deeply Hindu, nominally Hindu, of another persuasion, agnostic, atheist; Indian, from the Indic bandwidth or unfamiliar with matters Indian. But we meet in good fellowship and share opinions, books and films.

The vegetarians remain vegetarian, the egg-only eat their omelettes, the meat-eaters set out kebabs and biryani, the teetotallers stick to rasam or nimbu pani, the gin-drinkers argue amicably about artisanal brews.

They happen to be from wildly different backgrounds. Some say Jai Bhim, some say theyre keeping roza, some say, like right now, that Pitrupaksh is underway and theyre on holdback.

None of them would gloat heartlessly on Twitter if someone with differing views was shot dead. Their beliefs and lifestyles may be worlds apart but what unites them is a common decency. We need more, much more, of that.

shebaba09@gmail.com

The views expressed are personal

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DEHRADUN: Leopards in Uttarakhand are more than nocturnal predators. They go for the kill even when it chances upon humans, according to a research.

An ongoing study that began in 2016 to redress the human-leopard conflict in Uttarakhands Pauri district and West Bengals Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling highlights how leopards in the hill state are preying on humans. The encounters are deliberate and the conflict is high claiming at least 15 human lives every year, it said.

In Pauri, leopards are preying on humans. The encounters are aimed at killing. In West Bengal, the encounters are provoked, which means humans are not harmed unless they trespass the habitat of leopards, Dipanjan Naha, project associate at Wildlife Institute of India (WII), told Hindustan Times.

To conclude in 2019, the research will give recommendations to both states for mitigating the man-leopard conflicts. Currently, sensitive areas in Pauri, Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling are being mapped for better ground strategies to avert conflicts.

In Uttarakhand, over 600 people have been killed and another 3,100 injured so far in leopard attacks since the states formation in the year 2000. Another study by the WII released in 2015 found the situation severe as compared to other states like Maharashtra.

The 2008 Census puts leopard population at 2,335 in Uttarakhand. Over 150 leopards were declared man-eaters, of which nearly 40 trapped and about the same number shot dead. Declaring man-eaters is not a long-term solution in Uttarakhand. If one man-eater is eliminated, another takes its place. In West Bengal, as the leopards arent man-eaters, they release the spotted cat at another spot, Naha said.

While researchers are trying to ascertain why leopards prey on humans, wildlife activists claim degradation of leopard habitat, encroachment and lack of prey base in forest are prominent reasons for the deadly attacks. Theres no food in the wild because of which leopards are turning to human habitations. What I have observed is leopards take cue from each other. If leopards find a man-eater, they do the same as its easier to kill a human than a herbivore, Joy Hukil, a hunter who has killed more than 20 maneaters, said.

In December 2016, the Nainital High Court put a ban on the practice of declaring maneaters. But, the government got relief from the apex court. For the last nine months, the wildlife department has declared no leopard as maneater. We also dont wish to declare maneaters unless a leopard kills two people, chief wildlife warden Digvijay Singh Khati asserted.

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Dehradun: After scaling the turnover of his fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) businessof Patanjali fame--to more than  10,000 crore, yoga guru Ramdev has his sights on bringing together Hindu holy men across the country.

To execute the idea, Ramdev has joined hands with Dharm Jagran Manch-an organisation affiliated to Rastriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS)--the ideological mentor of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Ramdev, who started as a yoga teacher before doubling up as a businessman, feels it is for the Hindu holy men to become part of the mainstream.

More than 600 Hindu holy men have gathered at Ramdevs sprawling Patanjali complex on the outskirts of Haridwar in Uttarakhand, to participate in a five-day sadhu sangam that will conclude on September 11.

The participants are busy interacting with each other, listening to bhajans and religious sermons, participating in yoga sessions, taking strolls around the sprawling campus besides getting advice to stay at the front.

The genetic structure of saints could be different but the character of saints should be same Ramdev told the gathering.

Hindu holy men have played a major role in the independence movement and now they must play a direct role in the development of the nation.

One of the holy men, Govind Giri Maharaj lauded Ramdevs suggestion. Whenever there was threat to the Indian culture it was the Hindu holy men who fought to save the culture, he said.

Patanjali insiders say that though Ramdev has scaled down the activities of his Bharat Swabhiman Abhiyan he intends to make his presence felt as prominent Hindu face.

During the 2014 general elections, Ramdev wanted to contest the polls under Bharat Swabhiman banner but pulled out to make a way for the BJP. The RSS was instrumental in convincing Ramdev for helping the BJP.

The RSS-Ramdev bonhomie continued even after the general elections.

Different agencies probing tax evasion cases slapped against Patanjali during the UPA regime are no longer being pursued.

The status of 81 cases, including 52 tax evasion cases slapped by the then Congress government in Uttarakhand in 2012, is not known.

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Haridwar: A rare public war within the Sangh Parivar erupted on Saturday when members of the ABVP clashed with supporters of BJP MLA Swami Yatishwaranand in Haridwar over the outcome of a student union poll.

Akhil Bhartiya Vidhyarathi Parishad (ABVP) cadres got angry after their candidate Tarun Chauhan lost to Vikram Bhullar by 835 votes for presidents post in the election at Gurukul Kangri University.

The ABVP alleged that Bhullar was funded by Yatishwaranand, the legislator from Haridwar (rural) constituency.

Student union election at the university was held on Friday. For past few years, the ABVP had been winning the student union election in the university.

The ABVP members protested at Yatishwarnands Shankar Ashram where they burnt an effigy of the BJP legislator. On seeing this, Yatishwaranand threw the burning effigy at protesting students, triggering heated arguments between both the sides.

Soon, the situation became violent with the two sides using sticks to attack each other. A couple of two-wheeler and four-wheeler were damaged during the violence, police said.

ABVP state vice-president Naveen Pant alleged that Yatishwaranand went out of party line by supporting rival candidate and was instrumental in loss of ABVP candidates in Gurukul Kangri University student union election.

When contacted, Yatishwaranand refuted the allegations, saying it was a blame game by some of the organisations leaders who want to shed away from their responsibility of the loss.

Heavy police deployment was made in wake of the clash to maintain law and order.

Meanwhile, a complaint was lodged at Jwalapur police station against ABVP and Gurukul Kangri University students for creating ruckus, and forcefully trespassing Ved Mandir ashram premise.
Security forces at Delhi airport went into a tizzy late on Thursday night after receiving bomb threat on a phone call which later turned out to be a hoax.

The call was received at 11.42pm on Thursday.

I have got information for you... I overheard some people talking. There is a plane going to Hong Kong. I think there is explosive on that plane, which is taking off in next 10-15 minutes. People are going to die, the caller said.

When pressed for more details, the caller refused, saying he feared for his life, and disconnected the phone.

Immediately, a bomb threat assessment committee was formed.

Random checking was done by explosive trace detectors and some baggage were checked physically. On some suspicious passengers, pat-down search was carried out, and regular sweeping of the airport was done to check for any unattended bag, said a CISF official requesting anonymity.

The security committee also asked the flights going to Hong Kong to start Secondary Ladder Point Checking (SLPC), which is conducted just before the passenger enters the plane and is done when threat is at the highest level.

SLPC was conducted by Cathay Pacific and China Eastern flights, which were departing next.

The official said an Air India flight that had already departed for Hong Kong was informed about the threat.

However, by 1.17am, the call was declared a hoax. A case has been registered and police are trying to trace the caller.

For some time, passengers running late for flights make hoax call to delay the departure. The CISF identified such last-minute passengers and a bomb squad did an anti-sabotage check.

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A five-year-old boy, who was kidnapped on Thursday night, allegedly by his two tenants and a neighbour from his west Delhis Ranhola home for Rs 10 lakh ransom, was safely rescued from Ludhiana in Punjab within 16 hours of the crime, police said on Saturday.

The three alleged kidnappers were also arrested by the outer Delhi police. Police said the three had executed the kidnapping to extort money from the boys parents. The three needed money to pay off their debts and start their business.

The arrested persons have been identified as Surender (19), Ashish (22), and Sunil (25), all natives of Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh. They all worked as marble labourers. Surender and Sunil were staying as tenants at the boys home for the last two months. Ashish lived in a nearby home as a tenant only, the police said.

Pankaj Kumar Singh, deputy commissioner of police (outer), said that on Thursday around 7pm, the childs mother left him at home and went to a neighbours home for some work. When she returned her son was missing.

She initially thought that he must have gone to a neighbours house. But when he did not return till late in the night, she panicked and began looking for him. She informed her husband and other family members, said Singh.

The boys family approached the Ranhola police after they failed to locate him. A case of kidnapping was registered and investigation was taken up. During the probe, the role of the two tenants and their friend living in the neighbourhood came under scanner as they too were missing.

On Friday around 3pm, the childs father received a call from his tenant Surender who told him that his son was in his custody and demanded Rs 10 lakh for his safe release. Police interrogated the relatives of the three suspects. They got a vital clue that the suspects could have fled to Ludhiana with the child.

Our team reached Ludhiana and raided a house in Raj Guru Nagar Extension. The child was rescued and the three kidnappers were arrested, said Singh adding that the home belonged to the relative of one of the kidnappers. The relative did not know that the three had kept a kidnapped child at home.

Police said the kidnappers reached Ludhiana in a roadways bus. The child did not raise an alarm because he was familiar to the three and they had lured him on the pretext of taking him on a trip.
A five-year-old schoolgirl studying in a private school in east Delhis Raghuwarpura near Gandhi Nagar was raped, allegedly by a school staffer on Saturday. Sources said the crime took place within the school premises. The police, however, said that they are yet to ascertain where the girl was raped.

The girl suffered injuries in her private parts because of the sexual assault. She was admitted to a government hospital where she is undergoing treatment. Her condition was stated to be serious.

A police officer said that the crime came to their notice after the hospital authorities called the local police and informed them about the rape with a schoolgirl. A case has been registered and some staffers of the school were being questioned in connection with the crime.

According to the officer, the rape survivor lives with her parents in Raghuwarpura. On Saturday, she returned home from school and complained about pain in her private parts to her mother. When the mother asked her about the reason, she narrated the entire ordeal to her.

Shocked, the woman informed her husband the girl was admitted to the hospital. Prima facie, the suspect is a temporary staffer at the school, said police.
To strengthen their case before the National Green Tribunal (NGT)-appointed committee for approving a new site at Ghonda Gujran for the disposal of waste, the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) took the panel members to the Ghazipur landfill for a visit on Saturday.

The senior officials showed committee chairman Amarjit Singh, also the secretary of union ministry for water resources, the oversaturated landfill at Ghazipur. They showed the panel that part of landfill where garbage is being dumped presently in the absence of any other site.

Two persons were killed on September 1 when a part of the garbage mound at Ghazipur in east Delhi came crashing down.

We explained Singh the existing situation and shared the fact that unless we get a new place to dump waste, it wouldnt be possible to start remediation process of Ghazipur. He took cognizance of issue and assured to look into the issue, said senior EDMC official.

It was also clarified that the EDMC has no other land to establish such a big integrated plant at one place and the facility would serve as long-term solution for the area.

The panel earlier visited the 150 acres of land at Ghonda Gujran on Thursday. The site was transferred by the Delhi Development Authority to EDMC for developing a landfill.

But Manoj Misra, river activist and convenor of the Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan, said implementation of the project would be illegal under various laws.

Neither the NGTs judgement of 2015 nor the Municipal Solid Waste Rules 2016 permits such activity in O-Zone. If three corporations would work together then they can easily find some land far from the habitat and riverbed. But unfortunately they are looking for shortcuts and not work diligently to solve issue, said Mishra.

NGTs hearing on Monday

In another development, the NGT has instructed the government agencies and civic bodies to appear before the tribunal on Monday.

On September 4, the tribunal had issued show-cause notice to the Delhi government, EDMC, DDA and the National Highway Authority of India over the Ghazipur landfill collapse.

Rapping the authorities for negligence, the green tribunal had asked why criminal proceedings be not initiated against erring EDMC officials for the death of two persons near (the Ghazipur) landfill.

We are preparing the presentation to explain the corrective measures taken by us so far. I think other two corporations would be present before the court on Monday, said the EDMC official. The NGT has been hearing a matter pertaining to disposal of garbage in Delhi.
Canadian Tire agrees to send mattresses to Georgia for free after Global News report

A Toronto woman says her efforts to send air mattresses to Georgia in support of Hurricane Irma evacuees failed after a Canadian Tire store refused to sell her and her husband their inventory.Although they had 190 in stock and agreed they had 190, they said they had a maximum (to sell) of 10 per person, said Cheryl Basser.Basser described herself as part of an orthodox Jewish community in Toronto with connections to a synagogue in Atlanta.They have 1,000 evacuees but theres no possibility of having enough beds, she told Global News from Southfield, Michigan.Basser said her husband secured a truck to take more than 300 inflatable mattresses to Georgia based on the belief that the Canadian Tire store on Queen Street East in Brampton would sell them the balance of their inventory, advertised in the weekly flyer. The mattresses were listed for sale at $60.But upon arriving at the store, Basser said her husband was told by a manager that the store would sell no more than 10 air mattresses, although later the number was raised to 30.We explained it was for a humanitarian cause. We werent looking for a discount, we werent looking for a donation, she said.Global News contacted the store but did not receive a response. But Canadian Tires corporate headquarters issued a statement which read in part:As a company with strong roots in communities across Canada, we understand the urgency to provide support to those impacted by natural disasters. We have been in contact with the customer supporting the hurricane evacuation relief efforts and we are working together to provide the equipment needed. We commend their efforts to help our U.S. neighbours impacted by the hurricane.The company did not offer an explanation for what happened at the store.But within hours, Basser said she received urgent emails from Canadian Tire. A senior executive agreed to ship 226 air mattresses to Georgia to support the relief.Basser said Canadian Tire agreed to cover all costs for the mattresses and the shipping, a value of more than $20,000.
The sister and brother of the 64-year-old retired scientist, whose decomposing body was found in abandoned quarter, are battling mental problems.

Both the siblings were brought to our hospital last night. The sister definitely suffers from some paranoid mental illness, most likely schizophrenia. We think the brother too has some form of mental illness, said Dr Nimesh Desai, director of Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences (IHBAS).

He says that he has been receiving such cases, where the elderly patient lives in a psychotic denial of the death of a loved one. And, the problem is compounded by several members of the family suffering from some form of mental illness  diseases like schizophrenia runs in families  with nobody to care for them.

There has been an increase in such cases mainly due to urban lifestyle, people living in smaller families and social isolation. This is why outreach programmes become necessary. But, the country still has a long way to go when it comes to comprehensive mental health care, said Dr Desai.

The national sample survey of 2004 had concluded that the problems of the elderly may increase with the proportion of nuclear families, especially in urban areas, as nuclear families are less able to provide long-term care. Hence, it is important to have social initiatives to take care of the seniors.

Developing social support is important, said Dr AB Dey, head of the geriatrics department at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). Even if people have a family, what is the guarantee that they will look after the elderly, however, it is still better to have a bad family than none at all, he said.

Awareness about the concept of home care -- where a caregiver or the people in the neighbourhood like the grocery shop owner, vegetable vendor, and neighbours help out the elderly  must grow in our society as we all are likely to face these problems when we would turn old. Loneliness is also a big problem in elderly. It is a cause of stress, frustration and depression, said Dr Dey.

India currently has more than 103 million people over the age of 60, and with 65% of the population under 35, the number will increase to 350 million elderly by 2050.

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A day after a second grader was murdered in Bhondsis Ryan International School allegedly by a bus conductor, hundreds of parents, who have school-going children across Gurgaon, gathered outside the school on Saturday morning demanding arrest of school authorities.

A group of parents, victims father, and their lawyer also protested outside the police commissioners office. Parents even formed a group to address the issues related to safety and security in schools across Gurgaon. They have started a signature campaign and will submit the sheet to the district administration. More than 500 parents have signed till now.

In the evening, candle marches were held at Shyam Kunj, where the victims family lives, near Ryan school.

The eight-year-old victim was found bleeding and struggling to reach for help after his throat had been slit on Friday morning. Later in the evening, police announced they had arrested Ashok Kumar, who, they said, confessed to killing the child after attempting sexual assault.

Just arresting the bus conductor is not sufficient. It is negligence on the part of the school and they should be booked, said the victims father.

His son had been killed in a toilet that school officials said was shared by other school staff.

We pay hefty amount for facility of our kids not for drivers and conductors. How was the lower staff allowed to use the same toilet? He must be a regular offender, said Arun Yadav, a parent of a Ryan International School student.

The protesters at the school also tried to block the Sohna highway, but the police contained them. We cannot digest the fact that a conductor kept the knife in his pocket accidentally. There is much more in the case which the police are trying to cover up, said Kuldeep Yadav, another parent.

The conductor had the intention to kill the child and he came prepared with the knife. It was a brand new knife which he must have brought a day before, said Deepa Rawat, another parent.

Officials assured the parents that school authorities will be booked for criminal negligence.

Ashok Bakshi, deputy commissioner of police, south Gurgaon, said, The accused has been arrested and we have added the POCSO Act in the case. More names will be added soon.

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Fridays murder of an eight-year-old student of Ryan International School in Gurgaon left parents shocked and angry over the security on campus.

The second standard student was found in a pool of blood in a toilet with injuries to his neck. Police said a bus conductor confessed to the crime after attempting to sexually assault the boy. He was arrested on Friday evening.

Hundreds of parents have now gathered outside the school as the protest against the management for alleged negligence.

According to ANI, the Gurgaon deputy commissioner of police said the principal of the school has been suspended.

Here are the important developments that took place:

4:33 pm: Haryana CM Khattar calls it a sad incident and heinous crime. He informs that administration has nabbed the suspect and has directed authorities to complete formalities within 7 days.

On demand for high-profile probe by victims family, Khattar says if facts are not clear after the report arrives, the government is ready for any kind of probe.

4:25pm: Sources say three witnesses saw accused Ashok Kumar coming out of the school toilet wearing a blood-soaked shirt. All three will be given police protection.

4: 20pm: There is a tendency for common people to ask for CBI probe. I said if you arent satisfied with probe by police well talk, says Haryana PWD minister after visiting the house of the victim.

He says he assured probe will be done to the satisfaction of the victims family.

4:08pm: Strictest action will be taken against the school, says Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, adding trial will be fast-tracked.

He says action will be taken against the school after the probe is over.

4: 05pm: Mother of victim says principal was indifferent when she came to hospital and demands that she should be put in jail. I want to know what happened to my child, I want CBI.

4:00pm: Haryana PWD minister Rao Narbir Singh visits family of the deceased student.

3:57pm: CBSE sets up two-member fact finding committee to enquire into the death of Class 2 student in Gurgaons Ryan International School.

The board seeks report along with FIR filed in this case from Ryan International School within two days.

3:50 pm :Union Human Resource Development minister Prakash Javadekar calls it an unfortunate incident.

3:45pm: Press conference ends.

3:44pm: Gurgaon deputy commissioner Vinay Pratap Singh says special public prosecutor to be appointed in case.

3:43pm: Gurgaon Police Commissioner Khirwar says three-member committee has been formed to adjudge loopholes in security arrangement, report of which is expected on Monday.

He says investigation into the case will be concluded in seven days.

3:41pm: Police say waiting for forensic results.

3:40pm: Involvement of bus conductor is confirmed. If someone else is found involved, action will be taken against them: Gurgaon Police Commissioner.

3:39pm: Singh says schools in the area have been told to audit their security measures.

3:38pm: Ryan International School has been asked to send a report along with FIR filed in this case within 2 days: CBSE PRO Rama Sharma to ANI.

3:37pm: As an interim measure, Ryan International School has suspended the acting principal, says Gurgaon deputy commissioner Vinay Pratap Singh.

3:36pm: Khirwar says will try to file charge sheet in court within 7 days, ANI reported.

3:35pm: We will be able to determine what happened in a days time. The culprit will be punished accordingly, says Khirwar.

3:33pm: Gurgaon Police say they will request the case be tried in fast track court.

3: 30pm: Commissioner of police, Gurgaon, Sandeep Khirwar and Gurgaon deputy commissioner Vinay Pratap Singh begin addressing media.

3:24pm: Deputy commissioner Gurgaon and police commissioner to address press conference.

3:20pm: Wife and family of accused bus conductor Ashok Kumar allege he is being framed for the murder.

3:15pm: Cremation of victim over. Family members remain crematorium, police keep vigil as crowds begin to leave.

2:45pm: Gurgaon District Bar Association issues notice that it will not represent accused Ashok Kumar in court.

2pm: Members of Bar Association of Sohna sign statement saying they will not represent accused Ashok Kumar.

#Gurugram: Members of Bar Association of Sohna decide not to appear on behalf of accused in #RyanInternationalSchool murder case pic.twitter.com/JYt5WxlWZ1  ANI (@ANI) September 9, 2017

1:57pm: Accused Ashok Kumar remanded to three-day police custody.

1:53pm: Badshahpur MLA and public works department minister Rao Narvir Singh reach cremation ground.

1:50pm: Haryana education minister Ram Bilas Sharma assures justice. Going to Gurugram tomorrow. Culprit wont be spared. Sympathies with childs parents, ANI reported him saying.

1:45pm: Police add charges under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POSCO) Act after suspect admits to attempting to sexually assault victim.

Police on guard outside Ryan International School in Gurgaon where parents are protesting. (Sanjeev Verma/HT Photo)

1:35pm: Deputy commissioner of police, Haryana, Vinay Pratap Singh forms three-member committee to probe the murder. Report to be submitted by Monday.

1:30pm: Haryana education minister to hold press conference on Sunday.

1:25pm: Protesters demand action against Ryan International School, demand CBI inquiry and arrest of school management.

1:15pm: People gather at the cremation ground for the final rites of murdered boy.

1:10pm: Acting principal Neerja Batra suspended by school management and security staff removed for lapses.

1pm: Parents block the gates to Ryan International School demanding that action be taken.

12:30pm: Family parents allege that arrested conductor is scapegoat.

12:15pm: Large crowds gather at victims home in Shyam Kunj.

Noon: Accused in the murder of Ryan International School boy to be produced in Sohna court.
The acting principal of Ryan International School was on Saturday suspended after a second standard student was found murdered on the Gurgaon campus, the district administration said.

Fridays murder of the eight-year-old boy left parents shocked and angry over the security on campus.

The second standard student was found in a pool of blood in a toilet with injuries to his neck. Police said a bus conductor confessed to the crime after attempting to sexually assault the boy. He was arrested on Friday evening.

Hundreds of parents gathered outside the school in protest against the management for their alleged negligence.

Several parents even demand action against the school and called for a CBI inquiry.

Meanwhile scores gathered in Bhondsi ahead of the victims cremation.
The eight-year old boy, who was murdered in Bhondsis Ryan International School on Friday, was cremated amid high security on Saturday.

His body was taken to his home in Shyam Kunj, 14 km from Gurgaon, amidst tears, anger and grief. The mother of the victim, and other female relatives had a glimpse of the boy at home before he was taken to the crematorium on Sohna road for final rites around 1.15pm.

The family of the victim had agreed to take the victims body only after senior officials of the police department assured them that the accused and other responsible for negligence would not be spared. Fearing violent protests from the residents of the area, the police had thrown a large security blanket around the school and the cremation ground.

Parents of school-going children, neighbours and community members from Bihar, who had gathered at the victims home, shouted slogans against the school management, police and district administration. The victims family hails from Madhubani in Bihar.

The school management is responsible for this murder and they should be arrested. There have been similar incidents in this school in the past as well but everything was brushed under the carpet, said Rajesh Kumar, a neighbour, whose children also study in the same school.

The women in the neighbourhood, particularly those whose children go to the same school were shocked, and said that their children had not been able to eat since Friday evening.

How will we tell the children to go to school in such circumstances. My daughter has not allowed us to switch on the television as news about the murder is being telecast, said Rekha Sharma, another parent.

State PWD minister Rao Narbir Singh and Sohna MLA Tejpal Tanwar also reached the cremation ground to offer their condolences to the family, while assuring strict action against the school.

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Compliance of School Security Guidelines issued by the police in September 2014 could have averted the tragic murder of an eight-year-old class 2 student at Ryan International School, Bhondsi.

The guidelines make it mandatory for a school to check the background of its employees before hiring them for part-time or full-time jobs. Police sources said the school did not carry out any verification of bus conductor Ashok Kumar, 42, who has been accused of killing the boy in the school toilet after a failed sexual assault attempt.

Police investigation revealed that Kumar was fired from his job at a private school in his village Ghamroj because of his suspicious behaviour.

Agitated parents of students in Gurgaon schools said the police had also failed to take action against schools violating school safety guidelines.

Police have yet not invoked any section of negligence against Ryan International School, Bhondsi, even though no attendant was deployed outside the toilet.

Parents alleged that in violation of Section 2.2.5 of school security guidelines, the school toilet in which the murder took place was shared by students, bus drivers, conductors and class 4 staff.

They said that only after any such incident, the police conduct an audit, but later there are no regular checks on the school operations.

On May 9, 2016, Jiya Juneja, a seven-year-old class 3 student of Ryan International School, Sector 40, was hit by a speeding car after her school bus dropped her on the wrong side of the road. Shockingly, there was no conductor or attendant in the school bus and there was no action taken against the school.

After the last year incident, transport safety audits were revisited and then finally in July this year, we saw many schools getting the yellow buses with some checks. But again everything is back to square 1 and now many school buses dont even have school names or emergency contacts details on them, said Ruchika Sethi Takkar, a volunteer for formulating the school safety guidelines.

Some parents said there should be zero tolerance for non-compliance with child safety guidelines. It should be mandatory for schools to announce on their websites and publish adverts in newspapers specifying concrete steps taken by the management and staff to ensure the safety of each and every child, said Sudha Nair parent of two girls and an educator.

Parents said there are still many gaps in the process and police need to take strict action against the violation of these safety guidelines for all schoolchildren.

The administration should take responsibility of the students studying in the school now as there are many lapses in the safety and security aspects. Parents are scared to send their ward to a school, where the staff is a criminal and was hired without any verification, said Tripti Singh, administrator of the Facebook forum, Gurgaon Parents for Better Education.

Meanwhile, Gurgaon police commissioner Sandeep Khirwar said, We are examining all the angles of the case and will surely take action against the school once we are done with the investigations. Those who will be found guilty will be booked.

Seema Lal, a parent and child right activist, said that abuse and such crimes happen in the absence of Child Protection Policy.

Schools are meant to be safe havens of learning. However, in todays world, forget learning, parents have to worry about physical and psychological trauma in the classroom, bullying and now murder, said Dr Raju Parasher, parent of a school-going child.

Guidelines violated by Ryan International School

Section 2.2.1: There should be only one entry/exit point to the premises, side gates are to be avoided. In case there is a side gate, this must be manned by a security guard maintain a record of every entry and exit in a register

Section 2.2.3: Administration/security department must draw up a list of restricted areas and names of persons permitted entry, and these must be displayed on an internal notice board on the premises

Section 2.2.5: Specifically for bus drivers and conductors, whether employed by the school or contracted out, access area must be limited to just the bus area and specific instructions must be given to them on which areas are out of bound for them. It is therefore suggested that a toilet is provided in this area or other such clearly specified area with visible though secluded access, to prevent need for such persons to enter the actual school premises

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Hollywood legend Daniel Day-Lewis has broken his arm in a motorcycle accident, his spokesperson has confirmed. The Oscar-winning actor appeared to be wincing in pain as he made his way to his New York City home sporting a cast and a hospital bracelet.

And his representative has now confirmed to People magazine that the 60-year-old star has broken his arm, but reassured that the There Will be Blood actor is fine.

People.com quoted a source as saying that Day-Lewis was wearing a helmet and that the crash wasnt his fault.

The crash comes a few months after the screen legend announced his retirement.

Leslee Dart, the actors spokeswoman, told the Variety magazine in June that the 60-year-old star will no longer be working as an actor.



He is immensely grateful to all of his collaborators and audiences over the many years, Dart said. This is a private decision and neither he nor his representatives will make any further comment on this subject.

Day-Lewis is often called the master of method acting. He is known to be extremely selective about his roles and is the only performer to have ever won three best actor Oscars.

(With AFP inputs)

Follow @htshowbiz for more
Ten years is a long time, but for the 11 Adivasi women alleged to have been gang-raped by a police team in 2007 during an anti-Maoist operation in their hamlet of Visakhapatnam of Andhra Pradesh, the ordeal is far from over.

Ever since some members of the crack Greyhounds police team allegedly went berserk in the early hours of August 20 that year, it has been an unending struggle for the women to secure justice and regain social redemption.

Viewed with distrust by family and neighbours ever since because of regressive local traditions, many had to undergo purification rituals to be accepted back into the community. Some are yet to be accepted wholeheartedly by their husbands.

We have been victimised again and again, laments one of the women, raped by the Greyhounds men.

The judicial process to bring the culprits to book has also taken inordinately long.

It was only last week that the Supreme Court finally ordered the local court in Paderu to expeditiously complete the trial of 13 Greyhounds personnel within six months.

But far removed from the corridors of the top court in Delhi and the legal wrangling, the women and their lives continue to be in upheaval. In the immediate aftermath of the incident, they were forced to leave their homes for three weeks to undergo purification.

The case so far August 20, 2007: Greyhounds personnel allegedly gang rape 11 women of Vakapalli hamlet in Visakhapatnam. Paderu cops register FIR some days later. September 6, 2007: State government inquiry points to lack of medical evidence to prove rape. September 28, 2007: High court orders a CID inquiry and the case is dismissed following CID report. April, 2012: Following an appeal, high court orders trial of 13 Greyhounds personnel 2017: Supreme Court rules for speedy trial by Paderu court.

My husband was shocked, yet he pushed me out of the house and told me that I had lost the right to continue as his wife. I cried and pleaded with him to allow me into the house, but he didnt listen, a victim told HT.

Traditions of the Kondh tribe to which the women belong stipulate that women who lose their chastity also lose their right to live with their husband unless they are purified.

Forced to live in the forests, one of the victims died of snake bite while another, locals say, died after becoming a mental wreck. All of them were forced to live outside and were not allowed even to feed their children, recounts Vanthala Subba Rao, a village elder.

There were other traumas too in store.

Each of them was ordered by the Nurmathi gram panchayat to pay Rs10,000 and donate a bull to the village as penalty. The penalties were ultimately waived off following intervention by an NGO, but the victims nevertheless had to take bath in a nearby stream to cleanse themselves before they returned home.

Years later, the women are yet to be accepted back.

I know it was not her fault, but I am still not able to accept her totally. Sometimes, I get so angry that I feel like drinking her blood, said Pangi Nagendra, the husband of a victim.

Another said it would have been better had his wife died after being gang-raped. I cannot remain normally with her after the incident, Korra Krishna Rao said.

Shouldering the burden of an alleged crime they were not responsible for, the women are silently hoping that a favourable court verdict when it comes would help them find closure.

Our life was completely ruined. Since 2007, there have been no celebrations in our

family, said a 35-year-old victim. Others agreed that the incident robbed them of even the smallest of joys.

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AirAsia India has suspended a pilot for smoking in the cockpit while operating a ferry flight from Hyderabad to the national capital, and aviation regulator DGCA is probing the incident.

The incident took place last month and there was no passengers onboard as it was a ferry flight.

A source said the commander of the flight was found smoking in the cockpit, following which immediate action was taken by the airline.

An AirAsia India spokesperson said the airline apprised the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) about the breach that took place on a ferry flight from Hyderabad to Delhi immediately after the incident.

The captain has been suspended with immediate effect and the case is being investigated by DGCA. The airline will comply by the regulators instructions, the spokesperson said in a statement.

While various violations get reported, incidents of smoking in the cockpit dont surface often.
Noted jurist Ram Jethmalani on Saturday alleged that the present NDA government has let down the nation like the previous UPA dispensation.

Jethmalani, 94, who also announced his retirement as an advocate after being in the profession for over seven decades, termed as calamity the present status of governance and said he would continue to fight corrupt politicians.

The country is not in a good shape. The previous and the current governments, both have let down the nation very badly.

It is the duty of the members of the bar and all good citizens to rise to this great calamity, he said, adding that they should do their best to see that those in positions of power are shown the exit door as soon as possible.

He was speaking at a function organised by apex bar body, the Bar Council of India, to felicitate new Chief Justice of India Justice Dipak Misra.

I am here just to tell you I am retiring from the profession but I am taking on a new role as long as I am alive. I wish to combat the corrupt politicians that have been brought into the position of power and I hope the condition of India will take good shape, Jethmalani said.


Telangana chief minister K Chandradeskhar Raos glitzy Vaastu-friendly secretariat complex is closer to reality, surpassing hurdles of land sourcing and protests from political rivals who say the project will hurt the environment and gut crucial funds.

The CM, known as KCR, is a firm believer in Vaastu, an ancient Indian system of building planning that focuses on directional alignments for harmony and good luck. His fascination with the system is such that he has a dedicated Vaastu advisor  Suddala Sudhakar Teja  who has drawn up the plan for the palatial building along with renowned Mumbai-based architects Hafeez Contractor.

Teja said the design has all Vaastu elements that suit the ruler,

It is going to be 100% Vaastu complaint. We have designed the building in such a way that it will provide a healthy and good working environment that will help the chief minister in effective decision-making. There will be flow of natural energy from all sides, he told Hindustan Times, days after the buildings design was released.

The total construction cost is estimated at Rs 300 crore, but opposition parties say spends will not be less than Rs 1,000 crore after cost of land, interiors and other infrastructure facilities are counted.

The Telangana chief minister is planning to get the foundation stone laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the last week of November, when he is set to reach Hyderabad to take part in the Global Entrepreneurs Summit.

Recently, Rao met Union finance minister Arun Jaitley, who held additional charge of Defence prior to the Union Cabinet reshuffle, to urge him to handover the land at Bison Polo Ground where the new building has been planned, PTI reported. The ground was in the possession of defence ministry.

Jaitley informed the CM that the Centre is willing to handover Bison Polo Ground for the construction of a new secretariat and required lands for the expansion of Karimnagar and Medchal highways, a release from Raos office said after his meeting with Jaitely, according to PTI.

On Wednesday, KCRs office released the new design.

Initially, the chief minister suggested the existing secretariat complex be demolished and a new complex be raised in the same place. He believed that having an administrative building facing a water body (Hussain Sagar lake) was against Vaastu.

The CM stopped going to secretariat and operated from his own camp office at Begumpet, which he got remodelled as Pragati Bhavan at a cost of Rs 50 crore last year.

There are some serious Vaastu problems in the existing secretariat. It had no proper ventilation, greenery and enough moving space. Hence, we have decided to shift it to the new premises, Sudhakar Teja said.

According to the designs released on Wednesday, the new Secretariat resembles the Federal Building in Chicago and the National Palace in Santo Domingo of Dominican Republic in its elevation.

It will be a six-storeyed building with two broad wings. While chambers for the chief minister, his cabinet colleagues and secretaries will be located on one side, all the departments would be in the opposite wing. All the sections of the same department will be located at one place, so that a person doesnt have run from one building to another to get the file cleared, the Vaastu consultant said.

There will be absolutely no need for using any lights and bulbs in the entire building during day time. This will save a lot of energy.

But leaders from opposition Congress have strongly resisted the decision.

It is a colossal waste of money, which could be better spent on welfare measures. If the Vaastu of the existing secretariat is bad, how did all the previous chief ministers of undivided Andhra operated from the same building without any hassles in the last six decades, asked Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee president Capt N Uttam Kumar Reddy.

He said the Bison Polo Ground, where the new building is supposed to be built, should be protected since it would otherwise deprive the people of Hyderabad of their only lung space.

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A civilian was injured on Saturday in heavy shelling and firing by the Pakistan Army on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmirs Poonch district.

The incident occurred near Sagra village of Mankote area. The injured civilian was taken to hospital, police said.

The firing exchanges started between the Indian and Pakistani armies after the latter resorted to unprovoked, indiscriminate ceasefire violation, defence ministry sources said.

The Pakistan Army used mortars, automatics and small weapons to target Indian military and civilian facilities in the area, the defence sources said. Indian positions are retaliating strongly and effectively.

Pakistans ceasefire violation on the LoC has come on a day Union home minister Rajnath Singh began his four-day visit to the state.
BHABUA: A couple was shot dead for honour in Kaimur district of southwest Bihar on Friday night as their son had eloped with a girl of another caste and married her.

The couples two daughters were also injured in the attack that took place at Mubarakpur village in Mohania police station area of the district, 216 km southwest of state capital Patna.

All the four family members were sleeping on the rooftop of their house when the assailants reached there and opened fire, killing Kamla Chaudhary, 50, and his wife Shanti Devi, 45, on the spot, police said.

Chaudharys daughters Kiran Devi, 20, and Susmita Kumari, 15, were seriously injured in the attack and had been referred to Institute of Medical Sciences-Banaras Hindu University (IMS-BHU), Varanasi, for treatment, the police said.

Police said the incident appeared to be a clear case of honour killing. They quoted injured Kiran Devi as saying that her brother Dharmendra Chaudhary had eloped with a girl of another caste about three months back.

Dharmendra and the girl were living in Delhi after their marriage, the police said.

Villagers said the family of the girl, Rajput by caste, was not happy with the marriage as Dharmendra was a Mallah (fisherman), an OBC. Her relatives had been going around the village saying they would take revenge from the family of Dharmendra, the villagers said. A brother of the girl had criminal background, they added.

Kaimur superintendent of police (SP) Harpreet Kaur said an FIR had been registered against three named and four unidentified assailants.

Three police teams were conducting raids on suspected hideouts of the assailants, especially in areas bordering Uttar Pradesh. We have also sought the help of UP police, the SP added.

The bodies of the victims had been sent to sadar (district) hospital, Bhabua, for post-mortem examination, she added.
BJP president Amit Shah on Saturday tried to brush aside criticism about the NDA governments note ban decision, saying the move has brought illicit money within the banking system and it could now be used for countrys welfare.

Addressing the national executive meeting of FICCI here, Shah said the size of the formal economy will grow after demonetisation and the number of taxpayers has increased. Modi government does not believe in taking decision that looks good to people, it takes decision that are good for people, Shah said.

Read more: Raghuram Rajan speaks on demonetisation, economy and life after RBI

His remarks came in the backdrop of criticism about the move to recall high value currency notes. The RBI has declared that 99% of the notes have returned to bank account, and critics say his defeat the purpose of the noteban.

Former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan revealed he did not favour demonetisation as he felt the short term economic costs associated with such a disruptive decision would outweigh any longer term benefits.

Rajan told HT the failure to stop dodgy cash coming back into the banking system after demonetisation has likely burdened RBI with additional interest payments running into tens of thousands of crores.

Read more: Raghuram Rajan breaks silence, says neither he nor RBI under him wanted demonetisation

In his address to industry leaders, Shah claimed that Modi government was moving toward providing a stable policy for industry for the next 30 years.

After coming to power, Modi government has formed policies that tries to achieve long terms gains, instead of short term achievements, Shah said.
It would be difficult for the government to offer any relaxation to Rohingya Muslims, who have fled Myanmar, Union Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said here on Saturday.

The matter is pending before the Supreme Court and the government is also looking into it, Naqvi said at the Parliamentarian Conclave here.

But I do not think we will be able to give any relaxation to them (Rohingya Muslims) when their nation has refused to keep them, he said.

The Supreme Court had on September 4 sought the view of the government on a petition challenging its decision to deport illegal Rohingya Muslim immigrants back to Myanmar. The matter has been posted for September 11.

Union minister Kiren Rijiju had on Tuesday said the Rohingya people are illegal immigrants and stand to be deported.

Violent attacks allegedly by Myanmarese armymen have led to an exodus of Rohingya tribals from the western Rakhine state in that country to India and Bangladesh.

Many of them, who had fled to India after a spate of violence earlier, have settled in Jammu, Hyderabad, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi-NCR and Rajasthan.

On the Uniform Civil Code, Naqvi said the government believes in moving ahead on the issue after evolving a consensus.

The Constitution has clearly stated that the State should evolve a consensus for the implementation of the UCC, he said, adding that the Law Commission had also sought the opinion of various stakeholders on the issue.

The minister said the appeasement policy had hijacked the empowerment of minorities in the last several decades and that the Centre had adopted the policy of empowerment without appeasement.

This has ensured socio-economic-educational empowerment of poor sections of minority communities in the last three years, Naqvi said.

Providing basic amenities in minority concentrated areas has been the governments priority in the last three years, he said.
The engine of the Kashi Vishwanath Express derailed at the New Delhi Railway Station while going towards the yard on Saturday, a railway official said.

The train travels from Varanasi to the national capital.

One wheel of diesel engine of empty caching rake has derailed at NDLS station during shunting movement to washing line. There were no injuries, said Neeraj Sharma, Northern Railways spokesperson.

Read more | Twitter user flagged danger at Delhi railway station 5 days before derailment

The derailment comes close on the heels of three trains jumping off the tracks in Uttar Pradesh, New Delhi and Maharashtra within a span of nine hours on September 7.

After this, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal asked the Railway Board to divert rails marked for construction of new lines to stretches prone to accidents and where replacement was due.

He also directed the board officials to expedite procurement of new rails to complete laying of tracks in pending projects and eliminate unmanned level crossings within a year.
Karnataka home minister Ramalinga Reddy said on Saturday that the special investigation team probing the murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh had hit upon a vital clue that would help them solve the case.

Reddy was addressing journalists after a meeting with top officials of the police department. The police have got a vital clue in the case, which we cannot reveal at the moment, Reddy said.

The SIT has been working on this case for three days now. They will crack the case soon, he said.

Indira Lankesh, mother of the slain journalist, met chief minister Siddaramaiah during the day. A person who attended the meet said it was a courtesy call as the family knew Siddaramaiah well.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Siddaramaiah said: I told them that truth should come out and Gauri Lankesh must receive justice. I have assured her that we are putting all efforts to catch the culprits, he said.

(Congress president) Sonia Gandhi also spoke to me. She asked me to ensure the culprits were caught quickly, he said.

Meanwhile, the state government has gone ahead and provided security to writers and intellectuals who they felt were under threat.

Police sources did not reveal the people who have been provided security.

However, veteran journalist and writer Patil Puttappa confirmed to HT that he had been provided security.

They had sent a gunman but I asked the person to go. I dont need any security, he said. I have not received any threatening calls, he added.

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Domestic airlines have sought from the government tax exemption under the GST regime on importing and servicing aircraft parts.

The Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA), an association of private airlines in India, has written to ministries of finance and civil aviation, citing the high tax rate on servicing parts and also on import of these parts has put a huge financial burden on the companies.

Sources in a private Indian carrier said that the burden of increased taxes under the GST could be as high as Rs 4,750 crore every year, on the industry.

Touted by the government as the biggest tax reform since Independence, the Goods and Services Tax kicked in on July 1.

The FIA in its submissions before the government said that till June 30, no taxes were levied on re-import of aircraft parts and engines after servicing them abroad. Further, import of aircraft parts will also be subjected to the GST up to 28%, said the airlines lobby requesting that such imports be exempted from taxes.

In light of the above difficulties faced, it is humbly prayed that an exemption be granted on the IGST paid on the parts of aircraft imported after repair/servicing, said the FIA letter.

Sources in private airlines say that a request has been made to the government to release the re-imported repaired engines against bonds by companies.

A source in a private airline said that on an average 250 engines are sent abroad by private carriers for repair and servicing.

If 18% tax is levied on each engine under the GST, it would be additional burden of thousands of crores for the airline industry. This would wipe out the profitability of the industry, the airline executive added. He did not wish to be quoted.

This is not the first time that the airline industry has raised concerns about the GST. Concerns were raised about imposition of taxes on aircrafts being imported and then leased, but the government had then suitably resolved the issue.

Following its submissions before the government, the FIA hopes that their concerns will be taken up when the GST Council, the highest decision-making authority in the new tax regime, meets on Saturday.

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A Hizbul Mujahedeen militant was gunned down in north Kashmirs Sopore in an encounter with security forces on Saturday, police said.

The encounter began after security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Reban area of Sopore in the morning.

In the ensuing gun-battle, one militant was shot dead.

The terrorist killed was Shahid Ahmad Sheikh aka Shaveed, resident of Kachloo, Qaziabad, Handwara. He belonged to HM outfit. He was earlier with the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), a police spokesperson said.

Officials said one AK rifle, a grenade and some magazines were recovered from the site of the encounter.

Authorities shut down all educational institutions, including Higher Secondary schools and the Degree College in Sopore following the encounter.

The encounter took place shortly before Union home minister Rajnath Singhs visit to Srinagar. Singh is on a four-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir in an attempt to find a resolution to the Kashmir problem.
Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Saturday dared Prime Minister Narendra Modi to have the courage to accept that note ban was a wrong decision.

The former Union minister blamed demonetisation for much of the trouble the economy is facing, saying it resulted in loss of 1.5 lakh jobs and the 1.4 percentage point drop in GDP growth virtually wiped out the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

It does not require courage to make a wrong decision, but it requires courage to accept that you have made a wrong decision. Demonetisation was a wrong decision and the PM should have the courage to accept that he made a wrong decision, he told reporters here.

Where are jobs? Indirectly, government has admitted its failures. Minister for MSME Kalraj Mishra has been sacked, the skill development minister has been sacked, which means the skill development mission and creating jobs has failed. The labour minister has been sacked because your labour policies have failed, Chidambaram said.

Maintaining that the country is facing a very bad economic crisis, he said youth are bearing the brunt of the wrong policies of the government.

While 1.2 crore people are joining the workforce annually, not enough jobs are being created, he said.

Chidambaram said many more ministers should have been sacked in the last weeks reshuffle, and referred to failures in agriculture which has grown at 2 per cent in Q1, and also the change of guard at the commerce and industries ministry, where exports have declined and manufacturing growth is sagging.

Asked if the Congress will seek the PMs resignation over the state of the economy, he said, It is not easy (to ask) for the PMs resignation....the PM has come to a conclusion that the labour, skill development and MSME policies have failed, for which he has sacked these three ministers.

On Congress good show in Punjab, Manipur and Goa polls, Chidambaram said it is unfair to conclude that the recent elections were a (positive) verdict on note ban, and added that one should not be dazzled by the BJPs thumping victory in Uttar Pradesh.

Terming the so-called Rs 16,000 crore gain from unreturned notes as illusory, he said the RBI had to spend much more for printing new notes and transporting them.

The eventual quantum of the scrapped currency returned to banks may be more than 100 per cent, and it should be noted that cooperative banks are still collecting old notes and NRIs are still depositing them, he said.

On the concerns raised by former RBI governors Raghuram Rajan and Y V Reddy on demonetisation, Chidambaram said, No economist in the world feels it was good. Only the BJP version of economics says demonetisation was good.

He said GDP growth has been coming down for six consecutive quarters, falling to 5.7 per cent in the first quarter of FY18, and the economy lost 1.4 percentage points (in GDP growth) since the note ban. The September quarter growth will also be bad, he warned, but did not offer a number.

The Congress leader avoided making a direct comment on Raghuram Rajans suggestion to scrap the Department of Financial Services for better governance at state-run banks. He only said that Rajan seems to be in favour of privatisation, but state-run banks are needed.

Chidambaram also refuted the notion of political masters driving state-run banks, saying he never gave orders to bank chairmen when he was the finance minister.

On the banking sectors NPA trouble, he said up to 40 per cent of bad loans have originated during the Modi regime, and alleged that bank chairmen are not taking decisions for fear of harassment from investigative arms of the government. PTI AA ND BEN KRK SK
The Lewis-Clark Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, met Sept. 5 at Keene Memorial Library with Regent Dixie Lambert presiding.

The President General's message for September was read by Regent Lambert. There were 3,370 attendees at the 126th Continental Congress held in Washington, D.C., in July.

In October, a group of members will travel to Paris to commemorate the 100th anniversary of World War I and the contributions of Daughters from that era. Chapter member Judy Ekeler is planning on making this trip, and reporting back to the chapter next year on her experiences.

The National Defender message was read by Jane Dugan. It reported on the many activities of the Rolling Thunder motorcycle club. Two veterans started the group with 2,500 riders, and in 2017, there are over 900,000 riders.

Indian Minutes were given by Pam Hancock. A sculpture of Ponca Chief Standing Bear has been commissioned. The bronze statue will stand in the Lincoln Centennial Mall. A dedication ceremony is planned for September.

Conservation Minutes were given by Laree Skelton. She talked about the proper use of automatic sprinkler systems and the use of soaker hoses to conserve water.

Ruth Anne Siders recited a quote by John F. Kenney in honor of his centennial birth year: "Liberty without learning is always in peril and learning without liberty is in vain.

Two members brought family memorabilia - a pewter sugar bowl and a handmade picture frame.

Pam Hancock read from chapter minutes from Feb. 6, 1905. Program Committee reported 75 programs printed by Mr. W. R. Bruner for $5.50. Members expressed satisfaction at the quality and price of the programs. A motion was made and carried to sell extra programs for $.10 each.

In old business, chapter members continue to work on the project of saving and recording family records for genealogical purposes. They will work with area churches and will carefully photocopy information in family Bibles and kept in the family's possession. This project will be worked on for many months.

Hancock will call Siffring Nursery and finalize the plans for planting rose bushes at each of the six Habitat Houses that were built in Fremont last year. The tentative date has been set for Monday, Sept. 11.

The business meeting was adjourned and Betsy Hansen gave the program on some interesting facts about the state of Alaska. She gave each member a copy of two maps of the large state and told about the different areas.

The first people to settle in Alaska were the Indians who arrived by boats some 13,000 years ago. Alaska became a state in 1959 and had a large earthquake in 1964. The United States bought Alaska for $7,200,000.00 in 1867 from Russia. This was considered an outrageous amount of money, but the discovery of gold in the state made the purchase seem very wise.

There are 16 boroughs - no counties in the state. Hostess for the month was Hansen, and everyone enjoyed pecan pie and drink.

The next meeting will be Oct. 3 at Keene Memorial Library.
Patna Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) president Lalu Prasad and his son, former Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, on Saturday told the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) that they would not be able to appear before it for questioning in the hotels-for-land scam on Monday and Tuesday, respectively, as they were preoccupied.

The CBI had on Thursday asked he RJD chief to appear before it in New Delhi on September 11 and Tejashwi on the next day in connection with irregularities in awarding contracts during Prasads tenure as the railway minister (2004-09).

Prasads lawyers on Saturday informed the CBI that the RJD chief would not appear before the probe agency as he was preoccupied attending trial in fodder scam cases he was facing. Prasad will be busy with court proceedings next week when defence witnesses are likely to depose, the lawyers said

Tejashwi, at present leader of opposition in Bihar legislative assembly, has requested the CBI for exemption from questioning on September 12 as he had to fulfill some prior political commitments.

The father-son duo, who later left Patna for Bhagalpur by train, have sought more time to appear before the CBI for questioning.

Prasad  convicted in a fodder scam case  continues to face legal troubles. One of the five fodder cases has been reopened. Following a Supreme Court order on May 9, 2017 to complete the trial within nine months, the special CBI courts have begun hearing the cases on priority basis. Prasad has had to travel to Jharkhand to appear before different courts on a weekly basis.

The CBI is examining possible irregularities in the awarding of contracts to operate Indian Railways BNR hotels in Ranchi and Puri to Sujata Hotels in 2005 when Prasad was railway minister and whether the RJD leader and his family benefitted from it.

On the day of transfer of the BNR hotels, owners of Sujata Hotels Vinay Kochhar and Vijay Kochhar had allegedly sold two acres of prime land in Patna to an intermediary company called Delight Marketing, now known as Lara Projects for Rs 1.5 crore, far below the market price. The Delight Marketing Company, owned by Sarla Gupta, wife of former Union minster Prem Chand Gupta, allegedly transferred the land gradually to Lalus wife Rabri Devi and son Tejashwi between 2010 and 2014.

The CBI had searched the homes and properties of Prasad and his family at 12 locations in Patna, Delhi, Gurgaon, Puri and Ranchi on July 7 as part of investigations into alleged irregularities in leasing out railway hotels.

A day earlier, the CBI had filed FIR against Lalu, Rabri Devi, Tejashwi Yadav, businessmen Vijay Kochhar and Vinay Kochhar, Sarla Gupta and then managing director of IRCTC, PK Goel.

Prasad and his family are facing a spate of allegations of amassing huge benami property.

The Income Tax department had recently raided 22 locations in New Delhi and adjoining places, related to land and farm houses owned by Lalus daughter, Misa Bharti and her husband Shailesh Kumar. After questioning by the Enforcement Directorate, it provisionally attached a farm house (26, Palam Farms, Bijwasan, in New Delhi) on September 5.

Tejashwi is alleged to hold big stakes in a company promoting Bihars biggest mall in the state capital worth Rs 750 crore. Another son Tej Pratap is alleged to hold big tracts of land; and daughters  Misa, Hema and Ragini  have been accused of being directors in many shell companies. In all of this, the charge is that Lalus position in power was misused to amass assets.

There are also accusations against Prasad of taking prime land from RJDs senior leaders like Raghunanth Jha, Kanti Singh and few ordinary people in lieu of ministerial berths and jobs during his stint at railway minister.

STRAP

PLEA Prasads counsel says he will be preoccupied with court proceedings next week when defence witnesses in fodder scam cases are likely to depose, while Tejashwi has to fulfill some prior political commitments

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Identity politics. Chest-thumping chauvinism. Cabinet reshuffle. Populist rhetoric and measures. No, this is not a BJP strongman but Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah, who seems to be beating the BJP at its own game.

The chief minister, who has a low profile with the Congress at the national level, has come out firing on all cylinders even as the BJP is struggling to get a grip on its crankshaft in the poll-bound state.

No wonder BJP president Amit Shah had to come down to rap the party cadre who seemed to pass up every opportunity to discomfit the state government.

For example, it took a full three weeks  after Shahs dressing down  for the state unit to organise a protest against the alleged corruption of energy minister DK Shivakumar, whose properties were raided by income tax authorities in early August.

The raids reeked of political vendetta, being ordered by the Centre as Shivakumar had helped prevent horse-trading in Rajya Sabha elections by corralling 44 Gujarat MLAs in a Bengaluru resort, thereby helping Congress strongman Ahmed Patels re-election.

With the nothing unearthed, the raids boomeranged on the BJP.

Shivakumar, a Vokkaliga leader, turned a hero and has since earned new-found respect with the high command. The raids helped my voters reiterate their trust in me. Now the whole state knows Im clean as they couldnt find any clinching evidence against me.

But that the BJP failed to seize the moment highlights its poor state of poll preparedness. Shah, during his three-day visit to the state, is learnt to have been incensed over the leaderships failure to organise itself and use the opportunities provided by the Centre to consolidate the party.

Worsening matters is the open feud between BS Yeddyurappa, the partys public face in the state, and KS Eshwarappa, the not-so-diplomatic contender for the top post.

In the light of such impediments, the only face-saver for the party was the Congresss defeat of its no-confidence motion to oust legislative council chairman DH Shankaramurthy, a BJP veteran, in June, which led to a sort of infighting in Congress as its MLAs demanded action against VS Ugrappa, the MLC close to Siddaramaiah who moved the motion without doing his homework.

But Ugrappa sees bigger doom for the BJP. The BJP is out to form an unholy alliance with JD(S) (which voted against the motion). But the relationship wont last, given the BJPs loyalty to its nationalist agenda, which is obviously against the welfare of our state and its interests.

NATIONALIST VS STATE AGENDA

Nationalist agenda, as the Congress dubs, has unexpectedly become a hot potato for the BJP as it cannot alter it to suit the states narrative and has been forced to stay neutral on boiling issues  the state flag and Lingayats status, as they go against its core ideology of Hindutva and state autonomy.

It cannot counter the Congress on issues such as a separate flag for the state, or call out against the imposition of Hindi or, crucially, the agitation for separate religion status for the Lingayats, Karnatakas most influential community constituting 17% of the population and capable of economically and numerically shifting political equations. About two lakh Lingayats recently congregated in Belagavi, the seat of their dharma, to press for their demand for independent minority religion status outside Hinduism, with Congresss tacit support. Lingayats form the biggest voter base for BJP in Karnataka, and this development has left its leaders in a panic.

BJP national president Amit Shah and BJP Karnataka state president B S Yeddyurappa (Arijit Sen/HT Photo)

It is a supreme irony that Yeddyurappa, a prominent Lingayat leader himself who has massive following in the community, finds himself at crossroads: the BJPs nationalist agenda vis-a-vis his own identity and communitys agenda. Even with 17 MPs, he finds himself unable to make any political dent for his party. And, embarrassingly, in the past, he himself had written to then-prime minister Manmohan Singh seeking separate religion status for the Lingayat dharma. This letter began making rounds soon after he and his party criticised the Lingayat issue.

STRESS ON REGIONAL IDENTITY

This chink in Yeddyurappas armour has come in handy for Siddaramaiah, whose party is moribund at the national level. Upping the ante over regional identity, even flirting dangerously with chauvinism in a 14-minute video a few weeks ago, Kannada Namma Hemme, the CM sent out a shocking warning to migrants asking them to adapt to the local culture if they wanted to continue living in the state, and that he wont tolerate any attack on language, land and water.

Coincidentally, Siddaramaiah is the leader of Kurubas, who come after Lingayats and Vokkaligas in terms of population and political clout. These three communities hold the key to power equations in Karnataka.

Convinced that language and identity politics are tied to its return to the seat of power in Karnataka, the Congress has been playing its cards with the ease of a seasoned player. When the Centre came up with the three-language formula with respect to signage and boards at Metro rail stations in Bengaluru, the Siddaramaiah government managed a swift response through pro-Kannada groups. The agitation that started on social media ended in Hindi being erased from the Metros signages.

Signage at Mahatma Gandhi Metro station written in Hindi language along with English and Kannada in Bengaluru. (Arijit Sen/HT Photo)

BLATANT BIPARTISANSHIP

They [NDA government] gave it to us on a platter, chortled AICC spokesperson Brijesh Kalappa. They never insisted on three languages for Kochi or any other place serviced by Metro rail. Even with the Mahadayi river water-sharing issue, Karnataka was made to bend over backwards as the BJP openly sided with Goa, where their interests lie. It was a situation where Karnataka was given no preference at all. And now, additional solicitor general Atmaram Nadkarni will appear for Goa in the Mahadayi issue. Isnt this blatant partisanship?

Back in the BJP camp, Union human resource development minister Prakash Javadekar has been named the election in-charge for Karnataka, with RSS functionary BL Santhosh overseeing matters. It is an open secret that Santhosh and Yeddyurappa dislike each other.

Asked to comment, CT Ravi, an influential MLA in the party, snapped: It is not appropriate for the media to term them as foes per se. BSY and Santoshji have well-carved-out responsibilities for each other and there are no intersecting points. Both will strive to get the party back to power. The media should stop spreading lies and focus on Congresss misdeeds.

KARNATAKA KEY TO COUNTRY

Strategy is key to the BJPs rise to power nationally but it doesnt appear to work in Karnataka, which often bucks the national trend. Incidentally, this is the state that helped Indira Gandhi get back into the Lok Sabha after she was kicked out for her Emergency excesses. It is also the first state in the south where BJP got its toehold by sharing power with JD(S) in 2006, before emerging as the single largest party by clinching 110 seats to form the government, with the support of six independents. That Yeddyurappa government was beset with corruption allegations and Amit Shahs anointing him as leader again has caused some disquiet within the party.

In all this, Prithvi Reddy, state in-charge of the Aam Aadmi Party, feels it is high time the state had a political alternative. North Karnataka is upset with the BJP for not supporting it over Mahadayi. JD(S) has no (standing) there at all and BJP managed to (anger) Mandya farmers over Cauvery. Now, all those IT raids and assaults on the Congress by the central government have surprisingly become non-issues. BJP needs a stronger narrative than this to fight the Congress, he said.

BJP also needs better PR. Amit Shah, in a bid to forge bonds with the Vokkaliga community, called on Sri Nirmalanandanatha Swamiji, head of Adichunchanagiri Mutt. Soon, pictures of him sitting in an improper manner before the Swamiji went viral.

Senior BJP leader Vamanacharya sought to play down the faux pas saying: He went to the Adichunchanagiri Mutt to meet the seer. That way he met other religious leaders too. The media chose to selectively ignore all that and highlighted only this as a failure. That was never the case.

Asked if the BJP had lost the golden hour to respond to the constitution of the committee that will decide on the Kannada flag or on consolidating significant voices to counter the separate religion tag for Lingayats, or even confronting the government on corruption, suicides of police officers and river disputes, Vamanacharya said, Our strategy is to wait it out. We have been very measured in our response to issues. We do not want to hurt communities feelings to gain political mileage.

NO CAKEWALK FOR EITHER

Both the parties are not having it easy. Both are faction-ridden. Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) chief Parameshwara is reportedly sulking over the cabinet reshuffle. The Anti-Corruption Bureau is expected to reopen cases against Yeddyurappa, in which he had got some respite after having served a few days in prison. The ghost may well be back to haunt him.

As for Siddaramaiah, he has not created a niche for himself. There is no doctrine bearing his name nor any model that he can boast, observed political commentator Pruthvi Datta Chandra Shobhi, a scholar associated with Karnataka State Open University, commenting on the chief ministers political acumen. He maintains a low-key presence in a high-command-culture-heavy Congress. He isnt the darling of the English media. But then again, those can also be termed his strengths. Given his longstanding experience with administration, he is sharp and focused.

He has armed his party with a strategy for April 2018. But will this help deliver the results? Or will the BJP pull off yet another coup?

(Published in arrangement with GRIST Media)
India on Saturday said it is deeply concerned about what is happening in Rakhine state in Myanmar and urged that the situation should be handled with restraint and maturity focusing on the welfare of the civilian population alongside those of the security forces.

Over 125,000 Rohingyas have fled the military crackdown in the north-western Rakhine state.

A statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his recent visit to Myanmar had expressed concern at the causalities of security forces as well as other innocent lives. ..It is imperative that violence is ended and normalcy in the state restored expeditiously, MEA said.

There are 40,000 Rohingya Muslims in India. Of them, 16,500 carry United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees cards.

According to the statement, the PM had urged a solution based on respect for peace, communal harmony, justice, dignity and democratic values. It was agreed during the PMs visit that India would provide assistance under the Rakhine State Development Programme in conjunction with the government of Myanmar, MEA said.

Earlier in the day, Bangladesh High Commissioner Syed Muazzem Ali also called on foreign secretary S Jaishankar to discuss the issue of Rohingya Muslims. Sources said Muazzem Ali explained Bangladeshs situation and the pressure the country was facing due to migration of Rohingyas Muslims from Myanmar.

During the meeting, the Bangladesh High Commissioner also spoke about the need for the international community to intervene and put pressure on Myanmar to address the exodus, sources said.

The sources added that the Bangladesh government was providing shelter to these refugees out of humanitarian considerations but it was putting a lot of pressure on the country. Thousands of Rohingya Muslims are coming to Bangladesh daily. It is creating a lot of problem for the country, an official in the Bangladesh High Commission said.

According to the United Nations, nearly 300,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled Myanmars Rakhine state into Bangladesh since August 25 when fresh wave of violence erupted.
Bangladesh, which is facing a big influx of Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar, today explained its situation to India and the pressure it was under due to the migration.

Bangladesh High Commissioner Syed Muazzem Ali on Saturday called on Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar during which the two sides discussed the issue of Rohingya Muslims in detail.

During the meeting, which lasted for more than half-an- hour, the Bangladesh envoy also talked about the need for the international community to intervene and put pressure on Myanmar to address the exodus, sources in Bangladesh High Commission here said.

They said the Bangladesh government was providing shelter to these refugees out of humanitarian considerations but it was putting a lot of pressure on the country.

Thousands of Rohingya Muslims are coming to Bangladesh daily. It is creating a lot of problem for the country, an official in the Bangladesh High Commission said.

According to the United Nations, nearly 300,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled Myanmars Rakhine state into Bangladesh since August 25 when fresh wave of violence erupted.

According to media reports, the violence began when Rohingya militants attacked police posts in Myanmars northern Rakhine state.

Rohingya residents - a stateless mostly Muslim minority in a Buddhist-majority nation - allege that the military and Rakhine Buddhists responded with a brutal campaign against them, according to the reports.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who concluded his three-day visit to Myanmar on Thursday, expressed solidarity with the government there against the extremist violence in the Rakhine state.

Modi also urged all stakeholders to find a solution that respects the countrys unity.

India also refused to be a part of a declaration adopted at an international conference recently in Indonesia as it carried inappropriate reference to violence in Rakhine state from where Rohingyas have fled to Bangladesh.

An Indian parliamentary delegation, led by Speaker Lok Sabha Sumitra Mahajan, dissociated itself from the Bali Declaration adopted at the World Parliamentary Forum on Sustainable Development held in Indonesia.
Death of around 170 children, mostly infants, at Jharkhands prestigious MGM Medical College Hospital, Jamshedpur over the last four months points at a bigger health care crisis than the alleged medical negligence in the tragedy-struck hospital.

HT investigation has revealed miserable state of reproductive and child health programme in the states East Singhbhum district largely contributed to the tragedy.

Majority of the ill-fated children were acutely malnourished and grossly underweight with their mothers condition being equally worse.

Some of the children that were brought to the hospital and admitted to the newly constructed Neo Natal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) in critical conditions weighed between 600 grams and 800 grams.

This showed the central government sponsored programme launched in 1997 with an aim to reduce infant, child and maternal mortality rates failed to achieve the desired result in the district where the MGM hospital is located.

The average normal birth weight of a new born in India range between 2.5 kilograms and 5 kilograms.

In Jharkhands countryside, where child marriages are rampant and the girls become mothers prematurely, barely few children are born with an ideal weight. Grossly underweight since birth, these children carry very low immunity to fight diseases.

Though understandably the hospital may not have done its best to minimize the deaths of these underweight children brought to the hospital, the states health and social welfare departments too owe a convincing explanation for the poor implementation of various health and social welfare schemes in the rural heartlands.

Even 17 years after attaining statehood, after bifurcation from Bihar, Jharkhand has failed to improve various health and social welfare indicators.

The infant mortality rate in the state is 32 deaths per 1000 live births--Kerala has brought its IMR down to six at par with the US. Maternal mortality rate (MMR) is 208 deaths per lakh mothers, while malnutrition rate among children under five years is 42.1 %.

The doctor-patient ratio in Jharkhand too is quite alarming with one doctor for 19,785 patients as against the national average of one doctor for 1674 patients.

Ironically, East Singhbhum is one of the countrys thriving industrial district home to steel major Tata steel and automobile giant, Tata Motors besides their several subsidiary and ancillary units.

But the districts rural population is grossly malnourished, illiterate and deprived of the basic healthcare facilities.

States welfare minister Louis Marandi didnt find the figures alarming.

During a visit to Jamshedpurs MGM hospital to probe the childrens deaths, the minister claimed the government has successfully addressed the hunger and malnutrition issues and that out of the 170 odd deaths, only one child was found to be malnourished.

Hospital superintendent Dr Bhartendu Bhushan, however, said that the hospital is paying the price for admitting children who are victims of a non-existent reproductive and child health delivery system in rural areas.

Our hospital is often overcrowded while the beds are limited and staff crunch is perennial, he added.

At NICU, he said, there are only four trolleys but at times they have to admit 24 children as we cannot turn away any patient in need of medical aid.

Still in July, out of the 102 critically ill children admitted to the hospital, we could save 62, the superintendent said.

The huge vacant posts are certainly a big worry. Against 121 posts of senior residents, the existing strength at the hospital is only 31. Similarly, of the 75 posts for medical officers, only nine vacancies are filled up.

Manoj Mishra, president of the Jharkhand Human Rights Committee (JHRC), who brought the death of children to light, is demanding a CBI probe into the tragedy.

Let there be a fair probe to expose the failure of all the departments involved in the criminal negligence that took lives of 170 innocent kids, he said.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has denied permission to Kerala tourism minister Kadakampally Surendran to visit China to attend a global tourism event, leaving the Left Front government red-faced.

The minister said he had sought permission to visit China two months ago to attend the UN world tourism organisations (WTO) meet but he was told by the MEA at the eleventh hour that there was no need for him to visit the neighbouring country.

The tourism meet is scheduled from September 11 to 16.

The minister said no reason was cited for denial of permission and that he will send a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi decrying the MEAs decision.

It seems like a political decision. I have not been given any reason, the minister said.

He said he was the lone minister attending the function and had received the invitation in the first week of June. Surendran said he applied for permission well in advance and followed all the protocols.

However, the MEA said Surendran was denied permission after studying various aspects of the plan.

Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Twitter said he had written to the prime minister asking him to reconsider the decision and issue political clearance for Surendrans travel to China.

Entire Kerala is shocked, We register strong protest against this discriminatory & biased decision of the Ministry of External Affairs.  Pinarayi Vijayan (@vijayanpinarayi) September 8, 2017

The latest controversy comes a week after India successfully resolved its 73-day-long standoff with China over Doklam.

Following this, the prime minister visited the neighbouring country to attend the BRICS summit on September 5.
In the violence of Partition, Rakesh Guptas family fled Pakistan-occupied Kashmir to seek refuge in Jammu. Seventy years later, he is running a campaign against another set of persecuted minorities fleeing violence, living on the fringes of Jammu  Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar.

If the government does not deport Rohingyas, we will identify and kill them, Rakesh says without any emotion. Otherwise, people will have no choice but to deport them against the law. It can be civil war or communal riots. Rakesh is the president of the Jammu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI). He says, They (the Rohingyas) want to change Jammu into an Islamic state which will not be tolerated by the people.

These incendiary claims and paranoia have made Jammu the unwitting battleground for anti-Rohingya sentiment in the country. This sentiment now has official sanction  the central government has declared Rohingyas illegal, a security threat and ordered their deportation. But these pronouncements are at odds with the governments own policy and what we found on ground, making the whole exercise seem suspect.

At stake is the future of thousands of people who have nowhere to go.

Barely four kilometres away from the JCCI office, an uphill road dug up in parts, leads to a Rohingya settlement in Qasim Nagar. Nestled amongst surrounding hills, it is dotted with tin shanties held together with pieces of wood or tarp. A small, neat market on the main road has grocery shops, one selling fish and a tea shop where fried rice with black grams are sold. The men do odd jobs as ragpickers or labourers while the women shell walnuts.

Mohd. Yunus, 42, in charge of the camp, asks me in a hushed voice, Is it true that we are being deported? Where will they send us?

In the last two weeks, 270,000 people fled Myanmars Rakhine province as military action intensified against the Rohingyas. A United Nations advisor said that the situation neared genocide.

National security

In February this year, Hunar Gupta, a member of the BJPs legal cell filed a PIL in the J&K high court asking for their deportation, citing national security. A lawyer can be called the master of all jacks, says Hunar who believes law can enlighten people about their rights. He also believes that Rohingyas dont deserve any rights. Well give rights to outsiders while our own starve? he asks. As per latest data the number is enormous. I just saw the other day that three crore Bangladeshis and Rohingyas have infiltrated India. When asked about the source of this figure, he replies, I saw it on television.

According to the Centre, there are 40,000 Rohingyas in India. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has registered 16,500 Rohingyas in India, whove been issued refugee cards. Of these, about 5,700 are in Jammu while the rest are spread across Delhi, Jaipur and Hyderabad. The state police and CID have been monitoring the Rohingyas closely. Both agencies have lists with names and numbers of Rohingyas living in the city, as well as records of arrivals and departures. This census was last carried out about two-three months ago. Unlike Hunars claim, the number of Rohingyas was found to have gone up by 800-1,000 compared to last year.

A Rohingya family at their makeshift hut in the refugee settlement in Jammu. (Nitin Kanotra/HT Photo)

Yunus shows forms that each family has been asked to fill and submit by both agencies. As we speak, an assistant inspector of CID arrives. The inspector says he comes to the camp at least five to 10 times every month for a check. Much of the concern of Rohingyas as a security threat appears to be based on the actions of Arakan Salvation Army (Arsa), the militant Rohingya outfit locked in violent conflict with Myanmars security forces. Their first big attack was in October last year when they killed nine policemen.

A Home Ministry notification to state governments on August 8 refers to the security challenges posed by infiltration from Rakhine state of Myanmar. So far however, there is no credible evidence to suggest the Rohingyas in India have links to Arsa, or are tilting towards violent radicalisation. Instead, those anxieties are fuelled by nebulous media reports quoting intelligence sources.

SD Singh Jamwal, the inspector general of Jammu, told HT, There are no statistics to suggest they are involved in crime, apart from small theft-type things. As of now, no links to any terror or cross-border activity has been found. Chief minister Mehbooba Mufti had confirmed the same in the state assembly.

To find out details of the scale and nature of offences, HT visited five police stations  Jammu East, Talab Tillo, Nowabad, Satwari and Gandhinagar. In Jammu East, where the largest population of Rohingyas lives, the police said that five cases have been registered against four Rohingyas this year. Three men were found selling drugs and another had two cases against him  human trafficking and lack of documents. At Jammus Gandhinagar police station, there was one case registered in 2013 against a Rohingya found without papers. The other police stations had no records of any crimes by Rohingyas.

Illegal immigrant or refugee?

Madam, please dont call them refugees. They are illegal immigrants according to Indian law, Hunar protests.

India is not signatory to the UN Refugee Convention of 1951 and 1967 Protocol, which defines a refugees rights and the obligations of the host country. But the governments own guidelines on refugees (accessed by HT) contradict its public stand. Issued by the Foreigners Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the internal document outlines that claims of all refugees will be examined on ground of a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, sex, nationality, ethnic identity. The Rohingyas would qualify for a long-term visa according to this. The document also mentions that no such foreign national will be deported.

Look at us as humans, not as Muslims. You may as well kill us here, rather than send us back to Burma, where we will be killed anyway, says Mohd. Yunus, camp in-charge at a Rohingya settlement in Jammu.

This flies in the face of what union minister of state for Home Affairs, Kiren Rijiju has claimed repeatedly  all illegal immigrants, including Rohingyas will be deported. When questioned about this, the Home Ministry cites other laws. Ashok Prasad, MHA spokesperson, says, Anybody coming into the country without a valid passport and visa will be considered an illegal immigrant. If a Rohingya falls into that category, then action has to be taken against him under the law, no matter how bad his condition.

Since Myanmar doesnt recognise Rohingyas as citizens, they are only given a card identifying them as temporary residents. The UNHCR issues them refugee cards after a rigorous interview process. It is unclear where the government will deport them to, but senior advocate, Colin Gonsalves, who is representing the Rohingyas says, Every refugee is illegal at entry. That is neutralised in law as refugees are running to save their lives. This has been accepted by courts in the past.

Special status

Jammu and Kashmirs special status is another argument being deployed to expel the Rohingyas. Harsh Dev Singh, leader of the Panthers Party whod put up Rohingyas Quit Jammu hoardings says, In view of article 370, no one can be allowed to settle here, not even Indian citizens. They are not entitled to facilities available to other residents.

While Article 370 and 35A bar land ownership and state voting rights amongst others, it does not mean outsiders cannot live or work in the state.

Religious divide

Last year, in an amendment to the Citizenship Act, the government stated that minorities from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh would not be considered illegal immigrants if they enter India without documents. So, while the minorities (Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis) from Muslim-majority neighbouring countries would benefit, Sri Lanka and Myanmar, where Muslims are in minority, are conspicuously absent.

Look at us as humans, not as Muslims. You may as well kill us here, rather than send us back to Burma, where we will be killed anyway, Yunus says, tearing up. Just like you say saare jahan se acha Hindustan humara, we feel the same about our country. If the world and Burma government can bring peace, we will return.



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Maharashtra hero, the late Col. Santosh Mahadiks widow Swati Mahadik was on Saturday commissioned into the Indian Army as a Lieutenant, officials said.

As she completed her parade in Chennai on Saturday, Lt. Swati Mahadik broke down, and her family members and a senior army officers wife consoled and hugged her and wiped the tears of joy.

Present on her proud moment were her two children -- daughter Kartikee, 12, and son Swaraj, seven, her mother-in-law Kalindi Ghorpade, her father Babanrao Shedge and her mother.

Col. Mahadik, who was Commanding Officer, 41 Rashtriya Rifles, was killed in a gunfight with terrorists in the jungles of Haji Naka area near the Line of Control in Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir in November 2015.

In his sacrifice, the expert paratrooper and a combat underwater diver saved the lives of many men under his charge. He was later posthumously awarded the Shaurya Chakra by the government.

Hailing from Pogarwadi village in the hilly Satara district of western Maharashtra, Lt. Mahadik fulfilled her dream of stepping into her late husbands shoes to serve the nation through the Indian Army.

A few months after Col. Mahadiks death, his widow stunned her family, villagers and the military establishment by announcing her intention to join the Army.

Swati had already crossed the upper age limit for entering the army and it was only after the Indian Army and Ministry of Defence specially relaxed the age limit for her that she could initiate her new career goals.

Later, she had told local mediapersons how she had silently resolved to join the Indian Army at the funeral of her slain husband in November 2015.

She sent both her children to boarding schools -- son Swaraj in Panchgani and daughter Kartikee in Dehradun -- and then appeared for the crucial Staff Selection Board (SSB) which she cleared.

After undergoing several rounds of other physical fitness and medical examinations as part of the five-tiered selection process, she was selected to join the Officers Training Academy in Chennai.

Swati successfully completed her OTA training and on Saturday she took part in the passing-out parade to join the Indian Army as a Lieutenant in the Army Ordnance Corps.

At the passing out parade, there was Lt. Nidhi Dubey, the widow of another soldier, the late Naik Mukesh Dubey, who joined the Indian Army along with Lt. Swati Mahadik.

Lt. Swati Mahadik is a graduate from Savitribai Phule Pune University, and is specially trained for children with learning disabilities and autism.

Welcoming two such gritty widows to the armed forces, the Indian Army said in a tweet: SaluteThe Spirit. Lt. Swati Mahadik, wife of the late Col. Santosh Mahadik, who laid down his life for the country while fighting terrorists in J&K, and Lt. Nidhi Dubey, wife of Naik Mukesh Dubey.

Both have strived hard to become officers today after their husbands passed away. Both of them have made all of us proud by completing the rigorous training and becoming an officer in the Indian Army.
The external affairs ministry said on Saturday that it was monitoring the situation and communicating with the Indian diaspora in the US, Venezuela, France and the Netherlands in the wake of deadly Hurricane Irma.

The ministrys spokesman Raveesh Kumar said the Indian missions in the four countries were in touch with local government officials to provide assistance to the affected Indians.

Our missions in Venezuela, the Netherlands, France and the US are constantly monitoring the situation following destruction due to hurricane Irma. They are in constant touch with the Indian diaspora affected by Irma and with local government officials to provide all possible assistance, Kumar said in a series of tweets.

Our Missions in Venezuela, Netherlands, France & US are constantly monitoring the situation following destruction due to hurricane IRMA 1/2  Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) September 9, 2017

They are in constant touch with the Indian diaspora affected by IRMA & with local govt officials to provide all possible assistance 2/2  Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) September 9, 2017

Irma, a category 5 hurricane with winds swirling at 260 kilometres per hour, barrelled towards Florida after making landfall in Cubas Camaguey Archipelago. It killed at least 19 people and damaged thousands of homes on the Caribbean islands.

Hurricane Irma is driving toward Florida passing the eastern end of Cuba as Hurricane Katia (L) is also seen in this NASA GOES satellite image taken on September 8. (REUTERS)

France said at least 10 people have been killed across its Caribbean territories with seven more missing. Two people died on the Dutch side of the Saint Martin island.

The external affairs ministry spokesman tweeted telephone numbers for Indians to contact in case of emergency: Embassy of India, Venezuela (+58 4241951854/4142214721); Netherlands (+31247247247); France (0800000971).

For those affected by Hurricane Irma, the Dutch emergency contact number is +31 247 247 247. It is open for all calls. pic.twitter.com/EsWSrf7JUr  IndiainNetherlands (@IndinNederlands) September 8, 2017

The Indian embassy in the Netherlands tweeted that they were in touch with the Dutch government.

The Indian embassy in Caracas in Venezuela was also monitoring the situation in Saint Martin and coordinating the welfare of all Indians living there.
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday slammed the Centres approach towards health, saying the Modi regime is only concerned about private hospitals and not government ones.

There is a view among the people that the Indian government healthcare system can be run by private hospitals. For a country like India where you have poor people, you simply cannot do away with public hospitals, said Gandhi in a recorded video message.

Gandhi said the government is not spending the money required for boosting the public healthcare system.

Every time I have been there is because of encephalitis problems among patients. I categorically told Prime Minister Narendra Modi that there is a problem in the hospital. Everybody was complaining -- doctors and patients and all, said Gandhi, referring to the BRD Hospital in Gorakhpur where over 60 children died in five days.

He said the UPA regime had always focused on increasing the amount of money for health care.

We pushed as hard as we could to improve the public healthcare system. But the current government simply does not care about it, said Gandhi.
A Fremont woman was recently recognized with a prestigious award for her numerous humanitarian efforts.

Linda Spagnotti, who owns and operates the Downtown Fremont business Bad Dog Bikes, LLC, with her husband, Bill Spagnotti, was recognized in early August by Dollar General with a 2017 Serving Others award during a ceremony in Nashville, Tenn.

Spagnotti said during a Friday interview with the Tribune that 10 recipients were selected from a pool of thousands from around United States. Each of the approximately 14,000 Dollar General stores nationally was allowed to nominate one person, and Spagnotti was nominated for the award by former Hooper Dollar General manager Michelle Kinser.

Each of the 10 recipients of the award was recognized for their philanthropy and commitment to volunteerism with various organizations in their local communities.

During the Aug. 1, ceremony, Dollar General presented Spagnotti with the award and $2,500 that will go to the Coalition on Human Trafficking on Spagnottis behalf.

Spagnotti said that she has been working with the Coalition on Human Trafficking for two years to train hotel and motel staff and management to recognize and respond to human trafficking.

Because most of the trafficking in Nebraska happens in hotels and motels, what I do is set up training at these hotels and motels in the Omaha Metro and surrounding communities; and we train staff and management to recognize trafficking and respond accordingly to it, she said.

We look at the whole process from when guests register, to things housekeeping may notice, to guest traffic from room to room  thats another indicator.

Fremont has made a name for itself in the anti-human trafficking community by becoming the first city in the state of Nebraska to have 100 percent of its hotels and motels trained.

Thats something Im really proud of, she said.

In addition to her work with the Coalition, Spagnotti has played a major role in helping Ethiopian women become more independent through helping them start their own businesses.

During her first trip to Ethiopia, she helped numerous women take a step in the right direction toward independence.

We empowered them to be entrepreneurs and to take charge of their own lives, Spagnotti said. There is so much ingenuity in these women and they have such a desire to be self-sufficient. So we would partner them with sponsors and the $30-per-month they received was enough help for them to start their own businesses.

Some women opened clothing shops, coffee shops or got a jump-start in service work.

Some started with just a couple of chickens and had an egg business, she said.

On her second visit to Ethiopia, Spagnottis focus was on education. She and others helped open a library and school for the women they were helping.

Education makes such a huge difference, when we can educate the mom and children it takes away potential risk of them being trafficked and ending up on the streets, she said.

While of course she is thrilled that $2,500 is going toward helping the Coalition on Human Trafficking, simply raising awareness is what brings Spagnotti the most satisfaction.

The money was awesome, but the exposure and awareness I was able to bring was what was so great, she said. So many people dont realize that trafficking happens in Nebraska in big and small communities. So that was a big component for me, being able to raise awareness about an issue that is really important to me.
Persisting with efforts to join forces against the BJP, leaders of 14 Opposition parties will converge at Jaipur next Thursday for the third edition of the Saanjhi Virasaat (shared culture) campaign to oppose the NDA governments efforts to create social disharmony.

While the Bahujan Samaj Party, Biju Janata Dal and the Aam Aadmi Party have so far kept away from these efforts, the silver lining has been the presence of the Congress representatives at these meetings that are being organised by rebel Janata Dal (United) leader Sharad Yadav.

While the Opposition camp remains weakened and fragmented, political observers also find a ray of hope in the fact that traditional rivals such as the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the CPI (M) have decided to close ranks to oppose the BJP at the national level.

Besides Anand Sharma of the Congress, participants at the Jaipur meet will include Akhilesh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party, Sitaram Yechury (CPM), Surjit Singh Salakhia (National Conference), Sukhendu Shekhar Roy (TMC), Babulal Marandi (Jharkhand Mukti Morcha), Tariq Anwar (Nationalist Congress Party), Jayant Chaudhary (Rashtriya Lok Dal) and Manoj Jha of the Rashtriya Janata Dal.

The Opposition aim of creating a common platform against the BJP appears far-fetched yet, as state-level rivalries amongst the regional parties are far from resolved. Regional parties are largely being led by leaders who are long past their prime, while they also seem divided on the leadership question of the proposed non-BJP front.

But, instead of focusing on contentious issues, we have been concentrating on building a narrative on real issues confronting the farmers and the youth, a senior JD (U) leader said.

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Union railways and coal minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday slammed the Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal alleging that it was indulging in communalism by stopping one community from celebrating its religious festival.

In an attempt to appease a section of the society the (Mamata Banerjee) government is trying to stop one community from celebrating its religious festival. This must stop forthwith, Goyal said when asked about the recent comment of state education minister Partha Chatterjee that Centre was trying to saffronise education.

The Modi government has not taken a single step to cause any harm to any section of the society. We believe in equal opportunity for all, he said on the sidelines of a programmme at the IIMC here.

It is sad that the state government is politicising each and everything, he said.

Goyal said that Trinamool Congress is losing support and the people in the state are yearning for a change in 2019.

Reacting to the killing of journalist Gauri Lankesh, Goyal said that any person losing his/her life is very sad and hoped that Karnataka government will take necessary steps to book the culprits.
The politicians and bureaucrats should remain open to accepting ideas even from ordinary, illiterate and semi-literate people while discharging their duties, minister of state for tourism KJ Alphons said on Saturday.

He urged the government officials to reach to people and listen to them as they could have fantastic ideas.

Bureaucrats and politicians do not have all the wisdom in the world. We need to listen to the ordinary, simple, illiterate and semi-literate people, who have fantastic ideas. Bureaucrats, those who govern must keep their eyes and ears open, learn to listen to people and meet them, he said addressing an event.

He recounted how an 80-year-old woman inspired him as a district collector to embark upon a programme to resolve the problems of the people residing in the villages in his jurisdiction.

The 80-year-old lady walked into my house and shouted at me. This is the third time I have come to your house, last couple of times you were not around. It is so difficult to reach you. The government has given you a car why cant you come and see me in my village, Alphons said.

After which, the Minister said that he along with 2,000 district officers decided to visit the villages.

They selected two panchayats and a venue and announced on television, radio, churches, mosques and temples that the collector would be visiting there in two months.

He also sought petition on issues pertaining to the government at the Panchayat office.

The minister recalled having received 5,000 applications, which were then marked to departments concerned and many problems of the villagers were sorted out.

He also said that during his tenure as the Commissioner DDA, his office demolished 14,310 illegal mansions and not one illegal brick was laid in Delhi and not an inch of land was encroached upon.

He said that the bureaucrats and government functionaries need to be committed to the citizens.
The general election may be two years away but Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi is set to test the waters with his first public address abroad at Times Square in New York on September 20.

Taking a leaf out of Prime Minister Narendra Modis massive rallies involving the Indian diaspora across the world in the run-up to the 2014 elections, the Indian National Overseas Congress (INOC) is hopeful that its most beloved leader will drum up support for the party with his first public address at Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York.

Rahul is grappling with the partys sliding electoral graph after a series of defeats and faces infighting besides anti-incumbency in Himachal Pradesh that is likely to go to the polls in October.

An invite to the media has a youthful Rahul, perfectly airbrushed in a white kurta with a tricolour scarf, promising front row seats to Indian journalists at the big-ticket event that, the party claims, will be attended by thousands of NRIs from across the US and from all over the world.

Overseas Congress chairman Sam Pitroda, who spent nearly a decade with Rahuls father and former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi to transform the Indian telecom industry, is spearheading the party vice-presidents event to engage with NRIs. Rahul will urge the diaspora to join his crusade to empower the youth, women and farmers of India.

INOC US chapter national president Shudh Parkash Singh, who hails from Abohar, has proactively involved all members of the Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat, Karnataka, Telangana and Kerala chapters of the party to make the event a success. Besides the New York unit, INOC leaders from Canada, Australia and England will also be in attendance.

Before the public address on the east coast, Rahul will speak on India At 70: Reflections On The Path Forward, an event sponsored by the Institute of International Studies Berkeley Research on Contemporary India Program and the Institute for South Asia Studies at the University of California on September 11.

But rights group Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) has called upon the university to withdraw the invitation to Rahul, citing the Congress partys role in the anti-Sikh riots that erupted after the assassination of his grandmother and former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1984.
Home minister Rajnath Singh met Jammu and Kashmir CM Mehbooba Mufti and governor NN Vohra in Srinagar on Saturday as he began his four-day visit to the state.

The visit comes at a time when Valley is experiencing agitation against attempts to abrogate Article 35A of the constitution, which gives special rights to the permanent residents of the state, and the arrest of seven separatist leaders by the NIA in alleged terror-funding cases.

Starting his journey, Singh said in a tweet, I am going there with an open mind and I am willing to meet anyone who will help us in finding solutions to problems facing J&K.

Singh met Mehbooba in Srinagar and the PDP tweeted that in the meeting the need for timely implementation of the Agenda of Alliance (AoA) was recognised. The party also said that it was the AoA which provides a definite roadmap to resolve the problems confronting the state.

Singh also held a review meeting regarding the progress on Prime Ministers Development Package (PMDP) along with Mehbooba and deputy JK chief minister Nirmal Singh. The Rs 80,000-crore package for J&K, including 63 projects, was announced by the PM in November 2015.

Throughout the day, Singh also met several delegations including that of house boat owners, hotel and restaurants owners, travel agents, and youths.

To Singhs tweet announcing his visit to the state, former chief minister and leader of the National Conference Omar Abdullah wrote: Na golli say na gaali say, galay lagana say J&K ka masla hal ho ga. We look forward to seeing these words from Red Fort on 15th Aug acted on.

Abdullah was referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modis remark from the ramparts of Red Fort on August 15 this year that the Kashmir problem will be solved neither by abuse nor bullets - it will be solved by embracing all Kashmiris.

Valleys joint separatist leadership -- Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik -- have meanwhile called for a complete shutdown on Sunday to protest against Singhs visit to the state.

By observing the strike, people of Kashmir will prove to the world community and the Indian leadership that by using military might against the people or harassing the leadership genuine and peoples movement in Kashmir cannot be crushed, the joint statement said on Friday.

On Saturday, Malik was arrested Mirwaiz Farooq was put under house arrest ahead of the trios schedule to leave for Delhi to court arrest at the NIA headquarters there. Geelani continues to be under house-arrest for a long time now.
Indian Air Force chief BS Dhanoa on Saturday hinted at more Pathankot-type attacks on military bases in the country.

...The military will continue to get targeted, like it happened at Pathankot. They (terrorists) will try and surprise us by attacking in a totally new location, he delivering the annual lecture in the memory of late IAF chief, Air Chief Marshal L M Katre in Bengaluru.

A heavily-armed terror group from across the border attacked IAFs Pathankot base on January 2, 2016, and seven security personnel were killed before the 10 terrorists were killed in a operation lasting for three days.

Post Pathankot terrorist attacks last year, the IAF has carried out a series of measures to enhance its ability to protect, said Air Chief Marshal Dhanoa.

...The military will continue to get targeted, like it happened at Pathankot. They (terrorists) will try and surprise us by attacking in a totally new location, Dhanoa said.

Reiterating that the IAF had strengthened the defence of its bases, he said intense training had been carried out to counter fidayeen attacks.

As a service, we are prepared for a conflict at a very short notice, he said.

Ruling out any large-scale attack on civil structure as in the 26/11 Mumbai attack, Dhanoa said the military would be targeted.

The possibility of a large-scale terror attack on civil infrastructure like it happened in Mumbai on 26/11, or on Parliament (on December 13, 2001), is slightly remote, as it will invite worldwide condemnation, he said.

On the strategic environment, Dhanoa said on the northern border, there was a difference in the Indian and Chinese perception of the Line of Actual Control (LAC), which is sometimes at so much variation that it results in a standoff, which hopefully gets resolved.

Referring to the recent standoff at Doklam, Dhanoa clarified that there was no airspace violation from either side as fighters on both sides maintain at least 10 km distance from the LAC.

China, however, maintains a continuous air presence in Tibet and the strength of its presence increases and decreases as per the exercises, he said.

In case the relationship (between the countries) deteriorates, a buildup of infrastructure is the first step that anybody would take before they envisage any offensive operation in this sector, he added.

Noting that the IAF was replacing its low-end weapons with indigenous ones, the Air Chief said the top-end weapons were imported.

If we dont import, our low-end weapons will not be able to survive. We need the top-of-the-line weapons to win the deep battles, he said.

Reaffirming that the IAF was committed to indigenisation, he said the IAF does not pay only lip service to indigenization, as it paid with the lives of its test pilots and engineers.

Since Independence, 17 air force pilots and engineers died in air accidents during testing of the indigenous aircraft, he noted.
A Muslim woman divorced her husband at a press conference in Uttar Pradesh capital Lucknow after her plea for khula to free herself from a tortuous marriage was allegedly ignored by the man and clerics.

The move comes weeks after the Supreme Court banned instant divorce, or triple talaq, by Muslim men. Khula is the process through which a Muslim woman can divorce. Its long and elaborate.

Shajada Khatoon said she decided to divorce through a letter, which she signed at the press conference, because her husband and clerics were avoiding her plea for 18 months.

Juber Ali made my life hell just a few days after I got married on November 14, 2005. The torture was so much that I filed a case against him. But that too did not bring relief, she said.

I wish Ill be free from today.

Khatoon, a schoolteacher, has not been living with her husband for the past 18 months.

She sent a letter seeking divorce on September 6 to her husband, a mechanic in a consumer goods store in Lucknows Daliganj area.

I am living alone without any support or security from anyone. No one has the right to compel me now to live with my husband and if someone has an objection they might move court, she said.

According to Maulana Khalid Rasheed Farangi Mahli, member the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, such a khula is not accepted.

It has a procedure wherein the husband is served notices on the request of the wife. A verdict is given if the husband does not turn up after three notices.

If the husband turns up on the first notice and agrees for it, they are allowed to separate and the woman can live with whoever she wishes to. Sometimes husband does not turn up and this takes over a year but in no case a letter can be a base for khula, Mahli said.

Advocate Rijwan Ahmad, who was present at the press conference, said no one can compel her to live with that man since she had filed for a divorce.

Now if someone has a problem they might go to court, he said.

According to social activist Naish Hasan, the woman visited clerics for help but could not get any.

Naish is the general secretary of Muslim Woman League.

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The sight of policemen in a newsroom may seem strange but since the murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh, this has become a reality in the office of the weekly tabloid she ran.

Lankesh, who ran Gauri Lankesh Patrike, was shot dead by unknown assailants when she was entering her house on Tuesday.

On Friday, the tabloids editorial team sat together at a desk in one corner, discussing the forthcoming issue of the paper.

There is uncertainty over the tabloids future and questions abound over who will run it. At present, the paper has seven employees who work out of the office in Basavanagudi area.

We have decided to release a commemorative issue about maam, said Girish Talikatte, the editor of a publication called Udyoga that was also published by the slain journalist.

The issue is set to be released at a protest meeting called Naanu Gauri (I am Gauri), which will be held at the Central College grounds in the city on September 12.

We are extremely busy with the issue as we have only seven people here, two of whom are part-timers, Talikatte said. After that we will have to sit down with the family and take a call on the paper. But that is for another day.

Satish, who only goes by one name, recalled his association with the family.

I have been associated with this family from the time when I was working with Maeshtru (master, as poet and journalist P Lankesh was referred to).

Satish has been a part of Gauri Lankesh Patrike since the family split in 2005, when Gauri fell out with her brother Indrajit who runs Lankesh Patrike.

I met the family and they said they needed time as they were in shock, Satish said.

All the decisions will be taken after the commemorative issue, he added.

At present, Satish is busy finalising the list of writers who will contribute to the 16-page issue. We wanted the issue to be about how others viewed maam. We will have 500-word write-ups from writers, journalists, social activists and family members about their interactions with her, he said.

Satish added that there were several people who wanted the paper to continue.

A lot of well-wishers have asked us to keep publishing, but these decisions will have to wait for later, he said.

However, Chandre Gowda, a columnist for the publication, said it was unlikely that the family would continue with the tabloid. Even when [Gauri Lankesh] was running the tabloid, her sister [Kavita] had asked her why she was obsessed with continuing her fathers legacy, he said.

Gowda said he was associated with the Lankesh family from 1980, when he used to write for Lankesh Patrike. This paper eventually led to her death and I feel the family will not continue running it, Gowda said. I feel that sometimes the paper took an extreme position that even made me uncomfortable, he added.

However, Shiva Sundar, a close associate of Lankesh, said the paper had to continue. This paper was a weekly threat to Hindutva forces and they were a constant threat to her. It is just that they found an opportune time to kill her, he said.

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The Shiv Sena on Saturday said it would play the role of main opposition party and take on the BJP-led government in Goa.

The Uddhav Thackeray-led party, an ally of the BJP in Maharashtra and the Centre, has no legislator in Goa. It had contested the last Assembly election in alliance with the Goa Surksha Manch and MGP.

Unfortunately, the Congress has failed to act as a formidable opposition. There is a government in the state but there is no opposition.

We will be functioning as the main opposition party in Goa, Sena leader and Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut told reporters in Panaji.

The Sena is ready to take to the streets for peoples sake, he said.

There is a strong resentment against the current government, but no one dares to speak out, Raut said.

Opposition leaders are afraid of speaking against the Manohar Parrikar government as they are threatened with consequences if they do so, Raut alleged.

The Sena plans to expand its base and reach every village in the coastal state, he said.

The people of Goa have accepted the Sena and the party will build on it, he said.
Intelligence reports suggesting that top Maoist commander Madvi Hidma has been appointed a central committee member of the outlawed CPI(Maoist) is giving sleepless nights to the security apparatus engaged in fighting left wing rebels in their stronghold of Bastar.

While there is no official statement or rebel literature confirming Hidmas promotion, officials believe this could be a strategic move by the Maoists to boost the sagging morale of their cadres in Chhattisgarh.

The ramifications of his promotion are many. This could be a new era of Maoist leadership as this is the first time that a Bastariya will be given command of the region and other locals like Ramder might follow soon, said an IPS officer familiar with the region and who did not want to be named.

Police officials say the move is strategic because the top leadership  almost entirely comprising of rebels from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana  has often been accused of ignoring local commanders of Bastar for senior positions in the Maoist movement.

Central committee (CC) members are mostly graduates, but Hidma is just Class 10 pass  a radical shift indicating that local leaders with good operational capabilities but doubtful ideological grounding can rise to the CC.

A senior officer said that though informers have confirmed Hidmas promotion, things are still not clear. We can confirm only when we see it in any Maoist literature.

Sources claim the decision was taken during a meeting of senior Maoist leaders in the jungles of Bijapur. Hidma was said to be injured in recent operation with security forces and is recuperating in the jungles of Abujhmad.

Hidma belongs to the Muriya tribal community of Bastar region and was born in Purvati village of south Sukma. His village is still out of bounds for the police.

Bastariya muriya tribals are brutal and aggressive and Hidma has already established himself as a master strategist and successful operational commander. His promotion will further motivate him and his team, said another police officer.

There is also apprehension that after his promotion he could plot more deadly attacks. Since he is head of the notorious Battalion 1, he might create another battalion with the help of weapons looted from the CRPF this year, said the officer.

Sources claim a small platoon has been formed recently under the guidance of Hidma in south Sukma. The looted weapons have been given this platoon and their training is going on, said a source.

The 32-year-old battle-hardened Maoist commander has emerged as the mastermind of two major massacres in Chhattisgarh this year  12 CRPF personnel in Bheji in March and 25 CRPF troopers in April in Burkapal, both attacks close to each other in South Sukma.

Though diminutive in physique, Hidma is said to be ruthless and runs a network of dedicated informers across the region.

Police officials scouring the site of the April attack for leads say evidence collected so far linked Hidma to almost all big attacks on security forces in Sukma since 2013. He mostly coordinates with the local area commanders and sangham sadasyas (outfit members) and for many of them he is like god, an official said.

The Maoists, who claim to be fighting for land rights of marginalised tribal communities, are active across 10 states and Chhattisgarh is seen as one of their last remaining bastions.

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Dunkirk, as memorialized in arguably the best movie of the summer, foreshadowed the catastrophic events wrought by Hurricane Harvey in Texas. The Christopher Nolan masterpiece recounted the heroic events in May of 1940, when at the outset of World War II, the English citizenry rallied to the rescue of more than 330,000 British and French troops who were trapped on a beach in northern France. While some of those soldiers could almost see home across the English Channel, the shallow waters prevented their rescue by warships. Instead, it was a flotilla of nearly 700 civilian craft  the Little Ships of Dunkirk  that made their way from Ramsgate in England to assist with the rescue.

And so it was in Texas. In Houston, civilian volunteers created patchwork flotillas composed of dinghies, jet skis, rafts and fishing boats in an effort to ferry hundreds of residents to safety. A health-care worker named Jeremy Sparkman told Reuters: I usually just use this boat for drinking beer, but we come together when we need to  thats what Texans do. Indeed. And when the Harris County Department of Homeland Security asked for volunteers one day after the storms landing, hundreds of boat owners responded to the call, and supply soon exceeded demand.

The Texas flotilla was an American Dunkirk, minus the aerial bombardment. So just for a moment, can we celebrate the human spirit that we all watched play out in the Lone Star State?

Those like Adam Brackman. The 41-year-old bar owner in Houston commandeered a civilian boat  a 16-foot flat-bottom fishing boat  and set about rescuing neighbors.

I made a post on Facebook and next thing I know Im getting 100 texts an hour, he told me. When my boat captain wanted to call it quits at the end of the day I jumped on a bigger boat and helped them navigate.

By day two, with the arrival of police and the Coast Guard, things were more orderly. But the distress calls didnt stop.

I kept getting messages, and this one stuck: Woman and mother trapped in attic. Bring ax. I drive as close as I could and waded through chest-high water to get to her house. The water was down enough so we could walk in the house and extract them. They had been there for two days. An 80-year-old woman with Alzheimers and breast cancer and her daughter with four dogs and three cats. After waiting a bit, the fire department showed up and helped us get them all down. The mother was floated off to hospital in the next-door neighbors kayak, but the daughter wanted to stay at home with the pets. We advised her against it, told her it would rise again, but she was adamant that she wanted to stay. We went about our day and helped others. At 11 p.m. I had wrapped up and showered and was working at home and got a call from her that the waters are rising and she was ready for the evacuation. We went and got them all out as the waters were rising.

Brackman was fortunate in that his own home was not damaged, he never lost power and had use of the internet, which he said was integral to relief efforts.

Social media was a game-changer, he said. Without the internet, we would have seen multiples of the final death count. The walkie-talkie Zello app in particular allowed us to match boats with those who needed rescue. One of the most moving things was how friends saw what I was doing on social media and jumped in to help with their own trucks, boats, kayaks, or computers.

There are many like him to venerate: The first responders. Those who risked their lives for strangers. Neighbors who opened their homes to those who required shelter from the storm. Heroics to save the lives of pets! The many who undertook fundraising tasks and the many more who responded to those calls. And those dozen or so whom CNN televised after they formed a human chain to wade into waist-deep water to save an elderly man whose SUV was submerged on the Houston interstate.

There was something missing from that dramatic rescue: No one asked the man how he was registered to vote nor requested to see his immigration papers. And for several days, there was similarly an absence of partisan rancor. Not even a trumped-up debate between the Democratic Houston mayor and the Republican governor of Texas over evacuation took hold. Instead, after the storm, politics immediately was secondary to saving lives and protecting property.

The wind and waters of Hurricane Harvey didnt discriminate. They lashed Republicans, Democrats and independents. Young and old. The rich and poor, the black, white, Asian and Hispanic.

Heres hoping its legacy is a reminder of all that unites us.
It was an unlikely sight inside the usually crowded alleyways of the Walled City in Jaipur on Saturday with police being the only people visible on the streets.

More than twelve hours have passed since violence erupted inside the Ramganj area and long after it was quelled; residents alleged that it was mismanagement on part of the police that triggered the sequence of events.

I was coming towards Ramganj along with my wife and my three-year-old daughter on a motorcycle. Police were driving away street vendors and we were hit by their batons. One blow landed on my hand and our child fell down from the motorcycle, said Sajid, a local resident.

It was the incident that led to an altercation between the police and locals that snowballed into large scale violence.

We went to the police station to lodge a complaint. They made us sit for more than three hours and abused us a number of times. One of them also pushed my elderly mother-in-law and it appeared that some of the police personnel were drunk, alleged Sajids wife.

Local residents said the alleged dilly-dally on the part of the police allowed a mob to gather outside the Ramganj police station, which increased over the time.

The police were late in lodging the complaint, which made the crowd more restless and pushed them towards violence. It was after this that stone pelting and the ruckus started, said Tariq Ahmed, another local resident.

The violence left one person dead and several policemen injured and vehicles, including an ambulance were torched by the angry mob.

Commissioner of police Sanjay Agarwal refuted allegations that the police personnel had misbehaved with the man and his family.

No such thing happened and the CCTV footage from the police station is proof of this, he said.

Curfew was imposed in areas falling under four police stations of the city and mobile internet services were suspended in the city.

State BJP chief Ashok Parnami visited the Ramganj police station on Saturday and spoke with residents and officials to take stock of the situation.

What happened here is a very unfortunate incident and I appeal to everyone to maintain peace and tranquility in the area. The incident will be investigated to find out who might be responsible for the violence, he said.

Former chief minister Ashok Gehlot tweeted the incident was a matter of concern and the state government should ensure that peace is maintained.

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Curfew was imposed in parts of Jaipur after late-night violence between locals and police, triggered by an alleged assault on a woman by the cops, left one person dead in Ramganj area of the state capitals walled city.

Stone-pelting agitators set an ambulance on fire, damaged a patrol vehicle besides breaking the camera of a photojournalist as police resorted to tear-gas firing and baton-charging the mob, before deploying additional forces after nearly two hours of violence.

After stone pelting Curfew imposed in parts of #Jaipur Number of Vehicles burned, Shops looted & public/private property destroyed by Mob. pic.twitter.com/ONm370Uzdj  Mukul Singh (@MSeangh) September 8, 2017

A little after midnight, police confirmed the death of a civilian, Aadil, and said the cause will be ascertained after post-mortem.

The walled city encompasses Jaipurs oldest areas falling within a wall built in 1727 built by then-king Maharaja Jai Singh II. Ramganj has a large Muslim population and is considered a sensitive area where tempers can flare very quickly.

According to locals, Fridays clash erupted after a Muslim woman was allegedly hit by a cop with a baton while evicting illegal street vendors around 8 pm.

The law and order situation is stable now. We are taking the help of the public and community leaders to maintain peace in the area, Jaipur police commissioner Sanjay Agarwal told HT.

Curfew has been imposed till further orders in Manak Chowk, Subhash Chowk, Galta Gate and Ramganj police station areas of the city, Agarwal told news agency IANS.

According to sources, internet connection in various parts of the city could also be suspended to prevent the spread of rumours.
When Mohammad Raees mother sent him to market to buy a few things for an ongoing function at their home Friday night, she had no inkling that it would be the last time he would be running an errand for her.

Twenty-four-year-old Raees left for the market in Ramganj area of Jaipur, but never returned home. He was killed, allegedly by a police bullet when the forces opened fire to control a mob that had went berserk following an incident of an alleged assault of a couple by a constable in the area.

In a mayhem that lasted about 40 minutes, the mob torched a power house and five vehicles, including an ambulance and a police jeep, prompting police to resort to tear gas shells, rubber pellets before firing in the air. While several people including some policemen were injured in the clashes, Raees, a second year student of BA, was the only one who sustained a bullet wound. He suffered the gunshot on his left shoulder.

Doctors at the SMS Hospital where Raees was taken, declared him brought dead.

A police official walks by the remains of an ambulance and a two-wheeler that were set to fire by a mob during clashes with police , in Jaipur on Saturday. (Himanshu Vyas/HT Photo)

I still cant believe that Raees is no more, said an emotional Mohammad Jameel as he stood outside the mortuary at SMS Hospital on Saturday waiting for doctors to hand over his younger brothers body.

Raees was youngest among eight siblings. Jameel said that their father died three years ago. Their 60-year old ailing mother was in a shock at home.

It was around 10pm when mother sent Raees to buy some things as a programme was going on at our home. When he did not turn up till 11pm, I called him on his phone. Someone else received the call and told me that an accident has taken place and I should reach the market area immediately, said Jameel who runs an auto parts shop on Delhi Road.

Jameel said Raees was rushed to the SMS Hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead. He claimed that his brother died of excessive bleeding.

According to police, the exact cause of death will be ascertained only after the post-mortem report comes.

Jameel said it was surprising that police opted to open fire even when it has other means to disperse the crowd. Even if they had to fire, they are supposed to aim below the waist and not at the chest or the shoulder, he said demanding that every official at the Ramganj police station be suspended.

We demand that the government suspend the entire staff of Ramganj police station. We also demand compensation and a government job. Also, in the name of inquiry, the police should not harass any innocent person, Jameel said.

Former Congress MP from Jaipur Mahesh Joshi, who met the family members of Raees outside the mortuary, said the way police handled the entire incident was wrong.

High level investigation should be launched. The situation is very volatile in the area and people should be taken into confidence to establish peace there, he added.

Joshi said that no innocent should be arrested.

Meanwhile, SMS hospital medical superintendent Dr DS Meena said at around 11pm on Friday, four injured policemen were brought to the hospital. They had sustained injuries on face, head, chest and back and are undergoing treatment. Their condition is stable and they are out of danger, the doctor said.

Following the mayhem, curfew was imposed in four police station areas of the

city, internet services were suspended and schools in the curfew-laden areas have been closed.
Newly appointed defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman will start her field work on Sunday with a visit to Indias first underground airbase in Barmer district that borders Pakistan.

Chief of air staff air chief marshal BS Dhanoa will accompany her during the visit to Uttarlai airbase -- one of the countrys most important forward airbases, a defence ministry official said on Saturday.

Sitharamans visit to the airbase will be the first by a defence minister since one undertaken by George Fernandez, who had held the portfolio in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government.

According to the schedule, the raksha mantri will reach at Barmer at 5.00 pm. Upon her arrival at the airbase, she will first address air warriors and then interact with station personnel.

Sitharaman, who earlier held commerce and industries portfolio, on Thursday assumed charge as the countrys first full-time woman defence minister.
Passengers travelling to Bangkok by a flight of the Royal Bhutan Airlines had a narrow escape at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport at Kolkata on Saturday.

Smoke was detected in the aircraft a few seconds after it started approaching the runway for take off. It was around 12.10 pm.

Read: Delhi residents spot fire on GoAir flight, avert mishap

On the ground, the smoke was first detected by Indian Coast Guard commanding officer K R Arun who was inspecting the facility the coast guard has at the airport. He detected the smoke from the Bangkok- bound plane and saw the emergency chutes in the aircraft already deployed. Arun and deputy commandant Pankaj Mishra sounded an alert and rushed to the rescue of the passengers.

Injured air hostesses of the Royal Bhutan Airlines being treated by coast guard personnel. (Photo courtesy: Indian Coast guard)

The passengers were evacuated through the emergency escape chutes. The coast guard officers and their skeletal staff also provided medical treatment for the passengers and crew members who suffered cuts and bruises.

Read: IndiGo plane starts smouldering during take-off in Patna, lucky escape for 174

The pilot of the aircraft took the plane to a safe area after the evacuation. Fortunately, the runway was empty.

There were 80 passengers on board.

The passengers disembarked through the chute. In the process, a few passengers received minor injuries. But the operations of the airport were not affected, said Atul Dixit, the airport director.

The accident triggered panic among passengers of other flights.
In a rerun of the Robinson Street skeleton case of Kolkata, a 35-year-old man spent three days with the lifeless body of his mother in Durgapur town in West Bengal.

The matter came to light only after local people in Rabindrapally locality complained of foul smell coming from the tiny apartment and informed the police. The body of Sananda Nandi (72) was recovered on Friday night. Police said she died at least three days ago.

Indradeep Nandi (35), the younger son of the deceased, did not inform anyone that his mother had died although his elder brother Indraneel (40) lives in the same neighbourhood. He told the police that his mother was not talking to him for a few days and wasnt eating anything either. He said he used to sleep on the same bed where the body was found.

I cooked some rice and dal and offered her but she did not eat. She was not talking to me, police quoted Indradeep as saying.

Police spent much of Saturday questioning Indradeep. They are yet to decide whether to send him for a psychiatric evaluation. Police also sent the body for post mortem.

Local people told the police that Indradeep is mentally ill. His sister-in-law, Mukta Nandi, however, claimed that he was suffering from neurological disorder for a long time and she was unable to understand why he did not inform anyone about the death.

Indraneel Nandi said he met his mother last Sunday and she was quite well at that time.

My brother did not tell me anything. When I inquired about my mother he said she had not spoken to him for a few days, said Indraneel.

The incident has an eerie similarity to the Robinson Street episode when the Kolkata police recovered Sananda Nandis body.

In June 2015, Partha De (then 44) was found living in his ancestral mansion in the posh south Kolkata neighbourhood with the skeleton of his dead sister and the remains of two pet dogs. Police went to the house on June 11 when local people detected smoke coming out of a window. Police recovered the charred body of Parthas father Aurobindo De (71) who had apparently committed suicide. Investigation revealed that Partha and his father were living with the skeletons for more than six months.

The two incidents have some similarities although the Nandis of Durgapur lived in poverty. Indradeep and his mother used to live in the small rented apartment but kept the doors and windows closed most of the time, local people said. Partha De, too, rarely left home and used to keep all the windows closed.

When local people detected the source of the odour and went to Indradeeps room they found him sitting beside Sananda Nandis partially decomposed body.
In the pre-puja shopping spree that engulfs Kolkata, thousands of shops sell millions of saris every year. But a two-day exhibition-cum-sale of saris and handcrafted jewellery to be held next week in the south Kolkata neighbourhood of Jadavpur will perhaps set a mark in the social history of the city.

In a move to step out in the mainstream, transgender and queer (lesbian-gay-bisexual) artists of the city will sell saris they have designed and produced along with jewellery.

Read: Transgenders arrange flood relief in Bengal for the first time

We were thinking of such an effort for quite some time, and finally decided to hold it just before Durga Puja. This is the biggest festival of Bengal when the people go on a shopping spree, said Upasana Agarwal, an alumni of Jadavpur university, an artist by profession and founder and organising member of Amra Odbhut (We are queer), the group that is behind the event.

Junk jewellery made by queer artists. (Photo courtesy: Amra Odbhut)

The products to be displayed will include hand-embroidered saris, T- shirts, apart from jewellery. The sale will be held on September 16 and 17.

The group also runs a pop-up cafe selling a variety of items cooked by queer and transgender persons, which, the organisers claim, is the first such cafe in the country.

Read: Trans Queen India 2017: A pageant where transgenders can aspire to get crowned

Members of the transgender community of Bengal are now looking for opportunities to merge with the mainstream of society. A few weeks ago some of them organised relief for flood victims in the state. This step along with the sale of saris, tee shirt and jewellery indicate that a section of the community are planning their own activity rather than waiting for governments welfare schemes.

The members of Amra Odbhut said the jewellery will be priced between Rs 250 and Rs 2,500. The saris will be priced Rs 2,500 onwards. I can guarantee the products will be worth each penny they spend, Agarwal said.

According to city-based transgender rights activist and co-founder of Amra Odbhut, Raina Roy, during the exhibition, snacks prepared by the members of the community will be served.

Bengal is a state where the transgender community has received some attention. The Mamata Banerjee government appointed Manabi Bandyopadhyay as the countrys first transgender college principal. In July this year, Joyita Mondal Mahi, 29, the states first transgender judge of a Lok Adalat.

The state government also set up a transgender development board in 2015.

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In yet another close shave for train passengers, engine of Varanasi-bound New Delhi-Varanasi Shiv Ganga Express got detached with bogies thrice between 9 am and 11.20 am on Friday.

It began around 9.05am when the engine got detached from the bogies near Sarai Jagdish between Jhunsi and Ramnathpur in Allahabad district. It ran ahead for about 500 metre on track. The engine was called back and reattached with bogies.

As it proceeded towards Varanasi, it again decoupled with bogies at 10.17am near Jangiganj railway station.

The engine was brought back again and bogies were attached with it. Shockingly, as the train crossed Gyanpur road station, engine and bogies got decoupled yet again, at 11.15am.

Harried driver informed the railway authorities in Varanasi division of North Eastern Railways and an engine was sent to the spot and bogies were attached with it.

The time and again decoupling sent the railway officials into a tizzy. In a hurry, senior railway officials chaired by divisional railway manager (DRM) SK Jha held a meeting and discussed the matter. A team of technicians sent to the spot and examined the engine.

Sources in the department said that there was some problem in the engines coupling.

As the engine belonged to Diesel Loco Shed, Jhansi, Jha spoke to engineers at the shed and instructed them to remove the problem in coupling of engine.

Ashok Kumar, PRO, North Eastern Railway, Varanasi division, said the train decoupled thrice. A new engine was sent to the spot that brought the train to Varanasi. Senior officials took the matter very seriously and instructed engineers to remove the technical snags so that such incident doesnt take place in future.

Shiv Ganga is an important train that runs between Varanasi and New Delhi daily.
Students of the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gorakhpur University clashed with the police on Friday afternoon, demanding immediate holding of students union elections.

They were unhappy that deputy chief minister Dinesh Sharma, who visited the campus, did not announce the elections.

The students also pelted Sharmas fleet of vehicles with stones. They also threw stones at a motorcade that was going to receive chief minister Yogi Adityanath later in the day.

The police have cordoned off the entire hostel area of the university after controlling the violence. The hostels were being searched.

Deputy chief minister Dinesh Sharma was on the university campus to attend an event. The students anticipated that he will announce polls. But even after two hours no such announcement was made. Sharma reportedly said the government will think the matter over if it received a proposal about it. At this, the students outside got agitated and damaged over a dozen two-wheelers parked near the administrative block of the university.

They also pelted the cars, including those of the deputy CMs fleet, that were parked there. None of the cars in the fleet were damaged.

The students misunderstood the deputy chief ministers statement and started protesting, shouting slogans and indulging in brick-batting as soon as the programme ended, the universitys proctor Gopal Prasad said.

The students said not holding elections was against their rights. Police resorted to a mild lathi-charge to disperse students. Two students sustained head injuries. Nearly half-a-dozen others suffered leg injuries.

The news agency PTI quoted law student Sakshi Satyam, who aspires to contest the students union election, as alleging that students were dragged out of their hostels and beaten up.

The police reached the spot and chased the protesters during which some of them suffered minor injuries, the proctor said.

The students also held some university employees hostage in the administrative building and cut-off the electricity supply, he claimed according to PTI, adding that students had also beaten up a university worker.

A fleet of cars that was going from the police lines to the airport to receive chief minister Yogi Adityanath was first held up near the road close to the hostels. The students also attacked the cars in the area, including those in the fleet. After waiting for about 15 minutes, the fleet took another route to the airport.

Now, a Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) unit has been deployed at the hostels and the campus.

Station house officer (SHO) of Cantonment police station, Gorakhpur, Manoj Pathak said: Three FIRs have been lodged in the incident. And nearly 12 students have been detained for interrogation. The situation is under control.

(WITH PTI INPUTS)
The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT-Kanpur) has slipped down in the global rankings of top technical institutes.

The Times Higher Education (THE) rankings-2018 survey has put the IIT-K in the 501-600 ranking group. In 2017, the institute was placed in the 401-500 group. Among the technical institutes in Asia the IIT-K was ranked 63.

The Indian Institute of Sciences has been put among the 251-300 ranks while the IIT Madras and IIT Guwahati have been put at the lowest from 601- 800 ranks.

There is no other institute of the country in 251-300 ranks.

Dean academics at the IIT-K, professor Neeraj Misra, said There has been fall in the ranks of all institutes of the country. This is to be studied as on what standards the assessment has been made. After a thorough analysis ways to improve the institute would be decided.

He, however, claimed that the performance of the institute was far better than the previous year.

The Times Higher Education World University ranking has been assessing the ranks of the institutes at the global level since 2004. It considers academic performance, teaching methods, research works, international outlook, industry income and teacher-student ratio in fixing the ranks.

As per the report, the IIT-K has 6472 students but has only 1% foreign pupil. Besides, the boy/girl ratio was also skewed. As against 86 male students it has just 14 girls. Similarly, the institute has one staff over 15.2 students, the report added.

Though disappointed with Indias showing, Phil Baty, editorial director, Global Rankings, THE, said things were likely to improve because of the really positive news in that Indias overall research income and research quality has risen this year, and the countrys world class university plan shows that it recognises the importance of investing in higher education.
After Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced Tuesday the White Houses plan to end the Deferred Action Childhood Arrivals program, a number of lawmakers issued statements expressing the need to balance the needs of these immigrants with national security.

The sentiments are nice, but action, not mere words, is needed as a six-month phasing-out looms.

With an estimated 3,000 Nebraskans among some 800,000 people nationwide who could now be subject to deportation, Congress must indeed pass a law that will grant those who had no say in entering the United States but have grown up as Americans a chance to stay in the country theyve long called home.

Trumps decision to end the program was expected. The announcement came on the deadline set by 10 attorneys general  including Nebraskas Doug Peterson  for a lawsuit against the federal government if the White House didnt rescind the 2012 order. Trumps logic for doing so, arguing former President Barack Obama exceeded the power of his office in creating DACA by executive order, was not new.

However, Trumps official statement that somehow linked the program  which required participants to keep a clean criminal record, among other stipulations  to the Central American-based gang MS-13 was an attempt to play to the lowest common denominator, stoking needless fears about nonwhite immigrants.

DACA was successful in that it helped get a population out of the shadows. These immigrants had opportunity to obtain an education and earn good employment, bettering themselves and their country, without fear of deportation if they met reasonable goals such as being enrolled in school, holding a job and avoiding felonies.

Those who were spared from deportation under DACA are Americans in every sense except their birth country. Their only crime was being brought into the country illegally at a time when they had no control over their fate.

Tuesdays decision once again stripped these same people  now teens or adults who grew up in the U.S.  of the ability to determine their own destiny.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce called the administrations actions contrary to fundamental American principles and the best interests of our country. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said the programs end was reprehensible.

These groups support Dreamers on correct economic, humanitarian and other grounds. Such organizations see the larger picture among all the complications: America is stronger and more prosperous with these people in the fold, rather than having them chased out, fearful of their futures. The only way to keep them there is by a legislative solution, which Congress is long overdue to address.

Hundreds of thousands of people depend on a solution that isnt deportations that will break the bank and families, too. Congress must deliver  and quickly.
The Dera Sacha Sauda allegedly sent 14 human bodies to a medical college in Lucknow for medical studies earlier this year in violation of rules.

The GCRG Institute of Medical Sciences in Bakshi Ka Talab allegedly received these cadavers from the Sirsa-based organisation.

A letter from the union ministry of health and family welfare raised doubts about the manner in which the bodies were brought as there were allegedly no death certificates. Also, the college did not comply with the standard procedure while receiving such bodies for medical studies, the letter said.

When asked by HT, UPs inspector general (law and order) Hari Ram Sharma said an inquiry will be conducted into the matter.

The ministrys letter also says the college violated the protocol for obtaining cadavers. This is mentioned as one of the factors while assessing the college infrastructure before giving final approval to run a medical college.

Accepting the recommendations of the Medical Council of India committee, the union ministry of health and family welfare reiterated its earlier decision of May 31, 2017 to debar the college from admitting students for a period of two years (i.e 2017-18 and 2018-19 ) and to authorise the MCI to encash the bank guarantee of  2 crore.

The eighth page of the nine page letter dated August 19, 2017 from the ministry reads the college was neither aware nor following the provisions of biomedical waste rules.

Moreover, the explanation offered by the college in obtaining 14 cadavers from Dera Sacha Sauda Sirsa, Haryana without requisite permission and death certificates is a serious issue to be looked into by the authorities concerned, the letter pointed.

The letter undersigned by DVK Rao, under-secretary with the ministry, said in view of the above, despite the fact that no deficiency of faculty and residents was noted, the functioning of the hospital as per norms is in serious doubt. It said the committee agrees with the decision of the ministry vide letter dated May 31, 2017 to debar the college for two years and also permit MCI to encash bank guarantee.

Despite multiple calls and text messages, college managing director Abhishek Yadav did not respond to queries over the controversy.

For its part, Haryana government has ordered an inquiry to ascertain if Dera Sacha Sauda had sent human bodies to the medical college in Lucknow in violation of rules. Haryanas director general of health services has been asked to complete the inquiry at the earliest, according to PTI.

There have been reports in the media that about 14 bodies being sent from the Dera to a medical college in Lucknow. If this was done, all formalities should have been completed. The reason for sending the bodies must also be ascertained, Haryana health minister Anil Vij said.

Head of Dera Sacha Sauda Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh is in jail after being convicted of rape.

(WITH PTI INPUTS)
The much-talked about Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) is actually non-dependable for workers survival throughout the year, a study has found.

Some key findings Even if 100 days work was available, it implied income from MNREGA works to be just Rs 1720 per year for a family of 5 members making MNREGA non-dependable for survival through the year. More women workers were visible in MNREGA as it was mainly women who were asking for work as it is household labour, so it could be contributed by any adult and women came forward as they had to look after the household, particularly children besides women workers fitted in well with MNREGA requirements : Limited distance, low wage rate, work for few days, manual work, and group work. Girl children aged 15-17 also worked as MNREGA workers along with their mothers or women adult guardians. MNREGA workers could understand what they were being paid in cash on the worksite at the end of work. They hardly understood payment of wages through Banks apart from ill-treatment and hassles in drawing money from Banks. Migration has increased after introduction through Bank Payment for delay in payment. Siphoning off or corruption hardly reduced with respect to Bank payment (though it was difficult to measure). Bank payment required each individual worker open up Bank Account. This was not found in case of all the workers, particularly child (proxy) workers. Workers did not have cheque books, ATM cards. ATM booths were not visible in the selected villages. Bank Pass Books had no entry of payment of wages for number of days.

Conducted across three districts, each in six separate states, the study has established that a family receiving 100-day work meant that some adult members inevitably had to sit idle or migrate and even if 100 days of work was available, it implied income from MNREGA works to be just Rs 1720 per year for a family of 5 members making MNREGA non-dependable for survival through the year.

The findings have come to light during a research project Impact of Implementation of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme (MGNREGP) on Distress Migration: A Study of Selected States of India conducted by noted development economist prof Bhaskar Majumder of Govind Ballabh Pant Social Science Institute (GBPSSI), Allahabad.

The study has been sponsored by the union ministry of rural development through National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRDPR), Hyderabad and covered six major states such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Orissa, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.

Many of the backward or tribal areas were especially covered as part of the study including Jhabua of Madhya Pradesh, Sambhalpur of Orissa, Banswara, Pali and BUndi of Rajasthan, Saharsa and Nawada of Bihar besides Mahoba, Sonbhadra and Hathras of UP.

The Government-sponsored public works planned and executed under MGNREGP needed to be assessed to show if it can ensure the livelihood security of the people surviving at the bottom of the ladder at their native place. We decided to examine if MGNREGP could retain rural people and stop forced migration from rural region besides understand if the assets created under the programme could ensure livelihood security as well as examine impact of the programme on beneficiary households and suggest policy implications, said prof Majumdar while talking to Hindustan Times.

In the six states, that covers 54.8 per cent out-migrants out of total, the researchers chose four development blocks from each of the 18 selected districts in a way that four Gram Panchayats were picked up from each of the selected 72 blocks.

We selected 10 beneficiary households from each of these 288 villages registered under the programme. This included all social categories by castes, tribes, communities and gender living in a village.

The reference period for study was last three financial years with sample size of 2880 households, he added.

The researchers found that MNREGA created scope for public works on both public (Gram Sabha) land and private land but the workers were deprived of their entitlement as the latter hardly understood by the wage-workers for no memory, limited memory of how many days they worked in such works that created public assets.

We found that the workers were nowhere in measurement of works, calculation of wage payment, and so on. They were taken for granted by the officials for their ignorance, illiteracy and innocence. The workers had no idea how many days they worked last year or about MNREGA provisions other than the prevailing wage rate, said prof Majumdar while stating that the final report of the findings was being prepared and would soon be handed over to the union ministry.

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Human rights watchdog Amnesty International has criticised the Uttar Pradesh government for not giving compensation to over 190 families displaced after the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots even four years after the communal flare-up.

Communal riot survivors (190 families) are yet to receive compensation and continue to stay in squalid conditions in resettlement camps, Amnesty International said in a 19-page report released on Friday. Official records show that 1,800 families have been compensated. Amnesty report alleged that inconsistent definition of a family was laid down by the authorities in an attempt to deny people compensation.

According to the report, many families were denied compensation because authorities claimed they were part of a larger joint family which had already received money. The state government defined family as a group of people who live together and use a common kitchen. This constitutes one household. But even in cases where families were able to prove that they lived in separate households, the report claims that they did not receive any financial aid. This was in the form of separate kitchens or government identification documents such as ration cards that stated different addresses from their joint family members. Despite this evidence, the report says that they have been denied compensation from the state.

Muzaffarnagar and Shamli districts of UP witnessed one of the worst Hindu-Muslim clashes in 2013. The violence was sparked by the killing of three men who had objected to the harassment of a young woman. Over 60 people were killed and more than 50,000 others were displaced in the ensuing mayhem that engulfed more than 250 villages. Hundreds of families were forced to flee their homes and live in relief camps.

Four years down the line, many of these families still continue to live in temporary camps, with little access to water and electricity. In October 2013, the state government declared that it will provide one-time compensation of five lakh to families from nine surrounding villages that were identified as the worst affected. Between August 2016 and April 2017, the rights group visited 12 resettlements and found that over 190 displaced families from the nine villages were yet to receive compensation. Among them were Imrana and Tahir Zahid, their children.

Amnesty report said they were threatened, attacked and forced to leave their home in Kakra village, and abandon every single possession they ever owned.

Even if you cant give us 500,000, we urge the government to give us at least two or three lakhs, pleads Imrana.

At least we can then build a house for us to live in. Its very difficult to run a family of seven, Tahir is always outside trying to find work so that we can survive. My children are hungry most of the time, she laments. According to Amnesty International India and AFKAR India Foundation, there are 200 families in Muzaffarnagar and Shamli who share the same fate.

These families live in re-settlement colonies where many have no access to electricity, drinking water and sanitation facilities. For four years, these families have been struggling to rebuild their lives, Amnesty said. Demanding that the UP CM should ensure aid to families in resettlement colonies for their immediate needs, including housing, water, sanitation and health care, Amnesty International India has started an online petition on its official website. In a similar report on rape survivors released in February this year, ahead of UP assembly elections, Amnesty had indicted the state government in the seven gang-rape cases. The report said there were no convictions and slammed the UP government for delays in registration of FIR, inquiry and court proceedings. In all the seven gang-rape, cases the police took six to 14 months to file charges, and even after they did so, trials proceeded extremely slowly, according to the report.

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A group of five BA previous year students, including two girl students, alleged ragging by a group of BA second year students in faculty of arts, Banaras Hindu University (BHU) on Friday. The matter came to light when one of the girls informed her brother who was also a student at the faculty of arts.

The boy along with his friends clashed with the group of students who reportedly ragged his sister and other students. The group held the student, who led the group of students involved in ragging of juniors, hostage in a hostel for about an hour and released him only after BHU authorities assured of proper action.

As per reports, BA previous year students alleged that a group of five BA second year students distributed a printed format, seeking details such as name, mobile number, and email address of the juniors (BA previous students). While some students filled the format, a few girls rejected it.

One of the students of leading BA second year students allegedly forced the girl to fill the format. She immediately informed her brother, also a student at faculty of arts. He along with some of his friends reached the spot and beat up those who were reportedly ragging juniors. He picked up the student who forced his sister to give her email and mobile number and brought him to Birla hostel. The boy held him hostage for about an hour.

Meanwhile, on receiving information, BHU chief proctor Prof ON Singh along with security personnel of BHU police reached the spot. He spoke to the students and asked them to release the hostages. The students demanded action against him for ragging juniors. Singh assured students of action against the BA second year student who was then released.

Speaking about the action Singh said that five students of BA previous year alleged ragging by some of the students of BA second year. The matter has been transferred to anti-ragging committee. It would probe the issue and decide action against the guilty students.

Meanwhile, heavy police force was deployed outside the hostel as a preventive measure in view of tension among the two groups of students.
Facing criticism over the deaths of children in government hospitals and shortage of doctors there, Uttar Pradesh government has decided to fill up 7,000 vacant posts of government doctors through walk-in- interviews, extension in service of retired doctors and recruitment through the UP Public Service Commission.

Terming the decision an ad hoc effort, the Provincial Medical Services Association (PMSA) has urged the state government to prepare a long-term plan to fill vacancies and improve health services in government hospitals.

Director general, Medical Health, Dr Padmakar Singh told HT 11,034 government doctors were working against 18,382 sanctioned posts. The medical and health department has sent a proposal for the recruitment of 5,640 doctors to the UP Public Service Commission. The department has decided to recruit 1,000 doctors through walk-in-interviews and re-employ 1,000 retired government doctors for one year.

To motivate the doctors, the state government has decided to pay a higher salary to those posted in the remote districts.

The state government has divided 75 districts into four categories: A, B, C and D. The A category districts are: Lucknow, Kanpur, Allahabad, Varanasi, Agra, Ghaziabad, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Meerut, Aligarh, Gorakhpur, Barabanki, Sitapur, Bareilly, Rae Bareli, Moradabad and Unnao.

The MBBS doctors appointed through walk-in-interviews will be given Rs 50,000 and specialists Rs 80,000 per month in these districts.

The B category districts include Faizabad, Hardoi, Muzaffarnagar, Basti, Azamgarh, Jaunpur, Sultanpur, Mau, Ballia, Deoria, Kanpur Dehat, Firozabad, Hathras, Mathura, Bijnor, Saharanpur, Baghpat, Bulandshahar, Hapur, Ambedkar Nagar, Pratapgarh, Jhansi, Shahjahanpur, Gonda, Farrukhabad, Rampur, Etawah, Fatehpur and Pilibhit.

The MBBS doctors will be paid Rs 55,000 and specialists Rs 90,000 in these districts.

The C category districts are: Etah, Kasganj, Kaushambi, Badaun, Bahraich, Sant Kabir Nagar, Kannauj, Lakhimpur Kheri, Ghazipur, Mainpuri, Sambhal, Amroha, Shamli, Auraiya, Jalaun, Mirzapur, Banda, Bhadohi and Amethi. In these, MBBS doctors will be paid Rs 60,000 whereas specialists will get Rs 1 lakh per month.

The D category districts include Sonbhadra, Hamirpur, Mahoba, Lalitpur, Chitrakoot, Balrampur, Shravasti, Siddharthnagar, Chandauli, Maharajganj and Kushinagar. The MBBS doctors will get Rs 65,000 and specialists Rs 1.20 lakh in these districts.

Expressing reservation over the new recruitment policy, PMSA president Dr Ashok Yadav said it will create dissatisfaction among the government doctors. The doctors appointed on contract will get a higher salary than the permanent doctors. The contractual doctors will have no responsibility, he said. Rather than acting in an ad hoc manner, the state government should mull over why 7,000 posts are lying vacant and why the Provincial Medical Services (PMS) fails to attract the fresh MBBS doctors, he suggested.

The state government should understand that due to competition with the private sector, it is necessary to make the PMS attractive with better salary, perks, working condition and facilities, he said.

The community health centres and primary health centres located in the rural areas have no residential facilities.

The doctors willing to serve in rural areas should get extra allowance and increment, he said.

A delegation of PMSA had handed over a memorandum to chief minister Yogi Adityanath on June 28, drawing his attention to the problems faced by government doctors.

We have also suggested measures to make the PMS attractive and ensure that doctors get job satisfaction. The doctors who wish to bid adieu to government services should be given voluntary retirement and fresh recruitment should be done to fill the vacant posts. A policy should be drafted for treatment of patients at health centers and district hospitals, Yadav said.

Meanwhile, chief secretary Rajive Kumar on Friday said the state government will give incentives and training to MBBS doctors posted in the rural areas.

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Raj Chaudharis foray into pageantry could not have been more chaotic. He set up the Mr & Ms Maharashtra Fashion Pageant to flex his muscle in the talent scouting business.

What he got instead was a half-empty event hall, a truncated show, hecklers, and two angry contestants  one of whom would not accept her runner-up trophy.

All over a grand prize of Rs 51,000 in cash, hair products and a chance to audition for Hindi, Marathi and Bhojpuri movies.

Organised in a suburban Mumbai theatre space, the Maharashtra pageant was five months in the making. Auditions were held in Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Solapur, and Kolhapur. Of 125 hopefuls aged 15 to 35, 21 girls and 15 boys made it to the finale held on September 2.

So when the delay led to the Q&A round being scrapped, some were visibly miffed.

Mumbai girl Komal Chandel refused her second runner-up prize, to the delight of her crowd of supporters, who called out Yeh sab fraud hai! and This is not a show!

Contestant Durgesh Chauhan had been expecting to win too, and when he was given a Mr Talent sash instead, he took it off and marched off stage.

Contestants get ready backstage for the traditional wear round of the Mr & Ms Maharashtra Fashion Pageant held in Mumbai last week. (Kunal Patil / HT Photo)

Sour grapes, shrugs Chaudhari, who heads a casting and distribution company for Marathi and Bhojpuri films. But thats how seriously contestants take the small, hyperlocal pageants sprinkled across the country.

I spent Rs 5 lakhs from my own pocket and had no sponsors. There were bound to be teething problems, Chaudhari adds. I am still confident about a 2018 edition. In fact, Ill have this every year.

India is home to a multitude of smaller pageants across smaller towns and cities  and they are a world of their own, very different from the Miss India, Mrs India and Gladrags pageants we know.

Indian pageants that are breaking barriers For the physically challenged: Mr & Miss Wheelchair India; Mr & Miss Disability India First held in 2015 and organised by Mumbai-based Sounak Banerjee, a wheelchair-bound chartered accountant. The contests are open to single and married people aged 18 to 45. Banerjee is looking for sponsors and funding for the 2017 editions. For the LGBTQI community: Trans Queen Contest North East, Queen of Dhwayah Trans Queen Contest North East was conceived in 2010 and accepts applications from transgender women registered as residents in the seven states of northeast India. Manipur also has a state-level event called Miss Manipur Queen for Transgender. In June, Kerala hosted its first pageant for trans women, titled Queen of Dhwayah, named after the NGO that organised it. Its aim is to generate awareness and sensitisation beyond the community For the plus-sized: Ms Plus Size North India, Miss & Mrs Curvy Queen Auditions for the inaugural MPSNI were held in Ludhiana, Chandigarh, Jalandhar, and Delhi early this year. Women with a minimum waist size of 34, aged 21 to 40, married or unmarried, may participate. 2017 also saw the first edition of MMCQ. 15 finalists from Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, and Hubli took part in the event. Women aged 18 to 50, married and unmarried, may participate. Although there are no stated height and weight restriction, small and medium-sized women are not eligible.

Some serve a cultural purpose, like the Miss Himalaya and Miss Tibet pageants, for Tibetan migrants / refugees and people from Tehri-Garhwal and the Lower Himalayas.

In 2014, the first ever Miss Tiara was organised and open to short girls, because every other pageant has tall girls. Girls less than 56 could participate.

There is also a Mrs Homemaker, to help women reclaim their identity after marriage; a Miss Plus Size North India, for women with a waist size of 34 or more; a Miss and Mrs Curvy Queen, in which small and medium-sized women are not eligible.

Mr and Miss Modesty

Tenzin Paldon, 21, is an air hostess with a private airline. A handful of Miss Tibets whove gone to international pageants have been coerced to wear Miss Tibet-China sashes.

Problems can range from scheduling issues to culture shock.

I got 10 girls  versus 20 boys  to participate, and that too only after assuring everyone thered be no Western wear, leave alone swimsuits, says Sandeep Kumar, president of Rubaru Group.

Hes talking about his first-ever pageant, Mr & Miss Bahadurgarh (2008), staged for his hometown in Haryana.

Rubaru now organises an annual Mr India, a Miss India Elite and the upcoming Face of Beauty International pageant (September 13  24).

North India has a craze for beauty contests, Kumar says. And the rules are changing. The first time I had swimwear was for Rubaru Mr India, in 2012. For women, it was only last year. Ill never forget how shy the boys were just being shirtless.

Identity parade

Some criticisms about pageants reinforcing objectification are upturned when physical pomp and splendour double as platforms for marginalised identities.

Airhostess Tenzin Paldon, for instance, is also Miss Tibet 2017. The resident of Kollegal, Karnataka, has never seen her homeland but says shes determined to represent it.

I want younger generations to be inspired and unafraid, and for more Tibetan women to participate, says the 21-year-old. Even if theres a problem competing internationally, this title has already got me modelling offers.

Miss Transqueen India 2017 Nitasha Biswas (centre) from Kolkata, flanked by first runner-up Loiloi Haorongbam (left) and second runner-up Ragasya, from Chennai.

Owning a Miss Tibet sash is especially poignant at a time when pageants such as Miss Tourism and Miss Earth insist on sashes that say Miss Tibet-China.

Lobsang Wangyal, the man behind Miss Tibet, says its hard to get sponsors too.

The bids I have so far arent great, but Im busy with (my other pageant) Miss Himalaya and am hopeful something will come along, says the McLeodganj-based photojournalist and events manager.

Miss Tibet had a record nine participants this year. If you think thats laughable, take note: McLeodganjs Tibetan community has been divided about the contest since its inception in 2002. As per Buddhist beliefs, pageants  more so those with swimsuit rounds  place undue emphasis on physical beauty. As a result, on four occasions, Miss Tibet had only one participant, Wangyal says.

So what? I have one crown, and all I need is one head. You do good when you empower even one Tibetan woman.

Trailblazing queens

Pageants are a celebration of identity for the trans community too. In 2016, Bishesh Huirem from Manipur became the first Indian to take part in Miss International Queen. Next year, Loiloi Haorongbam  also Manipuri  hopes to be crowned Miss Transsexual Australia.

The PhD student, who was the first runner-up at Miss Transqueen India 2017, is a relative pageant veteran: she was first runner-up at Trans Queen Contest North East 2014 and Miss Manipur Queen for Transgender 2016. In both contests, she was up against 29 other trans women.

A contestant during the traditional wear round of the Mr and Ms Maharashtra Fashion Pageant. (Kunal Patil / HT Photo)

Manipur is more accepting. You have fashion shows for trans people. And pageants. Such events help you become more confident on the international stage, she says. If I win abroad, Im going to set up a chain of schools for trans kids across India and give them the education and equality they deserve.

End of the ramp

While those like Haorongbam and Paldon have international pageants to move on to after their wins, a large number of the pageants spawned by Indias beauty content obsession have no next step.

Most local events have no plan of action. The drive to be crowned or bag a title has led to so much pageant saturation and opportunities for moneymaking, one can never be too careful, says Shainee Soni, who styles and mentors contestants for Mr & Miss North India and Mr & Miss Delhi-NCR.

Payoffs for Bahadurgarhs king and queen were free make-up sessions five times a year and a portfolio at a professional studio. Winners of Rubaru Mr India and Miss India Elite now audition for shows like MTV Splitsvilla and Roadies, as also international pageants like Mr United Continent and Miss Globe, says Sandeep Kumar, president of the Rubaru Group

Organisers put the contest together for the sake of participation fees (which can be as much as Rs 10,000 or even more) and sponsorship money.

The mentality is, Were promoting you, so you should be thankful, Soni says. Juries are full of wannabe-celebs. Where do the winners go? No one knows.

Ajith Ravi, chairman of Pegasus Events, which organises Miss and Mrs South India, concurs.

Some are so brazen, they dont even hold a pageant. They just announce titles and winners and then send people abroad. This is what ails Indian pageants.

What about the curious case of all too few pageants for boys and men? Rushikesh Mirajkar, national director of Miss Tiara (the Miss equivalent of Mrs Tiara), contends that sponsors have much to do with this chasm. The 28-year-old registered the Mr Suave India title in 2014 but is yet to find backing.

Indian pageants that are breaking barriers For homemakers: Mrs India Home Makers Conceptualised by transgender model Naaz Joshi, MIHM is open to women over 21 who have been married for at least six months. The objective is to offer a platform to married women whove had little time for themselves after marriage and children, Joshi says. The first edition, in 2016, had Mary Kom as chief guest. The pageant has a special category for women over 35 named Mrs India Home Makers Classic. Participants have signed up from across the country, including Delhi, Meghalaya and Assam. Miss Arunachal This 10-year-old beauty pageant is state-sponsored, with an eye on celebrating the unique cultures of its tribes. All participants must be residents of Arunachal. The minimum height requirement is 52. All participants should have completed Class 12. The Mrs equivalent of the same contest is perhaps even more of a standout. It serves as a platform for survivors of child marriage, domestic abuse, polygamy and sexual harassment. 59-year-old Hage Tado Nanya, who was married at 13, was Mrs Arunachal 2016. The contest also has sub-categories such as Mrs Versatile, Mrs Beautiful Heart, Mrs Kindhearted, and Mrs Best Story.

Its crazy. There are 284 pageants for men worldwide and we arent even sending men to a quarter of them, he sighs. But the scenario is already changing. There are whispers of a Miss Lesbian India pageant taking shape. For the sake of variety and equal opportunities for everyone, I hope its true.

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Dr Deepak Amrapurkars death has spurred the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to look at the safety protocol of manholes in the city again. A senior civic official confirmed that the BMC is looking at safer designs for manholes.

The 59-year-old gastroenterologist allegedly fell into an open manhole when Mumbai was water-logged after heavy rain on August 29. His body was found at the Worli sea-face two days later. It is suspected that he fell into a 8x6 feet barrel drain at the water-logged Elphistone junction.

Municipal commissioner Ajoy Mehta also ordered an inquiry into his death and the report is expected to be submitted next week. Apart from looking at what exactly happened on that day, the report is also expected to look into suggestions that can help prevent such incidents in the future.

A senior civic official said, We may publish an advertisement in newspapers, asking people to suggest safety measures. We are also looking at institutions such as the Indian Institute of Technology (Bombay) and Veermata Jijabai Technical Institute to come up with designs.

Another senior civic official said that the BMC follows a protocol to open manhole covers. There is a red flag and warning sign placed on the manhole and a BMC employee in uniform also stands near the spot to divert traffic. Officials said that the manhole cover may have been opened by anxious citizens to drain flood-water on August 29.

The BMC is also looking at CCTV footage and taking help of residents to know what exactly happened on that day.

In the past too, several people died or were injured by falling into open manholes. In 2010, 11-year-old Tushar Jadhav fell into an uncovered manhole at Mariam Nagar in Worli.
With the festive season in full swing, there has been a surge in air travel bookings with most people preferring to book in advance.

According to travel portals, there are more travel plans this Diwali compared to last year. The surge in bookings has increased fares for the Diwali week.

On the most popular travel routes, fares have increased by up to 30%, with Diwali still more than a month away. The maximum increase in airfares are from Mumbai and Bangalore. According to travel trends, most travellers going for long weekends are from Bangalore, Delhi and Mumbai.

As we head towards the festive season, there has been an increase in flight bookings for Durga Puja and Diwali. A last-minute surge in prices is expected as we move closer to the travel dates, said Sharat Dhall, chief operating officer(B2C), Yatra.com

A Mumbai-to-Delhi trip for October 18 is priced at Rs6,500 and a Mumbai-Bengaluru flight costs around Rs5,000. Tickets to these destinations from Mumbai are available at around Rs3,500, if booked in advance for a lean season.

According to MakeMyTrip, Kolkata-Delhi and Delhi-Hyderabad are some of the most travelled routes with more than 100% growth during this festive season compared to last year.

Rajeev Kale, president and country head, leisure travel and M.I.C.E, Thomas Cook (India) Ltd said, Indian travellers have made a shift from single annual vacation to shorter and more frequent trips within India and international destinations. With the upcoming long weekends in October, during Durga Pujo/ Dussehra- Gandhi Jayanti and Diwali, the peak festive season allows people to travel to escape the stress of daily life. While 2016 saw public holidays falling on a Sunday, this festive season sees long weekend getaways.

Cox & Kings Ltd. said they have seen an increase of around 15% in international travellers and around 19% in domestic travellers.
The proposed Virar-Alibaug Multimodal Corridor (VAMC), that had been drawn up in 2010, is now likely to take off by March next year. After putting the mass rapid transport component of the proposed corridor on the back-burner for a couple of years, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), the agency implementing the project, has now decided to also fast track the metro component of this project.

The 126-km eight-lane corridor was proposed with an aim to create new growth areas in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region and decongest the city. It will provide connectivity to towns such as Panvel, Bhiwandi, Virar, Kalyan, Pen, Uran, Alibaug.

In 2015, MMRDA planned to concentrate on building just the road portion of the multi-modal corridor, keeping the development of a Metro line along the route for a later date. At the time, there were concerns about ridership for the metro corridor and rumours that the metro would take off even ten years later.

Now, officials say that they would take up the Metro construction right after the road is nearing completion as data on estimated usage suggests a spike in the ridership.

The corridor between Navghar in Virar and Alibaug in Raigad district will be built in phases.

Sanjay Khandare, additional metropolitan commissioner, MMRDA said that they have chalked out two Metro routes on the corridor. The entire alignment will have a metro corridor, but it will be constructed in phases, he said.

A senior MMRDA planner said since the corridor was planned in 2010 there has been considerable change in the region. We have now planned growth centres at Kharbao; a central business district (CBD)is planned there. Bhiwandi will be developed as a logistic hub, the official said.

The MMRDA has already commenced proceedings to acquire land. The total land for the project is 583 hectares, of which, 180 hectares is forest land. We have started negotiations with local landowners for acquisition through the collectors office. Once we have a sizeable chunk in hand, we will float bids, said Khandare. In the first phase of construction, a 98-km road will be built between Navghar and Jite near Panvel, while in the second phase a 28-km will be constructed from Jite to Alibaug.

The project will be taken up on a hybrid annuity model (HAM), Khandare added. The execution model is a combination of EPC (engineering, procurement, and construction) and BOT (build, operate and transfer). Under the model, risks are split between the developer and the government wherein its the private partner who bears the construction and maintenance risks. The government offers around 40% of the costs to make the project viable.

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Despite plans for four mini-pumping stations that will give much-needed relief from water-logging in many parts of the city, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is yet to take any steps to execute the project.

The mini-pumping stations are part of the revised Brimstowad project that looks at overhauling Mumbais 19th century storm water drains. The four mini-pumping stations in the city have been proposed at Dadar (West), Charni Road, Dharavi and Mankhurd, all congested areas that reported water-logging in the August 29 deluge last month.

However, civic officials admitted that this plan had remained on drawing board, and is yet to take off.

Under the Brimstowad project, first proposed after the January 2005 deluge, the BMC has completed six pumping stations - Haji Ali, Love Grove and Cleveland in Worli, Irla in Vile Parle (West), Britannia at Reay Road and Guzderbandh in Santacruz. The project is expected to be revised every decade. The current master plan, including the four mini-pumping stations, was updated in 2014. The four stations will have three pumps that will aid in reducing water-logging. Each station would cost about Rs50 crores.

The project has missed two deadlines so far, even as the cost has ballooned from Rs1,200 crores to Rs4,700 crores. Until February 2016, BMC had already spent more than Rs 2,000 crores on the Brimstowad project.

On August 29, when the city received more than 300mm rainfall, most of these places were flooded.

The proposed pumping station in Dadar (West) will help reducing water-logging at Hindmata, one of the chronic flood prone areas, where water was nearly waist high during the recent deluge.

While the Britannia pumping station draws out water from Hindmata, the distance between Reay Road and Dadar increases the time for the water to recede. A senior civic official from the SWD department of BMC, who did not wish to be named, said, We have already eliminated 14 flooding spots between Byculla (East) and Dadar through Britannia. The Dadar (West) pumping station will provide further relief to Hindmata.

Similarly, the mini-pumping station at Dharavi will give some relief to nearby areas of Sion and Matunga. The Central railway line had to be suspended due to water logging on the Sion railway station, during the last deluge cutting off services from Central Mumbai to suburbs. The Charni Road mini-pumping station will further eliminate water-logging at Girgaum and Grant Road (East), the official said.

It is only after the deluge that brought Mumbai to a standstill, officials from SWD have been asked to look into the Dadar (West) mini-pumping station on priority. However, officials said that the major delay in all projects is owing to land-acquisition. The two major pumping stations at Mahul and Mogra are also stuck in land-acquisition. However, we are looking at starting work on the Dadar (West) pumping station now.

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A 41-year-old man was arrested on Friday evening on charges of sexually assaulting a dog after CCTV footage from a housing complex, near Chembur Naka, showed him taking the canine into a washroom three days last week. On each occasion, he locked himself up in the toilet with the dog for five to seven minutes.

The accused, Ram Naresh Mishra, works as an autorickshaw driver during the day, doubles up as a security guard at night as an employee of a private security company.

We arrested the guard on Friday after filing a first information report (FIR) under section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) (for carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal), after local residents and animal activists filed complaints with us about the issue, said SG Dal, senior police inspector, Chembur police station. The accused was presented at the Kurla Magistrate Court on Saturday and is currently in judicial custody.

Dal refused to reveal further details stating, It is a disturbing case. We cannot reveal more details and the court will decide what action needs to be taken. We are investigating the matter and have already submitted the panchnama, he said.

The complaint was filed by Asmita Deshmukh, a resident and secretary of the housing complex, who spotted the CCTV footage and took immediate action against the guard.

We were shocked to see such a horrible act and immediately fired the guard. We informed the private security company about his action and informed the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India about the issue, she said adding, CCTV camera footage clearly shows the security guard making masturbation gestures and then trapping what appears to be the same dog, on different nights, for a duration of time in the guards toilet facility.

She added that the guard had been working at the apartment complex for a little over two months. It took us an entire day to make the police understand our complaint and they finally registered the FIR and arrested the man, said Deshmukh.

PETA India plans to bring the matter to the attention of the security guards employment agency, seeking their action.

People who are violent often start with animals as victims and then move on to humans. This case should, therefore, worry everyone, says PETA emergency response coordinator Meet Ashar. PETA calls for anyone found harming animals to be punished to the fullest extent of the law and requests the government to strengthen penalties for abusing animals  for the entire communitys safety.

The owner of the private security company told HT that the guard had been arrested by the police before they could take any action against him.

Mishras documents were thoroughly checked before we employed him. He told us that the dogs fur was dirty as there is an ongoing nullah work near the building and he would take the stray dog to wash the dirt off her. If he is found guilty based on police investigation, the strictest punishment should be given to him because it is a disgusting act, said DK Singh, owner, Pawan Security Group.

According to the medical report issued by veterinarian Dr Deepa Katyal, the dogs vulva appeared congested and swollen. The dog was in a state of shock and pain. She had a lot of pain on the lower half of the body. Her hind legs were trembling and showed unsteadiness. There was also bruising at the lower half of her body, said the report.

Over the past year, a few cases of extreme cruelty to animals have come to light across the country. In Bengaluru, a woman killed eight puppies, while a medical student in Chennai threw a puppy from a roof and medical students in Vellore tortured a monkey to death that point to the need for harsher penalties,

HT had reported in March this year that in five years (2011-16), Mumbai saw 19,028 animal cruelty cases with not a single arrest or booking. This case once again highlights the need for stronger penalties for cruelty to animals, said Ashar.

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A 32-year-old woman allegedly killed her twin sons, who were mentally challenged, and later committed suicide by hanging herself from the ceiling fan at her home at Kalwa in Thane on Saturday.

Archana Kadams 35-year-old husband, Sandeep, was at work when she allegedly killed seven-year-old Sarthak and Varad. The police suspect that they were strangled. Her husband works in a logistics company.

The police have also recovered a one-page suicide note in which Archana mentioned that she had been battling depression for several years owing to the mental condition of her sons. She addressed the letter to Sandeep, hoping that he would understand her predicament on why she had taken such an extreme step.The incident came to light

The incident came to light in the evening when Sandeep returned from office and found his sons unconscious on the floor and Archana hanging from the ceiling fan.

M Bagwan, senior police inspector from Kalwa police station said, We suspect that Archana could not come to terms with her sons disability, which may have triggered her depression. We have not found any external injuries on the boys. We have sent the bodies for post-mortem to know the exact cause of death.

We suspect that Archana strangled her children. After writing the suicide note, she committed suicide. We are waiting for the post mortem reports, said an officer from Kalwa police station. The police have lodged a case against Archana under section 302 (punishment for murder) of the IPC, said the officer.

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A 37-year-old professor of a Mumbai college allegedly killed his wife and attempted suicide in Kalyan on Saturday. Sanjay Teli was admitted to a hospital and was in a critical condition at the time of going to press.

The motive behind the murder is unclear as the police are yet to record Sanjays statement.

Sanjays 36-year-old wife, Vidhya, worked in a beauty parlour. He teaches at Ramniranjan Jhunjhunwala College of Arts, Science & Commerce in Ghatkopar. The couple has two sons  Atul, 19, and Akshay, 22  who are in college.

The incident took place in the morning at Lokgram in Kolsewadi when Sanjay and Vidhya were alone at home, said the police. An officer said that Sanjay had used a knife to kill her and later slashed his wrists and neck to end his life.

After killing his wife, Sanjay told his elder son on the phone that he had killed her and he was committing suicide. The sons reached home and found their mother lying in a pool of blood, while their father was struggling for life. Neighbours helped them rush the couple to hospital. Vidhya had deep cuts on her hands and neck, and succumbed to her injuries. Sanjays condition was critical, said an officer from Kolshewadi police station.

The police have not found any suicide note.

Officer added, We have taken the statement of Atul and registered a case under section 302 (punishment for murder) of the Indian Penal Code. Once Sanjay is out of danger and doctors allow us to take his statement, we will know about the motive.

Talking to Usha Mukundan, principal of Ramniranjan Jhunjhunwala College of Arts, Science & Commerce college  ghatkopar said, Sanjay was very calm and simple person. He is been working with our college from past 20 years with the junior college and that till now there is no complaint against him neither from students nor from any staff. It very shocking to know about the incident, he was a very good professor and that his two sons who were also good in studies. As far as my knowledge is concern in past few weeks we did not find him under any tension or stress. He was not even having financial problem, we are in deep shock as such calm and simple person have attempted suicide.

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A group of four people attacked a 20-year-old carpenter with a knife and bamboo sticks on Friday. When the victims mother and sister intervened, the accused attacked them with the knife too.

The incident took place in Malwani area of Malad (West) at gate number 7. The victim, Shafique Siddique, had a dispute with one of the accused.

On Friday, around 9.30am, Siddique was near a hair dressing salon when the four men accosted him. One of the accused, identified as Taslim Qureshi, was armed with a knife.

As the duo had some personal enmity, there was a heated verbal exchange between the two men. As the fight escalated, Qureshi and his accomplices cornered Siddique. They started thrashing him with bamboo sticks while Qureshi stabbed him in the stomach with a knife.

When Siddiques mother and sister rushed to the spot after being told of the incident, the accused attacked them too. Siddiques mother Kamrunnisa, 45, and his sister, Nishad, suffered slash injuries on their arms.

The four accused fled the scene before the police arrived. The Malwani police registered a case of attempt to murder against Qureshi and his three accomplices, following Kamrunnisas complaint.

Siddique is admitted in a hospital. On Saturday, the Malwani police traced Qureshi, who owns a mutton shop in the area. The police also arrested two other accused who attacked Siddique. The trio was placed under arrest and produced before a local magistrate court.

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The Ghaziabad district administration and Uttar Pradesh minister Suresh Khanna distributed loan waiver certificates to 3,302 small and marginal farmers during an event held at Kamla Nehru Nagar on Saturday. The loan waiver scheme was one of the prime pre poll promises made by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) before the assembly elections in the state.

According to officials, funds worth nearly 25.6 crore were released and credited to the loan account of small and marginal farmers. Farmers expressed satisfaction claiming they could not get the funds for the damaged crops under the previous regime.

The earlier crop damage compensation was mostly given to people close to politicians. I tried to get benefit earlier but was never considered for loan relief or waiver. I had a loan of 86,000 pending and an amount of 75,000 has been credited to my account. It will now be very easy for me to repay the remaining amount as I was in dire straits financially, said Narendra Chaudhary, a farmer from Patla village in Modi Nagar.

Another farmer, Mohammad Haneef, is battlingfinancial crunch at a time his 22 year old son is stricken with cancer.

All the money is going for his chemotherapy and other treatment expenses. I had nearly 1 lakh loan pending. However, 96,000 has now been waived. It has come as a relief to my family. I will now be able to divert money towards my sons treatment without worryinng about arranging money for repaying my loan, Haneef said.

State officials said that under the scheme, the farmers were offered a loan waiver of 1 lakh on loans pending since March 31, 2016.

The crop loan waiver was given to small and marginal farmers who have agricultural land of up to two hectares. The amount has been credited to their loan account, said MP Singh, district agricultural officer.

The farmers had arrived at the venue in nearly 75 buses arranged by the administration from UP Roadways and were also distributed food and water bottles. They arrived from several villages under three tehsils of Ghaziabad, Modi Nagar and Loni.

Read I Discoms enjoy much bigger bailouts than farm loan waiver in Uttar Pradesh

The scheme will be of immense benefit to small and marginal farmers. We have given priority to those farmers in first phase where the loan accounts were linked to Adhaar cards. The other farmers should get their accounts linked at the earliest, so that they could be benefited in the second phase, Khanna said.
IAS Ritu Maheshwari on Saturday took over as the new district magistrate (DM) of Ghaziabad district. She took over from outgoing DM Ministhy S, who has gone on medical leave. Maheshwari, a 2003 batch IAS officer, got the Ghaziabad posting after a decision by UP government on Thursday to shift 36 IAS officers, including several principal secretaries and 12 district magistrates.

Hers is a third posting of a woman district magistrate in Ghaziabad, after the office was held by former DM Nidhi Kesarwani and later by Ministhy S, who earlier served as special secretary (home) at Lucknow before joining Ghaziabad. Kesarwani had joined Ghaziabad under the previous Samajwadi Party regime and got transferred after the new government took charge under CM Yogi Adityanath.

We will ensure that policies are executed properly at the ground-level to benefit residents. Ghaziabad is an important district of the state in terms of housing and industrial development. However, there are issues such as migratory population and pollution among others. Pollution is a major issue and we will work to make the city green. We will also ensure equal development in rural and urban centres, Maheshwari said.

We will also ensure proper development in terms of roads, Metro connectivity etc and also ensure 24-hour power supply. The complaints of citizens will be taken up and disposed of timely and in a quality manner. We will also ensure that people get justice and women are given proper safety and security, she added.

Read I New Ghaziabad DM takes charge, resolves to empower women

Before coming to Ghaziabad, Maheshwari served as the vice chairperson of the Agra development authority. Earlier, she had also served as director, medical education / health & family welfare and also held the posr of district magistrate in JP Nagar, Ghazipur, Pilibhit and Shahjahanpur. She also served as vice-chairperson of the Meerut development authority, besides holding the chair of joint commissioner (Meerut).

Apart from Ministhy S, another woman IAS officer, Kanchan Verma, who is presently posted as vice chairperson of the Ghaziabad development authority, will also leave on September 16 on account of a study leave.
Alarmed over the murder of a class 2 student in Gurgaons Ryan International School and the video of Noida student slapping a junior which went viral and triggered an uproar on social media, the district inspector of schools(DIOS) on Saturday directed all schools to adopt all necessary measures to ensure the safety and security of students.

All schools, including government, government-aided and private, have been directed to ensure safety and security of students. Parents bodies, too, have voiced concerns over the safety of their wards in the wake of these incidents and have become more pro-active in asking schools to adopt necessary security measures, PK Upadhyay, the district inspector of schools, said on Saturday.

School managements should check the antecedents of bus drivers and conductors. In cases they hire buses from private operators, the latter should be directed to inform school about the staff being hired by him to ply school buses, Upadhyay said.

In the recent past, we have received several complaints about students taking drugs and having gutka inside school toilets. We believe some nefarious elements dealing in drugs and other narcotics are making a killing at the expense of young, impressionable students, Upadhyay said.

As the ragging incident also took place inside a school toilet, I believe there is a need to step up surveillance. Some staffers could be deployed outside school toilets to keep watch and ensure such incidents dont happen again, Upadhyay said.

I have sought a report from the school (where the ragging incident took place). The school has already suspended three students in connection with the slapping video, Upadhyay said.

Next week, I will a call meeting of school principals to discuss safety and security of students and also take stock of the measures adopted by them to check mishaps related to Blue Whale Challenge, Upadhyay said.

Some schools have already launched initiatives to fortify prevailing security measures on their premises. Our thrust is on full proof security and safety of students. We are taking all necessary measures to ensuring the same. The students, too, are being sensitised to shun violence and focus on their studies,Jasmine Gandhi,director, Billabong High International School, said on Saturday.

Savita Mehta, spokesperson, Amity Group of Institutions said, We are in the process of stepping up student safety messures at all Amity schools.

Delhi Public School, Cambridge School and Apeejay school, among other schools, have also stepped up safety and security measures for students.

The district inspector of schools is additionally the local district adminsitration educational officer and is responsible for the supervision of schools in the district on his watch.
It was Prime Minister Narendra Modis Hamburg initiative with Chinese President Xi Jinping on July 7 which pulled back the two Asian giants from confrontation and triggered off hectic diplomatic negotiations between New Delhi and Beijing that ultimately led to peaceful disentanglement of the Doklam stand-off on August 28.

After talking to multiple sources involved in the de-escalation exercise, Hindustan Times has learnt that before he entered the informal Brics meeting hosted by China post the G-20 summit at Hamburg, PM Modi had decided to take matters into his own hands; and take up the issue personally with President Xi. With Xis English to Chinese interpreter standing near him, PM Modi apparently walked up to the president and held his hand before making it clear that the Doklam stand-off was not in the interests of the two nations and the matters should be sorted out soon. President Xi apparently replied that he agreed with PM Modi and said that two sides should be diplomatically in touch with each other. This was the first thaw in the Doklam freeze.

Post the resolution of the stand-off, President Xi went a step further at the Xiamen bilateral meeting on September 5 when he said situations like Doklam were not in the mutual interest of the two nations; and such situations should not be allowed to recur. President Xi apparently told PM Modi before the official delegates that what united the two nations outweighed the differences; and tensions between the two countries would only benefit others. The Chinese core leaders did not specify who the others were.

Significantly, when PM Modi was talking to his Chinese counterpart at Xiamen, Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj was in Russia and then Defence Minister Arun Jaitley was in Japan discussing on how the Pakistani A.Q Khan network is responsible for proliferation of nuclear weapons in the context of a belligerent North Korea. During the entire 71-day stand-off, Indian diplomatic negotiators found their Chinese counterparts to be reasonable, a far cry from the war mongering media statements emanating out of Beijing. This was also seen during National Security Advisor Ajit Dovals meeting with his Chinese counterpart Jiang Jiechi on the sidelines of the Brics NSA summit on July 27, 2017.

While both India and China have moved ahead from Doklam, the situation on the ground is that troopers from both sides are separated by more than 200 meters after staring each other down from 20 meters before August 28. With live feeds on ground available to both armies, there is no presence of any road construction machines, bull-dozers or earth-mover machines on the plateau which is disputed between Beijing and Thimpu. However, the big build-up on both sides behind Doklam will dissipate over time.

Although the Indian Army chief Bipin Rawat constructed various war scenarios including a two-front theory at a military seminar on September 7, New Delhi has no intentions of disturbing the Xiamen spirit and wants peace and tranquillity to prevail along the 3,488 km line of actual control (LAC) with China. Both leaders are clear that military confrontation is not an option between two aspiring world powers.

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Under fire for filing a police complaint against a cook for allegedly lying about belonging to the Brahmin caste when seeking a job at her home, India Meteorological Departments (IMD) deputy director Medha Khole on Saturday withdrew her complaint.

Khole reached Sinhagad police station on Saturday and submitted an application seeking to withdraw her complaint, senior police officials said. The complaint had sparked public outrage.

My complaint was related to cheating. However, if I have hurt anyones feelings, I apologise and withdraw my complaint, she said in her application. Assistant Commissioner of Police Shivaji Pawar said her application will now be submitted to the court to formally withdraw the case. Despite repeated attempts, Khole could not be reached for her comments.

On September 6, the IMD scientist had registered a case of impersonation against her cook Nirmala Yadav (60) for allegedly hiding her caste and status as a divorcee, and posing as a Brahmin to get the job of a cook. Khole was incensed that the cook was not a Brahmin as she only employed people of that caste for cooking food during religious ceremonies.

HT has learnt that Khole has been on leave for more than a year without intimation and that her salary has been withheld. We will wait for some more time and then decide on the action to be taken, an official said, requesting anonymity.

Read more: Pune scientist who filed complaint against cook for not being Brahmin draws ire

When asked for Kholes precise period of leave from duty, AK Srivastava, head of IMDs Climate Monitoring and Analysis Group said he was not sure of the extent of leave as he himself was posted outside Pune for a brief period.

IMD colleagues and neighbours at her Sita Park Cooperative Housing Society described her as quarrelsome with a penchant for taking people to the police station on petty issues. On various occasions in the past, Khole had blocked work in the society. She has also gone to the police station at least 15 to 20 times against us for various reasons, said Sudhir Suryawanshi, a neighbour.

In her latest police complaint, Khole said she needed a married Brahmin woman to cook food at her house for religious occasions. Yadav approached Khole in 2016 while allegedly introducing herself as Nirmala Kulkarni (a Brahmin), a senior police official had said.

When Khole confronted the cook after discovering on September 6 that Yadav was not Brahmin, the latter abused and assaulted her, according to FIR. Khole complained that cooks lie hurt her, her religious sentiments.

Based on the complaint, Sinhgad police booked Yadav under Sections 419 (cheating by impersonation), 352 (punishment for assault or criminal force) and 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) of the Indian Penal Code.

Later, Yadav too filed a complaint against Khole.
In a major blow to the citys first flyover project, Union ministry for road transport and highways has rejected the UT administrations proposal to hire a consultant at a cost of Rs 4 crore, citing the amount as too high.

The flyover is planned from the UT boundary (Zirakpur) till the Tribune Chowk covering a distance of 5km.

Now, the project is delayed by around seven months as the UT administration has been asked to prepare a fresh proposal, and it will take three months to finalise the consultant. The construction work was to start in December this year, but will now start in July 2019 and is supposed to be completed by July 2021.

About the project 2.5 lakh vehicles cross Tribune Chowk everyday Rs 300 crore project cost 5km length of flyover A cloverleaf flyover, it will open in all directions allowing easy interchange among routes

It was in June 2016, when Union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari approved the project and assured that work will start in December 2017 and will be completed in two years, but UT administration took one year to finalise the consultant, which was later rejected by the ministry on September 5. The entire cost will be borne by the Union ministry.

Speaking to HT, UT chief engineer Mukesh Anand said, The ministry has rejected our consultant citing cost as the reason. Now again we will float tenders and it will take another two months to finalise the consultant and we will send it to ministry for approval. Once it is approved, the consultant will prepare a detailed project report (DPR), for which they will take at least four months. Once the DPR is prepared, it will be sent to the ministry for approval, following which the work will start. The project has been delayed by six months.

The project was approved as in the survey it was found that more than 2.5 lakh vehicles cross the Tribune Chowk every day. This being the only entry and exit point for the traffic moving from Zirakpur, Ambala and parts of Punjab, the traffic snarls are a common sight at the chowk.

In the Comprehensive Mobility Plan submitted to the UT administration earlier, the RITES had stated that Tribune Chowk exhibits high traffic volumes with more than 1 lakh passenger car units.

The daily traffic volume (16 hours) of total vehicles of 1.43 lakh, including 1.35 lakh passenger car units (PCUs) was observed at the rotary of Dakshin Marg and Purva Marg near Sector-31 Tribune Chowk.

Speaking to HT, the chairman of Federation of Sectors Welfare Association of Chandigarh (FOSWAC), Baljinder Singh Bittu said, It is sad that it is more than one year as they failed to finalise the consultant. It is caught in red- tape and god knows when they are going to start the project.

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Security agencies and district authorities again began with search operations at the Dera Sacha Sauda headquarters near Haryanas Sirsa town on Saturday morning amid tight security in the area.

Factory manufacturing fireworks sealed

Explosives used to make fireworks and crackers have been seized.

A factory, that manufactured fireworks, situated inside the dera headquarters has been sealed, said deputy director, information, Satish Mehra.

Earlier, Haryana Police arrested three Dera followers for hatching conspiracy of trying to help Ram Rahim escape from Panchkula during agitation.

Haryana: Heavy security at Satnam Chowk in #Sirsa as search of #DeraSachaSauda HQ continues pic.twitter.com/qGFLKDPRQl  ANI (@ANI) September 9, 2017

Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim was awarded a 20-year jail term after a special CBI court found him guilty of raping two female sadhvis.
The CBI on Friday arrested four income-tax officers and a Kolkata-based businessman for their alleged involvement in criminal conspiracy to favour shell companies by slashing their tax liabilities during 2016-17.

The CBI had on July 12 arrested Ranchis principal commissioner of income-tax Tapas Kumar Dutta in the same case after conducting search and seizure operations at 23 locations, including 18 in Kolkata and five in Ranchi. Dutta is currently cooling his heels here at Birsa Munda Central Jail (BMCJ).

During the search and seizure operations, the CBI had recovered Rs 3.7 crore cash, 6.6 kg gold and several incriminating documents, including sale deed of a flat worth Rs 4 crore from Duttas Salt Lake residence in Kolkata and a bank locker.

The CBIs Delhi anti-corruption branch (ACB), which is investigating the case, arrested the four income-tax officers  Ranjeet Kumar Lal, Sunil Kumar Gupta (both posted in Ranchi), Tarun Roy and Vinod Kumar Pal (posted in Hazaribag)  and Kolkata-based businessman Santosh Choudhary alias Santosh Shah after they were summoned for interrogation.

All the five arrested were produced before a special CBI court in Ranchi on Friday. The court took them under judicial custody and forwarded them to BMCJ till September 15.

The CBI also filed chargesheets against 14 accused involved in the case including Dutta, Lal, Gupta, Roy, Pal and businessmen Biswanath Agarwal, Santosh Choudhary, Anup Kumar Lakhotia, Aakash Agarwal, Nirmal Jain, Ashok Yadav, Satnarayan Sarawgi, Sanjay Dhanuka and Subodh Dhanuka.

Earlier, the CBI on July 10 had registered a named FIR against Dutta and several others. It was alleged that Dutta during 2016-17 had entered into a criminal conspiracy with his colleagues to take a huge bribe from the named private persons for transferring their companies income-tax assessment files from Kolkata and Hazaribag to Ranchi and reassessing the files to substantially reduce the tax liability of these companies.

Under the criminal conspiracy, Dutta asked his juniors to issue favourable orders by reassessing the files of GRD Finance and Finlink, the companies in which Biswanath Agarwal has financial interests. Besides, Agarwal paid huge bribe to Dutta and other officers soon after the folder of assessment file of his company Anchal Vyapar migrated to Ranchi. Dutta also promised to pass favourable orders with regard to Agarwals other companies namely Sanchay Tradecom and Marici Dealmark.

The CBI alleged that Biswanath Agarwal, his two relatives P K Dhanuka and Subodh Dhanuka, and Santosh Choudhary were custodian of Duttas illegal money. The FIR further alleged that Dutta obtained 6% interest from these people against his illegal money stashed with them. Recently, in May and on June 11 hefty interest amount was delivered to Duttas wife at his Salt Lake residence.

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Dumka police have arrested 16 youths, all aged between 18-24 years, allegedly involved in the gruesome gang rape of a 19-year old tribal girl on September 6.

At least eight of the arrested youths had raped the girl while others supported them in the heinous crime, police said.

The incident occurred on Wednesday between 8-9 pm when the girl, travelling on a motorcycle along with her boyfriend, was intercepted by a group of five-six young men at Digghi locality. The miscreants then threatened the victim and her friend wielding daggers and dragged the girl to a nearby secluded place. They summoned some of their friends and all raped the girl one-by-one and assaulted her. One of the them had made a video of the whole incident.

Dumka superintendent of police Mayur Patel Kanhiya Lal said, 16 accused have been arrested on the basis of evidences against them. We have collected several articles from the spot including cloths, hair pin, dagger and others and sent them to forensic science laboratory for further examination. A special probe team has been constituted to expedite the investigation, which is still on.

Those arrested were identified as Daniel Kisku, 20, Saddam Ansari, 24, Anil Rana, 23, Kurban Ansari, 19, Suraj Soren, 21, Shahbaj Ansari, 20, Jiya-ul-Ansari, 19, Imran Ansari, 19, Shailendra Marandi, 20, Jai Prakash Hembrom, 20, Suman Soren, 19, Alvinush Hansda, 19, Marshal Murmu, Subhash Hansda, John Murmu and Habil Tudu. The police are verifying the age of the last four youths but asserted that they are not minors.

According to the FIR lodged with the Mofussil police station on the basis of victims statement, the girl, along with her boyfriend, had gone to Digghi college at 5.30 pm on a motorbike. While returning, they stopped at a place to attend the natures call. Soon, four-five youths came there and inquired about their purpose of making a halt at that place. They demanded money from them charging the victim and her friend of finding a hideout to get physical intimacy.

When the victim reacted, the accused youths assaulted her and her friend snatching their mobile phones and money. The accused summoned some of their friends. Soon 15-20 local youths assembled there and dragged the girl to a nearby bushes and raped her.

The girl informed the police that she had heard names of Daniel, Anil, Suraj, Saddam, Shahbaj, Kurban, Imran and Jaiya-ul while they were outraging her modesty. She told police that she could not recall other names. She fell unconscious after resisting for a while, the girl told the police.

After regaining consciousness, the girl and her friend somehow managed to reach the police station, she said.

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If the industry grapevine is anything to go by, actor Shalini Pandey who made a splash with her debut in Arjun Reddy, may have landed a plum role in Mahanati, a bilingual biopic on legendary southern actor Savitri. While theres been official announcement regarding the same from the makers side, we have exclusively learnt from our reliable sources that the young actor has been roped in for an important role.

The makers are considering her to play actor Jamuna, who was a very close friend of Savitri. Although she has been finalised in principal, the paper work is still pending and it might take a week before an official announcement is made. Hers will be a minor but very important role from the storys perspective, a source told HT. Being directed by Nag Ashwin, actor Keerthy Suresh plays Savitri in the film, which also stars Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Dulquer Salmaan and Vijay Devarakonda in important roles.

In Arjun Reddy, she played the 19-year-old girl friend of the protagonist. Her role, even though rubbed the feminists the wrong way, was very well received by the general audiences. She made a bold debut in her maiden film.

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Actor-producer Vishal is busy promoting his forthcoming Tamil release Thupparivaalan, in which he plays a detective, modeled on Sherlock Holmes. The film is tipped to be a dark thriller, shot in quintessential Mysskin style, and Vishal said that he surrendered himself to the filmmaker. From the way I walk and mouth my dialogues, I have acted how Mysskin wanted me to. Unlike my regular characters, my role in the film is of a very calm man. He also confirmed that the film doesnt have songs and feels audiences are ready to embrace such attempts if the content is good.

On the career front, Vishal has Sandakozhi 2 and Irumbuthirai in his kitty. He also confirmed that he will be doing the Tamil remake of NTRs Temper, in which he played a foul-mouthed cop with no morals. I quite liked Temper, and I plan to do it soon in Tamil. Before that, I have to complete the other two films which I have been postponing for a while now due to my Nadigar Sangam commitments. He hopes to wrap up Sandakozhi 2 by this year-end and bring it to cinemas early next year.

Kicked about Thupparivaalan, Vishal said the film will portray him in a different light. The film also stars Prasanna, Anu Emmanuel and Andrea Jeremiah. Actor-filmmaker Bhagyaraj is said to be playing the antagonist. Talking about the film, Mysskin had said in the past. My characters are inspired from Sherlock and Watson but not entirely based on them. Everyone gets inspired from something or the other. Edgar Allen Poe came up with the first detective story and then came Sherlock Holmes. There is a thin line between inspiration and plagiarism.

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The 90-second silent date is the latest attempt by Londoners to reinvent the citys intoxicating world of nightclubs, bars and fleeting liaisons. It is the brainchild of Adam Taffler, actor and cultural entrepreneur, who got the idea during a visit to Australia. I was speaking with my girlfriend on the phone every few days and we were talking. But what we really enjoyed doing is at the end of the phone call, we just stopped speaking to each other. We were just there listening to each other breathing and it was beautiful, he said.

It was so intimate we thought why dont we try doing a dating event where people dont talk and they just make eye contact. People dont make as much eye contact as they used to, added Taffler, sporting a dark jacket, white shirt, black beard and handlebar moustache. He believes it is time to move beyond the world of words, which can often be used to conceal true personalities. With words, we are presenting an idea of ourselves: this is who I say I am. But quite often, were not saying what we really are, he explained, adding, You can see people as they really are because youre looking into their eyes and that never lies.

The silent date concept lets you move out of your comfort zone. (Shutterstock)

What really happens

The Shhh dating event takes place in the basement of Farrs School of Dancing, a vintage bar in the hip district of Dalston. There is an even gender split between the 30 hopefuls, who are mostly in their thirties. They are there to have fun, but also to meet new people  a task surprisingly difficult in a city of 8.6 million people. People tend to stay in their own circles, explained participant Adrian Law. Guests are invited to break the ice by shaking hands, before settling down for a series of games designed to build relationships.

Unable to speak, every gesture, smile and grimace is accentuated and communication is left to facial and bodily movements. To the sound of Carl Douglass disco hit Kung Fu Fighting, dates show off their martial arts moves. A muscle-bound man flexes his biceps to impress his sparring partner, who responds by adopting ninja positions.

Things get more serious in the evenings second act as Taffler turns the music down-tempo with British group Cinematic Orchestra and the participants are given a minute-and-a-half in which to seduce.

Lucie, a teacher with long black hair, sits opposite a young man, hands on knees. She lowers her forehead, takes a deep breath before diving into the eyes of her partner with a fragile gaze. We reached a level of closeness and intimacy that maybe you dont get when people are talking and trying to impress each other, she said.

But sometimes, 90 seconds can seem like an eternity filled with contorted faces and shy glances. As the evening draws to a close, the participants seem generally satisfied with their experience and make a note of those they wish to pursue. The next time, talking will be allowed.

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Debutante director Paakhi A Tyrewalas film Pahuna - The Little Visitors received a standing ovation as it premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 7th.

Pahuna - The Little Visitors is Paakhi A. Tyrewalas first feature film after her acclaimed short film Kajaal. Pahuna will also be Indias first feature film in Sikkimese language. It will also be dubbed in Hindi.

Paakhi says, Pahuna was not an easy film to back. Nor did it follow rules of commercial cinema or abide by festival norms. Cant thank Priyanka and Dr Chopra for taking it to the world stage.

The film - a story about three Nepalese children who get separated from their parents, escape the Maoists agitation in Nepal and flee to Sikkim - received an over whelming response from the global audience.

Produced by Priyanka Chopras Purple Pebbles Productions, Pahuna - The Little Visitors - had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) on September 7.

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An Australian advertisement that outraged Hindu groups for depicting Ganesha enjoying lamb meat at a dinner party appears to have been taken down in India.

The advertisement was part of a campaign by Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) to promote lamb meat. In the ad, Ganesha tucks into lamb meat with other religious figures including Jesus, Moses, Buddha, Zeus, Aphrodite, Obi Wan Kenobi and Scientology founder Ron Hubbard. Hindu groups in Australia had protested against the ad, for depicting the vegetarian Ganehsa as eating meat and enjoying it.

Indian Society of Western Australia spokesman Nitin Vashisht had called the ad insensitive, saying, I dont think they realise how revered a God Ganesha is within the Hindu community and by and large the Indian community.

The video can no longer be accessed in India. Clicking on a YouTube link for the video throws up a message: This content is not available on this country domain due to a legal complaint from the government.

However, it is still accessible in other countries, as verified by HT.

A screenshot of the error message that appears when one clicks on the video.

Following outrage amid the Hindu community as well as on social media, the Consulate-General of India in Sydney took up the matter directly with MLA and urged them to withdraw the advertisement.

High Commission is taking note of the protests of Indian community in Australia, have made a demarche to Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Department of Communication and Arts and Department of Agriculture bringing to their notice an offensive advertisement by Meat and Livestock Australia that hurt the religious sentiments of the Indian community, the Indian High Commission in Canberra had said in a statement.

The MLA had responded saying the ad promoted unity and diversity. Our intent is never to offend, but rather acknowledge that lamb is a meat consumed by a wide variety of cultures and capture how the world could look if people left their differing views at the door and came to the table with open arms, and minds, they had said in an official statement.
Bangladeshi security forces were on alert for attempts by homegrown Islamist militants to use the violence against Rohingya Muslims in neighbouring Myanmar to recruit new fighters, a top official said Saturday.

Nearly 300,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled Myanmars Rakhine state for Muslim-dominated Bangladesh in the 15 days since the latest fighting erupted, according to the United Nations.

Many of those have arrived with harrowing accounts of deaths and rapes at the hands of Myanmar troops and Buddhist militias.

Images purportedly showing atrocities against the Rohingya have flooded Bangladeshi social media, triggering an outpouring of sympathy among locals, who have historical ties with the community.

Monirul Islam, the head of Dhakas police counter-terrorism unit, said forces were on the lookout for any efforts to use the violence against Rohingyas to rally homegrown extremists.

We have taken appropriate surveillance measures and are on alert against the move by the inactive militants to draw inspiration from this (violence against Rohingya) or use it for recruitment purposes, he told reporters.

Bangladesh has a history of homegrown extremist groups, including those who fought alongside the Mujahideen in Afghanistan against the Russians before returning home to form their own groups.

Officials said they were particularly concerned that some of the homegrown groups would recruit students from the thousands of Islamic seminaries in the country to fight for the rights of the Rohingya.

But we are all on alert so that no quarters can create disorder by exploiting the humanitarian crisis in Myanmar, he said.

Several fringe Islamist leaders have already issued calls to arm Rohingya refugees and help liberate Arakan, the Bengali name for Rakhine.

Bangladeshs government has a long-standing policy of zero tolerance towards extremism and hosting insurgent groups of neighbouring nations.

After the latest violence broke out, Dhaka proposed joint military operations with Myanmar against Rohingya militants fighting in Rakhine state.

On Friday, more than 15,000 supporters of Islamist parties in Bangladesh staged demonstrations after weekly prayers, part of wider Muslim protests across Asia protesting the killings of Rohingyas by Myanmars army.

sa/mb/amz
Jake Prazak and Nathan Higgins met in the gym about seven years ago.

Both shared a passion for lifting and fitness. From there, the friendship started.

"We had lots of conversations inside the gym," said Prazak, owner of NIP Fitness in Mason City. "He was just a good person who loved to talk to people."

Higgins, 26, was found dead Wednesday after a motorcycle accident in rural Clear Lake near 270th Street and Eagle Avenue. The sheriff's department and Medical Examiner's Office are investigating the cause of the accident.

Prazak, 40, said he was devasated by the news.

"It's a numbing feeling and it just puts things in perspective," he said. "He basically died doing what he loved."

Along with lifting, Higgins' passions included the outdoors, his motorcycle and just socializing and making people feel comfortable, Prazak said. He added Higgins was a sociable guy and was always willing to lend a helping hand, including with a electrical home project Prazak needed help with.

Phil Bierman, owner of Iowa Cell Phones and Repair in Mason City, said he knew Higgins for a little over a year, and was "beyond shocked" when he heard about the accident.

Bierman, 31, said Higgins was willing to talk to anyone, and made sure to befriend anyone who appeared to be shy.

"He was just so outgoing," he said. "If anyone looked if they were shy, he would go to that person and just make them as welcome as possible ... he wanted to make sure everyone was having fun and felt welcome."

Prazak said Higgins' personality was much the same in his gym.

"He was just one of those guys who was easy to talk to," he said. "He never seemed to be in a bad mood ... you see a lot of people who are walking around who aren't happy, he wasn't one of them."

Following the accident, several of Higgins' friends and relatives showed an outpouring of support on Facebook. Bierman said this isn't surprising, given the respect Higgins showed for everyone around him.

"He was one of the most friendly guys you could ever meet," he said. "Whenever something was going on, he was there."

A visitation will be held Sunday 4-7 p.m. in Ward-Slkye Colonial Chapel in Clear Lake. A Christian Mass Burial will be held Monday at 1 p.m. on St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Clear Lake.
Several more villages were burned down on Saturday in a part of northwest Myanmar where many Rohingya Muslims had been sheltering from violence sweeping the area, two sources monitoring the situation said.

The fires, which started on Friday when up to eight villages went up in flames in the ethnically mixed Rathedaung region, have increased concerns that more minority Rohingya will flee to neighbouring Bangladesh.

Blazes started on Saturday engulfed as many as four more settlements in Rathedaung, likely destroying all the Muslim villages in the area, the sources said.

Slowly, one after another villages are being burnt down - I believe that Rohingyas are already wiped out completely from Rathedaung, said Chris Lewa of the Rohingya monitoring group, the Arakan Project.

There were 11 Muslim villages (in Rathedaung) and after the past two days all appear to be destroyed.

It was unclear who set fire to the villages, located in a part of northwest Myanmar far from where Rohingya insurgents attacked 30 police posts and an army base last month, triggering an army counter-offensive in which at least 400 people have been killed.

Independent journalists are not allowed into the area, where Myanmar says its security forces are carrying out clearance operations to defend against extremist terrorists.

Human rights monitors and fleeing Rohingya say the army and ethnic Rakhine vigilantes have unleashed a campaign of arson aimed at driving out the Muslim population. Some 290,000 people have fled across the Bangladeshi border in less than two weeks, causing a humanitarian crisis.

Rathedaung is the furthest Rohingya-inhabited area from the border with Bangladesh and aid workers are concerned that a large number of people were trapped there.

The sources said that among the torched villages was the hamlet of Tha Pyay Taw. They were also concerned about the village of Chin Ywa, where many people sheltering from other burnings in the area had been hiding and two other settlements.

On Friday, the villages of Ah Htet Nan Yar and Auk Nan Yar, some 65 km (40 miles) north of Sittwe, capital of Rakhine state, were also burned along with four to six other settlements.

One source, who has a network of informers in the area, said 300 to 400 Rohingya who had been hiding at Ah Htet Nan Yar were now in the forest or attempting a perilous, days-long journey by foot in the monsoon rain towards the River Naf separating Myanmar and Bangladesh.

Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi said on Thursday her government was doing its best to protect everyone, but she has drawn criticism for failing to speak out about the violence and the Muslim minority, including calls to revoke her 1991 Nobel Peace Prize. [nL4N1LO334]

The countrys Rohingya Muslims have long complained of persecution and are seen by many in Buddhist-majority Myanmar as illegal migrants from Bangladesh.
Indo-Canadian politician Jagmeet Singh had the perfect response to a woman who was yelling at him about Islamic sharia law at an event in Ontario.

Singh, one of the favourites to become the next leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP), was speaking on Wednesday at the Professors Lake Community Centre in Brampton when the woman interrupted him.

When is your Sharia going to end? the woman asked the Sikh politician in the video of the incident, which has been shared widely on social media websites.

After initially asking her to hold on, Singh said to the woman: What this is, we dont want to be intimidated by hate. We dont want hatred to ruin a positive event, so lets show people how we treat people with love.

We welcome you, we support you and we love you.

The woman, who kept telling organisers not to touch her or she will call the police, also said Singh wouldnt take her calls so she showed up at his event.

Were not intimidated by hatefulness. Let her speak as much as she wants to. We have no problem with it, Singh said, conceding that the situation was a little bit awkward.

A Vice article said the woman seemed to be spouting off the rhetoric of an anti-Islam womens group called Suffragettes Against Silence who are familiar faces in the far-right, anti-Islam circle in Canada. This group believes that Islam is an existential threat to the woman of Canada.

The woman finally stormed off as the crowd kept cheering as Singh chanted love and courage.

The Indo-Canadian politician then addressed the crowd and said he has faced such things before and it wasnt a problem. You know growing up as a brown-skinned, turbaned, bearded man, I faced things like this before... Its not a problem, we can deal with it.

Twitter users too cheered Singhs handling of the situation, with one saying his response to an ignorant racist just affirms my support for him.

Regardless of who you support for #ndpldr, we can all agree this display of #Islamophobia is horrible. Was handled well by @theJagmeetSingh https://t.co/0qDo25ZfgX  Nadia Nassar (@nadia_nassar) September 7, 2017

This is ignorance n racism at its finest. She runs her mouth Even when utterly ridiculous and wrong. My dude is Sikh not Muslim.  Bravelamb Purplehart (@BPurplehart) September 8, 2017

The beginning of this video is intense and @theJagmeetSingh handled the racism being yelled in his face with grace #ndpldr https://t.co/4GCOTwYpPz  Jules Sherred (@GeekyJules) September 7, 2017

Experts say the odds of Singh becoming the NDP leader improved because he is trying to be the first person from the Indian-origin community to lead a national political party.

Singh has great mainstream appeal among the NDP faithful, with his progressive policy positions and personal charisma, including his appearance in the style sections of several magazines.
Pakistan on Saturday summoned the Myanmar envoy and lodged a strong protest over the ongoing violence against the Rohingya Muslims in the Rakhine state, leading to the exodus of about 300,000 refugees to Bangladesh.

Foreign secretary Tehmina Janjua summoned Myanmars ambassador to Pakistan U Win Myint and sought effective measures to prevent the recurrence of such violence, providing security to Rohingya Muslims, the foreign office said.

She conveyed a strong protest of the government and people of Pakistan at the ongoing violence against the Rohingya Muslims in the Rakhine state in Myanmar, it said.

Janjua asked for upholding their rights to live and move without fear and discriminations, urgent investigations into recent violence against the Rohingya Muslims and holding accountable those involved in these serious crimes, it said.

She said that as part of a durable settlement of the problem, the swift implementation of the recommendations of the Kofi Annan Commission was emphasised, which include urgent and sustained action to prevent violence, maintain peace, foster reconciliation, assure unhindered humanitarian access and address the issue of citizenship.

The envoy assured the foreign secretary to convey the concerns of the government and people of Pakistan to the Myanmar government, the foreign office added.

According to UN estimates, over 1,000 people may have been killed in the crackdown launched by Myanmar army in Rakhine state.

According to the latest figure, about 300,000 refugees, mostly Rohingya Muslims, have fled to Bangladesh in the last two weeks.


Nearly 300,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled Myanmars Rakhine state into Bangladesh in the 15 days since new violence erupted, the United Nations said on Saturday.

The figure has jumped about 20,000 in a day.

Some 290,000 Rohingya arrived in Bangladesh since August 25, said Joseph Tripura, a spokesman for the UN refugee agency.

Officials said the UN has found more Rohingya in villages and areas which were previously not included by relief agencies.

Most of the Rohingya are arriving by foot or boat across Bangladeshs 278 kilometre (172 mile) border with Myanmar, a fourth of which is made up by the Naf river.

The UN said there was a sharp increase in arrivals on Wednesday, when more than 300 boats arrived in Bangladesh.

On Thursday the UN had put the number at 164,000.

The Rohingya have long been subjected to discrimination in Buddhist majority Myanmar, which denies them citizenship.

Myanmars government regards them as illegal migrants from Bangladesh, even if they have lived in the country for generations.

Refugee camps near Bangladeshs border with Myanmar already had about 300,000 Rohingya before the upsurge in violence and are now overwhelmed.

A Rohingya refugee carries two children in buckets as they arrive in Bangladesh at Shah Porir Dwip in Teknaf on September 9. (AFP Photo)

The tens of thousands of new arrivals have nowhere to shelter from monsoon rains.

The latest figure takes the number of Rohingya refugees who have arrived in Bangladesh since violence erupted last October to 377,000.

Those flocking into Bangladesh have given harrowing accounts of killings, rape and arson by Myanmars army. The Myanmar authorities deny any wrongdoing.

Most have walked for days and the United Nations says many are sick, exhausted and in desperate need of shelter, food and water.
Saudi Arabia on Saturday suspended any dialogue with Qatar, accusing it of distorting facts soon after a phone call between the rulers of both countries offered hope of a breakthrough in the three-month-old Gulf crisis.

Qatars emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani , spoke to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to express interest in talks, state media from both sides said, in the first public dialogue between the leaders after the US president offered to mediate in the crisis.

Saudi Arabia led the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain in cutting ties with Qatar in June, accusing it of bankrolling Islamist extremist groups and of being too close to regional rival Iran. Doha denies the accusations.

The crown prince welcomed this desire, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) initially reported, adding details will be announced after Saudi Arabia reaches an agreement with UAE and Bahrain and Egypt.

But the prospect of a thaw quickly died down after SPA subsequently accused Qatars state media of wrongly implying that Saudi Arabia had initiated the outreach.

What was published by Qatar News Agency is continuation of Qatari authoritys distortion of facts, SPA said, adding that any dialogue was now suspended.

The development came after US President Donald Trump on Friday spoke separately with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE.

The President underscored that unity among the United States Arab partners is essential to promoting regional stability and countering the threat of Iran, the White House said.

The President also emphasised that all countries must follow through on commitments... to defeat terrorism, cut off funding for terrorist groups, and combat extremist ideology.

When he offered to mediate, Trump said he believed the dispute could be solved fairly easily.

In Washington on Thursday, Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al- Ahmad Al-Sabah, a key figure involved in mediation attempts, met Trump and gave an upbeat assessment of his efforts so far.

But in a statement early on Friday, the Saudi-led bloc had showed no signs of backing down as it questioned the Kuwaiti emirs statement that Qatar would be willing to accept their 13 demands.

The demands include shutting Doha-based broadcaster Al- Jazeera, closing a Turkish military base in the emirate and downgrading Qatari diplomatic ties with Iran.

The bloc also voiced regret about the Kuwaiti rulers statement on the success of mediation in stopping military intervention.

Instead, the four Arab states stressed that the military option has not been and will not be considered under any circumstances.

Kuwait has emerged as a key mediator in the crisis, while the United States has given mixed signals on its policy.

Riyadh and Doha are both key allies of the United States.

Trump, who chose Saudi Arabia for his first overseas visit as president in May, two weeks before the crisis erupted, immediately expressed staunch support for Saudi Arabia.

Some other US officials including Secretary of State Rex Tillerson have adopted a more measured tone.

Tillerson and Sheikh Mohammed announced in July they had signed an agreement to fight terrorism, built on decisions made at a Riyadh summit in May to wipe terrorism from the face of the Earth.

Qatar hosts a huge US air base, home to the headquarters of Centcom -- the regional command which leads operations against the Islamic State jihadist group.

Sheikh Tamim is set to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel for talks on September 15, in what will be his first trip to a western capital since the crisis began.
Pakistans new prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Saturday became the countrys first premier to fly in a US-made F-16 fighter aircraft, media report said.

Abbasi, during a visit to the newly-established Airpower Center of Excellence (ACE) at an operational air base of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), flew in the single-engine supersonic multirole fighter aircraft.

The 58-year-old became the first-ever prime minister of Pakistan to participate in an air force sortie, Geo News reported.

The US-made F-16 fighter aircraft belonged to the No 9 Squadron of the PAF.

The facility at the Mushaf Air base in Punjabs Sargodha city is a premier institution which has been equipped with state-of-the-art facilities and infrastructure.

Besides training PAF personnel, the ACE would also train the combat crew of friendly air forces by conducting multinational, training exercises, the report said.

Abbasi was briefed by Air Chief Sohail Aman on the ongoing exercise Saffron Bandit and was informed that the first-ever multinational exercise will be held in October and would have participation from personnel from 19 air forces.

Saffron Bandit is a combat exercise by PAF involving fighter jets and ground troops with elements from the Army Aviation and Army Air Defence. It is held once in three years.
Two months since Iraqi forces recaptured Mosul from Islamic State group fighters, Mohammed Seddiqs bullet-riddled car is still off the road and his fruit and vegetable shop has yet to reopen.

Much of Iraqs second city lies in ruins and many businesses are still at a standstill, even those that produced the famous muslin cotton fabric for which Mosul was renowned before the jihadists seized it in 2014.

Three years ago, Seddiq, 32, owned two cars, but the jihadists set fire to one and the other was damaged by mortar shells and bullets.

With all the garages still closed in his west Mosul neighbourhood, he sought out a mechanic in the industrial zone in the citys east which was less severely damaged by fighting.

He expects the repairs to cost $1,000. In the meantime he will have to pay for taxis using his savings because the state has announced that it will reimburse for cars and houses, but up to now nothing has been paid.

Many of the cars awaiting repairs at Ghezwan Aqils workshop were damaged when bulldozer-driving jihadists used them to form barricades against advancing Iraqi troops.

Their owners cannot afford to buy new cars and are prepared to wait one or two months for the repairs instead.

Aqil says that sometimes he will reduce a customers bill by half depending on their circumstances.

Even after Mosuls recapture life is uncertain and insecurity is rife.

There have been many burglaries, says taxi driver Mohammed Salem.

And people have been detained by unidentified groups. No one knows what happened to them, the 33-year-old adds.

There are regular problems between the various armed forces, especially the paramilitary units, Hossam Eddine al-Abbar, a member of the provincial council of Nineveh, of which Mosul is the capital, tells AFP.

The presence of the Hashed al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilisation) paramilitary units, dominated by Iran-backed Shiite militias, has stirred tensions in the Sunni-majority city.

- Infiltrated by terrorists -

Without genuine reconciliation between communities, there are fears that the country could once again descend into violence.

The best way to control (armed groups) is to integrate them into the regular forces that enjoy much more trust among citizens than paramilitary forces, Abbar said.

Omar al-Allaf, a local tribal dignitary who oversees Hashed al-Shaabi units, rejects the idea.

His men will never join the police because they are infiltrated by terrorists, he says.

In 2014, as IS staged a rapid advance across northern Iraq, police and military personnel abandoned their posts to the jihadists with barely a fight.

That allowed the group to establish its caliphate across parts of Syria and a third of Iraqs territory including Mosul.

Today, many police in the Iraqi city are demanding their reinstatement, but the process of identification and investigation of each one takes time, Abbar said.

More than 13,000 policemen have yet to return to their jobs despite our requests to the authorities in Baghdad, he added.

Mosuls famed Old City was reduced to rubble by the fighting and the iconic leaning minaret of its Al-Nuri mosque, the image of which adorns the 10,000 dinar note, left in ruins.

For many of Mosuls displaced, it is impossible to envisage a return to a city where, in addition to finding nothing left of their previous life, they risk losing more.

In the past year, a million Iraqis have fled their homes in Nineveh province.

They joined millions more displaced across the country by fighting in the cities where the jihadists had seized territory.

Across the country, all are waiting for reconstruction to begin.
Syrian troops Saturday broke the Islamic State groups siege of the eastern Deir Ezzor military airport, state media reported, days after ending another siege on residential districts of the city.

State news agency SANA said the breach came after the forces advancing from the cemetery southwest of the city linked up with the forces holding the airbase.

The troops had launched a new push on Friday towards the besieged military airport, as part of its multi-pronged offensive to retake the whole eastern city from the jihadists.

Since 2014, IS has held swathes of Deir Ezzor province, which borders Iraq, and about 60 percent of the provincial capital.

Jihadists had encircled two regime-held enclaves in the western half of Deir Ezzor city, and the army on Tuesday broke through one of the besieged pockets.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also confirmed troops had breached the siege.

By breaking the siege on the military airport regime forces have been able to link up all the neighbourhoods they hold in western parts of Deir Ezzor city, the Britain-based monitor said.
The UK government has set a temporary export bar on the bust of Queen Victoria, valued at around 1.2 million pounds, to prevent it from leaving the country.

The government hopes to find a buyer for the white marble sculpture within Britain to preserve it for display at a UK institution.

I would be delighted to see this unique piece on display in a UK institution, where the public can enjoy and admire it, said John Glenn, the minister for Arts.

The bust was commissioned by the Army & Navy Club to celebrate Victorias Golden Jubilee and was created by Alfred Gilbert, best known for the famous Eros statue at Piccadilly Circus in London, between 1887 and 1889.

The UKs department of culture, media and sport issued the export bar following a recommendation by the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest (RCEWA).

The RCEWA made its recommendation on the grounds of the sculptures outstanding significance to the study of Gilbert.

This monumental portrait bust of the Queen-Empress is not only an important icon made at the apogee of British power but a complex and hugely sympathetic image. It is also a tour de force of marble carving, a medium which Gilbert rarely employed, said RCEWA member Lowell Libson.

A decision on the export licence application will be deferred until December 7, which could be extended until April next year if a serious intention to raise funds to purchase it is made at the recommended price of 1.2 million pounds.

Arts minister John Glenn said offers from public bodies for less than the recommended price through the private treaty sale arrangements could be considered.
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SAN FRANCISCO - The U.S. Interior Department improperly contributed $85 million in taxpayer funds to help pay for a giant California water project backed by Gov. Jerry Brown, despite pledges from Brown and other state and federal authorities that local water districts would bear all the costs, a federal audit said Friday.

California law and an agreement by the water districts dictate that California's politically influential water districts are supposed to bear the costs of Brown's $16 billion proposal to re-engineer California's shipment of water by building dozens of miles of tunnels to tap into the state's largest river, the Sacramento.

Legacy project

In 2011, Brown and the then-secretary of the Interior Department reaffirmed that pledge of using no taxpayer funds in a joint public statement supporting the tunnels plan. Other top California officials have repeatedly insisted no tax dollars were being spent on the tunnels, often called a legacy project of the 79-year-old governor, now in his last term.

Asked if auditors wanted California water districts to repay the money, Interior spokeswoman Nancy DiPaolo said, "We certainly hope so."

Brown's office did not respond to requests for comment Friday, and state water spokesman Lisa Lien-Mager refused all comment, calling the audit and transaction a federal matter.

The audit's findings were appalling, said Doug Obegi of the Natural Resources Defense Council environmental group, which has opposed the tunnels on the grounds that it would speed up the extinction of endangered native species in and around the Sacramento River and San Francisco Bay.

"The public is paying for what a private party is supposed to pay for," Obegi said, who said the audit also raises questions overall about whether water districts can afford to take on the costly water project. "That is taking the public's money, and that's not OK."

The proposed tunnels are part of Brown's decades-long push to overhaul the complex system of pumps, aqueducts and canals by which California ships northern California water southward, mainly for use by cities and farms in central and southern California. Voters rejected an early version of Brown's proposal, envisioning canals rather than tunnels, in a state vote in the 1980s.

Final decisions

California water districts are making final decisions on whether to go ahead with the project.

Federal authorities did not fully disclose to Congress or the public that it was supplying $84.8 million for the project planning, and waived reimbursement for $50 million of it, the audit said. The federal Reclamation Bureau also did not disclose the arrangement in its certified financial reports, the audit said.

"USBR could not provide us with a rationale for its decision to subsidize (California) water contractors, other than the water contractors asked USBR to pay," the audit noted.

The actions by the Bureau of Reclamation, which is part of the Interior Department, mean that federal taxpayers paid a third of the cost of the project's planning up to 2016, the audit said.

Meanwhile, Central Valley water districts that were supposed to pay 50 percent of the tunnels' planning costs contributed only 18 percent, the audit found.

Thomas Birmingham, general manager of the sprawling Central Valley rural water district Westlands, which received one of the largest shares of the federal money, said he knew of nothing about the arrangement that was "inconsistent with either state or federal law."

"The state was aware of it," Birmingham said of the federal payments.

Won't repay funds?

Birmingham indicated water districts might never repay those funds. Under federal law, he said, water districts would be responsible for reimbursing the federal money only if the project went forward and benefited those districts.

While the transaction occurred during the Obama administration, the audit said approval for the deal came from a regional Reclamation budget officer.

In response to the inspector-general's findings, the Reclamation bureau told auditors that it had disclosed the payments in a 2013 letter to seven unidentified members of Congress, and said it planned to make no more such payments for the tunnels project. Bureau spokesmen refused comment Friday.
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I wrote recently that what I learned about bail bonds companies made me appreciate them, at least from my capitalistic that's an interesting and possibly profitable way to make money perspective.

That doesn't mean I'm deaf to other arguments, against the industry. Those arguments have gotten louder, to the point that bail bonds businesses in places like Houston, and the state of New Jersey, face an existential threat right now. They may not survive.

A recent judge's ruling is killing them in Houston.

At the end of April, Chief U.S. District Court Judge Lee Rosenthal ruled that all defendants accused of misdemeanor offenses in Harris County must be released from jail within 24 hours. The ruling went into effect this summer, pending resolution of a lawsuit, expected in October.

The practical effect is to make all misdemeanor defendants eligible for bail through county-supported pretrial services or a sheriff's bond, avoiding the need for a more costly private bail bond.

The changes have eliminated 80 percent of the private bail bonds business, according to John McCluskey of Action Bail Bonds in Houston. He believes his fellow bail bonds competitors in Harris County have seen a similar catastrophic drop-off in their business. According to McCluskey, they're pretty much dead.

Proponents and opponents of commercial bail bonds come to completely opposite conclusions about the proper role of private bail bonds vs. a so-called sheriff's bond, which are county-supported bail bonds that cost almost nothing.

Both sides agree on three key issues:

Fairness: Is it fair that people are released from jail awaiting trial, or not, based on whether they can afford bail, or not?

Public cost: Are taxpayer resources being used appropriately?

Public safety: Do bail conditions adequately prevent accused criminals, awaiting trial, from re-committing crimes? And which method best guarantees that people show up in court to face justice?

What opponents and proponents don't agree on is the data, how the other side uses the data, or what the data means. As a finance guy, public cost issue caught my eye in particular.

In conversations with three different bail bonds owners in Texas, plus a fourth expert who has done consulting work for the industry, I heard them proudly represent a private-sector solution to the public-sector problem of ensuring court appearance for trial, thereby saving taxpayer dollars.

Requiring a defendant to pay for his release, bail bondsmen say, saves taxpayers from taking the financial risk of their return to court. The cost of monitoring defendants falls to bail bondsmen, not county employees. Finally, if a defendant fails to show up for trial, bondsmen say, the cost of collecting them doesn't hit taxpayers.

In a narrow sense, taxpayer costs will go up in response to the recent shift to the public pretrial bail, the Houston Chronicle reported, as Harris County pretrial services hired a dozen new positions.

Mike Lozito, Bexar County's head of pretrial services, estimates that he would have to triple his current staff of 71 to handle all bail cases if Bexar County went a similar route. Partly to avoid that additional public burden, Lozito told me, he welcomes the private/public partnership between pretrial services and the commercial bail bonds industry.

Yet, opponents of status quo make bigger, and ultimately more profound, cost arguments.

As Matt Alsdorf of the Laura and John Arnold Foundation told me, the narrow cost issue of bail bondsmen vs. pretrial services does not accurately capture the true public expense of private bail.

As Vice President of Criminal Justice at the Foundation, a think-tank at the forefront of challenging the commercial bond industry, Alsdorf argues that we need to take into account the total cost of incarcerating people. Keeping penniless defendants in jail because they can't post bail costs the public between $75 and up to $300 each night per person, depending on estimates and jurisdictions, according to Alsdorf.

U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Kamala Harris, D-Calif., argued in a recent New York Times editorial that 450,000 people sit in jails nationwide because they can't make bail. They estimate this failure to afford private bail costs the nation an additional $14 billion per year.

Further, as Alsdorf points out, the impact of losing employment or disrupting families makes extra time in jail an economic catastrophe for people least able to endure that hit. That economic hit may appear justified to some people, because it punishes people who are arrested, but it also seems to encourage an ongoing cycle of poverty, which probably costs the public far more in the long run.

Facing the right-left alliance of senators Rand and Harris, think-tanks like the Arnold Foundation, and civil rights groups like the one that brought the Harris County lawsuit, bail bonds companies ought to be very nervous. Could the Houston-area lawsuit spread to the rest of Texas?

As Bexar County's public defender Michael Young explained to me, not right away, but maybe over time.

It's true that there is a federal lawsuit pending in Harris County dealing with personal bonds and misdemeanors specifically. It is my understanding that the ruling is specific to the facts presented in that case, so therefore any ruling wouldn't automatically be applied elsewhere. However, the legal reasoning of the federal judge could be applied to any county, and could result in a similar ruling, in future cases.

I'll interpret this to say, over time, follow-up lawsuits could eliminate private bail bonds in cities and counties all over Texas. As private businesses they might be dead men walking and not yet know it.
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NEW YORK - After Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005, an antique store needed more than six years to fully recover. A Long Island restaurateur couldn't reopen one of his locations for a year and a half after Superstorm Sandy struck in 2012.

For small businesses, the recovery from hurricanes and other natural disasters can take years - if they can recover at all. Business owners in Houston have only just started assessing their damage and how to move forward. Many may find themselves facing the same hurdles and delays as small business owners who have been through other big storms.

After Katrina, the city of Kenner, west of New Orleans, resembled a ghost town. The Golden Corral franchise restaurant there suffered extensive damage. Managers were able to hire a crew for repairs, and within 10 weeks the restaurant was fixed up enough to reopen. But there were few residents around, and only nine of 70 staffers were in town to run the place, says Malcolm Clark, the franchise's director of operations.

"You realize, there's no one there," Clark says. "The workers didn't have homes, the customers weren't back. You start this long, slow crawl back to normal."

At first, the Golden Corral could serve only lunch. The customers were construction workers and insurance adjusters. Sometimes it was difficult to get deliveries of food and supplies. It took a year after Katrina for the Golden Corral to be back to normal.

Still, the damage could have been worse, Clark says. The restaurant had gone through devastating hurricanes in the past and when it was rebuilt, it was constructed to be more stormproof.

"We were lucky with that," he says.

Bill Rau's antique store in New Orleans' French Quarter escaped heavy damage from Katrina and was closed for just six weeks. But M.S. Rau Antiques had $5 million in damage to its inventory when its warehouse flooded, and it took a year and a half for the insurance company to reimburse him.

Even then, he said, the effects of Katrina lasted years because people thought that New Orleans remained underwater. The number of visitors to New Orleans fell from 10.1 million in 2004 to 3.7 million in 2006. It wasn't until last year that New Orleans surpassed the 2004 figure.

So Rau sold more online rather than depending on store business, went to more antique expos and fairs, and reached out to customers.

"People went out of their way to buy something from us," he says.

Many small businesses are far less fortunate - the government has estimated that nearly 40 percent of small companies never reopen following a weather-related disaster. Many don't have adequate insurance and/or cash reserves to repair the damage and pay the bills while they can't operate. And even without physical damage, a business can have financial losses - a restaurant can lose tens of thousands of dollars in spoiled food, for example, if the power goes out.

Companies whose workers can telecommute have a better chance of survival than a manufacturing company, says Chloe Demrovsky, CEO of the Disaster Recovery International Foundation, which among other activities provides training on disaster preparation to small businesses.

"For other types of businesses, it's going to be a lot harder - they have to ask, how long can we keep our doors shuttered?" she says.

Some small businesses make repairs and reopen - but may not survive in the long term.

When Hurricane Irene hit North Carolina's Outer Banks in 2011, waves from the Atlantic slammed into Mickey Daniels' crab meat business, tearing holes in the walls. Daniels, whose company had been in the family since 1958, thought about shutting down, but his friends helped fix up the small building. Still, the walls were weak and would need more extensive work.

Daniels was contending with other issues, like increasing imports of cheaper crab meat from Asia that hurt his profits. He also considered the likelihood that the business could be devastated again, given the number of hurricanes that affect North Carolina.

"You think about another storm, and you think, what's the point?" Daniels says. He closed the business in 2013.

Five years after Superstorm Sandy damaged his four Long Island restaurants and catering halls, Butch Yamali is still feeling the effects. One of the halls, The Sands on Lido Beach, had 4 feet of water that destroyed furniture, carpeting and kitchen equipment.

Yamali focused on getting the two least-damaged of his establishments running again, and had one open within three weeks. But the devastation throughout the area made the recovery harder.

"We couldn't find Sheetrock, we needed a boiler. ... We had trouble getting wiring, panel boxes and circuit breakers," Yamali says.

One more opened in early May 2013, six months after Sandy, and another was ready for the beach season starting Memorial Day. But the fourth, in the devastated village of Island Park, was shuttered until April 2014.

Still, though, Yamali says, some customers don't want to commit to the kind of big affairs he used to put on or make long-term plans.

"They question it, they think, maybe it will happen again," he says.

The storm also brought some painful lessons. Yamali didn't have flood insurance on his properties when Sandy hit, but "I have it now."
NEW YORK - On a rainy summer afternoon, Ilana Glazer is huddled under the awning of a Brooklyn cafe. Clad in a black raincoat, jeans and a pair of clogs, she'd suggested meeting here to talk about the new season of her show, "Broad City," but it turns out it's closed. Glazer's backup plan, a coffee shop around the corner, is quickly deemed too loud.

Finally, she settles on a mostly empty bar down the block. After some fussing with her iPhone, Glazer summons her creative partner, Abbi Jacobson, via FaceTime from Los Angeles. Parked in front of her laptop in an anonymous Airbnb rental, Jacobson looks cozy in a white sweatshirt.

Glazer orders some fries - they're "insane," she promises - a plate of $1 oysters and a side of pickles and has just begun talking about Season 4 when something catches Jacobson's eye.

"Sorry - time out," says a suddenly animated Jacobson, 33. "Great ear story."

"Oh, my goodness, thank you," replies Glazer, 30, cocking her head to display the "story" in question: three hoop earrings dangling from her right lobe. "I'm telling a new ear story."

"I never get a new ear story," Jacobson says with feigned jealousy.

More Information 'Broad City' When: 8:30 p.m. Sept. 13 Network: Comedy Central See More Collapse

To viewers of "Broad City," the enthusiastic banter is a familiar scene. The buddy comedy, which returns to Comedy Central on Wednesday after an unusually long hiatus, follows the New York misadventures of 20-something best friends Abbi Abrams and Ilana Wexler - younger, slightly exaggerated versions of co-creators Jacobson and Glazer.

In a comedy tradition dating to Lucy and Ethel, the women are a study in contrasts. Ilana is the hypersexual, supremely self-confident free spirit with an outrageous wardrobe and vague professional aspirations, and Abbi is the slightly more reserved one, a struggling illustrator who worships Oprah Winfrey and has a paralyzing crush on her cute neighbor. Both are enthusiastic pot smokers. A recurring motif depicts the friends, whose apartments are separated by an annoyingly long subway ride, discussing the minutiae of their lives via FaceTime.

What's keeping the two apart in real life isn't the logistics of New York public transportation but, rather, their busy professional lives. Jacobson is on the West Coast working on "Disenchantment," an animated series created by Matt Groening for Netflix. Glazer, who was recently seen in the bachelorette comedy "Rough Night," is hunkered down in New York prepping a stand-up tour that begins in November.

In the 3 years since its debut, "Broad City" has become a critical darling, winning praise for its distinctive blend of outrageousness and heart. In a sign of its importance to Comedy Central, the series was renewed for Seasons 4 and 5 before Season 3 even aired. Though same-day ratings are relatively modest, the show draws a healthy weekly audience of 4.3 million viewers. And like many of the inventive, quasi-autobiographical comedies to which it compares - "Louie," "Girls," "Atlanta" - "Broad City's" cultural influence far outweighs its Nielsen performance.

It has not only invaded the lexicon (see the sudden ubiquity of Ilana's catchprase, "Yasss, Queen") but attracted a cameo by Hillary Clinton in a bid to impress millennial voters.

Once unknowns who started making "Broad City" as a web series after failing to make the house improv team at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, Glazer and Jacobson have since become fixtures on late-night couches and magazine covers alike. And though the characters they play may be maturing at a comically slow pace, Jacobson and Glazer have grown measurably as artists - not only taking over the reins of "Broad City" as showrunners but branching out into directing, producing, books, podcasts, stand-up and other creative pursuits.

For fans of Abbi and Ilana's high jinks, it's been an especially long 17 months without "Broad City" on the air. Initially, Glazer and Jacobson had asked to delay production of Season 4 in order to film during the winter. Previous seasons had all been set in the summer, and they reasoned that a show about the humiliations of life in New York would be incomplete without depicting the cruelty of the city's colder months.

Things didn't necessarily work according to plan.

"For the most part, it was sadly, like, extremely, scarily warm," says Glazer, taking a sip of her Arnold Palmer. "But it was, like, emotional winter."

In case there's any doubt, she is referring to the aftermath of the presidential election, which fell in the middle of a planned break in the writing of Season 4. Regrouping in December, Jacobson and Glazer rewrote several episodes and tweaked details of others to reflect the current mood. (For instance, Ilana's bedroom wall is now covered in Planned Parenthood posters.)

"The way we were feeling was just so overwhelming that it felt like it had to be infused into the show as an overall undertone," Jacobson explains. As if on cue, a news alert on her computer announces the latest Trump administration controversy, a press conference at which the president seemed to backpedal from his earlier denunciation of white supremacists.

"He said, 'What, are we gonna take down George Washington monuments next?' I don't know what the  is happening," she says wearily.

Though "Broad City," executive-produced by Amy Poehler, is more about ridiculous capers than hot-button issues, it has an exuberant feminist streak evident in Abbi and Ilana's steadfast friendship and a raunchy brand of body positivity.

"The show has a spirit and an energy to it that embraces everything you could say about Abbi and Ilana. It's really funny, it's really engaging, it's really winning, and it's also very political and has a strong point of view," Comedy Central President Kent Alterman says. "I'd put it this way: There is no other reaction to the election like this one. It hits the target so hard."

"Broad City's" singular response to Trump reflects Jacobson and Glazer's increased self-assurance as storytellers, Alterman says. After co-creating the series, the duo took over as showrunners in Season 2 and, in a further extension of their stewardship of "Broad City," each directed two episodes this season.

"It's a whole other part of this storytelling that I've always been really interested in. I feel like this was the right time to do it," says Jacobson, who also recently hosted a contemporary-art podcast called "A Piece of Work."

The friends have committed to at least one more season of "Broad City," but the future of the series beyond that is an ongoing conversation.

"I don't think we'd ever want to do it past a point where every episode was our baby, which they still are," Jacobson says.

The friends have committed to at least one more season of 'Broad City,' but the future of the series beyond that is an ongoing conversation.
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Charity Navigator, the national group that rates charities on how efficiently they use donations, has released rankings of non-profits taking donations in the wake of Hurricane Harvey.

In a notice on its website, Charity Navigator singles out the Houston SPCA, Houston Humane Society and Houston Food Bank as worthy organizations. It also gives a nod to the Food Bank of Corpus Christi and the San Antonio Humane Society as top-rated organizations providing direct support to people and animals.

The Houston Food Bank, for example, received a 100 percent rating, and 96.2 percent of its spending went to programs and services.

"We have donors who come to us all year round and find organizations they can trust. We see upticks in people wanting to give - and give quickly - when things like Hurricane Harvey happen or are going on in the news," said Katelynn Rusnock, Charity Navigator's advisory system manager.

Since its founding in 2001, the organization has rated nonprofits in two areas of performance - financial health and accountability/transparency - to help potential donors make informed decisions about where to give their money. They currently rate 8,955 501(c)(3) charities based in the U.S. and that may do work all over the world.

Charity Navigator looks at a series of financial metrics, including information from nonprofits' 990 tax forms as well as information from their websites. The nonprofits must have revenue of at least $1 million a year and be in operation at least seven years.

More than 40 charities are listed on its website's post about post-hurricane giving, and the link to each charity allows people to donate directly to the organization.

Other local charities making the list are Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, Habitat for Horses, Small Steps Nurturing Center, Star of Hope, YMCA of Greater Houston and the United Way of Greater Houston.

"Even during Hurricane Irma, we'll have something up and be a resource for that as well. We're available all year long. Our ratings are always there."
Well, as I enter the pulpit this week I know there is there is still one thing on the minds of most Houstonians: Harvey.

The words that accompany these recent events are never good: tragic, disaster, unprecedented, etc. Often you hear biblical ideas or stories that come pouring from our consciousness. I'm sure you heard many ark jokes and you also heard of many "good Samaritans" helping and rescuing strangers. Journalists wanting to put some frame of reference on the scope of Harvey resorted to saying things like "biblical proportions," because only the Bible is big enough to speak to something of this scope.

Indeed, the awesome power of this water and the powerlessness we experience watching it rise should serve as a reminder of our place before God. When we see nature's power, we should be humbled. Sure, we can manipulate some of the powers of the Earth. We can use them to our advantage. And most of the time we can rise above it. But not always. Sometimes even 800-year floods surpass our ability to control nature. We should all know our place before God now. Because we just got thumped by a tropical storm.

Yes, there are simple truths, brute facts in this life. And when we come up against them, we will lose. When we come up against nature when it is at its strongest, we will lose. And when we come against God, we will lose. In offering his name to Moses, YHWH is saying that he is the foundation of all existence. "I am what I am." Yes, we have life, but it is dependent on His life. Yes, we can grow food and have babies, but it all depends on our creator. YHWH is the ground of all being, the source of life we come up against and can never equal, much less defeat. We never will be able to match his goodness, his holiness or his mercy.

Yes, His mercy surpasses our mercy. Consider that this same YHWH also said this to his disciples: "Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised." The God of all creation would take on our flesh and go to the cross and die for us. He is so powerful. And yet, his final answer to our sin is the cross of Christ. He is so good to us. He is so merciful.

We have been confronted with power like we have never seen these past few weeks. But in the end, everything we have can be taken, and we will still have a merciful God. And on the day of resurrection, we will have a house that Jesus has prepared for us, free from threat of storm. We will have brothers and sisters in Christ awaiting us in peace. We will have no scarcity of food and our work will not be arduous labor of rescue and service, but joyful time in soil and at plow. Because the God of all power also is all merciful.

Might we be merciful, too. Paul, in quoting Proverbs 25, writes, " if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink  ." If we do this for our enemy, surely we gladly do it for Harvey's victims. And we press on doing good even to the point of exhaustion, which is where many in Houston will be.

Paul writes, "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." How many times did you see ordinary men and women overcome this evil flood with good? The company that donated massive trucks to get people out of neighborhoods! FEMA crews going from house to house! The Cajun Navy and their band of boats! Neighbors housing neighbors that used to be strangers! Paul's advice in the wake of a disaster couldn't be better. What do we do in the wake of this disaster? We overcome it with good.

And, if we want to be a follower of Jesus, we deny ourselves and take up our cross. "For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life?"

Natural disasters are terrible things. But they sure put some things in perspective, don't they? All the things we think are important. All the control we think we have. By God's grace, this will be a time to return to our merciful God. And it will be a time that we take up the cross of serving others and living for others, as Christ lived for us.
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MIAMI - Hurricane Irma began itsdestructive barrage on Florida on Saturday, with brutal leading winds flattening trees and knocking out power across the southern tip of the state in what residents feared were the opening blows of a historically devastating storm.

The hurricane, leaving a wake of at least 25 dead on battered Caribbean islands, roared toward the mainland with thousands of residents still on the move. More than 5 million people across the state were ordered to leave threatened areas, one of the largest emergency evacuations in U.S. history.

Some were forced to flee more than once as the storm's changing path shifted the bull's eye of panic from the east side to the west side of the peninsula. Officials along the Gulf Coast scrambled to open shelters for a stampede of residents newly alarmed when Irma swung her fury their way. Thousands were lined up to enter an arena in Naples even as wind gusts climbed above 75 mph at some South Florida airports.

"The storm is here," Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) said at a news conference Saturday.

The National Hurricane Center downgraded Irma to a Category 3 storm Saturday, with maximum sustained winds of 125 mph. But after pounding Cuba, the storm was drawing strength from the Atlantic as it spun northward and was expected to make landfall in the Florida Keys around 5 a.m. Sunday as a Category 4 storm, driving a storm surge of 5 to 10 feet toward parts of the Keys.

The center of the storm is now expected to head up the state's west coast, with Naples, Fort Myers and Tampa bearing the brunt. But Irma's sprawling size could produce hazards across the breadth of the state, with all of Florida likely to experience damaging winds, rains, flooding and possibly tornadoes. Storm surges are still a danger on the east coast.

"This is a deadly storm, and our state has never seen anything like it," Scott said in one of his repeated appeals for residents to seek shelter.

Miami-Dade Emergency Operations Center, Fire Chief Dave Downey said rescue teams would deploy as soon as conditions allowed his department's helicopters to take off from Orlando, where they had been moved to safety.

The question, he said, "is how fast can we get into the Keys, how fast can we get into the West Coast." The likelihood that the storm will make a direct hit on the Keys, he said, "terrifies all of us."

Florida Power and Light said 4.1 million people could lose power as a result of the storm. At least 76,000 people had already lost power across the state as of Saturday evening.

Counties including Broward issued curfews, and at least 70 more shelters were open Saturday. At least 75,000 people are staying in about 400 shelters across the state. Scott implored nurses to volunteer throughout Florida; the state desperately needs 1,000 nurses in its special-needs shelters.

In Estero, on the west coast, thousands of people wrapped around the massive Germain Arena, which officials opened as a shelter Saturday with a capacity of 7,000 to 8,000. At least six ambulances responded to people who were overcome in the muggy, 90-degree heat. Troopers, the National Guard and local police sought out people in wheelchairs and moved them to the front of the line, said Lt. Greg Bueno, public information officer for the Florida Highway Patrol.

Leaning on a cane, Betty Sellers, 68, and her son, Doug, 49, got in line at 9:30 a.m. and were still 100 people away from the front doors. They had driven up to Estero from Naples because "the shelters were mostly closed there," she said.

Officials at the Collier County emergency operations center in Naples said that 15,000 people filled all its shelters but that they were trying to expand space to accommodate more people. Demand exceeded expectations as the latest forecasts showed the area likely to be near the center of Irma's path. .

Officials are also concerned that wind gusts will send water over the Herbert Hoover Dike at Lake Okeechobee, which covers more than 700 square miles. Evacuations were ordered for cities and towns on the south side of the lake.

Trying to outrun Irma has tested the patience and pocketbooks of thousands of Floridians who evacuated from one part of the state to another, only to find the hurricane had tricked them.

"I think the storm is chasing my dogs," said John Fitzgerald, a stock trader from Miami.

Fitzgerald was checking into the Hilton DoubleTree in Gainesville, hours after evacuating from a hotel in Tampa, his original destination. When Irma's projected path shifted west, hotels started asking guests to get out and he headed inland.

Miami residents began expressing cautious optimism that Irma would spare them its most violent winds. "I think God helped us a little bit," said Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez.

Still, this became a ghost metropolis, with boulevards empty of cars and people as far as the eye could see. A place famous for chaotic and crowded traffic had utterly empty roads and highways.

More than 28,000 people had taken refuge in county shelters by late Saturday. Countless more were simply holed up behind their metal hurricane shutters. Almost every business had closed.

On Biscayne Boulevard, tiny L and R Grocery stayed open through the afternoon. On Coral Way, a place called Vicky Bakery, selling pastelitos and cafe con leche, stayed open and drew a crowd. But all the gas stations had pumps wrapped in plastic.

Hector Perez, 34, his cousin Madelyn Loria, 35, and her teenage children made a special trip to the historic Deering Estate on Biscayne Bay to see the first signs of the storm surge. "We're true Miamians!" Perez said.

The storm clobbered Caribbean islands. In St. Martin, 25 U.S. citizens were evacuated on a C-130 military aircraft Friday from Sonesta Great Bay Beach Resort. Michael Joseph, president of the Red Cross in Antigua and Barbuda, said Barbuda is "uninhabitable" and in a "total blackout," with almost all of its infrastructure wiped out.

Since early Wednesday, when Irma tore across St. Martin, Gretchen and Peter Bogacz have been hunkered down at the Hotel L'Esplanade with no power or running water, trying to find out if assistance was on the way. The airport was seriously damaged.

Meanwhile, Irma was headed toward their 12-year-old daughter, Isabella, as well as Peter Bogacz's parents, who planned to ride out the storm together at home in Sarasota, Florida.

Gretchen's sister, Natalie Grinnell, is urgently monitoring the forecasts from her home in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

"My worry for my loved ones is pervasive," she wrote in an email to The Post.

In the United States, local, state and federal officials delivered ominous warnings, making clear how much danger they think the Sunshine State could face in coming days. William "Brock" Long, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, urged people from Alabama to North Carolina to monitor and prepare for the storm, calling it "a threat that is going to devastate the United States, either Florida or some of the southeastern states."

About 540,000 people in Georgia have been ordered to evacuate. Airports throughout Florida and in Savannah, Georgia, were closed. Disney World is closed Sunday and Monday, with resort hotels staying open.

In Key West, Florida, where officials bluntly told residents to "get out" and emergency personnel evacuated, some locals refused to budge.

"It's going to be a fun ride," said Jason Wasser, who had had a few drinks at Don's Place. "All of our friends are here, our family, why bother leaving? We're all going to die eventually, so why not have a good time with it?"

In Miami, some also stayed put. On Friday night, South Beach was deserted, shelters were overflowing and last-minute preparations were underway.

But it wouldn't be Miami if the nightlife completely died with the storm.

Locals packed bars in Coconut Grove, drinking and watching the U.S. Open and the Miami Marlins game. There was a 45-minute wait for a table at Happy Wine. The restaurant alerted people that it was business as usual by writing "We're Open" in big red letters on the plywood that covered its windows.

- - -

Achenbach and Stein reported from Miami, and Hendrix and Zezima reported from Washington. Patricia Sullivan in Estero, Scott Unger in Key West, Florida, Leonard Shapiro in Pompano Beach, Florida, and Lori Rozsa in Gainesville, Florida; and Lori Aratani, Mark Berman, Thomas Gibbons-Neff, Matea Gold and Jason Samenow in Washington contributed to this report.

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Video: Residents of a mobile home neighborhood in Miami are not taking any chances with Hurricane Irma

'I'm scared to stay over here,' says Miami resident Ines Martinez. She and her neighbors are preparing to evacuate their mobile homes.

Short URL: http://wapo.st/2vMhcxA

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BEIRUT - At Russia's request, the U.S. military on Friday called off its surveillance of a convoy of Islamic State fighters that has been stuck in the Syrian desert for the past 10 days, saying it is now up to the Syrian government to resolve its fate.

The decision to withdraw the warplanes that have been circling over the convoy came after Syrian troops advancing through the province of Deir al-Zour passed the point where the convoy is located, leaving it behind Syrian army lines, according to a military statement.

The convoy became stuck in the no man's land between the frontlines of the Syrian Army and the Islamic State, after the U.S. military bombed the road ahead to prevent it from reaching Islamic State territory in eastern Syria. It had been traveling there from western Syria under the terms of a deal struck between the Islamic State and the Lebanese Hezbollah movement to end fighting along the Lebanese border.

Because Syrian troops are now in control of the area, the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State agreed to a Russian request to halt the surveillance, in the interests of deconflicting the rival Russian- and U.S.-backed efforts to defeat the militants, the statement said.

The military added that it would continue to try to prevent the militants on board the buses from reaching Iraq.

"The regime's advance past the convoy underlines continued Syrian responsibility for the buses and terrorists. As always, we will do our utmost to ensure that the ISIS terrorists do not move toward the border of our Iraqi partners," said Brig. Gen. Jon Braga, director of operations for the Coalition.

U.S. military officials had previously said that they would not allow the buses to reach any Islamic State controlled area, in Syria or Iraq. It is unclear whether the Syrian advance into the area means the terms of the Hezbollah-brokered deal will now be fulfilled, and the buses will be allowed to proceed to their original destination, the Syrian border town of Bukamal.

The original convoy of 17 buses loaded with Islamic State fighters and their families had already broken up, with six managing to head back into Syrian government territory, and 11 getting stuck after the bombing of the road. The U.S. military did not bomb the convoy itself because of the presence of women and children on board.

There were several reports that some individual fighters managed to escape across the border into Iraq, and Hezbollah said in a statement on Saturday that some buses had made it into to Islamic State territory, without giving details. An official linked to Hezbollah said the number was four.

But the U.S. military said it was sure no buses made it into militant controlled areas. The military also said it killed 85 fighters in the vicinity of the buses who were attempting to escape.

- - -

Suzan Haidamous contributed from Washington.
When then-Gov. Terry Branstad signed the bill creating the Iowa Public Information Board on May 3, 2012, he sent a hopeful message  or perhaps engaged in a bit of wishful thinking.

"This is a new day for Iowans as we hold government at all levels in our state more accountable and shed effective light on those activities," Branstad said.

The reality over the past five years has been cloudy, at best. The Iowa Public Information Board has been a sometimes-helpful but usually weak guardian of the public's right to know. And then came Friday  a dark day for government transparency in Iowa.

Members of the Iowa Public Information Board met in closed session Friday to discuss the January 2015 accidental fatal shooting of Autumn Steele by a Burlington policeman. The board cited rules in Iowa's open meeting laws that allow governments to meet privately to discuss ongoing litigation.

But then the board members returned to open session and voted 7-0 "to proceed in accordance with discussion in closed session." No further discussion.

So what did the board decide? Sorry, that's secret.

As Iowa law states, and IPIB staffers advise other Iowa officials in training sessions, final action by a government body must be taken in open session.

Was the vote a final action? Not likely, said Margaret Johnson, the board's executive director. Which is a lot like saying, "Trust us."

Which is asking a lot, given the board's history in enforcing the state's open records and open meetings law on behalf of Iowans.

Iowa lawmakers formed the Public Information Board in 2012 after a six-year effort of lobbying by open-government advocates and media groups, which saw state and local officials often ignore the law. Despite a tiny budget, the board was given the authority to fine scofflaws.

But the group has rarely used that power and has a history of siding with government agencies. Its leadership has preferred to work behind the scenes to help citizens gain access to information.

Its boldest actions have come in the Steele case. After the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and the Burlington Police Department declined to release the full video of the shooting and other records, the board hired former Supreme Court Justice Mark McCormick as special prosecutor in the case. In June 2016, McCormick charged the agencies and Des Moines County Attorney Amy Beavers with violating the open records law.

To its credit, the board has continued to pursue the case through many twists and turns. But the board's membership has changed, and its next steps could be crucial to the case.

Meanwhile, the state is representing both sides of the issue. The Iowa Public Information Board is relying on legal advice from Michelle Rabe, an assistant Iowa attorney general assigned to the Department of Transportation. The Department of Criminal Investigation is being represented by Jeff Peterzalek, also an assistant Iowa attorney general.

So add questions of conflict of interest to the plot line.

Why does this matter?

It matters to the family of Autumn Steele, which has waited 2 years to learn details of the shooting that killed the 34-year-old mother in front of her 3-year-old son.

It matters to those concerned about the trend of law-enforcement agencies refusing to release video in cases involving use of force or other police actions.

It matters to the future of government openness and accountability in Iowa. In its status report in February 2013, the board stated: "It is the goal of the board to be the state's most transparent state agency."

If that's true, we're in trouble. As Randy Evans, the executive director of the Iowa Freedom of Information Council, said last week: "The board showed today that it hardly is in a position to be telling other government bodies how they should handle public records and public meetings."

For those reasons, the Register has asked the Iowa Public Information Board to make a recording of the secret meeting immediately available, fine each of its members $1,000 and make a public apology.

That was almost a week ago. We're still waiting.
Irma ranks among the strongest hurricanes ever recorded in the Atlantic Ocean. When the storm maintained wind speeds of at least 180 mph for 37 hours, it set a record for most intense storm for such a long duration - anywhere on Earth.

Super Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) - which devastated the Philippines and killed more than 6,000 people in 2013 - was the previous record-holder at 24 hours.

We know the ingredients that came together to make this happen: weak ambient winds in the Atlantic, very warm ocean temperatures and the fact that the storm's core has been able to stay out over the open water without making landfall on a major coast.

The "wind shear" over the Atlantic Ocean is very low this year, compared with previous years. This term describes a change in wind speed or direction with height. Wind shear tends to tear a hurricane apart. When conditions are relatively tranquil, "cyclogenesis" can occur - which basically means a hurricane can form.

With exceptionally low wind shear over the Atlantic and Caribbean, the stage was set months ago for an exceptionally active season.

Bathlike ocean water provided a lot of fuel for Hurricane Irma to strengthen from. The water is warmer than normal - about 1-3 degrees above average for this time of year.

The final reason Irma has stayed so strong is because the storm has not hit a major land area. The hurricane ravaged islands in the Caribbean - including Barbuda, St. Martin and the Virgin Islands - but so far it hasn't come into contact with a body of land that could potentially slow it down.

Importantly, the storm's eye has stayed over water, which allowed it to maintain its strength as the outer winds and rain bands lashed the Lesser and Greater Antilles. Until the core reaches Florida, this storm will continue to maintain strength.

Bringing it all together is the Bermuda High, which is why the storm went where it did.

The Bermuda High is a ridge of high pressure centered over the central Atlantic. This crest of calm weather and clear skies is a semi-permanent feature this time of year and shifts east in the wintertime. The high acts as a guardrail for hurricanes, forcing them as far west as its boundary exists.

This year, the Bermuda High is both more intense and farther west than normal. As such, storms that ordinarily would have a chance of turning out to sea are now able to target the United States.

In addition to steering the hurricane, the high pressure also contributes to its strong winds. Wind speed is caused by a change in pressure. If the Bermuda high is exceptionally high, then the pressure difference between that and the hurricane is much larger, which leads to stronger winds.

This pressure trace measured during Irma's direct pass over Barbuda illustrates this concept quite well. A drop of nearly 90 millibars, equating to roughly 10 percent of the atmosphere's weight, occurred within a six-hour window. This stark contrast and enormous pressure gradient is what makes Irma's winds so strong.

---

The Washington Post's Angela Fritz contributed to this story.
PORT ARANSAS  As Texas Monthly's Dan Solomon noted earlier this week, Texans from all over the state love this unassuming, little beach town on Mustang Island. That deep and abiding affection, he wrote, "speaks to the kind of welcoming place the locals made of their home."

Driving in along the two-lane road that bisects the island from the south, it was distressingly obvious that those locals need all the love they can get after Hurricane Harvey tore apart their town with winds in excess of 130 miles per hour. On a muggy, gray afternoon this week, the smell of putrid water and rotting fish inescapable on the breeze, I crept along residential streets lined  as in flooded Houston neighborhoods - with walls of broken furniture, soggy mattresses, ruined clothes, rain-swollen books, boxes of family photos, memorabilia.

"It's the worst one I've seen," said Mayor Charles Bujan, a native. "When it passed over us, it brought the bay back in on us."

The wind, the rain and the storm surge flattened commercial structures. Every house I drove past in the older section of town appeared to have suffered either structural damage, flooding or both. On the north side, where the storm was most destructive, battered mobile homes were strewn about like discarded tin cans, either on their sides or upside down. Boats were stranded in yards festooned with thick, brown seaweed and downed trees; vessels floated on their sides in the channel.

When I got out to talk to people, giant mosquitoes homed in. As I took notes, Flora Caylor Buerger brushed a blood-sucking monster off my cheek and offered spray. She and husband John are proprietors of Angler's Court, seven frame cabins her grandfather built in the late 1940s. All seven remain standing but are heavily damaged.

"I've been through Celia, Carla, but this is nothing like I've experienced," Flora Buerger told me.

Although the mayor predicts the town of about 4,000 will be smaller in the coming days, those I talked to said they had no intention of leaving. Johnny Brundrett, 77, a retired taxidermist, lives on Brundrett Avenue, next door to the Buergers in a little house that resembles a wooden box on stilts. It's one of the cabins Flora's grandfather built. Hurricane Celia in 1970 washed it two streets over, but Brundrett hauled it back to the street named for his grandfather. Harvey gashed a hole in the roof and left 8 inches of standing water inside.

"It's been needing work anyway," the white-haired native said, "so it's going to make me do it a bit sooner than I expected."

"We're going to start over again," Flora Buerger told me, "but it's going to take so long to recover. It's going to take months."

How many months depends on who you talk to, although the consensus seems to be at least six. "Anybody thinking they can make a profit before Memorial Day is drinking the good stuff," said Guy Carnathan, the chef/owner of a popular restaurant called Liberty Hall. Known locally as a culinary genius with fresh fish he buys off boats up and down the coast, Carnathan, 67, got to Port Aransas in 1986. His restaurant suffered relatively minor damage.

A cantankerous fellow, he leaned against his pickup in the Liberty Hall parking lot and complained about numerous things - repair costs for one, millennials for another, specifically their ignorance of fine dining. He has noticed, he told me, that some who show up in his restaurant stab a piece of meat with their fork before sawing off a chunk. Millennials irritate him.

Shorty's Place, a vintage dive bar that's been pouring cold ones since 1946, managed to open last Sunday after mopping up 6 inches of water that buckled the grimy wooden floor. Beneath hundreds of caps hanging from the low ceiling like a colony of bats, the bar's loyal customers were enjoying themselves Wednesday afternoon.

A couple of blocks away is the Tarpon Inn, built in 1886 with surplus lumber from Civil War barracks and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The two-story hotel has survived every storm since 1922. It survived Harvey too.

"We do have damage, but nothing that can't be fixed," manager Amiee Van Winkle said. "Our goal is to reopen sometime in November."

Jeff and Patti Hart are Austin residents who stayed at the Tarpon Inn on their honeymoon. (Chronicle readers will remember Patti as a columnist and political writer a few years ago.) They've had a second home in Port Aransas for 17 years, and their three sons, now grown, spent most summers within sight of the beach.

In town this week to oversee roof and air-conditioning repairs, Patti took me by a beloved Port Aransas business called Winton's Candies. Laughing, she recalled a summer day years ago when she and a friend took their kids into Winton's, got to talking and forgot to monitor all the candy pouring into self-serve bags. Grimy, little hands had picked out $75 worth before the two moms noticed.

As we talked outside the damaged building, a young man who turned out to be Tom Winton drove up. All of 23, he's been cooking candy since he was 14, perfecting recipes his grandfather, Elton Winton, invented, plus a few of his own. Seven days a week during the summer, he cooks 80 to 90 pounds of fudge and caramel and 50 pounds of nut clusters, plus his own inventions, including cookies & cream fudge. He hopes to be back in the kitchen by the end of October.

On her blog, Funky Texas Traveler, Linda Ware describes Port Aransas as Hemingway's Key West transported to the Texas Gulf Coast. She wants it to stay that way, post-Harvey.

So does John Buerger. A small town with Shorty's Place and Winton's Candies is where he wants his children to grow up. Two boys, ages 7 and 3, they are, in their dad's words, "mop-headed kids who find it hard to keep their shoes on, who barely wear shirts, who can ride their bikes all over town."

Buerger worries that Harvey offers developers an enticing and convenient excuse to tear down the old, unique and authentic  like his own quirky tourist cabins  and put up South Padre-style condos and high-rises catering solely to tourists. A Dumas native who lived in Lubbock, Dallas, Austin and elsewhere before discovering Port Aransas, he doesn't want to see the friendly, little beach town he loves disappear.

I mentioned Buerger's concerns to the burly, soft-spoken man elected mayor last year. That's not going to happen, Bujan assured me. A fishing guide and retired insurance executive whose Croatian grandfather immigrated to Mustang Island in 1885, he understands why people cherish his hometown. It will still be the old Port A, he says.

A whole lot of Texans around the state are hoping that he's right.
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The heap of molding Torahs piles higher each day in the parking lot of Houston's United Orthodox Synagogues.

Strewn among the water-logged stories of great floods and displaced Jewish people is a warped book of prayers for Tisha B'Av, the late summer fast to mourn Judaism's worst catastrophes, including the razing of some of the faith's greatest temples.

Amy Goldstein stared quietly over the pile. The torn book's inclusion felt fitting.

"We cry together through those words," she said Thursday. "It's kind of poignant that it's here."

The synagogue sits only a few hundred yards from Brays Bayou and has taken in water three times in as many years. Damages from the first two storms were extensive, prompting synagogue leadership to create a flood-management team and elevate new structures built at the sprawling complex on Greenwillow Street.

But nothing could prepare them for Hurricane Harvey, which soaked the whole building in nearly six feet of water, and, unlike past storms, spared only a few of the synagogue's 300 or so Orthodox families. Most members live within blocks of the complex so that they can walk to temple during Sabbath when driving is banned. Many were still displaced Friday.

Nearly two weeks after the flood, the synagogue's leadership is still unsure of what will become of the heavily damaged building. Hundreds of books and religious items were destroyed by water that moved quickly through classrooms, prayer rooms, a kitchen and a two-year-old hall built at a higher elevation.

In the blocks nearby, homes are still being gutted, a neighborhood mourns and, with the high holiday of Rosh Hashanah fast approaching, reasons to celebrate feel rare.

"Some aren't even asking what they should do," said Rabbi Barry Gelman, 43. "They're just crying."

On Thursday he stared quietly over his temple's scattered, warped pews, and noted the high-water mark near the top of his lectern on the stage above. For now, the podium will go unused, he said, as he focuses on the physical, rather than spiritual, safety of his shaken community.

That, too, has been difficult. The congregation's rigid orthodoxy, he said, has created a close-knit community whose members are particularly reliant on one another. Gelman said his people have weathered previous storms almost entirely on their own, with those affected taking refuge in the dry homes of Jewish neighbors.

But Harvey was different, displacing at least three times as many congregants than in previous floods. Now, he said, some are struggling to accept help they desperately need.

"They're much more beholden to outside volunteers (after Harvey)," he said. "It's not easy to just let a stranger into your house to tear it down.  So much is out of your control."

On Thursday, Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld toured the synagogue. He had arrived there earlier in the day from Washington, D.C. to replace many of the items destroyed, and was quickly overwhelmed by the scene.

"This is one of the saddest things I've seen in my life," he said. "Obviously, if you look at history and wars, there have been terrible things. But to live through this in real time"

The rabbi's voice trailed off.

"It's just devastating," he said after a pause. "It's an entire community, devastated."

Those who've seen the synagogue have been similarly grim.

"It's horrible," said Mindy Mitzner, 56, a 33-year member who lives a block away. Her home sits higher than most on the street, and her family housed displaced congregates during the floods. They also held Shiva services for a member who had died before the storm.

"I don't know what we're going to do," she said. "This was catastrophic."

Some members haven't yet seen the synagogue. Others don't want to.

"That would be too hard," said Jenelle Garner, 47, as she dried off a book of family photos in her Sarong Drive house Thursday. Outside, a pile of dressers, doors and drywall piled higher by the hour, adding to the trash mounds that now dominate the neighborhood's landscape.

Worse, she and others said, is the possibility that they might have to move the synagogue - a devastating proposition to a community linked by geography as much as by faith.

"The hardest part is the uncertainty," Garner said.

Goldstein agreed.

"We're a community, and we want to stay together," she said.

At the Robert M. Beren Academy, the Orthodox school attended by many of the synagogue's children, officials said Thursday they are simply trying to make students feel normal after a week of chaos.

"These are not normal times," said Head of School Paul Oberman. "It's hard to do homework when you're wondering, 'Where are we staying tonight?' and the answer is 'I don't know.'"

"So much of it still feels surreal," he said.

Some hope pervades, however. Gelman said he believes the storm will strengthen the bonds of his congregation over time, and though many are shaken, a sense of resilience has spread as more than a thousand of their Jewish brethren arrive to help from across the city, nation and world.

"We're going to get through this," Gelman said. "We know the drill."

For some, the shared struggle has reinforced their sense of Jewish unity, the concept of Am Yisrael Chai - "the people of Israel lives" - bolstered by outpourings of support from home and abroad.

"The people of Israel are one people," Oberman said. "And the people of Houston are one people, too."

Still, these were supposed to be among the happiest days of the year, the prelude to Rosh Hashanah - the Jewish New Year - filled with communal celebrations and personal reflection. Yet these days, the joy is fleeting.

Standing among the ruins, Goldstein pondered one prayer that felt hauntingly apt: "Who shall live and who shall die? Who shall perish by water and who by fire?"

She paused for a moment and scanned the sooted temple floor.

"This is going to be a hard season," she said. "But we'll be together."
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An elderly woman found drowned in her Spring Branch-area home Thursday night was added to the list of confirmed storm-related fatalities in Harris County.

The Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences reported Friday that a 71-year-old woman was found in a "residence with flood damage" in the 12600 block of Memorial.

The woman's age and address corresponds with the condominium's owner, Cathy Harling Montgomery, but the decedent's name remains a pending identification.

The institute also reported two other drownings Friday, including Joseph Dowell, who was found Thursday in a wooded area off North Wayside after Harvey floodwater receded. He had been headed to work at the city's public works department early Aug. 27 and had not been heard from since.

The other decedent was not identified, but was "found in basement of the Omni Hotel" after floodwater receded, according to the institute report.

That information adds to new details that emerged Friday about Jill Renick, the Omni's spa manager who vanished during the storm's early downpours. Her body was located in the luxury hotel's elevator, according to a statement released Friday by the Houston Police Department.

Renick, 48, was last heard from Aug. 27. She is believed to have called a co-worker around 5:40 a.m. that day to say that she was stuck in the hotel's service elevator as it filled with floodwater. She had ridden out the storm overnight in a fourth-floor room with her dog and reportedly was contacted to help with guests evacuations as the lobby and basement flooded.

Omni employees began looking for Renick immediately, the police statement said. She was missing for 11 days. On Thursday, an Omni employee spotted a body in the ceiling of the basement near a set of elevators, according to the HPD's release.

Police did not release details of the death - or a preliminary identification of the body - until Friday morning.

Early searches fruitless

However, officials revealed that rising floodwater and a lack of power made them unable to move the elevator. The HPD dive team and the Houston Fire Department made multiple searches for Renick that were unsuccessful because of flooding, the police statement said.

On Friday night, Harris County's official death toll from the storm rose to 33. At least 70 people have died or are feared dead from Hurricane Harvey in the Houston region and beyond.

Montgomery lived in an area behind Memorial City Mall and west of Piney Point Village in a complex is called Pines Condominiums.

Her father, Thomas Jefferson Harling, died in 2002. He was a World War II vet who worked in the administration of Houston Mayor Roy Hofheinz, according to his obituary.

Though much of Houston has dried out, some westside neighborhoods near Buffalo Bayou, remain plagued by standing floodwater.

Despite two weeks since Harvey made landfall, Jon Hockenberry's street remains flooded. Water has ruined his new home, damaged his cars and soaked his other possessions.

Standing water has slowed the recovery process, snarled traffic and offers a constant reminder of the disaster that has wrecked homes and claimed lives.

Area not prone to flood

Hockenberry, a Shell retiree, and his wife had moved into their custom-built, Tuscan-style home less than a year ago.

People in the neighborhoods west of the Beltway 8 never knew houses in the area to flood and Hockenberry thought his lot would be safe. Still, several feet of water stretched from a swollen bayou and mingled with water drained from reservoirs to devastate his home.

But, he plans to rebuild.

"The flood won't be over for another two years for me," said Hockenberry, 63.

Staff writer Brooke A. Lewis contributed to this report.
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With Peach Creek on one side of the street and Peach Creek Lake on the other, the houses along South Lakeview Drive in Patton Village didn't stand a chance.

All the houses were severely flooded, some with water up to their roofs.

"We came back to nothing. Everything is ruined in my home," Austereberta Castanon said this week, pointing to a pile of debris where her 10-year-old grandson Jander Mayo Castanon was standing.

Castanon is among more than 100 people who live in the Patton Village neighborhood northeast of Houston struggling with the floodwaters.

Two weeks after Harvey devastated the region, the mostly Latino residents - many of them undocumented - in the Lakeview area were still without running water on Friday but with better access to their damaged homes.

"I am scared to ask for help," said Castanon, an undocumented immigrant from Mexico who lives with two daughters and three grandchildren in a small one-floor, two-room home along the street.

At her home, the water reached the roof, but the family left before the flooding to stay at the house of a family member in Houston. Some have returned since the storm.

On Wednesday, her grandson, Jander Mayo Castanon, was caressing an inexpensive keyboard buried among the wreckage that used to be one of his favorite possessions. Inside the house, a few photos were strewn across the walls and a toppled refrigerator attested to what had been a humble living place.

She said the family had received some help from volunteers from the St. Martha Catholic Church in Kingwood, who brought food, drinking water, clothing, cleaning utensils and other products to the neighborhood. A worker from the Consulate of Mexico in Houston visited the village last week.

"He talked with us and he gave us some money," she said. She received $300 to help with immediate needs. Other residents said they, too, received funds from the consulate.

A van from the American Red Cross was serving lunch and dinner on Thursday in front of the City Hall.

Many of the Lakeview Drive residents, however, said they feel neglected by local authorities.

Large craters in the street exposed broken pipes where the city had worked on the water and sewer lines. Neighbors improvised a passage with soft wooden boards from debris to cross the street safely.

"Look at this -we don't even have a street anymore," said Humberto Oliva, who has lived in that section of the village for 32 years. "The city did sewage work recently, but they didn't even put pavement here, so now everything is gone."

By Friday, sand had filled the largest craters in the street but pipes were still exposed along the roadway.

Water, however, remained cut off.

"This is totally destroyed, there are no other words to describe this," said a Red Cross worker who asked for anonymity, saying she was not authorized to provide comments to the media. "These homes - I think this is the worst I have seen so far."

People on North Lakeview, located in the same side of Patton Village, also complained about the quality of the streets. Resident Jerry Duncan said contractors working on the sewage system before the hurricane dug the pipes out but then filled them back with ordinary sand. Several vehicles had sunk into the sand on the sides of the roadway.

"You can see it all around here, they didn't even use stabilized sand or something better; they just don't care about this part," Duncan said.

Leah Tarrant, the mayor of Patton Village, said on Tuesday that the street was the most severely impacted by the hurricane but said city workers must first fix the sewage system before they can turn on the water.

Residents "would be trying to flush and all that water would just bring all that in their houses, and that would be a serious health and sanitation issue," Tarrant said.

Reconstruction of the street would be the last step, she said.

"We will put sand on the street and put rocks on top ... and then Montgomery County can come in to pick up the debris," she said.

Ana Schmidt, a volunteer from the church, said that they are calling their work The Patton Village Mission.

"This has to be addressed by people who care; these people don't have documents and FEMA is not helping them," she said.

Many of the residents don't qualify for government relief assistance. Austereberta Castanon said she was told by a FEMA agent to send the Social Security Number of her grandson, who is an American citizen, to determine if he would qualify the family for government help.

Jeannette Cantu, a volunteer from the church, calls the area "ground zero when you think about Harvey's destruction."

"This is really devastated," she said, "and they are very vulnerable, poor people with very limited ability to get back to some sort of normality."
While harried Gulf Coast residents watched floodwaters ruin their cars and their homes, and wreck their long-term financial security, often their children were watching and worrying along with them. Harvey rained on adults, but it also poured on Texas children who lack a grown-up understanding about what's going on.

Now, after a delayed start, these children are starting a new school year. For some, soggy heaps of debris littering the sidewalks will be the only visible reminder of Harvey. Others, whose regular schools have been severely damaged, will be routed to unfamiliar campuses without the comfort of friends and former teachers.

Regardless of the state of their schools, thousands of children returning to the classroom are likely to bear invisible wounds from this destructive storm. If untreated, their trauma will make it harder to succeed as students. Local leaders must ensure that our schools have access to mental health services that will likely be needed as kids recover from Harvey's chaos.

After all, we've seen this happen before.

Fifteen months after Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans school children were evaluated for post-traumatic stress disorder and depressive symptoms. Symptoms of PTSD appeared in 60.5 percent of students, according to a study published by the Journal of Traumatic Stress.

"I think 90-percent-plus of my students didn't learn for a year after Katrina," Matthew Feigenbaum told The Atlantic. Feigenbaum served as a dean at the Renew Accelerated High School, which works with older students who have fallen behind.

While the Gulf Coast didn't suffer the intense, widespread damage that struck New Orleans, there's no doubt that many students will suffer from inevitable mental anguish.

Some children who lost contact with parents or grandparents as the waters rose may find it difficult to concentrate. Others, recently homeless, may be more likely to misbehave. Children, unusually anxious after an evacuation to a shelter, can somaticize this stress as stomach aches, headaches or dizziness.

Many teachers are suffering through severe personal losses, as well.

Texans can often be too proud to ask for help, but districts need more mental health counselors and nurses to identify children who are suffering and to provide trauma-focused programming. Both Mental Health America of Greater Houston's School for Behavioral Health and the Harris Center for Mental Health and Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities are working in 23 school districts around Houston, but they need more resources to train teachers on dealing with trauma in their classrooms.

When the floodwaters recede and the shelters are empty, we'll still need volunteer therapists from local universities, hospitals and public and private mental health facilities to help our schools recover from Harvey.

State officials should also contribute by granting local school districts more flexibility within already tight budgets to hire additional mental health personnel. Commissioner of Education Mike Morath can provide more per-student funding formula for school districts within the disaster zone. Gov. Greg Abbott and the Legislative Budget Board can provide extra funding by shifting revenue from the second year of the biennial budget to the current year.

Like rotting drywall in a flooded home, sometimes the most destructive effects of flooding can remain hidden until it is too late. Getting mental health services into schools now will prevent an academic rot from setting into our public schools and help get our kids back on the right path.
Laborers in demand

Regarding "Trump moves to end DACA" (Page A1, Wednesday), President Trump handed off the decision on DACA to Congress much as President Obama wanted Congress to legislate on DACA. In both cases it is wishful thinking since our congressional people do not seem to recognize the contribution of our immigrant community.

With the worst flooding in our Houston history, much of the cleanup and construction work will come from the labor of our immigrant community. Congress should begin to draft legislation that will revise and update immigration regulations.

Start with providing a path to citizenship for the "Dreamers," or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals members, that have self-identified and have passed security clearance to be admitted to this category. This group has support from most Texans and Americans. They deserve legislative certainty with regard to their future status, not uncertainty as President Trump ponders their fate and his extreme supporters demand they be expelled.

If our folks in Congress will announce support for legislation, the DACA folks will have confidence in their future in the U.S.

John Martinez, Houston

'Dreamers' want change

The DACA protesters need a lesson in how the Constitution works. President Obama used executive orders to do what the Constitution says Congress is responsible for doing and that is making laws. The president has the responsibility of either signing legislation into law or vetoing that legislation passed by Congress.

Congress should have done its job in 2012 but instead allowed Obama to do the job, unconstitutionally, for it. The DACA protesters want us to change the Constitution because it will benefit them. That is not how it works. If the protesters want change, then they need to change the Congress and quit complaining about the president doing his responsibilities under the Constitution.

Robert M. Louie, Houston

The right decision

President Trump's decision to end DACA is long overdue, but nonetheless most welcomed. I give thanks to the Almighty for President Trump and for this glorious day. No one has stood more steadfast and more resolute against illegal immigration than Trump. The preservation of the rule of law and our security is paramount.

The media, open border advocates and dreamy idealists are in an apoplectic fit blinded by their fog of hatred of President Trump. The idiocy for laying the blame squarely on Trump and our U.S. immigration policy for DACA's demise is absurd.

Trump's critics, instead, should single out the real root cause of illegal immigration and DACA, i.e. corrupt government officials from exporting countries, joblessness, drug traffickers and appallingly greedy public officials. Their avarice has encouraged the exportation of poor, illiterate, unskilled immigrants. Sending them north is their solution. Out of sight, out of mind.

Mike Gonzales, Houston

Charities and donations

Regarding "Houston councilman tells residents not to donate to Red Cross" (Chron.com, Thursday), FEMA looks to buyout homes flooded by Hurricane Harvey" (Chron.com, Thursday), I hope the Red Cross will be up front with where every dollar donated for Harvey is being spent. If not, I hope that our government leaders will demand an accounting of every dollar.

Rhonda Wade, posted via Facebook
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Getty SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - JULY 31: Kim So-Yeon attends the MBC Drama '2 Weeks' press conference at Heritz on July 31, 2013 in Seoul, South Korea. (Photo by Choi Soo-Young/Multi-Bits via Getty Images)

Its easy to focus on western style stars when were inundated with award shows and film festivals nearly every single week (or so it feels like). However, with the marriage of South Korean actors Lee Byung-Hun and Lee Min-Jung this past weekend, its time to turn our attention to the fashion heavyweights Korea has to offer.

With the explosion of KPop music, "Gangam Style," and thousands of Tumblrs devoted to Korean fashion, not to mention a thriving arts community, the country has more than enough inspiration to draw from, and further proof lies in the ten style stars below, who we feel deserve some long-deserving attention.

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Korean Fashion Stars See Gallery

1) Kim So-yeon

2) Lee Da-hae

Thanks to her eclectic taste, actress and model Lee Da Hae proves the importance of abiding by no ones fashion rules but your own. Seen at the Boon the Shop Sacai Fall/Winter 2013 show in April in a textured, multi-toned, multi-layered dress, its understandable she earned a place helping front Arnaldo Bassinis spring collection.

3) Ko So-young

4) Park Shin-hye

Appealing best to todays MTV generation (who, we all still look to for style help) is actress Park Shin-hye, who exudes hip thanks to outfits like her leather mini skirt and sheer lace t-shirt she wore in March to InStyles 10th anniversary event. Her airport style is equally on-par: seen in May wearing skinny jeans with a white t-shirt and oversize denim shirt overtop, she reminds us that comfortable neednt mean complicated.

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5) Kim Seo-hyung

For a photo shoot at JIFF (Jeonju International Film Festival), Kim Seo-hyung proved the importance of on-point casual wear, donning low-rise jeans, with a loose, pink button-up blouse. However, the 20-year veteran actress flipped the switch to formal just as effortlessly: thanks to her cap-sleeved, satin, and two-toned blue gown, she combined event-appropriateness with subtle exhibitionism thanks to her dramatic skirt slit.

6) Hong Soo-ah

7) Lee Yeon-hee

8) Goo Hye-sun

Actress, author, and MC Goo Haye-sun (also known as Ku Hye-sun or Koo Hye-sun) has also defined her style brand perfectly, refusing to confine herself to traditional red carpet norms. From her white satin power suit (that included shorts) last year to her simple, Alexa Chung-esque black pleated mini-and-button up she wore to the Cine France opening ceremony in April, she defines it-girl  but with talent to last her decades.

9) Miriam Yeung

Even after having a baby last year, Miriam Yeung showed up dazzling viewers at the Hong Kong Film Awards in April, wearing a floor-length Yves Saint Laurent gown when she picked up her award for Best Actress. She also did the same a week later: clad in a black, satin, open-sleeve gown (with gold embellishment), she did her fanbase proud at Beijing International Film Festival.

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VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Sept. 08, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Anfield Gold Corp. (Anfield or the Company) (TSXV:ANF) announces the filing of the technical report for its Feasibility Study (the Study), prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (NI 43-101), for its 100%-owned Coringa Project (Coringa or the Project). A summary of the results of the Study were previously announced in the Companys press release dated July 25, 2017 (the Study NR).

In connection with the preparation of the technical report, Anfield noted a discrepancy between the results of the Study and certain results that were previously disclosed in the Study NR. The discrepancy was caused by the correction of pre-production estimates. A summary of the changes can be found in the below tables. The Company views these changes as non-material.

Economic Results at $1,250/oz Au Units Jul 25th Press Release Sep 8th Technical Report Pre-Tax NPV (5%) $M $34.0 $33.3 Pre-Tax IRR % 32.9% 32.1% Post-Tax NPV (5%) $M $31.0 $30.5 Post-Tax IRR % 30.8% 30.1%





Cash Costs Units Jul 25th Press Release Sep 8th Technical Report C1 Cash Costs Net of By-products $/oz $585 $588 All-in Sustaining Cash Cost $/oz $783 $786

Note: All currencies are in United States dollars unless otherwise specified. Base case economics are based on a gold price of $1,250 per ounce (oz), silver price of $18.00 per oz and an exchange rate of 3.2 (US$:R$).

Qualified Persons

The scientific and technical information contained in this news release pertaining to the Project has been reviewed and approved by Robert Michel, SME Registered Member of Robert Michel Enterprises, a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101. Robert Michel is independent of Anfield.

About Anfield Gold

Anfield Gold Corp. (TSXV:ANF) is a Vancouver, Canada based precious metal exploration and development company focused on the development of the Coringa Project located in Para State, Brazil. Anfields strategic plan includes the acquisition of other gold projects with the goal of becoming a mid-tier gold mining company.

Further details are available on the Companys website at https://anfieldgold.com

Anfield Gold Corp. For further information contact: Scott Hicks Signed: Marshall Koval tel: + 604 646-1884 Marshall Koval, Chairman & CEO fax: + 604 687-7041

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.

Certain statements and information herein, including all statements that are not historical facts, contain forward-looking statements and forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as plans, will", expected" or variations of such words. Forward looking statements or information in this press release include, but are not limited to, Anfields strategic plan to acquire other gold projects with the goal of becoming a mid-tier gold mining company; the internal rate of return of the Project; the net present value of the Project and operating costs and other costs estimated for the Project. In making the forward-looking statements in this release, Anfield has applied certain factors and assumptions that are based on information currently available to Anfield as well as Anfield's current beliefs and assumptions (including Anfields belief in the results of the Study). Although Anfield considers these beliefs and assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available to it, they may prove to be incorrect, and the forward-looking statements in this release are subject to numerous risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause future results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. Such risk factors include, among others, Anfield may not be able to achieve the base case during actual mining at the Project, risks associated with the business of Anfield, risks relating to exploration and potential development of the Companys projects; risks related to obtaining the permits and approvals necessary to develop and commission the Project on terms that are acceptable to Anfield; risks related to Anfield identifying suitable acquisition targets; business and economic conditions in the mining industry generally; the supply and demand for labour and other project inputs; prices for commodities to be produced and changes in commodity prices; changes in interest and currency exchange rates; risks relating to inaccurate geological and engineering assumptions (including with respect to the tonnage, grade and recoverability of mineral resources and mineral reserves); risks relating to unanticipated operational difficulties (including failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate in accordance with specifications or expectations, cost escalation, unavailability of materials and equipment, government action or delays in the receipt of government approvals, industrial disturbances or other job action, and unanticipated events related to health, safety and environmental matters); risks relating to adverse weather conditions; political risk and social unrest; changes in general economic conditions or conditions in the financial markets; and changes to business and economic conditions in the mining industry generally. Forward-looking information and statements are in addition based on various estimates, forecasts and projections as well as expectations, beliefs and assumptions including, without limitation, the expectations and beliefs of management, the assumed long-term price of gold; that the Company can access financing and that the political environment where the Company operates will continue to support the development and operation of mining projects. Although Anfield has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. 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. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Anfield does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.
Framework is set to open at the end of September.

New Co-working Space Framework to Open in Pittsfield



The new space takes up two storefronts on North Street. PITTSFIELD, Mass.  There are a lot of people who work from home or are just starting up a small business that doesn't yet need to open an office.

Framework will be opening on North Street at the end of the month and it hopes to bring those people together into a new, dynamic co-working space

The new company has leased out two storefronts at 437 North St. and has built out all of the amenities of a traditional office but will operate on a membership-based model.

"It runs similar to a gym, on a membership model. Members will purchase a monthly membership and come and go as little or as much as they please and access all of the amenities of a traditional office space. Your utilities are included, your printing is included, you have access to conference rooms," Tim Burke, one of the principals, said.

Burke is part of Mill Town Capital and teamed up with local entrepreneur Scott Moraes, who founded Radiance Yoga, on the project. They've spent about $100,000 in renovations and furnishing to create various types of offices, conference rooms, a kitchen, and shared space. They'll have a copier and printer, high-speed internet, and video conferencing technology. Small businesses or entrepreneurs can now become members to use all of those amenities.

The project not only makes it easier for small startups or those who work from home to make the jump of opening an office but also makes connections among workers. The space is eyed to foster a deeper connection between various businesses and workers.

"We're also looking to help provide a physical location for that entrepreneurial ecosystem. We want to have events, speaker series, lunch and learns, resources for entrepreneurs. We're going to having a startup a class in late September with Lever in North Adams," Burke said.

"We want to get the business open and get people in here, but we also want to be a physical location where entrepreneurs can come and get support."

Lever , something of an entrepreneurial support system, operates Cloud85, a co-working office space, and Maker's Mill, a co-work space for artisans, both on Main Street in North Adams.

Burke said co-working spaces create a community, whereas many who work remotely are isolated. The business types can range from web design to advertising to human resource consulting and that mix allows for shared resources and expertise.

"It is people who are working on different things but there could be commonalities about what people need. You could be a web developer who needs some help with graphic design. Instead of Googling graphic designers, you can be working right next to one," Burke said.

At the location, there are both open office spaces with desks or places for a laptop and a living room-type environment, small private offices for a two- or three-person operation, and larger premium suites with one having North Street frontage for signage. About 50 people can work there at the same time comfortably, he said.

"We're really interested in working with people who love what they do because it makes it a more positive environment. That's what we want out of this space, energy, buzz, and life. We don't want it to be a downer of a space or a library," Burke said.



The company has spent about six months renovating the interior. Burke said the company has done a lot of research into the demand and put out an email blast back in the winter and got back some 150 indications of interest. They've marketed the new place on Facebook and held meetings with prospective members. Already two of the smaller officers are called for, numerous flex memberships have been sold, and one premium office is booked. The company is also offering day passes for $25 for people who just want to test it out or only need that type of space sporadically.

"It is a big investment on our part but we think it is a good model and a good business for Pittsfield. If you look around, co-working spaces are popping up all over the country. The growth rates are pretty phenomenal. But, Pittsfield is a gap. It doesn't have a co-working space," Burke said.

The space is located in the former Ferrin Art Gallery and neighboring retail space.

"It has basically been a complete gutting of this space. We've done a total renovation. We've done demolition on walls. We built all of these offices from scratch," Burke said.

That end of North Street was also a draw for Framework. There has been a budding energy in that section with Dottie's Coffee Lounge, Methuselah, Mission, and Hotel on North, and Burke hopes the co-working space will help further that vitality.

"We're looking at this as a project designed to create some energy in this area of North Street, continue to improve foot traffic. With proximity to things like Dottie's, Mission, and Methuselah, the hotel, this area is a good location for a business like this," Burke said. "We feel really good about the vibrancy and growth in Pittsfield."




Haiti - Education : Back to school on Monday





The Ministry of National Education and Vocational Training (MENFP) informs the general population and educational agents in particular of the resumption of school activities, as usual, from Monday 11 September 2017.



The MENFP invites the Departmental Directors of Education to take all necessary steps to monitor the implementation of this decision.



Concerning the areas affected by the floods in the Great North, which may have an impact on the functioning of schools, specific measures will be adopted to facilitate the recovery.



IH/ iciHaiti






















iciHaiti - IRMA : National Lottery calls for solidarity





The Haitian State Lottery (LEH) is mobilizing itself alongside the Government to provide solidarity to the Haitian population following the hurricane IRMA on Haiti, particularly in the far north.



Because of its serious financial difficulties, the LEH does not have the necessary resources to support the victims. It also asks everyone to associate by making a gesture of solidarity towards each other, in order to help those who are in difficulties.



S/ iciHaiti


















Estimados amigos,

Les doy cordialmente la bienvenida a este Blog informativo con articulos, analisis y comentarios de publicaciones especializadas y especialmente seleccionadas, principalmente sobre temas economicos, financieros y politicos de actualidad, que esperamos y deseamos, sean de su maximo interes, utilidad y conveniencia.

Pensamos que solo comprendiendo cabalmente el presente, es que podemos proyectarnos acertadamente hacia el futuro.

Las convicciones son mas peligrosos enemigos de la verdad que las mentiras.

There are decades when nothing happens and there are weeks when decades happen.

You only find out who is swimming naked when the tide goes out.

No soy alguien que sabe, sino alguien que busca.

Only Gold is money. Everything else is debt.

Las grandes almas tienen voluntades; las debiles tan solo deseos.

Quien no lo ha dado todo no ha dado nada.

History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce.

If you know the other and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.

We are travelers on a cosmic journey, stardust, swirling and dancing in the eddies and whirlpools of infinity. Life is eternal. We have stopped for a moment to encounter each other, to meet, to love, to share.This is a precious moment. It is a little parenthesis in eternity.
Diane was much more than RM's daughter

Diane Beer with partner Robin and granddaughter Eden (2004)When Diane Beer, the eldest daughter of RM Williams, died in July, she left a lifetime legacy that stood proudly beside that of her iconic father

When Diane Beer, the eldest child of Australian legend RM Williams, died in July this year, she left a lifetime legacy that stood proudly beside that of her iconic father

Although her life lasted 87 years, Diane almost lost it as an infant. Living in the missionary settlement of Nepabunna in the northern Flinders Range, she woke one morning, in the cot she shared sleeping foot to foot with baby brother Ian, to a whispered sssshhhh.

The warning came from Ruth, the teenage Aboriginal babysitter, who leaned over the cot, picked up the snake that during the cold night had nestled in the warmth between the sleeping infants and flung it as far as she could.

Ruth still lived in Nepabunna when Diane visited a few years ago. The two women embraced, recognising each other as if the 70 years past was no further than you could throw a snake.

During the nearly nine decades of her life, Diane - born Thelma Diane Williams - filled many roles, as daughter, wife, mother, friend, trailblazing journalist, writer, confidant, mentor and more, winning love and respect with her perceptive mind, her compassionate heart and her irreverent sense of humour.

Dianes newly-wed parents, Reg and Thelma Williams, had headed to the Gammon Ranges in 1930, during the Great Depression, with nothing but a swag, their first-born baby and the promise of fifty pounds if they could find water at Nepabunna.

As a little girl, Diane watched her parents dig wells, build a simple tin hut and welcome visitors to their campfire with respect. One was fugitive horse thief and saddle-maker Michael Smith, known as Dollar Mick, who with her dad worked out how to make sturdy boots from a single piece of leather.

From this inauspicious event  which spawned bushmans outfitter RM Williams, now owned by international fashion house Louis Vuitton - Diane went from wearing clothes made of old flour bags in a bush camp in 1932 to fine gowns in a North Adelaide mansion by the late 1940s.

Williams family (L-R Dene, RM, Ian, Thelma, Diane holding John and Jo)

Diane married at the age 18, had six children during the next 16 years and then, after her marriage ended, embarked on a career in media and journalism. This included working for the ABC, Messenger Newspapers, Rupert Murdochs first newspaper The News and press secretary for Mike Rann.

While her wit, wisdom and wicked sense of humour made her popular with reporters, sub-editors and photographers alike, many only learned that her father was RM Williams years after meeting her. Rather than exploit her fathers reputation, Diane developed her own as one of SAs first women journalists, recalled as a calm and compassionate mentor by the young women who arrived in newsrooms in increasing numbers from the 1970s.

In the 1980s, iconic chief of staff Geoff Jones recruited Diane to The News, where she was an exemplary medical writer, more concerned with the heart of a story than a headline. Diane was a driving force behind the Medical Writers Association of SA, where along with friends such as Celia Painter, Ali Rodda and Chris Ostermann, she organised informative and fun events such as a medieval feast where diners jousted with kabanas.

During a one-year working holiday in the United States with Robin Beer, her partner of 45 years, Diane learned she could register a religion by mail order, so she posted the cheque and returned to Australia as the Bishop of the Sacred Church of the Quivering Flesh.

Diane became busier than ever after retiring, establishing an Australian division of the Romance Writers Association of America to encourage friends who wanted to pen popular romance novels. This evolved into Writing Right, a literary agency that saw Diane advise dozens of aspiring writers on how to shape their stories for publishers and readers, with a welcoming smile, wise words, a glass of wine and laughter.

Diane at her 87th birthday with all six children

(from left), Dene, Debbie, Susan, Tim, Sandy and Mark)

During the past decade, Diane has catalogued her familys history, including her fathers unpublished diaries from his journeys through the uncharted outback. Just days before she died, Diane silenced a room full of children and grandchildren by singing Jesus Loves Me in the Aboriginal language she had learned in the tiny tin church at Nepabunna.

Diane shared that love with all she met, worked with and inspired throughout her life.

Four generations of family: Diane, Sandy, Jasmine and Olivia

Diane Beer

Born: July 5, 1930; Adelaide

Died: July 22, 2017, Adelaide

Education: Adelaide

Achievements: Trailblazing woman journalist in SA

Family: Survived by partner Robin, children Dene, Susan, Mark, Debbie, Sandy and Tim, 16 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.

Author's note: Throughout my life in Australia, Diane was my friend, colleague, employee, confidante, the World's Best Mother-in-law, a terrific grandmother to our children and so much more. Diane was always an inspiration and is irreplaceable in my life and the lives of her children, her her beloved partner Robin and all of those who knew and loved her.
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US environmental chief Scott Pruitt has said that now is not the time for discussion about climate change, even amid record-breaking hurricanes Irma, Jose, and Katia.

"To have any kind of focus on the cause and effect of the storm; versus helping people, or actually facing the effect of the storm, is misplaced," Mr Pruitt told CNN.

"To discuss the cause and effect of these storms, there's the... place (and time) to do that, it's not now."

He said the focus should be on getting the people of Florida clean water, fuel, and cleaning up Superfund sites.

Recommended Floridians flee or hunker down as Hurricane Irma nears

The agency's Superfund programme is responsible for cleaning the country's most contaminated areas and responding to environmental emergencies, oil spills and natural disasters.

However, when the Associated Press visited a Superfund site in Houston, Texas after Hurricane Harvey, no staff were there for cleanup.

The EPA said the sites were inaccessible to its response team and issued a press release attacking the Associated Press reporter who wrote the story.

Critics panned Donald Trump for the former Oklahoma politician's appointment given his many lawsuits against the agency he now leads as well as his belief that human action does not necessarily cause climate change.

Barbuda, Hurricane Irma  in pictures Show all 7 1 /7 Barbuda, Hurricane Irma  in pictures Barbuda, Hurricane Irma  in pictures A roof-less house in Barbuda ABS TV Barbuda, Hurricane Irma  in pictures A mobile network tower snapped in two by the hurricane ABS TV Barbuda, Hurricane Irma  in pictures The hurricane left debris strewn across the island Barbuda, Hurricane Irma  in pictures Rubble in the aftermath of the hurricane ABS TV Barbuda, Hurricane Irma  in pictures The destruction in Barbuda, as seen from an ABS TV helicopter ABS TV Barbuda, Hurricane Irma  in pictures As well as destroying most houses, the hurricane also left plenty of flooding ABS TV Barbuda, Hurricane Irma  in pictures Barbudan residents survey the damage ABS TV

Mr Pruitt held the administration's stance that the Paris Agreement on climate change, signed by nearly 200 countries in an attempt to reduce carbon emissions and contain global warming, was not in the best economic interests of the American worker despite evidence of growing renewable energy markets in the country.

Mr Trump, who has begun the withdrawal process for the US to leave the agreement, once called climate change a "hoax" perpetuated by the Chinese.

In the meantime, Hurricane Irma continues its course and will likely cause flooding and massive damage in low lying areas of Florida.

Florida Governor Rick Scott has warned that Hurricane Irma "is wider than our entire state and is expected to cause major and life-threatening impacts from coast to coast". The state is approximately 360 miles (580 km) wide.

Winds are expected to reach up to 155 mph (250 kmh).

The hurricane, a Category 4, has already devastated Caribbean islands like Barbuda and left more than a million people without power in Puerto Rico. The death toll has reached 19.
The Kati Roll Company has joined forces with three other great food purveyors to create signature "KatiCue" specials, a mix of kati rolls and BBQ.

The Indian flat breads from TKRC will be filled with interpretations of BBQ from Blue Ribbon Fried Chicken, Harry & Ida's, and Randall's BBQ, depending on what day you stop by the East Village location (128 2nd Avenue) where the specials will be offered.

Blue Ribbon Fried Chicken is up first from now through September 17th with a roll filled with fried chicken tenders, tamarind date chutney, cucumber yogurt relish, red onion, mint and cilantro. Next is Harry & Ida's from September 18th through 24th, filling the paratha flatbread with their signature smoked pastrami and Indian "Kasundi" mustard sauce, yogurt, green chilies and buttermilk cucumber kraut.

Randall's BBQa pop up BBQ spot that's opening a brick-and-mortar in 2018completes the run September 25th through 30th with a chaat masala-rubbed brisket burt ends and chili chutney BBQ sauce kati roll with a side of vinegar slaw.

Rolls are $8 each or $12 with a suggested lassi pairing.
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A police chief criticised for using a convicted child rapist as a paid informant in Newcastle has defended the decision, saying he has received hundreds of messages of support from the public.

Northumbria Chief Constable Steve Ashman said it had always been a moral question, rather than a legal one, about whether it is justifiable to pay the man  known only as XY  almost 10,000 to provide information about his fellow paedophiles.

Chief Constable Ashman was speaking after all at the end of a week where all but one member of a grooming gang was sentenced at Newcastle Crown Court for their roles in recruiting vulnerable young girls, giving them drugs and then persuading or forcing them into sex with them or other, older men.

The decision to use XY in Operation Shelter, despite him being convicted of drugging and raping a girl, was controversial when the details emerged last month, following a series of trials.

Chief Constable Ashman said: When reflecting upon the morality of the decision, I think its important to take account of public opinion.

If the moral compass was spinning when it was first made public a few weeks ago, when the verdicts were handed out, its absolutely fixed now and its fixed in our favour.

Never in all of my time of policing have I witnessed such an outpouring of public support for what we have done.

We have been flooded with hundreds and hundreds of messages of support for the decisions that we took.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 12 November 2022 The City of London Pride Group take part in the parade during the Lord Mayor's Show PA 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 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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

If I had any doubt, and I didnt personally, but if I had any doubt whether it was the right thing to do, then Im absolutely determined now that it was.

The 17 men and one woman were convicted of abusing the young girls after a two year investigation by the force known as Operation Shelter.

It lead to the arrest of a total of 461 people, while 782 potential complainants have been spoken to and 278 victims have been found.

Chief Constable Ashman has previously denied reports that XY was told to go to sex parties or engage in any illegal activity while being paid by the police.

When XYs involvement came to light following the conclusion of the trial last month, Chief Constable Ashman told the BBC the information he provided was largely about finding out who might be involved, the cars they were using, the addresses they were living at.

This was a starting point, it never resulted in XY being exposed to offending, he added.

He insisted using XY  who was not tasked to go to parties  had let police to catch dangerous men, and stopped some girls from being raped.

Chief Constable Ashman said: Some of it was absolutely pivotal in putting some very, very dangerous people behind bars, and more importantly, some of it was directly responsible for our finding vulnerable girls.

If he hadnt told us the information we wouldve found them and it doesnt take too much of an imagination to work out what might have happened to them.

Additional reporting by PA
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Three men and a teenager have been jailed for subjecting a 16-year-old girl to an "abhorrent" rape after she asked them for directions.

Shersha Muslimyar, 21, Tamin Rahmani, 38, Rafiullah Hamidy, 24, were sentenced to 14 years in prison.

A 17-year-old, who was handed seven years, cannot be named for legal reasons.

They attacked the victim as she approached them when making her way to a friend's house after a night out in Ramsgate, Kent, last September.

The men then took her to a flat, where she was raped, then sent away out the back of the building.

She was eventually found crying in the street by two members of the public who called the police.

Hamidy initially fled to Italy after the attack, but was returned to the UK in March after a European Arrest Warrant was issued, police said.

Left to right: Tamin Rahmani, 38, Shersha Muslimyar, 21 and Rafiullah Hamidy, 24, who were each given 14 year sentences for raping a teenager who asked them for directions (Kent Police/PA Wire)

All four defendants had denied a charge of rape, but were found guilty at Canterbury Crown Court on Friday.

Detective Inspector Richard Vickery, of Kent Police, said: "The victim in this case was a vulnerable teenage girl who was taken advantage of and subjected to some of the most horrendous crimes imaginable.

"It was late at night, she was lost and she asked a group of men for directions.

"Instead they saw an opportunity to fulfil their depraved sexual desires and betrayed the trust she placed in them in the worst possible way.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 12 November 2022 The City of London Pride Group take part in the parade during the Lord Mayor's Show PA 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 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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 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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

"Rape is an abhorrent crime and the victim has suffered a great deal of emotional harm from the ordeal she was forced to endure.

"She has displayed tremendous courage in reliving what happened to her, and I would like to personally thank her for having the strength to help bring her offenders to justice.

"They clearly pose a significant danger to women and children and are fully deserving of the lengthy prison sentences they have received."
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Thousands of pro-Europe protesters are marching on Parliament in a mass demonstration against Brexit.

Organisers predicted around 100,000 protesters would gather in central London's Parliament Square, where they were due to be addressed by Sir Bob Geldof and Liberal Democrat former cabinet minister Sir Ed Davey.

It forms part of a wave of protests dubbed the "autumn of discontent", with another anti-Brexit march scheduled to take place outside the Conservative conference in October.

Recommended David Davis mocked after attacking EU charter he previously praised

The People's March For Europe carries the message unite, rethink and reject Brexit and organisers said leaving the EU no longer holds credibility inside Westminster, let alone on the streets of Britain.

The Government is at a crucial moment in the Brexit process as MPs are set to vote on the repeal bill, formally known as the EU (Withdrawal) Bill, on Monday for the first time.

Amid rising concerns about the progress of Brexit negotiations, Boris Johnson on Friday made a fresh attempt to push talks forward by suggesting Article 50 committed Brussels to discussing a future trading relationship with Britain at the same time as working through so-called Brexit divorce issues.

The Foreign Secretary intervened after senior European figures, including EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier, voiced scepticism that talks would move on to future trade relations by the previously planned date of October as negotiations so far have failed to deliver decisive progress.

The Government has been pushing to begin trade talks, arguing they are inseparable from the withdrawal issues which are currently being pored over by negotiators.

But the EU insists sufficient progress must be made on the divorce issues  a financial settlement, citizens' rights, and the Irish border  before trade talks can begin.

Arriving for an informal summit of EU foreign ministers in Tallinn, Estonia, Mr Johnson said Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, which provides the framework for the exit of a country from the bloc, states that the two sides should discuss future relations.

Article 50 makes it very clear that the discussion about the exit for a country must be taken in context with discussion of the future arrangements, and that's what we are going to do, the Foreign Secretary told reporters.

Meanwhile, an influential group of pro-Leave Tory MPs were coming under pressure from within the party and from Labour after signing a letter designed to pressure Theresa May into what is seen by some as a hard Brexit.

Brexit: the deciders Show all 8 1 /8 Brexit: the deciders Brexit: the deciders European Union's chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier Getty Brexit: the deciders French President Emmanuel Macron Getty Brexit: the deciders German Chancellor Angela Merkel Reuters Brexit: the deciders Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker EPA Brexit: the deciders The European Parliament's chief Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt Getty Brexit: the deciders Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May Getty Images Brexit: the deciders Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond PA Brexit: the deciders After the first and second appointed Brexit secretaries resigned (David Davis and Dominic Raab respectively), Stephen Barclay is currently heading up the position PA

The Prime Minister has been urged by Tory former minister Stephen Hammond to sack ministers and government aides on the Conservative European Research Group (ERG), which has circulated the letter.

And the revelation that the group receives public money prompted a group of Labour MPs to ask the expenses watchdog, the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa), if the payments were within the rules.

Saturday's march received endorsement from Star Trek actor Patrick Stewart, who said the Leave campaign was based on the "huge falsehood" that leaving the bloc would release 350m of funding for the NHS.

That 350m never existed," Mr Stewart. "The people of the UK were misled. Monthly reports are published on the economic impact of leaving the union  and they are all negative.

Press Association contributed to this report.
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Brexiteers have hit out at a campaign group handing out 10,000 pro-EU flags to audience members at the BBCs Last Night of the Proms show.

Activists were due to give out the banners outside the Royal Albert Hall, in west London, on Saturday night while wearing T-shirts emblazoned with the slogan thank EU for the music EU.

The BBC symphony orchestra performance will include works of music from across the continent by late composers including Finlands Jean Sibelius and Richard Wagner from Germany.

Volunteers for EU Flags Proms Team will stage their publicity stunt outside the concert venue to highlight how music is a universal language that transcends borders.

But pro-Brexit figures  including former Ukip leader Nigel Farage  criticised the move, and pointed out that music was an important part of national symbolism in Britain and elsewhere.

Audiences typically wave Union Jack flags during UK national anthems played including Rule Britannia  in the show watched on television by more than 15 million viewers, figures showed.

A spokesman for EU Flags Proms Team told The Telegraph: During the Age of Enlightenment Mozart, Handel and Bach all lived and worked for part of their lives in London.

Presumably under the Brexit dark ages, they would not be welcome. What an appalling backward step for our country.

We hope that the EU flags will remind the audience, the musicians and those watching from all over the world that music is a universal language that unites people, breaking down barriers and promoting communication, understanding, and peace.

Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage criticised the group and said he hoped a counter-campaign could be mounted outside the Royal Albert Hall to give out Union Jack flags.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 12 November 2022 The City of London Pride Group take part in the parade during the Lord Mayor's Show PA 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

He said: As for this airy fairy 'music crosses all borders' nonsense, music is also an important part of national symbolism in every part of the world."

Mr Farage said he would contact former Ukip donor Arron Banks to fund a similar number of union jacks for audience members at the performance.

He was unavailable when contacted by The Independent - but an insider "doubted" any Brexit counter-protest would be staged. He said: "Aaron is out of the country so it is unlikely anything is going to happen."

EU Flags Proms Team last year staged a similar Brexit protest outside the Royal Albert Hall, and handed out 2,500 EU flag to members of the public who turned up for Last Night of the Proms.

Mr Banks, a Leave.EU co-founder, paid 5,000 for 10,000 union flags to be given out to concertgoers in a backlash at the move which campaigners say is a celebration of Europe.
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An investigation is to be conducted into the death of a Polish man following an incident at an immigration detention centre in west London, The Independent has learnt.

The 28-year-old allegedly tried to hang himself on the afternoon of Sunday 3 September at Harmondsworth Immigration Removal Centre and was taken to hospital. The Home Office on Friday confirmed that a man who had recently been held at the facility, near Heathrow, died on Thursday in intensive care after life support was withdrawn.

A spokesman had previously denied any knowledge of the incident, which comes in the same week the BBC broadcast undercover footage showing the alleged mocking and "choking" of detainees by guards at another immigration centre.

SOAS Detainee Support (SDS), which organises visits to immigration removal centres around London, said several detainees reported the death to them earlier in the week.

Multiple people that SDS are in contact with have told us that a man from Poland hanged himself during lock-up after lunch on Sunday [3 September], and was taken away in an ambulance," a spokeswoman told the Independent.

She added the incident had caused unfathomable distress and anxiety amongst detainees in Harmondsworth and has contributed further to the creation of a toxic and harmful environment for the 400 men held in this centre".

She said: "Many SDS visitors have expressed strong concern regarding the people they are acting in solidarity with  some of whom have not slept or eaten properly since the harrowing incident on Sunday."

Medical Justice, a charity which works with detainees, also issued a statement, saying: "Clients have been calling us all week, traumatised by having seen what they say was a dead body, and terrified by their treatment and the conditions in immigration detention. Some fear they will die."

On Wednesday a spokesman for the Home Office told The Independent it was not possible they were unaware of the incident or had chosen not to release the details. I'm not saying I don't know. I'm saying an individual has not died at Harmondsworth. There's a big difference, the spokesman said.

But on Friday the department released a statement, saying: We can confirm that a 28-year-old man recently released from Harmondsworth Immigration Removal Centre died in hospital after life support was withdrawn on Thursday September 7.

"Our thoughts are with his family at this very sad time. A full independent investigation will be conducted by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 9 November 2022 Australia and Spain play during the Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup group A match at the Copper Box Arena, London PA UK news in pictures 8 November 2022 A migrant attempting to communicate with journalists is pinned against a fence by members of staff, before being taken out of view, at the Manston immigration short-term holding facility, located at the former Defence Fire Training and Development Centre in Thanet, Kent PA UK news in pictures 7 November 2022 Handout photo issued by Just Stop Oil of a protester who has climbed a gantry on the M25 between junctions six and seven in Surrey, leading to the closure of the motorway PA UK news in pictures 6 November 2022 A grey seal with its pup, at the Donna Nook National Nature Reserve in north Lincolnshire, where they come every year in late October, November and December to give birth to their pups near the sand dunes, the wildlife spectacle attracts visitors from across the UK PA UK news in pictures 5 November 2022 Demonstrators with placards calling for a General Election march near the Houses of Parliament AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 4 November 2022 A peacock is seen in the early winter sunshine in the Dutch Gardens in Holland Park AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 3 November 2022 Florence Kasumba, Letitia Wright, Tenoch Huerta and Lupita Nyongo attend the European Premiere of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in London Getty UK news in pictures 2 November 2022 A red squirrel gathers nuts in Pitlochry, Scotland Reuters UK news in pictures 1 November 2022 Englands Tara-Jane Stanley scores their sides seventh try against Brazil during the Womens Rugby League World Cup group A match at Headingley Stadium, Leeds PA UK news in pictures 31 October 2022 GBs James Hall competes during the mens parallel bars qualification at the World Gymnastics Championships in Liverpool AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 October 2022 People dressed in Halloween costumes paddle board along the river Avon in Christchurch, Dorset PA UK news in pictures 29 October 2022 Members of the public take pictures as police officers remove activists from a road during a Just Stop Oil protest, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 28 October 2022 A cosplayer attends the MCM Comic Con London 2022 at the ExCel Centre in London Reuters UK news in pictures 27 October 2022 98-year-old D-Day Veteran Bernard Morgan, whose story is among those featured on the giant poppy wall, during the launch of The Royal British Legion 2022 Poppy Appeal, at Hay's Galleria in central London PA UK news in pictures 26 October 2022 A meerkat explores a pumpkin in the enclosure at Wild Place, Bristol, where some of the animals are having pumpkin treats as part of their environmental enrichment PA UK news in pictures 25 October 2022 King Charles III welcomes Rishi Sunak during an audience at Buckingham Palace, where he invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative Party to become Prime Minister and form a new government PA UK news in pictures 24 October 2022 Rishi Sunak celebrates with Tory MPs outside the Conservative Campaign Headquarters after becoming the new leader of the Conservative Party Reuters UK news in pictures 23 October 2022 The Green Man at October Plenty, Borough Market's annual Autumn Harvest festival, in London, which returns for the first time post pandemic PA UK news in pictures 21 October 2022 Sculptor Peter McKenna puts the finishing touches to a pumpkin that will form part of the Planet A Hebden Bridge Pumpkin Trail in the West Yorkshire town PA UK news in pictures 20 October 2022 Britains Prime Minister Liz Truss delivers a speech outside of 10 Downing Street in central London to announce her resignation AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 19 October 2022 Salmon leap up Stainforth Force on the River Ribble in the Yorkshire Dales as they swim upriver to their spawning grounds during the annual Salmon migration PA UK news in pictures 18 October 2022 Just Stop Oil protesters continue their protest for a second day on the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which links Kent and Essex and which remains closed for traffic, after it was scaled by two climbers from the group PA UK news in pictures 17 October 2022 Hundreds of students take part in the traditional Raisin Monday foam fight on St Salvator's Lower College Lawn at the University of St Andrews in Fife PA UK news in pictures 16 October 2022 A protester holds a placard during a march into central London at a demonstration by the climate change protest group Extinction Rebellion AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 15 October 2022 A member of the public drags an activist who is blocking the road during a "Just Stop Oil" protest, in London, Britain REUTERS UK news in pictures 14 October 2022 Germanys Womens double skulls during day one of the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals at Saundersfoot beach, Pembrokeshire PA UK news in pictures 13 October 2022 Family and mourners arrive at St Michael's Church, in Creeslough, for the funeral mass of 49-year-old mother of four Martina Martin, who died following an explosion at the Applegreen service station in the village of Creeslough in Co Donegal on Friday PA UK news in pictures 12 October 2022 Motorists in Coventry pass trees showing autumnal colour PA UK news in pictures 11 October 2022 A woman and her dog in the the North Sea at Tynemouth Longsands beach before sunrise PA UK news in pictures 10 October 2022 Police officers remove a campaigner from a Just Stop Oil protest on The Mall, near Buckingham Palace, London PA UK news in pictures 9 October 2022 A drummer plays during the Diwali on the Square celebration, in Trafalgar Square, London PA UK news in pictures 8 October 2022 Timothee Chalamet attending the UK premiere of Bones and All during the BFI London Film Festival 2022 at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London PA UK news in pictures 7 October 2022 Two young male fallow deer lock antlers in Dublins Phoenix park as rutting season begins PA UK news in pictures 6 October 2022 The Princess of Wales during a cocktail making competition during a visit to Trademarket, a new outdoor street-food and retail market situated in Belfast city centre, as part of the royal visit to Northern Ireland PA UK news in pictures 5 October 2022 Greenpeace protesters interrupt Prime Minister Liz Truss as she delivers her keynote speech to the Conservative Party annual conference PA UK news in pictures 4 October 2022 Prime Minister Liz Truss and Britains Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng wearing hard hats and hi-vis jackets, visit a construction site for a medical innovation campus in Birmingham AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 3 October 2022 British artist Sam Cox, aka Mr Doodle, reveals the Doodle House, a twelve-room mansion at Tenterden, in Kent, which has been covered, inside and out in the artist's trademark monochrome, cartoonish hand-drawn doodles PA UK news in pictures 2 October 2022 Erling Haaland celebrates after scoring Manchester City's second goal against Manchester United at Etihad Stadium. Haaland went on to score a hattrick, his third of the season in the Premier League. City beat United 6-3. Manchester City FC/Getty UK news in pictures 1 October 2022 Protesters hold up flags and placards at a protest in London. A variety of protest groups including Enough is Enough, Don't Pay and Just Stop Oil all demonstrated on the day AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 September 2022 British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who has not been seen in days, leaves the back of Downing Street after a meeting with Office For Budget Responsibility following the release of her governments mini-budget Getty UK news in pictures 29 September 2022 The Virginia creeper foliage on the Tu Hwnt i'r Bont (Beyond the Bridge) Llanwrst, Conwy North Wales, has changed colour from green to red in at the start of Autumn. The building was built in 1480 as a residential dwelling but has been a tearoom for over 50 years PA UK news in pictures 28 September 2022 Criminal barristers from the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), demonstrates outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, as part of their ongoing pay row with the Government PA UK news in pictures 27 September 2022 David White, Garter King of Arms, poses with an envelope franked with the new cypher of King Charles III 'CIIIR', after it was printed in the Court Post Office at Buckingham Palace in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 26 September 2022 A gallery staff member poses next to a painting by Lucian Freud - Self-portrait (Fragment), 1956 - on show at a photocall for the Credit Suisse exhibition - Lucian Freud: New Perspectives at the National Gallery in London PA UK news in pictures 25 September 2022 Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer is interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg in Liverpool before the start of the Labour Party annual Conference which he opened with a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and sang the national anthem PA UK news in pictures 24 September 2022 Handout photo issued by Buckingham Palace of the ledger stone at the King George VI Memorial Chapel, St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle PA UK news in pictures 23 September 2022 A climate change activist protests against UK private jets while lighting his right arm on fire during the Laver Cup tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London EPA UK news in pictures 22 September 2022 Woody Woodmansey, Lee Bennett, Kevin Armstrong, Nick Moran and Clifford Slapper attend the unveiling of a stone for David Bowie on the Music Walk of Fame at Camden, north London PA UK news in pictures 21 September 2022 A flock of birds in the sky as the sun rises over Dungeness in Kent PA UK news in pictures 20 September 2022 Flowers which were laid by members of the public in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II at Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland are collected by the Hillsborough Gardening Team and volunteers to be replanted for those that can be saved or composted PA

SDS described the facilities, where people can be held for months or even years at a time, as "under the microscope this week" after the BBC broadcast a Panorama documentary on Monday which included undercover footage from Brook House detention centre near Gatwick.

The secret filming showed a number of incidents including one which saw a G4S guard allegedly denying urgent medical assistance to a detainee who was chewing his face off, while a third custody officer was filmed allegedly confessing to assaulting a detainee by banging his head and bending his fingers back.

In response to the BBC film, G4S suspended nine members of staff and started an investigation. Jerry Petherick, managing director for custodial and detention services, said: There is no place for the type of conduct described in the allegations anywhere in G4S."

Such behaviour is not representative of the many G4S colleagues who do a great job, often in difficult and challenging circumstances, across the country.

Once we have seen the evidence and concluded the investigation, I will ensure that we take the appropriate action,". he added.

There were nearly 400 recorded suicide attempts at UK detention centres in 2015, and there have been 29 recorded deaths since 1989.

The Independent reported in January that the number of EU nationals held in immigration detention has increased five-fold since the Conservatives came to power.

Mental health problems in detention are prevalent, with isolation and uncertainty compounding trauma detainees  many of whom are asylum seekers  may have experienced.

[Undercover] recordings shine a light on these spaces that are otherwise completely hidden," an SDS spokeswoman said. "What is hard to make visible is the isolation and desolation that detention system seeks to instil in people.

"Through physical segregation from the outside world, as well as the entrenchment of a culture of disbelief and suspicion regarding those who are detained, people inside are stripped of their agency and made to feel entirely alone," the spokeswoman added.

You can contact the Samaritans by calling them for free from any phone for free on 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org or visit samaritans.org to find details of your nearest branch.
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The NHS has more than one in 10 of the worlds pagers in use at a cost of 6.6million a year  despite the availability of modern technology at half the price, figures show.

Doctors, nurses and other workers in hospitals such as paramedics use the ageing devices  which were invented in the 1940s - to communicate with each other.

Critics described the pager as a blunt instrument and said the bleep the devices give off do not give the user any sense of urgent priority to answer the incoming message.

They also said more modern ways for staff to contact each other  such as apps on smartphones  would cost health chiefs 2.7m a year - half the price of the system in use.

There are some 130,000 of the pagers in use across 141 hospitals, according to a response to a Freedom of Information request by technology company CommonTime.

Rowan Pritchard Jones, chief clinical information officer at the St Helens and Knowsley teaching hospitals NHS trust, said: Pagers represent 20th-century technology and are a blunt instrument for communication.

Apart from a fast bleep, doctors have no sense of the urgency or priority of a call, end up writing down messages that can be lost, and often find a telephone number engaged when they do answer it.

Chloe Westley, Campaign Manager at the TaxPayers' Alliance, told The Independent: "Taxpayers will wonder why the NHS is spending millions on outdated technology, especially at a time when savings need to be made.

The public sector should embrace innovation as new technologies can improve services and save money.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 12 November 2022 The City of London Pride Group take part in the parade during the Lord Mayor's Show PA 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

But Geoff Hall, of the Informatics Leeds Cancer Centre, defended the use of the devices in the NHS.

He said: Pagers seem like old technology, but they still exist purely for their inherent high levels of resilience. They are simple to use, i.e. calls can be pushed out by ringing one number, there is an audit trail, the device is easy to carry, and the battery lasts months, not hours.

They do only one task, but they do it well. They provide a last line of defence.

The study by CommonTime found that there are 591 pagers in use on average in hospitals. Only one in three hospitals said they never use the archaic technology.

Only two operators in Britain provide the network for pagers. Vodafone said earlier this year it will be selling off its platform for the devices.
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NHS England is set to issue guidance to staff and terror attacks victims warning them about the risk of social media trolls and telling them to also be wary of journalists.

In the organisations first ever guide to social media it warns that trolls may target the victims of terror attacks when they are most vulnerable  as was seen in the wake of the Manchester and London Bridge attacks.

The guide also offers advice on what NHS staff should do when approached by a journalist for information following an attack.

It will tell victims of terror attacks that media coverage can be positive  such as publicising appeals for information on loved ones and for paying tribute to those killed  but they also warned against speaking to journalists when feeling vulnerable.

It says you are in danger of saying more than you intend, putting friends and family in the spotlight when they do not want to be and losing privacy that can last a long time.

The guide also says "journalists' questions can seem very intrusive, and sometimes blunt".

It adds: "Social media is always monitored by journalists who are looking for a story and you may find yourself in the wrong place at a journalist's right time."

It reminds staff to maintain patient confidentiality and not to reveal identities in photos, and to not reveal things such as the names of hospitals where victims have been taken unless this is already in the public domain.

Staff are also told not to respond to journalists on Twitter, saying: "Don't respond to journalists' tweets - they are seductive!"

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 12 November 2022 The City of London Pride Group take part in the parade during the Lord Mayor's Show PA 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

The advice for younger people says that "journalists who monitor social media can follow-up your posts and though that may sound attractive, it can also put your life into wider arenas which intrudes into your personal life or your family or your friends.

"You can also attract trolls; people who draw the most negative conclusions they can, or question your motives that don't exist or just be plainly unpleasant and abusive, often anonymously too; they can say things like you're only doing something for money or to abuse the system and so on.

"This is incredibly hurtful - which is what the sender intends - and it will upset you, or make you angry and that's never the best time to think about what you tell."

While the "advantages of social media outweigh the disadvantages", the guide advises that after an upsetting event, people should "try to stay off social media in case you say more than you intend because of what you experienced".

It adds: "Messaging your story can keep you in the trauma; retelling your story can also bring back bad memories and you can even relive the trauma."

People are told not to respond to trolls. The guide says: "If you get abusive messages, don't respond or reply but don't ignore them - delete them and do what you can to block the sender from your feed.

"Consider reporting hateful and abusive messages to the police and service providers.

"Tell a family member or a close trusted friend who's a good listener about it and how it made you feel.

"Remember that the troller doesn't know you, no matter how much they appear to; they are exploiting your vulnerability."
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Tesco has come under fire for deducting millions of pounds of charity donations from the plastic bag tax to cover administration costs.

Government statistics show that the supermarket giant withdrew 3.4m from the funds generated from the 5p charge on bags in the year to March 2017  amounting to 10 per cent of the total proceeds.

No other major supermarket made any such deductions, and leading senior MPs have subsequently urged Tesco to follow their lead.

The plastic bag tax was introduced in England in October 2015, and requires all employers with more than 250 staff to charge customers in England for disposable plastic bags.

It has been largely successful, leading to an 83 per cent reduction in their use  the equivalent to nine billion fewer bags.

Companies can deduct a portion of the revenue to cover reasonable costs of administering the donations, but the Government is clear that it expects the proceeds to go towards good causes.

Responding to the findings, Mary Creagh MP, chair of the environmental audit committee, said the supermarket should swiftly drop the ridiculous charge.

The legislation for the 5p plastic bag charge is clear that the money raised should go to good causes, she said.

Five years after the horsemeat scandal and three years after a false accounting scandal, Tesco finds itself again in the spotlight for doing the wrong thing. They should drop this ridiculous charge immediately.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 9 November 2022 Australia and Spain play during the Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup group A match at the Copper Box Arena, London PA UK news in pictures 8 November 2022 A migrant attempting to communicate with journalists is pinned against a fence by members of staff, before being taken out of view, at the Manston immigration short-term holding facility, located at the former Defence Fire Training and Development Centre in Thanet, Kent PA UK news in pictures 7 November 2022 Handout photo issued by Just Stop Oil of a protester who has climbed a gantry on the M25 between junctions six and seven in Surrey, leading to the closure of the motorway PA UK news in pictures 6 November 2022 A grey seal with its pup, at the Donna Nook National Nature Reserve in north Lincolnshire, where they come every year in late October, November and December to give birth to their pups near the sand dunes, the wildlife spectacle attracts visitors from across the UK PA UK news in pictures 5 November 2022 Demonstrators with placards calling for a General Election march near the Houses of Parliament AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 4 November 2022 A peacock is seen in the early winter sunshine in the Dutch Gardens in Holland Park AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 3 November 2022 Florence Kasumba, Letitia Wright, Tenoch Huerta and Lupita Nyongo attend the European Premiere of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in London Getty UK news in pictures 2 November 2022 A red squirrel gathers nuts in Pitlochry, Scotland Reuters UK news in pictures 1 November 2022 Englands Tara-Jane Stanley scores their sides seventh try against Brazil during the Womens Rugby League World Cup group A match at Headingley Stadium, Leeds PA UK news in pictures 31 October 2022 GBs James Hall competes during the mens parallel bars qualification at the World Gymnastics Championships in Liverpool AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 October 2022 People dressed in Halloween costumes paddle board along the river Avon in Christchurch, Dorset PA UK news in pictures 29 October 2022 Members of the public take pictures as police officers remove activists from a road during a Just Stop Oil protest, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 28 October 2022 A cosplayer attends the MCM Comic Con London 2022 at the ExCel Centre in London Reuters UK news in pictures 27 October 2022 98-year-old D-Day Veteran Bernard Morgan, whose story is among those featured on the giant poppy wall, during the launch of The Royal British Legion 2022 Poppy Appeal, at Hay's Galleria in central London PA UK news in pictures 26 October 2022 A meerkat explores a pumpkin in the enclosure at Wild Place, Bristol, where some of the animals are having pumpkin treats as part of their environmental enrichment PA UK news in pictures 25 October 2022 King Charles III welcomes Rishi Sunak during an audience at Buckingham Palace, where he invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative Party to become Prime Minister and form a new government PA UK news in pictures 24 October 2022 Rishi Sunak celebrates with Tory MPs outside the Conservative Campaign Headquarters after becoming the new leader of the Conservative Party Reuters UK news in pictures 23 October 2022 The Green Man at October Plenty, Borough Market's annual Autumn Harvest festival, in London, which returns for the first time post pandemic PA UK news in pictures 21 October 2022 Sculptor Peter McKenna puts the finishing touches to a pumpkin that will form part of the Planet A Hebden Bridge Pumpkin Trail in the West Yorkshire town PA UK news in pictures 20 October 2022 Britains Prime Minister Liz Truss delivers a speech outside of 10 Downing Street in central London to announce her resignation AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 19 October 2022 Salmon leap up Stainforth Force on the River Ribble in the Yorkshire Dales as they swim upriver to their spawning grounds during the annual Salmon migration PA UK news in pictures 18 October 2022 Just Stop Oil protesters continue their protest for a second day on the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which links Kent and Essex and which remains closed for traffic, after it was scaled by two climbers from the group PA UK news in pictures 17 October 2022 Hundreds of students take part in the traditional Raisin Monday foam fight on St Salvator's Lower College Lawn at the University of St Andrews in Fife PA UK news in pictures 16 October 2022 A protester holds a placard during a march into central London at a demonstration by the climate change protest group Extinction Rebellion AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 15 October 2022 A member of the public drags an activist who is blocking the road during a "Just Stop Oil" protest, in London, Britain REUTERS UK news in pictures 14 October 2022 Germanys Womens double skulls during day one of the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals at Saundersfoot beach, Pembrokeshire PA UK news in pictures 13 October 2022 Family and mourners arrive at St Michael's Church, in Creeslough, for the funeral mass of 49-year-old mother of four Martina Martin, who died following an explosion at the Applegreen service station in the village of Creeslough in Co Donegal on Friday PA UK news in pictures 12 October 2022 Motorists in Coventry pass trees showing autumnal colour PA UK news in pictures 11 October 2022 A woman and her dog in the the North Sea at Tynemouth Longsands beach before sunrise PA UK news in pictures 10 October 2022 Police officers remove a campaigner from a Just Stop Oil protest on The Mall, near Buckingham Palace, London PA UK news in pictures 9 October 2022 A drummer plays during the Diwali on the Square celebration, in Trafalgar Square, London PA UK news in pictures 8 October 2022 Timothee Chalamet attending the UK premiere of Bones and All during the BFI London Film Festival 2022 at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London PA UK news in pictures 7 October 2022 Two young male fallow deer lock antlers in Dublins Phoenix park as rutting season begins PA UK news in pictures 6 October 2022 The Princess of Wales during a cocktail making competition during a visit to Trademarket, a new outdoor street-food and retail market situated in Belfast city centre, as part of the royal visit to Northern Ireland PA UK news in pictures 5 October 2022 Greenpeace protesters interrupt Prime Minister Liz Truss as she delivers her keynote speech to the Conservative Party annual conference PA UK news in pictures 4 October 2022 Prime Minister Liz Truss and Britains Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng wearing hard hats and hi-vis jackets, visit a construction site for a medical innovation campus in Birmingham AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 3 October 2022 British artist Sam Cox, aka Mr Doodle, reveals the Doodle House, a twelve-room mansion at Tenterden, in Kent, which has been covered, inside and out in the artist's trademark monochrome, cartoonish hand-drawn doodles PA UK news in pictures 2 October 2022 Erling Haaland celebrates after scoring Manchester City's second goal against Manchester United at Etihad Stadium. Haaland went on to score a hattrick, his third of the season in the Premier League. City beat United 6-3. Manchester City FC/Getty UK news in pictures 1 October 2022 Protesters hold up flags and placards at a protest in London. A variety of protest groups including Enough is Enough, Don't Pay and Just Stop Oil all demonstrated on the day AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 September 2022 British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who has not been seen in days, leaves the back of Downing Street after a meeting with Office For Budget Responsibility following the release of her governments mini-budget Getty UK news in pictures 29 September 2022 The Virginia creeper foliage on the Tu Hwnt i'r Bont (Beyond the Bridge) Llanwrst, Conwy North Wales, has changed colour from green to red in at the start of Autumn. The building was built in 1480 as a residential dwelling but has been a tearoom for over 50 years PA UK news in pictures 28 September 2022 Criminal barristers from the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), demonstrates outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, as part of their ongoing pay row with the Government PA UK news in pictures 27 September 2022 David White, Garter King of Arms, poses with an envelope franked with the new cypher of King Charles III 'CIIIR', after it was printed in the Court Post Office at Buckingham Palace in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 26 September 2022 A gallery staff member poses next to a painting by Lucian Freud - Self-portrait (Fragment), 1956 - on show at a photocall for the Credit Suisse exhibition - Lucian Freud: New Perspectives at the National Gallery in London PA UK news in pictures 25 September 2022 Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer is interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg in Liverpool before the start of the Labour Party annual Conference which he opened with a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and sang the national anthem PA UK news in pictures 24 September 2022 Handout photo issued by Buckingham Palace of the ledger stone at the King George VI Memorial Chapel, St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle PA UK news in pictures 23 September 2022 A climate change activist protests against UK private jets while lighting his right arm on fire during the Laver Cup tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London EPA UK news in pictures 22 September 2022 Woody Woodmansey, Lee Bennett, Kevin Armstrong, Nick Moran and Clifford Slapper attend the unveiling of a stone for David Bowie on the Music Walk of Fame at Camden, north London PA UK news in pictures 21 September 2022 A flock of birds in the sky as the sun rises over Dungeness in Kent PA UK news in pictures 20 September 2022 Flowers which were laid by members of the public in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II at Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland are collected by the Hillsborough Gardening Team and volunteers to be replanted for those that can be saved or composted PA

A spokesperson for Tescos said: Since launching in 2015, our Bags of Help initiative has provided more than 33m to over 6,400 local community projects.

A small proportion of the money raised is used to run and administer the scheme in partnership with the charity Groundwork, who help distribute the money to good causes.
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Boris Johnson has sparked fresh hostilities with Brussels, by claiming the EUs approach to the Brexit negotiations fails its own legal duty.

The Foreign Secretary claimed the EU is obliged to bow to British pressure to start talking about a future trade deal  just days after EU leaders again insisted the divorce must be settled first.

Michel Barnier, the EUs chief negotiator, together with leaders of the European Parliament, poured cold water on trade talks starting next month, as originally hoped.

They pinned the blame on Britains failure to make the necessary sufficient progress on a financial settlement for Brexit, on citizens rights and on the border in Ireland.

Before a meeting with his EU counterparts in Tallinn, Estonia, Mr Johnson first said he had absolutely rock-solid confidence that a deal would be reached before Britains exit in March 2019.

But he went further, saying: Article 50 makes it very clear that the discussion about the exit for a country must be taken in the context of a discussion of the future arrangements, and thats what we are going to do.

The claim came despite David Davis, the Brexit Secretary, publicly accepting, in July, that the EU had a right to expect the divorce settlement to be discussed first.

Mr Johnson spoke at the end of a bruising week in UK-EU relations, in which a former European Council president, Herman van Rompuy, put the chances of trade talks beginning in October as in the neighbourhood of zero.

The leak of Home Office plans for the UK to limit the free movement of people from day one after Brexit appeared to throw fresh obstacles in the way of a transitional deal, to cushion the impact of Brexit.

Meanwhile, Mr Barnier rejected the UKs suggestions for a light-touch Irish border after withdrawal, suggesting they presented a threat to the integrity of the single market.

A position paper published by the European Commission set out how, as the problem was of the UKs making, it was the UKs responsibility to come up with a unique solution.

However, Mr Johnson told reporters that a solution to the problem of the Irish border would be found between the negotiating parties and made light of the EUs fears.

I think we can all work together to come up with a solution to that one, he said.

It is not beyond the wit of man. We have had a common travel area between the north and south of Ireland for getting on for a century. We are going to continue to make that work.

In Brussels, there is also growing anger at Theresa Mays decision to reject an invitation to address the European Parliament to try to convince MEPs of her vision for future relations.

Crucially, the European Parliament has the right to veto any agreement between the EU and the UK.

The next round of the talks is due to get underway on 18 September, with Theresa May expected to make a major speech on Brexit a few days later.
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Wales and Scotland will formally lay down a challenge to Theresa Mays Brexit plans this week, warning she risks a constitutional crisis if changes are not made.

Governments in both nations are expected to officially submit documents confirming their intention to withhold consent for the Prime Ministers approach to EU withdrawal unless it radically alters.

Conservative ministers have admitted to The Independent that pushing on without their backing could hold up Brexit, while politicians outside England warn it will strain the UK at the seams.

The devolved governments claim Ms Mays key piece of Brexit legislation will see London snatch authority over key policy areas and give Conservative ministers unacceptably-strong powers to meddle with other laws.

It comes as MPs are expected to approve the EU (Withdrawal) Bill at its first Commons hurdle on Monday, but the Prime Minister faces a rebellion later on because even Tories want changes to the same clauses that are angering leaders in Cardiff and Edinburgh.

On Tuesday the Scottish and Welsh administrations will officially start their drive to force concessions, by submitting legislative consent papers in their assemblies that set out how the bill must change.

Welsh First Minister Carwyn Jones told The Independent Ms Mays bill will allow Whitehall to hijack powers during Brexit that should be passed to Cardiff.

He said: The UK Government is being rigid in its approach. Its saying there is only one way. Its acting as if it won a majority at the election in June. It didnt.

We will not consent to the bill as it is, and if they plough on that will spark a difficult constitutional problem. The House of Lords will also take a dim view of the UK Government ignoring the wish of democratically elected assemblies.

Brexit: the deciders Show all 8 1 /8 Brexit: the deciders Brexit: the deciders European Union's chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier Getty Brexit: the deciders French President Emmanuel Macron Getty Brexit: the deciders German Chancellor Angela Merkel Reuters Brexit: the deciders Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker EPA Brexit: the deciders The European Parliament's chief Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt Getty Brexit: the deciders Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May Getty Images Brexit: the deciders Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond PA Brexit: the deciders After the first and second appointed Brexit secretaries resigned (David Davis and Dominic Raab respectively), Stephen Barclay is currently heading up the position PA

Devolved leaders hope Tuesdays submission will spur an intense negotiation with London, in which they want to see parts of Ms Mays bill re-written.

Assemblies in both nations will eventually vote on whether to back the bill, with consent needed before the proposed legislation finishes its stages in the House of Lords.

One source in Cardiff said: Often we would reserve judgement on whether we could back something or not until the vote, but this piece of legislation is so offensive that there is no point in holding back.

There is no groundswell of nationalistic feeling in Wales right now, but this sort of behaviour is the kind of thing that can fracture relations between countries  its not overselling it to use the word crisis.

Legal advice quoted in both Edinburgh and Cardiff is that the Government needs consent from both capitals for parts of the bill and Brexit Secretary David Davis has said he intends to seek it.

But it is accepted that if either assembly were to withhold consent, the UK Government could carry on and attempt to pass the bill regardless.

 EU set to block UK's temporary customs union plea to stop Brexit border chaos, warns former commissioner

The SNPs Brexit spokesman Mike Russell said: There is already a constitutional crisis here. If they push on without consent it will become deeper and much more intense.

They would be legislating for both Scotland and Wales without our consents and that would be the first time that has happened in 20 years.

Both the Welsh and Scottish governments insist their opposition is not about blocking Brexit and say they agree with Westminster that legislation, including limited new powers for ministers, is necessary.

But they argue they cannot back any law which would see them lose influence over areas rightfully theirs to control.

 Anna Soubry attacks hardline Brexiteers for macho governing

Mr Russell went on: Our default position is that this is a technical measure and that we want to co-operate with them on it.

The problem is that the technical measure they have proposed is a dogs breakfast, that runs against the process of devolution.

He added: Now there has to be a shift from the UK Government.

The Withdrawal Bill will see all EU laws currently affecting the UK brought on to the British statute book on the day of Brexit, with ministers then granted Henry VIII powers to alter regulations  so-called because they allowed the Tudor monarch to govern by proclamation.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has also signalled she will not give consent for Ms May's bill (PA)

Key objections focus on clauses 10 of the bill, setting out the Henry VIII powers, and 11 establishing how authority for policy areas that might affect Wales and Scotland could be diverted to London.

If the Government refuses to give way and wins consent then the House of Lords could also seek to amend the bill, with ministers fearing a lengthy period of ping-pong between Parliaments chambers would delay the Brexit time-table.

A Labour source in the Lords said: In the end if the bill has not been properly scrutinised in the Commons for whatever reason, the Lords will look at stuff thats not been looked at.

We will encourage the Government to come back with its own amendments and if the bill still isnt in the right shape theres the possibility of amendments being pressed to votes and being sent back to the Commons.

David Davis has confirmed that the Government will seek the consent of the devolved legislatures for the bill, but has not said what might happen if they do not give it.

One Conservative minister told The Independent it would be critical to win the backing of Edinburgh and Cardiff, but suggested concessions may not be enshrined in Ms Mays proposed legislation  a move that would allow both a compromise, and for the Prime Minister to save face.

The individual said: Brexit is as far from a two-dimensional exercise as you can get. Its multi-dimensional and one of the most important elements are the devolved governments.

The point is that its not a question of not wanting to devolve power down, but a case of when, and getting it right in the context of trade and future relations. That means it may not be right to write things on to the face of the bill.

We are trying to approach this in good faith. Working with us will get a better result than constantly saying the British Government wants some massive power grab.

A Government spokesperson said: We have been clear that we want to work with the devolved administrations to deliver a deal that works for the whole of the UK.

This is essential legislation in the national interest  it gives powers to the devolved administrations that are necessary to ensure the statute book functions on our exit from the EU.
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Some tried logic.

17 million out of 65 million is not an overwhelming majority, read one banner on the anti-Brexit Peoples March for Europe, in reference to the EU referendum result.

Others were rather more visceral.

Pants to Brexit proved a particularly popular slogan. One lady carried a home-made placard depicting the heads of Brexit Secretary David Davis and Theresa May locked together in a particularly unappealing pair of beige Y-fronts.

One gentleman had decided that for the walk from Hyde Park to Parliament Square, alongside between 15,000 and 20,000 other marchers, he would accessorise his trousers with the most voluminous baggy grey overpants he could create.

If the slogans were varied, there was also quite a range among the protesters.

(Getty Images (Getty Images)

You could find Rod Currie, from Stockton-on-Tees, in the supposedly solid Brexit North-East, rubbing shoulders with Tony Vickers, 70, a harrumphing Home Counties retired lieutenant-colonel.

As his Stay Angry and Fight Brexit placard suggested, Mr Vickers, formerly of the Royal Engineers, from Newbury, Berkshire, was indeed cross: But not with the poor sods who voted Leave. They were lied to, and those poor sods are going to get poorer  while the rich politicians who led the Leave campaign, the ones with dosh, are going to be okay.

Brexit: the deciders Show all 8 1 / 8 Brexit: the deciders Brexit: the deciders European Union's chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier Getty Brexit: the deciders French President Emmanuel Macron Getty Brexit: the deciders German Chancellor Angela Merkel Reuters Brexit: the deciders Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker EPA Brexit: the deciders The European Parliament's chief Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt Getty Brexit: the deciders Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May Getty Images Brexit: the deciders Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond PA Brexit: the deciders After the first and second appointed Brexit secretaries resigned (David Davis and Dominic Raab respectively), Stephen Barclay is currently heading up the position PA

Nor was there any sense  from anyone  that this protest was a futile last stand.

MPs may have been due to vote on Monday on the Great Repeal Bill, AKA the EU (Withdrawal) Bill; the referendum may have happened and the negotiations may have been underway, but this march, they all said, could make a difference.

Anything could happen, said Mr Currie, 50, an accountant. Eighteen months [until the end of Brexit negotiations] is a very long time in politics.

Once people realise the deal they will get is nowhere near as good as what they were told it will be, as more and more small businesses go under because of the falling value of the pound, things might change very quickly.

They are already changing. The local paper in Sunderland [which voted strongly for Leave] recently published a poll which showed Sunderland would vote Remain now.

All it needs, he added, is for one-in-50 voters to change their mind and then you have got a 50-50 split between Leave and Remain.

So were still fighting. And the public should be given the chance to vote on whatever Brexit deal is negotiated.

The Remain cause was far from lost, agreed Christina Murray, 58, a retired legal secretary from Biggleswade, Bedfordshire.

I went on anti-whaling marches in the Eighties, she said. They made a difference. This can make a difference. The mood is already changing. On Facebook, Ive seen people who voted for Brexit beginning to see the impracticality and undesirability of it.

 'Boris Johnson's conscience' parody sung at anti-Brexit march on Parliament

Ms Murray was on the march with her 22-year-old daughter Imelda. Even if all this protest achieved nothing, it would still have been worth it.

I want to be able to look my grandchildren in the eye and tell them, I fought for your future.

It was a common theme.

Anthony Mansfield, 57, came with Kerry Beekmans, 45, and their son Sebastian, three, who was perched on the broad shoulders of his older brother Christopher, 23.

Seb was born a European citizen, said Mr Mansfield senior, a train technician from Caterham, Surrey. Thats being taken away from him, along with rights like his freedom of movement to work and study in Europe.

We are watching the pound collapse. In the EU, we have a massive market right next door to us, and we are leaving it.

MPs know that in the long run their constituents will not thank them for voting in favour of today's Brexit repeal bill (EPA)

I really worry for Sebs future.

If there were worries about the future, there were also lessons from history.

Holding a placard reading Brexit is a weapon of self-destruction, Kyra von Schottenstein, 60, came to Britain from Austria 33 years ago.

Thirty years ago, she switched from Austrian to British citizenship.

I am very proud to be British, she said. And fighting for the values that made Britain a beacon to the world for years and years and years.

Weve lost that now, she said wistfully. She is Jewish and had relatives who fled Nazi Austria.

My objection to Brexit is a moral one. I see a stirring up of hate  towards Poles, towards Lithuanians.

Its reminiscent of 1930s attitudes towards immigrants.

Who are we going to hate next? And who is going to fill all the jobs in the NHS that are currently filled by immigrants?

These so-called remoaners seemed to prefer humour to hatred. As the marchers filed past Downing Street, they were greeted  on the other side of the road to Number 10  by Faux Bojo, a rapping street artist with a remarkable physical and vocal resemblance to Boris Johnson.

I wrecked the country, he rapped, poshly. I put the lies on the bus.

He had brought his Theresa May puppet along, although she rarely said much more than strong and stable.

Nor did Brexit Secretary David Davis escape the ridicule. There was more than one banner with his photo and the verdict of Dominic Cummings, ex-head of the Vote Leave campaign: Thick as mince, lazy as a toad.

But it got worse for him at the end of the afternoon when  to a huge cheer  James Chapman, until very recently chief of staff to Mr Davis Brexit department, took to the stage.

Mr Davis, said Mr Chapman, the government insider turned ardent Remainer, was a man without a plan A, let alone a plan B.

We are heading to disaster, he added. We are heading to a cliff.

(Reuters (Reuters)

Mr Chapman  who is also one of those to have called Mr Davis, his former boss, a lazy three-day-week man  said the country needed a new political party, the Democrats, to halt Brexit in the national, geopolitical and economic interest.

He spoke darkly of the damage Brexit would cause throughout the economy.

Disgracefully, he claimed, they [the Government] have refused to publish their own assessment of the impact of Brexit on over 50 sectors. They say it is because it would undermine [Brexit] negotiations.

I say it is because of how terrible it would look.

To a loud cheer, he added the potentially incendiary  and subjective  claim: This is, in my mind, nothing short of misconduct in public office.

We are all European, he concluded. For our children, we will continue to fight.

The plan now is for an autumn of discontent, including a demonstration in Manchester on 1 October.

We havent gone away, said Mr Currie. And we dont plan to go away.
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Scotland's Brexit minister is expected to call for a "radical shift" in how the UK Government deals with the devolved nations when he addresses the British Irish Association today.

Michael Russell said greater involvement from the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish administrations is needed to avoid "the most damaging consequences" of leaving the European Union.

Following the general election, the Scottish Government called for the devolved governments to be included in the Brexit negotiations, with the Joint Ministerial Committee re-established.

But the JMC on EU Negotiations has not met since February.

Speaking at a Holyrood committee on Thursday, Mr Russell said the UK government was acting as if devolution "never happened".

Scottish ministers were not consulted on a range of Brexit papers, while objections to the EU (Withdrawal) Bill and pleas to keep the country in the European single market were dismissed, he said.

Addressing the British Irish Association conference in Cambridge, Mr Russell will say: "All of the constituent nations and peoples of these islands will be harmed by a hard Brexit that sees the UK, including Northern Ireland, outside the single market and customs union, while Ireland and the rest of the EU are on the other side.

"What we need is for the UK Government to admit this reality and stand up to those who would see the economy go off a cliff edge.

"The Brexit negotiations have made abundantly clear that we need a radical shift in how intergovernmental relationships are managed between the UK and the devolved nations.

"The UK Government must act now and make meaningful changes. Not only is it within their gift to do so - it is also in their interests."

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

Mr Russell's comments come after the EU's negotiator Michel Barnier said he was worried by the UKs proposals for the Northern Ireland border.

He accused Theresa May's Government of trying to get the EU to suspend its laws, customs unions and single market along the border.

"And the UK wants to use Ireland as a kind of test case for the future EU-UK customs relations. This will not happen," he said on Thursday.

The impact of Brexit on Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland is one of the key issues being discussed in the early stages of the negotiations.

A UK Government spokesman said: The level of engagement on this issue has been unprecedented, including meetings with ministers, officials, businesses and groups across the nations.

The bill and white paper were both shared in advance of publication.

Since the election, ministers and officials continue to be in close contact with the devolved administrations.

Press Association
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Labour MP Harriet Harman has launched an attack on Tory MP and father of six Jacob Ress-Mogg, calling him a deadbeat dad over his admission that he has never changed a nappy.

Ms Harman  now the mother of the House as the longest serving female MP in the Commons  said: Men who dont change nappies are deadbeat dads  and that includes Jacob Ress-Mogg.

What model of fatherhood do we want parliament to portray? The Rees-Mogg model or the modern father who  as well as the mother  is involved with a newborn, she added, in an interview with the Guardian.

The Tory MP, who has emerged as one of the favourites to become the partys next leader, quickly responded by saying he would lose little sleep over Harriet Harmans disapproval.

The domestic burden does not fall entirely to his Mr Rees-Mogg's wife, Helena, though, as the wealthy MP said during an interciew with Nigel Farage back in July, The nanny does it brilliantly, when asked how the nappy-changing was going.

The eccentric backbencher caused a stir after he used Instagram to announce the birth of his sixth child, named Sixtus Dominic Boniface Christopher Rees-Mogg. His other children are Peter, Mary, Thomas, Anselm and Alfred.

Although he has an enthusiastic fan club of Conservative supporters who like his uncompromising style, Mr Rees-Mogg faced criticism this week when he said that as a practising Catholic, he does not approve of abortion in any circumstances even if the woman has been raped.

Equal rights campaigner Ms Harman is trying to change the rules on paid maternity and paternity leave for MPs to allow them to take six months of paid time off after becoming parents.

Since becoming MP for her south-east London seat of Camberwell and Peckham in 1982, Ms Harman has been something of a pioneer and was among the first MPs to breastfeed her child in the Commons.

But in a speech made to women at a Labour event in Newcastle, she said she had lost out after not being allowed to take any paid leave following the births of her three children, returning to work within a matter of weeks on each occasion.

Eighteen months maternity leave during 35 years work for three children doesnt seem too much to ask.

Without maternity leave I lost out. I felt my babies lost out. Its long overdue to sort this out, she said.

She is calling for both men and women MPs who have just become parents to be allowed to nominate a Westminster colleague to vote on their behalf in Parliament and to appoint a local representative to handle their constituency casework.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 12 November 2022 The City of London Pride Group take part in the parade during the Lord Mayor's Show PA 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 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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 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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

Ms Harman said that while MPs have worked to make workplaces across the UK more family-friendly, the Commons has fundamentally failed to put its own house in order.

Women have babies  thats a fact of life, she said, pointing out that 17 have been born to serving female MPs since 2010.

Women are in Parliament - that's a democratic imperative.

'The baby needs time with the mother, the mother needs time with the baby and the constituency needs to be properly represented at all times.

We need a proper system of baby leave to square that circle. It's long overdue, she said, adding that six months paid leave would bring MPs in line with the civil service.

A cross-party parliamentary group is due to discuss Ms Harmans proposals next week.

The Commons Reference Group on Representation and Inclusion, set up last year, is due to make recommendations on maternity, paternity, parental, adoption and caring leave.
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Theresa May is a hopeless leader of a weak government, according to a major Tory donor.

Lord Harris of Peckham has given his damning verdict on the Prime Minister and said the country would be better off with an administration like that of Tony Blair in his early years.

The former Conservative Party deputy treasurer criticised Ms May, claiming she was no Thatcher and suggested her record as home secretary was "not that great.

The 74-year-old who was has a net-worth of 110 million warned that Ms May was making a mistake by openly criticising excessive pay and said some of her interventions had been stupid.

"Both sides don't know what they want at the moment or where they want to go. I'd much rather have a strong Labour government than a weak Conservative one and I'm a Conservative through and through, Lord Harris told The Times.

"I wouldn't want Jeremy Corbyn but if you had Tony Blair when he first got in now he would be very good for this country."

He went on to criticise Ms Mays shell-shocked election performance and added that he "didn't think she had it in her" to be Prime Minister.

"I thought for the first three or four weeks she did well. Then she did the election and she was hopeless, he said.

"She's changed her mind too many times. I think she was shell-shocked but she's got to start making decisions, or someone has... Theresa May has got a great opportunity if she lets (her ministers) work and leads them.

"I don't know if she can lead them or not," he added.

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

Discussing potential candidates to take over from Ms May, Lord Harris continued his brutal approach describing Michael Gove as having no personality and adding that Boris Johnson although a genius was lazy.

Instead he put his backing behind Ruth Davidson, the Scottish Tory leader, as a potential successor for Ms May.

"She's very practical, very solid and won't give in," he said.

"She's clever as well as growing up on a council estate. I think she's top class.

"They should get her in as an MP... see how she gets on working her way up and I think in three or four years' time she'd make a great prime minister."
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Barack Obama has delighted students at a Washington DC school after walking into their classroom unannounced.

Pupils at McKinley Tech High school gasped and screamed in excitement at the sight of the former president, who has largely avoided the public eye since leaving office.

The visit, video of which was shared on Mr Obama's Instagram account, was part of "supporting the next generation of leaders", a spokesman said.

Hey, hows it going everybody? Mr Obama said, as he strode into the room.

The chancellor told me you guys were meeting, so I thought Id stop by. You dont mind me crashing, right?

As pupils reacted in an apparent state of disbelief at the surprise visitor, the former leader added: One of the things that I did throughout my presidency was Id meet with groups of young people everywhere I went, whether it was here in the United States, or travelling overseas just to kind of hear from them, find out what theyre interested in.

I do believe that most of the problems that we have are going to be solved by you.

Before he left the building he told one girl: "Remember what I say: don't back down".

As he departed, students could be heard screaming in excitement.

Barack Obama's best moments in the White House Show all 11 1 /11 Barack Obama's best moments in the White House Barack Obama's best moments in the White House May 19, 2009 The President was leaving the State Floor after an event and found Sasha in the elevator ready to head upstairs to the private residence. He decided to ride upstairs with her before returning to the Oval Office, Peter Souza Barack Obama's best moments in the White House Oct. 26, 2012 President Barack Obama pretends to be caught in Spider-Man's web as he greets the son of a White House staffer in the Outer Oval Office Peter Souza Barack Obama's best moments in the White House A National Security staffer, Carlton Philadelphia, brought his family to the Oval Office for a farewell photo with President Obama. Carltons son, Jacob, softly told the President he had just gotten a haircut like President Obama, and asked if he could feel the Presidents head to see if it felt the same as his. Peter Souza Barack Obama's best moments in the White House March 21, 2010 The President, Vice President and senior staff applaud after watching on television the House vote on H.R. 4872 for health care reform, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House Peter Souza Barack Obama's best moments in the White House Dec. 3, 2009 President Barack Obama fist-bumps custodian Lawrence Lipscomb in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building following the opening session of the White House Forum on Jobs and Economic Growth Peter Souza Barack Obama's best moments in the White House Sept. 22, 2015 "The Obama family and Biden family greet Pope Francis as he arrives in the United States for the first time at Joint Base Andrews," Sept. 22, 2015. Peter Souza Barack Obama's best moments in the White House Feb. 21, 2014 President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden participate in a "Let's Move!" video taping on the Colonnade of the White House, Feb. 21, 2014 Peter Souza Barack Obama's best moments in the White House Feb. 18, 2016 President Barack Obama watches First Lady Michelle Obama dance with 106-Year-Old Virginia McLaurin in the Blue Room of the White House prior to a reception celebrating African American History Month, Feb. 18, 2016 Peter Souza Barack Obama's best moments in the White House Jan. 21, 2013 "The President and First Lady wave to supporters as they ride in the inaugural parade. I had asked the President if I could ride in the presidential limousine and the President joked, 'But Michelle and I were planning to make out," Jan. 21, 2013. Peter Souza Barack Obama's best moments in the White House Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama share a private moment in a freight elevator at an Inaugural Ball, January 2009 all pics: Pete Souza Barack Obama's best moments in the White House Barack Obama rests his hand on the bible that President Lincoln used for his swear-in, being held by his wife Michelle Obama as he is sworn in as the 44th President of the United States of America Rex

Mr Obama's spokesman Keith Schiller said in a statement the former president attended the school for a discussion with students about their life goals, pursuing higher education and giving back to their communities.

President Obama is focused on supporting the next generation of leaders," he said. Todays meeting is part of that ongoing conversation with young people.

Recommended Barack Obama hits out at Trump over DACA in moving statement

The former president recently condemned Donald Trump's decision to axe the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (Daca) immigration policy  one of Mr Obama's signature manoeuvres  calling the decision cruel, self-defeating and wrong.

Mr Obama had personally appealed to Mr Trump to keep the programme, which prevented nearly 800,000 people who came to the US as children from being deported.

Whatever concerns or complaints Americans may have about immigration in general, we shouldnt threaten the future of this group of young people who are here through no fault of their own, who pose no threat, who are not taking away anything from the rest of us, Mr Obama said.

Mr Obama will reportedly be hosting his first fundraising event for the Democratic National Committee later in September in Washington. The money raised will go towards state parties and upcoming elections in Virginia.
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Donald Trump has quietly shut down funds to a $63m (48m) Obamacare project  just weeks after he failed to pass a bill to derail the affordable care programme entirely, it has been claimed.

The outreach system provides workers known as Navigators who are trained to help individuals and small businesses get access to health insurance packages which they can afford.

The White House last month said it would slash the budget for the service by $23 million  or 41 per cent  but it was revealed that money handed out in the form of grants already dried up this week.

Recommended Barack Obama hits out at Trump over DACA in moving statement

Managers of non-profits who run the project across the US said they have been closing centres and making staff redundant after complaining their funds ran out in recent days.

Critics of Mr Trump say the move to allegedly stop injecting cash into the programme, which his administration has not confirmed, is designed to sabotage Obamacare.

It came just weeks after the US president suffered a heavy blow when senators failed to pass a bill that would have toppled the program  a plan he touted as one of his key pledges.

Owners of care groups complained that the funds to finance the Navigator outreach programme dried up on September 1, forcing them to scale back or shut down their projects, Vox reported.

Shelli Quenga, who runs the Palmetto Project, in South Carolina, said: "We know nothing right now. I laid off two people today and cut everybody else back to part-time for the remainder of the month. We have to pull from our own money at this point."

Donna Friedsam, director of Covering Wisconsin, also complained after their budget dried up.

She said: I have delivered 10 layoff notices to staff members. We dont have a funding flow anymore.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

The care group owners said The White House had not announced when funding earmarked for next year will be released  but believe it could be as late as September 30.

A Health and Human Services spokesperson declined to comment to CNBC on when the information on the grants would be released, only saying "that information is forthcoming".

President Obama introduced the Affordable Care Act  known as Obamacare  in 2010 in a move designed to help some 15 per cent in the US who did not have the means to sign up for health insurance.

His successor Mr Trump branded it a disaster and pledged to scrap the programme, which costs hundreds of millions a year, so his administration can replace it with their own system.
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Hurricane Harvey passed through Houston, causing devastation in its wake. Now Hurricane Irma is headed for Miami. It's awkward news for people with those names.

If you've wondered if a hurricane will ever share your name, there's an easy way to check. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) keeps a list of names it uses. There are different names for each region of the world, and each region has six rotating lists.

That means that "Irma" and "Harvey" can show up as hurricane names in 2023. But that's unlikely. The WMO retires the names of cyclones that are "particularly deadly or costly."

Here are the names that are designated for the "Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico and the North Atlantic" region  for storms that affect the US.

Hurricanes, the WMO notes, aren't named after particular people. They're selected because they're familiar to people in different regions. That way, they're easy to remember and recognize for hurricane awareness and preparation.

Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico and the North Atlantic Names (the 2017 list will be used again in 2023):

2017

Arlene

Bret

Cindy

Don

Emily

Franklin

Gert

Harvey

Irma

Jose

Katia

Lee

Maria

Nate

Ophelia

Philippe

Rina

Sean

Tammy

Vince

Whitney

2018

Alberto

Beryl

Chris

Debby

Ernesto

Florence

Gordon

Helene

Isaac

Joyce

Kirk

Leslie

Michael

Nadine

Oscar

Patty

Rafael

Sara

Tony

Valerie

William

2019

Andrea

Barry

Chantal

Dorian

Erin

Fernand

Gabrielle

Humberto

Imelda

Jerry

Karen

Lorenzo

Melissa

Nestor

Olga

Pablo

Rebekah

Sebastien

Tanya

Van

Wendy

2020

Arthur

Bertha

Cristobal

Dolly

Edouard

Fay

Gonzalo

Hanna

Isaias

Josephine

Kyle

Laura

Marco

Nana

Omar

Paulette

Rene

Sally

Teddy

Vicky

Wilfred

2021

Ana

Bill

Claudette

Danny

Elsa

Fred

Grace

Henri

Ida

Julian

Kate

Larry

Mindy

Nicholas

Odette

Peter

Rose

Sam

Teresa

Victor

Wanda

2022

Alex

Bonnie

Colin

Danielle

Earl

Fiona

Gaston

Hermine

Ian

Julia

Karl

Lisa

Martin

Nicole

Owen

Paula

Richard

Shary

Tobias

Virginie

Walter

Read more:

 This chart is easy to interpret: It says we're screwed

 How Uber became the world's most valuable startup

 These 4 things could trigger the next crisis in Europe

Read the original article on Insider.  2016. Follow Business Insider UK on Twitter.
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Gun owners in Florida have vowed to respond to Hurricane Irma by shooting at the storm.

Tens of thousands of people have joined an event advertised on Facebook to tackle the hurricane currently bearing down on Florida, in an attempt to show Irma that we shoot first.

 Hurricane Irma batters St Martin, destroying live webcam feed

Irma, the most powerful Atlantic Ocean hurricane in recorded history, has already wrought destruction in the Caribbean, killing at least 22 people.

Ryon Edwards, who created the event on Facebook, said he had no't expected to generate such a large response, and that he started the event out of "stress and boredom".

A combination of stress and boredom made me start the event. The response is a complete and total surprise to me," the 22-year-old told BBC Newsbeat.

"I never envisioned this event becoming some kind of crazy idea larger than myself. It has become something a little out of my control."

 Plane captures aerial view of Hurricane Irma as it heads towards the United States

Some people appear to have taken the plan seriously, including one Facebook user who posted an image of himself holding a gun, along with the message: Im not going to sit around and wait, Im going straight into the eye.

Others responded to it with scepticism, with one user writing: Isn't this just going to make the weather madder?

Diagram being shared showing people how to shoot the hurricane (screen grab)

Another Florida resident has made an event encouraging people to shoot flames at the storm.

It's time we took a stand against this big bully! This our home nobody drives us out of our own territory, states the event description.

Join me in this fight as we shoot flames at Hurricane Irma and dissipate her on the spot. She will burn.

Barbuda, Hurricane Irma  in pictures Show all 7 1 /7 Barbuda, Hurricane Irma  in pictures Barbuda, Hurricane Irma  in pictures A roof-less house in Barbuda ABS TV Barbuda, Hurricane Irma  in pictures A mobile network tower snapped in two by the hurricane ABS TV Barbuda, Hurricane Irma  in pictures The hurricane left debris strewn across the island Barbuda, Hurricane Irma  in pictures Rubble in the aftermath of the hurricane ABS TV Barbuda, Hurricane Irma  in pictures The destruction in Barbuda, as seen from an ABS TV helicopter ABS TV Barbuda, Hurricane Irma  in pictures As well as destroying most houses, the hurricane also left plenty of flooding ABS TV Barbuda, Hurricane Irma  in pictures Barbudan residents survey the damage ABS TV

More than five million people  a quarter of the state's population  have been ordered to evacuate ahead of the storm. The Carolinas and Georgia have also declared emergencies.

The Category 5 storm had maximum sustained wind speeds of 160mph on Saturday, according to the US National Hurricane Centre.

Irma was briefly downgraded to a Category 4 with 150mph winds on Friday, but was later reclassified to a Category 5.
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Cuba has sent doctors to several Caribbean islands ravaged by Hurricane Irma.

More than 750 health workers have arrived in Antigua, Barbuda, Saint Kitts, Nevis, Saint Lucia, the Bahamas, Dominica and Haiti.

They have been told to follow the guidelines of the Ministry of Public Health (Minsap) and to contribute to aiding the recovery of regions that have been hit by the hurricane.

"The collaboration of the Central Medical Cooperation Unit, together with the Minsap Management Center, and our embassies, have maintained the communication to assess the damages and assess what help our own collaborators could provide," Regla Angulo Pardo, the director of the Central Unit of Medial Cooperation in Cuba, told Granma.

The nation of 11 million people has a history of sending medical staff when other nations are in need, having done so during west Africa's Ebola crisis in 2014 and 2015.

A brigade of more than 600 Cuban health workers went to Sierra Leone in 2014 to help tackle the crisis.

They also sent 1,200 health workers to Haiti after the nation was hit with an earthquake in 2010.

Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures Show all 45 1 /45 Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures Recently planted palm trees lie strewn across the road as Hurricane Irma passes by in Miami Beach, Fla. 10 September 2017. AP Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures Damage outside the Mercure hotel in Marigot, on the Bay of Nettle, on the island of Saint-Martin AFP/Getty Images Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures People pick up debris in Fajardo as Hurricane Irma howled past Puerto Rico after thrashing several smaller Caribbean islands Reuters/Alvin Baez Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures Large waves produced by Hurricane Irma crash into the end of Anglins Fishing Pier in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The category 4 hurricane made landfall in the United States in the Florida Keys at 9:10 a.m. after raking across the north coast of Cuba. 10 September 2017 Getty Images Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures A Royal Air Force Puma has been delivered to the US Virgin Islands to assist with the humanitarian efforts post Hurricane Irma. The Puma will be delivering Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Relief in support of the Department for International Development. Royal Air Force logisticians from RAF Brize Norton have assisted with the delivery of military personnel and aid cargo to the Caribbean to support disaster relief in the wake of Hurricane Irma. RAF aircraft including, C-17 A400M and Voyager are supporting a Joint Task Force of RAF, Royal Marines, Army and RN personnel who are supporting the Department for International Development as it delivers aid to stricken Caribbean Islands. MoD Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures Flamingos at Zoo Miami, are shown in a temporary enclosure in a hurricane resistant structure within the zoo, Saturday, 9 September 2017 in Miami. Though most animals will reman in their secure structures, the cheetahs and some birds will ride out the storm in temporary housing. AP Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures Boats are seen at a marina in South Beach as Hurricane Irma arrives at south Florida, in Miami Beach, Florida, U.S. 10 September 2017 Reuters Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures Storm clouds are seen over Fisher Island as Hurricane Irma approaches on 9 September 2017 in Miami Beach, Florida. Florida is in the path of the Hurricane which may come ashore at category 4 Getty Images Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures Waves crash over a seawall at the mouth of the Miami River from Biscayne Bay, Fla., as Hurricane Irma passes by. 10 September 2017 AP Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures Some of the damage on Saint Martin EPA/Gerben Van Es/Dutch Department of Defence Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures The skyline is seen as the outerbands of Hurricane Irma start to reach Florida on 9 September 2017 in Miami, Florida. Florida is in the path of the Hurricane which may come ashore at category 4. Getty Images Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures A tree toped by hurricane Irma is seen on a empty street in Remedios, Cuba, 9 September 2017. Hurricane Irma reached Cuba bringing winds between 160 and 190 kilometers per hour. The hurricane has hit the north coast of the island. EPA Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures James Constantineau loads sands bags in his truck as he prepares for the approach of Hurricane Irma Saturday, 9 September 2017, in East Palatka, Fla. Gov. Rick Scott is urging anyone living in an evacuation zone in southwest Florida to leave by noon as the threat of Hurricane Irma has shifted west. AP Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures The Fort Louis Marina in Marigot is seen on 8 September 2017 in Saint-Martin island, devastated by Hurricane Irma. AFP Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures Destruction in Orient Bay on the island of Saint-Martin AFP/Getty Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures The wreckage in Orient Bay on the island of Saint-Martin AFP/Getty Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures View of the aftermath of Hurricane Irma on Saint Martin Reuters Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures A mobile network tower snapped in two by the hurricane on the island of Barbuda ABS TV Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures A house reduced to rubble on the island of Saint Barthelemy AFP/Getty Images Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures General view of damage on Saint Martin Reuters Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures A damaged Casino Royale on Saint Martin after the passage of Hurricane Irma Anna Mazur/AFP Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures An aerial photograph taken and released by the Dutch department of Defense shows the damage of Hurricane Irma in Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, the Dutch section of the Caribbean Island Gerben Van Es/AFP Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures Flooded houses in Gustavia on the island of Saint-Barthelemy Kevin Barrallon/AFP Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures The damage on the island of Saint-Martin, a day after Hurricane Irma hit AFP/Getty Images Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures A man carrying an umbrella is battered by the wind in Fajardo, Puerto Rico Reuters/Alvin Baez Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures A lone police car on patrol during the passing of Hurricane Irma in Fajardo, Puerto Rico Jose Jimenez/Getty Images Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures Haitian people walk through the wind and rain on a beach in Cap-Haitien on September 7 as Hurricane Irma approaches Hector Retamal/AFP/Getty Images Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures A flooded street on the island of Saint Martin AFP/Getty Images Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures A tree collapsed on a house in Saint Martin Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures A hotel in Saint Martin is gutted by floodwater during the hurricane Guadeloupe 1ere Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures Cars submerged in Saint Martin Rinsy Xieng Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures Debris floats amongst the floodwater in Saint Martin @la1ere Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures Household items float down the street in Gustavia, Saint-Barthelemy Carole Greaux Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures The coast of Saint Martin is flooded as the hurricane hits the island Meteo Express Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures A whole street underwater in Saint Martin @la1ere Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures A car crashes into the tree amongst the chaos in Saint Martin @Bondtehond Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures A building on the Saint Martin seafront, destroyed by the hurricane @Bondtehond Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures A mobile home overturned at Princess Juliana International Airport in Saint Martin @Bondtehond Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures Palm trees bend in the wind in San Juan, Puerto Rico as Hurricane Irma slammed across islands in the northern Caribbean Reuters/Alvin Baez Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures A woman runs in the rain as Hurricane Irma slammed into San Juan, Puerto Rico Reuters/Alvin Baez Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures A picture taken on September 5, 2017 shows a view of the Baie Nettle beach in Marigot, with the wind blowing ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Irma AFP/Getty Images Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures A man rides past a boarded up house as part of preparations ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Irma on September 5, 2017, in the French overseas island of Guadeloupe Helene Valenzuela/AFP Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures Employees of the Mercure Hotel fill sand bags on the Baie Nettle beach in Marigot, as part of the preparations for the arrival of Hurricane Irma Lionel Chamoiseau/AFP Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures People in line at Costco, as they find out the store has ran out of water on September 5, 2017 in North Miami Michele Eve Sandberg/AFP Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures Night view of the city of Cap-Haitien, in the north of Haiti, 240 km from Port-au-Prince, on September 5, 2017 Hector Retamal/AFP

Cubas international medical mission has won the socialist state many friends.

This tradition can be traced back to 1960, when Cuba sent a group of doctors to Chile, who had been hit by a powerful earthquake, followed by a team of 50 to Algeria in 1963.
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Humans aren't the only ones needing to take shelter from Hurricane Irma the residents of Zoo Miami being also led to safety as the city braces for the impact of Hurricane Irma.

Leopards, flamingos, porcupines and parrots were among the animals taken by zoo staff to a hurricane resistant building on the site.

The creatures will remain there to ride out the storm.

For humans, there are mandatory evacuation orders in place across Florida.

In one of the biggest evacuations ever ordered in the US, about 6.3 million Floridians  more than one-quarter of the state's population  were warned to leave.

Animals take shelter from Hurricane Irma at Zoo Miami Show all 8 1 /8 Animals take shelter from Hurricane Irma at Zoo Miami Animals take shelter from Hurricane Irma at Zoo Miami Jennifer Nelson, senior keeper at Zoo Miami, leads a cheetah named Koda to a hurricane resistant structure within the zoo, Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017 in Miami. AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee Animals take shelter from Hurricane Irma at Zoo Miami Ryan Martinez, a trainer at Zoo Miami, places an Eurasion Eagle Owl into a crate AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee Animals take shelter from Hurricane Irma at Zoo Miami Flamingos at Zoo Miami, are shown in a temporary enclosure in a hurricane resistant structure within the zoo, (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee) Animals take shelter from Hurricane Irma at Zoo Miami Brown pelicans and an American white pelican take refuge in a shelter ahead of the downfall of Hurricane Irma at the zoo in Miami REUTERS/Adrees Latif Animals take shelter from Hurricane Irma at Zoo Miami An African crested porcupine is moved into a shelter ahead of the downfall of Hurricane Irma at the zoo in Miami, Florida, REUTERS/Adrees Latif Animals take shelter from Hurricane Irma at Zoo Miami A macaw parrot looks out of it's cage after being put into a shelter REUTERS/Adrees Latif Animals take shelter from Hurricane Irma at Zoo Miami An African grey parrot is moved into a shelter ahead of the downfall of Hurricane Irma REUTERS/Adrees Latif Animals take shelter from Hurricane Irma at Zoo Miami Cheetahs are photographed in a shelter ahead of the downfall of Hurricane Irma at the zoo in Miami, Florida, REUTERS/Adrees Latif

Authorities opened hundreds of shelters for people who did not leave. Hotels as far away as Atlanta, Georgia, filled up with evacuees.

The brunt of the hurricane, one of the fiercest Atlantic storms in a century, is due to arrive in Florida early on Sunday.

Irma could inflict major damage on the fourth-largest US state by population, which is braced for winds well in excess of 100 miles per hour and a huge storm surge that could trigger coastal flooding.

"This is a deadly storm and our state has never seen anything like it," Governor Rich Scott said at a Saturday morning news conference.

Irma, located about 225 miles (365 km) south of Miami on Saturday morning, still ranked as a Category 5 storm when it crashed into Cuba in the early hours of Saturday.

It weakened to a Category 3 as it tore along the island's northern coastline, downing power lines, bending palm trees and sending huge waves crashing over sea walls.
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The youngest member of the Manson cult has been approved for parole, 48 years after the notorious group carried out its killing spree.

A California state panel determined that Leslie Van Houten, who is now 68, had drastically changed her life and was no longer a threat to society.

But Van Houten  who has served more than four decades of a life sentence for her part in a double murder  may still be blocked from leaving jail.

The final decision on Ms Van Houten's release rests with state governor Jerry Brown, who last year rejected her parole.

In stopping her release then, Mr Brown said Van Houten had failed to adequately explain how a model teenager and former homecoming princess from a privileged Southern California family could have transformed into a merciless killer by the age of 19.

I've had a lot of therapy trying to answer that question myself, Ms Houten told the parole panel on Wednesday.

To tell you the truth, the older I get the harder it is to deal with all of this, to know what I did, how it happened."

Ms Van Houten's attorney, Rich Pfeiffer, said he believed his client had answered the governor's question and he should agree to her release.

My hope is he's going to follow the law and let his commissioners do their job, he said.

He added: I'm getting her out of here. That's not an issue. The question is when."

No one who took part in the Manson clan's two-night killing rampage has been released from prison so far.

Van Houten told the panellists she was devastated when her parents divorced when she was 14. Soon after, she said, she began socialising with an outcast crowd in the Los Angeles suburb of Monrovia.

She started smoking marijuana and then began taking LSD at 15. When she was 17, she and her boyfriend ran away to San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury District during San Francisco's summer of love.

When they returned, she said, she discovered she was pregnant. When her mother found out, she ordered her to have an abortion.

Soon after, while travelling up and down the California coast, she met Manson, who was living on an old abandoned movie ranch on the outskirts of Los Angeles.

He had recruited what he called a family to survive a race war he would launch by committing a series of random, horrifying murders. His disaffected youthful followers became convinced that the small-time criminal and con man was actually a Christ-like figure and believed him.

Recommended Charles Manson family member sends corrections to Wikipedia

Van Houten went on to describe how she joined several other members of the Manson Family in killing Los Angeles grocer Leno La Bianca and his wife, Rosemary, in their home on 9 August 1969.

She was not with Manson followers the night before when they killed pregnant actress Sharon Tate and four others during a bloody rampage.

On the night of the second attack she said she held Rosemary La Bianca down with a pillowcase over her head as others stabbed her dozens of times. Then, ordered by Manson disciple Tex Watson to do something, she picked up a butcher knife and stabbed the woman more than a dozen times.

I feel absolutely horrible about it, and I have spent most of my life trying to find ways to live with it, she added quietly.

No member of the Manson family deserves parole, ever, the La Biancas' nephew Louis Smaldino said. She is a total narcissist and only thinks of herself and not the damage she has done.

The voice of the La Biancas' oldest grandson, Tony LaMontagne, broke as he noted he's about to turn 44, the same age his grandfather was when he was killed.

Please see to it that this fight doesn't have to happen every year for the rest of our lives, he said of Van Houten's nearly two dozen parole hearings.

Family members left before the panel announced its decision.

In reaching it, Parole Commissioner Brian Roberts and Deputy Commissioner Dale Pomantz said they took into account Van Houten's entire time of incarceration. During those years she has earned bachelor's and master's degrees in counselling, been certified as a counslelor and headed numerous programmes to help inmates.

You've been a facilitator, you've been a tutor and you've been giving back for quite a number of years, Mr Roberts said.

Leslie Van Houten, youngest member of Charles Manson's 'Family, has parole denied for 20th time Show all 4 1 /4 Leslie Van Houten, youngest member of Charles Manson's 'Family, has parole denied for 20th time Leslie Van Houten, youngest member of Charles Manson's 'Family, has parole denied for 20th time pg-34-van-houten-1-getty.jpg Getty Images Leslie Van Houten, youngest member of Charles Manson's 'Family, has parole denied for 20th time pg-34-van-houten-2-ap.jpg AP Leslie Van Houten, youngest member of Charles Manson's 'Family, has parole denied for 20th time pg-34-van-houten-3-ap.jpg AP Leslie Van Houten, youngest member of Charles Manson's 'Family, has parole denied for 20th time pg-34-van-houten-4-epa.jpg EPA

Yet he warned her that living in society again would not be easy. He noted parole officials have heard from tens of thousands of people who don't want her released.

Others, he added, including many who have known her since childhood, spoke up for her, saying they've seen her mature in prison and become a different person.

So with that we'd like to wish you good luck, he said.
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Thousands of residents of South Florida are inundating hurricane shelters ahead of Hurricane Irmas arrival, filling locations to capacity as a storm billed as one of the most powerful to ever make landfall in US history approaches.

In some locations, people are arriving at the doors only to be told that there is no room for them there. Frustrated with what has been seen as a lack of communication from local officials  and, in some cases, conflicting messages about where to go  some are asking a simple question: Why hasnt Donald Trump said he will use his Mar-a-Lago resort as a place of refuge for desperate Americans?

Of course he should open up Mar-a-Lago, Rick Castillo said, standing just in front of his beachside home in Hollywood. Mr Castillo had prepared his home the best he could, and was admiring the crashing waves in front of him before the worst of Irma arrived.

Recommended Floridians flee or hunker down as Hurricane Irma nears

Mr Castillo said that he wasnt worried about the storm anymore  forecasts no longer say that the eastern coast of Florida will experience direct landfall  but said that the ramped up concern in recent days had forced people to help one another, to be as selfless as possible. On Friday, he had picked up a shovel to help others fill sandbags from the beach to bring home for safety.

He should be doing anything to help the public, Mr Castillo said of the President. When people need help, you either help or you turn your head. I think Trump is turning his head.

Documentary filmaker Michael Moore - and frequent Trump critic - also raised the question on Twitter.

Mr Trumps Mar-a-Lago beach side resort was ordered to be evacuated Friday alongside all of the ritzy Palm Beach Island where it sits. The resort is located on a low-lying strip of land that runs against the Atlantic Ocean, and is separated from the mainland by yet another body of narrow water. Some of the countrys most expensive real estate is located on those same barrier islands where Mr Trumps property sits.

Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures Show all 45 1 /45 Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures Recently planted palm trees lie strewn across the road as Hurricane Irma passes by in Miami Beach, Fla. 10 September 2017. AP Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures Damage outside the Mercure hotel in Marigot, on the Bay of Nettle, on the island of Saint-Martin AFP/Getty Images Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures People pick up debris in Fajardo as Hurricane Irma howled past Puerto Rico after thrashing several smaller Caribbean islands Reuters/Alvin Baez Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures Large waves produced by Hurricane Irma crash into the end of Anglins Fishing Pier in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The category 4 hurricane made landfall in the United States in the Florida Keys at 9:10 a.m. after raking across the north coast of Cuba. 10 September 2017 Getty Images Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures A Royal Air Force Puma has been delivered to the US Virgin Islands to assist with the humanitarian efforts post Hurricane Irma. The Puma will be delivering Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Relief in support of the Department for International Development. Royal Air Force logisticians from RAF Brize Norton have assisted with the delivery of military personnel and aid cargo to the Caribbean to support disaster relief in the wake of Hurricane Irma. RAF aircraft including, C-17 A400M and Voyager are supporting a Joint Task Force of RAF, Royal Marines, Army and RN personnel who are supporting the Department for International Development as it delivers aid to stricken Caribbean Islands. MoD Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures Flamingos at Zoo Miami, are shown in a temporary enclosure in a hurricane resistant structure within the zoo, Saturday, 9 September 2017 in Miami. Though most animals will reman in their secure structures, the cheetahs and some birds will ride out the storm in temporary housing. AP Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures Boats are seen at a marina in South Beach as Hurricane Irma arrives at south Florida, in Miami Beach, Florida, U.S. 10 September 2017 Reuters Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures Storm clouds are seen over Fisher Island as Hurricane Irma approaches on 9 September 2017 in Miami Beach, Florida. Florida is in the path of the Hurricane which may come ashore at category 4 Getty Images Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures Waves crash over a seawall at the mouth of the Miami River from Biscayne Bay, Fla., as Hurricane Irma passes by. 10 September 2017 AP Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures Some of the damage on Saint Martin EPA/Gerben Van Es/Dutch Department of Defence Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures The skyline is seen as the outerbands of Hurricane Irma start to reach Florida on 9 September 2017 in Miami, Florida. Florida is in the path of the Hurricane which may come ashore at category 4. Getty Images Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures A tree toped by hurricane Irma is seen on a empty street in Remedios, Cuba, 9 September 2017. Hurricane Irma reached Cuba bringing winds between 160 and 190 kilometers per hour. The hurricane has hit the north coast of the island. EPA Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures James Constantineau loads sands bags in his truck as he prepares for the approach of Hurricane Irma Saturday, 9 September 2017, in East Palatka, Fla. Gov. Rick Scott is urging anyone living in an evacuation zone in southwest Florida to leave by noon as the threat of Hurricane Irma has shifted west. AP Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures The Fort Louis Marina in Marigot is seen on 8 September 2017 in Saint-Martin island, devastated by Hurricane Irma. AFP Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures Destruction in Orient Bay on the island of Saint-Martin AFP/Getty Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures The wreckage in Orient Bay on the island of Saint-Martin AFP/Getty Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures View of the aftermath of Hurricane Irma on Saint Martin Reuters Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures A mobile network tower snapped in two by the hurricane on the island of Barbuda ABS TV Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures A house reduced to rubble on the island of Saint Barthelemy AFP/Getty Images Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures General view of damage on Saint Martin Reuters Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures A damaged Casino Royale on Saint Martin after the passage of Hurricane Irma Anna Mazur/AFP Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures An aerial photograph taken and released by the Dutch department of Defense shows the damage of Hurricane Irma in Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, the Dutch section of the Caribbean Island Gerben Van Es/AFP Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures Flooded houses in Gustavia on the island of Saint-Barthelemy Kevin Barrallon/AFP Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures The damage on the island of Saint-Martin, a day after Hurricane Irma hit AFP/Getty Images Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures A man carrying an umbrella is battered by the wind in Fajardo, Puerto Rico Reuters/Alvin Baez Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures A lone police car on patrol during the passing of Hurricane Irma in Fajardo, Puerto Rico Jose Jimenez/Getty Images Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures Haitian people walk through the wind and rain on a beach in Cap-Haitien on September 7 as Hurricane Irma approaches Hector Retamal/AFP/Getty Images Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures A flooded street on the island of Saint Martin AFP/Getty Images Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures A tree collapsed on a house in Saint Martin Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures A hotel in Saint Martin is gutted by floodwater during the hurricane Guadeloupe 1ere Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures Cars submerged in Saint Martin Rinsy Xieng Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures Debris floats amongst the floodwater in Saint Martin @la1ere Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures Household items float down the street in Gustavia, Saint-Barthelemy Carole Greaux Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures The coast of Saint Martin is flooded as the hurricane hits the island Meteo Express Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures A whole street underwater in Saint Martin @la1ere Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures A car crashes into the tree amongst the chaos in Saint Martin @Bondtehond Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures A building on the Saint Martin seafront, destroyed by the hurricane @Bondtehond Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures A mobile home overturned at Princess Juliana International Airport in Saint Martin @Bondtehond Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures Palm trees bend in the wind in San Juan, Puerto Rico as Hurricane Irma slammed across islands in the northern Caribbean Reuters/Alvin Baez Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures A woman runs in the rain as Hurricane Irma slammed into San Juan, Puerto Rico Reuters/Alvin Baez Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures A picture taken on September 5, 2017 shows a view of the Baie Nettle beach in Marigot, with the wind blowing ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Irma AFP/Getty Images Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures A man rides past a boarded up house as part of preparations ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Irma on September 5, 2017, in the French overseas island of Guadeloupe Helene Valenzuela/AFP Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures Employees of the Mercure Hotel fill sand bags on the Baie Nettle beach in Marigot, as part of the preparations for the arrival of Hurricane Irma Lionel Chamoiseau/AFP Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures People in line at Costco, as they find out the store has ran out of water on September 5, 2017 in North Miami Michele Eve Sandberg/AFP Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures Night view of the city of Cap-Haitien, in the north of Haiti, 240 km from Port-au-Prince, on September 5, 2017 Hector Retamal/AFP

However, it could potentially provide shelter in the wake of Hurricane Irma for those that may see their houses flooded.

The Trump Organization did not respond to a request for comment on this story by the time of publication.

As Irma has approached, Mr Trump has repeatedly urged residents of Florida to follow the orders of their local officials, and said that the state is about as prepared as it can be. The storm, should it end up causing as much devastation as forecasters have predicted, would be the second major natural disaster of his presidency  and would come right on the heels of the first, in Houston, where floodwaters left thousands stranded following Hurricane Harvey.

At least six million people have been ordered to evacuate their homes in Florida. Florida Governor Rick Scott has said that they will continue to open shelters to help those in need of evacuation.

But, some have noted that communication with the public about those shelters has been less than stellar.

One woman at the shelter in Miamis Florida International University said that she had taken an Uber from her Miami Beach home on evacuation orders only to be told that a listing online for a pet-friendly shelter shed been told to go to with her dog wasnt open. After emailing her mayor  a luxury not afforded to most, she noted  she was able to find somewhere to stay. Once shed arrived, she said, that original shelter was found.

But for others, the rapidly filling shelters may pose significant dangers.

Nicola Little arrived at the North Miami Senior High school desperate, and in tears. She had been told to go there after finding out that a hotel room shed booked had been closed, but the signs outside and the Red Cross staff inside told her there wasnt room for her at the shelter. Ms Little stood in tears in front of a check-in counter wondering aloud what she could possibly do. A staffer found a chair and sat her down telling her it would all be ok.

But, less than an hour later, Ms Little walked across the cement courtyard outside the school in tears again. She said that shed been given food and two phone numbers of places she could go, but neither line answered.

I have nowhere to go, Ms Little, who came to Florida just months ago on vacation but had been stranded, said. Im not even from here.

She walked down the street, away from the shelter, unsure what to do.

Finally, after The Independent flagged down a Red Cross volunteer delivering food, and then ran to stop her, Ms Little was assured she would be taken care of by a Red Cross volunteer. She was taken inside of the already packed shelter and told, finally, that she would have somewhere to stay.
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President Donald Trump is reportedly reviewing proposals to add smaller, less powerful mini nukes to the United States nuclear arsenal.

The proposal stems from Mr Trumps Nuclear Posture Review, which he ordered in January to assess the countrys nuclear arsenal. Sources tell Politico that the high-level panel is pushing for the development of these low-yield bombs.

Such bombs  which carry far less power than those the US used in the Second World War  would give military commanders more options. But detractors say they could also increase the appeal of using nuclear weapons. Some worry that the use of smaller, more palatable nuclear bombs could quickly escalate into all-out nuclear war.

The plan would also be a stark reversal from the policies of former President Barack Obama, who had prohibited the development of new nuclear weapons. The US has not conducted a nuclear test in 25 years.

The US already possesses some smaller nuclear weapons, as holdovers from the Cold War Era. One third of the nuclear arsenal is already considered low-yield, or can be dialled back for a smaller effect, according to defence analysts.

Kim Jong-un inspects weapon North Korea says is powerful hydrogen bomb Show all 6 1 /6 Kim Jong-un inspects weapon North Korea says is powerful hydrogen bomb Kim Jong-un inspects weapon North Korea says is powerful hydrogen bomb Photos released by North Korea show Kim Jong-un talking to subordinates next to a device thought to be the new thermonuclear weapon. There is no way of independently verifying the pictures STR/AFP/Getty Images Kim Jong-un inspects weapon North Korea says is powerful hydrogen bomb North Korea claims it has successfully tested an advanced hydrogen bomb which could be loaded onto an intercontinental ballistic missile AFP/Getty Kim Jong-un inspects weapon North Korea says is powerful hydrogen bomb A diagram on the wall behind Mr Kim shows a bomb mounted inside a cone STR/AFP/Getty Images Kim Jong-un inspects weapon North Korea says is powerful hydrogen bomb North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un (C) attending a photo session with participants of the fourth conference of active secretaries of primary organisations of the youth league of the Korean People's Army (KPA) in Pyongyang STR/AFP/Getty Images Kim Jong-un inspects weapon North Korea says is powerful hydrogen bomb A new stamp issued in commemoration of the successful second test launch of the "Hwasong-14" intercontinental ballistic missile KCNA via Reuters Kim Jong-un inspects weapon North Korea says is powerful hydrogen bomb A new stamp issued in commemoration of the successful second test launch of the "Hwasong-14" intercontinental ballistic missile KCNA via Reuters

But any plan to increase the nuclear arsenal would have to be approved by Congress, likely sparking a heated debate. The Pentagon proposed modifying a weapon for smaller targets during the George W Bush administration, but was thwarted by Congress.

Theres one role  and only one role  for nuclear weapons, and thats deterrence. We cannot, must not, will not ever countenance their actual use, Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein told Roll Call when a Pentagon advisory board floated the idea in February.

She added: Ive fought against such reckless efforts in the past and will do so again, with every tool at my disposal.

 United States' nuclear arsenal in 60 seconds

Still, the idea has had sticking power in the Trump administration. The Defence Science Board first suggested developing low-yield bombs in February. Six months later, the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff indicated that the military were also pushing for their development.

Whether we do it with a ballistic missile or re-entry vehicle or other tool in the arsenal, its important to have variable-yield nukes, said Air Force General Paul Selva, the second-most powerful military official in the US.

Advocates say the plan would give the US more flexibility in pursuing nuclear options. While North Korea has been dominating nuclear news, experts say these weapons could also help deter Russia, which has already threatened to use mini-nukes in the conflict in Ukraine.

If the only options we have are to go with high-yield weapons that create a level of indiscriminate killing that the President cant accept, then we havent presented him with an option with an option to respond to a nuclear attack in kind, General Selva said.
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North Korea celebrated its 69th founding anniversary with flowers and music, while Japan marked the occasion with fighter jet drills over the East China Sea.

The North Korean anniversary has traditionally been a time for the country to display its latest military advances. In the wake of the its sixth-ever nuclear test last week, the international community was poised for another demonstration of the Norths increasing nuclear power.

The demonstration, however, never came. Residents of Pyongyang paid the usual respects to late leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, without any major military display.

"Because we firmly support our respected supreme leader comrade Kim Jong Un, our country will become stronger as a self-reliant, nuclear power, and we will have a great future," Pyongyang citizen Pak Kum Hyang told the Associated Press.

Kim Jong-un inspects weapon North Korea says is powerful hydrogen bomb Show all 6 1 /6 Kim Jong-un inspects weapon North Korea says is powerful hydrogen bomb Kim Jong-un inspects weapon North Korea says is powerful hydrogen bomb Photos released by North Korea show Kim Jong-un talking to subordinates next to a device thought to be the new thermonuclear weapon. There is no way of independently verifying the pictures STR/AFP/Getty Images Kim Jong-un inspects weapon North Korea says is powerful hydrogen bomb North Korea claims it has successfully tested an advanced hydrogen bomb which could be loaded onto an intercontinental ballistic missile AFP/Getty Kim Jong-un inspects weapon North Korea says is powerful hydrogen bomb A diagram on the wall behind Mr Kim shows a bomb mounted inside a cone STR/AFP/Getty Images Kim Jong-un inspects weapon North Korea says is powerful hydrogen bomb North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un (C) attending a photo session with participants of the fourth conference of active secretaries of primary organisations of the youth league of the Korean People's Army (KPA) in Pyongyang STR/AFP/Getty Images Kim Jong-un inspects weapon North Korea says is powerful hydrogen bomb A new stamp issued in commemoration of the successful second test launch of the "Hwasong-14" intercontinental ballistic missile KCNA via Reuters Kim Jong-un inspects weapon North Korea says is powerful hydrogen bomb A new stamp issued in commemoration of the successful second test launch of the "Hwasong-14" intercontinental ballistic missile KCNA via Reuters

Meanwhile, Japan and the United States conducted a joint military air exercise above the East China Sea.

Two Japanese fighter jets met up with two US bombers from the Andersen Air Force Base in Guam  the US island territory that North Korea threatened to attack last month. North Korea also launched a ballistic missile over northern Japan that same month.

These missile launches  and other military displays  have increased tensions around North Korea in recent weeks. The country is now reported to have missiles capable of delivering miniaturised nuclear warheads to the US mainland. Its latest nuclear bomb test was its largest ever, and experts believe the regime is close to its goal of developing a powerful nuclear bomb.

North Korean youth during a dance party in Pyongyang celebrating the 69th anniversary of North Korea's national day (KNS/AFP/Getty Images)

US President Donald Trump, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and French President Emmanuel Macron discussed the situation by phone on Saturday, Mr Macrons office said.

The leaders emphasised the need for a united and firm international reaction to Pyongyang, and discussed increased pressure and sanctions. Mr Macron said the Norths "repeated provocations" were a "threat to peace and international security".

The White House made no mention of the call.

The UN Security Council is considering additional sanctions against North Korea in the wake of its latest nuclear test. The US is pushing for an oil embargo on North Korea, as well as a ban on its exports of textiles and the hiring of North Korean workers, according to a draft resolution obtained by Reuters.

"Enough is enough," US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley told the council this week. "We have taken an incremental approach, and despite the best of intentions, it has not worked."
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A woman has been raped by up to 20 men near a university campus in India.

The attack took place near a university campus in Jharkhand, with the suspects reportedly aged between 18 and 22.

A total of 16 people have been arrested so far in connection with the crime and investigations are still ongoing.

Police said approximately seven of the arrests were due to direct involvement with the assault while the others were for abetting the crime, the Indian Express reported.

The woman, who has not been named, was returning home on a motorcycle with her boyfriend when they were reportedly stopped by six men on an abandoned road.

The group apparently attacked the boyfriend for having a relationship with the woman, as she is part of a tribal society, and then demanded he hand over his phone and 5,000 rupees (60).

After calling some friends to join them, the attackers allegedly held the couple at knifepoint before forcing them to strip.

The group of men then reportedly made the boyfriend rape the woman before taking turns to attack her themselves.

In an attempt to destroy the evidence, the attackers then forced the victim to bathe in a nearby pond, the Times of India reported.

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. 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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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In an official statement, Dumka Superintendent of Police, Mayur Patel said: We have arrested 16 accused in the case, besides recovering mobile phones. All the accused have confessed to their involvement.

Actual involvement of the accused in sexual assault was immaterial as all the accused were present there and abetted the crime one way or the other. The seriousness of their crime is no less. There were also attempts to destroy the evidence.

Some of the mobiles were also used during the entire sequence of events. We are moving ahead with scientific evidence and will get everything forensically examined.
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US-backed forces and Syrian government troops, supported by Russia and Iran, look set to come into contact as they each make separate advances against Isis in Syria.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) launched an offensive against Isis along the border with Iraq on Saturday, bringing them into a race with government forces marching in the same direction against the extremists.

The duelling battles for Deir Ezzor highlight the importance of the oil-rich eastern province, which has become the latest focus of the international war against tIsis, raising concerns of an eventual clash between the two sides.

The US-trained Deir Ezzor Military Council said it was calling its operation Jazeera Storm, after the familiar name for northeast Syria. The Military Council is a part of the predominantly-Kurdish SDF which enjoys broad U.S. military support. The SDF are the US's primary ally in the fight against Isis in Syria.

The race to reach the Iraqi border will shape future regional dynamics, determining whether the United States or Russia and Iran will have more influence in the strategic area once the extremist group is defeated.

Iran has been one of President Bashar al-Assad's strongest backers since the crisis began in March 2011 and has sent thousands of Iranian-backed fighters and advisers to fight against insurgent groups trying to remove him from power.

The US-backed fighters are up against a huge challenge to reach Deir Ezzor, especially while they are still fighting to liberate Raqqa from Isis. Three months into the battle, they have liberated around 60 per cent of the city, and much more difficult urban fighting still lies ahead.

This week, Syrian troops and their Iranian-backed allies reached Deir Ezzor, breaking a nearly three-year-old Isis siege on government-held parts of the city in a major breakthrough in their offensive against Isis. In a victory statement, the Syrian military said Deir el-Zour will be used as a launching pad to liberate the remaining Isis-held areas along the border with Iraq.

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 Syrian conflict began with a popular uprising against Assad in 2011, which was initially viewed by the western world as heralding a positive new dawn for democracy in the Middle East.

The subsequent chaos has drawn in the US, Russia and regional powers with peace talks failing to resolve a war.

The first step is to free the eastern bank of the Euphrates and the areas Isis still holds, Ahmed Abu Kholeh, head of the Deir Ezzor Military Council, told Reuters after the announcement of their offensive.

Were not specifying a timeframe but we hope it will be a quick operation, he said at the town of al-Shadadi in Hasaka province, adding that he did not know where the battle would move on to once that objective has been achieved.

He said SDF fighters did not expect clashes with Syrian government forces, but if fired upon we will respond.

Recommended Top Isis commanders killed in Syria by latest US and Russian bombing

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group reported that SDF forces had advanced against Isis in Deir Ezzor's northwestern countryside, seizing several hilltops and a village.

Meanwhile, Syrian government forces and their allies reached Deir Ezzor military airport on the other side of the Euphrates, where troops had been holed up since 2014, surrounded by Isis, the commander in the pro-Assad alliance said.

The alliance includes Iran-backed militias and the powerful Lebanese Shia group Hezbollah.

The advance came days after the army and its allies broke the siege of the main part of the city, which had been separated from the airport by Isis attacks a few months before.

Syrian troops have now recaptured an oilfield southwest of Deir Ezzor and seized part of a main highway running downstream to the city of al-Mayadeen, to which many Isis militants have retreated, the British-based Observatory said.

Isis fighters in Syria still control much of Deir Ezzor province and half the city, as well some territory further west near Homs and Hama, where government forces recaptured several villages on Saturday, pro-Damascus media reported.

But the group has lost most of its caliphate which from 2014 stretched across swathes of Syria and Iraq, including oil-rich Deir Ezzor.

The SDF is still battling to eliminate Isis from the final areas it controls in Raqqa, northwest of Deir Ezzor.

Talks between Russia, Iran and opposition backer Turkey in the Kazakh capital Astana are set to take place next week, possibly followed by a separate track at the United Nations in Geneva in October or November.

Assads government has participated in previous rounds from a position of power as Damascus clawed back much territory, including the main urban centres in the west of the country and increasingly in eastern desert held by the jihasists.

Syrias non-Islamist opposition holds some pockets of territory in western Syria, and the SDF, which is dominated by the Kurdish YPG militia, controls much of Syrias northeast.

In June, after the SDF shot down a Syrian government fighter plane, the Syrian army called this a flagrant attack" and "an attempt to undermine the efforts of the army as the only effective force capable with its allies ... in fighting terrorism across its territory.

This comes at a time when the Syrian army and its allies were making clear advances in fighting the Daesh (Isis) terrorist group, it added.

Additional reporting by Reuters
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The head of Nato has warned that the world is in a more dangerous position today than it has been in a generation.

Jens Stoltenberg said the number of different threats currently surfacing around the globe simultaneously - including North Korea, terrorists and an increasingly assertive Russia - was making the world a more unsafe place.

He described the current climate as the most difficult he had experienced in his 30 year career.

It is more unpredictable, and its more difficult because we have so many challenges at the same time, Mr Stoltenberg told the Guardian.

We have proliferation of weapons of mass destruction in North Korea, we have terrorists, instability, and we have a more assertive Russia. It is a more dangerous world.

Mr Stoltenberg made the comments while in Estonia where he was visiting British troops.

The visit comes ahead of a military exercise to be held by almost 100,000 Russian and Belarusian troops. It is expected to be the largest of its kind since the Cold War, although Russia has said the exercises will only involve around 13,000 troops.

Russia has said it is below 13,000. They briefed that on the Nato-Russia council a few weeks ago, Mr Stoltenberg said. That was useful but at the same time we have seen when Russia says that an exercise has less than 13,000 troops thats not always the case. We have seen that in Zapad 2009 and 2013  the two previous Zapad exercises. There were many more troops participating.

On the other side of the world, North Korea has continued to ramp up its nuclear programme and threaten the US, leading to Donald Trump saying he would unleash fire and fury should it continue.

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

South Korea, fearful of an attack from its neighbour, has deployed a controversial US missile defence system.

Hundreds of protestors surrounded the military base as the defence system arrived, amid fears it could lead to environmental and health problems.

After witnessing the North launch a ballistic missile over Japan, the South Korean prime minister, Lee Nak-yeon, said a special measure is urgently needed to stop their recklessness.
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Swedish scientists have revealed that the body of a Viking warrior long presumed to be male is, in fact, female.

A team of researchers from Stockholm University conducted a DNA analysis of the skeleton and confirmed that it belonged to a woman. The 10th-century skeleton, the researchers concluded, is the first confirmed female high-ranking Viking warrior.

Scientists had long assumed that the skeleton was male  despite early indications that she may have been female  largely because of the status symbols buried alongside her.

Early archaeologists uncovered a sword, an axe, a spear, armour-piercing arrows, a battle knife, two shields, and two horses in the grave, signifying the buried individuals status of as a professional warrior. A set of gaming pieces found in the grave indicates the individuals knowledge of tactics and strategy and role as a high-ranking officer, the scientists said.

Because of this  and because no such high-ranking female Viking has been discovered before  most researchers assumed the body was male. When early analyses indicated the body was female, some suggested that the objects buried alongside her belonged to someone else.

This type of reasoning takes away the agency of the buried female, the researchers write. As long as the sex is male, the weaponry in the grave not only belong to the interred but also reflects his status as warrior, whereas a female sex has raised doubts.

Archaeologists unearth 'vampire' graves in Poland Show all 3 1 /3 Archaeologists unearth 'vampire' graves in Poland Archaeologists unearth 'vampire' graves in Poland vampire.jpg EPA Archaeologists unearth 'vampire' graves in Poland vampire1_1.jpg EPA Archaeologists unearth 'vampire' graves in Poland poland.jpg EPA

To quash those doubts, the researchers took a DNA sample from the skeletons arm and tooth. The sample revealed a lack of Y chromosomes, signalling that the individual was female. The scientists also noted that the skeletons bones were thin, slender and gracile like a womans, further supporting their conclusions.

The skeleton was first discovered in the 1880s in the Swedish town of Birka. The city is located on the on the island of Bjorko, and was an important trading centre for Vikings. The area now contains more than 3,000 Viking graves.

These latest findings, the researchers write, provide a new understanding of the Viking society, the social constructions and also norms in the Viking Age.

Our results  that the high-status grave Bj 581 on Birka was the burial of a high ranking female Viking warrior  suggest that women, indeed, were able to be full members of male dominated spheres, they conclude.
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All flights have ceased operations in preparation for Hurricane Irma: that is the blunt message on the front page of Miami International Airports website.

The last take-off from the usually hyperactive airport was shortly before 10pm on Friday night: an Air Europa departure for Madrid.

There are no scheduled flights for Saturday and Sunday, says the airport.

Along the coast at Fort Lauderdale, it was a similar story. Well re-open as soon as possible, tweeted the airport.

UK airlines have cancelled many flights to Florida, and rescheduled others.

Going nowhere: Cancellations on the departure screen at Fort Lauderdale airport (Fort Lauderdale airport)

Virgin Atlantic, British Airways and Thomas Cook Airlines are flying out to Orlando before the airport closes at 5pm local time on Saturday (10pm BST) to bring back several thousand passengers  mainly to Gatwick but also to Manchester, Glasgow and Stansted.

At nearby Sanford airport, the only departures on Saturday are Thomson Airways, flying passengers home to Bristol, East Midlands and Gatwick.

The Independent understands that the crew of the outbound flights which are operating will travel back on the inbound sector as passengers, rather than being stranded in Florida.

BA flew its planned Gatwick-Tampa flight today, but rescheduled the Boeing 777 jet so that it can leave the Florida city at 5pm, shortly before the airport closes.

British Airways is flying another 777 from London out to Bermuda to wait on the ground until Florida's airports re-open. Its crew will then fly to the state to pick up stranded passengers, and return to the UK.

Virgin Atlantic plans to operate several more rescue flights from Orlando as soon as it is safe to do so.

We dont yet know how long Orlando Airport will be closed for, said a spokesperson for Virgin Atlantic.

The Foreign Office is urging British visitors to Florida, the Carolinas and Georgia to follow the advice of the local authorities, including any evacuation orders.

The situation could deteriorate significantly, warns the latest travel advice bulletin.

 Plane captures aerial view of Hurricane Irma as it heads towards the United States

Our ability to provide assistance may be extremely limited. You should ensure you have your own contingency plans in place and consider your travel plans very carefully.

US airlines have been mounting airlifts to clear passengers from Florida. Delta sent Boeing 747 Jumbo jets from Detroit to help clear the the backlog.

British Airways has also cancelled Saturdays round-trip to Antigua due to a change in the path of Hurricane Jose.

Virgin Atlantic says: We anticipate being able to operate a rescue flight from Antigua on Sunday.

To bring passengers home from St Kitts, BA chartered two planes from the Caribbean airline, Liat, to fly them from St Kitts to Barbados. An empty aircraft was flown from London to bring them back from Barbados. It left the island at 5am and is due back at Gatwick at 6.30pm on Saturday.
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David Lammy is right to recommend a process for sealing criminal records. He has recognised the significant negative impact that the current criminal records disclosure regime has on peoples chances of finding work after theyve turned their lives around. It unnecessarily anchors people to their past, locks them out of the labour market and has a considerable financial cost to society through out-of-work benefits.

The regime is in desperate need of reform. Unlock has long supported the introduction of a criminal records tribunal, a process that would enable individuals to apply to have their criminal record deemed spent or filtered and, if granted, would mean it must no longer be disclosed to employers on a relevant criminal record check. There is evidence from overseas that this approach works, and it would help to address the injustice that many people face as a result of what are currently arbitrary fixed rules that take no account of the positive steps people have taken since their criminal record.

Christopher Stacey  Co-director of Unlock

Rees-Mogg is a born and bred Republican

May I take issue at Beryl Walls letter, which suggests we should all blame the Catholic Church for Jacob Rees-Moggs funny little ways. Perhaps she can advise where or when the Catholic Church has expounded non-charitable attitudes to others, as Jacob Rees-Mogg has a long parliamentary history of doing.

However, the real problem with Beryls letter is that it fails to mention the real followers are those of Jacob Rees-Mogg, many of whom I fear follow him without a clear understanding of just how unattractive a character he really is. Have none of his constituents less than ideal lives, with poor health, low incomes or have children with special needs, or ageing and infirm relatives who need strong social care facilities to support their daily struggles? Jacob Rees-Mogg's parliamentary record indicates he does not consider any of these constituents should be given any significant thought or concern.

Indeed, despite Rees-Mogg's image being that of an upper class toff from a long bygone age, his views are much nearer those of the American Republican party, which places such great importance on the Bible, and on charity, with the smallest of all involvement of the state in the lives of the American people. Does the UK electorate really want their very own version of Donald Trump as its future prime minister?

David Curran

Feltham

Trumps election handed victory to Assad

I read with interest the article by Robert Fisk "The West might hardly believe it, but it now seems the Syrian war is ending  and Assad is the victor" with great interest.

I would make the point that although Mr Fisk claims President Trump is about the start World War Three, it was the election of Trump that effectively ended the war in Syria and handed victory to Assad.

For years Obama's administration had been pursuing a philosophy in Syria to remove Assad from power and in doing so initiated a CIA-backed programme to train and support anti-Assad rebels many of whom had links to Isis.

President Trump, although shrewdly criticising Assad in public, pursued a completely different policy in focussing on defeating Isis by dismantling any CIA projects that gave Isis any room to manoeuvre as well as supporting anti-Isis campaigns in Raqqa and Mosul. It was, in effect, making good on a campaign promise to concentrate on defeating terrorism in Syria and Iraq and putting regime-change on the back burner.

Assad owes Russia and Hezbollah but he also owes a debt to President Trump in his defeat of Isis.

Dr Priyad Ariyaratnam

Cottingham

The Conservatives underestimate the Henry VIII powers

First the Conservative Government fought all the way to the Supreme Court against giving our parliamentary representatives a say on Triggering Article 50. Now they seek to seize control of the Committee of Selection, despite not having a Parliamentary majority. Is it any surprise that politicians are regarded as grubby!

The instincts of this minority government are self-evidently anti-democratic. If they succeed in biasing the Committee of Selection on the basis of the purchased Democratic Unionist MPs, it will be a betrayal of our democracy. Sadly, Conservative MPs have a record of meekly falling in line and acting as lobby fodder. They seem oblivious of the reality that once the so-called Henry VIII" powers have been taken to pursue a right-wing agenda, they then become equally accessible to a future hard left government.

Arthur Streatfield

Bath

The Conservatives power grab shows their arrogance

The attempts by the Conservative Government to increase its powers in the Withdrawal Bill and also manufacture majorities in committees reflects their arrogance and belief that they are the natural Party of Power.

However they should be concerned if the same powers get into the hands of another party. They seem to believe that this will not happen; hopefully the British electorate will prove them wrong.

The Conservatives should take note of what is happening in the US. Look at how easy it is for Trump to overturn Obama's Executive Orders using Executive Orders.

Martin Jeanneret

Newhaven

Mea Culpa: climate change

In Saturday's editorial you say, "But intense hurricanes such as Harvey and Irma, not to mention yesterdays earthquake in Mexico, must be considered within the wider context of our changing climate."

I really hope you do not imagine that earthquakes have anything to do with climate change. Both are real but they are unrelated.

David Watson

Goring Heath
Micheal Martin warned that if the region is to break out of a cycle of low incomes and poverty it needs a new economic model

Northern Ireland and the border counties should be designated a "special economic zone" to challenge poverty and help limit the damage of Brexit, Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin has said.

The Cork South Central TD warned that if the region is to break out of a cycle of low incomes and poverty it needs a new economic model.

Speaking at the British-Irish Association in Cambridge, Mr Martin said: "Northern Ireland will not break out of a cycle of low incomes and poverty - in fact things will get worse - unless there is a move to address its structural problems.

"I believe the answer is the creation of a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Northern Ireland and at least the border counties in the South.

"This can be done while fully respecting the constitutional rights protected in the Good Friday Agreement and incorporated into both UK and Irish law."

Mr Martin said an SEZ could be recognised by the EU as being distinct from the rest of the UK in terms of Single Market and Customs Union access.

He pointed out that the terms of the Good Friday Agreement set Northern Ireland in an EU context.

"It should not be hard to design a mechanism for certifying that Northern Ireland businesses conform with EU standards relevant to market access.

"UK sovereignty would remain intact - in fact it is the UK government's official policy to support such zones in countries with structural development issues in defined regions," Mr Martin said.

He added: "There is a solution available to the economic threat to Northern Ireland from a Brexit vote passed solely on an English majority.

"It is a solution which has the potential to prioritise and kick-start long-delayed and urgently needed development in the most disadvantaged region of these islands."

Mr Martin also warned that the ongoing political deadlock at Stormont was causing "enormous concern".

"It is deepening political disengagement and leaving Northern Ireland voiceless during Brexit negotiations," he said.

"We have to understand that we have to do things differently if we are to break out of the ongoing cycle of crises which we have been caught in.

"We have to do things differently if we are to prevent Brexit causing deep destruction to relations and progress in these islands."
Finding a solution to the Border post-Brexit is achievable, UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has insisted.

Just a day after Britain was warned it must not treat the Irish Border as an experimental "test case" as it grapples with its relationship with Europe post-Brexit, Mr Johnson suggested it could be resolved.

He said a solution was "not beyond the wit of man".

Asked if he was confident that Britain would get a deal with the EU, Mr Johnson said: "Absolutely, with rock solid confidence."

On Thursday, the European Union's chief Brexit negotiator admitted he was concerned by Britain's plans for the Border arrangement and urged more "creative proposals".

The comments from Michel Barnier highlighted the gulf with the UK on the sensitive issue of the 500km Border, which is crossed by 30,000 people each day.

He pulled no punches at a Brussels press conference as he accused the UK of wanting the European Union to suspend the application of its laws, the customs union and single market, thereby creating a new external EU border.

Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney said he believed that Britain should stay in the customs union.

"Britain is the one leaving. They have an obligation to try to design unique solutions," he said.

"We cannot have a physical Border on the island of Ireland again that creates barriers between communities.

"We cannot and will not support that, and nor will the European Union."

Tanaiste Frances Fitzgerald has said any reintroduction of the Border, however much people think it could be managed or mitigated, would represent a reversal of the direction of the peace process.

Meanwhile, the number of Irish businesses that fear a negative impact from Brexit has risen to 40pc, a survey by consultants BDO suggests.

The news comes just 14 months after the Brexit referendum, when only 20pc of Irish businesses believed Brexit would impact negatively.

Michael Costello, BDO's managing partner, said the prospect of Brexit having an adverse effect on the Irish market was becoming clearer for businesses in Ireland.

"This survey reveals that previous frustration over the lack of information from Government is now changing to a feeling of concern among Irish businesses.

"As the consequences of Brexit become more apparent for Irish businesses, we are encouraging them to engage proactively in scenario planning and assess the possible impact that Brexit will have on their business.

"We are advising clients to analyse their supply chains."
They are the custodians of some of the most beautiful landscapes in the country but many hill farmers' hands are tied as to what they can do with it.

It's an area that straddles multiple Government departments, but maintaining our hills is essential from an environmental, ecological and tourism point of view - and sheep are key.

From an era of overstocking, to farming in a time of reduced support payments, land designation and poor market prices, hill sheep farming has rarely been as challenged.

The age-profile of the custodians of the hills also needs to be addressed, but experts agree it's imperative that sheep remain as the best "tool" to maintain the natural landscape and its delicate ecosystems.

Unless there are farmers willing to do this, we're in trouble.

At its Hill Sheep Conference earlier this year, based on research carried out by Catherine Keena and Declan Byrne, Teagasc warned that farming the uplands was the only way to manage them to achieve the three pillars of sustainability - social, economic and environmental.

The conference also highlighted the "significant untapped potential" of the hill ewe, both in the hill environment and as the dam of crossbred ewes for the lowlands.

However, stock numbers on commonages have significantly fallen in the past 15 years.

The first sheep census was carried out in 2005 but information relating to mountain sheep has only been collected since the 2014 census.

Data obtained from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine show total mountain sheep figures, including cross breeds, of 1.62 million in 2014.

That number increased by over 5.6pc to 1.71 million in 2015. A smaller annual increase of 1.5pc was recorded for 2016, where total figures rose to 1.74 million.

Teagasc enterprise leader for sheep, Michael Diskin, says that if there weren't sheep in the hill areas, they would grow wild with major implications for the environment and tourism. He insists that there simply has to be a future in hill farming.

"If we allow the people who are farming the hills now to disappear, the consequences of that from an environmental, tourism and sociological point of view would be disastrous," he says.

"I think it is incumbent on Government to have policy in place to maintain those vulnerable and important parts of Ireland, and hill sheep is very much central to that."

Under-grazing now is a bigger problem in hill areas than over-grazing, which became an issue in the early 1990s as a consequence of increased stocking rates, following the introduction of headage payments.

Attention has been focused on this issue since gorse fires blazed earlier this year across Sligo, Galway, Mayo and Donegal.

Commonage Framework Plans were introduced in the late 1990s to address this, which resulted in compulsory destocking on all commonages.

The introduction of decoupled payments under the Single Payment Scheme in 2005 further reduced the incentive to put sheep on to commonage land.

Land designations have also placed major restrictions on farming activity, with 39 actions requiring consent.

Brendan Joyce is a sheep farmer in Connemara, and vice president of the Irish Natura and Hill Farmers' Association (INHFA), which represents 5,000 farmers on marginalised, hill and designated land.

He says while the age-profile in all sectors is rising, the difficulty with hill farming in particular is that it doesn't attract new entrants.

"With hill farming you have to be born and reared into it, so it's very important that those who are there, particularly young farmers, are encouraged to stay active," he says.

"The market place doesn't always reward us for the effort that goes into hill farming.

"There's still a critical mass there of people who can survive on it but it's about encouraging people to continue at it and take it up - that is where the difficulty really lies."

The INHFA is looking for the impact of designation to be re-examined.

Other organisations, including the IFA, have made submissions to allow burning dates to be extended.

Sean Malone has farmed through all these changes near Roundwood, Co Wicklow, where he keeps 500 ewes on privately owned and rented land.

The hill land he grazes his sheep on has been designated a Special Area of Conservation (SAC), controlled by the National Parks and Wildlife Service.

Sean is a member of the Wicklow Uplands Council, which works closely with the NPWS to maintain the hills.

Unlike a lot of his neighbours, his son will take over the farm.

"A lot of the younger generation don't want to go to the hills," he says. "At the moment there isn't a living to be made and that's why new schemes are needed to encourage sheep back on the hills and young people to follow them.

"Unless there's enough encouragement to go back, it will be hard to get young people to do it.

"But if young people and sheep leave the hills, it's hard to bring them back to it - the sheep won't settle there unless they're brought back every year, and young people aren't going to give up good jobs to walk the hills," he added.

Sheep Farmer of the Year Joe Scahill farms 400 acres, including 100ac of leased land, 250ac of hill and 50ac of "rougher" grazing land at the foot of Croagh Patrick near Westport.

Pension fund

"We run about 600 Scottish blackface ewes and 25 dry cattle but the land type really is only suited to sheep so you're confined," he says.

His vision for farming is for reduced reliance on direct payments combined with a fairer price for his produce - and he would like to see the money saved going into a pension fund to encourage farmers to retire earlier. He says this would free up land, allowing new entrants to get involved.

"At the moment there is the Young Farmers' Scheme, where a young person gets their Green Cert, and if they can access land they apply to the National Reserve to be given entitlements but all that has done is distort the price of rented land," he argues.

"I'm 47 now and one of my sons is 14 and ideally I should be handing over to him when he's 24. If I wait till pension age, he'll be 34.

"At that stage you'd expect someone to be making their own way and it would be very hard to give up a career to come back to farming then."
Tributes have been paid today to the woman who was killed in a farm accident in Co. Armagh yesterday.

Top cattle breeder Thelma Gorman (67) was killed when she was moving livestock on a farm at Drumhirk.

Crews from both the Ambulance Service and Northern Ireland Air Ambulance were called to the scene at the farm, but Mrs Gorman's life could not be saved.

The PSNI and Northern Ireland Health and Safety Executive are investigating the incident.

Mrs Gorman's family have been farmers in the Armagh area for generations.

She had been involved in the breeding of pedigree Simmental cattle for many years.

She was also a director of the Armagh County Agricultural Show.

In 2016 Mrs Gorman was honoured as an 'Unsung Hero' of Northern Ireland's tightly-knit farming world.

Ulster Unionist councillor Jim Speers said: "I knew Thelma Gorman and her family well.

"This is an absolute tragedy. She was an absolute lady, a lovely person. This will be a terrible blow to her family."

Mr Speers said Mrs Gorman was a very caring woman, who was dedicated not only to her family but also to the local community.

"She was a long-time stalwart of the Armagh Show and it wouldn't be what it is today without her help and guidance," he added.

"Thelma and her husband Peter also provided valuable respite care for children with learning disabilities.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with her family.

"This is another tragic example of how dangerous farming can be.

"But at this moment the community will be focusing on providing sympathy and support to the family."

Newry and Armagh DUP MLA William Irwin also expressed his shock at the death.

He said: "I knew Thelma well and I am really saddened by this awful news.

"I want to express my sincerest condolences with her husband and family circle at this very difficult time. Thelma will be greatly missed in the community by all who had the pleasure of knowing her."

Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Lord Mayor Gareth Wilson told the Belfast Telegraph: "This is a devastating tragedy for the Gorman family.

"My prayers are with her family circle, and especially her husband Peter."
Aldi currently has 129 stores in Ireland, as well as regional distribution centres in Naas and Mitchelstown. Stock image

German retailer Aldi has invested more than 1.2bn in the Irish economy since it entered the market in 1999.

The figure is contained in a new report prepared by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) consultancy group and published by the shopping chain yesterday.

It is also estimated that Aldi contributed to the generation of more than 1bn to Ireland's gross domestic product (GDP) last year through job creation, buying goods and services from Irish suppliers, tax contributions and capital investment.

The report predicted that the figure will increase to 1.2bn per annum by 2020 as Aldi expands its footprint in Ireland.

The chain currently has 129 stores in Ireland, as well as regional distribution centres in Naas and Mitchelstown. It employs 3,200 people in Ireland, compared to 700 in 2005.

Last year, Aldi said it planned to open an additional 20 stores in Ireland by 2019, creating an additional 400 jobs in a 100m investment.

Aldi Ireland group managing director Giles Hurley said the chain now works with 175 Irish businesses, and spent more than 700m with them last year.

"The 1.2bn investment figure reflects both an upfront commitment but also the reinvestment of our profits here in Ireland," Mr Hurley said.

The latest figures from research group Kantar Worldpanel show that Aldi had an 11.5pc share of Ireland's multi-billion grocery market during the 12 weeks to August 13. That marked sales growth of 3.4pc for the period for the chain.

The market share in the period placed Aldi just behind German rival Lidl, which had a 12pc share based on the value of sales. By volume of sales, the two chains probably have among the biggest slices of the Irish grocery market.

The biggest retailer in Ireland's grocery market by value of sales is SuperValu, the chain that's controlled by the Cork-based Musgrave group. It has a 22.2pc share of the market, according to Kantar Worldpanel.

Aldi and rival Lidl are continuing a land-grab in Ireland, with Lidl planning to open as many as 48 more stores here over more than five years. Lidl currently has 152 stores in Ireland.

Aldi's average annual capital investment since 2005 has been 75m. The figure peaked in 2013, with a 114m capital spend.

The economic report prepared by CEBR also estimated that Aldi supports 12,150 jobs via direct and indirect employment here.

CEBR also estimated that Aldi helped contribute 8.5bn to the UK's GDP last year. The figure is set to rise to 11.5bn in 2022 as Aldi expands.
Pre-tax profits at the Dublin hotel remained steady at 2.5m following an 11.6pc rise in revenue on the 10.4m recorded in 2015

The owners of the Clontarf Castle hotel in Dublin split another 1m dividend last year, as pre-tax profits at the venue remained steady at 2.5m.

The hotel is controlled by Gerry Houlihan and his family. Mr Houlihan is the founder of the DID Electrical chain.

Shareholders in the hotel also include Enda O'Meara.

Mr O'Meara is the managing director of Irish hotel group Tifco, which also operates Clontarf Castle.

The high-profile hotel generated revenue of 11.6m last year, which was up 11.6pc on the 10.4m it recorded in 2015.

The pre-tax profits made by the venue are 31pc higher than those made by Clontarf Castle in the 12 months to the end of October 2013, as the country was emerging from the downturn.

The hotel underwent a 3m overhaul in 2016, which upgraded its bedrooms, dining and public areas. About 10m was also spent refurbishing the property a number of years ago.

The 2016 revenue at the hotel is ahead of target. Management at the property had anticipated to post a 6.5pc increase in revenue last year, and to maintain profitability levels similar to those made in 2015.

Mr Houlihan and his wife have owned Clontarf Castle for more than 40 years.

Clontarf Castle is likely to continuing benefiting from a shortage of hotel rooms in the capital.

During the week, Pat McCann, the chief executive of Ireland's largest hotel chain, Dalata, said that there "wasn't a hope" that sufficient hotel rooms would be constructed in Dublin within the next three years to meet the estimated 5,000 room shortfall in the capital.

Mr McCann estimated that just 3,000 new rooms would be added to hotel stock by then.
Howard Millar has quit his role as group chief operating officer of global aviation management and finance firm Stellwagen

Howard Millar, the former chief financial officer of Ryanair, has quit his role as group chief operating officer of global aviation management and finance firm Stellwagen.

Two other senior Stellwagen executives - Ed Coughlan, the chief commercial officer of Stellwagen's Dublin-based Seraph Aviation Management unit, and Ed Hansom, the chief risk officer at Seraph - also resigned from their roles this week. The Irish Independent first revealed the departures yesterday morning.

According to industry sources, it is believed the trio were unhappy with the strategic direction of Stellwagen, which is owned by Canadian stockmarket-listed firm Acasta. Stellwagen is the largest business within the Acasta group.

The loss of the three executives is a significant blow to Stellwagen and Acasta. Mr Millar, who is still a non-executive director at Ryanair, joined Stellwagen just over a year ago.

In response to yesterday's Irish Independent report, Acasta announced that Digicel executive David Butler, who is Irish, will take over as chief operating officer at Stellwagen Group. Mr Butler was CEO of Digicel's Jamaica operation, and resigned the role in August. Digicel is owned by billionaire Denis O'Brien.

Scott Corman, a former Credit Suisse executive and ex-managing director of financing group ECN Capital, will assume the position of CEO of Stellwagen Capital, a role that was also held by Mr Millar.

Contacted yesterday, Mr Millar declined to comment. It is not known at this stage what future plans he and the other two departing executives have.

Mr Coughlan previously worked with AerCap subsidiary AeroTurbine. Mr Hansom previously worked with Guinness Peat Aviation (subsequently Aerfi), and helped develop the Japanese operating lease market, and the aircraft asset-backed securities market. He also played a key role in restructuring GPA.

In July, Mr Millar said he would be "disappointed" if Stellwagen Capital did not have at least $2.5bn (2.08bn) of assets under management by the end of this year. It currently has $1.6bn. Stellwagen was acquired by Acasta for $270m last year.
Armando Iannucci has warned that democracy is a fragile state that needs defending every day, particularly with volatility in the UK.

The satirist who created The Thick Of It and Veep has been examining authoritarianism in his latest black comedy The Death Of Stalin, featuring Steve Buscemi, Michael Palin and Andrea Riseborough.

At its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on Friday, Iannucci said they filmed the movie in the summer before Donald Trumps election.

But, he said, when they watched it back they thought its themes of misinformation, so-called fake news and authoritarianism had an added resonance.

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When you have a president now whos refusing to condemn white supremacists, and that can happen so quickly, it does alert you to the fact you have to be defending democracy on a daily basis, he told the Press Association.

The Thick Of It satirised the role of spin doctors, ineptitude and poor priorities in government but Iannucci, 53, said he now finds it hard to find humour in UK politics.

I do find it hard to be funny about it because, having spent a lot of time looking at what happened under Stalin, Im very much aware of what happens when a democracy becomes dysfunctional, he said.

Thankfully the Ukip bubble has kind of burst but theres volatility out there and it just needs one person to come along and say theyve got all the answers, or a big popular movement to grow under that.

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The UK has a dispossessed electorate, is in a confused state without a solid government and we dont have anyone who knows what they want to do about Brexit, Iannucci added.

The film, also featuring Paul Whitehouse, Paddy Considine and Simon Russell Beale, satirises the power struggling following the Soviet dictator Joseph Stalins death in 1953.

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Buscemi said filming in London and the opportunity to work with Iannucci were among the reasons he took on the project, as was working with his heroes Michael Palin and Jeffrey Tambor.

Early reviews have been very positive, with The Guardians Peter Bradshaw giving it the full marks of five stars and describing it as a sulphurous black comedy.

:: The Death Of Stalin is released in UK cinemas on October 20.
Whether you are staying in or going out, we pick the events not to miss this week.

Going out?

Rebel with a cause

Ryan Adams

A mercurial and occasionally self-destructive talent, Adams has gradually matured into one of alternative rock's singular voices. His latest album, Prisoner, is a wrenching dissection of the unravelling of his marriage to actress Mandy Moore - though it isn't, alas, quite as much fun as the track-by-track cover of Taylor Swift's 1989 released 14 months previously.

Olympia, Dublin, Monday, Tuesday.

Worth its wet in gold

Sounds From A Safe Harbour

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Overseen by The National's Bryce Dessner, the multi-venue Sounds From A Safe Harbour festival returns from a year off. Bon Iver and Dessner's band perform over the weekend, but the festival begins with a collaboration between Lisa Hannigan (above), the RTE Symphony Orchestra and The National's Aaron Dessner.

Cork Opera House, Thursday.

Theatrical for the troops

Dublin Fringe Festival

The quirky side of the capital's theatre scene is let loose as this three-week celebration of the obscure and the experimental gets underway. Venues include conventional theatres and even a Luas stop, while subjects covered range from the GAA in Irish society to Tolkien-style fantasy.

From Saturday.

Staying in?

The Radio Programme

The Brigadier

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The strange-but-true story of a Cootehill Co Cavan 'big house' landlord who gave chase to Rommel in North Africa before throwing his lot in with the pre-Troubles IRA. He also found time to strike up a friendship with Ernest Hemingway.

RTE One, Saturday 1pm.

The TV Show

Strike: The Silkworm

With the first BBC adaptation of JK Rowling's Cormoran Strike novels deemed a success, the broadcaster plunges on with book two. A famous author vanishes and grumpy detective Strike (Tom Burke) and frustrated assistant Robin (Holliday Grainger, main photo above) are drawn into the mystery.

BBC One, Sunday 9pm.

The box set

Marc Maron: Too Real

As podcast host Maron has interviewed everyone from Robin Williams to Barack Obama, his stand-up is an acquired taste. Subjects covered include life in Donald Trump's reality and the stress of parking at major outdoor rock concerts.

Netflix now.
Netflix will take on one of the most controversial cases to hit UK headlines in recent years.

In 2007, three-year-old Madeleine McCann disappeared from her hotel room while on holiday in Portugal's Praia de Luz with her parents and two siblings. It sparked one of the most heavily reported missing-person cases in modern history, becoming a national obsession and still regularly hitting headlines when any new developments come to light.

Despite several potential suspects and sightings over the years, McCann's whereabouts are still unknown.

The case will now form the centre of a new as-yet-untitled, eight episode true crime series, featuring interviews with both investigators and key figures from the case.

This isn't the first time Netflix has dabbled in controversial criminal cases, releasing last year a one-part documentary on Amanda Knox, the American student who served almost four years in an Italian prison for the 2007 murder of Meredith Kercher, before being definitively acquitted.

True crime's surge in popularity was certainly aided by Netflix's own Making a Murderer, based on Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey's conviction of Teresa Halbach.

A release date for the Madeleine McCann documentary has yet to be announced.
Food foragers have been warned of the dangers of harvesting wild mushrooms that they can't safely identify.

The alert came as interest in foraged wild foods has reached an all-time high in Ireland, thanks to new cooking trends.

The warm, wet weather has delivered a substantial crop of wild mushrooms this year.

However, one of Ireland's top fungi experts, Bill O'Dea, urged people not to take chances with varieties they may be uncertain about.

On average, three people get sick in Ireland every year after mistaking toxic wild mushroom species with varieties that are safe to eat.

Two serious incidents have been recorded. In one case, a young man suffered organ damage after unwittingly eating a mushroom containing some of the most potent known toxins.

Unlike in the past, when we restricted ourselves to ordinary field mushrooms, the soaring interest in wild food foraging has led people into forests and woodland, where a bewildering range of mushroom species grow.

Ireland has more than 120 readily-picked species, a significant number of which can cause serious illnesses.

Consequences

"People need to understand that some of these mushroom species are highly toxic. Several species are so toxic that, if they're eaten, there can be very serious consequences," said Mr O'Dea.

These species include the aptly named angel of death and panther, both of which can cause fatal liver and kidney failure.

Angel of death, or Amanita ocreata, is particularly dangerous because it closely resembles other mushrooms that are perfectly safe to eat.

"The reality is that Ireland has for generations been a fungus-phobic country. A lot of people have the rule that you don't eat anything if it's picked wild," said Mr O'Dea.

However, under expert direc- tion, people can enjoy wild mushrooms and their contribution to modern cuisine.

Mr O'Dea stressed that the rule is to eat only wild spec-ies that have been definitively identified by an expert or mushrooms you are absolutely certain are edible.

"It may sound impractical, but people really do have to exercise caution with wild mushrooms," he said.

"If you're not absolutely sure about the mushroom species involved, don't even bring it into your kitchen."

Mr O'Dea studied fungi at UCD and has been leading mushroom hunts in Ireland and the US since 1996.

He will be running mushroom events at Kilruddery House in Bray, Co Wicklow on October 1 and 8; the Park Hotel Kenmare, Co Kerry, on October 21; and the Kilkenny Mushroom Hunt at Castlecomer on October 29.

Such is the interest in foraging that groups of Irish foodies even travel to eastern Europe, where wild mushrooms are a traditional delicacy.

"There's an incredible interest in wild foods, but with mushrooms, people have to be careful," said Mr O'Dea.
Gerry Finnerty has been told he will lose access to a vital drug at the end of the month

Twenty-one patients with severe lung disease have been told they will lose access to a vital drug at the end of the month after health chiefs failed to strike a price deal with the manufacturer.

One of the Alpha 1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD) sufferers, father-of-two Gerry Finnerty, who has spent years on the specialist intravenous treatment Respreeza, asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) where their compassion was.

Respreeza is the only therapy in a clinical study to slow the progression of lung disease caused by the genetic condition.

"I don't know if I'd actually be alive without it," Mr Finnerty said.

"I probably would have had to go for a lung transplant and then the problem is whether it would work. That's my honest opinion."

Most of the group have been using Respreeza therapy, made by German pharmaceutical CSL Behring, on a "compassionate" basis for several years after going through a clinical trial.

Their doctor in Beaumont Hospital in Dublin, Gerry McElvaney, Professor of Medicine at Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), told them the drug would be stopped on September 30 after the HSE and manufacturer failed to agree a deal on price.

It is estimated to cost about 85,000 per patient per year.

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CSL Behring said it wanted a different outcome and was deeply disappointed.

"While we had hoped for a different conclusion, we remain committed to AATD research to improve the quality of life of people living with the condition," the company said.

It said it was looking at a new clinical trial across Europe, including Ireland, where severe Alpha 1 patients would be given the drug.

"We worked tirelessly to identify and agree on a solution that would work for both patients and for the HSE and give Respreeza the best chance of gaining reimbursement," CSL Behring said.

Mr Finnerty (69) from Kinsealy, Co Dublin, said he had one question for those who determine whether he gets the drug: "Where is the compassion?"

The HSE decided last month it would not fund the drug.

On Thursday, the agency also revealed its budget overruns for this year were soaring to more than 300 million euro.

Mr Finnerty added: "My wife Helen feels very sorry for me, very upset.

"She just feels: 'How can you put a price on my husband's life?' And that's what it is coming down to."

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The Alpha One Foundation said 60 patients could benefit from the drug if the HSE could secure a price deal with CSL Behring.

Thousands of other people in Ireland are thought to be living with the condition with varying degrees of severity.

Geraldine Kelly, the foundation's chief executive, appealed for health chiefs to make the necessary money available and for drug maker CSL Behring to cut its price.

"We have a therapy that works and that has been proven effective, and it is wrong of the HSE and the Department of Health not to fund it," she said.

"Equally, it is wrong for a company to discontinue a therapy that works to patients who have provided it with a rich resource of research information that has undoubtedly been of huge commercial benefit."
The Teachers' Union of Ireland is seeking clarity on what is required of its members when complying with the requirements of the scheme offering the HPV vaccine to teenage girls.

The HPV jab, which helps prevent cervical cancer, is administered to teenage girls by public health staff at school.

There has been a fall in uptake following unfounded reports linking it to side- effects such as chronic fatigue syndrome.

Earlier this year, it appeared that the union called into question the effectiveness of the jab during its annual congress. However, a spokesman said this was not the case.

He said it did not take a view that the vaccine should not be administered. However, he said the union would "seek clarity on all aspects of what is required of schools".

This is to ensure the information can be "communicated to our members and followed to the letter".

It would ensure that there is "no question of schools being found wanting in terms of complying with the requirements of the scheme," he added. A major HSE campaign is now under way to inform parents about the safety of the vaccine.
Aishling, Caroline, Catherine and Jeremiah, children of Tim Fleming, London, who died while visiting Ireland on a short trip, pictured at the Coroners Court. Picture: Arthur Carron

The daughter of a man who died when he became ill on a visit to Dublin said the bottom of their world fell apart but now they hope to change things for other families.

Timothy Fleming (69), an Irishman living in England, died after a tear in the lining of his aorta led to a rupture of the artery on February 6, 2015.

The father-of-four, a native of Fossa, Killarney, was living in Middlesex and had travelled to Dublin for a meeting in Tallaght. He became unwell with a severe pain in his abdomen and was taken by ambulance to Tallaght hospital. An inquest earlier this year ruled his death from the condition was as a result of medical misadventure.

Mr Fleming was initially discharged at around 2am after being diagnosed with gastroenteritis following a phone diagnosis and consultations with various doctors.

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However, he was immediately returned to hospital when his pain became much worse.

An ultra-sound showed signs of a tear within the aorta and he was then scheduled for a CT scan. While undergoing the scan his aorta ruptured and he was transferred to St James' Hospital for emergency surgery.

Due to their dads initial visit to the hospital his family in the UK were not aware of what was happening.

However on his second admission the family were contacted. They were told come to Ireland immediately that their dad was going for surgery but his chances were good.

We were like chances for what?, we had never heard of this condition, are you saying my dad could die?, Catherine said.

For all of that time, dad knew that he was seriously unwell, he had no one there from the family to hold his hand, to tell him he would be okaywhich was awful, she said.

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Catherines niece did manage to speak to her dad on the phone before surgery.

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I was at the airport in Gatwick with my mum, talking about all of the phone calls wed received that morning and she was having the same reaction as me [thinking] is he going to die?

And I was like oh my gosh, no. This is like what you read in the newspapers, this isnt going to be what happens to our family. Well get out there, we might be in Dublin for a few months, if we need to rent a house, well look after dad until hes better and hes coming home.

No sooner had I said those words when the phone rang and it was St James hospital saying 'your dad didnt survive the surgery and you need to come over and formally identify the body'.

Oh my goodness, it was just like the bottom of our world just fell apart. It was just the most incredible shock and because of how it happened part of that shock stays with you. It was just so sad.

In a strange twist of fate Timothys sister was struck with the same condition, the day after his funeral, but survived.

Shes doing very well and its a story within one family which shows if you act in the polar opposite ways how different the outcomes can be, Catherine said.

She first attended what would have been Timothys local hospital in the UK.

Very similar to Tallaght they wouldnt be in a position to treat that condition themselves but they spotted it and transferred her straight away to the Royal Brompton Hospital in London.

It was all of the what ifs?. You would think that anyways as a family but the fact that it happened to another family member and she was 10 years older than dad and had other health complications," Catherine said.

The rare condition was among those initially suspected as being behind Mr Fleming's pain when he was brought to hospital.

"Very early on in his first admission to the Emergency Department one of the doctors suspected aortic dissection, among three other fatal conditions, but sadly for dad they didnt document that and it wasnt handed over effectively.

That information and that suspicion seemed to be lost along the way and if they had documented it or effectively handed something over I think we would be in a very different position, she said.

Ahead of surgery Mr Fleming experienced a heart attack, from which he never recovered.

So they were operating on dad and resuscitating him at the same time and its just so tragic because the surgery itself was actually successful. They were actually able to repair the aorta but they werent able to bring dad back so he died.

The family are now working to raise awareness of the condition and have been working alongside experts in the UK and Ireland to improve outcomes for patients.

They are also working with Tallaght Hospital to update procedures around different elements of care.

"As an individual my dad had something very special about him. He would always stand up for the underdog," she said.

"I think that's why this is so important to me because I think had this happened to anyone else he would be absolutely making sure that preventative action was taken.

"He has left an amazing kind of legacy within his family and friends, and we hope to do something bigger in the sense that there will be some change," Catherine added.

Their work with Tallaght Hospital has been very positive to date, Catherine said and the family are awaiting the outcome of an internal investigation.

Following an initial meeting of a working group of which they are part a total 12 suggestions for improving procedures were tabled.

Some of these included updates to how diagnosis is carried out over the phone, updated communications between staff and changes to how patients are discharged from hospital.

I really look forward to continue to work with them in a very healthy and challenging way and I think more of that needs to happen, she said.

Nothing is going to bring dad back for us but at least it will bring some kind of meaning to his passing because otherwise whats the point?

It would just be incredibly tragic to walk away and just let that continue to happen.

Catherine was speaking ahead of a medico legal conference on Friday in Sligo, called Pathways to Progress, organised by Callan Tansey solicitors.

The family have also started a website called www.thinkaorta.org to promote further awareness.

In a statement the hospital said:

"Tallaght Hospital has expressed its sincere regret and condolences to the family of Mr Timothy Fleming, some of whom met with senior hospital clinicians in July to review the case and discuss actions to improve processes, procedures and policies with the focus on improving patient care and outcomes.

"To date Tallaght Hospital has implemented two key recommendations: rare occurrences such as aortic dissection are now included as a regular agenda item for education sessions attended by medical professionals of all levels within our Emergency Department; medical staff are regularly reminded that differential diagnoses should be recorded in patient charts to ensure continuity of care."
Pressure is continuing to mount today on Newstalk presenter George Hook over controversial remarks he made on rape during a broadcast yesterday.

Speaking on his Newstalk show, High Noon, George Hook spoke about a young girl in the UK, who was allegedly raped by a former member of the British swimteam.

"She was passed around went the story apparently. She went to bed with one guy and he went out and another guy comes in. She doesn't want to have relations with the second guy but he forced himself upon her. Awful," George Hook said.

"But when you then look deeper into the story you have to ask certain questions. Why does a girl who just meets a fella in a bar go back to a hotel room? She's only just barely met him. She has no idea of his health conditions, she has no idea who he is, no idea what dangers he might pose.

"But modern day social activity means that she goes back with him. Then is surprised when somebody else comes into the room and rapes her. Should she be raped? Course she shouldn't. Is she entitled to say no? Absolutely. Is the guy who came in a scumbag? Certainly. Should he go to jail? Of Course. All of those things."

George Hook than goes on to discuss the "responsibility of women".

"But is there no blame now to the person who puts themselves in danger? You then of course read that she passed out on the toilet and when she woke up the guy was trying to rape her. There is personal responsibility because it's your daughter and my daughter. What determines the daughter who goes out, gets drunk, passes out and has strangers in her room or the daughter that stays out, stays halfway sober and comes home, I don't know. I wish I knew what the secret of parenting is.

"Is a point of responsibility the real issue?

"There is a point of responsibility that young girls are taking for their own safety," George Hook concluded.

Last night Newstalk's Chris Donoghue responded to Hook's comments, tweeting "Someone needs to go to town on hook. It's disgusting."

Donoghue was recently promoted to Group Political Editor at Communicorp - he previously hosted Newstalk's Breakfast and drivetime shows.

Meanwhile rape victim, Fiona Doyle, said Mr Hook's comments were "outrageous" and "offensive".

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Fiona's father Patrick O'Brien (79) was sentenced to 12 years in prison with three suspended in 2013 for the systematic rape and sexual abuse of his daughter at their home in Dun Laoghaire from 1973 to 1982.

"Victim blaming is all too familiar to women in Ireland. George is giving the message that men can do what they want and it is the drunken woman who is to blame.

"Women have the right to be drunk. They have the right to say no. They have the right to walk down the street naked if they wish. Men have no right to rape a women and people like George Hook need to stop circulating the message that women are to blame.

"What George said is that a man can't help himself if he comes across a drunk woman. It takes the responsibility off men. Men should know not to touch a woman."

Fiona said that the comments broadcast earlier today were "old fashioned" and that it brings women back centuries.

"George Hook needs to get off his dinosaur backside and see the impact of what he is saying on young women."

She added that campaigners, gardai and the rape crisis centres have been working with women to get them to come forward after a rape.

"We're working so hard to get women to stand up and come forward without thinking they are responsible.

"It's a big thing for women to blame themselves after a rape happens. It's very hard for women to get over something like that and to tell women that it's their fault is outrageous."

Fiona said that George Hook's comments will "pull out that stigma that women are responsible".

"No man has a right to touch a women. It's that simple."

If you have been affected by this issue you can contact the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre on 1800 778 888
The man was enjoying a walking tour in Italy when the tragedy happened Photo: Deposit

An elderly Irishman has died during a pilgrimage in Italy.

The man (79) was reportedly undertaking the 550km Way of Assisi trek from Florence to Rome when he didn't arrive at the farmhouse he had booked to stay in in Modigliana, near Bologna on Wednesday evening.

According to local newspaper, Forli Today, the alarm was raised at 9.30pm and firefighters and police immediately began to search for the man.

They were forced to stop when it got dark but started looking again at first light on Thursday morning.

The man's remains were discovered on Thursday night at 10.30pm at the bottom of a cliff, near Monte Forcella,

Italian police are investigating his death and have said the man may have died from a "sudden illness" although they haven't ruled out the possibility that he could have lost his balance in strong winds.

A spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed to Independent.ie that they are aware of the case and are providing consular assistance.
DUP MP Ian Paisley says he has provided "a full explanation" to a parliamentary watchdog over a newspaper report that he did not declare trips paid for by the Sri Lankan government.

The 'Daily Telegraph' reported that the party founder's son accepted two holidays to the Indian Ocean island in 2013 for him and his family.

But Mr Paisley Jr "totally denies defamatory inferences" in the newspaper report alleging he failed to declare 100,000 (110,000) in hospitality from the Sri Lankan government, his solicitor said.

The 'Daily Telegraph' alleged that the North Antrim had met Sri Lankan officials to discuss possible post-Bexit trade deals with the United Kingdom.

The DUP representative took to social media to declare the article "devoid of fact or logic".

He also announced intentions to refer himself to the parliamentary commissioner for standards and to consult his lawyer.

A statement was later issued on behalf of the politician by a lawyer which said: "My client totally denies the defamatory inferences arising from the article in today's 'Daily Telegraph', including those relating to his registration obligations as an MP.

"He has now referred this matter, and a full explanation, to the parliamentary commissioner for standards."

Mr Paisley refused to address the controversy yesterday when he visited Wexford to speak at the Kennedy Summer School. He said he had been advised by his lawyers not to comment.

Mr Paisley is one of 10 pro-Brexit DUP MPs helping to prop up Theresa May's Tory administration after her snap election left her with no overall majority.

He posted a picture this week on a social networking site of himself meeting Sri Lankan High Commissioner Amari Wijewardene "to discuss NI-Sri Lanka trade deal after Brexit".

Two days later, he tweeted a picture of himself with International Trade Secretary Liam Fox "discussing our trade agreements post Brexit".

The House of Commons Code of Conduct states that MPs must declare any visit to a destination outside the UK which "relates in any way to their membership of the House or to their parliamentary or political activities" and which cost more than 300 (330), unless they have paid for it themselves or out of parliamentary or party funds.

The rules state that MPs do not have to register family holidays, as long as they are "wholly unconnected with membership of the House or with the member's parliamentary or political activities".

Duncan Hames, policy director at Transparency International UK, said: "These are very serious allegations, and the parliamentary standards commissioner should make investigating them a top priority."
Sinn Feins Eoin O Broin has defended Gerry Adamss objection to the killers of Tom Oliver being brought to justice. Picture: Collins

There is a danger that one simple fact will be overlooked as Sinn Fein questions the benefits of charging, and ultimately jailing, the murderers of Louth farmer Tom Oliver.

It is that the 37-year-old father-of-seven was never, ever, a "combatant". He was a farmer, a family man, murdered by IRA thugs, who later tried to calumniate him as their sometime collaborator-turned-police-informer.

Now the IRA's political manifestation, Sinn Fein, concedes that Mr Oliver's bereaved family do deserve justice and some form of resolution. But it clearly draws the line at a renewed Garda investigation into his 1991 murder going down the road of prosecutions, convictions and imprisonment.

It is also often forgotten that the IRA were the most effective brutal murderers of the Troubles. They murdered almost half the 3,770 people who lost their lives across those terrible years.

One-third of 1,771 people murdered by the IRA were civilians and most of those civilians were from the Catholic community. This speaks to another grim reality of almost all terror and terrorists: they spend a huge amount of time and effort terrorising their own people; the so-called imposition of discipline.

Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams is busy in his continued re-writing of the recent history of these islands. It may be part of his imagined status of victor - or a continuing quest to style himself as victor.

Many talented party members, drawn from the so-called "post-conflict generation", back him in his work.

Dublin Mid-West TD Eoin O Broin, tipped by many as a future Sinn Fein leader, caused a storm of protest on social media and elsewhere following his comments in this newspaper on Thursday.

"I believe Gerry Adams's view has been twisted. We all acknowledge that victims on all sides must pursue justice and some kind of resolution for what happened. But I don't think the peace process benefits from the prosecution of former combatants, be they loyalists, security forces or republicans."

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Now let's be careful here. Mr O Broin never said Mr Oliver was a "combatant" and conversation with this writer never veered in that direction. He also stressed repeatedly that families like those of Mr Oliver were entitled to find out the truth and get some form of resolution.

But what form of truth and resolution can they get, other than the court proceedings which Sinn Fein argues trenchantly against?

Let's recall the comments of Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan, and those of others in Government and across all parties in response. It is that there have been no amnesties in the Republic of Ireland for serious crime - and there will not be amnesties. And let's keep all Dublin governments, current and future, to that pledge.

Trenchant critics of Sinn Fein, such as Willie O'Dea of Fianna Fail, continually point out that the party's "younger breed" never contradict the diktat of their party president of 34 years. So, what would change after Gerry Adams's departure? Mr O Broin, unsurprisingly, insists he has formed his own opinions based on 22 years of party membership and 11 years spent living in Belfast, a city still deeply scarred by three decades of murder and mayhem.

The prospects for some kind of "truth process" in the North look grim, and outline plans sketched in the 2014 Stormont House Agreement are blocked by Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Fein's failures to do any kind of ongoing grown-up politics together.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has warned Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams that the Troubles cannot be used as an excuse to "whitewash" what he described as the "senseless killing" of Louth farmer Tom Oliver.

In his first comments on the murder, Mr Varadkar said there is "no question" of any amnesty being extended to the IRA figures who carried out the atrocity.

Mr Oliver, a father of seven, was abducted, tortured and brutally murdered by the IRA on July 19, 1991.

A local priest who attended the post-mortem remarked that "it looked like they'd dropped concrete blocks on every bone in his body".

Senior gardai have been reviewing the murder for the past eight months, and have appointed a dedicated officer to liaise with the Oliver family.

The Irish Independent revealed this week that members of the victim's family are still afraid to speak out publicly, for fear of retribution.

Mr Adams has been accused of compounding the family's trauma after he claimed in an interview with his local radio station LMFM that death was "politically motivated" and that the killers should not go to jail.

Senseless

Speaking for the first time about the murder, Mr Varadkar rebuked Mr Adams over his comments. "The murder of Tom Oliver was a heinous act," the Taoiseach told the Irish Independent.

"There can never be any justification for the deliberate murder of civilians in any circumstances and there is no question of an amnesty.

"The Troubles cannot be used as an excuse by anyone to whitewash over such a senseless killing."

It has also emerged that Mr Adams himself was "by fluke" holidaying with family in the Cooley area of Co Louth on the day Mr Oliver was murdered.

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"I was actually in, by complete fluke, I was on holidays down in Galway and came back up. I was in the Cooleys at the time Tom Oliver was killed. I was with my family in the Cooleys at that time," the Louth TD said in an interview with 'Prime Time' in 2015.

In the same interview, the Sinn Fein leader reacted angrily when it was suggested by presenter Miriam O'Callaghan that he was the "court of appeal" that sanctioned the murder.

Mr Adams denied the claim, describing the accusation as "reprehensible".

But the Sinn Fein president is under extreme pressure after he said last week that jailing the IRA murderers of the Co Louth farmer would be "totally and absolutely counterproductive".

Senior gardai believe the fresh investigation is making progress.

It has been ongoing for over eight months. However, details of the review emerged only in recent weeks.

Mr Oliver was dragged from his home in the Cooley Peninsula before being beaten and murdered by IRA terrorists. His body was found the following day in Armagh.

The IRA claimed responsibility for the murder and made the announcement in Sinn Fein's official magazine, 'An Phoblacht'.
One of the dogs that were bred in a single property and which urgently need homes after they were turned over to the ISPCA

An animal welfare charity has made an urgent appeal for homes for more than two dozen Jack Russell terrier dogs and pups which had been bred at a single property.

The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ISPCA) said the 28 dogs, including 17 pups, were turned over to them after it emerged the number of dogs bred at an unnamed property "was spiralling out of control".

The dogs are currently under the care of staff at the ISPCA's National Animal Centre in Co Longford.

"While we are pleased to have been able to intervene before any major welfare issues arose, spaying or neutering would have prevented these unwanted litters of puppies from being born in the first place," said ISPCA chief inspector Conor Dowling.

"The rescue and rehabilitation of such a large number of dogs and puppies places a significant amount of pressure on the ISPCA, both financially and also in terms of accommodating such an influx of animals.

"Ireland already has a serious problem with stray and unwanted dogs. Owners need to take action to have their pets neutered or spayed now to end this cycle of pet overpopulation."

Anyone interested in giving the dogs a good home can visit www.ispca.ie or email info@ispca.ie. People can also contact the centre by phone on 043 33 25035.
Governor Philip Lane has suggested that rising house prices are not the fault of the Central Bank - insisting its mortgage rules are continuing to act as a brake on the market.

It follows a near 12pc hike in house prices in a year.

He blamed rising incomes, high rents, and cheap borrowing for the surge in prices, saying building more houses would ultimately ease the pressure.

Professor Lane also noted the large number of cash buyers, over which the Bank has no control.

Since last November, first-time buyers are now able to borrow any amount with a deposit of 10pc.

Prior to that new borrowers could have been approved for a mortgage with a deposit of 10pc for borrowings up to 220,000.

But Prof Lane said the jump in mortgage volumes is off a low base, and that the measures will keep house prices in check.

"The operation of these [mortgage rule] mechanisms means that the combination of the LTI [loan-to-income] ceiling and the ladder of differentiated LTV [loan-to-value] ceilings provides some in-built brakes in housing price dynamics," Prof Lane said.

House prices increased 11.6pc in the year to June.

Last year the Central Bank made a big change to its mortgage lending rules, in a move that was expected to make it easier for new buyers to get a mortgage.

The number of mortgage approvals rose by 17pc year-on-year in July, and by 23.3pc in value terms.

Subdued

"To the extent that the revision is contributing to an increase in aggregate mortgage credit volumes, this should be interpreted in the context of the subdued level of lending in recent years," Prof Lane said.

The Governor also warned that the Government may need to consider tax increases and running a large budget surplus in future years to avoid the economy overheating.

Just days after the State's budgetary watchdog warned overheating was a real risk, Prof Lane said the Government will have to balance the need to ramp up public investment, with ensuring the economy can remain on a sustainable footing.

"Measures that would lead to a slowdown in the growth of consumption and investment would be the natural levers," she said.

"That could be general increases in taxes or selective tax rates that focus in on consumption and investment."

The Fiscal Advisory Council warned that there was a "realistic possibility" that the economy will start to overheat in the coming years if the strong growth rates continue.

Meanwhile, low and middle income earners will receive a tax boost in Budget 2018 which will be delivered through tax band changes rather than rate cuts, Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe confirmed yesterday.

He also revealed that the Universal Social Charge (USC) will be amalgamated with PRSI to deliver enhanced social services.
A new photo has emerged of teenagers engaged in 'train surfing' amid growing concerns a serious accident is inevitable.

Earlier this week a photo showed two teenage boys squeezed between two carriages as the Dart train arrived at Killester Station, north Dublin.

Now a new photo has emerged of two youths 'scutting' on the side of a Dart train in Dublin.

The photo, taken earlier this year, was sent to Independent.ie by a concerned reader.

"Information on individuals involved and details on where this photo was found was passed to Irish Rail via a local councillor", the reader, who asked to remain anonymous, told Independent.ie.

Irish Rail said earlier this week: Instances such as this are rare. Our drivers are trained to be vigilant of such behaviour and we have teams of roving security that patrol the Dart area.

This is an extremely dangerous behaviour and we appeal to parents and young people to desist from this activity to prevent any tragic outcome.

Dublin Mayor Michael Mac Donncha said he feared copycats in the wake of the incident earlier this week.

I am very concerned, he said. There might be copycat behaviour which will inevitably result in a fatality.

Train surfing led to six deaths in five years in Britain, according to British Transport Police.
When it comes nights out with friends, the pub can often seem like the most natural destination but spending time together away from the pints can make for a refreshing change.

Certainly, it would be nice to wake up sans hangover after a night out with colleagues without fearing you've disclosed your darkest, inner most secrets to the office gossip, or having to face Snaps of your dance floor antics on a Monday morning.

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And yet, anyone who has ever been burdened with the task of planning a work night out will know how difficult it is to find an activity that is booze-free.

Google searches bring up an alcohol-free nightclub and a trip to the Abbey Theatre, suggestions which I felt would fall very flat with the lads.

Which was why an invite to try Dublin's newest Escape Room came at the opportune time, on a sunny Friday evening in September.

Inspired by the escape trend spreading across Europe and the US, 'Zorg Ella' is Europe's first challenge built on a boat, which has been docked in Dublin's Grand Canal Dock since July.

Having previously undertaken an escape room challenge as a group, four out of six of us had an idea of what to expect. However, we learned quite quickly that our previous experience wasn't going to give us the upper hand.

The challenge is best undertaken with a clear head and that is because a team of up to six people is required to use critical thinking, teamwork and problem solving in order to triumph over the challenge, inspired by 1990s game show Crystal Maze.

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Donning our hard hats, the team climbed into the ship's engine room and the door was locked behind us. From the onset, it was clear that everything wasn't going well with Zorg Ella, and if we didn't work together we might end up at the bottom of Grand Canal sleeping with the fishes.

Armed with the first clue, there was an initial panic as everyone frantically ran around trying to figure out a way to contribute to the team's success and the challenge does certainly test the dynamics of your group.

The imminent sinking of the ship almost calls out for a team member to take leadership, which is welcome for sheep like me, while in certain circumstances stepping back from the problem allowed for break throughs.

Our team did get stuck a few times when it came to the challenges, which was frustrating, but luckily we were allowed to cheat a little bit on two occasions as a vague hint from a intercom on the wall helped us on our way.

While it was frustrating to get a bit stuck, the elation when we figured something out and moved onto a new problem evoked claps and calls of excitement from the team.

Unlike other escape challenges we've completed, Escape Boats allows players to exceed their 60 minutes if necessary, and luckily we escaped after an hour and eight minutes. While we weren't as quick as Mensa, who tested the challenge earlier this year, it was a relief that we weren't as rubbish as the team who were so perplexed they had to be walked through the entire challenge by Zorg Ella's operator.

Ultimately, it allowed our group to work together and problem-solve in a different way that we've ever had to do at work and left us all feeling a bit proud of ourselves.

I won't tell fibs and say that we didn't wander to the pub for one or two after disembarking Zorg Ella, but it was certainly a great alternative to the routine post-work drinks, which gets a little stale sometimes.

And after saving a sinking ship, we deserved a pint.

For more information of Escape Boats visit escapeboats.ie
On Saturday night I headed for the Seatown Festival which featured a host of live music out on the street and was being run by four pubs in the area McManus', Castle Bar, Donnelly's and O'Carroll's. The festivities were in full swing by the time I got there.

I wasn't too long there with I met up with Olive Watters from Villa Park and Cindy McKinley from Greenacres who told me they'd really enjoyed the Nukes, but were heading home now because Cindy was feeling a little cold and it was time for the hot whiskeys.

Not too long later I then got taking to Brendan Kerley who had come around from Broughton Street to see what all the fuss was about and was certainly making the best of it.

Next I met up with Laura McCormack from Seatown who told me she was with Evan, Claire and Jim and they were having a fantastic night, but were a bit worried about the rain.

I then caught up with my old friend Luanna Lucchesi from Happy Valley who was with Paul Lynan and Karen McGuiness who were sitting up near O'Carroll's and she assured me it was going to be a totally mad night.

After this I caught up with father and son Paul Mathews from Mill Road and Paul Jnr whom I was told were just after finishing watching the Georgia V Ireland debacle and decided to come out and drown their sorrows because the Irish team were that crap.

Not too long later I then had the pleasure of meeting up with Edel Ross from Claddagh Park who told me she had been there most of the day helping BB and Colm Lally with their pop-up shop to raise money for The Birches and she had just stayed on for a bit of crack with Glenda and Martin McAvinney from Dromiskin who were on here for the bar. They were briefly joined by one of my favourite post mistresses, yes it was Lorraine Taaffe from Dublin Street PO who was having a great laugh with Edel.

Making my way through the crowds I then caught up with a very busy Gregory Gormley from the Castle Bar and Russells who was on top of his head making sure the night was running smoothly and he was with his dad Noel from Carrick Road and sister Colette Dolan from Blackrock too.

I then headed over for a word with Sonya Caldwell from Lennonstown Manor who was having a right old time of it with Nigel and Adrienne Caldwell from Manydown Close and they were there along with Stephen and Alison White from Manydown Close, Nuala Mullen from Point Road, Gillian Caldwell from St. Josephs Park, Siobhan Jordan from Point Road, and Niamh Cumiskey from Castletown Road. Nigel said they were there for the night and the chips were definitely going down well!

Not too long later I then met up with Pat Jackson from Woodview Terrace and Rab Hislop from Carroll Village who were having a right laugh together.

Next I had the pleasure of meeting Patrice Fahy from Suil na Mara who was with Patrick Faulkner from Avondale Park and Davina Hearty from Fr. Murray Park who were looking well and ready to make it an epic night in Seatown.

Not too long later I headed over for a chat with Ralph Richardson from Kilkerley and Jim McConville from Faughart who were there to see the Dublin City Ramblers and were really enjoying them.

After this I headed over for a chat with Kieran Stanley from Blackrock who was there celebrating his wedding anniversary with his wife of one year Dymphna and they were having a laugh with David Dollard from Market Street.

Not too long later I had the pleasure of meeting up with Ernie and Bernie Finnegan from Dowdallshill and Anne McParland from Faughart who told me they had had a really brilliant night.

Almost too busy to talk to me was my old mate Jackie Moran from Union Street who was there with sisters Kerry, Simone and Lyndsey as well as Eoin McDonnell and they all wanted a gigantic shout out for sister Emer over in England and to tell her that she was "really missing all the crack on our street".

Finally, before I departed I then got a word with Imelda Brennan from St. Clements Park who was enjoying the music and all the crack with Rachel, Sharon and Matthew McDonagh from Riverside Drive and they were just raring to go!
A local writer is set to showcase the short story she has produced for XBorders, an innovative cross-border project, bringing writers together to explore and write about borders through fiction and non-fiction.

Tamara O'Connell, a journalist living in Castlebellingham, is due to read an excerpt of her work at The Irish Writers Centre in Dublin on Thursday, September 7.

'I'm really looking forward to sharing my short story t he Sound of a Second Chance, hearing the work of the other participants, and discussing XBorders with attendees at the upcoming showcase,' Tamara told the Argus.

The Louth writer chose an international setting for her work, with he short storset near the Israeli-Egyptian border.

The events take place during the year 1999, and the story is essentially a 'suspense thriller about an expectant couple who are carjacked.

'The story follows Dinah and Ari Coen, an Israeli couple who are driving home after a short holiday in the Sinai peninsula,' said Tamara.

'Dinah and Ari are hijacked close to the Taba border crossing and they both have very different reactions to the dangerous situation.'

She added: 'In that kind of life or death situation, the wrong choice can lead to terrible consequences. What do you do? Run or fight?'

Tamara is one of eighteen emerging writers chosen from across Ireland to take part in the XBorders project.

The participants have been working on the project with cultural theorist Dr Declan Long; security experts Mark Maguire and Eileen Murphy; Blackstaff Press Managing Editor, Patsy Horton; and writer Maria McManus over the past four months.

Alongside the short, Tamara is also currently writing a novel, which she describes as 'a contemporary thriller about a reporter and her life-changing investigation into a gripping scandal.'

The book is expected to be completed at some stage during 2018.

For more information about Tamara O'Connell and her work visit www.tamaraoconnell.com.
Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams last week came under pressure from his Louth Dail colleagues over the murder of Cooley farmer, Tom Oliver.

Two weeks ago, the Argus revealed that Gardai in Ardee, along with officers in Dundalk and Drogheda, are reviewing the 26-year-old murder and Peter Fitzpatrick TD said he had met with members of the investigation team last week and passed on any information he had about the murder.

Mr Adams said he has no information, apart from what appeared in the media about why Mr Oliver (42) was killed, and said it was not his responsibility to investigate as this was a matter for Gardai.

And he criticised Fine Gael's Mr Fitzpatrick and Fianna Fail's Declan Breathnach for making statements about the 1991 murder, saying they were being 'negative, cynical and opportunistic' in 'seizing' on the issue to 'attack Sinn Fein'.

He also said it 'wouldn't be productive' for people to go to prison in relation to the case, but he 'upholds the families' wishes to see prosecutions'.

Mr Adams appeared on LMFM's Michael Reade's show on Thursday where the presenter said the programme had been in touch with the Oliver family ahead of the TD's appearance on it and they wanted answers to some of the questions they had about the murder.

Mr Adams said he acknowledged the right of the Oliver family to seek the truth about their father's death, but there were mechanisms in place for them to do that.

He said the loss of the Oliver family was 'very grievous' and 'they deserve to get to the truth' using 'processes established to do that' under the Stormont House Agreement of 2014.

And he said it had 'ended very badly' when he was asked about getting involved with the family of murdered prison officer Brian Stack and the 'ability to assist families of victims was severely undercut by how that initiative played out'.

On the radio programme the following day, Friday, Mr Fitzpatrick said he had met with Superintendent Gerard Curley about the case and also with the Oliver family in the wake of Mr Adams' interview the previous day.

The Fine Gael TD said the family was 'very, very disappointed' with the inteview as they 'had hoped he would have helped them get closure in some way'.

He said it was time for the 'IRA to come clean' about the murder and added that Mr Oliver had been tortured, even though he had no connections with any paramilitary group. Mr Fitzpatrick said the Oliver family wanted to know: 'why did the IRA torture my daddy?'

Sinn Fein, Mr Fitzpatrick added, 'needs to get rid of all their skeletons in their closets' and he said he believes the IRA is still in the Cooley and North Louth area' and 'there is still intimidation in Cooley'.

He said: 'I'm pleading this morning that if people are afraid to come to the gardai, (with information), then they can come to me on the phone or in my office'.

Mr Breathnach told Michael Reade that neither he nor Mr Fitzpatrick are responsible for the reopening of the Oliver case.

He said: 'To hear Deputy Adams say that we were being cynical or opportunistic or we seized upon this situation is absolute diatribe as is the norm from Gerry Adams. I want to make it quite clear that I refute that.

'I have not hidden behind the bush about IRA activity or under different names or guises'. Mr Breathnach added the Oliver family, and other victims, were 'entitled to the truth and justice'.

He said: 'He was no informer. I'm not an informer. If there are issues relating to illegality or criminal activity in Cooley, or anywhere else, the onus is on people to do their civic duty.

'In any democracy, people talk and discuss the differences they have with the opposition. No-one should be in the business of intimidating or torturing or murdering.

'I condemn the murder of Tom Oliver or anyone in the interests of a united Ireland, which I want as well'.

And he added that he believed that Mr Adams 'has an ability to help and progress this case'.

Both TDs stated the death was 'murder' and Mr Breathnach said that while there is 'huge merit' in a truth and reconciliation process, 'people have to take responsibility . . . if everyone is prepared to sit around and bring out the truth. Tom Oliver was an ordinary farmer going about his day to day business'.
A number of items, including cash and number plates, have been taken from vehicles parked around the Dundalk area in the past week, Gardai have revealed.

The latest incident happened in broad daylight on Sunday between 3.30pm and 5.45pm in Francis Street when the passenger window of a grey Vauxhall Astra was smashed with a rock and a wallet, containing 200, was stolen from the front seat.

The previous day, on September 2 between noon and 2pm, a Seat Leon parked at Ravensdale Forest was broken into and a purse, containing a small amount of cash and payment cards, was stolen, along with a mobile phone.

The windscreen of a car, parked at the Castletown Road, was smashed on Sunday, but nothing was taken from the vehicle.

And number plates were stolen from a car parked close to the motorway junction at the Ardee Road last Tuesday. The owner had parked there and left for work around 8am and returned to find the Northern registered plates of their VW Passat had been taken.

Gardai are also investigating a number of criminal damage incidents, which happened at business premises in the Dundalk area. On Friday afternoon, shortly after midday, the owners of the Europa Restaurant in Earl Street reported that a window had been smashed.

Gardai attended the scene and found a 23-year-old English man nearby who was bleeding heavily from his arm. He was treated for his injuries and was questioned about the alleged offence.

And a kebab takeaway shop at Park Street was targeted in a similar way in the early hours of Sunday morning. At around 2.20am, Gardai were told the front door of the premises had been damaged. A 20-year-old Dundalk man was questioned about the incident.

The Aliz Restaurant in Park Street was the subject of a theft on Sunday afternoon. The owners reported to Gardai that the eatery's phone, along with a cash box, had been stolen between 1pm and 3pm. It is believed that someone jumped the counter and took them.

There was an attempted break-in at the Woodie's store at Dundalk Retail Park shortly after midnight on Friday. Three men are believed to have been involved in the incident, during which the lock was broken, but they fled empty-handed when the alarm was activated.

And on Sunday afternoon, the owner of a house on the Avenue Road was on his way home at around 12.30pm when he saw two men running away from his house on foot, while a third man was parked outside in a black Mercedes.

The front number plate was missing from the vehicle, which drove off at speed, hitting the homeowner's parked car out of the way and onto the other side of the road to make his escape.

The men had got into the house through a window and a small amount of cash was stolen. Gardai searched the area for the two men who were on foot, but nothing was found. It is believed the Mercedes headed towards the motorway.

Anyone with information about these incidents can contact Dundalk Gardai at 042 9388400 or the Confidential Line at 1800 666 111.
Park Street traders were up in arms last week after discovering that a parking space outside Mackins Leather Goods was designated as reserved for 'GoCar' users only.

Louth County Council confirmed that it is running a pilot scheme in conjunction with GoCar which will be renewed after six months,

GoCar, which has been operating in Dublin and Cork for nearly ten years, is now expanding into Louth, and there will be three vehicles for hire in Dundalk, which will be based at Clark Railway Station, The scheme allows people who sign up to rent cars for as short a time as an hour. Reserved parking spaces for GoCar users have been designed at Boyds Car Park, Park Street and Bridge Street and those sing the cars don't have to pay parking charges.

Park Street shopkeeper Ciaran Mackin was shocked to discover that the parking space outside his shop was designated for GoCar users when he arrived to open up on Wednesday morning.

'There has been not consultation with the traders about this, not one word,' he said. He pointed out that the northern end of Park Street had lost several parking spaces over the years.

'It's going to drive people away from the area as they will be afraid to park.'

He said that while he wasn't opposed to the GoCar scheme, the parking space should have been provided in the nearby car park at The Ramparts.

Caoimhe O'Brien of The Green Room said the move was 'completely unfair'.

'Parking is already limited in Park Street. My customers can't park outside the shop because of a loading bay, so this will put them off coming here,'

'It's a joke - they didn't consult with anybody,' said Daniel Holland of Holland's Hardware. 'It was done in the middle of the night, the same as the taxi ranks.'

Dundalk BID also entered the fray stating that they were 'completely unaware of this and there was no consultation with businesses in Park Street. We are disappointed that a prime on-street parking space has been allocated in this way. While we understand and support car sharing, we feel it should be done in a way that would not impact on the key assets for Dundalk street traders.'

However, they later said that they had been informed by Louth County Council that the Go Car space at park Street would be relocated before the launch of the new scheme in September. 'It is important to remember, that this location outside Mackins Leathergoods is still a regular on-street parking space and that normal ticketing charges will apply,' they stated. 'The BID company also welcomes any positive outcomes that the new GoCar Ireland scheme will bring to the town centre.'

The local authority had issued a statement saying that the parking locations were selected to service transport hubs, residential areas and town centre trading areas and that they would 'facilitate an engaged review with all stakeholders before the pilot ends'.
A meeting with representatives of the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) has taken place in the Cooley Mountains to discuss what can be done to address the arrows recently spray-painted onto rocks along the mountain ridge between the Long Woman's Grave and Carlingford.

NPWS staff met with local IFA representative Matthew McGreehan, local hillwalker Derek Watters and Helen Lawless from Mountaineering Ireland. NPWS Regional Manager Padraig O'Donnell expressed concern at the scale of the vandalism and the fact that it has been recurring for a number of years.

The area affected is part of the Cooley Mountains Special Area of Conservation. A number of rare mosses and lichens have been identified on the rocks in the area.

It was agreed that it would be 'desirable to remove the arrows from locations where their visual impact is severe', where they may mislead walkers or where the arrows are creating new lines across fragile boggy terrain. The NPWS agreed to carry out an assessment to determine if there is a way to remove the paint without exacerbating the ecological damage.

If a solution is agreed upon, the removal of the paint may be carried out by local hillwalkers with the permission of the landowners, in the meantime people are asked not to attempt to remove the arrows as further damage could be caused. The NPWS representatives also confirmed that they would follow up with the Gardai.
The searches carried out by the PSNI for the murder weapon used to kill Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe have concluded, the Argus understands, with any items found during the operation, on land outside the town of Crossmaglen, being sent for forensic examination.

The searches, reported on Saturday by the Irish Daily Star's crime correspondent, Michael O'Toole, went on for a number of days last week and involved PSNI officers using metal detectors in a bid to find the sawn-off shotgun used to murder D-Gda. Donohoe in 2013.

In addition, it has also been revealed that the man suspected by investigators of pulling the trigger during the incident at Lordship Credit Union, has had his period of detention increased.

The criminal, who is from the North, is currently in a jail in the South for an offence unconnected to the death of the detective, but his period of detention was set to run out in a matter of weeks.

Detectives feared that the thug, who has strong ties outside Ireland, would leave the country as soon as his period of custody expired.

But sources have now told The Star that the criminal has now been hit with even more jail time, which means he will be in custody for months to come, and at a sensitive time in the investigation.

Sources say the Garda team investigating their colleague's brutal murder are now making real progress in the case - and are increasingly confident of bringing the five-strong killer gang to justice.
Dundalk Tourist Officer, Sinead Roche is delighted with the increase in visitors calling to the tourist office in Market Square

Louth's tourism industry has seen bumper growth, with 85,000 more visitors making their way to the wee country every year since 2010, the Argus has learned.

Louth's vital role in the Ireland's Ancient East campaign has been a key part of that growth, and according to Dundalk Tourist officer Sinead Roche, the town's status as the last border hub on the east coast has proved a real attraction.

'We have definitely seen a real increase in the number of people calling into the tourism office, and there has been a huge rise in telephone and social media enquiries as well.'

'Primarily people want to know where they can stay in the Dundalk area, and the sights and attractions we have on offer. Fortunately we now have so much to offer visitors in this area that I can simply say 'what would you like to do during your stay here?'

From the opening of the new Scenic Carlingford ferry, which Sinead explains has led to a rush of enquiries at the tourist office, to the greenway at Carlingford, she highlighted a welcome boost to the county's tourism offering in recent years.

The latest CSO numbers on overseas visitors to Ireland have certainly backed up the tourist officer's optimism.

Louth TD Fergus O'Dowd TD released figures indicating County Louth has seen an increase in overseas visitor numbers of up to 85,000 since 2010, nearly doubling the figures from 2010.

'The first seven months of this year have seen over five and a half million visitors to our shores. Overall trips to Ireland were up 3.1% compared to the same period in 2016,' said the Louth TD.

''Indeed, these figures show that the number of North American and European visitors continues to surge ahead, despite a slight drop in numbers from the UK.'

He added 'Regionally, the numbers employed in tourism continue to grow with an increase of almost 7,000 in the border region since 2011. These jobs are vital to our economy and communities. We have seen a number of great successes in tourism over the last number of years with Ireland's Ancient East proving enormously successful here in our area.'

With tourism being hailed as a key driver in the economic recovery, both nationally and locally, Sinead adds that measures such as the retention of the 9% VAT rate on tourism services have been significant in helping our tourism sector weather the recession.

'We have seen a big increase in the number of French and German visitors to this area, with the numbers from Sweden and Italy up considerably as well.

One of the main attractions for this area is hill walking. There is such an incredible range of options in this cross border area, with the Cooley's and the Mournes.

Mention of the border brings her to the much debated 'Brexit', something which she says is still very uncertain.

'We are still in a position where no-one knows exactly how it is going to impact. But it is a fact that anywhere in the world where there has been restrictions placed on the movement of people has not been good.'

She pointed out how Dundalk has become a vital hub for accommodation providers, with many hotels, b&b's and guesthouses booked out at times.

The global phenomenon 'Air B'nB' has also begun making it's mark locally, which she adds only served to highlight the growth in demand for places to stay.

'There is a need for more accommodation in this area, and we are all looking forward to the new Imperial Hotel, and any developments at the former Fairways Hotel.'

The loss of the major conference facility at the Fairways has been notable, says Sinead.

'The reality is that business tourism is worth much more to the local economy than leisure tourism, so we need to tap into that growth area.'

The considerable growth in visitor numbers in Louth, and indeed across the country, has been against the odds, given the fall off of UK visitors as the sterling continues to weaken.

UK visitors have represented one of the largest tourist groups over the last few decades.

Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, Brendan Griffin confirmed last week that moves were afoot to combat the falling numbers from Britain.

'I recently met with Tourism Ireland officials in London and explored options to make Ireland even more attractive to the potential UK visitor. The depreciation in Sterling is the major factor involved but economic developments within GB are also having an impact.

'Whilst both Failte Ireland and Tourism Ireland are taking steps to assist the industry in this regard, a fundamental factor in continuing to attract British visitors at this stage is value for money. It is therefore important now more than ever that the industry retains its competitiveness.'
Early Years educators and providers, who are members of the SIPTU Big Start Campaign, made a presentation on the serious challenges facing their sector to Monday's monthly meeting of Wicklow County Council.

Sinead Plunkett, from the Tus Nua Montessori and Playgroup in Bray, said: 'I love my job working and educating young children but I want to be properly valued for the work I do. I think we need to come together in the sector to ensure that we are respected and recognised.'

SIPTU Organiser and Big Start Campaign co-ordinator, Shonagh Byrne, said: 'The Early Years sector is in crisis. Our key message is that to deliver quality Early Years services for our children, we need to attract and retain qualified and competent educators in the sector.'

She added; 'This can only be achieved if the qualifications and experience of these professionals are recognised with appropriate pay and conditions of employment. This will require adequate investment by the State.'

Low pay remains within the sector remains a major issue.

'We need investment over a sustainable period of time to make it a decent sector to work in. Low wages forces many highly qualified individuals to leave the sector,' continued Ms Byrne.

Susan Carey, who runs a Montessori in St Peter's NS, also addressed the elected members.

The Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Scheme is proving difficult for childcare providers. A deluge of paperwork takes up much of their time. In the summer months many staff members have to sign on, which was described as 'degrading' by Sinead Plunkett.

Cllr Joe Behan read out a notice of motion which received the whole backing of the council. The notice was in the names of Cllr Behan, Cllr Steven Matthews and Cllr Tom Fortune.

'Members of Wicklow County Council are calling on the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Katherine Zappone to increase investment in Early Childhood Care and Education to ensure that children have access to quality, sustainable and affordable childcare with decent pay and conditions for the professionals in the sector.

'The Council recognises that early years educators are hugely dedicated professionals who care for and educate children during the most crucial years of their development. However, the Irish Government lags behind other European countries in terms of how much we invest in early years education. As a result, many qualified professionals are struggling to make ends meet and providers are struggling to stay open. We call on Minister Zappone to put children first and invest in quality childcare and early years education,' said Cllr Behan.
Greystones will compete in the over 7,000 population category of the competition

Greystones has been nominated to represent County Wicklow at the Bank of Ireland National Enterprising Town Awards in the over 7,000 population category.

The competition, sponsored by the Bank of Ireland, aims to assist in the promotion of enterprise by bringing business and community together. Greystones 2020 does just that.

The group was established in 2016 and aims to bring all sectors of the community together to improve amenities, and to maximise the potential of Greystones.

Greystones 2020 is working closely with the local authority to increase the local economy, protect existing business and employment and support the creation of new enterprise and positive development.

Cathaoirleach of Greystones Municipal District and Member of the Greystones 2020 Executive, Cllr Gerry Walsh, said: 'With Greystones quality of life, sporting amenities, cultural activities, infrastructure, available housing, transport links, educational attainment and above all the enterprising spirit of its community, Greystones is in with an excellent chance of going all the way in this competition.'

Chairperson of Greystones 2020 Grainne Mc Loughlin, said: 'Our group recognises the entrepreneurial spirit in Greystones and has come together to nurture, promote and support all types of enterprise from the self-employed to companies thriving in the town employing many.

'By working with the local council, businesses, voluntary and community groups, we aim to have Greystones recognised as a place that is in the business of supporting business.

'There are some many exciting developments happening, including the Greystones 2020 flagship project; Greystones Railway Station, the new Whale Theatre, the Marina and its clubs, our world class sporting amenities and facilities,' she said.

The judging panel will visit Greystones on September 26 to receive a presentation, engage with the members of Greystones 2020 and the Municipal District Team and visit some of the nominated projects and businesses.
Three people arrested in connection with the murder of Patricia O'Connor have been released from custody, but files are to be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.

The 61-year-old grandmother was reported missing on June 2, and her partial remains were located more than a week later at sites in the Dublin Mountains.

On Saturday a 73 year-old-man was arrested in County Meath and two women, aged 19 and 38, were arrested in Dublin.

The three were detained at Bray and Wicklow Garda Station under the provisions of Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984.

A man previously arrested and charged in relation to the case is currently before the courts.

Ms O'Connor lived in Rathfarnham and only returned to Ireland last year after a period of time living over in the UK.

She was first reported missing on June 2. Her partial remains were located more than a week later after being recovered form a ditch on the Military Road.

Other remains were discovered scattered in a 30km area across the Wicklow Mountains including a human head and arms in a plastic bag.
Slane Distillery - home of Slane Whiskey - opened to the public on September 2.

Bringing together the whiskey leadership and barrel-raising art of Brown-Forman, founded by the Brown family from Kentucky in 1870, and the historic lands and heritage of the Conyngham family, resident in Slane since 1703, Slane Distillery is the shared vision of these two families, and is the first distillery Brown-Forman has built outside of the US.

Lawson Whiting, Brown-Forman Executive Vice President and Chief Brands & Strategy Officer, Henry Conyngham, the Eighth Marquess Conyngham of Slane Castle, and his son Alex Conyngham welcomed guests to the opening evening's celebrations, where tours of the new visitor experience and tastings of Slane Irish Whiskey were available.

"Brown-Forman brands are founded on heritage, quality and authenticity, and there is nowhere as real as this beautiful and historic part of Ireland," said Lawson Whiting, Brown-Forman executive vice president and chief brands & strategy officer.

"This is a great coming together of two historic families - the Browns of Kentucky and the Conynghams of Slane. Opening the doors to the distillery gives visitors an insight into how and why this new Irish whiskey brand has developed," said Henry Conyngham, the Eighth Marquess Conyngham of Slane Castle.

"As Slane Distillery, and the home of our Slane Irish Whiskey, gets ready to open its doors to the public, it is uplifting and inspiring to see our shared vision of having a distillery become a reality," said Alex Conyngham.

Other Brown-Forman guests included John Hudson, VP, Innovation Director and Eric Donninger, VP Director of Homeplace Operations, who met and mingled with many of the country's tourism industry leaders and partners, local business owners and key hospitality, tourism, bar and hotel players.

Guests enjoyed delicious canapes designed by leading gourmet caterer, Eunice Power, showcasing ingredients from the lush Boyne Valley in which Slane Distillery is set, including Slane Whiskey-cured salmon on blinis with award-winning Lannleire Honey, mustard and dill, Tullyard Farm black pudding croquettes with Lakeshore mustard cream, sliders from The Farmer's Daughter,

Iona Farm beetroot cakes with cardamom cream, handmade oat cakes with Bellingham Blue and new season pears poached in red wine, and arancini with Boyne Valley blue cheese.

Guests also enjoyed a selection of three cocktails specially created to introduce Slane Irish Whiskey to this discerning group, including Songs of The Fields named for Slane's own Francis Ledwidge and his many poems, a cocktail based on Slane Irish Whiskey with elderflower liqueur, fresh lemon juice and mint, topped with hand-pressed apple juice. Also featured was the River Boyne Fizz, inspired by the winding River Boyne that includes Slane Irish Whiskey, honey from the Boyne Valley, fresh lemon juice, served tall and spritzed with tonic water and a refreshing aroma of mint sprig, and the Over Fork Over, a classic-styled cocktail inspired by the Conyngham family's coat of arms featuring Slane Irish Whiskey, Oloroso sherry, orange bitters, honey, with a pinch of sea salt and zested with fresh orange peel.

Local musicians The Wednesday Gang kept guests entertained with their unique acoustic approach to many genres, followed by the folk'n'roll, harmony-based Morrissey and Marshall as the headline act.

Slane Distillery opened to the public on September 2. The hour-long tour and tasting is available to book 7 days a week on www.slaneirishwhiskey.com and costs 18 for adults (18+, ID required), 11 for youths (6-17), free for children 5 and under, 16 for seniors (65+, ID required) and 16 for students (18+, ID required). Visitors booking a tour must be 18 or over, and children under 18 must be accompanied by an adult. All tours are 20% off until 30th September.

Slane Irish Whiskey is available in Ireland now for 33 RRP (750ml). For more information about Slane Distillery and Slane Irish Whiskey, please visit www.slaneirishwhiskey.com. Visit Slane Distillery at www.facebook.com/slanewhiskey, on Twitter @SlaneWhiskey and Instagram @SlaneWhiskey.
To Hell in a Handbag comes to the TLT on September 7 at the Droichead Arts Centre, Stockwell Street. It is written and performed by Helen Norton and Jonathan White.

It is a subversively funny new take on an Irish theatrical classic - The Importance of Being Earnest - a play behind the play. A tale of blackmail, false identity and money, as two minor characters plot and scheme behind the scenes while the main play continues elsewhere.

The show received ecstatic reviews and audience feedback during its sell-out run at the Dublin Fringe Festival. As well as writing the piece Helen Norton plays Miss Prism while Jonathan White is the vicar.

Story of the bravery of women in WWII

The Woman is Present: Women's Stories of WWII is a creative reimagining of moments from the lives of women during WWII recalling stories of bravery, sacrifice and love amidst the horror of war, as women stood up against fascism and totalitarianism and refused to accept oppression.

Each performance is followed by a post-show discussion with the artists and invited guest speakers to explore powerful women's stories in history and themes of gender equality and peace in Ireland, Northern Ireland and internationally. The performance goes on national and international tour to Ireland, Northern Ireland and Germany from September 2017 to February 2018.

The local event is on Thursday 28 September at An Tain Arts Centre, Crowe Street, Dundalk, 1pm. Booking: 00353 (0)42 9332332, www.antain.ie

Arthritis classes in Ballsgrove

Louth Branch of Arthritis Ireland host Seated Exercise class every Monday at 7pm in Ballsgrove Community Centre. Aqua Aerobics every Tuesday at 8pm and Thursday at 12pm in Energie Fitness Centre. Walking Group meets at 11am every Saturday in Oldbridge House. Suits all levels. If you would like further information on any of the above please call Marie on 087 6336580 or Eric on 086 8311882.
Sinn Fein in Drogheda will hold its annual commemoration to Ireland's twenty two hunger strikers this Saturday 9th September.

The Commemoration leaves Bolton Square at 2.30pm and will march to the monument at Grove Hill.

In attendance this year as in previous years will be the Rising Phoenix Republican Fife band from Dublin and local colour party.

As in past commemorationsa the speech will be given by a former republican prisoner. This year the speech will be given by Sile Darragh who was the IRA Officer in Command in Armagh Gaol during the hunger strike in 1980 and until her release in 1981.

The commemoration will be chaired by Cllr David Saurin and all are welcome to attend.

Positive Ageing

A host of events will take place in Drogheda to celebrate Positive Ageing Week in September.

This includes a day trip to Carlingford on September 26th, Back to the Future - Older People to Stepping Stones Community Creche Drogheda for Story Telling and Knitting Lessons on Wednesday 27th, Bingo in Bru on the 28th, Beauty Day in the town centre on the 29th and the annual Tea Dance in the Westcourt Hotel on October 1st.
The latest figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show that almost 70% of commuters in County Louth travel to work by car. In April last year, 32,993 working commuters in County Louth (68.6%) travelled to work by car, compared to 65.6% of commuters nationally.

The figures show that just 6.3% of people in Louth commuting to work used public transport, compared to 9.3% of working commuters nationally. In Louth, a further 2.2% cycled, while 10.3% of those who commute to work walked there. Commuting times rose in every county and the national average commuting time in April 2016 was 28.2 minutes, up from 26.6 minutes in 2011.

Commuters in Louth had an average travel time of 27.7 minutes, compared to 26.3 minutes in 2011. Almost one in three Louth commuters (29.9%) were travelling for less than 15 minutes, compared to 32.3% in Census 2011.

Nationally, 22.9% of commuters had a commute of under 15 minutes. In April 2016, 13.7% of commuters in the county spent an hour or more travelling compared to 12.3% in 2011, while 4.6% had a commute of over 90 minutes, as against 4.1% five years previously.

Of those who travel too and from work every day, 28,431 of them work within the county while another 7,020 travel into the county for work every day.

A further 11,852 people commuted to work outside the county, giving a net loss of 4,832 in the working population. A large majority of these travel to Dublin each day, either by bus or train. Among primary school children, 57.4% travelled to school by car, while 26.8% (4,352) walked. The percentage travelling by bus fell to 9.5% from 11.4% in 2011, while 1.1% of students cycled to school.

The number of secondary school children walking to school increased by 270 to 2,278, accounting for 22.2% of secondary students, while 40.8% went to school by car, compared to 40.9% in 2011. One in three (32.2%) travelled by bus, while 0.9% cycled to school.
Local TD Imelda Munster has called on the Minister for Housing to take action to resolve the private rental crisis in County Louth.

Speaking after the release of the latest rent report from property website Daft.ie, Deputy Munster said Louth has seen the highest rent increase in the state in successive Daft.ie rent reports and rents in the county have increased by 67.7% from their lowest rate.

'Rents are spiralling and it is simply unsustainable,' she said. 'The fact that Louth has seen the biggest increase, yet again, should be setting off alarm bells for the Minister for Housing. His continued inaction on this issue is causing severe hardship for the people of Louth.

'This is an emergency. It is a crisis. It is outrageous that the Minister for Housing and his colleagues in government are not lifting a finger to resolve this situation. I have raised this issue on numerous occasions. I have asked the government on many occasions to designate Drogheda as a Rent Pressure Zone but I have been met with a brick wall. Drogheda has the highest population of any town in the state and government continues to ignore us.'

Deputy Munster said she has written to Minister Eoghan Murphy asking him to include Drogheda in the Rent Pressure Zones which would restrict the rise in rent increases to a maximum of 4% annually.

'I hope he heeds my call, unlike his predecessor Minister Coveney. Including Drogheda as a Rent Pressure Zone will not solve the problem, but it might help to slow down the rate of increase in rent in the county, which has been spiralling out of control for some time now,' she said.
Staff from Aldi's Bunclody store were delighted to announce that local charity Touched by Suicide is the latest to benefit from the store's 2017 Community Grants Programme. The staff decided that Touched by Suicide were worthy recipients as a result of their tireless work in the local community providing essential services and supports for people who have lost a loved one to suicide.

Aldi Bunclody's Charity Champion Corinne Doherty was delighted to present a cheque for 500 to Michael O'Neill of Touched by Suicide which she hopes will help them to continue the excellent work they do for people right across the county.

'The work and services provided by Touched by Suicide are crucial to the local Wexford community. We are delighted our Bunclody store employees have chosen to support the organisation,' said Group Buying Director for Aldi Ireland, Finbar McCarthy. 'Giving back to the local communities our stores serve is something we are passionate about and we are proud to support the vital work done by charities and not-for-profit organisations across County Wexford. Last year we helped 120 charities and not-for-profit organisations nationwide and we hope to surpass that number this year.'

Each Aldi store nominates a Charity Champion each year and worthy causes are picked to benefit from the Community Grants programme by the staff after adhering to strict criteria. Touched by Suicide were delighted with the donation and thanked everyone at Aldi Bunclody for recognising their good work.
UN Veterans from all over the country arrived in Enniscorthy recently for the fifth annual wreath laying service to honour members who had died both in the line of service and in the intervening years. The poignant service took place at the UN Veterans Association monument in the grounds of the 1798 Centre which carries the names of over 90 members who served their country on various peace keeping missions abroad.

The event began with a parade through the car park and down to the monument before local representative Michael O'Neill, who himself served in the Lebanon and Cyprus, welcomed everybody and thanked them for being there. There were representatives present from almost all 30 posts across the country, including three posts in County Wexford, with people travelling from as far as Galway to be there. Also present were family members of UN Veterans who had passed on, either at home or abroad, whose names take pride of place on the monument.

Chairman of Enniscorthy Municipal District Cllr Keith Doyle welcomed everyone to Enniscorthy and spoke of the importance of honouring the memory of those who had bravely represented their country with distinction in volatile countries across the globe. Also present was Vice President of the UN Veterans Association Willie Gilbert who also addressed the some 60 strong crowd. Fr Billy Swan then gave a blessing before the tricolour was produly hoisted and everyone retired to the 1798 Centre for some food and a catch up, many of them not having seen each other since last year's event.

This could be the last year that the annual wreath laying takes place at the 1798 Centre, as it is expected that by next year's event, the monument will have made the move across to the Presentation Centre as big changes are afoot for the Arnold's Cross tourist landmark which opened back in 1998 to mark 200 years since the battle.
Caroline Giles from Swords is one step closer to winning the coveted title of Irish Spectacle Wearer of the Year after being chosen as a semi-finalist in the 35-44 age category.

Following a nationwide search, Caroline beat off stiff competition from hundreds of entries and is one of eight semi-finalists who will compete to represent Ireland at the Grand Final in London on Tuesday, 10 October at 8 Northumberland Avenue.

Store Director at Specsavers Swords, Sean Douglas, alongside team members Lila Buckley and Natasa Ribic presented Caroline with her prize, which consisted of a Specsavers eyewear voucher to the value of 215, a framed certificate and a bottle of champagne.

Speaking at the prize-giving, Caroline said: 'Having been bullied throughout my early childhood for wearing glasses, I had for many years, seen my glasses as a negative rather than a positive. Thankfully, I have learned to wear my glasses with pride, have grown to love them and they are my now one of my ultimate accessories. I've many styles of glasses and I love to style them with different looks. They are a part of me, my character, my style and my personality.'

Store director at Specsavers Swords Sean added, 'We are delighted that a customer from our store has been chosen as a semi-finalist in the 35-44 category and we would like to congratulate Caroline on this achievement. She wears her glasses with style and confidence so is a worthy winner in our eyes.'

The Irish semi-finalists were chosen from all over the country across five age categories; 16-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-59 and 60+ - and one lucky winner will receive a makeover before mingling with celebrities at the star-studded Grand Final in London, which celebrates specs wearers from the Republic of Ireland and the UK. Competition ambassador and former Girls Aloud star Nadine Coyle will announce the overall Spectacle Wearer of the Year who will win 12,000 in cash and 1,000 to spend on eyecare in Specsavers.

Now in its 22nd year, the competition raises valuable funds for Our Lady's Children's Hospital Crumlin with 1 donated to the charity for each eligible entry received.
A new round of We Can Quit, a free smoking cessation course organised by the Irish Cancer Society, is set to start in Balbriggan this month.

Recent analysis shows that around half of the total participants in the overall programme had quit smoking at the end of the 12 week course.

The new courses will begin in the Castleland Community Centre at 7pm on Wednesday, September 20

Women from the local area are invited to sign up for the programme, which is a free course which supports women in joining forces to quit smoking together.

Rachel Burke, Community Cancer Prevention Officer at the Irish Cancer Society said: 'We Can Quit has gone from strength to strength since it was set up in 2013. Over the last 4 years, approximately 300 women from Dublin and Cork have completed the 12 week course and, more importantly, our analysis of the programme and its quit rate shows that it has very real and tangible results.'

'Giving up smoking is really hard, and we understand that, but We Can Quit offers women support and encouragement to get through it.

'Through the programme, women can access a friendly and supportive network of like-minded women who really understand what they are going through, and often they stay in touch and continue meeting up long after the course has finished."

For more information on We Can Quit or to sign up for your free place on the programme, contact Rachel Burke on 01 2316 669 or rburke@irishcancer.ie or register online at www.cancer.ie/we-can-quit.
Fingallians are being urged to get involved in the National Tea Break campaign this month, which is being organised by Suicide or Survive (SOS).

The Irish charity is dedicated to breaking down stigma associated with mental health across the country, through a range of innovative and life changing programmes that provide tips, tools and techniques to allow everyone to take ownership of their own mental health and wellness.

Throughout September, Suicide or Survive is inviting people in Fingal and across the nation to start a conversation about mental health, and the easiest way to do this is over a cup of tea!

The National Tea Break offers the perfect opportunity to gather friends, family, colleagues and the community together to host a Communi'Tea Break in Fingal be it at work, in school, local community halls or sport centres, or at your own kitchen table.

As well as raising awareness about mental health, each tea break will raise much-needed funds which will assist Suicide or Survive in continuing its work and programmes.

World Suicide Prevention Day is this Sunday (September 10), and many mental health charities mark this day through different initiatives. Rather than just focusing on one day in the year, SOS aims to make the whole month of September a time to talk about mental health, and so break the stigma which prevents people from seeking help.

To take part in the National Tea Break, and host your own Communi'Tea Break in Dublin, simply register and download a pack from www.suicideorsurvive.ie, then all that's left is to get the community together, pop on the kettle and get chatting.

The National Tea Break pack includes everything needed to host a successful tea break. All funds raised will be invested in bringing Suicide or Survives' unique programmes and services to communities across the nation.

SOS was founded by Caroline McGuigan in 2003, born from her own personal experience of anxiety, depression and suicide attempt, and her road to recovery.

To find out more about Suicide or Survive and the upcoming National Tea Break, visit www.suicideorsurvive, or call 1890 577 577 to speak to a SOS representative.
Naul Community Council is reaching out to its neighbouring communities to present a united front in building rural tourism.

To that end, the community council is to host a Rural Tourism Information Evening on Tuesday, September 12 at 7.30pm at Naul Community Centre.

The organisation wants to hear from anyone with a rural tourism business idea and invites everyone along to hear from experts in the field.

Some of the ideas up for discussion include self-catering accommodation, glamping, trails and outdoor activities, heritage projects and more.

Speakers will include experts from Fingal County Council, Fingal Leader, Fingal LEO, White Finn Construction and Teagasc.

According to a spokesperson for Naul Community Council, the village is already working with its neighbours in Ballyboughal, Oldtown, Balscadden and Rolestown on developing rural tourism.

Naul Community Council now wants to open the discussion up further to neighbouring communities in places like Clonalvy, Ardcath and Bellewstown and make this a cross-border effort that extends beyond Fingal.

The community council is using a Teagasc booklet on developing rural tourism as its template for moving forward and hope that this information evening will provide some inspiration and spark ideas that will bring more tourists to the rural villages of Fingal.

All are welcome.
Anthony Cooney played hurling for his native Waterford and as his countymen prepared for the All-Ireland Final, he was settling into his new job at the helm of the Fingal Dublin Chamber as the organisation's new CEO.

Anthony might hail from the Deise but for more than 30 years he has lived in Dublin and for most of that time, he has been a resident of Fingal.

With vast experience in the business world, Anthony turned down a chance to move to the UK some time to stay in Malahide and a few years later, he finds himself leading the business community in Fingal at a challenging but exciting time for the region.

He told the Fingal Independent: 'This opportunity came along and it just appealed to me. It is a bit left-field from where I was historically. I was really in the cutting edge commercial side of business life. People like me, are that busy in the commercial world and in the buying and selling with a business doing 50 million a year but I also did a lot of networking and that was one of the things we specialised at in our business with our customers and prospective customers and it's the one thing we did impeccably well. We were always networking and that's what this job is all about.'

The new chamber CEO added: 'It (his new job) had all of the things I would have done in the past in terms of networking, putting businesses together, making contacts, making those relationships grow to the benefit of everybody and I have always been very interested as well in things like infrastructure and social issues.

'I see things like cycleways that you have from Clontarf to Sutton and that brings a lot of business with which is really good for the smaller guys like the guys with the pubs and the coffee shops and the restaurants and hotels. That's really good and important for them. Then there's the bigger infrastructure projects like Metro North which is a real issue that is live and current.

'There is Metro North and Dublin Airport Central - there's lots going on around here in Fingal and we have some big businesses here.'

Anthony is stepping into the big shoes left by retiring CEO, Tony Lambert who was at the helm of the organisation for more than 20 years and while he is conscious and appreciative of the legacy left behind by his predecessor, he is equally determined to be his own man.

He said: 'What I've got to do is now is bring my own style to it. The previous incumbent was Tony Lambert and I never met Tony. He really started this from scratch and it's come to where it is and now we need to move it on again and that's what I'm at.'

Commenting on the health of the organisation he is taking over, Anthony said: 'It's in pretty good shape. Obviously when people come into any position, they have their own ideas and I have mine.

'Now, it's very early days yet - I'm four days here. But the fact of the matter is there are things here that I would change and things I probably wouldn't change. We are lucky in that we have some very good staff here.

'One of those people is here a very long time and would know everything about the place which is invaluable to any business or any organisation. But I think it's a place that's in pretty good shape and there is a platform there you can build on, of that there is no doubt.'

So what are his own priorities for the chamber? The new CEO said: 'My priority is to reach out to the business community. We need to get a lot more members in here and there are a lot more members available to us.

'We need to project the image of the chamber in a very positive light. We need to maximise our social media presence and we need to make ourselves very relevant to our members and act on their behalf and not be afraid to act on their behalf.'

He added: 'We have got to dramatically grow our membership. A lot of people probably don't know we exist. Our social media presence is important in that and our website in our ability to reach out to people and our story and why people should become a member - that's critical and crucial to any representative organisation like ours.'

The new chamber CEO has identified a number of infrastructural projects that are crucial for the economic future of the region, including Metro North, better public transport around the economic hubs in Dublin 15 and continued expansion of Dublin Airport.

He explained: 'There's Metro North which is a huge infrastructural project which will have a massive benefit for Fingal.

'There's transport issues around some of the industrial hubs in Blanchardstown and Ballycoolin and Damastown - there are clear and significant transport issues out there and we need to see how we can act on the business there so they can get their staff in and out of their place of employment rather than everyone sitting in a queue in the car.

'There's lots of things to do and I think we can bring a lot of the clout of the chamber in behind those issues along with our national and local representatives in a positive fashion.'

On Metro North in particular, Anthony said: 'I think Metro will be a huge benefit to Swords as a town. Swords is bigger than a lot of towns around Ireland. I'm from Waterford and Swords is probably as big as Waterford, if not bigger - it is certainly growing faster that somewhere like Waterford. There are a lot of people coming here and we need better access for them.

'Access is the key to most things in infrastructure. But as well as being a great benefit to Swords, I think for Dublin Airport it is a must. We are at this point in time the only capital city in Europe without a train line to our main airport and that's a problem.'

Staying on Dublin Airport, the new chamber CEO is firm in his view that the planned new runway must go ahead. He said: 'The runway is a big project. The airport has to grow - it is growing now but there are certain constraints, infrastructural constraints and that is why they built T2 and why the Metro is coming in but if they don't have the runway capacity to bring the planes in it is going to severely limit the economic viability of all of this area.

'Dublin Airport is probably 4% of the GDP of this country - it's a massive economic hub and we have it right on our doorstep so we have to enable them and give them the facility and the tools to grow, otherwise it will have a knock on effect around the area here.'

The newly-appointed chamber CEO also supports the development of the Dublin Airport Central office project which he said will bring jobs and investment to the area.

He will be working on all of these issues with another new man on the job in Dalton Philips who was announced as the new daa Chief Executive in the very same week as Anthony was appointed to head the chamber.

On that appointment, Anthony said: 'It was only announced yesterday. Dalton Philips is joining and from the chamber, we wish him all the best. He's got a significant role to play in the economic future of Fingal as a region and he's got an impeccable track record. I don't know him but I know some of the businesses he worked in so I know some of the guys he would know. We will get to know him and we will be reaching out to him as soon as he comes in.'

As CEO of the chamber, Anthony will also be working closely with Fingal County Council, an organisation he had high regard for and working with the council, local businesses and other stakeholders, the chamber CEO is optimistic about Fingal's future despite looming challenges like Brexit.

He said: 'I want to see Fingal as being one of the foremost economic areas in the country, if not the foremost. We have everything going for us. We do need some infrastructure and I think we can justify it. The numbers of people in Fingal and the numbers of people migrating into Fingal will justify it and I think, apart from Dublin Airport and the other big industries we have, we are lucky to have someone like Fingal County Council who are as good and efficient as they are, to fight and provide on our behalf.'
Changes to certain routes have been confirmed

After representations made by a local Labour TD, the NTA has held discussions with Dublin Bus in an effort to better co-ordinate the timetable of the 33B bus service, with the train services at Donabate Train Station.

The NTA has written to Deputy Brendan Ryan TD, replying to an email from the Labour TD requesting better co-ordination between rail and bus services on the peninsula.

The NTA told Deputy Ryan that it had discussed the issue with Dublin Bus and was awaiting new timetable proposals fro the route from the bus company. The NTA said it expected those proposals 'shortly'.

Deputy Ryan explained why he raised the issue with the NTA, saying: 'There has been an ongoing problem with lack of coordination in Donabate of the train service from Dublin City with the 33B bus service to Portrane.'

He said: 'You may be aware that Portrane is about 3km from the rail station in Donabate. It is roughly a 36 minute walk.

'On a recent visit to Donabate I was waiting at Donabate rail station for a train to Skerries.

'I witnessed myself the bus travel across the bridge towards Portrane at 11.55pm.

'The train from the city arrived six minutes later at 12.01,' he said.

Deputy Ryan added: 'I have been pushing the NTA, Irish Rail and Dublin Bus for years in relation to this issue as a relatively simple timetable adjustment would greatly benefit residents in Portrane who will be able to coordinate their public transport options to get home.

'I look forward to this matter being resolved in the coming months and I will keep in contact with Dublin Bus and the NTA in order to bring it to a successful conclusion.'
Now that a preferred site for the biosolids storage facility has been named, Irish Water is embarking on a public consultation process on its plans.

The preferred site will now undergo further environmental studies and assessments as part of the preparation of a planning application for the project. An Environmental Impact Assessment Report (EIAR) and Natura Impact Statement (NIS) will be prepared for the project. Irish Water has published an EIAR/NIS scoping report and is now seeking feedback on the proposed assessment methodology. A six week consultation has begun and runs until Tuesday, October 10, 2017.

Announcing the third stage of public consultation for this project, Donal O'Connor, Project Manager, Irish Water said: 'The population of Dublin and the surrounding counties of Kildare, Meath and Wicklow is growing. So too is economic activity in this region. Having adequate wastewater treatment infrastructure in place is vital to support residential and commercial development and to protect the environment.'

Mr O'Connor added: 'Irish Water is focused on a strategic solution for greater Dublin to effectively and efficiently manage our wastewater treatment requirements. We are investing in the wastewater infrastructure across the region to meet the growing demand. The new Regional Biosolids Storage Facility will be a key part of our future wastewater infrastructure within this region.'

An open day, where the project team will meet the public, will take place on Tuesday, September 12, at The White House Hotel, Newpark, Co. Dublin, from 1pm to 8pm.
A local Fianna Fail senator has called on the Government to release a report that is not two months delayed that will clarify the future of Rush Garda Station.

Rush Garda Station has been widely rumoured to be one of six stations to re-open as part of a Department of Justice pilot scheme but the report detailing the move is now two monts late.

Fianna Fail's Seanad Spokesperson for Justice, Senator Lorraine Clifford Lee has said that the delay in publishing the Garda interim report without any explanation or indication of when it can be expected is completely unacceptable.

The interim report carried out by the Garda Commissioner on the reopening of Garda Stations across the country was due to be published over two months ago.

Commenting on the delay, the Fingal-based senator said: 'The unjust closure of Rush Garda Station in 2012 continues to leave people in the locality fearful especially as crime and anti-social behaviour have become a growing concern in recent years and months.

'A visible presence is needed to deter would be criminals, target crime-prevention, remove fear from the locality and enhance support for the victims of crime.

'I have consistently emphasised the critical need to consider the re-opening of Rush Garda Station to fill the void in policing across North Dublin.'

Senator Clifford Lee said: 'People are understandably worried that a proposal to re-open Rush Garda station will not form part of the Commissioner's report. If this Government is listening then there would be no clearer message than the re-opening of our local Garda station.

'We simply cannot be forced to continue to tolerate a situation where people feel vulnerable and unsafe in their homes particularly as our urban area continues to grow. Fianna Fail remain committed to restoring a Garda presence in communities across Ireland and in Rush in particular.'

The local senator concluded: 'We have been repeatedly assured by Government that this report would be published, yet it is now two months overdue. Minister Flanagan needs to reassure people that the report on reopening a number of Garda stations is finally published and acted upon as a matter of urgency.'
One of the now unemployed cleaners at the centre of the dispute at St Cronan's National school has taken her appeal to the Archbishop of Dublin who is the patron of the school.

Lorraine Reilly wrote to Archbishop Diarmuid Martin and told him: 'I have been a cleaner in St.Cronans SNS for 18 years. I have worked under three principals and numerous Boards Of Management. Our Parish priest Fr. Paul Thornton is currently the chairperson of our Board Of Management.'

Lorraine explained that last November, the cleaners' jobs were outsourced to Ailesbsury Cleaning and initially, the transition went well. She explained: 'The transition was OK. Various meetings took place with cleaners, Siptu, Ailesbury and representatives of the Board of Management.'

Lorraine explained that the situation changed this summer: 'The Board of Management decided in June to no longer use Ailesbury.'

A company called AFM took over.

The cleaners thought that their jobs would be safe but that turned out not to be the case.

Lorraine said: 'I am now unemployed. I have two children and a house to run. I am currently struggling financially as fresh air does not feed my kids nor pay my bills. I gave 18 years of good service and hard work to the school.'

She explained she felt 'hard done by' by the parish she had spent her life supporting and she appealed for the Archbishop's help in resolving the dispute.
The cleaners' dispute that resulted in a public protest at St Cronan's Senior National School in Swords, last Thursday as children returned to school, is being supported by Siptu.

Speaking to the Fingal Independent, Siptu Organiser, Paul Hansard, said: 'These Siptu members were employed directly by the school for many years prior to a management decision last November to outsource the cleaning function to a contracted company.

'Ailesbury Services was the company initially contracted to provide cleaning services for the school. This company contracted our members to carry out the work. However, a new cleaning contractor, AFM Ireland Ltd, engaged by the school management to provide cleaning services has not transferred our members' employment.'

Mr Hansard said: 'The workers have been informed by AFM Ireland Ltd that it will not employ them and the board of management of the school seems to have absolved itself of responsibility to these loyal workers.'

The union representative added: 'For many years, the five workers involved in this dispute ensured that the school was clean for pupils and teachers.

'These workers have between them over 63 years of service.

'SIPTU is supporting their protest and calling on all the parties involved to engage in discussions in order to ensure these workers are treated fairly and reinstated to their jobs immediately.'

Clare Daly TD attended the protest on Thursday and said: 'Parents, teachers, and other school staff were shocked to see hard working women who gave decades of service cleaning the school being treated like this by management in Cronan's Senior NS to the point that they were forced to stand at the gates with placards.' She added that these women who previously were directly employed by the school should either revert to that position or be employed by the new contractor.
Almost 2,500 people from Wexford commute to Dublin every day for work, making the model county among the top 10 feeder towns for places of employment in the capital city and suburbs.

Figures on Commuting in Ireland released by the Central Statistics Office show that 2,490 workers get up early to make the daily commute to Dublin City and suburbs every morning, returning home late in the evening after a day's employment. The county is 9th in a list of top 10 feeder towns with Fingal sending the highest number of commuters into Dublin (28,641) and Kildare in second place (28,121).

A total of 19,008 people resident in Wicklow commute into Dublin each morning. The Wexford commuters are among 130,447 non-resident employees in Dublin who travel to the city for day-time work, helping to create a Dublin working population of 512,449, an increase of 9% on the Census of 2011.

The Wexford to Dublin commuter figure is also reflected in an increase in the time that people spend travelling to work. In April 2016, 11.7% of County Wexford spent an hour or more travelling compared to 10.4% in 2011 while 4.9% had a commute of over 90 minutes, compared to 4.3% five years earlier.

There are 37,372 Wexford residents employed in the county; 3,156 people commute to the county for work; 8,447 go to work outside the county, giving a net loss of 5,291 in the working population.
As they considered their options following the Leaving Cert results, local students were invited to Gorey Library recently for a public information evening run by the library and Gorey Credit Union.

Tom Brennan of Gorey Credit Union said the evening was organised to provide information on student loans and options. 'Every year, we have many parents and students who don't know where to start - or what to do,' he said. 'It can be such a stressful time, we wanted to assist where we can.'

Students borrowed almost 1 million from Gorey Credit Union last year, taking out over 300 loans. Tom gave a presentation on the requirements for taking out a loan.

The evening also included a talk by Seamus Whitney, of Whitney Career Guidance, and by Jeanette Davies, deputy head of campus at Carlow IT, Wexford campus.

'This was a successful evening for all, and we will do it again next year,' said Tom, thanking Gorey Library, and the speakers.
Leas Cathaoirleach, Cllr.Norma Moriarty of the South and West Municipal District, along with Kate Kennelly, Arts Officer at Kerry County Council were in Killorglin this week to mark the launch of Culture Night

It's set to be a night of song and dance around South and West Kerry later this month as locals gear up to enjoy Culture Night, which is set to take place on the night of Friday September 22 from 5pm to 11pm.

Culture Night, a brainchild of the Kerry County Council Arts Office, is a night that sees a number arts and cultural groups across Kerry hosting free events for the public to enjoy.

Killorglin will certainly be one of the places to be on the night, with a wide range of poetry, song film exhibitions taking place across the town throughout the night.

Starting early in the morning, poets and songsters will be on hand at Library Place to keep locals entertained locals as they travel to work from 8am to 9am and are organisers are encouraging everyone to grab and coffee and take a moment to listen to their favourite poem or song.

In Annascaul art, music and song will feature at Joan's Cafe Nua on Main Street while in Dingle Aine Ni Chiobhain will mix it up with an event at Nelliefred's on Spa Road which includes live music, art, demo making and sean-nos.

A life drawing session will also be included with participants capturing other Culture Night events out and about the town and displaying them as an exhibition back at Nelliefred's at 9pm.

In Kenmare, poetry, song and dance will feature at the Carnegie Arts Centre and is presented by the Clann Na Farraige Writer's Group. In Cahirciveen the Library is hosting a Traditional Irish Cooking session at 7pm while at 7.30pm a Creative Ireland Kerry Youth Choral Open Session is inviting young people to get involved in singing by welcoming everyone to join them for a sing-a-long at the Daniel O'Connell Memorial Church in the town.

"It promises to be a lovely evening with something for all; it is also a great opportunity to visit one of our many cultural venues in South & West Kerry if you haven't been in a while," says Kate Kennelly.

For more information on Culture Night events in Kerry, visit www.culturenight.ie/kerry.
She was the dazzling beauty who electrified Kerry at a time of deep gloom in the aftermath of the Second World War and who went on to rub shoulders with Hollywood royalty before a career in one of the most glamorous professions of the era.

Lisselton is in mouring for its beloved Violet Magnier (nee Nolan) this week after she passed away peacefully in Dublin's Beacon Hospital on Sunday, aged in her late 80s. Some of the community's older citizens remember with deep affection the excitement Violet brought them and, indeed, the whole county and country in 1947 when she took part in an early incarnation of a famous contest that's still running.

That was the year the 18-year-old Violet became Ireland's Dawn Beauty Queen, the precursor to the current Miss Ireland title - her looks and winning personality charming the country at a drab time post-Emergency.

The prize took her far from the gloom - right the way to Hollywood where she took part in screen tests, and met the likes of Gregory Peck, Bing Crosby, Maureen O'Hara (a former Dawn Beauty Queen) and even Lassie! Violet dined with O'Hara at the actress's home and kept in contact with the Irish-American Bing Crosby long after coming home.

At home she embarked on a steller career as a 'ground' hostess at Rineanna - now Shannon Airport. Her task: escorting VIPs and dignitaries onto their awaiting aeroplanes.

Violet never forgot her roots, coming back to Ballybunion with daughter Millie for the month of June each year. Ms Nolan was predeceased by her husband Billy Magnier and is survived by daughter Millie, brother PJ and wife Mila (Ballybunion), her nieces and nephews and their families.

Her Funeral Mass takes place in St Patrick's Church, Skerries, at 11am on Thursday.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar's visit to Kerry on Friday came with the announcement that the Government has approved funding for the construction of 56 new social housing units in Tralee.

11.6 million will be provided to build the development at Lohercannon in Tralee, the Taoiseach announced on his arrival to the county - in what was his second visit to the Kingdom since becoming the leader of the country - on Friday.

He described the project, which is set to finally allow the authority beging tackling the waiting list of the county in a substantial way - as 'significant'.

"I am delighted to be here in Kerry to announce the approval for this project which will see 56 new social housing units for Tralee," the Taoiseach said.

"Unlocking supply across the country, including for the people of Kerry, is the key to overcoming many of the housing challenges is the key to overcoming many of the housing challenges we face and delivering schemes such as this is a key priority...as we work to tackle the housing shortage and to deliver 47,000 social houses under our Rebuilding Ireland Programme."
PRO for the Kerry Hotels Federation, Tom Randles said a survey which cites year-on-year improvements since 2011 in the hotel sector for the south west region does not accurately reflect challenges faced by Kerry hotels in that period.

The 'Crowe Horwath Report' revealed hotels in this region shared in the positive experience of the hotel industry nationally.

Among the findings are that average room rates in the south west grew by 10 percent to 93.25 in 2016 - up from 84.71 in 2011; year-on-year growth in occupancy levels are also up from 66.8 percent in 2015 to 68.9 percent in 2016, while a 'profit per room' figure of 10,272 for 2016 is also cited.

However, Mr Randles said while the survey is a highly reputable one, it does not accurately reflect the decimation of the industry in Kerry since 2009 where steady growth did not return until 2015-'16.

"From around 2009 to 2015, Kerry hotels would have been in a loss making situation. The survey's 'profit per room' figure is a very loose one and is not accurate in the sense that it doesn't take any account of costs. Hotels in Kerry would have had increases in costs all the way from 2011 to 2016 and from a gross point of view this needs to be looked at in a little more detail," said Mr Randles.

He added that Kerry is still a challenged region which suffers from seasonality, while Brexit is also an emerging threat to the sector.

"2018 is going to present new challenges to the industry and I would add that the 9 percent vat-rate is vital to the industry. Kerry is hugely impacted by tourism, both directly and indirectly, which makes it very important to the county," he added.

Meanwhile, Brendan Griffin TD, Minister of State at Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, said he welcomed the publication which provides a major insight into the health of the hotel sector.

"I must stress the critical importance of maintaining the overall competitiveness in our tourism industry at this time. Giving the tourist good value for money has been key to the turnaround in tourism performance and we cannot risk damaging our reputation in this regard," said Minister Griffin.
North Kerry is cautiously accepting assurances its re-established water supply will flow for the week of the Listowel Races when an influx of thousands of punters is set to place even more pressure on the system.

Taps ran dry in Listowel, Moyvane, Knockanure, Lisselton, Finuge, Lixnaw on Saturday evening as two pumps at the waterworks in Scartlea to the west of Listowel failed, impacting roughly 4,000 people at its peak.

Irish Water and Kerry County Council had restored the supply by Tuesday, but the sudden loss of water over the weekend has left businesses and homeowners deeply concerned ahead of what will be the single most important week of the year for the economy of the area.

"It has deeply undermined confidence but we're accepting their assurances for now that there won't be a problem for the rest of the week," head of the Listowel Vintners' Gerry Behan of the Horseshoe Bar told The Kerryman.

"It's back now (Tuesday) with better pressure than before, but it won't be much good having good pressure this week if there's none at all next week. Had it happened a week later it would have been an utter disaster for Listowel and North Kerry," he said.

"Businesses would have closed this weekend but for local councillors Aoife Thornton (FG), Jimmy Moloney (FF) and Mike Kennelly (FG) keeping us informed of all the developments on an ongoing basis, the Listowel fire brigade for topping up water for businesses regularly and the Civil Defence. They were all brilliant."

Race director Pat Healy said the company would be keeping a careful eye on the situation. "Look, we accept the assurances we're getting but obviously it's a concern for a race track. Horses need lots of water the whole time and it would be a serious worry if we thought we couldn't provide it. If anything further should happen this week we will be putting a plan in place that would see sufficient water tankers coming onto the Islands."

Kerry County Council and Irish Water engineers are still investigating exactly what caused the simultaneous failure of two pumps at the Scartlea station this week. It's thought debris may have been sucked into the system causing the failure of the main pump with a second, back-up pump failing to kick in just as it was needed.

Dromin Water Treatment Plant to the north of the town ran dry in the absence of the feed from Scartlea, situated on the River Feale to the west of Listowel.

A 'Drinking Water Incident Response Plan' was put into operation on Sunday by Irish Water and the Council as supply was deemed 'critically low'. Under the plan vital facilities like Listowel Community Hospital and nursing homes were kept supplied as the rest of the region's consumers ran dry.

Water tankers and stations were in place by 2.30pm on Sunday at six locations in the region, with homeowners queuing at the main hub in Listowel's Square for bottles supplied by Irish Water from a cache it had sourced to deal with a similar emergency in Co Louth earlier in the summer.

Irish Water informed The Kerryman on Tuesday that it is continuing to carry out work at the Scartlea site to 'enhance the security' of the local water supply - as Race Week draws near.

Temporary repairs were completed to one of the pumps on Sunday night, which came on stream after midnight. 'Substantive repairs are required to the second pump and are ongoing under the direction of Irish Water', Kerry County Council said on Tuesday meanwhile.

Fianna Fail Cllr Jimmy Moloney called on Irish Water to prioritise its plan to replace the ageing infrastructure in the Scartlea pumphouse. "I'm informed there will be two pumps working by the end of the week with a back-up system in place. We're just fortunate it happened when it did and not during the Races. I'm calling on Irish Water to prioritise its plan to upgrade Scartlea now." Irish Water says it is looking at this project with renewed urgency.
Sister Orla Treacy, a Loreto Sister based in South Sudan, has been named as the 2017 recipient of the Hugh O'Flaherty International Humanitarian Award, and will pick up her prize at a Saturday, November 4, ceremony in the Killarney Avenue Hotel.

Now in its 10th year, the award commemorates Killarney's Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty, who helped save some 6,500 lives in Nazi-occupied Rome during the Second World War. The prize honours people of organisations displaying the same humanitarian ideals and principals as the Monsignor.

Sister Treacy was chosen by an independent panel having been nominated by Martin Rosney from her home county, Wicklow. A daughter of former Kerry County Secretary Blaise Treacy, she moved to Tralee in 1973 and attended the town's Presentation Convent, before moving back to Wicklow at the age of six.

Professed as a Loreto Nun in 2005, she has since established a Mission in a massive diocese offering very little secondary level education. She has spent 11 years in Africa, experiencing both the trauma of civil war and South Sudan becoming an independent state. Today, she is the Principal of Loreto Secondary School in Rumbek.

"At a young age and with a bright future ahead of her in Ireland, she decided instead to dedicate her life to those in need in what was already then a virtual war zone," Hugh O'Flaherty Memorial Committee Chairperson Jerry O'Grady said. "Sister Orla possesses and displays the bravery and humanitarian commitment we have come to associate with the recipients of this Award."
The devastated family of Alan Lucid, whose body is to return to Ireland today (September 6), have praised neighbours, friends and relations for their support this week following the tragic death of the 28-year-old Ballyheigue man in northern Holland.

Mr Lucid, originally from Knockane, Ballyheigue, had lived in Cork for some 10 years, where he was in the process of completing a research Ph.D. in Cereal and Beverage Science in University College Cork.

He was at an international symposium on Lactic Acid Bacteria in the Dutch seaside town of Egmond aan Zee last week, but came into difficulty while swimming off the coast of the town with other symposium attendees in the early hours of last Thursday morning.

His colleagues raised the alarm, but efforts by medics to resuscitate him after he was washed to shore at around 3.20am failed, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

His body has been in a hospital in the city of Alkmaar in recent days. His father Jack and brother John travelled to Holland on Friday in the company of Mr Lucid's girlfriend Lisa O'Sullivan and her mother to receive details of the tragedy from Dutch authorities.

His body is to return to Ireland today (Wednesday) and he will be waked in Hartnett's Funeral Home in Ballyheigue between 6pm and 8.30pm tonight. His burial will take place after tomorrow's Mass, scheduled for 12pm at St Mary's Church, Ballyheigue.

Mr Lucid's cousin, Listowel Municipal District Cathaoirleach Councillor John Lucid, this week spoke of "a lovely young man" from a family deeply involved with Ballyheigue GAA, and added that the locality is in shock at what has happened.

"He hurled for Ballyheigue and Kerry at under-age level before he moved to Cork around 10 years ago, and that was typical of his family, who are at the heart of Ballyheigue GAA," Cllr Lucid said. "After receiving national school education in Glenderry, he attended secondary school in Tralee CBS before going on the complete his undergraduate degree in Cork Institute of Technology, where he really excelled. You couldn't have a conversation with his mother, Bridie, without her mentioning Alan's achievements. He was the youngest of eight children and they were all very proud of what he had achieved both inside and outside of the academic field.

"We're all devastated here in Ballyheigue, but his parents and siblings have spoken very highly of the way that their friends, neighbours and relations have rallied around them in recent days. People are good, and it's at awful times like this that you find that out."

Alan Lucid is remembered by parents Jack and Bridie, siblings Gerard, John, Paudie, Mary, David, Michael and Nicky, and girlfriend Lisa.
Tiernan O'Reilly and Cpl Gareth Lloyd at the information evening in the Wexford barracks

Men and women from County Wexford who are interested in joining the Army Reserve attended an information evening in Wexford town barracks where they learned about the level of training and commitment involved.

Reservists are part time soldiers who come from all walks of life and have diverse backgrounds and skills. They include barristers, solicitors and plumbers, airline pilots, construction workers, engineers, doctors and farmers.

Volunteers bring private skills which can be used by the defence forces for the benefit of the army.

The Army Reserve is currently recruiting in County Wexford and the closing date for online applications is this Wednesday, September 6 at 23.59 pm. Go to http://www.military.ie/en/home where you can join the Army or Naval Reserve.

Applicants must be over 18 and under 35 and must supply the names of two referees who may not be relatives.

Current or former members of the Permanent Defence Forces or Reserve Defence Forces can be nominated as a referee.

The Wexford Reserve is E Company 3rd Infantry Battalion, based in the Wexford Barracks, which is called on to support and augment the parent unit.
Last year the Glens Centre in Manorhamilton produced a play with inmates from Loughan House Prison in nearby Blacklion, County Cavan with celebrated playwright and actor Seamus O'Rourke.

A project funded by the Irish Prison Services, the production called 'The Boat' was co-written by the prisoners. The play was a resounding success, attended by the most senior people in the Irish Prison Services.

Afterwards the prisoners held a question and answers session in which they got to talk about their needs. This was just one of the many interesting projects taken on by the Glens Centre.

The theatre is the cultural heart of Manorhamilton and beyond with a catchment area stretching from Sligo to Donegal, Cavan to Fermanagh.

Officially opened in 1995 by the then president Mary Robinson, the rendered and restored Methodist Church took on a new life as a thriving arts centre. Many high profile names have thread the boards here. Damien Dempsey is a regular each season while The Abbey Theatre choose to perform here too. Other musicians include Duke Special, The 4 of Us, Lisa Hannigan and Dervish.

Some like Cathy Jordan have recorded albums in the studio here and there are big plans to expand the facilities as part of the renovations as Ray Duffy explains: "We have recorded 27 records so far. The plan is to include a new studio in the auditorium which will be a state of the art recording studio of international standards that any body could use.

"We are also looking at the concept of being able to live stream events online to a very high quality. Lots of Leitrim people live away and this would allow Irish centres in Manchester or London for example to live stream our shows."

As well as staging gigs and plays, the Glens Centre is increasingly moving towards a space where arts are developed.

Susan McKay says: "We like to develop new work in the Glens. Plays have started here and toured nationwide. We run writers workshops and drama groups and we want to collaborate with more local artists on shared ventures."

As an arts venue, the centre is not afraid to think outside the box. For culture night this Friday, 22nd September, there will be a performance of the Stolen Child by the Rabbit's Riot Theatre company at the Glencar Waterfall. That performance will run alongside workshops for children and promises to be something special.
Calry Local History Society brought together past pupils from Dunally National School for one last reunion at the former school premises.

The school was built in 1885 on land donated by the Wynnes of Hazelwood and the stone was donated by the Parkes' of Dunally House. The school closed in 1989 and, along with Calry NS, was amalgamated into St Patrick's School, Calry.

Over 110 past pupils from all over Ireland and abroad (England, Germany, Kenya) attended the event on Saturday 26 August.

An exhibition of photos dating back to the 1920s and other items of memorabilia such as old school books, teaching aids, and roll books were on display. Former primary teachers who taught at the school were also present and received an award in recognition of their loyal contribution to the school community.

Old friendships were renewed, stories were exchanged, and a thoroughly enjoyable day was had in a relaxed atmosphere by all who attended. The school reunion was one of five events organised by Calry Local History Society during National Heritage Week 2017
Sligo is mourning the loss of one of its true champions this week, the passing of former Sligo Champion Editor, Seamus Finn at the age of 70.

His funeral Mass takes place this morning (Tuesday) at St Joseph's Church, Ballytivnan followed by burial at Sligo Cemetery.

The late Mr Finn, who retired as editor after 37 years in 2009, was fondly recalled this week by former and present staff members.

Tributes have been paid far and wide to Mr Finn whose time as editor has been widely acknowledged as one of campaigning journalism at its finest.

He always had Sligo and its needs upper most in his thoughts and words and played a significant role in pressing for major projects for the county such as a new hospital, and the Inner Relief Road.

He also campaigned through his editorials and his well read On the Line column for a kidney dialysis unit at Sligo General Hospital and many other worthy causes. Other fundraising campaigns he backed included overseeing a restoration fund for the Holy Well at Tobernalt which had been ravaged by winter storms.

Mr Finn joined the editorial staff of the newspaper as a reporter on October 28th 1968 and became editor in January 1973 at the age of 24, the youngest editor in the country at the time.

Mr Finn had nearly 41 years service with The Sligo Champion and has been one of the longest serving editors in provincial journalism.

During his long career he was a regular contributor to RTE Radio Sport's Sunday evening programmes for many years and to RTE television's Today/Tonight and other radio and television current affairs programmes, particularly at general election times. He was a member for a period in the 1990s of the film censorship board.

He helped instigate the County Sligo Person of the Year and Community Awards in association with Sligo Mental Health Association which ran for 25 years.

He launched a major campaign in conjunction with the One Mind Club to raise funds for the dialysis unit at Sligo General Hospital and was responsible for the production of The Sligo Champion Sesquicentenary supplement which marked the 150th anniversary of the paper in 1986.

This was a major project stretching to over 100 pages which he worked on for over 12 months, compiling, researching, and editing the material along with writing most of it. The supplement has become a collector's item.

Mr Finn along with a small group of journalists and IDA personnel, travelled to South Korea to visit Saehan Media plants prior to the opening of their Sligo factory in 1991. Amongst the many major stories he covered during his time with this newspaper was Pope John Paul's visit to Knock in 1979 and the murder of Lord Mountbatten at Mullaghmore in August, the same year.

He was also a member of many local committees aimed at promoting the town and county. He was on the committee which founded the Queen Maeve Festival and Warriors' Run in 1985. Mr Finn, apart from his journalistic endeavours also had a keen interest in photography.

He was a former Chairman of Sligo Camera Club and was a highly regarded landscape photographer whose work has featured in many exhibitions. He was regarded as a black and white specialist and had his own darkroom at his home in Ballinode.

He was a member of the NUJ during his 41 year career and was a former Chairman of the North Connacht Branch NUJ. He will be fondly remembered for his many hardhitting editorials, particularly around issues which affected the town.

Indeed, his editorials surrounding the issue of the re-homing of ex-prisoners at Kazelain, Finisklin won him the overall national award in the Connacht Gold/John Healy Memorial Journalism Awards in June 2004. He was cited for coverage which took the heat out of the controversy and resulted in its acceptance in the community. He also won the local print award for his endeavours on the subject.

Seamus passed away peacefully at North West Hospice last Friday afternoon. He was predeceased by his wife Sheila six years ago and he his survived by his sons, Seamus and Kevin, sisters Eileen, Mary and Breege, grandchild Ilan, daughters-in-law Keren and Ester, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, nephews, nieces, relatives, neighbours and friends. He reposed at the Foley & McGowan funeral home on Monday evening from 6pm until 8pm with funeral to St. Joseph's Church, Ballytivnan on Tuesday for funeral Mass at 11am with funeral proceeding afterwards to Sligo cemetery.
He's been involved in the radio scene in Sligo for upwards on 30 years and now he's broadcasting to the World from his own house.

Eddie Gillespie, who lives in Rathbraughan Park, has had an unwavering loyalty to local broadcasting, a love which goes back to the days of pirate radio in the 1980s.

A plan to establish a hospital radio service didn't get off the ground for Eddie but now he's found his niche once more - through the internet. Garavogue Radio is broadcast by Eddie from his home from 10pm to midnight from Monday to Thursday and is steadily building up a listenership.

"It's slowly getting off the ground and interest is building all the time. I play all kinds of music and my wish is to develop it more with the introduction of news and current affairs content," he says.

He particularly wants to aid local bands and groups.

It wasn't too expensive to establish and he hopes to be in a position to broadcast adverts soon. There's no need for a licence from the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland as the station is on the net.

"It's a new way of getting a station off the ground," says Eddie.

"Back in the eighties there were many pirate stations in Sligo Town such West side FM and Power FM which were the last before the law was changed to license stations.

There was Sligo Radio too and there was a station even called Ocean FM at that time as well along with Radio City FM plus others at various times.

"A few years ago I got the idea of setting up an internet radio from a friend at work. I was thinking about the idea for a while. I contacted AVA in Finisklin and some time later they came out and set it up for me.

"Garavogue Radio is broadcasting now for over three months. I sometimes broadcast at the weekends as well. The name of the show is the Eddie Gillespie music show. I put the times of the shows up on my facebook page plus the link, phone numbers and also online and the email address for requests and dedications.

"I hope to develop the station more in the future and to help events in Sligo like the various festivals and tourism.

"I was involved in Sligo Community Radio in 2004 as well. In fact, it was my idea to start it with the help of Sligo Leader partnership who played a major role in setting it up

"We got a temporary broadcasting license at the time from the BCI, now the BAI, Garavogue Radio is only a music station at present and like I stated, I hope to do other things with it in the future, like helping community groups and so on," he said. Garavogue Radio can be found at www.garavogueradio.wordpress.com
Communities and individuals across Wicklow are being asked to host a tea morning to raise awareness about mental health.

This September, Suicide or Survive (SOS) will host its National Tea Break campaign across Ireland. The Irish charity, which is based in Shankill, is dedicated to breaking down stigma associated with mental health across the country, through a range of innovative and life changing programmes that provide tips, tools and techniques to allow everyone to take ownership of their own mental health and wellness.

Throughout September, Suicide or Survive is inviting people across Wicklow to start a conversation about mental health, and the easiest way to do this is over a cup of tea. Hosts are urged to gather friends, family, colleagues and the community together to host a Communi'Tea Break, be it at work, in school, local community halls or sport centres, or at their own kitchen table.

To take part in the National Tea Break, simply register and download a pack from www.suicideorsurvive.ie. The National Tea Break pack includes everything needed to host a successful tea break. All funds raised will be invested in bringing Suicide or Survives' unique programmes and services to communities across the nation.
The seven sets of twins who started at Colaiste Bride, Carnew last week: (back) Jake and Rebecca Kenny, Sean and Brian Kenny, (middle) Aoife and Erin Callaghan, Tasha and Ashleigh Farrell, (front) Padraic and Aoife Stafford, Daniel and Brendan Bolger, Emma and Jack Rosney

Seven sets of twins started first year in Colaiste Bhride in Carnew last Tuesday.

The twins, a mix of identical and fraternal twins, will surely be keeping the teachers there on their toes as they get to grips with recognising the students.

The twins came to the school from six different feeder national schools with just two sets coming from the same school.

Brendan and Daniel Bolger are former students of Ballythomas National School; Aoife and Erin Callaghan are former pupils of Ballyellis National School; Ashleigh and Tasha Farrell come to the school from Tinahely National School; Brian and Sean Kenny and Emma and Jack Rosney are former pupils of Carnew National School; Jake and Rebecca Kenny are former students of Greystones National School while the final set, Aoife and Padraic Stafford previously studied at Annacurragh National School.

The seven sets of twins were among the 155 first year students who started at Colaiste Bhride last Tuesday.

Deputy Principal Anna Gahan said that with all the preparatory work involved in getting the school ready to reopen the staff only realised they were taking in seven sets of twins last week.

Last week all the incoming first years and their parents had a 90 minute induction talk in the school so that when it came to starting on Tuesday they were a little familiar with the layout of the school

They also met with their class teacher, year head Anthony Holly, principal Linda Dunne and the Meitheal leaders who will take the youngsters under their wing as they transition from primary to secondary school.

Sadie Bolger, the mother of twins Brendan and Daniel Bolger, said her two lads had got on great on their first day.

'They got on really well. The first day is always a little overwhelming but they managed great. It's lucky that they have each other really although looking at their timetables they don't have all their classes together. They are in separate Maths and French classes as well as two others.

'It would probably have been better to have them in the same classes but maybe they split them up a bit because they are identical so it's less confusing.'

Sadie and her husband Brendan from Annagh are familiar with the routine of Colaiste Bhride as the couple's other two sons, Ciaran and Jason, are currently in Fifth year and Transition Year respectively.

Sadie said it was hard to believe that the school welcomed seven sets of twins last week.

'It's unreal. Not in a million years did I think there would be seven sets starting.'

She said that although Brendan and Daniel are identical they don't use it for mischief.

'They are quiet enough and don't use the fact that they are identical to their advantage at all. Maybe they will in school and one lad will go to one class and the other will go to his but I doubt it!'

She said as well as being identical the boys are very similar in disposition.

'They are very similar in personality as well even though there are some differences. They have the same interests and the same group of friends. They are very close and do everything together.

Sadie said that being told she was expecting twins was a surprise but not as shock as her dad is a twin as his her sister while her brother also has twins as does her brother in law.

The seven sets of twins in Carnew surpasses the six sets of twins who started at Colaiste Choilm on the outskirts of Cork city last week.
Glenealy native Dalton Philips has been appointed as the new CEO of Dublin Airport Authority (daa).

The Wicklow man succeeds Kevin Toland, who is taking up a new role as CEO of troubled baked goods group Aryzta.

Mr Philips, who also once ran the Brown Thomas department store business, will start as the chief executive of the daa, which operates both Dublin and Cork airports, on October 2. He has been appointed for a seven-year term.

'I'm delighted to take up this role after a long career abroad and am looking forward to working with daa's strong and ambitious team as well as all the key stakeholders,' said Mr Philips.

'Our focus will continue to be on providing the best customer experience for the millions of passengers who travel through our airports every year.'

Mr Philips has held a number of senior leadership roles in retail and related industries, working in 14 countries for companies. As well as being Chief Executive of the Brown Thomas Group and Morrisons supermarket, he was also the Chief Operating Officer of leading Canadian retailer Loblaw. He is also a Senior Advisor to The Boston Consulting Group, the global management consultancy.

He holds a BA (Hons) from University College Dublin, an MBA from Harvard Business School and an Honorary Doctorate of Management from Bradford University.

The son of the late Tim and Susan Philips, who previously owned the poultry agribusiness Ballyfree Eggs, Mr Philips has four sisters, Fiona, Scarlett, Georgina and Melanie. Outside of work he loves any number of activities with his family including long distance running, or low and slow cooking on his Big Green Egg barbecue.

Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Shane Ross welcomed Mr Philips' appointment.

'I wish to congratulate Dalton Philips on being appointed as the new CEO of the daa. Mr Philips takes over the reins at a very important time for the daa Group which includes Dublin Airport, Cork Airport, ARI and daa.

'Dublin Airport in particular is experiencing unprecedented levels of growth. In 2016 Dublin was the fastest growing major airport in Europe as its passenger traffic increased by more than 11 per cent to 28 million.

'Growth of this magnitude has implications for the infrastructure at the Airport, in particular delivery of a second parallel runway. This will be a priority for the new CEO, as ensuring the provision of adequate capacity at Dublin Airport will be a key enabler for Irish economic growth for decades to come and is an essential element of national infrastructure. Mr Philips' extensive international experience and skill set will be key in leading the Company into the future.

'I am sure Mr Philips will face many other challenges, including Brexit in his role as CEO of this very important State Company.'
A Greystones primary school at the centre of a nationwide fire safety scandal spent two years trying to get sight of the report which was finally made public by the Department of Education last Friday.

Principal at Gaelscoil na gCloch Liath Rita Ni Thuathail said that the contents of the report came as a shock.

'The school had lobbied the Department to get access to this report for two years. We had made numerous calls and send numerous emails to no avail. We do not know why it was not provided to us, but on Friday we received it just before it was published to the Department's website,' Ms Ni Thuathail said.

The report outlined that the Greystones school was one of five national schools in the country which failed to comply with fire safety standards.

The central issue regarding Gaelscoil na gCloch Liath was the lack of illuminated emergency lighting, which Ms Ni Thuathail said would only become an issue after dark.

An upgrade of the floor structure to meet a 60-minute fire resistance standard is also required.

'We have had a meeting with an official from the Department and a representative from Michael Slattery Consultants and the contractor who will carry out the works. They have taken a look at the building and we have been given a schedule of works. They contractor is currently finishing another job and estimates that he will start work with us in eight to 12 weeks time.'

Ms Ni Thuathail outlined that the works are expected to take up to 12 weeks and that the contractor has agreed to work throughout the Christmas school holidays to get as much done as possible.

'We have released a statement to the parents and we have been in touch with the families since the meeting so everybody is up to date and are happy with the information,' she added.

Local Social Democrats Councillor Jennifer Whitmore questioned why it took so long for the safety report to be completed.

'Whilst I welcome the identification of the safety issues, I would have to ask how it has taken so long for the safety report to be completed and acted on. This issue was raised with the then Minister for Education Jan O' Sullivan in 2015, while the actual fire safety audits were undertaken in early-mid 2016. However, the report has only just been published this week. Most importantly, the works have not yet been completed.

'I find it difficult to understand how such a lengthy delay could happen, particularly when we are talking about a school and the safety of children,' she said.
A lack of inhalers in Wicklow schools could cost a life, according to the Asthma Society of Ireland.

Last week, over 5,600 asthmatic children returned to school in Wicklow and the Asthma Society has warned that every school should have an asthma inhaler in their first aid kit in case of an emergency.

However, two years after a new scheme was put in place by then-Minister for Health Leo Varadkar not a single school has received an emergency asthma inhaler under it. This, combined with a reluctance by some teachers (who are not trained health professionals) to administer asthma medication, is putting children's lives at risk, the society claims.

With one in five school-going children having asthma, CEO of the Asthma Society Averil Power said it is 'inevitable that many schools will have to deal with a student having an asthma attack' at some point.

'Unfortunately, several British children have died from fatal asthma attacks at school in recent years. It is essential we do everything we can to avoid a similar tragedy here,' she said.

'Having immediate access to emergency medication can be the difference between life and death. The previous Minister for Health recognised this when he introduced a new scheme allowing schools and other community facilities to obtain inhalers without a prescription for their first aid kits in case students forget theirs.'

While the society acknowledges that this was a positive move, Ms Power said the society warned Minister for Health Simon Harris last year that the 'excessive conditions associated with the scheme have made it unworkable in practice.'

She said that the answer to a parliamentary question has revealed that not one single school has used the scheme to obtain an inhaler.

'This failure is putting lives at risk and must be addressed by the Minister without further delay,' said Ms Power.

The Asthma Society's Medical Adviser Professor Richard Costello believes Minister Harris should make it clear to teachers that they 'should not be reluctant to give a child reliever medication in an asthma emergency.

'The potential side effects, such as shakiness and increased heart rate, are minor and temporary. Up to eight puffs of salbutamol can safely be taken in one day. Delay in taking medication, on the other hand, could cost a life,' he said.

The Asthma Society has published a range of free resources for schools on its website www.asthma.ie. Parents or teachers who want more information or advice can also speak to a nurse for free by calling the society's adviceline on 1800 44 54 64.
News that the proposed 11 turbine Ballmanus Wind Farm was refused planning permission by Wicklow County Council has been welcomed by local lobby group South Wicklow Wind Action Group (SWWAG).

The council refused permission on Monday, August 28, following more than 300 objections from local residents and elected representatives.

'This is the second time in less than three years that developer ABO Wind Ireland Limited has failed to persuade Wicklow County Council Planners that their proposed development is anything other than the wrong project in the wrong place,' said SWWAG spokesperson Richard More-O'Ferrall.

'SWWAG now calls on ABO to take this second rejection of their project, and the community-wide opposition to it fully on board and terminate the project, just as their Scottish counterparts did in 2010. On that occasion, following refusal by Fife Council of permission for a wind farm ABO announced the abandonment of the project citing its role as a responsible developer and the influence of feedback it had received from the local community,' he added.

Objections to the project were lodged by a large number of community organisations and clubs as well as the local school and Wicklow Uplands Council.

There was also reaction from local TDs this week following the council's decision.

Sinn Fein TD John Brady said that he was happy than 'common sense' had prevailed. He also stressed the importance of the publication of new wind planning guidelines.

'I am glad that common sense has prevailed and I want to commend South Wicklow Wind Action Group and the people of the area who stood up and fought this application for the second time. I hope that this decision will now be accepted by ABO Wind Ireland. While the Government had committed to publish wind planning guidelines within 3 to 6 months of forming a new government, this is yet to happen. In the absence of this, there now needs to be an immediate halt to wind farm planning applications throughout the State until we have appropriate planning guidelines in place,' he said.

'It is intended that Sinn Fein's Wind Turbine Regulation Bill 2016 will be debated in the Dail on its resumption in September. This Bill guarantees a minimum set back distance and ensures there is an open and fully extensive public consultative process,' he added.

Fianna Fail's Pat Casey also welcomed the decision and said that there are now other viable renewable energy options which must be explored.

'I will continue my work with local Councillors and the people of rural South Wicklow to ensure that this further attempt to impose this unacceptable and dangerous development is stopped once and for all. 'The common good of the residents of South Wicklow must be taken into account before we pollute our unique landscape with these industrial turbines. The deep pockets and the media campaigns of multi-national companies such as ABO must not subvert the democratic will of local government and the local people,' he said.

'I am also convinced that a recent High Court decision involving Donegal creates a precedent whereby the County Council should re-insert a minimum distance provision that would by 10 times the height of the turbine which would end this blight on our landscape.

'The people and communities of South Wicklow must be listened to and I will be working to ensure this development is stopped permanently. I welcome and support the motion for this week's meeting of Wicklow County Council that would re-introduce a minimum distance of ten times the tip height of turbines from any house or public building such as schools.'
Wicklow hoteliers have expressed serious concern about the significant drop in British visitors during the first seven months of the year.

The latest CSO figures show a decrease of 6.2 per cent in trips from our largest market compared to the same period last year.

Brian McNamara of the Glenview Hotel, who is chair of the Wicklow Branch of the Irish Hotels Federation (IHF), said the recent recovery in tourism is now under threat as a result of Brexit, with fewer people from Britain visiting Ireland due to the significant drop in the value of sterling and increased economic uncertainty.

He said that Ireland is extremely reliant on visitors from Britain, which accounts for over 40 per cent of overseas visitors.

'Tourism in Wicklow in particular relies heavily on the UK market, so any fall off in numbers gives cause for serious concern. While the drop in visitors from Britain has been offset by increases in other markets, such as North America and the rest of Europe, we are seeing a significant slowdown in tourism growth so far this year. An additional concern is a weakening in visitor numbers from Northern Ireland that is also occurring. These are worrying trends both for the national tourism industry and our local economy.'

So far this year visitors from the rest of Europe are up 4.3 per cent while visitors from North America are up 17.4 per cent, resulting in an overall increase in overseas visitors of 3.1 per cent compared to 12.7 per cent for the same period last year.

'Tourism has received a welcome uplift in recent years which is being felt on the ground here in Wicklow, where it is a major contributor to our economy, generating 154 million and supporting 8,900 jobs. However, we cannot afford to take this recovery for granted.'

Mr McNamara said the growth has been underpinned by a number of direct actions from the Government, including the nine per cent tourism VAT rate and the zero rate travel tax. He said that the tourism VAT rate in particular has been of vital importance to the industry.

'It has brought our VAT rate into line with other European destinations with which we compete and continues to deliver enormous benefits to the exchequer by making us more attractive as a tourism destination.'

While Mr McNamara said that Wicklow hoteliers are optimistic about the potential for continued growth that tourism can bring to the local economy, he said the industry has some pressing challenges which underline the fragility of the sector's recovery.

'As the latest figures show, there is no denying that our industry faces significant risks associated with Brexit. Unfortunately regional tourism is likely to be hit hardest as the UK market has the widest regional seasonal spread of visitors.

'We are calling on the Government to take the necessary steps to protect Irish tourism and to avoid any changes in policy that would weaken our sector's ability to deal with these risks. The nine per cent VAT rate for tourism accommodation, in particular, is vital in underpinning and sustaining the continued growth of the sector.

'The cuts to tourism marketing funding and product development during the downturn should also be reversed. Current low levels of investment cannot be sustained without putting our tourism brand at risk and limiting the capacity of Irish tourism to achieve sustainable growth. A substantial increase in marketing support is required to shore up our UK market and further diversify into key growth markets such as continental Europe and North America. This should be aligned with a greater drive to attract more visitors to the regions and to extend the tourism season.'
Irish model Roz Purcell admitted she was initially denied entry to the Vatican for wearing a shoulder baring top.

The former Miss Universe Ireland (28) is currently in Rome on a romantic weekend getaway with her boyfriend, music promoter Zach Desmond and the pair had geared up to visit Saint Peter's Basilica. Seemingly unaware of the dress code enforced with all visitors, which requires guests to wear long sleeve shirts and long trousers as a sign of respect.

Like most in her situation, she purchased a new t-shirt with Pope Francis' face emblazoned on it and took the opportunity to style it for Instagram.

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Tours for The Vatican also recommend purchasing plastic cloaks at a gift shop to wrap around your shoulders or knees. The best-selling cookbook author has been busy documenting her travels on social media and while her beau has been notably absent from her pictures, one accessory has been taking centre stage in her holiday pictures - a velvet Prada Cahier bag, which retails for 2,200.

The couple have been busy jet-setting during their year and a half romance, travelling to Hong Kong, Paris, New York and now Rome together.

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Roz, who previously revealed she works out 10 times per week, has been keeping up her active lifestyle while away and keeping followers up-to-date with her makeshift exercise regime abroad. She will soon be promoting her second cookbook Half Hour Hero, when it arrives in Irish stores later this month.
Suki Waterhouse attends the Tom Ford show as part of NYFW Spring/Summer 2018 on Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2017 in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

Suki Waterhouse attends Harper's BAZAAR Celebration of "ICONS By Carine Roitfeld" at The Plaza Hotel presented by Infor, Laura Mercier, Stella Artois, FUJIFILM and SWAROVSKI on September 8, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Harper's BAZAAR)

Kim Kardashian attends Harper's BAZAAR Celebration of "ICONS By Carine Roitfeld" at The Plaza Hotel presented by Infor, Laura Mercier, Stella Artois, FUJIFILM and SWAROVSKI on September 8, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Harper's BAZAAR)

Suki Waterhouse attends Harper's BAZAAR Celebration of "ICONS By Carine Roitfeld" at The Plaza Hotel presented by Infor, Laura Mercier, Stella Artois, FUJIFILM and SWAROVSKI on September 8, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Harper's BAZAAR)

Suki Waterhouse attends Harper's BAZAAR Celebration of "ICONS By Carine Roitfeld" at The Plaza Hotel presented by Infor, Laura Mercier, Stella Artois, FUJIFILM and SWAROVSKI on September 8, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Harper's BAZAAR)

Model Suki Waterhouse is seen on September 8, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Marc Piasecki/GC Images)

Suki Waterhouse embraced this year's hottest new trend - hip skimming slits - in New York.

The 25-year-old British model was one of the guests at Friday night's Harper's Bazaar Icons party, one of the most exclusive parties held during New York Fashion Week. In fact, it's such an exclusive party that US President Donald Trump's daughter Tiffany was seeking an invite earlier this week.

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Tiffany (23), who is studying law at Georgetown University, was back in the headlines when her agent emailed the wrong Harpers magazine looking for access to the bash, instead sending it to Harpers magazine, a monthly political publication. Naturally, the recipient shared it on Twitter.

"Hi, I wanted to email on behalf of the First Daughter Tiffany Trump. She is in town for NYFW and attending a few events. She would love to possibly attend the Bazaar Icons party. Please let me know if this could be accommodated," the representative wrote. It's unclear whether the real Harper's Bazaar subsequently got in touch, but the fact that she wasn't pictured at the party says it all.

Last night's gala at Manhattan's Plaza Hotel saw the creme de la creme of the fashion world in attendance with legendary supermodels like Cindy Crawford, Carol Alt and Nikki Taylor mixing with rising stars Kendall Jenner, Jasmine Tookes and Sara Sampaio. And Suki Waterhouse took the opportunity to make her mark in an asymmetrical sheer dress by Swarovski crystals and a a hip-high slit.

Kim Kardashian, who has returned to her platinum blonde wig, turned heads in a metallic Versace dress.
A chalkboard is decorated with messages regarding the approaching Hurricane Irma

Hurricane Irma has brought widespread devastation to parts of the Caribbean, leaving at least 20 people dead.

Now a Category 4 storm, it is expected to hit Florida by Sunday, after approaching Cubas north coast and central Bahamas.

A state of emergency has been declared in Puerto Rico and Florida, as well as Cuba, while relief efforts get under way in already-hit parts of the Caribbean.

President Donald Trump and Florida Governor Rick Scott have issued warnings to the states residents to evacuate as soon as possible, with the former tweeting: Hurricane Irma is of epic proportion.

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Here are some images showing how residents of the southern US state are preparing for potential destruction.

Volunteers help residents fill free sandbags in Miami

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Workers shutter Mangos Tropical Cafe in Miami Beach

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A motorist carries sheets of plywood on top of a car as he leaves Home Depot, a home improvement store

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A sign on the door of a business in Little Havana, Miami, announces it is closing until the storm passes

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Jone Yoon, right, boards up his souvenir shop on Daytona beach, with help from employee Charles Llanton

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A Royal Air Force C-17 Globemaster III aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, is being loaded with Department for International Development aid before being flown to affected areas

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Soldiers book equipment in at the Joint Air Mounting Centre in South Cerney, Gloucestershire, ready to deploy to Operation Ruman as part of the UKs response

St Johns County residents wait for the arrival of sandbags, as storm surges of up to 10ft are expected in some places

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Sand is dumped along a Florida highway next to Flagler beach
Yellowstone County Attorney Scott Twito says a new state law could hamper prosecutors ability to get dangerous drivers off the street.

House Bill 133, which was part of a criminal justice reform package, changed the states persistent felony offender laws so that in order to receive the designation now, a person must be on a third  not second  felony within five years, and one of those felonies must be for a violent or sexual offense. Prosecutors use a persistent felony offender status to argue for a longer sentence, especially in cases when DUI offenders failed treatment programs.

It essentially eliminated a prosecutors authority to use PFO on the serious repeat DUI offender, he said. That poses a threat to public safety.

What you see with these repeat offenders, the most dangerous people, is they just dont stop drinking and driving, he said.

State officials had earlier made tremendous strides in making DUI laws tougher, Twito said.

For instance, a law the state passed in 2013 allows judges to look back 10 years, instead of the previously allowed five years, to add earlier DUI offenses to a persons tally when sentencing. A DUI could count as a persons first if more than 10 years have lapsed since an earlier DUI conviction.

Drunken driving fatalities are down in Yellowstone County, another marker of progress, Twito said.

The bills sponsor, Rep. Nate McConnell, D-Missoula, said the bill wasnt intended to provide a get-out-of-jail-free card, but as a way to address jail overcrowding and budget concerns.

We have too many people incarcerated within the system and that costs the taxpayer a lot of money, McConnell said. We have a serious budget problem in our state right now.

McConnell stressed that the bill received bipartisan support, including from members from Yellowstone County like Sen. Roger Webb, R-Billings, and Rep. Barry Usher, R-Billings. The measure passed 37-12 in the Senate and 90-10 in the House, and took effect July 1.

McConnell is a DUI defense attorney, among other areas he specializes in at his Missoula law office.

What we need to be doing, instead of spending a bunch of taxpayer dollars for putting guys in (the Montana State Prison), is funding successful, proven programs like WATCh, a state treatment program, McConnell said.
On a sunny June day in 2012, a slightly built woman with flowers in her hair took the podium in Oslo's city hall to deliver a speech that left the assembled crowd spellbound. Among the many memorable lines in her address that day was the following: "Wherever suffering is ignored, there will be the seeds of conflict, for suffering degrades and embitters and enrages."

The woman speaking was Aung San Suu Kyi. The occasion was her receiving of the Nobel Peace Prize she was awarded in 1991 while under house arrest as Myanmar's most famous dissident. The Nobel citation praised her "non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights", which the prize committee considered "one of the most extraordinary examples of civil courage in Asia in recent decades".

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Five years on and Ms Suu Kyi's words that day seem deeply ironic as she equivocates on the most recent wave of violence against Myanmar's long-persecuted Rohingya population. The Rohingya, who number around 1.3 million, are Muslims living in a predominantly Buddhist nation. The government refuses to recognise the Rohingya as citizens and has subjected them to restrictions on marriage, employment, healthcare and education.

Tens of thousands of Rohingya have been fleeing to neighbouring Bangladesh in recent weeks as government forces in Myanmar stand accused of carrying out mass killings. Myanmarese authorities claim about 400 have been killed so far, though UN officials in the country have estimated the death toll at more than 1,000. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has described the violence as being on the verge of ethnic cleansing.

Now Myanmar's de facto civilian leader, Ms Suu Kyi's response to the escalation against the Rohingya has earned her the opprobrium of fellow Nobel laureates including Desmond Tutu and Malala Yousufzai amid calls for the once internationally celebrated politician to be stripped of her peace prize.

Hopes that Ms Suu Kyi would bring an end to the repression of the Rohingya when she was elected in 2015 have come to nothing. Last year, the Myanmarese military began a military crackdown against the Rohingya, claiming they were battling "terrorism". Pressed on the subject by BBC journalist Mishal Husain, Ms Suu Kyi was heard to complain afterwards that no one told her she would be interviewed "by a Muslim".

The UN has warned that up to 300,000 Rohingya could stream into Bangladesh as they escape what the Myanmarese authorities have chillingly termed "clearance operations".

"The de facto leader needs to step in - that is what we would expect from any government, to protect everybody within their own jurisdiction," Yanghee Lee, the UN's special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar said this week.

But a post on Ms Suu Kyi's Facebook page blamed "terrorists" for "a huge iceberg of misinformation" about the violence, and tellingly made no mention of the Rohingya who had fled.

In her first spoken remarks about the unrest, Ms Suu Kyi told Asian News TV channel this week that her government was facing its "biggest challenge". In what amounted to an extraordinarily mealy mouthed defence of what is happening in Rakhine - the region where most of the Rohingya live - she said: "It is a little unreasonable to expect us to solve the issue in 18 months...the situation in Rakhine has been such since many decades. Our resources are not as complete and adequate as we would like them to be but still, we try our best and we want to make sure that everyone is entitled to the protection of the law."

Defenders of Ms Suu Kyi insist she has to navigate the tricky politics of a country where the military, once her nemesis and jailer, remains the real power and is allied with Buddhist nationalists, many of whom have stoked anti-Muslim sentiment.

I visited Myanmar in 2014 and interviewed many Rohingya in the miserable, water-logged camps of Rakhine where thousands of displaced Rohingya struggle to survive. "The government is keeping us here like chickens under a net," one man told me. "It is like living in a prison."

I also met radical Buddhists in Rakhine and other parts of Myanmar who supported the persecution of the Rohingya and actively encouraged it. One was the infamous Buddhist monk Wirathu, whose anti-Muslim rhetoric has helped trigger communal bloodshed across the country. Wirathu praised Ms Suu Kyi as the "mother of the nation" and told me she had visited his monastery in the northern city of Mandalay shortly after her release in 2010.

The monks are a powerful political force in Myanmar, given their influence on the population, and Ms Suu Kyi clearly feels she needs them on her side.

In her Nobel lecture, Ms Suu Kyi spoke stirringly about how her fight for democracy in Myanmar was rooted in the conviction that democracy was essential for human rights. The damning question now is whether the erstwhile heroine considers the Rohingya less deserving of those rights.
Rescuers search through the rubble of the partially collapsed city hall in Juchitan, Oaxaca state (AP)

Mexicans have begun mourning some of the 66 people killed after a powerful earthquake and a Gulf coast hurricane hit the country.

Hardest hit was Juchitan, a Oaxaca state city where 36 people died when the magnitude 8.1 quake toppled buildings.

Slow-moving funeral processions converged on one of Juchitan's cemeteries from all directions on Saturday sometimes causing temporary gridlock when they encountered each other at intersections.

The cemetery swelled with mourners and noisy serenades for the dead.

Pallbearers carried the caskets around rubble the quake had knocked from the simple concrete crypts.

Jittery amid continued aftershocks, friends and relatives of the deceased had hushed conversations in the Zapotec language as they stood under umbrellas for shade from the beating sun.

Paulo Cesar Escamilla Matus and his family held a memorial service for his mother Reynalda Matus Martinez in the living room of her home, where relatives quietly wept beside her body.

The 64-year-old woman was working the night shift at a neighbourhood pharmacy when the quake struck on Thursday night, collapsing the building.

"All the weight of the second floor fell on top of her," said her son, who rushed to the building and found her under rubble.

He and neighbours tried to dig her out, but were not able to recover her body until the next morning when civil defence workers brought an excavator that could lift what had trapped her.

Fearful of crime, the pharmacy kept its doors locked, and Mr Escamilla Matus wondered if that had cost his mother the time she needed to escape.

Scenes of mourning were repeated over and over again in Juchitan, where a third of the city's homes collapsed or were uninhabitable, President Enrique Pena Nieto said late on Friday in an interview with the Televisa news network.

Part of the city hall collapsed.

The remains of brick walls and clay tile roofs cluttered streets as families dragged mattresses onto sidewalks to spend a second anxious night sleeping outdoors.

Some were newly homeless, while others feared further aftershocks could topple their cracked adobe dwellings.

Rescuers searched for survivors with sniffer dogs and used heavy machinery at the main square to pull rubble away from city hall, where a missing police officer was believed to be inside.

The city's civil defence co-ordinator Jose Antonio Marin Lopez said similar searches had been going on all over the area.

Teams found bodies in the rubble, but the highlight was pulling four people, including two children, alive from the completely collapsed Hotel Del Rio, where one woman died.

"The priority continues to be the people," Mr Marin Lopez said.

Larissa Garcia Ruiz was grateful to escape with only a broken arm when her house collapsed as she and her family slept.

"I only woke up when I heard screaming," said the 24-year-old cradling her wrapped arm.

Her mother managed to just push the daughters and her blind husband through the back doorway before a massive section of thick wall fell, trapping her.

As Larissa tried to help rescue her mother, another piece of rubble fell, breaking her arm. Other relatives and friends finally managed to release the trapped woman.

All around them people yelled for help that night.

"Nobody helped us," her sister Vicenta said. "Everybody got out as best they could."

In addition to the deaths in Juchitan, dozens more people were killed by the quake in neighbouring states, while t wo others died in a mudslide in the Gulf coast state of Veracruz after Hurricane Katia hit late on Friday.

Mr Pena Nieto said authorities were working to re-establish supplies of water and food and provide medical attention to those who need it. He vowed the government would help rebuild.

Power was cut at least briefly to more than 1.8 million people due to the quake, and authorities closed schools in at least 11 states to check them for safety.

The Interior Department reported that 428 homes were destroyed and 1,700 were damaged just in Chiapas, the state closest to the epicentre.

Just one day later, Hurricane Katia hit land north of Tecolutla in Veracruz state, pelting the region with intense rains and maximum sustained winds of 75 mph.

AP
Storm surges could top 12ft in some areas of the Florida coast (AP)

Almost 500 British troops have been deployed to Caribbean islands ravaged by Hurricane Irma as Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon says the "relief operation is well under way".

But Britons in the path of the historic storm are being warned the "situation could deteriorate significantly" as it bears down on the US mainland.

Having regained its category five status overnight the hurricane has weakened to category three as it batters the north coast of Cuba.

But it is expected to regain its strength before hitting the Florida Keys on Sunday morning with 110 mph winds.

More than six million people in Florida and Georgia have been warned to leave their homes as the National Hurricane Centre warned the storm will bring "life-threatening" wind, with forecasters predicting storm surges of up to 15 ft.

Prime Minister Theresa May said work was taking place with US authorities to ensure British expats and tourists in Florida are protected as millions of locals and visitors flee to safety.

But the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has said its ability to provide assistance to British citizens may be "extremely limited" and advised those affected to make their own contingency plans.

Following criticism of the Government's response to the disaster, ministers announced a 32 million relief package and pledged to double any public donations to the British Red Cross appeal for victims of Hurricane Irma, up to 3 million.

Following a meeting of the Government's emergency Cobra committee on Saturday, Sir Michael said: "The relief operation is now well under way."

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said there are just under 500 troops currently in the region, made up of marines, engineers, medics and specialists, including Army and RAF personnel.

Army soldiers have deployed from RFA Mounts Bay to the British Virgin Islands, while an A400 flight brought a further 50 marines.

An MoD spokesman said: "By the end of the evening there will be well over 100 marines and troops on the island, their priority will be establishing security and law and order before providing humanitarian assistance before the arrival of Hurricane Jose."

Irma claimed at least 20 lives, including at least four in the British Virgin Islands and one each on Anguilla and Barbuda, and left thousands of people homeless when it smashed into the region on Wednesday.

On returning to the UK, British tourists Thanai Caesar and Rochelle Fyffe spoke of their fear, having been in Antigua when Irma struck.

They said the walls of their boarded-up accommodation shook and they could hear things banging against the building outside.

"I feel like the hurricane itself was like being in a nightmare and it was just horrible because the outcome wasn't actually as bad as on other islands, so I don't even want to imagine what the other people felt," Ms Fyffe told Sky News at Gatwick Airport.

"We couldn't sleep the whole night because we were just scared," Ms Caesar added.

Shilan Ghafoor and Hari Jami, who had their honeymoon cut short, called for more help for locals braced for a second storm.

"To be honest it just makes you think because the people who are out there, they're so limited, they don't have enough resources, they don't have enough help and the hurricane has been three days now, four days, and now they're just picking up the pieces, they're anticipating another one," Mr Ghafoor told Sky News.

"I think a lot more should be done from us worldwide to help them out."
Soldiers help children to get on a truck as residents are evacuated from their coastal town after an earthquake struck off the southern coast, in Puerto Madero, Mexico. Photo: Jose Torres/Reuters

At least 60 people were killed after a massive 8.2 magnitude earthquake, one of the biggest recorded in Mexico, struck off the country's southern coast late on Thursday, causing cracks in buildings and triggering a small tsunami.

The quake was apparently stronger than a devastating 1985 temblor that flattened swathes of Mexico City and killed thousands; this time, damage to the city was limited. It is believed to be the strongest quake in 100 years.

A number of buildings suffered severe damage in parts of southern Mexico. Some of the worst initial reports came from the town of Juchitan in Oaxaca state, where sections of the town hall, a hotel, a bar and other buildings were reduced to rubble.

Alejandro Murat, the state governor, said 23 deaths were registered in Oaxaca, 17 of them in Juchitan.

A spokesman for the emergency services said seven people were also confirmed dead in the neighbouring state of Chiapas. Earlier, the governor of Tabasco, Arturo Nunez, said two children had died in his state.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake had its epicentre in the Pacific Ocean, 87km southwest of the town of Pijijiapan in the impoverished southern state of Chiapas, at a depth of 70km.

Rescue workers were employed throughout the night in badly affected areas to check for people trapped in collapsed buildings.

Windows were shattered at Mexico City airport and power went out in several neighbourhoods of the capital, affecting more than a million people. The cornice of a hotel came down in the southern tourist city of Oaxaca.

The tremor was felt as far away as neighbouring Guatemala.

The quake triggered waves as high as 2.3ft in Mexico, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said, and authorities evacuated some coastal areas.

President Enrique Pena Nieto said the tsunami risk on the Chiapas coast was not major.

"We are alert," he told local television.

More aftershocks were likely, the president said, advising people to check their homes and offices for structural damage and for gas leaks. The USGS reported multiple aftershocks, ranging in magnitude from 4.3 to 5.7.

Classes were suspended in most of central and southern Mexico yesterday to allow authorities to review damage.

There was no tsunami threat for American Samoa and Hawaii, according to the US Tsunami Warning System. The national disaster agency of the Philippines put the country's eastern seaboard on alert, but no evacuation was ordered.

People in Mexico City, one of the world's largest cities, ran out into the streets in pyjamas and alarms sounded after the quake struck just before midnight.

Helicopters buzzed overhead a few minutes later, apparently looking for damage to buildings in the city, which is built on a spongy, drained lake bed.

"I had never been anywhere where the earth moved so much. At first I laughed, but when the lights went out, I didn't know what to do," said Luis Carlos Briceno (31), an architect.

In one central neighbourhood, dozens stood outside after the quake, some wrapped in blankets against the cool night air. Children were crying.

Liliana Villa (35), who was in her apartment when the quake struck, fled to the street in her nightclothes.

"It felt horrible, and I thought, 'this (building) is going to fall'," she said.

State oil company Pemex said it was still checking for damage at its installations.

Mr Pena Nieto said that operations at the Salina Cruz Refinery in the same region as the epicentre had been temporarily suspended as a precautionary measure.
Hurricane Irma is driving toward Florida passing the eastern end of Cuba in this NASA's GOES-16 satellite image taken at about 0800 EDT on September 8, 2017.

Gun owners in Florida have vowed to respond to Hurricane Irma by shooting at the storm.

Tens of thousands of people have joined an event advertised on Facebook to tackle the hurricane currently bearing down on Florida, in an attempt to show Irma that we shoot first.

Irma, the most powerful Atlantic Ocean hurricane in recorded history, has already wrought destruction in the Caribbean, killing at least 22 people.

Ryon Edwards, who created the event on Facebook, said he had no't expected to generate such a large response, and that he started the event out of "stress and boredom".

A combination of stress and boredom made me start the event. The response is a complete and total surprise to me," the 22-year-old told BBC Newsbeat.

"I never envisioned this event becoming some kind of crazy idea larger than myself. It has become something a little out of my control."

Read More

Some people appear to have taken the plan seriously, including one Facebook user who posted an image of himself holding a gun, along with the message: Im not going to sit around and wait, Im going straight into the eye.

Expand Close Florida residents await the arrival of sandbags / Facebook

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Whatsapp Florida residents await the arrival of sandbags

Others responded to it with scepticism, with one user writing: Isn't this just going to make the weather madder?

Another Florida resident has made an event encouraging people to shoot flames at the storm.

It's time we took a stand against this big bully! This our home nobody drives us out of our own territory, states the event description.

Join me in this fight as we shoot flames at Hurricane Irma and dissipate her on the spot. She will burn.

More than five million people  a quarter of the state's population  have been ordered to evacuate ahead of the storm. The Carolinas and Georgia have also declared emergencies.

The Category 5 storm had maximum sustained wind speeds of 160mph on Saturday, according to the US National Hurricane Centre.

Expand Close Diagram being shared showing people how to shoot the hurricane (screen grab) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Diagram being shared showing people how to shoot the hurricane (screen grab)

Irma was briefly downgraded to a Category 4 with 150mph winds on Friday, but was later reclassified to a Category 5.
A computer algorithm can tell if a person is gay or straight simply by scanning a picture of their face, researchers have shown.

Artificial intelligence software developed at the University of Stanford can predict a person's sexuality with far more accuracy than humans, suggesting a 'gaydar' app may not be far away.

The research has potentially troublesome implications for citizens' privacy and safety.

Police around the world, including in countries with questionable human rights records, are increasingly turning to facial recognition to monitor crowds, and the combination of CCTV and an algorithm that can detect sexuality could have worrying consequences in states where homosexuality is outlawed.

The algorithm was able to tell if a man is gay or straight using one picture 81pc of the time, and could determine a woman's sexuality 74pc of the time. Humans were much less accurate in comparison, correctly guessing just 61pc of the time for men and 54pc for women.

When the computer was given five pictures of a person, it answered correctly 91pc of the time for men and 83pc for women.

The researchers trained the AI using pictures of 36,630 men and 38,593 women, taken from online dating profiles of gay and straight people. The algorithm was able to detect subtle differences in facial structures that humans are incapable of picking up.

Hormones

The differences may relate to the level of hormones such as testosterone that foetuses are exposed to in the womb, which may determine sexuality, the researchers told 'The Economist'.

Facial recognition technology is becoming increasingly speedy, reliable and accurate. It is being included in the latest smartphones as a security feature and being employed by governments to tackle crime.

The UK's Metropolitan Police has used facial recognition technology during the Notting Hill Carnival for the last two years, albeit with limited success, while crowds around the Champions League final in Cardiff were also monitored.

A Russian facial recognition app called FindFace is working with local police to identify suspects, and last week Chinese police used the technology to catch criminals at a beer festival.

Homosexuality is illegal in dozens of countries, and hate crimes against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people in the UK have skyrocketed in recent years, so the technology could put gay people at risk.

"Given that companies and governments are increasingly using computer vision algorithms to detect people's intimate traits, our findings expose a threat to the privacy and safety of gay men and women," Michal Kosinski and Yilun Wang, the researchers behind the project, said.
A trash fire in a burn barrel east of Huntley grew out of control Friday afternoon, leading the man who law enforcement believe started the fire to try and move a nearby car, which in turn started a grass fire.

The two fires converged on the vehicle while the man was still inside it, leaving him with burns that required hospitalization, according to Lt. Dan Paris with the Yellowstone County Sheriffs Office.

Located at Sixth Street South near Highway 312 East, the fires began at about 3:45 p.m. and spread, destroying at least three nearby structures and damaging at least two cars.

The man, estimated to be in his 60s, is expected to survive, but Paris said he was unsure of the degree to which the man was burned. A HELP Flight helicopter arrived near the fire and took the man to a nearby hospital.

A quick response and help from a nearby farmer were huge in restricting the spread of the fire, Worden Volunteer Fire Chief Lance Taylor said.

It took firefighters about five minutes to arrive after a nearby Worden volunteer firefighter in a private vehicle spotted the burning car and tried to help the man get out, Taylor said. He estimated that 15 minutes passed from the time the car fire started to the time the third structure began burning.

Spreading south and southwest from the car through chest-high grass, the fire burned through about 50 feet of grass to the first building. It burned about 40 more feet to the next building and then burned about another 40 feet before the third building caught.

Firefighters arrived to find the first two buildings engulfed in flames and flames spreading on the third structure.

People that dont take heed and keep the grass around their outbuildings down low  Taylor said. Youre not going to save a building thats got this kind of grass wrapped around it.

Unable to stop the structures from burning down, Taylor said firefighters quickly prioritized halting the spread of the grass fire created by the blaze. Other structures and farm properties were visible nearby, some only feet away from the site of the fire.

Asked what other structures were at risk, Taylor gestured with his arm around the area.

Everything youre looking at, he said.

A key part of the containment effort was a nearby farmer with a disc attached to a tractor. He was quick to arrive at the fire and helped contain it by cutting through grass and digging lines around the burn area to deprive the fire of fuels to spread into. In all, about three acres of land burned, Taylor said.

He described the burned structures as old houses. Paris described the structures as two older buildings that appeared in the process of being repaired and another was a shed converted into a living space. That shed was occupied when the fires began, according to Paris.

Speaking at close to 7 p.m., Paris said the fire was contained but that things were still smoldering and firefighters were keeping an eye on the area.

The Worden Volunteer Fire, Shepherd Volunteer Fire Department, Yellowstone County Sheriff's Office, Montana Highway Patrol, Blue Creek Volunteer Fire were among the agencies that responded to the fire.
An Arab fighter with the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces looks through his binoculars to an air strike that hit an IS militant group position, in Raqqa, Syria (AP)

US-backed Syrian fighters have launched an offensive against the Islamic State group in eastern Syria along the border with Iraq.

The move has brought them into a race with Syrian government forces marching in the same direction against the extremists in their last major holdout in the war-torn country.

The duelling battles for Deir el-Zour highlight the importance of the oil-rich eastern province, which has become the latest focus of the international war against IS, raising concerns of an eventual clash between the two sides.

The US-trained Deir el-Zour Military Council said it was calling its operation Jazeera Storm, after the familiar name for north-east Syria.

The Military Council is a part of the predominantly-Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which enjoys broad US military support.

The SDF are the US's primary ally in the fight against IS in Syria.

The race to reach the Iraqi border will shape future regional dynamics, determining whether the United States or Russia and Iran will have more influence in the strategic area once the extremist group is defeated.

Iran has been one of President Bashar Assad's strongest backers since the crisis began in March 2011 and has sent thousands of Iranian-backed fighters and advisers to fight against insurgent groups trying to remove him from power.

The US-backed fighters are up against a huge challenge to reach Deir el-Zour, especially while they are still fighting to liberate Raqqa from IS.

Three months into the battle, they have liberated around 60% of the city, and much more difficult urban fighting still lies ahead.

This week, Syrian troops and their Iranian-backed allies reached Deir el-Zour, breaking a nearly three-year-old IS siege on government-held parts of the city in a major breakthrough in their offensive against IS.

In a victory statement, the Syrian military said Deir el-Zour will be used as a launching pad to liberate the remaining IS-held areas along the border with Iraq.

Pro-government forces broke the siege of the city's airport on Saturday, state media reported.

The troops' arrival to Deir el-Zour city brings Syrian forces and their allies a step closer to controlling the oil-rich eastern province and its capital bordering Iraq, a major boost for Tehran's growing influence in the area.

The region has some of Syria's largest oil fields, whose revenue is vital to the state's dried coffers.

Syria's military command announced on Saturday they had captured the province's Taym oil field from IS militants on Saturday.

Washington has been determined to block the formation of an "Iranian corridor" - of Shiite-controlled land stretching from Tehran to Damascus - and for months has been eyeing the area south-east of Raqqa near the Iraqi border.

US-backed Syrian rebels had been gathering in Tanf in south-eastern Syria to march towards Deir el-Zour, but their plans were disrupted in June when Syrian troops reached the border with Iraq, obstructing their path.

The only way left for the SDF to enter the eastern province appears to be from the north-eastern province of Hassakeh, where Syrian activists say the US-backed fighters have been gathering and stepping up preparations for an attack.

SDF officials say the timing of Operation Jazeera Storm is not related to government forces reaching Deir el-Zour earlier this week, and was planned months in advance.

"Deir el-Zour is a main connection point and a very important geographic area," said Syrian Kurdish official Nawaf Khalil, who is in Germany but frequently visits northern Syria.

He said the battle for Raqqa requires fewer fighters now than it did in its earlier stages.

The US-led coalition fighting IS said in an email to The Associated Press that the SDF "will decide when the conditions are right for an offensive".

Asked about concerns of a possible clash between the SDF and Syrian troops, the coalition said: "We urge all forces to concentrate their efforts on our common enemy (IS)."

Washington has welcomed Syrian troops' fight against IS. Both the US and Russia have an interest in avoiding a clash between the SDF and Syrian forces and may devise a strategy that will allow both sides to share control of the vast province.

US officials have suggested they are not seeking a confrontation with Mr Assad's forces.

"We are in the killing-Isis business. That is what we want to do, and if the Syrian regime wants to do that... and show that they are doing just that in Abu Kamal or Deir el-Zour or elsewhere, that means that we don't have to do that in those places," said coalition spokesman Colonel Ryan Dillon in June referring to a town on the Iraqi border.

AP
With Texas still reeling from Hurricane Harvey and residents pouring out of Florida ahead of Hurricane Irma, students at A.L. Brown High School looked for a way to help out.

And teacher Barry Lentz provided an avenue.

The United Methodist Committee on Relief, what they do is they give out hygiene kits for people who have been displaced for whatever disaster, Lentz said. They have a need for these hygiene kits. Theyll take them to Houston; theyll take them to Florida.

Lentz said several students mentioned to him they wanted to do something to help Harvey victims but didnt quite know how. Not long after, the teacher heard his pastor mention hygiene kits the United Methodist Church puts together for disaster relief and thought it was the perfect fit.

My students understand, Lentz said. They wanted to do something, but they didnt know what they could do. This seemed like something attainable. Theyre sympathetic. They understand. We have great students at A.L. Brown.

The initiative soon spread to other schools in the system. Kannapolis City Schools students have until Friday, Sept. 22, to donate supplies, and students and staff will box up the kits to send off to victims. The kits include hand towels, wash cloths, soap, nail clippers, bandages and toothbrushes.

Lentz said he thought it was important for students to get involved and give back to those in need.

For one thing, I always told them theres somebody else worse off than you are, and it never hurts to be kind to someone else, he said. You never know when youll need something. It just makes you a better person.
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I can always tell that a topic I've written about has reached red-hot status when I hear from readers on both sides of the issue.

The subject of this debate? The challenges of paying for college.

As regular readers of this column are aware, I've always stressed that it's best for parents to start saving early -- even before your children are born -- and to take advantage of as many options as possible to cover the gargantuan tuition bills. And after putting my three kids through college, I know full well how much of a challenge this can be.

Over the summer, I heard from several readers who sounded off over parents getting into eye-popping debt to send their kids to colleges they can't afford.

These readers -- who acknowledged going to college in the 1950s, '60s and early '70s -- argue that students should look at junior colleges, working part time and living at home to cover the college tab. Just like they did.

Not so simple, say readers on the other frontline. The realities of college tuition today -- along with trying to save for retirement -- don't fit for many lower-class and middle-class families. They can't save enough, even with their child working part time, living at home and earning college credits while in high school. The solution? Go into debt to get an education.

"The world is a different place (now), and the middle-class student will simply not be able to afford college and graduate school. And the cost of junior college is not what it was either," one Chicago-area reader wrote in an email.

Is there a right or wrong side on this debate?

There is no one-size fits all answer. There are "elements of truth on both sides," said Mark Kantrowitz, a nationally recognized college financing expert with Cappex.

I asked Kantrowitz to provide a framework of numbers to build up this debate.

For one thing, he said, college admissions practices and financial aid policies change frequently, so the situation that existed several decades ago when today's parents went to college no longer apply.

In the early 1990s, for example, half of college students graduated with debt, averaging about $10,000, Kantrowitz said. By contrast, more than two-thirds of students today graduate with debt in the realm of $37,000. That's about $9,000 a year at a four-year college.

Secondly, it's harder these days for students to work their way through college. If you work a full-time job while going to school, you are half as likely to graduate within six years as compared with students who work 12 hours a week or less, according to Kantrowitz's research.

And not to overstate the obvious, but he noted that minimum wage jobs don't cover very much of college costs.

On the flip side, there's much research showing that many families don't save enough for their children's college education, and they start late.

Kantrowitz recommends saving about one-third of future college costs. "Every dollar you save is a dollar less you have to borrow, and every dollar you borrow will cost about two dollars by the time you repay the debt," he said. The bottom line: Saving for college will save you money over the long haul.

Students should keep debt at no more than $8,000 a year. Another rule exists for parents: Don't borrow more for all your children, in total, than your annual income.

"That will let you pay off the loans by the time you retire," Kantrowitz said. "But if retirement is only five years away, you should borrow half as much."

Some families also choose more-expensive colleges than they can afford, partly due to "an inability to say no to their children, and partly due to financial aid award letters that blur the distinction between grants and loans," Kantrowitz said. Moreover, not everybody needs a bachelor's degree; community college can be a great choice for many career programs.

There's somewhat good news. Costs of tuition and room and board continue to rise, but the pace has slowed.

While it's tough to predict what college will cost by the time your first-grader fills out admissions applications, a recent study by MassMutual offers some financial guideposts.

MassMutual estimates that the cost to send a child to a private four-year college in 2030 will be nearly $370,000, about $288,000 to attend an out-of-state public school for four years, and about $163,000 to attend an in-state school.

The challenge now is to get started on saving the money. And in the end, do the best you can do and try to make informed choices.
As you read this, know that millions of people will go to bed empty stomach tonight.

emaze

The fact that it is 2017 and yet the world is unable to provide food to every living being, despite producing enough food for everyone is disturbing and horrifying. We're so weaved into the process of 'our' lives that we have turned blind towards the sufferings of people other than us.

Starvation is undeniably one of the evilest battles of today's time. According to Hunger and World Poverty, about 21,000 people die globally every day from hunger or malnutrition. These facts may startle you, but they behold the truth.

Food should be the last reason for someone's death. It absolutely isn't acceptable. Realizing the issue, some nice people around us took it upon themselves to fight the battle and brought free food on the table for needy and destitute.

TBI

Students from of Xavier Institute of Management Bhubaneswar organised a street store for the lesser privileged, where they were given the option of picking whatever they wanted absolutely free of cost.

The drive was organized two years ago in the month of November where stalls were set up and divided into different sections where various items were displayed.

Twitter

Set by the Indian government, an emergency aid to feed nearly 10,000 workers in Saudi Arabia was set up to help stranded without any money or food. The Indian Consulate in Jeddah has set up emergency food centers to dispense essential items such as onions, rice, and cooking oil, all completely free of cost.

BBC

Tejinder Singh, the Sikh taxi driver in Darwin, Australia who had a racist experience in 2012, turned the episode into an inspiration to help the homeless in the city. The incident motivated him to help the poor, homeless and those in need.

Atul Khatri

This Langar was set up by nearby Gurdwaras to feed security guards and help around the airport. The man carried food on a cycle and went around feeding free food to security people, taxi drivers and anyone else who is hungry.

TOI

Remember how during demonitization thousands were left with no cash and food on them? Temples in Vrindavan requested devotees not to put banned notes in donation boxes, while the famous Tirupati temple accepted all notes, set up debit and credit card machines and provided free food to pilgrims stranded without money.

Uday Foundation

The NGO organises a food donation drive twice a week to feed hungry patients or their family members queuing outside All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and Safdarjung hospitals in New Delhi.

EatCook

A petrol pump in Bangalore is serving free meals to every customer. Venkateshwara Service Station near Indiranagar RTO on Old Madras Road has brought in its A game and vowed to serve all day meals to all the customers. In collaboration with Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), VSS has volunteered to serve meals to everyone who skips meals because they want to make it to work on time.

Raj Roti

A group of women in Mumbai have taken the onus on themselves. They are now feeding as many people as they can, at a meagre amount of Rs 10. 'Raj Roti Centre'in Matunga has now become a renowned name in the city for providing packets of food to poor people.

Chennai based 'community fridge' is ending hunger by having donations by over 100 people. Ayyamittu Unn, which opened last month is helping the destitute and needy. Almost anyone can come, open the gate and pick whatever they want, without having to ask or beg for food.

Gurgaon residents also got city's first ever community fridge to make sure that no one goes hungry and that there is no wastage of food. The credit goes to the residents of Sector 54 who collectively bought the fridge to store it with leftovers from last night's meal or food that they no longer need.

The first sidewalk fridge in Tamil Nadu to feed the poor was launched on Sunday at R S Puram in Coimbatore. Now citizens have been pitching in to fill the fridge so that no one goes hungry.
In a shocking incident of hatred for religious minorities, a Christian schoolboy was lynched in Pakistan's Punjab, only because he drank water from his Muslim classmate's glass.

The deceased, Sharoon Masih was the only Christian in his class.

representational image

Nazir Mol, the teacher who was present at the time, said he did not notice the incident as he was reading a newspaper, iNews reported. A student, Muhammad Ahmed Rana, has been arrested so far and he has apparently claimed that he lashed out at Masih after he broke the screen on his phone. Rana has refused to name any of the others who were involved in the attack. An autopsy revealed that he died after repeated blows to his body and his head. His mother described the death as a huge loss.

On the first day itself, Masih had been slapped twice on his face and made to stand outside the class all day as a punishment only because he came to school in his own clothes. He had also been insulted by fellow students and forced to convert to Islam.

He was sent to MC Model Boys Government School Burewala after performing well academically at his school in his local village. His family saved for years to afford the attendance fee and were not able to pay for his school uniform. No proper investigation is being done, Masihs mother, Razia Bibi, told iNews. We had great intimacy and were looking to him to support us and his sibling as we grow old, she added.
After hosting the Chinese President Xi Jinping in September 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set to hold bilateral talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Gandhinagar instead of Delhi in the coming week.

It was reported in The Indian Express that the Japanese PM will be visiting Gandhinagar instead of Delhi on September 14. Three years ago, Xi Jinping was hosted on the banks of Sabarmati river when the standoff at Chumar was going on.

Abe is the first foreign leader to visit the country almost three weeks after the disagreement of Indian and Chinese troops at Doklam.

Japan has been the only major country that has expressed its equivocal support to India and Bhutan through diplomatic channels during the Doklam standoff. Japans Ambassador Kenji Hiramatsu had told The Indian Express, We understand that the standoff in the Doklam area has been ongoing for nearly two months. What is important in disputed areas is that all parties involved do not resort to unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force (but) resolve the dispute in a peaceful manner.

The sources said that Abe would be a part of the bhoomi pujan ceremony in the ambitious Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Project which costs approximately Rs. 98,000 crore.

Ahead of Abes visit, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar said Japan can make a substantive difference to its nuclear industry, and identified cooperation in civil nuclear energy and defence as two domains that portend the future direction of the bilateral ties.

Prime Minister Abes forthcoming visit will present an occasion to demonstrate this concretely. But in an increasingly uncertain world, they are now purposefully heading towards a more collaborative future. Their success in doing so has significant implications for the world, he said.
Ryan International School's management has suspended the school principal after intense protests by parents following the gruesome murder of a seven-year-old student on Friday.

Hundreds of parents and locals gathered outside the private school to protest against the school management. The community is still in shock, a day after the seven-year-old boy's body was found in a pool of blood in a washroom of the school. Read more

Army To Induct Women Into The Military Police Soon To Probe Gender Crimes

The government has decided to recruit women jawans into the Armys Corps of Military Police (CMP) for investigating gender specific crimes. However, induction of women into the Armys combat arms could still be a long way as the CMP is only a support arm.

Putting women jawans in combat roles will be a lunge forward for the Army, known for being male-dominated. But is also a step that the male jawans may not be mentally prepared for, according to women officers. Read more

Inside Dera Headquarters There Is A Tunnel That Connects Ram Rahim's 'Gufa' And Sadhvis' Hostel

As the search and cleanup operations inside rape-convict Baba Gurmeet Ram Rahim's notorious Dera Sacha Sauda headquarters in Sirsa, security agencies have discovered a tunnel and a passageway connecting the godman's quarters to the hostel of his female disciples.

From the 'gufa' where the Dera head used to stay, a passageway was found which opens to 'Sadhvi Niwas', (where his female disciples were kept), according to state Information and Public Relations Department Deputy Director, Satish Mehra. Read more

UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath Orders All Govt Primary Schools To Remain Open On 17 Sept To Mark PM Modi's Birthday

In a rather unusual move the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh is forcing all the government primary schools in the state to remain open on September 17, a Sunday to celebrate Prime Minister Narendra Modi's birthday.

Not just that, it has been made mandatory for all students to attend the celebrations on Sunday. At the school, on Sunday they will listen to their local MLA who has adopted the school the PM's message on Swachh Bharat. Read more

Hairstylist Jawed Habib Booked For 'Insulting' Hindu Gods In Durga Puja Ad

Noted hair stylist Jawed Habib has apologised after a newspaper advertisement of his salon was accused of hurting religious sentiments. But that was not enough, as a case was filed against him for choosing to print such advertisement.

The ad showed Hindu gods Lakshmi, Saraswati, Ganesha and Kartikeya getting their hair fixed, applying makeup, and counting money with Durga looking over them in a Jawed Habib salon. Read more

Four Years On, Nearly 200 Families Of Muzaffarnagar Riot Victims Are Still Waiting For Compensation

At least 200 families who fled their homes following communal violence in Muzaffarnagar and Shamli districts in Uttar Pradesh four years ago have been denied the compensation they were promised and are living in squalid conditions in resettlement colonies, Amnesty International India said in a new briefing titled Nowhere to go: the broken promises to the displaced of Muzaffarnagar and Shamli.

At least 60 people were killed and over 50,000 displaced in the violence in 2013. Hundreds of families displaced from their villages have been denied the Rs 500,000 promised by the Uttar Pradesh government to families from the worst-affected villages, for reasons ranging from clerical errors and corruption to inconsistent definitions of a family. Read more
In a first, two mountain ranges on the dwarf planet have been named after pioneering mountaineers who became the first to scale the Mount Everest together.

Two mountain ranges on Pluto have been named after Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary respectively by the International Astronomical Union, which for the first time, has officially approved the naming of 14 features on the icy dwarf planet.

Alchetron

These are the first geological features on the planet to be named following the close flyby by the New Horizons spacecraft in July 2015.

The names pay homage to the underworld mythology, pioneering space missions, historic pioneers who crossed new horizons in exploration, and scientists and engineers associated with Pluto and the Kuiper Belt.

nasa

This is the first set of official names of surface features on Pluto to be approved by the Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature of the International Astronomical Union (IAU), the internationally recognised authority for naming celestial bodies and their surface features.

NASA's New Horizons team proposed the names to the IAU following the first reconnaissance of Pluto and its moons by the New Horizons spacecraft.

Tenzing Montes and Hillary Montes are mountain ranges honouring Tenzing Norgay (1914-1986) and Sir Edmund Hillary (1919-2008), the Indian/Nepali Sherpa and New Zealand mountaineer who were the first to reach the summit of Mount Everest and return safely.

National Geographic

Some of the names were suggested by members of the public during the 'Our Pluto' campaign, which was launched as a partnership between the IAU, the New Horizons project and the SETI Institute.

Other names had been used informally by the New Horizons science team to describe the many regions, mountain ranges, plains, valleys and craters discovered during the first close-up look at the surfaces of Pluto and its largest moon, Charon.

nasa

"We're very excited to approve names recognising people of significance to Pluto and the pursuit of exploration as well as the mythology of the underworld. These names highlight the importance of pushing to the frontiers of discovery," said Rita Schulz, chair of the IAU Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature.

"We appreciate the contribution of the general public in the form of their their naming suggestions and the New Horizons team for proposing these names to us," said Schulz.

More names are expected to be proposed to the IAU, both for Pluto and for its moons.

Time Magazine

The approved Pluto surface feature names include the Burney crater that honours Venetia Burney (1918-2009), who as an 11-year-old schoolgirl suggested the name "Pluto" for Clyde Tombaugh's newly discovered planet.

Sputnik Planitia is a large plain named after Sputnik 1, the first space satellite, launched by the Soviet Union in 1957.

Djanggawul Fossae defines a network of long, narrow depressions named for the Djanggawuls, three ancestral beings in indigenous Australian mythology who travelled between the island of the dead and Australia, creating the landscape and filling it with vegetation.

Sleipnir Fossa is named for the powerful, eight-legged horse of Norse mythology that carried the god Odin into the underworld.

Virgil Fossae honours Virgil, one of the greatest Roman poets and Dante's fictional guide through hell and purgatory in the Divine Comedy.

Hayabusa Terra is a large land mass named in honour of the Japanese spacecraft and mission (2003-2010) that returned the first asteroid sample.

Voyager Terra honours the pair of NASA spacecraft, launched in 1977, that performed the first "grand tour" of all four giant planets.

Tartarus Dorsa is a ridge named for Tartarus, the deepest, darkest pit of the underworld in Greek mythology.
There are increasing numbers of eyewitness reports on the atrocities being committed by the Myanmar military against the Rohingya people in the southwestern Rakhine State. More than 1,23,000 have already fled into Bangladesh. What is less clear is why these atrocities are being committed against such a small and impoverished people, described for many years as one of the worlds most persecuted minorities.

Reuters

During the Medieval period, the Burmese kingdom was one of the most powerful in Southeast Asia with its kings serving as the head of a strong military and as protector and patron of Buddhist institutions within their domains. Through three wars with the British beginning in 1824, however, the Burmese kingdom was severely weakened, losing much of its territory before finally surrendering to British forces in 1885.

Also read: It's Better To Die In India Than Returning To Myanmar, Say Fearful Rohingya Refugees

This final defeat was a source of great humiliation for the former regional power as the Burmese royal family was exiled to India. This humiliation was made worse by the British colonial policy of favouring minority communities, such as the Rohingya, over the majority Burmese population in the military ranks and local administration. The British Chief Commissioner in Burma in the late 19th century saw the ethnic Burmans as a hostile population and called the recruitment of Burmans into the military a gross waste of money. The colonial government also imported large numbers of labourers from India. Many Burmans saw these policies as a means of weakening their position in society due to their history of political and economic domination.

Reuters

In response, Burmese nationalism increasingly grew around Burman ethnic identity and the Buddhist religion, pulling from the mythology of its pre-colonial kingdoms. It equally developed in opposition to the many minority religious and ethnic communities seen to work with and prosper from the colonial administration. This movement promoted the idea that the only true Burmese is an ethnic Burman Buddhist. During World War 2, this led the leaders of the Burmese independent movement, such as Aung San Suu Kyis father General Aung San, to ally with the Japanese as they sought to remove the yoke of British colonialism. Many minorities including the Rohingya, however, supported and fought alongside British forces, in some cases against their fellow countrymen.

Aso read: Nearly 87,000 Rohingya Refugees Arrive In Bangladesh As Bloodshed Continues In Myanmar

Following independence in 1948 and the military junta coming to power in 1962, many government policies were enacted to remove the remnants of British colonialism and further entrench the definition of citizenship as both Burman and Buddhist. The military government began to target the Rohingya, as non-Burman and non-Buddhist, claiming them to be illegal Bengali immigrants who had migrated into present-day Myanmar during British colonial rule. They maintained this idea despite evidence placing the Rohingya in the Rakhine (formerly Arakan) region as early as the 1790s barely a decade after the Arakan kingdom had been conquered and annexed into the Burmese kingdom.

Reuters

In 1978, the junta began a military campaign called Operation Naga Min (the King Dragon which is a protector within Buddhist mythology) for the purpose of cleansing the nation of illegal and unwanted foreign elements. During this operation, the Burmese military implemented a four cuts strategy against Rohingya civilians: denial of land, food, shelter, and security. This led to the seizure of their lands, destruction of their mosques, arbitrary arrests, attacks against civilians, and widespread rape with the goal of pushing the Rohingya out of the country. Nearly 2,50,000 Rohingya fled across the Naf River into Bangladesh.

The passage of the 1982 Citizenship Law officially denied the Rohingya citizenship and no longer recognized them as one of the 135 indigenous ethnicities of Myanmar.

The new law required citizens to prove their ancestral lineage in Myanmar back to at least 1823, the year prior to the first Anglo-Burmese War. As a result of this law, the Rohingya lost even the most basic of rights, such as the freedom to travel, get married, have children, and repair their houses of worship. Following this, the government, as it still does to this day, would not even recognize the existence of a Rohingya ethnic group, even banning the use of the word.

Reuters

In 1991, following the failed attempt at democratization after the 8888 Uprising that led to Aung San Suu Kyis house arrest, the military government again embarked on a military campaign against the Rohingya. Operation Pyi Thaya (Clean and Beautiful Nation) employed the same strategies as before in order to drive the Rohingya from their homes, with 200,000 again fleeing across the border. Hundreds of thousands of stateless and desperate Rohingya still live in makeshift camps in Bangladesh and other nations in the region.

Also read: Rohingya Muslims Are Living Safely In India, Until Court Decides On Govt's Move To Deport Them

While the election of Aung San Suu Kyis National League for Democracy in 2015 brought a change in political regime, it did little to alter the idea of national identity with a number of former high-ranking generals holding many of the key leadership positions in the ruling party. There was, therefore, little change in the status of the Rohingya and a continuation of the same policies of the military junta. This situation is made worse by the entrenched interests of the Burmese military who still control 25% of the legislature, blocking any major legal or political reforms such as the drafting of a new constitution.

Reuters

Despite the early optimism surrounding the democratization of this historically closed nation, Aung San Suu Kyi and her political party have demonstrated their unwillingness to address the historic persecution against the Rohingya and protect them from both local communal violence and the ongoing military operations in Rakhine.

To date, Aung San Suu Kyis only comment about the current situation is that it is a huge iceberg of misinformation with fake news being spread to promote the interests of terrorists, with the government continuing to deny access for reporters and aid workers to the region.

The resiliency of these attitudes against the Rohingya among the Burmese political elite underlines the need for international pressure from governments, major corporations, and other international institutions as the only means to halt these atrocities. Without this international pressure, it is difficult to know when the violence against the Rohingya will end in this ever-worsening situation. But a brief glimpse into the background of the Rohingya shows that the current atrocities are not anything new within Myanmar but history repeated.

Harrison Akins is a graduate research fellow at the University of Tennessees Baker Center for Public Policy.
MIAMI  When they first boarded the Norwegian Escape a week ago, passengers knew exactly where they were going. Now they have no idea.

The cruise ship, with about 4,000 guests on board, departed from Miami on Saturday, Sept. 2, and was scheduled to return a week later, after making stops in Honduras, Belize and Mexico.

The boat made it to the Honduran island of Roatan on Monday and Belize the following day. But on Tuesday, passengers were told that their ports of call at Mexico's Cozumel island and the Costa Maya had been canceled.

The dangerous and powerful Hurricane Irma, which had carved a path of death and destruction across a string of Caribbean islands, was headed straight for Florida, home to a fair number of passengers on the ship. Many of those passengers had already switched from relaxation to disaster-preparation mode, and were eager to get home to secure their belongings and ensure the safety of their pets.

Michael Davis, who lives near the water in St. Augustine, Florida, was one of them.

"Once they said, 'We're heading back,' then the mood shifted from vacation time to, 'Alright, let's get home and get it taken care of,'" said Davis, 42.

But there was only a short window of time to drop them off before it would be too dangerous to dock in Miami. So the ship arrived in port Thursday afternoon, two days early, allowing hundreds of passengers to disembark.

Hundreds more had no reason to get off, however, and knew that competing with Florida residents evacuating the state ahead of the storm for rental cars and flights was a losing proposition. So they chose a second option: a "cruise to nowhere."

The Escape headed back out to sea Thursday evening, with a new manifest of about 4,000 that included both some of the original passengers as well as some fellow travelers who disembarked early from a separate ship called the Norwegian Sky. They, too, had decided to prolong their seagoing adventures.

The cruisers have no idea where they are headed or when they will return. A lot of it, they were told, would be up to Irma: which path she decides to take and how long she will linger.

"We said to guests that we cannot confirm when or where you'll be coming back, but obviously we'll make every effort to return the ship to port as soon as it's safe to do so," said Norwegian Cruise Line spokeswoman Vanessa Picariello.

Picariello said the ship "is heading west," but she did not have a more precise route. She said the ship will try to make a port of call if it's safe to do so "but if not, guests will enjoy a cruise to nowhere and be able to be safe and out of the storm."

Picariello added that the ship plans to return to Miami, but that cruise officials will look into alternate ports if the one in Miami is damaged by the hurricane.

Margaret Cunningham of Battle Ground, Washington, said she decided to stay on board with her husband, Mike, after the captain assured them the ship could avoid Irma and even outrun a hurricane.

"They've been very clear that they're not going to run out of food. They're not going to run out of water. They're not going to run out of booze  very important  and so we're just going to stay on and enjoy the ride," said Cunningham, 65, who is recently retired.

Barbara Engel, who could not get a flight home to Dallas, said she believed staying on the ship was her best option.

"I've got everything here and more than I would want, and we can run" from the storm if necessary, Engel, 49, said shortly before the ship pulled into port in Miami on Thursday. "So really, all told, I think I'm in the best place I can be at this time."

Debbie Kendrick, of Courtland, Ohio, said she has enjoyed the cruise, even if she hasn't slept quite as well because she doesn't know when or where it will end.

"I appreciate that the cruise line wants to keep us safe," she said. "They're not just dropping us off."
Profit Maximization is Easy: Invest in Violence

By Robert J. Burrowes

September 08, 2017 " Information Clearing House " - For those of us committed to systematically reducing and, one day, ending human violence, it is vital to understand what is causing and driving it so that effective strategies can be developed for dealing with violence in its myriad contexts. For an understanding of the fundamental cause of violence, see Why Violence?

However, while we can tackle violence at its source by each of us making and implementing My Promise to Children , the widespread violence in our world is driven by just one factor: fear or, more accurately, terror. And I am not talking about jihadist terror or even the terror caused by US warmaking. Let me explain, starting from the beginning.

The person who is fearless has no use for violence and has no trouble achieving their goals, including their own defence, without it. But fearlessness is a state that few humans would claim. Hence violence is rampant.

Moreover, once someone is afraid, they will be less likely to perceive the truth behind the delusions with which they are presented. They will also be less able to access and rely on other mental functions, such as conscience and intelligence, to decide their course of action in any context. Worse still, the range of their possible responses to perceived threats will be extremely limited. And they will be more easily mobilised to support or even participate in violence, in the delusional belief that this will make them safe.

For reasons such as these, it is useful for political and corporate elites to keep us in a state of fear: social control is much easier in this context. But so is profit maximization. And the most profitable enterprise on the planet is violence. In essence then: more violence leads to more fear making it easier to gain greater social control to inflict more violence. And starting early, by terrorizing children, is the most efficient way to initiate and maintain this cycle. See Why Violence? and Fearless Psychology and Fearful Psychology: Principles and Practice .

So, for example, if you think the massive number of police killings of innocent civilians in the United States  see Killed by Police and The Counted: People killed by police in the US  is a problem, you are not considering it from the perspective of maintaining elite social control and maximizing corporate profit. Police killings of innocent civilians is just one (necessary) part of the formula for maintaining control and maximising profit.

This is because if you want to make a lot of money in this world, then killing or exploiting fellow human beings and destroying the natural world are the three most lucrative business enterprises on the planet. And we are now very good at it, as the record shows, with the planetary death toll from violence and exploitation now well over 100,000 human beings each day, 200 species driven to extinction each day and ecological destruction so advanced that the end of all life (not just human life) on Earth is postulated to occur within decades, if not sooner, depending on the scenario. See, for example, The End of Being: Abrupt Climate Change One of Many Ecological Crises Threatening to Collapse the Biosphere .

So what forms does this violence take? Here is a daily accounting.

Corporate capitalist control of national economies, held in place by military violence, kills vast numbers of people (nearly one million each week) by starving them to death in Africa, Asia and Central/South America. This is because this economic system is designed and managed to allocate resources for military weapons and corporate profits for the wealthy, instead of resources for living.

Wars kill, wound and incapacitate a substantial number of civilians, mostly women and children, as do genocidal assaults, on a daily basis, in countries all over the planet. Wars also kill some soldiers and mercenaries.

Apart from those people we kill every day, we sell many women and children into sexual slavery, we kidnap children to terrorise them into becoming child soldiers and force men, women and children to work as slave labourers, in horrific conditions, in fields and factories (and buy the cheap products of their exploited labour as our latest bargain).

We condemn millions of people to live in poverty, homelessness and misery, even in industrialized countries where the refugees of western-instigated wars and climate-destroying policies are often treated with contempt. We cause many children to be born with grotesque genetic deformities because we use horrific weapons, like those with depleted uranium, on their parents. We also inflict violence on women and children in many other forms, ranging from ordinary domestic violence to genital mutilation.

We ensnare and imprison vast numbers of people in the police-legal-prison complex. See The Rule of Law: Unjust and Violent . We pay the pharmaceutical industry and its handmaiden, psychiatry, to destroy our minds with drugs and electro-shocking. See Defeating the Violence of Psychiatry . We imprison vast numbers of children in school in the delusional belief that this is good for them. See Do We Want School or Education? And we kill or otherwise exploit animals, mostly for human consumption, in numbers so vast the death toll is probably beyond calculation.

We also engage in an endless assault on the Earths biosphere. Apart from the phenomenal damage done to the environment and climate by military violence: we emit gases and pollutants to heat and destroy the atmosphere and destroy its oxygen content. We cut down and burn rainforests. We cut down mangroves and woodlands and pave grasslands. We poison the soil with herbicides and pesticides. We pollute the waterways and oceans with everything from carbon and nitrogenous fertilizers to plastic, as well as the radioactive contamination from Fukushima. And delude ourselves that our token gestures to remedy this destruction constitutes conservation.

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So if you are seeking work, whether as a recent graduate or long-term unemployed person, then the most readily available form of work, where you will undoubtedly be exploited as well, is a government bureaucracy or large corporation that inflicts violence on life itself. Whether it is the military, the police, legal or prison system, a weapons, fossil fuel, banking, pharmaceutical, media, mining, agricultural, logging, food or water corporation, a farm that exploits animals or even a retail outlet that sells poisonous, processed and often genetically-mutilated substances under the label food  see Defeating the Violence in Our Food and Medicine  you will have many options to help add to the profits of those corporations and government services that exist to inflict violence on you, your family and every other living being that shares this biosphere.

Tragically, genuinely ethical employment is a rarity because most industries, even those that seem benign like the education, finance, information technology and electronics industries, usually end up providing skilled personnel, finance, services or components that are used to inflict violence. And other industries such as those in insurance and superannuation, like the corporate banks, usually invest in violence (such as the military and fossil fuel industries): it is the most profitable.

So while many government bureaucracies and corporate industries exist to inflict violence, in one form or another, they can only do so because we are too scared to insist on seeking out ethical employment. In the end, we will take a job as a teacher, corporate journalist or pharmaceutical drug pusher, serve junk food, work in a bank, join the police or military, work in the legal system, assemble a weapons component... rather than ask ourselves the frightening questions Is this nonviolent? Is this ethical? Does it enhance life?

And yes, I know about structural violence and the way it limits options and opportunities for those of particular classes, races, genders.... But if ordinary people like us dont consider moral issues and make moral choices, why should governments and corporations?

Moral choices? you might ask in confusion. In this day and age? Well, it might seem old-fashioned but, in fact, while most of us have been drawn along by the events in our life to make choices based on such considerations as self-interest, personal gain and financial security, there is a deeper path. Remember Gandhi? True morality consists not in following the beaten track, but in finding the true path for ourselves, and fearlessly following it.

Strange words they no doubt sound in this world where our attention is endlessly taken by all of those high-tech devices. But Gandhis words remind us that there is something deeper in life that the violence we have suffered throughout our lives has taken from us. The courage to be ourselves and to seek our own unique destiny.

Do you have this courage? To be yourself, rather than a cog in someone elses machine? To refuse to submit to the violence that surrounds and overwhelms us on a daily basis?

If you are inclined to ponder these questions, you might also consider making moral choices that work systematically to end the violence in our world: consider participating in The Flame Tree Project to Save Life on Earth , signing the online pledge of The Peoples Charter to Create a Nonviolent World and/or helping to develop and implement an effective strategy to resist one or the other of the many threats to our survival using the strategic framework explained in Nonviolent Campaign Strategy .

Of course, these choices arent for everyone. As Gandhi observed: Cowards can never be moral.
Why Trump Wont Start a War With North Korea



By Mike Whitney September 09, 2017 " Information Clearing House " - Donald Trump isnt going to start a war with North Korea. Thats just not going to happen. Not only does the United States not have the ground forces for such a massive operation but, more important, a war with the North would serve no strategic purpose at all. The US already has the arrangement it wants on the Peninsula. The South remains under US military occupation, the economic and banking systems have been successfully integrated into the US-dominated western system, and the strategically-located landmass in northeast Asia provides an essential platform for critical weapons systems that will be used to encircle and control fast-emerging rivals, China and Russia. So what would a war accomplish? Nothing. As far as Washington is concerned, the status quo is just dandy. And, yes, I realize that many people think Trump is calling the shots and that he is an impulsive amateur who might do something erratic that would trigger a nuclear conflagration with the North. That could happen, but I think the possibility is extremely remote. As you might have noticed, Trump has effectively handed over foreign policy to his generals, and those generals are closely aligned to powerful members of the foreign policy establishment who are using Trumps reputation as a loose cannon to great effect. For example, by ratchetting up the rhetoric, (fire and fury, locked and loaded, etc) Trump has managed to stifle some of the public opposition to the deployment of the THAAD missile system which features powerful AN/TPY-2 radar, that can be used to spy on Chinese territory, and the interceptors are designed to protect US bases and troops in the event of nuclear war with China or Russia. THAAD is clearly not aimed at North Korea which is small potatoes as far as Washington is concerned. Its an essential part of the military buildup the US is stealthily carrying out to implement its pivot to Asia strategy. Trumps belligerence has also prompted a response from the North which has accelerated it ballistic missile and nuclear weapons testing. The Norths reaction has stirred up traditional antagonisms which has helped to undermine the conciliatory efforts of liberal President Moon Jae-in. At the same time, the Norths behavior has strengthened far-right groups that among other things want to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in the South. By playing to the right wing and exacerbating hostilities between North and South, Trump has helped to fend off efforts to reunify the country while creating a justification for continued US military occupation. In other words. The crisis has clearly tightened Washingtons grip on the peninsula while advancing the interests of Americas elite powerbrokers. I seriously doubt that Trump conjured up this plan by himself. This is the work of his deep state handlers who have figured out how to use his mercurial personality to their advantage. A Word About North Koreas Nukes Leaders in North Korea dont want to blow their money on nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles when their people are on the brink of starvation. But what choice do they have? The primary responsibility of every government is to provide security for their people. Thats hard to do when the nation is still technically at war with a country that has toppled or tried to topple 50 sovereign governments in the last 70 years. The Korean War did not end with a treaty, it ended with an armistice which means the war is ongoing and could flare up at any time. And Washington wont sign a treaty with the North because it despises their form of government, and is just waiting for the opportunity to force them from power. Trump is no different from most of his predecessors in this regard. He hates the leadership in Pyongyang and makes no bones about it. Bottom line: The US refuses to provide the North with any written guarantees that it wont resume hostilities, kill its people and blow their cities to smithereens. So, naturally, the North has taken steps to defend itself. And, yes, Kim Jong-in fully realizes that if he ever used his nukes in an act of aggression, the United States would as Colin Powell breezily opined turn the North into a charcoal briquette. But Kim is not going to use his nukes because he has no territorial ambitions nor does he have any driving desire to be subsumed into a fiery ball of ash. His nukes are merely bargaining chits for future negotiations with Washington. The only problem is that Trump doesnt want to bargain because US geopolitical interests are better served by transforming a few pathetic missile tests into an Armageddon-type drama. No one knows how to exploit a crisis better than Washington. Does Trump know anything about the history of the current crisis? Does he know that North Korea agreed to end its nuclear weapons program in 1994 if the US met its modest demands? Does he know that the US agreed to those terms but then failed to hold up its end of the bargain? Does he know that the North honored its commitments under the agreement but eventually got tired of being double-crossed by the US so they resumed their plutonium enrichment program? Does he know that thats why the North has nuclear weapons today, because the United States broke its word and scotched the agreement? Thats not conjecture. Thats history. Heres a clip from an article in the Independent that provides a brief outline of the so called Framework Agreement: Under the terms of the 1994 framework, North Korea agreed to freeze and ultimately dismantle its nuclear programme in exchange for the full normalisation of political and economic relations with the United States. This meant four things: By 2003, a US-led consortium would build two light-water nuclear reactors in North Korea to compensate for the loss of nuclear power. Until then, the US would supply the north with 500,000 tons per year of heavy fuel. The US would lift sanctions, remove North Korea from its list of state sponsors of terrorism, and  perhaps most importantly  normalise the political relationship, which is still subject to the terms of the 1953 Korean War armistice. Finally, both sides would provide formal assurances against the threat or use of nuclear weapons. (Why Americas 1994 deal with North Korea failed  and what Trump can learn from it, The Independent) It was a totally straightforward agreement that met the requirements of both parties. The North got a few economic perks along with the security assurances they desperately wanted and, in return, the US got to monitor any and all nuclear sites, thus, preventing the development of weapons of mass destruction. Everyone got exactly what they wanted, right? There was only one glitch: The US started foot-dragging from Day 1. The lightwater reactors never got beyond the foundation stage and the heavy fuel deliveries got more and more infrequent. In contrast, the North Koreans stuck religiously to the letter of the agreement. They did everything that was expected of them and more. In fact, according to the same article, four years after the agreement went into effect: both the US and the international atomic energy agency were satisfied that there had been no fundamental violation of any aspect of the framework agreement by North Korea. But on its own pledges, Washington failed to follow through. (Independent) There you have it: The North kept its word, but the US didnt. Its that simple. No Advertising - No Government Grants - This Is Independent Media Get Your Free Daily Newsletter This is an important point given the fact that the media typically mischaracterizes what actually took place and who should be held responsible. The onus does not fall on Pyongyang, it falls on Washington. Heres more from the same article: On its own pledges, Washington failed to follow through. The light-water reactors were never built. Heavy fuel shipments were often delayed.North Korea was not removed from the state departments list of state sponsors of terrorism until 2008, though it had long met the criteria for removal.Most importantly, no action was taken to formally end the Korean War  which was never technically ended  by replacing the 1953 ceasefire with a peace treaty. The formal assurances that the US would not attack North Korea were not provided until six years after the framework was signed. (Independent) When Bush was elected in 2000, things got much worse. The North was included in Bushs the Axis of Evil speech, it was also listed as a rogue regime against which the US should be prepared to use force, and the Pentagon stepped up its joint-military drills in the South which just added more gas to the fire. Eventually, Bush abandoned the agreement altogether and the North went back to building nukes. Then came Obama who wasnt much better than Bush, except for the public relations, of course. As Tim Shorrock points out in his excellent article at The Nation, Obama sabotaged the Six-Party Talks, suspended energy assistance to pressure the North to accept harsher verification plans, abandoned the idea of direct talks with Pyongyang, and embarked on a series of military exercises with South Korea that increased in size and tempo over the course of his administration and are now at the heart of the tension with Kim Jong-un. So although Obama was able to conceal his cruelty and aggression behind the image of peacemaker, relations with the North continued to deteriorate and the situation got progressively worse. Check out these brief excerpts from Shorrocks article which help to provide a thumbnail sketch of what really happened and who is responsible: The Agreed Framework led North Korea to halt its plutonium-based nuclear-weapons program for over a decade, forgoing enough enrichment to make over 100 nuclear bombs. What people dont know is that North Korea made no fissile material whatsoever from 1991 to 2003. the framework remained in effect well into the Bush administration. In 1998, the State Departments Rust Deming testified to Congress that there is no fundamental violation of any aspect of the framework agreement. Pyongyang was prepared to shut down its development, testing, and deployment of all medium- and long-range missiles. By 1997the North Koreans were complaining bitterly that the United States was slow to deliver its promised oil and stalling on its pledge to end its hostile policies It was against this backdropPyongyangs growing conviction the US was not living up to its commitmentsthat the North in 1998 began to explore other military options. Bush tore up the framework agreement, exacerbating the deterioration in relations he had sparked a year earlier when he named North Korea part of his axis of evil in January 2002. In response, the North kicked out the IAEA inspectors and began building what would become its first bomb, in 2006, triggering a second nuclear crisis that continues to this day. (Diplomacy With North Korea Has Worked Before, and Can Work Again, Tim Shorrock, The Nation) Now the North has hydrogen bombs and Washington is still playing its stupid games. This whole fake crisis is a big smokescreen designed to conceal Washingtons imperial machinations. Trump is using Kims missile tests as a pretext to extend the Pentagons military tentacles deeper into Asia so the US can assume a dominant role in the worlds fastest growing region. Its the same game Washington has been playing for the last hundred years. Unfortunately, theyre pretty good at it. Mike Wwhitney lives in Washington state. He is a contributor to Hopeless: Barack Obama and the Politics of Illusion (AK Press). Hopeless is also available in a Kindle edition. He can be reached at fergiewhitney@msn.com. This article was first published by Counterpunch - See also - Press statements by Vladimir Putin and President of the Republic of Korea Moon Jae-in Search Information Clearing House === Click Here To Support Information Clearing House Your support has kept ICH free on the Web since 2002. Click for Spanish , German , Dutch , Danish , French , translation- Note- Translation may take a moment to load. What's your response? - Scroll down to add / read comments Please read our Comment Policy before posting - It is unacceptable to slander, smear or engage in personal attacks on authors of articles posted on ICH. Those engaging in that behavior will be banned from the comment section. Click here to comment on our Facebook page
Laughing on the Way to Armageddon

By Paul Craig Roberts

September 09, 2017 " Information Clearing House " - The United States shows the world such a ridiculous face that the world laughs at us.

The latest spin on Russia stole the election is that Russia used Facebook to influence the election. The NPR women yesterday were breathless about it.

We have been subjected to ten months of propaganda about Trump/Putin election interference and still not a scrap of evidence. It is past time to ask an unasked question: If there were evidence, what is the big deal? All sorts of interest groups try to influence election outcomes including foreign governments. Why is it OK for Israel to influence US elections but not for Russia to do so? Why do you think the armament industry, the energy industry, agribusiness, Wall Street and the banks, pharmaceutical companies, etc., etc., supply the huge sum of money to finance election campaigns if their intent is not to influence the election? Why do editorial boards write editorials endorsing one candidate and damning another if they are not influencing the election?

What is the difference between influencing the election and influencing the government? Washington is full of lobbyists of all descriptions, including lobbyists for foreign governments, working round the clock to influence the US government. It is safe to say that the least represented in the government are the citizens themselves who dont have any lobbyists working for them.

The orchestrated hysteria over Russian influence is even more absurd considering the reason Russia allegedly interfered in the election. Russia favored Trump because he was the peace candidate who promised to reduce the high tensions with Russia created by the Obama regime and its neocon nazisHillary Clinton, Victoria Nuland, Susan Rice, and Samantha Power. Whats wrong with Russia preferring a peace candidate over a war candidate? The American people themselves preferred the peace candidate. So Russia agreed with the electorate.

Those who dont agree with the electorate are the warmongersthe military/security complex and the neocon nazis. These are democracys enemies who are trying to overturn the choice of the American people. It is not Russia that disrespects the choice of the American people; it is the utterly corrupt Democratic National Committee and its divisive Identity Politics, the military/security complex, and the presstitute media who are undermining democracy.

I believe it is time to change the subject. The important question is who is it that is trying so hard to convince Americans that Russian influence prevails over us?

Do the idiots pushing this line realize how impotent this makes an alleged superpower look. How can we be the hegemonic power that the Zionist neocons say we are when Russia can decide who is the president of the United States?

The US has a massive spy state that even intercepts the private cell phone conversations of the Chancellor of Germany, but his massive spy organization is unable to produce one scrap of evidence that the Russians conspired with Trump to steal the presidential election from Hillary. When will the imbeciles realize that when they make charges for which no evidence can be produced they make the United States look silly, foolish, incompetent, stupid beyond all belief?

Countries are supposed to be scared of Americas threat that we will bomb you into the stone age, but the President of Russia laughs at us. Putin recently described the complete absence of any competence in Washington:

It is difficult to talk to people who confuse Austria and Australia. But there is nothing we can do about this; this is the level of political culture among the American establishment. As for the American people, America is truly a great nation if the Americans can put up with so many politically uncivilized people in their government.

These words from Putin were devastating, because the world understands that they are accurate.

Consider the idiot Nikki Haley, appointed by Trump in a fit of mindlessness as US Ambassador to the United Nations. This stupid person is forever shaking her fist at the Russians while mouthing yet another improbable accusation. She might want to read Mario Puzos book, The Godfather. Everyone knows the movie, but if memory serves somewhere in the book Puzo reflects on the practice of the irate American motorist who shakes a fist and gives the bird to other drivers. What if the driver receiving the insult is a Mafia capo? Does the idiot shaking his fist know who he is accosting? No. Does the moron know that the result might be a brutal beating or death? No.

Does the imbecile Nikki Haley understand what can be the result of her inability to control herself? No. Every knowledgeable person I know wonders if Trump appointed the imbecile Nikki Haley US ambassador to the world for the purpose of infuriating the Russians.

Ask Napoleon and the German Wehrmacht the consequence of infuriating the Russians.

After 16 years the US superpower has been unable to defeat a few thousand lightly armed Taliban, who have no air force, no Panzer divisions, no worldwide intelligence service, and the crazed US government in Washington is courting war with Russia and China and North Korea and Iran.

The American people are clearly out to lunch in their insouciance. Americans are fighting among themselves over civil war statues, while their government invites nuclear armageddon.

The United States has an ambassador to the world who shows no signs of intelligence, who behaves as if she is Mike Tyson or Bruce Lee to the 5th power, and who is the total antithesis of a diplomat. What does this tell about the United States?

It reveals that the US is in the Roman collapse stage when the emperor appoints horses to the Senate.

The United States has a horse, an uncivilized horse, as its diplomat to the world. The Congress and executive branch are also full of horses and horse excrement. The US government is completely devoid of intelligence. There is no sign of intelligence anywhere in the U.S. government. Of or morality. As Hugo Chavez said: Satan is there; you can smell the sulphur.

America is a joke with nuclear weapons, the prime danger to life on earth.

How can this danger be corralled?

The American people would have to realize that they are being led to their deaths by the Zionist neocon nazis who, together with the military/security complex and Wall Street, control US foreign policy, by the complicity of Europe and Great Britain desperate to retain their CIA subsidies, and by the harlots that comprise the Western media.

Are Americans capable of comprehending this? Only a few have escaped The Matrix.

The consequence is that America is being locked into conflict with Russia and China. There is no possibility whatsoever of Washington invading either country, much less both, so war would be nuclear.

Do the American people want Washington to bring us this result? If not, why are the American people sitting there sucking their thumbs, doing nothing? Why are Europe and Great Britain sitting there permitting the unfolding of nuclear armageddon? Who murdered the peace movement?

The World and the American people need desperately to rein in the warmonger United States, or the world will cease to exist.

An International Court To Preserve Life On Earth needs to be assembled. The US government and the war interests it serves need to be indicted and prosecuted and disarmed before their evil destroys life on earth.

Dr. Paul Craig Roberts was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy and associate editor of the Wall Street Journal. He was columnist for Business Week, Scripps Howard News Service, and Creators Syndicate. He has had many university appointments. His internet columns have attracted a worldwide following. Roberts' latest books are The Failure of Laissez Faire Capitalism and Economic Dissolution of the West , How America Was Lost , and The Neoconservative Threat to World Order .
19 persons have been confirmed dead while five others were injured in an attack on Ancha village, Bassa Local Government, on Friday.

This was confirmed by the Plateau state Commissioner of Police, Mr Peter Ogunyanwo, who briefed newsmen on Friday in Jos, said that preliminary investigation had indicated that the attack was carried out by Fulani gunmen.

We are investigating the matter, but from our findings so far, the attack was carried out by Fulani herdsmen to avenge the killing of a young boy.

We have been told that a Fulani boy resident in the village was reported missing on August 3. We are told that his body was later found without the head, he said.

According to Ogunyanwo, the attackers invaded the village in the early hours of Friday and unleashed mayhem on innocent citizens, killing 19 persons and injuring five others.

Of the 19 persons that died, 13 are adults comprising seven males and six females, while six are children.

The five persons injured have been taken to the hospital and are responding to treatment, he said.

He said that the attack was believed to be a reprisal because it came three days after the body of the missing Fulani boy was found.

The Commissioner said that five suspects were arrested over the missing Fulani boy, but that no arrest had been made in respect of the Friday morning attack.

He said that security personnel had been deployed to the area to forestall another reprisal attack, and cautioned the people against taking the law into their hands.

Source: ( PM News )
The Minister of State for Women Affairs and Social Development Aisha Alhassan, have found herself in trouble over fraudulent payments totalling N11,700, 000, days after she declared her support for former vice president Atiku Abubakar.

The Auditor-Generals Office has accused her and some other staff members of her ministry of spending the money to embark on familiarisation visits to unnamed skill acquisition centres in selected states in 2015.

Interestingly, part of the funds was spent on November 11, 2015, the day the minister was officially sworn-in.

The report which contains observations made on the underlying accounting records of ministries, departments and other agencies of government is the latest from the Auditor-Generals office.

According to the report, an audit investigation established that the purported acclaimed appraisal visits to skill acquisition centres were never undertaken.

Details of the report further show irregularities in payment processes, record keeping and dating of the said visits.

The audit committee observed that: all the attached receipts for fuelling did not indicate quantity in litres, the rate per litre, dates of purchase and vehicle number of the fuelled vehicles.

The International hotel receipt of 23/11/15 which was issued for the hiring of a mini-bus from a hotel to unnamed project sites rendered the receipts doubtful.

Hiring of cars to Project Sites at ridiculous rates of between N75,000.00 and N77,000.00 for two days as appeared on receipts numbers 910 of 22/11/15, 107 of 24/11/15, 0416 of 27/11/15, 531 of 25/11/15, is contrary to exercise of the due economy in line with the provision of Financial Regulation 415.

More worrisome is the date which appeared on some of the receipts. Reports of the investigation by the audit committee revealed that part of the expenses for the verification visits was made on the day Mrs. Alhassan was sworn in.

Receipt number 5206 of 11/11/2015, the date the Minister was sworn in by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and receipt number 11622 of 8th of November, 2015 with amount N100,000.00 respectively are not clear. The two receipts were for servicing of a vehicle two times within 3 days, the report noted.

Following these irregularities and in the absence of any justifiable defence, the Auditor-General has mandated the ministry to refund the N11,700,000 to the federation account.

Source: ( PM News )
The All Progressives Congress (APC) governors and ministers led by Gov. Nasiru El-Rufai of Kaduna state have told President Muhammadu Buhari to contest the 2019 presidential election.

El-Rufai, who made this known to State House correspondents after a closed door meeting with President Buhari in the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Friday, said the governors and the ministers made the call as members of the Buharist Group.

The Buharist Group is an association of APC governors and ministers, whose primary aim is to promote and defend the perceived socio-political interests of President Buhari.

The governor dismissed the assertion that he was being groomed to replace President Buhari in 2019.

According to him, as a member of the Buharist group he has no presidential ambition as being speculated since he left the public service as minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in 2007.

My name has continuously been mentioned as a Presidential aspirant since 2007 after my years in the FCT, there is nothing new about that.

What I want to say here very, very clearly is that I have never been a Presidential aspirant, I have never even been a gubernatorial aspirant.

I am governor today by the grace of God because President Buhari called me and said go and run for Governor of Kaduna state.

As far as 2019 is concerned, my position is the President (Muhammadu Buhari) is looking very well, he is recuperating very fast. My hope and prayer is he will contest in 2019, he said.

On the recent political comments attributed to the Minister of Womem Affairs and Social Development, Aishat Alhassan, El-Rufai said Nigerians should not be surprised or shocked over her utterances, saying that in the APC she was never in the Buhari camp.

Aishat Alhassan had on Wednesday disclosed in a BBC Hausa Service interview that she would rather resign as minister than abandon the former vice president if he decides to run for presidential elections in 2019.

However, El-Rufai said that Alhassan neither supported Buharis candidature during the APC National Convention nor voted for (Buhari) him during the party primaries.

This has always been her position because from time she has never supported Buharism or what Buhari stands for.

Being part of Buhari government is a different thing because government sets policies and if you are a minister you execute the policies. You can execute those policies while pursuing a different brand of politics, he said.

The governor, who said he was in the Presidential Villa to wish the President very happy Sallah and also join him in performing the Jumaat prayer, said it was the Presidents prerogative to either retain or remove the minister from the cabinet.

He said: Look, you can retain a person in the cabinet even if he doesnt support you if he adds value to the country. Because this is a government, it is not a political group fighting for some political progress.

If Jummai Alhassan is coming as Minister of Women Afairs and adding value to the government and the people of Nigeria it is the Presidents prerogative to retain her in spite of her political views.

But if she is not adding value in spite of her political views she can be dispensed with people shouldnt get worried about it. I have worked closely with the President, I know him and I know how he thinks. He doesnt take these things personally. What is primary to him is Nigerias progress that is what matters ultimately.

On the ongoing debate on restructuring the country, El-Rufai, who is chairing the APC committee on true federalism, said his committee would start public hearings on the matter from Sept, 18.

He said that the committee had started receiving a lot of comments and memoranda particularly from young people who had never been part of the restructuring conversation.

According to him, the committee will have 13 public hearings across the country.

By the time we listen to Nigerians and synthesize their views, we will write and make recommendations to our party how to operationalise true federalism as we have promised in our constitution, he said.

Source: ( PM News )
The arrest of three police officers attached to the X SQUAD has been ordered by the Lagos State Commissioner of Police CP Imohimi Edgal, fo extorting motorists along Surulere area of the State.

The arrest was confirmed by the state police public relations officer, Olarinde Famous-Cole, the state police commissioner has also ordered the Deputy Commissioner of police, DCP, in charge of Administration of Lagos command to issue the DPO in-charge of the area a query and also report the conduct of the DPO to higher authorities for poor supervision of his men according to the Inspector-General of police directives.

The CP also ordered that henceforth only HOD s, Area commanders and DPOS who are directly in charge of their Departments or stations are the only ones allowed to sign a detention order in the command. The CP said under no circumstances should any other person sign detention order.

He further stated that any area command found guilty of any unworthy or a shameful act to the police force, the Area commander or DPO will be held liable for unnecessary detention of citizens.

According to him it has become very vital for all officers and men in Lagos state police command to adhere these instructions and on no account will the fundamental rights of the citizens of Lagos be trampled upon under my watch.

The CP also note that the officers found guilty of extorting motorist are currently facing disciplinary actions and the police force in the State will no longer tolerate any act of lawlessness from its personnel.

Source: ( Linda Ikeji )
The Boko Haram sect have killed eight farmers in Borno State in a community near the capital, Maiduguri.

According to the AFP, the killings were perpetrated by members of the deadly Islamic sect moving in large convoys of pickup trucks and motorcycles.

The group also destroyed several homes and carted away food and livestock during the attack believed to be in retaliation against young men in the area assisting law enforcement agencies to fight them.

A militia leader, Ibrahim Liman, who spoke with the AFP, said that the deadly raid actually started on Wednesday and that the victims were killed in different villages.

He said, They mainly targeted young men in the attacks because they believe every young man is a member of the civilian vigilante.

They burnt down the entire village and took away our food, livestock and 13 bicycles.

Meanwhile a Chief Magistrate Court in Lokoja, Kogi State, on Friday remanded two alleged Boko Haram computer specialists and herbalist in prison custody.

Abdullahi Audu, Bashiru Yahaya and Ahmed Momoh were arraigned for their roles in the groups deadly campaign that has so far claimed more than 20, 000.

Chief Magistrate of the court, Levi Animoku, who issued the remand order in his ruling, said that the activities of the terrorists had terminated many lives in the country, adding that the crimes were heinous and carried high penalties.

The case was adjourned to September 28, 2017.

Source: ( Punch Newspaper )
A South African woman has stabbed a man to death and wounded two others allegedly when she found them gang-raping her 27-year-old daughter.

According to HeraldLive, the incident occurred at an unoccupied house in the Qumbu administrative area in Zwartwater near Komani at the weekend.

The woman who is from Lady Frere was arrested on Saturday over the death of Zamile Siyeka and injuries of Xolisa Siyeka and Mncedisi Vuba who are both in the Frontier Hospital in Komani.

She appeared in the Lady Frere Magistrates Court on Monday and was released on R500 bail.

She is not being named to protect the identity of her daughter as she is believed to be the victim of a sexual offence.

The mother said she was at her home when she was called by her daughters friend who told her that her daughter was being gang-raped by knife-wielding men.



I called the police but could not report the matter as the phone was not answered.
Those dining at the Culver's Restaurant at 2530 Woodlawn St. in Lincoln from 5 to 8 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 17, will see 10 percent of their bill support Missions Committee and Publicity Ministry by St. John United Church of Christ. School supplies will be provided for Lincoln Junior High School.

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Archer Daniels Midland Co. donated $1,500 to Central Illinois Christian in Mission Inc.

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Dollar General Literacy Foundation awarded youth literacy grants to Flora High School for $1,350, Clinton Illinois District 15 Lincoln School for $2,000 and Ramsey Grade School for $3,000.

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A fundraiser for the Decatur Christian School will be Tuesday, Sept. 26, at Decatur Monical's Pizza locations. Twenty percent of the check for customers dining in at Monical 's that day and presenting a flier will be donated to the program. For a flier, visit www.monicalspizza.com (click on "events").

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Panda Express in Hickory Point Mall will host a fundraiser for Reasonable Service from 5 to 9 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 29.

The restaurant will donate 20 percent of the night's sales to Reasonable Service, a nonprofit supporting those in challenging situations. Visit reasonableserv.com for a coupon or use coupon code 234916 if ordering online.

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Corporate, school, club and service organizations charitable donations will be reported in the Sunday Life section. Send information to: Herald & Review, 601 E. William St., Decatur, IL 62523, or email jmatherly@herald-review.com.
In a sudden twist of events, it has been revealed that popular American Pastor T.D Jakes is an Igbo man.

Pastor T.D Jakes alongside Pastor Paul Adefarasin and wife during the presentation

The wife of Pastor Paul Adefarasin who is the founder of House On The Rock has left many people in shock after revealing that popular American Pastor, T.D Jakes, is Igbo.

Adefarasins wife, Ifeanyi made the revelation on Facebook while presenting Jakes with a gift.

Pastor Ifeanyi said that since tracing his roots back to the Igbo land in Nigeria, it was Bishop T.D. Jakes first time stepping on the Nigerian soil.

She wrote: Since tracing his roots back to the Igbo land in Nigeria, it was Bishop T.D. Jakes first time stepping on the Nigerian soil, with the knowledge that this is where he truly comes from. It was a special honour for me in particular, as a native sister, to present TD Jakes with a copy of NIGERIA, OUR HERITAGEOUR COMMONWEALTH. Welcome home!

OKEOSISI  Umunne gi na asi gi nno.
The Lagos State Government on Friday announced that it will deploy armed men to public schools across the state ahead of the state of a new academic session.

The information was disclosed at a meeting with the Head Teachers of primary schools and Principals of secondary schools in the state by the Deputy Gov., Dr Idiat Adebule, who also doubles as the Commissioner for Education.

Adebule said that the issue of security had been the state governments point of discussion since schools vacated on July 11.

Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode has approved the deployment of officers of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) as day and night guards in our schools.

And since the Federal Government has approved arms-bearing for officers of NSCDC, they will be complementing the police and other security agencies in tackling insecurity in our public schools, especially the schools located in the riverine and coastal areas.

The government has also completed the construction of a watchtower with alarm systems at the Lagos Model College, Igbonla, Epe.

Two Hilux vehicles have been deployed to the police by the Ministry of Education for regular and effective patrol in Epe and Badagry areas. More will still be deployed to other areas.

These are the various strategies the state government has been putting in place to ensure that our schools are ready and safe for resumption on Monday, Sept. 11,  she said.

Adebule said that renovation works and provision of benches and desks had been completed in some schools, while works were still ongoing in some others.

She said there was an improvement from the states previous years West African Examination Council (WAEC) results, as the performance rate was 66 per cent, this year.

I really commend our teachers in the state for their dedication and commitment to shaping and moulding our students to record good performances, as well as become responsible and successful adults of tomorrow.

I will still call on you to do more as you resume on Monday by effectively planning and coordinating teaching and learning processes for the 2017/2018 academic year.

It is unfortunate that most parents have left the role of child upbringing to the teachers.

I want to beg you to continue to do your best as Governor Ambode has assured us that he will continue to hugely invest on Education so that the sector can meet international standards,  Adebule said.

Reading out security tips to the school managers, Mr Imohimi Edgal, Acting Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, said that partnership with local communities was key to creating safer schools for learning and development.

Edgal urged head teachers and principals of schools to familiarise themselves with the people in the community and the police stations, to enhance information and intelligence gathering, as well as boost community policing.

Achieving safety in our schools requires the collective efforts of all. The police will continue to work very hard to ensure that all schools are protected and safe for our students, he added.

Source:( PM News )
American stand-up comedian and actor, Mike Epps will pay his ex-wife Mechelle spousal support of $25,000 a month for the next six and a half years, after his divorce was finalized on Thursday in Los Angeles, ending his 11-year marriage.

According to a TMZ report, the 46-year-old actor will stop paying the spousal support only if Mechelle remarries.

The judge who presided over the divorce case also ordered the comedian to pay Mechelle $15,000 a month in child support for their two children as well as their private school education.

In property settlement, Epps was allowed to keep 10 properties in Indiana and the former couple will sell their Los Angeles family home and split the profits.

Epps will keep his 2016 Mercedes, 2015 Jeep Cherokee, 1979 Cadillace and 2011 Suzuki motorcycle, while Mechelle will get a 2014 Bentley, 2013 Mercedes, 2015 Toyota Prius and a 2013 Land Rover as part of the divorce settlement.

The exes will split royalties from Eppss film and TV roles including The Hangover, Hancock and Girl Trip.

It was also reported that Epps and his ex-wife agreed to joint legal custody of their young daughters Mariah and Maddie and they still determining the physical custody arrangement for the girls.

Mike Epps who married Mechelle in July 2006, filed for divorce from her in January 2016.

Source: TMZ
Two lovers identified as Musa Mohammed and Fati Mohammed who were charged with Adultery before a Sharia Court in Minna, have pleaded guilty to the offence.

The duo were arraigned on a one-count charge of adultery, contrary to section 288 of the penal code law.

According to the Police Prosecutor, Mr Cletus Ibrahim, the accused, who had both been married to different people in the past, had a sexual relationship outside marriage, which produced a baby.

The two of them had a sexual relationship when they were not legally married to each other, he alleged.

When the charge was read to them, they all pleaded guilty.

The Judge, Ahmed Bima, however, declined to take their plea, saying that his court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the matter.

Bima referred the matter to an Upper Sharia Court for determination, and adjourned the case to Sept. 11.

Source: ( PM News )
BlackRock could reportedly take over CalPERS buyout business, which would help the pension fund reduce costs.

California Public Employees Retirement System is reportedly talking with BlackRock about outsourcing the pension giants buyout business.

CalPERS, the largest pension fund in the U.S., may ask BlackRock to manage all or part of its private-equity holdings, as it seeks to control fees, according to a September 7 Bloomberg report that cited people familiar with the matter. CalPERS and BlackRock, the worlds largest asset manager with $5.7 trillion of assets, declined to comment on a potential agreement.

CalPERS in April began reviewing how it invests in private equity, looking to cut exposure to the asset class because of rising fees. Asset allocators such as pensions and endowments are becoming increasingly concerned about fee transparency and the costs associated with alternative fund managers.

No decisions have been made and we are still looking at models to bring back to the board, John Osborn, a spokesman for CalPERS spokesman, said in an email.

The California pension fund has about $26 billion in private-equity assets that BlackRock could help manage if the preliminary talks lead to an outsourcing arrangement. New York-based BlackRocks latest private-equity fund, BlackRock Private Opportunities III, closed last year with $630 million of capital, according to Palico, which provides an online marketplace for private-equity firms.

[II Deep Dive: CalPERS Review How It Invests in Private Equity]

CalPERS, which has $295 billion of assets under management, allocates 8.9 percent of its portfolio to private-equity strategies, according to its website.

The pension fund reported in July that its private-equity portfolio produced 13.9 percent returns for the fiscal year ended June 30, compared with a 19.7 percent gain for its investments in public equities.

With record levels of capital flowing into private markets this year, fund managers are charging investors higher fees, according to a Preqin report in July.

Management fees for buyout funds, for example, have risen over the last two vintage years to 1.94 percent on average, from 1.85 percent in 2015, the alternative-assets data provider said.
The financial and insurance services sector is at the top of the list with respect to the gender pay gap for full-time roles in Australia.The concerning statistic comes from a recently released study commissioned by Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre and the Workplace Gender Equality Agency. Entitled Gender Equity Insights 2017: Inside Australias Gender Pay Gap, the study revealed that top-tier female managers in Australian organisations earn, on average, $93,000 or 26.5% less each year compared to their male counterparts.Additionally, the study reported that, in the financial and insurance services sector, women employed full-time can expect to earn on average around $30,000 or 26% less each year in base salary than men employed in the same industry. The gap increases to more than $52,000 or 33% when taking into account additional remuneration including superannuation and bonuses.The case for change is clear, says Libby Lyons, director of the WGEA, in a foreword to the report.Research shows that diverse work teams lead to better workplace culture, greater innovation and improved performance. And, the analysis shows organisations that increase their gender balance at the leadership level improve working conditions for women, as evidenced by lower pay gaps.
A leading global advisory, broking, and solutions company has announced the latest addition to its corporate risk and broking (CRB) business. Katherine Simmonds will take on the role of general manager for Willis Towers Watson's CRB business in New South Wales in October, and will report to Andrew Boal , head of CRB for Australia.The CRB head said Simmond's wealth of experience will help the firm achieve stronger organisational performance and deliver risk-management solutions to clients.With experience in the financial services industry spanning over 17 years, Katie has a proven track record in achieving significant business growth and profitability, underpinned by an ability to nurture and develop strong business partner and client relationships, said Boal. With experience in recruiting and developing a talented team, leading market initiatives, and building capacity and infrastructure to support a growing business, Katie is an exceptional choice to lead our sizeable CRB team in New South Wales. As more and more clients turn to us to help them quantify, mitigate, and transfer risk, Katies arrival will play an important part in managing their business risks while driving strong organisational performance.Simmonds was most recently managing director/country head at Ironshore Australia and New Zealand. She also had experience working at Lloyd's and corporate insurer markets; was head of M&A insurance, Asia Pacific, for AIG ; and has served a private equity and M&A-focused client advisory role at Minter Ellison Lawyers.
DECATUR  Holy Family School is well-named.

On Grandparents' Day on Thursday, the parking lot and the classrooms were jammed with grandparents and, in one case, a stand-in grandparent, most of whom are alumni of the school. Many of the families at Holy Family are in their third generation, and most of the rest are in their second.

It really is a 'holy family,' said alumna Keely Boaz Peters, whose sons Michael, David and Adam all attended the school, and Michael's son Drew is in first grade there now.

All five of the Boaz siblings attended Holy Family, and Peters' sister Karen Barding came to grandparents' day to stand in for a child's grandma who couldn't be there.

(The child) called me and said, 'Will you be my grandma?' Barding said with a fond chuckle. Of course I said I would.

The school opened in 1961, and its first batch of eighth-grade graduates was in 1964. Along the main hallway, the wall of fame shows every graduating class, and when alumni come back to visit, they always have to stop to find their own photos.

Because it's a Catholic school, said Principal Debbie Alexander, their faith is uppermost, but family comes right behind that, and she thinks that atmosphere of faith and family is what draws the generations to keep the connection strong.

Along with the traditions, though, is a commitment to keep up with the times, and though the halls look much the same as they did when Peters was a child, the kids are using iPads and Chromebooks, and the school uses current best practices in instruction, she said. Still, the main reason people choose Holy Family, she said, is the sense of belonging.

You walk in here and you can just feel it, she said.

Peters, Barding and Julie Hargrove, who was visiting with her grandson Colton, who's in first grade, said it's not unusual for students to go to school with the same group from kindergarten through high school, if they attend St. Teresa High School, and even beyond that. Barding went to the Catholic Springfield College in Illinois, and estimated at least 15 of her Holy Family classmates did, too.

Catholic schools are usually connected to a parish church, and when a family has attended the church and the school for years, it becomes extended family, Hargrove said. The kids grow up together and develop close relationships that last their whole lives.

Sisters Holly Layton and Jenny Douglass both attended Holy Family, their kids attend Holy Family, and the sisters co-teach kindergarten there. Both have daughters in kindergarten there, so they're teaching their own family.

It's awesome, Douglass said of teaching with her sister, and teaching their own children isn't a problem. Education is so important to me, she added, and they know that.

Both women taught in the public schools previously, Layton said, and when positions opened up at Holy Family, it was just serendipity that both ended up teaching and teaching the same grade to boot.

Lisa Roddis not only went to Holy Family, she's the school secretary, her son, Jacob, went to school there and her granddaughter, Isabella Roddis, is a student.

Though young people often move away from their hometown after graduation, Roddis said, her son never wanted to do that.

He wanted to make Decatur his home, she said. He wanted to help support the community, and his wife did, too.
It is a criminal offence if directors do not apply for their director ID on time
The USA is enthralled in an intense battle with mother nature  and she is certainly making her ferocious presence felt.Last week, Hurricane Harvey battered Texas and Louisiana in what was the most economically significant natural catastrophe in American history, according to Howard Mills, global insurance regulatory leader at Deloitte.But it seems the country will have no respite. Its widely expected that Hurricane Irma, currently a category 4 storm, is likely to strike Florida this weekend. Its believed Irma could be of historic size and could dwarf Harvey to become the natural catastrophe with the most significant economic loss the country has ever seen.Will the insurance industry be able to cope with two historic catastrophes in such a short period of time?Yes, according to Mills. The insurance industry is in a very strong position to deal with a number of major catastrophes because it is very well capitalized and has had time to recover and rebuild capital since the last major incident of Super Storm Sandy.Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma (if it makes US landfall) are both very significant events and the losses are going to be huge, said Mills. But the insurance industry is very well capitalized and is well positioned to withstand these storms. I dont see any problems with the ability of the industry to absorb these horrific losses.Thanks to the regulatory regime in the US, the regulators require capital to catastrophic levels. They have modelled very significant events, such as these two storms, and the capital required is in place. I have absolutely no doubt that the insurance industry will have a swift, comprehensive and helpful response to these storms.For Hurricane Harvey, the economic damage is likely to be greater than the insured losses because of a serious protection gap when it comes to flood coverage. The amount of uninsured or underinsured people in Texas who have had their whole lives destroyed is one of the real tragedies of the storm, added Mills.People just dont understand that the standard homeowners policy does not cover flood, Mills commented. The purchase of flood insurance from the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is affordable and readily available. But people just dont think a major flood event will happen to them, which makes the sale of additional flood insurance very difficult. Its a problem weve been struggling to fix for years.Perhaps it has something to do with people thinking Congress will bail them out. Theres going to be a massive recovery effort after Harvey in Texas, but that money is going to go to things like public infrastructure. If youre totally uninsured, the government is going to provide some assistance but its not going to rebuild your house like a full replacement policy with flood insurance would. So people are going to have some very significant losses.In Florida, the take-up rate for flood insurance is significantly higher, so the insured losses could far exceed those in Texas, depending on the track Irma takes. Mills added: The good news is that the insurance industry is so well capitalized that its well prepared to handle these storms.
An estimated 8.5 million properties in Florida are at risk of wind damage from killer Hurricane Irma in the coming days, predictive analysis has shown.Approximately 3.5 million Florida properties are also at risk of storm surge damage.CoreLogic, a global property data and analytics company, yesterday released the data analysis, which predicts an estimated 8,456,455 residential and commercial properties in Florida are at risk of either extreme, very high, or high wind damage from Hurricane Irma.An estimated 3,494,735 residential and commercial properties in Florida are further at risk of hurricane-driven storm surge damage.Storm surge occurs when water is pushed toward the shore through the force of powerful winds associated with cyclonic storms, CoreLogic said in a statement connected to its data predictions. High winds and low pressure created by a storm causes water to accumulate at its center, and as it moves across the ocean, the strong winds inside the hurricane act as a plow, causing water to pile up along the front of the storm.Detailed breakdowns of potential damage areas show that in Florida, 2,658,005 properties are in extreme damage of wind damage; 3,393,312 are very high; and 2,405,138 are high. The specific areas with the most properties in danger of extreme wind damage are Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Pompano Beach and Port St. Lucie.The areas with the most properties at risk of storm surge damage are Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Pompano Beach, as well as Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater.
The Workers Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau on Friday submitted an amended Jan. 1, 2018 pure premium rate filing to the California Department of Insurance.

The amended filing was based on the WCIRBs recent review of June 30 loss experience, which indicated lower than projected indemnity and medical loss development in the second quarter. As a result, on Sept. 6, the WCIRB governing committee authorized the submission of an amended filing to the CDI.

The amended filing proposes advisory pure premium rates to be effective Jan. 1, 2018 that average $1.96 per $100 of payroll in lieu of pure premium rates, which averaged $2.01 per $100 of payroll that were proposed in the original Aug. 18 filing. These amended proposed pure premium rates are on average 2 percent less than the average approved July 1 advisory pure premium rate of $2.00 and 16.1% less than the industry average filed pure premium rate of $2.34 as of July 1.

The amended filing and all related documents are available in the Filings and Plans section of wcirb.com.

The Insurance Commissioner has scheduled a public hearing to consider the WCIRB filing. The hearing will be held on Oct. 5 at 10 a.m. at 45 Fremont St. on the 22nd floor hearing room in San Francisco.

Related:

Topics California Workers' Compensation
Apple released iOS 11 on September 19, a week after the September 12 iPhone 8 launch event and the release of iOS 11 GM. While iOS 11 includes hundreds of new features and improvements such as the all-new customizable Control Center, unified Lock screen and Notification Center, all-new dock for iPad and lots more, jailbreakers will still want jailbreak iOS 11 when it is released.

So heres an update on the iOS 11 jailbreak. But before we give you an update on the iOS 11 jailbreak, a quick update on the current situation.

Current iOS 10 Jailbreak Status

The first iOS 10 jailbreak known as Yalu (formerly Yalu + Mach Portal) was released on December 21, 2016, by well-known hacker Luca Todesco, famous by his Twitter handle qwertyoruiop. The Yalu jailbreak made use of Ian Beers, of Google Project Zero, mach_portal exploit. It supported select 64-bit devices such as the iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.

Read: How to Jailbreak iOS 10.1, iOS 10.1.1 on iPhone or iPad Using Yalu Jailbreak and Cydia Impactor

Todesco then released a more stable version of the Yalu jailbreak tool for iOS 10.2 by using Ian Beers, extra_recipe exploit with the help of Marco Grassi on January 26, 2017. It supported all 64-bit devices except for iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.

You have to use a computer application known as Cydia Impactor to install the Yalu jailbreak. The jailbreak is a semi-untethered jailbreak, which means that when the iOS device boots, it will no longer have a patched kernel. You are required to run the Yalu app again, to re-jailbreak your iOS device. The other limitation of the jailbreak is that the Yalu app certificate expires seven days, so you have to reinstall it again using Cydia Impactor to renew it for another 7 days.

Read: How to Jailbreak iOS 10.2 on iPhone or iPad Using Yalu Jailbreak and Cydia Impactor

The exploits that were used in Yalu iOS 10.2 jailbreak were patched by Apple in iOS 10.2.1 and iOS 10.3, so it has not been possible to jailbreak iOS 10.2.1 or later.

Read: iOS 10.3.3 Jailbreak Status

iOS 11.1.2  iOS 11 Jailbreak Status [Updated]

It has been a while since a jailbreak has been released. The last jailbreak was released in January for iOS 10.2 if we dont consider the Pheonix jailbreak released for iOS 9.3.5.

The positive news is that a group of security researchers demoed a functional jailbreak for iOS 11 beta 2 firmware and iOS 10.3.2 at this years MOSEC (Mobile Security Conference) 2017 in Shanghai, China in June. The iOS 11 jailbreak tool that was demoed at the event seems to have been created by Liang Chen of Tencent Keen Lab.

Since iOS 11 beta has been jailbroken, we are hopeful that a jailbreak for iOS 11 could be released. Apple has released 10 iOS 11 beta versions so far, so it is not clear if they have already patched the exploit that was used to jailbreak iOS 11. It is also possible that the iOS 10.3.2 and iOS 11 jailbreak was only for research purposes. But the fact that it was jailbroken gives us hope that hackers will be able to develop a jailbreak if the exploits havent been patched.

It is also possible that the iOS 10.3.2 and iOS 11 jailbreak was only for research purposes, so even though it can be jailbroken, the security researcher or hacker may not release a jailbreak for it to the public. But the fact that it was jailbroken gives us hope that hackers like the Pangu team will also be able to discover the exploits and develop an iOS 11 jailbreak tool if the exploits havent been patched. Of course, it is still wishful thinking so I wouldnt get your hopes too high. But lets hope that we will finally get a jailbreak.

UPDATE (November 10):

Liang Chen of Tencent Keen Lab has demonstrated the worlds first iPhone X jailbreak on iOS 11.1.1 at POC 2017, the security and hacking conference in South Korea.

At the moment it is not clear if the jailbreak will be released but based on the type of event, we dont expect Chen to release the jailbreak. However, the great news is that the latest version of the iOS 11 software, which was released yesterday can be jailbroken. The fact that iPhone X can be jailbroken would also mean the vulnerabilities used by Liang Chen could be used to jailbreak most iOS 11 compatible devices.

UPDATE (November 24):

Apple has released iOS 11.1.2, but there hasnt been any further updates to iOS 11.1.2 jailbreak status. We continue to wait eagerly for the iOS 11.1.2 jailbreak.

Why Do You Want to Jailbreak iOS 11?

Will you jailbreak your iPhone or iPad running iOS 11 despite all the new features and improvements? If so we would love to hear why you still want to jailbreak your iPhone or iPad.

As always, we will keep you posted as soon as there is an update about the iOS 11 jailbreak.
DECATUR  More than 40 Illinois Patriot Guard Riders joined Decatur emergency responders to help return Logan S. Palmer to his Central Illinois home.

On Friday, a large crowd gathered outside of Brintlinger and Earl Funeral Homes to watch the escort for the 23-year-old sailor's body as it pulled in front of the building at 2827 N. Oakland Ave.

Palmer, a 2012 Sangamon Valley High School graduate, was killed when the Navy destroyer USS John S. McCain collided with an oil tanker Aug. 21 near Singapore. He was an interior communications electrician third class and promoted posthumously to second class.

At the funeral home, his body was received by members of his immediate family. A visitation has been scheduled Sunday from 4 to 8 p.m. at Life Foursquare Church, and his funeral will be held there at 10 a.m. Monday. He will be buried in Harristown Cemetery.

Victor Buraglio, ride captain for the Illinois Patriot Guard Riders, said the Illinois chapter of the nationwide Patriot Guard Riders organization has participated in honorable escorts for fallen military personnel like Palmer since 2006.

"It originally formed to help provide a barrier between military families and protesters at their funerals," he said. "After that, the guard started focusing more on honoring military veterans who were killed in action."

Buraglio said that a close friend of the Palmer family asked the Illinois Patriot Guard to assist in bringing Logan's body back to Decatur. In order for the group to participate in the homecoming services for a veteran, they have to be invited, he said.

"We'll do all veterans," Buraglio said. "Whether they were active duty, or emergency medical technicians, as long as we're invited."

After Palmer's body arrived at St. Louis' Lambert International Airport via commercial flight, the Illinois Patriot Guard Riders and Illinois State Police troopers greeted an escort led by Missouri Patriot Guard Riders and St. Louis law enforcement at the state line.

In addition to the Decatur police and fire departments, fire crews from Warrensburg, Latham, Niantic and Harristown were also a part of the motorcade.

Traveling on Interstate 72 to the Illinois 121 exit, the escort turned south onto N. Oakland Avenue by way of East Pershing Road. Several American flags were placed along the funeral home's perimeter, where people reverently stood by as Palmer's body arrived about 6:45 p.m.

"He gave his sacrifice for us," said Nakia Burcham of Decatur. She said that she knew of Palmer because her children went to school with him in Niantic.

As her own son prepares to be deployed to the United Kingdom with the U.S. Army, Burcham said she felt compelled to pay her respects to Palmer and his family.

Lisa Lambert of Decatur said having a son close in age to Palmer hits close to home, and she wanted to be there to show support for his family as well.

As Palmer's visitation and funeral approach in the coming days, the Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts will honor him by planting American flags along both sides of the 7-mile route from Life Foursquare Church, 2954 W. Ash Ave., to Harristown Cemetery.

They will meet at the church today at 3 p.m. Larry Eckhardt, known as "the flag man," will provide between 2,000 and 2,4000 flags to line the drive for Palmer, who was an Eagle Scout.

As someone who has volunteered with the Illinois Patriot Guard Riders since 2006, Buraglio believes in the importance of showing respect and gratitude toward anyone who has served the country.

"A lot of Vietnam War veterans came home and said that they felt unappreciated, so we do what we can to show vets that they're important to us," he said.
British police officers will be deployed as part of the country's efforts to step up support to the Caribbean islands left devastated by Hurricane Irma, the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) has said.

Following criticism of its response to the disaster, the Government announced a 32 million aid package spearheaded by the military.

Almost 300 military personnel have left the UK as part of Operation Ruman, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said.

The NPCC announced that British police officers will provide support to the British Virgin Islands force as part of the relief effort.

It said two members of the UK police cadre, who support the military in times of international crisis, flew out on Friday, while a further 53 British officers from 14 police forces are due to leave from RAF Brize Norton in co-operation with the MoD.

The officers will support the local police force to maintain law and order, as well as helping to find missing people, including British nationals, the NPCC explained.

The organisation's lead for international policing, Chief Constable Andy Marsh, said: "We received offers of support from officers across the country as soon as this crisis began.

"These officers, and the many others who volunteered, signify our commitment to help those in need and humanitarian instinct of the British police force, no matter where in the world."

More than 200 Royal Marines, along with engineers, specialists, medical supplies, and aid, including emergency shelter kits, rations and clean water, have been flown out to the region.

RFA Mounts Bay's crew is also providing support to the British Virgin Islands, conducting reconnaissance flights and delivering supplies and aid, while HMS Ocean is due to take equipment and aid supplies from Gibraltar to the Caribbean on Monday.
In the annual pre-budget letter to the finance minister, he told Paschal Donohoe the Government may need to prepare for tax increases to cool an overheating economy.

Talking to reporters, and in public comments he made at a gathering of economists, the governor made clear his message was not directed at next months budget.

However, he wants the Government to spell out clearly the measures and tax increases it would implement in 2019 and 2020 to rein in consumption and private investments, if the strong levels of growth were to continue.

The Government has set out plans to boost capital spending in the coming years and many business groups have called for more spending on road, rail and housing investments as the economy picks up pace.

Many economists have warned about repeating the policy mistakes that led to the devastating property and banking crash. In recent months, the Economic and Social Research Institute and the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council have warned about potential overheating in the economy. Mr Lane said the economy was not in full employment at this stage. However, his comments show the Central Bank believes the risks have increased significantly.

Plans for a surge in capital spending if the economy were to reach full employment would require measures to cool economic activity.

Alternatively, stretching out a planned public investment programme over a longer horizon can limit pressures on the absorptive capacity of the economy, he said in the letter.

Speaking to reporters, he said that some clarity had come in the past year that the economy was growing strongly, though he said that unemployment is still too high.

The new conditions meant that regulators and Government had to consider a gear shift on ways to deal with new realities of an economy that had been through a severe slump and was recovering at a rapid pace.

The Government should provide more details about its options in the next two years should the economic growth spurt last, and at a time it is planning to ramp up capital spending, he said.

The options for the Government would then be in place if over-heating does take place.

To facilitate public and housing investments, he said that under full employment the Government would face making choices to cool down the rate of consumption and private investment.

He said the Government over the last few years had been doing a lot to ease the housing crisis but solutions wouldnt be instantaneous and the problems would likely persist for a significant period.

The governor said the aim was to avoid boom-bust cycles of the past.

Lets try and stabilise the economy and a more stable economy is going to be much easier in terms of planning and for vital issues such as housing, he said.

In his written reply, Mr Donohoe said he agreed with Mr Lanes assessment. While we are not yet at full employment, if the pace of output growth continues to surprise on the upside more severe imbalances could emerge, Mr Donohoe said.
The mid-September meeting in Detroit with United Auto Workers leaders from across the US sends an important signal that the new boss is putting workers first, said Jimmy Settles, the head of the unions Ford department.

Normally, its the other way around, if it happens at all, Mr Settles said of the CEO meeting with union leaders before Wall St. Then people know that I care about you. Youre hearing it from me. You dont have to hear about it from the media, he said.
Investors trying to sniff out hidden Apple suppliers are betting on it, sending the shares of IQE up more than 300% this year.

The company is the second-best performer in the FTSE AIM 100 Index year-to-date and has also beaten every stock in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. And even with the cautionary tale of companies who flew too close to Apples sun still fresh in investors minds, some analysts say IQEs run is just getting started.

The main reason for the excitement is familiar: Speculation that IQE may be selling wafers needed by the technology giant for its new iPhone, expected to be introduced next week with sensors that use facial recognition to unlock the screen.

Our thesis is that lurking in the Cardiff suburbs is UK techs next large-cap tech company, Stifel analyst Lee Simpson wrote in a recent report as he started coverage of the billion-pound chip company with a buy rating.

Despite the year-to-date rally, he still expects more gains as the full extent of the future growth opportunities has yet to wholly emerge to the market.

IQE makes wafers that are needed for Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers (VCSELs), used for 3D sensors and widely thought to be included in the new iPhone.

While IQEs link to Apple likely funnels through several other companies along the supply chain, Mr Simpson at Stifel estimates that IQEs 3D sensor revenue from Apple may increase to 38m (41.5m) by 2019 from an estimated about 2m last year. IQE reported 2016 sales of 133m.

IQE chief executiveAndrew Nelson declined to comment directly on whether the company is a supplier to Apple, but said in an interview that IQE has about 80% of the VCSEL wafer market and supplies pretty much all of the main players in the end markets. VCSELs are part of IQEs so-called photonics  or lasers and sensors  business, which only accounted for 17% of the companys sales in 2016, but is expected to become increasingly important as other phone companies follow Apple.

In the companys recent first-half results, photonics revenue grew 48%, while the larger wireless division rose just 9%. Mr Nelson said that VCSEL technology could also be used in other applications.

IQEs wireless division, which includes materials used for power amplifiers in smartphones and wireless base stations, probably also has ties to Apple. Our materials are in pretty much 100% of all smartphones through the various supply chains, he said.

Still, while the four analysts who cover the stock are unanimous in their buy recommendations, some investors are more sceptical about IQEs rise. Short interest is now at about 4% of the float, near the highest in more than two years, and has been steadily climbing for the past few months, according to data from Markit. Hedge funds Marshall Wace and Ennismore Fund Management hold 2.1% and 1.5% short positions on the stock, respectively.

And investors who have followed the company for a long time might have doubts due to a couple of big opportunities that havent materialised in the past, according to N+1 Singer analyst Oliver Knott. The London-traded shares hit 762 pence in 2000 before crashing to a low of about 2.2 pence in 2003. Until this years surge, the shares hadnt risen above 59 pence since then. Another sign of IQEs volatility: The shares initially fell 12% after results on September 5, before ending the session 6.5% higher. Mr Knott said that this time is different for IQE. He believes IQE is a supplier to Lumentum Holdings, which has gained 49% this year on speculation that it is supplying lasers for the new iPhone.

Bloomberg
In July, factory output increased at the fastest pace this year, but this was set against a sharp decline in the construction industry and another lacklustre month for trade.

The worlds fifth-biggest economy continued to lag the strong recovery in the eurozone and is now growing slowly in the third quarter, after suffering its slowest first-half of the year since 2012.

Separately, the British Chambers of Commerce said the economy was treading water ahead of Brexit, adding that sterlings sharp fall, since last years vote to leave the EU, had done more harm than good.

That muted assessment was backed up by the official data, which showed little help for exporters from sterlings weakness. The economy is clearly underperforming, compared to what is going on globally and regionally, but weakness in growth does not appear to be intensifying, JPMorgan economist, Malcolm Barr, said.

The Office for National Statistics said manufacturing output rose 0.5% in July, above economists forecasts in a Reuters poll, after car production reversed a dip in the previous month. But growth in the broader measure of industrial output slowed to 0.2%, in line with forecasts, as a lack of summer maintenance of North Sea oil fields boosted production more than usual for the time of year.

Business surveys, over the last week, suggested manufacturers look set for a stronger end to the year, boosted by exports  especially to the EU. Still, official data have yet to reflect this.

The ONS said Britains trade deficit in goods edged up to 11.57bn (12.63bn) in July, the biggest since March. Goods exports to the EU increased, but this was offset by a fall in exports to the rest of the world.

However, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) said the UK economy has picked up momentum. If, indeed, economic growth is sustained at the 0.4% to 0.5% level, we prescribe a 25 basis-point increase in bank rate in the first quarter of 2018 to reverse some of the emergency stimulus that the Bank of England injected into the economy last August, in response to the EU referendum result, it said.

Meanwhile, Britain and the EU need an agreement to allow cross-border financial contracts to run beyond Brexit and avoid disrupting markets, two banking lobby groups said.
Senior policy analyst with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Dr Anthony Mann, was a guest speaker at a conference organised by the National Adult Literacy Agency to encourage people to improve their literacy, numeracy and digital skills.

Skills have become the global currency of dynamic 21st economies  driving economies and transforming lives, he said.

Far too many people of working age lack the basic skills in literacy and numeracy necessary to participate fully in work and society.

Dr Mann said basic skills, such as English and maths, had become far more important because people needed to be more flexible and adaptable.

Those who were better at processing and communicating information were more likely to be employed, he said. Peoples skill level also affected their health and their engagement in the community.

About 28% of people of working age in Ireland have problems with basic tasks involving reading and interpreting information  that equates to 800,000 people.

And about 25% of young people leaving formal education were not able to read the instructions on a box of medicine or work out how much fuel they had left in their car.

Dr Mann said Nalas Take the first step campaign was very important because a lot of people did not realise that they lacked basic literacy and numeracy skills.

Its quite easy to go through life not really understanding the extent of it. A lot of people do not do well in education. School is not a happy memory for lots of people, he said.

The most recent OECD survey of adult skills showed that 550,000 Irish adults are at or below level one on a five-level literacy scale and 750,000 are below level one for numeracy. Over one million adults are at or below level one on using technology to complete tasks.

These low levels indicate that individuals may not be able to fill in an application form, add up a bill, search the web, vote or help children with homework.

The campaign features four students  all early school leavers  sharing their positive stories about returning to education to improve their literacy and numeracy.

Nala chief executive, Dr Inez Bailey, said people who returned to education often found that the hardest part was taking the first step.

We want people to know that they are not alone and there are lots of options to suit their needs, she said.
The man who helped to undertake the most mcomprehensive survey of any battlefield site in Ireland says it highlighted the impact of illegal metal detection and the need to protect sites like this all across the country.

As the most important battlefield in terms of finds ever to be investigated in this country, with the potential to continue to reveal more over the years to come, Vinegar Hill is more than ever in need of protection, from both illegal metal detection and inappropriate development, said Dr OFlaherty.

The team of archaeologists was able to piece together the events of the battle, which took place on June 21, 1798, through ground-penetrating radar and metal detection, carried out under licence.

Dr OFlaherty said the Crown Forces, which included six generals and nearly 15,000 men, started the battle at around 4am with what he described as an extensive artillery barrage which would have been the shock and awe tactics of the time.

It was the first time that exploding shells were ever used in Ireland, he said. Some of the rebels picked them up after being fired into the ranks and they exploded in their faces.

The Wexford Rebels

(Wexford United Irishmen) were sure they would be ably supported by a rebellion in other parts of the country, but that didnt materialise, as any action elsewhere was quickly crushed.

They found themselves on their own, with the British closing in. The majority of the rebels lacked firearms and had to rely on pikes as their main weapon.

An oldmap from1798 of the Vinegar Hill battle site near Enniscorthy, CoWexford.

Dr OFlaherty said the British were determined to brutally stamp out the last vestiges of resistance, having lost the American colonies in 1776 and more recently seen the fallout from the French Revolution.

This might explain why they massacred so many defenceless women and children. A large number of elderly, women, and children were on Vinegar Hill seeking protection from the rampaging British, and the rebel army stood their ground to protect them.

After the artillery bombardment was halted, the British infantry launched a general advance on the rebel positions, which resulted in two hours of fighting.

The rebels then found a way off the hill because a force led by General Needham hadnt yet arrived to plug the final gap in the encirclement.

Archaeologists believe a line of musket balls discovered on the site indicates that the British then opened fire on the women and children left behind.

They also discovered a prison in a farmyard, which was used by rebels to house captured loyalists.

Dr OFlaherty described the level of atrocities committed by both sides as shocking. He said nearly one sixth of Wexfords population was killed in a six-week period, which is on a level of genocide.

The rebels also piked to death many loyalists, he said. Its documented that the British organised gang rapes and burnt prisoners alive in a hospital. The rebels burnt women and children in a barn.

He said he and his core team  Jacqui Hynes, a folklorist and historian, and Rory OConnor who runs the 1798 Centre in Enniscorthy  were very grateful to Wexford County Council for supporting the four-year research project.

We want to recognise the vision of Wexford County Council in supporting this scale and range of the research, Dr OFlaherty said.

His team also collaborated with experts from Rubicon Heritage, IT Sligo, Cotswold Archaeology, and Earthsound Geophysics.

Rebels are depicted piking to death loyalists prior to the battle of Vinegar Hill.

The project steering group consisted of representatives from the county council, Discovery Programme, Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, The Heritage Council, and international experts such as Damian Shiels of Rubicon Heritage and Tony Pollard of the Centre for Battlefield Archaeology at the University of Glasgow.

Some limited excavation was also carried out by archaeologist Stafford McLoughlin, which turned up some interesting finds of musket balls and an iron military boot-heel.

The most recent finds recovered by the project to date mean that Vinegar Hill is now the most important battlefield ever investigated archaeologically in Ireland, said Dr OFlaherty.

This includes evidence of the camp, of smelting, and engagement between rebels and crown forces, some of it at close quarters.

The ditches and lanes that criss-cross Vinegar Hill today, including the lane leading to them car park, were those used by the rebel force in their occupation of the hill and to harry and resist the crown forces during their assault.

The project had a number of aims, including setting new standards for future battlefield archaeological research in Ireland.

Dr OFlaherty said the next stage of the project is to write up all the research which, it is hoped, will then be published in a book.
Editor's note: The Herald & Review each day is listing a reason the Decatur region is loved. We're profiling people, places and history that are special to our region  and that make it a great place to live. See more here.

Bears were a feature of Fairview Park for decades.

In 1916, Decatur school children collected pennies to buy two cubs to be housed in the park. Superintendent Frank Torrence purchased the black bears with $100 from the Friends of Fairview Park.

Over the years a host of bears moved in, with names like Teddy, Smithy, Bobby, Louise, Okey, Pokey, Dokey, Smoky and Cokey.

Local newspapers breathlessly followed the bear developments in the early years. When Bobby died, the Decatur Herald in May 1927 wrote a two-column story under the headline, "Louise, Fairview Park bear, widowed for past two months, will be force to remain in mourning indefinitely."

"Louise, sole remaining Fairview Park bear and a widow of some two months' standing, is destined to remain as such, Frank Torrence, superintendent of parks and matrimonial agent extraordinary for the animals under his care, declared Wednesday," the first sentence read.

Other stories detailed pregnancies, new cubs and antics. There were mishaps along the way. Smoky escaped five or six times, and on Independence Day 1952, Okey climbed an 11-foot fence and briefly escaped the confines of a new cage, built with $1,500 in donations.

After preliminary tussles the bear was as anxious as any for a return to the usual status, the Herald & Review reported at the time.

Okey and Dokey were later sold to a Kankakee animal dealer in November 1955 because the cage was deemed too small, the newspaper reported that year.

In 1968, Grants Farm in St. Louis County, Missouri, donated three cubs, but by then the popularity of the animals was waning with the public, especially after the Scovill Zoo near Lake Decatur opened. The animals were expensive and challenging to handle as well.

It was difficult to take care of them, Harold Blankenship, a Decatur Park District employee for 35 years, said in a September 1988 newspaper article chronicling the history.

The last bears exited in 1972. The cage was torn down.
John Hannan, aged 68, was returning home to Mallow by train yesterday from Dublin to break the news to his family that, three weeks from today, his access to a drug shown to slow down his genetic emphysema will be no more.

Although the HSE said last month that the State was not prepared to reimburse the cost of Respreeza, estimated at around 84,000 per patient, the 21 beneficiaries had still hoped for a breakthrough.

However, when 11 of them gathered in Beaumont Hospital yesterday to meet their consultant respiratory physician, Gerry McElvaney, it was to hear that, from September 30,the drug will no longer be available free of charge.

Until now, patients have been able to access it as part of a compassionate-use programme courtesy of drug company, CSL Behring, due mainly to their participation in a clinical trial.

However, the future looks bleak for these patients and 40 others diagnosed with Alpha-One antitrypsin deficiency (AATD).

Words dont describe how I feel, John said. I was the second patient in the world to go on Respreeza, Ive been on it for more than 10 years and no-one, including CSL Behring, can tell us what the consequences will be when we come off it.

John said while he appreciates CSL Behrings compassionate use, there was a quid pro quo.

They have been gathering information from our bodies for the past decade, so they have got something back, said John.

In a statement, Geraldine Kelly, CEO of the Alpha One Foundation, described the HSEs decision not to reimburse the drug and CSL Behrings decision to withdrawn it as unconscionable.

We have a therapy that works... it is wrong of the HSE and the Department of Health not to fund it, said Ms Kelly.

 Equally, it is wrong for a company to discontinue a therapy that works to patients who have provided it with a rich resource of research information.

CSL Behring said in a statement: We remain committed to AATD research to improve the quality of life of people living with the condition. Based on this commitment, we are currently in discussion with health authorities in both the US and Europe to finalise a randomised, non-placebo controlled study design which seeks to demonstrate the long-term safety and efficacy of Respreeza.

CSL Behring is evaluating clinical sites in Ireland which may then be offered the opportunity to recruit severe AATD patients.
At the family law court in Ennis, Judge Patrick Durcan jailed the man for 14 days after he fell almost 10,000 behind in maintenance arrears for his child.

However, less than one hour after Judge Durcan authorised the warrant for the mans committal to prison, the garda detailed to escort the man to Limerick jail returned to court to say that he had produced the 480 required for his release.

In court earlier, the man said that he had already paid over 300 before court and was willing to pay another 150 but could not afford it.

However, Judge Durcan said the man is not capable of telling the truth and ordered that he be jailed for 14 days for the initial 480 that was owed before the arrears mounted. The mans total arrears of 9,810 had built up since 2014 and Judge Durcan told him: I previously gave you warnings in January and July.

The hardline stance adopted by Judge Durcan on fathers falling into arrears on maintenance payments saw him jail another father in February.

The Irish Prison Service confirmed yesterday that there were no fathers jailed for maintenance arrears last year, and this followed one jailed in 2015 and five in 2014.

In a separate arrears case before Judge Durcan, another father secured a late reprieve from prison after producing an envelope from his back pocket containing 1,000 in 50 notes after Judge Durcan threatened him with jail.

The father was 2,585 in arrears and, moments earlier, he told the court: All my accounts are cleared out. I just cant afford it. It is unreasonable for me to pay the amount every week. I am cleared out. I have paper here to show that I am 11,000 in the red.

Stiofan Fitzpatrick, solicitor for the mans former partner, applied for him to be committed to jail due to ongoing failure to pay maintenance.

In response, the man said he had two other children to look after, apart from his daughter.

Judge Durcan said: Why should I not imprison you? This has been ongoing since 2012. It seems that progress that should be made hasnt been made.

In a U-turn on his earlier claim that he had no money, the man said: I got some more money out of the bank. Can I give you some?

Judge Durcan asked: How much did you get? and in reply, the man said: I got 1,000.

Judge Durcan said that if could hand over 800, the matter could be adjourned to December and the man counted out 16 50 notes on the table in front of him.

The man then asked the judge: How do I get the arrears down to a suitable amount for everyone?

Judge Durcan said: Look, this country is on the up and up and up. Things are improving day by day by day and there is work and opportunity out there for everyone if you go and look for it. You get moving now.
Campaigners opposed to the 160m 240,000 tonnes-per-annum waste-to-energy facility at Ringaskiddy said the ongoing postponement shows very little regard for the people of Cork Harbour.

Its very disappointing. It takes an emotional toll on everyone, said Linda Fitzpatrick, spokeswoman for environmental lobby group Cork Harbour Alliance for a Safe Environment (Chase). We have been geared up for this decision so many times now, but the dates seem to mean nothing to the people tasked with deciding.
An extra 800 social houses will be built next year and 200 additional emergency beds made available by December, the housing minister has promised. Eoghan Murphy also announced 10m in additional ring-fenced funding for family hubs as demand for temporary accommodation rises.

There are now more than 8,000 people living in emergency accommodation  including 3,000 children. Meanwhile the number of people on the social housing list stands at over 90,000.

After summoning the 31 local authority chiefs executive to an emergency summit in Dublin yesterday, Mr Murphy said he was redirecting money into building homes, rather than having councils rely on the private sector to provide housing.

All I got back from the local authorities today in terms of social housing and building was the desire to do more, he said. Thats why I am refocusing this money that I have announced today away from acquisition, which is not working, into direct building.

The main part of the solution is building new homes.

Addressing the homeless crisis is a priority for the Government, said Mr Murphy, and nothing will be lacking in terms of ambition, in terms of funding.

Focus Ireland said the meeting had produced some positive proposals, but had failed to live up to the expectations created by the decision to bill it as a summit.

Focus Ireland director of advocacy, Mike Allen, said the proposals announced were dominated by managing the emergency rather than tackling the problem.

Mr Allen said the plans failed to address areas that the organisation had identified as crucial, including a vacant homes tax, legislative action to stop evictions from buy-to-let properties, and increases in housing assistance payments to match rent hikes.

Mr Murphy said many initiatives were being worked on ahead of the budget.

Pat Doyle, CEO of Peter McVerry Trust, welcomed the provision of extra emergency beds before Christmas but added: Clearly the latest homeless figures point to the fact that more needs to be done and done quickly. If we are to be successful, a strong collaboration and partnership across Government departments is needed to ensure a full Cabinet-level response.

Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin branded the Governments housing response a national scandal.

Since 2014, it has been clear that the country is experiencing an unprecedented housing emergency, he said.

Enormous effort has been invested in various PR initiatives and action plans, while citizens listen to ministers explain how complicated the problem is. There is no doubt that this is a complex issue, but at its core the solution is very simple. We need to build significantly more houses and apartments, and quickly.

However, Mr Murphy said the 800 extra homes to be built in 2018, on top of the 3,000 already promised, represents a significant increase.

Among the other actions announced is the establishment of a homeless inter-agency group to deliver services in a joined-up way.

This will be chaired by a former secretary general who will co-ordinate with the Departments of Health and Children along with the HSE and Tusla to increase supports in emergency accommodation and services and supports for homeless families and children.

Health Minister Simon Harris will provide 1.5m this year for homeless health supports and services.
The HSE said no fines have been issued in respect of the escalation framework a policy brought in by mandatory national directive in November 2015.

The directive requires that hospitals follow specific steps once patients are on trolleys for more than nine hours. The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation reported 7,781 patients on trolleys waiting for a bed last month.

The HSE said the Special Delivery Unit (SDU) was tasked with evaluating if hospitals were implementing the escalation policy appropriately and that site visits by the SDU are ongoing in this regard.

None of the 46 hospitals were fined last year for excessive inpatient/day case waiting times, compared to 6.6m in fines the previous year. In 2015, 18 months was set as the maximum permissible wait time to reduce to 15 months by year end. The HSE said no fines were imposed in 2016 for excessive inpatient/day case waits as they met the target of no more than 1,800 patients waiting over 18 months.

However these targets are no longer being met, paving the way for a return of fines. As of the end of August, 10,800 patients were waiting over 15 months for treatment according to the NTPF, of whom 6,490 were waiting over 18 months. No fines have been imposed to date in 2017, the HSE said.

The Saolta Group, incorporating Galway University Hospitals, was responsible for almost 2m of the 6.6m in fines between August and December 2015.

The RCSI group accumulated fines of almost 1.5m of which Beaumont Hospital in Dublin was responsible for almost 1.4m.

The third worst-performing group was the SouthSouthwest Hospital group (SSW) which attracted fines of 1.08m. University Hospital Waterford was the biggest offender, at 358,097, followed by Cork University Hospital at 295,417 and the South Infirmary Victoria University Hospital at 191,111. The Mercy University Hospital attracted fines of 126,567.

A number of hospitals were penalised last year and this year for exceeding the 28-day target for an urgent colonoscopy. The penalty so far is more than 60,000: 16,500 for the latter half of 2016 and 44,250 so far in 2017.

The worst-offending hospitals included St Columcilles in Loughlinstown where fines of 20,250 were applied for the first six months of 2017.

Our Ladys Hospital Navan was fined 17,250 between November last year and end of February this year. The Mercy University Hospital in Cork was fined 6,000 in 2016.

The issue of delayed colonoscopies has been an emotive one since the death in 2007 of 41-year-old mother Susie Long.

Ms Long had spoken on the national airwaves of how a seven-month delay in obtaining a colonoscopy led to terminal bowel cancer.

The HSE said all hospitals continue to minimise the number of urgent colonoscopy waiting time breaches, adding that the NTPF endoscopy initiative in 2016 achieved a 99.8% reduction in the number of patients waiting over 12 months for a routine endoscopy.
They currently share a room in a hostel run by the Peter McVerry Trust, but without a place to call their own, their lives remain on hold.

Since I was 16, 17, Ive been more or less homeless, says Robbie. Im 33 now. And Ive never been given an official house. Ive never lost a house for them to be punishing me or anything.

You need that house to live a life. This is life on hold. And Im getting older, you know? Im 34 next March.

Robbie and Ciaran met while living in a squat after giving up ringing the free phone number of the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive.

They have been living here, in their immaculately kept room, in what is known now as supported temporary accommodation, since Christmas.

I got here about three weeks before Christmas, says Robbie. Its steady. The place is steady, yeah, its clean. As you can see the two of us came together. We were homeless for two and a half years, we were in a squat. We gave up on the free phone.

They [the Peter McVerry Trust] were saying they should hopefully have us housed and moved on shortly.

For Robbie, he wants a place to call his own so that he can come off methadone, and he does not believe he can do that while still in emergency accommodation.

I want to get my house and then I want to get into treatment, he says.

I have my treatment centre and all ready to go and everything, but I need a house now to come back out to because I cant come back into an environment like here, after coming off my methadone and all.

He says were not too far down the list now, me and Ciaran.

Ciaran went from living in care to homelessness when he turned 18.

It was then he was exposed to drug use for the first time.

When I was in the care system, literally that day of your 18th birthday, your bags were packed and you were told: See those houses around the corner? says Ciaran.

And youd go around and this would be the adult place. That was the first time Id seen everyone you know, doing, you know just injecting themselves on the bed.

It was my first time seeing all that. But just to take you from being in the care system to that day, out you go. And I have been in and out of hostels like that since that day.

Both men now feel safe in the Peter McVerry Trust-run accommodation centre, where they can do laundry, use computers, visit a doctor, and are well fed. However, they want their own homes to start life over.

I feel good in here. I dont feel Im been pressured or anything, says Ciaran. Thats an environment you want, believe me, when youve slept out when youve had people pulling you out of your sleeping bag, people lighting you on fire, people urinating on you.

However, they do not want to spend the rest of their lives living in supported temporary accommodation.

Its very irritating how long it takes for something to get right, says Ciaran. For once, Leo Varadkar, fair play to him, hes the first politician to ever stand up and say:

Well I dont think Ill solve homelessness in my term. I heard Bertie Ahern saying it, I heard Cowen saying it and I heard the other fella [Enda Kenny] saying it.

Its just about starting life again and letting us just get somewhere where we can put the key in the door and as soon as that key is put in that door, thats the whole start of the new life, career, everything.
Dick Donnelly needs the assistance of a wheelchair. Hes approaching 70, but for decades his life has had a question mark next to it.

Martin Conmey is a few years younger. He has lived with the question mark, too, served three years in prison, as a result, and finally cleared his name, over 40 years after his world exploded.

Anne Kerrigan is Dicks wife. Dick, Martin, and Annes brother, Marty, were close friends, when circumstances thrust tragedy upon them, just as they were on the cusp of adulthood.

Marty died violently in 1971, at the hands of men who believed that he, Dick, and Martin killed their sister, Una Lynskey (inset right).

Anne, Dick, and Martin have come together to talk about how the decades, and even the vindication received by Martin Conmey in court, have failed to effect closure.

They want to talk about the Marty Kerrigan who will be forever 19, while his siblings and friends grew into adulthood and later life. They feel helpless in addressing what they see as a frightening injustice.

I feel it was a terrible loss of a young life, for no reason, Anne Kerrigan says. He shouldnt have died and I dont think his name has been cleared, but how can it be cleared? He was never charged with anything.

Marty Kerrigan was brutally killed by two brothers and a cousin of Una Lynskey, who believed that he, Dick Donnelly, and Martin Conmey were responsible for Unas murder.

The erroneous belief that the three men were murderers had been prompted largely by the Garda investigation into Unas disappearance.

Its still with me and my two sisters who live here, and our brother and sister in England, Anne says. It never goes away.

Six months after Martys body was found, Dick Donnolly and Martin Conmey were tried for the murder of Una Lynskey and convicted of manslaughter. Dicks conviction was overturned on appeal.

Martin served three years in prison, and had to wait another four decades before his conviction was finally deemed a miscarriage of

justice.

Marty Kerrigan never had the chance to defend himself, either physically or in the eyes of the law.

The State apologised to me, but there was no apology for Marty, Martin Conmey says.

And it is always out there. I still feel there are people saying that Ive got a few pound [he was compensated by the State, after receiving a miscarriage of justice certificate in 2014] and Im just getting on with my life, but we never got any answers. This has tortured me all my life.

Where lies closure? Its hard to know, Anne says. Unless somebody comes forward who knows something. There was a suspect very early on, but that wasnt followed up. That man probably isnt alive anymore, at this stage.

We were told that because Marty was never changed with anything, he cant be cleared.

They wonder about an inquiry, but are not holding out much hope. Yet, they cant let go, continuing, instead, to reach out for something, hoping against hope to live to see the day when the truth can be unearthed.

Life for a life

Marty Kerrigan suffered a horrible death. His body was found in the Dublin mountains, only yards from where Una Lynskeys body had been found days earlier.

The message was stark  a life for a life. Marty had been abducted from near his home in rural Co Meath, just as Una had from the same area.

There was evidence that he had been subjected to some form of mutilation.

Both of the deceased were members of a close-knit community in the Porterstown Lane area of Meath, a few miles south of Ratoath. Most of the families were originally from the west of Ireland.

Una Lynskey was 19 when she disappeared, soon after disembarking from a bus, on her way home from work, in Dublin, on October 12, 1971.

A major search ensued, which quickly developed into a garda investigation. Murder was suspected.

Detectives from what came to be known as the Murder Squad were dispatched to the area. A car had been seen in the lane on the day in question, around the time Una disappeared.

Pretty soon, the gardai began to concentrate on three local youths, all well-known to the missing woman: Dick Donnolly, Martin Conmey, and Marty Kerrigan.

Dick owned a Zypher model car and the guards began working to a theory that the three were seen driving in the lane soon after Una got off the bus.

Another sighting, of a similar make of car, was quickly discounted, once the guards began to focus on Dick Donnollys Zypher. It would be over 20 years before a private investigator would look freshly at this mavenue of investigation, including producing a photofit of the man who was driving.

At the time, that line of inquiry was dismissed questionably early.

In pursuit of the theory concerning the local lads, gardai interviewed other youths, who claimed to have seen the Zypher at this crucial time. Nearly 40 years later, it would emerge that these men had initially stated that they hadnt seen Dicks car, but had later given conflicting statements saying that they had.

At a 2010 Court of Appeal hearing, one of the men, Sean Reilly, told the court that, after giving an initial statement, he was brought to Trim Garda Station, where he gave the same account.

They [the guards] were not satisfied with this, he said.

I was punched on the outside of the shoulder and the cheek.

He said several detectives were interviewing him at different times, that he was punched repeatedly, that the table in front of him was banged and that gardai shouted at him. He singled out one of the detectives.

I can tell you, he was frothing out of the mouth with temper, Sean

Reilly said.

Reilly, as with the three men who became suspects, was very young, had never been in trouble, and came from a rural background in a conservative, authoritarian state.

He signed a statement putting Donnollys car in the lane. Crucially, his earlier statement was not referenced thereafter.

During a subsequent murder trial, the earlier statement was not given to the defence. If it had been, it would have raised the gravest questions about how there had been a complete change of recollection of what he had observed. The gardai never offered an explanation as to why the mans recollection had changed so radically in a matter of days.

At later court hearings, the gardai repeatedly denied they had abused anybody in custody.

Within a week, the three suspects were brought to the same station.

I had never been in a Garda station in my life, before that day, Martin Conmey remembered.

All of them alleged being subjected to similar treatment to Reilly. They were repeatedly interviewed, and kept awake for 44 hours.

Conmey and Kerrigan signed statements admitting they had encountered Una Lynskey on the day she went missing, that something happened, and that she ended up dead.

But the details were vague. There was no resolution about where the body was buried. If this was an admission of guilt, it was a strange one.

Dick Donnolly, who, at 24, was older than his two friends, didnt sign a statement.

They wrote out something and told me to sign it, but I said Im not admitting to something I didnt do and thats when the hammering really started.

The gardai denied any abuse in custody.

When Martin Conmey returned home, clumps of his hair were missing. Later, in court, gardai would claim he had started pulling out his own hair, when the enormity of what he had done had begun to dawn on him.

Thereafter, everything changed in Porterstown Lane.

Una Lynskeys family, on the basis of the Garda investigation and arrests, were now blaming the three men for Unas disappearance and presumed murder.

The three, and particularly Marty Kerrigan, were subjected to threats and intimidation over the following weeks. Dick was older than the others, Martin Conmey big enough to take care of himself, but Marty was young, not particularly well-built, and his only brother had already emigrated to the UK. He was an easy target.

The Lynskeys appeared outside our house, blowing the car horn at night, Anne Kerrigan remembers.

There was a drawing made on the road outside, of a man with a noose around his neck.

On December 10, six weeks after

the three had been arrested, a walker in the Dublin mountains discovered Una Lynskeys body.

Nine days later, at around 11am, Marty Kerrigan was bundled into a Mini.

Sean and James Lynskey, bothers of Una, and their cousin, John Gaughan, drove Marty mKerrigan away to his death.

That night is burnt in my memory, Anne Kerrigan says.

I didnt think anybody would be capable of taking his life. We got word around 5am.

We were expecting to see him walk in, but then there was a knock on the door and the garda at the door was asking could we identify the body.

That was the first we knew that he was dead.

The funeral was a blur. These were all young people, on the cusp of adulthood, bound together by history and neighbourhood, and not only had two of their number been brutally taken, but the whole community had been sundered.

The Heavy Gang

The murder squad, which interviewed the three suspects and their friends would go on to notoriety later in the 1970s, forming what was loosely known as the Heavy Gang.

One of the main officers was John Courtney, then a detective sergeant. Over the years, there would be a series of allegations against Courtney and against other gardai who worked with him.

It would be claimed that suspects in custody were systemically abused to extract confessions. Many of these cases relied solely on confessions for a prosecution.

The Heavy Gang were involved in investigating the 1976 Sallins train robbery, for which Nicky Kelly was convicted and subsequently pardoned.

They also investigated the Kerry Babies case in 1983, in which a whole family confessed to complicity in a murder they could not have committed. There were many cases in those years involving the Heavy Gang and republicans who alleged they were beaten in custody.

These allegations were largely discounted in trials. Courtney, who died last July, was never found by a court or tribunal to have been involved in abusing anybody in custody.

There was no such thing as a Heavy Gang in An Garda Siochana, he told an appeal court in 2012.

Yet, there was copious circumstantial evidence of people suffering injuries in custody.

Martin Conmey was blamed for pulling out his own hair. In the Sallins train robbery, there were claims that injuries suffered in custody were a result of two suspects having beaten each other up, when placed in a cell together.

All of these matters would only really emerge  largely through the media  in the late 1970s and into the 1980s.

In the case of Una Lynskey, when the gardai determined who the guilty parties were, and when those individuals apparently voluntarily provided a partial confession, nobody doubted that the murderers had been fingered by good, old-fashioned police work, least of all the family of Una Lynskey.

The Lynskey brothers and Gaughan gave themselves up on returning from the Dublin mountains, after killing Mary Kerrigan. The same day, Dick Donnolly and Martin Conmey were taken to Rathfarnham garda station and questioned, once more, about the murder of Una Lynskey.

Members of the gardai would later admit that the two men were shown photographs of their friends naked body.

On March 6, 1972, Donnelly and Conmey were charged with Una Lynskeys murder. Nine days later, the Lynskey brothers and John Gaughan were put on trial for the murder of Martin Kerrigan.

The three men claimed Kerrigan was alive when they left him. Evidence was also presented of an apparent attempt to castrate Marty Kerrigan. The three men were found guilty of manslaughter.

From the point of view of a jury, it would be difficult not to have some sympathy for the killers. After all, at the height of bereavement, rage had apparently driven them to seek out revenge. They were sentenced to three years in prison.

On 28 June, 1972, the trial of Donnelly and Kerrigan for Una Lynskeys murder began. The case nearly exclusively rested on the statements made in Trim station by the three and by other local youths who had claimed to have seen Dick Donnollys car in the lane.

After a 13-day trial, the jury went out at 2.58pm on July 15. They deliberated until 2.34am the following morning and returned verdicts of guilty of manslaughter on both men.

I am totally disinterested in such a ludicrous verdict, the prosecuting counsel was recorded as reacting in court. It would be difficult to disagree with him.

If the men had done it, all the evidence suggested murder. If they had not, they were innocent.

Although the jurys brief was to consider only the evidence, events beyond the jury room must have been difficult to ignore.

Crude justice had already been dispensed to the two defendants friend, Marty Kerrigan. The men who had killed him had been convicted of manslaughter, rather than murder.

The idea that they might have killed the wrong man was beyond comprehension. Ergo, Kerrigans two friends must have been guilty of killing Una Lynskey. Mustnt they?

Dick Donnolly was released on appeal, but Martin Conmey was not. At the appeal hearing, the judge had this to say about the statement Martin had given in custody: There is no doubt that the applicant was subjected to very intensive and persistent interrogation, the necessity for which is not at all apparent from the evidence.

It should have been possible for the gardai, in carrying out their investigations at that time, to have treated the applicant with the respect and reasonable consideration to which every person supposed to be innocent of any criminal offence is entitled.

Nevertheless, though the treatment of any applicant may have been harsh and oppressive, the statements made by him were held by the learned judge to have been

admissible.

Fight for justice

Observing the fight for justice of groups like the Birmingham Six and Guildford Four, in the 1980s, finally persuaded Martin Conmey to seek justice for himself.

A long struggle included a Court of Appeal hearing in 2010 and culminated in the award of a certificate for a miscarriage of justice in 2014.

I felt that my case was a vindication for Marty, Martin Conmey says. But there are still people out there who must think that he must have done something to be killed like that.

They [the State] apologised to me for what was done, but nobody has apologised for the fact that Marty was killed.

Anne Kerrigan says nothing was the same for her family after those traumatic months.

My mother had died before that and we were just dealing with that. My father never got over Martys death. He was just a young lad, starting out in life. He worked on a farm, enjoyed hunting on the land, he was very much into the rural life. And, then, he was just gone.

All of them recognise that the Lynskey family has had their own grief to deal with down through the years. Relations between them never healed after the killings and the Lynskeys eventually moved out of the area.

Una had been buried in the local cemetery, but her body was exhumed and moved to a different grave, in Co Kildare.

They never got justice, either.

The chances of the State establishing an inquiry are remote. Too much time has passed; too many of the principals are dead. In any event, the imperative for any kind of an inquiry appears to be political pressure, rather than the inclination to right a wrong.

At the very least, we want an apology for what happened,

Anne Kerrigan says. It should be put on the record. It just cant be wiped away.
You have one channel, we have 39 channels. If you curse me, you will receive bad merit. Those who [previously] cursed me already disappeared from the world.

THIS was Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sens response to a fairly anodyne question at a press conference in 2008.

Just the usual sabre-rattling bluster by the Southeast Asian strongman at the time, but this week the threat became reality as one of the last bulwarks of the free press in Cambodia was wiped out for good.

All the news without fear or favour, was the Cambodia Dailys ambitious tagline in the 24 years since it spluttered into existence in a country still reeling from 30 years of civil war, genocide, and foreign occupation.

The newspaper was envisioned by its eccentric proprietor, former Newsweek correspondent turned philanthropist Bernie Krisher, as an outlet for independent and accurate news reporting, as well as an incubator for a new generation of journalists in a country which had little tradition of either.

From 1993 to this Tuesday, they never missed an issue. Even in July 1997, when factional fighting on the streets meant there was no way to get to the printers, an office Xerox copier was utilised and a few hundred copies were distributed.

All that time, The Daily set a standard for the rigour, quality and fearlessness of its journalism.

It had a relatively small print run, but a big reputation for breaking sensitive stories about topics like corruption, environmental issues and land rights.

It survived, prospered even, amid the almost weekly denouncements, threats and the other assorted slings and arrows that are thrown at independent voices in countries like Cambodia, where principles like free press and the rule of law are poorly established.

In the past the Cambodian regime has reached for the grenade and the AK47 to deal with troublesome individuals or organisations.

But this time it was literally death by taxes. From out of nowhere, a $6.3 million dollar tax bill was produced without audit or appeal process.

Given a few weeks to pay a sum which it could not possibly afford, a fatigued and demoralised management gave in.

I was fortunate enough to have worked at the Daily in the noughties under the brilliant editorship of Dubliner Kevin Doyle.

I happily dived into the peculiarly fecund atmosphere you get in a newsroom which combined ambitious, hungry but green young journalists from the US and Europe and a much more experienced local staff who were utterly convinced of their journalistic mission.

Those local staff good humouredly put up with the wannabe Michael Herrs or Sean Flynns in their midst, who wanted a taste of journalism on the edge.

They were glad of the help and the layer of protection that they believed foreigners afforded them as they poked and prodded at those in power.

The paper itself was defiantly odd at times, with its wilfully old-fashioned format and resistance to technological change.

The same theme emerged from conversations this week with Daily alumni, many of whom went onto careers with the likes of Reuters, The Associated Press and the New York Times.

A profoundly-felt well of respect for the Cambodian colleagues who did their job day in day out, with much greater chance of punishment than we did and much less chance of a significant reward.

Those Khmer reporters truly, madly, utterly believed that telling the truth and shining a light on corruption would inevitably change their corner of the world for the better.

For the westerners in particular, it distilled a sense that, whatever else you might be in the news business for, you were privileged to have the freedom to be able to do it at all.

So what finished the Daily in the end?

What upset the precarious balance of diplomacy and powerplay, and convinced Hun Sen that the risk of international communitys ire was worth the opportunity to mortally wound dissenters and consolidate the power he has held for 30 years now?

Even the best of politicians tend to only believe in free press up to the point that they themselves truly feel threatened by it.

In an election year in which a resurgent opposition are mounting a genuine challenge to the regime, Hun Sen finally reached for the pest spray.

The same weekend the Daily ran out of road, opposition leader Kem Sokha was arrested and charged with treason.

In doing so, the always canny Hun Sen would have calculated that international opprobrium for his actions would have even less bite than usual.

As Western donors withdraw from Southeast Asia, China has stepped up with money for favours, but with no free press and democracy strings attached.

In such a delicately poised moment, the bellicosity of US President Donald Trump was akin to an elephant jumping into a swimming pool.

Within weeks of Trump declaring his war on fake news and hugely respected organisations like the BBC and the New York Times for reporting things he didnt like, Hun Sen had followed suit, condemning in March human rights organisations and journalists as anarchic groups.

When the citadels of free expression come under siege, the outliers are easy pickings.

Which is why what is happening in Cambodia should be heeded by everyone who assumes that attacks on free expression in the west are just passing storms in teacups.

The Cambodia Daily was just one newspaper on the other side of the world, but it is also another canary in the mine.

A signifier of what can happen when those who are supposed to defend of concepts like freedom of speech, are either asleep at the wheel or wilfully and quite deliberately attack it.

Because freedom of expression is a delicate, and fragile thing.

When the outliers are gone, the centre comes under even more pressure.

And In an environment where all media organisations are tarred as compromised and biased, and journalists derided as mere fake news peddlers, a few good puffs, and the whole house of cards can come down very quickly.

* Fergal Quinn is a lecturer in journalism in University of Limerick.
Your soup is here, Paul calls up. I put down my wire cutters. Gather my wits. I might need them during lunch; Pauls stores of forbearance are running dangerously low these days, what with it being the tourist season. I descend the stairs, looking forward to tomato soup. Hopefully with a crusty white roll, as requested, rather than disappointing soda bread, as not.

Soup, he says, pointing at the table and looking past me at an American tourist who is loudly admiring a chest of drawers. And soda bread, he says, with perverse satisfaction, looking at me like hes about to pin a butterfly to a board. Hard. He tears up his bread, giving the American tourist the same look only this time like he wants to pin it harder. With a thicker, blunter pin.

I fear any second now, the American will ask Paul the price of the cupboard, in the jaunty manner of someone who thinks a chest of drawers can be folded flat into a ******* suitcase and stored in the luggage compartment on American Airlines. I eat my soup, fearing also that this tourist might choose to remark on Pauls SecondHand Furniture and Auld Shite Shop sign, saying how funny it is and does Paul mind if he takes a photo? It would not be wise for a butterfly to endanger itself in this way.

I love your sign, the tourist says, so funny. Do you mind if I take a photo? And Im just wondering, how much is this chest of drawers? Christ, Paul says, when the tourist moves out of earshot, someone stick me on a desert island, please, with no tyre kickers to torment me with their stupidity.

Talking of desert islands, I say, by way of diversion, I listened to a podcast of Desert Island Discs this morning before I came in. It was Arundhati Roy.

Eat your soup and dont be annoying me, he says. But sometimes, it just so happens I like a chat, tourist season or not. What would your desert island luxury item be? I say, Arundhati Roys was a mango tree. Mine would be a feather pillow. But he just gives me that butterfly look again. Well? I say.

TOBACCO, he shouts irascibly, which I construe as Paul entering into the spirit of Desert Island Disc chat. Pretend Im Kirsty Young, the presenter on Desert Island Discs, I say, encouraged, and youre my guest castaway. You have to choose eight favourite records to take with you to your desert island. I WOULDNT TAKE ANY, he shouts, BECAUSE SILENCE IS THE WHOLE ******* POINT. Ok, I say, no music. But youve got to choose one book to take with you besides the Complete Works of Shakespeare and the bible. The RTE Guide, he says bitterly, so I can see what Im missing on telly.

I fear Kirsty Young is going to have her work cut out but never mind, she would simply press on regardless. So tell me Paul, I say, which eight people would you take to a desert island? NONE, he shouts.

But if you refuse to take records, we have to replace them with something, I say. I cant think of one person I wouldnt want to bludgeon after a day, he says. But radio presenters must sometimes hold firm with contrary guests.

So Paul, I say, in no particular order, who is the first person out of eight youd take to a desert island that you could put up with for one week without bludgeoning them?

I look at him. He looks at me. His face is as blank as a spoon. Mad Elizabeth? I prompt, helpfully. BETTY? he shouts, I cant give her a lift home from Lidl without wanting to bludgeon her.

Id bludgeon her in the boat before she had a chance to set foot ashore. And definitely not R with his special butter knives either. Hed be telling me the right way to eat a ******* coconut. Six more people to go. Kirsty Young never had it so tough.
DECATUR  It is tough for Battalion Chief Todd McKenzie to put the most fulfilling moment of his 28-year career at the Decatur Fire Department into words.

Having experienced an untold number of fires and life-or-death moments, McKenzie said he and all other firefighters are blessed to be in a position to save lives and make an impact. In particular, he thinks about the time several years ago when he and his colleagues were able to save a small child from a house fire.

That mom sends me that kids school picture every year, he said. Thats one of the ones where youre so glad to have been there and to make an impact on that persons life. Thats just a great feeling to be able to do that.

That story was among the handful told on Friday afternoon at Fire Station 1. Dozens of firefighters, friends and family were on hand for the walk-out ceremony to honor McKenzie after his retirement this week. Aside from the stories, the ceremony featured a bagpipe, the presentation of colors and firefighters lining up to say one last goodbye to McKenzie.

Fire Chief Jeff Abbott said Fridays ceremony had just the right amount of fun stories and laughs, fitting for McKenzies personality.

Abbott said it was always McKenzies attitude that he admired so often at the fire station.

Every time he came in, Todd had a great attitude, Abbott said. I cannot tell how much I appreciated that.

McKenzies sense of humor was on display as he first took to the microphone after nearly 20 minutes of colleagues praising his work.

Wow, I didnt know I was that well-liked, he said to laughter.

Jokes aside, McKenzie had nothing but praise for his colleagues. As for the younger firefighters, he challenged them to be involved and to take classes to prepare themselves to face any situation.

One of these days, if something happens in this town and no one knows what else to do, who do you think they call? They call us, McKenzie said, noting calls hes received ranging from small fires to a child getting a finger stuck in a ladder.

Make yourself the best you can be. That way, when something does happen, youll have that training to be able to help those folks out, he said.

Taking over for McKenzie will be Capt. Jeff Hott, who takes over as battalion chief on Monday. Hott came through the ranks of the department with McKenzie, starting within six months of each other.

Throughout their time, Hott laughed as he thought of all the pranks McKenzie pulled in the department, but he also thanked his colleague for all the hard work and dedication he brought along with the laughs.

I think the best thing someone can say about another firefighter is that they are a good fireman, Hott said. And Todd was a damn good firefighter."
NEW YORK  A Greek Orthodox church taking shape next to the World Trade Center memorial plaza will glow at night like a marble beacon when it opens sometime next year. It also will mark another step in the long rebuilding of New York's ground zero.

The St. Nicholas National Shrine, designed by renowned architect Santiago Calatrava, will replace a tiny church that was crushed by the trade center's south tower on Sept. 11, 2001. The new church will give Greek Orthodox believers a place to worship while also welcoming visitors of any faith who want to reflect on the lives lost in the terrorist attacks.

"It is such a significant church because of what happened here," said Jerry Dimitriou, executive director of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, which oversees 540 parishes and approximately 1.5 million Greek Orthodox faithful across the United States. He said people may want to stop and pray after they've been to the National Sept. 11 Memorial and Museum, a few paces away. "We will give them a place to come and sit, and sit inside of a church," Dimitriou said.

The large crowd that will assemble Monday for a ceremony on the 16th anniversary of the terror attacks will be able to see the unfinished church, now a raw-looking structure covered in concrete and plywood.

It is one of a handful of unfinished pieces of the reconstruction of the huge trade center site, which is now a combination of green trees, polished stone and glassy towers after being known for years as a dusty, gray construction zone.

Two of four planned office towers are now open. A third is set to open in spring 2018 with Spotify as an anchor tenant. A fourth office tower and a performing arts center are yet to be built.

The church, tucked in a park on the southern edge of the site, is Calatrava's second World Trade Center commission.

His bird-shaped train hall, called the Oculus, opened in March 2016 and is now a draw for selfie-taking tourists, though some critics grouse that the $4 billion price tag was high for a structure that seems more mall than train station.

The estimated cost for St. Nicholas is $50 million. Unlike the transit hub, built largely with federal transportation dollars, the church is being funded through donations from disparate sources including the Greek government, Greek Orthodox church members around the world and, Dimitriou said, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston and the Italian city of Bari, whose patron saint is St. Nicholas.

The church they are building hardly resembles other Calatrava projects such as the Oculus or the Milwaukee Art Museum with their distinctive ribbed wings.

Rather, the new St. Nicholas was inspired by two Byzantine shrines in Istanbul, the Hagia Sophia and the Church of the Holy Savior in Chora. Like those structures built in the fifth and sixth centuries, St. Nicholas will feature a central dome flanked by towers.

The building will be sheathed in marble from quarries north of Athens the same vein of marble that was used to build the Parthenon. Calatrava said he was thrilled to receive permission from the Greek government to use the marble because, "for me Hagia Sophia is the Parthenon of Orthodoxy."

While the towers at the church's corners will look like solid stone from the outside, the dome and sides will be covered with thin layers of sandwiched marble and glass that will be lighted from the inside at night. "You'll see that the dome is glowing and the front is glowing," Dimitriou said. The dome area will all be illuminated like a candle."

Calatrava said his building will complement the memorial pools directly to the north. "On one side you have water and memory, and on the other side, in the church, you have the idea of the light of the candle and the flame and the sense of hope," he said. "What I'm trying to do as an architect is give a sense of hope."

The original St. Nicholas was far more modest. The 35-foot-tall (11-meter-tall) building housed a tavern when Greek immigrants bought it in 1919 to use as a church.

The church stayed put when the trade center's monumental twin towers were built in the 1970s.

"All of the buildings around it were sold," said Olga Pavlakos, a parish board member whose grandparents were among St. Nicholas' founders. "We stood our ground. Greeks are tough people."

But the church that survived the twin towers' construction could not survive their destruction. St. Nicholas was the only building not part of the trade center complex that was completely demolished after hijackers struck the towers.

The new church is a few dozen yards (meters) west of the old St. Nicholas on top of the screening facility for trucks entering the trade center site. The land swap between church officials and government agencies involved in rebuilding lower Manhattan took years to settle, delaying the start of construction.

A temporary icon of Christ gazes down at the sanctuary under construction now. It will be replaced by a permanent icon before the sanctuary starts hosting Orthodox services. Meanwhile, work has started on second-floor meditation and reflection spaces that will be open to all.

A spherical bronze sculpture that stood between the twin towers before Sept. 11, 2001 returned to a spot next to the church just last week. Artist Fritz Koenig's sphere, seen by many as a symbol of resilience, was placed in a small park just west of St. Nicholas.

Pavlakos said the new church's welcoming stance honors the legacy of the old St. Nicholas, where area office workers often stopped to light a candle during their lunch hours.

"It's not only for Greek people, it's a place for everybody," she said. "And that's what we stood for before, so this is a continuation."
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Illinois state government has had a reputation of partisan gridlock and dysfunction for decades. Weve seen battles over issues where the only glaring difference that kept both sides from coming together and compromising was simply their own political affiliation.

Yet several weeks ago, it became crystal clear that the antics of the partisan rancor needed to be put aside because there were far more important priorities than party politics. Those priorities were the millions of children that werent sure if they would be able to remain in school because lawmakers in Springfield had failed to pass funding for education. Those priorities were the millions of working parents who were concerned they might have to find alternative options for their children if lawmakers couldnt come together and compromise.

To me, this was, and always will be, unacceptable.

Its widely known that leading up to last week, Illinois had one of the most inequitable school funding systems in the entire nation. For decades weve used a one-size-fits-all approach for funding schools which led to great disparities in how much money, per pupil, schools were receiving to educate our children. This created a statewide system of winning and losing school districts.

We also know that Illinois is an incredibly diverse state. The needs of Southern Illinois are different than the needs of suburban communities which are also different than the needs of the city of Chicago. Because of this, reforming the way we fund our schools had eluded lawmakers for decades.

In order to address this issue head-on, Governor Rauner created the Education Funding Reform Commission last summer. This bipartisan, bicameral commission was tasked with making recommendations to the General Assembly on how best to revise the states school funding formula. On February 1, 2017, this commission submitted its final report which became the baseline for legislators to work off of moving forward.

Leading up to the end of session in May, great progress had been made between Republican and Democrat negotiators in the Senate and the House to craft a bipartisan compromise that both sides could support. But, as often happens in Springfield, partisan politics won the day and the compromise was drastically altered without Republican input in the waning days of session, putting agreed-to reform in jeopardy.

So three weeks ago, the four legislative leaders, Senate President Cullerton, House Speaker Madigan, Senate Republican Leader Brady and myself, began to meet to find a bipartisan solution to reform school funding and ensure that our schools remained open. Abandoning partisanship, we spent countless hours over the course of two weeks coming to agreement on the major remaining issues to ensure schools were funded adequately and fairly for years to come.

Using the recommendations from Governor Rauners Education Funding Reform Commission and input from teachers, principals, superintendents, advocates and others, we found a solution where every child in every school district across the state wins.

The school funding compromise that was signed into law last week:

Provides historic funding of Illinois schools in fiscal year 2018

Establishes an evidence-based formula that ensures adequacy and equity  so that students in the poorest districts in Illinois receive funding first.

Allows for property tax relief for high-taxed, high-funded school districts.

Creates a tax credit scholarship program to expand school choice for children from low-income families.

Further expands choice though more equitable charter school funding to allow every child to be treated fairly according to their parents choice.

Ensures that Chicago Public School District is not singled out and is treated the same as every other school district in the state.

Simply put, under this new formula, every student across our state will receive access to the high-quality education they deserve.

This solution is also proof that bipartisan, bicameral compromise is possible in Springfield. It shows that through productive negotiations and conversations  with the same end goal in sight  both sides of both chambers can come up with a solution where everyone walks away as a winner.

Theres no doubt that the Governor signing the school funding reform measure into law was a historic moment. My hope is that this victory serves as a framework for us moving forward in the statehouse because there is much work that needs to be done to make Illinois a thriving state once again. I firmly believe that through bipartisan agreement like we saw last week, much more can be accomplished.
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Reynolds requests stay

of Conn. legal ruling

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. filed Tuesday a stay of motion request for a federal judgment in favor of a Connecticut woman who claimed she got laryngeal cancer from smoking Salem Kings for 25 years.

A three-judge panel for the Second Circuit Court sent the case back July 7 to the trial court for further consideration of whether to increase punitive damages. On Aug. 30, the full appeals court declined to hear the appeal.

In March 2011, the trial court determined a $28.1 million judgment against Reynolds that included $15.8 million in judgment interest. The jury found plaintiff Barbara Izzarelli was at fault for 42 percent of her illness, which reduced Reynolds liability to $7.98 million in compensatory damages and $3.97 million in punitive damages.

Izzarelli said she began smoking Salem Kings at age 12. She had her larynx removed at 36.

Izzarelli sued under the Connecticut Products Liability Act, saying the Salem Kings cigarettes were defectively designed.

Richard Craver

Gabes discount store

to open today

The former Rugged Warehouse store in Kernersville will reopen Saturday as a Gabes discount store at 930 S. Main St.

Gabes owns the Rugged Warehouse brand. It closed the Kernersville store in June for expansion and remodeling.

Besides apparel, Gabes sells accessories, footwear, cosmetics, beauty supplies, home decor, infant and toddler, pet supplies, toys and electronics. It has 65 stores in 12 states, including in Winston-Salem and Greensboro.

Richard Craver

Assisted-living group plans S.C. entrance

Ridge Care Senior Living, a Kernersville-based provider of assisted-living and memory-care services, has entered South Carolina with its Arbor Landing at Pawleys senior living community.

The group, founded in 2000, provides personalized support for more than 850 residents in 13 independent living, assisted-living and memory-care communities in North Carolina and West Virginia. The Pawleys center will contain 60 assisted-living and 40 memory-care units. The group plans to hire up to 70 employees for the center, expanding its overall workforce to nearly 1,100.

Richard Craver

Cone debuts neurosurgical operating rooms

Cone Health opened this week four neurosurgical operating rooms dedicated to spine and brain treatments.

The operating rooms are part of a $10 million capital investment into the neurosciences program at Cone Memorial Hospital in Greensboro.

Richard Craver
GREENSBORO  It takes a big response to go after a big project like Amazons new second headquarters, with its potential for 50,000 employees.

So officials from Greensboro, High Point and Winston-Salem will join together to make a pitch that the company bring its HQ2, as Amazon calls it, to the Piedmont Triad.

The company floated its plan earlier this week: a second headquarters operation that will be the equal of its Seattle headquarters. It will require initially a half-million-square-feet of office space, billions in investment and employ eventually as many as 50,000 well-paid executives.

Well probably do it in conjunction with High Point and Winston-Salem because of their (Amazons) requirement that it be a metro of over a million people, said Brent Christensen, the chief executive of the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce and the citys top economic development executive. In this case well respond as a region. The details of that will still have to be worked out, but thatll be our strategy. We know the competition will be fierce, thats for sure.

In addition to all that space and a highly educated workforce, Amazon is looking for a place where those people can find amenities, housing, international air transportation and a host of other requirements that the Triad may or may not be in a position to offer.

With its plentiful universities, under-used airport and several big sites, including the 1,500-acre Greensboro-Randolph Megasite in Randolph County, the Piedmont Triad can offer the raw materials. But whether it can compete with such cities as Chicago, Atlanta, Washington and others that have highly trained existing workforces is an open question.

According to one opinion piece on the Bloomberg View website, the cities competing for Amazon will need to rise to the caliber of cities competing for the Olympics.

First, the labor force needs for the headquarters dramatically shrink the number of metro areas able to bid, Bloomberg wrote. Amazon says its considering metro areas of a million or more, but realistically to provide 50,000 employees, a metro area is going to need to be significantly larger than that.

Bloombergs betting money is on Toronto, Boston, Washington, Atlanta, Dallas or Denver.

Whatever the outcome, Christensen said this region will submit a proposal by the mid-October deadline.

It will likely be a regional effort still determining how that is organized, he said, but we will certainly make an aggressive proposal to Amazon.
At least one person was shot near the intersection of Waughtown Street and South Martin Luther King Drive in Winston-Salem on Friday night.

Police said they were still trying to piece together the details about what happened and could not confirm whether more than one victim was involved.

A stretch of Waughtown Street in front of a Citgo gas station was blocked with caution tape as police investigated.

JournalNow.com will bring you more details as they become available.
GREENSBORO  Attorneys for a former state employee, who said she was fired for reporting the alleged criminal scheme of two district attorneys, dropped several more defendants from a whistleblowers lawsuit.

This latest change in a case that now spans more than 14 months came, attorneys said, in order to pursue the lawsuit more aggressively.

The N.C. State Bureau of Investigation spent more than a year investigating allegations that former Rockingham County District Attorney Craig Blitzer and former Person/Caswell County District Attorney Wallace Bradsher schemed to hire their wives and allow Cindy Blitzer to collect $48,000 in unearned salary.

On Feb. 21, attorneys for Poyner Spruill in Raleigh filed a whistleblower lawsuit in Wake County Superior Court stating that Caswell County Victim-Witness Legal Assistant Debra Halbrook had been fired by Bradsher when he learned she reported the scheme to the SBI.

In late August, Craig Blitzer said in a sworn affidavit that Bradsher told him that is why Halbrook was fired.

The lawsuit named the state of North Carolina, Bradsher, Blitzer, their wives, and Halbrooks supervisors: former Caswell County Chief Assistant District Attorney and current District Court Judge John J. Stultz, Senior Assistant District Attorney LuAnn Martin and Administrative Assistant Gayle Peed as defendants.

On Friday, the Bradshers, Stultz, Martin and Peed were dismissed in their individual capacities from the lawsuit. Wallace Bradsher, Stultz, Martin and Peed remain defendants in their official capacities, which means, if Halbrook wins the lawsuit, the state would pay her damages. The attorney generals office will defend those claims.

Both Craig and Cindy Blitzer were dismissed as defendants late last month.

Ms. Halbrook has streamlined her lawsuit to pursue the whistleblower claim against the state and its officials more aggressively, attorney Drew Erteschik said. Only the state and its officials have the authority and the resources to make Ms. Halbrook whole again.

Halbrook spent 19 years working as a legal assistant for the Caswell County District Attorneys office. She was fired months before reaching her 20th anniversary, which would have entitled her to a retirement pension and lifetime health care.

Erteschik said Halbrook has not been contacted, received an apology or offered back her job since she was fired.

Blitzer and Bradsher, both of whom have resigned their positions, were charged on June 27 with failure to discharge the duties of their offices.

SBI agents determined the men allowed Cindy Blitzer to collect $48,000 in pay as an investigator in Wallace Bradshers office, despite her taking classes full-time at South University in High Point. In an affidavit filed last month, Cindy Blitzer admitted she did not work the hours for which she was paid.

On July 17, Craig Blitzer pleaded guilty to his charge and paid back the stolen money. He also agreed to help with further investigations and court proceedings involving the alleged scheme.

Wallace Bradsher recently parted ways with his attorneys and decided to represent himself in both the whistleblower lawsuit and the pending criminal matter.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP)  A western Michigan woman has given up the opportunity to prolong her life in order to give birth to her sixth child.

Doctors removed Carrie DeKlyen's feeding and breathing tubes on Thursday, a day after her daughter, Life Lynn DeKlyen, was born. The mother chose to forgo chemotherapy to treat her brain cancer, since it would have meant ending her pregnancy.

Life Lynn was born prematurely and weighs 1 pound, four ounces (567 grams). Her father, Nick DeKlyen, tells the Detroit Free Press the baby is doing better than expected in neonatal intensive care.

The couple, who are from the western Michigan city of Wyoming, have five other kids who range in age from 2 to 18 years old.

Nick DeKlyen's sister, Sonya Nelson, tells MLive.com and WOOD-TV the family is "so proud" of Carrie.
BUDAPEST  Congress has returned to Washington after another unearned vacation and faces at least two immediate challenges, in addition to the familiar ritual of raising the debt ceiling.

President Trump has called the indecipherable U.S. tax code self-destructive. He has also decided to end the Obama-era program that allows undocumented immigrants who came to America as children to gain work permits. Congress has been given six months to replace it.

For advice on taxes and immigration, the president and Congress might learn something from Hungary.

On Jan. 1, 2017, the government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban lowered the corporate tax rate from 19 percent to 9 percent, the lowest rate among the 28 member states of the European Union. By comparison, the United States top marginal tax rate is 38.92 percent, just behind Puerto Rico and the United Arab Emirates.

In an interview, Zoltan Kovacs, secretary of state for Public Diplomacy and Relations in Orbans Second Cabinet, tells me the countrys 15-percent flat tax and lower corporate taxes have  surprise  increased government receipts because more people are being hired and they generate additional tax revenue.

In the last seven years, Kovacs says, 700,000 new jobs have been created in Hungary, only 150,000 of which are government jobs. The government jobs are mostly for people who had relied in the past on social welfare programs. Even here, he says, they know the meaning of the word workfare. The unemployment rate in Hungary is 4.5 percent, according to Kovacs, down from 11.4 percent in 2010 when the current government took power. Economic growth ranges between 3.5 percent and 4 percent, he says.

While American debt keeps rising, Hungarys debt is falling. In 2010 it was 85 percent of GDP. Today it is 74 percent. True, Hungary has a high value-added tax of 27 percent, but Kovacs says that is temporary (is there any such thing as a temporary tax?) and the governments goal is to reduce it as revenue continues to increase.

Hungary has some of the toughest immigration policies in the European Union. Since 2015, says Kovacs, 400,000 immigrants have passed through the country. Asked how many stayed, he replies none, adding, They (immigrants) all wanted to go to Western Europe, Germany, Scandinavian countries. Why? Because, he says, they have welfare programs in those countries and Hungary deliberately does not.

The charges for this policy are familiar to Americans: We are racists, we hate those people who come in, when in fact, Kovacs says, it is about maintaining Hungarys culture and way of life.

What about the religious component when it comes to migrants from Muslim countries?

We do not underestimate that element, he responds. Islam is mostly fundamentalist. Europe is mostly secular, but even for those who dont believe in God, or go to church. The very culture of Europe is Christianity.

Kovacs suggests the massive flow of mostly Muslim immigrants is undermining the very foundations of the European countries. He says even secularism is a threat to those foundations, but when you bring in a completely different culture  and its not superiority vs. inferiority  its simply about the difference. If you see the experience in other societies, Islam is not integrating. They exist in parallel societies and live by their own rules. We dont like what we see in France, The Netherlands and Germany.

He might have added that if a nation loses its culture, it loses the nation. The failure of especially Muslim immigrants to assimilate in ways that will preserve their hosts culture is critical. Otherwise, it is not immigration, but invasion, which appears to be happening in Europe, a continent that has a lot of experience over many centuries when it comes to that practice.

Hungary has provided a good example when it comes to tax reform and immigration policy. The U.S. could learn from it.
WASHINGTON  When todays historians look at the confrontation between the United States and North Korea, theyre likely to hear echoes of ultimatums, bluffs and botched messages that accompanied conflicts of the past, often with catastrophic consequences.

The one thing thats certain when you choose war as a policy is that you dont know how it will end, says Mark Stoler, a diplomatic and military historian at the University of Vermont. This fog of uncertainty should be a caution for policymakers now in dealing with North Korea.

History teaches that wars often result from bellicose rhetoric and bad information. Sometimes leaders fail to act strongly enough to deter aggression, as at Munich in 1938. But more often, as in August 1914, conflict results from a cascade of errors that produces an outcome that no one would have wanted.

World War I is probably the clearest example of how miscalculation can produce a global disaster. As Stoler recounted to me in an interview, each player was caught in the cult of the offensive, believing that his nations aims could be fulfilled in a short war, at relatively low cost.

It was a tragic sequence: After the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Austria asked for Germanys support against Serbia; Kaiser Wilhelm foolishly offered a blank check. Russia, Serbias ally, began mobilizing forces; Germany countered with its own mobilization, as did France, and then Britain.

In the nuclear age, the costs of miscalculation are much greater, but good sense (and luck), have prevailed, so far. Evan Thomas explains in Ikes Bluff that President Eisenhower appeared close to the brink in the Korean War in 1953. If the Chinese and North Koreans failed to come to terms, American diplomats were to broadly hint, the United States would expand the war with nuclear weapons, he writes. Whether Eisenhower would have dropped the bomb is anyones guess; amazingly, its not clear his ominous messages were even passed or understood.

Eisenhower played chicken again in 1958, when Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev gave him an ultimatum that the U.S. must remove its troops from Berlin. Ike promised his aides that he was all in against this threat. But soon after, he invited the Soviet leader to visit America, and after an intimate weekend with the presidents grandchildren at his farm in Gettysburg, Khrushchev backed off.

The Cuban missile crisis is the ultimate moment of nuclear brinkmanship. But this story is murkier than its sometimes described, says Philip Zelikow, co-author with Graham Allison of Essence of Decision, the classic study of the event. President Kennedy made an ultimatum to Khrushchev on Oct. 27, 1962, that averted war. But that was only after Khrushchev ignored an earlier Sept. 13 warning against putting nuclear weapons in Cuba. Would Kennedy really have gone to war if Khrushchev hadnt backed down? He told a Navy commander later that he would have started combat operations on Oct. 30.

Modern history shows how wars are interwoven with promises and ultimatums, some honored and others ignored, Zelikow explains. Germany offered the 1916 Sussex Pledge that its submarines wouldnt attack American ships and then did so anyway, drawing the U.S. into war. China warned in 1965 that an American invasion of North Vietnam would bring Chinese intervention, and U.S. troops stayed below the DMZ. America advised Iraq in 1991 that unless its troops left Kuwait, the U.S. would attack. The Iraqis didnt, and America did. And in a folly whose consequences persist to this day, America invaded Iraq in 2003 because of false intelligence that it had weapons of mass destruction.

How should we apply history to the current standoff with North Korea? First, messaging is critically important. With so much at stake, its crazy for President Trump to be sending sensitive signals about war and peace in 140-character public tweets. Second, evidence suggests that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is a genuinely dangerous risk-taker. U.S. officials calculate that he has conducted more than 80 missile or bomb tests since becoming ruler in 2011, compared with just 20 under his father.

Would the impulsive Kim ever be ready for negotiations with Trump? So far, he has spurned peace overtures from the U.S., answering American calls for restraint with three more tests. North Korea claims hes acting defensively, provoked by joint U.S. military exercises with South Korea last month.

Is Kims position a charade? Lets find out. No new U.S.-South Korean exercises are scheduled until next March. That offers a six-month window to push Pyongyang to explore options. As history shows, the consequences of making a mistake in war are calamitous.
The overall consensus (sometimes grudging) on the Trump administrations handling of Hurricane Harvey was that the federal government, particularly the Federal Emergency Management Agency, was well prepared and has so far carried out its duties swiftly and effectively.

Many analysts concede that on his measured rollback of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, President Trump is right constitutionally. President Barack Obamas directive doing what Congress did not regarding children brought to the United States by parents who illegally immigrated was legally shaky at best.

So all that remains to criticize are matters of optics and levels of visible sympathy. In both cases, Trumps critics accused him of lacking empathy. With Harvey, Trump didnt do enough to demonstrate he commiserated with the victims, they said. With DACA, according to a Post editorial that summed up much of the mainstream medias take, he was heartless.

Observing all the hand-wringing over the presidents emotional deficiencies are Trump supporters who come from Americas heartland and who, by and large, are outwardly stoic by nature. They do not wear their emotions on their sleeves. They greet strangers with a subtle nod rather than a showy hug or kiss on the cheek. A parents response to a childs bump or bruise is a quick rub, a pat on the head and a prescription to run along. As they do everywhere, people love each other deeply, but their public displays of affection wont nauseate any bystanders. Outwardly, the emotional model is more Gary Cooper, less Al Pacino.

I received an email from a reader who shared a letter he sent to his congressional delegation. The letter opened with this complaint about the president: He never smiles. He never laughs. My first reaction (before replying with a more congenial one) was, So what?

If there is one thing Trump and Hillary Clinton have in common, it is being emotively challenged. This was particularly detrimental to Clinton, since more voters on the left seem to place importance on a potential presidents ability to show his or her emotional depth. Such a requirement is a recent phenomenon, and it was a skill mastered by Clintons husband, who so convincingly felt our pain.

At some point, almost certainly since the beginning of the TV age, how a president does something became more important than the thing the president is doing. News reporters have morphed into judges sitting in a row, as if they were the panel on American Idol, grading the presidents artistic merit.

Ironically, it was not a Democratic or liberal president who first elevated imagery to equal standing with substance. That honor goes to Ronald Reagan, who refined the art of staging White House events for the cameras, complete with poignant backdrops suited to each occasion. A former actor, Reagan knew how to emote, which is not to say he was never sincere. But he knew how to make sure his sentiments were appropriately visible and his message delivered only when it was deemed camera-ready.

The Reagan template has been carefully followed ever since, with varying degrees of success, considering that not everyone has Reagans dramatic gifts. Nevertheless, political events are routinely choreographed to the point of rivaling Hollywood and Broadway in planning and detail.

The news media has dutifully played its role, often with little choice, placing cameras where instructed, framing pictures just so. Most modern political performances are so meticulously scripted and executed that their delivery across media platforms should include the same disclaimer required on official campaign literature and commercials.

It is almost refreshing  in a way the media should appreciate but doesnt  that the Trump administration has not completely mastered the theatrics of the presidency. The White House may well be hindered in doing so by its lead player, who, despite his television background, has never portrayed anything but a version of himself.

But it is peculiar that much of the medias criticism of Trump is that he is too undisciplined, which is another way of saying he should be more scripted. Perhaps too many journalists are not old enough to remember presidents before Reagan and the careful stagecraft he initiated.

It is true that Trump displays little outward empathy. Nor does he convincingly display a host of other emotions, not having the political or acting experience necessary to truly hone the craft. But to about half the country, such criticism would be greeted with a giant shrug, if it wouldnt be considered so overly demonstrative.

Gary Abernathy is publisher and editor of the Times-Gazette in Hillsboro, Ohio.
President Trumps order to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA) has provoked a thunderous national response from Americans across the political spectrum who are rightfully outraged at the potential human carnage that could result from pushing more than 800,000 young people back into the shadows.

Even, however, if one sets aside the potentially disastrous impact of Trumps order on the young people directly affected, there is also a raft of compelling evidence that ending DACA will produce a hugely negative impact on the U.S. and North Carolina economies. As veteran researcher and advocate Daniel Costa of the Economic Policy Institute wrote in a post, ending DACA lowers wages and tax revenue, degrades labor standards and bodes ill for millions of non-immigrant American workers:

To call this decision tragic is an understatement. Not only is it inhumane  after President Trump promised to treat DACA recipients with heart  but the evidence is clear that DACA has positively benefited the U.S. labor market. The vast majority of DACA recipients are employed, 87 percent, and on average DACA recipients saw their wages increase by 42 percent after receiving an EAD. Those gains  and the higher tax revenue to the federal and state and local governments that have accompanied it and benefited public coffers  are now in jeopardy.

Costas analysis at the national level echoes some of the findings highlighted in a recent report from the North Carolina Budget and Tax Center on DACAs impact in North Carolina. As researcher Victoria Crouse wrote, DACA has been an effective strategy for boosting beneficiaries wages, employment opportunities, and education, while helping NCs economy. This is from her report:

Ending DACA and introducing a mass deportation policy would not only be inhumane, it would also translate into significant economic losses for our state. If the program was eliminated and participants were removed from our labor market, North Carolina would experience a $1.1 billion annual GDP loss. Over 10 years, our nation would lose $433.4 billion in GDP if DACA were terminated. A loss in productivity at the state and national level impacts our ability to sustain a post-recession recovery.

The end of the DACA program would hurt our labor market. Research points to the central role that immigrants and children of immigrants will play in growing our labor force in the years to come. In fact, immigrants and their children are projected to be the primary drivers of growth in the working-age population through the year 2035. The number of working age immigrants in the United States is projected to rise from 33.9 million in 2015 to 38.5 million by 2035. Moreover, children of U.S.-born parents are projected to decline by 8.2 million between 2015 and 2035, thereby shrinking the working-age population. Given these projections, it is imperative that policymakers work toward integrating DACA beneficiaries into our communities to ensure that our skilled and educated labor force remains solvent for years to come.

North Carolina would not only lose a generation of thinkers, creators and doers, it would also lose opportunities to invest in all North Carolinians. Every year, DACA beneficiaries and their families join millions of Americans in filing their tax returns. Losing DACA beneficiaries as taxpayers would mean an annual loss of $63 million in state and local tax revenue in North Carolina. Our state is already missing out on an opportunity to raise $14 million in additional tax revenue each year because DACA does not provide a pathway to citizenship. Citizenship would enable beneficiaries to achieve better job and educational opportunities and higher earnings. Removing DACA beneficiaries who are also taxpayers would prevent our state from being financially able to make important investments in our schools, our hospitals, and our communities.

Trumps regrettable action now places the onus squarely on Republican leaders in Congress to swiftly approve legislation to rescue the DACA young people.

Happily, there appears to be at least some hope in this regard. Recently, in defending a bipartisan bill that would provide a path to citizenship for the DACA youth, South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsay Graham voiced optimism, and derided the notion advanced by Attorney General Jeff Sessions that DACA harms the U.S. economy. This is from a Politico story:

Jeff Sessions is wrong. These kids are not taking jobs from American citizens, theyre part of our country, Graham (R-S.C.) told NBCs Today show, rebutting Sessions assertion from the previous day. Theyre fully employed for the most part, theyre in school, they will add great value.

Lets hope Grahams message (and the hard data it reflects) carry the day in Congress in the coming weeks and, in time, at the North Carolina General Assembly as well.
This weeks event: The Trump administration announces the end of DACA.

Jim Monroe: 9. As a country, we cannot continue to accept every person in the world. We have enough issues with medical care, retirement, housing and crime with our own citizens.

It is true that there are many deserving people in the world, and I consider myself very lucky to have been born in the United States. These dreamers were brought into the country illegally. They should be sent back to their country of birth. The executive order that has allowed them to stay was not well thought out and many, including the attorney general, believe it was illegal.

Kristen Machado: 0. Not only is phasing out the DACA program cruel to immigrants who were brought to the United States as children without documentation by their parents -- leaving them no choice in the matter -- there are economic consequences, as well.

Approximately 30,000 of DACA recipients will lose their jobs each month once the sunset of the program begins, and the deportation alone will cost the U.S. billions. Another move by President Trump to pacify his base without considering the human and economic costs.

John Wayne Lambeth: 10. DACA is, was, a program that protected 800,000 young undocumented immigrants brought here to the U.S.A. as children. This program was made by the Obama administration. These 800,000 individuals that reserved protection: Many have started families, careers, studied in our schools. These people are called dreamers. Obama started this, President Trump says it's time for Congress to act. I agree, they are adults now. Why haven't you Dreamers done the right thing and become American criticizes ? You've had time. I agree with our president, and as Jeff Sessions stated, there is nothing passionate about the failure to enforce immigration laws. End the lawlessness and enforce the laws.

Steve Lawson: 0. He is completely self-obsessed and cares for no one except himself. I guess it is difficult to relate to people who are struggling to make decent lives for them-selves when you are born with a silver spoon in your mouth and are spotted a little $1-million loan from your daddy.

Pat Blankenship: "4. What is all the fussing about? When President Obama created the DACA program in 2012, he made it very clear that DACA could not be a permanent program without the approval of Congress. All that President Trump is doing now is moving the issue into the Congress so that it can be dealt with in a proper, legislative way . . as was originally intended by President Obama. That ought to be easy to understand . . yes? It seems as if the illegal aliens who are in DACA . . as well as their supportive, open-borders, demagogues and the Democratic National Committee . . should be pleased that the DACA program will be clarified by the U.S. government once and for all, removing all confusion for everyone. About half of all DACA recipients live in three states . . California, Texas, and Illinois . . so there should be little impact in North Carolina . . one way or the other."

JoAnn Dunn: 10. The important thing to remember is that President Obamas executive order on DACA went beyond the authority of the executive branch. There are laws on the books concerning immigration, and Congress is responsible for making those laws. By eliminating Obamas order on DACA, Congress will be forced to make the decisions about the status of those brought to the U.S. as children, and those decisions will likely include a path to citizenship (not amnesty) that should be supported by both parties.

Carroll Leggett: 0. There is an old saying, Lord, protect me from politicians who try to carry out their campaign promises. This president apparently never heard it and is still pandering to his base -- regardless of untold suffering it can cause. Frightful what the unintended consequences of this action will be to individuals and the nation.

Interesting that one who never seems to be bothered about the constitutionality of actions would suddenly try to use the Constitution to justify this heartless call.

Tony Gagliardi: 8. The president did what he had to do in ending an unconstitutional overreaching action taken by the Obama administration. Now it is up to the Congress to either write a law to address or reject the situation.

Don't blame this president for what could have legally been handled by the previous Congress and the Obama administration but was not.

Joseph Eskridge: 10. He has my support first and foremost because he is ending a end-run around Congress by former President Obama, who used one of his many executive orders to create yet another problem to our immigration policyor lack of. And just like Obamacare (ACA), the Republican-controlled Congress that vehemently spoke out against Obamacare until they got control will do a repeat with DACA.

The Republicans who screamed bloody murder over Obama creating DACA will fold with another round of infighting while the Democrats lick their chops at the thought of ending up with more votes in future elections. DACA kids versus Congress? The bookies will have odds-on favorite for the kids.

Hayes McNeill: 0. The president has popularized the word disaster in its political sense. His DACA decision illustrates it.

To pander to his shrinking minority of supporters -- though not all of them racists -- by attacking a class of young people who not only have not willfully broken any law but have complied with all we have required of them -- is a disaster. Almost every Journal reader has immigrant antecedents. As for our politicians who will decide the fate of these largely exemplary young people, they should consider their own family histories -- including our Congress persons and the president himself.

Virginia Underhill: 0. If our country buses out hundreds of thousands of innocents to other countries, we will forever be accused of ethnic cleansing. The country will never outlive such a reputation. Congress must act sensibly and compassionately toward these victims of the rescinding of DACA, an emergency humanitarian executive decision by Barack Obama who was consistently challenged by political opposition toward legaliza-tion.

Tighter bans on illegal entry -- minus the hugely expensive great wall experiment -- can and should be considered. Our pouting, petulant president needs another project to tweet about. His place in the nation now is to support and encourage legislative decisions and ignore perceived personal affronts that take up so much valuable time away from national emergencies.

Linda Hill: 8. After listening to the news and reading numerous takes on the rescinding of DACA, it is my opinion that this is the right thing to do.

First of all, this is an order for Congress to do their job and come up with legislation that addresses unlawful entry and protecting our borders. In the process it is hoped that there will be provisions that will provide a path to legal citizenship for those children who were brought into this country illegally. Make no mistake about it; calling them undocumented immigrants is just a softer term for illegal aliens. Of course, these children had no choice; their parents came here illegally and brought them along.

Within my extended family, there are several immigrants, including Japanese, Dutch, Philipino and South American. Each one of them came here legally, got green cards or visas, worked, went to school and eventually became American citizens. My Cuban friends were also brought here as children and are now proud American citizens. All of these people did it the right way: legally. Their path to citizenship was long and hard, but they persevered. What am I missing? In all those formative years and now as young adults, was working toward legal status not a priority? Perhaps Congress needs to look at the speed bumps in the citizenship process and address that as well as figuring a way to stem future illegal entry.

A senior ICE spokesman said it better than anyone, To be clear, what ICE is doing is what Congress intended. We are actually enforcing the law the way it is written. This is the first president whos asking us to enforce the law the way it is written and not asked us to have some executive interpretation of the law.

President Trump has given Congress six months to come up with a plan. I pray that they will.

John Harrison: 0. Trump, despite all his protestations of love for the Dreamers, strikes again. These are not rapists and murderers, these are young people trapped in a situation not of their own making.

Most seem to have taken DACA as an opportunity to do what the huddled masses have always done, make a better life for self and family. They need a chance, not a kick in the gut. Congress can regularize this situation and should expeditiously come together and do so. Otherwise the huddled masses will be heading in the reverse direction.

Suzanne Carroll: 0. I have a love for these people. The only love Trump has is for him-self. Congress has not addressed immigration in 16 years, and this ineffectual Congress is going to do it in six months? Trump is fallacious and his actions appease his campaign promise while conveniently taking him off the hook when Congress doesnt come through. Ruthless.

Derrick G. Hinson Sr.: 8, if deportations begin. When illegal aliens demonstrate in Yadkin County about potential roundups, taxpaying working people begin to notice. Too many of these people are arrogant, loud and militant with Mexican flags waving. They had eight years to start seeking path to citizenship. There are those who deserve sympathy, but many do not.
DAVID SHUFORD, Winston-Salem

Basic science

The author of the Sept. 5 letter The evidence equated the science of predicting an eclipse or a hurricane with predicting climate change, as if all science is the same. But all science is not the same. There are different levels of complexity in science and thus different levels of certainty.

Celestial mechanics is relatively simple because the math is well understood. The weather is more complicated; but today, short-term predictions can be pretty good. But climatology is much more difficult because the systems involved are much more complex. The math is a lot harder.

The author also implies Hurricane Harvey was caused by man-made climate change. There is no way you can prove that any one storm was caused by that. Correlation is not the same as causation. Thats basic science.

******

SIMIN HALL, Kernersville

A sham process

N.C. legislators have used unlawful, unconstitutional gerrymandering to win elections in 2012, 2014 and 2016. Their illegal maps have protected legislators from being held accountable by voters. About 90 percent of state legislators now have safe seats, with little or no opposing competition.

Legislators have spent $4.8 million of taxpayers money to unsuccessfully defend their maps in court. In short, they are an illegal, unconstitutional legislature.

In August 2016, a three-judge panel ruled that 28 of the 170 N.C. House and Senate districts were drawn to segregate and weaken the power of African-American voters. Republican lawmakers appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, and again were found unconstitutional and illegal. On Aug. 1, 2017, that panel gave legislators a new deadline: present redrawn district maps to the judges by Sept. 1 for use in the 2018 legislative election. The legislators hired the same consultant (Thomas Hofeller), who drew the current illegal maps. He is nationally known for rigging maps to help his Republican clients.

Racial gerrymandering has reduced political competition and accountability; it has produced rigged elections that hurt all North Carolinians except the wealthy, white, mostly male power brokers.

We ask legislators to research the practices used in other states and adopt principles that encourage deep community involvement. The maps must be evaluated for overall racial bias and partisan competitiveness, using tools recognized by courts to measure fairness. Districts must be very equal in population and obey other laws. Our constitution must be supported and strengthened.

******

MITCH R. ANDERSON, Winston-Salem

False allegation

I realize theres a lot going on these days, but I wish you had taken a little space to report the Sept. 1 announcement from the U.S. Department of Justice that after investigating President Trumps claim that former President Obama had ordered electronic surveillance of Trump during the presidential campaign, no evidence had been found that the FBI or the DOJs national security division ever did so. So it seems the accusation was either another purposeful Trump lie or some crumb of paranoia from his fevered brow.

Im sure Trump will now be eager to apologize to Obama.

***

REGGIE BRANSON, Winston-Salem

Breaking the law

When it comes to former Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio, who was convicted of breaking the law, hes a patriot, according to President Trump, who should be pardoned for his crimes before hes even sentenced.

When it comes to 800,000 young people, suddenly its law and order is more important than emotions.

Reportedly 91 percent of DACA recipients have jobs. None have criminal records. You couldnt find such glowing statistics at any Trump rally.

Please submit letters online to Letters@wsjournal.com or mail letters to: The Readers Forum, P.O. Box 3159, Winston-Salem, NC 27102. Letters are subject to editing and are limited to 250 words. For more guidelines and advice on writing letters, go to journalnow.com/opinion/submit_a_letter.
This year's Nov. 8 election didn't present any unforeseen outcomes, at least as it pertains to Dorchester County Council races. However, the competition between Republican Rita May Ranck and Democrat Carlisle Harrison was one of the more thrilling ones in the State, as the latter temporarily Read moreNewly elected Councilmember Rita May Ranck ready to 'work' and 'listen'
Carlos Esteban, 31, of Woodbridge, Va., a nursing student and recipient of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, known as DACA, rallies with others in support of DACA outside of the White House, in Washington Sept. 5, 2017. President Donald Trump began dismantling the government program protecting hundreds of thousands of young immigrants who were brought into the country illegally as children. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
09/08/2017



Hurricane Irma's projected path as of Sept. 8.

Jacksonville State University will continue to monitor the tropical forecast over the weekend as Hurricane Irma makes landfall in Florida. Students and employees are advised to stay weather aware and follow the National Hurricane Center's updates. Should the need arise to make adjustments to university operations early next week, the administration will communicate through JSU Alert.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) [official website] on Wednesday ruled 11-6 [judgment] that unrestricted monitoring of an employees communication by his or her employer constitutes a violation of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (Article 8) [text, PDF], concerning the right to respect for private and family life. This ruling concerns a 2007 incident [press release, PDF] wherein a private company in Romania was monitoring the Yahoo! Messenger communications of its employee, Bogdan Mihai Barbulescu, who was asked to create the messenger account to respond to client inquiries.
TOWN OF NORWAY  A grandmother charged with causing mental harm to a child for recently locking a 9-year-old girl in a dog cage said she was only trying to keep a troubled, sometimes self-destructive girl safe.

Gail LaLonde and Dale Deavers are also each charged with a felony for allegedly maintaining a marijuana-growing operation in the basement of the Town of Norway home.

Racine County Sheriff Christopher Schmaling on Thursday announced the arrests of Gail LaLonde, 46, the girls guardian, and Dale Deavers, 48, owner of the Norway home where the girl had recently been sleeping in a dog cage.

They were both charged Friday with causing mental harm to a child, false imprisonment and manufacture or delivery of THC. Friday, both made their first appearance in court, on video screen from the Racine County Jail. Probable cause was found to charge them, and $55,000 cash bonds were set for each.

According to their criminal complaints, a deputy was dispatched Wednesday to an elementary school in the Town of Norway after a school counselor called authorities. The caging was uncovered when the girl showed up at school that day with a very short haircut. When her teacher asked about it, the girl said the short haircut was punishment from LaLonde, her grandmother, after the girl tried to cut her own hair. The girl then said her grandmother also was locking her in a cage at night.

The counselor said the girl told her she was locked in the cage because she had been into medicine cabinets at night and destroying things, the criminal complaint states. She said LaLonde had cut her hair short because shed cut it herself and it was not right.

The school social worker also reportedly told an investigator she knows the girl has medical and psychological conditions and experienced substantial emotional trauma during her early childhood, before this incident. The counselor said this has caused the girl to be continually concerned for her own safety, and she will act out when she feels her safety is being violated.

The social worker also reportedly said LaLonde claims the girl is psychotic and eats inappropriate things like erasers, or things that could be poisonous. The counselor said locking the girl in a cage in a basement would increase her feelings of insecurity and fear for her safety and cause further emotional harm.

Trying to keep her safe

The complaint states that the investigator, after talking with school officials, went to LaLondes home and was invited in. When asked about caging the girl at night, LaLonde reportedly replied, Yes, thats true  she hurts animals, threatens to kill us, eats Ridex and cleaner. Im trying to keep her safe.

LaLonde also claimed that wherever she has put the girl to sleep, she gets into everything and will ingest anything she can get her hands on, the criminal complaint states. LaLonde said she had been locking the girl into the cage at night for about two weeks.

An investigator later learned Deavers had bought the 4- by 8-foot cage, which measured 4 feet 10 inches tall, at Menards on Aug. 31. According to the Racine County Sheriffs Office, on the floor of the cage was cardboard from the box the cage came in, and a few blankets. There was no pillow. The girl was locked in the cage from 8 p.m. each night until about 7 a.m. the next day, and also occasionally during throughout the day.

The girl and another sibling have been removed from the residence and placed into protective custody by Racine County Human Services. The Sheriffs Office is trying to locate her parents.

During the course of the investigation, in searching the residence a pot-growing operation was found behind a false wall in the basement, the complaint states. Investigators reportedly found 23 live marijuana plants, 121.9 grams of pot dried and ready for use and extensive equipment for ventilating the room, lights and irrigation. The growing operation was dismantled.

LaLonde and Deavers are scheduled to make their first appearance in Racine County Circuit Court at 1:30 p.m.

The Class F felony of mental harm to a child can be punished by up to 7  years in prison and/or a $25,000 fine. The other two charges can each be punished by up to three years in prison and/or a $10,000 fine.
UPDATE: On September 8, 2017, at approximately 11:30 p.m. Bryan Police arrested a 16-year-old male in connection with the shooting. At this time no further details will be released as the case is still under investigation.

EARLIER:

Bryan police say Johnathon Albert Cordell Munoz, 19, is the victim who was shot and killed just before noon Friday at Williamson Park.

Police responded to the shooting in the 2400 block of Rountree and

attempted to perform CPR on Munoz. He was pronounced dead at the park by authorities.

At this time, no arrests have been made and no motive for the murder has been announced.

The Criminal Investigation Division and Crime Scene Unit are interviewing potential witnesses.

Anyone with information about this offense is urged to contact the Bryan Police Department at 979-209-5300 or Crime Stoppers at 979-775-TIPS.
A special prosecutor has been assigned to determine if criminal charges will go forward following a John Doe petition accusing Columbia County law enforcement of excessive force and murder.

The 21-member group Columbia County Citizens Against Corruption, with petitioners from Portage, Pardeeville, Rio, Poynette, Westfield and Madison, filed a litany of accusations against county officials and law enforcement in a complaint filed June 22, 2016.

Columbia County Circuit Court Judge Alan White determined the petition, titled Columbia County Citizens Against Corruption v. City of Portage Police Department as a Criminal Racketeering Organization and Enterprise, should move forward and assigned it to Sauk County Judge Michael Screnock.

The case was sent to Screnock following a motion from the petitioners to White, who originally oversaw the case, which names and contains allegations against county officials including some who have worked in the Columbia County Circuit Court.

Of the 11 requested charges involving five incidents in October 2004, November 2010, March 2013 and May 2016, Screnock highlighted three points in allowing the case to proceed.

In the March 22, 2013, arrest of Keith Wall for operating a vehicle while intoxicated as a third offense, the petition claims that during a forced blood draw at Divine Savior Healthcare, a Portage police officer applied a pressure-point hold on Walls head that resulted in an injury, with blood coming from the back of his head. The petition accuses the officer of trying to stab Wall in the skull with a sharp object such as an ice pick.

The complainants have alleged facts sufficient to support a reasonable belief that a crime was committed, Screnock concluded.

Regarding the Nov. 14, 2010, shooting death of Kelly Bishell in a Pardeeville home, Screnock describes the accusation as rife with speculation.

Nevertheless, the complainants have identified at least two objective facts that change the calculus at this initial stage of review, Screnock wrote. First, Mr. (William) Cadwallander (one of the complainants) asserts that he never gave permission for the officers to enter the residence and that (Columbia County Sheriffs Office) Lt. (Douglas) Jarzynski relied on such purported permission as the basis for the officers lawful entry into the home.

The second issue in that case, the judge wrote, was documentation obtained from the Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation showing the trajectory of a .22 caliber bullet apparently fired by Bishell, which conflicts with a version of events described by Jarzynski.

Last, in response to issues raised surrounding the shooting death of Keith Galster, reported as a suicide during a 2004 drug-related search of his house by Portage police officers, the judge points to facts highlighted in independent forensic analysis reports.

The process is that a citizen makes a complaint saying that a crime has been committed and that it is not being handled, Chippewa County District Attorney Wade Newell said. The case was assigned to Newell by Screnock to determine whether evidence would support probable cause for further prosecution. It goes before a judge and the judge makes a determination  a very minimal determination  as to whether it will be forwarded on to a prosecutor.

If Newell finds probable cause for criminal charges, the case will move forward, but if he does not, the case will be referred back to the judge, who will determine if any further action is warranted.

So its no different than if law enforcement had come in and said, Charge this against so-and-so for battery, and there was stuff in there to lead me to believe I could go forward with a battery prosecution, Newell said.

From the time he received the case, Newell has 90 days to reach a decision. He said he expects to announce a conclusion within about two weeks.

Its fair to venture that those incidents were thoroughly investigated by the Division of Criminal Investigation, said James Palmer, executive director of the Wisconsin Professional Police Association. Palmer only could speak generally, and said he was not familiar with the particulars of case, which has not yet drawn the attention of the police union. It will be interesting to see if there is probable cause for that John Doe petition.

Although the union has represented officers following critical incidents, Palmer said he could not remember an example of a case in which separate officers are the subject of accusations in loosely related incidents in a single case.

Officer-related shootings are now required by law to be investigated by outside agencies, said Palmer, and so in Wisconsin, as it relates to officer-involved deaths, there is a level of transparency that doesnt exist in other states. From what little I know, I would not suspect that this most recent petition would go very far.

The Columbia County Citizens Against Corruption in 2015 filed a civil suit against several of the same officials named in their current suit as well as members of the Columbia County Board of Supervisors. That suit was dismissed in September 2016 by Screnock.
GRAND ISLAND  Gary Thompson Agency Inc., a privately owned, full-service independent insurance agency, announced newly elected officers on its executive board of directors after purchasing the shares owned by former President Terry Thompson.

The executive board of directors includes five current owners and location managers: Crale Bauer, Krae Dutoit, Matt Hawley, Johnie Kamery and John Thompson. Additional shareholders include Mitch Freshour, Tyson Jordening, Tony Purvis and Waid Vontz. Dutoit was elected president, Hawley was named vice president and Thompson was elected secretary/treasurer.

Terry Thompson has been involved with GTA for 32 years and has been an integral part of the growth & success of the agency, said Dutoit. Terry will continue to be involved with Gary Thompson Agency as an account executive, servicing his client accounts as well as assisting the board of directors as a business analyst.

Gary Thompson Agency Inc. specializes in personal insurance products, commercial insurance, farm and crop insurance and employee benefits, highly emphasizing personalized service. The agency includes 16 office locations in Nebraska, servicing customers in Nebraska and Kansas. For more information, visit www.GTAInsures.com.
KEARNEY  Some employers participating in the Central Nebraska Job Fair  set for Sept. 28 at the Buffalo County Fairgrounds  say theyre encountering big challenges filling existing vacancies.

Other businesses, according to human resources directors who will be at the job fair, are struggling to expand their businesses because of south-central Nebraskas tight labor market.

One of the participants at the Central Nebraska Job Fair will offer referral bonuses of up to $250.

"Every single manufacturer in Kearney is signed up," job fair organizer Scott Casper of the Kearney Hub said about the lineup of more than 25 employers participating in the job fair.

In addition to manufacturers, businesses at the job fair will include health care providers, retailers, food service companies, warehouse operators, and businesses looking to fill clerical, trades and social work vacancies.

Casper, who is the Hubs director of marketing and audience growth, said interest in the job fair has been intense because Kearney area employers are contending with one of the United States tightest labor markets. The latest Nebraska Works labor statistics show the unemployment rate is 2.7 percent in Buffalo County. Many counties in the Kearney region also have labor shortages. Custer Countys 2.2 percent unemployment rate is lowest in Nebraska.

"There are a lot of businesses looking to grow their existing operations and even some trying to move into the area, and I think thats a contributing factor to the struggle a lot of employers are seeing," said Megan Thies, human resources manager for Royal Engineered Composites of Minden, one of the businesses that will be at the job fair.

"If you look at employers in the area trying to hire, its pretty obvious that, across the board, there is a need for talent," Thies said. "A few years back I started a job board on Facebook for the Kearney area, and I continually see posts indicating a need for qualified people from employers in all industries: manufacturing, retail, food service, hospitality, medical, day care."

Kearney business leaders support the job fair because of the hiring challenges they are facing, Casper said.

"We spoke to the Buffalo County Economic Development Council. They contacted a number of area HR directors and found theres a great demand for this kind of an event. The recruiting climate in our area is very tough with some of the lowest unemployment rates in the nation," Casper said.

Ryan Dennhardt, operations manager for Associated Staffing in Kearney, said a key to building an applicant pool is pairing applicants with jobs that are attractive to them.

"Its about asking better questions, digging deeper and being more compassionate to life scenarios," Dennhardt said. "There are good candidates out there. We have to aggressively and relentlessly pursue them to fill our positions."

Associated Staffing will offer $60 to $250 referral bonuses depending on the position.

Prospective employees want to feel challenged, but maintain some personal leeway in their jobs, said Aaron Lorraine, branch manager for Essential Personnel. "Employees today are looking for a unique combination of higher wages, flexible schedules, job responsibilities, and balance between oversight and autonomy. An organizations ability to navigate these employee desires is crucial to attracting and keeping top talent."

Essential Personnel is offering a $50 referral bonus to everyone who refers an employee, and $100 for assembly and paint positions in Holdrege, Lorraine said.

Casper, the job fair organizer, said the Hub is promoting the Central Nebraska Job Fair across south-central Nebraska with ads in regional newspapers as well as TV and radio commercials. The aim is to get as many prospective job seekers as possible to attend the job fair.

"Our goal is to match job seekers with employers who have vacancies to fill," Casper said. "Its a public service for employers and job seekers."
KEARNEY  A Kearney man is wanted for attempted murder in Grand Island following a shooting incident Saturday.

Alex Solis, 31, is wanted on a Hall County warrant for felony attempted murder and use of a weapon to commit a felony in a Saturday incident where a Grand Island woman was shot in the abdomen with a handgun and wounded in her home.

The woman was treated for her injuries and released, and a warrant was issued for Solis on Tuesday.

The Kearney/Buffalo County Emergency Services Unit team (SWAT) tried to serve a search warrant on Solis at his home in the 400 block of West 25th Street Wednesday, but Solis was not there.

Court records detailing the incident have been sealed. However, Jim Duering, a Grand Island Police captain, said the circumstances of what led up to the shooting are under investigation, and some information "is a matter of contention.

"We really want to get him picked up. Maybe he can answer some of those questions for us," Duering said.

The incident was not domestic in nature, he added.

Duering declined to say the type or caliber of the handgun used in the incident, and was unsure if it had been recovered.

GIPD officers are looking at the possibility of more people being involved in the incident, Duering said, although at this time there are no other active warrants in the case.

Solis is described as a Hispanic male, 5 feet 4 inches tall and 170 pounds, with a tattoo of praying hands on his neck.

Anyone with information about his whereabouts is asked to contact the Grand Island Police Department at 308-385-5400 or call 911.

@HubChic
LINCOLN  Kearneys Youth Rehabilitation and Treatment Center has recently been accredited by the American Correctional Association.

The three-year accreditation recognizes staff support of the new YRTC leadership and credits the facility for the youths feeling safe and generally happy.

This audit shows our rehabilitation facility and treatment services are headed in the right direction, said Courtney Phillips, CEO of the state Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees YRTCs in Kearney and Geneva. We appreciate the auditors compliments about our positive on-campus culture as well as the synergy and good communication between the various areas of the facility regarding the welfare and rehabilitation and treatment services for each youth. Weve worked hard the last two years to build a more positive team atmosphere, and it shows.

DHHS operates YRTC in Kearney for teenage boys and YRTC in Geneva for teenage girls. A team of auditors representing ACA visited the facility in June during the three-day audit.

The auditors findings were based on a facility tour and confidential interviews with about 50 youths and 40 staff members.

According to a news release from DHHS, Kearneys facility was 98.7 percent compliant with 346 unique standards and with all 38 mandatory standards. Facilities must comply with 90 percent of accreditation standards.

The noncompliance areas in the audit already have been addressed in full, a news release said.

Working to meet 384 totally unique standards is not an easy accomplishment, said Mark LaBouchardiere, administrator of the Office of Juvenile Services. The true credit for this high level of compliance goes to all our team members who changed the culture here with everyone moving in the same direction.

Also given high marks was the teamwork of the staff members at both YRTCs who assist each other in meeting the needs of youths at both locations.

The YRTCs physical plant was also recognized for the buildings being well maintained and clean.

ACAs accreditation audit is conducted every three years.

The YRTC in Geneva for young women also is going through the re-accreditation process with ACA.
File-This May 25, 2017, file photo shows former US President Barack Obama waving before he is awarded the German Media Prize 2016 in Baden-Baden, Germany. Obama shocked students at a Washington school Friday by popping in to give them encouragement at the beginning of the new year. "I do believe that most of the problems we have are going to be solved by you," Obama told a group of students from McKinley Technology High School, according to an Instagram video posted on his account after his unannounced visit. (AP Photo/Michael Probst, FILE)
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Attorney General Yasir Naqvi, centre, Minister of Finance Charles Sousa, left, and Minister of Health and Long-Term Care Eric Hoskins speak during a press conference where they detailed Ontario's solution for recreational marijuana sales, in Toronto on Friday, September 8, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov
Skulls found in the New Kingdom tomb that belongs to a royal goldsmith are seen in a burial shaft, in Luxor, Egypt, Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017. Egypt has announced the discovery in the southern city of Luxor of a pharaonic tomb belonging to a royal goldsmith who lived more than 3,500 years ago during the reign of the 18th dynasty. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)
FILE - In this April 6, 2017 file photo, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks during the Women in the World Summit in New York. Clinton takes the blame for her 2016 presidential defeat in her upcoming book but offers choice words for President Donald Trump, her campaign rivals and Russian President Vladimir Putin. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)
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A Thanet councillor is launching a crackdown on plastic products in a bid to protect the isle's coastlines and beaches.

Cllr Suzanne Brimm has started her campaign after identifying plastic bottles and straws as a major source of plastic pollution on the island and at sea.

The independent councillor is pushing for local businesses to offer water refill stations and give out paper straws to reduce the amount of plastic being discarded, particularly in proximity to Thanet's Blue Flag beaches.

"I would like to see Thanet emulate the hugely successful Refill campaign that is working in Bristol," the councillor said.

"They have rolled out a Refill App which shows which local businesses are happy to refill bottles. I am now seeking out local businesses who are willing to get involved.

"Britain's drinking water is some of the safest in the world, it is simply daft to buy bottled water and then simply throw away the bottle."

Plastics can take up to 500 years to decompose, often resulting in the release of toxic substancesm and there is an estimated 165 million tonnes of plastic in the world's oceans.

The UK uses 5 million tonnes of plastic each year, with only 24% recycled.

Other key political figures from the area are rallying behind her campaign, with South Thanet MP Craig Mackinlay commenting: "I have become increasingly active in the anti-plastics campaign.

"I am pleased that plastic microbeads, used in many everyday products such as toothpaste and cosmetics are to be banned in the UK.

"It is time that retailers start to consider their use of excessive plastic packaging. I will be doing all that I can to support councillor Brimm's excellent campaign including raising the issue in Parliament."

Thanet Green Party has also voiced its support for the campaign, with spokesman Trevor Roper adding: "This is a positive initiative that will help Thanet.

"With 500,000,000,000 (half a trillion) plastic bottles used annually around the world, each refill represents a saving of oil, manufacture and transport, all of which create a massive carbon footprint.

"On top of that there is the environmental saving of rubbish collection and landfill, and cleaner beaches. This is a triple win."
ATHENS, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Greece's central banker said on Saturday that the euro zone should be reformed and equipped with efficient tools to counter future economic crises, echoing recent calls for a reshape of the euro currency block.

"We need a visionary and ambitious, and at the same time a realistic approach, to turn the currency union into a more integrated financial and currency union with efficient crisis-management tools and resources," Yannis Stournaras, who also sits on the ECB's governing council, said in an editorial in the Ta Nea newspaper on Saturday.

Stournaras said the euro zone should be strengthened because the ECB cannot be the single institution responsible for ensuring the euro zone's stability nor can it maintain its ultra-loose monetary policy forever.

His comments came a day after French President Emmanuel Macron used a two-day trip to Athens to send a message to fellow euro zone leaders about the need to strengthen the currency union at a time when Greece is coming out from years of economic crisis. Stournaras also backed a German proposal for a fully fledged European Monetary Fund which would be used to head off future economic shocks.

France's Macron, a centrist, was elected in May on a pro-EU platform that included pledges to create a euro zone budget that would be voted through by a euro zone parliament and supervised by a euro zone finance minister.

Stournaras referred to that proposal as a possible way to improve the "sharing of risks and responsibilities" in the single currency union.

(Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou; editing by Jason Neely)
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Heres how members of Wisconsins congressional delegation voted on major issues in the week ending Sept. 9.

Note: Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, R-Janesville, did not vote. By custom, the speaker does not vote except in rare circumstances.

HOUSE

Hurricane Aid, Debt Limit: The House on Sept. 8 voted, 316-90, to appropriate $15.3 billion in hurricane disaster aid while raising the national debt limit through Dec. 8 and funding the government on a stopgap basis for the same period. A yes vote was to send the bill (HR 601) to President Trump.

Voting yes: Mark Pocan, D-2, Ron Kind, D-3, Gwen Moore, D-4, Glenn Grothman, R-6

Voting no: James Sensenbrenner, R-5, Sean Duffy, R-7, Mike Gallagher, R-8

Original Plan for Disaster Aid: The House on Sept. 6 voted, 419-3, to appropriate $7.85 billion in hurricane aid consisting mainly of funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. A yes vote was to send the Senate an early version of HR 601 (above) that steered clear fiscal issues like raising the debt limit and stopgap funding.

Voting yes: Pocan, Kind, Moore, Sensenbrenner, Grothman, Duffy, Gallagher

Retention of Subsidized Air Travel: The House on Sept. 6 refused, 140-280, to strip a $150 million fiscal 2018 budget for the Essential Air Service program from a pending appropriations bill (HR 3354). A yes vote was to effectively kill a program that subsidizes commercial airline service to about 160 rural communities.

Voting yes: Sensenbrenner, Grothman, Gallagher

Voting no: Pocan, Kind, Moore, Duffy

Retention of Amtrak Subsidy: The House on Sept. 6 refused, 128-293, to strip HR 3354 (above) of its $1.1 billion subsidy for Amtrak in fiscal 2018. The amendment would effectively kill the nations rail passenger agency, which serves 500-plus communities in 46 states. A yes vote was to defund Amtrak.

Voting yes: Sensenbrenner, Grothman, Duffy, Gallagher

Voting no: Pocan, Kind, Moore

SENATE

Hurricane Aid, Debt Limit: Voting 80-17, the Senate passed a bill on Sept. 7 that would appropriate post-hurricane disaster aid totaling $15.3 billion while raising the national debt limit and funding the government on a stopgap basis through Dec. 8. A yes vote was to send the bill to the House. (HR 601, above)

Voting yes: Tammy Baldwin, D

Voting no: Ron Johnson, R

`Pay As You Go Hurricane Aid: Voting 87-10, the Senate on Sept. 7 tabled (killed) an amendment to HR 601 (above) that sought to keep the bills $15.3 billion expenditure for hurricane relief deficit-neutral by cutting the same sum from foreign aid accounts. A yes vote opposed `pay as you go for the bill.

Voting yes: Baldwin, Johnson

KEY VOTES AHEAD

In the week of Sept. 11, the House will take up a bill that would privatize much of the Federal Aviation Administration workforce, while the Senate will debate the 2018 military budget.

 Thomas Voting Reports, Inc.
The United States has formally requested that the U.N. Security Council hold a vote Monday on a draft resolution imposing fresh sanctions on North Korea in response to the communist nation's sixth nuclear test, a news report said Saturday.

The U.S. mission to the United Nations released a statement saying that it intends to call a Security Council meeting to vote on Sept. 11 on the draft resolution imposing additional sanctions on the North, according to an AFP report.

Earlier this week, the U.S. circulated the draft resolution, which calls among other things for imposing an oil embargo on the North, freezing assets of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and banning textile exports from the North.
'Idol School' has become all the rage recently, being deemed the second 'Produce IOI' among fans as these female contestants compete alongside and against each other to make their way to the top. Now, the show has recently revealed which contestant has made their way up the ranks!

On this weeks episode, the girls geared up for their final exams which consisted of the girls performing a cover of top girl group songs for one final stage showdown chock full of classic K-Pop performances. For this final test, the girls will be divided into teams but individually ranked. Who ever is successful within their group performances will compete as the final 3!

PRISTINs WEE WOO was performed by Park So Myeong, Jo Young Joo, Lee Sae Rom, Lee Seo Yeon, Kim Myeong Ji, and Lee Na Kyung. Check out the clip down below!

TWICEs Like OOH-AHH was performed by Kim Joo Hyun (Jenny), Song Ha Young, Lee Chae Young, Natty, and Park Ji Won. Two of the members even came to show their support and help teach the rookie group how to dance perfectly!

Lastly, students Lee Si An, Tasha, Bin Ha Neul (Sky), and Shin Sia performed KARAs Step and stole the show as well.



In the end students Lee Chae Young, Lee Si An and Lee Soo Yeon came in first place! Don't forget to tune into the show and see who will come out on top of 'Idol School.'
As Hurricane Irma ravishes the Caribbean and makes its way toward the Florida coast, Gov. Scott Walker on Friday authorized the Wisconsin National Guard to assist in relief efforts in Florida if needed.

Walker signed an executive order that allows Wisconsin's Adjutant General, Major General Donald Dunbar, to call personnel of the state's National Guard to active duty.

"We stand ready to help our friends in Florida who are bracing for Hurricane Irma, one of the strongest Atlantic Ocean storms on record," Walker said in a statement. "I thank Maj. Gen. Dunbar and the men and women of the Wisconsin National Guard for their readiness and willingness to assist in response efforts."

State agencies were also authorized to grant up to 30 days of paid leave to permanent state employees who are certified Red Cross disaster relief volunteers to aid relief efforts in Florida, Texas and Louisiana at the written request of the American Red Cross.
While questions over its long-term funding persist, a day center for people who are homeless is set to open in Madison in October as planned.

The Near East Side center, called The Beacon, is scheduled to open Oct. 16, said Catholic Charities Madison spokeswoman Jane McGowan. Catholic Charities is one of the centers four founding groups.

It is expected to serve about 150 homeless men, women and children daily in the former Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce building at 615 E. Washington Ave.

But, the long-term funding of the center remains unclear.

The centers four founding groups must deal with a budget shortfall of about $135,000 for 2018. Besides Catholic Charities, Dane County, the city of Madison and the United Way of Dane County also contributed money to start The Beacon.

The groups learned about the shortfall in July after Catholic Charities, the centers operator, said it would take about $680,000 a year to run the facility  $200,000 more than the other three groups originally thought it would take, leaving some to wonder whether the facility would open as planned.

For 2018, Catholic Charities has committed to spending $172,000, with Dane County including $172,000 for the center in its proposed 2018 budget.

The city and United Way committed to about $100,000 each.

Catholic Charities and a Dane County spokeswoman said theyre optimistic money will be found to close the funding gap.

While solutions to the shortfall have not been finalized, Jackson Fonder, president and CEO of Catholic Charities Madison, said discussions between the founders have been positive.

(The) conversations are going well and we feel theres movement, he said.

Food, showers, laundry, preventive health care, employment searches and housing assistance are among the services The Beacon will provide. It will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week.

The facility, which the county purchased in 2016 for $1.75 million, is being renovated by the county at a cost of about $3 million.
In the year after Justice Antonin Scalias death, the U.S. Supreme Court was forced to make decisions based on compromise, Associate Justice Elena Kagan told an audience at UW-Madison Friday.

While it wasnt the courts job to be a model for civil discourse, Kagan said, the effort to avoid split decisions made members of the court come to understandings that may have seemed impossible.

In an hour-long discussion at the Wisconsin Union Theater, Kagan spoke of her rise to her seat on the high court, the influence of her parents and the importance of compromise when deciding on divisive issues.

There are not many people, I think, who dont look at the place were in (politically) and see us as very divided on quite a number of issues, Kagan said. You can see the discourse being pretty hot and often depressingly so.

With an even-numbered court prior to Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch filling the ninth seat on the bench, accepting 4-4 ties on cases would make the court seem divided and incapable of getting its work done, Kagan said.

I think we all made a very serious effort to try to find common ground, even where we thought we couldnt, Kagan said. It sort of forced us to keep talking with each other.

A place where we can agree

Working toward common ground through continuous debate and discussion has bettered the court, and that work ethic shouldnt be forgotten, Kagan said.

Im actually hopeful that the effects of it will continue now that we have a nine-person court in the sense that all of us will remember not to stop the conversation too soon, she said. All of us will remember the value of trying to find a place where we can agree, where more of us can agree.

It wasnt a lifelong dream for Kagan to practice law. While she was growing up in New York City, her father was a lawyer and his job didnt seem interesting  there werent any of the dramatic court battles that you see on television. She said she only went to law school because she didnt know what else to study.

It was at Harvard Law School that Kagan found her passion for the law. Nearly 25 years later, she was nominated by then-President Barack Obama and in 2010 became the fourth woman to serve on the Supreme Court.

UW Law School Dean Margaret Raymond introduced Kagan and led the discussion. The two have been friends since middle school, and both graduated from Hunter College High School.

When asking about the influence of Kagans family, Raymond referred to Kagans mother as formidable. Kagan agreed.

Boy, my mothers voice is in my head all the time  because she demanded things, but she taught you to demand things from yourself, Kagan said. Her mother taught her the importance of effort, discipline and commitment, she said.

Kagan also had some advice for lawyers presenting their arguments before the Supreme Court: There is no right or wrong persona to have, be prepared to strengthen the weak points in your case, and know that sometimes the justices know the answers to their own questions.

Often the justices arent really asking you questions, Kagan said. They dont really care about the answers you give. Theyre making points to their colleagues.
This State Journal editorial ran on Sept. 7, 1917:

The federal child labor law prohibits employing any child under 14 in any factory whose products are to be shipped in interstate commerce. It also forbids children 14 to 15 to work longer than eight hours.

It is a good law. Its purpose is perfectly plain. It is intended to protect little ones not safeguarded by their own states. ...

The first formal court attack on its validity took place in North Carolina, where children over 12 have the perfect right to work 11 hours per day. The case came before federal Judge Boyd, one of the crustacean survivals of an elder day. He is 72, and his thinking belongs to a past, a dark and an unprogressive age.

He is apparently convinced that parents have a full right to say when and where a child shall work; that a child has an inalienable right to work; and that when we try by law to improve mankind, we should not invade family rights. ...

Boyd, insofar as he was able, has knocked out the federal child labor law. He has called it unconstitutional. He held Congress could regulate trade among the state, but not the internal conditions of labor.

This will bring great rejoicing to the North Carolina mill owners, where so many men called for the draft were rejected because of physical defects sown in their youth in their slavery in the mills. Cotton spinning is the great industry in western North Carolina, largely built up thanks to the barbarous laws of the state, on the frail bodies of little children. ...

Judge Boyd is a package of infamous pomposity that ought to be taken out into the courthouse square and publicly spanked. He lends not dignity but dishonor to the high court over which he is permitted to preside. He builds not respect but contempt for that court. He is a judge to whom justice is a stranger.
PARIS, Texas (KXII) -- Paris Police arrested two people Thursday when one lied to cover for the other.

It happened at a house in the 1200 block of SE 15th street, near Jackson street, around 6 p.m.

Police arrived to arrest Juan Ramos on a warrant for domestic assault.

When they got there, police say Violet Gillean told them Ramos had run out the back door.

Officers found Ramos hiding inside the house and arrested him for the warrant.

They also arrested Gillean for hindering apprehension.
PRESS RELEASE

China, Russia Continue To Push for Dialogue with North Korea

Sept. 8, 2017 (EIRNS)China and Russia are both continuing to organize for continued dialogue with North Korea, even in the face of pressure from the U.S., South Korea and Japan for even more punitive measures in the aftermath of the Sept. 3 nuclear test. U.S. President Donald Trump, himself, expressed the view Sept. 7, that military action is "not inevitable" nor is it a good option. "I would prefer not going the route of the military," Trump said, speaking after a meeting with the Emir of Kuwait, "If we do use it on North Korea, it will be a very sad day for North Korea."

President Vladimir Putin said in Vladivostok yesterday,

"We hope it will not come to a conflict with the use of weapons of mass destruction in Northeast Asia. There are possibilities to achieve the settlement of Pyongyangs problem by diplomatic means. This is possible and must be done."

Also on Sept. 7, in a phone conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, President Xi Jinping emphasized that the ultimate settlement of the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula can only be achieved by peaceful means. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi also stressed that there must be dialogue with North Korea, even as the sanctions continue.

"Given the new developments on the Korean Peninsula, China agrees that the UN Security Council should make a further response and take necessary measures,"

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told journalists, reported Reuters.

"Any new actions taken by the international community against the D.P.R.K. should serve the purpose of curbing the D.P.R.K.s nuclear and missile programs, while at the same time be conducive to restarting dialogue and consultation,"

he said.

Russian Ambassador to China Andrey Denisov told TASS in Vladivostok, yesterday, that both Russia and China believe that sanctions have reached a dead end.

"Any steps in that direction would mean stifling North Koreas economy. That will primarily affect ordinary citizens, the countrys population,"

he said.

"Therefore, we believe that there is no alternative to the peaceful solution path, and we must follow this path, convey this proposal to the North Korean leadership and persuade it to maintain dialogue."

Military tensions, meanwhile, continue to be stoked. As of Sept. 7, the six-THAAD anti-missile battery was fully installed in South Koreaa deployment completely opposed by China. This comes amidst rumors and warnings that North Korea, celebrating its Founders Day Sept. 9, may fire off another test missile.

As for what a new UN Security Council resolution would look like, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, yesterday, that discussions are underway but its too early to draw an conclusions. Nonetheless, the New York Times, stoking conflict, reports that a U.S. draft resolution is being circulated. According to the Slimes, it includes an oil embargo, and also includes a provision that would allow U.S. Navy ships to stop and board North Korean commercial vessels in order to inspect them to determine whether they are carrying weapons material or fuel into the country, and use "all necessary measures" to enforce compliance. The draft would also ban the shipment of all crude oil, refined petroleum and natural gas to North Korea,

"essentially seeking to plunge a country of 25 million people into a deep freeze this winter if its leaders fail to begin giving up their nuclear weapon and missile programs."

Elements of this are unacceptable to either Russia or China.
PRESS RELEASE

President Trump and Congress Must Cooperate To Get U.S.-Russia Relations Out of Their Deep Ditch

Sept. 8, 2017 (EIRNS)In an opinion piece published in yesterday's Washington Post, former Georgia Sen. Sam Nunn and former Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz warn that deteriorating U.S.-Russian relations constitute "a danger to the people of both nations and indeed the world."

Writing under the headline "Deep U.S.-Russia Malaise Calls for a Liaison between Trump and Congress," the two assert that "urgent action" is required to establish close cooperation between the Trump administration and Congress that can address problems in the U.S.-Russia bilateral relationship and seek to improve it. They propose to create a new bipartisan group modeled on the Senate Arms Control Observer Group set up by the late Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.V.) and Sen. Bob Dole (R-Kan.), which operated during the Reagan era to maintain regular communication between Congress and the State Department and arms control negotiators.

The problem today, they continue, is that the existing structure of sanctions, such as those recently passed by Congress, is so inflexible that it hamstrings foreign policy in dealing with Russia, frustrates European allies, and discourages Russia from "adjusting to a more positive course"although the latter formulation contains the implied, and mistaken assertion that Russia is on the wrong course. Nunn and Moniz also fail to point out that the problem with the sanctions isnt that they are just too harsh, but that they take foreign policy formulation out of the Presidents hands, and should never have been imposed in the first place.

With that limitation, they insist there must be a framework that will allow Congress to maintain "effective oversight and accountability while providing political space and support for the administration to pursue meaningful U.S.-Russia discussions on vital interestsand adjust course, if warranted." They conclude that despite deep differences, "Washington and Moscow must recognize ... that there is an urgent need to address areas of common interests," chief among them reducing nuclear and other military risks and preventing "catastrophic terrorist attacks."

During the Cold War, they point out, there was an ongoing dialogue about nuclear risks, "and the lack of it today is dangerous.... Inaction and continued dysfunction between the Executive and Congressional branches of our government will make it even more difficult to put out the intense fires that we now face in many parts of the globe."
PRESS RELEASE

White House Infrastructure Meeting on New York Citys Gateway Project Was Promising, Though No Promises

Sept. 8, 2017 (EIRNS)On Sept. 7, a White House meeting took place on the Gateway Project, the infrastructure plan for new transportation and logistics links between New Jersey and New York, attended by President Trump, key members of the Congressional delegations, and the governors from both states. Many attendees praised the meeting, which Trump attended for an hour; he repeatedly praised the "bipartisanship" of the gathering. Rep. Peter King (R) said that the meeting "couldnt have been more positive."

The Gateway Project requires some $25-30 billion, half of which is to come from the Federal government, and the rest from the states. The Gateway Project includes multiple improvements to the Northeast Rail Corridor, including two new rail tunnels under the Hudson River to allow repair of those badly damaged by Hurricane Sandy, replacement of the Portal Bridge in New Jersey, and other potential investments in mass transportation in the greater New York City area.
The 19-year-old son of former Fox News Channel host Eric Bolling was found dead on Friday afternoon, the same day it was announced that his father was parting ways with the network.

Bolling confirmed the news of the death of his only child, Eric Chase Bolling Jr., on his Twitter account.

Adrienne and I are devastated by the loss of our beloved son Eric Chase last night. Details still unclear. Thoughts, prayers appreciated, he wrote.

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Fox News also issued a statement: We are very saddened to hear of the passing of Eric Bollings son. Eric Chase was a wonderful young man and our thoughts and prayers are with the entire Bolling family.

According to several reports, Bolling Jr. was a student at the University of Colorado in Boulder.

Boulder police had no information beyond a statement that they are investigating an unattended death that occurred in the 900 block of 28th Street in the city. The body was discovered Friday afternoon, police said.

On Friday, Fox News announced the elder Bolling was leaving the network after an internal investigation into allegations that he had used his cellphone to send pictures of male genitalia to female colleagues.

The host of Fox News Specialists had been off the air since Aug. 5. He had been with Fox News since 2007 after a career as a commodities trader, first on Fox Business Network and eventually as part of the The Five on Fox News Channel.

stephen.battaglio@latimes.com

Twitter: @SteveBattaglio
Voters in 26 states and the District of Columbia have adopted laws that legalize the use of marijuana in some form.

But so far Las Vegas-based Allegiant Air appears to be the first and only U.S.-based air carrier to accept advertising from a cannabis dispensary.

Allegiant Airs in-flight magazine, Sunseeker, began this month to run an ad for Acres Cannabis, a marijuana dispensary and open-view kitchen where THC-infused candies and cookies are made and sold in a shop located a few blocks off of the Las Vegas strip.

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Kevin Forde, a spokesman for the dispensary, said the ad reminds travelers flying to Las Vegas that the sale and use of recreational marijuana are legal in Nevada.

It makes sense, he said.

Pot went on sale to adults 21 years and older in Nevada on July 1, after voters approved the use of recreational cannabis in November 2016.

Forde said the dispensary is considering buying ads in other airline magazines in the future. Industry experts say they have heard of no other airline that has accepted advertising from a cannabis business.

hugo.martin@latimes.com

Twitter: @hugomartin
The harsh words uttered by Donald Trump about Muslims and Mexicans had travel industry leaders worried that international visitors would feel unwelcome and stay away from the U.S. if he became president.

Until now, travel data had showed little, if any, change in the popularity of the U.S. as a tourist destination since Trump took office on Jan. 20.

But industry leaders say new data  based on the latest reports from the U.S. Department of Commerce, air travel booking sites and international aviation groups  show that international travel to the U.S. has, indeed, weakened since January.

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The good news for the travel industry is that demand for domestic travel remains strong enough to push the overall number of travelers who fly and book hotels in the U.S. up 1.2% year-over-year, projected through January 2018.

While forward-looking bookings and searches remain positive, the pace of growth is markedly slower from this time last year, according to the latest travel trend report by the the global economics advisory firm, Oxford Economics. The report was commissioned by the U.S. Travel Assn., the trade group for the nations travel industry.

The report calculates an index that represents travel volume in the U.S., both international and domestic. Any score on the index above 50 represents growth. A score below 50 is a decline. For the six-month period ended July 31, the report ranked the domestic U.S. travel market at 51.4, while the international market was ranked at 49.4.

Adam Sacks, president of Oxford Economics, said stagnant wages and the fear that Trump may fail to make good on his campaign promises could jeopardize future domestic travel growth.

Additionally, the presidents continued rhetoric and policies weigh heavily on the intentional inbound market outlook, Sacks added.

A report issued last week by the International Air Transport Assn, the trade group for the worlds airlines, warned that international travel in North America appears to be weakening, but it did not blame Trumps rhetoric.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that inbound demand is being negatively influenced by the additional security measures in place for travel to the US, the report said.

hugo.martin@latimes.com

To read more about the travel and tourism industries, follow @hugomartin on Twitter.
Two years ago, Greta Gerwig and Saoirse Ronan were holed up in Ronans hotel room at the Toronto International Film Festival, drinking Cokes and running through the entire script of a movie Gerwig had written titled Lady Bird.

Gerwig took the stage with her cast in Toronto on Friday night, as the packed crowd in the Ryerson Theatre stood and applauded loudly. Gerwig leaned on actress Beanie Feldsteins shoulder while taking deep breaths and trying to hold it together.

Every time I see the cast, I just lose it, Gerwig told me later during a hotel rooftop party. I dont know when or if thats going to stop. Ill probably be crying my way through the entire press tour.

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She wont be alone.

Following a stirring premiere last week at the Telluride Film Festival, Lady Bird landed another emotional wallop to the Toronto audience. Gerwigs coming-of-age story follows a free-thinking high school senior, Lady Bird (Ronan), looking to escape Sacramento (or as she calls it the Midwest of California). Gerwig told me she really sees the movie as a love story between a strong-willed mother (impeccably played by Laurie Metcalf) and her equally fierce-minded daughter.

That mother-daughter relationship is one of the many sharply drawn aspects of Lady Bird that is causing a stir with audiences. Gerwig says she has talked to scores of women after screenings who have told her they have been that mother or that daughter depicted in the film or that they hope their daughters do a better job of raising their girls than they did.

I just want to hug everybody  and I do, she told me, laughing. I probably hug more people than is appropriate.

Academy voters have swooned for coming-of-age stories recently, mostly because of their undeniable artistry. Two of the very best movies of the past three years  Barry Jenkins Moonlight and Richard Linklaters Boyhood  took the genre to unexpected places both in form and emotional depth.

Lady Bird, too, possesses that special something, courtesy of Gerwigs keen ear and eye for the way mothers and daughters and adolescent girls relate to each other. Like all great movies, theres both an authentic specificity to the storytelling as well as a broader truth that makes it universal. (Hence, the hugs.) Everyone has a home, one theyve left and one theyre trying to build.

Then theres the acting.

Metcalf remains best known for her work as Roseanne Barrs neurotic younger sister on Roseanne, a role that won her three Emmys and a role shes returned to for the upcoming series reboot.

But Metcalfs greatest work (and this is arguable because she has turned in so many fine performances) has come in the past year. She was mesmerizing in a standalone episode of Louis C.K.s online series Horace and Pete, which opened with a nearly 10-minute closeup of the actress as her character spun a story about a weird, erotic encounter she had with her elderly father-in-law. Metcalf earned an Emmy nomination for that turn, no small feat given how few people saw C.K.s brilliant series.

And Metcalf also won a Tony a few months ago for playing Nora Helmer, Henrik Ibsens famous heroine, in Lucas Hnaths play A Dolls House, Part 2. (Scott Rudin, who produced that play, produced Lady Bird as well.)

I think its pretty safe to say Metcalf will be going to the Oscars as a nominee for the first time this year for her work here as Lady Birds complicated, demanding mother.

She could well be joined by Ronan, a two-time nominee for Atonement and Brooklyn, who slips into the title characters skin in the kind of spirited turn that will win plenty of hearts and votes. (Ronan couldnt return to Toronto with Gerwig as shes shooting Mary Queen of Scots. Not a small task, Gerwig notes.)

Greta Gerwig talks about her directorial debut and casting Saoirse Ronan in Lady Bird 

Lady Bird will open in theaters on Nov. 10, perhaps enough time for Gerwig to stop getting teary-eyed when she sees her cast. But maybe not. This is a tightknit group.

I dont want to cry, but thats pretty much impossible talking about Greta, Feldstein told me on that hotel rooftop.

In the movie, she plays Julie, Lady Birds best friend and a musical theater nerd. In real life, Feldstein is a musical theater star, currently playing Minnie Fay in Hello Dolly! on Broadway. In fact, she had a matinee performance in about 14 hours.

Yeah, I better get going, she said. But theres no way I would have missed this. Im so proud of the movie and so proud of Greta. I had to be here.

This sounds utterly cheesy, Gerwig adds, but I mean it: I made this movie for 15-year-old girls to see and they might think, Hey, I could do that too.

Ive been given too many opportunities and met too many strong women not to do this. Ive been putting it off for far too long, making excuses. I had to jump. I had to give myself the chance because I want more women and girls to make movies.

See the most-read stories this hour 

glenn.whipp@latimes.com

Twitter: @glennwhipp
From James Franco to Alexander Payne: Directors who surprised, and disappointed, at the Toronto Film Festival

Perhaps the most useful and instructive function of film festivals, especially in light of the Star Wars affair, is that they offer an arena where filmmakers are allowed to fail  and, just as importantly, where filmmakers who have failed before are given a second, third or fourth chance.

One of the most thunderously applauded entries in Toronto this year was itself a fascinating film about failure: The Disaster Artist, which revisits the making of that 2003 bad-movie classic, The Room, is a triumph for its prolific director and star, James Franco, best known of late for clogging the festival circuit with wan adaptations of In Dubious Battle and The Sound and the Fury. Who knew that Faulkner would prove a less fruitful source of inspiration than Tommy Wiseau?

Not every director operating outside his or her usual parameters did grade-A work. I wasnt taken with Downsizing, an incredible-shrinking-man comedy that allows the writer-director Alexander Payne to look down on his characters in a more literal sense than usual. The Third Murder, a rare foray into police-procedural territory from the great Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda, struck me as an equally rare disappointment, measured and meditative to a fault.

And Im decisively in the critical minority on The Death of Stalin, Armando Iannuccis audacious but airless attempt to transfer the madcap style of his great political comedies (Veep, In the Loop) to the moment of the Soviet dictators sudden demise. Its an ingenious premise that Iannucci and his fine cast (including Steve Buscemi, Jeffrey Tambor and the great Simon Russell Beale) seek to render in shades both hilarious and disturbing, to increasingly strained effect.

By contrast, Dan Gilroys Roman J. Israel, Esq., which many dismissed as a failure across the board, struck me as one of the festivals most compelling oddities  a moody, intoxicating vision of Los Angeles that I ultimately preferred to Gilroys previous one, Nightcrawler. Denzel Washington burrows deep into the title role of a brilliant activist lawyer with savant-like tendencies who winds up skittering down a legal and moral rabbit-hole of his own making. The result is a bit of a narrative muddle, but the kind that makes tidier movies look overly timid by comparison.

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Movie recommendations from critics Kenneth Turan, Justin Chang and other reviewers.

Baby Driver Edgar Wrights exuberant, one-of-a-kind vehicular-action-thriller-musical-romance stars Ansel Elgort as a tinnitus-afflicted, music-loving getaway driver alongside a superb supporting cast that includes Kevin Spacey, Lily James, Jamie Foxx, Jon Hamm and Eiza Gonzalez. (Justin Chang) R.

Beach Rats Eliza Hittmans moving and moodily evocative coming-of-age drama follows the emotional and sexual confusion of a Brooklyn teenager (brilliantly played by Harris Dickinson) over the course of a long, hot summer. (Justin Chang) R.

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The Big Sick Kumail Nanjiani and Zoe Kazan are terrific as a young couple navigating the challenges of interracial romance and Muslim immigrant identity in director Michael Showalters delightful, serious-minded comedy, which also features powerhouse supporting turns from Holly Hunter and Ray Romano. (Justin Chang) R.

California Typewriter Doug Nichols documentary is a rich, thoughtful, meticulously crafted tapestry about the evolution of the beloved writing machine for purists, history buffs, collectors and others fighting to preserve or re-embrace analog life. (Gary Goldstein) NR.

Columbus John Cho and Haley Lu Richardson play two strangers who go on a walking-and-talking tour of the modernist architecture in Columbus, Ind., in this serenely intelligent, gorgeously contemplative first feature from writer-director Kogonada. (Justin Chang) NR.

Crown Heights Winner of Sundances coveted audience award for drama and featuring a gripping performance by Lakeith Stanfield, this is the stirring story of a man imprisoned for a crime he did not commit and the friend who fought for years to get him out. (Kenneth Turan) R.

Dunkirk Both intimate and epic, as emotional as it is tension-filled, Christopher Nolans immersive World War II drama is being ballyhooed as a departure for the bravura filmmaker, but in truth, the reason it succeeds so masterfully is that it is anything but. (Kenneth Turan) PG-13.

Girls Trip Regina Hall, Jada Pinkett Smith, Queen Latifah and a revelatory Tiffany Haddish play four women renewing the bonds of friendship on a New Orleans weekend getaway in this hilariously raunchy and sensationally assured new comedy from director Malcolm D. Lee (The Best Man). (Justin Chang) R.

Good Time Robert Pattinson gives a revelatory performance as a scuzzy small-time crook going nowhere very fast in this moody, relentless and impeccably observed New York thriller directed by Josh and Benny Safdie. (Justin Chang) R.

Marjorie Prime Superb performances by Lois Smith, Jon Hamm, Geena Davis and Tim Robbins are the center of this elegant, quietly haunting sci-fi chamber piece directed by Michael Almereyda, who adapted it from Jordan Harrisons 2014 play. (Justin Chang) NR.

Patti Cakes A canny mix of slickness and grit, this exuberant hip-hop fairy tale from first-time writer-director Geremy Jasper stars Australian actress Danielle Macdonald in a sensational performance as a twentysomething aspiring rapper from New Jersey. (Justin Chang) R.

The Teacher A fine Czech film about a teacher with a malevolent gift for taking advantage of students and parents. The Jan Hrebejk-directed movie joins an understanding of human nature with fastidious control over technique and style. (Kenneth Turan) NR.

War for the Planet of the Apes An eerie quiet descends over this grim and masterful third Planet of the Apes prequel, directed with bleak beauty by Matt Reeves (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) and crowned by another superb performance-capture turn from Andy Serkis as the soulful chimpanzee Caesar. (Justin Chang) PG-13.

Wind River Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen star in the most accomplished violent thriller in recent memory, a tense tale of murder on a Native American reservation made with authenticity, plausibility and wall-to-wall filmmaking skill by writer-director Taylor Sheridan. (Kenneth Turan) R.

Wonder Woman With forthright emotion, spirited humor and a surprisingly purposeful sense of spectacle, director Patty Jenkins and her superb star, Gal Gadot, have made a thrilling new superhero saga that might just save the typically nonthrilling DC Extended Universe. (Justin Chang) PG-13.

The Wound A longstanding manhood ritual reveals some sobering, unintended truths in the South African drama from director John Trengove, with issues of sexuality, generational divide, class and self-loathing cross-stitched into a compelling patchwork of edgy masculinity. (Robert Abele) NR.

See the most-read stories in Entertainment this hour 

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calendar@latimes.com

@LATimesMovies
The Sopranos had the Bada Bing strip club.

Game of Thrones frequented Littlefingers brothel.

And now in The Deuce, its the peep shows, porn shoots and by-the-hour motel rooms of pre-Giuliani Manhattan.

Though female characters increasingly drive the narratives of premiere HBO series such as Big Little Lies, Westworld and even GoT, their employment options are still limited. Must show skin appears to be a requisite for the fictional jobs theyre placed in, jobs that have little if nothing to do with advancing the narrative.

Yet in The Deuce, the exploitation of women isnt just a titillating side-story to the plot, it is the plot.

The period drama, which premieres Sunday, explores the rise of the adult film industry out of New York Citys sleazy, 1970s midtown sex trade. It was an era when Broadway playhouses lived next door to XXX theaters, streetwalkers shared sidewalks with gawking tourists and those phone booths on every other corner werent just for making phone calls.

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But the hookers, hustlers, pimps and mobsters of The Deuce want more. They see a potential gold mine in the blue movie industry, which is about to explode thanks to improvements in technology (Super 8 film, smaller cameras), less-restrictive legislation and law enforcement hobbled by local politics or their own skewed morals.

Just who will gain power in Manhattans relatively powerless underworld, and how they get there, is at the core of The Deuce. The neon-lit, Taxi Driver-inspired trailers ensure it will arouse, disgust and deliver on 70s nostalgia, but expectations for the series are much higher than just nominal success via the usual provocation.

The Deuce boasts the co-creator dream team of The Wire creator David Simon and frequent collaborator author-producer George Pelecanos who worked on both Treme and The Wire. They made that bleak story of Baltimores drug trade into a powerhouse drama that, 15 years after its debut, is still the gold standard for smart, episodic, premium cable series.

Though television has fractured into a billion and five more platforms, and bad guys and gals are now explored in far more interesting ways than they were when The Wire arrived, The Deuce has the potential to be HBOs next great original series.

Where the show might succeed on the constant threat of violence, explicit sex scenes and retro-glory alone (pimped out Lincoln Continentals, Winston cigarette ads, suede miniskirts), its the intricate storytelling based in areas most people would rather avoid, a stellar cast and context, context, context that makes The Deuce so much more than its naked body parts.

Twin brothers Vincent and Frankie (both played by the charismatically greasy James Franco) operate a bar in the dicey area around Times Square known as the Deuce. One is a likable, street-savvy hard worker, the other a grifting gambler. They both become tangled up with the mob.

Maggie Gyllenhaal is Candy, a seasoned prostitute who sees the potential of higher returns in the pornography business. She has a son and mother to support, and is tired of waiting for her next job in the pouring rain, or plying her trade in the dark recesses of a rat-infested, adult movie theater. The hardworking and young Darlene (Dominique Fishback) walks the same streets and drinks in the same bars as Candy and their colleagues/competition. The women traveled different paths to the bottom rungs of society, but share a common theme of nowhere else to turn.

An assortment of pimps who include Larry (Gbenga Akinnagbe), Rodney (Cliff Method Man Smith) and C.C. (a hot and cold character that stands out due to the talent of Gary Carr) run the streets, or at least the women working those streets, with a combination of sick love and fear. The Greyhound station is where they look for new product  e.g. Midwestern arrival Lori (Emily Meade)  while discussing the power structure of the Nixon administration. The argument whether their shoes are truly Italian or from the local Thom McAns is a conversation best saved for the shoe-shine kiosk on 42nd.

NYPD officers Alston (Lawrence Gilliard Jr.) and Flanagan (Don Harvey) work the area, but corruption from up high has trickled down to the beat cops, and enforcing law with any sort of consistency is about as likely as equal pay for women in 1971 (or 2017, for that matter).

The camaraderie portrayed in another production about the early days of the porn business, Boogie Nights, is also evident in The Deuce but its interspersed with much more treachery given the dilapidated world of 70s NYC. Youve never seen so much flattened chewing gum on a sidewalk, so much smoke stain on a motel curtain or rampant drug use out in the open.

But, amazingly, it all serves the story, and because of that, isnt as gratuitous and exploitative as the gratuitous and exploitative world it depicts. It helps that the pilot and many more episodes are directed by women, including Breaking Bads Michelle MacLaren. She is a master at making a characters hidden motivation, history or desire the focal point, rather than the heinous or questionable act they find themselves drawn to.

When women of The Deuce turn tricks or perform in front of the camera, its a function of their job, and often feels no more sexy or evocative than other scenes in which a student works a dull, telemarketing job selling health supplements.

Their get-ups are hardly sexy TV fare  grandma underwear lines show through their tight hot pants, and the polyester seams of halter tops pucker around imperfect waistlines.

There are a lot of characters here, and subplots, and stories that have yet to converge. Season 1 is just the setup, where youre introduced to mobsters who hope to develop property in the area, a journalist who wants to write an expose on the whys and hows of prostitution, a gay bartender who lived through the Stonewall riots and is seeking a safe harbor, and the aforementioned student whose story still makes no sense. Shes smart, empowered, but hangs out at a bar with pimps and call girls. Patience.

But none so far follow a predictable stereotype, especially Francos twin brother characters. He convincingly plays them both, often in the same scene. When a mobster sees them together for the first time, he remarks: What is this, the  Patty Duke show?

Humor is always a plus, even in The Deuce, where it seems theres little to laugh about.

But its a series full of surprises and original takes, even if its women have to walk that oft-tread path of many HBO shows before them.

The Deuce

Where: HBO

When: 9 p.m. Sunday

Rating: TV-MA (may be unsuitable for children under the age of 17)

lorraine.ali@latimes.com

@lorraineali
Jane Campion has delivered a sequel to her 2013 miniseries Top of the Lake, which starred Elisabeth Moss as Robin Griffin, a Sydney, Australia, police detective who, during a trip home to a remote New Zealand town, investigates the case of a missing girl.

In Top of the Lake: China Girl, which begins Sunday on Sundance Channel, Griffin has just returned to Sydney after four years away, at once a seasoned, even legendary officer and the new face on the force. Im happy, she tells Ray (Geoff Morrell), the forensic pathologist who is her sole friend and confidant. But shes having dreams and screaming in her sleep.

Wheres your loved one? he asks her.

She is in Sydney. A girl Griffin gave up for adoption at birth is about to turn 18  that Griffin was raped as a teenager was revealed in the first series  and she is thinking about finding her. (The girl, Mary, is played by Alice Englert, Campions daughter and the star of the 2013 feature Beautiful Creatures.)

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Griffin leaves a note at the home of the girls adoptive parents, Pyke (Ewen Leslie) and Julia (Nicole Kidman, in a gray wig and de-glamorized just to the point where one imagines, This might be what Nicole Kidman looks like in the morning). They will welcome her in different ways.

Like its predecessor, China Girl begins with a young girl going into a body of water  an ocean now, not a lake, and this time the girl is a body in a suitcase. Both series are very much concerned with parents and children and what else might constitute a family, for good or for ill. There are charismatic men no less dangerous to women for seeming to respect them. As before, the end will be something other than what the beginning suggests.

Working again with co-writer Gerard Lee and with new co-director Ariel Kleiman, Campion wastes no time in getting her major players onstage, introducing them in their various, soon-to-collide worlds. When that body-bearing suitcase is dropped into the sea, we know who did the drop and who is acquainted with its contents. How the body got into the suitcase and why are questions that will linger through the six-episode series.

In the usual way of these things, Griffin is assigned a new partner, Miranda Hilmarson, played by 6-foot-3 Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones), who is as squishy and expressive as Griffin is controlled and contained. There is some comedy in their differences, and some drama. The solution to the mystery  the one with which the procedural is concerned  is secondary to the human mysteries unfolding. Even scenes in which Griffin and Hilmarson actively investigate the case will be more about their own relationship than that aboutcharacters who fall in their way.

Much of the action is set around a brothel  legal in parts of Australia  above which lives Alexander, also called Puss (David Dencik), a half-principled, nine-tenths cynical, unkempt ex-"junior professor who gives casual instruction in English and social dynamics to the prostitutes below. No one ever gives away power, he has them say. Power has to be taken. (When they ask for something more useful to their work, he offers Wow.) That he is German makes him seem a bit of a caricature, but Dencik and Campion make it hard to pin him down completely.

Moss is alive in every moment, incandescent even at (restless) rest; shes the fuel Lake burns for energy. As on Mad Men and The Handmaids Tale, shes fearsome and fractured and catnip to men, through no design of her own. But if her bones are steel, her flesh is only flesh, and overwhelmingly this is a story about fallible, reliable human hearts. What counts is how Griffin gets on with Hilmarson and with her daughter. Everything else, no matter how much story time it gets  the professor in the attic, the girls in the brothel, the millennial Girl Haters Club that meets to rate prostitutes and discuss seduction techniques, Marys adoptive parents, even the work Griffin repeatedly refers to as important to her  matters only in how it affects those three relationships.

It is not a perfect construction. Some points feel too explicitly made  men are trouble  and some situations absurd. The story occasionally seems to skip a beat. It is a little too generous, perhaps, with coincidence. The climactic set piece, in a summer crowd on Bondi Beach, is superbly mounted and suspenseful but makes no real-world sense.

Still, perfection isnt really the point. Campion has created a world  not as primal and mysterious as in the original series, but with its own exotic integrity  with characters alive enough to care for. (Alive enough that you would prefer they think a minute and make the smart decision, even at the price of writing the series out of existence. Mostly they wont, fortunately, but sometimes they will  also fortunately.) Once youre in it, youre in for the duration.

Top of the Lake: China Girl

Where: Sundance

When: 9 p.m. Sunday, Monday and Tuesday

robert.lloyd@latimes.com

Follow Robert Lloyd on Twitter @LATimesTVLloyd

Review: Jane Campions Top of the Lake mysterious, beautiful

Jane Campion followed Bright Star with a move to TV and Top of the Lake
This week our Sunday paper brings you the fall arts preview. Heres whats inside:

THE BIG STORY

Salman Rushdie, whose new novel is The Golden House, kicks off the fall literary season with two events in Southern California: a book signing at Vromans and the L.A. Times Ideas Exchange at the Ace Hotel on Sept. 17. When you think you about the years he spent in hiding during the fatwa, its pretty amazing that we get to see Rushdie speak. I hope youll join me at our event at the Ace Hotel.

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Salman Rushdie (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

FOR YOUR CALENDAR

Our other literary event picks for fall are Ta-Nehisi Coates, Jennifer Egan, Matthew Weiner, Janet Fitch, Art Garfunkel and actor Bruce Campbell, the last of whom will host a live game show to celebrate his new memoir. Youll find all the details here.

Jennifer Egan (Henny Ray Abrams / AP)

BESTSELLERS

Debuting at No. 1 on our fiction bestseller list is Y Is for Yesterday by Sue Grafton. Grafton has been writing the Kinsey Millhone mysteries for 35 years, starting in 1982 with A Is for Alibi and continuing straight through the alphabet. The series is based in the fictional California town of Santa Teresa (think Santa Barbara); in its latest bracing installment, Millhone is called in to help on a 10-year-old case of a high school rape, a missing video and a murder.

Sue Grafton in 2009, when she was on the letter U. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

MORE IN BOOKS

John Steinbecks stepdaughter was awarded $13 million by a Los Angeles court this week over Steinbecks estate; she had wanted to allow his books to be adapted into film, but his son Thomas Steinbeck and Thomas wife, Gail, had blocked those efforts.

Stoner by John Willliams, the cult favorite novel of the literary set (its about a college professor named Stoner), is headed to the big screen with Casey Affleck in the lead role.

Illustrations from the adorable childrens book The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats will become Forever stamps available from the U.S. Postal Service in October, in plenty of time to mail your holiday cards.

In his new novel Dinner at the Center of the Earth, Nathan Englander has created a kaleidoscopic fairy tale of Israeli-Palestinian reconciliation  or its inverse, writes David L. Ulin in our review.

John le Carre is back in fine form  with George Smiley  with his new novel A Legacy of Spies. Paula L. Woods has our review.

carolyn.kellogg@latimes.com

@paperhaus
A newsmagazines cover hailing the papal visit to Colombia said it all: Francis Superstar! And after as many as 1.1 million faithful braved rain and fog Saturday morning to attend an outdoor Mass he celebrated on the runways of a downtown airport, who could argue?

The turnout at the third stop of the popes five-day visit to this Andean country followed similarly crowded religious services in Bogota that attracted 1 million and in Villavicencio that drew 400,000, indicating that Pope Francis mega-celebrity status only seems to grow.

The faithful began arriving a day before the Mass began, many huddling in plastic rain ponchos. By 7 a.m. Saturday, the airport and its 1.5-mile runway was a solid mass of humanity, and officials shut the gates. As many as 50,000 waited in line, hoping to be allowed in.

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Its a unique moment that we wont see again, said Judy Cruz, a translator from the Amazon River port town of Leticia, her disappointment evident as she stood in line. For us Catholics, he is the representative of God on earth.

Others described their need to be present for the Mass less in terms of the popes status atop the 1.2-billion member church and more because of his personal charisma and concern for the worlds underclasses.

You believe him because it comes from the spiritual, not the political aspect, said Jorge Ramirez, a Medellin fruit distributor.

You feel a closeness to him because of his humility and his genuine concern for the poor, the handicapped and the disadvantaged, said Wilson Afanador, a metallurgical engineer from Bucaramanga, as he waited in line to enter the airport grounds.

Clergy wait for Pope Francis at Olaya Herrera Airport in Medellin, Colombia, on Saturday, Sept. 9. The pontiff also will travel to Cartagena in his five-day visit to the South American country. (Alessandro Di Meo / EPA)

Arriving at the airport 45 minutes late from Bogota because of rains and heavy cloud cover, Pope Francis mounted his popemobile and zig-zagged his way through the enormous throngs to afford a glance to as many as possible. Ecstatic screaming crowds waved white cloths in gestures of peace.

The pope urged his massive audience Saturday at Olaya Herrera Airport to seek spiritual rebirth through reconciliation. His urgings seem to resonate in a country exhausted by decades of civil conflict but wary of terms of a peace deal signed last year with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia that many think is too generous.

In his homily, he also urged Colombians to take up religious vocations and commit to helping the disadvantaged as a means of spiritual renewal.

Dont be indifferent to the sufferings of the underprivileged, the pope implored. Have the evangelical courage [to help] the many who hunger for God and for the dignity they have lost.  The church is for everyone, the healthy and the sick, the good and the bad.

In choosing Medellin as one of only four cities on his five-day Colombia tour, the pope highlighted what a different kind of rebirth can accomplish. Once the murder capital of the world and home to notorious drug lord Pablo Escobar and his global cocaine empire, the city of 3.7 million has become a beacon of Latin American urban renewal.

To be sure, tourists still flock to Pablo Tours to see where Escobar lived, was killed in a police shootout in 1993 and subsequently was buried. Two decades after his death, his life and criminal enterprise still inspire Hollywood movies, including two films starring Tom Cruise and Javier Bardem premiering this month.

But as the murder rate has plummeted, Medellin also is becoming known for its innovative mass transit system, extensive public arts program and an industrial base known for hard work and enterprise. A $100-million research project seeking an Alzheimers cure and co-financed by the U.S. National Institutes of Health is based here.

Known as the City of Eternal Spring for its mild and sunny climate, Medellin in recent years has hosted international conferences such as the World Economic Forum and the World Tourism Organization.

Medellin has long been known as a highly Catholic city in a highly Catholic country, where at least 75% of the population of 47 million describe themselves as members. With more than 23,000 priests and nuns, Colombia also is an important supplier of vocational personnel to the church, ranking third among Latin American countries behind Brazil and Mexico.

At Fridays Mass in Villavicencio, a steamy oil town in eastern Meta province, Francis beatified two of Colombias martyred priests, Bishop Jesus Emilio Jaramillo and the Rev. Pedro Ramirez, who were victims of armed conflict, in 1989 and 1948, respectively.

In attendance as special invitees were 6,000 victims of Colombias bloody violence, many of them missing limbs. On the makeshift altar at Malocas Park was a mutilated crucifix from the town of Bojaya, a town in western Choco province where 119 people were killed in 2002 when a bomb exploded in the church where they had taken refuge from fighting.

In the final leg of his Colombia trip, the pope is scheduled to travel to the historic walled city of Cartagena on Sunday to endorse religious vocations. He will pay special homage at the church of St. Peter Claver, Colombias first and most important saint. Claver was a 17th century Spanish priest who ministered to slaves as they disembarked from horrific sea journeys from Africa.

Francis boards a late-evening flight Sunday from Cartagena for Rome, ending his 20th trip outside Italy since ascending to the papacy in 2013.

Kraul is a special correspondent.

UPDATES:

2:30 p.m.: This article was updated with additional details that include the popes meeting with victims of Colombias bloody guerrilla war.

This article was originally published at 12:35 p.m.
Out of curiosity, I looked up the value of a two-story tract house I bought in a middle-class San Jose neighborhood back in 1983, for about $130,000.

The home  which I sold for about $140,000 in 1985  would now haul in an estimated $1 million or more, based on recent sales in the same neighborhood.

Thats roughly eight times more than I paid for it. But in the 34 years since then, Californias median household income has increased by roughly three times, not eight.

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Ordinary house, crazy price

So why an eight-fold price increase for a pretty ordinary three-bedroom, two-bath house?

Because of the explosion of the Silicon Valley economy, and because there isnt enough housing there or in other job centers in California. Limited supply plus high demand equals insane prices, exhausting commutes from less expensive areas, huge portions of income going toward housing, and poverty rates that lead the nation.

How to fix all this cant be covered in one little corner of the newspaper. The short answer, though, is to build more housing.

But bureaucracy, land scarcity and construction costs, limited funding for affordable housing and well-intended environmental restrictions all stand in the way of new projects. And so do people up and down the state who are OK with new housing unless it happens to be in their neighborhood.

I get not wanting to see the scale or character of neighborhoods radically transformed by cramming high-density housing into every available space. But the population isnt shrinking, and theres room for sensible development.

We need to permit dense housing near jobs and transit, said Brian Hanlon of Oakland, who has begun countering NIMBYs with his nonprofit YIMBY, or Yes In My Back Yard.

Without that kind of development, Hanlon said, racial and economic inequality and segregation will grow, while long-distance commuters put a toll on themselves, their families and the environment.

But some people arent listening.

Affluent community fights affordable housing

In Marin County, one of the wealthiest parts of the state, residents have stalled and opposed new development, and legislation  blasted by affordable housing advocates  would allow parts of the county to continue restricting the size of new developments.

In Redondo Beach, city officials responded to resident complaints about density and scaled back a commercial-residential development. It went from 180 apartments with nine reserved for poor families to 115 apartments, none for low-income people. The developer sued, but Mayor Bill Brand is holding firm.

Redondo does not have a housing shortage, he told the Daily Breeze, which is easy to say, I guess, if youve already got your feet up.

Brand said the real problem is that his beach community has a traffic crisis, an occasional water supply crisis, and could end up with a school crowding crisis if theres more residential development.

In Carlsbad, residents have gone to court to kill the citys approval of a 90-unit affordable apartment project. And in nearby Encinitas, the only San Diego County city without a state-required housing plan for all income levels, residents voted down a proposed solution last fall and the community now faces multiple lawsuits by housing proponents.

Encinitas Mayor Catherine Blakespear called the situation a black eye and a liability for the city, but told me shes optimistic a city task force will finally pull together a zoning plan this year.

In La Canada Flintridge, former housing commissioner Herand Der Sarkissian told my colleague Liam Dillon  in his expose on the states half-century of failure to enforce compliance with housing construction requirements  that its fiscally irresponsible for the state to force low-income housing into communities like his, where land costs are high.

People like people of their own tribe, Der Sarkissian went on. I think the attempt to change it is ludicrous. Be it black, be it white, people want to be with people who are like them.

What decade are we living in?

That kind of attitude and legislative agenda has created segregated communities for decades, and its why the state needs to start hammering local officials who dont comply with the housing-for-all law signed in 1967 by a governor named Ronald Reagan. Those who scream about a loss of local planning control have only themselves to blame.

Pushback in Boyle Heights

But snooty upscale communities arent the only ones putting up roadblocks to new housing. In Boyle Heights, a few neighbors and L.A. City Councilman Jose Huizar have stalled a perfectly reasonable plan to build 49 housing units  half for people with a mental illness  and commercial space.

And on the outskirts of Temple City in the San Gabriel Valley, a plan to turn a crime-infested motel into supportive housing for 169 veterans, the disabled and formerly homeless fell apart because of neighborhood opposition and a lack of time for developer Mercy Housing to persuade opponents and beat out other bidders.

Mercys Ed Holder said demand for such projects is so great, a crush of people will clamor for a spot in the next phase of an affordable housing development in Wilmington.

Were about to open our application list, he said, and were expecting thousands of applicants for 176 family homes.

Can the Legislature help?

Thats a good snapshot of the size of the problem, and its why several housing bills could come up for a vote this week in Sacramento. Senate Bill 3 would put a $4-billion housing bond on the ballot next year. Senate Bill 2 would fund about $250 million worth of low-income housing and housing assistance each year with a $75 fee on mortgage refinances and some real estate transactions. Senate Bill 35 would prod cities that arent meeting state housing production goals to ease regulations and speed up the process.

All of that would only begin to chip away at the housing crisis, but passage is not a guarantee, and SB 2 could be in the most trouble because some people are referring to that $75 as a dreaded tax.

Call it what you will, but if you refinance, the first month savings on your new mortgage payment could well cover the $75 fee. And that money would help build new housing, keep people who are on the verge of homelessness from losing their homes, and offer down payment assistance to first-time home buyers.

Im not giving up, the bills author, Sen. Toni Atkins (D-San Diego), told me Friday afternoon, although similar legislation has failed in the past.

Winners and losers

I told her about my old house in Silicon Valley, and how the value has rocketed.

Atkins said shes thrilled that her own home value has gone up, but her good fortune as a longtime owner means houses are unaffordable for so many others.

This package of bills is even more critical than it was last year, two years ago and three years ago, Atkins said, because the situation has only gotten worse.

To read the article in Spanish, click here

Get more of Steve Lopezs work and follow him on Twitter @LATstevelopez

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Girding itself for a visit from another polarizing political figure and the possibility of more violent protests, UC Berkeley is tightening campus security.

In a message sent earlier this week, Provost Paul Alivisatos said the university was taking precautions in advance of the Sept. 14 visit by conservative political commentator and former Breitbart editor Ben Shapiro. There will be a closed perimeter around the building where Shapiro is scheduled to speak, and an increased and highly visible police presence.

A number of university buildings near Zellerbach Hall, the events location, will be closed that afternoon. In order to pass through security barriers, people will have to show tickets for the speech.

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The university also is offering counseling to students and faculty worried about the event, which is being held at the invitation of the Berkeley College Republicans.

We are deeply concerned about the impact some speakers may have on individuals sense of safety and belonging, Alivisatos said in the memo posted on the universitys website. No one should be made to feel threatened or harassed simply because of who they are or for what they believe.

The memo drew scorn from conservative websites, including the Daily Wire, where Shapiro serves as editor in chief. The site called the measures extreme and criticized them as a sign of the universitys intolerance.

Known as the birthplace of the Free Speech Movement, UC Berkeley has struggled in recent months to strike a balance between public safety and the right of campus organizations to host controversial speakers. Some of these events have drawn protesters more eager to exchange blows than ideas.

Over the spring and into the summer, violent protests shut down appearances by right-wing authors and provocateurs Milo Yiannopoulos and Ann Coulter, who canceled her visit after the campus groups hosting her pulled out.

Last month, Berkeley Chancellor Carol T. Christ announced the launch of a Free Speech Year  a series of events meant to show students how to debate issues in a respectful manner.

Christ also acknowledged the need for stricter public safety measures and more police officers.

Under an interim policy, the university is requiring campus groups sponsoring large events to cover basic costs and give notice weeks ahead. Campus police are expected to provide security assessments of any situations that could threaten public safety.

Why Berkeley? How the university became epicenter of violent clashes 

In response to the violence, the Berkeley City Council is considering lifting a two-decade ban on the use of pepper spray by police officers as a crowd-control tactic.

According to a letter from Chief of Police Andrew Greenwood to the mayor and City Council members, officers carry pepper spray on their equipment belts, but department records show they rarely use it. The proposal would allow them to use the spray to subdue violent activity in a crowd situation.

Currently the Berkeley Police Department is hampered during crowd events in addressing coordinated groups of violent offenders because the only tools available are batons, less lethal projectiles, smoke, and tear gas canisters, Greenwood wrote.

The police chiefs letter includes photographs of recent campus protests showing explosives detonating near officers. Others show black-clad protesters with the anti-fascist movement  commonly known as antifa  hitting people with homemade shields and attacking bystanders.

If approved, the amended policy would prohibit police officers from using the spray against passively-resisting, non-violent individuals.

The City Council is expected to vote on the proposal Tuesday  two days before Shapiros visit.

anna.phillips@latimes.com

Twitter: @annamphillips
No week is the same for Moises Hernandez, a full-time mariachi guitarist and part-time college student. At the end of a good one, he will have earned about $600. After a bad one, maybe $400.

Then theres the $370 he and his wife spend on monthly bills.

In January, Hernandez received a letter informing them that their rent in Boyle Heights would increase in April from $945 to $1,500.

Its going to be even harder because we know we have to make more money, the 30-year-old musician said. We have to hope for the best.

The culture of musicians in Boyle Heights, long an iconic part of Los Angeles, is in danger of fading because of soaring rents.

Since at least the 1930s, Boyle Heights has been a mecca for musicians who ply their trade at restaurants and party celebrations, making them a vital part of the Eastside neighborhoods working-class ethos.

It was not an easy job to begin with, with lots of worn shoe leather and the everlasting hope that love or nostalgia will turn into a customer paying for a song. But now, in what was once an affordable neighborhood, the rising rents in Los Angeles are pricing out the musicians customers  immigrants and blue-collar residents.

Since 2010, the median rent in Los Angeles for all homes  apartments, condos, single-family houses has climbed from $2,185 to $2,803 as of July, according to statistics from the real estate firm Zillow.

During that same period, the median rent in Boyle Heights for apartments jumped from $1,572 to $2,242, according to Zillow.

For musicians such as bass guitarist Mauricio Sanchez, 56, that has made the quest for making a buck feel more desperate.

People have to pay bills and take care of their families and dont have extra money to spend, he said while sitting outside a Mexican restaurant on Cesar Chavez Avenue.

Uriel Garcia, 52, a guitarist with a thin, debonair mustache, said:

We depend on people to spend their leftover money on entertainment and if they dont have enough to do that, then we cant make a living.

Left, Mariachi Moises Hernandez, 30, walks to his apartment that features a protest sign regarding rising rents at the apartment complex in the Boyle Heights. Hernandez spends some time with his wife, Karen, in their apartment in the Boyle Heights. The couple are being evicted because they are unable to keep up with an 80 percent rise in their rents. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Jesus Zamora, 45, counts himself fortunate to live in a rent-controlled apartment. But trying to make a $930 monthly rent while paying $360 in bills still almost exceeds his reach.

Recently, Zamora spent a week scouring for a paying gig at Mariachi Plaza. Every time, the trumpet player returned to his wife and children in Boyle Heights with empty pockets.

Undaunted, he decided to go into the cantinas, where he hoped beer would give a little nudge to the sentimentality that makes so many people, including the down and out, want to hear a song or two.

Work is getting harder to find, Zamora said.

Arturo Rubalcaba, from left, and Pedro Trujillo join mariachis Luis Valdivia, his brother, Enrique, and Moises Hernandez at the Sundance Nextfest screening of Gente-fied at the Theatre at Ace Hotel in Los Angeles. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

In January, seven tenants of an apartment complex just south of Mariachi Plaza  five of them mariachis  received letters that their rents would increase in April, in some cases as much as 80%.

Hernandez said the rents add another obstacle in his search to find a secure job. He is attending college and studying computer science, hoping the career will bring the stability he seeks.

We dont know how much money well be making. The uncertainty is really bad, he said. Everything is on the rise The gas, the food. Everything.

Crescent Canyon Management, the company that began managing the building at the start of the year, said the increases were at the direction of the property owner.

The seven tenants refused to pay the new rents while urging the property owner to negotiate the increases with them. In June, they received eviction notices and are awaiting a court hearing.

The management company declined to answer further questions. Frank B.J. Turner, the owner of the property, could not be reached for comment.

The tenants eventually sought help from Union De Vecinos, which urged them join the Los Angeles Tenants Union. Once unionized, the group reached out to Los Angeles Center for Community Law and Action, a nonprofit that provides free legal services about affordable housing.

Union De Vecinos did not respond to requests for comment.

Tyler Anderson, co-director of LACCLA, said the conflict at the Boyle Heights apartment building speaks to a trend of investors converting affordable housing units into luxury ones.

If the mariachis cant live close to where they work, I think their work will become impossible and impractical. It will drive up the cost to a point where a lot of these mariachis I think will lose their jobs, he said. I think it will uproot this musical culture that Boyle Heights and East L.A. have thats very vibrant.

Catherine Kurland, co-author of Hotel Mariachi: Urban Space and Cultural Heritage in Los Angeles, said the displacement of mariachis would just be another step toward irrevocably altering the culture of the Eastside neighborhood.

I think it would be an irreversible loss, Kurland said. I cant imagine anything that would replace it.

We dont want that to happen, said Luis Valdivia, who, with his guitarist brother Enrique, rents a unit at the apartment. We dont want to leave this area.

The bass guitarist said most mariachis get their work through the Internet, phone and word of mouth, but they still rely on being near Mariachi Plaza to find extra work.

Valdivia said about a dozen mariachis live at the apartment complex. They said theyre angry that the apartment building, which is undergoing a renovation, is being called Mariachi Crossing.

Clockwise from top left: "I don't think our culture is going to fade away," said Jorge Tello, who has been the tailor to mariachi clientele for the last 33 years on First Street in the Boyle Heights. Mariachi Luis Valdivia, right, performs during the Sundance Nextfest screening of "Gente-fied" at the Ace Hotel in Los Angeles. Mariachi performers Luis Valdivia, left, tells an audience that his rent was raised 80% at his apartment complex after a performance at the Ace Hotel. Tenants who are facing eviction from an apartment complex in the Boyle Heights are asked to stand during the Sundance Nextfest screening of "Gente-fied." (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

I think its particular ironic in this case and terrible  the company that bought this property is branding itself, choosing the mariachi name and logo, theyre next to the Mariachi Plaza and theyre using mariachi in their corporate marketing, Anderson said. But the actual mariachis who live and work there  are going to leave and lose their jobs.

Valdivia said mariachis are important to the culture and heritage that is deeply rooted in Boyle Heights. For almost a century, the musicians have been looking for customers who will hire them to play at quinceaneras, birthdays and weddings at Mariachi Plaza.

Although there are fewer mariachis looking for work at the Plaza, their presence is important, he said. For the musicians, its a sense of pride, identity and carrying on a culture dear to them.

Its about being here, its about representing Mexico for everyone, Hernandez said.

Inside La Casa Del Musico, a music store in Boyle Heights, the walls are covered with photos and posters of mariachis. A line of acoustic guitars hangs along a wall, across from a crate of ranchera and disco records.

When the store opened in 1978, it mostly sold CDs. But constant requests for guitar strings and other instruments led the uncle of Noel Jaramillo to turn it into a music store for local musicians.

As he stood behind a glass counter, Jaramillo, 37, said hes not sure what the future looks like for musicians in Boyle Heights. But if its anything like it has been over the last three years, he may consider changing his business model, he said.

For this business, its important to have mariachis working and living here, Jaramillo said. But Im starting to see the mariachis getting pushed out of the area.

Jorge Tello, 63, who has been creating mariachi suits for the last 33 years, said he thinks musicians will always be a strong part of Boyle Heights.

We've been rooted here for generations, he said. I dont think our culture is going to fade away.

In 2008, when the recession hit, Tello said he came close to losing his business but managed to survive. He thinks hell do it again.

Outside of La Parrilla Mexican Restaurant, Mariano Cruz sat on the curb staring at a bar across the street. By 7 p.m. more musicians were waiting to take their turn to walk into the restaurant in their never-ending quest to persuade customers to hire them to play a song or two.

Isirio Guzman, a guitarist, said hes been playing for five years.

It feels like the boat is sinking, he said about the difficulties of playing his craft.

I am a mariachi and I worry about losing my job if I get evicted."  A sign on an apartment window

Mariachi performer Luis Valdivia practices in his apartment in Boyle Heights. Valdivia and his brother, Enrique, face eviction because they are unable to keep up with an 80% rise in rent. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

In Boyle Heights many of the musicians work by themselves. On weekends, competition can be tough as musicians  many of whom are not mariachis  vie for the same customers.

Some people want to negotiate $10 songs to $5. On top of that, the cost of living has gone up so much that some people dont want to splurge on a song.

For Guzman, its hard for him to make his monthly rent of $595  for no more than a room.

This life is hard, he said.

Inside the Mexican restaurant, Cruz, 53, wrapped in a snug blue suit with ostrich trimmings, green boots and a straw hat, zeroed in on a young couple. He plucked the strings on his double bass and asked an all-important and often repeated question.

How bout a song for your lady?

The young man shakes his head and chuckles.

You just have to keep at it, you know? Guzman said.

Strumming his guitar, he began to sing a tune outside the restaurant. He, Cruz and their bandmates were ready to make another tour of the restaurant. Over the course of three hours they had netted just about $20.

Just as the group began to walk into the restaurant an accordionist rushed in, cutting them off.

Asi es, Guzman said, smiling and shaking his head. Thats how it goes.

The men waited for the accordionist to try his luck. Then they would wait just a little longer to give the customers a breather.

ruben.vives@latimes.com

For more Southern California news, follow @latvives on Twitter.

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When Donald Trump was elected in November, some elected officials across the country quickly reaffirmed their cities as sanctuaries for people in this country illegally as they braced for the presidents promised crackdown.

But top politicians in Los Angeles  a center of the Trump resistance  made a point of not embracing that label.

City Hall leaders said it didnt accurately describe the citys policies. Mayor Eric Garcetti, who avoids using the term sanctuary city because he says it has no fixed definition, instead focused on creating a legal defense fund for immigrants and restricted city employees from assisting with federal immigration enforcement.

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Ten months later, the Los Angeles City Council appears likely to adopt the sanctuary moniker.

Council President Herb Wesson and Councilman Gil Cedillo introduced a resolution Friday to declare L.A. a city of sanctuary, calling it a direct response to President Trumps announcement this week to unwind a program that protects immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children.

The move reflects the fervent opposition to Trump and his immigration policies in the deep-blue city of Los Angeles and puts new pressure on Garcetti to reckon with the term. But it also leaves questions about whether this is purely an act of symbolism or the beginning of real change in city policy.

Immigration groups and leftist activists have pressured the mayor and other L.A. politicians to do more to protect immigrants  and they say simply embracing the sanctuary brand is not enough.

L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti, shown at the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, has avoided the term sanctuary city because he says it lacks a fixed definition. (Matt Rourke / Associated Press)

We commend the city for making this symbolic statement. But I think the time now is for the city to take concrete actions to protect vulnerable immigrant populations here, said Michael Kaufman, a staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California.

Kaufman argued that L.A. should revise its rules to halt collaboration between the LAPD and federal immigration authorities, ensure that sensitive information about immigrants is better protected from disclosure and reconsider the criminal enforcement of minor violations that disproportionately impact immigrants.

Karla Alegria, who organizes the L.A. branch of the Freedom Socialist Party, said the sanctuary label may make some of us feel warm and fuzzy, but we need something concrete.

It remains unclear how the citys stance would be greeted by the Trump administration, which has vowed to take action against sanctuary cities.

Trumps crackdown has been mired in the courts. Wesson said Friday that the sanctuary label would not jeopardize the citys federal funding because it was still in line with federal law.

The sanctuary city term dates back to the 1980s, when Berkeley and a few other municipalities declared themselves such cities to accept migrants from Central America. At the time, U.S. immigration policies allowed some Central Americans, but not others, to enter the country.

There is no clear definition of a sanctuary city, but in general, cities that adopt the designation seek to offer political support or practical protections to people who are in the country illegally.

For some cities, the sanctuary movement consists simply of encouraging people without legal status to get more involved in government. Other places, such as San Francisco, adopt far-reaching policies, such as taking steps to cut ties with federal immigration officials and refusing to fully cooperate with them.

Cedillo said L.A.s sanctuary resolution is both symbolic and practical.

It will be followed up with a motion that formally asks the city attorney to create an ordinance calling Los Angeles a city of sanctuary, he said.

The councilman said the directive is being done in two phases because the formal ordinance could take several months, though the resolution can be finished in several weeks.

The council will also look to pass policies that bolster immigrants rights, such as helping those without legal status avoid arrest by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement by providing them with letters that outline their legal rights, Cedillo said.

He said Trumps decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which protects immigrants brought to the country illegally as minors from deportation, prompted his resolution. A study by the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute found that a quarter of the 800,000 DACA participants live in California.

Were responding to changed circumstances, Cedillo said. Were evolving.

Garcetti continues to avoid using the phrase sanctuary city, saying that it is poorly defined. In a televised appearance this week on Fox 11, Garcetti said that Los Angeles defends its immigrants and that its police will not become immigration agents, but he added that the city does not protect criminals.

In a written statement Friday, Garcetti spokesman Alex Comisar did not address whether the mayor would support using the city of sanctuary term.

The mayor is not focused on labels, he is focused on making sure that L.A. is always a city that protects the rights and dignity of immigrants, Comisar said.

Garcetti issued an executive order this year that prohibits city employees from collecting personal information from individuals  including information about their immigration status  unless it is legally required or needed to carry out their job duties.

That order is meant to limit the amount of sensitive information about immigrants that the city would have to turn over to authorities under federal law.

Earlier this year, the city attorneys office advised city employees to tell immigration agents that they could not access parts of city facilities that are closed to the general public without a warrant or court order. However, the office said that immigration agents generally have a right to enter parts of city buildings that are open to the public to question or apprehend people.

Garcetti has said that the LAPD will continue to enforce Special Order 40, which bars officers from contacting someone solely to determine their immigration status.

Santa Clara University law professor Pratheepan Gulasekaram said that since Trump took office, the sanctuary label has been embraced by a wide range of institutions, including college campuses, school districts, private employers and even informal networks.

If the term had any substantive meaning at all, it is certainly being diluted, he said.

Still, for some immigrants, the term has become a kind of psychological salve, that the institution gives you support in some shorthand way, Gulasekaram said.

Groups pushing for stricter immigration enforcement say it makes little difference to them whether L.A. uses the phrase. Its about what they do, not what they call themselves, said Ira Mehlman, spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform.

He complained that L.A. had been actively impeding immigration authorities from doing their job, referencing LAPDs decision not to honor federal requests to detain inmates who might be deportable past their jail terms.

Wesson said it was unfair for reporters to suggest that Los Angeles was late in calling itself a sanctuary city.

Los Angeles came out quickly, he said, pointing to other City Hall actions after Trumps election, including forming a panel on immigration rights. We did our job.

dakota.smith@latimes.com

emily.alpert@latimes.com

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A new review of practices inside the Los Angeles Police Departments equipment rooms paints a troubling picture: Doors were occasionally propped open. If they were locked, some officers left their gear in crates outside. Sometimes, if the officer in charge of the room was gone and couldnt check equipment out, officers left Post-it notes listing what they had taken.

The report released Friday by the departments inspector general formalized long-running complaints with how many LAPD stations oversee valuable gear, concerns rekindled this summer after teenagers in its signature cadet program were able to swipe police cars, Tasers and other equipment.

The explosive episode led to the arrests of seven cadets along with an officer who was later charged with having unlawful sex with one of them, a 15-year-old girl.

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The officer, Robert Cain, 31, was also charged with 10 felony weapons charges in San Bernardino County following a search of his home. He has pleaded not guilty to those charges. All seven teens arrested in the thefts, including the girl, were dropped from the cadet program.

The LAPD released its own report  and subsequent changes to the cadet program  last month, but the inspector generals was the first public review that evaluated the equipment check-out process.

The report, issued by acting Inspector General Django Sibley, described problematic issues with that process. The computer system used to check equipment in and out is widely accessible and the information can be modified, the report said. Officers assigned to the equipment rooms  also called kit rooms  are often away doing other tasks. And only two of the LAPD stations reviewed by the inspector generals staff conducted monthly checks to make sure no department vehicles were missing from their parking lots.

As a result, the inspector generals office recommended a series of changes, including limiting who can log onto the computer system, mandating routine checks of patrol cars and potentially having civilians work the kit rooms full time.

LAPD brass told investigators that virtually all of these recommendations are already being undertaken, or are under consideration, the report said.

In a statement, LAPD spokesman Josh Rubenstein said the department had put together a working group  which includes the inspector generals office  tasked with identifying ways to improve the check-out systems and procedures.

Rubenstein noted that the LAPD made changes to the cadet program following its own review, saying many of the recommendations in the new report have already been addressed or are in the process of being addressed to ensure the integrity of the program, safety of our youth participants and trust of our community.

As it examined the cadet program, the inspector general highlighted some of the issues previously raised by the LAPD, saying there should be stricter criteria for selecting the officers who work with cadets, as well as formalized training.

But a few of the 12 recommendations pressed the LAPD to go further in the changes that were recently rolled out.

Although the LAPD has said that only officers assigned to the cadet program could communicate with cadets via text message or social media, the inspector generals office recommended the department re-evaluate whether one-to-one communication is acceptable.

The report also called for a closer look at how donations are made to the cadet program, raising concerns over how money from boosters is monitored. It also noted a vast disparity in donations received by cadet posts at each division  this summer, the booster-less post at the Devonshire station had $26.20 in an account, whereas the booster-rich Topanga post had a combined $12,000 in two accounts.

The types of activities Devonshire cadets could experience would likely differ from the types available to Topanga cadets, the report noted.

The LAPD, the report said, should consider impacts of financial disparity and methods to promote uniformity in cadet experience across all area posts.

The Police Commission will review the report and its recommendations at its meeting next week.

kate.mather@latimes.com

@katemather
The University of California sued the Trump administration Friday for rescinding protections for immigrant students without legal status, saying the action unconstitutionally violates their rights on nothing more than unreasoned executive whim.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, is the first legal effort by a university to block the Trump administrations decision this week to end protection from deportation for nearly 800,000 young immigrants who were brought to the U.S. illegally as minors. Known as Dreamers, the young people were given a reprieve from deportation and access to work permits if they arrived in the U.S. before age 16 and stayed in school and out of trouble.

The 10-campus UC system has about 4,000 students  along with teachers, researchers and healthcare providers  who are in the country illegally.

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President Trumps decision to phase out the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, sparked an uproar, with rallies and protests across the nation and objections from lawmakers across the political spectrum.

UC President Janet Napolitano, who in 2012 was an architect of the program as U.S. Homeland Security secretary, said the decision to sue the federal government was not taken lightly.

In an op-ed for The Times posted Friday, Napolitano said it was unusual for a former Cabinet secretary to sue the agency she once led to block the elimination of a program she created. But she said she was motivated by the harm the programs rescission will cause her students, who pay taxes, contribute to the economy, serve in the military and advance their education. In all ways except one, they are American, she wrote.

The UC lawsuit argues that Trumps actions violated constitutional guarantees of due process and federal law against government actions that are arbitrary, capricious or an abuse of discretion. U.S. Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions gave no reasonable explanation for ending the program, the complaint said, and the administration failed to follow rules requiring a public notice and comment period.

As a result of the defendants actions, the Dreamers face expulsion from the only country that they call home, based on nothing more than unreasoned executive whim, the complaint reads.

Andrew R. Arthur, a former New York immigration judge who is now a resident fellow at the conservative Center for Immigration Studies, predicted the lawsuit would fail. He said Sessions explained that the Trump administration decided to end the program because officials concluded they could not prevail in lawsuits that several Republican state attorneys general threatened if the program was not terminated.

He also said the Trump administrations action was not abrupt because it offered a six-month grace period and the ability for some recipients to renew their permits until March 2020. Under the phaseout, those whose DACA permits expire before next March may apply by Oct. 5 for a two-year renewal, though no new DACA applications will be accepted.

I dont believe this is a legally viable lawsuit, Arthur said. Deferred action is an act of administrative grace by the executive branch. Individuals who applied for DACA did so knowing that grace could be withdrawn at any time.

He also said the UC system was on shaky ground legally as to whether it has standing to sue, because courts often have not allowed parties to sue on behalf of others. But the lawsuit said that not just the students but the university itself would suffer from the loss of DACA recipients academic and employment contributions after investing in their tuition, housing and financial aid. Napolitano, in a teleconference Friday, said officials have not yet calculated the size of that investment.

On Wednesday, a coalition of Democratic and nonpartisan attorneys general from 15 states and Washington filed suit in New York federal court to block the programs cancellation.

California, which did not join the multi-state lawsuit, plans to file its own legal challenge next week. The state has more than 240,000 DACA recipients, the largest number in the nation.

State Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra welcomed UCs lawsuit. We all agree we have to win this fight to protect the fully lawful DACA program, and sometimes you have to fight battles on all fronts to maximize success, he told The Times in a statement.

Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles) and Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley of the 114-campus California Community Colleges were among those who expressed support for UCs leadership. California State University is evaluating legal action and planning to meet with federal lawmakers next week, spokeswoman Toni Molle said.

The lawsuit was filed with the pro bono support of the law firm Covington & Burling LLP.

Napolitano has pledged that UC campuses will continue to support immigrant students without legal status with free legal services, a loan program for financial aid and directives to campus police not to contact, detain, question or arrest individuals solely based on their immigration status.

They really represent the spirit of the American dream, Napolitano said Friday of the students. We hope to restore that dream.

Times staff writers Rosanna Xia in Los Angeles and Patrick McGreevy in Sacramento contributed to this report.

teresa.watanabe@latimes.com

Twitter: @teresawatanabe
The Florida Keys began to feel the wrath of Hurricane Irma on Saturday night as the powerful storm headed on a collision course with the western coast of Florida, which braced for a potentially devastating day of deadly winds and surging seas.

Irma was expected to unleash its full fury of 130-mph winds sometime around sunrise over Key West, with the storm picking up speed and tracking possibly toward St. Petersburg for its landfall on the mainland.

Hurricane-force gusts were already blasting the spindly islands of the Keys on Saturday night, while escalating winds, driving rain and isolated tornadoes surged across Florida on the massive storms leading edge.

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1 / 79 Trailer homes at the Sea Breeze trailer park in the Florida Keys town of Islamorada were destroyed by Irma. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 2 / 79 Tom Ross inspects the damage to his three-story condominium building in Islamorada. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 3 / 79 The remains of a boat in Islamorada. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 4 / 79 Brooke Gilbert, 15, and her father, Mike Gilbert, look at the ruins of her grandparents condominium building in Islamorada. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 5 / 79 Laura Gilbert retrieves the mailbox from her fathers condominium in Islamorada after it was swept away during the storm. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 6 / 79 Sand and debris block access to trailer homes in Islamorada. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 7 / 79 Greg Garner embraces neighbor Linda Nettles in front of his longtime family home that lost part of its roof after Tropical Storm Irma hit Sullivans Island, S.C. (Mic Smith / Associated Press) 8 / 79 Israel Alvarado, 25, tries to open a gate blocked by fallen tree branches to retrieve a generator in Bonita Springs. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 9 / 79 Rescue workers help a couple evacuate their flooded home in Jacksonville. (John Raoux / Associated Press) 10 / 79 Charlotte Glaze, left gives Donna Lamb a hug as she floats out some of her belongings in floodwaters in Jacksonville,. (Dede Smith / Associated Press) 11 / 79 Ron Colby, 70, leaves his flooded Bonita Springs home after staying during Hurricane Irma. He said he was OK with the wind but that at 3:30 in the morning the water started to rise. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 12 / 79 A dresser floats by Gilberto Diaz in his Bonita Springs neighborhood. Originally from Guatemala, Diaz has lived in Florida since 1994. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 13 / 79 In Bonita Springs, floodwaters reached waist deep in some areas on Monday, flooding homes and cars. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 14 / 79 A block from the ocean in Naples, the water was still a foot deep from storm surge. Homeowner Terry Clontz put up a no wake sign because people were driving by too fast, pushing water farther onto his property. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 15 / 79 Floodwaters surround a marina in Key Largo on Monday following Hurricane Irma. (Wilfredo Lee / Associated Press) 16 / 79 Mobile homes in Key Largo, Fla., lie in ruins on Monday after Hurricane Irma. (Wilfredo Lee / Associated Press) 17 / 79 Floodwaters surround Gilberts Resort in Key Largo on Monday. (Wilfredo Lee / Associated Press) 18 / 79 Kelly McClenthen returns to see the flood damage to her home with her boyfriend, Daniel Harrison, in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in Bonita Springs, Fla. (Gerald Herbert / Associated Press) 19 / 79 Terry Thompson is relieved. He rode out the storm in his home in Riverwood Estates in Naples. Although the Naples area of Florida was hit hard by Hurricane Irma, damage wasnt nearly as bad as anticipated. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 20 / 79 A woman leaves her flooded home the morning after Hurricane Irma swept through the area in Fort Myers, Florida. (Spencer Platt / Getty Images) 21 / 79 People tend to a car that flipped over on Cape Coral Parkway during Hurricane Irma, in Cape Coral. (Gerald Herbert / AP) 22 / 79 A man clears the drain next to his house in Estero, Fla., during the lull in winds as the eye of the hurricane passes over. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 23 / 79 Evacuees use flashlights so others can maneuver around the stairway at Hampton Inn and Suites in Estero, Fla. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 24 / 79 Guests gather in the lobby of Hampton Inn and Suites in Estero, Fla., to watch the hurricane gusts. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 25 / 79 Darla Talia Ferro, 40, and her two parakeets ride out Hurricane Irma in the lobby of Hampton Inn and Suites in Estero, Fla. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 26 / 79 John Krowzow, 74, wades in floodwater to check out his homes in Corkscrew Woodlands, a park with 640 senior mobile home units in Estero, Fla. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 27 / 79 Peter Moodley wades through floodwater in downtown Miami. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 28 / 79 Two men walk through a downed tree as Hurricane Irmas full force strikes Miami. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 29 / 79 A woman films the damage from a house whose roof was blown off near downtown Miami. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 30 / 79 A vehicle drives through debris caused by Hurricane Irma, in Miami. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 31 / 79 Weather reporters in downtown Miami jump and cling on to illustrate the force of the winds caused by Hurricane Irma. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 32 / 79 Weather reporters do a stand-up as the force of the winds caused by Hurricane Irma hit Miami. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 33 / 79 A cargo truck is tipped over by the wind caused by Hurricane Irma in Miami. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 34 / 79 Storm surge floods the Brickell neighborhood of Miami. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 35 / 79 Streets are empty in downtown Miami as the wind picks up speed during Hurricane Irmas approach. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 36 / 79 Maria Koenig, 63, of Estero, Fla., and her dog, Baeley, sit by the window at their Estero hotel so Maria can keep an eye on the storm on Sunday. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 37 / 79 Glen Sinatra, 69, from Naples, says he feels lucky to be at a hotel in Estero instead of a shelter. Hes nervous about the storm and says hes trying not to worry his children about the conditions. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 38 / 79 Jimmy Alfano, of Ft. Myers, holds onto Alec Hoskins who is autistic, while watching the storm gusts through the window of their Estero hotel with Frank Pairs. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 39 / 79 A car sits abandoned in storm surge along North Fort Lauderdale Beach Boulevard as Hurricane Irma hits the southern part of the state. (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images) 40 / 79 The metal canopy at a gasoline station is overturned by high winds brought on by Hurricane Irma. (Wilfredo Lee / Associated Press) 41 / 79 Youssef Ezzou, left, and Fadel Beznbachir roam outside to check out the conditions in Miami as Hurricane Irma nears the mainland. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 42 / 79 A construction crane whose arm broke off towers over a building as high wind blows through downtown Miami on Sunday. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 43 / 79 A man and woman run to safety in Miami as winds from Hurricane Irma bear down on Sunday. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 44 / 79 Storefronts in Miami are damaged as Hurricane Irmas winds hit Miami. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 45 / 79 Dustin Terkoski, Palm Bay Police officer surveys the scene after a possible tornado touched down at Palm Pam Bay Estates. (Red Huber / Orlando Sentinel) 46 / 79 A man braces against the wind by the Miami River on Sunday as water levels surge. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 47 / 79 A man stands by the Miami River as the water level surges on Sunday. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 48 / 79 The waves on the Miami River begin to surge Sunday as winds pick up speed upon Hurricane Irmas approach. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 49 / 79 Brian Williams, of Maryland, fights the winds in downtown Fort Myers. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 50 / 79 Trees fall as winds pick up speed early Sunday as Hurricane Irma approaches Miami. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 51 / 79 A TV reporter braces against the wind as Hurricane Irma approaches Miami. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 52 / 79 The outer bands of Hurricane Irma start to reach Florida on Saturday, with clouds over the Miami skyline. (Joe Raedle / Getty Images ) 53 / 79 People wade through a flooded street in Havana after Hurricane Irma battered central Cuba. (YAMIL LAGE / AFP/Getty Images) 54 / 79 Thousands wait Saturday to enter a storm shelter set up at Germain Arena in Estero, Fla., south of Fort Myers. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 55 / 79 Jean Turner, 79, waits to get into a shelter with a few of her belongings as rain begins to fall Saturday in Estero, Fla. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 56 / 79 Sherri Bourdo, 32, and Anthony Guidry, 40, look out over the water in Naples, Fla, in advance of the arrival of Hurricane Irma. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 57 / 79 Lisette Toroella and Tatiana Morera play on the beach as storm clouds approach in Miami Beach. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 58 / 79 Adam Todd, does a handstand while skateboarding down a virtually empty Ocean Drive in Miami Beach. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 59 / 79 Abby Jenkins walks against the wind with her luggage and umbrella to get to safety, in Miami Beach. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 60 / 79 James Sampero surfs in the churning ocean as Hurricane Irma approaches. (Joe Raedle / Getty Images) 61 / 79 Cubans wade through the rubble from a collapsed building in Havana on Saturday. (Yamil Lage / AFP/Getty Images) 62 / 79 A woman and child use a blanket as protection from wind and rain as they walk in Caibarien, Cuba. Hurricane Irma battered Cuba on Saturday with deafening winds and unremitting rain, pushing seawater inland and flooding homes before turning toward Florida. (Desmond Boylan / Associated Press) 63 / 79 Annette Davis plays with her son Darius, 3, while staying at a shelter in Miami on Saturday after evacuating from their home in Florida City ahead of Hurricane Irma. (David Goldman / Associated Press) 64 / 79 Residents walk through rain brought on by Hurricane Irma in Caibarien, Cuba. The powerful storm battered Cuba on Saturday and continued its march toward Florida. (Desmond Boylan / Associated Press) 65 / 79 Palmetto Ridge High School is a shelter for people with special needs near Naples, Fla. Many seniors plan to ride out the storm there. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 66 / 79 Francesca DeLuca, age 20, will be waiting for 10 hours for her flight back to Milan, Italy. She had been visiting a friend in Miami by herself, but the area where she was staying is under mandatory evacuation. At Miami International Airport, the last flights will be this afternoon with the airport closing tonight at 6pm. Most travelers are taking flights to anywhere they can find. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 67 / 79 Boats that cant be evacuated are tied off in canals to protect them from Hurricane Irma on in Key Largo, Florida. The entire Florida Keys are under a mandatory evacuation notice as Hurricane Irma approaches the low-lying chain of islands south of Miami. (Marc Serota / Getty Images) 68 / 79 Hundreds wait in line on Friday at Home Depot in Miami to get supplies line sheets of plywood, and anything else they can find, to board up their homes. Police were on the scene to keep things orderly. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 69 / 79 In the Little Haiti neighborhood of Miami, Fritz Drinks, whose family is from Haiti, helps load sandbags at Little Haiti Hardware and Lumber. Many people in the area are refusing to evacuate in advance of Hurricane Irma. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 70 / 79 In downtowm Miaimi, people wait to get on a bus headed to Orlando under a mandatory evacution plan. Preparations are underway for Hurricane Irma as the storm makes its way toward Florida. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 71 / 79 Stores are boarded up in Miami Beach in advance of Hurricane Irma. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 72 / 79 Preparations for Hurricane Irma are underway in Miami Beach as the storm makes its way toward Florida. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 73 / 79 Genaro Dacosta, 65, of Miami Beach loads sandbags in advance of Hurricane Irma. He says he cant evacuate the area because he has a monkey. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 74 / 79 An aerial photograph taken and released by the Dutch Department of Defense on Wednesday shows damage from Hurricane Irma in Philipsburg, St. Maarten. (Gerben van Es / AFP/Getty Images) 75 / 79 Juan Negron, third from left, prepares to start up a power generator in front of whats left of his damaged property in Culebra, Puerto Rico, after the passage of Hurricane Irma. (Carlos Giusti / Associated Press) 76 / 79 Residents come out to survey the damage caused by Hurricane Irma in Nagua, Dominican Republic. (Tatiana Fernandez / Associated Press) 77 / 79 People on Thursday look over damage from Hurricane Irma on a sand-covered street of Marigot, near the Bay of Nettle, on the island of St. Maarten. (Lionel Chamoiseau / AFP/Getty Images) 78 / 79 Inmate trustees from the Brevard County Jail fill sandbags for Meritt Island, Fla., residents in advance of Hurricane Irma. (Brian Blanco / Getty Images) 79 / 79 Motorists leave Key Largo, Fla., ahead of Hurricane Irma. (Alan Diaz / Associated Press)

Miami, which on Friday had launched a massive evacuation in anticipation of a direct hit, was breathing easier as the storm tracked west  yet Irmas 350-mile-wide girth meant the city was still in for 90-mph winds and a storm surge of 3 to 6 feet.

Nearly 7 million people were advised to evacuate. Many of those on the west coast were unable to flee because, with the storms change of direction, the warning came too late.

And the storm continued to perplex: News early in the day that it would charge toward Naples and Fort Myers changed by Saturday night to suggest it would track northward offshore in the Gulf of Mexico for a time and make landfall farther north, near St. Petersburg and Tampa.

The storm also gained power as it inched northward, and by early Sunday regained its designation as a Category 4 hurricane.

State transportation officials allowed cars to use the shoulders traveling the bumper-to-bumper highway out of Tampa; in Naples and Fort Myers, where many buildings werent constructed to withstand the expected storm surge, people fled to crowded shelters by the thousands.

The storm is here, Gov. Rick Scott said. Hurricane Irma is now impacting our state.  This is a deadly storm and the state has never seen anything like it.

The massive movement of water onto ordinarily dry land that is expected could have life-threatening consequences, state and federal officials warned.

There is a serious threat of significant storm-surge flooding along the entire west coast of Florida and this has increased to 15 feet above ground level, Scott said. Fifteen feet is devastating and will cover your house.

The National Weather Service warned that the storm was so large that hurricane-force winds could be expected throughout south and central Florida  no matter which side of the state one was on.

This is as real as it gets, the service said in a statement.

Landfall on Floridas west coast would bring winds of about 120 mph, the National Weather Service said late Saturday night.

People along Floridas western coast spent the day scrambling for shelter.

Near Naples, people waited in an hours-long line to get inside the Germain Arena in Estero, which had become a 7,500-bed shelter. Many of them had avoided such shelters in previous storms and would not have been there Saturday if their neighborhoods hadnt abruptly been evacuated.

The evacuation zone grew so large by Saturday morning that even those who had made arrangements to stay in hotels were sent to shelters because the hotels were being evacuated.

Staying at home was out of the question for Elizabeth and John Simler, whose house is built on land about 5 feet above sea level on Sanibel Island, with its stilts boosting the home an additional 10 feet.

They had prepared, they thought.

We had a very fine hotel reservation, said Elizabeth, 57. We did not expect to be in this line [at the shelter].

The hotel alerted them only hours before that guests were being turned away.

Lou Fusco bailed on his hotel before it could bail on him.

 Hurricane Irma has strengthened as it heads toward Floridas Gulf Coast. (Sept. 10, 2017)

They said if there is a forced evacuation, you will have to leave, he said. So I said, If that happens, then where the hell am I going to go?

Even in Miami, residents were worried about what possible 90-mph winds would do to the city.

In downtown Miami Beach, Jose Toledo, a 27-year-old sound design engineer, said he was moving out of his ninth-floor apartment along the waterfront because it didnt have shutters.

Were going to stay in my office because its safer there, he said while emerging for a few last-minute supplies. The construction down here isnt good. Im worried about things flying off the buildings ... and youve got all these construction sites with loose stuff on the ground. It could be dangerous for sure.

About 75,000 people were registered at shelters by Saturday night.

As the first heavy winds blew in, there were reports of electrical transformers exploding and downed trees.

As of Saturday night, almost 200,000 homes had lost power, and officials have predicted that total outages could reach 4 million before Irma heads into Georgia on Monday.

Hurricane warnings were issued along the east and west coasts of Florida, with hurricane watches pending in Georgia and lower South Carolina. Tropical storm watches were declared along the Florida Panhandle and mid-coastal South Carolina.

Seven counties in South Florida were under a tornado watch; a full-out warning was issued in the Miami-Dade County area after two tornadoes were spotted there. More counties were expected to be added as the initial bands from the storm reached those areas.

Several cities, including Miami, were imposing nighttime curfews as the storm approached. Most central Florida counties planned to do the same Sunday night.

Every major airport in Florida was closed with the exception of Tallahassee and Pensacola. Tallahassee planned to shut down Monday.

Saturdays urgency was foreshadowed by the damage done to Cuba on Friday and Saturday and other Caribbean islands earlier in the week. The death toll was at least 25.

Cubas meteorological agency reported that Irma came ashore Friday night in central Camaguey province, home to the countrys third-largest city, with winds so strong they destroyed measurement instruments.

Hurricane-strength winds were later recorded in the northern half of Camaguey. Irma was the first Category 5 hurricane to hit the province in 85 years, according to a state media radio station. Damage was reported across the province, the station said: roofs torn off, trees downed and power disconnected.

In the province of Holguin, some families took shelter in caves to ride out the storm.

Full coverage of Hurricane Irma 

No one wants to leave the house, only silence is interrupted by gusts of wind and rain, Yoani Sanchez, who runs a Havana-based digital news service, 14ymedio, tweeted about the situation in Camaguey.

Sanchez posted photos of people crowding the streets of Havana to pray. She reported that supplies were running low.

Irma was eventually downgraded to Category 3 before it headed for Florida on Saturday.

Video: Times coverage of Hurricane Irma

The storm is one of three hurricanes cycling through the warm September waters. Hurricane Katia struck the eastern coast of Mexico early Saturday as a Category 1 storm. Luis Felipe Puente, head of Mexicos national emergency services agency, said two people were killed by the hurricane, which roared onshore in Veracruz state, pelting the region with intense rains and winds.

Katia quickly lost strength after hitting land and was downgraded to a minimal tropical storm with winds of about 35 mph. The storm could bring 3 to 6 inches of additional rain to a region with a history of flooding and deadly mudslides.

Hurricane Jose continued to churn as a Category 4 storm in the northeast Caribbean. It is expected to affect the islands of St. Martin and St. Barthelemy, but warnings have been lifted for the U.S. and British Virgin Islands. The storm will move north into the Atlantic and not be a factor.

 This satellite imagery animation shows the monster storm as it approaches Florida.

Times staff writer Halper reported from Naples. Times staff writer Cherwa reported from Orlando. Special correspondent Len Neuhaus contributed reporting from Miami.Times staff writer Molly Hennessy-Fiske contributed reporting from Houston. Times staff writer Kate Linthicum contributed reporting from Mexico City.

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How Hurricane Irma became the second-strongest Atlantic hurricane on record

UPDATES:

11:15 p.m.: The story was updated with news that the storm is now a Category 4 hurricane once again.

10:50 p.m.: The story was updated with a revised forecast in the hurricanes track.

8:40 p.m.: The story was updated with additional details throughout, including a revised forecast of the hurricanes wind speeds.

5 p.m.: The story was updated with the latest forecast.

3:35 p.m. The story was updated with information on the new trajectory of the storm, revised forecasts and interviews with Florida residents.

10:15 a.m.: The story was updated with an interview with a resident of downtown Miami Beach.

9:50 a.m.: The story was updated with details of the damage in Cuba.

9:45 a.m.: This story was updated with new storm surge forecasts.

8:20 a.m.: This article was updated with revised wind speed forecasts.

This article was originally published at 7:45 a.m.
When a hurricane is barreling toward your state, you have two options: Leave or stay. One is inconvenient. The other can be fatal.

On Friday, as Hurricane Irma set its sights on Florida, thousands of residents boarded planes and crowded onto highways to evacuate.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott urged people to get out of the state ahead of Irmas expected landfall over the weekend.

All Floridians should be prepared to evacuate soon, he said at a news conference.

Even so, many inevitably remain in their homes with the hope of riding out the storm.

Heres why this is a bad idea:

Storm surges

Debris litters a beach Fajardo, Puerto Rico, as Hurricane Irma passes through. (Jose Jimenez / Getty Images)

A storm surge is the water that is pushed onto shore by a hurricane. For coastal cities like Miami and Miami Beach, they can be catastrophic .

In the Florida Keys, the surge could reach as high as 10 feet, according to the National Hurricane Center .

When Hurricane Andrew made landfall in 1992, the surge rose to about 6 feet.

Remember Hurricane Andrew was one of the worst storms in the history of Florida, Scott said. Irma is more devastating on its current path. This is a catastrophic storm that our state has never seen.

Electricity

A snapped power pole leans against a stoplight after Hurricane Harvey ripped through Rockport, Texas. (Nick Wagner / Associated Press) (Nick Wagner / AP)

With winds that could peak at 150 mph, its likely many power lines will tumble, knocking out power to widespread areas. The loss of power prevents heating food, boiling water and preserving perishable foods.

Without power to charge telephones, run Wi-Fi networks or keep the radio playing, getting information becomes more difficult too.

Florida Power & Light, the main electrical provider in the state, warned customers this week to prepare for potentially prolonged power outages.

In 2008, Hurricane Ike, a Category 4 storm that struck the Gulf Coast of Texas, left nearly 2.1 million homes and businesses without power for several days.

Delayed response from emergency personnel

Volunteers and first responders rescue residents from rising floodwaters in Houston. (Scott Clause / Daily Advertiser)

Emergency officials from Palm Beach, Fla., made this point clear in a statement Friday.

Please be aware that emergency personnel cannot respond to 911 calls once winds reach 50 mph and may be delayed in respond post-storm if roads and communications are compromised, hence the mandatory evacuation order, it said.

Angie Lindsey, a professor at the University of Florida who studies disaster preparedness and recovery, said that not only is staying in an evacuation area dangerous, but it is also selfish.

By staying in an evacuation zone, you may compromise the safety and work of first responders  h impede other rescue and recovery efforts, she said.

Falling debris

An employee works to remove a felled tree from a rooftop in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma. (Carlos Giusti / Associated Press)

With the high winds, windows can blow out and trees can come crashing down.

In Miami, officials have voiced concerns about towering construction cranes in the citys downtown area. There are currently more than 20 cranes in downtown Miami, according to city officials, who say the structures can handle winds of up to 145 mph.

If you live in a high rise and decide not to evacuate, the safest place in the building to ride out a hurricane is an interior, concrete enclosed stairwell, a statement from the city said.

Lack of fuel and supplies

Once a storm blows over, fuel is likely to be scarce. This makes it difficult to leave areas damaged by the hurricane. Just 1 foot of fast-moving water can sweep your vehicle away, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Stocking up on groceries is a good idea, but eating nonperishable foods can be no fun after a while.

Hundreds of people gather in an emergency shelter at the Miami-Dade County Fair Expo Center in Miami. (Saul Loeb / AFP/Getty )

Contaminated water

As areas begin to flood, the water can become contaminated with sewage, pesticides and other chemicals.

Toxins abound in the floodwaters that are still receding after Hurricane Harvey in Texas.

"Floodwater mixes with everything below it," Dr. Richard Bradley, chief of emergency and disaster medicine at Houstons McGovern Medical School at the University of Texas Health Science Center, told Time magazine recently. "If it covers a field with pesticides, it picks up the pesticides. It can also carry animal waste from fields and forests."

kurtis.lee@latimes.com

Twitter: @kurtisalee


Sept. 11, 2017, 9:01 p.m. Irma is now a tropical depression Once a powerful hurricane, Irma is now officially a tropical depression. In what it said was its last advisory on the storm, the National Hurricane Center announced the downgrade at 11 p.m. East Coast time. The storm was centered five miles south of Columbus, Ga., with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph, and moving northwest at 15 mph. All storm surge warnings and tropical storm warnings have been discontinued, the advisory said. Even so, the storm was continuing to assert its presence, with 2 to 5 inches of rain -- and as much as 8 inches in isolated pockets -- expected through Wednesday across South Carolina and northern portions of Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi into Tennessee and North Carolina.



Full CoverageGeorgia

Sept. 11, 2017, 6:52 p.m. Irma claims a third life in Georgia Flooding on Tybee Island, Ga., from Tropical Storm Irma. (Stephen B. Morton / Associated Press) Tropical Storm Irma has claimed a third life in Georgia. The Forsyth County Sheriffs Office says on its website that a woman died from injuries she suffered when a tree fell on a vehicle in a private driveway. The Sheriffs Office says deputies and firefighters tried to rescue the woman, but she died from her injuries. The office said it was withholding the womans name until her family and friends had been notified. The storm is also being blamed for the death of a man in his 50s who was killed when a tree fell on his house just north of Atlanta and for the death of a 62-year-old man in rural southwest Georgia who had a heart attack after he climbed onto a shed during heavy winds on Monday.

Full Coverage

Sept. 11, 2017, 6:40 p.m. When students tried to park at Florida State University during the storm, they found the spots taken by a car dealership When students and faculty at Florida State University learned that they could leave their cars parked in the campus garage over the weekend, many breathed a sigh of relief. After all, their cars could have been severely damaged by Hurricane Irmas powerful winds and dangerous storm surge. But that relief was short-lived for some. When they tried to park Friday, they found many of the spots in the covered campus garage were filled with sparkling new cars from Napleton Infiniti, a dealership in Tallahassee. Angry students took to social media to complain. Some also went to the dealerships Yelp page, flooding it with negative comments. Shame on you Napleton Infinity of Tallahassee for taking up many FSU parking garage spots and preventing FSU students and its surrounding community from parking in one of the few options they have, one Yelp reviewer wrote. There were calls to boycott the dealership, including from people out of state who took up the students cause. Out of respect for the families who have lost everything during hurricane Irma, do NOT do business with this establishment, a Yelp reviewer from Chicago wrote. On Sunday evening, the university posted on Twitter that it had addressed the matter and that the vehicles have been removed. Napleton Infinity of Tallahassee did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Full CoverageThe Keys

Sept. 11, 2017, 5:09 p.m. Images emerge of Hurricane Irmas devastation in the Florida Keys



Full CoverageThe Keys

Sept. 11, 2017, 4:49 p.m. Hurricane Irma spares Hemingways home and its cats A six-toed cat at the Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum in Key West, Fla. (Florida Keys News Bureau) Hurricane Irma battered the Florida Keys over the weekend, but the Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum in Key West, its staffers and its 54 six-toed cats were unharmed by the storm, the Orlando Sentinel reports. Jacque Sands, general manager of the Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum, told the newspaper that the house was not severely damaged, and that the museums 10 employees and the dozens of polydactyl felines that populate the property were safe. The museums staff made headlines after announcing that it wouldnt heed orders to evacuate the Keys, thought to be particularly vulnerable to Irmas wind and rain. Mariel Hemingway, the actress and Ernest Hemingways granddaughter, had urged Sands to leave the house and seek safer shelter, the Telegraph reported. I think that youre a wonderful and admirable person for trying to stay there and save the cats, and save the house, and all that stuff, Hemingway told Sands. But ultimately, its just a house. Save the cats. Get all the cats in the car and take off. Read more



Full CoverageSouth Carolina

Sept. 11, 2017, 4:24 p.m. Authorities confirm first Irma-related death in South Carolina Pedestrians walk into huge waves crashing over the Battery park as Tropical Storm Irma hits Charleston, S.C., on Sept. 11, 2017. (Mic Smith / Associated Press) Authorities are reporting the first death in South Carolina related to Tropical Storm Irma. Abbeville County Coroner Ronnie Ashley said Charles Saxon, 57, was cleaning debris outside his home in Calhoun Falls about 3 p.m. Monday when a tree limb fell on him. Ashely said in a news release that Saxon died at the scene. An autopsy has been ordered. The National Weather Service says winds in the area were gusting to about 40 mph at the time Saxon was killed. Calhoun Falls is 60 miles south of Greenville, S.C.



Full CoverageThe Keys

Sept. 11, 2017, 3:29 p.m. Its devastation in the Florida Keys, governor says (Alan Diaz / Associated Press) Florida Gov. Rick Scott says there is devastation in the Florida Keys, but the damage from Hurricane Irma was not as extensive on the states west coast as he had feared. Scott told reporters that he flew over both areas on Monday and saw many overturned mobile homes and boats washed ashore in the Keys. My heart goes out to the people in the Keys, he said at U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Miami. Its devastation, and I just hope everybody survived. As for the west coast of Florida, Scott said, We clearly saw homes that were messed up, clearly saw roofs that were off. But I thought we would see more damage. Going forward, he said the biggest threat would be from river flooding. Parts of the state are receiving torrential rains, which combined with the storm surge has caused historic flooding along the St. Johns River.



Full CoverageJacksonville

Sept. 11, 2017, 3:11 p.m. Reporting from Orlando, Fla.

Jacksonville hit with some of its worst flooding in 100 years Rescue workers help a couple evacuate their home after it was flooded by Tropical Storm Irma in Jacksonville, Fla. (John Raoux / Associated Press) Jacksonville may have been spared the most ferocious winds of Tropical Storm Irma, but the torrential rains and storm surge have swelled the St. Johns River to historically high levels and inundated low-lying areas of the city. Tom Bossert, the White House homeland security advisor, called it some of the worst flooding to hit the city in 100 years. Get out NOW, the Jacksonville Sheriffs Office warned people in evacuation zones. It advised those who needed help escaping flooded homes to visibly display something white  a shirt or a pillowcase. Florida Gov. Rick Scott mentioned the gravity of the situation at his daily news briefing Monday. In Jacksonville, he said, the storm surge is 3 to 5 feet on top of more than a foot of rainfall, which is causing record and historical flooding along the St. Johns River. Scott said he spoke with Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry and assured him that resources were being deployed. The state has sent teams from the State Emergency Operation Center and the Fish and Wildlife Commission to aid with search and rescue operations. Curry said at least 100 people in the San Marco area had been rescued by midday. Adding to the problems is that Hurricane Jose, which is churning in the Atlantic, is pushing water toward the northern part of the state and preventing water from receding from Jacksonville. Theyre not going to recede today, Curry said. This is not a one-day event. This is probably a weeklong event. The National Weather Service called the flooding a particularly dangerous situation. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) tweeted words of encouragement to the citys emergency responders. Keep going, help is on the way, he wrote. The St. Johns River meanders through Florida for 310 miles, starting near Indian River County in the middle of the state and flowing north to Jacksonville, where it connects with the Atlantic.



CaribbeanFull Coverage

Sept. 11, 2017, 1:27 p.m. Paris

French president headed to hurricane-devastated St. Martin and St. Barts (Pascal Pavani / AFP/Getty Images) French President Emmanuel Macron will visit the Caribbean on Tuesday in an effort to persuade locals on the Hurricane Irma-devastated islands of St. Martin and St. Barts that Paris has not abandoned them. Macron, whose popularity has plummeted at home, is taking flak from political opponents and islanders on the French territories for what they consider to have been inadequate hurricane preparations and a slow response to the mass destruction of homes and infrastructure. He was traveling to St. Martin, a Franco-Dutch island, on an overnight flight aboard an Airbus carrying aid and emergency supplies. During his whistle-stop visit, he is also expected to travel to St. Barts, a French territory 20 miles to the southeast. Fourteen people were killed on St. Martin -- 10 on the French side of the island, four on the Dutch side -- after Irma struck on Wednesday. Damage to the island is estimated at more than $1.65 billion by the French state-run reinsurance body, the CCR, which specializes in natural disasters. Read more



Full CoverageGeorgiaOrlandoThe Keys

Sept. 11, 2017, 2:16 p.m. Reporting from Orlando, Fla.

Irma death toll rises by three after an electrocution in Florida, two fatalities in Georgia Downed power lines can be deadly and cause electrocution if encountered in water or on land. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda / Orlando Sentinel) The death toll in Florida from Hurricane Irma grew by one Monday afternoon when a 51-year-old man in Winter Park, a suburb of Orlando, was found dead in the street after being electrocuted. Officials in Georgia also confirmed two storm-related deaths, bringing the U.S. toll to at least eight, to go along with the 37 reported fatalities in the Caribbean. Such tolls are difficult to determine because it is sometimes impossible to tell whether a death was the direct result of a storm. At least four people died as a result of traffic accidents on Florida roads soaked by Irma. A sheriffs deputy and a corrections officer were killed in a two-car crash in Hardee County, southeast of Tampa, on Sunday morning. A woman was killed in Orange County when the car she was driving struck a guard rail on Sunday. And a man in Monroe County, near the Florida Keys, lost control of his truck, possibly because of high winds, and died. In Miami-Dade County, a man died of carbon monoxide poisoning from his generator. This can happen if generators are used inside without proper ventilation. Another storm-related fatality may have occurred in Shark Key, where a man was found dead in his home. But its not clear whether the death was related to first responders not being able to assist the man. The Georgia Emergency Management Agency confirmed the storm-related deaths in Sandy Springs, a city north of Atlanta, and in Worth County, about 170 miles to the south. It provided no further details. This post was updated with authorities confirming a second storm-related death in Georgia.



Full CoverageGeorgia

Sept. 11, 2017, 12:41 p.m. Tropical Storm Irma brings extensive flooding to Georgia coast Joey Spalding walks back to his truck on Tybee Island, Ga. (Stephen B. Morton / Associated Press) Communities along the Georgia coast are seeing extensive flooding from Tropical Storm Irma. Irmas storm surge pushed water ashore at the high tide Monday afternoon, and heavy rainfall made the flooding even worse. On Tybee Island, east of Savannah, Hollard Zellers saw waist-deep water in the street as he went to fetch a kayak. About 3,000 people live on Tybee Island, which is Georgias largest public beach. The city manager, Shawn Gillen, said the waters seemed to be receding quickly, but most of the island appeared to have some level of flooding, and there was water in many homes. Storm surge also sent floodwaters into downtown St. Marys, just north of the Georgia-Florida line. St. Marys Police Lt. Shannon Brock said piers and boat docks were heavily damaged, and many boats sank.



Full CoverageThe Keys

Sept. 11, 2017, 12:23 p.m. FLORIDA CITY, Fla.

Frustrated Florida Keys residents wait for permission to return to evacuated homes Warren Stincer waits at a checkpoint along Route 1, the only road going in and out of the Florida Keys on Monday. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) There is no gas at the RaceTrac gas station along Route 1 here, and the mini-market is shut down. The site is like a lot of other anonymous roadway establishments, featuring some palm trees, shrubbery and patches of grass across the road from a flooded thicket. But the unremarkable petrol stop has become a terminus for stranded residents seeking to go back to their homes in the Florida Keys, as well as for dozens of journalists keen to survey the damage there in the wake of Hurricane Irma. Florida authorities on Monday were stopping all southbound traffic here, a 20-minute drive or so from Key Largo. There is no other roadway south. Frustration was mounting among those who want to go back home after obeying a mandatory evacuation order declared as Irma headed for Florida. A dozen or so inhabitants of the Keys waited at the gas station, below a sweltering Florida sun, a day after the powerful stormed moved on. Joining them were a half dozen or so TV satellite trucks and other media vehicles. Ive got a house full of food and water waiting for me back home, but they wont let me through, said Warren Stincer, a boat captain and carpenter from Key Largo who evacuated his home last week. Im sorry I ever agreed to evacuate. Now Im stuck here with no food and no water. My home is just 20 minutes down the road and I know the road is clear. Im very disappointed with our officials. He had heard that his home wasnt damaged in the storm. My house is fine, my boat is fine, the road is fine  everythings OK, said Stincer. They just wont let me back in. Joe Sanchez, spokesman for the Florida Highway Patrol, told reporters gathered here that the road would remain closed to all but emergency crews until authorities determined that it was safe. Units of the Florida National Guard and other agencies have been dispatched to the Keys for the cleanup. Pickups ferrying bulldozers and other heavy equipment were being allowed through the police checkpoint. Its a question of safety, said Sanchez, addressing a gaggle of disappointed journalists. There is debris in the roads. There is flooding. Its just not safe yet. That was no consolation for Stincer and other residents of the Keys, including Odalis Padron, who was waiting on a grassy knoll at the edge of the gas station with her pet poodle, Taini. A tree and a rain umbrella provided some shade from the sweltering sun. People tell me the road is good, I dont know why they wont let us in, said Padron, of Key West, expressing the general sense of frustration. All we want to do is go home.



Full CoverageThe Keys

Sept. 11, 2017, 11:17 a.m. Reporting from Washington

More than 10,000 U.S. service members are supporting relief efforts in Florida region The U.S. aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln in 2012, (U.S. Navy) About 10,400 U.S. service members are supporting relief operations in the Florida region. The U.S. military says it has coordinated the evacuation of 1,904 people since Friday. The Air Force is pre-positioning search and rescue units in Florida in Key West, Homestead Air Reserve Base, Patrick Air Force Base and Orlando to support state, local and national authorities. The Air Force flew in about 300 doctors, nurses and healthcare professionals over the weekend to help issue relief aid. The aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln arrived off Floridas east coast on Sunday night with 24 helicopters, and was prepared for operations in southern Florida and the Florida Keys on Monday morning. The amphibious assault ship Iwo Jima and amphibious transport dock ship New York also arrived.



Full CoverageOrlando

Sept. 11, 2017, 10:55 a.m. Reporting from Orlando, FL

Central Florida starts its cleanup after Hurricane Irma Downed trees were a common sight through much of central Florida. (John Armstrong/Orlando Sentinel) The morning after Hurricane Irma rumbled through central Florida with howling winds and torrential rain, the region was working to clean up damage that mostly amounted to downed trees and power lines and some flooding. There was hardly a neighborhood in this vast tourist corridor that did not have upended trees and no power. More than half a million people were without power. Winds blowing at 30 to 40 mph were hampering the cleanup effort, although in many neighborhoods people were out with rakes and power saws. Im so proud of the people of Orlando for taking Irma seriously, the citys mayor, Buddy Dyer, said at a news briefing. This morning I was out in many of the neighborhoods in our city and was pleased to see neighbors out helping other neighbors clean up yard debris and clear trees from yards. Overall the damage was much less than it could have been. There were one reported storm-related death, a traffic fatality on a toll road on Sunday. Seminole County, a collar county around Orlando, lifted its curfew at 11 a.m. Orange County still has a curfew in effect until 6 p.m. The major theme parks of Disney World, Universal and SeaWorld are all going to try to open on Tuesday. SeaWorld reported that all its animals and personnel were safe. Stormwaters flooded a neighborhood of 24 homes south of Pine Hills. But the National Guard, in some cases using boats because the water was too deep for their vehicles, rescued all the residents without any reported injuries. The waters were as deep as three feet, but have already started to recede, and residents are expected to return to their homes Monday to assess damage. Other areas of low-lying Orange County also reported flooding, although no injuries were reported. Some parts of central Florida had as much as 10 inches of rain. A large sinkhole was reported in east Orlando and a few small ones have also occurred, making some roads difficult to drive. Many lift stations in Seminole County were damaged, and residents were asked to limit their use of showers, laundry and flushing toilets until the stations were fixed.



Full Coverage

Sept. 11, 2017, 10:22 a.m. Reporting from BONITA SPRINGS, FL

In Bonita Springs, waist-deep polluted water flows through houses hit by Hurricane Irma (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) Some of the Floridians hardest hit by Irma live in a modest residential neighborhood near the river in Bonita Springs, where waist-deep polluted water flows through their houses. But that isnt keeping some of them from staying put. As a members of a rescue team cruise the flooded streets in a motorized raft, they say they are finding residents trapped in their homes who have no interest in leaving. The residents were determined to see the hurricane through in their homes, and now they are determined to stay in them until they are fully habitable again. Some found their way onto plastic boats. Others pushed away debris such as nearly fully submerged garbage cans bobbing along the streets. It could be a week before the massive pond of sewage-tainted storm water engulfing their properties recedes. They are happy stuck in their houses. They are saying, We have enough food and water, we are going to be fine, said Lt. Manny Hernandez of the Bonita Springs Fire Control & Rescue District. The rescuers have been knocking on every door in the neighborhood as they float by. Some residents take up the offer and leave their homes, but others say, no, thank you. Hernandez said he figured there were about a dozen people in homes inundated with waste-deep water. How many of them called for a rescue once the storm passed? Zero, he said. The neighborhood is a wreck right now, and there are others like it nearby. Yet locals are surprised to see how few communities look that way. Forecasters predicted many, many more homes would be destroyed. Even right across the beach in downtown Naples, where devastation was forecast, tony beach homes endured the storm with just a few scrapes and no serious water damage. The damage hasnt been as bad as I expected, said Hernandez as he waited for the rescue raft to get back from its rounds.

Fort Myers

Sept. 11, 2017, 9:21 a.m. reporting from Naples

Theres still flooding in Naples. But the birds are drying their feathers

Orlando

Sept. 11, 2017, 9:09 a.m. Reporting from Orlando, Fla.

Disney World may not reopen until Tuesday as Hurricane Irma damage assessment continues

Even though Hurricane Irma has passed through central Florida, Orlandos theme parks  including all four at Walt Disney World  may not reopen until Tuesday. All major attractions were closed Sunday and Monday as the storm worked its way up the length of the state. Tropical-storm-force winds are expected to linger well into the afternoon, and Orlando is under a curfew until 6 p.m. Monday. We are beginning an initial assessment of our property, a Disney World spokeswoman said Monday morning. While we experienced high winds and rain, we maintained power throughout the storm. Disney decided on Friday it would close Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disneys Hollywood Studios and Disneys Animal Kingdom parks for two days. Its Disney Springs shopping and entertainment complex is also closed. The companys hotels stayed open to guests. Disney closures are rare. This one is the fifth since the Florida resort opened in 1971. Read more



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Sept. 11, 2017, 10:36 a.m. Reporting from Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Hurricane Irma cuts power to more than 7 million homes and businesses Flooding on San Marco Island, Fla. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) Nearly 7.2 million homes and businesses are without power in multiple states as Tropical Storm Irma moves through the Southeast. The vast majority are in Florida. The states emergency management officials said the storm had cut power to more than 6.5 million account holders across the state as of Monday afternoon. Eric Silagy, chief executive of Florida Power & Light, said Irma caused the most widespread damage in the companys history. It affected all 35 counties in the utilitys territory, which is most of the states Atlantic coast and the Gulf coast south of Tampa. The most extensive damage was likely in the Naples area, but a full assessment was ongoing. He said 19,500 electric workers have been deployed in the restoration effort. Still, he said, it will take days for many people to be restored and, in some cases where the damage was extensive, weeks. Meanwhile, Duke Energy reported Monday morning that more than 860,000 of the homes and businesses it serves in Florida were without power. Georgia reported more than 570,000 homes and businesses without electricity, and there were 80,000 in South Carolina. This post has been updated with more than 7 million homes and businesses without power in multiple states



Sept. 11, 2017, 8:07 a.m. Reporting from Naples, Fla.

In a Naples mobile home park, neighbors count their blessings Terry Thompson, 65, near his home in Riverwood Estates in Naples, Fla. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) Terry Thompson moved into his home in the Riverwood Estates Mobile Home Park in Naples two weeks ago. Remarkably, it was still there on Monday. Theres a lot of cleanup, the 65-year-old Air Force veteran said as he assessed the situation around his home. Though it was intact, his neighbors carport had flown off and smacked into his wifes car. Siding had blown off the house. Water still covered many of the streets. Debris was everywhere. Thompson said he rode out the storm with his dog in the mobile home. It was wild. ... The house was lifting and moving and shifting. All sorts of things were going on, he said. John Jenkins, 52, also lives in a brand new mobile home in Riverwood Estates. The street in front of the house was still underwater Monday morning, but his house was standing and mostly intact  which couldnt be said for all his neighbors homes. During the storm, he said, he went our twice and had to take aluminum sheets that were prying loose from his neighbors carport and get them out of the path of his house. It was quite interesting, he said. Their carport was peeling apart and coming at our house. ... I was worried about all the debris. A friend drove by and Jenkins reached in the drivers side window and gave him a hug. I love you, he said. He asked if the friend was OK. The friend reported that his house was fine. The stakes were particularly high for Jenkins, who couldnt get the bank to fund a loan for his home. I put everything I got in the world into [buying] it, he said.
During last years presidential campaign, Donald Trump heaped abuse on the international agreement negotiated in 2015 that placed strict limits on Irans nuclear program, calling it the worst deal ever negotiated and intimating that he might tear it up if he were elected.

After he won, he calmed down briefly, and even twice certified to Congress that Irans conduct justifies continuation of the agreement. But now, he has signaled that he might refuse to do so in mid-October at the end of the next 90-day period provided for by law.

Trumps long-standing argument against the deal is that Iran is not living up to the spirit of the agreement. But his argument for repudiating the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action is entirely unconvincing. He hasnt defined spirit in any meaningful sense, or made much of a case for his vague assertion.

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The weakness of Trumps critique offered hope that the presidents more rational foreign-policy advisors might again coax him back from the precipice. But that hope diminished last week when Ambassador Nikki Haley, the U.S. representative at the United Nations, offered a seemingly more nuanced and reasonable-sounding  but ultimately unconvincing  argument for abandoning the agreement.

It would be folly to treat [past] behavior by Iran as a reason to repudiate the nuclear agreement.

In a speech at the American Enterprise Institute, Haley alleged that Iran had violated the letter of the agreement, pointing to the fact that it twice exceeded limits in the agreement on the amount of a form of water used in nuclear reactors, a minor violation that was corrected. But most of her critique was a more sophisticated version of Trumps catchphrase about Irans violation of the spirit of the agreement.

Judging any international agreement begins and ends with the nature of the government that signed it, Haley said. Does it respect international law? Can it be trusted to abide by its commitments? Is the agreement strong enough to withstand the regimes attempts to cheat? Given these answers, is the agreement in the national interests of the United States?

She answered those questions by asserting that the Islamic Republic of Iran was born in an act of international lawbreaking, the taking of hostages at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979. The lawlessness has continued, she said, with actions by Iran that threaten its neighbors and by Irans defiance of a U.N. resolution, approved at the time of the nuclear agreement, that calls on Iran not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons.

But those arguments miss the point. The U.N. resolution on ballistic missiles, for instance, isnt even discussed in the nuclear agreement. Furthermore, the resolution is not legally binding, and besides, Congress already has approved sanctions to punish Iran for its ballistic missile program. It would be folly to treat that behavior by Iran as a reason to repudiate the nuclear agreement, which benefits the U.S. and its allies and restrains Iran. Doing so would harm the U.S. and divide it from its allies.

Perhaps recognizing the weakness of the case for Iranian violations, Haley emphasized in her speech that the presidential certification required by Congress involves more than whether Iran is complying with the deal. The president, she noted, also must certify that suspension of U.S. sanctions under the agreement is vital to the national security interests of the United States. In making that determination, Haley said, Trump could consider Irans repeated, demonstrated hostility toward the United States.

If Trump did refuse to issue a certification, Haley noted, it would be up to Congress to decide whether to reimpose sanctions suspended as part of the deal. In the ensuing debate, she said, Congress could discuss Irans support for terrorism, its past nuclear activity, and its massive human rights violations.

But again, the question at hand is not whether the Iranian government is generally hostile to the United States or whether it funnels money to terrorists or provides its citizens with human rights. Those are all important questions that need to be addressed  and in many cases are being addressed  but they are simply not germane to the question of whether the nuclear deal is a net positive for the world and should be allowed to continue.

When this editorial page endorsed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, we expressed the hope that the U.S. would maintain sanctions aimed at Irans destabilizing activities and its support for terrorism. We also lamented the fact that the sanctions relief promised under the deal might subsidize Irans sponsorship of militant groups like Hezbollah and Hamas.

But we concluded that the benefits of the agreement in restraining Irans nuclear program made it worthwhile. So long as Iran complies with the letter of the agreement, that is still our view. It should also be the presidents.

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Never mind what President Trump said on the campaign trail. His administration and GOP leaders appear determined to eliminate protections for medical marijuana growers, sellers and users.

Every year since 2014, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Costa Mesa) has inserted an amendment into a federal spending bill to prevent the Justice Department from prosecuting medical marijuana businesses that comply with their states laws. Its been a temporary but necessary fix to address a fundamental contradiction: that even though 26 states have legalized medical marijuana, the drug is still prohibited under federal law.

The amendment, most recently co-sponsored by Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), has provided some measure of security and stability to responsible medical marijuana suppliers by assuring that they wont be raided, arrested or prosecuted by federal authorities.

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But last week, the House Rules Committee killed the amendment at the urging of Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions, a hard-line marijuana prohibitionist.

Decades of experience have shown that the U.S. cant win a war on marijuana.

Sessions sent a letter to members of Congress in May citing an historic drug epidemic and potentially long-term uptick in violent crime and urging them to reject the amendment. He wrote that the Justice Department needs to have free rein to use all laws available to enforce the Controlled Substances Act, a woefully out-of-date law that says marijuana is as addictive as heroin and has no medical value.

Of course, thats baloney. In fact, 46 states have authorized the use of cannabis or cannabis compounds for medical use, including controlling seizures in children. Even Trump, prior to his election, recognized the value of medical marijuana, telling a rally in Nevada, I know people that are very, very sick and for whatever reason the marijuana really helps them. Nevertheless, the federal government continues to insist that marijuana products should be illegal even for medicinal use, putting its producers and users at risk of criminal enforcement.

Frankly, the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer amendment should be noncontroversial given the overwhelming public support  in excess of 80%, according to several polls  for medical use.

The Senate approved a comparable amendment in July. But if the two houses cant agree and the language doesnt make it into the final bill, the protections for medical marijuana will expire in early December.

This would be a huge step backwards in the movement to liberalize marijuana laws. For years states have taken the lead. Many now allow medical marijuana for patients and some even permit recreational marijuana for adults. One argument is that since marijuana is already so widely used, it would be better for public health and public safety to create a legal, regulated and controlled market. That is why the Times supported Proposition 64 last November, which legalized adult recreational use in California. But even as marijuana laws have changed at the state level, the drug has always remained illegal under federal law, sending a mixed message and causing uncertainty.

Rohrabacher, a conservative Republican who is among the most outspoken advocates for liberalizing drug laws, wants to eliminate at least some of that uncertainty. In addition to his annual amendment, he also introduced the Respect State Marijuana Laws Act of 2017, which would protect individuals from federal prosecution if they are adhering to state cannabis laws, whether for medicinal or recreational use. The bill has a couple of dozen co-sponsors, mostly from the newly formed Cannabis Caucus, a bipartisan group that wants to work on legalization and regulation issues. But the bill still faces a steep climb in Congress.

Congressional leaders cannot continue to bury their heads in the sand. Decades of experience have shown that the U.S. cant win a war on marijuana. Moreover, waging such a war now would hurt the millions of people who rely on medical cannabis for relief and would overrule the many, many voters who have supported medical and recreational use of marijuana.

It seems inevitable that the federal government will follow the states lead sooner or later. Despite Trumps campaign comments, his administration shows no sign of adopting a more pragmatic approach to marijuana policy. Its up to Congress to show leadership.

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To the editor: Nearly 20 years ago, I flew to San Francisco alone with two huge suitcases and an old photograph of my grandfather and uncle; I was 12 and I still remember all the flight attendants being so amused that I was traveling all the way from Hong Kong alone. My first contact with a U.S. immigration officer resulted in me being detained. It took a few hours before they finally stamped my passport and allowed me entry.

I was never told why I was detained. Did I make a mistake?

I find myself asking that same question today. My father was on an H-1B visa, and by the time I was in high school, it became clear that I did not enjoy the same opportunities as my friends and classmates. I had an H-4 visa, but I could not work, drive or accept any scholarships. I was offered a full ride to a university, which was rescinded upon discovery of my immigration status.

I was 20 when my father went to renew his visa and was told that I would be ineligible to be his dependent when I turned 21. I was in the middle of nursing school, paying nonresident tuition despite having lived here for years. Thus began my years working under the table as a caregiver and then a nursing assistant.

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I was almost 25 when I had saved enough money to enroll at Fullerton College. That same year, President Obama created the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA. I do not exaggerate when I say that DACA changed my life. Without it, I would not have been able to work part-time while going to school. I was no longer at the mercy of unscrupulous employers, having been granted the same legal protections as any American worker. I could call in sick, qualify for vacation pay and get health insurance.

If you believe that getting rid of me and those like me will make America great again, then you have misunderstood what it means to be American. All my life, Americans taught me the value of hard work and sacrifice. I was told that grit was the key to the American dream. People like me have lived most of our whole lives among you  we are your neighbors, your co-workers, your friends.

Killing DACA will not solve your immigration problem, but it will kill our American dream.

Marwin Luminarias, Orange

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To the editor: As a teacher who worked with Dreamers who were taking an extra college-prep course after the end of the school day, I was impressed with my students who, despite many challenges, all went on to college at the end of the year.

I can assure you they were more articulate, worked harder and had more integrity and leadership skills than our current president. We should be offering them a path to citizenship, so that they will be the leaders of the future.

Killing DACA will not solve your immigration problem, but it will kill our American dream.  Marwin Luminarias, Orange

These people are the future of this nation.

Joan Horn, Carlsbad

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To the editor: Im having trouble understanding the reporting of the DACA issue by The Times.

In 2012, this program was instituted by Obama as temporary relief for individuals who do not present a risk to national security and meet other qualifications. At no time was this a guarantee of legal immunity, eventual citizenship or a permanent fix. Its up to Congress to put laws in place that address immigration.

Stop writing of the dissolution of DACA as if it is a travesty for the people who have staked their lives on a temporary fix. Perhaps its best to define the word temporary to people who have misused this program as amnesty.

Tom Killinger, Van Nuys

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To the editor: I was born in 1948 in England. My parents had lived all over the world before we triplets were born.

When I was 3, my father decided to move us all to Canada. At 15, we were moved to America. My father applied for all five of us to have our green cards. However, one day he made a mistake.

He was used to flying into other countries, not driving. So, on the day he drove us over the border into Mexico, he was not aware he had broken the law.

We had a wonderful day exploring Tijuana. We were stopped as we attempted to drive back into the United States. We had no papers with us. After two hours at the border, we were allowed back in.

We were white, after all.

Wendy A. Robinson, Saugus

..

To the editor: In History of The World, Part I, Moses (played by Mel Brooks) is given by God three stone tablets with 15 laws. Dropping and destroying one tablet, Moses settles for 10 Commandments to give to his people.

On that destroyed tablet must have been the law (or laws) regarding immigration.

Immigration laws have not been, especially in this country, a founding principle. After all, we as well as Moses and his followers are or were all immigrants.

We have constructed these onerous laws only after we wrested the country away from the previous set of immigrants.

Larry Harnell, Granada Hills

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To the editor: The Dreamers should be thankful to President Trump for forcing Congress to finally take legal and permanent action to give them a secure position in this country.

It is sad that the politicians could not be bothered to do their job without a Trump push.

Brad Gardner, Indio

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To the editor: All wars are wrong. Unfortunately some are necessary, including Vietnam. (Get ready for the next round in the battle over the Vietnam War, Opinion, Sept. 3)

President Johnsons administration was not honest or articulate enough to convince the American people that the Cold War must not be lost. Nonaligned nations wanted to see if we would honor our commitment to an ally. We did, in Vietnam and Korea.

The domino theory never came true because the communist countries were spent after those two wars. Millions of soldiers from communist countries died, and all they had to show for it was South Vietnam. Burma, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore were not lost, and no other hot wars occurred before the effective end of worldwide communism in 1991.

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Americans who served in Vietnam knew our country was at war and that the stakes and risks were high. They were not the greatest generation, but they were the greatest of their generation. Lets not strike a similarity between them and draft evaders. They were no more similar than the two sides at Charlottesville, Va.

We did not win, but had we not gone to Vietnam, the consequences would have been far worse.

Tom Lockhart, Long Beach

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To the editor: Two wars from Vietnam? Yes, and more than 2 million stories.

I can remember being at the induction center in downtown Los Angeles, then leaving for the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego. That was on Jan. 8, 1968. I returned to the downtown bus depot on June 27, 1970; much had changed within myself, yet most people in L.A. did not comprehend what was taking place in Vietnam.

My experiences were vast and at times unbelievable, from Marines boot camp to Vietnam, not to mention the places in between. I never mention those stories, but I relive those tales every night in my sleep.

I have survived all these years, going to college while I was working at my profession at a neonatal intensive care unit. I tried to help those who could not help themselves  helpless, sick babies  only to fail at times. But over 43 years, I learned from my mistakes.

Yes, there are two wars in which I have fought, but not without trying to understanding the mistakes I made. Those of us who fought were not the smartest or the wealthiest, but many had trust in our leaders. Why did our leaders fail us, and why do they ignore what they did to us?

Thomas H. Jenkins, Alhambra

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Trump promotes sons Justice with Judge Jeanine interview President Trump promoted via Twitter an interview with his son Eric Trump just before it aired Saturday night on Fox News Justice with Judge Jeanine. Eric Trump on @JudgeJeanine on @FoxNews now!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 21, 2018 Eric Trump called into the show to defend his father from criticism prompted by the first government shutdown in more than four years, as well as a series of Womens March events that saw protesters in dozens of cities take to the streets to oppose the presidents policies. .@EricTrump joined me over the phone from Mar-a-Lago ! pic.twitter.com/Hro3TzUW52  Jeanine Pirro (@JudgeJeanine) January 21, 2018 Speaking to host Jeannine Piro  who is reportedly an old friend of the presidents  Eric Trump offered effusive praise for his father, ticking off glowing statistics to illustrate the strength of the U.S. economy and gains against Islamic State fighters overseas. My fathers working like no ones ever worked before to bring back this country and to fulfill his promise to make America great again, said the executive vice president of the Trump Organization. He also repeated a sentiment recently expressed on Twitter by his father: That Democratic lawmakers forced a government shutdown on the anniversary of the presidents inauguration in a bid to distract from his achievements. You look at this whole government shutdown, and the only reason they want to shut down government is to distract and to stop his momentum, Eric Trump said. I mean, my father has had incredible momentum. Hes gotten more done in one year than arguably any president in history. Facebook

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Trump tweets: a perfect day for all Women to March President Trump hailed the nationwide Womens March gatherings Saturday. On Twitter, the president called it a perfect day for all Women to March, seeming to imply that those taking part were celebrating his administrations accomplishments: Beautiful weather all over our great country, a perfect day for all Women to March. Get out there now to celebrate the historic milestones and unprecedented economic success and wealth creation that has taken place over the last 12 months. Lowest female unemployment in 18 years!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 20, 2018 Participants in the marches across the United States were actually seeking to deliver a powerful rebuke to Trumps policies and mount a crucial mobilization for this years midterm elections. But Trump continued to tout his administrations unprecedented success in tweets sent later in the day: Unprecedented success for our Country, in so many ways, since the Election. Record Stock Market, Strong on Military, Crime, Borders, & ISIS, Judicial Strength & Numbers, Lowest Unemployment for Women & ALL, Massive Tax Cuts, end of Individual Mandate - and so much more. Big 2018!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 20, 2018 The Trump Administration has terminated more UNNECESSARY Regulation, in just twelve months, than any other Administration has terminated during their full term in office, no matter what the length. The good news is, THERE IS MUCH MORE TO COME!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 21, 2018 In addition to the roll call of major American cities where womens marches took place  including New York, Washington, Los Angeles, Dallas, Philadelphia, Chicago, San Francisco, Atlanta  protesters also raised their voices in suburbs and small towns, reflecting the aim of coalescing a broad-based movement on the anniversary of Trumps inauguration to oppose the presidents stance on immigration, healthcare, racial divides and an array of other issues. Read More This post contains reporting from Times staff writer Laura King. Facebook

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Trump calls shutdown a present from Democrats By Associated Press President Trump is blaming Democrats for the government shutdown  tweeting that they wanted to give him a nice present to mark the one-year anniversary of his inauguration: This is the One Year Anniversary of my Presidency and the Democrats wanted to give me a nice present. #DemocratShutdown  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 20, 2018 That comes after Senate Democrats late Friday killed a GOP-written House-passed measure that would have kept agencies functioning for four weeks. Democrats were seeking a stopgap bill of just a few days in hopes that would build pressure on Republicans, and they were opposing a three-week alternative offered by GOP leaders. Democrats have insisted they would back legislation reopening the government once theres a bipartisan agreement to preserve protections against deporting about 700,000 immigrants  known as Dreamers  who arrived in the United States illegally as children. Trump on Saturday accused Democrats of holding our Military hostage over their desire to have unchecked illegal immigration: Democrats are holding our Military hostage over their desire to have unchecked illegal immigration. Cant let that happen!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 20, 2018 Democrats are laying fault for the shutdown on Republicans, who control both chambers of Congress and the White House and have struggled with building internal consensus. In a series of tweets hours after the shutdown began, the president tried to make the case for Americans to elect more Republicans to Congress in November in order to power through this mess: Democrats are far more concerned with Illegal Immigrants than they are with our great Military or Safety at our dangerous Southern Border. They could have easily made a deal but decided to play Shutdown politics instead. #WeNeedMoreRepublicansIn18 in order to power through mess!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 20, 2018 He noted that there are 51 Republicans in the 100-member Senate, and it often takes 60 votes to advance legislation: For those asking, the Republicans only have 51 votes in the Senate, and they need 60. That is why we need to win more Republicans in 2018 Election! We can then be even tougher on Crime (and Border), and even better to our Military & Veterans!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 20, 2018 #AMERICA FIRST!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 20, 2018 The stopgap spending measure won 50 votes in the Senate, including five from Democrats. Although the House and Senate were in session Saturday, it was unclear whether lawmakers would take any votes of consequence. Trump had been set to leave Friday afternoon for a fundraiser at his estate in Palm Beach, Fla., where he intended to mark the inauguration anniversary. But he remained in Washington and ended up scrapping his plans to attend the Saturday fundraiser. Read More Facebook

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Trump tweet casts doubt on likelihood of averting shutdown President Trump appeared to cast doubt on the likelihood of reaching a deal to avert a government shutdown Friday night in a tweet. Trump also sought to blame Democrats for what would be the first shutdown since 2013. His message came just hours before the midnight deadline by which lawmakers must pass a measure to fund government agencies, or some operations will cease. Not looking good for our great Military or Safety & Security on the very dangerous Southern Border. Dems want a Shutdown in order to help diminish the great success of the Tax Cuts, and what they are doing for our booming economy.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 20, 2018 Despite last-minute negotiations Friday between Trump and Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, Congress remained deadlocked over a spending bill and the federal government was headed toward a shutdown at midnight. Senate Democrats  joined by some GOP deficit hawks and immigration allies  were set to filibuster a stopgap funding bill approved by the House on Thursday. A Senate vote was planned for 10 p.m. Eastern, and even White House officials predicted it would fail. Read More This post contains reporting from Times staff writer Lisa Mascaro. Facebook

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Trump signs surveillance law after confusing tweets By Associated Press President Trump on Friday signed a bill into law to renew a foreign intelligence surveillance program, announcing his action in the latest in a series of confusing tweets about the spy program: Just signed 702 Bill to reauthorize foreign intelligence collection. This is NOT the same FISA law that was so wrongly abused during the election. I will always do the right thing for our country and put the safety of the American people first!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 19, 2018 Trumps tweet on Jan. 11 created chaos in the House just before it voted to reauthorize what is known as Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. He linked the intelligence program to a dossier that alleges his presidential campaign had ties to Russia. That caused people to wonder if he didnt support the program that allows U.S. spy agencies to collect intelligence on foreign targets abroad. Trump and other Republicans have alleged that Obama administration officials improperly shared the identities of Trump presidential transition team members mentioned in intelligence reports. Democrats say there is no evidence that happened. Shortly before the House vote, and after conferring with House Speaker Paul Ryan, Trump did an apparent about-face. This vote is about foreign surveillance of foreign bad guys on foreign land, he tweeted. We need it! Get smart! In his tweet announcing that he had just signed the bill, Trump wrote: This is NOT the same FISA law that was so wrongly abused during the election. I will always do the right thing for our country and put the safety of the American people first! There are no obvious links between the dossier Trump spoke of, which includes salacious but unsubstantiated allegations against him, and the reauthorization of the spying program, or between the program and Trumps oft-repeated claims that the Obama administration conducted surveillance on Trump Tower during the presidential campaign. Facebook

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In tweet, Trump suggests that Pennsylvania trip is a political one The White House press office was once again forced to walk back a tweet from President Trump on Thursday morning after he described a trip to Pennsylvania later in the day as a political one  a statement that would force the Republican Party, not taxpayers, to pay for the journey. The White House had said Trump was going to an industrial equipment company outside of Pittsburgh to highlight the good economy and new tax cuts, making it an official, policy-oriented event. It was widely assumed that the trip had a political cast  the area is holding a special election to fill a congressional seat vacated by a Republican who resigned. Trump, by his tweet, seemed to confirm that politics was the whole purpose: Will be going to Pennsylvania today in order to give my total support to RICK SACCONE, running for Congress in a Special Election (March 13). Rick is a great guy. We need more Republicans to continue our already successful agenda!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 18, 2018 Trump later shared via Twitter a pair of video clips of his speech at H&K Equipment, in which he touted the tax cuts he signed into law just before Christmas and tried to turn the conversation back to his accomplishments after weeks dominated by distractions, including questions about his mental health and comments about immigration that some considered racist: Departing Pittsburgh now, where it was my great honor to stand with our incredible workers, and to show the world that AMERICA is back - and we are coming back bigger and better and stronger than ever before! pic.twitter.com/kWPgylqFzj  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 18, 2018 AMERICA will once again be a NATION that thinks big, dreams bigger, and always reaches for the stars. YOU are the ones who will shape Americas destiny. YOU are the ones who will restore our prosperity. And YOU are the ones who are MAKING AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! #MAGA pic.twitter.com/f2abNK47II  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 18, 2018 The Republican National Committee, rather than the White House, is supposed to pay for political travel so that taxpayers are not financing party activities; for trips that combine policy and politics, parties have split the cost under past presidents. Neither the RNC nor the White House responded to emails sent Thursday asking who would pay. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders released a statement later Thursday suggesting that taxpayers would foot the bill. She insisted that Trump would be conducting government business while in Pennsylvania. Read More This post contains reporting from the Associated Press and Times staff writer Noah Bierman. Facebook

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Trump tweets praise of Bob Dole after awarding him Congressional Gold Medal By Associated Press Former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole knew the art of the deal before President Trump published the 1987 book of the same name. The two shared a stage under the Capitol dome Wednesday as Dole, 94, accepted Congress highest civilian honor, the Congressional Gold Medal, for his World War II service and decades of work in the House and Senate. Trump later praised Dole in a tweet, attaching to his message a video composed of clips from the ceremony: Today, we witnessed an incredible moment in history  the presentation of Congress highest civilian honor to our friend, and true AMERICAN HERO, Bob Dole. #CongressionalGoldMedal pic.twitter.com/qNQqDLRmCk  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 17, 2018 At the ceremony, the president saluted Dole as a patriot and gave tribute to Doles struggle as a veteran who worked his way back from a grievous shoulder wound he suffered in Italy. He knows about grit, said Trump. But it was Doles penchant for working across the aisle that earned him his latest award, according to the legislation. Bob Dole was known for his ability to work across the aisle and embrace practical bipartisanship, reads the legislation Trump signed in September. Some of the awards 300 recipients include George Washington and Mother Teresa, according to the Congressional Research Service. Read More Facebook

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Trump touts report that seeks to link terrorism cases with immigration By Joseph Tanfani The Trump administration on Tuesday released a report attempting to link terrorism with migration, arguing that it was evidence of the need to dramatically reshape the nations immigration system. New report from DOJ & DHS shows that nearly 3 in 4 individuals convicted of terrorism-related charges are foreign-born. We have submitted to Congress a list of resources and reforms....  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 16, 2018 ....we need to keep America safe, including moving away from a random chain migration and lottery system, to one that is merit-based. https://t.co/7PtoSFK1n2  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 16, 2018 The report, ordered by President Trump in an executive order last year, said that 75% of the 549 people convicted of terrorism charges since 9/11 were born outside the U.S. Administration officials called that a sign that the U.S. needs to scrap its policy of family preferences for visas, which they call chain migration, and a diversity visa lottery program. But the report did not specify how many  if any  of the convicted terrorists entered the country through those means. It also did not detail how many of the convictions were related to attacks or plans in the U.S. versus overseas and how many involved people who went to fight overseas for the Islamic State or another terrorist group. Those details were not available, officials said. The report, due last year, is being released in a highly charged moment in the immigration debate, as Trump and some Republicans in Congress seek tough new border and immigration measures in return for a deal protecting the 690,000 people in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Trump also fired off a pair of tweets on the topic earlier Tuesday: We must have Security at our VERY DANGEROUS SOUTHERN BORDER, and we must have a great WALL to help protect us, and to help stop the massive inflow of drugs pouring into our country!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 16, 2018 The Democrats want to shut down the Government over Amnesty for all and Border Security. The biggest loser will be our rapidly rebuilding Military, at a time we need it more than ever. We need a merit based system of immigration, and we need it now! No more dangerous Lottery.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 16, 2018 The focus of our immigration system should be assimilation, a senior administration official said on Tuesday, speaking on condition that his name not be used. He said the nation should give priority to potential immigrants who speak English, who have an education and those who are committed to supporting our values  not family members of people already here. The official said the timing of the report was coincidental. Read More Facebook

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Trump tweets welcome to president of Kazakhstan By Associated Press President Trump said Tuesday that he and the president of Kazakhstan are united in a shared determination to prevent North Korea from threatening the world with nuclear devastation. Trump and President Nursultan Nazarbayev discussed North Korea along with other issues during meetings at the White House. Today, it was my honor to welcome President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan to the @WhiteHouse! pic.twitter.com/TerYFZViax  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 16, 2018 Trump said Kazakhstan, once part of the Soviet Union, is a valued partner in our efforts to rid the Korean peninsula of nuclear weapons. Together we are determined to prevent the North Korean regime from threatening the world with nuclear devastation, he said, as both presidents addressed journalists between meetings. Nazarbayev noted that his country once had one of the worlds largest nuclear arsenals but voluntarily gave it up after the Soviet Union collapsed. He said his country is in talks with Iran, which was the focus of a global deal that lifted some economic sanctions in exchange for Irans curbing its nuclear program. Trump has sharply criticized the Iran nuclear deal and threatened last week to pull out soon unless other countries fix what he says are terrible flaws. Read More Facebook

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Trump falsely claims his approval rating among black Americans has doubled By Alex Wigglesworth President Trump lashed out at the news media Tuesday morning in a tweet denouncing the special counsel investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election and possible collusion among members of his campaign team. Do you notice the Fake News Mainstream Media never likes covering the great and record setting economic news, but rather talks about anything negative or that can be turned into the negative. The Russian Collusion Hoax is dead, except as it pertains to the Dems. Public gets it!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 16, 2018 It wasnt immediately clear exactly what prompted the presidents tweet, but it appeared as though he was watching Fox & Friends. A short time later, Trump tweeted a headline from a report that aired during that mornings episode: 90% of Trump 2017 news coverage was negative -and much of it contrived!@foxandfriends  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 16, 2018 The segment focused on the latest survey results from conservative watchdog Media Research Center, which purportedly analyzed the evening news broadcasts on ABC, CBS and NBC from Jan. 20 to Dec. 31 and found that 90% of the statements made about Trump were negative. Study: 90% of Trump media coverage in 2017 was negative pic.twitter.com/vbrwup4Drg  FOX & friends (@foxandfriends) January 16, 2018 But believe it or not, through all this negative coverage, they did a survey of 600,000 people about how black America views this president, co-host Brian Kilmeade said. His numbers have actually doubled in approval. Trump highlighted the statement in another tweet: Unemployment for Black Americans is the lowest ever recorded. Trump approval ratings with Black Americans has doubled. Thank you, and it will get even (much) better! @FoxNews  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 16, 2018 But its not true. The claim appears to have originated from a misreading of data from the online polling firm SurveyMonkey, according to factcheck.org. The firm polled 600,000 Americans in 2017 and found that Trumps approval rating among blacks actually dropped from 23% early in his presidency to about 17%, as of the week ending Jan. 3. Some conservative outlets, including Breitbart, produced an average from those and other SurveyMonkey figures and compared them to the scores Trump received from black voters in the 2016 exit polls. That methodology is not sound. And since the statistics measure different things, the comparison is misleading. Facebook

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Trump goes after senator who surfaced his immigration remark By Associated Press President Trump turned his Twitter torment Monday on the Democrat in the room where immigration talks with lawmakers took a famously coarse turn, saying Sen. Richard J. Durbin misrepresented what he had said about African nations and Haiti and, in the process, undermined the trust needed to make a deal. Senator Dicky Durbin totally misrepresented what was said at the DACA meeting, Trump tweeted, using a nickname to needle the Illinois senator. Deals cant get made when there is no trust! Durbin blew DACA and is hurting our Military. Senator Dicky Durbin totally misrepresented what was said at the DACA meeting. Deals cant get made when there is no trust! Durbin blew DACA and is hurting our Military.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 15, 2018 Trump was referring to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which protects young people who came to the United States illegally as children. Members of Congress from both parties are trying to strike a deal that Trump would support to extend that protection. Trump also cast doubt on the likelihood of reaching an agreement in tweets sent earlier Monday: Statement by me last night in Florida: Honestly, I dont think the Democrats want to make a deal. They talk about DACA, but they dont want to help..We are ready, willing and able to make a deal but they dont want to. They dont want security at the border, they dont want.....  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 15, 2018 ...to stop drugs, they want to take money away from our military which we cannot do. My standard is very simple, AMERICA FIRST & MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 15, 2018 On a day of remembrance for the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Trump spent time at his golf course with no public events, bypassing the acts of service that his predecessors staged in honor of the civil rights leader. Instead, Trump dedicated his weekly address to Kings memory, saying Kings dream and Americas are the same: A world where people are judged by who they are, not how they look or where they come from. That message was a distinct counterpoint to words attributed to Trump by Durbin and others at a meeting last week, when the question of where immigrants come from seemed at the forefront of Trumps concerns. Some participants and others familiar with the conversation said Trump challenged immigration from shithole countries of Africa and disparaged Haiti as well. Without explicitly denying using that word, Trump lashed out at the Democratic senator, who said Trump uttered it on several occasions. Read More Facebook

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Trump thanks pundit for laudatory Fox & Friends spot By Alex Wigglesworth President Trump thanked Fox News personality Stuart Varney after Varney praised Trump during an appearance on Fox & Friends. In a pair of tweets early Sunday, Trump quoted from Varneys commentary, in which he argued that Trump deserves more credit for the booming economy. The pundit, who also hosts a show on Fox Business Network, cited moves by some corporations to raise workers minimum wage or pay out one-time bonuses in response to the GOP tax cuts. President Trump is not getting the credit he deserves for the economy. Tax Cut bonuses to more than 2,000,000 workers. Most explosive Stock Market rally that weve seen in modern times. 18,000 to 26,000 from Election, and grounded in profitability and growth. All Trump, not 0...  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 14, 2018 ...big unnecessary regulation cuts made it all possible (among many other things). President Trump reversed the policies of President Obama, and reversed our economic decline. Thank you Stuart Varney. @foxandfriends  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 14, 2018 Varney was reacting to a quote from House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), who on Thursday called the bonuses handed down to workers pathetic in comparison to the gains corporations are expected to see from the tax cuts. In terms of the bonus that corporate America received versus the crumbs that they are giving to workers to kind of put the schmooze on is so pathetic, Pelosi told reporters. Its pathetic. Varney shot back Sunday that the bonuses, along with explosive stock market growth, are enriching all Americans. This is a huge shot in the arm, its the result of this tax cut deal and I think President Trump should get the credit for it, he said. .@Varneyco Sets the economic record straight after Nancy Pelosi calls U.S. mass bonuses crumbs pic.twitter.com/BvjIHGm3HE  FOX & friends (@foxandfriends) January 14, 2018 The sweeping tax plan passed last month lowers the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21% and cuts personal income taxes. Analysts say the benefits will largely flow to corporations and the wealthy, as theyre more likely to be in positions to share in corporate profits. For instance, Wells Fargo & Co., which responded to news of the tax overhaul by announcing it will raise workers pay to at least $15 an hour, also reported that it expects to pay an effective tax rate of 19% this year, down from about 31% in previous years. That should amount to tax savings of more than $3 billion annually. On average, middle-class Americans are expected to see a very small tax cut in the near term and a tax increase after 2025, when all of the tax cuts for individuals expire. The tax cuts for corporations, however, are permanent.  This post contains reporting from Times staff writer James Rufus Koren. Facebook

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Trump touts MLK proclamation in tweet, but ceremony is overshadowed by reports of racist remarks By Associated Press President Trump signed a proclamation Friday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, noting the contributions of a great American hero. Today, it was my great honor to proclaim January 15, 2018, as Martin Luther King Jr., Federal Holiday. I encourage all Americans to observe this day with appropriate civic, community, and service activities in honor of Dr. King's life and legacy. pic.twitter.com/samlJsz1Nt  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 12, 2018 Overshadowing the event was mounting backlash from Trumps comments during a private meeting with lawmakers the day before. A short time after the meeting, which was called to discuss a possible immigration deal, reports emerged that Trump had asked participants why the United States should accept immigrants from shithole countries in Africa, Central America and the Caribbean. Illinois Sen. Richard Durbin, the Senates second-ranking Democrat, appeared to confirm those reports on Friday. Trump did not respond Friday to several questions about the incident, including whether he actually used vulgar language to describe African nations, or if he is racist. The president said at the White House that love was central to the slain civil rights leader. Trump said the nation celebrates King for standing up for the self-evident truth Americans hold so dear, that no matter what the color of our skin or place of our birth, we are all created equal by God.  This post contains reporting from Times staff writer Noah Bierman. Facebook

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Trump criticizes Democrats in tweet calling for stricter immigration rules President Trump hit out at Democrats on Thursday night in a tweet calling for stricter immigration rules. Trump wrote that members of the party seem intent on having people and drugs pour into our country from the border with Mexico: The Democrats seem intent on having people and drugs pour into our country from the Southern Border, risking thousands of lives in the process. It is my duty to protect the lives and safety of all Americans. We must build a Great Wall, think Merit and end Lottery & Chain. USA!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 12, 2018 It wasnt immediately clear exactly what prompted the tweet. Earlier Thursday, Trump rejected a bipartisan compromise to resolve the standoff over so-called Dreamers, young immigrants who were brought to the United States illegally as children but have temporary permits to work, attend school or serve in the military. The president drew widespread condemnation after reports emerged that he had asked participants in an Oval Office meeting about the proposal why the United States should accept immigrants from shithole countries in Africa, Central America and the Caribbean. Read More Facebook

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Trump touts bill aimed at improving border screening for fentanyl By Associated Press President Trump signed legislation Wednesday aimed at giving Customs and Border Protection agents additional screening devices and other tools to stop the flow of illicit drugs. Speaking at a surprise bill-signing ceremony while flanked by members of Congress from both parties in the Oval Office, Trump described the bill as a significant step forward in the fight against powerful opioids such as fentanyl, which he called our new big scourge. He echoed that language Thursday in a tweet: Yesterday, I signed the #INTERDICTAct (H.R. 2142) with bipartisan members of Congress to help end the flow of drugs into our country. Together, we are committed to doing everything we can to combat the deadly scourge of drug addiction and overdose in the United States! pic.twitter.com/ELZvFol5Lo  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 11, 2018 The legislation will pay for new portable and fixed chemical screening devices to detect and intercept fentanyl at ports of entry and in the mail, along with other laboratory equipment and personnel, including scientists. Trump has made fighting the opioid epidemic a centerpiece of his administration, though critics say he hasnt dedicated nearly enough money or resources to make a difference. Trump suggested during his remarks on Wednesday that hed like to take a more aggressive approach to the drug crisis  but the countrys not ready for what he has in mind. So were going to sign this. And its a step. And it feels like a very giant step, but unfortunately, its not going to be a giant step, because no matter what you do, this is something that keeps pouring in, he said. And were going to find the answer. There is an answer. I think I actually know the answer, but Im not sure the countrys ready for it yet, he added. Does anybody know what I mean? I think so. Facebook

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Trump applauds news that Toyota-Mazda plant is slated for Alabama By Associated Press Japanese automakers Toyota and Mazda on Wednesday announced plans to build a mammoth, $1.6-billion joint-venture plant in Alabama that will eventually employ about 4,000 people. President Trump lauded the news in a tweet: Cutting taxes and simplifying regulations makes America the place to invest! Great news as Toyota and Mazda announce they are bringing 4,000 JOBS and investing $1.6 BILLION in Alabama, helping to further grow our economy! pic.twitter.com/Kcg8IVH6iA  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 10, 2018 Good news: Toyota and Mazda announce giant new Huntsville, Alabama, plant which will produce over 300,000 cars and SUVs a year and employ 4000 people. Companies are coming back to the U.S. in a very big way. Congratulations Alabama!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 11, 2018 Several states had competed for the project, which will be able to turn out 300,000 vehicles per year and produce the Toyota Corolla compact car for North America and a new small SUV from Mazda. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey and company executives held a news conference to announce that the facility is coming to the Huntsville area not far from the Tennessee line. Production is expected to begin by 2021. The decision to pick Alabama is another example of foreign-based automakers building U.S. factories in the South. To entice manufacturers, Southern states have used a combination of lucrative incentive packages, low-cost labor and a pro-business labor environment, because the United Auto Workers union is stronger in Northern states. Read More Facebook

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Trump highlights call for border wall in tweets on visit with Norways prime minister By Associated Press President Trump praised Norways prime minister in a tweet on Wednesday after Erna Solberg became the first foreign leader to visit with the president in 2018. Today, it was my great honor to welcome Prime Minister Erna Solberg of Norway to the @WhiteHouse - a great friend and ally of the United States! Joint press conference: https://t.co/qWR1BhfQZI pic.twitter.com/PJvwznjRCO  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 10, 2018 Trump also shared via Twitter a video clip of a joint news conference he held with Solberg on Wednesday afternoon. In the clip, Trump responds to a question from a reporter by saying there can be no bipartisan immigration deal absent funding for his long-promised wall along the U.S. border with Mexico. Republican and Democratic lawmakers have been seeking a solution for hundreds of thousands of so-called Dreamers, young people who were brought to the United States as children and are living here illegally. The United States needs the security of the Wall on the Southern Border, which must be part of any DACA approval. The safety and security of our country is #1! pic.twitter.com/4CFzQXb5aS  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 10, 2018 We need the wall for security, we need the wall for safety, we need the wall for stopping the drugs from pouring in, Trump said Wednesday.  Any solution has to include the wall because without the wall, it all doesnt work. On Tuesday, Trump drew widespread attention when he said during a meeting with a bipartisan group of lawmakers that he would be agreeable to signing a stand-alone bill to protect the Dreamers, before moving on to a more comprehensive immigration bill. That contradicted the Republican consensus that Dreamers fate needed to be part of a broader immigration bill that would include some version of Trumps promised border wall and other immigration reforms. Trump backed away from a stand-alone Dreamer bill in subsequent tweets and public comments. Read More This post contains reporting from Los Angeles Times staff writer Noah Bierman. Facebook

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Trump praises Cabinet in tweet touting meeting By Associated Press President Trump promoted a meeting of his Cabinet on Wednesday, sharing via Twitter a link to a video of the session posted on the White House YouTube account. In his tweet, Trump thanked his Cabinet for working tirelessly on behalf of our country and wrote that the last year has been one of monumental achievement. I want to thank my @Cabinet for working tirelessly on behalf of our country. 2017 was a year of monumental achievement and we look forward to the year ahead. Together, we are delivering results and MAKING AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! https://t.co/ptXa1hAPwW pic.twitter.com/yv6RALkQf3  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 10, 2018 The former reality television star continued to dispense accolades at the meeting Wednesday, greeting reporters in the Cabinet Room by saying: Welcome back to the studio. Then he proceeded to relive a Cabinet Room session from the prior day, when he had allowed reporters and TV cameras to stick around for much of his meeting with a bipartisan group of legislators on the thorny issue of immigration. It was a tremendous meeting. Actually, it was reported as incredibly good. And my performance  you know, some of them called it a performance  I consider it work, Trump said. Trump went on to say he had received letters from news anchors calling it one of the greatest meetings theyve ever witnessed. He added that the media will ultimately support Trump in the end, because theyre going to say, if Trump doesnt win in three years, theyre all out of business. Asked for examples of letters received from news anchors, the White House said it had received private communications. It also offered a series of positive on-air comments and tweets from journalists about the unusual access to the meeting. During his remarks, Trump swung from praising his own meeting coverage to telling journalists that they were dependent on his presidency for ratings to threatening a strong look at libel laws. Still, Trump thanked the journalists in front of him, joking: Youve gotten very familiar with this room. I appreciate your nice comments yesterday. Facebook

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Trump blasts DACA ruling in tweet calling courts broken and unfair By Lisa Mascaro President Trump denounced the federal courts Wednesday as broken and unfair after a district judge in San Francisco issued a nationwide injunction keeping protections in place for so-called Dreamers. Trump tweeted: It just shows everyone how broken and unfair our Court System is when the opposing side in a case (such as DACA) always runs to the 9th Circuit and almost always wins before being reversed by higher courts.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 10, 2018 On Tuesday night, U.S. District Judge William Alsup in San Francisco temporarily blocked the Trump administrations decision to phase out the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, known as DACA, which has protected from deportation some 700,000 people who came to the country illegally as children. Alsup granted a request by the state of California, the University of California and other plaintiffs to stop Trump from ending DACA on March 5. The administrations decision to end DACA, which was announced in September, was based on a flawed legal analysis, Alsup wrote in his decision. Dreamers would be irreparably harmed if their DACA protections, which allow them to live and work legally in the U.S., were stripped away before the courts had a chance to fully consider their claims, he ruled. The action is the mirror image of a ruling in 2015 by a federal judge in Texas who ruled in favor of that state when it sought to block President Obama from expanding DACA to include the parents of Dreamers. Trump administration officials praised that judicial ruling. By contrast, they sharply criticized Alsups decision. Read More Facebook

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Trump thanks lawmakers for productive immigration meeting, says deal must include border wall President Trump thanked a bipartisan group of lawmakers for participating in a meeting on immigration legislation on Tuesday. Much of the discussion involved so-called Dreamers, an estimated 700,000 young people who were brought to the country illegally as children and are now facing deportation. In a tweet, Trump wrote that there was strong agreement to negotiate a bill to protect Dreamers, as well as put into place some of the reforms favored by Republicans. Thanks to all of the Republican and Democratic lawmakers for todays very productive meeting on immigration reform. There was strong agreement to negotiate a bill that deals with border security, chain migration, lottery and DACA. https://t.co/SdqAQ3aL3z pic.twitter.com/8DYHZHspAy  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 9, 2018 The most notable exchange of the meeting came when Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the San Francisco Democrat, asked Trump whether he would be agreeable to signing a stand-alone bill to protect the Dreamers, before moving on to a more comprehensive immigration bill. Yeah, I would like to do it, Trump responded. The statement drew widespread attention because it contradicted the Republican consensus that Dreamers fate needed to be part of a broader immigration bill that would include some version of Trumps promised border wall and other immigration reforms. Trump later backed away from a stand-alone Dreamer bill, tweeting that a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico must be part of any deal: As I made very clear today, our country needs the security of the Wall on the Southern Border, which must be part of any DACA approval.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 10, 2018 Pressure has been mounting for Congress to broker an immigration deal by Jan. 19 as part of a must-pass budget package to fund the government. This post contains reporting from Times staff writer Noah Bierman. Facebook

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Trump thanks officers and veterans in tweets President Trump doled out a slew of accolades Tuesday via Twitter. He thanked the nations law enforcement officers, including in his message a hashtag denoting a day of appreciation organized by a national support group for law enforcement families. On behalf of the American people, THANK YOU to our incredible law enforcement officers. As President of the United States - I will fight for you, and I will never, ever let you down. Now, more than ever, we must support the men and women in blue! #LawEnforcementAppreciationDay pic.twitter.com/Qb4uxB4JRm  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 9, 2018 Trump later expressed gratitude for federal immigration agents, in particular: .@ICEgov HSI agents and ERO officers, on behalf of an entire Nation, THANK YOU for what you are doing 24/7/365 to keep fellow Americans SAFE. Everyone is so grateful!#LawEnforcementAppreciationDay

President @realDonaldTrump https://t.co/HXCpTlruVo  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 10, 2018 The president thanked veterans as he cited his administrations efforts to curb the number of veteran suicides by improving mental health treatment for the high-risk group: Today, it was my great honor to sign a new Executive Order to ensure Veterans have the resources they need as they transition back to civilian life. We must ensure that our HEROES are given the care and support they so richly deserve! https://t.co/0MdP9DDIAS pic.twitter.com/LP2a8KCBAp  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 9, 2018 Trumps tweet included photos of the president signing an executive order Tuesday directing the secretaries of Defense, Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs to develop a plan to provide seamless access to mental health and suicide prevention resources for 12 months for members leaving the armed forces. Also on Tuesday, Trump touted a law he signed the day before designating the birthplace of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. a national historic park: It was my great honor to sign H.R. 267, the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park Act, which redesignates the Martin Luther King, Junior, National Historic Site in the State of Georgia as the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park. https://t.co/Qe0b6HBFTY pic.twitter.com/QTgaqTawPT  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 9, 2018 And he thanked House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) for sharing a video compilation comprised of clips of politicians and commentators praising the GOPs tax cut bill: Thank you @GOPLeader Kevin McCarthy! Couldnt agree w/you more. TOGETHER, we are #MAGA https://t.co/QaxtqpyXTR  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 10, 2018  This post contains reporting from the Associated Press and Times staff writer Alex Wigglesworth. Facebook

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Trump hails tax bill in tweets recapping speech to farmers By Associated Press Connecting with rural Americans, President Trump on Monday hailed his tax overhaul as a victory for family farmers. Farm country is Gods country, Trump told the annual convention of the American Farm Bureau Federation. Trump became the first president in a quarter-century to address the federations convention. His Southern swing also included a stop in Atlanta for the national college football championship game. Cant wait to be back in the amazing state of Tennessee to address the 99th American @FarmBureau Federations Annual Convention in Nashville! #AFBF18



On my way now - join me LIVE at 4:00pmE: https://t.co/QaljAqekdD. pic.twitter.com/Wm7Io0hYT8  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 8, 2018 Joined by Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) and a group of Tennessee lawmakers, Trump said most of the benefits of the tax legislation are going to working families, small businesses, and who  the family farmer. The package Trump signed into law last month provides generous tax cuts for corporations and the wealthiest Americans, and more modest reductions for middle- and low-income individuals and families. In every decision we make, we are honoring Americas PROUD FARMING LEGACY. Years of crushing taxes, crippling regs, & corrupt politics left our communities hurting, our economy stagnant, & millions of hardworking Americans COMPLETELY FORGOTTEN. But they are not forgotten ANYMORE! pic.twitter.com/MdYS7xnukQ  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 8, 2018 The president vastly inflated the value of the package in his speech, citing a total of $5.5 trillion in tax cuts, with most of those benefits going to working families, small businesses and who? The family farmer. The estimated value of the tax cuts is actually $1.5 trillion for families and businesses because of cuts in deductions and the use of other steps to generate offsetting tax revenue. We have been working every day to DELIVER for Americas Farmers just as they work every day to deliver FOR US. #AFBF18 pic.twitter.com/QDH7fvFkZ7  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 8, 2018 From Nashville, Trump traveled to Atlanta to watch Alabamas Crimson Tide and Georgias Bulldogs face off Monday night in the College Football Playoff National Championship. We are fighting for our farmers, for our country, and for our GREAT AMERICAN FLAG. We want our flag respected - and we want our NATIONAL ANTHEM respected also! pic.twitter.com/16eOLXg6Fi  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 8, 2018 Before departing for the game, Trump referenced his ongoing defense of the American flag and the national anthem, saying there was enough space for people to express their views. We love our flag and we love our anthem, and we want to keep it that way, he said. Facebook

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Trump tweet hails drop in unemployment rate for African Americans By Associated Press President Trump touted a drop in the unemployment rate for African Americans on Monday in a tweet. African American unemployment is the lowest ever recorded in our country. The Hispanic unemployment rate dropped a full point in the last year and is close to the lowest in recorded history. Dems did nothing for you but get your vote! #NeverForget @foxandfriends  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 8, 2018 The rate fell to 6.8% in December, the lowest level since the government began tracking such data in 1972. The reasons range from a greater number of black Americans with college degrees to a growing need for employers in a tight job market to widen the pool of people they hire from. Trump also hailed the development via Twitter on Saturday. His latest tweet on the topic came about an hour after it was discussed during an episode of Fox & Friends, according to Mediaite. Facebook

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Trump talks up the economy and dresses down the media in Sunday tweets With President Trump cheering from the sidelines, the White House on Sunday pressed its defense of the presidents fitness to govern, as fired former aide Stephen K. Bannon reversed course and apologized for his role in a new books explosive portrait of Trump. The presidents critics, meanwhile, said Trumps stream of taunts and insults in response to the book  Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, released last week  served only to underscore the authors unsettling portrayal of Trumps year-old presidency, depicting a leader whose own aides consider him childish, ignorant and dangerously erratic. Trump provided more ammunition Sunday morning, as he continued to attack the book via Twitter while preparing to depart Camp David for the White House: Leaving Camp David for the White House. Great meetings with the Cabinet and Military on many very important subjects including Border Security & the desperately needed Wall, the ever increasing Drug and Opioid Problem, Infrastructure, Military, Budget, Trade and DACA.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 7, 2018 Ive had to put up with the Fake News from the first day I announced that I would be running for President. Now I have to put up with a Fake Book, written by a totally discredited author. Ronald Reagan had the same problem and handled it well. So will I!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 7, 2018 The most vehement defense of Trump on Sunday came from senior advisor Stephen Miller, a onetime Bannon acolyte who distanced himself from his former mentor. In a combative appearance Sunday on CNNs State of the Union, Miller called the book grotesque and writer Michael Wolff the garbage author of a garbage book. Trump is known to closely monitor aides televised performances in putting forth his case, and he gleefully weighed in within moments of Millers televised clash with host Jake Tapper. CNN has long been a particular target of Trumps ire. Jake Tapper of Fake News CNN just got destroyed in his interview with Stephen Miller of the Trump Administration. Watch the hatred and unfairness of this CNN flunky!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 7, 2018 Trumps reaction, however, seemed to bolster Tappers on-air depiction of Miller as using his appearance on the show to play to the president rather than addressing questions put to him. I get it  theres one viewer that you care about, the host said exasperatedly after Miller turned the discussion repeatedly to negative news coverage of the president while deflecting specific queries. Later on Twitter, Trump took up two themes that have been prevalent on his social media feeds recently. The president again went after the news media, tweeting that the recipients of his self-proclaimed most dishonest & corrupt media awards of the year, which he promised earlier in the week to announce on Monday, would actually be revealed the following Wednesday: The Fake News Awards, those going to the most corrupt & biased of the Mainstream Media, will be presented to the losers on Wednesday, January 17th, rather than this coming Monday. The interest in, and importance of, these awards is far greater than anyone could have anticipated!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 7, 2018 Trump later lauded a New York Post opinion piece that compared him favorably with his predecessor, President Obama, as well as Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. In quoting the op-ed, Trump initally misspelled consequential as consensual, but he deleted those tweets and re-sent the messages. His is turning out to be an enormously consequential presidency. So much so that, despite my own frustration over his missteps, there has never been a day when I wished Hillary Clinton were president. Not one. Indeed, as Trumps accomplishments accumulate, the mere thought of...  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 8, 2018 ...Clinton in the WH, doubling down on Barack Obamas failed policies, washes away any doubts that America made the right choice. This was truly a change election  and the changes Trump is bringing are far-reaching & necessary. Thank you Michael Goodwin! https://t.co/4fHNcx2Ydg  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 8, 2018 Trump also continued talking up the economy, which has been enjoying a period of strong gains. The Stock Market has been creating tremendous benefits for our country in the form of not only Record Setting Stock Prices, but present and future Jobs, Jobs, Jobs. Seven TRILLION dollars of value created since our big election win!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 7, 2018 In addition to Miller, other senior administration officials made the rounds of Sunday news talk shows to decry the claims made in Wolffs book. CIA Director Mike Pompeo said Wolffs characterization of Trump as averse to digesting classified briefing material was ludicrous, and the ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, insisted that that those around Trump love their country and respect their president. Read More This post contains reporting from Times staff writer Laura King. Facebook

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Responding to book that mocks his intelligence, Trump tweets hes like, really smart By Tracy Wilkinson President Trump declared himself a very stable genius on Twitter on Saturday and later in a televised news conference called the author of a book that questioned his mental fitness a fraud. His comments came on a bone-cold day at Camp David during a weekend retreat with top administration officials and Republican congressional leaders strategizing on the years legislative agenda, including matters such as infrastructure, immigration, welfare reform and national security. Now that Russian collusion, after one year of intense study, has proven to be a total hoax on the American public, the Democrats and their lapdogs, the Fake News Mainstream Media, are taking out the old Ronald Reagan playbook and screaming mental stability and intelligence.....  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2018 ....Actually, throughout my life, my two greatest assets have been mental stability and being, like, really smart. Crooked Hillary Clinton also played these cards very hard and, as everyone knows, went down in flames. I went from VERY successful businessman, to top T.V. Star.....  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2018 ....to President of the United States (on my first try). I think that would qualify as not smart, but genius....and a very stable genius at that!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2018 Still, Trumps explosive rebuttal to author Michael Wolffs claims not only opened the day, but it also ensured the presidents capability to fill the highest office in the land was a topic that would not go away. In his early-morning tweets, Trump said two of his greatest assets have been mental stability, and being, like, really smart. He noted that his former Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, played these cards [about competence] very hard and, as everyone knows, went down in flames. I went from VERY successful businessman, to top T.V. Star to President of the United States (on my first try). Read More Facebook

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In morning tweets, Trump touts job numbers and takes digs at news media By Associated Press President Trump used Twitter on Saturday morning to tout a drop in the unemployment rate for African Americans. He also used the tweets as an opportunity to take digs at media outlets whose past coverage he has found to be critical. The African American unemployment rate fell to 6.8%, the lowest rate in 45 years. I am so happy about this News! And, in the Washington Post (of all places), headline states, Trumps first year jobs numbers were very, very good.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2018 The unemployment rate for African Americans fell to 6.8% in December, the lowest level since the government began tracking such data in 1972. The reasons range from a greater number of black Americans with college degrees to a growing need for employers in a tight job market to widen the pool of people they hire from. Still, the rate for black workers remains well above those for whites and some other groups, something experts attribute in large part to decades of discrimination and disadvantages. Robust job creation has lowered unemployment for all Americans. U.S. employers added nearly 2.1 million jobs in 2017  the seventh straight year that hiring has topped 2 million. In his tweet, Trump praised a report that noted the numbers, touting the fact that it appeared in the Washington Post (of all places). Minutes later, Trump renewed his attack on an ABC News reporter who was suspended last month after filing an erroneous report on Michael Flynn, Trumps former national security advisor. Brian Ross, the reporter who made a fraudulent live newscast about me that drove the Stock Market down 350 points (billions of dollars), was suspended for a month but is now back at ABC NEWS in a lower capacity. He is no longer allowed to report on Trump. Should have been fired!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2018 The reporter, Brian Ross, was reportedly reassigned within ABC News upon returning from his unpaid suspension. But on Saturday, Trump wrote that he should have been fired. Trumps tweets came hours before he was set to host congressional Republicans and administration officials at Camp David. The meeting scheduled to begin at midmorning Saturday was expected to touch on the budget, infrastructure, immigration, welfare reform and the shape of the midterm election this fall. Facebook

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Trump commends Sen. Rand Paul after he proposes eliminating all U.S. aid to Pakistan President Trump commended Sen. Rand Paul after the Kentucky Republican announced plans to introduce legislation that would eliminate all U.S. aid to Pakistan. Trump tweeted Friday night: Good idea Rand! https://t.co/55sqUDiC0s  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2018 On Thursday, the Trump administration announced it was suspending security assistance to Islamabad until the country moves aggressively against local militants who have attacked U.S. troops in neighboring Afghanistan. Trump has repeatedly expressed frustration at the apparent inability of Pakistani authorities to rein in militants who cross out of the countrys rugged tribal areas to attack U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Read More This post contains reporting from Times staff writer Tracy Wilkinson. Facebook

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Trump continues to lash out at Sloppy Steve Bannon in tweets on tell-all book By Associated Press President Trump is praising a major Republican donor family for distancing themselves from his former advisor Steve Bannon. Trump tweeted Friday: The Mercer Family recently dumped the leaker known as Sloppy Steve Bannon. Smart!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 5, 2018 Trump has continued to lash out at Bannon over an explosive new book that quoted his former aide as questioning Trumps competence and describing a June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower among Donald Trump Jr., Trump campaign aides and a Russian lawyer as treasonous and unpatriotic. On Thursday, billionaire GOP donor Rebekah Mercer issued a statement distancing her family from Bannon. Mercer is a co-owner of Breitbart, the populist website Bannon helps run. I support President Trump and the platform upon which he was elected, Mercer said. My family and I have not communicated with Steve Bannon in many months and have provided no financial support to his political agenda, nor do we support his recent actions and statements. The book, Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, quickly shot atop Amazons best-seller list, and the publisher moved up its release date by four days, to Friday. Trump took up the topic again on Twitter on Friday night, denouncing both Bannon and the books author, Michael Wolff, in starkly personal terms: Michael Wolff is a total loser who made up stories in order to sell this really boring and untruthful book. He used Sloppy Steve Bannon, who cried when he got fired and begged for his job. Now Sloppy Steve has been dumped like a dog by almost everyone. Too bad! https://t.co/mEeUhk5ZV9  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2018 Trumps message linked to a meme depicting a parody book cover titled, Liar and Phony, that featured a photo of Wolff and disparaging quotes about the author. In a tweet sent earlier Friday morning, Trump suggested the book was intended to serve as a distraction from the FBIs investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, which Trump wrote is proving to be a total hoax. Well, now that collusion with Russia is proving to be a total hoax and the only collusion is with Hillary Clinton and the FBI/Russia, the Fake News Media (Mainstream) and this phony new book are hitting out at every new front imaginable. They should try winning an election. Sad!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 5, 2018 That came amid reports that Trump directed his White House counsel to tell Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions to not recuse himself from the Justice Departments Russia investigation. Trumps effort to keep Sessions, a vocal and loyal supporter of his election bid, in charge of an investigation into his campaign offers special counsel Robert Mueller yet another avenue to explore as his prosecutors work to untangle potential evidence of obstruction. Read More Facebook

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Trump praises the economy ahead of meetings at Camp David By Associated Press President Trump is praising the strength of the U.S. economy ahead of meetings at Camp David with congressional Republicans. Trump tweeted early Friday: Dow goes from 18,589 on November 9, 2016, to 25,075 today, for a new all-time Record. Jumped 1000 points in last 5 weeks, Record fastest 1000 point move in history. This is all about the Make America Great Again agenda! Jobs, Jobs, Jobs. Six trillion dollars in value created!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 5, 2018 The president also told reporters on the South Lawn that the tax cuts are really kicking in after Congress passed a package of tax cuts at the end of 2017. And the president praised the December jobs report, which found U.S. employers added 148,000 jobs in December and the unemployment rate stayed at 4.1%, the lowest level since 2000. The modest but steady pace of hiring is a reassuring sign for investors who have been buoyed by the just-passed Republican tax plan and have been sending stock market indexes roaring to uncharted heights. The president is meeting with Republican congressional leaders and members of his Cabinet on Friday and Saturday to discuss the 2018 agenda. Read More Facebook

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Trump tweets as Dow crashes through 25,000 By Associated Press President Trump dispatched a congratulatory tweet as the Dow Jones industrial average rose above the 25,000-point mark Thursday, just five weeks after its first close above 24,000. Dow just crashes through 25,000. Congrats! Big cuts in unnecessary regulations continuing.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 4, 2018 After the Dow closed above 25,000, Trump shared a graphic depicting the stock indexs record-setting rise. MAKING AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! pic.twitter.com/iONbr1DkVk  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 5, 2018 Later in the day, the president was back on Twitter, complaining that news outlets had barely covered the stock market milestone. He suggested that the strength of the economy would be the biggest story on earth, had it unfolded during the presidency of his predecessor. The Fake News Media barely mentions the fact that the Stock Market just hit another New Record and that business in the U.S. is booming...but the people know! Can you imagine if O was president and had these numbers - would be biggest story on earth! Dow now over 25,000.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 5, 2018 The Dow broke past 1,000-point barriers in 2017 on its way to a 25% gain for the year, as an eight-year rally since the Great Recession continued to confound skeptics. Strong global economic growth and good prospects for higher company earnings have analysts predicting more gains, although the market may not stay as calm as it has been recently. The Dow has made a rapid trip since it reached 24,000 points Nov. 30, partly on enthusiasm over passage of the Republican-backed tax package, which could boost company profits this year with across-the-board cuts to corporate taxes. Read More Facebook

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Trump reacts to Fire and Fury book in tweet lashing out at author and Sloppy Steve President Trump lashed out at the author of a soon-to-be-released book about the chaotic first year of his presidency Thursday night. In a tweet, Trump called Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, a phony book and claimed that hed never spoken to its author, Michael Wolff. Look at this guys past and watch what happens to him and Sloppy Steve! Trump wrote. He appeared to be referring to former White House chief strategist Stephen K. Bannon, whose stunning criticisms of Trump and his circle figure prominently in the title. I authorized Zero access to White House (actually turned him down many times) for author of phony book! I never spoke to him for book. Full of lies, misrepresentations and sources that dont exist. Look at this guys past and watch what happens to him and Sloppy Steve!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 5, 2018 Trumps tweet came hours after he had his lawyer demand that Henry Holt & Co. and Wolff stop publication the book. Instead, the publisher expedited the books release to Friday, four days before it was slated to hit bookstore shelves, in response to unprecedented demand. Published excerpts on Wednesday and Thursday whetted that appetite and roiled Washington. Bannons comments, including that it was treasonous and unpatriotic for Trumps son Donald Trump Jr., son-in-law Jared Kushner and campaign manager Paul Manafort to have met in 2016 with Russians said to have dirt on Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, prompted Trump on Wednesday to rebuke his former advisor, saying Bannon had lost his mind. Read More This post contains reporting from Times staff writers Brian Bennett and Alex Wigglesworth. Facebook

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Trump thanks senators who attended meeting on immigration President Trump tweeted thanks to Republican senators who attended a meeting about possible immigration legislation on Thursday. In his message, Trump also listed his top priorities when it comes to any type of overhaul of the nations immigration system. Thank you to the great Republican Senators who showed up to our mtg on immigration reform. We must BUILD THE WALL, stop illegal immigration, end chain migration & cancel the visa lottery. The current system is unsafe & unfair to the great people of our country - time for change!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 4, 2018 Trumps tweet echoed his remarks at the beginning of Thursdays meeting, when he insisted again that constructing a border wall and overhauling two legal immigration programs must be part of any deal with Democrats to protect the so-called Dreamers from deportation. Two-year deportation protections and work permits given under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program begin to expire March 6 under an executive order. Trump announced in September that he was ending the Obama-era program, but told Congress to draft a law to continue protections for people brought to the country illegally as children  a group that has widespread public support. Read More This post contains reporting from Times staff writer Brian Bennett. Facebook

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Trump resumes Twitter war against kneeling NFL players President Trump has resumed his Twitter war against NFL players who kneel during the national anthem to protest social injustice and racial inequality. In a tweet early Thursday, Trump replied to a supporter who shared a meme that appears to depict family members lying on the grave of a fallen soldier with the caption: This is why we stand. Show this picture to the NFL players who still kneel! Trump wrote. So beautiful....Show this picture to the NFL players who still kneel! https://t.co/tJLM1tvbvb  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 4, 2018 The president has denounced players who kneel during the anthem in previous tweets. Hes also called for the firing of players who do so. His latest message came amid news that the NFL finished the regular season with TV ratings that fell nearly 10% below the previous season. Analysts attribute the drop to controversies facing the league, as well as changing viewing habits and a possible saturation point in the number of games available. Read More This post contains reporting from Times staff writers Stephen Battaglio and Alex Wigglesworth. Facebook

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Trump credits himself with facilitating talks between North and South Korea By Associated Press President Trump says his tough stance on nuclear weapons on the Korean peninsula is helping push North Korea and South Korea to talk. Trump tweeted early Thursday: With all of the failed experts weighing in, does anybody really believe that talks and dialogue would be going on between North and South Korea right now if I wasnt firm, strong and willing to commit our total might against the North. Fools, but talks are a good thing!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 4, 2018 That assertion is in conflict with some of the presidents own statements. Last year, he ridiculed Secretary of State Rex Tillerson for talking about negotiations with the North. This week, Trump seemed open to the possibility of an inter-Korean dialogue after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made a rare overture toward South Korea in a New Years Day address. But Trumps ambassador to the United Nations insisted that talks wont be meaningful unless the North is getting rid of its nuclear weapons. The overture about talks came after Trump and Kim traded more bellicose claims about their nuclear weapons. In his New Years Day address, Kim repeated fiery nuclear threats against the United States. Kim said he has a nuclear button on his office desk and warned that the whole territory of the U.S. is within the range of our nuclear strike. Trump mocked that assertion Tuesday evening in a tweet. Facebook

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After disbanding his vote fraud panel, Trump still says voting system is rigged By Brian Bennett One day after disbanding his troubled voter fraud commission without any findings of fraud, President Trump continued to call the U.S. voting system rigged and said states should require that Americans have voter-identification cards. In two tweets on Thursday morning, Trump blamed the commissions failure on the lack of cooperation from mostly Democrat States that refused to hand over voter rolls because they know that many people are voting illegally. However, voting supervisors in Republican-led states refused as well, objecting on privacy and other grounds. Many mostly Democrat States refused to hand over data from the 2016 Election to the Commission On Voter Fraud. They fought hard that the Commission not see their records or methods because they know that many people are voting illegally. System is rigged, must go to Voter I.D.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 4, 2018 As Americans, you need identification, sometimes in a very strong and accurate form, for almost everything you do.....except when it comes to the most important thing, VOTING for the people that run your country. Push hard for Voter Identification!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 4, 2018 Despite Trumps assertions, analysts have not found evidence of widespread voter fraud. Trump created the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity in May after alleging, without proof, that millions of illegal votes were cast for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election. Trump was elected after winning a majority in the electoral college, but the nationwide count showed Clinton received nearly 3 million more votes. The commission sought personal data on voters across the country and faced mounting lawsuits in recent months over privacy concerns. Read More Facebook

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Trump touts another good day for stocks, credits tax cut By Associated Press President Trump touted another good day for the stock market Wednesday in a tweet. Stock Market had another good day but, now that the Tax Cut Bill has passed, we have tremendous upward potential. Dow just short of 25,000, a number that few thought would be possible this soon into my administration. Also, unemployment went down to 4.1%. Only getting better!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 4, 2018 Big gains for technology and healthcare stocks helped U.S. indexes set records again Wednesday. Some analysts attributed the surge to investor enthusiasm for Trumps $1.5-trillion tax cut. All told, Wall Street analysts estimate the tax package should boost earnings for companies in the Standard & Poors 500 index by roughly 8% this year. Thats much more generous than the average tax cut of 1.6% that middle-class families will receive, according to the Tax Policy Center. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 4, 2018 The public has been less enthusiastic about the tax law. A Monmouth University poll last month found that nearly half of Americans disapproved of it, with only 26% in support. Still, as Trump also noted on Twitter, some workers have seen a benefit: So far, dozens of companies have announced bonuses and higher minimum wages as a result of the tax cut. AT&T, Comcast, Bank of America, and American Airlines have all pledged to pay $1,000 bonuses to their employees. Some 40 U.S. companies have responded to President Trumps tax cut and reform victory in Congress last year by handing out bonuses up to $2,000, increases in 401k matches and spending on charity, a much higher number than previously known. https://t.co/bmWrwWzxMR  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 4, 2018 Investors also appear less concerned than many politicians about how the additional profits will be used. The Trump administration says it expects companies will plow much of the extra profit back into their businesses, purchasing more software, machinery, and other equipment. Those investments will make workers more productive and provide a key boost to the economys long-run growth. They should also boost wages and salaries for employees. Opponents of the tax law respond that companies are more likely to pass the windfall on to shareholders in the form of higher dividend payments and share buybacks, which raise the price of those shares still in investors hands. Previous cuts in corporate tax rates, in the United States and overseas, havent always led to higher wages. For Wall Street, its all good, at least in the short run. Most analysts take the view that either way, companies and the economy will benefit. Facebook

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Trump reacts to death of Mormon Church president By Associated Press President Trump mourned the death of Mormon Church leader Thomas S. Monson on Wednesday evening. Trump tweeted a link to a statement in which he said that Monson demonstrated wisdom, inspired leadership, and great compassion and delivered a message of optimism, forgiveness, and faith. Melania and I are deeply saddened by the death of Thomas S. Monson, a beloved President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...https://t.co/ETD3fWtfU3  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 4, 2018 A church bishop at the age of 22, Monson became the youngest church apostle ever in 1963 at the age of 36. He served as a counselor for three church presidents before assuming the role of the top leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in February 2008. After a life of church service, Monson died Tuesday at his home in Salt Lake City, according to church spokesman Eric Hawkins. He was 90. Read More Facebook

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Trump tweets that Iranian protesters will see great U.S. support at the appropriate time By Associated Press President Trump continued to express support for Irans anti-government protesters on Wednesday. In a tweet, Trump commended the protesters and pledged that the United States will support them at the appropriate time. Such respect for the people of Iran as they try to take back their corrupt government. You will see great support from the United States at the appropriate time!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2018 Trumps tweet Wednesday morning came as Iranian Ambassador Gholamali Khoshroo sent a letter to United Nations officials complaining that Washington was intervening in a grotesque way in Irans internal affairs. The President and Vice-President of the United States, in their numerous absurd tweets, incited Iranians to engage in disruptive acts, the ambassador wrote to the U.N. Security Council president and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. The U.S. didnt immediately respond to the letter, which maintains that Washington has crossed every limit in flouting rules and principles of international law governing the civilized conduct of international relations. At least 21 people have been killed and hundreds arrested in Iran during a week of anti-government protests and unrest over economic woes and official corruption. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of people took part in counter-demonstrations Wednesday backing the clerically overseen government, which has said enemies of Iran are fomenting the protests. Trump has unleashed a series of tweets in recent days backing the protesters, saying Iran is failing at every level and declaring that it is time for change in the Islamic Republic. Facebook

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Trump congratulates Sen. Orrin Hatch upon news of his retirement By Associated Press President Trump congratulated Sen. Orrin Hatch for an absolutely incredible career upon news of Hatchs impending retirement. In a tweet Tuesday afternoon, Trump called Hatch a tremendous supporter and wrote that he will be greatly missed in the Senate. Congratulations to Senator Orrin Hatch on an absolutely incredible career. He has been a tremendous supporter, and I will never forget the (beyond kind) statements he has made about me as President. He is my friend and he will be greatly missed in the U.S. Senate! pic.twitter.com/0VjzLEeHTl  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2018 Hatchs decision to retire from the Senate after four decades lets the Utah Republican walk away at the height of his power after helping to push through an overhaul of the tax code and persuading Trump to downsize two national monuments. Retirement also preserves the 83-year-olds legacy by allowing him to avoid a bruising reelection battle that would have broken his promise not to seek an eighth term. Read More Facebook

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Trump tweet exaggerates progress in improving veterans care By Associated Press President Trump played up tremendous progress in improving care for veterans in his first year on Tuesday in a tweet. His message linked to an Instagram video describing eight accomplishments that show Trump is fighting for our veterans. But it overstates the impact of these steps. We will not rest until all of Americas GREAT VETERANS can receive the care they so richly deserve. Tremendous progress has been made in a short period of time. Keep up the great work @SecShulkin @DeptVetAffairs! https://t.co/ir25vW15hx pic.twitter.com/OtuzIgxMn6  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2018 Of the eight achievements cited, two are ceremonial proclamations recognizing National Veterans and Military Families Month and National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. Two are pieces of legislation that extended the troubled Veterans Choice program on a temporary basis. This became necessary because the Trump administration repeatedly miscalculated the amount of taxpayer dollars available to pay for care from private doctors outside the Veterans Affairs system when veterans had to endure long waits for treatment at VA medical centers. The departments poor budget planning caught lawmakers off guard. A fifth claim involves telehealth, a step letting doctors practice medicine across state lines using digital technology. Announced in August, it has yet to take full effect because a proposed VA regulation hasnt been completed. The VA wants authority to practice across state lines to come from legislation, not a regulation. On Wednesday, the Senate approved a telehealth measure that now goes to the House. A sixth claim refers to legislation that streamlines the appeals process for disability compensation claims within the VA. This step has had limited effect so far because it applies to new disability claims, not the 470,000 pending claims. The last two initiatives make it easier for the VA to discipline employees. The department has pointed to more than 1,300 employees who have been fired under Trumps watch. Because their infractions are not detailed in public documents, the effect on veterans care is not fully known. Facebook

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Trump unleashes his first tweetstorm of 2018 By Noah Bierman President Trump clearly didnt resolve to change his Twitter habits this year. With nine disparate tweets over three hours on Tuesday morning, the first working day of 2018, Trump continued to exploit social media to be the most aggressive commentator in chief in American history. For any other president, his posts would have made for a monumental day of (mis-)statements. Yet for Trump, the series  attacks on political foes and media, provocations of foreign leaders and self-praise for events he had nothing to do with  was all but unremarkable. His Twitter barrage  sent between 7:09 a.m. and 10:16 a.m.  reflected a familiar gamut after nearly a year in office: Attacks on political foes: Nearly 14 months after his election, Trump called for the jailing of Huma Abedin, Crooked Hillary Clintons top aid (his misspelling, another occasional feature of Trump tweets). Crooked Hillary Clintons top aid, Huma Abedin, has been accused of disregarding basic security protocols. She put Classified Passwords into the hands of foreign agents. Remember sailors pictures on submarine? Jail! Deep State Justice Dept must finally act? Also on Comey & others  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2018 In the same tweet, he disparaged the Deep State Justice Dept, headed of course by his appointees, calling on it to act against James B. Comey, the FBI director he fired for investigating the Russia thing. Diplomatic provocations: Trump again called North Korean leader Kim Jong Un Rocket man, ridiculed the volatile nuclear-armed foe for recent military defections and openly speculated about potential talks between North and South Korea. Sanctions and other pressures are beginning to have a big impact on North Korea. Soldiers are dangerously fleeing to South Korea. Rocket man now wants to talk to South Korea for first time. Perhaps that is good news, perhaps not - we will see!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2018 Perhaps that is good news, perhaps not  we will see! Trump wrote. Later Tuesday, Trump tweeted: North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un just stated that the Nuclear Button is on his desk at all times. Will someone from his depleted and food starved regime please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2018 Also later Tuesday, Trump tweeted an attack on Pakistan, his second in as many days, and added a new one against Palestinians: It's not only Pakistan that we pay billions of dollars to for nothing, but also many other countries, and others. As an example, we pay the Palestinians HUNDRED OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS a year and get no appreciation or respect. They dont even want to negotiate a long overdue...  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2018 ...peace treaty with Israel. We have taken Jerusalem, the toughest part of the negotiation, off the table, but Israel, for that, would have had to pay more. But with the Palestinians no longer willing to talk peace, why should we make any of these massive future payments to them?  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2018 Undermining media: Trump offered Congratulations! to A.G. Sulzberger, who took over as publisher of the New York Times this week. The Failing New York Times has a new publisher, A.G. Sulzberger. Congratulations! Here is a last chance for the Times to fulfill the vision of its Founder, Adolph Ochs, to give the news impartially, without fear or FAVOR, regardless of party, sect, or interests involved. Get...  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2018 ....impartial journalists of a much higher standard, lose all of your phony and non-existent sources, and treat the President of the United States FAIRLY, so that the next time I (and the people) win, you wont have to write an apology to your readers for a job poorly done! GL  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2018 But the two-part post was really yet another slam against a perceived media foe: Trump said the paper had a last chance to fulfill its journalistic mission, and accused it of relying on phony sources and substandard reporters  just days after he granted another exclusive interview to the paper. As a bonus, the tweet contained a recycled falsehood, that the paper apologized after the election for reporting on him unfairly. It didnt. Trump later said on Twitter that he would soon announce the most dishonest & corrupt media awards of the year. Stay tuned! I will be announcing THE MOST DISHONEST & CORRUPT MEDIA AWARDS OF THE YEAR on Monday at 5:00 oclock. Subjects will cover Dishonesty & Bad Reporting in various categories from the Fake News Media. Stay tuned!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2018 The president also tweeted a quote from Fox Business Networks Lou Dobbs Tonight, which aired a segment praising Trumps first-year accomplishments. Dobbs reportedly joined Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Sunday for a gala to celebrate New Years Eve. President Trump has something now he didnt have a year ago, that is a set of accomplishments that nobody can deny. The accomplishments are there, look at his record, he has had a very significant first year. @LouDobbs Show,David Asman & Ed Rollins  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2018 Taking credit: Trump congratulated himself for policing the border with Mexico, an area where his policies and anti-immigration rhetoric are believed to have had some effect on reducing illegal crossings. Thank you to Brandon Judd of the National Border Patrol Council for your kind words on how well we are doing at the Border. We will be bringing in more & more of your great folks and will build the desperately needed WALL! @foxandfriends  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2018 He took credit for employee bonuses by companies after he signed Republican tax cuts into law last month. Companies are giving big bonuses to their workers because of the Tax Cut Bill. Really great!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2018 But the jaw-dropper was Trump congratulating himself for planes not crashing. Since taking office I have been very strict on Commercial Aviation. Good news - it was just reported that there were Zero deaths in 2017, the best and safest year on record!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2018 It was the safest year on record worldwide, but the American streak without commercial jet passenger deaths goes back to 2009. Trump, who has promoted deregulation as one of his top accomplishments, has not signed off on any new airline safety regulations. The White House pointed to new security screening of passengers, to electronic devices to prevent terrorist attacks and to Trumps support for privatizing air traffic control  a proposal that has gotten nowhere in Congress. Falsehoods: Trump said President Obama, in brokering the 2015 nuclear arms limitation deal with Iran, foolishly gave money to the brutal and corrupt Iranian regime. He didnt. The people of Iran are finally acting against the brutal and corrupt Iranian regime. All of the money that President Obama so foolishly gave them went into terrorism and into their pockets. The people have little food, big inflation and no human rights. The U.S. is watching!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2018 The nuclear deal, which included major U.S. allies as signators, released Irans own funds that had long been frozen. Trumps art of the deal: When Trump sees a big deal looming, he often blasts the other side  to gain leverage, as hes written. This week he resumes a showdown with Democratic lawmakers over funding the government and immigration protections for so-called Dreamers, who were brought to the country illegally as children. Democrats are doing nothing for DACA - just interested in politics. DACA activists and Hispanics will go hard against Dems, will start falling in love with Republicans and their President! We are about RESULTS.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2018 Trump, who in September ordered a gradual end of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, sought to shift blame for the resulting controversy, saying Democrats are doing nothing for DACA and are just interested in politics. Trump has insisted that any help for Dreamers be paired with funding for a border wall and a crackdown on legal immigration. Democrats, and some Republicans, are opposed. Read More Facebook

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In tweet, Trump suggests U.S. will withdraw financial assistance to Pakistan By Shashank Bengali Pakistan lashed out Monday after President Trump accused its leaders of lies & deceit and suggested the United States would withdraw financial assistance to the nuclear-armed nation it once saw as a key ally against terrorism. It was the presidents latest broadside against Pakistan after a speech in August in which he demanded its leaders crack down on the safe havens enjoyed by Taliban militants fighting U.S.-backed forces in neighboring Afghanistan. The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools. They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 1, 2018 U.S. Ambassador David Hale was summoned to the Foreign Ministry to discuss the presidents statement, U.S. Embassy spokesman Richard Snelsire said. Pakistan lodged a strongly worded protest and asked for clarification about Trumps comments, according to two foreign office officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. Pakistans prime minister, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, called a Cabinet meeting for Tuesday and a meeting of the National Security Committee on Wednesday to discuss Trumps New Years Day tweet. Read More Facebook

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Trump continues to tweet in support of Iranian protesters By Laura King President Trump expressed renewed support Sunday for protesters in Iran, declaring that people are finally getting wise as to how their money and wealth is being stolen and squandered on terrorism. In a tweet from his Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago, the president said the nationwide economic protests that began on Thursday  and have taken on wider political overtones as they have grown in size  were a signal that Iranians will not take it any longer. Big protests in Iran. The people are finally getting wise as to how their money and wealth is being stolen and squandered on terrorism. Looks like they will not take it any longer. The USA is watching very closely for human rights violations!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 31, 2017 Trump has tweeted about the protests for three days straight as Iranians took to the streets despite a heavy police presence, tear gas and scores of arrests. The defiance gained urgency after two people were reported shot to death in the city of Dorud, about 200 miles southwest of Tehran. As the conflict escalated, Iranian authorities on Sunday slapped a temporary ban on Instagram and the messaging app Telegram, which were widely used to fan protest fervor. Iran, the Number One State of Sponsored Terror with numerous violations of Human Rights occurring on an hourly basis, has now closed down the Internet so that peaceful demonstrators cannot communicate. Not good!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 31, 2017 Irans leaders already are casting Trumps increasingly effusive expressions of support for the demonstrators as opportunistic meddling and are painting the demonstrators as foreign pawns, adopting a strategy that some analysts say could jeopardize the legitimacy of the nascent antigovernment protests. Read More Facebook

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Trump tweets condolences after Colorado deputies are shot in ambush, one fatally By Associated Press A man fired more than 100 rounds at sheriffs deputies in Colorado early Sunday, killing one and injuring four others, before being fatally shot himself in what authorities called an ambush. Two civilians were also injured. President Trump expressed sorrow, writing on Twitter: My deepest condolences to the victims of the terrible shooting in Douglas County @DCSheriff, and their families. We love our police and law enforcement - God Bless them all! #LESM  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 31, 2017 Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock said deputies came under fire almost
A renowned film critic and author will be in Burbank next week to talk about how Warner Bros., both the studio and the brothers themselves, shaped the movie industry.

David Thomson dives into the back story of how four Jewish brothers  through their rivalry  produced some of the greatest films in history in his latest book Warner Bros: the Making of an American Movie Studio.

Thomson will be talking about his book at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Buena Vista Branch Library, 300 N. Buena Vista St., and he will be joined by George Feltenstein, senior vice president of theatrical marketing for Warner Bros., and Mark Greenhalgh, the studios senior archivist.

Warner Bros is the latest installment in Yale University Press Jewish Lives series that delves into how various Jewish figures made an impact in such areas as literature, the arts and economics.

Thomson said in an interview that the dynamic between oldest brother Harry Warner and youngest brother Jack Warner made Warner Bros. one of the most interesting and innovative studios during its heyday.

Harry Warner was more reserved and expected to be treated with respect. He favored producing films that were safe and didnt rock the boat. On the other hand, Jack Warner was more spirited, outgoing and a bit of show-off, which rubbed his oldest brother the wrong way, Thomson said.

Jack was always out to make the studio modern and up-to-date and American, Thomson said. I think Jack really enjoyed personally the violence of the gangster films, the sexiness of the musicals. He was always going for racier products, where Harry, I think, would have tried to stick with safe, reassuring pictures.

Jack Warner continually pushed toward producing movies about social issues, not for political reasons but because he felt it would put the studio at the forefront of moviemaking, Thomson said.

Though the youngest and oldest Warner brothers butted heads, Thomson said that Warner Bros. became one of the most influential studios of its time, creating the tough guy character that was also charming and wise-cracking, which Americans found appealing.

Thomson said he is looking forward to visiting Burbank and meeting a few current Warner Bros. officials.

I think well have a very good conversation, and I hope we get an audience who has lived in Burbank long enough to remember what the studio was and who probably knew people that were working there or have worked there themselves, Thomson said.

anthonyclark.carpio@latimes.com

Twitter: @acocarpio
Cheerful novelties lifted Valinda Martins spirit after a life-altering event, leading her to an enduring business in bringing other people smiles via mermaid fins and pelican wings.

Martins Balboa Island shop, Art for the Soul, has been selling decor, home goods and gifts that are equal parts whimsical and fanciful for almost 20 years. She believes everybody needs something uplifting in their space, and reminding people of the joys in life has become her purpose.

Its my contribution to the world, to society, to hopefulness, she said.

The world is tough.

Martin would know.

Twenty-four years ago this week, Martin broke her back in what she described as a freak boating accident in Newport Harbor. The powerboat she was riding in hit a wake, bouncing her up and then dropping her, in a seated position, at just the right angle and force to render her a paraplegic. She transitioned to life in a wheelchair.

But since then, she said, everything has been right.

I say Im short and wide and cant reach things easily, but other than that my life is really, really good, Martin said.

Not long after her injury, Martin, formerly a wholesale sales representative in the womens fashion industry, moved from Los Angeles to Sacramento to convalesce with her sister.

The two were browsing a gift shop while on a trip to Berkeley when she saw a print that caught her eye. It proclaimed that Most people dont know that there are angels whose only job is to make sure you dont get too comfortable and fall asleep and miss your life.

It gave her a much-needed pick-me-up, and she decided to start a similar store as a form of therapy. She returned to Orange County, where her parents live, and nabbed a space on Balboa Islands quaint, eclectic commercial row.

Art for the Soul outgrew its first space at 210 Marine Ave. after a couple of years and moved into a bigger suite in the same building. It will hit its 20-year milestone in June.

Martin opened a second Art for the Soul location in Laguna Beach in 2003 but recently sold it to her longtime manager. Now Martin, 56, can focus on her original store, a veritable walk-through curio cabinet with merchandise hanging on or pressed against boldly painted crimson, violet and teal walls.

Her goods are quirky, room-defining statement pieces or keepsakes that can fit in the palm of your hand. They include ice chests handcrafted from recycled metal drums, sculpted in the shapes of Volkswagen buses and rainbow-colored pelicans. A peace sign nearly 4 feet in diameter, fashioned from license plates. Pendulum clocks of chubby cats, mermaids and googly eyed crabs. Lumps of glazed clay etched with smiley faces and packaged as seeds of happiness.

Like the print that inspired her, she also has plenty of wearable and wall art with encouraging axioms. A pendant reminds its wearer of Another day, another blessing. Painted glass and copper tiles have optimistic sayings like Hope is a thing with feathers that perches in the soul.

The store has a website, but Martin isnt big on e-commerce.

I think of my store as a touch me, feel me, experience me store, she said.

As it was intended to do, the shop keeps her happy, and shes especially tickled when she overhears customers connect with a piece  as they were intended to do.

I love listening to people giggle when they read something in the store, she said.

hillary.davis@latimes.com

Twitter: @Daily_PilotHD
Christ Lutheran School in Costa Mesa celebrated the beginning of its 60th school year Friday morning with a group photo.

Students clad in matching outfits gathered on the Westside campus playing field to form the numbers 6 and 0.

Christ Lutheran Church traces its roots to organizational meetings in 1952. Its first services were in January 1953 at what is now Vanguard University.

After outgrowing that space, the church purchased its current property at 760 Victoria St. It dedicated its church and school in 1957. Children began taking classes in September 1958.

Mike Gibson, Christ Lutherans lead pastor, noted that this year the K-8 campus received a six-year accreditation from the Western Assn. of Schools and Colleges. The preschool campus was accredited by the National Lutheran School Accreditation program.

Last year, the 4.4-acre campus completed a $5.4-million renovation that started in 2009.

The renovation projects included remodeling the churchs first 1950s-era building into a preschool wing with an adjacent tot lot, constructing a two-story administration building and installing air conditioning in the church sanctuary.

Linda Dettmer Gardiner, the schools librarian who provides all-around support for the campus, has worked at Christ Lutheran since 1961. She started with a $3,200 annual salary and a $200 bonus for playing the organ.

Gardiner has taught various grades through the decades and has seen many changes  technology and the advent of Google searches among them  but she said particularly enjoys seeing the generations pass through.

Children that I taught early on, their children are now attending the school here, Gardiner said.

bradley.zint@latimes.com

Twitter: @BradleyZint
When Huntington Beach native Ian Casson helped save the lives of two boys, he never expected to receive recognition for it, let alone one of the rarest medals in Scouting. But on Sunday evening, dozens of people gathered at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Huntington Beach to see him honored for his heroism.

Casson received an Eagle Scout rank and the Honor Medal with Crossed Palms, the Boy Scouts most prestigious heroism award.

The medal is given to those who put themselves at extreme risk to save others. In June 2012, when Casson was 15, he helped adult leaders rescue two Scouts who were trapped beneath a 200-foot waterfall on the Havasupai Reservation at Grand Canyon National Park. Today, the 18-year-old is a student at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa.

Receiving this medal is a tremendous honor, Casson said. Its an incredible feeling to know that I am being honored as highly as this.

But I didnt do this for an award, the former Huntington Beach junior lifeguard added. I did this because I heard that there were two people that needed help and I knew that I could help them. I think that anyone who has the skill set to do anything for somebody else should do that.

Cassons Scout leaders praised his ability to take direction and his willingness to help others.

I have known him since 2008, said former assistant Scout leader Steve Vasquez. To watch him grow and achieve this rank is a major achievement. But then to hear he earned his Honor Medal with Cross Palms is just amazing. So its been a real honor to work with him. Someone like Ian is very rare. There is a lot of great young men, but to find one who is willing to risk their own life is very rare.

Huntington Beach City Councilman Erik Peterson spoke of the character exemplified in Cassons actions.

Its selfless and its courageous, Peterson said. And its what we try to instill to Scouts  service to others. Most of our Scouting revolves around giving back. You know youre a leader and you give back to society and to the community.

And this is one of those selfless acts that Scouting is based on. Its more than just you, its everyone around you. Its an honor to come out and give this award to someone like Ian. This young man went the extra mile for that award.

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Costa Mesa) presented Casson with an American flag that was flown over the Capitol in his honor.

The Honor Medal with Crossed Palms has been awarded fewer than 300 times since 1924. A binder filled with letters from high-ranking officials such as Secretary of State John Kerry and former President George H.W. Bush indicated how special the accomplishment is.

During Cassons brief speech, he thanked his family, friends and Scout leaders for their love and guidance.

He became visibly emotional as he recounted a reporter posing a question to him that caused him to analyze his lifesaving action.

He asked me, Did you ever doubt yourself? Casson said, pausing. No, I didnt. I really didnt.

*

Recounting rescue

Here is an excerpt of an account Ian Casson gave the Boy Scouts of the rescue of two Scouts from a narrow ledge beneath a Grand Canyon waterfall in 2012:

As I had skills that could be of use (six years of junior lifeguards in Huntington Beach), I grabbed the rope my troop had and with two adult leaders rapidly made our way down to the base of the waterfall. 

Several leaders and I devised a plan using a length of webbing to harness an inner tube around one of the other troops leaders, a good swimmer, and have the free end of the webbing held by myself to anchor and pull to prevent the waterfall from trapping the leader.

The water was over our heads, with a constant strong undertow. There was no other way to reach the trapped boys other than swimming through the edge of the falls. In back of the falls was the rough rock wall and the narrow ledge where the boys were trapped.

We swam through the edge of the falls to the two Scouts. The leader took the first boy in his arms with me leading, swimming and pulling the man and boy against the undertow back through the edge of the falls to shallow water, about 3 to 4 feet, and passed off the first boy to a chain of several other boys and leaders. We then swam back to rescue the second boy in the same manner.

I told the Scouts to take the two rescued boys out of the spray of the waterfall into the sunlight, where they could warm up.
Hurricane Irma has devastated several Caribbean islands, with at least 24 fatalities and untold billions of dollars in property damage in one of the strongest storms ever to strike the region.

Those hardest hit include Barbuda, both the Dutch and French sides of St. Martin, the U.S. and British Virgin islands and Anguilla.

Officials and residents in some of those places expressed disappointment with the amount of foreign emergency assistance they were receiving and what they considered to be a shortage of international media attention.

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The destruction may not be over. The islands were bracing for Hurricane Jose, which by Friday afternoon had intensified into a Category 4 hurricane that forecasters said could generate sustained winds of 150 miles per hour.

Antigua and Barbuda

Gaston Browne, the prime minister, initially estimated that 95% of the properties on Barbuda  one of the two islands that make up the nation  had been damaged or totally destroyed.

It was even worse than he thought, said Ronald Sanders, the countrys ambassador to the U.S., after Browne took a helicopter ride Friday to survey the toll.

The island is debris, thats all it is, Sanders said. If we get hit, as we expect will happen, by Hurricane Jose on Saturday, I think by Sunday Barbuda will be a complete writeoff. All of the buildings would have gone. Therell be nothing left. At that point we would really have to start thinking about rebuilding from scratch on that island.

Damage left Sept. 7 on Barbuda after Hurricane Irma. (Anika E. Kentish / Associated Press)

He said Barbuda had been completely evacuated, with airplanes, boats and barges used to transport some 1,600 evacuees to neighboring Antigua, where residents have been asked to take in the displaced.

While other Caribbean nations have offered what help they can, Sanders lamented that the only government that had come forward with practical, positive assistance so far has been the government of Venezuela.

Caracas sent one military plane carrying emergency relief supplies and personnel, according to the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency, a network of independent emergency units throughout the region.

The large international countries have not done anything, Sanders said. Weve had telephone calls of condolences and worry and concern, but no practical help to deal with the situation. The big countries you would have thought would have come forward to offer a hand; they havent done so yet. So weve had to deal with it ourselves.

The evacuation alone cost the government $15 million, he said.

Weve done as much as we possibly can as a small country with very limited resources, Sanders said. Were not going to leave anybody out in the cold.

The country was planning to hold an international donors conference in New York in the coming days, in an effort to raise resources. Medical facilities, schooling and housing would have to be provided for the evacuees.

This is a humanitarian crisis of enormous proportions, Sanders said.

This image from video shows damage to a post office in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. (Ian Brown / Associated Press)

U.S. Virgin Islands

In a video posted on Facebook, Kenneth Mapp, the governor of the U.S. territory, described the scale of the devastation and updated on the relief and recovery effort.

The hurricane ripped off rooftops, including the top of Government House, one of the largest governors residences in the Lesser Antilles, and destroyed two fire stations and two police stations. At the Schneider Regional Medical Center on St. Thomas, walls caved in, windows shattered and the cancer care unit was destroyed. Patients in the intensive care unit had to be evacuated during the storm.

With telephone service knocked out in many places, people turned to social media in search of their friends and relatives.

Lesley Castle, who was worried about her mother, sister and extended family on the island of St. John, got word Thursday they had survived.

The house where they stayed is relatively OK. Roads are blocked, she said. Power lines are down. People are moving by foot, mostly. Theyre waiting on aid. They cant get communication on the hurricane thats coming. The most important thing theyre wanting right now is what is the status of the hurricane. What is the track.

She said people needed mosquito nets, batteries and generators, among other emergency supplies.

The governor said work was underway to restore communication services. Other short-term priorities are cleaning up debris, distributing tarpaulins to cover damaged roofs, and supplying food and water to those in need.

The coastguard was clearing the harbor and authorities had managed to clear the Wilson Airport runway, allowing large military aircraft to deliver relief supplies, Mapp said.

He said President Trump offered his personal assurance for the full support of the federal government .

The U.S. government had been awesome in its partnership before this event, during this event and now as we work for our recovery, Mapp said.

A handout grab image made from a video released on Sept. 6, 2017 by RCI Guadeloupe shows flooded streets and damage on the French overseas island of Saint-Martin (RINSY XIENG / AFP / Getty Images)

Sint Maarten/St. Martin

Boats were stacked up on land, homes flattened or under water, and streets turned into gushing streams in the Dutch and French territories that share an island. There is no power, running water or gasoline.

Daniel Gibbs, chairman of a local governing council, told Radio Caribbean International that 95% of the island had been destroyed.

Dutch and French officials said the current death toll of five was likely to rise.

Caren McDonald of Berkeley, Calif., said her 83-year-old father and stepmother were stranded at a hotel on the island with hundreds of other residents and tourists.

There is no electricity or running water and they have not received any assistance, McDonald said. They are running out of food and water, and have been driving around in search of supplies, but to no avail. They are calling us when they are able.

The Netherlands and France have sent military support, emergency food and water to their territories.

McDonald said she was deeply disturbed by the media images of Dutch Marines walking around St. Maarten with guns when instead they should be handing out water, food, and other supplies.

In this Sept. 6, 2017 photo, a man looks at a vehicle turned upside down by winds brought on by Hurricane Irma in the British overseas territory of Anguilla. (Garson Kelsick / Associated Press)

Anguilla

Assessment of the destruction was still underway Friday.

The Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency said 90% of government buildings and business structures on the island suffered damage, along with the main water supply and about 90% of the electricity infrastructure.

The airport runway and most roads leading to the airport had been cleared of debris, and British troops had supported refurbishment of two shelters damaged during the hurricane, the agency reported.

Britain was also providing a 12-person liaison and reconnaissance operating team.

But Dorothea Hodge, a former Anguilla government official, told the Guardian newspaper on Wednesday that Britains response had been pathetic and disgraceful.

She urged the British government to follow the example of France in responding to the hurricane, noting that France has committed to an emergency fund and a reconstruction plan to deal with the aftermath of the storm.

Haiti

We were very, very fortunate, said Beth Carroll, emergency coordinator for Catholic Relief Services in the capital, Port-au-Prince. We only felt the outer bands of the storm here.

There were not the really scary winds, not the kinds of heavy amounts of rain or the storm surge that we were very worried, so we are very, very grateful, she said. But on the unfortunate side, we dont have very good infrastructure, and Haiti is a vulnerable country, so the rain that we did have it did cause flooding, especially in the north and northeast part of country. So there are cleanups and assessment being done.

Some 2,000 people who took shelter in emergency shelters need to be resettled back home, Carroll said.

Cuba

The extent of the damage was still unclear as Irma hit Cuba on Friday afternoon.

Hundreds of thousands of coastal residents were relocated inland, along with tourists in beach-side resorts that were susceptible to damage, according to international media reports.

Some Cubans sought refuge in underground caves used by the military.

ann.simmons@latimes.com

For more on global development news, see our Global Development Watch page, and follow me @AMSimmons1 on Twitter

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I was headed to write about a hurricane in Miami when an earthquake struck in Mexico.

At first it felt like I was inexplicably losing my balance there on the sidewalk outside the terminal at the Mexico City airport. I had not yet entered the security checkpoint to embark upon what would surely be a prolonged, and quite possibly pointless, wait for a red-eye to Miami.

The folks from the airline, the Mexican carrier Volaris, called it a rescue flight, meant to ferry home Mexican citizens trapped in Miami as Hurricane Irma bore down on the Florida coast. The plane was supposed to leave at 1:30 a.m. Friday.

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There was some time to kill before entering the claustrophobic bubble on the other side of the security checkpoint. I stepped outside on the sidewalk. Airports retain a certain allure, the sense of people and time in motion, of exotic destinations, despite the contemporary drudgery of lines, delays and searches. An abrupt feeling of vertigo overtook me as I absorbed the scene. I struggled not to fall over. It felt less like a jolt and more like walking on ice.

Just then, passengers, airport employees and others hastened onto the sidewalk from inside the airport. They displayed a pronounced sense of purpose as I wondered why I was teetering.

Sismo! they were shouting. Earthquake!

The crowd crossed the airport street and gathered on the median of the roadway, where nothing could fall on top of anybody. People planted themselves there, like a somewhat frazzled tour group waiting for their bus. People in Mexico know what to do when the earth shakes.

I gradually regained my equilibrium. I was relieved that there was a seismic explanation for my sudden wooziness. I wasnt losing it after all, just not seeing the whole picture.

People were all abuzz about the sismo.

Eight point one! remarked one of the uniformed guys working the security line, incredulous at the earthquakes magnitude. Thats a big one!

Early word Thursday night was that the damage in Mexico City was minor, despite the size of the quake and the fact that millions ran from their homes in fear. Televisions showed images of the iconic Angel of Independence swaying from its perch atop a stone column on Paseo de la Reforma.

Officials were still awaiting more definitive word on damage in the rural southwest. There was talk of tsunami waves along the countrys Pacific coast. The death toll near the epicenter in the southern part of the country would be 58 the next day.

But the temblor also took a psychological toll, as always, a shock to peoples sense of stability and permanence. In Mexico, reports of nervous breakdowns among survivors always seem to follow major quakes.

Inside the terminal, the earthquake buzz soon diminished. There was no word on the Miami flight. It seemed doubtful that the plane would leave. But, only three hours or so after its scheduled departure time, we were asked to board, groggy-eyed.

Workers put up storm shutters in preparation of Hurricane Irma in Miami Beach Friday in preparation for Hurricane Irma. (SAUL LOEB / AFP/Getty Images)

There were fewer than 10 passengers on the full-bodied jet to Miami. The crew outnumbered us. Someone asked whether we should spread out and distribute our weight somehow.

Dont worry about it, a smiling stewardess decked out in purple replied. Sit where you like.

This turned out to be an especially turbulent voyage across the skies. Storms were battering Mexico, notably Hurricane Katia, which had already begun pummeling its Gulf Coast. I had the sense that we were flying directly over Katia, but didnt want to ask. The pilots have probably done this kind of thing before, I imagined. We roller-coastered on.

Approaching Miami, the languid tableau emerging from the clouds looked like that of a lazy Sunday morning, not a rush-hour Friday. There was minimal traffic. We didnt seem to pass over any of the highways clogged with multitudes evacuating before the arrival of Irma, signature images of dread.

The normally bustling Miami airport was becalmed. Only a few other flights had arrived at the international terminal. There was no line at immigration.

Outside, those emerging from flights seemed confused. There were few taxis, and hotel rooms were scarce. The balmy temperatures and sunny skies belied the imminent threat. TV screens warned of a monster storm.

I made my way to downtown Miami. The streets of gleaming glass towers were mostly empty. Plywood had been placed on many windows and storefronts. A camera crew lingered near the waterfront, preparing to film the anticipated tidal upheaval. Some folks jogged or walked dogs along the coast.

The few functioning hotels warned patrons that electricity, running water and elevators may not function in coming days, and advised against lingering by windows during high winds.

Earthquakes shake our world without notice, sudden jolts from the underworld. Hurricanes are visible disasters foretold, their buildups heralded in the news. Both fascinate and disturb, unwelcome reminders of our transient and sometimes trifling status on an unpredictable planet, shudders of mortality.

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Last Wednesday I got an awful longing on me! A longing to go to Electric Picnic. Im a parent though, so getting anyone to take two kids for a full weekend and at short notice, is next to impossible. So whats worse than not going to Electric Picnic? Going to Electric Picnic with kids of course! Or thats at least what I thought!

I scoured Done Deal and Adverts.ie on Wednesday and eventually came across two affordable family camping weekend tickets for the Stradbally Festival. We handed over our hard-earned cash and Daddy Chambers took the four-man tent down from the attic. We have never once camped with the kids  in fact Im almost sure the last time the tent saw the light of day was for the same festival way back in 2010.

Im the impulsive type, and I reckon if I fully thought about taking Aidan and Sarah to Electric Picnic, I wouldnt do it. Last Friday, however, we picked Aidan up from Naionra pointed the car in the direction of Laois and were there just 40 minutes after leaving Newbridge.

READ MORE: Kildare mum, Ruth Chambers describes her first family steps into learning 'as Gaeilge'

For some strange reason we werent allowed to drive in near the family campsite, so Daddy Chambers had to dump the three of us out, along with all the gear, and he then headed off to park the car.

When he returned we lugged in our stuff, picked our spot and got to pitching the tent. The weather on Friday was glorious so we had the tent pitched in about 20 minutes, the kids were in mighty form and we all looked forward to a weekend to remember.

We wandered out onto the festival site as soon as we could, and the kids couldnt believe their eyes when the first place they met was the Soulkids area. Its reserved only for families and was a huge hit with Aidan and Sarah. There was all sorts to keep them entertained. Over the course of the weekend, they had ukelele lessons, ballet lessons, tried their hands at juggling, spun some plates, made crowns out of flowers, played giant Connect Four, hung out in the sand pit, went on a nature walk and had their faces painted. Soulkids is obviously something I hadnt experienced when I went to the Picnic solo in the past but its superb for the kids and was definitely one of the highlights for our two.

I must admit I was slightly nervous about what would greet us when we headed into the main festival site. Apart from a load of young ones wearing next to nothing, the sights were great on Friday afternoon and evening. We hung out in the JustEat.ie man-made beach, had a lovely pizza for dinner and even got to get in some music. The kids were in awe at it all; the massive tents caught Aidans eye, while Sarah was giddy with excitement when she noticed there was an ice-cream van on every corner we passed.

Im very much one for keeping the kids in routine but I let it go a bit at the weekend, but was very conscious of expecting too much from them too. They watched Little Hours and Hudson Taylor on the main stage and even let us go see Young Fathers on the Electric Arena stage but that is as much as we got out of them. We headed back to the campsite to see how our first ever night camping with the kids would go.

The site itself was lovely. It had real toilets, not portaloos, showers and food vans. It was quiet and the residents werent partying. Remarkably Aidan and Sarah went to sleep easier in the tent than they do at home. They were out cold in a matter of minutes and both slept right through until 7am. I actually couldnt believe it! I managed to escape after that to meet up with friends and see London Grammar on the main stage, while after that I took over the babysitting and Daddy Chambers went rambling. It was absolutely Baltic on Friday night and I struggled to sleep but I was just relieved that the kids did.

On Saturday morning the kids loved the novelty of washing their teeth with the masses and got a great giggle about everyone walking around in their pajamas. We ate crepes for breakfast before heading into the madness again.

We treated them to a few rides of the hurdy gurdies. They went on the bumper cars, the massive ferris wheel and the old time carousel. We went to another Morning Gloryville rave, chilled out by a fire in the Body and Soul area and watched Keywest on the Main Stage.

In the evening both kids watched a full set from The Riptide Movement on our shoulders. Aidan recognised some of their songs from the radio and it really helped that the band released massive balloons during their set. After that we caught Madness on the Main Stage but then came the rain. On went the wet gear but it was much heavier than forecast so we headed back to the tent for some shelter.

The kids were wiped after all the walking and fell asleep pretty much straight away, I got out to see All Tvvins but was exhausted so headed back and slept in beside Sarah in one end of the tent.

On Sunday myself and Sarah woke up as fresh as daisies but when I enquired if Daddy Chambers had a good nights sleep, I was met with a death stare. It turns out the night was a wild one, didnt the tent nearly blow over and the end the boys were sleeping in a flood. Myself and Sarah slept through it all!

To cheer us up with headed in to see the Dublin Gospel Choir open up proceedings on the Main Stage and they were brilliant. Despite a few showers, Sunday was a scorcher and a great way to round of the weekend. Even better was the fact that Galway won the All Ireland, a game we watched in the Newstalk tent.

And that was about it. Was it a good idea to bring the kids? Well, let's put it this way; I would have preferred to be there without the kids. However, it wasnt as nuts as I thought it would be. Aidan and Sarah loved every minute of it, the latter in particular. Despite her tender years she walked the legs off herself and didnt moan once. Aidan looked to be carried a lot which wasnt a lot of fun for us but thats really the only complaint. Oh and the tent. It would have helped if we had one that didnt leak but it didnt dampen our spirits that much.

Tickets aside, it was an expensive weekend but we could have saved and been more organised. In saying that, all the rides cost a fortune, so too do the ice-creams, the crepes and the pizzas and of course the few beers myself and Daddy Chambers indulged in.

In all though, I think it was a great success and if youre reading this and thinking of bringing the kids next year, I say go for it! Its better than not going at all!

You can contact me on ruth@itsjustaphase.ie; Twitter  @_itsjustaphase_; Instagram  @itsjustaphaseblog, or youll find more of my musings at www.itsjustaphase.ie.
It occured to me a few years ago, that there is a terrible tendency for many of us to forget that were not the first generation to have walked the earth  to somehow think that we, and we alone know everything, have discovered everything and that very little of note ever occured before we were all born sometime in the last 100 years. This, of course, is patent nonsense.

In fact it is understood by archaeologists that humans first arrived in Ireland 12,000 years ago.

None of our history books, or our frame of reference goes back that far.

SEE PHOTOS: Buried for 1,200 years in Sallins - skulls, jewellery and burial chambers

Western society tends to understand our history in terms of the Judeo-Christian narrative. We know a good bit about the last 2,000 years, and a little bit from before then.

The oldest thing we know of, Newgrange, is only 5,000 years old. And lets face it, they werent living in the trees then.

With its chamber that can be lit by the sun at dawn on the shortest day of the year, it was clearly an extraordinary piece of civil engineering.

In recent times weve decided to build a bypass of Sallins, because the small village has become clogged with traffic, most of which is not bound for Sallins.

And the Monread area, which is where a lot of people live, has also become clogged with traffic, many of whom have no intention of stopping there.

So the obvious thing was to build a bypass that would take cars coming from Clane, Prosperous, Straffan and Kilcock etc and divert them away from the village towards the motorway which is, lets face, where many of them are going anyway.

It made sense  theres only oul fields out there on the Clane side of Sallins.

Thankfully anytime a new project like this is proposed, the relevant authorities call in archaeologists, who do a a series of test trenches to see if theres anything of our past lurking underfoot.

And sure enough there was. This came as no great surprise to the archaeologists who do this kind of thing all the time.

In fact, I learned afterwards that they were surprised not to find more pre-historic items.

They discovered a number of things  like old and forgotten roadways, and the remains of what looks like a settlement on the banks of the Liffey, and evidence of significant smelting and kilns.

Its what they call rural industry, and by the looks of it, it was quite industrious.

In one of the kilns were the remains of a dog.

They believe it was what, in medieval times was called a slaughter, or guard, dog, and as such, is probably the biggest ever found.

I first came across all this in a listing for a talk that was going to take place during Heritage Week, which was the week before last.

I rang the number given and Noel Dunne, who is a Transport Infrastructure Ireland archaeologist answered.

He provided me with loads of pictures and information on what they found and I posted it on our website, honestly thinking that it would attrract the attention of no more than a handful of history buffs, like the historian and writer Liam Kenny, a great friend of this parish.

Turns out theres huge interest in what lies beneath our feet  far more than I thought. It is one of the most popular stories on our website this year!
Local Enterprise Office (LEO) Kildare has launched the search to find Kildares Best Young Entrepreneur and ultimately Irelands Best Young Entrepreneur (IBYE). Could it be you?

With a 50,000 investment fund available for Kildare winners, this national enterprise initiative attracted 1,842 applications across the country last year and supported over 450 young entrepreneurs through training, mentoring and direct financial assistance.

Announcing the start of this years programme, Tanaiste and Minister for Enterprise and Innovation, Frances Fitzgerald T.D. said: Building on the success of previous IBYE competitions, this Government wants to support more young entrepreneurs right across the country through the LEOs. Our young entrepreneurs are talented, innovative and dynamic. Last year, 180 young entrepreneurs won investment funding for their businesses through IBYE, helping them reach their export and job growth potential.

READ MORE: Naas woman Jenny's business idea's a topper

I would encourage all young entrepreneurs, between the ages of 18 and 35, to talk to their LEO about the IBYE programme and the valuable supports available throughout the various stages of the competition.

The initiative is co-ordinated by all 31 LEOs and begins with a nationwide competition across 3 categories at county level: Best Business Idea, Best Start-Up and Best Established Business.

Around 450 applicants across every Local Authority area will be invited to regional Entrepreneur Bootcamps in November to help them develop their business and new venture ideas.

With an investment fund of 50,000, LEO Kildare will award six investment prizes to three category winners and three runners-up before the Regional Finals early next year.

The local winners in the Best Start-Up and Best Established Business categories will receive 15,000 each and the two runners-up will each receive 5,000. The Best Business Idea winner locally will receive an investment prize of 7,000 and the runner-up will receive 3,000.

The Head of Enterprise in Kildare, Jacqui McNabb explains: The 50,000 investment fund for Kildare winners is a very important part of the competition and will help more young entrepreneurs to grow their businesses and create more jobs here locally. Other business supports, such as management training, networking and one-to-one mentoring are also at the heart of the IBYE competition. 450 young entrepreneurs benefitted from these business supports last year, so the rewards are there for participants, as well as for the winners. Taking part in IBYE will help Irelands young entrepreneurs to move their businesses to the next level, whatever stage their business is at.

Councillor Martin Miley Jnr, Mayor of County Kildare said: Now more than ever before, Local Authorities are connecting with young and aspiring entrepreneurs, through our LEOs. We are very keen to ensure that anyone with a good idea for a business is given the necessary encouragement and support every step of the way. There is a wealth of innovative thinking among our bright and increasingly confident young population. It is very important that we harness this resource to encourage enterprise locally. This will in turn create much needed sustainable employment and economic wealth throughout the country.

The competition is now in its 4th year and among last years local winners were: Jenny Reynolds of Topper Technology in the Best Business Idea category and Eoin Mulvey of Labcup in the Best Start-Up Business category.

To enter, young entrepreneurs between the ages of 18 and 35 in Kildare can submit their entry online at www.ibye.ie. The closing date to enter is Friday, September 29th and there is no entry fee.
This summer, Kilcullen Canoe Club member, Michael OFarrell paddled solo around Ireland by sea kayak to raise vital funds for two charities.

The Newbridge resident managed to raise a whopping 8,500 for Pieta House and the RNLI.

He set out on his epic voyage on May 1 from Bulloch Harbour, Dublin, and headed off in a northerly direction to paddle counter-clockwise around the coast, finishing up at Dun Laoghaire harbour at the end his adventure on July 10.

Michael said; What drove this circumnavigation was a combination of hearing of others do it, a wish to see the coastline of Ireland from the outside and because it is a big bucket list goal to chase.

Kayaking for more than 40 years, he had occasionally thought about taking on the challenge.

Since the first circumnavigation in 1978 more than 70 people have paddled around Ireland (mostly clockwise and in teams), he said.

Since Michael took up sea kayaking, he has got to visit many sections of the Irish coastline, but there were places he hadnt seen and this was a chance to fill in those gaps.

Michael started kayaking in 1974 on the River Liffey and most of his kayaking has been on rivers as a member of Kilcullen Canoe Club (KCC).

Sea kayaking

KCC has a strong tradition of long distance river racing which helped keep him fit and 12 years ago Michael took up sea kayaking, while still participating in river races.

Fundraising for this circumnavigation started in March.

When Kilcullen Kayak Club hosted a race in early April, Michael appealed for donations and that kicked off the fundraising with 200.

He stresses his employer, AIB, was very supportive when he announced his adventure and hosted a cake sale in April.

Michael and his wife Marie hosted a Tea Party at home in Newbridge where they roped in friends, neighbours, and any kayakers living nearby to have a cuppa and hear the plans.

Since then, donations have continued to be made from work colleagues, neighbours, kayakers, former colleagues (Michael served for some 19 years in the Defence Forces) and people he met along the way .

More than 8,500 in donations was collected.

Michaels diet was very simple as he set out.

The core ingredients were: porridge/dried fruit/honey and fry ingredients for cooked breakfast; Pitta bread, ham and cheese with tea for two lunches; pasta or rice with meat for dinner.

Fruit cake, especially Christmas cake, was a personal favourite for lunches, dinners and snacks.

I carried a handheld VHF radio and a PLB on my lifejacket. A PLB (Personal Locator Beacon) is a small device that would alert rescue services giving my location if activated, he explained.

Flares were also included.

Before he left, a family friend gave him a holy medal and that medal also completed the circumnavigation in his pocket.

Michael brought a camera and his pictures from the circumnavigation are his treasured keepsakes.

Sights and memories

The most memorable part was the North coast and especially Michaels visit to Inishtrahull island.

The weather was beautiful at the NE corner (Fair Head) and on the paddle to Rathlin island. The sea was calm despite this having fast tides (those tides had doubled the kayaks speed to 16kph), he said.

Inishtrahull is the most northerly island off Malin Head and has complex tides.

Slieve League, Co Donegal, was also beautiful as the cliffs were lit by with the setting sun.

Twice Michael saw dolphins, in North Mayo and a less common Rissos Dolphin in Antrim.

He came across loads of seals, but no basking sharks or whales. The adventurer believes this may have been down to lower than average sea temperatures during May and June.

Seal feeding on an octopus

Michael saw a sun-fish and interrupted a seal off the Wicklow coast as he was dining on an octopus (the meal was so big that the seal had to surface to eat it).

Boredom was one of the things he was worried about before he set out  but that didnt turn out to be the case.

Mentally he felt great during the trip and after the first week he clocked more than 50km on successive days.

Picking up some minor ailments, these were a source of worry, but never developed into problems.

When I was off the water for 12 days because of bad weather  most of which I encountered on the South West coast, he explained.

The most frustrating days were those days when I was stormbound  and wishing to be moving again.

Colleagues, former army colleagues and clubmates from Kilcullen Canoe Club tracked his circumnavigation online.

His wife, Marie, met him at weekends and he got many offers of accommodation along the way, which he took up.

Michael has no new adventures planned for the coming year, but he is back on the water at Kilcullen Canoe Club and will continue to race on rivers and go seakayaking around Dublin Bay.

Michael and Marie want to thank supporters and donors, and they held a special party last Saturday their home in Newbridge to hand over the money to the charities.
Fans of vintage vehicles will want to make their way to Glenfarne's Rainbow, Ballroom of Romance this Sunday, September 10.

There will be some wonderful vintage motors on display on Sunday at 10.30am.

The Rolls Royce Enthusiast Club (Scottish Section) are set to meet up with the Breffni Vintage Club and the North West Vintage and Heritage Club. The group from Scotland will be visiting the Rainbow at 10.30am to see the showband exhibition.

Francis White will then show them around the historic Glenfarne Railway Station.

They will then move on to Hamilton's Castle in Manorhamilton where they will meet with the North West Vintage and Heritage Club.

Lunch will be at the Tea Shed, Glencar with a visit to Glencar Waterfall afterwards.

It promises to be an exciting and colourful day out and not to be missed!
Cllr John McCartin has told the Minister of State at the Office of Public Works that Co Leitrim and the surrounding area cannot become a reservoir to protect the lower half of the country from flooding.

Referring to CFRAM plans to erect walls in and around areas like Carrick-on-Shannon, Cllr McCartin insisted the answer must be found in a hydraulic solution which makes sure that water gets away from the area as quickly as possible, not in constructing walls.

Cllr McCartin urged the Minister to clear the Shannon's 24 choke points rather than building walls around the river basin in Carrick-on-Shannon to contain it.

"We can't be a reservoir to protect the lower half of the country," he insisted.

If the Shannon was properly maintained, the flood walls in Carrick-on-Shannon would be completely obsolete. To destroy the natural beauty of the Shannon in Carrick with permanent walls to solve a temporary problem would be completely farcical.

Senator Frank Feighan agreed that the construction of walls in Carrick-on-Shannon was contentious for those on the ground stating that the feedback he was getting was that the OPW was "using a sledge hammer to crack a nut".

However he insisted concerns with the construction of walls along the Shannon across from the Landmark Hotel could be overcome with further consultation.

Deputy Martin Kenny agreed with Cllr McCartin's view that walls would simply trap water in Carrick-on-Shannon and he stressed that dredging at pinch points along the Shannon would be more beneficial and should be looked at first.

However, he continued, any work on the Shannon must be done in tandem with works on the tributaries feeding the river and providing funding for drainage schemes was vital, something supported by a number of councillors across the parties.

Cllr Des Guckian described the current situation facing the county and country as a result of 100-150 years of neglect.

Lough Allen and its levels is half the problem of the Shannon, he said arguing water levels should be kept much lower and dredging should also be carried out along the Shannon to clear silt banks.

Referring to recent flooding of homes in the Drumsna area, Cllr Enda Stenson warned this would become a more widespread problem if issues weren't addressed along the tributaries to the Shannon.

We had one home flooded in recent weeks and the nearby tributary was not cleaned for nearly 20 years. These cases never reach the national media but it's as important to these people that flooding is sorted as it is to bigger communities, he insisted.

Cllr Sinead Guckian said European counterparts had indicated Ireland was 60 years behind the rest of the continent in terms of water control and she urged the Minister to look for other solutions than building walls.

I would have serious concerns about the design of flood relief works in Carrick-on-Shannon and I feel CFRAMS leaves a number of areas out altogether. Areas like Jamestown and Drumsna should have been included. There are a number of vulnerable homes in this area and that hasn't gone away, she told the Minister.

She also highlighted the fact that those living in areas where flood relief works had been carried out, still were unable to get insurance, that needs to be addressed.

Cllr Barry also noted upgrade works need to be carried out at the Weir in Jamestown noting, even when it is fully open it is still restricting water flow.

Cllrs Sean McGowan and Gerry Dolan urged the Minister to immediately work to lower the Shannon to help communities along the waterway.

Cllr Mary Bohan also called on the Minister to look outside Carrick-on-Shannon to other problems areas, noting there were issues in north Leitrim with flooded farmland and homes.

Clean our rivers is the only solution, she said. We need ongoing drainage schemes to keep on top of this.

Further drop to Lough Allen levels planned

Minister Moran has had a number of meetings withESB and Waterways Ireland regarding water levels on the Shannon and Lough Allen.

What I want to see between September 1 and October 15 is a further drop of one foot in the levels of water, he said.

Between October 15 and February 2018 I want another one foot drop in the water level.
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Back in August, I waxed lyrically about the history which is reflected regularly in the BBC programme Who do you think you are?. I feel compelled to return to the subject, given the sheer awesomeness of the last episode in the current run of this BBC series.

Available on BBC iPlayer for the next 27 days, actor and director Noel Clarke traces his family history. Noels mother, Gemma, came to this country from Trinidad as an NHS nurse in the 1960s/70s. She brought up Noel on her own, and there are no siblings. Noel Clarke had absolutely no idea of his family background.

The programme takes Noel back to Trinidad. He discovers that his paternal grandmother, Menelvia, was a key campaigner for Trinidads independence in the 1950s and 60s. It is quite an emotional moment when a senior local politician tells Noel how respected and admired his grandmother was.

But it is Noel Clarkes final trip which proves to be a belter  gripping and harrowing by equal degrees. He goes to Carriacou, a small island under the wing of Grenada (pictured above). There, his ancestors worked as slaves. Noel learns of the horrific treatment of the slaves at the hands of a ruthless estate manager while the estate owners lived on the proceeds back in London. But he discovers that his great-great-great-great grandfather, Glasgow Bedeau, was born in slavery but not only emancipated but did very well for himself. He bought a big plot of land on the island, where Noel Clarke was able to meet lots of his long-lost cousins.

The programme ends with Noel Clarke watching islanders perform an Ghanian song, passed down over countless generations of the Bedeau family, which, as Noel reflects, his forebears would have heard while they were slaves, as they enjoyed one of their rare breaks from work.

It is all very moving and must-see TV. You can watch it here for the next 27 days.

* Paul Walter is a Liberal Democrat activist and member of the Liberal Democrat Voice team. He blogs at Liberal Burblings.
7 Ways Being Kind Is Good for Your Health and Well-Being

Practicing kindness to others (and to yourself) has been linked to better stress management, improved heart health, and even living longer.
NEWCASTLE West councillors this week found themselves bogged down in name changes and potential name changes.

As the councillors gathered this Wednesday for their first meeting after the August break, they discovered that the Desmond Hall is now to be called the Desmond Castle.

Meanwhile, Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, which has responsibility for the countrys main roads, indicated that changing the road signs from Limerick to include Newcastle West would breach national guidelines on signage.

But Cllr John Sheahan, who, earlier in the year, had initiated the request that the name of Newcastle West appear on N21 road signs, said he was flabbergasted by the reply.

Either the person didnt know what we were talking about or he was too damn lazy to find out. This is a copy and paste answer.

It should be sent straight back, Cllr Sheahan said. Including Newcastle West on the signs would not lead to a proliferation of signs nor would it confuse drivers, he claimed.

He believed that the inclusion of Newcastle West could be accommodated within the existing rules.

The proposal was backed by Cllr Michael Collins who said the fight to get Newcastle West on road signs went back over a decade.

Meanwhile, the issue of what to call the castle in the middle of the town is also creating confusion.

In March last year, councillors were told that the OPW was now calling the castle complex the Newcastle West Medieval Complex and Desmond Hall but they asked that this be reversed.

That request was considered by Minister of State, Kevin Moran in July who pointed out that Desmond Hall is just one of a number of buildings on the site and it was considered that the new title more accurately describes the national monument.

However, he said, he could understand how the change could lead to confusion for visitors and in light of this, was happy to propose that from now on, the national monument in Newcastle West shall be known as Desmond Castle, Newcastle West.

The problem now is that new signs erected earlier this year point to Desmond Hall.
A LIMERICK vet has put a call-out on social media, looking for the owner of a severely injured dog that was found in a field in County Limerick this week.

Henry Street vet John ODwyer, of John ODwyer Small Animal Hospital, stated on Facebook that a Chihuahua was found in a ditch at the bottom of a field, near primary school in Kildimo.

He said that the female dog is paralysed on the hind legs and is in a very poor state.

She is chipped but it was registered 10 years ago to an address in Tralee. and the phone number given does not work.

Any help finding her owner would be appreciated, the Facebook posted stated.

The Facebook post has garnered widespread attention for his almost 7,000 followers. It has been shared 655 times, as of 2.50pm on Saturday, with a number of people offering to give the Chihuahua a forever home if the owner is not found.

If home not found I d love her. I have Chihuahua s myself and have one with bad back legs so know what it takes. That's if owner not found. Welcome home here for little one, wrote on Facebook user.

Another member of the public said: Ohh God love her - I've three dogs , and others but I will help this precious beauty if I can- contact me coz I love her already.

This gorgeous little lady has lots of offers for homes on this page. She deserves the best chance possible. One of my friends has a dog that has no use in back legs and he has opened special little cart he uses and he loves it. Please let her go to one of these kind people who have offered to take her, commented another.
The Peoples Park will be transformed into a stunning outdoor cinema location this Saturday as it hosts a special screening of Forrest Gump as part of the Elemental Festival.

The film tells the story of kind-hearted but slow-witted Gump, played by Tom Hanks, who faces many tribulations throughout his life all while witnessing some of the 20th centurys defining cultural and historical events.

His kind heart and loyalty towards his childhood friend Jenny takes him on a journey to where his destiny truly is. Hailed as a film of its generation, capturing the hearts of audiences globally, the 1994 film also won six Academy Awards.

Before the movie kicks off, guests can settle in to a comfy billow bag with a complimentary 7UP Mojito Free, or pull up a blanket and get cozy all in the name of 7UP Free and Happenings #SummerCinema.

We are very excited to once again partner with such a well-known and respected Irish brand like Happenings for the 7UP Summer Cinema series. We know that Irish people are huge movie lovers, so we look forward to bringing some fun screenings to audiences nationwide in 2017, for a movie experience like never before! Set in some of the most picturesque outdoor locations of Dublin, Cork, Kilkenny and Limerick, there will be exciting activities for all members of the audience, said Rebecca Burke, Head of Marketing for PepsiCo Ireland.

Peter OBrien, Founder of Happenings said: At Happenings we have a simple philosophy; we strive to give green public spaces to beautiful open air events allowing people to enjoy their city in a meaningful way. A key responsibility at each of our events is to Leave No Trace. Our audiences clean up the space after themselves and we have an unlocked policy which means we unlock the potential of public spaces for public enjoyment.

7UP Free will be giving away a number of tickets to each screening, so movie fans should keep an eye on 7UP Free social media channels to be in with a chance of winning. Places will be limited for each screening, so sign up to the Happenings and 7UP Free social media channels to be the first to know the dates and locations for each screening and avoid missing out on these blockbuster events.

Tickets are available on www.happenings.ie or on the gate for just 5.

Gates open at 8pm and the film will kick off when the sun goes down.

Early arrival is advised to get the best seats in the house!
Howard Hodgkins Indian affair Sotheby's is set to auction Hodgkin's personal art collection, which includes eclectic Indian art /news/talking-point/howard-hodgkin-s-indian-affair-111646980057404.html 111646980057404 story

Opposite the Mint office in Delhi, a black banyan tree stands embedded in white marble. Only, instead of a real tree, it is a mural on the facade of the British Council building, designed by the British artist Howard Hodgkin at the invitation of architect Charles Correa in 1992. Hodgkin, one of the pre-eminent contemporary British artists, died in March, and come October, Sothebys in London will auction his prolific personal art collection, a substantial part of which comprises eclectic Indian art.

Hodgkins well-documented love affair with India began rather ominously in 1964, when he spent the first night in the country sleeping on train bedding rolls on the platforms of Mumbai Central station for reasons unknown. It would be the first of many nights he would go on to spend in India over the next 50 years, an experience that would extensively influence his art.

Howard Hodgkins collection at his home. Photo: Courtesy Sothebys.

Introduced to non-Western art by an art master at his school, Eton College, collecting Indian paintings became a lifelong passion for Hodgkin. The formidable collection traverses four centuries, from the 17th to the 20th, and includes Deccani and Pahari works, as well as the art of the Rajput and Mughal courts. Elephants feature prominently in the paintings. Hodgkin absolutely loved elephants," says Frances Christie, a director at Sothebys overseeing the sale, on a call from London.

The 20th century works of Indian art will include three paintings by Bhupen Khakhar, a friend of Hodgkin and a beneficiary of his largesse when Hodgkin hosted him in London in the 1970s, introducing him to many figures in the art world. One of the paintings is The De-Luxe Tailors (1972), which Khakhar presented to Hodgkin. It will be interesting to note the vigour with which Khakhars work enters the market, in the wake of a major retrospective of his at Tate Modern last year that further cemented his global reputation.

Bhupen Khakhars The De-Luxe Tailors (1972).

The diverse collection totals around 400 objects; it includes Persian tiles, medallions, busts, sculptures, carpets and even books, featuring a rare edition of an Agatha Christie in which Hodgkin often immersed himself.

Hodgkins Indian collection has previously been lent to museums around the world and has been shown at celebrated exhibitions, such as Visions Of Mughal India at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, in 2012. His India-inspired paintings are the subject of a show, Howard Hodgkin: Painting India, that is on display at Hepworth Wakefield in Yorkshire, UK, till 8 October. The Indian-inspired canvases feature explosions of colour, with Hodgkin providing no opportunity for the viewer to ask what the painting is about". Yet he famously maintained he was not an abstract artist"a paradoxical utterance informed no doubt in part by the many paradoxes he encountered in the complex kaleidoscope that is India.

The auction of the artists personal collection, Howard Hodgkin: Portrait Of The Artist, will be held in Sothebys sale room, London, on 24 October and will be open to online bidding. Click here or details.
About 200 people chanted, picketed, and banged drums outside the Alameda County Building in Oakland on Friday, protesting this weekends Urban Shield event  a three-day intensive training to prepare law enforcement for the next natural disaster or terrorist attack.

Started in 2007 by Alameda County Sheriff Gregory Ahern, Urban Shield has drawn criticism from activists who say it brings a military mentality to local police departments.

We have police and first responders in our communities, and we dont want to be treated like enemy combatants, said Nathaniel Moore, a spokesman for the Arab Resource and Organizing Center  one of several groups that put together Fridays event.

He and Mohamed Shehk of the anti-prison group Critical Resistance noted that the tough boot camp drills and artillery on display at Urban Shield wouldnt have helped with the relief effort for Hurricane Harvey  and its not going to help the Bay Area in a major earthquake.

Urban Shield has become a subject of political debate throughout the Bay Area. The Alameda County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously in January to approve a $5.5 million Homeland Security grant to support the program, saying that police should be capable of balancing the need for public safety with the importance of upholding civil liberties.

Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin voted in June to continue his citys involvement in the program for another year, but said he hoped the city would withdraw after that.

The protesters rallied peacefully for an hour Friday, then marched over to Lake Merritt, where organizations had set up tables with brochures, and one group offered instructions assembling supplies for an earthquake kit.

The event also featured a police car pinata.
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Sections of the UC Berkeley campus are to be closed off and officials will request photo identification from attendees as part of safety measures being imposed for a speech next week by conservative political commentator Ben Shapiro, campus officials announced.

Shapiro is scheduled to speak about 7 p.m. Thursday at Zellerbach Hall on the Berkeley campus.

Our commitment to free speech, as well as to the law, mandates that the students who invited Shapiro be able to host their event for those who wish to hear him speak, Paul Alivisatos, the schools executive vice chancellor and provost, wrote in a letter released Thursday to the campus community. Our commitment to the principles of community mandates that all students, faculty and staff be able to be present on campus, engaging in their regular academic activities without fear.

Shapiro, the former editor at large for the right-wing Breitbart News website, was invited to the school by Berkeley College Republicans and the Young Americas Foundation, an organization of conservative students.

The historically liberal campus is bracing for possible protests of Shapiros appearance. Masked agitators among peaceful protesters caused $100,000 of damage on campus and burned police equipment in February, causing the cancellation of a speech by former Breitbart columnist Milo Yiannopoulos. A scheduled speech by conservative provocateur Ann Coulter was canceled in April over safety concerns.

University police will establish a perimeter around the area where Shapiro will speak, starting about three hours before his appearance. Five buildings in the area will be closed, including Martin Luther King Jr. Student Union and Sproul Hall.

The campus noted An increased and highly visible police presence will be on campus on Sept 14.

Only those with tickets will be allowed inside the perimeter. Photo identification is required to pick up tickets, campus officials said.

The school is offering students and school employees counseling services for those who may feel their sense of safety and belonging is affected by the event.

Shapiro and event organizers have criticized school officials for offering only half of Zellerbach Halls 2,000 seats for the sold-out event.

Tickets for my speech at Berkeley sold out in the first 45 minutes. Thats why @UCBerkeley should release the other 1,000 tickets now, Shapiro posted Friday morning on Twitter.

But the Police Department advised the university to close access to the roughly 1,000 seats in the balcony because of increased risk posed by a full house if theres a disturbance and to eliminate the possibility of agitators throwing items from the balcony, said Dan Mogulof, a university spokesman.

Jenna Lyons is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jlyons@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JennaJourno
After nine years in prison and more than two decades trying to prove his innocence  with support from his alleged victim  Ed Easley finally has been exonerated by the legal system of charges that he molested his girlfriends 7-year-old niece in 1992. But it took two new state laws to give him the chance to clear his name.

Easley, 62, an electrician from rural Shasta County, pleaded no contest to felony sex charges in 1994 after the girl testified against him at a preliminary hearing. He was paroled after half of his 10-year term, but later served three years for failing to register as a sex offender and another year for a parole violation.

Since 1996, however, the girl has insisted that she actually was molested by her teenage cousin and his friend, and that Easley was innocent.

According to Easleys current lawyers, the girl said her mother and her cousins mother had pressured her into lying. The lawyers said the girl told representatives of the district attorneys office, but the information was ignored.

Easley has always maintained his innocence; his lawyers say he pleaded no contest only because prosecutors had threatened a 32-year sentence if he went to trial and was convicted. But he had a hard time persuading the courts to take the girls recantation seriously.

After hearing Easleys former accuser attest to his innocence, Superior Court Judge Jack Halpin said in 2009 that a jury hearing her recantation would have acquitted him  but that wasnt enough, under the law, to void his convictions.

When she first accused him, Halpin said, the girl could have believed she was accurately testifying to what originally happened, based on her memories and what she was hearing from her relatives. He said prosecutors had done nothing wrong.

Crucially, the judge said, Easley had failed to show that the new evidence would completely undermine the prosecutions original case or conclusively prove his innocence, the standard set at the time by California law. The state Supreme Court later said Easleys arguments were irrelevant because another state law allowed only current inmates to challenge their convictions based on newly discovered evidence, and he was out of prison by then.

The Legislature repealed that law last year and allowed former prisoners like Easley to use such evidence to try to overturn their convictions. And another new law, co-sponsored by then-state Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, eased the states standard, formerly the strictest in the nation, for using new evidence to prove someone was wrongly convicted.

Instead of having to show that evidence unearthed after conviction would point unerringly to innocence, the new law, similar to those in many other states, requires only a showing that it is more likely than not the evidence would have changed the verdict. Shasta County prosecutors conceded that Easley had met that standard, under Halpins 2009 ruling, and another judge erased his convictions last week.

The new standard is a game-changer, said Linda Starr, legal director of the Northern California Innocence Project at Santa Clara University Law School, which represented Easley and lobbied for the change in state law.

She said Easley has been freed from his lifetime requirement of registering with police as a sex offender, and the accompanying restrictions on where he could live and work. For example, she said, as a convicted sex offender he had to turn down a housing offer from a family with children, couldnt work as an electrician in homes where children lived, and couldnt visit relatives who had children.

His former accuser, now a bank teller in her early 30s, is so relieved to have this off of her chest, Starr said. She was devastated that she had done this to Ed and was determined to try to seek justice for him.

She said Easley learned of the girls recantation after his release from prison. The two have not been in contact, but she testified tearfully in his support at the 2009 hearing in Halpins court, Starr said.

Asked for comment, Ben Hanna, Shasta Countys chief deputy district attorney, said, The law is what the law is. ... The court followed the law.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @egelko
A suspected drunk driver had a 12-year-old girl with her when she crashed her vehicle into a residence in the Chacon Creek area, according to Laredo police.

On Sunday, Belinda Rangel, 38, was charged with driving while intoxicated with a child younger than 15 years of age. She was additionally cited for failure to control speed. Rangel was released on bond Monday.
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MEKONG RIVER BANK, THAILAND - It takes one hour and 45 minutes to fly from Shenyang, a sprawling provincial capital in northeastern China not far from the border with North Korea, to Seoul, the capital of South Korea. It's the kind of flight in which passengers have to gobble down their beef and rice before the attendants come around telling them to stow their tray tables for landing.

But for the North Koreans who escape from Kim Jong Un's regime, by way of China, there is no quick flight onward.

Instead, they embark on a grueling journey that - best-case scenario - involves traveling almost 2,700 miles on buses, motorbikes and boats, in taxis and on foot over mountains, on a roundabout route that scores of North Koreans each month are embracing as the best possible way to reach South Korea, where they will immediately become South Korean citizens.

For most, the journey will first pass through China, Vietnam and Laos, where they must be on the alert for police who might arrest them and send them back the way they came - to certain and brutal punishment in North Korea.

Not until they cross a fourth frontier from Laos into Thailand are they are finally safe.

Kim, the young and tempestuous North Korean leader, is issuing increasingly shrill threats to the outside world, flying missiles over Japan and threatening to strike the United States.

For the people of North Korea, his threats are not just bluster. They are a very real part of daily life.

Behind the visible salvos of missiles, ordinary North Koreans are risking their lives to make this invisible journey out of Kim's clutches and to safety.

The Thai authorities do not send them back. Instead, they will slap them with a minor immigration violation and alert the South Korean Embassy in Bangkok, which will start the process of transferring them to Seoul - not far from where many started their journey. There, they will start a new life, one of constant Internet connectivity and white rice every day.

"I want to learn all about computers," said a 15-year-old boy who had arrived in Thailand from Laos, just 12 days after escaping from North Korea. "I want to become a computer expert."

"I want to be good at computers, too," chimed in his 8-year-old sister, who was playing with an imitation Barbie that a humanitarian worker had given her on arrival in Thailand. It was the first doll she had ever owned.

The brother and sister were two of the 11 North Koreans who told their story to The Washington Post of their escape after arriving here, on the Thai side of the Mekong River, before turning themselves in to the police.

The North Koreans asked to withhold their names and other identifying information to avoid putting their family members still in North Korea at risk of retribution from the Kim regime.

They were recovering from the last leg of their terrifying journey out of North Korea, which started with a dead-of-night escape across the water into China and culminated in a boat ride across a swollen Mekong, which washed them way downstream from where they were supposed to be dropped.

After they had spent hours in the rain, not knowing where they were, the activist who had helped them escape finally found them.

They slept overnight in a spartan hotel room here and ate hot food and changed into dry clothes. Then, the following morning, with an air of anticipation, they turned themselves in to the police.

They were processed, then joined about two dozen other North Koreans in holding cells.

It was a muggy day. In two of the cells, women and children - including the little sister who got the Barbie and a baby who had just started walking - fanned themselves on mats on the floor and ate sunflower seeds. The pink bars had been turned into a makeshift washing line, and the girl had hung up her doll's dress on it.

A third cell contained a handful of men and the wannabe computer nerd.

Once there was a busload of them, as more North Koreans arrived nearly every day, they'd all be driven 12-plus hours to Bangkok.

The 11 who talked to The Post said that, throughout their perilous escape, they had been focused on this moment - on the moment they would get to the safety of this humid and smelly cell, the moment the South Korean bureaucracy would whir into action.

- - -

It was the experience of crossing back and forth into China, unrelentingly capitalist China, that made the fisherman decide to flee from North Korea. He was earning a good living, plying the seas as his official job and transferring money across the border as his unofficial one. But seeing how Chinese people lived and listening to South Korean news on a radio he'd bought across the border had opened his eyes.

"I realized that what we were told by our media was all lies," he said the night before they surrendered to police.

For the 50-year-old woman from the North Korean port of Nampo, it was the fear of being repatriated to North Korea again - she'd just spent 2 1/2 years in a re-education camp - that made her carry on after she made it back to China.

For the 23-year-old school friends from the border city of Hyesan, being sold to Chinese men - knowingly or unknowingly - was the way to make money for their families. "I knew I was going to be sold, but I was prepared to go," said one, looking up from her smartphone.

Her friend, a hairdresser, had gone to China several months before. She thought she was going to work in a restaurant but instead was sold to a Chinese man for $12,000.

For all these reasons and many more, North Koreans cross the river into China.

Untold thousands risk their lives to escape each year. Some live in hiding in China, some get caught and repatriated, and some - 1,418 last year - make it out to safety in South Korea.

When Kim Jong Un came to power at the end of 2011, at the age of only 27, many North Koreans hoped he would usher in a new era of modernity and openness for the totalitarian state.

That didn't turn out to be the case.

Kim has ordered a merciless crackdown on the long border with China, and Beijing has stepped up its own vigilance. The flow of people has dropped markedly - but not altogether.

A vast network of brokers, many of them defectors from North Korea themselves, arrange escape through a system that is now so well-oiled that, if everything goes smoothly, a North Korean can be in a Thai detention center within 10 days and in South Korea within a month.

That's if everything goes right.

After finding a broker, North Koreans who have earned money through private trading pay up front for their escape. Others promise to pay with the settlement money they receive after arriving in South Korea. A lucky few have their escapes financed by Christian organizations.

The group containing the fisherman was rescued by Now Action and Unity for Human Rights, an organization led by Ji Seong-ho, himself a North Korean who escaped. Ji's outfit arranged to pay $2,000 to get each member of the group out. Contacting a broker directly would have cost double that, he said.

The group crossed the river into China at night to find two cars waiting to take them to two safe houses - just as their broker had said.

"By the time we arrived at the house, it was getting light outside," said a 42-year-old housewife. "We stayed there for three days, just eating and sleeping and watching Chinese TV until it was time to go."

They were going to take a new route, through Vietnam rather than directly through Laos, because Chinese authorities had become more aggressive near the Laotian border.

"I was worried that we were being used as guinea pigs on the route. But if we were going to die, we were going to die," the fisherman said. "We had already decided to kill ourselves rather than be sent back to North Korea."

The group was then put onto the first of many buses for a 17-hour-long journey. "That was nothing - we spent more than 80 hours on buses in China," the housewife said with a laugh.

Being on a bus was dangerous. If Chinese police boarded to check their documents, the North Koreans would be busted. "We didn't sit together, and we didn't speak to each other while we were on the bus," the housewife said. "Nobody bothered us because they thought we were sleeping the whole time."

These escapes are usually coordinated by someone in Seoul managing the tricky logistics.

"We have to know the exact locations of checkpoints. We need to be able to tell them where to wait and when to cross," said Kim Sang-hun, a Seoul-based Christian activist who helps North Koreans escape.

"They can be arrested anywhere at any time, and the situation is going to be very bad for them. So to bring them to safety, we have to know the local bureaucracy and find a way to get around it."

Yet this was the easy leg of their journey. Many North Koreans speak some Chinese, either through living in China or by trading with China, and their similar looks mean they can blend in with the local population.

Yet when they got to the bus station closest to the border with Vietnam, the atmosphere changed. Police were patrolling the border in force, so their guides told them to take cover and then be prepared to run through the dark.

Hiding between buildings, waiting for their moment to cross, the North Koreans were being as still as they could be. The guides were gesturing at them not to move. They didn't need to have a common language - their body language spoke volumes. When the moment came, they ran. And they were across.

The hardest part was still to come. After several more bus and car rides through Vietnam, the North Koreans had to hike through the mountains along the border with Laos, through torrential rain.

"Every step of the escape is hard and dangerous - hiking mountains, changing methods of transportation and crossing borders," said Ji, the activist who now helps his compatriots escape. "Because they're so tense, some fall ill during or after the escape."

The journey is especially onerous for children, the elderly and the disabled, he said. Mothers sometimes give their children sleeping pills so they won't cry and give them up.

Three men with flashlights were waiting to lead the group over the mountain paths. It was raining hard, and they were all soaked through. The paths were slippery and treacherous. It was pitch black.

"We were told we were supposed to go over two mountains, but I think it was three," said a young mother who had left her 4-year-old daughter behind in China while she made the escape. "It was really hard, and I was so scared I thought I was going to die from fear."

The 50-year-old woman from Nampo said the border crossings were the most terrifying part. "I kept thinking: What would happen if I get caught now?" she said. "If I was repatriated again, I knew that it would be the end of my life."

They did make it into Laos, and there was another car waiting for them at the border. The driver's nerves put them on edge. He was afraid of being stopped by the police with the North Koreans in his car, and his fear was contagious.

Most unnerving of all was the reality of being so close to safety but still not quite there. "I kept thinking: Imagine if I made it this far and then I got caught in Laos," the young mother said.

Just four hours to the Mekong River and, across it: Thailand.

Their clothes still wet from the mountain crossing, the group was dropped on the river bank in the pouring rain. There, they waited in the darkness until it was time to cross.

At 3:30 a.m., they got into one of the long boats that navigate the Mekong. The heavy rains had made the river high and fast, and they were dropped 20 miles downstream from where they were supposed to go ashore.

"There was nobody around, nobody waiting for us," the housewife said. "Up until that time, everything had worked perfectly."

But for the fisherman, it didn't matter. "I was so relieved to be in Thailand. I sat by the river and smoked some cigarettes."

Ji, the man waiting upstream for them, started out on a frantic, hours-long search. He heard from the coordinator in Seoul that they'd crossed and realized they'd missed their drop point, but he didn't know where they were. And they, not being able to read Thai, didn't know where they were, either.

Luckily, as one of the women in the group had a Chinese cellphone, Ji eventually found them and took them to the nearby hotel, where a hot shower and dry clothes awaited them.

That Saturday night, before they turned themselves in at the police station, they had a celebration. They pushed back the beds in the hotel room, and the housewife cleaned the tiled floor. They sat crossed-legged and ate sticky rice, grilled fish, fried chicken and banana chips, all washed down with large cans of Chang, a Thai beer.

The 8-year-old played with a reporter's phone, delighting in photo filters that gave her bunny ears or a crown of flowers.

Not far to South Korea now.

- - -

Yoonjung Seo contributed to this report.
Kisaku Suzuki, creator of the world's first sushi robot, once ran a company that made candy-wrapping machines. And he was angry.

Why had the Japanese government embarked on a policy to limit rice production, effectively paying some farmers to keep their paddy fields idle? For Suzuki, rice was the sacred heart of the country's economy. He started to think about how to make the staple food more popular, so that Japan had no reason to restrict the crop.

And that's when it came to him: he would use his firm's knowledge of candy-packaging machines to develop the robot. The idea, while off-the-wall in the mid-1970s, had a simple premise. If he could lower the cost of making sushi by mechanizing parts of the process and reducing the need for highly paid chefs, he could bring the previously elite Japanese dish to the masses, and in doing so increase demand for rice.

Four decades later, Suzumo Machinery Co.'s robots are used by about 70,000 customers around the world, ranging from sushi chains to factories, and account for about 70 percent of the market for the equipment at restaurants, according to Suzumo's estimates. Kaiten sushi, also known as conveyor-belt sushi, has become a $6 billion industry in Japan alone, partly thanks to Suzuki's invention.

Cheap sushi "couldn't have happened without our machines," says Ikuya Oneda, who succeeded Suzuki as Suzumo president in 2004, a year before the founder died, and took over his life's work. "You can certainly say that."

When Suzuki started to create his robot, he met nothing but resistance. In 1976, sushi was still largely a food for special occasions. It was mostly sold through a legion of small restaurants, where artisan chefs dispensed morsels with no price tags and charged how they saw fit.

Not surprisingly, those chefs were up in arms when they heard about Suzumo's plan. In their view, it took 10 years to train someone to make sushi. No machine could possibly do the job. Suzumo asked some of the very people it was trying to depose to give their opinions on the prototype. "They said, 'This is no good, this is terrible, I don't know what this is,'" said Oneda, 73, who became chairman of the company this year.

After three years, Suzumo was nowhere near its goal and running out of cash. Company officials feared "the company would go down the tubes," Oneda said. "We thought about quitting."

Suzumo stuck with the task, and two years later the sushi chefs finally said the machine was usable. In 1981, the company completed its first robot, which formed sushi rice into balls called nigiri. These days, it offers 28 different sushi machines.

"What they've done is allow kaiten restaurants to democratize and make good Japanese food affordable and accessible," says Robin Rowland, chairman and chief executive officer of Yo, a U.K. sushi chain with almost 100 restaurants globally. "We serve 7 million guests a year. You're talking about 500 to 600 dishes on our belts in the U.K. It's a lot of food. And you need to automate some of that."

But even so many years later, the debate still rages about the machines. For purists, if you use robots, it just isn't the same.

"It's an entirely different genre," says Yoshikazu Ono, son and heir of Jiro Ono, the masterchef featured in the documentary "Jiro Dreams of Sushi." "Sushi isn't just balls of rice. The process is the most important thing. It requires relentless practice to make just one piece of sushi rice -- things like how you select, prepare and cook the rice, how much water you use, and so on. You can't get that from a robot."

At the headquarters of Kura Corp., about an hour south of Osaka, Kunihiko Tanaka bristles when he hears that argument. For the president and founder of Japan's second-largest sushi chain, and a longtime Suzumo customer, the artisans are on the wrong side of history.

"The era where it's OK to make sushi with your bare hands is over," Tanaka says, referring to artisan sushi chefs in general. "They still do that, and say that is the real sushi. Things that should be changed should be changed."

Already, about three-quarters of Japanese say that when they eat sushi, it's from a conveyor belt, according to a survey published by fishery company Maruha Nichiro Corp. in March. Almost half of them choose which restaurant based on price.

Michael Booth, a food writer whose latest book, "The Meaning of Rice," is set for publication in October, sees room for both types.

"I want everyone to get a chance to taste what amazing sushi from Jiro tastes like, because it's a very, very different experience," Booth says. "But then again, cheap, mass-produced sushi is like the entry drug into the sushi world, and that can be a good thing, too. People are exposed and may become curious as to what great sushi tastes like."

In a sense, Suzumo dealt a blow to one part of traditional Japan, the artisan sushi business, so that another could prosper: the rice industry. It was an act of political subversion, attempting to derail the government's policy of controlling the price of rice.

"As tastes became westernized, demand for rice began to decline," says Eiji Minemura, an official at Japan's agriculture ministry. "We took the policy of decreasing production to adjust to oversupply."

Oneda and his colleagues' actions show they never agreed. After developing their first sushi machines, they helped pioneer an iconic Japanese hamburger that uses rice patties instead of bread. They helped mechanize the kitchens of rice-bowl restaurants. And they even made a California roll sushi robot, as they targeted U.S. demand for the food as a healthy and trendy choice.

It's true that by one narrow definition, Suzumo didn't succeed. Japan has kept controlling rice production since first introducing the policy in 1971. And demand for rice has fallen.

Still, the company's share price has almost tripled since a low in February last year. Investors think Suzumo will benefit from the labor shortage in Japan, and the overseas sushi boom, Oneda says. Of the three analysts covering the stock, all recommend buying.

But for all the fanfare, Oneda -- as he carries on Suzuki's legacy -- is still thinking about the rice.

"Do you eat a proper breakfast?" he asks the Japanese reporter. "What do you eat? I bet it's bread, right?"
The ruling alliance that steered Ivory Coast to become sub-Saharan Africa's fastest-growing economy is at risk of falling apart as the main partners are bitterly divided over who will succeed President Alassane Ouattara when he steps down in 2020.

Top officials of the Rally of Houphouetists for Democracy and Peace, a coalition known by its acronym RHDP, are jockeying for positions as each party claims the right to appoint a preferred presidential candidate. After six years of relative stability, succession politicking may grow increasingly disruptive.

Presidential elections in Ivory Coast have often fueled tension since the death of the first post-independence ruler Felix Houphouet-Boigny in 1993 and two out of four votes have turned violent. In 2010, ex-President Laurent Gbagbo refused to acknowledge he'd lost the election to Ouattara, who won the final round because of the backing of the former ruling Democratic Party of Ivory Coast, or PDCI, and its leader Henri Konan Bedie. Gbagbo's refusal triggered six months of fighting and resulted in more than 3,000 deaths.

Together, Bedie and Ouattara, who heads the Rally of the Republicans, or RDR, command a comfortable majority of voters in a country where ethnic and regional loyalties dominate politics. While Ouattara is popular among northerners, Bedie has his traditional power base in the eastern cocoa-growing regions. Cracks in the coalition, which has been credited with restoring peace and overseeing record economic growth, already began to appear in the run-up to last year's parliamentary vote. More than 700 candidates chose to run on independent tickets, including several who'd been purged from the RHDP.

"The 2020 presidential vote is on everybody's mind, and everybody wants to take a chance," Ousmane Zina, a political analyst at the University Alassane Ouattara in Bouake, said by phone. "It's very likely that the coalition will implode before the election."

Growth averaged more than 9 percent since 2012, twice as fast as the average in sub-Saharan Africa, as Ouattara pushed for infrastructure projects and lured multinationals such as Carrefour and Burger King. The political bickering may impact the economy negatively, according to Eurasia Group.

At 83, Bedie, who was deposed as president in a bloodless coup in 1999, is too old to run again, but he still wields huge influence. In June, he declared that there was an agreement to rotate the presidency and that the coalition's candidate for 2020 should come from his party. A month later, Ouattara demoted two PDCI ministers in a Cabinet reshuffle before urging people to stop talking about his succession.

"Our people don't need this kind of debate within the ruling coalition," Ouattara said in a speech on state TV. "For the good of our country, we have to stay united."

While Ouattara created the post of vice president last year and awarded the position to PDCI member Daniel Kablan Duncan, men from his own party hold most of the key positions in the Cabinet. Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly was handed the budget portfolio in July, and Hamed Bakayoko took over the defense ministry. Both have been close advisers to Ouattara for years and Gon Coulibaly is widely seen as the leader's preferred successor.

Another contender is parliamentary speaker Guillaume Soro, 45, who lost his position as constitutional heir to the presidency when Ouattara named a vice president. A former rebel leader who tried to oust Gbagbo, then served as his prime minister and finally threw his weight behind Ouattara, Soro has strong support among the armed forces. He also has the largest Twitter following of any Ivorian politician, with 455,000 people.

The appointment of Bakayoko was interpreted as a sign that Ouattara sought to curb the powers of Soro, who will probably run in 2020.

Political analysts say that the discord may trigger a rapprochement between Soro and Bedie. Soro twice met with Bedie in Paris this year and is probably seeking a deal that would place him on the PDCI's 2020 ticket, Amaka Anku, an Africa analyst at Eurasia Group, said in an emailed note.

"Ivory Coast is on the verge of a political watershed," Nick Branson, an analyst at the London-based Africa Research Institute, said in an emailed response to questions. "It's up to Bedie or Soro to determine whether the country will return to inclusive and stable politics under the authority of Ouattara, or if the next three years will be marked by escalating tensions between rival blocs."
BEIRUT - U.S.-backed forces in Syria announced a fresh offensive around the Islamic State's most important remaining stronghold Saturday, accelerating a global scramble for control of the country's oil-rich east.

Islamic State militants are under pressure from all sides in the border province of Deir al-Zour, facing down competing offensives involving almost all of the six-year war's major players, as the extremist group's self-declared caliphate crumbles across Syria and Iraq.

The Syrian Democratic Forces, a Kurdish-dominated militia supported by U.S.-led coalition airstrikes, said Saturday that they would clear the Islamist militants from territory east of the Euphrates River.

"We at the military council decided to start this decisive operation," said Abu Khawlah, a spokesman for the militia. Dubbed "Operation Jazeera Storm," the offensive will take place in the Khabur River valley, the coalition said in a separate statement, adding that it planned to hand the area over to a civilian council.

"The morale of our forces is strong, and we are ready for victory," Khawlah said.

But in one of Syria's most complex battlefields, that achievement is far from assured. Government forces backed by Russian warplanes and Lebanese militia reached Deir al-Zour city this week, lifting an almost three-year Islamic State siege and boosting President Bashar Assad's argument that his forces should retake the country's final Islamic State-held pockets.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group, pro-government troops continued their advance Saturday, shelling Islamic State positions while Russian planes launched bombing raids.

In Damascus, Syria's foreign ministry said the advance "foreshadowed the end of terrorism."

With SDF forces in control of more than 65 percent of the Islamic State's de facto Syrian capital, Raqqa, and most of the militant group's Iraqi strongholds recaptured, Deir al-Zour province has become the Islamic State's most important refuge.

Leadership figures are understood to have been sighted in its southern cities of Mayadin and Bukamal, among them the group's most senior leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Although U.S. officials have insisted that they do not anticipate clashes with the Syrian-backed force, the growing complexity of the battleground could make unintended flash points more likely.

A foothold in Deir al-Zour province would provide Washington with an opportunity to block Iranian expansionism in a strategically important area along the Iraqi border. Victory for the Iran-backed force, meanwhile, would strengthen what has effectively become an unbroken line of control running east from its Lebanese proxies Hezbollah through Syria, Iraq and Iran.

It would also provide the Assad government with a vital economic lifeline, as the province is rich in oil wealth. Six years of war have caused $226 billion in losses, according to the World Bank, leaving the state heavily dependent on credit lines from Russia and Iran.

In the posturing on both sides, analysts saw early attempts to set a narrative of success, even while neither appeared to be mustering adequate troop numbers to finish the job.

"Assad and his allies rushed to Deir al-Zour fully aware that he does not have a force capable of capturing all of the city or to wage an effective campaign to seize all of the province," said Nicholas Heras, a fellow at the Washington-based Center for a New American Security.

"That harsh reality doesn't matter; what matters to Assad and his allies is their ability to undermine the U.S. claim that Assad is not able, or willing, to fight ISIS."

- - -

Heba Habib in Stockholm contributed to this report.
Saying he was aiming for a land speed record on recovery from Harveys devastation, Gov. Greg Abbott already has handed out more than $135 million in advances from the federal government to Harris County and the city of Houston, the first chunk of what officials hope will be a sustained, expedited response to one of the worst natural disasters the country has ever seen.

The city received $91.2 million and the county $44.6 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency via Abbott, money they said would be critical to the gargantuan clean-up effort underway, as well as spurring their ability to address critical housing needs after 136,000 homes and other structures in Harris County were flooded during Harveys onslaught.

We have a need for speed, Abbott said at a Friday news conference at the Harris County Office of Emergency Management. We want to rebuild communities as swiftly as possible.

While the spotlight to date has been on local governments rescue and recovery efforts, as well as FEMAs aid outreach, the news conference provided a glimpse into the role the state will play in the rebuilding effort as Houston and Southeast Texas cope with the worst storm the region has seen. Harvey dropped more than 50 inches of rain on Houston, killed at least 70 people and ravaged the Gulf Coast last week.

Abbott said the funds provided to Houston and Harris were the first chunk of a new model of more quickly delivering advances from the federal government as local governments focus on the boots-on-the-ground recovery.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said he and legislative leaders could consider, without a special session, moving funds from the 2019 budget into the current budget year to help with recovery.

Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp, who is overseeing the Harvey recovery for the state, said Austins role was to clear the path for local recovery efforts by easing regulations. Abbott, he said, already has removed restrictions on bidding and contracting for mosquito control for areas affected by Harvey, which came ashore as a hurricane northeast of Corpus Christi on Aug. 25 before being downgraded to a tropical storm.

Sharp said the state was working with FEMA on a way to quickly repair flood victims homes  a program in which contractors would be sent into affected homes to conduct permanent, structural repairs so displaced residents could move back in.

He said FEMA still was working out how to suspend some of its regulations to implement such a program. He could not immediately provide a timeline for when such an initiative could be implemented.

Sharp said the first step was to set up disaster recovery centers  fixed and roving sites where FEMA and other agency representatives could help each flood victim with recovery needs. That would include the new housing repair program, Sharp said.

He said he expected recovery centers to be up by Monday evening. The centers likely will be a combination of mega centers, sites in offices or other buildings, and roving mobile centers.

Abbott said a representative from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency would be embedded with the state during recovery efforts.

As to whether the state would commit any additional funds beyond the federal advances and local expenditures, Abbott said the state has spent $220 million for emergency responders and military response, and that more spending is a matter of cash flow management.

The money given Friday was far short of what local leaders had asked for earlier this week. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner had sent a letter to Abbott on Monday asking for state and federal resources outlining the unprecedented nature of the storm that put an extreme economic strain on the city and its residents.

Turner asked for advance funding of $300 million for debris removal and shoring up public infrastructure, and to establish at least 15 to 20 disaster recovery centers. He also asked Abbott to provide $60 million in state relief emergency funds, request FEMA to move quickly on a rehousing program and clear other regulations.

Harris County Judge Ed Emmett sent a separate letter asking for $75 million in advance funding, half of a preliminary estimate of $150 million for debris removal and emergency protective measures.

Turner said Friday further money would be needed, and that Fridays allocation was just the beginning.

Turner said getting less than asked for would not slow the citys cleanup effort.

We are pushing the pace, he said.

The funds and the state effort, Emmett said, would help the county help those most in need: Its these individuals that need to get back in their houses and getting the disaster recovery centers set up so that people who are out of their homes, away from their school districts, get back to their normal lives as soon as possible.
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A North Texas family has sued the Boy Scouts of America over their son's death after he collapsed on a hiking trip.

John and Lee Comita filed a lawsuit in Dallas County on Aug. 18, seeking $1 million in damages from the scouting organization and Buffalo Trail Scout Ranch where their 15-year-old son, Reid, died from a heat stroke in June.

Reid Comita, who was involved in scouts and show choir in Keller, collapsed while on a group hike at the West Texas ranch June 12. He was there to complete an "Intro to Backpacking" course, moving him one step closer to becoming an Eagle Scout.

"Mr. and Mrs. Comita placed their son into the custody and protection of the Boy Scout defendants, and instead they led him on a hike to his death," the suit states.

The suit states "Reid was not an athlete and was not in top cardiovascular condition," when he arrived at the ranch to complete the hiking requirement. He chose the intro course knowing he was not in the best physical condition, according to the lawsuit.

On the day Reid died, the lawsuit says the 15-year-old was sent on a hike without proper training.

RELATED: Father of Texas Boy Scout recounts son's death on camp hiking trip: 'This isn't supposed to happen'

"The next morning, instead of Reid starting his two-day orientation and training, he was immediately sent on an extremely aggressive hike in temperatures that produced a heat index in excess of 100 degrees, likely with the approval of the Outback Director or the Camp Commissioner," reads the lawsuit.

While on the hike, Reid began to vomit and the closest help were ranch employees who were about a 90-minute horseback ride away, John Comita told mySA.com. Helicopters in the area were grounded due to an electric storm, he said.

As officials worked on his son, John and his wife raced to the ranch and struggled to get updates.

Once help arrived, an official performed CPR on Reid for more than an hour-and-a-half before a helicopter arrived, John Comita said. Kristi Coleman, a public affairs liaison for Customs and Border Patrol Air and Marine Operations, said a crew responded to the scene within 30 minutes.

"And they kept saying, 'We don't have any details,'" he said of the ranch employees who told him EMS officials made them turn their radios off.

Roughly four hours after they got the first call, John said the assistant scout master contacted them.

"(My wife) answered the phone, and she screamed, 'Oh my God,' and she looked at me and said, 'John, pull over,'" he said. "Well, I pulled over and then she told me. Of course I was devastated. Then I talked to him and I said, 'Is my boy gone?' and he said, 'Yes, John.'"

The lawsuit says Reid was dead for 4.5 hours before his parents were notified.

"I'm saying to myself, 'This isn't supposed to happen. This isn't supposed to happen,'" John said.

In a statement to WFAA, the Boy Scouts of America said the Comita family was in their thoughts.

"This remains a difficult time for our Scouting community, and we continue to keep the family in our thoughts and prayers. The health and safety of our youth members is of paramount importance to the BSA, and integral to everything we do. We strive to create a safe environment for youth to experience outdoor adventure," reads the statement.

kbradshaw@express-news.net

Twitter: @kbrad5
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Raised in various small Texas towns, Mary Ann Curtis Bower learned skills that would later help her thrive in a foreign country.

Her father, who worked as a construction engineer for what was then known as the Soil Conversation Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, moved his family frequently.

She learned how to make friends quickly and be comfortable in new communities, said her son, Thomas Bower. That was a key to my mothers personality.

Moving to Tunisia for her husbands career in 1964, Bower, a design and art history major, was able to immerse herself in the ancient history of the area.

More Information Mary Ann Curtis Bower Born: May 1, 1929, Waco Died: Sept. 1, 2017, Victoria Preceded by: Husband James Edward Bower; infant daughter Mary Ellen Curtis; parents Mary Annie Robinson and John Parker Curtis; a sister Survived by: Son Thomas Bower and daughter-in-law Kristina Paledes; daughter Julia Bower; a sister Services: Visitation from 2 to 6 p.m. today at Colonial Funeral Home, 1801 E. Red River St., Victoria; graveside service at noon Sept. 15 at Oakwood Cemetery, 2124 S. 5th St., Waco See More Collapse

She was quite a good tour guide, her son said. She became known as the go-to person to bring along  because she could help interpret the symbolism on the artifacts. He added that she would bribe the guards to let the tour group go into the back of the museum to visit artifacts that werent on display yet.

Bower died in Victoria on Sept. 1 at 88.

Graduating from what is now Texas Women's University in Denton, Bower met her future husband in church and married in 1953.

Living in Weatherford for about 10 years  her husband worked as a soil scientist with the Soil Conservation Service  Bower was a stay-at-home mom to her two children.

Moving to Tunis, Tunisia, after her husband applied for a position with the U.S. Agency for International Development, the family immediately joined an Anglican church.

Joining the alter guild and teaching art for a time at the American cooperative school, Bower also took every opportunity to explore nearby museums and ruins.

I got dragged on these trips to the museums all the time, said Thomas Bower, who was about 9 at the time.

Returning to the U.S. in 1970, the family settled in Victoria, where her husband was sent after rejoining the USDA.

Active in St. Frances Episcopal Church, Bower also continued to hone her talent in photography, occasionally shooting weddings for friends and relatives.

Bower also began concentrating on fine needlework and quilting, skills she had learned from her mother and grandmother.

She had a wonderful eye for color, said her daughter-in-law, Kristina Paledes.

Remaining in Victoria after her husband retired, the couple later bought a second home in San Antonio, where Bower was a member of the Fiber Artists of San Antonio.

mheidbrink@express-news.net
Theres one thing that isnt bigger in Texas, and thats voter turnout.

According to the U.S. Election Projects 2017 statistics, Texas clocked in at 49th in the nation for voter turnout in the 2016 presidential election. The number of eligible Texans who showed up to the polls on Nov. 6 was a paltry 51.6 percent. By contrast, 69 percent of eligible Iowans voted, while Oregon and Massachusetts followed not far behind with 68.3 percent.

The data for Texas only goes downhill from there: only 21.6 percent of Texans eligible to vote cast a ballot in the 2016 primaries, and Texas had the single worst turnout nationally for the 2014 midterm elections.

Is there a solution? Look to Illinois, which has recently installed automatic voter registration when getting a drivers license. Texas would do well to emulate this law. But, as recent events reveal, it has been on a decidedly different path.

Texas, in fact, has a long and troubling history of voter discrimination. One need only look at its draconian voter ID regulations, struck down five times this year, to see something is amiss.

A federal court during the last election deemed Senate Bill 14 discriminatory. SB 14 required voters to show one of seven forms of photo ID at the polls, all documents held disproportionately by white voters.

A replacement measure, SB 5, was meant to ameliorate the problems caused by SB 14 by allowing voters to produce utility bills and other alternate forms of ID  provided they were also willing to sign an affidavit, carrying with it a steep criminal penalty for perjury, stating they had no proper ID and no reasonable means of obtaining one.

U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos rightly ruled last week that SB 5, too, was discriminatory and reeked of voter intimidation. The states redistricting has also been cast as discriminatory by federal courts.

But besides protecting minority voters from overt discrimination  a not insignificant but  what else can the state do to produce a meaningful uptick in its voter turnout?

Another factor at play in Texas low voter turnout, the Houston Chronicle reported in 2014, is uncompetitive elections. In any given election, Texans on both sides of the aisle dont vote if they feel its outcome is a foregone conclusion.

The result is little to no mobilization for turnout in Texas when compared to other states, reported the Chronicle  no cold calling by candidates or knocking on doors.

In an effort to combat voter apathy, Illinois recently became the 10th state (along with Washington, D.C.) to implement opt-out, or automatic, voter registration when getting a drivers license.

This proves to be significantly more efficient than the opt-in policies on the books in Texas and most other states, which allow you to register to vote when getting a drivers license, but do not register you automatically.

Why does this distinction matter? Because given a choice, most voters will choose the path of least resistance. Many will not opt in.

Consider the research on opt-in vs. opt-out policies in other key arenas such as medicine and business. Countries that have an opt-out policy for organ donation, such as Austria, have organ donation rates of more than 90 percent, whereas countries such as the United States with opt-in policies for organ donation have rates hovering at 15 percent. Similarly, 401(k) plans are increasingly offered by companies on an opt-out vs. opt-in basis because while 59 percent of employees will opt in to a 401(k), 85 percent will participate in automatic enrollment.

Would opt-out registration be an impingement on Texans right to choose? No, no one will force people to vote.

Texas ought to follow Illinois lead and enact automatic voter registration; some decisions, it seems, are best made by default.
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Properties / Homes

Sep 09, 2017 | By Jonathan Ho

Though the trends for bringing the outdoors indoors or outside inside architecture seems relatively recent. The truth is organic architecture was an idea championed by an influential U.S. architect slightly under 110 years ago. Frank Lloyd Wright might have died over 50 years ago but his architectural influence and the concept of outdoors indoors architecture and style of open-plan living remain timeless. Wrights Fallingwater house stands among the exemplars of this type of bringing the outside in decor and architecture still in existence today.

4 Properties which bring the Outdoors Indoors

With its cantilevered balconies and open floor terraces which extend outwards into the rocky cliffside and thunderous waterfalls, Frank Lloyd Wrights organic architectural style which extended your living space outdoors, bringing the natural environment inwards, showed that for man to live harmoniously, he needed to be one with nature. Considering that his architectural philosophy has lasted for over 100 years is a testament to just how prescient he was as an architect in 1908. Here are 4 properties which continue his legacy of bringing the outside inside. First up, Wiedemann Architects Hawks Nest.

Wiedemann Architects Hawks Nest

Conceptualised and developed for a Parisian sculptor, Wiedemann Architects designed Hawks Nest as a home and studio in an old limestone quarry. Perched on the cliffside overhanging the Potomac River, Wiedemann Architects adopts Frank Lloyd Wrights outside inside approach by taking advantage of the sweeping views of the Potomac river with a simple glass and steel structure balanced on concrete pedestals. The result of the Hawks Nest is stunning, it simultaneously separates yet brings nature in to almost all the living spaces of the property. In their words: Two simple cast concrete volumes rise seamlessly from the limestone creating a framed view of the landscape beyond and a perch for the steel and glass structure above. The grid of steel columns modulates the space and creates framed views of the ever changing play of nature, blurring the line between inside and outside.

Wiedemann Architects Hawks Nest also features a sheltered courtyard which serves among the many touch points where one can interact directly with the natural environment, the two concrete pillars are not only functional but serve to demarcate the studio area and the entry staircase in the other but once you enter the residence, the steel and glass domicile serve only as a frame for the landscape, blurring the line between outdoors and indoors by way of floor to ceiling windows throughout the most iconic West Virginian Hawks Nest. As a home, it is naturally harmonious, as a creative space for a Parisian ceramic and metal sculptor, it is a provider of effortless muse. Dark concrete floors with radiant floor heat provide warmth, while the narrow plan affords natural cross ventilation.

Elevens the Deplar Farm

Situated within the rugged and icy landscapes of Icelands Troll Peninsula, The Eleven Experiences Deplar Farm is purpose designed and built to take full advantage of the Northern Lights. Made for lounging, the Deplar Farm brings the outdoors in with its floor to ceiling windows which allow a literal unobstructed view of the mountains and the pretty twilight auroras which dance across the night sky, a visual spectacle serving as natures reward for the Elven guests hard-earned heli-ski turns. The outdoors indoors property uses stone sourced from local rivers and features black timber cladding, a grass-sodded roof and of course, a goosebump raising experience as you experience a split second chill of the icy fjords environs of northern Icelands Troll Peninsula before complete immersion in the outdoor hot-tubs  This is as close as it gets experiencing the arctic tundra naked.

The Deplar Farm resort is a former sheep farm which has been renovated to provide not just top-of-the-line outdoorsy indoorsy experience but also luxurious accommodations. Adventure by day and rustic charm by the afternoon, nights are short this far North of the hemisphere so expect little sleep in the 13 en-suite rooms with king beds, state-of-the-art blackout blinds (for sleep or sex  simply the best activity to warm things up should you wish) and expansive views of the watery estuaries of North Iceland. Visit Trevor Morrows travel blog for a deeper understand of what one can experience from Deplar Farm.

Belizes Cayo Espanto

A plexiglass floor allowing you to peer into the depths of the sea  is there anything which sells the outdoors indoors experience more? The Cayo Espanto just off the coast of Belize provides the ultimate outside inside adventure because if you cant enjoy rare blue waters not just at your door step but also in your living room, youre really not making a full use of the visual orgasm that mother nature has provided.

Belizes Cayo Espanto is your exclusive private island vacation destination which offers all the benefits of private island living without the cost of owning and maintaining it. Even if you didnt book the entire island as your private resort, Cayo Espanto resort only consists of seven villas so you dont feel like youre crowded out by neighbours. Each villa is cleverly designed and innovatively situated at each section of the island so it feels like youre the only ones around. Villas range from one-bedroom beachfront property to an overwater mansion with the impressive glass-bottom floor. Regardless of size, each Cayo Espanto villa features a plunge pool, private dock with lounge chairs, and goes without saying, your own strip of white-sandy beachfront.

LTD. Architecture Back Country House in New Zealand

Since 2008, LTD. Architecture looked to raise standards of design in the local built environment and Back County House in the secluded bush-clad venue of New Zealands Puhoi settlement. LTD. Architectures Back Country House is a reflection of that incredible architectural ethos to create buildings that reflect the character of the people who live in them and place in which they live with a sensitivity to the physical and cultural context of the site, using natural materials and finishes where possible with a focus on robust and elegant detailing.

Back Country House plays on the unique New Zealand typology of bush country  exquisite simplicity using locally-sourced Macrocarpa timber cladding for the exterior, raising a single volume for living/cooking/ eating and a lean-to annex housing the lower floor service/sleeping areas while the lofted master bedroom above exists to provide similar expansive views of the rugged NZ outback. Folding glass doors provide an enhanced connection to the surrounding environment; the living area opens fully on two sides, having the feel of an outdoor room, and the fire and baths located on the deck draw daily activities out of the house and into nature. Its signature sloping galvanized iron roof pays homage to the traditional huts of the Puhoi settlement.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2017 > Talaaq Talaaq Talaaq

The Supreme Courts judgment is harsh and unequivocal. There could be no compromise on the basics of the Indian Constitution, freedom to women and men to lead their lives as they wanted. I wish the Muslim community had accepted the bar on triple talaaq, which goes against the spirit of the Constitution. But it looks as if the fundamentalists have been having their way.

This was even the case with Shah Bano, a Muslim woman, where the Supreme Court intervened and fixed alimony in 1985 after a long legal battle. The Muslims did not accept the judgment and argued that the courts were not at liberty to interfere in matters which relate to their personal law. According to the Muslim Personal Law Board, the issue of support to divorced women by means of maintenance and mehr is provided under the Shariat. But the Supreme Court did not accept the plea and fixed the amount for maintenance.

The triple talaaq had no place in a secular society. Most Muslim countries in the world, including Pakistan and Bangladesh, have banned it. But the situation in India is such that a debate on the subject is not possible. Even a semblance of discussion is rejected outright as an interference. The triple talaaq continues to be invoked and the male dominance remains undiminished.

In contrast, the Hindu Personal Law came into being after the intervention of the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru. It was he who introduced divorce in the Hindu religion for the first time. He was strongly opposed by Dr Rajendra Prasad, who was the Chairman of the Constituent Assembly and widely respected. Nehru had his way because he controlled the government machinery.

Muslims have faced a similar challenge for decades. The triple talaaq has no Quranic sanction but it has been there for a long time. Some Muslim women challenged it in the Supreme Court which has said that gender equality should be considered in this regard. The govern-ment thought of issuing a questionnaire to find out the consensus but refrained from doing so.

The Muslim Personal Law Board vehemently opposed this move. Incidentally, it has no woman member and continues to dictate terms without any consultation with women. This has been resented by the women themselves but the Muslim Personal Law Board continues to follow a policy which doesnt even entertain the womens opinion. And thus, the funda-mentalists continue to have their say.

The question is bound to come up before Parliament some day because the different sections of the Muslim community and even others are agitated over the situation. There are social boycotts by most Muslim women. Muslim men, on the other hand, continue to dominate, even though they grant that the Prophet wanted both men and women to be treated as equal. However, when it comes to codifying this idea, the Board doesnt care.

How can a debate take place when the Muslim Personal Law Board is straightaway opposed to the questionnaire seeking peoples opinion? Women hailing from different parts of the country have protested and demanded that they should be consulted. The Narendra Modi Government is reluctant to take any step lest it should be misunderstood. Things cannot be left at that point.

Parliament should step in first to debate on the issue in both Houses and then find out how the community, particularly its women, feel about this question. Political parties under-standably want to maintain silence because of electoral considerations. In many States, including Uttar Pradesh which is the largest Hindi-speaking State with 80 Lok Sabha seats, the Muslim community seems to be the king-maker.

For instance, Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav was able to garner Muslim votes since he was respected in the community who felt alienated from the Congress. In the recent Assembly elections in UP, the anti-incumbency factor had come into play and the Chief Minister, Akhilesh Yadav, was defeated despite having Azam Khan, then his Cabinet Minister, who was projected as the custodian of Muslims.

Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi, indiscreet in his speeches, has been trying to get Muslims on his side. But he doesnt sell generally among the people and it would probably be better for Sonia Gandhi herself to lead the party. There is no Italian-tag attached to her any longer. And she attracts the crowd in her own name more than her son does. This is a challenge for the Congress which has staked its future with Rahul but feels increasingly convinced that he does not go down well with the masses. In fact, his sister, Priyanka Vadra, has more of a popular face than him.

It is a shame that a secular democratic country has been living with a practice like triple talaaq fearing the annoyance of the community. Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi bungled by bringing in a legislation to ensure a stipend for Muslim widows. It unnecessarily fuelled the anti-Babri Masjid agitation and during the P.V. Narasimha Rao Government the mosque was demolished. The rest is history.

In the same way, triple talaaq cannot continue because it goes against the grain of what is enshrined in the Constitution. In fact, it is surprising that it has lasted so long despite the Directive Principles calling for a common civil code. Successive governments since indepen-dence have evaded the question. The Modi Government may also do the same. But this is not the solution. The triple talaaq will have to go, sooner or later. The Supreme Court has indicated how the Constitution should be interpreted in this regard.

The Muslim community is being misled by the fundamentalists. Unfortunately, politics has also come in. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has its eyes on the next general elections in 2019. Be that as it may, the atmosphere of pluralism should not be polluted. The Supreme Court or for that matter any court would have no ground to interfere if the Preamble of the Constitution is followed, that is, upholding a secular and democratic polity.

The author is a veteran journalist renowned not only in this country but also in our neighbouring states of Pakistan and Bangladesh where his columns are widely read. His website is www.kuldipnayar.com
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2017 > Trump, May and Fate of EU

by Anshuman Gupta, Vipul Sharma

Europe is, in a great measure, saved as a result of Donald Trump and his unviable and contradictory initiatives. The ultra-Right wave was on the rise with many far-Right parties gaining prominence in Europe, riding on the back of the downturn journey of the world economy and their appeal to the left-out natives, who could not capitalise on the liberal policies of globalisation, liberalisation and privatisation. Donald Trump also secured the White House sitting on the crest of the ultra-Right wave based on the politics of identity, anti- globalisation and anti-migration. The politics of America first.

However, the rising popularity of the ultra-Right parties was arrested by the controversies surrounding the initiatives of Trumps adminis-tration. All his initiatives helped shorten the span and intensity of the frenzy of the ultra-Right movements. Its manifestations are the comprehensive victory of Emmanuel Macron, a Centrist, in France; the defeat of the ultra-Right party in Netherlands; and expected victory of Angela Markels party in Germany in the September election. The last blow to the ultra-Right tide was Theresa Mays party losing its majority in the snap election. Voters of Britain realised their mistakes after they analysed the real economic consequences of break-away from the common single market of Europe. Now she would negotiate Brexit with caution.

The EU was supposed to be a miracle in the economic history of the world. Though it was initiated for political reasons, its economic success cannot be underestimated. Bringing together 28 countries under common rules for the trade of final goods and services, and movement of factors of production is a commendable achievement. Out of 28 countries, 19 are tied with a single currencythe Euro. Crises in Europe in the last decade have raised many new questions about the viability of regional trading blocs. How far is integration of the economies viable? Should the entry test for new entrants in the bloc be more strict? In the time of crisis, should the bloc work like a cooperative federalism, whereby relatively better-off countries help the crisis-ridden country?

In the 1990s and early years of the 2000s, there was another set of questions being pondered over in the wake of a spurt of regional blocs, mainly as a result of prolonging the Doha Round of Negotiations, initiated in the year 2001 and still inconclusive. These questions were related to trade creation and trade diversion, and regionalism versus multilateralism. To minimise the trade diversion, a negative consequence of regional bloc for non-members, many conditions were enshrined in Article XXIV of the WTO. These included maximum tariff chargeable from the non-member countries and the time-frame for completing the process of integration. It was also proposed to have open membership in the bloc and progressively lowering inter-bloc trade barriers along with intra-bloc liberalisation. Regional trading blocs were regarded as stepping stones to globalisation.

However, the new set of questions is more serious in nature and related to the very viability of the concept of regionalism. Regarding the extent of integration of the bloc, it is a process of evolution to integrate the members economies into one with common monetary policy, close coordinated fiscal policies, common trade and investment policies, free movement of labour and capital, and single currency. They all mean sacrificing the sovereignty over issues relating to regulating the economy at the national level. It somehow comes in conflict with the idea of democracy, which thrives on the idea of many parties attracting the voters on the basis of their ideologies and socio-economic programmes. However, the economic integration leaves little scope for this. No or very little policy- space is left for political parties to differentiate on the basis of economic programmes. So it is a pertinent question as to how much integration is feasible to strike a balance with the democratic system. All European countries are confronting this problem. Brexit is also the direct conse-quence of it. For the sustainability of the European Union, it needs to answer this question rather soon. It has two options: either to complete the circle by further forging fiscal union and banking union, which would further squeeze the policy-space of the members or take backward steps to reform the union to give policy-space to members to accommodate their varied needs and aspirations.

Open membership to the bloc is the condition to minimise the effect of trade diversion to non-members. However, it is advisable to have stricter economic conditions rather than political considerations for their entry to avoid problems like those of the Southern European countries. The bloc should develop a mechanism whereby in the time of crisis, the better-off member-countries could help the crisis-afflicted country.

The authors belong to the University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Dehradun.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2017 > The Union Cabinet Reshuffle

Prime Minister Modi has reshuffled his Cabinet putting an end to endless media speculation about who will be in and who will be out. In the event, some Ministers who were found to be lacking in their performance have been shunted out, ostensibly to strengthen the party in the run-up to the general elections in 2019. What beats understanding is how a person who has failed to perform as a Minister is expected to do better as a party organiser. The induction of several former IFS, IAS and IPS officers into the Cabinet is an indirect admission that the government is in need of administrators of proven capability and experience and, by extension, an admission that the ruling party has been found wanting in providing competent administrators from within its own ranks.

Much is being made of Nirmala Sitharaman being promoted as a full-fledged Minister and being given the important portfolio of Defence. This is the first time that India has a woman Defence Minister, it is being pointed out. Undoubtedly Nirmala has proven herself to be an able administrator, an effective party spokesperson who is always able to put across her partys stand in precise and concise terms. But not much should be read into her being made the Defence Minister. Those familiar with the inner working of the South Block know that the Ministry of Defence is actually controlled by the Prime Ministers Office (PMO) in close consultation with the National Security Adviser.

It has been pointed out that for the first time the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) has two women on itDefence Minister Sitharaman and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. Here again, Sushma has always kept a low profile and Modi has been acting as the de facto Foreign Minister. Sushmas only job in the MEA now seems to be to help Indians stranded in foreign countries and getting visas issued promptly to those foreign nationals who want to come to India for medical treatment. Both are humanitarian service but can hardly be called the job that an External Affairs Minister is expected to do, namely, to interact with foreign governments on a regular basis. That job has been taken over by the Prime Minister himself.

Perceptive observers have noticed in the reshuffle a subtle attempt by Modi to stamp his own authority on the government, independent of the RSS. Reports have appeared in newspapers that some RSS functionaries have expressed the fear that the Centres policies are creating public discontent. Sections of the media had speculated, defying all political logic, that Amit Shah, after his election to the Rajya Sabha, was going to be inducted into the Union Cabinet and being given the Home portfolio. Naturally, that has not happened. At a time when the party is gearing itself up for the general elections in 2019, it can hardly afford to saddle its President with ministerial responsibilities and that, too, of so important a portfolio as Home, and give the reins of the party to someone else.

It will be interesting to see how the RSS reacts to Modi asserting his authority in running the government without consulting with or being guided by the advice coming from Nagpur. In other words, how the RSS and Modi will work out a modus vivendi.

A subtle change has taken place and is taking place in the functioning of the Central Government. More and more power is being concentrated in the PMO. It had happened earlier also during the latter part of Indira Gandhis rule but not to this extent. Under Indira, Union Ministers had enough independence to run their Ministries. The present trend is toward creating a single centre of power in the government where other Ministers are in constant awe and fear of the Prime Minister. A massive BJP win in the next elections will only accelerate this trend.

By contrast, the Oppositions performance is languid and lacklustre. In spite of the official admission that demonetisation has failed to achieve any of its professed objectives of unearthing black money, catching tax-dodgers and black-money hoarders and stopping terror financing and has actually resulted in more loss of jobs and a fall in the GDP, the Opposition has failed to cash in on the issue. Even the already discernible negative impact of GST (many medicines have disappeared from the market following its introduction) could not be exploited by the Opposition, except for occasional media criticism. There has been no effort by any Opposition party to take to the streets and mobilise the people. That is another reason why the people have become lukewarm to these parties. Rahul Gandhis absence at the Patna rally on August 27 is inexplicable. Why was it necessary for him to undertake a foreign trip precisely at that time?

Mass discontent is there. Public anger is growing. But the Opposition is too fragmented, too debilitated and ideologically too disunited to channelise the restive mood of the people into disciplined and organised mass movements So, Narendra Modi reigns supreme, his authority none to challenge.

The author was a correspondent of The Hindu in Assam. He also worked in Patriot, Compass (Bengali), Mainstream. A veteran journalist, he comes from a Gandhian family and was intimately associated with the RCPI leader, Pannalal Das Gupta.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2017 > Gauri Lankeshs Assassination

COMMENTARY

Ms Lankesh was like my mother. She once told me that if you are being attacked then you know that you are on the right track... powerfull people are being killed just to send across a message to others. Her death is a personal loss to me.

That was how former JNUSU President Kanhaiya Kumar paid his homage to Gauri Lankesh, the fearless and outspokenly frank activist-journalist who was gunned down by unidentified assailants around 8 pm outside her residence in West Bengaluru on September 5. Kanhaiya was speaking at a largely attended rally at New Delhis Press Club of India on September 6. Gauri, 55, who edited the Kannada tabloid, Gauri Lankesh Patrike, was an unequivocal opponent of Hindutva politics and often referred to young Dalit activist Jignesh Mewani and Kanhaiya Kumar as her adopted sons.

Gauris assassination has triggered a wave of protests across the country and several meetings and rallies have taken place in different cities. Opposition leaders joined journalists to unambiguously denounce the killing of Gauri that is reminiscent of the cold-blooded murders of Narendra Dabholkar, Govind Pansare and Dr M.M. Kalburgi in the recent past.

Significantly, BJP MLA and former Karnataka Minister Jeevraj, at a meeting in Chikkamagaluru, offered tributes to Gauri saying she was like my sister but if only she had refrained from writing such pieces as the report headlined Chaddigola Marana Homa (the Slaughter of RSS) she would probably have survived.

After this can there be any doubt about who assassinated Gauri?

September 7 Charvak
Kochi: The police team probing the sensational actress assault case on Saturday moved to the Angamaly Judicial Magistrate court against film fraternity and MLA KB Ganesh Kumar.

The actor who visited Dileep in jail urged the film fraternities to stand by Dileep till his crime is proved before law.

In a report submitted in the court, the police urged the court to intervene in the case immediately and also pointed that there were attempts to sabotage the case and influence the witnesses.

Recently, an array of Mollywood celebrities visited the actor in the subsequent days.
GROTON -- Groton police found the bodies of four people in a house early Friday evening, and they say they are investigating the incident as a homicide.

The Lowell Sun reported a suspect is in custody.

The bodies were found in a Common Street home, and police now have the area cordoned off.

According to NECN.com, Groton police and Massachusetts State Police detectives attached to the Middlesex district attorney's office are at the scene.

District Attorney Marian T. Ryan is planning a press conference at the police department parking lot to discuss the deaths.

This is a breaking news story. MassLive.com will have details as they become available.
SPRINGFIELD- The AIDS Foundation of Western Massachusetts, which for more than two decades has provided financial and emotional support for people with HIV/AIDS, held its final gathering and candlelight vigil on Friday at the South Congregational Church in Springfield.

Recently, the organization announced that it will close at the end of September.

A combination of declining corporate support due to a changing local economy and a change in public perception about HIV/AIDS as a critical health emergency has lessened donations over the last few years, according to Jessica Roncarati-Howe, a longtime volunteer, officer and past executive director.

When the AIDS Foundation of Western Massachusetts closes on Sept. 30, all its remaining assets will be turned over what Roncarati-Howe described as a local agency that is a dedicated AIDS-service assistance program.

The AIDS Foundation of Western Massachusetts was founded in 1993 by local activist Donald O'Dell, a short time before he died from AIDS. Its mission was to provide emergency financial assistance to people with HIV/AIDS to allow them to live with dignity. It also expanded its mission to include education and support for people and their families, and it also funded summer camp scholarships for children who were infected.
CHICOPEE - Chicopee Police are warning residents of an elaborate scam after one of the department's detectives received a call from someone pretending to be from the Internal Revenue Service and threatening him with arrest.

The call was from a man who identified himself as John Matthews with a number of 281-220-3389. He spoke with a strong Middle Eastern accent and claimed to be from the IRS. He then told Det. Johnny Jusino that he owed $5,000 and had one hour to pay or face arrest, Michael Wilk, Chicopee Police public information officer, said.

"The scammer was very meticulous and precise. He had our detective go to the irs.gov website, walking him through the entire payment process," Wilk said.

But then he told the detective he could not pay online because it would take too long. Instead he told him he had to go to a Target or Best Buy store and buy two $2,000 gift cards and one $1,000 gift card. When the detective, who continued to play along, asked if he could instead purchase gift cards from drug stores he was told no the IRS only accepts gift cards from the two stores, he said.

The scammer told Jusino to keep him on speaker phone the entire time and threatened to activate an arrest warrant if he hung up. The detective pretended to be driving in a car and the scammer told him to honk the car horn.

The scammer also told the detective he had to hear him inside the store and interacting with the clerk, Wilk said.

Eventually the call was lost. The scammer was able to reconnect with the detective and he demanded the numbers of the gift cards, which were not bought, Wilk said.

Anyone who fell for the scam would be out $5,000, which is almost impossible to recoup, he said.

"We cannot stress enough that the IRS will not issue an arrest warrant. You cannot pay your taxes with gift cards. If they are telling you to stay on the phone, and not hang up, that's a red flag something is wrong. They do this so you do not contact anyone else for help," he said.
The Weaverville suspect charged in the murder of a Mills River man was indicted by a McDowell grand jury on charges stemming from the aftermath, according to court records.

Phillip Michael Stroupe II, 39, of King Road in Weaverville, faces one count each in McDowell of felony fleeing to elude arrest, reckless driving to endanger, resisting a public officer, possession of a firearm by a felon, possession of methamphetamine and possession of a stolen motor vehicle.

Prior to his arrest, Stroupe was the subject of a manhunt in numerous counties in western N.C. in late July with multiple warrants for his arrest.

At approximately 10:30 p.m. on July 26, McDowell County Sheriffs deputies were notified of a possible sighting of Stroupe in a silver Honda Ridgeline truck in Yancey County. The truck was owned by 68-year-old Thomas Bryson in Henderson County, who had been reported missing earlier that day.

Attempts were made by multiple agencies to contact Stroupe, who was traveling in an evasive manner toward McDowell on N.C. 80.

The Sheriffs Office and Marion police got in a position to intercept the vehicle, said McDowell County Sheriff Dudley Greene shortly after the arrest. They used stop sticks, which were effective.

Stroupe continued traveling about another mile on U.S. 70 West before the truck stopped, and he escaped through a window and fled into a tomato field. He was apprehended at approximately 1:30 a.m. near Riverside Market.

We found a handgun in a field between where he left the vehicle and where he was apprehended that is likely associated with him, Greene stated. He was also found to be in possession of a small amount of methamphetamine.

Days after Stroupes arrest, Brysons body was located in a corn field in Arden on July 30. Stroupe was subsequently charged and indicted in Henderson County with first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping and robbery with a dangerous weapon, according to the Asheville Citizen-Times. Henderson District Attorney Greg Newman confirmed that he is pursuing the death penalty.

Also arrested in the investigation are: Stroupes father, 68-year-old Phillip Stroupe Sr.; 40-year-old Jennifer Hawkins and 23-year old Larry Hawkins II of Barnardsville; and 45-year-old Frederick Badgero of Nebo, all charged with accessory after the fact of first-degree murder.

The following indictments were handed down by a grand jury during the month of August:

 Andrew Mitchell Barchie Jr., 35, of Belaire Road, Mooresboro, one count of breaking and entering and two counts of larceny after breaking and entering.

 Gary Harrison Bartlett, 46, of Sugar Hill Road, Marion, one count each of driving while impaired, assault on a female, assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a weapon of mass death and destruction and carrying a concealed gun.

 Heather Nicole Brown, 36, of Triple J. Park, Marion, one count each of obtaining property under false pretense and conspiracy to obtain property by false pretense.

 Anthony Jerry Burgess, 30, of South Sterling Street, Morganton, one count each of aiding and abetting a continuing criminal enterprise, conspiracy and conspiracy to traffic methamphetamine.

 James Qualane Burgess, 27, of Roper Street, Morganton, one count each of conspiracy and aiding and abetting a continuing criminal enterprise.

 Jose Jovanny Camarena, 21, of Gaddy Road, Nebo, one count each of resisting a public officer and maintaining a vehicle or dwelling place for a controlled substance and two counts each of felony possession of marijuana and possession with intent to sell or deliver marijuana.

 Darryl Scott Causby, 55, of Chickory Drive, Marion, one count of possession of a stolen motor vehicle.

 Heather Renee Causby, 32, of Gaddy Road, Marion, one count of larceny by employee.

 Bryan D. Crisp, 33, of Summerset Park, Old Fort, one count each of breaking or entering a motor vehicle and misdemeanor larceny.

 Larry Dixon, 63, of N.C. 226 South, Marion, one count each of conspiracy to traffic methamphetamine and aiding and abetting a continuing criminal enterprise.

 Kelsey Lamon England, 37, of Julia Court, Claremont, one count each of conspiracy to traffic marijuana, conspiracy to traffic cocaine and aiding and abetting a continuing criminal enterprise.

 Dustin Anthony Foust, 33, of Cleveland, Ohio, one count of breaking and entering and two counts of larceny after breaking and entering.

 Jayson Michael Gibson, 37, of Tylor Heights, Marion, two counts of possession of drug paraphernalia, two counts of possession of marijuana up to  ounce, three counts of possession of methamphetamine, one count of simple possession of a schedule II controlled substance, one count of possession of a stolen motor vehicle, one count of possession with intent to sell or deliver marijuana, one count of felony possession of marijuana, three counts of possession of a stolen firearm, one count of possession with intent to manufacture, sell or deliver methamphetamine, two counts of possession of a firearm by a felon and three counts of habitual felon.

 Jennifer Marie Granroos, 39, of Ruby B. Drive, Marion, one count of breaking and entering and two counts of larceny after breaking or entering.

 Robert Todd Guffey, 33, of Main Street, Marion, one count each of conspiring to traffic methamphetamine and aiding and abetting a continuing criminal enterprise.

 Steve Edward Hamm, 45, of Jesse James Drive, Marion, two counts of obtaining property under false pretense.

 Charles Dean Herron, 32, of Breezy Hill Drive, Old Fort, one count each of first-degree sex exploitation of a minor, first-degree kidnapping, first-degree statutory rape, statutory rape by an adult, incest of a child less than 13 and older than four and statutory sex offense of a child by an adult.

 Christopher Dwayne Lawing, 27, of Rockhouse Road, Marion, three counts of injury to real property, two counts of resisting a public officer and one count each of fleeing or eluding arrest in a motor vehicle, possession of a firearm by a felon and possession of methamphetamine.

 Denise Hudgins Lester, 52, of Old Linville Road, Marion, one count of felony larceny of a firearm.

 Joshua Michael Lipe, 36, of Indian Waters Drive, Old Fort, one count of felony larceny.

 Diamond Sharell Lipscomb, 32, of Newland Street, Morganton, one count each of conspiracy to traffic methamphetamine, conspiracy to traffic cocaine and aiding and abetting a continuing criminal enterprise.

 Patricia Alton Locklear, 25, of Old Glenwood Road, Marion Correctional Institution, two counts each of burning personal property and habitual felon.

 Levi Eddie McHone, 28, of Cooper Drive, Nebo, one count each of breaking and entering and larceny after breaking and entering.

 Steven Lynn Milam, 44, of Hicks Chapel Loop, Marion, one count of possession of stolen goods.

 Bridget Miller, 39, of Twin Lakes Road, Old Fort, one count of obtaining property under false pretense.

 Alvin Lewis Pack, 33, of Mount Hebron Road, Old Fort, one count of failure to register as a sex offender.

 Jessica Yesenia Flore Parker, 21, of Spaulding Road, Marion, one count each of possession of methamphetamine, simple possession of a schedule II controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

 Carl B. Primus, 24, of Old Glenwood Road, Marion Correctional Institution, assault with physical injury on a detention employee.

 David Rankin, 54, of East Liberty Street, Salisbury, one count of failure to disclose felony conviction.

 Justin Dean Ray, 25, of Oakdale Estates Drive, Old Fort, one count each of felony larceny and possession of stolen goods.

 Randy Lewis Scott, 49, of U.S. 70 West, Marion, three counts of trafficking in methamphetamine.

 Jeremy Scott Smith, 33, of Candee Acres, Marion, one count of possession of a firearm by a felon.

 Oakley Lynn Sparks, 35, of Seventh Street Clinchfield, Marion, one count each of conspiracy to traffic marijuana, conspiracy to traffic cocaine and aiding and abetting a continuing criminal enterprise.

 Thomas Cleveland Trammell, 50, of Underwood Cove Road, Waynesville, one count each of felony burning certain public buildings and habitual felon.

 Brittany Ann Twyman, 28, of Joes Drive, Marion, one count of identity theft.

 Ray Jackson Welch, 55, of Stacy Hill Road, Marion, two counts of trafficking methamphetamine and one count each of conspiracy to traffic methamphetamine and aiding and abetting a continuing criminal enterprise.

 Russel Andrew Welch, 40, of Carl Freeman Avenue, Morganton, one count each of conspiracy to traffic methamphetamine and aiding and abetting a continuing criminal enterprise.

 Franklin Laquinn Wilkerson, 39, of George Drive, Nebo, one count each of possession of methamphetamine and possession with intent to manufacture, sell or deliver methamphetamine.

 Taylon Nolan Williams, 17, of Matilda Avenue, Marion, one count each of first-degree rape and first-degree statutory rape.

 Tomoka Shenee Young, 38, of Dwight Berry Drive, Marion, one count of burning personal property.
As a man of science, which I will pretend to be for the next 600 words or so, I like to keep up with the latest scientific research, then present a slightly bent and truncated version of that research as a public service to loyal readers -- both of you -- so you can stay informed while devoting more time to important activities like dodging flying lawn furniture during hurricanes and digging backyard bunkers to survive North Korean missile strikes.

Here are few recent headlines that caught my eye, which made it red and puffy but that cleared up after a shot of Visine.

Study: Antidepressants found in fish brains in Great Lakes region.

According to a news release from researchers at the University of Buffalo, where someone in charge of the money must have said, I wonder what goes through a fishs mind? scientists determined human antidepressants are building up in the brains of bass, walleye and several other fish common to the Great Lakes region.

It isnt that fish are depressed.

Doc, life just hasnt turned out the way I hoped. I wanted to be a sturgeon but I couldnt get into med school, I fell for the wrong girl hook, line and sinker and my job? Well, lets not open that can of worms. Got anything that can help?

No, its that people are depressed  most likely about hurricanes and North Korean missile strikes  taking antidepressants and eliminating antidepressants which are finding their way downstream to fish.

These active ingredients from antidepressants, which are coming out from wastewater treatment plants, are accumulating in fish brains, explained lead scientist Diana Aga in the news release It is a threat to biodiversity, and we should be very concerned.

The worst case scenario, presumably, is a chain reaction that ultimately ends life on our planet as we know it, which would be depressing to anyone except medicated fish if not for the fact that

Study: Thinking about our death is healthy.

CBS Philly reported on a study conducted by the University of London that found taking some time to think about the unnerving possibilities surrounding your end can actually be a good thing.

The results were based on a survey of 356 people  no fish participated -- who were asked questions about their own mortality.

Those who are interested in passing down their succession to future generations as a way to transcend death are also likely to take responsibility for their health and place value on their internal development, said health psychology Professor Mark McDermott, adding that legacy awareness was found to be correlated with both trying to be healthy and striving for spiritual growth (such as believing that life has purpose).

And that purpose, for many people, does not include cussing like a sailor on Facebook because

Study: Religious people are more positive, less profane on social media.

The findings published in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science suggest nonreligious individuals swear more and use sexual words more frequently while the language of religious individuals was more emotionally positive and socially oriented

The authors did note one limitation of the study was a majority of individuals were from the United States, where people commonly claim a Christian orientation in name only but do not practice regularly.

That last statement may result in the studys authors finding a post like this on their Facebook pages:

Are yall saying I dont practice what I preach, you pointy-headed bunch of sons of &#%!@? I will come down there to that fancy-pants journal of yours and beat the absolute &#%!@ out of every last one of you. Now, you have a blessed day.

And thats our look at the latest scientific research. Now, back to dodging and digging.

Scott Hollifield is editor/GM of The McDowell News in Marion, N.C. and a humor columnist. Contact him at rhollifield@mcdowellnews.com.
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Denying or disputing any link with cancer, or selective omission of the relationship, Distortion: mentioning some risk of cancer, but misrepresenting or obfuscating the nature or size of that risk and Distraction: focussing discussion away from the independent effects of alcohol on common cancers. The researchers aimed to determine the extent to which the alcohol industry fully and accurately communicates the scientific evidence on alcohol and cancer to consumers. Petticrew stated that the existing evidence of strategies employed by the alcohol industry suggests that this may not be a matter of simple error.This has obvious parallels with the global tobacco industry's decades-long campaign to mislead the public about the risk of cancer, which also used front organisations and corporate social activities. The findings also suggested that major international alcohol companies may be misleading their shareholders about the risks of their products, potentially leaving the industry open to litigation in some countries. Petticrew added that despite their undoubtedly good intentions, it is unethical for them to lend their expertise and legitimacy to industry campaigns which mislead the public about alcohol-related harms."It's important to highlight that if people drink within the recommended guidelines they shouldn't be too concerned when it comes to cancer. For accurate and accessible information on the risks, the public can visit the NHS website," the researchers suggested. The team noted that there is an urgent need to examine other industry websites, documents, social media and other materials in order to assess the nature and extent of the distortion of evidence.Source: ANI


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So there's a lot going on in the Indian Defence Sector (no, we are not talking about the Bofors case reopening) and it looks like our defence system is expanding its weapons base by home-growing and internationally acquiring weaponry that is meant to intimidate troublemakers and keep them at bay. Three recent developments that caught our eye, and we'll lead with Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley, unveiling a long-range surface-to-air missile (LRSAM) and beyond visual range (BVR) missile systems, earlier this week.

 Twitter/All India Radio News

The LRSAM, is one product of a $2 billion missile deal between Indian Ministry of Defence and Israel Aerospace Industries. You can expect medium-range surface-to-air missiles (MRSAM) and other missile defence systems to come out of this deal in the future. The missiles are being developed at facilities Bharat Dynamic Ltd., under the supervision of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). But what can this LRSAM do?

According to a report, the LRSAM can be loaded on to "INS Vikrant, Visakhapatnam-class guided missile destroyers, Kolkata-class destroyers, Kamorta-class anti-submarine warfare corvettes, and the still to be constructed future Project 17A class of stealth frigates" and on being deployed, combat any kind of airborne threat, from aircrafts to ballistic missiles, and conduct both, land and air, surveillance.

 Twitter/Livefist

ASTRA, another missile system developed by the DRDO, was inaugurated by Mr. Jaitley. The ASTRA system is a state of the air-to-air BVR missile with a short and long target engagement ranges of 20-110km.

 Twitter

Hang on, there's more to be proud of. India's very own howitzer gun system, Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS), set a new world record by firing three shells at a long target range of 47.2km, at Pokhran, Rajasthan. Designed and developed by the DRDO in collaboration with Tata Power and Bharat Forge, this 155mm, 52 calibre gun system has a 25 litre chamber that gives it competitive edge over other howitzer guns. Great work, DRDO!

 YouTube

But that's not it. The Indian Air Force successfully completed testing out the S-400 Triumf missile system that it has been in talks of acquiring from Russia. This missile system can reportedly target anything between 100 and 300 threats on its radars and within a range of 400km, engage up to 32 of them, simultaneously. It appears that the S-400 is expected to be deployed in protection against Pakistan and China, and negotiations for contract with Russia will be in process, soon. In the meantime, check out this system in action:
By PTI: Islamabad, Sep 9 (PTI) Pakistans new prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi today became the countrys first premier to fly in a US-made F-16 fighter aircraft, media report said.

Abbasi, during a visit to the newly-established Airpower Center of Excellence (ACE) at an operational air base of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), flew in the single-engine supersonic multirole fighter aircraft.

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The 58-year-old became the first-ever prime minister of Pakistan to participate in an air force sortie, Geo News reported.

The US-made F-16 fighter aircraft belonged to the No 9 Squadron of the PAF.

The facility at the Mushaf Air base in Punjabs Sargodha city is a premier institution which has been equipped with state-of-the-art facilities and infrastructure.

Besides training PAF personnel, the ACE would also train the combat crew of friendly air forces by conducting multinational, training exercises, the report said.

Abbasi was briefed by Air Chief Sohail Aman on the ongoing exercise Saffron Bandit and was informed that the first-ever multinational exercise will be held in October and would have participation from personnel from 19 air forces.

Saffron Bandit is a combat exercise by PAF involving fighter jets and ground troops with elements from the Army Aviation and Army Air Defence. It is held once in three years. PTI CPS AKJ CPS

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By PTI: (Eds: Updating with fresh inputs)

By Sajjad Hussain

Islamabad, Sep 9 (PTI) Pakistans new prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi today became the countrys first premier to fly in a US-made F-16 fighter aircraft, officials said.

Abbasi, during a visit to the newly-established Airpower Center of Excellence (ACE) at an operational air base of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), flew in the single-engine supersonic multirole fighter aircraft.

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The 58-year-old became the first-ever prime minister of Pakistan to participate in an air force sortie.

The US-made F-16 fighter aircraft belonged to the No 9 Squadron of the PAF.

Air chief Sohail Aman, sitting in another F-16 aircraft, also participated in the training mission.

It was the first time in the history of Pakistan that a prime minister participated in a flying mission sitting in the rear cockpit of a fighter jet.

The facility at the Mushaf Air base in Punjabs Sargodha city is a premier institution which has been equipped with state-of-the-art facilities and infrastructure.

Besides training PAF personnel, the ACE would also train the combat crew of friendly air forces by conducting multinational, training exercises, the report said.

Abbasi was briefed on the ongoing exercise Saffron Bandit and was informed that the first-ever multinational exercise will be held in October and would have participation from personnel from 19 air forces.

Saffron Bandit is a combat exercise by PAF involving fighter jets and ground troops with elements from the Army Aviation and Army Air Defence. It is held once in three years. PTI SH CPS AKJ CPS

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On September 3, Tamil Nadu chief minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS) admitted at a meeting in Thiruvallur, on the outskirts of Chennai, that there were efforts on to topple his government. But he also asserted that it was not possible as long as "true party workers were with him". He went on to lament the fact that the late AIADMK supremo, J. Jayalalithaa, had not named a political successor but added that it was a positive, for now anyone in the party could aspire "to reach great heights with hard work".

The ruling AIADMK is sailing in choppy waters today and it will take a lot of hard work to guide the ship back to safety. The Mannargudi clan of jailed interim party general secretary (GS) V.K. Sasikala still holds a lot of sway. In her absence, nephew T.T.V. Dhinakaran (whom she had named deputy GS) is rallying support among a section of party MLAs to try and unseat the Palaniswami ministry in a test of strength in the assembly. This is also because EPS, as well as deputy chief minister O. Panneerselvam (OPS), are now determined to keep the Mannargudi clan out of the AIADMK. In fact, the party general council meeting on September 12 is to decide on the future of Sasikala and her extended family.

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Meanwhile, the EPS-OPS regrouping is itself a bit more tenuous than at the time of their reunion. They can sustain their campaign to be the 'real AIADMK' only if they can somehow get back the coveted 'two leaves' poll symbol, which was frozen by the Election Commission at the instance of the OPS faction. Prospects are bleak given the legal tangle, where Sasikala, as interim GS, is the respondent (and not EPS or anyone else in the ruling AIADMK). A withdrawal of the complaint made to the EC by the OPS faction would leave the poll symbol issue uncontested and it could go to the Sasikala faction, which is legally the respondent.

The EPS-OPS combine is in no position to counter the Mannargudi clan, and Dhinakaran's earlier warning of activating 'sleeper cells' in the ruling group must also be weighing heavily. "The more durable way out is to patch up with the Sasikala faction, as this could go to the courts," says analyst N. Sathiya Moorthy. "If they do so, this could drag on for a long time, and the symbol may remain frozen." Also, after watching the intransigence of the recent months, the AIADMK cadre and voters may step back from active politics, like an earlier generation did in the months immediately after the death of party founder M.G. Ramachandran and the subsequent split in the party. A lot of them would still vote for the symbol but they might cease to be the party activists required at election time.

For its part, the rival DMK is waiting for the AIADMK to implode, rather than trigger its disintegration by trying to dislodge the EPS ministry. It stands to gain if the evolving situation leads to fresh elections. DMK working president M.K. Stalin has declared that it will not, at least for now, form an alternative government with the Dhinakaran group.

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The cesses on mid-segment cars, large cars, and on SUVs have been increased by 2 per cent, 5 per cent and 7 per cent respectively, Jaitley announced.

By India Today Web Desk: Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday said Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections had been robust.

While briefing reporters after the 21st meeting of the GST Council in Hyderabad, he said approximately Rs 95,000 crore had been collected.

GST, a tax regime which combines all of India's states and Union Territories into a single market, was launched at midnight on June 30.

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The FM made a number of important announcements about GST yesterday. Here's your ten-point cheat sheet:

The last date for GSTR-1 (the tax return) has been extended by a month. The old deadline was today. The new one is October 10. Why has the deadline been postponed? "Since the work is huge, the Council decided a new schedule (for) itself for filing returns. Because of the load on the system, we want to give adequate time to taxpayers," Jaitley said. The tax rates for around 30 common goods, including raincoats, rubber bands and batter (for idlis and dosas), have been reduced. The cesses on mid-segment cars, large cars, and on SUVs have been increased by 2 per cent, 5 per cent and 7 per cent, respectively. There will be no additional burden on small cars. Khadi fabric will now be exempt from GST. GST Network (GSTN) officials made a detailed presentation to the GST Council, which reviewed the platform's performance. The Council has decided to set up a five-member panel to oversee the functioning of the GST filing portal, which encountered technical glitches on two or three occasions. The panel will "consist of ministers who will interact with GST to ensure a smooth transformation," Jaitley said. Who will be in that committee? The announcement will be made in a day or two.

((Inputs from agencies))

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Goods and Services Tax: How world went about GST and what lies ahead for India

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Midnight tryst with GST: Full coverage of India's biggest tax reform in Central Hall

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By India Today Web Desk: Reality show Bigg Boss is all set to make its comeback next month. Season 11 of the show has been creating a lot of buzz, and its has mostly do with the final list of contestants on the show. While the new promo doesn't reveal a tad bit about the participants, the teaser does have a celebrity posing as a neighbour of host Salman Khan.

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Yes, we are talking about the super-sexy Mouni Roy, who plays the role of Salman's hot neighbour in the new promo of the show.

There have already been reports about how the new season will be based on the theme of padosis, and just like previous season, Season 11 will have a mix of celebrities and common contestants on the show.

Colors TV shared the promo with the caption, "#Breakingnews

21 days to go for the BIGGEST Reality Show. #BIGGBOSS with @beingsalmankhan @iamappyfizz @oppomobileindia @cpplusglobal @imouniroy."

Here's the video:

#Breakingnews 21 days to go for the BIGGEST Reality Show. #BIGGBOSS with @beingsalmankhan @iamappyfizz @oppomobileindia @cpplusglobal @imouniroy A post shared by Colors TV (@colorstv) on Sep 8, 2017 at 10:41pm PDT

The show will premiere on Colors TV on October 1.

Also read: Bigg Boss 11 promo: All you want to know about Salman Khan's hot padosan who asks him to get hitched

Also read: Devoleena Bhattacharjee has refused Bigg Boss 11 for this reason

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Camp Lejeune Town Halls Aim to Help Those Exposed to Toxic Water. Heres How You Can Go.

Retired Marine Master Sgt. Jerry Ensminger made it his mission to tell the world that if they lived or served on Camp Lejeune...
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska -- It's not that there aren't other mountain peaks to climb near Anchorage, Alaska.

But for Army veteran Kirk Alkire, one is extra special: Mount POW/MIA.

Part of the vast Chugach mountain range in southern Alaska, the ascent to the peak from nearby Eklutna Lake Road has no marked trail or trail head, no trail maintenance and no official public parking area.

Still, Alkire has made it his personal responsibility to ascend the mountain multiple times per year to keep fresh the POW/MIA and U.S. flags that stand at the mountain's gusty summit.

He makes the climb in part to honor members of his former Army unit -- 2nd Battalion, 377th Parachute Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division -- who were posthumously awarded the Prisoner of War Medal after they were abducted and killed by Iraqi insurgents in 2007.

"We do it for the big time days -- Memorial Day, Veterans Day, POW/MIA [Remembrance] Day," he said. "We normally nail it on those specific days, and whenever else we're just out and about and think, 'Today's a good day to hit it.' We just do it."

! Posted by Kirk Alkire on Thursday, May 7, 2020 Kirk Alkire swaps out the American flag at the peak of Mount POW/MIA near Anchorage, Alaska.

Designated as Mount POW/MIA by the U.S. Geological Survey in 1999 in honor of prisoners of war and troops missing in action in past and future U.S. conflicts, the mountain stands more than 4,000 feet high and is surrounded by other peaks, including nearby Pioneer Peak, which is over 6,000 feet high.

From entrance point to summit, the unmarked POW/MIA trail gains 3,000 feet over 1.5 miles -- a difficult haul that would test even the fittest hiker.

Before arriving on POW/MIA hikers must also cross Gold Star Peak, where an ever-growing memorial to fallen service members looks out over the Cook Inlet and back across the Chugach Range.

Related: Not Just a Hike -- Mountain Climb Helps Gold Star Families Heal

Late snow and overgrown brush can make the trek very challenging, and local hikers are advised to bring extra gear due to high winds and rapidly changing weather.

None of that keeps Alkire away. If anything, he said, the uncertainties make the hike better.

"We never run into anybody except sheep and goats up there," he said. "That is another piece of it that makes it so unique and special. It is so beautiful up there in all directions. No matter which direction you look standing on that summit, it's just gorgeous. To me, it's a great secret."

Alkire retired from active duty in 2008, working first as a DoD civilian on JBER and then for Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan as a military liason. He is now fully retired, dedicating his time to a nonprofit that provides guides for visitors to both Gold Star Peak and POW/MIA. The organization recently guided its 100th trip up the peak.

As for the maintenance work, Alkire sees replacing the summit POW/MIA and U.S. flags as an honor -- and he's not alone.

The base exchange and a local Lowes store have stepped in with flag donations to make sure Alkire always has a fresh set of flags ready. High winds on the POW/MIA summit mean they are in constant need of replacement.

"We're a part of the community, and most of us are vets as well. We support things like this," Ray Stewart, the Army and Air Force Exchange Service general manager here said in 2017. "Whenever he needs a new flag, he comes up and visits, and we get him one from clothing and sales."

Replacing the flags on the mountain is also a group effort, Alkire said. He makes most of his hikes with a group of other veterans or locals, and has been known to hike two days in a row just so that everyone who wants to go with a group can do so.

This year, after discovering problems with a box on the summit that contains a logbook, the team made a repeat climb with a sledgehammer, rebar and waterproof ammo can containing a new logbook -- about 30 pounds of gear, Alkire said.

They also added a set of photos and information cards in honor of the troops captured and killed in Iraq.

Alkire carries 53 dog tags with him on each hike, in honor of the 53 members of 4-25 who were killed during their 15-month Iraq deployment during 2007 and 2008.

"I love that mountain. To me, in my personal opinion, it is the most rewarding and scenic climb," he said.

-- Amy Bushatz can be reached at amy.bushatz@military.com

This story was originally published in September, 2017.

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By PTI: Mangaluru, Sep 8 (PTI) A day after a motorcycle rally of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) to protest the alleged killings of Hindu activists in Mangaluru and Udupi was foiled, an FIR was registered today against BJP MP Nalin Kumar Kateel, who was caught on camera purportedly threatening the police.

The video of the Dakshina Kannada district MP, in which he is purportedly seen intimidating Kadri police inspector Maruthi Nayak with shutting down Mangaluru, surfaced after several BJP leaders, including partys state unit chief B S Yeddyurappa, and hundreds of workers were detained yesterday.

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Kateel was seen telling the police official that a bandh would be called if cases were registered against BJP workers who breached barricades during their "Mangaluru Chalo" bike rally.

The First Information Report (FIR) was registered against Kateel and two others under IPC section 353 (deterring public servant from discharging duty), police sources said.

The BJYM had also demanded a ban on Social Democratic Party of India, Popular Front of India and Karnataka Forum for Dignity, describing them as Muslim "radical" outfits responsible for the "unrest" in the coastal region.

Besides Yeddyurappa, other leaders, including Eshwarappa and R Ashok, were present when workers tried to push through barricades set up by the police in violation of the ban on the rally to the Deputy Commissioners office.

The police had detained the leaders and workers to prevent their march. PTI MVG RA RC KIS

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CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. -- After nine days of sometimes emotional witness testimony and a full day of closing statements, a seven-member military jury has begun deliberations in the case of a decorated Marine colonel accused of sexually assaulting a six-year-old girl, and, later the same year, assaulting an adult woman as she slept.

In the space of a single year, Col. Daniel Wilson was sent home ten days into a six-month military liaison post in Darwin, Australia, due to inappropriate behavior; fired as operations officer for II Marine Expeditionary Force in Camp Lejeune, N.C., amid allegations of child sex assault; then remanded to the base brig to await trial as new accusations of sex assault surfaced.

The 36-year Marine and Bronze Star recipient now faces the prospect of a lengthy prison sentence if he is found guilty of the most serious allegations. But Wilson and his defense team maintain he is innocent on all counts, saying his misconduct in Australia was not criminal and his accusers in the alleged sex assault incidents were unreliable, with reasonable doubt remaining that the senior officer did not commit the assaults.

Accused of assaulting a child

In the case of the six-year-old, Wilson is accused of touching her and penetrating her with his fingers on at least one occasion, while her family was spending time with Wilson and his wife at the Wilsons base home. According to testimony and attorneys statements, the Wilsons became close with the family -- a Marine major, his wife, and three daughters -- after the family moved to Lejeune from Okinawa early last year.

The families spent time together frequently during a two-week period in late June and early July 2016, often on evenings in which Wilson consumed multiple straight liquor drinks. The six-year-olds parents testified that Wilson spent a significant portion of his time with her and paid her special attention, finding himself alone in a room with her unsupervised on multiple occasions. On July 13, 2016, the girl told her mother that Wilson had touched her, a disclosure that precipitated a Naval Criminal Investigative Service investigation and the eventual charges.

With no conclusive DNA evidence, medical evidence of penetration, or an eyewitness to the alleged assault, both the prosecution and defense relied on expert witnesses to speak to the reliability of a young childs testimony and whether it had been tainted by outside factors and pressures, such as how her mother had pressed her about whether she was touched on the initial night of disclosure and how child advocacy center staff had interviewed her the following day.

Did [the 6-year-old girl] lie? I dont know, and the problem is, neither does anyone else, Wilsons civilian attorney Phil Stackhouse said in a closing argument that stretched nearly three hours and gamed out numerous possibilities for the disclosure the child had made.

Among these were the possibility she was inadvertently pushed toward such a statement by her mother, accusing Wilson when, in fact, someone else had touched her, or mistaking an innocent touch from Wilson -- scooting her back on his knee -- for a violation.

Stackhouse pointed out that the child had twice denied to her mother being touched by Wilson on the evening of disclosure before she said he had, and provided details about the alleged assault.

In a closing statement Friday, lead prosecution attorney Lt. Col. John Stephens noted that a government witness, Dr. Mark Everson, an expert on childhood trauma at the University of North Carolina, had testified that six-year-olds are remarkably resilient to suggestion, or the planting of false memories.

He also noted testimony from the girls grandmother and parents that her behavior has changed in marked ways since the alleged assault. They said she continued to have mood swings, sometimes hiding and needing to be lovingly coaxed out and comforted by a parent; and appeared to be more sensitive to undressing in front of others.

In their testimony, the girls father and mother both described instances of bizarre, albeit non-criminal, behavior from Wilson when he had been drinking. The mother said that on one evening Wilson approached her from behind and put her in a headlock, which she fought her way out of. In another instance, she said he had asked one of her young daughters to bring him a refill on his whiskey, a request that she said disgusted her.

Another alleged assault

The adult accuser became close friends with Wilson and his wife in fall 2016, after the prior accusations had surfaced. Wilson is alleged to have twice jumped on top of her and penetrated her with his fingers on the same evening in December, after a night of heavy drinking while all three were on a trip to Beaufort, S.C., and staying in the same military hotel suite.

Stackhouse raised questions about the veracity of the womans testimony, noting that she was heavily medicated after recent surgery, had testified to the dreamlike nature of her recollections, and did not immediately make an assault report, continuing to remain friendly with the Wilsons until early January.

Moreover, he said, certain elements of the accusation seemed unbelievable, such as her account that Wilsons wife, Susan, fended him off of her that night by hitting him with a frying pan.

Stephens, however, contested that evidence of when Wilson returned to the room corroborated the womans story, and it made little sense for her to lie about certain specifics, such as citing Susan Wilson as an eyewitness to the assault.

Neither of the Wilsons testified during the trial.

You could just conclude that Col. Wilson got drunk and did some stupid things, Stephens said, summarizing both assault allegations. The simplest explanation, the one with the least amount of variables, is the one the members should find is true.

Conduct unbecoming?

Wilson also faces charges of conduct unbecoming an officer for his behavior in Australia. Both sides agree that Wilson made a crude sexual comment to another colonels wife after a night of drinking; asked a Marine captain to send him a scantily-clad photo of the captains wife, which Wilson then shared with his Australian counterpart in Darwin; later asked the same captain for a pair of his wifes underwear; and caused a commotion in his new office by sending a message from a female colleagues unattended work email account, asking the Australian officer out to dinner.

Stackhouse said the incidents represented inappropriate behavior, jokes in bad taste, and even fraternization with the captain in question, but did not rise to the level of a moral or character flaw implied in the conduct unbecoming charge.

Stephens, however, said the context of the behavior and the sensitive international relationship made Wilsons actions more troubling and serious.

If this isnt [conduct unbecoming], theres probably no words I can give to convince you, he said. We ask that the panel not put its imprimatur on this behavior.

Its extremely rare for such a senior military officer to face charges of this severity. In his closing statement, Stackhouse urged the jury to remember:

This is Col. Wilsons, without any doubt, the most important day of his life, Stackhouse said. Theres a lot of things that creep into people when theyre making decisions. Emotions  assumptions  guessing. Im going to ask you and plead with you to go back in that room and find Col. Wilson not guilty.

Jury deliberations will continue into Saturday.

-- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HopeSeck.
Marine Corps officials have yet to determine the cause of death for a private first class who was found unresponsive during a training event last month at Camp Pendleton, California.

Pfc. Michael P. Giannattasio had been attending the Basic Reconnaissance Course at School of Infantry West, a physically demanding training course required for those who want to join the elite ranks of reconnaissance Marines.

He was discovered unconscious during a land navigation training event Aug. 30, according to a spokesman from Marine Corps Training and Education Command, Capt. Joshua Pena.

The San Diego Union-Tribune first reported Giannatasio's death.

Giannatasio, 22, was from Armada, Mich. According to a published obituary, he was the fourth of eight children.

He graduated from Notre Dame de la Salette High School in Olivet, Illinois, where he competed in cross country and rugby, becoming an all-state rugby player his senior year, according to the obituary.

Giannatasio then attended a year at Macomb Community College before enlisting in the Marine Corps Jan. 23, 2017.

According to the obituary, Giannatasio graduated from boot camp at Parris Island, South Carolina, on April 21, earning his recruit company's "Iron Man" prize by maxing out his physical fitness and combat fitness scores.

"The Marine Corps is in mourning and offer our deepest condolences," Pena said in a statement. "We continue to support the family during this difficult time. PFC Giannattasio was an outstanding Marine who stepped up to the difficult challenge of earning a spot amongst our distinguished reconnaissance forces."

-- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HopeSeck.
The U.S. military on Friday pulled back surveillance aircraft that had been watching an 11-bus ISIS convoy filled with hundreds of militants and their family members -- at the request of the Russian government.

The ISIS convoy was given safe passage over 10 days ago to travel from the Lebanon-Syria border across the Syrian desert to the Iraqi border in a deal struck between Syria and Hezbollah, which angered the U.S. military.

Since the convoy departed, U.S. drones have picked off ISIS fighters when they left the convoy to relieve themselves, according to U.S. officials.

"We were able to exploit it and take advantage," said Army Col. Ryan Dillon, a U.S. coalition spokesman Thursday during a press conference from Baghdad.

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The Russian military requested U.S. drones depart the area through the "de-confliction" line, as Russian-backed Syrian forces battle to recapture the ISIS-held city of Deir ez-Zor, located in eastern Syria.

The U.S. official was confident the U.S. military would pick up surveillance of the ISIS fighters in the future and said they would not threaten U.S. military forces located in other parts of Syria.

A U.S. Army general said he would hold the Assad regime in Syria responsible for dealing with the convoy.

"The regime's advance past the convoy underlines continued Syrian responsibility for the buses and terrorists. As always, we will do our utmost to ensure that the ISIS terrorists do not move toward the border of our Iraqi partners," said Brig. Gen. Jon Braga, director of operations for the coalition.

A week ago the outgoing top U.S. commander in Iraq suggested he had no intention of letting this convoy make it across the desert.

"When ISIS came out to link up with them, we started striking ISIS," said Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend. "We have struck every ISIS fighter and/or vehicle that has tried to approach that convoy, and that -- will continue to do that."

Townsend said the U.S. coalition did not target any civilians in the convoy but -- now that there is no surveillance on the convoy -- there is no stopping it from moving again.

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From Haiti to Houston, veterans find a new mission in life with Team Rubicon as they help people affected by natural disasters.

"We've got 236 boots on the ground in Texas saving people and pets," says Jake Wood, former Marine sniper, founder and chief executive officer of the Los Angeles-based veteran service organization dedicated to disaster response.

"We have an additional 495 volunteers around the country providing logistics and communications support," he added. "We're a lean but mighty team."

Hundreds of Team Rubicon volunteers staged swift water rescues during Harvey, called the worst disaster to ever strike Texas, which so far has killed 70 people and displaced tens of thousands of residents.

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Now that waters are receding, volunteers are in a race against time to remove water damaged debris before mold sets in, Wood said. Team Rubicon expects to mobilize 2,000 volunteers over the course of the entire mission in Texas, he said.

"This is our largest disaster response ever," Wood says. "Our volunteers have really stepped up and we're seeing everyone pull together in remarkable ways."

What's more, as Hurricane Irma threatens the Florida coast, the organization has pre-staged gear and boats in Atlanta and identified volunteer teams to mobilize if any relief effort is needed.

The nonprofit has an annual operating budget of $12 million, and early estimates to help in Texas could cost around $4.5 million as they provide critical support. Teams will likely move in and out of the Texas region in waves for the next year and a half.

Their efforts even attracted the attention of President Donald Trump as he personally donated $1 million Wednesday to relief efforts, split between 12 different organizations, including $25,000 to Team Rubicon.

"There are three things that service-members lose when they leave the military," Wood said. "And those are community, mission, and a sense of purpose. Team Rubicon gives that back to them in spades."

The CEO said veterans are uniquely suited for disaster recovery and humanitarian assistance. His advice to military personnel transitioning to civilian life: Stay connected to the veteran community, never underestimate the skills you learned in the military and keep your hustle alive and strong.

To learn more about Team Rubicon and how you can help, visit TeamRubiconUSA.org. Supporters can also text HARVEY to 87872 to make a donation.

-- Sean Mclain Brown can be reached at sean.brown@military.com. Follow him on Twitter at @seanmclainbrown.
In July and August alone, 213 children were reported dead at the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in the capital Ranchi whereas MGM Medical College and Hospital in Jamshedpur accounted for 104 deaths.

No one thought of Jharkhand last month when the deaths of scores of children in a government hospital in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, caused widespread outrage in the country. But as disturbing numbers of paediatric deaths in the state emerge, it seems the 'premier' hospitals run by the Raghubar Das government have fared worse than those in UP. In July and August alone, 213 children were reported dead at the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in the capital Ranchi whereas MGM Medical College and Hospital in Jamshedpur accounted for 104 deaths.

A majority of the deaths took place due to pneumonia, asphyxia, malaria and premature birth. The children mostly belonged to poor and lower middle-class families. RIMS and MGM are the biggest state-run hospitals in Jharkhand. The scale of the deaths has exposed their inability to handle emergencies. Between January and August, RIMS has witnessed the death of 660 children.

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Jamshedpur principal district and sessions judge Manoj Prasad, who conducted an independent inquiry at the MGM Hospital on August 28, is believed to have mentioned in his report that only four beds in the hospital's neonatal ward were fully equipped and that the hospital was incapable of handling even a slight spurt in emergency pregnancy cases.

On August 30, Dr A.K. Choudhary, head of paediatrics and neonatology at RIMS, had claimed to the media that his department was doing a good job. Dr Choudhary said 543 out of 646 children admitted to the hospital in August had been saved while in July, 588 out of 698 children were treated and sent home healthy-"a success rate of 84 per cent", in his words. Recently, the hospital's director, B.L. Sherwal, maintained that the deaths were "nothing unusual" in a tertiary hospital like RIMS.

Perhaps the courts think otherwise. Based on judge Prasad's report, the Jharkhand High Court on September 1 initiated a suo motu public interest litigation and issued notices to the state's health and finance secretaries, director-in-chief of health services and the directors of MGM Hospital and RIMS. The court sought to know what measures the officials had taken to check the high mortality among newborns and children. While the judicial rap is expected to push the state government into action, officials accuse both chief minister Das and health minister Ramchandra Chandravanshi of not being proactive in addressing the inadequacies of the healthcare system. So far, the state government has only removed RIMS superintendent S.K. Choudhary.

On inspection, however, a committee of legislators found several doctors and professors of the hospital missing from duty. The task of equipping the state's primary, secondary and tertiary health centres to handle emergencies also remains. Jharkhand, formed in 2000, has an under-five mortality rate of 44, marginally better than the national average of 45. But clearly, that's only half the story. The other half still has children wrapped in shrouds.

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ANN ARBOR, MI - Days after giving birth to her sixth child while fighting a terminal brain tumor, Carrie DeKlyen died Saturday morning, Sept. 9.

DeKlyen, who was 37 and a resident of Wyoming, Michigan, gained national attention for her decision to attempt to have the child while battling Glioblastoma multiforme. She had been taken off of life support shortly after doctors delivered Life Lynn DeKlyen on Wednesday, Sept. 6 at University Hospital in Ann Arbor.

"Carrie, we love you and we will miss you, but your legacy will live on," a Facebook post from a page documenting DeKlyen's journey said Saturday. "You have touched so many lives and your love for Jesus was evident in the way you lived your life. Because of our faith we know we will see you again! We love you!"

John 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for a friend. Carrie entered into the... Posted by Cure 4 Carrie on Saturday, September 9, 2017

DeKlyen 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 they discovered she was pregnant with her sixth child. Doctors said DeKlyen could remain in the clinical trial, but she would need to terminate the pregnancy. Instead, the family decided they wanted to try to have the baby.

Glioblastoma multiforme is a highly malignant cancer because the cells reproduce quickly and they are supported by a large network of blood vessels.

DeKlyen gave birth to her sixth child while in the intensive care unit of the hospital, where she had been since late July. She had not regained consciousness after suffering a stroke and was moved back to the intensive care unit at UM Hospital after giving birth.

DeKlyen's sister-in-law Sonya Nelson said Life Lynn Nelson was "doing really good" as of Friday evening. DeKlyen's husband, Nick, reported Thursday morning that the baby is doing "as well as could be expected" after doctors opted to try to deliver the baby less than 25 weeks into the pregnancy, believing it was her only chance of survival. The baby had been transported to the neonatal intensive care unit at C.S. Mott Children's Hospital.

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 $90,625 toward its $125,000 goal.
ANN ARBOR, MI - Javier and Jose Contreras, two brothers from Mexico, were brought by their family to the United States illegally when they were 4 and 5, respectively.

They've lived here ever since as undocumented immigrants, and they consider this their home.

They don't remember much about the rural village where they were born or the dark night when they crossed the border in 2001.

Four years ago as teenagers, they both graduated from Skyline High School in Ann Arbor and received two-year, full-ride scholarships to attend Washtenaw Community College.

Javier is now 22 and studying computer science at the University of Michigan. Jose is 23 and studying cognitive science at UM. They're both set to graduate next spring.

But after the Trump administration this week announced plans to end the Obama-era program known as DACA, standing for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, their future is once again uncertain.

Both were in attendance Friday night, Sept. 8, as a large crowd gathered on the University of Michigan Diag for a DACA rally. Javier spoke during the rally, sharing his own personal story.

Without DACA, he said, he won't be able to legally work in the U.S., and he's terrified about the thought of ending up with a useless degree, or worse, ending up back in Mexico where he says he'd be a foreigner.

"We knew that DACA was temporary, but I refuse to let it end this way," he told a cheering crowd Friday night.

"We have been living our lives in constant uncertainty for far too long," he said. "Congress has been looking for a solution since 2001 with zero success. For our president to ask for a solution in six months is ridiculous. Nonetheless, we need to push Congress to act and create a bill that will keep families together and open a pathway to citizenship for DACA recipients. This is our home and we deserve the right to remain in the country that raised us."

He added, "I'm sick and tired of everyone telling me to just become legal. There is no way for me just to become legal. I want that. I want to prove to you guys that I'm just as American as all of you, but I currently have no way, and my best hope is that out of all of this, something changes so I can become American."

State Rep. Yousef Rabhi, D-Ann Arbor, also spoke during Friday's rally on the UM campus. Following the rally, sign-carrying demonstrators marched through town.

The Los Angeles Times reported on Friday the University of California is suing the Trump administration for rescinding protections for immigrant students without legal status, saying it unconstitutionally violates their rights on "nothing more than unreasoned executive whim." It's the first legal effort by a university to block the Trump administration's decision to end protection from deportation for nearly 800,000 young immigrants who were brought to the U.S. illegally before age 16, completed high school-level education and stayed out of trouble, The Times reported.

UC President Janet Napolitano helped create the DACA program in 2012 as U.S. Homeland Security secretary.

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said this week the administration is giving Congress six months to come up with a legislative fix "should it choose to" before the federal government stops renewing permits for people already covered by the program.

"I look forward to working w/ D's + R's in Congress to address immigration reform in a way that puts hardworking citizens of our country 1st," Trump tweeted this week, adding in another tweet:

"Congress now has 6 months to legalize DACA (something the Obama Administration was unable to do). If they can't, I will revisit this issue!"

According to the Department of Homeland Security, current law does not grant any legal status for current recipients of DACA. Recipients of DACA are currently unlawfully present in the U.S. with their removal deferred. When their period of deferred action expires or is terminated, their removal will no longer be deferred and they will no longer be eligible for lawful employment.
Usually, once a possible crime occurs, the police investigation is swift.

But that's not always the case, especially when a police officer is the subject of the investigation.

In one police shooting from February, involving a Detroit police officer who shot 19-year-old Raynard Burton in the backyard of a Detroit home, investigators seven months later still haven't submitted their findings to the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office.

A Detroit police officer arrested in Monroe County for drunk driving on Dec. 22, wasn't arraigned on any charges until more than two months later.

It took nearly a year for police to investigate and the prosecutor to clear two Dearborn police officers in shootings that occurred in December 2015 and January 2016.

The latest investigation involving law enforcement is of a Michigan state trooper accused of shocking 15-year-old Damon Grimes with a Taser the evening of Aug. 26 while amid a pursuit. Grimes, who was fleeing the trooper on an all-terrain vehicle, crashed and died.

A lawsuit was quickly filed against the trooper by Grimes' mother, but there's been no decision whether to charge or clear the trooper of any crime.

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy on Friday issued a statement about the investigative procedure and why police-involved cases sometimes take longer than others. She said:

Although I am prohibited from commenting on the investigation of the recent ATV fatality of 15-year-old Detroiter Damon Grimes, I think that it is important for the public to understand the procedure the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office (WCPO) follows in all police involved matters. Members of my office that will be assigned to the case have met with the family of Mr. Grimes to explain this procedure.

There a two separate and independent investigations in this case. One is being conducted by the Detroit Police Department, and other is being conducted by the Michigan State Police. The law enforcement investigations must be completed before WCPO receives the warrant request in the case. Once it is received, we conduct a completely separate and independent investigation before making a charging decision. We do this because it is important for us to take the time to closely look at the facts and evidence, so that we can be right. This is the standard procedure followed in every police involved incident that comes to our Public Integrity Unit, and it will be followed in the case of Mr. Grimes.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- When Jennifer Granholm served as Michigan's governor from 2003-2011, she was one of eight female governors in the country, a statistic she is disappointed to see decline.

The former governor kicked off the second day of "Women and Leadership: First Conference of Women Governors" on Saturday, Sept. 9 in the Richard M. DeVos Center at the PEW campus of Grand Valley State University. Granholm is one of seven female governors speaking at the conference, hosted by the Hauenstein Center at GVSU.

"When (I was governor) 28 percent of state legislative seats were occupied by women, and today it is about 24 percent," Granholm said. "We are going in the wrong direction."

Despite the decline in women leadership in politics, Granholm said she is encouraged by the excitement to lead she sees in the Millennial Generation. In young women, she sees "a sense of duty" to serve in political leadership roles, she said.

"(For) women in particular, we are taught to not talk about ourselves, to sit in the back row -- our nature is to be collaborative and not to be the first to raise our hands," Granholm said.

But playing (yourself) small does not serve the world. As you let your light shine, you will give other people permission to do the same."

Granholm gave an energetic address to a packed auditorium Saturday morning, giving three pieces of leadership advice to the audience: choose a supportive partner, practice integrity, and learn to understand people you serve.

Finding a supportive partner

Granholm's husband, Daniel Mulhern, was in the front row of the audience Saturday morning as she spoke of his support as the primary parent in their family and how he was not intimidated by her career choice.

"Don't marry somebody whose ego is so big that you won't be able to spread your wings and fly," she said. "Marry somebody who will be a partner."

Granholm said the advice, which she got from her mother, is true for men as well even though she sees so many more women holding themselves back because of unsupportive spouses.

"Marry someone who will allow you to soar, who will not hold you back, who will be strong enough and feels confident enough that he won't feel threatened by your success," Granholm said.

Granholm said she wished more parents chose who would be the "primary parent" based on whose personality and tendencies fit childcare, rather than it always falling on women.

"I think once we are in a space that lets people grow with their competencies rather than our plumbing, we will see more women raise their hands and decide to run," she said.

Practicing integrity

When she was a law clerk in New York, Granholm shared a story of how one of the partners at the firm always left a nickel on the copier when he used it, even though he could have gotten away with not paying.

"I hope if you are running for office, that you too will have stories of integrity and honor, and know that you will be in a position to create culture in your organization," Granholm said. "There is nothing more important than having integrity because you can never get it back."

The story of the nickel on the copier taught Granholm of the importance of not cheating on the small things, she said, because it makes you more likely to cheat in larger things.

'Seeing the unseen'

Whenever the former governor attends an event like the leadership conference, Granholm's staff always schedules time for her to meet the waitstaff at events and shake hands with people behind the scenes, she said.

"The folks who are unseen are really the real people," Granholm said. "And if you can't see them, you can't lead them."

She encouraged young people considering taking on leadership roles to put themselves into positions where they see people's pain.

"I pray that your sole be seared by something," she said.
WYOMING, MI -- A Wyoming man whose ex-girlfriend is missing is in jail on an obstructing charge and his father is now charged with perjury.

Kent County Jail records show 38-year-old Andrew Francis Hudson and 62-year-old Lyle Edwin Hudson were booked into the jail on Friday, Sept. 8.

Andrew Hudson is the ex-boyfriend of 35-year-old Ana Carrillo, who went missing Sunday, Sept. 3. Hudson and Carrillo also have three children together.

Carrillo went to pick up her children from a home on Colby Avenue SW early Sunday and never returned. Hudson lives on Colby Avenue.

Wyoming police spent several days searching Andrew Hudson's home and reportedly searched his father's home in the Hudsonville area.

Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker on Saturday, Sept. 9 said a charge of perjury was authorized against Lyle Hudson after prosecutors conducted an investigative subpoena.

Becker said the charge is specifically related to the Carrillo missing person investigation.

The charge against Lyle Hudson carries a potential life prison sentence upon conviction.
ZEELAND TOWNSHIP, MI -- A 58-year-old Zeeland Township man who went missing Wednesday has been found in West Des Moines, Iowa.

David Schaner was located there and taken to a hospital for treatment.

Ottawa County sheriff's deputies were notified of his whereabouts at about 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 9.

When he went missing late Wednesday, Sept. 6, he was believed to be driving a 1991 Toyota Previa minivan.

Police described him as "missing and endangered" because of medical concerns.
HOLLAND TOWNSHIP, MI - A Holland motorcyclist was injured Friday, Sept. 8, when he crashed into a minivan that turned left into his path, police said.

The motorcyclist, Dirk Immink, 33, is in stable condition at Holland Hospital. The other driver, Melissa Bultman, 47, of Holland, was not hurt.

The crash happened around 2 p.m. on Douglas Avenue near Beechwood Inn, Ottawa County sheriff's Sgt. Brian Buter said.

Bultman, driving a 2001 Honda Odyssey, was going west on Douglas when she attempted a left turn onto Aniline Avenue, in the path of the oncoming motorcycle.

Immink, riding a 2002 Honda VTX motorcycle, put the motorcycle on its side in an attempt to avoid a collision.

Bultman was cited for failure to yield the right of way, Buter said.
By PTI: By K J M Varma

Beijing, Sep 9 (PTI) China and Pakistan have agreed to strengthen anti-terrorism and security cooperation along a USD 50 billion economic corridor that links the restive regions of the two countries through a network of rail and road projects.

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) connects Xinjiang province in northwest China with the deep-water Gwadar port on the Arabian Sea in southwestern Pakistan. It faces challenges from Islamic militants in both the regions.

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The CPEC, a part of Chinese President Xi Jinpings Belt and Road (B&R) initiative, runs through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and India has raised objection to the project.

The security cooperation agreement was reached when Meng Jianzhu, head of the Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the Communist Party Central Committee, met visiting Pakistani Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif and Pakistani National Security Adviser Nasser Khan Janjua yesterday in Beijing.

Reports have said that Pakistan deployed a 15,000-strong military force to protect Chinese nationals working on various projects linked to the CPEC. This includes 9,000 Pakistan Army soldiers and 6,000 para-military forces personnel.

About 71,000 Chinese reported to have visited Pakistan last year.

Meng praised Pakistans efforts in counter-terrorism and called for strengthened anti-terrorism and security cooperation in building the ambitious economic corridor.

"China and Pakistan, as good friends, friendly neighbours and all-weather strategic cooperative partners, have always firmly supported each others core interests," Meng said.

Chinese State Councillor Yang Jiechi met Asif.

"Promoting the all-weather strategic cooperative partnership between China and Pakistan is an unchanged policy," Yang said.

He called for advancing the CPEC project and strengthening communication on issues of regional security.

Asif said maintaining friendly relations with China is the cornerstone of Pakistans foreign policy.

Pakistan would take the opportunity provided by the CPEC to boost bilateral ties, he said.

Yesterday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi praised Pakistans anti-terrorism record when he met Asif.

"Pakistan is a good brother and iron friend of China. No one knows Pakistan and understands Pakistan better than China," he said. PTI KJV ABH

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Spartan fans headed to East Lansing for tailgating and the 3:30 Saturday, Sept 9 game against Western Michigan will enjoy some fantastic weather.

After a cool morning, temperatures will eventually reach the mid- to high 60s with a light wind from the north-northeast at around 7 mph with mostly sunny skies.

For those hoping to get an early start on tailgating, throw on some jeans and a sweatshirt at it will take until a little after 9 a.m. for temperatures to rise above 60 degrees. No worries in that department, though, as temperatures are expected to be around 67 degrees by 3:30 kickoff.

This makes for back-to-back weeks where the Spartans have enjoyed a straight forward weather forecast for a home game at Spartan Stadium.
JACKSON, MI - The temperature rose to about 1,100 degrees in a dark, enclosed compartment.

Even in breathing masks and special turnout gear, firefighters exposed to such heat could survive for only seconds.

A flash fire - the simultaneous ignition of an entire space, including gases and smoke - is a potentially deadly scenario, and more than 100 Jackson County firefighters this weekend are learning to recognize when one is imminent.

They entered a specially engineered training facility, a black metal trailer, to see and observe such a fire, created a step above them in a connected room.

Dark smoke rolled rapidly Friday, Sept. 8, out the doors of the trailer, set up Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Baker College on Springport Road.

"Hot," was the most often repeated, if obvious, description of the experience.

"It is an intense environment," said Scott Doman, a Columbia Township firefighter who had just stripped off his heavy gear after some time in the chamber. He has been doing the work for six years and had never received flashover training or witnessed such a scenario in a natural setting.

Doman and several other firefighters, some still breathless and sweating, gathered around Instructor Ken Chestnut, a retired Southfield fire lieutenant, to recap the experience.

Thermal imaging technology had indicated it was as hot as 900 degrees. Just a few ounces of water dropped it by hundreds, they observed. The key to preventing a flashover is bringing down the temperature, with ventilation or water.

They talked of the signs, which include a quick buildup of extreme heat; rapid, thick smoke; and flaming streaks referred to as "angel fingers."

Pay attention to intuition, the teachers advised. "If this doesn't feel right. You probably shouldn't be there," said Instructor Nick Miller, deputy fire chief in Hamburg Township, near Pinckney.

Firefighters are taught to see what is coming and evacuate - as fast as possible.

In moments, an environment can go from livable to deadly, said Miller, standing on the pavement outside the trailer, near a pile of pallets and other material used to feed flames.

Both Miller and Chestnut work for Oakland Community College, which offers flashover trainings across the state. Dozens of "patches of fame," collected from departments, line a back door of the trailer.

Chestnut estimated as many as 6,000 firefighters had completed the exercises in about 20 years.

"We want them to learn, understand the environment when they go into a bad place," he said.

"You can talk all day," he said. "You don't' feel hot."

The Jackson County Fire Chiefs Association brought the state-funded training to Jackson at no costs to the county's fire departments. Baker College provided the space and classrooms for free.

Most of those gathered Friday were paid-on-call firefighters from various agencies.

The training allowed them to see a "very hazardous condition" in a safe environment, said Jon Johnston, program director of public safety and fire science at Baker College.

Firefighters no longer stage such scenarios in abandoned or soon-to-be-demolished buildings because of the involved risk, Johnston said, and mentioned the death 30 years ago of three Milford firefighters.

They were trapped by a flashover during a training session in a century-old farmhouse.

In the field, any structure fire could possibly flashover, the instructors said, and the hope is to preserve firefighters' lives.

Firefighters always have to calculate risk, even when the calculus feels cold; if people, in street clothes, are trapped in a flashover or a quickly developing flashover, chances are they will not live - and neither could those executing the rescue.

"We will risk a lot to do our job, if we are saving a lot," Miller said.
MUSKEGON, MI - Carl Sonkowsky joined the U.S. Army to serve others. On Friday, volunteers returned the favor.

Sonkowsky was one of 11 Muskegon County working veterans who received volunteer assistance on minor outdoor repairs and landscaping projects at their homes.

The projects were part of the United Way of the Lakeshore's Day of Caring event - named Operation United -- which was dedicated this year to veterans. They also served as a kick-off for the United Way's annual fundraising campaign.

The event began Friday morning on the deck of the USS LST 393, where volunteers enjoyed a pancake breakfast, before heading to various projects throughout the community.

At Sonkowsky's home, volunteers cut down small trees, raked the yard, dug up weeds and installed a fence to keep the family's four children and dog safe.

"It's awesome," Sonkowsky said. "It's a great day for these guys to be out here and I really appreciate everything that they're doing out here. They're making this place look great."

Approximately 20 volunteers showed up to help at Sonkowsky's home. The Army recruiter and active duty soldier said the volunteers' help will save him the cost of doing the work himself.

"I joined the Army to help people," Sonkowsky said. "To see everybody coming out here and helping, and supporting their community and making it a better place is wonderful to see."

Katie Durga, who volunteered at Sonkowsky's home, said it was an honor to give back to someone within the community -- especially a veteran.

"It's nice to see individuals in our community benefiting from us being involved," she said. "It's fantastic that it's veterans this year. Everybody knows a veteran, or has some type of ties to one. It's a general thing that everyone can relate to.

"It's such a positive thing for different volunteers to come together, especially since we don't know the individual, it just shows everyone's willingness to give and that everyone is important."

More than 450 people volunteered for the Day of Caring efforts.

Aside from the projects at the veterans' homes, other assignments included outdoor and indoor work at the USS Silversides Submarine Museum and park cleanup at the Vietnam War Memorial at Hidden Cove Park. Volunteers also assembled energy kits for families to reduce energy costs and packaged school supplies for students.

"It's rewarding, it makes you feel good," said Josie Rose, who volunteered at the USS Silversides. "The fact that (the event) was for the veterans this year was really awesome. I'm glad I came to the Silversides.

"It looks a lot better and it's something we can do for the vets, and I'm really proud to be a part of that, because I'm all-American. That's what it's all about."

After the projects, volunteers returned to the LST 393 for a lunch and thank you program. Interested volunteers then went to the United Way of the Lakeshore's office for an outdoor project.

The Day of Caring kick-started the United Way Workplace Campaign, which has a goal to raise $2.27 million to support human services in the county.

"We are pleased that Day of Caring 2017 focuses on our veterans and active military members," Mark Meyers, United Way of the Lakeshore chairman, said in a press release. "It is both a time for us to salute and assist those who serve our country and our community.

"Each year we are amazed by the energy and passion of the volunteers participating at Day of Caring," Meyers said. "The hard work and generosity of this diverse group of West Michigan volunteers demonstrates the true meaning of Living United."
MIDLAND, MI -- Midland teacher Amy Burks is all set for her vacations this school year.

Thanks to CheapCaribbean.com, an online travel agency for beach vacations, Burks will get to enjoy four vacations for each of her breaks during the 2017-18 school year.

Burks is a kindergarten teacher at Siebert Elementary School in Midland, where she has been teaching since 2010.

"I had no idea. I thought they said it was a quick announcement for the staff. My room is in front of the school and I saw a truck from a Mexican restaurant out front and I saw them unloading food and I thought who has ordered food now," Burks said.

She soon found out that the food was a part of a celebration to award her for diligent work with her students and touching the lives of her colleagues.

The travel agency decorated the school's media center on Friday, Sept. 8, with festive decor and held a party for Burks with Mexican food and goodies from the company.

Burks was nominated by colleague and friend Megan Storm.

Storm had to submit a poem to the travel agency about how Burks had made an impact on her life.

"She's always so helpful and she takes on so much stuff during the year. She's amazing with the kids and I just thought that she deserved it," Storm said.

Storm said that Burks has late nights, early mornings and sometimes weekends at her job.

Social media manager Taylor Hardy with CheapCaribbean said Burks was nominated along with more than 400 other teachers. The nominations were submitted during Teacher Appreciation Week in May

In July, Burks was selected as a top five finalist and from the there, voting was opened up to the the public and Burks won with the most votes.

Hardy said this is the first time the company has awarded this prize.

"We just want to appreciate them as teachers and everything that they do," Hardy said.

The grand prize is called "Beach 4 Every Break" and Burks will be able to take a plus one to the beach destinations at resorts in Cancun and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico; Playa Bonita, Panama; and La Romana, Dominican Republic.

Each of the vacations is four nights and five days and includes hotel and air fare, transportation to and from the airport, food, beverages and all taxes.

"Teachers are a rather large part of our customer base. We just wanted to do something that's gonna thank the teachers", Hardy said.

Burks said she plans on taking her husband on at least one of her vacations.
Deepak Babaria, a Gujarat based leader began his career in the Congress through the NSUI and Youth Congress in the 1970s. He was handpicked by Rahul Gandhi for various responsibilities.

By Rahul Noronha: The Congress party on Saturday announced the appointment of Deepak Babaria as AICC General Secretary in charge of Madhya Pradesh, replacing General Secretary Mohan Prakash. In doing so, the party also promoted Babaria from the post of secretary to general secretary. Babaria had earlier been in charge of Kerala.

Known to be a close confidante of AICC Vice President Rahul Gandhi, Babaria's appointment comes ahead of the Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections due a little more than a year from now. The replacement of Mohan Prakash, though due for sometime is said to have been a fallout of the ongoing controversy over the appointment of Block Returning Officers (BROs) for state level Congress organizational elections - the process for which has to be completed by October 2017.

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Deepak Babaria, a Gujarat based leader began his career in the Congress through the NSUI and Youth Congress in the 1970s. He was handpicked by Rahul Gandhi for various responsibilities.

Will Babaria be able to rein in infighting- the single biggest issue affecting the Congress organization in MP- where the party has been out of power since 2003?

Babaria's stature in the party may not be anywhere close to the leaders in MP he would be expected to bring about coordination with, but with close access to Rahul Gandhi, he is expected to be able to bring in some order.

The AICC announcement on Saturday also includes appointment of Sanjay Kapoor and Zubair Khan as secretaries in charge of the state. While Sanjay Kapoor, a two term MLA from Bilaspur constituency in Uttar Pradesh's Rampur district was in charge of Uttrakhand, Zubair Khan is a Rajasthan based leader and is a three term MLA.

Also Read:

Congress gears up for 2019 polls, aims to protect interests of fishermen

Ahead of 2019 polls, Congress, AAP setting up research teams to take on Narendra Modi's BJP

Congress working out study tours for Rahul Gandhi to expose him to new ideas, technology

Congress gears up for 2019 Lok Sabha polls; Rahul Gandhi sees allies in Akhilesh, Stalin, Tejashwi

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auto Truce at Tata Motors: Jamshedpur plant back in business The workers at Tata Motors' Jamshedpur plant have called off the strike. About 5,000 temporary workers were on strike for the last few days and production was hit. Watch accompanying video of CNBC-TV18's Uttkarsh Chaturvedi for more details.
business FICCI event: BJP Chief Amit Shah's address to India Inc The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah addresses corporate leaders at Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).
The GST Council on Saturday decided to extend the deadline for filing GSTR 1 for July to October 10, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told reporters here.

Large taxpayers, with turnovers of more than Rs 100 crore, have to file GSTR 1 by October 3, while the rest can file GSTR 1 by October 10, Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia, who addressed reporters with Jaitley, said.

The council also decided to form an inter-ministerial panel to oversee issues pertaining to the GST Network and to ensure smooth transition. The GSTN has been plagued by a number of issues, particularly technological glitches.

The composition of this panel will be made clear in a few days, Jaitley said. The decisions were taken at the 21st GST Council meet held in Hyderabad.

The government on September 4 had extended the deadline for filing GSTR 1 for July to September 10 after the GST portal stopped working. Deadlines for filing GSTR 2 and GSTR 3 were also subsequently extended to September 25 and September 30, respectively.

The deadlines for filing GSTR 1, GSTR 2 and GSTR 3 for August were also extended to October 5, October 10 and October 15, respectively.
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Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Deputy Governor Viral Acharya has said that the government should only look at merging strong public sector banks (PSBs). According to a report in Mint, he said that the weaker banks should be allowed to recuperate after adequate recapitalisation.

Speaking at an event organised by Brookings India, Acharya said that sometimes merging stronger entities with weaker entities leads to bringing down the stronger entity. He, however, clarified, that these are his personal views and do not reflect the views of the central bank.

As reported by Moneycontrol , consolidation in the banking sector to have fewer and larger banks has gathered momentum as the government asks public sector banks to present merger proposals based on their commercial strengths.

According to reports, four state-run lenders  Dena Bank, Syndicate Bank, Vijaya Bank and Canara Bank  have already made presentations to the government.

Stating the example of Bank of America (BoA), which was considered amongst the healthiest banks before the 2008 real estate, Acharya said BoA weakened significantly after it acquired Countrywide and Merrill Lynch, which had a lot of bad loans.

Echoing a similar view, former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan said two days ago that PSB mergers must take place when the banks are healthy while most of them are yet to clean up their balance sheets.

You have to be careful because mergers take time and consume a lot of time from the senior management and banks are different entities with different geographies and culture, said Rajan.

After the merger of the country's largest bank State Bank of India with its five associates and Bharatiya Mahila Bank, the banking system has seen a huge precedent but it remains to be seen if banks would be better or worse off post the merger in terms of the asset quality and capital positions.
India and China have agreed to set up industry specific working groups for increasing exports with a view to bridge trade deficit with Beijing, Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu today said.

"Concerned about growing trade deficit with China, we agreed to set up industry specific working groups, to promote more exports from India," Prabhu said in a tweet.

He is in Manila, the Philippines to attend the fifth East Asia Summit (EAS) Economic Ministers' Meeting. The minister would also participate in the trade ministers' meeting of 16 RCEP member countries.

Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a mega trade pact among 16 countries which aims to cover goods, services, investments, economic and technical cooperation, competition and intellectual property rights.

At the sidelines of EAS meet, the minister met his Chinese counterpart Zhong Shan to discuss ways to promote bilateral trade between the countries.

Prabhu, who recently took charge of the ministry, also met Japanese Minister of economy, trade and industry Hiroshige Seko and Korean Trade Minister Hyun Chong KIM.

India's trade deficit with China narrowed marginally to USD 51.08 billion in 2016-17 from USD 52.69 billion in 2015- 16.

India wants greater market access in China for its goods and services like IT and pharma products. The country has also insisted upon China to increase investments.
With over two months into India's new indirect tax system, the industry is still grappling with teething issues, with one of the key concerns being challenges pertaining to tax return filing on the technology backbone Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN).

In the 21st meeting of the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley-headed Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council in Hyderabad, various state finance ministers expressed concerns related to tax return filing on GSTN.

Jammu and Kashmir Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu today said that a small group of minister should be set up to tackle GSTN related issues.

I would recommend that we set up a small group of ministers which will examine in detail (problems related to GSTN) and work out the way forward for 2-3 months, Drabu said.

There are issues with GSTN. There is no doubt about it. But these are transitional. We always knew that this is not going to be a smooth affair. It is a very large process. Yes, it is true we have had problems. We will discuss it with the Council, he added.

Echoing similar views, West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra said that the GST Council should consider preparedness for filing GST returns. Breakdown or technical glitches on GSTN portal shows that the new indirect tax system has been implemented in a haste.

Tax return filing on GSTN has been one of the key concerns for the government as the complaints regarding the portal started pouring in since August. Issues such as trouble in invoice matching, claiming transition credits via Trans 1 form, error while making final submissions, uploading of returns and invoices have led not adhering to the deadline for filing returns provided by the government.

The government has time and again extended the deadline for return filing for various GST forms and also waived off the late fee for the companies that have not been able to file returns on time.
Indian banks urgently need a powerful plan like a Sudarshan Chakra to restore the health of public sector banks within months if not weeks, Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor Viral Acharya said on Thursday.

Speaking at the 8th RK Talwar Memorial Lecture, Acharya said there were several options being worked out by the government and the RBI such as the Indradhanush plan of 2015 for capitalisation of public sector banks, the governments divestment programme, Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, RBIs structural resolution mechanisms and the recent Alternative Mechanism approved by the Cabinet.

Acharya was worried, however about the pace at which these plans were being implemented and said there was a pressing need to implement many of the options and work them out together at a hurried pace.

He raised questions over the possibility of selling off valuable deposit-heavy public sector banks to private players, if government stake can be reduced to 52 percent at one go and publicly give more clarity to investors without any further delay.

From the central banks side, Acharya said, Going forward, the Reserve Bank hopes that banks utilise the IBC (Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code) extensively and file for insolvency proceedings on their own without waiting for regulatory directions. Ideally, in line with international best practice, out-of-court restructuring may be the right medicine at pre-default stage, as soon as the first signs of incipient stress are evident or when covenants in bank loans are tripped by the borrowers.

After quoting two stanzas from Henry Wadsworth Longfellows poem The Psalm of Life, Acharya said this was the most important unfinished agenda in the banking sector but there is lack of a clear and concrete plan for restoring public sector bank health.

Acharya drew parallels from the banking sector stress in Japan and Europe but said India can be better off with a lower per-capita GDP than these countries.

RBI has created the Central Repository of Information on Large Credits (CRILC), ended forbearance to not mask non-performing asset (NPA) problem, completed an asset quality review, directed banks to file insolvency applications against 12 large accounts comprising about 25 percent of the total NPAs, among other steps.

The central bank has also advised banks to make higher provisions for these accounts to be referred under the IBC to ensure that banks are fully protected against likely losses in the resolution process. This would make it possible to minimize the banks balance-sheet impacts.

With capital constraints and NPAs worth more than Rs 8 lakh crore, (about 10 percent) of the total banking system, Acharya said a critical intervention is necessary to address this balance-sheet malaise.

Acharya raised several questions:

Having embarked on the NPA resolution process, indeed having catalysed the likely haircuts on banks, can we delay the bank resolution process any further?

Can we articulate a feasible plan to address the massive recapitalisation need of banks and publicly announce this plan to provide clarity to investors and restore confidence in the markets about our banking system?

Why arent the bank board approvals of public capital raising leading to immediate equity issuances at a time when liquidity chasing stock markets is plentiful?

What are the bank chairmen waiting for, the elusive improvement in market-to-book which will happen only with a better capital structure and could get impaired by further growth shocks to the economy in the meantime?

Can the government divest its stakes in public sector banks right away, to 52 percent? And, for banks whose losses are so large that divestment to 52 percent wont suffice, how do we tackle the issue?

Can the valuable and sizable deposit franchises be sold off to private capital providers so that they can operate as healthy entities rather than be in the intensive care unit under the Reserve Banks Prompt Corrective Action (PCA)?

Can we start with the relatively smaller banks under PCA as test cases for a decisive overhaul?

Acharya said, These questions keep me awake at night. I fear time is running out. I worry for the small scale industries that Mr Talwar (former State Bank of India Chairman) cared the most about, which are reliant on relationship-based bank credit.

The Indradhanush was a good plan, but to end the Indian story differently, we need soon a much more powerful plan  Sudarshan Chakra  aimed at swiftly, within months if not weeks, for restoring public sector bank health, in current ownership structure or otherwise, he added.
Matrimony.com: White Oak India Equity Fund acquired 1.47 lakh shares in company at Rs 721.4 per share and BNP Paribas Arbitrage bought 2,72,537 shares at same price on the BSE. However, CMDB II sold 5 lakh shares in company at Rs 721.41 per share.

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The Rs 500-crore initial public offering of Matrimony.com will open for subscription on September 11, with a price band of Rs 983985 per share.

This would be the first online matchmaking services provider to list on exchanges. The issue will close on September 13.

Equity shares are proposed to be listed on the BSE and the National Stock Exchange. The book running lead managers to the issue are Axis Capital and ICICI Securities.

Here are 10 things you must know before you invest in Matrimony.com IPO:-

Company Profile

Matrimony.com currently operates its business in two segments - one is matchmaking services and second is marriage services and related sale of products.

In the financial year 2016-2017 and quarter ended June 2017, matchmaking services and marriage services accounted for all of its revenue and there was no revenue from the related sale of products.

According to the comScore report, Matrimony.com is the leading online matchmaking services provider in India in terms of the average number of website pages viewed by unique visitors in June 2017 (Matrimony.com data does not include data from all sites under Matrimony.com).

The company delivers matchmaking services to its users in India and the Indian diaspora through its websites, mobile sites and mobile apps complemented by their on-the-ground network in India.

It runs online match-making business under several brands like BharatMatrimony, CommunityMatrimony.com, EliteMatrimony.com etc.

To provide matchmaking services to the Indian diaspora, the company has granted a non-exclusive, non-sub-licensable and nonassignable business license, of its certain brand names and domain names to wholly owned subsidiary, Consim USA that operates the NRI business in all territories outside India with effect from December 15, 2015 until December 14, 2019.

It provides marriage related services (like directory services, photography & videography, apparal, decorations, catering, venue booking services etc) through its other websites - MatrimonyDirectory.com, MatrimonyPhotography.com, MatrimonyBazaar.com and MatrimonyMandaps.com.

About the Issue

The public issue comprised of fresh issue up to Rs 130 crore and an offer for sale of up to 37,67,254 equity shares.

The offer for sale consisted of up to 14,61,006 equity shares by Bessemer India Capital Holdings II Ltd, 1,55,760 shares by Mayfield XII (Mauritius), 16,83,207 shares by CMDB II, 3,84,447 shares by Murugavel Janakiraman and 82,834 shares by Indrani Janakiraman. The offer also included a reservation of shares worth Rs 50 lakh for eligible employees.

Matrimony.com intends to raise Rs 500.3-501.07 crore through the issue, at a price band of Rs 983985 per share.

It already raised nearly Rs 225.88 crore from anchor investors on September 8, ahead of its initial share sale opening on September 11. It will allot 22.93 lakh shares to 10 anchor investors (including Goldman Sachs, Small Cap World Fund, HDFC Trustee Company, Baring Private Equity India AIF, DB International etc) at higher end of the IPO price band.

Objects of the Issue

The company will use fresh issue proceeds for advertising & business promotion activities (around Rs 20 crore) and purchase of land for construction of office premises in Chennai (Rs 42.58 crore).

Fresh issue money would also be utilised for repayment of overdraft facilities (Rs 43.34 crore); and general corporate purposes.

However, the company will not receive any proceeds from the offer for sale.

Financials

Matrimony.com earns more than 95 percent of its revenue from matchmaking services.

The outstanding amount in respect of overdraft facilities and vehicle loan stood at Rs 43.41 crore as of June 2017.

Promoter

Murugavel Janakiraman, the founder and managing director of the company, holds 55.6 percent stake in the company (pre-issue). He has been associated with company since September 5, 2001.

He holds a bachelors degree of science in statistics and a master's degree in computer applications from the University of Madras.

He was previously employed with Sharper Logics Inc, Supra Data Systems and Real Soft.

Shareholding

Here are top 10 shareholders and their shareholding (stood at 99.4 percent pre-issue) in the company:-

After the issue, promoter shareholding in the company will be reduced to 51 percent and public shareholding will be 49 percent.

Management

Group Companies

India Property Online Private Limited and Infonauts Inc are two group companies.

India Property operates in the business of property marketing and advisory services while Infonauts is currently carrying on the business of providing administrative support to the overseas business of Murugavel Janakiraman.

Murugavel Janakiraman and Indrani Janakiraman (mother of Murugavel Janakiraman) hold nearly 53 percent stake in India Property (pre-issue) and the rest is held by public shareholders including CMDB II, Mayfield XII and Bessemer India Capital Holdings II.

Dividend Policy

Matrimony.com does not have a formal dividend policy. It has not declared any dividend on its equity shares during the last five years.

Risks and Concerns

Brokerage houses advise subscribing the issue but they have pointed out some risks which are:-

> One of the key risks that BharatMatrimony faces is competition from dating websites/Apps and other matrimonial websites/Apps.

> Any failure and/or delay in making the settlement payments (by subsidiary Consim USA) may materially and adversely affect their business prospects, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

In connection with the New Jersey proceedings and the Chennai proceedings, the company incurred legal expenses amounting to Rs 57.36 crore between FY13 and FY16 towards legal or other fees and expenses as well as the settlement cost of Rs 53.01 crore in FY16 in connection with the settlement of such proceedings.

> The company may fail to convert free members to paid members or fail to retain to their existing base of paid members.

> Diversification of business, other strategic initiatives may be unsuccessful. Tambulya.com and Matchify.com were ideas which did not materialise as planned.

> Reputation of the company could get hampered, if its service platforms are misused by any of its users.
The hospitals offered reasons such as lack of beds and medical facilities for not admitting the child, who was in need of a complex cardiac surgery.

Viresh Dhaiya took the new-born to RML Hospital after being driven away from six city hospitals.

By Priyanka Sharma: Life was holding on to Geeta and Ashish Bharti's two-day-old child with a wavering grip. Hospitals in the city were not prepared to lend a hand. But an ambulance driver with a heart of gold emerged as the hero of the moment, coming to the rescue of the baby in need of a complex cardiac surgery.

The Bhartis from Shahdara alleged they were turned away by half a dozen leading medical institutes on Friday. Geeta, a housewife, was not in a condition to say much. But her husband, Ashish, told Mail Today that they faced harassment everywhere as hospitals kept referring them to others. The names include AIIMS, GB Pant, St Stephen's, GTB, Lok Nayak and Kalawati Saran. The businessman claims the institutes, some run by the Centre and others by the Delhi government, offered reasons such as lack of beds and medical facilities for not admitting the child.

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CATS ambulance driver Viresh Dhaiya was the only ray of hope for the Bhartis on that dark night. "I received a call from the patient's family members at 2am and the pick-up point was St Stephen's Hospital. When I reached, I was asked by the parents of the child to travel till GB Pant Hospital. The baby was really in critical condition and was on oxygen support inside the ambulance. He was not able to breathe," Dhaiya told Mail Today.

"Obviously, this is the golden period for any critical patient. At 3am, we reached GB Pant Hospital where doctors informed about a lack of medical facilities and referred the case to AIIMS. It was around 3.45am when we reached there and the story repeated itself. We wasted around an hour and a half at AIIMS casualty and duty doctors proposed the case to Kalawati Saran Hospital."

By the time Viresh drove them to Kalawati Saran, renowned for its paediatric facilities, it was 4.30am. The parents were in a dejected state as they struggled for two hours to get the child admitted.

"The baby was referred to RML Hospital," Dhaiya said.

The ambulance driver said the oxygen support inside the vehicle could last four hours. "So, for four hours we were moving from one hospital to the other. And oxygen supply was about to run out and the baby could have died. So, I mustered up courage to speak to the doctors at RML and the two-day-old baby was finally admitted," he said.

"It was 6 in the morning, and the parents were still pleading with the doctors. Because of God's grace, we were successful, and now the baby is in the paediatric ICU at RML Hospital. He is still in a critical condition."

Phone calls and text messages from this reporter to Delhi's Directorate General of Health Services went answered. GTB Hospital director Sunil Kumar was unavailable for comments, while medical superintendent of GB Pant hospital, Dr Dharmendra Gupta, did not respond.

Arti Vig, head of AIIMS media and protocol division, said to this reporter that she was unaware of the matter and was out of town.

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Dr AK Gadpayle, director of RML hospital, told Mail Today that he did not have much information on the case. "I am still not aware of the criticality of the case. But now I'm looking at the matter very closely. The baby is in the paediatric ICU," he said.

Danish Bharti, Ashish's cousin, told Mail Today, "There was a moment, when we thought that we had lost the child as his heartbeat stopped and we thought that we should have visited a private hospital. Government hospitals just harass us mentally and physically. If this is the condition in Delhi, we can easily understand the mental trauma of parents who lost their children at BRD hospital in Gorakhpur."

Dozens of babies died last month at the institute in Uttar Pradesh, some allegedly because of lack of oxygen.

"We are grateful to our ambulance driver, who managed to speak with doctors at RML Hospital and helped us fight for our rights. Now my nephew is in the paediatric ICU. His echocardiogram will be done tomorrow (Saturday) and accordingly doctors will operate upon him," Danish said.

ALSO READ |

3 Idiots moment at Delhi's Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital: Doctors perform surgery under torchlight

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Doctors perform surgeries under cell phone light at Delhi's RML Hospital

Delhi govt's CATS ambulances shut service, demand 'functional', well-equipped vans

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IPO

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Matrimony.com, which runs online match-making portals, today raised nearly Rs 226 crore from anchor investors ahead of its initial share sale opening next week.

Little over 22.93 lakh shares would be allotted to 10 anchor investors, including Goldman Sachs, Small Cap World Funds, HDFC Trustee Company and Baring Private Equity India AIF.

These shares would be sold to anchor investors at Rs 985 apiece -- the upper end of the IPO price band. The total proceeds would be around Rs 225.88 crore, according to a filing to the BSE.

The price band is Rs 983-985 per share for the share sale, which would be open from September 11-13.

The allocation was finalised by the IPO Committee of the company's board of directors.

The IPO comprises fresh issue aggregating up to Rs 130 crore and an offer for sale of up to 37.67 lakh equity shares.

Matrimony.com, which runs online match-making business under BharatMatrimony brand, among others, is expected to raise over Rs 500 crore.

Net proceeds from the issue would be utilised towards advertising and business promotion activities, purchase of land for construction of office premises in Chennai, repayment of overdraft facilities and general corporate purposes.

Axis Capital and ICICI Securities are the book running lead managers to the offer. The registrar to the offer is Karvy Computershare Private Ltd.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un watches the test of a new-type anti-aircraft guided weapon system organised by the Academy of National Defence Science. Photo: Reuters

AFP

North Korea's state media marked the nation's founding anniversary today with calls for a nuclear arms buildup, in defiance of mounting international sanctions.

South Korea's military said it was keeping close tabs on the North amid speculation it could stage a missile launch or another nuclear test to mark the 1948 establishment of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

North Korea conducted its fifth nuclear test on September 9 last year, and then carried out a sixth a week ago, saying it was a hydrogen bomb that could be fitted onto a missile -- prompting global condemnation and calls for further sanctions.

In July, it tested two intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) that appeared to bring much of the mainland US into range.

"The defence sector, in step with the party's Byungjin policy (of developing the economy and nuclear weapons at the same time) must make cutting-edge Juche weapons in greater quantities," the Rodong Sinmun said in an editorial, referring to the national philosophy of "Juche" or self-reliance.

The mouthpiece of the North's ruling party called for more "miracle-like events" such as the two ICBM tests to deter the United States which it said was bent "decapitating" the nation's leader Kim Jong-Un.

"No matter how the US and its puppets kick up a ruckus, our republic, which has a strong military and the most powerful Juche bombs and weapons, and whose territory has all turned into fortresses, and all its people armed to the teeth, will remain an eternal iron-clad citadel," it said.

In another commentary, Rodong Sinmun said the US would continue receiving "gift packages in different shapes and sizes" as long as it sticks to what it said was a hostile policy against the North.

Kim himself has called the ICBM tests "gift packages" that the North was delivering to the "US bastards".

A South Korean defence ministry spokesman said there were no signs of the North preparing a missile launch or a nuclear test on Saturday.

"The military is maintaining its utmost defence posture, keeping a close watch over the North. But there is nothing out of the ordinary," he told AFP.

But he warned the North could fire ballistic missiles at any time from easily concealed mobile launchers.

South Korea's Yonhap news agency quoted an unidentified government official as saying that the North could carry out a seventh nuclear test at its Punggye-ri test site at any moment.

The official also said the North could choose the founding anniversary of the ruling Workers' Party, which falls on October 10, to hold another test.

The United States wants the United Nations (UN) Security Council to vote on Monday to impose tougher sanctions against North Korea despite resistance from China and Russia.

A US-presented draft resolution calls for an oil embargo on North Korea, an assets freeze on Kim, a ban on textiles and an end to payments of North Korean guest workers.

Diplomatic sources said Russia and China opposed the measures as a whole, except for the ban of textiles, during a meeting of experts Friday.
Representative image

AFP

Store owners boarded up their windows and families sandbagged their homes to join a mass exodus as Hurricane Irma churned toward Florida after cutting a deadly swath through the Caribbean.

After killing at least 19 people and devastating thousands of homes on a string of Caribbean islands, Irma made landfall in Cuba's Camaguey Archipelago as a maximum-strength Category Five storm.

It had top winds swirling at 160 miles (260 kilometers) per hour and was bearing down on nearby Florida, with the eye of the storm just 300 miles south-southeast of Miami, according to the US National Hurricane Center (NHC).

Warning that Irma would be worse than Hurricane Andrew -- which killed 65 people in 1992 -- Florida's governor said all of the state's 20.6 million inhabitants should be prepared to evacuate.

"People have got to understand, if you're in an evacuation zone, you should be very cautious, you should get out now," Governor Rick Scott told CNN. "This is a powerful storm bigger than our state."

Bumper-to-bumper traffic snaked north out of the peninsula, with mattresses, gas cans and kayaks strapped to car roofs as residents heeded increasingly insistent warnings to get out.

"It's not clear that it's a survivable situation for anybody that is still there in the Keys," said acting NHC director Ed Rappaport.

North of the Keys, in Miami Beach, Orlando Reyes, an 82- year-old Cuban-American, had suddenly to flee his assisted living facility.

"It is frightening," he told AFP at a shelter in Miami. "We had to leave without a cent, without taking a bath, or bringing anything."

President Donald Trump warned residents in Irma's path faced a threat of "epic proportion, perhaps bigger than we have ever seen.

"Be safe and get out of its way, if possible," he tweeted.

Roaring across the Caribbean, the monster storm claimed at least 19 lives as it laid waste to a series of tiny islands like Saint Barthelemy and Saint Martin -- where 60 percent of homes were wrecked and looting broke out -- before slamming into the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

"Houses are smashed, the airport is out of action, telephone and electricity poles are on the ground," Olivier Toussaint, a resident of Saint Barthelemy, told AFP.

"Upside-down cars are in the cemeteries. Boats are sunk in the marina, shops are destroyed."

Trump "offered support to the French government during this tragic time" in a phone call with French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, the White House said.

As Irma barreled toward Florida, meteorologists were closely monitoring two other hurricanes.

Jose, a nearly Category Five storm, was following Irma's path in the Atlantic, while Katia made landfall in eastern Mexico late Friday just as the country was grappling with its worst earthquake in a century.
A special team of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, Counter Terrorism and Transitional Crime unit arrested the two militants on Friday night at 9:30 pm.

By Sahidul Hasan Khokon: Bangladesh Police has detained two suspected members of a new faction of banned militant outfit Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (New JMB) from Dhaka's Khilkhet. Police claim that the militants planned a car bomb attack in Dhaka.

A special team of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Counter Terrorism and Transitional Crime (CTDC) unit arrested the two militants on Friday night at 9:30 pm.

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The arrested are JMB member Naim Ahmed alias Anas alias Abu Hamza alias Arisha Kunia and Anwar Hossain. At that time they also seized 30 detonators and a huge number of religious fanatic books from their possessions.

A press conference was held on Saturday afternoon at Dhaka Metropolitan Police's Public Relations Division.

In a press conference, Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Additional Commissioner Monirul Islam said, the arrested are Neo-JMB members. Nayeem Ahmed had served in a private IT company with the top militant leader Basaruzzaman alias Chocolate in 2015. Then they joined together in the Neo-JMB.

Anwar also owns a motor garage at Hemayetpur in Savar. In 2015, he received the organizational invitation of the new JMB through a master called JMB. From there it is connected with Anwar. Basically he is an inexpensive militant. JMB, Sarowar Jahan, Ripon, Noman, Al Bani and Don are involved in several militant encounters with him.

Monirul Islam said training was arranged for Neo-JMB operatives at the motor garage several times for carrying out attacks on vehicles as per the directives of Majlish-e-Sura, the highest policy making body of JMB members.

A case was lodged to this end.

--- ENDS ---
September 09, 2017

The Intercept Mistranslates Assad Speech - Smears Syria As Neo-Nazi

There have long been attempts in the anti-Syrian media to claim alignment of the socialist and anti-sectarian Syrian government with western fascist and religious supremacist elements. The latest in this propaganda genre is the just published Intercept piece Why White Nationalists Love Bashar al-Assad.

The Intercept is a rather dubious news outlet founded by Pierre Omidyar, a major owner of the auctioning site eBay and its PayPal banking division. It most recent remarkable moment was its betrayal of a NSA whistle-blower who fatuously had trusted The Intercept to act professionally:

The Intercept published a leaked five page NSA analysis about alleged Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. elections. Its reporting outed the leaker of the NSA documents. That person, R.L. Winner, has now been arrested and is likely to be jailed for years if not for the rest of her life.

As we noted back in June when the above incident happened:

The Intercept pieces are usually heavily editorialized and tend to have a mainstream "liberal" to libertarian slant. Some are highly partisan anti-Syrian/pro-regime change propaganda. [...] Some of its later prominent hires (Ken Silverstein, Matt Taibbi) soon left and alleged that the place was run in a chaotic atmosphere and with improper and highly politicized editing.

The new Intercept piece published yesterday insinuates that the Syrian government under President Bashar Assad is liked by white supremacists because it somehow is itself fascist. Here is how the outlet announced the piece:



full tweet

The screed, written by one Mariam Elba, has a rather crude thesis. Its core is solely based on a false translation of a speech Bashar Assad held on August 20:

It shouldnt be surprising that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has become an idol among white nationalists in the United States.

...

Assads authoritarianism uses the same buzzwords as the far-right to describe the society hes trying to build in his own country  a pure, monolithic society of devotees to his own power.

...

As the chaos of Charlottesville and its aftermath was unfolding, Assad addressed a group of diplomats in Damascus about the ongoing war in Syria. We lost many of our youth and infrastructure, he said, but we gained a healthier and more homogenous society . Whereas white nationalists aim to create a healthy and homogeneous society through racial purity, for Assad it means a society free of any kind of political dissent, excluding any Syrian living outside the territory his regime controls. Anyone who does not fit Assads specific definition of what it means to be Syrian is up for execution.

The assertions in that last quoted paragraph are obviously baloney.

1. It is not the aim of "white nationalists aim to create a healthy and homogeneous society through racial purity". Those people want "their kind" to rule absolutely while all "other" people are to be their slaves. They are (sectarian) racists. The society the white supremacists want would neither be "healthy" nor "homogeneous".

2. The Syrian government has not excluded anyone. Indeed the Syrian government continued to pay its employees, like teachers, even when those sided with and worked under its enemies. Where possible it continued to supply all its citizens in enemy held areas. The Syrian government did not and does not execute anyone for merely having or voicing an opinion. It even reconciles with ten-thousands of "rebels" who once fought against it. None of these get executed.

The assertions made by the Intercept writer are unfounded. Moreover they are based on a false translation. Assad never called for a "more homogeneous society" as it is interpreted in the piece. See these remarks by knowledgeable Syrians and Arabic speakers made shortly after Assad's speech and before that Intercept screed was written:

EHSANI2 @EHSANI22 - 7:05 PM - 21 Aug 2017 1-Of the 53-minute important speech by #Assad yesterday nothing seemed more important for Opp than a single word he uttered - "Homogeneous" 2-Many in Opp pounced are presumably pointing to this as confirmation that Assad is equating a more homogenous society as being less Sunni 3-Reading transcript of his speech in more detail rather than pouncing on a word though seems to give a different interpretation.

...

10-What #Assad presumably meant is that when the whole society agrees on one identity that is less sectarian, it becomes more "homogenous" 11-Homogenous as opposed to co-existence is a more durable state that can allow society to survive future wars and struggles.

Moreover - the speech was held in Arabic. Assad never said "homogenous" as it is understood in the English language:

Sophia @les_politiques - 1:48 AM - 22 Aug 2017 1/ 'Homogenous' is a poor translation for 'moutajaness'. 2/ 'Tajannouss' means existence of similarities. But existence of similarities (resemblances) doesn't logically imply homogeneity. (Pics 1, 2 of lexicon entry) 3/ 'Jeness' (category) is subdivided into 'especes' (kinds). (Arabic-French translation by Kazimirski.) 4 /It is clear that the similarities #Assad mentioned are attitudes toward sectarianism in Syrian society... 5/ In the sense that the war has purged sectarianism from Syrian society therefore making it coalesce as one category against sectarianism.

While the white supremacists in the U.S. and elsewhere want a society where one race (and its dominant religion) rules supreme, the Syrian president called for the opposite. A society that is non-racist and non-sectarian. The homogeneous aspect of that envisioned society is its common rejection of racism and sectarianism. Assad essentially called for "e pluribus unum", the opposite of what white supremacists want to achieve.

The radical (willful?) misinterpretation of Assad's speech in the Intercept is in line with other propagandist claptrap in U.S. media. It is highly opinionated nonsense based on the factually false translation and interpretation of a speech, which expressed the opposite of what the Intercept author asserts.

The publishing of the piece confirms again that the Intercept is in not the "fearless, adversarial journalism" it set out to be, nor is it a leftish-progressive outlet as some had expected. It is just a minor rag flogging narrow U.S. mainstream nonsense with pinches of neocon claptrap in-between.

---

Added:

Caitlin Johnstone adds to the criticism of the Intercept piece: The Intercept Tries To Conflate Opposition To US Syria Intervention With Neo-Nazism.

Posted by b on September 9, 2017 at 12:13 UTC | Permalink

Comments
By PTI: Kolkata, Sep 9 (PTI) As many as 68 people were evacuated from a Paro-bound Drukair plane at the airport here today after the commander received information of smoke being emitted from the aircraft.

There were no reports of injury to any passenger in the incident which took place at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport here this morning, an airport source said.

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The evacuation was done soon after the push back of the aircraft. An inspection of the plane was carried out but no fire was detected in any part of the aircraft, the source said. According to the source, the Drukair-Royal Bhutan flight KB 501 had just pushed back for taxiing when the pilot of another nearby aircraft informed the flight commander of some smoke (being emitted) in the aircraft. The commander immediately asked the crew to deploy emergency chute to evacuate the passengers at the tarmac itself, the source added. The Airbus A319 had 61 passengers and seven crew members on board, the source said adding the aircraft has been grounded for further inspection. Drukair officials were not available for comments. PTI IAS RAM MKJ

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Pakistan media reported that the Election Commission has also warned candidates not to use the party's name in election campaigns or use images of Hafiz Saeed and other leaders of JuD in their poll campaigns.

By Arindam De: The Election Commission of Pakistan has reportedly refused to recognise Hafiz Saeed's newly launched party - the Milli Muslim League. It is a political front of the Jamaat-ud-Dawah and MML is an attempted image makeover by JuD.

Pakistan media reported that the Election Commission has also warned candidates not to use the party's name in election campaigns or use images of Hafiz Saeed and other leaders of JuD in their poll campaigns.

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MML is not officially fielding a candidate for the by-polls for the Lahore National Assembly seat, which was vacated by Nawaz Sharif. However it is supporting "independent" candidate Sheikh Muhammad Yakoob against Sharif's wife Kulsoom Nawaz.

In the last week of August - the founder of Harkat ul Mujahideen, Maulana Fazlur Rehman Khalil stated his intent to launch a political party - the Islah-e-Watan Party. Fazlur Rehman is a "specially designated global terrorist" as declared by the US in September 2014.

Harkat hijacked IAs flight IC814 and secured the release of Masood Azhar. It enjoys good ties with JeM and Maulana Azhar. Khalil had close relations with Osama bin Laden too. Terror organisations not going mainstream in the neighbourhood. There is a more sinister explanation.

Security experts suspect the hand of ISI behind these developments. The move will help Kashmir focused terrorist organisations to gain legitimacy via the electoral process. This should ease off intense Western pressure on Pakistan. And electoral legitimacy for terrorists would ensure a permanent place for the Kashmir issue in Pakistan's future political discourse.

Although the Pakistan Election Commission did a commendable job of denying recognition to Milli Muslim League it remains to be seen how long the civilian setup can hold out against the military and ISI.

Theoretically you can very well see the heads of proscribed terror organisations heading regional or the central governments in Pakistan in the future. That is a very real threat. How the electorate of Pakistan would respond to such developments remains to be seen.

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By PTI: Mumbai, Sep 9 (PTI) Radha Kumar, former interlocutor for Jammu and Kashmir, today slammed the NDA governments Kashmir policy, saying it is encouraging "more hostile elements" in Pakistan.

Speaking here at a seminar or "Foreign Policy Challenges" before the country, Kumar said the government is handling the Pakistan issue "very badly".

"It is a challenge before our foreign policy. The way we are handling Jammu and Kashmir issue, we are allowing more hostile elements in Pakistan (to dominate).

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"There is a flip-flop in our governments behaviour and it is creating an image of inconsistency," she said.

She also expressed disappointment with the UPA government, which had in October 2010 appointed her, along with Dilip Padgaonkar and M M Ansari, as interlocutors for Jammu and Kashmir.

"The kind of suggestions and recommendations we had made, unfortunately they were not implemented by the UPA government," she said.

To a question by former Rajya Sabha MP Bhalchandra Mungekar about India under the current dispensation "leaning more towards Israel than towards Palestine", Kumar said, "We are getting deeply communal. I cannot go on talking about it, but this is the fact that we are becoming deeply communal."

Former union minister P Chidambaram and former Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan were also present during the discussion. PTI ND KRK KIS

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A Dallas-area special education teacher was recently indicted by a grand jury for allegedly sexting an eighth grade student and asking him to draw her nude.

Rebecca Goerdel, 28, was arrested in March and accused of having an improper relationship with a student at the Young Men's Leadership Academy, a school in Grand Prairie.
By PTI: New Delhi, Sep 8 (PTI) IT major Infosys today said the feedback from its clients and stakeholders, despite weeks of acrimony between the founders and former board members, has been "positive and reassuring" and it is now focusing on executing its strategy.

The Bengaluru-based firm has been in the eye of a storm over the past few months, with the two sides clashing over allegations such as corporate governance lapses and irregularities in Infosys USD 200-million Panaya acquisition.

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"Since Vishal left and Nandan came on board, we have had a massive outreach. We have talked to all the stakeholders, clients and employees," Infosys interim CEO and MD U B Pravin Rao said at the Citi Global Technology Conference 2017.

He added that the company has also reached out to investors and industry consultants and "more or less, the feedback has been extremely positive and reassuring".

Rao said Nilekanis return has brought in a sense of stability at the board level.

"Nandans primary focus as the non-executive chairman is more on the board governance, board oversight but at the same time, he will also be tasked with CEO succession planning," he added.

On August 18, the then CEO Vishal Sikka quit Infosys, citing slander. The following week saw the exit of four board members, including Chairman R Seshasayee, who had blamed co- founder N R Narayana Murthys "misguided campaign" for Sikkas abrupt exit.

Co-founder Nandan Nilekani was named the non-executive Chairman in a move that was seen as the company bowing to the demands of co-founders and large institutional investors.

Referring to Sikkas exit, Rao said while many clients were "sad" to see him go, at the same time, they acknowledged the fact that "relationship between both the organisations lasts beyond individuals".

"...once we gave them a reassurance of continuity in strategy and stability, they were fairly comfortable," Rao added.

Asked if Infosys would change its revenue guidance for the year, Rao said there were still three weeks to go in this quarter and that focus currently is on strategy execution.

Infosys expects its revenue to grow by 6.5-8.5 per cent in constant currency during FY 2017-18. PTI SR MBI ABM

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E! News: In the finale, Lestat isn't burned and instead left in the dump, meaning he's still alive. Can you definitely say if we will see Lestat in season two? Jacob Anderson: Yes, I can definitely say that you will see Lestat in season
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 []
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By PTI: New Delhi, Sep 9 (PTI) A fire broke out tonight on the first floor of the State Bank of India (SBI) branch on the Parliament Street, the Delhi Fire Services (DFS) said.

The fire services received a call around 9.25 pm alerting them about smoke emanating from the first floor of the building, a DFS official said.

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Nine fire tenders were rushed to the spot, said an official.

Police said the firemen broke open the locks of the building and entered the premises to douse the blaze.

The firemen are still at work, the DFS official said, adding that the cause of the fire was not known immediately. PTI SLB KIS

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Click here for the latest Hurricane Irma forecast.

As Hurricane Irma is moving toward Florida as a Category 3 storm, many are doing what they can to prepare for it.

WATCH NEWS 13 LIVE:

11:49 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017

The southern part of the state is under a tornado watch until noon Sunday. The area includes Brevard and Osceola counties.

Meteorologist David Heckard says most or all of Central Florida will probably be under a tornado watch before this is over.

A tornado watch indicates that tornadoes are likely, along with hail and wind gusts up to 60 mph. It does not indicate that tornadoes have been detected.

Residents in those counties should stay tuned to forecasts on TV or radio. We have a list of our radio partners HERE.

11:39 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017

Irma is only beginning to hit Florida, but already thousands of people are without power.

The majority of the power outages are centered in Southeast Florida, including Broward, Miami-Dade, Monroe and Palm Beach counties.

Florida Power and Light as the highest number of outages, however the utility company is also intentionally cutting power to some areas to protect the grid from power surges.

Broward County has 63,240 outages and Miami-Dade has 106,440 outages. FPL is also already reporting 1,180 outages in Brevard County.

10:15 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017

Hurricane force winds from Irma are nearing the Florida Keys.

A reporting station in Vaca Key recently reported sustained winds of 49 mph, with a gust to 62 mph. Marathon recently reported sustained winds of 49 mph, with a gust to 66 mph.

6:51 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017

Gov. Rick Scott urged again for people to leave if they are under an evacuation order, especially on the coastline of the state, where dangerous storm surge will be a problem.

Hurricane Irma: Latest update from Gov. Scott

6:04 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017

Gov. Scott is expected to speak shortly. See it live on News 13 when it happens.

The Florida Keys is now feeling tropical storm conditions. A reporting station in Vaca Key recently reported sustained winds of 46 mph, with a gust of 59 mph. Marathon recently reported sustained winds of 43 mph with a gust of 66 mph.

Meanwhile, Volusia County is preparing to lock down bridges ahead of Irma.

Emergency officials are now anticipating bridges to be locked down about noon on Sunday. This timing can change at the storm track changes.  Volusia EMER MGMT (@VCEmergencyInfo) September 9, 2017

5:26 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017

Flagler County will have a countywide curfew starting tomorrow night.

Also, alcohol ban countywide starting at 7 a.m. Sunday.

5:17 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017

FDOT and Florida Highway Patrol have opened the left shoulder on I-4 eastbound to help Tampa area residents evacuate.

The shoulder will be open on I-4 from 50th Street in Tampa to State Road 429, just south of Orlando.

4:06 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017

"It's a ghost town" one woman here in #Daytona just accurately described to me. Check out all these businesses, boarded up ahead of #Irma! pic.twitter.com/VO85RC0uYP  Julie Gargotta (@juliegargotta) September 9, 2017

Here's a transportation update before Orlando International Airport stops all commercial flights at 5 pm Saturday. @MyNews13 @BN9 pic.twitter.com/7ISsytzVqf  John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) September 9, 2017 3:36 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017

Florida Hospital New Smyrna is closing the emergency department at 7 p.m., as the hospital is in the mandatory evacuation zone. The hospital transferred 50 patients to Florida Hospital DeLand.

Florida Hospital Oceanside's emergency department is closed already, and 31 patients were transferred to Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center in Daytona Beach.

The emergency departments at the following hospitals will stay open:

Florida Hospital DeLand in DeLand

in DeLand Florida Hospital Fish Memorial in Orange City

in Orange City Florida Hospital Flagler in Palm Coast

in Palm Coast Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center in Daytona Beach

3:32 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 09, 2017

"Mandatory evacuation is in place for those in flood prone low-lying areas and manufactured homes," tweeted Sumter County Sheriff's Office.

12:05 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 09, 2017

Seminole County issued a mandatory evacuation for all mobile and manufactured homes at noon on Saturday. A voluntary evacuation was issued for low-lying areas and the county shared a link to help people understand what low-lying areas are.

12 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 09, 2017

Gov. Scott held a news conference at 12 p.m. on Irma's latest track and evacuation notices:

1,000 volunteer nurses are needed to help at special needs shelters. To help email helpfl@flhealth.gov

"We can't thank our first responders and law enforcement enough for doing everything they can to keep us safe."

"We are working aggressively to keep gas stations open for people evacuating."

"Evacuations are not meant to be convenient, there are meant to keep you safe."

"If you're in an evacuation zone you need to leave now. Do not wait."

11:45 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 09, 2017

Lake County Sheriff's Office Emergency Management Bureau stated that there are no curfews for activated.

"However, we do ask that our citizens restrict their travel, other than seeking a shelter location prior to the storm and to use good common sense," it stated, but warned that people need to watch out for downed power lines and other dangers.

Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods issued a statement on Saturday morning, urging residents to restrict their travels on the roads on 3 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 10, because of the potential for high winds.

""If winds exceed 45 mph, first responders will not be permitted to use their vehicles to answer calls for service," he stated, adding that drivers are not allowed to be on certain bridges if there are high winds. "The State Road 40 and the County Road 316 bridges over the Ocklawaha River will be closed to traffic if winds sustain 35 mph. In case of emergency travel, Sharpes Ferry Road may be used as an alternative route if the aforementioned bridges close."

11:27 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017

Hurricane Irma has dropped to a Category 3 storm with winds at 125 mph and moving west at 9 mph. Check back for more information.

10:37 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017

The Volusia County Sheriff's Office tweeted that the curfew now starts at 9 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 10, until 9 a.m., Monday, Sept. 11.

10:25 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017

Shelter information has been updated. Go here for more.

10:14 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017

Gov. Rick Scott said that nurses who want to volunteer can do so by sending an email to: BPRCHDPreparedness@flhealth.gov.

He also said during the press conference that people need to be prepared and to evacuate as needed.

"We have the best first responders in Florida, but if you're in an evacuation zone, you need to leave now," he said, adding that the state is doing what it can to get fuel and resources into the state.

Scott also mentioned that the National Guard is prepared.

8:33 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017

Hurricane Irma weakened slightly as it moved over northern Cuba, but it is now sliding back over open water and will enable it to strengthen again. Winds are down to 130 mph, which still makes it a Category 4 storm.

Get the full Hurricane Irma forecast here.

6:10 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017

The eye of Hurricane Irma is moving over northern Cuba as a Category 4 storm. It remains on target to directly impact Florida based on the latest track and forecast models with a projected path over the Florida Keys into Southwest Florida, however bands of rain will spread north to Central Florida starting Saturday night.

Get the full Hurricane Irma forecast here.

Daytona Beach International Airport is going to close Saturday at 6 p.m.

Meanwhile, in Orlando International Airport will cease operations Saturday at 5 p.m. On Saturday morning, News 13 is learning that people are scrambling to buy plane tickets and waiting in long lines.

Officials at the airport will suspend all flights starting Saturday night. The airport reported more than 40 cancellations Friday.

As of early Saturday morning, Orlando International Airport is the calm before the storm.

The last flight takes off at 5 p.m., Saturday, which is the same time the parking garages will close.

If you are traveling out of this airport Saturday, you should arrive at least two hours before a domestic flight and three hours if you are traveling internationally as many are waiting in long lines at the ticket counter and security.

Allegiant Air has cancelled flights to and from the Orlando-Sanford International Airport as the last flight there leaves around 5:15 p.m. Saturday.

Also, the Orlando-Melbourne International airport will suspend flights at 6 p.m., Saturday.<

Some travelers have been stranded here for days.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers shut down Port Canaveral.

All vessel traffic was closed at 3 p.m., Friday, and will remain closed until further notice.

Normal business hours will resume as soon as an assessment is made, showing that it is safe to reopen.

Mandatory evacuation orders are still in effect for much of Brevard County.

Residents are being asked to leave the barrier islands, Merritt Island and some mainland low-lying areas.

There are 16 evacuation centers in Brevard County. The order to evacuate the barrier islands took effect at 3 p.m., Friday afternoon.

News 13 saw plenty of people boarding up their homes and businesses on Friday.

Even though the track of Irma has shifted west, the Brevard County Emergency Management Office says the Space Coast should still brace for impacts, including damaging winds, heavy downpours and storm surge.

The last time this portion of the Space Coast was ordered to evacuate was Hurricane Matthew nearly a year ago.

"We're leaving this year, last year we stayed on Merritt Island which is just across the river, but we are going further inland," said Cocoa Beach resident Romann Chavannes.

Cocoa Beach's Cape Canaveral Hospital is also evacuating patients.

More than 40 patients are being transported to Health First's three other Brevard County hospitals.

The causeways will not close before or during the storm.

After Irma passes, it's possible the Florida Department of Transportation will close the causeways to inspect them however.

2:10 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017

The track of Hurricane Irma is moving west over the north side of Cuba as a category 5 hurricane, and it is expected to make a turn to the north some time later today.

Shelters will open in every Central Florida county today for people who need to leave their homes for a safe place. Dozens of shelters are opening up across the area, including for people with pets.

There are several mandatory and voluntary evacuations as well, particularly for people in mobile homes and those in low-lying areas.

News 13 Interactive StormTracker

The Associated Press contributed to this story.
For the price of a mansion in Texas, you could own an entire Texas town.

The city of Mustang in Navarro County is for sale for $4 million. The 76 acres is about a 45 minute drive from Dallas, off I-45 at FM 739. The 2010 Census lists the population of the town as 10. Outside of alcohol, parts of Mustang had a rough reputation.

ABANDONED: Texas photographer captures photos of abandoned Aquarena Springs in San Marcos

"There was a strip club there called Wispers that has since permanently closed. There was a killing there, the business had quite a tale," Turner said.

These days, Mustang is a ghost town with a waste water treatment facility, a volunteer fire department and access to fresh water. But it may not be a ghost town for much longer.

"We've had a very good response about the town. Some of my clients are calling me and asking about it," Turner said.

For someone who has a vision, the barren town can be transformed into nearly anything.

"It has endless possibilities, one just has to use his imagination," said Michael Turner, president of J Elmer Turner Realtors, Inc. "Right now, anything goes in Mustang so long as it conforms to the laws of Texas."

TEXAS TRAVEL: The 21 awesomely weird town names across Texas

For Turner, some of those possibilities include holding music festivals or medical marijuana after Texas has issued its first license. Without a local government in place, zoning laws won't stop the owner from doing what he or she likes in the town.

Turner said Mustang incorporated in the early 1970s and sold alcohol when most of Navarro County was dry.

"It was a boomtown in the alcohol business. There was a long line of cars from Corsicana and all around Navarro County here," Turner said.

For more information about the town, visit Own Mustang or call 214-502-8020.
Irma could inflict major damage on the fourth-largest US state by population, which is braced for winds well in excess of 100 miles per hour and a huge storm surge that could trigger coastal flooding.

By Reuters: Hurricane Irma pounded Cuba's northern coast on Saturday and barreled toward Florida as authorities scrambled to complete an unprecedented evacuation of millions of residents hours before the storm would engulf the state.

The outer band of Irma, which has killed at least 22 people in the Caribbean, was already lashing South Florida with tropical storm-force winds and left nearly 25,000 people without power, Governor Rick Scott said.

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The brunt of the hurricane, one of the fiercest Atlantic storms in a century, is due to arrive in Florida early Sunday.

Irma could inflict major damage on the fourth-largest US state by population, which is braced for winds well in excess of 100 miles per hour and a huge storm surge that could trigger coastal flooding.

"This is a deadly storm and our state has never seen anything like it," Scott said at a Saturday morning news conference.

Irma, located about 225 miles (365 km) south of Miami on Saturday morning, still ranked as a Category 5 storm when it crashed into Cuba in the early hours of Saturday. It weakened to a Category 3 as it tore along the island's northern coastline, downing power lines, bending palm trees and sending huge waves crashing over sea walls.

Maximum sustained winds dipped to around 130 miles per hour (215 km per hour) by 8 am (1200 GMT) on Saturday, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.

But Irma will regain strength as it moves over the warm open water as it approaches Florida, according to the NHS, which expects the storm to arrive in the Keys, an archipelago off the peninsula's southern tip, on Sunday morning.

On Florida's West Coast, a long line of people in Estero, north of Naples, lined up to enter an arena that officials converted into an evacuation shelter, one of hundreds that have opened up across the state.

"We got the house all buttoned up," said Montgomery Campbell, 82, as he stood in line.

Luise Campana Read was one of those who chose to ignore warnings and stay in her home. She said by phone she planned to ride out the storm in her beachfront condo in Fort Lauderdale, with her elderly mother and other family members.

"With a 97-year-old, there was no way I was going to have her sleep on a cot or a blow-up mattress" in a shelter, she said.

The destruction along Cuba's north central coast was similar to that seen on other Caribbean islands over the last week as Irma plowed into Ciego de Avila province around midnight.

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State media said it was the first time the eye of a Category 5 storm had made landfall since 1932. In the days before Irma struck, the island's Communist government evacuated tens of thousands of foreign tourists from resorts on the northern coast.

In Ciego de Avila province, Irma was forecast to generate waves of up to 7 meters (23 feet), with flooding expected as far west as the capital Havana, authorities said on Saturday.

Antonia Navarro, 56, a resident of the northern Cuban port town of Nuevitas in Camaguey, said a local ice cream factory was destroyed and glass windows at a hospital were blown out.

"We are praying to God and the Virgin of Charity that nothing grave happens to the people of Florida, and in particular Miami," said Navarro, an officer worker. "We have to pray a lot for our relatives who live there."

"RUNNING OUT OF TIME"

With the storm barreling toward the United States, officials in Florida raced to overcome clogged highways, gasoline shortages and move elderly residents to safety.

A total of 5.6 million people, or 25 percent of the state's population, were ordered to evacuate Florida, according to the Florida Division of Emergency Management.

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The United States has been hit by only three Category 5 storms since 1851, and Irma is far larger than the last one in 1992, Hurricane Andrew, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 ended slightly lower as investors braced for potential damage and massive insurance claims from Irma. Many economists are predicting that third-quarter gross domestic product will take a hit due to the hurricanes.

President Donald Trump said in a videotaped statement that Irma was "a storm of absolutely historic destructive potential" and called on people to heed recommendations from government officials and law enforcement. In Palm Beach, Trump's waterfront Mar-a-Lago estate was ordered evacuated.

Picture credit: Reuters

MANDATORY EVACUATIONS, GASOLINE SHORTAGES

Irma was set to hit the United States two weeks after Hurricane Harvey, a Category 4 storm, struck Texas, killing about 60 people and causing property damage estimated at up to $180 billion in Texas and Louisiana. Officials were preparing a massive response, the head of FEMA said.

About 9 million people in Florida may lose power, some for weeks, said Florida Power & Light Co, which serves almost half of the state's 20.6 million residents.

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Amid the exodus, nearly one-third of all gas stations in Florida's metropolitan areas were out of gasoline, with scattered outages in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina, according to Gasbuddy.com, a retail fuel price tracking service.

Mandatory evacuations on Georgia's Atlantic coast and some of South Carolina's barrier islands were due to begin on Saturday. Virginia and Alabama were under states of emergency.

The governors of North and South Carolina warned residents to remain on guard even as the storm took a more westward track, saying their states still could experience severe weather, including heavy rain and flash flooding, early next week.

As it roared in from the east, Irma ravaged small islands in the northeastern Caribbean, including Barbuda, St. Martin and the British and U.S. Virgin Islands, flattening homes and hospitals and ripping down trees.

Irma is seen costing at least 1.2 billion euros ($1.4 billion) in Saint Martin and Saint Barthelemy, a French public reinsurance body said on Saturday.

But even as they came to grips with the destruction, residents of the islands faced the threat of another major storm, Hurricane Jose.

Jose, expected to reach the northeastern Caribbean on Saturday, is an extremely dangerous storm nearing Category 5 status, with winds of up to 150 mph (240 kph), the NHC said.

Also Read:

Preparing for Irma: Indian Florida resident's first-person account of facing a deadly hurricane

Hurricane Irma on collision course with Florida; 4 reported killed: 10 points

Hurricane Harvey IN PICS: Donald Trump hugs children, serves food in visit to victims

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Hurricane Harvey: Video showing life-saving rescue operation of a stranded truck driver goes viral

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By PTI: them: Bhagwat

New Delhi, Sep 9 (PTI) RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat today said that the leading figures of the freedom movement including Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore had been educated under a "western" system but were never influenced by it.

Bhagwat was pointing out that it is not only the schooling, but a childs parents and the atmosphere at home and in the society that play a larger role in upbringing.

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Various Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) outfits have spoken out against "westernised" education, demanding an overhaul of the education system.

There is a "consensus in the society" that the education system needs to be changed, Bhagwat said.

"...the Macaulay education system, which we say is a foreign education system, produced Vivekananda, Lokmanya Tilak, Gandhiji and Rabindranath Tagore...So why did that school education system not influence them? The entire generation which participated in the freedom movement studied in the Macaulay education system," he said.

The RSS leader made these remarks at the launch of the Indian Education Manual (Bhartiya Shiksha Grant Mala) by Ahmedabad-based think-tank Punarutthan Vidyapeeth.

Dinanath Batra, the Shiksha Sanskriti Utthan head known for controversial statements on education, was present on the dais when Bhagwat was speaking. PTI JTR BSA ARC BSA

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Rush Limbaugh recently claimed that the media is manufacturing unwarranted panic about Hurricane Irma as part of a plot to hype climate change, boost ratings and increase advertising revenue from businesses that stand to make money off purchases of batteries and bottled water.

Limbaugh then accused The Washington Post and other news outlets of twisting his words while simultaneously doubling down on his conspiracy theory on Thursday.

"I explained how severe weather events are opportunities for big ratings boosts in the media and explained how it happens," he said. "I explained how severe weather events impact retailers and how some retailers are smart enough to coordinate advertising with television stations. It happens!"

Limbaugh said something else on Thursday: He indicated he is evacuating his Palm Beach mansion, from which he broadcasts daily, for "parts unknown."

"May as well go ahead and announce this," he said. "I'm not going to get into details because of the security nature of things, but it turns out that we will not be able to do the program here tomorrow. ... We'll be on the air next week, folks, from parts unknown. So we'll be back on Monday. It's just that tomorrow is going to be problematic. Tomorrow it would be, I think, legally impossible for us to originate the program out of here."

Limbaugh presented the departure as more of an inconvenience than a proper response to imminent danger.

"You know, I had to cancel a bunch of stuff," he said. "I was going to go to a private movie screening this afternoon, and I had a bunch of stuff to do tonight, and now that's all blown to smithereens."
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One guilty pleasure is going to be easier to get your hands on when a cookie dough bar opens in North Star Mall next month.

Matt Weber, owner of Scooped Cookie Dough Bar, told mySA.com he believes his business is the first of its kind in San Antonio, maybe even Texas.

Scooped will sell at least 12 different flavors of raw cookie dough from a 200-square-foot kiosk in the mall starting mid-October, Weber said.

Flavors like Mexican hot chocolate, cake batter and lemoncello are part of the debut menu, but Weber said he plans on adding seasonal treats along the way. Vegan and gluten-free options are also available.

The owner, who also maintains a food blog and has in experience in recipe development, said he crafted each of the options himself and said all are safe to eat.

RELATED: Pluckers is headed to San Antonio

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Scooped recipes call for ingredients like pasteurized eggs and heat-treated flour to ensure there is no chance of contracting salmonella.

"The big thing for us is to still make them taste like the cookie dough you eat out of a bowl," Weber said. "We definitely make it safe to eat, but still taste good."

Cookie dough aficionados can chose from a three-scoop dish, party platter, cookie dough ice cream sandwiches or dough pops to appease their sweet teeth.

Weber, who works full-time at USAA, said other Scooped locations are in the works and wouldn't mind "owning the West Coast" outside of Texas after seeing the success of the cookie dough bar trend in places like New York City.

"I'm planning on this being one of hopefully many, we're looking at other places around San Antonio, Dallas and other areas," he said. "I'm excited to be piloting it here in San Antonio."

mmendoza@mysa.com

Twitter: @MaddySkye
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This week San Antonio health inspectors discovered a "black residue" in the ice machine and on "all" walls and floors at an area seafood restaurant.

Las Islas Marias on Southwest Military Drive was among the 17 establishments that landed on this week's list of dirtiest restaurants in San Antonio, according to reports. A health inspector also observed a mosquito trap strip with an abundance of dead insects on it at the establishment.

Las Islas Marias wasn't, however, the only local restaurant to be issued demerits for the presence of creepy crawlers. Thai Sushi & Cafe, located on Huebner Road, was called out this week after an inspector found "dead insect remnants" on utensils stored in a bin. The inspector also saw live insects under a drying rack.

LAST WEEK'S RESTAURANT VIOLATIONS: San Antonio restaurant inspections: Sept. 1, 2017

Meanwhile, a Jack in the Box earned points off its inspection score for the use of browned lettuce in the service line and its storage in the walk-in cooler. Tables and chairs also had "a greasy feel" to them, according to reports.

See the other restaurants that landed on this week's list and their violations in the gallery above.

To make the Express-News' list of dirtiest restaurants, an establishment must earn a score of 89 or below  or anything less than an "A"  during a random city health inspection.

The San Antonio Express-News examines hundreds of restaurant inspections each week conducted by the San Antonio Food and Environmental Health Services division to bring you the eateries with scores of 89 or below.

Restaurants are graded on a 100-point system, where "100" is a perfect score, and demerits are based upon the number of violations found during a regular food establishment inspection. There are three categories of demerits and each are assigned a demerit score of 3, 2 or 1 points, according to the health division.

Scores and demerits listed are only representative of the state of the restaurant at the time of inspection and are surveyed at random.

erobinson@mysa.com

Twitter: @eeelizzzabeth
Greenwich resident Judge Judy Sheindlin was seen shopping at Sephora on Greenwich Avenue on Wednesday afternoon. Sheindlin is the first featured guest on FOX News Channels new series OBJECTified which premieres on Sunday, Sept. 17 at 8 p.m. Sheindlin will share her most prized possessions in her Greenwich home with the shows host, TMZs Harvey Levin. The series will showcase intimate interviews with high-profile celebrities and newsmakers every Sunday with future guests including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bedford resident and kitchen guru Martha Stewart and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. Stay tuned 

Out there 

A flag-raising ceremony in celebration of Mexican Independence Day takes place at the Town Hall in Greenwich on Friday, Sept. 15 at 10 a.m.

Scene 

The Midtown Men, four stars from the original cast of the renowned Broadway show Jersey Boys, will perform at the Malta House Benefit Concert at 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 30 at The Palace Theatre in Stamford. For tickets and more info go to PalaceStamford.org, or call 203-325-4466.

Out there ...

Its not too late to get your tickets for the 2017 Greenwich Wine + Food Festival on Friday, Sept. 22 and Saturday, Sept. 23 at Roger Sherman Baldwin Park. The annual event will feature a slew of attractions beginning with the Master Chef Wine Dinner hosted by celebrity chef Scott Conant of Chopped and special guest Adam Richman with a live performance by Big Head Todd & The Monsters. Saturday will include cooking demos and book signings with celebrity chefs Mario Batali, Scott Conant, Alex Guarnaschelli and Adam Richman; a Grand Tasting Tent and Market Place featuring vendors showcasing culinary trends and technology; a VIP Tent with private bars and restrooms and VIP Ambassador Chef Dinner; Empire City Casino gaming tables; Saturday Night Intimate Stage & Lawn Dinner featuring cocktails and oysters from Saltaire and a three course meal by Chef Rui Correia of Douro Group; and live music by The Ian Murray Band and Platinum-selling rock band Train. For tickets and more info go to www.greenwichwineandfood.com

Out there 

The Norwalk Oyster Festival takes place this weekend in Veterans Park on Seaview Avenue. The annual event will include carnival rides, arts and crafts, vendors, a circus tent, an international food court, game, musical acts, harbor cruises and oysters. For more info go to www.seaport.org.

Out there 

The Ancient Order of Hibernians fundraiser Half Way to St. Patricks Day featuring the Irish Band takes place on Saturday, Sept. 16 at the AOH Hall on Greyrock Place in Stamford 7 p.m. to midnight. For more info and tickets ($20) contact Bridget Ormond Kopek at Brie623@optonline.net or call 203-329-1814.

Scene 

Dallas Mavericks owner and celebrity judge on ABCs Shark Tank Mark Cubans 288-foot mega-yacht The Fountainhead was seen anchored off of Island Beach.

Out there 

Bark in the Park for four-legged friends takes place at Latham Park on Bedford Street in Stamford on Sunday, Sept. 10, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event will feature pet health tips with Dr. Nolan Ziede of Bulls Head Pet Hospital; costume and best trick contests, a CPR Demo and more. Visitors are asked to donate an item to animals in need at the event, which is free. The first 150 attendees will receive a doggie goodie bag from Link AKC. For more info go to http://stamford-downtown.com/events/bark-in-the-park-2/.

Out there 

Audubon Greenwichs 19th-annual Fall Festival & Hawk Watch takes place Saturday, Sept. 16 and Sunday, Sept. 17, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The event celebrating the fall season will feature live raptor shows, rehabilitated hawk releases, a petting zoo, a rock climbing wall, hayrides, face painting, guided hikes, games and crafts, local exhibitors and food. Admission is $10 for members and $15 non-members. For more info go to greenwich.audubon.org or call 203-869-5272.

And thats all for now.

Later

Got a tip? Seen a celebrity? E-mail Susie Costaregni at thedish2@yahoo.com.
Eight years ago, as a once-in-a-generation Democratic Senate supermajority debated health care reform, Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., kept their focus narrow. As the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Baucus was focused on passing a reform bill that moderate Republicans could support. At one point, he had single-payer health care supporters removed from a hearing; Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., an advocate for Canada-style universal coverage, set up a meeting to tide them over. But he did not expect much from Baucus.

"[Is he open] to single-payer?" Sanders asked rhetorically. "Not in a million years."

His estimate was just 999,999,993 years off. At a Thursday night forum in his home state, a now-retired Baucus suggested that single-payer health care could pass, and not too long from now.

"My personal view is we've got to start looking at single-payer," Baucus said, according to the Bozeman Daily Chronicle. "I think we should have hearings. . . we're getting there. It's going to happen."

Baucus' comments came as Sanders wraps up a lengthy launch for his own Medicare-for-All bill, which will be released on Sept. 13. As he's fended off questions about Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign memoir, Sanders, who makes no secret of his disdain for "gossip" question, has repeatedly pivoted to discuss the Medicare-for-All bill. ("Tell me you don't care about this," Sanders chided MSNBC's Chris Hayes when the host asked about Clinton this week.)

The bill has no chance of passage in a Republican-run Senate; an 11th-hour proposal to repeal the Affordable Care Act, favored by Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., is the only major overhaul that might be considered before the end of the month. (Senators on both sides consider it unlikely.) But with fanfare and splashy headlines, Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., both possible 2020 presidential candidates who had previously talked up single-payer, have preemptively endorsed the Sanders bill. Two other Democrats, Sen. Brian Schatz (Hawaii) and Sen. Chris Murphy (Conn.), have also spun off their own universal health care bills after discussing them with Sanders.

"We're not going to pass a single-payer health care bill any time in the next few years," Murphy told Politico this week, "and so we need to have a conversation about how we get there."

All of that has demonstrated a shift in Democratic Party politics that began in 2016 and accelerated during the Republicans' eight-month fumble of the repeal effort. No Democrat, nor Sanders, expects all 48 members of the party's caucus to endorse one of the universal health-care bills this year. But even Democrats in competitive races have begun talking about single-payer as an eventual end point. At a Homeland Security committee meeting this week, Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., who faces re-election next year, went out of his way to call single-payer "something we should, quite frankly, take a solid look at."

The Republican Party's response revealed a reason for Democrats' new confidence. In a statement, Tester challenger Matt Rosendale, who was not the GOP's first choice for 2018, accused Tester of favoring a "government takeover" of the insurance market. "I'm appalled that Tester would suggest such a radical plan that would blow up our nation's budget and put Montanans' health in the hands of the federal government," he said.

But like the web ads run by Republicans in August, Rosendale's attacks repeated what Republicans had already said about the Affordable Care Act. In conversations this week, several Democrats said that a lesson from the 2016 campaign, applicable to health care, was that voters favored an idea they could quickly understand over an idea that was means-tested but overly complicated.

Democrats remain cautious, however, of the single-payer bills that exist right now. In July, Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., introduced an amendment to the GOP's repeal bill that would have replaced its text with Rep. John Conyers', D-Mich., universal coverage bill - one that would replace private insurance, essentially, with a national system. Sanders gave colleagues permission to oppose it, and four did, while the rest voted present. Daines, after all, had been elected to fill the seat once held by Max Baucus.
If you have a phone in Tajikistan, odds are you've received a text message reminding you what not to wear.

In: "national" Tajik dress, now required by law at all "traditional" gatherings. Out: the hijab, and other kinds of Muslim dress.

"Observe Tajik traditional clothes," one message read. Another advised citizens to "respect traditional clothes."

"Let's make it a tradition to wear traditional clothes," demanded a third.

The messages were sent as part of a national effort to publicize a new law. The measure, signed last month, requires people to "stick to traditional and national clothes and culture" at events like weddings and funerals. It also bans "nontraditional dress" and "alien garments." Activists say those are euphemisms for the hijab, which officials have labeled part of "alien culture and traditions" in the past. The country's legislators are still figuring out how they might punish those who don't oblige.

The government says the new rule, passed by legislators in August, will help combat Islamist radicalism. The country's Muslims, though, see a more nefarious aim - an effort to regulate their faith. Ninety percent of Tajiks are Muslim, but the government has worked assiduously to stamp out most markers of the faith.

Last year, the government shuttered scores of shops selling women's religious clothing. In March 2016, government officials forcibly shaved about 13,000 Muslim men. In August, more than 8,000 women were stopped across the country because they were wearing a hijab. According to reports, teams of state officials instructed the women on how to tie their headscarves in a more "traditional" way, warning them to tie the scarf from behind, which would leave the front of the neck exposed. One woman told Radio Liberty that she had been separated from her children and forced to remove her hijab. "They told us to wear national clothing only," the woman said. She was so shaken that she said she's now nervous to go out in public.

All religious groups must register with the state, and the government has final say over whether houses of worship can be built and whether children can attend religious schools. Officials also regulate the distribution of religious literature. Those younger than 18 cannot participate in public religious activities, and Islamic prayer is tightly monitored. Even religious weddings and funerals are regulated by state officials.

The hijab has been a particular source of tension. The head covering became popular after the fall of the Soviet Union, to the chagrin of the government. Officials have tried to discourage women from wearing it through advertisements and news reports on state media suggesting that women who cover their faces might be prostitutes. In 2015, President Emomali Rahmon said the hijab was a sign of "poor education and incivility." Last month, an official told Radio Liberty that "all Salafist wives wear hijabs."

"We have many examples where women wearing the hijab take drugs, deal in human trafficking and other things that are far from Tajik culture and the honor of Tajik women," he said.

The government says these rules are important because they allow the government to root out terrorists. Officials say that hundreds of Tajiks have gone to fight for the Islamic State, though activists contest that number.

But Muslims and human rights advocates say the government is obsessing about the wrong things.

"Defending our culture, traditions and national values is undoubtedly important for the Tajik people and the unity of the population," Faiziniso Vohidova, a lawyer and rights activist, told Eurasianet. "But this should not be accompanied by the violation of human rights and interference in people's lives. . . . I think lowering poverty levels and improving the economy are more important matters than women's clothing."
Claiming that Gauri had worked for the surrender of Naxalites, BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad asked why the Siddaramaiah government had not provided the senior journalist security.

By Siddhartha Rai: As the RSS-BJP came under attack in case of the gruesome murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh in Karnataka, the saffron party on Friday hit back at the Opposition, calling into question the role of the Congress government in the state.

Another Sangh Parivar constituent, the VHP, asked for a CBI probe in the matter, expressing suspicion that the murder could be a Congress conspiracy.

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The BJP questioned the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government in Karnataka on its failure to provide security to Lankesh, who was murdered outside her house in Bengaluru. The party also raised suspicion around the possible role of extremist left wing elements in perpetrating the murder, referring to her work for the surrender of Naxalites.

Senior BJP leader and Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad condemned the "malafide" comments on the "regrettable and unfortunate" killing of the journalist-activist. Claiming that she had worked for the surrender of Naxalites, Prasad asked why the Siddaramaiah government had not provided her security.

"Indrajit Lankesh is on record having said publicly that his sister was working actively to ensure the surrender of Naxalites. So was she doing it with consent and approval of the state government, and if so, why was she not provided adequate security?" said Prasad.

"It had also been said Naxalites were unhappy with this. Why was there such a security failure by the Congress government in Karnataka?" he added.

Meanwhile, VHP international joint general secretary Surendra Jain told Mail Today, "Killings have so far in India been a festival for the left over which they have celebrated their politics. They jump at killings and jump at conclusions and their associates, like organised mafia, exploit it. Either Gauri's murder or that of another scribe in Bihar, no one should be killed; it is regrettable. But playing politics over this is all the more regrettable. Gauri was working recently on cases of corruption and scams by Congress leaders in the state. She was having an ideological clash with Naxalites. In the last one year 22 scribes have been killed. Who did they raise their voice at?" Jain said.

"We want a CBI inquiry in the matter. But that needs the permission of the state government. In recent times, many of our cadre were killed in Karnataka and shamefully no one has been arrested and jailed in those respects. Law and order has broken down. Siddaramaiah is trying to play a bloody game in Karnataka politics. Therefore, all these killings seem to be sponsored by him and his Congress government. In last one year, 13 BJP workers were killed and none has been jailed. For a handful of Muslim votes Siddaramaiah can do anything,"Jain said.

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Meanwhile, Prasad lashed out against so called liberals of double standards who remain silent on on the killings of RSS workers in Karnataka and Kerala. "Why is that all my liberal friends who speak so eloquently and strongly against the killing of a journalist maintain conspicuous silence when so many RSS and BJP workers were killed in Karnataka and Kerala," he said.

ALSO READ |

Senior journalist Gauri Lankesh shot dead at her Bengaluru home, kin demands CBI probe

Gauri Lankesh murder: CM Siddaramaiah orders SIT probe, Home Minister Rajnath Singh asks for report

Why Gauri Lankesh's brother thinks both Naxal, Hindu extremist angles should be looked into

ALSO WATCH | Gauri Lankesh murder: Karnataka govt shying away from CBI probe?

--- ENDS ---
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SAN ANTONIO - A man is recovering at an area hospital Saturday afternoon after he was shot during an altercation with another man at a West Side gas station.

San Antonio police said a fight began about noon when three men in a vehicle exchanged words with another man sitting in a vehicle near the pumps of a Valero Corner Store on Bandera and Culebra roads.

"We don't know what they were fighting about, that's still under investigation," Sgt. Steve Priore said. "We do know the fight was not over gas."

Priore said the men involved in the fight were being uncooperative and none of them were talking to investigators.

RELATED: Fight at an East Side sports bar ends in shooting

According to police, the three men approached the other man sitting in the back of the vehicle near the gas pumps when one of the three verbally threatened the man.

As the arguing continued one of the three men then began punching the man sitting in the car, Priore said.

When the man throwing punches wouldn't let up, the man getting punched pulled a gun and shot his attacker in the leg, police said.

Priore said the man shot was taken to University Hospital and is expected to recover.

Police continue to investigate and no one had yet been arrested or charged as of Saturday afternoon.

jbeltran@express-news.net

Twitter: @JBfromSA
Donald Trump told us that hed hire the best people. He didnt mention that hed be unable to fire them.

The president is experiencing a bout of insubordination from his top officials the likes of which we havent witnessed in the modern era. Its not unusual to have powerful officials at war among themselves, or in the presidential doghouse. Its downright bizarre to have them publicly undercut the president without fear of consequence.

The new measure of power in Washington is how far you can go criticizing the president at whose pleasure you serve. The hangers-on and junior players must do it furtively and anonymously. Only a principal like Gary Cohn, Rex Tillerson or James Mattis can do it out in the open and get away with it.

First, it was chief economic adviser Cohn saying in an interview that the administration  i.e., Donald J. Trump  must do a better job denouncing hate groups. Then it was Secretary of State Tillerson suggesting in a stunning interview with Chris Wallace of Fox News that the rest of the government speaks for American values, but not necessarily the president. Finally, Secretary of Defense Mattis contradicted without a moments hesitation a Trump tweet saying we are done talking with North Korea.

In a more normal time, in a more normal administration, any of these would be a firing offense. Tillerson, in particular, should have been told before he was off the set of Fox News on Sunday that he was only going to be allowed to return to the seventh floor of the State Department to clean out his desk.

The fact that this hasnt happened is an advertisement of Trumps precarious standing, broadcast by officials he himself selected for positions of significant power and prestige. This isnt the work of the deep state, career bureaucrats maneuvering or leaking from somewhere deep within the agencies. This is the shallow state, the very top layer of the government, operating in broad daylight.

Trump, of course, largely brought this on himself. He is reaping the rewards of his foolish public spat with Jeff Sessions and of his woeful Charlottesville remarks.

By publicly humiliating his own attorney general, Trump seemed to want to make him quit. When Sessions stayed put, Trump didnt fire him because he didnt want to deal with the fallout. In the implicit showdown, Sessions had won. Not only had Trump shown that he was all bark and no bite, he had demonstrated his lack of loyalty to those working for him.

So why should those working for him fear him or be loyal to him? With his loss of moral legitimacy post-Charlottesville, the president is more dependent on the people around him than they are on him.

Globalist Gary, as his Trumpist enemies style him, is invested with considerable market power, more than any political official besides the president himself. Tillerson is eminently replaceable, but his immediate sacking would be too destabilizing. If Mattis were to leave, it would cause a freak-out on Capitol Hill and around the world.

Mattis and Co. obviously consider themselves the presidents minders more than his underlings. But the least they could do is not air this patronizing attitude. They are impressive and accomplished people, but no one elected any of them president of the United States. They dont do the country any favors by highlighting Trumps weakness and by making it obvious that the American government doesnt speak with one voice.

It should be up to chief of staff John Kelly to make it stop. This isnt the system working, the cliche for how various other power centers have thwarted Trump in the early going. Its the system gone haywire and tottering on the brink of a more serious crisis.

Nothing good can come from top officials of the U.S. government making it obvious that they believe, to borrow Tillersons phrase, that the president speaks for himself  and no one else.

comments.lowry@nationalreview.com
While controversy swirls around next weeks release of Hillary Clintons memoir about the 2016 presidential election, former President Bill Clinton spoke of unifying America Friday night in San Francisco during a tribute to longtime civil rights leader the Rev. Amos Brown.

Clinton gave a 22-minute keynote speech at San Franciscos Third Baptist Church at an event dubbed Service to the Community, State, Nation and the World. He was introduced by Gov. Jerry Brown, and the program was hosted by former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, a Chronicle columnist. Also appearing was the Rev. Jesse Jackson.

They were there to honor Amos Brown, who has been pastor of San Franciscos Third Baptist Church since 1976. Born and raised in Mississippi, he has been a member of the Board of Supervisors and a San Francisco Community College trustee. The longtime civil rights leader led the San Francisco chapter of the NAACP and served on its national board. Over his career, he was handpicked as one of few people to study under the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., participated with the Freedom Riders, testified before Congress against the Supreme Court nomination of Clarence Thomas, has been a longtime supporter of LGBT rights, and last year endorsed the legalization of cannabis for recreational use.

It was Clinton  introduced by his former presidential primary rival Jerry Brown  who drew the audiences rapt attention with a riff that was heavy on religion. He quoted the Bible, the Quran and the Torah. Willie Brown said that while they stood together Friday during the service, he heard Clintons baritone sing Lift Every Voice and Sing, a song often referred to as the black national anthem. I had no idea they sang that in the white churches in Hope, Ark., too, Willie Brown quipped.

Clinton said he came to San Francisco because when he ran for president, Amos Brown and his wife, Jane Brown, were the only people besides his own mother who thought he had a chance to win. Even Hillary and Chelsea were undecided, he quipped. (He was also reportedly in town to headline a fundraiser for his foundation.)

I am here because you gave 40 years of your life to make this church the embodiment of San Franciscos open door, Clinton said. And what I honestly believe (is what) America will come back to.

Clinton praised Amos Brown for giving people second, third, fourth and 10th chances. The former president said he was recently talking with friends and one asked if he had to start over and pick a religion to follow, which would he pick.

Id have to be a Christian after the life Ive lived, Clinton quipped. Because we believe in a God of second chances.

He referenced how the mapping of the human genome showed that people were 99.5 percent the same.

But we spend 99 percent of our time worrying about that half percent, Clinton said.

Clinton didnt mention any political party or President Trump by name, though he did refer to him obliquely. The world is so connected now, Clinton said, that walls wont keep us apart.

The only walls that we cant get over, he said, are the walls we build in our hearts.

Clinton said Amos Brown reminded people that no matter how rich they are, were all headed to the same place.

We cant be turned off by crazy things that are on the Internet. Crazy things that are said. It all comes down to the Good Samaritan, Clinton said. It all comes down to whether you want to live in an us and them world or a we world.

Bill Clintons conciliatory remarks were a far cry from the past weeks worth of intraparty Democratic Party sniping inspired by leaked excerpts from Hillary Clintons new 494-page third memoir, What Happened, to be released next week.

In an excerpt that was leaked online, Clinton criticized her primary rival, Sen. Bernie Sanders, independent-Vt., writing that his attacks caused lasting damage, making it harder to unify progressives in the general election and paving the way for Trumps Crooked Hillary campaign.

I dont know if that bothered Bernie or not, Hillary Clinton wrote.

Sanders responded this week during an appearance on CBS The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

Look, you know, Secretary Clinton ran against the most unpopular candidate in the history of this country, and she lost. And she was upset by that, Sanders told Colbert when asked about Clintons book. I understand that.

Our job now is not to go backwards, its to go forward. It is to try to create the nation we know we can become, Sanders said. I think its a little bit silly to keep talking about 2016. Weve got too many problems.

Joe Garofoli is The San Francisco Chronicles senior political writer. Email: jgarofoli@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @joegarofoli
The bus driver's negligence has been blamed for the death.

Visual from the site of the accident (Photo: ANI)

By Ganesh Radha-Udayakumar, Anindya Banerjee: A six-year-old girl died after she was run over by a school bus in Ghaziabad's Kavi Nagar.

The driver's negligence has been blamed for the death.

"How horrible for a parent to know her child died in this manner. God bless all (those) - parents, friends and students - who witnessed this death," a Twitter user commented below a link to a news report on the incident.

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It isn't the first time a child has been killed this month in a road accident in the NCR (National Capital Region). Only days ago, a seven-year-old boy died after he was run over by a tempo in Noida, the Press Trust of India reported.

STATISTICS PAINT A DISTRESSING PICTURE

As many as 43 children are killed daily in road accidents in India, NDTV reported in January this year citing National Crime Records Bureau data.

Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Wednesday that in the number of accidents in 2016 fell by 4.1 percent, but more people died (a 3.2 per cent increase) than in the previous year.

Gadkari said that in the first half of 2017, India recorded a 3 per cent decline in road accidents and a 4.75 per cent decrease in deaths ensuing from them, compared to the same period in 2016.

NOTE: It was earlier reported that the victim's age was eight. But an update confirmed that she was six years old.

(Inputs from agencies)

ALSO READ

17 people died in road accidents per hour in India last year

Mumbai: Police constable dies after accident due to pothole

ALSO WATCH

Amarnath Yatra bus accident (July 2016): PM Modi condoles death of 16 pilgrims

--- ENDS ---
Former Police Commissioner General Augustine Chihuri has won the Supreme Court appeal by the State contesting an order for forfeiture of his properties acquired over his 25 year tenure at the helm of the Police.

The National Prosecuting Authority had appealed against the removal of some of his properties from the unexplained wealth orders, five months ago.

Chihuri, who fled to exile in 2017, resumed control over some of the properties he acquired during his 25 years at the helm of the police force following a High Court judgment in June this year, which ruled partly in his favour.

But other assets and those of his companies fingered in possible corrupt business deals with the police force remained under the unexplained wealth orders. Dissatisfied with the lower court decision, The NPA took the matter up to the Supreme Court challenging the decision.

A three-judge panel comprising Justices Susan Mavangira, George Chiweshe and Joseph Musakwa upheld the decision by Justice Pisirayi Kwenda earlier this year and struck the appeal off the roll citing non compliant and defective grounds of appeal. The High court accepted Chihuris explanation on his source of funds generally. He retired after serving the ZRP for 37 years.

Chihuri argued that over the period of employment, he made savings on salaries, bonuses, savings from foreign trips and conditions of service benefits. He said he was a delegate and vice president for Interpol in Africa and was remunerated in US dollars.

The High Court noted that in any event Chihuri acquired all the assets prior to the period during which, the State alleges he became involved in serious crime. The allegation is that he was involved in crime in the year 2017.

He argued that all the properties acquired by him and his wife were bought through income from legitimate business.

He further argued that some of the properties were registered as the property of their children for estate planning purposes.

Justice Kwenda ruled that therefore the State is not justified in insinuating that they are proceeds of crime because they were all acquired prior to the year 2014. Chihuri claims that various documents had been submitted with the application to prove the acquisition; in some cases, disposal; and ownership of the various properties.

It was the courts conclusion that the unexplained wealth orders were unreasonable and unjustified and that had he (Chihuri) been afforded the opportunity to explain it is unlikely that this court, acting reasonably and carefully would have granted the ex parte unexplained wealth order.

Chihuri was represented by lawyer Addington Chinake of Kantor & Immerman while the state was represented by Chief Law officer and head of assets forfeiture unit Chris Mutangadura.

 Herald

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A white Zimbabwean farmer evicted by the government of Robert Mugabe has returned to a heros welcome as the first to get his land back under the new president, in a sign of reform on an issue that had hastened the countrys international isolation.

With a military escort, Robert Smart made his way into Lesbury farm about 200 kilometres (124 miles) east of the capital, Harare, on Thursday to cheers and song by dozens of workers and community members.

Such scenes were once unthinkable in a country where land ownership is an emotional issue with political and racial overtones.

We have come to reclaim our farm, sang black women and men, rushing into the compound.

Two decades ago, their arrival would have meant that Smart and his family would have to leave. Ruling Zanu-PF party supporters, led by veterans of the 1970s war against white minority rule, evicted many of Zimbabwes white farmers under an often violent land reform program led by Mugabe.

Whites make up less than 1 percent of the southern African countrys population, but they owned huge tracts of land while blacks remained in largely unproductive areas.

The evictions were meant to address colonial land ownership imbalances skewed against blacks, Mugabe said. Some in the international community responded with outrage and sanctions.

Of the roughly 4,500 white farmers before the land reforms began in 2000, only a few hundred are left.

But Mugabe is gone, resigning last month after the military and ruling party turned against him amid fears that his wife was positioning herself to take power.

New President Emmerson Mnangagwa, a longtime Mugabe ally but stung by his firing as vice president, has promised to undo some land reforms as he seeks to revive the once-prosperous economy.

Smart is the first to have his farm returned. On Thursday, some war veterans and local traditional leaders joined farm workers and villagers in song to welcome his family home.

Oh, Darryn, one woman cried, dashing to embrace Smarts son.

In a flash, dozens followed her. Some ululated, and others waved triumphant fists in the air.

I am ecstatic. Words cannot describe the feeling, Darryn told The Associated Press.

Smarts return, facilitated by Mnangagwas government, could mark a new turn in the politics of land ownership. During his inauguration last month, Mnangagwa described the land reform as inevitable, calling land management key to economic recovery.

Months before an election scheduled for August 2018 at the latest, the new president is desperate to bring back foreign investors and resolve a severe currency shortage, mass unemployment and dramatic price increases.

Zimbabwe is mainly agricultural, with 80 percent of the population depending on it for their livelihoods, according to government figures.

Earlier this month, deputy finance minister Terrence Mukupe travelled to neighbouring Zambia to engage former white Zimbabwean farmers who have settled there.

The Commercial Farmers Union, which represents mainly white farmers, said it plans to meet the lands minister.

I am advising our members to be patient and give it time. But I do see many of them going back into farming, said Peter Steyl, the unions vice president. The government seems serious about getting agriculture on track but how it is going to achieve this, I dont know.

The firmness with which the government ensured Smarts return signalled resolve.

At the farm, a soldier sat quietly in a van that acted as an escort for the family. His services were not needed. The people gathered there share deep social bonds with the family, away from the politics of race and elections.

I have known this boy since day one, said 55-year-old Sevilla Madembo. He was born here. I took care of him when he was young. He is back to take care of me now that I am old.

She was born at the farm, which was home to her parents and grandparents. Associated Press

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FORMER first lady Grace Mugabe allegedly assaulted a housekeeper at her Blue Roof mansion with fists and a shoe after she accepted a cash gift as a wedding present from former president Robert Mugabe, according to a High court application filed by the ex-worker.

In her court application, Shupikai Chiroodza claims she was accused of milking the 95-year-old before being unfairly dismissed by Grace and the Civil Service Commission.

Grace is already mired in other legal woes after allegedly assaulting Gabriella Engels, a Johannesburg model, with a power extension cord in 2017. The South Africa National Prosecuting Authority applied for her extradition.

Chiroodza, through her lawyers Mtetwa and Nyambirai, is seeking to be reinstated to her old job and enjoy full benefits that would have accrued to her from the time she was unlawfully dismissed in May 2017.

The matter is filed under case number HC3310/19. Chiroodza was employed by the Civil Service Commission in April 2008, then known as the Public Service Commission, in the Office of the President and Cabinet under the State Residences department, as a housekeeper at State House. She was then transferred to the Mugabes Blue Roof mansion and promoted to the position of Comptroller 111 on June 21 2015.

The Civil Service Commission and Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare minister Sekai Nzenza are cited as the first and second respondents respectively amid reports that the commission is negotiating an out-of-court settlement.

According to her court application, Chiroodza received a call to report to the human resources office on March 13 2017 where she was told there was an instruction from the senior principal director (Department of State Residences), Innocent Tizora, to place her on forced leave. Tizora told Chiroodza that the forced leave was in connection with a wedding gift. Chiroodza demanded written communication notifying her that she was being placed on forced leave.

 I then asked him to release me to go back to my work station. Immediately after leaving his office on my way to my work station I received a phone call from Dr Tizora again telling me that the former first lady (Grace Mugabe) was waiting for me back at my station and so I drove there and arrived around 1700hrs, she says in the application.

Upon arrival at my work station at about 1700hrs on 13th March 2017, I saw the then first lady waiting for me, when I reached the main door of the house where she was standing she started shouting at me and seized me by the neck and pulled me inside the house and locked the door. She started beating me with clenched fists shouting, unoda kuzviita ani pano? (who do you think you are here?) you are milking my husband behind my back. I did not utter a word as I was terrified. She removed her shoes and continued assaulting me with it and blood started gushing out of my forehead, mouth and nose. The assault continued for about 20 minutes.

At that point some cars arrived with some visitors, she said to me ibva pano! Dai asiri ma visitors angu asvika I wanted to kill you ndakangozvinzwa kuti waudza ani or report anywhere I will definitely kill you. (Get away from here, had it not been for my visitors who have arrived, I wanted to kill you. If I hear you told anyone or report anywhere, I will definitely kill you). After taking her visitors to the other rooms, the former first lady harshly said to me, I want the money that you were given as a gift on your wedding and I dont want to see you here again. I left and drove home.

In the application, Chiroodza explains how the human resources section took back the car she had been using without any proper handover. She then received a letter from Tizora on May 19 2017 stating that she had been discharged from the service with effect from May 11 2017.

She says no investigations had been carried out on the allegations of misconduct against her. There was also no written letter notifying her of the allegations and no report had been forwarded to a disciplinary committee for a formal hearing according to the Public Service Regulations 2000.

In short, none of the most basic procedure for dismissing a person from employment with CSC were followed, hence I contend that I was not dismissed and remain an employee of the CSC, the application reads.

However, at the time, I did not have the courage to go and ask Dr Tizora about this or make any move with regards to this issue because I greatly feared for my life.

Chiroodza then approached the CSC at the end of May the same year but could not get assistance, the application reads. Further follow-ups did not help until Tizora was replaced with Douglas Tapfuma in January 2018. Tapfuma also failed to help.

Chiroodza said her current application is for a declaratory order and consequential relief in the terms set out in the draft order, particularly that to declare the following: The applicant was not dismissed or otherwise terminated from her contract of employment in terms of the Public Service Act or its Regulations. The applicant remains an employee of the Civil Service Commission until such a time as contract is lawfully dealt with.

This story was first published by the Zimbabwe Independent on 10 May 2019

 NewsDay

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By PTI: school violated security norms

(EDs: Includes related series)

Gurgaon/New Delhi, Sep 9 (PTI) The police today promised to conclude investigations and file a charge sheet within seven days in the gruesome murder of a seven-year-old in a Gurgaon school on Friday, an incident that sent shockwaves across the country.

The district authorities also formed a three-member panel to find out if Ryan International School, Bhondsi, had followed security norms. The Manohar Lal Khattar led Haryana government, meanwhile, ordered a security review of schools across the state.

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The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) also formed a two-member fact finding committee to probe the incident and sought a report from the school within two days.

Gurgaon Police Commissioner Sandeep Khirwar claimed that arrested schoolbus conductor Ashok Kumars involvement as the perpetrator of the heinous crime had come to the fore clearly.

Kumar was inside the toilet, waiting for any student to come inside with the motive of sexual assault. The deceased was the first student who entered the toilet, the Gurgaon police commissioner said.

He said the child resisted Kumars assault following which the bus conductor murdered him. The childs throat was slit.

"Kumar said he was terrified and had to kill the minor so that he does not disclose the crime to the school management. He left the knife in the washroom and washed his hands before escaping from there. He pre-planned the crime," Khirwar told PTI.

He said the police will conclude investigations and file a charge sheet within seven days.

We will demand the constitution of a special court for a fast track trial in this case so that the accused can be given a strict punishment, Khirwar said.

"Kumars clothes and knife, which he used in the crime, have been sent for forensic examination. During his three day police remand, we will re-examine the sequence of crime and probe every detail," the officer said.

Earlier in the day a local court remanded Kumar to three days in police custody.

Khirwar assured that a thorough and professional probe will be carried out.

The accused spoke to some TV channels and on being asked whether he had committed the crime responded in the affirmative.

"I had lost my mind," he said when asked about the motive. Asked about the knife, he said it was already there in the school bus and he had come to wash it.

The grief-stricken family of the child was however said they were not satisfied and sought a CBI probe.

Speaking to mediapersons, the deceaseds mother alleged that the school had informed them that the child had fallen after fainting as she demanded a CBI probe.

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Angry family members staged a protest for over two hours outside the school premises demanding a CBI probe. They demanded that the school management be booked.

At a press conference, Commissioner Khirwar said that a three member panel comprising the district education officer, block education officer and an officer of the women and child department had been formed to probe any negligence or security lapses by the school management.

The panel will submit its report Monday and on its basis suitable action will be taken, he said.

Khirwar said that the registration of the security agency hired by the school management had been annulled.

The acting principal of Ryan International School was suspended and all the security staff removed.

"The Ryan International School management has suspended acting principal Neerja Batra and removed all the security staff," District Public Relation Officer R S Sangwan said.

After the post-mortem, the boys body was handed over to his family and his last rites was performed at the cremation ground in Bhondsi where hundreds had gathered.

They raised slogans against Gurgaon MLA, Umesh Aggarwal, Sohna MLA, Tejpal, and Haryana PWD minister, Rao Narbir Singh, who had come to express condolences.

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The boys father, who works as a quality manager with a private firm in Gurgaon, accused the school administration of negligence.

According to forensic expert Deepak Mathur, who conducted the post-mortem, said "The deceased had two cuts on his neck. His throat was almost completely slit. Hemorrhage and excessive blood loss caused the death".

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar condemned the crime terming the incident as "heinous and unfortunate."

Those guilty will not be spared, he said adding that the concerned authorities were asked to file a challan within seven days.

"We will appeal to the court to give harsh punishment to the accused as early as possible," he said.

Patting the district administration for "acting swiftly", he said that the school bus conductor had been arrested. Khattar said that a security review of schools across the state would be conducted.

HRD minister Prakash Javadekar also termed the incident as "unfortunate" and assured that justice would be done.

Several protests over the murder were held all over the city and traffic was disrupted in many parts. Part of busy Delhi-Jaipur highway, Alwar-Sohna road and a few arterial roads were blocked.

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Ryan International School issued a statement saying that "Following the tragic incident at our school yesterday, the school authorities have seriously taken up the review of the security measures at the school. All necessary improvements and measures are being audited and reinforced with the help of experts."

We are also seeking advice from the Police department to guide us in this regard, it said.

"While, we are all in great shock and grief at the loss of life of our beloved student, we are taking these steps simultaneously to ensure vigorous safety measures in place for all our students and staff. We are closely working with the investigating authorities so that we could be guided further with their expertise," the school statement said.

The accused, Kumar, is a resident of Ghamdoj village in Sohna and was hired by school bus contractor around seven months ago, the police said.

Villagers in Ghamdoj alleged Kumar had been framed and said he had no previous history of being involved in any crime.

The CBSE said that it had formed a fact finding committee to look into the incident.

"V Arun Kumar, principal of Govt Senior Secondary School in Preet Vihar and Kailash Chand, Deputy Commissioner at KVS, have been appointed as the panel members. The panel will have to visit the school within 30 days and submit a report no later than October 16," an official added. PTI CORR CHS GJS SPK GK VSD ADS

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Former Zimbabwe National Army Chief of Staff Major General Trust Mugoba has died.

Mugoba died at a private hospital in Harare a week after he was admitted with an undisclosed ailment, government spokesman Nick Mangwana told ZimLive.

He passed away early this morning, Mangwana said by phone from Harare.

Mugoba left his post in March 2017 after he was seconded to the African Union where he assumed the position of Chief of Staff of the continentals bodys Stand-by Force.

It was only months after Mugobas departure that Zimbabwes military moved against longtime ruler Robert Mugabe, ousting him in a coup in November 2017.

As fate would have it, Mugoba breathed his last on the same day that Mugabe died in a hospital in Singapore where he had been admitted since April.

A family friend said Mugobas health deteriorated in August, forcing him to return home from the African Union headquarters in Ethiopia.

 ZimLive

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ZANU PF Manicaland provincial chair Mike Madiro was reportedly booed and detained by angry war veterans and party activists, after failing to explain circumstances leading to Joseph Mujatis demotion as vice-chairperson.

The incident happened on Unity Day at Vengere Hall after Madiro had just finished addressing a Makoni inter-district meeting.

Madiro reportedly made a raft of changes to the provincial structures, with Mujati being replaced by Dorothy Mabika from Chipinge as his deputy, while Makoni North legislator Francis Muchenje was promoted from deputy secretary to secretary for security.

A source who attended the meeting said the skirmishes started after Madiro refused to take questions from party supporters over Mujatis status.

After addressing the meeting, there was a suggestion to have a question-and-answer session, but Madiro refused and people started shouting. He was briefly detained by the war veterans, the source said.

They wanted to know why Dorothy Mabika was promoted, demoting Mujati who is also from Makoni district. I think everyone in the province knows how Mujati fought the G40 cabal. He was victimised by the Samuel Undenge-led executive.

Party members felt Mujati should have remained in the executive, considering the role he played in blocking Undenges bid to turn the entire province into a G40 entity.

Zanu PF Manicaland youth chairman Tawanda Mukodza confirmed the incident, but said Madiro was not the target.

The meeting went on very well. It was after the meeting that the skirmishes started. There were some people who did not want Chief Makoni to give a vote of thanks, Mukodza said.

They have their own fights in Makoni, but chairman Madiro wanted to solve the disputes and some blows were exchanged.

The chairman [Madiro] addressed the people and they were happy at the end.

Both Madiro and provincial secretary for administration Kenneth Saruchera could not be reached for comment yesterday. Newsday

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ZANU PF has started a witch-hunt targeting prospective legislators and officials fingered by the countrys spy arms for allegedly plotting a post-election impeachment of President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

This comes as the 75-year-old leader is struggling to unite a party riven by factionalism and mounting suspicion.

The Daily News can report that a politburo meeting held at the Zanu PF headquarters mid this week that recalled three legislators from Parliament  Godfrey Gandawa (Magunje), Beater Nyamupinga (Goromonzi West) and Masango Matambanadzo (Kwekwe Central)  also set up a special committee to vet infiltrators who used money to get elected on the ruling partys ticket.

Zanu PF insiders said the committee was mandated with vetting all CVs of those suspected to be working against party interests, including those who won.

The party resolved that an internal investigation would be carried out and then the party will replace those who would have been found wanting, a politburo member who requested anonymity told the Daily News.

Mnangagwa himself revealed the plot to impeach him at a Zanu PF workshop held on Wednesday as he pleaded with disenchanted party members to rally behind his presidency.

The ruling partys spokesperson, Simon Khaya Moyo, said he could not divulge what Zanu PF was doing to flush out the malcontents who were named by Mnangagwa.

It can never be a press matter. It is an internal matter that we are dealing with within the party structures, Khaya Moyo told the Daily News.

In a press statement issued on Wednesday night, Khaya Moyo appealed for unity in the troubled party ahead of the watershed elections to be held on July 30.

Campaigns for the president and Zanu PF candidates for the coming harmonised elections to be held on July 30, 2018 must be in full swing from now onwards, as Zanu PF must win resoundingly as it did in 2013. Unity and peace are the watch words, said Khaya Moyo.

Khaya Moyo announced the recalling from the august House of Gandawa, Nyamupinga and Matambanadzo, saying the trio were aware of the reasons for their dismissal from Zanu PF.

They know the reason themselves. I know that three have been recalled. Secretary for administration Obert Mpofu has written to the Speaker of Parliament Jacob Mudenda on the development.

The recalling has something to do with their conduct and, of course, I would say to do with bringing the name of the party into disrepute. I have not seen the letters myself but, I am quite aware that they have been recalled from Parliament.

One cannot just be withdrawn from Parliament. There is a reason for that. As a party spokesperson, my duty is just to communicate issues and soon we will know why they have been recalled, Khaya Moyo said.

On Thursday, Gandawa, who was blocked from standing in the chaotic Zanu PF primary elections held in April, hinted that he would stand as an independent candidate for Magunje.

Zanu PF is a voluntary organisation. I joined voluntarily and they expelled me because they no longer need my services so I accept that. But no one communicated with me. If ever there is something that I did wrong, I only saw it on television. I am a politician and I am still weighing my options. At the appropriate time, I will make my decision, said Gandawa.

Matambanadzo said he was not fired from Zanu PF but voluntarily resigned.

I am not sure if that is the correct term that they recalled me because I withdrew from Zanu PF and gave the letter to the provincial leadership. Yes, they have recalled me from Parliament, I am not worried. My stance is irreversible they have done enough, I was a prisoner in Zanu PF, they did not want to see me at any meeting in Zanu PF.

So many people suffered because of my belonging to Zanu PF. I am confident that I will win in another party. They barred me from addressing a rally, so many people were pushing me to stand as an independent candidate, my councillors they were denied to stand and so they decided to join NPF (the National Patriotic Front) and they told me to join them too. After I had a thank you rally, people urged me to join a party that would receive me, so I joined NPF, said Matambanadzo.

Nyamupinga said she is still in the dark as to why she was chucked out of the party.

I have not heard from Parliament, I am not sure why I was recalled. There are some people saying I said that Terrence Mukupe should have been fired first but that is false, said Nyamupinga.

Political analysts canvassed by the Daily News said Mnangagwa has reason to fear an internal rebellion judging from the way he also came to power.

Looks like someone is having a crisis of confidence and fighting battles on many fronts as ED warns aspiring candidates against plans to impeach him should he win in July. But is the impeachment threat real or the man has become paranoid like his old boss, remarked legal expert Alex Magaisa.

Professor of world politics at the London School of Oriental and African studies Stephen Chan said Mnangagwa is likely to discipline possible renegades.

Impeachment is a very difficult constitutional process. Firstly, there have to be constitutionally proper grounds for impeachment. Secondly, even if impeached  meaning essentially a strong vote of no confidence, and this would probably have to be in both houses of Parliament  the president could then dissolve Parliament and call for fresh elections.

I really dont see impeachment happening, especially if Mnangagwa wins a strong electoral mandate. Of course, this is a constitutional device attempted in many countries, and  if the motion of no confidence came from his own parliamentarians  a wise president would count the number of dissidents as a warning sign.

But, normally, the party whip for Zanu PF would seek to discipline any such dissidents. The party hierarchy could also be asked to discipline such people for bringing the party into disrepute. If the motion came from the opposition  then, with its current parliamentary numbers, there would not be enough votes for the motion. If the opposition wins the elections, there would be no need to impeach someone who had been defeated, said Chan.

 DailyNews

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ZIMBABWES new President Emmerson Mnangagwa, whose rise to power had the fingerprints of a military coup, has called for a culture of smooth succession in Africa.

He spoke after emerging winner from a bitterly contested succession fight involving assassination attempt claims, which was only resolved by military intervention.

While paying tribute to former presidents who graced his inauguration on Friday, Mnangagwa said the narrative of smooth succession must permeate the continent.

The statesmen who are with us today show a story of succession which speaks well of our continent, he said.

It is a narrative that must get bolder and bolder as generations hand over to succeeding ones, all in amity.

Zambias founding father Kenneth Kaunda, Namibias first black leader Sam Nunjoma and his successor Hifukepunye Pohamba graced Mnangagwas finest hour as he took up the position of Zimbabwes second republican President 37 years since the end of settler colonial rule.

Very few countries in Africa have built and sustained a culture of smooth democratic transition. Mnangagwas own romp to the presidency was on the back of a military intervention that stormed Harare on November 15, keeping former President Robert Mugabe under house arrest until the new leader was inaugurated.

Mugabe (93) had obstinately refused to hand over power even in the face of pressure from citizens, the military and only capitulated at the 11th hour as Parliament began proceedings to impeach him. Back in 2008, Mugabe lost the first round of elections to opposition MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai, but reportedly could not amass enough votes to unseat his rival before the army flexed its muscle during the run off from which the former Prime Minister pulled out, citing systematic State sponsored violence.

Meanwhile, Mnangagwa promised free, fair and credible elections next year, adding he would work hard to build a new democracy. He invited the opposition and ordinary Zimbabweans to help him in the process.

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The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) has released a relaxed festive season roadblock schedule which establishes police checkpoints at least 100 kilometres apart on national trunk roads as part of the forces efforts to improve its battered public image.

The news is likely to be received with joy by long distance travellers who have in recent years been subjected to police harassment on the roads.

Previously, travellers had to endure heavy police presences on the roads during this period of the year, with most of the roadblocks stuffed by bribe-taking cops.

The roadblocks would be haphazardly located and in some instances, a distance of just ten kilometres would have three or four road blocks.

According to the schedule released by the ZRP traffic section on Friday, only four road blocks have been established along the Harare-Mutare highway, a distance spanning 266km.

The roadblocks are located at Mabvuku, just outside Harare, Marondera, Rusape and at Penhalonga turn-off near Mutare.

Previously, this road would have road blocks dotted all over in addition to occasional police highway patrols.

One of the most heavily policed highways, the Harare-Masvingo road which used to have no less than ten roadblocks, now also has four roadblocks located at Beatrice, Featherstone, Chaka turn-off and at the 282km peg near Masvingo.

The total length of the road is 295km.

Three roadblocks have now been established on the road which proceeds from Masvingo to Beitbridge, one at Nyanda area just outside Masvingo City, another at Rutenga and the other one is at the 318km peg going into Beitbridge.

Six roadblocks have been established along the 435km Harare-Bulawayo highway.

They are at Norton, Chegutu, Kadoma, Kwekwe, Gweru, Mbembesi and one is located just outside Bulawayo City.

The tourist laden Bulawayo-Victoria Falls road now has roadblocks at Nyamandlovu, Lupane, Hwange and near the Victoria Falls International Airport.

Roadblocks along the Harare-Chirundu highway have been located at Chinhoyi, Karoi and Makuti, while the 89km Harare-Bindura highway now only has one roadblock located at Mazowe.

National traffic police spokesperson Tigere Chigome urged drivers to desist from taking advantage of the reduced road blocks to break the rules of the road.

We urge drivers not to take advantage of the spacious roadblocks to speed and overload their vehicles. Lets maintain the speed limits to void unnecessary accidents, loss of life and injuries. Lets us be responsible and follow all the rules of the road, he said.

The ZRP is currently undergoing surgical operational changes following the change of government in November and the subsequent forced resignation of former ZRP commissioner general, Augustine Chihuri.

Only on Wednesday, acting police chief Godwin Matanga publicly apologised for the police conduct of recent years and pledged to reform the force into a respectable, authoritative law enforcement agent free from corruption and other vices.

There has also been an outcry from players in the tourism sector, who argued that the heavy police presence on the roads was chasing away tourists, while the motoring public was subjected to harassment from arrogant cops who would throw spikes at moving vehicles to rapture tyres and effect arrests or smash windscreens to stop fleeing drivers.

New Home Affairs minister, Obert Mpofu, recently urged the ZRP to make use of modern traffic policing methods such as installing CCTV at robots and other places to bring offenders to book and prevent infractions. Daily News

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A report, published in February this year, said that every third child feels unsafe in schools in India. There is no specific law to deal with child abuse at schools.

By India Today Web Desk: While protests are being held at several places following the murder of the Ryan International School's washroom in Gurgaon yesterday, one report missed public interest recently.

The report by an international development group red-flagged the safety of school children in India. A survey conducted by ChildFund Alliance recently showed that one in every three children in Indian schools feels unsafe.

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CHILDFUND ALLIANCE REPORT

The report was released in February this year by ChildFund Alliance on the basis of its study in 41 countries including India. The results of the global survey by ChildFund Alliance titled, Small Voices, Big Dreams, showed that the safety concerns of children included corporal punishment and bullying.

The survey identified deficient infrastructure, lack of toilets and inadequate safety measures as among the reasons for children to feel unsafe. Toilets were identified as vulnerable areas for children.

While in many countries children reported to feel unsafe because of poor quality buildings, in India the about 46 per cent indicated lack of adequate safety and security measures as problem area. These measures included 'out of bound' areas, protection from strangers and supervision by teachers.

SAFETY RULES, REGULATIONS

There is no specific law dealing with safety and protection of children inside school premises. There is just one set of guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court for transport of children in school buses following an incident in Delhi in 1997, when 28 kids died as an overcrowded school bus fell off a bridge.

There are other rules and regulations that govern issues related to physical safety, mental and emotional health and child abuse among other things.

These are, the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2003, the Right to Education Act 2000, the National Charter for Children 2003, the National Plan of Action for Children 2005, the Integrated Child Protection Scheme 2009, the POCSO Act 2012, the National/State Commission for Protection of Children and the National Policy for Children 2013.

CHILD PROTECTION POLICY

Besides there is Child Protection Policy framed on the basis of the recommendations of the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights. The Child Protection Policy is considered the most practical guidelines for ensuring safety of children in schools. But, apart from Delhi, this has not been adopted by any other state.

The Child Protection Policy is a statement of intent on the behalf of schools declaring that "child abuse in any form is unacceptable." It is for ensuring protection of children from "harm, abuse, neglect and exploitation in any form."

ALSO READ |

Ryan International School murder LIVE: Accused bus conductor sent to 3-day police remand

Gurgaon murder: Ryan International School bus conductor confesses to killing child, says he refused sex

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Watch: I don't know what happened to me: Ryan International School bus conductor confesses to murder

--- ENDS ---
Rick Lucich and his sons couldnt believe that they were seeing. Six years earlier they had come to Calaveras County and built their dream home on 40 acres of rolling grassy hills east of Sacramento. Suddenly - in moments  their paradise had turned into a death trap. Their charming house, their animals, and their land were almost completely surrounded by a raging, fast-moving fire. I knew it was a life or death situation, said Rick. You make the wrong move you know it could be terrible.

There was no time to spare, but Rick knew his wife, Janet, who was visiting her mother, would not forgive him if he didnt tell her what was happening. Janet Lucich will never forget the feeling in her gut when she picked up the phone and heard her husbands voice. You just stop breathing, you cant get there quick enough. It was horrible, she said. Rick and his two sons, both in their twenties, had packed up the car to make a quick exit. But the fire was too fast. It had leapt across the valley below them and cut off the only road out. With fire and smoke at their backs, and machetes in their fists, they started whacking at the dense brush behind their house, inching their way through sharp nettles that sliced through their arms and legs with every step. Bloodied and exhausted, they beat the fire by cutting their way down into a valley and hiking more than ten miles to safety. The hot flames, fueled by the drought stricken trees and grass, destroyed every single thing they own - except for two little port glasses. A lifetime worth of photographs and a home they considered paradise - disappeared. Janet eventually made it back with her husband and sons to see the rubble. She cries when she thinks about what was lost, You woke up to lots of birds singing, the smell in the morning was wonderful, the fresh dew on the leaves, it was incredible, said Janet. Rick Lucich and his sons couldnt believe that they were seeing. Six years earlier they had come to Calaveras County and built their dream home on 40 acres of rolling grassy hills east of Sacramento. Suddenly - in moments  their paradise had turned into a death trap. Their charming house, their animals, and their land were almost completely surrounded by a raging, fast-moving fire. I knew it was a life or death situation, said Rick. You make the wrong move you know it could be terrible. There was no time to spare, but Rick knew his wife, Janet, who was visiting her mother, would not forgive him if he didnt tell her what was happening. Janet Lucich will never forget the feeling in her gut when she picked up the phone and heard her husbands voice. You just stop breathing, you cant get there quick enough. It was horrible, she said. Rick and his two sons, both in their twenties, had packed up the car to make a quick exit. But the fire was too fast. It had leapt across the valley below them and cut off the only road out. With fire and smoke at their backs, and machetes in their fists, they started whacking at the dense brush behind their house, inching their way through sharp nettles that sliced through their arms and legs with every step. Bloodied and exhausted, they beat the fire by cutting their way down into a valley and hiking more than ten miles to safety. The hot flames, fueled by the drought stricken trees and grass, destroyed every single thing they own - except for two little port glasses. A lifetime worth of photographs and a home they considered paradise - disappeared. Janet eventually made it back with her husband and sons to see the rubble. She cries when she thinks about what was lost, You woke up to lots of birds singing, the smell in the morning was wonderful, the fresh dew on the leaves, it was incredible, said Janet. [[ PHOTO OF LUCICH HOME AND LAND]] The fire levelled more than 500 other homes, and burned 70-thousand acres. It all started on the afternoon of September 9, 2014, when a single tree  a gray pine  hit a power line. Cal-Fire and the Public Utilities Commission investigated, and concluded that a PG&E contractor made a serious error that led to the fire. She called for the removal of two trees which were close to a power line. The investigations state that the contractor should have known that removing the first two trees would weaken a tree directly behind them. Trees on the inside of a stand of trees tend to be less stable. And, when the outer trees were cut, the inside tree grew towards the sun, and leaned into the power line. [DOCUMENT: Cal Fire Investigation, p 4] In a deposition, attorneys ask the contractor if she was trained to identify trees that become unstableor if she knew the grey pine could pose a threat. She says No. [DOCUMENT: Mellera Deposition, p 59-61] PG&E knows about the risk, says Attorney Mike Danko, who represents the Lucich family. Their staff doesnt have the training and the qualifications to do the work. Just one tree led to a catastrophe. According to PG&E 55 million trees are at risk of hitting power lines. But in court documents, NBC Bay Area learned about a PG&E program that pushes contractors to work on fewer trees every year. The company sets targets  and pays bonuses to contractors who meet those goals. [DOCUMENT: Judges Ruling, p 23] PG&E says in court papers the program encourages contractors to work the right trees more aggressively. Instead of continuously trimming trees, the company incentivizes contractors to remove them  and reduce the workload in the future. Its like playing Russian Roulette, says Frank Pitre, one of the attorneys working the case. He argues the bonus program might cuts costs  but it increases risk. Saving money is generally a good thing for a company, he said, but you never try to save money by shortcutting safety and that, in my view, thats ugly. Pitre points to this deposition. [DOCUMENT: Urban Deposition, P. 75] In the deposition attorneys ask a manager at the same contracting company if he believes the bonus system incentivizes his people to not do their job. He answers  that is a concern though he says he never brought it up to PG&E. NBC Bay Area did speak with arborists who believe that incentive programs can be useful and safe. Properly designed and implemented, says Arborist Kevin Eckert,  I think a well-managed incentive program could work. Eckert has 40 years of experience designing vegetation management systems for utility companies. He may be called as a witness for the plaintiffs in this case. He says when incentive programs fail  its because of unqualified people. Ive seen trees missed, Ive seen trees improperly pruned such that they grow back faster, he said. Two years after the fire destroyed their property  the Lucich family is living in a trailer. So this is it, home sweet home, said Janet, showing the interior. The family is still waiting to rebuildand waiting for answers from PG&E. Do I have knowledge of what they do on the inside, of course not, said Janet. I only know how it affects me and how it has affected me and hopefully it wont affect people in the future. Because this is horrible. The judge in this case doesnt believe PG&Es incentive program contributed to the fire. But it remains controversial. The utility says its reinvesting the money it saves from trimming fewer trees  into safety programs. But another NBC Bay Area investigation shows how those programs can also be used to boost executive bonuses. See that story here (link)

Rick Lucich and his sons couldnt believe what they were seeing. Five years earlier they had come to Calaveras County and built their dream home on 40 acres of rolling grassy hills east of Sacramento. Suddenly, their paradise had turned into a death trap. Their charming house, their animals, and their land were almost completely surrounded by a raging, fast-moving fire. I knew it was a life or death situation, said Rick. You make the wrong move you know it could be terrible.

There was no time to spare, but Rick knew his wife, Janet, who was visiting her father, wouldn't forgive him if he didnt tell her what was happening. Janet Lucich will never forget the feeling in her gut when she picked up the phone and heard her husbands voice. You just stop breathing, you cant get there quick enough. It was horrible, she said.

Rick and his two sons, both in their twenties, had packed up the car to make a quick getaway. But the fire was too fast for them. It had leapt across the valley below them and cut off the only road out of their property. With fire and smoke at their backs, and machetes in their fists, they started whacking at the dense brush behind their house, inching their way through dense brush.

They beat the fire by cutting their way down into a valley and hiking for miles to safety. The hot flames, fueled by the drought stricken trees and grass, destroyed every single thing they own - except for two little port glasses.

Janet Lucich

A lifetime worth of photographs and a home they considered paradise - reduced to ashes. Janet eventually made it back with her husband and sons to see the rubble. She cries when she thinks about what they lost.

Kathi Wootan

The fire levelled more than 500 other homes, and burned 70-thousand acres. It all started on the afternoon of September 9, 2015, when a single tree  a gray pine  hit a power line.

Cal-Fire and the Public Utilities Commission investigated, and concluded that a PG&E contractor made a serious error that led to the fire. She called for the removal of two trees which were close to a power line. Experts say the contractor should have known that removing the first two trees would weaken a tree directly behind them. Trees on the inside of a stand of trees tend to be less stable. And, when the outer trees were cut, the inside tree grew towards the sun, and leaned into the power line.

Michael T. Mahoney, Arborist

In a deposition, attorneys ask the contractor if she was trained to identify trees that become unstableor if she knew the grey pine could pose a threat. She says No.

PG&E knows about the risk, says Attorney Mike Danko, who represents the Lucich family. Their staff doesnt have the training and the qualifications to do the work.

Just one tree led to a catastrophe.

According to PG&E 55 million trees are at risk of hitting power lines.

But in court documents, NBC Bay Area learned about a PG&E program that pushes contractors to work on fewer trees every year. The company sets targets  and pays bonuses to contractors who meet those goals.

PG&E says in court papers the program encourages contractors to work the right trees more aggressively. Instead of continuously trimming trees, the company incentivizes contractors to remove them  and reduce the workload in the future.

Its like playing Russian Roulette, says Frank Pitre, one of the attorneys working the case. He argues the bonus program might cuts costs  but it increases risk. Saving money is generally a good thing for a company, he said, but you never try to save money by shortcutting safety and that, in my view, thats ugly.

Pitre points to a court deposition in which a manager at the same contracting company is asked if he believes the bonus system incentivizes his people to not do their job. He answers  that is a concern though he says he never brought it up to PG&E.

NBC Bay Area did speak with arborists who believe that incentive programs can be useful and safe. Properly designed and implemented, says Arborist Kevin Eckert,  I think a well-managed incentive program could work.

Eckert has 40 years of experience designing vegetation management systems for utility companies. He may be called as a witness for the plaintiffs in this case. He says when incentive programs fail  its because of unqualified people.

Ive seen trees missed, Ive seen trees improperly pruned such that they grow back faster, he said.

Two years after the fire destroyed their property  the Lucich family is living in a trailer. As she opens the metal door, Janet says, "So this is it, home sweet home.

NBC Bay Area, July 2017

The family is still waiting to rebuildand waiting for answers from PG&E.

Do I have knowledge of what they do on the inside, of course not, said Janet. I only know how it affects me and how it has affected me and hopefully it wont affect people in the future. Because this is horrible.

The judge in this case doesnt believe PG&Es incentive program contributed to the fire. But the program remains controversial. The utility says its reinvesting the money it saves from trimming fewer trees  into safety programs. But another NBC Bay Area investigation shows how those programs can also be used to boost executive bonuses.

If you have a tip for the Investigative Unit email theunit@nbcbayarea.com or call 888-996-TIPS.

Follow Liz Wagner on Facebook and Twitter.
Opponents of a voter-approved measure to speed up executions in California asked the state Supreme Court on Friday to reconsider its ruling upholding the law.

The high court's decision unconstitutionally delegated power to the judicial branch and failed to consider whether the measure could survive after the justices invalidated "critical features" of the law, attorneys Christina Von der Ahe Rayburn and Lillian Mao said in their court filing.

Last month's highly anticipated ruling concerned Proposition 66, a push to "mend not end" capital punishment in California.

Condemned inmates in California currently languish for decades and are more likely to die of natural causes than from lethal injection. There are nearly 750 inmates on death row, and only 13 have been executed since 1978  the last in 2006.

The state Supreme Court upheld requirements in Proposition 66 limiting successive appeals and filing extensions. But it rejected arguments that a provision setting a five-year limit on appeals was mandatory, raising doubts that the law will succeed in accelerating death sentences.

An attorney for supporters of the measure did not immediately return an email seeking comment.

Rayburn and Mao said the court should determine whether voters would have still passed Proposition 66 without the five-year deadline and other deadlines in the measure.

Without the deadlines, the judicial branch had no guidance from the legislative branch about how to implement the measure and would be overstepping its authority if it moved forward with crafting rules for Proposition 66, they also said.
Bill. Bill. Bill. Bill.

Bill Nye the Science is making his way to the Castro Theatre this Sunday!

Thats right science fans, Nye is scheduled for what is being described as an unforgettable afternoon to read and sign his new book in San Francisco Sunday, Sept. 10.

The beloved staple of childrens science education will be sharing his recently published book, Everything at Once: How to Unleash Your Inner Nerd. Nye will also be joined by Bay Area Science Festival director, Kishore Hari, who specializes in producing innovative live science events.

Fans can purchase tickets online for $20 or pay $45 ticket for both a seat and Nyes new book  which hell be able to sign during the event.
A collaborative of Catholic charities, a grassroots organization and other multi-faith community leaders are coming together to provide Deferred Action of Childhood Arrival recipients an opportunity to renew their work permits before the program's proposed termination by the Trump Administration in six months.

The collaborative is offering DACA recipients, also known as "dreamers" a "DACA Renewal and Know Your Rights Clinic" on Saturday, Sept. 16 at Most Holy Trinity Church in San Jose from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The clinic, also being offered by People Acting in the Community Together, is also intended to give dreamers knowledge of their rights as the program is eliminated.

The plans come days after the Trump Administration announced intentions to eliminate the DACA program created via an executive order by President Barack Obama in 2012. The program covers 800,000 young adults who arrived in the United States as children. California has 223,000 "dreamers", 23,000 of which live in Santa Clara County.

The program will under-go a six-month "wind down" before it is officially eliminated but recipients whose work permits expire between Sept. 5, 2017 and March 5, 2018 have less than a month to apply for a new two-year work permit. Dreamers with work permits that expire past March 5, 2018 will not be able to renew their permits before the deadline.

Father Jon Pedigo, the director of advocacy and community engagement for Catholic Charities of Santa Clara, said the coordination of the event came together rather quickly after the announcement.

"We had three and half days to put this together," he said. "It was a quick response."

He said the immigration legal services division of the Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County - which comprises two lawyers and several other Department of Justice-accredited representatives, is putting a heavy focus on helping DACA recipients.

"They are pivoting a lot of their resources to the catholic charities in response to this crisis," Pedigo said.

"People need to know what their resources are."

Most Holy Trinity Church is located at 2040 Nassau Drive in San Jose.
Geologists say the magnitude 8.1 earthquake that struck Mexico's southern coast is a reminder that a big temblor can hit anytime in the Bay Area.

The strong quake has killed dozens of people, and many Bay Area residents who have family in Mexico are concerned about their loved ones.

Bay Area-resident Ava Ortiz said her first thought when she found out about the quake was the well-being of her children. She was able to talk with her daughters Friday morning, who told her they are OK.

But now the family is worried about aftershocks along with heavy rains from hurricanes.

Jazmin Amezzua with the Mexican consulate in San Jose said Bay Area residents who have loved ones in the area affected by the quake should not worry.

"First of all, be calm. There's damage, but not as big as we would expect from an earthquake this magnitude," Amezzua said.

Amezzua said 90 percent of communications in the area has already been restored.

"It's easy to get in touch with your family now," Amezzua said.

Though the damage is minimal compared to other less-powerful tremors, geologists with the United States Geological Survey said this serves as a warning to Bay Area residents.

"I think that this earthquake is a reminder to the Bay Area that we could have a large earthquake at essentially any time," said Dr. David Schwartz with the USGS.

The USGS said an earthquake early warning system called shake alert is still being developed. Right now, USGS is unable to send alerts to the general public, but have the goal of limited public alerts by 2018.
Dr. Amos Brown, who has steered the Third Baptist Church of San Francisco for 40 years and been a prominent civil rights activist, was honored by well-known dignitaries Friday night.

Former President Bill Clinton, former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, current California Gov. Jerry Brown and Rev. Jesse Jackson were all in attendance to celebrate Dr. Brown and his wife for their four decades of service to the community.

"What they did here for 40 years embodies what America ought to be doing all day, every day," Clinton said.

Clinton continued to praise Dr. Brown for lifting up the masses and bringing all types of people together, something that Clinton suggests global leaders should do more often this day and age.

"Why are we doing this 'us and them' deal when we ought to be all us and figuring out how we can work together," the former president said. "That's the legacy of this church."

A humble Dr. Brown was not necessarily impressed by the distinguished guests. He said the message shared was the most impressive aspect of the evening.

"We have common core values that we've all embraced on the behalf of the common good of all people," he said.
Common Street in Groton, Massachusetts remains closed off as police continue to investigate a quadruple murder.

Twenty-two-year-old Orion Krause is in custody and he will be charged with four counts of murder. Police have not disclosed his motive but say this appears to be a tragic incident of family violence and all of these people are connected in some way.

Police responded to a call Friday for a person in need of assistance. Information there led them to a second home on Common Street where they found an elderly man and woman, and a middle aged woman dead inside the home. Another middle aged woman was found dead outside the home.

Police say the cause of death is blunt force trauma.



Wagner Alcocer, the neighbor who called 911, told NBC Boston exclusively that the suspect arrived at his back door naked and covered in mud.

"He says to me, 'I need help, I need help. I murdered four poeple,'" said Alcocer. "Straight out; very calm."

Alcocer didn't let Krause into his home but he gave him a bed sheet to cover himself. Krause waited in his backyard for the police to arrive.

According to Alcocer, police found the suspect's clothing in a wooded area near his home.

Groton Police want people to know the town is safe, as this was not a random act of violence.

Selectman Josh Degen said that the Groton community will hold a vigil for the victims on Sunday at 4:00 p.m. behind the Groton Public Library, on Town Field.

"We live in a small, tight-knit community and must all work through this tragedy together," said Degen. "The vigil will be led by ministers within the community as well as representatives of our municipal government."

The investigation is ongoing and police are not releasing the names of the victims at this time.
Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner has departed an eight-day visit to Japan and China for his administration's first international trade mission.

In a statement, Rauner's office says the first-term Republican governor left from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport on Saturday. The delegation includes several business and local leaders. [[442789653, C]]

Rauner says he plans to work on attracting foreign job creators to the state and to help Illinois businesses enhance competitiveness.

He is scheduled to attend the Midwest-USA Japan Conference. Then he's scheduled to continue to China, where he will have meetings with government officials.

Rauner's trip will last until Sept. 17.
Matteson police and Department of Child and Family Services were investigating Friday after identifying the family of a baby boy found abandoned.

Police found the infant, between 6 and 9 months old, about 10 p.m. Thursday night in the 3700 block of 214th Street. A resident out for a walk heard a baby cry, police said, and found the baby buckled in a car seat near a dumpster behind some apartments near a wooded area, police said.

The baby appeared to be in good health, but had a soiled diaper and wet socks, Matteson police said in a press release. There were no adults anywhere in the area.

Police said they did not know how long the child was left alone in the secluded area near the Old Plank Trail walking path.

Officers knocked on doors in the area and spoke with residents but found no leads on who left the child or where he came from.

An officer remained with the baby when it was taken to a hospital for a medical evaluation.

The police released the following description of the baby boy:

 The baby had black twisted up braids.

 He was wearing a Red Truck Moving Company brand white t-shirt with blue sleeves and a red octopus with a tentacle wrapped around a fish with the word HELP! above the fish on the front of the shirt. The size of the shirt was for 6-9 months old.

 The baby also had blue pants with white and yellow socks.

 The baby was buckled into an Even Flo brand car seat. The inside of the car seat was gray at the top, blue in the middle, and a square pattern on the bottom consisting of beige, gray, light green, and light blue squares.

 The blanket on top of the car seat was baby blue with the words dream big on one side and white, blue, green, and brown squares on the other side.

A blue AAA Title Loans cloth bag was found next to the baby, police said. Police described is contents as:

 1 yellow, gray, green, and dark gray striped blanket and white on the other side

 1 dirty Dr. Browns milk bottle

 2 packets of instant Cream of Wheat hot cereal

 2 containers of Gerber Baby food

 2 12.4 oz. cans of Enfamil Infant Formula

 1 blue Formula Straw

 1 pack of Huggies fragrance free wipes

 There were also multiple size 3 white diapers with green horizontal lines

 1 yellow vertical line with the words Once Upon A Giggle

 A black and white zebra, yellow and black giraffe, and a gray hippo.

Detectives are attempting to uncover the circumstances surrounding this incident, police said. The important fact right now is that the child is safe and being cared for, and the child and family members have been identified.
The search operation to sanitise the sect premises started on Friday with a few computers, a luxurious black car and huge amount of cash being seized.

The premises of the Dera, whose chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was jailed in rape case, is spread over 800 acres.

By India Today Web Desk: An illegal explosive factory used to make crackers and two tunnels were found inside Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh's Dera Sacha Sauda headquarters near Haryana's Sirsa on the second day of a search operation being carried out by hundreds of security personnel and local administration. The factory has been sealed.

"Explosive material has been recivered from Dera premises. An illegal factory used to make crackers has been found in the Dera premises. The factory has been sealed," said Deputy Director (Information and PR departement) Satish Mehra.

Haryana: Fire crackers factory sealed, explosives & fire-crackers seized from #DeraSachaSauda as search continues in Dera HQ in Sirsa pic.twitter.com/sYd4hwmO4v- ANI (@ANI) September 9, 2017

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The search team found a window-like tunnel connecting Ram Rahim's room (Dera Awas) to the room of Sadhvis (Sadhvi Niwas). Another fiber tunnel were also found inside Baba Ram Rahim's room. On the second floor of the same room, the search team found an AK-47 magazine cover.

A team of experts was also called in today to probe the skeletons that have been recovered.

The Haryana Police decided to dig up a mass grave inside the Dera complex after some people, who were earlier associated with the sect but left it later, alleged that the sect chief got those killed who opposed his activities and got them buried inside the 70-acre campus of the sect.

SEARCH OPERATION

The search operation to sanitise the sect premises started on Friday with a few computers, a luxurious black car and huge amount of cash being seized.

According to sources, the search teams had also found hundreds of pairs of shoes, designer clothes and colourful caps of the jailed Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.

JCB machines, locksmiths, forensic experts and dog squads were called in to assist in the comprehensive search.

Internet services in Sirsa district were suspended by local authorities on Friday.

SECURITY DEPLOYED

The search was being conducted under the supervision of court commissioner AKS Pawar appointed by the Punjab and Haryana High Courts.

Forty-one paramilitary companies, four Army columns, cops from as many districts, a SWAT team, and a dog squad were deployed for the search of the Dera headquarters.

Bomb disposal squads and commandos were also deployed inside the sect premises as a preventive measure.

The premises of the Dera, whose chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was jailed in rape case, is spread over 800 acres and houses educational institutions, markets, hospital, stadium, recreational areas and houses.

Also Read:

Dera mastermind who paid goons Rs 5 crore to instigate violence in Panchkula arrested

Gurmeet Ram Rahim's Dera headquarters at Sirsa being searched by commandos

Also Watch:

Exclusive: Inside look of Dera chief Ram Rahim's luxury headquarters in Sirsa

--- ENDS ---
People from Connecticut now living in Florida are hunkering down ahead of Hurricane Irma.

Utility crews from Connecticut are set to head south, ready to help repair possible damage.

In what is usually bustling South Beach, Granby native Owen White said the area was deserted on Friday with winds picking up in advance of Irma.

"Its also a little scary because being from the Northeast Ive never experienced one of these hurricanes before, especially this magnitude and size," White said.

White found safety in a third-floor hotel room.

The sophomore at the University of Miami also works at the hotel near the water and will help the staff deal with whatever Irma throws at them.

When my boss told me that if I wanted to come in this weekend and ride out the storm at the hotel, I said Ill have to check with my parents. So I called them up right away. They were a little hesitant at first, White said.

The meteorology and broadcast journalism major convinced them this was an experience he couldnt pass up.

Further north near Orlando, this could also be the first major hurricane for Jason Berry, who is originally from Franklin.

To be honest, Im nervous but we are prepared as best as we can, Berry said.

On Friday Berry and his partner secured their RV in Clermont, where they are staying while building a home close by.

Nearby, tourists are scrambling to change plans as popular theme parks including Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando announced they will close early on Saturday and will remain closed through Monday.

As for Berry and his partner, theyre headed to a friends home.

Were just going to stay in the house, wait until Monday afternoon, they said it should be pretty much out of here by then, Berry said.

Eversource said line workers and trucks will ship out of Berlin early Saturday to help restore power in case of outages.

Utilities in Irmas path are asking for help following predictions that millions of customers could lose power.

And that has prompted Eversource to send about 100 workers from New England.
Connecticut is sending National Guard Airmen and a cargo plane to Puerto Rico to assist in Hurricane Irma relief efforts, the governors office announced Saturday.

Eight Airmen from the 103rd Airlift Wing and a C-130 cargo plane have been deployed. The unit includes C-130H pilots, crewmembers, loadmasters, and maintainers.

Connecticut knows all too well the damage that can result from severe storms, and we are grateful for all the help we received from others as we worked to recover from those storms. We have an obligation to help our neighbors in need, and I thank our Connecticut Air National Guardsmen for taking on this mission to provide assistance to Puerto Rico in their time of need. The State of Connecticut stands ready to provide support across the nation in the ongoing response and recovery efforts as a result the damage caused by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Jose, Gov. Dannel Malloy said in a statement.

Other members of the Connecticut National Guard were previously deployed to Texas to support Hurricane Harvey relief efforts ad returned home after completing their mission.

One member of the Connecticut Air National Guard remains at Joint Base San Antonio, supporting the tracking and controlling of air missions.

The Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection warned citizens against self-dispatching to areas affected by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. State officials encouraged those interested in helping to volunteer with the American Red Cross.
As Florida prepares for the wrath of Hurricane Irma, people in our state are already stepping up to help storm victims in Puerto Rico.

Irma skirted by the island, but still left a trail of destruction and more than a million people without power there.

On Saturday, New Britains Puerto Rican Festival was underway on High Street.

But at it this year many peoples thoughts are with family back in their homeland and theyre finding a way to help. People launched an effort to help loved ones 1,600 miles away in Puerto Rico.

Its very important that we reach out to the community and we stay together. This is the time, Maggie DeJesus, Puerto Rican Society president, said.

And those with family on the island opened their hearts and donated whatever they can.

Our people needs it. Its not much, but its something, Victor Luna of Hartford, said.

Earlier this week, Hurricane Irma dealt Puerto Rico a glancing blow. That was enough to kill at least three people, knock down poles and leave more than a million people without power.

I got a brother who needs chemo and they got no light or anything. So were trying to see if we can set them up with generators, Willy Pabon, New Britain City Alderman, said.

Realizing the island was hurting, Latino state legislators decided to band together and set up a relief drive.

Whatever they can give its going to go a long way to help the people of Puerto Rico, Rep. Robert Sanchez, D-New Britain, said.

Sanchez says the impact on the island hits those in Connecticut hard too, with a large Puerto Rican community here. He says all the money and supplies collected will go toward the hurricane relief.

Because the infrastructure on the island is so bad and the economy is so poor on the island, its going to take weeks if not months to get lights throughout the whole island, Sanchez said.

The hope is also to help other hard hit Caribbean islands.

There are several more collection stops across the state later this month.
Consumers across Connecticut are turning to NBC Connecticut Responds for help with a premium product they say fell short of its promises.

After NBC Connecticut Responds first reported on Behr DeckOver in August, 17 additional homeowners reached out to us to share their experiences with the product.

Behr advertises its DeckOver can bring new life to aging decks and will resist cracking and peeling.

East Hartford resident Santo Murana said it had the opposite effect on his deck.

It started to peel in February 2016 during the winter, he said.

That was about five months after he applied it.

NBC Connecticut Responds heard similar stories from homeowners all over the state.

Right after the winter. When the winter was over is when it started (to peel), said Dennis Rose of Watertown.

West Hartford resident Mary Smeallie said her deck started peeling in the spring when the snow started to melt.

The complaint against DeckOver span across the country. Since June 2017, customers have filed eight lawsuits against Behr and Home Depot seeking class action status. Home Depot is the exclusive retailer of Behr DeckOver.

The most recent lawsuit was filed in New York State.

It alleges that even with proper application DeckOver peels, bubbles, chips, cracks, discolors and damages decks.

In court documents, attorneys for Behr and Home Depot argue many consumers have not experienced problems with DeckOver and say any issues may be a result of improper preparation, application or maintenance.

The scope of the problem varies in each case and so does the response.

Dennis Rose said Behr offered him a solution.

They sent me a cleaner. They said to sand it, clean it, redo it. I did it and it came back, Rose said.

Santo Murana said when he called Behr, the company didnt offer any remedy.

They said, well were sorry to hear that, but theres nothing we can do for you, Murana said.

Murana pointed out spots where the DeckOver appears to trap moisture, challenging the companys claims that DeckOver resists the elements and repels water.

When NBC Connecticut Responds reached out to Behr about the influx of complaints about DeckOver, a spokesperson directed consumers to contact customer service.

Customers can call 1-800-854-0133 ext. 2 or fill out the form on Behrs website.

Responds advised Smeallie, Murana and Rose to tell the company theyd spoken to NBC Connecticut.

When we saw your report we really thought, well maybe we should see what they can do for us, Smeallie said.

Smeallie and her husband said Behr offered to reimburse them for each can of DeckOver they can provide a receipt for.

Murana was asked to send in his receipts along with a paint sample. He said he would be happy with a refund.

Its their product. They really should stand behind it, Murana said.

Others, like Rose, feel the company should help cover the cost of removing the DeckOver.

I would just like to have the deck done and done right, thats all, Rose said.

Behr declined multiple requests to respond to the allegations against DeckOver.
Hurricane Irma regained strength as it closed in on the Florida Keys early Sunday and forecasters monitored a crucial shift in its trajectory  just a few more miles to the west  that could keep its ferocious eye off the southwest Florida coast and over warm gulf water.

The hurricane re-strengthened to Category 4 status with maximum sustained winds near 130 mph (210 kph). The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Irma was expected to gain a little more strength as it moved through the Straits of Florida and remain a powerful hurricane as it approached Florida.

As of 4 a.m. EDT Sunday, the hurricane was centered about 55 miles (90 kilometers) south-southeast of Key West, Florida, and was moving northwest at 6 mph (9 kph).

Tens of thousands of people huddling in shelters watched for updates as the storm swung to the west, now potentially sparing Tampa as well Miami the catastrophic head-on blow forecasters had been warning about for days.

But those few miles meant St. Petersburg could get a direct hit, rather than its more populous twin across Tampa Bay. Neither city has suffered a major hurricane in nearly a century.

The leading edge of the immense storm bent palm trees and spit rain across South Florida, knocking out power to more than 170,000 homes and businesses, as the eye approached Key West.

"Tonight, I'm sweating. Tonight I'm scared to death," said 60-year-old Carol Walterson Stroud, who sought refuge in a senior center in Florida's southernmost city with her husband, granddaughter and dog. The streets emptied and shops were boarded up before the wind started to howl.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott had warned residents in the state's evacuation zones Saturday that "this is your last chance to make a good decision." About 6.4 million people were told to flee.

But because the storm is 350 to 400 miles wide, the entire Florida peninsula was exposed. Forecasters said the greater Miami area of 6 million people could still get life-threatening hurricane winds and storm surge of 4 to 6 feet.

Irma was at one time the most powerful hurricane ever recorded in the open Atlantic with a peak wind speed of 185 mph (300 kph) last week. It left more than 20 people dead across the Caribbean and as it moved north over the Gulf of Mexico's bathtub-warm water of nearly 90 degrees, it was expected to regain strength.

Meteorologists predicted Irma would plow into the Tampa Bay area Monday morning. The area has not been struck by a major hurricane since 1921, when its population was about 10,000, National Hurricane Center spokesman Dennis Feltgen said. Now around 3 million people live there.

The latest course also still threatens Naples' mansion- and yacht-lined canals, Sun City Center's retirement homes, and Sanibel Island's shell-filled beaches.

Irma's course change caught many off guard and triggered a major round of last-minute evacuations in the Tampa area. Many businesses had yet to protect windows with plywood or hurricane shutters. Some locals grumbled about the forecast, even though Florida's west coast had long been included in the zone of probability.

"For five days, we were told it was going to be on the east coast, and then 24 hours before it hits, we're now told it's coming up the west coast," said Jeff Beerbohm, a 52-year-old entrepreneur in St. Petersburg. "As usual, the weatherman, I don't know why they're paid."

Nearly the entire Florida coastline remained under hurricane watches and warnings, and the latest projections could shift again, sparing or savaging other parts of the state.

Forecasters warned of storm surge as high as 15 feet (4.5 meters).

"This is going to sneak up on people," said Jamie Rhome, head of the hurricane center's storm surge unit.

The westward shift prompted Pinellas County, home to St. Petersburg, to order 260,000 people to leave, while Georgia scaled back evacuation orders for some coastal residents. Motorists heading inland from the Tampa area were allowed to drive on the shoulders.

At Germain Arena not far from Fort Myers, on Florida's southwestern corner, thousands waited in a snaking line for hours to gain a spot in the hockey venue-turned-shelter.

"We'll never get in," Jamilla Bartley lamented in the parking lot.

The governor activated all 7,000 members of the Florida National Guard, and 30,000 guardsmen from elsewhere were on standby.

In the Orlando area, Walt Disney World, Universal Studios and Sea World all were closing Saturday. The Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa and Orlando airports shut down.

Given its mammoth size and strength and its course up the peninsula, it could prove one of the most devastating hurricanes ever to hit Florida, and inflict damage on a scale not seen here in 25 years.

Hurricane Andrew smashed into suburban Miami in 1992 with winds topping 165 mph (265 kph), damaging or blowing apart over 125,000 homes. The damage in Florida totaled $26 billion, and at least 40 people died.

Reeves reported from Naples. Associated Press writers Seth Borenstein in Washington; Terry Spencer in Palm Beach County; Gary Fineout in Tallahassee; Terrance Harris and Claire Galofaro in Orlando; and Jason Dearen, Jennifer Kay and David Fischer in Miami contributed to this report.
The University of California sued the Trump administration Friday over its decision to end a program protecting young immigrants from deportation, saying thousands of its students and some faculty would be affected if they are ordered to leave the country.

The lawsuit filed on behalf of all students says that UC system has "benefited from the presence of DREAMers, accomplished young men and women who are our neighbors."

University President Janet Napolitano, who was Homeland Security secretary in the Obama administration and helped implement the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, is listed as a plaintiff in the lawsuit filed in federal court in San Francisco.

Napolitano said it's important for the public university system to stand up for members of its community.

"They represent the best of who we are _ hard-working, resilient and motivated high achievers," she said. "To arbitrarily and capriciously end the DACA program, which benefits our country as a whole, is not only unlawful, it is contrary to our national values."

The program protects about 800,000 people who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children or came with families who overstayed visas. It currently includes hundreds of thousands of college-age students.

The lawsuit said the university will lose students and employees because of President Donald Trump's decision to end the program in six months if Congress doesn't take action first.

An email sent to the U.S. Department of Justice seeking comment was not immediately returned.

Fifteen states have sued separately over the president's decision, although California is not among them.

The UC system has about 4,000 students who are in the United States illegally, "a substantial number of whom have DACA, as well as teachers, researchers and health care providers who are DACA recipients," the university system said in a statement announcing the lawsuit.

Napolitano said the university system could pursue damages for interference with the relationship it has developed with its students and staff and for deprivation or interference with the investment it has made in students to give them an education.

In a conference call with reporters, she said there was no conflict between her previous role as Homeland Security secretary and her decision to file the lawsuit.

"It went through a careful legal analysis. No court has ever held that DACA was illegal and I believe it to be a legal exercise of prosecutorial discretion," Napolitano said. "There's no conflict and no thought of recusal."

Earlier this week, Trump agreed to give congress a six-month deadline to draw up new legislation to address the children of undocumented immigrants.
UPDATE: Officials from the New York Department of Corrections and Community Supervision received an order from the New York Supreme Court to keep John Regan in custody.

The Waterbury man who violently raped a young mother near her sleeping children more than two decades ago will be released from prison in New York in October.

The victim, Donna Palomba, tells NBC Connecticut she is angry and afraid because her attacker will be getting out of prison three years early.

My adrenaline started racing, I couldn't even catch my breath. My heart was beating out of my chest. What do you mean? This is terribly wrong, this can't be possible, Donna Palomba told the NBC Connecticut Troubleshooters.

It was September of 1993 when a masked man carrying a knife and gun entered Palomba's Waterbury home, in the quiet Overlook section of the city.

The intruder bound, raped and threatened her while her two children were just down the hallway.

When the incident was over, Donna ran to a neighbors home for help, when she realized the phone lines had been cut. That neighbor dialed 911, and handed the phone to Donna. I begged him to keep me alive, I felt something in my head, I felt it was a gun for sure," Donna told the 911 dispatcher back in 1993.

Waterbury Mayor Neil O'Leary is the city's former police chief and helped solve the crime that ended in John Regan's conviction.

I was in shock because I felt awful for Donna, who had already been through so much and the system has not been favorable, O'Leary said.

The crime rocked the Overlook community and divided police.

At the time of the crime, some officers accused Palomba of lying, and threatened to arrest her.

Unfortunately, it's been well documented the investigation was less than adequate, quite frankly," Mayor OLeary said.

OLeary said he never doubted Palomba.

Her rapist was not found for another 11 years, in 2004, when a DNA hit confirmed it was Regan, a close Palomba family friend, who had attacked her. Regan had just been arrested by police in Waterbury for assaulting a female co-worker.

I was police chief when this DNA evidence came back," O'Leary said. He called it a defining moment of his career. Very much so, for all of us, sad," OLeary said.

Donna Palomba was put through hell. Her case helped change Connecticut law by eliminating the statute of limitations on sexual assaults that are later solved with DNA evidence. Her story even became an episode of Dateline NBC in 2007, when Palomba for the first time ever, revealed that she was a rape survivor.

The statute of limitations for the rape had expired by the time of Regan's arrest, so police could only charge him with kidnapping in Connecticut.

While out on bond a year later, Regan was arrested again. In 2005, police in Saratoga, New York say he tried to shove a then 17-year-old track star into a van with a tarp, noose, syringe and sedative inside.

For that crime in New York State, Regan got 12 years in prison there, to be served concurrently - meaning at the same time - with seven years for the co-worker assault in 2004 and 15 years for Donna Palombas attack.

Palomba says the prosecutor back then, who has since passed away, promised that Regan would serve those remaining 3 years he owed to the state of Connecticut at a correction facility in the state.

But that will never happen thanks to an old law called Statutory Good Time. It allowed Regan to earn 1,472 days, or just over four years off his sentence for the attack on Palomba.

With that, Regan fulfilled his Connecticut sentence as of August 21, 2017. His New York sentence is done in late October.

"It's just another punch in the gut. It's just re-victimization," Palomba said. I cannot imagine how a serial offender whose harming human beings, with serious offenses could qualify for something called 'Statutory Good Time.' The name alone is nauseating."

Because that incident happened in 1993 and this statutory good time didn't come off the Connecticut law books until a year later, John Regan qualified, so that three years he was supposed to do in Connecticut, he built up enough statutory good time to nullify every minute, Mayor OLeary said.

Palomba, the founder of the Jane Doe No More organization for sexual assault survivors, is sounding the alarm for Connecticut.

I don't believe John Regan is done yet. And I don't think it is right for anyone to give him an opportunity to do it again. This is a very dangerous man."

For the Connecticut Department of Correction, there is nothing they can do.

"We legally cannot hold him any longer," Dept. of Correction spokesperson Karen Martucci said.

Martucci admits they feel for Palomba, but, their hands are tied.

We're required to follow the law, which is once that sentence has been served, we no longer have that authority and we have to release the offender," Martucci said.

State Sen. Len Suzio (R-22) and State Rep. Dr. Bill Petit are working to do more for victims like Palomba. While the statutory good time law is gone, the state does have a program called Risk Reduction Earned Credit" where offenders can still earn some time off their sentences, depending on the type of crime. Under the law and depending on what level of an offender one is, convicts in the State of Connecticut can earn three, four or five days each month as an earned credit off their total sentence.

"Crimes like this shouldn't be eligible for any form of early release credits," Sen. Suzio said.

"Too much emphasis on the criminals and not enough on victims, and I think it's critical for the legislature and specifically the judiciary committee to make sure they get input on these changes and statutes," Rep. Petit said.

Donna and the organization she created to help all victims of sexual assaults, Jane Doe No More, will continue to fight.

This fuels me even more, I'm not going away and neither is 'Jane Doe No More.'"

NBC Connecticut reached out to John Regan's wife and his brother, who is an attorney in Washington. D.C., but there was no comment and no reply back.

We have also written a letter to John Regan, in New York prison but haven't heard back.

The current State's Attorney in Waterbury released a statement about Regan's case.

"John Regan was sentenced to a term of 15 years imprisonment in 2006. This sentence was ordered to run concurrent to a sentence he was serving in the state of New York. Several years ago, the Waterbury's State's Attorney Office had lodged a detainer with New York authorities requesting that Regan be transferred to the custody of the Connecticut Department of Corrections when he was released from New York custody. After being informed that Regan was about to be released to New York parole, this office began the process of making arrangements to bring Regan back to the state of Connecticut. At this point, it was determined that due to accrued time, Regan was actually scheduled to complete his Connecticut sentence on August 21, 2017. These early release credits are established by Connecticut law. This statute must be applied and are calculated by the Department of Corrections."

Officials say at the end of October, John Regan will be released into the custody of the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision Board of Parole and will likely transition into a halfway house in Upstate, New York.

It's unclear whether John Regan would return to Connecticut. Officials at the Department of Correction in Connecticut tell NBC Connecticut Regan will be required to register as a sex offender and will remain a lifetime sex offender registrant.
The last American Airlines flight out of Miami International Airport before the airport closed Friday has landed at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. It was an unscheduled emergency flight for airline employees, their families and anyone one else who wanted to get out of Hurricane Irma's path.

"It was nerve-wracking," said evacuee Nancy Cordova, holdng back tears. "I'm a little teary. I'm relieved. It's a lot. It's a lot. This is really serious."

Earlier in the day, people scrambled to catch flights out of Florida to anywhere they could.

"I was getting ready to hunker down and ride out the storm," said evacuee Maria Velasco, as she waited for her bags at D/FW Airport with her 6-year-old daughter. "I said, 'Get me a flight anywhere, two seats anywhere,' and they got me a flight to Dallas for $99."

We got there four hours early this morning," said Jacquelyn Mondari, of Dallas, who arrived from Miami at D/FW Airport. "So we got up and left for the airport, got there at 5:30 a.m. for a 9:15 flight.

There were hundreds maybe thousands of people there just sitting there, laying there sleeping, said Thad Shultz, of Dallas

Shultz also arrived from Miami and said he'd been there all night waiting to fly standby or "whatever the case was.

Im kissing the ground here as soon as I get back to the house, absolutely, said Shutlz.

John and Jody Tiddark, of Forney, waited for their granddaughter Shay to arrive home on the same flight from a visit to Miami.

Her grandmother has been so nervous this whole time, said John Tiddark.

They embraced their granddaughter when she finally arrived at baggage claim.

Terrifying, said their granddaughter, Shay Wiley. I couldnt get a flight, and they got cancelled last minute, so it was pretty difficult to find anything.

Were so happy, so happy for her to be home, said Shays grandmother.

Ive been trying for days to get here, said Fort Lauderdales Delana Lahue, who will stay with family in Granbury.

Im just so happy to be here, said Lahue. So happy I finally got on a plane I wasnt going to celebrate until it lifted off and when it did I said all the way here I said thank you God.

The last American Airlines flight from Miami was scheduled to arrive D/FW at 8:15 p.m.
Irma battered Cuba with deafening winds and relentless rain Saturday, while a second hurricane, Jose, threatened to lash already-reeling islands elsewhere in the Caribbean.

Cuban coastal cities were clobbered by high winds from Irma that upended trees, toppled utility poles and scattered debris across streets. Roads were blocked, and witnesses said a provincial museum near the eye of the storm was in ruins.

There were no immediate reports of casualties in Cuba in addition to the 22 dead left in Irma's wake across the Caribbean, where the storm ravaged such lush resort islands as St. Martin, St. Barts, St. Thomas, Barbuda and Anguilla.

Many of Irma's victims fled their battered islands on ferries and fishing boats for fear Jose would destroy or drench anything Irma left untouched.

On the Dutch side of St. Martin, an island divided between French and Dutch control, an estimated 70 percent of the homes were destroyed by Irma, according to the Dutch government. Officials said Jose was forecast to dump more rain on the island's buildings, many of which lost their roofs to Irma.

The U.S. State Department helped more than 500 Americans fly out of St. Martin, starting with those in need of urgent medical care, said spokeswoman Heather Nauert.

Carol Basch, a 53-year-old tourist from Savannah, Georgia, took refuge during the storm in the bathroom of her St. Martin hotel room after windows shattered. She stayed there praying for about four hours, surrounding herself with pillows.

"I kept saying, 'Lord, please stop this, and soon, soon,'" said Basch, who was evacuated to Puerto Rico. "I'm glad I'm alive. I didn't think I was going to make it."

Some islands received a last-minute reprieve from Jose as it passed by.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center downgraded a hurricane warning for Barbuda and Anguilla. A hurricane watch also was discontinued for nearby Antigua.

By late Saturday afternoon, Irma passed Cuba and slowly chugged toward Florida with winds of 125 mph (205 kmh). Jose was 85 miles (135 kilometers) northeast of the Leeward Islands, with winds of 145 mph (230 kmh).

As Irma rolled in, Cuban soldiers went through coastal towns to force people to evacuate, taking people to shelters at government buildings and schools  and even caves.

Video images from northern and eastern Cuba showed uprooted utility poles and signs, many downed trees and extensive damage to roofs.

Eastern Cuba, a major sugarcane-growing area and home to many poor, rural communities, faced a staggering recovery, with its economy in tatters even before the storm hit due to years of neglect and lack of investment.

Civil Defense official Gergorio Torres said authorities were trying to tally the extent of the damage, which appeared concentrated in banana-growing areas.

More than 5,000 tourists were evacuated from the keys off Cuba's north-central coast, where the government has built dozens of all-inclusive resorts in recent years. In much of central Cuba, power was cut off and downed trees blocked roads.

In Caibarien, a small coastal city about 200 miles (320 kilometers) east of Havana, winds downed power lines and a three-block area was under water. Many residents stayed put, hoping to ride out the storm.

Looting was reported on St. Martin. Curfews were imposed there and on St. Barts, and French and Dutch authorities announced plans to send hundreds more troops and police to keep order.

French President Emmanuel Macron, whose popularity has been sinking over unpopular domestic policies, held an emergency meeting as he came under criticism from stranded residents in the country's Caribbean territories. Far-right leader Marine Le Pen, who lost the presidential election in May, accused the government of having "totally insufficient" emergency and security measures.

French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe insisted that the government's support for Irma's victims isn't "empty words" and that it was "completely mobilized" to rescue and rebuild.

It was not immediately known whether U.S. President Donald Trump's luxury property on St. Martin had been damaged.

On Anguilla, Vanessa Croft Thompson crammed into her home's laundry room with her husband, her best friend and their children along with their cats and dogs, as Irma's floodwaters swamped her house. The storm peeled off her roof, rained water inside, and sheared paint from her walls.

"Our hurricane-proof door was bending in, it was warping ... and the entire house was shaking like it was an earthquake," she said.

Thompson, the head of the English department at Anguilla's only high school, said: "I don't even know something that's not destroyed. There's nothing here that hasn't been ripped apart by Irma."
What to Know A man tried to snatch two infants from a Bear, Delaware daycare center on Friday morning, state police said.

He allegedly hit the workers before picking two infants from the floor and putting them under his arm, police said.

He later was tased twice and hit with a baton before police could get him under control, officials said.

Day care workers in Delaware stopped a man from walking off with two babies after the stranger shoved his way into the facility and grabbed the infants, state police said Friday.



A man burst into a Bear, Delaware day care center, hit staff members and attempted to abduct two infants, just after 7 a.m. Friday at Happy Kids Academy at 273 Old Baltimore Pike, state police said.

The man rang the front doorbell and when a female worker answered the door, state police say 47-year-old Calvin Davis pushed her in the face and barged into single floor facility.

Davis, a Newark resident, made his way to the center's infant room and began arguing with the staff member inside. Eventually, he punched her in the face, police said.

He grabbed two infants from the floor, put one under each arm, and attempted to leave, police said.

The first staffer blocked the exit, while the other employee came from behind Davis and grabbed one of the infants. The second child slowly began to fall down his body before they were rescued by staff, police said.

The suspect ran from the day care, punching a car in the parking lot, police spokesman Sgt. Richard Bratz said. State and county police officers saw the man and ordered him to stop walking and show his hands, police said.

The man refused to obey the officers' orders, Bratz said, and one officer shot him with a Taser. The man continued to approach the officer, police said, and the officer tripped on a curb and fell backward. The officer again deployed the Taser, authorities said, but the man continued to approach the officer.

The officer then hit the man with a baton, and was able to take him into custody, Bratz said.

Davis was taken to Christiana Hospital for evaluation. State police plan to charge him with kidnapping, burglary, resisting arrest, assault on an officer, and related offenses. It's not clear if he's retained legal counsel.

The injured officer was taken to a hospital. One of the two babies sustained a minor cut.

A staff member at the day care center offered no comment on the incident.
The revelations in connection with the 'supari' case were made by some Dera followers when they were interrogated by the Haryana Police.

Dera goons torched media and other vehicles besides damaging the public properties during the violence. (India Today/Prabhjot Gill)

By Manjeet Sehgal: Dera violence mastermind Chamkaur Singh who is accused of paying Rs 5 crore to hire the criminal elements to instigate violence in Panchkula on August 25 when Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim was convicted, has been arrested.

The arrests of two other accused, Karamjeet Singh and Daan Singh have also been made. Karamjeet Singh is a Punjab Police commando who directed other commandos to whisk away Gurmeet Ram Rahim on August 25. While Daan Singh is accused of bringing the cash from Panchkula to Sirsa.

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The revelations in connection with the 'supari' case to instigate violence were made by some Dera followers arrested on August 25 when they were interrogated by the Haryana Police.

OTHERS WANTED IN SUPARI CASE

Haryana Police chief BS Sandhu had confirmed that the police were investigating the allegations made against Dera Sacha Sauda.

Apart from Chamkaur Singh, in-charge of Panchkula Dera (Nam Charcha Ghar), Dr PR Nain, a former Dera Manager, is also wanted in the alleged "supari" case.

Police had sent teams to arrest Dr PR Nain, a retired chief medical officer who handles Dera's financial matters and is also a former Dera manager besides Chamkaur Singh.

WHAT THE PROBE HAS REVEALED SO FAR

The probe has revealed that Chamkaur had gone to Sirsa to bring the cash which was given to him by Nain. Dera sources said the money was provided to manage the crowd, their food and transportation.

Some followers were also allegedly hired on daily basis to exert a pressure on the administration.

Police were also trying to find out how the Dera followers managed to bring the currency at a time when demonetisation was in force and carrying cash beyond permitted limits was made possible. Many Dera supporters who provided logistic support to the antisocial elements were also on police radar.

Besides the Dera headquarters, one prominent horticulture firm had also allegedly provided monetary support to the Dera goons who torched media and other vehicles besides damaging the public properties during the violence.

Last week Ambala police had also recovered Rs 38 lakh from a Dera follower who was member of Qurbani Dal. Probes have revealed that Dera on the directions of its jailed chief had created a sacrifice wing called as the Qurbani Dal.

Also Read:

Dera chaos in Delhi: Investigation reveals Ram Rahim Singh followers' violence was planned

Gurmeet Ram Rahim's Dera headquarters at Sirsa being searched by commandos

Also Watch:

Ram Rahim rape verdict: Death toll rises to 25 as Dera violence continues

--- ENDS ---
A former drifter charged with killing six people in Connecticut in 2003 and disposing of the bodies behind a New Britain strip mall pleaded guilty Friday to killing five women and one man.

William Devin Howell, a 47-year-old native of Hampton, Virginia, was already serving a 15-year prison sentence for manslaughter in the killing of a seventh victim, 33-year-old Nilsa Arizmendi of Wethersfield.

Howell will be sentenced on Nov. 17. He is expected to be sentenced to 360 years in prison, or six consecutive life sentences, according to the state Division of Criminal Justice. Of that time, 150 years is mandatory for state law.

Arizmendi and the six other victims were found buried behind a strip mall.

The other victims were identified as: Joyvaline Martinez, 24, of East Hartford; Diane Cusack, 53, of New Britain; Mary Jane Menard, 40, of New Britain; Melanie Ruth Camilini, 29, of Seymour; Marilyn Gonzalez, 26, of Waterbury; and Danny Lee Whistnant, 44, of New Britain.

Howell sexually assaulted three of the women and kept one of the bodies in his van for two weeks, sleeping next to the body and calling the victim his "baby," according to an arrest warrant affidavit. Howell also told a cellmate "there was a monster inside of him that just came out" and described himself as a "sick ripper," according to the warrant.

Howell was working odd jobs and cuts grass at homes and businesses in Wethersfield, Hartford, New Britain and West Hartford at the time of the killings.

"By pleading guilty today, William Howell wanted to spare the victims families further emotional pain through a lengthy and drawn out trial that would have taken several weeks, if not months. Avoiding a trial also saves the taxpayers of the state nearly $1,000,000," Howell's attorneys, Jeffrey C. Kestenband and William H. Paetzold, said in a statement on Friday.


An hourslong pursuit came to an end early Saturday after police used a PIT maneuver to halt a vehicle wanted for reckless driving in the San Fernando Valley.



The pursuit involving a pickup truck with a German Shepherd in the passenger seat began at approximately 10:15 p.m. when the driver refused to pull over in San Fernando. Police were able to stop the vehicle by 12:10 a.m. in Sylmar.

The driver jumped on and off several freeways, including the I-405, I-5, I-118 and I-210, circling the San Fernando Valley. Initially begun in surface streets, the driver made several close calls and nearly hit pedestrians as he ran numerous red lights.

Unusual for pursuits, the driver did not exceed high speeds and drove at 75 mph during his highest speed.

The San Fernando Police Department chased the vehicles for two hours, calling for backup from California Highway Patrol and contacting Animal Care and Control officials of the pursuit for the dog's well-being.

Shortly after authorities halted the vehicle, the driver was arrested near Tyler Street and Foothill Boulevard as the frightened dog circled police activity surrounding his owner. The driver resisted, prompting police to tackle the man in order to make an arrest.

Animal Care and Control are expected to watch after the dog, who was unharmed.
The University of California, Berkeley is offering enhanced security and counseling services to students for former Breitbart editor Ben Shapiro's speech on campus next week.

Berkeley has experienced violent protests at a slew of recent political and speaking events, prompting both city and university officials to take extra precaution.



Shapiro, a conservative political commentator who has spoken at UC Berkeley without incident before, responded on Twitter to the university offering counselors for those who could be potentially impacted by his appearance or speech.

"SNOWFLAKE ALERT: UC Berkeley Offers 'Support And Counseling' For Students Offended By Shapiro's Speech," the 33-year-old writer wrote, linking to an article by the Daily Wire, where he currently serves as editor-in-chief.

He also described the move as "total insanity."



"If there ever needed to be confirmation that Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief Ben Shapiros characterization of Leftist students at American universities as 'snowflakes' hits the bulls-eye, the campus-wide announcement issued by Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Paul Alivisatos of the University of California, Berkeley, regarding Shapiros September 14 speech at the university offered just that," the Daily Wire article said.



In its message about logistics, Alivisatos detailed several security measures, including a police perimeter spanning six buildings, because of the potentially controversial nature of the event.

Further down in the memo, Alivisatos says that campus officials "are deeply concerned about the impact some speakers may have on individuals sense of safety and belonging."

"No one should be made to feel threatened or harassed simply because of who they are or for what they believe," the memo continues. "For that reason, the following support services are being offered and encouraged: Student support services, Employee (faculty and staff) support services."

UC Berkeley spokesperson Dan Mogulof told Newsweek that "this sort of communication has not been needed previously."

Mogulof went on to state that the offer for counseling services was not intended specifically for Shapiro's talk, but also for the university's "conservative students who have told us they are worried not about the speakers headed our way but, rather, by the possibility that members of the Antifa paramilitary group will return to the campus."

Shapiro is expected to speak from 7 to 9 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall at the invitation of one of the university's registered student groups. The university plans to create a closed perimeter around Zellerbach as well as Cesar Chavez Student Center, the Alumni House, MLK Jr Student Union, Sproul Hall and Eshleman Hall. Only those with a ticket will be allowed inside the perimeter.

According to Alivisatos, the campus hopes to learn from what happens at the Shapiro event.

"We will also explore and what will be needed for future events, such as those proposed by another registered student group that involve Milo Yiannopolous and other possible guest speakers," he said.

In an effort to avoid making Berkeley the center of violent protests, the city's mayor is urging UC Berkeley to cancel its upcoming "Free Speech Week" set to feature conservative public figures Milo Yiannopoulos, Anne Coulter and possibly Steven Bannon in September.

Earlier this year, Yiannopoulos was scheduled to speak at UC Berkeley but was canceled due to violent protesters, causing $100,000 worth of damage to the campus.

Berkeley made headlines recently after a large group of protesters turned violent as they chased out a small number of right-wing demonstrators from downtown Berkeley.



Yiannopoulos told TMZ last week he wants everybody to protest, but that "it should be done peacefully. You got to do it with speech not violence. As soon as you lay a hand on somebody else or start destroy somebody else's property, you become a problem."

Shapiro has said that he welcomes anyone who wanted to protest his appearance. In a nine-post Twitter thread last week, he asked Berkeley police to "do their jobs and stop violence." Addressing the recent protests that took place in Berkeley, Shapiro also penned an article titled "Houston Is The Best Of America. Berkeley Is The Worst. Here's Why."


A day after credit-reporting company Equifax disclosed that "criminals" had stolen vital data about 143 million Americans, it had somehow managed to leave much of the public in the dark about their exposure, how they should protect themselves and what Equifax planned to do for those affected.

The breach is unquestionably serious. It exposed crucial pieces of personal data that criminals could use to commit identity theft, from Social Security numbers and birthdates to address histories and legal names.

That data  the "crown jewels of personal information," in the words of independent credit analysts John Ulzheimer  can't be changed, and once it's in circulation, it's basically out there forever.

But Equifax's response has satisfied almost no one.

UNHAPPINESS EVERYWHERE

Consumers complained of jammed phone lines and uninformed representatives. An Equifax website set up to help people determine their exposure looked like a scam to some, and provided inconsistent and unhelpful information to others. Congress planned hearings.

Anders Ohlsson, a 47-year-old technical manager in Scotts Valley, California, called a hotline multiple times and was disconnected; entered the last six digits of his Social Security number into Equifax's emergency website; and finally spoke with a call center manager. He still doesn't know whether his information has been compromised.

"I don't think I've gotten hold of a person that actually cares," he said. "Now they're fumbling to tell people what's going on. But they really don't know what's going on."

Equifax plays a key role in the financial industry, making this breach more alarming than previous ones at Yahoo or retailers. It's a storehouse of personal information, like how much people owe on their houses and whether they have court judgments against them.

Lenders rely on the information collected by three big credit bureaus  Equifax, TransUnion and Experian  to help them decide on financing for homes, cars and credit cards. Credit checks are sometimes done by employers when deciding whom to hire for a job.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Even if you don't know if you're one of the 143 million, you might want to consider extreme protective measures.

Your strongest immediate option involves placing a credit freeze on their files with the major credit bureaus. That locks down your information, making it impossible for outsiders to open new accounts and bank cards in your name. But it also blocks you from opening new accounts, and might involve fees depending on the state you live in.

"The credit freeze is the nuclear option of credit protection," said Matt Schulz, an analyst with CreditCards.com. "But in the wake of a breach this big, it's worth considering."

You should also be more diligent about checking your credit reports, where you can see if anyone has opened unauthorized accounts in your name . You can get those files for free once a year from the three major bureaus; use the official site, annualcreditreport.com.

It's best to spread those requests out by getting one every four months. And you'll need to be ready to keep checking for a while  potentially years.

"Bad guys can be very patient with data," Schulz said.

If you're not ready for the freeze, Ulzheimer recommends setting up fraud alerts on your files. These force creditors to contact you directly, usually by phone, for approval before approving an account.

And if you've been a victim of repeated identity fraud, you can request a new Social Security number with the Social Security Administration.

In addition to the emergency Equifax website, you can also call 866-447-7559 for information. The company also says it will send mail to all who had personally identifiable information stolen.

HOW EQUIFAX REACTED

Any data breach threatens to tarnish a company's reputation, but Equifax hasn't done much to minimize that damage.

Atlanta-based Equifax said Thursday the breach took place between mid-May and July of this year. It discovered the hack July 29, but waited until Thursday to warn consumers.

Or take the company's emergency-information website. To Georgia Weidman, founder and chief technology officer for security firm Shevirah, it looks a lot like the kind of site scammers would use to trick people into giving up passwords or other crucial information.

"It's teaching people entirely the wrong things about using the internet securely," Weidman said. She said says she's also troubled by Equifax's approach to security generally, including reports that it didn't respond to basic scripting bugs it was warned about last year.

Company executives are also under scrutiny, after it was found that three Equifax executives sold shares worth a combined $1.8 million just a few days after the company discovered the breach, according to documents filed with securities regulators. Equifax said the three executives  one of them the company's chief financial officer  didn't know about the breach at the time of the sales.

Equifax's security lapse could be the largest theft involving Social Security numbers, one of the most common ways to confirm a person's identity in the U.S. It eclipses a 2015 hack at health insurer Anthem Inc. that involved the Social Security numbers of about 80 million people .

FALLOUT

Washington regulators and politicians swiftly criticized Equifax, and Jeb Hensarling, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, said he will call for congressional hearings.

Equifax's requirement that affected customers sign up for arbitration also drew a backlash. Democrats in the House and Senate called on the company to pull back its requirement that anyone who signs up for credit monitoring give up their right to sue Equifax in a class-action lawsuit.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the nation's chief watchdog for financial services, called the breach "troubling" and said Equifax should drop the arbitration requirement. The CFPB recently passed a rule requiring financial companies to let customers sue together when a large group has been wronged.

New York's attorney general, Eric Schneiderman, said he was starting his own investigation.

In a statement Friday evening, Equifax said it had fixed problems with the emergency website and tripled its call center team to over 2,000 agents. It also declared that the arbitration requirement and class-action waiver will not apply to this particular breach.

Equifax shares fell about 13 percent to $123.75 in heavy trading. The decline equates to about $2.28 billion in lost market value.

AP Technology Writers Michael Liedtke and Ryan Nakashima in San Francisco, and Matt O'Brien in New York, contributed to this report.
Combative and insistent, President Donald Trump declared anew Tuesday "there is blame on both sides" for the deadly violence last weekend in Charlottesville, Virginia, appearing to once again equate the actions of white supremacist groups and those protesting them. He showed sympathy for the fringe groups' efforts to preserve Confederate monuments.

A senior White House official told NBC News that Trump's team went into the public event with the understanding that the president would take no questions. But once in front of reporters, the president "went rogue." The official said members of the team were stunned by the president's actions.

The president's comments effectively wiped away the more conventional statement he delivered at the White House a day earlier when he branded members of the KKK, neo-Nazis and white supremacists who take part in violence as "criminals and thugs."

Trump's advisers had hoped those remarks might quell a crush of criticism from Republicans, Democrats and business leaders. But the president's retorts Tuesday suggested he had been a reluctant participant in that cleanup effort and renewed questions about why he seems to struggle to unequivocally condemn white nationalists.

The blowback was swift, including from fellow Republicans. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida said Trump should not allow white supremacists "to share only part of the blame." House Speaker Paul Ryan declared in a tweet that "white supremacy is repulsive" and there should be "no moral ambiguity," though he did not specifically address the president.

Trump's remarks were welcomed by former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, who tweeted: "Thank you President Trump for your honesty & courage to tell the truth."

Violence broke out Saturday in Charlottesville, a picturesque college town, after a loosely connected mix of white nationalists, neo-Nazis and other far-right extremists assembled to protest the city's decision to remove a towering statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. Heather Heyer, 32, was killed when a man plowed his car into a crowd of counter-protesters.

In the immediate aftermath, Trump placed the blame on "many sides." On Monday, at the urging of his aides, he delivered a more direct condemnation of white supremacists. But he returned to his original arguments Tuesday during an impromptu press conference in the lobby of his Manhattan skyscraper, declaring "there are two sides to a story."

He acknowledged there were "some very bad people" looking for trouble in the group protesting plans to remove the statue. "But you also had people that were very fine people, on both sides," he said.

Trump sided with those seeking to maintain the monument to Lee, equating him with some of the nation's founders who also owned slaves. Confederate monuments have become rallying points for supporters of both preserving and toppling them.

"So, this week it's Robert E. Lee," he said. "I noticed that Stonewall Jackson's coming down. I wonder, is it George Washington next week and is it Thomas Jefferson the week after? You really do have to ask yourself where does it stop?"

He continued: "You're changing history. You're changing culture."

The president's comments mirrored rhetoric from the far-right fringe. A post Monday by the publisher of The Daily Stormer, a notorious neo-Nazi website, predicted that protesters are going to demand that the Washington Monument be torn down.

Trump's handling of the weekend violence has raised new and troubling questions, even among some supporters. Members of his own Republican Party have pressured him to be more vigorous in criticizing bigoted groups, and business leaders have begun abandoning a White House jobs panel in response to his comments.

White House officials were caught off guard by his remarks Tuesday. He had signed off on a plan to not answer questions from journalists during an event touting infrastructure policies, according to a White House official not authorized to speak publicly about a private discussion. Once behind the lectern and facing the cameras, he overruled the decision.

As Trump talked, his aides on the sidelines in the lobby stood in silence. Chief of staff John Kelly crossed his arms and stared down at his shoes, barely glancing at the president. Press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders looked around the room trying to make eye contact with other senior aides. One young staffer stood with her mouth agape.

Kelly was brought into the White House less than a month ago to try to bring order and stability to a chaotic West Wing. Some Trump allies hoped the retired Marine general might be able to succeed where others have failed: controlling some of Trump's impulses. But the president's improvisations on Tuesday once against underscored that he cannot be controlled by his advisers.

Democrats were aghast at Trump's comments. Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine said on Twitter that the Charlottesville violence "was fueled by one side: white supremacists spreading racism, intolerance & intimidation. Those are the facts." Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii said on Twitter that he no longer views Trump as his president.

"As a Jew, as an American, as a human, words cannot express my disgust and disappointment," Schatz said. "This is not my president."

When asked to explain his Saturday comments about Charlottesville, Trump looked down at his notes and again read a section of his initial statement that denounced bigotry but did not single out white supremacists. He then tucked the paper back into his jacket pocket.

Trump, who has quickly deemed other deadly incidents in the U.S. and around the world acts of terrorism, waffled when asked whether the car death was a terrorist attack.

"There is a question. Is it murder? Is it terrorism?" Trump said. "And then you get into legal semantics. The driver of the car is a murderer and what he did was a horrible, horrible, inexcusable thing."

Trump said he had yet to call Heyer's mother but would soon "reach out." He praised her for what he said was a nice statement about him on social media.

As he finally walked away from his lectern, he stopped to answer one more shouted question: Would he visit Charlottesville? The president's response was to note that he owned property there and to say  inaccurately  that it was one of the largest wineries in the United States.
Three Red Cross volunteers from New York City deployed Saturday to help victims of Hurricane Irma in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Additional volunteers were heading to other islands, Florida and the Atlantic Coast.

A Red Cross staff member and two DART members, active and retired FDNY firefighters who volunteer with the Red Cross, are headed to the Virgin Islands on Saturday.

"We're ready," said Doug Bainton, one of the DART members. "We train as firefighters to deal with situations as they come. We're ready to do the job."

The Virgin Islands have suffered extreme damage from the storm and the need for help is astronomical.

"There isn't a comfortable place to sleep and stay. Food and resources will be scarce," said Josh Lockwood, CEO of the American Red Cross in the greater New York region. "There just isn't any basic infrastructure left on the ground that can be relied on."

Jason Lyons is also making the journey to the islands. He lived there for many years, a skill set that will prove invaluable.

"I think I should provide a fresh eye as to what was where and how we can maneuver ourselves in order to get around," Lyons said.



Search and Rescue teams from New Jersey were also making their way South to help U.S. residents deal with Irma.

This is the second deployment in just weeks. There's already nearly 100 Red Cross volunteers from our region helping in Texas.

But the Red Cross says they do have resources to handle two natural disasters at the same time.

They're sending tens of thousands of ready to eat meals and 120 emergency response vehicles.

Meanwhile, utility company PSE&G is dispatching 154 of its employees to Florida on Sunday to help Florida Power and Light restore electricity in the wake of the storm.
A Jersey City police officer was justified in shooting the driver of a stolen car who nearly injured another officer, authorities say.

The driver, Lamont Robinson was shot twice and seriously injured in January 2016, Hudson County prosecutors said. He has since recovered from his wounds.

The officers  working in plainclothes and in an unmarked car  tried to stop the vehicle, prosecutors said. They say Robinson fled the scene but crashed into a parked vehicle a short time later.

One officer reached into the car to arrest Robinson. But authorities say Robinson put the stolen car into reverse, struck the officers' car and began driving forward.

The other officer fired six shots because he feared his partner would be pinned between the two vehicles.
What to Know Gary Fellenbaum admitted to the brutal 2014 killing of Scotty McMillan.

McMillan's mother had planned to testify against Fellenbaum.

DA called case an "American horror story,"

Editor's Note: The details of this case are graphic and may be upsetting for some readers.



A Chester County man will spend the rest of his life behind bars for murdering a boy in a torturous case of child abuse.

Gary Lee Fellenbaum III pleaded guilty to murdering Scotty and pleaded guilty to aggravated assault in beating Scotty's brother, Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan said Friday.

A judge sentenced Fellenbaum to life in prison without the chance for parole plus another 10 to 20 years for the murder, assault and related counts.

Let me tell you about an American horror story, Hogan said when announcing charges in the case in 2014.



Chester County authorities alleged that Scotty was hung upside down and beaten with a frying pan, metals rods and whips before his November 2014 death in the family's mobile home in West Caln, Chester County.

Over a three-day period he was systematically tortured and beaten to death, Hogan said at the time. He was punched in the face and in the stomach, he was scourged with a homemade whip, he was lashed with a metal rod, he was tied to a chair and beaten, he was tied upside down by his feet and beaten, his head was smashed through a wall and at the end of that he had bruises on top of bruises all over his body.



Officials allege that the couple went shopping and picked up pizza as the boy lay dying after weeks of escalating abuse. Tait and Fellenbaum even engaged in sexual activity and she took a nap as Scotty remained unresponsive, investigators said.

Scotty's mother, Jillian Tait, earlier pleaded guilty to third-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. She planned to be a "critical witness" against her former boyfriend at trial, prosecutors said.
The actor recently posted a picture, tracing his sister's old-to-new look, to express how proud he was.

By India Today Web Desk: It is said that with dedication and due hard work, nothing is impossible to achieve.

If you have been skeptical about the idea, then take a look at how Hrithik Roshan's sister has turned out to be a living proof of the statement.

The Bollywood actor recently posted a ''then and now'' collage of his sister Sunaina, on social media. While the older picture showed her plump body, Sunaina seemed to have transformed marvellously in the more recent photo. Sporting a black dress and pearl necklace, she looked nothing short of a tinsel-town beauty herself.

Now that's what I call a transformation !! So so proud of you didi @roshansunaina #keepgoing #impossibleisNothing pic.twitter.com/yQA4OZ4N9K- Hrithik Roshan (@iHrithik) September 7, 2017

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And the Kaabil actor felt equally proud about the new look. ''Now that's what I call a transformation !! So so proud of you didi,'' he captioned his post.

Also Read:This is how Kourtney Kardashian stays fit on vacations, and so can you

Sunaina was diagnosed with cervical cancer, five years ago, which she fought and overcame. She is two years elder to Hrithik, who has always acknowledged her crucial contribution in his acting career, reported The Indian Express.

--- ENDS ---
Florence prosecutors on Friday were investigating allegations by two U.S. students that they were raped by Carabinieri policemen who escorted them home in a patrol car from a nightclub, allegations the U.S. State Department said it was taking very seriously.

Italian authorities said the 21-year-old students were questioned by prosecutors for several hours Thursday about their allegations. The women accused the officers of raping them early Thursday morning in their apartment building.

Italy has two main police forces that patrol its streets  the paramilitary Carabinieri, which are under the defense ministry, and the state police, who report to the interior ministry.

Italy's defense minister said the two policemen will be immediately suspended if rape charges are lodged against them.

"Investigation is still underway, but there is some basis in respect to the allegations," Minister Roberta Pinotti said Friday evening at a forum about women's issues in Milan. "Rape is always something grave. But it's of unprecedented gravity if it is committed by Carabinieri in uniform, because citizens turns to them and to their uniform to have assurances and security."

Italian media say three patrol cars went to a nightclub to investigate a fight. Two cars left after calm was restored, but the third remained. The women, who reportedly spent the evening in the nightclub, told authorities that the officers drove them to their apartment building and raped them.

News reports described witnesses as confirming that they saw the women enter the patrol car.

The U.S. consul general in Florence met for about an hour with Florence's state police chief Friday morning about the case, the Italian news agency ANSA said.

The U.S. Embassy in Rome refused to comment "due to the sensitive nature of this case and to protect the privacy of those involved."

The women reportedly arrived in Florence several months ago to study Italian at a language institute.

Florence, with its many museums and churches full with Renaissance masterpieces, is a popular destination for many Americans, especially university students.

One heavily followed crime case involved the murder of American Ashley Olsen in her apartment in January 2016. Later that year, a court in Florence convicted a Senegalese man of killing the 35-year-old and sentenced him to 30 years in prison. An autopsy had determined that she had been strangled and suffered skull fractures.

Witnesses said Olsen and her attacker had met at a Florence nightclub a few hours before she was killed.
A new San Diego-based taco shop that donates proceeds each month to different local charities is steering its efforts towards helping those impacted by Hurricane Harvey.

Tacos Libertad  a Cohn Restaurant Group (CRG) eatery located at 1023 University Ave. in Hillcrest  has launched its "Tacos for Texas" campaign, vowing to donate 100 percent of its proceeds for September to victims of Harvey.

The taqueria, which opened in late May, is San Diegos first and only charity-driven, not-for-profit restaurant. Each month, the taco shop donates 100 percent of proceeds from sales  after covering its operating expenses  to a local charity.

So far, the restaurant has donated to the San Diego Food Bank, the Rob Benzon Foundation and Meals on Wheels. No matter the venues monthly earnings, owners David and Lesley Cohn guarantee a minimum $3,000 donation to the chosen charity of the month.

The charities rotate monthly and are chosen by an advisory committee of local volunteers, none of whom are CRG employees.

Visit Tacos Libertad & give back to the victims of Hurricane Harvey! #tacosfortexas pic.twitter.com/OUpCKCr72C  Cohn Restaurant Grp (@dinecrg) September 6, 2017

This month, the restaurant will donate proceeds to the San Diego-based organization, International Relief Teams (IRT), which helps families survive and recover after a disaster. The organization has, thus far, sent more than $47,000 in food aid to Victoria, Texas, to feed families staying in shelters in the aftermath of Harvey.

The donation from the taco shop will help boost that figure.

They have been around for 29 years, and they have given close to $350 million to people in need. They donate ready-to-eat meals and supplies in disasters such as this, Jeff Pittrof, operations manager for CRG said, referring to IRT.

We really felt that, this month, with all thats happened in Texas, that we really wanted to give back. There are tens of thousands of people in need, he added.



Joining the eaterys Tacos for Texas mission is easy. Pittrof said the only thing patrons have to do is order food or drinks from the restaurant now through Sept. 30. From there, the proceeds will be donated to the charity.

Pittrof said the taquerias motto, tacos for good, has resonated with patrons. He said customers feel good about eating there because they know, in a small way, whatever they order is giving back to the community.

Martin Juarez, a sous chef for CRG, said hes proud of the work Tacos Libertad is doing this month for victims of Hurricane Harvey.

Its beautiful to work with someone who likes to give to others, he told NBC 7. Were good here; were healthy, we have everything; its nice for the company to give help, even a little bit, to those in need.

Tacos Libertad specializes in globally-influenced tacos prepared a la brasa, a Latin method of cooking over coal that produces a rich, charred flavor. The tacos come filled with shrimp, skirt steak, pork belly, duck confit or octopus, on made-from-scratch tortillas.

Pittrof said a fan favorite is the El Tacubano, a taco stuffed with pork shoulder, pork belly, cheese, lime, mustard, pickle and mojo Cubano, on a corn tortilla.



The restaurant is open from 4 p.m. to midnight Tuesday, 4 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. Wednesday through Saturday, and 2 p.m. to midnight Sunday. After midnight, the taco shop turns into a walk-up storefront, serving late-night, grab-and-go bites out of a Dutch door.

Any taco, bought at any time, counts towards the eatery's donation to charity.
One person has died and after a bus crashed into a car and landed on top of it in Loudoun County, Virginia, on Friday.

A former school bus that was converted into a food truck called Dane's Great American Hamburger was eastbound on Watson Road when it struck an Audi traveling north on Evergreen Mills Road about 4:50 p.m.

Video from Chopper4 showed the bus on top of the Audi. Several hours after the crash, a number of emergency workers were still at the scene trying to extract people from the Audi.

The driver of the Audi, Erin Kaplan, 39, was pronounced dead at the scene. Four others, an adult and three juveniles, were taken to a hospital. Authorities said all four remain hospitalized, and one of the juveniles is in critical condition.

"This has been a very difficult extrication. We had to bring in a heavy wrecker unit to remove the bus from on top of the vehicle. And once we did that we were able to gain access to the patients and begin to further extricate them from the vehicle," Loudoun County Fire and Rescue Assistant Chief Keith Johnson said at a Friday news conference.

Three people on the bus were taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries, Johnson said.

Loudoun County Sheriff Michael Chapman said the sheriff's office is investigating the cause of the crash.
Two people were killed after a car crashed into a tree in Prince Georges County, Maryland, early Saturday morning.

Police said the crash occurred on Columbia Park Road, in front of Fairmont High School, shortly after 3 a.m. Saturday. The driver and the passenger were pronounced dead at the scene.

The identities of the victims have not been released. Police are still investigating the cause of the crash.
Dozens of personnel from the Environmental Protection Agency worked to secure some of the nations most contaminated toxic waste sites as Hurricane Irma bore down on Florida. The agency said its employees evacuated personnel, secured equipment and safeguarded hazardous materials in anticipation of storm surges and heavy rains.

The Associated Press surveyed six of the 54 Superfund sites in Florida before Irmas arrival, all around Miami in low-lying, flood-prone areas. There was no apparent work going on at the sites AP visited this past week. The EPA said that if there was no activity, a site should be considered secured but would be closely monitored. The sites were in various stages of federally directed, long-term cleanup efforts.

At the Miami-Dade Emergency Operations Center on Saturday, Republican Sen. Marco Rubio said the EPA workers hes spoken with seem generally positive about the prospects for toxic sites remaining secure in the coming hurricane. But they cant guarantee it 100 percent, he told AP.

EPA feels they got a handle on it. he said. They think that the risk is real but certainly not as severe as some other places. Not to minimize it  its something to think about.

AP was not able to fully evaluate each sites readiness for the hurricane.

If any site in the path of the storm is found to pose an immediate threat to nearby populations, EPA will immediately alert and work with state and local officials and inform the public  and then take any appropriate steps to address the threat, EPA spokeswoman Liz Bowman said Friday. So far no sites have risen to this level that we are aware of.

A risk analysis by EPA concluded in 2012 that flooding at such sites in South Florida could pose a risk to public health by spreading contaminated soil and groundwater. Flooding could disturb dangerous pollutants and wash it onto nearby property or contaminate groundwater, including personal wells, said Elizabeth Betsy Southerland, who retired last month as director of science and technology in EPAs Office of Water after 30 years at the agency.

The agency needs to quickly respond with careful monitoring after the storm, said Southerland.

A recent analysis for the Government Accountability Office by two researchers at American University found that a storm surge in South Florida of just 1 to 4 feet could inundate the half-dozen sites visited by AP in recent days. Irma was predicted to push in a wall of water up to 12 feet high.

Of particular concern was the one-acre Miami Drum Services site. It is located over a drinking-water aquifer in a heavily industrial area of Doral, in west Miami-Dade County. The site was once home to more than 5,000 drums of various chemicals, some of which were dumped onsite after the metal containers were washed with a caustic cleaning solution. That solution, mixed with the chemical residues in the drums, leaked into the Biscayne Aquifer, a drinking water source.

The EPAs community involvement coordinator for the site, Ronald Tolliver in Atlanta, told AP he was not sure what the agency was doing to prepare the site or contact residents whose drinking water could be affected by serious flooding from Irma. Bowman said Tolliver was a new employee and may not have been familiar with the EPAs hurricane procedures for Superfund sites.

At the Homestead Air Reserve Base Superfund site south of Miami, it would take only about a foot of storm surge to swamp the nearly 2,000-acre Superfund site. Numerous apartments and a shopping center with a supermarket are nearby.

The EPA needs to do a better job helping people who live near Superfund sites stay informed with accurate information, said Stephen Sweeney, a former graduate fellow in EPAs office of policy and one of the American University researchers who conducted the Superfund flooding study.

These residents need to be aware of their surroundings, and what could be in their water and the floodwater, said Sweeney, now a private consultant. There needs to be some sort of public communication. Either mass distribution of information or evacuating residents  its up to the agency to make that call.

At the Anodyne site in North Miami Beach on Friday, the AP found three sealed steel drums labeled as being filled with IDW soil and water in the open, weed-covered field behind a building. IDW is the designation for investigation derived waste. The drums were labeled, Do not disturb. Bowman said the barrels were low-risk to human health.

A worker from a nearby building, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation, said he saw workers putting soil and water into the drums. Soil and groundwater at the former industrial site was contaminated with a brew of toxic chemicals, including pesticides, solvents and heavy metals.

After AP inquired about the drums, the EPA said Saturday it dispatched workers to Anodyne to remove the containers. They had contained drill cutting and purge water produced during the installation of a new monitoring well the prior week, the agency said.

The EPA has made significant efforts over the last week to publicize its response to flooding at Superfund sites in Texas and allay concerns about similar sites in Florida. That followed an Aug. 26 report by AP that at least seven Superfund sites in the Houston region had flooded during Hurricane Harvey. AP journalists on the scene in Texas surveyed the sites by boat, vehicle and on foot.

Hours after APs story last week, the EPA said it had reviewed aerial imagery confirming that 13 of 41 Superfund sites in areas affected by Harvey had flooded and were experiencing possible damage due to the storm. The EPA also confirmed that its own personnel had not yet visited the Houston-area sites.

Since then, EPA has been issuing daily updates about its efforts. On Monday, the agency organized a media tour of one of the Houston sites highlighted in APs reporting, though AP was not notified about the press event and was not able to attend. After AP informed the EPA in Washington that its reporters had been surveying Superfund sites in South Florida, the agency warned in a press release that unauthorized entry at any Superfund site, either prior to or following the storm, is prohibited as these sites can be extremely dangerous and can pose significant threats to human health.

Following his appointment by Trump, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has repeatedly said that cleaning up Superfund sites is among his top policy priorities. He appointed a task force to study the issue quickly, adopting 42 recommendations and saying he wanted to develop a top-10 list of the most dangerous sites.

Pruitt, who has questioned the severity of consequences from global warming, has been largely silent on the threat posed to Superfund sites by rising seas and more powerful storms.

A nationwide climate change adaptation assessment conducted by EPA under the Obama administration in 2012 determined that more than 500 Superfund sites are located in flood zones. Nearly 50 are in coastal areas that could also be vulnerable to sea level rise and storm surge, including several located in Florida.

Theres a sharp contrast between the recommendations left behind for the Pruitt EPA and what his task force examined, said Mathy Stanislaus, who served as EPAs assistant administrator for solid waste and emergency response under President Obama. They completely omitted any consideration of increasing vulnerability from climate change.

The EPA declined to make Pruitt available for an interview with the AP. But asked about the issue by CNN, he said now is not the time to debate the impacts of global warming.

To have any kind of focus on the cause and effect of the storm; versus helping people, or actually facing the effect of the storm, is misplaced, Pruitt said Thursday. What we need to focus on is access to clean water, addressing these areas of superfund activities that may cause an attack on water, these issues of access to fuel.... Those are things so important to citizens of Florida right now.

Associated Press writer Kelli Kennedy contributed to this report.
A Maine man, who just had his leg amputated, is relieved to have gotten his stolen wheelchair back.

George Simmons of Lewiston came home from the hospital Thursday to find his motorized wheelchair, batteries and charger, were all stolen from his Blake Street apartment.

"I've been through hell," he said.

He was left bedridden after the theft, and he pleaded for the public's help to locate his missing chair. His daughter, Elizabeth Simmons, confirmed Friday night that the wheelchair had been recovered after someone was caught trying to sell it.

Lewiston Police were investigating the incident. According to Lt. David St. Pierre, the equipment was most likely stolen Wednesday night.

George Simmons' family noticed it was missing Thursday morning, when they went to pick him up from the hospital. He had been keeping it by his porch so the batteries could charge.

"I didn't even chain it up, because who would steal a wheelchair?" he said.

Simmons said due to his declining health, he cannot use a basic wheelchair, and motorized ones are too expensive for his family to afford. Without one, he would have had to recover in his surgery in bed.

"God forgive who took it," Simmons said. "I hope God have mercy on his soul."
With potential power outages to more than 4 million people in Florida, 100 Eversource employees from Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Connecticut loaded up equipment Saturday morning to head down to help with the hurricane and what those Floridians will face.

Trucks were ready to leave from an Eversource parking lot in Westwood, Massachusetts on Saturday morning.

Two of those employees, Daryl White and John Sellon, are expecting widespread damage. They will be positioned in the Maryland/Virginia area while they wait to be dispatched wherever they are needed.

Employees are going to be gone for a long time, they say, so it's tough to leave their families but ultimately they want to help get everyone's power back on.

The Eversource employees will be going down there in the hopes of helping with power restoration as most of Florida is expected to lose power and has been asking for help. They are expecting millions will need their help after Irma sweeps through.
While more than a million people are leaving Florida, some New Englanders are determined to beat Hurricane Irma to the Sunshine State in order to help their families who live there.

Flights to the Florida area were limited Friday as people scramble to get there before the airports close ahead of the hurricane.

Eugene Grissom came to Boston to watch the Patriots game Thursday, but instead of extending his trip, he was heading back home to Jacksonville.

"My daughter is by herself," Grissom said. "We're going to be alright, though. I know we will be. We're going to get out of there and just drive until I think we're safe."

Many travelers were heading to Florida to help their elderly family members get out before Irma.

"I'm just worried about her being stuck and stranded for over a week," John Urquhard of Billerica said. "It's just not a good scenario for someone who is 84 years old."

Kim Ring of Boston made the trip to Port St. Lucie, Florida, to help her mother earlier this week. They have not yet decided if they are going to evacuate, but she stocked up on supplies just in case they ride it out.

"We've got bedding and towels if we have to flee, and cases of water if we stay," Ring said. "It's been a crazy two days, but I can honestly say at this point, we are ready."

Ring is now trying to help others who live near her mother prepare for Hurricane Irma.

Those still trying to make it there can find discounted tickets on some airlines, but many Florida airports are announcing closings. When the wind reaches 55 mph, planes will no longer be able to fly there.
An Indian American residing in Florida, which is expected to face the wrath of Hurricane Irma by Sunday, narrates what it is like to gear up for and survive a deadly hurricane.

By India Today Web Desk: Hurricane Irma, which left most of the Caribbean islands in shambles in its wake, is now heading towards Florida, US.

Weather forecasters have predicted that Hurricane Irma would approach South Florida by Sunday morning, and move north-wards eventually.

"Irma is likely to make landfall in Florida as a dangerous major hurricane, and will bring life-threatening wind impacts to much of the state regardless of the exact track of the center," the National Hurricane Center has said.

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As the Sunshine State prepares itself to wait out yet another deadly hurricane, here is a first-person account by an Indian American residing here narrating how a Floridian does that:

This is that time of the year again -- the hurricane season. September and October are the months when the East Coast of the United States braces up, prepares for, and survives the deadliest of Atlantic hurricanes. I have had my share of experience too, with the deadly Hurricane Sandy in 2012, and with the not-so-wild Hurricane Mathew in Florida in 2016.

Florida has become super busy in last couple of days. The state prepares for Irma, the strongest of the Atlantic hurricanes recorded in recent history. The reputation is no way exaggerated. In its prime, Irma hit the Caribbean Islands and wreaked havoc. The rest is history. Experts say the islands will take a decade to reach where they were before Irma changed their fate. Irma is strong and is now headed towards the Sunshine State. The southern cone is going to be directly affected when Irma makes her presence felt Sunday onwards. Although most of the southern Florida counties remain on high alert, with many evacuated already, the northern countries are gearing up for the impact of Irma. What if Irma loses her way and gets northward bound? Troubles, of course. Hence, the preparations are in full-swing.

With almost four to eight inches of rain and winds at 165 miles per hour, as predicted, power outage is the biggest threat the northern counties face. The flashlights are the first thing to disappear from all the shops. If one is not an early bird, one has to launch a man-hunt to find a decent flashlight to 'see' through the contingency. Since most of the residences are equipped with electric-run cooking range, the local grocery stores have all their check-out counters open through out the day, a phenomenon that is as rare as a total solar eclipse. The storekeepers are burning quite a lot of calories trying to keep the shelves of cereals, cookies, breads, and other ready-to-eat products. Oh yes, and those of water too. I guess it is during such natural catastrophes that this beer-guzzling and Coke-drinking country realises the significance of water in human existence. There are long queues at the gas stations during the day time. Many gas stations quickly run out of the normal unleaded gas, forcing people to fill tanks with premium (of course, more expensive) fuel. But no one is complaining.

One more item that sees the all-time high demand during the hurricane season is the wood planks. Glass windows are secured by covering them with thick wooden planks nailed to the window frames from outside to prevent the strong gust smashing the glass. Since Jacksonville and most of the state sit on swamps, almost every house in the city has a lake in the vicinity. Hence, many residents have even invested in life jackets in case the there is a flood situation.

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So, here we are. The check list is ready:

A generator and LED lanterns to survive the power outage.

Ice stored in all possible freezers in the home.

Enough food and portable water to last at least five days.

Glass windows all planked up with thick wooden sheets (the houses appear to be nothing less than fortresses).

Life jackets in place.

Car all filled up in case we need to evacuate.

We mortals have done what is in our capacity to face the fury of nature. Now it is just a wait-and-watch situation for the thousands of Florida residents. Hurricane Irma begins to unleash its power from Sunday evening. Till then, it is a lot of anticipation. Nature's got to do what it's got do. We've got to do what we've got to do. Needless to say that man is no match for nature in such situations. With all our technological advances, we remain as helpless as a newborn in such situations. But hope and determination make humans larger than life when the calls come. We are ready.

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--Shraddha Shaw

For more on Hurricane Irma...

In pictures: Hurricane Irma is nature at its most fierce, one of Atlantic Ocean's most powerful storm

In pics: Powerful, record-breaking Hurricane Irma visible from International Space Station

Stunning photos show golfers continuing to play as Oregon wildfire blazes in the background

--- ENDS ---
A man has been arrested and charged with four counts of murder after four people were found dead Friday night in Groton, Massachusetts.

Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan confirms Orion Krause has been arrested and charged with the murders of three women and a man at a Common Street home.

"It appears to be a situation of tragic family violence," Ryan said.

According to Ryan, two middle-aged women, an older man and an older woman were all found dead from blunt-force trauma. Krause, believed to be in his 20s, is accused of killing them. While authorities would not specify his relation to the victims, Ryan referred to it as "familial."

"There is no cause for alarm. This was not a random act," Groton Police Chief Donald Palma said. "We do believe at this point that the people were all connected and had relationships, and the town is safe, as it pertains to this particular incident."


Ripple effects from Hurricane Irma are being felt all the way up the East Coast, in Vermont.

"I cried when we flew out of town this morning," said Kathy Lewis, a resident of Orlando, Florida, who traveled to Vermont Friday as Irma was approaching her state.

Lewis and her husband, Roger, said they were already looking forward to celebrating their fortieth wedding anniversary in Vermont, and didn't cancel their plans when the storm approached. Their scheduled trip would also get them out of Florida in time to dodge Irma, they pointed out.

"We're pretty confident we'll be all right," Roger Lewis said, noting that neighbors and relatives will be regularly checking on their property and giving them updates.

"We're just praying for everyone  that we come through this as good as we can," Kathy Lewis added.

Larisa Moon, a resident of Savannah, Georgia, was also among the storm evacuees necn met at the Burlington International Airport.

Moon is from Vermont originally, so came home to stay with family while Irma pounds the South.

"My husband wanted our son and myself to be a little safer," Moon said, explaining she was concerned about taking care of a baby if there happens to be a lengthy power outage. "Hopefully nothing's wrong with the house  that everything's finebut, better safe than sorry."

Steve McQueen, the former police chief of Winooski, moved from Vermont to Florida for a job near Orlando with the Disney Vacation Club.

He said he and his wife do not plan to evacuate their home in the city of Davenport, Florida.

"We have enough water to get us through probably two weeks," McQueen told necn. "Enough food for at least a week, a camp stove, lanterns  we're anticipating were going to be without power for a while more than anything else."

National Weather Service meteorologist Robert Deal used to live in Florida, and has many friends and relatives there.

From his Vermont forecast center, Deal is keeping one eye on Irma, and the other on text messages and social media posts from his loved ones.

"This is a terrifying storm," he observed. "Most of my friends who are in the area have either made plans to evacuate  so they're already gone  or they work for the National Weather Service so they've already barricaded up their house and they're now going to be doing work just the same I would for any winter storm here."

We checked in with several Vermont organizations that lent support to Texas following Hurricane Harvey. They said they're now watching Irma closely, to see if more aid is needed and if they will be able to help.
Not made your Christmas pudding yet? Don't know where to start? Come along to a Christmas pudding workshop at Norwich Central Baptist Church on November 21 with MasterChef contestant Jane Wyndham.

Not made your Christmas pudding yet? Don't know where to start? Come along to a Christmas pudding workshop at Norwich Central Baptist Church on November 21 with MasterChef contestant Jane Wyndham.

Norwich Foodbank provides over 4,700 food parcels Norwich Foodbank gave out 4,793 emergency food parcels to people across Norwich in the last year  with 1,790 of these going to children. Read more

Poppies cascading in Sheringham church A fall of poppies cascades from the pulpit in St Andrews Methodist Church in Sheringham, and anyone is welcome to come and see them. Read more

Bishop Graham's prayers for COP27 climate conference Bishop Graham is publishing daily prayers on social media for the current COP27 climate conference, and is asking all to join. Read more

Discovering the Orange in your life The vibrant colours of autumn have been inspiring regular contributor Jane Walters to focus on the positive. Read more

YMCA annual celebration set to inspire YMCA Norfolk is set to hold its much anticipated 2022 annual celebration and awards ceremony on November 17, after almost 3 years since the last event due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more

Hub manager vacancy at community shop Earlham Community Shop Community Interest Company is looking to appoint a manager for this new venture being developed in the heart of NR5 Norwich. Read more

Abbey Days brings Christmas Magic to Wymondham Visitors to Wymondham Abbeys Christmas fair will be able to treat their children to a magic show and fun baking workshop while they browse more than 60 stalls. Read more

Salvation Armys new Christmas Appeal in Norfolk The Salvation Army has launched their new Christmas appeal across Norfolk which, this year, has evolved from the much-loved Toys and Tins appeal. Read more

Are we storing up treasures on earth? Rising prices affect us all, and Anna Heydon urges us to spare a thought for those who will be struggling with the cost of living this winter. Read more

Latest Norfolk Christian community events Events of interest to the Norwich and Norfolk Christian community happening over the next few weeks are listed. Read more

Covid leaf memorial at Norwich church St Peter Mancroft Church Norwich Presents The Leaves of the Trees an installation by sculptor Peter Walker which provides a memorial for those who died of Covid-19 Read more

Community Chaplaincy Norfolk begins a new chapter Community Chaplaincy Norfolk (CCN) celebrated the beginning of a new chapter this week, as the new chair of trustees Chris Tomlinson led his first annual meeting. Read more

Lowestoft Christians launch on-line bible helps app The Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth branch of Good News for Everyone (GNFE), formerly the Gideons, have introduced a new mobile phone app called On-line Bible Helps. Read more

Addicts' rehabilitation centre plan for Drayton Hall Christian addiction charity Teen Challenge London is planning to turn Drayton Hall near Norwich into its headquarters and a rehabilitation centre for men, after it was gifted the freehold of the hall by its owner, the Lind Trust. Read more

The power of positive protest Philip Young encourages us to take a stand for what we believe, and has just written to Therese Coffey regarding climate change and the forthcoming COP 27. He explains why we should be prepared to protest. Read more

Norwich church celebrates with cribs and trees Rosebery Road Methodist Church in Norwich will be holding its annual Cribs and Trees Festival in December. Read more

Transforming Norwich lunch offers ministry tips Ex-Brighton vicar, Rev Phil Moon, will offer tips on how to keep going in ministry to the Transforming Norwich leaders lunch on Wednesday November 16. Read more
72 flats planned for town centre location

A DEVELOPER looking to build 72 flats in Newbury town centre has submitted a fresh application detailing the proposed landscaping of the scheme.

Plans for three apartment blocks to be located behind The Broadway were approved in November 2014, despite concerns of overdevelopment.

As a part of the planning conditions, the developer, Praxis Real Estate Management Ltd, was required to submit an application for the landscaping within three years of the approval date, which West Berkshire Council will now consider.

The residential blocks, ranging from four to five storeys, will be built on a private car park with access to the development gained from Strawberry Hill and through two narrow archways off The Broadway.

At the time the outline plans were being considered, Newbury Town Council claimed the scheme would constitute overdevelopment in the town centre, while other detractors argued against the loss of 92 car parking spaces, as well as the scale and density of the buildings.

However, West Berkshire Council gave the proposals the green light, with planners considering the development to be economically, socially and environmentally sustainable.

The scheme will also provide much-needed social housing to the area, with 22 of the flats set to be affordable, while a total of 28 car parking spaces are proposed.

The council had also requested that the developer make a financial contribution to the Newbury car club.

All matters other than landscaping had been approved in 2014, with developer Praxis now seeking approval of the final few details of the scheme.

According to the applicant, the new proposals seek to maximise tree retention on site and adopt a sensitive approach to landscaping for the development site.

The plans will see 17 of the existing trees on site retained and seven trees removed.

The developer is proposing to plant 32 new semi-mature trees around the site.

It is expected that work will start within two years.

The 72 new homes will be part of an ongoing series of residential developments across the town centre with plans to build 50 new flats in Bartholomew Street, along with the 232-home Market Street Urban Village.
By Reuters

MOSCOW/BEIJING: Chinese conglomerate CEFC will buy a 14.16 percent stake in Russian oil major Rosneft for $9.1 billion from a consortium of Glencore and the Qatar Investment Authority, strengthening the energy partnership between Moscow and Beijing.

CEFC China Energy has grown in recent years from a niche oil trader into a sprawling energy conglomerate and the transaction will allow China, the world's second largest energy consumer, to boost cooperation with the world's top oil producer.

The deal comes as the United States imposes a new round of economic sanctions on Russia, making it difficult for large Western firms such as Glencore to develop partnerships and increase ties with state-owned firms such as Rosneft.

Glencore said in a statement that CEFC will buy shares at a premium of around 16 percent to the 30-day volume weighted average price of Rosneft shares without naming the price. A CEFC spokesman said the company would pay $9.1 billion.

Rosneft's market capitalisation stands at $57 billion and the deal makes it one of the largest investments ever made by China into Russia.

Glencore and QIA will retain stakes of 0.5 percent and 4.7 percent in Rosneft respectively.

The Kremlin has been seeking to expand its ties with China, especially since the West imposed wide-ranging sanctions on Moscow to punish it for the annexation of Crimea and an incursion into east Ukraine in 2014.

Russia tops the list of Chinese crude suppliers where it competes with its arch-rival Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter.

OPAQUE DEAL

Glencore and QIA agreed to buy a 19.5 percent stake in Rosneft in December 2016 for over 10.2 billion euros to help the Kremlin plug budget holes.

The transaction coincided with expectations of political detente between Moscow and Washington after Donald Trump became U.S. president and pledged to improve ties with Moscow.

Rosneft is run by Igor Sechin, a close ally or President Vladimir Putin, who awarded special state decorations to the head of Glencore Ivan Glasenberg for executing the transaction.

Putin also awarded state decorations to the Russian head of Italian bank Intesa SanPaolo, Antonio Fallico, for helping fund the deal with a 5.2 billion euro loan.

The transactions has, however, raised a lot of questions among bankers and market analysts.

Glencore and QIA never disclosed the final beneficiaries of the stake and Intesa could not syndicate the loan from other banks to share risks as most lenders declined to get involved because of new sanctions on Russia.

Intesa said its 5.2 billion euro loan will be reimbursed following the CEFC deal.

"It always looked as if the Qatar-Glencore deal was hastily arranged so as to allow the privatisation to take place by the end of last year and the proceeds booked to the federal budget," said Chris Weafer from Macro Advisory consultancy.

Last month, Washington imposed further sanctions on Moscow in the strongest action against Russia since 2014 - in part as a response to conclusions by U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia meddled in the presidential election.

On Friday, Sechin said QIA and Glencore cut the stakes partially because of a decline in the U.S. dollar against the euro, which made debt servicing more expensive.

Sechin told reporters CEFC would get access to Rosneft's oil fields and petrochemical projects in East Siberia to guarantee bigger synergies.

"From Rosneft's point of view, the arrival of such a partner is positive as it shows that the foreign investors still keep their interest to the Russian oil industry," said Alexander Kornilov from Aton brokerage in Moscow.

CEFC said the deal would give it annual equity oil production of 42 million tonnes (840,000 barrels per day) and access to oil and gas reserves of 2.67 billion tonnes (20 billion barrels).

The deal will be China's second largest oil and gas acquisition after the $15.1 billion purchase of Canada's Nexen by CNOOC in 2013. Earlier this decade, Beijing also loaned $25 billion to Russia to help it build a pipeline from Siberia.

MOSCOW/BEIJING: Chinese conglomerate CEFC will buy a 14.16 percent stake in Russian oil major Rosneft for $9.1 billion from a consortium of Glencore and the Qatar Investment Authority, strengthening the energy partnership between Moscow and Beijing. CEFC China Energy has grown in recent years from a niche oil trader into a sprawling energy conglomerate and the transaction will allow China, the world's second largest energy consumer, to boost cooperation with the world's top oil producer. The deal comes as the United States imposes a new round of economic sanctions on Russia, making it difficult for large Western firms such as Glencore to develop partnerships and increase ties with state-owned firms such as Rosneft. Glencore said in a statement that CEFC will buy shares at a premium of around 16 percent to the 30-day volume weighted average price of Rosneft shares without naming the price. A CEFC spokesman said the company would pay $9.1 billion. Rosneft's market capitalisation stands at $57 billion and the deal makes it one of the largest investments ever made by China into Russia. Glencore and QIA will retain stakes of 0.5 percent and 4.7 percent in Rosneft respectively. The Kremlin has been seeking to expand its ties with China, especially since the West imposed wide-ranging sanctions on Moscow to punish it for the annexation of Crimea and an incursion into east Ukraine in 2014. Russia tops the list of Chinese crude suppliers where it competes with its arch-rival Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter. OPAQUE DEAL Glencore and QIA agreed to buy a 19.5 percent stake in Rosneft in December 2016 for over 10.2 billion euros to help the Kremlin plug budget holes. The transaction coincided with expectations of political detente between Moscow and Washington after Donald Trump became U.S. president and pledged to improve ties with Moscow. Rosneft is run by Igor Sechin, a close ally or President Vladimir Putin, who awarded special state decorations to the head of Glencore Ivan Glasenberg for executing the transaction. Putin also awarded state decorations to the Russian head of Italian bank Intesa SanPaolo, Antonio Fallico, for helping fund the deal with a 5.2 billion euro loan. The transactions has, however, raised a lot of questions among bankers and market analysts. Glencore and QIA never disclosed the final beneficiaries of the stake and Intesa could not syndicate the loan from other banks to share risks as most lenders declined to get involved because of new sanctions on Russia. Intesa said its 5.2 billion euro loan will be reimbursed following the CEFC deal. "It always looked as if the Qatar-Glencore deal was hastily arranged so as to allow the privatisation to take place by the end of last year and the proceeds booked to the federal budget," said Chris Weafer from Macro Advisory consultancy. Last month, Washington imposed further sanctions on Moscow in the strongest action against Russia since 2014 - in part as a response to conclusions by U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia meddled in the presidential election. On Friday, Sechin said QIA and Glencore cut the stakes partially because of a decline in the U.S. dollar against the euro, which made debt servicing more expensive. Sechin told reporters CEFC would get access to Rosneft's oil fields and petrochemical projects in East Siberia to guarantee bigger synergies. "From Rosneft's point of view, the arrival of such a partner is positive as it shows that the foreign investors still keep their interest to the Russian oil industry," said Alexander Kornilov from Aton brokerage in Moscow. CEFC said the deal would give it annual equity oil production of 42 million tonnes (840,000 barrels per day) and access to oil and gas reserves of 2.67 billion tonnes (20 billion barrels). The deal will be China's second largest oil and gas acquisition after the $15.1 billion purchase of Canada's Nexen by CNOOC in 2013. Earlier this decade, Beijing also loaned $25 billion to Russia to help it build a pipeline from Siberia.
Mexico is dealing with the aftermath of a powerful earthquake on Thursday night.

By Reuters: Storm Katia rapidly weakened on Saturday after it made landfall near the working-class beach resort of Tecolutla in the state of Veracruz on the Mexican Gulf coast, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.

Katia was downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm as it was about 110 miles (175 km) northwest of Veracruz, Mexico with sustained winds of 45 mph (70 kmh), the center said in an advisory.

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Veracruz state officials said in a statement on Friday that the storm could cause landslides and flooding, and urged people living below hills and slopes to be prepared to evacuate.

Luis Felipe Puente, head of Mexico's national emergency services, said this week that Katia has "worrying characteristics" because it is very slow-moving and could dump a lot of rain on areas that have been saturated in recent weeks.

State oil and gas company Pemex has installations in and around the coast of Veracruz, but the firm has not reported any disruption to its operations.

Mexico is also dealing with the aftermath of a powerful earthquake on Thursday night. The quake, the strongest to strike the country in more than 80 years, killed at least 61 people.

As Katia was making landfall, Hurricane Irma, one of the most powerful Atlantic storms in a century, walloped Cuba's northern coast as a Category 5 storm. Millions of Florida residents were ordered to evacuate after the storm killed 21 people in the eastern Caribbean and left catastrophic destruction in its wake.

Hurricane Jose continued to gather strength far out in the Atlantic and was nearing Category 5 strength as it churned about 435 miles east-southeast of the Northern Leeward Islands.

Also Read:

At least 60 die in Mexico's strongest earthquake in over 8 decades

36 killed in Mexico's strongest earthquake in 85 years

Also Watch:

Magnitude 8.1 earthquake hits southern Mexico

--- ENDS ---
By Express News Service

BENGALURU: Following the death of soldier Aravind Kumar K, his family donated the 23-year-olds organs after the 23-year-old was declared brain dead on September 6. Its the duty of a soldier to serve the nation. Organ donation can save at least eight lives, says brother Anbu Kumar.

Aravind, who was in Krishnagiri, Tamil Nadu to attend a family function met with an accident while riding on his bike. It happened just a kilometre away from our house. Two bikers from the opposite direction banged his bike and Aravind fell. He suffered a head injury, Anbu says.

Arvind Kumar K

The onlookers called an ambulance and took him to a local government hospital. He was finding it difficult to breathe. They referred us to Bengaluru. We went to a hospital where they said the functioning of his brain has slowed.

He was then taken to the Command Hospital as he was in Indian army. Three days later at 4.30 pm on September 6, he was declared brain dead. Anbu, who serves in the Indian Army had recommended his brother to join. Aravind took training at the Madras Engineering Group in Bengaluru and joined the service on 15 January, 2013.

Anbu says, He was on a ventilator and the doctors had already informed us that theres 90 per cent possibility he wont survive. I had told them right then, if he doesnt survive, we would like to donate his organs.

The doctors conducted the tests and confirmed the condition. Thats when we informed our mother that he has been declared brain dead. My relatives and I informed my mother on how many lives the organs could save, he says. The parents agreed to the donation after this discussion.

His organs were harvested at 5.55 am the next day. All his organs including eyes, heart, lungs, pancreas and tissues were harvested and sent to Bengaluru, Chennai and Mysuru, Anbu says.

His heart was donated to a 38-year-old patient at BGS Global Hospital, liver to a 60-year-old man at Victoria Hospital, lungs to 70 and 74- year-olds in Chennai. His left kidney was transplanted to a 41-year-old woman at Command Hospital and the other one to a 40-year-old patient in Mysuru.

Aravind served in Srinagar for four years. When soldiers were hit by snow avalanche in Siachen Glacier last year, he was part involved in clearing off the snow, Anbu says.

BENGALURU: Following the death of soldier Aravind Kumar K, his family donated the 23-year-olds organs after the 23-year-old was declared brain dead on September 6. Its the duty of a soldier to serve the nation. Organ donation can save at least eight lives, says brother Anbu Kumar. Aravind, who was in Krishnagiri, Tamil Nadu to attend a family function met with an accident while riding on his bike. It happened just a kilometre away from our house. Two bikers from the opposite direction banged his bike and Aravind fell. He suffered a head injury, Anbu says. Arvind Kumar KThe onlookers called an ambulance and took him to a local government hospital. He was finding it difficult to breathe. They referred us to Bengaluru. We went to a hospital where they said the functioning of his brain has slowed. He was then taken to the Command Hospital as he was in Indian army. Three days later at 4.30 pm on September 6, he was declared brain dead. Anbu, who serves in the Indian Army had recommended his brother to join. Aravind took training at the Madras Engineering Group in Bengaluru and joined the service on 15 January, 2013. Anbu says, He was on a ventilator and the doctors had already informed us that theres 90 per cent possibility he wont survive. I had told them right then, if he doesnt survive, we would like to donate his organs. The doctors conducted the tests and confirmed the condition. Thats when we informed our mother that he has been declared brain dead. My relatives and I informed my mother on how many lives the organs could save, he says. The parents agreed to the donation after this discussion. His organs were harvested at 5.55 am the next day. All his organs including eyes, heart, lungs, pancreas and tissues were harvested and sent to Bengaluru, Chennai and Mysuru, Anbu says. His heart was donated to a 38-year-old patient at BGS Global Hospital, liver to a 60-year-old man at Victoria Hospital, lungs to 70 and 74- year-olds in Chennai. His left kidney was transplanted to a 41-year-old woman at Command Hospital and the other one to a 40-year-old patient in Mysuru. Aravind served in Srinagar for four years. When soldiers were hit by snow avalanche in Siachen Glacier last year, he was part involved in clearing off the snow, Anbu says.
By Express News Service

KOCHI: International flights to Calicut airport were disrupted on Friday morning due to poor visibility caused by bad weather conditions and they were diverted to Cochin International Airport. Four flights - WY 295 Oman air from Salalah, IX 348 AI Express from Abu Dhabi, EY 250 Etihad from Abu Dhabi and AI 998 Air India from Sharjah - which were supposed to touch down in Calicut airport between 5 am and 7 am, had to land in Kochi. They returned by 8.30 am.

Meanwhile, the two-member team from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) reached Cochin International Airport to conduct the first round of investigation into the Air India Express accident. The team is expected submit the preliminary report in the coming days. Around 102 passengers and six crew members had a providential escape when an Air India Express flight veered off the taxiway and rolled into a storm water drain during taxiing on Tuesday morning.

KOCHI: International flights to Calicut airport were disrupted on Friday morning due to poor visibility caused by bad weather conditions and they were diverted to Cochin International Airport. Four flights - WY 295 Oman air from Salalah, IX 348 AI Express from Abu Dhabi, EY 250 Etihad from Abu Dhabi and AI 998 Air India from Sharjah - which were supposed to touch down in Calicut airport between 5 am and 7 am, had to land in Kochi. They returned by 8.30 am. Meanwhile, the two-member team from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) reached Cochin International Airport to conduct the first round of investigation into the Air India Express accident. The team is expected submit the preliminary report in the coming days. Around 102 passengers and six crew members had a providential escape when an Air India Express flight veered off the taxiway and rolled into a storm water drain during taxiing on Tuesday morning.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: The Army has finalised its long-pending proposal to induct women as soldiers or jawans and 800 of them will be recruited for the Corps of military police.

The development comes a day after Nirmala Sitharam took over as the countrys first full-time woman defence minister. At present, women serve as officers in the army, Indian Air Force (IAF) and the navy. The recruitment of women jawans will begin in a phased manner with selection and training of 52 candidates every year.

An announcement in this regard was made here Friday during the army chiefs conclave. Former chiefs attend this conclave where the incumbent chief briefs them about the current developments in the service, officials said.

The officials maintained that the Corps of Military Police responsible for maintaining order in the army establishments, controlling traffic and investigating minor offences is also a non-combat or support service unit of the army. The army top brass is now finalising the terms and conditions of service for women and will shortly approach the Defence Ministry for approval, they said. The officials also said given the increasing need for investigation of gender-specific allegations and crime, a necessity was felt to have women in the military police.

The women recruits will undergo at least 42 weeks of training at the Corps of Military Police training centre, Bengaluru, along with their male counterparts and will formally join the service as Lance Naiks. It is the entry-level rank given to a soldier.

Incidentally, army chief General Bipin Rawat had some months back said the force will shortly open its doors at the jawan or soldier level for women to have a broader base for recruitment. However, he was reluctant about inducting women in combat roles and cited various reasons like tough working conditions in remote areas among others. Moreover, societal norms also make it difficult for the forces to induct women in combat roles, sources said.

The army has a strength of more than 10 lakh troops but does not have women as jawans. It is same with the IAF (60,000) and navy (50,000). However, the three services opened their doors for women as officers in 1992.

NEW DELHI: The Army has finalised its long-pending proposal to induct women as soldiers or jawans and 800 of them will be recruited for the Corps of military police. The development comes a day after Nirmala Sitharam took over as the countrys first full-time woman defence minister. At present, women serve as officers in the army, Indian Air Force (IAF) and the navy. The recruitment of women jawans will begin in a phased manner with selection and training of 52 candidates every year. An announcement in this regard was made here Friday during the army chiefs conclave. Former chiefs attend this conclave where the incumbent chief briefs them about the current developments in the service, officials said. The officials maintained that the Corps of Military Police responsible for maintaining order in the army establishments, controlling traffic and investigating minor offences is also a non-combat or support service unit of the army. The army top brass is now finalising the terms and conditions of service for women and will shortly approach the Defence Ministry for approval, they said. The officials also said given the increasing need for investigation of gender-specific allegations and crime, a necessity was felt to have women in the military police. The women recruits will undergo at least 42 weeks of training at the Corps of Military Police training centre, Bengaluru, along with their male counterparts and will formally join the service as Lance Naiks. It is the entry-level rank given to a soldier. Incidentally, army chief General Bipin Rawat had some months back said the force will shortly open its doors at the jawan or soldier level for women to have a broader base for recruitment. However, he was reluctant about inducting women in combat roles and cited various reasons like tough working conditions in remote areas among others. Moreover, societal norms also make it difficult for the forces to induct women in combat roles, sources said. The army has a strength of more than 10 lakh troops but does not have women as jawans. It is same with the IAF (60,000) and navy (50,000). However, the three services opened their doors for women as officers in 1992.
Anand ST Das By

Express News Service

PATNA: With the hooch death toll in Ranchi rising to 16, Jharkhand government has suspended 13 policemen who were found involved in the sale of illicit liquor and announced an award of Rs 1 lakh for each village that becomes liquor free.

Investigations found that several constables of Jharkhand Armed Police were involved in the sale of illicit liquor, which led to the death of some people. As many as 16 constables have been placed under suspension for their role in sale and supply of illicit liquor, said Sudhir Kumar Jha, DIG of Jharkhand Armed Police (JAP) on Friday.

Two JAP constables were among 16 people who died after consuming spurious liquor that was made locally in Ranchi. Sources said investigations found that the suspended JAP constables had put stickers saying For paramilitary forces, Sale in Jharkhand only on the bottles of the illicit liquor.

Investigation into the manufacture and supply of illicit liquor is on. Ranchi police, CID and Special Branch are conducting further probe. Action will be taken against whoever is found involved, said ADGP Rezi Dungdung, who had ordered the suspension of the 13 JAP constables found guilty in the investigation conducted by the DIG.

The illicit liquor hub in Ranchi was located in the JAP-1 campus close to the state secretariat Nepal House at Doronda. Ranchi police and municipal authorities on Thursday razed about 90 shacks inside the JAP-1 campus where about 30 hooch shops had been functioning.

The Raghubar Das-led state government, which handed the wholesale liquor business to state-owned Jharkhand State Beverages Corporation Limited a month ago, on Friday published advertisements in local newspapers offering a reward of Rs 1 lakh to each village that becomes liquor free. The government also issued a toll-free number for the people to inform about sale of illicit liquor.

The Opposition parties, unimpressed by these moves, blamed the state government for the hooch deaths and involvement of JAP personnel in sale of hooch. Congress has called for Ranchi bandh on Saturday.

PATNA: With the hooch death toll in Ranchi rising to 16, Jharkhand government has suspended 13 policemen who were found involved in the sale of illicit liquor and announced an award of Rs 1 lakh for each village that becomes liquor free. Investigations found that several constables of Jharkhand Armed Police were involved in the sale of illicit liquor, which led to the death of some people. As many as 16 constables have been placed under suspension for their role in sale and supply of illicit liquor, said Sudhir Kumar Jha, DIG of Jharkhand Armed Police (JAP) on Friday. Two JAP constables were among 16 people who died after consuming spurious liquor that was made locally in Ranchi. Sources said investigations found that the suspended JAP constables had put stickers saying For paramilitary forces, Sale in Jharkhand only on the bottles of the illicit liquor. Investigation into the manufacture and supply of illicit liquor is on. Ranchi police, CID and Special Branch are conducting further probe. Action will be taken against whoever is found involved, said ADGP Rezi Dungdung, who had ordered the suspension of the 13 JAP constables found guilty in the investigation conducted by the DIG. The illicit liquor hub in Ranchi was located in the JAP-1 campus close to the state secretariat Nepal House at Doronda. Ranchi police and municipal authorities on Thursday razed about 90 shacks inside the JAP-1 campus where about 30 hooch shops had been functioning. The Raghubar Das-led state government, which handed the wholesale liquor business to state-owned Jharkhand State Beverages Corporation Limited a month ago, on Friday published advertisements in local newspapers offering a reward of Rs 1 lakh to each village that becomes liquor free. The government also issued a toll-free number for the people to inform about sale of illicit liquor. The Opposition parties, unimpressed by these moves, blamed the state government for the hooch deaths and involvement of JAP personnel in sale of hooch. Congress has called for Ranchi bandh on Saturday.
Vikram Sharma By

Express News Service

NITI: Encountering the People's Liberation Army (PLA) is nothing new for the shepherds of Lapthal and Barahoti along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). Sabari Ram has been running into them for a decade whenever he goes up to the grazing lands.

For many shepherds like him in the pasture lands close to the MacMahon Line, being abused and threatened by Chinese boots is a regular affair. The PLA troopers destroy their temporary shelters, throw away their rations and utensils. Its the PLAs way of staking claim to this territory.

On July 26 this year, Chinese troops transgressed a kilometre into India and came up against the usual lot of shepherds grazing their flock. This year, they were particularly aggressive.

I was on my way to Barahoti when I got to know that Chinese soldiers had abused and shoved some shepherds around, said Sabari Ram. They threw away their rations (salt and rice) and destroyed their temporary shelters.

Shepherd Hari Singh, who returned early from Lapthal, said the PLA soldiers not only pulled down the tents as usual, they set fire to them. They were so aggressive I thought they would kill us.''

Shepherds have to take a permit from the sub-divisional magistrate at Joshimath before proceeding to Barahoti and Lapthal, some 400 km from Dehradun, to graze their sheep. The permits are three to four months. Grazing begins after the snows melt in April-May.

New Indian Express caught up with some shepherds near Gamsali village where they had pitched camp for the night. All of them said they detected a change in the Chinese soldiers behaviour this year and thought that a war was likely.

Sitap Singh, who returned from Barahoti, said he decided to remain well inside Indian territory after learning from other shepherds that the Chinese troopers appeared very edgy this time. I thought a war was imminent, he said.

EPS Photo

Whenever the shepherds go to the higher reaches of Barahoti or Lapthal, they carry enough stocks of rice and salt to sustain themselves for four months. Belonging to the Bhotiya tribe, who are mostly shepherds and goat herders, they eat rice with meat, preferably goat or sheep. A ferocious Bhotiya dog accompanies each shepherd to protect the flock from leopards.

According to ITBP and local police officials, Barahoti is a bowl-shaped area where Indian troops are entrenched in one corner and the Chinese in the other. In between the two sides is pasture land where the shepherds graze their sheep. Each time a group of shepherds move into the pasture land, the PLA troopers come stomping in and scare them away. This has been the case since the 1962 war.

In recent years, the number of Chinese incursions in Uttarakhand has been on the rise. In 2013, the then chief minister Vijay Bahuguna informed New Delhi that there were 37 incursions between 2007 and 2012 in the Barahoti area alone. The fact remains that the Centre downplayed these incursions.

Chinese incursions happen so regularly that even the Centre hardly takes cognizance of it, often referring it to as minor breaches, said a police officer in Chamoli district who says hundreds of such transgressions by Chinese have taken place since 1962.

For the shepherds of Niti valley, Malari, Gamsali, Tapovan and Suraithota, access to the pasture land in the disputed zone is a necessity. The grass on the higher reaches is of the best quality and the climate fattnes up their animals and they get a good price in the market. The Indo-Tibetan Border Police and the Army would rather have them graze their animals up there because they come back with first hand information on any Chinese incursion. ''If this area is uninhabited for long, it would give China free rein,'' an official said.

The shepherds are up at Barahoti for six months between April and September, and withdraw when it gets cold. Only the shepherds are allowed to go up, says Yogendra Singh, the sub-divisional magistrate at Joshimath.

Another advantage is that the shepherds understand a bit of Chinese as it is similar to their language of Rongba.

Nomads on the border

The shepherds of Barahoti belong to the nomadic Bhotiya tribe. Once the Bhotiyas used to live all along the border of India and Tibet and used to trade in wool and salt between the two places. Till 1962, a large number of Bhotiya caravans of mules and yaks used to travel into Tibet laden with Indian goods when the snow melted. They would barter these goods for Tibetan merchandise to be sold in India.

The Indo-Tibetan border was closed in 1962 after which the Bhotia tribe moved across into India. Even now, besides grazing sheep in Barahoti, they still visit Parvati Kund, an area close to the LAC where a temple is located and all locals worship it. The Chinese troopers are often seen close to Parvati Kund where many people from Tibet too come to worship on their side.

NITI: Encountering the People's Liberation Army (PLA) is nothing new for the shepherds of Lapthal and Barahoti along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). Sabari Ram has been running into them for a decade whenever he goes up to the grazing lands. For many shepherds like him in the pasture lands close to the MacMahon Line, being abused and threatened by Chinese boots is a regular affair. The PLA troopers destroy their temporary shelters, throw away their rations and utensils. Its the PLAs way of staking claim to this territory. On July 26 this year, Chinese troops transgressed a kilometre into India and came up against the usual lot of shepherds grazing their flock. This year, they were particularly aggressive. I was on my way to Barahoti when I got to know that Chinese soldiers had abused and shoved some shepherds around, said Sabari Ram. They threw away their rations (salt and rice) and destroyed their temporary shelters. Shepherd Hari Singh, who returned early from Lapthal, said the PLA soldiers not only pulled down the tents as usual, they set fire to them. They were so aggressive I thought they would kill us.'' Shepherds have to take a permit from the sub-divisional magistrate at Joshimath before proceeding to Barahoti and Lapthal, some 400 km from Dehradun, to graze their sheep. The permits are three to four months. Grazing begins after the snows melt in April-May. New Indian Express caught up with some shepherds near Gamsali village where they had pitched camp for the night. All of them said they detected a change in the Chinese soldiers behaviour this year and thought that a war was likely. Sitap Singh, who returned from Barahoti, said he decided to remain well inside Indian territory after learning from other shepherds that the Chinese troopers appeared very edgy this time. I thought a war was imminent, he said. EPS PhotoWhenever the shepherds go to the higher reaches of Barahoti or Lapthal, they carry enough stocks of rice and salt to sustain themselves for four months. Belonging to the Bhotiya tribe, who are mostly shepherds and goat herders, they eat rice with meat, preferably goat or sheep. A ferocious Bhotiya dog accompanies each shepherd to protect the flock from leopards. According to ITBP and local police officials, Barahoti is a bowl-shaped area where Indian troops are entrenched in one corner and the Chinese in the other. In between the two sides is pasture land where the shepherds graze their sheep. Each time a group of shepherds move into the pasture land, the PLA troopers come stomping in and scare them away. This has been the case since the 1962 war. In recent years, the number of Chinese incursions in Uttarakhand has been on the rise. In 2013, the then chief minister Vijay Bahuguna informed New Delhi that there were 37 incursions between 2007 and 2012 in the Barahoti area alone. The fact remains that the Centre downplayed these incursions. Chinese incursions happen so regularly that even the Centre hardly takes cognizance of it, often referring it to as minor breaches, said a police officer in Chamoli district who says hundreds of such transgressions by Chinese have taken place since 1962. For the shepherds of Niti valley, Malari, Gamsali, Tapovan and Suraithota, access to the pasture land in the disputed zone is a necessity. The grass on the higher reaches is of the best quality and the climate fattnes up their animals and they get a good price in the market. The Indo-Tibetan Border Police and the Army would rather have them graze their animals up there because they come back with first hand information on any Chinese incursion. ''If this area is uninhabited for long, it would give China free rein,'' an official said. The shepherds are up at Barahoti for six months between April and September, and withdraw when it gets cold. Only the shepherds are allowed to go up, says Yogendra Singh, the sub-divisional magistrate at Joshimath. Another advantage is that the shepherds understand a bit of Chinese as it is similar to their language of Rongba. Nomads on the border The shepherds of Barahoti belong to the nomadic Bhotiya tribe. Once the Bhotiyas used to live all along the border of India and Tibet and used to trade in wool and salt between the two places. Till 1962, a large number of Bhotiya caravans of mules and yaks used to travel into Tibet laden with Indian goods when the snow melted. They would barter these goods for Tibetan merchandise to be sold in India. The Indo-Tibetan border was closed in 1962 after which the Bhotia tribe moved across into India. Even now, besides grazing sheep in Barahoti, they still visit Parvati Kund, an area close to the LAC where a temple is located and all locals worship it. The Chinese troopers are often seen close to Parvati Kund where many people from Tibet too come to worship on their side.
By IANS

GURGRAM: Violent protests took place on Saturday outside the Ryan International school here over the brutal murder of a seven-year-old student, demanding the culprits be arrested and strict action taken against the school management.

Pradhuman, a Class 2 student, was found dead on Friday by a school staffer in the washroom with his throat slit. A knife, presumably the murder weapon, was found near the body.

An angry mob on Saturday broke the lock of the school's main gate. Nobody from either the local administration or the Manohar Lal Khattar government was available for comment.

The principal of the school in Bhondsi has been suspended, informed sources said. An independent investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation or a High Court judge has been demanded.

The protesters, including Pradhuman's parents, demonstrated outside the office of the Commissioner of Police on Sohna Road and demanded the arrest of the "real culprit".

Protests were also held outside a hospital on the Mehrauli-Gurugram (MG) road where the child's body was lying after the autopsy on Friday.

Police sources said the parents of the boy refused to accept the body and said the cremation would only be held after the culprits were caught.

Forensic expert Deepak Mathur, who conducted the post-mortem, said: "The deceased had two cuts on his neck. His throat was almost completely slit. Haemorrhage and excessive blood loss caused the death."

WATCH VIDEO: Seven-year-old found dead in a Gurgaon school, parents protests against the school authority

The family has alleged that the police was favouring the management of the school, located some 13 km from Gurugram city on Sohna Road.

"How can a little child be brutally murdered, when his father left him inside the school premises... The real culprits must be behind the bars," said a protestor.

Police late on Friday arrested Ashok Kumar, a conductor of one of the school's buses.

The victim's mother has called for the immediate arrest of the principal.

Several protests over the murder were held all over the city and traffic was disrupted in many parts.

Part of busy Delhi-Jaipur highway, Alwar-Sohna road and a few arterial roads were blocked.

The boy's family resides in Maruti Kunj Society in the same area. Pradhuman's father is a senior executive with an export house in the Kherki Daula area. The victim's sister is a Class 5 student in the same school

The boy reached the school hardly an hour before he was found dead. The police had questioned several Class IV staff like sweeper, gardner, bus driver and conductor, before arresting Kumar.

So far no one from the school has commented on the murder.

GURGRAM: Violent protests took place on Saturday outside the Ryan International school here over the brutal murder of a seven-year-old student, demanding the culprits be arrested and strict action taken against the school management. Pradhuman, a Class 2 student, was found dead on Friday by a school staffer in the washroom with his throat slit. A knife, presumably the murder weapon, was found near the body. An angry mob on Saturday broke the lock of the school's main gate. Nobody from either the local administration or the Manohar Lal Khattar government was available for comment. The principal of the school in Bhondsi has been suspended, informed sources said. An independent investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation or a High Court judge has been demanded. The protesters, including Pradhuman's parents, demonstrated outside the office of the Commissioner of Police on Sohna Road and demanded the arrest of the "real culprit". Protests were also held outside a hospital on the Mehrauli-Gurugram (MG) road where the child's body was lying after the autopsy on Friday. Police sources said the parents of the boy refused to accept the body and said the cremation would only be held after the culprits were caught. Forensic expert Deepak Mathur, who conducted the post-mortem, said: "The deceased had two cuts on his neck. His throat was almost completely slit. Haemorrhage and excessive blood loss caused the death." WATCH VIDEO: Seven-year-old found dead in a Gurgaon school, parents protests against the school authority The family has alleged that the police was favouring the management of the school, located some 13 km from Gurugram city on Sohna Road. "How can a little child be brutally murdered, when his father left him inside the school premises... The real culprits must be behind the bars," said a protestor. Police late on Friday arrested Ashok Kumar, a conductor of one of the school's buses. The victim's mother has called for the immediate arrest of the principal. Several protests over the murder were held all over the city and traffic was disrupted in many parts. Part of busy Delhi-Jaipur highway, Alwar-Sohna road and a few arterial roads were blocked. The boy's family resides in Maruti Kunj Society in the same area. Pradhuman's father is a senior executive with an export house in the Kherki Daula area. The victim's sister is a Class 5 student in the same school The boy reached the school hardly an hour before he was found dead. The police had questioned several Class IV staff like sweeper, gardner, bus driver and conductor, before arresting Kumar. So far no one from the school has commented on the murder.
By Express News Service

LUCKNOW: Even before Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was convicted for rape on August 25, the Union government was probing into the dispatch of 14 cadavers from the Deras headquarters to a private medical college in Lucknow in violation of norms.

The 14 cadavers were delivered over a period of eight months between January and August this year and were meant for medical research at the GCRG Institute of Medical Sciences situated on the outskirts of Lucknow. The college says it has affidavits from the families of the 14 dead persons pledging the donation of their bodies for medical research.

The issue came to light following the leak of a letter from the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry written on August 19 to the UP government, raising doubts over the manner in which the bodies were taken to Lucknow and received by the medical college without the requisite permissions or any death certificates. The letter also allegedly claimed that the medical institute did not comply with the standard procedure for procuring human bodies for medical studies.

According to one source in the GCRG Medical College, a team of the Medical Council of India (MCI) inspected the college on August 16 and found 14 cadavers in the anatomy department.

During the MCI's previous inspection on January 6, there had been only one cadaver in the institute and the council gave an adverse report on the institute as the rules mandated at least 15, said the source.

The Union health ministrys letter says the college violated the protocol for obtaining cadavers. On the eighth page of the nine-page letter dated August 19, 2017, the ministry said the college was not even aware of the provisions of the biomedical waste rules. The ministry directed the the Uttar Pradesh state authorities to look into the matter.

The college management says that Dera followers kin do donate bodies to a number of medical; colleges. "We have the affidavits of all the 14 families who agreed to donate the bodies for research. We have invited the Lucknow police to verify these documents," said Onkar Yadav, a GCRG management member.

The Lucknow police said they are investigating the matter. SSP Deepak Kumar said legal action would be initiated against the college and Dera Sacha Sauda if they are found to have flouted the norms for cadaver donation. Uttar Pradesh health minister Siddharth Nath Singh said the state government is monitoring the probe being conducted by the state police.

LUCKNOW: Even before Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was convicted for rape on August 25, the Union government was probing into the dispatch of 14 cadavers from the Deras headquarters to a private medical college in Lucknow in violation of norms. The 14 cadavers were delivered over a period of eight months between January and August this year and were meant for medical research at the GCRG Institute of Medical Sciences situated on the outskirts of Lucknow. The college says it has affidavits from the families of the 14 dead persons pledging the donation of their bodies for medical research. The issue came to light following the leak of a letter from the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry written on August 19 to the UP government, raising doubts over the manner in which the bodies were taken to Lucknow and received by the medical college without the requisite permissions or any death certificates. The letter also allegedly claimed that the medical institute did not comply with the standard procedure for procuring human bodies for medical studies. According to one source in the GCRG Medical College, a team of the Medical Council of India (MCI) inspected the college on August 16 and found 14 cadavers in the anatomy department. During the MCI's previous inspection on January 6, there had been only one cadaver in the institute and the council gave an adverse report on the institute as the rules mandated at least 15, said the source. The Union health ministrys letter says the college violated the protocol for obtaining cadavers. On the eighth page of the nine-page letter dated August 19, 2017, the ministry said the college was not even aware of the provisions of the biomedical waste rules. The ministry directed the the Uttar Pradesh state authorities to look into the matter. The college management says that Dera followers kin do donate bodies to a number of medical; colleges. "We have the affidavits of all the 14 families who agreed to donate the bodies for research. We have invited the Lucknow police to verify these documents," said Onkar Yadav, a GCRG management member. The Lucknow police said they are investigating the matter. SSP Deepak Kumar said legal action would be initiated against the college and Dera Sacha Sauda if they are found to have flouted the norms for cadaver donation. Uttar Pradesh health minister Siddharth Nath Singh said the state government is monitoring the probe being conducted by the state police.
By PTI

IMPHAL: The alleged scam of Rs 186.79 crore in the Manipur Development Society (MDS) will be handed over to the CBI once the preliminary investigation by the police was over, Chief Minister N Biren Singh has said.

The alleged scam figured former Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh and five top bureaucrats.

Ibobi Singh had served the state as the chief minister between 2002 and March 2017 before Biren Singh-led coalition came to power.

Biren, in a function yesterday, said that cases against those found innocent would be ultimately withdrawn.

Meanwhile, Manipur Police, led by SDPO A Ghanashyam Sharma, continued their search at the residence of former MDS project director Y Ningthem for the third consecutive day today. They have seized a number of files during the last three days.

Earlier, the acting Chief Justice of Manipur High Court N Kotishwar passed an interim order on a plea of an anticipatory bail by Ibobi Singh.

The court fixed September 20 for the next hearing of the anticipatory bail.

The multi-crore scam surfaced after an FIR was lodged on September one against the former Manipur CM.

The FIR accused Ibobi Singh, three former chief secretaries and two former chairmen of MDS of cheating, criminal conspiracy, breach of trust and misconduct by a public servant.

The FIR was lodged at Imphal PS on September one by the Joint Secretary Th Munindro, Planning, Government of Manipur.

The charges were denied by Ibobi Singh and others.

Congress MLA N Loken Singh had termed the registration of the FIR against the former CM and other five bureaucrats as "political vendetta".

IMPHAL: The alleged scam of Rs 186.79 crore in the Manipur Development Society (MDS) will be handed over to the CBI once the preliminary investigation by the police was over, Chief Minister N Biren Singh has said. The alleged scam figured former Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh and five top bureaucrats. Ibobi Singh had served the state as the chief minister between 2002 and March 2017 before Biren Singh-led coalition came to power. Biren, in a function yesterday, said that cases against those found innocent would be ultimately withdrawn. Meanwhile, Manipur Police, led by SDPO A Ghanashyam Sharma, continued their search at the residence of former MDS project director Y Ningthem for the third consecutive day today. They have seized a number of files during the last three days. Earlier, the acting Chief Justice of Manipur High Court N Kotishwar passed an interim order on a plea of an anticipatory bail by Ibobi Singh. The court fixed September 20 for the next hearing of the anticipatory bail. The multi-crore scam surfaced after an FIR was lodged on September one against the former Manipur CM. The FIR accused Ibobi Singh, three former chief secretaries and two former chairmen of MDS of cheating, criminal conspiracy, breach of trust and misconduct by a public servant. The FIR was lodged at Imphal PS on September one by the Joint Secretary Th Munindro, Planning, Government of Manipur. The charges were denied by Ibobi Singh and others. Congress MLA N Loken Singh had termed the registration of the FIR against the former CM and other five bureaucrats as "political vendetta".
By PTI

NEW DELHI: The External Affairs Ministry said today that it was monitoring the situation and communicating with the Indian diaspora in the US, Venezuela, France and the Netherlands in the wake of deadly Hurricane Irma.

The ministry's spokesman Raveesh Kumar said the Indian missions in the four countries were in touch with local government officials to provide assistance to the affected Indians.

"Our missions in Venezuela, the Netherlands, France and the US are constantly monitoring the situation following destruction due to hurricane Irma. They are in constant touch with the Indian diaspora affected by Irma and with local government officials to provide all possible assistance," Kumar said in a series of tweets.

Irma, a category 5 hurricane with winds swirling at 260 kilometres per hour, barrelled towards Florida after making landfall in Cuba's Camaguey Archipelago. It killed at least 19 people and damaged thousands of homes on the Caribbean islands.

France said at least 10 people have been killed across its Caribbean territories with seven more missing. Two people died on the Dutch side of the Saint Martin island.

The External Affairs Ministry spokesman tweeted telephone numbers for Indians to contact in case of emergency: Embassy of India, Venezuela (+58 4241951854/4142214721); Netherlands (+31247247247); France (0800000971).

The Indian embassy in the Netherlands tweeted that they were in touch with the Dutch government.

The Indian embassy in Caracas in Venezuela was also monitoring the situation in Saint Martin and "coordinating the welfare of all Indians living there."

NEW DELHI: The External Affairs Ministry said today that it was monitoring the situation and communicating with the Indian diaspora in the US, Venezuela, France and the Netherlands in the wake of deadly Hurricane Irma. The ministry's spokesman Raveesh Kumar said the Indian missions in the four countries were in touch with local government officials to provide assistance to the affected Indians. "Our missions in Venezuela, the Netherlands, France and the US are constantly monitoring the situation following destruction due to hurricane Irma. They are in constant touch with the Indian diaspora affected by Irma and with local government officials to provide all possible assistance," Kumar said in a series of tweets. Irma, a category 5 hurricane with winds swirling at 260 kilometres per hour, barrelled towards Florida after making landfall in Cuba's Camaguey Archipelago. It killed at least 19 people and damaged thousands of homes on the Caribbean islands. France said at least 10 people have been killed across its Caribbean territories with seven more missing. Two people died on the Dutch side of the Saint Martin island. The External Affairs Ministry spokesman tweeted telephone numbers for Indians to contact in case of emergency: Embassy of India, Venezuela (+58 4241951854/4142214721); Netherlands (+31247247247); France (0800000971). The Indian embassy in the Netherlands tweeted that they were in touch with the Dutch government. The Indian embassy in Caracas in Venezuela was also monitoring the situation in Saint Martin and "coordinating the welfare of all Indians living there."
Kumar Vikram By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: The battle within the JD (U) reached the election commission on Friday with two factions led by Nitish Kumar and Sharad Yadav staking claim on party symbol Arrow.

A delegation of Bihar CM Nitish Kumars faction led by party parliamentarian R C P Singh on Friday approached the poll panel and staked claim over the party symbol. It said that former party President Sharad Yadav has no basis to claim the party as his own.

Earlier, Sharad Yadav had submitted a memorandum to the commission, staking claim over the party. Party general secretary K C Tyagi said that the delegation had submitted affidavits to prove the overwhelming majority Nitish Kumar enjoys. He said that that 70 out of 70 MLAs in Bihar, 30 out of 30 Bihar MLCs and 16 out of 20 office-bearers were with Nitish Kumar.

Tyagi also referred to a similar case of power tussle in UP saying their case was even stronger than Akhilesh Yadav, who wrested control of the Samajwadi Party from his father Mulayam Singh ahead of Uttar Pradesh polls. Sharad Yadav is not a president while Mulayam Singh was president of the party. In our case all the MLAs are with the party. So there is no contest here, he added.

Tyagi said that the delegation also submitted letters of support by the majority of national executive and national council members and the party office-bearers to the Election Commission. The delegation told the commission that Sharad Yadav was only trying to buy time as the JD-U had given a letter of request to the Rajya Sabha Chairman for his disqualification.

He said while the Yadav faction was yet to furnish any proof that it represented the real JD(U), they had submitted evidence of their support to the poll watchdog.

Yadav, a former JD (U) president, had come into opposition to Bihar Chief Minister Kumar, after the latter dumped the RJD and Congress to join hands with the BJP to form government in the state.

The JD-U also submitted that Sharad Yadav had voluntarily left the party and had indulged in anti-party activities. The delegation consisted of R C P Singh, Sanjay Jha, Lallan Singh and K C Tyagi.

NEW DELHI: The battle within the JD (U) reached the election commission on Friday with two factions led by Nitish Kumar and Sharad Yadav staking claim on party symbol Arrow. A delegation of Bihar CM Nitish Kumars faction led by party parliamentarian R C P Singh on Friday approached the poll panel and staked claim over the party symbol. It said that former party President Sharad Yadav has no basis to claim the party as his own. Earlier, Sharad Yadav had submitted a memorandum to the commission, staking claim over the party. Party general secretary K C Tyagi said that the delegation had submitted affidavits to prove the overwhelming majority Nitish Kumar enjoys. He said that that 70 out of 70 MLAs in Bihar, 30 out of 30 Bihar MLCs and 16 out of 20 office-bearers were with Nitish Kumar. Tyagi also referred to a similar case of power tussle in UP saying their case was even stronger than Akhilesh Yadav, who wrested control of the Samajwadi Party from his father Mulayam Singh ahead of Uttar Pradesh polls. Sharad Yadav is not a president while Mulayam Singh was president of the party. In our case all the MLAs are with the party. So there is no contest here, he added. Tyagi said that the delegation also submitted letters of support by the majority of national executive and national council members and the party office-bearers to the Election Commission. The delegation told the commission that Sharad Yadav was only trying to buy time as the JD-U had given a letter of request to the Rajya Sabha Chairman for his disqualification. He said while the Yadav faction was yet to furnish any proof that it represented the real JD(U), they had submitted evidence of their support to the poll watchdog. Yadav, a former JD (U) president, had come into opposition to Bihar Chief Minister Kumar, after the latter dumped the RJD and Congress to join hands with the BJP to form government in the state. The JD-U also submitted that Sharad Yadav had voluntarily left the party and had indulged in anti-party activities. The delegation consisted of R C P Singh, Sanjay Jha, Lallan Singh and K C Tyagi.
By PTI: Jaipur, Sep 9 (PTI) ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Limited today said it will launch its initial public offering on September 15.

The issue of the company will open on September 15 and close on September 19.

Through this IPO, the promoters will dilute up to 86,247,187 equity shares with a face value of Rs 10 each of ICICI Lombard.

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The price band of the IPO has been fixed in the range of Rs 651- Rs 661 per equity share, Sanjeev Mantri, executive director of the company said. PTI AG BAL

--- ENDS ---
By Express News Service

BHOPAL: The Gwalior bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court issued notices to senior administrative and police officials of the state on Friday, while hearing a petition filed by Vyapam scam whistleblower Ashish Chaturvedi alleging invasion of his Right to Privacy by the police.

The petition filed by Chaturvedi is perhaps the first alleging invasion of Right to Privacy after the Supreme Courts August 24 ruling that Right to Privacy was a fundamental right because its intrinsic to the right to life.

A single-judge bench of Justice Anand Pathak issued notices to the state principal secretary (home), state director general of police, inspector general of police (Gwalior) and superintendent of police (Gwalior). The officials have been directed to file their replies within a month before the court.

The High Court also directed IPS officer Anil Kumar (presently the IG of Gwalior) to appear in person before the court, as the petitioners counsel D P Singh had submitted documents before the court which suggested that Chaturvedi was placed under camera surveillance at the behest of the IG.

Twenty-eight-year-old Ashish Chaturvedi, an RTI activist-cum-Vyapam scam whistle-blower had petitioned the High Courts Gwalior bench three days back, submitting that his right to privacy was being invaded as the constable deployed for his security was video-graphing all of Chaturvedis activities on specific instructions by his higher-ups.

Such a step (videography) is totally arbitrary, which is disturbing the privacy of the petitioner as enshrined under Article 19(1) and 20 of the Constitution of India, Chaturvedi contended in his petition. The petitioner also submitted about being aggrieved with such harassing, arbitrary, unlawful and unfair act on part of the respondents (police).

Chaturvedi submitted that he had made a specific complaint to the higher authorities on the matter, but none of them have acted on it. On the other hand, the respondents (police) are disturbing his life by interfering in the privacy of the petitioner, which will also damage his status in the society, Chaturvedis petition said.

The camera followed me till my bathroom door. My mother and sister were living under tremendous mental stress with cameras videographing them as well. Breaching my privacy in the name of security, policemen barge into my house. They follow me everywhere with cameras. They follow me while I visit a shop to get photocopies done, or when I talk to anyone. This has led to my social boycott, Chaturvedi contended.

BHOPAL: The Gwalior bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court issued notices to senior administrative and police officials of the state on Friday, while hearing a petition filed by Vyapam scam whistleblower Ashish Chaturvedi alleging invasion of his Right to Privacy by the police. The petition filed by Chaturvedi is perhaps the first alleging invasion of Right to Privacy after the Supreme Courts August 24 ruling that Right to Privacy was a fundamental right because its intrinsic to the right to life. A single-judge bench of Justice Anand Pathak issued notices to the state principal secretary (home), state director general of police, inspector general of police (Gwalior) and superintendent of police (Gwalior). The officials have been directed to file their replies within a month before the court. The High Court also directed IPS officer Anil Kumar (presently the IG of Gwalior) to appear in person before the court, as the petitioners counsel D P Singh had submitted documents before the court which suggested that Chaturvedi was placed under camera surveillance at the behest of the IG. Twenty-eight-year-old Ashish Chaturvedi, an RTI activist-cum-Vyapam scam whistle-blower had petitioned the High Courts Gwalior bench three days back, submitting that his right to privacy was being invaded as the constable deployed for his security was video-graphing all of Chaturvedis activities on specific instructions by his higher-ups. Such a step (videography) is totally arbitrary, which is disturbing the privacy of the petitioner as enshrined under Article 19(1) and 20 of the Constitution of India, Chaturvedi contended in his petition. The petitioner also submitted about being aggrieved with such harassing, arbitrary, unlawful and unfair act on part of the respondents (police). Chaturvedi submitted that he had made a specific complaint to the higher authorities on the matter, but none of them have acted on it. On the other hand, the respondents (police) are disturbing his life by interfering in the privacy of the petitioner, which will also damage his status in the society, Chaturvedis petition said. The camera followed me till my bathroom door. My mother and sister were living under tremendous mental stress with cameras videographing them as well. Breaching my privacy in the name of security, policemen barge into my house. They follow me everywhere with cameras. They follow me while I visit a shop to get photocopies done, or when I talk to anyone. This has led to my social boycott, Chaturvedi contended.
By PTI

JAIPUR: Curfew was clamped in four police station areas of the city after one person died and seven others were injured in clashes between police and protestors who went on a rampage, attacking over two dozen vehicles. The violence erupted on Friday night as protestors gathered at Ramganj police station and pelted stones after a man riding a motorcycle was assaulted by a policemen during routine checking.

The mob damaged two dozen vehicles and torched four others, including one ambulance and a police bus, besides setting ablaze a power sub-station. As tear gas shells and rubber bullets did not deter the mob, police said it was forced to fire in air and then at the miscreants. Mohammad Raees alias Aadil (24) died in the clashes but the exact cause of death could not be ascertained as the family members were resisting a post-mortem, police said. Seven people, including six policemen, were injured in the violence.

Jaipur Police Commissioner Sanjay Agarwal said curfew was imposed in four police station areas of Ramganj, Subhash Chowk, Manak Chowk and Galta Gate at 1 AM. Internet services were suspended and schools in the curfew-bound areas were also closed. The Delhi-Agra route through Jaipur was diverted. "We have registered a case in the matter and handed over the inquiry to the SDM who will decide future course of action," DCP (North) Satyendra Singh told reporters in a press conference. Singh said that police had fired at the mob when the situation went out of control.

He said the curfew would remain imposed till 4 am on Monday which may be extended considering the law and order situation. "We had a meeting with the peace committee which has assured that peace and harmony would be maintained in the area," Singh said. A large number of security personnel were deployed in the violence-hit areas.

JAIPUR: Curfew was clamped in four police station areas of the city after one person died and seven others were injured in clashes between police and protestors who went on a rampage, attacking over two dozen vehicles. The violence erupted on Friday night as protestors gathered at Ramganj police station and pelted stones after a man riding a motorcycle was assaulted by a policemen during routine checking. The mob damaged two dozen vehicles and torched four others, including one ambulance and a police bus, besides setting ablaze a power sub-station. As tear gas shells and rubber bullets did not deter the mob, police said it was forced to fire in air and then at the miscreants. Mohammad Raees alias Aadil (24) died in the clashes but the exact cause of death could not be ascertained as the family members were resisting a post-mortem, police said. Seven people, including six policemen, were injured in the violence. Jaipur Police Commissioner Sanjay Agarwal said curfew was imposed in four police station areas of Ramganj, Subhash Chowk, Manak Chowk and Galta Gate at 1 AM. Internet services were suspended and schools in the curfew-bound areas were also closed. The Delhi-Agra route through Jaipur was diverted. "We have registered a case in the matter and handed over the inquiry to the SDM who will decide future course of action," DCP (North) Satyendra Singh told reporters in a press conference. Singh said that police had fired at the mob when the situation went out of control. He said the curfew would remain imposed till 4 am on Monday which may be extended considering the law and order situation. "We had a meeting with the peace committee which has assured that peace and harmony would be maintained in the area," Singh said. A large number of security personnel were deployed in the violence-hit areas.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi today accused the central government of "condemning" thousands of people to death due to poor health care system in the country. He blamed the BJP-led NDA for the state of affairs in the public health care system and said ever since it came to power it has reduced the budget for the sector.

"The current government really does not care about health care in the country. That is a fact," he said in a video message in the wake of the deaths of several children in various state-run hospitals. Gandhi said there is a view in the government, in fact among people, particularly those affluent, that the Indian health care system can be run by private hospitals. "This is simply a lie," he said, adding, "in a country like India, where most people are poor, one simply cannot do without a public health care system. You simply cannot do away with public hospitals that are effective and efficient. This just will not work." "You are condemning thousands and thousands of people to death because you do not have a public health care system that works," he said in the video message, posted on his official Twitter handle.

Gandhi also accused the government of spending nowhere near the amount of money required in the sector and said when the Congress-led UPA was in power it spent a lot more to improve the public health care system. He said every time he has been to Gorakhpur was due to encephalitis problem and categorically told Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the press that there was a problem developing in the hospital, as everybody, including doctors and patients, were complaining. He was apparently referring to the BRD Hospital in Gorakhpur, where several children had died in August.

Responding to criticism by the BJP that he went on a "picnic" when he visited the victims, Gandhi said, "The people who say this, that is how they conceptualise it for themselves. They view any show of empathy, any attempt at understanding people's pain, any attempt at trying to hold hands as a cynical exercise. That is how they think, that is their mind." He said for him, as a political leader, visiting Gorakhpur when it was in pain, visiting the victim families was an extremely powerful experience. "I was able to hold their hand and tell them that I am here with you. Much more importantly, they were able to tell me what they faced and they were able to explain to me that the government of India has let them down," he said.

NEW DELHI: Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi today accused the central government of "condemning" thousands of people to death due to poor health care system in the country. He blamed the BJP-led NDA for the state of affairs in the public health care system and said ever since it came to power it has reduced the budget for the sector. "The current government really does not care about health care in the country. That is a fact," he said in a video message in the wake of the deaths of several children in various state-run hospitals. Gandhi said there is a view in the government, in fact among people, particularly those affluent, that the Indian health care system can be run by private hospitals. "This is simply a lie," he said, adding, "in a country like India, where most people are poor, one simply cannot do without a public health care system. You simply cannot do away with public hospitals that are effective and efficient. This just will not work." "You are condemning thousands and thousands of people to death because you do not have a public health care system that works," he said in the video message, posted on his official Twitter handle. Gandhi also accused the government of spending nowhere near the amount of money required in the sector and said when the Congress-led UPA was in power it spent a lot more to improve the public health care system. He said every time he has been to Gorakhpur was due to encephalitis problem and categorically told Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the press that there was a problem developing in the hospital, as everybody, including doctors and patients, were complaining. He was apparently referring to the BRD Hospital in Gorakhpur, where several children had died in August. Responding to criticism by the BJP that he went on a "picnic" when he visited the victims, Gandhi said, "The people who say this, that is how they conceptualise it for themselves. They view any show of empathy, any attempt at understanding people's pain, any attempt at trying to hold hands as a cynical exercise. That is how they think, that is their mind." He said for him, as a political leader, visiting Gorakhpur when it was in pain, visiting the victim families was an extremely powerful experience. "I was able to hold their hand and tell them that I am here with you. Much more importantly, they were able to tell me what they faced and they were able to explain to me that the government of India has let them down," he said.
By IANS

LUCKNOW: A fourth accused in the deaths of over 60 children at the state-run BRD Medical College hospital here due to alleged lack of oxygen, has been arrested by the Uttar Pradesh (UP) police, authorities said on Saturday.

The accused, clerk Sudhir Pandey, was arrested from Khajanchi Chowk late on Friday night.

Pandey has been accused of withholding the payment of the oxygen vendor with the vested interest of getting a commission and of conniving with the former and now jailed principal Rajeev Mishra.

He has also been accused in a government probe of not sharing the information about the pending payment.

Three prime accused - Mishra, Poornima Mishra and Kafeel Khan -- were arrested by teams of the Special Task Force (STF) of the UP Police and are currently in judicial custody.

The crime branch and the STF are still carrying out raids to nab the four remaining accused - Satish, Sanjay Kumar Tripathi, Uday Pratap Sharma and Gajanand Jaiswal.

Over 60 children lost their lives between August 10 and 14 at the Baba Raghav Das Medical College in the city, the home constituency of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. At least 30 of them died within 48 hours due to shortage of oxygen supply.

LUCKNOW: A fourth accused in the deaths of over 60 children at the state-run BRD Medical College hospital here due to alleged lack of oxygen, has been arrested by the Uttar Pradesh (UP) police, authorities said on Saturday. The accused, clerk Sudhir Pandey, was arrested from Khajanchi Chowk late on Friday night. Pandey has been accused of withholding the payment of the oxygen vendor with the vested interest of getting a commission and of conniving with the former and now jailed principal Rajeev Mishra. He has also been accused in a government probe of not sharing the information about the pending payment. Three prime accused - Mishra, Poornima Mishra and Kafeel Khan -- were arrested by teams of the Special Task Force (STF) of the UP Police and are currently in judicial custody. The crime branch and the STF are still carrying out raids to nab the four remaining accused - Satish, Sanjay Kumar Tripathi, Uday Pratap Sharma and Gajanand Jaiswal. Over 60 children lost their lives between August 10 and 14 at the Baba Raghav Das Medical College in the city, the home constituency of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. At least 30 of them died within 48 hours due to shortage of oxygen supply.
Gautam Pingle By

The Benazir Bhutto assassination case has surfaced again in Pakistan. Before the details are forgotten here they are. On 27 December 2007, Benazir, having addressed more than ten thousand supporters in Liaquat Park, Rawalpindi, stood on the back seat, her head and shoulders sticking out above her armour-plated Toyotas roof escape hatch.

But the density of the crowd was so great that the Toyota could hardly move. An assassin was waiting and saw his chance. A Pashtun, Bilal aka Saeed, fired three shots in less than a second from his automatic pistol. On the second shot, Benazir fell through the escape hatch into the vehicle. The gunman then set off his suicide bomb. British scientists who later analysed what was left of his body estimated his age at 15.

Many Muslim children are handed over by their impoverished parents to madrasas. They are given immaculate white clothes, any amount of good food, excellent accommodation and hours of brainwashing based on religious teaching and the desire to reach Paradise through martyrdom. The older students are instructed to always bow with respect to suicide recruits. It takes a few months to persuade an 18-year-old young man to mount a suicide attack.

Rumours abounded on who the persons behind Benazirs assassin were. The ISI, Taliban, al-Qaeda, Pervez Musharraf and even her own husband Asif Ali Zardari were candidates. There were many powerful interests in Pakistan that wanted her dead, that too, around 10 days before the election. Predictably, Benazirs Pakistan Peoples Party swept the polls soon after her murder and her husband Zardari assumed full power.

The breakthrough came when police arrested another 15-year-old boy, Aitzaz Shah. His confession led to other arrests and helped the police put together a picture of how Bilal aka Saeed came to be in a position to kill Bhutto.

Three other conspirators were also involved. One was Husnain Gul, a madrasa student who was trained at a camp in Northwest Pakistan. When he was arrested he had a hand grenade and clothes belonging to Bilal. In his confession, Gul described how he had persuaded his cousin Muhammad Rafaqat, to join him; together, they came to Rawalpindi. Gul carried out a reconnaissance of Liaquat Park, then went to the bus station to meet the two designated suicide bombersBilal and Ikramullah who had travelled with a third person, Nasrullah aka Ahmed.

On the morning of the assassination, Rafaqat and Nasrullah took another look at Liaquat Park while Gul gave Bilal and Ikramullah suicide jackets, pistols, ammunition and hand grenades. The plan was that Bilal would stand by the exit gate and try to kill Benazir. If he failed, Ikramullah would try to kill her instead.

Now it was the job of the state to investigate, locate and prosecute the conspirators behind the five-man juvenile assassination team. Since Zardari had come to power, everyone assumed that due to his Sindhi honour code, which sets a high value on revenge, and with the full power of the state at his disposal, Zardari would be able to bring his wifes killers to justice.

Within two hours of the assassination, the DIG of the Rawalpindi police, Saud Aziz, ordered fire engines to wash down the crime scene. He said the blood was washed away to prevent Benazirs supporters from daubing themselves in her blood. This is bogus as Benazir bled in the Toyota. The only blood on the street was that of the assassin and those 24 bystanders he killed. The UN inquiry was told that Saud Aziz received instructions from a senior army officer ordering him to wash down the crime scene. The Toyota was also cleaned even though the police had full custody of it!

Rehman Malik had been Benazirs closest confidant during exile and her security-in- charge later. Maliks bullet-proof Mercedes was the back-up car that day if she needed to be evacuated. Despite having responsibility for her security, Malik reacted to the explosion by ordering his driver to leave the area and head for Islamabad. Once he got there he gave on TV contradictory accounts of how he had reacted to the attack.

His version changed from I was about four feet away and I turned around and Mohtarmas (Benazirs) car was trying to get out, and we led that car and got away and went to the hospital and I was present in the hospital to When the bomb blast happened there was a distance of no more than eight feet between my car and Mohtarmas car.

So I said lets head towards Islamabadin the meantime we called the hospital. When he became the new minister of the interior he decreed that the relevant files should not be handed over to the investigators. He continued to be Interior minister till 2012. Publicly, he argued that any Pakistani investigation would lack credibility, so the UN should do it instead. The UN report described as mystifying the efforts of certain Pakistani government authorities to obstruct access to military and intelligence sources.

Zardari refused to have an autopsy done on Benazir. Privately, he said that the murder was part of history, another chapter in the Bhutto family story: Benazir had played her sacrificial role and there was no point in looking back.

Zardari has said that the Taliban murdered his wife but that he was not sure who commissioned them. But why did he allow the investigation to be blocked? Why had he not pressed his interior minister to clear up the obvious inconsistencies in his account? What does he tell Benazirs children? More important, what does he and Pakistans religious establishment tell their poor juvenile potential suicide bombers-cum-assassins?

Gautam Pingle

Former Dean of Research at Administrative Staff College of India, Hyderabad

Email: gautam.pingle@gmail.com

The Benazir Bhutto assassination case has surfaced again in Pakistan. Before the details are forgotten here they are. On 27 December 2007, Benazir, having addressed more than ten thousand supporters in Liaquat Park, Rawalpindi, stood on the back seat, her head and shoulders sticking out above her armour-plated Toyotas roof escape hatch. But the density of the crowd was so great that the Toyota could hardly move. An assassin was waiting and saw his chance. A Pashtun, Bilal aka Saeed, fired three shots in less than a second from his automatic pistol. On the second shot, Benazir fell through the escape hatch into the vehicle. The gunman then set off his suicide bomb. British scientists who later analysed what was left of his body estimated his age at 15. Many Muslim children are handed over by their impoverished parents to madrasas. They are given immaculate white clothes, any amount of good food, excellent accommodation and hours of brainwashing based on religious teaching and the desire to reach Paradise through martyrdom. The older students are instructed to always bow with respect to suicide recruits. It takes a few months to persuade an 18-year-old young man to mount a suicide attack. Rumours abounded on who the persons behind Benazirs assassin were. The ISI, Taliban, al-Qaeda, Pervez Musharraf and even her own husband Asif Ali Zardari were candidates. There were many powerful interests in Pakistan that wanted her dead, that too, around 10 days before the election. Predictably, Benazirs Pakistan Peoples Party swept the polls soon after her murder and her husband Zardari assumed full power. The breakthrough came when police arrested another 15-year-old boy, Aitzaz Shah. His confession led to other arrests and helped the police put together a picture of how Bilal aka Saeed came to be in a position to kill Bhutto. Three other conspirators were also involved. One was Husnain Gul, a madrasa student who was trained at a camp in Northwest Pakistan. When he was arrested he had a hand grenade and clothes belonging to Bilal. In his confession, Gul described how he had persuaded his cousin Muhammad Rafaqat, to join him; together, they came to Rawalpindi. Gul carried out a reconnaissance of Liaquat Park, then went to the bus station to meet the two designated suicide bombersBilal and Ikramullah who had travelled with a third person, Nasrullah aka Ahmed. On the morning of the assassination, Rafaqat and Nasrullah took another look at Liaquat Park while Gul gave Bilal and Ikramullah suicide jackets, pistols, ammunition and hand grenades. The plan was that Bilal would stand by the exit gate and try to kill Benazir. If he failed, Ikramullah would try to kill her instead. Now it was the job of the state to investigate, locate and prosecute the conspirators behind the five-man juvenile assassination team. Since Zardari had come to power, everyone assumed that due to his Sindhi honour code, which sets a high value on revenge, and with the full power of the state at his disposal, Zardari would be able to bring his wifes killers to justice. Within two hours of the assassination, the DIG of the Rawalpindi police, Saud Aziz, ordered fire engines to wash down the crime scene. He said the blood was washed away to prevent Benazirs supporters from daubing themselves in her blood. This is bogus as Benazir bled in the Toyota. The only blood on the street was that of the assassin and those 24 bystanders he killed. The UN inquiry was told that Saud Aziz received instructions from a senior army officer ordering him to wash down the crime scene. The Toyota was also cleaned even though the police had full custody of it! Rehman Malik had been Benazirs closest confidant during exile and her security-in- charge later. Maliks bullet-proof Mercedes was the back-up car that day if she needed to be evacuated. Despite having responsibility for her security, Malik reacted to the explosion by ordering his driver to leave the area and head for Islamabad. Once he got there he gave on TV contradictory accounts of how he had reacted to the attack. His version changed from I was about four feet away and I turned around and Mohtarmas (Benazirs) car was trying to get out, and we led that car and got away and went to the hospital and I was present in the hospital to When the bomb blast happened there was a distance of no more than eight feet between my car and Mohtarmas car. So I said lets head towards Islamabadin the meantime we called the hospital. When he became the new minister of the interior he decreed that the relevant files should not be handed over to the investigators. He continued to be Interior minister till 2012. Publicly, he argued that any Pakistani investigation would lack credibility, so the UN should do it instead. The UN report described as mystifying the efforts of certain Pakistani government authorities to obstruct access to military and intelligence sources. Zardari refused to have an autopsy done on Benazir. Privately, he said that the murder was part of history, another chapter in the Bhutto family story: Benazir had played her sacrificial role and there was no point in looking back. Zardari has said that the Taliban murdered his wife but that he was not sure who commissioned them. But why did he allow the investigation to be blocked? Why had he not pressed his interior minister to clear up the obvious inconsistencies in his account? What does he tell Benazirs children? More important, what does he and Pakistans religious establishment tell their poor juvenile potential suicide bombers-cum-assassins? Gautam Pingle Former Dean of Research at Administrative Staff College of India, Hyderabad Email: gautam.pingle@gmail.com
India and Japan are likely to take their relationship to the next level during Prime Minister Shinzo Abes visit to New Delhi for the annual bilateral summit next week. Given the acrimony between Japan and China, this visit is likely to be closely watched by Beijing, which believes India, Japan and the US might be ganging up against it over the South China Sea dispute.

In July, these three nations had conducted the annual Malabar exercise in the Bay of Bengal, amidst reports of Chinese submarines stepping up their activities in the region. Japan and India also conduct the Japan-India Maritime Exercise or JIMEX, since 2012. Both nations subscribe to a Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy which goes against Chinas claim to almost the entire South China Sea. A maritime security deal between the two nations is thus of obvious concern to Beijing.

Among other things, Abe is also expected to lay the foundation stone for the 500-km Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed railway corridor, expected to reduce the travel time between the two cities to less than three hours from the current seven when it is launched in 2023.

While Japans Shinkansen (bullet train) will travel on this route, China is carrying out feasibility studies for Chennai-New Delhi and New Delhi-Mumbai routes in the hope of getting those contracts. The rapport between PM Narendra Modi and Abe has also led to Japan being the only foreign nation allowed to invest in Indias Northeast and the strategic Andaman and Nicobar islands.

Also on the cards during Abes visit is the possibility of expanding the Indo-Japanese civil nuclear deal, which came into force in July this year. Signed in November 2016, this allows Japan to export nuclear power plant technology as well as finance joint nuclear power plants in India and assist India in nuclear waste management.

An icing on the cake could be the sale of a dozen or more US-2i amphibious search and rescue aircraft for the Indian Navy and Coast Guard. Given the increasing convergence of interests, this is one relationship that is poised to take off.

India and Japan are likely to take their relationship to the next level during Prime Minister Shinzo Abes visit to New Delhi for the annual bilateral summit next week. Given the acrimony between Japan and China, this visit is likely to be closely watched by Beijing, which believes India, Japan and the US might be ganging up against it over the South China Sea dispute. In July, these three nations had conducted the annual Malabar exercise in the Bay of Bengal, amidst reports of Chinese submarines stepping up their activities in the region. Japan and India also conduct the Japan-India Maritime Exercise or JIMEX, since 2012. Both nations subscribe to a Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy which goes against Chinas claim to almost the entire South China Sea. A maritime security deal between the two nations is thus of obvious concern to Beijing. Among other things, Abe is also expected to lay the foundation stone for the 500-km Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed railway corridor, expected to reduce the travel time between the two cities to less than three hours from the current seven when it is launched in 2023. While Japans Shinkansen (bullet train) will travel on this route, China is carrying out feasibility studies for Chennai-New Delhi and New Delhi-Mumbai routes in the hope of getting those contracts. The rapport between PM Narendra Modi and Abe has also led to Japan being the only foreign nation allowed to invest in Indias Northeast and the strategic Andaman and Nicobar islands. Also on the cards during Abes visit is the possibility of expanding the Indo-Japanese civil nuclear deal, which came into force in July this year. Signed in November 2016, this allows Japan to export nuclear power plant technology as well as finance joint nuclear power plants in India and assist India in nuclear waste management. An icing on the cake could be the sale of a dozen or more US-2i amphibious search and rescue aircraft for the Indian Navy and Coast Guard. Given the increasing convergence of interests, this is one relationship that is poised to take off.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: The Union Home Ministry has received a report from the Karnataka government on the killing of journalist Gauri Lankesh Lankesh by unidentified persons in Bangalore, an official said.

The state chief secretary in his factual report gave detailed account of the sensational killing and the follow up action by the police.

The report also mentioned that the state government had set up a special investigation team to probe the case and find out those involved in the murder of the 55-year-old journalist, the home ministry official said.

The report came after the ministry asked the Karnataka government to inform it about the details of the incident.

The report was sought after Home Minister Rajnath Singh asked Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba to do so.

NEW DELHI: The Union Home Ministry has received a report from the Karnataka government on the killing of journalist Gauri Lankesh Lankesh by unidentified persons in Bangalore, an official said. The state chief secretary in his factual report gave detailed account of the sensational killing and the follow up action by the police. The report also mentioned that the state government had set up a special investigation team to probe the case and find out those involved in the murder of the 55-year-old journalist, the home ministry official said. The report came after the ministry asked the Karnataka government to inform it about the details of the incident. The report was sought after Home Minister Rajnath Singh asked Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba to do so.
Ganesh Mavanji By

Express News Service

MANGALURU: Tourism in Dakshina Kannada took a severe beating during the two month-long prohibitory orders clamped at several places in the district owing to communal unrest. Statistics show that the number of visitors to some of the popular tourist spots in the district was lower compared to previous years. Sources said that tourists, especially from outside the district avoided Mangaluru Pilikula Bilogical Park and others during last two months.

Dakshina Kannada district has been considered as one of the most communally sensitive districts. Recent murders of SDPI activist Ashraf Kalayi and RSS activist Sharath Madivala in Bantwal police station limits is a clear example for this. Followed by these two murders and few other assault and stabbing incidents, a two month-long prohibitory order was imposed throughout the district in the months of June and July. During these two months, tourists avoided visiting several key tourist places in the district.

Statistics available with the Tourism department also reveal the same. A total of 35,612 tourists had visited Pilikula Biological Park in the month of July 2016, whereas the number declined to 30,164 in July, 2017. A total of 35,029 tourists had visited in the month of August 2016, whereas it decreased to 31,237 during August 2017. As prohibitory order was in force during the rainy season of June and July, it did not affect beach tourism.

Trade took a hit : KCCI

Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Jeevan Saldanha informed that tourism development in Mangaluru has been affected due to unrest which not only affected, but also badly hit due to business activities. A Germany-based marketing company recently approached a city based industry and evinced interest to market the machinery goods. But after came it came to know the recent incidents of violence, it skipped its plan. It may not be a single incident and there may be several such incidents. Even investors also think twice before investing here, he said.

Temple tourism unaffected

However, the prohibitory order has not prevented devotees from visiting temples. The number of devotees who visited the famous Dharmastala Manjunatheshwara temple, Kukke Subrahmanya temple and Kateel Durgaparameshwari temple went up this year. As per the data available with tourism department, a total of 2,60,000 devotees have offered pooja at Kukke Subrahmanya temple in July 2016, which increased to 2,70,000 this year. A total 3,10,00 devotees visited in the month of August last year, whereas the number increased to 3,20,000 this August. We can also observe that over 30,000 more devotees have visited in July and August this year when compared to last year.

MANGALURU: Tourism in Dakshina Kannada took a severe beating during the two month-long prohibitory orders clamped at several places in the district owing to communal unrest. Statistics show that the number of visitors to some of the popular tourist spots in the district was lower compared to previous years. Sources said that tourists, especially from outside the district avoided Mangaluru Pilikula Bilogical Park and others during last two months. Dakshina Kannada district has been considered as one of the most communally sensitive districts. Recent murders of SDPI activist Ashraf Kalayi and RSS activist Sharath Madivala in Bantwal police station limits is a clear example for this. Followed by these two murders and few other assault and stabbing incidents, a two month-long prohibitory order was imposed throughout the district in the months of June and July. During these two months, tourists avoided visiting several key tourist places in the district. Statistics available with the Tourism department also reveal the same. A total of 35,612 tourists had visited Pilikula Biological Park in the month of July 2016, whereas the number declined to 30,164 in July, 2017. A total of 35,029 tourists had visited in the month of August 2016, whereas it decreased to 31,237 during August 2017. As prohibitory order was in force during the rainy season of June and July, it did not affect beach tourism. Trade took a hit : KCCI Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Jeevan Saldanha informed that tourism development in Mangaluru has been affected due to unrest which not only affected, but also badly hit due to business activities. A Germany-based marketing company recently approached a city based industry and evinced interest to market the machinery goods. But after came it came to know the recent incidents of violence, it skipped its plan. It may not be a single incident and there may be several such incidents. Even investors also think twice before investing here, he said. Temple tourism unaffected However, the prohibitory order has not prevented devotees from visiting temples. The number of devotees who visited the famous Dharmastala Manjunatheshwara temple, Kukke Subrahmanya temple and Kateel Durgaparameshwari temple went up this year. As per the data available with tourism department, a total of 2,60,000 devotees have offered pooja at Kukke Subrahmanya temple in July 2016, which increased to 2,70,000 this year. A total 3,10,00 devotees visited in the month of August last year, whereas the number increased to 3,20,000 this August. We can also observe that over 30,000 more devotees have visited in July and August this year when compared to last year.
By IANS

ALUVA: A trial court hearing the abduction case of a popular film actress intervened on Saturday after the police approached it with a complaint stating that several celebrities have been visiting superstar Dileep over the last few days and this could affect the probe.

The court has asked the Superintendent of Aluva sub-jail, where Dileep has been kept after his arrest, to ensure that there was no violation of rules.

There has been a clampdown on the visitors since Friday evening as several film personalities, including witnesses in this case, have been visiting Dileep after September 2.

Actor-turned legislator and former minister K.B. Ganesh Kumar's visit irked the probe team.

According to the probe team, these were tactics used by those supporting Dileep to evoke sympathy as an earlier attempt failed to get the desired results.

The actor was granted a two-hour break from jail on September 2 to perform the rituals on his father's death anniversary at his residence.

According to jail rules, the inmates are allowed visitors only twice a week and no visitors are allowed on holidays.

Sources said Dileep is expected to submit a fresh bail application before the Kerala High Court next week.

Meanwhile, the police are contemplating to move Dileep to a high security jail.

The abduction took place in February, when the actress was on her way from Thrissur to Kochi.

She was taken around in her vehicle forcefully for about two hours before being dumped near actor-director Lal's home, from where the police was informed.

Two of the key accused -- Pulsar Suni and his accomplice involved in the actual abduction -- were arrested a week later.

The police team while probing the conspiracy angle arrested Dileep on July 10.

ALUVA: A trial court hearing the abduction case of a popular film actress intervened on Saturday after the police approached it with a complaint stating that several celebrities have been visiting superstar Dileep over the last few days and this could affect the probe. The court has asked the Superintendent of Aluva sub-jail, where Dileep has been kept after his arrest, to ensure that there was no violation of rules. There has been a clampdown on the visitors since Friday evening as several film personalities, including witnesses in this case, have been visiting Dileep after September 2. Actor-turned legislator and former minister K.B. Ganesh Kumar's visit irked the probe team. According to the probe team, these were tactics used by those supporting Dileep to evoke sympathy as an earlier attempt failed to get the desired results. The actor was granted a two-hour break from jail on September 2 to perform the rituals on his father's death anniversary at his residence. According to jail rules, the inmates are allowed visitors only twice a week and no visitors are allowed on holidays. Sources said Dileep is expected to submit a fresh bail application before the Kerala High Court next week. Meanwhile, the police are contemplating to move Dileep to a high security jail. The abduction took place in February, when the actress was on her way from Thrissur to Kochi. She was taken around in her vehicle forcefully for about two hours before being dumped near actor-director Lal's home, from where the police was informed. Two of the key accused -- Pulsar Suni and his accomplice involved in the actual abduction -- were arrested a week later. The police team while probing the conspiracy angle arrested Dileep on July 10.
By Express News Service

ALAPPUZHA: Krishnan, 63, husband of Sreevalsam Group's manager Radhamani, was found dead under mysterious circumstances at his house 'Sreelakam' at Haripad near here on late Thursday night.

Haripad CI T Manoj said a case of unnatural death as per CrPC Section 174 (b) has been registered in Krishnan's death.More details can be divulged only after receiving the postmortem report. The autopsy will be held on Saturday because we are waiting for his brother to arrive from Nagaland, Manoj said.

Set up by retired Nagaland additional SP M K R Pillai, Sreevalsam Group is currently under investigation for acquiring illegal assets worth over `3,000 crore. Investigations by the Income Tax Department and Enforcement Directorate found Radhamani was the mediator of various deals under which the group made huge investments to acquire land in Haripad and Pathanamthitta. It is said Krishnan, too, knew about the deals.

Manoj said Krishnan had been assisting his wife in her business with the group. Preliminary investigation reveal Krishnan was alone at the home at the time. His mother-in-law called him over the phone. When there was no response, she sent some relatives to the house who found Krishnan hanging in the bedroom, the CI said. Karthikapally tahsildar conducted the inquest of body which was shifted to the Government Hospital, Haripad. Krishnan is a native of Muthukulam and settled near Radhamani's house at Haripad town, police said.

Radhamani and Krishnan had moved to Nagaland in the '90s and ran a tea shop. There, they befriended Pillai who had been appointed as advisor of the Nagaland Police Department post his retirement.Recently, the Income Tax Department had raided around 20 offices of the group in Nagaland and other states and unearthed illegal assets worth over `3,000 crore. Radhamani's house at New Delhi had also been raided. The cops said Krishnan's deaths comes when the investigation is progressing. The couple has two children  a daughter who is working in Chennai and a son who is pursuing studies in New Delhi.

ALAPPUZHA: Krishnan, 63, husband of Sreevalsam Group's manager Radhamani, was found dead under mysterious circumstances at his house 'Sreelakam' at Haripad near here on late Thursday night. Haripad CI T Manoj said a case of unnatural death as per CrPC Section 174 (b) has been registered in Krishnan's death.More details can be divulged only after receiving the postmortem report. The autopsy will be held on Saturday because we are waiting for his brother to arrive from Nagaland, Manoj said. Set up by retired Nagaland additional SP M K R Pillai, Sreevalsam Group is currently under investigation for acquiring illegal assets worth over `3,000 crore. Investigations by the Income Tax Department and Enforcement Directorate found Radhamani was the mediator of various deals under which the group made huge investments to acquire land in Haripad and Pathanamthitta. It is said Krishnan, too, knew about the deals. Manoj said Krishnan had been assisting his wife in her business with the group. Preliminary investigation reveal Krishnan was alone at the home at the time. His mother-in-law called him over the phone. When there was no response, she sent some relatives to the house who found Krishnan hanging in the bedroom, the CI said. Karthikapally tahsildar conducted the inquest of body which was shifted to the Government Hospital, Haripad. Krishnan is a native of Muthukulam and settled near Radhamani's house at Haripad town, police said. Radhamani and Krishnan had moved to Nagaland in the '90s and ran a tea shop. There, they befriended Pillai who had been appointed as advisor of the Nagaland Police Department post his retirement.Recently, the Income Tax Department had raided around 20 offices of the group in Nagaland and other states and unearthed illegal assets worth over `3,000 crore. Radhamani's house at New Delhi had also been raided. The cops said Krishnan's deaths comes when the investigation is progressing. The couple has two children  a daughter who is working in Chennai and a son who is pursuing studies in New Delhi.
By PTI: New Delhi, Sep 9 (PTI) External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Sri Lankan counterpart Tilak Marapana today held wide-ranging talks exploring ways to further deepen bilateral engagement between the two countries.

"The two sides discussed the entire gamut of bilateral relations and ways to further deepen the historically close and friendly relations between the two countries," the external affairs ministry said.

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The vexed fishermen issue is believed to have figured in the talks.

Later, the Sri Lankan foreign minister called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi this afternoon.

In the meeting, Modi reaffirmed the "high importance" India attaches to its relations with Sri Lanka.

It is Marapanas first overseas visit after assuming charge as foreign minister on August 15.

During the delegation level talks, both Swaraj and Marapana delved on expanding cooperation in a range of areas including trade and investment.

It is understood that there was a discussion on the fishermen issue. Both the countries have held several rounds talks here and in Colombo over the last one year to find a permanent solution to the emotive issue.

There have been several alleged incidents of Sri Lankan Navy personnel firing at Indian fishermen in the Palk Strait and seizing their boats.

The Palk Strait, which is a narrow strip of water separating Tamil Nadu from Sri Lanka, is a rich fishing ground for fishermen from both the countries.

Swaraj also hosted a lunch in honour of the Sri Lankan foreign minister.

Marapana arrived here yesterday on a three-day visit which comes days after Swarajs trip to Sri Lanka to attend the 2nd Indian Ocean Conference. PTI MPB RT

--- ENDS ---
By Express News Service

TIRUCHY: After a short delay because of confusion over a Supreme Court order banning protests against the National Eligibility cum Enterence Test (NEET), which came minutes ahead of the DMK meeting in the city, M K Stalin declared that the party and allies would organise peaceful protests across the State on September 13.

Speaking at a meeting organised to condole the suicide of medical seat aspirant Anitha, Stalin criticised the Union government, saying it had indicated the possibility of NEET exemption to Tamil Nadu for a year, which had kindled the hopes of aspirants.

In an indirect reference to the Supreme Court order, Stalin said the party would not be cowed down by threats. He claimed that the Commissioner of Police who arrived at the venue asking them to cancel the event was unable to produce the copy of the SC order.

As news of the SC order came, Stalin held a discussion with alliance leaders - R Mutharasan, G Ramakrishnan, Thirunavakarasar, Thol Thirumavalavan, Jawahirullah and Khader Mohideen, and decided to go ahead with the meeting.

Party sources from New Delhi and Chennai got hold of the order and deciphered it, which clearly said that meetings can be held peacefully without affecting law and order, Stalin said. Eventually, the meeting started with a two-minute silence in the memory of Anitha.

Leaders of alliance parties tore into the Union government for its handling of NEET. Jawahirullah said: Tamil Nadu always encouraged students irrespective of their backgrounds. Dreams of Anitha were shattered only by the bizarre approach of BJP.

Thirumavalavan emphasised that the State lost its rights after education was moved to concurrent list and asked for a recall to the State list.

Where does uniform education prevail in this country and how can CBSE and NEET be benchmark for medical education? he questioned.

He said the State and Central governments were trying to scuttle the issue, as was evident from the SC order, which okayed meetings in a peaceful manner,but law enforcing authorities tried to stop it.

Whats in the files Whats in the files

Japan PM Abe wanted to raise issue of returning purported Manmohan in December 2006 gx cfhcgh gjgjgj UPA govt discouraged the idea prompting the Japanese to say the ashes g the Japanese to say the ashes purported Manmohan in December 2006 gx cfhcgh gjgjgj UPA govt discouraged the idea prompting the Japanese to say the ashes g

TIRUCHY: After a short delay because of confusion over a Supreme Court order banning protests against the National Eligibility cum Enterence Test (NEET), which came minutes ahead of the DMK meeting in the city, M K Stalin declared that the party and allies would organise peaceful protests across the State on September 13. Speaking at a meeting organised to condole the suicide of medical seat aspirant Anitha, Stalin criticised the Union government, saying it had indicated the possibility of NEET exemption to Tamil Nadu for a year, which had kindled the hopes of aspirants. In an indirect reference to the Supreme Court order, Stalin said the party would not be cowed down by threats. He claimed that the Commissioner of Police who arrived at the venue asking them to cancel the event was unable to produce the copy of the SC order. As news of the SC order came, Stalin held a discussion with alliance leaders - R Mutharasan, G Ramakrishnan, Thirunavakarasar, Thol Thirumavalavan, Jawahirullah and Khader Mohideen, and decided to go ahead with the meeting. Party sources from New Delhi and Chennai got hold of the order and deciphered it, which clearly said that meetings can be held peacefully without affecting law and order, Stalin said. Eventually, the meeting started with a two-minute silence in the memory of Anitha. Leaders of alliance parties tore into the Union government for its handling of NEET. Jawahirullah said: Tamil Nadu always encouraged students irrespective of their backgrounds. Dreams of Anitha were shattered only by the bizarre approach of BJP. Thirumavalavan emphasised that the State lost its rights after education was moved to concurrent list and asked for a recall to the State list. Where does uniform education prevail in this country and how can CBSE and NEET be benchmark for medical education? he questioned. He said the State and Central governments were trying to scuttle the issue, as was evident from the SC order, which okayed meetings in a peaceful manner,but law enforcing authorities tried to stop it. Whats in the files Whats in the files Japan PM Abe wanted to raise issue of returning purported Manmohan in December 2006 gx cfhcgh gjgjgj UPA govt discouraged the idea prompting the Japanese to say the ashes g the Japanese to say the ashes purported Manmohan in December 2006 gx cfhcgh gjgjgj UPA govt discouraged the idea prompting the Japanese to say the ashes g
By Associated Press

COX'S BAZAR: The U.N. said that an "alarming number" of 290,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled violence in Myanmar by crossing into Bangladesh in the last two weeks.

The new figure confirmed on Friday by U.N. refugee agency spokeswoman Vivian Tan is much higher than the 164,000 the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees had previously estimated as arrived since Aug. 25.

"This is an alarming number," Tan said. "The existing camps are full to the capacity. There is a lot of pressure on relief agencies to accommodate the rising numbers."

She said the new number was still a "rough estimate," and based on an assessment that involved a host of aid agencies operating in the area. Some aid groups also had identified "new pockets of people that we did not know about before, mainly in villages" where Bangladeshi communities had taken them in, but also some new settlements and clusters in difficult-to-access areas.

Makeshift camps were quickly appearing and expanding along roadsides, Tan said.

She said it was possible some people who received help from multiple agencies could have been counted twice.

The exodus from Myanmar's northern Rakhine state began Aug. 25 after Rohingya insurgents attacked police posts. The military responded with what it called "clearance operations" to root out any fighters it said might be hiding in villages of Rakhine state.

The Myanmar government says nearly 400 people have been killed in fighting it blames on insurgents, though Rohingya say they Myanmar troops and Buddhist mobs attacked them and destroyed their villages.

It's not known how many Rohingya remain in Rakhine state. Previously the population had been thought to be roughly 1 million.

Journalists in northern Rakhine state saw active fires in areas Rohingya had abandoned, adding to doubts over government claims that Rohingya themselves were responsible for setting them.

Associated Press reporters who have been in Rohingya camps all week saw a surge in the number of people entering Bangladesh on Thursday and Friday.

An increasing number of Rohingya were also arriving by boat, with 300 boats reaching the Bangladesh town of Cox's Bazar from Myanmar on Wednesday alone, according to the International Organization for Migration.

"Sea routes are particularly dangerous this time of year, when boats are known to frequently capsize in rough seas," the IOM said in a statement.

Dozens of Rohingya have died in capsizings since the exodus began, and there are other dangers as well. On Monday, the AP saw an elderly woman whose leg had been blown off when she set off a land mine.

Land mines were planted years ago along parts of the border. Bangladeshi officials say Myanmar soldiers have planted new explosives since the latest wave of violence began, though the Myanmar military denies it.

"It may not be land mines, but I know there have been isolated cases of Myanmar soldiers planting explosives three to four days ago," Lt. Col. S.M. Ariful Islam, commanding officer of the Bangladesh border guard in Teknaf, said Friday. He added that he was aware of at least three Rohingya injured in explosions.

There are now massive crowds of Rohingya in the streets of towns including Cox's Bazar and Teknaf, with relatively few soldiers or police and even fewer signs of aid agencies.

At a small makeshift mosque made of bamboo sticks and plastic sheets, a small group of new arrivals offered prayers Friday, the holiest day of the week in Islam.

Later, members of a local organization were seen distributing aid, throwing packets of puffed rice and old clothes into huge crowds of Rohingya. There are no clearly organised points of distribution.

Tan, of the refugee agency, said it was distributing aid through a local organization that preferred to keep a low profile.

U.N. agencies have released $8 million in emergency aid in the area, but were pleading for millions more.

COX'S BAZAR: The U.N. said that an "alarming number" of 290,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled violence in Myanmar by crossing into Bangladesh in the last two weeks. The new figure confirmed on Friday by U.N. refugee agency spokeswoman Vivian Tan is much higher than the 164,000 the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees had previously estimated as arrived since Aug. 25. "This is an alarming number," Tan said. "The existing camps are full to the capacity. There is a lot of pressure on relief agencies to accommodate the rising numbers." She said the new number was still a "rough estimate," and based on an assessment that involved a host of aid agencies operating in the area. Some aid groups also had identified "new pockets of people that we did not know about before, mainly in villages" where Bangladeshi communities had taken them in, but also some new settlements and clusters in difficult-to-access areas. Makeshift camps were quickly appearing and expanding along roadsides, Tan said. She said it was possible some people who received help from multiple agencies could have been counted twice. The exodus from Myanmar's northern Rakhine state began Aug. 25 after Rohingya insurgents attacked police posts. The military responded with what it called "clearance operations" to root out any fighters it said might be hiding in villages of Rakhine state. The Myanmar government says nearly 400 people have been killed in fighting it blames on insurgents, though Rohingya say they Myanmar troops and Buddhist mobs attacked them and destroyed their villages. It's not known how many Rohingya remain in Rakhine state. Previously the population had been thought to be roughly 1 million. Journalists in northern Rakhine state saw active fires in areas Rohingya had abandoned, adding to doubts over government claims that Rohingya themselves were responsible for setting them. Associated Press reporters who have been in Rohingya camps all week saw a surge in the number of people entering Bangladesh on Thursday and Friday. An increasing number of Rohingya were also arriving by boat, with 300 boats reaching the Bangladesh town of Cox's Bazar from Myanmar on Wednesday alone, according to the International Organization for Migration. "Sea routes are particularly dangerous this time of year, when boats are known to frequently capsize in rough seas," the IOM said in a statement. Dozens of Rohingya have died in capsizings since the exodus began, and there are other dangers as well. On Monday, the AP saw an elderly woman whose leg had been blown off when she set off a land mine. Land mines were planted years ago along parts of the border. Bangladeshi officials say Myanmar soldiers have planted new explosives since the latest wave of violence began, though the Myanmar military denies it. "It may not be land mines, but I know there have been isolated cases of Myanmar soldiers planting explosives three to four days ago," Lt. Col. S.M. Ariful Islam, commanding officer of the Bangladesh border guard in Teknaf, said Friday. He added that he was aware of at least three Rohingya injured in explosions. There are now massive crowds of Rohingya in the streets of towns including Cox's Bazar and Teknaf, with relatively few soldiers or police and even fewer signs of aid agencies. At a small makeshift mosque made of bamboo sticks and plastic sheets, a small group of new arrivals offered prayers Friday, the holiest day of the week in Islam. Later, members of a local organization were seen distributing aid, throwing packets of puffed rice and old clothes into huge crowds of Rohingya. There are no clearly organised points of distribution. Tan, of the refugee agency, said it was distributing aid through a local organization that preferred to keep a low profile. U.N. agencies have released $8 million in emergency aid in the area, but were pleading for millions more.
By Associated Press

ISTANBUL: The secretary general of Amnesty International Salil Shetty visited the rights group's jailed Turkey director and called for her release, along with seven other activists being held in pre-trial detention for allegedly aiding a terror group.

Shetty told reporters Saturday outside a prison on the outskirts of Istanbul that Amnesty's Idil Eser was doing well. He added that "the real issue is why she is currently imprisoned when they were not doing anything illegal."

Police raided a hotel on the island of Buyukada in July and detained 10 activists during a workshop on digital security. Eight people, including German Peter Steudtner and Swede Ali Gharavi, were arrested. Two were released pending trial.

Shetty says "these people are in prison only for their human rights work and should immediately be released."

ISTANBUL: The secretary general of Amnesty International Salil Shetty visited the rights group's jailed Turkey director and called for her release, along with seven other activists being held in pre-trial detention for allegedly aiding a terror group. Shetty told reporters Saturday outside a prison on the outskirts of Istanbul that Amnesty's Idil Eser was doing well. He added that "the real issue is why she is currently imprisoned when they were not doing anything illegal." Police raided a hotel on the island of Buyukada in July and detained 10 activists during a workshop on digital security. Eight people, including German Peter Steudtner and Swede Ali Gharavi, were arrested. Two were released pending trial. Shetty says "these people are in prison only for their human rights work and should immediately be released."
By AFP

MONTREAL: Canada's Supreme Court on Friday ruled that two of its citizens can be extradited to India for their alleged role in an honour killing 17 years ago.

Surjit Singh Badesha, 72 and Malkit Kaur Sidhu, 67, are wanted in connection with the murder of Jaswinder Kaur Sidhu, who was 25 at the time of her death.

The suspects, both Canadian citizens of Indian origin, are the uncle and mother of the slain woman.

Jaswinder Kaur Sidhu's body was found with her throat slit in June 2000 in Punjab state.

Indian prosecutors say that she was the victim of an honour killing planned by her mother and uncle, who furiously opposed the young woman's marriage to a poor rickshaw driver, something the victim had kept secret for a year.

After revealing her marriage to her family, the victim reportedly flew from Canada to India to reunite with her husband, Mithu Sidhu.

The couple was later attacked as they rode a scooter in a village near Sangrur, Punjab in June 2000. Her husband was severely beaten and left for dead while Sidhu was kidnapped and later killed.

The slain woman's mother and uncle allegedly hired the thugs that carried out the attack.

Seven men were eventually convicted of the crime in India, but several of those convictions were overturned on appeal.

The family has denied involvement in the killing.

Three people were found guilty of the murder in India, and authorities for years have been seeking the extradition of the two Indo-Canadians.

Canada's justice minister granted an extradition in 2014, but the ruling was reversed on appeal in 2016.

On Friday, the nine Supreme Court justices unanimously authorised the extradition.

"In this case, it was reasonable for the minister to conclude that, on the basis of the assurances he received from India, there was no substantial risk of torture or mistreatment" of the suspects "that would offend the principles of fundamental justice" in the Canadian constitution, the ruling read.

In so-called "honor" killings, carried out to protect what is seen as family pride, reasons for disapproval can include having relationships outside of one's caste or religion.

MONTREAL: Canada's Supreme Court on Friday ruled that two of its citizens can be extradited to India for their alleged role in an honour killing 17 years ago. Surjit Singh Badesha, 72 and Malkit Kaur Sidhu, 67, are wanted in connection with the murder of Jaswinder Kaur Sidhu, who was 25 at the time of her death. The suspects, both Canadian citizens of Indian origin, are the uncle and mother of the slain woman. Jaswinder Kaur Sidhu's body was found with her throat slit in June 2000 in Punjab state. Indian prosecutors say that she was the victim of an honour killing planned by her mother and uncle, who furiously opposed the young woman's marriage to a poor rickshaw driver, something the victim had kept secret for a year. After revealing her marriage to her family, the victim reportedly flew from Canada to India to reunite with her husband, Mithu Sidhu. The couple was later attacked as they rode a scooter in a village near Sangrur, Punjab in June 2000. Her husband was severely beaten and left for dead while Sidhu was kidnapped and later killed. The slain woman's mother and uncle allegedly hired the thugs that carried out the attack. Seven men were eventually convicted of the crime in India, but several of those convictions were overturned on appeal. The family has denied involvement in the killing. Three people were found guilty of the murder in India, and authorities for years have been seeking the extradition of the two Indo-Canadians. Canada's justice minister granted an extradition in 2014, but the ruling was reversed on appeal in 2016. On Friday, the nine Supreme Court justices unanimously authorised the extradition. "In this case, it was reasonable for the minister to conclude that, on the basis of the assurances he received from India, there was no substantial risk of torture or mistreatment" of the suspects "that would offend the principles of fundamental justice" in the Canadian constitution, the ruling read. In so-called "honor" killings, carried out to protect what is seen as family pride, reasons for disapproval can include having relationships outside of one's caste or religion.
By AFP

NAIROBI (KENYA): A Red Cross driver was killed when unknown militants attacked an aid convoy in South Sudan, the organisation said Saturday.

Lukudu Kennedy Laki Emmanuel was shot dead Friday when gunmen ambushed the nine-vehicle convoy transporting humanitarian supplies in the war-torn country's Western Equatoria region.

"We are shaken and distraught by the killing of our colleague who was travelling in a convoy of vehicles which were clearly marked with the Red Cross emblem," said Francois Stamm, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross delegation in Juba.

"In addition, all parties to the conflict in the area had been duly notified about our presence."

The aid agency issued a fresh call for militants to refrain from attacking humanitarian workers.

South Sudan's civil war erupted in December 2013 just two years after it obtained independence from Sudan, when President Salva Kiir accused his former deputy Riek Machar of plotting a coup.

Thousands of people have been killed by the violence, which plunged part of the country into famine earlier this year. Some four million have been displaced, according to UN figures.

NAIROBI (KENYA): A Red Cross driver was killed when unknown militants attacked an aid convoy in South Sudan, the organisation said Saturday. Lukudu Kennedy Laki Emmanuel was shot dead Friday when gunmen ambushed the nine-vehicle convoy transporting humanitarian supplies in the war-torn country's Western Equatoria region. "We are shaken and distraught by the killing of our colleague who was travelling in a convoy of vehicles which were clearly marked with the Red Cross emblem," said Francois Stamm, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross delegation in Juba. "In addition, all parties to the conflict in the area had been duly notified about our presence." The aid agency issued a fresh call for militants to refrain from attacking humanitarian workers. South Sudan's civil war erupted in December 2013 just two years after it obtained independence from Sudan, when President Salva Kiir accused his former deputy Riek Machar of plotting a coup. Thousands of people have been killed by the violence, which plunged part of the country into famine earlier this year. Some four million have been displaced, according to UN figures.
By Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS: The United States has called for a vote on Monday on a U.N. resolution that would impose the toughest-ever sanctions on North Korea and could lead to a showdown with the country's biggest trading partner China and its neighbour Russia.

The Trump administration dropped the one-on-one U.S. negotiations with China to hammer out a resolution that took weeks and was a hallmark of all previous sanctions measures. For this resolution, a totally American draft was circulated on Tuesday with a vote set six days later.

Several diplomats say the U.S. demand for a speedy council vote is aimed at putting maximum pressure on China.

Professor Joseph DeThomas of Pennsylvania State University tells The Associated Press the U.S. demand is "an indicator of how the administration thinks time has run out."

UNITED NATIONS: The United States has called for a vote on Monday on a U.N. resolution that would impose the toughest-ever sanctions on North Korea and could lead to a showdown with the country's biggest trading partner China and its neighbour Russia. The Trump administration dropped the one-on-one U.S. negotiations with China to hammer out a resolution that took weeks and was a hallmark of all previous sanctions measures. For this resolution, a totally American draft was circulated on Tuesday with a vote set six days later. Several diplomats say the U.S. demand for a speedy council vote is aimed at putting maximum pressure on China. Professor Joseph DeThomas of Pennsylvania State University tells The Associated Press the U.S. demand is "an indicator of how the administration thinks time has run out."
By PTI

UNITED NATIONS: The US is "deeply troubled" by the deteriorating situation in Myanmar's Rakhine state, American Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said, as the UN migration agency confirmed 270,000 people fled the country to Bangladesh over the past two weeks.

Scores of Rohingya civilians have fled to Bangladesh, overwhelming refugee camps that were already bursting at the seams and triggering warnings of a humanitarian crisis.

Many more have died trying to flee the fighting in Myanmar's Rakhine state, where witnesses say entire villages have been burned to the ground since Rohingya militants launched a series of coordinated attacks on August 25, prompting a military-led crackdown.

US Ambassador to UN Nikki Haley said in a statement issued here yesterday that over the past week, conditions in Rakhine have continued to deteriorate. While the government of Bangladesh is accommodating many displaced Rohingya, significant numbers of civilians are stranded along the border waiting for much-needed relief, while other communities in Rakhine have become internally displaced.

The statement said that the US remains "deeply troubled" by continued reports of attacks against innocent civilians and will continue to urge Myanmars security forces to respect those civilians as it conducts security operations. "Attacks on civilians will only further the violence on the ground and prevent any hope for long-term solutions  including the rapid implementation of the Annan Commissions recommendations that will benefit all communities in Rakhine State," it added.

International Organisation for Migration (IOM) confirmed that 270,000 people have fled violence in Myanmar for safety in Bangladesh over the past two weeks, and the number of new arrivals continues to increase. "Humanitarian agencies are deploying mobile medical teams, installing emergency latrines, providing water, and are distributing tarpaulins for basic shelter and food rations to new arrivals. But much more is needed and we are fast running out of stock," Margo Baars, who facilitates the Inter Sector Coordination Group, convened by the IOM said in a press release.

This week, at least 300 boats arrived in Cox's Bazar from Myanmar. Sea routes are particularly dangerous in this season of rough seas. IOM said that new arrivals usually start by looking for space in the established makeshift settlements, where there are some services but these are already full.

Three new spontaneous settlements have sprung up in areas which still have very little services.

An estimated 130,000 of the new arrivals are now living in the registered refugee camps and three makeshift settlements of Kutupalong, Leda and Balukhali. Another 90,000 people are sheltering in host communities, and nearly 50,000 have settled in new spontaneous settlements.

The US welcomes Myanmar government committing humanitarian assistance to all displaced by violence but urged it to "make sure this aid actually reaches those in need, as quickly as possible, and that it is delivered in a manner that protects their rights and dignity", Indian-American Ambassador Haley said.

Most of the people now crossing the border are women, children and the elderly, many of whom are vulnerable and lack the ability to take care of themselves. There are also many pregnant and lactating women among the new arrivals.

UNITED NATIONS: The US is "deeply troubled" by the deteriorating situation in Myanmar's Rakhine state, American Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said, as the UN migration agency confirmed 270,000 people fled the country to Bangladesh over the past two weeks. Scores of Rohingya civilians have fled to Bangladesh, overwhelming refugee camps that were already bursting at the seams and triggering warnings of a humanitarian crisis. Many more have died trying to flee the fighting in Myanmar's Rakhine state, where witnesses say entire villages have been burned to the ground since Rohingya militants launched a series of coordinated attacks on August 25, prompting a military-led crackdown. US Ambassador to UN Nikki Haley said in a statement issued here yesterday that over the past week, conditions in Rakhine have continued to deteriorate. While the government of Bangladesh is accommodating many displaced Rohingya, significant numbers of civilians are stranded along the border waiting for much-needed relief, while other communities in Rakhine have become internally displaced. The statement said that the US remains "deeply troubled" by continued reports of attacks against innocent civilians and will continue to urge Myanmars security forces to respect those civilians as it conducts security operations. "Attacks on civilians will only further the violence on the ground and prevent any hope for long-term solutions  including the rapid implementation of the Annan Commissions recommendations that will benefit all communities in Rakhine State," it added. International Organisation for Migration (IOM) confirmed that 270,000 people have fled violence in Myanmar for safety in Bangladesh over the past two weeks, and the number of new arrivals continues to increase. "Humanitarian agencies are deploying mobile medical teams, installing emergency latrines, providing water, and are distributing tarpaulins for basic shelter and food rations to new arrivals. But much more is needed and we are fast running out of stock," Margo Baars, who facilitates the Inter Sector Coordination Group, convened by the IOM said in a press release. This week, at least 300 boats arrived in Cox's Bazar from Myanmar. Sea routes are particularly dangerous in this season of rough seas. IOM said that new arrivals usually start by looking for space in the established makeshift settlements, where there are some services but these are already full. Three new spontaneous settlements have sprung up in areas which still have very little services. An estimated 130,000 of the new arrivals are now living in the registered refugee camps and three makeshift settlements of Kutupalong, Leda and Balukhali. Another 90,000 people are sheltering in host communities, and nearly 50,000 have settled in new spontaneous settlements. The US welcomes Myanmar government committing humanitarian assistance to all displaced by violence but urged it to "make sure this aid actually reaches those in need, as quickly as possible, and that it is delivered in a manner that protects their rights and dignity", Indian-American Ambassador Haley said. Most of the people now crossing the border are women, children and the elderly, many of whom are vulnerable and lack the ability to take care of themselves. There are also many pregnant and lactating women among the new arrivals.
By AFP

MIAMI: Hurricane Irma pummeled the north coast of Cuba today, inflicting "significant damage" as millions of people in the US state of Florida hunkered down for a direct hit from the monster storm.

Irma's blast through the Cuban coastline weakened the storm to a Category Three, but it is still packing 205 kilometer per hour and was expected to regain power before hitting the Florida Keys early tomorrow, US forecasters said.

At least 25 people have been killed since Irma began its devastating march through the Caribbean as a Category Five storm of nearly unmatched power, making landfall late yesterday in Cuba on the Camaguey archipelago.

The Cuban government extended its maximum state of alert to three additional provinces, including Havana, amid fears of flooding in low-lying areas.

Terrified Cubans who rode out Irma in coastal towns reported "deafening" winds, uprooted trees and power lines, and blown rooftops.

In the seaside town of Caibarien, the storm knocked down walls and littered the streets with tree branches, roof tiles and other debris.

Francis, a 19-year-old who lives near the Caibarien sea wall, said she fled to her grandfather's house as storm waters reached her street corner.

"It must be full of water," she said of her house.

"What's out there is terrible," said Gisela Fernandez, a 42-year-old nurse.

After the storm whipped the town in Chapara in the province of Las Tunas yesterday, Gisela Fernandez described a fearful ordeal. "The rain is finishing, but all night long there were terrible winds."

The governor of Camaguey province, Isabel Gonzalez Cardenas, said her area was "seriously affected," but there were no immediate reports of casualties. Cuban officials reported "significant damage."

More than a million people evacuated from vulnerable areas in Cuba.

In Florida, cities on both the east and west coasts of the peninsular state took on the appearance of ghost towns, as nervous residents heeded insistent evacuation orders affecting 6.3 million people, nearly a third of the state's population.

The storm's forecast track has shifted slightly, so it now looks bound for Florida's west Gulf coast instead of the Atlantic coast, with landfall expected tomorrow morning in the Florida Keys.

But Irma is so wide that authorities were bracing for destructive storm surges on both coasts and the Keys, the chain of low-lying islands that stretch south of Miami toward Cuba.

And hurricane-force winds are expected to lash the peninsula as it rolls north toward Georgia.

In Key West, police opened a "shelter of last resort" for those fool-hardy enough to ignore mandatory evacuation orders.

Flood-prone Miami Beach, also under mandatory evacuation order, has been emptied of people but is bracing for high waters.

Scott Abraham, who lives on the fifth floor of a beachfront apartment building, is planning to ride the storm out with his wife and two kids.

"If I lived in a house I would have left, but if it gets flooded here it's going to take a week at least to come back.

I don't want that," he said.

In Miami, a big worry was the two dozen or so giant construction cranes in the downtown area. Though designed to withstand hurricane winds, city officials are warning people to stay away from them.

Across the peninsula the Gulf coast city of Fort Myers also was battening down for Irma's screaming winds, rain and storm surge.

"This is a worst case scenario for our city. And our region," the city's mayor, Randall Henderson said on CNN.

"We're taking it very seriously. We are prepared for it."

Warning that Irma would be worse than Hurricane Andrew which killed 65 people in 1992 -- Florida's governor said all 20.6 million Floridians should prepare to flee.

Bumper-to-bumper traffic snaked north out of the state, with mattresses, gas cans and kayaks strapped to car roofs.

Cuban-American Orlando Reyes, 82, was forced to flee his assisted living facility in Miami Beach.

"It is frightening," he told AFP at a shelter in Miami.

"We had to leave without a cent, without taking a bath, or bringing anything."

The storm smashed through a string of Caribbean islands, beginning with tiny Barbuda on Wednesday, followed by the holiday islands of St Barts and St Martin.

Also affected were the US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and the Turks and Caicos. The Bahamas were spared Irma's worst.

French state-owned reinsurer CCR estimated Irma had caused USD 1.4 billion worth of damage to homes, vehicles and businesses in the territories of Saint Martin and Saint Barts.

"Houses are smashed, the airport is out of action," St Barts resident Olivier Toussaint told AFP.

"Upside-down cars are in the cemeteries. Boats are sunk in the marina, shops are destroyed."

Meteorologists meanwhile were closely monitoring two other Atlantic storms.

Jose, another powerful Category 4 storm, was heading towards the same string of Caribbean islands Irma has pummeled in recent days.

The deteriorating weather grounded aircraft and prevented boats from bringing relief supplies to hard-hit islands.

Katia, which made landfall in eastern Mexico late yesterday as a Category One hurricane, had weakened by today to a tropical depression. Mexico reported two people killed by mudslides unleashed by the heavy rains.

The US military was mobilizing thousands of troops and deploying several large ships to aid with evacuations and humanitarian relief, as the Air Force removed scores of planes from the southern United States.

Meanwhile, the death toll from across the islands has continued to rise.

Six were reported killed in the British Virgin Islands and Anguilla, including an elderly man who was crushed when his house collapsed.

Two were killed in Puerto Rico, and four more in the US Virgin Islands.

A child died in Barbuda, at least 10 in France's Caribbean territories, and two more on the Dutch side of St Martin.

MIAMI: Hurricane Irma pummeled the north coast of Cuba today, inflicting "significant damage" as millions of people in the US state of Florida hunkered down for a direct hit from the monster storm. Irma's blast through the Cuban coastline weakened the storm to a Category Three, but it is still packing 205 kilometer per hour and was expected to regain power before hitting the Florida Keys early tomorrow, US forecasters said. At least 25 people have been killed since Irma began its devastating march through the Caribbean as a Category Five storm of nearly unmatched power, making landfall late yesterday in Cuba on the Camaguey archipelago. The Cuban government extended its maximum state of alert to three additional provinces, including Havana, amid fears of flooding in low-lying areas. Terrified Cubans who rode out Irma in coastal towns reported "deafening" winds, uprooted trees and power lines, and blown rooftops. In the seaside town of Caibarien, the storm knocked down walls and littered the streets with tree branches, roof tiles and other debris. Francis, a 19-year-old who lives near the Caibarien sea wall, said she fled to her grandfather's house as storm waters reached her street corner. "It must be full of water," she said of her house. "What's out there is terrible," said Gisela Fernandez, a 42-year-old nurse. After the storm whipped the town in Chapara in the province of Las Tunas yesterday, Gisela Fernandez described a fearful ordeal. "The rain is finishing, but all night long there were terrible winds." The governor of Camaguey province, Isabel Gonzalez Cardenas, said her area was "seriously affected," but there were no immediate reports of casualties. Cuban officials reported "significant damage." More than a million people evacuated from vulnerable areas in Cuba. In Florida, cities on both the east and west coasts of the peninsular state took on the appearance of ghost towns, as nervous residents heeded insistent evacuation orders affecting 6.3 million people, nearly a third of the state's population. The storm's forecast track has shifted slightly, so it now looks bound for Florida's west Gulf coast instead of the Atlantic coast, with landfall expected tomorrow morning in the Florida Keys. But Irma is so wide that authorities were bracing for destructive storm surges on both coasts and the Keys, the chain of low-lying islands that stretch south of Miami toward Cuba. And hurricane-force winds are expected to lash the peninsula as it rolls north toward Georgia. In Key West, police opened a "shelter of last resort" for those fool-hardy enough to ignore mandatory evacuation orders. Flood-prone Miami Beach, also under mandatory evacuation order, has been emptied of people but is bracing for high waters. Scott Abraham, who lives on the fifth floor of a beachfront apartment building, is planning to ride the storm out with his wife and two kids. "If I lived in a house I would have left, but if it gets flooded here it's going to take a week at least to come back. I don't want that," he said. In Miami, a big worry was the two dozen or so giant construction cranes in the downtown area. Though designed to withstand hurricane winds, city officials are warning people to stay away from them. Across the peninsula the Gulf coast city of Fort Myers also was battening down for Irma's screaming winds, rain and storm surge. "This is a worst case scenario for our city. And our region," the city's mayor, Randall Henderson said on CNN. "We're taking it very seriously. We are prepared for it." Warning that Irma would be worse than Hurricane Andrew which killed 65 people in 1992 -- Florida's governor said all 20.6 million Floridians should prepare to flee. Bumper-to-bumper traffic snaked north out of the state, with mattresses, gas cans and kayaks strapped to car roofs. Cuban-American Orlando Reyes, 82, was forced to flee his assisted living facility in Miami Beach. "It is frightening," he told AFP at a shelter in Miami. "We had to leave without a cent, without taking a bath, or bringing anything." The storm smashed through a string of Caribbean islands, beginning with tiny Barbuda on Wednesday, followed by the holiday islands of St Barts and St Martin. Also affected were the US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and the Turks and Caicos. The Bahamas were spared Irma's worst. French state-owned reinsurer CCR estimated Irma had caused USD 1.4 billion worth of damage to homes, vehicles and businesses in the territories of Saint Martin and Saint Barts. "Houses are smashed, the airport is out of action," St Barts resident Olivier Toussaint told AFP. "Upside-down cars are in the cemeteries. Boats are sunk in the marina, shops are destroyed." Meteorologists meanwhile were closely monitoring two other Atlantic storms. Jose, another powerful Category 4 storm, was heading towards the same string of Caribbean islands Irma has pummeled in recent days. The deteriorating weather grounded aircraft and prevented boats from bringing relief supplies to hard-hit islands. Katia, which made landfall in eastern Mexico late yesterday as a Category One hurricane, had weakened by today to a tropical depression. Mexico reported two people killed by mudslides unleashed by the heavy rains. The US military was mobilizing thousands of troops and deploying several large ships to aid with evacuations and humanitarian relief, as the Air Force removed scores of planes from the southern United States. Meanwhile, the death toll from across the islands has continued to rise. Six were reported killed in the British Virgin Islands and Anguilla, including an elderly man who was crushed when his house collapsed. Two were killed in Puerto Rico, and four more in the US Virgin Islands. A child died in Barbuda, at least 10 in France's Caribbean territories, and two more on the Dutch side of St Martin.
Currently 16% of the tracks are catering to 60% of rail traffic in India and thus major routes are saturated.

By Rakesh Ranjan: Identifying excessive load on existing rail tracks as a major cause of deteriorating rail safety, the ministry of Railway has decided to expedite renewal of tracks and completion of dedicated freight corridors. According to railway officials, the freight corridors (DFC) will reduce 70 per cent of the traffic in the form of freight trains on Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Howrah corridors.

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Experts said excessive operation of freight trains on a route not only leads to traffic congestion and delays but also slows down the maintenance of tracks and thus posing safety concerns. In a high-level meeting on Thursday, Railway minister Piyush Goyal directed railway board to prioritise track renewal.

According to a railway ministry official, the total length of rail tracks is 1.18 lakh km. In 2016-17, Railway ministry had revised the target for renewal of tracks from 1,028 km to 2,950 km. "Track replacement and renewal should be accorded priority and the tracks (rails) earmarked for constructing new lines should be diverted to stretches that are prone to accidents. The procurement of new rails should be expedited on a large scale with a view to complete construction of new lines in time," Rail minister Piyush Goyal said.

Well-placed sources said top officials have also instructed expediting the work on DFC and keeping in view the urgency, its deadline could also be advanced. As of now, the DFC is scheduled to be operational from December 2019. This, officials said, would also increase the average speed of passenger trains on Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Howrah corridors by 25 kmph. Railway plans to operate trains at the speed of 160 kmph on these two most saturated corridors in the country. While the Delhi-Mumbai corridor is 115 per cent saturated, the Delhi-Howrah corridor is operating at 150 per cent of the capacity.

According to a white paper issued by Railway in 2015, at least 40 per cent of Indian Railways' 1,219 line sections are oversaturated, which means they are utilised beyond 100 per cent. Officials said currently 16 per cent of the tracks are catering to the 60 per cent of the rail traffic in India, as a result of which major trunk routes are saturated.

Experts also attributed track failures and subsequent derailments to excessive traffic. The white paper said the number of passenger trains in India has increased by 56 per cent in the last 15 years 15 years -from 8,520 in 2000-01 to 13,313 in 2015-16.

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Comparatively, the number of freight trains has increased by 59 per cent in the same period. But the running track length for all these trains increased merely by 12 per cent in 15 years-from 81,865 km to 92,081 km.

However, with commissioning of the DFC, Railways expect the situation to relent. Two key projects launched in 2005 are the 1504-km western dedicated freight corridor (Mumbai-Delhi) and the 1318 km-long eastern DFC (Delhi-Howrah). When commissioned, the new freight corridors will absorb 70 per cent of the existing freight traffic on those routes, thus significantly freeing up line capacity.

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ALSO WATCH | End of dirty train toilet seats? Railways to introduce biodegradable cover dispenser

--- ENDS ---
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Champaign, IL (61820)

Today

Except for a few afternoon clouds, mainly sunny. High 43F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy skies with late-night snow showers. Low around 30F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 60%. Snow accumulations less than one inch.
Intelligence agencies have warned of terror attacks on transport hubs like airports, railway stations, metro trains and bus stops. The Centre has asked states to beef up security at relevant places.

By Kamaljit Kaur Sandhu: The Centre has issued an advisory to all state governments asking them to step up security arrangements at airports, railway stations, bus terminals, metro stations and other transportation hubs. The terror attacks might take place in the form of physical small arm assault or even a chemical attack.

A letter was shot off in this regard on September 1 from the Centre wherein a director-level officer said, that "the Central Security Agencies have intimated that terrorists are planning a range of attacks against commercial aviation targets."

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The letter refers to a similar plot foiled in Australia which has revealed the terror plot in India. "The recent plot foiled in Australia underscores focus of such groups on devising innovative ways to attack aircraft and other transportation targets," the advisory reads.

The Centre's letter to states says, "Recent intelligence inputs are indicative of threats from explosives concealed inside a personal electronics or small appliance and other personal items. Such items could be taken on a plane or shipped by airmail."

It also says that "terrorists remain interested in small arm attacks and physical assaults on airports and other transportation hubs."

There is potential threat of chemical attacks on airports and other transport junctions. "Terrorist could also adopt chemical warfare capabilities to conduct chemical attacks outside of the conflict zone by creating toxic gases from materials available from a hardware store or easily produced materials," it said.

Incidentally, a pistol-like object was detected in an air cargo parcel from Spain at the Mumbai airport yesterday. The detected parcel was bound for Jaipur after clearance from Mumbai. The pistol replica was handed over to the police for further investigation.

--- ENDS ---
News18  Blogs  Politics

Is Time Ripe for a Social Media Rulebook for Politicians?

Twitter Introduces Premium APIs For Developers (photo for representation)

The debate during the week on the Prime Minister following some people on Twitter who used abusive language after journalist Gauri Lankeshs death has thrown focus on who our political leaders follow on social media.



This also points to the need by political parties to perhaps issue a whip, or maybe a rulebook, on who their leaders should follow online.



Lets take a quick look at who our leaders are following on social media. The BJPs official Twitter account follows only two people  Prime Minister Narendtra Modi and party chief Amit Shah. The Congress, on the other hand, follows over two thousand people on Twitter, largely party leaders and few journalists.



Different leaders approach different policies. The PM follows over a thousand people and includes people from different walks of life. Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi adopts a different strategy. He follows 79 people and all of them belong to his party.



There are some leaders who do not follow anyone despite being very popular on social media. Foreign Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has 9.38 million followers on Twitter, but she doesnt follow anyone. Former President Pranab Mukherjee has 39,000 followers but he also doesnt follow anyone.



Nitin Gadkari, follows just two accounts  the PM and the BJP. But his cabinet colleague Prakash Javadekar follows 173 people, including Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh.



The Chief Ministers also adopt a different approach. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee follows 29 people, including some Union ministers and the Prime Ministers Office. While Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath follows 39 people, all of them are part of the BJP.



So, it is clear that there is no similarity on who politicians follow on social media. The time is ripe for them to adopt a stand, as far as the online sphere is concerned.
Hyderabad: The GST Council on Saturday exempted artisans and folk artists with an annual turnover of up to Rs 20 lakh from registration under the just introduced Goods and Services Tax (GST).



West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra said besides exempting artisans, the 21st meeting of the highest decision making body of the GST exempted clay idols from the tax. Also, no registration would be required for inter-state job works, he said.



For artisans, artists, folk arts and tribal arts, no registration will be required up to Rs 20 lakh (turnover).

Clay idols are exempt now, he said, adding that job work inter-state, you don't need any registration now up to Rs 20 lakh turnover.



On government work contract, the tax rate has been reduced to 12 per cent from 18 per cent. That will save government a lot of tax.



A committee of ministers has been formed to look into technical issues facing the GST-Network, the IT backbone and portal for registration and tax returns under the GST regime. GSTN has major problems. We had much discussions and all that has to be settled and a committee of ministers has been formed along with a committee of officers, he said.



The panels would look into the glitches, he said. Small and medium enterprises are suffering today, this has to be corrected.



Jammu and Kashmir Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu said the deadline for filing of sales return or GSTR-1 for the month of July - the first month of implementation of the new tax regime, has been extended by a month to October 10.



Drabu said hike in cess on cars was not discussed. On the functioning of GSTN, he said it is a real

concern. We have acknowledged that it is a concern. An inter-ministerial group has been formed in-principle. The Chairman (Finance Minister Arun Jaitley) has been authorised to select ministers. A group of ministers will be formed and they will talk to GSTN and private parties.



On revenues accruing to states in the first month of the GST, Drabu said he does not see a pattern right now in it. This time there will be a lot of backlog. Let it stabilise for one cycle.



Goa State Panchayat Minister Mouvin Godinho said the 18 per cent interest levied on delayed filing of returns has been waived.
New Delhi: India and China have agreed to set up industry specific working groups for increasing exports with a view to bridge trade deficit with Beijing, Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu on Saturday said.



"Concerned about growing trade deficit with China, we agreed to set up industry specific working groups, to promote more exports from India," Prabhu said in a tweet.



He is in the Philippines capital Manila to attend the fifth East Asia Summit (EAS) Economic Ministers' Meeting. The minister would also participate in the trade ministers' meeting of 16 RCEP member countries tomorrow.



Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a mega trade pact among 16 countries which aims to cover goods, services, investments, economic and technical cooperation, competition and intellectual property rights.



At the sidelines of EAS meet, the minister met his Chinese counterpart Zhong Shan to discuss ways to promote bilateral trade between the countries. Both the ministers agreed to attend the Joint Economic Group Meeting.



The department of commerce in a series of tweets said Prabhu invited Chinese businesses and industry to invest in India and offer facilitation of investments in special economic zones.



"Both ministers agreed to set up product/sector specific joint working group (JWG) to promote exports and bilateral trade," the department added.



Prabhu, who recently took charge of the ministry, also met Japanese minister of economy, trade and industry Hiroshige Seko, Korean trade minister Hyun Chong KIM and Australian minister for trade, tourism, investment Steven Ciobo.



India's trade deficit with China narrowed marginally to USD 51.08 billion in 2016-17 from USD 52.69 billion in 2015-16.



India wants greater market access in China for its goods and services like IT and pharma products. The country has also insisted upon China to increase investments.
#LatestVisuals from Jaipur after violent clash between locals and police yesterday, curfew has been imposed pic.twitter.com/tC7p0g4373  ANI (@ANI) September 9, 2017

At least one person was killed and 10 police personnel injured on Friday when locals in Jaipur's Ramganj area clashed with the police.Curfew was imposed in four police station areas of Jaipur after a violent mob clashed with policemen and burnt vehicles here.The violence erupted after a minor dispute between a policeman and a bike-borne couple. It is being alleged that a constable had allegedly assaulted the couple during a routine vehicle check.Soon afterwards hundreds of people gathered at the Ramganj police station and started shouting slogans. The police tried to pacify the protesters, but failed and the mob started to pelt stones. Police resorted to lathicharge as the violent mob burnt vehicles.A senior police official added that internet services have been suspended and schools in the curfew-laden areas have been closed."A petty dispute between a police constable and a motorcycle-borne couple late last night (Friday) led to clashes between the locals and the police, following which the curfew was imposed around 1 am in Ramganj area, where the violence broke out," Jaipur Police Commissioner Sanjay Agarwal said."Curfew has been imposed till further orders in Manak Chowk, Subhash Chowk, Galta Gate and Ramganj police station areas of the city following violence in which a police station was attacked and vehicles burnt," Commissioner of Police Sanjay Agarwal told IANS.When the situation went out of control, police opened fire on the agitators in which one person, identified as Mohammed Raees, was killed, Agarwal said.There were also reports of stone pelting from some of the areas and police had difficult time to control the violent mob. Tear gas was used and the district administration to maintain law and order had to impose curfew in four police station areas.
#Visuals 6-year-old dies after being run over by a school bus in Kavi Nagar area, when she was returning home from school. #Ghaziabad pic.twitter.com/NeX6apCCpK  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) September 9, 2017

: A 6-year-old girl died on Saturday after a school bus ran over her when she was returning from school in Ghaziabad's Kavi. The girl, Sonia Kashyap, was hit when she was going back home. Onlookers said that driver's negligence caused the girl's tragic death.The incident came a day after a seven-year-old student was murdered at Ryan International School, Gurgaon. Police have arrested a bus driver, who confessed to trying to sexually assault the kid, and upon his failure, slitting the throat of the class 2 student.Ryan International School's acting principal has been suspended. The National Child Rights Commission had on Friday evening, prima facie, held school's negligence as the cause of the murder.The school washroom, where the body of Pradyuman was found in a pool of blood, was used by bus drivers and conductors, according to the arrested bus conductor, Ashok.The police produced Ashok before the magistrate on Saturday and were granted 3-day custody of the driver to further interrogate him.
Bengaluru: Following the murder of senior journalist Gauri Lankesh, 25 writers, rationalists and progressive thinkers in Karnataka have been given police protection on the advice of the intelligence department.



The literary figures include Girish Karnad, Baragur Ramachandrappa, Yogesh Master, K S Bhagwan, Patil Putappa, Banjagere Jayaprakash, Nataraj Huliyar Chennaveera Kanavi, and Chandrashekhar Patil.



Some strong proponents of a separate religion tag for Lingayats, such as former bureaucrat SM Jamdar, have also been provided security, officials said.



The move to provide security was taken after Chief Minister Siddaramaiah told the police last week to ensure the protection of literary figures advocating free speech, and especially those who openly talk about matter of religion and rituals in the country.



An official said that the security has been provided after a thorough threat perception exercise. He said that those who have been categorised as low risk will be given a gunman round the clock, and those categorised as high risk will be given enhanced security.



The decision to provide security comes a day after union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad criticized the Karnataka government for Lankeshs murder.



Lankesh was shot dead outside her home in Bengaluru on Tuesday night by unidentified men, creating a furore across the country. She was an outspoken critic of Hindutva politics. No arrests in the case have been made so far.
Pune: A day after a IMD scientist registered a cheating complaint against her cook, claiming she hurt her "religious sentiments" by posing as a Brahmin, several organisations, including the VHP and the Bajrang Dal, came out in support of the 60-year-old woman.



A controversy erupted after Medha Khole, who is a senior scientist at the India Meteorological Department registered a cheating case against her cook, Nirmala Yadav, for hurting religious sentiments by allegedly hiding her caste and marital status and posed as "Brahmin" to get the job.



Members of Sambhaji Brigade on Friday met Joint Commissioner of Police Ravindra Kadam and sought action against Khole for allegedly creating a caste divide.



"Do not look at this case as a standalone one as it has created a very strong social impact. The case has been filed by a person who holds an important position in a key department of the government and calls herself a scientist. The case shows the complainant's casteiest mindset," Santosh Shinde of the Sambhaji Brigade said.



The cook received support from organisations like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal as their members visited her house and extended support to her.



"We met Yadav and extended our support and we also demand that Khole should tender an apology and withdraw the case," Sampat Charwad of the Bajrang Dal said.



Meanwhile, Akhil Bhartiya Brahman Mahasangh, a body representing the Brahmin community, termed the police case by the scientist as "unwarranted" and said the issue should be resolved mutually.



"Who to employ to prepare food on religious occasions and rituals at home is the personal choice, but looking at the age of the cook, we believe that the police case was unwarranted and we also think that the issue should be resolved mutually," Anand Dave of the organisation said.



Khole had said in the complaint that she needed a married Brahmin woman to cook food at her house during religious occasions.



Yadav, who approached Khole in 2016 for the job, had then introduced herself as Nirmala Kulkarni, a senior police official had said.



"The complainant had even gone to her house to cross check her claim in 2016. Thereafter, Yadav started going to Khole's house on such occasions to prepare food," the officer added.



The officer had said that Khole came to know on Wednesday that the cook was not a Brahmin.



After this, Khole went to the cook's house to seek an explanation and found out her real name, the officer added.



Khole also claimed that the cook abused and intimated her, police said.



A case under Sections 419 (cheating by personation), 352 (punishment for assault or criminal force) and 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) of the Indian Penal Code was registered at the Sinhgad Police Station, the official said.
New Delhi: A Dera Sacha Sauda follower from Charkhi Dadri in Haryana committed suicide when he realised that his investments in the cult would go down the drain after the sects chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was sentenced to 20 years in prison for rape.



Somveer (48) had invested Rs 3.10 crore in the Dera Sacha Saudas hotel and resorts business. He had also donated 12 acres of his land to the Dera, in blind faith.



The cult's supporter went missing on Wednesday and his body was recovered from a village well on Friday. His family said that Somveer was depressed after hearing about Ram Rahims arrest. After his disappearance, the family approached Haryana police in a bid to locate him.



On Friday evening, a farmer noticed the body in the village well and informed the police.



Somveer had sold 25 acres of his land in order to invest in the Deras business. He was allegedly told by Ram Rahim himself that he would get huge returns on his investment.



Meanwhile, the sanitisation drive at the Deras Sirsa headquarters entered its second day on Saturday with hundreds of security personnel, including paramilitary, and local administration involved in the exercise.



JCB machines, locksmiths, forensic experts and dog squads were called in to assist in the comprehensive search.



An illegal explosives manufacturing unit was unearthed inside the Dera on the second day of operations. According to early reports, police have sealed this illegal factory to further investigate the findings, which included more than 80 cartons of explosives. The Dera Sacha Sauda functionaries reportedly claimed the explosives were being used to make firecrackers.



Internet services in Sirsa district were suspended by local authorities on Friday and taking cognisance of a media report, Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij ordered an inquiry to ascertain if the Dera had sent 14 bodies to a medical college in Lucknow earlier this year in violation of rules.
Chandigarh: Taking cognisance of a media report, Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij has ordered an inquiry to ascertain if the Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda had sent 14 bodies to a medical college in Lucknow earlier this year in violation of rules.



He has asked the Director General of Health Services to complete the inquiry at the earliest.



"There have been reports in the media of about 14 bodies being sent from the Dera Sacha Sauda to a medical college in Lucknow. If this was done, all formalities should have been completed. The reason for sending the bodies must also be ascertained," Vij said.



The head of Dera Sacha Sauda, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, is in jail after being convicted of rape.



A team of forensic experts has also inspected the so-called 'gufa' (cave) at the Dera Sacha Saudas Sirsa den where Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh is said to have exploited women. The 'gufa' was inspected by the forensic experts from IIT Roorkee as part of sanitisation of the sprawling Dera campus.



The sanitisation drive entered its second day on Saturday with hundreds of security personnel, including paramilitary, and local administration involved in the exercise.



Curfew continues in the area around the sprawling Dera campus. The search operation to sanitise the sect premises started on Friday with a few computers, a luxury SUV and some currency notes being seized.



According to sources, the search teams had also found hundreds of pairs of shoes, designer clothes and colourful caps of the disgraced sect chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.



JCB machines, locksmiths, forensic experts and dog squads have been called in to assist in the comprehensive search. Internet services in Sirsa district were suspended by local authorities on Friday.



Ahead of the start of the search operations, the Dera mouthpiece Sach Kahoon had admitted to human remains being buried at the property, claiming they were donated by followers who did not wish to pollute the rivers. The paper claimed the Dera had planted trees where the bodies were buried.



(With agency inputs)
New Delhi: A lot has changed in the past four years. The Congress government at the Centre and Samajwadi Party government in Uttar Pradesh have been replaced by the BJP. In this timespan, news cameras have moved on from Muzaffarnagar to Saharanpur and Gorakhpur, covering one tragedy after another. But about 1500 days later, little has changed for over 200 riot affected families in Muzaffarnagar, who are living like refugees in their own land.



Tension was running high in September 2013 in Muzaffarnagar after a Muslim boy and two Hindu boys were killed after an argument. The police failed in stopping a large gathering of local Jat leaders and soon mobs turned violent. Over 60 people were killed in the next three days, forcing thousands of families, mostly Muslims, from about 140 villages to flee their homes and take shelter in relief camps.



On October 26, the state government announced it would provide a one-time compensation of Rs 500,000 for relocation and rehabilitation of families from nine worst-affected villages.



People living in the relief camps were asked, as a precondition to the compensation, to sign an affidavit saying they would not return to their villages.



According to government records, 980 families in Muzaffarnagar district and 820 families in Shamli district have received such compensation so far. But about 200 families are still living in relief camps. In several cases, authorities have denied compensation, citing technical reasons like clerical errors; in others, the families have accused local politicians and bureaucrats of corruption.



In a report, Amnesty International has looked into living conditions of these families. Between August 2016 and April 2017, Amnesty International India and AFKAR India Foundation, an NGO based in Shamli, visited 12 resettlement colonies, met 65 families and analyzed the documentation of 190 families who are still struggling to survive.



The researchers found many of these families live in horrific conditions in so-called relief colonies, with little access to water, sanitation, electricity and housing.



The Uttar Pradesh government has failed to meet its obligations under international and Indian laws to provide adequate remedy and reparation and protect the human rights of those displaced in 2013.



Many families were denied compensation by authorities who claimed  despite evidence to the contrary  that they were part of a larger joint family which had already received compensation.



In Uttar Pradesh, as in many other parts of India, households that live under the same roof are demarcated as separate units depending on whether they use a separate kitchen.



The Census of India defines a household as a group of persons who normally live together and take their meals from a common kitchen. The census definition states: The important link in finding out whether it is a household or not, is a common kitchen. There may be one member households, two member households or multi-member households.



The chief development officer of Muzaffarnagar district also told Amnesty International India that the state government defined a family using the same concept. He said,A family unit hinges on the idea of ek chhath aur ek chulla [one roof and one stove]. There can be many variations to this but if a house has a kitchen then it is considered as a separate household.



However, several families say that they were denied compensation despite having separate kitchens, and often having ration cards indicating that their addresses were different from those of their relatives.



img src="https://images.news18.com/ibnlive/uploads/2017/09/imag1.jpg" alt="imag1" width="100%" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-1513843" /> (Source: Amnesty International India)



Amjad Khan, for example, used to live with his parents, three brothers and a sister in Mohammadpur Raisingh village. Their house had a common entrance, and separate rooms for each nuclear family unit. Importantly, the parents and the brothers all had independent cooking arrangements and used different stoves. The absence of a common kitchen signified that they were separate households.



However, while Amjad Khans father Nawab Khan received Rs 525,000 as compensation in 2014, all the four brothers say they were verbally told by different government officials that they would not receive any money as they were part of the same family. The brothers say they have filed several applications but to no avail.



A number of families spoke out how in spite of having government identification documents such as ration cards and voter identification cards with different addresses from their family members, they have also been denied compensation.



Due to denial of compensation, several of them have been unable to afford education and healthcare for their children, and continue to live in squalid conditions. Our good times have been pushed back by 10 years to 15 years. We cannot provide for the future of our children. Amjad Khan displaced from Mohammadpur Raisingh village, now lives in Hussainpur colony with his wife and children.



My husband died worrying about his family. We havent got any compensation, we have no house and live in a makeshift space. I have to look after my children now and its very difficult to find a job. We are in a lot of debt: how can I repay it? Some days its difficult to buy any food and we sleep hungry. If anyone falls ill, what will I do? How will I afford treatment? says Sammina Latif, who lives in a settlement with her three children.



Human rights activist Harsh Mander, who has worked to defend the rights of the survivors, has questioned the basis of selecting just nine villages. He told the Amnesty India that By selecting only nine villages, the state administration showed a callous disregard towards the riot survivors. The government selected only villages which saw significant loss of life and property. It ignored villages where people fled their homes because of fear and where people left their homes because they were ransacked or burned down.
By India Today Web Desk: Terrorists attacked an army vehicle in Imam Sahib area of Shopian district, today. One terrorist was gunned down by the security forces in retaliation.

A police officer told India today that, 2 to 3 militants attacked an army vehicle in Warbug and Imam Sahib area this evening. The army retaliated which ensued in a gun fight. In the Intial exchange of gun fight a militant is said to have been killed.

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More details of the operation awaiting as heavy exchange of fire between militants and security forces still on.

Also read:

Caught on Camera: How Pakistan funds Kashmiri separatists to burn the Valley - India Today Exclusive

#HurriyatTruthTapes: Separatists in panic mode, JKLF's Yasin Malik assaults India Today crew

--- ENDS ---
New Delhi: Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh was at it again. This time he tweeted an image of Prime Narendra Modi along with an abusive meme. Singh claimed the original creator of the meme was someone else but he couldnt help posting it.



Its not the first time he has embarrassed his party. On previous occasions, he had called terrorist Osama bin Laden Osama ji, and Lashkar chief Hafiz Saeed Hafiz Sahab, causing much discomfort. Once he even targeted his own fellow party leader Meenakshi Natarajan terming her a 100 per cent tunch maal.



The said tweet on PM Narendra Modi has since been removed and an embarrassed Congress party has distanced itself from it. Later, talking to the media, Singh said he does not endorse the tweet and refuses to own it. But the damage had already been done.



The incident is indication again of Congress leaders refusing to learn lessons despite a series of electoral defeats. They remain blissfully unaware of the fact that Modi in the past has smartly turned these personal attacks into an opportunity. These verbal bouts have helped the BJP polarise voters and expose the oppositions vulnerabilities.



Take the example of infamous maut ka saudagar (merchant of death) comment made by Congress president Sonia Gandhi during the 2007 Gujarat Assembly election to target Modi, who was then the Gujarat chief minister.



Congress leadership hoped the comment would help capitalize votes by bringing memories of 2002 riots to the fore. Instead, Sonia Gandhis comment backfired, ending up polarizing voters towards the Modi-led BJP. With just 59 seats, the Congress came a distant second in the state.



Despite the Gujarat blunder, Congress leaders fail to learn lessons especially when polls are around the corner.



It is well documented fact how senior Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyars chaiwala jibe ended up badly wounding the party just prior to the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. His comment that Gujarat CM Modi would never become Indias PM but he can sell tea at AICC meet was instantly lapped up by Modi and the BJP.



Modi tactfully used the barb to his own advantage to highlight his humble origins and attack the Congress for not stomaching the rise of someone from not an elite background. BJPs Chai pe charcha owes itself to Aiyars jibe.



Similarly, during campaigning for the all crucial Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls last year, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi accused PM Modi of doing Khoon ki dalali with the blood of soldiers. The comment was made in the backdrop of surgical strike conducted by the Indian Army. The cross LoC action on terror camps by Indias elite forces received much public applause and appreciation. Gandhi clearly failed to read the public mood and the comment backfired badly. The Uttar Pradesh verdict is known to all.



Digvijaya Singhs tweet (now deleted) comes at a time when Congress is gearing up for the critical Gujarat and Himachal polls. The party is buoyant after senior leader Ahmad Patel recently managed to save his Rajya Sabha seat from Gujarat in a nail-biting finish. The Party expects to better its recent performance.



But with comments like those made by the likes of Digvijaya Singh revival hopes are distant yet.
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has sought a report from Ryan International School in connection with the murder of a seven-year-old student, whose body was found in the school washroom. The Chief Minister added that he will ask the court for a speedy verdict in the case. Earlier, Gurugram Police Commissioner Sandeep Khirwar assured chargesheet into the death in seven days, adding that a three-member panel is vetting school safety.

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New Delhi: After winning a hard-fought battle against instant triple talaq, the Bhartiya Muslim Mahila Andolan is now ready with its draft of "Muslim Family Law, 2017," which, if debated and enacted by the parliament, would bring an end to acts of polygamy and Nikah Halala, too.



The draft, written over the past 9 years and in consultation with women from over 15 states, looks beyond triple talaq, taking into consideration other issues such as inheritance and adoption, Zakia Soman, one of the founding members of the movement, told News18.



News18 has accessed a copy of the draft which will soon be deliberated over by a panel of women parliamentarians, the Ministry of Women and Child Development, and the National Commission for Women.



The instant triple talaq stands annulled, according to the draft, and it delineates the procedure of divorce among Indian Muslims.



During the much-heated argument over triple talaq in the Supreme Court in May, 2017, senior advocate Indira Jaisingh, arguing for Bebaak Collective, one of the petitioners, stated that "while divorce in Islam was judicial (resort to courts) for a wife, it was extra-judicial (at the comfort of home and his own will) for a man."



This argument seems to have formed the backbone of the law mooted by MFL, 2017.



According to the draft law, if somebody seeks a divorce, notwithstanding his/her gender, the prescribed method is "Talaq-e-ehasan". A man or a woman will have to file an application with a Qazi or Darul Qaza or a Court for separation.



An arbitration will be conducted with the other party and its representative. Post the arbitration, if they see divorce as the only solution towards ending the differences, a three-month gap has to be there between the first and third utterance of talaq.



The draft law mandates an arbitration and reconciliation over a minimum period of three months.



The proposed law states that if either of the spouses refuses to cooperate in the reconciliation or dissolution of marriage proceedings initiated at the behest of one spouse, it may amount to the cruelty of conduct. The partner, then, qualifies to knock on the door of a court for the dissolution of a marriage.



Furthermore, the law bans the practices of polygamy, Nikah halala, and muta (temporary) marriage. The quantum of punishment has been left to the wisdom of parliamentarians to debate and decide.



The minimum age for the two partners, stipulated by the proposed law, is 18 for a woman and 21 for a man. Mehr, which forms a compulsory payment to the bride by the groom on the occasion of marriage, cannot be less than the annual income of the groom.



Every marriage has to be registered, and the cleric conducting the wedding should be made accountable under the legislation, the law proposes.



The proposed law comes on the heels of the AIMPLB executive meeting scheduled for Sunday in Bhopal. Earlier, on Saturday, Maulana Wali Rahmani had told News18 that the triple talaq verdict had given protection to Muslim Personal Law and in no way can its essentials be touched.



However, Soman refused to buy Rahmani's point, calling it their usual talk. "The new law will achieve harmony between the tenets of the Quran and the Constitution. It is possible to achieve this because both of them speak of Justice. The only problem is that the AIMPLB tries to bring out rules to suit their own patriarchal worldview. If all communities had their personal law codified, why exclude Muslims, then?"



The draft law bats for equal rights for sons and daughters, mandating a daughter's share to be equal to that of a son's even in case of a gift in Islam. Both father and mother will be the natural guardian of a child.



Muslim Family Law, 2017, also takes into account the case of adoption but hasn't spelled out a process as Islam explicitly prohibits adoption.



"In case a Muslim couple wishes to adopt, then they are free to do so under The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act of 2000, which after the 2006 amendment, allows any Indian citizen to adopt a child who is legally free for adoption," Noorjehan Niaz told News18.
Odisha Postal MTS Recruitment 2017 Admit Card has been released by the India Post Odisha Postal Circle department on its official postal careers online portal - odisha.postalcareers.in.



There are 144 MTS vacancies in the Odisha Department of Postal Services, out of which 70 posts are for unreserved category, 17 posts for Scheduled Caste, 38 posts for Scheduled Tribes and 19 posts for OBC.



The online application process for the Odisha Postal MTS Recruitment 2017 had started on 23rd June 2017 till 25th July 2017. The last date of payment was 31st July. The Odisha Postal Circle will hold the written examination for the recruitment of Multi-Tasking staff (MTS) on September 17th, 2017 and thereby has released the Admit Cards so the candidates who had applied for the same can download it in time by following the instructions given below:



How to Download Odisha Postal MTS Recruitment Admit Card 2017?



Step 1: Visit the official website - odisha.postalcareers.in

Step 2: Click on Direct Recruitment of MTS

Step 3: Click on Download Admit Card

Step 4: Login using your Registration Number and Date of Birth, enter the security code and click on Login

Step 5: Download the Admit Card and take a Print Out of the same



The candidates must carry a the Print Out of Admit Card alongwith a Photo ID proof like Aadhaar Card on the exam day.



The Odisha Postal Circle MTS Recruitment Exam will be divided into four sections viz:

Part A - General Knowledge

Part B  Mathematics

Part C (i)  English

Part C (ii)  Regional Language



The question paper will be of 100 Marks and will be divided into four sections of 25 marks each comprising 25 Multiple Choice Questions. The total duration of the exam is 120 Minutes.
The conviction of self-appointed guru for many, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh of raping two women, leading to violence by his followers resulted in killing 38 people and damaging property worth millions of rupees. It shakes up a logical mind that how can anyone be driven so blind in utter superstition; as calling this faith would be grossly unjust, to go to the extent of taking human lives and destructing property at such a massive scale.



Perhaps, it has been rightly said that a mob has no mind of its own and when mob is enraged, a reason is the last thing that can deter them from behaving like beasts. A mob is not only ignorant but is also blind. Mob law is thus, an antithesis of the rule of law.



There is a clear-cut procedure in the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) for crowd control. Sections 129-132 CrPC deal with the same. The principal issue that is often overlooked is that the responsibility for dispersal is on the discretion of the officer on the spot. CrPC gives full powers to the Magistrate or any police officer of the rank of a Sub-Inspector or above to use all means to disperse the assembly.



The situation is complicated only when the politicians, for their own vested interests, start interfering in the discretion of the police and the Executive Magistrate. The Code did not even envisage prior permission before use of force from anyone, including senior police officers, who are not present on the spot.



The discretionary authority and the means of dispersal have been left to the judgement of the officers on the spot. There needs to be an enquiry as to why large crowds were allowed to assemble, despite directions to the contrary by the High Court. The most significant step to prevent riot is to prevent the assembly of a large number of people. Let the truth emerge as to on whose instructions this took place.



According to the media reports, two or three ministers in the Haryana government were heard saying to the Dera followers before the violence began that, Section 144 order was not for them.



This is a clear breach of the High Courts direction. If it happened, it means these ministers were aiding the mobs which could, under certain circumstances, tantamount to inciting violence and put the law and order machinery in a tight spot. If indeed, these allegations are substantiated in an enquiry, these ministers will be liable to be arrested and tried along with the rioters as abettors or co-conspirators, as the case may be.



What is lamenting is that states, particularly Haryana, which has immense powers under our Constitution to uphold law and order, has not once, not twice but for a third time, witnessed this shameless devastation like a mute, lame and impotent spectator. This recent incident has compelled anyone of us with the slightest sense of reason to ask themselves, do we really live in a civilized society?



What is more grotesque is that this orgy of violence and bloodshed was unleashed not for an apostle of peace or some social cause but a convicted rapist.



In my opinion, self-styled persons like Gurmeet Ram Rahim, who are in fact, a bunch of jokers, should have been given life imprisonment, the maximum punishment prescribed under the law in this case, because in the garb of a saint they loot the dignity and pride of women.



However, although State was in deep slumber, the judiciary was working overtime. The Punjab & Haryana High Court deserves to be praised for the landmark and significant directions they gave of attaching the properties owned by Dera to compensate for the damage and destruction to lives and property.



Before I delve deeper into the legalese of attaching of properties by courts and legislation governing them, another aspect which needs a serious thought is the observations made by the High Court about the government, both at the State and Centre.



What forced the High Court to observe that, He is the PM of not the BJP but of India This reminds me of similar observations made by the Supreme Court in the aftermath of Godhra carnage that The modern day Neros were looking elsewhere when Best Bakery and innocent children and helpless women were burning... Sadly enough, in both cases, the gentleman referred to is one and the same.



It is not about your party my party jibes, it is the constitutional courts of our country speaking, and when they make such observations, then it cannot be simply brushed under the carpet. We have to ask ourselves, which direction our country is going in, it can be anything but progressive. Mobs lynching people to death, sometimes in the name of beef while at others, in the name of rapists, is certainly nowhere in the direction of progress and growth.



Another premise germane to the issue is, why do the courts have to step in such issues? The simple answer is  the executive is sleeping.



Laws are already in place, being The Haryana Prevention of Defacement of Property Act, 1989 and the Punjab Prevention of Damage to Public and Private Property Act, 2014. The question is why did the state not act on its own and seize the properties of Dera Sacha Sauda to compensate for the losses their followers made by massive destruction of public property under the said Acts.



Why did the High Court have to issue directions?



The moot problem is not the lack of legislation but its implementation. If existing laws are implemented in their full spirit, such incidents will definitely be fewer to witness. However, the implementation needs a genuine political will and an effective administration.



Haryana government and particularly, Manohar Lal Khattar, have proven thrice, they lack both miserably. Again, the observations of High Court in this respect or the strictures on Haryana CM, are worth quoting, You allowed the city to burn for political gains. It seems the government has surrendered to agitators



Nonetheless, despite such a situation and stern strictures passed by the High Court, the State continues to have Khattar as its Chief Minister, may be because not resigning and clinging to the chair, is the sacrosanct norm for certain parties, morality and conscience are alien to their profile and obstinacy their inherent characteristic.



(KTS Tulsi is a senior advocate in the Supreme Court of India. Views expressed are personal)


New Delhi: Renowned lawyer Ram Jethmalani, who will turn 95 next week, announced his retirement from the legal profession on Saturday, ending a career that has spanned over seven decades.



Speaking at a function organised by the Bar Council of India to felicitate new Chief Justice of India, Justice Dipak Misra, he said, I am here to tell you I am retiring from the profession.



Earlier this week, Jethmalani had informed the Supreme Court, while mentioning a service matter to Justice Kurian Joseph that it was his last case and he would not take up any more cases.



Jethmalani, who is also a Rajya Sabha member from Bihar, is the highest paid lawyer in the Supreme Court bar and has appeared in many leading and high profile cases.



However, he clarified he would not step away from public life and said his new role would be to combat corruption in politics. I am taking on a new role as long as I am alive. I wish to combat the corrupt politicians that have been brought into the position of power and I hope the condition of India will take good shape," Jethmalani said.



He also termed as calamity the present status of governance.



The country is not in a good shape. The previous and the current governments, both have let down the nation very badly, he said.



It is the duty of the members of the bar and all good citizens to rise to this great calamity," he said, adding that they should do their best to see that those in positions of power are shown the exit door as soon as possible.



(with PTI inputs)
New Delhi: A "deeply concerned" India on Saturday asked Myanmar to handle the situation in the Rakhine state with "maturity and restraint" while focusing on the welfare of the civilian population along with that of the security forces and asserted that it was imperative that violence ends there.



The Indian statement came in the backdrop of the continuous exodus of Rohingya Muslims from the Buddhist-majority country in the wake of violence against them.



In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that India remains "deeply concerned" about the situation in the Rakhine state and the outflow of refugees from that region.



"We would urge that the situation in Rakhine state be handled with restraint and maturity, focusing on the welfare of the civilian population alongside those of security forces. It is imperative that violence is ended and normalcy in the state restored expeditiously," the statement said.



The statement also referred to India's strong condemnation of the terrorist attacks on Myanmar security forces in the Rakhine state.



The two countries have since affirmed their shared determination to combat terrorism and not allow its justification under any pretext, it said.



The Indian statement came even as Bangladesh High Commissioner Syed Muazzem Ali called on Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar to discuss the issue.



Nearly 300,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled to Bangladesh from Myanmar's Rakhine state since August 25 when the fresh wave of violence erupted.



However, the MEA statement made no mention of the meeting.



During prime minister's recent visit to Myanmar this week, he had expressed his concern at the casualties of security forces as well as other innocent lives, the MEA statement said.



He had also urged a solution based on respect for peace, communal harmony, justice, dignity and democratic values, it added.



The statement also noted that during the prime minister's Myanmar visit it was agreed that India would provide assistance under the Rakhine State Development Programme in conjunction with the Myanmarese government.



India had refused to be a part of a declaration adopted at an international conference recently in Indonesia as it carried "inappropriate" reference to violence in Rakhine state.



An Indian parliamentary delegation, led by Speaker Lok Sabha Sumitra Mahajan, dissociated itself from the 'Bali Declaration' adopted at the 'World Parliamentary Forum on Sustainable Development' held in Indonesia.



According to media reports, the violence began when Rohingya militants attacked police posts in Myanmar's northern Rakhine state.



Rohingya residents -- a stateless mostly Muslim minority -- allege that the military and Rakhine Buddhists responded with a brutal campaign against them, according to the reports.
Gurgaon: Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Saturday promised that the police would conclude its investigation into the death of a seven-year-old student of Ryan International School in Gurgaon within seven days.



Calling the childs murder a sad incident and a heinous crime, Khattar said that the schools principal has been suspended and strict action will be taken against the school authorities if any lapses are found on their part.



When asked if the state would cede to the familys demands of a CBI probe in the case, the CM said that if the facts of the case do not become clear soon, he has no problem in ordering a high-level probe.



The Gurgaon police on Friday evening had arrested a bus conductor for murdering the seven-year-old student, whose body was found lying in a pool of blood in the school washroom in the morning. The accused, Ashok Kumar, was produced before a city court on Saturday and has been sent to three days in police custody.



Gurgaon Police Commissioner Sandeep Khirwar said that Kumars involvement in the crime has come to the fore clearly and they will piece the sequence of events together during the next three days. He said that the police would demand the constitution of a special court for a fast-track trial so that the accused can be given a strict punishment.



Khirwar said that the accused was inside the toilet, waiting for any student to come inside with the motive of sexual assault. The deceased was the first student who entered the toilet, he said.



He said the child resisted Kumar's assault following which the bus conductor murdered him. The child's throat was slit. He died before he could be taken to the hospital.



Kumar said he was terrified and had to kill the minor to avoid detection of the sexual assault attempt. He left the knife in the washroom and washed his hands before escaping from there. He pre-planned the crime, Khirwar said.



His clothes and knife, which he used in the crime, have been sent for forensic examination. During his three day police remand, we will re-examine the sequence of crime and probe every detail," the commissioner said.



The accused spoke to some TV channels and on being asked whether he had committed the crime responded in the affirmative. I had lost my mind, he said when asked about the motive. Asked about the knife, he said it was already there in the school bus and he had come to wash it.



The boys parents, though are not happy with the probe, and have demanded that the school management also be named in the FIR. They alleged that the school staff and the students used the same washroom and this had led to the murder. The district authorities have formed a three-member panel to find out if Ryan International School, Bhondsi, had followed security norms.



The additional chief secretary (education) has been asked to review the arrangements, including security, installation of CCTVs and facilities being provided in all the schools to prevent recurrence of such incidents, Khattar said.



The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has also formed a two-member fact finding committee to probe the incident and sought a report from the school within two days.



Ryan International School issued a statement on Saturday. Following the tragic incident at our school yesterday (Friday), the school authorities have seriously taken up the review of the security measures at the school. All necessary improvements and measures are being audited and reinforced with the help of experts," it said.



We are also seeking advice from the Police department to guide us in this regard, it said.



"While, we are all in great shock and grief at the loss of life of our beloved student, we are taking these steps simultaneously to ensure vigorous safety measures in place for all our students and staff. We are closely working with the investigating authorities so that we could be guided further with their expertise," the school statement said.
Curfew has been imposed till further orders in Manak Chowk, Subhash Chowk, Galta Gate and Ramganj police station areas of the city.

By India Today Web Desk: One person has been killed and the Pink city has been placed under curfew following massive arson and violence by a Muslim mob following minor skirmishes with the police in which a couple accused police of hitting them with lathi while removing encroachers in Ramganj area in Jaipur on Friday night.

This not a communal riot and situation is under control now.

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Internet services were suspended in parts of the riot affected area and traffic to Delhi and Agra diverted to alternate routes.

Mob attacked a police station, set a power house, an ambulance, police van and few other vehicles on fire. Police fired in the air, used rubber bullets and lathi charge to control the violent mob. The person killed has been identified as Aadil.

Security forces has been deployed including around mortuary at the SMS Hospital where the body has been kept.

It is believed that the violence began when policemen while removing encroachers including an e-scooter rickshaw parked there that had obstructed traffic, hit a couple on the motorcycle. Sajid, the motorcyclist fell along with his daughter and his wife Aarsi protested over it. According to her, the policemen neither regretted hitting them nor stopped to help her injured husband. When mob gathered police asked the couple to lodge a complaint at the police station. Rumour mongers spread the word through social media as if police were using force on Muslims. A mob gathered and quickly became violent setting on fire half a dozen vehicles, damaging two dozen others. It indulged in stone pelting in injuring half a dozen policemen.

The curfew was imposed in the area under four police stations after mid night.

Commissioner, Jaipur Sanjay Agarwal appealed people to remain calm and assured people that he would investigate policemen hitting the couple and take action against them if found guilty.

Ashok Parnami, president of the state BJP whose constituency is also affected by the violence has spoken to the officers to restore peace and appealed the people to remain calm.

(With inputs from IANS)

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--- ENDS ---
Bhopal: Days after the Supreme Court's historic verdict declared instant triple talaq unconstitutional, members of the executive board of All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) have gathered in Bhopal to discuss the verdict and the future of personal laws. Maulana Wali Rahmani, general secretary of the AIMPLB, told News18 it will be tough to stop the "stray incidents of instant talaq" despite the SC verdict, till awareness reaches the grassroots level.



"Stray incidents of instant triple talaq keep happening here and there... the way triple talaq was going on should have been allowed to continue and we would have tried internally to end the practice," said Rahmani. "Just because the SC has said it, the practice won't end unless the awareness reaches the grassroots level."



Rahmani said that the SC verdict will have no impact on the possibility of a Uniform Civil Code because the "Supreme Court verdict itself protects the personal laws of the Muslims".



"This verdict is not only for triple talaq but also personal law and the verdict has given it protection under Article 25-b of the Constitution. This protection will have significant repercussions in the near future. We will discuss all these points and decide on the way ahead," said Rahmani.



The AIMPLB head also said that the Chairman of the 21st Law Commission, Justice BS Chauhan has been "confused over the issue of UCC".



"The possibility of UCC is nil now after the SC has refrained to interfere in the topic of Muslim personal law. Justice Chauhan has remained very confused in this issue. Even though Subramanian Swamy said UCC would feature next on the agenda, such an argument is useless," said Rahmani.



But there are also a few members of AIMPLB who believe that this executive board meeting is too little, too late. A former member of Jamaat Ulma, told News18.com, "This meeting should have happened earlier. A decision which the AIMPLB or the community should have taken has now been taken by the SC. This embarrassment could have been avoided".



When asked, Rahmani said, instant talaq was a sinful and undesirable but "putting an end to this practice was not possible".



"We have been trying to ensure that people do not give instant triple talaq and this effort is going on since the past 20 years. There has been a reduction in the number of instant triple talaq cases. But stopping it all of a sudden is not possible," said Rahmani.



All members of the executive board of the AIMPLB will deliberate on the implementation of the apex court verdict on Sunday. Asaduddin Owaisi, president of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen and an AIMPLB member, will also attend the meeting. Others include the Shia members and the women representatives.
Celiac disease, which affects nearly six to eight million people in India, is more common than is recognised and remains under-reported in the country, said an expert.



Celiac disease is an auto-immune disease that occurs because of ingestion of a protein, called gluten, which is present in the cereals such as wheat and barley.



"The biggest impediment in prevention and treatment of Celiac disease is the limited awareness about it and its causes," Govind Makharia, Professor (Department of Gastroenterology and Human Nutrition) at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), said in a statment on Friday.



As "India's preparedness towards the emerging epidemic of this disease is minimal, the need of the hour is both research and creating awareness about the condition. Overall, Celiac disease has now become a disease of public health importance," Makharia added.



While the disease affects almost 0.7 per cent of the world's population, 1 in 100 (1.04 per cent) Indians are affected by the disease, according to a study conducted by the AIIMS in 2011 on 2879 subjects.



Another study, including 23,000 apparently healthy subjects, observed that 0.6 per cent (1 in 160) suffered Celiac disease. It was found to be more common in northern India (1.2 per cent; 1 in 90), followed by north-east India (0.8 per cent; 1 in 130). The disease was much less common in south (0.1 per cent; 1 in 1000).



In a bid to discuss and explore the best ways to address the challenges faced by patients with Celiac disease, the AIIMS in association with the Indian Society of Gastroenterology (ISG), International Society for the Study of Celiac Disease (ISSCD), and the Asia-Pacific Association of Gastroenterology (APAGE) has organised the 17th International Celiac Disease Symposium (ICDS) beginning Friday, which will continue till Septemeber 10.



Delegates from 27 different countries including US, Europe, Africa and Asia are expected to participate in the symposium.
Ever since Akshay Kumar made his debut in Bollywood in a blink and miss role as a martial art instructor in Mahesh Bhatts movie Aaj, the actor has been enjoying the sobriquet of Khiladi Kumar. Starting out as an action hero, Akshay Kumars trajectory in the film industry has surprised many.



He was initially criticised for his weak voice, zero acting skills and no distinct USP to boast of, but, over the years Akshays rise has been one of the most astonishing success stories of Bollywood. The reason behind Akshays success has been his conviction which led him to tread on his own path and carve his own niche despite not having a godfather.



Unlike the three superstar Khans, Akshay has never been a part of any camp, and has enjoyed the mass adulation. As an actor, presenter and producer, Akshay has taken a different route than his peers. He has had cordial equations with everyone in the industry and has rarely banked on planting stories of rift and friendship, to remain in news.



He has never been a sucker of festival holidays to release his movies and unlike other big stars who are picky, Akki has on an average worked in two to four movies in a year. Most superstars usually work in one or at the most two movies in a year. As a producer, Akshay smartly invested in offbeat small budget movies like Oh My God, which started a trend of sorts.



There are several other reasons that contributed in his 25-years long successful career. On his 50th birthday heres a look at the rise and rise of Akshay Kumar.



New age patriotic hero: Instead of following the jingoistic patriotism largely associated to Manoj Kumar, Akshay explored new-age plots depicting the spirit of nationalism. His upcoming film Gold and recent releases Airlift and Rustom, narrated a plot which had a strong flavour of Indianness. Similarly, his past releases such Gabbar Is Back, Baby and Soldier  made use of Akkis earthy image and were based on plots with a hint of patriotism.



King of mindless action/ comedy: Akki started out as the desi James Bond with mindless masala fare such as Mr Bond and then came a series of action movies with the word Khiladi incorporated in someway or the other-Khiladi, Khiladiyon ka Khiladi, Khiladi 786 and more.



Filmmaker Priyadarshan exploited Akshays intrinsic humour in Hera Pheri, which further went on in movies like Singh Is King, Welcome, Hey Babbyy, Tashan and more.



Philanthropist and Income tax payer: The government records have confirmed that Akki has been the highest tax payer in Bollywood. In 2013, he had paid Rs 18 crore as advance income tax, but Salman recently took over this titled by paying a tax of Rs 20 crore.



Akki may not run a charitable organisation but is known for extending his support to those in need. He offered Rs 90 lakh for the drought hit farmers in Maharashtra recently and has famously refused to speak about it.



Can stand jokes made on him: Akshay was initially dismissed as a non-actor but unlike other superstars who hate jokes made on them, Akki has always been very sporting to laugh about it. He has joked about the non-actor jibe in several comedy shows.



Zero to Hero: Akshay Kumar was severely criticised for his looks when he started out and his weak voice considered as one of the biggest hinderance for his action hero image. He was famously snubbed by several leading ladies of the 90s, who refused to work with him. But, destiny had some other plans and Akki surely was destined to rule.
: Actress Priyanka Chopra, who showcased her first northeastern film production Pahuna: The Little Visitors at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), is overwhelmed by the response she has got for the movie and says this was the reason she wanted to be a filmmaker.Pahuna: The Little Visitors narrates the story of three Nepalese children separated from their parents and their journey back home.Priyanka on Friday shared a video on Instagram, where she and the film's director Paakhi A. Tyrewala, are seen on a podium along with festival artistic director Cameron Bailey.Captioning the short-video, Priyanka wrote: "Never be ok with hearing the word no...because there will always be someone who will say "yes." I'm very proud of my first time 'female' director Paakhi A. Tyrewala for having the courage to not give up when people didn't believe this film could bemade."She added: "Bravo for wanting to tell a beautiful story that may not be what people consider mainstream... but today had a world premiere on an international platform at TIFF, with an applause that resonated for a very long time."The actress, 35, said that this was the first time an audience watched the film outside of their offices at Purple Pebble Pictures. And told us how proud they were that a story like this was told."The Mary Komstar also thanked her mother Madhu Chopra, with whom she shares her production banner Purple Pebble Pictures.She added: "Thank you Cameron Bailey for the opportunity to share this small film and a big message with a world audience...one about children's rights, the refugee crisis, religious conversion and the effect of adult decisions on kids from the perspective of our protagonists, who are to young kids from a small village in Sikkim."My heart swells at the thought of people standing up and applauding our effort. This is the reason I wanted to be a filmmaker. Major feels."The first look of the film was released at the Cannes Film Festival this year.
Mumbai: Bollywood star Ranveer Singh says he takes about two dozen selfies a day and considers himself an "authority" on it.



Ranveer, who has been busy with his shooting commitments, appeared at a media platform here on Thursday after a while for the launch of the Vivo V7+ mobile phone, which is powered by a 24MP selfie camera.



"I am so excited...I am coming in public after a really long time, as I was busy shooting for the film" said the Dil Dhadakne Do actor.



Impressed with the phone's features, Ranveer said: "Nowadays people can't wrap their head around how big social media has become, but it is the way the world is. In this sort of day and age with Instagram and Snapchat and other social media sites, the selfie has really become a big thing.



"I take on an average about two dozen selfies a day. Sometimes it goes to 50 to 100 and on days like this, I take hundreds or more. I am an authority on selfies, I can say that safely."



The Bajirao Mastani actor became the ambassador of the phone brand in 2016.



On the film front, Ranveer will next star in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's historical drama Padmavati.






Our photographers Sonu Chawla and HImanshu Shinde were bashed up by the bouncers of Bastian restaurant in Bandra. All the Photogrpaher did to the bouncer was a request to be on side so he could take pictures of #shilpashetty but this is what happened A post shared by Viral Bhayani (@viralbhayani) on Sep 7, 2017 at 11:28pm PDT

Photographer Sonu Chawla speaks to the hotel authorities and the locals and the rickshaw guys who saw the incident too protest the entire episode and the rude bouncers. A post shared by Viral Bhayani (@viralbhayani) on Sep 7, 2017 at 11:32pm PDT

: Actor Shilpa Shetty has criticised the manhandling of photo journalists by bouncers of a private security agency outside a hotel here.The incident took place on Thursday night when the two photographers were clicking pictures of Shilpa and her husband Raj Kundra, while they were coming out of the hotel in suburban Bandra.According to the police, while the actor and Kundra were moving inside their car, the two bouncers allegedly pushed the photographers, who were taking their photos, and later manhandled them."Oh my god! Appalled and disappointed at the way these photographers were bashed... Really unnecessary... Feel bad for the paparazzi. They stand for hours sometimes for a shot... They are part of my fraternity and no one needs to be beaten for doing his job. Absolutely condemn what happened," Shilpa, 42, posted on Instagram.The actor, who is currently in Amritsar, added that she is saddened by the incident.Based on the complaint filed by victims, Sonu and Himanshu Shinde, a case has been booked under IPC section 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means), RW 34 (common intention), against the two bouncers.The accused, identified as Kanchi Purve and Kadar, were arrested on Friday.
Hyderabad: Activists of the CPI(M) and CPI held a protest near the venue of the GST Council meeting on Saturday.



Led by CPI leader K Narayana, slogan-shouting Left activists were stopped by the police when they were walking towards the Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC), where the meeting is being held.



They have whisked away in a van, the police said.



Narayana demanded that common man is given relief under the new tax regime, which came into force on July 1.



Some other Left leaders said the GST (Goods and Services Tax) imposed on weavers should be removed.



The 21st meeting of the GST Council is being held to discuss technology glitches in GSTN portal, an imposition of higher cess on luxury and SUV cars and reduction of tax rates on about two dozen items.



The high-powered Council, which is responsible for implementation and regulation of GST, comprises state finance ministers and is headed by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.


Indian Army chief General Bipin Rawat's straight talk underlining the need for being wary of China indulging in salami slicing tactics, meaning a series of small actions taken covertly by a nation to acquire foreign territory, has infuriated China and perhaps also bamboozled the Dragon. But the significant thing is that there is no official clarification or denial by the Indian government ever since the remark was made on September 6 morning.



Therein hangs the tale. It conveys many things.



1. The Narendra Modi government is paying China back in the same coin and keeping it confused as part of a conscious strategy. China has been a past master in the art of speaking in many voices. It has employed its state-owned media and experts at various Chinese think-tanks in issuing open threats to India, using abusive language against Indian government functionaries  in short, saying those things which go contrary to what the Chinese government had been maintaining, officially. Remember the Global Times commentary in late July this year just a couple of days before National Security Advisor Ajit Doval's China visit wherein he was described as the main schemer behind the now-resolved Doklam standoff? General Rawat's remark is India's response to similar tactics by China.





2. The Modi government has given the armed services a free hand in real terms and has possibly embarked on a new strategy, especially in case of China. This implies that Gen Rawat's remark was neither just a personal opinion nor a flash in the pan, but a covert move encouraged by the government.



3. While the remark of an Indian official like the Army chief may appear to be much different from whatever provocative anti-India articles the state-owned Chinese media had been carrying in the past and will surely continue to publish in the future (an argument that Beijing will inevitably make to New Delhi, if it hasnt done so already), actually there isnt much of a difference. China routinely employs its state-owned media against foreign countries like a veritable extension of its foreign office sans the official seal and accountability. India doesnt have that heft being a vibrant democracy and the media is not state-owned. Thats why the need for such remarks by important official functionaries even though such individuals have nothing to do with the Indian foreign policy.



4. This wasnt the first time nor will it be the last when a top official concerned with the defence of the country has made remarks with huge implications on Indian foreign policy. Remember the famous remark by the then Indian defence minister George Fernandes in the aftermath of Pokhran-II nuclear tests in 1998, wherein Fernandes had said the tests were conducted with an eye on China, India's number one enemy, not Pakistan! The million dollar question is whether such remarks by the chiefs of Army, Air Force or Navy will become more common in future.



5. Gen Rawats remarks came a couple of days before Nirmala Sitharaman took over as the new defence minister and that too when she is the first full-time woman defence minister of India. This may well be a tactic choreographed at much higher levels to convey not only to China but also to the Indian defence minister herself that this would be a new template of the Modi government vis-a-vis China and Sitharaman may well stitch her coat around this button.



Now consider what Gen Rawat actually said.



While speaking at a seminar organised by the Centre for Land Warfare Studies in New Delhi, he said India should be prepared for a two-front war as China has started "flexing its muscles", while there seems to be no scope for reconciliation with Pakistan, whose military and polity saw an adversary in India. He referred to the 73-day long Doklam standoff and cautioned that the situation could gradually snowball into a larger conflict on the northern border, maintaining that India cannot afford to let its guard down against China.



Here is Gen Rawats exact quote: "As far as northern adversary is concerned, the flexing of muscle has started. The salami slicing, taking over territory in a very gradual manner, testing our limits of threshold is something we have to be wary about and remain prepared for situations emerging which could gradually emerge into conflict.



China got furious not just over the remark but also by its timing as it came barely ten days after the amicable resolution of the Doklam standoff on August 28 but and only a few days after a positive meeting between PM Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Xiamen, China.



Geng Shuang, a spokesperson for the Chinese government came up with this livid counter statement: Just two days ago, President Xi Jinping pointed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the two countries are each other's development opportunities, not threats... We don't know whether he was authorised to speak those words or it was just his spontaneous words or whether his words represented the position of the Indian government.



Apart from being angry, the Chinese are confused too. They seem to be at their wits end in deciding what the Modi government is actually up to. But this may well be a well choreographed move of the Modi government as explained above.



The Chinese dragon is being given a tit-for-tat treatment by the Indian elephant. While Gen Rawat may have just become the second-most hated Indian functionary in China after Ajit Doval, the fact remains that the Chinese will not be able to anything. So far, they have even failed to get an official clarification from the Indian government. The chances are that Gen Rawats remarks will go uncontested!



Will there be repercussions from China? Well, time will tell.
Asish Mohandas, a product design student of IIT-Kanpur, has won the India James Dyson Award 2017 -- an international design competition -- for his innovative product that will help in the efficient transfer of patients from one place to the other without causing them any pain. The product -- named as "MAATTAM" a retrofit patient transfer system -- works similar to a treadmill having a moving platform with a wide conveyor fabric belt and rollers on either ends.MAATTAM being a retrofit can be put on top of any wheeled stretcher with flat top surface and height adjustment facility, converting it into a transfer stretcher. "I resolved to design MAATTAM as I surveyed amongst doctors, nurses, ward boys to conclude that the majority of hospitals and clinics in India do not have efficient stretcher that transfers patient without any pain," Mohandas said in a statement on Thursday."I wanted to design a simple, affordable and retrofit solution which would most appropriately solve the problem of patient transfer in hospitals and create a better experience, every time the patient is getting transferred. It will also ensure evading the problem of spine disorders while shifting," Mohandas added. The James Dyson Award runs in 23 countries and was for the first time extended to the Indian students.Mohandas will receive 2,000 along with James Dyson Award Certificate from the James Dyson Foundation. He will now be running for the International Winner Award and prize money of 30,000. He aims to commercialise this product and is in the process of developing the full-scale model of the retrofit stretcher which would be able to transfer an adult of height up to 180 cm and weight of maximum 95 kg.Accompanying MAATTAM are four Indian runners-up: Eco-friendly faucet, Railroad crack detection bot, QuiSmo, and Saviour.Don't forget to subscribe to our latest YouTube Channel.
A buzz fills the sky above a flight base in northern Beijing, as pilots practise take-offs and landings ahead of tests to qualify for a licence - to fly drones. Drone enthusiasts in China, the world's top maker of consumer unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), are scrambling for licences after the government adopted strict rules this year to tackle incidents of drones straying into aircraft flight paths."A drone is not a toy," said Yang Nuo, the principal of the drone training school in the Chinese capital, who expects more students to sign up in a drive to boost flying skills. "It involves complicated aerial theoretical knowledge." Gao Huiqiang, 32, said his construction company told him to seek a license."Since the laws on drones are tightening and a legal framework is being built, they told me to come and get the licence first," he added. In June, China set an end-August deadline for owners of civilian drones to register crafts up to a certain weight under their real names. Last week, a test-flight base opened in the commercial hub of Shanghai, which requires civilian drones to fly below 150 m (492 ft), the official news agency's Xinhuanet website said.Others have balked at the idea of spending around 10,000 yuan ($1,534) for an official qualification, particularly as uncertainty surrounds future regulations. "They don't know when the next regulation will be introduced," said Hao Jiale, the manager at a DJI drone store. "Some people want to wait and see." Privately-held SZ DJI Technology Co Ltd, based in the southeastern city of Shenzen, had a roughly 70 percent share of the global commercial and consumer drone market, according to a 2016 estimate by Goldman Sachs and Oppenheimer analysts.Despite the curbs, prospects for growth look bright. China's camera drone market will see a compound annual growth rate of 68 percent in five years, with shipments reaching 3 million units by 2019, up from 40,000 in the third quarter of 2015, tech research firm IDC said last year. More than 120,000 drones have been registered in China, Xinhuanet said, compared to just 77,000 registered users in the United States.
A Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist was killed in the encounter that broke out in Baramulla's Sopore today.

By India Today Web Desk: One terrorist was killed in an encounter that started between security forces and militants in Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla today morning.The slain terrorist has been identified as Riyaz Ahmed, Divisional Commander of Hizbul Mujahideen.

One to two militants were believed to be hiding in Rafiabad area of Sopore.

A part of the village had been cordoned off by the forces.

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The local residents were asked to leave the village.

Search operations were launched in Rebban area of Sopore after inputs of presence of terrorists in the area.

Educational institutions were closed and internet services snapped in the district.

Also Read:

6 militants killed in Baramulla as Army foils another infiltration along LoC

Kashmir: Army major, jawan martyred in Shopian; 2 terrorists killed in Kulgam

Also Watch:

LeT terrorist Abu Dujana given secret burial in Kashmir's Baramulla, funeral prayers offered

--- ENDS ---
Equifax, a provider of consumer credit scores, said on Thursday that personal details of as many as 143 million U.S. consumers were accessed by hackers between mid-May and July, in what could be one of the largest data breaches in the United States. The company's shares fell nearly 19 percent in after-market trading as investors reacted to possible consequences of the exposure of sensitive data of nearly half of the U.S. population.Atlanta-based Equifax said in a statement that it discovered the breach on July 29. It said criminals exploited a U.S. website application vulnerability to gain access to certain files that included names, Social Security numbers and driver's license numbers. In addition, credit card numbers of around 209,000 U.S. consumers and certain dispute documents with personal identifying information of around 182,000 U.S. consumers were accessed. Information of some UK and Canadian residents was also gained in the hack, Equifax said.Equifax said in its statement that it was working with law enforcement agencies and has hired a cyber-security firm to investigate the breach. It said its investigation is "substantially complete," and expects it will be completed in the coming weeks. The company declined to comment beyond its statement. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is tracking the situation, a spokeswoman for the agency said.U.S. Senator Mark Warner, vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, said in a statement that it would not be an "exaggeration to suggest that a breach such as this represents a real threat to the economic security of Americans."Equifax's breach follows rival Experian Plc's breach two years ago that exposed sensitive personal data of some 15 million people who applied for service with T-Mobile US. "This is clearly a disappointing event for our company, and one that strikes at the heart of who we are and what we do," Equifax Chief Executive Richard Smith said in a statement, adding that the company is conducting "a thorough review of our overall security operations."LIKELIHOOD FOR PHISHING SEEN HIGHCybersecurity experts said the breach was very serious. "On a scale of 1 to 10, this is a 10. It affects the whole credit reporting system in the United States because nobody can recover it, everyone uses the same data," said Avivah Litan, a Gartner Inc analyst who tracks identity theft and fraud. Equifax handles data on more than 820 million consumers and more than 91 million businesses worldwide and manages a database with employee information from more than 7,100 employers, according to its website.Ryan Kalember, senior vice president of cyber security firm Proofpoint, said the hack was "especially troubling" because companies typically offer free credit monitoring services from firms such as Equifax, which has now itself suffered a huge cyber attack. "The information is very personal - the likelihood that it could be used for phishing is very high," said Matt Tait, a former analyst at the British intelligence service GCHQ and a cyber security researcher.Equifax said consumers could check if their information had been impacted at, www.equifaxsecurity2017.com. Representative Maxine Waters, a member of the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee, said in a statement that she would reintroduce legislation to "enhance consumer protection tools available to minimize the harm caused by identity theft." Three days after Equifax discovered the breach, three top Equifax executives, including Chief Financial Officer John Gamble and a president of a unit, sold Equifax shares or exercised options to dispose off stock worth about $1.8 million, regulatory filings show. It was not clear whether these transactions were part of a pre-arranged sales plan.Equifax said in a statement that the executives were not aware that an intrusion had occurred when they sold their shares.Don't forget to subscribe to our latest YouTube Channel.
Sao Paulo: Regional authorities confirmed on Friday the alleged massacre of several indigenous people from an uncontacted Amazonian tribe by illegal miners in northwestern Brazil, according to the Amazonia Real news agency.



Prosecutors told Amazonia Real that federal police and the Public Prosecutor's office were investigating the killings of an unspecified number of indigenous people reportedly killed in August in the Sao Paulo municipality of Olivenca, on the border with Peru and Colombia.



Although the report did not confirm the death toll, suspects or weapons used, it cited other indigenous people as saying up to 20 tribal members were killed.



Prosecutors are also investigating another complaint about the alleged killing of indigenous people from the isolated Warikama Djapar tribe. The attack would have occurred in May but has not been confirmed.



Both killings would have taken place on the Vale do Javari indigenous land that lies in an area of about 8.5 million hectares (21 million acres), about 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) from Manaus, capital of Amazonas state.



According to the National Indian Foundation (FUNAI), there are at least 14 references to isolated indigenous peoples in the area.

Indigenous leader Adelson Kora Kanamari said in an interview with the Amazon Real portal that between 18 and 21 indigenous people "have been attacked and killed."



"If these stories are confirmed, President (Michel) Temer and his government bear a heavy responsibility for this genocidal attack," Survival said.



The killings were also denounced by Survival International, which said the killings allegedly took place last month but only came to light after goldminers had boasted of the killings.



It said two goldminers had been arrested. Survival also condemned budget cuts to FUNAI.



"All these tribes should have had their lands properly recognized and protected years ago," it said.



"The government's open support for those who want to open up indigenous territories is utterly shameful, and is setting indigenous rights in Brazil back decades."



A court order last week blocked a decree signed by Temer to open up a huge area of the Amazonian rainforest to large-scale mining.

Speaking to Amazonia Real, Kanamari explained that the situation in the region is "very critical."



"The invaders are landowners, hunters, miners. Many (indigenous) are being killed in isolation, but we don't know the exact dates or number of deaths," he said.



Temer's government has come in for international criticism after rowing back on environmental and indigenous rights issues amid an economic crisis.






Beijing: China on Friday defended Pakistan's counter-terrorism efforts, following President Donald Trump's accusation that Islamabad harbours militants attacking US and Afghan troops.



"The government and people of Pakistan have made huge sacrifices in the fight against terrorism and such efforts and sacrifices are there for everyone to see," Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi said.



"The international community should recognise that... and give Pakistan the full credit it deserves," he added.



The remarks were made at a press briefing in Beijing following a meeting between Wang and Pakistan's Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif.



In a major speech outlining US policy on Afghanistan last month, Trump slammed Pakistan for offering safe havens to "agents of chaos" and suggested relations would be adjusted immediately. He offered few details.



Following Trump's remarks, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson also cautioned that Pakistan could lose its status as a major US ally and see its US military aid suspended.



Asif on Friday said it is Pakistan's firm view that maintaining regional security is a "critical" priority and focus should remain on peaceful solutions.



He also thanked Beijing for its role in hosting a trilateral Afghanistan-China-Pakistan foreign ministers' forum, which is expected to take place before the end of this year.



Islamabad has repeatedly denied claims of being soft on militancy, accusing the United States of ignoring the thousands who have been killed in Pakistan and the billions spent fighting extremists.



Analysts have long stated that Pakistan offers support to militant proxies, including the Afghan Taliban, as a bulwark against what it considers to be the existential threat of neighbouring India.



Last year, the then-top foreign official Sartaj Aziz stated that the Taliban's leadership does enjoy safe haven inside Pakistan, which Islamabad uses as a "lever" to pressure the group into talks with Kabul.




Mexico City: One of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded in Mexico struck off the country's southern coast, toppling hundreds of buildings and sending panicked people fleeing into the streets in the middle of the night. At least 61 people were reported dead.



The quake that hit minutes before midnight Thursday was strong enough to cause buildings to sway violently in the capital city more than 650 miles (1,000 kilometers) away. As beds banged against walls, people still wearing pajamas ran out of their homes and gathered in frightened groups.



Rodrigo Soberanes, who lives near San Cristobal de las Casas in Chiapas, the state nearest the epicenter, said his house "moved like chewing gum."



The furious shaking created a second national emergency for Mexican agencies already bracing for Hurricane Katia on the other side of the country. Intense rains were reported in the Gulf state of Veracruz, where the storm was expected to make landfall late Friday or early Saturday as a Category 2 storm that could bring life-threatening floods.



President Enrique Pena Nieto said Friday evening in a televised address that 61 people were killed  45 in Oaxaca state, 12 in Chiapas and 4 in Tabasco  and he declared three days of national mourning.



The worst-hit city was Juchitan, on the narrow waist of Oaxaca known as the Isthmus, where 36 quake victims died.



About half of Juchitan's city hall collapsed in a pile of rubble and streets were littered with the debris of ruined houses. A hospital also collapsed, Pena Nieto said after touring the city and meeting with residents. The patients were relocated to other facilities.



The president said authorities were working to re-establish the supply of water and food and provide medical attention to those who need it. He vowed the government would help people rebuild and called for people to come together.



"The power of this earthquake was devastating, but we are certain that the power of unity, the power of solidarity and the power of shared responsibility will be greater," Pena Nieto said.



Mexico City escaped major damage, but the quake terrified sleeping residents, many of whom still remember the catastrophic 1985 earthquake that killed thousands and devastated large parts of the city.



Families were jerked awake by the grating howl of the capital's seismic alarm. Some shouted as they dashed out of rocking apartment buildings. Even the iconic Angel of Independence Monument swayed as the quake's waves rolled through the city's soft soil.



Elsewhere, the extent of destruction was still emerging. Hundreds of buildings collapsed or were damaged, power was cut at least briefly to more than 1.8 million people and authorities closed schools Friday in at least 11 states to check them for safety.



The Interior Department reported that 428 homes were destroyed and 1,700 were damaged in various cities and towns in Chiapas.



"Homes made of clay tiles and wood collapsed," said Nataniel Hernandez, a human rights worker living in Tonala, Chiapas, who warned that inclement weather threatened to bring more down.



"Right now it is raining very hard in Tonala, and with the rains it gets much more complicated because the homes were left very weak, with cracks," Hernandez said by phone.



The earthquake's impact was blunted somewhat by the fact that it was centered 100 miles offshore. It hit off Chiapas' Pacific coast, near the Guatemalan border, with a magnitude of 8.1  equal to Mexico's strongest quake of the past century. It was slightly stronger than the 1985 quake, the U.S. Geological Survey said.



The epicenter was in a seismic hotspot in the Pacific where one tectonic plate dives under another. These subduction zones are responsible for producing some of the biggest quakes in history, including the 2011 Fukushima disaster and the 2004 Sumatra quake that spawned a deadly tsunami.



The quake struck at 11:49 p.m. Thursday (12:49 a.m. EDT; 4:49 a.m. GMT Friday). Its epicenter was 102 miles (165 kilometers) west of Tapachula in Chiapas, with a depth of 43.3 miles (69.7 kilometers), the USGS said.



Dozens of strong aftershocks rattled the region in the following hours.



Three people were killed in San Cristobal, including two women who died when a house and a wall collapsed, Chiapas Gov. Manuel Velasco said.



"There is damage to hospitals that have lost energy," he said. "Homes, schools and hospitals have been damaged."



In Tabasco, one child died when a wall collapsed, and an infant died in a children's hospital when the facility lost electricity, cutting off the ventilator, Gov. Arturo Nunez said.



The quake triggered tsunami warnings and some tall waves, but there was no major damage from the sea. Authorities briefly evacuated a few residents of coastal Tonala and Puerto Madero because of the warning.



The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center reported waves of 3.3 feet (1 meter) above the tide level off Salina Cruz, Mexico. Smaller tsunami waves were observed on the coast or measured by ocean gauges elsewhere.



In neighboring Guatemala, President Jimmy Morales appeared on national television to call for calm while emergency crews surveyed damage. Officials later said only four people had been injured and several dozen homes damaged.



The quake occurred near the point of collision between three tectonic plates, the Cocos, the Caribbean and the North American.



The area has seen at least six other quakes of magnitude 7.0 or greater since 1900. Three of those occurred within a nerve-wracking nine-month span in 1902-1903, according to Mexico's National Seismological Service.



Scientists were still reviewing data, but a preliminary analysis indicated the quake was triggered by the sudden breaking or bending of the Cocos plate, which dives beneath Mexico. That type of process does not happen often in subduction zones. Usually, big quakes in subduction zones occur along the boundary between the sinking slab and the overriding crust.



"It's unusual, but it's not unheard of," said seismologist Susan Hough of the USGS, describing how stresses on the seafloor can produce big earthquakes.



The new quake matched the force of a magnitude 8.1 quake that hit the country June 3, 1932, roughly 300 miles (500 kilometers) west of Mexico City.



A study by the seismological service concluded that that quake killed about 400 people and caused severe damage around the port of Manzanillo. A powerful aftershock that hit 19 days later caused a tsunami that devastated 15 miles (25 kilometers) of coastline, killing 75 people.



In Veracruz, tourists abandoned coastal hotels as winds and rains picked up ahead of Hurricane Katia's expected landfall. Workers set up emergency shelters and cleared storm drains, and forecasters warned that the storm threatened to bring torrential rainfall, high winds and a dangerous storm surge off the Gulf of Mexico.



Katia had maximum sustained winds of 105 mph (165 kph), according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center.



"The arrival of (hashtag)Katia may be particularly dangerous for slopes affected by the earthquake. Avoid these areas," Pena Nieto tweeted.
Washington: US President Donald Trump has signed a USD 15 billion hurricane relief package passed by Congress, one that also raises the debt ceiling and avoids a looming shutdown by funding government into early December.



Hours earlier the House of Representatives voted 316 to 90 to approve the package, which was the result of an agreement struck between Trump and congressional Democrats in a hurried effort to free up emergency funding after Hurricane Harvey swamped Texas, and as a second monster storm bears down on Florida.



The Senate easily passed the bill Thursday, 80 to 17. Trump signed the measure on Friday "providing much-needed support for storm survivors," White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said on Twitter.



The bill extends US borrowing authority and funds the federal government until December 8 and frees up emergency relief funding just as Florida braces for a direct hit from Hurricane Irma, which has already been blamed for 17 deaths across the Caribbean.



Some Republican conservatives had strongly objected to the deal because they wanted a stand-alone hurricane relief bill unconnected to efforts to raise the federal borrowing limit and keep the government open.



All 90 House members against the measure were Republicans, including four from storm-ravaged Texas.



"Disaster assistance should be considered on its own  not to advance another agenda," Texas Republican Mac Thornberry said after voting against the package.



House Republican Sean Duffy called the deal "foolish," stressing Trump inadvertently handed Democrats substantial leverage ahead of fiscal debates in December, in large part because Republicans will be pressing ahead at that time with a tax reform bid.



Congress's immediate focus, however, was funnelling sufficient funding to government authorities like the Federal Emergency Management Administration, which has been helping victims of Hurricane Harvey that recently pummeled Texas, and is preparing for devastation in Florida.



House Republican Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, whose Florida district was bracing for a direct Irma impact, expressed her "heartfelt gratitude" to Congress for the aid.



Of the $15.25 billion in relief funding, about half is designated for FEMA's disaster relief fund.



FEMA has burned through much of its funding, due to the scope of Harvey and technical advancements that allow the agency to distribute money more quickly than in previous disasters.



Trump's homeland security advisor Tom Bossert said FEMA was operating at full tilt, "but there will be a break in their operations if they run out of money. That's why that supplemental legislation was so necessary."



With Harvey relief efforts expected to top USD 100 billion, lawmakers and officials agreed that the latest aid should be just a first step in broader federal assistance to come.



"Congress came and stepped up in a bipartisan way," Bossert told reporters at the White House.



"We're going to have to go back I'm sure for additional resources as these storms continue to hurt our states and our citizens," he added.



As Floridians prepared for the storm or evacuated, Trump assured that authorities were ready for Irma.



"It's a really bad one, but we are prepared at the highest level," Trump shouted to reporters as he boarded a helicopter for Camp David, the retreat in Maryland where he will hold a weekend cabinet meeting and monitor the storm.



The National Hurricane Center offered blunt warnings about the "extremely dangerous" storm.



"Irma is likely to make landfall in Florida as a dangerous major hurricane, and will bring life-threatening wind impacts to much of the state regardless of the exact track of the center."
Havana: Hurricane Irma weakened slightly on Saturday as it battered Cuba's northern coast while millions of Florida residents were told to evacuate after the storm killed 21 people in the eastern Caribbean and left devastation in its wake.



Downgraded as a Category 4 storm, Irma moved along the Camaguey Archipelago with 155 mph (250 kph) winds early on Saturday, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said. It has shifted between the Category 4 and Category 5 classification, which is used for the most powerful storms.



Irma, one of the fiercest Atlantic storms in a century, was expected to hit Florida early on Sunday, causing major damage due to high winds and flooding to the fourth-largest U.S. state by population.



The scenes of destruction along Cuba's north central coast were similar to those seen in other Caribbean islands over the last week as Irma barreled in for a direct hit at Ciego de Avila province around midnight.



Choppy seas, grey skies, sheets of rain, bending palm trees, huge waves crashing over sea walls and downed power lines filled state-run television's evening news bulletin.



Irma was forecast to bring dangerous storm surges of up to 6 feet (two meters) to parts of the island's northern coast and the central and northwestern Bahamas.



Meteorologists warned that by early Saturday far greater devastation was sure to be caused as Irma moved westward through Sancti Spiritus and Villa Clara provinces where it is forecast to turn north toward Florida.



Irma was about 245 miles (395 km) south-southeast of Miami, the NHC said in its latest advisory.



"RUNNING OUT OF TIME"



With the storm barreling toward the United States, officials in Florida ordered an unprecedented evacuation, racing to overcome clogged highways, gasoline shortages and move elderly residents to safety.



"We are running out of time. If you are in an evacuation zone, you need to go now. This is a catastrophic storm like our state has never seen," Governor Rick Scott told reporters.



A total of 5.6 million people, or 25 percent of the state's population, were ordered to evacuate Florida, according to the Florida Division of Emergency Management.



The United States has been hit by only three Category 5 storms since 1851, and Irma is far larger than the last one in 1992, Hurricane Andrew, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).



President Donald Trump said in a videotaped statement that Irma was "a storm of absolutely historic destructive potential" and called on people to heed recommendations from government officials and law enforcement. In Palm Beach, Trump's waterfront Mar-a-Lago estate was ordered evacuated.



MANDATORY EVACUATIONS, GAS SHORTAGES



Irma was set to hit the United States two weeks after Hurricane Harvey, a Category 4 storm, struck Texas, killing about 60 people and causing property damage estimated at up to $180 billion in Texas and Louisiana. Officials were preparing a massive response, the head of FEMA said.



About nine million people in Florida may lose power, some for weeks, said Florida Power & Light Co, which serves almost half of the state's 20.6 million residents.



Amid the exodus, nearly one-third of all gas stations in Florida's metropolitan areas were out of gasoline, with scattered outages in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina, according to Gasbuddy.com, a retail fuel price tracking service.



Mandatory evacuations on Georgia's Atlantic coast and some of South Carolina's barrier islands were due to begin on Saturday. Virginia and Alabama were under states of emergency.



The governors of North and South Carolina warned residents to remain on guard even as the storm took a more westward track, saying their states still could experience severe weather, including heavy rain and flash flooding, early next week.



As it roared in from the east, Irma ravaged small islands in the northeastern Caribbean, including Barbuda, St. Martin and the British and U.S. Virgin Islands, flattening homes and hospitals and ripping down trees.



But even as they came to grips with the destruction, residents of the islands faced the threat of another major storm, Hurricane Jose.



Jose, expected to reach the northeastern Caribbean on Saturday, is an extremely dangerous storm nearing Category 5 status, with winds of up to 150 mph (240 kph), the NHC said.
Islamabad: India should resolve the Kashmir issue through "political and diplomatic" means rather than "abusing" Pakistan, army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa has said.



Bajwa, while addressing a Defence Day gathering in Rawalpindi on Friday night, said people of South Asia need peace for prosperity.



Accusing India of "killing" innocent people on the LoC, he said the country should give peace a chance.



"It is in interest of India that for a durable solution to the issues (in Kashmir), it should prefer political and diplomatic process instead of abusing Pakistan and using bullets against Kashmiris," the Chief of Army Staff said.



Bajwa said Pakistan wants to address the Kashmir issue through dialogue.



"Welfare of millions of people of these two countries is linked with permanent peace. But for it to happen, it is necessary that innocent and unarmed people on the LoC are not targeted through a planned way," he said.



Pakistan will continue to extend "political, moral, and diplomatic support" to Kashmiris for their right to self- determination in line with the UN Security Council resolutions, he said.



He accused India of trying to destabilise Pakistan through "militancy and usurping its share of water".



The army chief also claimed that Pakistan was a responsible nuclear state.



"Our nuclear programme is just a deterrent against the enemy that introduced this unconventional war in the region," he said.



Bajwa said that Pakistan was against terrorism.



"We are against war and terrorism. We want relationship with all countries based on mutual respect and equality," he said



Pakistan celebrates the Defence Day to mark the 1965 war with India.
Havana: Millions in Florida were ordered to evacuate as Hurricane Irma roared toward the state after lashing Cuba, killing 21 people in the eastern Caribbean and leaving catastrophic destruction in its wake.



Irma, one of the most powerful Atlantic storms in a century, was expected to hit Florida on Sunday morning, bringing massive damage from wind and flooding to the fourth-largest state by population. A historic evacuation, including from areas around Miami, has been made more difficult by clogged highways, gasoline shortages and the challenge of moving older people in the top retirement destination.



The storm could regain strength and hit the Florida Keys as a Category 5 hurricane, the most powerful designation by the National Hurricane Center, with sustained winds of 160 miles per hour (258 km per hour).



The United States has experienced only three Category 5 storms since 1851, and Irma is far larger than the last one to hit the United States in 1992, Hurricane Andrew, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).



"We are running out of time. If you are in an evacuation zone, you need to go now. This is a catastrophic storm like our state has never seen," Governor Rick Scott told reporters, adding that the storm's effects would be felt from coast to coast in the state.



A total of 5.6 million people, or 25 percent of the state's population, was ordered to evacuate Florida, according to the Florida Division of Emergency Management.



U.S. President Donald Trump said in a videotaped statement that Irma was "a storm of absolutely historic destructive potential" and called on people to heed recommendations from government officials and law enforcement. In Palm Beach, Trump's waterfront Mar-a-Lago estate was ordered evacuated.



Irma, currently a Category 4 storm with winds of 155 mph (250 kph), was about 315 miles (510 km) southeast of Miami, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in its latest advisory.



As it moved between the Bahamas and Cuba, Irma was forecast to bring dangerous storm surges of up to 10 feet (3 meters) on parts of Cuba's northern coast and the central and northwestern Bahamas.



Cuba's Communist government has traditionally made rigorous preparations when the island is threatened by storms, and the country was at a near standstill as Irma began to drive up the northern coast from east to west.



Irma was forecast to move closer to land as it passed the center of Cuba later in the day and on Saturday, when it could seriously damage resorts on vulnerable keys. Tourists, and even the dolphins that entertain them, were evacuated. The storm was then predicted to veer north, sparing western Cuba and Havana.



In the Cuban fishing town of Caibarien, residents secured their roofs and moved belongings from low-lying coastal areas to houses higher up inland as the skies clouded over. Most said they were worried but well prepared.



Residents in the central province of Camaguey hunkered down on Friday night for the arrival of the storm."There are really strong gusts of wind. It is pouring off and on, and the lights are out," Anaida Gonzalez, a retired nurse, said by telephone.



'DON'T BE COMPLACENT'



Irma was set to hit the United States two weeks after Hurricane Harvey, a powerful Category 4 storm, struck Texas, killing about 60 people and causing property damage estimated at up to $180 billion in Texas and Louisiana. Officials were preparing a massive response, the head of FEMA said.



About 9 million people in Florida may lose power, some for weeks, said Florida Power & Light Co, the biggest power company in Florida serving almost half of the state's 20.6 million residents.



Amid the exodus, nearly one-third of all gas stations in Florida's metropolitan areas were out of gasoline, with scattered outages in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina, according to Gasbuddy.com, a retail fuel price tracking service.



In Miami-Dade County alone, Mayor Carlos Gimenez said authorities had asked about 660,000 residents to evacuate, adding that this was the largest evacuation he could remember in the county.



Supermarkets in Miami were full of shoppers picking up last-minute supplies and food, and long lines of cars wrapped around the few gas stations still open.



As they braced for Irma, people seeking shelter recalled Hurricane Andrew in 1992, a Category 5 hurricane remembered as the most destructive to ever hit the state.



A shelter in southwest Miami filled to capacity just hours after it opened its doors. People packed into a gymnasium were thinking about the past while worrying about the future.



"I'm scared because it is bigger than Andrew," said Ann Samuels, 49, as she arrived to the Robert Morgan Education Center. On the short trip from her home she said her mind went back to 1992 when Hurricane Andrew forced her and her two young children and eight others into a closet. "They say to not stress and not worry, but how can you not?" she added.



Steve Ortega, 29, decided to go home after peeking into the packed shelter. He was 5 years old when Andrew damaged his home.



"I will never forget the noise. That ... was the scariest thing I ever heard in my life," adding he was worried but optimistic his home would remain standing through Irma.



Mandatory evacuations on Georgia's Atlantic coast and some of South Carolina's barrier islands were due to begin on Saturday. Virginia and Alabama were under states of emergency.



The governors of North and South Carolina warned residents to remain on guard even as the storm took a more westward track, saying their states still could experience severe weather, including heavy rain and flash flooding, early next week.



On Wall Street, the S&P 500 ended slightly lower as investors braced for potential damage from Irma as it moved toward Florida. Many economists are predicting that third-quarter gross domestic product will take a hit due to the hurricanes.



HURRICANE JOSE REACHES CATEGORY 4



As it roared in from the east, Irma ravaged small islands in the northeastern Caribbean, including Barbuda, St. Martin and the British and U.S. Virgin Islands, flattening homes and hospitals and ripping down trees.



Even as they came to grips with the massive destruction, residents of the islands hit hardest by Irma faced the threat of another major storm, Hurricane Jose.



Jose, expected to reach the northeastern Caribbean on Saturday, was an extremely dangerous Category 4 storm, with winds of up to 150 mph (240 kph), the NHC said on Friday.
Riyadh: Saudi Arabia on Saturday suspended any dialogue with Qatar, accusing it of distorting facts soon

after a phone call between the rulers of both countries offered hope of a breakthrough in the three-month-old Gulf crisis.



Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, spoke to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to express interest in talks, state media from both sides said, in the first public dialogue between the leaders after the US president offered to mediate in the crisis.



Saudi Arabia led the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain in cutting ties with Qatar in June, accusing it of bankrolling Islamist extremist groups and of being too close to regional rival Iran. Doha denies the accusations.



The crown prince "welcomed this desire," the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) initially reported, adding "details will be announced after Saudi Arabia reaches an agreement with UAE and Bahrain and Egypt".



But the prospect of a thaw quickly died down after SPA subsequently accused Qatar's state media of wrongly implying that Saudi Arabia had initiated the outreach.



"What was published by Qatar News Agency is continuation of Qatari authority's distortion of facts," SPA said, adding that any dialogue was now suspended.



The development came after US President Donald Trump on Friday spoke separately with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE.



"The President underscored that unity among the United States' Arab partners is essential to promoting regional stability and countering the threat of Iran," the White House said.



"The President also emphasised that all countries must follow through on commitments... to defeat terrorism, cut off funding for terrorist groups, and combat extremist ideology."



When he offered to mediate, Trump said he believed the dispute could be solved "fairly easily".



In Washington on Thursday, Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, a key figure involved in mediation attempts, met Trump and gave an upbeat assessment of his efforts so far.



But in a statement early on Friday, the Saudi-led bloc had showed no signs of backing down as it questioned the Kuwaiti emir's statement that Qatar would be willing to accept their 13 demands.



The demands include shutting Doha-based broadcaster Al-Jazeera, closing a Turkish military base in the emirate and downgrading Qatari diplomatic ties with Iran.



The bloc also voiced "regret" about the Kuwaiti ruler's statement "on the success of mediation in stopping military intervention".



Instead, the four Arab states stressed that "the military option has not been and will not be considered" under any circumstances.



Kuwait has emerged as a key mediator in the crisis, while the United States has given mixed signals on its policy.



Riyadh and Doha are both key allies of the United States. Trump, who chose Saudi Arabia for his first overseas visit as president in May, two weeks before the crisis erupted, immediately expressed staunch support for Saudi Arabia.



Some other US officials including Secretary of State Rex Tillerson have adopted a more measured tone.



Tillerson and Sheikh Mohammed announced in July they had signed an agreement to fight terrorism, built on decisions made at a Riyadh summit in May to "wipe terrorism from the face of the Earth".



Qatar hosts a huge US air base, home to the headquarters of Centcom -- the regional command which leads operations against the Islamic State jihadist group.



Sheikh Tamim is set to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel for talks on September 15, in what will be his first trip to a western capital since the crisis began.
Islamabad: Pakistan's new prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Saturday became the country's first premier to fly in a US-made F-16 fighter aircraft, officials said.



Abbasi, during a visit to the newly-established Airpower Center of Excellence (ACE) at an operational air base of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), flew in the single-engine supersonic multirole fighter aircraft.



The 58-year-old became the first-ever prime minister of Pakistan to participate in an air force sortie. The US-made F-16 fighter aircraft belonged to the No 9 Squadron of the PAF.



Air chief Sohail Aman, sitting in another F-16 aircraft, also participated in the training mission.



It was the first time in the history of Pakistan that a prime minister participated in a flying mission sitting in the rear cockpit of a fighter jet.



The facility at the Mushaf Air base in Punjab's Sargodha city is a premier institution which has been equipped with state-of-the-art facilities and infrastructure.



Besides training PAF personnel, the ACE would also train the combat crew of friendly air forces by conducting multinational, training exercises, the report said.



Abbasi was briefed on the ongoing exercise 'Saffron Bandit' and was informed that the first-ever multinational exercise will be held in October and would have participation from personnel from 19 air forces.



'Saffron Bandit' is a combat exercise by PAF involving fighter jets and ground troops with elements from the Army Aviation and Army Air Defence. It is held once in three years.
By Indo-Asian News Service: A civilian was injured on Saturday in heavy shelling and firing by the Pakistani Army on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district.

The incident occurred near Sagra village of Mankote area. The injured has been shifted to hospital, the police official added.

The firing exchanges started between the Indian and Pakistani Army after the latter resorted to unprovoked, indiscriminate ceasefire violation, Defence Ministry sources said.

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The Pakistani Army is using mortars, automatics and small weapons to target Indian military and civilian facilities in the area, the defence sources said. "Indian positions are retaliating strongly and effectively."

Pakistan's ceasefire violation on the LoC has come on a day Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh begins his four-day visit to the state.

Also Read:

Jammu and Kashmir: 4 ceasefire violations by Pakistan; 3 jawans injured

Jammu and Kashmir: Army jawan killed in Pakistan firing in Krishna Ghati sector

Also Watch:

3 militants flee from encounter site in North Kashmir's Bandipora

--- ENDS ---
United Nations: Citing the "dramatic floods" in India and Nepal, UN chief Antonio Guterres has urged nations to commit to the historic Paris deal to address the threats posed by climate change as natural disasters become frequent and more devastating.



Weeks of torrential monsoon rains and catastrophic flooding in India, Nepal, and Bangladesh have devastated the lives of millions of children and families.



UNICEF estimates that almost 16 million children and their families are in urgent need of life-saving support.



Since mid-August, there have been at least 1,288 reported deaths.



"First of all, climate change today is undeniable. In the US, as in Portugal and other parts of the world, we are seeing heat waves, we are seeing dramatic floods Sierra Leone, India, Nepal we always had floods in the past but now natural disasters are becoming more frequent, more intense and with more devastating consequences," Guterres said.



He said as deserts are progressing, glaciers diminishing and sea levels starting to rise, it is clearly a threat to humanity.



"To fight it we have today an important instrument the Paris Agreement. We need to make sure that all countries commit themselves to that [accord]," he said.



Without naming the US, which has decided to pull out of the climate accord, Guterres said wherever countries are not able to commit to the climate deal at the government level, societies, the business communities, and cities should lead the process.



The Paris climate deal aims to prevent the Earth from heating up by 2 degrees Celsius since the start of the industrial age. The US is the second largest emitter of greenhouse gases after China.



" In this way, we can be able to meet the Paris Agreement, but with an increased ambition because Paris is not enough to be able to contain global warming at the level that is acceptable," he added.



With the world facing the challenges of terrorism, extremism and the refugee crisis, Guterres said the UN must be an instrument for a surge in diplomacy for peace. He said nations must forget their and come together to put an end to these tragic series of crises, violence and conflicts.



"Because these conflicts are also becoming more and more interlinked and more linked to global terrorism. So we need to fight terrorists where they are, but we need to address the root causes of terrorism," he said.



Guterres asserted that there is need for nations to come together to solve conflicts and at the same time build cohesive societies where "people can feel they belong, where they don't feel discriminated [against] and respect human rights, to make sure that terrorist organisations have more and more difficulties recruiting people".



"So we need in sustainable development, in human rights and in a peace and security approach to combine all the UN instruments in order to be able to defeat terrorism," he added.



Earlier this week, Guterres had said that India, China and the US have experienced the most natural disasters since 1995 as he urged nations to get serious about keeping the ambition high on climate action.



"The United States, followed by China and India, have experienced the most disasters since 1995," Guterres had said, adding that last year alone, 24.2 million people were displaced by sudden-onset disasters three times as many as by conflict and violence.



Guterres had said the UN stands ready to support relief efforts in any way possible. He added that the number of natural disasters has nearly quadrupled since 1970.


Editors note: Regular columnist Charles Krauthammer is ill this week.

House Speaker Paul Ryan could not have been more clear.

After meeting with his Republican caucus Wednesday morning on the first day back from their long summer break, he declared at a news conference that Democrats call for a three-month extension of the governments borrowing limit was ridiculous.

Thats ridiculous and disgraceful, that they want to play politics with the debt ceiling at this moment, he repeated. He called it unworkable, said it would jeopardize hurricane response and called out Democratic leaders by name for promoting what I dont think is a good idea.

About an hour later, Ryan and other GOP leaders sat in the White House with President Trump, who told them he wants ... a three-month increase of the debt ceiling, just as Democrats proposed.

Such chaos and confusion at the highest level of American government hadnt been seen since, well, the day before.

On Tuesday, even as the administration announced that it was ending protection from deportation for the 800,000 dreamers  mostly young people who know no country but America  there were signs that Trump had no idea what he was doing. As late as one hour before the decision was to be announced, administration officials privately expressed concern that Mr. Trump might not fully grasp the details of the steps he was about to take, and when he discovered their full impact, would change his mind, Michael Shear and Julie Hirschfeld Davis of the New York Times reported, citing an anonymous source.

Sure enough, Trump fired off a tweet Tuesday night that revised his position. He called on Congress to legalize the dreamers program and vowed to revisit this issue if Congress cant.

Even Trumps close advisers seem to have little knowledge of, much less control over, what he says and does.

Trump has signaled that he wants to end a free-trade deal with South Korea, even though his national security adviser, his defense secretary and the director of the National Economic Council all object. He and Defense Secretary James Mattis have contradicted each other about whether to talk with North Korea. Chief of Staff John Kellys attempts to tone down Trumps antics have reportedly led Trump to escalate his attacks  on Kelly. Trump has publicly criticized Attorney General Jeff Sessions and repeatedly contradicted Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. Ivanka Trump and husband Jared Kushner have let it leak that Trump ignored their advice on Charlottesville and other matters.

One imagines a future scene in the Situation Room:

The president: Why dont we bomb Guam so the North Koreans cant?

The secretary of state: Thats part of our country, sir.

The secretary of defense: We have thousands of troops there.

The national security adviser: And 150,000 innocent civilians.

The chief of staff: It would be a humanitarian and strategic catastrophe.

Ivanka Trump: Please dont do this, Dad.

Jared Kushner: [Silence.]

The president: Its settled. We begin bombing in five minutes. Lets hit Hawaii, too. But not my hotel in Waikiki.

The unreliability of Trump has put an unusual burden on Congress, which is ill equipped to bear it.

Outside the House caucus gathering the morning after Trumps immigration announcement, Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, an immigration hard-liner, angrily opposed legislative action for the dreamers, saying they can live in the shadows and demanding GOP leaders not divide our conference over an amnesty act.

Minutes later, Rep. Mike Coffman, R-Colo., took the opposite view, threatening to use a discharge petition with Democrats to force a vote on protecting the dreamers if the House doesnt act.

Ryan put the responsibility right back on Trump for the DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) legislation. We will not be advancing legislation that does not have the support of President Trump, because were going to work with the president on how to do this legislation, he said. Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., urged Trump to lead.

But what does Trump support?

We love the dreamers. ... We think the dreamers are terrific, Trump said last week, four days before putting them in jeopardy of deportation.

I have a great heart for the folks we are talking about, a great love for them, Trump said on the same day his administration announced the end of protection for the dreamers.

What does the president want? Nobody knows  not his advisers, not his fellow Republicans in Congress, and probably not Trump himself.

Milbank is a columnist for The Washington Post. Follow him on Twitter @Milbank.
Thumbs up to the organizers of and participants in the 2017 Labor Day Farm Tour, which was organized by the Friends of the Community Market.

The purpose of the tour, which featured six local farms, all of which are regular vendors at the Community Market, was to introduce people to the operations that provide them the daily sustenance of life. Six farms were on the tour, with four operated by by so-called millennials.

Its part of a back to the land movement thats been gathering steam across the nation in the last decade or so and is increasingly common in Central Virginia. Sustainability ... natural farming techniques vs. conventional farming with chemical fertilizers and pesticides ... conservation of resources ... humane treatment of livestock.

Folks who took part in the tour learned about the way in which these new, millennial farmers operate their businesses as opposed to large factory farms common today. From urban farming techniques to different irrigation systems predicated on water conservation, one thing was clear: These operations are worlds different from the massive farming operations that supply much of the nations food supply.

You can learn more about the Community Market and its agriculture-related programs online at LynchburgCommunityMarket.com.

* * *

Thumbs up to the men and women of the Lynchburg Fire Department for their tireless efforts on behalf of people who suffer from neuromuscular diseases.

Though the decades-long tradition of the Labor Day Muscular Dystrophy Association Telethon is no more, the LFD firefighters still carry out their fundraising efforts for the organization that funds research into the MD and related illnesses and helps sufferers with their everyday needs.

This year, the firefighters held their annual Fill the Boot Labor Day week fund drive, as firefighters spread out to various sites through Central Virginia to solicit donations to, literally, fill a firefighter boot. This old tradition was joined by a new one: a Women of the LFD calendar produced by the female members of the department.

Last year, the firefighters raised about $22,000 for the MDA; they hope to surpass that tally this year with the addition of the calendar.

Thanks to the LFD for all the work its members have done over the years to fight this disease. Theyve truly made a difference.
The activists of the Hindu outfit also threatened the owner to wind up his business or face consequences, following which a police complaint was filed.

By India Today Web Desk: Jawed Habib is the latest to come in line of fire from right-wing brigade over the latest advertisement for his hair salon, and the clamour today intensified as an angry mob attacked a salon in Unnao district.

The ad shows Hindu god and goddesses availing services at the Jawed Habib Hair Salon, which did not go well with many.

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The mob vandalised the property over the use of Hindu gods' caricature.

Police said the mob was led by workers of the Hindu Jagran Manch, who attacked the beauty salon in Motinagar in the district neighbouring the state capital.

As the mob vent its ire on the salon, some customers were trapped inside.

The activists of the Hindu outfit also threatened the owner to wind up his business or face consequences, following which a police complaint was filed.

A police team visited the salon and took some eyewitness account of the attack.

Regional Secretary of the Hindu Jagran Manch Vimal Dwivedi said sacrilege of Hindu gods would not be tolerated at any cost. "We will not allow the salon to operate," he said.

The controversial ad in question carried the caption 'Gods too visit JH Salon' that led to a case being registered against the hair-stylist in Hyderabad. Habib has already offered his apology and maintains that the ad was released in Kolkata by a partner concern without his knowledge.

With inputs from IANS

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Artists thread a link

Trinidads latest art studio owner Reah Lee Sing has partnered with the WIA for its 21st annual flagship art exhibition.

WIA president and artist Michelle Tappin-Davis and two other exhibitors, Stacy Phillip and Yvette Simon welcomed me to the exhibition which began August 29 and ends today. The theme, Thread, is symbolising We are women in art the thread that links the past to the future. The 53 pieces from 22 artists were accepted via a jurying and curating process conducted by Ethiopian-born artist Turunesh Raymond. The displays range from oil, acrylic, watercolour, dry media, textile, jewelry, mixed media, quilling, to wire bending and ceramics.

Many of the artists wear many hats, but are all essentially creatives. My goal is to provide encouragement to hone their technical skills to achieve greater success through the joys of earning a living through art, said Tappin-Davis. For me success is happiness and I believe that one is truly happy when they are doing what they love and doing it well. We also want to inspire younger artists to pursue excellence in their craft through workshops, plein air (outdoor) sessions and community/volunteer projects. Some full-time artists such as Marsha Trepte of Weecreate Concepts Ltd and Beverly Fitzwilliam-Harries told Newsday that in order for art to be sustainable the entrepreneurs must work in multiple creative genres and it is a necessity to have a joint income especially in these economic times.

As an organisation, we are also working on finding a space to call our own to host meetings, workshops and exhibitions, as well as sourcing funding for our projects as an NGO. Enrolling in WIA is a way to share costs in order to exhibit and market their work collectively, since the art is curated and prevents the artists work from getting lost in a crowd.

Marketing efforts are also multiplied by its 100-plus members, Tappin- Davis said.

WIA recently introduced associate membership for students 18 years and up, as well as for both genders who are indirectly affiliated with art/artists. Our intention is not to separate women from their families and loved ones, since we need the support. Other artists whose work are on display are Aneesha Baldeosingh, Delia Brathwaite, Sonia Alexis, Keomi Serrette, Adele Bynoe, Reita Antoine, Reah Lee Sing, Leona Fabien, Greta Michelle Joachim, Sahfyhr, Jennifer Chichester, Judith Shaw, Marrissa Richards, Virginia Pacifique Marshall, Ayodele Roseman, Eleanor Belix, Kathy Farabi, Liana Mottley and the late Valerie Belgraves Art for the People.

The challenge trophy for most outstanding work was awarded to retired primary school principal Virginia Pacifique-Marshall for her paintings Smoke Ceremony and Water Ritual.
Ministry moves SEA to March in 2019

Education Minister Anthony Garcia made the announcement yesterday during a press conference at the Education Towers, Port-of-Spain.

Garcia said that, on Thursday, Cabinet made the decision to change the date of the exam to the last week of the second term, which was usually in March, as it was more feasible and cost effective.

However, the change would be put into effect in the 2018 to 2019 academic year so that current Standard Five students would not be affected and would sit their exam as usual in May 2018.

Giving a brief history of the exam he said it began as the Common Entrance Exam in 1961 and changed to the SE A Exam in 2001. Both exams were held at the end of the second term.

However, when the Continuous Assessment Component (CAC) was introduced in 2012, the date changed to May to give students a better chance of improving their performance.

However, when we looked at the performance of the students over the period 2012 to 2017 and we did our analysis, we found that there was no fundamental change or improvement in the performance of our students. Other reasons for the change was given by Chief Education Officer Harrilal Seecharan.

He said since CAC was removed the additional time was no longer required. He said the May date created a number of challenges for the Ministry. For example, preparation for the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSE C) and the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations (CAPE) started around the same time as SE A. It created additional demands on the Ministry of Education for resources, for exam personnel, storage, and managing that process. Seecharan added that holding the exam in March would allow for the people who mark the exam papers to be available during the Easter vacation instead of having to take them away from schools during the term. It would allow more time to process and place students so that people would not have to work extremely long hours. Results could also be released earlier and it would allow more time for the secondary school registration process, review of results, and transfer requests.

Garcia concluded the press conference with a plea to stakeholders for support and asked that they deal with any problems with mutual respect.

We in education recognise that we can not do it alone, Garcia said.

We need the active support of our stakeholders.

And as a result, parents, teachers, TTUTA and all those stakeholders and all the actors in education, we are appealing to all of them.

Let us come together to work in the interest of our students.

Despite Garcias call, education stakeholders said they were completely unaware that the Ministry was considering the change.

National Parent Teacher Association president Zina Ramatali told Newsday her organisation was not aware that changing the date of SE A was on the Ministrys agenda and that she would have to discuss the matter with her membership.

Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA) president Lynsley Doodhai said he was surprised to hear the Ministrys announcement to revert to the SE A Examination to March because there was absolutely no consultation with TTUTA.

TTUTA represents the teachers in the Primary School system who prepare students to write the SE A examination.

It would have been a better option to hear the views of the teachers on this particular issue.

He added that the Ministry held a lengthy meeting with TTUTA on Thursday but they were not given any indication that the Ministry was considering such a change.
Petrotrin chief talks environmental responsibility

Harewood was questioned by reporters at the consultation on the National Protected Area System Plan at Petrotrins Pointe-a-Pierre Staff club yesterday.

The consultation was themed- Improving Forest and Protected Area Management in Trinidad and Tobago. He also declined to say whether the company had suggested an oil price to peg the 2018 budget before noting that the company had provided proposals to the Ministry of Finance in previous budgets.

Addressing the consultation, Harewood acknowledged the companys responsibility towards environmental responsibility while conducting exploration activities for crude oil.

As an organisation involved in the business of drilling for and producing oil and gas, there is an inevitable and immediate impact to the environment, Harewood said, adding, If we are to reflect on our history in this industry, much of it inherited, we have been in this business for more than one hundred years and there have been instances in the past where energy operators have worked at cross-purposes with nature with an unfortunate impact. We at Petrotrin recognise, however, that to remain sustainable, we must be able to strike a balance between the pursuit of our business operations and the critical requirement of preserving our environment, he said.

Petrotrin has experinced several oil spills over the past few years.

He observed that Petrotrin is the largest landowner after the State saying several of the companys pipelines and installations passed through or alongside protected areas and reserves.

He said some of the commonly known protected areas on land include Forest Reserve, the Trinity Hills Wildlife Sanctuary in Guayaguayare, and the Morne LEnfer area while its offshore operations were in close proximity to Soldado Rock.

Harewood said TT could be identified as one of the most biologically diverse countries in the Caribbean as there were 36 forest reserves, 13 wildlife sanctuaries, three environmentally sensitive areas and one marine protected area.

As the largest energy operator covering a significant proportion of this nations acreage, we cannot dispute at Petrotrin that we are neighbours to a significant amount of this countrys protected areas and an equally significant amount of this biological diversity.

This makes our role as custodians of the nations natural resources even more complicated, he said.

As neighbour to so many protected areas, it is not just our business to find and produce oil or oil and gas.

It is also our business to protect and preserve our natural heritage for future generations, he said, adding that the Pointea- Pierre oil refinery was also celebrating its 100th anniversary this yea
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Much-loved American TV host Jimmy Kimmel tweeted about the crazy-hit song, which sounds much like his name, saying that he loves it.

Jimmy Kimmel tweeted about Jimikki Kammal saying he loves it.

By India Today Web Desk: The craze of Jimikki Kammal has reached Hollywood.

Much-loved American TV host and comedian Jimmy Kimmel came to Twitter to let the world know that he loves the Malayali song.

What happened was, an Indian Twitter user shared a YouTube link of Jimikki Kammal, and tagged Kimmel to it, most probably because of uncanny similarity between the song's title and Kimmel's name.

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To everyone's surprise, Kimmel responded to the tweet.

He retweeted it earlier today saying he hadn't heard the song "until now", but now that he has, he loves it.

not until now, but I love it! https://t.co/6Qv9StTdpY- Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) September 8, 2017

The song Jimikki Kammal is from new Mohanlal-starrer movie, Velipadinte Pusthakam. In its original form and several awesome spin-offs, the song has become a social media craze.

The video that was shared with Kimmel was that of some students from Kerala dancing to the song during Onam.

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American actress Meghan Markle has been under the intense scrutiny of tabloids around the world thanks to her year-old relationship with none other than Prince Harry, 33. But in an interview with Vanity Fair, the 36-year-old doesn't sound like the spotlight has fazed her all that much. Two quotes from the interview gaining attention:

I can tell you that at the end of the day I think its really simple. Were two people who are really happy and in love. ... Im still the same person that I am, and Ive never defined myself by my relationship.

Were a couple. Were in love. Im sure there will be a time when we will have to come forward and present ourselves and have stories to tell, but I hope what people will understand is that this is our time. This is for us."

The full piece touches on how on the British tabs have reported on Markle's divorce, the fact that she has a black mother and a white father, and her upbringing in Los Angeles. It has its challenges, and it comes in waves," she says of the publicity. "But I still have this support system all around me, and, of course, my boyfriends support . Click for the full interview . (Read more Meghan Markle stories.)
It started with a simple enough question, "Why are these dogs sneezing so much?" But the subsequent research has led to a fascinating theory: The dogs, specifically African wild dogs in Botswana, use their sneezes to vote on pack activity, reports Atlas Obscura. "The sneeze acts as some kind of signal that shapes decision-making," Reena Walker, a student at Brown University and a research technician at the Botswana Predator Conservation Trust, tells National Geographic. She is co-author of a new study on the dogs in the journal The Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

The team didn't set out to study sneezing, but quickly became intrigued by what looked like a quorum. Following five packs, they were able to document that when an alpha dog sneezed during a "rally," or gathering, a total of three sneezes among the group resulted in a hunt. When a lesser dog sneezed, that number rose to 10, but still ultimately resulted in the decision to hunt. African wild dogs are among the world's most endangered species, per the BBC, and are considered opportunistic predators who hunt animals such as gazelles. Quorums, by the way, are also used by meerkats and other social carnivores, another researcher says, though sneezing seems to be unique to the dogs. (Check out what this guy sneezed out.)
As Florida prepares for what is shaping up to be the worst hurricane in the state's history, an Orlando woman has found herself the beneficiary of a little unexpected kindness from a stranger. On Thursday, Pam Brekke drove 30 miles to a Lowe's after she heard the store had received a surprise shipment of 216 generators that morning, WFTV reports. Brekke's 87-year-old father-in-law has congestive heart failure and is dependent on an oxygen tank, and she was worried for his safety if the power were to go out during the storm. By the time Brekke arrived at the store, however, the last generator had been claimed. She burst into tears, and that's when fellow customer Ramon Santiago approached her and offered her the generator from his cart, the last in the store. (See video here.)

"She need the generator," said Santiago, who doesn't speak much English. "It's OK. No worry for them." By chance, a TV news anchor at Orlando's WFTV, Nancy Alvarez, was in line at the time and captured video of Santiago and a tearful Brekke embracing, People reports. That footage went viral, and soon, Alvarez says, "people all over the country" were contacting her wanting to help. In the end, though, Alvarez returned to the store to film a second report, this one showing Santiago receiving a just-delivered generator from the store's managers. (Read more Hurricane Irma stories.)
With Hurricane Irma on its way toward Florida, islands in the Caribbean began to assess the damage. Many residents and tourists were left reeling after the storm ravaged some of the world's most exclusive tropical playgrounds, known for their turquoise waters and lush green vegetation. Among them: St. Martin, St. Barts, St. Thomas, Barbuda, and Anguilla, per the AP. Irma smashed homes, shops, roads, and schools; knocked out power, water, and telephone service; trapped thousands of tourists; and stripped trees of their leaves, leaving an eerie, blasted-looking landscape littered with sheet metal and splintered lumber.

Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and the eastern part of Cuba reported no major casualties or damage by mid-afternoon Friday after Irma rolled north of the Caribbean's biggest islands. Meanwhile, many of Irma's victims fled their islands on ferries and fishing boats for fear of Hurricane Jose, a Category 4 storm with 150 mph winds that could punish some places all over again this weekend. The dead included 11 on St. Martin and St. Barts, four in the US Virgin Islands, four in the British Virgin Islands, and one each on Anguilla and Barbuda. (Read more Hurricane Irma stories.)
Life Lynn DeKlyen was born Wednesday in Ann Arbor's University Hospital, and her first name is a poignant reminder of the sacrifice her mom made to bring her into this world. Carrie DeKlyen, a mom of five from Wyoming, Mich., died Saturday, two days after doctors took her off life support, per the AP. DeKlyen made headlines when she found out earlier this year she was pregnant with her sixth childjust weeks after she'd been diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme, an aggressively malignant brain tumor, per MLive.com. For her to continue the cancer treatment she'd begun as part of a clinical trial, DeKlyen would've had to have terminated her pregnancy. "She didn't want to do that," her sister-in-law tells People, even though her husband, Nick, says her doctor told her she'd die if she didn't receive immediate treatment.

Instead, DeKlyen went forward with the pregnancy, ending up in the ICU in late July after suffering a stroke and losing consciousness. Doctors decided Life Lynn needed to be delivered this week to boost her chances for survival, and so she was delivered by C-section at 24 weeks and five days, weighing 1 pound, 4 ounces. Nick DeKlyen tells the AP the newborn will be in the neonatal intensive care unit for four to five months, but that she's gaining weight, "almost breathing on her own," and is "going to be fine." He admits it's "painful" he lost his wife, who was also mom to their other five kids, ranging in age from 2 to 18, but that "this is what she wanted." He says his last words to his wife were: "I'll see you in heaven." A GoFundMe set up for the family has raised more than $95,000. (Read more brain tumor stories.)
A US Air Force pilot has died of injuries suffered in an aircraft crash at a training range about 100 miles northwest of Nellis Air Force Base in southern Nevada, base officials say. A brief statement released Friday by Nellis officials said the crash that killed Lt. Col. Eric Schultz occurred during a training flight Tuesday evening at the Nevada Test and Training Range, the AP reports. The statement didn't provide a hometown or age for Schultz (Military.com lists his age as 44) or details on the crash, but it said the aircraft was assigned to the Air Force Materiel Command. The Materiel Command's website says it conducts researches and tests weapons systems. The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that the type of aircraft is classified, per a 99th Air Base Wing spokeswoman.

The crash, which happened around 6pm Tuesday, was the first of two consecutive-day crashes: Two fighter jets crashed on Wednesday, the base announced. The two pilots in that incident reportedly ejected from their aircraft and were released after being examined by medical staff. The Capital Gazette reports Schultz was a 1991 graduate of Annapolis High School in Maryland and that his parents, Linda and Larry Schultz, live in Annapolis. Schultz joined the Air Force in 2001 with multiple college degrees under his belta YouCaring page set up to help his family says there were six, including a PhD in aerospace engineering. His parents reportedly traveled to Nevada on Wednesday to be with his wife, Julie, and other family members. Schultz is also survived by five children. (Read more US Air Force stories.)
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In the vote count concluded in early hours of Sunday, the election office announced Left alliance's Geeta Kumari as the President-elect for the JNUSU.

The election office announced Left alliance's Geeta Kumari (second from left) as the President-elect for the JNUSU.

By Indo-Asian News Service: Left-unity made a clean sweep in the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union (JNUSU) polls on Sunday grabbing all four seats for the central panel.

In the vote count concluded in early hours of Sunday, the election office announced Left alliance's Geeta Kumari as the President-elect for the JNUSU, who defeated the closest candidate Nidhi Tripathi of the RSS-affiliated Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) by a margin of over 400 votes.

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Kumari got a total of 1,506 votes against Tripathi's 1,042. Shabana Azmi of Bhagat Singh Ambedkar Phule Students' Association (BAPSA) ranked third with 935 votes.

Simone Zoya Khan, Duggirala Krishna and Shubhanshu Kumar from Left alliance were elected Vice President, General Secretary and Joint Secretary of the students union respectively.

CPI-Marxist party's Students' Federation of India (SFI), CPI-Marxist-Lenin (ML)-affiliated All India Students' Association (AISA) and an independent left group Democratic Students' Federation had formed a coalition to fight the election jointly.

Running for the post of President, Aparajita Raja of CPI-affiliated All India Students' Federation (AISF) could muster only 416 votes, while more students (127) chose to go for 'None of the above' (NOTA) option than voting for Congress-backed NSUI's Varshnika Singh, who received 82 votes.

Khan, the Vice President-elect of the union, received 1,876 votes against 1,026 of ABVP'S Durgesh Kumar, who was the second closest.

The University had held the election on Friday in which a total of 4,620 students cast their ballots to choose their representatives for next one year.

With the results, leftist groups maintained their hegemony intact in the campus known to be a bastion of communist parties.

Last year also all four central panel seats had gone to the SFI-AISA alliance. AISF had not fielded any candidate in that election.

The left had formed the alliance anticipating a tough competition from the ABVP, an ideological offspring from right wing RSS-BJP stable.

ALSO READ |

JNUSU polls: Aggressive pitches by potential president messiahs at presidential debate

Delhi: Ahead of JNUSU polls, late-night campaigning an everyday practice

JNUSU polls: Women candidates fielded by all parties for president's post this year

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Fairbanks, AK (99707)

Today

Mostly cloudy with snow flurries and snow showers, especially overnight. Low 21F. Winds light and variable. Chance of snow 60%. Snow accumulations less than one inch..

Tonight

Mostly cloudy with snow flurries and snow showers, especially overnight. Low 21F. Winds light and variable. Chance of snow 60%. Snow accumulations less than one inch.
New Delhi:

After all everything is not so bad between India and China. The two countries have come together to set up industry specific working groups to increase trade in order to reduce the gap between trade, said Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu. As on 2016-2017 India's trade deficit with China was $51.08 billion whereas the total bilateral trade between the two big Asian countries stood at $71.48 billion. Earlier Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu took to twitter to express his concern over the growing trade deficit with China.

Meeting with Mr.Zhong Shan,Minister of Commerce,China on the sidelines of ASEAN-India Economic Ministers Meeting in Manila,Philippines pic.twitter.com/aVH2necr4F a Suresh Prabhu (@sureshpprabhu) September 9, 2017

Currently Prabhu is attending the fifth East Asia Summit (EAS) Economic Ministers' Meeting. The minister would also participate in the trade ministers' meeting of 16 Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) member countries. Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a mega trade pact among 16 countries which aims to cover goods, services, investments, economic and technical cooperation, competition and intellectual property rights.

Concerned about growing trade deficit with China,we agreed to set up industry specific working groups,to promote more exports from India a Suresh Prabhu (@sureshpprabhu) September 9, 2017

At the sidelines of EAS meet, the minister met his Chinese counterpart Zhong Shan to discuss ways to promote bilateral trade between the countries. Prabhu, who recently took charge of the ministry, also met Japanese Minister of economy, trade and industry Hiroshige Seko and Korean Trade Minister Hyun Chong KIM. India wants greater market access in China for its goods and services like IT and pharma products. The country has also insisted upon China to increase investments.A

A

A

With agency inputs

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It was predominantly a three-cornered fight between the right wing ABVP, the Left Unity of AISA, SFI and DSF, and the Birsa Ambedkar Phule Students' Association (BAPSA).

By India Today Web Desk: The students of the Jawaharlal Nehru University today turned out in numbers to cast their votes to elect new office bearers of the students' union.

This year's election is touted to be significant because of the recent developments in the otherwise Left-dominated JNU campus. The varsity politics has hit the headlines several times over various issues in the past few years.

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It was predominantly a three-cornered fight between the right wing ABVP, the Left Unity of AISA, SFI and DSF, and the Birsa Ambedkar Phule Students' Association (BAPSA).

Here's the list of candidates and the latest vote count:President

Geeta (Left United) - 661; Nidhi (ABVP) - 568; Shabana Ali (BAPSA) -491; Farooq - 235; Aprajita - 229

Vice President Simone (Left) - 802; Durgesh (ABVP)- 592; Subodh (BAPSA) - 517

General Secretary Duggirala (Left) - 990; Nikunj (ABVP) - 519; Karam (BAPSA) - 529

Joint Secretary Subhanshu (Left) - 762; Vinod (BAPSA) - 494; Pankaj (ABVP) - 554

After counting of 2131 votes for president's post, United Left got 580 votes and ABVP 544 votes.

Seven candidates are in the fray for the post of the student's union president, which is currently held by the AISA in alliance with the SFI.

Total 4,639, or 58.69 per cent, of 7,903 voters cast their ballots, a drop from 59.60 per cent last year, according to the JNUSU election committee.

Polling was held in two phases -- between 9.30 am and 1 pm, and 2.30 pm and 5.30 pm.

Out of total 8,045 students of JNU, only 7,903 students were eligible to vote for the central panel of four, whereas the remaining 142 students who have taken up certificate courses can vote only for councillors, according to the election committee.

However, looking at the absolute numbers - this year total number of voters were just 8,045 because of seat cuts compared to last year's around 8,600 students.

Though the first phase witnessed a lower voter turnout, large number of voters turned up in the second phase.

Also Read:

JNU student union election sees nearly 60% voting

Delhi man arrested for masturbating while looking at German JNU scholar

Missing Najeeb case: CBI seeks details of JNU students involved in fight with him

WATCH: JNU student's suicide: Politicians, activists question Muthu Krishnan's death

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New Delhi:

After the RBI report on demonetisation, former Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Saturday attacked Modi govt saying it should have courage to accept that note ban was a wrong decision.

Demonetization was a wrong decision and the government should have the courage to accept it, Chidambaram said.

Chidambaram said the Reserve Bank of India report has revealed what he had said six months ago.

Finally the RBI report has revealed what I said 6 months ago, former FM Chidambaram said.

The government has gone into a defensive mode ever since the RBI has released its report on demonetization. The report has quashed all the big claims made by Prime Minister Modi at the time of note ban that it will flush out black money, fake currency and end the corruption.

Also Read | RBI data suggests Prime Minister Modis demonetisation move failed on most fronts

Last month, the Reserve Bank of India released its much-awaited report on demonetisation.

In the report, it said 99 per cent of the banned notes came back into the banking system which trashes all the big claims of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the move will flush out the black money and counterfeit currency.

According to the report, Rs 15.28 lakh crore out of the Rs 15.44 lakh crore in the currency that was ceased to be legal tender on November 8, 2016, has come back into the Indian banking system.

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New Delhi:

A massive fire that broke out on the first floor of the SBI building at Parliament Street in Delhi on Saturday evening was brought under control. As many as nine fire tenders have reached the spot to douse the flames.

Three personnel of DelhiA Fire Service were injured in the rescue operations

#Visuals Delhi: Fire broke out at first floor of SBI building at Parliament Street. 9 fire tenders at the spot. pic.twitter.com/KL03JywTLi a ANI (@ANI) September 9, 2017

Earlier on January 31, aA day before the Union Budget, a fire had brokenA out inA Parliament Houseas room number 50. Five fire tenders were rushed to the spot to douse the flames.

A UPS kept in one of the rooms of the Parliament House had caught fire sending plumes of smoke which alerted those present there, said Atul Garg, chief fire officer, Delhi Fire Services.
New Delhi:

In a gruesome incident, a five-year-old girl student was raped inside the premises of a private school in Delhis Gandhinagar on Saturday. The girl was admitted to a hospital where her condition is being told critical.

The girl returned home in a very critical condition and told her mother about the horrific incident. The mother of the girl then informed her father who took her to a hospital.

The girl told that one Vikas, a peon in the school allegedly raped her inside the school premises. The Police have registered a case against Vikas under POCSO act and investigating the matter. The peon Vikas, who was absconding after the incident has been arrested by the Police later in the day.

5-yr-old student allegedly raped inside premises of Tagore Public School in Gandhi Nagar; case registered under POCSO; peon arrested #Delhi  ANI (@ANI) September 9, 2017

The victim is said to be in critical condition.

(With Inputs from Rizwan)

Earlier on Friday, a 7-year-old student was brutally murdered inside the premises of Ryan International School in Haryanas Gurgaon. The police have arrested one Ashok Kumar, a bus conductor in the school, who reportedly attempted sexual assault before slitting the victims throat.

Read More | Ryan School murder: Principal suspended, CM Khattar directs fast track probe
New Delhi:

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajarag Dal have come out in support of a 60-year-old cook who got into controversy after she concealed her original identity and posed as Brahmin to get a job.

The controversy erupted after an IMD scientist Medha Khole filed a cheating complaint against her cook. The scientist claimed that her cook has hurt religious sentiments.

Following the complaint, there was unrest in the Sambhaji Brigade. Members of Sambhaji Brigade met Joint Commissioner of Police Ravindra Kadam and demanded action against the scientist for creating caste divide.

In the hour of grief, the members of VHP and Bajrang Dal visited the cooks house and extended support to her.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Srinagar:

CRPF Director General R R Bhatnagar on Saturday said the investigation and raids being conducted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) into terror funding led to a decline in stone pelting in Kashmir Valley.

"There is an effect following the actions by all the agencies. There is also an effect because of what NIA is doing. The way stone pelting was happening in a coordinated manner, this (NIA raids) will definitely stop that," Bhatnagar told reporters.

He was asked whether stone pelting had reduced in the valley in the aftermath of the NIA investigation into terror funding. The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) chief visited the District Police Lines in Pulwama in south Kashmir which was stormed by three terrorists on August 26.

While all the three terrorists, belonging to Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) outfit, were killed, four CRPF jawans and four Jammu and Kashmir Police personnel also lost their lives in the nearly 24-hour gun battle.

Also Read | JK: Terror attacks in Anantnag, Shopian ahead of Rajnath Singh's visit

Bhatnagar paid tributes to the slain security forces personnel, saying "we will not let their sacrifices go waste". Asked whether the killed militants were part of any bigger group of JeM, Bhatnagar, "They (three slain militants)have not been identified yet. They seem to be foreign.

I will not go into numbers as they are not important. The important thing is that we are ready for every challenge." "Whatever the numbers, you have seen that we have achieved success (in recent months).

We have neutralised about148 militants, including top commanders, this year. We will continue such actions in the future as well along with JKPolice and the Army," he said.

Also Read | J&K: Pakistan violates ceasefire along LoC in Poonch sector

He said the anti-militancy operations in the valley would continue. "They are intelligence-based ongoing operations and these will continue," he said.

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New Delhi:

India's indigenously developed third generation anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) Nag has been successfully flight tested by premier defence research organisation DRDO in deserts of Rajasthan, marking the completion of development trials.

The defence ministry said Nag has been successfully flight tested twice by the DRDO against two different targets on Friday in Rajasthan. The missile can hit a target up to seven km.

"The ATGM Nag missile has successfully hit both the targets under different ranges and conditions with very high accuracy as desired by the armed forces," the ministry said.

India has been trying to ramp up its military capability in sync changing security dynamics in the region.

The defence ministry said yesterday's flight tests and the trials in June marked the successful completion of development trials of Nag missile.

"With these two successful flight trials, and the flight test conducted earlier in June in the peak of summer, the complete functionality of Nag ATGM along with launcher system NAMICA has been established and marked the successful completion of development trials of Nag missile," it said.

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New Delhi:

Pakistan on Saturday violated ceasefire along Line of Control in Poonch sector in Jammu and Kashmir. Firing of small arms, automatics and mortars were seen across LoC.

Indian Army is strongly retaliating to the unprovoked firing.

Earlier on September 1, Pakistan on violated ceasefire in Poonch district in Jammu and Kashmir. An assistant Sub-Inspector of BSF lost his life in ceasefire violation by Pakistan.

Earlier on August 28, ceasefire violation by Pakistani troops along Line of Control (LoC), five civilians, including a woman and two minor boys were injured in the Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir.

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New Delhi:

In a strong message, India on Friday reminded Pakistan that Jammu and Kashmir will remain an integral part of India at the United Nations. India said that it is about time that Pakistan should also reconcile to this.

Hitting out at Pakistan, India said that it is ironic that Pakistan which is well-known for providing safe havens to terrorists and using terrorism as a tool of State policy has used the UN platform to yet again covet Indian territory.

"May I remind our neighbor that J&K is and will remain an integral part of India. It is time that Pakistan too reconciles to this," said India.

"As one of the oldest civilizations, India has been home to a continuous stream of great spiritual teachers/thinkers. India is deeply conscious and proud of this heritage and remains committed to a culture of peace," said India at UN.

Pakistan, which has regularly raked up the issue of Kashmir at the UN, did so again at the culture forum which comes just about 10 days before the annual high-level UN General Assembly (UNGA) session is set to begin at the world bodys headquarters.

Pakistans leaders have consistently used the UNGA podium to internationalise the Kashmir issue even as its efforts have found no international backing.

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New Delhi:

A policeman was killed and two others injured when militants opened fire on a police party in south Kashmir's Anantnag district on Saturday. Militants attacked the police team near Anantnag bus station. They fired indiscriminately on them, killing a policeman, a police official said. Another attack took place on Saturday when terrorist targeted Army vehicle in Imam Sahib area of Shopian district in Jammu and Kashmir.

Rajnath Singh is on a four-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir. Singh met Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti in Srinagar on Saturday. He will also travel to Anantnag, Jammu and Rajouri and meet civil society members, leaders of political and social outfits, business leaders and others, a move seen as a follow-up to the prime minister's Independence Day speech in which he had reached out to the people of the strife-hit Valley.

Earlier on Saturday, Pakistani troops violated ceasefire along Line of Control in Poonch sector in Jammu and Kashmir. The firing of small arms, automatics and mortars were seen across LoC.

Also today, an encounter breaks out between security forces and terrorists in Baramullas Sopore in Jammu and Kashmir. The security forces have launched search operations in Sopore after inputs of the presence of terrorists in the area.

Cordon and search operation launched in 8 villages of Kulgam and Shopian district by 62 RR and police from both districts. Initial reports suggest one militant killed in Sopore. The firing stopped at encounter site, while the body is yet to be retrieved.

Here are live updates:

19-yr-old girl suffered injuries during encounter b/w terrorists & security forces in Shopian's Imam Sahib; shifted to hospital

1 terrorist gunned down by security forces in Imam Sahib area of Shopian district. Operations continue

Another attack on Army vehicle in Imam Sahib area of Shopian district in Jammu and Kashmir (More details awaited)

(With PTI Inputs)

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New Delhi:

The murder of a 7-year-old student inside Ryan International School in Gurgaon has sparked row with many protests happening outside the school. Heavy police deployment was seen outside the school.

The accused sent to 3-day police remand by Gurugram court.

The principal of the school has been suspended, informed lawyer of the victim of Ryan International School.

"Suspended Principal. Took action against security agency of the school. Special Committee probing case," said Gurugram DCP.

"Unfortunate. It's like warning to people and schools. Justice will be served for sure," Union HRD Min Prakash Javadekar on Gurugram school murder.

Parents of the kid have also demanded CBI probe into the incident.

"Going to Gurugram tomorrow. Culprit won't be spared. Sympathies with child's parents," said Haryana Education Minister.

Earlier, the Gurgaon Police had arrested a bus conductor who confessed to killing the Class 2 student of Ryan International School in Sohna on Friday.

According to police, the bus conductor Ashok Kumar attempted sexual assault before killing the second grader.

Killer attempted to sexually abuse 7-year-old schoolboy, police said.

The 7-year-old student was found dead with his throat slit in a toilet in the school building, police said.

The students alerted the teachers and the school management then informed police, who rushed him to Artemis Hospital. He was declared brought dead by doctors, Ravinder Kumar, PRO Gurgaon Police, said.

A team of police and forensic experts is investigating the case. Blood samples, finger prints from the crime scene have been collected and a knife with blood stains, probably the murder weapon was also recovered from the spot.

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The news agency ANI said two others were injured after terrorists attacked a group of policemen at a bus stand.

Visual from the site of the attack (Photo: ANI)

By Shuja-ul-Haq : A policeman was killed today in a terrorist attack that took place in Srinagar's Anantnag, just 500 yards away from the venue of a meeting that Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh is scheduled to attend tomorrow.

The news agency ANI said two others were injured after terrorists attacked a group of policemen at a bus stand.

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Rajnath Singh arrived in Kashmir today to hold talks. He met Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti in Srinagar, and is expected to travel to Anantnag, Jammu and Rajouri and meet civil society members, leaders of political and social outfits, business leaders, and others.

Today's attack comes a day after people protesting the persecution of Myanmar's Rohingya Muslims burned a police vehicle and clashed with police in Anantnag.

Six policemen were injured.

(Inputs from IANS)

ALSO READ

Hurriyat hawks in, Rajnath Singh out: Home minister reaches Srinagar to hold talks on Kashmir issue

Zohra touched after Gautam Gambhir pledges support to martyred Kashmir cop's daughter

ALSO WATCH

Jammu and Kashmir: Police vehicles torched during pro-Rohingya protests in Anantnag

--- ENDS ---
New Delhi:

The External Affairs Ministry on Saturday said that it was monitoring the situation and communicating with the Indian diaspora in the US, Venezuela, France and the Netherlands in the wake of deadly Hurricane Irma.

The ministrys spokesman Raveesh Kumar said the Indian missions in the four countries were in touch with local government officials to provide assistance to the affected Indians.

Our missions in Venezuela, the Netherlands, France and the US are constantly monitoring the situation following destruction due to hurricane Irma. They are in constant touch with the Indian diaspora affected by Irma and with local government officials to provide all possible assistance, Kumar said in a series of tweets.

Irma, a category 5 hurricane with winds swirling at 260 kilometres per hour, barrelled towards Florida after making landfall in Cubas Camaguey Archipelago. It killed at least 19 people and damaged thousands of homes on the Caribbean islands.

ALSO READ: Donald Trump signs USD 15 billion hurricane relief package

France said at least 10 people have been killed across its Caribbean territories with seven more missing. Two people died on the Dutch side of the Saint Martin island.

The External Affairs Ministry spokesman tweeted telephone numbers for Indians to contact in case of emergency: Embassy of India, Venezuela (+58 4241951854/4142214721);

Netherlands (+31247247247); France (0800000971).

The Indian embassy in the Netherlands tweeted that they were in touch with the Dutch government.

The Indian embassy in Caracas in Venezuela was also monitoring the situation in Saint Martin and coordinating the welfare of all Indians living there.

ALSO READ: Hurricane Irma takes life of 14 in Caribbean islands; heads for Florida

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New Delhi:

An IndiGo flight from Raipur to Hyderabad on Saturday made a precautionary landing in Raipur after the aircraft was hit by a bird.

Last month, a Delhi-Raipur Air India flight made an emergency landing in Uttar Pradeshs Lucknow after a technical issue. However, there was no casualty reported and the passengers & crew members were all safe.

Earlier, aviation regulator DGCA had asked engine maker Pratt & Whitney to fix the snags in its engines powering Airbus 320 neo planes operated by IndiGo and GoAir within a "specified time".

ALSO READ: IndiGo debunks 'rumours' of 84 cancelled flights, alleges corporate conspiracy

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New Delhi:

In the latest development, rape convict Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh complained of ill health and a team of five doctors was rushed to the District Jail in Sunaria near Rohtak town in Haryana on Saturday.

Reasons pertaining to the health issues of Dera Sacha Sauda chief were not traced immediately.

Securities were tightened up by security agencies in Rohtak town, about 10 km from Sunaria, and particularly around the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (PGIMS).

Read more: Dera Sacha Sauda search: Security agencies uncover secret tunnel

According to the police sources, the team of doctors from PGIMS examined Ram Rahim on Saturday and found him fine. The doctors told the jail officials that there was no immediate need to shift him to hospital.

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New Delhi:

A 7-year-old student was brutally murdered inside the premises of Ryan International School in Haryanas Gurgaon. The police have arrested a bus conductor who reportedly attempted sexual assault before slitting the victims throat.

The incident has sparked a row with a series of protests happening outside the school. From politicians to top education bodies, all have condemned the barbaric killing of the class 2 student Praduman.

Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has also taken the cognizance of the matter and set up a fact finding committee to enquire matter and submit the report at earliest. Meanwhile, principal of the Ryan School has been suspended.

Ryan International School has been asked to send a report along with FIR filed in this case within 2 days: CBSE PRO Rama Sharma said.

Here are the highlights:

# Once we get report, if facts are not clear we are ready for any kind of probe: Haryana CM on demand of high profile probe by victim's family

# Sad incident & heinous crime. Administration has nabbed suspect; directed authorities to complete formalities within 7 days: Haryana CM

# Asked for the report. Principal suspended, whatever lapses will be found will be acted against-Haryana CM on murder of student at Ryan Intl School

Asked for report. Principal suspended, whatever lapses will be found wl be acted against-Haryana CM on murder of student at Ryan Intl School pic.twitter.com/PjXTvddcJu  ANI (@ANI) September 9, 2017

# Principal was indifferent when she came to hospital, put her in jail. I want to know what happened to my child, I want CBI: Mother of victim

# There is a tendency for common people to ask for CBI probe. I said if you aren't satisfied with probe by Police we'll talk: Haryana PWD Min

There is a tendency for common people to ask for CBI probe. I said if you aren't satisfied with probe by Police we'll talk: #Haryana PWD Min pic.twitter.com/98er6QZvGz  ANI (@ANI) September 9, 2017

# Assured that probe will be done to their satisfaction: Haryana PWD Min after meeting parents of boy murdered at Ryan International School

# Haryana PWD Minister Rao Narbir Singh visited family of the 7-year-old who was found dead at Ryan International School

# Involvement of bus conductor is confirmed if someone else is found involved, action will be taken against them: Gurgaon Police Commissioner

# Will try to file charge sheet in court within 7 days&request for fast trial of case: Gurgaon Police Commissioner

Will try to file charge sheet in court within 7 days&request for fast trial of case: Gurgaon Police Commissioner #RyanInternationalSchool pic.twitter.com/ylM9KKyEmH  ANI (@ANI) September 9, 2017

# Taking these steps to ensure vigorous safety measures in place for all our students & staff: Acting Principal

# Necessary measures being reinforced with experts' help.Seeking advice from Police dept to guide us: Acting Principal

Necessary measures being reinforced with experts' help.Seeking advice from Police dept to guide us:Acting Principal #RyanInternationalSchool  ANI (@ANI) September 9, 2017

# After tragic incident on Friday, authorities have seriously taken up security measures review at school: Acting Principal

# "Unfortunate. It's like warning to people and schools. Justice will be served for sure," Union HRD Min Prakash Javadekar Read Full Story

# Members of Bar Association of Sohna decide not to appear on behalf of accused in Ryan International School murder case

#Gurugram: Members of Bar Association of Sohna decide not to appear on behalf of accused in #RyanInternationalSchool murder case pic.twitter.com/JYt5WxlWZ1  ANI (@ANI) September 9, 2017

# Ryan International School Class 2 student murder case: Accused sent to 3-day police remand by Gurugram court.

#Visuals from Gurugram: #RyanInternationalSchool Class 2 student murder case: Accused sent to 3 day police remand by #Gurugram court pic.twitter.com/BZkJviIkSH  ANI (@ANI) September 9, 2017

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New Delhi:

The first batch of women inmates of Tihar Jail who had enrolled in a certification course in textile-making skills as part a rehabilitative activity, graduated on Saturday, in pursuit of a new life ahead.

The idea was to provide the inmates with a set of skills that will enable them to create avenues for self-employment, entrepreneurship and ensure that they can lead an independent life.

Delhi Prisons in collaboration with design school Pearl Academy had set up the Tihar Fashion Laboratory in February this year.

"In line with the government of India's 'Skill India Mission' programme that aims to transform its workforce into the skilled work force, 'Tihar Fashion Laboratory' has gone a step further to redefine the meaning of integration serving to build an inclusive community. The inmates have been trained by the academy in pattern making and the making of Indian wear", the Academy said in a statement.

Read more: Distinguished lawyer Ram Jethmalani announces his retirement

"The initiative has seen an amazing response from the inmates. I am happy that they have completed their course and been imparted with skills that will help them lead an independent life after prison", DG Prisons, Tihar Jail, Sudhir Yadav said.

Minister for Law, Justice and Legislative Affairs, Delhi Government Kailash Gehlot and Chairperson of the Delhi Commission for Women Swati Maliwal were also present on the occasion.

A cultural program and fashion show were also organised to mark the convocation ceremony of the first batch. The garments showcased at the fashion show were designed by the students of Pearl Academy and were made by the inmates at the 'Tihar Fashion Laboratory'.

The show saw joint participation from the students of the academy and Tihar inmates, who walked the ramp to showcase the collection.

The first batch of inmates who completed this course were awarded certificates. The next batch is slated to commence soon.

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New Delhi:

A 13-year-old rape survivor, who was 32-weeks pregnant, delivered a baby boy yesterday after the Supreme Court has allowed her to terminate her 32-week pregnancy.

The physical and mental condition of girl is stable and the surgery lasted for two hours.

According to the Dr. Ashok Anand, a gynecologist at the JJ Hospital,"The minor delivered a baby boy. She underwent a cesarean operation in the afternoon."

However, parents have not decided what to do with the infant, possibly they will keep the baby, but still elders and other family members will take a final decision.

The Supreme Court has allowed a 13-year-old rape survivor from Mumbai to terminate her 32-week pregnancy.

A three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra allowed the girl to abort after seeing her medical reports prepared by a Mumbai hospital.

Considering the age of the petitioner ( a rape survivor), the trauma she has suffered because of sexual abuse, the agony she is going through and the opinion of the medical board favoring termination of pregnancy, the termination of pregnancy should be allowed, the apex court order said.

According to Indian law, termination of pregnancy could be allowed on medical grounds after 20 weeks only.

The victims pregnancy came to light on August 9, when her parents took her to the hospital for the treatment of obesity. She was allegedly raped by her fathers colleague.
New Delhi:

The organisation which oversees the Nobel Peace prize has stated Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Ki cannot be stripped of the prize she won in 1991.

Olav Njolstad, who is Norwegian Nobel Institute's head stated the same in an email to the Associated Press. He said that neither the Alfred Nobel's will (founder of the prize) nor the Nobel Foundation's rules offer any kind of possibility of taking back the honour from laureates.

Olav wrote that stripping a Nobel Peace Prize awardee once the award is bestowed is not possible. He added that none of the prize awarding committees in Oslo and Stockholm has considered revoking the prize after it is given.

As a matter of fact, over 3,86,000 people have signed an online petition on Change.org asking for stripping Suu Kyi of her Nobel Prize due to the persecution of Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar.

Aun San Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her non-violent struggle for human rights and democracy in Myanmar against military rule.

The popular leader emerged as Myanmar's de facto leader after the country conducted its first free election in the year 2012. She was instrumental in leading her party to a monumental victory.

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New Delhi:

Saudi Arabia has suspended any dialogue with Qatar accusing it of distorting facts. Earlier, rulers of both the countries talked over the phone, which raised hopes of a breakthrough in the three-month-old Gulf crisis.

State media of both countries acknowledge that Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani spoke to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to express his interest in bilateral talks.

Saudi led the UAE, Egypt, and Bahrain in cutting ties with Qatar, accusing it of funding Islamist extremist groups and of being close to regional rival Iran a charge which Qatar denies.

The crown prince welcomed this move. But this attempt at breaking the ice between the two got washed away soon after the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) accused Qatar's state media of wrongly implying that Saudi Arabia had initiated the outreach.

"The contact was at the request of Qatar and its request for dialogue," SPA said, citing a Saudi foreign ministry official.

"Qatar is not serious in dialogue and continues its previous policies. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia declares that any dialogue with Qatar shall be suspended until a clear statement explaining its position is made in public."

All these developments come after US President Donald Trump on spoke separately with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE.

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Riyadh:

Saudi Arabia has suspended any sort of dialogue with Qatar, accusing it of distorting facts. The suspension of dialogue came soon after a phone call between the rulers of both countries offered hope of a breakthrough in the three-month-old rift.

According to state media from both sides, Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, spoke to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to express interest in talks.

It is the first public dialogue between the leaders after the US president offered to mediate in the crisis. Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Bahrain cut off diplomatic ties with Qatar amid a deepening rift between Gulf Arab nations.

The crown prince "welcomed this desire," the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) initially reported, adding "details will be announced after Saudi Arabia reaches an agreement with UAE and Bahrain and Egypt". But the prospect of a thaw quickly died down after SPAsubsequently accused Qatar's state media of wrongly implying that Saudi Arabia had initiated the outreach.



"What was published by Qatar News Agency is a continuation of Qatari authority's distortion of facts," SPA said, adding that any dialogue was now suspended.

The breakthrough in relations of both countries came after United States President Donald Trump spoke separately with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE.



In order to promote regional stability and countering the threat of Iran, the US President emphasised the unity among the United States'sArab partners.

To combat extremist ideology, terrorism and cut-off funding for terrorist groups, the President highlighted that all countries must follow through on commitments. Trump believed that dispute could be solved "fairly easily".



Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al- Ahmad Al-Sabah, a key figure involved in mediation attempts, met Trump and gave an upbeat assessment of his efforts so far.

But it seemed that Qatar led bloc is not interested to reunite again as it questioned the Kuwaiti emir's statement that Qatar would be willing to accept their 13 demands.

The list of demands includes shutting of Doha-based broadcaster Al-Jazeera, closing a Turkish military base in the emirate and downgrading Qatari diplomatic ties with Iran.



The bloc also voiced "regret" about the Kuwaiti ruler's statement "on the success of mediation in stopping military intervention". Instead, the four Arab states stressed that "the military option has not been and will not be considered" under any circumstances.

Kuwait has emerged as a key mediator in the crisis, while the United States has given mixed signals on its policy. Riyadh and Doha are both key allies of the United States.

Trump, who chose Saudi Arabia for his first overseas visit as president in May, two weeks before the crisis erupted, immediately expressed staunch support for Saudi Arabia.

Some other US officials including Secretary of State RexTillerson have adopted a more measured tone. Tillerson and Sheikh Mohammed announced in July they had signed an agreement to fight terrorism, built on decisions made at a Riyadh summit in May to "wipe terrorism from the face of the Earth".

Qatar hosts a huge US air base, home to the head quarters of Centcom -- the regional command which leads operations against the Islamic State jihadist group. Sheikh Tamim is set to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel for talks on September 15, in what will be his first trip to a western capital since the crisis began

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New Delhi:

Hurricane Irma was heading rapidly towards Florida on Saturday, where some 5.6 million people faced orders to evacuate as the monster storm made landfall in Cuba.



Irma killed at least 19 people and devastated thousands of homes in the Caribbean made landfall late Friday on the Camaguey Archipelago of Cuba as a maximum-strength Category 5 storm.



The hurricane weakened slightly after 4 hours later, swirling some 245 miles (395 kilometers) away from Miami and packing still powerful maximum sustained winds of 155 miles per hour, according to the US National Hurricane Center.



More than a million people on the Caribbean's largest island have evacuated as a precaution, authorities said.



Irma is expected to strike the Florida Keys late today and tomorrow before moving inland, and many residents have joined a mass exodus amid increasingly dire alerts to leave.



"Irma remains an extremely dangerous hurricane!" tweeted the National Weather Service early today.



"It's not too late to get off the Keys!!!" the agency said. "You still have time, this morning, to get out! Please, the Keys are not safe."



According to Florida's Division of Emergency Management some 5.6 million residents have been ordered to evacuate -nearly a quarter of the state population.



Warning that Irma would be worse than Hurricane Andrew -which killed 65 people in 1992 - Florida's governor said all 20.6 million Floridians should prepare to flee.



"If you're in an evacuation zone, you should be very cautious, you should get out now," Governor Rick Scott told CNN. "This is a powerful storm bigger than our state."



Bumper-to-bumper traffic was snaking north out of the peninsula, with mattresses, gas cans and kayaks strapped to car roofs.



North of the Keys, in Miami Beach, 82-year-old Cuban-American Orlando Reyes had suddenly to flee his assisted living facility.



The storm ravaged a series of tiny islands before slamming into the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.



Meteorologists meanwhile were closely monitoring two other Atlantic storms. Jose, another powerful Category 4 storm, was heading towards the same string of Caribbean islands Irma has pummeled in recent days.



Katia made landfall in eastern Mexico late yesterday - just as the country was grappling with its worst earthquake in a century - as a Category 1 hurricane.



It was later downgraded to a tropical storm but was still bringing rains that could bring "life-threatening flash floods and mudslides."

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Kathanayagan starring Vishnu Vishal, Catherine Tresa and Soori is in theatres. The film is half-baked and not funny at all, says our review.

By Srivatsan: Repeat after me, making 'Mottai' Rajendran deliver the statutory warning is no longer funny. The trend began with Sangili Bungili Kathave Thorai. It's high time we moved on.

Kathanayagan is tipped to be a 'family entertainer'. If you look at the average number of Tamil entertainers, you could easily sense a glaring pattern. Sad, but it exists. Remember the opening credits of the television series Powerpuff Girls, where Professor Utonium adds all the ingredients (or potions) to create the girls?

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The so-called entertainers in Tamil cinema are a pathetic mixture of badly-written comedy tracks invariably featuring Soori, who gets away citing English words like "whajapp", "syumbol" and "gamfurmation". Must-have romantic scenes featuring a superficial heroine, who looks straight outta Splitsvilla season 70. Goons, punch dialogues, Saranya Ponvannan as the doting mother and Tasmac songs.

With this perfect blend, we get the quintessential average entertainer like Kathanayagan, which looks like a passionate attempt to make the audience laugh, cry, and sometimes both.

The film begins with the voiceover of STR, who perfectly sums up Vishnu Vishal, saying that he's neither a star nor a hero. To go by his statement and the film's title, Vishnu Vishal is the new-age Pandiarajan, who, in the 80s, was not a star per se. But has decent entertainers to his credit. At its core, Kathanayagan is not a film, but a collective mixture of shots that runs a little more than 2 hours.

When our cowardly Kathanayagan meets Kanmani (Catherine Tresa) for the first time, she offers him a ride. It turns out to be a wild one, as Thambidurai plants a kiss unintentionally, while we could see her blushing. Seriously, where are these girls in Chennai? This is one of the various scenes that constantly remind us that Tamil cinema entertainers are not to be taken seriously --which is why when Thambidurai meets Annadurai (Soori), they immediately go back in time to narrate their Nanbenda story that we buy.

Take the scene where Kanmani accepts his proposal. She asks what he wants from her. He says "Marriage." Not satisfied, she asks, "And then?" We know where this conversation leads. Thambi shrugs and says "Approm" with a pause. Kanmani smiles and asks him to talk to her parents. See, this is an uber-cool film where the heroine checks if the hero's ready for marriage, unlike Kalyana Samayal Saadham.

Annadurai and Thambidurai dance to a song called 'Sunday na bottle edu'. To those looking for a sustainable career, lyric-writing in Tamil films seems to be a better option. There's a scene that literally describes what went down during the writing process. A rowdy asks Thambidurai, "Iruka." To which, the latter says, "Irukku." And Annadurai says, "Illai." One is bound to ask if there's anything that's there in this film.

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Kathanayagan, however, has very little comedy tracks that are really funny. Thanks to Anand Raj and Rajendran, who sings 'Kadavul Amaithu Vaitha Medai' (ROFL!).

Kathanayagan was shot when Rs 500 and Rs 1000 denominations were yet to be denounced. However, the director has taken some extra efforts to make sure that the old currency notes are not shown on screen. Likewise, we somehow wish he had taken a little more effort on paper too.

( The writer tweets as @LoneWolf_7126 )

ALSO READ: Vikram Vedha | R Madhavan-Vijay Sethupathi's film completes 50 days

ALSO READ: Suriya, SS Rajamouli, Shankar likely to attend Spyder audio launch

WATCH HERE: Kathanayagan Trailer

--- ENDS ---
Walk into any Japanese convenience store, and you'll find a row of magazine racks, usually just inside the windows that run along the front of the store.

Fashion and news magazines are usually closest to the door, followed by specialist periodicals for things like dining, travel, sports, and cars. Further down the line you'll see the manga anthologies, and at the very back, like a pot of smutty gold at the end of the rainbow, you'll find the porno mags.

While adult magazines tend to keep actual nudity off their covers, most cram as much flesh and suggestive language as they can onto the cover in an attempt to catch eyes and open wallets. Many are even sold unbound, letting prospective buyers leaf through them and see if what's inside matches their cravings.

This has been the case for decades, but the municipal government of Chiba City, the capital of Chiba Prefecture, Tokyo's neighbor to the east, thinks it's time for a change. As part of the Chiba Prefecture Healthy Youth Development Ordinance, Chiba City recently approved a budget of 390,000 yen to purchase and potentially distribute some 4,200 plastic wrappers for stores to place over adult magazines, preventing them from being read before purchase and obscuring their covers from sensitive eyes.

A survey conducted by the city, which received 650 responses, found 74.8 percent of participants were in favor of such display restrictions, with only 4.8 percent against and the rest indifferent. Bolstered by this, Chiba City said it would launch a voluntary test program in August and September of this year.

However, the announcement of the test program came before city administrators had received any commitment to participate from retailers, and the initiative was dealt a large blow this week when Seven & I Holdings, the parent company of convenience store chain 7-Eleven, said it will not be putting the covers on adult magazines in its 12 locations within Chiba City. The convenience store giant's refusal has sent Chiba City searching for other partners to help get the test program off the ground.

Chiba isn't the only municipality having trouble earning support and cooperation in its quest to conceal skin rags. Last year, branches of 7-Eleven rival FamilyMart in Sakae City, Osaka Prefecture agreed to slip obscuring covers over their pornographic magazines. Administrators had hoped to expand the program to 80 more convenience stores and booksellers in the city this year, but so far have secured agreement from only 12.
By PTI: By M Zulqernain

Lahore/London, Sep 9 (PTI) Kulsoom Nawaz, wife of Pakistans ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif, today underwent a second surgery in London in connection with her throat cancer.

She had undergone her first surgery for early-stage lymphoma last week.

Sharif and his sons -- Hasan and Hussain -- remained in hospital in London during the second surgery. They appealed for prayers and for the fast recovery of Kulsoom.

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Although, the ruling PML-N had declared her first surgery successful, doctors have suggested more surgeries. The PML-N also declared todays surgery "successful".

Sharif, who was supposed to return last Friday, has extended his stay because of the condition of his wife.

"Nawaz Sharif will only return after his wifes health improves," Senator Pervaiz Rashid, a close aide of Sharif, said.

"Mian Sahib will wait for some more reports before deciding about his date of return to Pakistan," Rashid said.

Rashid, however, rejected rumours that Sharif may not return to Pakistan to face corruption and money laundering cases against him in the accountability court.

"Mr Sharif will face the accountability like he did in the past and he will return soon after the recovery of his wife," Rashid said.

Asked about the Sharif family members obtaining American visas, Rashid said, "The Sharif family members had only obtained the US visas in connection with Kulsooms treatment. Nawaz Sharif has no plans to leave for America."

Sharif left for London on August 30 to see his ailing wife who has been diagnosed with early-stage lymphoma. The Sharif family, quoting doctors, had said "her cancer is curable".

Kulsoom is the PML-Ns candidate for Lahores NA-120 by- poll scheduled to be held on September 17. Her daughter Maryam is running her election campaign. Maryam chose to stay in Pakistan to run Kulsooms election campaign. According to the PML-N, Kulsoom had not been well for quite sometime but Sharif preferred to pitch her on his constituency making her a possible candidate for the prime ministers slot.

The seat fell vacant after Supreme Court disqualified Sharif on July 28 in Panama Papers case. PTI MZ ASK ASK

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Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a 60-year-old man suspected in a series of thefts of women's underwear, reports Fuji News Network.

In June, Toshiyuki Katsumi, a resident of the Kitazawa area of Setagaya Ward, allegedly grabbed three pairs of women's underwear hanging out to dry from a first-floor residence.

Moritani, who has been accused of theft, admits to the allegations. "I have a memory [of the incident]," the suspect told police.

Katsumi was apprehended after an examination of security camera footage taken in the area. A subsequent search of the residence of the suspect by police revealed 200 pairs of women's underwear.

Police are now investigating the suspect for possible participation in at least 20 similar thefts that have taken place in the same area since last year.
Senior journalist Gauri Lankesh was shot dead on Tuesday night outside her residence in Bengaluru's Rajarajeshwari Nagar by some unidentified assailants.

By Asian News International: Senior Congress Party leader Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday suggested that people like senior journalist Gauri Lankesh were being eliminated because of the existence of an ideological conflict, while denying at the same time that his party had never said that the BJP or the RSS was responsible for her murder.

Kharge told ANI, "Never said RSS-BJP behind this, but definitely there's an ideological conflict. Maybe people are being murdered due to that."

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"The culprit should be put behind the bars as soon as possible. The police should speed up the investigation. Everyone should work unitedly to restore law and order. The culprit should be taught a lesson. I have talked to the Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Home Minister as well. Sonia Gandhi is also concerned about it and had also talked to the Chief Minister," he added.

He further said that criminals are getting encouraged because of the ideology of government.

Senior journalist Gauri Lankesh was shot dead on Tuesday night outside her residence in Bengaluru's Rajarajeshwari Nagar by some unidentified assailants.

As per the reports, four bullets were fired at her, three which hit in her head and chest.

Her last rites were held at Bengaluru's Chamrajpet Cemetery on Wednesday.

Lankesh was the editor of the Gauri Lankesh Patrike, a tabloid described as an "anti-establishment" publication.

A Special Investigation Team (SIT), comprising of 19 officers, headed by IGP Intelligence B.K. Singh, has been formed to probe her murder.

Also Read

In death too, Gauri Lankesh has become a national lodestar

Gauri Lankesh murder: VHP demands CBI probe, suspects Congress conspiracy

How Gauri Lankesh's siblings stand divided after her murder

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DANBURY - There was a time when the typical response to a funeral for a police officer who committed suicide was What funeral?

Few officers would attend such a service, and those who did often left their uniforms at the station. There was no color guard or burial with departmental honors.

The theory was that you were glorifying suicide, said Danbury police Chief Patrick Ridenhour, a 29-year veteran. The old-school mentality was that it was the easy way out.

There was no sense that either of those two things was the case on Friday, at the end of a difficult week for the Danbury Police Department, which lost a 38-year-old sergeant to suicide.

At mid-morning, a half-mile of Main Street kept solemn silence as a color guard and a block-long column of police officers stood witness, with military-style reverence, to the death of the old school.

Now we realize that was wrong, and that the officer suffered from an illness, Ridenhour said. We realize now that how (officers) die is irrelevant with regard to how we honor their life and service to the community.

The chiefs comments, backed by a national police suicide prevention group and by a leader in the Connecticut Police Chiefs Association, reflect an increasing awareness here and across the country of the need to support officers mental wellness.

We need to understand that just as much as a police uniform changes the behavior of people that see it, the uniform also changes the behavior of people who wear it, said Gary MacNamara, chief of the Fairfield Police Department and chairman of the Connecticut Police Chiefs Association Officer Wellness Committee.

You cannot devalue these officers service based on a decision they made to end their lives, and we are making great strides to tell officers that if they are suffering, they can come forward.

The U.S. Attorneys Office in Connecticut plans to encourage officer wellness programs and suicide prevention initiatives this month.

The hard truth is that every year far more police officers take their own lives than are killed in the line of duty by criminals, U.S. Attorney Deirdre Daly said in a prepared statement. Police work draws people of exceptional courage and humility, but far too many officers suffer in silence, unable to seek the help they need.

Its important to note that no one, starting with Carlsons shocked widow, has been able to explain how a happy father of three who in 2016 reached a lifelong goal of becoming a sergeant was suddenly plunged into doubt and darkness.

Nor have officers in the department he served for 13 years been able to fathom what happened Sept. 1 behind the locked door of a Southbury hotel room, as negotiators from state police tried to talk him out of his crisis.

We have some debriefing, but a full debriefing will probably come a little later, especially if we are able to get more information about what happened, Ridenhour said.

The truth is that for police suicides unanswered questions are the norm.

We did a study in 2012 and in 85 percent of officer suicides there was no reason, said Ron Clark, a retired Connecticut State Police sergeant who helps run Badge of Life, a national police suicide prevention nonprofit based in Middlebury. No suicide note. Nobody saw it coming.

Clark says the nationwide average of 130 police suicides a year is far too high for a profession that screens candidates with psychological and background checks to insure good mental health at the time theyre hired.

His hope, as it is with every police suicide, is that dialogue in the Danbury and nearby departments will not only raise awareness about officer wellness but will lead to preventive action - such as officers getting annual mental health checkups.

In my time, we wouldnt have even been talking about this, Clark said of law enforcement a generation ago. But you cant deal with a problem unless you know what type of problem you have.

Treating trauma

Its too early to say what impact the death of a well-liked and well respected leader will have on the Danbury Police Department.

Administrators have been so focused on tending to the shock among officers that there have not been discussions about whether new programs are needed.

We brought in counselors immediately, Mayor Mark Boughton said. There are mechanisms for officers to get help, which we encourage them to do, and our chief is always evaluating others to be sure we are using the latest tools available.

Specifically, Danbury police administrators used roll call meetings to answer as many questions as they could about Carlsons death while enlisting the help of the citys Employee Assistance Program, along with that of trained counselors, peer support teams from other departments and first responder comfort dogs, the chief said.

For some of our members, this may have been the first time they have lost anyone close to them, Ridenhour said. Clearly, some of them have been more outwardly emotional than others.

Ridenhour added that suicide prevention is taught in police adademy training, but he believes more can be done.

MacNamara agrees.

Given what we know about the experience of law enforcement, most of these suicide cases are job-related, MacNamara said. We want officers to be emotionally strong but we also want officers to be emotionally well.

No one knows that better than the spouses of officers.

He didnt have a regular job - he had a very difficult job, said Carlsons widow, Erin Carlson. Being a police officer takes such an emotional toll on you, and that was a part of him, day in and day out.

All the more reason to honor an officers death regardless of the circumstances, Clark said.

The modern way is if you die of heart attack or cancer or suicide or line-of-duty - with some changes if it is in the line-of-duty - you would get a similar funeral, Clark said. You honor that office and that officers life - not the way the officer died.

rryser@newstimes.com 203-731-3342
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A Hispanic-owned firm whose workers have been threatened and harassed for security projects along the Mexico border was chosen Thursday to build a prototype for President Donald Trump's long-promised border wall.

The company was among four companies selected Thursday by U.S. Customs and Border Protection to build the see-through prototypes. In addition to the Hispanic-owned KWR Construction of Sierra Vista, Arizona, the winners are: Caddell Construction of Montgomery, Alabama; ELTA North America of Annapolis Junction, Marland; and W. G. Yates & Sons Construction in Philadelphia, Mississippi.

Each of the contracts is worth between $300,000 and $500,000. Caddell and Yates & Sons also won separate contracts to build concrete prototypes, the agency announced last week.

READ ALSO: Houston firm picked to build prototype for Trump border wall

Al Anderson, the general manager of KWR Construction, which had helped build the existing border fence as well as associated roads and lighting, would not divulge design details of its prototype for the contentious border project. Under the contract terms, the firms had to use materials other than concrete.

"We want whatever jobs here along the border that we can get, and set aside our personal beliefs to support our employees," Anderson said in a previous interview with The Washington Post.

Trump this summer had repeatedly promoted a border wall made of solar panels, but the agency would not confirm Thursday whether it had selected such a design.

READ ALSO: 'Build the wall' takes back seat to rebuilding after Harvey

Construction on the prototypes is expected to begin in San Diego this fall although no money has been appropriated to pay for Trump's pet project and key campaign promise of building a wall spanning the entire 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border. Congress has set aside only $20 million in the current budget to build the prototypes.

On Tuesday Trump, who campaigned on border security and the deportation of illegal immigrants, canceled an Obama-era program that had allowed 800,000 undocumented immigrants who arrived in the United States as children to live and work in this country without fear of deportation.

Trump said he is phasing out the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program to allow Congress six months to come up with a legislative solution. Some Congressional Republicans are expected to use DACA as a bargaining chip to fund the border wall, which Democrats firmly oppose .

Trump's 2018 budget calls for $2.6 billion for "high-priority tactical infrastructure and border security technology." Of that amount, $1.6 billion is for "bricks and mortar construction" and $1 billion is for infrastructure and technology, such as roads needed to access construction sites and surveillance equipment.

Trump had earlier threatened to shut down the government if a budget deal this month did not include funding for his wall, but pulled back on the threat last week.

Opponents of the wall argue that it's unnecessary, given that nearly 700 miles of fencing already exists in the most critical areas of the border and the decrease in the number of border crossers.

Trump himself has acknowledged that a seamless wall would not be possible, nor practical, given natural barriers in the landscape as well as international treaty and flood-zone requirements.

The government in March asked for design submissions for two types of wall: a reinforced concrete barrier wall and one made of an alternative material with see-through capability. The wall must be insurmountable and "aesthetically pleasing in color," at least from the U.S. side, according to the design specifications. It must also withstand digging for at least six feet below the surface.

More than 200 companies responded with proposals. The contenders were winnowed down to a secret list of about 20 finalists.

Thursday's announcement follows last week's awarding of four contracts for concrete prototypes. The earlier winners were: Fisher Sand & Gravel/DBA Fisher Industries of Tempe, Arizona. and Texas Sterling Construction in Houston, along with Caddell and Yates & Sons.
By PTI: Imphal, Sept 9 (PTI) The alleged scam of Rs 186.79 crore in the Manipur Development Society (MDS) will be handed over to the CBI once the preliminary investigation by the police was over, Chief Minister N Biren Singh has said.

The alleged scam figured former Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh and five top bureaucrats.

Ibobi Singh had served the state as the chief minister between 2002 and March 2017 before Biren Singh-led coalition came to power.

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Biren, in a function yesterday, said that cases against those found innocent would be ultimately withdrawn.

Meanwhile, Manipur Police, led by SDPO A Ghanashyam Sharma, continued their search at the residence of former MDS project director Y Ningthem for the third consecutive day today. They have seized a number of files during the last three days.

Earlier, the acting Chief Justice of Manipur High Court N Kotishwar passed an interim order on a plea of an anticipatory bail by Ibobi Singh.

The court fixed September 20 for the next hearing of the anticipatory bail.

The multi-crore scam surfaced after an FIR was lodged on September one against the former Manipur CM.

The FIR accused Ibobi Singh, three former chief secretaries and two former chairmen of MDS of cheating, criminal conspiracy, breach of trust and misconduct by a public servant.

The FIR was lodged at Imphal PS on September one by the Joint Secretary Th Munindro, Planning, Government of Manipur.

The charges were denied by Ibobi Singh and others.

Congress MLA N Loken Singh had termed the registration of the FIR against the former CM and other five bureaucrats as "political vendetta". PTI COR PR SMJ

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Tuesday

The Milford Chamber of Commerce Tuesday Morning Leads Group: meets at 8:30 a.m. at the Chamber, 5 Broad St., Milford. Call 203-878-0681.

The Rotary Club of Hamden: meets each Tuesday. For meeting time and location please visit the calendar section of their website at www.hamdenctrotary.org.

The Ambassador Group for the Milford Chamber of Commerce meets: visit the calendar section of its website at www.milfordct.com.

The Inter-Service Clubs Committee of New Haven Inc.: meets at 5:30 p.m. at Camp Cedarcrest, 886 Mapledale Road, Orange; call 203-258-1088.

The Rotary Club of New Haven: meets at 12:15 p.m. at the Graduate Club, 155 Elm St. Call 203-624-3197.

The Rotary Club of North Haven: meets at 7:15 a.m. at the Breakfast Nook, 448 Washington Ave. Visit www.nhrotary.org.

The East Haven Lions Club: meets at 6:30 p.m. at Twin Pines Diner, 34 Main St., East Haven. Membership is open. Call 203-467-4045.

Wednesday

The Rotary Club of Branford: meets from 7:15 to 8:30 a.m. at the Parthenon Diner, 374 E. Main St., Branford. Call 203-315-2444, ext. 450.

The Devon Rotary: meets at 7:30 a.m. at the Bridge House Restaurant, 49 Bridgeport Ave., Milford. Visit www.devonrotary.org.

The Greater New Haven chapter of Toastmasters International: meets at 6:30 p.m. at New Haven City Hall, 165 Church St. Call 203-287-0037.

The Milford Chamber of Commerce Wednesday Morning Leads Group: meets at 8:30 a.m. at the Chamber, 5 Broad St., Milford. Call 203-878-0681.

The Rotary Club of Guilford: meets at 12:15 p.m. at The Maritime Grille, 2548 Boston Post Road, Guilford. Call 203-453-0774.

The Greater New Haven Business & Professional Association: meets at 11 a.m. at 192 Dixwell Ave. Call 203-562-2193.

The Rotary Club of Wallingford: meets at 12:10 p.m. at Il Monticello, 577 S. Broad St., Meriden. Call 203-235-3816.

North Branford Rotary: meets at 6 p.m. at Nataz, 2025 Foxon Road. Call 203-484-7707.

The Greater New Haven Breakfast Club: meets at 8 a.m. at Clarks Pizza & Restaurant, 68 Whitney Ave., New Haven. Email info@rosnerdoherty.com.

The Rotary Club of West Haven: meets at 12:15 p.m. at Apps Ristorante, 283 Captain Thomas Blvd.

Thursday

The Middlesex County Toastmasters: meets from 7-8:30 p.m., Wesleyan University, Exley Science Center (Woodhead Lounge), 265 Church St., Middletown, http://middlesex.toastmastersclubs.org.

The Madison Rotary Club: meets at 8 a.m. at the Madison Senior Center, 29 Bradley Road. Call Robert Anderson, 203-907-9032.

The Milford Chamber of Commerces Health & Wellness Council: meets at 8:30 a.m. at the chamber, 5 Broad St. Call 203-878-0661.

The Clinton Rotary Club: meets 6:30 p.m. at Clinton Country Club, Old Westbrook Road. Call Dee Tully at 860-388-7013.

The East Haven Rotary Club: meets at 5:45 p.m. at Twin Pines Diner Restaurant, 34 Main St., East Haven.

The Milford Rotary Club meets: from 12:15-1:15 p.m. at Gusto Restaurant, 255 Boston Post Road. Visit www.milfordrotary.org.

Friday

The Orange Rotary Club: meets at 12:15 p.m. at Racebrook Country Club, 246 Derby Ave. Call 203-799-2327.

The Woodbridge Rotary Club: meets at 7:30 a.m. for a breakfast meeting at Country Corner Diner, 756 Amity Road, Bethany. For more information, call Mary Ellen LaRocca at 203-389-3429.

Discover the Greater New Haven Chamber: meets 8-9 a.m. at Greater New Haven Chamber, 900 Chapel St., New Haven. Call 203-782-4342 or visit gnhcc.com.

The Milford Chamber of Commerce Friday Morning Leads Group: meets at 11 a.m. at the Chamber, 5 Broad St., Milford. Call 203-878-0681.

Send notices of business events to Business Datebook, New Haven Register, 100 Gando Drive, New Haven 06513 or email to business@nhregister.com, at least a week before the event.
Hardest hit was Juchitan, a Oaxaca state city where 36 people died when the magnitude 8.1 quake toppled buildings.

Soldiers remove debris from a partly collapsed municipal building felled by a massive earthquake in Juchitan, Oaxaca state, Mexico on Friday. (Photo: AP)

By AP: Amid the sounds of snare drums, saxophones and sobbing, Mexicans today began mourning some of the 66 dead after a one-two punch from a monster earthquake and a Gulf coast hurricane.

Hardest hit was Juchitan, a Oaxaca state city where 36 people died when the magnitude 8.1 quake toppled buildings.

Slow-moving funeral processions converged on one of Juchitan's cemeteries from all directions today sometimes causing temporary gridlock when they encountered each other at intersections. The cemetery swelled with mourners and noisy serenades for the dead. Pallbearers carried the caskets around rubble the quake had knocked from the simple concrete crypts.

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Jittery amid continued aftershocks, friends and relatives of the deceased had hushed conversations in the Zapotec language as they stood under umbrellas for shade from the beating sun.

Paulo Cesar Escamilla Matus and his family held a memorial service for his mother, Reynalda Matus Martinez, in the living room of her home, where relatives quietly wept beside her body.

The 64-year-old woman was working the night shift at a neighborhood pharmacy when the quake struck Thursday night, collapsing the building.

"All the weight of the second floor fell on top of her," said her son, who rushed to the building and found her under rubble.

He and neighbors tried to dig her out, but weren't able to recover her body until the next morning when civil defense workers brought a backhoe that could lift what had trapped her.

Fearful of crime, the pharmacy kept its doors locked, and Escamilla Matus wondered if that had cost his mother the time she needed to escape.

Scenes of mourning were repeated over and over again in Juchitan, where a third of the city's homes collapsed or were uninhabitable, President Enrique Pena Nieto said late on Friday in an interview with the Televisa news network. Part of the city hall collapsed.

FAMILIES SPEND SECOND ANXIOUS NIGHT SLEEPING OUTDOORS

The remains of brick walls and clay tile roofs cluttered streets as families dragged mattresses onto sidewalks to spend a second anxious night sleeping outdoors.

Some were newly homeless, while others feared further aftershocks could topple their cracked adobe dwellings.

Rescuers searched for survivors with sniffer dogs and used heavy machinery at the main square to pull rubble away from city hall, where a missing police officer was believed to be inside.

The city's civil defense coordinator, Jose Antonio Marin Lopez, said similar searches had been going on all over the area.

Teams found bodies in the rubble, but the highlight was pulling four people, including two children, alive from the completely collapsed Hotel Del Rio, where one woman died.

"The priority continues to be the people," Marin said.

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Larissa Garcia Ruiz was grateful to escape with only a broken arm when her house collapsed as she and her family slept.

"I only woke up when I heard screaming," said the 24- year-old cradling her wrapped arm.

Her mother managed to just push the daughters and her blind husband through the back doorway before a massive section of thick wall fell, trapping her.

As Larissa tried to help rescue her mother, another piece of rubble fell, breaking her arm. Other relatives and friends finally managed to release the trapped woman.

All around them people yelled for help that night.

"Nobody helped us," her sister Vicenta said. "Everybody got out as best they could."

In addition to the deaths in Juchitan, nine other people died in Oaxaca, while twenty-five people were killed by the quake in neighboring states. Two others died in a mudslide in the Gulf coast state of Veracruz after Hurricane Katia hit late yesterday.

Pena Nieto said authorities were working to re-establish supplies of water and food and provide medical attention to those who need it. He vowed the government would help rebuild.

428 HOMES DESTROYED AND 1,700 DAMAGED IN CHIAPAS

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Power was cut at least briefly to more than 1.8 million people due to the quake, and authorities closed schools in at least 11 states to check them for safety.

The Interior Department reported that 428 homes were destroyed and 1,700 were damaged just in Chiapas, the state closest to the epicenter.

Just one day later, Hurricane Katia hit land north of Tecolutla in Veracruz state, pelting the region with intense rains and maximum sustained winds of 120 kmph.

Veracruz Governor Miguel Angel Yunes said two people died in a mudslide related to the storm, and he said some rivers had risen to near flood stage, but there were no reports of major damage.

Veracruz and neighboring Puebla states evacuated more than 4,000 people ahead of the storm's arrival.

The Hurricane Center said Katia could still bring 7.5 to 15 centimeters of additional rain 25 to 37 centimeters to a region with a history of deadly mudslides and flooding.

ALSO READ |Storm Katia rapidly weakens after making landfall near Tecolutla, Mexico

In pictures: Hurricane Irma is nature at its most fierce, one of Atlantic Ocean's most powerful storm

ALSO WATCH | Magnitude 8.1 earthquake hits southern Mexico

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NEW HAVEN >> Not all kidney cancers are killers, and many small tumors can be left alone or watched over time because there is a low risk they will become dangerous, according to Dr. Brian Shuch at the Yale School of Medicine.

While doctors can detect more tumors because of increasingly sensitive tools, such as MRIs, surgery to remove the cancer is not called for in many cases, said Shuch, an assistant professor of urology and radiology.

Many of these small tumors are very indolent or wimpy  low grade or low aggressiveness and low potential to spread or cause harm, Shuch said. As many as 90 percent of tumors smaller than 4 centimeters fall into this category. Some actually turn out to be benign, he said.

Most surgeons will remove any cancerous tumor they find, out of concern for the risk of it growing, but also because they have a financial incentive to operate, as well as a fear of legal liability, Shuch said. This aggressive approach isnt necessary and can lead to other issues later in life, such as dialysis, he said.

For their part, patients dont look at the relatively low risk of a small, slow-growing tumor and opt for surgery, while ignoring major health issues such as smoking and obesity.

Its very difficult to convince a patient that they may not need a treatment, Shuch said.

Over treatment?

About 64,000 cases of kidney cancer will be diagnosed this year, according to the American Cancer Society and 14,400 people will die from the disease.

The number of kidney tumors has increased about threefold in the past 30 years because were accidentally or incidentally detecting them when they get scanned for other reasons, Shuch said. And by finding these small tumors, historically weve been operating on every one that we see.

While kidney cancer surgeries have risen three or four times in the last 30 to 40 years, there hasnt been a change in the number of patients dying per year and that has led our epidemiologists to believe were grossly overtreating patients, Shuch said.

His conclusion is that people are probably having tumors treated that never really needed to be treated.

In the past, when patients would have an autopsy, they would be incidentally found to have a kidney tumor about 3 percent of the time and that shows that many of these patients are destined to die with a tumor from an unrelated cause than from the tumor itself, Shuch said.

Shuch uses a fish analogy to describe his approach to small kidney tumors. There are the sharks, which are the incredibly aggressive tumors, and those are very rare [but] are destined to cause trouble, he said. These amount to 5 percent or fewer of small kidney tumors and must be removed.

Then there are the guppies, which are going to cause no harm at all, Shuch said. Those are going to just sit there and be happy and cause no harm at all.

The final category are the goldfish, where [with] the right environment or the right food theyll continue to grow and grow and eventually can cause trouble if not treated.

In the past, all of these would be surgically removed, Shuch said.

Historically, a biopsy could not reliably distinguish cancer from benign, therefore everyone would go to surgery. But our program is working to develop  genetic markers to help distinguish benign tumors from the cancerous.

Shuch and his colleagues use an approach for these small tumors called active surveillance in which, rather than rush to the operating room, treating a small problem with a weapon of mass destruction, we decide to closely observe and we often, by watching a tumor, we can pick out the guppies from the goldfish.

One technique used is molecular profiling, which can detect genetic mutations in the tumor and often with that we can tease out what type of kidney tumor, whether its benign and, if it is cancer, what flavor of kidney cancer or what subtype to determine how aggressive it is.

While a traditional biopsy looks at the shape of the tumor and is not totally reliable at distinguishing benign from malignant tumors, a molecular biopsy looks for changes in the genetic code. Tumors often have a different number of chromosomes and that can be very suggestive if a tumor is benign or, if cancer, potentially what type of cancer and, within the type, sometimes it can predict aggressive behavior, Shuch said.

Further study

An $800,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health is underwriting a study into molecular biopsies to see how reliable a single biopsy is, and its very reliable, Shuch said.

He said there are certainly times when surgery is appropriate for small tumors. If an 80-year-old had a very indolent tumor, I would try to leave it alone, he said. If an 80-year-old had a very aggressive tumor, I would push them to intervene.

If a 40-year-old had an indolent tumor, unless I could predict that it was benign, I would likely intervene if it had any chance of growth over the next 40 years of their life.

These tumors that are hard to predict are the goldfish type. Most of those patients, instead of following them for 30 or 40 years of their life, we would suggest consideration of treatment, Shuch said. You could still offer surveillance, but at some point theyre likely going to need treatment.

Reducing kidney surgery is important because even partial removal can pose risks to patients health.

Kidney function is essential for life, and if you lose kidney function you need dialysis to maintain your life, Shuch said.

In the past, we used to remove the whole kidney for cancer treatment, but weve realized that removing part of the kidney was safer and lowered the risk of cardiac and renal adverse events or complications.

However, even a partial removal, or nephrectomy, which may be less harmful than radical nephrectomy, still has adverse health consequences.

Besides the inherent risk of surgery, there are long-term health consequences, Shuch said. Lowered kidney function can lead to a heart attack years later and can also cause high blood pressure, fluid retention and fatigue, he said.

What were trying to convey is partial compared to nothing is still harmful, and long term we have recent data that shows there are probably three or four times the number of patients on dialysis attributed to kidney cancer treatment than in the 1980s.

Approximately one in 200 individuals who are treated for kidney cancer ultimately will end up on dialysis and  that could be many years down the road, Shuch said.

I try to offer patients a way to avoid a major operation for a tumor that was likely not to harm them, he said.

And he tries to give his patients perspective.

Even though the risk of a kidney tumor is very low  if you could immediately lower that risk, a lot of people would pursue it when theyre much more likely to die of other factors and other medical conditions  that are much more difficult to treat, such as smoking or heart trouble, Shuch said.

The majority of patients who are found with kidney tumors are older  the average age is 64, and the majority of patients have pre-existing conditions, he said.

Theyd be much better off with probably managing the things theyre more likely to die from.

Call Ed Stannard at 203-680-9382.
NEW HAVEN >> At least three past local superintendents of schools made similar comments to Mayor Toni Harp after a fatal shooting involving a city youth.

Harp said former New Haven Superintendent of Schools John Dow Jr. first made the remark while Harp served on the Board of Alders in the 1980s.

Dr. John Dow said, I could have told you that kid would have been killed, Harp said. When I was in the state senate, (Reginald) Mayo said, I could have told you, and then I became mayor. Garth Harries was superintendent and said, I could have told you.

Its a comment Harp said she took to heart, spurring her to ask who might be next. While none of them could provide an answer, Harp said their input provided groundwork for the creation of YouthStat. The program identifies at-risk youth and provides them with a summer educational program and life and job skills training.

Since being adopted in 2014, Harp said no YouthStat participant has been lost to violence.

YouthStat gives us the ability to plan in real-time on behalf of those young people that we identify that have those characteristics, Harp said.

The program was developed with input from a position that still doesnt have a permanent employee. The citys search for a superintendent is nearly reaching the one-year mark following Harries exit Nov. 1; Mayo has been serving as interim superintendent since Nov. 2.

It is the Board of Educations responsibility, not the mayor, Harp said. Theyve made that perfectly clear to me.

Harp discussed the search for a superintendent and many of other topics Friday during a meeting with the New Haven Register editorial board. Education is one of four primary focuses on which Harp said she concentrated, in addition to public safety, economic development and improving services to city residents. Harp spoke to editorial board ahead of Tuesdays Democratic primary, where she faces a challenge by Marcus Paca. She is seeking a third term in office after first being elected in 2013 and earning re-election in 2015.

Harp said many school board members believe if they could get someone good, they should wait until the next school year for them to arrive instead of attempting to pull them mid-year. With school recently restarting, Harp said the board is reviewing options from a headhunter and possibly beginning interviews.

I think that our consultant is going to give us five names, Harp said.

Harp has pushed the district to reduce suspensions and expulsions in the New Haven Public Schools. Harp credits some of these changes for helping reduce the citys overall crime rates.

Were keeping kids in schools and were keeping them safe, Harp said.

Harp said shes hired more than 150 police officers since becoming mayor. Project Longevity, which is currently facing challenges triggered by the states budget woes, is part of the collaboration Harp said has been created to address concerns over maintaining public safety. The citys work addressing gang violence has helped the city gain international recognition: A delegation from Honduras visited New Haven recently to learn about the citys efforts, which were recommended by a European country.

The citys homicide rate has been decreasing over the past five years, reflecting a statewide and national trend. New Haven so far this year has had five homicides. Bridgeport and Hartford have each had at least 19.

Every time a bullet is fired, its really, its a failure and a tragedy, Harp said.

Harp is proud of her administrations streak of introducing budgets that finish in the black, especially after arriving as mayor with the city facing a $14 million deficit, she said.

Weve had four years of fiscal stability in our city and I think that thats really important, Harp said. You cant really do much of anything if you dont have a strong, fiscal infrastructure to sort of build upon.

Local development is another facet of Harps administration she said has changed drastically since she arrived. Decades ago, when Harp served on the Board of Alders, she said the city almost couldnt pay a developer to come to New Haven. At the time, the city was developing the Ninth Square downtown with nearly half of the development money provided by public dollars, Harp said.

Were in an entirely different time now, where developers are coming in and they are developing market-level housing without a lot of our assistance, Harp said.

The city still works to secure affordable housing units, Harp said. She cited the citys push to gain 30 percent affordable housing units in the New Haven Hill-to-Downtown project, where developers initially suggested 10 percent. Harp said there are at least 2,000 units of market-level apartments being built in the city.

I know people worry about gentrification and moving populations out, poor populations out, Harp said. I was worried about apartments coming in and moving the opportunity for businesses to locate in our downtown now.

The city is working on streamlining its building permit process, Harp said. Building permits can be a lucrative source of revenue for the city; Yale University this summer paid the city $4.6 million for its new biology building on Whitney Avenue. Coupled with $500,000 Yale already had paid, the city netted $5 million in permit revenue from that project alone.

Ultimately, I want and have worked toward New Haven being an easy city to do business with, to be a city that is safe, that provides an education for now but as well for its future, Harp said.

Harp said she has deployed a team whose purpose is to identify European companies that may be interested in having a presence on the Northeast coast. Closer to home, Harp said she actively tries to work with nearby cities and towns for regional projects that could be beneficial.

She mentioned The Haven in West Haven as an example after a staffer asked whether the city should oppose the project.

I said, absolutely not, Harp said. The Haven is three blocks away from New Haven. It is a place where many New Haven residents could possibly get jobs. We need to help them. And so weve got to think of ourselves more regionally.

Harp said shes confident ahead of Tuesdays primary, which will pit her against her former employee. When asked why she appeared more spirited than usual during Tuesdays debate against Paca  where she repeatedly brought up Pacas public service record and his very public firing  Harp didnt mince words.

I spent the whole summer listening to him question and impugn my integrity, Harp said. But, enough is enough.

Reach Esteban L. Hernandez at 203-680-9901.
NEW HAVEN >> At Seva Boutique, located on the upper level of Edge of the Woods Natural Market, there are drastic summer markdowns awaiting because there are women and children in Haiti, Nicaragua, Mexico and India awaiting financial help.

Its not the usual retail business model, but, then again, its not your usual boutique.

At Seva Boutique, 100 percent of the proceeds go toward programs to benefit women and children in those countries through helping to fund orphanages, medical centers, schools, training programs and, sometimes, disaster relief.

Seva means selfless service in Sanskrit and the imported clothing is largely from India.

The boutique of clothing, jewelry, handbags and other accessories was started and is run by Didi Ananda Vibha, who is part of the Ananda Marga movement, a global spiritual and social service organization with a mission of self-realization and service to humanity, according to the organizations website.

Vibha said business has slowed at the end of summer and having the boutique upstairs doesnt give it much visibility, although she is appreciative of the space, donated by Edge of the Woods Natural Markets owners, as they are longtime followers of the movement. Shes holding the sale to make room to put popular winter garb on the shelves and hangers, because every sale helps someone in need.

Im waiting and hoping we start making money, Vibha said. Im still hoping  next year well see how it goes.

Customers who see the store  a cozy nook on the upstairs level of the market  love the merchandise and return, she said. Some love that theyre buying to help others, she said.

Vibha said shes really trying to make it work and jump-start the new season for the good of the organizations she helps. Once the summer clearance of 20 percent to 50 percent off is over Sept. 15, shell stock sweaters, sweatshirts, long-sleeved shirts and popular ponchos. Vibha said she is still paying back the business loan, while also sending contributions to Haiti, but she wants to do more.

A Didi is a title similar to what sister is to nun in the Catholic Church, although Ananda Marga is not religion. Didis wear orange, considered the color of sacrifice.

Through meditation centers and service projects throughout the world, the movement, founded in 1955 by Shri Shri Anandamurti, offers instruction in meditation, yoga and other self-development practices on a non-commercial basis, and responds to social emergencies and long-term social needs.

Vibha, who became a Didi at 16 and is originally from India, has spent decades dedicated in that role. She started the boutique about 18 months ago as a service project.

Vibha, a warm, soft-spoken woman, plays every role at the boutique: merchandise buyer, manager, salesperson, stocker, accountant, in addition to all the other leadership positions she holds in the spiritual movement.

Customer Jessica Mendez, who discovered the boutique by accident months ago while shopping for vitamins, said recently that she loves the boutique because they have fashions you cant find anywhere else.

I cant leave without buying something, Mendez said at the time.

Vibha said customers often comment on the peace, calm about the place  and its no wonder with her strong Ananda Marga presence there.

Some examples of those who benefit from the work of Didis around the world  including from the Seva Boutique  are schools, orphanages, medical clinics, vocational training centers for women and girls.

The Seva Boutique area of Edge of the Woods website says the movement urges social consciousness, especially around women.
NEW HAVEN >> Marcus Paca, as a city native, says he is the one with the best understanding of New Haven and has the vision to make sure it stays strong in light of state and federal fiscal restraints.

Paca entered the last weekend of campaigning before Tuesdays Democratic mayoral primary promising a reduced budget for New Haven in terms of less bonding, fewer unnecessary contracts and more transparency, as he looks to beat Mayor Toni Harp, who is seeking her third term in office after more than 20 years as a state senator.

I think New Havens future can be brighter than its past. I think New Haven needs fresh, new, energetic leadership to move it progressively forward, Paca said. I want to have an honest conversation with folks about the true state of our city.

The candidate repeated a number of charges he has leveled in the past.

Pace said students in the New Haven Public Schools are not being prepared to be successful adults. He said specifically there are not enough guidance counselors to help them transition out of school.

He proposed starting guidance counseling in the third grade to steer them in the right direction and support their proficiences and keep them on the right path.

On finances, he was critical of what he said was too much dependence on debt restructuring and bond sales.

You are just kicking the bond can down the road for future generations of New Haveners to pay. I dont think that is responsible, he said.

The challenger said his administration would end political cronyism and duplicative products and services that he said are now in place.

What I want to do ... is go line by line in every city department and make sure that non-essential contracts that waste, and excessive legal wars, are stopped, Paca said in an interiew with the New Haven Register editorial board.

He said he would not have increased spending for fiscal 2018 given the precarious state of Connecticuts fiscal situation and it was arrogant to do so.

He recommended that if a program in the school budget is not related to child development, it should be cut.

Asked how he would fund his proposal to add guidance counselors at the primary school level, Paca said he would cut from other places.

We have to have honest conversations about what our priorities are as a city, Paca said.

Paca, who served one term as an alderman, said the city is too dependent on its two biggest employers  Yale University and Yale New Haven Hospital  for jobs, and there should be a bigger emphasis on foreign trade in a harbor that is scheduled to be improved to accommodate larger ships.

At Long Wharf, he also wants mixed residential use and possibly a boardwalk there and a better streetscape. He said he loves the food trucks there, but I dont think it is the best use of that strategic area.

On the city side, he accused the city of empire building, as far as social services are concerned. He asked why there was a food policy director when there are nonprofits that already do good work in this area.

He also said the city should be collaborating with the current workforce development board, as it has in the past, rather than competing against it for grants. He criticized a litigious corporation counsels office that fights everything and routinely goes over budget.

Paca charged that the Police Department is now looking at a $5 million deficit in the police overtime budget two months into the fiscal year.

Police Chief Anthony Campbell, however, said the department has spent $1.7 million in overtime since July. He said this was out of a $3 million account with $1 million set aside if the department needs it. Paca questioned how the overtime could be so high given that a new class of recruits has been hired. The chief said the new class and promotions helped, but the department is still short 50 positions. He said other charges also are counted, which could be explained better to the alders.

Paca was fired by Harp as her labor relations director in April 2016. She said at the time that it was because of memoranda of understanding with the Fire Department that were not vetted by the alders or legal counsel and cost the city money.

The issue with the memoranda, however, had occurred six months previously and had been requested by then-Fire Chief Allyn Wright and Chief Administrative Officer Mike Carter, according to the New Haven Independent.

The second reason was the release of embarassing emails on the administrations plans to fire Nichole Jefferson, who was the executive director of the Commission on Equal Opportunity. Her appeal to the state labor artitration board has extended for more than a year, while an investigation by the U.S. attorneys office found no wrongdoing and she subsequently won two appeals on unemployment benefits.

Paca on Friday said he did not know how the emails got out and that he was looking for a job before he was fired because of outside reports that had exonerated Jefferson. He repeated his accusation that the mayor had conducted character assassinations.

On Friday, the New Haven Independent reported that Priscilla Knox, whom Paca had hired to help collect signatures in order to qualify for the primary, complained to the Harp campaign and signed an affidavit that was sent to the State Elections Enforcement Commission.

In it she said Paca told her it was OK to get people to sign for others on the petition, which is a illegal. She said this happened multiple times on some 26 petitions she turned in, the online news site reported.

Knox, in a profanity-laced statement reported by the Independent, said she was promised more than the $400 she was paid with an additional $100 for expenses, and told Paca she would make him regret this.

A check of the state judicial branch website found that Knox had been found guilty of breach of peace, prostitution, drug possession and forgery from 2008 to 2014. All of her sentences were suspended.

The Harp campaign has since hired Knox to work for them. A taped recording has her asking Rick Melita, Harps deputy campaign manager, whether she can get a job with Harp

Lets deal with this first and see what we can do, Melita says on the recording, according to the Independent.

Harp, asked about it Friday, told the Independent that she did not know about the hire.

I guess its done now. She was hired, Harp said of Knox. I stand behind my team. I have to really discuss it with them. Im over doing the other job [as mayor], so I dont know everything they do. I stand behind their decision to hire her.

Paca called the charges against him by Knox absurd.

I would never direct anyone to break the law or do anything to put my campaign in jeopardy, he said. What it was is a quid pro quo situation coming from Harp to take advantage of a person who had fallen on very very bad times. ... She (Knox) tried to extort me for money. I told her no. She said she was going to go to the Harp campaign ... she was going to make sure that I did not become the next mayor of New Haven.

To me, it speaks volumes to the type of moral character or the lack thereof that Harp and her surrogates have that they would (do this) knowing that she was lying. ... It reeks of desperation, he said.
By PTI: Alipurduar (WB), Sep 9 (PTI) Union Health Minister J P Nadda today said the Centre would provide funds to set up a big hospital in north Bengal if the state government arranges for land and other infrastructure.

Nadda, also a senior BJP leader, said this to reporters to a question on setting up of big hospitals like those in New Delhi and south Indian cities.

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The minister who was at Birpara in Alipurduar district to hold Chintan shibir with local BJP workers, also said that the third phase of Mission Indradhanush is complete and fourth phase work in on.

Mission Indradhanush is a central government initiative to ensure full immunisation of all children in the country.

To a question, he said that the Centre with assistance from the state government would tackle the menace of dengue.

Meanwhile, Women working as Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM) under the union government today submitted a memorandum to Union Health Minister J P Nadda here demanding that they be paid on a par with their counterparts in the state government.

Nadda, who was at Birpara in Alipurduar district to hold Chintan shibir with local BJP workers, assured them to look into the matter.

The ANM workers of the central government said they get a salary of Rs 11,380 while their counterparts working under the state government get around Rs 23,000.

The job profile of central and state ANM staff are the same, they said.

Local BJP leaders also urged him to arrange for a blood bank, operation theatre and specialist doctors at Birpara State General Hospital. PTI COR NN

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Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has said the comments by Minister of Women Affairs, Aisha Jumai Alhassan, concerning President Muhammadu Buhari, couldnt have been said any better.Atiku declared that the All Progressives Congress (APC) is a coalition and that appointees have the right to keep their allegiance with whosoever they please.Atiku, recently elevated to the Waziri of Adamawa, disclosed that even other Ministers in the cabinet have different views and opinions as regard the 2019 presidential election.Paul Ibe, his media adviser, on Saturday insisted that what Mama Taraba said is, the truth.Alhassan recently declared her support for Abubakar to emerge as Nigerias next president.And again, Baba Buhari did not tell us that he is going to run in 2019, she said.Let me tell you today that if Baba said he is going to contest in 2019, I swear to Allah, I will go before him and kneel and tell him that Baba I am grateful for the opportunity you gave me to serve your government as a minister.But Baba just like you know I will support only Atiku because he is my godfather. If Atiku said he is going to contest.In a chat with DAILY POST in Abuja, Ibe said, Theres really nothing to say. Its like stating the obvious.The Minister couldnt have said it any better, likewise we cant help say it any better.In fact, she spoke the minds of many Nigerians and dont forget that everyone has a right of association.Even then president is aware of the Ministers support for former VP Atiku; they (APC) know.So it should not surprise anybody because it is not a secret that the Minister has been behind us.Let me tell you, in the federal cabinet, other ministers have their views; they have people they support.People forget APC is coalition and when people from different background unite, you cannot expect stakeholders to forget their root.What the Minister did was an act of courage and we thank and commend her. We advise those who share similar opinion to also speak out.
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has said it has instructed its counsel to immediately institute a lawsuit against the Anambra State police command for parading a suspected criminals with Biafra insignia that suggested that they were members of the group.A press release signed by the media and publicity secretary of IPOB, Emma Powerful, which was made available to DAILY POST in Awka stated that the act was purely meant to rubbish all that the secessionist group stood for.Recall that the Anambra police commissioner, Mr Garba Umar, while parading suspected criminals at the state police command on Thursday had stated that two of the suspects; Peter Onyebuchi and Ugwuokpe Nnaemeka had been arrested with arms and ammunition, including IPOB headgear, flag and muffler.But Powerful in the press release said it was purely a stage manage act by the police meant to tarnish the name of the organisation and portray its members as criminals.As a necessary precaution, we have instructed the chambers of Barrister Ifeanyi Ejiofor our lawyers, to commence legal action against Anambra State Police Command for this pathetic attempt to impugn the integrity of IPOB.It is unfortunate that the Nigerian police command in Awka, Anambra State will stage manage a crime scene simply because they have lost the argument on self determination and are seeking for ways to label IPOB as a violent organisation to justify their murderous tendencies.Both the police and army are in possession of the oath every IPOB family member must take before they are admitted into IPOB. They should refer to it and stop disgracing themselves before the world.Despite the fact that IPOB congregate in their millions during rallies, has it ever been reported that any person or persons lost their personal belongings? The answer is no, because IPOB family members cannot even steal a common purse or wallet, talkless of engaging in armed robbery.The group said it is not unaware of the fact that Nigeria security operatives were actively recruiting non Biafrans with IPOB paraphernalia to be used to wreak havoc on unsuspecting citizens with the view to tarnish the clean image of IPOB.It said only gullible Nigerians can be deceived with such kindergarten antics as people are more reasonable and wiser now and cannot be deceived so easily by such lies by the police.
Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria (IXPN) has provided link with Ghana Internet Exchange Point thereby making it the first of such interconnection in the sub-region, Nigeria Communications Week has learnt.

An Internet exchange point (IXP) is a physical infrastructure that allows several Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and network operators to exchange traffic between their networks, generally referred to as autonomous systems, by means of mutual peering agreements, which allow traffic to be exchanged at no cost.

Reacting to this feat achieved by IXPN, Mohammed Rudman, managing director, IXPN, told Nigeria CommunicationsWeek that the link between Nigeria Internet exchange point and Ghana Internet exchange point was achieved last week and that with the interconnection of the two exchanges, internet traffic among the two countries will now be exchange locally without it having to go to Europe and come back.

The linking of Nigeria Internet Exchange with Ghanas Internet Exchange will save the two countries foreign exchange and cost as internet traffic between internet service providers in the two countries will be exchanged within the region as against the previous situation when such traffic will have to go to Europe before coming back to the region.

This was achieved as a result of a well-articulated growth strategy and vision to be the leading IXP in Africa and a one stop company to service and content providers across Nigeria and beyond, he said.

Nigeria CommunicationsWeek investigations revealed that the submarine fibre linking the two exchange points is ACE fibre provided by Dolfin Telecomms.

It was also gathered that Medallion Data centre is hosting the server designated for the link on Nigeria side while National Information Technology Agency of Ghana Data centre is hosting the countrys side of the server.

Ike Nnamani, chief executive officer, Medallion, said that linking the two exchange points is the first of its kind in the region and a good initiative aimed at reducing latency between the two countries as well keep African content local.

We expect in near future for other internet exchange points in the sub-region to be linked so that we can keep the regional traffic within the region without it having to travel to Europe before coming to its destination in the region. Such interconnection will help our educational institutions in sharing of information as most of them are connected to their countries internet exchange point, he added.

Organizations that connect their networks to an IXP benefits from reduced reliance on expensive international transit for exchanging local traffic between themselves, and improved efficiency of their operations and communications. Not only will this reduce transport costs and network latency, but will also ensure faster access to local content because local traffic is exchanged locally, rather than through one or more third party networks including international links. This exchange of traffic between networks at an IXP is known as peering.


The South-East Governors Forum has refuted reports by an online publication that it had warned the federal government to put a stop to the incessant killings and unlawful imprisonment of innocent members of the Indigenous people of Biafra (IPOB).The governors condemned the report, describing it as fabricated and false.In a statement signed by the Director-General and Director, Media and Communication of the forum, Prof. Simon Ortuanya and Micheal Udah, respectively and made available to newsmen in Awka, the forum said no such meeting held in Abakiliki, Ebonyi State as alleged.It noted that the chairman of the forum under whose instance such meeting could be convened was away when the rumours circulated.The statement reads: The attention of the South- East Governors Forum has been drawn to false and unfounded news published online by igberetvnews.com to the effect that the South- East Governors did send a strong warning to the Federal Government of Nigeria, urging it to stop killing IPOB members.According to that report, all Five South-East Governors purportedly met in Abakaliki on Wednesday, September 6, 2017. The story added that His Excellency, Engr. Nweze David Umahi, the Chairman of the Forum addressed the press after the meeting, calling on the Federal Government to put to a stop the incessant killings, brutal torture and unlawful imprisonment of innocent IPOB members by the military in our region.The report further falsely credited His Excellency, Engr. David Umahi with the claim that the Federal Government is maltreating the region, while the military and indeed the Chief of Army Staff have rebuffed all the letters which the South-East Governors had written, requesting that the situation be redressed.In order to put the record straight, the South-East Governors Forum hereby states as follows: There is no iota of truth in every material particular in the said publication. His Excellency, Engr. Nweze David Umahi, , Governor of Ebonyi State and Chairman of South-East Governors Forum, is currently out of the country and was not even in Ebonyi State on the said Wednesday, September 6, 2017 when the alleged emergency meeting of South-East Governors purportedly took place.No South-East Governor (or their Deputies) attended any meeting, emergency or regular, in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State on the said Wednesday 6lhSeptember, 2017.Accordingly the South East Governors condemn in the strongest terms this deliberate falsehood intended to undermine the milestone already recorded in their engagement with IPOB leader, Prince Nnamdi Kanu and the entire leadership of IPOB.South-East Governors Forum reaffirms its belief in the amicable resolution of all issues especially as it relates to agitations by IPOB.Since no such meeting ever held, it follows that the South-East Governors never at any point in time issued warning to the Federal Government of Nigeria or its agencies; neither did it write any of its military Commands or formations.South-East Governors Forum therefore urges the Federal Government, its Military commands and formations and indeed the general public to disregard in its entirety and totality the said report as it is untrue and unfounded.
The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Rivers State chapter, has alleged that Nigeria has been thrown into perpetual confusion with the woeful leadership style of the ruling All Progressives Congress.According to the party, Nigerians were already warming up ahead of the 2019 elections to kick out the ruling party because they are tired of its show of deceit.State Publicity Secretary of PDP, Samuel Nwanosike, who spoke in Port Harcourt, vowed that the party would defeat the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the national and state levels in 2019 general elections.Nwanosike said PDP endorsed the governor because of his developmental achievements, which were evidence of good governance.Speaking further, the partys State Publicity Secretary said the exit from recession was a concocted claim to douse tension in the country and wondered how the Federal Government could accept such deceit.Nwanosike said: The Federal Government cannot tell Nigerians that we are out of recession, when our economy has not improved. Prices of foods are still on the increase. People cannot access medical care or send their children to schools.There is confusion all over the country: Boko Haram and herdsmen destroying our lands and property. Nigerians are tired of those shows and deceit.Nwanosike also stated that the APC-led Federal Government has failed and has been looking for ways to cover its inadequacies.The APC government at the Centre has failed. The time to vote out those who do not know how to manage the resources of the people is near. They are the ones who manage the economy of the nation, they have failed the country.The party also declared that Governor Nyesom Wike is the its right candidate for the 2019 governorship election.APC as a party has scattered and the government at the centre led by APC has failed. Rivers people are happy with PDP-led government. That is why thousands of youths marched in support of Governor Nyesom Wikes government, he argued.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has said the comments by Minister of Women Affairs, Aisha Jumai Alhassan, concerning President Muhamma...

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has said the comments by Minister of Women Affairs, Aisha Jumai Alhassan, concerning President Muhammadu Buhari, couldnt have been said any better.

Atiku declared that the All Progressives Congress (APC) is a coalition and that appointees have the right to keep their allegiance with whosoever they please.





Atiku, recently elevated to the Waziri of Adamawa, disclosed that even other Ministers in the cabinet have different views and opinions as regard the 2019 presidential election.





Paul Ibe, his media adviser, on Saturday insisted that what Mama Taraba said is, the truth.





Alhassan recently declared her support for Abubakar to emerge as Nigerias next president.

And again, Baba Buhari did not tell us that he is going to run in 2019, she said.





Let me tell you today that if Baba said he is going to contest in 2019, I swear to Allah, I will go before him and kneel and tell him that Baba I am grateful for the opportunity you gave me to serve your government as a minister.





But Baba just like you know I will support only Atiku because he is my godfather. If Atiku said he is going to contest.





In a chat in Abuja, Ibe said, Theres really nothing to say. Its like stating the obvious.





The Minister couldnt have said it any better, likewise we cant help say it any better.





In fact, she spoke the minds of many Nigerians and dont forget that everyone has a right of association.





Even then president is aware of the Ministers support for former VP Atiku; they (APC) know.





So it should not surprise anybody because it is not a secret that the Minister has been behind us.





Let me tell you, in the federal cabinet, other ministers have their views; they have people they support.





People forget APC is coalition and when people from different background unite, you cannot expect stakeholders to forget their root.





What the Minister did was an act of courage and we thank and commend her. We advise those who share similar opinion to also speak out.
By PTI: Patna, Sep 9 (PTI) Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi today advocated for holding the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls simultaneously, saying it would restrain vote-bank politics and maintain the pace of developmental activities.

According to the Union minority affairs minister, "one nation one election" will ensure that there is ample time for the governments to discuss policies and to implement those.

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"There is a need for electoral reforms in the country. We should move ahead on the path of one nation, one election. The Lok Sabha and Assembly elections should be held simultaneously in the country," Naqvi said.

It would help in maintaining the pace of the economy and developmental activities and also check the spread of "a disease called vote-bank politics" to a large extent, he said.

Addressing a Parliamentarian Conclave here, Naqvi said every few months elections are held in one state or the other.

"Development works get obstructed due to the model code of conduct which is implemented during polls. Schemes of central and state governments are affected for some time due to the poll code," he said, adding, "This continuous process of elections is also a burden on the state exchequer."

There is also a "vote-bank competition" among political parties which could be curbed to a large extent if elections are held simultaneously, Naqvi said without elaborating.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former president Pranab Mukherjee and the NITI Aayog had also pitched for holding Lok Sabha and Assembly elections simultaneously. PTI AR NN NSD

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Former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar, has said he stands by his comment that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration has sidelined h...

Former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar, has said he stands by his comment that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration has sidelined him .

Atiku said this in a statement released by the Head of Atiku Media Office, Mazi Paul Ibe.





His Excellency, Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar stands by what he said. There is no point beating about the bush, how can anyone equate a private meeting with a meeting of party organs?





When was the last time the party organs held any meeting? Has the Board of Trustees or what they call the Elders Council been inaugurated? When was the last time stakeholders and party leaders invited him to a meeting? The Wazirin Adamawa spoke as a lover of this country, democracy and the party.





People who are not too conversant with history as far as democracy is concerned in this country may cast aspersions on the former Vice-President for stating the obvious. The party should do the needful, Ibe said.





Atiku had stated that the All Progressives Congress (APC) has sidelined him since the President came into power in 2015.
Three suspected Boko Haram members yesterday appeared before a Koton-Karfe Chief Magistrate Court in Kogi State for allegedly belonging ...

Three suspected Boko Haram members yesterday appeared before a Koton-Karfe Chief Magistrate Court in Kogi State for allegedly belonging to the terror sect.Arraigned were Abdullahi Audu, Bashiru Yahaya and their spiritual head, Ahmed Momoh. The pleaded not guilty.Prosecuting counsel Mohammed Abaji, told the court that the defendants were arrested in June by security men.Others are at large,he said.Abaji stated that investigation and analysis of their telephone numbers revealed that they were not only members of the sect but had also carried out repairs of the terrorists computers.The prosecutor also said the defendants had carried out repairs of other electronic components owned by the insurgents and used them for their nefarious activities.According to him, the third defendant, Momoh is the spiritual head of the gang mandated to prepare charms/Ruqya for members of the group and their families, before and during operations.Abaji prayed the court to take cognizance of the grave nature of the allegations by dismissing the oral application brought by the defendants.He said their actions were contrary to section 97(1) of the Penal Code Law and Belonging to Terrorists Group.The prosecutor also said the defendants had allegedly violated Section 4 and Section 5 of Terrorism (Prevention) (Amendment) Act, 2013.Chief Magistrate Levi Animoku, in his ruling, ordered the three accused to be remanded at the Federal Prisons, Koton-Karfe, saying that the allegations against them was grave.Animoku said the activities of members of the terrorists group had terminated many lives in the country, adding that the crimes the defendants were accused of were heinous and carried high penalties.He said: Notwithstanding that bail is a constitutional right guaranteed the accused persons, the presumption of innocence is not absolute. Bail is not easily granted in this kind of offences. So, bail is refused.The defendants shall be remanded at the Federal Prisons, Koton-Karfe, Kogi.The case was adjourned to September 28 for mention.
The Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ibrahim Magu, yesterday asked China to assist the commis...

The Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ibrahim Magu, yesterday asked China to assist the commission in identifying and recovering proceeds of corruption stashed in the Asian country by some Nigerians.He said the anti-graft agency was open to international collaboration.Magu made the plea while receiving a Director at Vice-Minister Level in the Office of the Central Leading Group for Inspection Tours of the Communist Party of China (CPC), L.I. Xiaohong.He described the visit as a gateway for expanding the operations of the EFCC.He said: We are committed and willing to cooperate with you, and we seek your assistance, particularly in the area of capacity building, training of personnel, and combating advance fee fraud, internet fraud, and theft of petroleum products.I want to use this opportunity to seek your assistance in identifying and recovering proceeds of corruption stashed away in China.We need to have synergy so that even when China has any problem in its embassy here in Nigeria, the EFCC will swiftly tackle the issue without waiting for protocols, because delay is dangerous.Magu said the partnership with China in fighting corruption in Nigeria would also extend to the oil and gas industry.He said: We have noticed that some Chinese are getting involved in oil theft. Some of them have been caught in the act and are currently facing trial.We are calling on the delegation to collaborate with us so we can check such vices, as this will help both countries.Xiaohong, who led a delegation to the EFCC headquarters, said China would assist Nigeria in its anti-graft war.He asked the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to kick corruption out of Nigeria.He praised the EFCC for its unrelenting effort to fight corruption to a standstill in Nigeria.He said: We have heard a lot about your efforts in the fight against corruption and commend you for your doggedness in ensuring that you kick corruption out of Nigeria.We want to cooperate with the EFCC to explore and promote anti-corruption agenda, as we are aware of your achievements.Xiaohong was accompanied by ZHOU Pingjian, Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria and other top officials of the CPC.
The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has appealed to the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to consider the proposal made by the Federal Government and call off their ongoing strike.The National Public Relations Officer (PRO) of NANS, Bestman Okereafor, made the appeal in a statement made available to newsmen in Enugu on Saturday.The Federal Government team had engaged in dialogue with ASUU and had agreed to set up a seven-man joint committee to look into all ASUU demands.The Federal Government had also agreed to release billions of naira to meet universities infrastructural needs.The current agreement was reached after about 12 hours and 30 minutes of a closed door meeting in Abuja on Thursday.NANS is passionately appealing to ASUU to consider the offer made by the Federal Government in the interest of Nigerian students.Even as NANS delegation shall be meeting with Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, the National President of ASUU and his executives next week on the resumption of classes in the universities, he said.Okereafor noted that NANS conclusively wish to reassure our compatriots that NANS under the watch of Aruna Kadiri is poised and committed to giving a more proactive and responsive representation to students.We are optimistic that the storm in the universities will be over soonest, he said.The national leadership of ASUU, however, said though it accepted the proposals presented by the government but would take the proposals to its members in various states and universities chapters.The union would likely get back to the Federal Government within a week time.
The presidency on Friday said President Muhammadu Buharis position is that Nigeria does not need restructuring.Presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, said what Nigeria needs peace for its citizens to go about their businesses and not restructuring.He spoke when he received Northern Christians and Muslim clerics who visited the Presidential Villa to declare support for the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration.The delegation under the aegis of the Northern Inter Faith and Religious Organisations, was led by Bishop Edward Chanami.They urged religious institutions to intensify prayers for the successes of the troops fighting the Boko Haram sect in the North East.Speaking, Shehu said: Everyday we read one communique or resolution from one group or the other asking government to review the constitution, restructure.First of all, we need peace in Nigeria. Without peace, there will not be development or progress. Ordinary Nigerians want peace so that they can go about their lawful activities.Ordinary Nigerians want food to eat. It is not constitutional review and restructuring that will put food on the table.It is better economy and this is what the President is doing, trying to ensure that the resources in the country are very well managed.A situation where a few people in the past have been taking everything and pocketed our resources and they shared among themselves, that period is over now.The President will make sure that whatever is available to the people of this country, goes around the country and is evenly distributed.
Total 187 children have died in this hospital in the past five months.

By Mayuresh Ganapatye: In yet another shocking revelation of medical negligence, over 55 infants lost their lives in the month of August at the Nashik District Hospital.

"In the month of August we have had 55 deaths, main reason is that we have no ventilators. We got sanction for 21 beds, new maternal wing, but the problem is that we need to cut a tree and have not got permission till now," said Dr GM Hole.

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In August, around 350 kids were admitted in the hospital and out of those 55 kids lost their life due to the deficiency of oxygen gas, ventilator and lack of other health facilities.

Total 187 children have died in this hospital in the past five months.

On Friday, MLC from Nasik Jaayant Jadhav and health minister Deepak Sawant held a meeting to address the issue of repleting resources at the hospital.

Following the Uttar Pradesh's Gorakhpur hospital tragedy, at least 49 children also died in Farrukhabad last month. Speaking to the media over such lapses in medical care, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said, "It will not be proper to compare the Gorakhpur incident to Nasik. We are looking into this matter but you should also see the number of cases as compared to last year's. You can see less number of cases this year."

Also read: Delhi's heartless hospitals: Ambulance driver comes to rescue of 2-day-old after 6 institutes refuse to admit him

Also read: Lasers, tags, cameras to check theft of babies in hospitals

Also read: UP: 49 infant deaths in 30 days at Farrukhabad hospital; CMO and DM removed

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JERSEY CITY -- Jersey City police doing surveillance in a high crime area on Sunday arrested a Bayonne man with 22 vials of cocaine and 55 bags of heroin with the logo "Tiffany," authorities said.

Officers at Martin Luther King Drive and Bidwell Avenue saw Jerome K. Porch, 38, among a large group of people and watched as he handed small white objects to a man in exchange for money, according to his criminal complaint.

Porch then entered a building and when police converged on it, they found him inside and saw he had placed a bag on the floor. He was arrested and the suspected drugs were found in the bag, the complaint states.

Porch made his first appearance on the charges Tuesday in Criminal Justice Reform Court in Jersey city via video link from Hudson County jail in Kearny. At the hearing, the state moved to detain him through the course of his prosecution.

A detention hearing was scheduled for yesterday in the Hudson County Administration Building in Jersey City.
A Jersey City man was sentenced to 13 years in prison yesterday for operating a gun trafficking network that ranged from New York and New Jersey to Virginia and North Carolina.

"I feel bad for my family," said Jason Siek, 42, whose wife and four children were in court yesterday morning as he was sentenced for his role in the crime ring. He was also sentenced for two counts of possession of a firearm by a felon, driving while intoxicated and drug possession.

His wife, Angela Siek, held a baby in her arms as she told Hudson County Superior Court Judge Mirtha Ospina that "Prior to all this, Jason was a great husband and a great provider. His drug addiction and substance abuse turned everything around."

The Hudson County Prosecutor's Office said its probe, which included wiretapping and an informant, uncovered a gun trafficking ring with ties across the Hudson River and in the South. Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor Karyn Darish said nearly a dozen guns, including assault rifles, were seized in the investigation.

Siek and co-defendant Kasib Decker, 35,took guilty pleas in July after jury selection for their trial had already begun. Decker pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of a firearm by a felon and was also to be sentenced yesterday but that hearing was adjourned.

Six additional co-defendants charged with lesser offenses in the probe are: Jersey City residents Khalid Decker, 38; Ronald Parra, 21; Angel Grajales, 38; Kyle Saludes, 30; Dean Montelibano, 31; and Tiffany Donofrio, 34. All six have pleaded guilty to various charges.

Siek, Kasib Decker and their associates were purchasing crystal methamphetamine and firearms in New York, Virginia and North Carolina. The investigation led to the seizure of 10 firearms, including an AR-15 assault rifle and a shotgun, the HCPO said at the time of the arrests.

Darish agreed that the sentencing was a sad day for Seik's family but noted that "With a shooting going on every day in Jersey City, Mr. Siek knew he was putting guns in the hands of people who should not have them. Mr. Siek deserves to go to jail for a long time."

Defense attorney Robert O'Gureck said Siek was bright, worked as an electrician and was a good provider. He said there was no violence committed by his client.

"It's just a sad situation," O'Gureck said, adding, "I know there is a price that has to be paid here."

Siek must serve 10 years before becoming eligible for his five-year term of parole. He could have faced a far more severe sentence if convicted at trial on all the counts against him. He has four prior criminal convictions, all related to drugs.

Siek pleaded guilty to drug possession yesterday and admitted that on Oct. 3, 2015 he was under the influence of narcotics while driving his Mercedes in Jersey City. He was sentenced to three years in prison for the drug offenses, with the time to be served concurrent to his other sentences. He was also ordered to pay more than $4,000 in penalties.

Siek has more than 600 days jail credit.
NEWARK -- Galena Biopharma Inc. will pay more than $7.55 million to resolve claims that it paid kickbacks to doctors in a scheme to get them to prescribe the pharmaceutical company's fentanyl-based drug Abstral to patients, federal prosecutors said Friday.

The settlement came after a lawsuit filed by whistleblower Lynne Dougherty under the False Claims Act and an investigation by the U.S. Attorney's Office in New Jersey and the civil division of the Justice Department.

"The conduct alleged by the government and resolved by today's settlement was egregious because it incentivized doctors to over-prescribe highly addictive opioids," said New Jersey Acting U.S. Attorney William Fitzpatrick. "This settlement constitutes another example of the Department of Justice's ongoing efforts to battle the opioid epidemic on every front."

The kickbacks included more than 85 free meals to doctors and staff from a "high-prescribing" medical practice, paying doctors $5,000 honoraria and speakers $6,000 along with expenses to attend an "advisory board" that was planned and attended by the Galena sales staff, according to federal authorities.

Galena was also accused of paying about $92,000 to a physician-owned pharmacy under a "performance-based rebate agreement" to get the owners to prescribe Abstral.

"Given the dangers associated with opioids such as Abstral, it is imperative that prescriptions be based on a patient's medical need rather than a doctor's financial interests," Acting Assistant Attorney General Chad A. Readler, of the Justice Department's Civil Division, said in a statement.

Dougherty, the whistleblower, will receive more than $1.2 million from the settlement.

"This global, civil-only resolution represents the best possible outcome for Galena, with no exclusion from federal programs and no corporate integrity agreement obligations," Gary Giampetruzzi, a lawyer who represented the company, said in a statement issued to Reuters.
By Jeff Goldman | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

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Craig Carton in a 2012 photo. (John Minchillo/AP Images for NFL, File)

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WFAN radio personality Craig Carton was arrested Wednesday and charged with four counts of fraud in what authorities say was a Ponzi scheme that duped investors of millions of dollars by promising them a share of the profits from the sale of concert tickets.

Carton, who has been suspended as co-host of the "Boomer and Carton" morning show, and a 41-year-old New Jersey man, Michael Wright, orchestrated the scheme to cover gambling losses, according to authorities.

"Behind all the talk, the Wright and Carton show was just a sham, designed to fleece investors out of millions ultimately to be spent on payments to casinos and to pay off other personal debt," FBI Special Agent Sean Sweeney said.

Carton and Wright posted $500,000 bond apiece and were released after appearing in federal court in Lower Manhattan on Wednesday.

Here's how the scam unfolded according to authorities:

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Scheme started in September 2016

Carton and Michael Wright got involved in the scheme in September 2016, according to the criminal complaint. The civil filing by the Securities and Exchange Commission filed against Carton on the same day as the criminal charges also lists a third person involved as Joseph Meli, of New York.

Meli was charged by federal prosecutors in January 2017 with running a Ponzi ticket scheme that mirrors the charges revealed in Carton's arrest. Members of his family were also subsequently charged and that scheme dates back to January 2015, according to authorities.

Carton and Meli were seeking a way to eliminate what authorities said was $1 million in debt. In a series of emails, the Carton, Meli and Wright hatched a plan to look for investors to help them buy blocks of concert tickets at face value so they could be re-sold, authorities said.

The three claimed they had access to the tickets through agreement with concert venues. No such agreements existed, authorities said. The emails were exchanged between Sept. 2 and Sept. 8, the criminal complaint shows.

Meli, called CC-1 in the criminal complaint, said that he and Wright had spoken and were "formulating a schedule to clean up the debt."

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October 2016 - Seeking hedge fund investment

By October, Carton and his associates had inched closer to securing an investment from a hedge fund.

The criminal complaints says Carton sent an email to co-defendant Michael Wright and CC-1 (Meli) on Oct. 12, 2016 that says "Guys. I've done it. One investor ready committed $10m liquid and $40m LOC (line of credit) with $50 more if needed. I need some info. List of shows we can 100% prove access to tickets. How many when and how it's returned and predicted success."

Carton's group planned to receive a line of credit from the hedge fund, purchase tickets and re-sell them at a profit, FBI Special Agent Sean Sweeney said in the complaint.

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December 2016 - $10M ticket deal promised

Though it's not stated in the complaint, the investment firm that Carton duped out of $4.6 million is Brigade Capital Management, according to a report on SI.com.

The hedge fund was led to believe it would get a share of the profits from the sale of the tickets.

In a Dec. 7 email to Brigade, Carton wrote that he secured agreements with an unnamed Los Angeles concert promotion company to get $10 million in tickets, authorities said. An executive for the concert promotion company later told authorities that no agreement ever existed or had been signed, authorities said.

The following day, the hedge fund company executed a revolving loan agreement in which they would provide Carton $10 million to buy concert tickets, authorities said.

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December 2016 - Wire transfer of $2M

Carton lied to Brigade on Dec. 16 to prevent the scam from potentially unraveling, the complaint says. Brigade agreed to wire $2 million to a sports and entertainment company to pay for tickets but Carton told them they couldn't speak to representatives from the unnamed company because "their execs are in Orlando.. in meetings most of the day."

Carton then called the sports and entertainment company and said Brigade mistakenly wired them $2 million and instructed them to forward the money to Tier One Tickets, which he owned, authorities said. The sports and entertainment company complied with Carton's request and sent him the $2 million, authorities said.

No tickets were ever purchased with the funds, the complaint says. The complaint doesn't explain whey Brigade didn't vet the sports and entertainment company or Carton and his associates.

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December 2016 - Carton pays off casino debts, authoritie say

Over the next several days in December, Carton, Wright and Meli misappropriated additional hedge fund investments that had been wired to them, authorities say.

On Dec. 21 and 22, Carton sent a total of $133,00 to several casinos in New York state and elsewhere, according to court documents. The next day, Carton wired $1,050,000 in fraudulently obtained funds, including $500,000 to a casino.

Another $250,000 went to an unnamed investor who earlier give Carton $1 million to finance the host to purchase tickets for a concert tour of a "well-known performer," authorities said. Then on Dec. 28, Carton wired an additional $400,000 to casinos, authorities said. The SEC complaint identified the performer as Adele.

The 16-page complaint ends with Sweeney requesting arrests warrants for Carton and Wright.

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January 2017 - Meli is charged by federal authorities

The criminal complaint against Carton states that the scheme ended in January 2017. That month, Meli and Steven Simmons, 48, of Connecticut, were charged in federal court in New York with conspiring to run wire fraud scheme involving tickets for a popular Broadway show.

As alleged, while soliciting funds from investors for legitimate-sounding investments, Steven Simmons and Joseph Meli were in fact running Ponzi schemes," Deputy U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim said at the time. "Meli allegedly made up out of whole cloth purported deals to buy Broadway tickets that he could later sell at a profit.

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September 2017 - Carton and Wright are arrested

Carton was suspended by WFAN the day after his arrest on charges in the alleged multi-million scheme.

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Boomer Esiason raves about how great Mike Francesa was after the news that Mike's longtime antagonist, Craig Carton, had been arrested. pic.twitter.com/3m6ZLQl8m2  unhouse (@BackAftaThis) September 7, 2017

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More coverage of Carton's arrest:

 WFAN host Craig Carton ran ticket Ponzi scheme to pay gambling debts, feds say

 WATCH: WFAN's Boomer Esiason's on-air reaction to Craig Carton's arrest

 Strip club exec from N.J. charged with radio host Craig Carton in ticket scheme

 CBS Radio suspends Carton after arrest

 Christie won't fill in for Carton on WFAN, source says

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Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
By PTI: Mumbai, Sep 9 (PTI) The Civil Hospital in Nashik, Maharashtra, where 55 infants died in the last one month, would soon get more funds and incubators, Maharashtra health minister Dr Deepak Sawant said today.

Sawant today visited the hospital and reviewed the facilities available there. He also sanctioned Rs 21 crore for woman and child section of the hospital.

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"The hospital will get five additional incubators," Sawant added.

Hospital authorities had said yesterday that it has 18 incubators.

"Newly-born babies come to the Civil Hospital from places as far as 200 km away. Every year some 28,000 children are admitted to this hospital. Sometimes the figure touches 50,000," he said.

Almost half of the babies admitted to the hospital are born outside, and such babies are more likely to develop bacterial infections, the minister said.

Arrival of "migrant citizens" in the city in April and May also leads to rise in cases of bacterial infection overall, he said.

Fifty-five infants died in the special newborn care unit of the hospital in August, authorities had said yesterday.

Since April, 187 infants have died in the unit, civil surgeon Suresh Jagdale had told PTI.

"Most of these deaths occurred because the infants were brought from private hospitals at a stage where there was little chance of recovery. The deaths were also due to reasons like premature birth and lung weakness," he had said, ruling out possibility of medical negligence. PTI ND KRK

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Neruppu Da starring Vikram Prabhu and Nikki Galrani in the lead is in theatres. The film is patchy and all smoke, says our review.

By Srivatsan: Neruppu Da is centred on five aspiring firefighters -- Guru (Vikram Prabhu) and his friends played by Varun, Vincent Rajkumar and Dinesh. The film begins with an ode to firefighters. Neruppu Da, however, has less to do with firefighting, as the premise is used to take the story forward.

We're introduced to Guru's world after the customary hero introduction song. Guru is a caring son to a widowed father (Ponvannan), who's a sanitary worker. In a short flashback, we learn about Guru's friends and why they're 'The Expendables'. He's a simple man, who's passionate about saving people -- that we're constantly reminded even in the climax.

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In his small world, there exists a heroine too. When Guru meets Vasumathi (Nikki Galrani), she extinguishes a fire. He's smitten by her innovative effort to put out the fire. Or perhaps it's just a spark! Of course, the scene cannot end without a song, can it? But let's appreciate the director for avoiding an unnecessary romantic track -- as Vasumathi instantly expresses her love for Guru, who, on the other hand, was more curious about finding out her name. We wonder how this scene was on paper. It also drives home the point that Neruppu Da is a 'commercial' film. And that you just have to stop worrying about consistencies/inconsistencies, and the way the heroines are written in these 'entertainers'.

Anyway, Guru takes the blame for a crime he never committed in the first place. The crime, which is at the heart of Neruppu Da, itself looks silly. Guru's dream of becoming a firefighter is quashed (remember Kireedam?) when 'Pulianthope' Ravi (Madhusudhana Rao), a bigshot gangster, learns about his friend Sadha's murder. It's rather surprising to see a consistent first half in a rather lazily written whodunnit.

Take the scene where Guru's supposed plan to kidnap Pulianthope Ravi goes wrong. When the revelation happens in the form of a short flashback, we see a signboard saying 'Sudugadu sellum vazhi' (Way to the graveyard). Later in that scene, we get a lovely twist, which has to do something with cotton, when Ravi asks his kidnappers to free him. It's a hilarious stretch! Barring the needless romantic scenes followed by Sean Roldan's disappointing songs, and Rajendran's is-this-even-funny track, Neruppu Da gives us the feeling of a passable thriller at first.

But debutant Ashok Kumar isn't happy with just a thriller. Suddenly, Neruppu Da throws at us a whodunnit angle. Which is why we could sense someone exhaling loudly in the second half. And the big climax gimmickry is the much-needed comical relief.

In an early scene, Guru and friends leave hurriedly, thinking that a fire broke out at a nearby place. Midway, they're shocked to find out something. As they say, there's no smoke without Neruppu Da. Here, there's only smoke.

( The writer tweets as @LoneWolf_7126 )

ALSO READ: Kathanayagan Movie Review

ALSO READ: Vikram Vedha | R Madhavan-Vijay Sethupathi's film completes 50 days

ALSO READ: Rajamouli, Shankar likely to attend Spyder audio launch

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WATCH HERE: Neruppu Da Trailer

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FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP)  Survivors of Hurricane Ian face a long emotional road to recover from one of the most damaging storms to hit the U.S. mainland. For those who lost everything to disaster, the anguish can be crushing to return home to find so much gone. Grief can run the gamut from frequent tears to utter despair. The Lee County medical examiner says two men in their 70s even took their own lives a day apart after viewing their losses. Experts say suicides climb after disasters and more funding for mental health should be provided as climate change makes storms and fires more frequent and devastating.
SHELBY  Dallas McDowell and Hagen Sorensen put in some work Friday.

The fourth-graders from Harlan picked potatoes at Carstens 1880 Farmstead during the organizations Farm Days kids program on Friday, getting their hands dirty while plucking spuds.

Another bucket! McDowell said triumphantly as the pair turned in another full haul.

The Harlan pair was among more than 400 students from more than 10 schools that descended on the farm near Shelby as part of the 35th annual Farm Days weekend, which opens to the Saturday and Sunday.

Students learned about 18th and 19th century farm practices, including how to make rope, thresh corn and keep bees, along with using a wash basin to do laundry. There was a wagon tour, antique tractors and a black smith. And while a corn maze might not be olde tyme, it still provided a lot of enjoyment for the youngsters.

Its fun because were doing it like they used to do back in the day, Sorensen said.

After picking potatoes, students were able to enjoy the fruit of their labor when volunteers cleaned, sliced and fried em up. Served with catsup.

Everything, said Lauren Schmitz of Harlan when asked what she enjoyed about Farm Days. Shed just finished up enthusiastically picking potatoes.

I like that theres a ton of potatoes and it really helps my eyesight, she said, though she noted she didnt like potatoes and wouldnt have a plate of chips. Lauren shouldve given them a chance, they were delicious.

The potatoes were sliced by Lanny Newland of Persia, one of the many volunteers working to provide the experience to the students. Newland said hes been a part of the Farm Days since the beginning.

You get a job here, you dont get rid of it, he said with a smile, saying two words when asked about his favorite part: The kids.

As they finished up washing and hanging clothes out to dry, a group of Underwood students talked about another skill theyd enjoyed learning about  rope-making with Bernie Schroder.

We got to make four pieces of rope, said fourth-grader Kayle Bristol. It was a lot of fun.

Schroder explained his machine was built in 1901. He learned the craft from his grandfather.

This is one of the best, most satisfying days at the farm, said organizer Mel Hursey, president of the farms board.

Farm Days continue Saturday and Sunday, with the public invited to participate in many of the activities the youngsters enjoyed on Friday. An antique farm equipment and classic car parade will roll through the farm grounds at 2 p.m. both days.

Admission to the event is $5 per day for attendees 9 years old and older.
With an interim superintendent, and plans for the next school board to make the critical next hire, the Treynor Community School District has four candidates seeking two seats on the school board in Tuesdays school elections.

Lisa Chambers, Mickey Stogdill, Greg Goos and Brandon Vorthmann  all newcomers to the board  are seeking a chance to serve the community. All said they want to see Treynor become united.

Treynors controversial former superintendent departed at the end of last year, and the board opted to hire an interim superintendent, Lou Howell, who cannot apply for the full-time post.

A candidate forum was held Wednesday. The video from the event can be found at youtu.be/HuFzeSs47jY.

The Nonpareil interviewed each of the candidates about their desire to serve on the Treynor Board of Education.

Lisa Chambers

An educator for the past 30 years  including 11 in Treynor  Chambers is a strong advocate for public education.

I was asked to run, she said. I thought long and hard and decided that my knowledge of education would be an asset to the board.

The next superintendent can bring the community together, Chambers said, so the hire is the most important thing we can do as a district. She said the next superintendent must be knowledgeable, especially in finance, and be both strong enough to move the district in the right direction but compassionate enough to work with everyone.

I would say weve moved on to a new chapter, Chambers said. I applaud the board on deciding to hire an interim ... because I think that, by doing that, its allowing a lot of the issues to maybe be worked through within the year, so that this person can start fresh.

Mickey Stogdill

A regular attendee of board meetings already, Stogdill said he has invested time to be able to make informed decisions and to voice his opinion.

While not approaching the prospect of serving on the board with a platform or agenda, Stogdill wants to be part of the process to hire the next superintendent to set up the district for a decade.

We have a great district, he said. We just need to keep moving forward.

By hiring a superintendent who is a great communicator, fiscally knowledgeable and financial responsible.

Stogdill, who is the owner of a transportation company, said he wants to push for transparency and to reach out for more dialogue with the community.

Anytime youre doing that (having community dialogue), youre just promoting everybody growing together, he said.

Greg Goos

Goos felt the Treynor schools spent the last couple years going in the wrong direction, but that time has changed.

Now that weve gotten a new interim superintendent, I think now we can move on from the pat couple years and get our school back to where it needs to be, Goos said. I want to be part of getting a new superintendent that is going to do good things for our school and get it moving in the right direction.

Goos is a farmer whose father and grandfather both served on the school board. He said the school district is in a good position now, but has to keep that momentum going in the future.

The next superintendent has to bring Treynor together, including making sure teachers can bring forward concerns.

When you get that camaraderie or unity, you can get things done that you need to get done a lot easier than it was before, he said. It was hard to move on past that stigma (from the past couple years), and now I think we can do it.

Brandon Vorthmann

Vorthmann said hed approach serving on the school board with an open mind.

The district is in a very good position financially; our student achievement is good, he said. Theres always room for improvement. We want to maintain those high standards.

Treynors great tradition of excellent education must continue, Vorthmann said, and he wants to see the next superintendent be someone who can manage both academics and finances.

The hire must also be someone who can unify our entire staff and help to unify our community, he said.

Vorthmann, who is a farmer and has a small custom application business, said the whole community is ready to move forward with the next chapter in the history of the Treynor school district.

Time will help build unity, he said. Things will get better.

As they improve, both academics and finances remain keys for success.

We just want to keep that momentum going, Vorthmann said.
For Council Bluffs Police Sgt. Ron Albers, it was a bit of a tight squeeze Friday morning as he was handing out donuts and coffee from a drive-thru window not made for his height.

I must of hit my head 20 times, Albers said with a laugh.

That morning, local officers took part in the national Cop on a Rooftop event at Dunkin Donuts locations to raise money for the Special Olympics.

Sgt. Cory Woodward stood at the drive-thru accepting donations from drivers. Officers elsewhere in the metro area were doing the same as social media used the hastag #CopOnARooftop.

Officers were content keeping their feet on the ground, Police Chief Tim Carmody said, as there was no roof access at the local donut shop.

Albers, however, said: I wanted to go up there. Im not scared of heights.

Carmody said opportunities like these serve as a good way for the community to have positive interactions with law enforcement  and for officers to see some smiles, too.

We like to give back. The Special Olympics is special to us, and its important to expose our people to positive experiences, Carmody said.

Woodward said he and his fellow officers are more than happy to help out the community.

Plus, theres donuts, Woodward added.

Guests who donated received coupons for free coffee.

Albers is no stranger to organizing for the Special Olympics. For several years he has put together the Iowa Special Olympics Polar Plunge at Lake Manawa.

This is just another way we can help, Albers said.

Jennie Inzauro, general manager at the Bluffs Dunkin Donuts, said it was the locations first time doing the event. The staff had a good time and enjoyed having officers on hand to pass out coffee.

About $500 was raised, she said.

It was exciting, Inzauro said. We all had a good time.
WASHINGTON  When Sen. Charles Grassley announced that the Judiciary Committee wouldnt make time to consider a replacement attorney general this year, he seemed to establish himself as a firewall between President Donald Trump and the Russia probes the president has long sought to dismantle.

But the Iowa Republicans continuing efforts to focus attention on Hillary Clintons emails, her familys foundation and allegations that Democrats colluded with foreign governments suggest something else: that Grassley is also playing the part of partisan Republican, protecting the president he is also investigating.

As Congress Russia probes enter an intense new phase this month, one uncertainty is which Grassley will prevail at the helm of the Judiciary Committee: fearless investigator ready to take on his own party or loyal member of the GOP.

On Thursday, those competing tendencies faced a fresh test as the Judiciary Committee met with Donald Trump Jr., the first of the presidents inner-circle campaign surrogates the panel hopes to interview as part of its investigation into Russian interference in the election  including allegations of coordination between the presidents team and the Kremlin.

Grassleys investigation is one of three ongoing efforts on Capitol Hill to examine such allegations. For several months, witnesses treated his probe as an also-ran to the House and Senate intelligence committees  a symptom of the limited clearance that Grassleys panel enjoys to dig into intelligence files critical to the investigation.

Yet the Judiciary Committees profile has risen as the president makes increasingly controversial moves to respond to the Russia probes.

Firing FBI director James Comey, hinting that he might try to do the same with special counsel Robert Mueller III and demanding that members of Congress protect him from the Russia inquiries have inspired accusations that Trump may be attempting to obstruct justice  and pulled the Russia investigation straight into the purview of Grassleys panel.

Grassley can be punishing with anyone who tries to circumvent his committees authority  even the president, whom Grassley recently lectured in a letter to be more responsive to congressional oversight requests from Democrats and Republicans.

Trumps surrogates have been less than responsive to Grassleys requests for information. Trump Jr. and former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort received such requests this summer, and at one point Grassley threatened to issue subpoenas but later rescinded them in favor of negotiating with their lawyers.

The scope of Grassleys probe is unique: While the intelligence committees are focused on whether the presidents team colluded with Russian officials, Grassleys is looking at abuse of power involving the Justice Department and matters such as foreign lobbying. That range could expose some witnesses to a different level of risk.

Yet Grassleys refusal to be constrained, and his reputation for putting the integrity of his probes above all, including party, is why many Democrats trust him with the reins of an investigation into Trump. Privately, Democrats also express concerns about Grassleys apparent affinity for Trump, and how he is steering the committees investigative attention toward other targets, including allegations about Hillary Clinton.

Grassley rarely criticizes the president, even when much of the GOP is doing so. He did not directly censure the president for pardoning former Maricopa County sheriff Joe Arpaio or for his reaction to neo-Nazi marches in Charlottesville, Virginia.

In the past few months, Grassley has also echoed or excused several of Trumps actions that have given the appearance of distracting from the Russia probe. He has supported the presidents fixation on leaks  a surprising turn from a senator who has made defending whistleblowers a key part of his career.

To Grassleys team, referring to their investigation as a Russia probe is a misnomer. They prefer to describe it as a web of intersecting investigations into the reasons behind Trumps decision to fire Comey, the FBIs handling of Clintons email scandal and how lax enforcement is allowing foreign interference in U.S. matters to proceed unchecked in Washington.

To date, and to Democrats continued confusion, Grassley has treated the Trump surrogates largely as witnesses to that foreign lobbying probe, which he started in 2015. At the center of the probe is Fusion GPS, the firm behind a salacious but unverified dossier of Trumps personal and financial activities in Russia.

Were trying to find out if Russia paid em, Grassley explained in a recent interview.

Manafort and Trump Jr. came into Grassleys Fusion orbit as a result of the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting they attended with a Russian lawyer claiming to have damaging information about Clinton.

Despite their political differences, Democrats have maintained a good working relationship with Grassley. He rarely takes a public step without at least attempting to coordinate his efforts with ranking Democrat Dianne Feinstein of California.

In fact, it is often Republicans who cant seem to agree on what they think about Grassleys broad-based, multifaceted approach.

Senator Grassley, who has been a master of oversight  and hes very aggressive  I think hes a little frustrated that the Judiciary Committee hasnt had a more expansive role, said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, the Senates No. 2 Republican and a member of both the Judiciary and Intelligence committees.

Grassley is notoriously unperturbed by jurisdictional limitations  and aides say he has never received so much as a phone call from leaders asking him to back off aspects of his probe. It isnt clear if the current president has been as hands-off: Last week, Trump placed a phone call to Grassley to talk about ethanol, one of the most important parochial issues to the Iowa senator, just hours after cable news outlets carried chyrons about the Judiciary Committees upcoming interview with Trump Jr.

Grassley has often spoken of his respect for special counsel Muellers integrity and professionalism. But in a recent interview, the chairman also expressed disdain for the way Mueller is running his investigation into Trumps alleged Russia ties, complaining that this whole Russia thing is going to go on for five years before it is over.

When youve got a special counsel and they dont even have a budget, they just draw on the Treasury, and theyre going to keep going until they can at least find one person who lied under oath, so they can charge one person, Grassley said. Theyre not going to get their work done until they charge at least one person with something so they can claim victory.
NEW YORK  Theres no way around it: The news from credit reporting company Equifax that 143 million Americans had their information exposed is very serious.

The crucial pieces of personal information that criminals may need to commit identity theft  Social Security numbers, birthdates, address histories, legal names  were all obtained. And once your personal data is out there, its basically out there forever.

Unlike previous breaches at Yahoo, Target and Home Depot, Equifaxs role in the financial industry makes this breach far more alarming. The company is basically a storehouse of Americans most personal credit information, knowing everything about people from when they opened their first credit card, to how much money they owe on their houses, to whether they have any court judgments against them.

Lenders rely on the information collected by the credit bureaus to help them decide whether to approve financing for homes, cars and credit cards. Credit checks are even sometimes done by employers when deciding whom to hire for a job.

Atlanta-based Equifax, one of three major U.S. credit bureaus, said Thursday that criminals exploited a U.S. website application to access files between mid-May and July of this year. Equifax discovered the hack July 29, but waited until Thursday to warn consumers.

For consumers, it may be time to take even more extreme measures to lock down their information, outside of the routine advice like checking your credit reports regularly and seeing if there are any abnormal transactions on your bank accounts and credit cards.

The strongest possible option a person can take immediately is placing whats known as a credit freeze on their credit files with the major credit bureaus  Equifax, TransUnion and Experian. A credit freeze locks down a persons information, making it impossible to open new accounts and bank cards in their name. But locking your credit also locks you out from opening new accounts as well.

The credit freeze is the nuclear option of credit protection. But in the wake of a breach this big, its worth considering, said Matt Schultz, an analyst with creditcards.com.

Consumers will need to be even more diligent about checking their credit reports. U.S. law gives every American the right to pull their credit reports for free once a year from the major credit bureaus. Its best to spread those requests out over the year  do one every four months, experts say.

There are a lot of websites that market access to your credit reports, but the official one is annualcreditreport.com

Expect to check this information not just in the immediate future, but for the long term  potentially years. Once your personal data is out there, it can be used at any time.

Bad guys can be very patient with data. This should be a wake-up call to be even more diligent with your information, Schultz said.

An even more extreme step? People can request to change their Social Security number with the Social Security Administration if they have repeatedly been a victim of identity fraud under their original number.

This isnt the biggest data breach in history. That indignity still belongs to Yahoo, which was targeted in at least two separate digital burglaries that affected more than 1 billion of its users accounts throughout the world.

But no Social Security numbers or drivers license information were disclosed in the Yahoo break-in.

Equifaxs security lapse could be the largest theft involving Social Security numbers, one of the most common methods used to confirm a persons identity in the U.S. It eclipses a 2015 hack at health insurer Anthem Inc. that involved the Social Security numbers of about 80 million people.

Any data breach threatens to tarnish a companys reputation, but it is especially mortifying for Equifax, whose entire business revolves around providing a clear financial profile of consumers that lenders and other businesses can trust.

In addition to the personal information stolen in its breach, Equifax said the credit card numbers for about 209,000 U.S. consumers were also taken, as were certain dispute documents containing personal information for approximately 182,000 U.S. individuals.

Equifax has established a website, equifaxsecurity2017.com, where people can check to see if their personal information may have been stolen. Consumers can also call 866-447-7559 for more information.

The company warned that hackers also may have some limited personal information about British and Canadian residents. The company doesnt believe that consumers from any other countries were affected.

Three Equifax executives sold shares worth a combined $1.8 million just a few days after the company discovered it had been hacked, according to documents filed with securities regulators. Equifax said the three executives had no knowledge that an intrusion had occurred at the time they sold their shares.

Equifax shares fell about 13 percent to $123.75 in heavy trading. The decline equates to about $2.28 billion in lost market value.

 AP Writer Michael Liedtke in San Francisco contributed to this report.
Ron Perry spent much of his free time this past year working with wood, a favorite hobby.

Through the fall and winter months at his home, he created cutting boards  many, many cutting boards. When Perry finished his collection this spring, he suddenly faced a slight dilemma.

What am I going to do with all of them? he recalled asked.

While he gave away some boards as gifts, Perry decided all money raised from the purchase of the others would go to the Alzheimers Association.

Every year, we try to raise at least $2,000 (for the Alzheimers Association), said Perry, executive director at the Heritage at Fox Run Assisted Living Community. We do a lot of things to raise funds. This was a little different. I wanted it done in memory of my father.

Perrys father, Robert, who taught him woodworking skills, passed away three years ago from Alzheimers.

Altogether, Perry created 30 cutting boards, giving away 11 of them to family and friends.

The remaining cutting boards were purchased quickly. As of Thursday, $520 had been raised for the battle against Alzheimers.

Perrys effort in creating these cutting boards was truly a labor of love.

Not only does he enjoy working with wood, but some of the wood in his cutting boards came from his fathers property in New York State, as well as tools belonging to his father.

Some of the wood was local, right here in Iowa, Perry said. I had a friend at church give me some black walnut.

Raising funds for Alzheimers through his love of woodworking might continue.

Maybe next year I might create hardwood serving trays, Perry said.
By PTI: New Delhi, Sep 9 (PTI) The NIA, which has arrested Kashmiri separatists as part of its probe into terror funding, should be allowed to work in a professional manner, Union minister Jitendra Singh said today.

Singh stated this in response to former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullahs comments on the arrest of separatist leaders by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) which is investigating terror funding in the valley.

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Abdullah had said yesterday that he would accept the NIA raids on separatists as "genuine" only if the probe finds something against them.

"NIA is a professional unit, which runs on certain rules," Minister of State in the PMO Singh said.

"It will be better if we let it work in a professional manner," he said. PTI ANK NKS KUN

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People will see a rare sky-show when asteroid-bound spacecraft will approach Earth. The spacecraft will pass about 17,000 km above Earth. Keep your cameras ready.

By India Today Web Desk: If you dig space and many things it has to offer, then you are in for a treat. We will see a rare show in the sky when NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft approaches Earth over Australian skies on September 22.

As NASA's asteroid-bound spacecraft OSIRIS-REx approaches Earth for its September 22 gravity assist, a ground-based telescope has captured images of the spacecraft.

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OSIRIS-REx will use Earth's gravity to have an oribital boost. The maneuver is called a gravity assist or a gravity slingshot. The asteroid-bound spacecraft will rendezvous with the asteroid Bennu in 2018.

The spacecraft will pass about 17,000 km above Earth.

This is the first Earth-based view of OSIRIS-REx since its launch on September 8, 2016, NASA said on Friday.

NASA: First Earth-based view of the spacecraft since its launch on Sept. 8, 2016

The images were taken on September 2, by the Large Binocular Telescope Observatory located on Mount Graham in Arizona.

OSIRIS-REx was approximately 12 million kilometres away when the images were taken, NASA said.

Curtin University Professor Phil Bland, team leader of the Desert Fireball Network, and member of the OSIRIS-REx science team, said the rare encounter would offer an opportunity to highlight the capabilities of the DFN and planetary science research in Australia.

"The teams will be equipped with high-end DSLR cameras that will work together to track the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft across the sky from each viewpoint, enabling the DFN team to create a 3D triangulated track of its sling-shot around the Earth," Phys Org quoted professor Bland said.

"This important milestone furthers the work of planetary research here at Curtin and our relationship with NASA.

"We know very little about how the planets came together and why the Earth has the composition that it does. The samples that OSIRIS-REx delivers may hold the key to some of these answers."

Photo: lbto.org

After traveling almost 600 million miles (nearly a billion km), OSIRIS-REx will approach Earth at a speed of about 30,000 kmph. The spacecraft will fly over Australia before reaching its closest point to Earth over Antarctica, just south of Cape Horn, Chile.

FYI || Mystery planet Nibiru might collide with Earth: Conspiracy theory claims solar eclipse will mark the end of our world ||

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FYI || Impacts of meteorites can spark volcanic eruptions on Earth: Study ||

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Next month, North Platte will host what is billed as the only traveling water circus in the United States. Cirque Italia will have performances on Oct. 12-15 at the Platte River Mall.

When Cirque Italia began in 2012, founder Manuel Rebecchi wanted to do something different from traditional American circuses. Cirque Italia is performed on a stage holding 35,000 gallons of water that is set up under an enormous white and blue tent.

"But you dont feel like youre in a tent," said Chante DeMoustes, the shows producer and chief operating officer. "It feels like a beautiful building inside."

DeMoustes said she wanted the audience to leave behind the outside world and step into a setting thats intimate and beautiful.

"I wanted them to experience a European type of production," DeMoustes said. "I wanted something more elegant, more sophisticated."

The water plays a role in that, with large fountains shooting into the air and performers incorporating it into their acts. Its also timed to music and "dances" while the circus is taking place.

The shows will each be about two hours long and will consist of more than ten acts including a laser man, dinosaurs, a mermaid, a contortionist, a high wire act, aerial acrobats and a clown. Some of the acts have appeared on Americas Got Talent, and others hold Guinness World Records.

When she looks for acts for Cirque Italia, DeMoustes is searching for performers that could keep every audience member engaged, whether it is a child, their parents or their grandparents.

"We have such a wide variety, I couldnt tell you whats my favorite," DeMoustes said.

None of the acts involve animals, unless you count the dinosaur.

DeMoustes said that Cirque Italia tries to keep ticket prices down. Tickets start at $25 for adults and $10 for children for the back section, and go up to $50 for seats closer to the stage. In a few weeks, DeMoustes said, fliers will be available at the Platte River Mall that can be used for discounted tickets. A promo code on the flier will allow attendees to get a free childs ticket for every adult ticket they purchase if theyre sitting in the middle or back section.

"We are very excited to have the opportunity to bring an event like this to North Platte," said Cassie Condon, property manager at the Platte River Mall. "This is something that will stand out from the rest."

For more information about Cirque Italia, visit cirqueitalia.com.
Two men were arrested after separate disturbances Sunday.

Just before 10:15 a.m., North Platte police were called to a disturbance between a man and a woman in a vehicle near Fifth street and Bicentennial Avenue. Investigator John Deal said officers were unable to locate the vehicle, but found a 40-year-old woman walking nearby who had a visible injury to her neck as well as scrapes on her legs.

Deal said she had been in the vehicle with her boyfriend, Marcus Dandridge, 41. The two got into an argument and Dandridge stopped the car near Fifth and Bicentennial, Deal said.

The man got out and walked over to the passenger side; then he put the woman into a choke hold, pulled her out of the vehicle and dragged her to the ground. He then got back in the car and drove away.

Deal said authorities were told that the man might be heading to Texas, where had connections. The Nebraska State Patrol found him on U.S. Highway 83 and took him to the Lincoln County Detention Center, where he was booked on suspicion of felony strangulation and third-degree domestic assault.

In the second case, an officer was called at 12:39 p.m. Sunday after a disturbance at a home in the 2200 block of East Sixth Street. The officer met with a 25-year-old woman and her 43-year-old mother.

The younger woman has a child with Chance Rangle, 28, who was visiting from Colorado to spend time with the child, according to Deal. During his stay, he became belligerent and threatened to burn the house down. He also made several statements that he was going to harm both women. A neighbor reported hearing Rangle screaming and swearing.

Rangle left but was located at Kwik Stop at the intersection of Fourth and Poplar streets. He was arrested on suspicion of third-degree assault, third-degree domestic assault and disturbing the peace.
By PTI: disqualification

Islamabad, Sep 8 (PTI) Pakistans Supreme Court will hear on September 12 the review petition filed by ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his children challenging his disqualification in the Panamagate case.

Sharif, 67, stepped down after an apex court bench disqualified him on July 28 from continuing in his office for dishonesty and ruled that corruption cases be filed against him and his children over the scandal.

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According to court roster fixing cases for the next week, three-member panel headed by Justice Ejaz Afzal will hear the review petition. It is the same panel which disqualified Sharif.

Sharif, his children and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar filed separate petitions challenging the July 28 verdict.

Under the law, the review petition in the Supreme Court is usually adjudicated by the panel of judges which deliver the original verdict.

According to A senior lawyer the judges only review the technical objections in the review petitions.

"Most of objections raised in the review were already rejected during the hearing of the case and nothing has changed on the ground to force the judges to change the original verdict," he said on condition of anonymity. PTI SH NSA

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Gaming revenue at Northwest Indiana casinos was down slightly in August as compared to a year ago, but an increase in slot machine play offered encouraging signs to local operators competing with thousands of video-gaming terminals in Illinois.

The casinos won $75.4 million at their table games and slot machines in August, down 1.3 percent from last August's $76.5 million, according to a monthly report from the Indiana Gaming Commission.

Two-percent growth in slot machine play stood out as encouraging.

"That's a nice, positive move for us," Horseshoe Vice President of Finance Steve Cox said. He said new games and "changing up the floor" have helped build that side of the business.

Northwest Indiana's casinos had slot machine revenue of $60.9 million on $630.8 million played in August.

The table game side saw a slight drop of less than 1 percent in the amount of money played, to $83.4 million, but a big drop in the casinos' win, 13.9 percent, to $14.5 million.

"There were a lot of lucky players in Northwest Indiana," Cox said.

Horseshoe posted the only year-over-year increase for August in Northwest Indiana, up 0.3 percent to $33.1 million. The state's largest casino has posted increases four months in a row. Ameristar was down 4 percent, to $16.8 million; Michigan City's Blue Chip was down 1.5 percent to $13.2 million; and Gary's two Majestic Star casinos saw a 1.7-percent decline to $12.2 million.

For the year through August, gaming revenue is off 1.8 percent at Region casinos  at $636.2 million.

The number of patrons entering the casinos in August was down 1.9 percent, to 795,016.

In the greater Chicago area, revenue was flat, Cox said, with casinos on the Illinois side of the state line up about 1 percent year over year.

Statewide, Indiana's 13 gambling establishments showed a revenue increase of less than 1 percent, to $180.8 million. They paid admissions and wagering taxes to the state totaling $34.6 million.
Fans of Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, "Dr. Who" and "Star Trek" might geek out over the Region's newest doughnut shop.

SciFi Donuts has blasted off 138 S. Broad St. in downtown Griffith and is looking to open satellite locations around Northwest Indiana, including in Valparaiso. The science fiction-themed doughnut shop and cafe specializes in elaborate, artisan cake donuts, which are served in a space with star charts, solar system maps and posters for movies like "Guardians of the Galaxy" and "The Day the Earth Stood Still."

Owners Jo and Dave Noteboom started out selling doughnuts at the Valparaiso Market and decided they wanted to establish brick-and-mortar locations. Expansion will depend on how popular the concept proves.

"It was a dream we had been thinking about," Jo Noteboom said. "So many people do fried donuts. All our donuts are baked and handcrafted. We want to be different and creative. It's all made from scratch right here. We use natural ingredients as much as we can."

All of the doughnuts have science fiction-themed names. The Black Hole, for instance, is a chocolate doughnut with chocolate frosting, chips and sprinkles, while the Spock is a cornmeal doughnut with barbecue sauce and bacon "because a BBQ doughnut with bacon is logical." A top seller is The Rings of Saturn, a vanilla doughnut with vanilla frosting and rainbow sprinkles.

"We want it to be a whole experience," she said. "It was important we decorated the shop this way. ... We appeal to a lot of different people, but sci-fi buffs have been excited."

The doughnut shop is just the latest business with hipster cachet to open in downtown Griffith, which has undergone a renaissance with Grindhouse Cafe, a juicery, a record shop, an arcade bar, three craft breweries and the Charcuterie specialty grocer.

SciFi Donuts, which can seat about 40 diners in a 900-square-foot space, is covered wall to wall with science fiction and pop culture paraphernalia, such as a telescope pointing out the window, a robot and a sign warning customers not to feed the zombies. A gallery space shows the work of three local artists, and their paintings and photography is available for sale.

The doughnut shop employs about 40 people. It serves Piper and Leaf Tea and Baxter Coffee, including nitro cold brew. It also serves breakfast, lunch and dinner foods, including salads, sandwiches and pizza.

SciFi Donuts has a small stage and plans to host live music on the weekends and eventually larger concerts out back by the Erie Lackawanna Trail.

The business is open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday.

For more information, call 219-513-6880 or visit https://www.facebook.com/scifidonuts/.
Southlake Mall in Hobart will no longer allow teenagers under 17 without adult supervision on Friday and Saturday evenings.

Any teens 17 or younger must be accompanied by an adult at least 21 years old from 4 to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday. One adult can accompany up to six teens.

This new policy goes into effect this Friday.

We want to thank everyone  our mayor, the Hobart Police Department and community leaders  for their time and input over the last few months as we put this program together, said Kristi Jackson, Southlake Malls marketing director. Were pleased we have this policy in place so the community can enjoy a family friendly, pleasant shopping experience at Southlake Mall.

Southlake's new policy was not specifically prompted by any recent occurrences, Jackson said.

"No negative incident or incidents with or without teens affected the decision to roll out the new policy at this time," she said. "We are actually just being proactive and wanting to create an even better enjoyable family-friendly environment for our shoppers."

The policy does not affect AMC Showplace Hobart 12 or teens who work at the mall, who will have to show a valid ID and proof of employment to get to work during policy hours.

Mall security will be posted at doors at entrances starting at 4 p.m. They will pass out copies of the policy and ask shoppers to show proof of ID, which can include drivers licenses, military ID, state identification card, passport or visa

Starting on Thursday, the super-regional mall at U.S. 30 and Mississippi Street will start posting signs advising shoppers about the new policy.

"Southlakes management team reviewed and incorporated best practices from similar mall programs around the country," the mall said in a statement.

More than 100 malls across the country have implemented restrictions on teens, typically during Friday and Saturday nights, according to The International Council of Shopping Centers trade association. Shopping centers including the Mall of America, the St. Louis Outlet Mall and the East Towne and West Towne Malls in Madison, Wisconsin, have adopted curfews or supervision requirements after incidents of unruly behavior to make adult shoppers feel more comfortable.

Hobart Police Department spokesman Lt. James Gonzales said parents should be aware they can no longer just drop their kids off at the mall and leave them there unsupervised on Friday and Saturday nights.

Though there's been no recent uptick in arrests or problems reported to police instead of handled internally by mall security, teens have caused issues at the shopping mall over the years such as minor skirmishes, he said.

"It's a myriad of things," he said. "They've caused minor disturbances, such as running around, being obnoxious or loud, or loitering. ... Starwood, the mall's management company, has implemented the policy elsewhere in the country."

One of the most common crimes at the mall, shoplifting, is not just the province of teens though.

"In my experience, shoplifting is done by both juveniles and adults," he said.
EAST CHICAGO  Community advocates and residents in the city's Calumet area say they want to be "first in line" for redevelopment funding.

They cited years of neglect, blight and the neighborhood's recent amplified reputation as a place plagued by lead and arsenic pollution.

Federal and state environmental agencies have long investigated the area's contaminants, but the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency did not designate it until 2009 as a Superfund site  hazardous land targeted for cleanup.

Beginning last summer, more than 300 families were evacuated from the West Calumet Housing Complex, built in the footprint of a former lead smelter.

Former Calumet resident Sherry Hunter said the USS Lead Superfund Site deserves special attention.

"The wealth," Hunter said, "has been drained from the neighborhood long ago due to environmental threats."

In recent years, the city has focused redevelopment on the North Harbor section. According to the city's 2017 action plan, the Regional Development Authority awarded the city $30 million for revitalization projects in North Harbor.

But fewer dollars have made its way to Calumet, where abandoned structures and vacant lots are littered among family homes and few businesses.

Its in the woodwork

Asked how East Chicago plans to revitalize the Calumet area, City Redevelopment Director Frank Rivera told residents he didn't have an answer.

Rivera noted his hands are tied because the EPA has yet to select a cleanup plan for the West Calumet site. The EPA continues to excavate individual yards in Calumet and East Calumet.

"We don't have any (plans) specific to Calumet because of the Superfund. It's not allowing me, at this point in time, to really establish revitalization plans just yet. It's in the woodwork. There's going to be more," Rivera said.

The city administration has been purchasing homes and vacant lots in Calumet, but it's unclear what direction the city will take in terms of redevelopment. East Chicago Mayor Anthony Copeland has said he wants West Calumet cleaned to residential standards so the city can use the land in any way it sees fit.

Rivera said residents will take part in the planning stages of redevelopment.

"We want a vision for Calumet. It's sad to always see other neighborhoods being developed while knowing this place is really suffering. We have to advocate for it," environmental activist and East Chicago resident Thomas Frank said.

Other funding in place

IHCDA, through a federally funded Blight Elimination Program, awarded the city of East Chicago in December $914,000 to address dilapidated homes. While those dollars can help demolish blighted homes in Calumet and elsewhere, federal regulations bar use of those funds to demolish the West Calumet complex.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded the city of East Chicago nearly $1.2 million in Community Development Block Grant dollars for the current fiscal year that ends June 30, 2018, according to the city's 2017 annual action plan submitted to the agency last month.

The funds target low-to-moderate households and are used, in part, for home rehabs, homeownership assistance, homelessness reduction strategies and neighborhood redevelopment. However, Rivera said, those dollars already have been allocated through a federal approval process and cannot be shifted to target redevelopment in only the Calumet area.

Part of that funding, though, will target housing rehabilitaiton and some lead paint abatement in the Superfund site, he said.

As Rivera listened, Hunter said she wants to see more money flow into the Calumet area.

From the outside looking in," she said, "if I see East Chicago, I think Wow, (Calumet) is the area the city should have started in. Because this area looks the worst. But, instead, they do all the work on the other side of town. They do nothing over here at all. Nothing. How do you blatantly skip over an area?'"

Rivera told residents at the meeting the city can only do so much with the federal and state grant dollars awarded annually. He added he is open to hearing more from residents about how to divvy up redevelopment dollars.
A Michigan City man has been sentenced to 75 years in prison for fatally shooting a woman through her open drivers side window.

Alan Landry was given 60 years for the 2015 murder of Nekia Hyler and 15 years for being an habitual offender. He has past convictions for crimes including robbery.

LaPorte County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Mark Roule asked for a sentence of five years under the 85-year maximum for both counts.

"Its probably not uncommon for prosecutors to always wish the sentence was a little higher, but were not disappointed," Roule said.

According to LaPorte Superior Court documents, there was evidence Landry feared his wife would find out about a sexual relationship between himself and 31-year-old Hyler, whom he met online.

Evidence also showed Hyler feared she was being stalked by Landry, who was behind her when she pulled into the driveway of a vacant home in the 300 block of Holliday Street, court records said.

Landry walked up to her open drivers side window, shot her in the neck, then grabbed her cell phone, according to court documents.

A search for Hyler began when her daughter was not picked up from elementary school and Hyler was not home when her daughter arrived, police said.

According to police, Landry tried establishing an alibi by going to pick up his children while texting others that he and Hyler were together.

Tracking technology showed he told the truth about where he had gone after the killing, but it also revealed he was in possession of the victims phone every step of the way.

Landry was picked up two days later on federal firearms-related warrants and was in a federal penitentiary in Kentucky when charged with the murder late in 2016.

Landry was a suspect early in the investigation, Roule said, but his incarceration out of state gave investigators time to gather and piece together all of the complicated tracking data to mount a strong case.
By PTI: By Sajjad Hussain

Islamabad, Sep 9 (PTI) Pakistan today summoned the Myanmar envoy and lodged a strong protest over the ongoing violence against the Rohingya Muslims in the Rakhine state, leading to the exodus of about 270,000 refugees to Bangladesh.

Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua summoned Myanmars Ambassador to Pakistan U Win Myint and sought effective measures to prevent the recurrence of such violence, providing security to Rohingya Muslims, the Foreign Office said.

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She conveyed "a strong protest of the government and people of Pakistan at the ongoing violence against the Rohingya Muslims in the Rakhine state in Myanmar", it said.

Janjua asked for upholding their rights to live and move without fear and discriminations, urgent investigations into recent violence against the Rohingya Muslims and holding accountable those involved in these serious crimes, it said.

She said that as part of a durable settlement of the problem, the swift implementation of the recommendations of the Kofi Annan Commission was emphasised, which include urgent and sustained action to prevent violence, maintain peace, foster reconciliation, assure unhindered humanitarian access and address the issue of citizenship.

The envoy assured the foreign secretary to convey the concerns of the government and people of Pakistan to the Myanmar government, the foreign office added.

According to UN estimates, over 1,000 people may have been killed in the crackdown launched by Myanmar army in Rakhine state. About 270,000 refugees, mostly Rohingya Muslims, have fled to Bangladesh in the last two weeks. PTI SH CPS AKJ CPS

--- ENDS ---
There were new details this week on the city's stalled investigation into whether some schools serving ultra-Orthodox Jewish students are breaking the law. NY1's Lindsey Christ filed the following report.

For two years, the de Blasio administration has said it is investigating whether some ultra-Orthodox yeshivas are breaking the law by not teaching English, math, science or history.

Now, the city Department of Education says it has only visited six of the 39 schools under investigation.

In each case, the schools were allowed to decide when those visits would occur. And all six visits took place this past spring, about a year after the chancellor told the City Council the entire investigation was about to be completed.

"They keep saying that they are taking this investigation so seriously. So I just can't help but wonder, how is it that they only did six visits in two-plus years of investigating this issue?" said Naftuli Moster of Young Advocates for a Fair Education. "So I think there is definitely something wrong going on here."

NY1 asked Mayor Bill de Blasio about the stalled investigation and allegations the delays are politically motivated. The ultra-Orthodox population is considered a powerful voting block, and the mayor is running for re-election.

"There's just more work to do, Lindsey," de Blasio said. "We gave an initial projection. We found that we have to do a lot more work. We have a lot more schools to visit to get to a firmer conclusion. But look, in the meantime, there has been a lot of dialogue with the yeshivas, very purposeful efforts to address these issues."

But a letter written last month by a city lawyer suggests that dialogue has also stalled. The last meeting between the city and the yeshiva leaders happened more than a year ago.

This week, a group advocating for more secular studies released a report saying tens of thousands of local yeshiva students are suffering educational neglect.

"We're not talking about missing two years of school, which is what happens in the Amish community. We're talking about not getting any education, except maybe a first- or second-grade level," said Marci Hamilton of Child USA.

State law requires students in private or religious schools receive an education substantially equivalent to what the public schools provide. The mayor is declining to give a date when the investigation will be completed.
New York City's primary day is Tuesday, and some local education officials, are calling for it to become an official day off for students. NY1's Natalie Duddridge filed the following report.

School has only just begun, but there are already discussions about a day off.

Michael Reilly, the president of the Staten Island community education council, wants Primary Day to be considered a non-attendance day for public school students, given that schools such as P.S. 55 serve as polling sites.

"The reason this is a concern is that when the polls are open, we actually lose cafeteria space, gym space," said Reilly, the president of Community Education Council 31. "So out of out the New York City schools, 692 of them will be hosting polling sites."

By law, the city education department already gives students a break on the day of the general election, such as the upcoming one Nov. 7. But that doesn't apply to the primaries, one of which will be Tuesday.



That is a law that board of elections officials say they have tried to amend for a while.

"We're concerned about the voters' ability to freely access a poll site," said Michael Ryan, the executive director of the city board of elections. "But, of course, we're aware there are security concerns in the schools. We're also aware that it puts a strain on the school's ability to deliver services to the children."

Approving it would not mean an extra day off for students. Already built into the public school calendar, teachers receive two professional development days per year. One falls on the general election day, and the other day is voted on by each school.

"So instead of having to vote on it, it would be built into the system already as Primary Day," said Reilly.

But some parents say they don't mind having their kids in school during Primary Day, and that it can even serve as a learning experience.

"It doesn't bother me, as long as the curriculum is still holding up," one parent said. "It doesn't bother me as long, as they're still able to learn and not be distracted."

"If possible, I think they should go to school that day," another parent said. "I feel it's enough to have just a one day off for the general election."

NY1 reached out to city education department officials, who said that, for now, schools will stay open Primary Day.
Several people are injured after a fire tore through a South Jamaica home early this morning.

Firefighters say flames broke out on both floors of the two-story house at 123-60 147th Street around 3:30 Friday morning.

They say it took more than a hundred firefighters to bring the fire under control about 45 minutes later.

In the end, five people were rushed to the hospital; one person in serious condition and two others in serious but stable condition.

Two firefighters were also also injured and treated at the scene.

Firefighters say there were no smoke detectors in the home and the cause of the fire is under investigation.
A 20-year-old man in Mbarara is in police custody for allegedly killing his friend for failure to pay back Shs 2,000.



Anatori Kakuru, the bar manager at Ever Smart Lodges reportedly stabbed 26-year-old Amon Ariyo, also a manager at a nearby Byafirigo Bar and Lodges in Kijungu cell-Kakoba division in Mbarara municipality.

According to police, the incident occurred while the two engaged in a fight on Friday over the money. Kakuru is said to have picked a knife and stabbed Ariyo in the chest.



Ariyo was pronounced dead moments later as arrangements to take him to Mbarara regional referral hospital were underway.



Medius Katusiime, a resident of the area says that the two have been close friends and wonders why they had to fight over that little money.



Police moved in quickly to disperse angry residents who were mobilising to lynch the suspect.



Samson Kasasira, the Rwizi region police spokesperson, says that police are investigating the matter. Kasasira says that the suspect is being held at Mbarara Central Police Station while the deceased's body was taken to Mbarara regional referral hospital for a postmortem.
Court premises in Moroto remained closed on Thursday and Friday, even after the judicial officers announced that they had called off a nationwide strike over poor pay.



A visit by URN to Moroto court on Thursday and Friday morning found only court clerks and a police officer seated in the court hall.

There was no sign of locals or magistrate at the premises. However, clerks kept the chief magistrates office and court room open. Even the office of the Resident State Attorney remained under lock and key.



In Kotido, only Grade two Magistrates court worked on Friday but with a very low turn up of locals. The workers found in the court premises said they were waiting for clients and responsible officers to attend to.

The Office of the Resident State Attorney Moroto on Thursday morning

The officers who preferred anonymity because they are not allowed to speak to the media said they had not received any communication regarding the return of judicial officers.



When contacted, the judiciary spokesperson Solomon Muyita said the judges could have delayed in the meeting in Kampala on Wednesday to travel back to their duty stations on time. Muyita was optimistic that some court sessions would resume on Friday, though many had not by 4pm.



"The judicial officers were called to Kampala for an extraordinary meeting on Wednesday and am sure some of them especially from distant places are still travelling. Most of them will be in office on Friday and at least all on Monday next week," Muyita said on phone.



Irene Achieng, the Karamoja police spokesperson says a number of suspects especially with common cases of assault, theft and domestic violence related offences were given police bond to decongest police cells during the strike which started on August 25.



Judicial officers under the Uganda Judicial Officers Association (UJOA) started the strike two weeks ago after government failed to honour a commitment to increase their salaries.

They want the lowest paid magistrate to earn at least Shs 13 million per month and the salary of the Chief Justice to be increased from Shs 20 million to Shs 55 million. The judicial officers also want to be given medical insurance, housing and fuel allowances.



The strike delayed the start of the High court session in Moroto. Muyita however says the calendar for High court session in Moroto will be extended by two weeks to compensate for the lost time.
Kamwenge town council mayor, Geoffrey Byamukama, has been released; five months after police arrested and tortured him in connection to the killing Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIGP) Andrew Felix Kaweesi.



Police spokesperson Asan Kasingye says Byamukama was released today on police bond and that he is required to report to Kira Road police station once every week.

Earlier, deputy police spokesperson told NTV that Byamukama was released on the advice of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) because the evidence linking him to the murder of Kaweesi was 'too weak' build up any case against him. No formal charge has been placed against Byamukama at the time of his release.

Geoffrey Byamukama after being released

Byamukama was arrested on April 5, from the ministry of Lands office along Parliamentary Avenue in Kampala, almost three weeks after the March 17 murder of Kaweesi, his driver Geoffrey Mambewa and body guard Kenneth Erau. The three were gunned down in Kulambiro, a city suburb, just metres from Kaweesi's residence.



Immediately after the shooting, police arrested 13 people who were consequently arraigned in court on April 21 and charged with murder. It is some of these suspects that, according to police, mentioned Byamukama, who is also the NRM party chairperson for Kamwenge district.



Byamukama's story would take a new twist in May, when photos of him with deep wounds on his body, believed to be as a result of torture, emerged.

He was then admitted at Nakasero hospital with the police footing the medical bills. He later told journalists that he was tortured from the notorious police detention facility at Nalufenya in Jinja district.



The police later issued conflicting statements on the circumstances under which Byamukama sustained the injuries.



On the morning of May 12, however, AIGP Kasingye issued a statement acknowledging that Byamukama was tortured at the hands of two police officers identified as Fred Tumuhiirwe and Ronnie Byenkya.



"After the arrest, two of our officers and the suspects got involved in a scuffle on the way to Jinja after Byamukama realised he was not being taken to Naguru police headquarters as earlier informed at the point of arrest. The suspect sustained superficial injuries in the process which were aggravated by his medical condition," said Kasingye in the statement.



The two officers were placed under investigations by the Professional Standards Unit (PSU). Their arrest followed a heated security meeting on May 11 between the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kale Kayihura and several commanders and directors involved in the Kaweesi murder investigations.



On May 26, four policemen were charged in connection with the alleged torture contrary to section 4 of the Prevention and Prohibition of Torture Act 2012. They also faced another count of causing grievous harm contrary to section 219 of the Penal Code Act.



According to the charge sheet, the policemen allegedly tortured Byamukama using batons and iron bars while driving him in a police van after his arrest.



The suspects; Patrick Muramira, Fred Tumuhairwe, Habib Roma and Ben Odeke, pleaded not guilty. Buganda Road Chief Magistrate Jamson Karemani remanded the suspects to Luzira prison.
 

 :      

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By PTI: Wangchuk

Kolkata, Sep 9 (PTI) Engineer-turned-educationist Sonam Wangchuk, who has changed the education landscape of Ladakh, today said private schools cannot be the answer to nations needs.

"The nation needs masses and government schools are like oceans while private schools are like ponds," Wangchuk, whose education reforms in government schools has been hailed globally, told a CII event here.

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"I have often been asked why I did not build a private school and my reply was you could either make a great little pond and raise its level by several metres or you could add on to the water of the ocean. For me the ocean matters more," he said at the interactive session of the CII Eastern Region and Young Indians (Yi) Kolkata Chapter here.

Wangchuk, instrumental in the launch of Operation New Hope in 1994 - a collaboration between the government, village communities and the civil society to bring reforms in the government school system, said it was then decided to work on government schools where common children have to go.

Stating that earlier there was 95 per cent failure rate in board exams, Wangchuk said there is a massive drop in the failure in school board exams courtesy the alternative learning practices and other innovative measures undertaken in the operation.

Wangchuk, the founding director of the Students Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL) who came to the spotlight in 2009, when his story inspired Aamir Khans character of Phunsukh Wangdu in the film 3 Idiots, said he now has plans of setting up the Himalayan Institute of Alternatives which will have different disciplines - busines, tourism and others.

"The school of business will run real life companies, the school of tourism will run hotels and home stays, the school of environmental studies will have live application labs where students can work together with experts and use their acquired skill in soving natural calamities," he said.

As part of the business module the students can self-finance their education," he said.

The estimated cost for completing first phase of the project was Rs 1.5 crore. Rs one crore received in a global award received by him will be used as seed fund, he added. PTI SUS KK KK

--- ENDS ---
A technology institute launched last winter by the University of Nebraskas two Omaha campuses has signed its first four startup companies.

UNeTech, a partnership between the University of Nebraska Medical Center and University of Nebraska at Omaha, was established to help identify promising startups and help them become successful.

The four companies will move into the UNeTech building, a three-level, 5,000-square-foot structure at 3929 Harney St. formerly occupied by the American Red Cross.

The NU Board of Regents approved UNeTech in 2015 and the Nebraska Legislature allocated $1 million a year toward its operating expenses.

Dr. Rod Markin, UNeTechs executive director, said bringing in the first tenants is a big milestone.

We interview folks and go through a process of deciding, he said. Not everyone is going to be able to get into it.

Joe Runge, associate director of UNeTech, said the institute has a whole pipeline of prospects, some for the near term and some that could come later on. The mix includes those based on ideas from the university and the community. I think thats reflected in our current crop of startups, he said.

The incubator is intended to pick up where UNeMed, the UNMC technology transfer office, leaves off by organizing and funding startups. The goal is to help them become profitable businesses and employers.

Plans call for raising between $7 million and $10 million from individuals and outside agencies to create a kind of revolving fund to help promising technologies and companies get through their first few years and the valley of death during which half of new businesses fail.

Markin said businesses will either fail or graduate, and the organization has criteria to help make those calls. Since were in the education business, were interested in graduation, he said.

The first batch of startups:

FutureAssure uses new devices and software to assess patient frailty, and is based on the research of Dr. Jason Johanning, a UNMC vascular surgeon.

Avert, developed by entrepreneur Preston Badeer, has developed a program that can determine whether someone has suffered a concussion by analyzing the individuals balance. The idea was based on studies conducted by UNO biomechanics researchers.

Esculon is designing a self-irrigating chest tube, a device used to help drain the area around the lungs after surgery, that is less likely to clog. The company was developed by entrepreneur Evan Luxon.

Virtual Cardiovascular Solutions is the product of a collaboration between Dr. Ed OLeary, a UNMC cardiologist, and Hani Heider, an orthopedic researcher, and provides cutting-edge educational tools.
Three cases have been filed against self-styled god-woman Radhe Maa over last two years. In one of the cases, in which she was accused of seducing one of her devotees, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has ordered an FIR against her.

By Prabhash K Dutta: A CBI court in Punjab convicted self-styled godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim of rape and sexual exploitation last month. The verdict has virtually brought down his Dera Sacha Sauda empire. Now, a self-styled god-woman faces heat for hurting religious sentiments, threatening and offences related to dowry harassment.

She is Radhe Maa of Dera Paramhans, which is based at Mukerian in Hoshiarpur district of Punjab. Radhe Maa was originally named as Sukhwinder Kaur. Later, she moved to Mumbai and runs her own ashram from Borivali.

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Since April, two high courts have issued orders to police of two states to initiate probe against her. On April 28, the Bombay High Court asked the Mumbai police to record statement of one Niki Gupta, who accused Radhe Maa of instigating her in-laws to harass her for dowry.

SEDUCTION CASE AGAINST RADHE MAA

Four months later, on September 5, Punjab and Haryana High Court ordered to register FIR against Radhe Maa on a petition filed by Phagwara (Punjab) resident Surinder Mittal. This is a two-year-old case, wherein Surinder Mittal had claimed that Radhe Maa had tried to seduce him when he, as a devotee, went to her seeking blessings.

Following this Mittal lodged a complaint against Radhe Maa in 2015. He sought registration of a case against her for allegedly hurting religious sentiments, threatening and other offences under IPC. After police did not respond to his complaint, Mittal had then approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

The then single bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court had ordered the Kapurthala SSP to determine if cognizable offence was made out of Mittla's allegations against Radhe Maa and take appropriate action.

Mittal recently moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court saying that the police have not acted on the previous order. Hearing the fresh plea from Mittal, the high court ordered registration of FIR against Radhe Maa and issued notice to Kapurthala SSP asking why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against him.

WHO IS RADHE MAA?

The 48-year-old Radhe Maa was born in Gurdaspur district of Punjab as Sukhwinder Kaur, who studied till class IV. Sukhwinder Kaur was married off at 17 to one Mohan Singh. To support back up her husband's meagre earning, Sukhwinder Kaur stitched clothes as teenager.

After Mohan Singh went to Qatar in search of better job, Sukhwinder Kaur, at 23, became a disciple of Mahant Ram Deen Das of 1008 Paramhans Dera of Mukerian in Hoshiarpur district. Ram Deen Das gave her the title of Radhe Maa after initiating her in tantric learning.

Later, Radhe Maa moved to Mumbai and made it her base. She was at the centre of controversy in Mumbai after Niki Gupta complained to police that Radhe Maa incited her in-laws to harass her for dowry. In a separate case, a lawyer accused her of obscenity on the basis of videos showing her being lifted by followers while dancing to Bollywood songs.

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Radhe Maa has a temple to her name located about 2 km from the ashram of her guru at Mukerian. At Borivali, Radhe Maa has a palatial Radhe Maa Bhawan, where she holds various religious events every fortnight drawing hundreds of wealthy followers. Filmmaker Subhash Ghai and former FTII chairman Gajendra Chouhan are among the notable followers of Radhe Maa.

ALSO READ |

Dera mastermind who paid goons Rs 5 crore to instigate violence in Panchkula arrested

Also Watch:Ram Rahim rape verdict: Death toll rises to 25 as Dera violence continues

--- ENDS ---
A 59-year-old Omaha native was slain late last month inside his house in Austin, Texas, a newspaper in that city reported.

Charles E. Peterson III, a graduate of Omaha Central High School, was found dead on Aug. 31 when Austin police were asked to check on him.

His roommate, Dijon Reid, 27, was charged last week with first-degree murder in the killing, according to the Austin American-Statesman.

Funeral services for Peterson will be held in Omaha this week.

Peterson was strangled and struck with a blunt object, according to an arrest affidavit cited in the American-Statesman report.

Reid told Austin investigators that he stole checks and credit cards from Petersons home and struck the victim with a piece of metal, an officer wrote in the affidavit.

Reid also was wanted for failing to register as a sex offender, according to the newspaper. When he was arrested on Tuesday, Petersons drivers license and one of his credit cards were in Reids wallet, according to the American-Statesman.

Peterson graduated from Central High in 1976 and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1982, according to his obituary prepared by a funeral home. He moved to the Dallas-Fort Worth area in 1982, where he sold commercial and residential real estate.

Peterson moved to Austin in 1993. He owned and operated Austin City Properties.

Survivors include his father, Charles E. Peterson Jr.

Services will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday at St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church.
Elkhorn elementary schools are turning an everyday object into a symbol of kindness and inclusion.

Each school will soon have a buddy bench.

Its a means for someone to indicate that they are feeling left out, or sad or need a friend, said Andrea Abrahamson, a founding member of the Elkhorn Optimist Club. If somebody is sitting on the buddy bench, (kids) go over and ask them if they want to play.

The six of 10 Elkhorn elementary schools that didnt have a bench will now have one, donated by the Elkhorn Optimist Club. Funds have been set aside for Elkhorns 11th elementary school, Blue Sage, to have a bench when it opens in fall 2018.

Buddy benches became popular across the country last year, Abrahamson said.

Abrahamsons parent-teacher organization was interested in the idea but didnt have the funds. Instead, the Elkhorn Optimist Club tackled the project.

Before a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the buddy bench at Fire Ridge Elementary, a first-grader told school counselor Jackie Burklund that she hopes the benches are never used.

Because that means that everyone has someone to play with at recess, Burklund recalled the first-grader saying. All the students I talked with were super excited.

Arbor View Principal Troy Sidders was at Westridge Elementary in Elkhorn when it added a buddy bench to the playground in the 2015-16 school year. He said hes happy his school was given one.

It gives staff a way to reiterate inclusion of everybody, Sidders said. It gives that kid whos maybe reluctant to go to one of the teachers outside, it gives them an opportunity to take some ownership and let somebody know how they are feeling, without using words.

Sidders said it worked well at Westridge. If a student goes to the bench often, its a sign to staff to take action, Sidders said.

The neatest thing about it is seeing the other kids include somebody whos feeling left out, lonely or just sad cause theyre having a bad day, Sidders said. Anything like that would be considered a success if it works once.

Over the past six months the Elkhorn Optimist Club held several fundraisers and collected $5,000 for the benches. Abrahamson said it was the 2-year-old organizations first major fundraising effort.

Methodist Health Systems donated funds for one of the benches. A Boy Scout troop and a Girl Scout troop held fundraisers for the cause.
Theres more evidence that U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is sniffing around locations for a Nebraska visit  possibly next week.

A spokeswoman for the Lincoln Public Schools confirmed Friday that someone in DeVos offfice contacted the district, inquiring about a possible visit to the districts Science Focus Program  the Zoo School  on Thursday.

The LPS school district is currently working with the DeVos office to work out details and finalize the trip, district spokeswoman Mary Kay Roth said. At this point, no more details are available.

Education Department officials also have asked about DeVos visiting the Omaha area, including the private Nelson Mandela Elementary School in north Omaha and the public Bryan High in Bellevue.

In other states, teachers unions havent exactly rolled out the welcome mat for DeVos, a supporter of school choice.

A spokesman for Gov. Pete Ricketts has said the governor would welcome DeVos, who drew thunderous opposition from teachers unions during her confirmation process.
North Koreas escalation of its nuclear threat against the United States warrants careful, responsible reaction from our country. The Trump administration so far earns a mixed grade.

Experience unfortunately shows that diplomacy and sanctions have limited effect in restraining North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

So the central U.S. response needs to be enhanced deterrence  sending the unmistakable message, through multiple actions, that the United States would respond with devastating force to any irresponsible military action by Kims regime.

The point isnt to start a war but to prevent one.

On that score, the administration is doing well. Secretary of Defense James Mattis is coordinating closely with South Korean leaders.

President Donald Trump has given the go-ahead for a significant increase in the sale of advanced military assets to South Korea. And the U.S. has rejected calls from North Korea and China to end joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises that enable important practical collaboration between our two militaries.

Trump is being irresponsible, however, in choosing the current moment to threaten to withdraw our country from our trade agreement with South Korea. Security conditions on the Korean peninsula are at their most troubling in many years, with the military threat now extending to our own shores for the first time.

At such a delicate time, our government should refrain from needlessly introducing uncertainty and ill will. Instead, our leaders should concentrate on maximizing our relationship with South Korea.

As current events make clear, its one of our most vital strategic allies.
Many Americans are ignorant of foreign affairs and thus easily manipulated by pundits and politicians. Such was the case over the Gulf of Tonkin incident in Vietnam, the 9/11 attacks and others. Such is now the case with the hysteria over North Korea.

Firstly, how many North Koreans (or others) does one see on TV explaining the North Korean point of view? Close to zero. How many Americans know how many North Korean innocent civilians were killed during the Korean War? How many know what its like to see napalm fall from the sky and burn your family members to death?

How many know there still exists a formal state of war between North Korea and the U.S.? How many know former President Jimmy Carter negotiated a freeze in North Koreas nuclear weapons program that lasted for eight years and was broken when President George W. Bush declared North Korea part of an axis of evil? How many know there is a current freeze proposal on the table which the U.S. has rejected?

Given all of this, North Korea is acting quite rationally. It is seeking to defend itself from an enemy with which it has been at war for 60 years. Its missile program is purely defensive (as it knows it is outgunned by 100 to 1 by the U.S.).

Stop buying into the hysteria.

Stuart Williams, Omaha
125th anniversary of Vivekananda speech: Don't air PM's address live, Bengal govt to colleges

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

Ignore the UGC directive to telecast Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech on September 11 live, the West Bengal government has said. The WB government instructed colleges under its jurisdiction to ignore the UGC directive to organise live telecast of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech on September 11, the 125th anniversary of Swami Vivekananda's address at the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago.

"The Centre cannot do it without informing or without taking the concurrence of the state government concerned," state Education Minister Partha Chatterjee said at a press conference in the state secretariat on Friday.

"It is not acceptable to us as we feel it is a clear attempt at saffronisation of education.

The colleges and universities in the state were surprised by the UGC circular. Then they approached us. I have clearly told them that there is no necessity to adhere to the UGC directive," Chatterjee said.

The UGC had recently sent a circular, asking over 40,000 institutions to organise live telecast of the Prime Minister's speech.

OneIndia News

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Saturday, September 9, 2017, 5:49 [IST]
Rajnath Singh, who is on a four-day visit to Jammu-Kashmir to find solutions to the Kashmir issue, said that he is willing to meet anyone who could help him in this resolve.

By Indo-Asian News Service: JKLF chief Yasin Malik was arrested while other senior separatist leaders were placed under house arrest ahead of their proposed protest at the NIA headquarters in Delhi, even as Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh arrived here today to hold talks on the Kashmir issue.

Rajnath, who is here on a four-day visit, has said he was going to Jammu and Kashmir with an open mind and was willing to meet with anyone who could help in finding solutions to the Kashmir issue.

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The Union Home Minister began his visit by meeting state Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti in the Nehru Guest House in Srinagar.

He is expected to travel to Srinagar, Anantnag, Jammu and Rajouri and meet civil society members, leaders of political and social outfits, business leaders and others during the visit.

HURRIYAT LEADERS UNDER HOUSE ARREST

Meanwhile, senior separatist leaders Syed Ali Geelani and Mirwaiz Umer Farooq have been placed under house arrest in Srinagar, while Yasin Malik was arrested by police from his uptown Maisuma residence around midnight.

Authorities have imposed restrictions in six police station areas of Rainawari, Khanyar, Nowhatta, MR Gunj, Safa Kadal and Maisuma.

Police claimed that the senior separatist leaders had not been detained because they intended to go to Delhi, but because they were trying to create a law and order problem.

Munir Ahmad Khan, Inspector General of police (IGP) Kashmir, told reporters that the three senior separatist leaders were trying to mobilize people for a separatist rally that would have created a law and order problem for the authorities.

"Had they moved to Delhi as normal passengers we would have allowed them to go wherever they wanted to go. But, we cannot allow anybody to create a law and order problem," the IGP said.

State Director General of police (DGP) SP Vaid had said on Friday that the three separatist leaders would be allowed to go anywhere they wanted to go.

--- ENDS ---
Lowest and Highest

As per the notification, the lowest pay scale is at Rs 16,600 and the highest at 2,16,800 per month. The fitment committee, as recommended by the Commission and adopted by the Centre, has proposed the introduction of Pay Matrix in lieu of the pay system of pay band and grade pay.

Pay Matrix

The pay matrix will have 17 levels against 18-grade pay prevailing in the existing structure of the State Government employees by suggesting one level for the Grade Pay of `5,400 prevailing both in pay band 2 and 3. For the purpose of fixation of pay in the revised pay structure, the fitment committee recommended that the pay in the applicable level in the pay matrix will be the one obtained by multiplying the existing basic pay (pay in pay band plus grade pay) as on January 1, 2016, by a factor of 2.57.

Junior pay scale

A junior assistant drawing pay of `6,200 in pay band 1 with grade pay of `1,900 will get the revised pay of ` 21,100 per month while junior assistants without promotion getting the pay of `12,250 in pay band 2 with grade pay of `4,200 will get a salary of `42,600 per month. The pay of senior assistant with a salary of `11,300 in pay band 2 with grade pay of `4,200 will revise to `41,000 per month. An employee starting service as gram panchayat extension officer, having availed first, second and third Rapid Assured Career Progression (RACP) and gets promotion as sub-divisional panchayat officer (SDPO) drawing pay of `19,780 in pay band 2 with grade pay of `5400. His salary will be revised to `65,000 as per the 7th Pay Commission recommendations.

Mid-level and senior scale under 7th Pay Commission

After the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission was cleared, the Mid-level and senior officials will get salary of `1,42,400, `1,51,100, `1,77,500, `2,08,700, 2,15,900 and 2,16,300 as per the new pay matrix. The State Government employees will continue to draw the house rent allowance/other allowances equal to the amount drawn immediately, the notification also states.
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Anti Tank Guided Missile Nag successfully test fired twice

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

The indigenously-built third generation Anti Tank Guided Missile (ATGM) Nag, was successfully test-fired twice on Friday.

The fire-and-forget anti-tank missile successfully hit both targets under different ranges and conditions with very high accuracy, said reports.

The DRDO had test fired Nag missile even on June 13 in desert ranges of Rajasthan.

The missile incorporates an advanced passive homing guidance system and possesses high single-shot kill probability. It is designed to destroy modern main battle tanks and other heavily armoured targets.

In September 2016, Nag missile successfully hit the target 4 km away during a night trial in the Mahajan Field Firing Range, Rajasthan. DRDO had described the test as a success, as it hit the Thermal Target System (TTS), used as the target for the missile, with bull's eye precision.

Nag was developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program (IGMDP).

Nag missile has a land variant and an air launched variant. The land version has a range of upto 4 kms while the air launched version has a range of around 7-10 kms.

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Story first published: Saturday, September 9, 2017, 18:43 [IST]
BJP fumes at WB govt for disallowing live telecast of Modi's speech in colleges

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

The BJP on Saturday said that it was "shocking" and "unfortunate" that the Mamata Banerjee-led government in West Bengal had instructed colleges to ignore the UGC directive to organise live telecast of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech on September 11.

Modi will be addressing on September 11 to mark the 125th anniversary of Swami Vivekananda's address at the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago. The UGC had recently sent a circular, asking over 40,000 institutions to organise live telecast of the Prime Minister's speech.

Speaking to news agency ANI, BJP national spokesperson Nalin Kohli said such a behaivour is unacceptable from an elected Chief Minister of the state.

"It's shocking and unfortunate that here is the Chief minister in a democracy that's Mamta Banerjee of West Bengal, who doesn't want the message of the Prime Minister of our India to the students and wants to block it," he added.

West Bengal Education Minister Partha Chatterjee had on Friday dubbed Centre's move as an attempt to saffronise education.

"The Centre cannot do it without informing or without taking the concurrence of the state government concerned," Chatterjee said.

"It is not acceptable to us as we feel it is a clear attempt at saffronisation of education. The colleges and universities in the state were surprised by the UGC circular. Then they approached us. I have clearly told them that there is no necessity to adhere to the UGC directive," he added.

The West Bengal government instructed colleges under its jurisdiction to ignore the UGC directive.

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Story first published: Saturday, September 9, 2017, 12:23 [IST]
CBI books former union min Jayanthi Natarajan for abuse of office, criminal conspiracy

India

oi-Anusha

The Central Bureau of Investigation has filed an FIR against former Union Minister Jayanthi Natarajan for 'criminal conspiracy' and 'abuse of official position'. Jayanthi Natarajan, the former Forest and Environment minister has been booked under IPC 120 B and 13 (2), 13/1(d) of the Prevention of Corruption act.

Officials of the Central Bureau of Investigation, according to news agency PTI, carried out searches at the premises of Jayanthi Natarajan in Chennai on Saturday. Jayanthi has been named accused number one in the FIR that also names Umang Kejriwal, former managing director of Electosteel Casting limited.

According to the FIR, a copy of which is in possession of OneIndia, a case preliminary enquiry was registered over allegations that during 2005, unknown officials of Jharkhand recommended a proposal of Electrosteel Casting Limited to the Ministry of Environment and Forest for leasing 192.50 hectares of land for iron and manganese ore mining in Saranda forest. The allegation was that the proposal was in violation of section 2(iii) of the Forest (Conversation) act, 1980 but unknown officials of the union ministry approved the proposal on February 2, 2012.

The FIR states that company had sought 55.79 of the proposed 192.50 hectares for non-forestry use. Jayanthi Natarajan, as the then minister, approved the land for non-forestry use and diverted the same in violation of a Supreme Court order. "The facts reveal a criminal conspiracy between Jayanthi Natarajan, then forest minister and Umang Kejriwal and abuse of official office by Jayanthi Natarajan," the CBI FIR states.

OneIndia News
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Sopore encounter: One terrorist killed

India

oi-Chennabasaveshwar

By Chennabasaveshwar

At least one terrorist was gunned down on Saturday in an encounter between security forces and militants in Baramulla's Sopore. The security forces launched search operations in Sopore after receiving inputs of presence of terrorists in the area , as reported by ANI.

J&K: Security forces launch search ops in Sopore after inputs of presence of terrorists in the area.More details awaited. (visuals deferred) pic.twitter.com/WdrtwMXcR7  ANI (@ANI) September 9, 2017

When the forces were conducting the search operation, militants opened fire upon them following which the security personnel retaliated, triggering an encounter in which one militant was killed, police officer said. The identity of the slain militant was being ascertained, he added.

The encounter is underway.

The encounter comes hours before the Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh is to leave for a four day visit of Jammu and Kashmir.

Rajnath Singh would be meeting CM Mehbooba Mufti and Governor NN Vohra during his visit.

The Home Minister on Friday said he was going to Kashmir with an open mind and was willing to meet all those who wanted to meet him. "We want a resolution to the problems," he had earlier told reporters in New Delhi.

The minister will chair a meeting of security officers of the Army, paramilitary forces and state police in Srinagar.

OneIndia News
Full text of Swami Vivekananda's speech at Chicago

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

September 11 2017 would mark the 125th Anniversary of Swami Vivekananda's historic speech at Chicago. The speech was delivered on September 11, 1983.

Born on January 12 1862 into an affluent Bengali family, Narendra Natha Datta was considered special as he has all round talents.

His father Vishwanatha Datta was a well-known attorney. However, he took the spiritual route instead and introduced Hinduism to the world in 1893 when he spoke at the World's Parliament of Religion. The historic speech was given on September 11, 1893.

Full text of Swami Vivekananda's speech at Chicago:

Sisters and Brothers of America,

It fills my heart with joy unspeakable to rise in response to the warm and cordial welcome which you have given us. I thank you in the name of the most ancient order of monks in the world; I thank you in the name of the mother of religions, and I thank you in the name of millions and millions of Hindu people of all classes and sects.

My thanks, also, to some of the speakers on this platform who, referring to the delegates from the Orient, have told you that these men from far-off nations may well claim the honor of bearing to different lands the idea of toleration. I am proud to belong to a religion which has taught the world both tolerance and universal acceptance.

We believe not only in universal toleration, but we accept all religions as true. I am proud to belong to a nation which has sheltered the persecuted and the refugees of all religions and all nations of the earth. I am proud to tell you that we have gathered in our bosom the purest remnant of the Israelites, who came to Southern India and took refuge with us in the very year in which their holy temple was shattered to pieces by Roman tyranny. I am proud to belong to the religion which has sheltered and is still fostering the remnant of the grand Zoroastrian nation. I will quote to you, brethren, a few lines from a hymn which I remember to have repeated from my earliest boyhood, which is every day repeated by millions of human beings: "As the different streams having their sources in different paths which men take through different tendencies, various though they appear, crooked or straight, all lead to Thee."

The present convention, which is one of the most august assemblies ever held, is in itself a vindication, a declaration to the world of the wonderful doctrine preached in the Gita: "Whosoever comes to Me, through whatsoever form, I reach him; all men are struggling through paths which in the end lead to me." Sectarianism, bigotry, and its horrible descendant, fanaticism, have long possessed this beautiful earth.

They have filled the earth with violence, drenched it often and often with human blood, destroyed civilization and sent whole nations to despair. Had it not been for these horrible demons, human society would be far more advanced than it is now. But their time is come; and I fervently hope that the bell that tolled this morning in honor of this convention may be the death-knell of all fanaticism, of all persecutions with the sword or with the pen, and of all uncharitable feelings between persons wending their way to the same goal.

Concluding Address - September 27, 1893

The World's Parliament of Religions has become an accomplished fact, and the merciful Father has helped those who labored to bring it into existence, and crowned with success their most unselfish labor.My thanks to those noble souls whose large hearts and love of truth first dreamed this wonderful dream and then realized it. My thanks to the shower of liberal sentiments that has overflowed this platform. My thanks to this enlightened audience for their uniform kindness to me and for their appreciation of every thought that tends to smooth the friction of religions. A few jarring notes were heard from time to time in this harmony. My special thanks to them, for they have, by their striking contrast, made general harmony the sweeter.

Much has been said of the common ground of religious unity. I am not going just now to venture my own theory. But if any one here hopes that this unity will come by the triumph of any one of the religions and the destruction of the others, to him I say, "Brother, yours is an impossible hope." Do I wish that the Christian would become Hindu?God forbid. Do I wish that the Hindu or Buddhist would become Christian? God forbid.

The seed is put in the ground, and earth and air and water are placed around it. Does the seed become the earth, or the air, or the water? No. It becomes a plant. It develops after the law of its own growth, assimilates the air, the earth, and the water, converts them into plant substance, and grows into a plant.

Similar is the case with religion. The Christian is not to become a Hindu or a Buddhist, nor a Hindu or a Buddhist to become a Christian. But each must assimilate the spirit of the others and yet preserve his individuality and grow according to his own law of growth.

If the Parliament of Religions has shown anything to the world, it is this: It has proved to the world that holiness, purity and charity are not the exclusive possessions of any church in the world, and that every system has produced men and women of the most exalted character.

In the face of this evidence, if anybody dreams of the exclusive survival of his own religion and the destruction of the others, I pity him from the bottom of my heart, and point out to him that upon the banner of every religion will soon be written in spite of resistance: "Help and not fight," "Assimilation and not Destruction," "Harmony and Peace and not Dissension."

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Story first published: Saturday, September 9, 2017, 7:54 [IST]
Gauri Lankesh murder: Karnataka extends security to writers, rationalists, activists

India

oi-Anusha

Following the brutal murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh, the Karnataka government has extended security to writers, activists, and rationalists in the state. The Chief Minister's office confirmed that security has been stepped up for individuals, including writers like Girish Karnad, who have a threat perception.

"Security personnel will man the house of the individuals 24/7. Those who have approached the government with a request for enhanced security will be given a gunman. Security has been heightened after the Chief Minister announced that rationalists, free and progressive thinkers, activists etc from the state will be given security in the aftermath of Gauri Lankesh's murder," said an official from the Chief Minister's office.

Currently, Girish Karnad, Yogesh Master, Chandrashekhar Patil aka Champa, Nataraj Huliyar Chennaveera Kanavi, SM Jamdar, K S Bhagwan, Baragur Ramachandrappa, Banjagere Jayaprakashn etc have been given additional security. Those provided securities have been vocal about their opinions on many sensitive issues. The government of Karnataka decided to provide protection to activists and writers who face a 'threat'. The names that have made it to the 'secure' list, however, are individuals who have been critical of right wing organizations and ideologies.

"Will the government only provide security to left thinkers? Do the lives of right thinkers not matter? Despite the number of attacks on Sangh workers, the government did nothing to protect them. Why is the government being partial?" asked S Prakash, the co-spokesperson of the Karnataka BJP.

The writers and activists have been provided security on a day when Gauri Lankesh's mother met Chief Minister Siddaramaiah seeking justice for her daughter.

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Story first published: Sunday, September 10, 2017, 0:37 [IST]
Ghaziabad: 5-year-old girl dies after being run over by school bus

India

oi-Deepika

By Deepika

A five-year-old girl was run over by her own school bus in Ghaziabad's Kavi Nagar.

Saumya, a kindergarten child was run over by the bus at around 2 pm after she had just got off the bus which was dropping her back from school. The bus was hired by the Silver Shine School at Mahendra Enclave in Ghaziabad.

As soon as Saumya got down from the bus, the driver in a hurry moved the vehicle and the she was crushed under the rear wheel. She died on the spot," the witness said.

Her grandmother had come to take her from the drop point in Mehrauli but the incident took place instead. The bus driver and conductor were later handed over to police who arrived on spot after the locals had vandalised the bus," he added.

Police have registered a case for rash driving and causing death by negligence against the driver and the bus conductor. They will also check about the role of school officials after Saumya's family complained that they had flagged the erring driver to the school authorities.

OneIndia News
Gurugram school boy's murder: Javadekar assures justice will be done

India

pti-PTI

Pune, Sep 9: Amid outcry over the killing of a seven-year-old boy at a school in Gurugram, Union Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar on Saturday said his ministry was probing the case and assured that justice will be done.

The boy, a Class II student, was allegedly killed yesterday by a bus conductor, Ashok Kumar, who also tried to sexually abuse the minor. The accused was arrested hours after the gruesome murder.

"An investigation is underway. The accused has been apprehended by the police and justice will be done in the case," Javadekar told reporters here on the sidelines of an event.

"CBSE too has sought a report from its affiliated schools (about the safety and security of students) and following the report, necessary steps will be taken," he said.

As far as safety measures at schools are concerned, the issue is not limited to only CBSE schools, but the safety and security of students from other schools are also important, the minister said. He said an investigation will be conducted into the incident and a report will be sought on how a bus conductor could gain entry in the school campus, where even parents are not allowed to enter.

"The police is already investigating the case. The HRD ministry too is probing the case and also contemplating what kind of standard operating procedures (SOPs) should be in place in the schools to avert such incidents in future," he said.

Parents and schools and all the stakeholders need to be more careful and make sure that such incidents do not take place in future, he said.

[Gurugram school boy's murder: Police wants trail of accused fast tracked]

Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Saturday sought a report from Ryan International School in connection with the murder of a seven-year-old student.

The parents of the seven-year-old have demanded a CBI probe in the case.

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Gurugram school boy's murder: Police wants trail of accused fast tracked

India

oi-Chennabasaveshwar

By Chennabasaveshwar

The Haryana Police on Saturday assured that chargesheet in the Gurugram school boy's murder case will be filed in court within seven days and they will request for fast trial of the case.

Commissioner of Police, Gurgaon, Sandeep Khirwar and Gurgaon deputy commissioner Vinay Pratap Singh addressed the media amid mounting pressure by the public to take action against the Ryan International School management.

Commissioner of Police Commissioner, Gurgaon, Sandeep Khirwar, said, "Will try to file charge sheet in court within seven days and request for fast trial of case."

Involvement of the bus conductor was confirmed by the police and further assured action against if someone else was found involved.

Involvement of bus conductor is confirmed if someone else is found involved, action will be taken against them: #Gurgaon Police Commissioner pic.twitter.com/q13KX0ZMZe  ANI (@ANI) September 9, 2017

"Committee has been formed to adjudge loopholes in security arrangement, report of which is expected on Monday," said the Police Commissioner.

Commenting on whether the accused bus conductor being made scapegoat, the Police Commissioner said Police will will be able to satisfy everyone after concluding investigation.

Meanwhile, CBSE PRO Rama Sharma told ANI that Ryan International School has been asked to send a report along with FIR filed in this case within two days.

A fact finding committee has been set up to submit the report at earliest.
Rohingyas are ethnic Muslims from Myanmar's Rakhine province. Only around 40,000 of them are acknowledged as citizens.

A young Burmese Muslim women holds her crying child as she squats in a refugee camp at Teknaf in southeastern Bangladesh. (Photo: Reuters)

By India Today Web Desk: The Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH) today condemned the acts of violence being committed against Myanmar's Rohingyas and appealed to the United Nations (UN) to pressurise Yangon to restore their "constitutional and citizenship rights."

Rohingyas are ethnic Muslims from Myanmar's Rakhine province. Only around 40,000 of them are acknowledged as citizens. Since August 25, as many as 290,000 Rohingyas have fled persecution in their home nation and travelled to Bangladesh, the United Nations says.

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"The terrible acts of violence against the Rohingyas still continue...social media is rife with videos showing the horrible acts of crimes against them. More than two lakh people of that community have been displaced so far," JIH Secretary General Mohammed Salim Engineer said.

"We appeal to the UN and all major human rights groups to pressurise the Burmese government to take steps for stopping the persecution of Rohingyas and restore their constitutional and citizenship rights."

Engineer also appealed to governments of nations where Rohingyas have taken refuge, to take care of them.

ROHINGYAS 'STAND TO BE DEPORTED': MoS RIJIJU

The Narendra Modi government has asked all state governments to identify Rohingya Muslims living illegally in India, and raised concerns over terror groups trying to use the migrants to cause trouble.

Around 14,000 Rohingyas living in India are registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, but around 40,000 are said to be staying illegally.

But Union Minister Kiren Rijiju recently said Rohingyas were illegal immigrants, whether they "are registered under the United Nations Human Rights Commission or not."

So, he said, "they stand to be deported".

ON GAURI LANKESH'S MURDER

The Jamaat-e-Islami Hind also condemned the murder of Kannada journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh, 55, who was gunned down by unknown assailants at her Bengaluru home on September 5.

Calling her a strong voice against the casteist and communal forces, the Jamaat termed her murder "a chilling message to all journalists" committed to create a "climate of fear".

"The murder is a direct assault on the freedom of expression... The cowardly attack is threat to freedom of press and rule of law in the country... We condemn it," Engineer said.

ON SUPREME COURT ORDER ON COW VIGILANTISM

The Jamaat welcomed the Supreme Court's directive to the states to appoint a senior police officer as nodal officer in all districts to stem the menace of cow vigilantism.

"The Jamaat hopes this will serve as a dire warning to the cow vigilantes who take law into their hands. It will also make the states take action against the communal and bigoted who spread violence in the name of religion," said Engineer.

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(Inputs from IANS)

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Married man pushes girlfriend to death after she breaks up with him

Schoolboy's death: Ryan International school's principal suspended, protest continues

India

oi-Chennabasaveshwar

By Chennabasaveshwar

After shocking murder of second standard boy on Friday, Ryan International school authorities have assured 'vigorous' security measures at the school amid protests by enraged parents.

Talking to media after the sacking of school principal, the acting principal said, "Necessary measures being reinforced with experts' help. The school is seeking advice from Police department."

A day after the murder of 7-year-old boy at Ryan International school in Gurugram, the principal was suspended. Lawyer of the victim told ANI that there will be action against the school management also.

The suspension of the principal comes after the father of the victim went to Police Commissioner's office with lawyer to demand action against the school management.

Varun Thakur, father of victim, raised the issue of safety of children at the school. "If children are murdered in schools,then on what belief can we leave them for eight hours there," he asked.

Earlier, Jyoti, the mother of the murderd boy, asked, " The school could not even ensure basic safety for my son, how will then parents send children to school?"

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Gurugram boy killed in school, bus conductor arrested | Oneindia News

The school could not even ensure basic safety for my son, how will then parents send children to school?: Jyoti,mother of victim #Gurugram pic.twitter.com/866hOANmCB  ANI (@ANI) September 9, 2017

She said that her son did not know the bus conductor-the main accused in the case of attempted sexual assault and murder of the boy.

"My son did not even know the bus conductor as he never traveled in the bus,we used to drop him and pick him," she said.

Heavy security has been deployed in the school premises after outraged parents vandalized area of the school administration office on Friday after the murder.

#Gurugram: Protest continues outside #RyanInternationalSchool after body of a 7-year-old student was found in school premises yesterday pic.twitter.com/y6CaYqJMqt  ANI (@ANI) September 9, 2017

A class II student, who was found inside a toilet in Ryan International School crawling was murdered by a schoolbus conductor who tried to sexually assault him, the police said on Friday.

"Bus conductor Ashok attempted to sexually assault the boy, when he raised an alarm the conductor killed him... Accused had been working here for the past six to eight months. He had gone to use the toilet where he saw the boy. He was not targeting that particular child, only when he saw the boy he thought of assaulting him. He had the knife with him in his pocket," said Deputy Commissioner of Police Simardeep Singh.

The police have filed a murder case under section 302 at Bhondsi police station and started investigation. The police claimed a knife was found near the body. School bus driver and school staff questioned by the Police.

OneIndia News
Has Honeypreet Insan been arrested?

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

Has Honeypreet Insan, the adopted daughter of Gurmeet Ram Rahim been arrested? There are rumours afloat that she was arrested by the Mumbai police. However none of the officials were ready to confirm the same.

The police had issued a look out notice against Honeypreet on the charge that she had incited the violence following the conviction of Ram Rahim in a rape case. Ram Rahim was sentenced to 20 years in jail by a special CBI court.

Meanwhile a a report citing death threats to her has been sent by the Intelligence Bureau to the Haryana police. The report suggests that her life is under threat as she could reveal secrets about the Dera Sacha when she is questioned by the police.

According to Haryana police chief, B S Sandhu, they are still searching for her. We are also examining the IB report, he said. Honeypreet was last seen at Rohtak on August 25. She had expressed her wish to meet Ram Rahim in jail, but the request was turned down.

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Story first published: Saturday, September 9, 2017, 6:45 [IST]
How Hurriyat crooks diverted Pakistan money into their private coffers

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

The National Investigation Agency probing the Kashmir terror funding case has learnt that a large part of the money given to separatists had been diverted into purchasing private property.

The NIA during the raids conducted has unearthed several documents which go on to show that the money sent from Pakistan to spread propaganda and terrorism had gone into the private coffers of the separatists.

Take the case of Shabbir Shah for instance. The properties held by Shabir are both legal and benami, the NIA dossier says. There are around 19 properties that he holds, the NIA also said. Apart from a 25 room hotel in Pahalgam, Shah also has houses, shops and land at Jammu, Bugam, Kandipora, Narbal and Lalpora.

Shah is currently being questioned by the NIA which had arrested him last week. The NIA dossier also lists out the properties held by S A S Geelani. The NIA says that most of the properties are in the names of Geelani's sons, Naeem and Naseem. Both have been summoned by the NIA for questioning.

The NIA says that funds had been channelised into the Valley not just through Pakistan, but from London and Dubai as well. While a part of the money were used to fund terror and the unrest, a large part of it may have been used to purchase property, the NIA suspects.

For the investigating officers, the trail is probably one of the hardest aspects to crack. The money comes in through various sources. It lands through hawala or a drug deal. At times the money is parked in the real estate and passed on to the terrorist and separatists in installments.

We have been able to detect that a considerable amount of money had been pumped in through Nepal which was meant to reach Yasin Bhatkal. However he has his proxies to collect the money and this would require further investigations in order to nail him legally, the NIA official informed.

Investigators say transfer of money through hawala is still the biggest draw. In the month of November 2011, four businessmen were booked by the Enforcement Directorate to facilitating hawala transactions through the Line of Control.

It had become evident that this money was being sent by the Lashkar-e-Tayiba to facilitate its terrorists and also the separatists. However investigations had found that the businessmen were only facilitating the transfer for a fee and were not ideologically connected to the Lashkar.

The terror groups still find hawala to be their best bet since it is safer compared to legal banking. It is very difficult to crack the hawala trail as the persons involved in the transfer change after every two or three transactions the officer says.

There is a lot of trade along the border that takes place on the barter system. Terrorists, separatists and their agents pose as traders and end up exchanging money along the border.

Very often these persons also pass on money which is in turn brought into India and handed out to seperatists and terrorists.

Investigations have shown that there were at least 48 agents until 2014 who were using the barter system to fund terrorism in the Valley. The NIA and the ED had found that these persons had managed to move Rs 7.5 million in 20 different cases.

In addition to this the seizures also led to the NIA finding cheques worth Rs 1 lakh which was meant to reach a terrorist or a separatist.

The investigations also revealed that at least 90 persons from different parts of the world were involved in funding terrorists in the Valley. Investigations would reveal that between the years 2009 and 2011 an amount of Rs 12 million had been recovered.

In addition to this fake currency and also Euros were recovered from the agents who were funding terrorists. In the year 2011 some agents had also brought in Saudi Arabian Riyals worth 74,000 into the Valley.

NIA sources say that the funding has gone both to terrorist groups and separatists as well. Money has been pumped into the Hurriyat Conference, Jammu-Kashmir Liberation Front, Islamic Students Front, Hizbul Mujahideen, Jaish-e-Mohammad and Jamiat ul-Mujahideen.

In the case of Syed Ali Shah Geelani an FIR had been registered in the year 1997 in which it was alleged that he had got funding to the tune of Rs 190 million from Saudi Arabia and also another donation of Rs 100 million from the Kashmir American Council.

Investigations had revealed that all these funds were routed through a Delhi based Hawala operative. It was also found that Yasin Malik had received funding of 1 lakh US dollars and the money was being carried by a lady called Shazia.

The NIA says that it is probing into all these angles. We are looking at each case since the 1995 onwards and this will help us get a better picture of the entire racket, the officer further added.

Intelligence Bureau officials tell OneIndia that the money is being used for various purposes. There is a considerable amount that goes into funding their own lavish lifestyles.

The ISI which orchestrates this entire racket does not mind these persons living in lavish bungalows as long as they keep the fire going. Investigations had found that a considerable amount of the money had been used to fuel the 2010 unrest in Jammu and Kashmir too.

The NIA says that funding is the biggest concern and this route and channel needs to be broken. These trouble makers do anything for money and Pakistan is not hesitant to pump in as much as is possible to keep the fire in the Valley burning.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Saturday, September 9, 2017, 12:39 [IST]
Handle situation in Rakhine state with maturity: India to Myanmar

India

oi-Deepika

By Deepika

The Ministry of External Affairs on Saturday said they are deeply concerned by the troubling situation in Burma's northern Rakhine State.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Myanmar had expressed his concern at the casualties of security forces as well as other innocent lives. It was agreed that India will provide assistance under Rakhine State Development Programme in conjunction with Myanmar government, a statement from MEA said.

"India urge that situation in Rakhine be handled with restraint and maturity, focusing on welfare of civilians alongside those of security forces: It is imperative that violence is ended and normalcy in the Rakhine state restored expeditiously," it said.

India offered the assistance under the Rakhine State Development Programme and the two sides agreed "to finalise the implementation modalities within the next few months".

About 164,000 new Rohingya people from the state have entered Bangladesh since the latest violence began on Aug 25.

During his visit, Modi held bilateral talks with the Myanmar delegation led by State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi.

The situation in the Rakhine State featured prominently in the discussions during the visit. Modi shared India's concerns on the increasingly serious situation in the Rakhine State. Both the sides shared the view that the recommendations of the Advisory Commission on the Rakhine state led by Kofi Annan needed to be implemented.

The problem leading to the refugee crisis has a long term implication, including for India.

OneIndia News
A nutty affair: When a leopard decided to stroll up, down a coconut tree (Watch video)

At least 12 dead, 38 injured as bus catches fire in Maharashtra's Nashik

Infant deaths: Nashik hospital to get additional funds, incubators

India

oi-PTI

Mumbai, Sep 9: The Civil Hospital in Nashik, Maharashtra, where 55 infants died in the last one month, would soon get more funds and incubators, Maharashtra health minister Dr Deepak Sawant said on Saturday.

Sawant today visited the hospital and reviewed the facilities available there. He also sanctioned Rs 21 crore for woman and child section of the hospital."The hospital will get five additional incubators," Sawant added.

Hospital authorities had on Friday said that it has 18 incubators.

"Newly-born babies come to the Civil Hospital from places as far as 200 km away. Every year some 28,000 children are admitted to this hospital. Sometimes the figure touches 50,000," he said.

Almost half of the babies admitted to the hospital are born outside, and such babies are more likely to develop bacterial infections, the minister said.

Arrival of "migrant citizens" in the city in April and May also leads to rise in cases of bacterial infection overall, he said.

Fifty-five infants died in the special newborn care unit of the hospital in August, authorities had said on Friday.

Since April, 187 infants have died in the unit, civil surgeon Suresh Jagdale had told PTI.

"Most of these deaths occurred because the infants were brought from private hospitals at a stage where there was little chance of recovery. The deaths were also due to reasons like premature birth and lung weakness," he had said, ruling out possibility of medical negligence.

PTI
FM Nirmala Sitharaman hints at possibility of Centre considering restoration of state status to J&K

J&K belongs to us, how India foiled a Pak attempt at the UN

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

Jammu and Kashmir will remain an integral part of India, India has told the United Nations. India also criticised Islamabad for using terrorism as a tool of state policy to covet the Indian territory.

India strongly hit back at Islamabad for raking up the Kashmir issue at a UN forum on culture of peace, saying Pakistan is "well-known" for providing safe havens to terrorists and cloaks its designs in the garb of concern for justice and self-determination.

Pakistan played the fresh Kashmir card about 10 days before the annual high-level UN General Assembly (UNGA) session is set to begin at the world body's headquarters.

At the UN forum, senior Indian diplomat Srinivas Prasad said, "May I remind our neighbour that Jammu & Kashmir is and will remain an integral part of India. It is time that Pakistan too reconciles to this. As a democracy, India always abides by the choice of the people and will not allow it to be undermined by terrorists and extremists."

Prasad was countering Pakistan's Permanent Representa-tive Maleeha Lodhi, who raised the Kashmir issue during a debate a day earlier.

The Indian diplomat said, "It is ironic, that our neighbour Pakistan, well-known for providing safe havens to terrorists and using terrorism as a tool of State policy, has used this platform to yet again covet Indian territory, cloaking its designs in the garb of concern for justice and self-determination."

"A culture of peace, not only symbolises peace in the larger context, but in terms of inter-state ties is also a value built on good neighbourliness, mutual respect and non-interference," he said.

Ms Lodhi had brought up the Kashmir issue, saying there are long standing cases where historic injustices wait to be corrected and where people are still denied their fundamental right to self-determination.

Pakistan's leaders have consistently used the UNGA podium to internationalise the Kashmir issue even as its efforts have found no international backing.

New Delhi's strong diplomatic counter-attack at the UN forum comes close to Pakistan Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa's statement that India should resolve the through "political and diplomatic" means rather than "abusing" - a veiled reference to India's successful campaign for getting Pakistan-based terror groups named in the recently-released Brics declaration.

The timing of the virtual spat between the two neighbours at the UN form has brought into focus home minister Rajnath Singh's four-day J&K visit beginning Saturday during which he will travel to Srinagar, Anantnag, Jammu and Rajouri and meet civil society members, leaders of political and social outfits, business leaders and others with an "open mind" to resolve all problems.

OneIndia News
Manipur CM says MDS scam probe will be handed over to CBI

India

pti-PTI

Imphal, Sept 9: Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh has said that the alleged scam of Rs 186.79 crore in the Manipur Development Society (MDS) will be handed over to the CBI once the preliminary investigation by the police was over.

The alleged scam figured former Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh and five top bureaucrats. Ibobi Singh had served the state as the chief minister between 2002 and March 2017 before Biren Singh-led coalition came to power. Biren, in a function yesterday, said that cases against those found innocent would be ultimately withdrawn. Meanwhile, Manipur Police, led by SDPO A Ghanashyam Sharma, continued their search at the residence of former MDS project director Y Ningthem for the third consecutive day today.

They have seized a number of files during the last three days. Earlier, the acting Chief Justice of Manipur High Court N Kotishwar passed an interim order on a plea of an anticipatory bail by Ibobi Singh. The court fixed September 20 for the next hearing of the anticipatory bail.

The multi-crore scam surfaced after an FIR was lodged on September one against the former Manipur CM. The FIR accused Ibobi Singh, three former chief secretaries and two former chairmen of MDS of cheating, criminal conspiracy, breach of trust and misconduct by a public servant.

The FIR was lodged at Imphal PS on September one by the Joint Secretary Th Munindro, Planning, Government of Manipur. The charges were denied by Ibobi Singh and others. Congress MLA N Loken Singh had termed the registration of the FIR against the former CM and other five bureaucrats as "political vendetta".

PTI
Nothing will change in Congress: For Gandhis, power stays but the onus shifts

Never said RSS-BJP behind Gauri Lankesh's murder: Congress

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

A day after a complaint was filed against Rahul Gandhi for linking journalist Gauri Lankesh's murder to RSS-BJP, the Congress on Saturday seemed to do a U-turn on the matter.

Senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, however, told news agency ANI that there definitely is an ideological conflict.

"Never said RSS-BJP behind this but definitely there's ideological conflict. Maybe ppl being murdered due to that," Kharge said when asked about Lankesh's murder.

"Have talked to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and the Home Minister. Sonia Gandhi is also very concerned and has talked to the CM as well," he added.

A complaint was filed against Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi in Chikmagalur, Karnataka, on Friday for trying to link Gauri Lankesh's killing with BJP-RSS.

BJP workers in Chikmagalur filed a complaint against Rahul for saying that 'anybody who speaks against the ideology of BJP-RSS is pressured, even killed'.

His comments came a day after Gauri Lankesh was shot dead outside her house in Bengaluru.

Rahul had attacked RSS over Lankesh's murder and said ideology of the right wing group is to crush voices of dissent.

"Anybody who speaks against the ideology of BJP-RSS is pressured, even killed," he had said.

Lankesh, who ran her own Kannada publication, was shot dead by unidentified assailants at her residence in Bengaluru on Tuesday evening. Seven bullets were fired at her by bike-borne assailants out of which three hit and four missed her.

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Story first published: Saturday, September 9, 2017, 15:16 [IST]
J&K: Two militants killed in encounter in Kulgam

J&K: Another Kashmiri Pandit shot dead by terrorists in Shopian

1 policeman killed, 2 injured as militants attack police post in Anantnag

India

oi-Deepika

By Deepika

A group of heavily armed militants attacked a police party in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district in which one policeman was killed and two others seriously injured. The incident took place 500 yards from venue of Home Minister Rajnath Singh's meeting on Sunday.

According to ANI, the policeman was injured after terrorists attacked a police party near bus stand in Anantnag.

#Visuals: 1 policeman killed,2 injured in J&K's Anantnag terrorist attack. Incident took place 500 yards from venue of HM's meeting tomorrow pic.twitter.com/tpbPN7TjrE  ANI (@ANI) September 9, 2017

Militants fired indiscriminately on the police personnel near the general bus stand Anantnag, the official said.

He said constable Imtiyaz Ahmad was killed while constable Shabir Ahmad was injured in the firing.

The area has been cordoned off and a manhunt has been launched to nab the attackers.

Also, the attack came hours after a Hizbul Mujahedeen militant was gunned down in north Kashmir's Sopore in an encounter with forces on this morning.

Rajnath will be in Kashmir from September 9-11. He will meet all the stakeholders and will discuss the current situation in Jammu and Kashmir.

Home Minister is scheduled to hold talks with the officials of the state to discuss the current situation.

Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba and other senior officers of the Ministry were also part of the visit.

The Minister will review the progress of implementation of the Prime Minister's development package for the state.

OneIndia News
Man rapes 8-year-old to use her blood for removing obstacles to his marriage

Passengers deboarded from Bangkok bound flight at Kolkata after smoke noticed during take-off

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

All the passengers of a Bhutan Airlines (Tashi Air Pvt. Ltd) flight were deboarded on Saturday after smoke was noticed to be coming out of the plane during take-off from Kolkata airport. Bhutan Airlines is Bhutan's first private airlines run by Tashi Group of Companies.

The flight was taking-off for Bangkok when smoke was noticed, after which take-off was aborted.

Fire brigades were rushed to the spot, said reports.

In 2014, a flight from Paro to Mumbai was forced to make an emergency landing at the NSC Bose International Airport in Kolkata after the windshield of the aircraft cracked during the journey.

On Tuesday, an Air India plane veered off from the taxiway at Kochi airport while approaching parking bay. The aircraft was grounded after the incident.

OneIndia News
The 7-year-old child was killed by school bus conductor on Friday morning. The child's body was found in the school washroom in a pool of blood with his throat slit.

By India Today Web Desk: Hours after the accused school bus conductor Ashok Kumar confessed to having murdered 7-year-old boy in the washroom of Gurgaon's Ryan International School, the acting principal has been suspended.

Bus conductor Ashok Kumar had told India Today Television that he murdered the child after failed sexual assault attempt.

Angry parents had been protesting outside the school campus ever since the incident came to light on Friday morning.

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HERE ARE THE UPDATES

We are closely working with the investigating authorities so that we could be guided further with their expertise: School statement

School authorities have seriously taken up the review of the security measures at the school: School statement

We are all in great shock and grief at the loss of life of our beloved student Pradhyuman Thakur: School statement

A candle march is under way at Ryan International School.

#Gurugram: Locals hold candle light march over murder of 7-year-old at premises of #RyanInternationalSchool. pic.twitter.com/NzRKsmAs4B- ANI (@ANI) September 9, 2017

The CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education) said it formed a committee to investigate the murder.

Khattar says his government is ready for "any kind of probe" after it gets a report - if the facts aren't clear.

Khattar says he has directed authorities to complete formalities within seven days.

Haryana CM ML Khattar calls the incident a sad incident and a heinous crime.

Principal was indifferent when she came to hospital, put her in jail. I want to know what happened to my child, I want CBI: Mother of victim

Gurugram: Haryana PWD Minister Rao Narbir Singh visited family of the 7-year-old who was found dead at #RyanInternationalSchool in Bhondsi pic.twitter.com/AY6niM6bjR- ANI (@ANI) September 9, 2017

Committee has been formed to adjudge loopholes in security arrangement, report of which is expected on Monday: Gurgaon Police Commissioner

Fact finding committee set up to enquire matter and submit report at earliest: CBSE

Will try to file charge sheet in court within 7 days & request for fast trial of case: Gurgaon Police Commissioner #RyanInternationalSchool pic.twitter.com/ylM9KKyEmH- ANI (@ANI) September 9, 2017

"We will complete the probe within 7 days itself. Public prosecuters will be helping us at the investigation stage itself. We will also ask for fast-track courts to expedite the case. We will come forward with the strongest case possible," says Sandeep Khirwar, Gurugram Police commissioner.

Meanwhile, reports claim that CBSE could revoke its affiliation with Ryan International School.

"There is not much security at the school. Conductors enter the school without any hindrance," claims the victim's sister

CBSE has formed a inquiry team to look into brutal murder of a seven year old student in Ryan International School

Taking these steps to ensure vigorous safety measures in place for all our students & staff: Acting Principal

Necessary measures being reinforced with experts' help.Seeking advice from Police dept to guide us: Acting Principal

After tragic incident yesterday,authorities seriously taken up security measures review at school: Acting Principal Neerja Batra

#Gurugram: Members of Bar Association of Sohna decide not to appear on behalf of accused in #RyanInternationalSchool murder case pic.twitter.com/JYt5WxlWZ1- ANI (@ANI) September 9, 2017

#Visuals from Gurugram: #RyanInternationalSchool Class 2 student murder case: Accused sent to 3 day police remand by #Gurugram court pic.twitter.com/BZkJviIkSH- ANI (@ANI) September 9, 2017

Gurgaon Court sends accused Ashok Kumar to three-days police remand

"Very heart wrenching. This should not repeat. But I am not a judge to say who is responsible. It is not about FIR against Principal or any person, all I am saying in 24 hrs the case should be cracked," Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said

Accused Ashok Kumar is being taken for medical test.

Ryan International School issues statement: " We are deeply saddened by the tragic incident that occurred at our school today, involving a class II student - Pradyuman Thakur. He had suffered critical injuries and was immediately rushed to the hospital by the school head- Mrs Neerja Batra. Despite all attempts, unfortunately his life couldn't be saved due to the extent of his injuries. The Police is investigating this matter and we have assured our full support and co-operation towards the investigation of the same. The perpetrators of this heinous crime must be dealt with appropriate action. Our hearts and prayers are with the family ," Spokesperson Neeti Srinivasan

," Spokesperson Neeti Srinivasan Going to Gurugram tomorrow. Culprit won't be spared. Sympathies with child's parents: Haryana Education Minister on #Gurugram school murder pic.twitter.com/rAr6qdhbJg- ANI (@ANI) September 9, 2017

Accused Ashok Kumar's wife alleges that he is being framed.

"We are combing through CCTV footage, will also ask students whether there have been other cases of molestation. School has very high fees, so will find out if there should be separate toilets, why was the conductor allowed to go. There will be strict investigation in the matter, staff will be investigated. Why wasn't there safety all over the premises," Block education officer Ritu Chowdhury, a member of the probing SIT said.

A three member Special Investigation Team has been formed by the HRD ministry to investigate the matter. The CBSE has asked for a report on student safety from all affiliated schools.

"Unfortunate. It is like warning to people and schools. Justice will be served for sure," Union HRD Min Prakash Javadekar

Suspended Principal.Took action against security agency of the school. Special Committee probing case: Gurugram DCP #RyanInternationalSchool pic.twitter.com/OD15XWT2cO- ANI (@ANI) September 9, 2017

Accused Ashok Kumar will be produced in court at 2pm. The teaching and non-teaching staff of the school is being interrogated

Ryan International School's acting principal Neerja Batra has been suspended.

"We will get the case solved as soon as possible. We will get justice and if necessary will take action against the school. No one will be spared," says BJP MLA Tejpal Tanwar.

The parents want a case of criminal conspiracy to be lodged against the principal and others. They had been protesting outside the school since morning today.

ALSO WATCH| THE CONFESSION OF THE SCHOOL BUS CONDUCTOR

Also Read

Gurgaon murder: Ryan International School bus conductor confesses to killing child, says he refused sex

--- ENDS ---
Pinarayi Vijayan hails plan to induct women in military police

India

pti-PTI

Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 9: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday hailed the Indian Army's plan to induct women personnel in the military police, calling it a great move towards women empowerment in the Indian Army.

"It is a great move towards #womenempoweredindianarmy," he said in a Facebook post.

He also expressed hope to see a fair representation in the force with more women Jawans and Junior Commissioned Officers in combat duties also in future.

"Congratulating ADGPI - Indian Army for finalising the plan to induct 800 women personnel in the military police," he said.

The Chief Minister appreciated the Adjutant General of the army Lt General Ashwani Kumar in this regard.

"Also appreciate the Adjutant General of the army Lt General Ashwani Kumar's statement regarding the decision to induct women in the Corps of the Military Police keeping in view with the increasing needs for investigation against gender-specific allegations and crime," Vijayan said.

Kerala Chief Minister's Facebook post comes in the wake of the Army has finalising a plan to induct women in the military police, which is seen as a major move towards breaking gender barriers in the force. Ashwani Kumar said in New Delhi yesterday that it planned to induct about 800 women in the military police with a yearly intake of 52 personnel.

In a major step towards breaking gender barriers in the force, the Army has finalised a plan to induct women in the military police, a senior officer said on Friday.

The plan is to induct approximately 800 women in military police with a yearly intake of 52 personnel per year, Adjuntant General of the Army Lt. Gen. Ashwani Kumar told reporters.

PTI
Protest by Left activists outside GST Council meeting venue

India

pti-PTI

Hyderabad, Sep 9: With the GST Council meeting being held in Hyderabad, Activists of the CPI(M) and CPI held a protest near the venue of the meeting on Saturday.

Led by CPI leader K Narayana, slogan-shouting Left activists were stopped by the police when they were walking towards the Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC), where the meeting is being held.

They were whisked away in a van, the police said. Narayana demanded that common man be given relief under the new tax regime, which came into force on July 1.

Some other Left leaders said the GST (Goods and Services Tax) imposed on weavers should be removed. The 21st meeting of the GST Council is being held here to discuss technology glitches in GSTN portal, the imposition of higher cess on luxury and SUV cars and reduction of tax rates on about two dozen items.

The high-powered council, which is responsible for implementation and regulation of GST, comprises state finance ministers and is headed by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

The council will discuss technology glitches in GSTN portal, the imposition of higher cess on luxury and SUV cars and reduction of tax rates on about two dozen items.

PTI
RSS-CPM workers clash in Kerala, bomb hurled

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

Clashes broke out between RSS and CPM workers in Kerala. The CPM alleged that the RSS hurled a bomb at two of its workers in Kannur on Friday. The incident took place at Kuthuparamba on Friday.

Following the incident clashes broke out between the two groups. One RSS worker has been injured in the clash.

The incident adds to the long list of clashes between RSS and CPM workers in Kerala. The state has been volatile for long due to such incidents. Several persons from both sides have lost their lives in these incidents.

The RSS has been demanding protection for its workers. The issue has also been raised with the Chief Minister of the state on several occasions.

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Story first published: Saturday, September 9, 2017, 9:50 [IST]
How is Ram Rahim spending time in jail? Like a king claims this person

Secrets tumble out of Ram Rahim's 'sex cave'

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

As many as 14 bodies were sent from the Dera Sacha Sauda headquarters in Sirsa to the GCRG institute of Medical Sciences in Lucknow, a Union Health Ministry note has said.

The note said a hearing committee has mentioned that the "explanation offered by the college in obtaining 14 cadavers from Dera Sacha Sauda without requisite permission and death certificates is a serious issue".

Meanwhile, a team of forensic experts inspected the so-called 'gufa' (cave) at Dera Sacha Sauda where its rape convict head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh allegedly used to sexually exploit women.

The 'gufa' was inspected by the forensic experts from IIT Roorkee as part of sanitisation of the sprawling 'dera' campus here, an official of the Haryana government said.

According to the rape victim, on whose complaint the dera chief was convicted by a CBI court on August 25, Ram Rahim would sexually exploit girls in the 'gufa', said to be his residence.

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"A forensic team from IIT Roorke reached the Dera during the day today. They started inspection of Dera's Gufa," said Haryana's Information and Public Relations Department Deputy Director, Satish Mehra, who has been authorised by the administration to speak to the media.

"The forensic experts were also coordinating with other teams which were already inside taking part in the sanitisation and search operation," Mehra told reporters.

A number of Dera followers who had parted ways with Ram Rahim have told the media earlier that except for the Dera chief and his close aides, nobody was allowed to enter the 'gufa' or private area of his residence.

The woman, who had dared to complain against Ram Rahim, had alleged that she had been sexually exploited by the dera chief after being called there.

She had said that prior to her exploitation, she would see some of the girls coming out of the 'gufa' weeping.

Girls were deployed as security persons at the entrance of a 'guffa', the victim had said.

Mehra said various teams engaged in the sanitisation process are working as per the directions given by Court Commissioner, who was appointed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

He said five boys were found inside the dera premises today, two of whom are minor.

"The minor boys hail from Kaithal (in Haryana) and Uttar Pradesh. Both have been handed over to the

District Child Protection Officer," Mehra said.

When asked what they were doing inside the campus, he said the District Child Protection officer will quiz them about this.

"Regarding other three we are asking them about their whereabouts and will later send them home," he said.

He said a walkie-talkie set has also been recovered from inside the dera today.

"Whatever articles are being found, the district administration has taken these into their custody and will follow the orders given by the Court Commissioner," Mehra said.

The sanitisation exercise is being conducted amid tight security by police and paramilitary personnel, besides senior officials of various government departments.

The process, which began around 8 am, is being videographed and monitored by retired District and Sessions Judge A K S Pawar, who was appointed as a Court Commissioner by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Tuesday to oversee the exercise.

The Haryana government had filed a plea on Friday seeking permission for the sanitisation process under judicial supervision, after the conviction of the sect chief, now in a Rohtak jail.

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Story first published: Saturday, September 9, 2017, 6:02 [IST]
Biden vows to 'rebuild it all' in Puerto Rico after Fiona

International news brief: 28 dead as hurricane Julia drenches Central America with rainfall and more

Harvey relief: Indian-Americans urged to raise USD 1 mn worth of funds

International

oi-PTI

Houston, September 9: The Consul General of India in Houston has appealed to Indian diaspora to raise USD 1 million worth of funds for relief operations aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, which brought rampage in the US state of Texas.

Consul General of India (CGI) Anupam Ray urged the Indian-American community to coordinate large scale funding for the relief and reconstruction to support the historic storm's victims.

"The idea is to consolidate the fund raising efforts of the community and present an aggregated picture of the community's efforts," Ray told PTI.

"To show our commitment to, and support of, the greater Houston community, we would like to organise a fund raising effort to support the mayor's fund for Hurricane Harvey Relief and Rebuild Texas Fund by Governor Abbott," he said, adding that they have set a goal to raise USD 1 million.

The Indian-American community in Houston met at the Indian Consulate after Ray's appeal to coordinate a fund-raising effort by the community.

Ray explained that the two funds set up to help the rebuilding effort in south and southeast Texas by the governor will allow members of the community to identify and track their contribution by writing a code on their mode of donation.

In addition, those wishing to become signatories to the appeal to attract others to donate can do so by having their name added to the list of individuals, organisations and companies which have already done so.

He indicated that the desire is to help build a strong "Indian brand" in the region and that the three Indian oil companies with offices here - GAIL, Oil India and ONGC had committed to contributing USD 10 thousand each.

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Also, Michael Dell, founder and CEO of Dell Computers, has declared that he will donate an amount equivalent to what is given to the governor's fund. Gitesh Desai, president of SEVA International, who had been actively coordinating with majority of volunteers, requested to include his organisation as one of the beneficiaries along with the mayor and the governor's relief funds.

Arun Verma of Sri Sita Ram Foundation also pledged USD 10k. India house pledged to raise USD 50K for each fund. IACF president-elect Mahesh Wadhwa pledged USD 100k, with USD 25k coming from current president Vanitha Pothuri.

The SEVA International is working on the ground and has rescued 687 people so far from the catastrophic floods brought by Harvey. Jagdip Ahluwalia of the Indo American Chamber of Commerce said the Chamber would help businesses re-establish.

PTI

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Story first published: Saturday, September 9, 2017, 10:26 [IST]
At UNSC, US calls on world to tell Russia to stop its nuclear threats

Hurricane Harvey: Trump signs USD 15 billion relief package

International

oi-PTI

Washington, September 9: After hurricane Harvey wreaked havoc and as Irma is on the rampage, the US President Donald Trump has signed a USD 15 billion hurricane relief package passed by Congress.

The package also raises the debt ceiling and avoids a looming shutdown by funding government into early December.

Hours earlier the House of Representatives voted 316 to 90 to approve the package, which was the result of an agreement struck between Trump and congressional Democrats in a hurried effort to free up emergency funding after Hurricane Harvey swamped Texas, and as a second monster storm bears down on Florida.

The Senate easily passed the bill Thursday, 80 to 17. Trump signed the measure yesterday "providing much needed support for storm survivors," White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said on Twitter.

The bill extends US borrowing authority and funds the federal government until December 8, and frees up emergency relief funding just as Florida braces for a direct hit from Hurricane Irma, which has already been blamed for 17 deaths across the Caribbean.

Some Republican conservatives had strongly objected to the deal because they wanted a stand-alone hurricane relief bill unconnected to efforts to raise the federal borrowing limit and keep the government open.

All 90 House members against the measure were Republicans, including four from storm-ravaged Texas. "Disaster assistance should be considered on its own -- not to advance another agenda," Texas Republican Mac Thornberry said after voting against the package.

House Republican Sean Duffy called the deal "foolish," stressing Trump inadvertently handed Democrats substantial leverage ahead of fiscal debates in December, in large part because Republicans will be pressing ahead at that time with a tax reform bid.

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Congress's immediate focus however was funneling sufficient funding to government authorities like the Federal Emergency Management Administration, which has been helping victims of Hurricane Harvey that recently pummeled Texas, and is preparing for devastation in Florida.

House Republican Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, whose Florida district was bracing for a direct Irma impact, expressed her "heartfelt gratitude" to Congress for the aid.

Of the $15.25 billion in relief funding, about half is designated for FEMA's disaster relief fund. FEMA has burned through much of its funding, due to the scope of Harvey and technical advancements that allow the agency to distribute money more quickly than in previous disasters.

Trump's homeland security advisor Tom Bossert said FEMA was operating at full tilt, "but there will be a break in their operations if they run out of money. That's why that supplemental legislation was so necessary."

With Harvey relief efforts expected to top USD 100 billion, lawmakers and officials agreed that the latest aid should be just a first step in broader federal assistance to come. "Congress came and stepped up in a bipartisan way," Bossert told reporters at the White House.

"We're going to have to go back I'm sure for additional resources as these storms continue to hurt our states and our citizens," he added. As Floridians prepared for the storm or evacuated, Trump assured that authorities were ready for Irma.

"It's a really bad one, but we are prepared at the highest level," Trump shouted to reporters as he boarded a helicopter for Camp David, the retreat in Maryland where he will hold a weekend cabinet meeting and monitor the storm.

The National Hurricane Center offered blunt warnings about the "extremely dangerous" storm. The centre warned that Irma is likely to make landfall in Florida as a dangerous major hurricane, and will bring life-threatening wind impacts to much of the state regardless of the exact track of the center.

PTI

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Story first published: Saturday, September 9, 2017, 9:27 [IST]
With the number of anonymous rogues from Pak rising, here's how BSF is beating down the drones

Legitimising Pakistan's terror groups by taking the political plunge

International

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

Declarations and bans do not make any difference to Pakistan. The modus operandi earlier was to change the names of the outfits to beat the ban and these days terror groups have entered politics to seek legitimacy.

Take the case of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba, the outfit which carried out the Mumbai 26/11 attacks. It has changed several names to beat bans. It has a financial wing called the Jamaat-ud-Dawa. Now it has launched a political party Milli Muslim League (MML). The new party will be headed by Saifullah Khalid

Experts say that not only does this move give this terror group legitimacy, but it was launched at a time when the political situation in Pakistan is extremely volatile. It is also a well known fact that the boss of this outfit, Hafiz Saeed is a favourite of the ISI and Pakistan army.

What this outfit intend to do?

MML chief Khalid, at the launch ceremony in Islamabad on Monday, outlined that the party kept Saeed in high regard, but stopped short of mentioning what role he would play. There is still no clarity on the role Saeed would play. However, experts indicate that he will play a major role and would be the centric figure once he is released.

Khalid is an old member of the JuD central leadership himself and the group's links to the LeT raise concerns of allowing terror elements access into national politics. The party's chief has announced that they have made the political party so that Pakistan is made a "real Islamic and welfare state".

The new party submitted its registration to Pakistan's Election Commission. The registration is required in order to be able to field candidates for elections. Saeed missed the launch as he is under house arrest.

The MML will closely work with the JuD and the latter's network of thousands of volunteers. The party chief said that he will also also "maintain coordination with JuD and all other like-minded organisations that hold the ideology of Pakistan... we will offer them our cooperation, and accept theirs."

This party starts with an advantage as it has 2 lakh volunteers across Pakistan. Experts view the formation as a game by the ISI and army to legitimise terror groups in the country. Such moves would only give these groups the deniability factor when terror attacks are staged. Moreover declarations and bans too would be beaten with ease with such moves.

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Story first published: Saturday, September 9, 2017, 7:41 [IST]
Qatar outreach fails: Saudi suspends dialogue

International

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Riyadh, Sep 9: Soon after a telephonic conversation between the rulers of both countries, Saudi Arabia on Saturday suspended any dialogue with Qatar, accusing it of distorting facts.

Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani , spoke to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to express interest in talks, state media from both sides said, in the first public dialogue between the leaders after the US president offered to mediate in the crisis.

Saudi Arabia led the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain in cutting ties with Qatar in June, accusing it of bankrolling Islamist extremist groups and of being too close to regional rival Iran. Doha denies the accusations. The crown prince "welcomed this desire," the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) initially reported, adding "details will be announced after Saudi Arabia reaches an agreement with UAE and Bahrain and Egypt".

But the prospect of a thaw quickly died down after SPA subsequently accused Qatar's state media of wrongly implying that Saudi Arabia had initiated the outreach.

"What was published by Qatar News Agency is continuation of Qatari authority's distortion of facts," SPA said, adding that any dialogue was now suspended.

The development came after US President Donald Trump on Friday spoke separately with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE.

"The President underscored that unity among the United States' Arab partners is essential to promoting regional stability and countering the threat of Iran," the White House said.

"The President also emphasised that all countries must follow through on commitments... to defeat terrorism, cut off funding for terrorist groups, and combat extremist ideology," the statement added.

When he offered to mediate, Trump said he believed the dispute could be solved "fairly easily". In Washington on Thursday, Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al- Ahmad Al-Sabah, a key figure involved in mediation attempts, met Trump and gave an upbeat assessment of his efforts so far. But in a statement early yesterday, the Saudi-led bloc had showed no signs of backing down as it questioned the Kuwaiti emir's statement that Qatar would be willing to accept their 13 demands.

The demands include shutting Doha-based broadcaster Al- Jazeera, closing a Turkish military base in the emirate and downgrading Qatari diplomatic ties with Iran. The bloc also voiced "regret" about the Kuwaiti ruler's statement "on the success of mediation in stopping military intervention".

Instead, the four Arab states stressed that "the military option has not been and will not be considered" under any circumstances. Kuwait has emerged as a key mediator in the crisis, while the United States has given mixed signals on its policy. Riyadh and Doha are both key allies of the United States. Trump, who chose Saudi Arabia for his first overseas visit as president in May, two weeks before the crisis erupted, immediately expressed staunch support for Saudi Arabia.

Some other US officials including Secretary of State Rex Tillerson have adopted a more measured tone. Tillerson and Sheikh Mohammed announced in July they had signed an agreement to fight terrorism, built on decisions made at a Riyadh summit in May to "wipe terrorism from the face of the Earth".

Qatar hosts a huge US air base, home to the headquarters of Centcom -- the regional command which leads operations against the Islamic State jihadist group. Sheikh Tamim is set to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel for talks on September 15, in what will be his first trip to a western capital since the crisis began.

PTI
US call centre scam: Four Indian-origin men plead guilty

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New York, Sep 9: In connection with a multi-million USD telephone impersonation fraud and money laundering scheme in the US perpetrated by India-based call centres, four Indian-origin men have pleaded guilty.

Nisarg Patel, 26, of New Jersey, Dilip Kumar Ramanlal Patel, 30, of Florida and Rajesh Kumar, 39, of Arizona each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit fraud and money laundering offences.

The pleas were entered before US district judge David Hittner of the Southern District of Texas. All three have been in federal custody since they were arrested in October 2016. In a related case, Dipak Kumar Sankalchand Patel, a resident of Pennsylvania, also pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.

He has been in federal custody since his arrest in May this year. Nisarg, Dilip and Rajesh and 53 others, besides five India-based call centers have been charged for frauding American people through a money laundering scheme in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in the Southern District of Texas in October last year.

According to admissions made in connection with their pleas, the three men and their accomplices perpetrated a complex scheme in which people from from call centers located in Ahmedabad called people living in the US, posing as officials from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Using information obtained from data brokers and other sources, the accused targeted threatened people in the US with arrest, imprisonment, fines or deportation if they did not pay money, which the accused alleged they owed to the US government.

Those who agreed to pay money to the scammers were instructed how to make the payment, including by purchasing stored value cards or wiring money. After the payment, the call centers would immediately turn to a network of "runners" based in the US to liquidate and launder the fraudulently obtained funds. In connection with his guilty plea, Nisarg admitted that beginning in around June 2013 and continuing through December 2015, he acted as a domestic runner in the criminal scheme, liquidating victim funds for conspirators from India-based call centers and organisational co-defendant 'HGLOBAL'.

He communicated about the fraudulent scheme with various India-based co-defendants via telephone, email and WhatsApp text messaging. Dilip Kumar admitted that he to had served as a runner, liquidating victim scam funds per the instructions from his accomplices in India, who were running the fake call centres.

He communicated via phone and email in furtherance of the criminal scheme with his India-based associates, including by sending lists of re-loadable card numbers to be activated and loaded with funds siphoned off from the victims. Kumar also operated as a runner, laundering scam proceeds from reloadable cards and purchasing money orders using those funds in and around south-central Arizona at the direction of both domestic and India-based co-defendants. He admitted to using fraudulent identification documents, including drivers' licenses, to receive wire transfers of money directly from victims of the fraud scheme.

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The 7-year-old child was killed by school bus conductor on Friday morning. The child's body was found in the school washroom in a pool of blood with his throat slit.

By India Today Web Desk: A seven-year old student of Gurgaon's Ryan International School was brutally murdered in the school's washroom, sparking protests by angry parents.

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has called the killing a "heinous crime."

Gurgaon's Police Chief said the probe into the child's murder would be completed in seven days.

Here's everything you need to know about the case:

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A bus conductor, Ashok Kumar, told India Today that he murdered the boy after attempting to sexually assault him. However, the child's parents don't believe this is true. Ashok Kumar's wife says he's being framed. Ryan International School today released a statement on the murder. Here's the full text. "Following the tragic incident at our school yesterday, the school authorities have seriously taken up the review of the security measures at the school. All necessary improvements and measures are being audited and reinforced with the help of experts. We are also seeking advice from the Police department to guide us in this regard. While, we are all in great shock and grief at the loss of life of our beloved student Pradhyuman Thakur, we are taking these steps simultaneously to ensure vigorous safety measures in place for all our students & staff. We are closely working with the investigating authorities so that we could be guided further with their expertise." The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) said it formed a committee to investigate the murder. The board could revoke its affiliation with Ryan International School, some reports said. Chief Minister ML Khattar said his government is ready for "any kind of probe" after it gets a report - if the facts aren't clear. Gurgaon Police Commissioner Sandeep Khirwar said his city police would "come forward with the strongest case possible." A candle march was held today on the premises of Ryan International School. The school's acting principal,Neerja Batra, was suspended. Parents want a criminal conspiracy case to be lodged against the principal and others. The victim's sister claimed there wasn't much security at the school. "Conductors enter the school without any hindrance," she said. Members of the Bar Association of Sohna decided not to appear on behalf of the accused in the case. Haryana Education Minister Rambilas Sharma said his sympathies were with the victim's parents, and that the culprit wouldn't be spared. Union Human Resources and Development Minister Prakash Javadekar promised that justice would be served.

Also Read:

Gurgaon murder: Ryan International School bus conductor confesses to killing child, says he refused sex

7-year-old Gurgaon schoolboy killed by bus conductor who tried to sexually abuse him, say police

Delhi: Ryan International School principal booked in drowning death of 6-year-oldALSO WATCH| THE CONFESSION OF THE SCHOOL BUS CONDUCTOR

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The body of 7-year-old boy was found in the washroom of Ryan International School on Friday morning with his throat slit.

By India Today Web Desk: In a shocking confession, the school bus conductor who murdered the 7-year-old student inside the washroom of the Gurgaon-based Ryan International School, said that he murdered him because he objected to having sex with him.

Ashok Kumar, 42, is a resident of Ghamroj village in Gurgaon and has been working with Ryan International School for the past eight months.

Ashok Kumar, the accused conductor

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Kumar confessed that he found the 7-year-old alone in the washroom, that encouraged him to attempt sexual assault. However, when the boy tired to escape, Kumar pulled him in the washroom and slit his throat.

He stabbed the child twice and washed the knife in the washroom and threw the same at the site of crime.

After the child's body was discovered, it was Kumar who helped the school authorities take him to Artemis Hospital.

STUDENTS SPOTTED ASHOK KUMAR AT CRIME SITE

According to reports, few students reported to the police that they saw Ashok Kumar walk into the washroom. CCTV footage recovered by Gurgaon Police has added to the suspicion.

PARENTS' REACTION

The child's father today approached Gurgaon Police Commissioner with his lawyer to demand action against the management of Ryan International School.

#Gurugram: Father of victim reached Police Commissioner's office with lawyer to demand action against management of #RyanInternationalSchool pic.twitter.com/ZarjsUqP1O- ANI (@ANI) September 9, 2017

"The school could not even ensure basic safety for my son, how will then parents send children to school," Jyoti, mother of the victim said. "My son did not even know the bus conductor as he never traveled in bus, we used to drop him and pick him," she added.

Mother of the seven-year-old boy killed

A committee has been formed by the Deputy Commissioner to look if any case can be registered against the school.

Bus conductor Ashok Kumar will be presented before court today.

Also read

7-year-old Gurgaon schoolboy killed by bus conductor who tried to sexually abuse him, say police

Delhi: Ryan International School principal booked in drowning death of 6-year-old

Watch: I don't know what happened to me: Ryan International School bus conductor confesses to murder

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Last year, North Korea had conducted its fifth nuclear test to mark the 68th anniversary of the country's founding.

A medium-range ballistic missile target is launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Kauai, Hawaii, US. (Photo: Reuters)

By Indo-Asian News Service: South Korea is on high alert as it believes North Korea might launch a new intercontinental ballistic missile over the weekend to celebrate the 69th year of its founding, an official said.

South Korea's Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon said on Friday the country is exploring all ways to prevent the North from developing the technology to mount nuclear warheads on missiles, Efe news reported.

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"Seoul also seeks to achieve North Korea's denuclearisation peacefully," Cho added.

Last year, North Korea had conducted its fifth nuclear test to mark the 68th anniversary of the country's founding.

Seoul's intelligence services had said earlier in the week they expect the Kim Jong-un regime to carry out another missile test on October 10, when the country celebrates the 72nd anniversary of the founding of the Workers' Party.

North Korea has recently sped up its weapons development program, drawing strong condemnation from the international community and a demand for the United Nations to toughen sanctions against the hermetic country.

On Sunday, North Korea had claimed to have detonated a hydrogen bomb that it said can be mounted on an intercontinental ballistic missile, five days after it launched a ballistic missile that flew over Japan.

The country had launched its first intercontinental ballistic missile, allegedly capable of reaching the United States, on July 4, followed by another one at the end of the same month.

ALSO READ |

North Korea had firmed up plans to build a nuclear force a year ago, world ignored warning signals

North Korea fires missile over Japan; US, South Korean military pledge tough response

India 'deplores' North Korea nuclear test, says such actions impact peace in Korean peninsula and beyond

ALSO WATCH | India 'deplores' North Korea nuclear test, calls it matter of deep concern

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Aluminum Slugs Market Growth and Forecast 2017  2027

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The global packaging market has introduced an extensive collection of single-serve packaging systems into the market, inferable of the growing request from the working population. Aluminum slugs play a crucial role in the packaging industry with easier, faster, safer, efficient and effective way of impact extrusion of the slug. Aluminum slugs are also eco-friendly and recyclable which gives an advantage over other types of metal slugs. They come in different sizes and can be converted to any shape for the convenience of customers. Aluminum slugs are also rust resistance and lighter which have extended the scope for aluminum slugs market. Aluminum slugs market is expected to get demand from several application segments including food & beverages industries, healthcare, paint industries, pharmaceutical, etc. where slugs are being used.Global Aluminum Slugs- Market Dynamics:The aluminum slugs market is expected to witness a healthy growth over the forecast period due to the rising demand for smaller and convenient slugs for extrusion. Aluminum slugs market is anticipated to be exceptionally concentrated into personal care and beauty products as their end products. Fantastic properties of aluminum slugs, for example, have an extended shelf life and a safe approach to administering a wide assortment of items. In addition, the increase in the per capita disposable income for developing economies and shift in the mindset towards convenient packaging. Rapid industrialization in the field of paint, food & beverages, etc. have seen the increment in spending to offer items by using aluminum slugs. Recyclability properties of aluminum are few of the components to be specified which can drive the development of aluminum slugs market. The increment in power rates which will expand the cost of manufacturing for aluminum directly impact the cost for slugs is the restraint hampering the market for aluminum slugs. Instability in the raw material prices of aluminum combined with stringent norms from local government is also few of the challenges faced by aluminum slugs market.Request Report Sample@Global Aluminum Slugs- Market Segmentation:The aluminum slugs can be segmented by shape, by application, and by end use industry.On the basis of shape, the global aluminum slugs are segmented into:FlatRoundRectangularOn the basis of application, the global aluminum slugs are segmented into:Aerosol cansAluminum collapsible tubesAutomotive cansTechnical partsOthersOn the basis of end use industry, the global aluminum slugs are segmented into:Food & BeveragePharmaceuticalCosmetic & personal careAutomotiveElectrical & electronicsGlobal Aluminum Slugs- Regional Overview:The global aluminum slugs can be segmented on the basis of region such as:North AmericaLatin AmericaEastern EuropeWestern EuropeAPEJMiddle East & AfricaJapanVisit For TOC@The aluminum slugs market in North America region is to remain dominant for the highest revenue growth as compared to markets in other regions. Aluminum slugs market in China and India are expected to have substantial growth in terms of revenue due to relatively large aluminum ore industry and technological advancements in these emerging economies. Furthermore, the growth of aluminum slugs market in Asia Pacific is also expected to be driven from the increasing in the spending power among consumers in the countries of these regions. Aluminum slugs market in Western Europe is expected to witness above average growth, with Germany, France, and the U.K. In Latin America, Brazil and Mexico saw a good presence for aluminum slugs market and is expected to grow at a significant rate. The aluminum slugs market in the Middle East & Africa region is expected to witness an augmentation in the revenue contribution from sales in South Africa and GCC.Global Aluminum Slugs  Key players:Few of the key players in the aluminum slugs market are Ball Corp, Neuman Aluminium Austria GmbH, Impol, d.o.o., Aluminium-Werke Wutoschingen AG & Co.KG, Jindal Aluminium Limited, Haomei Aluminum Co., Ltd., Nansen Industry Co., Ltd., Alucon PCL, Rheinfelden Semis Gmbh & Co. Kg, Aluman Sa.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:
Analog To Digital Converter Market Dynamics, Segments and Supply Demand 2017  2027

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Analog to digital converters (ADC) is an electric component that translates analog signals, physical world signals such as pressure, temperature, current, voltage, distance or light intensity into a digital representation of that signal which can be stored, manipulated, computed, and processed. Analog to digital converters are used to convert signals from analog to digital signals so that the signals can be read by the digital devices.As the global analog to digital converter market is among typical semiconductor market, it is expected to have a steady growth for the forecast period. Next generation communication systems and various other advanced consumer electronics are expected to influence the growth in deployment of analog to digital converter devices influencing a steady rise in the revenue of the global analog to digital converter market.Global Analog to Digital Converter Market: Drivers and ChallengesWith increasing government initiative to digitize working processes and encouraging smart living, and increasing disposable income of the population in growing economic countries is rising the adoption of consumer electronics among the people. Innovation in technology is also making use of analog to digital converters in various devices including consumer electronics and automotive equipment. Hence, these factors have a positive impact on adoption and penetration of analog to digital converters driving the revenue growth of global analog to digital converter market.Request Report Sample@However, few challenges faced by the analog to digital converter devices manufacturers while designing an analog to digital converter device are pressure for product differentiation, continuously improving efficiency of the product or having better performance goals, fast time-to-market and others.Global Analog to Digital Converter Market: SegmentationGlobal analog to digital converter market can be segmented into product type, resolution, application and regions.On the basis of product type, global analog to digital converter market can be segmented into pipelined ADC, display ADC, dual slope ADC, delta-sigma ADC, and others.On the basis of resolution, global analog to digital converter market can be segmented into 8-bit, 10-bit, 12-bit, 14-bit, 16-bit and others.On the basis of application, global analog to digital converter market can be segmented into consumer electronics, IT and telecommunication, automotive and industrial.Global Analog to Digital Converter Market: Regional OutlookOn the basis of regions, global Analog to Digital Converter Market can be segmented into North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia Pacific excluding Japan, Japan, and Middle East and Africa.Visit For TOC@North America accounts for largest market share in the global analog to digital converter market owing to the advanced technology and easy adoption in the countries such as the U.S. The expansion in the industrial and automotive sectors are offering lucrative growth opportunities for Western Europe analog to digital converter market. Asia Pacific excluding Japan is expected to have maximum potential for the revenue growth of global analog to digital converter market during the forecast period. Latin America, Middle East and Africa, Eastern Europe are among the regions which are expected to witness positive growth during the forecast period.Global Analog to Digital Converter Market: Competition LandscapeSome of the key players for analog to digital converter market are Texas Instruments Incorporated, Analog Devices, Inc., Asahi Kasei Microdevices Corporation, Microchip Technology Inc., Intersil Americas LLC, Sony Corporation, National Instruments, Maxim Integrated, Diligent Inc., and Adafruit Industries.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:
Digital Twin Technology Market Dynamics, Segments and Supply Demand 2017  2027

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Digital twin technology is basically a combination of data and intelligence. It help enterprises to represent structure and behaviour of system. Digital twin technology is widely adopted by most of the enterprises to optimize physical world which enable them to significantly improve the business process and operational efficiency. Digital twin contain sensors that collects data to represent real time data of the physical asset. Digital twin technology offers an interface that makes organizations familiar to past and present operation, and helps them to make predictions of the future.The digital twin technology has several industrial applications in areas such as wind turbines and aircraft engines. The complex intelligent maintenance system and prognostics platforms can influence the use of digital twin to improve productivity and resolving operational issues. Additionally, digital twin technology can also be used for the application such as monitoring, smart cities and diagnostics.Digital twin technology Market:Drivers and ChallengesThe rise of industrial internet of things is one of the major factor driving the growth of the digital twin technology market. The industrial internet of things is the next surge of digitalization of technology that develops a bridge between physical and digital world. Digital twin technology model tracks the progress status of the physical product development cycle and allows user to monitor the performance of the system.Request Report Sample@Managing all the design files for digital twin among distributers and suppliers is one of the major restraints faced by the digital twin technology market.Digital twin technology Market: SegmentationSegmentation of digital twin technology on the basis of applicationManufacturing process planningProduct designSegmentation of digital twin technology on the basis of end user:AutomotiveAviationChemicalHealthcareOil and gasTransportationPower and utilitiesOthersVisit For TOC@Digital twin technology Market: Key PlayersSome of the key players of the digital twin technology are: Siemens Ltd., General Electric Company, Tibco software Inc., SAP SE, Microsoft Corporation, Forbesindia.com, and Schnitger 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:
Sirens Market Growth and Forecast 2017  2027

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Increasing threats and accidents in developing economies have led to a rapid increase in the number of victims and a loss of potential business. Adoption of security solutions, such as sirens is an effective way of tackling these challenges. Motorized sirens are used for home security, whereas long range sirens are suitable for mining and industrial applications. Hand operated sirens are used when no power supply is available or when backup is required. Other sirens are hydraulic or air driven and mostly find applications in plants and factories. Lithium batteries have replaced alkaline batteries in sirens now, since lithium batteries need not be replaced for several years. Modern sirens use latest technologies and find applications in civil defense, emergency vehicles, security systems and others. Typically, sirens are made of stainless steel, aluminum or UV stabilized polycarbonate to avoid corrosion and are equipped with protection cages. An LED flashing siren has a light source with a semi-permanent lifespan and it is used in places where bulb replacement is a problem.Some additional features of sirens include a solar panel upgrade system to keep the batteries charged and a number of digital communication methods, including Ethernet, satellite, IP, fiber optic and others. Sirens have conformal coatings on their electronics, which help protect them against harsh environments. Some of the systems are made in such a way that they can be expanded or scaled depending on future capabilities. Omni-directional sirens can be used in areas of high noise levels and those with large population densities as they provide a greater area of coverage. Sirens have external controls with triggers, which can be customized according to needs. The lightening types of sirens include bulb revolving, LED flashing and xenon lamp strobe. The loud speakers in sirens are adopted from latest piezoelectric ceramic technology.Request Report Sample@Sirens Market: DynamicsRising population and rapid urbanization have led to an increase in demand for security solutions. The need for implementation of security has paved way for the use of electronic equipment on a large scale globally, which in turn has created opportunities for the global sirens market. As these products are durable with a high voltage capacity and easy to install, they find high selling propositions. Characteristics and properties of electronic and pneumatic equipment play a vital role in security solutions, thereby driving the global sirens market with a rise in diverse end-user applications, such as industrial warning systems, community warning systems, campus alert systems and military mass warning systems.With the increase in demand for security solutions, it has become a growing trend to use personal protective equipment, which in turn has surged demand for the global sirens market. The replacement of sirens with modern technologies requires huge investment. However, growth of the market may yet get hampered with the emergence of modern communication technology. Failure of sirens from lightning strikes or equipment malfunction is another common factor, which may affect market growth.Sirens Market: SegmentationSegmentation of the global siren market by product type:ElectronicElectro-mechanicalRotatingSingle/dual tonedOmnidirectionalSegmentation of the global siren market by application:Civil defenseIndustrial signalingEmergency vehiclesHome/vehicle safetySecurity/warning systemsMilitary useOthersVisit For TOC@Segmentation of the global siren market by installation type:Wall mountingSelf-standingWater proof connectorSirens Market: Region-wise OutlookIn the global sirens market, the dominant share is held by the U.S., India, China, Japan, Australia, Germany, Singapore and the UAE. This can be attributed to the demand for security solutions in developed as well as developing economies.Sirens Market: Market ParticipantsSome of the key market participants identified in the global siren market are Acoustic Technology Inc., Sentry Siren Inc., MA Safety Signal Co. Ltd, Whelen Engineering Co. Inc., Federal Signal Corporation, B & M Siren Manufacturing Co., Projects Unlimited Inc., Phoenix Contact, Mallory Sonalert Products and Qlight USA Inc.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Global Mobility on Demand Market is expected to cross $ 228 billion by 2022

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Global Mobility on Demand Market is expected to cross $ 228 billion by 2022, on account of growing traffic congestions, continuous initiatives being taken by several vehicles manufacturing players and increasing inclination of consumers. Asia-Pacific region accounted for the largest share in global mobility on demand market in 2016; and China and Japan registered more than half of the demand for mobility on demand services in the region in the same year. Moreover, the region is anticipated to maintain its dominance in global mobility on demand market during the forecast period as well.Request a sample copy of Mobility on Demand Market @According to Global Mobility on Demand Market Forecast & Opportunities, 2022, major companies operating in the global mobility on demand market are BMW AG, General Motors Co., Toyota Motor Corporation, Ford Motor Company, Delphi Automotive PLC, TomTom International, IBM CORPORATION, INTEL CORPORATION, ROBERT BOSCH GmbH, UBER TECHNOLOGIES Inc., Lyft Inc., etc. Global Mobility on Demand Market Forecast & Opportunities, 2022 discusses the following aspects of global mobility on demand market: Global Mobility on Demand Market Size, Share & Forecast Segmental Analysis  By Vehicle Type (Passenger Car Vs. Two-Wheeler).By Internet Connectivity Type (3G, 4G, Wi-Fi, and 5G), By Service Type (E-hailing, Ride Sharing, and Car Rental), By Vehicle Connectivity Type (V2P, V2I, V2V, and Others) Policy & Regulatory Landscape Changing Market Trends & Emerging Opportunities Competitive Landscape & Strategic RecommendationsWhy You Should Buy This Report? To gain an in-depth understanding of global mobility on demand market To identify the on-going trends and anticipated growth in the next five years To help industry consultants and service providers align their market-centric strategies To obtain research based business decisions and add weight to presentations and marketing material To gain competitive knowledge of leading market players To avail 10% customization in the report without any extra charges and get research data or trends added in the report as per the buyers specific needsReport MethodologyThe information contained in this report is based upon both primary and secondary research. Primary research included interaction with service providers and industry experts. Secondary research included an exhaustive search of relevant publications like company annual reports, financial reports and proprietary databases.To read the complete report, click the link :About Bharat Book Bureau:Bharat Book Bureau is the leading market research information provider for market research reports, company profiles, industry study, country reports, business reports, newsletters and online databases. Bharat Book Bureau provides over a million reports from more than 400 publishers around the globe. We cover sectors starting from Aeronautics to Zoology.Contact us at:Bharat Book BureauTel: +91 22 27810772 / 27810773Email: poonam@bharatbook.comWebsite:Follow us on : Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, Google Plus
Military Robots Market is Expected to Grow to a $30.83 Billion Market by 2022

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Rising need for unmanned military systems and modernization programs in various countries are the major factors driving the military robots market globallyThe Military Robots Market is expected to grow from an estimated USD 16.79 billion in 2017 to USD 30.83 billion by 2022, at a CAGR of 12.92% from 2017 to 2022. The market for military robots is driven by several factors such as rising number of terrorist activities, increasing need of systems that can conduct remote operations for a longer time, and technological developments in unmanned systems globally.Request a sample copy of Military Robots Market@Mine clearance application segment is expected to witness the highest growth during the forecast periodKey applications considered for market study are Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR), search and rescue, combat support, transportation, EOD, mine clearance, firefighting, and others. The mine clearance application segment military is expected to lead the military robots market during the forecast period. This growth can be attributed to the increasing casualties of troops during wars and modernization programs of various countries.North America is expected to lead the military robots market; the Europe military robots market is projected to grow at the highest rateThe North America region is expected to lead the military robots market in 2017. The Europe military robots market is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. In North America, the US is considered to be the largest market for military robots, owing to technological advancements and rising incidences of armed conflicts or war against terrorism. The US is one of the main manufacturers and end users of military robots across the globe, due to the threats received by the country and its participation in the war against terrorism in Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan. The acceptance of military robots provides enhanced assistance to the troops and helps them in various military applications.To read the complete report, click the link :Breakup of profile of primary participants for the military robots market By Company Type - Tier 1  55 %, Tier 2  20% and Tier 3  25% By Designation  C level  45%, Director level  25%, Others  30% By Region  North America - 10%, Europe  20%, APAC  40%, RoW  30%The major companies profiled in the report include Kongsberg Gruppen (Norway), Lockheed Marin Corporation (US), Saab AB (Sweden), Elbit System Ltd. (Israel), Northrup Grumman Corporation (US), Boeing (US), QinetiQ (UK), Thales Group (France), etc.Reasons to buy the report:From an insight perspective, this research report has focused on various levels of analysis  industry analysis (industry trends and focus), market-share analysis of top players, vendor dive analysis of top 25 players, and company profiles, which together comprise and discuss the basic views on competitive landscape, emerging and high-growth segments of the military robots market, high-growth regions and countries, and their respective regulatory policies, government initiatives, and market drivers, restraints, and opportunities.The report provides insights into the following pointers: Market Penetration: Comprehensive information on military robots offered by top 25 players in the military robots market Product Development/Innovation: Detailed insights on upcoming technologies, research and development activities, and new product launches in the military robots market Market Development: Comprehensive information about lucrative emerging markets - the report analyses markets for military robots across regions Market Diversification: Exhaustive information about new products, untapped geographies, recent developments, and investments in the military robots market Competitive Assessment: In-depth assessment of market shares, strategies, products, and manufacturing capabilities of the leading players in the military robots marketBrowse our Discounted Reports :Bharat Book Bureau is the leading market research information provider for market research reports, company profiles, industry study, country reports, business reports, newsletters and online databases. Bharat Book Bureau provides over a million reports from more than 400 publishers around the globe. We cover sectors starting from Aeronautics to Zoology.Bharat Book BureauTel: +91 22 27810772 / 27810773Email: poonam@bharatbook.comWebsite:Follow us on : Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, Google Plus
Missile Launching System Market to Soar at a CAGR 2.56% to 2021: Growth Factors & Trends

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Global Missile Launching System Market is Projected to grow at 2.56% CAGR during the period 2017-2021. Missile Launching System Industry research report also provides granular analysis of the market share, Size, segmentation, revenue forecasts and geographic regions of the market.The Research report analysts forecast the global missile launching system market to grow at a CAGR of 2.56% during the period 2017-2021.A missile is a self-propelled precision-guided munition system, which can be referred to as an advanced version of a rocket that can maneuver by itself. It consists of four system components a targeting and/or missile guidance system, a flight system, an engine, and a warhead. With the evolution of warfare strategies and mechanisms, high-end and sophisticated missiles have been developed, which enable armed forces to launch attacks from fortified positions.Enquire Discount on Global Missile Launching System Market Research Report @Covered in this reportThe report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the global missile launching system market for 2017-2021. The report presents a detailed picture of the market by way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources.The market is divided into the following segments based on geography: Americas, APAC and EMEA.The research report, Global Missile Launching System Market 2017-2021, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.Access report: Global Missile Launching System Market Research Report @Global Missile Launching System Market Key vendors as BAE Systems, Lockheed Martin, Larsen & Toubro (L&T), Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, ASELSAN, Boeing, DCNS, Harris and MBDA.Market driver:Increasing territorial conflictsFor a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket challenge:Development of Small Diameter Bomb (SDB)For a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket trend:Development of multi-mission launchersFor a full, detailed list, view our reportKey questions answered in this reportWhat will the Global Missile Launching System Market size be in 2021 and what will the growth rate be?What are the key of Global Missile Launching System Market trends?What is driving this Global Missile Launching System Market?What are the challenges to Global Missile Launching System Market growth?Who are the key vendors in this Global Missile Launching System Market space?Related Reports: -Global Aircraft Actuator Market Research Report 2017In this report, the global Aircraft Actuator 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.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:
Health Intelligent Virtual Assistant Market Set to Register 31% CAGR During 2017-2024

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Global Health Intelligent Virtual Assistant Market is Projected to grow at 31% CAGR during the period 2017-2024. Health Intelligent Virtual Assistant Industry research report also provides granular analysis of the market share, Size, segmentation, revenue forecasts and geographic regions of the market.Rising smartphone users worldwide coupled with increasing use of health apps and growing popularity of internet of things is set to drive health intelligent virtual assistant market growth. Mobile healthcare technology has gained immense popularity among populations all over the globe. The increased adoption of heath apps demonstrates the shift in trend in patient care; wherein service over mobile devices is being preferred over visiting the physicians.Health Intelligent Virtual Assistant Market size is set to exceed USD 1.5 billion by 2024; according to a new research study.Growing popularity of internet of things is likely to further stimulate health intelligent virtual assistant business growth. The use of internet of things in healthcare has increased both the size as well as accuracy of medical data through variety of data collection, and expanded the reach of healthcare professionals beyond their limited facilities.Request a Sample Copy of Global Health Intelligent Virtual Assistant Market Research Report @Increasing lifestyle related disorders coupled with rising health consciousness should also drive the health intelligent virtual assistant market. Lifestyle diseases remain the leading cause of death worldwide. Intelligent virtual assistants respond to the voice or text queries through mobile devices or health apps, thus increasing patient engagement and improving self-management skills for chronic disease. Thus, rising global chronic disease burden across the globe in healthcare industry should further augment health intelligent virtual assistant market growth in coming years.Growing need to reduce healthcare costs and improve quality of care will fuel health intelligent virtual assistant market growth. Promising improvements in healthcare infrastructure, patient experience will restructure the healthcare delivery over the coming years. To reduce the medical errors and improve the quality of healthcare has been the first preference of Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).U.S. health intelligent virtual assistant market accounted for the largest regional industry share in 2016. Wide spread adoption of healthcare IT, technologies for effective healthcare system and increasing smartphone users in the U.S. will stimulate industry growth.UK held considerable regional health intelligent virtual assistant market share in 2016 owing to adoption of advanced healthcare technologies. Rising penetration of the internet of things coupled with increasing regulation act related to communication and data should drive business growth in coming years.Lack of awareness regarding accuracy and personalization in intelligent virtual assistants in certain regions and, lack of skilled people should hinder health intelligent virtual assistant market growth over forecast years.Enquire Discount on Global Health Intelligent Virtual Assistant Market Research Report @Speech recognition will witness significant growth over the forecast years due to tremendous rise in demand for documentation with increasing adoption of electronic medical records. The use of speech recognition helps to improve and enhance clinical documentation in various ways by complementing the work of medical transcriptionists, attributing to its growth over the coming years.Payers should will manifest a robust growth to surpass USD 600 million by 2024. Payers are modernizing the infrastructure, protecting and securing the patients data and improving the interoperability. Payers strive to deliver quality, efficiency, and patient satisfaction in service by using intelligent virtual assistant.Japan health intelligent virtual assistant market attributed for over 30% of Asia-Pacific share in 2016, witnessing healthy growth over the forecast years. Increasing investment by market players for technological development and improved economic indicators should stimulate business growth. Growing aging population and rising uptake of intelligent virtual assistant solutions associated with healthcare should fuel the industry growth.Some of the prominent industry players offering unique and advanced products include Next IT Corporation, Microsoft Corporation, Nuance Communications and eGain Communication. Other notable industry participants are True Image Interactive, CodeBaby, Kognito, Medrespond, Welltok and CSS Corporation.Agreement and acquisition are some of the major strategies adopted by industry participants. The players are introducing innovative health technology solutions with enhanced features as a part of their commercialization strategy. For instance, Microsoft Corporation and University of Pittsburg Medical Centre together launched the health solution called Healthcare NeXT aiming at transforming healthcare.Related Reports: -Pancreatic Cancer Diagnostic Tests - Medical Devices Pipeline Assessment, 2017The report provides comprehensive information on the pipeline products with comparative analysis of the products at various stages of development. The report reviews major players involved in the pipeline product development. It also provides information about clinical trials in progress, which includes trial phase, trial status, trial start and end dates, and, the number of trials for the key Pancreatic Cancer Diagnostic Tests pipeline products.Marketstudyreport.com allows you to manage and control all corporate research purchases to consolidate billing and vendor management. 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2017-2022 Printing Calculators Report on Global and United States Market, Status and Forecast, by Players, Types and Applications

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This report studies the Printing Calculators 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 Printing Calculators market by product type and applications/end industries.The global Printing Calculators 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 Printing Calculators. 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.Download Sample Report Copy From Here:Geographically, this report is segmented into several key regions, with sales, revenue, market share (%) and growth Rate (%) of Printing Calculators in these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast), coveringUnited StatesNorth AmericaEuropeAsia-PacificSouth AmericaMiddle East and AfricaThe major players in global and United States Printing Calculators market, including Canon, Casio, Victor, Sharp, Staples, Dataxx, Innovera, Cedar.The On the basis of product, the Printing Calculators market is primarily split intoHandheld Printing CalculatorOthersOn the basis on the end users/applications, this report coversGrocery StoreSemi-professional useAccounting professionals useTable of Contents2017-2022 Printing Calculators 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 Printing Calculators Market Overview2.1 Printing Calculators Product Overview2.2 Printing Calculators Market Segment by Type2.2.1 Handheld Printing Calculator2.2.2 Others2.3 Global Printing Calculators Product Segment by Type2.3.1 Global Printing Calculators Sales (K Units) and Growth (%) by Types (2012, 2016 and 2022)2.3.2 Global Printing Calculators Sales (K Units) and Market Share (%) by Types (2012-2017)2.3.3 Global Printing Calculators Revenue (Million USD) and Market Share (%) by Types (2012-2017)2.3.4 Global Printing Calculators Price (USD/Unit) by Type (2012-2017)2.4 United States Printing Calculators Product Segment by Type2.4.1 United States Printing Calculators Sales (K Units) and Growth by Types (2012, 2016 and 2022)2.4.2 United States Printing Calculators Sales (K Units) and Market Share by Types (2012-2017)2.4.3 United States Printing Calculators Revenue (Million USD) and Market Share by Types (2012-2017)2.4.4 United States Printing Calculators Price (USD/Unit) by Type (2012-2017)3 Printing Calculators Application/End Users3.1 Printing Calculators Segment by Application/End Users3.1.1 Grocery Store3.1.2 Semi-professional use3.1.3 Accounting professionals use3.2 Global Printing Calculators Product Segment by Application3.2.1 Global Printing Calculators Sales (K Units) and CGAR (%) by Applications (2012, 2016 and 2022)3.2.2 Global Printing Calculators Sales (K Units) and Market Share (%) by Applications (2012-2017)3.3 United States Printing Calculators Product Segment by Application3.3.1 United States Printing Calculators Sales (K Units) and CGAR (%) by Applications (2012, 2016 and 2022)3.3.2 United States Printing Calculators Sales (K Units) and Market Share (%) by Applications (2012-2017)4 Printing Calculators Market Status and Outlook by Regions4.1 Global Market Status and Outlook by Regions4.1.1 Global Printing Calculators 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 Printing Calculators Sales and Revenue by Regions4.2.1 Global Printing Calculators Sales (K Units) and Market Share (%) by Regions (2012-2017)4.2.2 Global Printing Calculators Revenue (Million USD) and Market Share (%) by Regions (2012-2017)4.2.3 Global Printing Calculators Sales (K Units), Revenue (Million USD), Price (USD/Unit) and Gross Margin (%) (2012-2017)4.2.4 North America Printing Calculators Sales (K Units), Revenue (Million USD), Price (USD/Unit) and Gross Margin (%) (2012-2017)4.2.5 Europe Printing Calculators Sales (K Units), Revenue (Million USD), Price (USD/Unit) and Gross Margin (%) (2012-2017)4.2.6 Asia-Pacific Printing Calculators Sales (K Units), Revenue (Million USD), Price (USD/Unit) and Gross Margin (%) (2012-2017)4.2.7 South America Printing Calculators Sales (K Units), Revenue (Million USD), Price (USD/Unit) and Gross Margin (2012-2017)4.2.8 Middle East and Africa Printing Calculators Sales (K Units), Revenue (Million USD), Price (USD/Unit) and Gross Margin (%) (2012-2017)4.2.9 United States Printing Calculators Sales (K Units), Revenue (Million USD), Price (USD/Unit) and Gross Margin (2012-2017)5 Global Printing Calculators Market Competition by Players/Manufacturers5.1 Global Printing Calculators Sales (K Units) and Market Share by Players (2012-2017)5.2 Global Printing Calculators Revenue (Million USD) and Share by Players (2012-2017)5.3 Global Printing Calculators Average Price (USD/Unit) by Players (2012-2017)5.4 Players Printing Calculators Manufacturing Base Distribution, Sales Area, Product Types5.5 Printing Calculators Market Competitive Situation and Trends5.5.1 Printing Calculators Market Concentration Rate5.5.2 Global Printing Calculators Market Share (%) of Top 3 and Top 5 Players5.5.3 Mergers & Acquisitions, Expansion6 United States Printing Calculators Market Competition by Players/Manufacturers6.1 United States Printing Calculators Sales (K Units) and Market Share by Players (2012-2017)6.2 United States Printing Calculators Revenue (Million USD) and Share by Players (2012-2017)6.3 United States Printing Calculators Average Price (USD/Unit) by Players (2012-2017)6.4 United States Printing Calculators Market Share (%) of Top 3 and Top 5 Players7 Printing Calculators Players/Manufacturers Profiles and Sales Data7.1 Canon7.1.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors7.1.2 Printing Calculators Product Category, Application and Specification7.1.2.1 Product A7.1.2.2 Product B7.1.3 Canon Printing Calculators Sales (K Units), Revenue (Million USD), Price (USD/Unit) and Gross Margin (%) (2012-2017)7.1.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.2 Casio7.2.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors7.2.2 Printing Calculators Product Category, Application and Specification7.2.2.1 Product A7.2.2.2 Product B7.2.3 Casio Printing Calculators Sales (K Units), Revenue (Million USD), Price (USD/Unit) and Gross Margin (%) (2012-2017)7.2.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.3 Victor7.3.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors7.3.2 Printing Calculators Product Category, Application and Specification7.3.2.1 Product A7.3.2.2 Product B7.3.3 Victor Printing Calculators Sales (K Units), Revenue (Million USD), Price (USD/Unit) and Gross Margin (%) (2012-2017)7.3.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.4 Sharp7.4.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors7.4.2 Printing Calculators Product Category, Application and Specification7.4.2.1 Product A7.4.2.2 Product B7.4.3 Sharp Printing Calculators Sales (K Units), Revenue (Million USD), Price (USD/Unit) and Gross Margin (%) (2012-2017)7.4.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.5 Staples7.5.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors7.5.2 Printing Calculators Product Category, Application and Specification7.5.2.1 Product A7.5.2.2 Product B7.5.3 Staples Printing Calculators Sales (K Units), Revenue (Million USD), Price (USD/Unit) and Gross Margin (%) (2012-2017)7.5.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.6 Dataxx7.6.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors7.6.2 Printing Calculators Product Category, Application and Specification7.6.2.1 Product A7.6.2.2 Product B7.6.3 Dataxx Printing Calculators Sales (K Units), Revenue (Million USD), Price (USD/Unit) and Gross Margin (%) (2012-2017)7.6.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.7 Innovera7.7.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors7.7.2 Printing Calculators Product Category, Application and Specification7.7.2.1 Product A7.7.2.2 Product B7.7.3 Innovera Printing Calculators Sales (K Units), Revenue (Million USD), Price (USD/Unit) and Gross Margin (%) (2012-2017)7.7.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.8 Cedar7.8.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors7.8.2 Printing Calculators Product Category, Application and Specification7.8.2.1 Product A7.8.2.2 Product B7.8.3 Cedar Printing Calculators Sales (K Units), Revenue (Million USD), Price (USD/Unit) and Gross Margin (%) (2012-2017)7.8.4 Main Business/Business Overview8 Printing Calculators Manufacturing Cost, Industrial Chain and Downstream Buyers8.1 Printing Calculators 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 Printing Calculators Industrial Chain Analysis8.4 Downstream Buyers in United States9 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors and Market Effect Factors9.1 Marketing Channel9.1.1 Direct Marketing9.1.2 Indirect Marketing9.1.3 Marketing Channel Development Trend9.2 Distributors in Untied States9.3 Market Effect Factors Analysis9.3.1 Economic/Political Environmental Change9.3.2 Downstream Demand Change9.3.3 Technology Progress in Related Industry9.3.4 Substitutes Threat10 Global Printing Calculators Market Forecast10.1 Global Printing Calculators Sales, Revenue Forecast (2017-2022)10.1.1 Global Printing Calculators Sales (K Units) and Growth Rate (%) Forecast (2017-2022)10.1.2 Global Printing Calculators Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (%) Forecast (2017-2022)10.2 United States Printing Calculators Market Forecast10.1.1 United States Printing Calculators Sales (K Units) and Growth Rate (%) Forecast (2017-2022)10.2.2 United States Printing Calculators Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (%) Forecast (2017-2022)10.3 Global Printing Calculators Forecast by Regions10.3.1 North America Printing Calculators Sales (K Units) and Revenue (Million USD) Forecast (2017-2022)10.3.2 Europe Printing Calculators Sales (K Units) and Revenue (Million USD) Forecast (2017-2022)10.3.3 Asia-Pacific Printing Calculators Sales (K Units) and Revenue (Million USD) Forecast (2017-2022)10.3.4 South America Printing Calculators Sales (K Units) and Revenue (Million USD) Forecast (2017-2022)10.3.5 Middle East and Africa Printing Calculators Sales (K Units) and Revenue (Million USD) Forecast (2017-2022)10.4 Printing Calculators Forecast by Type10.4.1 Global Printing Calculators Sales (K Units) and Revenue (Million USD) Forecast by Type (2017-2022)10.4.2 United States Printing Calculators Sales (K Units) and Revenue (Million USD) Forecast by Type (2017-2022)10.5 Printing Calculators Forecast by Application10.5.1 Global Printing Calculators Sales (K Units) Forecast by Application (2017-2022)10.5.2 United States Printing Calculators Sales (K Units) Forecast by Application (2017-2022)11 Research Findings and ConclusionBuy Now This Report From Here:Global QYResearch() is the one spot destination for all your research 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By PTI: (Eds: Updating with more info)

Chennai, Sep 9 (PTI) In an inspiring example of grit and courage, the wife of Colonel Santosh Mahadik, who was killed fighting terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir nearly two years back, today joined the army as an officer after 11 months of gruelling training.

38-year-old Swati Mahadik, a mother of two, was commissioned in the Army in the rank of Lieutenant and will be posted with the Army Ordnance Corps in Pune.

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Her husband Col Mahadik, a recipient of the Sena medal for gallantry, was killed in an anti-terror operation in Kupwara in north Kashmir in November 2015.

"I wanted to be close to him by joining the Army. Uniform was his first love and that is why I have decided to join the army so that I can wear the uniform.

"I want to give a way of life to my children which he would have given to them," Swati told PTI.

Mahadik, 39, was an officer from the Armys elite 21 Para Special forces and according to his colleagues, he was known for always leading from the front.

Following her husbands footstep, Swati had joined joined the Armys Officers Training Academy (OTA) in October last year.

Swatis children -- 12-year-old daughter Kartikee and 7- year-old son Swaraj -- were present at the ceremony where she was commissioned into the army.

"Swati Mahadik was today commissioned as an officer after she completed her training at the OTA in Chennai," said a senior Army officer.

He said Swati will join the Army Ordnance Corps in Pune.

Col Mahadik was critically injured during the operation in the Haji Naka forest area of Kupwara and later succumbed to his injuries at a hospital. He was awarded the Sena Medal for gallantry during Operation Rhino in the North-East in 2003.

Another woman -- Nidhi Dubey -- was also commissioned as an officer today. Nidhi had also lost her husband who was a Naik in the Army. Like Swati, Nidhi was also commissioned as Lieutenant. PTI MPB RT

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Best Western Hotels & Resorts to Launch a Hotel on Phu Quoc Island

The magnificent island of Phu Quoc, which is located on the South Coast of Vietnam, is a true gem and a stunning tropical destination that travelers are recommended to pay attention to. Hotel companies have already noticed the emerging destination, so big players are coming to it. Best Western Hotels & Resorts is no exception, and the hotelier revealed its plans to open a gorgeous seafront resort hotel on Phu Quoc.



Named Best Western Premier Sonasea Phu Quoc, the beautiful resort will belong to the upscale category and is scheduled to open in January 2019. The hotel will enjoy a prime location on the West Coast of the island where the water is crystal clean and can easily compete with the famous Gulf of Thailand. Best Western Premier Sonasea Phu Quoc will have 565 guest rooms made in contemporary style. Each guest room will have a private balcony, up-to-date electronics, and free Wi-Fi. A large portion of the rooms will offer breathtaking views of the turquoise water and golden sand.



Apart from the main building, the resort will have private villas that will be located between the hotel complex and the seaside. Each of the fabulous villas will come with a freeform swimming pool outdoors. Best Western Premier Sonasea Phu Quoc will also be a perfect destination for various celebrations and wedding ceremonies as the hotel will offer a special space for that. Dining options will be represented by several restaurants with international and local cuisine and bars with a broad range of drinks and cocktails. The resort will also have a high-tech fitness center and a private beach.



Vietnam is a growing tourist destination. In 2016, the country welcomed ten million visitors. The popularity of Vietnam is rising not only among tourists from neighbor Asian countries but also from across the world. Phu Quoc Island is often called the most up-and-coming destination in whole Asia. Unspoilt beaches, high-quality infrastructure, and simple visa regulations make the island a sought after destination for millions of travelers.



During the first quarter of 2017, as many as 550,000 tourists stayed at Phu Quoc hotels. The Vietnams answer to Phuket and Bali enjoyed an increase of more than 80% in arrivals compared to the same period of 2016. Nearly 140,000 visitors were from overseas. The infrastructure of the island develops quickly, but Phu Quoc already has some attractions to offer, such as Ho Quoc Pagoda, Dinh Cua Temple, Vinpearl safari, a new cable car road that connects Phu Quoc and Hon Thom Island, snorkeling infrastructure, and more.

09.09.2017Stay in touch with the latest news of a worldwide hotel industry. All up-to-date analytics, reports , and news about hotel business trends on OrangeSmile.com.
By PTI: Male, Sep 9 (PTI) The capacities of health systems should be strengthened to prevent, detect and eliminate existing and emerging vector-borne diseases such as dengue and chikungunya in India and South-East Asia, WHO said here today.

"A more holistic and integrated approach, along with improved capacities at national and sub-national levels, are vital to effectively respond to vector-borne diseases. Most vector-borne diseases are preventable if vector control is well implemented," said Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director, WHO South-East Asia Region.

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The world health body said that in recent years the transmission dynamics and risk of vector-borne diseases have shifted due to unplanned urbanisation, increased movement of people and goods, and environmental changes.

To effectively respond to the growing risk of vector- borne diseases, countries need to strengthen coordination between health and non-health sectors, and within the health sector, the Regional Director said here at the Seventieth Regional Committee session of WHO South-East Asia Region.

She emphasised the need for malaria and other vector- borne disease programmes to work closely with each other, and to link-in with water, sanitation and hygiene initiatives and health management information systems.

Countries also need to establish and strengthen effective entomological surveillance systems to study local mosquito species, their susceptibility to insecticides, monitor insecticide resistance, as well as vector and human behaviours that may allow mosquitoes to avoid interventions and thereby maintain disease transmission, she said.

Information made available through such enhanced and improved surveillance is critical to planning and implementing tailored and effective strategies.

The Regional Director said that countries in WHO South- East Asia Region need to collaborate to fill the gap of trained entomologists, strengthen cross-border collaboration for vector control and align their vector control programmes.

Proven and cost-effective interventions such as the use of insecticidal nets, indoor spraying, use of larvicides, and eliminating mosquito breeding sites need to be further promoted through stronger community engagement, WHO said.

"Vector-borne diseases disproportionately affect poor populations and impede economic development through direct medical costs and indirect costs such as loss of productivity and impact on tourism. We need to prioritise action to prevent and respond to these diseases," Singh said.

The region bears a high burden of vector-borne diseases, including dengue, malaria and lymphatic filariasis.

Though all countries in the region have been making efforts to address the problem, the full potential of vector control is yet to be realised, she said.

Vector control is among the key issues discussed at the Seventieth session of the Regional Committee, currently being held in Maldives.

The Regional Committee is the highest decision-making body for public health in the South-East Asia Region, and includes health ministers and senior health ministry officials of the regions member countries - India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, North Korea, Indonesia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Timor-Leste. PTI SAR AKJ SAR

--- ENDS ---

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The 1952 amendment of the Devaswom Board restricts entry of non-Hindus in temples of Kerala.

By P S Gopikrishnan Unnithan: Congress leader and member of Travancore Devasom Board, Ajay Tharayil, urged that non-Hindus should also be permitted in Hindu temples. Tharayil, in his Facebook post appealed that the Devasom Board should consider amending its 1952 order which restricts the entry only to Hindus.

According to this order, only Hindus or people certifying to be followers of Hindu religion are permitted inside Hindu temples.

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Tharayil urged that the board should permit people who believe in idol worship, irrespective of their religious background, should be permitted inside temples.

Responding to the remark by board member, Minister for Devasom, Kadakampally Surendran said, Tharayil's statement was unnecessary and came at a wrong time. No temple under the Devason Board, except Guruvayoor, restrict the entry of non-Hindus. The issue however with Guruvayoor is serious and cannot decide on unilateral discussions. It will take a collective effort and common consensus to overcome this.

However, Travancore Devasom Board President, Prayar Gopala Krishnan, was of a different view.

Krishnan who spoke to the reporters here said, the issue raised by Tharayil will be discussed at the board meeting if needed. The government or board cannot take a one-sided decision on this. It will take extensive discussions which include the priests, thantris, and believers to reach a common consensus on this. Sabarimala is a perfect example for what Ajay has pointed out. Anybody who follows the actual rituals can seek darshan irrespective of the religious background, Krishnan added.

The right-wing Hindutva groups which played down the issue responded that the choice is left to the people to decide on their religion of worship.

Also Read:

On Gauri Lankesh murder, Centre does a whataboutery: What about killing of Sangh men in Kerala?

Kerala minister denied permission to attend conclave in China, CM Vijayan writes to PM Modi

--- ENDS ---
Ninety two cats and 60 dogs evacuated from Florida are searching for new homes in the Bay Area.

After being evacuated from the Broward County animal shelter in Fort Lauderdale, the animals arrived in Hayward on Thursday and will be split up between ARF, the East Bay SPCA, and Berkeley Humane.

MORE IRMA: Maps show the extreme scale, power of Hurricane Irma

Elena Bicker, executive director of ARF, told KTVU that most of the animals are in good condition but will be medically evaluated before being put up for adoption. Bicker said the extra animals will be a "challenge" for Bay Area animal shelters already at near capacity.

"We need additional fosters, large dog crates, and certainly donations are gladly appreciated because we are going to have to provide medical care for these animals and buy medical supplies," Bicker said.

BILLIONAIRES BRACE: In Miami, Billionaire New Yorkers Brace for Hurricane Irma

Sending these animals to the Bay Area will help free up space at the Broward County animal shelter for other animals when Hurricane Irma hits.

"Freeing up the shelters is going to allow them to have a vacant shelter when the hurricane (hits) to provide temporary housing for displaced pets," Allison Lindquist, President of East Bay SPCA told KTVU.

Most of the animals will be up for adoption by next week.
Syrian government forces fought their way to an air base on the outskirts of Deir al-Zor city that had been besieged for years by the jihadists, said a commander in the military alliance fighting in support of President Bashar al-Assad.

By Reuters: US-backed militias and the Syrian army advanced in separate offensives against Islamic State in eastern Syria on Saturday, piling pressure on shrinking territory the group still holds in oil-rich areas near the Iraqi border.

Syrian government forces fought their way to an air base on the outskirts of Deir al-Zor city that had been besieged for years by the jihadists, said a commander in the military alliance fighting in support of President Bashar al-Assad.

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The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a US-backed alliance of mostly Arab and Kurdish fighters, meanwhile launched attacks against Islamic State in the north of Deir al-Zor province in an operation to capture areas east of the Euphrates river.

The advances against Islamic State, another blow to its control over territory it held for years as part of a self-declared caliphate, will likely bring US-backed forces and the Syrian government side, backed by Russia and Iran, into closer proximity.

A US warplane shot down a Syrian army jet near Raqqa in June and the SDF accused the Syrian government of bombing its positions, showing the risk of escalation between warring sides in a crowded battlefield.

The Syrian conflict, which started as a popular uprising against Assad in 2011, has drawn in the United States, Russia and regional powers. Peace talks have failed to bring an end to a war where Islamist groups have increasingly dominated Syria's armed opposition.

The SDF operation in Deir al-Zor province aims to capture areas in its northern and eastern countryside and advance towards the Euphrates, according to the Deir al-Zor Military Council, which is fighting as part of the SDF.

"The first step is to free the eastern bank of the Euphrates and the areas Islamic State still holds," Ahmed Abu Kholeh, head of the military council, told Reuters after the announcement.

"We're not specifying a timeframe but we hope it will be a quick operation," he said at the town of al-Shadadi in Hasaka province.

Abu Kholeh would not say whether there were plans to advance on Deir al-Zor city itself. "We don't know how the battles will go after this," he said.

He said SDF fighters did not expect clashes with Syrian government forces, but if fired upon "we will respond".

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group reported that SDF forces had advanced against IS in Deir al-Zor's northwestern countryside, seizing several hilltops and a village.

SYRIAN ARMY RELIEVES AIRPORT

Syrian government forces and their allies reached Deir al-Zor military airport on the other side of the Euphrates, where troops had been holed up since 2014, surrounded by Islamic State, the commander in the pro-Assad alliance said.

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The alliance includes Iran-backed militias and the powerful Lebanese Shi'ite group Hezbollah.

The advance came days after the army and its allies broke the siege of the main part of the city, which had been separated from the airport by IS attacks a few months before.

Syrian troops also recaptured the Teym oilfield southwest of Deir al-Zor and seized part of a main highway running downstream to the city of al-Mayadeen, to which many IS militants have retreated, the British-based Observatory said.

That advance would help block potential IS reinforcements from al-Mayadeen, it said.

Islamic State in Syria still holds much of Deir al-Zor province and half the city, as well some territory further west near Homs and Hama, where government forces recaptured several villages on Saturday, pro-Damascus media reported.

But the group has lost most of its caliphate which from 2014 stretched across swathes of Syria and Iraq, including oil-rich Deir al-Zor.

The SDF is still battling to eject IS from the remaining areas it holds in Raqqa, northwest of Deir al-Zor and once the group's main Syria stronghold from where it planned attacks abroad.

Talks between Russia, Iran and opposition backer Turkey in the Kazakh capital Astana are to take place next week, possibly followed by a separate track at the United Nations in Geneva in October or November.

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Assad's government has participated in previous rounds from a position of power as Damascus has clawed back much territory, including the main urban centres in the west of the country and increasingly eastern desert held by IS.

Syria's non-Islamist opposition holds some pockets of territory in western Syria, and the SDF, which is dominated by the Kurdish YPG militia, controls much of Syria's northeast.

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United Piping Inc., a general mechanical contractor specializing in the oil and gas pipeline industry, is celebrating 20 years of fabrication, construction and innovation. The Duluth-based company, which has an office in Mount Pleasant, said it is an industry leader in safe, reliable and cost-effective solutions and is one of the top pipeline construction companies.

The first major project for UPI was the installation of scraper traps for Lakehead Pipeline, which is now the largest midstream operator in North America, Enbridge, Inc. This was a $1 million job -- a project that catapulted UPI's reputation and led to bigger projects and strong growth. During UPI's first year, there were 30-35 employees, and man-hours totaled 35,000. Today, UPI safely and successfully completes projects with 12 to 15 times that number of man hours each year.

UPI said it demonstrates a commitment to employees and clients by maintaining a safe and reliable work environment. In December 2015, UPI reached an industry milestone -- 2 million man hours without a lost time injury or incident from project sites throughout the U.S. and Canada. This achievement is attributed to every dedicated UPI employee, customer and partner who believes safety isn't everything -- it's the only thing, the company stated.
Auburn Prayer Ark has scheduled its fifth anniversary Worship Weekend Sept. 15-17.

"(The ark) is a missionary outpost for people to seek God and leave in faith on assignment for God," according to a news release. "The ministry maintains rustic grass paths for prayer walking year-round. The sanctuary is dedicated to the supernatural presence and intervention of God in our lives."

During this time, visitors are welcome to come and pray and worship as their schedule permits. People are invited to drop in, park and pray, bring friends or bring a picnic and spend the day.

The schedule, rain or shine:

Friday, Sept. 15: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., prayer walking and field tent worship

7 to 8:30 p.m., Sabbath delight gathering in tent with worship, communion and refreshment afterward

Saturday, Sept. 16: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., prayer walking and field tent worship.

2 p.m., prayer art

7 to 8:30 p.m., campfire worship and s'mores

Sunday, Sept. 17: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., prayer walking and field tent worship

3 to 5 p.m., missionary report from Frances Carter on recent trip to China

The ark is located at 915 W. Fisher Road in Auburn. Information, mfcarter@hotmail.co.uk
Sentences may vary based on previous offenses committed by the defendant. Some sentences include other fees imposed by the state. Compiled by reporter Kelly Dame.

The following people were sentenced recently in Midland Countys 42nd Circuit Court by Judge Michael J. Beale or Judge Stephen P. Carras:

 Tyler James Altman, 26, Ronan Street, was sentenced for two counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct. The offense occurred on Oct. 25 and Oct. 29, both in Midland. Beale sentenced Altman to 154 days in jail with credit for time served, $875 fines and costs, three years probation, to attend programs at TriCap and to be monitored by an alcohol tether for six months. Beale also left restitution open.

 David Michael Bickel, 52, Clare, was sentenced for false report of a felony. The offense occurred on Oct. 5 in Midland. Beale sentenced Bickel to 106 days in jail with credit for time served, $100 costs and six months probation.

 Alan Wayne Hulse, 33, Sanford, was sentenced for third-offense drunken driving. The offense occurred on Dec. 18 in Jerome Township. Beale sentenced Hulse to 80 days in jail with credit for time served as well as 10 weekends in jail, $1,250 fines and costs, three years probation, to be monitored by an alcohol tether for nine months and vehicle immobilization. Beale also left restitution open. Hulse previously was convicted of drunken driving on Aug. 31, 2006, and Nov. 25, 2006, both in the Midland County Circuit Court.

 Dennis Lyle Lund, 52, Auburn, was sentenced to third-offense drunken driving. The offense occurred on Feb. 18 in Lee Township. Beale sentenced Lund to 30 days in jail with credit for one day as well as eight weekends in jail to be served on work release, $1,250 fines and costs, three years probation, vehicle immobilization and to be monitored by an alcohol tether for nine months. Lund previously was convicted of drunken driving on May 12, 2009, in the 54th Circuit Court, and of impaired driving on June 14, 1999, and Sept. 27, 1985, both in the Midland County District Court.

 Kurt Richard Mizer, 51, Shepherd, was sentenced for second-offense drunken driving. The offense occurred on Jan. 17, 2016, in Greendale Township. Beale sentenced Mizer to one day in jail with credit for time served, $1,250 fines and costs, two years probation and to be monitored by an alcohol tether for six months. Mizer previously was convicted of drunken driving on Sept. 13, 2005, in the 76th District Court, and of impaired driving on June 29, 2007, in the Midland County District Court.

 Laura Sonja Stone, 53, Shepherd, was sentenced for fourth-degree fleeing police and drunken driving. The offenses occurred on Dec. 9 in Midland. Beale sentenced Stone to two months in jail with credit for one day, $750 costs, a $500 fine which is suspended, two years probation and granted work release.

 Jason William Trew, 33, Ann Arbor, was sentenced for domestic violence. The offense occurred on Sept. 10, 2016, in Midland. Beale sentenced Trew to $1,250 fines and costs.
Midland City Council gave its approval plans for two downtown site plans to move forward.

At its recent meeting, the council gave its unanimous approval for 1st State Bank to erect a two-story building at the corner of Ashman and Buttles streets.

The second site plan, by Ellsworth Place LLC, is for a three-story, mixed-use residential and office building at 201, 205 and 211 E. Ellsworth St. There was no discussion on this plan as it was placed on the consent agenda.

"We have some good projects in the downtown area," Councilman Tom Adams said.

The 1st State Bank building would be directly across Buttles from the Art Cleaner/Everett Carpet building. The bank would occupy the first floor with another tenant on the second floor.

1st State has four locations, two each in Saginaw and Bay City. The Midland location would be 7,480 square feet and would include access at both McDonald and Ashman streets. There would not be access onto Buttles or Indian street, which are both Michigan Department of Transportation routes.

Councilman Marty Wazbinski was concerned about the single-lane drive-thru at the rear of the bank. He inquired if there would be a buffer between the bank and the adjoining property, especially at night when lights from automobiles could shine directly at the property of attorney Robert Bourne at 412 Ashman St.

"Currently, we have a fence in there; we're trying to make a landscaping project that would look a little better than just a straight fence. There will be a buffer," 1st State Bank President Rick Goedert said.

The proposed Ellsworth Place building, which was unanimously approved by the Midland Planning Commission, would contain office space and residential garages on the first floor. The second and third floors would include eight condos, four on each floor. Access to the garages for the condos would be via a single drive from the rear of the building.

"This reminds me of the way Main Street used to look like with businesses on the first floor and residents on the upper floors. It was fine then and will be fine now," planning commission member Gayle Hanna said at the planning commission meeting of Aug. 22.
Next week, Jennifer Coston, from Merrill, will join more than 700 cancer patients, survivors, volunteers and staff from all 50 states and nearly every congressional district in Washington, D.C., as part of the annual American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network Leadership Summit and Lobby Day.

Advocates will ask Congress to take specific steps to make cancer a national priority and help end a disease that still kills 1,650 people a day in this country.

Coston will meet with U.S. Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Midland. and U.S. Sens. Gary Peters and Debbie Stabenow, both Democrats from Michigan, to discuss supporting an increase in federal funding for cancer research. She will also ask them to co-sponsor legislation that supports patients' quality of life and to support legislation that would close a loophole in Medicare that often results in surprise costs for seniors when a polyp is found during a routine colonoscopy.

Coston, who lost her cousin to cancer, said she is traveling to Washington, D.C., to help ensure fewer people will face a cancer diagnosis. She added that members of Congress play a critical role in passing public health policies that fight this disease.

"One in two men and one in three women will hear the words 'you have cancer' in their lifetime. We need a full and unwavering commitment from Congress to take action to help prevent and treat cancer," Coston said. "We want our lawmakers to know that volunteers from Michigan and from every state across the country are counting on them to take a stand."
Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt told CNN on Thursday that discussing climate change right now is inconsiderate to the people of Florida.

"Here's the issue," Pruitt told CNN. "To have any kind of focus on the cause and effect of the stormversus helping people, or actually facing the effect of the stormis misplaced."

He added, "What we need to focus on is access to clean water, addressing these areas of Superfund activities that may cause an attack on water, these issues of access to fuel. ... Those are things so important to citizens of Florida right now, and to discuss the cause and effect of these storms, there's the... place [and time] to do that. It's not now."

Pruitt, who was Oklahoma's attorney general prior to his appointment by President Donald Trump, has long served as a reliable opponent of stricter environmental regulations.

RELATED GALLERY: Destruction caused by Hurricane Irma

Since arriving in Washington, Pruitt has repeatedly moved to block or delay regulations opposed by the chemical and fossil-fuel industries and led aneffort to roll back EPA regulations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

More News Eerie photos show Miami as a ghost town as Hurricane Irma approaches

Pruitt told CNN that Congress will need to address climate change "at some point" and went on to emphasize that now is not the time.

"All I'm saying to you is, to use time and effort to address it at this point is very, very insensitive to [the] people in Florida," he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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By India Today Web Desk: As much as we crave unique experiences, every time we explore a new place, sometimes, our visits fail to live up to our expectations.

In such instances, we either tend to blame our co-travellers for causing inconvenience or doubt the potential of our place of visit.

But have you ever wondered that a trip could also be spoiled by certain mistakes you yourself make?

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When users of Quora posed the same question, what emerged as responses to their queries proved that there are a few common errors that we, as travellers, keep making.

Janet Hsieh, TV host, Fun Taiwan, has enumerated some of the mistakes that people usually make while travelling:

1. Not being flexible with one's itinerary

This is perhaps one of the most common factors that tend to effect our travel experiences. Blame on our tight budget or fixed number of vacation leaves, we often fail to customise an ongoing trip to suit the thrill of exploration.

2. Lack of curiosity

''What's the point of visiting a new country if all you do is eat at McDonalds? Or stay at large international hotels? Don't just stick to the tourist trail - EXPLORE!'' writes Hsieh.

3. Disinterest in knowing the 'local'

Most of us end up being tourists merely visiting listed attractions or eating at a popular cafe. But the potential of a place cannot be fully comprehended without acquainting oneself with its indigeneity. ''Not making an effort to talk to locals. Start up a conversation. Ask for directions. Get a suggestion for a local restaurant. Ask a local to take a picture for you,'' says Hsieh.

Photo: Pexels

4. Overinvesting in pictures

With the ever-increasing craze around social media posts and editing filters, many of us get consumed by our obsessive habit of clicking the right selfie. But as Hsieh says, ''Some moments really need to be experienced with your eyes, your ears, your nose, your skin.''

5. Overpacking

We are familiar with this kind of hassle and it's time we learn from our mistakes. ''You CAN wear your clothes twice. You CAN hand wash your underwear if you run out. Most places sell whatever it is that you may need suddenly, and plus, it's kind of fun to go shopping locally and see what products or clothes locals use and wear,'' writes Hsieh.

Photo: Pexels

While other fellow Quora users agreed on most of the issues, Lan Nguyen Ngoc added a few more:

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6. Not carrying hard copies of reservations made

Yes, despite having dealt with the erratic nature of data signals, we can't help but rely on our mobile phones more than print. But as Nguyen Ngoc writes, ''Not having a backup just if the data connections you rely on file, can be quite challenging...This will make it easy for you to locate your reserved rooms or the number of your reservation, hence protecting you from the challenge of not accessing such vital information.''

Also Read: Are we really craving experiences or have our vacations become just about pictures?

7. Lack of saving

Travelling gives vent to your impulse, no doubt. But a planned trip always helps, so that you don't end up borrowing money from others. ''In most cases, you will find people traveling while having not saved enough to cater for their bills...Do not forget to purchase a travel insurance just to be sure that you do not have to deal with emergency expenses such as those that arise due to medical problems,'' says Nguyen Ngoc.

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BLOOMINGTON  As Hurricane Irma was barreling at 150 mph toward the Florida peninsula on Friday, Bloomington's two major insurers were gearing up to handle the storm's impact on homes, businesses and autos.

Preparing for the expected devastating impact of Hurricane Irma, State Farm already has strategically positioned staff and equipment in the region to assist customers with any reported damage.

"With the largest catastrophe response team in the industry, State Farm is confident in its ability to respond to Irma should it make landfall in the United States," said State Farm spokeswoman Missy Dundov.

Country Financial has moved its storm team, including 50 employees from Illinois, into place in Georgia and Alabama to handle initial contacts with customers, said the company.

"While it's too early to know the exact path of Hurricane Irma, we are getting all of our teams and resources ready so we can immediately serve our customers if the hurricane hits Georgia," said John Butkus, director of property claims for Country Financial.

Country does not issue auto or property policies in Florida.

Hurricane Irma was set to hit Florida as early as Saturday, as recovery efforts continue in Texas in the wake of Hurricane Harvey's devastation.

State Farm has received about 71,000 home and auto claims as a result of Hurricane Harvey in Texas.

"While there may be two major recovery efforts taking place simultaneously, we have one focus and that is helping our customers when they need us most," she added.

On Friday, Irma had weakened from a Category 5 to a Category 4 hurricane, but with maximum sustained winds of 155 mph it remained one of the most powerful Atlantic hurricanes.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott said Irma's impact could be worse than the devastation from Hurricane Andrew in August 1992, which was one of the costliest hurricanes with damages of $26.5 billion.

Comparing the two storms is difficult, "because each storm presents its own unique challenges and characteristics," said Dundov.

"Its also too premature to arrive at expense or claim comparisons since it hasn't made landfall yet."

Florida's history of significantly damaging storms has led many insurers to reduce their risk exposure, "in order to maintain financial strength to serve remaining customers," said Dundov. "State Farm has been among insurers reducing property insurance in Florida since 1992's Hurricane Andrew."
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.  As Hurricane Irma bears down on Florida, an Associated Press analysis shows a steep drop in flood insurance across the state, including the areas most endangered by what could be a devastating storm surge.

In just five years, the state's total number of federal flood insurance policies has fallen by 15 percent, according to Federal Emergency Management Agency data.

Florida's property owners still buy far more federal flood insurance than any other state  1.7 million policies, covering about $42 billion in assets  but most residents in hazard zones are badly exposed.

With 1,350 miles of coastline, the most in the continental United States, Florida has roughly 2.5 million homes in hazard zones, more than three times that of any other state, FEMA estimates. And yet, across Florida's 38 coastal counties, just 42 percent of these homes are covered.

Florida's overall flood insurance rate for hazard-zone homes is just 41 percent. Fannie Mae ostensibly requires mortgage lenders to make sure property owners buy this insurance to qualify for federally backed loans, and yet in 59 percent of the cases, that insurance isn't being paid for. Average annual premiums range from about $4,200 in Horseshoe Beach, a town of 169 residents on the Gulf Coast where 78 percent of policies have been dropped since 2012, down to about $200 in several cities. In most, it's between $300 and $500.

In the counties being under at least partial evacuation orders Wednesday (Collier, Broward, Monroe and Miami-Dade), where 1.3 million houses are estimated to be in flood hazard zones, the percentage is an even lower 34.3 percent.

Nationwide, only half the 10 million properties that need flood insurance have it, said Roy Wright, who runs the National Flood Insurance Program. He told the AP last week that he wants to double the number of policies sold nationally in the near future.

The declines in coverage started after Congress approved a price hike in 2012, making policies more expensive. Maps of some high-risk areas were redrawn, removing a requirement that these homeowners get the insurance. About 7 of 10 homeowners have federally backed mortgages, and if they live in a high-risk area, they still are required to have flood insurance. But many let their policies slip without the lender noticing; loans also get sold and repackaged, paperwork gets lost and new lenders don't follow up.

FEMA, which is ultimately responsible for enforcing flood insurance requirements, did not respond to an email seeking comment from its Washington office on Wednesday. The private flood insurance market is small  only about 20,000 policies in Florida.

The latest forecasts suggest Irma's most destructive winds could carve up much of Florida's priciest real estate, damaging properties from the Florida Keys through Jacksonville as it swirls north.

"This could easily be the most costly storm in U.S. history, which is saying a lot considering what just happened two weeks ago," said University of Miami hurricane researcher Brian McNoldy.

Insurance companies are still tallying the damage from Hurricane Harvey's extended stay over southern Texas in August, but insured losses are estimated at $20 billion, and that's a fraction of the $65 billion or more in losses due to flooding alone that could have been insured, according to the catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide.

No one is expecting Irma to flood Florida on a similar scale. Harvey sat over Houston for days, dumping up to 50 inches of rain. Irma is moving swiftly and should bring less than a quarter of that to Florida cities.

South Florida also has a better flood control system, the ground is more porous and there aren't any hills to send water rushing down from above, said Hugh Willoughby, a former research director at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and now a professor at Florida International University in Miami.

Still, many Floridians could find themselves with no money for flood repairs, just like people in Houston, where flood coverage dropped by 9 percent since 2012.

If Irma's eye follows a track just west of Florida's eastern coast, the initial storm surge could heavily damage the Florida Keys, the cities at the southern tip of Florida's mainland, Florida City and Homestead, parts of Miami and Miami Beach, and other Atlantic coast cities, said Brian Haus, a professor of ocean sciences at the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science.

The AP analysis shows that the number of flood insurance policies sold in the Keys, Miami, Miami Beach and Homestead has stayed basically steady since 2012, but tiny Florida City has seen a drop of 31 percent. Miami-Dade County overall has seen a 7 percent drop in policies sold, falling from 371,000 in 2012 to 342,000 today.

Just to the north in Broward County, home to Fort Lauderdale, the state has seen its biggest drop among major counties, falling 44 percent from 372,000 policies five years ago to 207,000 today. County officials say they don't track the flood insurance program, leaving that to the cities.
CHICAGO  Federal prosecutors will ask that former McLean County Board Chairman Matt Sorensen serve about two years in prison when he is sentenced Tuesday on wire fraud charges.

Sorensen pleaded guilty in November to conspiring with co-defendant Navdeep Arora to defraud McKinsey & Co., a large Chicago consulting firm, of unearned consulting fees. Sorensen and Arora, who also has pleaded guilty to wire fraud, are equally responsible for restitution of $490,975 to McKinsey, according to terms of the plea agreement.

Sorensen's defense attorney Stuart Chanen filed a memorandum Friday asking for probation, noting Sorensen's decades of public service and saying he was the victim of a con perpetrated by Arora.

The fraud scheme began around 2002 after Sorensen, a former internal consultant with State Farm, began working with Arora, who oversaw McKinsey's work on State Farm projects.

Starting in 2007, Arora "became more desperate for work from State Farm," according to a sentencing recommendation submitted this week by Sunil Harjani, assistant U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and obtained by The Pantagraph.

The two men developed a fraudulent billing scheme for consulting work allegedly performed by Andy's BCB, a company owned by Sorensen. Arora charged the phony consulting fees to State Farm and one other McKinsey client and those firms paid Sorensen's firm about $38,265 in fees  with most of the money kept by Sorensen, said the federal report.

A second company, Gabriel Solutions, was formed for the sole purpose of billing McKinsey for fraudulent services.

Total billing to McKinsey amounted to $452,710, of which $370,000 was kept by Sorensen, said prosecutors.

In addition to the money he received from the false invoices, Sorensen and his wife also were taken on two vacations by Arora to Napa, Calif., and New York.

In their search for a motive for the crimes, federal investigators determined that Sorensen was paid in exchange for providing internal State Farm information on consulting contracts, including information on other firms who were competing for the same work sought by McKinsey.

A series of emails attached to federal court filings show how Arora pressured Sorensen to push for more consulting contracts with State Farm.

"Remember, things don't happen unless you and I orchestrate them," Arora said in a June 22, 2010, email.

The disclosure of confidential information by Sorensen was a breach of State Farm's trust, the federal prosecutor argued.

Sorensen, 51, was fired from State Farm in 2012 and Arora left McKinsey the same year. Both men were indicted in August 2015.

"Sorensen's crime is serious and worthy of a substantial term of imprisonment. His scheme went on for at least three years, allowing for many opportunities for contemplation and reflection," according to the sentencing report.

With a State Farm salary of about $150,000, the money from the fraud scheme was a substantial financial boon for Sorensen, noted the prosecutor.

"A sentence involving no incarceration will be a slap on the wrist for Sorensen and will not be a significant punishment for him," the government concluded.

In his interviews with State Farm about the scheme, the former McLean County official "did not come clean but instead made up a false list of work he had done on behalf of Gabriel Solutions to purportedly justify his fraudulent invoices," according to the government's sentencing report.

The government argues the fact that Sorensen is in good health, has a stable family life and lacked the incentives that drive many people to commit crimes is not a factor in his favor.

"Rather, it appears that he saw his relationship with Arora as a way to benefit himself, and that the sums of money being fraudulently charged were relatively small and would go unnoticed," states the court filing.

The sentencing report filed by Sorensen's lawyer says State Farm was reimbursed by McKinsey for the fraudulent invoices, but the Bloomington-based insurer is seeking $2.5 million for the cost of its internal investigation into the fraud case. The federal government is not recommending restitution to State Farm, based on the amounts previously agreed upon in plea agreements with the two defendants.

But the substantial time and cost incurred by State Farm and the negative impact the case has had on the company should be considered a factor in imposing a sentence, according to Harjani.

The federal case against Sorensen came after he served more than 20 years on the County Board where he was known as an able negotiator who achieved board consensus on many issues. He also provided the leadership and support for the county's ongoing efforts to reform community mental health services.
CHICAGO  Matt Sorensen offers no excuses for taking more than $370,000 for consulting work he did not perform, but the former McLean County Board chairman wants the judge who will sentence him next week on federal charges to know that his life represents more than his crimes.

An 18-page sentencing memorandum filed Friday by Sorensen's lawyer Stuart Chanen describes the profile Sorensen hopes a judge will consider: "Throughout his life, his core character traits have always been defined by his thoughtful, caring and positive nature and his concern for others."

Probation, with conditions of home confinement and community service, would be a more appropriate sentence than the 27 to 33 months of incarceration sought by federal prosecutors, said the defense recommendation.

Sorensen first met co-defendant Navdeep Arora around 1996 when Sorensen worked as an internal consultant at State Farm and Arora was employed by McKinsey & Co., a Chicago firm that did consulting work for the Bloomington insurance company.

"Arora immediately started lying to Matt about every aspect of his life in order to gain Matt's sympathy and trust," said Sorensen's court filing, including allegedly false claims that Arora was an orphan and had a seriously ill son.

"Quite simply, Arora ran his con on Matt, and Matt was an easy mark for Arora," according to the defense. Sorensen invited Arora to holiday dinners, took him medications when he was sick and performed other favors for his friend.

Sorensen admits that he made a serious mistake in 2003 when he took Arora up on his idea about how Sorensen could make extra money. Over the next several years, Sorensen submitted false invoices in the names of two small consulting firms with which he was affiliated.

The sentencing report states that by the time McKinsey alerted State Farm in 2012 to the false invoices it had linked to Arora, McKinsey had lost between $452,000 and $490,000, with Sorensen keeping $370,000.

State Farm was reimbursed for its losses by McKinsey, said the court filing.

The defense stated that Sorensen cooperated with State Farm and FBI investigators who discussed a possible deferred prosecution for Sorensen. Sorensen was unaware he had been indicted until charges were unsealed in January 2016 following the arrest of Arora in New York.

Sorensen's lifetime of community service, starting when he became an Eagle Scout at age 15 and continuing until his resignation from the County Board in 2016, is detailed in the sentencing report. His work to improve mental health services in McLean County and other projects should not be overlooked, the defense argued.

"Matt Sorensen is not a man who discovered the joys of 'public service' shortly after the FBI started sniffing around, nor is he a man who stole multi-millions of dollars then asks for the court's mercy because he has given millions of those dollars away to charity," said the defense report.

Instead, said the defense, Sorensen "is a man who walked his true values day in and day out, always helping others and trying to make the world a better place as best he knew how; he then deviated significantly from those values."
BLOOMINGTON  Humans arent the only ones escaping devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey.

Through volunteers with PAWS animal transport, 110 dogs were rescued from Houston shelters and are being given a better chance of adoption in the Midwest.

These dogs are from rural Houston. They were going to euthanize existing dogs in shelters because of the influx of displaced pets from Hurricane Harvey, said Laura Frazier of Bloomington.

Frazier drove to Springfield on Saturday with a caravan of volunteers to pick up a number of the dogs from Texas. From there, they met a second group on Bloomingtons west side to disperse the dogs to other areas.

The spay and neuter laws arent as strict in the southern states and theyre more prone to euthanization, said Frazier, who organized the Bloomington stop.

Sally Brusveen of Taylorville was waiting at the Bloomington stop to load up her car with pups.

There are too many puppy mills in the South, but up north there are so many people that would love to adopt. Its disproportionate. We get them sent on to places where they have a better chance of getting adopted, and they do, said Brusveen.

Jean Ann Hert, owner of Rubys Rescue and Retreat in rural McLean, took in five dogs to nurture for adoption. She had help from her boyfriend, Tim Christensen of McLean.

This is my passion. We heard there was a big need for these dogs, so we thought we could squeeze in a few more, said Hert.

Christensen said the rescue work is rewarding, but can be overwhelming.

But just at the moment where I think Im fed up, a family comes in to adopt a dog and they fall in love and its all worth it, he said.

Angie Atkins of Bloomington stopped by the transfer location on Bloomington's west side to help stretch the dogs legs and give them water.

The dogs tugged on their leashes and were eager to make friends. One dog gave birth to a litter during the trip.

I have always been an animal person and I really like helping dogs. Its important to help them when they cant help themselves, said Atkins.

Participants said there is a growing need for volunteers to transport dogs out of kill-shelters. Some trips are less than an hour and others can stretch over days. Transport mileage is tax deductible.

"Since I'm retired, I have the time to make a difference for animals that people don't care about. Every dog deserves a chance," said volunteer Debi Sherwood of Taylorville.

To learn how to help locally, visit PAWS (Pushin Another Waggin to Safety), Kindred Hearts Transport Connection or Bootheel Paws Express, all on Facebook.
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For a model to be in the fashion industry for over two decades is rare. And for a model to be in the fashion industry for over two decades while continuing to possess the versatility to star in campaigns as varied as Gap, Marc Jacobs and a newly "reset" Helmut Lang is rarer still. But in the case of the model just described, Alek Wek, it's fair to say her whole life has been a series of exceptional circumstances.

Born in 1977 to a Dinka family in South Sudan, as a kid she fled her home with her parents and siblings to escape the civil war that had broken out. When she was 12, the family made their way to Khartoum, and two years after that, in 1991, Wek arrived in London as a refugee, an experience that has informed her role since 2013 as a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Goodwill Ambassador. When she reached the UK, she joined some of her sisters who had already been living there, and a few years later their mother would follow. Tragically, Wek's father, who had been ill, passed away before he could leave Sudan. In London, Wek caught the eye of a model scout in 1995 and went on to sign with an agency the next year. She's been a constant -- not to mention formidable -- presence in fashion ever since, shooting stunning editorials, covers and campaigns with what seems like every major name in the business, including Herb Ritts, Steven Meisel and Patrick Demarchelier.

Click through to see more photos of Alek Wek from our Beautiful People issue!

Teaming up with Ellen von Unwerth to shoot our cover story brought back memories of Wek's early days, she says. "Ellen shot me the first time I arrived in New York," Wek recalls. In those days, Wek remembers being the "literally the [only model] with my features from South Sudan on the runways." Fashion has long struggled with issues of diversity, and back in the '90s, black models had been exempli ed by the likes of Naomi, Tyra and Veronica Webb. But Wek, with her Sudanese features and luminous dark skin, has had a colossal impact on the industry. While it may have taken some time for fashion to embrace more models who looked like her -- and there's still much more work to be done -- it's hard to see the thriving careers of rising stars like Duckie Thot and Ajak Deng, both of whom are in this issue and both of whom have Sudanese heritage, and not be reminded of Wek's trailblazing.

Though she's happy to give credit where credit is due and says she "thinks it's wonderful" fashion seems to be taking greater strides towards inclusivity, she points to the consumers -- and their increasingly bigger and more direct role in dictating trends and styles via social media and the Internet -- as the true change agents. "The consumers are speaking up," she says. "If you're going to go buy something that doesn't represent you, I can't imagine you'd feel comfortable wearing it."

Speaking of speaking up on social media, Wek says she's only recently started to find her voice on Instagram. Though she joined the platform back in January of 2016, it was only this past March that she began posting more regularly. "I haven't mastered posting yet," she says with a laugh. "I don't know how to crop [photos] so I'm always like, 'Go back! Go back!' It's so foreign to me." When discussing the part social media has begun to play in the modeling world when it comes to scouting and castings, Wek says she's particularly dismayed by how much content is posted that people "manipulate with Photoshop" to "make themselves look completely different than they do in person."

"If you mislead people" to get a "hit" (or "like") on social media, Wek says, "you're not going to be trusted, and it's not real. You're kidding yourself." She continues, "You might as well focus your energy on putting something out there that's exactly who you are," adding that she thinks we have to stop measuring our self-worth in likes or followers. "The hits don't make you who you are," she says. "You are the hit."

Text by Abby Schreiber

Photography by Ellen von Unwerth

Styling by Adele Cany and Christian Cowan

Clothing by Christian Cowan

Photo Assistants: Stan Rey Grange and Kadare Aliu

Digital Operator: Jerome Vivet

Model: Alek Wek at IMG

Styling Assistants: Shade Huntley and Diana Ferreira

Prop Stylist: Aidan Zamiri

Hair styling by Daniel Martin

Hair Assistant: Blake Henderson

Makeup by Kristina Vidic

Manicurist: Ami Streets

Producer: Emma Turpin

Designer Assistants: Claudia Higgins, Natthias Mitchinson, and Lydia Bailey
Tomorrow marks day one for RuPaul's DragCon's first foray into the mean streets of New York. After taking over Los Angeles for the past three summers, the World of Wonder-produced event is taking its glitz and glamorous to the other coast for another weekend full of drag queens (both famous and unknown), merch, informative panels, and, of course, a sea of crazed fans.

One need only take a quick peek at the "Guests" list for DragCon NYC to see that World of Wonder wasn't planning to hold back. In addition to the most recent winner of RuPaul's Drag Race, Sasha Velour, the convention will also be attended by other Ru-Girl faves like Bob the Drag Queen, Shea Coulee, Aja, Carmen Carerra, Kim Chi, Violet Chachki, and Raja. To round out the list, non-rulated (I had to...) guests include queer mainstays like Big Freedia, Amanda Lepore, Lactacia, Jeffree Star, Joanne the Scammer, and Isaac Mizrahi.

Ahead of its big debut, PAPER reached out to Randy Barbato and Fenton Bailey to ask a few questions about the pair's feelings regarding the big switch. Talking about their motivations and inspirations for the addition and where they would choose to start another DragCon if given the opportunity to in the future, the World of Wonder production duo gave us a behind-the-scenes peek into what to expect.

What does it feel like to have DragCon expanding to a second city?

RANDY: We are so excited about bringing Rupaul's DragCon to New York City! Its a homecoming for us all, since we are New Yorkers at heart! Since its inception we have been dreaming about the possibility of DragCon NYC, especially since NYC is the home to some of the most iconic queens on the planet! So many people involved in DragCon have been schooled in NYC at one time or another, so it feels natural for the con to be coming home!

How did you take the already instituted DragCon LA and prepare for its debut in a new city like New York?

FENTON: The biggest challenge has been the logistics since we are all west coast-based. So many of the tweaks and adjustments we have made have felt natural and organic. Initially, we planned to have the event at a smaller venue, but after the turn out in LA this year, we got worried it would be too crowded so we moved to a bigger space at Jacob Javits Center at the last minute! It's been a mad dash!

How will DragCon New York differ from DragCon LA?

FENTON: The physical space in NY is a bit different to the LA space, so we are finding ways to adapt to that. We are doing our best to replicate a lot of what we had in LA, so we will learn as we go! We are reaching out to lots of New Yorkers to participate on the panels, and doing our best to celebrate so many of the iconic NYC personalities! NYC is a big fat drag queen, so we are doing our best to represent!

This year's DragCon in LA had over 40,000 people in attendance. Why do you think the convention is increasing in size so rapidly?

RANDY: Technology is a great thing, but its also alienated so many people, especially our tribe! We like to reach out and touch; there is an energy, a kind of electricity to physically coming together to the same space and celebrating living life in full technicolor! Also, with the current insane political climate it seems essential to come together, to remind one another and the rest of the world we are here, we can join forces, and we can move that bus! DragCon is the antidote to the dark times we are living in!

Last DragCon featured panels that dealt with some more serious aspects of drag (i.e. Sandra Song's panel with Bob the Drag Queen, Eureka O'Hara, and Alaska Thunderfuck on "What Is Drag In Trump's America?"). How do you see this convention addressing real-life issues (political or otherwise)?

RANDY: For us, drag has always been political! When we were younger living in the East Village it was our lifeblood and our endless source of inspiration. So many queens back then not only entertained us, but provoked us and motivated us! The politics of drag might not have always been as overt as some of our panels at DragCon [have been recently], but drastic times call for drastic measures, and with so many young people [and] new voters coming to DragCon, we felt it was essential to broaden our panels to include information about the resistance and how to become more politically active!

What new aspect of DragCon NY are you most excited about?

FENTON: We don't want to ruin all the surprises but there are going to be some fun oversized blow-up features! Fantastic photo ops! Keep your eyes open for Trixie Mattel, Big Freedia, T.S. Madison, Sasha Velour, Carson Kressley, Lactacia, Carrie Dragshaw, and so many other amazing entertainers! We are also excited about many of our NYC homies who will be participating on panels and walking the halls! Actually, come to think of it, the thing we are most excited about are the New Yorkers!!!!

Can we expect any more DragCons popping up soon? What would be the next city of choice?

RANDY: Our next city of choice would be Palm Beach or Bedminster, NJ! Joking! Not! We've got a number of cities on our list! Be very afraid!

You can still get a Sunday badge for RuPaul's DragCon here.

Splash photo via World of Wonder


Patna: Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi, reacting to his predecessor Tejaswi Yadav's reluctance to vacate his government-provided bungalow to make room for his successor, said that it was understandable that the man who became the owner of 30 high-priced properties at the age of 27 would be in no mood to give up his luxurious bungalow that he treats as one of many his own properties.

"Who could blame a man who became owner of 30 properties valued at roughly Rs. 1000 crore at the tender age of 27 when he insists on keeping the bungalow that was meant to be occupied by the sitting Deputy Chief Minister of the state? It is this undying love of his for land and properties that landed him in trouble with the Income Tax department and the CBI in the first place and yet he refuses to learn from these experiences," the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said.

Continuing to take shot at his predecessor who on Saturday informed the CBI that he won't be able to abide by the summon to appear before it on September 11 due to 'prior political engagements', Modi said that exactly how many houses Tejaswi Yadav needed to live in.

"His mother sold eight flats in Patna to the leaders of the sand mafia on the same day and yet she remains the owner of ten other flats. Former Bihar Minister Kanti Singh also gifted her land to Tejaswi Yadav. He also very skillfully took the ownership of a land and building on it previously owned by RJD leader Prabhunath Singh by first getting it transferred in the name of A K Infosystem and later becoming the owner of this so-called business. His father then became an owner of a plot in the MLA Cooperative and then acquired yet another plot by putting pressure on Badshah Prasad Azad. Meanwhile, senior RJD leader Abdul Bari Siddiqui also very generously gifted another plot to Rabri Devi. With all these properties and crores of rupees earned from the rent money, Tejaswi Yadav still doesn't want to let go of the bungalow that is a government property and is meant to be occupied by the Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar. The house he is being allotted as the leader of the opposition in the state Assembly is also quite spacious so I don't see any reason why he is showing reluctance in vacating the current bungalow that he is continues to occupy illegally," the Deputy Chief Minister said.
Patna: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP from Sultanpur in Uttar Pradesh, at the 'Parliament Concave' at Gyan Bhawan in Patna on Saturday, batted against the issuance of whip in the Parliament saying the practice excluded the voice of the representatives of the people.

"People's reps should have the right to express their views inside Parliament. Currently, whips are issued on over 90% of the topics that fail to include the Members of the Parliament who wish to represent the constituency they represent. In my opinion, whips should be issued on no more than 50% of the topic under discussion and rest should be left open for debate by the MPs," Gandhi, the cousin of Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi said.

Expressing his dislike for MPs giving themselves raise year after year, the firebrand BJP leader said that while he was not opposed to hike in MP's salaries, he despised the current system that lacked transparency while giving impression of all things wrong with the government.

To further improve the functioning of the Parliament, Gandhi suggested raising the number of working days of the Lok Sabha that, he said, worked only two months out of the whole year since last 15 years.

"Between 1952 and 1972, the Parliament worked an average of 130 days. Now the MPs work barely 60 days in the entire year. To make the matter even worse, 51% of the bills were passed without any discussion and 61% of the bills were passed without ever seeing the light of the day at the government advisory committees," he said.

Varun Gandhi also suggested introducing a system of e-petition in the Indian Parliament on the line of those in England, Australia, and New Zealand.

"Under this system, when more than 100,000 petitions are registered by the citizens, the lawmakers are forced to take it up in the Parliament. This will give the much-needed voice of the people in the Parliament," he said.
The African Youth for Peaceful, Free and Fair Elections is calling on the former President John Dramani Mahama to render an unqualified apology to the people of Kenya, and other inhabitants of the African Continent for his misguided and incompetent role during Kenyas elections.



Kenyas presidential election has been annulled by the Supreme Court of the country citing irregularities.



In a statement signed by the Groups President Francis Owusu, it said, Now, it has come to the fore that the elections were mired in fraud, irregularities and violence, which unfortunately were swiftly and flagrantly written off and swept under the rag, particularly by the head of the Commonwealth Observer team dispatched to so-called observe the fundamental responsibilities under any democratic dispensation, and to ensure that the polls were held in a free and fair manner.



The statement wondered why the observer teams report led by the Former President contradicts that of the court.



It said Mr Mahamas action has brought the countrys name into public ridicule.



Read details of the statement



AFRICAN YOUTH FOR PEACEFUL, FREE AND FAIR ELECTIONS,



FOR RELEASE



2nd September, 2017.



FORMER PRESIDENT JOHN DRAMANI MAHAMA MUST APOLOGISE



We, at the AFRICAN YOUTH FOR PEACEFUL, FREE AND FAIR ELECTIONS, demand an immediate and unqualified apology from the leader of the Commonwealth Observer Mission, Mr. John Dramani Mahama, to the people of Kenya, and all other inhabitants of the African Continent for his misguided and incompetent role in the observation of the tenets of peaceful, free, fair and violent-free elections in Kenya.



Now, it has come to the fore that the elections were mired in fraud, irregularities and violence, which unfortunately were swiftly and flagrantly written off and swept under the rag, particularly by the head of the Commonwealth Observer team dispatched to so-called observe the fundamental responsibilities under any democratic dispensation, and to ensure that the polls were held in a free and fair manner.



Regarding the final verdict handed down by the Supreme Court of Kenya, the highest Court of the land, over the electoral petition by the opposition party, which is in direct contradiction to the report of free and fair elections as declaimed about by the observer team led by our former president, Mr. John Dramani Mahama, it is indicative of the lazy, abysmal and lackadaisical work and approach that were undertaken during the presidential polls.



In the minimum, this has brought the name of our dear country into disrepute, including the legacies and achievement of other eminent Ghanaian leaders, especially with the worst being the potential of sullying the credibility and integrity of future observers while diminishing the opportunities for other Ghanaian citizens who could be given such distinguished roles to play.



Notwithstanding this, the final verdict again has laid bare the fatal harm that this incomplete work by the observer team under the leadership of Mr. John Dramani Mahama have exacted, even leading to the destruction of lives and properties in the aftermath of the disputed results, and the underlying chaotic incidences.



We are by this statement humbly requesting that the former president respectfully comes out openly and clearly to apologize to the Kenyans, and more particularly to Ghanaians for bringing our name into such an unwarranted disrepute and public ridicule.



Thank you.



Signed;



Francis Owusu (President)



Evans Okomeng



(Secretary)

Source: ultimatefmonline.com









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President Akufo-Addo interacting with Yabonwura Tutumba Boresa I (3rd left), Overlord of Yabon after the meeting at the Flagstaff House in Accra. Those with them are Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia (2nd left) and Mrs Frema Osei-Opare (left), Chief of Staff



President Akufo-Addo is hoping to see the installation of a new chief (Ya-Na) at Dagbon in the Yendi Traditional Area by December this year.



We are prepared to support fully, any formula that you (traditional leaders) think will bring lasting peace. It is in the interest of all of us that this matter is brought to a permanent end. I would love to see that this year, by the time of the Damba festival in December, there is a new Ya-Na in Yendi. I am counting on you to help make this happen, he entreated the chief of the Gonja Traditional Area, Naa Tuntumba Yagbong Wura Boresa Sulemana and the Nayiri of the Mamprugu Traditional Area, Naa Bohigu Abdullai Mahami Sheriga in the Northern Region when they paid separate courtesy calls on him at the Flagstaff House in Accra yesterday.



He said, My understanding is that now, the possibilities for it (peace) are very strong. Peace in Dagbon doesnt just involve Dagbon. It involves the whole Ghana. It is a matter of high national priority to get Dagbon succeed.



President Akufo-Addo therefore appealed to the chiefs and people of the area to come together and support the eminent leaders who are working to put the chieftaincy matters to a permanent rest.



He equally appealed to the eminent traditional rulers handling the chieftaincy crisis at Dagbon to quickly find a permanent resolution to the 15-year conflict to help install a new chief before the Damba festival in December.



He commended them for their efforts so far in finding a lasting solution to the crisis there.



The two rulers were invited together with the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, in 2002 by then President John Agyekum Kufuor to find a lasting solution to the Dagbon chieftaincy dispute between the Abudus and the Andanis following the gruesome murder of the then Ya Na.



President Akufo-Addo was, therefore, confident that the eminent chiefs would bring the 15-year conflict to a permanent closure.



He stressed the need for them to develop a roadmap for a lasting peace in the area, and gave the assurance that the government would fully support the leaders in their efforts.



Touching on plans to create another region in the Northern Region, he said plans were underway to make the creation possible and appealed to the chiefs and leaders to educate their people to actively participate in the process leading to the creation of the new region.



So far, he said, the Council of State had advised him to go ahead to create the new region and indicated that as per the Constitution, a Commission of Enquiry would be constituted to assess whether there was a substantial demand to create the region.



He urged the people in the area to work with the Commission of Enquiry and make a strong case to them, indicating why there should be a new region in the northern so that they would make a recommendation to that effect.



The requirements of the Constitution, when it comes to the referendum, are very strict. Fifty percent of the affected area must come out to vote and 80 percent must vote to agree. Those of us who want a new region, there is a lot of work to be done, he emphasized.



Responding to a request by the chiefs and people, President Akufo-Addo promised to construct a teacher training college to improve the quality of basic education in the area.



The two leaders, in separate addresses, commended the president for his commitment to implementing policies such as the Free Senior High School, One District, One Factory, One Village, One Dam, among others, and wished him well.



They pledged their unwavering commitment to supporting the president improve the living conditions of the people in their respective traditional areas.

Source: Daily Guide









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Former President John Mahama says the lack of patriotism, love for the nation and self-centeredness is gradually creeping into the country.



He said as a Social Democratic party, the NDC must redefine its social democratic principles as it works to re- capture power in 2020.



Speaking at the first induction of students into the Ghana Institute of Social Democracy in Accra, Mr Mahama said the NDC has been able to increase the number of middle class in the country and therefore the perception that the Social democratic principle is equal to poverty must be erased.



The Ghana Institute of Social Democracy is to train party members and other interested stakeholders in the fundamental principles and philosophy of the NDC.



Courses include political leadership, party organisation and mobilisation among others. 400 students are currently enrolled.



Former President Mahama said with the challenges Africa is facing, social democratic policies offer the best panacea.



He said the free SHS policy; NHIS among others are all critical social intervention policies.



Therefore those who try to bastardise Social Democracy may have to rethink.



The Rector of the Ghana Institute of Social Democracy, Dr William Ahadzie said the school is not open to only NDC members, but all who believe in social democratic principles.



Former President Mahama will September 9 join some supporters of the NDC in Tamale for a Unity walk.

Source: gbcghana.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Miss Florida, Sara Zeng, knows full well that depending on what happens over the next two days, her friends back home may not be able to watch the 2018 Miss America pageant as she makes her big debut on national TV Sunday in Atlantic City.

The Miss America contestant is one of two who have been watching their home states cope with hurricanes -- either imminent disaster or the fallout of a major, historic storm. As Hurricane Irma threatens to batter Florida with high winds, having already proved lethal in the Caribbean, Zeng is preparing to compete in the swimsuit and evening wear portions of preliminary competition.

"It's going to be really hard to watch it unfold while I'm here in Atlantic City," Zeng, 22, tells NJ Advance Media. Contestants are on something of a technology blackout -- they don't often have access to their phones when being shuttled between rehearsals and interviews, hungry for sleep and napping on cots when they can snatch a spare minute.

Zeng, a graduate of Florida State University who majored in music education and played classical piano for her pageant talent, has a home in the Daytona Beach area but since she became Miss Florida has been staying with her pageant's executive director about 250 miles south in Miami, positioned squarely in the hurricane's projected track, though forecasts are constantly reframing the projected course of the storm.

"I'm glad that everyone is heeding that warning," Zeng says of the evacuation effort in her home state, where Gov. Rick Scott has warned that the storm could end up being "way bigger than" Andrew, the category 5 hurricane that devastated Florida in 1992.

"A lot of my friends who are here in Atlantic City, their flights have been canceled to go back home," she says. Her parents live in Maryland, where she grew up and experienced the wrath of Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

"The world is going a little crazy right now," Zeng says of the competing hurricanes currently whirling in the Atlantic Ocean.

Margana Wood, Miss Texas, at left, and Sara Zeng, Miss Florida, at right, are competing in Atlantic City as their home states either reel from a hurricane or brace for one. (Tim Hawk | For NJ.com)

Miss Texas, meanwhile, has been talking about Hurricane Harvey all week. The storm came up during the Houston local's offstage interview with pageant judges.

"Getting on a plane here to compete for Miss America in light of this catastrophe was really disheartening and a very confusing time because I want to be excited for my experience here, but at the same time, my heart's still in Houston and just sympathizing for everyone who has been dealing with it."

As word spread in August that the hurricane had escalated, Wood was preparing to sing her heart out at a concert.

"I was honestly just wondering if I was going to get to see Coldplay," she says. The August 25 show in Houston was one of her "bucket list" items." As a Texan, Wood was accustomed to extreme weather but the last time she weathered a major event with her family was Tropical Storm Allison, which flooded the city in 2001. Looking back, she realizes that Hurricane Harvey could well have prevented her from making it to Atlantic City on time.

"They ended up postponing the concert and we ended up leaving to go up to the Dallas area that night," says Margana Wood, 22, won the swimsuit competition at Miss America preliminaries on Wednesday. "So it's crazy to think that had I left and gone to the concert and I left the next day, I wouldn't have made it out because the flooding, it happened so fast, and all of the roads would have been closed."

Wood is thankful that her parents' home was spared from the flooding caused by the category 4 hurricane, but neighbors weren't so lucky.

"For some reason, our home didn't flood, but six blocks around us, it was entirely flooded," she says.

Wood says that if she wins Miss America, she's hopeful the victory could "bring almost a silver lining to the catastrophe going (on) in Houston by making them proud."

The 2018 Miss America pageant airs live from Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City at 9 p.m. Eastern on Sunday, Sept. 10, on ABC.

Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @AmyKup or on Facebook.
Litho Ware, Sr. is following the smoke.

Recently, he opened Boo-Boo's Barbecue, a small takeout counter-order restaurant in midtown Harrisburg, with his wife, Carol Ware.

Customers are lining up for thick-sauce smothered ribs, meaty brisket sandwiches and homemade mac n' cheese.

"I want to make sure people are happy. That is my joy to see them smile and be content," Litho said.

The couple officially turned on the smoker at the 912 N. Third St. restaurant on Sept. 5. It's the second outlet for the Wares, who also operate the Main St. Mac stand at Saturday's Market in Londonderry Township.

For Litho, barbecue is a third career.

In 2006, he retired from the Harrisburg Police Department after a 28-year career as a police officer. He then returned to the U.S. Army for 10 more years of service as an officer.

In retirement, friends asked Litho about his future plans.

"So, I thought about it. I thought I need something to do. I just don't want to die," Litho said.

Barbecue was his passion. It was a skill he picked up from his father. His travels with the military took him south where he sampled regional barbecue styles.

He started small doing catering. Business picked up to the point the next thing Litho knew, customers were begging him to open a restaurant.

"I didn't want to do a sit-down restaurant but I wanted to do something I really enjoy, which is cook," he said.

They opened the stand at Saturday's Market, and before long, customers wanted him to open a place in Harrisburg. (That stand specializes in mac n' cheese and sliced brisket.)

After looking for the right location, he landed in the small no-seat former Soup Spot space in Harrisburg.

Over lunch, state workers and workmen line up at the counter and leave with Styrofoam containers filled with the Litho's brisket or pulled pork sandwiches and ribs to go. Starting Sept. 11, customers will be able to place orders online for pickup.

Ware says his barbecue style is designed to appeal to everyone. He doesn't stick to any particular style.

He uses barbecue sauce purchased from Youth 10X Sauce of Middletown or makes his own. Customers are offered straightforward choices from mild to spicy.

Meats are smoked up to 12 hours at the restaurant.

"I had a chance to see, witness and taste all of these places. I thought I'm going to come back here and put Pennsylvania on the map and I'm going to do it my way. I'm going to take a little bit of everybody's and modify it. Make it my own," Litho said.

The menu encompasses platters such as brisket, pulled pork and chicken with choice of two sides, priced $10.75-$15.75. A 1/2 rack rib platter is $17 and sandwiches start at $8.50.

Sides include mac n' cheese, baked beans, cole slaw, collard greens and corn. They also sell soup of the day such as crab bisque, tomato, baked potato or chicken noodle.

Catering is available. Hours are 10:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Monday-Friday. Phone is 717-727-7089.

This story was updated to clarify the name of the stand the Wares operate at Saturday's Market.
Compiled by Mimi Brodeur | Special to PennLive

As the heat of summer fades into crisp cool fall days, slices of these comforting pies from coconut cream to brown sugar peach pie sate sweet, home baked cravings.

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Nathans Bar and Grill

201 N. Enola Rd, Enola, 717-728-7526

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie/Peanut Butter Pie/Coconut Cream Pie ($4.50):

This smoky-smelling neighborhood dive bar and nonsmoking adjacent dining room are known for their good down home cooking. Famous broiled, snow cone size lump crab cakes, fresh cut fries, burgers and wings are the specialties but save room for dessert. Owner Chris Shuppys mom Anne makes the memorable pies that everyone raves about with their creamy rich filling and cloud of fresh whipped cream.

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The Country Table

740 E. Main St., Mount Joy, 717-653-4745

Shoo Fly Pie: Known for its comforting, made from scratch fare, The Country Table Restaurant's "Bake Shoppe" now operates separately from the restaurant with its own website https://www.thebakeshoppe.net. You can still get the made from scratch bakery items seated at the restaurant such as this week's featured peach pie ($4.55) made with fresh local peaches. The dining complex churns out dozens of Pennsylvania Dutch favorites especially Shoofly pie ($3.99) that oozes robust molasses flavor beneath crumb topping.

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Mimi Brodeur | Special to PennLive

Stock's on 2nd

211 N. Second St., Harrisburg, 717-233-6699

Peanut Butter Pie:

Next February will mark exactly 20 years that owner Stephen Weinstocks mother Sheila has been making peanut butter pie ($6.69) for the restaurant. Former governor Ed Rendell, talk show host Larry King and comedian Bill Cosby have all swooned over savored slices of this cookie dough texture peanut butter layer topped with chocolate ganache, chocolate syrup and peanuts. Ed Rendell made the pie famous when he shipped it to his celebrity friends. Cosbys chef really wanted the recipe. Said Stephen.

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Dodge City Steakhouse

1037 Paxton St., Harrisburg, 717-236-2719

Pecan Chocolate Pie: Pecan pieces and chocolate weave through this dense, rich, buttery slice. House made pecan chocolate pie ($5) is a staple at this favorite old-time steakhouse. Established in 1980 by Doug and Debbie Krick, their son, chef Dougie has taken over in the kitchen. Featured on the Food Network series Restaurant Impossible the restaurant got a second chance to woo back the waning public.

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Mimi Brodeur | Special to PennLive

The Circular

100 Hershey Road, Hershey. 717-533-2171

Hershey's chocolate cream pie: Signature crafted chocolate, classic and contemporary cocktails are as skillfully designed as desserts at The Circular. It is no accident that the bartenders and pastry chef are placed center stage in the dining room. While bartenders prepare white chocolate raspberry martinis ($12) on one side, a skilled baker works her magic concocting plated confections on the flip side of the bar. Look for signature petite Hershey's chocolate cream pie on the brunch buffet.

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Mimi Brodeur | Special to PennLive

The Hershey Pantry

801 E. Chocolate Ave, Hershey, 717-533-7505

Brown Sugar Peach Pie/Apple Cream Cheese Snickerdoodle Pie: Word of mouth decrees of wonderful breakfasts and home baked pies set this roadside restaurant on the map when it opened in 1990. Recently renovated, rustic neutral tones soften the quaint dining room. Cream pies such as coconut, banana and chocolate cream pie are often on the menu. According to head baker Andrea Centini there are two featured pies of the month for September. "Brown Sugar peach pie is available until fresh local peaches run out." Said Centini. Snickerdoodle crust and crumble sandwich cheesecake layer and fresh apples in a slice of Apple Cream Cheese Snickerdoodle pie ($4.50 at Desserts.,Etc or $6.50 plated across the street at Hershey Pantry.) Whole pies are available at Desserts.,Etc. for ($23)

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Brownstone Cafe

1 N. Union St., Middletown, 717-944-3301

Strawberry Pie: On weekends, lines out the front door earmark this spacious building that dates to 1892. Teller gates, vault door and safety deposit boxes are hints of its banking past. Luscious, juicy fresh strawberry pie is a staple on the menu most of the time unless they run out.

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Jethro's Restaurant & Bar

659 First St., Lancaster, 717-299-1700

Bourbon Pecan Pie/ Fresh Peach Pie: This clandestine restaurant blends in with neighboring brick row houses off a side street in Lancaster. A local favorite for over 30 years, a lively interior is fueled by regular patron laughter at the bar. Everyone knows to order house made bourbon spiked pecan pie ($5) but seasonal fruit pies are available too. This week's peach pie ($4) is a special house recipe with homemade crumble sprinkled over fresh peaches.

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Linglestown Eagle Restaurant and Bar

1361 N. Mountain Rd, Harrisburg, 717-545-2839

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie ($5.99) Dating back to the early 1800's, the hotel/tavern used to be a very rural midpoint for travelers. People would hang out at "the Eagle" while hogs, sheep and cattle auctions took place on the square. There was dancing in the 1920's and 30's and a menu boasting crab cakes and beer for .15 cents. Steve and Sia Paterekas bought the centuries old, three story building in 1976 when it still had rooms to rent upstairs and as their son Bill puts it "a much rougher bar crowd". The place has passed through many families over the years but the Paterekas family has owned it the longest, over 40 years. Everyone knows the favorites here are wings, burgers, crab cakes and of course, chocolate peanut butter pie ($5.99). The graham cracker crust is layered with chocolate, peanut butter mousse and finally whipped cream.

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Snapper's Bar and Grill

120 E. Allen St., Mechanicsburg. 717-697

Coconut Custard Cream Pie/ Latticed Apple Pie: Owners Tom and Athena Balafontas have owned Snapper's for fifteen years. Everyone knows their bar menu appetizers are killer, but how about their made from scratch pies? One customer said his wife's pie was the best until he had tried Athena's lusciously-creamy coconut custard cream pie. Another house favorite that is always on the menu is cinnamon speckled latticed apple pie a la mode.($6.50) This slice is served warm allowing the ice cream to seep through the crust.

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Roosevelt Tavern

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Mimi Brodeur | Special to PennLive

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50 N. Penn St., York, 717-854-7725

Warm Chocolate Pecan Pie: Owner/chef Byron Kehr Jr. and wife Lauren have had this signature meltingly delicious pie on the menu since they reopened this stately 19th century Tavern in 2011. Made from scratch crust, the filling is a rich buttery consistency featuring local Wilbur's bronze medal chocolate and pecans. A scoop of Beck's vanilla ice cream and drizzle of chocolate finish off this dessert.

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Looking for more great recommendations?

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By F. Vincent Vernuccio

Labor Day has come and gone, but the baggage of organized labor's outdated business model remains. In recent years, some unions have pressured 21st-century workplaces built on efficiency and competitiveness with 20th-century coercion tactics aimed at self-preservation.



Look no further than the United Auto Workers (UAW), the country's largest automobile union. Last month, the UAW lost a unionization vote at a Nissan plant in Canton, Mississippi after spending more than a decade pitching Nissan workers.

More than 60 percent of employees voted against the union, skeptical that the UAW would make their lives any different.

Veteran workers at the factory already make roughly $26 an hour--well above Mississippi's median wage. In the words of one employee: "I have four weeks' vacation. I'm off on every holiday. Nissan has provided a great living for me."



Others were concerned about the UAW's misuse of member dues. Earlier this summer, the union was implicated in an alleged $2.2 million scam. Alphons Iacobelli, a former Fiat Chrysler negotiator, allegedly used UAW training funds to pay for a $350,000 Ferrari 458 Spider, two Mont Blanc pens valued at $37,500 each, and a swimming pool.

Monica Morgan-Holiefield, the widow of former UAW vice president General Holiefield, allegedly spent funds to pay off a mortgage and buy $30,000 in airline tickets. More recently, former UAW associate director Virdell King pled guilty to misusing funds that were intended to train and retrain blue-collar workers.



It's no wonder that Nissan employees said "no, thank you" to the union. But the UAW--wary of slumping union membership rates--won't go down without a fight.

From complaints with the National Labor Relations Board to public relations campaigns and home visits, UAW leadership prides itself on intimidating employees and hard sell tactics for employees to get them to submit. The union's modus operandi is to gain "exclusive representation" of a workplace by any means necessary.



It's an outdated approach in a rapidly evolving U.S. economy. A few U.S. companies are experimenting with moving away from exclusive representation to a more democratic system, whereby multiple unions can voluntarily represent workers who want the union if they register a certain percentage of support among employees. There is no pressure, neither on employees nor the employer.



Volkswagen's policy at its Chattanooga, Tennessee plant, for example, states that the company will recognize any union that can show it represents at least 15 percent of employees. If two unions can each demonstrate 15 percent support, then Volkswagen will negotiate with two unions. The company will bestow greater privileges upon unions that prove they represent more workers, which includes use of company facilities and meetings with Volkswagen's human resources department and executive committee. Unlike unions of old, this model is completely up to the union, employees, and the company to come to a mutually voluntary agreement. There is no force and there is no intimidation.



The UAW is trying to carve out a small subset of workers for exclusive representation in Chattanooga. (It already lost a plant-wide election there.) But its preference--as evidenced by the recent vote in Mississippi--is for a monopoly of all employees, exposing employees to a one size fits all union contract.



Employees have every reason to worry about a UAW monopoly. Consider the UAW's sordid history in California: General Motors' original Fremont plant, unionized by the UAW in 1962 and closed in 1982, had significant problems. Roughly 6,000 workers lost their jobs when the plant closed in 1982.



It gets worse. The original Fremont plant was revived as part of a General Motors-Toyota partnership, only to close again in 2010. The factory had operated at half-capacity in its last two years of existence, running severe deficits. About 4,700 employees lost their jobs.



Now the UAW is back in Fremont, trying to intimidate the automaker Tesla into giving it a third chance. Given the union's track record, it would be three too many.



F. Vincent Vernuccio is former special assistant to the assistant secretary for administration and management at the Department of Labor under President George W. Bush.
President Donald Trump announced on Friday that he is nominating Cumberland County District Attorney David Freed to serve as the chief federal law enforcement officer for central and northeastern Pennsylvania.

If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Freed, 47, of Camp Hill would serve a four-year term as U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania,

Freed, who is in his 12th year as Cumberland County prosecutor, previously served as the county's first assistant district attorney and as a deputy prosecutor in York County. He ran unsuccessfully for state attorney general in 2012.

He also served as president of the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association from 2013-14. He is a graduate of Washington and Lee University and earned his law degree from Dickinson School of Law.

He could not be reached for comment on Friday evening.

Both of Pennsylvania's U.S. senators hailed Freed's nomination as well as that aof Scott Brady, corporate counsel for Federated Investors in Pittsburgh, who was nominated for the U.S. attorney post for the Western District of Pennsylvania.

"I am pleased that President Trump intends to nominate Scott Brady and David Freed to be U.S. Attorneys for the Western and Middle Districts of Pennsylvania," U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., said in a statement. "Both Mr. Brady and District Attorney Freed are seasoned prosecutors who possess a wealth of legal experience from their work in the public and private sectors. I am confident that they will serve with honor and an unwavering respect for the rule of law. I look forward to the Senate confirming them swiftly."

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., said, "U.S. Attorneys play a vital role in keeping communities safe, upholding the rule of law and ensuring the fair administration of justice. These nominees are experienced and distinguished attorneys in their field who are well regarded by their colleagues. Mr. Brady and District Attorney Freed have prosecutorial experience and have served Pennsylvania and our nation with distinction."

Their nominations were among nine nominees for U.S. Attorney posts that the president announced on Friday.

*This post has been updated to include U.S. Sens. Pat Toomey and Bob Casey's comments.
Ontario reportedly plans to open dozens of storefronts across the province to manage the sale and distribution of recreational marijuana after the federal government legalizes its recreational use. Production staff harvest marijuana plants inside the flowering room at Harvest One Cannabis Inc. in Duncan, B.C., on Friday, August 4, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito
Dawson college CEGEP student Jana Abdul-Rahim poses outside the college in Montreal, Friday, September 8, 2017. During a convention this weekend, Parti Quebecois delegates will debate and possibly vote on a resolution to cut funding to English colleges, known as CEGEPs, because they are attracting too many non-anglophones. If the PQ wins the fall 2018 election, further limiting access to English-language education could be part of its agenda. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes
Snipers take part in the 19th annual Canadian International Sniper Concentration at CFB Gagetown in Oromocto, N.B., in this Friday, Sept. 8, 2017 photo taken from video. Some of the world's best snipers are gathered at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown, to compete against their peers in an elite profession that is the stuff of movies and myths. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Kevin Bissett
This undated photo provided by Pam Eslinger shows her sister Jill Renick. Renick's family had desperately spent the last week and a half trying to find out what happened to her after she pleaded for help as water rushed into an elevator as floodwaters from Harvey inundated a Houston hotel where she worked. Then news finally came: A body believed to be hers was found in the ceiling of the basement near a set of elevators. (Pam Eslinger via AP)
Ammar Hammasho, migrant from Edlib in Syria who lives in Cyprus, kisses one of his four children after they arrived with their mother to a refugee camp in Kokkinotrimithia, outside of the capital Nicosia, in the eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus, on Sunday, Sept. 10, 2017. Cyprus police say a 36-year-old man was arrested Sunday for allegedly driving one of a pair of boats that brought 305 Syrian refugees to the island's northwestern coast. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
Pro independence supporters wave "estelada" or pro independence flags during a rally in support for the secession of the Catalonia region from Spain, in Vitoria, northern Spain, Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's office says members of his cabinet are meeting Thursday to react to plans by Catalan leaders who have scheduled a vote on the region's secession from Spain. (Alvaro Barrientos)
In this Thursday, Sept. 7, 2017 photo, passengers aboard the Norwegian Escape cruise ship relax in a pool just hours before the huge vessel returned to Miami, two days earlier than scheduled due to powerful Hurricane Irma. Some passengers disembarked Thursday, while others chose to remain on board the ship, which was scheduled to leave later that evening for safe waters. (AP Photo/Brian Witte)
Police in Santa Fe, N.M., lead away protester organizer Jennifer Marley of San Ildefonso Pueblo in hand restraints on Friday, Sept. 8, 2017. Santa Fe police say they arrested at least 12 people to contain protest against an annual pageant marking the return of Spanish conquistador Don Diego de Vargas to New Mexico following a 17th century Indian revolt. Public statues and tributes to early Spanish conquerors are facing mounting criticism tied to the brutal treatment of American Indians centuries ago by Spanish soldiers and missionaries, with activists drawing ethical parallels to the national controversy over Confederate monuments. (AP Photo/Morgan Lee)
Meet Gavin and Macey Bebble, cousins and fellow St. Mary's stars

Two fellow Class of 2023 members, Gavin and Macey Bebble share a bond as cousins, friends and leading members of multiple talented St. Mary's teams.
In April 2017, construction continued on three large, glass-covered domes on Amazons campus in downtown Seattle. Read more

The economic prize is huge.

Fifty thousand new full-time employees. A $5 billion investment. Millions of square feet of new office space. And likely more investment over time.

The best part? One employer alone can accomplish it all.

Amazon, the online retailer, announced Thursday that it's hunting for a location for a second North American headquarters  one the company indicated could eventually become equal in size to its Seattle home base. In an atypical move for a corporate giant, Amazon publicly solicited proposals from metro areas.

The news sent mayors from Philadelphia to Toronto to Chicago scrambling to declare each would submit a bid, one that could unleash billions of dollars in economic development, supercharge housing markets, and put that metro area on the cutting edge of the transformational digital economy.

Can the Philadelphia region even dream of being a contender?

Working in its favor, say local government officials, experts, and developers, is a city on the upswing: The population of millennials increased by about 100,000 between 2006 and 2012, according to the Pew Charitable Trusts, offering a potential pool of candidates with the job skills Amazon likely seeks.

And there's a precedent for an Amazon-type project: Comcast Corp. has already bet that this traditionally blue-collar city has modernized its labor force enough to supply the tech-skilled employees it needs.

"This is a vastly different place than it was 30 years ago, and it's a place that can feel like Seattle," said John Gattuso, senior vice president and regional director for Liberty Property Trust, which is a part-owner of and is developing the new Comcast Innovation and Technology Center. "Philadelphia should feel absolutely confident that it has something to offer a company like Amazon. We should not feel inferior."

But the hurdles are also high. Despite Comcast's presence, Philadelphia has not fostered the same robust tech reputation that metro areas like Austin, Texas, and Raleigh-Durham, N.C., have. This region may not have the labor pool for the tens of thousands of jobs Amazon will need to fill.

Then again, Gattuso said, "I am not sure any city does."

Where the Philadelphia region is most vulnerable is in its ability to compete financially against the other cities vying for Amazon's favor. Though Philadelphia has cut its wage tax over the past decade, taxes on Philadelphia residents remain high compared to other cities, according to tax-software firm Intuit. And how Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and local governments in the region will stack up remains unclear.

"This is going to be the mother of all feeding frenzies," said Aaron Renn, a senior fellow who studies American cities at the Manhattan Institute, a nonprofit think tank. "Everyone is going to throw their hat in the ring  and I would expect everyone to fork up a huge amount of money."

Both Pennsylvania's Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) and the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corp. (PIDC) have remained tight-lipped about incentives they might offer, though both, as well as the governor's office, are evaluating how they may be able to help with a proposal. As for New Jersey, a spokeswoman for the Economic Development Authority said it "looks forward" to reviewing Amazon's parameters.

In the past, both state agencies have offered incentives for Amazon to build warehouses and distribution centers as the retailer has spread across the nation. In 2008, DCED provided Amazon with a $1.25 million grant to build a distribution facility in Luzerne County as part of an effort to create new jobs.

And last year, Pennsylvania announced that it had approved a $22.5 million package for Amazon to expand its fulfillment centers and distribution options in the state, as long as the company invested at least $150 million and created 5,000 new jobs. According to a spokesman for DCED, the assistance remains contingent upon Amazon's submitting final applications and meeting their commitments.

New Jersey has made similar investments to attract Amazon warehouses.

To lure a corporate headquarters, however, both state and local agencies would have to dangle a much larger incentive. In recent years, governments have paid out millions and even billions of dollars to lure large companies to their areas. Just last month, Wisconsin lawmakers voted to offer $3 billion in incentives to lure Apple supplier Foxconn.

According to Amazon's Request for Proposal for the project, the company is looking for more than just cash. Among its other preferences, Amazon said Thursday, is a metro area with at least one million people and a stable business environment, one that could offer land near an international airport, major highways, and a public transit system.

As for particular sites, Amazon said it is considering undeveloped land, infill sites, existing buildings, or a combination. Existing buildings of at least 500,000 square feet or a green site of approximately 100 acres will be a priority, Amazon said. At full build-out, "the campus or park may exceed eight million square feet," Amazon added.

Which raises a question: Where exactly could Amazon put such a massive headquarters?

"Let's assume that they want to create a campus with multiple towers over time  that doesn't suggest right away that you could squeeze them into Center City," said Paul Levy, president and CEO of the Center City District. "That then points us to the Navy Yard and to 30th Street Station as particular locations where you could amass that much land."

Liberty Property Trust and PIDC control significant undeveloped land at the 1,100-acre Navy Yard in South Philadelphia that could be used for a campus of low-rise or tall buildings, Gattuso said.

And near 30th Street Station, Brandywine Realty Trust is working alongside Drexel University to build Schuylkill Yards, a 14-acre, $3.5 billion investment to turn industrial buildings and parking lots into a neighborhood of businesses, labs, retail, parks, and residential towers. Still years from completion, the project has not been linked with any companies.

"Look at Port Richmond, at Bridesburg  there is a lot of land along the river," said Councilman Allan Domb. "I think somewhere along I-95 in the Northeast section makes sense."
Remember that fabulous, over-the-top, Dubai-theme prom sendoff in May where a North Philly mom spent $25,000 to bring in three tons of sand and a live camel?

Saudia Shuler commissioned a Middle East-inspired backdrop and arranged for her son to have not one but three luxury cars  a Range Rover, a Rolls Royce and a Lamborghini. Johnny "JJ" Eden also had a different, beautifully attired date for each of his three outfit changes. Yes, three outfit changes. Shuler served Islamic-theme cakes  one in the shape of a Quran and another with a tiny robed figure in black kneeling as if in prayer.

We all said she was crazy to spend so much. She was just doing too much. Well, Saudia Shuler wants you to know that her son is enrolled at Delaware State University, just as she said he would be, and that she paid cash for his tuition.

"I paid for him in cash to go to college. I'm not asking nobody for nothing. We don't have any loans. None of that," said Shuler, who owns Country Cooking, a soul-food takeout in the 2800 block of North 22nd Street. "I think it was because of the prom stuff. They didn't give my baby anything."

"I think it was that camel," she added, laughing. "But I was prepared to pay for his college anyway. There was always money set aside for his education. He knows what's expected of him, so he'll do great."

As for Eden, he's settled into his dorm room and getting adjusted to college life. He moved in on Aug. 24. When I spoke with the 2017 Simon Gratz High School graduate on Friday, he told me he intends to major in chemical engineering and is determined to get on the dean's list. He hopes to win some academic scholarships to help ease the burden on his mother. (Yearly tuition is $16,138 for out-of-state students, according to the school's website. Housing for a double room on campus is about $8,000, depending on the dorm.) He impressed me with his sincerity. I urged him to study hard and wished him well.

"It don't take nothing to pay attention," he said as he prepared for a 2 p.m. class to start.

I'm rooting for this kid.

Despite his mom's extravagance, Eden is quiet and low-key. I like how committed he is to his mother. He's determined to make something out of his life. Eden has professional mentors now, the Rev. Marshall Mitchell of Salem Baptist in Jenkintown and Damaris Walker, who lives in Strawberry Mansion and attended Dartmouth University and Yale Law School. They volunteered to counsel him after learning of his academic plans.

As for Shuler, she's not out of the prom send-off business yet. She's working on another over-the-top shindig for a friend for 2018  even though she still smarts over some of the pushback she got for her son's big night.

"Why should I deprive him because of what other people say? Shuler said.

"What would be the difference in me going to buy a Range Rover or a Bentley truck? That would be cool. But it's not cool for me to spend money on my son's prom? I don't understand it. It makes me happy. It makes my son happy. We never thought in a million years that the news would get involved. It was just a cookout with a camel. It just blew up into something else."

I asked her to send me an invite to her next prom sendoff, because if it's anything like that last one, it will be epic.
Philadelphia Art Alliance board chairperson Carole Price Shanis and University of the Arts president David Yager outside of the Art Alliance building just off Rittenhouse Square Read more

The Philadelphia Art Alliance, the venerable but long-struggling arts gem just off Rittenhouse Square, is to be absorbed by the University of the Arts under a deal approved by the boards of both groups.

The acquisition gives the university a gracious formal parlor a few blocks from its Broad Street campus in a neighborhood populated by many of the city's most generous arts donors. The school expects to renovate the Art Alliance building, the former Wetherill mansion, and to establish a committee to help determine its long-term use, said University of the Arts president David Yager.

Its new name: Philadelphia Art Alliance at the University of the Arts.

The change marks a bittersweet epoch for the Art Alliance, which had once brought to the city the likes of Man Ray, Martha Graham, and Andrew Wyeth, but which lost a good deal of its cutting-edge sheen in recent decades. Its six small galleries now mostly exhibit contemporary crafts and design.

"It seems like we could help invigorate it and bring it back to some of its importance in the city," Yager said. "What's interesting is, museums have opened in Europe that are small places that have become really important places for artists to exhibit. I'm told that at one time for an opening at the Art Alliance, people were streaming in the doors to see the most interesting work. If we could do anything like that it would be incredible."

Art Alliance board chair Carole Price Shanis said that keeping the books balanced had been difficult and that while the small arts center might have been able to keep going as it has, it would not have been able to realize its full potential.

"We've been in the black some years, and not so much reddish but pinkish in others, and when it's been pinkish we've had to raise more money to make up the difference," she said.

Often over the last two decades, money to help cover that shortfall often came from Shanis and her husband. Joseph Shanis, a onetime prominent retail executive and philanthropist, died at age 97 in March.

"I think that it was the right time to make a change, to make a difference," she said, "and if the two organizations each bring something different to the table, they can do more things more quickly and be a bigger voice. I just couldn't move over or give up until something like this was done, and now it's happening."

The Art Alliance has been eating through its endowment, which was about $900,000 a few years ago, according to tax filings, but little is expected to be left by the time the deal is made final. "Clearly we needed an additional $150,000 a year in operating income to build this into a going concern," said Thora Jacobson, the art club's executive director.

The Art Alliance filed a petition Friday in Philadelphia Orphans' Court requesting approval of the deal. Boards of the two groups gave a final nod to the merger Aug. 28.

Though it has little in the way of a permanent collection, the Art Alliance has been a major voice in importing visual artists, composers, poets, and others, particularly from the avant-garde. Its history is closely aligned with that of the city's once-popular eating clubs, and a restaurant has been a mainstay of the building.

The current restaurant, Le Cheri, has been considered a success and is not expected to change. "They'd like to be there, and we'd like them to be there," Yager said.

Established in 1915 as a small but ambitious artist-run arts center, the Art Alliance moved into the current Italian Renaissance-style building at 251 S. 18th St. in 1926. It traditionally presented the art of the day  often from opposite sides of the popularity spectrum. In the 1930s, it hosted Vladimir Horowitz and Nelson Eddy, Gertrude Stein, and Walt Disney (in 1932, in what was believed to be the first museum exhibition of animated art).

It was the venue, in 1936, for Andrew Wyeth's first show. "I was 17. I was thrilled," said Wyeth in 1989 upon accepting with son Jamie a shared Medal of Achievement from the Art Alliance. "I didn't sell a thing."

Horace Pippin was recognized in 1947 with a major exhibition. In the 1950s, the Art Alliance brought in W.H. Auden, Dorothy Parker, Aaron Copland, and Dylan Thomas. There, in the 1960s, Merce Cunningham danced and Edward Albee spoke.

Although the Art Alliance's first significant shortfall came in 1969, according to its own written history, it continued to function as a locus for the arts community. When cuts in funding to the arts were made at the state and federal level in the Reagan era, the opposition gathered at the Art Alliance. "The arts are the beating heart of our country," said actress Colleen Dewhurst, rallying an army of arts supporters there in 1982. "We're in danger of removing all the life-giving, joy-giving, depth-giving things. When they told me what you'd done in the face of what seems to be a negative attitude, I couldn't believe it. You managed to march on an administration, and a government, and make them understand."

In the 1980s, the Art Alliance hosted a series of colorful parties, bringing in a younger crowd. "The renaissance of the Philadelphia Art Alliance is really becoming true," then-executive director Marilyn JS Goodman told the Inquirer in 1984, the same year a 240-work installation by quirky outsider Howard Finster was crammed into the building. But little by little, other arts groups began to take up parts of the Art Alliance's mission. Debt and infighting forced it to close for most of 1991, and it was rescued in part through the energy of Meyer P. "Pat" Potamkin, the banker and, with wife Vivian, major American art collector.

It was Shanis who shifted the focus to contemporary craft and design, and the Alliance was exploring renting space to craft-makers when the possibility of a merger came along, said Jacobson.

Yager expects that while design and craft will continue to be a part of what is presented there, he would like to see its scope widen.

Since being named president in 2015, Yager has overseen the the university's sale of the the Merriam Theater to the Kimmel Center, in November, and has been actively seeking to expand student housing. Although the Art Alliance is adjacent to vacant property just to the east, Yager said he did not see the university acquiring that property for dorm development.

What the acquisition of the Art Alliance promises to do, he said, is to bring students into contact with the art and artists  University of the Arts students and faculty are already frequent visitors, says Jacobson  and for the venue itself to become a teaching tool for students enrolled in the degree program in exhibition planning and design.

Fund-raising would be required both for the care of the building and for the works that go on in it.

"I know we're going to do something great, but the difference between good and great institutions is the content," said Yager. "The building is the container, but content rules, and that will determine if we are successful or not."
Belgian fugitive Vincent Didler Jean-Marie Gilbert Simonon is escorted by federal agents after his arrest at 30th Street Station. Read more

A well-rested Belgian fugitive wanted for manslaughter got nabbed Friday morning while napping on a bench at Philadelphia's 30th Street Station, after having spent Thursday night on the couch of an unsuspecting University of Pennsylvania graduate student he met on the social media website Couchsurfing.com, federal authorities said.

Vincent Didler Jean-Marie Gilbert Simonon, 32, went quietly after he was converged upon by officers and agents from multiple law-enforcement agencies.

"Fugitives who commit egregious crimes in their home country should not expect to find refuge in the U.S.," said Marlon V. Miller, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations-Philadelphia.

Simonon is wanted in Belgium for alleged intentional manslaughter in the slaying of his neighbor Christiane Darimont and the concealment of her body in late July or early August, federal authorities said. On Aug. 11 he flew from Dusseldorf, Germany, through Amsterdam, to John F. Kennedy Airport in New York, they said.

During a week in Philadelphia, authorities said, he used a fictitious name to create a Couchsurfing account and stayed at various times with three people whom he met on the service. He last stayed with the Penn grad student, whom authorities did not name.

After receiving information Thursday from the Homeland Security Investigations Brussels office that Simonon was likely in the Philadelphia area, HSI special agents and task force officers tracked him to the station, aided by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Amtrak Police, the Philadelphia Police Department, and the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office. An extradition request had been made by the Federal Public Service of Belgium.

"As a result of the close cooperation between U.S. and Belgium authorities, the suspect has been arrested and will be safely returned to his native country to face justice," said Bryan McPherson, assistant special agent in charge with Homeland Security Investigations-Philadelphia.

Authorities do not know why he came to Philadelphia, McPherson said in an interview.

Simonon was turned over to the U.S. Marshals Service, whose officers will take him to New York where the extradition proceeding will take place, McPherson said.
Amid each natural disaster such as Hurricane Harvey, there are inspiring tales of rescues and generosity and hope. And invariably, those are followed by tales of scams and frauds and storm survivors revictimized by those looking to capitalize on the relief system. The problem has become so bad that, after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the Justice Department established the National Center for Disaster Fraud, which receives hundreds of calls every month even when a cataclysm such as Harvey or the Deepwater Horizon oil spill isn't occurring.

And now the calls are starting to roll in from Houston. Unscrupulous repair and removal contractors. Robo-calls about phony insurance schemes. FEMA "inspectors" charging for their services. The Texas attorney general's office said Thursday that it has received more than 3,200 complaints about scams, fraud and price gouging since Aug. 25, for things such as $99 for a case of water. In Baton Rouge, where the National Disaster Fraud Center is located, the number of fraud reports went from 79 the week before Hurricane Harvey to 425 in the week after the storm hit, center director and U.S. Attorney Corey R. Amundson said.

"It's a cascade of crime," said Walt Green, Amundson's predecessor as U.S. attorney in central Louisiana and head of the fraud center for the last four years. "Houston, and now Florida, this is not over in weeks or months. We're talking a decade-plus." He said before he stepped down earlier this year that the center received a call from a woman who was being pursued by the IRS for not paying taxes on her Katrina relief benefits from 12 years ago  which she had never sought or received.

In Houston, Amundson and the Justice Department last week formed a working group of various federal law enforcement agencies and prosecutors to specifically target crime related to Hurricane Harvey, with support from the fraud center, which serves as a national clearinghouse for fraud reports. In addition, "we've talked with Florida" as Hurricane Irma approaches, Amundson said in an interview. "We're coordinating already. But the first priority of the Justice Department right now is to keep folks safe."

Green said there were some predictable phases to disaster-related crime, often launched by "disaster chasers"  people who target disaster relief money or donations intended for charity. The national fraud center can sometimes detect repeat violators with its 12-year-old database of shady activity. Green said charity fraud is often the first to occur, with false websites set up to collect donations. When the National Weather Service releases its list of storm names each year, he said, people buy up domain sites such as "Irma Relief" or "Help Harvey" in hopes of fooling well-intentioned donors.

Investigators found 5,000 questionable Katrina-related websites after that storm, Green said, and not just from the area of the disaster, but nationwide. While Katrina was still slamming into Louisiana, a man in Florida launched "AirKatrina.com" claiming he was a private pilot performing rescues and needed money for fuel. He wrote that he saw people huddled on roofs and that "I will hear these screams for the rest of my life." He was nowhere near Louisiana, but he raised $40,000 in two days, authorities said.

"The charity fraud danger period is right now" for Houston, Amundson said. "That's usually for a couple more weeks."

FEMA reported last week that scammers were also using robo-calls to tell people their flood insurance premiums were past due and they had to send money immediately or see their policies canceled. "That is pure fraud," said Roy E. Wright of the National Flood Insurance Program of FEMA. "You should only be taking information from trusted sources."

As the storm passes, contractors swoop in to clean up debris, take down trees and perform other clean-up tasks. Some will take money and simply disappear. Some will have FEMA benefits signed over to them. Some will actually do the work. Experts said victims can only tread carefully, do their homework and hope they don't get fleeced.

The next phase of disaster relief brings the largest amount of fraud  requests for relief payments for damages. Individuals who weren't affected file claims. Businesses that weren't near the disaster file false claims. Some fraudsters work hard to get their money, said Don Cazayoux, also a former U.S. attorney and director of the fraud center. "They would create really good false invoices," Cazayoux said, "with false employee manifests, W-9 [tax forms]. You've got to really dig sometimes to figure it out."

He said scammers would also steal the identities of actual victims and file for their relief funds before the victims did. "Identity theft is one of the most common forms" of fraud, Cazayoux said. From Katrina, more than 1,400 federal fraud prosecutions were launched, as well as untold numbers of state prosecutions. State attorneys general, particularly in New Jersey after Superstorm Sandy and in Texas now, have become more aggressive in fighting disaster fraud, Cazayoux said.

"Unfortunately," Cazayoux said, "the best and worst comes out in national disasters."

Because states have become aware of the lengths that scammers will go to for money, Green said, they have taken more time to investigate their legitimacy and longer to pay benefits. He said relief recipients from Superstorm Sandy sometimes had to wait 18 months or more, but that the investigations ensured that fewer phony claims were paid.

And then there's the public corruption that accompanies the rebuilding phase of a disaster, as government officials steer contracts or equipment to friends, or themselves. In Louisiana, Amundson prosecuted a Shreveport area fire chief, Donovon R. McMullen Jr., who conspired to steal and sell more than $1 million worth of defibrillators shipped to the area for distribution in New Orleans after Katrina hit. When McMullen found out he was being investigated by the FBI, he tried to have one of his co-conspirators killed, court records show. McMullen was sentenced to nearly 14 years in prison.

Gradually, the word spread that fraud enforcement was happening after Katrina. Around New Orleans, the Red Cross had distributed payments to supposed victims. But soon, money started coming back. "We got between $1 million and $1.5 million returned to the Red Cross by people who got money," Amundson said. "They started seeing prosecutions, and they gave the money back."

If you suspect fraud connected to a natural disaster, you can call the National Center for Disaster Fraud at 866-720-5721, or email the organization at disaster@leo.gov. The center serves as a national clearinghouse and refers cases to the proper law enforcement agency anywhere in the country.
WASHINGTON  When Republicans in Congress traveled their districts in early spring, many faced furious demonstrators.

In Allentown, Rep. Charlie Dent got a very different reception: a liberal teacher praised him during a school visit and protesters left a poster at his office thanking him for opposing the GOP plan to roll back the Affordable Care Act, President Obama's signature health law.

Riding through his Lehigh Valley district that May afternoon, Dent described "a political realignment" marked by industrial and agricultural America flocking to Republicans, while coastal elites sided with Democrats. His district, reaching from Allentown to Hershey, built on long-gone steel jobs and now, in some places, tied to office work in New York and touched by the city's cosmopolitan flavor, didn't fit easily in either camp.

From this platform Dent, 57, became a rarity in Washington: an outspoken, unabashed GOP centrist who seemed to relish defying his party's hard right  and President Trump  on a national stage.

So on Thursday, when he announced that he will not seek reelection, the move immediately reverberated beyond Pennsylvania. It raised questions about who might fill that void and whether his arm of the party  "the governing wing" of the GOP, as he liked to say  was losing whatever influence it still had.

Dent, after all, was the third moderate House Republican to choose to step aside as the party braces for difficult 2018 elections, saddled with an unpopular president and the traditional backlash that often hits any party controlling the White House and Congress.

In addition, another cochair of the moderate GOP Tuesday Group that Dent led, South Jersey's Tom MacArthur, had stepped down from that post earlier this year. That came after he had circumvented the centrist bloc to negotiate a health-care plan with the Trump administration and hard-right Freedom Caucus.

And in Pennsylvania, while Dent prepares to leave, the favorite to win the GOP's U.S. Senate nomination is Rep. Lou Barletta, an immigration hard-liner closely aligned with Trump. Democratic and Republican operatives both said this year that Dent's centrist profile would have made him a great challenger to Democratic Sen. Bob Casey  but that his moderate views would probably doom him in a GOP primary.

While some other Republicans, including most from the Philadelphia area, agree with Dent on policy and tone, he was usually the first and most forceful to speak out, delivering hard-hitting comments that raised the Tuesday Group's profile.

With nearly seven terms in office and a leadership post on the powerful House Appropriations Committee, Dent was an experienced strategist and skilled communicator who could deliver the center-right's message nationally, said Rep. Ryan Costello, of Chester County.

"That is probably his irreplaceable value," said Costello, a fellow Tuesday Group member.

Who can fill that role now? "I don't know," Costello said Friday, though he predicted that other voices would emerge.

"Charlie's probably leaving at the peak of his influence," said Rep. Tom Cole (R., Okla.), calling him a "go-to guy whenever you needed to get a major piece of legislation through or a deal cut."

Some political analysts argued that Dent's departure reflects a party pulled farther and farther from the center.

"It's not like a Republican party that consists of a significant number of moderates and a larger number of conservatives," said Norman Ornstein, a congressional scholar at the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute. "It's a party that consists of a significant number of conservatives and a significant number of radicals."

Even most of the 50 or so lawmakers in the Tuesday Group are fairly conservative, Ornstein said. They just seem moderate compared with the rest of the GOP conference.

Lawmakers willing to accept imperfect compromises to advance legislation "are dwindling," said former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge, who hailed Dent's leadership.

Dent argued that he was holding true to conservative values in that he believed in incremental  not radical  change, measured tones, and stability. As he felt those values diminish, particularly in the GOP-driven government shutdown of 2013, he became more and more outspoken, taking on a national profile as a counterweight to his party's most combative figures.

"I often felt that the party was defined by the loudest, shrillest voices," he said back in May. "Silence is consent."

Those same concerns echoed through Thursday's retirement announcement, which complained of "disruptive outside influences that profit from increased polarization and ideological rigidity."

"It's fair to say that there was some frustration," he said in an interview that night. "Basic acts of governance are becoming extraordinarily difficult."

Several Republicans interviewed Friday discounted the idea that Dent's retirement signaled a weakening of what is left of the GOP center.

"I don't think it means we're diminished in any way, because you still have your voting card, right?" Costello said.

Rep. Leonard Lance, a Tuesday Group member whose central New Jersey district borders Dent's, said moderates were gaining strength. He and others said Dent's decision to leave was likely personal.

"I told him this morning I was sad to see him go," said Rep. Mark Meadows, the North Carolinian who often clashed with Dent as the leader of the conservative Freedom Caucus.

Other Republicans, however, were aiming to punish Dent for his views. Trump accused him of "destroying" the party during the health-care fight, and State Rep. Justin Simmons announced plans last week to challenge Dent in next year's GOP primary. He called the congressman "the number-one turncoat" in the party.

Dent said he announced his retirement now to clear the way for other "credible" Republicans to get into the race.

He conceded, however, that it will be a difficult seat to hold, especially in the face of a political environment that could be "analogous" to the wave elections of 1994, 2006, and 2010. His district includes more registered Democrats than Republicans, but it still voted for Trump by eight percentage points.

Ironically, it will be Republicans similar to Dent, including many in his Tuesday Group, who are most at risk.

While Freedom Caucus members represent highly conservative districts where Democrats have next to no chance to win, more centrist Republicans from moderate, politically balanced districts make for the most vulnerable political targets. If elections next year turn against the GOP, they would be the first pushed out of office  potentially leaving behind an even more conservative Republican conference.
Minneapolis police say a Wayzata, MN, police officer was struck and killed by a motorist on Highway 12 Friday afternoon.

New Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo announced during his swearing-in ceremony Friday that the officer had died, and then called for a moment of silence.

Officer William Matthews, 47, had pulled over to the side of eastbound Hwy. 12 to remove debris in the road at about 12:30 p.m. when he was struck by a car, said Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek.

Matthews, who had been with the department for nine years, was married and the father of a 7-year-old boy, reports the Star Tribune.
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By Pete Schroeder and David Henry

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters)  JPMorgan Chase & Co Chief Executive Jamie Dimon is starting to look like Corporate Americas shadow president.

The 61-year-old banker has made more than a dozen trips to Washington so far this year to press a broad agenda with a range of influential policymakers, people who attended the meetings or are familiar with his schedule said. Dimon has already visited the nations capital four times as much as he does in a typical year.

His ramped-up presence comes after taking the helm of the Business Roundtable, a lobbying group that represents CEOs of large U.S. companies, in December.

We couldnt ask for a more engaged or more effective Business Roundtable chair, said Joshua Bolten, former chief of staff for President George W. Bush, whom Dimon installed as the organizations president and CEO.

The frequency of his trips, and the wide range of policies he has been discussing, have started chatter among power brokers in Washington and on Wall Street about how much energy Dimon is devoting to issues beyond JPMorgan.

At times, they said, Dimon carries himself more like someone running the country than someone running a bank.

If youre Jamie Dimon, youve always had access, said Tim Pawlenty, CEO of the Financial Services Roundtable, a Wall Street trade group. The difference is, now he wants it. He wants to play a role in policy more broadly than just representing his company.

Dimon has said in the past that the only big job he would want would be U.S. president, but also said running for office would be impractical. Associates told Reuters he has abandoned the idea entirely, and only became more active in Washington because he was worried about his bank, the economy and the future of the country.

A JPMorgan spokesman declined to comment or make Dimon available for an interview. Reuters spoke to over a dozen people who have interacted with Dimon in Washington or were briefed on his meetings. Most spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss his activities.

Those who have met Dimon recently include Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Democratic Senators Sherrod Brown and Mark Warner, Rep. Patrick McHenry, who is a member of House Republican leadership, National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn and Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen.

FAMILIAR SIGHT

He was around so much during the summer that Washington regulars said it was no longer surprising to see Dimon pop out of the Capitol Hill subway system or leave a lawmakers office. He has joked with staff about getting a condominium in Washington because of how often he travels there, one person said.

Although Dimons meetings typically center on topics like tax reform or financial rules, he is not shy about weighing in on issues ranging from immigration to education and criminal justice reform, those familiar with the discussions said.

In meetings, he has been using an app he asked Business Roundtable staff to build. It allows member CEOs to show how many voters in a district work for their companies, and how many facilities the companies have there, to persuade lawmakers that their priorities are aligned.

During his interactions with lawmakers, Dimon can be brash and expresses annoyance with Congresss inability to advance legislation, people who attended the meetings said.

Sometimes he would show his lighter side.

One day in July, Dimon spotted his Democratic Senator Richard Durbin, an old foe who championed a rule that slashed debit card fees and which Dimon has called downright idiotic.

Durbin was withdrawing money from a non-Chase ATM when Dimon approached from behind and quipped: We welcome competition.

A Durbin representative confirmed the interaction, first described by a Politico reporter in a tweet, took place but declined to elaborate.

Those who have followed Dimon through his career are not surprised that the straight-talking New York banker has become even more outspoken during Donald Trumps presidency.

Associates say he has been shocked by some of Trumps actions, such as abandoning the Paris climate accord, threats to tear up free trade deals, a call for a ban of transgender people from the military and ending a program that protects people who were brought into the United States illegally as children from deportation.

Dimon is not the only corporate boss venturing outside his usual terrain. Goldman Sachs Group Inc CEO Lloyd Blankfein has criticized Trump in tweets, while others including Apple Inc CEO Tim Cook and Merck & Co CEO Ken Frazier have condemned the presidents actions in public statements.

But Dimon, who often refers to himself as a patriot, differs in tone and demeanor, sources said.

The table of contents for his April letter to shareholders includes categories such as The United States of America is truly an exceptional country, and devoted more space to public policy prescriptions than in prior years.

After Trump said both sides were to blame for the violence between white supremacists and left-wing protesters in Virginia, Dimon offered unsolicited advice on how a president should carry himself.

It is a leaders role, in business or government, to bring people together, not tear them apart, he wrote in an employee memo.

(The story changes headline to clarify Dimon is not leaving his bank)

(Reporting by Pete Schroeder in Washington and David Henry in New York; Additional reporting by Patrick Rucker in Washington and Olivia Oran in New York; Editing by Lauren Tara LaCapra and Tomasz Janowski)
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Eric Bolling became the latest in a growing line of male employees to be dumped by Fox News after he was accused and investigated for sexual harassment.

In a statement, Fox News described the parting as amicable, Fox News Channel is canceling The Specialists, and Eric Bolling and Fox have agreed to part ways amicably. We thank Eric for his ten years of service to our loyal viewers and wish him the best of luck.

The reality is that Fox News has seen their talent roster gutted by the sexual harassment scandal. The departure of Roger Ailes led to Greta Van Susteren leaving. The sexual harassment scandal sent Megyn Kelly to NBC, and eventually caught the big fish in sending Bill OReilly into retirement. Bolling always had ambitions of being next Bill OReilly, so at least in one way, he got his wish.

Bolling was a key part of the Fox News B Team. He was never good enough to have his own solo prime time show, but he was a familiar face to Fox News viewers.

Two events happened that shattered Fox News as the dominant ratings leader in cable news.

The election of the wildly unpopular Trump led to a surge of viewers moving to MSNBC, specifically, The Rachel Maddow Show, and the Fox News sexual harassment scandal depleted the network of its top talent, and the replacements have been average at best.

Fox News is on the decline, and the network may never recover from the ongoing sexual harassment scandal that continues to grow.
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Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee intentionally brought up a resolution compelling Trump to release his tax returns for the sole purpose of voting it down so that the returns stay hidden.

It all went down on Thursday, as Seth Hanlon, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, tweeted:

A pretty nutty thing is happening in the House Ways&Means Cmte this pm. The Republicans are voting to keep Trump's tax returns hidden. 1/  Seth Hanlon (@SethHanlon) September 7, 2017

They're bringing up this resolution by @BillPascrell, which compels Trumps returns, just to vote it down. 2/https://t.co/Ro8jLIpeJM  Seth Hanlon (@SethHanlon) September 7, 2017

Because if Cmte doesn't squash it, it becomes privileged on the House floor. And that would mean that all Rs would have to vote on it. 3/  Seth Hanlon (@SethHanlon) September 7, 2017

So the Cmte members are taking this vote to spare the rest of the Rs from having to vote (again) to keep Trump tax returns hidden. 4/  Seth Hanlon (@SethHanlon) September 7, 2017

Hanlon went on to point out that by shooting down the resolution House Republicans werent even sure if they were helping the President to cover-up any crimes. The Republicans made themselves willingly complicit in any Trump financial crimes by blindly helping him to bury his tax returns from public view.

When the Russia scandal hits the fan, and Republicans in Congress go scrambling for distance and cover, keep in mind that the Republican Party has enabled and been deeply involved in the Trump cover-up. Any Republican who helps Trump hide his tax returns is enabling a corrupt president.

The Russia scandal is bigger than Trump and the 2016 presidential election. It is also the story of how the Republican Party enabled, turned a blind eye, and in some cases completely sold itself out to Trump corruption.
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WASHINGTON (Reuters)  President Donald Trump said on Friday that churches in Texas should be able to receive money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for helping victims of Hurricane Harvey.

Churches in Texas should be entitled to reimbursement from FEMA Relief Funds for helping victims of Hurricane Harvey (just like others), Trump said on Twitter.

Three Texas churches severely damaged by the hurricane sued FEMA on Monday, saying the agency has a ban on providing relief where at least half a buildings space is used for religious purposes.

(Reporting by Eric Beech; Editing by Eric Walsh)
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Trump is tantruming and refusing to make eye contact with his top economic adviser after Gary Cohn spoke out against Trumps comments supporting neo-Nazis and white supremacists.

The New York Times reported:



Several aides said Mr. Trump is freezing out Mr. Cohn by employing a familiar tactic: refusing to make eye contact with Mr. Cohn when his adviser greets him.

At a meeting on Thursday on infrastructure at the White House with Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York and members of Congress from New York and New Jersey, Mr. Kelly told participants that Mr. Cohn would lead the meeting. But Mr. Trump, whose most cutting insult is to pretend someone does not exist or that he barely knows them, virtually ignored him.

Refusing to make eye contact and ignoring a top adviser is not presidential behavior. What Trump is doing isnt the behavior of a reasonable adult. A real president would confront the person that they are having a problem with. Trump could have fired Cohn. He could have talked to Cohn and learned why voicing support for racists is not a good thing.

It is troubling that America has a president who resorts to childish tactics when confronted with conflict. Trump isnt going to be able to tantrum his way out a conflict with a foreign leader. This is not normal or acceptable behavior for a president, and the media must not normalize it, or bury it in the last two paragraphs of a story about how Chief of Staff John Kelly is trying to bring order to the White House as The New York Times did.

The American people need a grown up president who can handle the duties of the job, not a senior citizen man child who plays school yard mind games.
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With Hurricane Irma expected to approach Floridas cost over the next couple days, Al Roker took another shot at those who are accusing the media of hyping the storm, most notably right-wing blowhard Rush Limbaugh.

When Roker appeared on Saturday to give an updated Irma forecast, its clear the famous weather man was still fired up about Limbaughs recent comments accusing the media of hyping up the storm to advance a climate change agenda.

Video:

Al Roker with a veiled shot at Rush Limbaugh: Were not hyping this. pic.twitter.com/L2uusL1lal  Sean Colarossi (@SeanColarossi) September 9, 2017

Roker said:

Dont think that, Oh okay, if I live on the eastern side of Florida, Im home free. Youre not, alright? And were not trying to scare people, were not trying to hype this. We want people to be prepared. Youve heard it from the governor, youve heard it from the head of FEMA. This is a big deal. And were not hyping this and were not putting ourselves in the line of fire just to hype something up.

Despite Limbaughs ridiculous claim that Hurricane Irma is just hype coming from the liberal media, even he has evacuated his Florida home with the storm approaching the state.

Irma has been reduced to a category three storm after hitting Cuba, but as it returns to open water and heads toward the coast of Florida, experts warn that it could regain its category four status.

In any case, its a massive and powerful storm, despite the attempts by some to paint it as another liberal conspiracy.
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The Trump Administrations Election Integrity Commission pounced on a report to falsely accuse New Hampshire voters of mass voter fraud days before the commission is scheduled to meet in that state.

According to Weigels article, Shawn Jasper, speaker of New Hampshires Republican controlled House of Representatives, got the report from the secretary of states office. Jasper wrongly accuses thousands of voters of criminal activity simply for living in New Hampshire while holding out-of-state drivers licenses. According to the report 6,540 voters registered to vote on Election Day in November 2016. As of August 30, just 1014 of them obtained a New Hampshire drivers licence. A few hundred voters had registered cards in the state but did not get state licenses.

Based on that information alone, Jasper accused thousands of voting fraudulently. Enter Kris Kobach who wrote in his column at fake news outlet, Breitbart: If 59.2 percent or more of them went for [Democratic Sen. Maggie] Hassan, then the election was stolen through voter fraud. Thats likely, since the surrounding states are Democrat (sic) strongholds.

It only took Weigel one hour talking to 3 of the voters who had out of state licenses to prove how nonsensical Jasper and Kobachs claims are.

In one hour, I found four legit NH voters whom Kobach accused of being fraudulent. https://t.co/lx96GnZGNA  Dave Weigel (@daveweigel) September 8, 2017

All three were college students who were living in New Hampshire but didnt change their drivers licenses. Its possible the other voters Kobach accused are students or people who dont have a drivers license.

As Rick Hasen of Election Law Blog pointed out, Kobach and his commission could investigate these cases themselves by asking New Hampshire for the data. Then Kobach could inform the public if fraud was proven. Kobachs likely problem with Hasens suggestion lies in the fact that an investigation might disprove the accusation Kobach made in his Breitbart column.

Hasen points out that Kobach made logical leaps in that column, thus raising questions about his objectivity.

However, when it comes to election integrity, Kobachs credibility problems dont end there. Kobach was fined for repeatedly misleading the court in voter ID cases.

Then theres this exchange is MSNBCs Katy Tur, as reported by The Washington Post.

KATY TUR: [Do you think that Hillary] Clinton won the popular vote by 3 to 5 million votes because of voter fraud?

KOBACH: We will probably never know the answer to that question. Because even if you could prove that a certain number of votes were cast by ineligible voters, for example, you wouldnt know how they voted.

Neither Donald Trump nor Kris Kobach are interested in making an objective assessment of the election systems integrity. They are only interested in suppressing the vote so that future elections will be anything but free or fair. The fact that Kobach pounced on this report, without investigation, proves that Kris Kobach remains the prince of vote suppression.

Image: Screengrab
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By Scott DiSavino and Timothy Gardner

(Reuters)  Hurricane Irma will pose the toughest test yet for U.S. nuclear power plants since reactors strengthened their defenses against natural disasters following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident in Japan in 2011.

Irma was on course to hit South Florida early on Sunday after slamming Cuba as a Category 5 storm. It weakened to a Category 3 storm with maximum sustained winds of 130 miles per hour (210 km per hour) on Saturday, but was expected to strengthen before reaching Florida, bringing a storm surge to a state home to four coastal nuclear reactors.

The National Hurricane Centers forecast track shows Irma making landfall on the southwest side of the Florida Peninsula, west of the two nuclear reactors at the Turkey Point plant.

The operator, Florida Power & Light (FPL), has said it will shut Turkey Point well before hurricane-strength winds reach the plant. The reactors are about 30 miles (42 kilometers) south of Miami.

FPL said it will also shut the other nuclear plant in Florida at St Lucie, which also has two reactors on a barrier island on the states east coast, about 120 miles (193 km) north of Miami.

We will shut the reactors down 24 hours before Category 1 force winds are forecast to hit, FPL Chief Executive Eric Silagy told a news conference.

FPL said both Turkey Point and St Lucie were designed to withstand storms stronger than any ever recorded in the region and both plants are elevated 20 feet (6 meters) above sea level to protect against flooding and extreme storm surges.

But South Miami Mayor Philip Stoddard said he was concerned about the potential for floods to damage power generators at Turkey Point, which in turn might threaten the ability of the plant to keep spent nuclear fuel rods cool. At Fukushima in Japan, an earthquake and tsunami disrupted power supplies and caused the fuel in some units to meltdown.

The whole site is pretty well able to handle dangerous wind, the real problem from my perspective is water, Stoddard said. He said he was more worried about the nuclear waste than the reactors.

The real question is can they keep the spent fuel cool.

Peter Robbins, an FPL spokesman, said Mayor Stoddard is wrong. Turkey Point is safe and is ready for Hurricane Irma.

U.S. nuclear operators have taken steps to improve preparations for disasters since Fukushima. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) required plants to install portable pumps and generators to keep water moving over fuel rods and the spent fuel pool even if offsite power supply was lost.

Nuclear plants also hired more staff and stored equipment needed to deal with reactor problems.

Things are better today than in March 2011. Time will tell whether better proves good enough, said Dave Lochbaum, director of a watchdog group, the nuclear safety project, at the Union of Concerned Scientists.

The NRC said it was posting more inspectors at the two Florida plants and was considering sending more inspectors to plants in Georgia and South Carolina should the storm head that way.

The NRC said the plants should not be compromised by Irmas storm surge.

The storm surge forecasts that we have seen so far do not challenge the sites designs, said NRC spokesman Scott Burnell.

Both Florida plants have previously weathered major storms. Turkey Point took a hit from Hurricane Andrew, a Category 5 storm, in 1992, damaging a smokestack at fossil fuel plant at the site. Repairs cost about $90 million.

St Lucie withstood the back-to-back impact of Hurricanes Frances (Category 2) and Jeanne (Category 3) in 2004.

FPL shut St Lucie last October as Hurricane Matthew skirted the Florida coast.

Lochbaum said the NRC and the industry could do more to reduce vulnerability to flooding.

In January 2014, about 50,000 gallons of rainwater leaked into the St Lucie plant after a heavy downpour. An NRC study blamed degraded and missing flood seals that were not discovered during checks after Fukushima.

There is also spent nuclear fuel at the site of a third power plant in Florida which stopped operating in 2009. That is the Crystal River plant, owned by Duke Energy Corp.

Duke is in the process of transferring used fuel from the spent fuel pool at the plant to dry cask storage as part of work to decommission the plant. Once in storage, the fuel no longer needs cooling.

The NRCs Burnell said Duke has suspended work to transfer the rods ahead of Irma. He said the fuel was safe and the plant also has backup power, even though it has been shut for years.

Irma is expected to disrupt much of Floridas power supply. FPL, the states largest electric company, has warned Irma could cut service to about 4.1 million of its nearly 5 million customers. FPL is one of four large publicly traded utilities in Florida.

Other natural disasters since Fukushima have shut some plants. An earthquake in Virginia in 2011 shut Dominion Energy Incs North Anna plant for about 2-1/2 months, the time it took to complete a full damage inspection. That plant sustained no major damage.

Hurricane Sandy in 2012 caused three reactors in the U.S. Northeast to shut but inflicted no serious damage.

(Editing by Simon Webb, David Gregorio and Diane Craft)
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As the costs continue to grow and Robert Muellers investigation gets increasingly closer to Donald Trump himself, the White House is now organizing a legal defense fund for vulnerable White House staffers.

According to The Daily Beast, the costs associated with the special counsel investigation are expected to be large.

More from the report:

In a reflection of how serious the administration is taking the matter, sources tell The Daily Beast there are currently efforts underway to organize a legal defense fund for White House staffers. Such a fund would help cover the legal bills associated with Muellers probe, which are expected to be large. A Washington white collar attorney told The Daily Beast that everyone questioned by Mueller will likely need to retain counsel. Those lawyers will likely bill between $500 and $1000 per hour.

The report went on to explain that two key figures in the Russia investigation who are no longer with the administration are actually struggling to pay their legal fees.

In most cases, third parties can pay for federal workers legal defense funds, the Daily Beast reported. As The Daily Beast reported in August, Paul Manafort and Michael Flynntwo targets of the probeare already facing significant financial strain because of high legal bills.

The news comes as White House Communications Director Hope Hicks has reportedly lawyered up and a handful of other top Trump aides are being targeted by Mueller.

As the special counsel investigation into Trumps ties to Russia continues to pick up steam and more in the administration are targeted, its clear the scandal isnt going anywhere  and neither are the mounting legal fees.
Pizza has been a constant in Brian Kesslers life, from the time he got a job in a pizzeria as a teenager until the day he met his wife in a pizza joint. Read moreIggy's Pizza Shop is now open in Mount Pleasant
Charleston, SC (29403)

Today

Generally sunny despite a few afternoon clouds. High 61F. Winds NNE at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy in the evening, then off and on rain showers after midnight. Thunder possible. Low 53F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
The Theodore Roosevelt, the largest container ship to travel through the expanded Panama Canal, passes under the Bayonne Bridge this week on its way to the Port of New York and New Jersey. The ship was supposed to visit the Port of Charleston on Saturday, but concerns about Hurricane Irma have kept it docked at the East Coast's largest port. Provided/Port of New York and New Jersey
Two things are motivating the Charleston County School District to consider the idea. The first is the difficulty in attracting teachers to an area where they would struggle to afford housing. The second is the fact the district already owns land where apartments could be built. Read moreWith rents unaffordable, the Charleston school district considers building teacher housing
GREENVILLE  Few South Carolinians know that red-light cameras were made illegal in the state in 2010. While the red-light camera ban may be in keeping with this states tendency to lean toward a less is more approach to the public road system, I dont believe its for the better. Read moreCommentary: Repeal SC ban on red-light cameras to help save lives
SC Attorney General Alan Wilson is challenging the CDC's recommendations on COVID vaccinations for kids. They have no force of law, so this is no different than the left trying to enforce its woke orthodoxy. Read moreEditorial: Alan Wilson should stick to the law, stop trying to silence opinions he dislikes
LAS VEGAS  Control of the U.S. Senate may come down to Nevada, where a slow ballot count entered its final act Saturday in the nail-biter contest between Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto and Republican challenger Adam Laxalt. Read moreSenate control may come down to Nevada as count nears end
Dear Dave: I have a full-time job, but I also have a small Etsy business on the side selling 10 products that makes about $200 per month. I don't see the money from this part-time work getting any bigger in the future. Should I keep a separate account for this business or just roll it into our regular checking account?  Sydney

Dear Sydney: It's very important to have a separate account, or accounts, for small businesses for two reasons. One, it's a huge help when it comes to taxes and tax season. It also will give you a much clearer picture of how your business actually is doing. Whether you're talking about revenue or tracking expenses, it will give you an easy-to-read report card.

Even if the business is small and is going to stay small, I would want to know  almost as an intellectual exercise  which of my products were winning in the marketplace. This would help you concentrate on the ones that are making you money and allow you to focus less on the ones that aren't doing so well.

So yeah, you need to keep a separate business account and preferably a separate checking and savings account on your business. Make sure 100 percent of the income from the business goes into those accounts, and only expenses associated with the business come out of those accounts. With really small side businesses, your checkbook register almost can become a simplified profit and loss statement.

Dear Dave: My wife and I have had marriage problems, and a lot of them were related to money. We're working through those issues and are on Baby Step 1 of your plan. In the process, we're talking more, and things are getting better. We have $40,000 in credit card debt, along with a combined income of about $70,000, so I talked to her about taking an extra job or two. She said she would rather I be at home so we can spend more time together in working on our marriage. What should I do?  James

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Dear James: First and foremost, I would urge you two to begin seeing a good marriage counselor together. Money problems and fights over money are the number one cause of divorce in our country today. Continuing to deal with these issues, with the help of a good, caring counselor, will create even more communication.

I think you've both realized you're going to be in a mess if you don't address your income and money management issues. However, her concern about spending more time together and becoming closer is valid. Since you've just started the rebuilding process, maybe you could put off the extra jobs for a month or two  but no longer. That should give you both time to talk, hug on each other a lot and start developing a solid plan together for the future.
Q: The difference between a coupe and a sedan was explained to me many years ago by an old body and fender guy. When you open the door, there is no window frame. All sedans have window frames, and are generally more solid cars because of this support and the door post. You can have two-door sedans, but not four-door coupes. Also, the rear windows on the coupe, when rolled down with the front windows down, create a complete front-to-back opening. No center post. Hope this helps.  J.S., Chicago

A: It has been a long time since collision repair specialists were called body and fender men. It has also been a long time since coupe and sedan were so clearly delineated. Carmakers play it fast and loose with body style terms nowadays. According to the CarMax website: "... (T)he coupe car term started to blur as manufacturers greatly diminished or completely removed the rear seat to create a sportier 2+2 body style. This term refers to cars that have a sleek, sloping roofline, two doors, and two functional seats up front, plus two tiny seats in back. More recently, auto manufacturers started to apply the coupe definition to the sporty variants of their sedan lineup. As a result, the coupe term has become more popular with manufacturers, who apply it more loosely. Automakers may also offer both a coupe and sedan using the same model line, like the Honda Civic. The ability to clearly define coupe vehicles has become challenging in recent years as a result." We recall when the B-pillar (the center post between the front and rear doors) disappeared on four-door cars that were called hardtop sedans. Ugh.

Q: Just thought I would chime in on this auto stop feature showing up on so many cars. I don't get the need for this at all. The people I know that have this hate it. If they can disable it, then they do. Friend just got a new Buick two months ago and is already thinking of getting rid of it. I'm interested in a new LaCrosse, but it's on that too. I'll keep what I have for now. What is the real need for this?  K.U., Schaumburg, Ill.

A: The need? Improved fuel economy. Car manufactures are using every trick they can think of to extend their CAFE (corporate average fuel economy) numbers. Five years ago, the government set a target fleet average of 54.5 miles per gallon for model year 2015 (the adjusted mpg we see on stickers and trip meters is about 40 mpg). Other tricks include cylinder deactivation when only four of the eight cylinders are required, hybrid technology and more.

Q: When I fill up my motorcycle, I usually get premium gas. If the person before me filled their tank with regular, and I buy only 3 gallons, how much premium gas am I getting if it all comes out of the same hose?  M.K., Chicago

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A: There is roughly one quart of gasoline left in the dispenser's line, so look for gas stations that have separate nozzles for each fuel grade. Or, wait for a pump where someone has just filled with premium. But it is not as bad as you may think. Petroleum industry chemist Tom Wicks told us that one quart of regular grade at 87 octane mixed with premium at 93 octane would only take it down 0.75 to 1 octane number, so you might end up with roughly 92 octane in the tank.
I do realize that two of the three words in this title sound archaic. Not in use much in these 21st century days are either "huzzah" or "institutions."

"Huzzah," a cheer of exclamation, was replaced by "hooray" a few centuries ago. You might hear it at the Renaissance Festival from the lips of a jousting knight, but that's about it. "Institutions" likewise are not in, but out, and have been increasingly so since the '60s.

Our once-revered societal institutions, be it government or marriage or schools or church or military, are on pedestals no more. For 40 years steady, Americans have been on a path of social disengagement. There's a lot more "me" and a lot less "we."

Don't take my word for it and write me off as a card-carrying curmudgeon. Take Robert Putnam's word for it. This Harvard professor wrote the classic book "Bowling Alone" that summarizes mountains of sociology studies that make it irrefutable: Our society is much less connected and engaged than we were a generation ago. Evidence substantiates that we've had a steady decline in club meetings (be it PTA or Rotary or card parties), in neighboring, in committee work, in church attendance, in charitable generosity, in electoral turnout, in family dinners, in marriage rates, etc. We have become much more individual and much less communal.

Some might say "who cares?" or "so what?" but I bet most of us have some longing for a stronger social fabric. A society with more healthy connections and less division and isolation appeals to most of us. Is it possible? In our fast-paced, high-tech, diverse and challenging world can the long trend be reversed? Not easily and not quickly. For four decades we deconstructed our institutions and lost a ton of social capital. It happened step by step, one no-show at a time. If we can reconstruct our societal infrastructure, buttressing up some old forms and creating some new forms, that too will happen bit by bit. It must be one person crossing the street to meet a neighbor, one parent joining in on a school committee, one family dedicating to weekly worship, one couple getting married at a time.

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This back-to-school season is an excellent opportunity to reset priorities and make some adjustments. You might feel no spontaneous "huzzah" springing to your throat, but yet you can be one who values our common civic life and will grab hold and lend a hand. We'll all be better off for it. We can do much more together than alone.

As old King Solomon put it long ago: "Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow; but woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up." (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10)

Let's link together and lift each other up. Huzzah for institutions.
When I was told that I would have the opportunity to visit the past of China's most beloved philosopher, whose mind influenced close to 2,500 years of Chinese and world history, I imagined mud huts, small writing tablets, and one or two statues. I envisioned this trip to be one where I would have to uncover for myself the ancient past of Confucius. History is so old that my family would be the only ones standing before chipped bits of remains of buildings.

I was quite mistaken. Instead of mud huts, I saw buildings resembling palaces. Instead of small tablets, I was dwarfed by sky-scraping plaques. Instead of a few statues, armies of stone carvings surrounded every space possible.

History remembers Confucius as being a great human being who changed the way people thought and lived during his time and for thousands years after. Because history shapes the present, millions upon millions of people visit his home, temples, and burial site, hoping to pay respects to a man who shaped much of the world's culture.

"The strength of a nation derives from the integrity of the home." These are the words of Confucius himself. However, it was still a surprise to me when I visited the beautiful home of a world-renowned philosopher, located in a small town named Qufu in the Shandong Province. Qufu's tiny town center is comprised of tons of citizens who bear the same "Kong" surname as Confucius; however, the Kong Family Mansion was built only for the main descendants of Confucius.

Built around small room

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The mansion, upon entry, was a relatively grand complex, boasting large embellished buildings with rooms for each family member, but it wasn't always like this. In the heart of the complex was a very small room, sparsely decorated in comparison to its palace-like surroundings. This room was where Confucius was born.

It was very eye-opening to view the modest birthplace of China's most famous teacher. The tour guide informed me that after Confucius became a government official, he began rising in ranks until he became the emperor's closest aid. The surrounding buildings were expansions, built after Confucius became very wealthy and well known.

In fact, the emperor would often show his gratitude by sending gifts to his family, such as large stone tablets, ornately carved to form a turtle at the base with a plaque rising from its shell, into the sky. Each sculpture weighed around five tons, and hundreds of these carvings were dotted all around Confucius's mansion, temple, and cemetery, each one holding a special memo or message.

At the heart of Qufu is the Confucius Temple, first built in 479 B.C. to honor the philosopher shortly after his death. Enlarged over the centuries, the 50-acre temple complex today boasts a style and grandeur similar to the Forbidden City in Beijing, with sealing-wax red walls and roof tiles glazed yellow, a color normally reserved for the emperor.

This style was specifically chosen because Confucius was worshiped as everyone's spiritual guide. It can be seen how greatly he was worshiped by taking a look at the enormous sculptures of him. As I looked up at the sky-scraping proportions of a man, his hat caught my eye. The tour guide pointed out that by looking at the number of hanging beads on the hat, you can determine the status of the wearer.

12 beads

Squinting to look up at the enormous statue's hat, I counted 12 beads, indicating the highest ranking official aside from the 13 beads that the emperor has. I then followed the progression of courtyards that led up to a final shrine, where a herds of students was praying for their good exam results. They pushed and shoved next to each other with prayer beads and incense to get to the front and say their prayers.

In the Kong Family Cemetery, a 20-minute walk north from the temple and mansion, I saw rows upon rows of tombstones bearing the names of people related to Confucius. These stones are located in a wooded area, similar to a bamboo forest.

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When I stepped out into my wooded surroundings, I was informed that all decedents of Confucius could be buried here. I was surrounded by thousands upon thousands of his relatives, and the serenity around me made it understandable why all these people would wish to be buried here.

The peace and tranquility was only disturbed when I arrived at the most visited site in all of China. A large stone tablet inscribed with Chinese writing marks the spot where China's most beloved teacher, philosopher, and author lay. It was very difficult to see through the masses of people and the wafting incense. People kneeled before the stone in prayer while street vendors hung around and sold holy beads and incense.

Taking a walk through the past of Confucius was such an eye-opening experience for me. So much of everyday reasoning and ethics come from the philosophy that he established, that his past is still praised by people around the world.

Even though I wasn't able to physically uncover the past of Confucius, I was able to share this journey with so many others whose lives were changed by his teachings as well.
Not long ago, an airline lost my checked bag for five days. There's no point in naming and shaming the airline, because what I'm about to tell you could apply to, or happen on, any airline.

I will say that it was a nonstop flight and I checked in for the flight three hours before departure, so there was really no excuse for the airline to mishandle it. The check-in agent was harried and even forgot to charge the standard $25 checked bag fee, I later recalled, and the loss occurred on a flight back home, which is less annoying than had it been lost away from home.

Even so, the bag contained essential items, or at least I consider them essential, such as most of my unmentionables, toiletries, and so on.

I've written before about U.S. Department of Transportation edicts instructing airlines that a delayed bag, in some cases, should be treated exactly like a lost bag. Especially if you're starting your outbound trip and your bag doesn't arrive, you might need to replace items, even if the bag is only lost for a few hours.

Perhaps you're going to a colder climate and your puffer jacket was in the bag; or you're going to a meeting where dressier clothes are called for, but those clothes are in a bag going round and round on a luggage carousel in Cairo.

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Airlines hate paying to replace essential items, and in past years they'd dole out $25 or $50 for toothpaste and a change of underwear. But the D.O.T. has ruled that this is insufficient and fined airlines for thinking otherwise. In fact, theoretically, someone whose bag is delayed could claim up to the full compensation limit applicable to a lost bag (currently $3,500 for domestic U.S. travel) if the passenger can prove that the items were indeed "essential."

The first thing I did upon realizing my bag wasn't showing up anytime soon was to fill out a lost bag claim with the airline. Next, I alerted my credit card company that the bag was delayed. Since I had booked the trip with my Chase card, I knew that it would cover me for up to $100 a day for five days if I needed to replace things, in the event that the airline denied my claim.

Sure enough, the airline in question completely denied all responsibility, saying that because I was back home I had no rights (surely I must have duplicates back home of whatever was in my bag, they argued). What really angered me was that I was only claiming about $200, mostly underwear, socks, a couple of personal grooming products, and other things that I was going to need.

This total denial of responsibility, I knew, was clearly nonsense. They literally refused to even pay for a toothbrush or a tube of toothpaste. I am so tempted to name the airline, but really what would be the point?

I'd never filed an airline complaint with the DOT, but at this point I was stark raving mad. Really, airline? Are you kidding me? Am I not entitled, in your opinion, to clean underwear? I know the rules! So I filed a complaint online ( www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/file-consumer-complaint ), sent a copy to the airline, and the very next day I got what seemed to be a personal response from one Kimberly C. Hargett, aviation industry analyst, saying that I had a case. And later that afternoon, the airline that had previously denied all responsibility, emailed me to say the check was in the mail.

Three lessons here: First, airlines are required to replace essential items whether they are in lost bags or delayed bags; second, complaining to the DOT works. Third, don't take "no" for an answer.

I can't imagine that the DOT immediately contacted the airline, which started quaking in fear, but I did send it a copy of the complaint along with the relevant DOT rulings about delayed bag compensation, and got an immediate response. One way or another, I credit the DOT with getting me some justice. I suggest you give them a try the next time an airline does you wrong.
Visiting Europe with kids is like taking them back through time. Depending on where you travel, they could see many of the sites and landmarks they'll discuss in school, and all while on a vacation where learning is more fun.

However, planning a trip to Europe with kids that's both educational and fun isn't cheap.

Not only do you have to fork over the big bucks for trans-Atlantic flights, but you have to pay for entry into attractions you deem worthy, plus food, transportation and lodging.

If you're aiming for a family trip to Europe and want to save on the many expenses you'll face, here are six tips that can help:

1. SKIP THE HOTEL AND AVOID DUAL HOTEL ROOMS

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Many traditional hotels in Europe create quite the conundrum for families with more than two members. Since fire codes limit many properties to just two people per room, families often need to book two rooms or a larger (expensive) family suite if that's even available.

That's why rental condos are a must for families in Europe. You can always try Airbnb, but there are plenty of localized rental agencies that can set you up as well. With a website such as ParisPerfect.com, for example, you can book a Paris condo from a reputable rental agency (and not an individual owner) while scoring a place with multiple bedrooms for the kids and a large living area where everyone can relax.

2. EAT OUT FOR JUST ONE MEAL PER DAY

Dining out is easily one of the most expensive components of any trip, near or far. But when you have your family along, the expense can easily double or triple.

To save money on food, try dining out for one meal per day and eating the rest at "home." Obviously, this is a much easier feat if you have a rental condo with a kitchen instead of a hotel room.

3. TRAVEL BY TRAIN

While train travel isn't common or even feasible in much of the U.S., you can zip across Europe easily and cheaply due to their network of high-speed trains.

With the kids in tow, train travel is especially convenient. It costs a fraction of airfare, and you don't have to deal with airport security drama, either.

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4. DON'T OVERPLAN

While you might feel tempted to pack your days and nights with all the sightseeing you can fit in, having the kids along offers the perfect excuse to slow things down.

Instead of packing your trip with tours and attractions, plan one big "thing" to do each day and go with the flow the rest of the time.

Not only will this help your kids avoid sightseeing burnout, but it will save you money, too. The last thing you want to do is pay (or overpay) for attractions and events your kids are too crabby or overtired to enjoy.

5. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF FREE ACTIVITIES

Especially in Europe's big cities, you'll find plenty of free and cheap things to do. Look for city parks and little touristy attractions that will keep your kids entertained for hours for very little expense.

A small city carnival, a city parade or even a busy waterfront can give kids a place to play and be kids while the parents relax and take in the view.

6. CONSIDER CITY PASSES

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If you're planning a big sightseeing trip in some of Europe's biggest cities (Paris, London, Rome, etc.), a city pass can help you pack in more while helping you save. These passes bundle entry into several different attractions for a single price, which makes it easy to save if you plan to take advantage.

For example, the Rome Pass (Roma Pass) offers admission to two of six important historical sites along with fast track entry when applicable. You also get a discounted rate into 30 other important sites in Rome. Most people use their Roma Pass to see the Colosseum and Roman Forum (counts as one entry if you go the same day) and one of the popular included museums such as the Borghese Gallery.

The card also comes with free bus and train travel around the city while it's active.
The Kutzky House is slated to be demolished Tuesday.

Rochester Public Works issued notice Friday afternoon that a portion of First Street Southwest will be closed to make room for demolition.

According to the notice, Key Builders plans to start work at 7 a.m. with the expectation that demolition will be complete by 5 p.m. Tuesday.

Brad Clemens of Key Builders filed for a demolition permit in May, but the permit didn't receive final approval until Thursday, when the Rochester City Council's deadline to act on the permit passed.

The council voted 4-2 to deny the permit on Aug. 7, but Mayor Ardell Brede vetoed the action and the council failed to find the five votes needed to override the veto.

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The veto, followed by no further council action, left the demolition permit waiting until the council's time to act expired.

The planned demolition follows years of uncertainty for the 103-year-old building that once was the home of August and Bertha Kutzky, early Rochester settlers who owned land that eventually became part of the Kutzky Park Neighborhood.

In 2014, Nicholas Apartment LLC received permission to move the house from 718 W. Center St. to 809 First Ave. SW to make room for an 89-unit apartment complex. At the time, the developers proposed converting the house into a triplex.

Clemens told the city's Heritage Preservation Commission earlier this year that plans changed when work revealed more problems than expected. He said relocating the building and starting renovations had generated a $260,000 price tag and completing the project would add another $605,000.

The cost for demolition is estimated at $24,000, according to the permit application.

Kutzky Park Neighborhood residents and others have objected to the demolition without further action by the developers.

Jesse Welsh, president of the Kutzky Park Neighborhood Association, said the group would like to see a pocket park developed at the site.

Others have suggested actions taken by the developer, which included removing roofing materials and leaving the structure exposed, should be considered "demolition by neglect" since the action may have reduced the feasibility of renovating the house.

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The Kutzky House was deemed "potentially historic" under a past heritage preservation ordinance, which didn't cover demolition by neglect concerns. The city's updated ordinance makes the action a potential misdemeanor and allows the city to take other possible steps against the property, but the the city council has asked for options to strengthen or clarify the ordinance.

Heritage Preservation Commission members are gathering examples of what other cities in the state have done to address cases of demolition by neglect.
Its a good thing for the climatistas that this extraordinary hurricane season has come along to provide more signs and wonders to point to as proof that the world will be four degrees hotter a century from now unless we give over our car keys to Al Gore, because one of their previous favorite talking pointsthat climate change caused the Syrian civil warhas gone poof.

From the University of Sussex in the UK:

New research disputes claims that climate change helped spark the Syrian civil war A new study, published today in the journal Political Geography, shows that there is no sound evidence that global climate change was a factor in causing the Syrian civil war. Claims that a major drought caused by anthropogenic climate change was a key factor in starting the Syrian civil war have gained considerable traction since 2015 and have become an accepted narrative in the press, most recently repeated by former US vice president Al Gore in relation to Brexit. This study, led by Professor Jan Selby at the University of Sussex, takes a fresh look at the existing evidence for these claims as well as conducting new research into Syrian rainfall data and the experiences of Syrian refugees. Professor Jan Selby, Director of the Sussex Centre for Conflict and Security Research at the University of Sussex, says: Our paper finds that there is no sound evidence that global climate change was a factor in sparking the Syrian civil war. Indeed, it is extraordinary that this claim has become so widely accepted when the scientific evidence for it is so thin.

Worth looking at some of the complete study:

It will be interesting to see whether this study gets any coverage in the mainstream media.
Last night a faithful Power Line reader answered Steves call for reports on dealing with Hurricane Irma. This report was current as of 8:30 p.m. (Eastern) yesterday evening:

You asked for news from Southern Florida readers. Im on the southern coast of Cape Coral, Florida. Cape Coral is on the landward side of Sanibel and Captiva Islands, and is just to the west of Fort Myers. More saliently, it is also almost directly on the current predicted path of Hurricane Irma. The consensus trend line has Irma making landfall at Naples, then slashing straight up the western side of the state.

Irma has weakened slightly, with winds dropping from 185 MPH to 155 MPH, which is still borderline Category 5 strength. It is expected to strengthen somewhat when it hits the Florida Strait, so may well make landfall as a Cat 5. Irmas winds are not likely to top those of the three previous Cat 5 storms to make landfall in the US (Camille, Andrew and the Labor Day hurricane of 1935), but it is reportedly significantly larger than all of them, and if it hugs the Gulf Coast may maintain considerable strength for several days. So Irma could net out as the most powerful storm on record to strike the US.

No fools, they, the Keys (Monroe County) are almost completely evacuated by now. Collier County (Naples) has ordered evacuation of everything west and south (i.e., seaward) of Rt. 41, the Tamiami Trail. Lee County (Fort Myers, Cape Coral) has ordered mandatory evacuation of the coastal islands (notably Sanibel, Captiva and Fort Myers Beach) and most low-lying areas west and south of Fort Myers. They are only a few feet above the water and the storm surge is expected to top ten feet. The good news is that Miami will likely escape the worst of the storm; previous track predictions had had Irma heading dead on towards that most populated part of the state. Still, I expect that by midnight Saturday there will not be a single atheist south of Tampa.

The preparation by the Florida authorities has been exemplary, from all I can tell, and the evacuations have proceeded smoothly. They have not yet gone to contra-flow traffic routing, reportedly to allow emergency supplies to flow to the endangered areas, but the roads in Southwest Florida remain clear (though there are reportedly significant traffic jams on all major arteries from Tampa/St. Pete north). The shelters have opened early, and there are long lines but no apparent problems. [My particular building was constructed in 2006 to post-Andrew codes, and is rated to withstand a Cat 5 hurricane, so most of the residents have elected to stay put.] FEMA and the State National Guard have prepositioned emergency supplies and equipment. While the stores have been methodically stripped of everything hurricane-related, there has been no panic. The atmosphere is somber but calm and friendly, with neighbors repeatedly offering help to the more vulnerable folks.

Please mention to your readers that the most important thing to stockpile is potable water. It is not too late to fill all bathtubs and empty fluid containers. If the city water supplies become contaminated it could take weeks to restore drinkability.
I have been following the ongoing cage match between Minnesota Democratic Governor Mark Dayton and Minnesotas majority-Republican House and Senate in this series. Its an interesting story that deserves national attention as a sign of the political times. Forgive me for repeating the necessary background.

At the end of this years slightly extended legislative session Dayton signed all tax and budget bills. He could have vetoed any of them. Even though he professed extreme unhappiness with certain items, he signed the bills The package of budget, tax and state government bills that finally passed reflected compromises on the part of all participants including Dayton and his commissioners.

As a result of his unhappiness with certain items, however, Governor Dayton exercised his authority to veto budgetary line items to wipe out the funding of the legislative branch. Dayton explained himself in the letter posted here.

Dayton demanded that Republicans revisit selected issues on his terms after they had already given ground elsewhere to arrive at the bills that were sent to him for his signature and adjourned. Unlike some other Republicans I can think of on the national scene, they werent inclined to make fools of themselves.

In the letter Dayton described one provision of the special session state government finance bill as treachery. Dayton to the contrary notwithstanding, however, the provision was included in every draft of the bill shared with the governors administration. The bill was made publicly available online at 6:00 a.m. on May 24 and was sent directly to the governors senior staff prior to being made public.

The legislature allowed for public review of the bill for more than 36 hours prior to passage on May 25 at 8:00 p.m. In addition to the ample time the governor had to review the bill, Minnesota Management and Budget Commissioner Myron Frans and the governors senior staff discussed the bill language with legislative staff on numerous occasions and never raised this provision as a point of concern.

Daytons decision to strike legislative funding is another matter. The governor cant do that, can he?

In search of the answer, the legislature took Governor Dayton to court. In asking a judge to weigh in on the issue of whether one branch can wipe out another, the thought is likely to occur that the judiciary might be next. Its an obvious point and one that did not escape Ramsey County Judge John Guthmann, to whom the case had been assigned.

The legislatures current funding expired on July 1. In an interim ruling Judge Guthmann required continued funding for the legislature through October 1. He drew on the Minnesota Constitution to support his ruling. If the legislative branch is not funded, it cannot carry out its core functions, which include those functions necessary to draft, debate, publish, vote on and enact legislation, Judge Guthmann wrote. The interim ruling foretold Judge Guthmann;s final decision in the case, ruling against Dayton on constitutional grounds. Judge Guthmanns order and supporting memorandum are posted here.

Governor Dayton appealed Judge Guthmanns ruling to the Minnesota Supreme Court, which accepted review on an expedited basis and heard oral argument of the governors appeal last week. The Minnesota Supreme Court has posted video of the oral argument here. (Justice Stras recused himself from the case.) It seemed that the Supreme Court was poised to reverse Judge Guthmanns ruling and remand the case to Judge Guthmann for an order funding the legislatures core functions beyond October 1 for as long as necessary.

The Minnesota Supreme Court has now issued a unanimous 6-page order under the signature of Chief Justice Lorie Gildea. The order is posted online here.

The Court holds that Dayton constitutionally exercised his line-item veto power, but rules further that this conclusion does not end the matter. The circumstances, the Court observes, raise doubts about the continued functioning of the legislative branch as contemplated in the state constitution. Constitutional powers may not be used to accomplish an unconstitutional result, the order provides. The order implies a standoff for the time being.

The question of continued funding troubles the Court. It notes the constitutional requirement for the legislature to authorize appropriations. It hesitates to order funding unless absolutely necessary. It calls for another round in the cage match to obtain additional input from the parties in order to assist the court in deciding this case.

The Court wants Dayton and the legislature to get it out of this fine mess. It orders the parties participate in good-faith efforts to resolve this dispute through mediation. The parties are to file memoranda on the Courts authority to order funding for the legislature next week.

This case does not yet represent a simple victory for Governor Dayton. There is more to come. The Court holds onto the case for further resolution of the issues if the parties wont spare it the trouble by reaching agreement themselves.

This story is, as they say, developing

JOHN adds: Peter Nelson gives his take on the Courts order and notes the Star Tribunes misleading, Dewey Defeats Truman headline on the case.

UPDATE: I should add our friend Howard Roots offer on his and my behalf as well as his optimistic reading of the portents.
One might think that Minnesota would be one of the last places to pull down statues. The state joined the union just in time for the Civil War, in which its young men fought heroically in the anti-slavery cause. But when Leftists get going, they never know when to stop. The Star Tribune reports on an effort to cart away a statue of Christopher Columbus and replace him withPrince Nelson:

A few thousand Minnesotans  and counting  have signed a petition to replace a Christopher Columbus statue at the State Capitol with royalty. Progressive activist Wintana Melekin started the petition Aug. 27. Rather than glorify a man who wanted to extinguish black and native peoples, we should honor members of our community whose leadership we find inspirational, she wrote.

I dont think Columbus wanted to extinguish any peoples, but where does the black reference come from? Columbus never made landfall in Africa.

The petition, which has now been signed by 5,000 people, is here:

Across the nation, city governments are choosing to remove statues of white supremacists, slave owners, and those who threatened the livelihood of Black people. Here in Minnesota, communities are reigniting the demand to bring down states monument to Christopher Columbus, a man who murdered, raped and enslaved Black and Native peoples in the Americas.

There were no Black peoples in the Americas when Columbus was here. The petition concludes:

Prince represents Minnesota values and Columbus does not.

The petitions drafters categorized it under the tags Confederate symbols and pop culture. 15th-Century explorers, Confederates, whos quibbling?

When all is said and done, though, it probably is true that Prince, who died of a drug overdose, better represents Minnesotas 21st-Century values than the most intrepid explorer in the history of the world.

One more thing: if we start taking down statues at the Capitol, where will it end? There is a statue of Leif Erikson on the Capitol grounds, too:

The Vikings practiced slavery, and Erikson came from a slave-owning family. And if you want to talk about rape and murder 15th Century Spaniards had nothing on the Vikings.
The Gombe State Government has concluded plans to construct three General Hospitals in Gombe South Senatorial District at a cost of N1.5 billion, the state Commissioner for Health, Kennedy Ishaya, has said.

Mr. Ishaya told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Gombe on Saturday that each of the hospitals would gulp N500million.

He said the hospitals would be constructed in Bore Billiri, Dezam, and Nyuwar, all in Gombe south senatorial district.

According to him, the N1.5billion is for the construction of the hospitals excluding the cost of equipment, the construction will commence as soon as the fund is made available.

The commissioner said the general hospital in Billiri had collapsed and it was the only Local Government headquarters in the state that had no functional hospital.

He said the government decided to build general hospitals in Dezam and Nyuwar communities in Balanga council area due to population increase in the towns.

Mr. Ishaya explained that all the hospitals in the state were equipped through the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) programme.

The commissioner said the Ministry of Health had constructed an ultra-modern laundry at the state specialist hospital in Gombe to enhance its sanitary condition.

He appealed to health workers in the state to be dedicated to their duties and refrain from rejecting rural postings.

He warned that the government would not hesitate to deal with any staff rejecting rural posting.

(NAN)

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I spent about four straight days watching The Weather Channel when Hurricane Harvey hit, and now, with Irma slowly making its way toward Florida (its just reaching Puerto Rico as I write this first paragraph), I fully plan on doing the same thing this weekend. If youre kicking off this Saturday morning with your Frosted Mini-Wheats, your coffee, and this column, chances are Im somewhere in Mattoon at this very moment on my couch, bleary-eyed and staring at some Weather Channel science nerd in a blue windbreaker screaming into a squall.

And if by chance youre like me and you consider storms of any kind fun to watch on T.V., then youll no doubt remember this, from the March 31, 1998, Journal Gazette, front page coverage of the legendary tornado strike of 1998, an event that I totally slept through. Ironic since I spent pretty much my entire childhood being deathly afraid of three things: the opening theme to "The Six Million Dollar Man," the creepy King Kong poster on the closet door at the top of my aunt Beas stairs, and of tornadoes. It wasnt just the tornadoes though. Sure the idea that there are funnels of wind that can just descend from the sky is scary, but being the kid that I was, I interpreted the danger of tornadoes through the television.

Living out in the middle of nowhere with an antenna TV, those six channels were your connection to the outside world of Central Illinois extending to Champaign, Decatur, Springfield and Effingham (and maybe Peoria if I could drag in WYZZ on a clear night). And if there was ever a time when those lifelines interrupted regular programming with a screechy tone and a weatherman (or woman) standing in front of a Chroma-Key map of Illinois telling people to take cover in interior rooms, well, thats the kind of living nightmare that the scariest horror movie on late-night television just couldnt beat.

Storms in town, and by town Im referring to Mattoon, Charleston, Oakland, Arcola, and heck even Windsor or Gaysany place deemed worthy of a Caseys General Storewhen you get a bad storm you get some rain, some wind, some hail, all the usuals, and sometimes it can get pretty gnarly. Yeah, you might also get that one flash of lightening that knocks your Medicacom out, and for those fine folks reading this west of the railroad tracks on the west side of Mattoon you know that if that goes out for a second and its past 6 p.m., youre going to be staring at a blank screen for quite a while until you decide to fish the Parcheesi board out of the closet. And sometimes if there might even be a wind gust that takes out that Bradford Pear in your front yard you never quite learned to love until it was too late.

But out of town you dont have the windbreaks of your neighbors homes and the surrounding trees to provide an, admittedly slight, buffer against such things. The light, or relative lack of it when comparing the two areas, also plays into the difference. I live in a well-lit area at night, and theres something kind of calming about watching black sheets of rain cascade their way in parabolic arcs through a relatively busy intersection, light reflecting off the wet pavement below. But out in Cooks Mills, outside our front yard was one lone ancient streetlight mounted atop a weathered pole near the ditch. Oh waitthere was the giant overhead light atop the Morton Shed where my dad parked his Kenworth, but stillthe only thing truly visible out the living room front window was a road, a fenced-in pasture, and then lots and lots of nothing. And at night, storm clouds coming in, WCIS weatherman freaking out, and me freaking out to match him, that empty space beyond that window somehow seemed even more dangerous. You couldnt see itbut the storm was out thereroaringwaiting to just suck you up into the arms of that ancient creepy poison oak-covered tree in the ditch just like that kid in Poltergeist.

My only mental refuge in all this was the fact that we had a basement; and what I learned from TV was in case of a tornado, the basement would protect you from everything. Looking back I was probably overestimating the protective rating of our unfinished basement, but still, it was nice to know I had somewhere to run if the tornadoes came calling or if the ending of Invaders from Mars ever came true (my fourth biggest fear).

The house we lived in here in town didnt have a basement, thus robbing me of some mental solace; our only place to hide from a storm was a little interior hallway between our kitchen and the utility room. The one time things got rough enough outside to use it I was the only one at home so there I was, me with our family pug Pugsly (or AugieI cant remember which one) snorting away confusedly while I contented myself that at least the pantry was within reach. Theres nothing like waiting out a storm by helping yourself to some peanut butter and to my dads stash of Zingers.

These days Im what they call in the business a grown man, and as such you put some old fears behind you. Now when theres a storm, especially one that involves the possibility of tornadoes, I tend to be more chill. These things are all about odds, and the way I look at it weve already had our one tornado for the century. In the meantime, even though I technically live in a less storm-safe place, Im perfectly content to turn on that local storm coverage (WANDs Laine Sylvesterwherever you are, you are remembered), and only occasionally cast a slightly suspicious glance at my framed Invaders From Mars poster on the wall, wondering if I should be watching the skies for glowing lights descending.
President Andrzej Duda

Delegates from governing party Law and Justice will be first to speak with the president in a Wednesday-scheduled round of talks on court reforms with party leaders, presidential aide Krzysztof Szczerski informed Saturday.

Minister Szczerski said the delegates will be summoned for 60-minute talks with the president in succession, according to the size of their parties' parliamentary caucuses. He added that last to speak with the state head will be the Polish People's Party.

President Andrzej Duda will hold a series of meeting with leaders of all parliamentary parties Wednesday afternoon to discuss his proposals of reforming the Polish Supreme Court and National Council of the Judiciary.

President Duda proposed the reforms in place of government bills reforming the two bodies, which he vetoed in July. After the vetos, Andrzej Duda said they had been guided by "concern for the state", and announced his own reform acts.

Earlier on Saturday Minister Szczerski assured that the presidential reforms will be in line with the Polish constitution and free of errors questioned in the vetoed government bills. He added that President Duda hoped for a possibly broad support of the acts in the Sejm (lower house). (PAP)
Eight new board members now are helping lead the Dearborn Education Foundation in fulfilling its mission to fund student programs and classroom tools such as music equipment not covered by school budgets.

Since it was founded in 1992, the foundation has returned more than $2 million to the schools by funding teacher grant requests.

The newly appointed board members are Eman Ahmed, AVID teacher, Dearborn Public Schools; Mohammed Chandoo, healthcare information consultant, Stoletenberg Consulting Inc.; Lola Elzein, Owner, Venture Title Agency; Hussein Hachem, managing director, Educare Student Services; Nofila Haidar, PTA chairwoman and RE/MAX real estate agent; Mary Petlichkoff, secretary, Dearborn Public Schools Board of Education; and John Zadikian, owner, John Zadikian Multimedia Communications.

Thomas Wall is Education Foundation treasurer, a position he has held since joining the board in 2016 when he was hired by the school district to serve as director of business services.

The current DEF board roster totals 22 individuals who represent education, business, and the larger community.

New board member Petlichkoff said she is pleased to serve on the Education Foundation board to represent the interests of the Board of Education.

Hadar noted that by serving on the board she hopes to open a line of communication between the PTA and the Education Foundation.

Ahmed said that she is pleased to serve on the board because the Dearborn Education Foundation genuinely puts students first.

Zadikian explained he was motivated to join the Education Foundation because he is impressed by the immense impact it has on the schools and the community. I wish to work to continue that momentum.

DEF Executive Director Chastity Townsend said shes grateful to all the board members for strong commitment to public education.

They view serving on the Education Foundation board as an opportunity to give back and support the future, Townsend said.

To learn more about the Dearborn Education Foundation, including a complete list of board members, visit dearbornedfoundation.org or call 313-827-8790.
BRIGANTINE  Brittany Lewis run to Miss Black America started with an old prom dress, some old dance costumes and a run at the Miss America Competition.

But while she will always love the Miss America Organization and is thankful for the $30,000 in scholarship money she amassed during her time there, being crowned Miss Black America in Philadelphia two weeks ago gives her a better opportunity to expand on her field of study and speak on issues important to her.

Lewis, who grew up in Brigantine, was 21 and looking for scholarship money to help pay her tuition at Temple University when she was told to look at the Miss America Organization, the largest scholarship provider for women in the United States.

I just took out an old prom dress and decided that I was going to find some old dance costumes and register, she said.

While Lewis didnt win her first local pageant, she did walk away with some scholarship money for a non-finalist interview award and a community service award.

I realized that I didnt even have to be good at this thing to get some scholarship money for school, Lewis joked.

After that, Lewis worked her way up to become Miss Delaware in 2014 and competed in the Miss America Competition in Boardwalk Hall while maintaining a 4.0 GPA at Wilmington University in Delaware for her masters degree.

Being part of the Miss Black America Organization lets her speak openly about race issues in America, something she said was limited for her in other organizations.

While competing, she wanted to speak about Ferguson, Missouri, and the shooting of Michael Brown, which set off massive protests across the country.

She wasnt able to speak on that because it was something political, she said. But for her, what happened in Ferguson was not political, it was personal.

I think Miss Black America has been really useful and interesting to me because of the historical reality of it, she said. Youre able to speak about black culture, black experiences and black identity very freely, because the essence of the pageant is to celebrate blackness and black beauty.

She also loves the history of Miss Black America, which was started because people of color were not allowed to compete in other organizations. Through the years, Miss Black America featured famous contestants, including Oprah Winfrey as Miss Black Tennessee in 1971.

The Jackson Five is also part of the pageants history. They performed at the pageant in New York City in 1969.

But while black culture and identity are very important to her, it is not her platform as Miss Black America.

This year, Lewis will travel around college and high school campuses to speak about domestic violence.

Her sister Gina Clarke-Lewis, 27, died from domestic violence in 2010, Lewis said.

Its been my goal to keep her memory alive and do work in her honor, Lewis said. I have a three-part program: communication, education and legislation. ... Ive had the opportunity to go to places around the tri-state area and tell my sisters story.

Lewis also has worked with former Delaware Gov. Jack Markell as well as the Delaware Coalition against Domestic Violence.

Its a busy lifestyle, but Lewis said shes honored to represent the Miss Black America Organization while also being the best student and advocate that she can be.

People have a lack of access and lack of knowledge about the black experience and black history. Unfortunately those things really arent taught in secondary schools, she said. Im also excited to just continue to bring awareness to the Miss Black America pageant and grow the brand and get people excited about it.

Lewis studied broadcast, telecommunications and mass media and was an African American studies major at Temple.

She went on to receive a graduate degree in education from Wilmington University, where she graduated with a 4.0 grade point average.

She is currently a PhD student in the history department at George Washington University. Her research interests include 20th century African-American history, cross-cultural solidarity movements, and city-suburb formation.

Her dissertation is focused on Atlantic City from 1964 through the creation of the casinos in the late 1970s.

She is also the chairwoman of the George Washington University branch of the D.C. History Graduate Student Association, a member of the Black Graduate Student Association, and of the American Historical Association and Association of Black Women Historians.

Lewis also teaches ethnic studies at Wilmington University.
ATLANTIC CITY  Bebe Shopp Waring was crowned Miss America in 1948 and calls Atlantic City home for her and her sisters  her fellow former Miss America winners.

The 87-year-old returned to the resort Saturday with about 20 other ex-Miss As to sign autographs and chat with fans.

This is home, she said. I love being with my sisters, too. We have real fun.

Dozens of fans lined up for two hours Saturday morning outside the Adrian Phillips Ballroom at Boardwalk Hall to get autographs signed by the former winners. Some brought books with them, others wore banners and crowns atop their heads.

Many of the people in line were pageant winners themselves from all over the country.

Macie Bacella came out from Pennsylvania to see the competition this week and stood in line to meet the former Miss Americas.

At 9 years old, she was Miss Liberty Sweetheart in the American Royal Beauties pageant and wore her sash and crown while standing in line. She brought her best friend with her.

Its so much fun to do, Macie said. I think theyre all so nice.

Actress Lee Meriwether, 82, was Miss America 1955 and went on to portray Catwoman in the 1966 Batman film. She took pictures with fans and signed their books, and said she likes to watch the younger girls come in their banners and crowns.

Perhaps shell be watching them in the competition in a few years, she said.

It always feels good (to be back). Its so perfect, she said.

Waring said she likes watching the contestants evolve with changing times.

The competition hasnt changed, the women of our country have changed, she said.

Dozens of girls wore crowns and sashes bearing the titles of pageants. One of the first groups to enter the ballroom was three winners of the National Miss Reigning America Teen pageant.

They described how they were inspired by watching the women be crowned, and then being able to meet and talk to them.

This is like the Super Bowl of pageants, said Sarah Hoover, 19, of Georgia.

And it wasnt just current and former pageant winners in line.

Sisters Gail and Eileen Lieberman, 64 and 58, have been coming to the Miss America Competition for more than 50 years.

Ive been following it since I was a kid, said Gail Lieberman, of Connecticut. Just meeting all these beautiful people from all the different states. ... Its nice.

The sisters stood in line with a friend they met attending the competition, Mal Matthews, 50, who said he has been to every Miss America show since 2001.

And while many of the former Miss As said being back in Atlantic City felt like home, it has a different meaning for Suzette Charles, who grew up in Atlantic County before taking the crown in 1984.

This is home for me, she said. Im starting to come back every year.
The third preliminary night of the 2018 Miss America competition Friday provided contestants with one final opportunity to impress the judges before the field is cut from 51 to 15 contestants Sunday night.

For the second straight night, Miss Louisiana Laryssa Bonacquisti came away with a preliminary award, snagging the talent competition with her skit as a ventriloquist.

Bonaquisti received a roaring ovation after switching between three voices  Lucky, Lucy and herself  while singing and yodeling her way to the award Friday night.

On Thursday, she won the swimsuit competition as part of the "Mu Group," giving her an edge heading into the final night of competition.

But dominating the preliminaries doesn't necessarily guarantee the crown on the final night of competition, according to Miss America CEO Sam Haskell.

"We always say that Miss America may not always be the prettiest or the most talented ... it's the most well-rounded person," he said.

Still, winning two of the preliminary competitions bodes well for the Baton Rouge, Louisiana, native.

"It's something I've always loved to do, and I'm in my element when I'm performing on stage," she said, adding that she has been practicing ventriloquism since she was 6-years-old.

Meanwhile, Miss Florida Sara Zeng took the swimsuit competition Friday night, her first award during the preliminary rounds.

Zeng, a graduate of Florida State University, said she used to struggle with the swimsuit competition because people told her she was too skinny.

"In reality, it didn't matter what they thought. It was about how I felt," she said, adding that her favorite exercise routine is using the pull-up bar.

"It's just a simple piece of equipment that you can have in your home. It's really awesome for me because I travel so much," she said.

The final stretch of Miss America events will take place Saturday and Sunday in Atlantic City. At 5 p.m. Saturday, all 51 contestants will ride in the Show Us Your Shoes parade on the Atlantic City Boardwalk.

On Sunday, the new Miss America will be crowned during a live broadcast on ABC in Boardwalk Hall. The broadcast will begin at 9 p.m.
Two Texas men were sentenced to prison last week after admitting they tried to sell 5 kilograms of cocaine with a street value of $230,000 in South Jersey, authorities said.

The Atlantic City Task Force, a collaborative of law-enforcement agencies, was informed Esiquio Salgado, 34, and Crisanto Ramirez, 31, were dealing cocaine in the region.

Authorities arrested them in an undercover sting Oct. 18 after they gave undercover officers the cocaine in a duffel bag, state Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino said.

Two Texas men indicted on drug charges in connection with South Jersey cocaine bust On Thursday a state grand jury indicted two Texas men who are accused of trying to bring fiv

Superior Court Judge Philip E. Haines sentenced Salgado on Friday to 12 years in state prison, including five years of parole ineligibility, and Ramirez to 10 years in prison with three years of parole ineligibility, Porrino announced.

Both men pleaded guilty June 26 to first-degree possession of cocaine with intent to distribute.

Deputy Attorney General James Ruberton, of the Division of Criminal Justice Specialized Crimes Bureau, prosecuted both men on behalf of the task force.

Over the past six years, the Atlantic City Task Force has made hundreds of arrests of drug dealers and violent felons, seizing guns and large quantities of narcotics, Porrino wrote in a statement. This is another example of the excellent work they are doing to protect the people of Atlantic City and the surrounding communities.

2 men plead guilty in Atlantic City Task Force bust that seized 5 kilograms of cocaine Two Texas men pleaded guilty this week to trying to sell 5 kilograms of cocaine with a stree

The task force includes the state Division of Criminal Justice, State Police, State Parole Board, Atlantic and Ocean county prosecutors offices, Atlantic County Sheriffs Office and Atlantic City, Little Egg Harbor Township, Brigantine and Pleasantville police.

ICE Homeland Security Investigations in Cherry Hill, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency and the State Police TEAMS South Unit assisted in the case.
PLEASE BE ADVISED: Soon we will no longer integrate with Facebook for story comments. The commenting option is not going away, however, readers will need to register for a FREE site account to continue sharing their thoughts and feedback on stories. If you already have an account (i.e. current subscribers, posting in obituary guestbooks, for submitting community events), you may use that login, otherwise, you will be prompted to create a new account.
MATTOON -- Deb Albin from Catholic Charities described the services and benefits of its programs to the Exchange Club of Mattoon. Catholic Charities takes donations and sells them to store customers or provides some for individuals needing assistance, according to a press release.

They also sell furniture or donate for those in need. They loan out medical furniture and also provide back-to-school backpacks. They have a Blessed Baby program for babies 3 months or younger, providing new clothes and other baby needs to newborns.

She also described others ways they help the communities they serve. They serve Coles, Edgar and Douglas counties using their truck for remote services.

For more information about the Exchange Club of Mattoon, contact President Randy Myers ranjil9190@gmail.com, Jack Little jlittle7949@gmail.com, or visit www.mattoonexchange.org/.
ABSECON  Lynn Brown wants veterans to know they are not forgotten, and to encourage those who need help to reach out.

On Saturday, Sept. 9, she and a group of volunteers from St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Roman Catholic Church gathered on a sunny morning to plant 660 flags on the church lawn in view of the White Horse Pike where it intersects with Mill Road. The volunteers, including several members of the Knights of Columbus, were in good spirits, smiling, joking and waving to passing cars, but they gathered for a serious task.

Each flag represents a veteran who has taken his or her own life.

In 2013, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs released a study that showed from 1999 to 2010, an average of 22 veterans committed suicide each day, a rate far, far higher than the average for the population as a whole. If anything, some reports suggest, the VAs number is lower than the actual rate.

For Brown, that number represents a national tragedy.

This is personal, she said.

Her nephew, Joshua Berry, was a U.S. Army staff sergeant whose service included a tour in Afghanistan. But according to Brown, his most traumatic moment came stateside, where he should have been safe. Worse, the danger came from an officer.

Berry was at Fort Hood in Texas, one of the largest military bases in the world, where many soldiers are processed before and after deployment, when Maj. Nidal Hassan opened fire with a semiautomatic pistol. He killed 13 and injured dozens of others before he was shot and injured. It has been described as the worst mass shooting on an American military base, and families of the victims have sought to have it classified as an act of terrorism.

Berry wasnt hit, but he hurt his shoulder while barricading a door to protect himself and others, his aunt said. Despite his tour through war-ravaged Afghanistan, it was this event that haunted him, she said.

He said he did not have a weapon, she said while the flags were still being set up. He felt helpless, a feeling made worse because he was somewhere he was supposed to be safe, in his own country, surrounded by fellow soldiers.

Berry suffered from severe post-traumatic stress disorder, she said. He couldnt sleep, he couldnt work. He was on full disability. In February, 2013, Berry took his own life. He was 36.

Its like it took him four years to die, Brown said.

Pleasantville students enjoy first day of school Pleasantville High and Middle school students enjoyed cool temperatures and bright sunny skies Thursday, Sept. 7, when they headed off to start the 2017-18 school year. They met new friends, said hello to old friends and became familiar with their new teachers.

Joshuas father, Browns brother Howard Berry, began the flag project in Cincinnati. Brown said they originally put up 22 flags, for the estimated average number of veteran suicides each day, but decided the 660 flags all together made for a more arresting visual, one that could not easily be ignored or discounted.

This is not for Joshua. This is not about my family, Brown said. Its for all of them.

A sign near the display includes the number for the Veteran Crisis Line, 1-800-273-8255, where veterans and their loved ones can call day or night for help if a veteran is struggling with depression or thoughts of suicide.

Brown hopes to raise awareness of the issue, and possibly encourage a veteran or a family member to reach out when help is needed. Most importantly, she said, she hopes the flags will let veterans know they are not forgotten, or alone.

My hope is one veteran might make a different choice, she said.

Pleasantville teachers hold no-contract protest PLEASANTVILLE  City school district teachers and support personnel protested their lack of a contract during first-day meetings Tuesday, Sept. 5.

Like Joshua, Brown grew up in Cincinnati. She said her nephew was a regular visitor at her house, almost like a son. Brown, 62, came to Absecon from Grand Rapids, Michigan, last year when her husband, David Brown, took a job as the circulation director for The Press of Atlantic City. She said she found a home at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, and when she decided to follow her brothers example with the flag project, that seemed like the best place.

I felt like church was the safest place, she said.

St. Elizabeth pastor the Rev. Perry Cherubini said he was shocked to hear the number of veterans who take their own lives and wanted to do what he could for the project. The flags will stay at the church for a month, and then the plan is to take the display to Holy Spirit High School, where Cherubini also serves as president. After that, they hope to take the display to other parishes and churches in the area.

He plans to make an announcement about the display at each Mass this weekend. The church already prays for service members, he said, but he plans to add regular prayers for veterans in distress.

Absecon Green Team tip: Personalize gift wrapping Through people may not realize it, gift wrapping is a major waste of paper and resource.

Brown said she bought the flags herself, spending about $1,000. She wants to eventually prepare another display for area towns, to be at township halls, police stations or other public spaces.

Since the Civil War, veterans have struggled with the psychological impact of combat, Brown said. What was called shell shock in World War I and battle fatigue in World War II was later diagnosed as PTSD. Brown mentioned the thousands of Vietnam veterans who have struggled after the war, some with injuries that may not be visible, but can prove fatal.

Its all about taking care of our veterans, that they all get everything they need and deserve, she said.
HOUSE

Hurricane aid, debt limit: The House on Friday voted 316-90 to appropriate $15.3 billion in hurricane disaster aid while raising the national debt limit through Dec. 8 and funding the government on a stopgap basis for the same period. A yes vote was to send the bill (HR 601) to President Donald Trump.

Frank LoBiondo, R-2nd: Yes

Tom MacArthur, R-3rd: Yes

Original plan for disaster aid: The House on Wednesday voted 419-3 to appropriate $7.85 billion in hurricane aid consisting mainly of funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. A yes vote was to send the Senate an early version of HR 601 (above) that steered clear of fiscal issues like raising the debt limit and stopgap funding.

Determining intent will be crucial in Menendez bribery trial NEWARK, N.J. (AP)  How a jury tackles the question of "why?" and not "what?" could hold the

LoBiondo: Yes

MacArthur: Yes

Retention of subsidized air travel: The House on Wednesday refused, 140-280, to strip a $150 million fiscal 2018 budget for the Essential Air Service program from a pending appropriations bill (HR 3354). A yes vote was to effectively kill a program that subsidizes commercial airline service to about 160 rural communities.

LoBiondo: No

MacArthur: No

Retention of Amtrak subsidy: The House on Wednesday refused, 128-293, to strip HR 3354 (above) of its $1.1 billion subsidy for Amtrak in fiscal 2018. The amendment would effectively kill the nations rail passenger agency, which serves 500-plus communities in 46 states. A yes vote was to defund Amtrak.

LoBiondo: No

MacArthur: No

SENATE

Hurricane aid, debt limit: Voting 80-17, the Senate passed a bill Thursday that would appropriate post-hurricane disaster aid totaling $15.3 billion while raising the national debt limit and funding the government on a stopgap basis through Dec. 8. A yes vote was to send the bill to the House. (HR 601, above)

Cory Booker, D: Yes

Robert Menendez, D: Not voting

Pay as you go hurricane aid: Voting 87-10, the Senate on Thursday tabled (killed) an amendment to HR 601 (above) that sought to keep the bills $15.3 billion expenditure for hurricane relief deficit-neutral by cutting the same sum from foreign aid accounts. A yes vote opposed pay as you go for the bill.

Booker: Yes

Menendez: Not voting

Source: Voterama in Congress
NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., Esq., a partner at the law firm of Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF"), announces that KSF has commenced an investigation into Alere Inc. (NYSE: ALR).

On July 11, 2016, Alere announced the recall of INRatio, one of its premier blood testing products, from the market. However, the Company had reportedly known of serious problems with INRatio for years but failed to disclose that information or withdraw the product sooner, even when, for example, it doubled the size of Quality Assurance staff to handle the growing number of consumer complaints related to it. The problematic INRatio tests caused inaccurate, and hence harmful, results for consumers who relied on the test for the proper administration of anticoagulation drugs, as well as other companies who utilized it in their research or clinical trials.

Because of the actions of Alere executives, including but not limited to those relating to INRatio, the Company has been exposed to an investigation by the U.S. Attorney's Office as well as significant litigation by both consumers and shareholders. Recently, in the securities class action lawsuit brought by shareholders who sued Alere for violating federal securities laws, the Court refused to dismiss claims relating to the INRatio recall, allowing those claims to go forward.

KSF's investigation is focusing on whether Alere's officers and/or directors breached their fiduciary duties to its shareholders or otherwise violated state or federal laws.

If you have information that would assist KSF in its investigation, or have been a long-term holder of Alere shares and would like to discuss your legal rights, you may, without obligation or cost to you, call toll-free at 1-877-515-1850 or email KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn ([email protected]).

About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC

KSF, whose partners include the Former Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti, Jr., is a law firm focused on securities, antitrust and consumer class actions, along with merger & acquisition and breach of fiduciary litigation against publicly traded companies on behalf of shareholders. The firm has offices in New York, California and Louisiana.

To learn more about KSF, you may visit www.ksfcounsel.com.

Contact:

Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC

Lewis Kahn, Managing Partner

[email protected]

1-877-515-1850

206 Covington St.

Madisonville, LA 70447

SOURCE Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC

Related Links

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MOUNT VERNON, Mo., Sept. 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Dawn Banks is recognized by Continental Who's Who as a Pinnacle Lifetime Member in the field of Transportation and Shipping Services.

Banks serves as the President of Runway Pets, Inc., which specializes in pet transportation. She brings 11 years of experience, as well as expertise in pet transportation, to her role.



Catering to countless airports throughout the United States, Runway Pets works with various airlines to make pet shipping as easy and stress-free as possible, and to make sure that each client's pet is kept as safe as possible during the process. Runway Pets is a nationwide service, allowing customers outside of Mount Vernon and its surrounding areas to take advantage of Runway Pets' services.



"Our goal is to make pet shipping as easy and stress-free as possible," the company's website states. "We pride ourselves in offering unparalleled customer service. We know the importance of timely service, and we do our very best to get your flight info to you as soon as we can, sometimes in the same day. Our customers have become a part of the Runway Pets family."



Banks has worked in this role for the past six years. As part of her job duties, she is responsible for the oversight of operations, general management and scheduling.



Prior to establishing her business, Banks attended and graduated from Grayslake High School, located in her hometown of Grayslake, Illinois. She also furthers her educational credentials through local Breeders Education Seminars.



To further her professional development, Banks is a member of the International Cat Association and the National Association of Professional Women. When not working, Banks enjoys fishing and travel.



Banks dedicates this recognition to her husband, Bruce Banks, and to her family for all their support.



For more information, please visit www.runwaypets.com.

Contact: Katherine Green, 516-825-5634, [email protected]

SOURCE Continental Who's Who

Related Links

http://www.continentalwhoswho.com


URBANA -- This year, the Krannert Centers season opener also celebrates the University of Illinois Sesquicentennial and ELLNORA -- The Guitar Festival 2017.

Patrons attending the opening night party on Thursday can revel with a stage-to-stage lineup of artists (James Jones Trio, Samantha Fish, and Soulive), plenty of all-ages amenities, food options in an outdoor tented space, and a spark of six-stringed exhilaration to set the whole season aglow.

Music kicks off with the Star-Spangled Banner, performed by Matt Stewart before revving up with James Jones Trio at 6:30 p.m. The trio hails from just down the road in Danville and will be serving up traditional blues with modern inflections.

Samantha Fish, heralded by ELLNORA alumni like Buddy Guy and Luther Dickinson, is a Kansas City-born Blues Music Award winner known for her commanding voice and penchant for writing and covering songs that rock. And after nearly two decades of making music together, the jubilant trio of artists that comprise Soulive -- guitarist Eric Krasno and brothers Neal (Hammond B-3 organ) and Alan (drums) Evans -- know a thing or two about igniting a party from the stage. Whether theyre collaborating with John Scofield, Derek Trucks, Joshua Redman, or Robert Randolph, their grooves never quit, the solos are always soulful, and the surging funk rhythms give the green light on good times.

Patrons can also participate in guitar pick jewelry-making or screen printing with Weiskamp, stop by the Studio Theatre for a showcase of free mini-performances, shop festival merchandise at the ELLNORA Store at Promenade, visit the four-panel guitar mural on the terrace and Bubble Man in the Amphitheatre, marvel at the community guitar gallery hung throughout the lobby, enjoy the Koester & Bradley kids craft area, and enjoy food options from Siam Terrace, Ricks Bakery, El Oasis, Caribbean Grill, Piato, JETs Pizza, and more.

Tickets are $5 and all ages are welcome. Kids under 5 years of age receive free admission; a complimentary ticket is required.

For those who want to keep the party going even later, Krannert Center is offering a limited-capacity Spontaneous Combustion event beginning at 10:15 p.m. in the Studio Theatre. The all-improvised set will feature ELLNORA Ambassador Artist Kevin Breit, Lulo Reinhardt, Daniel Stelter, and Rez Abbasi. Tickets are $35 / SC $30 / STU $15 / UI & YTH $10.

ARTIST LINEUP:

6 p.m., Food sales begin and doors open

6:30 p.m., James Jones Trio, LobbyStage 6

7:30 p.m., Samantha Fish, LobbyStage 5

8:45 p.m., Soulive, LobbyStage 6

Studio Showcase Schedule:

7 p.m., Kevin Breit

7:15 p.m., Matt Stewart

7:30 p.m., Jontavious Willis

7:45 p.m., Garrett Gunter

8 p.m., Makana

8:15 p.m., Guido Sanchez-Portuguez

8:30 p.m., Jose Emilio Gobbo Jr.

General admission tickets for the opening night party are $5 (kids 5 and under are free but need a ticket) and are available at KrannertCenter.com or by calling 217-333-6280. Get the entire ELLNORA: The Guitar Festival lineup at EllnoraGuitarFestival.com.
CHICAGO, Sept. 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- United Airlines is providing bonus miles, matching funds raised for relief, and added extra flights out of South Florida in preparation of Hurricane Irma's impact on the mainland. The airline also flew a Boeing 777 aircraft yesterday into San Juan, Puerto Rico to provide more options to customers and humanitarian resources to the region.

United is partnering with leading disaster relief organizations to provide aid to those impacted by Hurricane Irma. Beginning yesterday, United started its campaign to provide bonus miles to MileagePlus members who donate to the organizations. United will also match the first $100,000 raised.

United has resumed service in and out of San Juan, including flying a Boeing 777 to the island to provide more options to customers and humanitarian resources to the region. That flight contained supplies including water, amenity kits and food along with volunteers. On Thursday and Friday, United added 11 total flights into the southern Florida region, totaling more than 1,500 seats to help Floridians travel out of the state. Those seats were sold at an average price of $285. Additionally, we capped fares at $399 and further extended our travel waiver to help our customers and provide more options and flexibility. More information on the waiver can be found at United.com.

"My heart, and that of the entire United family, is with everyone that is suffering in the wake of Hurricane Irma and who remains in her path," said United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz. "We will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them for all of the tomorrows required to rebuild and recover what was lost and to ensure the future remains as bright as ever."

MileagePlus members who give to the American Red Cross, AmeriCares, Airlink, Humane Society International or Operation USA through United's fundraising page can receive up to 1,000 bonus miles by entering their MileagePlus number at the time of their donation. Each of these organizations has teams deployed throughout the impacted areas to provide shelter, supplies, health care, and other much needed support to people in need.

United will award members miles based on the size of their donation:

Donate $50-$99  Earn 250 bonus miles

 Earn 250 bonus miles Donate $100-$249  Earn 500 bonus miles

 Earn 500 bonus miles Donate $250 or more  Earn 1,000 bonus miles

United will award bonus miles to customers on a first-come, first-served basis based on contributions made through the airline's fundraising page through 11:59 p.m. CDT on September 30, 2017. United customers have raised more than $8 million in the last 5 years for previous disaster relief campaigns. For more information and to make a donation, visit https://fundraising.crowdrise.com/ua-hurricane-relief

We suspended operations in South Florida (Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers and Palm Beach) Friday afternoon. Additionally, we plan to suspend operations at our other Florida airports (Tampa, Orlando and Jacksonville) beginning late afternoon Saturday. We will continue to assess the situation as we move through the weekend and ask that customers check united.com or our mobile app for the latest updates and developments.

About United

United Airlines and United Express operate approximately 4,500 flights a day to 338 airports across five continents. In 2016, United and United Express operated more than 1.6 million flights carrying more than 143 million customers. United is proud to have the world's most comprehensive route network, including U.S. mainland hubs in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Newark/New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. United operates 748 mainline aircraft and the airline's United Express carriers operate 475 regional aircraft. The airline is a founding member of Star Alliance, which provides service to more than 190 countries via 28 member airlines. For more information, visit united.com, follow @United on Twitter or connect on Facebook. The common stock of United's parent, United Continental Holdings, Inc., is traded on the NYSE under the symbol "UAL".

SOURCE United Airlines

Related Links

http://www.united.com


NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- ClaimsFiler, a FREE shareholder information service, reminds investors that they have until October 16, 2017 to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against ZTO Express (Cayman), Inc. (NYSE: ZTO), if they purchased the Company's American Depositary Shares ("ADSs") pursuant to its October 27, 2016 initial public offering ("IPO"). This action is pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Get Help

ZTO Express investors should visit us at https://www.claimsfiler.com/cases/new-york-se-zto or call to speak to our claim center toll-free at (844) 367-9658.

About the Lawsuit

ZTO and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information in its Registration Statement filed in connection with its IPO, violating federal securities laws.

On October 27, 2016, ZTO conducted its IPO having previously filed its Registration Statement with the SEC. However, ZTO failed to disclose adverse material facts in its Statement involving the Company's use of its "network partner" businesses for low-margin shipping services, which businesses were not maintained on its books, and which caused ZTO's profit margins to be inflated.

Since the IPO, the price of ZTO's shares has fallen significantly.

About ClaimsFiler

ClaimsFiler has a single mission: to serve as the information source to help retail investors recover their share of billions of dollars from securities class action settlements. ClaimsFiler's team of experts monitor the securities class action landscape and cull information from a variety of sources to ensure comprehensive coverage across a broad range of financial instruments.

To learn more about ClaimsFiler, visit www.claimsfiler.com.

SOURCE ClaimsFiler

Related Links

http://www.claimsfiler.com


Seoul, Sep 4 : North Korea may fire an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on a standard trajectory toward the North Pacific following its sixth nuclear test conducted a day earlier, South Korea's intelligence agency said on Monday.

The National Intelligence Service (NIS) told lawmakers in a closed session that Pyongyang may launch the missile around the anniversary of the regime's foundation on Saturday or the establishment of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea on October 10, reports Yonhap News Agency.

North Korea fired ballistic missiles, including two ICBMs in July at a loft angle to prevent them from crossing over other countries including Japan.

But Pyongyang launched a Hwasong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missile that flew over Japan last week.

"There is a possibility that the North would fire an ICBM on a standard trajectory," the NIS said.

On Sunday, North Korea claimed that it had successful tested a hydrogen bomb that can be mounted on an ICBM.

The NIS said the latest detonation was conducted in a northern tunnel of its nuclear sites.

Since 2006, the North has conducted six nuclear tests, including two last year.

"As North Korea has completed the construction of the third tunnel and another one is under construction, it can carry out another nuclear test at any time," the agency added.
Chennai, Sep 4 : Actor Manchu Manoj Kumar's upcoming Telugu-Tamil bilingual film "Okkadu Migiladu", which was originally slated to release in September, has been postponed to October due to post-production work.

In a Twitter chat with his fans, Manoj revealed that the film's release has been pushed to October first week.

When asked if the film is releasing on Friday, he said: "Release pushed to October first week. Due to the post-production work."

Manoj plays two characters in the film, directed by Ajay Nuthakki.

While he plays a Sri Lankan rebel leader in the 1990s, he will be seen as a student leader in the present day.

He gained about 20 kg to play the Sri Lankan leader.

"The role of the Sri Lankan leader required me to look huge and overweight. Hence, I gained about 20 kg. After we finished shooting that portion, I went and shot for another film called 'Gunturodu'. In the process, I lost 10 kg to return to this project to play a student union leader," Manoj had told IANS.

The film has captured the tension in Ceylon in the 1990s as realistically as possible.

"The film is based on an untold true story. It's a very emotional story and focuses on the lives of those (Eelam Tamils) who die tragic deaths during that period," he said.
Srinagar, Sep 4 : A top commander of the Hizbul Mujahideen outfit was among the two militants killed in a gunfight with security forces in outskirts of Sopore town in Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla district on Monday, police said.

Two Hizbul terrorists including its north Kashmir 'Divisional Commander' were killed in a gunfight with police and security forces in Sopore, a police statement said.

It said that acting on specific information, a joint team of police, the Rashtriya Rifles and the Central Reserve Police Force launched a cordon and search operation in Check-e-Brath area of Sopore but came under fire from hiding terrorists, leading to the gunfight.

The two terrorists killed in the gunfight were later identified as 'Divisional Commander' Pervaiz Ahmad Wani, resident of Galoora Handwara, and Naeem Ahmad Najar, a resident of Shelpora Brad, Sopore.

"Two AK rifles, three AK magazines, 90 AK rounds, an INSAS rifle, an INSAS magazine, 13 INSAS rounds and other ammunition was recovered from site," the statement said.

According to police, the terrorists were involved in "many anti-national and anti-social activities". Pervaiz Ahmad was involved in the serial blast on mobile towers in 2015 as well as the killing of two police personnel in Handwara market in 2013 and the attack on Police Post Langate last year.
ARCOLA -- After years away from the competition, Chris Cottet still hadn't lost her touch.

Well, make that hadn't lost her sweep.

It had been at least a decade since the Mattoon woman had participated in the National Sweeping Contest at the Arcola Broom Corn Festival.

That was until Friday, when Cottet beat out 16 other contestants to win the competition.

After her win, she said she and a group of friends participated in the contest regularly about 10 or 15 years ago until other things filled their schedules.

But, after all this time, Cottet still recalled the approach and technique she needed.

"Just don't pick the broom up," she said.

The competition had participants start with three pounds of broom corn and see how much of it they could sweep through a maze and into a hole, all with a 45-second time limit.

Cottet's winning sweep was 1.65 pounds, just ahead of the 1.55 pounds of Maria Vega of Arcola, another former winner.

For the second year in a row, the third-place finisher was Josh Kotowski of Chicago, who's friends with Arcola's Monahan family and regularly attends the festival, who swept 1.5 pounds.

Cottet received $20 for first place, Vega got $10 for second and Kotowski received $5 for third and all three of the top competitors also received a commemorative festival broom.

Diane Rush of Morrisonville, who won in 2016 and three years before that, finished just out of the running with 1.4 pounds. The full slate of contestants Friday included participants from other states as well as from London, England.

Friday's event had a traditional kickoff with a "celebrity" contest, which this year recognized Arcola's history as a broom corn grower and broom producer. The participants were employees of the city's three broom plants.

Taking first in that contest was Shane Bracken of Monahan Partners with 1.2 pounds. Baltazar Gauna of the Libman Co. was second with 0.95 pounds and Chuck Campbell of Monahan Filaments was third with a half-pound.

The Broom Corn Festival continues in Arcola today and Sunday.
Dhaka, Sep 5 : Bangladesh's elite force Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) early on Tuesday cordoned off a building here in the capital, where suspected militants were holed up, a media report said.

The RAB has evacuated residents from the building in Mirpur's Mazar Road, bdnews24 reported. It has been making calls asking the suspect to surrender, RAB's spokesperson Mufti Mahmud Khan said.

According to a Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) officer the six-storeyed house at Darussalam was cordoned off at midnight following a tip-off.

The man described as a 'dangerous militant' was holed up inside along with his family. The numbers, however, are not confirmed, bdnews24 said.

"We spoke on the phone with one suspect inside. We are continuing our communication. We have also successfully moved all residents to safety," said Khan.

The residents have been evacuated to a school located near the building.

Several bombs, including some Molotov cocktails, were hurled towards the RAB from inside around 1 a.m. but none has been injured in the explosions, he said.

The raid in the militant hideout is still underway.

Security has been tightened in Bangladesh after militants attacked a Spanish cafe in Dhaka's Gulshan on July 1, 2016, which left 22 people, mostly foreigners, dead.
Dhaka, Sep 5 : At least 123,000 Rohingyas have crossed the border into Bangladesh fleeing violence in Myanmar's Rakhine state, a UN official said here on Tuesday.

Joseph Surjamoni Tripura, the UNHCR spokesperson in Bangladesh, told Efe news agency that the recently arrived refugees -- more than 30,000 arrived in a 24 hour period -- are staying in makeshift camps.

According to UN sources, only 6,000, out of the 123,000, are staying with family members in refugee camps in Cox's Bazar district.

The influx of Rohingyas, who are denied citizenship by Myanmar and sparingly given refugee status by Bangladesh, had accelerated earlier on Tuesday.

In the Teknaf area, boats continue to arrive with Rohingya refugees reaching the coast through the Bay of Bengal, reports Efe news.

Unlike in land border crossings like Ghum Dhum, local authorities in Teknaf did not try to stop the influx, despite border guards on Monday sending back more than 2,000 Rohingyas from the Saint Martin island.

The latest exodus began on August 25, after Rohingya insurgents attacked police posts in Rakhine leading to a violent offensive by the Myanmar Army.

Meanwhile international pressure is mounting on Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi to stop the alleged human rights violations against the Rohingyas.

Suu Kyi has been urged to condemn the incidents by many international activists, including Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai who has made a public appeal to stop the violence.

An estimated one million Rohingyas live in Rakhine, where the Myanmar Army carried out a similar campaign nine months ago in response to another rebel attack that led to more than 70,000 members of the community fleeing across the border to Bangladesh.

Between 300,000 and 500,000 Rohingyas live in Bangladesh, and only about 32,000 of them have refugee status and live in camps in Cox's Bazar.
Cairo, Sep 5 : The Syrian Army on Tuesday managed to break the three-year siege by the Islamic State terror organisation of its military base in eastern Syria, media reports said.

Following combat with IS fighters, the pro-government forces were able to breach the encirclement and open corridors to reach the base of the 137th Brigade in the city of Deir al-Zour, Efe news agency reported quoting the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and state news agency SANA.

Deir al-Zour city is 450 km to northeast of Damascus on the banks of the Euphrates River.

The Britain-based SOHR added that the advance of troops loyal to the Syrian government took place after they removed mines and explosive devices from the area that separated them from the besieged barracks.

The inhabitants of the government-controlled neighbourhoods of Deir al-Zour celebrated the arrival of the troops to break the siege, according to SANA.

The offensive against IS combatants in the province of Deir al-Zour, mostly controlled by the extremists, began on Saturday on two fronts and was launched from the neighbouring province of Homs, with the support of Syrian artillery and aviation.

Despite the IS siege of Deir al-Zour since early 2015, the Syrian Army maintained control of several neighbourhoods in the northwest of the city and the military airport, located in the southeast, in addition to the aforementioned barracks.

The province of Deir al-Zour is the last main bastion of IS militants in Syria.
Mumbai, Sep 5 : At least 12 persons, including minors and an on-duty policeman, lost their lives during immersion ceremonies on Anant Chaturdashi, marking the end of the 12-day long Ganeshotsav celebrations throughout the state on Tuesday, officials said.

Four persons drowned in the Indrayani river in the twin cities of Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, three in Aurangabad, two in Jalgaon and one each in Nashik and Beed during the day as thousands of the gigantic, large, medium and small idols of the popular elephant-headed god, Lord Ganesha, were taken out for immersions in various water bodies.

In Mumbai, an Assistant Sub-Inspector who was posted on Ganeshotsav duty at Lalbaug in Parel, suddenly collapsed and died. Further details were awaited.

One person was reported to be missing in Indrayani river in Pune and a search is on to trace him, officials said.

Earlier in the morning, idols of Lord Ganesha were taken down from their pedestals amid chanting of the "Udvasana Mantra" and carried out of the various marquees, societies and individual homes in Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Kolhapur, Nagpur, Nashik, coastal Konkan districts and other towns in the state.

This was the 125th year of the state's biggest public festival, started in a modest way by Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak in 1894 to rally the masses during the Independence movement and bypass restrictions imposed by the British rulers on public meetings.

The idols were brought onto the roads to the accompaniment of 'dhols' (drums), cymbals, with thousands dancing and chanting "Ganpati Bappa Moraya, Pudhchya Varshi Lavkar Ya" (Lord Ganesha bless us, come soon next year), in clouds of auspicious red 'gulaal'.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and is family members immersed their idol in an artificial pond outside his home, while several ministers and lawmakers joined the festivities by dancing, playing 'lezim' and beating drums with the public.

Tight security by multiple agencies was in place in Mumbai since the Ganesh Chaturthi on August 25 with over 40,000 personnel of the Mumbai Police, teams of Fire Brigade, the Indian Navy, the Indian Coast Guard, disaster management units deployed. Besides, helicopters, high-speed patrol boats and hovercrafts watched over the coastline, and over 5,000 CCTVs closely monitored the western megapolis.

Drones too kept an eye in Mumbai and other cities both for aerial surveillance and for beaming real-time images to the monitoring agencies during the immersion ceremonies.

A team of Disaster Amateur Radio Emergency Services, an amateur HAM radio operators' group, was also active at various spots in Mumbai.

The main immersion site in Mumbai was the the historic Girgaum Chowpatty which attacted several lakh people, including domestic and foreign tourists.

Top officials like Police Commissioner Datta Padsalgikar and BrihanMumbai Corporation (BMC) Commissioner Ajoy Mehta personally kept a tab on all the developments.

Thousands of domestic idols also joined the giants for immersions at the Dadar Chowpatty, Mahim seaface, beaches of Juhu, Versova, Gorai, Madh, Marve, Manori, Sanjay Gandhi National Park and Aarey Milk Colony, natural ponds and artificial water bodies created for an eco-friendly immersion all over Mumbai.

Besides Mumbai, the other major immersions have begun in the coastal district of Palghar, Thane, Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg since daybreak, in the presence of lifeguards provided by various civic bodies and volunteers at the seashores, beaches, local rivers, lakes and ponds. The immersions are expected to continue till late in the night.

This year, Mumbai hosted around 11,550 big Ganeshotsav celebrations with budgets running into several crores of rupees; 190,000 medium or small groups with budgets of around Rs 500,000 to Rs 5 million, and millions of individual households in Mumbai and rest of Maharashtra.

Naresh Dahibhavkar, the President of BrihanMumbai Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Samanvay Samiti, said this year there were around 300 gigantic idols in public marquees within the prescribed height limit of 18-feet.

This year, the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation made special arrangements for domestic and international tourists from the US, Europe, Japan, Thailand and other countries to view the immersion ceremonies at Girguam and other places as part of its new intiative -- the Ganeshotsav Tourism.

As usual, some of the biggest idols were seen in Mumbai at the famed Lalbaug-cha Raja, Ganesh Gully, Borivali's Kastur Park, Sewri-cha Raja, Andheri-cha Raja, Fort-cha Raja, Khetwadi, Bandra and Shivaji Park which are due for immersions later in the night, with the ceremonies likely to continue till Wednesday dawn.

Post-immersions, several NGOs, celebs, students and volunteers have announced elaborate beach cleaning programmes in Mumbai, Thane, Raigad and other parts of the state.
Cairo, Sep 6 : The Syrian army managed to break the three-year siege by the Islamic State terror group of a government-controlled military base in eastern Syria, according to official sources and activists.

Following combat with IS fighters on Tuesday, the pro-government forces were able to breach the encirclement and open corridors to reach the base of the army's 137th Brigade in the city of Deir al-Zour, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the state news agency SANA reported.

Deir al-Zour city is located 450 km to the northeast of Damascus on the banks of the Euphrates River.

SOHR, a Britain-based war monitor, added that the advance of troops loyal to the Syrian government took place after they removed mines and explosive devices from the area that separated them from the besieged barracks.

According to SANA, the inhabitants of the government-controlled neighbourhoods of Deir al-Zour celebrated the arrival of the troops to break the siege.

The offensive against IS combatants in the province of Deir al-Zour, mostly controlled by the extremists, began on Saturday on two fronts and was launched from the neighbouring province of Homs, with the support of Syrian artillery and aviation, Efe news reported.

Despite the IS siege of Deir al-Zour since early 2015, the Syrian army maintained control of several neighbourhoods in the northwest of the city and the military airport, located in the southeast, in addition to the aforementioned barracks.

The province of Deir al-Zour is the last main bastion of IS militants in Syria.
San Francisco, Sep 6 : After testing the feature with a select few users, Facebook has now rolled out "Watch" -- a redesigned video platform for creators and publishers -- to every US citizen who uses the social media platform.

According to a report in Tech Crunch on Tuesday, "Watch" will be available on Facebook's native mobile apps, desktop site and TV apps. Users in the US will now see the TV icon in the mobile navigation bar and desktop site bookmarks.

Facebook is offering a range of different options for discovering video content, including programmes and sections like "Today's Spotlight", "New This Week", "Popular Now", "What Friends Are Watching", "Most Talked About", "Suggested For You", and a special "10 Minutes Or More" spot for long-form videos.

For now, Facebook is primarily highlighting reality shows, which partners are producing en masse since they are cheap, don't require set scripts and can be watched piece-meal, the report said.

The social media giant debuted with Business Insider's lifestyle shows -- "The Great Cheese Hunt" and "It's Cool, But Does It Really Work?".

News and issues publisher Attn premiered "We Need to Talk" and "Health Hacks" starring Jessica Alba last week.

Meanwhile, food video giant Tastemade debuted with four shows, including "Safe Deposit", "Struggle Meals", "Food to Die For" and "Kitchen Little", over the next week.

In an apparent bid to take on Google-owned YouTube, Facebook rolled out "Watch" last month.

The social media giant last year launched "Video" tab in the US which offered a predictable place to find videos on Facebook.
Imphal : Imphal Sep 6 (IANS) Three militants of the banned People's Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK) were nabbed on Wednesday morning at Moreh, a town on the India-Myanmar border in Manipur, police said.

"We received intelligence inputs to the effect that some militants may be coming to Moreh," said Sarangthem Ibomcha, Superintendent of Police of Tengoupal district under which Moreh falls.

Police and personnel of 12 Assam Rifles intercepted the three self-styled corporals at Sun Rise club ground in Moreh town. No weapons were found, he added.

PREPAK is an armed insurgent group in Manipur demanding a separate and independent homeland.

Ibomcha said that they had come to Manipur from their camps in Myanmar to carry out activities "prejudicial to India".

Intelligence sources told IANS that it is being examined whether they had deserted their camps in no man's land.

Ibomcha said: "Police and security forces had beefed up security along the Manipur-Myanmar border to check possible influx of displaced Muslims from Myanmar.

"However so far no displaced Rohingya has come towards India via Moreh," he added.

The arrests come as Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on a three-day visit to Myanmar, starting Tuesday.

There have been arrests of some militants in the past few days who had sneaked into Manipur from no man's land.

Meanwhile, there is no indication when work on the 10 km long boundary fence at Moreh will be resumed. The work was suspended following complaints from Myanmar that its territory was being encroached upon.
Chittagong, Sep 6 : At least 146,000 Rohingyas have arrived in Bangladesh since August 25, fleeing ongoing violence in northwestern Myanmar, the UN office in Dhaka said on Wednesday.

Robert Watkins, UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh, said the figure is 23,000 more than the 123,000 estimated by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Tuesday, Efe reports.

Thousands of people continue arriving in southeastern Bangladesh through sea, river and land routes, fleeing an aggressive army offensive in the northwestern Myanmar state of Rakhine.

According to official figures, over 400 people have died so far in the state.

The real figure could be higher as eyewitnesses and human rights organisations have reported indiscriminate firing by the security forces against the local people and torching of entire villages as well as other human rights violations.

The military offensive has been severely criticized by the UN, which has also launched an international petition to raise $18 million to provide humanitarian emergency aid to Bangladesh and other human rights organisations.

More than a million Rohingyas live in Rakhine, where they face growing discrimination following a sectarian conflict in 2012 that killed at least 160 people and displaced nearly 120,000.

Myanmar does not consider the Rohingyas as citizens although they have lived in the country for generations.

An estimated one million Rohingyas live in Rakhine, where the Myanmar Army carried out a similar campaign nine months ago in response to another rebel attack that led to more than 70,000 members of the community fleeing across the border to Bangladesh.

Between 300,000 and 500,000 Rohingyas live in Bangladesh, and only about 32,000 of them have refugee status.
Srinagar, Sep 6 : Senior Kashmiri separatist leaders Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umer Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik on Wednesday said the NIA raids would not deter them and they would court arrest at the headquarters of the anti-terror agency on September 9.

Addressing the Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL), the leaders said they have booked tickets for Delhi to court arrest. The statements came as the premier investigating agency that is presently probing the terror funding case in Jammu and Kashmir carried out fresh raids at 11 places in the Valley.

"We are your targets. Keep the doors of Tihar Jail open, we are coming," Pro-Azadi Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Malik said.

The separatist leaders announced that they will hold a protest march to the Delhi headquarters of the National Investigation Agency on September 9 and court arrest to protest against the "harassment" of separatist leaders by the investigation agency.

While Farooq and Malik were present at the press conference, Geelani addressed the media on phone since he is under house arrest in the city's uptown Hyderpora area.

Geelani said the NIA had been "unleashed on the leaders of the local freedom movement" to break the people's resolve, adding that such tactics would not deter the Kashmiris from seeking their basic right to self-determination.

Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front chief Malik said: "After repeated crackdowns and beating of locals, including young girls and elderly people, the government has brought in the NIA to discredit the people's movement in Kashmir."

Questioning the credibility of official agencies, Malik alleged that those detained under the Public Safety Act but ordered to be released by the High Court were booked on some other charge under the said law.

He also claimed that people in Kashmir were spending lakhs of rupees on the education of their children who were accused by the government of getting paid Rs 300 to throw stones at security forces and thus risk their lives.

"In the name of crackdowns, young girls and old people are beaten up in south Kashmir areas in order to deter people from their struggle," the JKLF leader said.

The separatist response to court arrest came on a day the NIA conducted raids at 26 places, including 12 in the Valley and four in Delhi, in connection with a terror funding case.

"NIA teams searched 11 locations in Srinagar and five in Delhi. They are related to the Jammu and Kashmir terror funding case. The searches are still going on," an NIA official in Delhi told IANS.

In Srinagar, the raids were being carried out at the offices and residences of Bashir Ahmad Kaloo, Showkat Ahmad Kaloo, Abdul Rashid Bhat, Firdous Iqbal Wani, Sajad Syed Khan and Imran Causa.

In Delhi, the searches were being conducted in the Shadipur depot and Khari Baoli area at the residences and office premises of Ganga Bishan Gupta, Firoz Akhtar Siddiqui and Sunil Kumar Jain, the officer said.

The NIA in July arrested several separatist leaders in connection with the probe into the terror funding by Pakistan-based terrorist groups to stoke unrest in the Kashmir Valley.
Washington, Sep 7 : Republican Party leaders were "shell-shocked" and "visibly annoyed" after President Donald Trump and Democratic congressional leaders announced a mutual agreement to raise the debt ceiling and fund the federal government until December, the media reported.

Trump's stunning agreement to endorse a plan proposed by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi came during a Wednesday morning meeting with leaders from both parties in the Oval Office, the first such meeting of his presidency, reports CNN.

"We essentially came to a deal and I think the deal will be very good," Trump told the media.

Several Republicans briefed on the meeting said that Trump, who has been absent a major legislative achievement for his first seven months in office, was "hungry" for a deal.

"The President was in deal-cutting mode," a Republican familiar with the meeting told CNN. "He was sick of this fight."

In Wednesday's session, Republican leaders, including House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, first pushed lifting the debt ceiling for 18 months.

With no agreement at hand, they decreased the time-frame to a year, before finally proposing a six-month extension.

Democratic leaders, however, dismissed all of their proposals, standing firm by their three-month extension plan, which they had publicly endorsed in a joint statement before the meeting.

A senior Republican source described Trump as being in "Apprentice" mode, a reference to the reality show that made the President a TV star.

"Trump just decided to listen and then make a decision on the spot," the source told CNN.

McConnell and Ryan were "blindsided by this", another party official said.

In fact, hours before Trump agreed to Democrats' proposal, Ryan had publicly called such a plan "ridiculous" during a news conference.

The Republican leaders had no heads up or warning over Trump's decision.

The US debt currently stands at around $20 trillion.

The agreement reached between Trump and Democrats also includes an assistance package for people affected by Harvey, which has killed more than 60 people and displaced thousands in the states of Texas and Louisiana.

The House on Wednesday in a 419-3 vote approved a federal aid package worth $7.9 billion for the victims of Harvey which now passes to the Senate for ratification.
MATTOON (JG-TC) -- The Lake Land College Board of Trustees is scheduled Monday evening to hear a presentation about the student enrollment figures for the recently started fall semester.

The 10th day enrollment report is on the agenda for the board meeting at 6 p.m. in Webb Hall 081. The report includes figures on headcount enrollment for students in various academic and demographic categories, plus figures on the number of course credit hours they are enrolled in at Lake Land.

In other matters, the board is scheduled to consider amending the 2017-18 budget based on the actual amounts of state funding that have been allocated for this fiscal year now that the state has a budget agreement in place.

Bryan Gleckler, vice president for business services, said the state has allocated a total of $16.1 million in various funding to Lake Land, which is approximately $3.5 million more than Lake Land had assumed in its college budget projections. He said Lake Land still plans to be conservative in its use of this state funding.

"We still project there is going to be a lot of uncertainty as we move into the next budget year," Gleckler said. He added that one of Lake Land's goals is to start replacing reserve funds that were depleted to offset state funding cuts. "Our goal is to replenish the reserves so we can weather the next storm."

Other proposed actions on Monday's meeting agenda include accepting the donation of an art collection from the Lake Land College Foundation and approving Illinois Department of Corrections education program contracts for 2017-18.
Dhaka, Sep 7 : Turkish First Lady Emine Erdogan and Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu arrived in Bangladesh on Thursday to meet members of Rohingya Muslim community who have fled from ongoing violence in Myanmar's Rakhine.

Erdogan and Cavusoglu, who arrived separately, are set to visit refugee camps in Cox's Bazaar district, close to the border with Myanmar, Efe news quoted the Foreign Ministry as saying.

Bangladeshi Foreign Minister A.H. Mahmood Ali and State Minister of Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam will accompany the Turkish delegation.

Thousands of the Rohingyas have been reaching Bangladesh by sea, river and land routes, to escape an aggressive army offensive in the Rakhine state, following an insurgent attack on security posts on August 25.

At least 146,000 Rohingyas have crossed into Bangladesh in the last 13 days, according to latest UN figures.

Over 400 people were killed in the violence in Myanmar.

Between 300,000 and 500,000 Rohingyas live in Bangladesh, out of whom only about 32,000 enjoy refugee status.
Chennai, Sep 7 : AIADMK Deputy General Secretary T.T.V. Dinakaran, who met Tamil Nadu Governor C. Vidyasagar Rao along with his loyalists, said the Governor told them that he will do "his duty" on their petition withdrawing support to Chief Minister K. Palaniswami.

Dinakaran and his loyalists comprising of legislators and Members of Parliament met Rao at Raj Bhavan.

"We had requested the Governor to take fast action on the petition given by the legislators earlier so that horsetrading could be prevented. We told the Governor that Chief Minister Palaniswami does not command the support of majority of the legislators. The meeting of legislators held at the party headquarters recently was attended only by 111 legislators," Dinakaran told reporters here.

The half-way mark in the Tamil Nadu Assembly with an effective strength of 234 is 117.

Dinakaran said the Governor assured the delegation that he would do his duty.

Queried about Cumbum legislator S.T.K. Jakkaiyan switching sides, Dinakaran said the legislator was threatened by the ruling faction.

"We have sleeper cells that will soon turn active," Dinakaran added.

He said those who support Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam will not be able get people's support during elections.

The Dinakaran faction has been upset over its isolation in the ruling party whose two major factions, led by Palaniswami and Panneerselvam, united recently. The merged party also decided to sack jailed V.K. Sasikala as General Secretary.

Nineteen legislators belonging to the Dinakaran faction met the Governor on August 22 and petitioned to change the Chief Minister. Following that, opposition parties have been demanding Palaniswami to prove his majority on the floor of the house.
Dhaka, Sep 7 : Bangladesh authorities are preparing more camps in Cox's Bazar district for the tens of thousands of Rohingya migrants who have arrived in the South Asian nation after fleeing deadly violence in Myanmar.

"For the time being they will stay wherever they are now at the moment. We will soon start documentation of them with the help of Passport Department and then will take them to Balukhali (the new camp) once it is ready," Cox's Bazar district spokesperson told Efe news on Thursday.

The process of demarcation of the new camp at Balukhali started on Wednesday and is expected to be completed on Thursday.

Once the demarcation process is complete, the Bangladeshi passport department and the local authorities will begin to register the photos and fingerprints of the more than 150,000 people who have arrived recently.

Thousands of Rohingyas have arrived in Bangladesh by sea, river and land, fleeing violence in Myanmar's Rakhine state, where the army has been carrying out a military campaign following an insurgent attack on August 25.

An attack in October 2016 had spurred another military campaign in Rakhine, which caused some 85,000 members of the Rohingya Muslim minority to flee to Bangladesh.

Between 300,000 and 500,000 Rohingyas live in Bangladesh, out of whom only about 32,000 have refugee status.
Washington, Sep 8 : Texas Governor Greg Abbott has hailed the US Senate's approval of a $15.25 billion hurricane Harvey fund to the state.

"The response by the federal government has been swift and effective, and the passage of a bill allocating an initial down payment for recovery and rebuilding is a continuation of their assurances to stand firm with Texas," Abbott said in a statement on Thursday after the Senate voted to allocate the fund to Texas for the aftermath of Harvey.

Harvey made landfall on August 25, as the most powerful hurricane to hit Texas in more than 50 years, has displaced more than 1 million people and damaged some 200,000 homes in a path of destruction that stretches for more than 480 km, reports Xinhua news agency.

So far, 71 people were confirmed dead.

The Houston area has been devastated by severe flooding, after receiving about 1.4 metres of rain.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) said it was working to accelerate buyouts of repeatedly flooded properties in Houston area.

The buyouts following Hurricane Harvey aimed at helping Houston citizens escape from perennially soggy neighbourhoods and keeping the federal government from paying to rebuild homes time and time again.

FEMA was receiving thousands of Harvey claims and paying out millions of dollars every day. By the end of Wednesday, more than 80,000 Texans had filed claims and FEMA had issued about $76 million in advance payments.
Ranchi, Sep 8 : Thirteen Jharkhand Armed Police (JAP) personnel have been suspended for their involvement in selling illicit liquor that caused death of several persons, officials said on Friday.

In Ranchi, 16 persons including two JAP personnel have died this week after consuming spurious liquor.

Police have conducted many raids and destroyed several shops selling liquor illegally and seized hundreds of liquor bottles. An internal enquiry was also conducted by the JAP officials.

"During enquiry, it was found some JAP personnel were selling liquor illegally by claiming to have brought from the canteens. They have been identified and 13 suspended. Some of the suspended JAP personnel will be terminated from the service for their activities," a senior official of JAP told IANS.

The seized liquor bottles had sticker that read "sale for paramilitary forces for Jharkhand only".

One senior JAP constable Gautam Thapa has been arrested and sent to jail for selling liquor. He was arrested with 240 bottles of liquor.

The Jharkhand government on Friday has come out with an advertisement in local newspapers.

"Liquor is harmful for health. A reward of Rs 1 lakh reward will be given to village which will be free from liquor use," reads the advertisement.

The government has also issued toll free number on which anyone can inform regarding the illegal sale of liquor.

The Jharkhand Congress has called Ranchi shutdown on Saturday to protest the death of 16 persons.

"The government has come with advertisement appealing people not to take liquor. See the paradox, Jharkhand government is selling liquor itself by opening outlets but asking people not to buy it," Kishore Sahdeo, Jharkhand Congress General Secretary, told IANS.

"The government is all set to celebrate 1,000 days of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government led by Raghubar Das over of death 1,000 children in different hospital this year and 16 deaths due to liquor," the Congress leader said.
Beijing, Sep 8 : The air forces of China and Pakistan began joint training exercises on Friday.

China has dispatched J-11 fighters, JH-7 fighter-bombers, KJ-200 AWACS aircraft and ground forces including surface-to-air missile and radar troops, said Shen Jinke, spokesperson for the People's Liberation Army Air Force, adding that the Chinese Navy's aviators also participated in the training.

Pakistan has sent JF-17 Thunder fighter jets and early warning aircraft to join the exercise, named "Shaheen VI," which will run until September 27, Shen said.

"To build a world-class air force, we need to learn from foreign Armies and improve our capability to complete multiple tasks," said Shen, adding that the Chinese Air Force will increase international exchanges and sharpen its combat effectiveness.

The "Shaheen" joint training was launched by the Chinese and Pakistani Air Forces in March 2011.
Washington, Sep 9 : The White House said that US President Donald Trump had spoken with Amir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani of Qatar by phone regarding the importance of maintaining unity in combating terrorism.

"If I can help mediate between Qatar and, in particular, the UAE (United Arab Emirates) and Saudi Arabia, I would be willing to do so and I think you'd have a deal worked out very quickly," said Trump here during his joint press conference on Friday with visiting Kuwaiti Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.

During the discussion on Thursday, Trump underscored the importance of cutting off funding for terrorist groups and combating extremist ideology, said the White House in a statement.

Trump also expressed his willingness to mediate an ongoing dispute between Qatar and other Middle East countries.

On June 5, the Saudi-led quartet severed diplomatic ties with Qatar and imposed a blockade on the rich tiny Gulf nation, citing Doha's support for terrorism and extremism, interference in their internal affairs and seeking closer ties with Iran. Qatar has strongly denied these charges.

Tensions were renewed last month when Qatar announced it would send back its ambassador to Iran, a rival for most Gulf nations.

Qatar recalled its envoy in Tehran in early 2016 in a show of solidarity with Saudi Arabia after the attacks on two Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran.

Despite a flurry of diplomatic mediation efforts by the US, the European Union and Kuwait in the past months, the Gulf standoff has shown no signs of abating.
Baghdad, Sep 9 : At least 15 Islamic State (IS) militants were killed in Iraqi airstrikes on an IS-held areas in the country's eastern province of Diyala, the Iraqi military said.

Iraqi aircraft carried out airstrikes on Friday on IS posts in Khalawiyah area near Himreen Lake, some 60 km northeast of Diyala's provincial capital Baquba, leaving at least 15 IS militants killed, Lt. Gen. Mezhir al-Azzawi said.

The airstrikes resulted in the destruction of an IS vehicle, five motorcycles, five IS hideouts and the burning of two boats at the lake, said Azzawi whose command is responsible for the security in Diyala and other areas in eastern Iraq, Xinhua news agency reported.

Azzawi also said the troops under his command raided an apartment in Gatoon area in the east of Baquba, about 65 km northeast of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, and seized two explosive vests, ammunition and explosives.

IS militants still control areas in Himreen mountainous area, including its Lake, in northern and eastern parts of Diyala.

The terror group also has a major redoubt in Mteibijah area on the provincial border with Salahudin Province, which extends to the sprawling rugged area from the western part of Salahudin to the desert in the neighbouring Anbar Province in western Iraq.

On August 31, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared full liberation of the city of Tal Afar and surrounding areas from the extremist IS militants.

The Iraqi forces are now preparing to wage another offensive in the IS-held town of Hawijah and surrounding areas in the west of the oil-rich province of Kirkuk.
Tehran, Sep 9 : Iran and South Korea signed an agreement to cooperate in banking sector, media reports said.

The agreement was signed by Ha Yung-ku, chairman of the Korea Federation of Banks, and Kourosh Parvizian, head of Iran's Association of Private Banks, Press TV reported on Friday.

The agreement, between private lenders of Iran and South Korea, mostly envisages the expansion of non-dollar trade between the two countries.

It also calls for the share information on banking affairs, provides banking assistance to importers and exporters, and conducts exchanges of financial training.

Iranian bankers have called for the expansion of euro-based trade between the two countries what it said had been welcomed by South Korean bankers, Xinhua news agency reported.

In late August, Iran secured a $9.6-billion credit line from South Korea's Eximbank as the country's biggest loan deal since the removal of sanctions against it in early 2016.
Mexico City, Sep 9 : Fifty-eight people died in the 8.2-magnitude earthquake that struck off Mexico's Pacific coast and rocked numerous southern states, authorities said.

The National Emergency Committee on Friday confirmed 45 deaths in Oaxaca state, 10 in Chiapas and three more in Tabasco state, national civil protection coordinator Luis Felipe Puente tweeted.

Oaxaca Governor Alejandro Murat said that around three-dozen people in perished in Juchitan de Zaragoza, a city in the hard-hit Isthmus of Tehuantepec region, Efe news reported.

He told Radio Formula that rescuers were searching for a policeman thought to be buried under the rubble of a collapsed building in Juchitan, where the city hall was badly damaged, along with at least 7,000 homes.

State authorities' main priorities are searching people trapped in the wreckage and securing shelter for those forced from their homes, Murat said.

President Enrique PeAa Nieto arrived Friday afternoon in Oaxaca to tour the affected areas with Puente and Government Secretary Miguel Angel Osorio Chong.

The governor of Chiapas, Manuel Velasco, said in a radio interview that the death toll in his state had climbed from nine to 12, including one person who succumbed to a heart attack.

The quake damaged 1,700 homes, 700 schools and 18 other public buildings in Chiapas, according to preliminary estimates. Mexican authorities evacuated nearly 10,000 coastal residents amid fears of a tsunami, but the Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said later that the tsunami threat had passed.

The temblor struck at 11.49 p.m. on Thursday, with its epicenter located 119 km southwest of Tres Picos, Chiapas.

PeAa Nieto told reporters early Friday from the National Disaster Prevention Center that the quake was slightly more powerful than the devastating 1985 temblor that left thousands dead and missing in Mexico City and was the strongest to hit Mexico in 100 years.

The earthquake was felt in at least 10 states of southern and central Mexico that are home to 50 million people, or nearly half of the nation's population, the president said.

Impacts extended to neighbouring Guatemala, which experienced six aftershocks in the hours following the original earthquake.

Seismologists in Mexico recorded numerous aftershocks, including one that reached magnitude-6.1.

The federal government has declared an "extraordinary emergency" for 118 municipalities in Chiapas and 41 in Oaxaca.
The full U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee yesterday adopted a series of Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) supported provisions as part of its Fiscal Year 2018 (FY18) foreign aid bill, specifically calling for continued aid to Artsakh and increased assistance to Armenia ($20.7 million), and also imposing weapon and travel sanctions on Turkey and Azerbaijan.

September 9, 2017, 11:37 US Senate panel adopts ANCA-backed measures supporting Artsakh and Armenia

STEPANAKERT, SEPTEMBER 9, ARTSAKHPRESS: Congress is clearly turning the corner on both Turkey and Azerbaijan, with senior legislators, from both parties, openly confronting and officially sanctioning Erdogan and Aliyev for their undemocratic abuses and anti-American actions, said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. We thank all those who worked to include these constructive provisions and look forward to remaining engaged in support of each of these issues as the legislative process moves forward.

The Senate foreign aid bill's report, which provides detailed legislative guidance for the executive branch, included language recommending: "assistance for victims of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in amounts consistent with prior fiscal years, and for ongoing needs related to the conflict. The Committee urges a peaceful resolution of the conflict."

In terms of aid to Armenia, the Committee called for roughly a $14 million increase over the President's proposed budget: $17.633 million in Economic Support and Development Fund (ESF), $1.5 million for battling narcotics trafficking, $600,000 for International Military Education and Training and $1 million in Foreign Military Financing. The Senate maintained parity in appropriated military assistance to Armenia and Azerbaijan. The Trump budget request for Armenia, submitted in May of this year, envisioned $4 million in ESF, $1.5 million for International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement, and $700,000 for Non-Proliferation, Antiterrorism, Demining and Related Programs. Military parity between Armenia and Azerbaijan was maintained in the Administration's proposed budget with each receiving $600,000 for International Military Education and Training and cuts Foreign Military Financing to both countries.

Three key amendments targeted Turkey and Azerbaijan in response to the growing human rights abuses in each country, most notably the May, 2017, beating of peaceful protesters by Turkish President Erdogan's bodyguards in Washington, DC.

Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Senate Appropriations Committee Vice-Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) introduced a successful amendment to block the use of funds to facilitate the sale of weapons to President Erdogan's Presidential Protection Directorate. Sen. Van Hollen told the Washington Post that the appropriations panel's vote in support of the measure sent a strong, bipartisan message: We are not going to let President Erdogans personal bodyguards attack peaceful American protesters on American soil  and were certainly not going to sell them weapons while they do it.

Senators James Lankford (R-OK) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) introduced and passed an amendment to restrict U.S. travel visas to any senior official of the Government of Turkey who is knowingly responsible for the wrongful or unlawful prolonged detention of U.S. citizens or nationals. The move is widely viewed as being in response to Turkey's continued imprisonment of Pastor Andrew Brunson, a North Carolina native who, for more than two decades, has ministered to the Izmir Resurrection Church in Turkey's third largest city.

Senate Assistant Democratic Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) called for similar visa restrictions of Azerbaijani government officials involved with the wrongful imprisonment of Mehman Aliyev, the director of Turan, Azerabaijan's last remaining independent news outlet. The Washington Post editorial board this week called for the Turan chief's immediate release and noted that under President Aliyev's reign, a sustained and punishing campaign has been waged against dissenting scholars, human rights defenders and journalists.
100 years ago, Sept. 9, 1917

Sunday. No paper.

50 years ago, 1967

MATTOON -- Henne's Band, popular among Mattoon-area residents for many years, recently completed its 47th season with a concert at Lytle Park. Its members, who come from Charleston, Findlay, Villa Grove, Sullivan, Arthur and Toledo, as well as Mattoon, will reassemble next Memorial Day for another season. The band was formed by Everett Henne of Mattoon in 1920, using some members of the old Gibler Band which disbanded in 1919. Henne was a circus musician and later operated a print shop in Mattoon before retiring... SULLIVAN -- Officers have been elected by students at Sullivan High School. They are: Senior Class -- Bill Standefer, president; Phil Volkman, vice president; Tim Daily, secretary. Juniors -- Jack Pound, president; Tom Trigg, vice president; Marsha Schuh, secretary. Sophomores -- Lazan Poland, president; Mike Calvin, vice president; Jenny Ralston, secretary-treasurer. President -- Jim Glazebrook, president; Polly Kendall, vice president; Heidi Sandrisser, secretary-treasurer... GREENUP -- Funeral arrangements are incomplete at Hiles Funeral Home in Greenup for Mr. and Mrs. William H. Niccum of Flint, Mich., formerly of Toledo, who died Wednesday within a few hours of each other. William Niccum, 77, former co-owner of the Toledo Democrat, died at his home early Wednesday. Several hours later, his widow, Maude, 69, died of a stroke.

25 years ago, 1992

MATTOON -- The Illinois Association of School Social Workers recently announced Sally Clark of Mattoon is the organizations Citizen of the Year for 1992. Clark received the award for contributing to the enhancement of the goals of school social work through service, support, and personal and public action. The state organization said Clark views helping children and adults with special needs as her mission. Working with the developmentally disabled and profoundly handicapped children, she brings the youngsters into her home for day care and provides respite care for their families CHARLESTON -- Gina Bunch is looking for things and people. In order to raise more than $1,000 for victims of Hurricane Andrew in Florida, Bunch is asking local residents to donate items or their time for the Hurricane Relief Rummage Sale on Saturday. All the money raised will be given to the American Red Cross. If people are interested in donating items for the sale, they can call Bunch or her father, Gene Harpster, and arrange a time to store items at Harpster Appliance warehouse CHARLESTON -- Members of Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity at Eastern Illinois University recently presented a check for $2,177 to the Coles County Chapter of the American Red Cross. The chapter has raised more than $10,000 for victims of natural disasters ST. LOUIS -- Charlestons Stan Royer is a major leaguer again. Royer was one of three players who joined the St. Louis Cardinals yesterday following the end of the Louisville Redbirds Triple-A season. The former Charleston High School and Eastern Illinois University standout also played with the Cardinals last September. This year at Louisville, Royer batted .283 and led the team in RBIs.

100 years ago, Sept. 10, 1917

MATTOON -- Charles W. Gilbert of Mattoon, generally known as "Pete," aged 38 years, an extra brakeman employed by the Illinois Central Railroad, formerly a member of the Mattoon Fire Department, was killed in a railroad accident at Mt. Pulaski this afternoon. He was crushed between two cars of southbound freight train No. 291, in charge of Conductor C.E. Thompson of Mattoon. Gilbert is said to have walked between the two cars, not realizing that one of them was in motion, and was caught unawares... CHARLESTON -- Walter Dunn is home from Indianapolis where he sold Directum J., the sensational black stallion pacer which has finished first in seven races this season. Mr. Dunn sold the speedy animal after he won the $1,000 2:08 pace at the Indianapolis State Fair Thursday afternoon. The sale price was $4,000. Directum J. will be in charge of Trainer Palin, a well-known driver who has driven horses on the Coles County fairgrounds track for several years. Mr. Dunn, who has developed some of the best horses in the country, is now at work training some green ones.

50 years ago, 1967

Sunday. No paper.

25 years ago, 1992

MATTOON -- There was no victim, no tragedy, Mary McCoy said, that led her to take action against drunk drivers. Even without any personal impact, McCoy still felt there was a need to form a Coles County chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving. One motivating factor was the accounts her husband, Wayne McCoy, an Illinois State Police trooper, has told her about alcohol-related accidents hes investigated. The county chapter received its charter on Aug. 31. In talking with local law enforcement officers about the issue of drunk driving, a recurring comment was the suggestion to educate young people on the dangers of drinking and driving, she said. McCoy is president of the local group with Joyce Zschau first vice president, Diane Novak second vice president, Cyndy Ealy secretary and Mary Alice Kramer serving as treasurer MATTOON -- The volunteer driver for the Hurricane Express has been delayed, so the Mattoon relief truck will not head south until Monday, said Bob Jeannot. Terry Bison of Charleston is donating his time to drive a 48-foot semitrailer loaded with water, food and other items to the Miami, Fla., area to help the victims of Hurricane Andrew. Jeannot, store manager at Kmart in Mattoon, said the delay gives organizers a couple more days to fill the semi. Jeannot said the truck has been donated by Jim Dunn of Lincolnland Amoco in Charleston and Sundance Trucking Co. Items such as blankets, baby supplies and food, canned goods and personal care items can be taken to the Kmart service desk until 5 p.m. Sunday.

100 years ago, Sept. 11, 1917

MATTOON -- William Kaufman, a young man of about 27 years, who has boarded at the home of Mr. and Mrs. C.C. Powers for the last four years, has mysteriously disappeared. He has not been seen or heard of since about 1:30 a.m. Saturday, when he walked out of the office of the Illinois Central Railroad roundhouse, of which he has been night foreman. He left no more trace of his whereabouts than if the earth had opened up and swallowed him. While the young man was subject to the military draft and was a native of Germany, he often had expressed that he "would like to get hold of the kaiser just once," or similar expressions, showing that his sympathies were with his adopted country. Born in Germany, Kaufam's family came to this country when he was 9 months old... CHARLESTON -- Laying of the cornerstone of the new Charleston Post Office building, now in construction, has been fixed for Sept. 18. The ceremonies will be held under the auspices of the Illinois Grand Lodge of Masons. On the day following the cornerstone ceremonies, the people of the community will give the soldiers who are to leave that day for Camp Taylor another demonstration. There will be 94 young men in this contingent... CHARLESTON -- Miss Mary J. Booth, the Eastern Illinois State Normal School librarian, did not go to France as a Red Cross worker. She was to have left from New York. But when Miss Booth arrived in New York, it was found that they could not take care of 100 Red Cross women in France at the time, so only 53 sailed for France. Miss Booth has returned to the normal school to take up her duties as librarian.

50 years ago, 1967

CHARLESTON -- The Coles County State's Attorney's office is alarmed about the increasing number of bad checks surfacing in the county. During the month of August, the state's attorney's office was dealing with 15 to 30 bad checks a day from all over the county, said Ed Kallis, state's attorney's investigator. The situation has reached the point where some large businesses in the county have lost $1,000 a month through bad checks, Kallis said. The investigator classed 80 percent of bad checks as those written against insufficient funds, 15 percent against nonexistent accounts and 5 percent as forgery... MATTOON -- Three Mattoon and two Charleston residents have been chosen as 1967 Outstanding Civic Leaders of America. The Mattoon residents are Clem G. Phipps, H.E. Ury and R.W. Alfred. Selected from Charleston were Mrs. Olive Boulware Alexander and Mrs. Harvey Rechnitzer. Approximately 6,000 leaders were selected from all across the country. The men and women included were nominated by local city officials, chambers of commerce and civic groups.

25 years ago, 1992

CHAMPAIGN -- Hillary Clinton, wife of Democratic presidential candidate Bill Clinton, made a campaign stop at the University of Illinois yesterday, urging people to vote for a vision of change. Secret Service agents estimated more than 10,000 people surrounded the south patio of the University Union as Mrs. Clinton kicked off a voter registration rally sponsored by the College Democrats. Clinton and Sen. Al Gore will oppose President George Bush and Vice President Dan Quayle in the November election CHARLESTON -- Rose Mary Shepherd has said that she wants to keep her office in Charleston. It looks like she is going to get her wish. Shepherd, the regional school superintendent, said the former IGA grocery store at 700 W. Lincoln Ave. is likely to be the next location of her office. The Coles County Board has terminated its lease agreement with Shepherd for her present office space on the second floor of the county courthouse. She has until July 1 of next year to find a new location.
Vancouver, Sep 9 : The Supreme Court of Canada has paved the way for extradition of Jassi Sidhu's mother and uncle to India in a June 2000 honour-killing case in Punjab.

On Friday, in an unanimous judgment by a nine-judge bench of the apex court the siblings were ordered to be deported for their involvement in plotting Sidhu's murder for marrying a low-caste rickshaw driver.

The top court overruled a lower court order that had stopped the deportation of the two accused from Maple Ridge near here.

In what became Canada's most talked-about honour-killing case, Surjit Badesha and his sister Malkit Sidhu had hired contract killers to eliminate Malkit's daughter Jassi (Jaswinder) Sidhu in June 2000, for marrying into a lower caste.

Canadian-born Jassi Sidhu, a Jat Sikh girl, had met Sukhwinder Singh (Mithu) in Jagraon during her visit to Punjab in 1996 and fallen in love.

The two secretly married in 1999 when she travelled to India.

Jassi was murdered near Mithu's village in June 2000, when the couple was going on a scooter. They were waylaid by hired contract killers.

Punjab Police investigations confirmed it was an honour-killing plotted by Malkit Sidhu and Surjit Badesha sitting in Canada.

Based on evidence of 266 phone calls that Badesha had with the hired killers, India formally requested Canada in 2005, to extradite Badesha and Malkit Sidhu to face trial.

In May 2014, an extradition judge in the British Columbia Supreme Court in Vancouver ordered that Jassi's uncle and mother must be deported to India to face trial.

But the British Columbia's Appeal Court overturned the deportation order against the mother and uncle of Jassi Sidhu on the grounds of India's "appalling" record on treatment of prisoners.

Friday's order by the country's apex court cleared the decs for their deportation.

Vancouver journalist Fabian Dawson, who broke the story 17 years ago and later wrote a book titled "Justice for Jassi", told IANS: "Today's decision is significant because it ends the case in Canada.

"Now the Indian justice system comes into play... It is the start of another chapter in the quest for justice for Jassi," Fabian added, "I fear for Mithu because there have been several attempts on his life because he is the principal witness in the case."

(Gurmukh Singh can be contacted at gurmukh.s@ians.in)
New Delhi : Srinagar, Sep 9 ((IANS) Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh who arrives here on Saturday on a four-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir will meet Governor N.N. Vohra, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, as well as a cross-section of people including traders and students in an attempt to find a resolution to the Kashmir problem.

Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba and other senior officers of the Ministry were also part of the visit. The Minister will spend two days in the valley and two in the Jammu region.

Rajnath Singh will first meet the Chief Minister to discuss the latest law and order situation in the state.

The Home Minister will also address the state police personnel at the district police lines in Anantnag and troopers of the Central Reserve Police Force in Khanabal.

According to informed sources, the Minister will review the progress of implementation of the Prime Minister's development package for the state.

Delegations of people from across social, political and religious sections would call on the Home Minister in Srinagar and Jammu, they said.

Singh has said his visit to the state was "with an open mind" and he "is ready to speak to everyone".

The Governor will host a dinner for Rajnath Singh at the Raj Bhawan here.

Singh will address the media here on Monday before leaving for Jammu.

In Jammu, he will interact with border residents in Nowshera sector of Rajouri district.

Due to indiscriminate shelling and firing by Pakistan, the residents of border villages are often forced to migrate to safer places leaving their livestock, belongings and crops unattended.

The Home Minister will also address the Border Security Force troopers during his Jammu visit.
United Nations, Sep 9 : UN General Assembly President Peter Thomson has said that "fairness and logic" will force the long-stalled Security Council reform to take place, with Africa as the prime mover.

Thomson, who completes his presidency next week, told reporters on Friday that there has to be a new approach to the reform process and "what is required in the IGN (Inter-Governmental Negotiations on reforms) is for people to change their fixed positions".

He likened the tangled reform process to the legendary Gordion Knot and said: "What is going to force it, the untying thereof, is the gross unfairness, a whole continent not having a permanent member.

"It was fine in the 1950s, it is not fine today. Africa has to have permanent membership of the Council and there are other countries, of course, which have staked their claim as well."

"The Gordion Knot eventually got untied," Thomson said. "I am a great believer that in this organisation and in most organisations fairness and logic eventually wins out as long as people are dogged and IGN is a dogged process."

The five permanent members of the Security Council "have huge role in this regard because of the Charter and it is quite frankly one in which there has to be a change in the equation somewhere at some stage," he added.

The Security Council reform process, in which India as an aspirant for a permanent seat is heavily invested, was stalled again in the current UN General Assembly (UNGA) session, further losing the momentum gathered in the 2014-15 session under President Sam Kutesa.

The Gordion Knot that Thomson spoke of was tangled mostly around the question of adding permanent members to the Security Council, which is vehemently opposed by some countries.

The current session decided in July to push the reform negotiations to the session starting next week and to convene the "Open-Ended Work Group" on equitable representation on the Council and increasing its size.

Thomson said he has some ideas to move forward the process that has been bogged down for more than two decades and that he will discuss them with the next UNGA President Miroslav Lajcak and with Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

He conceded that the reform process is driven by member nations and "no Secretary-General or an individual like me can say we have to do this or do that. That is not the way. It has to be a communal thing."

But he added that may be Guterres has a role to play as well in moving the negotiations.

Guterres's spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters earlier on Friday that the reform process "is firmly in the hands of the Member States. We know the challenges, we know the issues, we know it's under discussion."

Soon after his election Lajcak told the UNGA: "There is a high degree of accord that the time is up to transform the Security Council into a 21st century body.

"I intend to work closely and consult widely with you on how to push forward agreement our leaders made at the 2005 World Summit" for reforming it.

(Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in)
Chennai, Sep 9 : After playing a rebellious Sri Lankan leader in his upcoming Telugu-Tamil bilingual "Okkadu Migiladu", actor Manchu Manoj will be seen sporting a six-pack ab in his next yet-untitled Telugu project.

"He plays a boxer in the film. He's currently learning MMA (mixed martial arts) in Phuket. Manchu had to gain a lot of weight for action-drama 'Okkadu Migiladu'. He will shed most of it and even sport a six-pack ab for this film," a source close to Manoj told IANS.

On Friday, Manoj shared a practice session video. "The only bad thing in MMA is kicking our master. Sorry guruji! But you are giving the best MMA training. Phuket diaries," Manoj tweeted.

Manoj will be spending the next few weeks in the mountainous Thai island in the Andaman Sea, training aggressively, sources said.
Washington, Sep 9 : The US has called for a UN Security Council (UNSC) meeting to vote on a draft resolution to impose additional sanctions on North Korea.

The vote in response to Pyongyang's latest nuclear test is intended for September 11, the US mission to the UN announced on Friday night.

At an emergency Security Council meeting last week, US Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, announced that her delegation was circulating the draft resolution.

North Korea on September 3 detonated a hydrogen bomb that can be carried by an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

Pyongyang's nuclear testing and launches using ballistic missile technology violated UNSC resolutions.
Toronto, Sep 9 : Priyanka Chopra, who was present at the premiere of her production "Pahuna: The Little Visitors" at the Toronto International Film Festival, called the movie her "passion project" because it allowed her to have the voice of the north-east heard on the big screen.

Purple Pebble Pictures, which Priyanka co-owns with her mother Madhu Chopra, has produced the film.

The film opens with insurgent violence forcing people in a Nepalese village to flee to Sikkim. Little Amrita, her brother Pranay and their baby brother Bishal are among those fleeing with their parents, relatives and other villagers. As these people flee through the mountain forests, the little kids are told some frightening fireside stories by one of their uncles that Christian priests in white kidnap children and eat them.

In the deep jungle, Amrita and her two brothers get separated from the rest, and the film depicts how they survive by sticking together, how their fear that Christian priests are kidnappers almost comes true and how their story finally ends happily.

Speaking at the film's world premiere here, Priyanka said, "It was a hard film to shoot because it is not an easy region and there were shooting difficulties but Paaki and her team and my mom braved through it."

She said the film aims to put the spotlight on India's ignored north-east region and innocent children who get caught up in the violence.

"This (north-east) is a part of India which does not get seen too much, does not get too many people coming and visiting. But it is a little piece of heaven.. the stories, these kids and the perspectives that you saw when it comes to conversions, when it comes to religion, when it comes to kids being replaced and not knowing their parents and where they are going...it is such a special and important story and I think Paaki told it very well," said Priyanka.

Writer-director Paakhi A Tyrewala said at least nine to 10 producers rejected her film before she approached Priyanka who gave her the green signal.

"I was sick of being rejected," she said.

(Gurmukh Singh can be contacted at gurmukh.s@ians.in)
Gurugram, Sep 9 : Violent protests took place on Saturday outside the Ryan International school here over the brutal murder of a seven-year-old student, demanding the culprits be arrested and strict action taken against the school management.

Pradhuman, a Class 2 student, was found dead on Friday by a school staffer in the washroom with his throat slit. A knife, presumably the murder weapon, was found near the body.

An angry mob on Saturday broke the lock of the school's main gate. Nobody from either the local administration or the Manohar Lal Khattar government was available for comment.

The principal of the school in Bhondsi has been suspended, informed sources said. An independent investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation or a High Court judge has been demanded.

The protesters, including Pradhuman's parents, demonstrated outside the office of the Commissioner of Police on Sohna Road and demanded the arrest of the "real culprit".

Protests were also held outside a hospital on the Mehrauli-Gurugram (MG) road where the child's body was lying after the autopsy on Friday.

Police sources said the parents of the boy refused to accept the body and said the cremation would only be held after the culprits were caught.

Forensic expert Deepak Mathur, who conducted the post-mortem, said: "The deceased had two cuts on his neck. His throat was almost completely slit. Haemorrhage and excessive blood loss caused the death."

The family has alleged that the police was favouring the management of the school, located some 13 km from Gurugram city on Sohna Road.

"How can a little child be brutally murdered, when his father left him inside the school premises... The real culprits must be behind the bars," said a protestor.

Police late on Friday arrested Ashok Kumar, a conductor of one of the school's buses.

The victim's mother has called for the immediate arrest of the principal.

Several protests over the murder were held all over the city and traffic was disrupted in many parts.

Part of busy Delhi-Jaipur highway, Alwar-Sohna road and a few arterial roads were blocked.

The boy's family resides in Maruti Kunj Society in the same area. Pradhuman's father is a senior executive with an export house in the Kherki Daula area. The victim's sister is a Class 5 student in the same school The boy reached the school hardly an hour before he was found dead. The police had questioned several Class IV staff like sweeper, gardner, bus driver and conductor, before arresting Kumar.

So far no one from the school has commented on the murder.
Washington, Sep 9 : As nearly half of the US population fell victim to a massive cyber fraud at credit reporting agency Equifax, a Democratic Senator has called for a probe while a class-action lawsuit seeking up to $70 billion in damages has been filed against the company.

Senator Tammy Baldwin from Wisconsin requested the Senate Commerce Committee to hold a hearing on the Equifax hack which exposed the sensitive personal data of 143 million US citizens, New York Post reported late on Friday.

Hackers exploited a vulnerability in the company's website application from mid-May through July and gained access to consumer information including names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses and in some instances, driver's license numbers, Equifax earlier said in a statement.

The breach also included credit card numbers of approximately 209,000 consumers and certain dispute documents with personal identifying information of approximately 182,000 consumers.

"I write today to urge you to hold a hearing on an issue impacting the lives of millions of Americans -- the recently reported data breach at Equifax, one the nation's largest consumer credit reporting agencies," Baldwin wrote to the committee.

The US House Financial Services Committee has also announced to hold a hearing regarding the huge data breach.

Meanwhile, lawyers for Mary McHill and Brook Reinhard, who had their personal information stored by the company, filed a complaint in the Oregon federal court against Equifax, seeking up to $70 billion in damages, vanityfair reported.

Equifax discovered the breach on July 29 but alerted the people only on September 7 after three senior executives sold shares worth almost $1.8 million, the report added.

"This is clearly a disappointing event for our company and one that strikes at the heart of who we are and what we do. I apologise to consumers and our business customers for the concern and frustration this causes," Chairman and CEO Richard.F. Smith said in the company statement.

As part of its investigation into the application vulnerability, Equifax also identified unauthorised access to limited personal information of certain UK and Canadian residents.

According to media reports, Equifax has been slammed by customers and security experts for an inadequate response to the data breach.

After the company made the data breach public, Equifax's stock fell by more than 14 per cent.

In its efforts to mitigate damages, the company has created a dedicated website -- www.equifaxsecurity2017.com, to help consumers determine if their information has been potentially impacted and to sign up for credit file monitoring and identity theft protection.

The company has said that it will send direct mail notices to consumers whose credit card numbers or dispute documents with personal identifying information were impacted.

Equifax was also contacting US state and federal regulators and has sent written notifications to all state attorneys general, which includes company's contact information for regulator inquiries.
Mumbai, Sep 9 : Actor Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub plays a Muslim wrongly accused Of terrorism in "Sameer". He says that he was initially reluctant to do the film as he feels that "people start looking at your name and thereafter your religion, when you do a character in a political film."

In an interview he speaks on what it means to be a Muslim in India today.

Q.In your new film 'Sameer' you play a Muslim engineer student wrongly accused of terrorism. How did you react to the part when it was offered to you?

I think it was more about what the film was trying to say rather than only my character. But still, I felt a bit of reluctance as people start looking at your name and thereafter your religion, when you do a character in a political film. But then I thought if I am clear in my head and heart about why I am doing a role, then I should not care.

Q. A lot of Indian Muslims feel gagged, cornered and pushed in the current political scenario in the country. Do you feel they are justified in their apprehensions?

I think the overall scenario is definitely disturbing in many ways. The whole game of 'Shakti pradarshan' from all the segments is a serious issue. So the polarity being engineered by vested interests is making everyone a bit apprehensive.

Q. In your new film 'Sameer' the ATS is shown to randomly pick up suspects of terror activities and torture them. Would you say this is an accurate portrait of the situation?

We have seen many cases where innocent people have been wrongly suspected of terrorism and then after many years of trial they are proven not guilty. But by then their lives are destroyed. Our film 'Sameer' focuses on this issue.

Q. As a thinking empowered Indian Muslim, how isolated or assimilated do you feel to mainstream India given today's political scenario?

As you yourself say, I am an empowered and now even a privileged Muslim, so it's really easy for me to flow through the disturbing and chaotic events around me. But I have to confess that even I am targeted sometimes on my views just because I have a name. And I don't mean just the Islamic name. But also a name that's reasonably known.

Q. Our film industry has always been known to be extremely secular and non-discriminatory. Do you feel that to be true even now ?

I think that is something I am really proud of. I've never felt discriminated against in my place of work.

Q. Your brilliance as an actor has been repeatedly proven in film after film. Why are you seen playing the hero's best friend rather than the hero?

(laughs) I think we should ask this question to the producers and directors. I am playing the lead in 'Sameer'. So maybe I am now finally being promoted.

Q. Kangana Ranaut recently sparked off a debate on nepotism in Bollywood. Would you agree with her that it's very tough for an outsider to make it in Bollywood?

Yes, I guess only a blind person can say that there is no nepotism. But it's still not a hopeless situation. But yes , if you're an outsider you have to really prove yourself and that too in much harder circumstances. Though we can definitely see a fast and positive change to it.

Q. So far how has your experience in Bollywood been? Does it anger you when you have to play second fiddle to actors with not half your talent?

I hsve had a roller-coaster ride, it was great fun. I am a very patient person, so I know things will change for the good.

Q. Tell me about your plans in the near future?

I do not plan anything in my life, if I do I will stop enjoying it. I am shooting for 'Thugs Of Hindostan' with (Amitabh) Bachchan Saab and Aamir Khan, and Aanand Rai's next with Shah Rukh Khan. Right now my focus is on 'Sameer'. As we know it's a political thriller with a bold statement, which motivated me to sign this film. There are very few people who have the courage to take a stand on a political issue in these vulnerable times.
Hyderabad, Sep 9 : A crucial meeting of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council was underway here on Saturday to discuss key issues relating to implementation of the new tax regime.

Chaired by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, the 21st meeting of the GST Council was being attended by finance ministers of states and GST Secretariat officials.

Over 150 delegates were attending the meet being held at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC).

The meeting is expected to take a decision on the demand of the Telangana government to reduce the GST to 5 per cent on its flagship projects. At the previous meeting held in Delhi, the GST was reduced from 18 per cent to 12 per cent.

The Telangana government, however, insisted that the GST on ongoing projects should be brought down to 5 per cent as the higher tax rate may put an additional burden of Rs 9,000 crore.

At one stage, Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao had threatened to move the court over the issue. He later dashed off a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Telangana is seeking the relief for public utility projects like irrigation schemes, Mission Kakatiya for restoration and revival of tanks and for providing piped drinking water to every household and a two-bed room housing scheme for the poor.

Telangana Finance Minister E. Rajender said the state would reiterate the demand for scrapping GST on ongoing work contracts or at least reducing it to 5 per cent. The state is also seeking reduction in GST for the granite and marble industry and the beedi sector in view of their huge employment potential.

He said most of the states were supporting reduction in GST on public utility projects.

Telangana argues that its flagship projects were launched before July 1, when GST came into effect, and hence it will not be fair to impose a higher slab.

The meeting, the first to be hosted by Telangana, was also expected to discuss issues like passing on tax benefits to customers, setting up of the national and state-level anti-profiteering authorities, problems relating to online tax payments and delay in transfer of IGST and CGST amounts to states.

The GST Council over the last 10 months sorted out contentious issues and decided on a four-tier tax structure of 5, 12, 18 and 28 per cent. Several sectors are still demanding that the council shift them to lower slabs.
In the matter of the monuments, just how far back does the left want to go? Do they want to destroy the Washington monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial, Mt. Rushmore? Change the name of our Capital? Do away with Mt. Vernon, the Hermitage, and all the landmarks and monuments that they now find so offensive? How about the Marine Memorial, as it was white men that raised the American flag on Mt. Surabachi in WWII? How politically correct do they want to be? This is of course political correctness run amuck.
London, Sep 9 : Doing well in life, it seems, is not as difficult as we tend to assume when life throws a few tough challenges at us. A new study has found that what it takes to thrive, rather than merely survive, could be as simple as feeling good about life and yourself and being good at something.

Until now and despite plenty of theories, there has been no agreement on what makes a person thrive or on how people can try and ensure they do.

To come up with a definitive catch-all, the researchers pulled together research on what makes people thrive, from studies of babies and teenagers, to studies of artists, sportspeople, employees and the elderly.

"Thriving is a word most people would be glad to hear themselves described as, but which science hasn't really managed to consistently classify and describe until now," said Daniel Brown, a sport and exercise scientist at the University of Portsmouth in Britain.

"It appears to come down to an individual experiencing a sense of development, of getting better at something, and succeeding at mastering something," he added.

"In the simplest terms, what underpins it is feeling good about life and yourself and being good at something," Brown added.

The study, published in the journal European Psychologist, outlines a 'shopping list' of requirements for thriving in life.

According to the list one has to be optimistic, spiritual or religious, motivated, proactive, someone who enjoys learning and is flexible, adaptable, socially competent, believes in self/has self-esteem.

Moreover, one should also have the opportunity and employer/family/other support. The other requirements in the list include challenges and difficulties are at manageable level, environment is calm, is given a high degree of autonomy and is trusted as competent.

To thrive does not need all the components, but a combination of some from each of the two lists may help, the researchers said.

Thriving has been examined at various stages of human life and has at times been described as vitality, learning, mental toughness, focus, or combinations of these and other qualities.

It has also been examined in various contexts, including in the military, in health and in child development.

"Since the end of the 20th century, there has been a quest in science to better understand human fulfilment and thriving, there's been a shift towards wanting to understand how humans can function as highly as possible," Brown said.

"Part of the reason for a lack of consensus is the research so far has been narrowly focused. Some have studied what makes babies thrive, others have examined what makes some employees thrive and others not, and so on. By setting out a clear definition, I hope this helps set a course for future research," Brown added.
New Delhi, Sep 9 : With Hurricane Irma leaving a trail of destruction in its wake, India has asked its missions in Venezuela, the US and in the Netherlands and France whose territories in the Caribbean have been hit hard to remain in constant touch with the Indian diaspora there.

"Our Missions in Venezuela, Netherlands, France & US are constantly monitoring the situation following destruction due to hurricane IRMA," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted.

"They are in constant touch with the Indian diaspora affected by IRMA & with local govt officials to provide all possible assistance," he said.

Kumar also shared emergency numbers in the Indian Embassies in Venezuela (+58 4241951854/4142214721), Netherlands (+31 247247247) and France (0800000971) for those affected to get in touch with.

At least 24 people were killed this week when Irma pummelled northern Caribbean islands such as Barbuda and the Virgin Islands.

France and the Netherlands said they had sent aid to islands such as Saint Martin, which is said to be "95 percent destroyed". Saint Martin island is split in two with a French northern part and the Dutch owning the south.

The Red Cross estimates 1.2 million people have already been battered by the storm.

Meanwhile, the Indian Embassy in Netherlands issued a separate message saying the Netherlands government, in cooperation with Britain and France, was actively engaged in efforts to ensure safety and disaster relief.

"We are in constant touch with the Dutch Government which has informed us that the Dutch military is providing water, food and other disaster relief items," it said. "The Dutch Military police are assisting the local police to avoid looting."

According to the message, the Indian Embassy in Caracas, Venezuela, is also monitoring the situation in St. Martin and coordinating the welfare of all Indians living there.

"We are in constant touch with our Ambassador of India in Venezuela," it stated.

French President Emmanuel Macron is set to travel to France's Caribbean territories "as soon as possible" to oversee relief efforts, while the Dutch government is holding a crisis meeting about the damages to its territories.

Damages and casualties have also been reported in the French island of Saint-Barthelemy.
Hyderabad, Sep 9 : Leaders and activists of the Left parties on Saturday tried to march towards the venue of the Goods and Services Tax Council meeting here, to demand its rollback.

Communist Party of India (CPI) Central Secretariat member K. Narayana and other leaders and activists of the Telangana unit of the CPI and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) were detained by the police.

The police stopped the protestors as they tried to march towards the Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC), where the 21st meeting of the GST Council was underway.

There were heated arguments between the two sides, leading to tension in the high security area in the Information Technology hub of Hitec City.

The police personnel physically lifted the protestors into waiting vehicles and whisked them away to a nearby police station.

Narayana said they wanted to meet Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to submit a memorandum to bring to his notice the problems faced by several sectors due to GST.

The CPI leader claimed that the 28 per cent GST slab has hit industry hard and led to the closure of some units, rendering lakhs of people jobless.

Demanding that the Centre review the new tax regime, Narayana said if it failed to rollback the GST, the Left parties would launch a nationwide protest.
Dhaka, Sep 9 : Thousands of people took to the streets across Asia to denounce Myanmar's treatment of the Rohingya Muslim minority as some 290,000 of them have fled to Bangladesh to escape the ongoing violence in Myanmar's Rakhine state since August 25.

More than 1,000 people have been killed in the violence, according to an UN estimate. Political and Islamic groups, along with other civil society organisations, joined protests in Bangladesh's capital on Friday to urge Myanmar to "stop committing genocide" and take back those who have sought refuge elsewhere, CNN reported.

Some 290,000 Rohingya Muslims fled to Bangladesh to escape the ongoing violence in Myanmar's Rakhine since August 25, the UN office here said on Saturday.

The violence erupted following an attack by a Rohingya insurgent group on police and military posts in Rakhine, leading to a violent offensive by the Myanmar Army.

Protesters criticised Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Myanmar's de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and called for her Nobel Prize to be withdrawn. Protests also took place in Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia and Pakistan.

The government of Myanmar blames terrorists for starting the violence. Marchers in Dhaka expressed their outrage at reports of abuse coming from Myanmar, the report said.

"I've joined the rally to express my solidarity with the Rohingya people," activist Mahfuza Haque Neela told CNN. "The Rohingya people, including women and children, are being killed ... women are being raped."

The rally was partly organised by protest group Gonojagoron Mancha, whose leaders said they plan to besiege Myanmar's embassy in Dhaka on Monday if the government does not take action.

Over a thousand Muslim devotees belonging to the organisation Islamic Movement Bangladesh joined a rally in the capital's Paltan area. The movement's leaders demanded the immediate deployment of UN peacekeepers in Rakhine and the implementation of the recommendations made by a commission led by former UN head Kofi Annan.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party urged the country's government to "force Myanmar to take back the Rohingyas".

Dhaka's Buddhist community also protested Myanmar's treatment of the Rohingyas. Security was beefed up around Buddhist temples and other institutions in Dhaka and elsewhere.

About 200 protesters rallied outside Myanmar's embassy in Malaysia on Friday urging Kuala Lumpur to sever diplomatic ties with Yangon. The protest was led by the youth wing of the predominantly Muslim Malaysia's ruling party, the United Malays National Organisation, after Friday prayers.

Thousands of people in Pakistan from all walks of life took to the streets in major cities on Friday to condemn the crackdown on Rohingyas. In Karachi, more than 2,000 people demonstrated outside the Karachi Press Club, media reports said.

In Indonesia, hundreds of protesters gathered near the famous Borobudur temple in Central Java, and hundreds more outside the Myanmar Embassy in Jakarta.

Meanwhile, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu criticised Suu Kyi in an open letter posted on Twitter. "I am ... breaking my vow of silence on public affairs out of profound sadness about the plight of the Muslim minority in your country, the Rohingya," Tutu wrote.

"What some have called 'ethnic cleansing' and others 'a slow genocide' has persisted -- and recently accelerated. The images we are seeing of the suffering of the Rohingya fill us with pain and dread ... If the political price of your ascension to the highest office in Myanmar is your silence, the price is surely too steep."

Suu Kyi said her government is trying to help "everybody who is of our country, whether or not they are our citizens".

In a statement on Friday, US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley urged Myanmar to implement the Annan commission's recommendations.
Lt. Swati Santosh Mahadik with the momento of 41Rashtriya Rifles. Seen with her children and parents and I laws. Completing training at the age of 32 with girls half her age and ranking high in ... Image Source: IANS News

Mumbai/Chennai, Sep 9 : Maharashtra hero, the late Col. Santosh Mahadik's widow Swati Mahadik was on Saturday commissioned into the Indian Army as a Lieutenant, officials said.

As she completed her parade in Chennai on Saturday, Lt. Swati Mahadik broke down and her family members and a senior army officer's wife consoled, hugged her and wiped the tears of joy.

Present on her proud moment were her two children -- daughter Kartikee, 12, and son Swaraj, seven, her grieving mother-in-law Kalindi Ghorpade, her father Babanrao Shedge and her mother.

Col. Mahadik, who was Commanding Officer, 41 Rashtriya Rifles, was killed in a gunfight with terrorists in the jungles of Haji Naka area near the Line of Control in Kupwara district of Jammu & Kashmir in November 2015.

In his sacrifice, the expert paratrooper and a combat underwater diver saved the lives of many men under his charge and was later posthumously awarded the Shaurya Chakra by the government of India.

The Mahadiks hail from Pogarwadi village in Satara district of western Maharashtra.
New Delhi, Sep 9 : Congress on Saturday promoted AICC Secretary Deepak Babaria and appointed him party in charge of Madhya Pradesh in place of Mohan Prakash.

Babaria, who hails from Gujarat and was Secretary in charge of Kerala, will be assisted by party secretaries Zubair Khan and Sanjay Kapoor.

"Congress President Sonia Gandhi has constituted a new team to hold charge of looking after party affairs in Madhya Pradesh," a party release said, adding Prakash and Rakesh Kalia have been relieved of their responsibility as General Secretary and Secretary incharge of Madhya Pradesh respectively.

"Congratulated newly appointed AICC General Secy Deepak Babaria, I am sure under his leadership & guidance @INCMP will root out BJP in MP!," tweeted Gujarat unit chief Bharat Solanki.

The Congress faces a tough electoral battle in Madhya Pradesh where polls are due late next year, having lost the last three assembly polls.
Lt. Swati Santosh Mahadik with the momento of 41Rashtriya Rifles. Seen with her children and parents and I laws. Completing training at the age of 32 with girls half her age and ranking high in ... Image Source: IANS News

Mumbai/Chennai, Sep 9 : Maharashtra hero, the late Col. Santosh Mahadik's widow Swati Mahadik was on Saturday commissioned into the Indian Army as a Lieutenant, officials said.

As she completed her parade in Chennai on Saturday, Lt. Swati Mahadik broke down, and her family members and a senior army officer's wife consoled and hugged her and wiped the tears of joy.

Present on her proud moment were her two children -- daughter Kartikee, 12, and son Swaraj, seven, her mother-in-law Kalindi Ghorpade, her father Babanrao Shedge and her mother.

Col. Mahadik, who was Commanding Officer, 41 Rashtriya Rifles, was killed in a gunfight with terrorists in the jungles of Haji Naka area near the Line of Control in Kupwara district of Jammu & Kashmir in November 2015.

In his sacrifice, the expert paratrooper and a combat underwater diver saved the lives of many men under his charge. He was later posthumously awarded the Shaurya Chakra by the government.

Hailing from Pogarwadi village in the hilly Satara district of western Maharashtra, Lt. Mahadik fulfilled her dream of stepping into her late husband's shoes to serve the nation through the Indian Army.

A few months after Col. Mahadik's death, his widow stunned her family, villagers and the military establishment by announcing her intention to join the Army.

Swati had already crossed the upper age limit for entering the army and it was only after the Indian Army and Ministry of Defence specially relaxed the age limit for her that she could initiate her new career goals.

Later, she had told local mediapersons how she had silently resolved to join the Indian Army at the funeral of her slain husband in November 2015.

She sent both her children to boarding schools -- son Swaraj in Panchgani and daughter Kartikee in Dehradun -- and then appeared for the crucial Staff Selection Board (SSB) which she cleared.

After undergoing several rounds of other physical fitness and medical examinations as part of the five-tiered selection process, she was selected to join the Officers Training Academy in Chennai.

Swati successfully completed her OTA training and on Saturday she took part in the passing-out parade to join the Indian Army as a Lieutenant in the Army Ordnance Corps.

At the passing out parade, there was Lt. Nidhi Dubey, the widow of another soldier, the late Naik Mukesh Dubey, who joined the Indian Army along with Lt. Swati Mahadik.

Lt. Swati Mahadik is a graduate from Savitribai Phule Pune University, and is specially trained for children with learning disabilities and autism.

Welcoming two such gritty widows to the armed forces, the Indian Army said in a tweet: "SaluteThe Spirit. Lt. Swati Mahadik, wife of the late Col. Santosh Mahadik, who laid down his life for the country while fighting terrorists in J&K, and Lt. Nidhi Dubey, wife of Naik Mukesh Dubey."

"Both have strived hard to become officers today after their husbands passed away. Both of them have made all of us proud by completing the rigorous training and becoming an officer in the Indian Army."
Los Angeles, Sep 9 : Actor Josh Gad thanked actress Kristen Bell for saving his family from Hurricane Irma.

The 37-year-old, who is currently staying in Orlando, Florida filming her upcoming movie "Like Father", reached out to Gad's family after they were stuck due to the natural disaster, reports people.com.

Gad, 36, took to Instagram to thank Bell for her gesture.

"So Kristen Bell literally saved my parents and my entire family tonight from hurricane irma. When they were stranded in Florida, she got them a hotel room at her hotel in Orlando and saved them, my brothers, my sister-in-law and niece and nephew.

"They don't make them like this girl. Thank you Kristen. You are truly an angel sent from above. And thank you Ewa Loba Battistelli for bothering her when I asked you not to," posted the "Beauty and the Beast" actor, alongside a selfie of Bell and his parents.
Bengaluru, Sep 9 : The family of slain journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh met Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah at his residence here on Saturday to inquire about the probe into her killing.

"Indira Lankesh, Gauri Lankesh's mother met me today. I have reassured her of government's resolve to swiftly bring Gauri's killer to justice," Siddaramaiah tweeted.

Talking to the media after the meeting, he said he had assured Indira Lankesh that the government would "put all efforts to trace the accused".

"(Congress President) Sonia Gandhi also spoke to me. She had asked me to see that the accused persons are caught immediately," he added.

Lankesh, 55, was gunned down at her residence here on Tuesday by three unidentified men who fled from the spot.
Chennai, Sep 9 : Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K.Palaniswami on Saturday said electoral alliance of his AIADMK with the BJP for the local body elections would be taken ahead of the polls.

Interacting with reporters at Kanchipuram, around 60 km from here, Palaniswami said the decision on alliance will be taken once the election dates are announced.

The question on alliance was posed to Palaniswami as the Minister for Milk and Dairy Development K.T.Rajenthra Bhalaji on Friday said there was nothing wrong with aligning with the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Palaniswami also said with 134 legislators, the AIADMK commands majority in the assembly.

Meanwhile Fisheries Minister D.Jayakumar on Saturday told reporters here that the government would prove its majority in the assembly if DMK calls for a floor test.

Jayakumar also claimed that legislators backing T.T.V.Dinakaran, the party's sidelined Deputy General Secretary, would extend support to Palaniswami.

He said that the general council meeting of the party will be held on September 12 near here.
On Aug. 11, 1976, Neil Young went into Indigo Ranch Studio in Malibu, put his producer/engineer David Briggs behind the board, and with an You ready, Briggs? began recording Pocahontas.

"Pausing only for weed, beer, or coke, Young wrote in his 2014 memoir Super Deluxe, he recorded 10 songs with just guitar or piano that day, intending them to be an album.

On further consideration, however, Young decided not to release Hitchhiker -- I was pretty stony on it, and you can hear it in my performance, he wrote in Super Deluxe.

But Young knew he was onto something with the material -- eight of songs, often in radically different versions, subsequently ended up on Young albums from 1977s American Stars n Bars to 2010s Le Noise.

Now, Young -- surprise, surprise -- has reversed himself, officially releasing the oft-bootlegged Hitchhiker.

And it is a true lost gem, a raw, revealing recording that captures Young at what I would argue is his artistic peak, playing the simplest, but most effective versions of songs that have become classics. They deserve revisiting along with two that have never been released.

The classics include Pocahontas, which in its acoustic presentation doesnt differ all that much from how it appeared on his 1979 masterpiece Rust Never Sleeps. The same holds true for Ride My Llama.

The stripped-down version of Powderfinger, however, puts a different, more-resonant spin on the song that, in the hands of Crazy Horse, became one of Youngs most earth-scorching rocker. The acoustic version becomes a dramatic reading by its 22-year-old protagonist facing down death.

Among the songs that deserve revisiting is Hitchhiker, which turned up on Le Noise, Youngs venture into electronic music. Here with jangly acoustic guitar, harmonica and Youngs sweetly ragged vocals, it becomes a haunted, drug-soaked autobiographical journey.

And Campaigner, from 1976s Decade was, 41 years ago, an elegy for Richard Nixon, whod resigned the presidency in disgrace two years earlier. But with lines like, The speaker speaks, but the truth still leaks, it takes on new resonance -- an instant protest song in the era of Donald Trump.

The two previously unreleased songs, presented back to back, are Hawaii, a story-song ballad of an encounter with a stranger thats simultaneously unsettling and hopeful, and Give Me Strength, a sturdy, wandering tale of lost love.

Got to change the vocal mic to the piano, Young tells Briggs before beginning a stately version of Old Country Waltz that closes the 34-minute album that, for hardcore Young fans -- the albums audience -- demands and rewards repeat listening. Grade: A
Srinagar, Sep 9 : Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday began a four-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir and reviewed the security situation during a meeting with Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti even as militants attacked a police party in Anantnag, killing one and injuring two others.

The arrival of the Home Minister, who tweeted that he was visiting the state with an open mind and was ready to meet with everyone who could help in the solution of the problems in Kashmir, also came as senior separatist leaders were placed under house arrest and JKLF chief Yasin Malik was arrested ahead of their proposed protest at the NIA headquarters in Delhi.

In the morning, terrorists fired at security forces conducting search operations in a village in Baramulla district. In the ensuing gunfight, one militant was killed. Pakistani forces also resorted to unprovoked, indiscriminate firing on the LoC in Poonch district, injuring a civilian and a BSF trooper.

As Singh was in the midst of holding official talks and meeting various delegations, militants in an audacious strike in Anantnag district attacked a police patrol on a routine check in the town, killing one policeman and injuring two others. Singh is to visit Anantnag on Sunday and address policemen and CRPF troopers in Khanabal area of the same district. A gunfight also began in a village of Shopian district in the evening.

After his official meetings were over, Singh met 24 delegations, including local boatmen, hoteliers, artisans and youth among others.

Earlier in the day, Singh held a meeting with Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti immediately after he arrived here with a team of union Home Ministry officials, including Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba.

"Overall security situation was reviewed at the Union Home Minister's meeting with the Chief Minister," official sources said here.

During his visit, Singh is to also co-chair with Mehbooba Mufti, a meeting of the Unified Headquarters which is the topmost anti-militancy grid in the state.

Senior officers of state police, army, paramilitary forces and state and central intelligence agencies are part of the Unified Headquarters.

The Union Home Minister held a review of the implementation of Prime Minister's Development Package along with Mehbooba Mufti at a high level meeting of officers. Both leaders took a detailed review of the projects taken up under the Rs 80,000 crore PMDP in the State.

An official statement said Singh impressed upon the officers of the state and central government to work in a coordinated manner for the timely implementation of the projects under PMDP.

He said the PMDP which envisages a developmental and infrastructural revolution in the state is the biggest financial package for Jammu and Kashmir so far.

He asked the officers to complete the projects within the deadline scheduled so that people get the benefit of these projects at the earliest. He also suggested taking the benefits of the projects to the masses so that with their involvement in execution, the completion results are achieved at the earliest.

In her intervention, Mehbooba Mufti sought regular and in-time release of funds to the state for executing the projects. She said that given the limited working season and harsh winters in the state, the releases have to be fast-paced and furthered.

The meeting was informed that 63 projects have been taken up under PMDP by 15 Union Ministries through 39 executing agencies. Of them around 80 per cent projects stand formally sanctioned, the meeting was told. Of the total outlay, Rs 21,988 crore has been released under the package and five projects have already been completed, while seven projects are likely to be completed soon.

Among the projects in progress, are 22 major road projects which include some big ticket works like semi ring road projects for Srinagar and Jammu, Kargil-Zanaskar road, Udhampur-Ramban and Ramban-Banihal stretches of National Highway which are in various stages of completion, the meeting was told.

Later, Songh met a youth delegation comprising entrepreneurs and local artistes. He is slated to meet some other local delegations, including civil society members, and local artisans.

He also met a Pandit delegation, and a Shia delegation, among others.
Rohtak (Haryana), Sep 9 : A team of doctors was rushed to the District Jail in Sunaria near Rohtak town in Haryana on Saturday after rapist Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, the chief of Dera Sacha Sauda sect, complained of ill health.

It was not immediately known what health issues the disgraced sect chief was facing.

A team of five doctors was sent to the prison premises to examine Ram Rahim.

Security agencies beefed up security measures in Rohtak town, about 10 km from Sunaria, and particularly around the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (PGIMS).

Police sources said the team of doctors from PGIMS examined Ram Rahim on Saturday and found him fine. The doctors told the jail officials that there was no immediate need to shift him to hospital.

Ram Rahim had feigned health concerns on August 28 just minutes after he was sentenced to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment. Doctors had examined him and found him fine.

Ram Rahim was convicted in the 1999 rape cases by a CBI special court in Panchkula on August 25. His conviction led to violence in Panchkula and Sirsa in Haryana, leaving 38 people dead and 264 injured. Isolated incidents of violence were also reported from Delhi and several other places in Punjab.
New Delhi, Sep 9 : Congress-affiliated National Students' Union of India (NSUI) on Saturday accused the Delhi University Chief Election Officer of being "partisan" and of "selectively going against" non-ABVP candidates.

The NSUI had approached the CEO for the extension of the campaigning period to make up for the time lost owing to the cancellation of its presidential candidate Rocky Tuseed's nomination -- a decision which was subsequently overturned by the High Court on Friday.

However, "he CEO refused to extend campaign time saying that the office was constrained by Lyngdoh Committee guidelines of conducting polls within 56 days", the student group said in a statement.

The group argued that the election office was bound by a bigger mandate of Lyngdoh Committee, which was to "conduct free and fair elections".

"It is obvious that our candidate has been highly disadvantaged due to this arbitrary decision of the CEO," it said.

The CEO was also targeted for being a partisan in favour of RSS-affiliated Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP)-- an arch opponent of NSUI.

The student group said that despite there being a written complaint against the ABVP candidates "of assault and criminal intimidation", the CEO has failed to take any action against them.

"If the CEO is acting in an independent and non-partisan manner, he must immediately take action against the ABVP candidate and extend campaign time," it added.

NSUI's presidential candidate for university students union election Rocky Tussed was allowed to contest polls by the Delhi High Court yesterday after his nomination was cancelled by the CEO on Wednesday.

CEO S.B. Babbar had dropped Tuseed's name from the candidate list on account of his being subject to disciplinary action at Shivaji College where his entry was banned in 2014.
Islamabad, Sep 9 : Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Saturday flew in an F-16 fighter during a training mission becoming the country's first Prime Minister to have done so.

Abbasi visited the newly-established Airpower Centre of Excellence (ACE) at an operational air base of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF).

The facility is a premier institution and has been equipped with state of the art facilities and infrastructure. Besides training PAF personnel, this institute would also train the combat crew of friendly air forces by conducting multinational, training exercises, Geo TV reported.

Abbasi was also briefed on the ongoing exercise 'Saffron Bandit' and was informed that the first multinational exercise will be held in October with the participation of personnel from 19 air forces.
Kolkata, Sep 9 : In view of current coal shortage in the power plants, the Union Railways and Coal minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday said the supply of the fossil fuel would improve over the next 15-20 days.

"Today, I have a review meeting with Coal India and Railways. There will be a sea change in situation in the next 15-20 days," he said about critical situation of coal stock of some thermal power plants.

However, he blamed the state governments and power plants for the critical stock position.

"For the last four months, we had asked all the state governments to stock up coal. They are suppose to keep coal for 22-35 days but the plants have brought it down to 12-13 days, and now they are paying price," Goyal said on the sidelines of a IIM -Calcutta programme.

He said demand for coal in monsoon usually increases and transportation becomes challenge in monsoon. There were floods in Bihar West Bengal, Jharkhand which are coal producing states.
Astana, Sep 9 : The United Arab Emirates will be participating in the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation's first summit on science and technology here from September 10 to 11.

Ahmad bin Abdulla Humaid Belhoul AlFalasi, Minister of State for Higher Education, who is representing the UAE, said that Muslims have laid down a great human civilisation and during the Islamic era, the world witnessed an unprecedented prosperity in the science of medicine, pharmacy, chemistry, astronomy, philosophy and others due to the many achievements of Islamic scholars.

During the opening session, OIC Secretary-General Yousef bin Ahmad Al-Othaimeen said that the Astana summit would witness a historic milestone, as it will evolve a unified collective position with a view to advancing the different fields of science, technology and innovation.

AlFalasi added that the UAE believed in the importance and the role of science and knowledge, as they are the cornerstone of economic diversification, stressing that the UAE was a pioneer in many fields, as it officially entered the world race to explore outer space through its "Mars Hope" project, the first Arab mission to another planet.
Casablanca, Sep 9 : The city of Marrakech will host the second edition of the Middle East and North Africa Business Aviation Association (MEBAA) business air show on September 12 and 13 at the citys Menara airport.

The two-day event will gather 61 exhibitors from different countries across the world, including France, Djibouti, and the United Arab of Emirates.

The show aims to highlight the importance of business aviation in both Morocco and the African continent. It will feature a static display of the latest business aircraft, including a Gulfstream G550 and aircraft from Bombardier, according to a press release issued by the organisers.

Two-thousand five-hundred visitors are expected to be in attendance at the show. The event will also bring together international air industry giants and sponsors, including Bombardier, Boeing Business Jets, and Gulfstream.

The MEBAA Show Morocco 2017 is the second edition of the event. The inaugural edition took place in Casablanca in 2015, with the move to Marrakech this year offering great opportunities for exhibitors and sponsors, the report said.
Gurugram, Sep 9 : A day after the conductor of school bus was arrested for the brutal murder of a seven-year old student, the principal of Ryan International School was suspended and the district administration ordered a probe by a panel that will give its report by Monday.

The administration also ordered a security audit of all schools in Gurugram while police said they will file a detailed chargesheet in the case that has evoked nationwide concern.

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar warned of stern action against the school authorities for any lapses. The CBSE has also formed a panel to inquire the case.

Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar termed the murder an "unfortunate incident" and hoped that justice will be served.

Local residents, including parents of children studying in the school, assembled outside the school on Saturday morning and held protests, demanding strict action against the school management.

Pradhuman, a Class 2 student, was found dead on Friday by a school staffer in the washroom with his throat slit.

Police late on Friday arrested Ashok Kumar, a conductor of one of the school's buses. The victim's mother has called for the immediate arrest of the principal.

On Saturday, an angry mob broke the lock of the school's main gate. The protesters, including Pradhuman's parents, also demonstrated outside the office of the Commissioner of Police on Sohna Road and demanded the arrest of the "real culprit".

The district authorities held a press conference in the afternoon which was addressed by Deputy Commissioner Vinay Pratap Singh and Gurugram Police Commissioner Sandeep Khairwar.

Singh said a committee has been set up to prepare a comprehensive report about the security lapses in the school. "The report will be submitted by Monday. Further course of action would be taken on the basis of the report."

He said the committee would also probe whether any prior incident had occurred in the school campus, located some 13 km from Gurugram city on Sohna Road.

Singh said the services of a private security agency hired by the school had been suspended and a security audit will be done of all schools in Gurugram.

Khairwar said they will conduct a thorough investigation and file a detailed chargesheet within seven days.

"We are on the job fully and will complete documentation of scientific, forensic and technical evidences."

He said the school management has ordered suspension of the school's acting principal.

Khattar termed the incident a very heinous crime and said the state government will soon issue a circular to instruct all schools in the state to tighten security measures.

"The administration has nabbed the suspect. I have directed the authorities to complete investigations within seven days. I would also request the court to punish the perpetrator as earliest as possible," he said.

Khattar ruled out a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation. "There is no question of CBI probe in this matter as Haryana Police have successfully nabbed the perpetrator and he has accepted him crime."

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), to which the school is affiliated, formed a two-member committee to inquire into the case. It also asked the school to submit a report within two days.

Earlier in the day, a Gurugram court sent the accused in the murder to a three-day police remand.

The boy's family resides in Maruti Kunj Society in the same area. Pradhuman's father is a senior executive with an export house in the Kherki Daula area. The victim's sister is a Class 5 student in the same school In the evening, locals held a candle light march over the murder of the student.

Haryana Education Minister Ram Bilas Sharma said that careless educational institutes like Ryan International School, Gurugram, would not be spared.

"Stern action would be taken against the guilty. The administration is working closely to solve the murder mystery of Pradyuman," Sharma told media in Chandigarh.

"The district administration (Gurugram) is actively engaged in solving the case. I will myself visit Gurugram on Sunday," the Minister said.

"The school management should look at the behavior of the driver and the conductor and the buses in which children arrive should be safeguarded," he added.
New Delhi, Sep 9 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday reiterated the importance India attached to its ties with Sri Lanka asthe island nation's new Foreign Minister Tilak Marapana called on him here.

"Prime Minister reaffirmed the high importance that India attaches to its relations with Sri Lanka," the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said in a statement.

"Both countries enjoy deep and broad-based ties," it added.

Modi conveyed to Marapana that he looked forward to continue to work closely with Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to further strengthen and expand bilateral cooperation.

He also congratulated Marapana on assuming his new responsibility as Foreign Minister. Marapana, who assumed office on August 15, arrived here on Friday on a three-day trip to India in what is his first official visit abroad.

"The Prime Minister referred to his fruitful visit to Sri Lanka in May this year for the International Vesak Day," the PMO statement said.

Earlier in the day, External Affairs Minister Susham Swaraj held delegation-level talks with Marapana.

"The two sides discussed the entire gamut of bilateral relations and ways to further deepen the historically close and friendly relations between the two countries," the External Affairs Ministry said in a separate statement.

Sushma Swaraj and Marapana had earlier met this month when she went to Colombo to attend the Second Indian Ocean Conference.
Damascus, Sep 10 : The Syrian army on Saturday broke the Islamic State (IS) siege on the military airport of Deir al-Zour city in eastern Syria.

The progress came after the troops advanced toward the airbase, which had been besieged by IS along with the city for three years, Xinhua reported citing SANA agency as saying.

The troops, which broke the IS siege on the city earlier this week, reached the airbase and met with the besieged soldiers inside it.

Capturing the airbase is a strategic win for the army in its quest to drive IS out of Deir al-Zour and its countryside.

When the base was besieged, the soldiers could not fly warplanes as IS would target them.

Now, the base is expected to return to operation after the army has cleansed the vicinity of the airbase.

A Syrian officer told Xinhua by phone that IS was collapsing in Deir al-Zour.

Syrian Foreign Ministry said the war on IS is close to the end given heavy defeats the terror group is suffering.
The drug trade isn't run by choir boys and Girl Scouts, the prosecutor told the jury in closing arguments in Courtney Savage's meth case.

Savage stood accused of possessing a dealer amount of methamphetamine, not in itself a particularly rare charge.

But what made his case stand out was where the 9.1 grams of meth was found: inside the vagina of a woman with whom he'd been driving around town early Feb. 17.

When he was arrested, police say, Savage denied knowing about the drugs or being involved in dealing and asked "how he could be charged for meth found inside of someone else."

In closing arguments Thursday, Deputy Lancaster County Attorney Carolyn Bosn laid out the state's case, which included testimony from two people who had been in a car with the Omaha man that night.

They both told police, separately, that Savage had pulled a bag of meth from his groin area when he saw the cops, tossed it to Christine Tannehill in the backseat and told her, in no uncertain terms, to put the bag inside her.

"It's clear who's up the chain on who here," Bosn said.

She said Savage was Tannehill's dealer and had given him a ride to Lincoln to sell drugs. They were on their third stop when police caught up with them near 10th and Washington streets.

Bosn said texts from Savage's cellphone confirm he had been the one selling.

"It's the totality of the evidence that leads to a guilty verdict," she said.

Savage's attorney, Darik Von Loh, said a police officer on the stand admitted the drugs could have been Tannehill's and that she could've sent the texts from Savage's phone.

Why else would it take nearly five minutes for Tannehill to give up the bag of meth to police? Because it was hers, Von Loh contended.

"Mr. Savage exercised no control over those drugs because he never had them," Von Loh said.

Bosn said the case came down to control, and Savage had been in control of everything.

She said the idea that Tannehill and the second witness independently would make up the same story to police was unbelievable.

They were high, they were scared, they were nervous, Bosn said.

"And they told you exactly what happened," she said.

After deliberating for about 3 hours, the jury found Savage guilty.

If the judge finds him to be a habitual criminal, as alleged, he'll get at least 10 years in prison when he's sentenced in November.

Tannehill pleaded no contest to possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine and is participating in drug court.
Helsinki, Sep 10 : Finnish officials on Saturday confirmed that US Undersecretary of State Thomas Shannon and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov will meet in Helsinki next week.

They will also meet Finnish President Sauli Niinisto, the Finnish presidential office confirmed to local media.

According Xinhua news agency, the agenda of the meeting, to be held on September 11-12, has not been reported. The US State Department noted that the two ministers will address "areas of bilateral concern and cooperation."

Russian newsagency RIA Nowosti also reported the upcoming meeting on Saturday, quoting Russian diplomatic sources.

Teija Tiilikainen, director of the Finnish Institute for International Affairs, told newspaper Helsingin Sanomat that in the current international political situation the meeting has a greater importance than usual.

Although the agenda has not been released, Tiilikainen said it could be long. She mentioned the issues such as the situation in Syria, the Baltic Sea and the North Korea.

US and Soviet politicians and diplomats used to meet in Helsinki especially during the 1980s.

Tiilikainen commented that during his visit to Washington in late August, Niinisto got a lot of attention from US President Donald Trump.

"Perhaps the impression was obtained in Washington that Finland has a perspective and that it has a strong dialogue with Russia," Tiilikainen was quoted as saying.

Commentators have seen the Helsinki meeting also as a prelude to the planned talks between foreign ministers Sergei Lavrov and Rex Tillerson, later in September in New York.
We'll work hard to sustain and honor his legacy by keeping the Center a place for hospitality, collaboration, and convening for productive dialogue and action to bridge the signs of the times on the world's front pages wtih Catholic social tradition.

Center of Concern in Washington, D.C., announced that its founding chief executive, the Rev. Dr. William F. Ryan, S.J., passed away on September 8, 2017, at the age of 92. Father Ryan served as the first chief executive of the Center from 1971 to 1978. Doctor Lester A. Myers, Center of Concern's president, praised his legacy, saying, "Father William Ryan, S.J., played an essential role as the founding chief executive of Center of Concern. Superior General Arrupe and Bishop Bernardin represented the Jesuits and the American bishops, respectively, at UN Secretary General U Thant's office in 1971 in creating this global voice for social justice from Catholic social tradition. However, it was Fr. Ryan who took responsibility for strategy and implementation over the eight years of his leadership, including wisely inviting women religious to play important roles as angel investors and leaders on the Center team and board. He believed in the Center and in the good work we could accomplish on our shared journey, and he rallied the people and resources to make it happen."

"We remain grateful that this Harvard-educated economist from Canada embedded in the Center's culture, and in his continuing service to the Society of Jesus, Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, International Development Resources Centre, and Jesuit Forum for Social Faith and Justice, an enduring global consciousness of care for our common home and one another. In his graciousness, intelligence, and concern for people, Fr. Ryan exemplified Ignatian tradition and the spirit of Vatican II and prefigured for us the courageous and prophetic engagement of Pope Francis. Father Ryan was a Jesuit's Jesuit, embodying pastoral, thought, and executive leadership that continues to inspire the Center as it celebrates its 47th year of service. It is a bittersweet weekend for the Center team, as his passing comes exactly at the time that the Center is moving into its third home, modern new offices two blocks from the White House," he continued.

"The Center of Concern family always will remember Fr. Ryan with gratitude, affection, respect, and joy. We'll work hard to sustain and honor his legacy by keeping the Center a place for hospitality, collaboration, and convening for productive dialogue and action to bridge the signs of the times on the world's front pages with Catholic social tradition. We'll nourish for this century what Fr. Ryan started in the last through our growing research, education, and advocacy in public and private centers of influence on the world stage."

"Please join the Center team and board in remembering this remarkable man in your thoughts and prayers and in honoring his example as a prominent voice for global social justice. As he showed us the way, let us together show others how to work for social justice, care for our common home and one another, and build a new humanity," he concluded.

ABOUT CENTER OF CONCERN

Since its founding in 1971 at the office of United Nations Secretary General U Thant by National Conference of Catholic Bishops General Secretary Joseph Bernardin and Jesuit Superior General Pedro Arrupe, S.J., and with significant talent and treasure from women religious, Center of Concern (Center) has served in Washington, D.C., with a mission to research, educate, and advocate from Catholic social tradition to create a world where economic, political, and cultural systems promote sustainable flourishing of the global community. The Center envisions a global community that upholds basic human rights and human dignity, fosters just relationships, promotes sustainable livelihoods, and renews the earth. The Center is a member of Cooperation Internationale pour le Developpement et la Solidarite (CIDSE) and holds consultative status before the United Nations Economic and Social Council. http://www.coc.org

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Foyer Sideboard Dumke's designs are transitional in form and spirit; appealing on an intellectual as well as an emotional level.

Thomas William Furniture, renowned for exquisitely handcrafted, solid wood furniture, introduces its signature blend of fine craftsmanship and meticulous detailing, in an elegant statement-making console, the Foyer Sideboard. This piece exhibits the timelessness, handcraftsmanship and detail that imbue all of Dumkes designs. Working with a straightforward mix of cherry, birch and wenge wood, Dumke has created a transitional piece with a harmonious balance of texture and proportion. His design vision combines a deep appreciation for materials and craftsmanship, a rare passion for history, and thoughtful, traditional with modern flare executions.

The Foyer Sideboard is my signature piece for the Thomas William Furniture Collection and my favorite piece to make. It is technically challenging with all the complex joinery Dumke said. Dumkes designs are transitional in form and spirit; appealing on an intellectual as well as an emotional level, processed by facilitating and encouraging personalized variations on these themes. The Foyer Sideboard shelves and insets are of flame birch add shimmering contrast to the piece's cherry wood frame, balanced by accents of rich wenge wood. Three maple and cedar dovetailed drawers; two side doors with shelves inside, metal pulls and lacquered finish. Artful Home highlighted Dumke's Foyer Sideboard in their fall catalog. Part art gallery, part art fair, part online marketplace, Madison, Wisconsin's Artful Home is all of these things and more. Artful Home has a breadth of high-quality art, which is nearly impossible to find anywhere else. Dedicated to offering the most exceptional and beautiful works of fine art, craft, and design for the home. They are equally committed to supporting the livelihoods of the celebrated North American artists who create this work.

Tom handcrafts solid wood furniture that is Shaker inspired and is traditional with a modern flare. The clean line of the Shaker form inspires the design, creating pieces sized proportionally for today's needs. The Shakers have had a profound influence on Tom's work: their clean unadorned simplicity, functionalism and craftsmanship. He also is influenced with a deep respect for the furniture craftsmen of the 17th and 18th centuries. Their knowledge of form, balance, joinery and of wood movement is evident in the pieces of fine furniture that still exist today. Thomas William Furniture is based out of Southeastern Wisconsin, Milwaukee metropolitan area. For more information, http://www.thomaswilliamfurniture.com
President Rossen Plevneliev opened the twenty-seventh academic year of the American University in Bulgaria on September 6 in front of hundreds of students, professors, employees and friends of AUBG. The former Bulgarian head of state has taken an important mission - to be a special envoy of the university. Promoting Bulgaria as a world-class education destination and attracting excellent students and highly qualified teachers in Bulgaria will be among his goals.

AUBG President Steven Sullivan welcomed students: "Get the best out of what AUBG offers you. Do not be afraid to try new things, face new challenges, and make new friends. We will support you on the path to self-discovery, which is a guarantee of your future success. American style education gives you the freedom to choose - courses, disciplines, extracurricular activities, majors; try and change your schedule according to your needs. The recipe for a successful career is to love what you do. Discover your passion!

"I am glad to share this special day with you - the day when Bulgaria celebrates its Unification, President Plevneliev stated. It is very symbolic that you are reuniting today to open AUBG's new academic year. United we are stronger and we can do so much more. I see students from all over the world - from different nationalities, ethnicities, religions, cultures and backgrounds - you are united by your thirst for knowledge and you are here because you know that at AUBG you will acquire high-quality American education that will prepare you for future success." President Plevneliev also said that in his new role as a special envoy he will be able to promote Bulgaria as a host of a world-class university education. I hope that my commitment to the cause of the American University in Bulgaria will complement the image of our country as a place where quality education is offered, outstanding professors are teaching talented students, and all of that combined with a wonderful setting - both for living and for doing business." He added that he would work for an ever closer collaboration between business with education - a concept that has been leading for the American University in Bulgaria since its establishment.

Fourth-year student Michaela Parker from the USA explained why she chose AUBG: The professors at AUBG really care about the subjects they're teaching, and they care about their students, too. Our classes focus on practical applications, and by senior year our students can do things a lot of working professionals still can't. Besides the high-quality American education and the diploma recognized worldwide, one of the greatest benefits of AUBG is meeting people from all over the world. On top of all that, it's an international and cultural experience at half the cost of any in-state American University. I would urge future students to get involved. Apply to at least one big club- like TEDxAUBG, Radio Aura, More Honors, or Broadway- and apply to a smaller club, too, like the Writers Guild, Rock Jamming Club, SAGE or AT&M. Clubs and extracurriculars will introduce you to upperclassmen who can help you through your classes and AUBG life in general. Many clubs also have professional benefits, for example asset trading companies frequently contact AT&M about internship and job opportunities before the career center, and StartUp Blagoevgrad is one big networking weekend.

AUBG is an incredible deal for American students. Now that the school accepts the FAFSA the [it] is financially accessible, and provides both a better education and experience than most private US institutions. While your friends are planning a semester abroad, you'll be living with fifty different nationalities and taking weekend trips to Thessaloniki or Paris.

The new academic year for the students of the American University in Bulgaria starts today.
Experience Jackson is excited to announce that participating museums throughout Jackson County will be offering admission to the public at no cost in honor of Jackson County Museum Day on September 16 from 10 AM to 4 PM. Some locations will keep it low-key with an open-house style reception and self-guided tours while others are hosting festivals, child-friendly activities, historical demonstrations and providing guided tours. There will be 11 participating locations around Jackson County; a list of the museums and what they will be offering can be found at ExperienceJackson.com/MuseumDay.

Ella Sharp Museum and Cell Block 7 staff cant wait to welcome visitors to Jacksons first ever Museum Day. We loved collaborating with other Jackson County museums on developing this special event. Working together, and with Experience Jackson, means we can share our museum stories more widely than any of us could alone.  Diane Gutenkauf, Ella Sharp Museum

A 'Day' dedicated to all of Jackson Countys museums is an opportunity of a lifetime for busy families. The variety of museums participating in Jackson County Museum Day is so wonderfully broad that you can travel decades in time in just a matter of miles and hours and never leave Jackson County. The fact that all the museums have generously offered activities, food, and complimentary admission is better than a trip to the movies for a family of four!  Laurie Perkins, The Mann House

"The collaborative marketing efforts done by Experience Jackson to promote Museum Day are instrumental to the success of many local nonprofit museums since most of us do not have large marketing budgets to do social media, website pages, print brochures and local advertising individually. These efforts allow Experience Jackson to create a weekend experience to promote to visitors of Jackson County. we are hopeful to have an array of attendees to the museum who are local or who are from out of town we have a replica interurban railcar #47 on display that will be an ever-changing exhibit through its restoration. We will also be gaining Interurban Car #29 on September 30th. - Angela Machnik, The Lost Railway Museum

On September 16th, visitors and locals will be able to explore Jackson County Museums, tour the downtown and learn about the citys architecture, see steam engines and other farm equipment in action, and discover Jacksons history. Learn more at ExperienceJackson.com/MuseumDay.

ABOUT EXPERIENCE JACKSON:

The mission of the Jackson County Visitors Bureau (DBA Experience Jackson) is to promote Jackson County and its attributes to individual visitors and groups as a unique, affordable and attractive place to vacation, host an event or conduct a tour. Learn more ExperienceJackson.com.

For interviews or questions, please contact Jennifer Cronkhite via phone at (517) 764-4440, or by email at Jennifer(at)ExperienceJackson(dot)com.
Simple to Install, Simple to Operate, Simple to Maintain: SIMPLICITY(TM) Adhesive Supply Unit

Three units will be on display at the ITW Dynatec exhibit, with technical representatives available to demonstrate the ASUs unique features. In addition to ASUs, ITW Dynatec is well known to the packaging industry for its wide range of adhesive application equipment, which includes filling systems, applicators, nozzles, heated hoses and pattern controllers.

The name SIMPLICITY' effectively sums up everything this new ASU represents, explains Danette Reliford, Strategic Marketing Director for ITW Dynatec. The system is simple to install, simple to operate, and simple to maintain. This latest evolution in design, performance and operation is in direct response to comments and input we have received from our customers.

The SIMPLICITY design incorporates broad compatibility, enabling users to easily integrate the unit into current manufacturing operations. The ASU employs a single board with simplified V6 controls and a clear easy-to-read display, eliminating the need for extensive training. A relatively compact unit, SIMPLICITY features patented Melt-On-Demand technology, melting only the required amount of adhesive which greatly reduces char, resulting in less nozzle clogging and reduced maintenance.

First introduced by ITW Dynatec in the 1960s, the company continues to evolve and integrate Melt-On-Demand technology through the introduction of solutions like SIMPLICITY. With Melt-On-Demand, charring and clogging are minimized as the technology only melts and delivers the precise amount of adhesive needed for the application. This enables the system to reach operation-ready status much faster than with other conventional equipment, lower energy consumption, and minimize adhesive degradation.

ITW Dynatecs new SIMPLICITY ASU is available as 4kg, 8kg and 16kg units with melt rates as high as 25 lbs. per hour, while the larger 16kg units can melt up to 50 lbs. per hour. The SIMPLICITY can accommodate two, four or six hose configurations for a simple customizable setup. Additionally, the 16kg size is also available as a dual pump base unit.

Reliford concludes, In designing this new unit, our goal was to deliver a comprehensive solution that addresses the adhesive application challenges our customers say they experience during the installation and production process. The result is a highly applicable unit from a proven provider, one that is well suited for a broad range of adhesive applications in packaging, whether for an emerging company, or an established global organization. SIMPLICITY combines all of the most trusted features of ITW Dynatec equipment, with turn it on and walk away convenience that represents an outstanding value.

SPECIAL SAVINGS AT PACK EXPO 2017

SIMPLICITY is an even greater value with special limited-time savings available to Pack Expo 2017 attendees. Through the duration of the Show, ITW Dynatec is offering a special savings of 50% off the list price of the first unit purchased, and a free SIMPLICITY ASU when purchasing nine units (total 10 units).

ITW DYNATEC WELCOMES MEMBERS OF THE PACKAGING MEDIA

ITW Dynatec cordially welcomes writers, editors and publishers of the international packaging media at Pack Expo 2017, and is scheduling press appointments at this time. To schedule a meeting or interview, please call Danette Reliford, Strategic Marketing Director, ITW Dynatec (T: 800.966.6358 Ext. 284), or email dreliford(at)itwdynatec(dot)com, with the Subject Pack Expo Media Request. Drop-ins also are welcome to visit the companys exhibit in Central Hall, booth 4012.

# # # #

ABOUT ITW DYNATEC

ITW Dynatec, a division of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (ITW), designs and manufactures a full range of industrial adhesive applications for the disposable hygiene products, automotive and packaging industries worldwide. ITW Dynatecs adhesive dispensing systems are used globally in the manufacturing of a wide range of consumer and industrial products. A worldwide network of industry-leading customer service and support backs the companys state-of-the-art technology. ITW Dynatec operates five world-class facilities strategically located around the globe. For more information, please visit http://www.itwdynatec.com.

To learn more about ITW Dynatec solutions for the packaging industry, please contact:

Danette Reliford

Strategic Marketing Director

ITW Dynatec

31 Volunteer Drive

Hendersonville, TN 37075

T: 800.966.6358 Ext. 284

E: dreliford(at)itwdynatec(dot)com

For additional press information, please contact:

Ed Delia

Delia Associates

T: 908-534-9044

E: edelia(at)delianet(dot)com
Music, family friendly activities, and great food are going to be available at the Resource One C U Summer event on September 30, 2017. The C U Summer event will be taking place at their North Garland location (2475 Arapaho Rd. Garland, TX 75044) from 4:00 PM  9:00 PM. This event is community based and will offer several free attractions for kids as we all say goodbye to summer.

C U Summer event will be offering a free kids zone with face painters, glitter tattoo artist, inflatables and much more! Resource One will be providing a stage for music and fun. Parents and visitors will have a chance to visit vendor tents from local businesses. Ricks Smoke House will also be on site selling BBQ for hungry visitors.

Small business owners in the community are encouraged to promote their business at the C U Summer event. Resource One is still accepting vendor applications and will be until September 27, 2017. If you are interested in being a vendor at this event, please contact Resource One at Marketing(at)r1cu(dot)org for further details.

About Resource One Credit Union

Resource One Credit Union was originally chartered as Sears Dallas Employees Federal Credit Union in 1936. Over time, the increased demand for more locations and additional products and services prompted the expansion of our product lines and field of membership. Today, Resource One proudly serves as a not-for-profit financial institution for the communities of Dallas and Northwest Harris counties. Resource One Credit Union has 11 convenient locations to serve our 60,000 and counting members. Visit Resource One Credit Unions homepage at http://www.r1cu.org.
Landlords and renters can find answers to information regarding rental properties from real estate experts at Rentec Direct. With hurricane and tropical storm season underway, it is also important for both landlords and renters to ensure that they have taken proper measures to remain safe.

Rentec Direct, the leading property management software solution for real estate professionals, has tapped into its expertise to offer advice for renters and landlords in areas of natural disaster. If property is damaged during a natural disaster, such as Hurricane Harvey-related flooding, damage will affect both displaced renters and the owners who need to repair or rebuild their properties. Rentec Direct, which works with more than 13,000 property managers and over 100,000 renters nationwide, has published resources to help provide some guidelines and tips for those affected.

Nathan Miller, president and founder of Rentec said, Thousands have been displaced by flooding in Texas alone, with more being affected by Hurricane Irma and fires along the western half of the United States. While each state has different laws, there are guidelines available that can help advise renters on their rights and landlords on their responsibilities.

For example, in a recent article to help educate victims of the Texas flooding, Rentec reminds landlords that they are required to provide livable housing under the legal doctrine called implied warranty of habitability. In addition, Texas law requires that tenants continue paying rent, even if the property is damaged. Many other laws are outlined in the article to help victims navigate during this difficult time.

With hurricane and tropical storm season underway, it is also important for both landlords and renters to ensure that they have taken proper measures to remain safe. Simple procedures such as opening lines of communication, backing up files, creating an emergency preparedness kit and preparing a property before a storm hits can make a big difference. More can be found here: https://www.rentecdirect.com/blog/hurricane/

Renters, investors, landlords, and property managers in affected areas are advised to seek licensed legal assistance in their area for more advice on their states rental laws.

About Rentec Direct

Rentec Direct offers industry leading property management software and tenant screening solutions for real estate professionals. Features include online rent payments, tenant and owner portals, the industrys largest vacancy listing syndication network, full property, tenant, and owner accounting, 1099-MISC reporting, QuickBooks Sync and more.
Medical Tourism pioneer Ron Elli, Ph.D. celebrates his 10-year anniversary in the medical tourism industry. It has been 10 incredible years, helping people successfully lose weight with bariatric surgery. We are looking forward to many more years to grow with this industry, Ron Elli Ph.D. says.

Ron Elli Ph.D. whose background is in bio-engineering has established a successful, award-winning business career in Northern California. Before entering the business realm, Ron Elli Ph.D. was conducting original research in biomechanical engineering, having published the Flow Resistance in Pulmonary Airways, in the Journal of Biomechanical Engineering.

In 2002, Ron earned his Ph.D. from the University of California, Davis in Numerical Modeling of High-Speed Flow. After his academic career, Ron Worked for engineering, software, and Internet consultant firms for 15 years. Recently, Dr. Ron Elli was profiled in Sacramento Business Journal as one of the most successful regional CEOs.

After becoming a regional businessman, Ron Elli was fascinated by the burgeoning medical tourism industry in 2007. He also got interested in addressing the ever increasing obesity epidemic and surgical treatment of obesity. Ron Elli, Ph.D. started consulting with companies helping people find health care abroad, specifically bariatrics in Mexico. After establishing his career in medical tourism, Ron Elli, Ph.D. founded Mexico Bariatric Center. His time in medical tourism gave him deep insights and understanding of this industry, allowing him to craft attractive, effective packages with top bariatric surgeons in Tijuana, Mexico.

Member of Medical Tourism Association (MTA) and Certified by MTA, Dr. Ron Elli keeps abreast of all the research and innovations in metabolic and Bariatrics. His vision to create high-quality, affordable bariatric packages in Mexico has enabled hundreds of people to get a new start in life. We have changed the landscape of Medical Tourism industry in general and bariatric medical tourism in Mexico in specific. Tijuana is changing rapidly to accommodate medical tourists and is becoming a Mecca for weight loss surgery, Ron Elli, Ph.D. says. He continues when we started promoting bariatrics in Mexico, there were a lot of skeptics. Now people from around the world, including doctors and nurses, are coming to get this life changing procedure.

Ron Elli, Ph.D. has been involved in continuing education of patients from the United States and Canada of what bariatrics has to offer and how to battle obesity and obesity related diseases. He has been actively traveling and holding informational seminars in U.S. States of Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Washington, as well as Canadian Provinces of Alberta, and Quebec. Ron Elli, Ph.D. has also assembled one of the best team of certified bariatric surgeons with over 10 years experience and 10,000 bariatric surgeries, collectively. He has also put together a follow-up program to support patients after surgery for successful weight loss.

SInce inception in 2012, Mexico Bariatric Center (MBC), has grown dramatically helping thousands of patients find success with affordable bariatric surgery packages. MBC has contributed in drastic changes in so many lives. The quality affordable packages of MBC are a fraction of the cost of surgeries offered in the U.S. and Canada. Therefore, patients with low income, no insurance, and insurance with no coverage / high deductibles can fight obesity and its side effects by going to Mexico Bariatric Center.

As a leader in bariatric medical tourism, Mexico Bariatric Center is committed to the advancements in the bariatric industry. Mexico Bariatric Center was the first company to limit the surgeries performed by surgeons, which has since been copied industry-wide. MBC was also the first company to hire a dedicated bariatric nutritionist to offer the ability to consult free-of-charge for their bariatric patients.
There are so many opportunities for young and ambitious individuals as long as you have the right spirit of wanting to grow and learn.

Every year on the 9th of August, citizens across South Africa celebrate National Womens Day, a day that commemorates the 1956 petition against the countrys pass laws. Approximately 20,000 women marched to the Union Buildings in Pretoria to protest the law which served to maintain population segregation. Since 1994, National Womens Day has held great significance in the country, not only to celebrate the bravery and resilience of the women who marched for equality but all women in South Africa today. The day brings to light the issues women are facing today as well as gives the country an opportunity to celebrate their accomplishments and influence.

About Credico: http://www.credico.com/who-we-are/about/

August was also the month Credico South Africa launched its first ever employee spotlight  a monthly interview with a member of the Credico South Africa team. With National Womens Day in mind, the firm chose to launch this new feature by giving the spotlight to their talented junior accountant, and previous employee of the year Pamela Sambo.

Growing up in the small township of Thulamahashe in Bushbuckridge, Mpumalanga, Pamela discovered a passion for accounting and attended the University of Pretoria to complete her Bachelors Degree in Financial Management Sciences. In the exclusive interview, Pamela reveals that her success has stemmed from her desire to show that finances arent boring and that accountants can also be energetic and fun. She also shared how working with a team of ambitious and committed individuals has helped her maintain a high standard in her work and improve her problem solving and business skills.

Pamela concluded her spotlight by sharing why she believes the sales and marketing industry to be an excellent environment for young people, especially women to find professional success. There are so many opportunities for young and ambitious individuals as long as you have the right spirit of wanting to grow and learn. What you sow will always determine what you will reap. Stated Miss Sambo.

Credico South Africa is hopeful that people will find this months first employee spotlight inspiring and believe it to be an excellent way to mark National Womens Day. The organisation is excited to feature more individuals from its talented workforce throughout the rest of 2017 and beyond.

Source: http://www.credico.com/credico-junior-accountant-spotlight/
ACT, the college prep test taken by 2 million high school students nationwide, is about to become as important to Nebraskas schools and districts as it is to the students with No. 2 pencils in hand.

Schools have always paid attention, encouraging students to sign up and offering resources for them to prepare for the test needed for college enrollment and for many scholarships. And the ACT has long been one of the measures of how well schools are preparing those students.

But in the last year, the ACT has become an official measure of high school performance in Nebraska, replacing state tests for high school juniors. Last spring, all of Nebraskas juniors took the ACT.

And that means the numbers count, because they will be a primary measure by which policymakers and the public gauge how well high schools are performing.

The Nebraska Department of Education has been working on how to measure proficiency using the ACT, and on Friday the state board gave its nod of approval.

For context: The ACT, divided into four subject areas, is graded on a 36-point scale. Getting a perfect composite score -- 36 on math, English, reading and science reasoning -- is rare enough that the governor honors the Nebraska seniors who accomplish that feat each year.

At UNL and Nebraska Wesleyan, students must have a composite score of 20 to enroll.

Some state colleges, other NU campuses and many of the states community colleges use ACT scores to determine course placement.

Students who score below a certain point, 17 to 19, in a particular subject must take remedial courses before being eligible for freshman-level courses.

Additionally, the College Board, which administers the ACT, has created college- and career-ready benchmarks that indicate what score students need to get to succeed in first-year college-level courses.

State education department officials looked at all those numbers -- along with a recommendation from a committee looking into the issue.

Their conclusion: Students who scored 18 or above in math and English and 19 in science would be considered proficient.

They came up with three levels, with students in the the top two tiers "meeting expectations".

The top level is at or above the ACT benchmarks: 22 for math; 20 for English and 23 for science.

The middle level is 18 to 21 in math; 18-19 in English and 19-22 in science.

Using college prep tests in lieu of state tests is becoming more common, and something encouraged under the new federal education law.

But it represents a significant shift in how states, including Nebraska, have traditionally measured proficiency.

State tests are based on state standards -- which spell out what content students need to know in a particular subject and in a particular grade. Officials look at the content to decide what score represents sufficient mastery of a subject.

Because the ACT test isnt based on Nebraska academic standards, officials focused instead on how prepared students are for post-secondary school or the workforce, said Jeremy Heneger, assistant director of assessment for the Nebraska Department of Education.

We tried to keep it simple, Heneger said. ACT sends out student reports to parents and we didnt want it to contradict what we said about scores, so we tried to align those pieces together.

Much of the content on the ACT is the same as that in the state standards, he said. And allowing high school juniors to take a test that has meaning for them is one of the benefits.

One thing thats always been a potential for 11th-grade kids is if they dont see a benefit to them, they have a hard time, he said. This test means more than (state tests) ever did.
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Nebraska Task Force 1, the Lincoln-based urban search and rescue team that was deployed to Florida on Thursday, expected to reach its destination at Eglin Air Force Base outside Pensacola on Saturday.

The team will wait out the storm at the base until they are able to begin their mission. Hurricane Irma is expected to wreak its havoc on southern parts of Florida for about 24 hours, said Battalion Chief Brad Thavenet in a telephone conference call on Saturday morning.

Once the storm clears, the 80-person crew of firefighters, doctors, structural engineers, heavy rigging specialists and canine search specialists will begin to comb through the destruction, just as they did in Houston after Hurricane Harvey.

Thavenet said the Florida mission will differ from that in Texas, where flooding from epic rainfall totals was the primary issue.

Another concern the team faces is that of people getting stuck on islands. Since Florida only sits a few feet above sea level, there will be areas cutoff from the mainland.

According to Thavenet, the task force, which was activated to Florida just two days after it arrived home from Texas, is well-rested and prepared for the mission.

"It's a sense of fulfillment," Thavenet said. "We have the training, equipment and opportunity to assist others in lifesaving missions."
The defendants, both resident in Mararaba, and alleged to have stabbed a man and stole N14, 000 from him, are facing a three-count-charge of criminal conspiracy, causing hurt and theft.

The Judge, Mr Albert Maga, ordered the remand of the defendants to prevent them from jumping bail or interfering with police investigation.

The Prosecutor, Mr Agabi Auta, had prayed the court to remand the defendants in prison until an adjourned date to ease investigation.

Auta argued that if bail was granted to them, they would jump bail or interfere in the investigation.

The judge granted the prayer and adjourned the matter until Sept. 25, for hearing.

Auta had told the court that one Kelechi Ofurum of Nyanya Federal Housing reported the matter at the `A Division Police Station on August 20, 2017.

He said that on the same date, while the complainant was returning home after giving his car to a mechanic, the defendants conspired among themselves and attacked him at Gidan Soja Area in Mararaba.

At about 8.30 p.m., the complainant was returning home after giving his car to a mechanic for repairs and was attacked by the defendants who dispossessed him of his belongings.

While he was walking, the defendants and one other now at large, surrounded him, brought out a knife and stabbed him twice on his stomach.

After stabbing him, they stole N14, 000 that was in his pocket and also collected his handset valued at N30, 000, he told the court.

The prosecutor said that while the complainant was in pains on the floor, he was able to recognise one of his attackers, whom few days later he saw at Mararaba market and raised alarm.

He said that when the man he recognised was arrested, his led the police to the location where Ibrahim was also arrested.

Auta said that the offence committed by the defendants, contravened sections 97, 220 and 287 of the Penal Code.
The accused, whose address is unknown, is facing a charge of child defilement.

Insp. Nurudeen Thomas, the prosecutor, told the court that the accused committed the offence sometime in May at Maduko Street, Ikoyi, Lagos.

Thomas said the accused, who is a builder, was working at a site close to the eight-year-old girls house,where he sighted her.

The girl went to their neighbours house to play when the parents went out and that was where the accused saw her and lured her to project site to rape her.

According to him, the police have evidence to establish that the accused violated the girl.

The offence contravenes Section 262 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015 (Revised).

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the accused may be sentenced to life imprisonment on conviction.

He said medical analysis had certified him impotent, adding I am innocent of the charge as I have never had erection in my life.

The accused asked the court to grant him bail, but it was opposed by the prosecutor.

Your Worship, I am against granting the accused bail because he can jump bail.

It is also in the interest of justice and public safety for him to be kept in detention to prevent a repeat of such act while this case is still pending, the prosecutor said.

In her ruling, Chief Magistrate Kikelomo Ayeye granted the accused bail in the sum N500,000 with two sureties in like sum.

She directed that the case file should be duplicated and a copy sent to the State Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for advice.
I took one recently and found myself in an overrated Owerri, the capital of Imo State, Nigeria.

During my course of study at the university, I had a bunch of my friends especially the ones from the state tell me it is the place to be.

They proudly talked about the beautiful women, the nightlife as well as the scenery. But on my visit, I found that to be inaccurate.

Yes! You will find a number of exuberant youths in party houses getting their groove on, but it is nothing spectacular. Not like where I am from - Olowogbowo, Lagos Island. A detail about myself I am very proud of.

What I noticed mostly in Owerri were the bad roads and abandoned projects. The drive past the Control roundabout down to the government house won't particularly thrill a traveler compared to what greets you when you enter Onitsha.

After the seven hours trip from Lagos to the capital, a curious me walked into a bar (what better place to explore the people right?) and arrived to the chants of "long live Biafra".

Seriously? At a bar? These folks aren't just drinking booze and socializing like they do in the west, they are building an army. Shortly after that, I saw a youngster who shouldn't be above 15 years of age rocking a green shawl, one of the tricolours of the Biafra flag around his neck.

I guess I had it coming. An earlier stop at a bus station in Onitsha introduced me to the east wide frenzy of the Biafra concept. An agent of one of the road transport companies also wore a green cap with the bold IPOB inscription on it.

The morning came in Owerri and I set off to continue the journey down south and I couldn't help but notice the expression "Biafra is a spirit" clearly written on the white-painted wall of a house along the Owerri-Umuahia Road. It was hard to tell if the writer was an agitator or a critic.

This brought the awareness that the call for separation by majority of the Igbo communities is as real as Diezani's corruption scandal.

ALSO READ: Biafran agitator embarrass Imo State Governor

The individuals supporting the secession agenda are basically your average people. Some are rich while some are poor.
The Presiding Judge, Mr Hassan Ishaq, granted her bail in the sum of N200,000 with a reasonable surety in like sum.

Ishaq said the surety must be a civil servant on not be less than grade level 10 in the civil service and must submit copies of his last appointment letter, official identity card and last promotion letter.

He also said that the surety must reside within the jurisdiction of the court and should submit drivers licence and passport photographs to the court.

Earlier, the Prosecutor, Abdulmalik Taiwo, had told the court that the Police Force Headquarters, FCT, was notified of the matter through formal complaint of armed robbery from Abdulsalam Olalekan on June 30.

He said that Olalekan reported on June 30 that he was robbed of his car, a techno phone, a HP laptop and other valuables worth N3. 5 million along Kaduna-Abuja expressway.

He added that the police tracked the techno phone and it was found in possession of the defendant who resided in Kaduna State.

He told the court that the techno phone was part of items stolen from the complainant during the armed robbery.

He explained that during police interrogation, the defendant confessed to have received the phone as gift from Chukwuma Ekwe, her friend, noting that the offences contravenes sections 317 and 319 of the Penal code.

Taiwo also said that the matter was still being investigated by police to arrest the others whorobbed Olalekan.
Yusuf, who was also accused of belonging to the Eiye secret cult, is standing trial for conspiracy and murder, among others charges.

The plea of the accused was not taken and the Magistrate, Mrs Habibatu Bashir, ordered that he be kept in prison custody.

The prosecutor, Sgt. Sunday Ajayi, had told the court that the accused committed the offence on August 11 at about 12:01 a.m. at Oja Oba area of Osogbo, the Osun capital.

He said the offence contravened Sections 64(a), 324, 316 and 516 of the Criminal Code cap 34 Vol.11 Laws of Osun, 2003.
The processes leading to the grant of the license were not quite clear and were not transparent, very opaque, he said. So it called for a lot of questions.

He continued: We believe that if the processes had taken time and the duration for the various permits were within the framework, this issue wouldnt have come out.

There are processes and durations that one needs to pass through.

If for some reason, one has to go beyond those processes, that will not be an acceptable permit at all.
He made the comments during a meeting with come chiefs from the Northern Region.

Peace in Dagbon just not just involved Dagbon but it involves the whole of Ghana. It is a matter of high national priority that we give Dagbon peace. Whatever formula that you (traditional chiefs) you agree on as a way forward for resolving the crisis in Dagbon will have the full support of my government and myself.

It is in the interest of all of us that this matter of Dagbon is put to rest. It is been there for far too long and it is retarding the progress of the area, he said.

READ MORE: Abudus clash with Andanis over management of lorry station

The Dagbon crisis reached its peak in 2020 after the demise of the late Yaa-Naa.

The then New Patriotic Party administration for the Committee of Eminent Chiefs to resolve the crisis.
"Im not advocating that we should promote marijuana but several countries are now promoting medical marijuana including Canada they are now creating green houses to grow it and we have them in the bush but currently its illegal. But that argument; that discussion should start," Starrfmonline.com quoted him as saying.

Ghana is among the top countries said to produce quality marijuana and according to Prof. Dodoo, it could be exported to the Americas for foreign exchange.

If we have the best products, why dont we produce it at least for exports to the market in America, the market in Uruguay, the market in Canada and in several other countries where they need it for medical purposes, he said.

Germany uses a lot of herbal medicines which are evaluated according to what Germany feels provides a fair balance between promoting the product and protecting the public and we should do that in Ghana, he added.

This is not the first time the head of a regulatory authority has called for the possibility of cultivating marijuana.

The Drug Law Enforcement Unit of the Ghana Police Service has ALSO advocated for the decriminalisation of cannabis to help in fight against the abuse of the narcotic drug in the country.

Head of the Unit, David Selom Hukportie has told Accra-based TV3 that we also need to look at decriminalisation and here, I want to reiterate what Mr Akrasi Sarpong said.

"Many people misunderstood him but when you look at the situation and you want law enforcement to tackle it without the criminal justice coming in to help it, it will be a problem."

The executive secretary of the Narcotics Control Board (NACOB), Yaw Akrasi Sarpong, two years ago, called for the legalisation of marijuana in Ghana.

READ MORE: Farmer jailed for marijuana possession

He said a "virtual legalisation" of marijuana was already in place as the drug could be found in cosmetics and hair products used by women in the country.
READ MORE: Court orders GIS to give Indian businessman temporary stay

But the service said a passport retention slip which gives the businessman a legal stay in Ghana has been issued to him.

In addition, GIS lawyer said he applied for a permanent residence permit.

But according to the lawyer for Mr Sivaram, his client did not apply for a permanent permit.

He revealed that his client was charged 500 dollars for a temporary visa.

READ MORE: Embattled Indian businessman may face bigamy charges

The presiding judge, Naa Adoley Azu, criticized GIS after hearing the case of both parties warned state attorneys against using their powers arbitrarily.

The judge also condemned the action of the Ghana Immigration Service.

Meanwhile the businessman has petitioned Ghanas president, Nana Akufo-Addo to call the Minister of Interior and the Comptroller of the Ghana Immigration Service to order over what he described as harassment being meted out to him by these persons.

Ashok Kumar Sivaram in the said petition accused the Interior Minister, Ambrose Dery, Director/Comptroller of the Immigration Service, Kwame Takyi and Deputy Comptroller General in-charge of Operations, Laud Afrifa of conspiring to illegally deport him and take over his company.

READ ALSO: Court orders release of detained Indian businessman
According to him, the free SHS is a political gimmick.

He explained that the NDC was not against the policy but said the right structures must be put in place to ensure its sustainability.

He ended his speech by calling on the president to rethink the policy and also promote a national dialogue on the policy.

My message to President Nana Akufo Addo today is a simple but important one that when he goes to bed today he must rethink his free senior high school policy, he said.

He continued:It is manifested gargantuan failure and our concerns are that we will not sit down for him to jeopardize our youngsters and the future of our country.

"The idea of free senior high school is a noble social and political educational objective but the pursuit of it must be premised on adequate, reliable and sustainable financing and not experimental financing.

We are inviting him that we need to dialogue further together as a country towards financing the free senior high school policy in order to safeguard what is currently happening. We know and we say with certainty and without fear and contradiction that he cannot finance it and the economy cannot finance free senior high school education today but it remains a noble social and political objective but we need to be united as a country and determine how to finance it, he advised Nana Akufo-Addo.

The free SHS policy will start on Monday, August 11 in all secondary schools in the country beginning with first-year students.

READ MORE: CHASS to receive free SHS funds by Friday
This is an observation former President John Mahama has made.

He was speaking at a ceremony to mark the enrollment of the first batch of students at the NDCs ideological school in Accra.

He said the attitude of not prioritising Ghana raises questions on patriotism among Ghanaians

Nationalism and patriotism have become very deficient today. Absolutely nobody thinks about the country first.

We all think about ourselves first, our families second, our parties third maybe our communities fourth and Ghana comes a fifth or even tenth.

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) which is currently the largest opposition party in the country has struggled with ideological identity. Some leading members of the party have often aligned themselves with the principles of Dr Kwame Nkrumahs Convention Peoples Party (CPP).

Former president John Mahama, however, believes the party must blame itself for the state of affairs.
Speaking after a unity walk by National Democratic Congress members in Tamale, the former president, who has been accused of using the walk to launch his presidential bid, said Ghanaians are suffering.

And that no amount of propaganda by the president will make the people forget about their economic situation which in his view is worsening.

No amount of propaganda can make the people oblivious of their own responsibilities because they are living with the prevailing circumstances, he said.

Prior to the walk, a pro-NDC group, the Action Movement, had warned him that he has no mandate to organise the unity walk.

But the former president used the walk to appeal to NDC supporters to eschew division and work together.
He is facing a four-count charge of impersonation, conspiracy, false pretence and fraud.

Aminu allegedly created a facebook account using the details of the deputy governor to defraud people.

The Prosecutor, Mr Rafiu Aroyewun, Assistant Director, Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP), State Ministry of Justice, told the court that the accused committed the offences in Agege area of Lagos sometime in August.

Aroyewun said the accused used the account to extort money from unsuspecting members of the public before he was tracked down online by the Police.

The accused fraudulently obtained the sum of N1 million from one Mr Bright Obed on the pretext of soliciting funds for an orphanage in Agege set up by the Deputy Governor.

He also impersonated the Deputy Governor by calling and sending SMS on a mobile number 09064583091 to the public.

Investigation is ongoing and we are on the trail of others who are still at large,  he told the court.

The offences, according to the prosecutor, contravened Sections 314 (1), (a), 380 and 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015.

Aminu pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Counsel to the accused, Ms Uzoamaka Nwafor, urged the magistrate to grant him bail on liberal terms.

In her ruling, Chief Magistrate Oluyemisi Adelaja admitted the accused to a bail of N300, 000 with two sureties in like sum.

She said the sureties must produce evidence of three years tax payment to the Lagos State Government and adjourned the case until October 16 for hearing.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that on August 5, 2015, the Deputy Governor had disowned a facebook account created in her name by an impostor trying to defraud unsuspecting members of the public.
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The terrorists were said to have struck the camp in two Hilux trucks at about 11 pm on Friday, September 8, killing persons.

According to an eyewitness, Bamus Garba, the insurgents attacked the camp from the rear, firing a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) into it after jumping the fence.

The Cable reports that the terrorists also detonated improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in the camp.

But an AFP report, which cited a civilian militia member in Ngala, Umar Kachallathe, said the explosion occurred outside another camp in Maiduguri, the Borno capital.

The detonation reportedly left another two persons dead.

"They (Boko Haram) fired an RPG into the camp from behind the fire fence, killing seven people and injuring several others," Kachallathe told AFP.

A resident of Ngala, Abubakar Yusuf, who corroborated Kachallathe's account, said casualties were low because many were indoors.

"The casualties were relatively minimal because most people had retired for the night," Yusuf said.

ALSO READ: Court remands Boko Haram computer analysts in prison

The camp, which housed about 80,000 people, was set up in January 2016 after the return of thousands of Nigerian refugees from Cameroon, where they had fled the fighting.

The sect seized Gamboru and Ngala in August 2014, during the its rapid seizure of territory across Borno and the northeast communities.
In 1905, there was not a single mile of paved rural road in the entire United States, but that soon changed. In 1912 alone there were more than 60 bills introduced in Congress calling for federal road construction dollars.

One bill which saw the light of day in 1912 was the Post Road Act, which provided some federal matching funds for road improvement and was sometimes referred to as mud tax. The following year an independent organization began a campaign to build a transcontinental highway, which was ultimately realized and reached its height in the Interstate Highway System.

In 1913, the Lincoln Highway Association was created and headed by Carl Graham Fisher who had established the Indianapolis Speedway in 1909. The association sought to create a single, named, improved, mapped and sign-posted route from Jersey City, but later adjusted to New York City, to San Francisco.

H.B. Joy of the Packard Motor Corporation further proposed the improvement of the route by the creation of Seedling Mile sections using concrete to demonstrate all-weather roads while promoting local pride and interest in pavement. The original Seedling Mile sections were proposed to use donated cement, culverts, grading and construction with the entire road costing an outlay of only $10 million: Long roads of concrete from seedling miles will spring.

To that end Joy secured donations to build the first Seedling Mile project near Chicago. In 1913, the mostly gravel and dirt, 3,150-mile road named the Lincoln Highway opened.

The early-1915, first-edition guidebook made no reference to Seedling Miles and made mention of varying degrees of maintenance which were generally well maintained by dragging. It did add that Fremont, Grand Island and Kearneys dirt roads had extensive road improvements planned for 1915. Laying the groundwork for Seedling Miles, the Lincoln Highway Association had lined up pledges for $40,000 worth of cement for Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa and Nebraska.

Grand Islands Seedling Mile, near the southeastern edge of the city, was completed and opened Nov. 13, 1915, the first Seedling Mile in Nebraska and the second in the United States. The roadway was 16-feet wide  6 feet more than suggested  used 2,000 barrels of donated cement and cost only $11,000. The project barely reached completion, but it proved so successful that Grand Island immediately applied for a grant to build 2 more miles.

Grand Islands initial request prompted Kearney to immediately request its own donations for a 15-foot-wide roadway. Kearneys Seedling Mile started just west of the Normal College, now the University of Nebraska at Kearney, and was opened Nov. 16, 1915, three days after Grand Islands. Kearney's 8-inch thick, concrete road utilized 15 carloads of cement and was noted as capable of allowing two wagons to pass easily.

An article in the Nebraska Teacher at the end of 1915 noted that despite the two Seedling Miles, Nebraska is still the last state in the union in the construction of permanent roads, having only 250 out of 80,338 miles of roads paved.

Fremont, which had the states only other Seedling Mile, obtained donations of 3,000 barrels of cement but, because of World War I delays, the road was not opened until 1919. The delay, however, caused the mile to end up closer to 6 miles, stretching parallel to the Union Pacifics tracks almost from Fremont to Ames.

A possible, though unlikely and unconfirmed, Seedling Mile has been suggested to have been built near Columbus.

In 1926, the Lincoln Highway was renamed Highway 30 under a federal numbering plan, and in 1931 the original route was moved away from following county section lines and made to run parallel to railroads to avoid on-grade crossings. The move abandoned Grand Islands Seedling Mile, and in 1933 the last of the graveled portions of the Lincoln Highway were paved.

The original Seedling Mile in Grand Island was thus spared and is now known as East Seedling Mile Road, although only about 500 feet of the original roadbeds concrete still exists. In 2013, the Grand Island Seedling Mile remnant was placed on the National Register of Historic Places, noted as being the only Seedling Mile left in the U.S. not replaced, widened or paved over.
The man, Okwu Kanu, said the government's latest move to re-arrest his Biafra agitator's son was to have him killed.

Speaking in an interview with The Sun, Mr. Kanu maintained that his son has not committed any offense that could warrant a call for his re-arrest.

The Federal Government had filed an application before an Abuja High Court, seeking the revocation of Nnamdi Kanu's bail on the grounds that he breached his bail conditions.

But the IPOB leader's father claimed that the bail conditions granted his son are a violation of his fundamental human rights.

He said: "When they talk of re-arresting him, it means they want to kill him, but God will not allow them because my son has done nothing wrong.

"I am using this opportunity to call on the United Nations to call the Nigerian government to order because they are planning to kill my son.

"Why will they want to re-arrest him? Did he kill anybody? Did he flout the constitution?

"Some people are saying that my son, flouted the bail condition given him by a Federal High Court in Abuja, but the question remains, what type of bail condition was that? Is it possible that a person of my sons standing in the society could stay without meeting up to 10 persons in a day or week?

"So, the said bail condition was against his fundamental human rights.

"The court in the first place never restrained him from moving about. So, in the course of going to see one or two of his friends and those people would organise reception for him, I dont think there is anything wrong with that to warrant his being crucified.

"The question I have been asking since I heard about this planned re-arrest is whether Nnamdi is running away from the country? There is no way he would do that. Any day they want him to appear in court, he will quietly do that."

Okwu added that the federal government's reaction to the northern quit notice is biased compared to the Biafra agitations.

"I read the other day that the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami said the Federal Government did not arrest sponsors of quit notice to Igbo living in the northern part of the country because of the security implications.

"From what he said, it was not that the Arewa youths did not commit any offense, but the issue is that the Federal Government is afraid of what will come out of such arrests and allowed them to move freely.

"On the other hand, they are making move to get Nnamdi Kanu, who had done nothing re-arrested because they believe nothing would happen if they do that, but they may be making the greatest mistake.

"It is this treating people from a certain part of the country as being superior to others that is making the agitation for Biafra to gain momentum on a daily basis."

ALSO READ: IPOB says FG plotting to kill Nnamdi Kanu

Nnamdi Kanu was first arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS) and spent 18 months in detention.
While the rest of Nigeria re-heated Sallah meat over the week, Aisha Al-Hassan, Buhari's Minister for Women affairs, endorsed Atiku Abubakar for president.

Atiku has since criticized President Buhari for being ungrateful, like a disappointed benefactor. While this reminds many of Atikus position as the perennial candidate, it has brought new attention to the rest of the political landscape.

Apart from the usual suspects, former governors, a few ministers are expected to run for the Presidents office in the next general elections.

Besides Atiku, some of these potential aspirants have been making what may be interpreted as strategic moves, like Rabiu Kwakwanso.

Others, like Governor Rochas Okorocha, are battling to manage internal problems that may leave them weak going into 2019.

Here are the most likely suspects you should expect to see more as the next elections draw closer.

(1)President Muhammadu Buhari: The 72-year olds health has been a major plot line through his presidency. Few expect him to run for office in 2017, after two long stints on medical leave in London.

Buhari himself has remained quiet about his candidacy in 2019. On the other hand, many blame his policies for the harsh economy. His fight against corruption, a major point of his agenda, has also been tainted with accusations of bias and political motivations. His return to office has been rather eventful.

After two cancelled FEC meetings and reports of Nigerias emergence from recession, the Daura-born former General might be more focused on the present than anything else.

(2)Babatunde Raji Fashola: In 2015, Fashola was appointed Minister of Power, Works and Housing on the strength of his sterling reputation as Governor of Lagos.

Two years later, many commentators describe that appointment as something of a pyrrhic gift. Fashola has been unable to bring change at the rate that he once promised.

Many feel that this has demystified the minister. The former Lagos Governor has not acknowledged any rumours of his candidacy. Meanwhile, he juggles three important ministries.

Each has many important projects in progress, or close to starting. Sources have told Pulse that there will be a cabinet reshuffle in the coming days.

In the unlikely chance that Fashola does not make the cut, many sides will be interested in what he does next.

(3) David Mark: Conversations about the rotation of Nigerias presidency often revolve around three zones, which are in fact, blurry divisions around the three main tribes. Areas like the vast Middle Belt have not been adequately represented and for that reason, Former Senate President David Mark may be convinced to put himself forward in 2019.

Since losing the majority in the senate in 2015, the PDP statesman has grown quiet in the hallowed chambers, as well as in public discourse. Still, the familiar signs are there.

Two groups have launched Presidential campaigns in his name  first, the Middle Belt Volunteers in July, followed by a youth group that stormed the PDP secretariat for that purpose in August.

If he runs, Mark will have the support of his home state, Benue and many who feel left out of the federal power structure, both within his region and in the political scene.

(4)Atiku Abubakar: Turakin Adamawa, Atiku, has been jostling for the top seat for decades. In 2015, his goals were cut short at the APC primaries and the former Customs head retreated to his Adamawa base.

In the past few days, Atiku has taken shots at President Buhari for being ungrateful and leaving him out of the picture since the 2015 victory.

The Ex-VP is expected to run in 2019 and he enjoys a large following in his home state of Adamawa that could prove important. It is unlikely that he will remain in the APC for much longer.

Atiku has a history of jumping parties to run for office and he will not be reluctant to explore other platforms before 2019.

(5)Yemi Osinbajo: Before he was picked as Buharis running mate, few people outside the legal profession or the RCCG knew of Prof. Osinbajo.

As Buharis health faltered through 2017, the Vice-President held the fort in his place for a few months. His willingness to communicate and work ethic endeared him to many Nigerians.

While that may be too little to convince, many were impressed enough to promote the lawyer as a younger, better alternative, come 2019. But if he has heard this news, there is no sign from his camp.

The VP continues to fulfil many duties in Buharis place, even after the latter's return. This week, he is on a state visit to areas of Benue ravaged by blood.

(6)Musa Rabiu Kwakwanso: Former governor, Rabiu Kwankwanso came second in the APC National Primaries in 2015. In place of the presidency, he ran for the Senate and got elected.

Kwankwanso is seen as the strongman of Kano politics but his influence is being threatened by AbdullahiGanduje, his former Deputy, now Governor of Kano. As 2019 looms, a thick cloud hangs over his ambition.

He has endeared himself to the people through his Kwankwansiyya Development Foundation and other initiatives. While he enjoys strong support, his biggest challenge is finding a platform to run.

He faces stiff competition in the APC. Crossing to the PDP is an option but it may damage his credibility and see his return to a camp that distrusts him.

(7)Bukola Saraki: In the last two years, Senate President Bukola Saraki has given more credence to his reputation for ambition and foresight.

The Senate President has antagonized several party leaders with his dealings in the Senate and showed he is not one to stay in the background. Many believe it is almost certain that Saraki will make moves to run for office in 2019.

Yet, the Ilorin-born politician remains entrenched in the Senate Presidents seat, for now. He has created an identity separate from the APC and the Buhari administration.

Going into 2019, many expect that he will draw away further to push himself as a viable alternative.

(8)Ayo Fayose: Ekiti States Governor Peter Ayodele Fayose seems intent on riding his wave of controversy to Aso Rock. While residents of his state protest unpaid fees, the Governor has stayed in the news by taking shots at the APC, the Presidency, Buhari and anyone unlucky enough to cross his mind.

In a large rally held in Ado-Ekiti in July, Fayose announced his intention to run for the presidency in 2019.

He is not the candidate with the most elaborate plans (or any plans for that matter), but as Trump proved in the US, that may not matter.

Media publicity is Fayoses favourite tool and hes using it to greater effect as the conversation about 2019 becomes more relevant.

(9) Governor Rochas Okorocha: As things stand, there are few politicians from the South-East with the clout or resources to run for the presidency in 2019. Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha is one of them.

While Okorocha enjoys considerable influence within the APC, he suffers a crisis of credibility in the North East. He will also face stiff competition for the APC ticket if he chooses to run.

He has already given two conditions that will determine his candidacy in 2019: if President Buhari refuses to contest in 2019 and he gets the endorsement of at least 10 million Nigerians.

At the moment, though, he is more concerned with the home turf. Market women in Owerri have protested his demolition of the important Ekeukwu market in recent weeks.

Many are dissatisfied with his performance as governor, an issue that could damage his chances before he even considers them.

(10) Bola Tinubu: The 2015 general elections enforced Asiwajus reputation as a major power broker and the most important politician in the South-West.

Many of his proteges occupy offices in the Buhari administration and around other states in his power base. Despite being considered as a likely candidate in successive elections, the former Lagos governor shows no intent to run in 2019.

Since 2015, many of his typical chess plays have not gone according to plan, thanks to Senate President Saraki. He is also hindered by what political commentators call the Daura Cabal, a North-eastern bloc loyal to President Buhari.

Still, his influence in the South-West and the APC cannot be understimated. Tinubu may not run for office but he will be influential in determining who flies the APCs flag, come 2019.

(11) Nasir El-Rufai: Despite writing a very critical open letter to Buhari months ago, El-Rufai is still seen as one of the President's loyalists.

There are claims that the Kaduna state governor will only run if Buhari chooses to throw in the towel after his first term. El-Rufai's public perception will be his biggest challenge.

Insensitive comments made in the build-up to the 2015 elections caused many to accuse him of explicit tribalism.

In his home base, his handling of the Southern Kaduna crisis drew some criticism from other rivals, most notably Senator Shehu Sani.

2019 will present El-Rufai with a potential second term as Kaduna governor but he might set his eyes on bigger things.
The talks to "normalise" relations between Belgrade and Pristina, brokered by the European Union, have come to a standstill in recent months.

Haradinaj has opposed the dialogue, calling for Belgrade to recognise Kosovo's independence before negotiations proceed.

And Belgrade could hardly think worse of the new PM-designate, whom it wants to see punished for alleged atrocities in the 1998-1999 Kosovo conflict.

Haradinaj served as a commander of ethnic Albanian guerrillas fighting Belgrade's security forces and he went on to become Kosovo's prime minister in 2004.

He resigned soon after to face trial for war crimes by a UN tribunal in The Hague, where prosecutor Carla Del Ponte described him as a "gangster in uniform".

He was however acquitted in 2008 -- the same year Kosovo unilaterally declared its independence from Serbia -- and again in 2012 after a retrial was ordered owing to allegations of witness intimidation in the first case.

Politically marginalised by his brother-in-arms Hashim Thaci, now Kosovo's powerful president, Haradinaj has nevertheless managed to resurrect his political fortunes -- partly thanks to Serbia's determination to convict him.

In January this year he was arrested at a French airport by police acting on an international arrest warrant from Serbia, which is pursuing separate charges of torture and murder of civilians in Kosovo in 1999.

France held him for several months before rejecting Serbia's demand in June.

He returned to a hero's welcome in Kosovo, greeted by thousands of supporters, and hit the campaign trail for June's election.

Born in the western village of Glodjane in 1968, Haradinaj completed his mandatory military service with the Yugoslav People's Army.

He worked as a construction worker, nightclub bouncer and martial arts trainer in Switzerland before taking up arms back home with the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), earning the "Rambo" moniker for his burly build and prowess on the battlefield.
CAMBRIDGE  A Nevada man convicted of having 104 1/2 pounds of cannabis and 12 pounds of hashish in his possession after a 2010 traffic stop in Henry County failed to appear in Henry County Circuit Court for sentencing Friday.

A warrant will be issued for the arrest of Jason T. Lehman, 42, of Pahrump, Nev., at the direction of Judge Jeffrey O'Connor. The county also will seek forfeiture of Mr. Lehman's existing $15,000 bond posted in the original case.

Judge Ted Hamer found Mr. Lehman guilty of cannabis trafficking, possession with intent to deliver and possession in a March 2013 bench trial. He remained free on an appeal bond.

The Third District Appellate Court overthrew the trafficking conviction in 2015, finding the state hadn't proven that Mr. Lehman had brought the drugs into Illinois, a required element of the crime. The other two charges remain, however, with the more serious charge carrying a mandatory prison sentence of six to 30 years.

On Friday, Judge O'Connor asked defense attorney Virgil Thurman if he thought Mr. Lehman was aware of the appellate court ruling. Mr. Thurman said any communications to addresses he had for Mr. Lehman have consistently come back.

The warrant is in the amount of $150,000.
ROCK ISLAND  An Ohio man accused of transporting a minor from Illinois to LeClaire to engage in criminal sexual assault was arraigned in federal court in Rock Island on Thursday.

According to a press release from the office of acting U.S. Attorney Patrick Hansen, Central District of Illinois, Andrew Stone, 32, of Rocky River, Ohio, is being charged with sexual exploitation of a minor and transportation of a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity.

If convicted, Mr. Stone faces a minimum sentence of 10 years to life for the charge of transportation of a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity. The sexual exploitation of a minor charge carries a minimum prison sentence of 15 to 30 years, according to the press release.

A trial date of Oct. 30, 2017, has been set. Mr. Stone will remain in the custody of the U.S. Marshals service pending a detention hearing to be held Sept. 18, according to the release.

The charges were the result of an investigation conducted by the Moline Police Department, U.S. Secret Service, Illinois State Police, and the Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

A federal criminal complaint was filed on July 26 in the Central District of Illinois, and Mr. Stone was arrested in Ohio on July 28. After making an initial appearance in the Northern District of Ohio on July 31, Mr. Stone was ordered to be detained pending transportation to Illinois, the press release stated.

On Aug. 22, a grand jury returned an indictment that alleges that Mr. Stone transported a minor across state lines on or about Dec. 20, 2016, with the intent to engage in sexual activity. Also, Mr. Stone allegedly had visual depictions of sexually explicit conduct involving a minor, which was also transported across state lines, according to the press release.

The affidavit that was used to support the indictment stated that Mr. Stone traveled from Ohio to Illinois to meet a minor female he met via the online app Whisper. Mr. Stone drove from his home in Ohio to her home in Illinois, and proceeded to take her to a hotel in LeClaire. At the hotel, Mr. Stone allegedly engaged in sexual acts with the minor and recorded some of the acts on his cell phone.

Anyone with information on Mr. Stone is asked to contact the U.S. Secret Service at 217-726-8453. The investigation is ongoing.
ROCK ISLAND  Three thousand pounds of Greek meat, along with baklava and wine, are waiting for visitors to the 13th annual Big Fat Greek Festival, which will continue today at St. George Greek Orthodox Church, 2930 31st Ave.

The festival is named after the 2002 movie "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." According to Brad Crosson, parish council secretary and co-chair of the festival, the event is a showcase of Greek culture and faith that is shared with the community.

"Originally, it was for supplementing income for the church. It's also camaraderie for the church. It opens up the church to the community and gives them the opportunity to see what we do. Greek food is a big part of Greek culture," Mr. Crosson said.

In addition to the food, the festival features professional dancers, Greek liquors, guided church tours and a children's play area with three new bounce castles and games.

However, the headliner of the family festival is undoubtedly the food. Serving from a drive-through window and a buffet, volunteers go through about 3,000 pounds of meat in two days. They carve it themselves and store it in a 53-foot truck.

"We don't have any leftovers. Last year, there was one pan of souvlaki and one box of pita bread after two days," said cook Jim Winters. "Greeks are pretty much known for the food. ... We make sure you don't go away hungry."

Depending on the weather, the festival feeds 6,000 to 8,000 people in one weekend, volunteers said. The vendors are all local, as are the electricians who supply the generator that powers the whole event. The church also partners with Scott Community College, whose culinary students are sent over to help prepare the festival food.

Proceeds from the event go to the church, but about 5 percent is given to Riverbend Food Bank. In the past year, the festival has allowed St. George to donate almost $3,000 to the food bank. The festival also has helped the church buy coupons that let those in need receive food at distribution centers, an initiative from CareLINK, an outreach program of churches in the Quad-Cities.

Though the food is the main draw, parishioners from St. George say that the heart of the festival is sharing the Greek culture and Greek Orthodox faith with the community.

"I see a need for this festival partly so that people can come see what's in the church. I've actually had some people convert because they came to the festival, liked what they saw, came to church, and learned who we are," the Rev. Michael Constantinides, priest of St. George, said.

"It is a fundraiser for us, but it also allows us to outreach and show the community who we are," he said. "That's always a good thing. I don't want to be the world's best-kept secret."

The parish, which was founded in 1910, has been a cornerstone for not only the Greek community, but also people of different backgrounds as a pan-Orthodox church. Mary Rankin, parish council president, said she sees the diversity and spirit of the community present in the congregation of the church.

"I'm not Greek. I'm a convert. I lived in Russia, Romania and the island of Crete. That's where I lived across from the Army chaplain in Greece, so I converted. Almost everybody here is second or third generation. It's very pan-Orthodox. We have Russians, Romanians, Syrians, Serbians, Ukrainians, Palestinians -- we even have some from Eritrea. We do the Lord's Prayer in five different languages," Ms. Rankin said.

Over the years, the size of the congregation has decreased.

"We're getting smaller. Children moved away from families that otherwise have been here for years. They go off to college or go somewhere else for employment. It used to be about 200 families, but I think it's down to 150 families now," Mr. Crosson said.

The festival and St. George's services are open to everyone.

"Everybody's welcome to come to our services. Closed communion, but that doesn't mean that not everybody can come. Greeks and Orthodox in general don't ask if you've eaten. We say, 'Sit down and eat.' Come and enjoy yourself," Rev. Constantinides said.

The festival will be open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. today, and the drive-through window will be open from noon to 8 p.m. Admission is $2 for adults and free for children younger than 12. A wine tasting, now a separate event hosted by the church, will take place Oct. 21.
Sixteen years after 9/11, Colona's American Legion and community choose to remember the tragedy with a memorial on Sunday, Sept. 10 at 6 p.m. The event is set to take place at the Colona Canal Pavilion on Main Street West.

The event will include speeches from the Colona mayor, local veterans and a "Gold Star Mother" whose son joined the armed forces because of 9/11. It will also feature a candlelight vigil, a photo collage video of those who were lost and an Honor Guard salute.

American Legion Auxiliary representative Angie Golightly hopes for a turnout as positive as when the Legion hosted the event six years ago.

"I can only hope that we get a good crowd this time, too. We want to support our fire and police departments as well as our veterans, so I'm hopeful that they'll all be here to see that we didn't forget," Golightly said.

According to Golightly, along with honoring those who served in the armed forces, education is the most essential part of their mission on Sunday.

"So many children weren't born or were too young to remember when 9/11 happened. We have to make sure that people don't forget," Golightly said. "No matter what war, it's important to know about. There was so much sacrifice because of it. We can't forget our history."
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Porterville, CA (93257)

Today

Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 38F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 38F. Winds light and variable.
The mission of the Bethany Womens Club is succinct: The improvement of women. That has served the club well since it was first formed 105 years ago, in 1912.

Certainly one of the most established womens clubs in Lincoln, the Bethany Womens Club begins its 106th year with a 1:30 p.m. gathering Tuesday (Sept. 12) in the Fellowship Hall of Bethany Christian Church, 1645 N. Cotner Blvd.

We emphasize interaction among club members, said Betty Talley, club president for the coming year. A membership survey indicated that our members especially like the friendship and camaraderie.

With that in mind, the group will kick off its club year Sept. 12 with a look within its membership. The program is titled Welcome! Getting to know you, and is designed for members to get to know each other better.

The club starts its 106th year with 41 members on its roster. The club's longest-serving active member is its Publicity Committee chairman, former State Senator Marian Price, who joined the club in 1974.

Recruiting efforts have brought some new faces to the club, and Talley hopes to use that momentum as a springboard to grow membership. Annual dues are just $5.

The clubs monthly programs are designed to be entertaining and informative. Programs are designed to keep womens minds sharp and to inform them of whats going on locally and in the world, said Talley.

Giving back

Talley said the club made four monetary donations at the end of the last club year. Chosen to receive the funds were St. Monicas, Friendship Home, the Food Bank of Lincoln Back Pack Program, and Matt Talbot Kitchen & Outreach.

The club also honors the memory of current or Life club members who pass away by donating flags to the Bethany Business Association. In addition, a plaque bearing names of deceased members is displayed at businesses in Bethany.

Programs

Beyond the Sept. 12 program that focuses on members, the clubs schedule for the coming year reads:

Oct. 10  Fall Luncheon/Grandmothers Closet Antiques, by Dan Benes, Timeless Treasures

Nov. 12  A Veterans Story, by Henrietta Adam.

Dec. 12  St. Nicholas Cometh, by Lester Ralston.

Jan. 9  CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) by CASA Executive Director Dawn Rockey.

Feb. 13  Celebrating Our 105th Birthday, by Kenny Miller Music.

March 13  Heart Health, by Southeast Community College.

April 10  Spring Luncheon and Style Show, featuring fashions by Christopher & Banks.

May 8  Installation of Officers and Jewelry: Old and Tired to New and Beautiful, by club member Christine McNulty.

All women are invited to join the Bethany Womens Club. There are no geographic boundaries for membership.

For more details, or to arrange a ride to Tuesdays meeting, call Betty Talley at (402) 560-6955.
Thomas Ninad's bank account was defrauded of Rs 14 lakh under mysterious circumstances.

Jehangir B Gai reveals what happened thereafter.

Illustration: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com

Thomas Ninad had a salary savings account with Axis Bank.

Even though he was using the account regularly, he was was not getting any e-mail alerts, as the bank had made a mistake while entering his identity.

Ninad had corresponded with the bank to correct his e-mail address. On January 1, 2013, he received an e-mail from the bank seeking various details.

He furnished the information sought.

After that, Ninad found that Rs 14 lakh was withdrawn from his account through 22 internet transfers on January 8 and January 9, 2013.

The transfer were made to 12 different accounts, of which 10 accounts were with Axis Bank.

Since Ninad's mobile had been mysteriously disconnected on January 8, he did not even get any SMS alert.

He had visited Reliance Communication's franchise who advised him to change the SIM card and assured that it would be activated within three hours, but it did not happen.

Ninad later found that his SIM card was activated in Hyderabad.

Ninad lodged a complaint with the bank's branch manager as well as at the head office.

He also registered a first information report with the cybercrime cell and the police station.

As his grievance was not redressed, Ninad approached the Banking Ombudsman, which directed Axis Bank to pay Rs 1.4 lakh and IndusInd Bank to pay Rs 2 lakh.

Since the amount awarded was very low, Ninad had a legal notice issued.

He also filed a complaint before the Central Mumbai District Forum against Axis Bank and Reliance Communications.

He alleged negligence, as the bank had allowed withdrawals through Internet transactions beyond the prescribed limit.

He blamed RCom for disconnecting and allocating his number to some third party.

The bank said Ninad had disclosed confidential bank details to an anonymous mailer, which led to fraudulent transactions.

Another defence was that the data on Ninad's old mobile handset were used by the fraudsters.

The bank claimed the transferred amounts had been siphoned off by the fraudsters and questioned the consumer forum's jurisdiction, as the dispute involved complicated facts.

The forum dismissed the complaint.

Ninad appealed to the Maharashtra State Commission, which observed saying that the dispute involves adjudication of complicated facts would not oust the jurisdiction of the consumer courts.

It noted banks are duty bound to take steps to assess risk, provide a robust mechanism to prevent and detect fraud and also to provide for liability arising out such fraud.

The commission also considered the Reserve Bank of India's circular, dated July 7, 2017, regarding limiting liability of customers in unauthorised electronic banking transaction.

By its judgment dated August 7, 2017, delivered by Justice A P Bhangale for the bench along with D R Shirasao, the state commission held that the onus of proof to establish a customer's liability would lie upon the bank in all cases of the online Internet transactions.

A bank must show that it had taken immediate steps to prevent or detect fraud.

Accordingly, it ordered Axis Bank to re-credit Rs 14 lakh to Ninad's account within one month, or along with 9 per cent interest if delayed.

It also awarded costs of Rs 20,000.

Jehangir B Gai is a consumer activist.
Most customers don't understand this concept and are unable to benefit from it, says Mahavir Chopra.

Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India introduced health insurance portability guidelines in 2011 to enable customers to shift seamlessly between insurance companies.

Though it is more than more than five years since the guidelines were introduced, most customers still do not understand this concept and hence are unable to benefit from it.

What is portability?

Before health insurance portability was introduced, a customer was tied to the existing insurer and his plan despite being dissatisfied with its product or services.

Switching to another insurer, or to another plan with the same insurer, resulted in loss of no-claim benefits accumulated in the earlier years.

It also required the customer to serve all the waiting periods all over again.

Such hurdles made it extremely difficult for customers to move from one insurer to another.

By allowing health insurance portability, Irdai has empowered customers to shift to another health insurer freely, without any loss of benefits.

Should you port?

All health insurance policies are portable: You can port from one plan to another with the same insurer; and you can also port individual and floater health policies.

If you are planning to port your health insurance, list the causes first.

Weigh the merits and demerits of your current insurance plan on the basis of criteria like co-payment and deductible clauses, specific exclusions, room-rent capping, day-care coverage, network hospitals, etc.

It is possible that you discovered a few of these clauses after buying the policy.

If a significantly better plan is available from an insurer on all or most of the above-mentioned criteria, it may be worthwhile to port.

Following are some key points to consider at the time of porting:

1. Insurance company's underwriting guidelines

Every porting policy is treated as a fresh proposal by the new insurer.

The only difference is that on acceptance of the policy proposal, your past policy benefits will be ported fully and without any discontinuity.

However, an insurer is free to underwrite the proposal according to its own norms.

This means that you may be asked to give additional clarifications, undergo medical tests, or pay higher premium, depending on the risk assessed by the insurance company.

In the worst-case scenario, the new insurer may reject your proposal altogether.

In the interim while the new underwriting is being done, Irdai protects the consumer by mandating the following: 'The existing insurer shall not cancel the existing policy until such time a confirmed policy from the new insurer is received or there is a specific written request from the insured.'

You can extend the existing policy by a period of not less than a month by paying premium on pro-rata basis.

2. Age matters

While some private insurers allow individuals to port in up to any age, most public sector insurers do not admit fresh underwriting of individuals above 65 years.

Most insurers, however, allow lifetime renewability.

Also, because of aging, you may be required to undergo more number of medical tests before you are ported.

As a thumb rule, the earlier in life you decide to port, the greater are the chances of your proposal getting accepted.

3. Premium and bonuses

Unlike term insurance, where the premium is fixed for the entire life, health insurance premium keeps increasing with age even when you stay with the same insurance company.

When you port to a new insurer, however, your insurance premium is not just a factor of the age, but also of the underwriting outcome depending on your existing health condition, claim history, etc.

The bonus that insurers offer for every claim-free year (subject to stipulated ceiling) gets added to the sum assured and is carried forward.

4. Sum assured

Under the provisions of health insurance portability, your insurer has to insure you up to at least the sum assured of the previous policy.

Note that the premium for the bonus you have earned in your old policy is chargeable by the new insurance company.

For any incremental coverage, the waiting conditions of the new insurer will be applicable.

If you are planning to port from an individual policy to a family floater policy (to add members to your existing plan), opt for a higher sum assured.

As a thumb rule, you should increase the coverage by about 50 to 75 per cent for every new member you add to your policy.

Remember, the new insurer's waiting period and cooling off clauses will apply to the new member.

Although rare, there may be individuals planning to port from a family floater to an individual health policy.

While the proposer can opt for a lower sum assured also, one must read the porting guidelines carefully.

These differ from insurer to insurer in this scenario.

5. Medical history

The medical histories of the proposer and the covered individuals are major influencers in deciding the underwriting outcome of the new insurer.

A claim free, healthy past record is the surest criterion for ensuring smooth portability.

While it is not true that past claims will void your chances of portability or claim settlement (if already ported), it is likely to result in a higher premium through loading.

In such cases it may be better to stick for some time with the current provider to relatively clean up the slate (by having a no-claim period) before applying for portability.

It is possible that the new insurer could refuse your request to add a new member to the policy, if the person suffers from a chronic or pre-existing disease.

In that case, buy a separate plan for the member.

6. Don't slip up on technicalities

Be honest in declaring details.

The information provided on the portability form should also be free of errors (spellings, date of birth, etc.).

To port a policy, you should apply at least 45 days (but not more than 60 days) before the renewal date.

Some insurers may relax this timeline for proposals with young members having no medical history.

While it is the insurer's responsibility to ensure that the process of portability is completed in time, you are still required to ensure that the policy does not lapse at any given point.

Irdai has stipulated a 30-day grace period for this.

You can always escalate the matter to the regulator on their grievance portal, if the insurer fails to respond to you in a timely manner.

Mahavir Chopra is director, health, life and strategic initiatives, Coverfox.com
Customers won't shift to electric cars until there is countrywide infrastructure for charging stations, which should be as spread out as petrol pumps now.

Two, the price of the lithium ion battery, which constitutes 30 to 40 per cent of the cost of an electric car, has to fall substantially, so that the vehicle is as affordable as a gasoline one.

Surajeet Das Gupta reports.

Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari's ultimatum to the auto industry to shift to non-polluting alternatives ('whether they like it or not') or get 'bulldozed' has raised concerns among car makers on the feasibility of the government's plan to have all new cars powered by the electric engine by 2030.

Gadkari made it clear that he would go after diesel vehicles, warning the industry not to complain of unsold inventory later.

To achieve the target, the industry says manufacturers have to sell 10 to 15 million electric cars in 2030, which is eight to 10 times the sales of such vehicles in the world in 2015.

And the target for 2030 would amount to more than 10 per cent of the world production of electric vehicles as endorsed in the Paris climate talks.

Currently India sells only 22,000 electric vehicles a year.

The target looks ambitious.

China, the largest electric vehicle market in the world (it sold about 500,000 last year), has set a modest target of producing 7 million such vehicles by 2025.

However, R C Bhargava, chairman, Maruti Suzuki, while concurring with the view that the target is ambitious, says: "What Mr Gadkari wanted to convey to the industry is the determination of the government to push the policy through."

Bhargava pointed out that the industry knew two years ago the need to go for BS (Bharat Stage)-VI and though the time might be short, it was doable.

Pawan Goenka, managing director, Mahindra & Mahindra, says while he is in sync with what the minister said, the target looks "aspirational".

"It is very unlikely that we will be able to sell 14 to 15 million vehicles, but what matters is that we are moving towards that direction," Goenka says.

Gadkari's strong nudge to the industry is not unusual.

China, for instance, has told both large local and foreign car companies that by next year eight per cent of their sales in the domestic market have to be electric cars, going up to 20 per cent by 2020.

But the major impediments to this are two: Customers will not shift to electric cars until there is countrywide infrastructure for charging stations, which should be as spread out as petrol pumps now.

Two, the price of the lithium ion battery, which constitutes 30 to 40 per cent of the cost of the car, has to fall substantially, so that the vehicle is as affordable as a gasoline one.

And also the overall cost of running the vehicle should not be any different.

With only 25 charging stations in the country and another 400 (mostly in the National Capital Region) for which permission has been granted by the government, the infrastructure is woefully inadequate.

While the government has prodded public sector companies like Power Grid Corporation, National Thermal Power Corporation, and Bharat Heavy Electricals to chip in, it is more as a pilot project.

The infrastructure does not come cheap -- it costs Rs 3 lakh to Rs 4 lakh (Rs 300,000 to Rs 400,000) to set up a slow-charging station and Rs 20 lakh (Rs 2 million) to build a fast-charger.

The question is: Who will put in this money, and even if one does, will there be returns on the investment?

The government is supporting the programme through Rs 50 to Rs 60 per subsidy, but the money is not enough to sustain large volumes.

Goenka says he expects the government to help the industry in two ways: Take the initiative in building the infrastructure as well as be a big buyer of such vehicles.

The government has taken baby steps on this.

State-owned Energy Efficiency Services recently floated tenders to set up 4,000 charging stations as well buy 10,000 electric sedans for use by the government.

Gadkari has announced that a comprehensive electric vehicles policy will be announced sometime in December.

The other key element is the price of the battery and the challenge becomes bigger because 75 per cent of the cars sold in India are less than four metres in length and priced below Rs 5 lakh (Rs 500,000).

However, an imported battery, which runs for 140 km with the AC on, costs around Rs 3 lakh (Rs 300,000), making electric small cars uneconomical.

But this problem is soluble.

With growing volumes globally, prices of batteries are falling by 15 to 20 per cent annually and will continue to drop.

And with companies like Suzuki deciding to set up a plant to manufacture them, it could go down by half.

The government has again pushed the public sector to move in.

So BHEL has tied up with the Indian Space Research Organisation to manufacture lithium batteries.

However, most in the industry agree that the Chinese model of pushing electric vehicles by doling out huge subsidies to car-makers is not sustainable.

Bhargava points out that the government cannot go on giving support, especially with volumes going up.

The Chinese government earlier offered 60 per cent of the cost of the car as subsidy and spent more than $1 billion per annum.

In India, however, the government offers around 25 per cent subsidy, of up to Rs 1.2 lakh (Rs 120,000), apart from the benefits of the goods and services tax, to electric vehicle-makers.

It has earmarked Rs 175 crore (Rs 1.75 billion) in 2017-2018, up from Rs 75 crore (Rs 750 million) in 2015, for support to the industry.

But the subsidy model is not sustainable and even China is realising it is too expensive. It has now cut it down to just 20 per cent with the intention of phasing it out by 2020.

It has also decided to support only a few big manufacturers so that it can have global players rather than the 200-odd EV players in the market by a process of weeding out the smaller ones.

The auto industry has questioned the government policy flip flops, especially its decision to move from BS-IV emission norms to BS-VI by 2020, two years ahead of the earlier schedule without an intermediate stage.

This, they say, will increase the prices of vehicles substantially.

Industry experts say while this will impact diesel vehicles quite badly, the increase in cost for petrol would be nominal, which seems to be in consonance with Gadkari's position.

They estimate that in the case of diesel the impact could be as high as Rs 1 lakh (Rs 100,000), virtually killing small cars powered by these engines.

But the impact on petrol is not that serious, at around Rs 6,000 to Rs 7,000 a car.

The bigger challenge will be to have the requisite fuel required for BS-VI available through oil companies across the country.

Oil companies point out that they have to spend more than Rs 28,000 crore (Rs 280 billion) to upgrade their refineries and expect prices of fuel to go up.

Automotive component makers body Automotive Component Manufacturers Association said India's move towards electric vehicles must be evolutionary rather than disruptive in order to enable local industry develop the best technologies for the future.

Photograph: Neil Hall/Reuters
'By crudely dragging the topic into the bazaar to flog it for momentary pleasure, we turned it into a dead carcass by the time Modi even got back from Xiamen,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.

The BRICS statement naming the terrorist groups active in the South and Central Asian region was brilliant news insofar as India and China could reach consensus on such a vital front of regional security hardly days after the two countries were peering into the abyss of a war.

But what followed turned out to be abysmal -- Indian media and analysts plunging into a Bacchanalian festival to celebrate BRICS as an 'anti-Pakistan' platform. Thoroughly inebriated, some hailed this as a diplomatic feat of Prime Minister Narendra D Modi.

Pride comes before a fall; false pride no less.

China has put the Modi bhakts on the mat by clarifying that its relations with Pakistan have been, are and will remain 'rock-solid' and that our chaps are naive -- with none other than China's top diplomat, Foreign Minister Wang Yi, saying so.

Of course, there are no surprises here.

Pakistan is a hugely important country for China.

Against the backdrop of the Belt and Road Initiative, the China-Pakistan relationship has even acquired global significance, the $50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor being a crucial gateway for China to the world market bypassing the Malacca Straits and fast becoming a template of China's global strategies.

Therefore, it was downright stupidity to fancy that Indian diplomacy succeeded in creating a fracture in the Sino-Pakistan relations.

Now, does it mean that the BRICS formulation was inconsequential? Far from it.

Each development of this nature is a baby step on a journey that might prompt Pakistan at some point to seriously introspect as to where it is heading.

Pakistan has a major decision to take by evicting the terrorist groups based on its soil and optimising its seamless opportunities ahead -- thanks to its unique geographical location (amongst other favourable factors of advantage) -- to emerge as a prosperous, dynamic regional hub and a middle income country in a near future.

But it is a choice that Pakistan -- and Pakistani alone -- can make ultimately and that is where the BRICS formulation may help to 'poke' Pakistan.

However, the crudity of the Indian mindset toward Pakistan prevents our chaps from appreciating that it is in our country's core interests if China begins to influence the Pakistani thinking and attitudes on terrorism.

Look at the sheer sophistication of RFERL, a propaganda organ of US regional policies, while reporting on the BRICS statement.

The RFERL news analysis obliquely resorts to 'psywar' on Pakistan by commending China's role, but it concludes by taking note of a subtle shift appearing lately in the most recent statements by Pakistan's Foreign Minister Kawaja Asif regarding terrorism.

Simply put, Washington is hoping against hope to leverage China's influence on Pakistan to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table.

Whereas, the Indian calculus regarding the China-India-Pakistan triangle is hopelessly dated.

We do not have a genuine desire 'to strategically reconcile with Pakistan,' as the Global Times noted in a recent editorial.

We refuse to appreciate that the China-Pakistan relationship has ceased to be 'India-centric'.

No doubt, the Sino-Pakistani relationship factors in the strategic balance in South Asia. And there is a big military dimension to it as well, aside intense strategic communication and high-level interaction on security issues.

But from the Chinese viewpoint, India is no longer the raison detre of its partnership with Pakistan.

China is more than half a superpower. It has no reason to regard India as a 'rival', having by far outstripped India in its comprehensive national power.

A sense of rivalry would probably arise if India had a fighting chance to narrow this gap in a conceivable future, but, alas, that is improbable with the growing drift and acute contradictions in India's political economy.

If we comprehend this unpalatable truth, Indian diplomacy can reset its priorities.

No matter what Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may say next week during his visit, make no mistake that the international community has a fair understanding of what India is increasingly turning out to be today.

Our army chief is preparing to fight two wars simultaneously and an army commander is raring to cross the Line of Control with Pakistan, while India's most prestigious long distance train derails in the nation's capital due to poor maintenance of rail tracks.

What a bizarre order of priorities in our 'development agenda'!

India and China are 'natural allies' in the fight against terrorism.

Arguably, only China -- not the US, not Russia, not Japan -- can help India to get through to Pakistan to raise its comfort level vis-a-vis our country and unlock the door leading to dialogue and normalisation, which has been slammed shut on account of the profound rift over cross-border terrorism.

Suffice to say, we should have shown the maturity to keep our heads below the parapet and let the BRICS Declaration become a topic of private conversation between China and Pakistan.

After all, China as the host country of BRICS, is obliged to give some explanation to Pakistan.

By crudely dragging the topic into the bazaar to flog it for momentary pleasure, we turned it into a dead carcass by the time Modi even got back from Xiamen.

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra D Modi with Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan at the welcome banquet for BRICS leaders in Xiamen, China, September 4, 2017. Photograph: Press Information Bureau
'The wonderful thing about being a journalist is that when someone tries to muzzle your work, it's a badge of honour.'

'You know you've done something right,' Priyanka Pathak-Narain, the author of Godman To Tycoon: The Untold Story Of Baba Ramdev, tells Sunil Sethi.

IMAGE: The bushy-bearded, saffron-clad yogi's grinning visage is writ above glow signs announcing 'Baba Ramdev ka Mega Store' everywhere, but his life story is the subject of a legal writ. Photograph: Kind courtesy Baba Ramdev/Facebook

No bigger godman or yogi looms larger on the Indian scene today than Baba Ramdev -- many previous ones, from Maharishi Mahesh Yogi to Dhirendra Brahmachari to Bhagwan Rajneesh aka Osho, can't hold a candle to his light.

In a salivating new millennium twist to earlier healers of body and soul, Ramdev has scaled up spiritual therapy into an unprecedented retail empire in recent years.

Revenues of his Patanjali Ayurveda, purveyors of more than 500 products from shampoos and ghee to noodles and swadeshi jeans, were estimated at Rs 10,000 crore (Rs 100 billion) this year, growing at 100 per cent annually and spooking the likes of ITC, Dabur, Hindustan Unilever and Colgate-Palmolive.

'Colgate ka gate bhi band hoga', 'Pantene ka to pant gila hone wala hai', 'Unilever ka lever bhi baithega' (Colgate will shut its gates, Pantene will wet its pants, Unilever's lever will break down) he announced in an attack on his competitors not long ago.

How a sickly village boy from a dirt poor corner of Haryana metamorphosed into a fast moving consumer goods giant and a television star is not only the stuff of corporate might cresting a wave of religiosity but a cracking good tale.

The bushy-bearded, saffron-clad yogi's grinning visage is writ above glow signs announcing 'Baba Ramdev ka Mega Store' everywhere, but his life story is the subject of a legal writ.

Last month, he moved a Delhi district court restraining the publication of a gripping biography, Godman To Tycoon: The Untold Story Of Baba Ramdev by Mumbai-based journalist Priyanka Pathak-Narain (Juggernaut).

Ms Pathak-Narain spent 10 years piecing together the tale, interviewing not only Ramdev but his family, followers, associates and adversaries. (She appends 25 pages of source notes at the end of a slim volume.)

It is a chronicle of astonishing gumption and reinvention; and of bitter intrigue, takeover battles of ashrams to TV channels, forays into national politics, feuds, falling outs and, yes, crime.

From selling chawanprash on a bicycle in Haridwar to running phenomenally successful yoga camps and Ayurveda outlets (consultations are free, but the medicines are not), how did Ramdev become a 'Pied Piper who could make his stomach churn and ripple, wrap his legs around his neck and dazzle viewers with dreams of eternal youth and instant good health'?

For every ally Ramdev lost, found and dumped, he also made enemies.

Among the mysteries Ms Pathak-Narain uncovers are the murder of Swami Yogananda, an early Ramdev supporter, and the disappearance of Ramdev's 'saintly' guru, Shankar Dev; of his financial backers such as K K Pittie and Sarvan Poddar (the latter donated a Scottish island to his UK trust); investigations into charges of sales tax evasion; and his forays into high politics, wooing Mulayam Singh Yadav, teaming up with Anna Hazare and taking on the CPI-M's Brinda Karat, who alleged the use of human and animal bones in his medicines.

Some details of the Ramdev story -- for instance, the year of his birth -- are lost in his transformation from impoverished village lad to a powerful guru.

IMAGE: Baba Ramdev owns no part of Patanjali Ayurveda and allied enterprises; yet Acharya Balkrishna, his chief aide, is the 26th richest Indian, worth Rs 25,600 crore (Rs 256 billion). Photograph: Amit Dave/Reuters

His godman status also prohibits him from any direct pecuniary connection; he owns no part of Patanjali Ayurveda and allied enterprises; yet Acharya Balkrishna, his chief aide, is the 26th richest Indian, worth Rs 25,600 crore (Rs 256 billion).

To create as dispassionate a narrative, the author says that she principally told Ramdev's story through the voices of those who knew him.

Nevertheless, the injunction against her book calls it defamatory and damaging on several counts, citing, among other objections, a Reuters report alleging that the yogi 'received $46 million in land allocations and discounts from BJP-led state governments' and that in some Haryana villages Baba Ramdev is popularly known as 'Lala Ramdev'.

Restraint orders against books are an old, dishonoured practice, in part because of the glacial pace at which lower courts move.

The late Khushwant Singh had to battle it out for years with Maneka Gandhi over the publication of his memoir; more recently, Jayalalithaa tried to suppress a book on her life.

American Indologist Wendy Doniger's The Hindus: An Alternative History was not only withdrawn from bookshops but pulped, raising an major outcry against growing curbs on freedom of expression.

Juggernaut publisher Chiki Sarkar has appealed the Ramdev writ and is determined to fight it, taking it to the high court which has a better and faster record in giving "great judgments" on such issues.

As for Priyanka Pathak-Narain, she is confident that her story of Baba Ramdev will reach a wider public.

She told me, "The wonderful thing about being a journalist is that when someone tries to muzzle your work, it's a badge of honour. You know you've done something right."
The invitation to Pauline Copes Johnson's surprise 90th birthday celebration on Aug. 19 at the Sicz Club on Washington Street arrived the first week in July. Hosted by her daughters Ursula Johnson, Deidre Stanford and Karen Walker, the event was planned for over a year. They had given their mother a party at the club for her 80th, and anticipated a record crowd this time. They wanted to honor Pauline, the great-great-grandniece of Harriet Tubman, and their mother's ageless, continuous legacy of promoting and sharing the history of her aunt's remarkable spirit  not only as a freedom fighter and spy during the Civil War, but records show Harriet Tubman was the first woman to lead men in combat.

Pauline Copes Johnson would dress as Aunt Harriet and relate her life story to schoolchildren, church groups and the many visitors to The Harriet Tubman Home. In fact, she did wherever the opportunity to do so presented itself. I personally saw a group of women on a bus tour from Riverside Church in New York City visiting the historic Owasco Reformed Church reduced to tears, while Pauline in her calm, sweet manner told of the cruelty Harriet was subjected to as a child slave, and the beating she received by the plantation owners because she could not quiet a crying baby.

It took some doing to not reveal the secret of the birthday party, and the opportunity arrived when Dee Dee took Pauline on a four-day conference. Ursula unlocked the house and gathered up all her mother's address books. The invitations were sent to 250 people.

Pauline received a proclamation from Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Auburn Mayor Michael Quill announced that Aug. 19 was Pauline Copes Johnson Day, and Assemblyman Gary Finch sent an armful of flowers with his representative. Pauline sure had a lot of friends!

Washington Street was full of traffic on the day of the party. I walked almost two blocks with a visiting friend from New Jersey. Over 200 people filled the banquet room and gave a standing ovation when Pauline entered the room. She was escorted by her son Chauncey Johnson Jr. and former Mayor Tim Lattimore. Many of her children followed Pauline to the head table. Paulines sister Geraldine Copes Daniels was escorted, too, by her family entourage just prior to the guest of honor's arrival.

I sat next to the gift table and tried to help the party arrivals find room for their well wishes in the huge box for cards. Gifts kept accumulating on the floor and piled on the table. Then, I saw a brown velvet wallet-sized box. It was unwrapped and upon opening it, I saw a medal and colorful ribbon with a picture of Queen Victoria. I had no idea of the significance of this medal.

I have included in this column (with the permission of Dr. Pamela Poulin) her account of the history of the Queen Victoria Medal that she presented to Pauline that day. I had given it to Ursula for safe keeping. It was literally buried under the presents and cards, and I didnt want anything to happen to it. It was the highlight of a day so filled with the love, and pride of friends, family and the many devotees of Pauline Copes Johnson.

Pamela L. Poulin, professor emerita, Johns Hopkins University, read that Charles L. Blockson of Philadelphia gave to the newly opened (September 2016) African-American Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C., Harriet Tubman's own copy of "Gospel Hymns" of 1876, along with 37 other Tubman artifacts, and thought of her colleague and friend, great-great-grandniece and pianist of the Harriet Tubman Memorial AME Zion Church, Pauline Copes Johnson, who might like a copy, if Poulin could locate one. So she went online and finally found another copy of the very same 1876 first edition collection of songs. Poulin sang "Precious Lord" at Auburn's Citywide Celebration of The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Jan. 15, 2017, with Johnson.

Johnson was delighted with the gift and happened to mention she'd love to know what happened to and to see the Diamond Jubilee Medal (silver) given Tubman by Queen Victoria in 1897 on the occasion of the monarch's 60 years on the throne (the longest reign of any monarch at the time). Again, Poulin went online, her luck held, and she found one such sterling silver medal minted for Queen Victoria's celebration. To this, Poulin added her own ribbons so Johnson could wear it in her first-person portrayals of Tubman (ribbons taken from a medal given to Poulin for exemplary teaching as a professor).

"In 1897, Queen Victoria of England, having heard of the accomplishments of Harriet Tubman, awarded her a silver medal, a letter of accommodation, a cash stipend and a silk shawl that she proudly wore."  harriethouse.org/legacy.htm. Blockson also gifted this shawl to the African-American Smithsonian Museum.

The Auburn Daily Advertiser of March 13, 1913, reported on the viewing of her body in her casket: "On March 10, 1913 Harriet Tubman died at the age of 92 or 93 in the [John Brown] Home for the Aged she had founded [on her property]. Her death received considerable note in the press, which recounted in detail events of her life, praising her bravery [the only woman ever to lead US soldiers in battle] and lifelong sacrifice and selflessness. After a service at the Home, Harriet lay in state at the Thompson Memorial A.M.E. Zion Church on Parker Street wearing, by one account, the Diamond Jubilee medal sent to her by Queen Victoria [pinned to her waist]. ("Aunt Harriet's Funeral," p. 6). Oral tradition has it that this much-prized possession had disappeared before her death, however. Others believe the medal survives in the family.

Poulin gave the medal to Johnson recently at the celebration of her 90th birthday in Auburn. Many models of the medal were minted.
Before he slithered out of the White House, President Donald Trump's former chief strategist Steve Bannon gave Democrats a piece of advice that Trump himself shows no desire to follow: Dump the "identity politics."

"The Democrats," Bannon said in an interview with Robert Kuttner of the liberal American Prospect, "the longer they talk about identity politics, I got 'em. I want them to talk about racism every day. If the left is focused on race and identity, and we go with economic nationalism, we can crush the Democrats."

Here Bannon shows a keen grasp of the obvious. In theory, if the left focuses on race and identity while Team Trump focuses on bread-and-butter economic issues like trade, tariffs and immigration policy, even I -- who would prefer to see the Trump regime take a long walk off of a short pier -- would give Team Trump favorable odds for re-election, provided the economy is doing well and Trump himself avoids indictment.

But, so far, Trump has played a more shoot-from-the-lip approach. Instead of focusing our attention on economic nationalism, he has exploited racial anger, fears, resentments and suspicions vigorously enough to alienate voters and scuttle his own economic message and legislative agenda.

A quick review: Trump's White House quest began with a bogus challenge to Barack Obama's birth certificate, a scam that Trump perpetrated for almost five years. He jumped to the front of the GOP pack by portraying Mexican immigrants as mostly rapists and murderers -- "and some," he added, "I presume are good people."

He called a federal judge disqualified for a case based on his Mexican-American ethnicity. He waffled on recent deadly violence between white supremacist and white nationalist protesters and anti-racist counter-protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia and then decided there were "very fine people" on both sides.

Does Trump's racial flame throwing work for him? Like a charm. Polls show he's lost most of his swing voters, but his base remains solid at about 40 percent or less. Even during the presidential campaign, Bannon told Bloomberg's Joshua Green, as recounted in Green's new best-seller "Devil's Bargain: Steve Bannon, Donald Trump and the Storming of the Presidency": "We polled the race stuff, and it doesn't matter. It doesn't move anyone who isn't already in (Clinton's) camp."

No, but the election was not just about race and racism, either. Of the nearly 700 counties that voted twice for Obama, 207 flipped last November to vote for Trump.

Obama's race didn't change, but the voters' minds did. In hindsight, it's easy to see how Democrat Hillary Clinton's campaign blundered by paying too little attention to anxious and frustrated working-class and middle-class voters, especially in the crucial Rust Belt swing states like Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Against that backdrop, when Republicans say "identity politics," to some ears it's just another way to say "people who are not like you." That might help explain an August poll by liberal-leaning Public Policy Polling that asked which racial group faces the most discrimination in America -- 45 percent of Trump voters said white people. Another 17 percent said Native Americans, 16 percent picked African-Americans and 5 percent said Latinos.

When host Bill Maher asked the Rev. Jesse Jackson on HBO's "Real Time" about those numbers, Jackson said, "There may be something else going on" besides racism. He recited figures from an August study by CareerBuilder, showing rising economic anxiety in all racial groups.

"Seventy-eight percent of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, 51 percent make $30,000 a year or less," Jackson said. "There's a deep sense of anxiety where you've had a globalized economy. These people feel locked out. And they start scapegoating. ... So, yes, they're being exploited but they have tremendous economic anxiety underneath that must not be ignored."

Indeed, the smart message to take away from Bannon's advice, in my view, is don't let voters feel ignored. Everyone likes to be asked for their vote, according to an old political motto. No one likes to be taken for granted, either.
'...when the time came and not face them with a gun in hand.'

'Gauri was a bold journalist in her life and death.'

Kumar Buradikatti, who worked with Gauri Lankesh from 2007 to 2009, remembers the fearless journalist who was murdered on September 5:

Gauri Lankesh did not have any known enemies, apart from those from right wing goondas; she did not have any property disputes; she doesn't own any property (external link) except a small office.

She was friendly with everybody.

Only one set of people consistently opposed and hated her because she challenged and exposed their right wing goondaism.

She was in the forefront of the fight against communalism and was part of the Communal Harmony Forum for more than a decade now.

Soon after extremists killed M M Kalburgi, she had told me, 'They could kill me also'.

She knew that intellectuals and rationalists like her and Bhagwan, and many others were on these extremists' radar after Kalburgi's assassination and feared for their lives.

After Kalburgi's murder she had started believing that anybody having views opposite to right wing fundamentalists could be targetted and eliminated.

She had this premonition, yet she chose to speak out fearlessly against these very people.

Gauri strongly believed that only right wing fundamentalists from Karnataka could harm her.

All other stories that are now surfacing about her brother (Indrajit Lankesh) holding a gun on to her or that Naxals being behind her murder for bringing some Naxals from Karnataka into the mainstream are cock-and-bull stories.

These stories are floated now to divert the attention from fingers pointing towards right wing goons.

Time and again there were threats to her life. But she chose to lead boldly and fearlessly against fundamentalists.

Like many of her counterparts who run tabloids in Karnataka, she refused to keep a gun for her protection.

She wanted to look her murderers in the eye when the time came and not face them with a gun in hand.

Gauri was a bold journalist in her life and death. She chose to speak out rather than keep quiet.

She wanted to face the consequences of her writings fearlessly.

As told to Rediff.com's Prasanna D Zore

IMAGE: A 'Not In My Name' protest at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, September 7, 2017. Photograph: PTI Photo
Take a bow Swati Mahadik and Nidhi Dubey, who was also commissioned as an officer.

IMAGE: Following her husband, Colonel Santosh Mahadik's footstep, Swati had joined joined the Army's Officers Training Academy in October last year. Photograph: ANI

In an inspiring example of grit and courage, the wife of Colonel Santosh Mahadik, who was killed fighting terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir nearly two years back, on Saturday joined the army as an officer after 11 months of gruelling training.

Swati Mahadik, a mother of two, was commissioned in the army in the rank of Lieutenant and will be posted with the Army Ordnance Corps in Pune.

Her husband Col Mahadik, a recipient of the Sena medal for gallantry, was killed in an anti-terror operation in Kupwara in north Kashmir in November 2015.

"I wanted to be close to him by joining the army. Uniform was his first love and that is why I have decided to join the army so that I can wear the uniform.

IMAGE: Swati poses with her two children. Photograph: Indian Army

"I want to give a way of life to my children which he would have given to them," Swati said. Mahadik, 39, was an officer from the army's elite 21 Para Special forces and according to his colleagues, he was known for always leading from the front. Following her husband's footstep, Swati had joined joined the army's Officers Training Academy in October last year. Swati's children -- 12-year-old daughter Kartikee and 7-year-old son Swaraj -- were present at the ceremony where she was commissioned into the army.

IMAGE: With Swati, Nidhi Dubey also commissioned as an officer. Photograph: Indian Army

"Swati Mahadik was today commissioned as an officer after she completed her training at the OTA in Chennai," said a senior army officer.

He said Swati will join the Army Ordnance Corps in Pune.

Col Mahadik was critically injured during the operation in the Haji Naka forest area of Kupwara and later succumbed to his injuries at a hospital. He was awarded the Sena Medal for gallantry during Operation Rhino in the North-East in 2003.

Another woman -- Nidhi Dubey -- was also commissioned as an officer today. Nidhi had also lost her husband who was a Naik in the Army. Like Swati, Nidhi was also commissioned as Lieutenant.
Over five million people, including thousands of Indian-Americans, have been asked to evacuate from parts of coastal Florida after Hurricane Irma, an extremely powerful Category 5 storm, barrelled towards the state after wrecking havoc on the Caribbean islands.

Irma is expected to landfall in Florida on Sunday, which at its current trend officials said, is likely to cause devastation across Florida and surrounding areas.

Authorities in Florida have ordered 5.6 million people -- a quarter of the state's population -- to evacuate, warning that those who do not leave cannot expect rescue services to reach them once Irma hits.

"It is not a question of if Florida is going to be impacted, it is a question of how bad Florida's going to be impacted," said Brock Long, head of Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Hurricane Irma continues to be a threat that is going to devastate the United States, and either Florida or some of the southeastern states. This is a complex forecast. Anybody from Alabama to North Carolina should be watching this storm very closely, Long said.

Florida is also home to thousands of Indian-Americans.

In addition to thousands of federal employees, several thousand-military personals have been deployed by the Department of Defence to meet any eventuality in the aftermath of Irma hitting the coast of Florida.

"We need the people to listen to their local officials. But when we see evacuations taking place, what we try to do is break down the number that are going to need mass care support, and some of those numbers are well over 100,000 people in shelters for this event," Long said.

US President Donald Trump received a briefing on Hurricane Irma on Saturday. He "was given an overview of the recent impact of the hurricane on the US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and neighbouring islands and the ongoing response efforts of the Federal and territorial governments," the White House said. A State of emergency has been declared in Florida.

Earlier in the day, Trump signed a legislation that provides an additional USD 15.25 billion in emergency appropriations for disaster relief and extends the authorisation of the National Flood Insurance Programme

through December 8.

"Additionally, as the damage from Hurricane Irma unfolds, it is especially important that the men and women in the Southeast and our Caribbean territories stand strong and rest assured that this Administration will always put the needs of the American people above partisan politics as usual," White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement.

Sanders said Trump is constantly monitoring Hurricane Irma, and the federal government is working closely with state and local partners to ensure the safety of the coastal communities.

In his weekly address to the nation, Trump noted that this is a storm of historic destructive potential, and he's asking that everyone in the storm's path to remain vigilant and pay heed all recommendations from government officials and law enforcement.

"Our message to the American people is this: With gratitude for our first responders, and prayers for those in the storm's path, we are behind you 100 per cent," she said.

IMAGE: Florida residents line the north bound interstate 75 as Hurricane Irma appraches the state. Photograph: Kind Courtesy Florida Highway Patrol/Handout via Reuters
A 22-year-old civilian was on Saturday injured in a ceasefire violation by the Pakistani Army along the Line of Control in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, the police said.

The Pakistani troops opened fire from heavy weapons and mortars from across the border in Debraj, Krishna Ghati and Ishapur in Mendhar sector starting at around 10.30 am, prompting retaliation by Indian troops guarding the border, a police official said.

The latest ceasefire violation coincides with Home Minister Rajnath Singh's four-day visit to the state.

The civilian, Mohammad Younis, was injured when a shell exploded in his village in Balnoi sector this morning. A buffalo was also killed and a house damaged in the shelling, the official said.

The exchange of fire was continuing between the two sides when the reports last came in, he said.

The firing comes barely two days after Pakistani troop targeted a forward post along the LoC in Poonch, injuring two Army porters.

The firing on September 7 lasted only for 10 minutes.

Earlier, on September 1, Assistant Sub Inspector Kamaljit Singh of the Border Security Force sustained bullet injuries due to enemy fire from across the LoC at a forward post in Krishna Ghati Sector, an officer said.

He was provided first aid and evacuated from the post but unfortunately succumbed to the injuries, he said.

On September 4, Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire twice by firing at forward posts along the LoC in Degwar and Maldalyan areas in Poonch and along the International Border in Arnia sector of Jammu.

On September 3, Pakistan Army initiated unprovoked and indiscriminate firing of small arms, automatics and mortars in Krishna Ghati sector in Poonch along the LoC.

Before that, on August 30, Pakistani troops resorted to firing and shelling in the Nowshera sector, targeting forward posts and civilian areas.

On August 27, five civilians, including a woman and two minor boys, were injured in a ceasefire violation by Pakistani troops in the Shahpur belt of Poonch district.

A day before, on August 26, BSF troops had retaliated against violations and killed three Pak rangers. On August 25, a BSF Jawan was injured in sniper fire by Pak rangers along the international border in Jammu.

On August 23, senior Army commanders of India and Pakistan held a flag meeting on the LoC in Poonch sector and agreed to institute mechanisms for durable peace and tranquillity.

The two sides agreed to keep channels of communication open between local commanders at the LoC, a spokesman had said.

The year 2017 has seen a sharp increase in ceasefire violations by Pakistani forces.

Till August 1, there were 285 such violations by the Pakistan Army, while in 2016 the number was significantly less at 228 for the entire year, according to the Army figures.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday interacted with more than 20 delegations from different walks of life on the first day of his four-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir.

IMAGE: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh reviews the progress of the implementation of Prime Minister's Development Package project with J&K CM Mehbooba Mufti and deputy CM Nirmal Singh in Srinagar. Photograph: Umar Ganie/Rediff.com

Singh, who arrived in Srinagar, said he had come with an open mind and was willing to meet anyone who helps the government find solutions to the state's problems.

Officials said around 24 delegations of social, trade, travel and business organisations from the Kashmir Valley called on Singh, whose visit is seen as a follow-up to the prime minister's Independence Day speech in which he had reached out to the people of the region.

Representatives of travel agents, hotel and restaurant owners, and shikara and house boat associations met the minister.

Singh also interacted with delegations representing different communities, including Kashmiri Pandits, Sikhs, Shias, Gujjars, Bakarwals and Paharis.

Fruit growers and self-employed women also met the minister, the officials said.

The delegations apprised Singh of their problems and submitted memoranda to this effect. The meetings lasted more than three hours.

Singh also reviewed progress on the implementation of the Rs 80,000-crore Prime Minister's Development Package for Jammu and Kashmir and directed officials to expedite work.

At a review meeting chaired by the minister, officials said the Centre had already sanctioned Rs 62,599 crore, about 78 per cent of the package amount, and released Rs 22,000 crore.

The meeting was attended by Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, her deputy Nirmal Singh, state chief secretary B B Vyas and officials from the Union home ministry.

"The total cost of 63 projects under the PMDP is Rs 80,068 crore. The project includes assistance for rehabilitation of flood-affected people. Rs 1,200 crore was given for that purpose and the project is complete now," an official said.

The four-laning of the Chenani-Nashri section of the national highway has been completed. The project, which includes the longest road tunnel in India, cost Rs 781 crore.

IMAGE: Singh meets Mufti at her residence. Photograph: Umar Ganie/Rediff.com



The PMDP, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 7 November 2015, covers 63 projects pertaining to 15 Union ministries.

The officials said five of the 63 projects have been completed.

Land acquisition for semi-ring roads in Jammu and Srinagar will be completed within two months. The four-laning of the Jammu-Udhampur section of the national highway is nearing completion while 19 road projects costing about Rs 43,000 crore are being implemented in the state, they said.

About Rs 5,810 crore is being invested in the power sector to improve the transmission and distribution network in the state.

Besides, the Central government is supporting the state with an investment of Rs 3,790 crore on the Pakaldul hydroelectric project, the officials said.

For the construction of AIIMS at Awantipora and Jammu, Rs 2,000 crore each has been made available and an amount of nearly Rs 91 crore released.

Besides, IIT Jammu and IIM Jammu have already started functioning from temporary campuses and the setting up of permanent campuses is underway.

Rs 900 crore was sanctioned for completion of the ongoing health sector projects, the officials said, adding Rs 200 crore had been utilised.

The work on the comprehensive management of the Jhelum was evaluated.

IMAGE: The home minister received by Nirmal Singh at the Srinagar airport. Photograph: Umar Ganie/Rediff.com

Singh also reviewed the rehabilitation plan for migrants of Jammu, PoK and Kashmiri Pandits.

The minister also assessed the progress made on other developmental projects related to urban development, solar energy, horticulture and tourism.

The chief minister assured the state government's full support in the implementation of the PMDP and on all other fronts, they added.

Earlier in the day, Singh arrived at the Srinagar airport where he was received by Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh and senior officials of the state government.

During his stay, he is likely to meet Governor N N Vohra and top civil administration and security officials.

The officials said the home minister is scheduled to visit Khanabal in south Kashmir's Anantnag district where he will interact with CRPF and police officials.

South Kashmir has been on the boil over the past one-and-a-half-year and has witnessed several encounters between security forces and terrorists.

Singh will also visit Naushera in Rajouri district and Jammu district during the four-day visit.
Citing the dramatic floods in India and Nepal, United Nations chief Antonio Guterres has urged nations to commit to the historic Paris deal to address the threats posed by climate change as natural disasters become frequent and more devastating.

IMAGE: A man carries his child through a flooded area to a safer place after heavy rains at Baldakhal vallage on the outskirts of Agartala. Photograph: Jayanta Dey/Reuters

Weeks of torrential monsoon rains and catastrophic flooding in India, Nepal and Bangladesh have devastated the lives of millions of children and families.

UNICEF estimates that almost 16 million children and their families are in urgent need of life-saving support. Since mid-August, there have been at least 1,288 reported deaths.

First of all, climate change today is undeniable. In the US, as in Portugal and other parts of the world, we are seeing heat waves, we are seeing dramatic floods -- Sierra Leone, India, Nepal -- we always had floods in the past but now natural disasters are becoming more frequent, more intense and with more devastating consequences, Guterres said.

He said as deserts are progressing, glaciers diminishing and sea levels starting to rise, it is clearly a threat to humanity.

To fight it we have today an important instrument -- the Paris Agreement. We need to make sure that all countries commit themselves to that [accord], he said.

IMAGE: Flood-affected villagers are moved to a safer place after heavy rains at Pratapgarh village on the outskirts of Agartala. Photograph: Jayanta Dey/Reuters

Without naming the US, which has decided to pull out of the climate accord, Guterres said wherever countries are not able to commit to the climate deal at the government level, societies, the business communities and cities should lead the process.

The Paris climate deal aims to prevent the Earth from heating up by 2 degree Celsius since the start of the industrial age. The US is the second largest emitter of greenhouse gases after China.

In this way, we can be able to meet the Paris Agreement, but with an increased ambition because Paris is not enough to be able to contain global warming at the level that is acceptable, he added.

IMAGE: A girl holds onto a pole as as she stands in floodwaters flowing from the swollen Bagmati River caused by heavy rainfall in Kathmandu, Nepal. Photograph: Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters

With the world facing the challenges of terrorism, extremism and the refugee crisis, Guterres said the UN must be an instrument for a surge in diplomacy for peace. He said nations must forget their and come together to put an end to these tragic series of crises, violence and conflicts.

Because these conflicts are also becoming more and more interlinked and more linked to global terrorism. So we need to

fight terrorists where they are, but we need to address the root causes of terrorism, he said.

Guterres asserted that there is need for nations to come together to solve conflicts and at the same time build cohesive societies where people can feel they belong, where they dont feel discriminated [against] and respect human rights, to make sure that terrorist organisations have more and more difficulties recruiting people.

IMAGE: Two boys walk in a flooded area after Hurricane Irma in Fort Liberte, Haiti. Photograph: Andres Martinez Casares/Reuters



So we need -- in sustainable development, in human rights and in a peace and security approach -- to combine all the UN instruments in order to be able to defeat terrorism, he added.

Earlier this week, Guterres had said that India, China and the US have experienced the most natural disasters since 1995 as he urged nations to get serious about keeping the ambition high on climate action.

The United States, followed by China and India, have experienced the most disasters since 1995, Guterres had said, adding that last year alone, 24.2 million people were displaced by sudden-onset disasters  three times as many as by conflict and violence.

Guterres had said the UN stands ready to support relief efforts in any way possible. He added that the number of natural disasters has nearly quadrupled since 1970.
The first domino fell this week in a surprising, unexpected manner.

President Donald Trump backed a three-month extension on the debt ceiling, a measure supported by Democratic leadership in Congress, along with funding for Hurricane Harvey relief efforts.

The quick  though very temporary  resolution averted a potential government shutdown and gave the United States 535 congressional representatives a head start on pressing issues now that theyre back in session. With a daunting list of must-pass legislation awaiting them this fall, they must act quickly and decisively in Americans best interest to stave off a number of looming, time-sensitive matters.

Most notably, a second hurricane, the even-more powerful Irma, is bearing down on Florida as you read this. With the Federal Emergency Management Agencys budget running low before relief funds for Harvey were approved, a stronger hurricane devastating heavily populated Florida could stretch thin resources even tighter.

Speaking of budgets, the end of the federal governments fiscal year is approaching at the end of the month, with plenty of heavy lifting needed if Congress will hit the Sept. 30 deadline. At the same time, two of Trumps primary legislative priorities, reforming both the federal tax code and health care system, remain up in the air.

Concrete plans for the first, a longtime goal of Republicans and a topic certainly worth debating, has yet to reach Congress. And while first efforts for the latter were rebuffed in a dramatic, late-night showdown last month, procedural rules allow the Senate to still pass a health care bill with a simple majority until Sept. 30.

Mind you, all of this came before Trump tossed a potential landmine into the legislative process by ending the Deferred Action Childhood Arrivals program and giving Congress six months to act on a sorely needed immigration bill  a topic thats always controversial and never easy to address on Capitol Hill.

Within the first few days of reconvening, Congress efforts to address these critical issues have already been threatened. Remember how the debt ceiling was extended until December? The Freedom Caucus, a cadre of very conservative lawmakers, has already promised to raise Cain over a deal it despises, possibly holding Congress hostage as it aims to achieve certain ends.

The work ahead is by no means impossible, but the conditions surrounding these critical pieces of legislation make the work ahead very difficult.

Nebraskas five-member congressional delegation and their 530 peers across the U.S. have a challenging but important task ahead. Both houses of Congress must work efficiently to ensure the government meets its deadline and continues to work for the American people.
RACINE  Teachers, parents, community members and other stakeholders in the Racine Unified School District will soon have an opportunity to voice concerns about the future of the district.

A public forum hosted by state Reps. Cory Mason, D-Racine, and Peter Barca, D-Kenosha, is scheduled to be held on Sunday from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. at Knapp Elementary School, 2701 17th St., to give the public an opportunity to talk to elected officials and possibly School Board members.

Mason said the potential takeover of failing schools, along with the possible secession of suburban villages and the consequences of resegregating schools could have a huge impact on the community.

Its village against city, and it creates one district where you can have kids that are more likely to be white and more affluent, and another district thats more likely to be diverse with more kids in poverty, Mason said. I cant underscore how bad of an idea this is for our community.

In August, the Joint Finance Committee passed a provision that in the event the district receives a failing grade from the state in the fall, it would provide a one-year delay the Opportunity Schools and Partnership Program. That program is designed to take failing schools away from the district and have them be put in charge of a commissioner appointed by the county executive.

But along with that delay, the state would study the impact of area villages seceding from Unified, and would give villages the option to go to referendum in fall 2018, allowing voters to decide if they want to start their own school district.

Ask Republicans to reconsider

With the prospect of Foxconn, a Taiwanese manufacturing giant, coming to the area, Mason said it will be harder to attract businesses and families if the district breaks up and will lead to a lot of division and strife, not to mention potential lawsuits.

Thats not going to help us land jobs in the area; its going to make it harder, Mason said. Its going to be bad for us economically. Its bad for the students educationally.

Issues within the district arent lost on Mason but he said there should be another way to address the problems.

There are challenges in our schools, no doubt about it, Mason said If we want to turn those (schools) around, we should have a conversation on how to do that.

Having attended Bull Fine Arts Elementary School, Walden III Middle School and Case High School, this is an issue that hits home for Mason.

I certainly had the benefit of getting a really good public education in Racine, but I also got to experience going to school in a diverse student community, and was really given the benefit of being surrounded by students that reflect the real world, Mason said. That was certainly a real asset.

Mason said he encourages any of his Republican colleagues to join him and Barca at the forum.

The point isnt to cast (Republicans) as villains, the point is to ask them to reconsider and listen to what the community has to say about it, Mason said. I would love for them to hear community members speak about their concerns, because its certainly something that wasnt included before this language was included.
Miami, FL -- (ReleaseWire) -- 09/08/2017 --Felio Siby, the global luxury brand, has designed an all new carbon fiber watch and is live on the world's leading crowdfunding platform Kickstarter raising funds to bring the project to life.



Launched in 2012 in Miami by Dominique Siby, an African native from Gabon, Felio Siby has developed a unique line of luxury products ranging from shirts, jackets, bags, shoes and accessories for men, as well as a line of bags, shoes and accessories for women. The company has since risen to notable prominence as one of the few luxury lifestyle brands in Formula One racing. For this project, Siby has partnered with the world's leading Swiss watch manufacturer to design a standout carbon fiber watch.



"I always loved watches and I always want to bring something new," says founder and CEO Dominique Siby. "This project is unique and quite challenging because I used carbon Fiber in a lot of my accessories from bags to wallet, and creating a carbon fiber watch it's a big challenge for Felio Siby."



The carbon fiber watch from Felio Siby will be limited to a special run of 50 pieces and features high-class craftsmanship and elegant flair in every detail. The timepiece exemplifies the best in human ingenuity and precision engineering. The carbon fiber case measures 42mm and a lightweight 65 grams. The watch utilizes chronograph automatic movement as well as 0.2 diamond with GIA certificate.



The signature design, architecture and personalized movement that forms the new Felio Siby timepiece will be personally overseen by the founder himself. Siby will make regular visits to Switzerland to monitor the step-by-step process undertaken by the world's most experienced manufacturer of haute horlogerie.



"We want to show the world that while we are a young and small independent brand ,we can create and bring new things to the luxury lifestyle scene." adds Siby. "Our carbon fiber will be quite different than anything else on the market. We are seeking a true collaboration with the public through crowdfunding to help bring this incredible piece to life."



The Carbon Fiber Watch from Felio Siby is currently live and available to support on Kickstarter: http://kck.st/2f8Hvbf



About Felio Siby

Luxury clothing and handbags for men/women - Felio Siby creates clothing for confident men on the move. Savvy and stylish, this exclusive brand of handmade clothing is made exclusively in United States, but incorporates all the worldly wonder of African, European and American culture.



For more information on Felio Siby please visit http://www.feliosiby.com
MOUNT PLEASANT  Reports about the Foxconn Technology Group officially coming to Racine County was news to some local officials.

Mount Pleasant Interim Village Administrator Tim Zarzecki said Friday he was driving in his car listening to radio host Mark Belling on WISN (1130 AM) when Belling reported that some officials said the manufacturing facility will be built in Racine County.

I have not heard anything specific, Zarzecki said. Im trying to find out myself, actually ... I dont have anything to report.

M.T. Boyle, chief of staff for Racine County Executive Jonathan Delagrave, said their offices has been hard at work to position ourselves for a major investment from a company like Foxconn.

That said, while we would welcome this type of development in Racine County, it is our policy not to comment on speculation around potential development opportunities, Boyle said.

Foxconn, a Taiwanese technology company, has announced plans to invest $10 billion to build a large liquid crystal display production facility in southeastern Wisconsin. The location has not been announced, but it has been confirmed that property owners in Mount Pleasant in Racine County and the Town of Paris in Kenosha County have been approached about selling land for the plant.
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100 days of incompetence

Our great Mayor of Kathmandu, Bidya Sundar Dai, has completed his hundred days in office. If our Mayor had his way then he would not have hesitated to spend some bucks to buy Kathmanduites a slice of cake each to celebrate the occasion.
Its shortly after 9:40 p.m., and Nelly Gonzalez whips her 2011 Nissan Altima around the street and parks it in front of her familys two-story South Richmond home. She hops out of the car and grabs her overflowing tote bag.

I basically live out of my car, she said.

Her parents, Maria and Rafael, are waiting inside the house, which has a two-car attached garage, a 2003 yellow Hummer outside and a construction van in the driveway.

For months theyve been worried about the 22-year-old not taking care of herself. She has three jobs, is close to finishing her associate degree and still finds time for volunteer work.

Through all the chaos, though, Sundays have been a day of respite. The six-person family goes to Catholic church together, eats together, plays together every Sunday. They call them Family Sundays.

Gonzalez works a combined nine shifts each week and hasnt been home on a weekday before 9 p.m. in months, and she still has her three classes to study for. But she worries now that all of it  the Family Sundays, the dream of attending Virginia Commonwealth University, the life shes known for nearly her whole life  could be stripped away because of a decision this week to phase out a federal program that benefits children of undocumented immigrants. She could be deported back to Mexico, a place she left when she was 5 and one she doesnt know much about.

You think you have wings then they come and cut it, Gonzalez said. You can hide from it or you can face it. My way of fighting is working harder and proving people wrong.

The Trump administration announced Tuesday its plans to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program, with Attorney General Jeff Sessions calling it an unconstitutional exercise. The move is being delayed six months so Congress, which is already being tasked with reforming the tax code, health care and raising the debt limit, can pass protections DACA gave recipients.

Aboard Air Force One on Wednesday, Trump said he envisions seeing legislation that strengthens the countrys border security while also giving legal status for the children of undocumented immigrants.

DACA was put in place by former President Barack Obama in 2012 through executive order and provides work permits and temporary protection from deportation for an estimated 800,000 immigrants brought illegally to the country by their parents. Trump has voiced his desire to see a permanent deal that provides those protections for DACA recipients, more commonly known as Dreamers.

The administrations plan calls for the federal government to stop considering new DACA applications but will allow DACA recipients with a permit set to expire before March 5, 2018, the chance to apply for a two-year renewal by Oct. 5.

Trumps decision to end the current program has been met with resistance, with attorneys general from 15 states, plus the District of Columbia, filing a lawsuit challenging the decision.

Locally, the decision was met with mixed reaction.

Gov. Terry McAuliffe called the move a heartless attack that creates terrible uncertainly for no reason other than to keep a political promise to extremists on the far right wing of the Republican party.

Meanwhile, several GOP members of Virginias congressional delegation  including moderate Northern Virginia Rep. Barbara Comstock, R-10th, and Richmond-area conservative Rep. Dave Brat, R-7th  applauded Trumps decision, saying it will allow a legislative fix to what they called an executive overreach by Obama.

In Richmond, activists immediately took to the streets in protest. Following an information session on the VCU campus Tuesday night, which about 100 people attended, community members held a rally and vigil on Broad Street in downtown. The next day, VCU students staged their own rally on campus in support of the protections afforded by DACA.

***

Gonzalez was 5 when her parents decided to move from Leon, Guanajuato, in Mexico to Richmond in hopes of giving a better life to their children. The three-person family at the time came over on tourist visas and overstayed them, making the United States and central Virginia their new home.

They lived in Chesterfield County, where Gonzalez graduated from L.C. Bird High School and where her three siblings, ages 14, 11 and 10, grew up. Her siblings are not in danger of being deported because they were born in the U.S. while she was born in Mexico.

She lived in the shadows for years, but when Obama signed the DACA executive order in 2012, she applied and was granted a permit to stay.

I felt like nothing was impossible, Gonzalez said about her reaction to the Obama action. DACA gave us hope. I can actually have a future. I can be like everybody else here.

Shes spent the majority of her life here in the U.S., only leaving the country once to return to Mexico briefly. Inspired by her aunt and uncle, owners of a marketing company, she wants to be an international marketing director and travel the world.

A handful of credits stand between her and an associates degree in business administration and management from John Tyler Community College. Her dream school, VCU, is within reach this spring.

The cost of college, though, continues to pose a problem. Practically all of Virginias 1,326 DACA students at public higher education institutions receive in-state tuition, but scholarships and grants are few and far between.

Higher education institutions in Northern Virginia have the highest number of DACA students, according to state data.

Because of the inability to receive scholarships, DACA recipients pay out of pocket for school. For Gonzalez, that means three jobs.

She works at Adams & Garth Staffing, quickly rising up from a receptionist three months ago to marketing director now.

On Mondays and Wednesdays she goes from the marketing job to La Musa radio, a Spanish-speaking radio station. Tuesdays and Thursdays are reserved for her micro economics and psychology classes. You can find her behind the bar on Friday and Saturday nights at Plaza Azteca, a Mexican chain restaurant on West Broad Street.

Her parents, Rafael, 43, and Maria, 41, see how their daughter works every day. Its the way they raised her.

Shes very strong and very intelligent, Maria said in an interview conducted in Spanish but translated to English.

***

Gonzalez sat at her desk at her marketing job Tuesday and watched the DACA announcement live over the internet. Immediately she began to cry.

My whole world shattered. Its not being overdramatic  our future depends on this, she said. Without this, what do we have?

Just hours after the decision, she sat in the student center at VCU before a DACA information session organized for the community. With her left leg over her right, she calmly explained that it was time to take action. Its important to move forward, she said, and encourage Congress to find an alternative for Dreamers such as herself.

She thought she had her future figured out. Now, though, it all hangs in the balance of Congress.
Congress has been dropping in relative power along a descending curve of 60 years duration, with the rate of fall markedly increased since 1933. ... The fall of the American Congress seems to be correlated with a more general historical transformation toward political and social forms within which the representative assembly  the major political organism of post-Renaissance Western civilization  does not have a primary political function.

 James Burnham, Congress and the American Tradition (1959)

WASHINGTON

Today, worse is better. The presidents manifest and manifold inadequacies might awaken a slumbering Congress to the existence of its Article I powers and responsibilities.

As a candidate, Donald Trump vowed devotion to all 12 of the Constitutions seven articles. As president, Barack Obama, discerning a defect in the work of the 1787 Constitutional Convention, supplied Article VIII, which has expired. It stipulated: Between Jan. 20, 2009, and Jan. 20, 2017, the president shall have the power to do whatever Congress declines to do. So, when Congress did not confer legal status on Dreamers (immigrants brought to America illegally as children), he did it. He conferred such status and attendant benefits on a large category of people and called this patently legislative act a routine exercise of law enforcement discretion.

As a candidate, Trumps policy regarding Dreamers made up in concision what it lacked in reflection: They have to go. As a president whose incoherence has a kind of majesty, he says he has a love for these people who are incredible when they are not engaged in rampant criminality. When he is not pardoning Arizonas scofflaw sheriff Joe Arpaio for his anti-immigrant criminality, Trump casts immigration as a law-and-order issue.

So does Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who preaches fire-and-brimstone law and order when he is not encouraging legalized theft under civil forfeiture, whereby government enriches itself by seizing the property of persons not convicted of crimes. Sessions, whose canine loyalty to Trump is not scrupulously reciprocated, seemed to relish the privilege of announcing Trumps policy that, absent action from a Congress that is especially loath to act on immigration, could punish 800,000 children for what their parents did long ago.

Trumps policy now is to state that Obamas policy will expire in six months unless Congress chooses to legalize  Trumps word  it. If Congress does not, Trump will do ... something: I will revisit this issue! Perhaps his exclamatory punctuation foreshadows something as forceful, meaning as unilateral, as what Obama did.

What Obama did was popular and unconstitutional. The latter attribute probably does not interest Obamas successor, but the former attribute evidently does. Hence Trump has sent this hot-potato issue where it belongs, to Congress, which now faces the unaccustomed agony of actually setting national policy.

The day that Trump and Sessions disturbed Congress serenity, Nikki Haley did likewise. The U.S ambassador to the U.N. and a former executive (as South Carolinas governor) intimated that the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran might yet wind up where, constitutionally, it should have started  in the national legislature. An international pact of this complexity and gravity should have been a treaty, submitted to the Senate for committee hearings, floor debate, and ratification by a two-thirds supermajority. Instead, as a redundant expression of Obamas disdain for Congress and the separation of powers, it was submitted to the U.N., and then to Congress. The House voted disapproval and the Senate attempted the same, although the margins were too small to override an Obama veto in any case.

Haley suggested that Trump might declare that Iran is not in compliance with the agreement, thereby initiating a 60-day congressional review, potentially culminating in the administration leaving Congress to decide for or against U.S. withdrawal from the agreement. Just as many Republicans, after years of denouncing Obamacare, flinched from repealing it, many critics of the Iran agreement might flinch. Haley said, I get that Congress doesnt want this. Which is a reason  exercising atrophied institutional sinews  for hoping it happens.

In 1959, congressional supremacy was still a tenet of conservatism. Then James Burnham, a founding editor of the then 4-year-old National Review, wondered whether Congress could survive as an autonomous, active political entity with some measure of real power, not merely as a rubber stamp, a name and a ritual, or an echo of powers lodged elsewhere. The slope of the long descending curve might be changing.
Richmond is home to a number of historic, well-recognized neighborhoods. It also has its share of hidden gems  neighborhoods that you cant believe youve never heard about once youve seen them.

Dianne Rand had that experience.

Roughly 30 years ago, she sometimes visited the Highland Hills community in Bon Air for board meetings held for her sons school, Southside Montessori. She admired the houses elegantly simple, Midcentury Modern designs, and she told herself, idly, that one day shed buy a house there.

Flash-forward 10 years. Rand was now an empty-nester and looking to buy a new house. So she visited Highland Hills and stumbled onto a house on the market. She introduced herself to the owner, an architect, and he gave her a tour of the house.

I fell in love with it, Rand said.

Shortly afterward, she bought the house.

Chances are, youve never heard of Highland Hills. Its a small community of five streets near Forest Hill Avenue. (The streets are Flodden Circle and Ben Nevis, Robert Bruce, Greenock and Halidan drives.) If she hadnt stumbled upon it, Rand might not have heard about it either.

Its a well-kept secret, she said.

The neighborhood holds a unique place in Richmonds architectural history though: Its the areas only Midcentury Modern development.

And its about to get a lot more attention, at a time when Midcentury chic is gaining a new generation of fans. Modern Richmond, a group that organizes tours of Modern-style residential and commercial buildings, will feature Highland Hills in its inaugural Modern Richmond Week.

Events will include a tour of the WRVA building designed by Philip Johnson and a panel discussion about Virginia Commonwealth Universitys new Institute for Contemporary Art building. The week-long celebration of Richmonds Modern-style architecture will end with a block party and house tours in Highland Hills.

Rands house will be open to attendees during the tour.

Richmond has some great examples of Modern residential architecture, but it only has one Midcentury Modern neighborhood, said David Bass, a board member of Modern Richmond. So when we decided to have a Modern Richmond Week, we thought showcasing Highland Hills would be perfect.

For more information, visit modernrichmondtour.com.

A partnership in Modernism

So how did Richmond, in the depths of its love for the Colonial Revival style, become home to a Midcentury Modern subdivision? It came down to a partnership between a builder-developer in Lafayette, Ind., and a Modern architect in Washington, D.C.

By the early 1950s, Lafayette-based National Homes Corp. had perfected the process for prefabricating the components for affordable homes offsite and assembling them quickly in communities they developed around the United States.

The company adopted the auto assembly-line approach and could produce all the components for a 2,000-square-foot home in seven minutes, said Steven M. Reiss, a Richmond-based architect and a board member of Modern Richmond.

In 1953, the company, by then the largest pre-fab home manufacturer in the United States, hired Charles M. Goodman, a Washington, D.C.-based architect, to provide Modern-style designs for its developments. By then, Goodman had worked on a wide range of projects, from custom-designed houses for Washingtons literati to avant-garde suburban subdivisions and sophisticated urban renewal projects for the middle class, Reiss said.

His most famous works include the original National Airport (now Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport) and the Hollin Hills community in Alexandria.

At the peak of his career, from 1955 to 1966, Goodman was considered the Washington areas preeminent Midcentury Modernist, Reiss said. He was a local figure with national stature and international acclaim.

Goodmans work as a consulting architect for National Homes ran from 1953 to 1958, during which time the company bought a parcel of land in Bon Air and began working on Highland Hills. Goodman provided the company with house designs that could be configured into any of 32 floor plans with hundreds of exterior variations, based on the homebuyers preferences, Reiss said.

Even with the variations, the houses in Highland Hills share common design elements  low-sloped roofs with generous overhangs, horizontal siding, flat-roofed carports, wide expanses of floor-to-ceiling windows and unique chimney designs, Reiss said. Essentially, Goodman created an architectural kit-of-parts, providing options for the owner but always within the Modernist vocabulary.

When work on the development wrapped up, it offered something Richmond had previously lacked: an affordable, Modern-designed home development close to the city, that was planned to encourage interaction and social contact among the residents, Reiss said.

Home stats and sales

Highland Hills has 83 homes designed by Goodman, as well as six homes that were built later and werent a part of the original development. Most homes range from 1,400 to 2,000 square feet, said Andrea Levine, a real estate agent with One South Realty and a cofounder of Modern Richmond.

Houses typically sell in the mid- to high-$200,000s. The most recent listing sold for more than the asking price after being on the market for two days last month, based on MLS data.
Update: 7 killed, 28 injured in Nuwakot bus accident

Seven people died and 28 others were injured in a bus accident at Gurje in Shivapuri Rural Municipality-7 of Nuwakot district on Saturday.
Hurricane Irma has weakened into Tropical Storm Irma as it moves north and away from Florida, but the threat of heavy rainfall and strong gusts will continue across Georgia, South Carolina and Alabama.

The eye of Category 3 Hurricane Irma crossed into mainland Florida near Naples on Sunday afternoon after striking the Florida Keys at Category 4 strength on Sunday morning.

According to the National Hurricane Center, Irma made landfall on Cudjoe Key east of Key West at 9:10 a.m., and the second landfall took place at 3:35 p.m. on Marco Island, south of Naples.

Bands of torrential rain containing 96 mph gusts lashed the Miami metro area and a tornado spun up near Fort Lauderdale International Airport.

On Sunday afternoon, Florida Power and Light reported that nearly 75 percent of customers were without power in Miami-Dade County.

Irma hit 57 years to the day since Hurricane Donna in 1960, which was the last time a Category 4 hurricane devastated the Florida Keys.

Irma is the first major hurricane to make a direct strike on Florida since Hurricane Wilma in 2005, and appears capable of a wider swath of destruction than each of the several storms that hit the state the mid-2000s.

Last October, Hurricane Matthew spared Florida from experiencing its strongest side  the right side  because its center tracked along the eastern coastline of the state.

With Irma, the forecast track along the Gulf coastline will expose more of Floridas cities to the stronger side of the storm.

This story was updated on Monday at 11:00 a.m.

Monday

Most of Georgia will experience tropical storm-force winds as the center of Irma lifts north across the state, which is likely to experience downed trees and scattered power outages as far north as Atlanta.

Heavy rain will overtake parts of Alabama, and more tornadoes could strike eastern Georgia and coastal South Carolina.

Monday night

Irma will continue weakening into a tropical depression somewhere over northern Alabama or central Tennessee, but its swath of rain will extend from Arkansas to southwest Virginia.

Dry and calm weather will return to most of Florida by this time.

Tuesday

The greatly weakened low pressure area will slow down and linger over Tennessee on Tuesday and Wednesday as showers continue moving north into the Ohio Valley and Mid-Atlantic.

There will no longer be any destructive wind with Irma, and the rain will become lighter and less continuous as the moisture spreads out.

Richmond-area forecast

Irmas remnants will bring occasional rain to central Virginia on Tuesday and Wednesday, but no extreme or destructive weather.

The high pressure that brought fall-like weather to the state over the weekend will still keep things dry here on Monday, but clouds will gradually move in from the south.

Showers from the remnants of Irma will start to replace the dry air during the day on Tuesday, but the rain will be on and off instead of lasting all day.

The best chance may be late Tuesday afternoon or evening, but the scattered nature of the rain will keep totals below 1 inch in most local backyards. After Irma disintegrates, a seasonably warm but humid air mass will linger over Virginia for several days.

There will still be a chance for a passing shower on Wednesday, then a few thunderstorms are possible from Thursday into next weekend.

Expect highs in the lower 80s starting Wednesday and mild lows in the upper 60s. After Monday morning, there wont be another night with crisp lows in the 50s for at least a week.
Hurricane Irmas devastating waves and wind will collide with Florida on Sunday, but the storm will weaken by the time it starts to spread rain into Virginia next week and theres no threat of catastrophic effects here.

The latest on Irma's track

Irma's winds dropped to 125 mph on Saturday morning after making landfall on the northern coast of Cuba as a Category 5 hurricane on Friday night.

Some restrengthening is likely on Saturday night as the eye turns north and travels over the extremely warm water between Cuba and Florida.

The National Hurricane Center predicts that Irma will hit the Florida Keys on Sunday morning with sustained winds approaching 140 mph, and parts of southwestern Florida will be inundated by a storm surge 8 to 12 feet above ground level.

Irma will spin north-northwest along the Gulf Coast of Florida on Sunday night and Monday morning, then through Georgia by Monday night.

The strongest part of Irma will track close to Naples, Venice, Fort Myers, Sarasota, Tampa and Saint Petersburg, but heavy rain and damaging gusts will extend well away from the eye and also affect the Atlantic coastline of Florida.

The winds will steadily diminish after Irma crosses over land, but power outages from strong gusts and flash flooding from torrential rainfall could stretch as far inland as Atlanta and the Great Smoky Mountains.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, the weakened remnants of Irma will track into Tennessee, but rain showers will extend into Virginia.

Irma will not swerve northeast and make a direct strike on the North Carolina or Virginia coast, which completely rules out any threat of damaging winds and storm surge on the nearby coastline.

Richmond forecast (Updated on Saturday at Noon)

Virginia will receive some occasional rain from the remnants of Irma between Monday night and Wednesday, with higher amounts to the west and less to the east.

The rainfall forecast for the eastern half of the state was not very heavy to begin with, and the amounts are now trending even lower.

The rain chance is mostly centered on Tuesday, but some showers could begin near the North Carolina border as early as Monday night.

Rain is likely to fall at some point on both Tuesday and Wednesday, but neither day will be a washout.

Totals will depend on the exact track of the showers, but for most areas it's likely to end up between 0.1 inch and 1 inch.

Therefore, theres no need to take protective action or alter any plans here in central Virginia, except for the kind of plans that you would normally change when it rains.

Richmond will be too far east and too far north to experience any damaging winds related to Irma.

Tornadoes can briefly spin up in the rain bands of tropical systems after they make landfall, but its too early to know if any tornado threat will materialize on Tuesday here in Virginia.

Higher totals in Southwest Va.

Farther west, the Blue Ridge Mountains will act to enhance the rainfall, and totals in isolated parts of Southwest Virginia could wind up in the 2- to 4-inch range.

That may lead to some localized flash flooding southwest of Roanoke or higher levels on the New River and Dan River, but the threat is not extreme.

Virginia has a long history of flooding rains from the remnants of hurricanes, but the rain from Irma will not be heavy enough or prolonged enough to create major river flooding.

Southwest Virginia also will be closer to the center of Irmas remnant low, so some strong wind gusts to 40 mph could sweep across the ridgelines and bring down tree limbs in higher elevations on Monday night or Tuesday morning.

Coastal effects

Large swells from Hurricane Irma began to reach the coastline of North Carolina on Friday, and a high risk of rip currents will exist on nearby beaches through the weekend.

In Virginia, minor coastal flooding may accompany the high tides this weekend and early next week because of a prolonged stretch of easterly winds piling water into the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay.
A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind.
Events that go undocumented can be lost to history forever. From news cameras to cellphones, honestly handled footage from the scene of conflict can offer a street-level view of what happened, how and to whom.

The scalding documentary Whose Streets? turns many lenses on the uprising in Ferguson, Missouri, a northern suburb of St. Louis, after police officer Darren Wilson killed Michael Brown, an unarmed black 18-year-old whose only discernible offense was walking down the center of Canfield Drive. For at least four hours after being gunned down, his body lay in the middle of the bloodstained street, sprawled in plain view.

Nationwide, there are too many fatal clashes with police to remember them all, but Browns death in August 2014 was different. The community protests and militarized police response lifted the event to a level hard to forget. It launched the grass-roots birth of the Black Lives Matter movement, founded to further the basic American ideal that all people are created equal.

In Whose Streets? director Sabaah Folayan and co-director Damon Davis skillfully and openly use their unflinching documentary to back that cause. They push past the images familiar from mainstream national news coverage, which day after day focused on property damage, arson and ransacked stores. While Whose Streets? shows those events in uncharitable detail, it reveals something else. The filmmakers captured the siege from the perspective of the people who lived through it, some calling for a calm, measured response, others committed to direct action and civil disobedience. Many risk their lives to block a highway.

The 90-minute film follows a 16-month timeline from Browns death. It is a powerful mix of emotional first-person interviews with neighborhood residents, on-site scenes captured by the filmmakers themselves, and sometimes terrifying found footage recorded during the uprising. From scores of mobile phone videos, we see the peaceful protests and candlelit evening vigils that were the initial response to the tragedy.

When a grand jury failed to indict Wilson for Browns death, many citizens took their anger to the streets, and police in riot gear with tear gas, attack dogs, flash grenades, rubber bullets and military vehicles, along with National Guard troops armed with combat weapons, descended to box in and control Ferguson  an occupation one activist terms an unseen war.

There are moments of the bitterest irony recorded in this time capsule. Gathered beside a street banner reading Seasons Greetings, protesters are confronted by an armored vehicle firing tear-gas grenades at them. Standing behind a chain-link fence around a house as an officer directs everyone to go home, one resident shouts back, I live here. This is my house. The police response is more tear-gas canisters.

As some characters reappear and evolve throughout various conversations, the most intriguing might be Brittany Farrell, a single mother and nursing student in her mid-20s. Devoted to her daughter, she explains that she will help her child learn the importance of protesting injustice. As we learn more about her, one snippet of information at a time, we learn that she has a much deeper personal story than we might have assumed. Its a telling reminder that what we think we see often says more about our preconceptions than the genuine facts. Watch this powerful film and learn.
7 Nepalis feared dead in India road crash

At least eight persons, seven of them suspected to be from Nepal, were killed when a car collided with a tanker at Purandar along the Sunauli-Gorakhpur road section in India on Friday.
Dominion Energy and its partners in the Atlantic Coast Pipeline are pushing federal regulators to speed the approval of the $5 billion project so they can begin clearing trees in its 600-mile path in November, but opponents say the energy giants are undermining the review process.

Dominion, Duke Energy and Southern Company Gas asked for action on the project at the earliest possible time in a letter on Thursday to Neil Chatterjee, chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Chatterjee and Robert Powelson joined the commission a month ago after they were confirmed by the Senate to restore a quorum that allows the panel to vote on applications for natural gas pipelines and other pending projects.

We recognize the commission has a number of cases pending consideration with restoration of a quorum, wrote senior executives of the three big Southeastern energy companies. The commissions timely issuance of the order for the [Atlantic Coast Pipeline] project, however, is essential to meeting our contract obligations, ensuring customers realize the energy savings, providing manufacturing access to needed supplies of natural gas, and offering enhanced energy security and reliability to the region.

But opponents of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline accused the trio of energy companies of attempting to short-circuit regulatory review of the project by federal and state agencies to determine whether it complies with laws protecting water quality and other environmental resources.

This last-minute request by the corporations behind the ACP is a blatant attempt to evade Virginias regulatory process and ram the approval of this pipeline through, especially as community opposition continues to grow, said Lewis Freeman, chair and executive director of the Allegheny-Blue Ridge Alliance, a coalition of 52 organizations opposed to the proposed pipeline.

The alliance cited the unscheduled meeting of the State Water Control Board to consider whether to issue a Virginia water-quality certificate for the project under the Clean Water Act. Freeman accused Dominion and its partners of attempting to do an end-run around the board.

Aaron Ruby, a spokesman for Dominion, said Freeman appears to be confusing the federal review with a separate one being done by the state Department of Environmental Quality.

Either ABRA doesnt understand the process, or theyre intentionally distorting it to mislead the public, Ruby said in an email. Our request for a timely decision by the FERC is unrelated to DEQs process.

Friends of Nelson, one of the organizations leading opposition to the project, said the companies made the request the same day that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said it has not issued a formal opinion on the projects compliance with the Endangered Species Act.

For three years, Dominion has been bullying its way through the process, throwing its enormous weight at landowners, politicians and ratepayers, said Ernie Reed, president of Wild Virginia.
Buddha Air to resume Bharatpur-Pokhara flights

Buddha Air has announced it will resume flights between tourist hotspots Bharatpur and Pokhara from September 15 after a gap of three years.
Buddhist pilgrims return to Lumbini after floods

Tourism in Bhairahawa and Lumbini is beginning to recover after being severely hit by the floods that submerged huge swathes of the southern plains and border regions in India following heavy rains in mid-August.
Charter revision on parties poll agenda

Almost all the parties except the CPN-UML have been canvassing for votes in Province 2 promising the Madhesi people constitution amendment.
Ira United Methodist Church is collecting items for health kits to be sent to people affected by Hurricane Harvey in Texas.

Sought are hand towels, wash clothes, bar soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste and combs.

There will be a drop box outside the church, 12479 Ferris Road, Ira. The church is also collecting bottles and cans at a second box outside the church.

The church will additionally hold a Sunday School Rally Day at 10 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 24. Children in pre-K through grade eight are invited.

For more information, call (315) 626-2448.
Anil Giri is a reporter covering diplomacy, international relations and national politics for The Kathmandu Post. Giri has been working as a journalist for a decade-and-a-half, contributing to numerous national and international media outlets.
Cross Utility Vehicles combine the best of SUV, hatchback

What do you get when you combine the best parts of an SUV and a hatchback? You get a Cross Utility Vehicle (CUV).
Dear Editor,

To assume that Forums like this one being held in Samoa can make the impact that you seek Mataafa is a lofty one.

What we can best hope for is that networks are created and relationships and alliances are formed that will see greater unity on the global scale.

The hot issue for the Pacific people in my view depends upon many varying factors.

Climate change is an issue for Tuvalu and Tokelau, but for Niue its having more Niueans overseas than in Niue itself! For Guam, it is the threat of a nuclear attack from North Korea but for Fiji it has recently been the extradition of many Chinese back to China because of crimes committed.

Tongas parliament and government not to mention their founding constitution is currently in the spotlight when we consider the current drama with the King and the Prime Minister!

Emanuel
Dear Editor,

I write in response to your article titled Officials rubbish West Papua Protest.

Colonizers will always lie to you about what colonized peoples want. And some colonized peoples will parrot this  but this does nothing to change the lies from being lies.

Comments from Tantowi Yahwa, the Indonesian Ambassador to New Zealand, Tonga and Samoa, dismissing the recent Samoan protesters highlighting the plight of West Papuans outside of the Pacific Island Forum Leaders Meeting in Apia are misleading and deeply arrogant.

Saying [t]he Pacific should stick to the main agenda of the conference which is the Blue Pacific just shows the ambassador doesnt even know the history and fundamental concerns of all Pacific island countries.

Since when, since the coming of colonizers into the Pacific  whether European, Asian or other  has decolonization and independence not been on all Pacific peoples agendas? And since when did it stop being the issue that determines all the others we might be concerned about?

If the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting is not the place to discuss not just human rights abuses, but also independence and decolonization for West Papua, then it is just a mouthpiece for Western imperialism and Indonesian colonization.

The comments of Albert Joku, on the other hand, a West Papuan wantok who once advocated for independence, should be understood in context as coming from someone who now works for the Indonesian government.

As Indonesian government spokesperson, of course hes going to try to dismiss any Pacific protests for West Papuan independence.

Of course hes going to argue that West Papuans should just give up on their dreams for independence, while Indonesia reduces them to a minority on their own lands, and continues to kill them off is the practice of all colonizers.

And of course he has to somehow believe that West Papuans can integrate into the burning house that has always, from the start, been what Indonesia has been and is for the indigenous Papuans of the region.

Reality and belief are two different things though.

My wantok, Mr Joku, can shut his eyes and try to believe that West Papuans have now seen the worst that Indonesia has inflicted on them, but when did Indonesia stop the routine extra-judicial killings, torture and imprisonment of independence activists?

When did it stop the systematic destruction of rainforests and lands through industrial logging and extractive mining? When did it stop the theft of land dispossession, depriving West Papuans of lands and handing them over to Indonesian occupiers and corporations? When did it stop the trans-migration programs thats already reduced West Papuans to a minority in their own lands, and will succeed in making them less than 30% of the total population by 2020?

The truth is: it hasnt.

These forms of systemic violence  the blunt term is genocide  are what Indonesia is still carrying out today. And actually ramping up as the global movement for West Papua independence is picking up as well.

And this Indonesian occupation and genocide isnt going to stop either because its roots are systemic: driven by capitalist expansion and imperialist greed sanctioned by the U.S., Australia and New Zealand. It ensures ongoing Western and Indonesia corporate access to West Papuas vast mineral resources. It provides new land for displacing Indonesias over-population issues. And it helps ensure U.S. geo-political dominance over the region.

Mr Joku can also try to dismiss the significance and principled nature of the West Papuan protests by our aiga in Samoa, but that dismissiveness says more about him than about the protesters.

He talks about emancipation as if you can separate it from independence. As if you can find emancipation by subordinating yourself to a colonizer.

When he says we will not be dictated by anyone and we Papuans, in Papua, will decide what we want to do, he acts as if he speaks for all Papuans, and as if most Papuans are so browbeaten and defeated that all they want to do is accept subordination to a colonizer.

Thats so patronizing. And false.

Some Papuans might be comfortable pushing for colonial integration rather than independence. But the vast majority of West Papuans from the past to the present have always yearned for independence.

And all Pacific people can do no less than to honour this history of past and present struggles by recognizing that aspiration for independence, and doing what we can to fight for that independence.

Thats what the protesters did in Samoa when they carried out peaceful protests outside of the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting, calling attention to the issue of West Papuan independence.

They were standing in the tradition of the MAU movement in standing up for rights indigenous Pacific peoples, and asserting that our independence has been and always will be an inalienable indigenous right.

And when wantok Joku says the Papua issue has been at the forefront since the late 50s and 60s and weve never seen Samoans and Fijians, he acts as if Indonesian government money, media repression, and Western pressure have not had anything to do with keeping the Papua issue from the minds of our Pacific peoples, or to do with the buying off and silencing of Pacific politicians over the years.

He acts as if there is no shared history of Pacific decolonization struggles.

And he acts as if freedom has a timetable.

What wantok Joku doesnt want to acknowledge is that the Samoan protests are only the latest example of a growing wave of politicization throughout the Pacific where Pacific peoples are starting to find each other again, reconnecting with our shared genealogical and political roots, to fight together for our collective and individual rights as indigenous people who want nothing less than to be independent, sovereign, and free. These struggles are being waged on a number of fronts from nuclear testing to free trade deals to climate change, and were reconnecting them back to that basic struggle for independence that have informed decolonization of the past up to today.

So to all those protesters in Samoa that took the time to speak up for our West Papuan wantoks during the Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting that was recently held in Apia, the only thing I can say is: faafetai, fafetatai, faafetai tele lava.

The sons and daughters of Oceania are rising. And we want nothing less than to be independent, sovereign and free.

Dr. Pala Molisa

Victoria University Lecturer

Vanuatuan

Member of the Run it Straight Collective/ Activist and advocate for the Free West Papua Movement (NZ)
The flamboyant nature of Samoans gave Leaders of the Pacific Islands Forum one last laugh when Samoa bid them farewell at the scenic Taumeasina Island Resort last night.

A dancing Police brass band to the tune of Michael Jacksons Thriller provided just the light moment the leaders needed after a week of meetings  including yesterdays Leaders Retreat, which went into over time last night.

But just as Samoa pulled out the red carpet to welcome her guests on Tuesday, last nights closing ceremony was just as beautiful.

Indeed all is well that ended well. The Police dance was a highlight just as significant as was an 18-gun salute to say tofa soifua.

The Chairman of the 48th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting and Prime Minister, Tuilaepa Dr. Sailele Malielegaoi, hailed the meeting a success.

The best part is that at the end of the meeting, each Leader will be returning home knowing they have a critical role to play in protecting the Blue Pacific ocean.

I thank you all who joined the Pacific journey, learning and discovering the new ideas about who we are as a region and the potential of the new narrative around a one ocean continent, Tuilaepa said.

The Prime Minister added that Pacific Leaders have looked at new possibilities to improve their exchanges.

He said these exchanges need to be inclusive and meaningful interaction with the stakeholders so they add value to informed decision making.

We continue to emphasize not just to ourselves but also to our partners that without bolder actions, we will not have time to explain to our generations of the future the existence of climate change, said Tuilaepa.

We have acknowledge that security and stability are crucial to the prosperity of our Pacific island countries and that national security is linked to the security of our region as Pacific Island Forum Countries.

We must work together to address the security challenges that we face and we have defined what the key security challenges are.

We have prescribed for ourselves the mission by which we can further strengthen and build the capabilities of the institution that serve our countries and people towards sustainability.

The Prime Minister said he is looking forward to working with each Leader over the next 12 months during Samoas tenure as the Forums Chair.

It will not be a smooth journey but together we can make a beginning, said Tuilaepa.

As the sun set over Taumeasina yesterday, the Forums flag was lowered and presented by Prime Minister Tuilaepa to the Secretary General of Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, Dame Meg Taylor.

A communique and a final press conference was held last night.
The government and the Asian Development Bank (A.D.B) signed a grant agreement of $1 million (T$1.9m) additional financing provided by the government of Australia to further strengthen the agribusiness sector in the country.

At the Tanoa Tusitala Hotel yesterday, the Minister of Finance and A.D.B Governor, Sili Epa Tuioti and A.D.B Pacific Department Director General, Carmela Locsin, signed the agreement on the sidelines of the Pacific Islands Forum Meeting in Apia.

The ongoing Samoa AgriBusiness Support Project, co-financed by A.D.B and the governments of Australia and Samoa and was launched in May 2015.

It is designed to boost the South Pacific nations economic performance by addressing challenges hindering increased trade and export.

Agriculture is the backbone of Samoas economy, said Sili. We appreciate the assistance provided under the program and the support from four commercial banks in providing suitable and affordable financial services to participating agribusinesses.

Ms. Locsin said the assistance is to push economic growth.

The A.D.B and Australia-supported Samoa AgriBusiness Support Project is providing tailored support and financing to Samoan agribusinesses which will encourage a vibrant private sector and sustainable, inclusive economic growth, she said.

Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, Australias Minister for International Development and the Pacific, said Australia is very pleased to work with A.D.B and the Samoan government to help agribusinesses in Samoa access finance to expand production and create jobs.

While visiting Samoa this week, I visited Healthy Me Hydroponics and Mailelani Samoa, projects funded by Australian Aid through A.D.B as part of the Samoa Agribusiness Support Project.

Agribusinesses are often family-owned enterprises, mostly involved in agro-industrial processing of local raw materials, such as taro and coconut, supplied by smallholder families. Agribusinesses are, therefore, critical for stimulating agricultural production and sustaining local employment generation.

The project has been performing well, providing advisory services and assistance to obtain commercial funding to cocoa, coconut, root crop, and vegetable farming businesses.

A.D.B has been working with the Government of Samoa since 1966 and has approved $186.19 million in loans, $122.97 million in Asian Development Fund grants, and $32.06 million in technical assistance.

A.D.B, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration. Established in 1966, ADB is celebrating 50 years of development partnership in the region. It is owned by 67 members48 from the region. In 2016, ADB assistance totaled $31.7 billion, including $14 billion in cofinancing.
The two chairs of the next two consecutive Forum leaders meetings, Baron Waqa from Nauru and Enele Sosene Sopoaga from Tuvalu signed a purchase agreement to procure five thousand tons of boulders yesterday.

This signing signifies the start of the extraction and transportation of the raw materials for the solid revetment for Queen Elizabeth II Park protection.

The coastal protection project is a demonstration of developing island countries assisting each other and building resilience against impacts of climate change.

Nauru President Waqa said, Nauru is very happy to be able to support Tuvalu with this important climate adaptation program.

He said the pinnacles from which the boulders form are natural and are therefore environmentally friendly.

Prime Minister Enele Sopoaga said, This is an example of true partnership and South-South cooperation between smaller island countries.

The agreement is an example of genuine, durable and doable partnerships between small island Pacific countries to protect their coastlines from the impacts of climate change.

The Queen Elizabeth II Park is being developed as part of preparations ahead of the 2019 Forum Island Leaders Meeting.

The two leaders signed the agreement before both governments delegations to the 48th Forum Island Leaders Meeting, along with personnel from UNDP Apia Office and PIF secretariat.

Mr. Avafoa Irata, Tuvalu CEO for Public Utilities and Industries Ministry said that the boulders are one of two set of raw materials needed for the infrastructure, the other being gravel from Fiji.

Mr. Irata said, Following the project Nauru and the Tuvalu Coastal Adaptation Project (TCAP) will continue to work together with the intention of expanding the reclaimed beach at Funafuti.
Dahal to run for fed parliament from Chitwan

CPN (Maoist Centre) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal has announced to fight the federal parliamentary election from any of the three constituencies in Chitwan.
Samoa is one of ten Pacific countries that stands to benefit from a multi-million tala financing agreement inked between the European Union, (EU) and the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat.

The funding worth EUR 13 million will tackle the root causes of the gender equality and violence against women and girls in the Pacific.

The other nine beneficiaries include; Fiji, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, The Republic of the Marshall Islands, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu

In signing the agreement in the margins of the Pacific Forum Leaders meeting in Apia this week, EUs Ambassador to the Pacific Andrew Jacobs highlighted the Unions commitment to jointly tackle gender equality in the Pacific Region.

Elaborated Jacobs in a press statement;

Pacific Leaders have acknowledged that gender inequality is imposing a high personal, social and economic cost-the time to act is now.

Together, we must work to enhance awareness and practice of respectful relationships to ensure equal opportunities in life for women, men, girls and boys and increase access to relevant services for women and girls who have suffered violence.

PIF Secretary General Dame Meg Taylor acknowledged the EUs recognition of tackling the root causes of gender inequality and violence against women and girls in the region.

And she commended the EU for supporting the 2012 Forum Leaders Gender Equality Declaration.

The project is co-financed through the 11th European Development Fund, (EUR 13 million), the Government of Australia (AUD$6.5 million) and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women-USD$750,000.)
Sparks splash against the floors of General Dynamics-NASSCOs training stalls.

Behind bulky masks and hard hats that arent quite broken in, fledgling welders fuse themselves into the industrys rapidly swelling workforce.

After six years of hiring freezes and layoffs, NASSCO is resurrecting its new-hire trade program. The program is expected to be a central part of a broader push to bring in 1,000 additional workers for the largest shipbuilder on the West Coast.

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This month, the first crop of welders and shipfitters in the program completed their initial phase of instruction in a multi-year apprenticeship.

For the first time since 2008, General Dynamics NASSCO is hiring trainee welders and shipfitters in their training program.

The Barrio Logan company is in the midst of a hiring boom, thanks to recent federal government and commercial contracts to build 10 large tankers and cargo vessels. Over the next two years, NASSCO intends to boost its workforce to about 4,000 employees.

Out of roughly 300 shipyards nationwide, only about a dozen are capable of building large Navy vessels like NASSCO, said Matthew Paxton, the president of the Shipbuilders Council of America, based in Washington, D.C.

A push for training

The shipbuilding industry is gaining steam across the country. Shipyards now have a new aim: filling spots in their training programs.

Of all the things that are important on a shipyard, the most is having a very skilled workforce, and that takes training, Paxton said.

Nationwide, shipyards must grapple with a flourishing trade that is falling out of popularity.

In generations past, basic welding or mechanic skills were standard at most high schools or community colleges. Now, educators put a much greater emphasize on funneling students into a four-year university, Paxton said.

We are trying to communicate to people that this is a career path that is rewarding, Paxton said.

At Jacksonville, Fla.  another main hub in the industry  shipyards started teaming with veteran groups and running television commercials to entice potential applicants.

In San Diego, NASSCO put up billboards and reached out to local trade schools and colleges to let people know there is work to be had on the yard.

So far, it seems to be working.

About 70 people launched into NASSCOs eight-week training program this year to become welders and shipfitters. They will now join the production line and progress through multiple steps of an apprenticeship.

Specialized skill sets

NASSCOs training program started in the 1970s, after it became difficult to find qualified journeymen, said Michael Jury, the companys manager of employee development. At the time, it employed 7,900 workers  more than double the yards current workforce.

Today, with a starting wage of $12.37 an hour for trainees, NASSCO is a good alternative to a minimum wage job, many employees there said on a recent day. Trainees are also eligible for benefits after 60 days.

On average, shipyard workers made $73,000 in 2011, or about 45 percent higher than the income average in the private sector, according to the Shipbuilders Council.

Milani Thomas, 25, recently moved from Seattle to start a new adventure at NASSCO. She hopes to turn the job into a profitable career.

Like starting anything new, it can be scary, she said, after yanking off her welding mask and pulling gloves off her polished fingers. It is frustrating and difficult at first  welding is a hard field to get into. But you get to create such wonderful ships.

The USNS Lewis B. Puller, a mobile landing platform under construction that towers over the yard, serves as a 164-foot-tall reminder of what each small task builds toward.

The operations on the yard are as well-oiled as the machines they build. Each person works a specialized job that includes welding, electrical work, painting and shipfitting.

NASSCO plans to hire about 200 more trainees in the coming months to learn mechanical outfitting, sheet metal and mechanics.

Although the initial training is only two months, it takes about five years to complete an apprenticeship and become a full-fledged journeyman.

Roughly half of the yards trade workforce started in the training program, including Jury.

Former trainees pass on skills

Most new trainees come in with little to no experience.

When I started here, I wasnt even able to use a screwdriver by myself, said shipfitter Gabriel Valasco, 31, with a laugh. Born an American citizen in Illinois, he was raised in Mexico and moved to San Diego 10 years ago to take a job with NASSCO after hearing an advertisement on the radio.

When he first started, the work was overwhelming, he said, nodding at the maze of metal and equipment dotting the yard. Shipfitters have to do a little bit of everything to piece together the different parts of the ship. As the years progressed, it got easier.

Now he passes on his skills to the new trainees.

It is a good job with good pay. In San Diego the cost of living is so high, you need that, he said.

Chris Marquez, 34, also transitioned from student to teacher, after joining NASSCO a decade ago. With a bit of welding experience under his belt already, he was able to rise through the ranks a bit faster than his peers to provide a stable income for his 6-year-old daughter.

This job changed my life. I was able to buy a house, buy an RV, feed my family ... get a medical plan, he said.

Like others in the shipyard, Marquez is a second-generation employee at NASSCO, following his father.

Thomas, who joined earlier this year, also heard about the job through her father, who was already well established at NASSCO. Though they were not as close when Thomas was growing up, their new shared profession is helping them bond, she said.

It set a line, something to build our relationship off of, she said. He has some big shoes to fill.

Company background

 NASSCO started as a small machine shop in 1905.

 By the time General Dynamics bought the company in the late 1990s, it had grown to become the West Coasts largest shipyard  worth more than $400 million.

 Now encompassing 86 acres in Barrio Logan, the company builds and repairs Navy and commercial ships.

Shipyard roles

 Welding

 Shipfitting

 Electrical work

 Painting

 Mechanical outfitting

 Sheet metal

 Mechanics

Of the jobs listed above, the companys New Hire Trades Program currently focuses on welding and shipfitting. Its expected to cover more skills in the coming months.

More information

To get further details about General Dynamics-NASSCO, including the companys application process, visit nassco.com or call (619) 544-3400.
Q:Does the HOA board have an obligation to put homeowners reasonable comments, questions and other details in the minutes? For example, several months ago, the board invited the landscaper and other representatives to speak about the chemicals they use. Several of us wanted less used. At a recent board meeting I asked if the comments of homeowners, board members and landscapers were entered in the minutes. The answer I was given was no because the board didnt vote. What is the obligation of the board to take minutes in open meetings, and do the homeowners have the right to see those minutes? E.F., San Diego

A: Homeowner association meetings are not city council meetings or court hearings. No transcript of the meeting is necessary. All too often managers or board secretaries work too hard to try to write down every comment and every argument in a board meeting and therefore are unable to meaningfully participate in the deliberations. Some boards make audio recordings of the meeting to try to help prepare the minutes later. This is unfortunate and unnecessary. Minutes should not be a transcript, but primarily a list of reports received and action taken.

Furthermore, it is impossible (unless one is a certified shorthand reporter, such as the courts use) to accurately record everything people say in a meeting. Someone will object that their comment was not included and others will say their comment was recorded out of context, or incompletely.

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Minutes should reflect only a very few things: When and where the meeting was; which directors attended; what reports were received (not what the reports said); and motions made (and the outcome of each motion). Thats it. Most minutes should easily fit into two pages.

Minutes do not need to record the whys and wherefors of each motion. If a decision is so important that the business judgment decision factors need to be documented, the instrument for that purpose is called a board resolution. Board resolutions are likely going to be prepared with the help of the association legal counsel.

E.F., your boards answer was correct. Open forum or other comments should not be recorded in the minutes.

Q:How long does HOA have to post the minutes of their monthly meeting? Our manager told me the minutes dont get posted to read until the board approves them. Is that so that they can make changes? Or not approve the minutes? J.W., Aliso Viejo

A: Draft minutes of the meetings should in most instances be ready shortly after the meeting, but Civil Code 4950(a) requires that they be available to members no later than 30 days after the board meeting. Associations often struggle getting minutes out quickly because the minutes are too complicated, but proper minutes should be much easier to get out earlier. Civil Code 4950(b) requires that the Annual Policy Statement (a very important annual packet of mostly non-financial disclosures required by Civil Code 5310) inform members of their right to request copies of draft minutes.

[Note to readers: CAIs annual California Legal Forum will be held on Oct. 20 in Universal City. See www.caionline.org for details]

Kelly G. Richardson, Esq. is a Fellow of the College of Community Association Lawyers and Managing Partner of Richardson Harman Ober PC, a California law firm known for community association expertise. Submit questions to KRichardson@RHOpc.com. Past columns at www.HOAHomefront.com.
The organic grilled chicken strips were too dry. The organic cotton candy was too pricey. But the Bio-K fermented strawberry probiotic drink? That was just right.

So say the members of the Barons Market food panel, a small group of managers and employees who gather every Thursday to decide which food items will be stocked at the San Diego-based chains seven Southern California stores.

From chickpea puffs to gluten-free taquitos, founder Joe Shemirani and his employees try it before you can buy it. Its a company policy that also qualifies as a pretty sweet perk  if you are lucky enough to get a seat at the tasting table.

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Thursday is my favorite day of the week, said district manager Sergio Guzman, as he hovered over two tubs of Greek yogurt. I always skip the goat cheese, but I taste everything else.

If an item makes the grade, it could be in your neighborhood Barons within two weeks. I dropped in on this weeks panel at the stores new headquarters in Poway, where I gorged on cheese and caramels while getting a sneak peek at the shopping list of your near Barons future. Save room for bone broth!

Welcome to the panel

Founded in 1993 with the opening of the Point Loma store, Barons was built on the idea that less can mean more. While a traditional supermarket can stock 50,000 or more items, Barons stocks less than 10,000. Their philosophy is, a pared-down inventory makes for a faster, less stressful shopping experience.

It also makes for a more challenging inventory experience. If you are only going to carry two pasta sauces instead of, say, 12, those sauces need to please most of your people all of the time. And if you are going to replace your blue-cheese stuffed olives with a different brand of blue-cheese stuffed olives, the newcomers need to be better than the originals without being more expensive.

Which is where the food panel comes in. On any given Thursday, the employees will work their way through 50 or more items. The tasting menu could include anything from soup to nut milk, but the process remains the same.

After gathering in the food room, the employees talk company business for about an hour. Then they get their worksheets listing the days items and they hit the sample tables. There is room on the sheet for panelists to write their comments, rank each items taste from 1 to 5 and weigh in on what they would pay for it.

Then comes to the discussion, which is lively, opinionated and democratic.

What we always ask ourselves is, Is this something we need to have? Are customers asking for it? Is it a brand name we know they love? And then we vote, said Rachel Shemirani, the companys vice president for marketing and Joes daughter. Sometimes a product will be a no-brainer, and sometimes I have to count hands.

The main reason we do this is because we consider ourselves the agent for the customers. But we also do it because its fun. And, hello, we get to eat.

Foods for thought

What do Barons customers like now? Brie, kombucha and organic everything. What does Patrick Speer think they will like sometime within the next few weeks? Hes betting on plant-based milk from Ripple and baked pea snacks from Peeled. And what Speer thinks about pea puffs and pea milk matters.

The nicest thing about this is that Joe actually cares what the feedback is, said Speer, who supervises the North Park store. There are a lot of gluten-free products out there, and a lot of them are awful. Its great that we get to vote on that.

When the voting started, it was fast, funny and decisive. It was a yes to frozen organic chicken nuggets from Costal Range and No to Chickpeatos baked pea and chickpea snacks. The decadent Humboldt Fog Haze Remix goat cheese got a ringing endorsement, while the surprisingly tasty Swirlz organic cotton candy was reluctantly rejected due to flimsy packaging and a too-high price tag.

Healthiest indulgence? The creamy black cherry Greek yogurt from Greek Gods. Dessert to die for? Caramels from Annie Bs. Morning ritual that could take some getting used to? Bone broth.

You can go through a bag like this in a few days, said buyer Dana Shemirani (also Joes daughter), holding up a pouch of Bonafide Provisions bone broth. People drink it like coffee in the morning.

Joe looked dubious, but the votes were in. It was a yes to Bonafides bone broth.

While the panel members passed around the Annie Bs caramels and poured themselves some Ripple refills, there were storage shelves filled with items waiting for their turn on the Barons food firing line.

Will your future cart be filled with paleo pancake mix, gluten-free Filipino adobo sauce and barbecued jackfruit? Time and next weeks taste buds will tell.

Mostly what I think about is, I am sitting at the table, I want some food, is this something I want to eat? said Joes cousin Bijan Moossazadeh, who is vice president of operations. I try not to over-analyze it.

Twitter: @karla_peterson

karla.peterson@sduniontribune.com
Globetrotting artist and author Ray Padre Johnson, whose works have been displayed at the United Nations building in New York City has donated 25 of his original oil paintings to a museum in El Cajon.

Johnson, 78, will visit The Heritage of the Americas Museum from 3 to 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 6 to talk about his experience creating what he calls Faces of the Global Human Family.

Johnson the human diversity he experienced on a centerpiece painting that shows a view of the Earth from outer space surrounded by faces of 25 culturally diverse children and adults. He also painted 500 smaller portraits of people spread among 24 canvases.

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Ive tried to that inner child open to acceptance and trust in every adult face, the mischief in the childs eyes, Johnson said. Thats where we find the return to that ground in our humanity that can cause healing and help  when that open acceptance begins to breed in our adulthood.

Those works are now at the museum at 12110 Cuyamaca College Drive West. The museums separate wings are dedicated to natural history, archaeology, education, anthropology and fine art.

Born in North Dakota, Johnson now lives in Wyoming but in between, he called the world his home. After military service in the 1960s, he spent 12 years living among different peoples, tribes and groups around the globe  in 159 nations by his own account.

I ate, I slept and I danced every night, Johnson recalls. Every cultural dance on planet Earth I danced, and I ate everything I saw. But the dancing was the frosting on the cake.

Johnson served as a medical chaplain during the Vietnam War, working in hospitals and prisons. Part of many rescue missions, Johnson was injured twice while serving. He received a Purple Heart and a Silver Medal for valor.

His life as a professional artist began in 1979 when he took a job on a ranch in Wyoming. As he recalls, in exchange for a saddle he wanted, he gave his ranch boss a sketch he had done, and it fell into the right hands.

Johnsons sketches and paintings of people, animals and vistas reflect where he has lived and those with whom he has connected, including actor John Wayne and President Ronald Reagan.

Johnson said that former President George H.W. Bush approved of the drawing of the president who preceded him but that First Lady Nancy Reagan told Johnson that she thought there were too many lines on her husbands face.

Johnson is also the author of a 1992 book Journeys with the Global Family: Insights Through Portraits & Prose, written from both theological and anthropological viewpoints.

Johnson said he had intended to give the global faces paintings to the United Nations, where they were first displayed in 1992. Instead he decided to donate them to the museum where he has forged a friendship with director Kathleen Oatsvall.

Johnson was close with Heritage of the Americas Museum founder Bernard Bud Lueck, who opened the venue in 1993 to display his vast collection of archaeological and cultural artifacts and artworks.

Padre came out for our 20th anniversary (in 2013) and since then has been coming out once a year, Oatsvall said. He said its always been in his will for the paintings to go to the U.N. but he told us, This place feels so right to me. He feels we get the concept of the global human family and how we are all one family.

Johnsons website is at padrejohnsonworldview.com

karen.pearlman@sduniontribune.com
Theres a buzz around Santee these days, as the city considers modifying some of its regulations about beekeeping.

Among adjustments being examined are current laws that allow apiaries only on residential lots of 2 acres or larger, and rules saying that bee hives need to be 400 feet from streets, schools, parks, property boundaries and other residences.

On Wednesday the City Council heard from residents who want to keep hives in their yards and a couple who expressed concern about possible tragic allergic reactions to bee stings.

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Several members of the San Diego Beekeeping Society also gave short primers on apiaries and the differences between defensive African bees and the more docile European honey bee.

Locals have been complaining that other cities in the county and San Diego County itself allow hives in smaller lots  3,950 square feet in Encinitas, 5,000 square feet in National City and 6,000 feet in Lemon Grove for example.

Additionally, other cities allow for far less distance being kept from other properties, such as 35 feet from a residence in Encintas, 20 feet from the street in San Diego and 15 feet from a property line in Lemon Grove.

Kelly Wright, who has lived in Santee with her husband and two children for six years, said rules to keep everyone safe are important but that the lot sizes and the boundary distance hinder people from keeping bees.

I think we should be able to be a little self-sustaining, Wright said. We want to get chickens; we already are growing fruits and vegetables. Other cities are OK with bees, and its working out well for them. I dont know why a city like ours cant fall in line.

Other jurisdictions in the region have specified beekeeping regulations or have adopted other animal regulations related to the keeping of bees.

Lemon Grove, La Mesa and National City have beekeeping standards, including regulating the maximum number of hives, the placement of bee barriers, the rules for fire prevention, the types of allowable bee species, the providing of water for bees and required signage.

Some jurisdictions require a beekeeping permit; the County Department of Agriculture, Weights and Measures regulates and licenses apiaries.

Beekeeping is not allowed in El Cajon, Coronado, Escondido or Solana Beach.

Santee resident Joseph Farmer, who runs a local company that does bee rescue, removal, care and management, said he has turned what was once a hobby into a career for the past seven years.

Farmer lives with his three children in a dwelling not conducive to housing apiaries  even if regulations were relaxed. Even though changes in city law for beekeeping wouldnt affect him personally, he wanted the city to consider adjustments for the greater benefit to all.

He said he has instructed maintenance workers around the city on proper removal of hives and that he teaches children in the Santee School District about the life of bees.

We talk about bees, what theyre good for, why we need them and that as long as you dont get near a beehive and let them to their thing and dont mess with them, theyll get their food and move on, Farmer said. They only sting you to defend their hive. If you want any fruit that flowers, you need bees.

Councilman Rob McNelis said that although he is a fan of bees and knows their importance, one of his daughters is severely allergic to bee stings, and he remains cautious about the keeping of bees.

Several speakers at the meeting brought up the concern about Africanized bees and swarms of aggressive bees.

They recounted an event last year at Magnolia Avenue near Braverman Drive, where a passer-by rescued a woman from a swarm of bees. She was stung 50 times in about 30 seconds.

Also referenced was the 2011 death of an El Cajon beekeeping hobbyist stung and killed in Alpine as he attempted to relocate bees.

Farmer he spoke with one of the Santee residents who raised fears about being stung by Africanized bees.

The more European bees we can get, the more we can dilute the (African) hives, Farmer said. Having backyard beekeepers will help dilute the gene pool of the wild African bees.

Santee Mayor John Minto said he thought city staff should explore the issue further before any beekeeping changes are considered.

Agriculture issues need to be considered, he said, and he questioned if the city could allow two, four or 20 hives. Minto also asked for reports of any attacks on beekeepers and what it would mean to the city if beekeeping became a business operating from a home.

He also expressed concern about proper education for beekeepers.

Does the San Diego Beekeeping Society provide training, is there a certificate presented? Minto asked. If its a hobby beekeeper or commercial beekeeping on site, how do we know somebody who wants to keep bees has enough training and experience to make sure its a safe hive?

karen.pearlman@sduniontribune.com
Rickeena Boyd-Kamei has a desire to give her time to others. A teacher for 14 years, she recently moved her teaching into home hospital and transition support teaching, where she works mostly from Rady Childrens Hospital. There, she instructs children who are hospitalized and cant attend school in a classroom environment.

She also volunteers with numerous community organizations, including the Junior League of San Diego, where she began her current work to end human trafficking. It is through this work that shes been able to combine her profession as an educator with her passion of working with causes that improve the lives of women and youth.

Because most of my work is in prevention (of human trafficking), I do not see immediate results, and many of the people that I speak with, I only encounter once, she says. But I have had the opportunity to meet and learn from heroes in our community. Survivors and advocates who work tirelessly to serve victims and educate community members.

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Boyd-Kamei, 38, lives in Mount Helix with her husband, Robert, and their 17-year-old son, William. She took some time to talk about her work as a hospital teacher, the path shes on to end human trafficking and how she has no problem traveling for good food.

Q: How were you first introduced to the issue of human trafficking?

A: I had heard of human trafficking in the news, but saw it as a distant problem. As a new member of the Junior League of San Diego, we listened to speakers and watched videos on the topic. When those speakers spoke about an issue that was impacting young people in San Diego, I knew I needed to help. I have been working to end human trafficking for the past four years since I got involved with the Junior League.

Q: Can you tell us about any successes youve experienced in your work to prevent human trafficking?

A: It is hard to measure success because most of my work has not been with current victims, but rather in prevention. This is much harder to measure because I dont get to keep track of everyone I have encountered to ensure that they have not become victims. But I can tell you that I felt very successful when my son told me that he had a classmate that he thought was being lured into trafficking based on an online relationship she was having. He told her about his suspicions and what he had learned from the many workshops he had been to. The girl was able to end that relationship before anything went wrong. Thats my hope to get others to recognize the signs. That way we save each other.

Q: Youre working to develop a curriculum and programs for students in the San Diego Unified School District to teach students about this issue? What do you want students in the school district to know?

A: I want them to be open with their parents about their relationships, to talk to school staff and other safe adults when they have questions or concerns, to speak up if their friends are getting involved in dangerous or abusive relationships. I want all children and teens to know that they are priceless and that no one has the right to hurt them.

What I love about the foothills of Mount Helix ...

It is very quiet and there are areas where there are lots of trees and animals. In the spring, we get to hear lots of birds singing.

Q: What would you recommend to others who want to help in your efforts?

A: Encourage parents to know who their children are talking to and encourage children to talk to their parents about everything. Its hard for traffickers to lure children who have close relationships with the adults in their lives.

Q: Can you talk a bit about San Diego, specifically, and where our city fits in this issue?

A: Sex trafficking is San Diegos second largest underground economy after drug trafficking, according to a study from the University of San Diego. The underground sex economy represents an estimated $810 million in annual revenue. San Diego has also been identified by the FBI as one of the top 13, high-intensity child prostitution areas. One of the main reasons why San Diego is a hub is because we have a thriving tourism industry. Conventions, sporting events, and great weather make San Diego a destination city. Sometimes people come here with the idea that they can do things here that they might not do in their own cities.

Q: Tell us about your work as a hospital teacher. What does that involve?

A: We see students who are hospitalized for reasons ranging from cancer to sickle sell to altered mental status. We also see students who may be in and out of the hospital so much that regular school attendance is not feasible. This is often the case with children who have cystic fibrosis or kidney failure. Typically, we see each child for an hour a day. Most lessons take place bedside, while others take place in hospital classrooms. We usually see five children a day. Sometimes we see children at multiple locations and varying grades. I teach transitional kindergarten through 12th grade, all subjects. However, if students are in a higher level math or science course, I refer them to other teachers who specialize in those topics. I currently teach at Rady Childrens Hospital, and other sites as needed.

Q: Why was becoming a hospital teacher work you were interested in?

A: Honestly, it was not a position that I sought out. It just sort of came about due to some needs for coverage at our hospitals, but I am glad that it happened. Working as a hospital teacher has called on me to challenge myself as a teacher. I have to find new ways to make learning fun. In most hospital settings, it is difficult to do messy projects that take up lots of space, and because students are usually seen individually, there is no peer interaction to make activities exciting. I have also learned to be more flexible since the students that I see can change daily, and I can see students at five different grade levels in the same day.

Q: What has your work in preventing human trafficking taught you about yourself?

A: Participating in the fight against human trafficking has taught me that I have more to give. It is not enough to say, Im taking care of my child, so Ive done my part. We all need to think about how we can positively impact others. How do we save a neighbors child or a friends niece? By giving a little bit more of ourselves.

Q: What is the best advice youve ever received?

A: When I was a student teacher, my mentor teacher told me, You cant teach anybody you dont love. I think about this often because no matter how stubborn or difficult someone may be, I cant get them to learn or do anything if I am not showing them kindness. I also have to listen to and understand their story.

Q: What is one thing people would be surprised to find out about you?

A: That I will travel several hours for the prospect of good food. For example, I have driven to Yuma (in Arizona) for ice cream.

Q: Describe your ideal San Diego weekend.

A: On Saturday, I would begin my day by making breakfast for my family. Then I would volunteer at a Junior League event, spend the afternoon shopping with my goddaughter, then end the evening with friends at the movies. On Sunday, Ill go to church with my best friends mom, followed by breakfast at her house. Then, Ill go home and plan my lessons for the week, and top it off with a bonfire with family and friends at Fiesta Island.

Email: lisa.deaderick@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @lisadeaderick
Police are asking for the publics help to find a San Diego woman who has been missing since leaving her home a week ago.

Julia Jacobson, 37, was last seen at a 7-Eleven on Aero Drive about 6:30 a.m. Sept. 7, according to friends and San Diego police. She texted a friend about 9:30 p.m. saying she was in the Palm Springs area and hasnt been heard from since.

Jacobsons car, a white Chevrolet Equinox, was found Thursday morning on Monroe Avenue in North Park not far from her Normal Heights home.

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According to a post on a Facebook page titled Help find Julia Jacobson, the womans dog, a Wheaten terrier named Boogie, is also missing.

Jacobson works for 7-Eleven and is an Army veteran, her friends said.

She is described as 5 feet 7 inches and 150 pounds with blond hair. She has a tattoo of a crab holding a flower on her hip.

Anyone with information is asked to call San Diego police at (619) 531-2277 or (619) 531-2000.

Baker writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune.

debbi.baker@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @Debbi_Baker

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Supervisor Kristin Gaspars physical therapy company has sued former Supervisor Dave Roberts for libel and has accused the former politicians attack ads of harming the businesss reputation during last years bare-knuckle campaign.

The complaint filed in San Diego County on Wednesday says that Roberts campaign mailers contained false and misleading statements about elder abuse, negligence and malpractice that harmed Gaspar Physical Therapy and one of its officers, Brian Stone. The plaintiffs said theyve suffered at least $5 million in damages.

In one of the ads Gaspar was accused of running a shady business that is known for malpractice, elder abuse and negligence. The ads cited a 2006 lawsuit against the physical therapy company and Stone, one of the therapists there.

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The ads targeted Gaspar, but also hurt the business and Stone, two entities that had nothing to do with the race, the lawsuit said.

Gaspar Physical Therapy and Dr. Stone have clean records and; at least before the defendants herein elected to defame them to hundreds of thousands of persons, they had untarnished professional reputations, the lawsuit said.

The company was co-founded by Gaspars husband, one-time Encinitas mayoral candidate Paul Gaspar. Neither of the Gaspars is named as a plaintiff, but the business itself, as well as Stone, are both suing Roberts. Kristin Gaspar was the companys chief financial officer and ran her 2016 campaign, in part, on her successes with this business.

The lawsuit was first reported by the San Diego Reader.

Roberts did not respond to an email requesting comment and has recently changed his phone number. The plaintiffs attorney also did not respond to a request for comment.

In an email, Gaspars office said that the lawsuit is between a former elected official and a private business in which, by law, the Supervisor has no ownership share or voting privilege, and deferred queries to the named plaintiffs and their attorney.

Roberts mailers went to about 100,000 addresses, including some that are the homes of current or former or future patients, as well as physicians who refer their own patients to the physical therapy company, the lawsuit said. The ads relied on a 2006 lawsuit against the physical therapy company and Stone that included allegations of elder abuse, negligence, and malpractice to suggest that Gaspar was not qualified to serve as supervisor.

The complaint acknowledges that Gaspars business and Stone were sued in 2006, but also said the attack ad omitted important details that would have shown that the old lawsuit was without merit.

Had that been done, it would have been readily apparent that the Complaint related to an alleged slip and fall incident at a public swimming pool area during off-clinic hours, the recent lawsuit said. The lawsuit also said Roberts ad incorrectly claimed that the plaintiffs were compensated in a settlement. The 2006 lawsuit was settled, but the plaintiffs were only reimbursed for some of their legal costs in exchange for dropping their case.

The supervisor race was the closest in the region and required the Registrar of Voters to spend weeks counting ballots to decisively determine the winner. Gaspar, who was initially behind after early returns came in, eked out a win with 50.23 percent of the electorate, a 1,272 vote margin.

The race focused on typical county public safety and land use issues, but also centered heavily on a 2015 scandal that consumed Roberts office. Four women abruptly resigned from his staff in a three week period. They later accused their former boss of using his employees to do political and personal errands, offered a staffer a raise and promotion to mislead a human resources inquiry into his office, and of having an overly-friendly relationship with one of his subordinates.

Three of the women submitted formal complaints, and the Board of Supervisors approved $310,000 in settlements.

Gaspar used the scandal to her own advantage and launched a Wall of Shame website that highlighted Roberts troubles and other local political mishaps.

Twitter: @jptstewart

joshua.stewart@sduniontribune.com

(619) 293-1841
San Diego on Monday may join a small group of California cities willing to allow a local marijuana supply chain in addition to permitting storefronts to sell the drug to both medical and recreational customers.

The City Council is scheduled to consider a proposal to legalize local cultivation, manufacturing and testing of marijuana and related byproducts like edibles when new state laws take effect in January.

Supporters say the proposal would boost the local economy, increase city revenue through steep taxes on the drug, and improve the quality and safety of local marijuana by eliminating the need to truck it in from elsewhere.

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San Diego has allowed storefronts to sell marijuana to medical patients since 2015, and agreed early this year to allow 16 approved medical pot dispensaries to expand their sales to recreational customers next year.

The only other cities in the county that allow dispensaries are La Mesa and Lemon Grove, where voters forced the hands of city leaders by approving ballot measures last November. And only La Mesa has indicated it may allow cultivation.

Its not clear whether a majority of San Diegos politically divided nine-member council will support allowing cultivation, manufacturing and testing. The panels five Democrats have shown more enthusiasm than the four Republicans.

The citys Police Department and planning staff are recommending the council reject the proposal based on concerns about crime and safety.

Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman said she anticipates a significant increase in calls for service at cultivation and manufacturing sites, where explosions and fires could be relatively common.

She also raised concerns about marijuana tourism and the new, mostly cash-based industry attracting organized crime to San Diego.

Local legalization opponents said they plan to lobby the council on Monday.

Its been well documented that this is a lawless industry, said Scott Chipman, leader of a nonprofit called San Diegans for Safe Neighborhoods.

Chipman also said California already produces many times more marijuana than gets consumed in the state, contending that means there is no reason to allow cultivation or manufacturing in San Diego.

Legalization advocates and leaders of the local marijuana industry say its crucial to have a local supply chain for the drug, not just dispensaries selling it.

They say there is essentially no other industry allowed to sell its product, but not allowed to grow, manufacture or test it locally.

And a local supply chain would decrease prices by eliminating transportation costs, said Phil Rath, executive director of an association of local dispensaries called The United Medical Marijuana Coalition.

And lower prices play a crucial role in persuading customers to buy marijuana at legal dispensaries instead of on the black market, which includes unpermitted pot shops and unauthorized delivery services.

Rath said the local industry is confident the city can effectively allow and regulate cultivation, manufacturing and testing.

The city has learned quite a bit about how to regulate the industry from the last several years from going through the process of permitting retail facilities, said Rath. Theyve used a lot of that knowledge to come up with a pretty solid proposal thats well-crafted and well thought out.

Rath said, however, that there are concerns with roughly 5 to 10 percent of the proposal.

Those concerns focus primarily on a plan to limit the number of cultivation and manufacturing businesses to a maximum of two per City Council district, and to prevent such businesses from opening next to retail dispensaries.

Rath said the two-per-district cap, which would mean a maximum of 18 throughout the city, would make it impossible to meet local demand.

To meet local, legal demand, the number of these permits is going to have to be somewhere in the range of 40 to 50, he said.

Some have suggested a citywide cap instead of a maximum number per district.

Rath said it makes no sense to require cultivation and manufacturing businesses be at least 100 feet away from dispensaries.

We dont see why it would be harmful to anyone to have the two uses next to each other, he said, adding that vertical integration could further lower costs. Theres no public safety benefit from doing that.

Many proponents have focused on a boost to the citys tax revenue.

San Diego voters approved a local tax on recreational marijuana last November that would start at 5 percent and rise to 8 percent in July 2019.

That tax, which could rise as high as 15 percent with council approval, would apply to pot farms and factories as well as dispensaries.

Councilman Chris Cate unveiled last month some suggested regulations for cultivation and manufacturing businesses, many of which arent included in the proposal the council will debate on Monday.

They include outlawing any signs on such businesses, requiring them to have a positive impact on the surrounding community and mandating they have a round-the-clock liaison to respond to any complaints.

Cate may ask to amend the proposed legislation to include some or all of those.

The council must also decide how to handle 27 businesses  17 manufacturers, eight cultivators, one testing lab and one warehouse  that dont actually have any legal standing despite being given city business tax certificates.

Some or all may be grandfathered in  allowed to continue operating  or be given priority for permits.

Mondays council meeting is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. at City Hall, 202 C St.

david.garrick@sduniontribune.com (619) 269-8906 Twitter:@UTDavidGarrick
DoTM asks Pabson, N-Pabsan for buses

The government is in talks with Private and Boarding Schools Organisation Nepal (Pabson) and National Private and Boarding Schools Association Nepal (N-Pabsan) to operate their buses to ferry passengers leaving for different parts of the country for the Dashain festival from Kathmandu Valley.
San Diego increased its pension debt on Friday by adopting the most conservative investment return projections in the state, but pushed much of the financial impact several years down the road.

Lowering the pension systems projected investment returns from 7 percent to 6.5 percent, which will require higher contributions by taxpayers and city workers, was widely praised as a prudent move in light of the volatile global economy.

But critics called the decision to spread the impact over several years irresponsible, comparing the move to previous underfunding schemes more than a decade ago that earned San Diego the nickname Enron by the Sea.

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Supporters of delaying the impact, which the citys pension board approved in a 7-5 vote, said it would stabilize the city budget and help fund long-awaited employee pay hikes when a voter-imposed salary freeze ends next year.

Police officers in particular are expected to be offered hefty pay increases this fall to boost recruiting and retention in the face of a severe and worsening officer shortage.

Without delaying the impact, which many call pension smoothing or creating a glide path, the citys annual pension payment would have increased roughly $10 million a year over the next five or six years.

Those increases would have been on top of a huge long-term spike the pension board approved last year after a new actuarial study showed that city employees and retirees are living significantly longer than previously thought.

Those increases in employee longevity, which will force the city to pay out pension benefits several years longer to many workers, increased the citys unfunded pension debt from $2 billion to nearly $2.6 billion.

Fridays moves by the pension board will increase the citys unfunded debt by a relatively smaller amount that wont be determined until January, a pension board spokeswoman said.

The impact will be smaller because lowering projected investment returns requires employees to share the burden by increasing their contributions, and because strong stock market gains this year have boosted short-term pension system revenue.

The board last year decided against smoothing the impact of the employee longevity increases, which ballooned the citys annual pension payment from $261 million in fiscal 2017 to $324 million in fiscal 2018.

In contrast, the board decided on Friday to smooth the impact of decreases in projected investment returns. That means instead of an increase beyond $324 million, the city is expected to see a small decrease in its annual pension payment next year.

The smoothing will also somewhat alleviate concerns about deep budget cuts next spring after the city made some modest cuts last spring. And it will mean more money for pay raises, which employees havent gotten since voters approved Proposition B in 2012.

The smoothing is possible because the citys annual pension payment had been scheduled to sharply drop from $330 million in 2028 to $119 million in 2029 when a series of amortized debts will be paid off.

Under the plan adopted on Friday, the city will soften that sharp drop by decreasing payments between now and 2028 and increasing payments in 2029 and beyond.

City Councilman Scott Sherman, who took the unusual step of testifying before the pension board on Friday, urged the members not to opt for smoothing.

Too many times when were getting into a little difficult budgetary season we like to try and change things so the bill we get for our retirement plan is a little less than anticipated, so we can have money to spend in other places, Sherman told the board. But we need to make the tough decisions when we need to make them, and we need to keep paying.

Sherman said the pension payment cliff in 2029 was promised to voters when they approved Proposition B.

It shows good fiscal responsibility to the voters that their city has got a plan for paying our bills and were paying off our debt, Sherman said. I dont want to see us pushing the payment further and further down the road on to future generations. Thats kind of how we got to where we are.

Former City Councilman Carl DeMaio, who helped write Proposition B, offered similar sentiments in a news release.

History seems to be repeating itself as city politicians and labor union bosses scheme to once again intentionally underfund the pension system and divert those funds to give city workers salary increases, DeMaio said. Unfortunately taxpayers will be left holding the bag.

The San Diego County Taxpayers Association said smoothing also confuses taxpayers about how pensions are funded and how pension debt is paid off.

Supporters of smoothing compare it to when the city sells bonds to pay for large infrastructure projects like roads or water pipes. The debt is paid off slowly and steadily, similar to how the pension board now plans to take care of the citys pension debt.

They also contend that stabilizing the citys annual pension payment helps with budgets and planning, because wild fluctuations force the city to make cuts during years with high pension payments and then restore programs during years with low payments.

Adopting a 6.5 percent projected return on investments makes San Diego the most conservative pension system in the state. San Mateo County, which has begun using 6.75 percent, was the first to go below 7 percent.

Since 2007, San Diego has been slowly lowering its projected rate of return from 8 percent, where it had stood for many years before the Great Recession.

It was lowered to 7.75 percent in 2008, 7.5 percent in 2011, 7.25 percent in 2013, 7.125 percent in 2015 and 7 percent last year.

The board on Friday considered a decrease to 6.75 percent, which would have been more in line with the incremental approach taken in recent years.

But board members and the boards actuary, Gene Kalwarski, said 6.5 percent matched better with actual investment projections by the boards consultant.

So the board eventually voted for a decrease to 6.75 percent this year and 6.5 percent next year for the pensions system, officially known as the San Diego City Employees Retirement System.

Those combined increases will cost public safety employees 1.8 percent in increased pension contributions, and other workers with pensions 1.2 percent in higher contributions. Employees are required to contribute to their pension a substantially equal amount to what the city must contribute with taxpayer funds.

The board also discussed, but did not change, an actuarial assumption that city employees will get average pay raises of 3.05 percent in coming years.

Many members of the board said that estimate was too low because relatively large raises are expected after the freeze.

San Diego replaced pensions with 401(k)-like plans for all new hires except police officers after voters approved Proposition B in 2012. Only raises affecting employees with pensions will increase the citys pension debt.

david.garrick@sduniontribune.com (619) 269-8906 Twitter:@UTDavidGarrick
A man who apparently wanted to commit suicide-by-cop was armed with a replica semiautomatic handgun when a sheriffs deputy shot him on state Route 125 Friday night, authorities said Saturday.

Robert Westbrook, 31, a transient who was living out of his vehicle, is expected to survive multiple gunshot wounds.

Deputies responded to a 911 call about 6:40 p.m. from someone who requested that they check the welfare of a man who had threatened to kill himself, sheriffs spokesman Ryan Keim said.

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The deputies had some information about the mans whereabouts and searched for a vehicle he likely was driving. They found him in the vehicle pulled over on the right shoulder of northbound SR-125, north of Grossmont College Drive, about 7 p.m.

When deputies approached him, the man was uncooperative with them, Keim said.

He then got out of the vehicle and pulled out what appeared to be a gun, homicide Lt. Rich Williams said. One deputy fired his gun, striking the man.

Deputies started first aid on the man before medics arrived and took him to a hospital. He underwent surgery.

The deputy, whose name has not yet been released, was not injured.

Authorities said other details about the confrontation that led up to the shooting were still under investigation. A witness told detectives that Westbrook was overheard saying hed hoped to have law enforcement shoot him.

Investigators later determined the gun was a realistic replica pistol that fires BBs or pellets. Westbrook was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon.

All four northbound freeway lanes were shut down between Navajo Road and state Route 52 during the investigation.

Breaking News

Email: david.hernandez@sduniontribune.com

Phone: (619) 293-1876

Twitter: @D4VIDHernandez

UPDATES:

3:35 p.m. Saturday: This article was updated with additional details.

This article was originally published at 7:35 p.m. Friday.
The outcome of a recent legal challenge to deal with spent nuclear fuel from the shuttered San Onofre nuclear power plant exposes the overwhelming influence large nuclear power companies like Southern California Edison have in forcing solutions that defy common sense and deject members of their local communities. It also shows the tangled web of government responsibility that too often leaves no single entity taking the ultimate responsibility to keep the public interest at heart. For a problem like long-term nuclear waste storage, this is a recipe for sustained failure.

To understand why many years of ineffective oversight and government neglect culminating in this settlement between Edison and private groups has produced such dreadful results, consider the simple and most obvious solution to the interim storage of the remaining fuel: moving it to a safe, secure location away from the Pacific Ocean. The spent nuclear fuel at San Onofre is extremely hazardous for millennia and poses a risk of contaminating the ocean and community around the plant as long as it stays there. While moving spent nuclear fuel has risks, it must eventually be moved to a permanent disposal site. So just move it one time to a better storage location until technology or compromise find a permanent solution.

Related: How nuclear waste deal can save San Diego

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Yet despite the years of government review, Edison will leave the fuel partially buried in the terraced plateau tens of feet above the Pacific Ocean where the San Onofre plant sits, nestled between a major highway and the Pacific Ocean just north of San Diego. This is one of the worst possible permanent locations for the fuel.

The problem is Edison never planned to deal with this issue so soon. A series of technical blunders and management mistakes forced the utility to close the plant decades ahead of schedule. The cost of finding a proper solution gives the owner motivation to battle and cajole the regulators into accepting that there simply is no alternative but to leave it where it is.

Accountability is easy to avoid because of the confusing jurisdiction and indifference of the safety authorities. At the federal level, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is the sole authority for radiation safety. This means the storage containers used to hold the fuel and the facility to hold the containers are approved by the commission, but Edison does need a specific approval for its plan from the agency. This is the nuclear safety equivalent of the tag on your mattress that you are not supposed to remove. To compound the problem, the California Coastal Commission gave approval in 2015 for the deployment of the spent fuel facility despite the agencys lack of full authority. That decision, which was challenged in court and led to the recent settlement, was ultimately more bark than bite. The Coastal Commission simply could not  due to the Nuclear Regulatory Commissions pre-emptive authority  compel the plant owner to change much of its plan.

Behind all this, Edison was happy to agree to a settlement which committed it to do nothing different than what the utility intended all along: leave the fuel on the shores of the Pacific. The agreement requires the plant owner to identify a location to move the fuel as long as the actions are commercially reasonable. To that end, Edison will spend no more than $4 million in hiring a team of experts  of its own choosing  to come up with such a plan. But if such a solution were commercially reasonable, Edison would have done it already. If fact even if Edison found a site, the settlement allows the utility to decide if it wants to move the site. There are no hard commitments for Edison to change course. But there never could be anyway. The only group that could truly compel fuel movement move is the Nuclear Regulatory Commission or maybe the California Coastal Commission, but both have long since absolved themselves of responsibility for the situation. The end result is a dissatisfied community and a victorious Southern California Edison.

Dealing with the nations spent nuclear fuel will become an even greater challenge as more nuclear power plants decommission. The lesson from San Onofre shows that the energy companies who made the waste and are ducking responsibility for disposing it still have all the control in their communities. But there is a simple solution: Make Edison find a better site and move the fuel. The only question is: Will anyone with the power to make Edison do this have the courage?

Jaczko is the former chair of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Regarding Its time for Congress to rescue dreamers (Sept. 6): Why dont you so-called news people publish all the truth about Trumps action taken on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), an illegal act of Obamas. All you tell the public is enough to scare 800,000 people into thinking they are all going to be deported.

Along with them you have given fuel for the anarchists to stir up more of their hate and criminal activities. I am so happy to know that not everyone believes the lies published by The New York Times, CNN and others. This country needs to sit back and just see all of the good Trump has done, despite Democratic interference.

Granted, some of his tweets have not been very presidential but just sit back and realize he is not a politician and that is why we elected him.

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Colleen Kline

Allied Gardens

Letter writer Tony Flitcraft of National City (DACA decision righted Obamas illegal wrong, Sept. 8) repeats Attorney General Jeff Sessions claim that Barack Obamas use of executive orders to bypass the constitutional duty of an obstructionist Congress was unconstitutional and criminal.

Trump issued 45 executive orders in his first seven months, a rate of 77 orders per year compared to Obamas average of 35 per year, the fewest since Grover Cleveland in 1898. Executive orders go back to George Washington and provide checks and balances.

I looked through my copy of the Constitution and couldnt find the part that Flitcraft or Sessions refer to. Apparently it says that any executive order (or anything else) done by a Democrat is evil, unconstitutional and illegal, but one issued by a Republican is good, constitutional and makes America great again.

Michael Thaller

San Diego

Its sad to note that there is so little understanding of the way our government is supposed to work.

Congress is responsible for establishing laws and the president is charged with enforcing them.

Obama disregarded his responsibilities and now Trump actually does the right thing and is the recipient of wrongly focused massive hysteria.

Lets get it right and recognize that he is not the bad guy here  and then lets focus our attention on getting Congress to take action.

Charles Bohle

Escondido

There comes a time when people of good conscience have to do the right thing, and how we react regarding the demise of DACA will define us for a very long time.

The reputation of our nation is at stake, defined by the following question: Is America a place where people exploit people for profit no holds barred, or a place where we take care of each other?

From what I could see, virtually all aspects of our local economy were bolstered by the undocumented. People hired them to labor in their yards, businesses hired them for construction and real estate folks and banks sold them homes while everyone in the chain stuffed their pockets.

All the while the undocumented worked hard and raised their children as Americans, hoping that their kids would eventually be assimilated. Now we throw them and their kids under the bus.

The message the world will get from this is that America is a place where we exploit people without conscience, money is the end game. The reputation of our nation and we as human beings is at stake.

Will we allow America to be stained by greed, your kids and mine exploited forever?

Dave Patterson

Ramona

In order to make America great again, we first need to include all Americans. Yes, this applies to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients who were brought to the United States as children, often without any consultation.

Dreamers are Americans. They have goals and aspirations. They want to get jobs and go to college and contribute to the economy. For many, the United States is the only home theyve ever known.

Donald Trump did America a disservice in ending DACA. In order for this country to operate as efficiently as possible, we need to maintain this service so that undocumented men and women can contribute while having the security of knowing this as a pathway to citizenship so they dont have to live their lives here in fear. How can you take the dreams away from dreamers?

Shelby Proseus

Poway

Letters and commentary policy

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Heres a question that popped up last week. Should an opinionated description of a news event appear in a review, such as one about a movie? Its accepted that the critic would express an opinion on the film, but what about the news incident?

A reader called last week to take issue with wording of a sentence that appeared Sept. 1 in the Union-Tribune in a Minneapolis Star Tribune review of the documentary Whose Streets?

The film looks at the protests following the death of Michael Brown in August 2014 in Ferguson, Mo.

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A police officer shot Brown in an incident clouded with conflicting accounts of what had happened. The officer was not indicted and eventually resigned.

The movie critic described Brown as an unarmed black 18-year-old whose only discernible offense was walking down the center of Canfield Drive.

The reader disliked the writers interpretation of the shooting.

Weekend section editor Travis Conrads handled the story. He said the description made him pause, but he decided to leave it in.

First, this isnt a news story. Im going to allow more leeway with a film review running in a features section than I am with a news story in the A section, Conrads said.

This critic saw the movie, has presumably seen a lot of the same news coverage over the past three years that we all have, has his opinion about the death of Michael Brown and the merits of the film, and he wrote from his perspective, Conrads said.

Second, this writer doesnt work for me. I couldnt talk it over with him. This is a movie review off a wire service from a critic whose byline I see fairly regularly. Without access to the writer, I didnt feel comfortable rewriting his description. ... To me, it just didnt rise to the level where I felt comfortable taking the bite out of his writing.

Although Conrads said he believes film critics need to be truthful in their assessments, what occurred in the shooting of Brown is unclear.

What is the truth here? I dont know, Conrads said. I dont think there are too many people who DO know. Outside of the officer and maybe some eyewitnesses, a definitive account of the death of Michael Brown does not exist.

What the average person knows about that day is mix of grainy video, speculation and conflicting information, leaving people in a spot where they either acknowledge that they dont know what happened, or they settle on a hunch. The description in this review strikes me as a hunch, and while I personally might have been a bit less definitive if I were writing the review, I opted to let it stand.

For me, the shooting was more complicated than the reviewer made it out to be, and the description needed to be qualified.

Im interested in what readers think. Is it all right for an opinion piece, like a review, to include an opinionated description of a news event? Email the readers.rep@sduniontribune.com.

Psychiatrist and psychologist

A psychiatrist and psychologist are not the same. Thats why the Readers Rep heard last week from readers who spotted a error in a headline with a story about Dr. Allen Frances of Coronado.

Frances, a psychiatrist, wrote a new book titled Twilight of American Sanity: A Psychiatrist Analyzes the Age of Trump.

The headline Sept. 3 on B1 of the metro edition incorrectly read Psychologist joins the debate on Trumps mental health.

Tom Harpley, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist from San Diego, was one of the readers who contacted the U-T. Does the U-T not know the difference between the two fields? he asked.

In a follow-up, Harpley explained the difference:

A psychiatrist has gone to medical school and can prescribe medications; psychiatric treatment involves primarily medication management.

Psychologists are trained in psychological evaluation and/or psychotherapy; psychological treatment involves talk therapy and behavioral interventions. These treatment modalities often complement one another.

Its fair to say that any editor  or reporter  needs to double-check that they are clear on the persons field, or they need to double-check that they didnt just goof and use the wrong similarly sounding word.
The Poway Unified School District will be holding its second public hearing for the planning of its new by-district elections at 6 p.m. on Thursday.

The hearing will be part of the regular monthly Board of Education meeting, held at the district office, 15250 Avenue of Science in Carmel Mountain Ranch.

The first public hearing meeting, held Aug. 31, lasted about 15 minutes and drew two speakers.

The public is invited by the PUSD to draw maps of the new election districts. These maps need to be submitted to the district by Oct. 4. Links to training videos and the map-drawing website can be found here. The maps will be considered at the Oct. 12 hearing.

The district is moving from at-large voting to by-district elections, which will take effect in 2018. With this change, voters will go from voting on all seats to voting on the seat represented by the district they live in, which will be represented by a single member of the board. There will be five voting districts within the PUSD.

PUSD is one of more than 150 school districts in California who, along with over 60 cities, including the City of Poway. The City of San Diego already does by-district elections.

This change is to bring the district into compliance with the California Voting Rights Act of 2001. The district was one of many to receive a receipt of demand under this act, which means it has to convert to by-district elections or risk facing a lawsuit.

The meetings are intended to gather public input about how the district maps should be drawn, drafting maps of those proposed areas and to discuss the proposed sequence of elections.

Email: news@pomeradonews.com
A record number of plaques  at least in recent years  added to Rancho Bernardos Pathway of Pride will officially be unveiled next week.

The by-invitation ceremony will be held Wednesday evening in Webb Park. Among those in attendance will be the plaque honorees and donors. County Supervisor Kristin Gaspar will serve as master of ceremonies and the donors will receive certificates of recognition from Gaspar, Assemblyman Brian Maienschein and City Councilman Mark Kersey, said Pathway Chairman Dave Brooks.

This is my fourth year coordinating the installation of plaques on the Pathway of Pride, Brooks said. It is the best year Ive had and with 18 installations I am very pleased that we exceeded our goal of 10 installations.

According to Brooks, the plaques have been requested by donors, who each gave a $1,000 tax-deductible donation to the Rancho Bernardo Community Foundation. Proceeds from the pathway that winds through the park benefit Rancho Bernardos community endowment and annual community grants program, both operated by the foundation.

The endowment now exceeds $1.4 million. Some of its interest, along with other income sources such as foundation memberships and the annual RB Community Thanksgiving Luncheon, go toward the grants that last year totaled $70,200.

Since 1988, the grants have supported projects and organizations that focus on senior services, youth activities, recreation, the arts, educational enhancement, civic enhancement and community protection. They are presented in November at the Thanksgiving luncheon.

The Pathway of Pride was created in 1993. With the addition of the newest 18, there is a total of 296 plaques honoring longtime residents, community leaders, organizations, businesses and pets.

In addition to the honorees names, some donors have chosen to include personal details, such as mentioning military service, fondness for Webb Park, volunteerism or years of living in Rancho Bernardo. Some are memorial plaques that honor a deceased loved one who spent years in the community or recognize a special anniversary.

Brooks said the latter is the case with one of the plaques, whose donor and honorees are not being announced prior to the ceremony because the husband is surprising his wife with the plaque in honor of their wedding anniversary. Brooks has dubbed it the mystery plaque.

The other plaque honorees, with the donors in parenthesis, are:

 Scott Ackley, US Bank, RB Honorary Mayor 2016-17 (Rancho Bernardo Business Association).

 In memory of Frances Cleeton (Barbara Hansen).

 Tom Cook, Linda Gannon and Mike Vaughn, 2017 RB Hall of Fame inductees (RB Hall of Fame).

 Oscar Don Diego, a mini-doxie who loved Webb Park, plus Tom and Eve Murphy (Eve Murphy).

 Dobias family  Joe, Ginny, Tim, Peter and Karen (Virginia Dobias).

 In memory of Ken Evans (Teresa Evans).

 In memory of Tad Graham (Judi Graham).

 Ann Hoyer Fisher and David V. Rousseau (David Rousseau).

 Gast family  Joel, Shellie, Andy, Bridget, Chris and Becky, for living in RB since 1972 (Rachel Gast).

 In memory of Chuck Hall (Patti Hall).

 In memory of James Hansen (Barbara Hansen).

 Krefft family  Bill, Rosina, Billy, Mike and Dan (Bill Krefft).

 Larry McIntyre for his years of service (RB Community Foundation).

 Jim McNabb for 31 years of service (Los Rancheros Kiwanis Club).

 Nguyen family  Toan, Wanda, Calvin and Christine (Toan Nguyen).

 Oscar D. and A. Hilda Teel (Oscar and Hilda Teel).

 In memory of Charles Chuck Wallace (Bob Shade).

According to Brooks, the plaques are a way for Rancho Bernardans to support the foundations charitable efforts in the community without becoming a foundation member. For details on obtaining a plaque for the 2018 ceremony, contact Brooks at davebrooks@san.rr.com or 858-945-1616.

For information about joining the RB Community Foundation, go to rbcommunityfoundation.org or call The San Diego Foundation (with which the RB group is affiliated) at 619-235-2300.

Email: rbnews@pomeradonews.com
LPG importers warn of protest from next week

Importers of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) have warned that they will launch a protest from September 17 if the government does not take decisive steps to obtain explosive licences for Nepali gas bullets from Indian authorities.
Lawmakers mark attendance, bunk session!

Speaker Onasari Gharti was forced to adjourn the meeting of Legislature-Parliament three times on Friday since so many lawmakers left after marking their attendance that the House lacked the minimum number of MPs to meet.
Minister Mandal vows stern action against errant merchants

Supplies Minister Shiva Kumar Mandal on Friday said the government would take stern action against stores on Durbar Marg found cheating customers.
Mass Communication Academy within next week: Minister Basnet

Minister for Information and Communications Mohan Bahadur Basnet has said the National Mass Communication Training Academy would be finalised by mid September.
'The cruise market is booming like never before,' said Bernd Aufderheide, CEO and president, Hamburg Messe und Congress. 'Passenger numbers are rising steadily and the demand situation for European shipyards and their suppliers is excellent.' He cited a record orderbook, billions of euros in investment and 75 newbuilds to be delivered by 2025 alone.

More than 260 exhibitors from 40 nations presented their products and services this year, including shipyards, cruise ports, food and beverage manufacturers, shipbrokers and many more, Aufderheide said.

There was also great deal of interest in the Newcomers Pavilion, showcasing 19 companies that are moving for the first time into the cruise and river cruise sectors. They used the event as a platform to make contacts with the cruise lines.

A new feature for 2017, exhibiting ports and destinations were also given the opportunity to give a 90-second lighting pitch in front of a high caliber judging panel on the final day of the event. This proved to be a popular addition.

Accompanying the exhibition was a full conference program covering the most topical issues and trends facing the European cruise industry. Speakers and panelists included high-profile personalities and heavyweights. CEOs speaking during the opening Future of Cruise Industry in Europe session expressed optimism about the business in Germany, and the wider European market proved a strong talking point.

Although China replaced Germany as the world's second-largest source market for ocean cruise passengers last year, the host country of Seatrade Europe continues to be a dynamically developing market. Karl J. Pojer, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd Cruises and chairman of CLIA Germany, predicted the German passenger count could reach 3m by 2020, up from 2m in 2016.

'As both a cruise destination and passenger source market, Europe continues to show its strength,' said Andrew Williams, group brand director, Aviation & Maritime Group, UBM EMEA. In 2016, northern/western Europe had an 11% share of global cruise capacity (with the Mediterranean at 18.3%), and more than 6.6m Europeans cruised.

Sustainability and environmental responsibility were at the forefront throughout the event as delegates were invited to witness a virtual keel-laying ceremony by Carnival Corp. & plc, for AIDAnova, the world's first fully LNG-powered cruise ship. To great applause, Arnold Donald, president and CEO, Carnival Corp., joined by key brand leaders, celebrated this landmark occasion.

River cruising also came under the spotlight throughout the conference program, with dedicated sessions providing a focus on both identifying innovation and analyzing the current security situation.

Another highlight was the presentation of the Seatrade Cruise Awards. Karl J. Pojer was honored as Seatrade European Personality of the Year.

Other winners included British Virgin Islands Ports Authority (Port of the Year), Le Havre Tourism Board (Destination of the Year), Coltraco Ultrasonics (Supplier of the Year), Holland America Line and O, The Oprah Magazine Partnership (Marketing Initiative of the Year), PresentWater AS (Environmental Initiative Award) and Abercrombie & Kent/Akorn for The Koala Clancy Foundation Tour & Book (Innovative Shorex of the Year).

Outstanding Contribution Award went to Antonius Heuer, most recently VP, global cruise, Oracle Hospitality Cruise, while Port Personality of the Year went to Angie Redhead, cruise and operations manager, Liverpool Cruise Terminal and chair of CruiseBritain.

Seatrade Europe has also continued its close cooperation with Hamburg Cruise Days, Sept. 8-10, which underscore Hamburgs international significance in the world of cruising.

The next Seatrade Europe will be held at the Hamburg Fair site, Sept. 11-13, 2019.
Press Release

September 8, 2017 Villanueva lauds gov't's consideration of his request to re-evaluate drug war Senator Joel Villanueva has acknowledged the recent Palace statement which considers the senator's previous call to reevaluate war on drugs. Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said on Friday that the government is "in the process of rethinking" the way it handles its campaign against illegal drugs due to the recent uproar on the killings of teenagers Kian Loyd delos Santos, Carl Arnaiz, and Reynaldo de Guzman. "We are glad that Palace is heeding our call in re-evaluating war on drugs. We can win this without bloodshed," Villanueva said. On Wednesday, the senator also urged the government, particularly the Philippine National Police, "to rethink its approach in addressing our drug problem." The senator cited the results established during the Senate hearings showing the gaps in the protocols of how our police operates: in terms of coming up with suspects, how they identify areas where they will operate, and their protocols when seniors and minors are around. "Recent vigilante killings show that our police force has no complete control of criminality. It is important to reevaluate our strategy and consider stopping this aggressive campaign as this has become out of control." Villanueva further shared other alternatives of some countries that have proven effective in addressing the rampant spread of illegal drugs. In Portugal, those found in possession of drugs for personal use are being compelled to face a local panel composed of professionals in the field of law, health, and social work. Low-level drug offenders are also given sanctions ranging from fines to community service. Portugal's campaign against illegal drugs resulted to a decrease in the number of drug-related problems. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the country's drug problem reduced to 24% in 2013 from 44% in 1999. Meanwhile, Switzerland focused on therapy, harm reduction and massive public information drive on the consequences of drug use which resulted in a positive outcome on its campaign against illegal drugs. In harm reduction, a drug dependent receives "medically-controlled doses of heroin" which targets to minimize the spread of disease. They also give drug dependents medical and psychological care. The latest number of drug-related deaths in Switzerland is at 152 from 405 in 1991. On the other hand, the senator also recognizes the link of poverty to drug use. According to an article published by the National Council on Drug Abuse, one of the risk factors for drug use is poverty. It says that people in impoverished neighborhoods are more susceptible to drug use as a way to cope with reality or financial stresses. Selling drugs is also an option for them to earn easy money. "With the recent outcome of events, it would be best to look at things at a broader perspective. Poverty incidence is still very high and this is correlated to drug dependence and selling of illegal drugs at the lower rungs of our society. It is wise to focus on economic and social development to address poverty along side other effective interventions on substance abuse that we can learn from the experience of other countries" Villanueva said.
Press Release

September 9, 2017 Sen. Leila M. de Lima's Statement on Duterte's spin that his War on Drugs is being sabotaged

Dispatch from Crame No. 155 Duterte is on the retreat. He has taken the cue from the PNA and has started re-angling the teen murders of his death squads as a sabotage of his war on drugs. As if his drug war was all compassionate, caring, peaceful, and harmonious, he is now blaming the murders he has ordered en masse on the opposition. Duterte did not expect the public relations backlash that the killings of the teenagers has produced. It is not as if these are new. Since day one of his drug war children and teenagers already started to fall like flies. His Davao Death Squad was famous for the killing of children and minors aged 12 to 18. Because they could not send them to jail under the Pangilinan Law, which Duterte occasionally criticizes, they just killed them right after letting them go. Most of them were knifed to death instead of being shot to make it appear that they were killed in gang wars. Now that public opinion is against the killings of these minors, like the PNA, he re-angles the murders he has sanctioned as sabotage. Duterte of course is not fooling anyone, except his die-hard fanatics, the same fanatics who screamed for blood and the mass murder of drug addicts. They are all now saying that the murders they lusted after are being used by the opposition to give those same murders a bad name. Take that for a spin. Wrap your minds around it. Discombobulate your brains until it makes sense. But it won't, because this is the logic of the sociopath, where empathy is not even an itch that the deranged President can feel. Mr. President, the fact that Carl Angelo is your relative, even if it is true, and I doubt it, does not mean you didn't order his murder. It only means you really don't care who is killed in your drug war. There is no way you can spin that to bring 13,000 people - children, teenagers, and all - killed in your drug war back to life.
Press Release

September 9, 2017 Gov't drug treatment centers poised to get P2 B cut The proposed Department of Health budget for next year's operations of government-run drug abuse treatment and rehabilitation centers will get a massive P2.31 billion cut under the 2018 national budget bill. The DOH has a proposed gross 2018 budget of P164.8 billion, 9 percent up from this year's P151.3 billion. Both of the amounts cover payment of PhilHealth coverage for poor families. From P3.08 billion this year, next year's budget for DOH-managed rehabilitation facilities will go down to P759.6 million, a 75 percent reduction, Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto said. "If a drug addiction is a disease, is this budgetary prescription from our health officials the right one?" he said. "The word from the DOH is that private donations will make up for the difference. If that is the case, DOH should submit a listing of where the replacement funds would come from because that is too big a vacuum to fill," Recto said. "The unofficial explanation is that the so-called 'mega rehab centers' will be built by private donors. Fine. But what about the manning of those centers? The training of personnel? Are the funds sought enough?" Recto said. According to media reports, five regional drug treatment and rehabilitation centers are being constructed in Isabela, Mountain Province, Palawan, Zamboanga and Taguig City, all funded by private money. The reduced P759.6 million budget being sought for 2018 will be used to run 14 drug abuse treatment and centers, one of which will be opened next year, and to support the operation of the "mega rehab center" a Chinese tycoon built in Nueva Ecija. "Is that money enough for the DOH hospitals with drug rehabilitation programs? Will it be enough to support community-level abatement programs?" Recto said. Recto said the lack of rehabilitation centers will cripple the "declared government policy" to help substance abusers turn over a new leaf. "The existing policy is still 'save the users' and not 'salvage the users.' For as long as that policy remains, then government is duty-bound to help those who have volunteered for treatment by providing a new path to a better life for them," Recto said. Recto said government's anti-drug drive hinges not on the mass killing of drug-dependents on their mass rehabilitation. "Di ba ang approach ngayon ay tokhang, toktok-hangyo (knock and appeal)? Ang sabi ng mga pulis, doon sa mga gustong magbago, magsabi lang at tutulungan namin kayo," Recto said. Sa ganung division of labor, law enforcement will stop the supply, and Health officials and other offices will help the victims under a comprehensive program. The latter would require reception facilities," Recto said. Recto said the DOH, in a briefing paper, assured that facilities included in the Health Facilities Enhancement Program (HFEP), which has a proposed 2018 budget of P29 billion, will form part of government network to help substance abusers. "Again, if that is the intention, Congress must be given the details," Recto said.
Binod Ghimire covers parliamentary affairs and human rights for The Kathmandu Post. Since joining the Post in 2010, he has reported primarily on social issues, focusing on education and transitional justice.
Press Release

September 9, 2017 Villanueva stresses need to address suicide prevention, remove stigma vs people with suicidal tendencies Senator Joel Villanueva has emphasized the need for an intensified campaign that would give awareness regarding mental health and suicide prevention. In line with the observance of the World Suicide Prevention Day on September 10, the senator acknowledged underreported cases of suicide due to social stigma against people with suicidal tendencies. "This stigma must now be removed. Education regarding mental health and suicide prevention must be intensified and give awareness to all sectors of the society," Villanueva said. The senator further stressed the need to increase investment in research on these aspects, and a bigger budgetary allocation and widened access to medical services which are crucial to prevent suicide. "Access to healthcare is a very limiting condition and this is one of the factors why young and old people alike commit suicide," the senator said. In response to the said issue, Villanueva has inserted a provision in the Philippine Mental Health Bill or Senate Bill No. 1345 that proposes to standardize collection and management of data and promote evidence-based research on youth suicide; and institutionalize the 24/7 national hotline for suicide prevention. The senator is one of the authors of the said measure which has already been passed on third and final reading. Furthermore, Villanueva underscored the glaring data showing an increase of suicide cases among the youth. According to the data of National Poison Management and Control Center (NPMCC) of the Philippine General Hospital, 46 percent of the total suicide cases recorded since 2010 are from the youth; 30% are young adults aged 20 to 35 year old while the remaining 16% are teens aged 10 to 19 year old. Adding to the said data is the 2014 global report on preventing suicide by the World Health Organization which revealed that suicide is the second leading cause of death among people 15 to 29 years of age across the globe. In the Philippines, according to the same report, the estimated number of suicides in 2012 was 2,558. Overall, the International Association for Suicide Prevention said that more than 800,000 people die by suicide every year. Twenty-five times as many make a suicide attempt. "Suicide is a public health issue that has not yet been given adequate attention for years. This problem may have affected someone we know, a member of our family, or within our circle of friends. Providing initial support to people with suicidal tendencies is a crucial one. I urge my fellow lawmakers to join us in passing a law that may save someone's precious life," Villanueva said.
Nepal Army assigned to perform initial works of Nijgadh International Airport

The government has formally assigned the Nepal Army (NA) to build access and perimeter roads and clear trees at the proposed construction site of Nijgadh International Airport in Bara, 175 km south of Kathmandu.
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The pilot of a small plane bound for a Sonoma County airport was killed when the aircraft crashed at Point Reyes National Seashore, officials said Friday.

A Cessna 172 flying from Santa Ynez in Santa Barbara County to Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport in Santa Rosa was reported overdue Thursday afternoon, said Ian Gregor, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman.
San Francisco housing officials said Friday they have reached an agreement to purchase the notorious McDonalds at Haight and Stanyan streets, a fast-food outlet that for years has been better known for brawls and drug busts than its Big Macs.

While officials wouldnt comment on terms of the deal  the final agreement has not been signed  real estate sources said the Mayors Office of Housing will pay about $10 million for the 38,000-square-foot parcel, which would become the site of an affordable housing complex. The property could accommodate about 90 housing units, although a developer could conceivably seek to construct more under the state affordable housing density bonus program.

Anytime we can acquire land for affordable housing, we need to do it, said Mayor Ed Lee. Affordable housing  or the lack thereof  affects everyone in our city.

A one-story building at the end of Haight Street with a 45-car parking lot, the McDonalds has long been a source of complaints from neighboring residents and business owners. Between January 2014 and April 2015, there were 640 calls to police and 11 drug busts.

The situation was so bad that City Attorney Dennis Herrera issued a clean-up order in May 2015, calling the McDonalds a public nuisance.

McDonalds and its local operator settled with the city for $40,000, agreeing to add more security and better lighting. A new franchisee, Peter Ou, took over the location in January and has done a good job cleaning up the property, said San Francisco police Capt. John Stanford of Park Station. Ou installed a new security surveillance system and meets regularly with police, fellow merchants and staff from Supervisor London Breeds office. A beat officer is regularly posted on the corner.

With everybody working together, we have been able to reduce the crime at that location, said Stanford, who was checking in on the property on Friday afternoon.

But problems have persisted. On Aug. 2, a 28-year-old man was shot there in the middle of the afternoon, suffering injuries that were not life-threatening.

Even if public safety has improved, city officials see the parcel as grossly underutilized and perfect for housing. Breed, who represents the area, said that she would like to see a project that includes both deeply affordable units and apartments designed for middle-income households.

If we can pull this deal off and build affordable housing there, it would be amazing, Breed said.

Kate Hartley, acting director of the Mayors Office Of Housing, said that the size and location make the McDonalds site special. The last affordable housing development in the Haight neighborhood, a senior development across from Buena Vista Park at 1250 Haight St., opened in 2007.

The neighborhood is fantastic. Its across from the park. And its a really good size, Hartley said. Its a treat to have an opportunity to buy a site of this size.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Updated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

The McDonalds has frequently been associated with the largely homeless crew of teenagers and young adults who hang out in Golden Gate Park across from the restaurant. On Friday, several of the regulars sprawled on the grass there with their backpacks and dogs said that they no longer frequent the McDonalds. They prefer the Whole Foods on the other side of Haight Street.

Im in support of putting housing, but getting rid of the McDonalds is not going to stop the drug dealers, said Mark Utter, who said he has been hanging out in the neighborhood for 30 years. You could put a police station there and its not going to change Haight Street from doing what its always done.

Tony Green, a manager at Amoeba Records next door, said some of his workers might miss the proximity to fast food, but residential units on the corner would be good for the neighborhood, he added.

A lot of tourists go there, some of our employees go there, but its safe to say that everybody who works here would be totally comfortable with housing there, he said.

J.K. Dineen is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jdineen@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @sfjkdineen
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Retailers have long courted college students, especially now as millions make their return to campus. Students demand for essentials  snacks, bedding, toilet paper, iPhone cases  makes them ideal customers for mass merchants such as Target, Walmart and CVS.

Competition for these shoppers has intensified as brick-and-mortar chains try to fight the growing dominance of online retailers such as Amazon. Despite being raised on smartphones and tablets, students still see physical stores on or near campus as the quickest way to satisfy their needs, whether they are buying something or picking up online orders.

But theres only so much retail space close to schools, which is why stores are getting creative. Target, for example, now operates smaller-format stores near nine college campuses, including UC Berkeley, with plans for three more stores by the end of the year. The retailer has also teamed with Barnes & Noble to market Target products for students.

Best Buy has installed automated kiosks near campuses. And Amazon recently opened Instant Pickup locations, where students can retrieve items ordered just minutes previously.

In the past, major retailers preferred to build enormous stores in the suburbs, especially at malls. But for most of this decade, growth in cities has outpaced the suburbs, which makes high-density neighborhoods like downtowns and college campuses newly attractive to retailers.

We want to be where the foot traffic is, Anne Stanchfield, Targets vice president of small-format stores, recently told me.

Historically, Target has been good at finding locations (to build stores), but we have not had the opportunity to get into more dense populations, Stanchfield said. Colleges are the perfect example.

So the company has been exploring different formats, like smaller, multilevel stores, to serve campuses, she said.

Given the growth of e-commerce, retailers are closing struggling stores, especially at malls. CoStar Portfolio estimates that U.S. retailers will need to remove 1 billion square feet of space this year alone to reverse declines in sales per square foot  a key measure of store productivity. Nontraditional locations, like college campuses, can offer greater bang for the buck.

Some retailers may hesitate to invest (in reaching college students), because the average ticket is so small, said Brittain Ladd, a retail consultant and former Amazon strategist. But the importance of attracting new customers outweighs that, he said.

Higher education remains resilient amid the ups and downs of the economy.

From 2004 to 2014, fall enrollment in colleges and universities increased 17 percent to 20.2 million, according to the Department of Educations National Center for Education Statistics.

Despite the global financial crisis that began in 2007, prompting the worst economic recession in the United States since the Great Depression, the number of degree-granting two- and four-year colleges grew 8.5 percent to 4,724 in 2014.

The National Retail Federation estimates that total back-to-school spending for college students this year hit $54.1 billion, a 26 percent jump from 2015, and the highest level in five years.

If consumers are present in large numbers, retailers will find a way to design and implement a retail strategy to meet the demand and grow their customer base, Ladd said.

The Internet certainly makes things easier. At 12,000 square feet, the Berkeley Target may not have a broad selection of merchandise. But students can order anything they want from Target.com and pick it up at the store. For items not available through Instant Pickup, Amazon will ship to a locker at UC Berkeleys student union and have it waiting. This year, Target tried a new Shop Now, Pick Up Later program at six schools, including San Jose State University: Purchases made in advance were held at a nearby store for students to to pick up as school started, letting them buy dorm-room decor and other items right before they moved in.

In many cases, students are shopping for the first time without their parents, Stanchfield said. They are figuring out their shopping behaviors. If we can really service those needs, thats a big win for us.

Thomas Lee is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. Email: tlee@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ByTomLee
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Uber is facing a third federal probe, this time for allegedly spying on Lyft drivers  a development that underscores the many challenges new CEO Dara Khosrowshahi faces at the worlds most valuable startup.

The FBI and the Manhattan U.S. attorneys office are investigating a former Uber program, internally called Hell, that allegedly tracked Lyft drivers and collected price information as the two companies battled fiercely to build the biggest stable of drivers. The probe was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

Hell was reportedly a secret software program that created fake Lyft passenger accounts. This allowed Uber to keep tabs on Lyft drivers, including which ones also drove for Uber. It used that information to dangle financial incentives designed to keep drivers working exclusively for Uber.

The Information, which in April was the first to report the existence of Hell, said that the program was in force from 2014 to early 2016, and that former CEO Travis Kalanick  who was ousted in June but remains a major shareholder and board member  was among a handful of people who knew about it.

Hell could constitute breach of contract, unfair business practices, theft of trade secrets and violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, according to legal experts.

Lyft driver Michael Gonzales filed a class-action lawsuit against Uber in April over the Hell program on the grounds that Uber had invaded drivers privacy, engaged in unfair competition and violated the Federal Wiretap Act. A U.S. district judge dismissed the lawsuit in late August but left the door open for Gonzales to file again with an amended complaint.

Uber spokesman Matt Kallman said the company is cooperating with the New York investigation, and noted that the Hell program is no longer operational. Lyft did not respond to a request for comment.

Whats surprising about Hell, is, here we have a company thats talking about keeping its drivers names private but still was seeking to track drivers for both Lyft and Uber to try to manipulate them, said Alice Armitage, an associate law professor and director of the Startup Legal Garage, which provides legal advice to early-stage companies, at UC Hastings College of the Law. She was referring to Ubers defiance of the San Francisco treasurers subpoena seeking driver information for business-license registrations. After initially providing the information, Uber said that it wanted to shield drivers privacy and declined to do so. That case is being litigated in San Francisco Superior Court.

Uber is facing at least two other federal probes, as well as some lawsuits. Its also mired in controversies over an aggressive workplace culture.

An Uber tool called Greyball, designed to thwart law-enforcement probes, is under investigation by the FBI and the U.S. attorneys office for the Northern District of California. Greyball, which was first reported by the New York Times in March, used fake versions of the Uber app to evade regulators in cities trying to crack down on Uber.

The U.S. Justice Department is investigating whether Uber bribed foreign officials, which would be a violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The specific countries in question have not been revealed.

Foreign bribes are usually (alleged by) huge companies; startups arent usually investigated for that, said Armitage. But for Uber to grow to 77 countries in eight years took a lot of aggressiveness.

Ubers Global Head of Compliance, Joseph Spiegler, resigned from the company last week, Bloomberg News reported Friday, citing two unnamed sources. He had been at Uber less than two years, and his job was to ensure that Uber obeyed the law.

Uber also is the target of a lawsuit by Waymo, Alphabets self-driving car division, alleging that it stole trade secrets under the guise of acquiring a company started by a former Waymo engineer. Waymo vs. Uber is currently set for a jury trial in federal court in San Francisco on Oct. 10.

Kalanick is being sued by Benchmark Capital, a major Uber investor, for fraud and gross mismanagement. Benchmark claims that Kalanick deceived the board about Ubers problems, in order to stack the deck to favor his own position on the board. Kalanick has denied Benchmarks charges. Through a spokesman, he has said the lawsuit is completely without merit and riddled with lies and false allegations.

That case, filed in August in Delaware Chancery Court, has been referred for arbitration, which means that its records will remain private.

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Uber is the poster child for disruption, but that attitude was taken to its ultimate manifestation, Armitage said. Everyone there in a position of authority seemed to feel that anything could be disrupted  including laws.

For Khosrowshahi, who was recruited to Ubers top job after 12 years heading travel company Expedia, the challenge will be to rein in those tendencies, she said. He has a tough role in dealing with that winning at all counts mind-set, she said.

Carolyn Said is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: csaid@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @csaid

Ubers string of probes

Uber is facing several federal investigations:

Hell, software to allegedly spy on Lyft drivers, is being investigated by the FBI and the Manhattan U.S. Attorneys Office.

Alleged bribes to foreign officials are being investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Greyball software to allegedly thwart regulators is being investigated by the FBI and the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Northern District of California.
As credit reporting company Equifax came under scrutiny Friday for its revelation of a breach of confidential information experts called among the most serious ever, customers began scrambling to figure out just what they could do to protect themselves from the misuse of their most sensitive personal data.

The Atlanta company acknowledged Thursday that a massive breach that took place from mid-May through July may have exposed the personal data of 143 million Americans  more than half of the U.S. adult population  to malicious hackers. Attackers stole names, birth dates, addresses and  most alarmingly  Social Security numbers, which could enable them to do anything from falsely open a bank account to apply for disability benefits.

On a scale of 1 to 10, we have a big, fat 10, said Pam Dixon, executive director of the World Privacy Forum, a nonprofit research group.

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced Friday that his office had opened an investigation into the data breach, requesting specific details about when the company found out about the breach; the cause; and whether there was evidence of identity theft, abuse of financial information or data being offered for sale illegally.

Equifax said it has hired a cybersecurity firm, which is conducting a comprehensive forensic review to determine the scope of the intrusion, including the specific data impacted.

This is clearly a disappointing event for our company, and one that strikes at the heart of who we are and what we do. I apologize to consumers and our business customers for the concern and frustration this causes, Richard F. Smith, Equifaxs chairman and CEO, said in a statement.

The company said it has found no evidence of unauthorized activity on Equifaxs core consumer or commercial credit reporting databases.

But if customers believe their information may have been compromised, what can they do?

Theres not a lot of tools out there to combat Social Security number theft, said Daniel Castro, vice president at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation. This information is going to be rapidly commoditized and sold on the dark web.

Equifax has offered customers a free credit-monitoring service for one year. It is also offering customers a credit freeze, which would ban institutions from looking at a users credit data without explicit permission.

Castro, though, said one year of protection is inadequate, because hackers could use Social Security data for years on end.

Equifax handles data on more than 820 million people and more than 91 million businesses worldwide, according to its website. It also managed a database with employee information of more than 7,100 employers. This is the third time Equifax has been breached in the past few years  but its by far the most serious.

Some Equifax customers, like 63-year-old San Franciscan Linda Racine, who signed up for its free credit-monitoring services Thursday, noticed a major caveat in the fine print: an arbitration clause that could cause them to relinquish their right to participate in a class-action lawsuit.

As explained in the companys terms of use, customers using its free services are subject to mandatory and binding arbitration. Customers can opt out of the arbitration provision if they write to Equifax Consumer Services within 30 days of enrolling, according to the company.

I didnt realize that when I signed up for it, Racine said.

New York Attorney General Schneiderman criticized the arbitration clause, saying in a tweet that the fine print was unacceptable and unenforceable. On Friday, as outrage continued to build, the company put out a statement about the arbitration and class-action clause, saying that there was no waiver of rights for this cybersecurity incident.

After hearing about the breach, as directed by the company, Racine entered her last name and the last six digits of her Social Security number at equifaxsecurity2017.com to check if her data had been compromised.

When she got the notification that she was at risk, she said, I wasnt surprised.

The free monitoring service Equifax has offered wont be ready for her to use until Sunday, and other customers may have to wait well into next week to use theirs.

The efficacy of the equifaxsecurity2017.com site, which is linked off Equifaxs main site, has also come into question. It requires more Social Security digits than the usual last-four, and on Friday, when test was entered as a last name with 123456 as the digits, the site said this identity could have been compromised. The same was true for Johnson  a common last name  plus 123456.

Other steps people can take to protect their compromised information include: signing up for a Social Security account with the Social Security Administration if they havent already, to prevent a hacker from doing so in the future; getting a copy of their credit report from annualcreditreport.com, a federally authorized site (though one of the companies providing the credit report is Equifax); and putting fraud alerts on bank accounts, mortgage accounts and other financial accounts.

Cybersecurity experts have marveled at the scope and far-reaching ramifications of the Equifax data breach. One point of comparison: An attack on the federal Office of Personnel Management records in 2015.

At the time, experts called that attack one of the largest breaches of government data in U.S. history. Similar to the Equifax breach, everything from Social Security numbers to names and addresses was compromised.

Two years later, the effects of that breach are still being felt, according to Dixon of the World Privacy Forum.

The victims all had a lot of problems, she said. Theyve really had to stay on top of things.

Trisha Thadani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: tthadani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @TrishaThadani

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What to do about the Equifax leak

What services is Equifax offering?

The company established www.equifaxsecurity2017.com, to help consumers determine whether their information may have been impacted.

Through this website, customers can sign up for a free credit file and identity theft monitoring, via a service called Trusted ID Premier, which is owned by Equifax.

What does that include?

Monitoring of Equifax, Experian and TransUnion credit reports

Copies of Equifax credit reports

Identity theft insurance

Internet scanning for Social Security numbers

Whats the catch?

This service is only available to U.S. consumers for one year  a paltry amount of time considering Social Security numbers can be used for years on end, experts say. After one year, users will be charged a fee.

Consumers should also be aware of the arbitration clause in the fine print, which bars users from participating in any class-action lawsuit related to this incident  though on Friday Equifax said the arbitration provision would not apply for this incident.

What information was compromised?

According to the company, Social Security numbers, credit card information, birth dates, addresses and, in some instances, drivers license numbers.
A couple taken to the ground and arrested during a video-recorded encounter with BART police at a San Francisco train station are suing the agency in federal court, alleging that officers violated their civil rights and caused the woman to suffer a miscarriage.

In a lawsuit filed Sept. 1 at the U.S. District Court in San Francisco, Michael Smith and Andrea Appleton accused the arresting officers  Bryan Trabanino, Wilson Velasquez-Ochoa, Jimmy Chung and Antwinette Turner  of using excessive force when they approached the couple with their guns drawn on July 29, 2016, and forced them onto their stomachs at Embarcadero Station.

Appleton was pregnant at the time and suffered a miscarriage the next day, according to the lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages for pain, suffering, fear, anxiety, humiliation and emotional distress. Smith ended up being prosecuted in a racially charged trial, and was ultimately cleared.

Alicia Trost, a BART spokeswoman, declined to comment, saying the agency had not reviewed the suit. In the past, the agency has noted that video footage showed Smith struggling with the officers and spitting at one of them.

The couple said they had been traveling to a doctors appointment when a man on their train told them to move away because they smelled, sparking an argument. The man, who was white, then called police and falsely reported that Smith, who is black, had threatened to rob him, telling dispatchers that Smith may have had a gun, though he did not.

Officers stopped Smith and Appleton as they got off the train and ordered them onto the platform. Video footage showed an officer holding Appleton facedown on the ground with his knee in her back and pulling her arms behind her as she protested that she was pregnant.

Smith, who was on the ground as well, began thrashing and screaming that Appleton was pregnant as the officers struggled to hold him down. Appleton said it wasnt until this point that an officer asked her if she was pregnant and then helped her off the ground. In the videos, her hands remained cuffed behind her back.

BART police policy states that pregnant women should be restrained in the least restrictive manner that is effective for officer safety and in no event shall these persons be restrained by the use of leg irons, waist chains or handcuffs behind body.

Smith was charged with battery on a police officer and resisting arrest, but a jury found him not guilty of four criminal counts. Jurors were split on four other counts, and prosecutors declined to retry Smith on the charges.

Vivian Ho is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: vho@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @VivianHo
Author Sabrina Orah Mark will read and discuss her work at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 13, in the Art Exhibit Room of Macmillan Hall at Wells College, 170 Main St., Aurora.

She is the author of poetry collections "The Babies" and "Tsim Tsum." Her work has earned her fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, as well as a Sustainable Arts Foundation Award. She lives in Athens, Georgia.
Performance of P1 projects improves, but still not satisfactory

Performance of Priority One (P1) projects being implemented by the government improved slightly in the last fiscal year, although it is not satisfactory yet.
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WASHINGTON - Special counsel Robert Mueller has alerted the White House that his team will likely seek to interview six top current and former advisers to President Donald Trump who were witnesses to several episodes relevant to the investigation of Russia's meddling in the 2016 election, according to people familiar with the request.

Mueller's interest in the aides, including trusted adviser Hope Hicks, ex-press secretary Sean Spicer and former chief of staff Reince Priebus, reflects how the probe that has dogged Trump's presidency is starting to penetrate a closer circle of aides around the president.

Each of the six advisers was privy to important internal discussions that have drawn the interest of Mueller's investigators, including his decision in May to fire FBI Director James Comey and the White House's initial inaction following warnings that then-national security adviser Michael Flynn had withheld information from the public about his private discussions in December with Russia's ambassador to the United States, according to people familiar with the probe.

The advisers are also connected to a series of internal documents that Mueller's investigators have asked the White House to produce, according to people familiar with the special counsel's inquiry.

Roughly four weeks ago, the special counsel's team provided the White House with the names of the first group of current and former Trump advisers and aides that investigators expect to question.

In addition to Priebus, Spicer and Hicks, Mueller has notified the White House he will likely seek to question White House counsel Don McGahn, and one of his deputies, James Burnham. Mueller's office has also told the White House that investigators may want to interview Josh Raffel, a White House spokesman who works closely with Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner.

White House officials are expecting that Mueller will seek additional interviews, possibly with family members, including Kushner, who is a West Wing senior adviser, according to the people familiar with Mueller's inquiry.

Spicer declined to comment, while Priebus did not respond to a request for comment.

Ty Cobb, a White House lawyer focused on the probe, declined to comment on behalf of current White House aides McGahn, Burnham, Hicks and Raffel. Cobb also declined to discuss the details of Mueller's requests.

"Out of respect for the special counsel and his process and so we don't interfere with that in any way, the White House doesn't comment on specific requests for documents and potential witnesses," Cobb said.

A spokesman for Mueller declined to comment.

No interviews have been scheduled, people familiar with the requests said. Mueller's team is waiting to first review the documents, which the White House has been working to turn over for the last three weeks.

But people familiar with the probe said the documents Mueller has requested strongly suggest the topics that he and his investigators would broach with the aides.

McGahn and Burnham were briefed by Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates on Jan. 26, days after Trump's inauguration, about the department and FBI's concerns that Flynn could be compromised by the Russians. She warned that the FBI knew he wasn't telling the whole truth - to Vice President Mike Pence and the public - about his December conversations about U.S. sanctions with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.

Courts have held that the president does not enjoy attorney-client privilege with lawyers in the White House Counsel's Office and their testimony about their Oval Office dealings can be sought in investigations.

Spicer had been drawn into the White House's handling of the Flynn matter before the inauguration. After The Washington Post reported that Flynn had talked with Kislyak about sanctions, Spicer told reporters that Flynn had "reached out to" Kislyak on Christmas Day to extend holiday greetings - effectively rejecting claims that they had talked about U.S. sanctions against Moscow. A few days later, President Barack Obama had announced he was expelling Russian diplomats in response to the Kremlin's meddling in the U.S. election.

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After Obama's announcement, Spicer said Kislyak had sent a message requesting that Flynn call him.

"Flynn took that call," Spicer said. But he stressed that the call "centered on the logistics of setting up a call with the president of Russia and [Trump] after the election."

As chief of staff, Priebus was involved in many of Trump's decisions, including the situations involving Flynn and Comey. Comey told the Senate Intelligence Committee in June that Priebus was among a group of White House aides whom Trump instructed to leave the Oval Office before he asked the FBI director to drop the inquiry into Flynn.

Hicks, who is now White House communications director, and Raffel were both involved in internal discussions in July over how to respond to questions about a Trump Tower meeting that Donald Trump Jr. organized with a Russian lawyer during the presidential campaign in the summer of 2016. The two communications staffers advocated being transparent about the purpose of the meeting, which Trump Jr. had accepted after he was offered damaging information about Hillary Clinton that he was told was part of a Russian government effort to help his father's campaign.

Ultimately, the president dictated language for the statement that his son would release to The New York Times, which was preparing a story about the meeting. The response omitted important details about the meeting and presented it as "primarily" devoted to a discussion of the adoption of Russian children.

CNN first reported on Thursday that Mueller has sought interviews with White House staff related to the preparation of that statement but did not name them.

- - -

The Washington Post's Matt Zapotosky contributed to this report.
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In eclectic, nutty San Francisco, memorable characters are everywhere. Years after they reach their zenith of local fame, we may wonder, Hey, whatever happened to ... ?

Sometimes, the answer is theyre still right here, squawking and preening away. Thats certainly the case for the wild parrots of Telegraph Hill, the red-headed, green-feathered charmers who became local celebrities thanks to an acclaimed 2004 documentary and a best-selling book.

None of the original movie-star parrots, who numbered about a couple of dozen, is still alive. But thanks to the, um, birds and the bees, there are now more than 300 of their descendents flying around San Francisco. Theyve split up into smaller flocks and now hang out all over the city  along the Embarcadero, near Crissy Field, in the Presidio, in Cole Valley, in Lafayette Park and as far south as Brisbane.

But the big city is a rough place for wild parrots, and they regularly fall ill or are injured. Thats when a little-known team of parrot whisperers steps in to help the birds who were once dubbed by The Chronicle surely the most famous parrots on the planet, but who have long since fallen off the front pages of newspapers.

Theyre a part of the whole identity of the city, said Sarah Lemarie, a volunteer with Mickaboo, the bird rescue and adoption nonprofit that has quietly taken in about 140 wild parrots in San Francisco over the years. It wouldnt be San Francisco without the wild parrots. Theyve become part of the furniture.

Mickaboo  its name is a combination of the names of the first two cockatiels the group rescued, is marking its 20th anniversary this year. But things are not all celebratory and joyful. The nonprofit is struggling to take care of so many birds, who cumulatively rack up as much as $50,000 in veterinarians bills every month. It is desperately seeking more volunteers and more donors and is taking in fewer birds, though the wild parrots so far continue to have guaranteed access.

San Francisco is a hard place to be a parrot, and they struggle with all kinds of issues, said Lemarie, a 39-year-old program manager at PlayStation. When theyre fine, theyre flying around and theyre healthy and living their lives. When theyre sick or injured, thats when Mickaboo comes into play.

Like any movie stars 13 years removed from their last role, the wild parrots were once far more buzzed-about than they are now.

Tourists once walked the steep steps of Telegraph Hill to gawk at Mark Bittner, the parrots beloved caretaker and movie co-star, feeding them sunflower seeds. His now-wife, Judy Irving, memorialized Bittner and the birds in the documentary, The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill, and Bittner wrote a memoir of the same name.

The parrots were regularly the subjects of heated City Hall debates  about trying to save their favorite cypress trees from being chopped down and banning the public from feeding them in city parks, for the birds own good.

But when Bittner moved out of his Telegraph Hill cottage and onto other projects, the birds mostly dropped out of the public eye.

Asked why so few San Franciscans think about the wild parrots anymore, and why even fewer have ever heard of Mickaboo, Chloe Redon, a Mickaboo volunteer who has fostered 50 wild parrots in her Berkeley home, good-naturedly took the blame.

Thats probably our fault for not doing enough PR, she said with a laugh. Im just not a PR person!

The 66-year-old retired technical writer currently has four wild parrots living with her. When the city-dwelling parrots fly into windows, ingest toxins, are attacked by birds of prey or experience some other calamity, people regularly take them to San Francisco Animal Care and Control. Its staff in turn calls Mickaboo to find a volunteer like Redon willing to foster the parrot.

Mickaboo volunteers often name the parrots after the San Francisco streets on which they were found.

Leah Millis/The Chronicle

All the cool streets have been taken, although we did get a Kearny last year, and we have a Clay and an Eddy this year, Redon said.

Redon said that of all the wild parrots cared for by Mickaboo volunteers over the past decade, about 40 percent have died, 45 percent have been adopted and 10 percent have flown away. That remaining 5 percent represents a new fate for the fostered parrots: rejoining a flock.

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Technically, its illegal to release nonnative animals into the wild, but Mickaboo started releasing parrots that had been nursed back to health into wild flocks in 2013.

We would say we put them back where we found them, Lemarie said. Were all about quality of life, and thats where theyre going to have the best life.

She said the parrots are released only if theyre healthy and free of disease, if they can fly well and if a flock flies by to be joined.

As for Bittner, another true San Francisco character, hes still working on his book, Street Song, about the years he spent homeless before finding parrot friendship and fame. He thinks hell be done in a year. He still lives on Telegraph Hill, in a home he and Irving own near his old cottage.

Bittner said he tried to release parrots back into the wild after taking sick ones inside to nurse them to health, and hes glad Mickaboo is doing that now too.

Im happy that theyre doing that  delighted, I would say, thrilled! he said. I know thats where they belong.

San Francisco Chronicle columnist Heather Knight appears Sundays and Tuesdays. Email: hknight@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @hknightsf

Bird rescue

To learn about Mickaboo and to donate: www.mickaboo.org
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump prepared for the pivotal meeting with congressional leaders by huddling with his senior team - his chief of staff, his legislative director and the heads of Treasury and the Office of Management and Budget - to game out various scenarios on how to fund the government, raise the debt ceiling and provide Hurricane Harvey relief.

But one option they never considered was the that one the president ultimately chose: cutting a deal with Democratic lawmakers, to the shock and ire of his own party.

In agreeing to tie Harvey aid to a three-month extension of the debt ceiling and government funding, Trump burned the people who are ostensibly his allies. The president was an unpredictable - and, some would say, untrustworthy - negotiating partner with not only congressional Republicans but also with his Cabinet members and top aides. Trump saw a deal that he thought was good for him - and he seized it.

The move should come as no surprise to students of Trump's long history of broken alliances and agreements. In business, his personal life, his campaign and now his presidency, Trump has sprung surprises on his allies with gusto. His dealings are frequently defined by freewheeling spontaneity, impulsive decisions and a desire to keep everyone guessing - especially those who assume they can control him.

He also repeatedly demonstrates that, while he demands absolute loyalty from others, he is ultimately loyal to no one but himself.

"It makes all of their normalizing and 'Trumpsplaining' look silly and hollow," said Rick Wilson, a Republican strategist sharply critical of Trump, referring to his party's congressional leaders. "Trump betrays everyone: wives, business associates, contractors, bankers and now, the leaders of the House and Senate in his own party. They can't explain this away as [a] 15-dimensional Trump chess game. It's a dishonest person behaving according to his long-established pattern."

But what many Republicans saw as betrayal was, in the view of some Trump advisers, an exciting return to his campaign promise of being a populist dealmaker able to cut through the mores of Washington to get things done.

In that Wednesday morning Oval Office meeting, Trump was impressed with the energy and vigor of Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumerm D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., relative to the more subdued Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis. Far from fretting over the prospect of alienating McConnell and Ryan or members of his administration, he relished the opportunity for a bipartisan agreement and the praise he anticipated it would bring, according to people close to the president.

On Thursday morning, he called Pelosi and Schumer to crow about coverage of the deal - "The press has been incredible," he told Pelosi, according to someone familiar with the call - and point out that it had been especially positive for the Democratic leaders.

At the White House later that day, Trump asked Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., how he thought the deal was playing. "I told him I thought it was great, and a gateway project to show there could be bipartisan progress," King said. "He doesn't want to be in an ideological straitjacket."

In some ways, White House officials said, Trump is as comfortable working with Democrats to achieve policy goals - complete with the sheen of bipartisan luster - as he is with Republicans. Though he did not partner with Democrats to spite McConnell and Ryan, aides said, he has long felt frustrated with them for what he perceives as their inability to help shepherd his agenda through Congress, most notably their stalled efforts to undo former president Barack Obama's signature health-care law.

On Thursday, Trump took to Twitter to express dissatisfaction with his adopted political party, complaining about Obamacare: "Republicans, sorry, but I've been hearing about Repeal & Replace for 7 years, didn't happen!" He also bemoaned the legislative filibuster, which requires Republicans to work with Democrats to meet a 60-senator threshold for most votes, writing, "It is a Repub Death wish."

Ari Fleischer, press secretary under President George W. Bush, said that Trump deserves credit for staving off, at least in the short term, a possible default and government shutdown.

"It's going to internally hurt him that he didn't work with Republicans on this one, but by avoiding a mess, he likely saved Republicans from themselves," Fleischer said. "I consider it a small victory that congressional Republicans didn't once again trip themselves up over this issue. At least for now."

King, a moderate who represents a Long Island district that Trump carried, said: "I think this could be a new day for the Republican Party."

Trump's agreement with the Democrats is hardly the first time the president has flouted his allies, including those around the world, sending them skittering nervously in response to a threat or a sudden turnabout.

In April, Trump thrust Canada and Mexico - as well as many of his advisers and Cabinet officials - into a state of panic during a frenetic, if brief, period when he threatened to withdraw from the North American Free Trade Agreement. In May, speaking in front of NATO's sparkling new headquarters, Trump alarmed European allies when he chastised them for "not paying what they should be paying" and refused to embrace the treaty's cornerstone - that an attack on one represents an attack on all. And in September, as the crisis with North Korea escalated, Trump abruptly threatened to withdraw from a free-trade agreement with South Korea.

Foreign diplomats euphemistically describe the president as "unpredictable," and even those with good relationships with the United States say they are "cautiously optimistic" that Trump's behavior will continue to benefit their nations.

On the issue of the debt-ceiling extension and short-term government funding, a GOP aide familiar with Wednesday's meeting said many Republicans viewed Trump's decision as "a spur-of-the-moment thing" that happened because the president "just wanted a deal."

"He saw a deal and wanted the deal, and it just happened to be completely against what we were pushing for," said the aide, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to offer a candid assessment. "Our conclusion is there isn't much to read into other than he made that decision on the spot, and that's what he does because he's Trump, and he made an impulsive decision because he saw a deal he wanted."

From the outset, the meeting did not go as Republican leaders and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had hoped. They began by pushing for an 18-month extension of the debt ceiling, with Mnuchin lecturing the group of longtime legislators about the importance of raising the debt ceiling, according to three people familiar with the gathering who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

"It was just odd and weird," one said. "He was very much a duck out of water."

The treasury secretary presented himself as a Wall Street insider, arguing that the stability of the markets required an 18-month extension.

At one point, Schumer intervened with a skeptical question: "So the markets dictate one month past the 2018 election?" he asked, rhetorically, according to someone with knowledge of his comment. "I doubt that."

At another, Pelosi explained that understanding Wall Street is not the same as operating in Congress. "Here the currency of the realm is the vote," she told reporters in a news conference Thursday, echoing the comments she had made privately the day before. "You have the votes, no discussion necessary. You don't have the votes, three months."

The Republican leaders and Mnuchin slowly began moderating their demands, moving from their initial pitch down to 12 months and then six months. At one point, when Mnuchin was in the middle of yet another explanation, the president cut him off, making it clear that he disagreed.

The deal would be for three months tied to Harvey funding, Trump said - just as the Democrats had wanted.

On Friday morning, at a closed-door meeting of House Republicans, numerous lawmakers vented their frustrations to Mnuchin and White House budget director Mick Mulvaney. One of them, Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., stood up to say he thought Trump's snub of Ryan - who had publicly rejected Democrats' offer hours before Trump accepted it - was also a snub of Republicans at large.

"I support the president, I want him to be successful, I want our country to be successful," Zeldin said in an interview afterward. "But I personally believe the president had more leverage than he may have realized. He had more Democratic votes than he realized, and could have and would have certainly gotten a better deal."

Democrats remain skeptical about just how long their newfound working relationship with Trump will last. But for Republicans, the turnabout was yet another reminder of what many of them have long known but refused to openly admit: Trump is a fickle ally and partner, liable to turn on them much in the same way he has turned on his business associates and foreign allies.

"Looking to the long term, trust and reliability have been essential ingredients in productive relationships between the president and Congress," said Phil Schiliro, who served as director of legislative affairs under Obama. "Without them, trying to move a legislative agenda is like juggling on quicksand. It usually doesn't end well."

- - -

The Washington Post's Mike DeBonis contributed to this report.
Arnold Schwarzenegger  the 70-year-old international celebrity, centrist Republican, and former governor of California  has chosen an audacious third act. Hes at the forefront of a bipartisan national push to change Americas hopelessly gerrymandered government.

Schwarzenegger is perhaps the most prominent of a group of politicians who have filed briefs urging the U.S. Supreme Court to rule that extreme gerrymandering is unconstitutional. The court will hear arguments in the case, Gill vs. Whitford, next month.

Gill vs. Whitford, which concerns Wisconsins electoral maps for its state Legislature, is a potentially monumental case.

The U.S. Supreme Court has never weighed in on whether electoral maps  drawn every 10 years, usually by politicians of whichever party is in power  might be unconstitutional simply because theyre skewed toward one party or another.

Gerrymandering should not be a partisan issue. Drawing districts to benefit any one party or to assist a particular candidate is a cynical, bad-faith practice that makes life easier for politicians and worse for their constituents.

Once politicians from gerrymandered areas are in office, theyre often more afraid of facing a primary challenger than they are of facing a competitive general election  so they push for extreme policies.

As a country, weve been reaping the discouraging results  extreme polarization  for decades now.

Few are better suited to this mission than Schwarzenegger. As Californias governor, he stumped for Proposition 11, the 2008 initiative that created a nonpartisan citizens commission to draw boundaries for Californias Legislature. Two years later, voters approved an initiative that extended the commissions powers, enabling them to draw the lines for Californias congressional districts as well.

At the time, California politicians hated the idea of Proposition 11. Democratic legislators, who were in the majority, tried to argue that it was a right-wing power grab.

The results have been anything but as advertised.

The commission has been a resounding success. Its citizen members regard their duties with the utmost seriousness. The voters have gained new trust in their state representatives.

According to a UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll in April 2017, a whopping 57 percent of registered voters approved of the state Legislatures job performance  the highest level since 1988. Thats a sea change from seven years ago, when the Legislatures approval rating was just 14 percent.

As for the promised right-wing power grab, it never materialized. If anything, the balance of power in the Legislature has only tilted further toward the Democrats.

Elected officials legitimacy comes from being freely chosen by the voters  not the other way around.

California has learned this lesson, and its time for the rest of the country to embrace it.

Some brave members of Congress, as well as state elected officials, have filed briefs asking the Court to draw a hard line against gerrymandering. The list includes politicians from all over the spectrum  House Minority Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Ohios Republican Gov. John Kasich, to name a few.

But its difficult for most politicians to surrender power, and those who no longer hold public office are the ones fighting hardest for redistricting reform. Former Attorney General Eric Holder is leading up the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, which will focus on changing redistricting procedures in several states. Schwarzenegger has a new Crowdpac, called Terminate Gerrymandering, which hes pledged to match dollar-for-dollar.

In some ways, theyll be facing an uphill battle  redistricting reform is a detail-based process that rarely grabs headlines. On the other hand, theyll have a great national example in California  the state that got rid of gerrymandering and improved political trust.

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.

In 2008, California voters passed Proposition 11, creating an independent citizens commission to draw state legislative district boundaries. The commission has 14 members: five Democrats, five Republicans, and four who belong to neither party.

Ballotpedia conducted a study of competitive districts in 2014. (New district maps were completed after the 2010 census.) It found that there were four competitive elections for Californias State Assembly in 2012, up from two in 2010.

In 37 out of 50 states, state legislatures are responsible for state redistricting.
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In a mash-up of hip-hop, fashion and fine art, Wu-Tang Clan co-founder RZA has announced that he will be debuting a track from the new album Wu-Tang: The Saga Continues at the Asian Art Museum on Thursday, Sept. 21.

The track will be played on silent disco-style headphones for guests during a takeover event of the museum by 36 Chambers, the contemporary San Francisco clothing and lifestyle brand by RZA and business partner Mustafa Shaikh. The album is executive produced by RZA, crafted by DJ Mathematics and features Wu-Tang Clan members. This is the first music release of 36 Chambers Alc.

The fall 2017 36 Chambers collection was inspired by a visit RZA and Shaikh made to the museums 2016 exhibition Emperors Treasures, which featured rare Chinese art from the collections of nine different rulers dating from the 12th through the 20th centuries.

When I saw the show, I said wow, this covers a lot of what 36 Chambers is, said RZA in a joint interview with Shaikh by phone. For us to take it to that space and do fashion (with the art), we felt so lucky. Its such a cool well of ideas to pull from.

We created 36 Chambers very much on the Wu philosophy and with Asian influences like in the exhibition, Shaikh said of the brand named for the 1993 debut Wu-Tang album Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). We felt it was only right to present the collection at the Asian Art Museum. We like to go full circle.

In addition to the Wu-Tang track drop, the evening will also include a conversation between RZA and Jeff Chang of Stanfords Institute for the Diversity in the Arts, b-boy dancers, DJs and the pop-up sale of the 36 Chambers collection, as well as a custom patch station for items by San Francisco company Holy Stitch.

In addition to the brands frequent use of Asian art motifs, 36 Chambers is also known for its philosophy that excludes using animal leather, part of the Buddhist philosophy often represented in the brands designs.

We believe everything has a right to life, and this earth is so bountiful that the earth provides before another life has to be taken, said RZA. For clothing in our luxury culture, leather has been a big part of that, and in hip-hop, too. We wanted to lead away from that equation.

The collections fall 2017 lookbook was also shot at the Asian Art Museum. The 36 Chambers pop-up will be the first chance customers anywhere will have to shop the collection.

We felt it was only right to give back to the museum, said Shaikh. I like that there should be people there that might not otherwise go to the museum.

Art, hip-hop, fashion, even martial arts, chess  they operate on a certain wavelength and harmony, added RZA. Its all an artistic expression thats all harmonious.

The name Wu-Tang Clan derives from the 1983 Hong Kong movie Shaolin and Wu Tang.

Tony Bravo is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: tbravo@sfchronicle.com

Takeover: 36 Chambers. 6-9 p.m. Sept. 21. The Asian Art Museum, 200 Larkin St., S.F. Tickets: $10-$20. www.asianart.org.
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As civilians ran away from New York Citys burning twin towers nearly 16 years ago, first responders rushed toward the buildings, scaling the steps of the 110-floor skyscrapers to rescue anyone they could.

Bay Area first responders climbed the stairs of San Franciscos Bank of America building Saturday to pay homage to the heroic feats that occurred on Sept. 11, 2001  one that cost 412 emergency workers, including 343 firefighters, their lives.

At the inaugural San Francisco Stair Climb, officials raised money to combat and bring light to the less evident emotional toll of their work.

The event raised more than $140,000 to support post-traumatic stress injuries that first responders in police, fire and emergency services face throughout their careers.

The event, organized by San Francisco firefighter Greg Collaco and Fire Commissioner Joe Alioto Veronese, drew a few hundred climbers and raised contributions from around 1,500 donors.

Theyre there for us on our worst day, Alioto Veronese said of first responders. We want to be there for them on theirs.

Firefighters  some wearing their full fire gear  civilians, and various emergency services personnel climbed the 52-story building at 555 California St.  now the third-tallest skyscraper in the city behind the Transamerica Pyramid and the new Salesforce Tower.

Tom OConnor, president of San Francisco Firefighters Union Local 798, emerged from the building in a white T-shirt and workout shorts, catching his breath after climbing up and down the building in about 20 minutes.

I did it without my gear on. Thats why I sprinted past the young people, OConnor said.

He saw the climb as one of many ways to eliminate the stigma surrounding mental health issues confronting first responders.

Its a good cause, OConnor said. Were trying to say its OK to ask for help.

San Francisco Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White and Police Chief Bill Scott joined participants in the plaza outside the skyscraper to show their support for the event.

For Scott, looking at the building was a reminder of the physical and emotional sacrifices responders made on 9/11  and continue to make now.

I go back to Sept. 11, 2001, and the courage of all these first responders going up those towers. Thats the essence of what this is all about, he said.

Ive always drawn inspiration from that.

But, he added, a lot of people dont realize theres an aftermath you have to deal with psychologically.

Hayes-White said that in her 27 years with the Fire Department shes seen change for the better when it comes to addressing mental health. As runners scaled the 1,197 steps up the skyscraper, they took even more strides toward addressing and treating the trauma first responders face firsthand.

We have a lot of rewarding days. Theres a lot of days that can be difficult, Hayes-White said. We want to make sure everyones well and healthy when they come to work.

Jenna Lyons is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jlyons@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JennaJourno
Ruslan Food and Beverage Hospitality starts today

The Ruslan Food & Beverage and Hospitality 2017 will begin from Saturday at Bhrikutimandap Exhibition Hall, Kathmandu. This event organised by House of Rajkarnikar Exhibition and Events, is focused on food, beverage and hospitality.
The pilot who died in a crash at Point Reyes National Seashore last week had recently left his Houston home after Hurricane Harvey flooded his basement, his wife said Saturday.

John R. Wilson, an oil and gas industry consultant, was found dead when search crews discovered his wrecked Cessna 172 amid thick brush at the Marin County park. He was 58.

He had traveled all over the world for his career, spending time between Austria, Santa Barbara and Houston, where he worked as a consultant for his firm Scorpio Resources, said Christine Wilson, his wife of 14 years.

For me its not reality yet, she said Saturday. He just received his pilot license a few weeks ago. He was a young pilot, but he loved it and he was careful.

She said her husband could not stay in their Houston home for the past three weeks after the storm took out electricity and running water when their basement flooded. He left Houston to stay at their property in Santa Barbara, while his wife was staying at their home in Austria.

Christine Wilson said her husband had carefully mapped out his flight from Santa Ynez in Santa Barbara County to Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport in Santa Rosa for an upcoming business trip in Napa.

He was really, really excited about flying. He was so excited. He had been planning this for a week, she said.

John Wilson had taken flying lessons for several years, and has flown several times successfully, including a trip from Houston to New Orleans, she said.

A multiagency search party found his plane Friday afternoon after the aircrafts emergency transmitter went off, giving them the location. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the incident.

Wilson, originally from London, is survived by his wife, three children, three stepchildren and his brother.

His love for flying and hiking and his love for everyone, his character and integrity will be forever remembered by his family and friends, Christine Wilson wrote in an email to The Chronicle.

Jenna Lyons is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jlyons@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JennaJourno
The sale of nearly $2 million in corporate stock by high-level Equifax executives shortly after the company learned of a major data breach has sparked public outrage that could turn into another hurdle for the credit rating agency.

The sales all occurred before the company publicly reported the breach, a disclosure that quickly sent its stock tumbling more than 13 percent Friday. The timing of the sales could attract federal scrutiny, legal experts say, though proving insider trading would be difficult. A company spokeswoman said the executives did not know about the breach when they sold their shares.

It certainly would be exactly the type of trading pattern before a high-profile event that the (Securities and Exchange Commission) would investigate, said Brandon Garrett, a professor at the University of Virginia School of Law. Even if they do not bring charges it is the type of conduct that a company should not tolerate in its executives. It sends a terrible message to the public and to customers.

The SEC declined to comment on whether it was investigating the matter.

Equifax, a major consumer credit reporting agency, disclosed Thursday that hackers had obtained sensitive information, including Social Security numbers and dates of birth, for 143 million people. The breach began in May and was discovered by the company on July 29. Shortly afterward, three company executives  Chief Financial Officer John Gamble; Joseph Loughran III, the president of U.S. information solutions; and Rodolfo Ploder, the president of workforce solutions  sold large amounts of their shares of Equifax stock.

Gamble sold nearly $1 million worth of stock on Aug. 1; Loughran disposed of about $700,000. The next day, Ploder sold stock worth $250,000, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings. The sales were not part of a pre-scheduled transaction, according to the filings.

News of the sales drew wide criticism, including from Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Torrance (Los Angeles County), who tweeted that if true, the timing of these large sales of stock by Equifax manager is quite troubling.

A company spokeswoman, Ines Gutzmer, said in an email Thursday night: The three executives who sold a small percentage of their Equifax shares on Tuesday, August 1, and Wednesday, August 2, had no knowledge that an intrusion had occurred at the time they sold.

Gutzmer did not immediately respond to questions Friday about when the executives learned of the breach and whether the company would be conducting an internal review of their actions.

Despite the stock sales, the executives still own thousands of shares of Equifax stock worth millions of dollars.

If you look at it on its face, people will jump to the conclusion that they knew, and that they were trying to cash out, said Stuart Slotnick, a corporate defense attorney at Buchanan, Ingersoll & Rooney. But no one should jump to conclusions, he said. There is nothing wrong with cashing out if its not connected to the news.

It would be incredible if these sophisticated insiders would sell their shares based upon news. They are sophisticated executives and they know full well that their selling the shares triggers public disclosures. It just doesnt make sense that the CFO would sell a small lot of shares before a news event, Slotnick said.

To prove insider trading, federal prosecutors would have to show the executives knew about the nonpublic information when they decided to sell their stock, often a tough task, experts said.

The companys board of directors should conduct an independent review of the executives actions, including surveying their email traffic and interviewing the executives as well as their colleagues, said Bart Friedman, a senior counsel at Cahill Gordon & Reindel, who advises boards on matters including corporate compliance and enforcement challenges.

I would be aggressive in finding out the facts, and I wouldnt necessarily depend on what they tell me, Friedman said. It would be unusual for such high-level executives to not quickly learn of such significant news, he said. If anybody in the company knew, it would be shocking if they didnt learn about it. he said.

Renae Merle is a Washington Post writer.
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Deciding where to raise your family inevitably involves a series of tradeoffs. City A may have excellent schools and playgrounds, but City B might be safer and more affordable. Then there's City C, which lacks the greenery of A and the home prices of B, but exudes a singular charm.

Though futile to boil down the essence of a place to facts and figures, WalletHub crunched the data on the 150 most-populated U.S. cities and came up with the best  and worst  places to raise a family.

Click through the above slideshow to see how California cities ranked

Using 41 metrics, including opportunities for family fun, health and safety, education and child care, and affordability, the data site determined Fremont to be the fifth-best place to build a nest.

Now Playing: Raising kids is tough enough. Angeli Kakade (@angelikakade) has the story. Video: Buzz60

The next Bay Area city on the list is San Jose (13th). San Francisco hovers in the middle, ranking 39th; it lost ground in affordability and safety but gained recognition for its attractions, like zoos, museums and theaters.

MOMMY FILES: San Francisco has the lowest percentage of kids of any major U.S. city

Fremont, says city spokeswoman Kim Beranek, is a natural pick for Bay Area people looking to grow some roots. The old Gold Rush town boasts miles of hiking and biking trails, in addition to a whopping 60 parks within city limits. It's also diverse, with the highest population of Afghan-Americans in the United States.

But what really sweetens the deal for families, according to Beranek? Parental peace of mind.

"We want our kids to be safe," she said. Fremont hasn't had a homicide since 2015, and violent crime fell 72 percent between 1995 and 2015.

SEE ALSO: Peace reigns in the streets of vigilant Fremont

"I think parents want a place where their kids can be educated and safe," Beranek continued, "and Fremont's done an amazing job at providing that for the community."

Read more about WalletHub's methodology here.

Read Michelle Robertsons latest stories and send her news tips at mrobertson@sfchronicle.com.
1 Mother dies: A Michigan woman who sacrificed the chance to prolong her life to give birth to her sixth child died Saturday. Nick DeKlyen said his wife, Carrie DeKlyen, died surrounded by family. Doctors removed Carrie DeKlyens feeding and breathing tubes Thursday, a day after she gave birth to daughter Life Lynn DeKlyen. The mother chose to forgo chemotherapy to treat her brain cancer, because it would have meant ending her pregnancy. Life Lynn was born prematurely and weighs 1 pound, 4 ounces, but is doing well. The couple from the western Michigan city of Wyoming have five other children. Its painful, Nick DeKlyen said. But this is what she wanted. She wanted to protect this child.

2 Convicted sheriff: Former Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca will remain out of federal prison, at least temporarily, as he appeals his conviction for trying to derail an FBI investigation into abuses in the nations largest jail system. Baca filed an appeal Friday with the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal. The 75-year-old had been told to surrender to federal officials Monday, but the filing initiates an automatic stay on that order. Baca is facing a three-year sentence for conspiracy, obstruction of justice and lying to investigators.
5 must-see acts at Monterey festival,

Sept. 10, Sunday Datebook, Page 20

The story in Sunday Datebook, which went to press earlier in the week, misidentified the city where bassist Linda Oh was raised. She grew up in Perth, Australia.

Reverse Angle, Sept. 10, Sunday Datebook, Page 27

An item in the Reverse Angle column incorrectly lists dates for the 2018 San Francisco International Film Festival. The correct dates are April 4-17.
Sajha chief Sharma submits 100-page clarification

Sajha Prakashan chief Dolindra Sharma, who has been charged with corruption at the state-owned publishing house, furnished a written clarification to the Education Ministry on Friday defending his activities.
Wheels of injustice roll on

The moment Bisanath Babu (Tika Pahari) makes his dramatic entry in the new play Laati ko Chhoro, you sense that there is something sinister afoot.
Red Cars tasting room feels as inviting and comfortable as any of

Wine Countrys well-heeled estates, but with a vibe that appeals

to the Urban Outfitters set. The funky space features consciously

kitschy furniture, chessboards and a display of eclectic vinyl.

Youre encouraged to put a record on.

The specialties here are Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir, Chardon-nay

and Syrah, made by winemaker Carroll Kemp in a modern,

cerebral style. The estate vineyard is way up in Fort Ross-Seaview,

but Kemp sources fruit from all over the neighboring areas of Free-stone

and Occidental, crafting wines of restraint  sometimes to

the point of austerity. Kemps Heaven and Earth Pinot Noir, one of

the farthest-inland (read: warmest) vineyards

that Red Car works with, is the crowd-pleas-er;

its red-fruited and pretty, perhaps the

most generous of his Pinots. But its bottlings

like Hagan Vineyard and Platt Vineyard that

show Kemps true identity as a winemaker,

lean, spicy and floral.

Its rare to find a Sonoma tasting room

so relaxed and so accommodating of walk-in

visitors that doesnt feel either corporate or stodgy. But Red Car can

pull off a more formal experience, too, if thats what youre after,

with guided, seating tastings by appointment. That might be a good

bet if youve got a larger group. E.M.

Red Car

Red Cars restrained, cerebral wines belie the tasting rooms low-key vibe. Right:

Winery owner Carroll Kemp pours a sample of wine.

8400 Graton Road,

Sebastopol

(707) 829-8500 www.redcarwine.com

Tasting fee: $20

10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily No appointment necessary
The federal government improperly subsidized planning for Californias delta tunnels project with $50 million that should have been paid by water contractors who stand to benefit from the undertaking, a U.S. Interior Department audit concluded Friday.

The $17.1 billion project, proposed by Gov. Jerry Brown, would build giant 35-mile tunnels under the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to carry Sacramento River water to farms and cities in Central and Southern California. The costs are to be paid by water users and not by taxpayers.

But the Interior Departments inspector generals office reported Friday that between 2009 and 2016, under President Barack Obamas administration, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation spent $50 million of federal taxpayer funds to help plan the project and used a complex, obscure process to keep Congress in the dark.

The $50 million in appropriated funds used to make the payments to (the California Department of Water Resources) should have been repaid by (federal Central Valley Project) water contractors rather than absorbed by the federal government, the audit said.

Auditors did not accuse the Bureau of Reclamation of any corrupt intent and said instead that the bureau, part of the Interior Department, had mistakenly concluded that it was responsible for the payments. The bureau disputed the audits findings but agreed it would no longer provide funds for the California project unless the funds are requested by the state and then approved by Congress.

The audit did not address reimbursement.

Environmental groups oppose the tunnel project, arguing that it would drain the delta of freshwater and endanger fish and their habitat. Barbara Arrigan-Parrilla, executive director of an opposition group called Restore the Delta, said the audit raises serious questions about the projects financing and the water contractors commitment to pay for it.

Water districts serving agriculture in the western San Joaquin Valley lobbied and had the Bureau of Reclamation misappropriate money, Arrigan-Parrilla said. If they cant afford the planning, how can they afford to pay for 45 percent of a construction project that begins at $17 billion? she asked, referring to the districts current funding obligations.

The general manager of the nations largest farm water district, a major supporter of the delta project, said the audits findings were not damaging.

The report is critical of the Bureau of Reclamation and says it didnt provide an adequate explanation, but it does not say that there was any nefarious activity, said Tom Birmingham of the Westlands Water District, which is based in Fresno and provides water to about 700 farms.

Even if contractors owe some funds to the government, Birmingham said, federal law does not require reimbursement for planning costs until that project goes online.

Asked if auditors want repayment from the water contractors, Interior Department spokeswoman Nancy DiPaolo told the Associated Press, We certainly hope so. But she said the federal government would leave the decision to state officials.

Lisa Lien-Mager, spokeswoman for Browns Natural Resources Agency, said the audit was not a state issue, and added, We dont anticipate it having any material impact on the tunnel project.

Brown disputes environmentalists criticisms of the tunnels, saying the projects would eliminate the need for huge pumps at the deltas southern end that kill large numbers of fish.

The audit said the Bureau of Reclamation is legally entitled to provide funding to the state for improvements in fish and wildlife habitat that were part of an early version of the water delivery plan. That changed, the report said, when Brown introduced the current plan, which included some ecological protections for the south delta but dropped plans to restore 150,000 acres of habitat north of the tunnels.

Federal law barred additional funding, the audit said, after the project eliminated the key ecosystem measures to restore and protect habitat.

The Trump administration has shown support for the tunnels. Wildlife-protection agencies reported recently that the project would harm endangered species of fish in the delta but that the damage would be adequately offset by an additional 1,800 acres of restored habitat, on top of 30,000 acres of restoration that the project already required.

President Trump has also appointed a former Westlands lobbyist, David Bernhardt, as the Interior Departments second-ranking official, in charge of managing natural resources. Bernhardt, who was the departments top lawyer under President George W. Bush, won Senate confirmation in July over opposition from environmental groups.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter:@egelko
KABAROLE: President Yoweri Museveni says he has started a new war against what he calls thieves, who allegedly steal government funds through hiked compensations hence delaying government projects.

Museveni was speaking to residents at Buhinga play ground in Fort Portal town on Thursday evening before he commissioned the rehabilitated Fort Portal-Kamwenge road.

Museveni said that the Shs 141 billion 66 km road worked on by China Railways 7 was at first delayed by the cancellation of the funds by the World Bank over sexual abuse on the girls along the project and by Mr Perezi Bisangwa who rejected government compensation in Kamwenge district.

Museveni said Bisangwa, a resident of Kamwenge district rejected Shs 80 million as compensation on his small portion of land about 2 kms on Kamwennge-Fort Portal road and instead demanded Shs 1 billion to allow works on the Kamwenge-Fort Portal road a thing he said also delayed the project.

I have now opened a verbal war on these thieves, how can a judge award high costs like Shs 1 billion to thieves who delay government projects

Am going to probe these thieves, greedy people, it seems they collaborate with some government officials in courts Museveni warned in reference to the on going land bill that has attracted public debate where he is personally pushing for amendments in the constitution to allow government acquire any land anywhere suitable for government projects like road, water and electricity.

He explained that his government has managed to work on several roads around the country since 2006 because of correct prioritization on roads.

He said in 2006, he asked the NRM caucus to focus on few projects like roads and prioritize them a thing that he said has made tremendous success like the Fort Portal-Kamwenge road.

The new road is one section of the highway, Fort Portal-Nyahita road that was constructed in 3 phasesNyakahita-Kazo 68km, Kazo-Kamwenge 72 km and Fort Portal-Kamwenge and has already boosted business and tourism along the districts it passes through from Kabarole, Kamwenge, Ibanda and Kiruhura.
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SAN FRANCISCO (BCN)

Police responded to several stabbings that occurred within an hour of each other overnight in San Francisco's South of Market and Tenderloin neighborhoods.

The first stabbing occurred just before midnight in the area of Eighth and Mission streets, when a 39-year-old man was approached by another man who claimed he owed him money, police said.

The 30-year-old suspect stabbed the victim in the left arm with a pocket knife and then ran away.

SHELTER-IN-PLACE: Residents advised shelter-in-place in SF's Outer Richmond

Around 12:40 a.m., a man was stabbed by a woman in his apartment in the 300 block of Ellis Street.

The 30-year-old woman had been visiting the man's apartment, but the man tried to call 911 after he saw her apparently searching for things to steal.

The woman allegedly stabbed the man in the shoulder before fleeing.

SF ROBBERY: Man robbed at gunpoint of his bicycle on SF's Market St.

Less than 15 minutes later at Seventh and Folsom Streets, a 37-year-old man was stabbed during an argument on the street with a woman and a man.

All three victims were taken to the hospital with injuries that were not thought to be life threatening.

An arrest was made in the incident at Seventh and Folsom, but police are still searching for suspects in the other two attacks.
Bill Hutchinson / The Chronicle

A shelter-in-place advisory has been put in place this evening in San Francisco's Outer Richmond neighborhood, fire officials said on Twitter.

The advisory was made public at 5:51 p.m. and is in effect for residents in the area near Cabrillo Street between 36th and 37th avenues.
Prosecutors in San Francisco on Friday held panel discussions and training on preventing, investigating and prosecuting sexual assault cases on Bay Area college campuses.

The discussions and training were held starting at 1 p.m. at the University of California at San Francisco's Toland Hall at 533 Parnassus Ave.

The move comes on the heels of an announcement Thursday by U.S. Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos who intends to roll back Obama Administration rules that require schools to investigate all complaints of sexual assaults, San Francisco prosecutors said.

"A lingering question is whether the administration's signaled departure from the Obama era rules will benefit the accused to the detriment of survivors," San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon said in a statement.

"Few survivors come forward, so I'm very concerned that these rule changes will lead to more assailants remaining at campuses in close proximity to their victims, and that the consequence is a further reduction in reporting," he said.

The goal of the discussion and training is to help law enforcement and educational officials ensure that survivors are protected and can access services.

University of California at Berkeley's Chancellor Carol Christ sought to ease any fears students might have about the potential for a rollback of the rules.

Christ said in a letter to the university community that UC Berkeley officials, like officials at the University of California, are firmly in support of the policies enacted in recent years, which have sought a more efficient and fair system for everyone involved in a case of sexual assault or sexual violence.

"We want to assure you that the campus remains firmly committed to that ideal," she said.

Prosecutors in San Francisco said 25 percent of all college students will be a victim of a sexual assault.

Fifty percent of sexual assaults will occur during the first six weeks of school, prosecutors said.

Fewer than five percent of survivors will report the offense.

In a statement, University of California President Janet Napolitano said that the changes announced by DeVos signal something that "is extremely troubling."

But Napolitano said that state laws and federal regulations remain in effect that prohibit sexual assault and other forms of sexual violence.

University officials are committed to protecting students and staff from sexual violence and sexual harassment while ensuring that everyone is treated fairly, Napolitano added.
As Berkeley officials brace for protests that could easily turn violent when conservative writer Ben Shapiro appears at UC Berkeley next week, the citys police chief is advocating for a controversial form of crowd control: pepper spray to subdue agitators.

The City Council will vote on whether to approve Chief Andrew Greenwoods request  and overturn a 20-year ban on using pepper spray during protests  at a special meeting Tuesday afternoon.

Greenwood made his case in a 26-page memo to the City Council, pointing out that Berkeleys university campus and Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center Park have become stages for right- and left-wing extremists who are raring for a fight.

He cited four recent events  on Feb. 1, March 4, April 15 and Aug. 27  when large, coordinated groups of masked attackers assaulted police officers and people who were engaging in free speech activities.

During the Aug. 27 event, a right-wing No to Marxism in Berkeley rally at Civic Center Park, scores of masked extremists arrived with a flatbed truck full of weapons and shields, Greenwood wrote. The group set off smoke bombs around the park, then charged in and attacked individuals, then left under the cover of peaceful demonstrators, Greenwood wrote.

He said that if officers had been allowed to use pepper spray, they might have deterred the extremists  who often identify as antifascists or antifa.

The Berkeley Police Department is currently limited to using batons, less lethal projectiles, smoke and tear gas to confront coordinated groups of extremists who have launched brutal and determined attacks against officers and people whom they have determined should not be allowed to speak or publicly assemble, Greenwood wrote.

The right to protest is a core credo in Berkeley, which is known as the home of the Free Speech movement, and as a harbor for just about every social movement that followed.

But many politicians appear to be fed up with seeing their city used as a gladiatorial arena for instigators on the right and the left, and support is building for Greenwoods pepper spray measure.

I support it, said Mayor Jesse Arreguin, who recently told reporters at KPIX-TV that antifa should be classified as a gang.

We need to differentiate between peaceful protesters and violent agitators, Arreguin told The Chronicle. Our police need to prevent violence in order to allow free speech.

Berkeley Police officers are allowed to use pepper spray during individual arrests, but they seem to treat it as a last resort  since 2012, officers have used the chemical irritant an average of three times a year, despite handling hundreds of thousands of calls, and making tens of thousands of arrests and citations, Greenwood said.

He pointed out, however, that large hand-held aerosol spray cans are an industry standard tool for situations when angry mobs attack a police line. Such dispensers are used in San Francisco, Oakland, Seattle, Portland, Ore., and San Jose, he said.

Rachel Swan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: rswan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @rachelswan
BAGHDAD  The Iraqi air force and the U.S.-led coalition have stepped up a campaign of air strikes on the Islamic State group-held town of Hawija ahead of a planned ground assault there, according to Iraqs minister of defense Saturday.

Iraqi forces are pushing Islamic State fighters out of the remaining pockets of territory the group holds in the country after forces backed by the U.S.-led coalition retook Iraqs second largest city of Mosul in July.
1 Turkey crackdown: The secretary-general of Amnesty International visited the rights groups jailed Turkey director Saturday and called for her release, along with seven other activists being held in pretrial detention for allegedly aiding a terror group. Salil Shetty said Amnestys Idil Eser was doing well but added The issue is really as to why is she in prison in the first instance? Police raided a hotel on the island of Buyukada near Istanbul in July and detained activists during a workshop on digital security. Their arrests have added to widespread concerns about the erosion of rights and freedoms in Turkey since last years coup attempt. More than 50,000 people have been arrested, including journalists and politicians.

2 Brexit protest: Thousands marched Saturday to Parliament in central London to protest Britains plan to withdraw from the European Union. Organizers of the Peoples March for Europe said the goal was to unite, rethink and reject the Conservative governments plan to implement Brexit by 2019. Britain voted last year to withdraw from the 28-nation EU bloc, but negotiations are moving extremely slowly. The talks have been stalled because of disputes over how much Britain will have to pay the EU because of their joint obligations. The two sides have not yet started to discuss future trade relations. Parliament is expected to vote Monday on a repeal bill designed to eventually incorporate many EU laws into British law once the separation becomes final.
BEIRUT  U.S.-backed Syrian fighters began an offensive against the Islamic State group in eastern Syria along the border with Iraq on Saturday, bringing them into a race with government forces marching in the same direction against the extremists in their last major holdout in the war-torn country.

The dueling battles for Deir el-Zour highlight the importance of the oil-rich eastern province, which has become the latest epicenter of the international war against the Islamic State group, raising concerns of an eventual clash between the two sides.

The U.S.-trained Deir el-Zour Military Council said it was calling its operation Jazeera Storm, after the familiar name for northeast Syria. The Military Council is a part of the predominantly-Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces, which enjoys broad U.S. military support. SDF are the U.S.s primary ally in the fight against Islamic State in Syria.

The race to reach the Iraqi border will shape future regional dynamics, determining whether the United States or Russia and Iran will have more influence in the strategic area once the extremist group is defeated.

Iran has been one of President Bashar Assads strongest backers since the crisis began in March 2011 and has sent thousands of Iranian-backed fighters and advisers to fight against insurgent groups trying to remove him from power.

The U.S.-backed fighters are up against a huge challenge to reach Deir el-Zour, especially while they are still fighting to liberate Raqqa from Islamic State. Three months into the battle, they have liberated around 60 percent of the city, and much more difficult urban fighting still remains.

Last week, Syrian troops and their Iranian-backed allies reached Deir el-Zour, breaking a nearly three-year-old Islamic State siege on government-held parts of the city in a major breakthrough in their offensive. In a victory statement, the Syrian military said Deir el-Zour will be used as a launching pad to liberate the remaining Islamic State-held areas along the border with Iraq.

The troops arrival to Deir el-Zour city brings Syrian forces and their allies a step closer to controlling the oil-rich eastern province and its capital bordering Iraq, a major boost for Tehrans growing influence in the area. The region has some of Syrias largest oil fields, whose revenue is vital to the states dried coffers.

Syrias military command announced Saturday they had captured the provinces Taym oil field from militants.

Washington has been determined to block the formation of an Iranian corridor  of Shiite-controlled land stretching from Tehran to Damascus  and for months has been eyeing the area southeast of Raqqa near the Iraqi border.

U.S.-backed Syrian rebels had been gathering in Tanf in southeastern Syria to march toward Deir el-Zour, but their plans were disrupted in June when Syrian troops reached the border with Iraq, obstructing their path. The only way left for the SDF to enter the eastern province appears to be from the northeastern province of Hassakeh, where Syrian activists say the U.S.-backed fighters have been gathering and stepping up preparations for an attack.

SDF officials say the timing of Operation Jazeera Storm is not related to government forces reaching the Deir el-Zour last week, and was planned months in advance.

U.S. officials have suggested they are not seeking a confrontation with Assads forces.

Bassem Mroue is an Associated Press writer.
UNITED NATIONS  The United States called for a vote Monday on a U.N. resolution that would impose the toughest-ever sanctions on North Korea, a move that could lead to a showdown with the countrys biggest trading partner, China, and its neighbor Russia.

The Trump administration adopted a totally new approach with this resolution, circulating an American draft Tuesday and setting a vote six days later. With previous sanctions resolutions, the U.S. spent weeks and sometimes months negotiating the text with China and then presenting a resolution to the rest of the Security Council for a vote.

Several diplomats said the U.S. demand for a speedy council vote is directed at putting maximum pressure on China and reflected Washingtons escalating concern over North Koreas latest nuclear test, which its leaders touted as a hydrogen bomb, and its recent ballistic missile launch over Japan.

Britains U.N. Ambassador Matthew Rycroft, who backs robust new sanctions, said Thursday that the U.S. proposals to ban all oil imports and textile exports and prohibit North Koreans from working overseas  which helps fund and fuel the countrys nuclear and missile programs  are a proportionate response to its illegal and reckless behavior.

Rycroft stressed that maximum possible pressure must be exerted on North Korea to change course and give diplomacy a chance to end the crisis.

The proposed U.S. sanctions would also freeze all foreign financial assets of the government and its leader, Kim Jong Un. The U.S. draft also identified nine ships that have carried out activities prohibited by previous U.N. resolutions and would authorize any U.N. member state to stop the vessels on the high seas without their consent and use all necessary measures  which in U.N. language includes force  to carry out an inspection and direct the vessel to a port.

Professor Joseph DeThomas of Pennsylvania State University, a former State Department official who dealt with North Korea, said the U.S. demand for quick council action is an indicator of how the administration thinks time has run out.

My sense is they believe that they dont have time for a delicate diplomatic dance, he said. The other possibility ... is they want to see the color of Chinas money. Theyre putting down the marker here and saying OK, Are you prepared to do what is necessary to put pressure on North Korea at a moment when were simply out of time?

Russia has said sanctions arent working and President Vladimir Putin expressed concern that a total oil cutoff could hurt the North Korean people. Beijing and Moscow have proposed a freeze-for-freeze that would halt North Korean nuclear and missile tests in exchange for the U.S. and South Korea halting their joint military exercises  an initiative rejected by the Trump administration.

Edith M. Lederer is an Associated Press writer.
Filmmakers have been having a go at Stephen King's horror honor roll stories since half the people in the audience were in diapers, and the newest rendition has echoes of blood-soaked Carrie (both the 1976 and 2013 versions) and kid bonding that recalls Stand by Me (1986).

What it doesn't do is bring up the 1990 version of itself. The new It for the big screen is not It made for TV. And it's not a straight line from the book either.

Among King's best works are those that hold central a group of children, and the young actors who take on these roles in Mama director Andy Muschietti's new effort are a convincing, cohesive bunch. Jaeden Lieberher leads the pack as Bill Denbrough, whose brother Georgie famously dies in the unchanged classic opening scene involving a paper boat and a yellow slicker. After the disappearance of dozens of children and after the end of school, the story joins "the losers' club" on their misadventure of summer. Punchy dialog like "yo-mama" one-liners from the group of boys meets the obvious adolescent fun of the only girl in the gang; Sophia Lillis (A Midsummer Night's Dream) has amazing eyes as Beverly Marsh. Few adults even utter substantial lines in the telling, and most of them are bruised and shadowy characters. They can't see even see the clown monster, Pennywise (a justifiably terrifying and CGI-enhanced Bill Skarsgard).

The club discovers a patternthat Pennywise feeds on fear and returns every 27 years to feast on children in the town. What a great setup for another movie, right? And, if they follow the latest scheme of turning one book into three movies a la The Hobbit, maybe even a third. This script takes enough liberties with the original work that it's both annoying and intriguing to see what's next, but it feels like planned obsolescence. Still, we'll be there on opening night again to see where it goes all the same.

7

+ Modern take on a classic, scary AF story

- Only tackles a fraction of the tale

It

Directed by Muschietti

With Lieberher, Lillis and Skarsgard

Violet Crown, Regal,

R,

135 min.

Santa Fe Reporter
The same spirit that captured the world's attention at Standing Rocka reinvigorated defiance by Native people to excuse injustices both past and presentrocked the Plaza area today, with tensions boiling before Santa Fe Police directed protesters to a designated "free speech zone," where the crowd gradually thinned over the span of a few hours.

Earlier in the morning, congregants at Rosario Chapel prayed to La Conquistadora, the patron saint worshipped by Catholics in this area during Fiestas week. They asked the war deity for peace and unity in the community.

The irony struck those protesting the Entrada, and city officials were ready. They moved the event two hours earlier in the day, to noon, in an attempt to cool what was always going to be a heated scene.

While the move was intended to minimize disruptions of the event, it appeared to also limit the number of supportive people in attendance, and the protestations of a handful were magnified as the man playing Don Diego de Vargas and his procession took the stage for the awkward, divisive performance.

(Anson Stevens-Bollen)

Actors onstage looked tense and defensive as people chanted for abolishing the Entrada. Insults were exchanged among audience members: A Hispanic man and a supporter of the Entrada, who declined to give his name, accused two white women chanting against the pageant of profiting off of the African slave trade. Several Native people chanted, "No pride in genocide."

"They're not looking at everything that happened," says Ana Barger, who claims, falsely, that all of the protesters were not from the Santa Fe area. "It's about the entrance of the conquistadores and how they helped bring safety to the city. They brought God, and that's what it's about, unity that way."

Delvin, a Native man from Santa Fe, sided with the protesters.

"The Entrada is racist," Delvin tells SFR. "A lot of lies are being told. The truth is a lot people were massacred, they think this celebration is a reconquest. We don't want it anymore."

Toward the end of the performance, raw emotion was palpable on both sides. Middle fingers and curse words were exchanged. The de Vargas procession chanted "Que Viva La Fiesta!" from the stage as protesters attempted to drown them out with their own chants. Two younger actors, teenage boys, were visibly enraged as they screamed in support of the Entrada and Fiestas before exiting the stage.

That's when police began trying to direct people to a "free speech zone," prompting many protesters to balk. Police atop the Santa Fe Dry Goods building and the Palace of the Governors peered down with binoculars and photographed people. One officer, Sgt McCord, pushed people toward the edge of the palace, at which point people sat down and formed a human chain, periodically moving back at the behest of police. Officers made several arrests (editor's note: ending of story has been appended to include the names of eight arrestees).

(Anson Stevens-Bollen)

Shortly after, more than 100 protesters who had arrived from Albuquerque joined with those already in the Plaza. Blocked from entering by police barricades, the group walked up Washington Avenue, hoisting signs honoring Po'Pay and the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, and decrying the ongoing slow genocide of Native people. A few people carried life-size marionettes, including one of a conquistadorperhaps Don Diego de Vargaswith a black heart.

At E Marcy Street and Lincoln Avenue, the atmosphere became heated. Jennifer Marley, a Native woman from San Ildefonso and an organizer of the day's action against Entrada, was suddenly yanked into a throng of police. The immediate reasons for her detainment are not clear, though she appeared to make physical contact with an officer in a crowded environment about five minutes prior. County records at press time show she was charged with criminal trespass (editor's note: Marley was later charged with an additional count of trespass as well as two counts of assault on an officer, a fourth degree felony). Protesters unsuccessfully attempted to pull Marley back into the crowd, growing incensed as police took her away.

(Anson Stevens-Bollen)

The police were noticeably on edge, as the crowd shouted anti-police and anti-racist slogans. At one point, Sgt McCord told a reporter to move back from the scene or risk arrest. Another officer insisted that a photographer move onto the other side of a police line and only relented when she pulled her press pass out of her bag.

Protesters continued to bang drums and march, demanding police give way so they could move back to the Plaza. Officers relented and allowed protesters back up Washington Avenue to the designated free speech zone. At publication time, tourists passing by could be heard expressing confusion at the dedicated core of protesters who remained, and Native protesters were overheard telling somebody to go back to Europe.

Editor's note: SFR has confirmed the names of eight arrestees, including Carmen Stone, Nicole Ullerich, Sierra Logan, Julian Rodriguez, Jennifer Haley, Trenton Ward, Chad Brown Eagle and Jennifer Marley. Most have been charged with either criminal trespass or disorderly conduct.

Santa Fe Reporter
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After more than 20 years as town clerk in Skaneateles, Janet Aaron said she is ready to take on a new role in public service: town supervisor.

On Tuesday, Aaron will face incumbent James Lanning in a Republican primary election. The winner will become the GOP candidate on the ballot in November. Aaron already has the Independence and Conservative Party lines secured for the general election, and she has the independent Skaneateles Party line locked up. There are no Democratic supervisor candidates this year, according to the Onondaga County Board of Elections.

Lanning took office as town supervisor in January 2016 after defeating the Democratic incumbent Mary Sennett. The 55-year-old is seeking re-election this year as he has "thoroughly enjoyed" his representation in Skaneateles.

"It's been the greatest honor of my life to serve as town supervisor," Lanning said. "I've made every decision as if there were a taxpayer sitting next to me. ... I did almost everything I promised I would do, but in doing so I guess I ruffled some feathers because I was very tight with the budget."

Meanwhile, Aaron has been the town clerk since the election in 1994. Now, at 66 years old, she said she is looking to "take on a new challenge.

"I've been thinking about (running for town supervisor) for a while, but it wasn't until late spring that I really started focusing on my interest in that position," Aaron said. "I had many people come to me and encourage me to run ... and I felt that I had pretty much reached my goal in the town clerk's office."

Both Lanning and Aaron cited similar initiatives in their agendas, including renewable energy, cost savings and water quality.

Lanning said environmental concerns have been a driving force of his administration, which has switched over to LED lighting and helped reduce greenhouse gas emissions. He also said the town has increased the number of items that are recyclable to try to reduce the train train that is hauled to Seneca Meadows.

"It's very important that we continue to gradually ease ourselves away from fuel usage and to administer renewable energies and energy conservation," Lanning said, noting that the town has a solar project in the books.

Aaron agreed with that assessment, stating she would also continue to look for cost-saving opportunities through solar energy and green technology advancements.

The difference between the candidates is not so much their policies, Aaron said; it's how they operate.

"Our styles might be a little bit different," she said. "I think communication with all board members and department heads is important and I've always done that in my job as town clerk. ... I believe in teamwork and communication."

Aaron said one relationship she would work on improving is that between the town and village of Skaneateles. She said she felt both could communicate better and find ways to work together and share services.

In response, Lanning said he tried to reach out to the village throughout his term but was met with resistance.

In the end, both Lanning and Aaron claimed their primary concern was cutting costs in the town. Lanning cited his success in lowering the tax rate while Aaron pointed to her years of fiscal experience as the town clerk.

"What I hear about constantly is the expense of living in Skaneateles and I wanted to make living in Skaneateles more affordable," Lanning said. "That would be an initiative I would push moving forward as well."

"I've always been fiscally responsible in my private and business life and that will not stop when I am town supervisor," Aaron said.

In addition to the supervisor primaries, GOP voters in the town can chose candidates for two seats on the town board as Mark Tucker, Kevin McCormack and Dessa Bergen all are on the Tuesday ballot. McCormack and Tucker both have the Conservative line secured while Bergan and McCormack will be on the general election Independence Party line. Democratic incumbents Constance Brace and Claire Howard have secured their party's general election ballot lines and are also on the independent Skaneateles Party line.

Conservative Party voters in Skaneateles can also cast ballots in the Onondaga Legislature District 6 race, where incumbent Michael Plochocki is facing an opportunity-to-ballot primary. The Marcellus resident already has the GOP line secured. In the general election, he'll face Democratic candidate Joe Paduda of Skaneateles. District 6 includes the towns of Skaneateles, Spafford, Marcellus and Otisco.

Voting takes place from noon to 9 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 12, at the following polling places:

 Skaneateles Fire Department, 77 West Genesee St. (District 1, 2, 3)

 Skaneateles Presbyterian Church, 97 East Genesee St. (District 4, 7, 8)

 Mottville Fire Department, 4149 Frost St., Mottville (District 5, 6)
Community Conversations, a monthly gathering that features speakers on a variety of issues that drew increasingly large audiences during its pilot season last year, will resume at noon Sept. 20 at English Lutheran Church at 1509 King St. in La Crosse.

We try to look at issues of significance across the community with a broader look, said the Rev. Mark Solyst, pastor of English Lutheran and the driving force behind the conversations under the co-sponsorship of the La Crosse Interfaith Leaders Coalition, which Solyst founded.

People have a tendency when they look at things an inch deep that things are looking pretty well, but looking deeper, you can see the pain, Solyst said. We are trying to be authentic and honest and not dodge issues.

Solyst cited the elimination of the racist system of apartheid in South Africa, which existed from 1948 to 1991, as an example of honest confrontation in which the wrongdoers were required to confess their misdeeds.

While La Crosse obviously does not have issues that are as black and white as apartheid, Community Conversations is intended to raise awareness and promote wider discussion, Solyst said.

Community Conversations will convene at noon the third Wednesday of each month, except for December, with the first session on Sept. 20 being an update on the progress of the La Crosse Collaborative to End Homelessness. Mayor Tim Kabat will introduce speakers Kim Cable, housing and community services director for Couleecap and a member of the collaborative from the outset, and Julie McDermid, the collaboratives project manager.

These are open discussions from thoughtful people in our own community discussing issues, Solyst said. To be real honest, we are not problem-solvers but trying to raise issues.

Solyst expressed mild surprise at the popularity of Community Conversations during its inaugural year.

Expecting audiences in the 70 to 90 range, he soon found the crowds growing to 120 and 140, he said.

I didnt know that many would be coming. Otherwise, wed have had more food, laughing as he recalled volunteers raiding the churchs freezers to provide more lunches  lacking the wherewithal of any historical figures known to multiply loaves and fishes.

Pre-registrations are requested to plan the amount of materials and the number of lunches, for which free-will offerings are welcomed. Registration also can be made online at the website of the La Crosse Interfaith Leaders Coalition or by calling the church at 608-784-9335.
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Helen Harold and Maddie Smith are an unlikely pair, but the two have joined forces to put local human trafficking in the crosshairs.

Together, Harold and Smith have trained 14 other volunteers to canvas hotels in the Coulee Region, alerting those who work there about the signs of human trafficking.

In the past, Harold, a retired West Salem school teacher and grandmother of eight, helped start the Community Care and Share food pantry and served on the West Salem Village Board. She currently acts as the Peace and Justice representative for Church Women United, a group representing 24 local churches.

Smith, a senior at University of Wisconsin-La Crosse from Marshfield, Wis., is just beginning to test the waters of activism. Majoring in public health, she interns as a resource advocate at New Horizons Womens Shelter in La Crosse. Social justice is high on her list of priorities-and that includes human trafficking.

Hotels and motels can offer convenient locations to harbor sex trafficking victims, Harold said. Situated along Interstate 90, between Chicago and Minneapolis, La Crosse falls in the eye of the storm. Church Women United hopes to change the weather.

Trafficking is a $150 billion worldwide industry, ensnaring an estimated 20 million victims into a lurid ecosystem that sustains itself on the poor. About a quarter of the victims are thought to be children.

While most people think of it as an overseas problem, Smith, who also doubles as the human trafficking intern at New Horizons, knows differently.

In 2016, New Horizons helped 19 victims of human trafficking, she said. And those are only the ones who sought help.

But mixing Smiths energy with Harolds experience, however, required a catalyst, and that came in the person of Sister Marlene Weisenbeck of the La Crosse Area Task Force on Human Trafficking.

She suggested having a packet to leave and gave us guidance  she was a great help, Harold said.

With a little guidance, Harold put her teaching experience to work, creating folders about human trafficking and its link with the hotel industry. She and Smith used the packet as curriculum for a training program held at First Free Church in Onalaska.

The material also served as a tool for hotel managers, helping them to educate employees and identify signs of possible trafficking.

The most important thing we tell them is to train your staff, Harold said.

One of the telltale signs of trafficking, Smith said, is a girl, often between the ages of 12 and 14, traveling with an older boyfriend. Smith said that many trafficking connections often get started online through social media. The packet even included a script Harold write to get volunteers started on their pitch to hotel managers.

Not only did Smith recruit nine volunteers, she and Harold joined the other volunteers to hit the pavement, setting a goal of reaching 32 hotels and motels in the La Crosse area.

I was a little nervous because we didnt know how people would respond to it, she said as she described her visits. Its hard to throw an elevator speech at them in a short period of time.

While neither Smith nor Harold encountered any negative response, Smith said some hotel operators seemed to have a better grasp of the problem.

Some were more perceptive than others, but everyone was on board, she said.

While Church Women United cant immediately know the outcomes of their work, the group will make return calls this month to see whether their visits paid off.

At least we planted a seed, said Smith. We got people having conversations about it.
The Southeastern Minnesota Arts Council has grant money to give out, and it is seeking submissions in three categories before the Oct. 1 deadline.

Grants in each category  Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund Grants, Presenter/Production Assistance Grants, and Small Towns/Rural Areas Grants  range from $3,000 to $10,000.

Karen Miller, SEMACs grant program manager, said the grants are restricted to arts and arts organizations. Non-profit organizations with arts programming also can apply for the cultural heritage grant.

People can request as much or as little as they need, she said. Its based on what the programs costs are.

Each grant category requires a 20 percent fund match.

The Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund Grants includes projects that give Minnesotans a chance to celebrate cultural heritage events and Minnesotas ethnic diversity.

First-time applicants for the category need to contact director@semac.org to ensure the proposed project fits the requirements. Grants in this category can range from $3,000 to $10,000.

Presenter Assistance Grants are intended to help regional arts organizations and educational institutions sponsor appearances by touring artists or companies who have demonstrated high levels of artistic quality.

Production Assistance grants are geared toward arts organizations with involvement in the creation, performance, publication, and exhibition of the arts in some fashion, and can range from $3,000 to $10,000.

Small Town/Rural Areas Grants provide funding of up to $3,000 to arts organizations, government entities, and public or non-religious private schools in towns with a population smaller than 7,500.

Miller said there are several grant writers in Winona who help most organizations with the process. SEMAC also offers grant writing assistance.

If they need assistance they can just contact us, she said.

Several Winona organizations have won one of these grants in the past, including Frozen River Film Festival, Great River Shakespeare Festival, Theatre du Mississippi, Winona Arts Center and Project FINE.

Awards are based strictly on the application; make sure you take the time to put in a good application, Miller said.
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Missing Ngunnawal man David Cross has been found safe and well and returned home on Sunday, police say.

On Saturday night police called for help to find the 80-year-old, who suffers from Alzheimer's Disease.

David Cross has not been seen since 8am on Saturday at his Ngunnawal home.

He had not been seen since Saturday morning.

ACT Policing thanked the public for their help.
Chief Minister Andrew Barr has met with several high-end international hotel groups in a bid to lure the firms to build major new hotels on several prominent Canberra sites.

During a recent trip to Hong Kong, Mr Barr met with representatives of Shangri-La Hotels and Marriott Hotels, the largest hotel group in the world, and has been 'actively seeking' a meeting with Hilton Hotels.

Chief Minister Andrew Barr says the National Archives building [East Block] could be an attractive investment for a boutique hotel. Credit:Jamila Toderas

He has also had discussions with Accor Group, which already have Mercure and Novotel hotels in Canberra, in an effort to attract that group to build a Sofitel in the capital.

Mr Barr said the aim was to attract high-end international hotel chains to capitalise on growing direct international flights to and from the ACT.
Canberrans have again flocked to EPIC to help support the Lifeline Book Fair whilst the staff enjoyed something a bit new.

Geoff Miller was giving his time on Saturday to give neck and shoulder massages to volunteers.

Mia Anderson 5, Jones Anderson 10, and Caelan Adnerson 7 searching for books. Credit:Dion Georgopoulos

Mr Miller's wife and son had previously volunteered but this was Mr Miller's first year. Instead of stacking books, he thought he'd try doing something else to help volunteers.

Mr Miller said Lifeline was an important service and the fair was great for an avid reader like him.
Let's see. Record-breaking hurricanes hitting the Americas and wildfires burning the western US. Global temperature records broken 14 of the last 15 years. Glaciers shrinking for the last 37 years straight. Drought tightening its grip across Australia, as the prospect looms of the bushfire season from hell. This must be a good time for the federal government to lecture an energy company that says coal is dead and has no economic future, and tell them: "Your 45-year-old power station has plenty more to give and we'd like to use taxpayer dollars to prop it up," yes? Bingo.

As absurd as this is now, I warrant that in 10 years' time it will look criminal in its negligence. And why the LNP government  so strong on the virtues of "market forces" in every other area of the economy  has the temerity to ignore it on this occasion, I have no clue. Or the arrogance to ignore AEMO, the energy market operator, which advised the government earlier in the week that baseload coal is going the way of the dodo. For it is those same market forces that are pushing renewable energy sources ahead around the globe, and leaving coal behind.

When Andy Vesey the CEO of AGL, said this week that his company was getting out of coal, it unleashed a torrent of abuse and tabloid vilification  as if he was doing this on a personal whim. He ain't. It is the market forces the government so respects, and Vesey (along with pretty much everyone in electricity sector) has been saying for months that coal can't compete with renewables.

"The new baseload for us is going to be large-scale renewables," he told The Australian in June, "firmed up by open-cycle gas and, eventually, when storage comes down, that's what it will be. Technology is driving this  we don't see any baseload other than renewables."
On Tuesday, the Australian Bureau of Statistics will begin mailing out the postal survey on same-sex marriage.

Some behind the no campaign have conflated a yes vote with all manner of societal decay. It will impact negatively on the nation, the family, children, religion, freedom of speech and businesses.

More than 20,000 people took to the streets in Melbourne for the Equal Love rally last month. Credit:Daniel Pockett

The Sunday Age refutes these arguments and urges Australians to vote yes.

First and foremost, yes, because at its heart, denying consenting adults the right to marry based on their gender and sexuality is discrimination. Equality under the law is  and always should be  the bedrock of a democracy.
By his own admission, Sydney's Chris Dunstan is an "energy wonk". Not only has he installed solar panels on the roof of his Hurlstone Park home, he has designed a system so his rainwater tanks store water for his airconditioning unit.

But the research director at the Institute for Sustainable Futures, based at the University of Technology, says householders don't need to be experts to better control how they consume energy.

Mr Dunstan has started using an app from local company Solar Analytics , which allows him to monitor how much energy his house is creating and how much it is using. This recently warned him his energy generation was dropping off, prompting him to chop of a branch that was shading one of the panels on his roof, and triple his solar output.

It also showed him the best times of day to run big household appliances  like his pool pump  so he can use his own solar-generated supply. For similar reasons, he now puts his dishwasher on a delay to run overnight, instead of after dinner.
A NSW high school teacher who sexually assaulted a student has had his prison term almost halved on appeal.

David Croxon, from Shoalhaven High School, used his position as a careers adviser to isolate and interfere with his teenage victim on school grounds. She would later tell a court that the abuse left her "irreversibly changed".

David Croxon allegedly assaulted the girl after making her toast in the staff room of Shoalhaven High School

Croxon pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated sexual assault and aggravated indecent assault and was was sentenced to 11 years, five months imprisonment in September.

But on Wednesday the Court of Criminal Appeal cut the term to five years, 11 months, finding the sentencing judge had erred in accumulating Croxon's sentence.
The NSW government has signalled its support for courtroom examinations of directors of the failed Guardian Youth Care charity, including former Wallaby Glen Ella, amid claims $20 million was misappropriated.

Guardian Youth Care collapsed in June after receiving more than $6 million in taxpayer funds each year to care for children with high needs and dangerous behaviour in group homes across Western Sydney.

Former Wallaby player and chief executive of Guardian Youth Care Glen Ella leaves his home. Credit:Kate Geraghty

The Department of Family and Community Services stands as the not-for-profit's largest creditor, claiming it is owed $19.6 million paid by the charity to related entities in unauthorised subcontracts.

A Fairfax Media investigation in June questioned the company's solvency and examined a series of unusual loans to these related entities, some of which were owned and run by former criminals.
MOORHEAD, Minn.  A federal judge has put a temporary stop to construction on the Red River flood diversion project while a court challenge brought by Minnesota and other opponents proceeds.

U.S. District Judge John Tunheim agreed the $2.1 billion project requires permits from Minnesotas Department of Natural Resources, and without them work affecting Minnesota waters must stop.

The diversion plan calls for a large levee to be built south of Fargo-Moorhead to hold back flood waters from the Red River and divert them into a 30-mile-long channel around the cities. A permit was required because the Minnesota DNR considered the levee to be a high-hazard dam.

Opponents say the project will flood farmland and displace residents south of Fargo-Moorhead, while protecting land that is currently in the floodplain in North Dakota. They argue that options other than the diversion should have been considered and that the current diversion design should be modified to reduce upstream impacts.

Minnesota DFL Gov. Mark Dayton praised Tunheims ruling.

This ruling is excellent news for the safety and protection of Minnesotans, whose lands and livelihoods could be devastated by the diversion project, as proposed, the governors statement read. Importantly, it also upholds Minnesotas rightful permitting authority.

Last October, the Minnesota DNR rejected permits for the Red River flood diversion based on negative environmental and social impacts. However, the Army Corps of Engineers subsequently awarded a contract to start construction on the project, which prompted the states decision to join the lawsuit initially filed by other opponents.

Todays decision clearly and unequivocally confirmed DNRs position that the federal legislation authorizing this project requires state permits, DNR Commissioner Tom Landwehr said in a statement. As the DNR has stated consistently in this matter, the public interest is not served by allowing the Corps and Diversion Authority to invest public funds in construction in the absence of the required state permits, which are designed to protect the public and the environment.

In his ruling, Tunheim urged all parties to find a workable solution.

The Fargo Moorhead Diversion Authority issued a statement expressing disappointment in Tunheims decision and indicating it may appeal. However, it didnt rule out working toward a compromise.

This ruling delays the protection of every family, business, and home in our community, said Fargo Mayor Tim Mahoney, who also chairs the diversion authority. We will keep working hard toward establishing flood protection for the Fargo and Moorhead communities, hopefully we can do that in partnership with Minnesota.
Former federal MP Philip Ruddock will become Hornsby's new mayor 43 years since entering federal politics, but the Liberals were otherwise facing bad news in party strongholds, including swings against the party of up to 15 points, as counting for yesterday's council elections continues.

About 2.8 million people were enrolled to vote in the elections, the first since the state government dropped its plans to merge councils, including those that had been locked in legal actions against the government.

Philip Ruddock will be Hornsby's mayor. Credit:AAP

Complete results may not be known for days and until the distribution of preferences but the dozen NSW councils that elect mayors directly have quicker counts.

Labor was quick to claim victory in three councils only hours after polls closed: re-elections in the mayoral race for Newcastle, Burwood in Sydney's inner west and a forecast majority on Sydney's newly formed largest council, Canterbury-Bankstown, which has about 350,000 residents.
Survivors of suicide attempts will receive supportive text messages under a landmark trial that will be conducted by Sydney hospitals.

The text messages will feature words of support and information about how to access help for patients for up to a year after their discharge.

A landmark suicide prevention trial has been launched by NSW Health. Credit:Jay Cronan

The trial will start at Westmead Hospital before expanding to Nepean and Blacktown hospitals and it is hoped that the new service will complement existing treatment options.

"At Westmead's emergency department we see six to eight people each day following suicide attempts or a self-harm episode. This trial will see some of these people receive SMS messages every one to two months for one year, following their discharge from hospital," senior psychiatrist at Westmead Hospital, Dr Manish Anand, said.
Dual nationals might not be welcome in Australia's parliament  the Barnaby Joyce citizenship saga has reminded us all of that.

But meet Ibrahim Ahmed Reigal, an Australian who sits in the parliament of Somaliland.

Mr Reigal divides his time between his constituency in the breakaway republic on the Horn of Africa and his family home at Sadlier, near Liverpool in Sydney's southwest.

The 72-year-old former school teacher and civil servant arrived in Australia as a refugee in 1995 but later returned to Somaliland to stand for election.
Men are becoming a token presence in our children's schools. In 2016 fewer than one in five primary school teachers were men and if the current rate of decline continues male teachers will be extinct by 2050.

Tim Clark taught English and media in Melbourne for three years immediately after leaving university. After a break of six years he went back to teaching but left again four years later.

The number of male teachers is falling. In 1977 men comprised 28 per cent of Australian primary school teachers. In 2016 that figure was 18 per cent. Credit:Jamieson Murphy

He said his reasons for leaving were personal as much as professional.

"Stress-related breakdown, frustration with bureaucracy, lack of support from leadership, demanding parents, poor training and no self-care were the things that drove me away from teaching," he said. "When teachers don't look after themselves, it's invariably the students who end up paying for it."
The same-sex marriage postal plebiscite will be held via an old-fashioned form of communication, but the debate it has unleashed is being conducted in the most contemporary of forums  and in Melbourne, that means both social media and street art.

Murals, stencils and paste-ups have been popping up in the city's alleyways, bollards and shop fronts since Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced the marriage equality survey last month, in a show of support for the "yes" campaign.

The Night Cat owner Justin Stanford with the 'yes' mural outside the Fitzroy club. Credit:Luis Ascui

Street artist Van T Rudd has put up three murals in recent weeks of rainbow-coloured angel wings with the words "I'm voting yes for marriage equality".

No stranger to controversy and political debate and a long-time equal marriage supporter, Mr Rudd said he designed the murals so passersby could take "selfies", engage with the work and spread its message online.
An 87-year-old woman died after being hit by a van driven by a 90-year-old man in a supermarket car park in Melbourne's southeast on Saturday.

The driver and the dead woman were from Moama.

A woman has died after being hit by a 90-year-old driver in a shopping centre car park. Credit:Paul Rovere

A worker said an older driver had struck his wife in the Woolworths car park at Lakeview Shopping Centre in Patterson Lakes.

Paramedics were called to the corner of Thompson Road and Gladesville Boulevard about 12.40pm.
Bangkok: Calls are growing for Australia to end its defence training and support to Myanmar's military which is accused of committing widespread atrocities against Rohingya civilians in the country's strife-torn Rakhine State.

Human rights groups have confirmed reports that Myanmar soldiers have planted internationally banned landmines along its border with Bangladesh as almost 300,000 Rohingya have fled Rakhine in the past fortnight,rapidly worsening the humanitarian crisis.

"Governments around the world who continue to train or sell arms to Myanmar's military are propping up a force that is carrying out a vicious campaign against Rohingya that amounts to crimes against humanity," said Tirana Hassan, Amnesty International's Crisis Response Director, who is at the Bangladesh-Myanmar border.

Australia agreed to further strengthen its defence ties with Myanmar's military, known as the Tatmadaw, at joint-country talks in March, after re-establishing a resident Defence Attache office in Myanmar in 2014. It has pledged $66 million in aid for Myanmar in 2017-18.
Paris: French Environment Minister Nicolas Hulot said extreme weather conditions like the powerful hurricane bearing down on Florida risked becoming the norm, and took a dig at US President Donald Trump's stance on climate change.

In an interview with France 2 TV about Hurricane Irma on Friday evening French time, Mr Hulot implied that Mr Trump - who has called global warming a hoax - was ignoring the reality of man-made climate change, which most mainstream scientists regard as an established fact.

Mr Trump said in May he was pulling the United States out of the landmark 2015 global agreement to fight climate change that was brokered in Paris, saying it would harm the US economy and cost jobs.

Irma - described by Mr Trump as a storm of "absolutely historic destructive potential" - pummelled Cuba and the Bahamas on Friday, and a second powerful hurricane, Jose, was tracking towards the northeastern Caribbean, with a third, Katia, right behind.
North Korea said the United States will "pay dearly" after its United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley said the isolated nation was "begging for war," again ratcheting up tensions as world leaders consider a fresh round of sanctions.

Describing Haley's comments to the UN this week as a "hysteric fit", a commentary in the state-run Korean Central News Agency on Friday warned the US of unspecified retribution. North Korea detonated its sixth and most powerful nuclear bomb on Sunday, and South Korea has said Kim Jong-un's regime may be planning to launch another intercontinental ballistic missile on Saturday.

"The US administration will have to pay a dear price for her tongue-lashing," KCNA said of Haley's remarks.

President Donald Trump's administration is pushing the UN Security Council to ban oil sales to North Korea in a fresh bid to pressure Kim. The North Korean leader is seeking the capability to strike the US with a nuclear weapon, and has said he won't negotiate unless America drops its "hostile" policies.
MINNEAPOLIS  As we have learned from talk about fake news, the definition of what is news  and even history  is often open to interpretation. A new show at the Minneapolis Institute of Art examines what was news in 18th century Europe.

The show is called Eyewitness Views.

Just as today, when you hosted a big bash or got some big award in the 18th century, you often wanted a picture. Of course, it was a little more complicated back then than whipping out your smartphone. You would want it done in oil by the best painter possible. Youd want it to have a little zip, or at least what passed as zip in the 1750s. And youd want it for your home, or the home of someone you wanted to impress.

These were all for personal consumption, said Patrick Noon, Mias chair of paintings. And they are great propaganda for whoever commissioned these paintings. Look at all these people who showed up for my event!

Noon stood in the middle of a gallery surrounded by large, sumptuous depictions of gatherings and presentations of decrees, with a couple of natural disasters thrown in for good measure. Most were made to dominate a room. Some were painted for palaces.

These are historical events that ... may have no relevance today, but they did at the time, said Noon.

Some of the events, such as the arrival in Rome of the French Duke de Choiseul to present his credentials as an ambassador to the pope in 1754, merited several images. The paintings are very large. Its easy to spot the duke as the most brightly dressed person in the picture, but its striking how he is just one of hundreds of quite small figures all over the canvas. Noon said that was deliberate.

The point was to show as many people as you possibly could, but also of every class, he said. The crowd was YUGE! he continued, laughing. But the idea was to get as many people into these pictures as possible, because ... like the architectural setting itself, it adds a certain amount of gravitas to the whole thing. Oh yeah, this is really important.

Many of the pictures are of scenes in Rome; even more are of Venice. Its a feast for the eyes. But Noon pointed out that, quite often, what the artist painted was not the actual event.

In Venice, it was expected that a new ambassador would arrive in a fleet of sumptuous barges specially built for the occasion. Not only did that take an enormous amount of money, it also took time. So what would happen, Noon said, was that an ambassador would arrive and quickly present his credentials to the doge.

And then they would go out and theyd start spending huge amounts of money to get this kind of event staged, and they would re-stage this event that was very important for them, and then they would have these artists paint these events, he said.

Sometimes, depending on the circumstances, the painter might not even see the re-staging, and would have to imagine the event. Even when the artist was there, it was also fair game to make things look even more spectacular than they were in real life. Some artists added entire floors to buildings, or painted interior scenes from a perspective that could only have been gained from outside a building, through some sort of X-ray vision.

Noon said while most of these paintings depict events that have no real bearing on our lives today, they do represent a significant time. Theres a picture of a balloon flight witnessed by Benjamin Franklin during his time in Paris. These pictures are packed with information.

You can look at this from any different perspective, he said. Including the history of costume, the history of culture, the history of painting. There is so much visual material in here to digest, but its a fun thing to do.

And if you want the history, its explained on the wall, and even more extensively in a show catalogue. Its huge.
Notre Dame beats Youngstown State in men's basketball

Notre Dame men's basketball doesn't have to wait long to take the court again at Purcell Pavilion
The Allamakee County Sheriffs Office says 55-year-old Richard Weber was killed when he was caught in a piece of farm equipment. Another person, identified as 52-year-old Christopher Weber, was seriously injured when he, too, became caught in the forage wagon.
Charleston, SC (29403)

Today

Except for a few afternoon clouds, mainly sunny. High 61F. Winds NNE at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy skies early with showers later at night. Thunder possible. Low 53F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
Georgetown, SC (29440)

Today

Sunshine and clouds mixed. High 59F. Winds NNE at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy during the evening. A few showers developing later during the night. Low 49F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%.
Georgetown, SC (29440)

Today

Sunshine and clouds mixed. High 58F. Winds NNE at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy in the evening. Increasing clouds with periods of showers after midnight. Low near 50F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%.
Port Louis (Mauritius), Sept 05, 2017 (SPS) - A Saharawi delegation took part at a meeting of the African Union (AU) expert group on the draft protocol annexed to the Treaty establishing the African Economic Community on the freedom of movement of people, the right of residence and the right of settlement, held in Port Louis, capital of Mauritius, from 4 to 6 September 2017.

The meeting of the expert group of African Union countries comes after the meetings of the Ghanaian capital Accra and the Rwandan capital Kigali with a view to adopting a roadmap for the implementation of the Protocol, in accordance with the decision of the Summit of Heads of State and Government in Kigali 2016, welcoming the implementation of the Protocol and the launching of the African passport.

The delegation includes the Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mohamed Laghdaf Mohamed Abdel Fattah and the First Secretary of the Sahrawi Embassy to the African Union, Mr. Abdullah Mohamed Siddamou. The meeting will discuss strengthening the implementation of the African Union's road map project and the Group of Experts with a view to accelerating the implementation of the Protocol.

The draft protocol attached to the Treaty establishing the African Economic Community on the freedom of movement of persons, the right of residence and the right to settle under Article 43 of that Treaty, adopted in the Nigerian capital of Abuja by the Summit of Heads of State and Government on 3 June 1991. SPS

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Eyes on the storms

The United States was captivated by two storms during the week  one that had come and gone, another that hadnt arrived yet. The death toll from Harvey, which ravaged Houston and the surrounding Texas area at the end of August with more than 4 feet of rain, climbed to at least 70 as residents began the long process of recovering. Businesses slowly reopened as the high water levels receded, and Congress worked on a multi-billion-dollar emergency disaster aid package.

Meanwhile, Irma became the most potent Atlantic Ocean hurricane ever. A powerful Category 5 storm with winds that reached 185 mph, Irma was expected to rip into heavily populated South Florida by early Sunday, prompting the governor to declare an emergency and officials to impose mandatory evacuation orders for parts of the Miami metro area and the Florida Keys. Forecasters said Irma could punish the entire Atlantic coast of Florida and rage on into Georgia and the Carolinas.

Trump makes debt-limit deal

President Donald Trump briskly overruled congressional Republicans and his own treasury secretary Wednesday to cut a deal with Democrats to keep the government operating and raise Americas debt limit. The immediate goal was ensuring money for hurricane relief, but in the process the president brazenly rolled his own partys leaders.

Trump sided with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, as they pushed for the three-month debt-limit extension deal, brushing aside the urgings of GOP leaders and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin for a much longer extension.

Natural disasters

Natural disasters have nearly quadrupled in number since 1970 and the United States has experienced the most disasters since 1995, followed by China and India, the United Nations chief said Tuesday. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters that in recent days the world has seen the dramatic aggravation of climate change with unprecedented events caused by storms and flooding from Texas to Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Sierra Leone. Before the current floods, he said, preliminary reports registered 2,087 deaths this year from natural disasters. With the latest floods, that number will at least double.

President ends dreamer program

President Donald Trump has begun dismantling Barack Obamas program protecting hundreds of thousands of young immigrants who were brought into the country illegally as children. He declared on Tuesday that he loves the dreamers who could face deportation but insisted its up to Congress, not him, to address their plight. Trump didnt specify what he wanted done, essentially sending a six-month time bomb to his fellow Republicans in Congress who have no consensus on how to defuse it.

For all of those (DACA) that are concerned about your status during the 6 month period, you have nothing to worry about - No action!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 7, 2017

Amazon looking for new prime location

Amazon, bursting out of its Seattle headquarters, is hunting for a second home. Must haves: A prime location, close to transit, with plenty of space to grow. The company said Thursday it will spend more than $5 billion to build another headquarters in North America to house as many as 50,000 employees.

North Korea

Following U.S. warnings to North Korea of a massive military response, South Korea fired missiles into the sea to simulate an attack on the Norths main nuclear test site on Monday, a day after North Korea detonated its largest-ever nuclear test explosion. South Koreas Defense Ministry also said Monday that North Korea appeared to be planning a future missile launch, possibly of an ICBM, to show off its claimed ability to target the United States with nuclear weapons, though it was unclear when that might happen.

Trump Jr. denies collusion with Russia

President Donald Trump's eldest son cast his meeting with a Russian lawyer last year as simply an opportunity to learn about Hillary Clinton's "fitness, character or qualifications," insisting to Senate investigators behind closed doors that he did not collude with Russia to hurt her campaign against his father.

Donald Trump Jr.'s description of the June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower in New York, delivered in a statement Thursday at the outset of a Senate panel's staff interview, provided his most detailed account yet of an encounter that has drawn close scrutiny from Congress and special counsel Robert Mueller.

Equifax breach exposes 143 million people to identity theft

Credit monitoring company Equifax has been hit by a high-tech heist that exposed the Social Security numbers and other sensitive information about 143 million Americans. Now the unwitting victims have to worry about the threat of having their identities stolen.

The Atlanta-based company, one of three major U.S. credit bureaus, said Thursday that "criminals" exploited a U.S. website application to access files between mid-May and July of this year.

The theft obtained consumers' names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses and, in some cases, driver's license numbers. The purloined data can be enough for crooks to hijack the identities of people whose credentials were stolen through no fault of their own, potentially wreaking havoc on their lives. Equifax said its core credit-reporting databases don't appear to have been breached.

Russian Facebook ads

Hundreds of fake Facebook accounts, probably run from Russia, spent about $100,000 on ads aimed at stirring up divisive issues such as gun control and race relations during the 2016 U.S. presidential election, the social network said Wednesday.

Although the number of ads is relatively small, the disclosure provides a more detailed peek into what investigators believe was a targeted effort by Russians to influence U.S. politics during the campaign, this time through social media.

Super streaming

Star Wars and the Marvel comic-book movies will join Disneys upcoming streaming service, potentially giving it broader appeal beyond families with young children. The Disney service will be the only place to stream those movies on demand in the U.S. as part of a monthly subscription.

Royal baby No. 3

Prince William and his wife, the Duchess of Cambridge, will soon welcome a third child to the royal nursery. Kensington Palace officials announced Monday that the former Kate Middleton is pregnant. As with her other two pregnancies, she is suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum, or acute morning sickness, which caused her to miss 4-year-old Prince George's first day of school on Thursday.

New York Fashion Week begins

The first day of Fashion Week on Thursday brought glitz, glamour and a slew of celebrities at Tom Ford's '90s-themed show, and a prestigious award for designer Thom Browne. Raf Simons, the new star of American fashion since his debut collection in February for Calvin Klein, followed it up with his take on traditional Americana, with cowboy looks, quilts and pompoms. Simons also looked to Hollywood movies  and to Andy Warhol  for inspiration. Heidi Klum was at Fashion Week, not as a judge or model but as a budding designer.

CMA nominations

Miranda Lambert led the pack with five nominations for Country Music Association awards on Monday, with Little Big Town and Keith Urban earning four nods each.

Lambert was nominated for song and single of the year for "Tin Man," and also earned nods for album, female vocalist and best video of the year. Nominations for the 51st annual awards were announced on "Good Morning America." The ceremony is scheduled for Nov. 8 in Nashville.

Model policy

Two of the worlds biggest luxury goods conglomerates will stop working with unhealthily thin fashion models, as part of a joint charter signed Wednesday that aims to protect their health. The pact adopted by LVMH and Kering, which own brands like Dior, Gucci and Louis Vuitton, incorporates a new French law that requires models to provide medical certificates proving they are healthy before they can work.
United Kingdom September 5 2017

WSCUK is an independent voluntary organisation founded in 1984 with the aim of supporting the recognition of the right of the Saharawi people of Western Sahara to self-determination and independence and to raise awareness of the unlawful occupation of Western Sahara.

It issued proceedings against DEFRA and HMRC arguing that the UK was unlawfully allowing products, originating from or processed in Western Sahara, to be imported into the UK under a trade agreement with Morocco.

Solicitor Rosa Curling of law firm Leigh Day, acting for WSCUK, claims this is unlawful and that it is clear that Moroccan territorial jurisdiction does not extend to the territory of Western Sahara or to the territorial sea adjacent to Western Sahara.

Therefore, goods and products produced in Western Sahara should not to be treated as originating from Morocco for the purposes of preferential tariffs or any other benefits conferred upon Moroccan products by the European Union.

The same is true in relation to fishing quotas allocated in the seas located off the coast of Western Sahara.

The court has called for an oral hearing in the Grand Chamber, before the full court of 15 judges. It is rare for the whole court to hear a case before it, indicating the complexity and importance of the issues involved in this case.

A number of state parties and EU institutions are expected to make submissions to the court at the hearing, as Interested Parties in the proceedings. These include submissions on behalf of the Moroccan Confederation of Agriculture and Rural Development (COMADER), the Kingdom of Spain, the French Republic, Portugal, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission.

Neither HMRC nor DEFRA are expected to provide submissions to the Court.

The case was referred to the CJEU, from the UK High Court, in early 2016 following a hearing in October 2015. In the High Court judgment handed down on 20 October 2015 the Hon Mr Justice Blake said:

I conclude that there is an arguable case of a manifest error by the Commission in understanding and applying international law relevant to these agreements.

John Gurr, of the Western Sahara Campaign UK, said:

The Western Sahara Campaign is looking forward to its day in the Court of Justice of the European Union - it is time the court considered the legality of UK trade with Western Sahara. The injustices that the Saharawi have suffered for over 40 years of occupation by Moroccan forces have been compounded by the refusal of the international community to enforce international law.

We are confident that as no nation recognises Moroccan claims to Western Sahara that any trade agreements that the European Union makes with Morocco (and which therefore apply to the United Kingdom) cannot be applied to items traded from the Western Sahara until the status of the territory has been decided through a referendum of self-determination.

Rosa Curling, of law firm Leigh Day who is representing WSCUK, said:

I am delighted for my clients that the court will consider oral submissions on their case. This demonstrates the importance of this case and that the court is keen to ensure that all the evidence can be presented and considered by the court.

WSCUKs case will be presented to the court by Kieron Beal QC. The judgment in the case is not expected to be received at the one-day hearing, but rather to be handed down at a later date. (SPS)

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By Albertina Nakale

Windhoek  President Hage Geingob has reminded the world that the protracted Western Sahara issue still needs sorting out.

Namibia has on many occasions undertaken not to tire in its quest to see Morocco, which was recently re-admitted into the African Union (AU), give up its illegal occupation of Western Sahara.

Geingob made the call in Windhoek yesterday when he addressed a conference of the African-European party dialogue of socialists and democrats, aimed at overcoming inequality as a political challenge.

"I don't know why socialists are quiet. We are not assisting those who want to get their independence. In Europe and Africa, we are not helping them [Western Sahara] to get self-independence. We don't hear [anything] it's only Southern Africa. Why are you quiet?" Geingob asked.

The president is hopeful that Europeans and other African nations will follow Namibia's stance to stand up against Morocco's occupation of Western Sahara.

Geingob has on many occasions spoken out in support of the right to self-determination of the people of Western Sahara, following similar stern demands by National Assembly Speaker Professor Peter Katjavivi and International Relations Minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah.

In an interview with New Era, Katjivivi echoed Geingob's stance for the global community to stand up and speak out in support of the people of Western Sahara.

He revealed that members of the Namibian parliament are due to attend the Interparliamentary Union (Union) Conference in Russia in October, where they will make sure to push the agenda for self-determination for the people of Western Sahara.

"All member parliaments are going to be there. We are interested to see that the voice of the people of Western Sahara is heard. There is the danger now that Morocco has been campaigning for and pushing its own agenda and basically trying to undermine the solidarity and support being extended to the people of Western Sahara. We cannot afford to undermine the push for freedom and independence for the people of Western Sahara," Katjavivi told New Era yesterday.He explained it is in that context that he welcomed Geingob's stance in reminding the world that the question of Western Sahara and Palestine is still outstanding.

"This in our view is unfinished business that the international community must address so that they too can gain their sovereignty. I really want to see delegates pushing that agenda," Katjivivi noted.

Geingob said Namibia has a longstanding history in its relationship with European progressive movements.

During Namibia's struggle for independence, he said, many organisations across Western Europe and Scandinavia stood in solidarity with Namibians in their struggle against apartheid South Africa.

He explained that they offered material and diplomatic support which helped shed light on Namibia's plight to many people in Europe, leading to a groundswell of public support for the abolishment of apartheid and the independence of Namibia.

"The years of Africa's struggle against colonial rule were tumultuous. The world was in a state of geo-political flux, caught between two superpowers engaged in an economic, military and ideological tug of war. The bipolar environment led to a situation in which several proxy wars ignited across the world and Africa found itself caught in the middle of this ideological impasse."

Throughout this political malaise, he added, European progressives maintained their unwavering commitment towards Namibia's struggle for independence

But with the gain of political independence, Geingob said, the struggle is not complete. He therefore said there is a need for their support in completing Namibia's struggle for economic independence.(SPS)

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When it comes to saving money for retirement, Americans have a wide range of different options from which to choose. This can be both good news and bad news: It's good in the sense that having multiple options makes it easier to select the one thats best for your retirement savings goals and resources. But it can be bad if all the different choices cause confusion and, eventually, "analysis paralysis."

To help clear up some of the potential confusion, we'll take a close look at two of the most popular types of qualified retirement plans: the Individual Retirement Account (IRA) and the 401(k) plan.

IRAs: The Granddaddy of Retirement Savings Accounts

Since 1975 when they were first introduced, millions of Americans have used IRAs to help secure their retirement future. The beauty of IRAs is that they not only provide an easy way to save for retirement, but they may also offer an immediate tax break. Depending on several different factors, you may be able to deduct your annual IRA contributions and thus lower your current tax bill.

There are two different types of IRAs: traditional IRAs and Roth IRAs. The latter were introduced in 1997 and named after Senator William Roth, who sponsored the legislation that created them.

With a traditional IRA, annual contributions are generally tax-deductible if you do not participate in an employer-sponsored retirement plan. If you do participate in a retirement plan at work, the amount of your deduction will be limited or eliminated based on your income. Traditional IRAs offer retirement investors the potential to benefit from long-term, tax-deferred asset growth. Money grows without being taxed until distributions begin, at which time ordinary income rates apply.

Roth IRAs, meanwhile, are different from traditional IRAs in several key respects. First, Roth contributions are made with after-tax income, so you do not receive a current tax deduction as you do with a traditional IRA. However, this is offset for many people by the fact that Roth IRA earnings are tax-free when withdrawn. In contrast, traditional IRA earnings are just tax-deferred  taxes must be paid at whatever your ordinary income tax rate is when you start taking distributions in retirement.

Another big difference is the fact that a 10 percent early distribution penalty generally applies to funds withdrawn from a traditional IRA before age 59. This penalty is in addition to income taxes that must also be paid at this time. However, Roth IRA contributions (not earnings) can be withdrawn penalty- and tax-free at any age if the account has been open for at least five years. In addition, Roth IRAs are not subject to required minimum distributions (RMDs) when you reach 70 years old like traditional IRAs are.

If you make too much money, however, you cannot open or contribute to a Roth IRA. The Roth IRA eligibility limits in 2017 are modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) in excess of $133,000 and up (if you are single) or $196,000 (if you are a married couple filing jointly). If your MAGI this year is between $118,000 and $133,000 (if you're single) or $186,000 to $196,000 and up (if youre a married couple filing jointly), you can make a partial Roth IRA contribution.

The 2017 annual contribution limit for IRAs (both traditional and Roth combined) is $5,500, or $6,500 if you are 50 years of age or older. So if you are 50 years old, you can contribute $3,250 to a Roth IRA and $3,250 to a traditional IRA this year if you want to utilize both types of IRAs, and your spouse can do the same thing with separate traditional and Roth IRAs.

401(k)s: The Most Popular Employer-Sponsored Plan

401(k) plans first became widespread in the 1980s when many companies started replacing defined benefit pension plans with defined contribution plans that are funded primarily by employees, not employers. They are now the most popular employer-sponsored retirement plan in the U.S. In fact, the term "401(k)" has almost become synonymous with retirement savings.

401(k)s are established by businesses for the benefit of their employees, who make tax-deductible contributions (or salary deferrals, as they are referred to) into their individual 401(k) accounts. Each pay period, a percentage of your salary will be deducted from your pay and automatically contributed into your account.

Just like IRAs, 401(k)s come in two flavors: traditional and Roth. Traditional 401(k) contributions are made on a pre-tax basis  or in other words, the money is taken out of your pay before it is taxed. This not only lowers your current taxable income, but it allows earnings to grow without taxation, with taxes paid at ordinary income tax rates when distributions are taken during retirement. Also like traditional IRAs, withdrawals from traditional 401(k)s before age 59 may be subject to a 10 percent early distribution penalty, and RMDs must begin no later than age 70.

Roth 401(k)s enable high earners who cannot open and fund Roth IRAs to benefit from the unique Roth tax benefits. Like Roth IRA contributions, Roth 401(k) contributions are made on an after-tax basis, so you will receive no current benefit. However, investment earnings within the Roth 401(k) grow tax-free and fund withdrawals are also untaxed after age 59 if the account has been open for five years or longer.

Many, but not all, businesses choose to match their employees' 401(k) contributions at some percentage, like 50 cents for each dollar you contribute, for example. This is one of the biggest benefits of 401(k) plans for some employees  an employer match is the equivalent of a guaranteed, no-risk investment return. Note that employer matches to Roth 401(k)s are made with pre-tax dollars and accumulate in a separate account that will be taxed as ordinary income at withdrawal. They may also be subject to vesting rules that restrict your ability to keep the money unless you work for the company for a certain number of years.

Did you know that since 1996, the first Friday after Labor Day has been celebrated as National 401(k) Day? The dual holidays mean most Americans begin the week relaxing on Labor Day, but working on a day that honors Retirement!

Let the free MoneyTips Retirement Planner help you calculate when you can retire without jeopardizing your lifestyle.
A serious teacher shortage is plaguing school districts across the country. The Learning Policy Institute (LPI) recently found that in addition to teachers leaving the profession, enrollment in teacher preparation programs has dropped 35 percent.

It is no wonder. Over the past decade, teachers have been subjected to a barrage of unproven mandates that hamper learning. They are judged by evaluation systems, based on student test scores, that experts and courts across this country have rejected as arbitrary and invalid. And, as one former teacher and current Colorado state senator remarked, Teachers are constantly being bashed ... Its not the same job it used to be.

Connecticut is no exception to the teacher shortage, nor to its causes. Teachers have undergone a revolving door of evidence-free mandates, invalid evaluations and vilification from our governor who infamously declared that all teachers have to do for four years is show up to get tenure. Every year, hundreds of positions go unfilled in Connecticut classrooms.

LPI issued a report in 2016 on the causes of the teacher shortage, based on a review of an extensive body of research. Of particular note for Connecticut is the finding that inadequate preparation is a major factor in teacher attrition. Alternatively certified teachers have markedly higher turnover rates than traditionally certified teachers, with the largest disparities in high-minority schools. Teachers with comprehensive preparation were 21/2 times less likely to leave than those with weak preparation. Accordingly, LPI recommends providing scholarships and loan forgiveness for strong teacher preparation programs, and robust induction programs.

Some districts are making strides in identifying and addressing the root causes of teacher shortages. In Niagara Falls, New York, for example, the district embarked on a multipronged effort to cultivate teachers, particularly teachers of color. The district provides a scholarship for a graduate of its high school entering the teaching program at Niagara University. It also received an endowment at Niagara University for paraprofessionals who want to be trained as teachers; and provides financial assistance, reduced workloads and other supports to ensure success.

Niagara Falls public schools provide high school seniors with the opportunity to shadow teachers as an internship. Twelfth-grade teachers partner with Niagara University to ensure that students will not incur the expense of remedial education once they matriculate. They have also partnered with the local community college to establish academies such as the physical education academy. The superintendent reaches out to local African-American churches to request contact with graduates who have left the area in order to entice them to return. However, the superintendent does not favor lowering certification standards or weakening preparation. Those avenues would not only devalue the profession but also would harm the needy children in his district.

As featured in my previous column, Long Beach, California, also partners with its local university to train teachers, who student teach in the districts schools. The high-poverty district has a 92-percent retention rate and credits its partnership with the university for protecting it against teacher shortages.

Connecticut had promising programs for growing teachers. Last year, Bridgeport initiated a comprehensive minority recruitment program for paraprofessionals to become teachers. Hartford, Waterbury and CREC had similar programs. Just as this program was to expand, the state pulled the funding. The State Department of Education (SDE) had a successful program, Teaching Opportunities for Paraprofessionals, however its funding was eliminated in 2002.

Connecticut also has high quality, university-based teacher preparation programs, which have made efforts to identify and address specific shortage areas and minority recruitment.

Rather than build on these successful efforts, SDE and the State Board of Education seek to weaken teaching. Last year, they approved an unproven fly-by-night outfit called Relay to provide alternative certification.

Now, they intend to lower teacher certification requirements. One idea they are considering is abandoning the requirement that bilingual teachers have content certification, as if English Language Learners do not deserve a teacher who knows the subject she teaches.

Weakening teacher preparation or certification will exacerbate the teacher shortage problem. As LPI found, poorly prepared teachers do not stay long. And schools serving our neediest kids are most at-risk of this disruption.

New Yorks Education Commissioner and Board of Regents Chancellor just issued a forceful letter supporting strong teacher certification standards. As they point out no parent wants their child to be assigned to a classroom teacher who has not had the best training.

Connecticuts most vulnerable students need and deserve a strong and stable teaching force. The states current ill-conceived plans would undermine this vital goal.

Wendy Lecker is a columnist for the Hearst Connecticut Media Group and is senior attorney at the Education Law Center.
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A former Gering Police sergeant has been charged in Scotts Bluff County Court, accused of stealing from a program that provides kids with gifts for their family members.

According to Scotts Bluff County Court documents, Henry Moreno, 40, has been charged with three counts of theft by taking, a Class II misdemeanor.

An arrest affidavit was not filed in the case, but the complaint states that Moreno took different amounts from the Shop with a Cop program on three separate occasions: $500 in August 2016; $300 in March 2017; and $500 in June 2017.

Moreno was issued a citation on Sept. 6 by Doug Warner, a deputy attorney with the Nebraska Attorney Generals Office. Moreno is scheduled to appear in Scotts Bluff County Court on Sept. 22.

Moreno, who had been a longtime detective and most recently a sergeant with the Gering Police Department, had been one of the organizers with the Shop with a Cop program. In 2016, Moreno said the program had helped more than 100 kids. He had been lauded for his accomplishments in programs working with kids, such as being Gering's first school resource officer, serving for two years, working to fundraise for CAPstone and other work. In 2016, Moreno received the Outstanding Police Officer award from Kiwanis.

Moreno had resigned from the Gering Police Department in August, though personal reasons were cited.
As local people read about and watch video of the flooding victims that Harvey left in its watery wake, the first instinct of many is to want to help.

That's indicative of the caring hearts possessed by North Country residents.

Even though they sat here safely through a week of beautiful weather, empathy was strong for the distraught residents of Houston and other southern cities.

But people who donate need to feel confident that the money they part with will make it to the people most in need. So it's important to choose carefully where your donation is directed.

The Press-Republican recently received a letter from Art Taylor, president and CEO of the Better Business Bureau's give.org branch. His warning seems especially pertinent at this time, so we share it here:

"While the vast majority of soliciting charities act responsibly and deserve your support, Americans must remember that not all organizations are created equal.

"Case in point: In 2015, the Federal Trade Commission, all 50 states and the District of Columbia charged four sham cancer charities with bilking donors of $187 million over a five-year period.

"The New York Times reported these charity operators spent a significant portion of the money on personal expenses.

"And they hired fundraisers who often received 85 percent or more of collected funds.

"Charity fraud has consequences. Generous donors lose money, social issues stay unsolved, and the needful remain in need.

"But it can be avoided  scams have common signs. If a charity solicits you, ask specific questions to get details; be on guard against aggressive fundraising tactics; and be cautious if they try tugging at your heartstrings.

"Above all, check them out using a charity evaluator, such as BBB's Give.org, which help donors of all kinds decide which charities to trust with their donations.

"So, when you're donating, do it with peace of mind by taking the time to check out the charity first. It just might make all the difference," Taylor concluded.

If you go to Give.org, you can put in the name of a charity and search how it rates on a number of categories ranked by the Better Business Bureau.

 The Press-Republican

We and others criticized President Donald Trump last month for insisting that white supremacists and neo-Nazis were not the only ones to blame for violence that broke out at their rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. We still believe these groups' agenda to eliminate whole categories of people was the worst part of that incident and deserved unqualified revulsion by national leaders.

Nevertheless, we do not excuse violence by other extremists, either. They, too, are a national problem.

That was demonstrated Aug. 27, when a "Rally Against Hate" was held in Berkeley, California. It drew about 2,000 participants, most intent on making a peaceful statement.

Reporters chronicled that the anarchists, sometimes called anti-fascists or "antifa," attacked at least four people, according to The Associated Press. Their ferocity was such that police had to use a smoke bomb to drive them away from one man they had attacked.

Earlier in the day, another group of left-wing protesters also dressed in black assaulted three men in a park.

Ironically, this park is named for the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., whose nonviolent  and effective  protests against racism and injustice ought to be an enduring template.

Also ironically, some of the anarchist thugs were carrying shields on which they had written, "No hate."

They wear masks to hide their identities, like many terror squads throughout human history.

Here in the United States of America, we believe in the freedoms of speech and peaceable assembly. We do not accept violence of any sort as a means of silencing those with whom we disagree.

 The Adirondack Daily Enterprise

Standardized testing results for students in New York's public schools have been released and, once again this year, there are plenty of reasons for hand-wringing as well as head-scratching.

On the whole, the numbers are not good. Data released last week by the state Department of Education showed 34 percent of Chautauqua County students scored as proficient in math compared to 32 percent in 2016. English language arts proficiency increased from 30 percent in 2016 to 32 percent this year. Statewide, the percentage of students proficient in ELA in grades three through eight increased 1.9 percent from 37.9 percent in 2016 to 39.8 percent this year, whereas the same figures for mathematics increased 1.1 percent from 39.1 percent to 40.2 percent this year.

It sounds as if we are making progress, but how many of those gains are addition by subtraction? Every school district in Chautauqua County except for Ripley had a portion of their students refuse to take the tests, with 43.1 percent of students in the Fredonia Central School District refusing the math test and 47.8 percent of Fredonia students refusing to take the math exams. An analysis of 2017 test refusers showed many, though certainly not all, test refusers hadn't shown proficiency in 2016 or didn't take the tests at all in 2016.

School district officials contacted by The Post-Journal say they are still digging into the data. We can say one thing with near certainty  only about one-third of Chautauqua County students are proficient in English language arts and math, by the state's own definitions.

These results are cause for concern  they mean nearly two-thirds of students in our schools right now aren't ready for college or a career. The students who end up in college will need remedial help in writing and math before they are ready for college-level courses. Those who end up in the workforce are going to need additional training before they are ready for jobs that can pay a living wage. Part of those children struggling to attain proficiency will likely find themselves in poverty.

 The Post-Journal
Everyone knows Jack Dawson and his lady love, Rose, from the Titanic. But few know about Martin and Margaret, Elias and Martha, two pairs of young lovers tied to the Titanic and ancestors of our local families. Two weeks ago, I was fortunate to visit the last port-of-call for the Titanic before her fateful voyage in April 1912, in the port city of Cobh, County Cork, Ireland. As is true with many deep topics, no pun intended, Ive become obsessed with the history behind the big ship and the stories of those on board.

Elias and Martha Essay were newlyweds, he from Alliance and she from Lebanon, returning from an extended honeymoon, when they literally missed the boat. Elias had made his way in the U.S. 15 years earlier, first in Omaha and then building two grocery stores in Alliance and Hemingford, before returning to Lebanon for his bride, betrothed at her birth and his departure for America.

Elias had sold his store with promises to return and buy it back, but he had a farm in Lebanon and a wedding to attend to first. He wrote the Alliance newspaper to let people know of his return aboard the Titanic and following her fateful demise, everyone here assumed he was at the bottom of the sea. When he returned on a later ship, they thought they were seeing ghosts.

The prodigious family went on to build several other businesses in Alliance and several of their great-grandchildren still live in Alliance. Another couple with Alliance and Hemingford connections was not so lucky.

Margaret Mannion and Martin Gallagher were engaged to be married. He had made a success in America, as well, and returned to Ireland for his bride, a distant cousin of my family whose precise relationship we have yet to determine. Enter Ancestry.com and Mannions by DNA.

Martin and Margaret were traveling in third class steerage, like Jack Dawson, and were barred from getting to the lifeboats as quickly as the first and second class passengers. However, Martin took charge of a large group of Irish immigrants, broke down literal barriers and pushed aside sailors to get his bride, her companion and their group of five to the boat deck along with dozens of his other countrymen and women. There were only enough boats for a third of the passengers, but Margaret and Mary Ellen Mockler, her best friend, were able to board Lifeboat 13.

Mockler received an Aran sweater from one of their Irish companions and Margaret was gifted a fur wrap by a first class lady on the lifeboat. Historical accounts reveal Madeline Astor, the pregnant 19-year-old bride of John Jacob Astor IV, the richest man in the world at the time, also shared her fur with a shivering immigrant aboard the lifeboat, but the two were likely not on the same boat.

Martin Gallagher and his two male friends went down with the boat, as did Mr. Astor. The main difference between the mens deaths was Astor fought for a seat on his wifes lifeboat, while Gallagher clutched his rosary and bravely stepped back to make room for more third class women and children.

Astor left $69 million to his adult son and a measly $5 million to his young bride and unborn son. The battle in court lasted for years. Madeline Astor was from high society and had signed a prenuptial agreement.

In the meanwhile, Margaret and Mary Ellen were picked up by the Carpathia 12 hours later and taken to Ellis Island. Mary Ellen became a nun and Margaret a domestic servant, returning to Ireland seven years later to marry and start a family.

When we visited the Titanic Museum at Cobh two weeks ago, our tickets were facsimiles of the original boarding passes. My pass put me in first class and my altar-ego Daisy survived the crash. Fortuitously, my two sisters both received passes for Mary Helen Mockler and the ticket agent found three copies of Margaret Mannions pass, as well.

Id like to say when Margaret was saved, she was secretly married on board the Titanic and her unborn son became my great-grandfather. Id also like to say I inherited Astors millions. As it was, Margaret was a survivor in many ways and her DNA lives on in the homeland. I will connect with her family there eventually, but one day soon her story will become the stuff of my novella and you are all invited to the book signing. Ideas for alternate endings are welcome.
Speaker of the Deputies' Chamber and Chairman of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) Liviu Dragnea stated on Friday that he told US Ambassador in Bucharest Hans Klemm during the discussions they carried out that the Justice laws will be voted in Parliament.

"I had a talk, a meeting, Mr Ambassador had requested this meeting for almost two weeks, now I could find room in the schedule and I welcomed him. We have talked about an event that is extremely important for Romania - the 'Trade Wins' economic forum, which I've talked about with him and a representative of some US companies in March. It was the first visit to Romania of a significant number of companies. There were some talks then about a roadmap that was handed to Sorin Grindeanu. (...) We're in the home stretch, we're on schedule with organising this event. I also talked about the famous intentions of amending the Justice laws," Dragnea said in Bistrita.

He mentioned he told the US Ambassador that the Justice laws will be debated in Parliament, adding he endorses the proposals of Minister Tudorel Toader.

"I have told Mr Ambassador what I also said publicly (...) that the laws are to be voted in Parliament and we will look carefully at all arguments that have and will come out (...) and the debate will begin, which will end in Parliament and only there, with these bills, I also assured him that these laws won't affect the good course of Justice. (...) I have seen the Magistrates Association's and other specialists' stand who are endorsing, to a large extent these proposals of Minister Toader which I also support. After seeing the proposals I am convinced that they will change the system for the better (...) and they will include magistrates' accountability and increase the independence of judges and our feeling that they can judge without being influenced by anyone," Dragnea stated.
If you were not yet convinced that your personal data was at risk from cyber thieves, the latest breach of 143 million consumer records at credit bureau Equifax should scare you straight.

Nick Clements, co-founder of personal finance site magnifymoney.com, goes about his daily life just assuming that his data will be stolen at some point. The irony is not lost on him that the latest incident involves a company tasked with tracking peoples credit and selling identity theft protection services.

If this wakes people up that their data is at risk, thats good, Clements said.

You can check to see if you were personally affected by the Equifax breach by entering in part of your Social Security number at equifaxsecurity2017.com. Or just assume that you were.

Whether your data was compromised through this, or some other means, the instructions for how to live in the shadow of identity theft are still the same.

Its important that people dont panic that this info is out there. Its also important that they dont take it too lightly, either, said Matt Schulz, senior industry analyst at creditcards.com.

The first step Schulz recommends is to get your credit reports from the three bureaus  Equifax, TransUnion and Experian  and make sure all of the information is correct. You are due one free credit report per year through the bureaus (annualcreditreport.com).

Next, figure out how to keep an eye on all your accounts. For those who used to balance a checkbook, the process will seem familiar  you need to make sure that everything the bank says you paid for, you actually did.

If you have given up this sort of oversight, check your transactions online frequently. The more often you check, the easier it is to do, because you have fewer things to go through, Schulz said.

Clements says he has alerts set up from his accounts and gets a text after every transaction more than a penny. Some say thats overkill, but the minute a charge goes through that I didnt authorize, I know about it, he said.

Secure passwords

Monitoring so many accounts might get tedious, which may prompt some people to trim the number of accounts they have, particularly bank accounts at different institutions where they would have multiple log-ins to manage and too many credit cards.

It will make your life less hectic, said Michael Kaiser, executive director of the National Cyber Security Alliance.

The most important account to manage and protect is your email, which is a gateway to all your financial accounts, including your tax records.

Make sure thats the most difficult account for other people to access, Kaiser said.

Having multifactor authentication that requires a code to be sent to you via your phone, or another device always in your possession, will help thwart both cybercriminals and more common thieves who know you personally.

Another option is credit monitoring programs, which are often offered free for a period of time for those affected by a data breach. Kaiser says there is no need to sign up with more than one if you are already enrolled for free due to one breach or another.

Ongoing monitoring for a monthly fee starting around $10 is also an option, and the service may also may come in a package with identify theft resolution, which Clements finds valuable. Otherwise, if something goes wrong, you will have to go through a long checklist of steps to remedy the situation, which is available at identitytheft.gov, a leading resource for information.

It really is all about being diligent on the back end, because there are so many things that you cant control, Schulz said.
Local radio host Spencer Graves hasnt visited his mother in southwestern Virginia in more than two years. And he quit calling her months ago.

It just hurts too much.

More than anything, I want my mom to be happy. And I know the fact that she doesnt recognize me anymore gets her upset and she gets confused, Graves said.

I dont want to be the cause of that.

Graves, less than a week shy of 35, is a morning-drive host at WARH-FM 106.5 (The Arch). He came to St. Louis in November 2015 from the Delaware/Philadelphia market.

And his mother, Dayl Graves, has Alzheimers disease.

Its been about 11 years since she was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimers, and its gotten worse over the years, Graves said.

Mom doesnt talk anymore, but she does laugh a lot, he said.

Thats why Graves will be the emcee at the annual Walk to End Alzheimers, set for Saturday at Scottrade Center. The event is sponsored by the Alzheimers Association of Greater Missouri.

Graves noted that the walks allow people to understand why research into this disease is most crucial.

At these walks, you never see anyone in the crowd whos wearing a bracelet that says survivor. With Alzheimers, no one even gets the chance to say, I beat this.

It never gets better.

The numbers provided by the local Alzheimers group show that more than 5 million Americans (more than 110,000 in Missouri) have Alzheimers, the sixth-leading cause of death in the U.S. and the only disease among the top 10 causes that cant be cured, prevented or slowed.

Graves had already left home for school and a radio career before his mother, an elementary and middle-school principal in Virginia, began showing signs of the illness and was diagnosed.

But he knew what was in store.

My father, oddly enough, has worked in nursing homes his whole life and now owns the one that my mother is in. But because of his (career), I was well familiar with Alzheimers and saw how it affected families when I would help out at the home when he was young.

But it still didnt prepare him for the ache that came the first time he realized his mother no longer recognized him, or even the sadness.

I went back east two and a half years ago, and we took a family trip to Connecticut. I noticed a few things wrong, but she was in pretty good shape.

But when we got back to Virginia, I went out to lunch with her and my dad. I was sitting across from them and my mom had started crying  because she couldnt remember who that man was sitting across the table from her.

Graves noted immediately that it was a sad affair. I went home and cried for about 15 minutes, he said.

But he did not weep for his own loss or hurt feelings.

I dont feel awful for myself because my mom doesnt remember me now. I just appreciate the 23-plus years when she wasnt sick, he said.

But I feel bad because she worked so hard her whole life, and then she got her retirement robbed from her, the time that was supposed to be the golden years for her and my dad, he said.

Graves said the toll hits home also when he thinks of his brother, Alex, and the new child he and his wife adopted.

She doesnt get to be that awesome grandma that I know she would have been, he said.

He said the last time they talked on the phone, he could sense his mothers tension and confusion through the lines.

It hurt her and me, and I just cant do that to her, he said.

Some comfort resides in knowing that his mother is staying in his fathers facility, Graves said. He visits her every day and holds her hand. She still recognizes him.

So expect to see Graves at other Alzheimers-related events in the future.

As long as I have a voice and a place to use it, he said, Im going to keep talking about it.

For more information about the walk, call 314-852-9412.
The future of religion in America is young, non-Christian and multicolored.

Almost every Christian denomination in the U.S. shows signs of growing diversity as white Christians, once the majority in most mainline Protestant and Catholic denominations, give way to younger members, who tend to be of different races, according to a study released Wednesday by the Public Religion Research Institute.

And American evangelicals  once seemingly immune to the decline experienced by their Catholic and mainline Protestant neighbors  are losing numbers and losing them quickly.

Americans also are continuing to move away from organized religion altogether, as atheists, agnostics and those who say they do not identify with any particular religion  the group known as the nones  hold steady at about one-quarter (24 percent) of the population.

The study, Americas Changing Religious Identity, contacted 101,000 Americans in 50 states and has an overall margin of error of plus or minus 0.4 percentage points. And while the survey spotlights transformations afoot in many religious groups, it also shows a seismic shift for a long-standing American religious powerhouse: white evangelicals.

This report provides solid evidence of a new, second wave of white Christian decline that is occurring among white evangelical Protestants just over the last decade in the U.S., said Robert P. Jones, PRRIs CEO and author of The End of White Christian America.

Prior to 2008, white evangelical Protestants seemed to be exempt from the waves of demographic change and disaffiliation that were eroding the membership bases of white mainline Protestants and white Catholics, he said. We now see that these waves simply crested later for white evangelical Protestants.

Among the surveys chief findings:

 White Christians, 81 percent of the population in 1976, now account for less than half the public  43 percent of Americans identify as white Christians, and 30 percent as white Protestants.

 92 percent of Lutherans are white, more than in any other denomination.

 White Christians are aging. About 1 in 10 white Catholics, evangelicals and mainline Protestants are under 30, compared with one-third of all Hindus and Buddhists.

 Muslims and Mormons are the youngest faith groups in the U.S., with 42 percent of all Muslims under 30, and nearly a quarter of all Mormons.

Daniel Cox, PRRIs director of research, said older adults generally have cohorts who look a lot like them  nominally white Protestant, and that has been normal throughout their lives. But the under-30 crowd tends to rub elbows with a more diverse group  including the religiously unaffiliated and people of different races and religions.

The young are much less likely to believe this is a Christian nation or to give preference to Christian identity, he said. Young people and seniors are basically inhabiting different religious worlds.

And while the decline of white mainline Protestants and Catholics has been documented in earlier surveys, the new PRRI survey shows a similar and relatively recent decline among evangelicals  to 17 percent of the public in 2016 from 23 percent in 2006.

There is no one explanation, but you cant answer why without looking at the rise of Christian conservatives,  Cox said.

Christian activism for many has come to mean conservative activism, working against gay marriage, abortion access and the legalization of marijuana  and young people may be turned off by such positions, Cox said.

It is no longer the case among young people that being religious is necessarily a positive attribute.

The survey also shows that religious folks are realigning, both geographically and politically:

 The Catholic Church is headed south. A majority of Catholics now live in the American South (29 percent) or West (25 percent). Thats a reverse from four decades ago, when 7 in 10 Catholics lived in the Northeast or the Midwest.

 White Christians are a minority in the Democratic Party. Fewer than 1 in 3 Democrats are white Christians, down from almost half 10 years ago.

And Democrats under 30 are increasingly less religious  only 14 percent identify as white Christian, while 40 percent are nones.

 White evangelical Protestants remain the dominant religious force among Republicans  more than one-third (35 percent) of Republicans are white evangelicals, a stable proportion for the last 10 years.

The PRRI survey is broad in scope but also reveals much about the slender slices of American religiosity:

 The religious profile of Asian or Pacific-Islander Americans is unusual compared with other racial or ethnic groups, with roughly equal numbers spread across the Christian, non-Christian and no-religion categories.

 Though atheists and agnostics account for about one-fourth of all the religiously unaffiliated, 16 percent of the unaffiliated identify as a religious person.

 Almost half (46 percent) of LGBT Americans are religiously unaffiliated  about twice as many as the general population (24 percent).

Rabbi Denise Eger, founding rabbi of the Kol Ami synagogue in West Hollywood and an LGBT activist, said the high numbers of unaffiliated LGBT persons should surprise no one. She blames fundamentalism, especially in Christianity, Islam and, to a lesser extent, Judaism.

The truth is that all of religion becomes tainted, even though there are many denominations that welcome them, that it becomes why bother? she said of many LGBT peoples encounters with religion.

The study also found:

 Mississippi is the most homogeneous state in terms of religion (60 percent are Baptist) while New York is the most religiously diverse.

 There are now 20 states in which the religiously unaffiliated outnumber adherents of any other single religious group. Most of those states sit on or near a coast; they include Vermont (41 percent unaffiliated), Oregon (36 percent), Washington (35 percent) and Hawaii (34 percent).

The rise in the religiously unaffiliated means people must now ask old questions in new ways, said Jennifer W. Davidson, an associate professor of theology and worship at the American Baptist Seminary of the West.

We need to begin asking people, How do you make meaning in your life? What sustains you when you suffer? How do you cultivate a sense of wonder? she said.

It is fully possible to answer these questions from a secular perspective, and if we asked them, we might be able to see abundantly fruitful connections among people who are religiously affiliated, religiously unaffiliated, secular, agnostic and atheist.
ST. LOUIS  A man already facing child sex charges in Lincoln County was indicted Wednesday on federal child pornography charges.

A grand jury indicted Charles Melvin Liley III, 33, of Lincoln County, on one felony count each of production and possession of child porn. The indictment alleges that Liley produced a picture involving a sex act with a child and possessed other images of child porn.

Liley was charged in Lincoln County Circuit Court in March after investigators learned that a computer was actively downloading child porn and traced that computer to Liley, the Lincoln County Sheriff's office said.

Detectives found child porn on the computer, including images produced by Liley, and Liley admitted making a girl under the age of 12 perform sex acts on him while he took pictures, they said.

The sheriff's office said Liley was found guilty in Michigan in 2000 of three counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct. His victim was under 13, they said. He was also convicted in 2007 of failing to register as a sex offender.

Liley is still in the Lincoln County jail and has not yet responded to the federal charges.
ST. LOUIS  Ladue police are investigating a threat posted on social media that targeted the Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School.

A police spokesman said the department became aware Friday afternoon of the threatening message.

The school has been at the center of controversy since Sunday when a senior tweeted screenshots of a private Snapchat conversation among at least four freshman that used racial and sexual slurs.

The school responded within hours to reactions over the messages, culminating in the expulsion of the students by Thursday.

But on Friday the school was again responding to the release of another message, one the school said was threatening.

The school sent text and voice messages to parents.

"We have just been made aware of a posting to a message board on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. regarding our disciplinary investigation of the recent racial social media issue," the voice message said. "This posting includes quotes from the movie 'Fight Club' framed as a threat to our upper school administration and includes a lot of hate speech."

The message said there was an "added" police presence on campus Friday. After-school activities and carpool procedures continued as usual.

A spokeswoman for the school declined to comment.
ST. LOUIS  A Vashon High School employee has been arrested and charged with promoting child pornography and the sexual trafficking of a child.

According to court documents, Michael A. West, 45, reportedly asked a 15-year-old male student for sexually explicit images, with the intent to share them with others and an assurance he could help the boy make money.

West allegedly told the teenager that he could earn money in exchange for performing sexual acts for others, offering to "call his people" if the teen provided him a picture of his genitals and explaining that he would take a cut of the boy's payment for making the introduction.

According to court documents, West lives in the 1100 block of Indian Circle Drive in Olivette.

A spokesperson for the St. Louis Public Schools said in a statement that West, an in-school suspension monitor, was on unpaid leave, adding that under state law, certain city schools employees are entitled to due process rights before they can be fired.
In August 1948, I nearly got into a fight. It was at the corner of Eighth Avenue and 10th Street in Marion, Iowa.

The conversation started pleasantly enough. But Jimmy brought up the topic about who was going to be in heaven. He said only Lutherans were in heaven. I kindly corrected him.

Im sorry, I said, but only Catholics are in heaven. We have all the tickets.

Then came the arguments from authority. His dad, who was a Lutheran minister, had said only Lutherans were in heaven. I raised my voice and countered that Sister Joseph Marie, who seemed to be infallible, said that only Catholics would go to heaven.

That is when the fight nearly started; however, I noticed Jimmy was considerably bigger than I was.

I had to come up with an ultimate statement that was the clincher. Ill bet you $100, I said. His response: Ill bet you $100.

To date, no money has changed hands.

Fast forward to 1959. In sophomore religion class at Notre Dame University, I learn the Protestant Reformation began on Oct. 31, 1517, when Martin Luther nailed to a church door his 95 theses. I considered looking them up in the library, but I would have to search the card catalog, figure out what book I wanted and then write out a request for a librarian. Then he would have to search the six floors of the stacks and bring me a book that might not have the 95 theses.

That was too much. Besides, I didnt think any questions about them would be on the test.

Fast forward to the summer of 1964. I am in a class in the graduate school at Catholic University in Washington, D.C. The 95 theses are mentioned again. The library process was much simpler; however, the library was a long way from my residence hall and the weather was hot.

Besides, I didnt think any questions about them would be on the test. (Again, I was right.)

Recently, I thought about the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Protestant Reformation coming on Oct. 31, 2017. I decided that I should finally look up the 95 theses. It took 10 seconds.

As I read them, I came to several conclusions. First, it must have been a big church door to place on, in longhand, what now takes five single-spaced sheets of paper.

The theses were mainly about indulgences. When I got to thesis No. 30, I was getting bored. I didnt find them inflammatory. Although Luther wanted to correct some clear abuses concerning indulgences, he did not challenge the concept of indulgences nor the authority of the pope. I suspect someone in the Catholic hierarchy was looking for a fight.

Today, no one is looking for a fight. Last Oct. 31, Pope Francis and Bishop Mounib Younan, president of the Lutheran World Federation, signed a joint statement in which Catholics and Lutherans pledged to pursue their dialogue to remove the remaining obstacles that hinder them from reaching full unity. They also stressed their commitment to common witness on behalf of the poor, the needy and the victims of injustice.

In our country, the leadership of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops have signed the Declaration on the Way document. At the heart of it are 32 statements of agreement that state where Lutherans and Catholics do not have church-dividing differences on topics about church, ministry and the Eucharist. For example, Lutherans and Catholics believe the same about the real presence of Jesus in Holy Communion.

Agreement No. 30 states: Lutherans and Catholics agree that in the sacrament of the Lords Supper, Jesus Christ himself is present. He is present truly, substantially, as a person, and he is present in his entirety, as Son of God and as a human being.

Our church doors are not big enough to post the 32 agreements on them; however, the bulletins of Catholic and Lutheran Churches could publish a summary of them to mark the 500th anniversary the week of Oct. 31.

As for Jimmy and me, on this anniversary I will give $100 to Lutheran Social Services. I would like to ask him to give $100 to Catholic Charities. The problem is I dont know where Jimmy is, and I cant remember his last name.

Wherever Jimmy is, I hope he agrees that our fight, as well as the Catholic-Lutheran fight, is history.
Rush Limbaugh mused on his radio show Tuesday: I wish that not everything that involved news had become corrupted and politicized, but it just has. Not everything has, and Limbaugh is finding out the hard way.

Americas most listened-to radio host for the past 30 years had just opened his show with a long monologue in which he suggested, unconscionably, that the danger of hurricanes was hyped by the news media to (a) promote advertising to stores that sell bottled water, batteries and other storm supplies and (b) advance the liberal view of climate change.

As he spoke, Hurricane Irma was far out in the Atlantic and no one was certain where it would make landfall. Karma being what it is, Irma took direct aim at south Florida, which includes Limbaughs $54 million, five-house beachfront compound and nearby studio. Limbaugh, heeding the media hype, evacuated knowing he would need electrical power to broadcast on the off-chance that he turned out to be wrong. Schadenfreude is a terrible thing.

Inexplicably, among the 1.4 million to 2 million people tuned into Limbaughs program at any moment are some who take him seriously. We sincerely hope those in south Florida ignored his hurricane wisdom, which is just as ill-informed as his political wisdom. Limbaughs hurricane remarks were seriously irresponsible.

These storms, once they actually hit, are never as strong as theyre reported, Limbaugh claimed. He said graphics have been created to make it look like the oceans having an exorcism, just getting rid of the devil here in the form of this hurricane, this bright red stuff.

He continued, Now, I dont mean this to be a personal attack on anybody, but the one thing thats undeniable throughout our culture is that everything has been politicized. And in that sense much of our public information system, including from the government, from the drive-by media, has been corrupted. It has been corrupted by the individual biases and whatever present bigotry of the people who hold these positions.

Plus, he said, you have people in all of these government areas who believe man is causing climate change, and theyre hellbent on proving it, theyre hellbent on demonstrating it, theyre hellbent on persuading people of it.

In fact, most serious climate scientists acknowledge little linkage between climate change and hurricanes in the past century. The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, in dry, technical language and numbers  science  concludes that correlation with todays weather is difficult. NOAA scientists do say that global warming will contribute to greater weather extremes and that future hurricanes are likely to be more intense globally and have higher rainfall rates than present-day hurricanes.

Unlike Rush, theyre not hyping anything. Their bias is in favor of factual data.
Everything about e-commerce giant Amazon has been counterintuitive from the day Jeff Bezos founded it in 1994. Back then, online users had to pay just to send email and access this newfangled thing called the World Wide Web. America Online was king. Nobody (except Bezos) envisioned back then the extent to which internet services would come to dominate the world of information technology and commerce.

Bezos doubled down on counterintuition when he bought the flailing Washington Post in 2013 for a measly $250 million. Today, the Post is back on its game and giving The New York Times a run for its money with new daily scoops and growing worldwide audiences.

With all that in mind, heres one more counterintuitive venture that we ask Bezos to consider: St. Louis as the new, second headquarters for Amazon. Wherever Amazon lands with this new headquarters, some lucky city will wind up with as many as 50,000 new jobs and a $5 billion investment.

Bezos might not know it yet, but St. Louis is absolutely, by far, unequivocally and overwhelmingly the best choice.

Sure, there are all the obvious options. Chicago has big buildings, a decent waterfront, etc. But its also expensive and crowded. No doubt Austin, Texas, will make a strong push because of its existing high-tech industry and vibrant music scene. But the traffic is horrendous, the weather is scorching hot for five months of the year, and its no longer the quaint, funky place it used to be. Its also expensive. Were sure Denver, Indianapolis, Nashville, Atlanta and maybe even Detroit will make strong bids. But the bottom line is, theyre just St. Louis wannabes.

Bezos is a man who does his research. So it couldnt have escaped him that the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency spent most of last year going through a rigorous winnowing process to decide where it should place its new $1.75 billion western headquarters. Lots of places competed. When all arguments and pitches were weighed, St. Louis came out the winner. And because of that, St. Louis is poised to become the nations next hub for high-tech innovation.

Amazon would be hard-pressed to find any city with the architectural and historical appeal of St. Louis. Virtually every street corner has some jaw-dropping building or house that recalls our turn-of-the-century grandeur. And best of all, while housing prices are skyrocketing elsewhere, grandeur can be had here for a song.

Amazons staffers can get around easily by whatever transportation means they prefer, with bike paths, MetroLink trains and buses, and a highway network built for a city three times our current size. Culturally, weve got incredible museums, a claim to fame as the nations blues heartland, an urban park system that rivals Manhattans Central Park, and a vibrant stage theater community. No other city can claim gems like the Muny and Fabulous Fox.

Beyond the city are the suburban options of St. Clair, St. Louis and St. Charles counties, each with their own distinctive architectural flavors and amenities. Our international airport has, well, lots of room to grow. But, hey, Amazon employees can get easy access to flights to Reykjavik, Iceland, which is the first place we think of when it comes to international getaway adventures.

This area boasts at least 11 universities that are already gearing up to meet the NGAs future workforce needs. Roughly 35 percent of the regions adult population holds a bachelors degree or higher.

We have state and local governments that are more than willing to devise a package of business-friendly incentives. And we have a guy named Paul McKee who can offer a great deal on a big swath of vacant properties.

So give us a call, Amazon. Its the counterintuitive thing to do.
In September the Vernon County Board of Supervisors is considering a resolution in support of nonpartisan redistricting in Wisconsin. Acting on this measure will put Vernon County in good company, as 24 other counties around the state have already taken a stand to improve the way Wisconsin draws its voting maps.

The fair maps movement is gaining momentum from the ongoing partisan gerrymandering case, Whitford v. Gill, which the U.S. Supreme Court will hear in October. That case will determine whether Wisconsins current voting maps are unconstitutional and create a standard to measure this by.

Unfortunately, the outcome of Whitford will not change the contentious process by which Wisconsin draws its maps now and in the future. If we do not adopt a nonpartisan process before district boundaries are updated after the 2020 federal census, then the Wisconsin Legislature  no matter which party controls it  will retain the power to create voting maps that ensure their partys advantage for the next ten years.

In a democracy, voters should choose their lawmakers, not vice versa. Representatives elected by the people of Vernon County have a duty to ensure that every candidate has an even playing field when they run for office and every person has an equal say in our democracy  no matter which political party they belong to.

The time has come for an impartial, transparent process for redistricting in Wisconsin. A new, nonpartisan model has already been introduced in Senate Bill 13 and Assembly Bill 44, but has yet to be given a public hearing.

This county board resolution sends an important message to Madison  that Vernon County cares about fair elections and we want fair maps.

Leslie Wegenern, Stoddard
Maryam Nawaz, daughter of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, on Saturday claimed that the verdict on the Panama case was announced before the trial began.

"Corruption, Panama, and Iqama are all excuses to target Nawaz Sharif," she said while addressing a Traders Convention in Lahore.

Maryam further said she had brought her fathers review petition to the court of he trader community.

"Was it not Nawaz who brought the country out of the power crisis," she said, adding each time her father was handed over a 'broken Pakistan,' her father strengthened it and built it back again.

The former premiers daughter claimed that the Pakistan Muslim League  Nawaz (PML-N) was responsible for ending load-shedding, and eliminating terrorism.

She further said though PML-Ns rivals have continued to badmouth Lahores progress and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project, the party will be victorious in the upcoming election in 2018.

Political debate between PML-N and a prominent contender of the party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) continues to intensify with the fast-approaching by-poll in the NA-120 constituency.

The seat fell vacant after former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, by the order of the Supreme Court, was disqualified from holding public office.

PTI's candidate Yasmin Rashid's office in Lahore was attacked by unknown assailants on September 3, as the party marched head on to the NA-120 by-poll with its zealous election campaign.

Three men opened indiscriminate fire in front of the political offices of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and PTI at Neeli Bar Chowk, Islampura, on the second day of Eid.
Allison Hardy, the 2017-18 Vernon County Fairest of the Fair, is looking forward to promoting agriculture as she represents the county.

We are in an agriculture area here but I want to help promote agriculture in bigger places to show we need agriculture to survive, she said.

Hardy, a 2016 Viroqua High School graduate, was crowned Fairest of the Fair at the Vernon County Fair Ferris Wheel Breakfast, July 29. The University of Wisconsin-River Falls sophomore said she was shocked a little bit when her name was announced.

Any of the other two girls would have been great, she said. When I stood up I thought, Dont trip. That was my biggest fear. I was shocked and excited and a little nervous.

Hardy, 19, said she was too nervous to eat breakfast that day, so after the announcement she was a little shaky. I thought, Did I dream this? It was a good surprise; I was very excited.

Since being named Vernon County Fairs ambassador, Hardy has been busy. She attended the Fairest of the Fairs reunion held at the Wisconsin State Fair. She met past years Fairest of the Fairs from throughout the state and those who will compete in the State Fairest of the Fairs contest in January

There were a ton of girls there and they were really nice, Hardy said. Its going to be a great time; Im excited.

She also was in Viroquas Wild West Days parade Aug. 18, and has been filling out the Wisconsin Fairest of the Fairs online application. Once school starts time will fly. I want to make sure the application is good and not slapped together.

Hardy was a member of the Liberty Pole Boosters 4-H Club. Her mother, Amy, was the general leader of the club during the time she was in the club. Years ago, her late grandmother, Ramona Thompson, was also general leader of the club. She was also a member of the Viroqua FFA Chapter of which her father, Lloyd, was adviser.

It was a whole family affair, she said with a laugh and smile.

Although she could have exhibited projects at the fair both as a 4-Her and a FFA member, Hardy chose to exhibit through 4-H. Her projects included showing Brown Swiss dairy cattle and swine, woodworking, baking, arts and crafts, tobacco and fruits and vegetables.

Hardys favorite memory is of the Little Britches Dairy Show and leading her calf in the show ring. She also has fond memories of watching the show.

The kids are so stinking adorable, she said. Its fun to watch the parents push the calves along. The kids are so cute and dressed up  its so adorable.

What also stays in her mind are the cold early mornings, often getting up at 3 a.m., to head to the fairgrounds to wash cattle on show day.

Its a long day for us, but even longer for parents, Hardy said.

Hardy said for a few years she, her cousin Leif, sister Shana and brother Lloyd were the only ones showing Brown Swiss cattle. There will be a couple new Brown Swiss exhibitors at the fair this year. Its good to see it grow.

Over the years numerous family members showed Brown Swiss cattle at the fair, a tradition that started with her grandfather, the late Carter Thompson.

I feel like the fair is more sentimental for my family its history for me, Hardy said.

People of all ages coming to the fair, not just exhibitors, make the five-day event special, Hardy said.

Ive been to other fairs and there arent a lot of other parents and kids at other fairs; you dont even see a lot of animals, she said. In this county people spend a lot of time at the fair, enjoy it and look forward to it every year.

Meeting and talking with those fair-goers is something else Hardy is looking forward to as Fairest of the Fair.

When you exhibit (animals) you are in the barn a lot, she said. Im excited to get out of the barn.

Last year Hardy didnt take animals to the fair and she missed the dairy and swine shows.

Its different after all those years. Last year I got to the fair Friday evening. When you exhibit you pretty much live at the fair from Wednesday to Sunday. I did help my brother get ready for the sale.

This year I will be here for the whole fair. Its so different without showing, she said.

Hardy said its difficult to decide which fair food is her favorite. She likes gyros and deep-fried cheese curds. You cant go wrong with cheese curds. She also enjoys food served at the local food stands. You cant go wrong with them (either).

Hardy is pursuing a double major of agriculture business and crop and soil science. Im not 100 percent sure of what I want to do but I would like to get a career to incorporate both (majors). I hope to get a job here; I like the area.

This school year she plans to continue being a member of the Agriculture Business Marketing Society, join the Crops and Soils Club and join a sorority. This summer she worked three days a week at Sleepy Hollow Chevy (a part-time job shes had since 2014) and two days a week as an intern at Star Blends in in Sparta.

I learned a lot more goes into making feed than people expect, Hardy said. It was a very good learning experience.

Hardy will reign over the Vernon County Fair Sept. 13-17.
Another new phone and broadband provider is making a direct line to Tauranga residents homes.

The Hawkes Bay-based phone and broadband provider NOW has over 12,000 customers and more than 70 staff, with offices already in Hawkes Bay, Rotorua and Wellington.

The company will be open to Tauranga locals on September 30, as part of its continued efforts to offer provincial New Zealand a customer-led telecommunications service.

NOWs success to date comes down to getting the basics right and providing good old-fashioned customer service, says NOW CEO Hamish White.

Small things like answering the phone within a few minutes, and speaking to someone in New Zealand, has gone a long way.

And, as part of our launch in to Tauranga  we are pushing the service model even more, and will be providing customers an in-home service offering they cant get elsewhere.

NOWs service-centric business model boasts its own field technicians and an in-home techspert service, which is part of what sets this company apart from its competitors- NOW is New Zealands only telco that will come to your home and sort out issues.

Hamish says this, coupled with unrivaled accessibility and responsiveness to customers phone and broadband requirements, is a unique proposition the big players cant compete with.

From day one we have felt the opportunity to add value and carve out a defendable point of difference in the industry.

We are excited about helping people in Tauranga with their total digital and technology set up in their homes, beyond just phone and broadband. Whether its improving Wi-Fi and sorting dropouts, setting up a Smart TV, helping to optimise streaming or gaming experiences, or sorting computer issues. Hamish says NOW has also become very successful in the business market, with a commanding presence in the professional services sector.

Most recently the company partnered with international giant, Mitel, to bring business customers cloud-hosted PBX, Unified Communication and Video Conferencing services.

Hamish says the companys market share with accountants, real estate agencies, law firms and medical practices is phenomenal.

The team at NOW is really excited to be rolling out in to Tauranga as we cement our vision to bring the possibilities of our customers digital worlds to life, he says.

We cant wait to help more customers wrangle the technology theyre struggling with at home, and to help businesses realise their digital capabilities.
Political scientists Dame Margaret Clark and Dr Jon Johansson will examine the 2017 election campaign for the third lecture in the new University of Waikato Tauranga public lecture series.

In Election 2017: Change is on the way - ready or not, Dame Margaret Clark and Dr Jon Johansson from Victoria University will discuss the election in terms of New Zealands political history, its cycles of politics, and campaign performance.

They will also reveal some of the political, leadership and policy challenges facing both the incumbent and challenging political parties as campaigns hit high gear.

Potential government formation outcomes will also be a feature of their analysis.

This free lecture will take place at 6.15pm on Thursday September 14. Due to the popularity of the series to date, this lecture has moved to a larger venue at the Tauranga Racecourse to accommodate audience numbers. Registration is essential.

Dr Jon Johansson is a Senior Lecturer in Comparative Politics at Victoria University of Wellington. He is a well-known political commentator, having regularly appeared during the last 15 years across media platforms. Jon specialises in US and NZ politics and will be an analyst on TV3s election night coverage. He has written several books, including Two Titans: Muldoon, Lange and Leadership, The Politics of Possibility: Leadership in Changing Times, and US Leadership in Political Time and Space.

Dame Margaret Clark is the distinguished Emeritus Professor of Politics at Victoria University of Wellington. Margaret began chronicling New Zealand Elections in 1987, the first in an ongoing series of election books that continues to this day. She has edited volumes on a range of NZ Prime Ministers, including Holyoake, Fraser, Kirk, Rowling, Muldoon, Lange and Bolger.

For more information about the Tauranga Public Lecture Series visit waikato.ac.nz/go/tauranga-lecture.
It was the adventure of a lifetime, but initially she had to be convinced.

I was hesitant, Mary Beth Starkey said of her reaction to a friends plan. Scott Ballantyne, whom she knew from a gym in northern Virginia, had climbed Mount Ranier a couple of years ago and now had a goal of gathering a group of people from the gym and taking on four more summits with higher elevations in the U.S. (minus Alaska).

A total of 7 men and 3 women, including Starkey, a Floyd County High School graduate now working as an administrator with Prince William County Schools, signed on for the challenge. Along with Starkey and Ballantyne, the group included Natalie Short and her husband Chris, Caitlyn McLaughlin, Frank Surface, Matt Vinciguerra, Jim Aram, Michael Talomie, and Jonathan Barbour. They flew into Las Vegas on July 18 and after a nights stay there drove to Lone Pine, CA, a short drive away, to reach Mount Whitney, elevation 14,505 ft. On the way to Whitney, they also visited the lowest point in the contiguous U.S  Badwater Basin  282 ft. below sea level. How did that feel? One of our car thermometers registered 122 degrees, Starkey said. It was interesting because the air was not humid, but it was very breezy  an extremely dry heat.

In Lone Pine, the group stayed at a small hotel, outside of the Mount Whitney trail head. On the following morning, they met with the guide service  SWS Mountain Guides. They had us dump out all of our supplies (from the packs) and gave us advice on what would be OK to leave behind, so our packs would be a weight we would be capable of carrying, Starkey said. The physical supplies were divided up. A helmet for scaling up rocks at the top of the mountain was needed, along with a tent, joint meals, harnesses, and in case of deep snow, boots, and crampons to put on hiking boots. They hiked up to base camp on the first day, unloaded their tent and set up there. On the second day the group hiked up to the summit.

I think the experience is really indescribable, Starkey said. It was a little overwhelming. I started crying when I got up there.It feels like literally you are on top of the world. They had a book for you to sign with your hometown. I wrote Puttin Floyd on the map.

It seems silly to say, but youre representing people not able to do that.Its a powerful moment knowing youve overcome your own doubts and others doubts about being able to do that.

Starkey said there were more people on the summit than she expected. Its a popular goal for folks to undertake.

Her group, which included a range in ages from the mid-twenties to the fifties, took the more difficult mountaineers route. We were all members of the gym and felt prepared. There is an easier route  the Mount Whitney Trail.

To keep energy levels up, the groups members ate protein bars, dried fruit, trail mix, beef jerky, bagels or other things high in carbs. They drank water.

Starkey said she was surprised at how few clothes they had to bring on the summit climbs. We could wear the same thing if we could get away with it. When they started the climb, they were mostly in t-shirts and tank tops, with temperatures in the low 90s. At base camp (11,500 ft. in elevation), temperatures were in the 60s before dropping to the 40s at night. Starkey said with coats and good sleeping bags the majority felt pretty comfortable.

What was different was the sun, she noted. The higher you go, the less UV protection you have. You had to constantly put on sunscreen.

The temperatures at summit were in the low 50s and upper 40s, so you were comfortable in a long-sleeve shirt. We were told temperatures were warmer than usual. Also there was less snow.

The group had hiking poles and ice axes. They didnt need boots. They walked through the snow in their normal shoes.

Aside from hiking, there were also times they had to be roped together in teams of 3 or 4 with a guide. From a certain point up, it was mainly all rock climbing, Starkey said. There was a decent incline up rock fields.

After Mount Whitney, Frank Surface, one of the groups members who had been in Yosemite climbing with this daughter the week before, opted not to continue, and John Utz, a hiker from NC was added. The group drove back to Vegas and caught a plane to Denver, Colorado. They then drove to Leadville, central to the fourteeners. They took on Mount Elbert, at 14,440 ft., on Monday, July 24, Mount Massive, at 14,438 ft., on Tuesday, and Mount Harvard, at 14,421 ft., on Wednesday. What was surprising was the weather changed from Monday and Tuesday, so Massive and Harvard were a lot colder, Starkey recalled. At the summit, temperatures were in the 30s. It was very windy and foggy. Elbert was very windy but not quite as cold at the top. The group didnt camp out on those three summit climbs. They were all day hikes.

On Thursday the group spent the day in Leadville, where they shopped for souvenirs, relaxed and cooked dinner at the house.

To prepare for this experience, the group weightlifted together and did mobility training. Once a month, starting in January, they planned a hike that was lengthy and at a higher elevation. We threw in extra weight in our packs for those practice day hikes, Starkey said.

The best part of the trip for Starkey was the summit on Mount Whitney and watching other people overcome difficulties in some way. For some of the climbers, it meant dealing with old injuries that flared up. Others suffered from the elevation aspect  all of the group took elevation sickness medicine.

Just hanging out with 9 different people was rewarding, Starkey added. I knew them, but seeing the personalities come out and developing friendships more closely than before  now 10 of us are part of a secret club, where we saw amazing things and experienced a sense of accomplishment. Theres some camaraderie there. It was a lot of fun.
On the posters for The Red House's production of "The Little Dog Laughed" there is a tagline that feels somewhat dishonest after seeing the show: "A Naughty Comedy about a Dirty Business." While the play by Douglas Carter Beane is, superficially, about sex and Hollywood, and while it is very funny, the tag sells short the melancholy sweetness at the core of the play. It fits, however, in a much more subtle way. Sex sells in the performance industry, and honesty can be sacrificed for sales, a truth central to this play's message.

The play is about the lies one must tell to be happy and successful, and there can be no better vessel for that theme than the story of a play being sold and adapted to film. Diane (Laura Austin) is a Hollywood agent attempting to secure the rights to an unnamed play by an unnamed but influential author for her client, up and coming actor Mitchell (Max Emerson), while simultaneously convincing Mitchell to remain silent about his homosexuality for the sake of his career. When Mitchell hires, and almost immediately falls in love with Alex (Conor Donnally), a prostitute, Mitchell and Diane are plunged unwittingly into the lives of Alex and his best friend and occasional lover, Ellen (Grace Allyn), until Mitchell can no longer maintain his facade of straight, heart-throb movie star.

Each of the four actors brings a memorable, engaging performance to the Redhouse stage. Emerson delivers the role of a sweet, confused, and occasionally thoughtless young star with sensitivity and kindness. Donnally's frank portrayal of the sex worker is charming and alluring. One has little trouble believing Mitchell's falling for Alex even after only one drunken, chaste encounter. Allyn's portrayal of a young woman struggling with her own adulthood is flush with a familiar, appropriate anxiety. Austin provides the core energy of "The Little Dog Laughed" as the unapologetic and worldly amoral compass for the other, younger characters. The cast's chemistry, however, was the most impactful aspect of the show. The show was split between soliloquy and dialogue, and while each actor's moments alone on stage were entertaining, scenes in which they got to bounce off one another shined. Director Vincent J. Cardinal managed to really get the most out of his actors, all of whom he had worked with before on previous projects throughout his prolific career.

Set designer Tim Brown devised an elegant, snug space for the action of the show, making perfect use of the Redhouse's small theater. Red latticework walls replace curtains, becoming the walls of a ritzy New York hotel room. Golden panels hang center stage for mock modern canvases, which slide back and forth for actors to soliloquize on the platform behind. A large bed is the central element, featuring a single incongruity: a small pillow bearing the image of a chihuahua dressed as Michael Jackson. Besides representing the titular "Little Dog" it's a great focal point to highlight the tiny, unsightly bit of personality that will always manage to peek out from a life full of curated artifice.

The play, as mentioned before, is not the quasi-pornographic romp it was sold as, despite one brief splash of full nudity by the two men. Much of it was surprisingly sentimental despite its wit and self-awareness. The parallels that are pointed out between Hollywood elite and sex worker ring true, though Beane is certainly not the first to point it out. While the stakes aren't Shakespearean, the characters face tough, life changing choices and are made round enough throughout the two acts that the audience feels the lingering doubt after the choices are made, even past the parking lot.

The ending of "The Little Dog Laughed" is rushed, and in many ways feels unsatisfying given the growth developed carefully throughout, but upon further thought, I'm not sure that wasn't intentional. In fact, without giving too much away, because I do hope you go see this show, the ending almost felt inevitable. In one knowing moment when Diane is buttering up the nameless playwright, who must be a stand-in for Beane himself, she explains the three act structure of most movies: put your characters in a tree, throw rocks at them in the tree, get them down from the tree. She tells him she likes that the trees in his plays are "happiness." Comedy or tragedy, like it or not, when one falls from a tree, one falls fast.

What: "The Little Dog Laughed" by Douglas Carter Beane

Where: Roadhouse Arts Center, 201 S.West Street, Syracuse

Info: (315) 362-2785, theredhouse.org.

CNY Theater Guide
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - As Tuesday's primary election nears, much of the focus in the Syracuse mayoral race has been on the three Democratic candidates. But the Republican and independent candidates are jockeying for votes, too.

Laura Lavine

Ben Walsh, who is not enrolled in a party, is waging a write-in campaign trying to wrest the Independence Party nomination from Republican candidate Laura Lavine.

And Lavine is waging a similar write-in effort hoping to take the Reform Party nomination away from Walsh.

In a city where 55 percent of voters are Democrats, Lavine and Walsh both hope to improve their odds in November's general election by getting their names on as many minor-party ballot lines as possible.

Toward that end, Lavine has sought to chip away at Walsh's record as an economic development official and his success in raising campaign donations - two things that Walsh supporters see as strengths.

In flyers mailed to unaffiliated and Independence Party voters, Lavine asserts that Walsh has received thousands of dollars in campaign donations from developers who received "sweetheart deals'' from the city while Walsh served as Syracuse's economic development director under Mayor Stephanie Miner.

"it's the very definition of pay-to-play,'' according to a Lavine flyer.

Walsh scoffed at the assertion, saying it shows that Lavine and other major party candidates are threatened by the strength of his campaign.

"Those types of accusations are disappointing but not surprising,'' Walsh responded. "Clearly, I think the guy who has the two bottom lines on the ballot is making the two major parties nervous. I must be doing something right.''

For his part, Walsh held a news conference Friday with hotel developer Ed Riley, who enthusiastically supports Walsh for mayor.

Riley's against-the-odds restoration of the former Hotel Syracuse is widely regarded as a crowning success, for which politicians at all levels rush to take credit. The restored landmark is a $20 million-a-year operation with 320 employees, 80 percent of whom live in the city, Riley said.

It would not have happened without Walsh's help, Riley said.

Walsh, who served as Syracuse economic development director from 2010 to 2016, played a critical role as the city's point person on the project, Riley said. The developer praised Walsh for his ability to collaborate and solve problems.

"Without the leadership of this gentleman right here, this would not have happened,'' Riley said. "He was one of the key players, along with the county and the state.''

At the news conference, Walsh also unveiled a 14-page policy document outlining his proposals to improve the quality of life in city neighborhoods, improve school performance and safety, and to reduce poverty by improving economic opportunity.

He said he will conduct at least nine community forums in the coming weeks to give city residents a chance to respond to his proposals, which he is open to amending.

In an interview Friday, Lavine repeated her criticism of Walsh for accepting campaign donations from developers "who got some really great deals, at the expense of millions of taxpayer dollars.'' But she declined to point to any specific deal that she believes hurt taxpayers.

Instead, she criticized the potential for conflicts of interest. Lavine also said that if Walsh claims credit for successes like the hotel revival, then he must bear responsibility for shortcomings at the Syracuse Industrial Development Agency, where Walsh was executive director.

Syracuse mayoral candidate Laura Lavine sent this flyer to unaffiliated voters, attacking rival candidate Ben Walsh over his campaign fund-raising. Walsh said the criticism is unfounded and indicates how big a threat his candidacy poses to major party candidates.

Lavine pointed to a 2016 state audit that criticized the IDA. Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said the agency failed to adequately evaluate projects before granting them tax exemptions, and to adequately monitor their performance afterward.

At the time, Walsh and SIDA Chairman Bill Ryan disputed the conclusion that agency's board did not rigorously evaluate the community benefits of a project before giving incentives. But in response to the audit the IDA agreed to look at ways to better document developers' follow-through on job creation.

Lavine said she advocates a new policy in Syracuse to prohibit elected officials from receiving campaign donations "from anyone doing business with the city or seeking benefits from SIDA.'' It's not clear whether the city could enforce such a rule, which might contradict state election law or the Supreme Court's ruling in the Citizens United case. Lavine said she will abide by it voluntarily if elected.

Syracuse Corporation Counsel Joseph Fahey said he did not believe the city could legally restrict political donations.

Lavine and her family members have supplied roughly half of her $88,000 in campaign donations. She also has received modest contributions from at least two entities that have done work for the city -- $500 from O'Brien & Gere, for example, and $99 from John Trimble, president and CEO of C&S Cos.

Lavine said she does not plan to return those donations now, but would return them if she were elected. Either that, or she would ban the companies from city contracts for two years, she said.

Walsh, by contrast, has raised more than $297,000, more than any candidate in the mayor's race. His donations include large sums from some downtown developers.

Riley and his company, Syracuse Community Hotel Restoration Co., have given at least $2,396 to Walsh's campaign. (Riley also donated $1,000 to Democratic candidate Joe Nicoletti.)

Walsh said it's appropriate for voters to pay attention to campaign funding and to hold elected officials accountable if they grant favors to big donors. But nothing in his record as a city hall staffer suggests that he would show favoritism, he said.

In addition, campaign donations serve as one barometer of support for a candidate, especially one who is not backed by a major party, Walsh said.

"The reality is, if I as an independent candidate did not raise the money that I am raising, I would be dismissed'' as irrelevant, he said.

Contact reporter Tim Knauss anytime | email | Twitter | 315-470-3023
To the Editor:

"I-81 plan vital to University Hill" commentary in The Post Standard should be expanded to read "I-81 plan vital to CNY region." Moving People Transportation Coalition thinks that the principles laid out by the leaders of University Hill Corp. are precisely what should lead us all to endorse the Community Grid as the best possible solution for the I-81 viaduct replacement alternative.

University Hill offers no-nonsense guidance to picking the plan in the community's "best interests." Together with the advocacy of the Downtown Committee for the Community Grid, this central set of stakeholders for our future provide several points that the New York State Department of Transportation should use to choose its choice for our economic revitalization.

"Multiple access points" to the Hill should be a priority and the Community Grid gives us that with new interchanges at Crouse and Irving off I-690 as well as at Martin Luther King East on the south and at Oswego Street on the north. The tunnel alternative promoted by Save81.org eliminates these new entries.

Parking on the Hill is only going to become more difficult as we see more growth and development. The proposed Bus Rapid Transit route between Destiny USA and the Hill inevitably will be expanded to Liverpool and the northern suburbs. New transport innovations like Lyft and Uber will ease the anxiety of workers on the Hill who need to travel off the bus schedule. More and more people will leave their cars at home.

There is no question that the Community Grid will require substantially less in the way of "sustainability" than any tunnel option. Do we really want to subject southside residents to vehicle exhaust air emissions from the tunnel that will result from the ventilation tower at the south end? In contrast to only three to five years for Community Grid construction, could we as a city community "sustain" our vitality if it would take 8-10 years to complete a tunnel?

Does it really make fiscal sense to build a tunnel for the 12 percent of I-81 thru-traffic that might otherwise use a combination of the current I-481, I-690 and I-81 (north of downtown) to get where the vehicles are headed? Community Grid costs $1.3 billion; Tunnel, $3.1 billion ... and that is just the start of expenses, considering the ongoing maintenance costs.

Last month, Save81, through the auspices of Sen. John DeFrancisco, released a report on the viability of the Community Grid. They are asking NYSDOT to drop the Community Grid from consideration. Their so-called facts were fed into a pre-conceived political judgment designed to feed on people's fears of congestion. We're waiting for the real facts in the DOT's Draft Environmental Impact Statement due out later this year.

The senator claimed there was a consensus among political figures, despite the fact Assemblywoman Pam Hunter and Sen. Dave Valesky told me directly that they have not ruled out the Community Grid. He also didn't mention all except one of the candidates running for mayor of Syracuse have endorsed the Community Grid. There may never be a true consensus on this issue but there is a prevailing opinion for the common good based on technical expertise and the broader vision for our regional vitality: Community Grid.



Peter Sarver

Moving People Transportation Coalition

Syracuse




NEW YORK (AP) -- Fox News Channel said Friday it has parted ways with host Eric Bolling, who had been suspended last month following allegations that he sent lewd photos to female co-workers.

Fox is also cancelling the program Bolling hosted, "The Specialists." Meanwhile, Fox Business Network is reinstating Charles Payne, a host who had been suspended while the network had investigated charges of sexual misconduct.

Bolling had been working at Fox for 10 years and had been considered a rising star, one of its more vociferous supporters of President Donald Trump. He had the lead role on "The Specialists," which aired at 5 p.m. ET.

Fox said in a statement that the network and Bolling had agreed to part ways amicably. The network has been dogged by sexual misconduct allegations since its late founder, Roger Ailes, left the network following harassment charges in July 2016. Prime time star Bill O'Reilly also lost his job this spring after reports that the network had paid millions of dollars to settle harassment claims against him.

Bolling's lawyer, Michael Bowe, said he did not have a comment beyond Fox's statement. Bolling had filed notice of an intent to file a defamation lawsuit against Yashar Ali, the Huffington Post reporter who had written about the lewd pictures, and Bowe said Friday's action did not affect that case.

Fox confirmed a Los Angeles Times report that Payne was to return to his Fox Business Network show, "Making Money," on Friday. The network said it had completed its review of the accusations against him.

A female political commentator had charged that Payne had granted her airtime in return for a sexual relationship. Payne denied harassment charges but said that he had been romantically involved with the woman.

Fox News said that two other personalities who worked on "The Specialists," Eboni Williams and Kat Timpf, would remain as contributors. News programming will fill the 5 p.m. hour, with rotating hosts, a spokeswoman said.

One long-term option for the time slot could be its old inhabitant. The panelist program "The Five" has shown ratings weakness since being moved into prime time following O'Reilly's departure, and Fox is reportedly in talks with Laura Ingraham to host a regular show.
Verizon, the largest wireless phone company in the U.S., last week confirmed that data belonging to about six million of its wireless customers was exposed after the information mistakenly was allowed to remain unprotected on an Amazon cloud server.

The disclosure follows reports that an engineer at Nice Systems, which provides workforce management technology to track call center performance, allowed the data of 14 million Verizon customers to reside on an Amazon Web Services S3 bucket.

The Verizon data was part of a larger data exposure, according to UpGuard, the firm that discovered the problem.

Data from Orange, a Paris-based telecom, was exposed as well, it said.

Of greatest concern were the Verizon personal identification numbers that were left exposed, along with customers names, addresses and account information, said Chris Vickery, director of cyber risk research at UpGuard.

With that detail, a fraudster could have master access to a Verizon customers account control, he told the E-Commerce Times. It would be theoretically possible to order new hardware or issue a new SIM card for a phone.

Getting a new SIM card would allow a fraudulent actor to overcome two-factor authentication requirements, Vickery said.

Upguard disclosed the information to Verizon on June 13 and the breach was closed on June 22.

Nice Systems technology is used around the world for government surveillance, according to UpGuard.

Nice officials confirmed the Verizon exposure, but denied the error was indicative of any larger problem within the company. The company did not comment on the reported Orange data exposure.

A human error that is not related to any of our products or our production environments, nor their level of security, but rather to an isolated staging area with limited information on a specific project, allowed a customers data to be made public for a limited period of time, Nice said in a statement provided to the E-Commerce Times by spokesperson Ilana Hart.

Disputed Impact

Data belonging to six million customers was exposed, Verizon confirmed.

The company is committed to customer security and privacy, it said, and it apologized for the incident.

The number of exposed accounts reported in the original media report was overstated, Verizon said.

A vendors employee put the data onto a cloud storage area and incorrectly set the storage to allow external access, Verizon explained, emphasizing that there was no loss or theft of Verizon customers information.

The only party  besides the vendor and Verizon  to gain access to the customers information was the researcher who discovered the exposure, Verizon said.

It was Chris Vickery, director of cyber risk research at UpGuard, who discovered the exposed data, an UpGuard spokesperson confirmed to the E-Commerce Times.

The back story to the incident is that the vendor was supporting an approved initiative to help Verizon improve a residential and small business wireline self-service call center portal and required certain data for the project, Verizon explained.

The overwhelming majority of the exposed data had no external value, the company said, but it confirmed that it included a limited amount of personal information.

The data supported a wireline portal, Verizon said, and it included a limited number of cellphone numbers for customer contact purposes.

To the extent that PINs were included in the data set, they were used to authenticate a customer calling into Verizons wireline call center, but they did not provide online access to customer accounts, according to the company.

Repeated Pattern

The Verizon data exposure is eerily similar to the breach of 198 million voter records at Deep Root Analytics, which also was sitting on Amazon S3 servers and was discovered by the same UpGuard researcher, noted Mark Nunnikhoven, vice president of cloud research at Trend Micro.

Although Upguard hasnt discussed how it discovered the exposed data, its likely the researcher scanned the S3 namespace  a unique root folder where users store their data  looking for misconfigured buckets, Nunnikhoven told the E-Commerce Times.

Amazon should not be blamed entirely for the incident, he said, noting that the S3 buckets are secure by default.

All AWS servers operated on a shared responsibility model for operations and security, he said. That means that both AWS and the user have responsibilities for securing data.

S3 customers have to decide which data to store and who can access it, Nunnikhoven noted.

It appears that in both of the recent cases, the customers took explicit steps to configure the policies to allow unauthorized access.

The pattern that is emerging, Vectra Networks CTO Oliver Tavakoli told the E-Commerce Times, is that the impact of a single, sloppy misconfiguration in the cloud is likely to have a much bigger effect than the same misconfiguration inside the companys own data center.
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Jun 01 (4) May 31 (2) May 30 (2) May 29 (2) May 28 (2) May 27 (4) May 26 (4) May 25 (3) May 24 (2) May 23 (2) May 22 (3) May 21 (5) May 20 (4) May 19 (2) May 18 (3) May 17 (3) May 16 (3) May 15 (4) May 14 (5) May 13 (3) May 12 (4) May 11 (3) May 10 (4) May 09 (4) May 08 (4) May 07 (3) May 06 (2) May 05 (3) May 04 (4) May 03 (2) May 02 (3) May 01 (3) Apr 30 (3) Apr 29 (4) Apr 28 (2) Apr 27 (3) Apr 26 (4) Apr 25 (2) Apr 24 (3) Apr 23 (2) Apr 22 (2) Apr 21 (4) Apr 20 (4) Apr 19 (5) Apr 18 (7) Apr 17 (6) Apr 16 (10) Apr 15 (5) Apr 14 (3) Apr 13 (4) Apr 12 (5) Apr 11 (4) Apr 10 (4) Apr 09 (7) Apr 08 (4) Apr 07 (7) Apr 06 (4) Apr 05 (7) Apr 04 (5) Apr 03 (4) Apr 02 (5) Apr 01 (5) Mar 31 (5) Mar 30 (5) Mar 29 (7) Mar 28 (6) Mar 27 (5) Mar 26 (5) Mar 25 (6) Mar 24 (5) Mar 23 (5) Mar 22 (5) Mar 21 (4) Mar 20 (3) Mar 19 (6) Mar 18 (6) Mar 17 (2) Mar 16 (4) Mar 15 (5) Mar 14 (4) Mar 13 (5) Mar 12 (5) Mar 11 (4) Mar 10 (4) Mar 09 (2) Mar 08 (5) Mar 07 (4) Mar 06 (3) Mar 05 (4) Mar 04 (6) Mar 03 (4) Mar 02 (4) Mar 01 (5) Feb 28 (6) Feb 27 (4) Feb 26 (4) Feb 25 (6) Feb 24 (2) Feb 23 (3) Feb 22 (4) Feb 21 (6) Feb 20 (2) Feb 19 (6) Feb 18 (4) Feb 17 (2) Feb 16 (3) Feb 15 (6) Feb 14 (6) Feb 13 (6) Feb 12 (9) Feb 11 (5) Feb 10 (3) Feb 09 (4) Feb 08 (4) Feb 07 (7) Feb 06 (3) Feb 05 (4) Feb 04 (5) Feb 03 (4) Feb 02 (3) Feb 01 (3) Jan 31 (4) Jan 30 (4) Jan 29 (3) Jan 28 (2) Jan 27 (2) Jan 26 (3) Jan 25 (4) Jan 24 (4) Jan 23 (2) Jan 22 (2) Jan 21 (5) Jan 20 (4) Jan 19 (5) Jan 18 (4) Jan 17 (4) Jan 16 (3) Jan 15 (4) Jan 14 (3) Jan 13 (3) Jan 12 (3) Jan 11 (2) Jan 10 (8) Jan 09 (6) Jan 08 (2) Jan 07 (2) Jan 06 (3) Jan 05 (2) Jan 04 (2) Jan 03 (2) Jan 02 (2) Jan 01 (2) Dec 31 (2) Dec 30 (3) Dec 29 (3) Dec 28 (3) Dec 27 (2) Dec 26 (2) Dec 25 (2) Dec 24 (2) Dec 23 (2) Dec 22 (2) Dec 21 (2) Dec 20 (3) Dec 19 (2) Dec 18 (3) Dec 17 (2) Dec 16 (2) Dec 15 (3) Dec 14 (2) Dec 13 (3) Dec 12 (3) Dec 11 (3) Dec 10 (5) Dec 09 (3) Dec 08 (3) Dec 07 (2) Dec 06 (3) Dec 05 (3) Dec 04 (5) Dec 03 (4) Dec 02 (3) Dec 01 (3) Nov 30 (4) Nov 29 (4) Nov 28 (2) Nov 27 (2) Nov 26 (2) Nov 25 (3) Nov 24 (2) Nov 23 (2) Nov 22 (2) Nov 21 (2) Nov 20 (3) Nov 19 (3) Nov 18 (2) Nov 17 (2) Nov 16 (5) Nov 15 (5) Nov 14 (4) Nov 13 (2) Nov 12 (2) Nov 11 (2) Nov 10 (2) Nov 09 (2) Nov 08 (2) Nov 07 (3) Nov 06 (6) Nov 05 (4) Nov 04 (5) Nov 03 (5) Nov 02 (3) Nov 01 (5) Oct 31 (7) Oct 30 (5) Oct 29 (4) Oct 28 (3) Oct 27 (2) Oct 26 (4) Oct 25 (4) Oct 24 (4) Oct 23 (4) Oct 22 (3) Oct 21 (2) Oct 20 (3) Oct 19 (2) Oct 18 (2) Oct 17 (3) Oct 16 (5) Oct 15 (4) Oct 14 (2) Oct 13 (2) Oct 12 (4) Oct 11 (5) Oct 10 (4) Oct 09 (3) Oct 08 (3) Oct 07 (3) Oct 06 (2) Oct 05 (5) Oct 04 (5) Oct 03 (4) Oct 02 (4) Oct 01 (5) Sep 30 (2) Sep 29 (2) Sep 28 (3) Sep 27 (6) Sep 26 (2) Sep 25 (3) Sep 24 (3) Sep 23 (2) Sep 22 (2) Sep 21 (2) Sep 20 (2) Sep 19 (3) Sep 18 (3) Sep 17 (3) Sep 16 (2) Sep 15 (4) Sep 14 (3) Sep 13 (5) Sep 12 (4) Sep 11 (6) Sep 10 (2) Sep 09 (5) Sep 08 (5) Sep 07 (5) Sep 06 (4) Sep 05 (4) Sep 04 (3) Sep 03 (2) Sep 02 (3) Sep 01 (3) Aug 31 (2) Aug 30 (2) Aug 29 (3) Aug 28 (6) Aug 27 (3) Aug 26 (2) Aug 25 (2) Aug 24 (3) Aug 23 (2) Aug 22 (3) Aug 21 (5) Aug 20 (4) Aug 19 (3) Aug 18 (2) Aug 17 (5) Aug 16 (3) Aug 15 (4) Aug 14 (5) Aug 13 (2) Aug 12 (2) Aug 11 (2) Aug 10 (2) Aug 09 (2) Aug 08 (5) Aug 07 (5) Aug 06 (6) Aug 05 (2) Aug 04 (5) Aug 03 (2) Aug 02 (3) Aug 01 (2) Jul 31 (4) Jul 30 (2) Jul 29 (2) Jul 28 (2) Jul 27 (2) Jul 26 (3) Jul 25 (4) Jul 24 (2) Jul 23 (3) Jul 22 (2) Jul 21 (3) Jul 20 (4) Jul 19 (2) Jul 18 (3) Jul 17 (4) Jul 16 (5) Jul 15 (2) Jul 14 (3) Jul 13 (2) Jul 12 (3) Jul 11 (2) Jul 10 (2) Jul 09 (2) Jul 08 (2) Jul 07 (2) Jul 06 (2) Jul 05 (2) Jul 04 (2) Jul 03 (2) Jul 02 (2) Jul 01 (3) Jun 30 (3) Jun 29 (7) Jun 28 (3) Jun 27 (2) Jun 26 (3) Jun 25 (1) Jun 24 (2) Jun 23 (3) Jun 22 (5) Jun 21 (3) Jun 20 (2) Jun 19 (2) Jun 18 (2) Jun 17 (2) Jun 16 (2) Jun 15 (2) Jun 14 (2) Jun 13 (3) Jun 12 (3) Jun 11 (3) Jun 10 (2) Jun 09 (4) Jun 08 (2) Jun 07 (4) Jun 06 (5) Jun 05 (3) Jun 04 (3) Jun 03 (2) Jun 02 (2) Jun 01 (4) May 31 (2) May 30 (3) May 29 (3) May 28 (3) May 27 (2) May 26 (2) May 25 (2) May 24 (2) May 23 (2) May 22 (3) May 21 (3) May 20 (2) May 19 (2) May 18 (4) May 17 (7) May 16 (2) May 15 (2) May 14 (4) May 13 (3) May 12 (4) May 11 (4) May 10 (4) May 09 (3) May 08 (2) May 07 (2) May 06 (2) May 05 (1) May 04 (2) May 03 (4) May 02 (3) May 01 (4) Apr 30 (1) Apr 29 (3) Apr 28 (2) Apr 27 (3) Apr 26 (2) Apr 25 (2) Apr 24 (4) Apr 23 (2) Apr 22 (2) Apr 21 (2) Apr 20 (3) Apr 19 (3) Apr 18 (4) Apr 17 (5) Apr 16 (4) Apr 15 (4) Apr 14 (3) Apr 13 (3) Apr 12 (3) Apr 11 (3) Apr 10 (4) Apr 09 (4) Apr 08 (3) Apr 07 (2) Apr 06 (3) Apr 05 (3) Apr 04 (1) Apr 03 (1) Apr 02 (1) Apr 01 (2) Mar 31 (2) Mar 30 (3) Mar 29 (2) Mar 28 (3) Mar 27 (3) Mar 26 (3) Mar 25 (3) Mar 24 (2) Mar 23 (3) Mar 22 (3) Mar 21 (4) Mar 20 (2) Mar 19 (3) Mar 18 (1) Mar 17 (2) Mar 16 (2) Mar 15 (1) Mar 14 (3) Mar 13 (1) Mar 12 (2) Mar 11 (1) Mar 10 (3) Mar 09 (2) Mar 08 (1) Mar 07 (1) Mar 04 (2) Mar 02 (2) Feb 28 (1) Feb 24 (1) Dec 31 (4) Dec 30 (4) Dec 29 (4) Dec 28 (5) Dec 27 (3) Dec 26 (3) Dec 25 (4) Dec 24 (3) Dec 23 (3) Dec 22 (4) Dec 21 (3) Dec 20 (3) Dec 19 (3) Dec 18 (3) Dec 17 (3) Dec 16 (3) Dec 15 (3) Dec 14 (3) Dec 13 (3) Dec 12 (3) Dec 11 (3) Dec 10 (3) Dec 09 (3) Dec 08 (3) Dec 07 (3) Dec 06 (3) Dec 05 (3) Dec 04 (3) Dec 03 (4) Dec 02 (3) Dec 01 (3) Nov 30 (3) Nov 29 (3) Nov 28 (3) Nov 27 (3) Nov 26 (3) Nov 25 (3) Nov 24 (3) Nov 23 (3) Nov 22 (3) Nov 21 (3) Nov 20 (3) Nov 19 (3) Nov 18 (3) Nov 17 (3) Nov 16 (2) Nov 15 (3) Nov 14 (3) Nov 13 (3) Nov 12 (4) Nov 11 (3) Nov 10 (4) Nov 09 (4) Nov 08 (4) Nov 07 (3) Nov 06 (3) Nov 05 (5) Nov 04 (4) Nov 03 (3) Nov 02 (4) Nov 01 (4) Oct 31 (4) Oct 30 (3) Oct 29 (3) Oct 28 (2) Oct 27 (4) Oct 26 (4) Oct 25 (4) Oct 24 (3) Oct 23 (3) Oct 22 (3) Oct 21 (4) Oct 20 (4) Oct 19 (3) Oct 18 (4) Oct 17 (4) Oct 16 (3) Oct 15 (3) Oct 14 (3) Oct 13 (3) Oct 12 (3) Oct 11 (3) Oct 10 (4) Oct 09 (3) Oct 08 (3) Oct 07 (4) Oct 06 (3) Oct 05 (4) Oct 04 (3) Oct 03 (4) Oct 02 (5) Oct 01 (3) Sep 30 (4) Sep 29 (3) Sep 28 (3) Sep 27 (4) Sep 26 (3) Sep 25 (3) Sep 24 (3) Sep 23 (3) Sep 22 (3) Sep 21 (3) Sep 20 (3) Sep 19 (4) Sep 18 (3) Sep 17 (3) Sep 16 (4) Sep 15 (3) Sep 14 (3) Sep 13 (3) Sep 12 (4) Sep 11 (4) Sep 10 (4) Sep 09 (4) Sep 08 (4) Sep 07 (3) Sep 06 (3) Sep 05 (3) Sep 04 (3) Sep 03 (3) Sep 02 (4) Sep 01 (3) Aug 31 (3) Aug 30 (4) Aug 29 (3) Aug 28 (3) Aug 27 (3) Aug 26 (3) Aug 25 (4) Aug 24 (4) Aug 23 (5) Aug 22 (3) Aug 21 (3) Aug 20 (3) Aug 19 (3) Aug 18 (3) Aug 17 (3) Aug 16 (3) Aug 15 (3) Aug 14 (3) Aug 13 (3) Aug 12 (3) Aug 11 (4) Aug 10 (5) Aug 09 (3) Aug 08 (3) Aug 07 (4) Aug 06 (5) Aug 05 (4) Aug 04 (3) Aug 03 (3) Aug 02 (3) Aug 01 (3) Jul 31 (3) Jul 30 (4) Jul 29 (3) Jul 28 (5) Jul 27 (3) Jul 26 (3) Jul 25 (3) Jul 24 (3) Jul 23 (4) Jul 22 (3) Jul 21 (4) Jul 20 (3) Jul 19 (3) Jul 18 (4) Jul 17 (4) Jul 16 (4) Jul 15 (3) Jul 14 (3) Jul 13 (4) Jul 12 (5) Jul 11 (4) Jul 10 (4) Jul 09 (3) Jul 08 (3) Jul 07 (3) Jul 06 (5) Jul 05 (3) Jul 04 (3) Jul 03 (4) Jul 02 (3) Jul 01 (6) Jun 30 (4) Jun 29 (4) Jun 28 (3) Jun 27 (4) Jun 26 (4) Jun 25 (5) Jun 24 (4) Jun 23 (3) Jun 22 (5) Jun 21 (5) Jun 20 (4) Jun 19 (4) Jun 18 (5) Jun 17 (4) Jun 16 (5) Jun 15 (5) Jun 14 (3) Jun 13 (3) Jun 12 (3) Jun 11 (3) Jun 10 (5) Jun 09 (3) Jun 08 (4) Jun 07 (4) Jun 06 (5) Jun 05 (4) Jun 04 (3) Jun 03 (4) Jun 02 (5) Jun 01 (3) May 31 (4) May 30 (3) May 29 (3) May 28 (3) May 27 (3) May 26 (4) May 25 (4) May 24 (4) May 23 (4) May 22 (3) May 21 (3) May 20 (4) May 19 (3) May 18 (3) May 17 (4) May 16 (3) May 15 (4) May 14 (3) May 13 (4) May 12 (1) May 11 (3) May 10 (3) May 09 (3) May 08 (3) May 07 (4) May 06 (3) May 05 (4) May 04 (4) May 03 (3) May 02 (3) May 01 (6) Apr 30 (3) Apr 29 (3) Apr 28 (3) Apr 27 (5) Apr 26 (3) Apr 25 (3) Apr 24 (3) Apr 23 (3) Apr 22 (3) Apr 21 (3) Apr 20 (3) Apr 19 (3) Apr 18 (3) Apr 17 (4) Apr 16 (3) Apr 15 (4) Apr 14 (3) Apr 13 (3) Apr 12 (3) Apr 11 (3) Apr 10 (3) Apr 09 (3) Apr 08 (3) Apr 07 (3) Apr 06 (3) Apr 05 (3) Apr 04 (3) Apr 03 (3) Apr 02 (3) Apr 01 (3) Mar 31 (3) Mar 30 (3) Mar 29 (3) Mar 28 (4) Mar 27 (3) Mar 26 (3) Mar 25 (3) Mar 24 (3) Mar 23 (3) Mar 22 (3) Mar 21 (3) Mar 20 (3) Mar 19 (3) Mar 18 (3) Mar 17 (3) Mar 16 (4) Mar 15 (3) Mar 14 (3) Mar 13 (3) Mar 12 (4) Mar 11 (3) Mar 10 (4) Mar 09 (4) Mar 08 (3) Mar 07 (3) Mar 06 (4) Mar 05 (4) Mar 04 (3) Mar 03 (3) Mar 02 (3) Mar 01 (3) Feb 28 (3) Feb 27 (3) Feb 26 (3) Feb 25 (3) Feb 24 (2) Feb 23 (3) Feb 22 (3) Feb 21 (3) Feb 20 (3) Feb 19 (3) Feb 18 (3) Feb 17 (3) Feb 16 (3) Feb 15 (3) Feb 14 (3) Feb 13 (3) Feb 12 (3) Feb 11 (4) Feb 10 (3) Feb 09 (3) Feb 08 (3) Feb 07 (4) Feb 06 (3) Feb 05 (3) Feb 04 (4) Feb 03 (4) Feb 02 (4) Feb 01 (4) Jan 31 (3) Jan 30 (3) Jan 29 (3) Jan 28 (5) Jan 27 (4) Jan 26 (5) Jan 25 (5) Jan 24 (5) Jan 23 (4) Jan 22 (3) Jan 21 (4) Jan 20 (3) Jan 19 (5) Jan 18 (5) Jan 17 (4) Jan 16 (3) Jan 15 (4) Jan 14 (3) Jan 13 (5) Jan 12 (5) Jan 11 (4) Jan 10 (4) Jan 09 (3) Jan 08 (3) Jan 07 (3) Jan 06 (3) Jan 05 (3) Jan 04 (4) Jan 03 (3) Jan 02 (3) Jan 01 (4) Dec 31 (3) Dec 30 (3) Dec 29 (3) Dec 28 (3) Dec 27 (3) Dec 26 (3) Dec 25 (3) Dec 24 (3) Dec 23 (4) Dec 22 (3) Dec 21 (3) Dec 20 (3) Dec 19 (3) Dec 18 (3) Dec 17 (3) Dec 16 (4) Dec 15 (3) Dec 14 (3) Dec 13 (3) Dec 12 (3) Dec 11 (4) Dec 10 (3) Dec 09 (3) Dec 08 (3) Dec 07 (3) Dec 06 (4) Dec 05 (3) Dec 04 (3) Dec 03 (3) Dec 02 (3) Dec 01 (3) Nov 30 (3) Nov 29 (3) Nov 28 (3) Nov 27 (3) Nov 26 (3) Nov 25 (3) Nov 24 (4) Nov 23 (6) Nov 22 (4) Nov 21 (5) Nov 20 (4) Nov 19 (4) Nov 18 (4) Nov 17 (4) Nov 16 (3) Nov 15 (2) Nov 14 (3) Nov 13 (3) Nov 12 (2) Nov 11 (3) Nov 10 (2) Nov 09 (4) Nov 08 (5) Nov 07 (3) Nov 06 (2) Nov 05 (2) Nov 04 (3) Nov 03 (2) Nov 02 (4) Nov 01 (4) Oct 31 (2) Oct 30 (6) Oct 29 (5) Oct 28 (3) Oct 27 (5) Oct 26 (3) Oct 25 (4) Oct 24 (3) Oct 23 (4) Oct 22 (3) Oct 21 (5) Oct 20 (4) Oct 19 (4) Oct 18 (4) Oct 17 (3) Oct 16 (2) Oct 15 (3) Oct 14 (3) Oct 13 (2) Oct 12 (2) Oct 11 (2) Oct 10 (3) Oct 09 (4) Oct 08 (2) Oct 07 (2) Oct 06 (2) Oct 05 (3) Oct 04 (2) Oct 03 (4) Oct 02 (3) Oct 01 (3) Sep 30 (3) Sep 29 (4) Sep 28 (3) Sep 27 (2) Sep 26 (2) Sep 25 (2) Sep 24 (1) Sep 23 (1) Sep 22 (2) Sep 21 (2) Sep 20 (1) Sep 19 (1) Sep 18 (1) Sep 17 (2) Sep 16 (1) Sep 15 (2) Sep 14 (2) Sep 13 (1) Sep 12 (1) Sep 11 (2) Sep 10 (2) Sep 09 (1) Sep 08 (1) Sep 07 (2) Sep 06 (1) Sep 05 (1) Sep 04 (2) Sep 03 (1) Sep 02 (1) Sep 01 (1) Aug 31 (2) Aug 30 (1) Aug 29 (1) Aug 28 (1) Aug 27 (1) Aug 26 (1) Aug 25 (1) Aug 24 (1) Aug 23 (2) Aug 22 (1) Aug 21 (1) Aug 20 (2) Aug 19 (1) Aug 18 (1) Aug 17 (2) Aug 16 (2) Aug 15 (1) Aug 14 (1) Aug 12 (1) Aug 09 (1) Aug 08 (1) Aug 07 (1) Aug 05 (1) Aug 04 (1) Jul 31 (1) Jul 30 (3) Jul 29 (5) Jul 28 (2) Jul 27 (3) Jul 26 (3) Jul 25 (3) Jul 24 (3) Jul 23 (3) Jul 22 (3) Jul 21 (4) Jul 20 (4) Jul 19 (3) Jul 18 (4) Jul 17 (6) Jul 16 (5) Jul 15 (3) Jul 14 (4) Jul 13 (4) Jul 12 (4) Jul 11 (3) Jul 10 (4) Jul 09 (3) Jul 08 (4) Jul 07 (3) Jul 06 (5) Jul 05 (4) Jul 04 (4) Jul 03 (4) Jul 02 (5) Jul 01 (3) Jun 30 (4) Jun 29 (6) Jun 28 (4) Jun 27 (4) Jun 26 (4) Jun 25 (4) Jun 24 (4) Jun 23 (4) Jun 22 (6) Jun 21 (3) Jun 20 (3) Jun 19 (6) Jun 18 (5) Jun 17 (5) Jun 16 (5) Jun 15 (4) Jun 14 (4) Jun 13 (5) Jun 12 (4) Jun 11 (3) Jun 10 (4) Jun 09 (3) Jun 08 (3) Jun 07 (4) Jun 06 (3) Jun 05 (4) Jun 04 (5) Jun 03 (5) Jun 02 (4) Jun 01 (5) May 31 (4) May 30 (4) May 29 (4) May 28 (5) May 27 (5) May 26 (5) May 25 (4) May 24 (5) May 23 (4) May 22 (4) May 21 (3) May 20 (6) May 19 (4) May 18 (4) May 17 (4) May 16 (5) May 15 (3) May 14 (3) May 13 (4) May 12 (3) May 11 (3) May 10 (3) May 09 (3) May 08 (3) May 07 (3) May 06 (3) May 05 (3) May 04 (3) May 03 (3) May 02 (3) May 01 (4) Apr 30 (4) Apr 29 (6) Apr 28 (3) Apr 27 (3) Apr 26 (3) Apr 25 (4) Apr 24 (4) Apr 23 (3) Apr 22 (3) Apr 21 (4) Apr 20 (3) Apr 19 (3) Apr 18 (3) Apr 17 (6) Apr 16 (3) Apr 15 (4) Apr 14 (3) Apr 13 (6) Apr 12 (4) Apr 11 (4) Apr 10 (5) Apr 09 (7) Apr 08 (3) Apr 07 (4) Apr 06 (4) Apr 05 (4) Apr 04 (6) Apr 03 (4) Apr 02 (4) Apr 01 (3) Mar 31 (4) Mar 30 (5) Mar 29 (5) Mar 28 (6) Mar 27 (5) Mar 26 (5) Mar 25 (3) Mar 24 (4) Mar 23 (3) Mar 22 (3) Mar 21 (5) Mar 20 (3) Mar 19 (5) Mar 18 (4) Mar 17 (5) Mar 16 (5) Mar 15 (3) Mar 14 (6) Mar 13 (4) Mar 12 (4) Mar 11 (5) Mar 10 (4) Mar 09 (7) Mar 08 (5) Mar 07 (5) Mar 06 (6) Mar 05 (4) Mar 04 (4) Mar 03 (4) Mar 02 (6) Mar 01 (4) Feb 28 (4) Feb 27 (4) Feb 26 (5) Feb 25 (4) Feb 24 (5) Feb 23 (5) Feb 22 (6) Feb 21 (6) Feb 20 (3) Feb 19 (6) Feb 18 (7) Feb 17 (4) Feb 16 (5) Feb 15 (7) Feb 14 (5) Feb 13 (5) Feb 12 (6) Feb 11 (8) Feb 10 (4) Feb 09 (6) Feb 08 (4) Feb 07 (3) Feb 06 (6) Feb 05 (3) Feb 04 (6) Feb 03 (4) Feb 02 (3) Feb 01 (4) Jan 31 (5) Jan 30 (4) Jan 29 (6) Jan 28 (3) Jan 27 (6) Jan 26 (6) Jan 25 (4) Jan 24 (5) Jan 23 (5) Jan 22 (5) Jan 21 (5) Jan 20 (5) Jan 19 (5) Jan 18 (4) Jan 17 (6) Jan 16 (4) Jan 15 (3) Jan 14 (5) Jan 13 (3) Jan 12 (4) Jan 11 (5) Jan 10 (3) Jan 09 (6) Jan 08 (5) Jan 07 (4) Jan 06 (5) Jan 05 (6) Jan 04 (4) Jan 03 (3) Jan 02 (2) Jan 01 (4) Dec 31 (3) Dec 30 (3) Dec 29 (5) Dec 28 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It was 5:15 p.m. on Thursday and traffic was bumper to bumper on Columbus Avenue as cars crawled westbound toward Humphreys Street.

Just before Columbus crosses Leroux Street, its hard to miss a line of orange cones and a sign anchored by sandbags clearly indicating that left turns onto Leroux by westbound cars are prohibited. The cones and sign, both newly installed, were a reaction to a dramatic spike in illegal left turns onto the residential street since June. That's when construction began on the 18-month Beaver Street road and utility improvement project one block away.

According to statistics from the Flagstaff Police Department, between June 1 and the end of August, police issued 85 citations and warnings to people who failed to obey the three existing no left turn signs at the Leroux and Columbus intersection. Sergeant Jeff James, who oversees traffic enforcement for the police department, said that number is also likely to grow because some reports from that time period have yet to be processed. On top of that, the police department asked area residents to record the license plate numbers of drivers they saw making illegal left turns onto Leroux and, so far, the department has sent out an additional 15 warning letters to drivers identified by those residents.

By comparison, over the same time period last year, the police department issued zero warnings or citations for an illegal left turn at that intersection.

Residents are also reporting more traffic and vehicles driving faster down Leroux since construction started.

We're living like we're on Beaver Street here and weve got a narrower street than Beaver and a lot of vehicles parking on the street, said Dan Cady, who lives on Leroux just south of Columbus. I don't know what to make of it.

Last Wednesday, Cady counted 160 to 170 cars an hour coming down his street during rush hour.

James explained that with the closure of a major downtown artery like Beaver, all traffic coming from the north has to funnel onto Humphreys, which creates backups that extend up Columbus. People stuck in traffic seem to be ignoring posted signs and turning onto Leroux to avoid the gridlock, James said.

Some drivers access Leroux from DeSilva one block north, then cross Columbus and continue south on Leroux legally without making a turn. Also, it is not illegal to turn right onto Leroux going eastbound on Columbus -- in fact, detour signs direct drivers to do so from that direction.

After receiving an uptick in resident complaints about the traffic and the illegal turns, the police increased enforcement in the area. While that tactic usually leads to a decrease in violations, that doesnt seem to be happening this time, James said.

Were still seeing a lot of violations, he said.

When he stops people for making the illegal left turn, James said he asks them if they saw the signs posted around the intersection. Most people admit that yes, they were aware, he said.

But there is frustration from violators as well that they're getting backed up in traffic and there is congestion, James said. While they are consciously committing that violation, they're also wondering why they can't use Leroux Street.

Jeff Bauman, traffic engineer with the city of Flagstaff, said the left turn restriction was implemented in response to a petition from area neighbors for traffic calming devices or other restrictions. Cady and another Leroux Street resident Connie Ghiglieri were among those neighbors and said they were spurred to action after Beaver and San Francisco became one-way streets, causing traffic on Leroux to swell. They said it was an 18-month effort to petition the city's traffic commission for a remedy. Eventually, they got the left turn restriction and a large median structure at the head of the road.

Those two things worked well until the Beaver construction started, Ghiglieri said.

She and Cady both said noise from the increased traffic on their street has been the most noticeable and bothersome impact. Cady said he also worries more about neighborhood safety now.

They said they wish people would simply slow down when going through the residential area.

As for businesses on the torn up part of Beaver Street, at least two said the construction hasnt been any sort of headache for employee and customer access.

We just tell people to access our building another way. It takes a little explanation but its tolerable said Kate Noonan, a legal assistant at Shorall McGoldrick Brinkmann.

Renee Spannuth, a broker at Flagstaff Property Management, similarly said that all of the business clients have been able to find their way to the office via Leroux or crossing Beaver at times when the construction team will allow.

"Leroux is the new Beaver," Spannuth said.
As developers seek to build new subdivisions across Baton Rouge, residents anxious after last year's floods have grown increasingly concerned about whether more pavement, more houses and more development will ratchet up their risk of becoming second-time flood survivors.

Plots of land that flooded last year are still fair game to develop. But their potential neighbors are now demanding to know whether the developers who build on them and the city officials who approve those plans are properly considering the flood-related ramifications, spurred on by the belief that half-baked decisions over the past several decades led to flooding in neighborhoods that should have stayed dry.

A proposed "Lakes at Jones Creek" development set to soon be considered by the Planning Commission illustrates the conflict. The vacant land flooded a year ago, as did the homes in many developments adjacent to the property.

Developer Steven Duplechain said his engineers have ensured that his proposed 425-home subdivision just south of Jones Creek would not adversely affect the existing neighborhoods, should water in the creek start to rise. But nearby residents are distrustful of whether that's actually the case and have already started packing into public meetings about the issue by the hundreds.

Similar skepticism has shadowed other planning and zoning debates since floods in August 2016 inundated Baton Rouge. Neighbors were similarly worried and outraged when developers received green lights in the past year to build The Willows at Bayou Fountain subdivision and The Sanctuary development near the Amite River, among others.

"After that major flood event, we have not looked at the Unified Development Code and saw what changes should have been for over a year," said Metro Councilman Buddy Amoroso, who represents the district that would house the Lakes at Jones Creek. "That's an indictment on me personally; I'll take the blame. We're still building like it's 1994, we need to look at changing it."

Amoroso is bringing a proposal to his fellow council members that would open the door for Baton Rouge to change its standards for building in high-risk flood zones, such as the one where the Lakes at Jones Creek is planned. Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome has also commissioned engineering firm HNTB to create a stormwater master plan for the city-parish that is supposed to take a more holistic look at drainage.

+2 New subdivision approved for Bayou Fountain area that flooded in August A new subdivision has been approved for the northwest side of Burbank Drive south of Highlan

Jason Engen, chairman of the Baton Rouge Planning Commission, said nearly every development that comes before them sparks concerns from neighbors about drainage and traffic. But the law forbids developers from increasing the amount of water coming off a site in volume or capacity, which he said is a key consideration.

Developers are required to submit drainage impact and stormwater management plans that show how they will address runoff and drainage capacity for a 10-year storm event. In special hazard zones, like the Lakes at Jones Creek, contractors are required to take steps like building with flood-resistant materials and placing on-site waste disposals in areas that would prevent them from contaminating homes during floods.

"New developments may not make the situation any better for neighborhoods around them," Engen said. "But they can't, by law, make it any worse."

Frank Duke, the city-parish planning director, said Baton Rouge has less stringent building requirements than other areas where he has worked, including Florida and North Carolina. Developers in Baton Rouge are required to build for stormwater management based on so-called "10 year-storms," but Duke said he would be interested in exploring potential changes to require building for more intense weather events.

But Duke also said it is not fair to hold developers, property owners and others to standards that don't yet exist.

For homeowners, however, fairness would be keeping existing residences dry.

"We have the right to protect our property from future flooding," said Mary Stewart, president of the Country Manor Homeowner Association, which would neighbor the Lakes at Jones Creek.

"Why are we even looking at new development until this report is done?" she asked, referencing the stormwater master plan.

Duplechain's proposed development on 178 acres would be bordered by Jones Creek on the north, Coursey Cove and Parkview Oaks neighborhoods on the south, Jones Creek Road to the east and Country Manor on the west. The 330-page stormwater management plan engineers from Quality Engineering and Surveying LLC created for the development show that runoff water would be routed to at least six new ponds and four existing ones.

Duplechain acknowledged that the area is low-lying and in proximity to waterways that flooded last year. But he also said it is doable to develop the Lakes at Jones Creek in a smart way that does not create additional flooding problems.

"It's taken a lot of effort to ensure it can be developed in a way that won't impact the surrounding neighborhoods and that it can support itself," said Duplechain, who owns GSD Development. "It would be unwise not to consider the impact of Jones Creek and the back flooding from the Amite River basin that can occur in that area. All of the property in that area is subject to back flooding. You have to consider that."

M.E. Cormier, the president of the Woodland Ridge Home Owner's Association, got more than a foot of water in her home when the floods hit last year. Woodland Ridge is north of Jones Creek and the proposed development.

She called the plot of land where the Lakes at Jones Creek would go "a vital green space sandwiched between at least four neighborhoods that flooded."

"The green space without a shadow of a doubt helped dissipate some of the water that would have been in our homes," Cormier said. "We received 1 to 3 feet instead of 3 to 6 feet of water in our homes."

Both Cormier and Stewart were critical of the idea that detention ponds would be enough to manage the drainage. They said the ponds may help while the development is new but could lose their effectiveness over time if they are not properly looked after.

Duplechain agreed that the effectiveness of the ponds would be diminished if they fill with silt. But he countered that he will require homeowners to contribute money to an association charged with maintaining the ponds. He also said they will work to prevent the flooding of neighbors.

"If they're unwilling to accept the science of that, I do not know the alternative I can put before them that will convince them that we will not contribute to their flooding," he said.

The Planning Commission was initially expected to vote on whether to approve the Lakes at Jones Creek development at its Sept. 18 meeting, but Amoroso has requested a deferral until Oct. 16.

+11 Baton Rouge-area church services remember one-year anniversary of the flood of 2016 More than a year ago, the choir at Living Faith Christian Center belted out it will get bet

Cormier questioned what would have happened without the outcry from citizens.

"Why is the onus on responsible citizens to check and balance this?" she asked. "Why is the onus on responsible citizens to be aware of the situation and research the situation?"

Kahli Cohran, president of the Baton Rouge chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers, said the city-parish needs to be creative in its approach to drainage. He pointed to years of building roads in Baton Rouge with the narrow thought of moving cars rather than thinking about pedestrians, bike riders, mass transit and mobility.

But he also cautioned against equating all new development with negative effects, saying that new developments can also present opportunities to improve drainage, traffic and other infrastructure concerns.

"They don't always have to be looked at as more development, negative impacts," Cohran said.
DONALDSONVILLE  The Ascension Parish Planning Commission will have to take another look at a 50-home subdivision proposed for Prairieville after parish officials called into question the validity of a prior vote rejecting the project.

In June, the Planning Commission rejected the Reese Lane neighborhood south of Parker Road, which is proposed in a fast-growing area near Prairieville Primary School and the future site of another high school. It's also near several other subdivisions where residents say there are traffic problems as well as drainage concerns.

Residents from neighboring subdivisions aired their concerns at the meeting, though the project had satisfied the parish staff members who reviewed it. The developer, D.R. Horton, appealed the decision to the Parish Council under a new procedure that took effect earlier this year.

On Thursday, neighbors from such subdivisions as Parker Place Estates and Quail Creek, which are near the proposed subdivision, highlighted traffic troubles, the overcrowded elementary school and near-misses from having their homes flood after heavy thunderstorms over the past year and a half to two years.

Some also noted the warnings of former parish drainage engineer Rhonda Braud in February 2016 that apparent drainage miscalculations from an older subdivision in the area had been re-used in subsequent projects by other developers. Braud suggested then that those miscalculations could be a factor in the drainage troubles, though she couldn't identify the miscalculation. Some of the subdivisions in the area share the same detention pond and rely on some of the same drainage ditches.

"Nothing has changed where I'm at," said Jeremiah Hall, a former New Orleans resident who moved his family to the area. "The watershed hasn't changed. The drainage hasn't changed. The ditches haven't  nothing has changed, so to me, we're all still working off a bad drainage plan and that needs to be addressed before we do anything else."

Braud raised the issue for another subdivision then under review in the area, Brookstone, which ultimately was approved. Parish officials have said previously they were working on the drainage issue.

But Jimmie Percy, attorney for D.R. Horton, maintained that Reese Lane has met or exceeded all of the parish's requirements, and the developers altered the drainage plans to conform with parish planners concerns.

"The record reflects there was no substantive evidence. Anecdotal evidence was issued, just like this evening, and I am not going to demean one of those people who got up here and spoke because they spoke from their heart," Percy said.

But he urged "the council to actually review the substantive evidence in the record, including the drainage study, the traffic study, all of which you require."

But after an extensive debate, Councilwoman Teri Casso recommended sending the project back to the commission to resolve a "procedural issue" first raised by Percy.

Parish Attorney O'Neil Parenton Jr. later said the seven-member commission's vote to deny in June was 2-1 with three members absent and the acting chairman choosing not to vote. The minimum needed for a quorum of the commission is four members.

"I don't think this thing will end here tonight, one way or the other," he said, alluding to possible litigation over the project.

Parenton said he would prefer to have a proper procedural vote, though, in case it ends up in court.

"I would much prefer to be in court where we've had a sufficient vote on that," he said

He noted that the commission has not adopted bylaws or Robert's Rules of Order, shortfalls that Parenton said could raise procedural issues. Percy agreed to send the project back to the commission but also reserved the right to appeal the first commission's decision.

Councilman Daniel "Doc" Satterlee said he would not support referring the project back because there was no guarantee the commission would follow procedural rules when it considered the project again. Parenton later noted that the commission was scheduled to consider adopting the procedural rules next week.

The council then voted, 8-2, to send the project back to the commission, with Councilmen Satterlee and Aaron Lawler opposing the motion. Council Dempsey Lambert was absent.
For the first time since historic floods swept across Louisiana last August, the state's flood recovery efforts won't benefit from money that Congress has allocated for disaster aid.

The fast-tracked disaster assistance package that was prompted by Hurricane Harvey and quickly signed into law by President Donald Trump on Friday, specifies that only disasters that happened in 2017 qualify for the $7.4 billion that will flow to states through semi-flexible U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development grants.

The HUD-administered Community Development Block Grant program has been the key source of Louisiana's nearly $1.8 billion in Congress-approved flood recovery dollars so far. Each time Congress has sent money to CDBG for disaster aid in the past year, Louisiana's gotten a cut of it for flood recovery efforts  most recently in May.

But the total allocation remains less than half of what Gov. John Bel Edwards and Louisiana's Congressional delegation have requested. The state estimates that nearly 100,000 homes were damaged or destroyed in the 2016 floods, which were described at the time as the worst natural disaster since Superstorm Sandy hit the northeastern coastline in 2012. The state also has sought aid for business owners, the agriculture industry and local government efforts.

Edwards' deputy chief of staff Richard Carbo said the governor understands that Congress's priority was to provide aid for areas of Texas that were hit hard by Hurricane Harvey, which made landfall on Aug. 25 and dumped massive amounts of rain over several days, flooding Houston and surrounding areas.

"Texas was devastated by Hurricane Harvey, and rightfully so, this initial package of disaster assistance will go to their recovery efforts," Carbo said.

Louisiana had braced for Harvey, but the storm didn't have as damaging of an impact on the state as leaders had feared. Edwards sent state resources to Texas to assist with recovery efforts, including Louisiana National guardsmen, and opened multiple shelters to take in Texas evacuees.

Carbo said Texas is reimbursing Louisiana for those efforts.

Gov. John Bel Edwards urges Congress to address SBA loan issue Gov. John Bel Edwards is again urging Congress to clear a restriction that has affected thou

In addition to the CDBG funding in the Harvey aid package, Congress approved $7.4 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency Disaster Relief Fund and $450 million for the Small Business Authority disaster loan program.

The legislation, which zipped through Congress as it returned this week from the August recess, passed at Trump's urging.

"The President appreciates Congress putting aside partisan politics and acting quickly to ensure that first responders, local officials, and Federal emergency management personnel have the resources they need to respond to the natural disasters impacting our nation," Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement.

It also raises the debt ceiling and funds government through December 8, preventing a government shutdown this month.

Carbo said that the Edwards administration is constantly reviewing the continued flood recovery needs.

"Gov. Edwards will continue to work with Louisianas congressional delegation to ensure that we have every available resource we need for a full recovery," he said.

He said the state will continue to press the federal government for infrastructure aid, including funding for the long-delayed Comite River Diversion Canal.

Before Harvey hit, Edwards and other leaders had been continuing to push for additional funding. HUD Secretary Ben Carson visited Louisiana last month to discuss the flood recovery.

Texas names A&M chancellor as Harvey recovery czar Texas's recovery from Hurricane Harvey will be led by the chancellor of Texas A&M, who h

Members of Louisiana's congressional delegation, including U.S. Rep. Garret Graves, a Baton Rouge Republican, and U.S. Sen. John Kennedy, a Madisonville Republican, have repeatedly voiced concern at the state's pace of spending aid that it has already received.

Both have said that they have found it difficult to argue that the state needs more recovery money when it has only spent a fraction of the money already allocated. As of Sept. 1, about $17 million dollars had been distributed through the Restore Louisiana Homeowner Program to repair homes damaged in the August flood, as well as a March 2016 flood that primarily impacted north Louisiana.

Congress' decision to tie the Harvey aid package to a temporary, three-month spending plan means that lawmakers will have to come up with another agreement by December 8 to prevent a government shutdown.

That could give Louisiana another shot at securing additional flood aid.

Congress also didn't address an issue that Edwards and members of the delegation have raised about a conflict between HUD and the Small Business Administration loan program that has prevented thousands of flood-affected homeowners from receiving grant dollars that duplicate government-backed loan awards they received. The homeowner program grants do not have to be repaid, but loans do.

Edwards has said that the SBA loan "duplication of benefits" issue, which is meant to prevent double-dipping, unfairly penalizes homeowners who were urged to take out loans after the floods. He has repeatedly urged Congress to include language in legislation that would override the restriction and allow homeowners who received loans to qualify for grants to help repay them.
I have been a Court Appointed Special Advocate volunteer since 2003 and have advocated on behalf of seven children. I currently have two cases, but have had as many as five, the first one lasting over five years. That first case involved a child who was severely disabled and unable to speak. We met in New Orleans, but she evacuated to north Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina. I was very concerned about her as she turned 18 and moved to a group home setting with no way to communicate. We contacted Louisiana Guardianship Services  a group with a very large caseload  to see about having a guardian appointed to her for life. Thankfully, they took her case, and Im pleased to report that she is happy and healthy and still living in north Louisiana.

This is our goal as CASA volunteers  to find a safe and permanent home for every child in the foster care system. That home may be a new adoptive family, reunification with family or a guardianship  whatever it takes to get that child to a safe and permanent home. As a CASA volunteer, I never wonder if I am making a difference in the life of a child. Its what we do.

For 25 years, CASA speaks up for abused, neglected children After her mother died in 1997, Keshala Jackson discovered she had once attended an orientati

As CASA volunteers, we work as an advocate for each child assigned to us, maintaining contact with the childs parents, foster parents and teachers, among others. While others involved in the foster care system have large caseloads, CASA volunteers focus on one or two children at a time. We have access to all people involved with the child such as teachers, doctors and therapists. This allows us to learn more about the child and report that information to the court, which we do every six months as the case progresses through the system.

Many people assume that they need to be lawyers or otherwise involved in the legal system to be a CASA volunteer. In fact, anyone who cares about children can be a volunteer. The training is very effective, and no special knowledge is necessary.

I am proud to be a part of a positive and effective solution for children who are placed into the foster care system, due to neglect or abuse. Since 1992, CASA has trained 1,226 volunteers that have advocated for over 2,700 children. By helping these children find a safe and permanent home, we are keeping them in school, off the streets and out of prison. Our hope is that one day the cycle will be broken  the cycle that resulted in the child being placed in the system to begin with. Until then our goal is to be a voice for one child at a time.

Laurie Kadair

CASA volunteer

Baton Rouge
In this aerial photo, businesses and neighborhoods near Addicks Reservoir are flooded by rain from Tropical Storm Harvey Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) ORG XMIT: TXDP187
Police have called for witnesses to a robbery at the 5 Star Supermarket at Duffy shops on Friday night.

About 6.05pm a man entered the supermarket armed with a knife, and demanded cash from a staff member.

The vehicle police are searching for.

He fled the supermarket with the cash till in either a Mitsubishi Pajero Sport or Challenger.

The man was wearing a white theatre-style mask, a dark hooded jumper, dark pants, dark gloves and tan boots.
Take a bow, Shaw Vineyard Estate.

Their 2015 Reserve Merriman Cabernet Sauvignon wowed judges and was named 'Best Red in Show' at the 2017 Australian Cool Climate Wine awards.

Shaw Vineyard Estate's 2015 Reserve Merriman Cabernet Sauvignon won Best Red trophy at the 2017 Australian Cool Climate Wine Show. Credit:Jay Beckton

Chair of Judges Sarah Andrew said the wine, with strong blackcurrant and earthy notes, "showed beautiful varietal definition" and "purity of fruit".

Judges gathered for five full days of tasting in Murrumbateman for the 18th annual awards, swirling, sniffing and tasting wines from 513 entrants.
The number of Canberra public school students involved in physical assaults has surged from 233 in 2012 to more than 2000 this year.

The Education Directorate data captures how many students were involved in each incident, meaning multiple people are counted in each assault and the same student may be recorded several times in the same year.

Student-on-student assaults have increased tenfold. Credit:Janie Barrett

A directorate spokeswoman said the upward trend was in line with a cultural shift towards better reporting.

"Our Safe and Supportive Schools policy sets the platform for every student to have the right to be treated with fairness and dignity," a spokeswoman said.
There is a battle royale looming in the retail sector and while its not directly related to Amazon, it comes about because of online shopping.

The angst is that in amending the Retail Leases Act, which came into effect on July 1, NSW has become the first state to legislate that online revenue be excluded from turnover calculations.

Landlords will be looking at rent leases in an attempt to stop leakage of sales revenue from online shopping. Credit:Christopher Pearce

But, as with a lot of legislation, it is not national, yet the country's biggest retail landlords all operate in every state. Queensland updated its legislation in 2016, though did not address the e-commerce issue, while there is no mention of online revenue in the Victorian Retail Leases Act 2003.

In NSW, the amendment to the Retail Leases Act 1994 says that turnover rent excludes online revenue except where the goods are delivered or provided from the shop, or the transaction takes place while the customer is at the shop.A tenant is not required to provide information to the landlord regarding online transactions except where the goods are delivered or provided from the shop, or the transaction takes place while the customer is at the shop.So, the issue is, as more stores sell online, how do the landlords get a cut of the action and stop the online sales revenue leakage?
Late on Wednesday night, while the High Court mulled over the marriage postal survey, Canberra hacks imbibed at their usual haunt in Manuka. Buoyed by liquor, the verdict was already in: not a single Labor staffer believed the challenge would succeed, and almost every Liberal (they were all moderates) hoped it would.

The plan B that no one really wanted has now come to fruition. And its outcome is impossible to predict, in large part because this survey is voluntary, and will present campaigners with a question unprecedented in Australian political history: how do you get out the vote?

At 91 per cent, turnout at last year's federal election was the lowest since compulsory voting was introduced in 1925. That reflects a worldwide trend, according to the Australian Election Commission, and it's particularly pronounced among voters under 40.

For decades, researchers at the Australian National University have asked Australians about this matter. In 2016, 80 per cent said they would still vote if it were voluntary  down from 88 per cent in 2007  and only about three quarters of those would "definitely" vote, while a quarter would "probably".
Blunt instrument: Peter Dutton is only the latest in a long line of Australian officials trying to use language to shore up his political objectives. Credit:Andrew Meares Eventually, after a decision by the High Court, he was permitted to disembark in Sydney. Customs officials promptly delivered him to Sydney's Central Police Station. And there, Australia subjected Egon Kisch to what its lawmakers thought was its trump card: The dictation test. Officials boarding the Awatea in Sydney in December 1936 to administer the dictation test in Italian to Mabel Freer, a British subject. Between 1909 and 1958, no one passed the test. Credit:Harry Martin It was the bluntest instrument of the Immigration Restriction Act of 1901, otherwise known as the White Australia Policy.

Its edict? "Any person who when asked to do so by an officer fails to write out at dictation and sign in the presence of the officer a passage of 50 words in length in any European language directed by the officer [is a prohibited immigrant]." Egon Kisch, his leg broken after jumping onto Station Pier at Port Melbourne, is carried out of court in Sydney on December 12, 1934. Credit:Fairfax Photographic Library If a Customs officer didn't like the colour of an applicant's skin, a handy language was chosen - Greek, perhaps, for a Chinese applicant, though convoluted English was usually sufficient. It was wildly successful. Not a single person passed the test after 1909 until the scheme was abandoned in 1958. The 59 who passed early were apparently beneficiaries of Customs officials who failed to realise how bloody-minded they were supposed to be. Australian archives still holds files of approved dictation tests. Here's one from May 1931:

"It is only in the South that any training in his profession is undertaken by the fetish man: in all other parts of the region the office devolves upon its holder in quite an accidental manner: the distinction is thrust upon some native whose fortune has in some way distinguished him from his fellows." At Central Police Station, the authorities faced a problem. Egon Kisch reputedly spoke a dozen European languages. But then stepped forward Constable James Mackay, born in Scotland. He claimed to speak Gaelic, and dictated to Kisch what he thought was the Lord's Prayer. In Scottish Gaelic. Kisch, unsurprisingly, couldn't pass the test. He was duly charged with being a prohibited migrant. The court case was farcical. A retired police inspector, called to declare that Constable Mackay was fluent in Gaelic (though he clearly wasn't), turned out to know so little of Gaelic that he couldn't translate or understand the words of the Lord's Prayer himself.

No matter. Kisch was convicted and sentenced to six months' hard labour. He appealed to the High Court, which ruled that Scottish Gaelic was not a European language - which in turn got a lot of Scots around the world very angry indeed. Kisch, however, remained free, merrily addressing rallies all over the place. Finally, it was agreed by all parties that - having achieved more publicity than he could ever have dreamed - he would leave the country, his costs paid by the government. All these years later, Peter Dutton is the latest Australian official to find himself accused of cack-handedness in the deployment of a language test to keep unwanted immigrants at bay. Few Australians, of course, argue against the proposition that immigrants ought to have an understanding of English if they are to become citizens, even though some of Australia's most prominent and successful citizens arrived here in the postwar years with barely a word of the language.

The level of competency and fluency required, however, is the question that currently sees Dutton's proposition all but doomed in the Senate. Until now, the citizenship test has presumed a successful applicant would have the equivalent of Level 5 (out of 9) of the International English Language Testing Scheme. Dutton now wants a separate test that would require a pass at Level 6. Critics claim this is equivalent to university level English, which doesn't sound particularly immigrant-friendly. The test is administered and marked in England at Cambridge University, which describes Level 6 as acceptable for "linguistically demanding training courses". Here is part of a "practice test" for reading and comprehension:
I'd been a head pastry chef for years, but when I saw these colourful piles of salads everywhere, I just had to learn how to make them. Yotam agreed; he's very easygoing, which is probably why we're still working together.

Yotam hadn't published any cookbooks or started his Guardian newspaper column, so I had no idea what to expect. My husband David, who is Jewish-Australian, warned me not to call him "Yatom", which means "orphan" in Hebrew, so in my head I was going, "Yo-tam, Yo-tam" as we went downstairs to a very busy kitchen.

HELEN: We met in 2006, when I relocated to London from Melbourne. Yotam was interviewing me for a job, so he was rather formal, even though we were sitting in the sun on a ledge outside Ottolenghi [his deli/cafe] in Notting Hill.

It was a baptism of fire. I was coming home exhausted, with blisters on my fingers from all the chopping. After four months, I told Yotam I was going to leave to complete my doctorate in psychology. He has a master's in philosophy and comparative literature and was a newspaper section editor, so is used to juggling different lives.

He suggested I manage the smaller Ottolenghi in Kensington, which meant less chopping, and created a job for me called "product development", so I could keep working flexible hours.

Part of it was to come up with new ideas, recipes and menu items. A group of us, including Sami Tamimi, Yotam's executive chef, became like family. Yotam and I were always talking about cakes; I'd often pop over to his place on Sundays with cakes I'd baked. I love simple, classical recipes; he nudges me to be bolder.

Our friendship really took off in 2008 when Yotam came with me on a culinary tour of Malaysia, where I'd spent the first 10 years of my life. He's idiosyncratic about food; he wasn't into slimy things like glutinous rice, or rambutans  because of their seeds. I got him to taste a durian, and it repeated on him all day. He met my mother, who flew from Melbourne to meet him, and some of my extended family. There were times when he saw me crying and behaving in a way that he'd never seen before. It was raw, unresolved stuff from my childhood; I cringe now. I was sure he'd want to take a break from me.

Yotam is godfather to my eldest, Sam, who is six, but is just as affectionate with Jude, my two-year-old. We have play dates in the park with the two boys Max, 4, and Flynn, 2, that Yotam has with his husband, Karl. Yotam is an outspoken advocate of surrogacy, and I was a witness to his long, complicated journey to parenthood. Both my sons were medicalised pregnancies; our respective journeys towards having children gave us even more to talk about.
Dan Cohen, James Windon and Jan Pacas, co-founders of Flare, which is tackling financial wellness through the workforce. Credit:James Brickwood These types of automated advice are mostly operated under "general" advice rules. That is where information is provided about a product that might be suitable for someone with only limited knowledge of a person's financial circumstances. Most of us don't take financial advice but try to wing it on our own. Changing times

Information technology recruiter Ken MacLeod has used a human financial planner in the past but is happy to get his information through technology now. He jumped at the chance to get his finances back on track after his employer recently made automated advice available to its employees. Several years ago, after migrating from South Africa, he went to see a planner employed at a big bank and was advised by the planner on his super and life insurance. But that ended in questionable circumstances. "I got a message from my bank that the planner had been fired and banned from being a financial adviser," he says. The software his employer is using, Flare, is really easy to use, Ken says. He has transferred his super to a better-performing fund. "It has saved me massively on fees," Ken says. "I am looking at other options for life insurance that will give better cover," he says.

Ken, 36, is married with two young children. One of his main financial goals is to save for a deposit on a house and Flare has helped him get on track to meet that goal. "Flare has a lot of automated stuff, but I can still pick up the phone if I need to talk to someone," he says. Personal advice A new robo-adviser, Map My Plan, claims to be taking automated advice to a new level. It is believed to be the first automated adviser to provide comprehensive personalised financial advice.

Financial plans, depending on complexity, can cost several thousands of dollars. Map My Plan is free for individuals, with an optional monthly subscription for those who want to receive human support by email or by phone To date, robo-advisers tend to be limited in what they can do. Typically, the user answers questions on income, assets and savings and on goals and tolerance for risk. The robo-adviser then recommends a portfolio mostly, if not totally, comprised of exchange-traded funds. That might be fine for those who just need some narrow advice on investing and don't want a full-blown comprehensive financial plan, but it won't suit everyone. Super funds are also becoming sources of advice  both by phone and online. But they're allowed to provide only limited "intra-fund" advice to their members.

The advice is limited to the risk and return characteristics of the fund's investment options. It can include advice on how much should be salary-sacrificed to super to reach a particular retirement goal. It cannot recommend moving money between super funds. So far the use of robo-advice by super funds is limited; some funds are using robo-advice to help members choose the appropriate level of life insurance. That's a world away from traditional holistic advice that takes into account all of the relevant factors in making a recommendation, and where a written financial plan is provided. Holistic advice Map My Plan founder Paul Feeney says it provides a personal holistic financial plan that can be updated each time the site is accessed and personal circumstances have changed.

It has a financial services licence and the protections that you would expect of a planner, such as membership of a complaints resolution scheme and professional indemnity insurance. It builds a financial map through a process of self-directed process. The planning process is in three parts  foundation goals, home and lifestyle goals, and retirement and investments. "The map then adjusts as new information is added and goals are achieved," Feeney says. He expects it to appeal to a broad market; though, "no service can be everything to everyone". Those with complex needs, whom Feeney estimates to be about 10 per cent of the population, will still need face-to-face advice.

Map My Plan does not recommend financial products  it is advice only  which removes potential conflicts of interest that can sometimes occur with traditional financial planning, Feeney says. It someone flags that they have credit card debt on which high rates of interest are paid, Map My Plan may recommend the consumer pays off that debt first before making any further recommendations. Map My Plan is being used by Ernst and Young in Australia and New Zealand as part of its wellbeing program for its 5500 staff in recognition of the impact poor financial fitness can have on staff and families. Bernie Ripoll, who was the federal Labor MP for Oxley in Queensland until last year, and is a director of Map My Plan, says technology has to be the answer to the advice gap. He is more aware than just about anybody else of the problems in the industry.

The Ripoll Report eventually led to the Future of Financial Advice reforms, which included the removal of most commissions from financial advice and put in place a series of consumer protections. Costs prohibitive He says the costs of face-to-face advice can be prohibitive for many people. "I can't see any other way to reach the 80 per cent of Australians who don't currently get financial advice," Ripoll says. A survey by Newgate Research of more than 1500 people conducted in the second half of last year found that one in two were worried about their finances.

One in four said that they had experienced difficulties sleeping because of financial anxiety. Financial stress affects workers regardless of income  even one in three of those earning more than $120,000 a year were worried about their financial situation, the survey found. Newgate's survey, which was sponsored by Map My Plan, found more than half of those not using an adviser believe their financial situation is too simple to need professional advice and that they don't have enough money to make it worth a planner's time. Jon Shaw, the head of technology and commercial operations at Moneysoft, doubts automated advice will ever be able to rival face-to-face advice. "Many people need a trusted financial adviser to put them on a path to financial wellbeing and keep them on it," he says.

There is no doubt that technology is cutting the cost of providing a range of investment services to the mass market, Shaw says. "However, the individuals that comprise the mass market don't typically make complex financial decisions with minimal guidance," he says. Automated advice is good as far as it goes, but Shaw cautions people who think that it may be a proxy for quality face-to-face advice. Human touch Moneysoft provides automated advice to financial advisers as a tool for their clients to keep track and to reach their financial goals. It doesn't attempt to supplant the role of the adviser.
An aviation student and instructor have had a miraculous survival after their light plane crashed a kilometre from the Port Macquarie Airport on Friday night.

Emergency services were called to the airport after a distress beacon was activated about 8.30pm.

The plane, carrying a student and instructor, crashed just one kilometre from Port Macquarie airport. Credit:7 News/Laura Banks

A mayday call had been transmitted from the aircraft soon after it left the airport, but attempts to communicate with the plane failed, Inspector Stuart Campbell told Port Macquarie News. 

After a search, the plane was found in dense bushland off Lindfield Park Road.
In a bid to stem the spread of sexually transmitted infections, the Victorian government is asking people to 'spring into action' and get tested.

A million-dollar campaign will launch STI Testing Week to encourage Victorians to visit their GPs to test for infections such as gonorrhoea and syphilis, as well as blood-borne viruses such as hepatitis B and hepatitis C.

Melbourne Sexual Health Centre director Professor Christopher Fairley said usually testing for a sexually transmitted disease only required a self-collected sample of blood or urine.The Victorian Government is launching the first-ever STI Testing Week.

Victorian Health Minister Jill Hennessy said the package would include $247,000 for the North Western Melbourne Primary Health Network to help GPs detect and treat STIs sooner.

"We can't pretend STIs don't happen because about one in six people will get an STI," Ms Hennessy said.
Christopher Howell from Trinity Grammar publication 'The Grammarian' July 2013. The science teacher ran outdoor education camps and was known by some students to watch boys in the shower. One former student remembers his classmates being ordered to get into the sleeping bag with the teacher to stay warm. In the second claim, another survivor says when he was 15, he and his parents tried to report Howell's abuse to his boarding master Leslie Wiggins. He said Wiggins told them the allegation was "nonsense" so they reported it to then headmaster John Leppitt. Mr Leppitt, the survivor said, told his parents their child needed to be disciplined. Leslie Wiggins, pictured in The Mitre, the Trinity Grammar year book. It can now be revealed a former teacher has provided a statement claiming Wiggins, the school's assistant chaplain, was moved in 1975 because of an abuse allegation.

Known by students at the time as a "fiddler", Wiggins was convicted in 1991 of indecently assaulting three boys on the Mornington Peninsula. He died several years ago. Rightside Legal lawyer Michael Magazanik, who is preparing legal action against Trinity, says the allegations show there was a culture of cover-up. "Trinity, like Geelong Grammar, was a haven for abusers," Mr Magazanik said. "Many lives have been damaged as a result. We know of at least two suicides thought to be linked to abuse at the school. It's time the school faced up to just how bad things were." The fourth alleged child abuser, who was a boarding house tutor, is facing a criminal trial accused of sexually assaulting five boys, two who were from Trinity, in 1975 and 1978.

A fifth teacher, John Hamilton Buckley, was jailed in 2015 for abusing boys in the 1980s at Geelong Grammar's junior school Glenmorgan in Toorak. He taught at Trinity for one term in 1986 as a replacement for a teacher on long service leave. Trinity's current headmaster, Dr Michael Davies, said any allegations of abuse at the school were deeply concerning and very upsetting. "I would like to reassure the Trinity community that we treat these matters with the utmost seriousness and have strict and clearly communicated policies around reports of abuse," Dr Davies said. "If abuse was reported in prior years and not acted upon or appropriately documented then that is in total contravention of policies and procedures which are now rigorously adhered to in the school." Legal action focuses on Howell and the former science teacher. Another firm, Maurice Blackburn, is representing two other complainants who say they were abused by Howell and the former boarding tutor.

The allegations against Howell, who rose to the position of assistant headmaster, caused deep divides. Many simply refused to believe the claims. "It has torn apart the community," a friend of Howell's said. "So many have great memories of Chris, but clearly there are some who don't ...Tragically, there is a stain on his career." The ruptures were exposed when Dr Davies and his deputy Rohan Brown paid tribute to Howell's "extraordinary legacy" after his death, despite knowing he'd been charged. "To many, including those penning this letter, Chris Howell was, is and always will be the best educator we have known." The letter led to the president and treasurer of the Old Boys board to resign in disgust. One of the survivors said he had never been more revolted with something than that letter. "The vision of Howell was enough to make me sick, but what the school was saying about him; it was a lie and the school knew it was a lie and it protected him. The school has broken faith with every parent, every child."

The school apologised more than 18 months later in an email sent out late last month that referenced Howell and the boarding tutor without naming them. "We continue to encourage anyone who is upset or who has grievances or concerns to contact me personally at the school or, if appropriate, the relevant authorities," Dr Davies wrote. "We will offer counselling and support to any Old Boys who have been impacted and will continue to fully and openly cooperate with the relevant authorities. As a school we are sincerely sorry for any abuse that has taken place in our community." If this story has raised concerns for you, the following services can assist: Lifeline: 13 11 14 lifeline.org.au
Most children don't have to go to court to ask for permission to go on school camp or join the Scouts. Isla Swanston vividly remembers doing both.

Her grade five class was going to an overnight camp at Healesville Sanctuary to learn about endangered animals, and she was desperate to go.

Isla Swanston with her daughter Delilah. Credit:Justin McManus

But Isla had been under the care of child protection since she was a newborn.

Although she lived in out-of-home care, her parents still had veto power over some aspects of her life. And they said no.
A man has been charged with murder over the fatal shooting of a man at Rosebud on Father's Day.

Joshua Dipietro, 31, died after being shot in the head as he sat in his friend's four-wheel-drive on Eastbourne Road last Sunday night.

Joshua Dipietro, who was shot in his friend's car.

The Mount Waverley man had just attended a Father Day's lunch with his parents on the Mornington Peninsula.

He was flown to hospital but died the next afternoon.
The medical regulator has raided the clinic of an anti-vax Melbourne GP, seizing computers and patients' files.

Dr John Piesse, who is temporarily suspended while being investigated for helping parents side-step the "no jab, no play" laws, said the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency raided the Nerida James Natural Healing Centre in Mitcham on Friday morning.

Anti-vax GP Dr John Piesse. Credit:Paul Jeffers

"I have been informed that the offices were raided," Dr Piesse said.

"They took computers used for appointments, accounting and diagnostics. None of those computers have patients' records on them.
Sergeant Marina Gyfteas isn't the sort of cop you'd know about. You won't read about her in a true crime book and you certainly won't see her on the 6pm news enlightening viewers with comments like "the male offender decamped on foot in a westerly direction".

But Sergeant Gyfteas is one of the most respected police officers on the beat in Melbourne's northern suburbs. She just doesn't tell people about it.

Sergeant Marina Gyfteas won the Breavington Award, a unique prize named after a war hero. Credit:Joe Armao, Fairfax Media.

This week she received the Breavington Award. It's a unique peer-nominated award in the force, created by police at Northcote to recognise duty, integrity, professionalism and teamwork.

Rodney Breavington was a Northcote policeman who quit the force to join the army in 1941. The first Australian soldier executed by the Japanese in World War II, the award named after Corporal Breavington commemorates his courage when he faced the firing squad. He pleaded unsuccessfully for the life of 23-year-old private Victor Gale, before then refusing a blindfold and opting to hold a photograph of his wife when he was gunned down.
Farmers in WA's Wheatbelt are urging tourists not to trample their fields as they appreciate the vibrant colours of the annual canola season.

Each year thousands of tourists head to the Wheatbelt to see natural wildflowers and the ripening crops of canola, known for their brilliant yellow display.

A canola field on Northam-York Road. Credit:Avon Valley Advocate

But York farmer and Pastoralists and Graziers Association of WA president Tony Seabrook said people must respect that the canola is on working farmland.

"People have to recognise that it is someone's private property and to not walk around on it like it is a public asset," said Mr Seabrook.
Anisa Zed and her sister Jemima Buurman had their children at the Natural Birth Centre. "I had a slight complication with her," she points to her newborn nestled in Karen's arms. "I pushed her head out fine but her shoulders were stuck. I started to panic but Karen had it all sorted which was incredible." "Just great experiences with every single one of them," Anisa says beside her sister, Jemima Buurman, who nod her agreement. Anisa enrolled at the Centre, saying it was a "no brainer", after hearing about Jemima's experience with her first two children.

"The care you get is just amazing," Jemima says. "And it's not just when you deliver. It's the follow ups." Despite the majority of her friends having been induced, Jemima was adamant that she have a natural birth without unnecessary intervention. She mentions a friends who was anxious about the pain and uncertainty of a natural birth and booked for a caesarean in advance. Although admitting the pain is arduous, Jemima assures that the long-lived satisfaction from not resorting to pain relief or other medications far outweighs the short term discomfort.

The recovery, she says, was immediate due to the body being unencumbered by the residual side effects of drugs. "There's a lot of scare tactics that make women think that you're supposed to birth in a hospital." Jemima recounts a friend who was told by her obstetrician that she was too small and consequently incapable of pushing out her baby. Uncomfortable with the doctor's prognosis and the idea of having a caesarean, the friend sought further support and competently pushed out a 3.7kg baby at the start of the year - the Australian average is 3.37kg. According to a 2015 report on SBS, Australia's rate of caesarean births is 32 per cent, one of the highest in the world. In comparison, New Zealand's is 20 per cent, the UK's is 22 per cent, France's is 18 per cent and Norway's is 16 per cent.

SBS said Australia's C-section rate has nearly doubled from 18 per cent in 1991 - while the federal Department of Health acknowledges that "although the majority of Australian women have vaginal births... there appears to be a trend away from normal birth" to high rates of births by caesarean section. The World Health Organisation considers 10-15 per cent as the ideal rate for caesarean sections, citing two studies from the Human Research Program that show "when caesarean section rates rises toward 10% across a population, the number of maternal and newborn deaths decrease, but when the rate goes above 10 per cent, there is no evidence that mortality rates improve." The Family Birth Centre's rate of caesarean sections is 13 per cent rate, one of the lowest in the country, and 95 per cent of mothers were confident and satisfied with the care they received. Although these rates can be partly attributed to the 'low-risk' clientele, Dr Sara Bayes, Senior Midwifery Lecturer at ECU, ascribes the success to the midwife-led continuity model the Centre uses. The model emphasises building relationships between the midwife and mother to provide the shared goal of an intervention-free, normal birth.

Dr Bayes says that the model is internationally proved to provide the best outcome for mothers spanning all demographics, as well as for midwives. "The continuity of care allows time for the midwife to build trusting relationships so they can help empower women during the process." Traditionally, doctors have led maternity care. But due to high volumes of pregnancies in hospitals and the inability of doctors to provide individualised care during rostered work shifts, the system is conducive to more fragmented management. A study by Clare Davison from ECU shows that relationship is everything.

The study focused on the impact of the birth on women's mental health - rather than traditional research that focuses on physiological aspects - and found that individualised care encourages women to take control during the birthing process, one of the most important aspects to women having a positive experience. The one-on-one care also facilitates calm for the mother, invariably reducing anxiety which is linked to health problems in the baby and reduced milk production for the mother, according to a study by King's College London. Dr Michael Gannon, AMA President and an obstetrician, is adamant that obstetricians provide the greatest level of satisfaction of care. He believes that one-on-one midwife led care is an "important part of the jigsaw" but is not "sustainable on a large scale" with regards to funding. Two WA health employees said that although setting up more centres like Family Birth Centre does require a costly initial outlay, the continuity model of care saves money in the long run due to the low rates of intervention.

They said another challenge to making this model of care accessible to the masses is finding midwives who are committed to being available to mothers 24/7. "It's also a difficult model trying to explain to executives who don't understand that even though midwives are not coming into the hospital for an 8 hour shift, they actually do the work and provide the care and it is a good economic model." At the 25th anniversary party for the Centre, Health Minister Roger Cook stands before a crowd of grateful women and among walls adorned with photos of happy families. Loading He thanks the dedicated midwives who have devoted their time to the mothers and babies and fathers.
Cuba: Hurricane Irma pounded Cuba's northern coast on Saturday and barrelled toward Florida's Gulf Coast as authorities scrambled to complete an unprecedented evacuation of millions of residents hours before the storm lashes the state.

Irma, one of the fiercest Atlantic storms in a century, was expected to rip through the Florida Keys archipelago on Sunday morning (early Monday AEST). It will make landfall on the Florida peninsula somewhere west of Miami on a track that would take it up the state's west coast, including Tampa, forecasters said.

The outer band of Irma, which has killed at least 22 people in the Caribbean, was already lashing South Florida with tropical storm-force winds and left nearly 25,000 people without power, Governor Rick Scott said.

Irma could inflict major damage on the fourth-largest US state by population, which is braced for winds well in excess of 160kmh and a huge storm surge that could trigger coastal flooding.
Monday 05 September, 2016 Reliable information reaching Biafra writers desk has it that the life of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indi...
The pundits at elite East Coast media outlets  The New York Times, Washington Post, NBC, CNN and their many satellites  wasted no time in rushing to judgment.

Torrential rains were still flooding a huge area of southeast Texas when they proclaimed Hurricane Harvey a prime example of devastating climate change.

They received standing applause from Al Gore and his legion of federally funded climate alarmists across the country  but they were jarringly wrong.

Hurricane Harvey is a horrible, extreme case of the weather that typically ravages Texas Gulf Coast but it has nothing to do with global climate change.

Some in the burgeoning climate disaster industry claim that Harvey was caused directly by man-made climate change, or, at the very least, was made significantly worse by it.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, the independent from Vermont, for example, said, Is some of the intensity and the magnitude of this related to climate change? I think most scientists believe it is.

And hes been joined by countless others making frenzied calls for more government action and saying climate change will make extreme storms more severe.

But for some historical perspective, consider what happened in 1900, when the worst hurricane in American history roared into the port of Galveston, destroying thousands of buildings and killing an estimated 6,000 to 12,000 people. Harvey, thus far, has accounted for less than 100 fatalities.

University of Washington atmospheric scientist Cliff Mass said climate change did not cause Hurricane Harvey.

You cant really pin global warming for something this extreme, Mass said.

William Happer, an emeritus professor of physics at Princeton University and a former director of energy research of the U.S. Department of Energy, also is among those highly skeptical of global warming as generally explained by mainstream media.

Climate has been changing since the Earth was formed  some 4.5 billion years ago, he wrote in an op-ed earlier this year. Climate changes on every time scale  whether decades, centuries or millennia. The climate of Greenland was warm enough for farming around the year 1100 A.D., but by 1500, the Little Ice Age drove Norse settlers out. There is no opportunity for a hoax, since climate change is so well documented by historical and geophysical records.

Debate between skeptical academics such as Happer and his undoubting colleagues doing research with federal grants likely will continue ad infinitum.

In the meantime, tens of thousands of Texans are homeless, hungry and quite possibly shell-shocked.

A native of El Paso, Whitt Flora is an independent journalist who covered the White House for The Columbus Dispatch and was chief congressional correspondent for Aviation Week & Space Technology magazine. Write him at 319 Shagbark Road, Middle River, Maryland 21220. Distributed by Tribune News Service.
You have a character that goes through the scrutiny of being sexualised , and then an audience that does the same thing.
Have you noticed the trend at your local Trader Joe's? Between "dairy free," "gluten free" and "all organic," the grocery chain seems to be putting an emphasis on health with many of its new items.

As part of an ongoing series, the SFGATE team decided to taste a few of Trader Joe's newest items.

To be clear, not all of the new foods and drinks are healthy. We indulged with mango sticky rice spring rolls and two types of goat cheese too.

SFGATE TASTE TESTING: SFGATE tries Trader Joe's new items, July 2017 edition

But quite a few of the newer items definitely seemed to a by-product of the never-ending health food trend. We tasted cultured coconut milk (a lactose-free yogurt alternative) and an organic coffee drink sweetened with dates instead of sugar.

Click through the slideshow below to see which new items we loved and which ones we probably won't be buying again. We've ranked them from favorite to least favorite.

There were also quite a few new healthy food items we didn't get to try. The frozen cauliflower pizza crust is a gluten-free option that's popular for its low carb content. The maca powder stocked in the "New Products" section of the store also caught our eye. The supplement is made from a Peruvian root vegetable and is often added to smoothies (though there isn't a scientific consensus on the product's health benefits).

We also wanted to taste Trader Joe's new ranch seasoned crispy chickpeas, but a store employee said they've been so popular that they were temporarily out of stock at the SoMa location.

WHO'S MAKING TJ'S FOOD? An investigation of the secretive grocery chain

Though Trader Joe's may be trying to convince us to eat healthier, we're not falling for it. Most of their "healthy" options just didn't stand up to the things the company is already so good at: cheese and frozen food.

Next time you're at Trader Joe's, pick up some of these new items and taste test along with us. Let us know what you think in the comments.

Chris Preovolos, Cole Chapman, Filipa Ioannou, Michelle Robertson and other SFGATE staffers contributed to this story. Read Alix Martichoux's latest stories and send her news tips at amartichoux@sfchronicle.com.
NORWALK  Alexandra Luna may be the harshest critic on the Norwalk Housing Foundations college scholarship committee, but its only because she was once a recipient herself.

I know what its like for the kids that were interviewing and the struggles theyre facing, Luna said. The dream theyre chasing is the same one I was chasing. Im a little tougher because I know what theyre capable of.

Luna grew up in public housing on School Street in Norwalk and received the NHF scholarship for three years while attending Fairfield University, a college she never thought she could attend.

After growing up in public housing, I was never going to apply to Fairfield U because I didnt think I could afford it, Luna said. Getting the scholarships that I got just lifted a burden. It made my education that much easier because I could focus on it instead of how I would pay for it. More so what the housing committee offered was the support. They went above and beyond the financial support, making sure that if I had any questions or doubts they were there to support me in anything I needed.

With the start of the new academic year, the NHF has also begun its fundraising efforts to provide scholarships for the 2018-2019 academic year, but like other area nonprofits, the task is proving more difficult than previous years.

As a result of the ongoing state budget crisis, corporate exodus and increasing competition in the nonprofit sector, the Norwalk Housing Foundation is struggling to fund its college scholarship program, which awards more than $200,000 annually to students living in public housing. The fund has awarded more than $1.7 million to 221 students since 1998, and is the largest public housing authority college scholarship fund in the country.

Everyone is going after the same pot of money, said Harry Carey, chairman of the scholarship selection committee. We are feeling that competition for donors ... we know based on where our kids are and with the rising cost of education, its going to be a heavy lift this year.

In May, the NHF awarded $205,000 to 50 Norwalk students, including five graduate students. The program boasts a 75 percent graduation rate for four year schools and a 48 percent graduation rate for two year schools. The average annual family income for NHA residents is below $20,000.

Not many people expect kids from public housing to go to college, let alone grad school, Carey said. They know theres a path to a better life and were trying to get kids through with manageable levels of debt.

Norwalk Housing Authority Deputy Director Candace Mayer said misinformation about the benefits awarded to students in public housing often deters people from donating to the program. The perception, for example, that students in public housing receive more assistance than other people is false, Mayer said.

The reality is that the less they have, the less access to funding they have, Mayer said. Many think these kids get everything and thats just not the reality.

Scholarship information can be found at http://www.norwalkha.org/scholarships.php

The additional challenge, Mayer said, is simply reaching the students, who often assume there is no way up and out of poverty or toward higher education. But connecting those students with success stories, like that of Hervens Jeannis, who graduated from Norwalk High School in 2005 and was awarded an NHF scholarship to assist with funding his undergraduate degree in computer engineering at Syracuse, is helping.

Jeannis is now finishing his doctorate in rehabilitative engineering at the University of Pittsburgh, helping improve the quality of life for people with disabilities.

The Norwalk Housing Authority scholarship was one of the ones that helped me get through the undergrad, Jeannis said. I grew up in (the School Street) complex part of the time and that helped me get linked to the Norwalk Housing Authority, which I continued to use the after school program that would help with the homework and other stuff throughout middle school and high school and provide access to resources that I didnt have at home, and they mentioned the scholarship opportunity and reduced the cost of attending a private institution like Syracuse.

kkrasselt@hearstmediact.com; 203-842-2563; @kaitlynkrasselt
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Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum will mark a decade of treasure-filled bargain shopping with their tenth annual Old-Fashioned Flea Market next Sunday, Sept. 17.

Shoppers on the prowl for bargains and treasures will find an extensive and newly expanded selection of vendors and items including antiques, repurposed furniture, collectibles, jewelry, crafts, household items, clothing, toys, as well as specialty and farm-to-table foods.

After browsing wares, attendees can also check out the museums $5 mini-tours, which feature a White Elephant table where visitors can shop for unique items starting at $1.

Food trucks will be on scene serving up cuisines of all kinds, as well as food demos and a classic and antique car show featuring the Connecticut Seaport Car Club.

Steve Balser, a flea market veteran and chairman of the event, said the flea market will be a stroll through yesteryear on the gorgeous grounds of Mathews Park.

All proceeds from the market will benefit the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum.

Nine years ago, Kristin Woods awoke to an early morning phone call that would change her life as she then knew it.

I was woken up at like 4 or 5 in the morning by the phone. It was my mom calling to say that Timmer had been hit and killed by a drunk driver while he was walking home on vacation in St. Petersburg, Woods said.

In the wake of her cousin Timmer Woods death, Woods grew determined to find something positive in her loss. The result was the annual Timmer's Way Festival, held each year at ONeills Pub and Restaurant, located on 93 North Main St. in Norwalk.

This years festival will mark the fifth straight year on Saturday, Sept. 16.

This festival celebrates her deceased cousins love for music, friends, good times and, most importantly, his passion for helping others in need.

The event will kick off with acoustic sets from Ian Ryan and Pete Campbell, and will be headlined by Sweet Beaver Soul Band. There will also be a live raffle, a cornhole tournament, T-shirt sales and a pizza truck on the scene.

All proceeds from the event will be donated to Tisch MS Foundation.

It has been 16 years since two hijacked airliners were driven into the two towers of the World Trade Center, yet the aftereffects of the tragedy still reverberate through the country.

From family members of those who died and the first responders still dealing with lingering health problems to those who lived the event vicariously through a television screen, the memory of 9/11 still holds strong in the national consciousness.

In honor of that memory, the city of Norwalk will hold its annual 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony on Monday, Sept. 11 in City Halls front plaza, starting at 8:30 a.m.

Residents are invited to join Mayor Harry Rilling, Common Council members and Norwalks first responders as the city remembers those who gave their lives to help others.

In the event of inclement weather, the ceremony will be moved indoors to the Norwalk Concert Hall.

Cheers of slainte will ring throughout Mill Hill Historic Park on Sept. 14 as the Norwalk Historical Society hosts its Scotch Tasting Fundraiser.

The Norwalk Historical Society invites residents to experience the tastes of the Scottish Highlands firsthand Thursday, beginning at 7 p.m.

The scotch tasting will be led by Gregg Glaser, a spirits and beer connoisseur and publisher and editor of Modern Distillery Age. Attendees will learn how Scotlands national drink is made, what the different styles are and the history behind this celebrated beverage.

A curated variety of six to seven styles of Scotch whiskey will be sampled during the event. Appetizers will be provided also, courtesy of ONeills Pub & Restaurant, Winfield Street Italian Deli and other local eateries.

Tickets cost $45 per person before Sept. 11. After Monday, the cost will rise to $50 per person. Those 21 or over can purchase tickets at www.norwalkhistoricalsociety.org. IDs will be checked at the door.

Net proceeds will benefit the Norwalk Historical Societys education programs and exhibitions.

For more information, visit www.norwalkhistoricalsociety.org, email info@norwalkhistoricalsociety.org or call 203-846-0525.

Share your neighborhood news

To share your community and neighborhood news with The Norwalk Hour, contact Pat Tomlinson at 203-842-2570, or at ptomlinson@hearstmediact.com.
Burlington is officially open for business.

The retail outlet, located at 2230 N. Webb Road in the Northwest Commons opened its doors for the first time Friday morning following a ribbon cutting ceremony.

General Manager Jake Scheideler said Burlington has been working on setting up for the opening of the store for the past three weeks. He said a soft opening was held Thursday, with a grand opening on Friday.

This is our 600th store that they (Burlington) are opening and we are proud to come to the Grand Island community, Scheideler said.

Scheideler added Burlington is an off-price retailer that offers name brands up to 65 percent off other retailers prices and offers items other retailers do not offer, including Burlington-exclusive name brands. He said Burlington no longer offers just coats  indicative of the companys former name Burlington Coat Factory  but also mens and womens clothing, suits, baby wear and home goods.

I would encourage to come out and see what we have, Scheideler said. We go from baby sizes all the way up to mens big and tall. We have a large assortment for everybody in the family. Its not just clothes. We would encourage people to come out and check out our bathroom items, home goods items and kitchen utensils. We have it all.

Patricia Almanza of Grand Island said she was excited to shop at Burlington Friday morning. She said she is originally from the Phoenix area and was disappointed there were not many shopping stores in Grand Island when she moved here two years ago.

So when I heard Burlington was coming, I knew I was going there the first day it opened, Almanza said.

Almanza added the thing she likes the most about Burlington is the prices and the variety of items the store offers.

This is going to be my go-to store. I plan to be here a lot  every weekend probably, she said. I am looking for everything. So if there is something that fits our need, its going to go in my cart.

Joanne Fowler of Arcadia said she was shopping at Burlington Friday morning to check out the store. She added she was excited for the stores opening as it is something new for Grand Island. Fowler said she was impressed by the prices and the friendly store employees.

Donna Foster of Grand Island said she, too, was shopping at Burlington Friday to check out the store and to see what it has to offer.

I am pretty excited, she said of the opening. Ive been contemplating it opening for a month or so. I really like it so far. The prices are really good and they have nice clothes.

Dave Taylor, President of the Grand Island Economic Development Corporation, said Burlington is a great opportunity for the city of Grand Island and the surrounding areas as it should attract more visitors to town.

The sheer selection and diversity of what is available is impressive, he said. They have everything from shoes to deodorant to towels to baby items to suits. There is a huge variety inside Burlington.

Taylor added more people coming into town will generate revenue for the city as they will shop at other retail outlets and eat at restaurants within the city, which generates food and beverage tax revenue. He said the overall look of the Northwest Commons area has changed as well within the last 10 years due to redevelopment, which includes the addition of the Burlington store.

It really cleans that whole stretch, Taylor said. Between adding Dicks (Sporting Goods) and creating that opening between the two, I think the addition of Burlington will hopefully spark businesses that are trying to decide if they are going to expand into the Grand Island area to look at those available spots. It could really open up opportunities to have other businesses we dont have here in town.

Scheideler said in addition to its products, Burlington is also community-driven. He said it already presented a donation to Hope Harbor and plans to issue a $10,000 check to Wasmer Elementary School as part of its Adopt-A-Classroom program.

A press release from Burlington adds that throughout the year, the store takes part in community-driven marketing initiatives including The Warm Coats and Warm Hearts Coat Drive and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Societys Light the Night Walk.

Scheideler said Burlington is looking to hire to 70 employees. Those interested in working for the retail outlet can apply online at burlingtonstores.jobs or stop in the store for an application.

On Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., customers are invited to a day of family fun with kids activities and giveaways, a press release from Burlington states. The first 500 customers in the door will receive a free Burlington tote bag.

Burlington is open 9:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Sundays.
Connecting people with safe and affordable homes made job rewarding

LEXINGTON  Lexingtons Housing Authority director is stepping away from her job of the past 34 years and a career that extends beyond that.

When Diane Adams was a student at what was then Kearney State College she worked in the local housing authority office of Kearney Manor. Two years later she graduated with a teaching degree, married and moved to Arapahoe.

Adams read in the newspaper that some housing units were going to be built for the elderly and called the village chairman to see if there might be a job.

Thats how Adams became the director of Sunshine Village in Arapahoe, where she worked for 10 years, and what launched her into a housing authority career.

Adams is retiring at the end of September from her position as executive director of Lexington Housing Authority. Her husband, Bob Adams, is likewise retiring after working maintenance for 25 years.

"Its time to move on to something new and different," said Adams. She said plans to work part-time, but it probably wont be at a housing authority she said.

The couple purchased a home in Kearney to be near their three children and six grandchildren, who live in Kearney and Grand Island. "We want to become more active in their lives," said Adams.

She said she likes to cook and bake and looks forward to baking with her granddaughters to teach them how.

Adams said she never has had a lot of time for hobbies, but she likes to read, camp and she enjoys the familys dogs.

Adams took over the helm of the Lexington Housing Authority in July 1983 following the retirement of former executive director Wilma Buckley.

Adams said she became friends with Buckley through business interactions and Buckley encouraged her to apply for the position in Lexington.

Adams said when she came to Lexington there were 50 apartments to manage, designated for the elderly and disabled.

Lexington Housing Authority added a housing voucher program to its services when it became available through the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The program helps pay rent to private landlords for income eligible people to help them afford decent, safe and sanitary housing in the private market. Currently 122 vouchers are presented monthly throughout Dawson County.

In the early 1990s, 100 scattered sites became public housing units when HUD awarded $3.2 million for the construction of 32 homes of varying sizes, ranging from two to four bedrooms, throughout Lexington.

In 1997 Lexington Housing Authority began to manage Eastlawn East, a non-profit property with 18 units for the frail elderly.

Lexington Housing Authority worked with the City of Lexington to purchase seven newly built homes on Oregon Trail. They are rented to people with Housing Choice vouchers or to professionals such as police officers, teachers and medical staff.

In the recent past, Lexington Housing Authority partnered with Mesner Development Corporation of Central City and the City of Lexington for the building of a tax credit property, Legend Oaks. There are 39 housing units for people age 55-plus or disabled.

"I grew with many of the different housing programs," said Adams. "As they were being created we applied and received funds. We grew with the program."

Adams said when she began working for Lexington Housing Authority there was one part-time secretary and a maintenance man. Now the agency has 15 employees, with most of them working fulltime.

"Were always applying or looking for development funds, but it is hard to come by the money," said Adams.

She said the five member board of directors which oversees Lexington Housing Authority has been encouraging and agreeable to growth with a progressive mind set. Individuals who serve on the board are appointed by the mayor to serve five-year terms.

"If youre not growing youre dying, so we want to continue to grow," said Adams.

Adams said the most rewarding aspect of her work was providing a home for a family who appreciated it, meeting their need for safe and decent housing.

She remembers the look on childrens faces when seeing their home for the first time and when choosing which bedroom they will occupy. She also recalls mothers in tears.

"Thats the rewarding part of it, helping the people," she said.

"The other thing that is really dear to my heart is the elderly we house. Its like having 100 grandmas and grandpas because you do become close to them," said Adams. "Thats the best part, helping the elderly. It always has been special to me."

During Adams time as director she served as the chairman of the Nebraska Chapter of the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials, advancing from vice-chairman. She also served on national committees for housing.

In 2004, she received the Orville Stanton Memorial Award for Distinguished Service, from the Nebraska chapter of NAHRO, which is the highest honor the group bestows.

Adams has been training her successor  Derek Haines  who takes over Oct. 1.
TheJakartaPost

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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, September 9, 2017 19:49 1891 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97afeb520 1 City fire,fire-accidents,firefighters,Bendungan-Hilir Free

A large fire engulfed houses near the city-owned water operator PAM residential complex in Bendungan Hilir, Central Jakarta, at around 3 p.m. on Saturday.

The blaze was triggered by flames at a garbage incineration site that quickly spread to nearby houses due to strong winds, tempo.co reported.

Around 50 non-permanent houses were destroyed in the incident, according to Central Jakarta Fire Agency officer Salim.

The agency received reports of the blaze at 3:25 p.m. and fire trucks arrived at the location at 3:46 p.m.

The cooling down process is ongoing. It took 21 fire trucks about two hours to extinguish the flames, Salim said.

There have been no reports of fatalities and injuries so far.

As of now, we only have only information about the number of houses that burned down and the cause of the incident, Salim said. (ebf)
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Linkedin Theresia Sufa (The Jakarta Post) Bogor, West Java  Sat, September 9, 2017 12:44 1892 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97afe59ee 1 National Taman-Safari,Taman-Safari-Indonesia,panda,China,Environment-and-Forestry-Ministry,conservation,protected-species,protected-animals,CITES Free

The Indonesian government has issued a permit for the importation of pandas, an animal considered vulnerable to extinction, from China. Only 15 countries, including Indonesia, have been approved to raise the protected species.

The Environment and Forestry Ministrys biodiversity conservation director Bambang Dahono Adji said the issuance of the permit for the importation of pandas was monitored by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) secretariat.

We issued the import permit last month and the pandas will be brought to Indonesia as soon as possible. We are waiting for approval from [national flag carrier] Garuda, which will transport the pandas from China. We have specially requested Garuda to carry the species because it is part of an international conservation program, said Bambang on Friday.

He said China agreed to give pandas to several countries including Indonesia with tight prerequisites. As one of the requirements, the beneficiary country must provide a panda facility that fulfills certain criteria such as proper temperature, adequate supply of bamboo and standardized quarantine procedures.

All of these criteria have been fulfilled by conservation park Taman Safari Indonesia.

Bambang said Indonesia must also show its commitment to support the presence of pandas in the country because if the animals died, the government would be responsible.

China has asked us to take care of the pandas and raise them properly until they can breed if possible. This is because pandas are very rare and not all countries have the opportunity to raise this species. (ebf)
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Linkedin Suherdjoko (The Jakarta Post) Semarang, Central Java  Sat, September 9, 2017 11:00 1892 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97afe159a 1 National Rohingya,Rohingya-people,borobudur,Borobudur-Temple,Myanmar,#RohingyaCrisis Free

A mass rally attended by around 3,000 people to show solidarity to Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar ran safely and peacefully on Friday.

Centered at An-Nuur Mosque in Mungkid, Magelang regency, Central Java, the rally saw no security disruptions and was attended by people from various areas across Java.

Around 2,800 National Police members, supported by personnel from the Indonesian Military and other security units, tightly secured the solidarity action.

After performing Friday prayers, representatives of the rallys participants read out a joint statement, in which they called for an end to violence against the Rohingya people. They ended the demonstration by praying for the safety of their Muslim brothers and sisters in the Rakhine state.

The rallys participants left the An-Nuur Mosque one at a time with tight escort from security officers.

As previously reported, Muslim groups planned to stage a Rohingya solidarity rally at the Borobudur Temple area, which is only around two kilometers from the An-Nuur Mosque. The Central Java Police later asked them to move their rally to the mosque, which is located on Jl.Soekarno-Hatta, Mungkid.

I come here to express my support and empathy to the Rohingya people, said Hariyadi, a rally participant.

Although the rally plan once triggered worries about security disruptions, the Borobudur Temple was open on Friday. Both local and foreign tourists could enjoy the beauty of the Buddhist temple without experiencing any security problems.

In their security precautions, the police designated Borobudur Temple as the highest security area, called Ring 1. The An-Nuur Mosque was designated Ring 2. (ebf)
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Linkedin Nethy Dharma Somba (The Jakarta Post) Jayapura, Papua  Sat, September 9, 2017 16:43 1891 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97afea8b4 1 National Lukas-Enembe,Papua-Police,Bareskrim,Papua,graft,corruption,National-Police Free

Around 500 supporters of the Care for Papuas Development Movement (GRP3) have called on the National Polices Criminal Investigation Unit (Bareskrim) to cease their investigation into a graft case implicating Papua Governor Lukas Enembe.

The group also demanded that the police return the governor, who is now in Jakarta for questioning, to Jayapura.

We see the investigation of Pak Enembe as just an effort to taint his image and to undermine his position in the eyes of the Papuan people. This is because [the people] really love Pak Enembe, said Benyamin Gurik, the coordinator of a mass rally held in front of the Papua Governors Office in Jayapura on Friday.

We recorded that this year, there have been three attempts to force Pak Enembes involvement in legal problems. However, no evidence has proven his involvement in the three cases. Hence, we think the investigation should be stopped and he should immediately be returned to Papua.

(Read also: Papua governor skips police questioning, again)

Benyamin said the Papuan people fully supported the legal process being conducted by the police on the alleged misuse of 2016 scholarship funds, which implicated the governor, but they now wanted investigators to release the names of other suspects in the case.

Please announce the suspects in this case. With the questioning of the governor, it seems to us that [the National Police] have raised the status of this case to a full investigation, which gives people the impression that the Papuan governor is involved, said Gurik. (ebf)

Showing support: Activist Benyamin Gurik (second right) reads out a statement in a rally on Sept. 8 to call for and end to the National Police's investigation into Papua Governor Lukas Enembe. (JP/Nethy Dharma Somba)
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Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) New Delhi, India  Sat, September 9, 2017 16:17 1891 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97afe9e3e 2 News India,yacht,yachters Free

A team of six naval officers are starting a historic and gruelling around-the-world mission on Sunday -- the first circumnavigation of the globe by an Indian all-female crew.

Lieutenant Commander Vartika Joshi, who is leading the voyage which will begin in the western state of Goa, told AFP the project was "revolutionary" in bringing women to the helm and would inspire others in the country.

In recent years, the Indian navy has sought to open its doors to women to take on more challenging roles, with the latest project winning the backing of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who urged the crew to "project India's capabilities and strengths across the world".

The navy commissioned a 17-metre (56-foot) yacht "Tarini" in February for the mission, with the crew kicking off preparations for the voyage in 2014.

Read also: Wonderful Sail 2 Indonesia 2017 participants explore Riung Island

"For me it's a matter of conquering a feat that has been achieved by a chosen few," Lieutenant Commander Pratibha Jamwal told AFP.

"It's not been an easy journey in terms of preparation but as they say 'the more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war'," she added.

Retired naval officer Captain Dilip Dhonde, who undertook India's first solo around-the-world expedition in 2009-10, mentored the crew.

The team sailed twice to Mauritius and once to Cape Town in preparation.

"It is going to boost the spirits of everybody across the country. Not just women but it can also be an inspiration for the male counterparts. Our aim is to rekindle the spirit of adventure," Joshi said.

Their journey will feature stops in Australia, New Zealand, the Falkland islands and South Africa. They are expected to return to Goa in March next year.

Topics : India yacht yachters
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Linkedin Ni Nyoman Wira (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, September 9, 2017 12:25 1892 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97afe2bdd 1 Guide To Jakpost-guide-to,jalan-benda,Kemang,travel,jakarta,#JakpostGuideTo Free

Located between Jl. Kemang Selatan and Jl. Benda Bawah in South Jakarta, Jl. Benda is a two-way street filled with furniture stores, restaurants, beauty salons and spaces dedicated to childrens activities.

Situated beside the Habibie Center, it is less dense in terms of traffic compared to Jl. Kemang Selatan, and therefore offers a convenient destination to explore.

How to get there

You may want to take public transportation to reach the area as Transjakarta buses do not pass through Jl. Kemang Selatan and Jl. Benda. But those feeling adventurous can hop on the Kopaja 614 bus that serves the Pasar Minggu-Cipulir route. A more convenient way is using an online ride-hailing app to get an ojek (motorcycle taxi).

Due to the frequent traffic congestion on Jl. Kemang Selatan, we dont advise you to bring your own vehicle. The available parking space is usually in front of a shop; you cannot just park your car on the side of the road.

What to wear

Opt for casual clothes if youre seeking to explore the street on foot in case the weather gets too hot. It is highly recommended that you wear a hat and comfortable shoes.

What to do

The first floor of the Bricks 4 Kidz building is used as a playground, where children can play with Legos at a price of Rp 100,000 (US$7.50) for non-members. (JP/Wienda Parwitasari)

Jl. Benda is home to Bricks 4 Kidz, a place where children are encouraged to learn about science, technology, engineering and math using Lego to improve their focus, creativity, critical thinking skills and problem-solving abilities. Classes in English are available for children aged between 3 and 13 years old.

Those who are interested can consider booking a trial session priced at Rp 200,000 (US$14). A playground is available on the first floor of the building, where children can have Lego fun-time for a non-member price of Rp 100,000.

Read also: Jakpost guide to Jl. Kemang Raya: Part 1

Where to shop

The showroom of Kriya Nusantara on Jl. Benda, South Jakarta. (JP/Wienda Parwitasari)

Established in 1995, Kriya Nusantara aims to preserve Indonesias cultural heritage through crafts. One of the brands most sought-after products is the vintage Cawang Art Radio, which pays tribute to the historical Tjawang, Indonesias first transistor radio from the 1950s. Collaborating with Panasonic, the modern version of the radio is adorned in Middle Eastern and traditional motifs, including woven cloth patterns from Minangkabau in West Sumatra and batik parang patterns.

The showroom also displays a Krisan Music Box that plays Indonesian songs, such as Bengawan Solo, Rasa Sayange (Feelings of Love), Sepasang Mata Bola (A Pair of Round Eyes) and Kicir-kicir. Collaborating with Japans Nidec Sankyo Shoji Corporation, the box is decorated with traditional motifs. Kriya Nusantaras products start at Rp 250,000.

If youre looking for new furniture and home accessories, consider visiting Elements, which sells natural handcrafted products. Since 2015, the brand has sold its own creations and even exported them to Europe, Japan, Australia and United States. These items include tables, chairs, accessories, sofas, trunks and mirrors. An online catalogue is available on Elements official website.

A post shared by Ombre | Balayage | Grey Hair (@blobarhair) on Apr 27, 2017 at 5:50pm PDT

Jl. Benda is also a good destination for those seeking to pamper themselves from head to toe. We recommend BloBar, which is located at the Broadway Kemang. Established in 2014, BloBar is known for its updated hair treatments and trends, including Glow in the Dark hair and Rose Gold hair with four basic shades. The price for a coloring treatment will depend on the length of your hair, but starts at Rp 300,000.

What to eat

KEDAI restaurant provides Western and Indonesian delicacies, but it is recommended to try this Bihun Bakso Klaten. (JP/Wienda Parwitasari)

KEDAI is one of Jl. Benda's most recommended culinary spots to enjoy with your friends as it has a smoking and a non-smoking room. The latter, located at the back of the restaurant, is entirely made from glass. KEDAI provides Western and Indonesian delicacies, one of its specialties is Bihun Bakso Klaten, which consists of four large-sized meatballs and rice noodles in a warm broth. The average price for food here is Rp 50,000.

Another recommended dining destination is Baconerie  this will especially appeal to bacon lovers. Upon entering the restaurant, expect a warm ambiance, comfortable sofas and the fragrant smell of bacon being cooked. Do try its burgers, which start from Rp 100,000 and do not forget to bring home its artisan cured meats.

Tips

Be careful when crossing the street as Jl. Benda only has one zebra crossing.

Stay safe when walking along the street as Jl. Benda lacks sufficient sidewalks for pedestrian. (kes)
iStock/Thinkstock(HOUSTON) -- A Good Samaritan has flown more than 300 cans of Spam to those affected by Hurricane Harvey.



Pilot Louis Olsen of transported 32 cans on Thursday from Austin, Minnesota, to flood-ridden Texas, according to ABC affiliate KAAL-TV in Rochester, Minnesota.



They woke up with nothing," Olsen told the station of Harvey victims. "That's why I'm doing it."



Olsen raised about $1,500 to pay for the cans, but Hormel, Spam's parent company, donated the cans instead.



"In addition to our partnership with Convoy of Hope, yesterday we sent 32 cases of SPAM with Louis, a volunteer pilot with AERObridge, to help feed people in Texas recovering from Hurricane Harvey," Hormel wrote on its Facebook page.



Hormel did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment.



Olsen told KAAL-TV that his thought behind giving Spam is because the product will last and no one will have to worry about it "going bad."



Everybody makes a little bit of difference, Olsen said. And I believe that's what we're doing.

Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
White plastic sheets cover the exterior of a more than a century old home at the intersection of San Francisco Street and Hunt Avenue, obscuring the view of the skeletal wooden framework inside the gutted home.

The home, originally owned by John George Verkamp who founded Verkamp's Curios on the South Rim, was built around 1913. David Hayward, the owner of Flagstaff-based Neighborhood Homes, bought the property last year and is restoring the historic structure.

When Hayward has finished the project, the house will have a restored exterior made to look nearly identical to the original, but the inside will be split into two apartment units. Hayward also plans to add two more two-story duplex buildings onto the homes half-acre lot.

Not much had been changed, as far as the framework, Hayward said of the interior of the home. We would have been able to tell with the wood framework.

The size, architectural style and the fact that the home was owned by Verkamp all factor in to why the house has been deemed contributing to the historic district, Hayward said.

Hayward has applied for the Federal Rehabilitation Tax Credit for the project, which is administered through the National Park Service. In order to qualify for the credit, he must keep the exterior of the home consistent with how it has been historically, including using, and in some cases reusing, historically appropriate materials. He saved all of the window panes that have been taken out and might be required to reuse them in order to qualify for the credit.

The only exterior modification to the main house will be converting an existing room into an outdoor covered porch facing Hunt Avenue. Hayward said he suspects the room used to be a porch at some point, so he plans to open the room up again.

When the restoration to the original house is finished, it will have two separate rental units, which fulfill the tax credits requirement that the restored property be income-producing. One of the units will be a two-bedroom, one and one-half bathroom unit, and the other will have four bedrooms and three bathrooms.

The original house is the first phase of the development. In the second phase, both duplexes will be built. In the duplexes, there will be one three-bedroom, two and one-half bathroom unit and the other unit will have two bedrooms and two bathrooms, Hayward said. He is also building five enclosed garage spaces.

The house restoration is Haywards first big project in Flagstaff, but before working in Flagstaff he worked as a builder in New Orleans and San Francisco. He started doing historic renovations in New Orleans, where many historic buildings have problems with leveling due to bad soil. The house on San Francisco that Hayward is renovating needs extensive leveling work.

I think it didnt intimidate me as much as other prospective buyers, he said.

The home has not been occupied in several years, but at the time it was built, it had what would have been state-of-the-art amenities, like forced air heating.

(Verkamp) would have spared no expense, Hayward said.

Hayward said neighbors have been curious about what he is doing with the home, and most seem to be happy to hear he is restoring it.

I love being able to tell the neighbors that Im restoring it, he said. It will be two apartments, but it will be two apartments so we can afford to do the restoration.

He said people probably wish the lot would continue to only hold the one single-family home, but said restoring only the single-family home would make the home unaffordable for most buyers.

One home on this lot would be a $1.3 million home, Hayward said. Not only would we not have been able to afford to do that, no one would be able to afford to buy it.

At the beginning of the project, he said people were surprised to hear he did not plan to demolish the house.

Given the state of disrepair that the house was in, people are surprised we arent tearing it down, he said.

Even though leveling the home and bringing the building up to code will take extra work and expense, Hayward said he is glad to preserve a historic home.

Its a nice house, so why ruin it and make something else? he asked.

Gutting the house has also uncovered some fun historical tidbits, Hayward said.

We found a lot of old whiskey bottles in the basement, he said. Some were dated back to when the house was first being built. So were they drinking on the job, or what?
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Linkedin (Pesona Indonesia) Jakarta  Sat, September 9, 2017 13:05 1892 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97afe5da7 2 News Tourism-Ministry-Pesona-Indonesia,tourism-ministry-wonderful-Indonesia,Singapore,bilateral-ties,cross-border-tourism,Jokowi,#Jokowi,Lee-Hsien-Loong Free

President Joko Widodo met with the Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong on September 7. The meeting marked the 50th anniversary of Indonesia Singapore relations.

One of the topics that were presented by President Jokowi was the development of airports in Indonesia's 10 priority destinations.

In the next 10 months, the airports in Lake Toba and Labuan Bajo will become international airports. The hope is to have more international tourists coming to Indonesia, said Jokowi.

Additionally, H.A.S. Hanandjoeddin Airport in Bangka Belitung is also set to become an international airport as well. Earlier this year a CIQP (Custom, Immigration, Quarantine and Port) simulation was conducted there.

President Jokowi expressed his wish for the two countries to work together for tourism development in terms of joint destinations, cruise ships management, development of cruise docks, improvement of tourism infrastructure investment and development of Meeting, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE).

Singapore has the technology and man-made [tourism] while Indonesia has nature and culture. The marketing synergy between Indonesia and Singapore will strengthen the tourism sector, said tourism minister, Arief Yahya who accompanied the President at the meeting.

Read also: Labuan Bajo faces challenges with rising tourism

The president proposed Batam as the ideal place for the digital economy and tourism expansion that includes the development of digital park cluster at Nongsa Batam, the establishment of a start-up incubator, training programs for IT workers and university lecturers.

Singaporean prime minister Lee echoed President Jokowi's statements, as he saw the economic development of Indonesia to be stable and positive and thats what encouraged Singapore to do partnerships and investments in Indonesia.

Both of us welcome plenty of tourists from each others places. The economy in Indonesia has grown positively and stable. We have a high chance to develop our economic relation, both governments have been working closely together for a long time. This time the investment will focus on tourism, said Lee.

Meanwhile, Arief who attended the panel discussion titled National Policy on Tourism Industry Development said that the government has been working on simplifying business regulations in Indonesia.

The effort in regulations simplification is to make it easier for incoming investments. We are currently developing the 10 priority tourist destinations, also known as 10 new Balis, told Arief.

He explained that Singapore is the transportation hub for Indonesian tourism, its the gate to Indonesia. There are millions of people who transit at Changi International Airport in Singapore and the country welcomes 15.5 million of international tourists.

By increasing our promotion in Singapore it will help in doubling up the number of international tourists. The distance and travel duration [from Singapore to Indonesia] is short and there are plenty access points, such as ports in Batam and Bintan, he added. (asw)
(lead article)

Workers face deepening social crisis after Harvey

The death toll from Hurricane Harvey is over 60, with more likely to be found. Tens of thousands of homes and farms in Texas are damaged or destroyed. Hundreds of thousands are still in shelters, relatives homes or hotels, not knowing when, or if, they will be able to return home. Floodwaters are contaminated from chemical and oil leaks in area refineries and plants. This unfolding social crisis is not a natural disaster. Its manmade, caused by capitalisms unceasing drive for profits.

Most capitalist politicians and media mouthpieces try to dodge the question of responsibility for the social catastrophe, saying it was just a big storm no one could do anything about. But the truth is coming out.

For years government authorities knew that storms like this were coming, yet they continued to promote construction, even in known flood zones. In their search for profits they eagerly paved over wetlands and prairies that absorb floodwaters to put up the roads, homes, parking lots and businesses. And when government agencies learned that Hurricane Harvey was coming, they did little to get food, medicine and other basic necessities ready and in place.

The social crisis continues to unfold as the waters recede. The storm wrecked at least 300,000 cars and trucks, making getting to work, salvaging possessions from flooded homes and apartments, and obtaining aid even more of a challenge.

Thirteen toxic waste superfund sites were flooded and a half-dozen oil tanks or more were damaged. Dozens of broken sewage systems added fecal material to the floodwaters.

Texas officials say that more than 12,700 homes were destroyed, and some 200,000 more damaged.

Thousands of cattle were scattered by the storm and ranchers have scrambled to get them to safer ground. Ryan Ashcraft, a helicopter pilot who herds cattle from the air, told the New York Times that if people lose all of their cattle theyd go broke and have to sell their land.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has approved $114 million in aid for 161,000 people, out of more than 507,000 applications. But this is just a drop in the bucket of what is needed.

The owners of the Linda Vista apartment complex in Houston told tenants that late fees would not be waived and anyone who didnt pay their rent would be locked out of their apartments.

While the storm damaged the homes of rich and poor alike, its impact is not the same. The Washington Post reported that some of Houstons worst flooding was in Greenspoint, a mostly Black and Latino neighborhood built not only in floodplains but floodways, specifically designed to channel floodwaters.

The wealthy and upper middle class whose homes were damaged are already hiring contractors and starting to rebuild. But for working people, the vast majority of whom have no flood or storm insurance, Houston and other communities devastated by the storm will never be the same.

The one thing that prevented even more deaths and devastation was the widespread human solidarity of working people.

For the first few days of the storm, workers used kayaks, canoes, fishing boats, high trucks, even jet skis to rescue thousands who were stranded and abandoned by government authorities. Thousands of people showed solidarity to their fellow workers by donating supplies and time to the shelters. It wasnt until three days after the storm hit that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott mobilized the Texas National Guards 12,000 troops and asked the Defense Department to allow U.S. soldiers to join in rescue efforts.

Revolutionary Cuba shows the way

There is an example for how the threat from natural disasters can be met  revolutionary Cuba.

By Sept. 5, Category 5 Hurricane Irma was beginning to roll across the Caribbean. Almost everywhere workers are being told the same thing the people of Houston were  youre on your own and you should find some way to get out of harms way.

Its completely different in Cuba. Workers and farmers made a revolution there in 1959 and built their own government, which puts human needs before private profit. They were transformed through the revolutionary struggle and mobilizations since to confront the relentless attacks of Washington, which despises their example.

Days before Irma threatens to hit Cuba, the government had already mobilized its National Defense Council to marshal the resources needed to prevent damage and the loss of human life.

They will do as they have done in past storms  use the full strength of the army and a mobilized and disciplined population to prepare to withstand the storm, evacuate people to safety and rebuild immediately after.

In Santiago de Cuba, the government organized to transfer all dialysis patients out of threatened areas so there would be no danger of any interruption in their care. And they moved 1,031 pregnant women for the same reason.

As they work to keep people informed of preparations, the government says, Ask for help whenever you need it. And then they add, Give help whenever you can.





Related articles:

Cuba: Example for toilers facing monsoons in South Asia







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(front page)

SWP sets fall book, circulation, fund drives

The Socialist Workers Party National Committee met over the Sept. 2-4 Labor Day weekend to discuss steps to take the party, its program, and its activities deeper into the working class. A nine-week fall drive to expand the circulation of thenewspaper and sales of books was set for Sept. 16 through Nov. 21 by party leaders.

The drive takes place in the midst of a deep political crisis in the Democratic and Republican parties, the result of a world crisis of the capitalist system and the mounting carnage facing working people. The Militant newspaper, and the books being promoted, are indispensable to understanding the roots of the capitalist assault on working people and what kind of party and movement are needed to fight for workers power to reverse the devastating situation millions are being driven into.

The unending imperialist wars abroad of the U.S. rulers are aimed at protecting their profits and making workers and farmers pay for the crisis of their capitalist system. At home and abroad workers living conditions are deteriorating through lower wages, speedup, and increasingly dangerous conditions on the job. Working-class families are confronting an epidemic of opioid addiction and deaths.

The Militants circulation drive will promote five books on special that bring to life a revolutionary perspective for taking political power out of the capitalists hands. Available at half price when purchased with an introductory $5 Militant subscription, will be Malcolm X, Black Liberation, and the Road to Workers Power, Are They Rich Because Theyre Smart? and The Clintons Anti-Working-Class Record by SWP National Secretary Jack Barnes; and Is Socialist Revolution in the US Possible? by party leader Mary-Alice Waters. In addition Its the Poor Who Face the Savagery of the US Justice System by the Cuban Five, five Cuban revolutionaries framed up and jailed for more than a decade for actions in defense of the Cuban Revolution, can also be purchased for $5 with a subscription.

Socialist Workers Party members and supporters in the United States and members of the Communist Leagues in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom will center the circulation drive door to door in working-class neighborhoods. They will take the paper and books to anti-racist actions, picket lines and demonstrations in support of womens rights.

Sales of the Militant and books by party leaders will also be an important aspect of socialists on the job advancing the perspective for organizing workers, unionization, and fighting for workers rights.

Socialist workers will take the Militant and books by party leaders with them to show to fellow participants at the In the Footsteps of Che brigade in Cuba and at the World Festival of Youth and Students in Sochi, Russia, both in October.

One important source of subscriptions and book sales will be from workers behind bars across the country. The Militant and Pathfinder Books have a growing readership among prisoners, who look to keep informed and involved in broader working-class political issues, as well as to keep up on the Militants battles against efforts by prison authorities to censor the paper.

The SWP National Committee also launched a concurrent nine-week fund drive to raise $100,000 to finance the Socialist Workers Partys activities over the coming year. The fund is essential to advancing the work of taking the partys program deeper into the working class.

The writer of this article, who is the partys candidate for mayor in Seattle, is the organizer of the circulation drive. Chris Hoeppner, organizer of the SWP in Philadelphia, was assigned as director for the fund.

Join us

Next week well announce the international goal for the subscription drive and book sales. Well begin to report on the quotas taken by party branches and individuals in local areas.

Help to sign up others to subscribe to the Militant and purchase the books described above. You can join us and make a contribution to the work of the Socialist Workers Party by contacting the nearest party branch listed on page 8.





Related articles:

SWP discusses social crisis after Hurricane Harvey







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(front page)

French rulers take on unions, join Berlin to try to fix EU crisis

As he promised both during his campaign and after his election last May, French President Emmanuel Macron decreed Aug. 31 an overhaul of the countrys Labor Code, targeting unions, job protections and working conditions. The move comes at the same time as the French rulers are pushing to solidify their bloc with German Chancellor Angela Merkel to hold together the European Union, which the worldwide capitalist economic crisis and conflicting national interests are tearing apart.

At the heart of Macrons proposed changes would be gutting legal protections workers have won in long-past labor upsurges against being fired or laid off. Collected in the governments 3,324-page Labor Code, the New York Times said Aug. 4, the laws hinder the bosses ability to do as they wish with the workers, making it expensive to hire new workers and difficult  and even more costly  to fire them.

Because of these legal impediments, French bosses have been replacing jobs that last a lifetime with a workforce largely comprised of temps  at lower pay, benefits and lacking union rights. Over 16 percent of workers in France are on temporary contracts today, including 85 percent of those hired in the second-quarter this year. Todays class collaborationist French union leaderships focus on protecting workers already hired and do little to organize or fight for temporary contract workers.

Every such fundamental economic reform in France for at least the last quarter-century has foundered in the streets of Paris, the Times said, pointing to the labor movements past strength. But officials of the three major unions are divided on whether to oppose the new code. The General Confederation of Labor (CGT) has called for a strike Sept. 12. Two larger unions, the French Democratic Confederation of Labor (CFDT) and Force Ouvriere are not participating.

Macron and the bosses are fighting to cripple industry-wide union bargaining and replace it with factory-by-factory bargaining further dividing the workforce.

Small companies with fewer than 50 workers comprise 95 percent of all French companies. They would be allowed to negotiate directly with nonunionized workers, who previously received the same benefits won in contracts by unionized workers in their sector.

Twenty years ago the capitalist rulers in Germany dealt similar blows to the working class there, which also lacked a class-struggle leadership. Most contracts applied to entire industry sectors, but today the number of company-level contracts has risen sharply, and bosses cant be forced into collective bargaining.

Steps like these meant that over the last 25 years, German bosses have sped up workers productivity by some 40 percent, while real wages have stagnated.

The bosses gains have helped Berlin maintain its supremacy in the European Union, which functions to siphon profits to the German ruling class at the expense of its weaker competitors in southern Europe.

At the same time, the eurozone functions as a bloc between German and French bosses, the more so now that London is on the way to Brexit.

Macrons attacks on the labor movement are aimed at strengthening French capital in competition in the EU, as well as at convincing Germanys rulers, who reap the biggest profits from the 28-nation EU capitalist trade bloc, that Paris is a partner to be listened to.

Macron, Merkel look to bloc

Macron has challenged the German rulers to agree to steps to strengthen the European Union in the face of the competing interests of the ruling capitalist families in each European nation-state that pull the EU apart. He has called for appointing an EU financial minister to oversee a single eurozone budget that would make funds available to capitalist rulers facing deeper economic challenges, like Greece, Italy and others.

German Chancellor Merkel, who is up for election this month, said she backs these proposals by Macron, so that we get a higher degree of united competitiveness. But she says the focus should be a fund that can make small contributions to reward challenged countries for carrying out structural reforms.

While Berlin needs Paris, and vice versa, if the EU is going to advance, whats really posed here is whether the German capitalists are willing to sacrifice some of the profits they make to shore up their competitors.

One country where the rulers face some real problems today is Italy, which has the third largest economy in Europe after Berlin and Paris. Romes annual growth rate has been stuck at zero since they adopted the European currency when it was launched in 1999.

As a result Romes sovereign debt is over 133 percent of its gross domestic product, the second worst in Europe, behind only Greece. Its banking system is close to collapse. Youth unemployment is 35 percent, and more and more workers are being driven below Italys official poverty line.

This crisis has led former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi  who says he will run to take over the government in Italys next election  to back a measure that would severely undermine the EU. He proposes a parallel currency alongside the euro.

This new lira would do what sovereign currencies normally do when they face capitalist trade inequities like Rome does in relation to Germany  sharply devalue against the euro. Real wages would plummet and Italys boss class would be more competitive.

But why wouldnt every other European ruling class that suffers from its unequal union with the stronger, more profitable German bosses  that is all of them  do the same? What would happen to the EU?





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(front page)

Liberal attacks, antifa thugs threaten rights

workers need

The propertied rulers in the U.S. face an unprecedented political crisis today, precipitated by the changes in class reality that were reflected in the election of Donald Trump as president and the deepening crisis of their capitalist system that stand behind that vote. Both of their political parties  the Democrats and Republicans  are wracked by deep divisions.

A facet of this crisis is the relentless resistance of liberal Democrats and media, some Republicans and the middle-class left against Trumps presidency. All tactics are fair game in their effort to get him indicted or impeached. And against those they label as racists and fascists they say have been unleashed by Trump.

As part of this effort, liberal Democratic politicians and self-proclaimed antifa thugs are mounting attacks on freedom of speech and assembly. Their attempts to shut down conservatives and alleged white supremacist speakers and rallies give a handle to the government to go after the working class and its political rights.

Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin  who calls himself a real progressive  is pushing the University of California there to cancel Free Speech Week Sept. 24-27, organized by the conservative student group Berkeley Patriot.

Arreguin said the presence of rightist Milo Yiannopoulos and conservative Ann Coulter, who the group has invited to participate, could provoke antifa thugs to create mayhem and cost the city hundreds of thousands of dollars fixing the windows of businesses, adding that there is a line between freedom of speech and then posing a risk to public safety.

The university administration is charging the College Republicans $15,000 for security costs for a Sept. 14 speech by Ben Shapiro, a former Breitbart News editor. Speech is free  if you can pay for it.

House Democratic Party Leader Nancy Pelosi called on the National Park Service to deny a permit to a conservative Liberty Weekend in San Francisco Aug. 26, saying it was a white-supremacist rally.

Acting as enforcers for the liberal politicians, the next day antifa thugs beat up Trump supporters and others they claimed were white supremacists, as well as reporters, during an anti-racist protest in Berkeley.

An anonymous anarchist replied to criticism of antifa thuggery with a post on itsgoingdown.org titled Eternal Liberal Handwringing: Response to Antifa Smears. The essay is marked by the groups glorification of violence, its anarchistic elevation of small-group actions over politics, and its alienation from the working class  all features that point toward the transformation of its members from anti-fascist to fascist.

In the history of the workers movement, others have travelled this road, including left Socialist Benito Mussolini, who ended up leading the fascist forces to power in Italy in 1922.

Attacks on workers rights

The New York Times published an opinion piece Aug. 29 calling on the Internal Revenue Service to take away the tax exemption of white supremacists and others with viewpoints that are fundamentally untethered from American values. The liberals believe those they disagree with should be nudged off the playing field  or knocked off, if antifa is at hand.

Calls for the IRS to decide who is eligible for tax exemption based on political criteria opens the door the rulers will gladly use to go after working-class organizations

The American Civil Liberties Union has come under attack for filing a suit supporting the right of organizers of Unite the Right to hold its Aug. 11 rally in a downtown park in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Within the week, the ACLU caved. ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero told the Wall Street Journal that if a protest group insists, No, we want to be able to carry loaded firearms, well we dont have to represent them.

I guess they dont think the Black Panther Party should have gotten legal help from civil libertarians, or the Deacons for Defense and Justice in the fight for Black rights in the 1960s.

The biggest danger to the political rights of the working class today comes from the liberal Democratic politicians, radical groups and antifa-style forces that cut off political discussion and debate. Allegedly aimed at stopping racist and rightist groups, their thug attacks and efforts to restrict the rights of those they target will increasingly be turned against the working class as the class struggle heats up.





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(feature article)

Che Guevara: A man of ideas and action combined

Che believed in man. And if we dont believe in man, if we think that man is an incorrigible little animal, capable of advancing only if you feed him grass or tempt him with a carrot or whip him with a stick  anybody who believes this, anybody convinced of this will never be a revolutionary, never be a socialist, never be a communist.

 Fidel Castro

Havana, October 1987



The questions that Ernesto Che Guevara, acting as part of the central leadership of the Cuban revolution, sought to help the vanguard of the working class answer more than three decades ago remain the most pressing of our epoch. Guevara charted a course to rid the world of the capitalist system, with all its horrors, and open the way for working men and women to begin a transition toward a more just and human socialist society, transforming themselves in the process. That course determined his every deed as a conscious political person.

Like the young founders of the modern communist movement, Che deeply believed, and acted on his conviction, that revolution is necessary not only because the ruling class cannot be overthrown in any other way, but also because the class overthrowing it can only in a revolution succeed in ridding itself of all the muck of ages and become fit to found society anew. 

After Fidel Castro  the historic leader of the Cuban revolutionary forces from 1953 to today  Ernesto Che Guevara was the best-known leader of the revolution during its early years, when we were used to making the impossible possible, as Castro said in paying tribute to Guevara in October 1987.

Guevara was Argentine by birth. Having graduated from medical school in Buenos Aires in 1953, he met Fidel Castro in Mexico in July 1955 and immediately agreed to join the July 26 Movement and to sign on to the expeditionary force Castro was organizing to launch a revolutionary war against the U.S.-backed Batista dictatorship in Cuba. Guevara  soon nicknamed Che (a popular form of address in Argentina) by his Cuban comrades  was initially recruited as troop doctor, but he rapidly proved himself to be an outstanding combat leader and educator. In 1957 he became the first combatant promoted by Fidel to command a separate column of the Rebel Army. Guevara led the December 1958 campaign that culminated in the capture of the city of Santa Clara in central Cuba, effectively sealing the fate of the Batista dictatorship.

But Guevaras most important contributions to the Cuban revolution were not military. In paying tribute to Che in October 1967, a few days after his death, Castro called attention to this fact, saying:

Che was an extraordinarily able military leader. But when we remember Che, when we think of Che, we do not think fundamentally of his military virtues. No! Warfare is a means and not an end. Warfare is a tool of revolutionaries. The important thing is the revolution. The important thing is the revolutionary cause, revolutionary ideas, revolutionary objectives, revolutionary sentiments, revolutionary virtues!

And it is in that field, in the field of ideas, in the field of sentiments, in the field of revolutionary virtues, in the field of intelligence, that  apart from his military virtues  we feel the tremendous loss that his death means to the revolutionary movement. 

Che was not only an unsurpassed man of action  he was a man of visionary intelligence and broad culture, a profound thinker. That is, in his person the man of ideas and the man of action were combined.

During the opening years of the revolution, Guevara took on some of the most challenging, and heaviest, responsibilities. He helped draft the 1959 agrarian reform law, the measure that, in Castros words, more than any other single act, defined the Cuban Revolution. Che headed the department of industrialization established by INRA, the National Institute of Agrarian Reform. He was president of the National Bank during the tumultuous year 1960, before the end of which virtually all foreign and domestic-owned banks and major industries were nationalized, and the economic foundations were laid for socialized production and planning. He became minister of industry in 1961, assuming responsibility for reorganizing on new working-class foundations some 70 percent of industry in Cuba, while maintaining production as former owners and most management personnel, both foreign and Cuban, left the country. He represented the revolutionary government of Cuba on trips to dozens of countries, and spoke with a memorable and clarion communist voice at important international forums and conferences, from the United Nations General Assembly to the Organization of American States. He worked with revolutionists from around the world who were drawn to the example of the Cuban revolution and sought guidance in learning and applying the lessons of that struggle in their own countries. He helped bring about the revolutionary regroupment within Cuba that led in 1965 to the formation of the Communist Party of Cuba.

Amid all this intense practical work helping lay the foundations of a new society, Guevara also organized time to write a prodigious number of articles and letters. He made hundreds of speeches, many of which were published in Cuba and translated and distributed by supporters of the revolution around the world. He gave countless interviews.

In April 1965 Che left Cuba to lead a mission of internationalist Cuban fighters aiding the anti-imperialist struggle in the Congo. His longer-term aim was to return to Latin America to help advance revolutionary struggles that were building from Tierra del Fuego to the Rio Bravo. Resigning his leadership posts and responsibilities in the Cuban government, party, and armed forces in order to take on these new revolutionary duties, Guevara left behind a rich written legacy of his political and theoretical contributions to the economics and politics of the transition to socialism.





Related articles:

In footsteps of Che Cuba brigade kicks off Oct. 1

We can say our revolution is so great and humane







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Veteran game tracker Cory Lambert (Jeremy Renner) finds the frozen body of a young woman in the Wind River Indian Reservation. The victim shows signs of being assaulted and raped, which prompts the FBI to send rookie agent Jane Banner (Elizabeth Olsen) to lead the investigation. Out of her depth and in temperatures way below her comfort zone, Banner must rely on Lambert's tracking abilities and knowledge of the area to solve the case - a case which Lambert is hell-bent on cracking for very personal reasons. If you've seen either Sicario or Hell or High Water (both also penned by Sheridan), you'll quickly recognize that Wind River is cut from the same cloth - a taut thriller set in a rugged lanscape where only the strong survive. Olsen's Jane is not unlike Emily Blunt's Kate Macer in Sicario - a spirited, capable FBI agent that wants to do the right thing but is basically a sheep in a land of wolves. Unlike Sicario however, the rookie FBI agent isn't the main character. Jane spends a lot of time on the sidelines trying to keep up, while the gruff and seasoned Lambert takes charge. As a result, Olsen's character is a bit lacking - she turns in a good performance, but it's hard to shake the feeling she's there less as a character, and more to prove a point. Fortunately, Lambert is a very strong lead, whose personal family tragedy makes him particularly motivated to find out what happened. Renner stoically carries the character's pain, only letting it out in select moments that account for some of Wind River's big emotional gutpunches.Lambert's ex-wife and son, which are fairly prominent early on, dissapear from the movie after the first half without really getting any sort of resolution, making you wonder if they needed to be included at all. They give us more of an insight into Lambert himself, but that could have been accomplished without them. The murder mystery is compelling, even though it often takes a backseat to the drama. The truth behind this terrible crime is harrowing and the movie doesn't shy away from the graphic details - yet the violence, whether it's physical or sexual, never feels exploitative or cheap. It's there as a stark, brutal reminder to how isolation can bring out the worst in people. Wind River uses action scenes sparingly, but to great effect. Sheridan knows when and how to ramp up the tension and delivers sharp, explosive thrills that will make you jump in your seat. The movie has a similar approach to dry humor, managing to squeeze a few good laughs out of what is otherwise a very dark and unsettling story. Jon Bernthal turns up for a brief, but memorable supporting role, making the most out of the five or so minutes of screentime he gets. He's done this so often I'm starting to think it's some kind of weird contractual obligation. Both he and Kelsey Chow have particularly taxing roles, as they have to cram in a lot in a very short ammount of time - and it's a testament to both Sheridan's writing and their performances that you end up truly caring for characters you barely get to know.Wind River brings up the racial tensions between Wyoming's white and Native American populations, but struggles to make a meaningful point. It preys on white guilt and does it very effectively, but doesn't dig much deeper than that. The movie has a strong and diverse cast, but its lead and most competent character is Lambert. In the end, Wind River overcomes its shortcomings on the back of smart writing, a confident sense of direction and a solid cast. It's a tense, chilling thriller that packs quite a punch.
Thank you for all your support for #LipstickUnderMyBurkha against this ridiculous regressiveness. We won't be silenced. #CensorTheCensors pic.twitter.com/sBSSbx5FRy  Under My Burkha (@LipstickMovie) February 23, 2017

Lipstick Under My Burkha is a comedy drama that shows the life of four women in a small village, and who they truly are underneath their religion, clothing and norms of society. This very honest picture of women didnt fall into the taste of India's Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). The director Alankrita Shrivastava tweeted on February 23rd, after having received a letter from CBFC declining the premiere of Lipstick Under My Burkha in Indian cinemas.The movie produced by Prakash Jha was refused on grounds of being too lady orientated, having sexual contest and abusive language. After having made some voluntary changes in the film it was managed to appeal, with the help of Indias Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT) and overruled CBFC's decision in April. Shrivasrava, who is also the main writer of the film, told the online magazine Women and Hollywood, that the feministic tone of the film was why it was banned. The film explores the lives of women in a way that has not been done before in India. And confronting those stories and that perspective has somehow rattled CBFC. But more than anything the Board is not used to dealing with films where women want to have agency over their own bodies and their own desires. The debut in Indian cinemas was seen as a victory for women, and the fight for a more equal India. This widely debated film has won 6 awards, including the Audience Award at Glasgow Film festival, Best Feauture Film London Asian Film Festival and Grand Jury Prize at Film de Femmes. It will be interesting to see what this shocking comedy has to offer, and what it can do to help the freedom of expression further along the road to equality for genders across the world.
Wed forgive you if you missed the dramatic rise of Tory grassroots movement Activate Britain.

The group, which isnt affiliated with the Conservative Party, claim they are a vehicle for young conservatives to get engaged, and not a carbon copy of Labour group Momentum, which is credited with getting Jeremy Corbyn elected as Labour leader.

Although they havent officially launched yet, the groups dramatic social media presence has already seen them hit the headlines, for all the wrong reasons.

This really couldn't get much worse for us could it.  Activate (@ActivateBritain) September 7, 2017

The Twitter account started with some below-average pro-Conservative memes, including one (now deleted) of Star Wars Admiral Ackbar uttering his famous Its a trap! line under a picture of Corbyn.

From innocent beginnings, things began to spiral.

their website First, some confusion with the URL ofmeant a parody account, barely distinguishable from the real thing, started tweeting out statements like the below.

The parody account mocked the real Activates twitter style.

In now-deleted tweets, the real Activate tended to used hashtags like #retweet, #rt and #meme, implying that the tweeter was not a social media natural.

Beyond the groups slightly misjudged social media policy, Guido Fawkes claimed some members had joked about gassing chavs in a WhatsApp conversation.

An Activate spokesman told the blog that none of the people included in those messages currently have any seniority with the organisation.

Then, their Twitter account went rogue. Again, in a series of now-deleted tweets, the official Activate account started saying it now backed Jacob Rees-Mogg for Tory leader.

The group claimed on its Facebook page that their Twitter had been hacked, and tweets from the actual account were not from us or anybody associated with Activate.

We regret that the person who hacked our Twitter account last week has now begun to post tweets claiming to represent Posted by Activate on Monday, September 4, 2017

The group spokesman, Sam Ancliff, decided to appear on the BBCs Daily Politics programme.

Meanwhile, the supposedly hacked Twitter account started saying Ancliff did not represent the group at all.

Confused yet?

Dont worry, they seem to be too.

Now it seems the account is back under Activate control and they say theyve notified the police, for whom this is definitely a priority, about the hack.

Activate's Twitter account came under a successful hacking attempt at 15:34 today. The hacker has been identified & reported to the police.  Activate (@ActivateBritain) August 31, 2017

The account is now back to tweeting out a combination of tired memes, and generally apologising for its own existence.

If this is still a hack, which is pretty hard to tell following all that drama, its almost artistic in proportion.
If youre thinking of going to Canada next year, here are a few upcoming changes to keep in mind when planning your trip.

1. Visa

First things first, one has to be able to actually get into Canada. As of November of last year, all British citizens visiting Canada and arriving by plane need an Electronic Travel Authority (ETA).

Official advice is to apply for this prior to booking flights, and since an ETA will be valid for five years, theres no harm in getting one far in advance.

Purchasable online on a government website, the ETA costs only $7, but be wary of any other, third-party websites that may try and charge more for this.

2. The Arctic Cruise Fleet

One Ocean Adventures has announced that a new ship, the RCGS Resolute, will be added to its expedition cruising fleet, and will arrive in Canada in November 2018.

With a 146-passenger capacity, large viewing platforms, and an array of luxury amenities and services, it will be the perfect vessel to guide visitors through Canadas beautiful Arctic.

3. Panorama Mountain Resort

The Panorama Mountain Resort in British Columbia is set to implement SkiData RFID (radio frequency identification) technology this coming winter, for the 2017/18 ski season.

This means the resort will move to a leading ticketing and lift access system, providing faster and more efficient lift access to the top of the mountain. All passes will be available on chipped cards, which would enable hands-free lift access, as the gate opens automatically after reading the card.

This will all lend itself to a smoother, hassle-free experience for visiting skiers, in one of Canadas most beautiful mountain resorts.

4. Canadas First Pod Accommodation Concept

Pangea Pod Hotel will be opening in British Columbia in April 2018, in the centre of a small village. A hotel designed to have a boutique feel, Pangea is set to be a unique hotel experience [that] will speak to sophisticated, value conscious guests and will house 88 private sleeping pods.

Designed to cater to travellers who wish to spend their money on experiences, rather than large, luxurious hotel rooms, these pods offer a more practical and money-conscious solution, without compromising on comfort.

5. Rocky Mountaineer

Rocky Mountaineer will next year introduce two new packages for tourists to Canada, to combine the best-selling Rocky Mountaineer Holidays with culinary and adventure themes.

One, the First Passage to the West Culinary Exploration, will comprise of food tours and a five-star dining experience aboard the

train

and is therefore perfect for foodies. The other, named Journey through the Clouds Outdoor Adventures, will offer novel ways of exploring, via outdoor activities from hiking to canoeing, ideal for adventurers.

6. A Floating Ocean House

A luxury floating lodge will open in 2018, right on the west coast of Haida Gwaii, in British Columbia. The waters there are reportedly calm and quiet, and thus Ocean House will offer fantastic insights into the beauty of nature of culture; from old forests, ancient villages, large beaches and imposing coastlines, one will witness the essence of the First Nation.

7. Solstice Lodge

Canadas first and only five-star Aurora experience will open next year in the Northwest Territories, planted down in the boreal forest on the edge of Yellowknife. This lodge and spa is available for events and getaways, and will be equipped with all everything from outdoor hot tubs to private bars. Its a fantastically luxurious way of viewing auroras, with skylights allowing you to enjoy the phenomenon from the comfort of your tub or bed.

8. Le Boat comes to Ontario

The canal and river boat hire company proposed an investment of $16million on the Rideau Canal, with state-of-the-art boats, the fleet for which will be imported over five years, from 2018 to 2022. This will allow visitors to pick up one of these vessels on the Canal and explore this region of Ontario from the water.
After clinching Valley title, playoff seed, South Dakota State football prepares for two weeks off

Having two weeks off before the playoffs is unusual, but the Jackrabbits could use it to get healthy
A meaningful internship experience can help you launch your career. It gives practical experience, helps you learn, and equips you with new skills. Moreover, it would also boost your resume to crack interviews.

To tell you why work experience matters in an internship, here are the following two examples. Mithu Roy, a BTech graduate from BP Poddar Institute of Management and Technology couldnt sit for any MNCs during campus placements due to his low academic score. He was interested in the field of mobile app development but did not have any knowledge of it.

However, he took up an online android development course and started applying for internships. He got shortlisted in Eclectic Solutions and a face-to-face interview was scheduled, where the employer asked him basic questions about java and android. He was selected for the internship and got to work in Sublime Text and FileZilla.

One of his first tasks was to create a portfolio app for the company after taking all the required information from the official website. This experience helped him learn about User Interface and User Experience as well. He got to work on different projects and learned to build apps from the scratch. This helped him gain command over other aspects of computer science as well including database management and networking.

Today, he is working as a full-time at another company called Codelogicx Technologies. The experience which he gained helped him in landing his first job by building both his technical skills and confidence. Yuvika Jain, a MCom student from Mumbai University wanted to build a career as a chartered accountant but could not clear Group I of IPCC despite clearing the second group.

She wanted to gain the corporate world experience but wasnt eligible to start her articleship. She started applying for accounts internships and got selected with a startup, Valuefy Solutions. Being an accounts intern, she handled the bills and vouchers, kept records and handled the payment process with the clients.

At around the same time, she also cleared her IPCC exam and got to start her CA articleship of three years. Despite not meeting the academic criteria for placements, Roy became an android developer by gaining experience through an internship. And Jain landed an internship to learn how an organisation works even when she wasnt eligible for her articleship. Both these instances show how a meaningful work experience can help you chart your career.

The work experience which comes from an internship gives you a chance to solve reallife problems. These challenges eventually help you gain practical knowledge. The past 10 years have seen startup boom in India and growing number of entrepreneurs are hiring interns. This has opened a plethora of opportunities for students across the country. Interning with an organisation where you get to handle multiple profiles and shoulder responsibilities that will prepare you for your first job. After all, an internship is the test drive for your career before you commit to one.

(The writer is founder & chief executive officer, Internshala)
The Himachal Pradesh Council for Science, Technology and Environment (HIMCOSTE) on Friday stressed on the need to encourage women pursue career in science and research field for their social-economic upliftment.

Addressing the two day sensitisation workshop primarily for Science and Technology for women, Archana Sharma, an Indian Forest Services (IFS) officer said the involvement of women in Science and Research field in the country is very low.

She stressed upon the need for popularisation of government schemes for women in the rural areas of the state.

Sharma said the Science for Equity, Empowerment and Development (SEED) Division has been set up under the Department of Science and Technology for the purpose.

It could provide opportunities to motivated scientists and field level workers to take up action oriented and location specific projects aiming towards socio-economic upliftment of poor and disadvantaged sections of the society through appropriate technological interventions, especially in the rural areas, she said.

Under SEED, efforts have been made to associate concerned National Labs, science and technology institutions with each major programme so as to build-in expert input, utilise infrastructure and link it up with grassroots initiatives, she said.

Scientists and Professors from various Universities of northern India participated in the workshop and its main objective was to understand the details of science and technology for women programmes catalysed and supported by the SEED Division of DST.

Joint Member Secretary, HIMCOSTE, Kunal Satyarthi said there was need to encourage women to pursue career in science and research field as it could empower them alleviate their drudgery.

The workshop was jointly organised by SEED Division of the Science and Technology department Government of India.
Curfew has been in four police station areas of Jaipur after violence erupted, police said.

Curfew has been imposed till further orders in Manak Chowk, Subhash Chowk, Galta Gate and Ramganj police station areas of the city following violence in which a police station was attacked and vehicles burnt, Commissioner of Police Sanjay Agarwal said.

There were also reports of stone pelting from some of the areas and police had difficult time to control the violent mob. Tear gas was used and the district administration to maintain law and order had to impose curfew in four police station areas.

According to eyewitnesses the incident occurred after a policeman hit a person sitting on a motor bike with a lathi (baton) after the policeman tried to stop a bike for a routine vehicle checking in Ramganj police station area. The man tried to run away from the scene and was hit with a baton.

Soon afterwards hundreds of people gathered at the police station and started to create ruckus. Police tried to pacify them but failed and started to pelt stones.

Police resorted to lathicharge as violent mob burnt vehicles.
A fourth accused in the deaths of over 60 children at the state-run BRD Medical College hospital here due to alleged lack of oxygen, has been arrested by the Uttar Pradesh (UP) police, authorities said on Saturday.

The accused, clerk Sudhir Pandey, was arrested from Khajanchi Chowk late on Friday night.

Pandey has been accused of withholding the payment of the oxygen vendor with the vested interest of getting a commission and of conniving with the former and now jailed principal Rajeev Mishra.

He has also been accused in a government probe of not sharing the information about the pending payment.

Three prime accused  Mishra, Poornima Mishra and Kafeel Khan  were arrested by teams of the Special Task Force (STF) of the UP Police and are currently in judicial custody.

The crime branch and the STF are still carrying out raids to nab the four remaining accused  Satish, Sanjay Kumar Tripathi, Uday Pratap Sharma and Gajanand Jaiswal.

Over 60 children lost their lives between August 10 and 14 at the Baba Raghav Das Medical College in the city, the home constituency of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. At least 30 of them died within 48 hours due to shortage of oxygen supply.
In an effort to strengthen health systems and explore emergent avenues and platforms for collaboration between various agencies and stakeholders in the Northeast region, the North East Health Care Summit 2017 was held on September 8-9 in Gangtok, Sikkim.

The second edition of the summit was inaugurated by Arjun Kumar Ghatani, Minister, Healthcare, Human Services and Family Welfare, Sikkim along with PD Rai, Member of Parliament from Sikkim.

Health records and parameters in Sikkim are the best amongst northeastern states, for which I would congratulate our Chief Minister for his visionary leadership because of which the government-backed Comprehensive Annual and Total Check-up for Healthy Sikkim (CATCH Sikkim) now reaches out to people even in the remotest areas of the state. But poor healthcare services in the Northeast and the need to enhance manpower, including setting up of more medical colleges in the region the requirement of the day, Ghatani said while addressing the event.

The event, organised by the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) in partnership with the Ministry of Development of the North East Region (MDoNER), the Government of Sikkim and the Sir Thutob Namgyal Memorial Hospital (STNM), highlighted key issues in todays evolving healthcare scenario pertinent to Northeastern parts of the country.

There is an urgent need to review the progress of schemes sanctioned by centre or the NEC towards the improvement of healthcare services in the region, especially infrastructure, in addition to finding out better ways and means to remove health problems and inaccessibility to quality healthcare especially in rural areas of the region, the minister added.

Ghatani also appealed to the attending delegates especially attending health officials from other NE states and other organisations to work towards the improvement of healthcare services in the region, and come-up with a time-bound whitepaper which can be implemented immediately.

According to Dr Soumya Swaminathan, Director General ICMR, Northeast is one of the most vibrant regions in India, but its health indicators have unfortunately lagged behind rest of India on many counts. With so much technological and infrastructure advancements, it is time to bring about a rapid improvement in the public health indicators, especially in light of the renewed commitment by the central government towards the entire North-east region.

Lamenting that there is an absence of private sector interest and investment in Northeast, and hoping that the central government under its Look East Policy will allocate increased resources towards healthcare in this region, Rai said, I am happy that this summit has brought together political leaders, policy makers, healthcare professionals and implementers once again on a common platform to deliberate strategies for meeting public health challenges for the northeastern region. There is an urgent need to engage amongst ourselves in the sister states for enhancing public health and advancing technology in this region, ensuring better reach, quality and coverage of health services.

Jayanto Narayan Choudhury, vice president, Public Health Foundation of India, said, Already active in the region through its various capacity building and training programmes, Public Health Foundation of India, and its affiliate Indian Institute of Public Health in Shillong, aims to improve health outcomes in the entire Northeast region through educational, research, training, policy and advocacy activities. With a view to complement various state and national level health initiatives, PHFI will happy to actively assist all the 8 NE states to come up with a forward looking plan to improve the health scenario in the entire region, and so that NE becomes a major healthcare hub for entire Southeast Asia.

Dr K Bhandari, Director-General-cum Secretary Health, Sikkim, also spoke at the event.

The 2nd North east Healthcare summit comes at a time when we are thick and thin into our centenary celebrations. Through this summit we further commit ourselves at STNM to aim higher towards providing high quality super-speciality patient care services, and undertake medical and community Health Research further. Through the outcomes of the deliberations, we will augment the vision of the summit to develop Human Resources in all fields related to health and facilitate the North Eastern States in framing better health policies as envisioned in the National Health Policy 2017 by the centre, he said.

This years 2nd Northeast Healthcare summit concentrated on emerging health concerns in the region with a special emphasis on the current scenario in North East and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). The themes for this years summit were:

Mental Health & Substance Abuse

Non-Communicable Diseases

Health Policy

Service Delivery & Health Systems Strengthening

Environmental Health

The key takeaway from the summit evolves around strong political will for a robust health system, adoption of people  public centric approaches, community involvement, convergence of programs, strengthening of existing system, accountability, redirecting focus as per needs of the states.
Two-day International film festival of Shimla on Saturday began with veteran actress, Deepti Naval stressing the need for a film school or a film studio in the beautiful environs of Shimla.

People from Mumbai come here to shoot, so why cant we have something here only for shooting, she said at the opening of this third film festival in Shimla organised by Himalayan Velocity with the support of Himachal Language, Art and Culture department.

The film actress was celebrity in focus at the festival, where 46 documentaries, short films, animation and feature films will be screened in the competitive and non-competitive category.

As many as 35 filmmakers from 23 countries are participating in it.

Naval said she wasnt well, but was excited to come to the festival in Shimla.

There was no way that I could stay away from this festival. But why just once a year? It is a wonderful initiative and should get support from all quarters, she said.

Naval said such a screening of quality films will actually help the people differentiate between good and bad themes and give exposure.

There is so much for everyone to watch on You Tube and internet. It is our duty to bring right material to the young minds. They should know why these movies are award winning and why they are good, she said.

The actress said the film festival of this level in Shimla, with participation of independent filmmakers from across the world, was a positive step towards understanding of the films and film making.

The entries are from the countries including Singapore, Australia, Portugal, South Korea, Hong Kong, Italy, Nepal, Bhutan, Germany, France, USA, UK, Netherland, Canada, Poland, Africa, Switzerland, Japan, Turkey, Oman, Tajikistan, Iran and India.

A package of films provided by Dutch Mountain film festival, Netherlands, Indian Documentary Producers Association (IDPA) and the International Association of women in Radio and Television (IAWRT).
No artist was more revered among young American painters during the 1880s and 1890s than James Abbot McNeill Whistler.

The Arrangement in Grey and Black: Portrait of the Painters Mother was canonised when it entered the Musee du Luxembourg in 1891 (and of course canned in the Mr Bean film), but by that time Whistler had already been accorded the status of an old master in America, even though not a single one of his paintings had yet been purchased for an American collection, public or private.

The cult of Whistler among American painters, however, owed its existence to the degree of celebrity he had attained in England and Europe. Whistlers patriarchal status among younger American artists points to the way in which his tonal art seemed to respond to the quandaries of the historical moment.

As Americans confronted the most stirring problem of the late 19th century the dilemma of belief in a spiritual realm Whistlers view of the individual seemed to reaffirm the existence of a finer self, purified of its gross, material aspect.

The post-Darwinian controversies provided the ideological matrix of which the Anglo-American establishment availed itself in its efforts to retain its hegemony against the perceived onslaught of cruder foreign people.

But Whistlers visual strategies showed AngloAmerican artists how they might symbolically picture themselves and their civilisation at the apex of the progressive, upward spiraling trajectory of evolution. Whistlers legacy to American painters and sculptors was a dematerialised tonal mode in which colour and line were orchestrated to approach the harmonies and rhythms of music.

As such this tonality aligned itself with music in holding out a consolatory and elevating alternative to the prevalent materialism of the industrial age that was made sacrosanct by the philosophy of scientific positivism.

Couched in terms of the Hegelian aesthetic discourse, Whistlers dematerialising symphonic idiom seemed implicitly to reveal the object as a contiguous part of a spirit world. His project was dependent on Baudelaire, not simply in its drive to legitimise the autonomy of the aesthetic sphere, but also in its participation in what Jurgen Habermas has termed Baudelaires search for the promesse de bonheur via art  a utopian project of reconciliation with society.

Whistlers tendency towards musical abstraction displaced the didactic moralism and the narrative domination of the word that typically governed the art of the 1860s and 70s.

In his purified field of vision, quietism replaced action and beauty replaced moral narrative as prescriptive modes of public and private conduct.

Whistlers paintings were offered not as a window onto the world but as a simulacrum of the world as it should be. Whether the subject was the figure of a beautiful and mysterious woman or a cityscape, the object was dematerialised through the transforming properties of a coloured atmosphere. Forms so dematerialised and veiled suggested to Americans the painters mystical experience of the world as essence.

Such an art form easily lent itself to an agnostic, quasi-religious usage. Worship of a mysterious and spiritualised feminine principle, embodied in the beauty of a woman, or an exquisite work of art, beckoned as a substitute creed for liberals and agnostics searching for a secular-sublime worthy of reverence.

The utopian toposof Whistlers work, as represented in the body of a woman, and the topography of civilisation, was one in which the vision of the artist veiled, distanced, and finally evaded the male ambivalence over the feminine body and the dilemmas of the body politic.

In his White Girl, Whistler transformed Joanna Heffernan, his mistress from being an exemplar of the bad feminine sublime, as in his 1861 sketch Wapping, to being the paragon of female virtue.

After 1861 Whistler had moved away from the woman who asserted her sexual powers over man, a type favoured by Baudelaire and Gustave Courbet. The White Girl showed his ambivalence resolved in the direction of the paradoxical beauty, the woman both sensual and spiritual, whom Rossetti found so alluring.

As Algernon Charles Swinburnes commentary made clear, the embodiment of idea in the fluid colour and movement of the brush-work provided for Whistler a visual correlative to the medium of music.

In the Tanagra, Whistler found the historical prototype for the body beautiful. Abstracted into pure rhythmic movement, the female body seemed to provide the key to this painterly musical idiom. But Whistler had trouble in drawing the human body on a large scale.

Frustrated with his inability to translate The White Symphony:Three Girlsinto a mural decoration of Leyland Princes Gate dining room in the early 1870s, Whistler simply gave up the attempt to draw in the classical manner of an Albert Moore.

His exploration of tonal atmosphere in the nocturnes of the 1870s resulted in his essential rediscovery of the semantic void as the key to musicality.

The semi-abstract manner of composition was directed to an elite group of artists, litterateurs and collectors whose embrace of agnostic creeds of spirituality in pure forms of art would signify not only the alienation from but also their superiority to the vulgar disposition of the middle class. Whistler knowingly cultivated these lacking qualities, using Watteau as one point of departure, and Diego Velazquez, Greek sculpture, and Japanese prints as others to reform his technique. The dualities of masculine and feminine, rationality and imagination, line and colour had emerged in Whistlers work in the early 1860s.

A long-standing controversy in academic art circles had sustained these oppositions since Le Bruncodified Cartesian dualities in his academic system, pitting matter against spirit, sensation against intellect, and colour against line.Whistler had thought of his classicising experiments in the late 1860s as a struggle to control colour with line.

The terms he used to describe this conflict reveal the way in which gender, and thus positions of superiority and inferiority was imputed to artistic modes. Colour Colour is vice. Certainly it can be and has the right to be one of the finest virtues. Grasped with a strong hand, controlled by her master, drawing, colour then is a splendid girl with a husband worthy of her  her lover, but her master too  the most magnificent mistress in the world, and the result is to be seen in all the lovely things produced from their union, he wrote in a letter in 1859.

But coupled with indecision, he went on to add, with a weak, timid, vicious drawing, easily satisfied, colour becomes a filthy whore making fun of her little boy isnt that true! And abusing him just as she pleases, taking the thing lightly so long as she has a good time, treating her unfortunate companion like a simpleton who constrains her, which is just what he does. And look at the result  a chaos of intoxication, of trickeries, regrets, unfinished things.

Whistler here predictably ascribed to colour the cultural characteristics deemed feminine, while he attributed to drawing the intellectual discipline considered masculine. In its sensual and emotional qualities colour is affective, and the seductiveness of this wanton strumpet can, like a good woman, be converted to sublime virtue if controlled by the higher, suprasensuous principle of masculine reason. This is the line of reasoning that builds on the received bifurcation of 19th century culture into complementary masculine and feminine  rational and affective  cultures.

The historical groundwork behind Whistlers understanding can, on the one hand, be traced to Rousseaus social theory, in which mans fear of womans seductiveness is allayed by her transformation into nurturing mother and wife. On the other hand, it is also distantly indebted to the Kantian categories of aesthetic experience, in which the beautiful and sublime were engendered with male and female attributes.

The beautiful, as a category that was innately feminine, corresponded to womans social function as a provider of love and pleasure. The sublime alternatively reflected the appropriate masculine sphere in its pain-inducing cogitation on truth.

After Delacroix the dominant aesthetic theory favoured music instead of poetry as an anti-sensuous ideal of sublimity and, in its abstraction and sublimation of the physical world, it is this displacement to which Whistlers work in the 1870s is attuned.

Whistler dematerialised the beautiful body and transformed colour into a quiet, feminised sublime. Whistlers desire to wed feminine colour to masculine design, the beautiful to the sublime was realised in his nocturnes.

By the 1870s the palpable physicality of the painted surface was thinned out and the sensuousness of colour melded with geometric structure.

Whistler abandoned the showy, opaque brushwork of the 1860s and instead devised a megilp, a homemade sauce of linseed oil and turpentine in which smaller amounts of pigment were mixed. The greater sense of transparency that resulted allowed his images to become increasingly incorporeal.

In the nocturnes the faces of the people elude our gaze and the disparate reality of urban existence disappears in envelopes of tonal atmosphere  expansive horizons of sky and water.

Seen through a quivering half-light of stars, misted street-lamps and firework displays all taken up by the Thamess liquid mirror, the female forms of his Six Projects emerge as the stylistic attributes of a diaphanous city of dreadful light, where the contours of bodies are evoked by a softened, almost enervated line, that merges the figure with the atmosphere. Whistlers nocturnes turn the night in cities into sites for the exercise of the dominantly masculine and the pliantly feminine.

As Edmund Burke wrote in his Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and the Beautiful, we submit to what we admire but we love what submits to us. By investing in the gendered mode of suffused colour and ephemeral form  the fading of Japoniste and the reprising of the greys and pinks from Velazquez  Whistler risked being labelled feminised in his work, though he could still lay claim to the male prerogative of genius by virtue of the transformative artistic act.

The critic George Moore, for instance, stopped just short of calling Whistlers nocturnes feminine when he interpreted what he called their exasperated impotence as a reflection of Whistlers nervous temperament and small, frail physique.

Moore noted that Whistlers urbanscapes were troubled by an exasperated sense of volatile colour and evanescent light.

Like the woman who stays indoors, veiled from the world of affairs by the strict bounds of domesticity, a new retiring and self-reflexive night had emerged in Whistlers urban meditations.
Lladro, the Spanish brand known for its high quality porcelain products, has come up with well crafted Lord Ganesha sculpture.

It was introduced in a live painting event demonstrated by its expert artist, Rosa Belenguer at ITC Sonar in Kolkata, recently. Belenguer was born in Spain and entered Lladro in 1989.

In front of a live audience, she instilled life in the marvelous Lord Ganesha sculpture through a mixture of colours and meticulous artisanship by decorating it with distinctive, traditional symbols of the Hindu philosophy.

Speaking about her experience, she said that the process of instilling life into porcelain sculpture through paint and decoration is beyond doubt the most rewarding task and that perfection can only be achieved through experience.

This provides an artist with the confidence to know how to mix glazes and colours, and how to apply them with the necessary precision. On a more personal note she said that since her childhood she was interested in painting and thanked Lladro for giving her the opportunity to showcase her talent.

When asked her opinions about India in terms of art and culture she finds it really interesting and loves the symbolical aspect of this culture and the artistic way of its representation. It was her first demonstration tour in the country wherein she performs in six metro cities. She had been to Singapore, Japan and some European countries for live painting events as well.

The occasion witnessed the presence of Lladro collectors admiring the brands forte in the painstaking hand painting process for each of their sculptures.

The Lladro pieces are skillfully decorated to bring an artistic value of a life time.The sculptures are more like time machines, which people of all age could relate to. The new Lord Ganesha sculpture is a perfect mix of colours, expressions and craftsmanship.

The objective behind launching such via live painting event was to let the clients experience our intricate hand painting process, said Nikhil Lamba, chief executive officer, Lladra, India.

When asked about the whole process, he said that it all begins with a sketch then the rest is taken over by the master sculptors, which are only 15 in Spain.

It takes almost two to three weeks for making a sculpture. He further mentioned that everything is done in the house, no outsourcing material is used or whatsoever as various porcelains are available for different festivals and occasions.

Apart from sculptures they are also into making products like chandeliers, table lamps and home fragrances. The limited edition of Lord Ganesha includes only 1,800 units and is part of the brands festive collection.
Afghanistan is expected to renew its demand for greater Indian involvement in the war-ravaged nation when Afghan Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani meets Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in New Delhi on Monday.

The Afghan leader is arriving here on Sunday for delegation-level talks of the India Afghanistan Strategic Partnership Council during which the two sides are likely to review the entire gamut of relations, including the Indian humanitarian assistance to the embattled nation.

This will be the first high-level visit to India from Afghanistan after US President Donald Trump unveiled his Afghan strategy last month and appealed to India to assume greater role in the country.

Kabul might also once again ask India to consider the wish-list of defence equipment it has sought from India. While India has not taken a final view on defence requirements of Afghanistan, there is every possibility of New Delhi stepping up its reconstruction and development initiatives in the country.

The two countries are also expected to consider how they could jointly combat terrorism unleashed by Pakistan-based terror groups in both India and Afghanistan.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday asked the authorities in Jammu and Kashmir to expedite the implementation of the Prime Minister Development Package (PMDP) to create jobs for the people of the troubled state.

Reviewed the progress of implementation of the Prime Minister Development Package. The Centre is monitoring the progress on a regular basis, Rajnath tweeted.

I have asked the authorities to expedite the implementation of the PMDP in a time bound manner. It will create jobs for the people of J&K, he added.

Rajnath, who is here on a four-day visit, has said he was going to J-K with an open mind and was willing to meet with anyone who could help in finding solutions to the Kashmir issue.

The Union Home Minister began his visit by meeting state Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti in the Nehru Guest House in Srinagar.

He is expected to travel to Srinagar, Anantnag, Jammu and Rajouri and meet civil society members, leaders of political and social outfits, business leaders and others during the visit.

Meanwhile, senior separatist leaders Syed Ali Geelani and Mirwaiz Umer Farooq have been placed under house arrest in Srinagar, while Yasin Malik was arrested by police from his uptown Maisuma residence around midnight.
Terming the murder of a seven-year-old student in Ryan International School unfortunate, Union Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi on Saturday urged parents and school authorities to remain vigilant about any actual or suspected occurrences of child abuse.

In a series of tweets, she said any incident should be immediately reported on POSCO e-box  an online complaint box for reporting child sexual abuse.

Yesterdays incident at Ryan School in Gurugram is highly unfortunate and my heart goes out to the bereaved parents.

I urge all school authorities and parents to remain vigilant about any actual or suspected occurrences of child abuse, she said.

The minister said the government was making all out efforts to deal with child abuse.

Any such incidents of child abuse should be immediately reported on POSCO e-box of @NCPCR_ of @MinistryWCD, she said.

The Class 2 student was found with his throat slit in the washroom of the school in Bhondsi area near Gurugram.

Police have arrested the conductor of school bus in the case.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday began a four-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir and reviewed the security situation during a meeting with Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti even as militants attacked a police party in Anantnag, killing one and injuring two others.

The arrival of the Home Minister, who tweeted that he was visiting the state with an open mind and was ready to meet with everyone who could help in the solution of the problems in Kashmir, also came as senior separatist leaders were placed under house arrest and JKLF chief Yasin Malik was arrested ahead of their proposed protest at the NIA headquarters in Delhi.

In the morning, terrorists fired at security forces conducting search operations in a village in Baramulla district. In the ensuing gunfight, one militant was killed. Pakistani forces also resorted to unprovoked, indiscriminate firing on the LoC in Poonch district, injuring a civilian and a BSF trooper.

As Singh was in the midst of holding official talks and meeting various delegations, militants in an audacious strike in Anantnag district attacked a police patrol on a routine check in the town, killing one policeman and injuring two others. Singh is to visit Anantnag on Sunday and address policemen and CRPF troopers in Khanabal area of the same district. A gunfight also began in a village of Shopian district in the evening.

After his official meetings were over, Singh met 24 delegations, including local boatmen, hoteliers, artisans and youth among others.

Earlier in the day, Singh held a meeting with Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti immediately after he arrived here with a team of union Home Ministry officials, including Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba.

Overall security situation was reviewed at the Union Home Ministers meeting with the Chief Minister, official sources said here.

During his visit, Singh is to also co-chair with Mehbooba Mufti, a meeting of the Unified Headquarters which is the topmost anti-militancy grid in the state.

Senior officers of state police, army, paramilitary forces and state and central intelligence agencies are part of the Unified Headquarters.

The Union Home Minister held a review of the implementation of Prime Ministers Development Package along with Mehbooba Mufti at a high level meeting of officers. Both leaders took a detailed review of the projects taken up under the Rs 80,000 crore PMDP in the State.

An official statement said Singh impressed upon the officers of the state and central government to work in a coordinated manner for the timely implementation of the projects under PMDP.

He said the PMDP which envisages a developmental and infrastructural revolution in the state is the biggest financial package for Jammu and Kashmir so far.

He asked the officers to complete the projects within the deadline scheduled so that people get the benefit of these projects at the earliest. He also suggested taking the benefits of the projects to the masses so that with their involvement in execution, the completion results are achieved at the earliest.

In her intervention, Mehbooba Mufti sought regular and in-time release of funds to the state for executing the projects. She said that given the limited working season and harsh winters in the state, the releases have to be fast-paced and furthered.

The meeting was informed that 63 projects have been taken up under PMDP by 15 Union Ministries through 39 executing agencies. Of them around 80 per cent projects stand formally sanctioned, the meeting was told. Of the total outlay, Rs 21,988 crore has been released under the package and five projects have already been completed, while seven projects are likely to be completed soon.

Among the projects in progress, are 22 major road projects which include some big ticket works like semi ring road projects for Srinagar and Jammu, Kargil-Zanaskar road, Udhampur-Ramban and Ramban-Banihal stretches of National Highway which are in various stages of completion, the meeting was told.

Later, Songh met a youth delegation comprising entrepreneurs and local artistes. He is slated to meet some other local delegations, including civil society members, and local artisans.

He also met a Pandit delegation, and a Shia delegation, among others.
Tamil Nadu is in turmoil again following the suicide of 17-year-old Anitha, daughter of a Dalit daily wage labourer from a remote village in backward Ariyalur district who could not get a medical seat in spite of securing 1,176 marks out of 1,200 in the Class XII examination because of imposition of the National Eligibility Entrance Test for MBBS, BDS and post-graduate medical courses.

Venkaiah Naidu, Vice-President of India, and Nirmala Sitharaman, Defence Minister, had assured the Tamil Nadu government on behalf of the BJP that the State would be exempt from NEET this year. Neither could keep their promise.

NEET was introduced first in 2012 and was opposed by Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. It was struck down in July 2013 by a three-judge Bench headed by then Chief Justice of India, Altamas Kabir, as unconstitutional.

The judgment said it would deprive State-run universities and medical colleges of their right to admit students as per their own procedures and noted NEET would violate the rights of religious and linguistic minorities to establish and administer educational institutions enshrined in Articles 29 and 30 of the Constitution.

After the BJP came to power, the Supreme Court, on a review petition by the Medical Council of India, undid the three-judge Benchs judgment and revived the idea of holding a national test to ascertain the eligibility of students aspiring to study medicine anywhere in the country.

The Medical Council Act, 1956, and the regulations framed under it, do not empower the MCI to formulate and enforce a single window admission process.

Having got the green signal from the Supreme Court, the Narendra Modi government raced against time to implement NEET. Then President Pranab Mukherjee was persuaded to sign an ordinance removing State boards from the ambit of NEET and bringing private medical colleges across the country under it.

Without having a common syllabus for school education throughout the country and prescribing common entrance examination meant denying a level playing field for medical aspirants.

Students who studied in a particular stream of education were compelled to take the entrance examination that followed another system of education which weeded out students like Anitha.

Standardising entrance examinations across the country is not only an assault on federalism, but also bad in policy.

The Christian Medical College, Vellore, an institution of excellence known all over the world with 100 MBBS seats and 61 seats in super specialities, has already stopped admitting students as it does not want to lower its standards.

Marks alone do not constitute merit, the college authorities maintain. By its policy of having a medical college in every district and inclusive admission system, Tamil Nadu has the best medicare system in the country. Does the Centre want to pull it down to the level of Uttar Pradesh?
Reacting to the insurgent attacks on some police outposts and an army camp on August 25, the Myanmar security forces have unleashed a war of sorts on the Rohingya Muslims  an ethnic minority group living for centuries in the Rakhine state of Myanmar  burning down their villages, killing their men and raping their women, committing what can be termed as crimes against humanity that have resulted in nearly 500 dead and nearly 200,000 taking shelter in Bangladesh, which has hosted Rohingya refugees for more than three decades in varying numbers depending on the level of oppression acrossthe border.

Myanmar, then called Burma, became independent in 1948 from the British, a year after the latters withdrawal from the Indian subcontinent in 1947. Geographically Rakhine state, where the current conflict is taking place, is separated from the rest of Myanmar by a barren mountain range.

Ancient history gives the area its own separate past with a distinct Rakhine Kingdom being established in 1430 with its capital in Mrauk U located as a link between Buddhist and Muslim Asia with close ties with the Sultanate of Bengal.

After 350 years of independent existence Rakhine State was conquered by the Burmese in 1784. This annexation was short lived as the territory was occupied by the British in 1824 and made a part of the British Indian Empire.

Today the Rohingyas are about 1.1 million Muslim citizens of the Rakhine state but are not recognised legally as one of the 135 ethnic groups constituting a part of the citizenry of Myanmar. It is perhaps not just a coincidence that the current attack on the Rohingyas follows on the heels of the report of the Rakhine Advisory Commission led by the former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.

This Commission was set up with active participation of the Myanmar government, albeit under severe pressure from the international community, and whose findings it had earlier pledged to implement. Now with the latest spate of violence the prospect of implementation of the Rakhine Commission recommendations appears remote and the possibility of a peaceful resolution of the Rohingya crisis may elude us once more.

The Commission has correctly identified the central questions to be citizenship verification, documentation, rights and equality before the law and goes on to say that  if they are left to fester, the future of the Rakhine state  and indeed of Myanmar as a whole  will be irretrievably jeopardised.

As we see it from Bangladesh, it is not only the future of Myanmar which will be jeopardised but that of this region itself as the Secretary General of the UN warned last Wednesday (6th September). China, given its historical links, will take more than a passing interest in this affair, an effort in which it will be supported by Russia the indications of which is discernible in their pattern of voting at the UN Security Council on recent resolutions on Rohingya issue.

The bloc of Arab and Muslim countries will naturally be drawn into this fray as fellow Muslims are being slaughtered. Already there is sufficient reason for concern at the flow of Middle eastern money in the region with distinct fundamentalist overtones.

We all know about Rohingyas finding their way into various Arab and Muslim countries with stories of atrocities invoking a natural reaction for seeking justice and fighting a future of fear and intimidation by building up some sort of resistance including armed.

These are but natural outcomes of prolonged oppression to which the Annan Report clearly alludes to. The US is likely to be more interested than usual given its deteriorating relationship with both China and Russia and the rising tiff in the South China Sea, not to speak of tension with North Korea and its unpredictable and dangerous consequences.

India has completely surprised Bangladesh by its all out endorsement of Myanmars position.

We, naively as it now appears, were hoping that Prime Minister Modis visit to Myanmar would help, if not to solve issue but at least to stop the violence and ebb the flow of refugees.

PM Modis support to Myanmars position and the absence of any substantive reference to the refugees issue and the consequent humanitarian disaster has greatly disappointed Bangladesh.

The rising terrorism that both Prime Minister Modi and the Aung San Suu Kyi have pledged to fight are created and sustained by oppression and ignoring the rights of a minority group. That has been the experience everywhere. For the so-called Jihadists the oppression of the Rohingyas fit the bill completely as a cause they will espouse to gain credibility in the Muslim world whose natural support for this oppressed group of Muslims is only obvious.

In this regard the emergence of ARSA (Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army) is something that should concern all. In the early hours of August 25 this group, whose Arabic name is Harakah al-Yaqin simultaneously attacked 30 police posts and an army base in the northern side of the Rakhine state. Twelve Myanmar troops and officials and 77 insurgents were killed.

This is by far the most audacious and damaging attack by the insurgents who are mostly equipped with machetes, few small arms and hand held explosives.

The emergence of such an armed group cannot be welcomed by any country wanting peace and stability in this region.

The International Crisis Group (ICG) termed this as the most serious escalation in the conflict. Obviously the biggest losers from the escalation and continuation of this conflict will be the two countries directly affected  Myanmar and Bangladesh. Bangladesh has not yet taken any hard-line against its only other neighbour save India and has tried, over the years to reach an understanding with Myanmar.

It has internationalised the issue only to the extent of seeking humanitarian aid and nothing more. It first received about 300,000 Rohingya refugees in 1978. Through negotiations about 210,000 were repatriated with the rest continuing to live in Bangladesh. However, the latest situation has changed everything. Bangladesh will now be under severe pressure from the Arab and Muslim world to internationalise the issue and take a tougher stance than it has hitherto taken.

The visits of the Indonesian and Turkish foreign ministers are indications of that.

If there is no change in the situation on the ground Bangladesh will be left with little option but to take a tougher stance leading to further complicating the situation.

Myanmar on its part must realise that blaming all the current atrocities on the so-called terrorists and claiming that its security forces had nothing to do with the crimes committed, in spite of unvarying account of thousands of refugees to the contrary, is neither credible nor helpful in solving the situation.

The Kofi Annan Commission has painstakingly worked out what international experts say is a realistic path towards peaceful resolution of a conflict that left to itself may become a dangerous crisis.

Myanmar must pay heed to the recommendations of that report. Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of Myanmar needs to remember what she herself said in her Nobel Prize acceptance speech that Whenever suffering is ignored, there will be seeds of conflict, for suffering degrades and embitters and enrages.

(The writer is Editor and Publisher, The Daily Star)
At least 15 Islamic State (IS) militants were killed in Iraqi air strikes on IS-held areas in the countrys eastern province of Diyala, the Iraqi military said.

Iraqi aircraft carried out airstrikes on Friday on IS posts in Khalawiyah area near Himreen Lake, some 60 km northeast of Diyalas provincial capital Baquba, leaving at least 15 IS militants killed, Lt. Gen. Mezhir al-Azzawi said.

The air strikes resulted in the destruction of an IS vehicle, five motorcycles, five IS hideouts and the burning of two boats at the lake, said Azzawi whose command is responsible for the security in Diyala and other areas in eastern Iraq, Xinhua news agency reported.

Azzawi also said the troops under his command raided an apartment in Gatoon area in the east of Baquba, about 65 km northeast of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, and seized two explosive vests, ammunition and explosives.

IS militants still control areas in Himreen mountainous area, including its Lake, in northern and eastern parts of Diyala.

The terror group also has a major redoubt in Mteibijah area on the provincial border with Salahuddin Province, which extends to the sprawling rugged area from the western part of Salahuddin to the desert in the neighbouring Anbar Province in western Iraq.

On August 31, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared the full liberation of the city of Tal Afar and surrounding areas from the extremist IS militants.

The Iraqi forces are now preparing to wage another offensive in the IS-held town of Hawijah and surrounding areas in the west of the oil-rich province of Kirkuk.
Some 290,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled to Bangladesh to escape the ongoing violence in Myanmars Rakhine state since August 25, the UN office here said on Saturday.

In a report, the Inter Sector Coordination Group said a majority of the new migrants, some 143,000, were staying in temporary settlements and existing camps, while around 90,000 are being hosted by local communities.

The remaining 56,000 have been housed in makeshift settlements, while a significant number have been camping on the side of the road that connects Ukhia with Teknaf, the southwestern border areas of Bangladesh where almost all the new arrivals have been concentrated.

Sectors have prepared a preliminary response plan with a requirement of USD 77,100,000 to deliver urgent, life-saving assistance to 300,000 new arrivals, said the Group which also insisted on the immediate need for food.

The violence erupted following an attack by a Rohingya insurgent group on police and military posts in Rakhine, leading to a violent offensive by the Myanmar army.

According to official figures, the death toll has exceeded 400. Indiscriminate firing at local communities and torching of entire villages and other human rights violations were also reported.

Late last year, more than 80,000 Rohingyas had crossed over to Bangladesh to escape an aggressive military offensive in the region after an insurgent attack on border posts.

Before the crisis erupted, between 300,000 and 500,000 Rohingyas have been living in Bangladesh, out of whom only 32,000 enjoyed refugee status.
Spains top courts today heaped fresh threats on Catalan separatists who have pushed on with their independence bid, passing a law outlining a transition to a possible independent republic.

After sparking Spains deepest political crisis in 40 years by voting this week to move ahead with a referendum, Catalonias separatist-controlled regional parliament upped the ante by passing a bill in the early hours which would take effect if they won the popular vote on October 1.

The separatists say the law would serve as a temporary basic law in the wealthy northeastern region of 7.5 million people in the event of a yes vote until a new constitution was in place.

Spains Constitutional Court has since 2014 declared any bid for an independence referendum to be unconstitutional, and last night it moved again to suspend the bills passed by Catalan lawmakers to organise the vote.

The court was set today to suspend the law outlining a possible transition, too.

But the separatists have ignored the actions of the judges  most of them named by the ruling conservatives  branding them illegitimate.

It is worrying that the state is seeking to scare people and make threats, faced with a desire for a vote, Lluis Corominas, vice president of the Catalan parliament, told national radio today.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy vowed yesterday to block the referendum, branding it an intolerable act of disobedience, and the Supreme Court warned senior Catalan officials to desist from promoting any accord or action which permits the preparation and/or holding of a referendum.

The warning went out to all members of the regional government, as well as mayors, the directors of regional public broadcasters, and Catalan police chief Josep Lluis Trapero, a popular figure after winning plaudits for his handling of last months terror attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils.

The regions 948 mayors now find themselves in a delicate position.

The court today ordered them to respect its suspension of the referendum bid, warning them of their potential liabilities, which include criminal liabilities, just a day after regional authorities asked them to provide lists of possible polling stations.

Neus Lloveras, mayor of the town of Vilanova outside Barcelona who heads an association of pro-independence municipalities, said more than 600 town halls have already informed the regional government of the total availability of their polling stations.

Others have said they will refuse to organise a banned referendum, such as Angel Ros, mayor of the town of Lerida.

We would be leaving the legal framework, he told TV3 television.

Is it worth trying to build a state in order to divide the country? Im among those who think not.

Yesterday, the national prosecutor announced that investigations into the planning of the referendum would be carried out with the help of the Civil Guard and Catalan police and that voting material would be seized.

Corominas retorted that there will not be enough paper to send all these summonses and scare practically half of Catalan society.

With its own language and customs, Catalonia accounts for about one-fifth of Spains economic output and already has significant powers over matters such as education and healthcare.

But Spains economic worries, coupled with a perception that the region pays more in taxes than it receives in investments and transfers from Madrid, have helped push the independence question to centre stage.

The region remains divided, however. In a survey by the Catalan Centre of Opinion Studies in June, 41.1 per cent backed independence while 49.9 rejected it.

Some 70 per cent wanted a referendum, however, to settle the question once and for all.
The death sentences of four hardcore terrorists were today confirmed by Pakistans army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa after they were convicted by special military courts for their involvement in terrorism and killing 16 people.

Riaz Ahmed, Hafeez ur Rehman, Muhammad Saleem and Kifayat Ullah were members of a proscribed organisation, armys media wing Inter Services Public Relations said in a statement.

The convicts were involved in offences of terrorism, including the killing of civilians, attacking law enforcement agencies and armed forces.

They were involved in the killing of 16 persons and injuring eight others, the statement said, adding that arms were also recovered from their possession.

The military courts have also given prison terms of various duration to 23 convicts.

The military courts were legalised in Pakistan after the deadly terror attack on an Army school in Peshawar in which nearly 150 people, mostly children, were killed.
Saudi Arabia today suspended any dialogue with Qatar, accusing it of distorting facts soon after a phone call between the rulers of both countries offered hope of a breakthrough in the three-month-old Gulf crisis.

Qatars emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, spoke to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to express interest in talks, state media from both sides said, in the first public dialogue between the leaders after the US president offered to mediate in the crisis.

Saudi Arabia led the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain in cutting ties with Qatar in June, accusing it of bankrolling Islamist extremist groups and of being too close to regional rival Iran. Doha denies the accusations.

The crown prince welcomed this desire, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) initially reported, adding details will be announced after Saudi Arabia reaches an agreement with UAE and Bahrain and Egypt.

But the prospect of a thaw quickly died down after SPA subsequently accused Qatars state media of wrongly implying that Saudi Arabia had initiated the outreach.

What was published by Qatar News Agency is a continuation of Qatari authoritys distortion of facts, SPA said, adding that any dialogue was now suspended.

The development came after US President Donald Trump on Friday spoke separately with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE.

The President underscored that unity among the United States Arab partners is essential to promoting regional stability and countering the threat of Iran, the White House said.

The President also emphasised that all countries must follow through on commitments to defeat terrorism, cut off funding for terrorist groups, and combat extremist ideology.

When he offered to mediate, Trump said he believed the dispute could be solved fairly easily.

In Washington on Thursday, Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al- Ahmad Al-Sabah, a key figure involved in mediation attempts, met Trump and gave an upbeat assessment of his efforts so far.

But in a statement early yesterday, the Saudi-led bloc had showed no signs of backing down as it questioned the Kuwaiti emirs statement that Qatar would be willing to accept their 13 demands.

The demands include shutting Doha-based broadcaster Al- Jazeera, closing a Turkish military base in the emirate and downgrading Qatari diplomatic ties with Iran.

The bloc also voiced regret about the Kuwaiti rulers statement on the success of mediation in stopping military intervention.

Instead, the four Arab states stressed that the military option has not been and will not be considered under any circumstances.

Kuwait has emerged as a key mediator in the crisis, while the United States has given mixed signals on its policy.

Riyadh and Doha are both key allies of the United States.

Trump, who chose Saudi Arabia for his first overseas visit as president in May, two weeks before the crisis erupted, immediately expressed staunch support for Saudi Arabia.

Some other US officials including Secretary of State Rex Tillerson have adopted a more measured tone.

Tillerson and Sheikh Mohammed announced in July they had signed an agreement to fight terrorism, built on decisions made at a Riyadh summit in May to wipe terrorism from the face of the Earth.

Qatar hosts a huge US air base, home to the headquarters of Centcom  the regional command which leads operations against the Islamic State jihadist group.

Sheikh Tamim is set to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel for talks on September 15, in what will be his first trip to a western capital since the crisis began.
The New Horizons mission revealed scores of surface features on Pluto in 2015, and now many of those craters, mountains, and other topographic treasures possess official names. This is the first set of Pluto place names officially adopted by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), with more forthcoming. As with most things Pluto, some of the designations, as well the naming process itself, feature Flagstaff ties.

The 14 names honor people and spacecraft that impacted scientists study of Pluto and its neighbors, as well as a variety of mythological stories from cultures around the world. Scientists have been informally using many of the names for the past two years, with Tombaugh Regio probably the most well-known. This iconic, heart-shaped region is named after Clyde Tombaugh, who discovered Pluto in 1930 from Lowell Observatory.

A second name with a Flagstaff connection is Elliot Crater, named for Jim Elliot. He was an astronomer at MIT who pioneered the use of stellar occultations  events occurring when a planet, asteroid, or other relatively nearby celestial object passes in front of a more distant star. Using this method, Elliot worked with astronomers at other observatories, including Lowell, to discover the rings of Uranus and detect Plutos tenuous atmosphere, among other things. Elliot also established a summer internship program at Lowell in which MIT students traveled to Flagstaff to work with astronomers at Lowell, NAU, the USNO, and USGS.

Another name familiar to many who know the story of Plutos discovery is Burney Crater. This celebrates Venetia Burney, who is credited with first suggesting the name Pluto in 1930. At the time, this English girl was 11 years old. Lowell staff liked the name Pluto and submitted it as the planets official name.

This process of submitting a name to a governing body for official recognition is still followed today. In the case of the new Pluto names, a group of New Horizons team members assembled a list of candidates, many suggested by the general public. This nomenclature working group consisted of nine people, including Lowells Will Grundy and former Lowell researchers Cathy Olkin and Amanda Zangari. They submitted the list to the IAU, which officially approves names of astronomical bodies and their surface features.

A committee of the IAU  the Working Group on Solar System Nomenclature  then evaluated the list. This group of astronomers and space experts includes Flagstaffs Rose Hayward of the USGS and astronomy historian Bill Sheehan. They debated the merits of the names and submitted their recommendations to the IAU.

Other new names recognizing people include Virgil Fossae (depressions on Plutos surface honoring the Roman poet Virgil) and Al-Idrisi Montes (mountains recognizing 12th-century Arab mapmaker and geographer Ash-Sharif al-Idrisi). Then there are Hillary Montes and Tenzing Montes, after Sir Edmund Halley and his Indian/Nepali Sherpa guide who first climbed to the summit of Mt. Everest.

Spacecraft were honored with Sputnik Planitia (a large plain named after the Soviet Unions Sputnik, the first space satellite), Voyager Terra (a large land mass honoring NASAs Voyager spacecraft, which carried out the first close-up survey of the giant planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune), and Hayabusa Terra, after the Japanese spacecraft that in the early 2000s performed the first asteroid sample return.

From mythology comes Sleipnir Fossa (after the Norse eight-legged horse), Adlivun Cavus (a deep depression named in honor of the Inuit underworld), Tartarus Dorsa (a ridge honoring the deepest pit of the underworld in Greek mythology), and Djanggawul Fossae (after the trio of Australian beings that created the landscape).

This group of 14 is just a start, with more new names coming soon. We'll no longer think of Pluto as that enigmatic dot, but as an intriguing new world with features we can now call by name.
Two people, including a child, hospitalized following one of three crashes in just over an hour in St. John's Sunday night

Two people were sent to hospital following one of three crashes in just a little more than an hour in St. Johns Sunday night. One of the crashes happened on the Robert E. Howlett highway at Heavy Tree Road at about 7:40 p.m. and left a pickup and an ...
But the tribe has a long way to go
Defending against criticism of an economy that is grinding slowly under the Narendra Modi led government this year, BJP president Amit Shah, defended his governments position saying the present pain points in the economy are in the long term good, and it should not be evaluated as right and wrong for the short term.

In 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had stated to achieve important economic goals like creation of one lakh new jobs every year, doubling of farmers income and others for a 2022 deadline in his pre-poll campaigns. But on Saturday, addressing business leaders in FICCI, the BJP president set a new deadline. He said, that most economic decisions being taken now, will transform Indias economy by its 100th year of independence in 2047.

Modi government has a 30-year policy direction for India. His decisions are taken for long term benefits rather than short term, said Shah, deemed the most important powerful Indian after PM Narendra Modi. Addressing top corporates today, Shah urged them to look ahead rather than dwell over short term pains.

Earlier, while Shah was interacting with leading business house leaders privately, he heard complaints on the governments demonetisation move and some other criticisms, including the running of the railways. On the dais, Shah took note of the demonetisation issue and said that his party has envisioned to multiply Indias GDP many times over by 2047. There are many criticisms but one thing you all will have to agree is that all this has led to greater formalisation of the economy.

BJP has changed the governments approach to GDP. We have included smaller infrastructure developments like toilets and rural electrification to it, Shah said. The BJP president also reiterated the governments commitment to electrify 18,000 targeted villages by May, 2018, and completing rural electrification for all villages in the country by 2022.

Highlighting on the governments success in opening of zero balance Jan Dhan accounts for the economically weaker population, Shah said that more than 30 crore such accounts were opened. He said disbursements under the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme had resulted in savings to the exchequer of an amount of Rs 59,000 crore.

Such a large corruption in disbursement of subsidies, which not even the CAG could ever detect, Shah said, highlighting that the Modi government had enrolled 36 crore beneficiaries, who receive government subsidies and entitlements directly to their bank accounts.

Shah also credited the Modi administration for creation of Niti Aayog and its policy directions in the last three years, saying: Niti Aayog has qualitatively improved on the federal structure of the country.

On implementation of GST, Shah said that Modi and the BJP administration in government had the courage to take such an important decision. We not only had dialogue but also received consent from each and every state for GST.

Talking on the need for the unified indirect tax regime, Shah said, economic development was not uniform among producer states of western India and consuming states of eastern India, and this had ailed the Indian economy right after independence.

Richer states could afford giving tax breaks to industries and industries thus showed little interest to invest in the eastern part of the country. GST will remove this disparity, he said.

On bank NPAs, Shah said the increase in NPAs in the present regime, from Rs 5 lakh crore to Rs 8.6 crore, was due to the Modi governments initiative to clean-up banks balance sheet. Earlier NPAs were being hidden inside the jugglery of balance sheets, we have forced banks to declare it. Hiding the disease will not cure it, he said.

Taking this stern step on NPAs have caused some difficulties, we will discuss with you (industrialists) to find a resolution to this problem as well, Shah promised. Corporates have faced difficulties after the implementation of the bankruptcy law, which banks can initiate to recover their long pending dues.

Calling himself a student of numbers, from an early age of 13 years, Shah belted statistics regarding his governments development projects for the corporate gathering at FICCI.

He said speed of road construction has doubled from 69 km per day to 133 km per day now. Speed of road construction achieved by the government stood at 22 km per day till last year. This fiscal, in the first few months it has touched nearly 30 km per day. Road and transport minister Nitin Gatdkari had earlier said that the ambitious 40 km per day target set initially could only be met this year.

Without referring to the recent train accidents, Shah said, the speed of new railway tracks being constructed in the country stood at 7.9 km per daynearly double the speed of laying railway tracks in 2013-14. He said in 2013-14 the speed of laying optical fibre cables was only 358 km per day. In 2017 alone, we have laid more than 200,000 km of optical fibre cables, Shah recounted.

He said, foreign investment rules have been eased and the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) have been done without, under the Modi government. Investments, thus jumped from $ 3.7 billion in 2013-14 to $ 6.3 billion now.

On GDP numbers, Shah said that barring the numbers for last month, which were at a four year low of 5.7 per cent, the BJP government led by Narendra Modi had clocked growth of 7.1 per cent.

He said, steps to back new entrepreneurs were also taken by the NDA government under leadership of Modi, and going ahead, new jobs will be created. Taking note of labour ministry survey numbers, the Economic Survey 2017, part-1 had deduced that 5 per cent of Indias labour force were unemployed in 2016-17, a slight improvement over 4.9 per cent unemployment noted during 2013-14.

Creating new jobs is a major challenge for the government. And it is the most important consideration for a younger India, Harshvardhan Neotia, chairman of the Kolkata-based Ambuja Neotia Group and immediate past president of FICCI told the BJP party president.

I am certain that the Indian economy will grow many times by 2030. We want to move ahead of reforms to bring in absolute transformation of the Indian economy, said Shah. Though this was meant to be an interactive session between the BJP party president and corporates, Shah only presented his hour-long monologue and left without giving business leaders the chance to ask him any questions during the session at FICCI.
The United Liberation Front of Asom (Independent) chief, Paresh Baruah, declined the peace overtures of religious leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar in a strongly worded message from his hideout somewhere in the China-Myanmar border and told the guru in no uncertain terms to leave them alone.

While on a visit to Assam this week, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, the founder of The Art of Living, had asked the Northeast militants to shun violence and join the mainstream. During a meditation camp organised in Guwahati on Thursday, Ravi Shankar had said that Paresh Baruah is a good man and he is trying to convince him to pursue peace. He had said his heart goes out to those who had suffered in decades-long militancy and that he has been working to rehabilitate militants.

In response, the militant group which has been fighting for a sovereign independent Assam since its inception in 1979, has hit back reiterating its stand of not responding to any peace talks unless the Government of India is willing to talk on the issue off Assams independence'.

Baruah urged spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar to stick to his pretentious religion and let them continue with their journey to freedom.

Addressing Ravi Shankar through a media release, Baruah stated, Our arms struggle for a sovereign Assam does not need any form of rehabilitation, demanding back our motherland which was forcefully occupied by Indian colonists is not a crime. We reject your offer of peace talks with the government of India, unless they are willing to take the independence of Assam into consideration and practice it in their constitution.

The letter further stated, You have raised concerns over our armed struggle. But we have picked up arms in order to protect ourselves and not to threaten any individual or sovereign nation. Our struggle will continue until the ultimate goal of 'freedom of Assam is achieved. Therefore, I urge you not to ask us to lay down our arms in the hope of your empty promises."

Meanwhile, Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, expressed his governments intention of entering into an agreement with Art of Living Foundation for meaningful and purposeful rehabilitation of the surrendered militants in Assam. A total of Rs 8.53 crores have been released by the centre from 20132016 for this purpose. More than ten thousand militants across Northeast have laid down their arms in the last one decade. The spiritual leader has apparently influenced many of them to take the path to peace.

The chief minister also requested the spiritual leader to conduct courses in all the 31 prisons in Assam. At present, the Art of Living Foundation conducts courses in 10 prisons across the state.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday said that truth should come to fore in the mystery surrounding around the death of senior journalist Gauri Lankesh.

Siddaramaiah said that this after meeting the mother and the sister of Gauri here.

The chief minister said that Gauri must receive justice and assured the state government is putting all its efforts to nab the perpetrators.

Senior journalist Gauri Lankesh was shot dead on Tuesday night outside her residence in Bengaluru's Rajarajeshwari Nagar by some unidentified assailants.

As per the reports, four bullets were fired at her, three which hit in her head and chest.

Her last rites were held at Bengaluru's Chamrajpet Cemetery on Wednesday.

Lankesh was the editor of the Gauri Lankesh Patrike, a tabloid described as an "anti-establishment" publication.

A Special Investigation Team (SIT), comprising of 19 officers, headed by IGP Intelligence B.K. Singh, has been formed to probe her murder.

MHA gets report

Meanwhile, the Union home ministry received a report from the Karnataka government on the killing of Gauri, an official said.

The state chief secretary in his factual report gave detailed account of the sensational killing and the follow up action by the police.

The report also mentioned that the state government had set up a special investigation team to probe the case and find out those involved in the murder of the 55-year-old journalist, the home ministry official said.

The report came after the ministry asked the Karnataka government to inform it about the details of the incident.

The report was sought after Home Minister Rajnath Singh asked Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba to do so.
17 years after Canadian Indian Jaswinder Kaur Sidhu's body was fished out of an irrigation canal near Ludhiana district in Punjab, the bride of a few daysa suspected victim of honour killingappears to be getting justice of sorts.

Her mother Malkit Kaur and uncle Surjit Singh Badesha, both Canadian residents, will be extradited to India, where they will be prosecuted for murder.

The Canadian Supreme Court on Friday allowed the extradition of the duo, following assurances from the Canadian government that the two will not be mistreated in India, said sources in Punjab who were tracking the case from the very beginning.

The heart-wrenching tale of Jaswinder (Jassi as she was popularly known) was the stuff that Bollywood's mushy love stories were made of. And, in the Karan Johar mould of films, it had a strong overseas setting and connect.

Jassi met a local autorickshaw driver Sukhwinder Singh Sidhu while on a visit to Punjab, a state then recovering from 1994 militancy. The two fell in love. She left for Canada. When she returned five years later, her family was adamant about marrying her off. But Jassi and Sukhwinder were clearly struck by the cupid's arrow. The two got secretly married.

The angry family tried to talk her out of it, trying to persuade her to seek divorce. But the girl was in love and unrelenting. They tricked her into lodging complaints against Sukhwinder and had him jailed on the basis of a false rape accusation. They later spirited Jassi off to Canada.

She escaped with the help of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, borrowed money to purchase a ticket to India, and arrived in Punjab, determined to be with her lover. But within a month, her mother and uncle had hired contract killers and finished off Jassi.

A very high profile murder case, Jassi and Sukhwinder's love saga hogged the headlines for a long time.

Says senior journalist Akhil Gautam who tracked the case, "While investigating the murder in 2001 and subsequently in 2005, we were successful in linking the telephone calls made by Jassi's mother and maternal uncle to India. Each call had established the motive behind the murder. It was a painstaking exercise spread over several weeks. I had spoken with Jassi's maternal uncle in Canada several times to question his involvement. I had my facts right. He wanted me to stay out of it; obviously, I would not".

In fact, though the Supreme Court of British Columbia had allowed extradition of Malkit and her brother Surjit in 2014, it was stalled on grounds that there was not enough evidence to allow extradition.

Gautam was also involved in making a documentary on the topicCanadian Broadcasting Corporation's show went by the name of Fifth Estate. Later, the story was told in a film titled Murder Unveiled. A book titled Justice for Jassi was also written by a Canadian-Indian author.

Sukhwinder is reported to be leading a life of mourning in his village in Ludhiana district. Sources in Punjab police said they were yet to receive orders from the Canadian court, required to take the next step in the extradition.
Union Minister of State for Tourism, Alphons Kannanthanam, said that he wants to act as a messenger of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the people of Kerala. My job is to convert the dreams of the prime minister to reality. Christians can be a part of Modis dream as his dream is to send every child to school, get food on every table, have a house and toilet for everybody, and get people a decent job which will enable them to live with dignity, Kannanthanam told THE WEEK.

The Kerala unit of the BJP is organising a grand reception for Kannanthanam on September 10, on his first visit to the state after assuming office as Union minister. The party is also organising a road show for the minister at his hometown in Kottayam district.

Kannanthanam is the first Union minister from Kerala in the NDA government. An IAS officer of the 1979 batch, Kerala cadre, he had the reputation of being a dedicated and honest civil servant. He is also a practicing advocate. Kannanthanam became famous while he served as the commissioner of the Delhi Development Authority in the 1990s, and ordered demolition of around 15,000 illegal buildings. He retired from the civil services in 2006 and became an LDF-supported independent MLA from Kanjirappally constituency. In 2011, Alphons joined the BJP and became its national executive member.
Last November, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced demonetisation of 1,000-rupee and 500-rupee notes, he said the intention was to weed out corruption and black money from the economy. Some 80 people reportedly died in the problems caused by a severe shortage of cash across India. The BJP called it a great sacrifice to rid the economy of the two evils. It paidthe party swept the assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh four months later.

It has not been as rewarding for many others, especially the labour-intensive small and medium enterprises. Closure of units was common during demonetisation, said Anil Bhardwaj, secretary general, Federation of Medium and Small Enterprises. Because of the cash crunch we ran shifts with half the number of workers and produced less till cash flow normalised. By then more than half the workers had taken off from the cities and some are yet to return.

It did not help that the government came up with stricter directives on accepting the old notes and issuing fresh ones. Initial days of demonetisation were horror, said banker Uday Kotak at a discussion hosted by Confederation of Indian Industry in Delhi. I recall the government would issue notifications with new rules every day as an afterthought to the announcement. For us banks and thousands of bank staffers, it was a daily nightmare.

It continues to be one for the economy. In July, former prime minister Manmohan Singh said in the Rajya Sabha: My own feeling is that the national income, that is the GDP, can decline by about 2 per cent as a result of what has been done. This is an underestimate, not an overestimate. His apprehensions turned true a month later, when the GDP growth rate for the March-May quarter, at 5.7 per cent, was reported to be lowest in three years. It was 7.9 per cent in the same period last year. The main impact is due to the drop in industrial activities and a drop in domestic savings, said chief statistician T.C.A. Anant, while releasing the numbers on August 31.

When the RBI revealed in its annual report for 2016-17 that it had received about 99 per cent of the demonetised currency notes, hopes of large amounts of cash recovery were dashed. But the finance ministry saw it as an opportunity. The government had expected all the SBNs (specified bank notes) to come back to the banking system to become effectively usable currency, said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. The fact that the bulk of SBNs have come back shows that the banking system and the RBI were able to effectively respond to the challenge of collecting such a large number of SBNs in a limited time.

In December last year, however, the finance ministry's 'expectation' was quite different. At that time, revenue secretary Hasmukh Adhia would brief journalists about the initiation of Operation Clean Money. The money that did not come back to the system, he would explain, was effectively the black money that had been purged out of the economy. But, now that just around 1 per cent of the money (Rs 16,230 crore) did not come back, the RBI's hopes of a fiscal windfall have been dashed.

In fact, in addition to the administrative expenses, printing of new notes and arranging for their logistics put a dent on the RBI's profit. The dividend it paid to the government came down from Rs 65,896 crore last year to Rs 30,569 crore this year. Given the cost of the demonetisation drive, if the government now says that it has detected only Rs 16,000 crore in black money, it perhaps defeats the purpose, said macroeconomist Laveesh Bhandari, director, Indicus Analytics. According to him, the loss of Rs 35,200 crore revenue to government is just the monetary cost of demonetisation. The real cost would have to be the GDP loss caused by job loss and other collateral damage to the economy due to demonetisation, he said.

The problems of demonetisation have been everywhere. We cannot see even a modicum of improvement in private investment activities as of yet, said Aditi Nayar, principal economist at the ratings agency ICRA. The lull in investments after demonetisation is not quite over. We expect this lull to continue over the next three or four quarters until domestic as well as global business environment improves. Not just private investments, but trade, too, has suffered. The only green shoot, according to Nayar, is the spike in public investment in the form of infrastructure projects. But government spending also has its limitations and we expect this to taper down in the coming quarters, she said.

All three stated objectives of the demonetisationelimination of black money, ending corruption and chocking terrorism fundinghave so far yielded mixed results. So did detection of fake currency notes, which was one of the primary objectives when demonetisation was first proposed by a right-wing organisation in 2013. In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, Jaitley said that, post-demonetisation, fake currency worth Rs 11.23 crore was detected from 29 statesjust a fraction of Rs 1.23 lakh crore expected to be in circulation by the RBI. Fake currency notes of new Rs 2,000 and Rs 500 were available in the black market. As people toiled for currency, these fake notes filled the gap, said Sarbajit Roy, convener of India Against Corruption, which supported demonetisation in the beginning. He said it was ill-conceived by the RBI and the government.

Most of the important sectors have been hit by the demonetisation. The services index became negative for first time in past two decades and the manufacturing index hit the lowest in a decade. Employment generation fell to less than half of the target because of the slow economic activity. International Monetary Fund, which praised Modi for the demonetisation drive, has now cut Indias GDP growth forecast for the current fiscal by more than half a percentage.

The main worry remains that sectors that have a high potential to absorb labour force have seen the sharpest dip after demonetisation. Some sectors which grew fast in this nine-month period had low labour intensity and low share in overall output. This suggests that slower economic growth resulted by demonetisation could also have shaved off employment growth in the economy, said Dharmakirti Joshi, chief economist of the rating agency CRISIL.

And, the benefits? The benefits of demonetisation to the economy are in the form of digitisation, according to Arvind Subramanian, chief economic adviser to the government. Demonetisation has given a huge boost to digitisation. We found that it could have added 20 per cent new tax payers to the tax base, he said, releasing the part two of the Economic Survey for the year in August. He said around 5.4 lakh new tax payers had been added over the last year. The additional tax revenue due to this, however, would remain limited. We see most of these new tax payers are declaring incomes at the tax threshold, and either not paying income tax or paying a nominal amount as income tax, he said.

A statement from the finance ministry, however, said the demonetisation had a positive effect on tax collection. Collection of Advance Tax under Personal Income Tax (i.e. other than Corporate Tax) as on 05.08.2017 showed a growth of about 41.79 per cent over the corresponding period in F.Y. 2016-2017. Collection of Self-Assessment Tax under Personal Income Tax showed a growth of 34.25 per cent over the corresponding period in F.Y. 2016-2017, it said.

The finance ministry recently said that it witnessed a 38 per cent increase in admission of undisclosed income, and the searches and seizures had doubled post-demonetisation. High-, medium- and low-risk cases have been identified through use of advanced data analytics, including integration of data sources, relationship clustering and fund tracking, said Adhia. Operation Clean Money in its second phase has detected about 14,000 property transactions of more than Rs 1 crore each where persons have not even filed income tax returns. The investigations are in progress.

The SMEs expect the government to fix the mess it created. Demonetisation may have hit us hard. But we wanted to show resilience and get back to normal activity. However, this will not be possible without the government announcing any real fiscal benefit for the small and medium sector that employs 70 per cent of the labour force. In the budget after demonetisation, some very small benefits were announced, but it is clearly not enough, said Bhardwaj. According to him, it is now for the government to take some corrective actions in the next budget.
Tony Hetherington is Financial Mail on Sunday's ace investigator, fighting readers corners, revealing the truth that lies behind closed doors and winning victories for those who have been left out-of-pocket. Find out how to contact him below.

Ms A.R writes: My ex-husband Christopher had a stroke in April 2013 and is now in a nursing home. I have power of attorney in respect of his finances.

In September 2013, he purchased a Mini Cooper car from Dave Negus Cars of March in Cambridgeshire, for 4,995.

But Christopher never received the car and it was not registered in his name. At the time, he owned a Ford Mondeo, bought in 2012 from the same dealer.

Dodgy deal? One reader found that her husband purchased a Mini Cooper but never received the car

Mr Negus took the car to sell on my ex-husbands behalf, but did not hand over the proceeds. I believe Mr Negus has sold both cars and retired. Can anything be done to recover the money?

Tony replies: You are right that Dave Negus has retired, but neither he nor your ex-husbands money has disappeared. In fact, as soon as I found him  still in March  he was keen to talk to me.

He knows you want him to hand over the money and he told me: I have never denied this money is outstanding.

The car dealer added: I will gladly pay it if Ms R supplies me with all the information I requested from her nearly two years ago.

What information was this? Well, you have told me: The only information Dave Negus requested from me was Christophers address, so that he could go and talk to him.

You explained: Christopher is a vulnerable adult and I do not trust Dave Neguss intentions for visiting him.

How do I know that his purpose for the visit is not to trick Christopher into signing a gift affidavit or similar?

I have to say I found this unlikely. In the circumstances you described, it would be easy to have any such gift overturned. But I went back to Dave Negus and put all this to him  and he came up with a fairly convincing argument.

He knew Christopher quite well and regarded him as a friend. He actively discouraged him from buying the Mini Cooper as he felt sure Christopher would never be in a position to drive it. It was only after your ex-husband made repeated visits that he agreed to sell him the car.

But the crunch point is that Dave Negus says that when he last discussed the money with Christopher, he was absolutely clear it should not be handed over to you.

Your marriage had broken down and Christopher was living with someone else. Negus added he had never seen the power of attorney in your favour.

I was able to help on this last point by confirming to him that the Office of the Public Guardian has certified that Christopher did indeed appoint you as his attorney in 2015. Legally, you stand in his place and are entitled to demand any payment due to him.

I hoped this would be a step forward and I proposed to Dave Negus he should transfer the money  around 5,000 in all  into Christophers bank account, which is in his sole name. If Christopher was then happy to let you have access to it, then that would be for him to decide.

Sadly, this did not work. Negus told me: I am going to be just as stubborn as Ms R and try to work out why she does not want me to see Chris.

I admire Neguss loyalty to his friend, but everything I have seen puts you legally in the right. Your next step can only be to sue for the money on Christophers behalf.

Small error leads to big tax demand

P.R. writes: A client of my accountancy firm, Mr G, received a demand from Revenue & Customs, showing that in 2014-15 he underpaid income tax by 56 on three small private pensions. The pensions totalled 1,335 and tax of 364 was deducted at source. As Mr G did not pay the 56, the Revenue resurrected the old self-assessment account and issued a 2014-15 tax return, which nobody knew about until much later. Now the tax office is trying to collect 1,300 in penalties for failure to submit the return.

Mr G retired in 2006 and ceased having to complete self-assessment tax returns because his only income was the state pension and his three small private pensions. It is unclear why the 56 was not collected at source.

His tax office explained it was not allowed to deduct more than half of a pension in tax. But 364 is a lot less than half of 1,335, so that does not add up.

Normally, any Pay As You Earn debt is carried over to the next year and collected along with that years tax deductions.

There is no obvious reason why this was not done, but because Mr G did not respond to the demand for a one-off payment, his tax office seems to have over-reacted.

I asked the Revenues head office to look into this and staff there told me: An error had been made in the taxpayers record. This has been corrected to ensure the correct tax is deducted from future payments.

One reader found a msall error led to a big tax demand from Revenue & Customs

We have cancelled the penalties and waived the outstanding tax. The situation has been explained to the taxpayer and we have apologised.

The right outcome.

Mobile phone firm keeps asking to speak to my husband even though Ive told them he is dead

Mrs H.L. writes: Can you advise me on how to stop Three Mobile ringing nearly every day to speak to my dead husband?

Big companies do seem to have a problem in accepting the death of a customer.

I receive complaints all the time about businesses that are told of a death and then send a reply addressed to the deceased customer. When you told Three Mobile your husband had died, you were asked to send his death certificate.

You did and it was returned promptly, but this did not stop the company from ringing time and again with the same request. Eventually, a letter arrived  addressed to your late husband of course  threatening debt collection proceedings if an outstanding bill of 21 was not paid.

When you complained, you were told to take the death certificate to a Three shop and ask staff to email a copy to customer services.

You did this and were told the account was now closed, but a month later the phone calls started all over again and Three denied seeing the death certificate.

Three has admitted to me its staff did not follow its own procedures correctly. The firm said: We are sorry for the way Mrs Ls case was handled. This is not the experience we want Three customers to have. We would like to reassure Mrs L the account has now been permanently closed and any outstanding balance cleared. Good.

Victims of Cape Verde islands scam compensated with more than 500k Con: Richard Clays victims can claim compensation The Serious Fraud Office has secured more than 500,000 which will be handed over in compensation to victims of fraudsters who told them their savings would be invested in resort developments in the Cape Verde islands. Richard Clay and his accomplice Kathryn Clark ran Arck, an investment firm based in Nottingham. Both were approved persons on the official register of the then City watchdog, the Financial Services Authority. I warned in 2012 that Clay had diverted investors cash into speculating on risky second-hand life insurance policies and in 2015 he was jailed for ten years. Clark was given a two-year suspended sentence. Both were ordered to pay compensation. The prosecution was linked to developments under the names Arck Estrella, Estrella Santiago, Paradise Beach and Joyston. Clay and Clarke also claimed to be investing in property in Fernie, a Canadian ski resort. In total, the pair raked in 47 million from 750 investors. Some have already made successful claims from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. The Serious Fraud Office is now inviting claims from investors whose money went into the Cape Verde projects. Details at https://sfo-arck-lpp.egressforms.com/.

If you believe you are the victim of financial wrongdoing, write to Tony Hetherington at Financial Mail, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TS or email tony.hetherington@mailonsunday.co.uk. Because of the high volume of enquiries, personal replies cannot be given. Please send only copies of original documents, which we regret cannot be returned.
Up to half a million households will see their fixed price energy deals come to an end this month leaving consumers potentially facing price rises of 400 annually.

It is understood 42 separate fixed price dual fuel energy deals will stop at the end of September  more than twice as many as in the same month last year.

The increase is partly as a result of regulators lifting the restriction which saw companies limited in the number of separate tariffs they are allowed to offer.

All change: Up to half a million households will see their fixed price energy deals come to an end this month leaving consumers potentially facing price rises of 400 annually

David Camerons Government had insisted the number of tariffs should be cut to avoid confusing consumers.

Now, unless consumers switch to new fixed price deals they could see their bills rocketing, warned Mark Todd, founder of price comparison firm energyhelpline.

In early 2016, wholesale energy would be the cheapest it had been since 2007. However, it would rise 40 per cent by October 2017.

A year ago, suppliers took advantage of the low costs, and the fact that many may switch in anticipation of the colder months, by offering an unusually large number of tariffs, he said.

But now a year later, those tariffs are coming to an end, which causes the 42 tariff endings across 14 suppliers.

Their customers will automatically be moved on to the more expensive standard rates.

The potential increases could go up to an eye-watering 409 annually, making it worth the effort of spending a few minutes switching to ensure you get the best new cheap deal to keep you saving.

Among the deals which are coming to an end is one from Co-op Energy for an average cost of 770 compared with the companys standard tariff of 1,179 while EDF Energy has a fixed price deal with an average price of 965 coming to an end while its standard tariff is 1,160.

Prime Minister Theresa May promised before the election to cut energy bills by 100 for 17 million households with a price cap.

She criticised the energy market and said it was not working as it should.

But now the Government has urged energy regulator Ofgem to examine the issue using its existing powers to cut prices and talk of an extensive price cap has receded.
Readers have en masse backed our investigation into the murky world of insurance and the failure of companies, large and small, to reward loyal customers.

They believe the practices of the multi-billion pound industry, which result in insurers offering new customers keener prices than existing ones, need to be overhauled as a matter of urgency.

They call upon the City watchdog to intervene. It is a view shared by the head of the team that ensures the consumer voice is heard within the corridors of City regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority.

Best policy: Stuart Kira, with wife Angela, says shopping around is essential when it comes to finding good insurance deals

Sue Lewis, head of the Financial Services Consumer Panel, welcomes The Mail on Sundays probe into the pricing of insurance policies. She believes it will put much-needed pressure on the regulator to bring about structural change in the industry, to the benefit of consumers.

Our investigation into the way home, motor and other forms of general insurance are sold has highlighted widespread exploitation of loyal customers. In many cases, premiums at renewal have been jacked up to unjustifiable levels. When savvy policyholders contest the rises, they are sometimes successful in bartering them down.

Often, they discover to their horror that equivalent cover from their existing insurer can be bought cheaper by either visiting its website as a new customer or by using a comparison website.

But not everyone challenges the price rises or shops around. Many, especially the elderly, blithely accept the premium offered at renewal, either as a result of inertia (or not having the tools to help them shop around) or in the mistaken belief that their loyalty counts for something.

Win, win: Jennifer and Richard Pask saved on both car and home cover

This year insurers have been required by the regulator to provide details of the existing premium when sending renewal quotes. This extra information is meant to encourage people to shop around but Lewis says the step is no better than hopeless.

She feels policyholders should be given far more information including what the insurer is quoting new customers for the same cover.

SHOCKING INCREASES

Premiums are rising generally for both car and home insurance on average by 11 per cent (according to the Association of British Insurers) and 7 per cent respectively. This is in part a result of tax increases applied by the Government to premiums. But the price hikes some customers have been asked to accept are far higher.

Patricia East, a 76-year-old happy divorcee from Guildford in Surrey, was last month told her new premium for car cover with Kwik Fit Insurance Services would be nearly doubling, from 549 to 1,057. She has never made a claim in 52 years of driving. She contacted Kwik Fit to complain. It immediately said it would cut the price to 690.

Unhappy it had tried to pass such a big rise on to her, she switched to Sainsburys Bank. Why did the insurer not offer me the discount straight away? she asks. I feel it was hoping I would just pay up.

Campaign: The Mail on Sunday's report headline two weeks ago

Alan Creer (surname changed) and wife Susan were told by Policy Expert the premium for their home insurance would jump from 174 to nearly 794  a hair-raising increase of 355 per cent. To insult them further, they were told they would get free legal expenses cover as a reward for loyalty.

Alan, 70, a retired IT expert, suspects the inflated premium relates to the fact they live close to the River Thames in Laleham, Middlesex, and their home is perceived to be a flood risk (a fact confirmed to this newspaper by Policy Expert). But their road has never flooded, not even in the big flood year of 1947. They have now insured with John Lewis for just over 200. Alan says: That quote from Policy Expert took the biscuit.

Richard and Jennifer Pask, from Blackwood in Gwent, were recently told the cost of insurance for their four-bedroom home with Sheilas Wheels would be rising 18 per cent to 268. Insurance for Richards car, a BMW 218i Active Tourer, would cost nearly 34 per cent more from Hastings Direct.

The whole process is tiresome. It seems the principle of loyalty being rewarded has gone

Having not made any claims in the past year, Richard, 67, a former mining surveyor, contacted Hastings Direct which offered him a measly 9 discount on the original renewal premium of 345. Unimpressed, he used a comparison website to find equivalent cover from LV= for 209. Although he now has a 100 excess  as opposed to none with Hastings Direct  he says that even if he makes a claim in the next year, it will still be cheaper.

With the home insurance, he found comparable cover with Intelligent Insurance for 213, less than the 226 he had paid the year before with Sheilas Wheels. He says: The whole process is tiresome. It seems the principle of loyalty being rewarded has gone.

Peter and Diana Bradbourne, from near Wetherby in West Yorkshire, also received a hair-raising renewal notice for their home insurance with Hastings Direct late last month. It wanted to increase the premium by 51 per cent to 536 despite the couple having never made a claim in 49 years. Peter, a 70-year-old former managing director of a drainage company, went on a comparison website to see if he could find cheaper cover. Discovering Churchill was offering better value cover, he then went on to its website and obtained an even better price  197.

Fightback: Susan and Alan Creer faced a 355 per cent renewal price rise, circled right

Having just switched both their car insurances from Esure to Churchill to avoid premium increases of 51 per cent (Diana) and 21 per cent (Peter)  despite both having claims-free histories going back 20 years  Peter says they have saved in total more than 463 by shopping around.

He adds: So much for loyalty. Although as a result of switching, last month was a good one for protecting the Bradbourne household budget.

WHAT THE INSURERS SAY

The Mail on Sunday asked numerous insurers to comment. Not all were prepared to do so. LV said it agreed more needed to be done to support loyal customers.

Police Mutual  criticised by some retired police officers for ramping up premiums  said a real focus of its business over the past two years had been to get premiums for new and existing customers in line.

Saga said it would welcome an industry-wide change from insurers giving large discounts to new customers to a fairer longer-term pricing system.

Aviva said it was committed to addressing the pricing differences between new and existing customers. It added that later this year it would begin testing a reward programme for existing customers.

NFU Mutual said it recognised loyalty through an annual mutual bonus it paid to long-serving policyholders.

PERSEVERANCE

Loyalty can sometimes pay, but only if you are prepared to confront your insurer and argue down your renewal premium.

This is a strategy adopted by Stuart Kira, 71, a semi-retired financial adviser. Earlier this month, he received a renewal notice from LV= for his home contents insurance, indicating the premium would be rising nearly 18 per cent to just over 281.

He went on the website of LV= and saw that identical cover for a new customer would cost just over 215. He then rang LV= which offered to renew his policy based on the online quote. A similar strategy had reaped dividends in May when he renewed his buildings insurance, again with LV=.

Stuart, from Hatfield, Hertfordshire, says: It is patently obvious to me that insurance companies are keeping their premiums attractive to new customers at the expense of loyal ones.

They prey on those who do not have the time or inclination to shop around. As a customer you have to play the system.
Wise up: Do your homework and you can earn 10 per cent yields from student flats

Student accommodation has become barely recognisable to anyone who graduated more than a decade ago.

Slumming it in an overcrowded, freezing, rodent-infested house-share is ancient history: todays students are living in increasingly luxurious purpose-built accommodation.

But do not worry if you missed the chance to live this particular student dream  complete with a cleaner, games room and gym.

You can invest in it instead.

Property analyst Knight Frank estimates the UK market for these purpose-built living quarters is worth 46 billion  and says it is expanding rapidly.

The firms latest student housing rental update shows that a further 25,000 student bedrooms will have been completed for the start of this new academic year, with 14,000 more ready for next year.

There are various types of property on offer to investors, ranging from en-suite pods to studio apartments and cluster flats.

Blocks usually boast gyms, cafes, high speed wi-fi and communal areas. Many come with a concierge and are located in city centre locations or near university campuses.

The sales pitch to investors is compelling. Emerging Property, for instance, is offering pods from 49,950, promising 8 to 10 per cent net rental yields a year, zero costs for 10 years, full legal ownership and professional on-site management teams.

One Touch Investment is touting studios in Oakwood House, Sheffield. An investment of 59,950 gets you a fully furnished en-suite studio within walking distance of both university campuses in the city, assured net rental income of 8 per cent a year for three years, and a hands-off investment.

Other blocks being sold have not even been built. Hopwood House is selling units in Phoenix Place, Liverpool, from 49,950.

Investors can earn 5 per cent interest on their deposits, and then an assured 9 per cent net yield per annum for five years once the properties are completed in the autumn of next year.

But investors need to do their homework before investing because it could turn out to be an expensive lesson. Behind the glossy brochures lie some risks.

The first issue is that it is virtually impossible to get a mortgage to buy one of these investments  so you will need to pay cash up-front.

Student accommodation has become barely recognisable to anyone who graduated more than a decade ago. Slumming it is ancient history: todays students are living in increasingly luxurious purpose-built accommodation

Mortgage lenders are not keen on student pods, mainly because each unit comes with a restricted covenant stating it can only be let to students. They also do not like the uncertain resale market.

With a mainstream buy-to-let property, investors can sell it at any time on the open market to another landlord or an owner-occupier. The same cannot be said for student units.

Rob Bence, founder of property investment company RMP Property, says: The only way you can sell the pod is if another investor wants to buy. With so many schemes available, supply will always outstrip demand so that is unlikely.

Many student units are sold off-plan, which means they carry the same risks as other uncompleted homes. If the developer runs into financial difficulties the properties might never be completed or, if completion is delayed, be worth less than predicted.

There is also the risk the finished article looks nothing like the brochure pictures. Investors worried about demand for student pods might be assured by the rental guarantees offered by developers. Sales agents typically promise a yield of about 7 or 8 per cent a year for three to five years. But any guarantee should come under heavy scrutiny.

Student blocks usually boast gyms, cafes, high speed wi-fi and communal areas. Many come with a concierge and are located in city centre locations or near university campuses

Bence says: These companies are able to offer a guaranteed rental yield because they have already made a profit by charging an inflated price for the student pod.

There have been several schemes that have stopped paying out guaranteed rents soon after completion. Investors have then discovered the real market rate for rent is much lower.

Tal Orly, chief executive of property investment company Cogress UK, says the safety of the rental guarantee depends on whether there is a lease from the university or if the flats are let individually.

Orly says: The rental guarantee on student pods that come with a lease from a university would be considered safe for those looking to invest in purpose-built student accommodation.

This is because when student pods are rented out individually, there is a greater risk that the tenant will default and there is no security provided by an entity such as an university.

Some property experts such as Savills and Knight Frank describe student housing as one of the best-performing asset classes.

It is why institutional investors such as the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board, Aviva, BlackRock, LaSalle Investment Management and M&G have bought into the asset class.

Such organisations have the financial clout to ride out the occasional void or delay in rental payment. The risks are higher for individuals buying single units.

Location is a key issue. Proximity to the campus and other amenities such as shops, gyms and transport are all factors that students consider when deciding where to live.

Property developer Sam Collins says it is vital to understand whether any investment carries ongoing costs. These could comprise service fees for management of the let, as well as repair and maintenance bills.

He adds: Such information is imperative in calculating genuine potential yields. A high service charge will eat into your yield.

If you are getting a rental yield of 10 per cent per annum but running costs amount to 7 to 8 per cent, your return will be next to nothing and barely worth the effort.

Finally, check out any company you are thinking of investing with. Unfortunately, the property investment world is full of dodgy characters and broken promises.

Use both the internet and a company credit checking website to assess a firms financial fitness and whether any of the directors have a chequered history.
Despite economic uncertainty, Brexit and the soaring euro, it seems British holidaymakers carry on regardless. Ryanair last week revealed a 10 per cent rise in August passenger numbers, and easyJet was not far behind. Other low-cost airlines and travel firms also experienced good growth.

Our dedication to travel augurs well for SSP, which runs eateries, bars and food shops in airports and train stations around the world.

The company floated at 210p a share in 2014 and Midas tipped the stock in October 2015, by which time the price had already risen to 303p.

International operator: SSP runs outlets in 35 countries across Asia, the Middle East, America and much of Europe

Some brokers felt there was little mileage left in the stock, but the business has consistently beaten expectations and the shares have continued to rise.

Today, they are 525p and should rise still further, benefiting from robust market conditions and the highly focused stewardship of chief executive Kate Swann.

SSP operates in 35 countries across Asia, the Middle East, America and much of Europe. The companys brands include Upper Crust, Ritazza and James Martin Kitchen.

It also runs airport and rail outlets for the likes of Starbucks, Burger King and Marks & Spencer, and it has developed a number of local concepts to suit regional tastes, such as herring in Finnish cafes or noodles in Chinese coffee shops.

In 2015, 40 per cent of group turnover came from the UK. Today that has fallen to about 35 per cent.

Not that UK sales have fallen, but rather because the rest of the group has grown even faster, particularly in the US and Asia.

SSP is the second largest food and drinks operator in the American travel sector and is gaining market share fast, winning contracts in important cities such as New York, Chicago and Phoenix, Arizona.

The company is also making healthy progress in the Asia-Pacific region, operating in Australia, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand and Taiwan.

It recently began working in India too, where it is expanding at pace.

Over the next two decades, the number of people travelling by air is expected to almost double, with more than 7.2 billion a year taking a plane by 2037.

Economic growth in Asia is the principal reason behind the surge in demand, as local populations use their newfound wealth to take to the skies.

But Swann is not just relying on air traffic predictions to fuel growth. She is also determined to make SSP as efficient as possible, often using technology to keep costs low and deliver value to customers.

At Burger King, for example, punters can order food on a keypad and top up drinks via an automatic dispenser, reducing the need for staff at the counter.

And across the business, state-of-the-art equipment is used to chop, slice, grate and pour food and drink, so fewer assistants are needed in the kitchen. The company is not cutting back on staff, as it is growing substantially  it is just improving productivity.

SSPs financial year ends on September 30 and brokers expect turnover to rise 15 per cent to 2.3 billion, with profits surging almost 30 per cent to about 140 million.

A dividend of 6.5p is pencilled in, compared with 5.4p last year. Over time, the dividend should show solid growth.

Midas verdict: SSP is a well-run business in an expanding sector. Existing investors should continue to hold. New investors may also fancy snapping up a few shares for the long term.

Traded on: Main Market Ticker: SSPG Contact: foodtravelexperts.com or 020 7543 3300
Almost a third of Britains biggest firms have suffered a revolt on pay that would have seen them blacklisted under the Prime Ministers plans to name and shame greedy bosses, a major investigation by The Mail on Sunday has found.

The analysis of about 400 documents over four years reveals the extent to which firms are feathering the nests of their highest paid executives in a system that appears to be out of control.

The investigation reveals that the boardroom pay and incentive plans of 30 of the 100 largest companies listed on Londons stock market have faced a rebellion of more than 20 per cent of shareholders  the limit of tolerance set by Theresa May last month.

Among the worst offenders is Morrisons  with the pay awarded to both former boss Dalton Philips and his replacement at the supermarket Dave Potts (pictured above) under fire

Of those, 19 have faced pay revolts in the past two years, suggesting the problem is worsening, with the divide widening between executives and rank and file staff, who are receiving far meaner pay rises.

Among the worst offenders are Morrisons  with the pay awarded to both former boss Dalton Philips and his replacement at the supermarket Dave Potts under fire  as well as advertising giant WPP and construction supplier Ashtead. All have been struck by three pay revolts in the past four years.

A further six have two rebellions blighting their name, including pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca, fashion label Burberry, software developer Micro Focus, healthcare provider NMC Health, publisher Pearson and consumer goods maker Reckitt Benckiser.

Theresa May described the trend to higher pay and more generous perks for top bosses as the unacceptable face of capitalism.

Geoff Drabble, the CEO of advertising giant WPP and construction supplier Ashtead, came under fire over his excessive pay

Roger Barker, head of corporate governance at the Institute of Directors, said: Its clear that executive pay has got out of kilter with company performance and there is growing pressure on shareholders to take a stand.

Among the many complaints about how executive pay is structured is that many bosses can earn several times their standard pay by meeting easy targets.

And when they fail, directors are often given golden parachute payments that are beyond the dreams of their employees, another factor that has attracted shareholder ire.

The Prime Minister said she would require firms to report the pay gap between executives and staff, but some critics argued the measures did not go far enough.

Shareholders at Imperial Brands protested at plans to increase chief executive Alison Coopers pay (pictured above)

The Mail on Sunday last week revealed that Britains top 20 bosses received 237 million a year between them. More than half that eye-watering sum was shared between the five highest paid chief executives, including WPP boss Sir Martin Sorrell, who was rewarded with 48.1 million in just one year.

Morrisons faced its third revolt earlier this year when it was criticised for setting bonus targets for chief executive Potts that were too soft. In its annual report, released in May prior to the meeting, Morrisons said it wanted to increase Potts bonuses specifically in response to shareholder feedback.

Potts, who is otherwise popular with shareholders for raising profits and adding 1 billion to the firms market value since his arrival, was paid 2.8 million last year.

However, 48 per cent of shareholders voted against the plan. The vote prompted a furious reaction from Morrisons chairman Andy Higginson, who said he fundamentally disagreed with groups that had advised shareholders to vote against the supermarkets plans. He said the board regarded the targets as significant and stretching.

Meanwhile, in January shareholders appeared to win a rare victory at Imperial Brands, when they protested at plans to increase chief executive Alison Coopers pay.

The tobacco group withdrew a vote on a new pay policy at the annual meeting. The plan would have increased Coopers earning potential from 7.1 million to 8.5 million for next year. Instead, her ceiling rose to 7.4 million.

Barker said: If you are the chief executive of a big listed company there is now a lot of transparency over how much you earn, in a way there isnt if you work for a hedge fund, private equity firm or a big legal or accountancy firm.

There is more pressure from the media, public, politicians and wider civil society. That in turn is putting pressure on big investors.

But its too early for complacency, and shareholders still need to keep doing their jobs.

Among other firms that have suffered major revolts this year are AstraZeneca, whose boss Pascal Soriot was paid 13.4 million last year. At the annual meeting, 39 per cent of shareholders voted against the executive pay plan. Thomson Holidays operator Tui was also criticised for not giving shareholders a chance to vote on pay at all.

Professional advisory services, such as Pirc, which advises local authority pension funds, among others, and American firms ISS and Glass Lewis, are often behind significant revolts.
Television presenter Noel Edmonds has secured litigation funding for his 300 million action against Lloyds as he steps up his campaign against the banks treatment of small businesses a decade ago.

In a wide-ranging interview with The Mail on Sunday, Edmonds revealed he had tried to talk to Mark Dobson, who used to be his business banker at HBOS. Dobson was jailed earlier this year for fraud. He wouldnt agree for me to see him, Edmonds said.

Six people were sent to prison for frauds which targeted businesses banking at the branch of HBOS in Reading, Berkshire. Small businesses were forced by corrupt managers to pay huge fees to a consultancy firm. The consultants were bribing the managers with luxury trips and sex parties to push business their way.

Determined: Noel Edmonds is challenging Lloyds over his lost millions

Edmonds said he believes the dishonest handling of the finances of small firms was worse and more widespread than previously realised. He pointed out that his company had not had any connection with the Reading branch of HBOS.

I believe there was a culture of criminality that gave free rein to elements within HBOS, he said. I didnt bank at the Reading branch, but I was Dobsoned.

The star had been with the Bank of Scotland since becoming a radio DJ in the 1970s. It was taken over by Halifax in 2001 and was renamed HBOS. Lloyds took over HBOS to rescue it from collapse in the midst of the financial crisis.

Edmonds claims his business, called Unique Group, was deliberately brought down by HBOS, which repeatedly refused opportunities to allow Unique to sell assets it owned to enable it to repay bank debts. Edmonds claims this was part of a concerted plan to run it into the ground.

In the interview Edmonds warned Lloyds that he is planning a long fight. I have a major litigation funder there who has seen my case, so they cant beat me on the deep pockets.

Edmonds said he has written to Lloyds boss Antonio Horta-Osorio to request a meeting, but has been rebuffed.

Chain of events: Edmonds had been with the Bank of Scotland since becoming a radio DJ in the 1970s. It was taken over by Halifax in 2001 and was renamed HBOS. Lloyds took over HBOS to rescue it from collapse in the midst of the financial crisis

The entertainer  whose 40-year career in television has included presenting shows such as Noels House Party and Deal Or No Deal  believes there should be further prosecutions in relation to the activities of employees at HBOS.

He has been in contact with Thames Valley Police and has submitted a number of documents and statements.

Edmonds has also set up a website to publicise his claims against the bank and said he is receiving leaks from the highest levels within the bank.

'I complained to FCA about payout delay' Noel Edmonds has reported Lloyds to the Financial Conduct Authority over delays in the payment of compensation to victims of the HBOS fraud. The bank has appointed Professor Russel Griggs to look at each case and to decide on an appropriate sum of compensation. Victims have been critical of the review process. They say 100 million will not cover all the claims  and that the process is not fair or transparent. Edmonds said: I asked for the Financial Conduct Authority to investigate the statement by Lloyds chairman Lord Blackwell at the time of the annual general meeting that victims will be paid within weeks not months. He has written to Andrew Bailey, head of the watchdog, to ask for an investigation of the review and why it is being conducted, Edmonds said.

Since Ive adopted a somewhat unorthodox fight an awful lot of people want to give me information, he said.

Im currently working on a Channel 4 documentary and Ive also had an approach from a second production company.

Following the criminal convictions, Lloyds set up a compensation scheme for victims and said the victims would receive settlements within weeks. However, Edmonds complains that many are still waiting for compensation five months down the line.

A Lloyds spokesman said: The criminal acts in HBOS Reading were committed by a small number of individuals in conjunction with external parties. Their actions bear no reflection on the behaviour of the vast majority of employees of HBOS at the time or in the group today.

The bank said it was working hard to get compensation to those affected as quickly as possible.

But, as we have met and spoken with victims, many have asked us for more time to provide input.

We are committed to doing everything we can to support those affected as we continue with the review and we are continuing to make good progress in getting offers to the victims of the fraud.

We have continued to meet our commitment to deliver offers within an average of four weeks after receiving all customer input.
Mission: John Holland-Kaye is fighting battles on several fronts

He drives to work in a Tesla, says his customers will soon ride on electric, driverless buses  and swears his plans for a new runway are carbon-neutral.

But Heathrow boss John Holland-Kaye urgently needs to convince politicians of his green credentials, at the same time as fending off a cheaper rival.

The Labour Partys leadership is understood to be preparing to vote against his plans for a third runway when it comes to a Commons vote amid concerns over air quality.

Now the Government has said there will be a short period of further consultation in the autumn to allow the public to consider new evidence on Heathrow  including, crucially, revised aviation demand forecasts and the Governments final air quality plan.

The Airports Commission opted for Heathrow over rivals like Gatwick because it said extending Heathrow would bring greater economic benefits.

But if revised figures show Gatwick expanding faster than previously thought, then it might have the edge on future economic benefits, too.

Holland-Kaye, though, insists the new consultation is just another milestone to pass. The consultation will not impact our timetable to open Britains new runway in 2025, he said. Expanding Heathrow will ensure Britain has the right trading infrastructure to prosper as we leave the European Union.

On top of that, hotel tycoon Surinder Arora has come up with his own plan to build a new runway at Heathrow, backed by US building giant Bechtel and ex-British Airways boss Sir Rod Eddington. It claims to be nearly 7 billion cheaper than Holland-Kayes 16.5 billion scheme.

If that was not enough turbulence, Heathrows biggest customer, British Airways, and Virgin Atlantic have both welcomed the Arora proposal.

When it comes to soothing Labours concerns, Holland-Kaye, a Cambridge classics graduate, is happy to aim for the moral high ground.

We understand what Labours targets are and we will meet all their objectives. We have set ourselves the target of expanding Heathrow in a carbon-neutral way and thats across all our operations including the flights, he says.

If all cars were electric and planes were quiet, much of the opposition around airport expansion simply would not exist

That is 260,000 extra flights a year when the third runway is opened in 2025, though Holland-Kaye notes that it helps that the global airline industry has committed to carbon-neutral growth by 2020.

The airport uses renewable energy. It is aiming to get 35,000 more people a day using public transport by 2030 and Holland-Kaye has even talked of restoring peat bogs (which soak up carbon) calling it a very British solution.

But can business leaders really be trusted? After all, it was Sir John Egan, chief executive of Heathrows then owner BAA, who assured local residents that Terminal 5 will not lead to a third runway. And car maker Volkswagen cheated over its diesel emissions on a grand scale.

Holland-Kaye says: I think the VW scandal really stimulated change  it made the car manufacturers act. This is going to move quickly now. If all cars were electric and planes were quiet, much of the opposition around airport expansion simply would not exist.

Heathrow's terminal five ahead of its official opening in 2008

A few years ago people would never have said that lorries, HGVs, would be electric. But we are already trialling that at the airport with our ground-handling partner, Dnata, which has developed them with British firm Frazer-Nash.

They are used in the cargo area. There will also be driverless, electric buses  that is coming, we will see them in the next couple of years so before expansion. We have a terrific track record in this area  our passenger pods were the first commercial, driverless, electric vehicles in the world.

He notes that Labour has also said it wants expansion to deliver growth and better connections across the UK, adding: We are already doing that. We will add up to 40,000 new jobs and 10,000 apprenticeships  well need pilots, engineers, construction workers, customer service people, IT staff.

He points out that low-cost airline Flybe now flies from the airport as a competitor to British Airways and new flights to Scotland will keep SNP MPs onside.

As for the Arora plan, which includes an option of shifting the new runway so that work on the M25 motorway is not required, Holland-Kaye is coolly damning.

We are at a critical point in our countrys future, because we need to emerge from Brexit as a winner and Heathrows role, as the countrys major port, is crucial to our success in a post-Brexit world

Im most concerned about the idea that the runway might move closer to London  that means more homes lost, more people hit by aircraft noise, he says.

He points out, too, that one of Heathrows earlier proposals included building the new runway in a position that avoided the necessity of working on the M25  and that was rejected by the Airports Commission. Holland-Kaye admits the task of delivering the worlds biggest private investor-backed construction project without increasing passenger charges  currently 22 a time  as he has promised, is a tough one but deliverable.

I cannot think of any big infrastructure project that achieved that target but we are working towards delivering expansion at close to current charges, as weve been tasked with by the Government.

Willie Walsh, boss of British Airways owner IAG, insists Heathrow cannot deliver expansion and stay competitive without hiking prices.

But Holland-Kaye, 52, says: We can expand the airport with fewer new buildings. We can do the construction on a phased basis so we can smooth out the price. Originally we were going to expand Terminal 2 early on which would have given us an extra 20 million passengers a year.

Take-off: Willie Walsh, boss of British Airways owner IAG, insists Heathrow cannot deliver expansion and stay competitive without hiking prices

'Now were going to do that in phases, adding enough for 5 million at a time. Weve seen a big appetite from the airlines to increase their business here, much faster than we had planned. New airlines, too, who couldnt get into Heathrow are very interested. It looks like growth in the early years might be faster than we had assumed.

Its good news for Heathrows owners  a range of foreign investors including Spains Ferrovial and Qatars sovereign wealth fund.

Holland-Kaye adds that Heathrow  a bigger port for UK goods by value than Southampton and Felixstowe combined  is the crucial UK gateway in a post-Brexit world. We want to play our part post-Brexit in ensuring the UK is open to the world.

We are at a critical point in our countrys future, because we need to emerge from Brexit as a winner and Heathrows role, as the countrys major port, is crucial to our success in a post-Brexit world.

It is why he supports the smoothest possible transition post-Brexit for whatever replaces the EUs customs union, noting that the red tape involved in coping with new customs barriers would be a huge extra cost for very little gain.

He is also after a long-term contract with the Civil Aviation Authority over charges. It is understood he wants a 15-year contract though nothing has yet been decided.

Holland-Kaye lived under the flight path for 20 years in West London though now he drives to work in his Tesla from Oxfordshire.

He is in line for an as yet unquantified bonus on delivery of the runway  on top of his basic pay thought to be 896,000, plus bonuses taking that to 1.9 million last year.

But his ambitions are unexpectedly humble: My ambition is for a kid from the local community to be sitting in my seat, doing my job as chief executive in a few years from now.

A laudable goal, of course, which might also help soothe the ire of some of his political critics.
Billionaire David Ross has been appointed chairman of the National Portrait Gallery

Billionaire David Ross has been appointed chairman of the National Portrait Gallery with a brief to boost its credentials as the worlds leading centre for portraiture through a 35 million scheme.

Ross, who co-founded Carphone Warehouse, said his focus will be on delivering the Inspiring People project.

This will involve changing the display of its collection across all its galleries, as well as an extensive refurbishment.

It involves raising 35 million but there is already a 9.4 million donation from the National Lottery.

Ross said: The National Portrait Gallery is a gem of a place. The Inspiring People project is a combination of physical activity and fostering an intellectual outlook to ensure we remain the most successful global centre for portraiture.

He will be chairman for four years, with the possibility of staying on for a further four.

The 52-year-old believes in applying business disciplines to charities and the arts. He said: Galleries and museums are under pressure as a result of freezing contributions from the Government and that means they have to become more commercial to balance their books, but that has to be done in a sensitive way.

Ross has contributed extensively to charities through his own foundation. This has included 11.3 million to the David Ross Educational Trust, which has more than 30 academy schools in Yorkshire and the East Midlands.

He said: The first one was in Grimsby, where my family are from. I went round a local school and thought, Surely we can do better than this.

We want to make a difference to childrens ambitions by giving them access to an education of the highest order and that means employers will come to areas like Grimsby which have seen traditional industries decline.

Ross has been given a brief to boost the National Portrait Gallery's credentials as the worlds leading centre for portraiture through a 35 million scheme

If you look at some of the most successful academies, like the Ark schools and Harris academies in London, they are being run like businesses, not like charities. There is a standardisation of approach which means every child gets the most appropriate education.

We focus on the part of the country where Im from and areas that do not find it easy to raise public funds  Grimsby, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire.

Ross, who backed Brexit, noted that many of these areas had voted Leave.

They felt they hadnt got much to lose, which I think the London establishment didnt understand. I do think were making hard work of Brexit and we knew it was going to be tough. But that does not mean we cannot get there, he said.
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By Bill Parry

Hundreds of Sunnyside and Woodside students began the new school year Thursday in two state-of-the-art annexes built to replace aging portable classrooms and reduce overcrowding. City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside) toured the new facilities at PS 11 in Woodside and IS 125 in Sunnyside last week.

Our kids deserve nothing but the best, and Im proud of the work weve done to fund and build an unprecedented number of schools in western Queens, Van Bramer said. Together, these projects bring nearly 1,000 new seats to alleviate overcrowding and represent a nearly $200 million investment in our children which is an investment in the future of our community.

Both the 350-seat, $92 million PS 11 annex at 54-25 Skillman Avenue in Woodside and the 600-seat, $84 million IS 125 annex at 46-02 47th St. in Sunnyside include additional classroom space, libraries, dance studios, and renovated cafeterias. A new middle school is planned at 48th Street and Barnett Avenue as early as 2019.

Im grateful to the parents, faculty and staff and community members who have joined in this fight to give all of our children the space, resources and tools they need to succeed, he said.

Van Bramer also toured a newly converted 180-seat universal pre-K Center in Long Island City with Deputy Mayor Richard Beury. Q972 occupies the first two floors of 27-35 Jackson Ave. in Court Square, which used to house a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services center.

I am thrilled to see this beautiful new pre-K Center in Long Island City completed in time for the start of the school year, Van Bramer said. With incredible parks, museums and a real sense of community, parents from all over New York City are discovering that Long Island City is a great place to raise a family.

More than 11,000 residential units have been constructed in Long Island City in the past decade and nearly 9,000 new units are slated to come on line this year. It will be the most in a single year in the neighborhoods history and almost double the areas existing inventory.

With that development in mind, the Gantry Parents Association began petitioning for more pre-K space in 2016.

Last year, I joined with parents to call for more seats to accommodate this increase in families and expecting parents moving to Long Island City to raise their children, Van Bramer said. And now, that dream has been realized with the completion of this pre-K Center.

Since taking office in 2010, Van Bramer has overseen the construction, siting or funding of two new schools in western Queens.
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By Bill Parry

The property manager of a Sunnyside condominium, which is the target of three separate investigations for Nazi and Confederate displays in its lobby, is back in his apartment following his arrest Sunday on stalking and harassment charges, according to the NYPD.

Neal Milano, 70, was busted at JFK International Airport Sunday as he returned from an overseas vacation over a separate complaint that he stalked and harassed a former tenant at 47-55 39th Place between September 2016 and this July.

Milano was arraigned at Queens Criminal Court Monday on attempted assault, stalking and harassment charges, according to the Queens district attorneys office. Milano was released on $2,500 bail and he is due back in court Sept. 8. The NYPD is watching the building and community affairs officers from the 108th Precinct check on residents regularly. City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside) was briefed by police and told that Milanos apartment had been searched by the NYPD and weapons were confiscated.

The people of this building have been terrorized for far too long, Van Bramer said. We have an obligation to ensure that tenants are safe in their own homes and that there are no acts of retaliation for speaking out against harassment and intimidation. With the arrest of Mr. Milano, I hope the people of this condominium can feel safer, more secure, and find peace of mind knowing that the NYPD and our city government are ready and able to act and monitoring the situation in the condominium closely.

The probes were launched following reports from Van Bramer that tenants and condo owners were subjected to a hostile environment due to alleged harassment by Milano, who sits on the condos board.

Van Bramer rallied with community leaders last month after he saw the lobby Nazi posters, pro-gun and racist images, and tributes to President Donald Trump plastered on the walls. Van Bramer called it a hate-crime scene after he noticed the names of notorious Nazis Josef Mengela and Rudolph Hess in the buildings directory.

Milano is accused of harassing the unnamed 43-year-old woman 20 times, at one point warning he was going to burn the building down, according to the criminal complaint filed by the DAs office. Milano allegedly attacked the resident on two occasions, grabbing her neck and arm and yelling threats and obscenities, according to the NYPD.

Meanwhile, the NYPD, the citys Commission on Human Rights, and state Attorney General Eric Schneidermans office continue their separate probes of tenant harassment and intimidation at the Sunnyside condo. Under the citys Human Rights Law, it is illegal to discriminate against or harass tenants because of their race, color, religion, immigration status, sexual orientation and other protected classes.

The NYC Commission on Human Rights continues its investigation into allegations of tenant harassment and discrimination, CCHR spokesman Seth Hoy said. The arrest of Neal Milano over the weekend does not change that investigation.

Residents of the building are also encouraged to submit complaints to Schneidermans office at 1-800-771-7755.
Did you vote in the midterm elections as if your countrys existence depended on it?

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ALBANY  The state Scaffold Law, a statute installed to protect workers who helped build New York's now-iconic skyline in the 19th century, has for years withstood a battery of reform efforts from some special interests who bemoan the way it drives up construction-insurance costs and taxpayer expenditures.

Now, separate state and federal efforts are taking aim at the law, which places legal blame for workers' gravity-related injuries on contractors and property owners when it is found that proper safety measures weren't in place.

Assemblyman John McDonald, D-Cohoes, and a small band of state legislative supporters sent a letter Friday urging Gov. Andrew Cuomo to champion the cause in next year's state budget. McDonald carries legislation that would would let courts consider if workers were even partially at fault if injured in an accident such as a fall from a ladder.

U.S. Rep. John Faso, R-Kinderhook, meanwhile, pledged new legislation last week that would put in place a similar "comparative negligence" standard for New York construction projects that use federal money.

McDonald admitted that reform efforts face a steep climb, but that a standalone piece of legislation may have an opening in the state budget.

"I've seen a lot of other things in my short time here in the budget that did not really have a financial impact," he said. "This has a financial impact on how state resources are spent."

The Scaffold Law was approved in 1885 to protect workers climbing higher and higher into the sky above the New York metropolis. Its supporters, including organized labor and the powerful trial lawyers group, say it still serves a purpose when it comes to protecting workers atop some of the world's tallest towers or even when they are atop a one-story roof upstate.

"Perennial attempts to roll back these important safety laws seek to shift responsibility away from contractors, exactly the opposite of the underlying intent of the law," state AFL-CIO President Mario Cilento said in a statement.

The law's critics charge that the cost of business in New York is unnecessarily driven higher by the law. Alliant Insurance Services estimated in 2013 that roughly $200 million of the $400 million insurance bill for the new Tappan Zee Bridge could be attributed to the Scaffold Law, according to Crain's.

"As these things continue to mount, we're hopeful that Albany will eventually see that one part of the solution is a relatively easy reform that 49 other states have done," said Greg Biryla, executive director of pro-business group Unshackle Upstate.

But reform has been a political non-starter in New York for years.

Cuomo, whose spokesman said the administration would review McDonald's letter, told Crain's in 2014 that the law is one of the "infuriating" things about doing business in the Empire State. But, he said, its supporters are strong enough to stall change.

"The trial lawyers are the single most powerful political force in Albany," he told Crain's.

For their part, the trial lawyers did not comment for this story. But they are vigorous supporters of the law, stating on their website that that it keeps workers safe and holds contractors accountable for dangerous working conditions.

Legislative leaders aren't expressing vehement support of reform.

Michael Whyland, a spokesman for Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, D-Bronx, said the law doesn't need reforming, and state Senate Independent Democratic Conference Leader Jeff Klein, D-Bronx, said he has no interest in changing the law.

Scott Reif, spokesman for Senate Republican Majority Leader John Flanagan, R-Long Island, said the GOP will put forth a pro-business agenda but has not yet discussed specifics.

Faso, a former Assembly minority leader, adds a new wrinkle to the debate. He is bullish that federal legislation could be the route that leads to reform and is confident that in this case, a federal bill that impacts only one state doesn't infringe on the state's rights.

"It's the expenditure of federal dollars, that's the hook," he said.

Faso, like McDonald, is looking at standalone legislation and the potential to tack it onto another policy proposal. And just like McDonald in Albany, Faso will face opponents in Washington, too.

"Congressman Faso now wants to push a plan that will increase injuries on construction projects in order to line the pockets of the already wealthy," Cilento said.

Faso retorted that while New York is the only state with a strict liability law, "we have no better safety record than the 49 states without this law."

"We should be striving to lower costs and make NYS more affordable," he said. "My plan will do just that."

mhamilton@timesunion.com  518-454-5449  @matt_hamilton10
Albany

Capital Repertory Theatre is now the official owner of 251 N. Pearl St., a warehouse about four blocks north of the company's longtime downtown home.

The sale of the building, formerly the headquarters of Gomez Electrical Contracting, was finalized Friday morning, said Philip Morris, CEO of Proctors in Schenectady, parent company of Capital Rep. The price was $350,000, Morris said.

Plans to buy the building were announced earlier this summer after several years of scouting possible locations for a new performance home. Capital Rep decided it will for the foreseeable future stay in its 111 N. Pearl space, where it has been since 1981. The 30,000-square-foot Gomez building will be used for construction and storage of sets and other technical and production needs.

Morris previously has said the potential remains to relocate the theater there, but that would be a multiyear, multimillion-dollar project.

"One of the considerations in the acquisition is that it has the possibility of being a location for the theater," Morris said in August.

The three-story Gomez building is sufficiently large to allow for a 300-seat theater with unobstructed views, lobby, cafe, offices and more, in addition to production facilities. Another advantage is that Capital Rep already owns a vacant double lot a block away, at Broadway and Livingston Avenue, that in theory could be developed, with a partner, into a building with ground-floor retail and 10 apartments. Union contracts require the company to provide housing for out-of-town actors, most of whom are based in New York City.

Among the concerns Morris outlined for the Gomez building becoming the site of a new theater are parking; a full assessment of the building's benefits and drawbacks, including the possible presence of asbestos, lead and other hazardous materials and environmental considerations; projected costs; and potential for fundraising. Should all of the matters be satisfied, Morris said earlier this year, the cost would be $6 million to $7 million, not including development of a new building for housing.

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The current theater is in a former supermarket space under a parking deck. It has a variety of problems and challenges, including a basement prone to flooding, a deteriorating structure and lack of on-site rehearsal and production facilities. Production had long been done in space rented from The Egg, but security at the Empire State Plaza and other considerations made the arrangement a challenge, Morris said. Equipment has already been moved to the Gomez building, and sets for Capital Rep's first fall production, the adult comedy "Sex with Strangers," due to open later this month, will be built at 251 N. Pearl, Morris said.

Capital Rep considered buying and renovating 111 N. Pearl, but the owner, developer Herb Ellis, also owns a number of other nearby downtown buildings that he would like to sell as a package, and he and Capital Rep have been unable to work out a deal to separate the theater property. Capital Rep will continue to lease 111 N. Pearl from Ellis for a nominal fee, Morris said.

Capital Rep in recent years had discussed launching a $4 million capital campaign to renovate the building, but that would be contingent on control of the property, Morris said. The company has no plans to significantly invest in a building it doesn't own, Morris said.

sbarnes@timesunion.com  518-454-5489  @Tablehopping  www.facebook.com/SteveBarnesFoodCritic
After 34 years in business The Ginger Man in Albany will close. The business and building have been sold by founder Michael Byron to Devin Ziemann and Kaytrin Della Sala, owners of the gourmet-burger restaurant Crave, located across the street.

Ziemann tells me the purchase is scheduled to be finalized on Sept. 18, and he believes The Ginger Man's last day will be next Saturday, Sept. 16. That date was also mentioned in social-media posts by Ginger Man staffers, who apparently were told the news on Friday. Byron could not immediately be reached.
San Francisco

Television is one of the few screens that has Apple hasn't conquered, but that may soon change. The world's richest company appears ready to aim for its own Emmy-worthy programming along the lines of HBO's "Game of Thrones" and Netflix's "Stranger Things."

Apple lured away two longtime TV executives Jaime Erlicht and Zack Van Amburg from Sony Corp. in June and has given them $1 billion to spend on original shows during the next year, according to a Wall Street Journal report quoting unnamed people.

The programming would only be available on a subscription channel, most likely bundled with the company's existing Apple Music streaming service. Apple declined to comment.

While $1 billion is a lot of money, it's a drop in the bucket for Apple and its $262 billion cash hoard. But it's still enough to vault Apple into the top tier of tech-industry outsiders producing their own slates of television shows.

Hollywood has long shuddered at the thought of Apple training its sights on TV the way it once did on the music business.

Almost 15 years ago, Apple's then-CEO Steve Jobs convinced record labels to let the company sell digital music on its iTunes store for 99 cents a single, a deal the music industry was happy to take in the face of growing music piracy enabled by Napster. Over time, though, Apple's dominance in digital music chafed music executives, who saw the company siphoning off a chunk of their profits.

Movies and television have proven much harder for Apple to crack. The company's interest in transforming television has been an open secret for years, but Hollywood has so far spurned Apple's efforts to make itself an indispensable digital middleman for video.

In a way, Netflix beat Apple to the punch with its ground-breaking video streaming service. Launched in 2007, that service pioneered "binge watching" of entire TV seasons on any device with an internet connection. That gave new life to existing shows such as "Breaking Bad," whose creator credits Netflix with its survival, and spawned the creation of other series tailor made for bingeing.

Netflix also helped unleash a crescendo of creativity in Hollywood. Follow-on rivals Amazon and Hulu also boast popular video streaming services, and mainstream broadcasters such as CBS and Walt Disney Co.  the owner of ABC and ESPN, among other networks  are also jumping in.

All of that has increased the pressure on Apple to step up its game in TV  not least because the increasing popularity of streaming is hurting its business of renting and selling video from iTunes.

Apple "doesn't want to be left behind," said Debby Ruth, senior vice president of consumer research firm Magid. "This is a way for them to put a stake in the ground."

This year, the company released its first two original series  "Planet of the Apps" and "Carpool Karaoke"  on its Apple Music service, which has 27 million subscribers. But neither show has generated much buzz or critical acclaim.

The recent hiring of Erlicht and Van Amburg signaled Apple's intent to make bigger splash. The executives have helped orchestrate several TV hits, including AMC's "Breaking Bad," and more recently branched out into video streaming with "The Crown," which landed on Netflix last year and is up for 13 Emmy nominations in Sunday's ceremony.

Apple also has a not-so-secret weapon: hundreds of millions of iPhones and iPads already in the hands of faithful fans. It could easily transform those into a marketing platform to lure users to its TV service.

But the company has a steep hill to climb.

Netflix has more than 100 million worldwide subscribers and a video library that will add 1,000 hours of original programming this year alone. And HBO has become the Emmys' pacesetter since branching into original programming 20 years ago.
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Colonie

A top legislative aide to state Assemblyman Steve McLaughlin allegedly threatened the state job of a Colonie woman last month, according to a police report.

In response to a Freedom of Information Law request, Colonie police this week released a copy of a police report filed Aug. 16 documenting the aide's text messages to the Colonie woman. The report indicates the aide sent multiple texts to the cellphone of the Colonie woman, who works for the state Health Department.

"(The woman) has been receiving multiple texts from (the aide) stating that she needs to stop texting (McLaughlin) or she would make (her) lose her job," the report states.

The Colonie woman agreed to an interview Wednesday on the condition her name not be published. She said the texts from the McLaughlin aide were "very alarming" but she declined to provide details of what they said.

The woman, 39, acknowledged that she and McLaughlin became acquainted through an online site, Match.com, but said they never met in person. She also declined to say how she believes the aide found out about her contact with McLaughlin or obtained her telephone number.

"We have never come face to face," the woman said of McLaughlin. "This was simply an hour and a half conversation with him on the night of the 14th. I began to be harassed on the afternoon of the 15th."

The Times Union has not published the name of the Assembly aide because of her initial claims last month that she was a victim of physical abuse  an allegation she later retracted.

Last week, the aide denied contacting the Colonie woman or sending her text messages. She said she told the police that the messages were sent from a "fake number."

In a follow-up interview with the Times Union this week, after she was told the newspaper obtained a copy of the police report and interviewed the Colonie woman, the aide admitted sending the woman threatening text messages. Colonie police also contradicted her initial statement to the newspaper that she never sent the text messages. In the police report, which was filed to document an annoyance complaint, the officer wrote that he contacted the aide and "advised her to not have any contact with (the Colonie woman). ... (The aide) stated that she understood and would not text or call her."

"I suspected she was probably trying to set Steve up," the aide said, adding, without any evidence, that she thought the woman worked for a political opponent.

The aide acknowledged that she threatened the Colonie woman's state job. The aide said she made the threat because she alleges the woman contacted McLaughlin last month and suggested he end the aide's employment.

The Colonie woman, though, said she spoke to McLaughlin only once, during their telephone conversation on Aug. 16, and never contacted him again.

McLaughlin declined to be interviewed for this story or to answer questions about the Colonie police investigation. Instead, his top campaign adviser, Richard Crist, issued a statement saying McLaughlin "will not participate in the politics of personal destruction."

The police report said the officer tried to contact McLaughlin but was unable to reach him.

Colonie police Lt. Robert Winn said the officer who handled the matter confirmed this week that the aide conceded she sent the texts and made the phone calls, some of which came from blocked and "spoof" numbers, police said, referring to a technique by which someone can use software to make their number appear that it is someone else's number.

The lieutenant said the officer also pressed the aide about her connection to McLaughlin.

"She wouldn't even admit to working with him," Winn said.

The alleged harassment began Aug. 15, about a week after the female aide, who has worked for McLaughlin for seven years, secretly recorded a heated argument she had with the assemblyman. In the recording of the argument, obtained by the Times Union, the female aide accused the 53-year-old lawmaker of beating her up.

McLaughlin denied the allegation during the argument heard on the recording, saying, "I didn't touch you. I didn't (expletive) touch you." When the aide learned the Times Union was working on a story, she told the newspaper that McLaughlin never physically harmed her and that she made the recording to "bait" him because she believed he might fire her. Despite her admission, McLaughlin said she would remain on his staff and that he had apologized to her for calling her vulgar names during their arguments.

McLaughlin, elected to the Assembly in 2011, is seeking the Republican nomination for Rensselaer County executive. He faces fellow Republican Chris Meyer, the current deputy county executive, in Tuesday's primary. Andrea Smyth, a Democrat, is also seeking the post on the November ballot.

McLaughlin last week conceded that he made several vulgar references to his female aide, who remains on his taxpayer-supported payroll.

On one of three recordings that documented incendiary conversations between the assemblyman and his aide, he says to her: "You're still fat. You are. Not attractive -- and you're a (expletive) awful human being."

McLaughlin, in a statement last week, said he has apologized to the female aide for his remarks.

"(The aide) and I have worked together for seven years, and she continues to be a member of my staff," he said. "Like many co-workers, we have had arguments. During our time working together, I have wrongly said things to her, and have apologized to her for statements I made to her."

blyons@timesunion.com  518-454-5547  @brendan_lyonstu
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Miami looks like a ghost town after hundreds of thousands of people evacuated the city to escape Hurricane Irma.

Eerie photographs taken Thursday and Friday show empty beaches and streets around the city of a half-million people.

On Friday morning, Twitter users shared images of freeways without any cars and areas of Miami International Airport without a single person.

Irma weakened from a Category 5 storm to Category 4 on Friday morning with maximum sustained winds near 150 mph (240 kph), but it remained a powerful hurricane.

Now Playing: Hurricanes Irma and Harvey have reignited discussions about the link between global warming and extreme weather, with climate scientists now saying they can show the connections between the two phenomena better than ever before. Video: Time

Florida braced for the onslaught, with forecasters warning that Irma could slam headlong into the Miami metropolitan area of 6 million people, punish the entire length of the state's Atlantic coast and move into Georgia and South Carolina.

More than a half-million people in Miami-Dade County were ordered to leave as Irma closed in. People rushed to board up their homes, take their boats out of the water and gas up their cars. With gasoline running out and tensions rising, the Florida Highway Patrol escorted tanker trucks sent to replenish gas stations.

"(The hurricane) is wider than our entire state and could cause major and life-threatening impacts from coast to coast. Regardless of which coast you live on, be prepared to evacuate," Gov. Rick Scott said.



Brian McNoldy, a hurricane researcher at the University of Miami, said Irma could easily prove to be the costliest storm in U.S. history.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Readers of The Titusville Herald have probably read the University of Pittsburghs advertisement that has appeared in the newspaper the past t
[September 08, 2017] Hurricane Irma: McKesson Prepares to Support Healthcare Providers, Pharmacies and First Responders

McKesson Corporation, a leading distributor of medications and medical surgical supplies, is preparing to meet customer and first responder needs before, during and after Hurricane Irma. McKesson, which delivers more than one-third of medications in the U.S., is deeply experienced in disaster preparedness and recovery efforts. The company is uniquely qualified to rapidly meet the needs of healthcare organizations and first-responders during natural disasters because of its relationships with hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, nursing homes, doctors and more. McKesson most recently demonstrated this capability during Hurricane Harvey, as well as historic storms such as Hurricane Sandy and Hurricane Katrina. Here are some of the steps McKesson is taking to support its customers, first responders and other stakeholders in the face of Hurricane Irma. Expanding support for customers and first responders in advance of the storm McKesson representatives have been proactively contacting customers and first responders in the storm path to discuss near-term product needs and encouraging the ordering of additional inventory as appropriate in anticipation of unpredictable delivery schedules and road closures during and following the storm. McKesson has also been advising customers to order additional supplies of necessities like water, batteries and first aid items. Preparing McKesson facilities and operations for adverse conditions McKesson has significant warehouse and distribution operations in the expected areas of impact, including Florida (Lakeland, Orlando and Jacksonville), Atlanta, GA, Rock Hill, SC, and more. At all locations, McKesson has confirmed back-up power generators are functioning and properly fueled for expected power outages. Five hundred gallons of diesel and unleaded gasoline are also on reserve to support power needs. The company has placed employees from other U.S. facilities on call to travel and support relief efforts and the expected increase customer needs following the storm. McKesson has worked with local law enforcement to prepare documentation for McKesson delivery drivers that will help facilitate access to closed-off areas to meet customers and first responders. Increased inventory of medication and supplies in anticipation of emergency needs



McKesson Corporation and the McKesson Foundation have made donations of more than $350,000 to date for Hurricane Harvey. To learn more about McKesson's support for Hurricane Harvey relief efforts, please click here.

About McKesson Corporation McKesson Corporation, currently ranked 5th on the FORTUNE 500, is a global leader in healthcare supply chain management solutions, retail pharmacy, community oncology and specialty care, and healthcare information technology. McKesson partners with pharmaceutical manufacturers, providers, pharmacies, governments and other organizations in healthcare to help provide the right medicines, medical products and healthcare services to the right patients at the right time, safely and cost-effectively. United by our ICARE shared principles, our employees work every day to innovate and deliver opportunities that make our customers and partners more successful - all for the better health of patients. McKesson has been named the "Most Admired Company" in the healthcare wholesaler category by FORTUNE, a "Best Place to Work" by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, and a top military-friendly company by Military Friendly. For more information, visit www.mckesson.com. About The McKesson Foundation Founded in 1943, the McKesson Foundation is dedicated to supporting our employees' community involvement efforts and cancer care. To maximize our impact, the Foundation invests in organizations that provide cancer support programs, providing care packages for cancer patients through McKesson Foundation's Giving Comfort program, and growing and diversifying the international bone marrow registry through the McKesson Marrow Drive. Each year, the McKesson Foundation contributes more than $4.5 million to nonprofit organizations working to improve the health of our communities. Over the past three years, the Foundation has matched more than $3.4 million in employee donations to charitable organizations. For more information, please contact us at [email protected]. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170908005980/en/

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[September 09, 2017] LegalShield CEO Jeff Bell Kicks Off 2017 Leaders @ All Levels Convention; Announces Membership Has Reached New Record High for Ninth Consecutive Month

LegalShield, one of North America's leading providers of affordable legal plans and the IDShield identity theft solution for individuals, families and small businesses, announced today that it has grown its membership base to exceed 1,662,000 members. The news was delivered at the company's 2017 Leaders @ All Levels Convention, taking place from September 7-9, 2017, in Columbus, Ohio. The event is sold out, with more than 4,000 associates attending. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170909005020/en/ LegalShield CEO Jeff Bell addresses attendees at the company's Leaders @ All Levels convention in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo: Busness Wire)



At this year's three-day event, LegalShield's experienced, new and aspiring Independent Sales Associates from all 50 states and Canada will come together and engage with exciting speakers, receive one-of-a-kind professional development training and benefit from networking opportunities to grow to their full leadership potential.

"Our company's success is a direct reflection of our hard-working sales associates, and a key factor is sustained growth in recruiting while maintaining low churn levels," said LegalShield CEO Jeff Bell. "We're maintaining our third consecutive month of increased recruiting, and we are committed to maintaining the increase and building on it for future success." This year's convention features John C. Maxwell, an internationally renowned leadership speaker. Maxwell has written more than 100 books that have been translated into 50 languages, and several have made The New York Times Best Seller list. He was named the number one leadership expert in the world by Inc. Magazine in 2014. About LegalShield A pioneer in the democratization of affordable access to legal protection, LegalShield is one of North America's leading providers of legal safeguards and protection against identity theft solutions for individuals, families and small businesses. The 45-year-old company protects more than 1,662,000 individual, families and businesses through its legal plans, while IDShield provides identity protection to one million individuals. In addition, LegalShield and IDShield serve more than 141,000 businesses. Both legal and identity theft plans start as low as $20 per month. LegalShield's legal plans provide access to attorneys with an average of 19 years of experience in areas such as family matters, estate planning, financial and business issues, consumer protection, tax, real estate, benefits disputes and auto/driving issues. Unlike other legal plans or do-it-yourself websites, LegalShield has dedicated law firms in 50 states and four provinces in Canada that members can call for help without having to worry about high hourly rates. IDShield provides identity monitoring and restoration services and is the only identity theft protection company armed with a team of licensed private investigators on call to restore a member's identity. For more information, call press and corporate relations at 580-436-1234. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170909005020/en/

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EC from DC: Dreamers, Do Not Give Up

In these trying times, my heart has never been so heavy. This week Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced President Trumps plan to rescind DACA, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program established by President Obama in 2012. I was not surprised by the announcement but deeply saddened by the coldness of heart.This program protects young people who came to this country as children from deportation. By choosing to end this program, President Trump has put the future of 800,000 young adults in turmoil.I could not imagine being given a sentence of six months to find a new home in a foreign country or knowing that I would be deported and pulled away from my family and the only home Ive ever known.My heart sank as I listened to the story of a young Dreamer who is now a firefighter and risks his life every day to save others. Yet, our government is telling him, it doesnt matter. He doesnt matter.My heart sank when I thought of the soldiers who currently serve in the military and defend my right to sleep peacefully every night but because they are DACA recipients, their sacrifice doesnt matter. What are we telling these children who trusted their government to come forward? They chose to do the right thing - to come out of the shadows and be allowed the opportunity to contribute to this society.Deporting 800 thousand young lives from the only home they have ever known is nothing less than heartless and shameful.To all the Dreamers, do not give up. Our President may show he doesnt care about your future but there are many of us who do care. I will vote for the Dream Act and I will fight for you.Warmly,Emanuel Cleaver, IIMember of Congress######
"Nick Haines, Barbara Shelly, Dave Helling, Steve Kraske and Steve Vockrodt discuss the twists and turns of the push for a new KCI including the selection of Edgemoor Infrastructure as the winner of the bidding process, the impact of KCI debate on other City Hall issues, the response to Indian Creek flooding, the rising homicide rate in Kansas City and the push to increase the minimum wage in KCMO."

Newspaper "journalists" didn't contribute much to the discussion of the new airport and their reportingto move the dial in terms of public opinion or policy.Nevertheless, they talk about the stuff we already discussed courtesy of taxpayers and viewers like you . ..You decide . . .
Steven Woolfolk, the Librarys director of programming and marketing, was found not guilty Friday on all three charges stemming from a Library event in May 2016. He had attempted to intervene in an incident in which a patron  a local activist  was confronted by outside security personnel during a question-and-answer session.





Woolfolk initially was charged with interfering with the arrest of the activist. Counts of resisting arrest and assault were added later.

Here's a bit of drama that adds excitement in the life of a Kansas City rich dude but doesn't really matter much to most people on local streets . . . Check the update regarding the wild times at the private party of a guy with a billionaire family:Deets:Not Guilty - Librarys Programming Director Cleared of Charges Related to 2016 Event(Kansas City, Missouri)  A municipal court judge has cleared a Kansas City Public Library official arrested more than a year ago in a case drawing national attention because of its free-speech implications.Library director Crosby Kemper III, who bitterly contested the charges, applauded Fridays verdict from Kansas City Municipal Court Judge Joseph Locascio.Justice was done, Kemper said. The Library, like the judge, has consistently expressed surprise that this ever went to trial, that a public event at a public library should result in the indictment of a librarian.########You decide . . .
Kansas City Policing Conversation

Northeast Newscast Episode 25 - Reflecting on six months at the East Patrol Division with Major Jim Thomas On this week's edition of the Northeast Newscast, KCPD East Patrol's Commander, Major Jim Thomas, sits down with managing editor Paul Thompson to reflect upon his first six months at the helm of the patrol division.

Meth Town Testimony

Independence native at heart of documentary John Musgrave's gripping story of his Vietnam War service, which included injuries so severe that he begged his fellow soldiers to leave him to die, is recounted in Ken Burns' upcoming documentary about the "misunderstood war."Musgrave and Burns joined fellow collaborator Lynn Novick and another Kansas City area veteran, James Willbanks, of Leavenworth, Kansas, in a promotional event Friday night at the Midland.

Local Football Opus

Patriots who? Tech N9ne expertly trolls Tom Brady, New England in new Chiefs song And you thought Travis Kelce was the ultimate New England Patriots troll? A day after the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Patriots 42-27 Thursday night in Foxborough, Mass., rapper Tech N9ne released a snippet of a new song dedicated to the Chiefs.

KCMO Worker Good Deeds

Local utility workers head to Florida to help with Hurricane Irma recovery efforts OLATHE, Kan. - With Hurricane Irma expected to reach the Miami area by early Sunday, teams of utility workers from the metro left for Florida on Friday to help with recovery efforts. Olathe-based Universal Communications sent 20 workers and 10 vehicles to head to areas expected to see damage following the storm.

Just Another Local Home Team Lament

The Royals' defense has seemed worse because it is Last night, the Kansas City Royals entered the ninth inning of a game against the Minnesota Twins, current occupiers of the second Wild Card slot that the Royals are pursuing, up 2-1. This was a situation in which the Golden Age Royals of 2013-2015 comfortably dominated, closing out close games with reckless abandon.

starts the day as we take a quick look at this collection of links on the weekend.Checkit:is the song of the day and this is thefor right now . . .
However . . . Who knew there were so many college socialists in Kansas City???

College socialists march and rally downtown and right now there'sin Kansas City.This is a good thing and exactly what we predicted.But I digress . . .KCPD stays they'll remain on the scene, look closely and you'll see three motorcycle police in the background who plan to stay until afternoon as ANTIFA continues to lurks and the pro-Trumper crowd is next on deck.. . .
Manara Developments, a leading real estate company, has announced the successful sale of an entire building within 'The Workshops  Investment Gateway - Bahrain' project that was initiated last year, to BAS Developments Company (BDC).



The key building is part of the greater Investment Gateway - Bahrain project that consists of five buildings, each comprising three floors and hosts five commercial shops and two workshops as well as accommodation for up to 100 workers with the entire range of services required, said a statement from Manara.



The workshop covers a total area of 58,885 sq ft, it added.



Each building will occupy 10,777 sq ft area and is equipped for a wide range of industrial activities such as metalwork workshops, furniture assembly, carpentry in all its varieties, automotive services, commercial storage, glass manufacturing, packaging, export platforms, as well as commercial showrooms and other activities that find a suitable home in the Investment Gateway - Bahrain project.



A signing ceremony was held at BDCs headquarters, where the company CEO Salman Al Mahmeed and managing director of Manara Developments Company Dr Hasan Al Bastaki inked the sale contract.



Speaking at the event, Al Mahmeed commended the high level of professionalism of which the deal was administered between BAS Developments and Manara.



"The provision of such facilities that precisely meet companies needs with such attention to detail, would surely favorably impact the development of companies and uplift their operations with ease," he noted.



"The availability of such facilities, which the market was longing for, would strengthen Bahrains regional position as a regional logistics hub," he added.



Dr Al Bastaki expressed delight at its first building being purchased by a prominent company like BAS Developments.



"The project has been designed in a holistic fashion with the companies requirements in mind as it provides a wide range of services and logistical operations within close interconnected locations of which ease all aspects of the operations within a single building, from transportation of workforce as well as raw materials and finished products, to administrative and financial functions related to the businesses themselves," he explained.



Manara is keen to provide suitable services to meet its clients needs and further elaborating, he added.



According to him, the Investment Gateway - Bahrain project is a first-of-its-kind project dedicated to light industrial activities and logistics in Bahrain where plots are being offered for sale rather than lease and the owner will receive the title deeds soon after purchasing a property.



"This is contrary to temporary arrangements in most other industrial areas in Muharraq as the owner may utilize the land as seen best suitable for the business intended," he noted.



The locations will have the capacity to serve as offices, showrooms, storage facilities, handling services, and sales offices, all of which are essential requirements to undergo smooth commercial and industrial activities.



Amongst the major factors distinguishing this project are not only its prime location of that attracts investors, as the project falls in between Bahrain International Airport and Khalifa Port, and a modern transportation network linking it to the Kingdoms major land, sea and air ports, said the developer.



"The project offers a wide array of positive economic impacts for the developments currently under construction, as it will generate at least 5,000 jobs of a diverse nature, and will yield approximately $1 billion in order to construct the logistic units, and industrial and commercial showrooms and other establishments," noted Dr Al Bastaki.



"Investment Gateway - Bahrain offers a bundle of well-rounded solutions for light industrial zones in Bahrain. This comes after thoroughly studying the experiences of the existing industrial zones, and better understanding the needs of industrialists in Bahrain, and particularly to those looking to establish their regional bases in the kingdom," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
Tribune News Service

Amritsar, September 9

Dr PD Garg, professor at the Psychiatry Department of Government Medical College and Director, Swami Vivakanand De-addiction Centre, resigned from the college here today.

He was on extension for the past couple of years after retirement. Talking to the Amritsar Tribune, he confirmed the development, citing health issues as the basic reason behind his resignation.

I had suffered a heart attack last year. Now, the pressure of work was taking a toll on my health and therefore I decided to submit my resignation, he said, adding that he had no plans about his future yet.

However, many teachers in the college revealed that pressure was building on him after the recent controversy wherein it was alleged that he was sending patients to a private firm where his son worked.

He had refuted the charges and had termed the shrinking number of patients at the OPD to the unavailability of drugs because the government had failed to provide medicines from its warehouse even after repeated pleas.

It was alleged that the Swami Vivekanand De-addiction Centre had not procured the medicines for the drug addicts from the government warehouse. Due to this, the patients were forced to shift to the private centre, where his son allegedly works. The daily OPD list at the centre has shrunk from 400 to 60-70 patients. The drug addicts are now purchasing the tablets from a private rehabilitation centre on the circular road.

Garg was the only professor in the department while the posts of associate professors are lying vacant for the past many years. The department has only four assistant professors out of the five sanctioned posts while one of the assistant professors has gone on deputation to Faridkot. The department, which also runs the Swami Vivekanand De-addiction Centre, will now be in the hands of junior doctors and this is likely to hamper the functioning of the department, said doctors in the department.

Dr Tejbir Singh, principal of the GMC, said Garg had not mentioned any reason behind his decision and admitted that the department would face a problem, as there was no senior teacher left in the department. He said he would take up the matter with the government to hold a Departmental Promotion Committee meeting for promoting doctors to senior levels besides filling the vacant posts.
Patiala, September 9

As many as 250 persons, including staff members of Patiala Eye Hospital & Lasik Laser Centre and members of Leela Bhawan Market, pledged to donate their eyes after death on conclusion of the National Eye Donation Fortnight.

Eye donation t-shirts, to promote the noble cause, were distributed free of cost amongst the eye donors by Dr RN Gothwal, consultant of the said hospital. Dr Sukhdip Singh Boparai, MD Patiala Eye Hospital & Lasik Laser Centre, said according to the National Programme for Control of Blindness (NPCB) data, there were 1,20,000 Corneal Blind in India and the figure was increasing by 25,000 to 30,000 every year.

He stressed the need for more and more volunteers to come forward for the noble task of eye donation, so that backlog of corneal blind patients was considerably cleared. Doctors said an individual could pledge his or her eyes at any time in his life and the eyes of a deceased person could also be donated whether he had pledged his eyes in his life or not.  OC
Mohit Khanna

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 7

The student elections passed off peacefully, leaving roads littered.

Student leaders reached their respective college campuses well before the polling. Most were seen making the last-ditch effort, eyeing on votes. In swanky cars, their supporters started rallying on roads when the police decided to intervene and made them leave.

Heated arguments were witnessed between students and police officials at SD College in Sector 32 during the counting of votes.

At the college, SDCU candidate Harsh Sharma defeated Dilpreet Singh, a common candidate of SOI, ABVP, HIMSU, SOPU, INSO and GGSU, by 393 votes. Dilpreet was considered to be favourite, but the results surprised everyone.

The SDCU students made deafening noise, carrying winners on their shoulders.

Student voted for a candidate, not for a party. Not a single students union could dominate the college elections. The College Student Front, formed this year, defeated a relatively old party Khalsa College Student Union (KCSU) at Shri Guru Gobind Singh College.

The campus however, looked deserted, with the party hitting roads. The humble snack samosa played a pivotal role in ensuring the victory of Avish Kamboj-led faction at the PGGC-11. Avish was all for slashing the price of samosa from Rs 12.

Barring the PGGC-11, a low voter turnout was witnessed in the colleges. At DAV-10, out of around 8,800 students, only 3,861 students turned up for voting. At MCM DAV, out of 5,500 students, only 1,845 showed up. After the college authorities banned the use of stickers, students of DAV College-10 littered roads.

The traffic police clamped the tyres of wrongly parked vehicles near the college. At MCM DAV, the winners danced to the beats of dhol.

Raising a toast

It was a colourful celebration outside DAV College, Sector 10, as the Hindustan Student Association (HSA) took out a rally, with the Himachal Pradesh Student Union (HPSU ) performing Himachali dance. The HSA camp threw beer into the air. The police stepped in to turn them away. The supporters of Vikas, the new president, went all berserk, while a group lifted HPSUs Abhishek Sharma, who claimed the vice-presidents post. They performed a nati singing Rohru jana meri amiye.. Even the rain in the evening failed to be a spoilsport.

GCG-11 nominations rejected

Nominations filed by GCG-11 students were rejected. Now, it is for the college authorities to decide whether the elections will be held on the campus in the future.

Students for NOTA

Many students went in for NOTA (none of the above). At DAV- 10, as many as 706 students used the option. Government College, Sector 46, had 119 NOTA option, while Khalsa College had 26 students in favour of NOTA.
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 9

The UT Police have arrested three persons, including a Nigerian national, from Mumbai for an alleged cyber fraud of Rs 29.50 lakh with a city resident. The accused were produced before a local court here, which sent them to four-day police remand.

Complainant BR Chauhan, a resident of Sector 38 here, informed the police about the incident. An FIR under Sections 420, 467, 468, 471 of the IPC and 66-D of the IT ACT was registered at the Sector 39 police station.

He had reported that Gladoski Darell, Lauren Desmond, Donald Moran and Nita Kumar were involved in the fraud. He had said that Gladoski Darell contacted him through Facebook and told him that she is working with BH Pharma Solution Company as assistant purchase manager. Further, she induced him to do business of herbal seeds with her. As per her allurement, he deposited about Rs 29.50 lakh in different bank accounts. However, he neither got seeds nor got his money back.

She also gave details that a packet of 250 gram of herbal seeds would cost Rs 2.50 lakh from Nita Kumar Traders Pvt. Further, she assured that she would convince her director Donald Moran to purchase the packet at $7000 i.e. about Rs 4 lakh. He deposited Rs 29.50 lakh in different accounts.

On August 10, Lauren Desmond came to his house and took two packets for testing purpose. They contacted him through WhatsApp and again demanded Rs 20 lakh more.

During the course of enquiry, KYC documents and account statements of the alleged accounts had been procured and accounts had been verified.

During verification, it has been revealed that the accused used to open accounts on fake documents and IDs and got mobile connections on fake IDs to cheat people.

On Thursday, the police arrested three persons from the RBI Colony, Maratha Mandir, Mumbai. The accused are 33-year-old Emmanual Chiendu of Nigeria, Preet Ravriya (23) and Ravi Sonune, both residents of Mumbai. Emmanual does garment business, while Preet is a daily-wager and Ravi is a BCom student.
New Delhi, September 9

The External Affairs Ministry on Saturday said that it was monitoring the situation and communicating with the Indian diaspora in the US, Venezuela, France and the Netherlands in the wake of deadly Hurricane Irma.

The ministry's spokesman Raveesh Kumar said the Indian missions in the four countries were in touch with local government officials to provide assistance to the affected Indians.

Our Missions in Venezuela, Netherlands, France & US are constantly monitoring the situation following destruction due to hurricane IRMA 1/2  Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) September 9, 2017

"Our missions in Venezuela, the Netherlands, France and the US are constantly monitoring the situation following destruction due to hurricane Irma. They are in constant touch with the Indian diaspora affected by Irma and with local government officials to provide all possible assistance," Kumar said in a series of tweets.

Irma, a category 5 hurricane with winds swirling at 260 kilometres per hour, barrelled towards Florida after making landfall in Cuba's Camaguey Archipelago. It killed at least 19 people and damaged thousands of homes on the Caribbean islands.

France said at least 10 people have been killed across its Caribbean territories with seven more missing. Two people died on the Dutch side of the Saint Martin island.

The External Affairs Ministry spokesman tweeted telephone numbers for Indians to contact in case of emergency: Embassy of India, Venezuela (+58 4241951854/4142214721); Netherlands (+31247247247); France (0800000971).

The Indian embassy in the Netherlands tweeted that they were in touch with the Dutch government.

The Indian embassy in Caracas in Venezuela was also monitoring the situation in Saint Martin and "coordinating the welfare of all Indians living there." PTI
Sushil Manav

Tribune News Service

Sirsa, September 9

Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim's residence 'gufa' has a tunnel that leads straight to a hostel of the sadhvis. An official spokesperson informed the media that the security agencies have found this tunnel during a search operation today.

The security agencies have also found another tunnel on the second floor of the 'gufa' in Dera Sacha Sauda, which was completely filled with earth.

We found a window-like path leading from Dera Awas to Sadhvi Niwas. Team is investigating the same: Dy Dir of Haryana PR Dept Satish Mehra pic.twitter.com/EGfBXGzgSH  ANI (@ANI) September 9, 2017

An illegal crackers factory was earlier found inside the headquarters.

Read: Entry into dera finally, not much found

Nearly a hundred packs of some explosive material used in make fire crackers was also found. The authorities have sealed the factory. Also, 1,500 pairs of costly designer shoes of the Dera chief and hundreds of designer dresses were recovered.

Hordes of police, paramilitary and civil administration personnel were involved in the mammoth search operation, which started yesterday on the direction of Punjab and Haryana High Court.

Meanwhile, the Haryana Police have arrested three Dera Sacha Sauda followers for hatching a conspiracy of trying to help Ram Rahim escape from Panchkula during an agitation on August 25.

Dera chief Ram Rahim was convicted in the 1999 rape cases by a CBI special court in Panchkula on August 25.

He was later sentenced to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment and is lodged in the District Jail at Sunaria near Rohtak.

His conviction led to violence in Panchkula and Sirsa in Haryana, leaving 38 people dead and 264 injured. Isolated incidents of violence were also reported from Delhi and several other places in Punjab.
Sushil Manav

Tribune News Service

Sirsa, September 9

The Health Department in Sirsa has begun inquiry into the donation of 14 dead bodies by Dera Sacha Sauda to a private medical college in Uttar Pradesh between January to August 2017.

Sirsa civil surgeon Gobind Gupta and a team of doctors from the district are presently in multi-specialty hospital of the dera to conduct the probe.

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Sources said the dead bodies were sent to the private medical college in complete violation of the laws in this regard as no documents like death certificate or cause of death accomplished the bodies raising suspicion that the deaths may not be natural.

The inquiry has been initiated on the orders of Health Minister Anil Vij.

Speaking to The Tribune, Vij confirmed that taking cognizance of the media reports in this regard he had asked the DG Health to conduct a probe.

He said the DG Health has sent a team led by Civil Surgeon to the Dera hospital to check records of the dead bodies sent to medical college in Uttar Pradesh.
Poonch/Jammu, September 9

A 22-year-old civilian was on Saturday injured in a ceasefire violation by the Pakistani Army along the Line of Control in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, the police said.

The Pakistani troops opened fire from heavy weapons and mortars from across the border in Debraj, Krishna Ghati and Ishapur in Mendhar sector starting at around 10.30 am, prompting retaliation by Indian troops guarding the border, a police official said.

The latest ceasefire violation coincides with Home Minister Rajnath Singhs four-day visit to the state.

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The civilian, Mohammad Younis, was injured when a shell exploded in his village in Balnoi sector on Saturday morning. A buffalo was also killed and a house damaged in the shelling, the official said.

The exchange of fire was continuing between the two sides when the reports last came in, he said.

Saturdays firing comes barely two days after Pakistani troops targeted a forward post along the LoC in Poonch, injuring two Army porters.

The firing on September 7 lasted only for 10 minutes. PTI
Azhar Qadri and Suhail A Shah

Tribune Reporters

Srinagar/Anantnag, September 8

An armoured vehicle of the police was set ablaze during protests that erupted in south Kashmirs Anantnag town on Friday against the killing of Rohingya Muslims in Burma. Demonstrations were also held at several places in the Kashmir valley.

Six policemen and four civilians were injured during the protests that took place after the midday congregational prayers in Anantnag town.

The injured included two officers of the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police and Sub-Inspector, police officers said. However, a police spokesman said only two policemen were injured in the incident while the situation had been brought under control. The officers in the Anantnag district said the injured were stable and were discharged after treatment at a local hospital.

The protest erupted when the police intercepted a march held by locals, who were demonstrating against the persecution of Rohingya Muslims in Burma.

A group of policemen, who were chased by the protesters, abandoned an armoured vehicle outside the gate of the Deputy Commissioners office in Anantnags Lal Chowk area, which was later set ablaze by the protesters.

Protests also erupted in several other districts, including the Srinagar city, where the authorities had imposed restrictions in scores of old city neighbourhoods to prevent demonstrations.

The citys largest mosque, Jamia Masjid was also sealed and the midday congregational prayers were barred, the officers added.

The call for demonstrations against the killing of Rohingya Muslims in Burma had been made by the separatist groups, who have condemned the silence of the international community over the alleged massacres committed by the Myanmar army.

Members of Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front, held a protest march at Maisuma in the city and called for the trial of Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi, equating her with Hitler and Genghis Khan.
Shiv Kumar

Tribune News Service

Mumbai, September 9

After being spared the death sentence for masterminding the 1993 serial bomb blasts in Mumbai, gangster Abu Salem is all set to challenge life sentence awarded to him before the European Court of Human Rights.

The prosecution had asked for Salem to be awarded life sentence instead of death penalty because of the assurance given by the Indian government to Portugal in order to get Salem extradited in 2005.

However, lawyers for the gangster had argued before the Special TADA court here that the life sentence awarded to Salem was also in violation of the extradition deal with Portugal. The lawyers argued that prison sentences exceeding 25 years too were a violation of the extradition treaty. However, Special Judge Govind Sanap of the TADA court ruled that the court had the powers to award life imprisonment to Salem under the extradition agreement India had signed with Portugal.

It is seen on perusal of the Solemn Sovereign Assurance that the Government of India was alive to the situation that it would not be in a position to give Solemn Sovereign Assurance that no court in India shall award punishment of life imprisonment to the accused Abu Salem, the court said.

The court also ruled that Salems sentence would be counted from the time he was extradited to India from Portugal in 2005. The sentence served by Salem in a Portuguese prison from 2003 to 2005 would not be counted in the life term awarded to him in the Mumbai blasts case, the court had said.

Lawyers for Salem have told reporters here that they would approach the European Court of Human Rights in order to obtain early release for him. The European Court is already hearing an application filed by Salem where he submitted that the terms of extradition under which he was brought to India has been violated.

Salem's lawyers are also likely to argue for him to serve out his term in a Portuguese prison instead of an Indian jail, according to sources here.
Satya Prakash

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 9

Noting that right to education is a fundamental right guaranteed to children, the Supreme Court has said children should not be made to walk 3 km to attend schools.

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The right of education up to the age of 14 years is now a fundamental right under Article 21A of the Constitution of India and if this right is to be meaningful then efforts must be made to open upper primary schools in such a manner that no child has to walk 3 km or more only to attend school, said a bench headed by Justice Madan B Lokur.

It permitted up-gradation of a school in Kerala from lower primary to upper primary level, saying children in the age group of 10 to 14 years cannot be expected to walk more than 3 km to attend schools.

The top court reversed a verdict of the Kerala High Court that set aside the state governments decision to grant sanction for the up-gradation of an existing lower primary school to an upper primary school.

The high courts order was passed on a petition filed by the manager of another school in the vicinity who had challenged the sanction on the ground that procedure under relevant provisions of Kerala Education Rules was not followed.

It was also contended that no notice to managers of schools in the vicinity was issued inviting their objections, if any, to the up-gradation.

A single bench of the high court set aside the up-gradation order and a division bench dismissed appeal against the order.

However, allowing the appeal filed by the school in question, the Supreme Court set aside high courts verdict and restored the up-gradation decision, citing relevant provisions under the Kerala Education Rules that empowered the state government to grant relaxation of operation of any Rules for avoiding hardship in any particular case.

There were no schools within a distance of 3 km from the appellant-school, the top court noted.

The school  which had objected to up-gradation of The Manager Palathingal MLP School, Parappanangadi was located at a distance of about 3 km, if a railway level crossing was crossed and 4.5 km if bus route was taken.

We cannot expect children in the age group of 10 to 14 years to walk 3 km or more to attend school, it said, allowing the appeal.
Tribune News Service

Kolkata, September 9

Personnel of the Indian Coast Guard  normally involved in operations on the high seas  came to the aid of aircraft passengers after smoke was detected in it here today.

The chance presence of two ICG officers came as a blessing for the passengers and crew of a Bhutan Airways flight, which suffered a glitch causing smoke.

ICG commandant KR Arun and deputy commandant Pankaj Mishra, during a surprise visit to an ICG hangar in the NSCBI Airport here this afternoon saw smoke coming from the flight bound for Bangkok.

The aircraft, stationed at the runway just 150 metres from the hangar, had all its emergency chutes deployed for the evacuation of passengers.

The passengers and the crew were in a state of panic as they were deplaning through the emergency escape chutes, an ICG official, who was present at the scene, said.

The ICG team deployed their unit ambulance and guided the passengers to a safe apron area.

Around 20 passengers suffered injuries and were given first aid by the ICG personnel. The passengers were also given refreshments.

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) team arrived at the scene 25 minutes later, but by then the passengers were already feeling better.

All passengers, AAI staff, CISF and other agencies thanked the ICG for the help. The Bhutan Airlines flight, an Airbus, was still grounded at the time of the filing of the report.

In the past one year, the countrys premier maritime security force has saved 383 lives from fishing boats stranded in the sea. Those rescued included Bangladeshi fishermen.
New Delhi, September 9

Domestic passengers flying from Coimbatore, Calcutta, Indore and Vadodara will not be required to tag their hand baggage anymore.

The country's top aviation security body allowed the airports in these cities also to discontinue the outdated security procedure which has already been scrapped in 13 other airports.

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The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) plans to scrap the practice across airports in a phased manner. All 59 airports where CISF is in-charge of security are likely to be covered by the end of the year.

In two separate rounds in April and June, the security agencies had discontinued this procedure in 13 airports.

"After successful trial run and positive feedback received from the quarters concerned, it has been decided to dispense with the present system of stamping of hand baggage tags at pre-embarkation security check (PESC) points at four additional airports namely Coimbatore, Calcutta, Indore and Vadodara with immediate effect," Kumar Rajesh Chandra, DG BCAS said in an order issued on September 8.

The first phase of dispensing with the tags covered seven major airports at Delhi, Mumbai, Cochin, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Ahmedabad.

The next round included six more airports -- Jaipur, Guwahati, Lucknow, Trivandrum, Patna and Chennai.

A tag on a hand bag with the contact details of a passenger would help security personnel in tracking the owner in case an x-ray examination detected something suspicious.

BCAS officials say that this is being replaced by increased surveillance at airports through CCTV cameras and better deployment of personnel engaged in stamping of these tags.

It is in line with this that the latest order adds, "the airport operator shall ensure that the requisite monitoring system and supporting infrastructure are maintained all through at PESC points.

The new protocols are only meant for domestic passengers and those travelling to international destinations will have to get their hand baggage tags stamped as usual.  PTI
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 9

Inconsolable mother of the murdered Class 2 Ryan International boy on Saturday said her son did not know the school bus conductor, who allegedly killed him.

Meanwhile, schools principal Neerja Batra has been suspended.

Also read:Boy found dead in school toilet

My son did not even know the bus conductor as he never travelled in the school bus. We used to drop him and pick him, said Jyoti Thakur.

#Gurugram: Protest continues outside #RyanInternationalSchool after body of a 7-year-old student was found in school premises yesterday pic.twitter.com/y6CaYqJMqt  ANI (@ANI) September 9, 2017

Jyoti said if the school cannot even provide basic safety for students, how parents would send their children to school?

Meanwhile, Barun Chandra Thakur, father of the victim, has demanded action against the management of Ryan International School.

He said: "We have not received any reply from the administration as of now. I have not received any information. However, it is known that an accused has been caught. School administration has so far not replied as to why this incident happened in their school. We leave our children in school having a trust on the school management. They are not reacting in a responsible manner. School administration has not talked to us personally regarding this incident. We have only met the teachers who told us that they found my son's body in pool of blood outside the toilet."

He alleged that that the injury marks on the body of his deceased son shows that it is a clear case of murder.

Meanwhile, people gathered outside the Ryan International School on Saturday to protest against the incident.

A seven-year-old Class II student of Ryan International, Bhondsi, was on Friday found in a pool of blood inside a school toilet, his throat slit. He was rushed to a hospital, where he was declared brought dead. The school authorities then informed the police, which arrested school bus conductor Ashok Kumar.

Sources claimed the boy had been sexually assaulted.

Shocked, the parents association questioned the school on the conductors access to toilets meant for students. Some of them ransacked school property and additional police had to be called.
Robert Little has turned his childhood cheese memories into full-fledged business with the help of Kitchen 66.

During the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons, Little would deliver logs of smoked cheddar to neighbors and friends at his mothers side.

All these people would go, Oh, Anne, you should sell this, this is so good, because they would look forward to it every year, Little said.

Little continued the cheese delivery tradition until his neighbor encouraged him to apply at Kitchen 66. The nonprofit founded in 2015 by the Lobeck Taylor Family Foundation provides Tulsa food entrepreneurs with the tools they need to be successful, such as a commercial kitchen space, business training and sales resources.

As an airplane mechanic, Little worked afternoons and found it difficult to apply to Kitchen 66s four-month-long Launch 1.0 class. But in January, when his schedule permitted it, Little applied.

Of 70 applicants, he was one of 10 who were accepted.

The scariest part was taking that first step and doing it, Little said.

Kitchen 66 helped guide Little through the obstacles of purchasing food insurance, permits and working with the Tulsa Health Department.

Adele Beasley, the program director of Kitchen 66, said Littles contagious optimism and passion for food made him stand out from other students.

His cheese business is so unique, and really he has a product that has developed so many loyal followers  but even more, its Robert and his spirit that has led the company and really contributed so much to Tulsa, she said.

Littles son, Saxon Little, and college roommate, Randy Ramer, are co-owners of the family cheese business, now called Split Log Farms  after his great-grandfather Mathias Splitlog.

Our eventual goal is probably to get in every household in America, he said.

The Split Log Farms trio took the original smoked cheddar recipe from Littles grandfather Eugene Fingerlin and modified it to suit other ingredients, Ramer said.

The business now manufactures five cheeses  HOSS-radish, jalapeno, cranberry, habanero, which is a mighty hot cheese, and of course, smoked cheddar.

Each cheese is pressed into an 8-ounce roll, wrapped in butcher paper and sealed with a Split Log Farms black and orange sticker. The creamy rolls can be spread on toast, crackers, melted into scrambled eggs or help kick a pot of mac and cheese up a notch.

Little chats excitedly with customers while selling his stock and describing ways the cheese can be used.

Its almost like an adrenaline rush for me to meet people because I love people  and then you get to offer them something they are happy with and excited with and they can go home and enjoy it with friends and family, Little said.

The next stop for Split Log farms is retail.

Little has applied for Kitchen 66s 2.0 program, which will help him attain a UPC code for his cheeses and sell them in stores.

The phenomenal response of the community to the cheese has increased Littles confidence and made him wish he had the guts to start the business when he was in college with Ramer.

When youre in college, you think you can do something to change the world, and then once youve lived something of life you realize sometimes its just about doing something that makes other people happy, Ramer said. Thats what were trying to do with this. We say that all the time to each other, Lets have fun. 

Littles mother passed away a few years ago while living with him, but Little hopes the business honors his mothers memory.

Weve given it to people who used to get it from her, and they say, Oh, you made your moms cheese, so they are kind of excited to get it, he said. It hasnt faded away.

His partner agrees.

I think his mom would have loved it, which is important to us, Ramer said. I think she would be really impressed, and every time we work on this we think about what she would say because she always said people loved it  and she was right.
Theres a puzzling theme to some of the opposition to Gov. Mary Fallins proposed state cigarette tax increase: Why not tax booze instead?

Its not an entirely bad idea, except its often accompanied by a bunch of false assumptions and rests on flawed logic.

When a Tulsa World editorial celebrated the fact that fewer Oklahomans are smoking and used the occasion to call on the Legislature to continue that momentum with a renewed effort at a $1.50-a-pack cigarette tax increase, one reader commented, And we continue to ignore the consequences of alcohol, a bigger threat to health and well-being.

When Gov. Mary Fallin posted a press release saying a special session of the Legislature will be needed because the Supreme Court had stuck down the cigarette tax, one of her commenters said, Why dont you also tax alcohol, leave the smokers alone for once.

Throughout the cigarette tax debate there were plenty of others making similar arguments: The danger of alcohol is being ignored, and alcohol is getting a free ride on state taxes.

Both contentions are wrong.

When abused, alcohol is dangerous, but it is not a bigger threat to our health than tobacco.

A fact sheet from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control  an authoritative source with no reason to skew its statistics  says that excessive alcohol use led to approximately 88,000 deaths a year from 2006-10. Thats tragic.

But, another CDC fact sheet shows that cigarette smoking is responsible for more than 480,000 U.S. deaths per year. Thats one in five deaths in the nation and more than five times the deadly effect of alcohol.

In both cases, there are innocents killed: Victims of drunk drivers, victims of second-hand smoke.

But the CDC statistics are clear and undebatable: Tobacco is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States and Oklahoma.

Its also wrong to say were ignoring the consequences of alcohol. We have laws against public intoxication, driving while drunk, selling or giving alcohol to minors and allowing minors in an area where alcohol is sold. In some cases, there are similar laws concerning tobacco, but the alcohol laws are more stringent, as they should be.

And we tax alcohol  a lot.

According to the Tax Foundation  a private, non-partisan authority on tax statistics with no reason to skew its figures  Oklahomas liquor taxes are $5.56 per gallon. If you buy a mixed drink in a restaurant, you pay another excise tax, 13.5 percent. When Oklahoma switches from 3.2 beer to strong beer next year, the tax rate goes up to almost 7 percent.

Relative to other states, Oklahoma is taxing its drinkers more heavily than smokers, the Tax Foundation says. Our beer tax is the 15th highest in the nation, and going up. Our liquor tax is the 25th highest rate in the nation. Our $1.03-per-pack cigarette tax is the 35th highest rate. With the $1.50 increase, we would move into 12th place.

Beyond the statistics that undercut the smokers argument, theres an odd logic at work. The current name for it on social media is Whataboutism, which Google defines as, The technique or practice of responding to an accusation or difficult question by making a counteraccusation or raising a different issue.

As in, You say theres a mote in my eye? What about the speck in yours?

The problem with whataboutism isnt that there isnt a speck in my eye. Its that we were talking about motes.

Deflection is a natural human instinct, and it can be convincing, but that doesnt make it a sound response in a public policy debate.

Could we raise money for the state and maybe discourage drunkenness with higher taxes? Maybe. We should examine history and see if that has worked out in the past. Anyone supporting that idea is free to run for office and propose it, but the subject Fallin had the courage to address  and the greater health menace  is smoking.

Although it was passed through legislation in an unconstitutional form that involved an obvious assault on the English language  It isnt a tax, its a fee!  the cigarette tax was and is a good idea.

It would prolong the lives of smokers who quit or reduce their habits and save thousands of young people who will never take up the habit, and it will produce millions of dollars needed to fund core state services. (Yes, it can do both those things: Reduce consumption and increase tax revenue, as Oklahomas history with cigarette taxes has proven.)

I hope whatever package Fallin devises to deal with the states growing budget hole includes a renewed (and constitutional) effort at the cigarette tax.

Even if it doesnt raise a penny in revenue, its a chance to save the lives of thousands of Oklahomans and make them richer in the process.

What about that?
Published: September 09, 2017

UT Extends Closure Due to Hurricane Irma

Due to Hurricane Irma, the University of Tampa has extended its closure until Thursday, Sept. 14, when classes and normal university operations will resume.University staff will be expected to report to work on Wednesday, Sept. 13, so that preparations for classes can be accomplished.This extended closure will provide UT students, faculty and staff additional time to return to Tampa if they have evacuated.The University will regularly post updates at www.ut.edu/weather
Bible Study Fellowship to begin

TWIN FALLS  Nondenominational Bible Study Fellowship is starting up again with the study of the book of Romans. BSF is an in-depth study that has a four-pronged approach: personal study, small-group discussions lectures and printed lesson notes. Classes for women will begin at 9:10 a.m. Sept. 14 at Twin Falls Nazarene Church, 1231 Washington St. N. and at 6:45 p.m. at Magic Valley Bible Church, 204 Main Ave W. in Twin Falls. Mens classes are at 7 p.m. on Sept. 14 at Twin Falls Reform Church, 1631 Grandview Drive N. Classes for women in Hailey will start at 6:45 p.m. on Sept. 14 at Calvary Bible, 102 Coyote Bluff Drive and at 9:30 a.m. on Sept. 15 at Calvary Bible, 102 Coyote Bluff Drive.

Grandfamily dinner Saturday at Ascension

TWIN FALLS  Ascension Episcopal Church will celebrate Grandparents Day with a potluck supper beginning at 6 p.m. on Saturday at the church. Families with or without children are welcome, and are asked to bring a dish to share. A free-will offering will support youth activities at Ascension.

Canon Lucinda Ashby will celebrate Holy Communion at 9 a.m. on Sunday with healing prayer stations available during the service. Canon Lucinda is from Boise and is the Transition Minister for the Diocese of Idaho. Nursery care for children 7 and younger is available from 8:45 a.m. until after the service. A fellowship coffee hour is held after the worship service. Ascension Cafe, the adult discussion group, will meet after the service to continue a six-part discussion of the Lords Prayer led by Kim Syth.

Members of the community are welcomed to participate in religious study from 4 to 6 p.m. on Sunday in the Memorial Room at the church. It will be led by David Duhaime and the group will listen to The Rev. Richard Rohrs recording Hell No and discuss the false notions of hell many Christians have.

Djembe Drumming (simple drumming in community) is offered at the church from 6:45 to 7:30 p.m. on Monday. For information, or if you need a drum, call 208-961-1349.

All are welcome for worship, study and fellowship. Ascension Episcopal Church, 371 Eastland Drive N., is handicapped accessible. For more information, go to episcopaltwinfalls.org or call 208-733-1248.

Mens quartet to perform on Sunday

FILER  Filer Mennonite Church will have mens quartet worship at 11 a.m. on Sunday. Three of the men were at Hesston College in Kansas during the 1950s. The public is welcomed to enjoy the singing as Cloy Roth will have a message as part of this service. For more information, call The Rev. Tim Gascho at 208-326-5150 between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. Monday through Thursday.

Missionary to speak at Burley church

BURLEY  Burley Presbyterian Church is hosting Scott Parker, a missionary working in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq. Parker is preparing for his next four-year term serving with the Middle East Council of Churches. He will speak from 5 to 7 p.m. on Sept. 20 at First Presbyterian Church, 2100 Burton Ave. A light supper will be served. Please come and share his experiences and observations concerning the plight of Christians in the Middle East. This is a great opportunity to deepen and strengthen ties with our eastern brothers and sister.


Today is the grand opening of Absolute Balance Studios. Coming from a famed European circus family that gave them a superior foundation in balance and agility, Carmita, Marco and Paulo Lorador have been accomplished hand balancers for over 40 years. The unique studio will offer hand balancing, aerial and power yoga, pilates, and contortion all taught by the Cirque acrobats.

Marco and Paulo Lorador were born into a renowned multi-generational European circus family where dedication and long hours taught them discipline and skilled hand balancing for over 40 years. Marco and Paulo perform worldwide and appear as guests at Cirque festivals. They had the honor to perform for the Queen of England and United Kingdom Prime minister Tony Blair.

In addition, they have performed their art for Oprah Winfrey, and special events for Arnold Schwarzenegger. The talented brothers have been performing for Cirque du Soleil for over 25 years and are currently showcasing their craft in Las Vegas at Treasure Island Resort and Casino for Mystere by Cirque du Soleil.
Meridian  The public can sign up online for tours of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Meridian Idaho Temple starting at 10 a.m. on Sept. 25.

Visitors to the website can request tickets for specific dates and times at templeopenhouse.lds.org.

The open house will be from Oct. 21 through Nov. 11, except for the Sundays of Oct. 22, 29 and Nov. 5. As part of the open house and dedication activities, 6,000 local youth will participate in a cultural celebration honoring Idaho and Church history on Nov. 18 at the Taco Bell Arena.

The temple will be dedicated on Nov. 19 in three sessions at 9 a.m., noon and 3 p.m. The dedication will be broadcast to members in Idaho and the temple district. The three-hour block of meetings will be cancelled for that Sunday for those congregations to enable members of the Church to participate and focus on this sacred event.

The Meridian Idaho Temple, 7345 N. Linder Road, was announced by Church President Thomas S. Monson at the Churchs April 2011 general conference. Ground broke for the temple on Aug. 23, 2014. This will be the Churchs fifth temple in Idaho. There are other temples in Boise, Rexburg, Twin Falls and Idaho Falls. A sixth temple in Pocatello has also been announced. There are about 426,000 Latter-day Saints in Idaho.
Aruna Rachakonda with students of To Mua School

On September 5, 2017, the start of the new school year, Dekalb Vietnam general director Aruna Rachakonda visited three schools in Van Ho district, Son La province to gift more than 150 exceptional poor students.

Aruna Rachakonda gifted practical gifts to students in To Mua School

More than 150 practical gifts, including school backpacks, books, and notebooks, were handed to students in three schools in To Mua, Song Khua, and Lien Hoa. These are three remote areas in Van Ho district, Son La province.

Over the past few years, although 97 per cent of Vietnamese children aged 6-11 can go to school, the quality of education and educational support greatly varies by region and is especially poor in the mountainous and remote rural areas or where ethnic minorities live.

Education plays an important role in the development and success of every individual. This is especially true to those of primary school age. We wish to help Vietnamese students, especially students of farmer families in remote areas like Son La province to have more chances to approach education, Rachekonda said.

Aruna Rachakonda was open and friendly with students in To Mua School

Nguyen Van Ngoc, principal of Lien Hoa School in Son La province, was overcome with emotion, Lien Hoa School is one of the schools where many students come from farmer families with a difficult life. Many of them have to travel about 12 kilometres to attend school. Dekalb Vietnams gift programme is a meaningful activity to encourage poor students who have overcome all difficulties to have positive results in their studies. I hope that these gifts will encourage students to keep striving in the school year 2017-2018.

Students in To Mua School were very happy with the presents

Before this programme, Monsanto-Dekalb Vietnam has also made significant contributions to Vietnamese education by donating more than VND3.2 billion ($140,800) to a programme under partnership with Room to Read, with the aim of enhancing education and gender equality.

Additionally, the Monsanto-National University of Agriculture (VNUA) scholarship, which is available for students studying biotechnology from the sophomore year and up, provided many valuable educational opportunities.

Similarly, Young Talent Nurture programme in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang is another effort of Monsanto-Dekalb Vietnam to help financially disadvantaged but extraordinarily talented students in Vietnam and encourage them to keep moving forward in study and life.

Achieving sustainable food security At the APEC Ministers and CEOs Dialogue on the responsible use of resources to enhance sustainable food production and agri-business, Aruna Rachakonda, CEO of Monsanto subsidiary Dekalb Vietnam talked with VIRs Huy Tu about the challenges to achieving sustainable food security, and Monsantos support for Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation  APEC  economies as well as the whole world.

Dekalb Vietnam provides flood relief in Son La province Dekalb Vietnam has visited Son La province and cooperated with local partners to gift and spiritually support the victims of the early August flood.

Dekalb Vietnam nurtures young talents at An Giang Dekalb Vietnam visited An Giang last week to provide support for financially disadvantaged, but extraordinarily talented students.

Dekalb Vietnam among Top 10 Sustainable Businesses in Vietnam Dekalb Vietnam was named one of the Top 10 Sustainable Businesses by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and Vietnam Business Council for Sustainable Development (VBCSD).
The move has been criticised in some quarters as providing an uneven playing field for enterprises

Conditions for issuing corporate bonds are thought to be too tight for enterprises to use this capital mobilisation channel.

The Ministry of Finance (MoF) is drafting a new decree to replace Decree 52/2006/ND-CP dated May 19, 2006 on the issuance of corporate bonds.

Accordingly, joint stock companies, limited companies and state enterprises during conversion into limited liability or joint stock companies will be allowed to issue corporate bonds and bonds on international capital markets.

Truong Thanh Duc, chairman of Basico Law Firm, said it was unnecessary to closely regulate bond issuance conditions.

The draft decree on private placement is applied for under 100 member joint stock or limited liability companies, whose influence on investors and the market is not remarkable. Therefore, conditions need to be easy for enterprises to issue bonds and guarantee their feasibility, said Duc.

Under the draft decree, to issue bonds via private placement, the draft decree requires a company generate profits in the 12 months preceding the year of the bonds issuance.

This condition will restrict companies from expanding their investment projects by mobilising capital through bonds issuance, said Hoang Gia Hiep, Vietnam Bond Market Association executive board member.

Hiep said this condition was not suitable for new enterprises operating in infrastructure or production, which required long payback periods.

Hiep said the regulation that bonds issuance organisations must have operated for at least one year should be removed.

Many enterprises previously established were reorganised through mergers and acquisitions or separation into new legal entities under the Enterprise Law. Besides, bond market investors are professional or financial institutions so it is possible for investors to value the credit standard and the refund ability of issuance organisations. Therefore, it will be reasonable to remove this condition, Hiep told VIR.

Regarding conditions for companies to issue international bonds via private placement and the value being within limit approved by the prime minister annually, many experts said it would be difficult for companies to determine whether their bond issuance fell within the limit.

Lawyer Vu Xuan Tien, president of the VFAM consulting company, said this regulation would lack fairness because enterprises could not know when the bond issuance would exceed the limit of the foreign commercial loan.

This will lead to some enterprises being allowed to issue many bonds while others can not, despite the fact that this does not completely depend on their demand and ability, Tien added.
Maarten Wetselaar

Countries in Asia have remained committed supporters of the Paris goals. Vietnam, for example, is targetting an 8 per cent reduction in emissions by 2030.

Now is not the time to break stride, but to reinforce the resolve.

Energy demand is set to double this century, with the worlds population reaching 11 billion, up from 7.5 billion today. As the world changes, so will the energy system that powers it, driven by the need to reduce carbon emissions and  crucially for Asia  tackle air pollution that blights so many lives.

Coal is a big contributor to that air pollution. This can, and must, change. Put simply: we will need more and cleaner energy if Asian countries are to continue to thrive in the coming decades.

Today, coal is still the biggest source of power in the region, at 47 per cent of the energy mix, compared to natural gas at 10 per cent. In some countries, coals share is rising.

In Vietnam, coal use has more than doubled from 11.6 per cent of the energy mix in 2000 to 34.4 per cent last year, and is forecast to rise to 53.2 per cent by 2030, according to governments Power Development Plan 7.

For Asias population, renewable energy will be essential to meeting growing demand while tackling climate change and air pollution.

But renewables chiefly produce electricity. And there are parts of the economy, such as industries that produce iron, steel, cement, plastic and chemicals that cannot be electrified yet - certainly not at a reasonable cost. Thats one reason why the world will still need oil and gas in large quantities in the coming decades.

During this time, we will see a big change in the way energy is produced, used and made available to people. And I see a combination of renewables, such as wind and solar, and natural gas  the cleanest-burning hydrocarbon - playing an increasingly important role. Modern gas-fired power plants can quickly respond to an increase in demand for electricity when theres no sun or little wind.

By the end of the century many millions of people in emerging economies will join the middle class. Most will use cell phones and refrigerators. Many will drive cars  or travel in self-driving cars  as their quality of life improves.

All this will create enormous pressures on the global energy system. At the same time, we face serious environmental challenges. What kind of air will our children and grandchildren breathe? How will climate change impact the quality of life of people in the most exposed areas, such as coastal regions?

Natural gas is one of the few energy sources that can be used across all sectors of the global economy, including fuelling transport, heating and lighting homes, and powering industries. Reserves are abundant and available in many regions.

The environmental benefits are also clear. In power generation, for example, natural gas emits around half the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and less than one-tenth of air pollutants compared to coal.

Some countries are already taking significant steps to boost the use of gas.

China plans to raise the share of gas in primary energy from 6 per cent today to 15 per cent by 2030. It is also widely using gas for transport, with more than 200,000 trucks and buses fuelled by liquefied natural gas (LNG).

In the city of Lanzhou, strict air pollution policies reduced coal consumption by 40 per cent and significantly increased the number of days with clear skies between 2012 and 2016.

Elsewhere, in India, where gas makes up only 8 per cent of the energy mix, the government is moving towards a greater use of gas in the economy, creating infrastructure such as gas pipelines and LNG terminals. In Gujarat, Indias most industrialised state, gas now makes up 25 per cent of the energy system, fuelling transport and cooking, as well as major plants producing petrochemicals, fertilisers and glass.

In Vietnam, the government has introduced policies to expand domestic gas production, improve infrastructure to deliver gas to more customers, and to start importing LNG.

Policies of successive governments will determine the extent to which gas will play a key role in the coming decades. Their decisions must reflect the commitments made at the UN Paris climate summit.

Beyond policy choices from governments, a lot will also depend on the action of energy companies. For Shells part, we continue to increase our investment in gas, now around half of our total production. And we are exploring commercial opportunities in areas such as biofuels, hydrogen and wind power.

Governments, companies and consumers have the power to shape a new energy future, where renewables and natural gas play critical roles. Now is the time to step up the drive to deliver on the environmental pledges made in Paris.
Samsung Securities aims to acquire 40 per cent of Dragon Capital (Source: Business Korea)

According to newswire Business Korea, Samsung Securities will co-operate with Caldera Pacific, a private equity fund from Hong Kong to buy a 40 per cent stake in Dragon Capital to become the second-largest shareholder.

Samsung Securities will hold 10 per cent and Caldera Pacific 30 per cent. It is also known that Samsung Securities will shell out considerable funds for the acquisition.

"The opening of an office or a corporation, a general overseas advancement form, takes a lot of time from the input of money to the results. But the acquisition of stakes in a local asset management company allows a company to efficiently secure a sales network and infrastructure," an official familiar with the acquisition said.

Samsung Securities selected a different way than its countrymen to enter Vietnam. Notably, instead of opening representative offices or establishing subsidiaries in Vietnam, Samsung Securities aims to acquire stakes in a local asset management company.

Market experts forecast that acquiring a stake in Dragon Capital is the beginning of Samsung Securities strategy to enter the Vietnamese stock market and the company may additionally acquire stakes in other companies.

Currently, five Korean securities firms are present in Vietnam with seven representative offices and subsidiaries, namely Mirae Asset Daewoo, NH Investment & Securities, Korea Investment and Securities, Golden Bridge, and Shinhan Financial Investment.

Dragon Capital is the largest asset management company in Vietnam. It has poured capital in Vinamilk, FPT Retail, PV Gas, Vietjet Air, Hoa Phat Group, and VPBank, among others. The Vietnamese company also played a role as a bridgehead for capital from Hong Kong to enter Vietnam.
At the government meeting last month, the prime minister asked authorised management agencies to review and abolish irrational business conditions that hinder firms' business and production activities. Has there been any progress so far?

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has ordered ministries to pare down irrational and unnecessary business conditions based on recent review results of the Ministry of Planning and Investment and Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

More than that, the premier directed agencies to leverage the criteria applied by the Organization for Economic Cooperation Development (OECD) member countries as a base when reviewing business conditions.

This means there will be comprehensive changes in the state management approach to firms business and production activities, not just in case-by-case settlements as previously.

Would it not be hard for ministries to remove the very business conditions they have introduced as the process has reported little progress so far?

Without reform it is impossible for Vietnam to step on a more sustainable growth path and improve the quality of development. It is a focal task to renovate Vietnams growth model. I trust that ministry leaders will actively engage in this process for the countrys development.

Paring down unnecessary business conditions under the Ministry of Planning and Investments proposal aims to enhance the competitiveness of the commodities and services market, reduce risk and costs, and improve national economic performance. This will contribute a great deal to improving the pace of development and quality of growth in the coming time.

The Law on Enterprises and Law on Investment Working Group has resumed operations as per the premiers instructions. What is their major task in the short term?

The Working Group Secretariat has met and presented concrete plans.

We have a detailed list of more than 2,000 business conditions recommended for annulment, such as clarifying the clauses under regulated documents to serve as a basis for the removal of irrational business conditions.

There were suggestions to conduct an assessment of the impacts of inappropriate business conditions to specific sectors and businesses development.

Experts on business conditions from OECD countries will be invited to deliver independent assessments about the current state of required conditions applied in conditional and common business fields in Vietnam as well as their experience in this kind of work.

We will also recommend stricter regulations on enacting business conditions. All this work aims to enhance market competitiveness, helping to boost each business and each sectors efficiency to ensure the countrys sustainable development.
Units 1 to 4 are now in commercial operation

The 260 MW plant is owned by Trung Son Hydropower Company, a unit of Electricity of Vietnam. The project was financed by the World Banks first loan to Vietnam, as it combines drought and flood control with electricity supply.

THPC, Toshibas Chinese subsidiary for the manufacturing, sales, and maintenance of hydroelectric equipment, received the equipment supply order from Trung Son Hydropower Company in August 2013, as a member of a consortium with HydroChina Corporation. It was the companys first order in Vietnam, won by positive evaluations of THPC's technology and the reliability of its equipment.

Commenting on the successful deployment, Takao Konishi, vice president of the Thermal & Hydro Power Systems & Services Division of Toshiba Corporation's Energy Systems & Solutions Company, said: Toshiba has over 120 years of experience in delivering high-quality hydropower systems for projects around the world, and THPC has drawn on this deep know-how and our technological advantages in hydropower generation to achieve advanced capabilities."

"We are also very pleased to support Vietnam in meeting its fast rising energy demand, and will continue to provide support as the Vietnamese economy continues to grow, he said.

In Vietnam, hydropower plants account for about half of the total installed generating capacity of 34GW. The government is responding to growing demand with an expansion plan that will raise capacity to 75GW by 2020 and to 146.8GW by 2030.

Toshiba installed its first hydropower system in Vietnam in 1964, and its record to date includes 10 turbines and six generators for hydroelectric power plants.
Urban areas in the United States with no accessible abortion clinics within a [X] hours round-trip drive

Round-trip time to the nearest clinic at [X] weeks pregnant

Some facts:

89% of abortions occur when the patient is less than 12 weeks pregnant

Out of the 41 clinics open in Texas at the time, only five fully met the new requirements. As the number of operating clinics in Texas was cut in half, the issue was brought to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. It was argued that when nearby clinics close, pregnant patients experience an undue burden to travel upward of 150 miles to the nearest clinic. This drive would take about 5 hours round trip, and it could have impacted the nearly 275,000 women of reproductive age living in Texas Rio Grande Valley.

Residents of big metropolitan cities, such as New York, Miami, and Seattle, will have access to nearby abortion services regardless of how many weeks pregnant they are. But people living in cities such as El Paso, Texas, or Springfield, Missouri, have less access, particularly when they are further along in their pregnancy.

Many travelers from these cities drive long distances to their nearest clinic to be met with waiting periods and other state-imposed regulations, which increase the length of their trip. For instance, residents of Meridian, Idaho, who are 20 weeks pregnant would need to make a 10-hour round-trip journey to Utah for services.

In the first half of 2017, six states proposed TRAP laws to ban abortion entirely, and 28 states have proposed laws to ban abortion under some circumstances. Clinics in these 34 states are potentially in danger of drastic closures, mirroring what has happened in Texas.

Via pudding.cool
The latest issue of the journal Political Geography explores the alleged link between a warming climate and recent armed conflicts.

A study by Professors Jan Selbya, Omar S. Dahib, Christiane Frohlich and Mike Hulme, shows that it is beyond any doubt whatsoever, that there is no link between climate change and the war in Syria.

From the beginning of the Arab Spring, a number of experts have declared that these events were provoked by different factors such as sudden migratory movements or, for Syria, a warming climate. Western politicians have encouraged the dissemination of these theories either to mask how Western Secret Services had planned these pseudo revolutions or to justify the urgency in abandoning sources of fossil energy. However, the publication of Thierry Meyssans book, Sous nos yeux (Right before our eyes) has introduced into the public domain a clear picture of how these events were conceived in Whitehall in 2004, based on the model of the Arab Revolt of 1915 (Lawrence of Arabia); how Tony Blair sold this plan to George W. Bush Jr, and how the plan was then implemented jointly by the MI6 and the CIA [1].

Between 2006 and 2009, it was the case that there were several particularly dry seasons in Syria, provoking an exodus of peasant families to the cities. This issue did not involve shifting 1.5 million peasants but only 40  60,000 families. And there is nothing that permits us to make a connection between the displacement of this population and the attempt to topple the Syrian Arab Republic by the Muslim Brotherhood. On the contrary, a roadblock is placed in our thinking process by the fact the neighbourhoods that welcomed these populations, provided no shelter for the jihadists.

The authors of the study Political Geography are astonished that the theory presenting a link between changes in the climate and the war in Syria could be so well accepted. This is because to their minds it lacks any foundation whatsoever.
The Ministry for Heritage has announced that three new interpretation panels have been placed within our Old Town in order to provide information on our Medieval History, namely our Islamic and Spanish Periods.
Bojack Horseman The Judge Season 4 Episode 8 Editors Rating 3 stars * * * Previous Next   Previous Episode Next Episode  Photo: Netflix

What may seem like an episode lacking a universal thread is really an episode that investigates our differing senses of how the world really works. Most important, The Judge examines how those views tend to crash together in conflict.

Lets start with the comically absurd. This episodes C-plot involves the backwards logic of Mr. Peanutbutter and Todd forming a company of clown dentists. It is, of course, a ludicrous notion that shows how much someone can be disconnected from the reality of how the world really works. Hence, Mr. Peanutbutters financial advisor constantly trying to tell him what kids really like. But really, this distraction exists to show how awful he is, all as a setup of getting him back into the political game as a hype man for Woodchuck, cynically believing that they only way to stop a sideshow is with a sideshow.

Meanwhile, the episodes B-plot treats conflicting worldviews a little more seriously, with Princess Carolyn meeting Ralphs wealthy family for a holiday dinner. Hes desperate for the visit to work out, and in that spirit, doesnt actually want Carolyn to mention that shes pregnant. He is reacting to something he intrinsically knows, but is afraid to articulate: His family wont approve of his cat girlfriend one bit. But when they arrive, the Stilton family wears that outward kindness of the well-mannered, all while sliding into casual anti-cat prejudice as it if were all some harmless parlor joke. Oh, and it turns out the holiday is also all about hating cats. Ralph defends the tradition  Its just an old story about one bad cat, its not about every cat! then, right on cue: Death to all cats!  and then keeps trying to chide it away. As he tells Carolyn, Its kind of like church, you say the words so many times you forget what they mean.

What I like about this analogy is theres no one-to-one comparison. Its shades of Confederate history, religious dogma, and plain old ignorance of our divisive history, and Ralph keeps trying to ignore the fact that these things are telling. He thinks thats just how the world is (and how is family is) and that they have to grin and bear it because the alternative means trying to change something thats too big to confront. Of course, his family finally shows their true colors by insisting that his cat girlfriend only be temporary, and thats when Ralph fights back. (I want to take a moment to mention how damn good Raul Esparza is in this role. He has such a vocal range in all his performances  compare this to what he did in Hannibal  and I love how he imbues Ralph with so much humanity and personality.) As Ralph fights for his new family against his old one, we see Carolyns small smile and it makes me realize how much this show is sometimes willing to break down barriers. Ever so often, it shows us how maybe, just maybe, we can be better. These two give me so much hope. But true to the heartbreaking realities of BoJack Horseman, that hope also fills me with more fear.

Along those lines, the bulk of the episodes thats just how it is theme rests with the A-plot, which deals with Hollyhock dating a young intern (Hannibal Buress!) on BoJacks new show. This would be the show he accidentally joined, assuming it was some NCIS rip-off drama, when its really a reality show thats blissfully titled Felicity Huffmans Booty Academy! But Hollyhock dating someone automatically spurs on Bojacks interest to undermine a new potential relationship. Its less about overprotective parenting and more about the way his desire reflects his views of how the world works, along with his constant fear of intimacy. Again, BoJacks problem is that his original hardwiring makes him think the rest of the world is just like him.

But Miles keeps seeming like a good dude. He calls Hollyhock back, he spends time with her, he doesnt treat her like trash. He makes her feel good. Diane asks BoJack, Why is it so hard to believe that someone might logically like your daughter? and he can only exclaim, Because shes like me! When Diane suggests an open conversation as a resolution, BoJack responds, No thats too Diane-y!  If I can somehow prove to her what a jerk Miles is, then shell have to like me more by default! before he triumphantly declares, Thats the BoJack way! That may all seem cartoon-y, but thats the real-deal psychology of someone who has grown up the way that BoJack has. All directions lead to conflict and competition.

It, of course, manifests horribly. BoJack has one of the saddest fights with Hollyhock as he explains that Miles probably has superficial interests, echoing her fears about being overweight compared to the bikini-clad girls of Booty Academy. Just when you think he couldnt make it any worse, he throws back at her, Well, youre the one who said you were a blob!

As it turns out, Miles really likes Hollyhock  which makes it all the more horrible when his crappiness is revealed. But hes not terrible in the way BoJack thought he would be. Miles knows that BoJack doesnt want him seeing Hollyhock and tries to work out a deal, saying that wont talk to her if BoJack passes his (terrible) script to an agent or manager. It is the expression of the most crushing part of Hollywood dynamics: Even seemingly good people are willing to throw each other under the bus for a chance to get ahead.

We dont expressly know if BoJack takes the deal, but we do know that Miles stops calling Hollyhock. And from there, BoJack feels Hollyhock sliding into her inherent BoJack-ness, with her even saying, Do you ever get the feeling that to know you more is to love you less? Terrified for her, he counters with the best dadlike speech he can offer, but its already too late. Because theres the speech, and theres the truth around the speech, and then theres the way secrets lay their effects in plain sight. Hollyhock doesnt know what really happened with Miles, so she can only project her worst fears.

Those fears seep into her, but how will they manifest? Well, we know that she hasnt organized all that loose change into some mere quirk, but more into an OCD-like tick. Even more heartbreaking, when asked if she wants to go get ice cream, she responds, Im actually not hungry. And so, we get the first sense of a possible eating disorder. Oof.

Again, its all proof of a show that understands why the simplest, most everyday hardships are the most dramatically devastating. Like everything in this episode, it all comes from the simple effect of people thinking thats just how it is. I can think of nothing more normally brutal.

Best Jokes and Other Notes

 And if Im famous for anything its that I cannot lie. Yeah, I guess that would be the one thing.

 They got a whole area designed to look like downtown Toronto. Thats where they shoot the stuff thats set in New York.

 The kangaroo gesturing for the tip after stomping on the hood.

 Now I know why so many people like being homeless!

 Would you like me to punch you in the belly real quick so you remember what its like to be alive? Thats a rich person thing.

 Doggy doggy  [sigh] what now?

 FROGGER GAG!

 BoJacks lightbulb-being-out gag is utterly fantastic. It feels insane to me that Ive never seen that before.

 Love the way we learn that Diane has been getting massages to avoid being put in the same orbit as Mr. Peanutbutters crazy ideas.

 The actual mean-joke target: all of us! So making TV is, like, a full-time job?? Then why is it so bad!??! I just assumed people werent trying.

 The moment that made me happiest: Jessica Biels amazing, power-hungry arc. Shes quickly become one of my favorite characters.
Photo: Mike Coppola/Getty Images for 100 LIVES

In addition to representing thousands of Yazidi genocide victims in an International Criminal Court investigation against ISIS, Amal Clooney and her husband, actor, director, and expert barf-cleaner George Clooney, have taken in a Yazidi refugee whom they are supporting while he pursues a college degree. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the male Clooney said:

He was on this bus to Mosul, and ISIS shot the two bus drivers and said, Anybody who wants to go to college, we will shoot them. He survived and came to America. He got through all the checks, and once he got through those, it was like, Listen, we got your back. You want to get an education? You want to move your life forward? This is something that we can do.

The man is living at the Clooneys home in Augusta, Kentucky, and is now a student at the University of Chicago. Clooney also stated that a portion of the estimated $200 million he made from selling Casamigos Tequila, the tequila company he owned with Rande Gerber and Mike Meldman, will go to aiding refugee resettlement and building schools for refugees. Take $20 million and put it directly into our foundation [the Clooney Foundation for Justice], Clooney said. It will go toward educating refugees, it will go toward housing, it will go to all the things that we want to work on.
Shes 27, okay? Twenty-seven! Photo: Rich Polk/Getty Images for IMDb

Margot Robbie, who happens to be playing Tonya Harding in the biopic I, Tonya, says she didnt realize that the infamous Tonya HardingNancy Kerrigan incident was real until after she read the script for the film. To be honest, when I read the script, I didnt know who Tonya Harding was, and I didnt realize it was a true story, Robbie told Vanity Fair. I thought it was entirely fictionalized, and our writer Steve [Rodgers] was so creative to come up with the quirky characters and absurd incidents. To be fair, Robbie is a mere 27 (yes, 27, people!) and was, as she points out, nearly 4 years old* and in Australia when Hardings ex-husband Jeff Gillooly hired a man to break her rival Kerrigans leg before the 1994 Winter Olympics, which really happened, MARGOT. Clearly, Robbie has not spent enough time at Brooklyns own Harding-Kerrigan museum.

* Correction: To be exact, Robbie was roughly 3-and-a-half years old when Kerrigan was attacked, as she was born in July 1990 and the incident took place in January 1994.
Stephen King reads America. Photo: Getty Images

Thirty years after Stephen King published his best-selling novel It, one scene continues to stick out to many readers as horrific, even though it wasnt intended that way: a group sex scene between children. In the original novel, the group of kids  known as the Losers Club  have defeated the manifestation of their nightmares they call It (a.k.a. that evil clown). But they get lost in the sewer tunnels after the showdown and start to panic. The sole girl of the group, Beverly Marsh, tells her male friends that the only way for them to get out of the tunnels is  to have sex with her. What follows is an extended description of Beverly encouraging and having sex with each of the boys. It is, technically speaking, a gang bang featuring children.

The scene still attracts controversy, and both of the onscreen adaptations  including the one in theaters now  have ignored it entirely. If you Google Kings statement on it, youll come upon a quote traced back to a forum on Stephenking.com from November 2013 that reads:

I wasnt really thinking of the sexual aspect of it. The book dealt with childhood and adulthood 1958 and Grown Ups. The grown ups dont remember their childhood. None of us remember what we did as childrenwe think we do, but we dont remember it as it really happened. Intuitively, the Losers knew they had to be together again. The sexual act connected childhood and adulthood. Its another version of the glass tunnel that connects the childrens library and the adult library. Times have changed since I wrote that scene and there is now more sensitivity to those issues.

Vulture reached out to Kings agent for confirmation on the statement, and he responded, That sounds like my statement. He added: To it Id just add that its fascinating to me that there has been so much comment about that single sex scene and so little about the multiple child murders. That must mean something, but Im not sure what.

America, we have just been read by Stephen King.
A franchised operation called Krab Kingz Seafood has joined the gathering of food trucks at Franklin Avenue and University Parks Drive.

Owner Wanda Watkins, of Killeen, said the sale of jumbo shrimp and snow crab prepared Cajun-style has been brisk since she arrived.

Krab Kingz offers a Krab & Shrimp Tray for $14, a Krab Tray for $12 and a Shrimp Tray for $10, along with sides including sausage, corn, boiled eggs and potatoes, according to the company website.

The truck in Waco operates from noon to 9 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 1 to 7 p.m. Sunday, Watkins said. The franchise also operates in Killeen, Austin, Fort Worth and Houston.

Watkins said she chose to place her Krab Kingz location in Waco because of good things she has heard about the local market and the success of food trucks at Franklin Avenue and University Parks Drive and at Magnolia Market at the Silos, Sixth Street and Webster Avenue.

Eagles Landing

In other dining news, a new restaurant called Eagles Landing Restaurant & Grill is poised to open in Bruceville-Eddy, south of Waco.

Proprietor Peggy Margaret Weaver said in an email that she and her colleagues have transformed a building that previously housed a wrecker service into something warm, inviting and wonderful, which features artifacts and photos reflecting the history of the community.

She said Eagles Landing will serve grilled steaks, chicken-fried steak, gourmet pizza, hamburgers and many other mouth-watering treats.

A soft opening is scheduled Sept. 27 with a grand opening to follow Sept. 30. The restaurant is at 111 W. Third St. in Eddy.

Call center jobs, raises

The C3/CustomerContactChannels call center in McGregor has announced it continues to hire and has implemented a pay increase.

The hourly rate for several agent positions will increase from $10 per hour to $12 per hour. Both existing and new employees will be affected.  We will also be offering employee incentive opportunities to potentially increase some wages up to $14 an hour, site director Suzette Mansfield said in a press release.

In June, C3 announced it would hire 1,200 agents and supervisors to support new clients in the health-care industry. The company still has about 350 positions available.

In addition to Texas, C3 operates contact centers in Nevada, Idaho, Arizona, Utah and Oklahoma in the United States, and in the Philippines, Bulgaria, Guatemala and China outside the United States, according to its press release.

Integ buys Bryan printing firm

Waco-based Integ, which specializes in creative design, printing and mailing services, has bought The Insite Group, a printing company based in Bryan, according to an Integ press release.

This acquisition allows us to offer a wider range of capabilities and offerings in technology, services and strategies to the Central Texas, Brazos Valley and Houston metropolitan area as well as solidifying our position as a leader in the print industry, Integ CEO David Anderton wrote in the press release.

He said Integ now employs more than 150 people.

Suit Up

The JCPenney store in Richland Mall is hosting a college Suit Up event designed to help Baylor University students dress for success and jump-start their careers, according to a press release from the store.

The private event will take place after the store closes Sunday to accommodate Baylor University students looking for advice on what to wear for job interviews, according to the press release.

Faculty, staff and alumni from Baylor University, along with members of the JCPenney team, will offer insights into the latest career fashion trends, how a suit should fit, what size to buy, how to tie a tie and more, according to the press release.

Students will get a 40 percent discount on clothes during the event with a valid ID.
The ripples of Hurricane Harveys devastation are not likely to stop along the Gulf Coast, with some economists and contractors saying it may dump salty water, at least short-term, on the states booming homebuilding industry, including in Waco.

Manpower and materials bound for coastal cities could create shortages locally, delaying the completion of homes or the launch of subdivisions, but most observers stop short of predicting doom for Greater Wacos economic momentum that, like Hurricane Harvey, is historic.

The Texas housing market has been leading the nation for years, with Houston charging until the downturn in oil and Dallas-Fort Worth moving ahead the past couple of years, said Scott Norman, executive director of the Texas Association of Builders. We already had labor shortages across the board involving masons, carpenters, electricians, you name it, creating month- to two-month delays in completing the typical single-family home.

Now we have Hurricane Harvey, and the challenge gets that much worse. We already were seeing lumber and cement prices going up before the storm. Now we can only imagine the shortages.

Increases in fuel prices will also be a factor, especially for bulky construction materials, Norman said.

The bottom line is that booming markets such as Waco, which is a microcosm of what is going on statewide, undoubtedly will feel the pinch, Norman said.

Hurricane Irma and its potential disruption of Floridas healthy housing market represents a double whammy, he said.

Taylor Gross, 32, a member of the family that founded Gross-Yowell building materials in Waco just after World War II, said he grew up in the area and has seen nothing like the ongoing homebuilding bonanza.

Gross said he already has seen the price of lumber climb to a 14-year high since the start of summer because of new tariffs on wood from Canada.

More recently, in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, wafer board used to form exterior walls and for roof decking, has seen a 6 percent price surge at Gross-Yowell, largely because of panic buying ahead of Irma, Gross said.

Scott Bland, president of the Heart of Texas Builders Association, said his biggest concern involves the potential shortage of laborers. Local builders already complain about problems finding quality help, and the potential draw of work on the Gulf Coast could siphon away prospects, Bland said.

The availability of heavy equipment might also suffer, though he is less concerned about spikes in material prices, he said. Irma could change that.

Ive talked with suppliers of Sheetrock and other supplies, and they dont necessarily think we will have large increases, Bland said. But if Irma hits Florida, all bets are off.

Several new subdivisions are planned or under construction around Greater Waco, including one with 1,500 homes and one with more than 750 homes.

I could see Harvey delaying the completion of homes, Bland said. Right now, the emphasis on the Gulf Coast is laborers. Later, when that turns to new construction and remodeling, the shortage could impact more skilled people such as carpenters, electricians, plumbers and HVAC people.

The Houston Builders Association reports that Hurricane Harvey and the flooding it produced damaged at least 30,000 homes in the city of Houston, which is more than the association projected to be built during all of 2017.

Local builder Steve Patrick, a 45-year veteran of the Greater Waco homebuilding scene, had a different take on the potential loss of labor.

If youre small like I am, building eight or nine homes a year, you are not going to lose anybody to the Gulf Coast, Patrick said. I use the same people over and over again, and there is no indication anybody who subcontracts with me is leaving the area. We have plenty of work here. I dont see 15 carpenters leaving Waco bound for Rockport.

Ken Simonson, chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America based in Arlington, Virginia, said natural disasters typically create short-term spikes in prices for gasoline, plywood, plastic sheeting, plate glass and wallboard as residents prepare, then repair.

Longer-term problems follow if production plants are knocked offline, which happened during Hurricane Rita, Simonson said.

Ive not heard of any such damage to a production facility related to Hurricane Harvey, he said.

After Hurricane Katrina there were predictions of a giant sucking sound of workers heading to the Gulf Coast, Simonson said. But people now are busy in most parts of the country and dont need to relocate there.

Simonson said the Associated General Contractors recently conducted a national workforce survey, with 158 of the 1,609 respondents indicating they work primarily in Texas.

Two-thirds of the Texas workers reported they have the most difficulty finding concrete workers, well above the national average of 51 percent. That was followed by electricians at 61 percent, cement masons at 59 percent, carpenters at 57 percent, plumbers at 54 percent and installers at 52 percent.

All of these occupations are likely to be in demand for flood damage repair, stabilization and replacement work, Simonson said.

Hurricane Harvey altered operations at the Port of Houston, the second-largest port in the United States in foreign tonnage handled and the 13th-largest in the world, said Ray Perryman, president of The Perryman Group, a Waco-based economic forecasting company.

There could be a short-term shortage of products, including building materials, but its not likely to curtail Wacos economic momentum, Perryman said.

Amarillo-based economist Karr Ingham also said short-term increases in material and product prices are likely, though an impact to Wacos momentum is not likely.

Ingham recently reported the city of Waco, excluding surrounding cities, had issued 289 permits through July to build single-family homes, a significant increase from the 233 issued during the first seven months of 2016.

Commercial construction and renovation has also skyrocketed in recent years.

Bland Cromwell, a commercial and industrial sales specialist with Coldwell Banker Jim Stewart Realtors, said he does not see storm-related pauses.

Everybody is scrambling for good help. That never changes, Cromwell said. But everybody I talk with is busy, too, and I expect that trend to continue.
Three years ago, Reicher Catholic High School celebrated the 60th anniversary of its ninth- through 12th-grade campus opening its doors.

This weekend, the school known for focusing on rigorous academic programs and developing a students mind, body and spirit marks 60 years since the Class of 1957 crossed the graduation stage.

But celebrations couldnt start until a few of Reichers first seniors imparted some words of wisdom on this years group of high-schoolers. The school was established in 1954 by the Diocese of Austin as Waco Catholic High School, and the inaugural graduates were in 10th grade, the oldest students enrolled.

It does help a lot that we can have people like this come in and speak with us, said Haris Siddiq, a senior and student body president. Its crazy. It shows you how far back Reicher goes. Tradition is a really big deal here at Reicher, and its amazing to see these people can come back and still talk to us.

Charles Matthews, Victor Kramer, Sister Linda Jo Taylor and classmate Sidney Sanders spoke little of what life was like at Reicher six decades ago, instead focusing on the importance of leadership and service on a daily basis they learned at the time.

Matthews is a former Texas State University System chancellor, former Texas Railroad Commissioner and was the first Catholic mayor in Garland. Kramer was Reichers first class president and is now a professor at Spring Hill College, and Taylor was a student who became a nun and taught first- through 12th-grade students throughout the United States.

Matthews and his peers grew up at a time when all of Reichers teachers were nuns, and because of Wacos poverty rate, tuition was $10 a month, he said. He said the Bible and educators taught him that whether students end up as public figures or the next-door neighbor trying to keep a roof over his head, anybody has the power to reach out and help someone less fortunate.

God wants us to reach out, Matthews said. Here in Texas, if youve watched the television the last two weeks, youve seen in Houston, Texas, Hurricane Harvey. Youve seen Texans and people from all of the United States coming down there to help, people they dont know.

Florida will face similar challenges with the already-deadly Hurricane Irma, and he hopes people will respond in the same way they did for the devastation in Texas, Matthews said.

To see somebody from the first class who has held so many high positions, state government and administration, it kind of puts you at awe because you think, Oh, that could be me because they came from the same exact place I do,  senior class Vice President Hannah Trippe said. Sometimes, its discouraging when youre in this small of a school or this small of a town. Its very intimidating, especially senior year with all the college applications. How am I going to stand out? What am I going to do? Its nice to see somebody who started exactly where you were and how they took their Reicher morals and made a life for themselves and made history.

Kramer, whose work since graduating work has centered around literary criticism and American studies, told students holding onto his Catholic beliefs throughout his career kept him grounded and gave him perspective. He was the executive director of the Aquinas Center of Theology at Emory University and has written a multitude of books and articles.

A lot of what I learned to do as a professor was really rooted in what I learned at St. Marys grade school and what I learned here.  Youre so fortunate to be in a Catholic atmosphere, Kramer said to the students. The fact of the matter is, we are in a secular situation where most people are not thinking about their relationship to God. Theyre not thinking about how they could live a life which would help other people.

He referred to a book by Thomas Merton, a Catholic writer he has written three books about, and encouraged students to follow Mertons lessons on figuring out how to go through life as an involved Catholic.

Your job is to make sense of the world and to dance with other people, Kramer said. Thats the gift of being Catholic or being a Christian in a society, which for the most part is not too much aware of that. The atmosphere we had here in this school was one that really made it possible for us to learn.
History is like an expedition, like Lewis and Clark searching for the Northwest Passage. Each generation helps chart the journey with its twists and turns, and each picks up where the other left off.

Thomas Jefferson was 33 when he drafted the Declaration of Independence with the help of John Adams and Benjamin Franklin. Fifty years later, he and John Adams died on the anniversary of the Fourth. Their death marked the end of the generation we know as the founding fathers.

I remember as a child when the last veteran of the Civil War died. Albert Woolson was a drummer boy in Company C of the First Minnesota. He died in 1956. At present we are witnessing the departure of what Tom Brokaw called the greatest generation, those who lived through World War II. Five years before I was born my mother was on a picnic with my father when President Franklin Roosevelt interrupted their 1940s music to report the bombing of Pearl Harbor. She died six years ago. My uncle commanded a tank in the battle of Nuremberg in April 1945. He died four years ago.

Some of us can recall where we were when President John F. Kennedy was shot on the streets of Dallas, when Martin Luther King Jr. was killed and Robert Kennedy was gunned down in Los Angeles. Vietnam and Watergate evoke vivid memories. But the young only know these events as history. Those who are seniors in high school were infants on Sept. 11, 2001. They have grown up in a post 9-11 world learning about the Twin Towers attack through stories, video and books. One generation passes while another joins the journey.

Every generation is connected to the generations that went before. But, like an expedition, every generation must find its own way, and each generation must find its own faith. A few years ago I reflected on what I wanted to accomplish with my remaining years. One of those things was to encourage the younger generation to do greater things than I ever imagined. I am pleased to see that happening in many places. More people are coming to Christ every day than at any time in history, especially in South America, Africa and Asia. I am finding many in their twenties and thirties who are passionate about going to the ends of the earth and living transformed lives for Christ.

When God looks on humanity, he sees generations. Following Noahs flood, God had us in mind when he said, This is the sign of the covenant which I am making between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all successive generations. Moses success depended on how well he encouraged Joshua, the leader of the next generation that would enter the Promised Land. David sang, Remember His covenant forever, the word which He commanded to a thousand generations.

The world has never been a safe place. Expeditions are dangerous. We face huge obstacles and challenges, but the potential is limitless. As our generations overlap, we have opportunity to build upon the foundations of faith that others have laid and to create a better world for our children, our grandchildren and those who will follow.

Bill Tinsley reflects on current events and life experience from a faith perspective. Email bill@tinsleycenter.com.
Time to follow through

Last December after the election of Donald Trump as president, I joined a handful of fellow Wacoans in a meeting with Rep. Bill Flores to express some of our fears about what the coming years might bring for our most marginalized neighbors, including Muslims, women and immigrants. Though we had many disagreements with our congressman about substantive issues, one exciting area of common ground we shared with him was a belief that those described as Dreamers, the beneficiaries of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, should have a protected status.

Mr. Flores expressed a belief that those who came to our country as children should not be punished because their parents failed to obtain the proper documentation in their quest to provide a better life for their families. We left the meeting feeling that this was one hopeful area where people from all parts of the political spectrum could work together. I was reminded of this meeting when the White House announced it would be essentially punting DACA down the road to Congress. Based on his statements earlier, I look forward to our representative providing leadership in the coming weeks to ensure these bright and beautiful Americans dont have to live in fear of being forcibly sent to a country they have never known.

Craig A. Nash, Waco

EDITORS NOTE: Republican Congressman Bill Flores, whose district includes Waco, released this statement Tuesday: The current DACA program, despite being well-intentioned, is another example of how former President Obama abused his constitutional authority. The Constitution clearly states that the legislative branch is responsible for writing all laws; not the president. The decision to rescind this program now brings the important job of fixing our broken and inadequate immigration system into focus for Congress to work out a legislative solution. When it comes to the Dreamers, those children and young adults who are here through no fault of their own, I believe Congress should quickly find a solution to ensure they can stay in the United States, which for many is the only home they know. I look forward to working with President Trump and my House and Senate colleagues to improve our immigration laws and better secure our borders.

* * *

Again an Associated Press article tells the wrong story about immigrants. Legal immigrants may only be deported if they are convicted of a crime. Its illegal criminals who are the target of President Trumps administration. These are the ones sanctuary cities refuse to hold for Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, not just any illegal immigrants. Or do you want, as is being done now, to protect ruthless MS-13 gang members?

Jim Cantrell, Axtell
Malachy Todling proudly tells everyone he has two dads who love him very much.

In May, the five-year-old became the first foster child in the ACT to be legally adopted by same-sex parents.

Trailblazers: Dale and Jamie Todling with their son Malachy. Credit:Jamila Toderas

The event was a milestone for Canberra's out of home care system and the capital's foster care community.

His parents, Dale and Jamie Todling, care permanently for two other children together and describe themselves as just like any other parents with young kids.
Seven teenagers in a car being chased by police have been taken to hospital after the vehicle crashed in Perth's east on Saturday morning.

Major Crash officers are investigating the smash, which happened at around 2.40am in East Victoria Park.

Witnesses are urged to contact Crimestoppers. Credit:Cathryn Tremain

Police said officers in a patrol car tried to stop a Silver Ford sedan, which is alleged to have accelerated away, then collided with a parked vehicle and a tree on Albany Highway, near Oats Street.

Seven people from the Ford sedan were injured in the smash and taken by St John Ambulance to Royal Perth Hospital and Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital.
Syrian Rami Basisah plays for his fellow refugees at the Greece-Macedonia border in 2015. Credit:Jure Erzen He is also somewhat overwhelmed. "This is becoming so huge. Everybody wants something from me, and I'm not yet fully prepared. I don't even know if I'm good enough. Rami Basisah practises with David Whelton in Switzerland. Credit:Jure Erzen "Everything around me has been the opposite of normal for such a long time. I can sometimes no longer tell what's real and what's not."

Basisah was invited to the Swiss Alps as a special guest of the Klosters classical music festival following a string of happy coincidences. Refugees and migrants wait to cross the border from the northern Greek village of Idomeni to Macedonia at the height of the migrant crisis in 2015. Credit:AP Back in August 2015 darkness was slowly descending over the border between Greece and Macedonia, when tired Syrian and Afghan refugees lounged under the trees, near deserted border guard facilities. This was the heyday of the so-called Balkan refugee route. All the time, fresh groups of displaced people rolled in from the Greek side of the border. At the nearby refugee reception centre, Basisah took out his violin. Giving it a long enamoured stroke, he went on to tune the strings. The introverted young man then stepped forward with fellow refugees waiting to catch the next train to Serbia. Syrian refugee Rami Basisah is now front and centre of the European classic music scene. Credit:Jure Erzen

His friends were encouraging him to abandon himself to the moment and just play. But it still took Basisah, a former student at a Homs music college, a while to work up his courage. The Macedonian policemen watched on in bewilderment. The young man began playing his instrument, slowly at first, even somewhat timidly. A hush descended over the crowd, their lively chatter turning to awe. The officers' faces broke into a grin as they recognised the melody. Smoke rises after airstrikes by military jets in Talbiseh, Homs province, western Syria, in 2015. Credit:AP The warm response had a visibly relaxing effect on the young musician. He started playing with redoubled vigour. The reception centre rang with Beethoven's Ode to Joy, the European anthem. The policemen were soon keeping time with their boots.

Damaged buildings in the Syrian government-held neighborhood of Zahraa, Homs, in 2015. Credit:AP When he finished, the audience urged Basisah to play on. He paused for a few seconds, then his violin gave birth to the profoundly mournful, yet proud tones of a Syrian patriotic song. The performance ended with Vivaldi's Four Seasons. There was plenty of applause. Basisah gave a bashful bow. His trance broken, anxiety was king once again. Children play on a train track as migrants wait for a train heading toward Serbia, at the railway station in the southern Macedonian town of Gevgelija in August 2015. Credit:AP "Forgive me," he smiled, still catching his breath. "I've made a number of mistakes. I was so very nervous."

A new world The superb acoustics at the St Jakob church in Klosters have helped it become one of the music festival's main venues. In front of it, the Swiss organisers mingle with the guests. Basisah, a boy from a different world altogether, is performing in front of David Whelton  the festival's acoustics director, recently retired long-time head of the London's Philharmonia Orchestra and one of the most influential people in the world of classical music. As we catch each other's eye, it is as if the ground beneath our feet gives a shudder. So here we are. Basisah's concert at the Macedonian-Greek border and the feature article I'd written about it has helped turn his life around.

"Man  Wow. Hey. Oh my God, this can't be happening." His words sounding about as trembly as he looks. Our embrace lasts a long time. "I didn't think we'd ever get to see each other again. Everything is coming back to me now, everything." How could he forget the war, the journey, the Macedonian performance, our meeting, the horrible journey to Germany, he says. Prior to our brief encounter at the border, Basisah had already spent 40 days on his flight from Syria. Before that he had been a refugee in his own homeland for two years. He now tells me he wants to continue with his studies in whichever European music university would have him. Overall, he doesn't feel like talking too much about himself or the war. "I need to do everything I can to help my brother. He fled Homs a year before me and went to Lebanon. As he left, he promised he'd help me reach safety. He worked so hard over there in Lebanon. When he got enough money to fund my trip to Europe, he sent it to me right away. Now he's lost his job. "It is my duty to help him out somehow. I owe him my life."

Instead of focusing on the moment and the upcoming incredibly important rehearsal, Basisah is swept under a barrage of memories. For a few minutes at least, the music becomes an ancillary, secondary thing. Whelton notices that, at least for the moment, Basisah's heart is somewhere else. Basisah left his home in regime-controlled al-Bayadiya village on July 30, 2015. He took a taxi to Tartus on the Mediterranean coast and then took a bus to Beirut. He waited 15 hours to cross the Syria-Lebanon border. He had an arranged a meeting with his older brother Faheed, also a musician. "At the airport in Beirut I played a song of farewell. It was tough on both of us. I so wished he was on that plane with me." Basisah flew to Izmir on the Mediterranean coast, where he was supposed to meet the people who would "manage" his entry to Europe. But things didn't work out as planned.

He had to first go to Istanbul to make the necessary arrangements. At the time, as many as 10,000 refugees were sailing to the Greek Aegean Islands daily. The smuggling business was booming The boy reached Kos in Greece, only in his fifth attempt. He does not want to talk about the dirty details of the smuggling industry. In March last year, the German authorities finally granted his request for an asylum. Teresia and Winfred Oelbe, an elderly couple from the village of Niederschopfheim, offered him a place to stay. The brunt of the young man's ordeal had finally drawn to a close. A few weeks later he signed a deal with Decca, the British music publishing house, whose executives have learnt both of his lengthy plight and his technical accomplishment. Fast-foward to Klosters. Near the end of May, his CD Rami: My Journey, recorded in collaboration with the Prague Symphony Orchestra, played on the legendary British Classic FM radio. Among the many listeners, who had soon voted it album of the week, was a retired businessman who went on to invite Basisah to Switzerland. He decided the young man deserved all the help he could get.

And so here he is in the idyllic Swiss setting. Even the well-wishing people who come over to congratulate him make Basisah uncomfortable. This is not his world. He listens to the music of others on the main stage but his mind wanders. He suddenly becomes very tired and nods off. Then his body jolts him back again, tears flowing down his face. "I would like to play on such a stage one day too, so I can help my family," he whispers. When all his social and concert-related responsibilities at the mountain resort are dispensed with, the visibly exhausted Basisah retires to his room. Vivaldi remains his favourite composer.

"This man... what madness Oh, the violent mood swings. This is exactly how I feel". These last few years of turmoil haven't exactly provided a lot of opportunity for reflection. More than anything he needs someone he can confide in. "I am very grateful to all these kind people. I know I've been very very fortunate. But more than anything I'm interested in how to best help my brother. Without him I would never have got this far." "I've felt so alone much of my time here in Germany. I miss my family, my friends, I really miss my old life." But he is quick to add he is keen to avoid being seen as a victim. Unlike hundreds of thousands of refugees and those who never even got the chance to flee of Syria, he is lucky  and aware of it.
Alec Baldwin sues to 'clear his name' in movie set death
By West Kentucky Star Staff Sep. 09, 2017 | 12:41 PM | PADUCAH, KY

As of Saturday morning, the latest NOAA projections showed Category 4 Hurricane Irma to be on the west side of Florida when it makes its way to the southeastern mainland, and ultimately into Tennessee and western Kentucky.An updated path estimate does not include Miami or the eastern coast of southern Florida within the "cone" of impact. However, the large majority of the state still looks to be battered by 130+ mile-per-hour winds, heavy rains, and dangerous storm surges of several feet along the western coast.Of the dozen or more computer models that run different scenarios of Irma's eventual trek as it breaks down into a tropical depression, most still predict that it will end up in west or middle Tennessee by Wednesday morning, and western Kentucky Thursday. By then winds will be down to about 30 miles an hour, and a couple of inches of rain will fall as the system dissipates.Paducah's National Weather Service outlook calls for a 60 per cent chance of storms by Tuesday, with rain lingering Wednesday. The end of the week will see a return to sunny highs in the upper 70s.

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By The Associated Press

By The Associated Press Sep. 07, 2017 | 08:44 PM | LOUISVILLE, KY

A key health care regulator in Kentucky is being questioned at a federal trial about the circumstances that led to a licensing fight threatening to shut down the state's last abortion clinic.

The regulator, Robert Silverthorn Jr., on Thursday defended the use of emergency regulations that the clinic claims are meant to make it harder to get a license for abortions.

Silverthorn denied communicating with Gov. Matt Bevin's office regarding EMW Women's Surgical Center. Clinic attorney Donald Cox says emails show the matter was discussed at the "highest levels" of state government.

Bevin's administration claims the Louisville clinic lacks proper transfer agreements with a hospital and ambulance service in case of emergencies.

Clinic lawyers say if the state prevails at trial, Kentucky could become the first state without an abortion clinic.
Announcing itself with roaring 130 mph winds, Hurricane Irma plowed into the mostly emptied-out Florida Keys early Sunday for the start of what could be a slow, ruinous march up the state's west coast toward the Tampa-St. Petersburg area.

Here's a look at the latest updates from around the web including photos, social media posts, news briefs and more.

Group rescues manatees stranded in Florida bay

MANATEE RESCUE! A Sarasota County man tries to save a manatee after the waters recede from #HurricaneIrma.

(Credit: Marcelo Clavijo) pic.twitter.com/RrdH2mvd6G  John-Carlos Estrada (@JohnCarlos_WINK) September 10, 2017

Two manatees were stranded after Hurricane Irma sucked the water out of Sarasota Bay, in Florida's Manatee County.

Several people posted photos of the mammals on Facebook Sunday, hoping rescue workers or wildlife officials would respond. Michael Sechler posted that the animals were far too massive to be lifted, so they gave them water.

Marcelo Clavijo posted that a group of people eventually loaded the manatees onto tarps and dragged them to deeper water.

A big, wide beastbut not quite as monstrous as feared

Hurricane Irma set all sorts of records for brute strength before crashing into Florida, flattening islands in the Caribbean and swamping the Florida Keys.

It finally hit the mainland as a big wide beast, but not quite as monstrous as once feared. The once-Category 5 storm lost some of its power on the northern Cuba coast.

It's still raking Florida with devastating storm surges, winds and rain. Its top sustained winds are now 110 mph (177 kph) and the center of the storm is about 15 miles (25 kilometers) inland from Fort Myers.

Report from the storm: 'Send cold beer'

It's been difficult to determine the extent of damage Hurricane Irma caused in the Florida Keys, where communication has been difficult and authorities are warning boaters and drivers to stay away.

But The Associated Press has been texting with John Huston, who has been riding out the storm in his house on Key Largo, on the Atlantic side of the island, just south of John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park.

Every few minutes during the height of the storm, he sent another dispatch.

He described whiteout conditions, with howling winds that sucked dry the gulf side of the narrow island, where the tide is usually 8 feet deep. He kept his humor though, texting to "send cold beer" at one point. Now he sees furniture floating down the street with small boats.

He says the storm surge was at least 6 feet deep on his island, 76 miles from Irma's eye. He can see now that structures survived, but the storm left a big mess at ground level.

Irma makes landfall on Marco Island

Hurricane Irma has made landfall on Marco Island, Florida, as a Category 3 hurricane.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami said Irma's powerful eye roared ashore at Marco Island just south of Naples with 115-mph (185-kph) winds, for a second U.S. landfall at 3:35 p.m. Sunday.

Category 3 storms have winds from 111 to 129 mph, but 130-mph (21-kph) wind gust was recently reported by the Marco Island Police Department.

Irma's second U.S. landfall was tied for the 21st strongest landfall in the U.S. based on central pressure. Irma's first U.S. landfall in the Florida Keys was tied for 7th.

Second tower crane collapses

Miami City Manager Daniel Alfonso says a second tower crane has collapsed into a building under construction in the city's downtown area. Alfonso told The Associated Press that the crane collapsed in a large development with multiple towers being built by Grand Paraiso.

Another crane collapsed earlier Sunday onto a high-rise building that's under construction in a bayfront area filled with hotels and high-rise condo and office buildings, near AmericanAirlines Arena. Officials said no one was injured as the result of either crane's collapse.

High winds are impeding Miami authorities' ability to reach the cranes, and authorities are urging people to avoid the areas.

Alfonso says the approximately two-dozen other cranes in the city are still upright and built to withstand significant wind gusts.

The tower cranes working on construction sites throughout the city were a concern ahead of Irma. Moving the massive equipment, weighing up to 30,000 pounds (13,600 kilograms), is a slow process that would have taken about two weeks, according to city officials.

Georgia declares state of emergency

Georgia's governor has declared an emergency for the entire state as Hurricane Irma's approach triggers widespread severe-weather threats, including the first-ever tropical storm warning for Atlanta.

Gov. Nathan Deal's new emergency declaration came Sunday as Irma churned near Florida. The National Hurricane Center predicted the storm's center to cross Monday into southwest Georgia, where a hurricane warning was issued for communities including Albany and Valdosta.

Portions of western Alabama and coastal South Carolina were also under tropical-storm warnings.

The National Weather Service confirmed it had never before issued a tropical-storm warning for Atlanta, where wind gusts could reach 55 mph (88 kph). Meanwhile Savannah and the rest of coastal Georgia were under evacuation orders for the second time since Hurricane Matthew brushed the region last October.

Irma headed for the southwest Florida coast

The National Hurricane Center says Category 4 Hurricane Irma is now "headed for the southwest Florida coast" as winds continue to pick up speed in all of South Florida.

Irma continues to be armed with 130 mph winds as its large eye passes north of the Keys.

Storm surge is forecast for 10 to 15 feet in southwestern Florida.

Hurricane-force winds are continuing throughout southern Florida, including the Keys. The hurricane center warns that winds affecting upper floors of high-rise building will be much stronger than at ground level.

The hurricane center also emphasizes that Irma will bring life-threatening wind to much of Florida regardless of the exact track of its center.

Winds topple crane in Miami

I heard a loud crack, and then like a boom, witness to construction crane incident in downtown Miami says https://t.co/0BdJ0oaWTX pic.twitter.com/IlOQkDBpZv  CNN (@CNN) September 10, 2017

The National Weather Service says that a crane has collapsed in Miami as strong wind from Hurricane Irma blows in.

It's one of two-dozen in the city.

The weather service's Miami office said in a Tweet that one of its employees witnessed the crane boom and counterweight collapse in downtown Miami. The employee captured video of the collapse.

It wasn't immediately clear if the collapse caused damage or injuries.

The cranes have been a concern.

Construction sites across Irma's potential path in Florida were locked down to remove or secure building materials, tools and debris that could be flung by Irma's winds.

But the horizontal arms of the tall tower cranes remained loose despite the potential danger of collapse. According to city officials, it would have taken about two weeks to move the cranes and there wasn't enough time.

Couple rescued while riding out storm in sailboat

Florida sheriff's deputies rescued a couple who tried to ride out Hurricane Irma on a small sailboat.

Christine Weiss of the Martin County Sheriff's Office said a passer-by noticed the couple was in trouble Sunday. It happened just off Jensen Beach, which is on the Atlantic Coast north of Palm Beach.

Video shows a Martin County patrol boat manned by deputies John Howell and James Holloran and Detective Mathew Fritchie pulling up next to the sailboat.

The task of helping the couple onto their boat was precarious as both boats bobbed in choppy water. Deputies then took them to shore.

The names of the couple were not released. They were not injured.

Irma to hit Florida Keys Sunday

Forecasters expect winds of more than 110 mph (177 kph) from Hurricane Irma to smack the Florida Keys around daybreak Sunday.

Irma was lingering over the northern Cuba coast on Saturday. Its forward speed has slowed to 9 mph (15 kph) and it has yet to make the expected big northward turn toward Florida yet. Its maximum sustained winds were 125 mph (205 kph).

The U.S. National Hurricane Center's latest forecast  which still can change a bit and has a margin of error of dozens of miles  projects Irma's potent eye to make three landfalls into Florida.

First, there's a projected Sunday morning hit in the Lower Keys. Then later, after moving over water, Irma is expected to come ashore around Cape Coral or Fort Myers. From there it is predicted to steam inland go over the highly populated Tampa Bay region.

After Tampa, Irma is projected to briefly go back out to the Gulf of Mexico and then hit north of Homosassa Springs for a third landfall. In the following days, Irma is forecast to head through Florida and Georgia into Tennessee.

Hurricane Jose moving into areas just hit by Irma, 1:50 p.m.:

French ministers have decided to step up security on the Caribbean islands of St. Martin and St. Barts that were hit hard by Hurricane Irma and are now facing the approach of Hurricane Jose.

On Friday, looting and gunshots were reported on St. Martin, and a curfew was imposed there and in St. Barts until Wednesday.

According to a statement Saturday, French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb is sending two extra gendarme squadrons and some 150 soldiers. They will be there to strengthen checkpoints, reassure the public and prevent further looting and chaos.

Georgia, South Carolina brace for impact

Georgia is bracing for potentially far-flung impacts from Hurricane Irma, which could swamp the coast with storm surge and topple trees and power lines in Atlanta.

The National Hurricane Center placed the entire Georgia coast under a hurricane watch Saturday as residents packed their cars and trickled onto the highways in six counties under a mandatory evacuation. A hurricane watch was also issued for the South Carolina coast from the Georgia line to Edisto Beach, about 40 miles (65 kilometers) southwest of Charleston.

Evacuations as of 12:20 p.m. ET:

Gov. Rick Scott says the entire west coast of Florida will likely see dangerous affects from storm surge as Hurricane Irma comes ashore Sunday. About 6.3 million of the state's approximately 21 million residents have been asked to evacuate.

During a Saturday news conference, he told those in evacuation zones: "You need to leave  not tonight, not in an hour, right now"

Scott said that the storm surge is expected to be up to 15 feet (4.5 meters) in some areas along the west coast of Florida. In the Tampa Bay area, Scott said the storm surge could be between 5 feet (1.5 meters) and 8 feet (2 meters).

Scott said: "This is the most catastrophic storm the state has ever seen."

Irma weakens to Category 3, 11:25 a.m. ET:

Hurricane Irma has weakened to a Category 3 storm with 125 mph winds, but it's expected to regain its strength before slamming into Florida.

The storm has been pounding Cuba, and forecasters say it will get stronger once it moves away.

Irma is expected to hit the Florida Keys Sunday morning and then Tampa. The National Hurricane Center warned in a Saturday advisory that the storm will bring "life-threatening wind" to much of the state regardless of its exact path. Forecasters also predict storm surges of up to 15 feet in southwestern Florida and rainfall up to 25 inches in the Keys.

Disney World closes

As of Friday afternoon, Disney World in Orlando announced that it would be closing Sunday and Monday. Resort hotels will remain open. The park has closed only five times since 1971  four for storms and once after 9/11.

Warnings, videos and other social updates:
JUNEAU  The Dodge County Human Services and Health Department has received an $85,000 grant to combat heroin and other opioid addictions after the number of overdose deaths in the county nearly doubled between 2014 and 2016.

Medical Examiner P.J. Schoebel said in January the number of deaths from drug overdoses rose from 14 in 2014 to at least 26 in 2016.

Its an ever increasing problem in Dodge County, Dodge County Human Services and Health Department Director Becky Bell said. It doesnt only impact the abuser, but a lot of children as well who are taken out of their home and put in foster or group homes.

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services identified counties and tribes that have unmet opioid treatment needs and provided $1.8 million in order to decrease waiting lists and service denials for people with opioid addictions.

Dodge County is one of 19 counties to receive the opioid crisis state targeted response program grant, Bell said. The grant runs until April 30 and will help the county to serve more people with heroin addictions.

She said the county has assisted 12 people with opiate-related treatment since July 1, 2013. As part of accepting the grant, the county has agreed to assist 20 people between July 1 of this year and July 1, 2018.

We want to encourage people who are suffering to come to the clinic so we can help them, Bell said.

Sara Gaska, a clinical supervisor for the Human Services and Health Department, said this allows for anything from outpatient day treatments to residential treatment for those needing additional services including detoxification services.

The great thing the grant does is cover things insurance doesnt cover, Gaska said.

To access help through the county, a person does not need insurance, Bell said.

Overall, our goal is to offer wrap-around services to help the person to become a functional member of the Dodge County community, Gaska said.

Dodge County Human Services does not report drug use to law enforcement, officials say.

Many people seek help for themselves, but often it is family members or law enforcement who refers the person to seek help.

Anyone who needs help or needs information about helping someone with an addiction can contact an intake worker by calling 386-4094. Those in crisis may ask to speak to a crisis worker, Gaska said. However when crisis workers are not available, law enforcement should be contacted to receive help fast.

Withdrawal from heroin is like having the flu times 100, Gaska said.

Those in withdrawal may be in desperate need for help and need to access it immediately.

Bell said in addition to using the grant funds, her department will request more money to fight opioid addiction in the county budget.
Arkansas Republican Sen. Tom Cotton, who after the departure of Jeff Sessions has emerged as the Senates leading immigration hawk, says he would support the legalization of all current DACA recipients  nearly 700,000 of them  if Congress would at the same time pass measures to protect Americans workers from the effects of that legalization.

DACA, which stands for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, was created by President Obamas unilateral decision to shield from deportation and grant work permits to people who were brought illegally to the United States as children. On Tuesday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that the Trump administration is rescinding DACA, effective six months from now. That leaves it up to Congress to decide the next step for the nations so-called Dreamers.

We ought to take care of them, Cotton said in a recent telephone conversation, noting that DACA recipients arrived in this country illegally through no fault of their own.

In any legislative fix, I would like to see them receive a green card, Cotton said. At the same time, he continued, We ought to recognize that giving them legal status has two problems. First, it creates a whole new class of people who will then be eligible for a green card and citizenship  namely, the extended family members of those who will receive legal status who can, through chain migration, get legal status themselves.

Second, Cotton said, it will encourage more illegal immigration.

The first problem can be fixed by passing the RAISE Act, Cotton said  the bill Cotton has sponsored with fellow GOP Sen. David Perdue that would strictly limit chain migration as well as rebalance current immigration policy in favor of skilled immigrants.

The second problem could be addressed by extending E-verify across the country, which Cotton called the best way to reduce more illegal immigration.

Cotton has conferred with President Trump and with White House staff on best way to move beyond DACA. Cotton said the presidents instincts are that DACA, imposed by Obama with no action from Congress in what many Republicans felt was an unconstitutional overreach, would not have been defensible in court.

Sessions said the same Tuesday when he noted, If we were to keep the Obama Administrations executive amnesty policy, the likeliest outcome is that it would be enjoined (by a court).

That was important because the attorneys general of several states threatened to sue the Trump administration if the president did not do away with DACA. Trumps action, announced by Sessions, makes any such lawsuits beside the point. And now, it throws the ball straight into Congress court. What will it do about those 700,000 soon-to-be-former DACA recipients?

That is where the negotiating comes in.

Will Senate Democrats, not to mention Republicans who favored the Gang of Eight comprehensive immigration reform bill, actually vote for the RAISE Act  which some have already said they oppose  in exchange for legal status for Dreamers? Its not at all clear. Would they agree to extending E-verify? Also unclear.

So far, most of the Republican lawmakers who have spoken out about DACA are supporters of comprehensive immigration reform  Sens. Lindsey Graham, Thom Tillis and Jeff Flake, as well as Reps. Mike Coffman and Carlos Curbello. And, of course, House Speaker Paul Ryan, who has called on the president not to end DACA, even though Ryan once described the program as blatantly unconstitutional.

But the vast majority of Republican lawmakers have not been heard from. Most are united in their belief that President Obama overstepped his authority by instituting DACA. They believe the action would not survive court scrutiny. They believe they have to do something to accommodate current DACA recipients while not making the overall immigration problem worse. And after Trumps action, it seems unlikely they would revive and codify the program without also enacting some significant reform of the immigration system.

DACA, Cotton said, is a mess of President Obamas making. But now its up to Republicans to clean up that mess. We should find a way to give (DACA recipients) legal status, Cotton concluded, but we also have to mitigate the inevitable consequences of that action.




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Colonel Leo H. Fox, USAF, Ret., Commander, left, and Antero L. (Ted) Martins, Memorial Chairman, both of Pawtucket, stand proudly at the Rhode Island Air Force Veterans Memorial at the RI Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Exeter on Friday. A dedication ceremony will be held there on today at 2 p.m.
Local MPs explain why they will vote against EU (Withdrawal) Bill on Monday

This article is old - Published: Saturday, Sep 9th, 2017

Wrexhams MP Ian Lucas and Clwyd Souths MP Susan Elan Jones have said they will be voting against the EU Withdrawal Bill, with the vote due to take place on Monday.

On Thursday MPs started debating the EU Withdrawal Bill which would change the supremacy of law from the EU to the UK. In basic terms the Bill would convert all EU laws into UK based ones and is seen by some as a technical step towards an EU exit, but others see it as a transferring of power to UK Government Ministers rather than Parliament itself.

Back in June last year Wrexham voted Leave in the EU Referendum with 41,544 of you wanting out, and 28,822 Xing for Remain.

Earlier this year a key Brexit Bill was voted through Westminster which formally started the leaving process after the Referendum. At the time we asked Wrexhams MP Ian Lucas on his voting position, which he backed up with a lengthy speech on the day of the vote.

With the debate on the Withdrawal Bill ongoing from Thursday and likely through Monday as well we asked our two local MPs if they had decided how they would be voting on the so called Brexit Bill (also more formally known as the EU (Withdrawal) Bill, or previously the Repeal Bill) and if so, why they had made that choice. The vote itself it likely to take place late in the day on Monday.

Clwyd Souths Susan Elan Jones MP told us yesterday afternoon: I am very definitely voting against. In common with many MPs across the political spectrum I think the Bill is a desperate power grab by the Government to subvert the democratic will of Parliament.

It disrespects Wales and the Welsh Government. Theresa May called an unneeded general election to try and get support for a Hard Right Hard Brexit. She ended up losing her majority.

I will never back a Hard Brexit that does not put jobs and our local economy first.

Wrexhams Ian Lucas MP answered our query yesterday by saying: I will vote against the Bill as it stands  it puts huge and unaccountable power into the hands of Tory Government ministers and side-lines Parliament on key decisions.

Far from bringing back control to Parliament, it would result in a power-grab for Tory Ministers  and would prevent me, as Wrexhams MP, from speaking up on issues which directly affect my constituents, their jobs, services and rights.

As the Bill stands, Ministers are demanding sweeping powers and no Parliamentary scrutiny. There are very real concerns when Governments  of whatever kind  demand power without accountability.
Gulangyu  known as Kulangsu in the local Fujian dialect  is a typical example of this [growing tourism] trend, which has been repeated from Tibet to the Great Wall.

The 2 sq km island just off the thriving port city of Xiamen gets more than 10m visitors a year, almost double the number that visited the entire Philippine archipelago last year. On peak days in the past, more than 100,000 visitors clogged the winding, vehicle-free streets of the island, whose resident population is just 20,000. But the government capped the numbers at 35,000 per day this year as part of the Unesco bid.
Detroit police have yet to release any information on their investigation into the death of 15-year-old Damon Grimes at the hands of a Michigan State Police trooper August 26. The Michigan State Police are conducting a separate investigation.

The youth was killed while riding his ATV in a working class neighborhood on Detroits east side along the Gratiot Avenue corridor. The trooper fired a Taser at Grimes from his moving patrol car, causing the teen to crash into a parked pick-up truck, killing him.

On August 30, a vigil held for the slain teen attended by some 200 people gave way to expressions of tension and anger over the callous killing of an unarmed youth. About 20 youth riding ATVs participated in the protest, which involved a brief confrontation with police. No arrests were made.

According to an account in the local media, Michigan State Police said troopers had tried to stop Grimes, 15, for reckless driving, but the teen fled on the ATV. Troopers pursued and one of them used a Taser on Grimes, striking him. He then crashed.

It was later revealed that the state police trooper in question, who was identified by a police source as Mark Bessner, had been previously accused of excessive force in two separate lawsuits that were later dismissed. Bessner has been temporarily suspended.

State Police Lt. Michael Shaw reported to Mlive that the trooper involved in the death is being placed on paid suspension while the investigation is conducted. A spokesperson for the Wayne County Medical Examiners Office, Lisa Croff, reported to the Detroit News that the death had been ruled accidental.

He died in an accident (which caused) blunt force head trauma, said Croff, stressing the ruling has nothing to do with the police investigation into the incident. The manner of death is that he crashed an ATV in an accident. Were not saying why the accident happened; thats not for us to say.

However, the cause of Grimes death is self-evident. The officer fired a Taser at someone operating a moving vehicle, which either directly caused heart failure or caused the youth to lose control of the vehicle.

It should be noted that riding ATVs is a popular pastime on Detroits east side and in the metropolitan area as a whole. Although technically illegal to ride on city roads, it is outrageous that a misdemeanor should lead to what amounts to an extra-judicial execution.

Dezajanai, a 17-year-old youth involved in the vigil, told the Detroit News it was normal for people in Detroits east side neighborhoods to ride ATVs in the street and that she used to ride her ATV with Damon all the time.

Were here tonight for him. To send him off right, said Dezajanai. This is my ATV, he just got his a month ago.

According to records reviewed by the Detroit N ews, Bessner and other state troopers were sued in a 2013 federal case in which the lawsuit claimed that Bessner and a group of other troopers spotted Martin McCurtis outside Sinai-Grace Hospitals emergency room and attacked him for no reason.

The News account continued, citing the lawsuit, Bessner repeatedly struck the plaintiffs body and gratuitously kneed him in his face and head multiple times as plaintiff was lying defenseless on the ground. The other defendants joined in the unprovoked physical assault of plaintiff. In addition, the federal suit goes on to say that police sought a warrant against the man for resisting and obstructing a police office. This request was refused by the Wayne County Prosecutors Office. The case was later settled by an agreement between the parties involved.

In a second case, Bessner allegedly Tasered the plaintiff on multiple and continuous occasions with the specific intent of inflicting pain, including after the plaintiff was in handcuffs.

The family of Damon Grimes has filed a $50 million dollar lawsuit against Bessner for their sons death. The familys attorney, Geoffrey Fieger, told the press. I cannot conceive, under any set of circumstances, a justification for a police officer doing a drive-by shooting of a child on an ATV. He continued, Under no circumstance should any police officer ever shoot like a cowboy out of his vehicle.

The death of Damon Grimes is yet another appalling example of police violence, and among the most recent in a continuing series of extrajudicial killings by the police in American cities. As of the time of this writing, Killedbypolice.net reports that there have been 826 deaths at the hands of police since the start of 2017.
The media and political parties have long sought to keep the issues of war and militarism out of Germanys federal election campaign. But reality is now catching up with them. US imperialisms aggressiveness towards North Korea, Russia and China, and the Pyongyang regimes testing of a nuclear weapon have brought the world to the brink of a nuclear war, which calls into question the very survival of humanity. A danger which the Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei (SGP) and International Committee of the Fourth International has been warning of for some time is now being openly discussed.

On Wednesday, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres drew parallels to the situation in 1914 and declared, If you look at the history of the First World War, it was on a step-by-step basis, one party doing one thing, the other party doing another, and then an escalation taking place.

In an article headlined The firebrands, the Suddeutsche Zeitung posed the troubling question, Who knows whether in such a situation, things will happen in the end that at the outset nobody wanted. It is no coincidence that the sleepwalkers, who led Europe into the First World War in the summer of 1914, are being discussed once again.

The last session of Germanys parliament (Bundestag) prior to the election was overshadowed by the danger of nuclear war. Even before Chancellor Angela Merkel (Christian Democrats, CDU) opened the session with a speech, deputy leader of the Social Democrat (SPD) parliamentary group on foreign and defence affairs, Rolf Mutzenich, stated, A nuclear shadow once again lies over the worldfrom North Korea, but also due to a careless, ranting US president, who is expanding the nuclear shadow. Mrs. Chancellor, I think you would deserve all honours if you sharply contradict such an American president in your remaining period in office.

SPD Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel warned in his speech of a phase in which we not only talk about conventional rearmament, but about a return to the darkest hours of the Cold War. Globally, all the talk is about rearmament  In China, India, Latin America, the US, Russia, Europe, Africa, everywhere we are talking about rearmament, nothing else is being discussed anywhere.

The political symbol, the political action that must come from Germany cannot be that we will join in with this arms race, proclaimed the foreign minister. Germanys signal, regardless of who has governed this country, has always been that Germany wants to be a voice for peace and a power for peace in the world and will not participate in rearmament. Gabriel described NATOs decision that member states should spend 2 percent of their GDP on defence as an errorEven though Social Democrats supported this compromise at the time.

In November 1933, Leon Trotsky wrote the article The pacifist Hitler. He described how even Hitler pledged himself to peace and international understanding at the beginning of Nazi rule. The Third Reich, Trotsky noted, was at the end of 1933 still too weak to be able in the next period to speak any other language than that of pacifism. However, in the course of a few years, after it had rearmed, it would transition from my peace to my struggle and even to my war.

Gabriel required less than five minutes in the Bundestag to transition from the phrases about peace and disarmament to call for the build-up of Germanys armed forces. Of course we must improve the armed forces armaments, because, by the way, cuts have been made to the armed forces for 12 years, raged the Social Democrat. Gabriel identified the right-wing Christian Social Union (CSU) politician Karl Theodor zu Guttenberg, who was defence minister from 2009 to 2011 and is currently attempting a political comeback, as the individual chiefly responsible for this.

The direction of Gabriels criticism of the NATO 2 percent target is clear. Germany is rearming and preparing, along with the other great powers, for war, but on its own terms.

The main issue at stake must not be how much we spend, but rather the issue is what we spend it on, Gabriel declared to the deputies. What is at stake is the right strategy. And he has been told by every soldier who returns from a foreign deployment: Yes, we need the military. But dear Mr. Gabriel, dont believe that simply through more defence and military spending you can secure peace and stability, and combat the movement of refugees. You have to fight hunger, poverty, hopelessness and the lack of a future. You have to do that.

This is a barely concealed criticism of the US-led wars in the Middle East, to which Gabriel wants to counterpose an allegedly more humane European interventionist policy, dominated by Berlin.

Europe bears responsibility for Europes security, Gabriel wrote in his latest book with the revealing title Remeasuring. In foreign and security policy, we have to be capable of strategic awareness and taking action, because we are not yet good enough. This includes defining our European interests and articulating them independently of the US. This obstinacy to some extent requires an emancipation from adopting positions developed in Washington.

Gabriels declared goal is the establishment of a European army capable of enforcing its global interests independently of NATO and the US, and, if necessary, in opposition to the latter. Its not merely about purchasing new weapons. its about more strongly integrating Europes arms industry and to pool resources. Its about the creation of a joint European security identity, which through increasingly integrated structures clears the path to a European army.

Gabriel knows very well that US plans to strengthen its nuclear arsenal endanger this policy. A return to the darkest hours of the Cold War would increase Germany and Europes dependence on the US, and undermine Berlins economic and geopolitical interests, which stand in ever deepening contradiction to those of the US. He intends to utilise the remainder of the election campaign to transform the widespread fear of a US-incited nuclear war into support for German militarism.

The Left Party and Greens, who are striving to establish a government with Martin Schulz, the SPD chancellor candidate, after the election are working towards the same goal. They introduced a motion in the Bundestag on Tuesday calling on the German government to withdraw its support for NATOs 2 percent target and immediately initiate talks with the US aimed at withdrawing the US nuclear weapons stationed at Buchel from the Federal Republic as soon as possible.

Jan Korte, who spoke in favour of the Left Partys ultimately defeated motion, left no doubt that it was not motivated by pacifist goals, but the strengthening of German imperialism against Washington. The motion also noted that we are independent and sovereignincluding from the United States of Americaand make our own policies here.

The Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei is the only party that opposes the US nuclear war plans, no less than European and German rearmament, and fights from the standpoint of the international working class against the growing war danger. In our election statement: Against militarism and war! For socialism! we state:

The danger of a third world war cannot be prevented through appeals for peace to the ruling class. The struggle against war is inseparably bound up with the fight for socialism. The SGP calls for the building of an international anti-war movement based on the following principles:

The struggle against war must be based on the working class, the great revolutionary force in society, uniting behind it all progressive elements in the population. The new anti-war movement must be anti-capitalist and socialist, since there can be no serious struggle against war except in the fight to end the dictatorship of finance capital and the economic system that is the fundamental cause of militarism and war.

The new anti-war movement must therefore, of necessity, be completely and unequivocally independent of, and hostile to, all political parties and organizations of the capitalist class.

The new anti-war movement must, above all, be international, mobilizing the vast power of the working class in a unified global struggle against imperialism. The permanent war of the bourgeoisie must be answered with the perspective of permanent revolution by the working class, the strategic goal of which is the abolition of the nation-state system and the establishment of a world socialist federation. This will make possible the rational, planned development of global resources and, on this basis, the eradication of poverty and the raising of human culture to new heights.
Socialist Equality Party supporters collected scores of signatures last weekend from workers in the Detroit area for the petition demanding tech giant Google stop its censorship of Internet search results. An investigation by the World Socialist Web Site has revealed that the company has changed its search algorithm to block results from the WSWS and other anti-war and progressive web sites.

Auto workers at the Dearborn Assembly Plant, part of the Ford Rouge complex outside of Detroit, gave strong support to an SEP campaign team led by WSWS Labor Editor Jerry White. The team circulated the Open Letter from David North, WSWS International Editorial Board chairperson, to the directors of Google.

Google is wrong, declared a Ford worker with 22 years seniority when he first heard about the search engines political censorship. Receiving and reading a copy of the open letter, he continued, That is why we have the Constitution and freedom of speech.

We have the right to voice our opinion, and find whatever information we need on the Internet. Many workers shared his sentiments.

Several workers recalled an incident during the 2015 contract struggle when the United Auto Workers sent goons to physically remove White and another WSWS reporter from a press conference called by UAW Vice President for Ford Jimmie Settles to force through a sell-out deal.

The UAWs attempt at censorship of the WSWS is being replicated at a much higher level by Google, which in April changed its search algorithm to make the WSWS disappear from political searches. For example, the search term UAW typed into Google today will not bring up one single article from the extensive coverage by WSWS reporters on the recent indictment of high-level officials of Fiat Chrysler and the UAW on corruption charges.

By contrast, just last March, before the new censorship protocol was implemented, the same search term would have produced several articles from the WSWS exposing corruption, pro-company policies and sexual misconduct on the part of the UAW on Googles first page of search results.

Many workers thanked the SEP supporters for distributing the Open Letter. I am glad you are out here, said a young female auto worker who had achieved entry level status at $21.50 per hour pay scale after several years on the job. Full seniority workers receive as much as $35 per hour and full benefits. She explained that the recent contract allowed the company to introduce additional pay scales below hers.

Independent contractors receive differing levels of reduced pay. Then there are TPT [temporary part time] workers who work part time for only three days a week and LTS [long term supplemental] workers who work a full week but at the reduced rate of $15.87 with cuts to both medical benefits and retirement pay.

If you werent out here, how would we know? she continued. We wouldnt. If the Internet shuts down, we wouldnt know anything. The union isnt going to tell us. I think what they are doing is terrible.

A part time contractor doing quality control said, The union has been part of the company for years. Im working two and three days a week making $17.50 an hour. A full-time worker with seniority doing the same job makes $35 per hour for 40 hours.

She was particularly angered by the massive bonuses and stock options handed out to top management. If they can give the CEO all those millions, she said, the workers should be entitled to some money.

Another worker said, This is a First Amendment issue. No matter who you are, its your right to publish your views without Google censoring you.

A third added, The Internet is supposed to be open. This isnt going to stand.

What Google is doing is not right. Its a matter of freedom of speech.

An SEP campaign team also collected signatures at the annual Labor Day parade in downtown Detroit on Monday.

A number of young, highly exploited, auto parts workers stopped to sign. One young worker told the WSWS, I dont like Google telling me what news I can read, as he signed the petition. He said he appreciated the fact that the WSWS was interested in reporting the conditions faced by young workers such as him and expressed interest in becoming a regular reader.

Many workers referred to the UAW corruption scandal. I am not surprised, said a Chrysler worker.

A General Motors worker from the Detroit-Hamtramck plant signed the petition. She indicated she appreciated the campaign waged by the WSWS Autoworker Newsletter against the layoffs last spring carried out at her facility.

Another SEP campaign team in downtown Detroit won support for the petition opposing Google censorship at the Detroit Jazz Festival. Among those signing was a young worker employed in the tech industry who said he was shocked to hear that Google was manipulating its search results. The internet is supposed to be a free forum of ideas, he said. I want to get your newsletter.
Gauri Lankesh, a 55-year old former Times of India journalist and the publisher/editor of a Kannada-language weekly named Gauri Lankesh Patrike, was assassinated Tuesday night as she was entering her home in Bengaluru (Bangalore). Two motorcycle-borne assailants, aided by a third who was waiting near her house, reportedly shot seven bullets at Lankesh, three of which struck her head, neck and chest.

Lankesh had used her publication to expose and denounce the Hindu right and its Hindutva ideology, which are the political bedrock of Indias BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) government led by the arch-communalist prime minister, Narendra Modi. She was also reportedly in the process of writing a series of articles exposing the corrupt nexus between big industrialists and Karnataka state politicians in the run up next years state assembly elections. Bengaluru is the capital of Karnataka, Indias eighth largest state.

Lankesh had become the target of seething hatred from powerful BJP politicians and Hindu communalist and fundamentalist groups. Two state BJP leaders had sued her in court for defamation over an article she had written in 2008 about their involvement in corruption. Last year, Gauri Lankesh was sentenced to six months in jail on these trumped-up charges, but was allowed to post bail pending an appeal in a higher court.

Lankeshs murder bears all the hallmarks of the Hindu extremist right. There has been a surge in Hindu right vigilantism and violence since Modi and his BJP came to power in 2014, exploiting mass disaffection with the Congress Party-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government and the Stalinists who propped up the UPA for its first four years in office.

That a journalist could be stalked and killed in such a cold-blooded manner has provoked widespread shock and revulsion. Hundreds of people took to the streets of Bengaluru and other Indian cities to demand justice for Gauri Lankesh and other targets of Hindu-supremacist groups.

Lankesh is the fourth victim of such a targeted assassination in the past four years.

On August 20, 2013, Dr. Narendra Dabholkara medical doctor and crusader against self-styled godmen, an endemic phenomenon in Indiawas shot dead during a morning walk in Pune, the second largest city in Maharashtra, Karnatakas neighbor state to the north. Dabholkar had played a leading role in the campaign for an anti-superstition bill banning various activities religious hucksters use to exploit popular superstition. Right-wing Hindu groups have denounced even the highly-watered down bill the Maharashtra Assembly passed in the aftermath of Dabholkars death as anti-Hindu.

Then on February 10, 2015, Communist Party of India (CPI) national executive member Govind Pansare and his wife were shot at close range by two men on a motorcycle when they were returning home from their morning walk. Pansare, who had come in the cross-hairs of Hindu-supremacist groups for being a strident opponent of the caste system, died from his gunshot wounds, but his wife survived. Pansares daughter, Smitha Pansare, has blamed the BJP and the RSSthe shadowy Hindu nationalist cultural organization from which Modi and much of the BJPs leading cadre have emergedand their relentless promotion of Hindu extremism and intolerance for her fathers death.

Six months later, on the morning of August 30, 2015, Dr. Malleshappa Kalburgi, a 76-year old retired professor and vice-chancellor of Karnatakas Hampi university, was shot dead by two assailants who came to his home posing as students. Kalburgi had been vehemently denounced by violent Hindu-supremacist groups such as the VHP (Vishwa Hindu Parishad or World Hindu Council) and the RSS, after having declared his opposition to idolatry during a June 2014 seminar in Bengaluru. He then recollected how as a curious child he had urinated on idols of various Hindu gods to see if it would elicit instant divine retribution.

The assassinations are widely recognized to be a product of the noxious communalist view of Indian society promoted by the RSS-led network of Hindu supremacist organizations which the BJP government has been promoting, including through the systematic naming of Hindu chauvinists to leading positions in educational, cultural, and scientific organizations.

Modi, a self-styled autocrat who gained notoriety as the chief instigator and enabler of the 2002 anti-Muslim pogrom in Gujarat, relies upon Hindu bigotry and bellicose nationalist appeals to rally popular support for his government and its unabashed pro-business agenda.

Earlier this year, Modi appointed Yogi Adityanath, a Hindu high-priest who commands his own Hindu communalist militia, as the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, Indias most populous state.

Since taking office, this retrograde, saffron-clad swami has used various pretexts to order the wholesale shutting down of slaughterhouses, putting large numbers of Muslim and Dalit laborers out of work. He has also threatened to book Muslims under the Gangster Act if they slaughter cow, buffalo, camel or ox during the Muslim Bakrid festival.

In the aftermath of Modis election, BJP state governments either adopted or began to more aggressively enforce anti-cow slaughter legislation. Emboldened by this, and sometimes with the active support of BJP politicians, the BJPs Hindu right allies intensified their anti-cow slaughter campaigns, setting up vigilante cow protection groups. Lynchings of poor Muslims and Dalits soon followed.

Only after months of public outcry did Modi make a pro forma statement condemning the violent attacks on villagers alleged to have eaten beef or to be engaged in cow-slaughter. Not only are beef and buffalo meat an important source of protein for many poor Indians, the leather-industry is a major source of employment.

Some have suggested that the primary motivation for Lankeshs murder could have been her impending expose of political-corporate corruption. But even if that was the case, BJP politicians through their ties to the RSS, have links with all sorts of extremist and criminal elements.

Many of Gauri Lankeshs friends and journalist colleagues have said there is much evidence pointing to the involvement of a Hindu extremist group named Sanatan Sanstha in her assassination. All the named suspects in the murders of Pansare and Dabholkar were linked to this organization. However, neither of these murders has been solved.

Indias police are notoriously incompetent and corrupt. But the Indian state has consistently failed to seriously investigate, arrest and convict those responsible for acts of Hindu communalist terror, whether it be the orchestrators of anti-Muslim riots or the killers of opponents of the Hindu right.

Last month, Indias Supreme Court ordered the release on bail of Lieutenant-Colonel Shrikant Purohit, an Indian Army intelligence officer accused of supplying the military-grade RDX explosive used in the 2007 Samjhauta Express train bombing, which killed 70 people, and bombings in 2008 in Malegaon and Modasa that killed 8 people.

These bombings were all initially blamed on Islamists, but subsequently authorities conceded they were the work of Hindu terrorists with ties to the military.

All this came out almost a decade ago, yet no one has been convicted in any of the bombings and all the alleged leaders have been released. In Purohits case, Indias highest court said there was a contradiction in the charges two different investigative agencies had filed against him.

One of the lead prosecutors in the Samjhauta-Malegaon case has said that she was instructed by higher-ups to go soft on these Hindu terrorists after the BJP came to power in 2014.

The discredited Congress Party and the Stalinist partiesthe CPI and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPMbear the primary politically responsibility for the rise of the Hindu right, which until the 1980s was a marginal player in Indian politics. The Stalinist parties have systematically suppressed the class struggle, including by propping up corrupt Congress governments that have connived with Hindu right (as in the Dec. 1992 razing of the Babri Masjid) and implemented socially incendiary neo-liberal reforms.

The rise of the BJP is the Indian expression of a global phenomenon whereby the crisis-ridden bourgeoisie is vomiting up social reaction and increasingly employing authoritarian methods of rule. Only through the development of a mass working class-led political movement for socialism uniting Indias toilers across caste, religious, and ethnic lines can the depredations of the BJP and its cohorts be defeated.
The Opportunities Party (TOP), founded by multi-millionaire businessman Gareth Morgan last November, has received significant promotion by the corporate media in the lead-up to the New Zealand election on September 23.

By presenting itself as anti-establishment, the party is seeking to exploit widespread discontent with the status quo, particularly among young people over the rise in social inequality and the high cost of housing. TOPs website states that it opposes policies that allow people to get rich at the expense of others or our environment. One of its slogans is Not left. Not right. But... what works.

This is a sham. In fact, TOP is seeking to channel opposition behind a right-wing, nationalist agenda aimed at boosting New Zealand capitalism at the expense of workers living standards.

Morgan is one of the richest people in the country. During the 1980s, just before the pro-business de-regulation of the 19841990 Labour Party government, he co-founded economic forecasting company Infometrics Limited, one of the largest businesses of its kind in the country.

In 1999, Morgan founded the investment company Gareth Morgan Investments, which he sold in 2012 to the state-owned Kiwibank for a sum estimated between $50 and $100 million. The Morgan Foundation was established to manage Morgans philanthropic activities, for which he is lauded in the media.

TOP is polling around 2 to 3 percent at this stage, below the 5 percent threshold needed to enter parliament.

There is widespread hostility to the National Party government and opposition Labour Party, which both support the program of austerity and militarism. The last two elections saw historically low voter turnouts with more than a million people abstaining, in a country of just 4.8 million.

While he tries to posture as an outsider, Morgan has stated that he could work with either of the major big business parties. On August 24, he told Newstalk ZB he expected the recently elevated Labour leader Jacinda Ardern to be the next Prime Minister and I think thats fantastic for New Zealand.

So far, TOP has made no statement on the most pressing issue facing the working class: the immense danger of nuclear war. In response to Trumps aggressive and reckless threats against North Korea, both Labour and National have publicly signalled the possibility of joining a US-led war.

Like the major parties, TOP supports New Zealands de facto military and intelligence alliance with the US and increasingly aggressive stance against China. Writing on his foundations website on July 1, 2015, Morgan endorsed the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, promoted by the Obama administration to establish a US-dominated trade and investment bloc to counter China.

Morgan approvingly quoted Obamas statement that if we dont write the rules, China will write the rules in Asia and declared it a no-brainer that New Zealand should align with the US against non-democratic China. He endorsed the US military steps such as beefing up its presence in Asia to counter Chinese expansionism in the South China Sea.

Trumps administration has scrapped the TPP and is instead threatening trade war, while increasing the US military build-up against China and North Korea.

TOP has also joined the established parties in stoking anti-immigrant xenophobia as a means of diverting acute divert social tensions. It calls for a 30 percent cut in immigration and attacks the government for allowing desperate economic refugees from India and China to study and work in New Zealand. It also advocates tougher immigration measures, including more stringent English language criteria, to require migrants to work in NZ for five years (up from two) to qualify for Permanent Residency and 25 years for pensions (up from 10).

The Labour Party, the right-wing populist NZ First and the Maori nationalist Mana Party advocate similar policies. They have scapegoated Chinese people in particular for the housing crisis, low wages, drugs and other social problemsa campaign that is also bound up with further integrating New Zealand into the US preparations for war with China.

TOPs economic and social policies are not aimed at reducing inequality, but further enriching New Zealand capitalists.

One of TOPs billboards misleadingly states: Rich pricks should pay more tax, including me, i.e. Morgan. The partys tax policy actually says New Zealand companies are bearing an unfair and unsustainable tax load and should get relief.

While lowering corporate tax by an unspecified amount, TOP would impose an assets tax, which it claims would be paid by the rich. In fact, the tax would not just apply to investment properties, but indiscriminately to every house, which would be regarded as a productive asset and taxed on its estimated annual rent. The partys website asserts that home owners should be taxed on the benefit of free accommodation, even if they receive no rent or capital gains on their home.

TOP claims that the tax would address the countrys speculative housing bubble by diverting investment from property to other economic activities. In March, the Economist wrote that New Zealands largest city, Auckland, was among the least affordable housing in the world, with modest homes frequently selling for over $1 million.

TOPs housing policies would only make the crisis worse. It does not propose any cap on rents, meaning landlords could pass on the extra tax to tenants. At the same time, many home owner-occupiers would have to take on debt to pay the tax. Retired people would have the tax deducted from the sale of their house after they die.

In addition, TOP calls for the privatisation of the countrys entire public housing stock, saying it should be gifted to not-for-profit organisations. Far from increasing the stock of affordable housing, this would end any responsibility by the state to house the poorest people in society.

Another central TOP policy is its call for a so-called unconditional basic income (UBI) of $200 a week, which it cynically portrays as a form of wealth redistribution that would help to alleviate poverty.

In fact, the UBI would initially be available only to families with children under three years old. It would be funded, not by taxing the rich, but by cutting pensions through means testing. A single retired person is currently entitled to a maximum of just $390 a week, which TOP says is just too high. Speaking to Radio LIVE on March 28, Morgan said approximately half of pensioners should have their payments cut in half.

TOP states that it eventually wants a UBI for all adults. It would be funded by eliminating or drastically reducing existing targeted welfare payments, most of which (invalid benefits, pensions and unemployment benefits plus accommodation supplements) are higher than the UBI.

The UBI is so low that nobody could realistically survive on it. The average rent in Auckland or Wellington is over $500 a week, more than twice the level of the UBI, and single rooms are rented at around $200 or higher.

If TOP gains seats in the next parliament, far from narrowing the gulf between rich and poor, it will use its numbers to assist in deepening the assault on the working class. The fraud that TOP is anti-establishment is being promoted by the corporate media, as well as the trade union funded Daily Blog, as another political safety value to prop up a parliamentary system which is already under severe stress.

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The catastrophic impact of Hurricane Harvey in southeast Texas and the unfolding disaster of Hurricane Irma in south Florida are ruthlessly objective tests of the ability of Americas ruling elite to manage the affairs of society. By any reasonable standard, the capitalist class has failed, and failed miserably.

Two weeks after the Texas Gulf Coast was devastated by Harvey, millions of people are seeking to rebuild their lives with minimal social assistance. Hundreds of thousands of homes were damaged or destroyed, one million cars rendered inoperable, countless schools and other public facilities flooded and likely ruined beyond repair. At least twenty-two people are missing, most now presumed dead, on top of the more than 70 deaths officially acknowledged.

To address the costliest natural disaster in American historyat least until the toll of Hurricane Irma is talliedwith damage estimates approaching $200 billion, the Trump administration and Congress have approved a derisory $15 billion in federal assistance, ratified by the House of Representatives Friday.

The bulk of this money goes to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which doles out funds limited to $30,000 per family, through a nearly impenetrable bureaucratic process in which the victims of the storm will be treated like criminals or con-men. Other funding is routed through the Small Business Administration, in the form of loans that those driven from their homes by the hurricane will be hard-pressed to repay.

Hurricane Irma is even more powerful than Harvey. The storm has already laid waste to several of the Lesser Antilles and to the Turks and Caicos Islands, as well as battering Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Cuba. Irma began passing the Bahamas on Friday and is scheduled to make landfall somewhere in south Florida on Sunday afternoon.

Hurricane Irma is the most powerful storm ever recorded on this planet, with the most accumulated cyclone energy, one measure of overall intensity. It has sustained maximum wind speeds of at least 180 miles per hour for 37 hours, longer than any previous storm. Its size is vast: twice the extent of Hurricane Andrew, which devastated south Florida in 1992. The storm is so large that it is wider than the Florida peninsula itself, raising the possibility of simultaneous storm surges on both the Gulf Coast and the Atlantic Coast, an unheard-of phenomenon.

A lethal threat faces one of the most densely populated areas in the United States. But the response of local, state and federal officials has been to tell the potential victims of Irma: Youre on your own. This was the theme of several press conferences and briefings on Friday, as government officials told some six million people in south Florida to leave the region if possible, or else go to hurricane shelters.

These shelters are entirely inadequatesome sizeable cities, like Ft. Myers on the Gulf coast, have none. They are unavailable to many poor and working-class residents. The Coalition for Racial Justice complained that Miami-Dades shelters are open only in wealthy areas, a more than 30-minute drive from the citys poorer neighborhoods.

Mandatory evacuations have been ordered for the Florida Keys, for Miami Beach and much of Miami-Dade, the states largest metropolitan area, as well as portions of Broward and Palm Beach counties and much of the southwestern corner of the state as well. Combined, they are the largest mandatory evacuation in US history, leaving all highways north completely jammed with traffic. Most gas stations have run out of supplies, leaving many residents stranded in their cars as the hurricane approaches.

The most basic measures to ensure that people can leave have not been taken, such as a mass coordination of free rail, bus and airplane transportation. Many of those leaving have no idea where they will stay, as hundreds of thousands attempt to find accommodations on the route north. Many are stuck at the airport, with no open flights and all shelters filled.

The Trump administration prepared for the one-two punch of Harvey and Irma by proposing to slash spending on FEMA and other relief and disaster management agencies, to say nothing of its war against climate science, waged on behalf of the oil, gas and coal producers and other big industrial polluters.

Even the succession of hurricaneswith Jose and Katia lined up to follow Harvey and Irma, four giant storms in only three weeks, fueled by ocean waters now at an unprecedented temperature of 90 degrees Fahrenheithas not produced any rethinking by the know-nothings of the Trump administration. The unending stream of disasters proves the reality of climate changeto which one must add the fires raging on the US West Coast and the floods that have devastated South Asiademonstrating the inability of the ruling classes of all countries to take any serious measures to address the growing threat.

EPA administrator Scott Pruitt, a notorious global warming denier, denounced any discussion of climate change as very, very insensitive to the people of Florida. To have any kind of focus on the cause and effect of the storm, versus helping people, or actually facing the effect of the storm, is misplaced, he argued.

By the same logic, any discussion of plate tectonics or seismic faults should be banned during an earthquake, nor should there be any analysis of El Nino wind effects during wildfire season. Nuclear physics would be off-limits during a reactor meltdown. And, we might add, there could be no discussion of the economic laws of capitalism during a meltdown of the financial markets.

There is a distinct class content to this rejection of science, or, indeed, any serious thought. The US ruling elite, at every level, refused to plan seriously for natural disasters which were both predictable and inevitable. Once the disasters unfolded, the representatives of big business could barely conceal their indifference and annoyance at the plight of what one of Trumps real estate colleagues, Leona Helmsley, sneered at as the little people.

Natural disasters have a way of exposing social and political reality. The Great Lisbon Earthquake of 1755, which destroyed much of the Portuguese city, was a significant event in the development of Enlightenment thought in Europe, in the decades that preceded the French Revolution. It was proof, Voltaire noted in his Candide, of the absurdity of the claim of the philosopher Leibniz that all is for the best in the best of all possible worlds.

Who could follow Leibniz in making such an argument today? American and world capitalism is rotten to the core. The ruling class presides over unprecedented social inequality and unending war, in which immense resources are dedicated to greed and plunder, but the most basic requirements of modern society go unmet and ignored.

Such a society is ripe, indeed overripe, for revolution. The task is to fight unceasingly to develop the political consciousness of the working class, so that it can fulfill its historical mission to become the ruling and directing force.
The public inquiry into the Grenfell Tower inferno, called by Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May, will begin its deliberations with a preliminary hearing on September 14. Its findings are not due to be published until next Easter, fully 10 months after the fire took place.

The Socialist Equality Party has consistently warned that the inquiry is a fraudaimed at covering up for those responsible for the economic, social and political decisions that led to at least 80 people perishing terribly.

Even today, the full number of those killed has not been confirmed, such is the contempt of the ruling elite for the working class residents who suffered. Not a single person has been arrested, or even questioned under caution. This is despite it being a matter of public record that the fire was the result of the decision made by Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation and its contractors to use combustible cladding, during the tower block's refurbishment, to save money. Grenfell Tower residents who warned of the dangers of an impending catastrophe were silenced and threatened with legal action.

The fate of those who died in Grenfell was sealed by the implementation of austerity measures that further compromised safety, including the closure of 10 fire stations and the loss of 600 firefighters jobs by then London Mayor Boris Johnson, all of which left firefighting measures woefully inadequate.

While the inquirys appointed chairman, Sir Martin-Moore Bick, has been engaged in a fraudulent consultation with survivors and local residents, the reality is that most of the survivors remain in temporary accommodation, with inadequate support. Some 20 survivors are estimated to have tried to commit suicide since the fire, as a result of their trauma and the continued indifference to their suffering.

The inquiry has no intention of achieving real justice for the victims of Grenfellnor remedying the dangers faced by thousands of other tenants across the country, who live in tower blocks clad in the same inflammable materials.

Its terms are restricted to the immediate cause or causes of the fire and the means by which it spread to the whole of the building. While it is meant to consider the adequacy of regulations relating to high-rise buildings, and the actions of the local authority and the London fire brigade, no one can expect anything but a whitewash.

The inquiry was called under the 2005 Inquiries Act, which states, An inquiry panel is not to rule on, and has no power to determine, any persons civil or criminal liability.

Critically, it will not consider broader issues of social housing policy, i.e., of the social cleansing policies of successive Conservative and Labour governments over the last three decades that played a significant role in the inferno.

Moore-Bick recommended that any issues of a social, economic and political nature, should be barred from the inquiry, which May was only too happy to accept.

A former judge, Moore-Bick is notorious for ruling in 2014 that Westminster councilthe equally wealthy neighbouring borough to Kensington & Chelseacould rehouse an ill single mother of five more than 50 miles away in Milton Keynes.

Many local residents have rightly denounced the inquiry as a cover-up. But May is only able to proceed with this criminal farce due to the support of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and the trade unions, including the Fire Brigades Union.

Corbyn endorsed the inquiry from the beginning, with the sole caveat that it be held in two parts. In a letter to May, he wrote, It is ... a relief that the inquiry is now up and running, and that survivors are one step closer to the answers they so desperately need.

While calling on May to immediately set out a clear, independent and thorough process for identifying and addressing the broader failings that led to the Grenfell fire, Corbyn added, This process should work closely with Sir Martin Moore-Bicks inquiry where appropriate...

The various proponents of identity politics are also supporting the inquiry, as a means of concealing the essential class divide that it laid bare.

A critical role in this is being played by BME (Black Minority Ethnic) Lawyers4Grenfell, an umbrella group that includes, among others, the Association of Muslim Lawyers, the Society of Black Lawyers, Operation Black Vote, NHS BME Network and Society of Asian Lawyers.

In a BMELawyers4Grenfell press release, Peter Herbert, Chair of the Society of Black Lawyers, stated that Moore-Bick has little or no personal or professional insight into the cultural, religious, and ethnic diversity represented by the Grenfell community.

A letter addressed to May and Moore-Bick from a law firm representing the family of one of the victims of the fire, Hesham Rahman, states in part, It is important that there is trust and confidence in the inquiry by the bereaved families, survivors and affected local residents, otherwise this could undermine the inquiry, its findings and any recommendations. 

It adds, Given the concerns already expressed  we are sure that you would wish to avoid any further criticisms [so] we ask that you appoint panel members who have the ability to reflect the diverse multi-faith community who will make up the majority of the core participants for the inquiry.

Herbert welcomed this letter, stating that it stressed the the importance of ensuring trust and confidence in the Inquiry in order to achieve justice (emphasis added).

The fraudulent character of the inquiry is not fundamentally the result of the racial or religious make-up of its panel, which can be remedied by greater diversity. It is a fraud because it has been convened, and will be overseen and directed, by the very capitalist state apparatus and its political representatives that are responsible for turning Grenfell Tower into a death trap.

Time and again, official inquiries and inquestslasting decades in some instanceshave been utilised by the British ruling elite to conceal the truth of events that have resulted in massive loss of life, including those after the Aberfan and Hillsborough disasters.

No faith can be placed in the government inquiry or the police investigation. Workers must demand that all those guilty of the social murder at Grenfell are immediately arrested, charged and put on trial.

In the coming weeks and months, the WSWS will dissect the inquiry and expose its lies and evasions. The work of political exposure is an essential part of mobilising workers and youth independently of the political establishment to secure genuine justice for all those affected. This must include full and immediate compensation; permanent, decent rehousing in the borough, and an emergency programme of public works nationallyfunded out of the ill-gotten gains of the banks and super-richto ensure all social housing meets the needs of working people, not private profit.

The Socialist Equality Party is holding the first in a series of regular meetings on the Grenfell Tower fire on September 30 at the Maxilla Hall Social Club in North Kensington. The first meeting will discuss the issues addressed in this article. Full details are below.

Saturday, September 30, 2 p.m.

Maxilla Hall Social Club

2 Maxilla Walk

London, W10 6NQ (nearest tubeLatimer Road)

The author also recommends:

Socialist Equality Party holds public meeting on Grenfell fire in London

[21 August 2017]

Closing remarks by Socialist Equality Party National Secretary Chris Marsden

[26 August 2017]
Following a rally at Torontos Pearson International Airport by around 250 striking Swissport ground crew on Sunday, the Greater Toronto Airport Authority (GTAA) has intensified its strikebreaking efforts by imposing a series of injunctions on the workers. Strikers told the World Socialist Web Site that they have been prevented from protesting at one of the terminals and denied the right to display their strike badges in the terminal. A striker also pointed out that the union is doing nothing to challenge these flagrantly anti-democratic restrictions.

Workers at Swissport, one of the worlds largest airline service providers, have been on strike for over a month in opposition to the companys attempts to further slash their already inadequate wages and gut working conditions. The GTAA, which is owned by the Canadian government, has done everything in its power to assist Swissport to break the strike, including by facilitating the employment of untrained strikebreakers, which has resulted in countless safety breaches.

A striking baggage handler told the WSWS that workers from Teamsters Local 419 and their supporters gathered at Terminal 3 Sunday afternoon before proceeding to the on-ramp at Terminal 1. We just shut that whole terminal down so there was no traffic for the traveling public for about 15 to 20 minutes, he explained. A rally was held at Terminal 1, before the protesters began a march back to Terminal 3. We kept going to the on-ramp and stopped traffic again for about two hours and it was forced to go back to the 401 [highway], he added.

The worker reported significant support from travelers entering the airport, in spite of the disruption. They tell us not to give up, keep going, keep fighting - words of encouragement, he said. Even police at the scene acknowledged that workers were within their rights to stop traffic.

But the company and GTAA saw it differently. We now have several injunctions because of that action, the worker continued. We cant rally at Terminal 1 and 3 anymore. Were not allowed to have our on strike card that we carry around our neck. We cant show that in the terminals.

In keeping with the Teamsters efforts to isolate the strike and run it into the ground, the worker reported that union leaders have done nothing to fight the injunctions. Instead, they have simply informed workers that these are the new rules that must be followed. Representatives from other unions, including Unifor and CUPE, have restricted themselves to purely verbal declarations of solidarity with workers and token gestures, and refused to call on their own members to join the struggle.

The GTAA has also cracked down on the length of time strikers can hold up vehicles. We used to be able to hold cars for 15 to 30 minutes but now any car that joins the line cant be held for more than five minutes, the worker continued. The GTAA is the one who imposed the injunctions on us, its them that make the rules and we have to follow them. Its kind of a one-way street right now. Swissport makes the rules and we have to follow them, but Swissport can break almost every rule and face no consequences.

Swissports open strikebreaking continues, with the worker reporting that all 700 strikers received a Fedex-delivered letter to their home addresses appealing to them to cross picket lines.

The GTAA, which is no doubt expecting that the Liberal government will enforce back to work legislation if the injunctions prove insufficient, is turning a blind eye to the mess that is going on inside the airport, he added. Bags are being sent on planes without passengers, which is illegal, safety checks are not being carried out on scabs, and some baggage is being left behind.

The experiences of Swissport workers are typical of what strikers have gone through over recent years across Canada, where the right to strike has been severely curtailed. Successive federal governments have repeatedly adopted strike-breaking legislation, including in 2012 when Air Canada machinists, ground crew and pilots were prevented from taking strike action by government legislation as the unions capitulated without a fight. The Canadian Foundation for Labour Rights reported that successive federal governments have imposed 19 pieces of back to work legislation over the past three decades, while provincial governments have adopted 71.

The role of the union bureaucracy in systematically smothering the class struggle, thus enabling the government and employer-led offensive over the past three decades to proceed virtually unopposed, has been critical.

The Teamsters union is offering no way forward for the strike and hopes that strikers will be worn down and forced to accept the companys concessions. The last article on the Teamsters website reporting on the strike over two weeks ago noted that the strikers had voted down Swissports second offer, which was virtually identical to the first concessions-laden contract proposal. The Teamsters made no attempt to explain why it forced its members to vote on such a rotten agreement twice within less than a month, especially since it was opposed by a 95 percent margin in the first vote.

The article concluded by boasting that the Teamsters represent[s] 125,000 members in Canada in all industries. A more damning indictment of the union would be hard to produce, given that the Teamsters has not issued a single serious appeal for solidarity from its membership, let alone organized solidarity strikes among other sections of workers.

Instead, it has spent its time cozying up to the big business Liberal government, as shown by a joint statement by Teamsters Canada President Francois Laporte and Teamsters General President James Hoffa on the ongoing North American Free Trade Agreement talks. The pair declared that they applaud the Canadian delegation for its attempt to include a chapter on labour in the deal, and commend Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland and her team for their ambition.

The unions policy of confining workers protests to isolated local actions, while encouraging hostility to workers overseas and promoting Canadian nationalism, is all the more criminal given that Swissport operates on a global scale. The striking ground crew workers can only be successful if they broaden their struggle by appealing to airline workers across Canada and internationally to join them in a fight for decent-paying and secure jobs.

As the strike in Toronto continues into its sixth week, Swissport workers at Belfast International Airport in Northern Ireland began a strike ballot yesterday over the dismissal of a union representative. Swissport management, acting in a manner similar to their efforts to break the strike in Toronto, reportedly dismissed the steward after systematically treating him differently from his colleagues because of his union activities.

The strike by baggage handlers and other ground crew in Toronto can only be successful if the workers take control of the job action out of the hands of the union bureaucrats. This requires the formation of action committees in opposition to the trade union apparatus, controlled by the rank-and-file and including the most militant workers, to conduct and broaden the strike. Such committees should draw up a list of demands, which should include an end to all strike-breaking efforts, the removal of any injunctions against the 700 striking workers, a double-digit pay increase to compensate for the years of low-wage labour, the guaranteeing of full benefits for all Swissport workers, and a ban on the use of job agencies.

Above all, workers must issue an appeal to their colleagues both on the ground and in the cabin at Pearson, airports across Canada and around the world, all of whom confront the same drive by airlines and their service providers to slash labour costs so as to boost profits for their billionaire shareholders. This poses the need for a political struggle to break the stranglehold of the financial elite over social life and establish a society in which the needs of the vast majority are given priority over the profit desires of a tiny few. To take this fight forward, workers must take up the struggle for a workers government committed to socialist policies.
United Airlines will face no punishment from the US government for the brutal removal of a passenger from a flight in April.

The man, 69-year-old Dr. David Dao, had been beaten and dragged from his seat by Chicago Department of Aviation police at OHare International Airport on April 9. After passengers had boarded the plane and taken their seats, United demanded four passengers voluntarily give up their spots to make room for flight crew. When none did so, four were chosen by a computer program and involuntarily bumped from the flight, with the selection reported to have been based on factors such as the price passengers paid for the seat.

Three of those chosen agreed to disembark in return for financial reimbursement, while Dao refused, stating that he had patients to see in Kentucky the next day. Airport police were then called on board, who proceeded to wrench Dao from his seat, fling him into a hard armrest, and drag him, semi-conscious, up the aisle.

Smartphone video of the event recorded by dismayed fellow passengers was viewed by tens of millions on social media, provoking widespread outrage. The event cast a light on the airlines frequent practice of involuntary denied bookings, in which passengers are forced from flights for which they have paid tickets, either because the airline has oversold seats or because they wish to make room for flight crew or VIPs.

In the end, Dao suffered a broken nose, lost teeth, and a concussion. Following an initial insincere apology, United CEO Oscar Munoz provoked further indignation online when a leaked email to employees showed him attacking Dao as disruptive and belligerent. United later quietly reached a settlement with him for an unknown sum, before he filed a lawsuit.

Last week, a letter was published from the US Department of Transportation (DOT) to United Airlines stating that a DOT investigation had been concluded and that no enforcement action was warranted at this time. The letter, dated May 12, was only released due to the efforts of Flyer Rights, an airline passenger advocacy group, which filed a Freedom of Information Act request.

For the Department of Transportation to conclude that United Airlines conduct did not warrant an enforcement action is a dereliction of duty, said Paul Hudson, Flyer Rights president.

The letter, one and a half pages long, gives every indication that the investigation was nothing more than a formality, with the outcome preordained.

It states that the DOT investigation nominally examined only whether United complied with the departments overbooking rules and federal anti-discrimination statutes, but not the actions of the airport police who dragged Dao from the plane, saying it was not DOTs role to investigate police conduct.

The letter dubiously refers to the passengers selected by United to be removed from the plane as having been involuntarily denied boarding. However, passengers had already boarded the plane and taken their seats by the point at which United began demanding they give up their spots.

Several air law experts have previously questioned whether Uniteds actions were legal even under the permissive DOT rules governing overbooking. A professor at George Washington University Law School, John Banzhaf, told the Philadelphia Inquirer in April that United was citing the wrong federal rule to justify its illegal request to force a passenger already boarded and seated to disembark.

The sole findings of the DOT investigation were that United complied with some, but not all, of the requirements of the Departments oversales rule. The violations included the fact that United failed to compensate one of the passengers the correct amount for being denied boarding (it is unclear whether this passenger was Dao), and that Dao and his wife were not given a written copy of the oversales notice. In the bureaucratic wording of the letter, this was due to Dr. Dao and his wife needing to leave the airport to seek medical care for Dr. Dao.

Additionally, the letter states that investigators found no evidence that Dao or the other passengers bumped from the flight were discriminated against on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, or ancestry.

The letter concludes by stating that the DOT only enforces discipline when a pattern or practice of noncompliance with the Departments consumer protection regulations and Federal anti-discrimination statutes is found, or when there is one or a few instances of egregious conduct. Daos horrific treatment, which Flyer Rights Hudson rightly called egregious in every sense of the word, apparently did not rise to this level in the eyes of the DOT.

A separate investigation by the Chicago Aviation Department, which oversees the security personnel who dragged Dao from the plane, concluded in July and resulted in a reshuffling of responsibilities among airport security and the Chicago Police Department (CPD), which, if anything, will only set the stage for escalated abuse and violence against air travelers.

City Aviation Department officers were stripped of their ability to refer to themselves or wear uniforms designating them as police and were ostensibly circumscribed in their ability to board planes. Instead, cops from CPDnotorious as one of the most murderous and violent police departments in the countrywill now be the first to respond to on-board disturbances.

While new Aviation Department rules are touted as limiting the instances in which police or aviation security can board a plane to instances in which there is an immediate medical issue or imminent physical threat on board with great bodily harm at risk, the language is broad enough to be meaningless in practice.

The failure of United to face any serious repercussions from the brutalization of Dao once again demonstrates that the state regulatory organizations nominally tasked with overseeing these gigantic monopolies in fact function primarily to whitewash such incidents of corporate malfeasance and criminality when they become public knowledge, letting the perpetrators get off scot-free.

Daos vicious treatment is itself the outcome of intersecting historical processes: the desperate struggle for profits by a dwindling number of giant airline companies; the militarization of airport security under the bogus pretext of the war on terror; and the bipartisan deregulation of the airline industry, going back at least to the administration of President Jimmy Carter, a Democrat, in the 1970s.

Such events, along with increasingly unsafe flying conditions, will only recur in frequency and severity, as President Trump has pledged to shred the remainder of burdensome government regulations and proposed privatizing the air traffic control system.

Despite the PR fallout from the scandal, Uniteds large shareholders and investors have continued to rake in the money. The company reported $818 million in profit in the period from April through June, an increase of 39 percent over the same period last year.

The author also recommends:

The United Airlines beating of David Dao and the case for public ownership of the airline industry

[12 April 2017]
LEON COUNTY, Fla. (WTXL) - The Leon County Sheriff's Office responded to a stabbing around 4:05 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 6 on Cathedral Drive.

After arriving on scene, deputies found the victim slumped over at the residence. The victim was then transported to TMH for medical assistance.

According to the report, the victim only spoke Spanish and did not understand much English. A deputy went to the hospital to translate the interview.

He told the deputy that he worked construction and was waiting for a ride to work around 3 a.m. While he waited for his ride, the victim would periodically open the door and look outside for his ride. He noticed a black male sitting on the porch across the street watching him. When the victim opened the door, the black male finally spoke to him.

When the victim opened the door another time, the black male stated something in English, but he did not understand. The black male then forced the door open and began stabbing him with a large knife.

The black male also stole 30 dollars from the victim's wallet.

The victim was able to identify, the suspect, Chaka Warren, in a photo line up.

Warren is facing the following charges:

Attempted/homicide-wilful kill murder while engaged in certain felony offense

Burglary dwelling structure or conveyance armed

Warren was taken into custody without incident. He was transported to the Leon County Jail.
LEON COUNTY, Fla. (WTXL) - Shelters are popping up all across North Florida, as evacuees continue to pour in from the south.

In Leon County, the Capital Area Chapter of the American Red Cross and Leon County, opening an evacuee shelter at Northwoods Baptist Church.

The church opened up for people around 9 a.m. on Friday.

Bryce Anthony, from Pinellas County, says the travel up to Tallahassee was not easy, but he was 100 percent clear with his survival plan.

"Had extra gas cans, got up here no problem," said Anthony. "There was limited gas supplies all the way up. Limited hotel, Air BNB, places to reside. We actually stayed in the Walmart parking lot last night in the truck."

Officials say the shelter at Northwoods Baptist Church is also pet friendly.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - The Capital Area Chapter of the American Red Cross is getting an army of volunteers ready to help out with Hurricane Irma.

Several classes were held Saturday to show people how to handle the severe weather heading toward them. Volunteers learned about topics like damage assessment and shelter fundamentals. These are skills the volunteers can use to help their neighbors and local communities before, during, and after a storm hits.

If you missed the training sessions, you can still learn more about helping after a storm and even sign up to become a Red Cross Disaster Volunteer by clicking here.
For the first time since 2014, the Washington National Guard has been deployed to Kittitas C
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The public transportation company Egged stopped its activity in the Bat Ayin settlement in Gush Etzion after an Arab driver working for the company was attacked and threatened by several settlers while on his route near the community.

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According to suspicions, on Thursday night, at around midnight, two masked youths hailed the driver to stop, asking him where he is headed. When he replied that he was on his way to Jerusalem, one of the youths immediately drew a pistol.

The driver made a hasty escape, as the youths, now left behind, threw stones at the passenger bus.

An Egged passenger bus (Photo: Zohar Shahar)

The incident was reported to Egged and, in consultation with an officer the head of transportation at the Civil Administration, it was decided to stop the buses from entering the community until further notice.

"Following a serious attack in Bat Ayin, a transportation officer in Judea and Samaria instructed us not to enter the Bat Ayin settlement, and therefore the Egged Transport lines will begin and end their route in Kfar Etzion," Egged said in response.

The Judea and Samaria District Police said that they are treating the incident with utmost severity, and that an investigation was opened following the complaint.

Two weeks ago, SJ District detectives carried out a sting operation and arrested several youths on suspicion of attacking Arab drivers. The suspects were brought to court and their lawyers claimed that they were beaten by the police during their arrest.

They were released under restrictive conditions and in the coming week one of them will be indicted.
"Tzachi, I told them everything. You tell them, as well," said Miki Ganor, a representative of shipbuilding company Thyssenkrupp and recently turned state witness, to Tzachi Lieber, a media advisor who was recently arrested in connection to corruption allegations involving the IDF's purchase of three submarines from Thyssenkrupp. Ganor spoke to Lieber as part of their first confrontation on Friday, after Lieber stopped cooperating with his investigators.

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The submarine affair, also known as "Case 3,000," involves allegations of bribery, money laundering and fraud, in an effort to secure a tender to supply the Israeli Navy with the submarines.

L to R: Lieber, Ganor (Photo: Orel Coen)

Lieber already admitted on Wednesday to transferring money from Ganor to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's former chief of staff, David Sharan, who has been named as a suspect in the affair. However, Lieber later stopped speaking to his investigators on matters relating to the affair.

Netanyahu (Photo: Mark Israel Salem)

Ganor's plea that Lieber continue cooperating did not sway Lieber, who would not interact with Ganor during the confrontation. Prior to the investigation into the submarine affair, the two were considered to be good friends.

Sharan (Photo: Motti Kimchi)

Several high-profile individuals have already been questioned in connection to the ongoing investigation, among them Netanyahu's personal lawyer and cousin David Shimron, who also represented Thyssenkrupp's interests in Israel. Lieber and another advisor named Nati Mor remain in custody after being arrested on suspicion of delivering bribe money from Ganor and to Sharan.

Shimron (Photo: Yuval Chen)

Specifically, Lieber is suspected of signing fictitious agreements with Ganor from which Lieber received funds, which were later delivered by hand to Sharan. Ganor has already referred investigators to a wire transfer he carried out that delivered money into Lieber's bank account.

Mor

Ya'alon (Photo: Motti Kimchi)

Speaking on his behalf in court, Lieber's attorneys admitted on Wednesday that Lieber had indeed physically transferred money from Ganor to Sharan. "He (Sharaned) turned to him (Lieber) and said, 'Go to Ganor and bring (Sharan) the money,'" his lawyers stated. Despite this, they claimed that Lieber's alleged "being a central culprit is quite a different story," and that their client did not know about the direct, possibly illicit communications between Ganor and Sharan.

Former defense minister Moshe Ya'alon was also called in for questioning in the submarine affair, during which he implicated Netanyahu directly. "I personally blocked the submarine deal when I was defense minister, and the deal was renewed only after I left the ministry , Ya'alon later told the press.

The police are expected to carry out another round of arrests from the political sphere in the upcoming week, in addition to calling on National Infrastructure, Energy and Water Resources Minister Yuval Steinitz to come in for questioning. Rami Tayeb, a political advisor to Steinitz, has already been questioned in connection with the submarine corruption affair on Monday. Tayeb is suspected of bribery, conspiring to commit a crime and money laundering.
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum stated it is horrified by the ongoing attacks on Rohingya civilians and is calling on Myamar's government to cease its military operations.

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Cameron Hudson, director of the museum's Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide, said that "government efforts to deny Rohingya citizenship rights, restrict their freedom of movement and the practice of their faith, and deny their basic human rights have all been identified as leading precursors to a genocide."

A Rohingya man escaping persecution (Photo: Reuters)

In 2012, the museum awarded Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi the Elie Wiesel Award, its highest honor. Now, it says the ideals that she inspired "appear absent" in the defense of Rohingya.

Suu Kyi (Photo: MCT)

The museum stated it implores Suu Kyi to use her position in government and her "even more powerful voice to uphold those very ideals and work to stop the longstanding persecution and violence that threaten the very existence of Rohingya in Burma."

Meanwhile, the United Nations has reported that the it along with its partners plan to provide up to 300,000 Rohingya Muslims fleeing from Myanmar to Bangladesh with food, shelter, water, health care and other services until the end of the year.

Rohingya refugees (Photo: Reuters)

UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters at UN headquarters on Friday that while many of the 270,000 Rohingyas who have fled violence in Rakhine state in the past two weeks initially arrived in Bangladesh by land, more are now making the journey by boat.

Dujarric said five UN agencies have teams in Cox's Bazar where the Rohingyas are arriving and the $7 million released from the UN emergency fund will allow the UN and its partners to those in desperate need of aid.

Photo: AFP

Dujarric added that Secretary-General Antonio Guterres spoke to Myanmar's leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Wednesday and delivered the same message to her that he said publicly.

Gutteres told reporters Tuesday the government must end the "vicious cycle of violence" and immediately reverse its longstanding policy and give Rohingya Muslims either nationality or legal status so they can lead normal lives and freely move, find jobs, and get an education.
The National Hurricane Center reported that Hurricane Irma has weakened slightly to a Category 4 hurricane, as it moves over the Camaguey Archipelago of Cuba. Irma is threatening to push its way northward from one end of Florida to the other beginning of Sunday morning, spurring government officials to urge Floridians to flee its expected path.

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Irma had briefly regained Category 5 strength late Friday, but now has maximum sustained winds of 155 mph (249 kph). Irma is about 245 miles (394 kilometers) from Miami and moving about 12 mph (19.3 kph) toward the west-northwest.

Hurricane Irma's route in the Atlantic (: )

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Hurricane Irma slams into Cuba (Photo: AP)

5.6 million people have been asked to evacuate Florida ahead of Hurricane Irma.





Path of destruction in Cuba (Photo: AP)





Photo: AP

"We are running out of time. If you are in an evacuation zone, you need to go now. This is a catastrophic storm like our state has never seen," Florida Governor Rick Scott told reporters. "If you're still in the Keys, get out now. We will quickly run out of good weather to evacuate." He warned that once the storm hits, rescue teams will have no way to help stranded civilians.

Pres. Trump addresses Americans over storm

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Frantic shoppers prepare for Irma in Florida (Photo: AP)





Photo: Reuters





Photo: EPA

US President Donald Trump said in a videotaped statement that Irma was "a storm of absolutely historic destructive potential" and called on people to heed recommendations from government officials and law enforcement. In Palm Beach, Trumps waterfront Mar-a-Lago estate was ordered evacuated.

Irma destroy St. Maarten ()

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House remains in St. Barts (Photo: AFP/Quentin Liou)

Overturned car in St. Maarten (Photo: AFP)





Destruction in the Dominican Republic (Photo: Reuters)

Irma regained Category 5 status late Friday. Thousands of people in the Caribbean fought desperately to find shelter or escape their storm-blasted islands, and more than 6 million people in Florida and Georgia were warned to leave their homes.

Florida residents evacuate ahead of storm ()

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Irma hits Cuba (Photo: AP)

Photo: AP

Amid the exodus, nearly one-third of all gas stations in Floridas metropolitan areas were out of gasoline, with scattered outages in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina, according to Gasbuddy.com, a retail fuel price tracking service.





Haitians grapple with storm (Photo: AFP)

Irma in Cuba (Photo: Reuters)





Photo: AP

Mandatory evacuations on Georgias Atlantic coast and some of South Carolinas barrier islands were due to begin on Saturday. Virginia and Alabama were under states of emergency.





Haiti following Irma (Photo: AFP)





The Dominican Republic (Photo: Reuters)

Irma is considered the strongest recorded hurricane to come out of the Atlantic and one of the hardest to hit the US. So far, 22 people were reported to have been killed by the storm, and 90 percent of all structures in the Caribbean island of Barbuda are said to have been demolished.





Floridians prepare for hurricane (Photo: EPA)

Floridians evacuate (Photo: EPA)





Barbuda house stripped by Irma (Photo: AP)

In addition to Barbuda, many residents and tourists were left reeling after the storm ravaged some of the world's most exclusive tropical playgrounds, known for their turquoise waters and lush green vegetation. Among them: St. Maarten, St. Barts, St. Thomas and Anguilla.





Filling up before Irma (Photo: AFP)

Meanwhile and also in the Atlantic, Hurricane Jose is a Category 4 hurricane, about 190 miles (306 kilometers) east-southeast of The Northern Leeward Islands, moving toward the islands at 13 mph (20.92 kph) with winds reaching 150 mph.

Heavy traffic upon leaving Florida (Photo: AFP)





Irma in Cuba (Photo: AP)





Congested traffic exiting Floria (Photo: EPA)

Earlier Saturday, Dutch marines dropped flyers from a helicopter warning beleaguered inhabitants on the devastated nation of St. Maarten to head to shelters as Hurricane Jose barreled through the Caribbean.

St. Maarten (Photo: AFP)

Evacuation route out of Florida (Photo: EPA)

In the Gulf of Mexico, Hurricane Katia made landfall late Friday north of Tecolutla, Mexico and weakened to a tropical storm. By early Saturday morning it was 135 miles (217 kilometers) south of Tampico, Mexico, moving sluggishly at only 2 mph (3.2 kph) near the Sierra Madre Mountains with maximum winds of 40 mph (64.4 kph). It was expected to weaken further throughout the day.
Lebanon's Foreign Ministry says it will file an "urgent complaint" against Israel with the United Nations Security Council. Lebanon said in a statement Saturday that Israel violated its air space when it conducted an airstrike against a Syrian government installation on Thursday.

Israeli jets flew struck an installation that former Israeli military and intelligence officials said was producing weapons possibly bound for the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, Israel's chief rival in the region. The Syrian army said at the time that two soldiers were killed.

Hezbollah is part of Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri's government, though Lebanon officially remains neutral over the neighboring Syrian civil war.
The spiritual leader of Islam's majority Sunnis has blasted Myanmar for the "massacres" against Rohingya Muslims, calling for swift political and economic pressure by the international community on the Buddhist-majority nation.

The Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, the world's foremost seat of Sunni Islamic learning, also warned in a televised statement aired from Cairo on Friday that violence against the Rohingya encourages "terrorist crimes," a reference to Islamic militancy.

Using uncustomary strong language, Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb also blasted Myanmar leader Aung Sang Suu Kyi without naming her, saying she held the Nobel Peace Prize she won in 1991 with one hand and condoned "crimes" with the other. Al-Tayeb called on rights groups to investigate war crimes committed against the Rohingya and refer perpetrators to the International Court of Justice.
Over the past month, Palestinian Authority security forces arrested multiple journalists, including Tareq Abu Zeid, Amer Abu Arafa, Mamdouh Hamamra, Ahmad al-Halayqa and Qutaiba Qasim.

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The families of the detained journalists and human rights activists participated in a sit-in this week in downtown Ramallah to protest the arrests and the Electronic Crimes Law, enacted by President Mahmoud Abbas in July.

The civil courts nevertheless have extended the detention of the journalists for working with channels considered by the Public Prosecution to be banned in the West Bank.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (Photos: AP)

The PA has seemingly launched a crackdown on civil society, including shutting down social media accounts and websitesall of which were said to be guilty of electronic crimes. So far, about 30 sites have been closed, with some of the reasons given being for the purposes of national security, political stability, public good, social peace, etc.

Mohammad Laham, who is responsible for protecting journalists freedom of speech, explained to The Media Line that the new law covers a very broad range of potential offenses. Such tactics have allowed Abbass government to exercise executive powers in many instances without reasonable grounds, and despite the fact agreements to not arrest journalists have previously been signed between the Palestinian Journalist Association and the PA.

In response, the Association has decided to establish a committee to study and monitor the newly-established law with the aim of ultimately rewriting it in a more specific and less all-encompassing way.

The situation is far worse in Gaza, where journalists have few if any rights. In Gaza, Hamas attacks, kidnaps, tortures and limits journalists from travelling abroad, according to one journalist who spoke to the Association on condition of anonymity. But even talking is itself unsafe in Gaza, as Hamas placs pressure on journalists who are detained not to report any abuses upon their release.

Hamas even exercises the right to file lawsuits against journalists without citing any particular criminal activity or evidence of wrongdoing. Reporter Ali Baalousheh, for example, was arrested for sixteen days after being accused of misusing technology.

Speaking to The Media Line, Mohammed Abu Alrob, a media professor at Berzeit University, stressed that media is not an open tool for Palestinians and that the PA reserves the right to monitor outlets and their content in the West Bank.

Most of the websites that have been blocked by the PA are affiliated with Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood or (Abbas foe Mohammad Dahlan), he continued, which broadcast from Turkey and spread fake news.

Accordingly, there appears to be not only a human rights component to the crackdown but also a political one. In this respect, Abu Alrob confirmed that the PA can block any media that uses the Palestinians to serve foreign agendas.

When contacted by The Media Line, Nasser Abu Baker, the head of the Journalist Association, refused to comment on the matter, while Yousef Mahmoud, a government spokesperson, also would not reply to questions.

Article written by Dima Abumaria
The News in Brief

Abkhazia and Tskhinvali Region in 2017 Freedom House Report



On August 31, Freedom House published its narrative summaries on the state of freedom in Abkhazia and Tskhinvali Region/South Ossetia, which are an addition to the Freedom in the World 2017 report. The document ranks the two regions under the category of related and disputed territories.



The Abkhazia report summary lists deeply flawed criminal justice system and discrimination against ethnic Georgians among the problems in the region, also mentioning instances of political violence, such as a Sokhumi explosion of an opposition lawmakers car in April, and the oppositions attempts to storm the interior ministry in July.



The report also speaks of the regions ethnic Georgian residents lack of documents from the Abkhaz authorities, precluding them from voting in the April local elections.



At the same time, the report says there is significant opposition and civil society activity in Abkhazia, adding that while local broadcast media are largely controlled by the government, there are some independent print and online outlets.



While Abkhazia is designated by Freedom House as a Partly Free territory, South Ossetia is designated as Not Free. The latters summary speaks of the local medias control by the authorities, who also restrict or closely monitor civil society activity, while the judiciary is subject to political influence and manipulation.



The report states that the territory remains almost entirely dependent on Russia, and Moscow exerts a decisive influence over politics and governance, and that in October, leaked e-mails suggested that Russian officials carefully managed the legislative process in South Ossetia, adding to perceptions of extensive control by Moscow.



The Freedom House document also says that the local authorities continued to impose restrictions on critical journalists and media outlets during the year, and added that in October, the chief prosecutors office banned two websites for slandering government officials and brought criminal charges against two journalists and an internet user on similar grounds.

(Civil.ge)







52 tourists rescued in Georgias mountains this summer



Fifty-two foreign tourists got lost in Georgia in the period from June 1 to August 17, according to figures published Friday by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and reported by Interpressnews.



Everyone was rescued safe and sound except two German nationals,a father and a son, who got lost in Svaneti in western Georgia, apparently as they were trying to climb Ushba, a mountain referred to as the most difficult and dangerous.



Communication with the two was lost on August 1. The search is still ongoing, but no traces of them have been found yet, the MIA reports.



The highest number of tourists got lost in the Mtskheta-Mtianeti region, which covers the central Caucasian range, including the picturesque historical high mountain provinces of Khevsureti, Pshavi, Mtiuleti and Khevi.

(DF Watch)







Prime Minister names Georgian Dream mayoral candidates in Imereti region



Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili has named the Georgian Dream partys mayoral candidates in the Imereti region.



The candidates will be as follows for Imeretis cities, towns and villages: Kutaisi  Giorgi Chigvaria; Baghdati  Archil Gogsadze; Vani  Alexandre Gogorishvili; Terjola  Bondo Sofromadze; Samtredia - Valerian Potskhveria; Sachkhere  Beniamen Phalavandishvili; Tkibuli  Temur Chubinidze; Tskhaltubo  Grigol Ioseliani; Chiatura  Paata Nadiradze; Kharagauli  Nikoloz Topuridze; Khoni  Lado Jurkhadze; and Zestafoni  Kakhaber Makhatadze.

(ipn)




ISTANBUL  The secretary general of Amnesty International visited the rights group's jailed Turkey director Saturday and called for her release, along with seven other activists being held in pre-trial detention for allegedly aiding a terror group.

Salil Shetty said Amnesty's Idil Eser was doing well but added "The issue is really as to why she is in prison in the first instance?"

Police raided a hotel on the island of Buyukada near Istanbul in July and detained 10 activists during a workshop on digital security. Eight people, including German Peter Steudtner and Swede Ali Gharavi, were arrested. Two were released pending trial after surrendering their passports and must regularly present themselves at a police station. Germany has repeatedly called for Steudtner's release.
BEIRUT  Lebanese security forces arrested a former mayor of the town of Arsal near the Syrian border on Saturday in connection with the capture of Lebanese soldiers, security sources said.

Ali al-Hujeiri also stands accused of collusion with the Nusra Front Islamist group, al Qaeda's former Syria branch, the sources said.

Militants from the Nusra Front and Islamic State briefly overran Arsal in 2014 and captured a number of soldiers before they withdrew during clashes with the army.
ISTANBUL  President Donald J. Trump has spoken with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey.

The White House says Trump in the call on Saturday emphasized the common commitment of the United States and Turkey to work together to increase regional stability.

According to Turkish presidential sources, Erdogan and Trump spoke about the importance of their nations' strategic partnership and bilateral relations. They also agreed to meet in New York during the UN General Assembly.
As these words go clunk on your front porch Saturday morning our Florida neighbors and the stuff of their lives may already be disintegrating.

People from other regions of the country wring their hands worrying about us and our tornadoes, but no tornado Ive ever heard of compares to a raging, spinning demon wind larger than the entire state of Florida is wide.

I cannot even visualize what such a beast as this would look like and sound like, never mind the monsters crushing devastation.

Lets have a kind thought for those folks, caught together in a helpless, hopeless, horror this weekend.

On another topic altogether, are you taking advantage of all the fun family stuff at Yorkfest this year? I can confirm that a whole slew of you did exactly that for the coronation, youth games, bouncy houses, free food and more that got it all started Thursday evening.

Hustle and you can still make the firemen serving pancakes (7-9 this morning), todays grand parade (10 a.m.), the outdoor street fair downtown (9 a.m.-2 p.m.), the Human (Say what?) Tractor Pull (Noon at Seventh and Nebraska), the Nebraska 150 Traveling Childrens Museum (behind the Post Office), skate contest in Harrison Park (2 p.m.) and so much more including Red, White and Ribs beginning 3 p.m. at the Holthus Center.

Heres all you need to know about the latter: Crazy good barbecue meal, tests of bean bag marksmanship, Huskers vs. Beavers on a couple big screens and a cash bar.

Nuff said? Thought so.

In other news your aged scribe fully intends to walk the entire distance (most of it for sure, half at the very least and certainly not much less than a quarter) of todays parade.

Motivation to somehow survive the grueling trudge up, down and all around the sharp hills and deep valleys of Grant and Lincoln avenues will be provided by grandson and companion on this most daunting quest, Dom.

Motivation? How could a 13-year-old bundle of energy possibly inspire a used up, 68-year-old poop to continue to the end no matter how debilitating the pain and exhaustion will almost certainly become?

Fear, friends. Pure skeleton-rattling fear.

Should I fall out of formation, stumble to the curb, collapse on some poor unfortunate parade-goers lap and Dom finishes without me I will never, ever  ever  hear the end of it.

Smart money says get your bets down on he makes it and then cover yourself with a side wager he dies trying. Do that and I guarantee youre a winner.

Any other result is inconceivable.
Fair Nebraska is an organization that believes in simple, fair and equitable taxation to fund our public schools and any other needs, such as roads and police and fire protection, that our government can do for us better than we can do by ourselves.

We will fight to make sure the State of Nebraska will honor its legal and constitutional obligations to fund public education.

Fair Nebraska is not blindly opposed to all taxes. But we are opposed to the politicians in this state being addicted to property taxes, and abdicating their responsibility to fund schools equitably and adequately. And we are especially frustrated by the governor and senators in the Unicameral that promulgate the fairy tale that our schools and their administrators are the reason taxes are so high.

Our local schools have held their costs and revenue needs down to a very low level. Meanwhile our agland taxes have, in many cases, doubled! The system of how we fund education is the problem. We cannot fix the problem of inequitable funding if we begin using their false premise.

Our system of funding began 300 years ago and many things continue to this day. Could it be that we should have the courage to change, as society has during the last 300 years?

I am suggesting that we work with the leaders of rural educators to help make sure they are funded adequately and reliably using a fair funding method that our urban governor and the increasingly urban Unicameral cant play political games with.

Im sorry, but we had better realize we are in an urban-rural battle, and the numbers are against the rural element.

Hopefully I can illustrate in future columns our method for funding our needs while we keep millions of dollars that are earned locally in the hands of our cities and villages to improve our economies in Seward and York counties.
Florida: Hurricane Irma pummeled the north coast of Cuba Saturday, inflicting "significant damage" as millions of people in the US state of Florida hunkered down for a direct hit from the monster storm.

Irma`s blast through the Cuban coastline weakened the storm to a Category Three, but it is still packing 125 mile-an-hour winds (205 kilometer per hour) and was expected to regain power before hitting the Florida Keys early Sunday, US forecasters said.

At least 25 people have been killed since Irma began its devastating march through the Caribbean as a Category Five storm of nearly unmatched power, making landfall late Friday in Cuba on the Camaguey archipelago.

The Cuban government extended its maximum state of alert to three additional provinces, including Havana, amid fears of flooding in low-lying areas.

Terrified Cubans who rode out Irma in coastal towns reported "deafening" winds, uprooted trees and power lines, and blown rooftops.

In the seaside town of Caibarien, the storm knocked down walls and littered the streets with tree branches, roof tiles and other debris.

Also Read - MEA issues helpline numbers, says in touch with Indians

Francis, a 19-year-old who lives near the Caibarien sea wall, said she fled to her grandfather`s house as storm waters reached her street corner.

"It must be full of water," she said of her house.

"What`s out there is terrible," said Gisela Fernandez, a 42-year-old nurse.

After the storm whipped the town in Chapara in the province of Las Tunas Friday, Gisela Fernandez described a fearful ordeal. "The rain is finishing, but all night long there were terrible winds."

Also Read - After Irma, Saint-Martin, Saint Barthelemy brace for Jose

The governor of Camaguey province, Isabel Gonzalez Cardenas, said her area was "seriously affected," but there were no immediate reports of casualties. Cuban officials reported "significant damage."

More than a million people evacuated from vulnerable areas in Cuba.

In Florida, cities on both the east and west coasts of the peninsular state took on the appearance of ghost towns, as nervous residents heeded insistent evacuation orders affecting 6.3 million people, nearly a third of the state`s population.

The storm`s forecast track has shifted slightly, so it now looks bound for Florida`s west Gulf coast instead of the Atlantic coast, with landfall expected Sunday morning in the Florida Keys.

But Irma is so wide that authorities were bracing for destructive storm surges on both coasts and the Keys, the chain of low-lying islands that stretch south of Miami toward Cuba.

And hurricane-force winds are expected to lash the peninsula as it rolls north toward Georgia.

In Key West, police opened a "shelter of last resort" for those fool-hardy enough to ignore mandatory evacuation orders.

Flood-prone Miami Beach, also under mandatory evacuation order, has been emptied of people but is bracing for high waters.

Scott Abraham, who lives on the fifth floor of a beachfront apartment building, is planning to ride the storm out with his wife and two kids.

"If I lived in a house I would have left, but if it gets flooded here it`s going to take a week at least to come back. I don`t want that," he said.

In Miami, a big worry was the two dozen or so giant construction cranes in the downtown area. Though designed to withstand hurricane winds, city officials are warning people to stay away from them.

Across the peninsula the Gulf coast city of Fort Myers also was battening down for Irma`s screaming winds, rain and storm surge.

"This is a worst case scenario for our city. And our region," the city`s mayor, Randall Henderson said on CNN. "We`re taking it very seriously. We are prepared for it."

Warning that Irma would be worse than Hurricane Andrew -- which killed 65 people in 1992 -- Florida`s governor said all 20.6 million Floridians should prepare to flee.

Bumper-to-bumper traffic snaked north out of the state, with mattresses, gas cans and kayaks strapped to car roofs.

Cuban-American Orlando Reyes, 82, was forced to flee his assisted living facility in Miami Beach.

"It is frightening," he told AFP at a shelter in Miami. "We had to leave without a cent, without taking a bath, or bringing anything."The storm smashed through a string of Caribbean islands, beginning with tiny Barbuda on Wednesday, followed by the holiday islands of St Barts and St Martin.

Also affected were the US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and the Turks and Caicos. The Bahamas were spared Irma`s worst.

French state-owned reinsurer CCR estimated Irma had caused 1.2 billion euros ($1.4 billion) worth of damage to homes, vehicles and businesses in the territories of Saint Martin and Saint Barts.

"Houses are smashed, the airport is out of action," St Barts resident Olivier Toussaint told AFP.

"Upside-down cars are in the cemeteries. Boats are sunk in the marina, shops are destroyed."

Meteorologists meanwhile were closely monitoring two other Atlantic storms.

Jose, another powerful Category 4 storm, was heading towards the same string of Caribbean islands Irma has pummeled in recent days.

The deteriorating weather grounded aircraft and prevented boats from bringing relief supplies to hard-hit islands.

Katia, which made landfall in eastern Mexico late Friday as a Category One hurricane, had weakened by Saturday to a tropical depression. Mexico reported two people killed by mudslides unleashed by the heavy rains.The US military was mobilizing thousands of troops and deploying several large ships to aid with evacuations and humanitarian relief, as the Air Force removed scores of planes from the southern United States.

Meanwhile, the death toll from across the islands has continued to rise.

Six were reported killed in the British Virgin Islands and Anguilla, including an elderly man who was crushed when his house collapsed.

Two were killed in Puerto Rico, and four more in the US Virgin Islands.

A child died in Barbuda, at least 10 in France`s Caribbean territories, and two more on the Dutch side of St Martin.
Naypyidaw: Camps will be set up to provide aid for displaced Muslims inside Rakhine state, state-backed media said on Saturday, the first time in a 16-day crisis Myanmar`s government has offered any relief for Rohingya scattered by violence, many to Bangladesh.

Around 270,000 Rohingya have fled since August 25 when militant attacks sent unrest churning through Rakhine, arriving in Bangladesh hungry and exhausted and squashing into already overcrowded refugee camps.

Tens of thousands more are believed to be on the move inside Rakhine, fleeing burning villages, the army and ethnic Rakhine mobs -- who Rohingya refugees accuse of attacking civilians -- only to become stranded in hills without food, water, shelter or medical care.

Bangladesh has urged Myanmar to stem the exodus by providing for the displaced inside the country and provide `safe zones` for the Rohingya.

Around 27,000 Buddhists and Hindus have also been displaced following attacks by Rohingya militants and are receiving government help in monasteries and schools.

But the Rohingya, a stateless group refused citizenship by Myanmar, have been left to fend for themselves in what rights groups allege is a part of systematic campaign to force them out of the country.

Two weeks after violence scorched through the country, th government has said it will establish three camps in north, south and central Maungdaw -- the epicentre of the violence and a Rohingya majority area.

"Displaced people who are currently spread out will be able to receive humanitarian aid and medical care" distributed by local Red Cross workers, the Global New Light of Myanmar reported on Saturday.

The report did not refer directly to the Rohingya but mentioned village clusters where the minority lived until the unrest.

Branded `Bengalis` -- shorthand for illegal immigrants from Bangladesh -- the Rohingya have long been subjected to discrimination in mostly Buddhist Myanmar.

More than 350,000 have fled since October when a new Rohingya militant group launched attacks on police posts.

That represents around a third of the estimated total of Rohingya in Myanmar.

Around 120,000 have languished in basic displaced camps following religious violence in 2012, while the rest are subject to suffocating restrictions on their movement and rights to work.

Yanghee Lee, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, on Friday said over a thousand people may have been killed in the subsequent army crackdown, the majority likely to be Rohingya.

In an interview with AFP she said Myanmar`s star politician Aung San Suu Kyi, a fearless democracy campaigner under the former junta, had failed to use her moral authority to defend the Rohingya.

"I think we need to delete our memories of the imprisoned democratic icon," Lee said, explaining that Suu Kyi was now a politician not a rights defender.

The Nobel Peace Prize winner has been condemned for her refusal to bend to pressure and speak out for the Rohingya including by Suu fellow Nobel laureates Malala Yousafzai and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
Patna: At least eight patients have died in Bihars Darbhanga Medical College and Hospital over the last two weeks allegedly after they were given expired blood, a media report said on Saturday.

Doctors accused the hospitals blood bank of tampering with the expiry date printed on the blood pouches.

However, the bank's in-charge has refuted the allegations, insisting that the pouches were tested.

Meanwhile, the management has formed a six-member committee to probe the incident. It has been asked to submit a report within 10 days.

The state government has vowed strict action against the guilty.

Citing a resident doctor, the india.com reported that people clashed with hospital staff after the fatalities came to light.

The patients became restless after they were given the expired blood, a doctor reportedly said.
New Delhi: In a shocking incident, a five-year-old girl student was raped inside the premises of Tagore Public School in Gandhi Nagar.

Delhi Police have arrested a peon associated with the school in connection with the rape case.

A case has been registered under POSCO Act.

The latest incident comes a day after, a class II student of Ryan International School was found dead by a school staff in the washroom with his throat slit on Friday.

The boy was allegedly killed by bus conductor Kumar who also allegedly tried to sexually abuse the minor. The accused was arrested hours after the gruesome murder.
New Delhi: What is the Inside Story of the Portfolio Allocation? What are the challenges of the new ministers? What are the equations behind the reshuffle? These were the questions that Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Zee Regional, Zee Hindustan and DNA answered in his exclusive analysis this week on A DIALOGUE WITH JC.

He said that all the loyalists of Modi and Shah who met the parameters were promoted and non performers were relieved. According to Chandra, New India has now taken over the Achchhe Din slogan. He also said that Arun Jaitley is the third power centre in Modi Government and his strategic advice was also taken in the reshuffle. However he also said that falling GDP is a big challenge in front of Jaitley.

Speaking on the political assignments of many ministers he said that they would not be any hassle for Dharmendra Pradhan and JP Nadda. Of the six women cabinet ministers Chandra said that Smiriti Iranis future is bright in the politics of Uttar Pradesh. Chandra also called the decisions of Modi and Shah surprising and out of the box.

Commenting on the alleged average performer in Commerce Ministry, Nirmala Sitharaman, he said there were two big challenges in front of her. She would have to tackle with the infiltration by Pakistani and Chinese side. He expressed hope that she would be successful as a woman Defense Minister after Indira Gandhi. Chandra also declined the rumour that Rajnaths name was also proposed for the new Defense Minister at any stage.

Chandra also answered the questions asked on Nitin Gadkaris new responsibilities on cleaning Ganga. He also dwelled upon Dharmendra Pradhans new assignment of Skill Development. He also answered the question on challenges before Piyush Goel, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Rajyawardhan Singh Rathore and Arjun Meghwal. According to Chandra increasing Exports would be a big responsibility in front of Suresh Prabhu.

Concluding his review, Chandra also sidelined the speculations on any leadership change in Rajasthan, Madhaya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh before respective state elections.
Hyderabad: State finance ministers on Saturday red flagged the glitches in the GST Network's (GSTN) portal faced by traders while filing their maiden returns for July.

Ahead of the GST Council's meeting here on Saturday, West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra said even as GSTN said that it can handle 3 billion invoices, the glitches in the portal show that GST was implemented in haste.

The 21st meeting of the GST Council is being held here to discuss technology glitches in GSTN portal, imposition of higher cess on luxury and SUV cars and reduction tax rates on aboout two-dozen items.

Jammu & Kashmir Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu said that the issues faced by GSTN are operational and technical, and these would have happened even if the GST was implemented a year later.

Drabu suggested that a group of ministers be formed to look into issues faced by taxpayers on GSTN portal.

Mitra suggested that a white paper be brought out on the preparedness of GSTN-- the company which is the technology backbone of GST.

Due to huge rush of July GSTR-3B return filing on the penultimate date, the GSTN software witnessed glitches and the last date of filing was extended.

Also the date of final return filing for GSTR-1 was extended to September 10 in view of rush in invoice uploading.

State finance ministers are also expected to raise various issues flagged by traders and businesses in Saturday's meeting.

So far, over 45 lakh GSTR-3B, 17 lakh GSTR-1 and over 13 crore invoices have been filed on GSTN portal.

Among other issues, the council will discuss quantum of hike in cess on a range of cars from mid size to hybrid variants.

The Council in its last meeting on August 5 approved a hike in cess on mid, large size cars, SUVs, hybrid and luxury ones to up to 25 per cent, from earlier 15 per cent.

Following that an Ordinance to hike the cess rate has been promulgated and the GST Council will now look at the quantum of hike on such cars.

The council will also consider lowering tax rates on over two dozen products, including idli/dosa batter, dried tamarind, custard powder and kitchen gas lighter after anomalies in their fixations were pointed out. The council will also formulate a mechanism to deal with businesses that are deregistering their brands post GST to avoid taxes.

The fitment committee has proposed to the GST Council to consider May 15, 2017, as the cut off date for considering as a registered brand for the purpose of levy of GST, irrespective of whether or not the brand is subsequently deregistered.

Unbranded food items are exempted from GST, whereas branded and packaged food items attract 5 per cent rate.

Hence, many businesses are deregistering their brands to avoid the levy.
Kolkata: Engineer-turned-educationist Sonam Wangchuk, who has changed the education landscape of Ladakh, on Saturday said private schools cannot be the answer to nation's needs.

"The nation needs masses and government schools are like oceans while private schools are like ponds," Wangchuk, whose education reforms in government schools has been hailed globally, told a CII event here.

"I have often been asked why I did not build a private school and my reply was you could either make a great little pond and raise its level by several metres or you could add on to the water of the ocean. For me the ocean matters more," he said at the interactive session of the CII Eastern Region and Young Indians (Yi) Kolkata Chapter here.

Wangchuk, instrumental in the launch of Operation New Hope in 1994 - a collaboration between the government, village communities and the civil society to bring reforms in the government school system, said it was then decided to work on government schools where common children have to go.

Stating that earlier there was 95 per cent failure rate in board exams, Wangchuk said there is a massive drop in the failure in school board exams courtesy the alternative learning practices and other innovative measures undertaken in the operation.

Wangchuk, the founding director of the Students Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL) who came to the spotlight in 2009, when his story inspired Aamir Khan's character of Phunsukh Wangdu in the film 3 Idiots, said he now has plans of setting up the Himalayan Institute of Alternatives which will have different disciplines - busines, tourism and others.

"The school of business will run real life companies, the school of tourism will run hotels and home stays, the school of environmental studies will have live application labs where students can work together with experts and use their acquired skill in soving natural calamities," he said.

As part of the business module the students can self-finance their education," he said.

The estimated cost for completing first phase of the project was Rs 1.5 crore. Rs one crore received in a global award received by him will be used as seed fund, he added.
New Delhi: A San Diego-bound flight, Southwest Airlines, flew more than 60 animals to shelters who were left orphaned by Hurricane Harvey.

As per reports, 64 displaced cats and dogs were relocated to California from Texas, only to be placed in new and safe shelters.

The airlines coordinated with Texas rescue group, Operation Pets Alive which opened up valuable space in Texas shelters, sparing many animals who would otherwise have been euthanized because of shelter overcrowding.

"We're humbled and inspired by the teamwork shown by our partners and employees to coordinate and fly 64 animals from Houston shelters that needed to be moved to make room for families' displaced pets," the organization said on its Facebook page.

This step had to be taken because many animal shelters in the storm-drenched area of Texas were overcrowded and without power or vital supplies.

Rescue efforts are still underway as thousands in the Houston, Texas, try to recover from Hurricane Harvey.

Needless to say, this was one furry rescue flight, with plenty of love to go around! pic.twitter.com/mtBuDBGDw1  Southwest Airlines (@SouthwestAir) September 6, 2017
New Delhi: The ongoing search operations at the Dera Sacha Sauda headquarters near Haryana's Sirsa exposed the presence of illegal explosives factory and firecrackers on Saturday.

Deputy Director (Public Relations) of the Haryana Government Satish Mehra said, "Explosives and fire crackers have been seized from the headquarters." The factory, however, was immediately sealed.

Haryana: Fire crackers factory sealed, explosives & fire-crackers seized from #DeraSachaSauda as search continues in Dera HQ in Sirsa pic.twitter.com/sYd4hwmO4v  ANI (@ANI) September 9, 2017

He further added, "Some minor children have been rescued, one is from Uttar Pradesh and the other is from Kaithal. They have been handed over to the district child protection officer."

Mehra revealed that a set of walkie-talkies has also been recovered from the room of convicted Dera Chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, who has been convicted with 20 years of imprisonment in August for raping two of his female disciples. The recovered materials also included unlabelled medicines.

According to the reports, the search operations would be carried on till evening, following which actions would be initiated.

Earlier on Friday, materials including a few computers, a luxury SUV and some currency notes were being seized.

The search operation was headed by Court Commissioner AK Pawar appointed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

Also, hundreds of pairs of shoes, designer clothes and colourful caps of the Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh were reportedly recovered from the sect on the same day.

JCB machines, locksmiths, forensic experts and dog squads are being engaged in the sanitisation. A bomb squad will reportedly accompany the officials and security personnel while conducting the raids inside the Dera headquarters.

Hundreds of security personnel and local administration have been deployed in conducting the operation. The search operation is intended to sanitise the controversial sect campus.

A curfew has been imposed around the Dera premises while local authorities suspended internet services across Sirsa district.

On September 5, the Punjab and Haryana High Court gave orders to conduct a search operation of Dera Sacha Sauda headquarters under the supervision of a judicial officer.

The order came after the Haryana Police seized 33 licensed weapons of the Dera Sacha Sauda. These weapons included 14 revolvers, nine guns, four rifles and other modified weapons.

The police later seized and sealed all weapons.

(With agency inputs)
Gurugram: The Haryana Police on Saturday assured a speedy and fair probe into the Ryan International School student's death and said that the chargesheet will be filed within seven days.

Gurugram District police commissioner Sandeep Khirwar said this while addressing a press conference where he further announced that a three-member panel is vetting the school safety.

The school bus conductor, who is accused of murdering the class 2 student, has been sent to three-day police custody.

Watch: Press conference of Haryana Police

IMMEDIATE PLAYOUT:Press Conference of Haryana Police on murder of class II student in Ryan International School pre https://t.co/6DBQznJdQ5  ANI (@ANI) September 9, 2017

"The accused, Ashok Kumar, is currently being interrogated," the Gurugram top cop said.

"A committee has been formed to adjudge loopholes in security arrangement, report of which is expected on Monday. We are gathering proof in the case. Further action will be taken on the basis of the report that will be filed on Monday," he said.

Also Read: Ryan student murder: Accused bus conductor sent to 3-day police custody

The Gurugram top cop added further that the affiliation of the security agency, that the school was using, has been cancelled. "The affiliation of the security agency has been cancelled," he said.

"We will try to file charge sheet in the court within seven days and will solve the matter on fast track basis. We will wrap the case within a week," he said adding further that a three-member panel will probe the case.

As per a report, random checking of schools will take place and all Gurugram schools have been asked to give security audits in 15 days.

In an another development, the Sohna and Gurgaon Bar associations have signed resolutions refusing to defend the accused.

Meanwhile, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar expressed his condolence on the student's death and said that he has asked for a report and if lapses are found, appropriate action will be taken.



"It was a sad incident and a heinous crime. The administration has nabbed the suspect. I have directed authorities to complete formalities within seven days," the Chief Minister said.

"Once we get the report. However, if we don't get the facts clear, we are ready for any kind of probe," CM Khattar told ANI on demand of high profile probe by victim's family.

The body of the seven-year-old student, with his throat slit, was found inside the toilet of the school located at Bhondsi in Gurugram on Friday. Hours after the incident, the Gurugram Police confirmed that the accused bus conductor, who was arrested also tried to sexually assault the child before killing him.
New Delhi: A day after one policeman died and over 10 persons were left injured during a clash in Ramganj area Jaipur, curfew was imposed in four police station areas of the city on Saturday to bring the situation under control.

1 policeman lost his life, 10 injured in a clash with locals after a policeman allegedly hit a woman in Jaipur's Ramganj.Curfew imposed pic.twitter.com/4kRvOO29RF September 9, 2017

According to the reports, internet services were also suspended and schools in the curfew-laden areas have been shut down. Talking to news agency PTI, Jaipur Police Commissioner Sanjay Agarwal said,"A petty dispute between a police constable and a motorcycle-borne couple late last night led to clashes between the locals and the police, following which the curfew was imposed around 1 AM in Ramganj area, where the violence broke out."

Reportedly, the constable had assaulted the couple over some issue, following which a mob of locals gathered around the Ramganj police station and indulged in arson, setting ablaze five vehicles, including an ambulance and a police jeep, and damaged 21 others, he said. Police fired tear gas shells and rubber bullets to disperse the mob.

When the situation went out of control, police opened fire on the agitators in which one person, identified as Mohammed Raees, was killed, Agarwal said. The Delhi-Agra route through Jaipur has also been diverted.

Security forces, including Rajasthan Armed Constabulary (RAC) and home guard jawans, have been deployed in the violence-hit areas, the commissioner said.
New York: Participating in a general debate on "Culture of Peace" at the United Nations on Friday, India again aggressively flagged its concern over Pakistan continuing to be a safe haven for terrorists and terror outfits, and criticised Islamabad for using terrorism as a tool of state policy.

In a hard hitting speech, S. Srinivas, Minister in the New York-based Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations, said, "May I remind our neighbour that J&K is & will remain an integral part of India. It is time that Pakistan too reconciles to this."

"A culture of peace, not only symbolises peace in the larger context, but in terms of inter-State ties is also a value built on good neighbourliness, mutual respect and non-interference. It is ironic, that our neighbour, Pakistan, well-known for providing safe havens to terrorists and using terrorism as a tool of state policy, has used this platform to yet again covet Indian territory, cloaking its designs in the garb of concern for justice and self-determination," he added.

Srinivas further stated, "As a democracy, India always abides by the choice of the people and will not allow it to be undermined by terrorists and extremists. It reiterates the principle of the need for promotion of peace through non-violence, a principle Gandhiji so eloquently expressed in his life message."

"In the long history of human civilisation, which have seen many years of warfare, the UN has been a guiding light in the 20th century with the many initiatives it has taken to build a peaceful and just order. The SDGs are only the latest and most comprehensive in its efforts to bring about a culture of peace in its broader sense. It is a matter of satisfaction that the global community of nations fully participated and engaged in this effort," he added.

Describing India as one of the oldest civilisations in the world, Srinivas said it has been the home to a continuous steam of great spiritual teachers and thinkers throughout the centuries who have spread the message of a culture of peace.

Citing examples such as the hymns of the Vedas and the teachings of Lord Buddha and Mahatma Gandhi, Father of the Nation, he said, "India is deeply conscious and proud of this heritage and remains committed to a Culture of Peace."

Srinivas concluded his speech by appreciating the UN's initiative of organising the High Level Forum and commended Bangladesh for its continuing engagement on this important subject.
New Delhi: Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday left for Kashmir on a four-day visit, during which he will hold talks with civil society members, leaders of political and social outfits, business leaders and others.

Singh's visit to the state is seen as a follow-up to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Independence Day speech in which he reached out to the people of the Valley saying "Na gaali se, na goli se, samasya suljegi gale lagane se", (Neither bullets nor recrimination, the problem will be solved by embracing Kashmiris).

He will be accompanied by newly-appointed Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba and senior ministry officials.

On Sunday, he is expected to meet various delegations in Srinagar and Jammu and also interact with police jawans, CRPF and BSF personnel in the state. The Minister is slated to interact with college and university students in Srinagar.

During his visit, the Minister will also meet Governor N.N. Vohra and Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti. He will also review the works related to the Prime Minister's development package of Rs 80,000 crore announced in 2015 and security situation in the state.

The Home Minister is likely to attend a comprehensive security review meeting with Mehbooba Mufti and the top brass of the Army, CRPF and Jammu and Kashmir Police on Sunday. He will address a press conference in Srinagar before leaving for Jammu on Monday. He will also visit a camp of the BSF in Rajouri.

Singh will also meet traders, migrants, Kashmiri pandits and representatives of communities including Gujjars and Bakarwals.

Earlier on Friday, Singh had said,"I am going with an open mind and I am willing to meet all those who come to meet me. We want a resolution to the problems."

The home minister himself had said on August 19 that a solution to the Kashmir problem, besides terrorism, Naxalism, and the northeast insurgency will be found before 2022



Former prime minister Manmohan Singh, who heads the Congress policy planning group on Kashmir, will also lead a team of party leaders to Jammu and Kashmir next week for discussions on the current situation in the state with party workers and "like-minded" groups



In September 2016, he had visited the state leading an all-party delegation and met people from various sections of society. However, the Kashmiri separatists had rebuffed attempts by five opposition MPs to talk to them.

(With inputs from agencies)
New Delhi: Expressing grief over the murder case of a Class 2 student, who was found dead inside the school premises on Friday, the Ryan International School has assured full co-operation in the police investigation.

The school authority released a statement which stated,"We are deeply saddened by the tragic incident that occurred at our school today, involving a class II student. He had suffered critical injuries and was immediately rushed to the hospital by the school head-Neerja Batra. Despite all attempts, unfortunately, his life could not be saved due to his injuries".

"The police are investigating this matter and we have assured our full support and co-operation towards the investigation of the same. The perpetrators of this heinous crime must be dealt with appropriate action. Our hearts and prayers are with the family," the statement further added.

Hours after the incident, the Gurugram Police confirmed that the accused bus conductor who was arrested in the murder case of Ryan International School student tried to sexually assault the lad before killing him.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Simardeep Singh told that accused Ashok a resident village Ghamroj in Haryana killed the boy when he tried to raise an alarm.

"The accused is a bus conductor and was arrested. He attempted to sexually assault the boy, when boy raised an alarm he killed the boy. During the preliminary investigation, the accused tried to sexually assault the child," the DCP told the media.

Earlier on Friday, the Gurugram Police detained at least three suspects after the student was found dead in the washroom of Ryan International School,Gurugram.

The detained suspects included a bus conductor, a driver and a school staff member. However, the authorities of the school denied negligence.

Speaking to the media, school caretaker Neerja Batra said the kid was alive when they saw him lying in the pool of blood."The child was looking serious. We didn't lose a minute. The kid was alive when we saw him lying in the pool of blood. We took him to the hospital immediately. Police are here to investigate the matter and after investigation one can say from where the knife came inside the school premises," she added.

Also, State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) K. Krishan said that the matter has been taken very seriously.

"We are taking the matter very seriously. A Team is already there in the school to find what happened and ensure it never recurs," he said.

Earlier, the father of the victim had said that it was a "clear case of murder".

"It was a normal day. I left my child in the school and then went back to home. After I reached home, I got a call from the school saying that he is in hospital and he is bleeding and that he was found lying down on the floor of the washroom. After this, I rushed to the hospital and by the time I reached, my child was no more. It is a clear case of murder, don't know what happened but I am sure its murder," said the father.

The body of the class II student with his throat slit was found inside the toilet of the school located at Bhondsi in Gurugram yesterday.

(With inputs from ANI)
New Delhi: Accusing the administration over the death of her seven-year-old son in Ryan International school, the inconsolable mother of class II student said that how will parents send their children to school if they could not even ensure basic safety for children.

Talking to ANI, the mother of the deceased child said,"My son did not even know the bus conductor as he never traveled in bus,we used to drop and pick him."

Speaking to leading daily The Indian Express, the heart-broken father had earlier said,They cut my poor boy. The doctors told me the killer stabbed him twice. There was a big scar starting from his ear to the throat. His ear had been cut, and two flaps of skin exposed the insides of his throat. I never thought I would see my son in such a condition."

On the other hand, tight security arrangements have been made outside the school to ward off any untoward incident. Yesterday, hours after the incident, hundreds of worried parents staged protests outside the school and Gurugram Police Commissioner's office demanding justice for the boy's family.

Earlier in the day, The Ryan International School had expressed grief and assured cooperation in the investigation.

A statement released by the school authority stated that, "We are deeply saddened by the tragic incident that occurred at our school today, involving a class II student. He had suffered critical injuries and was immediately rushed to the hospital by the school head-Neerja Batra. Despite all attempts, unfortunately his life could not be saved due to his injuries".

"The police are investigating this matter and we have assured our full support and co-operation towards the investigation of the same. The perpetrators of this heinous crime must be dealt with appropriate action. Our hearts and prayers are with the family," the statement further noted.

Hours after the incident, the Gurugram Police confirmed that the accused bus conductor who was arrested in the murder case of Ryan International School student tried to sexually assault the lad before killing him.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Simardeep Singh told that accused Ashok, a resident village Ghamroj in Haryana, killed the boy when he tried to raise an alarm.

"The accused is a bus conductor and was arrested. He attempted to sexually assault the boy, when boy raised an alarm he killed the boy. During the preliminary investigation, the accused tried to sexually assault the child," the DCP told the media.

The Gurugram Police earlier in the day detained at least three suspects after the student was found dead in the washroom of Ryan International School here.

The detained suspects included a bus conductor, a driver and a school staff member.

However, the authorities of the school denied negligence.

Speaking to the media, school caretaker Neerja Batra said that the kid was alive when they saw him lying in the pool of blood.

"The child was looking serious. We didn't lose a minute. The kid was alive when we saw him lying in the pool of blood. We took him to the hospital immediately. Police are here to investigate the matter and after investigation one can say from where the knife came inside the school premises," she added.

Also, State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) K Krishan said that the matter has been taken very seriously.

"We are taking the matter very seriously. A Team is already there in the school to find what happened and ensure it never recurs," he said.

The father of the victim had said that it was a "clear case of murder." The body of the class II student with his throat slit was found inside the toilet of the school located at Bhondsi in Gurugram on Friday.

(With inputs from ANI)
New Delhi: With just three days ahead of Apple's launch event, a lot of information is getting leaked online.

While some could take it with just a pinch of salt, for a lot of others it might mean spoilers.

As per recent leaked reports the upcoming phone will come with something called the Portrait Lighting. The new Camera update could mean that it will use flash when using portrait mode.

Another leaked report suggests that the iPhone 8 might house Face ID  akin to Touch ID. 9to5Mac citing iOS 11 code says that it "performs better when all angles of your face are captured.

Reports also said that the iPhone 8 will host Animoji  touted as animated emojis. These would be more like personal emojis.

9to5Mac found them to be "3D, animated versions of emoji characters. The Animojis "will use facial tracking and your voice to create expressive animated messages. And yes, theres a smiling pile of poop," it said.

Fans and investors are eagerly looking forward to the 10th anniversary iPhone 8 launch on September 12 to see whether it will deliver enough new features to spark a new generation to turn to Apple.

The company is widely tipped to adopt higher-resolution OLED displays for the latest iPhone, along with better touchscreen technology and wireless charging - which could come with a USD 1,000 plus price tag.
Chennai: In an inspiring example of grit and courage, the wife of Colonel Santosh Mahadik, who was killed fighting terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir nearly two years back, today joined the army as an officer after 11 months of gruelling training.

38-year-old Swati Mahadik, a mother of two, was commissioned in the Army as an officer in the Army Ordnance Corps.

Her husband Col Mahadik, a recipient of the Sena medal for gallantry, was killed in an anti-terror operation in Kupwara in north Kashmir in November 2015.

He was an officer from the Army's elite 21 Para Special forces and according to his colleagues, he was known for always leading from the front.

Following her husband's footstep, Swati had joined joined the Army's Officers Training Academy (OTA) in October last year.

"Swati Mahadik was today commissined as an officer after she completed her training at the OTA in Chennai," said a senior Army officer, who did not wish to be named.

He said Swati will join the Army Ordnance Corps in Pune.

Another woman -- Nidhi Dubey -- was also commissioned as an officer today. Nidhi had also lost her husband who was a Naik in the Army.
Noida: In a shocking incident, a 30-year-old woman was shot in her abdomen after she tried to stop two drunk men from urinating outside her house in Gautam Buddha Nagar of Uttar Pradesh.

The incident happened at around 12:30 am at Samaspur village of Greater Noida on Thursday.

Hindustan Times quoted Farmood Ali Pundir, SHO of Dankaur police station as saying, "As per the complaint filed by the victim's brother-in-law, the two accused, Sanjay and Om Veer, were urinating in front of the woman's house around 8.30 pm on Thursday. She objected, following which they left the area. The men were drunk at the time. Four hours later, they came back in a car and opened fire. One bullet hit the woman in the abdomen."

The woman was rushed to a nearby hospital whether her condition is said to be out of danger.

Meanwhile, the police have registered a FIR against the two accused in the matter, the SHO said.
Yangon: Several more villages were burned down on Saturday in a part of northwest Myanmar where many Rohingya Muslims had been sheltering from violence sweeping the area, two sources monitoring the situation said.

The fires, which started on Friday when up to eight villages went up in flames in the ethnically mixed Rathedaung region, have increased concerns that more minority Rohingya will flee to neighbouring Bangladesh.

Blazes started on Saturday engulfed as many as four more settlements in Rathedaung, likely destroying all the Muslim villages in the area, the sources said.

"Slowly, one after another villages are being burnt down - I believe that Rohingyas are already wiped out completely from Rathedaung," said Chris Lewa of the Rohingya monitoring group, the Arakan Project.

"There were 11 Muslim villages (in Rathedaung) and after the past two days all appear to be destroyed."

It was unclear who set fire to the villages, located in a part of northwest Myanmar far from where Rohingya insurgents attacked 30 police posts and an army base last month, triggering an army counter-offensive in which at least 400 people have been killed.

Independent journalists are not allowed into the area, where Myanmar says its security forces are carrying out clearance operations to defend against "extremist terrorists".

Human rights monitors and fleeing Rohingya say the army and ethnic Rakhine vigilantes have unleashed a campaign of arson aimed at driving out the Muslim population. Some 290,000 people have fled across the Bangladeshi border in less than two weeks, causing a humanitarian crisis.

Rathedaung is the furthest Rohingya-inhabited area from the border with Bangladesh and aid workers are concerned that a large number of people were trapped there.

The sources said that among the torched villages was the hamlet of Tha Pyay Taw. They were also concerned about the village of Chin Ywa, where many people sheltering from other burnings in the area had been hiding and two other settlements.

On Friday, the villages of Ah Htet Nan Yar and Auk Nan Yar, some 65 km north of Sittwe, capital of Rakhine state, were also burned along with four to six other settlements.

One source, who has a network of informers in the area, said 300 to 400 Rohingya who had been hiding at Ah Htet Nan Yar were now in the forest or attempting a perilous, days-long journey by foot in the monsoon rain towards the River Naf separating Myanmar and Bangladesh.

Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi said on Thursday her government was doing its best to protect everyone, but she has drawn criticism for failing to speak out about the violence and the Muslim minority, including calls to revoke her 1991 Nobel Peace Prize.

The country`s Rohingya Muslims have long complained of persecution and are seen by many in Buddhist-majority Myanmar as illegal migrants from Bangladesh.
Gaza: The head of Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas Ismail Haniya travelled on Saturday to Egypt for his first visit there since his election, the group said.

Hamas controls the small Palestinian Gaza Strip enclave and has been seeking to improve relations with neighbouring Egypt in a bid to convince Cairo to open the territory`s border with Gaza  its only crossing except with Israel.

Relations have been tense since the Hamas-allied Muslim Brotherhood president Mohammed Morsi was overthrown in 2013 and eventually replaced by former military leader Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who accused Hamas of supporting terrorism in Egypt.

But agreements made this summer suggested a detente between the two sides, with Hamas officials saying Egypt agreed to open the Rafah crossing in the coming months.

A Hamas statement said the delegation would discuss "mechanisms to ease the siege on Gaza and other issues of mutual concern", including reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah  the internationally recognised Palestinian government based in the West Bank.

It is Haniya`s first visit since he was elected in May, although senior Hamas officials have held high-level talks in Egypt since.

Hamas has fought three wars with Israel since 2008, and the Jewish state closely follows the Palestinian movement`s ties with Egypt, one of only two Arab states with which it has signed a peace treaty.
Beijing: When Kim Jong Un inherited power in North Korea in late 2011, then-Chinese President Hu Jintao was outwardly supportive of the untested young leader, predicting that "traditional friendly cooperation" between the countries would strengthen.

Two years later, Kim ordered the execution of his uncle Jang Song Thaek, the country`s chief interlocutor with China and a relatively reform-minded official in the hermetic state.

Since then, ties between the allies have deteriorated so sharply that some diplomats and experts fear Beijing may become, like Washington, a target of its neighbour`s ire.

While the United States and its allies - and many people in China - believe Beijing should do more to rein in Pyongyang, the acceleration of North Korea`s nuclear and missile capabilities has coincided with a near-total breakdown of high-level diplomacy between the two.

Before retiring this summer, China`s longtime point man on North Korea, Wu Dawei, had not visited the country for over a year. His replacement, Kong Xuanyou, has yet to visit and is still carrying out duties from his previous Asian role, traveling to Pakistan in mid-August, diplomats say.

The notion that mighty China wields diplomatic control over impoverished North Korea is mistaken, said Jin Canrong, an international relations professor at Beijing`s Renmin University.

"There has never existed a subordinate relationship between the two sides. Never. Especially after the end of the Cold War, the North Koreans fell into a difficult situation and could not get enough help from China, so they determined to help themselves."

A famine in the mid-1990s that claimed anywhere from 200,000 to three million North Koreans was a turning point for the economy, forcing private trade on the collectivized state. That allowed the North a degree of independence from outside aid and gave credence to the official "Juche" ideology of self-reliance.

Avoid Chaos

China fought alongside North Korea during the 1950-53 Korean War, in which Chinese leader Mao Zedong lost his eldest son, and Beijing has long been Pyongyang`s chief ally and primary trade partner.

While their relationship has always been clouded by suspicion and mistrust, China grudgingly tolerated North Korea`s provocations as preferable to the alternatives: chaotic collapse that spills across their border, and a Korean peninsula under the domain of a US-backed Seoul government.

That is also the reason China is reluctant to exert its considerable economic clout, worried that measures as drastic as the energy embargo proposed this week by Washington could lead to the North`s collapse.

Instead, China repeatedly calls for calm, restraint and a negotiated solution.

The North Korean government does not provide foreign media with a contact point in Pyongyang for comment by email, fax or phone. The North Korean embassy in Beijing was not immediately available for comment.

China`s foreign ministry did not respond to a faxed request for comment. It has repeatedly spoken out against what it calls the "China responsibility theory" and insists the direct parties - North Korea, South Korea and the United States - hold the key to resolving tensions.

'Feudal Ages'

Until his death in 2011, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il made numerous entreaties to ensure China would back his preferred son as successor.

While then-President Hu reciprocated, the younger Kim, in his late 20s at the time, began to distance himself from his country`s most powerful ally.

"There`s a lot of domestic politics in North Korea where this young leader who isn`t well-known, he`s not proven yet, especially has to show that he`s not in the pocket of Beijing," said John Delury of Seoul`s Yonsei University. "I think he made the decision first to keep Hu Jintao and then (current President) Xi Jinping really at bay."

Within months of coming to power, Kim telegraphed North Korea`s intentions by amending its constitution to proclaim itself a nuclear state. The execution of Jang in 2013 sealed Beijing`s distrust of the young leader.

"Of course the Chinese were not happy," said a foreign diplomat in Beijing focused on North Korea. "Executing your uncle, that`s from the feudal ages."

In an attempt to warm ties, Xi sent high-ranking Communist Party official Liu Yunshan to attend the North`s October 2015 military parade marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Workers` Party of Korea.

Liu hand-delivered a letter from Xi praising Kim`s leadership and including congratulations not just from the Chinese Communist Party but Xi`s personal "cordial wishes" in a powerful show of respect.

Xi`s overture has been repaid with increasingly brazen actions by Pyongyang, which many observers believe is timed for maximum embarrassment to Beijing. Sunday`s nuclear test, for example, took place as China hosted a BRICS summit, while in May, the North launched a long-range missile just hours before the Belt and Road Forum, dedicated to Xi`s signature foreign policy initiative.

Misreading Lips

Mao Zedong`s description of North Korea`s relationship with China is typically mischaracterised as being as close as "lips and teeth".

His words are better translated as: "If the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold," a reference to the strategic importance of the North as a geographical security buffer.

Despite its resentment at the pressure North Korea`s actions have put it under, Beijing refrains from taking too hard a line.

It said little when Kim Jong Un`s half-brother was assassinated in February at Kuala Lumpur`s airport. The half-brother, Kim Jong Nam, had been seen as a potential rival for power in Pyongyang and had lived for years in Beijing, then Macau.

An editorial in China`s influential Global Times warned after Pyongyang`s latest nuclear test that cutting off North Korea`s oil would redirect the conflict to one between North Korea and China.

Zhao Tong, a North Korea expert at the Carnegie-Tsinghua Center in Beijing, said North Korea was deeply unhappy with China`s backing of earlier UN sanctions.

"If China supports more radical economic sanctions that directly threaten the stability of the regime, then it is possible that North Korea becomes as hostile to China as to the United States."
Subang: Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak on Saturday said Rohingya Muslims face systematic violence including torture, rape and murder in Myanmar.

Predominantly Muslim Malaysia has spoken out strongly against mostly Buddhist Myanmar over its treatment of its Rohingya minority since violence erupted last October.

In the past 15 days, nearly 300,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh after raids by Rohingya militants triggered a Myanmar security forces crackdown in Rakhine state.

"Based on the reports we have received, (the Rohingya) are discriminated and no mercy is accorded to them," he told reporters at the Subang Airforce base on the outskirts of the capital Kuala Lumpur.

"Actually, it is done in a planned manner so that they are tortured, discriminated, killed and raped," he added.

Earlier Najib witnessed the deployment of two airforce cargo planes with food and medical supplies to the port city of Chittagong in Bangladesh.

"We are sending two planes with biscuits, rice and soap. Malaysia will do whatever it can to help since this is a huge disaster," he said.

Najib also said a reconnaissance team would arrive in Dhaka on Monday consisting of diplomats and military officers to identify further assistance needed by the Rohingya.

Malaysia`s armed forces chief said Saturday that Kuala Lumpur would provide a 200-bed military field hospital in Bangladesh if the government there granted permission.

Describing Myanmar`s inaction to halt the violence against innocent civilians as "rather disappointing", Najib said he will raise the Rohingya humanitarian tragedy with President Donald Trump on September 12 during an official visit to the White House.

"We have to help because the Rohingya tragedy has reached terrible proportions," he said.

On Friday, the powerful youth wing of Najib`s dominant Malaysia`s ruling party led a noisy street protest urging Kuala Lumpur to sever diplomatic ties with Yangon.

Malaysia on Tuesday summoned the Myanmar ambassador to voice its "deep concern" over the situation in Rakhine state, where witnesses said entire villages have been burned.

Over 1,000 people -- more than twice the government`s total estimate -- may already have been killed in Rakhine, mostly Rohingya, said Yanghee Lee, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar.

As of June this year, there are 59,100 Rohingya refugees registered with the UN Refugee Agency in Malaysia.
Islamabad: Pakistan`s Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Friday confirmed the death sentence to four "hardcore terrorists" who were handed the capital punishment by a military court for committing offences related to terrorism, said the military`s media wing.



"The chief of Army Staff confirmed death sentence awarded to four hardcore terrorists, who were involved in committing serious offences related to terrorism including killing and kidnapping of civilians, destruction of schools and attacks on educational institutes, attacks on Armed Forces and Law Enforcement Agencies," a statement from the Inter-Services Public Relations said.



The terrorists killed 16 innocent people and injured eight others during the terror activities, according to the statement.



All of them were members of a banned organisation based in Pakistan and were arrested from different areas of the country.



All the convicts had admitted their offences before the magistrates and the trial courts, according to the statement.



The army courts were set up after the terrorist attack on an army school in December 2014 for the speedy trial of the terrorism-related accused.
Riyadh: Saudi Arabia on Saturday suspended any dialogue with Qatar, accusing it of distorting facts soon after a phone call between the rulers of both countries offered hope of a breakthrough in the three-month-old Gulf crisis.

Qatar`s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani , spoke to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to express interest in talks, state media from both sides said, in the first public engagement between the leaders after the US president offered to mediate in the crisis.

Saudi Arabia led the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain in cutting ties with Qatar in June, accusing it of bankrolling Islamist extremist groups and of being too close to regional rival Iran. Doha denies the accusations.

The crown prince "welcomed this desire," the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) initially reported, adding "details will be announced after Saudi Arabia reaches an agreement with UAE and Bahrain and Egypt".

But the prospect of a thaw quickly died down after SPA subsequently accused Qatar`s state media of wrongly implying that Saudi Arabia had initiated the outreach.

"The contact was at the request of Qatar and its request for dialogue," SPA said, citing a Saudi foreign ministry official.

"Qatar is not serious in dialogue and continues its previous policies. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia declares that any dialogue with Qatar shall be suspended until a clear statement explaining its position is made in public."

The development came after US President Donald Trump on Friday spoke separately with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE.

"The President underscored that unity among the United States` Arab partners is essential to promoting regional stability and countering the threat of Iran," the White House said.

"The President also emphasised that all countries must follow through on commitments... to defeat terrorism, cut off funding for terrorist groups, and combat extremist ideology."

When he offered to mediate, Trump said he believed the dispute could be solved "fairly easily".Despite the deadlock, observers said the telephone call between the Qatari and Saudi rulers itself was a sign that tensions were dissipating.

"The fact that the telephone call took place and the offer of dialogue was made is significant in itself," said Kristian Ulrichsen, a fellow at the Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University.

"(It) signals a climb down from the brinkmanship that has characterised so much of the Gulf standoff since June," Ulrichsen told AFP.

But diplomatic efforts led by Kuwait, a key mediator in the crisis backed by Western powers, have so far failed to achieve a breakthrough.

In Washington on Thursday, Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah offered Trump an upbeat assessment of his efforts so far.

But in a statement early Friday, the Saudi-led bloc showed no signs of backing down as it questioned the Kuwaiti emir`s statement that Qatar would be willing to accept their 13 demands.

The demands include shutting Doha-based broadcaster Al-Jazeera, closing a Turkish military base in the emirate and downgrading Qatari diplomatic ties with Iran.

The bloc also voiced "regret" about the Kuwaiti ruler`s statement "on the success of mediation in stopping military intervention".

Instead, the four Arab states stressed that "the military option has not been and will not be considered" under any circumstances.

Riyadh and Doha are both key allies of the United States, which has sent mixed signals on its policy towards the nations.

Trump, who chose Saudi Arabia for his first overseas visit as president in May, two weeks before the crisis erupted, immediately expressed staunch support for Saudi Arabia.

Some other US officials including Secretary of State Rex Tillerson adopted a more measured tone.

Qatar hosts a huge US air base, home to the headquarters of Centcom -- the regional command which leads operations against the Islamic State jihadist group.

Sheikh Tamim is set to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel for talks on September 15, in what will be his first trip to a western capital since the crisis began.
Beirut: The Syrian army and its allies recaptured an oilfield from Islamic State near the eastern city of Deir al-Zor on Saturday in further advances against the militants, state TV reported.

Government forces also seized part of a main highway running from Deir al-Zor down to the city of al-Mayadeen, to which many Islamic State militants have retreated, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said.

The Syrian army this week broke through Islamic State lines to reach a government-held enclave of Deir al-Zor besieged for years by the jihadists, and is fighting to reach a nearby air base which IS still surrounds.

On Saturday, the army and militias fighting alongside it seized the Teym oilfield in desert south of Deir al-Zor, state TV said. Deir al-Zor is in an oil-rich area of Syria.

To the east of Teym and south of the air base, government forces also recaptured part of the main road running from Deir al-Zor to al-Mayadeen, downstream along the Euphrates river and closer to the Iraq border, the Observatory reported.

The British-based monitoring group said that advance would block potential Islamic State reinforcements from al-Mayadeen.

The advances put yet more pressure on Islamic State`s shrinking caliphate, which once stretched across northern and eastern Syria, and northwestern Iraq.

In Syria, the group holds much of Deir al-Zor province and half the city, as well as a pocket of territory near Hama and Homs in the west of the country.
Ankara: Turkey on Saturday asked citizens to be "cautious" in Germany and stay away from political gatherings ahead of this month`s election, as tensions ratcheted between the NATO allies.

Ties have plummeted since last year`s attempted overthrow of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Germany`s strong criticism of an ensuing crackdown which saw more than 50,000 people arrested.

Relations further deteriorated after the detention of several German citizens including Deniz Yucel, a correspondent for the Die Welt newspaper.

The Turkish foreign ministry urged citizens living in Germany or planning to travel there "to be cautious, taking into account the situation in Germany where they could risk xenophobic or racist treatment".

It asked them to "stay away from political debates, political party gatherings ahead of the general election" on September 24.

Ankara claimed there was "discrimination" against Turks "on the basis of their political views", which has led to "verbal attacks against some of our citizens".

Erdogan last month urged Turks in Germany not to vote for Chancellor Angela Merkel`s Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the Social Democratic Party (SPD) or the Greens, as they were "enemies of Turkey", enraging German politicians.

Merkel on Sunday provoked a wave of anger in Turkey and claims of German "populism" after she said she would seek to end talks on Ankara`s accession to the European Union.
Kabul: At least eleven Taliban insurgents have been killed in an airstrike conducted by the United States forces in eastern Nangarhar province of Afghanistan.

The government officials said that the airstrike was carried out late on Thursday afternoon in the vicinity of Bati Kot district, the Khaama Press reported.

"The militants were hanging out in the area when they were targeted, leaving eleven of them dead and one more wounded," the officials further said.

The provincial government issued a statement confirming the airstrike, in which several weapons belonging to the Taliban insurgents were also destroyed.

Taliban has not commented so far.

Earlier, at least eleven Islamic State of Iraq and Syria Khorasan (ISIS-K) insurgents were killed in an airstrike in Nangarhar province.

Anti-ISIS, as well as anti-Taliban operations, are underway to eliminate the presence of ISIS affiliates in Nangarhar province and the U.S. forces are providing airstrikes support to the Afghan forces during the operations.
Beirut: The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces alliance (SDF) has launched an operation against Islamic State militants in the north of Deir al-Zor province in eastern Syria, a statement said on Saturday.

The statement from the Deir al-Zor Military Council, fighting as part of the SDF, said assaults would aim to drive the jihadist militants out of areas they hold north and east of the Euphrates river.
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 9, ARMENPRESS. Kurdish PKK forces and Turkish soldier clashed in the countrys Bingol province, local media said.

One Turkish soldier has been killed, and another was wounded in the fighting.

Authorities continue operations to apprehend the Kurdish militants.
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 9, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan participated in the September 9 opening of the Armenias digitization agenda conference.

The conference is organized by the governments Center of Strategic Initiatives, with assistance from the EU-funded Development and strategic studies program.

The purpose of the conference is to signal the beginning of the development of Armenias digitization agenda and prepare the draft document, taking into account the situation, current needs and international trends in digitization.
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 9, ARMENPRESS. Unknown perpetrators have blasted open an ATM in downtown Yerevan, the Police HQ told ARMENPRESS.

Authorities said a large amount of money has been stolen.

Law enforcement agencies launched joint operations to identify and apprehend the perpetrators.

The Investigative Committee said they will release details of the incident soon.

The ATM is located at 71 Hanrapetutyan Street in downtown Yerevan.
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 9, ARMENPRESS. A team of experts from the U.S. Forest Service is in Armenia working with the Ministry of Nature Protection to assist with decisions of where, when, and how to apply the most effective post-fire treatments to mitigate erosion, flooding, and promote long-term watershed health and vegetation recovery following the Khosrov and Artavan fires, the US Embassy said.

The team, forest geneticist Dr. Andrew Bower and hydrologist Dana Butler, are in Armenia to offer technical expertise on the Burned Area Emergency Response process used by the U.S. Forest Service following such disasters.

They are also sharing techniques on fire suppression repair, as well as offering technical experience in long-term recovery of watersheds. We are glad this team is able to come so quickly after the fire to help our Armenian partners by sharing best practices and techniques, said U.S. Ambassador to Armenia Richard Mills, Jr.

This is an important step in our partnership with Armenia to ensure damage caused by future fires is mitigated. The two U.S. experts are meeting with staff at the Khosrov Reserve, government officials, NGOs, and other stakeholders to listen, learn, and help identify critical locations in and around the burned area that need immediate attention. On this trip they are specifically looking at areas at risk of damage from water runoff and erosion caused by the loss of vegetation. They are working on providing recommendations for immediate emergency treatments to minimize the threats to life or property by flooding or landslides.
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 9, ARMENPRESS. 2 million drams has been stolen from an ATM machine which was blasted open in downtown Yerevan, spokesperson of the Investigative Committee Sona Truzyan told ARMENPRESS.

According to initial information, the ATM was loaded with a total of 3 million 300 thousand drams, however a part of the money, more than 1 million, was found in the territory.

A criminal case has been initiated, and law enforcement agencies are carrying out joint operations to identify and apprehend the perpetrators.
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 9, ARMENPRESS. Armenias President Serzh Sargsyan sent a congratulatory message to Peoples Artist of the Republic of Armenia Rafael Kotanjian on his 75th birthday, wishing him robust health, inexhaustible energy and vigor, as well as new achievements, the Presidents Office told ARMENPRESS.

You are one of the prominent figures of the Armenian theater - an artist whose rich and exciting creativity is a striking evidence of devotion to our national culture.

Thanks to your talent and great mastership, you have created numerous theatrical and cinematographic characters, which imply a vision of an intellectual artist and boundless love of life and people.

Today as well, proceeding along the meritorious path of theatrical art, you share your experience and knowledge with young artists, the future actors of the Armenian theater and cinema, the Presidents congratulatory message reads.
Ever since the 2016 election, many N.C. Republicans have feared - and many Democrats have hoped - that a partisan realignment on the N.C. Supreme Court could put the brakes on policies and programs put forward by the GOP-led General Assembly.But there's an alternative path. Rather than following Gov. Roy Cooper's lead and taking aim at the Republican legislature, the state's highest court could maintain a focus solely on settling legal and constitutional disputes.It's far too early to tell whether justices will follow that path. Last week's court order in the case of Cooper v. Berger offers at least a glimmer of hope.To recap, North Carolina's officially nonpartisan Supreme Court operated with a 4-3 Republican majority until Superior Court Judge Mike Morgan, a registered Democrat, unseated incumbent Republican Justice Bob Edmunds in November. Now, if justices split on a partisan basis, Democrats hold a 4-3 edge.That's a big "if." Cases decided so far this year paint a picture of a much more cooperative court. Twenty-seven of 32 Supreme Court opinions posted since January have expressed unanimous agreement. Even the cases that have divided the court haven't followed strictly party lines.The year's first decision, a medical malpractice case called King v. Bryant, included no input from Morgan. The court split, 4-2, with Republican Justice Barbara Jackson joining the court's three other Democrats. The two remaining Republicans, Chief Justice Mark Martin and Justice Paul Newby, wrote separate dissents.Both cases decided this year with a 5-2 margin have featured an even split among the court's four Democrats. In, which addressed a state law linked to methamphetamine, Democrat Sam Ervin IV wrote the majority opinion. Morgan and Democrat Cheri Beasley dissented. In, which resolved portions of a dispute between the city and its former police chief, Democrat Robin Hudson wrote for the majority while Ervin and Beasley dissented.Just two cases have produced 4-3 splits. In the first, a dispute involving a construction loan that hinges on the "doctrine of judicial estoppel," Morgan joined the court's three Republicans. The other three Democrats dissented.The only case that has produced a 4-3 partisan split was the June decision in. That case dealt with blood test results from a 2014 Buncombe County drunk driving case. The court's Democrats supported Beasley's opinion. The Republicans joined Martin's dissent. Newby added his own separate dissent.Political observers will note, correctly, that the high court has not yet ruled in any case that pits Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper directly against Republican Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore. But the name alone suggests that the Cooper v. Berger case will provide the first test of the court's ability to avoid a purely partisan division when settling a separation of powers dispute.The case stems from the governor's objection to the legislature's merger of state elections and ethics boards. Lawmakers created a new eight-member oversight group with an even number of Democrats and Republicans. Legislative leaders tout the change as bipartisan, but Cooper isn't buying it. He contends the change from a five-member board with three Democrats would take away his constitutional executive power to control the state agency that oversees elections.It's not clear when the Supreme Court will issue a final decision in the case. But the glimmer of hope for a nonpartisan legal approach stems from the course of action the Supreme Court took late Friday afternoon.The original three-judge panel considering Cooper v. Berger punted on a decision. The panel had dismissed Cooper's complaint against legislative leaders. The judges argued they "lacked jurisdiction" over the issues Cooper raised in his lawsuit.Had the Supreme Court's four Democrats wanted to rush a decision favoring Cooper, they could have followed up their Aug. 28 hearing in the case with a ruling endorsing the governor's arguments.Instead the full Supreme Court asked the three-judge panel to reconsider its earlier decision. In an order that shows no sign of dissent, Morgan reminded the trial court of its role ofThe newest justice also reminded the panel that the Supreme Court's role is to review trial court rulings and address errors.The "proper administration of justice would be best served" if the trial court took another look at the case, Morgan wrote.Cooper's spokesman praised the order, but it's not clearly partisan. Democratic and Republican justices alike might be just as willing to support Morgan's reaffirmation of standard procedure in this type of legal dispute.The three-judge panel must reach a new decision within 60 days, and the case will head straight back to the Supreme Court. It's entirely possible at that time that justices will split, 4-3, along party lines.But they have not yet blocked the path of following the law where it leads and leaving politics to the politicians.
Experts note many licensing boards have scant accountability

SAN ANTONIO, Texas Who should be required to get more training: An auto mechanic changing your faulty brakes, fixing your misaligned steering column, and replacing a leaky fuel pump - or a barber taking a little off the top?If you answered the barber, you might be a government regulator in Michigan.Jarrett Skorup, marketing and strategic outreach manager for the Mackinac Center for Public Policy in Michigan, said an auto mechanic needs no formal education to ply his trade, only a $6 fee to take a test. A barber must complete 1,800 hours of training, more than the 1,500 hours of flight training for an airline pilot.Skorup was one of several analysts speaking on panels at the State Policy Network annual convention in late August about the economic drag and unfair consequences of occupational licensing. They called many licensing rules arbitrary, and most of them economically, morally, and constitutionally wrong. The rules hit poor people hardest, with many preventing anyone with even a minor criminal record from getting a license. The restrictions often spur the development of black markets.Skorup said occupational licensing mandates almost always are justified by citing health and safety concerns, even when the link seems shaky. A report by the Institute for Justice found in the 1950s one in 20 workers had to secure an occupational license to work. By 2012, the ratio had risen to nearly one in three.Detroit licenses 60 occupations, everything from furniture moving and window washing to landscapers and animal hide haulers.said Jon Riches, director of litigation for the Goldwater Institute in Arizona.Licensing boards often are unaccountable and can impose new restrictions without getting approval from elected officials, Riches said. Other legal hurdles are erected by judges, who create inventive ways to justify burdensome regulations, he said.The freedom to work is a hallmark of American liberty, and shouldn't be relegated to such secondary status, Riches said.Some occupational licensing boards are high-handed, said Tom Newell, a senior fellow with the Florida-based Foundation for Government Accountability. He had run-ins with some licensing agencies during his six years as a member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives, when he chaired a government oversight and accountability committee."Most of those occupational licensing boards are captured by the very people they regulate," Newell said. They had no interest in examining and reforming the process. The boards were financed by fines, fees, and license renewal costs. That revenue paid to hire lobbyists who were chummy with legislators, many of whom had little knowledge or interest in the boards' operations.Some of the licensing boards pushed back against Newell's reform efforts, stating they were self-funded so the legislature had no authority over them. Newell reminded them they were created by the state, and under its jurisdiction. Last year, Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin formed a task force to comprehensively review the state's occupational licenses, and weed out those that impede employment.Dick Carpenter, director of strategic research at the Institute for Justice, said a profession can protect its brand without demanding occupational licensing. Simple market competition with consumer protections against deceptive trade practices can shield the public from shady operators, Carpenter said. Business inspections, mandatory bonding or insurance, business registration, and business certification are other less intrusive safeguards.The Institute for Justice has developed model legislation for state legislatures. It includes provisions stating each person's right to earn an honest living, regulations that promote competition, sunset provisions, and reforming criminal justice policies so offenders get an opportunity to gain meaningful employment.Several panelists said a major victory for the right to work occurred in 2015, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against North Carolina in an antitrust lawsuit In that case, independent teeth-whitening operators sued the North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners for ordering them to stop providing services unless they acquired a dental license.But the victory has not pushed other states to pass legislation limiting licensing boards. Lawsuits remain one of the few ways to force change.Carpenter said.
The term "McDonaldization" was coined by sociology professor George Ritzer in 1993. He meant for it to describe "the industrial process of rationalization that [was] expanding beyond industry into the cultural and educational spheres."Ritzer's term caught on and in 2002, Dennis Hayes and Robin Wynyard applied it to higher education in a book they edited entitled The McDonaldization of Higher Education.The book describes the attempt by education bureaucrats to improve higher education through the same processes of rationalization applied to industry, to make the university more efficient at delivering its "product" (degrees) to its "customers" (students).For Hayes and Wynward, the effects of McDonaldization were negative. The point of a degree prior to McDonaldization was to signal that one had acquired a certain amount of knowledge, but after it, degrees lost their connection to education in a meaningful sense. The point of the McDonaldized degree is just to have the credential needed as an increasingly dubious means to a good job.Hayes has recently edited a new volume entitled Beyond McDonaldization: Visions of Higher Education. It continues the descriptive and critical role of the earlier volume and outlines potential avenues of reform.Hayes is a professor of education at the University of Derby (UK) and director of Academics for Academic Freedom. He has spent years working for reform of the academy in the English-speaking world.According to Hayes, the ironic effect of the rationalization of the university is to make it irrational. Rather thanthe McDonaldized university is increasingly inefficient, bogged down in bureaucracy, and unable to complete its basic function-no matter how many students receive degrees.Like Hayes, contributors to this volume hail from the academy and the world of higher education reform. All agree both that McDonaldization of the university has detracted from the traditional goal of higher education-the pursuit of knowledge-and that we must return the university to that purpose.The essays are varied, leaving the reader to ponder a variety of vistas for reform.Gavin Poynter, Professor Emeritus of East London University, argues in "Beyond Instrumentalism: Why Education is Living on Borrowed Time" that it is ironic that we now treat higher education as instrumental to economic betterment. Students and governments pay enormous sums for little in the way of either marketable skills for individuals or broad economic growth.He notes that over fifteen times as many students received degrees in the UK in 2010 as in 1960 and the US saw an increase of nearly five times as many students receiving degrees in the same period. Between 2006 and 2015 student debt increased from $481 billion to $1.3 trillion. In a worsening job market, higher education continues to get a boost as the best means to a better job. Poynter writes,In a similar vein, "Beyond Pragmatism: The Pedagogy of the Impressed" by Austin Williams warns against using China as a model for education reform. Williams is a professor at Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU) in China. While many have been impressed by China's supposed achievements, Williams notes that its utilitarian approach to education has left its students bereft of creativity, taught only a "mechanical skill set" of ironically little value, and encouraged to "succeed" even through cheating. Such reforms leave little room for the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake.Williams notes that China is essentially copying "pragmatic," instrumentalist reforms in vogue in England and the US. By looking to China for a model, Western education reformers are chasing their own proverbial tail.Angus Kennedy's "Beyond McUniversity: The University as it Should Be" and Clare Hornsby and Sebastian Morello's "Beyond the Secular University" advocate a return to the traditional liberal arts, but they differ as to what that might mean.Kennedy points to the institutional manifestation of the university from the Platonic Academy to the German system of research and teaching and argues that the common thread that runs through them all is universitas, the one. The university gets its name from its primary pursuit, the attempt to understand the one, the truth, the unifying principle that binds it all together. The university should be a model for society, a community of thinkers of diverse backgrounds and views who come together to analyze and compare ideas, to think and judge for themselves. The Enlightenment best reflected this role for the university.The university today is in the process of jettisoning academic freedom, the core freedom attaching to the ideal of a community of scholars. The massive increase in students in the UK and the US has dealt a blow to the quality of education and transformed the university from the model the rest of society should follow to a reflection of society at large.Rather than being a leader, higher education is a follower. The university no longer pursues truth for its own sake. Now it caters to its audience, simply providing a plethora of degrees of decreasing value to an ever-increasing number of students.Hornsby and Morello reject the secularization of the university as inevitably culminating in something like McDonaldization. The religious impulse at the heart of the Medieval university is at the center of the liberal arts. Only with the restoration of the study of theology and philosophy as the central mission of the university can it return to its original purpose of pursuing truth.Kennedy, Hornsby, and Morello argue that the best solution is a complete re-founding of the university. This means the founding of new universities, new institutions that would "[find] new answers to the question of how to live together." These institutions would be devoted to educating, not merely credentialing, their students and providing a model for how society ought to be.Perhaps the book's most interesting essay is "Beyond Censorship: Toward a Republic of Science" by Adam Kissel. Kissel, recently appointed Assistant Undersecretary of Education, argues that the pursuit of knowledge at the heart of the university requires structural reforms to protect free speech and free inquiry.He sees threats to these values emanating from ideology (as the main driver of censorship), government (for distorting the academic environment through funding), and professional organizations (as monopolistic gatekeepers).Kissel's solution is a "republic of science." Drawing an analogy with a constitutional republic where freedom is preserved "through institutional arrangements that set power against power," he argues for privatization of university funding and decentralization of licensing. As it stands, the government is the primary source of funding and the primary enforcement mechanism of academic licensing. As such, ideological dissent can come with a heavy cost in terms of funding and the ability of academic programs to maintain licensure.Many professional associations, such as the American Bar Association, have imposed ideological straitjackets on their members. If they are granted a monopoly on licensure by the state, entire professions and their academic counterparts fall under what is in effect government censorship.Privatizing research would decentralize the sources of funding. Of course, private sources of funding will have their own agendas, but at least they must compete with each other. A decentralization of licensing would diminish the capacity for broad ideological litmus tests, often imposed at the level of the academic department. The problem is not an ideological agenda per se, but that an ideological agenda is given a monopoly on power in the university, especially through the coercive force of government, whether in funding or in licensing.By definition, universities subject to ideological agendas are not in the business of pursuing knowledge for its own sake. Kissel's proposal for a "republic of science" would remove the institutionalized sources of ideological agendas that distort research and suppress academic freedom in the university, but nonetheless provide a means whereby research can be funded. That would bolster the ability of the university to be the place where knowledge is pursued, no matter the perceived ideological character of that research.Hayes explores what he calls the "therapeutic university," a by-product of the McDonaldized university. He sees the therapeutic turn in the university as "complementary" to McDonaldization. As universities became increasingly concerned with their market value and began to treat students like commodities, the need for dealing with their "ontological angst" became apparent.The goal of the therapeutic university is not to educate students, but to make them comfortable, which means stepping into the role of therapist. But if universities' primary goal is to serve as sources of therapy and comfort for students, then they must reject the traditional notion of the university as the place where knowledge is accumulated and disseminated.Knowledge, after all, can be offensive, contributing to "ontological angst" by challenging students' assumptions, and making students aware that they're often wrong. A university concerned with therapy is a university unconcerned with disseminating knowledge.By the end of Beyond McDonaldization, the need for reform is clear, but the path back to the university's founding purpose, the pursuit of knowledge, is still in doubt.
Overview of 2017 State Test Scores and Graduation Rates

On Thursday, state education officials released 2016-17 accountability results for all North Carolina district and charter schools. Overall, there was little difference in the performance of schools last year compared to the year before. Statewide proficiency and 4-year graduation rates have inched up. There was a slight decline in the percentage of schools exceeding growth expectations.While graduation rates have increased by more than 18 percentage points since 2006, last year's rate of 86.5 percent represents a mere 0.6 percentage point increase from 2016. Of the various subgroups, Limited English Proficient students had the lowest 4-year graduation rate, 58 percent for the state in 2017. The Asian student subgroup had the highest 4-year graduation rate, nearly 94 percent. Rates for both subgroups were slight improvements compared to the year before.While the rate increase is good news, keep in mind that quantity is not necessarily an indicator of the quality. Community college remediation rates suggest that many North Carolina public school students graduate without adequate skills and knowledge in core subjects. In 2015, around a third of recent high school graduates received math and English remediation upon entering a North Carolina community college directly after high school. Moreover, questions about the use of credit recovery programs for struggling students still need to be answered. According to WBTV in Charlotte, "some students who participated in the [Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools credit recovery] program were still able to graduate, and they didn't fully master the content." Yikes!According to state data, 73.7 percent of North Carolina schools met or exceeded their academic growth goals. That was a trivial 0.1 percentage point bump since 2016. Academic growth measures (also called "value-added" analyses) are indispensable because they are not correlated to student demographics. On the other hand, a school that meets or exceeds growth expectations may still enroll few students that score at or above grade level, so it is important to couple growth measures with proficiency rates.There was a very slight increase in the percentage of students earning grade-level proficient scores on state end-of-grade (EOG) and end-of-course (EOC) tests. North Carolina has a five-tier accountability system. Achievement levels 1 and 2 are below grade level. Grade-level proficiency applies to scores that reach achievement level 3 and above. Achievement levels 4 and 5 indicate grade-level proficiency and career and college readiness.Across all subjects and grade levels, 59.2 percent of North Carolina students earned grade-level proficiency, that is, Level 3 and above. A much lower percentage, 49.2 percent, met the "career and college ready" standard or Level 4 and above. Both are trending in the positive direction, but the fact remains that around half of North Carolina students are not on track to be prepared academically for life after graduation.Both growth and proficiency rates are included in school performance grades. Proficiency rates (and performance metrics specific to high schools) account for 80 percent of the grade, while growth makes up the other 20 percent. Those measures are combined and scored on a 15-point scale. Overall, 7.1 percent received an A, 28.1 percent scored a B, 42.3 percent logged a C, and the remaining 22.5 percent earned a D or F.Once again, charter schools had a much higher percentage of A and B schools than district schools, 43.5 percent compared to 35.2 percent for districts. At the same time, charters had a higher percentage of D and F schools, 25.2 percent compared to 22.5 percent for districts.Republicans cannot boast that their reform initiatives led to significant increases in student performance. That said, it may be too early to observe a measurable effect, given the large-scale, systematic policy changes implemented by the Republican-led legislature since 2011. At the same time, Democrats cannot claim that Republicans have harmed public schools, although they will likely claim that their policies are producing stagnant student performance outcomes. Partisan bickering aside, it is important to remember that state and federal policies rarely benefit or harm schools as much as politicians and activists claim they do.While I will have more to say about the test scores in the coming weeks, the most important test score release will occur next month when the U.S. Department of Education releases fourth- and eighth-grade reading and math scores from the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP). The biennial NAEP assessments provide the best indicator of the health of our public schools.
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.
President Donald J. Trump Announces Sixth Wave of United States Attorney Nominations

News Release:



President Donald J. Trump today announced his sixth wave of United States Attorney nominations. The United States Attorney serves as the chief Federal law enforcement officer within his or her Federal judicial district. These nine candidates share the President's vision for "Making America Safe Again." Accordingly, the President today announced his intent to nominate these individuals to serve as the United States Attorney for their respective jurisdictions.



If confirmed, John F. Bash of Texas will serve as the United States Attorney for the Western District of Texas. Mr. Bash is currently a Special Assistant to the President and Associate Counsel to the President. From 2012 to 2017, he served as an Assistant to the Solicitor General in the United States Department of Justice. In that role, he argued ten cases on behalf of the United States in the Supreme Court, and he litigated or advised on numerous cases and other matters involving a range of federal legal questions, with a special emphasis on national security and criminal law. He previously was an associate attorney at Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP in Washington, D.C., where his practice focused on complex litigation in Federal district and appellate courts. Mr. Bash clerked for the Honorable Antonin Scalia of the United States Supreme Court and the Honorable Brett M. Kavanaugh of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. He received his A.B., summa cum laude, from Harvard University and his J.D., magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School.



If confirmed, Scott W. Brady of Pennsylvania will serve as the United States Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania. Scott W. Brady is currently the head of litigation for Federated Investors, Inc. Mr. Brady previously served as an Assistant United States Attorney in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 2004 to 2010, where he prosecuted white collar crime, violent crime and drug trafficking offenses. Mr. Brady also served as an associate at Jones Day and at Reed Smith LLP, where his practice focused on multi-district litigation, white collar criminal matters and internal investigations. He clerked for the Honorable Thomas M. Hardiman of the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. Mr. Brady serves as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. Prior to law school, Mr. Brady worked in emergency relief and development in Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia. He graduated from Harvard University and the Pennsylvania State University School of Law.



If confirmed, Bobby L. Christine of Georgia will serve as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. Mr. Christine is currently a Magistrate Judge in Columbia County, and a partner at the law firm of Christine and Evans, LLC. He is also a Colonel in the Georgia Army National Guard, where he serves as State Judge Advocate. Previously, Mr. Christine served nearly a decade as an Assistant District Attorney in Augusta, Georgia. He received his B.A. from the University of Georgia, and his J.D. from Cumberland School of Law at Samford University.



If confirmed, David J. Freed of Pennsylvania will serve as the United States Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. Mr. Freed is currently serving his 12th year as the elected District Attorney of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. He previously served five years as First Assistant District Attorney in Cumberland County prosecuting Homicides, Violent Felonies, Arson and Complex Drug Transactions and as a Deputy Prosecutor in York County, Pennsylvania as well as in private law practice focusing on civil litigation. Mr. Freed is the former President (2013-2014) of the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association and has been a member of its Executive Committee since 2007. He received his B.A., cum laude, from Washington and Lee University and his J.D. from the Dickinson School of Law of the Pennsylvania State University.



If confirmed, Andrew E. Lelling of Massachusetts will serve as the United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts. Mr. Lelling is currently the senior litigation counsel for the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts and has worked in that office for 12 years, prosecuting white collar crime and international drug trafficking, among other offenses. Mr. Lelling also served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia. He previously served as counsel to the Assistant Attorney General at the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division. Mr. Lelling clerked for the Honorable B. Avant Edenfield of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia. He received his B.A., magna cum laude, from the State University of New York at Binghamton and his J.D., cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.



If confirmed, Stephen R. McAllister of Kansas will serve as the United States Attorney for the District of Kansas. Mr. McAllister is currently the Solicitor General of Kansas and the E.S. & Tom W. Hampton Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Kansas. Mr. McAllister has argued nine times before the Supreme Court of the United States and currently teaches constitutional and federal civil rights law at the University of Kansas. Mr. McAllister clerked for the Honorable Clarence Thomas of the United States Supreme Court, the Honorable Byron R. White of the United States Supreme Court, and the Honorable Richard A. Posner of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. He received his B.A., with highest distinction, from the University of Kansas, and his J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Kansas School of Law.



If confirmed, Matthew G.T. Martin of North Carolina will serve as the United States Attorney for the Middle District of North Carolina. Mr. Martin is currently Associate General Counsel for Duke Energy Corporation. He was previously a partner at the law firm of Smith Anderson Blount Dorsett Mitchell & Jernigan, where he focused on complex litigation. Prior to joining Smith Anderson, Mr. Martin practiced with the law firm of Covington & Burling in Washington, D.C. He received his B.S., with honors and highest distinction, from the University of North Carolina and his J.D., with high honors, from the University of North Carolina School of Law, where he served as Editor in Chief of the North Carolina Law Review.



If confirmed, R. Andrew Murray of North Carolina will serve as the United States Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Mr. Murray is currently the elected District Attorney of Mecklenburg County and has served in this position since 2011. He previously worked as an Assistant District Attorney in Mecklenburg County, prosecuting a variety of crimes, and as a criminal defense attorney and managing partner in a local firm. Mr. Murray enlisted in the United States Coast Guard in 1980 and was later commissioned as an officer in the Coast Guard Reserve until 2016, when he retired as a Captain after 35 years of service. He received his B.A., magna cum laude, from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and his J.D. from the University of North Carolina School of Law.



If confirmed, Michael B. Stuart of West Virginia will serve as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia. Mr. Stuart is currently a member of the law firm of Steptoe & Johnson PLLC and serves as co-chair of the firm's corporate services and tax practice group. In 2014, Mr. Stuart chaired the West Virginia Presidential Debate Commission. From 2010 to 2012, Mr. Stuart served as chairman of the West Virginia Republican Party. Mr. Stuart received his undergraduate degree from West Virginia University and his J.D. from the Boston University School of Law.



Contact: White House  whitehouse.gov/the-press-office


A classic Christmas tale about family, love, and hunting down machine gun-wielding terrorists one by one, while shoeless, is finally being turned into a children's book.

Written by comedian Doogie Horner and illustrated by JJ Harrison, A Die Hard Christmas: The Illustrated Holiday Classic is sure to bring the Christmas spirit to any child or adult interested in single handedly diffusing a hostage situation.

Delightful illustrations of John McClane jumping off the Nakatomi Plaza is complemented by the original plot of the 1988 film imitating the poem commonly referred to as "The Night Before Christmas."

"The explosives were wired to the rooftop with car, in hopes that the hostages soon would be there," reads one of the 32 pages.
[UPDATE: 9/9/2017 2:25pm PT US evacuates 500 Americans trapped on St. Maarten by Hurricane Irma]

[UPDATE: 9/9/2017 12:00pm PT Just received a dire message from our friend, Mitch, who has been stranded on St. Martin with his wife and daughter: "Just connected school management with my [redacted] security guys. Can't get anything done. We now have security issues. French side of island is in civil war with gangs overpowering military and local police. Dutch soldiers at borders but at our gates have been threatened. We have Blackwater type team ready to heli in from Virgin Islands but Dutch and locals won't let them land. Same for charters. We are alone."]

St. Martin was one of the islands hardest hit by Hurricane Irma, and days later 6,000 Americans are still stranded on the French-Dutch island, with no phones, no Internet, or any kind of infrastructure. Cell phone communication is spotty, but some calls and texts manage to get through. Now there are looters and people roaming the streets with guns and machetes, according to my friends who are among the stranded.

Stacy and Mitch, from Los Angeles, left for St. Martin over a week ago to drop their daughter off at American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine (AUC). They were staying at a hotel, but it was completely destroyed by Irma, so they are staying at the AUC, which is sheltering 600 people as they wait to be evacuated. The only problem is, no one knows when an evacuation is going to happen.

They were told days ago that they were about to be evacuated by the military. Stacy wrote this on September 7th: "They are having us walk 2 miles to airport. Then waiting, boarding groups when planes arrive. They haven't given us green light yet. Hurricane Jose is an issue possibly. This is horrible. I have nothing left but my electronics And my medication. Our hotel was destroyed and lots of fataliesInternet is gone. Inconsistent cell signals. I can get texts randomly"

The planes never arrived.

Then this from Mitch: "Military now not an option. Supposedly charter planes have been contracted thru Dutch government. Now it's about the weather. Jose will hit tonight. Depends on how bad but we are officially in first fly group and might be heading for Chicago tomorrow late afternoon."

The charter planes never arrived.

Now they are back to talking about military planes. I'm assuming Stacy means the US military. They are in a meeting to find out what the latest plan is. She says this morning at 5:30am a plane did come and evacuated a group of women and children, but according to Stacy, it's rumored to be returning.

According to 9News:

The U.S. Consulate General in Curacao says it believes about 6,000 Americans are stranded on St. Martin after Hurricane Irma leveled the Caribbean island. The consulate is collecting the names and locations of the stranded and says it is working with the U.S. and other governments to try to figure out how to get the Americans off the island either by air or boat. Frantic Americans were calling relatives in the U.S. to try to get them off the island, especially because Hurricane Jose threatened a second blow to the tourist Mecca.

Food and clean water are scarce for everyone on the island. Medicine is running out. Let's hope St. Martin can immediately get the supplies and help that they need.


Before Equifax doxed 143 million Americans (but after it had suffered repeated smaller breaches that should have alerted the company to deficiencies in its security), it directed its lobbying body, the Consumer Data Industry Association, to pressure the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to exempt credit-reporting bureaux from a soon-to-begin rule banning binding arbitration clauses in user agreements.

Equifax took the position that it should be able to confiscate your right to sue the company for injuring you just by making you click through an "agreement." Instead, you'd have to seek reparations through the notoriously business-friendly private courts of America's private arbitration contractors, and would not be able to band together with similarly injured parties (say, 143 million of them) to seek justice.



In one section of the letter, CDIA declares that federal regulators "should exempt from its arbitration rule class action claims against providers of credit monitoring products." The letter asserted that allowing customers to sue companies "would not serve the public interest or the public good" because it could subject the companies to "extraordinary and draconian civil liability provisions" under current law. In another section of the letter, Equifax's lobbying group says that a rule blocking companies from forcing their customers to waive class action rights would expose credit agencies "to unmanageable class action liability that could result in full disgorgement of revenues" if companies are found to have illegally harmed their customers. Equifax's lobbying group argued against the prohibition even as it acknowledged that a 2015 government study found "that credit reporting constituted one of the four largest product areas for class action relief" for consumers. Consumer groups countered the claims of CDIA and other rule opponents by saying the ability to file suit is necessary to protect Americans' legal rights. "The use of forced arbitration clauses has created a closed system where corporations allow court access only when it's in their interest, where it is functionally impossible for consumers to recover small dollar amounts they are due under law, and where the deterrent effect of class actions has been lost," wrote the Consumer Federation of America in a 2016 letter to the CFPB.



Equifax Lobbied To Kill Rule Protecting Victims Of Data Breaches

[Alex Kotch/International Business Times]
The skeleton of a Viking originally believed to be a man is now being classified as high-ranking female warrior after examining DNA samples taken from her arm and teeth.

Researchers believed the skeleton had been male since it was discovered in Sweden during the 1880s  mostly based on assumptions, The Independent reports.

Since she was buried with arrows, a sword, two horses and other materials designating the skeleton as a "professional warrior," researchers never considered they were stumbling upon the first female warrior of its kind.

Image: YouTube/History
How To Meet Women In Your 30s

The Secret to Meeting Great Women in Your 30s, Revealed

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.

Your 30s are certainly not the dating wasteland that popular culture makes them out to be, but dating in your 30s does require some deliberation and effort. For whatever reason, maybe you didn't spend your 20s submerged in the dating scene  perhaps you were focusing on your career instead, or moving around a lot, or dating simply wasn't a priority during your wild, youthful partying days.

Now you've past the big 3-0 mark, though, and you've decided to dip your toe into the dating waters. But it's so different to how you thought it would be  everything's online now, you're confused about whether you should hit on women in public or not, and there are new rules and codes governing every aspect of dating. It's hard to know where to even start.

Well, don't worry  we're here to walk you through how to meet women when you're in your 30s, and it's not as hard as you think. Let's begin:

1. Get Your Friends To Help You

Meeting people through your existing social network is one of the best ways to ensure you meet a partner with similar values to the people you like to spend the most time with. It can sometimes be uncomfortable to admit to your friends that you're actively seeking a relationship (emotional vulnerability, ughhhhhh), but the people who care about you most will most likely be delighted at the opportunity to set you up on dates with mutual friends and help workshop the best possible dating strategies for you  after all, who knows you better than your closest friends?

Dating friends of friends requires a little extra tact, though: you're going to need to be very diplomatic when rejecting someone adjacent to your own social circle, for example, and you'll also need to be careful to avoid the awkward position of having a romantic relationship being constantly mediated by an over-eager friend keen for constant updates on how it's all going. However, it can be a really strong way to meet decent people who are already half-vetted for compatibility, and it's still the most popular method for meeting romantic partners, so this should be your first port of call.

2. Meet People Through Activities And Hobbies

One of the next best options after meeting prospective partners through friends is to meet them through a shared interest in mutual activities and hobbies. Again, this is a kind of built-in filter mechanism: you already know that the woman who shows up to your soul cycle class every week without fail has an interest in personal improvement and health, for example, or that the new girl at your painting class is creative and alternative  in short, people you meet during your extracurricular activities are just more likely to be Your People.

Be careful about hitting on women in these settings  not everyone will be expecting their gym class to be a singles mingle, so make sure that you approach respectfully and be cool about rejection if she's not actually looking to date right now. Be up front about your intentions  I'd love to take you on a date if you're interested? is good, clear phrasing  and take it from there. The great thing is, you've already got something to talk about if she does let you take her out!

3. Don't Just Hit On Women In The Street

Most women don't actually want to be bothered with pick-up lines and aggressive flirtation when we're just going about our day-to-day business. It conflicts with the narrative propagated by movies and romantic novels, but it really is best not to bother that girl in the subway clearly submerged in a book, or the flustered student searching for ripe avocados in the supermarket.

Ditto hollering at women on the street  collectively, we're much more aware these days that this counts as street harassment rather than harmless flirting, so if you really must approach a woman you see out in public, be extra deferential and polite, and absolutely respect her right to tell you she's in the middle of something and keep walking. It really is best to stick to the other methods outlined here, so leave this one to the cliched rom coms.

4. Be Careful When It Comes To Coworkers

Because so much of our time is taken up by our 9-5s, it's common for romances to blossom in the workplace  in fact, almost a fifth of us are meeting our partners this way, according to Mic.

However, this is a setting ripe for dating disasters: awkwardly sitting two desks over from someone you had a screaming breakup with last night is no fun at all, and HR might need to be involved if you're the direct line manager of someone you're dating (seriously, though: don't date people you're in an imbalanced power relationship with, it's not cool.)

So, while we won't outright dismiss workplace dating, we will strongly suggest you take extra caution here. Make sure you're in different teams or departments, and speak frankly with each other about how you'll mediate workplace awkwardness, both while you're together than in the unfortunate event of a breakup.

5. Try Online Dating Sites And Apps

This is such a no-brainer that we left it until last: These days, you're going to need to be open to the idea of online dating and/or using dating apps. It's a burgeoning scene, and for the increasingly time-starved among us, it's an efficient way to meet potential partners  allowing you a strong degree of control over your presentation and exposing you to a much wider pool of options than you'd normally encounter IRL.

First up, you're going to need to craft an engaging and attractive profile. Make sure you have a diverse range of photos that accurately express your personality and interests; a witty, engaging bio that isn't the length of a bible; and enough basic information about yourself (location, career, religion, etc) that women can decide if you're worth pursuing.

Tinder and OKCupid are classic, well-tested options, but AskMen recommends Zoosk: it's the highest-rated option AskMen has reviewed, and offers a truly deluxe dating experience. It's packed full of singles and is incredibly well-run and easy to use. You won't struggle to find the right match for you, and thankfully it's devoid of all the bot accounts and half-filled profiles you might encounter on lower-quality sites  Zoosk is the real deal, which is why, in our opinion, it's absolutely worth trying.

Check out Zoosk

However you decide to go about dating women in your 30s, you can't go too far wrong by keeping the above tips in mind. Remember, there are plenty of desirable women out there at every age range, so you don't need to feel like the dating scene is more daunting than if you were younger: it's really just the same old game, with a few extra considerations. Good luck out there!

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Tim Murphy

Republican Rep. Tim Murphy of Pennsylvania admitted on Wednesday he had an extramarital affair with a personal friend.

"Last year I became involved in an affair with a personal friend," a statement from Murphy read. "This is nobody's fault but my own, and I offer no excuses. To the extent that there should be any blame in this matter, it falls solely upon me."

"I ask the media to respect the privacy of my family. They have done nothing wrong and deserve to be left alone."

Murphy issued the statement through his attorney.

The affair with Shannon Edwards, a 32-year-old forensic psychologist, began in February 2016, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Murphy made their relationship public on Wednesday after the Post-Gazette won a court motion to unseal a divorce action as part of Edwards's divorce from her husband.

Murphy was also ordered to present himself to a deposition to the divorce case by September 29.

Murphy, 64, is married and has a daughter, the Post-Gazette reported. He is serving his eighth term in Congress and is a commander in the US Navy Reserves, according to CBS News.

NOW WATCH: Putin says Trump is not his bride and claims Americans don't know the difference between Austria and Australia





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The province needs to improve a disaster relief assistance fund that left scores of Windsor homeowners wanting after last year's flooding and may leave them high and dry again, say the leaders of Ontario's opposition parties.

"I have serious questions about the effectiveness of this program, and the lack of a sufficient response from this Liberal government," said Progressive Conservative leader Patrick Brown in an open letter addressed to Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne.

"People who need help aren't getting help. The point of disaster relief is that when a disaster occurs, relief needs to be available  it can't be a false promise."

NDP leader Andrea Horwath toured this flood-ravaged area Thursday and encountered frustrated residents and mountains of flood-damaged furniture and personal items. She said it was unacceptable it took the province a week to deem area homeowners eligible to apply for disaster relief and implored the government to expeditiously provide aid.

"It is important that this assistance start flowing without needless delays or red tape," said Horwath in an open letter to Wynne. "There are still over 200 victims of the 2016 flood waiting for their claim through the program to be processed."

Wynne tweeted last week that her government would "do everything we can to help" but has yet to visit the area or make herself available for an interview with CBC Windsor. Calls made to her office Friday were returned by Minister of Municipal Affairs Bill Mauro.

Mauro blasted his political opponents for offering criticism without making "concrete suggestions on how to improve the program" and said the program was "well-regarded and well-respected by municipal officials."

He said the program was revamped just two years ago and that eligible homeowners now receive aid more promptly.

The program provides "partial financial assistance to return essential property to its basic function," according to the ministry's website, but flooding caused by "sewer backup is not generally eligible under the program" though "there is a special provision to provide assistance to low-income households."

Story continues

That means scores of homeowners are unlikely to qualify for assistance. Of the 583 city residents who applied for funding after last year's floods, only 122 received any financial assistance. Another 235 claims were denied and another 226 remained bogged down in the system.

Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens said the program left dozens of Windsor residents "disgruntled and disappointed" after last September's flooding and doesn't want history to repeat itself.

Mauro stressed the program was unique in that it provided sewer backup protection for low-income families and that sewer backup insurance was available for purchase.

"The program is not intended to be a replacement for private insurance. There is insurance available for sewer backup, there is not insurance available for overland flooding," said Mauro. "It sounds like some are suggesting we should be paying for consequences that have private sector insurance available to cover them."

Horwath also urged the government to help secure more garbage trucks and "expedite permits to allow garbage trucks from Michigan to cross the border" and help clear city streets.

"The province must do its part to help Windsor families put their experience behind them and get back to their lives," said Horwath. "I urge you to act without delay and assist the people of Windsor in their time of need."
By Christine Kim SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea braced for a possible further missile test by North Korea when it marks its founding anniversary on Saturday, just days after its sixth and largest nuclear test, which it marks each year with a big display of pageantry and military hardware. Throughout the week, South Korean officials have warned the North could launch another intercontinental ballistic missile, in defiance of U.N. sanctions and amid an escalating standoff with the United States. Last year, North Korea conducted its fifth nuclear test on the Sept. 9 anniversary. Tension on the Korean peninsula has escalated as North Korea's young leader, Kim Jong Un, has stepped up the development of weapons, testing a string of missiles this year, including one flying over Japan, and conducting its sixth nuclear test on Sunday. Experts believe the isolated regime is close to its goal of developing a powerful nuclear weapon capable of reaching the United States, something Trump has vowed to prevent. South Korean nuclear experts, checking for contamination, said on Friday they had found minute traces of radioactive xenon gas but that it was too early to link it to Sunday's explosion. The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC) said it had been conducting tests on land, air and water samples since shortly after the North Korean nuclear test on Sunday. Xenon is a naturally occurring, colorless gas that is used in manufacturing of some sorts of lights. But the NSSC said it had detected xenon-133, a radioactive isotope that does not occur naturally and which has in the past been linked to North Korea's nuclear tests. There was no chance the xenon "will have an impact on South Korea's territory or population", the agency said. U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly said all options are on the table in dealing with North Korea and on Thursday said he would prefer not to use military action, but if he did, it would be a "very sad day" for North Korea. "Military action would certainly be an option. Is it inevitable? Nothing is inevitable," Trump told reporters. "If we do use it on North Korea, it will be a very sad day for North Korea." Even as Trump has insisted that now is not the time to talk, senior members of his administration have made clear that the door to a diplomatic solution is open, especially given the U.S. assessment that any pre-emptive strike would unleash massive North Korean retaliation. North Korea says it needs its weapons to protect itself from U.S. aggression and regularly threatens to destroy the United States. South Korea and the United States are technically still at war with North Korea after the 1950-53 Korean conflict ended with a truce, not a peace treaty. US CARRIER ON THE MOVE The USS Ronald Reagan, a nuclear-powered carrier, left its home port in Japan for a routine autumn patrol of the Western Pacific, a Navy spokeswoman said. That area included waters between Japan and the Korean peninsula, she added, without giving any further details. The Ronald Reagan was out on routine patrol from May until August, and was sent to the Sea of Japan with the another carrier, the USS Carl Vinson, to take part in drills with Japan's Self Defence Forces as well as the South Korean military. North Korea vehemently objects to military exercises on or near the peninsula, and China and Russia have suggested the United States and South Korea halt their exercises to lower tension. While Trump talked tough on North Korea, China agreed on Thursday that the United Nations should take more action against it, but it also pushed for dialogue. The U.N. Security Council is expected to vote on a new set of sanctions soon. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that it was too early to draw conclusions about the final form of the U.N. resolution, Russia's Interfax news agency quoted Lavrov as saying at a news conference on Friday. North Korea offered fresh vitriol against the pending sanctions, specifically targeting U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, who this week accused North Korean leader Kim of "begging for war". "There is nothing more foolish than thinking we, a strong nuclear state, will endure this evil pressure aimed at overthrowing our state," the North's official news agency said in a commentary. "Even if Nikki Haley is blind, she must use her mouth correctly. The United States administration will pay for not being able to control the mouth of their U.N. representative." The United States wants the U.N. Security Council to impose an oil embargo on North Korea, ban its exports of textiles and the hiring of North Korean laborers abroad, and to subject leader Kim Jong Un to an asset freeze and travel ban, according to a draft resolution seen by Reuters on Wednesday. China is by far North Korea's biggest trading partner, accounting for 92 percent of two-way trade last year. It also provides hundreds of thousands of tonnes of oil and fuel to the impoverished regime. China's economic influence has been felt by South Korea as well. The two countries have been at loggerheads over South Korea's decision to deploy a U.S. anti-missile system, the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, which has a powerful radar that can probe deep into China. Shares in South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor and key suppliers slid on Friday on worry over its position in China after highly critical Chinese state newspaper comments. The military section of China's Global Times newspaper on Thursday referred to THAAD as "a malignant tumor". Graphic on Nuclear North Korea: http://tmsnrt.rs/2n0gd92 (Additional reporting by Nobuhiro Kubo in TOKYO, Hyunjoo Jin in SEOUL and Christian Lowe in MOSCOW; Writing by Nick Macfie; Editing by Robert Birsel)
ROME (Reuters) - The United Nations is preparing to deploy 150-250 mostly Nepalese guards to Libya to protect its base in the capital as part of a plan to return its operations to the country, U.N. officials said on Friday. Backed by Western governments, the U.N. is trying to heal a rift between Libya's rival factions in order to stabilize the country and to tackle militant violence and people-smuggling from Libya's northern coast. The mission has been based in Tunis since 2014, when fighting among rival Libyan brigades forced out most foreign embassy staff, but it has gradually increased its presence in Libya and has been planning for months for a fuller return. The military unit would probably consist of around 150 guards, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, told a news briefing in Geneva. Most will be Nepalese. "To make sure that we protect our colleagues as they deploy in Tripoli there will be a guard unit which will be basically U.N. military personnel coming from Nepal," Lacroix said. U.N. Libya envoy Ghassan Salame told Italian newspaper La Stampa that "a little under 250" could be deployed in the "coming weeks". Deploying the guards to the base in Tripoli "will mean that around the beginning of October we can carry out a significant part of our work in Libya," said Salame, who has headed the mission since June. A spokesperson for the mission said there were no plans to send U.N. peacekeepers to Libya. Security in Tripoli and other parts of western Libya is fragile, and armed groups that are largely unaccountable hold power on the ground. Most foreign embassies closed and pulled out their staff in 2014 when heavy fighting between rival factions destroyed the capital's airport. It was the worst fighting since the fall of long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. Libya slipped into turmoil after the NATO-backed uprising that toppled Gaddafi. A U.N.-backed government set up in Tripoli last year has struggled to assert its authority and is opposed by factions that control eastern Libya. In July, rival leaders pledged in Paris to work toward elections in 2018 and a conditional ceasefire. Salame said constitutional and electoral laws would have to be written to ensure any vote brought lasting change. "We need to be sure everyone accepts the final result," he said. "Let's not forget that presidential elections would be the first ever." Salame also expressed frustration at competing international initiatives in Libya, where regional and European powers have vied for influence. "I think the proliferation of initiatives, of mediations, does not help," he said. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said he hoped that after his country's efforts a revision of the 2015 U.N.-mediated deal that created the Tripoli government could be reached under Salame's auspices. Discussion has centered on reforming the government's leadership and power over military appointments. "It seems that efforts are converging," Le Drian told reporters during a visit to Moscow. (Reporting by Isla Binnie; Additional reporting by Stephanie Nebehay, Aidan Lewis and John Irish; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
Of over 1,100 currently on death row, many have not been afforded their right to representation and a fair trial.





While the death penalty in Malaysia is an issue that divides the nation and continues to be a hot topic in parliament, there is a group of people whose voices never enter the debate. They are the silent victims of this colonial-era law and the ones that pay the ultimate price for the errors of others - the wrongfully convicted.





Splitting public opinion pretty much down the middle, the death penalty in Malaysia is a hangover from British rule and is still the mandatory punishment for murder, drug trafficking, treason, and waging war against the King.





Last year, Malaysia executed 9 people - up from 1 the previous year - and handed down 36 death sentences. In its latest report on the issue, rights group Amnesty International ranked Malaysia 10th in the use of the death penalty among 23 countries where executions were recorded.





Human rights charities have repeatedly called on the country to abolish the practice altogether. Despite a years-long debate over amendments to the Dangerous Drugs Act of 1952 aimed at allowing judges to exercise discretion in sentencing for trafficking offences, little has been done.





In a statement in August following the most recent proposal to amend the laws, Legal Advisor at Human Rights Watch, Linda Lakhdhir called for decisive action from parliament.





Time for action





"The Malaysian government should stop playing games, and firmly commit now to introduce legislation in the next sitting of Parliament to eliminate the mandatory death penalty for all drug offenses - not just some drug offenses," she said.





"And while it is making changes to its policies on the death penalty, the government should also impose a moratorium on executions, and move swiftly to full abolition of the death penalty. Talk is cheap. It is time for action."





Despite mounting appeals, the punishment continues to be popular in a country that values the premise of "an eye for an eye". But of the over 1,100 currently on death row, many of them have not been afforded their right to representation and a fair trial, according to prominent defence lawyer at the National Legal Aid Foundation, Samantha Chong Yin Xin.





Speaking at the Freedom Film Festival in Kuala Lumpur, Chong explained how many of those convicted do not understand their rights and, in some cases, don't even know what they are being arrested for.





"Many people on death row do not have good legal representation," Chong explains. "Around 50 % of them are migrants which raises immediate issues with language. In a lot of cases, defendants don't even know what is happening when they are arrested and are not allowed to see a lawyer until sometimes 6 of 7 months after arrest."





"Locked in a your-word-against-mine situation with the police"





While some cases of wrongful or unfair conviction may receive media attention, the voice of this "silent group", as Chong calls them, are kept in the shadows, often left alone to fight the ultimate David vs Goliath battle against the police.





"In about 5 % of death penalty cases the witnesses are the police," Chong said. "In many cases we see policemen with zero principles but if the courts only have the word of the police against the word of the suspect, who are they going to believe? They will only reject police evidence if it's 'cow over the moon' type stuff."





This leaves many suspects in an impossible position; deprived of quality representation, not understanding the proceedings or their rights, and locked in a your-word-against-mine situation with the police.





Chong cites a case of a young Thai woman to demonstrate how common this treatment is.





When stopped on a bus on her way into the country, the young woman was asked by police officers if she owned the bag on the seat next to her. She said, no. Despite her denial, she was arrested and charged with drug trafficking after the bag was found to contain heroin.





After conviction, she found out that her statement had been falsified by police to say she claimed ownership of the bag. And the lawyer that defended her did not speak to her before the trial. Through incompetence and language barrier, she was not involved in the case at all, only to find later she was convicted and sentenced to death.



"It could be you who is in the wrong place at the wrong time. It's that simple."





Stories like that of this woman are not uncommon says Chong, and once a person has been convicted at the High Court level, there is little recourse. In Malaysia, appeals are made in Federal Court but, as Chong explains, the likelihood of the original conviction being overturned are incredibly slim.





"If you are convicted at High Court, your fate is sealed," Chong said. "The (Federal) Court's judgement is simple, 'You should have presented this (new argument) at High Court' and they will disallow it. I have never seen a successful case at Federal Court."





While some may look on death penalty cases with the attitude of "if you don't want to face the consequences, don't do the crime" or think the idea of a wrongful conviction is a nightmare that could never happen to them, Abdul Rashid Ismail, former president of the Malaysian Human Rights Society and solicitor, has a stark warning for all.





"We live in a system that's not perfect; witnesses make mistakes, police can be dishonest, judges are human beings, so mistakes can happen," he said.





"It can be any of us; your friend, your family, it could be you who is in the wrong place at the wrong time. It's that simple."

 | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com



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"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,

but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde

asiancorrespondent.com, September 9, 2017
Three weeks after Arkansas prison officials revealed they are ready to resume executions by having restocked a required sedative, a Little Rock lawyer is suing to force them to disclose the drug's labeling materials.





This is Steven Shults' 2nd time this year to take the Arkansas Department of Correction to Pulaski County Circuit Court over a complaint that department Director Wendy Kelley is violating the state Freedom of Information Act and public-disclosure requirements written into the Arkansas Method of Execution Act.





The execution law mandates the drugs that are to be used for the lethal injection and empowers the Correction Department to set up the execution procedure. It also bars the agency from disclosing much about how it acquires the 3 drugs used for lethal injection. Arkansas' only scheduled execution is set for Nov. 9.





Asked Thursday to explain Shults' interest in the drugs, his attorney, Alec Gaines, said the 65-year-old lawyer wants to verify that prison officials are complying with the execution law. Shults is seeking a hearing before Judge Mackie Pierce within a week, but that proceeding has not yet been scheduled, Gaines said.





Shults prevailed in his 1st lawsuit in March, when he sued to see the labeling for the state's 100-vial supply of the heart-stopping chemical potassium chloride. It's the most lethal component of the 3-drug protocol and the final one to be administered in the lethal-injection process.





State lawmakers imposed the secrecy requirements on the death-penalty chemicals after pharmaceutical manufacturers and sellers complained they were being harassed by anti-death penalty foes for selling drugs for executions.





Some countries have outlawed selling medications for use as lethal-injection drugs, and companies that are based outside Europe but also operate there can be subject to overseas sanctions for providing the chemicals. Manufacturers also dislike the bad publicity that comes from using otherwise medically necessary drugs to kill.





Kelley has said no one will sell the lethal chemicals to Arkansas if their identities have to be disclosed, and she had to be granted special authority by the Legislature to purchase the required drug while bypassing the requirement that a doctor endorse the purchase.





The state is currently fighting off a lawsuit by a medical supplier that claims one of Kelley's deputies tricked a salesman into selling the prison department one of the chemicals, an anesthetic. The drug's manufacturer, Pfizer, has also complained about Arkansas use of that anesthetic for executions.





In March, Judge Wendell Griffen agreed with Shults' argument that the secrecy requirements established by the Legislature only extend to the drug supplier, not the manufacturers that are responsible for the chemicals' labeling.





Lawmakers did not specifically exclude drugmakers from public disclosure the way they specifically protected the identities of the chemical suppliers, Griffen stated in his ruling ordering the labeling documents be released immediately.





But the materials' release was quickly blocked by the state Supreme Court acting on a request from Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge to stay Griffen's ruling until the justices could review his decision in an appeal from the prison department.





That appeal process is ongoing with the state's 1st written arguments due in 2 weeks, indicating a schedule that could keep the high court from having enough time available to rule until the new year.





With no final decision from the justices, prison officials rejected Shults' August request for labeling materials by relying on the same arguments they used in March, that the law prevents them from disclosing anything about the maker or provider of the execution drugs.





They say they cannot release the labeling materials because the documents are so distinctive in shape, size and wording -- even spelling and punctuation -- that even the redactions allowed by law can't obscure who manufactured the chemicals.





The prison department took that position after The Associated Press figured out the manufacturer of one chemical in 2015 by comparing the redacted materials to readily available information on the Internet.





Now, Shults is asking for the labeling materials for the state's brand-new supply of midazolam, the 1st drug that's administered in the killing process. It's used as a sedative to prevent the condemn inmates from feeling the affects of the other two chemicals, which are the killing drugs.





The second chemical administered is the anesthetic vecuronium bromide, which paralyzes the respiratory system and stops the condemned inmate's breathing.





The state's previous midazolam supply expired in April, after four killers had been put to death during an 11-day span. Prison officials had been set on executing 8 men, at 2 a day, before the sedative lost its potency, but the courts granted new appeals to four of them. Gov. Asa Hutchinson has since granted clemency to 1 of the men.





The vecuronium bromide is expected to last through March 2018 before it become unusable, while the potassium chloride should last until August 2018, prison officials say.





The newly obtained batch of the sedative, which is said to be good through January 2019, cost $250. Prison officials disclosed last month that they had acquired 50 new vials. That revelation came as the attorney general announced she was asking for Gov. Asa Hutchinson to set an execution date for the only killer who has run out of appeals, 62-year-old Jack Gordon Greene.





Hutchinson obliged with a November death date. Greene is under a death sentence for killing Sidney Burnett, a retired Johnson County minister, in 1991. Green forced his way into the 69-year-old man's home near Knoxville, where he bound and gagged Burnett, beat him with a can of hominy and also stabbed, shot and cut the man's throat.





Greene was on the run at the time from North Carolina authorities after fatally shooting his brother and stealing his car.





Greene took Burnett's pickup and fled to Oklahoma, where he was caught still carrying the gun he had used on both Burnett and his brother. The Arkansas Supreme Court overturned his original 1992 sentence on appeal, but a 2nd jury's death sentence in 1996 was upheld by the high court.





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"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,

but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde

arkansasonline.com, Sept. 9, 2017




There was never any physical evidence connecting Henry or his brother, Leon Brown, to the horrifying crime for which they were sentenced to death. They were intellectually-disabled teenagers with no history of violence, who were tricked into confessing to a crime they had nothing to do with. But their innocence was stubbornly hard to prove, until DNA testing finally linked another man to the murder.





Their exoneration made headlines across North Carolina and the world . We were interviewed on national news shows and contacted by filmmakers. The governor granted a rare pardon of innocence. Now that the hoopla has faded, we are left asking: What did we learn from this miscarriage of justice?





For us, the lesson is in how the death penalty distorts our justice system. Even now that no one has been executed in North Carolina for 11 years, people are still being tried capitally and sentenced to death. And the death penalty is still threatening innocent people.





Consider how it played out in Henry's case. On the night of his arrest, law enforcement interrogated 19-year-old Henry for hours and threatened him with the death penalty if he did not confess. They told him his only way out was to sign a detailed confession, which they wrote for him. They did the same to his 15-year-old brother Leon.





Under that pressure, they broke and signed false confessions, unwittingly giving prosecutors the evidence they needed to try them for their lives. This was before we had laws requiring police to record confessions - a modern reform intended to prevent wrongful convictions.





Their trial attorneys might have spent more time investigating Henry and Leon's claims of innocence, had they not been desperate to save their clients' lives. They might have looked into a similar crime, committed in the same small town just a few weeks later, and discovered the real killer.





Instead, facing long odds and working in a state that at the time had one of the nation's highest death sentencing rates, they pushed Henry and Leon to confess again. The attorneys hoped that their clients' cooperation would persuade the jury to spare their lives. Leon's attorneys eventually got him off death row, but Henry's couldn't.





When we began working on Henry's case in 1994, he told us he was innocent. But we were faced with these facts: Our client had signed a grisly, detailed confession and was at imminent risk of execution. We focused our energy on legal arguments we felt had the best chance of keeping him out of the execution chamber, which meant we emphasized proving his intellectual disability above proving his innocence.





It took the involvement of the N.C. Innocence Inquiry Commission, which matched DNA on a 30-year-old cigarette butt to a serial rapist, to finally prove Henry and Leon's innocence. Had the killer not dropped that single cigarette at the crime scene, Henry and Leon would still be in prison. Henry would still be on death row.





The fact is, the death penalty makes the conviction of innocent people more likely by putting them under greater pressure to confess. Even today, innocent people continue to admit to crimes just to avoid the death penalty. People with mental illness, among those most vulnerable to false confessions, continue to be tried for their lives.





The death penalty also distorts juries. Only jurors who support the death penalty are allowed to serve in capital trials, which studies show creates juries that are more likely to convict. Prosecutors continue to disproportionately exclude African-Americans from capital juries, although diverse juries have been proven to make better decisions.





Some improvements have been made since Henry and Leon were wrongly convicted. For example, confessions are now recorded, and police lineups are conducted according to guidelines intended to discourage false identifications.





However, 3/4 of our state's 144 death row inmates were sentenced at least 15 years ago, before those reforms took effect. They were sentenced during an era when, instead of sending one new person a year to death row, we sent dozens - some of whom were innocent.





As we mark this anniversary, we are grateful that Henry and Leon are free. However, we cannot forget that innocent people will remain at risk until the death penalty is wiped off the books.

Source: News & Observer, Opinion, Sept. 9, 2017. Ken Rose and Vernetta Alston are attorneys who represented Henry McCollum.



 Related content: The Unlikely Exoneration of Henry McCollum , August 31, 2017 News & Observer, Opinion, Sept. 9, 2017.





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"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,

but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde
The Ohio Supreme Court has rejected the request of a condemned killer to delay next week's execution while he pursues an appeal.





Death row inmate Gary Otte wants the death penalty declared unconstitutional in his case because he was under 21 at the time of the crime.





The court denied Otte's request for a delay Thursday.





Otte was sentenced to die for the Feb. 12, 1992, killing of Robert Wasikowski and the Feb. 13, 1992, killing of Sharon Kostura.





Both slayings took place in Parma in suburban Cleveland.





Gov. John Kasich has rejected a request for clemency made by Otte's attorneys.





The 45-year-old Otte is scheduled to die Sept. 13. He is also challenging Ohio's lethal injection method in federal court.





Urgent Action

Gary Otte is scheduled to be executed in Ohio on 13 September. He was sentenced to death in October 1992 for 2 murders committed 8 months earlier. 20 years old when he was sent to death row, he is now 45. The governor has rejected clemency.

* Urging Governor Kashich to reconsider his decision to deny clemency for Gary Otte;





* Explaining that you are not seeking to downplay the seriousness of violent crime or its consequences





Friendly reminder: If you send an email, please create your own instead of forwarding this one!





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"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,

but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde

: Associated Press, Sept 9, 2017Contact below official by 13 September, 2017:Riffe Center, 30th Floor77 South High StreetColumbus, OH 43215-6117, USAFax: +1 614 466 9354Email (via website): http://www.governor.ohio.gov/Contact/ContacttheGovernor.aspx Twitter: @JohnKasichSalutation: Dear GovernorAmnesty International USA, September 9, 2017
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 9

Trend:

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has sent a congratulatory letter to President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon.

On behalf of the people of Azerbaijan and on my own behalf, I extend my cordial congratulations to you and all the people of your country on the occasion of the national holiday of the Republic of Tajikistan - Independence Day, President Aliyev said in his letter.

Azerbaijan-Tajikistan friendship has rich traditions. I believe the high level of our current intergovernmental relations will always be a solid foundation for deepening the bilateral cooperation in all areas of mutual interest.

On this remarkable day, I wish you the best of health, success in your activities, and the friendly people of Tajikistan peace and prosperity, added the Azerbaijani president.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 9

Trend:

"Azerbaijan" newspaper has published an article headlined "The Obama-era stereotypes still exist in the US".

In the past few days Azerbaijan has been facing a fresh smear campaign, which was launched by some Western forces and which may cast shadow on the prospects of US-Azerbaijani relations. On September 4, the two sponsored articles were published in The Washington Post and The Guardian newspapers, signaling a new wave of attack and starting a giant discrediting machine, which also involves the fifth column. There were no doubts that by tradition Azerbaijan has once again become a target of criticism of different international organizations and official representatives of a number of states. In her statement made on September 7, Heather Nauert, spokesperson for the US Department of State, demanded the release of Mehman Aliyev, the detained head of the Turan news agency. Then during the discussion of the Fiscal Year 2018 State and Foreign Operations Bill, pro-Armenian senator Richard Durbin submitted an amendment envisaging sanctions against Azerbaijani officials. A group of critics, which have been employed since the Obama administration, including David Cramer embarked on a propaganda campaign to ensure the implementation of the sanctions.

Obviously, using the opportunity, Soros-backed forces and the Armenian lobby, which have constantly targeted Azerbaijan, rushed to make efforts to spoil the US-Azerbaijani relations and strategic partnership.

It should be admitted that the election of Donald Tramp raised hopes that the Obama administration-caused problems in relations between the two countries will be solved. A number of experts described a telephone talk, which took place between Mr Trump and President Ilham Aliyev several days after the election of the new US President, as a new page in bilateral relations. In April last year, the Azerbaijani President was invited to the Nuclear Security Summit in the United States where he held meetings with Secretary of State John Kerry and a number of other officials, which was described as a manifestation of the development of friendship and partnership between the two countries. In his congratulatory messages to President Ilham Aliyev on the occasion of Republic Day and the 24th International Caspian Oil and Gas 2017 Exhibition and Conference, the US President directly pointed out the beginning of a new era of bilateral relations. In his letters, Donald Trump said that he looks forward to working with President Ilham Aliyev as an active partner to ensure a greater future for both Azerbaijan and the US, and the world.

Naturally, all this should be characterized as Mr Trump`s appreciation of the contribution of Azerbaijan as the leading country in the South Caucasus to the West`s fight against terrorism and the country`s role in the implementation of crucial energy projects, rather than the US leader`s personal attitude towards Baku. On the other hand, Mr Trump has repeatedly stated that unlike in previous years, the USA is not going to build its foreign policy on the principles of interference with other countries` internal affairs and will not attempt to control them. This gives reasons to say that the US leader set himself a goal of developing equal, mutually beneficial cooperation with other countries. This policy could have been a good beginning  under former President Barack Obama  for coping with negative cases and remove coldness in US-Azerbaijan relations and for developing fruitful and equal cooperation and strategic partnership between the two countries.

But the recent events showed that official Washington has failed to get rid of Obama era stereotypes and different lobbying group`s serious influence on the government policy. By interfering  in contrast to Mr Trump`s strategic line  with internal affairs of independent countries using democracy and human rights as a pretext, the interested forces who hold high posts in the Department of State, Congress and other important governing and legislative bodies are encouraging the USA`s partners to review their policies.

These forces believe that Azerbaijan should not have its own statehood and national interests in general or that they should not cross the limits they set. This is arrant nonsense. Azerbaijan has already proved that being an independent state it sets its internal and foreign policy and builds its international relations by its own and does not need any advice from any power center or external force. Maybe this is the reason why some US circles think that Azerbaijan rejects the West and its values. This is why some Western media particularly The Washington Post, which is considered the Department of State`s official body, publish fake anti-Azerbaijani articles in total contradiction to the spirit of partnership and all ethical norms, and the Human Rights Watch, Freedom House and other similar organizations are used as tools of pressure.

For many years Azerbaijan has tolerated such accusations and did its utmost to prevent these unjust attacks from casting shadow on strategic partnership, mutually beneficial bilateral and multilateral ties. On the one hand, Azerbaijan has showed its commitment to its strategic choice, duties and obligations. On the other hand, it showed that as an independent state it is eager to build relations with all global political players in an atmosphere of equal cooperation and will never take any step that could put its national interests at risk. In this context, sincerity in Azerbaijan`s relationship with the USA and the European Union could be considered as a model. The reality is that official Baku has not yet rejected this choice and is trying to develop its strategic partnership with the European Union and the USA despite pressure from different power centers and some regional states.

Can official Baku review its partnership policy towards the West and take adequate steps if the anti-Azerbaijani forces and lobby interests prevail in the USA and if the Magnitsky Act, which was imposed on Russia, is applied to Azerbaijan? What these steps will be?

According to experts, practice shows that although official Baku is quite sincere in its relationship with its partners, it has never tolerated a policy of pressure and dominance. From this point of view, the Azerbaijani government`s taking adequate steps towards quitting strategic partnership with the West looks real.

Azerbaijan`s partnership with the West concerns and irritates some regional powers. But having remained committed to a multi-vector and balanced policy, official Baku has maintained and developed its strategic partnership with the US and the European Union despite pressure. Sanctions and similar wrong actions may force Azerbaijan to review its foreign policy and make a one-sided choice. But this will be a serious loss for the USA and Western states that have great interests in the region.

It is a well-known fact that the Azerbaijani peacekeepers were part of the peacekeeping missions in Kosovo from 1999-2008 and Iraq in 2003-2008. Having joined the peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan in 2002, the Azerbaijani soldiers continue to perform their duties decently. By opening its air space and allowing the use of the existing air transport infrastructure, Azerbaijan is making an outstanding contribution to NATO`s military contingent in Afghanistan. But Azerbaijan can end its military and geostrategic cooperation with the West, cease participation in anti-terror operations and peacekeeping mission and refuse any logistical support to the NATO contingent in Afghanistan.

Those who authorized this fresh campaign against Azerbaijan naively believe that this will help them protect the fifth column and their friends. For many years, Azerbaijan has tried to turn a blind eye to anti-national elements such as Khadija Ismayil, Mehman Aliyev, Emin Milli as well as to arbitrariness of the Western NGO and media network and tolerated them although it was quite clear that they were fulfilling a certain mission. However, when the activities of this network started to shake the foundations of the state it became necessary to take preventive measures and steps. The Wests new demarche can encourage further deepening of those measures.

Of course, much can be done and these measures are not confined to the aforementioned. But is there a need for that? What will the West get by pressing Azerbaijan into alienation?

Azerbaijan is loyal to its relations with the U.S. and the West and wants these relations to deepen even further. We can hope that the Trump administration wont repeat the mistakes of their predecessors and wont let Soros-backed network and the Armenian lobby gain ground. In this case, there wont be any need for either absurd measures such as sanctions or retaliation.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 9

Trend:

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has sent a congratulatory letter to Kim Jong-un, chairman of the Workers Party of Korea, supreme leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, supreme commander of the Korean People's Army.

On behalf of the people of Azerbaijan and on my own behalf, I extend my sincere congratulations to you and your people on the occasion of the national holiday of your country  Day of the Foundation of the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, Ilham Aliyev said in his letter.

On this remarkable day, I extend my best wishes to you and wish the friendly people of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea peace and prosperity, he added.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 9

Trend:

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has arrived in the Republic of Kazakhstan for a working visit to attend the First Science and Technology Summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

A ceremonial guard of honor was set up for the Azerbaijani president at the Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport in Astana.

The head of state was greeted by Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Yerbolat Dosayev and other officials.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept.9

By Leman Zeynalova  Trend:

The countries involved in the construction of the Ionian-Adriatic Pipeline (IAP), Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia count on the support of the European Union and the United States.

The remarks were made during the meeting of the Project Management Unit for IAP project held in Tirana.

Addressing the event, Albanias Energy Minister Damian Gjiknuri stated that his country has completed the drafting of the Gas Master Plan and has built a fruitful cooperation with Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and the Energy Community for the implementation of the IAP project.

He expressed confidence that this project will be supported by both the United States and the European Union, said the message posted on the website of Albanian energy ministry.

Of course, the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) project is really the main pillar to support the development of the gas sector in Albania, but IAP pipeline will also play a primary role, said Gjiknuri.

IAP is not just a natural extension of TAP, said the minister, adding that it will also ensure energy security in the region and bring economic progress to the countries through which it passes.

"We point out that three of the IAP countries are NATO member countries and this makes the IAP project even more necessary in terms of strategic interests in the region, said Gjiknuri.

IAP is a proposed natural gas pipeline in Southeastern Europe (SEE) that will stretch from Albania through Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, to Split in Croatia. It will be connected with the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP).

IAP will provide deliveries of Azerbaijani gas to several countries of South-Eastern Europe. The capacity of the pipeline will amount to five billion cubic meters of gas per year.

TAP is a part of the Southern Gas Corridor, which is one of the priority energy projects for the European Union. The project envisages transportation of gas from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz Stage 2 to the EU countries.

The pipeline will connect to the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) on the Turkish-Greek border, run through Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea, before coming ashore in Italys south.

TAP will be 878 kilometers in length (Greece 550 kilometers, Albania 215 kilometers, Adriatic Sea 105 kilometers, and Italy 8 kilometers).

TAPs shareholding is comprised of BP (20 percent), SOCAR (20 percent), Snam S.p.A. (20 percent), Fluxys (19 percent), Enagas (16 percent) and Axpo (5 percent).

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Sept. 9

By Huseyn Hasanov Trend:

A report on preparation for the 72nd Regular Session of the UN General Assembly was heard at a meeting of the Turkmen Cabinet of Ministers, Turkmenistan State News Agency reported.

Turkmen deputy prime minister, Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov outlined the countrys priority positions, which will be presented in New York. Support for peace, security and stability has been defined as key vector of Turkmenistans activities during the forthcoming event.

In particular, Turkmenistan advocates boosting multilateral partnership in order to execute the Ashgabat Declaration adopted following the High-Level United Nations-Central Asia Dialogue on implementing the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy in Central Asia.

In addition, Turkmenistan assigns an important role to preventive diplomacy and attaches great importance to the activities of the UN Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia, located in Ashgabat.

During the forthcoming session of the UN General Assembly, Turkmenistan defined building up international economic cooperation as one of the important directions of its foreign policy, said the report.

For this purpose, priority will be given to the development of energy, as well as transport and communication systems.

During the regular session of the UN General Assembly, Turkmenistan will also actively participate in international efforts to address critical issues of environmental protection, water resources management, preventing and mitigating the consequences of natural and man-made disasters, the report noted.
Tehran, Iran, September 6

By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend:

The export of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) chips abroad continues to be the biggest problem for Irans PET polyester carpets, according to the chairman of board of directors at Sadaf Termeh Fiber.

"The Chinese buy PET chips from Iranian market and shortage of supply ensues," Behnam Ebrahimi, the chairman of board of directors at Sadaf Termeh Fiber told Trend September 6.

"Things get better once in a while, but a few months later it starts all over again, and we are unable to find the material at the price we want, as it gets exported," he explained.

The production of carpets from PET chips is a green industry. PET chips are bottles and similar packaging objects that are ground and prepared to be reused to make carpets and some other products.

The export of PET chips deals a harsh blow to the countrys labor market as well, according to Ebrahimi, whose holding has created 300 job opportunities directly and 1200 more indirectly.

Iran has a quality carpet industry, backed by an opulent petrochemical industry, thanks to its rich oil and gas reserves.

Iranian carpet producers hold markets in Europe, the CIS, the Middle East, and India.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sep. 7

By Farhad Daneshvar  Trend:

Irans gas exports have recently witnessed a major surge after the country increased its gas output from the South Pars field by 25 billion cubic meters in the second half of the last fiscal year.

Mehdi Jamshidi Dana, a senior official with National Iranian Gas Company, has said the countrys gas exports over the first five months of the current fiscal year (started March 20) have hiked by 64 percent year-on-year, reaching 5 billion cubic meters.

While the output of South Pars increased by 25 billion cubic meters over the last fiscal year compared to the preceding year to reach 155 billion cubic meters, second half of the year accounted for the lions share of the huge surge in production level.

Back on April 16, President Hassan Rouhani inaugurated $20 billion worth of energy projects in the city of Asalouyeh in Bushehr Province, bringing five phases of the South Pars gas field, four petrochemical projects, as well as the South Pars oil layer on stream.

South Pars is part of a huge offshore field, shared with Qatar in the Persian Gulf. The field is estimated to hold about 8 percent of the worlds natural gas reserves.

The country also considerably increased the amount of its gas supply to power plants and large industrial units in the five-month period.

Iraq and Turkey are among the major gas customers of Iran. The Islamic Republic earlier on June 22 launched the export of seven million cubic meters of gas per day to the Arab country.

Iran and Iraq had earlier concluded two agreements on exporting gas. The first agreement envisages gas export to Baghdad and the second one obliges Iran to export gas to Iraqi city of Basra through a pipeline crossing Shalamcheh City. Irans gas is expected to be used in power generation in Iraq.

Turkeys gas imports from Iran in the first half of 2017 increased by 23 percent, hitting 4.7 billion cubic meters.

According to Jamshidi Dana, Irans gas supply to the domestic power plants in the five-month period also increased by 5 percent to stand at 33 billion cubic meters. Meanwhile, Iranian industrial sector saw an increase of 3.5 percent in its gas input, receiving 15 billion cubic meters of gas in the mentioned period.

The supplies of the South Pars Gas Complex (SPGC) in the five-month period also increased by 16 percent reaching 54 billion cubic meters. According to Masoud Hassani, the head of SPGC, the South Pars gas field accounted for 65 percent of the gas consumed in the country in this period.

Iran refined about 205 billion cubic meters of gas over the last fiscal year. The countrys gas imports over the last year stood at six billion cubic meters and its exports hit nine billion cubic meters.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sep. 9

By Khalid Kazimov  Trend:

Iran ranked 138th in trade with the US as trade balance between the two countries stood at $8.8 million over the first seven months of the current year.

According to the latest data by the US Census Bureau, the two countries trade totaled at $3.4 million in July.

The data suggest that the US exports to Iran in the seven-month period dropped by 51 percent.

The US exports to Iran in July valued at $6.8 million. This is while the figure for the seven-month period reached $48.1 million. Iran ranked 145th in the list of US exports.

While the custom basis imports from Iran in July formed $3.4 million, the seven-month figure stood at $39.2 million.

Meanwhile, the CIF basis (cost, insurance and freight) imports from Iran in July reached $3.5 million and the seven-month figure was $40.2 million.

The US Census Bureau and the US Bureau of Economic Analysis, through the Department of Commerce, announced that the goods and services deficit was $43.7 billion in July, up $0.1 billion from $43.5 billion in June. July exports were $194.4 billion, $0.6 billion less than June exports. July imports were $238.1 billion, $0.4 billion less than June imports.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sep.9

By Khalid Kazimov  Trend:

Iranian gold producers are taking proper measures to improve their international ranking through increasing the quality of the products, an official with Tehran Gold and Jewelry Union told Trend.

Ahmad Vafadar has said that Iranian producers have recently imported state of the art technologies from Italy which would defiantly leave a positive impact on the industry in the near future.

Speaking about Iranian gold producers international ranking he said that the country currently is among the top six gold producers.

He further called for cooperation between entrepreneurs from his country and Azerbaijan in the gold industry, saying there are suitable opportunities for cooperation between the two neighboring countries.

Gold price has been in surge over the past weeks in Iranian market. Per gram of the 18-karat gold hit $ 32.3 (1.258 million rials) in the Iranian market on Sep. 7.

The surge in the global prices and a recent decision by the Central Bank of Iran appear to be among main reasons causing the price hike in the countrys gold market.
Iranian Vice President Ali Akbar Salehi says his country wants to continue adhering to its nuclear treaty, even if the United States withdraws. In an interview, he warns that if the accord falls through, it could lead to a nuclear arms race.

Salehi made the remarks in a recent interview with Der Spiegel:

Der Spiegel: President Hassam Rohani recently threatened that Iran's nuclear program could be resuscitated within hours if the United States were to impose new sanctions. How serious is this warning?

Salehi: We are continuously assessing if this agreement benefits us, or if the price is too high to stay in the deal. If the United States pulls out of the agreement, but the rest of the countries stay committed -- namely Britain, France, Germany, China, Russia -- then Iran would most probably stick with the commitments to the agreement without the U.S. But if the U.S. leaves the treaty and Europe follows, then this deal will certainly collapse and Iran will go back to what it was before and, technically speaking, to a much higher level. As a person who has taken part in these negotiations, I wouldn't like to see that happen.

Der Spiegel: So far, President Rohani has not been able to deliver many economic successes, largely because the U.S. is pushing Western banks not to work with Iran. How do you intend to surmount this challenge?

Salehi: The U.S. is trying to poison the business environment. It discourages big banks and companies from working with Iran. It is fearmongering. But in reality they cannot accomplish much. There is a lot of rhetoric, yes. If the U.S. turns those words into real action, we will then have to face a very different situation.

Der Spiegel: What does this mean?

Salehi: If the U.S. is refusing to waive the sanctions connected to the nuclear activities of Iran, it would be significant noncompliance on their side.

Der Spiegel: If the U.S. quits and others follow, Iran would go back to developing its nuclear program, but also to a nontransparent, black-market economy. It would once again be isolated and in a constant struggle with the Western powers.

Salehi: That is almost true. As I said, if the nuclear agreement is breached, economically we would face some difficulties, but politically we would be gaining. We would tell our youth, don't trust them anymore, we tried once and showed flexibility to reach a nuclear agreement. The International Atomic Energy Agency has acknowledged our full compliance with this treaty, but the Americans broke the deal. Don't forget, the isolation which was imposed on us also brought us together as a nation and forced us to stand on our own feet. In addition, in the field of scientific achievement we have made it to the top of the list. I think our partners in this treaty have more to lose than we do.

Der Spiegel: What do you mean?

Salehi: If the nuclear agreement collapses, there will be no chance for a settlement of North Korea's nuclear issue. Pyongyang would say, well, they broke the nuclear deal with Tehran, how can we trust them? It would also undermine the integrity of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. There will be a tsunami of outrage coming from all countries interested in developing peaceful nuclear technology.

Der Spiegel: As you know, the problem with Iran wasn't the peaceful use of nuclear technology, but rather the aspirations to build an atomic bomb. Some weeks ago, Iran tested a new ballistic missile. Is this wise timing amid growing tensions?

Salehi: If the U.S. considers this an issue, then it is their problem. Nowhere in the nuclear agreement does it say that Iran does not have the right to develop its missile capacity. We are exercising our rights and it is the other side that is trying to interpret this as a provocative act. Every day for the last 38 years, we've dealt with the U.S. or other countries issuing different accusations against Iran. One day we are not "democratic enough," the next day it is about "human rights" or "false elections.

Der Spiegel: Isn't there some truth in that?

Salehi: There are countries in the region which have no elections at all, nor basic rights for their citizens -- where, for example, women can't even drive. But because they are in the political orbit of the West, especially the U.S., they are being left alone.

Der Spiegel: How does Tehran view the U.S. president's close cooperation with Saudi Arabia?

Salehi: From what I have gathered, the U.S. is in a state of confusion. Even the European allies of the U.S. do not know which strategy President Trump is pursuing. This confusion is not directed against us alone, but it has negatively impacted the U.S. administration's governance and its allies in the region. For example, recently Qatar.

Der Spiegel: Although the emirate is home to the U.S.'s most-important military base in the Persian Gulf, Donald Trump allowed a Saudi Arabia-led group of states to isolate Qatar.

Salehi: Suddenly you wake up and you find out that Qatar has been cut off from the military alliance of the Gulf States, the Gulf Cooperation Council. I really can't say that Qatar was a friend. In the case of Syria and in other regional conflicts it has always been on the other side. But now we are providing them with access to airspace, access to the sea and roads, because we are their only outlet. True political practice requires wisdom and a rational approach. That is why we are making these concessions to Qatar.

Der Spiegel: This could make Saudi Arabia's leaders even more furious. They already see themselves as surrounded by Iran.

Salehi: I lived in Saudi Arabia for four years, I know many of their officials. We always had our different views, but also enjoyed a relatively good relationship in different domains, such as economics, trade and tourism -- visitors from Iran going to Saudi Arabia and vice versa. The Iranians do not have any designs on the land or the wealth of others. We have our own ample gas and oil, and vast land.

Der Spiegel: Despite that, the relationship between Riyadh and Tehran appears to be broken.

Salehi: After King Abdullah passed away and the new king took on his role, the relationship deteriorated swiftly. Mostly because of the preposterous illusion that Iran has surrounded them. Under this illusion, they want to conquer Yemen to create an opening, but they just dug themselves into a deeper hole and don't know how to get out again.

Der Spiegel: It doesn't look like Iran is willing to do much to help them to out of this situation.

Salehi: As our officials have stated, we are ready and willing to help. But Saudi Arabia needs to come to understand the realities on the ground, and I think they will eventually change course and even come to the realization that Iran can be a good, trusted friend. When I took on my responsibility as foreign minister seven years ago, Saudi Arabia and Turkey had been my first priority. Together with Iran, these three countries can bring security and stability to the region. I personally would very much like to see our relationship with Saudi Arabia be back to what it was before and even better.

Der Spiegel: Why do you think so few of your political counterparts believe you?

Salehi: Look at it rationally: If we have a good relationship with Saudi Arabia, we benefit on many levels, economically and in trade, because our lifeline is the Persian Gulf. How can we secure the situation in the Persian Gulf? Only if these countries come together in mutual agreement.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 9

By Khalid Kazimov  Trend:

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has left Tehran for Astana, Kazakhstan, to attend the First Science and Technology Summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

According to media reports, President Rouhani is expected to deliver a speech during the Science and Technology Summit.

Hesamoddin Ashna, a cultural advisor to the Iranian president, earlier said that Rouhani will discuss the issue of Rohingya Muslims during the summit.

The presidents upcoming visit to Astana is not only aimed at expansion of cooperation in science and technology among Muslim countries, but he also seeks to unite the Ummah [Islamic community] to help Myanmar Muslims.

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), founded on Sept. 25, 1969, is the largest and most influential official Muslim governmental international organization, bringing together 57 countries.

The two-day summit is scheduled to take place on September 10-11 in Astana.
Qatars emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani called Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud on Saturday to say he was ready for Gulf crisis talks, Sputnik reported, citing Saudi media.

The Qatari emir said he wanted to sit down at the negotiating table with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt to discuss their demands, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said.

The four states severed diplomatic ties and transport links with Doha in early June after accusing it of supporting terrorism in the region and interfering in their domestic affairs.

They issued Qatar with a 13-point ultimatum which required the small emirate to scale down relations with Iran, close a Turkish military base and shut Al Jazeera television channel. Qatar denied all allegations. It said the requests were too harsh and breached its sovereignty.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will visit London next week for UK-hosted talks on North Korea and Libya, the State Department said in a press release, Sputnik reported.

"Tillerson will travel to London from September 13 through September 14 for UK-hosted meetings on DPRK [North Korea] and Libya," the release said on Friday.

Earlier, the Secretary of State said that the United States will respond to North Korea's recent nuclear test.

On Wednesday, the text of the US draft resolution as a response to the North Korean latest nuclear test was revealed by media. Washington asks the UN Security Council to impose an oil embargo on North Korea and block the assets of the country's leader Kim Jong Un after the most recent nuclear test.
Hurricane Irma has again strengthened to a category 5 storm, the highest rating on the scale, the US National Hurricane Center has said, Sputnik reported.

The hurricane, which is expected to make landfall in the US state of Florida this weekend, has maximum sustained winds of 160 miles per hour.

"Irma making landfall on the Camaguey archipelago of Cuba as a category 5 hurricane. Hurricane warnings extended northward along the Florida peninsula," the agency announced.

The NHC stressed some fluctuations in its intensity were likely during the next day or two, but it is expected to remain a powerful hurricane as it approaches Florida.

The eye of the storm is forecast to move near the north coast of Cuba through Saturday, near the Florida Keys on Sunday morning, and then near the southwest coast of Florida on Sunday afternoon.

The hurricane will bring storm surges reaching up to 12 feet in Floridas southwest, as well as heavy rainfalls through Tuesday night of up to 20 inches, which may cause life-threatening flash floods.

A few tornadoes are also possible from Saturday midday into Sunday across central and south Florida.

Irma is the most intense hurricane in the Atlantic over the past decade. It is considered to be even more powerful than the recent Hurricane Harvey which went ashore in Texas and caused major flooding.

Another hurricane, Katia, has meanwhile made landfall north of Tecolutla on the eastern coast of the state of Veracruz in Mexico. It remains a category 1 storm with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph and is expected to dissipate later on Saturday.
Frances Emmanuel Macron discussed increased pressure and sanctions on North Korea on the telephone with U.S. President Donald Trump and Japans Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Saturday, the French presidents office said, Reuters reported.

The three leaders stressed the need for a united and firm reaction from the international community toward Pyongyang, Macrons office said.

South Korea was bracing on Saturday for a possible further missile test by North Korea as it marked its founding anniversary, just days after its sixth and largest nuclear test.

The French presidency said North Koreas repeated provocations were a threat to peace and international security. It also said Macron had expressed Frances solidarity with Japan.

Tension on the Korean peninsula has escalated as North Koreas leader, Kim Jong Un, has stepped up the development of weapons, testing a string of missiles this year, including one flying over Japan.

Experts believe the Pyongyang government is close to its goal of developing a powerful nuclear weapon capable of reaching the United States, something U.S. President Trump has vowed to prevent.
Hurricane Irma pounded Cubas northern coast on Saturday and barreled toward Florida as authorities scrambled to complete an unprecedented evacuation of millions of residents hours before the storm would engulf the state, Reuters reported.

The outer band of Irma, which has killed at least 22 people in the Caribbean, was already lashing South Florida with tropical storm-force winds and left nearly 25,000 people without power, Governor Rick Scott said.

The brunt of the hurricane, one of the fiercest Atlantic storms in a century, is due to arrive in Florida early Sunday.

Irma could inflict major damage on the fourth-largest U.S. state by population, which is braced for winds well in excess of 100 miles per hour and a huge storm surge that could trigger coastal flooding.

This is a deadly storm and our state has never seen anything like it, Scott said at a Saturday morning news conference.

Irma, located about 225 miles (365 km) south of Miami on Saturday morning, still ranked as a Category 5 storm when it crashed into Cuba in the early hours of Saturday. It weakened to a Category 3 as it tore along the islands northern coastline, downing power lines, bending palm trees and sending huge waves crashing over sea walls.

Maximum sustained winds dipped to around 130 miles per hour (215 km per hour) by 8 a.m. (1200 GMT) on Saturday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.

But Irma will regain strength as it moves over the warm open water as it approaches Florida, according to the NHS, which expects the storm to arrive in the Keys, an archipelago off the peninsulas southern tip, on Sunday morning.

On Floridas West Coast, a long line of people in Estero, north of Naples, lined up to enter an arena that officials converted into an evacuation shelter, one of hundreds that have opened up across the state.

We got the house all buttoned up, said Montgomery Campbell, 82, as he stood in line.

Luise Campana Read was one of those who chose to ignore warnings and stay in her home. She said by phone she planned to ride out the storm in her beachfront condo in Fort Lauderdale, with her elderly mother and other family members.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 9

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

New York County District Attorneys Office filed a motion to arrest the former Turkish Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan, Turkish media report Sept. 9.

The Attorneys Office also filed another motion to arrest the former head of Turkeys Halkbank Suleyman Aslan.

Both are accused of supporting development of Irans economy and creating illegal funds for money laundering.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had a phone conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday, according to Turkish Presidency, Anadolu reported.

Two leaders, said a statement by the Presidential Press Office, agreed to hold a private meeting during the upcoming UN General Assembly in New York later this month.

During the phone talk, Erdogan and Trump also stressed Turkey-US strategic partnership as well as the importance of continuing joint efforts to further strengthen the bilateral relations and promote stability in the region.
By Takuya Karube, KYODO NEWS - Sep 9, 2017 - 15:50 | World, All

North Korea marked Saturday the 69th anniversary of its founding boasting of its status as a world-class military power and taking an explicitly adversarial stand against the United States, as the international community struggles to rein in the secretive country following a series of weapons tests.

North Korea's most influential newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, in its front page praised the country for becoming an "invincible nuclear power" after having succeeded in possessing an atomic bomb, a hydrogen bomb and even an intercontinental ballistic missile.

With North Korea's upgraded military capabilities, the newspaper warned that the United States and its "vassal" forces are doomed to be defeated, at a time when the international community is carefully watching the North for signs of another missile launch or other provocations on the occasion of the anniversary.

Rodong Sinmun also denounced in a separate commentary the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump for spearheading new U.N. sanctions against North Korea and threatened that "as long as the United States will pursue hostile action, it will continue to receive big and small gift packages from us."

The U.S. aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan left its home port in Yokosuka, located south of Tokyo, for a patrol mission of the region on Friday.

Last year, North Korea conducted its fifth nuclear test on the day of the anniversary. This year's ceremony comes about a week after the country's by far most powerful ever underground blast of what it claimed was a hydrogen bomb.

North Korea has also test-fired already nearly 20 ballistic missiles this year alone, including two ICBMs in July believed capable of reaching the mainland United States.

Just days before its sixth nuclear test, North Korea launched an intermediate-range ballistic missile that crossed Japan before landing in the northern Pacific Ocean.

In response to the sixth nuclear test on Sept. 3, the United States and its allies are trying to have the U.N. Security Council endorse a new resolution toughening sanctions on North Korea.

The United States, which has proposed an oil embargo and a freeze on North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's assets, among other punitive steps against the country, has requested the 15-member Security Council to vote on the resolution on Monday.

China and Russia, two of the five veto-wielding permanent members of the council, hold the key to whether North Korea will face stricter sanctions.

Both China and Russia have condemned North Korea for the latest nuclear test but have adhered to their long-held positions of prioritizing the restart of negotiations, rather than putting too much pressure on Pyongyang in the belief that doing so would further escalate tensions.

On the occasion of the 69th founding anniversary, North Korea's official media reported that Kim received a congratulatory message from Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"The relations between the two countries are based on the excellent tradition of friendship and mutual respect," the Korean Central News Agency quoted the message as saying. "I am convinced that further development of the bilateral relations in all fields will conform with the fundamental interests of the two peoples and contribute to consolidating the security and stability of the Korean peninsula and Northeast Asia as a whole."

However, there are no reports of Kim receiving a message of greetings from Chinese President Xi Jinping, a possible indication of fraying ties between the two neighbors.

While the rest of the world is worrying if or when North Korea may tame its nuclear ambitions, the country's citizens, young and old alike, dressed up for one of its most important national holidays. Many were seen laying flowers before giant statues in Pyongyang of state founder Kim Il Sung and his son Kim Jong Il, the current leader's father, who died in late 2011.
KYODO NEWS - Sep 8, 2017 - 13:17 | All

Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono said Friday he will depart later in the day for a six-day trip to five Middle Eastern nations to seek their cooperation in tackling North Korea, which conducted its most powerful nuclear test yet last weekend.

Kono is scheduled to visit Qatar, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Egypt in his first trip to the region since he became foreign minister last month.

"In the Middle East, there are countries that have close relations with North Korea and have accepted workers from the North," helping Pyongyang obtain funds for its nuclear and ballistic missile development programs, Kono told reporters.

"Japan will urge (those Middle Eastern nations) to deal with this situation," Kono said, referring to the need to curb the inflow of foreign currencies into Pyongyang.

Some Middle Eastern countries have accepted thousands of North Korean workers, Kono earlier said during a parliamentary session.

Pyongyang said through its official media Sunday that it successfully tested an advanced hydrogen bomb and now has the ability to adjust the power of a nuclear warhead as it chooses depending on the attack target. It was its sixth nuclear test.

In addition, concerns are growing that North Korea is preparing to mark its national foundation day on Saturday with another missile launch and nuclear test. Last year, Pyongyang carried out its fifth nuclear test on the day.

On Monday, Kono is scheduled to hold political dialogue in Egypt with ministers from the Arab League, which groups together 21 Middle Eastern and African countries as well as Palestine.

The ministers are expected to exchange views on issues such as severed diplomatic ties between Qatar and Arab countries including Saudi Arabia.
(Update: Since publication of this story, Equifax has updated the language on its website (www.equifaxsecurity2017.com) to make it clear that no consumer will be required to waive his or her legal right to a class action lawsuit as a condition for enrolling in the company's free credit monitoring and identify theft protection products.) Don't be so quick to sign up for free credit monitoring from Equifax. The company announced late Thursday that it had suffered a breach potentially affecting 143 million U.S. consumers. "The first assumption a consumer should make is that they are affected," said Neal Creighton, chief executive of security firm CounterTack. Exposed data includes names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses, and in some cases, driver's license numbers, Equifax said in its announcement. The breach also compromised credit card numbers for 209,000 consumers, and dispute documents with personal identifying information for 182,000 consumers. "That's everything an identity thief would need," said Ryan O'Leary, vice president of the Threat Research Center at WhiteHat Security. Consumers can check Equifax's site EquifaxSecurity2017.com to see if they have been affected. (Be warned: Consumer advocates say the system is confusing ). The company has also said it will send direct mail notices to consumers whose credit card numbers or dispute information were compromised.

But while you should check to see if you're affected  and take other steps to protect yourself  experts say there are reasons to think twice before you take the next step of enrolling in the free "Trusted ID Premier" service the company is offering. (Equifax did not immediately respond to requests for comment.) 1) Fine print By agreeing to the terms and conditions for Equifax's monitoring, you may be giving up key consumer rights . In a statement, the National Consumer Law Center warned consumers of fine print in the agreement that requires them to settle disputes through arbitration , and bans them from participating in class-action lawsuits. (There is already a class-action lawsuit in play, accusing Equifax of failing to adequately secure consumers' information.) The fine print does give consumers the ability to opt out by notifying the company in writing within 30 days, Chi Chi Wu, a staff attorney for the National Consumer Law Center, said in the statement. "However, most consumers will not see that fine print and will be forced to give up their access to the courts," she said. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced Friday that he had launched an investigation into the Equifax breach. On Twitter, Schneiderman said the fine print language was "unacceptable and unenforceable," and that his staff had already reached out to Equifax about it. Tweet 2) Scope Monitoring your credit is a typical first to-do after a breach  "but it's the credit monitoring agency that just got breached," O'Leary said. O'Leary and Creighton both suggested consumers weigh paying for a third-party service like IDShield or LifeLock, if they want credit monitoring. Independent monitoring companies track more than your credit file to spot suspicious activity  which is key, considering that it's unclear if the attackers manipulated or changed Equifax's database, Creighton said. The paid services also typically bundle in assistance to help victims handle credit problems. "I hate to tell people to sign up for things that cost money," O'Leary said, "especially when it's not their fault they've been compromised." 3) Timing Equifax's offering  more than a month after the company discovered the breach, and several months after thieves began accessing the data  may come too late for consumers. Thieves tend to sell and use such data quickly to capitalize on its value, Creighton said. In a Federal Trade Commission study from earlier this year, researchers found that thieves began to use stolen data within minutes of it being posted online. "They probably already started using it," he said. Check your existing credit accounts for suspicious transactions, and pull credit reports from AnnualCreditReport.com to check for new accounts in your name, Matt Schulz, senior industry analyst at CreditCards.com, said in a statement. But you'll also need to keep watching: Thieves could easily make use of the stolen data for years. "When breaches like these happen, consumers need to be diligent  and not just in the short term," Schulz said. "Just because nothing looks amiss on your bank statements or your credit report now, that doesn't mean you haven't been compromised." Join CNBC, the Aspen Institute and the most influential cybersecurity players from government, business and tech at the Cambridge Cyber Summit, Oct. 4 in Boston.



More From CNBC


To protect yourself in the wake of the Equifax data breach, presume the worst."The first assumption a consumer should make is that they are affected," said Neal Creighton, chief executive of security firm CounterTack. Equifax announced late Thursday that it had suffered a breach potentially affecting 143 million U.S. consumers. (For perspective, the entire U.S. population in July 2016 was roughly 323 million, according to Census Bureau data . That includes more than 249 million people over age 18  i.e., those most likely to have a credit file.) "That's significantly over half of the U.S. adult population that probably had their information taken," said Ryan O'Leary, vice president of the Threat Research Center at WhiteHat Security. Exposed data includes names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses, and in some cases, driver's license numbers, Equifax said in its announcement . The breach also compromised credit card numbers for 209,000 consumers, and dispute documents with personal identifying information for 182,000 consumers. In a statement, Mike Litt, consumer advocate at the U.S. PIRG Education Fund, called the breach "beyond troubling." "The types of stolen information, including Social Security numbers and dates of birth, can be used to commit new account identity theft against all of these people," Litt said. "Additionally, stolen credit cards affecting over 200,000 people in this breach can also be used to commit existing account identity theft ." Consumers can check Equifax's site EquifaxSecurity2017.com to see if they have been affected. (Be warned: Experts say the system is confusing , and there are reasons to be cautious about signing up for credit monitoring there.) The company has also said it will send direct mail notices to consumers whose credit card numbers or dispute information were compromised. But there are other steps to take, quickly. (See infographic below.) Check your existing credit accounts for suspicious transactions, and pull credit reports from AnnualCreditReport.com to check for new accounts in your name, Matt Schulz, senior industry analyst at CreditCards.com, said in a statement. And keep watching. "When breaches like these happen, consumers need to be diligent  and not just in the short term," Schulz said. "Just because nothing looks amiss on your bank statements or your credit report now, that doesn't mean you haven't been compromised." Equifax reported that the unauthorized access occurred between mid-May and July, and was discovered July 29. Thieves tend to sell and use such data quickly to capitalize on its value, Creighton said. "They probably already started using it," he said.If you opt to sign up for credit monitoring, consider paying for a third-party service like IDShield or LifeLock, versus the free monitoring Equifax is offering or a paid service from another credit scoring company, O'Leary said. Independent monitoring companies tend to track more sources to spot suspicious activity and alert you to it, he said, and typically also bundle in assistance to help victims handle credit problems."I hate to tell people to sign up for things that cost money," he said, "especially when it's not their fault they've been compromised." Another reason Equifax's free monitoring isn't the best bet: The terms and conditions require users to resolve disputes through arbitration , and ban them from participating in class-action lawsuits. That fine print gives consumers the ability to opt out by notifying the company in writing within 30 days, Chi Chi Wu, a staff attorney for the National Consumer Law Center, said in a statement. "However, most consumers will not see that fine print and will be forced to give up their access to the courts," she said. With so much information affected, consumers are better served by freezing their accounts with Equifax , Experian and Transunion rather than relying on monitoring services, U.S. PIRG's Litt said in the statement. That can keep thieves from opening new loans and lines of credit in your name. But a freeze isn't a step to undertake lightly. Besides stopping criminals, a freeze also prevents you from getting new credit. You'll need to reach out to the credit reporting companies to temporarily lift the freeze any time you want say, a new credit card or to refinance your mortgage."Freeze it, and nothing can get through," O'Leary said.Freezes don't always come cheap, either. There can be a fee each time you add, lift or remove a freeze  and you'll face up to three fees for taking that action with each company. Rates vary by company and state, as well as details including your age and whether you've been a victim of identity theft. Fees also vary by the kind of action you're taking.For example, in Iowa, placing a freeze might be free, $5 or $10, depending on which category you fall under.Join CNBC, the Aspen Institute and the most influential cybersecurity players from government, business and tech at the Cambridge Cyber Summit, October 4 in Boston. To protect yourself in the wake of the Equifax data breach, presume the worst. "The first assumption a consumer should make is that they are affected," said Neal Creighton, chief executive of security firm CounterTack. Equifax announced late Thursday that it had suffered a breach potentially affecting 143 million U.S. consumers. (For perspective, the entire U.S. population in July 2016 was roughly 323 million, according to Census Bureau data . That includes more than 249 million people over age 18  i.e., those most likely to have a credit file.) "That's significantly over half of the U.S. adult population that probably had their information taken," said Ryan O'Leary, vice president of the Threat Research Center at WhiteHat Security. Exposed data includes names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses, and in some cases, driver's license numbers, Equifax said in its announcement . The breach also compromised credit card numbers for 209,000 consumers, and dispute documents with personal identifying information for 182,000 consumers. In a statement, Mike Litt, consumer advocate at the U.S. PIRG Education Fund, called the breach "beyond troubling." "The types of stolen information, including Social Security numbers and dates of birth, can be used to commit new account identity theft against all of these people," Litt said. "Additionally, stolen credit cards affecting over 200,000 people in this breach can also be used to commit existing account identity theft ." Consumers can check Equifax's site EquifaxSecurity2017.com to see if they have been affected. (Be warned: Experts say the system is confusing , and there are reasons to be cautious about signing up for credit monitoring there.) The company has also said it will send direct mail notices to consumers whose credit card numbers or dispute information were compromised. But there are other steps to take, quickly. (See infographic below.) Check your existing credit accounts for suspicious transactions, and pull credit reports from AnnualCreditReport.com to check for new accounts in your name, Matt Schulz, senior industry analyst at CreditCards.com, said in a statement. And keep watching. "When breaches like these happen, consumers need to be diligent  and not just in the short term," Schulz said. "Just because nothing looks amiss on your bank statements or your credit report now, that doesn't mean you haven't been compromised." Equifax reported that the unauthorized access occurred between mid-May and July, and was discovered July 29. Thieves tend to sell and use such data quickly to capitalize on its value, Creighton said. "They probably already started using it," he said. If you opt to sign up for credit monitoring, consider paying for a third-party service like IDShield or LifeLock, versus the free monitoring Equifax is offering or a paid service from another credit scoring company, O'Leary said. Independent monitoring companies tend to track more sources to spot suspicious activity and alert you to it, he said, and typically also bundle in assistance to help victims handle credit problems. "I hate to tell people to sign up for things that cost money," he said, "especially when it's not their fault they've been compromised." Another reason Equifax's free monitoring isn't the best bet: The terms and conditions require users to resolve disputes through arbitration , and ban them from participating in class-action lawsuits. That fine print gives consumers the ability to opt out by notifying the company in writing within 30 days, Chi Chi Wu, a staff attorney for the National Consumer Law Center, said in a statement. "However, most consumers will not see that fine print and will be forced to give up their access to the courts," she said. With so much information affected, consumers are better served by freezing their accounts with Equifax , Experian and Transunion rather than relying on monitoring services, U.S. PIRG's Litt said in the statement. That can keep thieves from opening new loans and lines of credit in your name. But a freeze isn't a step to undertake lightly. Besides stopping criminals, a freeze also prevents you from getting new credit. You'll need to reach out to the credit reporting companies to temporarily lift the freeze any time you want say, a new credit card or to refinance your mortgage. "Freeze it, and nothing can get through," O'Leary said. Freezes don't always come cheap, either. There can be a fee each time you add, lift or remove a freeze  and you'll face up to three fees for taking that action with each company. Rates vary by company and state, as well as details including your age and whether you've been a victim of identity theft. Fees also vary by the kind of action you're taking. For example, in Iowa, placing a freeze might be free, $5 or $10, depending on which category you fall under. Join CNBC, the Aspen Institute and the most influential cybersecurity players from government, business and tech at the Cambridge Cyber Summit, October 4 in Boston.



More From CNBC


I've lived in the country for 30 years and during that time my wife and I have hit four deer. All of them leapt away over the nearest fence, unharmed, leaving our cars with hundreds of dollars' worth of damage. But, hey, the deer lived. The deer in this father-daughter poem also happily survives. It's by Kevin Casey, who lives in Maine, and is from his book And Waking ... , from Bottom Dog Press.

***

The sun climbed the rigging of a mackerel sky,

with me and my daughter following west,

***

and then the sudden, thick lashed, chestnut eye

of that poor deer, flashed as we collided.

***

Busted bumper, her bounding toward the pines 

clean-limbed, light, and sapling-sound, she vanished.

***

Stopping on the shoulder, I dreaded what damage

my own poor dear and her thick-lashed, chestnut eyes

***

had suffered, struck by their shared innocence

and that awful force; but her beaming face,

***

sunflower-broad, was filled by this thrill,

with her eager as the deer that the day

***

might move along, and the sun  without

looking down  should keep to its climbing.
Helping the hungry just got easier in Missoula, thanks to a new app that donates to food banks and shelters every time you go to a restaurant or cafe.

TangoTab, a Texas-based app, launched in western Montana on Saturday as part of its Feed the City tour.

Julia Bryant, the Montana director for TangoTab, said that 30 businesses in Missoula have already signed up as contributors for the app.

Every time a customer with the app visits a participating restaurant, a portion of the sale goes to helping feed the hungry. The proceeds benefit local food banks, homeless shelters and nonprofits, while costing customers nothing.

One in eight Montanans go hungry every day, Bryant said. In a state of only a million people, we have the opportunity to make a real difference.

Bryant met TangoTab founder and CEO Andre Angel at Hatch, an innovation conference held in Big Sky last year, and helped to bring the 5-year-old company to Montana.

In between towering steel tanks of Moose Drool and Trout Slayer at Big Sky Brewing Company, the small group of volunteers formed an assembly line of ham and cheese sandwiches, and loaded the brown-bagged lunches into cardboard boxes bound for the Montana Food Bank Network and wildland firefighters.

The taproom is currently being renovated, so Big Sky packaging foreman Travis Cole, said he was excited to help out with the space they had available.

TangoTab has plans to help veterans and at-risk youth find work on local farms, Bryant said, with hopes that the farms can then supply produce to local food banks and shelters.

The dream is that it will be a two-fer, with getting people good jobs and providing high quality nutrition to those in need, she said.

TangoTab held an opening event in Billings earlier this week, and events in Bozeman and Helena are scheduled for later this month. This wont be the last sandwich-making party in Missoula, either, Bryant said.

As more people find out about us, more restaurants will join in, and this community of volunteers will continue to grow.
The steadily improving U.S. economy will likely bring to the forefront some winners across the equity universe in 2017. However, the broader market is faced with trying times, thanks to external factors like oil price volatility, simmering tension with North Korea and the damaging hurricanes.



Consequently, investors must not invest their money on typical bets without a clear roadmap.



A number of stocks might look promising on the surface, however among those, many might not have enough potential to outperform the market.



The Industrial sector has been an impressive performer since the Presidential election. Certain aspects such as President Trumps intentions to boost U.S. infrastructure spending, as well as the recovering economy in China are anticipated to bolster performance of a number of industrial stocks in the near term.



The industrial stocks in the S&P 500 Group performed fairly well in the Q2 earnings season. On an average, the sector recorded 18.8% rise in earnings and 13.6% upside in revenues on a year-over-year basis in the quarter, compared to the respective tallies of 11.2% and 5.6% for the benchmark S&P 500 index.



However, is this enough to invest in any industrial stock?



Value Investing



We believe that investors would do fairly well by investing in less risky industrial stocks rather than opting for the uncertain ones. Henceforth, value stocks could essentially be a safer bet at this moment, given the penchant for steady growth momentum and price.



Value investing provides an opportunity to foray into the market and grab stocks which are not noticed by most investors. These stocks often yield sound dividends, possess low price/earnings ratios and have concrete outlooks.



Moreover, it would be more reasonable to invest in stocks which are trading at bargain prices because the current market uncertainty is yet to be addressed. Investors would be able to buy a large number of shares of a company, if they provide prime focus on less expensive stocks.



The Underlying Metrics



Through our latest style score system, we have narrowed down four stocks that might prove to be a boon for value investors.



Our Value Style Score brings about all valuation metrics into one actionable score that assists investors steer clear of value traps and spot stocks that are actually trading at a discount.



Back-tested results show that stocks with Value Style Scores of A, when pooled with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or #2 (Buy), offer the best investment opportunities.



All these value bets listed below carry a solid Zacks Rank and an attractive Value Style Score.



Additionally, these stocks are currently trading below $20, which makes them more rewarding.



Our Picks



Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. (KWHIY), along with its subsidiaries, produces and sells specialized industrial goods and transportation equipment globally.



Zacks Rank: #1



Value Score: A



Last Closing Price: $12.55

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Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. Price

Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. price | Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. Quote





IHI Corporation (IHICY), with its subsidiaries, sells and manufactures machinery and equipment in Japan and other overseas markets, including the United States.



Zacks Rank: #1



Value Score: A



Last Closing Price: $13.65

IHI CORP Price

IHI CORP price | IHI CORP Quote



You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.



Aggreko plc (ARGKF) offers temperature control and temporary power solutions in various end markets across the globe.



Zacks Rank: #2



Value Score: A



Last Closing Price: $12.00

Aggreko PLC Price

Aggreko PLC price | Aggreko PLC Quote



Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (CWST) and its subsidiaries are regarded as renowned vertically-integrated solid waste services company of Northeastern United States.



Zacks Rank: #2



Value Score: A



Last Closing Price: $17.52



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Queues of traffic have been building on the roads out of Florida - AP

Airlines have been accused of cashing in on the disaster created by Hurricane Irma by hiking the prices of flights by thousands of dollars.

Airlines including United have been criticised on social media by passengers trying to evacuate destinations in the category 5 storms path, such as Florida in the US.

Florida governor Rick Scott has issued a state of emergency as Hurricane Irma is expected to hit Florida on September 9.

Hey @united this is price gouging. There was word you were going to add flights to help people get out of Miami, but this is ridiculous. pic.twitter.com/0qtEDKtEYb  Cindi Avila (@ChefCindi) September 6, 2017

As traffic clogged up roads in Key West, people wanting to leave Miami were quoted extortionate prices, such as more than $6,000 (4,590) for a one-way trip from Miami to Atlanta with United. Another person looking to book found four flights at prices of more than $6,000 from Miami to Denver, also with United.

@thepointsguy is AA price gouging with Irma close?FLL-MSP flight quoted $190 at 8:00A. System failed to book. Finally got for $734 at 10:00A  Hectorfl72 (@hectorfl72) September 5, 2017

One Twitter user on Tuesday said he saw his potential flight from Florida to Minneapolis-St. Paul with American Airlines jump by more than $600 (459), to a price of $734 in two hours.

These domestic flights would normally cost a fraction of the prices quoted, usually no more than a few hundred dollars.

People in America are stocking up on provisions in preparation for the arrival of the category 5 storm Credit: AFP/MICHELE EVE SANDBERG

Some prices shown on flight comparison sites, such as $3,000 for a Delta flight from Miami to Phoenix found by one Twitter user, Leigh Dow, on Expedia, was apparently remedied by Delta once Ms Dow spoke to the airline directly.

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As anger mounted and the life-threatening storm grew closer, airlines Jet Blue, American and Delta put out statements saying that they were capping the prices on affected flights in response. The cap is expected to last until September 13.

Shame on you @delta. Jacking from $547 to over $3200 for people trying to evacute responsibly? #IrmaHurricanepic.twitter.com/O2nfPHQUAh  Leigh (@LeighDow) September 5, 2017

Jet Blue and American said it would cap fares at $99, Delta said its $399 cap included first class.

"We want those trying to leave ahead of the hurricane to focus on their safe evacuation rather than worry about the cost of flights," JetBlue spokesman Doug McGraw said.

United said in a statement to NBC news network that it "did not change how we priced our seats for flights out of Florida," but added that fares for the additional flights that it had put on to cope with the extra demand had been reduced "beyond what a regular last minute fare would be."

A look at Uniteds website on Thursday reveals that one-way flights from Miami to Atlanta are available from $1,142.

A satellite image of the hurricane Credit: AFP/HO

Senators Richard Blumenthal and Edward Markey called on the US Department of Transportation yesterday to launch an investigation into potentially opportunistic fare hikes by airlines.

"It would certainly be offensive if airlines  who rely on publicly supported infrastructure and have been bolstered by American taxpayers for nearly a century  used this opportunity to impose unconscionable costs on consumers," they wrote in a letter to Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao.

Pam Bondi, Floridas attorney general, said the state had received more than 1,500 calls on its price-gouging hotline in the last two days, mostly relating however to the prices of water, food and petrol.

Hurricane Irma batters the Caribbean, in pictures






The personal information of 143 million people was accessed by hackers in an attack on Equifax, one of the largest data breaches in U.S. history. If youre one of the people affected, your first question might be: What do I do now?

First, it helps to know what information might be out in the wild. Equifax says the hackers primarily appeared interested in names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses and, in some instances, drivers license numbers. For about 209,000 consumers, credit card numbers were also taken.

Second, its worth noting that the attacks happened between mid-May and July, meaning the information may well already be on the black market. So youll want to act quickly.

Step one: Check your accounts for fraudulent activity. Most Americans dont keep close tabs on their checking and saving balances and dont examine every item on their credit card billand hackers count on that.

This is reason Number 10,000 to check your online bank statements and credit card statements on a regular basis, ideally weekly, said Matt Schulz, senior industry analyst for CreditCards.com. We think nothing of checking Facebook or Instagram 10 times a day, but many think it is too much to ask to check your bank statements once a week. Its not. Its easy to do, doesnt take long and can help you spot problems before they get out of control.

Step two: Set up credit monitoring to ensure no one is using your personal information. Equifax is offering this protection on a website it set up to help you determine if you were affected by the breach. However, its worth noting that the site asks for some very personal information and signing up for the service may waive your right to future legal action against the company.

That said, youll definitely want some form of monitoring. Equifaxs service is called TrustedID Premier, but others include LifeLock, Credit Karma, and MyFico.

The information has been in the hands of criminals for more than six weeks already, so time is not on your side, says Chester Wisniewski, principal research scientist at network security company Sophos, in an emailed statement to Fortune. While the monitoring is often of little value, it is worth signing up for. Consumers should take note of whether the service has an automated renewal requirement to avoid unexpected charges once the free year is complete.

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Step three: If youre especially worried about identity theft, theres another option: A credit freeze, which prevents new credit from being issued without your direct permission.

Your best protection against someone opening new credit accounts in your name is the security freeze (also known as the credit freeze), not the often-offered, under-achieving credit monitoring, notes the U.S. Public Interest Research Group.

Step four: Youve probably heard this one before, but its time to change your passwords again.

Sophos recommends not using any password you already use on any other account, noting: Cybercriminals are now using tools that sniff out passwords reused on other, more valuable sites to make their work easier and to make the stolen passwords and other hacked data more lucrative on the dark web.
Just this week, billionaire tech titan Elon Musk (NASDAQ: TSLA) suggested that the global race for artificial intelligence would be the cause of World War III and that governments would take AI technology at " gunpoint " if necessary. Now, his company SpaceX has launched a secret space drone for the Pentagon. Thursday, Musk's space exploration company launched the Air Force's clandestine, unmanned X-37B space vehicle at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It is the fifth launch for the X-37B space vehicle , but it is the first time SpaceX has facilitated the launch. It was revealed that Musk won the contract in June. The Air Force is mostly not clear about the intentions for the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle  details on the 29-foot drone and its mission are scant and vague. "The X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle, or OTV, is an experimental test program to demonstrate technologies for a reliable, reusable, unmanned space test platform for the U.S. Air Force," the military branch's website says . "The primary objectives of the X-37B are twofold: reusable spacecraft technologies for America's future in space and operating experiments which can be returned to, and examined, on Earth." Notably, though, the X-37B can both stay orbiting in space for months  up to 270 days  and return experiments to Earth "for further inspection and analysis," according to the site.SpaceX completed the launch of the mysterious unmanned Air Force vehicle despite earlier warnings that the weather forecast was only 50 percent favorable due to approaching Hurricane Irma. Musk's launch of the Air Force space vehicle comes just a few months after the House of Representatives proposed the first ever "Space Corps" in the National Defense Authorization Bill . The "Space Corps," the bill says, would be a division of the Department of the Air Force and would be established on Jan. 1, 2019. It would create, effectively, a branch of the military to operate in space, ''protecting the interests of the United States." According to Alabama Republican Rep. Mike D. Rogers, who serves on the House Armed Services Committee, "Space Corps" would "focus on 'space domination,'" writes the Washington Post . The bill passed the House in July but has yet to be considered by the Senate, according to GovTrack , a public record of where government legislation is in its creation process. The X-37B unmanned space vehicle.See also: Elon Musk: Robots will take your jobs, government will have to pay your wage Elon Musk says robots will push us to a universal basic incomehere's how it would work Elon Musk: 'Robots will be able to do everything better than us' Like this story? Like CNBC Make It on Facebook . Just this week, billionaire tech titan Elon Musk (NASDAQ: TSLA) suggested that the global race for artificial intelligence would be the cause of World War III and that governments would take AI technology at " gunpoint " if necessary. Now, his company SpaceX has launched a secret space drone for the Pentagon. Thursday, Musk's space exploration company launched the Air Force's clandestine, unmanned X-37B space vehicle at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It is the fifth launch for the X-37B space vehicle , but it is the first time SpaceX has facilitated the launch. It was revealed that Musk won the contract in June. The Air Force is mostly not clear about the intentions for the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle  details on the 29-foot drone and its mission are scant and vague. "The X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle, or OTV, is an experimental test program to demonstrate technologies for a reliable, reusable, unmanned space test platform for the U.S. Air Force," the military branch's website says . "The primary objectives of the X-37B are twofold: reusable spacecraft technologies for America's future in space and operating experiments which can be returned to, and examined, on Earth." Notably, though, the X-37B can both stay orbiting in space for months  up to 270 days  and return experiments to Earth "for further inspection and analysis," according to the site. SpaceX completed the launch of the mysterious unmanned Air Force vehicle despite earlier warnings that the weather forecast was only 50 percent favorable due to approaching Hurricane Irma. Musk's launch of the Air Force space vehicle comes just a few months after the House of Representatives proposed the first ever "Space Corps" in the National Defense Authorization Bill . The "Space Corps," the bill says, would be a division of the Department of the Air Force and would be established on Jan. 1, 2019. It would create, effectively, a branch of the military to operate in space, ''protecting the interests of the United States." According to Alabama Republican Rep. Mike D. Rogers, who serves on the House Armed Services Committee, "Space Corps" would "focus on 'space domination,'" writes the Washington Post . The bill passed the House in July but has yet to be considered by the Senate, according to GovTrack , a public record of where government legislation is in its creation process. The X-37B unmanned space vehicle. See also: Elon Musk: Robots will take your jobs, government will have to pay your wage Elon Musk says robots will push us to a universal basic incomehere's how it would work Elon Musk: 'Robots will be able to do everything better than us' Like this story? Like CNBC Make It on Facebook .



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By John McCrank NEW YORK (Reuters) - Demand for exchange-traded funds that would provide exposure to cryptocurrencies like bitcoin is strong, but regulators will likely wait until the underlying market matures more before approving such products, a panel of securities industry experts said on Friday. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rejected the first U.S. ETF tracking bitcoin in March after a three-year review process, but a month later the regulator said it would revisit the ruling. "I didn't see an outright, 'bitcoin, we hate it, we won't do it,'" said Kathleen Moriarty, a partner at law firm Arnold and Porter who helped develop the first U.S. ETF. "It was more, 'it's bitcoin, it's still a little funky, let's wait,'" she said at an ETF event in Washington DC hosted by the SEC and New York University. Virtual currencies can be used to move money around the world quickly and with relative anonymity, without the need for a central authority, such as a bank or government. But they also present risks to investors given their limited adoption, a number of massive cybersecurity breaches affecting cryptocurrency owners and exchanges, and the lack of consistent treatment of the assets by governments. For instance, China on Monday banned initial coin offerings (ICOs), where digital currencies are sold publicly and then often traded on secondary exchanges, and the price of bitcoin plunged more than 10 percent as a result. That sort of price volatility is at the heart of the problem of creating cryptocurrency-tracking ETFs, said Ananth Madhavan, head of global ETF research at Blackrock. The SEC in July deemed tokens issued through ICOs, which have help startup companies raise more than $1 billion this year, can be considered securities, making them subject to disclosure laws apply and regulatory scrutiny to protect investors. The SEC also said this week it has a number of active investigations into firms that have claimed to be in the digital currency business. Despite such hurdles, interest in creating cryptocurrency-based ETFs is strong, said Laura Morrison, Global Head of Exchange Traded Products at CBOE Holdings Inc's Bats exchange, the would-be listing venue for the bitcoin ETF under review by the SEC. She said she gets three to five calls a week from prospective issuers wanting to explore cryptocurrency-based ETFs. "The progress seems slow, there is no doubt about it, but the importance of proper regulation will help to pave this road," she said. (Reporting by John McCrank; editing by Clive McKeef)
trump frown

President Donald Trump has drawn the ire of some in the conservative wing of his party for siding with Democrats on a grand deal to address Hurricane Harvey relief, funding the government, and raising the debt ceiling.

Trump sided with Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday when he agreed to attach a deal to suspend the debt ceiling and fund the government for only three months without offsetting spending cuts.

Many conservatives on Thursday said the deal caves to Democrats by omitting those spending cuts.

And other Republicans say the short-term increase could allow Democrats leverage in December, when they could attach a bill to codify the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) immigration program to debt-ceiling legislation. The DACA program currently allows about 800,000 young undocumented immigrants who were brought to the US as minors without documentation to live and work in the country legally.

During the meeting, every Republican leader and Trump's own Treasury secretary were against the deal the president struck with Democrats.

While House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell both said they would support the deal, many conservatives are revolting.

On the House side, influential conservative groups within the Republican conference have already expressed serious concerns about the package.

Rep. Mark Walker, the chair of the Republican Study Committee, which boasts roughly 155 House members, sent a letter to Ryan on Thursday saying the group would require additional reforms to vote for the package.

"While some have advocated for a 'clean' debt limit increase, this would simply increase the borrowing authority of the government while irresponsibly ignoring the urgency of reforms," said the letter. "Worse yet is attaching the debt limit to legislation that continues the status quo or even worsens the trajectory on spending, such as the deal announced yesterday by the President and Congressional Leadership."

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The hardline conservative House Freedom Caucus has also expressed opposition to the package. But the group's chair said it realized it did not have the votes to stop it, since Democrats would likely vote overwhelmingly for the package.

"Its not something that any of us advocated for," Rep. Mark Meadows, the chair of the Freedom Caucus, said at a Bloomberg breakfast with reporters.

In the Senate, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky is offering an alternative amendment  named the America First amendment  that pairs the debt ceiling increase with cuts to foreign aid and other spending. The amendment will be voted on by the Senate Thursday.

Sen. Ben Sasse also blasted the deal and offered his own amendment to strip the debt-ceiling and government-funding provisions from the Harvey relief bill.

But Sen. Ted Cruz announced on Thursday that he would back the bill despite being against clean debt limit suspension.

"It is unfortunate that congressional leadership and the administration chose to tie Harvey relief to short-term extensions to the CR and the debt ceiling," Cruz said in a statement. "Historically, the CR and debt ceiling have proven to be the only effective leverage for meaningful spending reform, and I believe we should continue to use them as tools to reduce our long-term debt. I would have much preferred a clean Harvey relief bill  which would have passed both Houses nearly unanimously."

McConnell said Wednesday he would attach the package as an amendment to the Harvey relief bill that was already passed by the House, which will then be sent back to the lower chamber for a final vote.

NOW WATCH: Here's where the most hate crimes occur in the US  its not where you think





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SEELEY LAKE  Ron Cox stood on the grounds of Tamarack Resort on Friday and pointed westward.

Somewhere through the ghost smoke of wildfires, on the invisible far shore of Seeley Lake, close friends Norman Maclean and George Croonenberghs had neighboring cabins on Forest Service lease land for much of the 20th century.

Several years ago we were having a fundraiser here at Tamarack when the museum and historical society were just getting started, and George Croonenberghs was here, Cox told about a dozen people whove come to the Seeley and Missoula area this weekend for the second Norman Maclean literary festival.

He was telling me their daily ritual was to get in their rowboat, row across the lake  and it was probably about a mile from their cabin to here  come in, get their cigarettes and mail and their milk and row back across the lake, Cox said. So that was their visit to the big city, which was the post office and general store here.

It was the final stop on a 2-hour auto tour of Normans Neighborhood, a clockwise loop around the lake on Boy Scout Road and Highway 83.

Cox, of the Seeley Lake Historical Society, is retired for most of the past two decades after a 30-year career with the U.S. Forest Service and he can tell plenty of stories of these woods. His tour was one of the first events of the three-day festival, and he had a captive audience in the eerie atmosphere. The air quality registered the top level of Hazardous throughout the morning, and the lake itself  known for its pristine beauty  was all but unseen from just a few yards away.

Two of the small tour group came from Europe for the Maclean festival. A family of six is in town from Priest Lake, Idaho. Michael Manning and Mary Nash showed up from Chicago and booked rooms in the Double Arrow Resort before most of the activities were moved to Missoula. They turned down an offer to cancel their reservations and were glad they did.

We had a wonderful dinner last night at the lodge, Nash said.

Coxs stepdaughter, Deanna Tennancour, joined the group. A fan of A River Runs Through It, Tennancour lived in England for 14 years before she moved recently to Seattle. She came to Seeley Lake because Cox and his wife, Elva, were among the hundreds evacuated from Seeley Lake recently for the Rice Ridge fire.

I wanted to make sure they were all right. Truth is, they were fine, Tennancour said, adding she had no idea her stepfather knew so much about area history.

They stopped first at the Lodges at Seeley Lake, where Missoula Mercantile giant Walter McLeod entertained Charles Lindbergh for lunch in September 1927. Cox said Lindbergh was taking a break from a promotional tour in the Spirit of St. Louis after his historic transatlantic solo flight in May. The Anaconda Co. spirited him in an automobile caravan from Butte through Ovando to a lake in the Swan Valley then known as Elbow. Today its Lindbergh Lake.

That was the same summer a 25-year-old Norman Maclean spent back from college, logging in the Blackfoot Valley not far from here and forming the basis for one of his other stories: "Logging and Pimping and 'Your pal, Jim.' 

Six of the tourists joined hands to form a ring around the 22-foot, 9-inch base of Gus, the 1,000-year-old world champion western larch across the road from Camp Paxson. The camp, Cox said, was originally a Boy Scout tent camp and later the camp for the earliest smokejumper training camp.

Its right down the road from the Maclean cabin, built starting in 1922 by Rev. John Maclean, with help from sons Norman and Paul. It remains a touchstone for the family, many of whom are in town for the Maclean festival.

In the gloom of smoke near the silent lake, Cox stopped the group short of the small cabin, in deference to the family.

You can just feel the aura of the Macleans, cant you? he said with a smile.

They were near a rough-cut stone monument erected in 1992, two years after Normans death, by Missoula smokejumpers, the Forest Service and the Macleans. Its dedicated to the memories of Norman and his wife, Jessie.

Up the road, Cox led the group through the woods to the site of the Dr. Warren Thieme homestead. A smokehouse nearby is the lone building standing. Cox said Thieme successfully lobbied Missoula County in the 1920s to annex the Seeley Lake area from Deer Lodge County and build a modern road from Missoula.

***

After a full program of events at the First Presbyterian Church, 235 S. Fifth St. W., in Missoula on Friday afternoon, and a gala dinner on the Blackfoot River in the evening, the Maclean festival resumes with a full slate on Saturday and Sunday.

Its amazing to me how far people come for this thing, Cox remarked.

Shane and Val Crist drove from Spirit Lake, Idaho, with their four grown children. Why?

My wife, Shane Crist said. She just enjoys (Macleans) writing, and shes always wanted to do this. So 20 years later were here doing it.

Timothy Schilling is American-born but came for the weekend from his home in the Netherlands, where hes a theologian at a national institute that works with Catholic parishes. Among his duties is writing articles such as the one he published last year on the religious themes in Macleans writings. It was called The River Runs On: Norman Macleans Christian Tragedies and netted an invitation to the festival from John Maclean, Normans son and also an author.

Schilling will be on the first panel Saturday morning at the First Presbyterian Church in Missoula to share his insights on Maclean's writing.

Year after year, Norman Maclean was drawn from his work at the University of Chicago to the family cabin on Seeley Lake. It was here, musing in his bathtub and sitting at a schoolchilds desk at the window, that he wrote the bulk of A River Runs Through It and Other Stories.

He talked about being bipolar and talked about coming back West every summer, said Schilling, who grew up in Port Angeles, Washington, and rode a Greyhound bus through these parts to college at Princeton University in New Jersey. I have that same thing going. There are just so many things in his writings that I can relate to, on so many levels.

Naomi Deasey drove a rental car up from Clinton, where shes staying with friends after flying to smoky Montana from her home in Leominster, England. Thats 2 hours north of the University of Exeter, where two years ago Deasey wrote her masters thesis on Maclean and A River Runs Through It.

That was the same year the Alpine Artisans and their partners staged the inaugural Maclean festival at Seeley Lake.

I wish I could have come to the first one, Deasey said wistfully.

Nash and Manning split time between her home in North Carolina and Chicago, where he teaches at Benedictine University. Macleans own teaching career was spent at the University of Chicago, but that wasnt how Manning came to him.

Hes a professor for Benedictines Center for Values-Driven Leadership and said he uses in his teachings a 1993 analysis written by Karl Weick called The Collapse of Sensemaking in Organizations: The Mann Gulch Fire.

Macleans "Young Men and Fire," published in 1992 after his death, is about the Mann Gulch disaster in 1949 north of Helena. Its the basis for Weicks article that Manning said is a work to see what people do when they cant make sense out of a situation.
The credit reporting agency Equifax Inc. faces enormous national backlash and future scrutiny after revealing one of the largest data breaches in the United States, one that potentially affects nearly half of the country's population.

The company's revelation that personally identifiable information for some 143 million consumers was stolen in a cyberattack will lead to a wave of class actions across the country early suits were filed in Georgia , where the company is based, and in Oregon . The New York Attorney General's Office launched an investigation .

The website Equifax set up to help consumers determine whether their sensitive personal information was exposed came with a catch: To join Equifax's free identity theft protection program, consumers were required to agree to terms of service that included an arbitration clause that would prevent them from joining class actions against the company.

After coming under criticism on social media, Equifax updated the terms of service Friday morning to allow consumers to exclude themselves from the arbitration provision by notifying the company within 30 days of signing the agreement.

Read more: Equifax Breach Spawns Class Actions Coast to Coast

Equifax was taking advantage of a window that is closing by the day: On Sept. 18, the company will be subject to a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rule that would bar class action waivers from arbitration agreements in the banking and finance industries. The rule which Equifax and others in the credit-reporting industry contend should not apply to them would apply to contracts entered into on or after March 19, 2018.

A spokesman for the CFPB assailed Equifax for its move to include an arbitration agreement for consumers harmed by the breach.

Equifax's credit monitoring product contains a mandatory arbitration clause that denies people their right to join together to sue the company for wrongdoing. It is troubling that Equifax is forcing people to waive legal rights in order to receive fraud monitoring after the company's breach put their personal information at risk, CFPB spokesman Sam Gilford said in an email. Equifax could remove this clause so that consumers can receive this service without condition.

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A company spokesperson also was not immediately reached for comment.

We pride ourselves on being a leader in managing and protecting data, and we are conducting a thorough review of our overall security operations, Equifax chairman and chief executive Richard F. Smith said in a statement Thursday. We also are focused on consumer protection and have developed a comprehensive portfolio of services to support all U.S. consumers, regardless of whether they were impacted by this incident.

Scott Nelson of Public Citizen, writing Friday at the group's Consumer Law & Policy blog, said: Equifax's arbitration agreement wouldn't even be legal if the compliance date for the CFPB arbitration rule had arrived, but the fact that the compliance date hasn't arrived is no reason for Equifax to foist another injustice on people already facing injury as a result of its security failures.

Equifax's Lobbying Blitz

Last year, when the CFPB was accepting comments on the arbitration rule, the chief trade association for the credit reporting lobby pushed to spare the industry from the ban on class action waivers.

The Consumer Data Industry Association argued in an August 2016 letter that the CFPB lacked authority to apply the arbitration to credit reporting agencies and credit monitoring products offered by them. The letter signed by the association's president and CEO, Stuart Pratt, and sent to the CFPB by Covington & Burling partner David Stein argued that the arbitration study that gave rise to the rule did not support extending the prohibition on class action waivers to credit reporting agencies.

There are critical gaps in the CFPB's arbitration study that deprive the CFPB of the legal authority to apply the proposed arbitration rule to [credit reporting agencies] or their affiliates offering or providing [direct-to-consumers] credit monitoring products or to [credit reporting agencies] more generally, the Consumer Data Industry Association wrote. The letter to the CFPB said the agency in its market studies didn't look at the consumer reporting industry.

The rule is in the hands of the Senate , which could spike the regulation under the Congressional Review Act a legislative tool Republicans have used this year to undo more than a dozen Obama-era policies.

Consumer advocates on Friday hammered Equifax for tucking an arbitration clause into the free credit monitoring service it is offering consumers. It is despicable that Equifax would exploit consumers' need for identity theft monitoring to avoid accountability for this devastating breach, said Amanda Werner, the arbitration campaign manager for the advocacy groups Public Citizen and Americans for Financial Reform. Perhaps more despicable, at this very moment, U.S. senators are weighing legislation to take away our right to hold companies like Equifax accountable in court.

Lobbying against the CFPB's arbitration rule was one of a host of issues the company reported in federal records. Those records show Equifax spent $500,000 this year on issues including data security and breach notification, cybersecurity and threat information sharing, the CFPB's consumer complaint database and arbitration rule, and liability under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, or FCRA.

The company supports the FCRA Liability Harmonization Act , a bill introduced in May that would cap class action damages under the Fair Credit Reporting Act and end punitive damages. U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Georgia, sponsored the bill. His office said numerous business advocates including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Financial Services Roundtable, Consumer Data Industry Association and the American Bankers Association support the legislation.

Equifax's potential liability under the Fair Credit Reporting Act will be tested in the lawsuits that are emerging around the country. A case in Atlanta federal district court , filed hours after Equifax alerted the public about the data breach, seeks statutory damages under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Equifax, according to the complaint, acted willfully and recklessly because it knew or should have known about its legal obligations regarding data security and data breaches under the FCRA.

C. Ryan Barber, based in Washington, covers government affairs and regulatory compliance. Contact him at cbarber@alm.com. On Twitter: @cryanbarber
In the wake of a massive cyber-attack on consumer credit reporting agency Equifax, 143 million Americans personal information has been compromised  and that could be problematic for Richard Smith, the companys CEO of 12 years.

It does go to the top, it goes to the CEO, crisis expert Brian Tierney, CEO of Brian Communications, told FOX Business. Youre looking at the CEO and saying, how did this happen, what are the standards they have in place?

Data breaches havent necessarily led to management shifts at other large companies, notably Yahoo and Target. However, there are a couple of complicating factors for Smith and Equifax.

Just days after the company said it detected the breach on July 29, three executives from the company  including the chief financial officer  sold a combined $1.8 million in stock. In a statement, the company said the executives "had no knowledge that an intrusion had occurred at the time they sold their shares."

However, some believe the timing is suspicious.

We are deeply concerned Equifax executives were apparently selling stock after they were aware of breach, but before it was reported publicly, Ben Meiselas, attorney with Geragos & Geragos  one of the law firms that filed a proposed class-action suit on Thursday  told FOX Business on Friday.

Additionally, the company faced another public relations nightmare as it attempted to aid hack victims. The service it offered to help customers determine whether they had been impacted required them to implicitly agree to a clause stipulating that they would not join a class-action lawsuit in the event that they had been victimized.

Equifax has placed a stealth arbitration clause, which waives the victims right to sue, Meiselas said. By checking the Equifax site if you are a victim and entering your information binds a consumer to a complex arbitration scheme.

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) also chimed in on the issue, saying it was shameful that Equifax would take advantage of victims by forcing people to sign over their rights in order to get credit monitoring services they wouldnt even need if Equifax hadnt put them at risk in the first place.

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House Financial Services Committee Chair Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) announced on Friday that his committee would be holding a hearing to investigate the hack, though a date has not yet been set.

Tierney said all of these factors turned what could have essentially been a one day news story into a larger problem for Equifax.

But the best way Smith can avoid personal career fallout and more negative media attention is to take control of the conversation, said personal brand expert Seth Price.

Rick Smith needs to bang the drum about the severity of this breach and the vulnerability of our government and financial institutions. That conversation cannot be driven by third parties, he needs to own it, Price told FOX Business.

The Atlanta-based credit reporting firm announced on Thursday hackers accessed customer accounts between May and July, including Social Security and drivers license numbers, as well as other sensitive information. The company said it knew about the breach on July 29.

Equifax did not return FOX Business multiple requests for comment Friday.

Related Articles
Consumers are facing a nightmare scenario following a massive hacking of credit bureau Equifax. The incident, which the company disclosed on Thursday, involved thieves making off with highly sensitive personal information including Social Security and credit card numbers of at least 143 million people.

The breach is especially dangerous because the stolen data will give crooks opportunities to conduct fraud and identity theft. And as the hacking took place several months ago, the information is likely for sale already through online criminal forums.

Heres how to tell if youre affected--and what to do next.

How can I tell if I was hacked?

Equifax has created this website that lets people see if they were affected. The site asks users to enter their last names and the last six digits of their Social Security numbers. If your data was compromised, youll see a message like this (yes, it appears I got hit):

What does it mean if I was affected?

It means the hackers obtained some or all of the following personal information: Your birthday, your Social Security number, your addresses (past and present), your driver license number, and your credit card numbers. This set of data may give crooks enough information to apply for loans in your name. It may also help them break into your existing accounts by answering security questions based on your birthday, previous addresses, and so on.

All of this does not mean crooks can automatically exploit your data, especially as banks and other companies are getting better at detecting fraud. Nonetheless, the Equifax breach is the third largest in history (after two breaches at Yahoo) and is by most accounts the most serious of them all. Consumers should be more vigilant than ever.

What will Equifax do about this?

The company says it will offer free enrollment in TrustedID Premiere, a service that monitors credit requests at Equifax and two other major credit bureaus. Theres a catch, however, in that Equifax is not enrolling consumers immediately, but instead asking them to return in a few days to complete the sign-up, and saying it will not send out any reminders to do so.

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Should I rely on Equinoxs credit monitoring to protect me?

Brian Krebs, a highly respected security journalist, has criticized Equifaxs response. This is partly because of Equifaxs failure to enroll people automatically, but also because credit monitoring can only help prevent crooks from opening new accounts. It will not stop them from using the Equifax data to try hijack existing accounts.

And as Krebs notes, Equifaxs incompetence in allowing the breach to happen in the first place means its offer of future protection may not amount to much.

Just wow. If you enter "Test" and "123456" on Equifax's hack checker page, it says your data has been breached. pic.twitter.com/cTjTs7Frjv  Zack Whittaker (@zackwhittaker) September 8, 2017

So, no, dont count on the credit monitoring to protect you. Also, note that signing up for the service might forfeit your right to join the class action lawsuits that will invariably be filed against Equifax. (Update: this no longer appears to be the case following pressure from Attorneys General).

What else can I do then?

Krebs and the Federal Trade Commission suggest freezing your credit altogether. This means that your credit data (and personal information) will simply be unavailable to fraudsters and anyone else who wants to obtain it.

While this is an effective way to prevent fraud, the process is cumbersome. First, it entails contacting the four different bureaus (Equifax, Experian, Innovis, and Trans Union) that manage consumer credit, which in some cases involves paying a fee. Next, you will have to save a PIN number in order to unfreeze your credit in the future--in a process that can take 24 hours or more, which might prove inconvenient when you need to provide a credit report to an employer, a bank, or a landlord. (Here are more details about the process).

Beyond that, however, there are few other practical steps consumers can take other than remaining vigilant about unusual activity involving your bank and credit card accounts.

Finally, consumers can hope the political fallout surrounding the Equifax data breach--several members of Congress are already vowing to investigate--leads to new laws that oblige companies to properly secure consumer data.

See original article on Fortune.com

More from Fortune.com
By Jonathan Stempel (Reuters) - Seven hours is all it took for Equifax Inc to be hit with two lawsuits over a hacking that may have compromised personal information for 143 million American consumers. It could take years for the credit reporting company to end the legal fallout from the unprecedented breach. "Damages to the class are limited only to the imagination of thieves," John Yanchunis, a lawyer at Morgan & Morgan who filed one of the lawsuits, in Atlanta federal court, said in an interview on Friday. "This could be the gift that keeps on giving for years." The lawsuits were filed on behalf of consumers accusing Equifax of negligence, or wilful misconduct, in failing to properly safeguard Social Security and driver's license numbers, birth dates, addresses and sometimes credit card data. More lawsuits are expected on behalf of shareholders. They could claim that Equifax's stock price was inflated because the company, executives and directors defrauded them about Equifax's ability to protect data, and should not have waited until Sept. 7 to disclose a hacking uncovered on July 29. Some lawsuits could also target sales by three Equifax executives of nearly $1.8 million of stock within a few days of the breach's discovery. Equifax has said they did not know about the breach when making their sales, which were not prearranged. Law firm Hagens Berman said on Friday it was investigating the share sales, as well as unusual option trading activity. Equifax options drew an unusually large trade on August 21, when 2,500 put options betting on Equifax shares dipping below $135 by September 15, traded for a total price of about $181,000. On paper, these puts were worth about $2.73 million in late afternoon trading on Friday, according to Thomson Reuters data. Buying of put options conveys the right to sell shares at a fixed price in the future and indicates a bearish bias, while selling puts would imply a bullish outlook. While the size of the trade was far in excess of the stock's average daily trading volume of less than 50 contracts a day, it was not immediately clear whether the trader bought or sold these options. "We're focused on what appears to be suspiciously timed insider selling within two trading days after the Company says it discovered the breach, the option activity and why management took so long to inform investors of the breach," said Hagens Berman partner Reed Kathrein in a statement. Congress, and regulators like the attorneys general of New York and Illinois, are also probing the breach. Equifax handles data on more than 820 million consumers and 91 million businesses worldwide. "There's a panoply of things Equifax will face," said Timothy Pestotnik, a San Diego lawyer who works on class actions and was involved in litigation against Toyota over unintended vehicle acceleration. "It will require a lot of lawyers." Equifax did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Its stock price fell as much as 17.8 percent on Friday, wiping out more than $3 billion of market value. AVALANCHE Many private lawsuits raising similar claims against Equifax will likely be merged by a federal judicial panel into so-called multidistrict litigation before a single judge. Such litigation reduces the potential for conflicting rulings and unnecessary legal costs, and is often conducted in a court near a defendant's headquarters, or which has familiarity with similar lawsuits. Those factors make the federal court in Atlanta a possible home for Equifax litigation. Equifax is based in that city, and the court handled nationwide litigation over a 2014 breach at Atlanta-based Home Depot Inc affecting more than 50 million cardholders. Plaintiffs might also prefer Atlanta because, unlike in some courts, they would not need to show thieves actually used their stolen data. The initial theft should be enough to confer legal standing. "There will be an avalanche of consumer cases," said Yanchunis, who also leads litigation in California against Yahoo over hackings affecting more than 1 billion users, though involving less sensitive data. "It's a better than educated guess the cases will be centralized in Atlanta." Pestotnik said Equifax can also aid its own cause. "To the extent Equifax can be as fulsome as possible in its disclosures, it will also help," he said. "Some companies have gone slowly, and lived to regret that." (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; additional reporting by Saqib Ahmed in New York; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli and Andrew Hay)
UPDATE: Sept. 11  In a reversal, Equifax said in a statement Monday morning that the company wouldnt require credit card information from victims of the companys data breach who sign up for its free service.

We are not requesting consumers credit card information when they sign up for the free credit file monitoring and identity theft protection we are offering to all U.S. consumers, the company said in a statement on its website. Consumers who sign up for TrustedID Premier will not be automatically enrolled or charged after the conclusion of the complimentary year of TrustedID Premier.

Equifax had quietly removed information about charges and fees from its terms of use over the weekend.

PREVIOUSLY:

WASHINGTON  The credit monitoring company that let criminals steal personal information pertaining to nearly half the U.S. population is offering free credit monitoring to those affected  but theres a catch.

Victims of the Equifax security breach who sign up for the companys complimentary service will only get one free year. After that, unless they proactively cancel, they may have to pay. The terms of use say customers must have internet access and a credit or debit card to sign up.

We will not bill You until the free trial period has expired and provided that You have not yet cancelled your trial membership, say the terms, dated Sept. 6. In the event that You wish to continue Your membership beyond the trial period, do nothing and Your membership will automatically continue without interruption and We will begin billing You via the payment source You provided when you signed up for the free trial.

Robert Weissman, president of the consumer watchdog Public Citizen, said, It appears that the company thinks one of the worst data breaches in history is a marketing opportunity. Instead of trying to rip people off with new hidden charges and trick consumers to give up their rights it might be a better idea to actually remedy the harm.

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A spokesperson for Equifax did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the free service.

Equifax, one of three large credit reporting companies, suffered a data breach affecting 143 million Americans in July. (Photo: Dado Ruvic / Reuters)

Customers also must agree to settle disputes outside of court in an extremely business-friendly format known as arbitration.

Consumer advocates describe the arbitration clause as a straightforward ripoff for the 143 million Americans whose Social Security numbers and addresses are now in the hands of criminals thanks to a breach earlier this year. Though it discovered the breach in late July, Equifax publicly announced the news on Thursday.

At this point its very clear that Equifax is trying to use this massive data breach as an excuse to profit, which is just appalling behavior, said Amanda Werner, the campaign manager at Americans for Financial Reform. I cant even put into words how awful this behavior is.

As Equifax explains in the terms of use, customers using its products are subject to mandatory, binding arbitration. By consenting to submit Your Claims to arbitration, You will be forfeiting Your right to bring or participate in any class action (whether as a named plaintiff or a class member) or to share in any class action awards, including class claims where a class has not yet been certified, even if the facts and circumstances upon which the Claims are based already occurred or existed.

Weissman said that the arbitration clause attached to the free credit monitoring service covers only the credit monitoring service offered and not the overarching breach of data. Still, if Equifax failed to inform a customer  a victim of the hack, say  that their identity had been compromised and was being used without their knowledge, by signing up for their free credit monitoring offer and thus agreeing to the arbitration clause, they would have waived the right to sue over this failure outside of arbitration.

However, Equifax also requires consumers who have requested their credit score directly from the company in the past to have agreed to an arbitration clause that could cover the breach.

If youve been an Equifax customer, they will claim that you have agreed to an arbitration provision, Weissman said.

A company spokesman said the arbitration only applied to the free credit monitoring, not the cybersecurity breach.

Equifax, along with Experian and TransUnion, are the three largest companies that track credit histories of everybody who takes out a loan or signs up a credit card, creating proprietary scores that help lenders evaluate a potential borrowers ability to pay.

The companies are notorious for charging access for the information, which by law is available to consumers for free once a year. Experian has been fined multiple times by the Federal Trade Commission for tricking consumers with false promises of free credit reports that wound up costing money.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, headed by Richard Cordray (pictured), issued new rules limiting mandatory arbitration. Republicans are pushing bills to overturn the rules. (Photo: Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Companies often require consumers to use their products or services if they waive their right to pursue class action lawsuits and enter into direct arbitration with the business if they seek a legal redress to a wrong.

In the case of Equifax, everyone who signs up for the free credit monitoring the company is offering to the 143 million people whose data has been compromised is waiving their right to join in a class action suit if something goes wrong with the credit monitoring.

The insertion of arbitration clauses into dense terms of service contracts that consumers rarely read has exploded in the past six years. In 2011, the Supreme Court upheld a forced arbitration provision inserted into AT&T contracts in a divided 5-4 ruling. This was one of many tightly divided decisions in recent years where the conservative majority on the court ruled in favor of corporate rights to force consumers into arbitration.

In the face of the corporate tilt of the Supreme Court, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the financial watchdog agency created by the 2010 Wall Street reform legislation, recently announced a new rule against mandatory arbitration clauses disallowing class action lawsuits. But Republicans in Congress have vowed to strike the rule.

The new CFPB arbitration rule is scheduled to take effect on Sept. 18. House Republicans, however, already passed a resolution in July that would block the implementation of the rule. Republicans in the Senate have introduced similar legislation, but have not yet voted on it. That legislation is not subject to a filibuster and would therefore only require 50 votes to pass in a chamber with 52 Republican senators.

Additionally, congressional Republicans are pushing legislation introduced by Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.) that sides with the credit reporting companies. Loudermilks bill would place a $500,000 cap on punitive damages for consumers who have been wronged. In an ironic twist, the House Financial Services Committee held a hearing on Loudermilks bill on Thursday  the same day Equifax revealed the breach of consumer data.

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mark zuckerberg

Despite growing pressure on the company, Facebook says that it's "unable" to publicly reveal which ads were purchased on its platform by accounts linked to Russia during the 2016 US presidential election.

"Due to both federal law and the fact that investigations are ongoing with the relevant authorities, were unable to share the ads," a Facebook spokesperson told Business Insider on Friday. The spokesperon declined to say which legislation kept the company from disclosing the ads.

Earlier this week, the social network revealed that a network of fake accounts linked to a known Russian organization that runs an online influence operation purchased a total of approximately $100,000 in ads intended to amplify divisive political messages.

Since then, pressure has been mounting on Facebook to publicly reveal the ads themselves. On Thursday, Senator Mark Warner, the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, called on Facebook to reveal to the public the ads it said were linked to Russian actors.

Americans "ought to be able to know if there is foreign-sponsored [internet] content coming into their electoral process," Warner said Thursday during a panel discussion at an event hosted by the Intelligence and National Security Alliance. "That becomes a method of influence exponentially, I would argue, bigger than TV and radio."

In a blog post announcing the Russian ads on Wednesday, Facebook chief security officer Alex Stamos said the company had shared its "findings with US authorities investigating these issues." According to Reuters, Facebook gave its findings to US special counsel Robert Mueller, who is leading the government's probe into Russian interference with last years election.

When asked by Business Insider on Friday, a Facebook spokesperson declined to confirm whether the company had shown the ads themselves to Mueller or shared data about how the ads were specifically used to target users of its site. The spokesperson also declined to say whether Facebook would reveal the ads publicly after Mueller's investigation was concluded.

Story continues

Some experts estimate the ads could have reached and influenced more than 30% of the US population.

'Pretty crazy'

donald trump

Facebook's revelation about the Russian ads followed months of denials by the company that Russia or other organized actors used its platform to influence election results through the dissemination of fake news.

Days after Donald Trump won the election, for example, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg dismissed the idea that his platform had been used to manipulate voters as "pretty crazy." And in July, Facebook told CNN that it had found "no evidence that Russian actors bought ads on Facebook in connection with the election."

The roughly $100,000 in ads that Facebook has now said were linked to Russia appear to originate from The Internet Research Agency, a shadowy, Russia-backed professional online influence operation that was dubbed an "army of well-paid trolls" in lengthy expose published in The New York Times Magazine in June 2015.

"Public reports in 2015 described a troll farm called the Internet Research Agency," a Facebook spokesperson told BI on Friday. "Our research links what we've announced to that group."

It's currently unclear if the ads themselves, regardless of their origin, violated federal law, which prohibits foreign nationals from spending money to influence a US election.

Facebook on Wednesday said the "vast majority" of the ads related to the fake Russian accounts didn't target a political candidate and instead focused on divisive topics like LGBT issues, immigration, and gun rights.

The social-networking giant has historically declined to reveal details about political ad spending on its network. But Russia's spending around last year's election has prompted discussion about whether online ads should be subject to the same disclaimers that are required for ads on TV and other types of media.

"An American can still figure out what the content is being used in TV advertising. You can go look at the ad," Senator Warner said on Thursday. "But in social media there is no such requirement. So, you know, we may need a legislative solution."

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A former Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) financial analyst allegedly leaked the company's earnings results to a former fraternity brother in exchange for $10,000, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced Thursday. The agency charged Brett Kennedy and Maziar Rezakhani with insider trading. It alleges Kennedy gave Rezakhani Amazon's 2015 first-quarter earnings information while Kennedy was an employee at the company. Rezakhani supposedly paid Kennedy $10,000 in cash for the results and made more than $116,000 in illegal profits from the results, the SEC said. Rezakhani also allegedly shared the money with Sam Sadeghi, who advised him on the trades. Sadeghi supposedly met with Rezakhani and Kennedy to discuss the results. The SEC said Rezakhani and Sadeghi wanted to establish a successful track record under Sadeghi's brokerage account and eventually start a hedge fund together. Rezakhani predicted Amazon's earnings and bragged on at least two trading-related internet communication platforms that "the numbers are so obvious" that a "5-year old can guess what they will do," according to the SEC."As alleged in our complaint, Rezakhani boasted on social media that he could accurately predict Amazon's financial performance," Jina L. Choi, director of the SEC's San Francisco Regional Office, said in a statement. "But he failed to predict that we would catch him and his accomplices in their illegal scheme."Sadeghi and Kennedy have agreed to settlements without admitting or denying allegations. Both agreements require court approval. Sadeghi has agreed to pay $24,214.87, and Kennedy has agreed to pay $10,875.36, according to the SEC.Separately, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Washington announced criminal charges against Kennedy on Thursday.Amazon declined to comment. A former Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) financial analyst allegedly leaked the company's earnings results to a former fraternity brother in exchange for $10,000, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced Thursday. The agency charged Brett Kennedy and Maziar Rezakhani with insider trading. It alleges Kennedy gave Rezakhani Amazon's 2015 first-quarter earnings information while Kennedy was an employee at the company. Rezakhani supposedly paid Kennedy $10,000 in cash for the results and made more than $116,000 in illegal profits from the results, the SEC said. Rezakhani also allegedly shared the money with Sam Sadeghi, who advised him on the trades. Sadeghi supposedly met with Rezakhani and Kennedy to discuss the results. The SEC said Rezakhani and Sadeghi wanted to establish a successful track record under Sadeghi's brokerage account and eventually start a hedge fund together. Rezakhani predicted Amazon's earnings and bragged on at least two trading-related internet communication platforms that "the numbers are so obvious" that a "5-year old can guess what they will do," according to the SEC. "As alleged in our complaint, Rezakhani boasted on social media that he could accurately predict Amazon's financial performance," Jina L. Choi, director of the SEC's San Francisco Regional Office, said in a statement. "But he failed to predict that we would catch him and his accomplices in their illegal scheme." Sadeghi and Kennedy have agreed to settlements without admitting or denying allegations. Both agreements require court approval. Sadeghi has agreed to pay $24,214.87, and Kennedy has agreed to pay $10,875.36, according to the SEC. Separately, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Washington announced criminal charges against Kennedy on Thursday. Amazon declined to comment.



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Donald Rumsfeld once said there are known unknowns.

That is to say, there are things that we now know we dont know, Rumsfeld said before a meeting of NATO in 2002.

And in the U.S., we now know there will be a second major hurricane making landfall over the weekend. What the total economic impact of these storms will be is unknown.

Hurricane Irma is bearing down on Florida as a category 4 storm and follows Hurricane Harvey, which impacted the Texas coast and dumped up to 50 inches of rain on parts of the Houston metro area late last month.

Estimated damages from Harvey peg the storms impacts at somewhere north of $50 billion; Irmas impacts are likely to exceed this total.

So what we know is that these storms will cost the U.S. economy some amount of productivity, some amount of output, and some amount of money. The storm will also require investment in rebuilding affected areas, leading to some amount of economic growth.

Economic growth does not always correspond with economic well-being

As JP Morgan economist Michael Feroli wrote late last month following Harvey, As a general rule, hurricanes tend to be a short-run depressant and a medium-run boost to economic activity.

But Feroli added that, Here we should pause to emphasize the usual disclaimer: economic growth does not always correspond with economic well-being.

And it is this split between economic growth and economic well-being that provides the unknown associated with the storms impact on the U.S. economy, and which illustrates why a simple accounting of a natural disasters impact never quite captures the true economic cost.

The track of Hurricane Irma, projected as of Friday afternoon, September 8, 2017. (Source: NHC)

On Friday, Florida governor Rick Scott said all Floridians should be prepared to evacuate; there are 21 million residents of the state.

Where are Florida residents going? North, at least. Hotel rooms around Atlanta were filling up late in the week. Airlines were also scrambling to get Floridians out of the state ahead of the storm; Reuters reported that each of United (UAL), American Airlines (AAL), and Delta (DAL) were looking to wind down operations in south Florida by end of day Friday.

Story continues

Evacuations are aimed at keeping citizens safe from the storms most direct impacts. But this departure also requires a return, and raises the question of what happens when Floridas citizens go back home. When will highways be open? When will airports re-open? Schools? Power? Will their homes be intact? And so on.

Why growth immediately follows natural disasters

Answering each of these questions  and then fixing the damage inflicted by the storm  is where a simple economic analysis can shed some light on what happens after the storm. A household that hoped to repaint their house in the next year or two may find itself needing wholesale repairs  a new roof, new siding, new furniture, and so on.

The economist here sees demand for durable goods, homebuilding supplies, and overall consumption pulled forward. This is positive for gross domestic product, which is the sum of all consumer spending, plus investment, plus government spending, plus the difference between exports and imports. It is a somewhat crude measure to count all of the stuff we make, buy, and trade.

Motorists evacuate for the anticipated arrival of Hurricane Irma on the northbound lanes of Floridas Turnpike near the intersection of I-75 in Wildwood, Fla. on Friday, Sept. 8, 2017. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel via AP)

But it is on this basis that the recovery from a natural disaster becomes, as Feroli wrote, a medium-run boost to economic activity.

Of course, the storms recovery costs and disruptions also weigh on the economy.

Deutsche Bank economist Brett Ryan noted Friday that labor market data for September will be severely impacted by Harvey and potentially Irma as well. Industrial production data  which tracks, among other things, output at U.S. energy plants  will also likely be impacted by the hurricane-related disruptions.

But this high-level economic accounting for storm-related impacts also misses the household-level stresses these costs can cause. Because the household that was to paint the house but required to totally rebuild after a hurricane, a rebuild that was only 80% covered by insurance, may have been required to wipe out significant savings to make themselves whole.

And while economists often bristle at the notion that pulled-forward demand is not real growth, increased outlays as a result of a natural disaster that are above the scope of a household or businesses prior budget is not the kind of durable growth that underwrites a strong economy.

More growth, as Feroli noted, does not mean more well-being.

So what we know is that there will be a major hurricane hitting Florida in the coming days. The economic and emotional tolls will be considerable. Attempts will be made to calculate much it costs and how long fixes will take.

These efforts, however, will necessarily fall short of capturing the full impacts these disruptions will have on our economy  now and in the future.



Myles Udland is a writer at Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter @MylesUdland

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Shares of Kroger (KR) plummeted after the company reported its second-quarter earnings on Friday morning. The grocery store giant's big profit decline helped send much of the rest of the grocery industry down as well.

Shares of Kroger KR plummeted after the company reported its second-quarter earnings on Friday morning. The grocery store giants big profit decline helped send much of the rest of the grocery industry down as well.

Krogers second-quarter revenues jumped 3.8% to $27.6 billion, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $27.4 billion. The companys same-store sales, excluding Kroger's fuel centers, gained 0.7%. However, Krogers profits sunk nearly 8% to $0.39 a share, which missed our estimate of $0.40 a share.

The biggest supermarket chain in the U.S. saw its margins shrink due to increased competition from other grocers, which forced Kroger to cut prices.

On Friday, shares of Kroger dropped by nearly 10% to hit a new 52-week intraday trading low of $20.41. Krogers stock price was already down almost 30% over the last year. But the grocery chain remained positive, at least in the short-term, despite the increased pressure.

"As our business continues to improve, we remain committed to delivering on our guidance in 2017 and believe we have the ability to grow identical supermarket sales and market share in 2018, Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen said in a statement.

The bad news for Kroger is that it began slashing prices well before Amazons AMZN acquisition of Whole Foods became official. And the e-commerce giants presence in the grocery industry might have contributed to Krogers decision to stop providing long-term guidance.

In this dynamic operating environment, we will continue to provide annual guidance as we have done for many years but will no longer provide longer-term guidance, McMullen continued.

Grocery Industry

Amazon wasted little time lowering prices at Whole Foods, on everything from milk and cheese to meat, fish, and eggs.

On top of cheaper groceries, Amazons move into the industry threatens to shake up how people shop in general. The undisputed online retail kings purchase of Whole Foods has the potential to shift grocery shoppers to online ordering and delivery much sooner than if they had moved into the sector on their own.

Story continues

Krogers disappointing second-quarter results, along with the fear of increased competition from new players, helped send shares of Costco COST down over 2% on Friday. Shares of Target TGT, which has a substantial grocery business, dipped by 3.68%.

Shares of Casey's General Stores CASY and Ingles Markets IMKTA both fell by around 1.5%. Sprouts Farmers Market SFM saw its stock price dip 2.1%

Weis Markets WMK stock sunk 4.77%, while shares of Smart & Final Stores SFS and SUPERVALU Inc. SVU plummeted 8.61% and 7.30%, respectively.

Bottom Line

Not all grocery store chains need to fear in the near-term, but if the industry does not begin to make changes to its business model soon, Amazons Whole Foods deal could make life a whole lot harder.

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The House Financial Services Committee will hold a hearing on the Equifax data breach in the coming weeks to get to the bottom of the massive breach that exposed the personal information of 143 million Americans.

This is obviously a very serious and very troubling situation and our committee has already begun preparations for a hearing, the committees chair Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) said in a statement on Friday. Large-scale security breaches are becoming all too common. Every breach leaves consumers exposed and vulnerable to identity theft, fraud and a host of other crimes, and they deserve answers.

The date of the hearing will be announced at a later time.

Rep. Hensarling wasnt the only lawmaker who chimed in on the Equifax breach on Friday. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) called on the company to immediately remove a forced arbitration clause included on its monitoring services.

Its shameful that Equifax would take advantage of victims by forcing people to sign over their rights in order to get credit monitoring services they wouldnt even need if Equifax hadnt put them at risk in the first place, Sen. Brown said.

One of the attorneys involved with a proposed class-action lawsuit filed on Thursday evening warned customers about using the portal.

Equifax has placed a stealth arbitration clause, which waives the victims right to sue, Ben Meiselas, attorney with Geragos & Geragos, told FOX Business on Friday. By checking the Equifax site if you are a victim and entering your information binds a consumer to a complex arbitration scheme.

The Atlanta-based credit reporting firm announced on Thursday hackers accessed customer accounts between May and July, including Social Security and drivers license numbers, as well as other sensitive information. The company said it knew about the breach on July 29. Three Equifax executives sold hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of stock between Aug. 1 and Aug. 2, but a spokesman for the company said the executives were not aware of the hack at the time.

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A key House committee plans to hold a hearing on the massive Equifax data breach that potentially affects 143 million Americans . Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Tex., chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, announced the hearing on Friday. The panel has not yet announced a date. "This is obviously a very serious and very troubling situation, and our committee has already begun preparations for a hearing. Large-scale security breaches are becoming all too common," Hensarling said in a statement. "Every breach leaves consumers exposed and vulnerable to identity theft, fraud and a host of other crimes, and they deserve answers." Equifax, which provides credit monitoring and other information services, said the exposed data include names, birth dates, Social Security numbers, addresses and some driver's license numbers. More than 200,000 U.S. credit card numbers were also obtained. Equifax discovered the breach on July 29, and the company disclosed it Thursday. The announcement set off confusion among consumers, who sought the best way to respond to the massive breach . Bipartisan political concerns about the breach and calls for congressional hearings followed quickly. Join CNBC, the Aspen Institute and the most influential cybersecurity players from government, business and tech at the Cambridge Cyber Summit, October 4 in Boston.

WATCH: How to protect yourself from Equifax hack



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When images of Hurricane Irma bearing down on the Caribbean first appeared, residents girded themselves for its impact. Long accustomed to heavy-slugging storms, they tied down outdoor items, evacuated low-lying areas, and closed heavy shutters against the winds. As usual, they stocked up on water, batteries, and food. Streets emptied as locals headed for shelters or barricaded themselves in their homes. The few remaining tourists hunkered down in hotels.

The unprecedented strength and scope of Irma, however, quickly overwhelmed even the best-prepared with relentless rains and ferocious winds, clocked at over 185 miles per hour. The massive destruction wrought will require an equally massive recovery effort. Early reports confirm that while loss of life was limited, damage is widespread and severe. The Leeward Islandsincluding Anguilla, St. Martin, and St. Barthelemyare devastated. Likewise, Puerto Rico will require costly repairs, exacerbating its already precarious economic situation. Long-suffering Haiti, also battered by Irma, is still recovering from last years Hurricane Matthew. Irma is now roaring towards the Bahamas, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Florida.

Hardest hit is Barbuda. While Antigua, only 30 miles to the south, escaped relatively unscathed, Barbuda suffered catastrophic harm. Satellite photos show it as a tiny speck obscured by Irmas enormous terrifying swirl, which reduced the landscape to rubble. After an initial inspection, Gaston Browne, prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda, estimated nearly 90% of homes on the island are totally destroyed, with communications down, roads unpassable, and substantial flooding. Its airport, police station, and cell towers are all out of commission.

Throughout the northeast Caribbean, long-term international aid and private reinvestment will be needed for recovery of three essential sectors: infrastructure, tourism, and housing. Given the islands reliance on foreign revenues from visitors, the first two are vital to the regional economy. On Antigua and Barbuda, for example, over 70% of its GDP is attributabledirectly or indirectlyto tourism. Serving thousands of visitors annually, mainly from the U.S. and Europe, the tourist industry provides the regions main source of employment and has entailed substantial investments in hotels, transportation, cruise ship piers, and other amenities. Where these are damaged, rapid repairs are needed for local businesses to revive. More importantly, basic utilities providing clean water, reliable electricity, and sanitation must be restored and if necessary upgraded. An even greater challenge will be replacing the low-grade housing of many poorer residents, who had their sheet metal roofs shorn off and wooden frames splintered. Apart from the immediate costs of clean up and humanitarian aid needed for those left homeless, much of this housing stock will need to be rebuilt to withstand future hurricanes.

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The Caribbean has a long record of hurricanes. The Leeward Islands have been particularly vulnerable due to their small sizes, low elevations, and limited resources. From the 17th century on, numerous eyewitness accounts attest to violent hurricanes that demolished sugar plantations, wrecked crops, and resulted in great loss of life for European settlers and enslaved Africans alike. Without modern storm tracking, moreover, they often had little advance notice. In the aftermath, islands often looked to the imperial powers of Europe and their North American trading partners to send food, timber, and other supplies.

With rising ocean surface temperatures precipitating more powerful hurricanesKatrina, Sandy, Matthew, Harvey, and now Irmatheir geographical range and capacity for destruction are increasingly vast and significantly more costly. Ominously, climate scientists generally concur that this trend toward the global intensification of super storms will likely continue. Even with ample advance warning, larger island populations, with numerous transient visitors and workers, are harder to shelter or evacuate. Moreover, the complex infrastructure of urban areas and tourist centers makes reconstruction more involved and expensive than in the past. Since hurricanes do not respect national borders, class differences, or immigration statuses, efforts to stem extreme weather events will require international collaboration.

Many Americans regard the Caribbean as one vast resorta convenient place for barefoot weddings, romantic honeymoons, colorful cruise ship stops, or just an escape from winter blues. For millions of people, however, these vulnerable small islands are home. They are also among the U.S.s closest neighbors, with historical ties dating back over 200 years. Many Americans of West Indian descent have deep roots there. At a time when the focus understandably may be on those impacted by Harvey and Irma closer to hand, we must not forget that the U.S. is still a wealthy and generous country that can afford to boost the resilience and recovery of the intrepid nations of the Caribbean. During times of trouble, good neighbors reflexively extend a helping hand to those in need.

Jennifer L. Anderson is an associate professor of history at Stony Brook University.
Apples 10th anniversary iPhone, possibly called the iPhone 8, iPhone X or iPhone Edition, is expected to be announced at the companys big event on September 12. But when is the release date for the companys ostensibly next-gen iPhone? When will buyers be able to place an order for one? When can they lay hands on the device itself?

We wont know for sure until Apple provides that info, presumably when it unveils the new phone next week. But we can do some educated guessing based on the release trajectories that followed events in prior years. Heres everything we know about the so-called iPhone 8s release timeframe so far:

When will you be able to buy the iPhone 8?

If Apple announces its next-gen iPhone on Tuesday, September 12 as expected, the new phone could be available to preorder as early as Friday, September 15. Last years iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus were announced on September 7 at an event in San Francisco, and preorders began at 3:01 a.m. ET on September 9 in the U.S.

But reports of summer manufacturing delays have prompted speculation that Apples next-gen iPhone will be available in only limited quantities. If accurate, and the new phone is made available to preorder on September 15, it could instantly sell out and be even harder to find than Nintendos similarly scarce Switch games console. But Apples own September-quarter earnings forecast, issued in early August, has thrown water on some of these worries, suggesting the company doesnt expect to have availability problems.

Apple is also said to be planning updated versions of the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, possibly dubbed iPhone 7s and iPhone 7s Plus, or alternately iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus. Those phones would likely be available to order in the traditional timeframe: the Friday following the event, September 15.

NEXT: iPhone 8 Specs: Everything We Know About Apples Next Big Phone

When is the iPhone 8 release date?

Apple has made September its new iPhone launch month annually since it rolled out the iPhone 5 back in 2012. As noted, last years iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus were announced on September 7, with preorders following on September 9. The new phones were then released (in stores and to mail orders) a week later on Friday, September 16. If Apple follows suit this year, releasing its next iPhone a week or so after unveiling it, the iPhone 8 should appear in stores by September 22.

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Thats what self-styled Twitter mobile reporter Benjamin Geskin claims, anyway, writing that U.K. telecommunications provider O2 has told its staff that the iPhone 8s release date in stores is indeed September 22.

O2 have confirmed to staff members that iPhone 8 release date is 22nd September in stores. pic.twitter.com/n1dfWl2S66  Benjamin Geskin (@VenyaGeskin1) August 30, 2017

Note that if demand is sky-high, whether availability turns out to be limited or not, its entirely possible many could wind up waiting for months  even into 2018  to lay hands on Apples next-gen iPhone.

How much will the iPhone 8 cost?

With all the new features expected in Apples 10th anniversary iPhone, including an edge-to-edge screen (which may forego a Home button entirely) and face recognition technology, its probably no surprise that both the New York Times and Fast Company are reporting the iPhone 8 could cost in the vicinity of $1,000.

That would be considerably more than prior new iPhones, and could offset some of the uptake mania (as well as backorder queues) by driving impatient buyers to settle for the presumably less expensive (and more readily available) followups to the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.

This article was original published on August 30, 2017.
Irma made landfall on Cuba's Camaguey Archipelago late Friday, knocking down power lines, uprooting trees and ripping the roofs off homes (AFP Photo/YAMIL LAGE)

Paris (AFP) - Hurricane Irma regained strength to a Category 4 storm on Sunday as it began pummeling Florida and threatening landfall within hours.

The eye of the Category 4 storm slammed into the lower Florida Keys and was 15 miles (24 kilometers) southeast of Key West as of 7:00 am local time (1100 GMT), bringing winds up to 130 miles per hour and threatening dangerous storm surges.

The storm was expected to move along or near Florida's southwest Gulf coast later Sunday and into Monday.

Authorities in the state have ordered more than 6 million people to evacuate.

At least 25 people have been killed since Irma began its devastating march through the Caribbean earlier this week.

It made landfall in Cuba's Camaguey archipelago late on Friday.

A second Category 4 hurricane, Jose, followed part of Irma's track, but spared the storm-hit Caribbean islands of St Martin and St Barts, which had already suffered catastrophic damage from Irma.

Jose is expected to veer north and pose no threat to the United States.

- Toll from Irma -

The death toll stands at least 25: 12 in the French island of St Barts and the Dutch-French territory of St Martin; six in British Caribbean islands; at least four in the US Virgin Islands; at least two in Puerto Rico; and one in Barbuda.

The International Red Cross says 1.2 million people have already been affected by Irma -- a number that could rise to 26 million.

The bill for loss and damage could hit $120 billion (100 billion euros) in the United States and Caribbean, according to data modelling firm Enki Research.

- Barbuda -

Irma hit the tiny Caribbean island of Barbuda on Wednesday with winds up to 295 kph. The island suffered "absolute devastation," with up to 30 percent of properties demolished, Prime Minister Gaston Browne said.

One person is known to have died on the island of 1,600 residents, apparently a child whose family was trying to get to safer ground.

- St Barts, St Martin and Anguilla -

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Irma then slammed into the holiday islands of St Barts and St Martin, wielding monster winds and torrential rain.

St Martin is divided between France and the Netherlands. France said 10 people had died on its side of the island, while the Netherlands said the storm killed two on the Dutch side, called Sint Maarten.

On the Dutch side, 70 percent of the infrastructure has been destroyed.

In the British archipelago of Anguilla, one man was crushed to death in a house collapse.

- British Virgin Islands -

Five people have been killed in the British Virgin Islands, according to the local government.

Just east of Puerto Rico, it is home to roughly 28,000 people and includes British billionaire Richard Branson's Necker Island.

- US Virgin Islands -

At least four people have been killed in the US Virgin Islands, officials told AFP.

- Puerto Rico -

At least two people were killed in the US territory of Puerto Rico, and more than half of its three million residents were without power after rivers broke their banks in the centre and north of the island.

- Dominican Republic -

Some 20,000 people were evacuated and more than 2,000 homes affected by floods in the Dominican Republic, the eastern part of the island of Hispaniola, which is also shared with Haiti.

- Haiti -

Irma brought flooding and caused several injuries in Haiti, but passed further north than had been forecast, sparing the impoverished island the worst. A number of roads were washed out.

- Cuba -

Irma made landfall on the island's Camaguey Archipelago late Friday, knocking down power lines, uprooting trees and ripping the roofs off homes.

Authorities said they had evacuated more than a million people as a precaution, including about 4,000 in the capital.

Ambulances and firefighters patrolled streets littered with hunks of roofs, power lines and tree branches brought down by strong winds that blasted over Cuba on Saturday.

- Irma: Where next? -

Irma roared in to the Florida Keys early Sunday, tracking along the peninsula's western coast, which faces the Gulf of Mexico, rather than the more heavily populated Atlantic side, according to the US National Hurricane Center.

The US military is mobilising thousands of troops and deploying several large ships to help with evacuations and humanitarian relief.

A state of emergency has been declared in the states of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Virginia. Georgia ordered the evacuation of the city of Savannah and other coastal areas.

- Hurricanes Jose and Katia -

Hurricane Jose, after strengthening to Category 4 status, passed 135 kilometres (83 miles) north of St Barts and 125 kilometres from Saint Martin.

France's meteorological agency had issued its highest warning, saying Hurricane Jose could become a "dangerous event of exceptional intensity".

But "thanks to a passage which was further away than anticipated, the effects on the territory were markedly less," the meteorological agency said.

Another hurricane, Katia, made landfall in eastern Mexico late Friday killing two people, just as the country grappled with the deaths and damage inflicted by its worst earthquake in a century.

burs/wdb/boc
North Korea could ramp up its weapons testing in a game of militarized chicken as the United Nations weighs imposing tougher sanctions on the country, analysts said. And Pyongyang's next display of defiance could come in the form of yet another missile launch as early this Saturday, to coincide with the country's founding day. "The situation is very grave. It doesn't seem much time is left before North Korea achieves its complete nuclear armament," South Korea Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon said in a meeting of the country's defense ministers on Thursday, CNN reported. "Some believe North Korea may launch another intercontinental ballistic missile on the 9th, this time at an ordinary angle," Lee reportedly said. There would likely be no better way to provoke the international community than to launch a missile at an ordinary angle, according to Bernard Loo, professor of strategic studies at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. Up until now, Pyongyang has launched its missiles vertically. "When you do ballistic missile tests, the idea is to test the technology. You don't actually want the missile to hit any place than you would otherwise want it to hit," Loo said. "When you launch it an an ordinary angle, you're launching it the way you would if you were trying to hit something," he added. And just like its previous trials, North Korea's next missile test could be designed to incite maximum controversy.

Pyongyang issued a thinly-veiled threat to the United States on Tuesday, saying it was prepared to send more "gift packages" to the country if Washington continued with its "provocations and futile attempts to put pressure on the DPRK." In August, it had warned that it was planning to launch a missile toward the U.S. island territory of Guam, located in the Pacific Ocean. But Loo said North Korea was unlikely to send a missile toward Guam any time soon. Although North Korea launched a missile over Hokkaido in August, these regions were largely thinly populated, Loo said. A launch toward Guam would require the missile to fly over cosmopolitan parts of Japan. A mistake could result in actual human casualties, which Pyongyang will want to avoid, he added.

Many more to come It's not just South Korea predicting a Sept. 9 ICBM test. Analysts also said that Pyongyang was likely to launch a missile to coincide with the country's founding day. "The North Koreans love to put on a big show for their big national holiday," Harry Kazianis, director of defense studies at the U.S.-based Center for the National Interest, told CNBC on Monday. According to Loo, a Saturday launch is "definitely plausible," and it's likely to be one of many more provocations to come from the rogue nation. As the United Nations considers tougher sanctions, the North Koreans can choose between two options: Attempt to get the U.N. to withdraw its trade restrictions by promising to cease weapons testing, or accelerate the pace of their activities. They're likely to take the second route, Loo said. "If they think they can't afford to back down, they will keep doing it. If they think the U.S. will back down, they will keep doing it," he added. According to analysts, Pyongyang's ultimate aim is to extract the maximum concessions out of the U.S. and its allies. That could include securing greater economic aid and loosening up existing sanctions. And North Korea might be prepared to continue to endure the economic squeeze of trade restrictions to get what it wants. The U.N. imposed its latest round of sanctions on Pyongyang in August. In the month since, Pyongyang has conducted its sixth and largest nuclear test ever, and launched a missile over Hokkaido, which Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called an unprecedented and serious threat. Japanese F-15 fighters and U.S. B-1 bombers conducted joint drills over the East China Sea on Saturday, Reuters reported, citing Japan's Air Self Defence Force. The body of water lies south of the Korean Peninsula. But one factor outside North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's control could potentially scuttle a launch over the weekend. An outbreak of geomagnetic storms could cause North Korea to delay any missile launch, Bloomberg reported on Friday, noting the storms could post risks to electronic equipment, including losses to data and auxiliary parts.



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eric bolling chase bolling

Eric Bolling's son was found dead on Friday, just hours after Fox News announced that it was parting ways with the former Fox News host.

TMZ reported that Eric Chase Bolling, 19, was found dead Friday afternoon in Boulder, Colorado, the result of what the outlet first reported was a suicide, and later said was a drug overdose.

One source close to Bolling, however, disputed TMZ's reporting, saying that authorities have not yet determined a cause of death, and that an autopsy will be performed on Monday.

The Boulder Police Department told Business Insider that Bolling's death was still under investigation, and the coroner's office will not release any information on his death until Monday.

Bolling confirmed the news in a tweet, though he cautioned that the circumstances surrounding his son's death were still unclear.

"Adrienne and I are devastated by the loss of our beloved son Eric Chase last night. Details still unclear. Thoughts, prayers appreciated," he wrote.

Authorities have informed us there is no sign of self harm at this point. Autopsy will be next week. Please respect our grieving period.  Eric Bolling (@ericbolling) September 9, 2017

Following the news of Chase Bolling's death, Fox News issued a brief statement on Saturday.

"We are very saddened to hear of the passing of Eric Bollings son," the statement said. "Eric Chase was a wonderful young man and our thoughts and prayers are with the entire Bolling family."

A number of prominent journalists and media personalities offered their respects to Bolling's family.

This is so terrible. My condolences to @ericbolling and his whole family.https://t.co/x65BArwulY  Jonah Goldberg (@JonahNRO) September 9, 2017

@ericbolling To my dear friend, please know we all love you, will be here for you and your family.  Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) September 9, 2017

So awful. My heart goes out to Eric and his family. Tragedy: Eric Bolling Son Dies | Mediaite https://t.co/8DvUNqqi9M  Don Lemon (@donlemon) September 9, 2017

My heart goes out to @ericbolling whose son passed away yesterday. Absolutely tragic. Condolences from the bottom of my heart.  Cenk Uygur (@cenkuygur) September 9, 2017

This is very very sad on a human level, regardless on what you thought of Eric. Thoughts for the family. https://t.co/T93SDUXwrC  andrew kaczynski  (@KFILE) September 9, 2017

The younger Bolling's death came just hours after Fox News announced that it was parting ways with Eric Bolling a month after the Huffington Post first reported that Bolling send unsolicited lewd text messages to colleagues at Fox News and Fox Business Network.

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Bolling denied the claims, and took legal action against the reporter who broke the story, Yashar Ali.

NOW WATCH: The White House is undergoing renovations  here's how it changed after a massive facelift in the 1950s





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By Richa Naidu and Gayathree Ganesan

(Reuters) - Target Corp (TGT.N) said on Friday that it lowered prices on thousands of items, from cereal to baby formula, further hurting retail stocks already pressured by Kroger Co's (KR.N) disappointing quarterly results spurred by price cuts.

Target, which vowed earlier in the year to aggressively clamp down on prices to compete with rivals Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N) and Amazon.com (AMZN.O), said it had spent months reassessing the prices of everyday items such as milk, eggs, razors and bath tissue.

The retailer, which said it would continue to offer discounts on some products in addition to the price-cuts, added that it had also eliminated more than two-thirds of its price and offer call-outs.

The retailer's shares were down as much as 4.7 percent in midday trading on Friday, in-line with a slump among retail stocks after Kroger reported price cuts hurting its bottom line.

Target wants to make it easier for customers to spot lower prices by removing the guesswork that comes with temporary deals, Mark Tritton, Target's chief merchandising officer, said in a blog post.

A-Line Partners analyst Gabriella Santaniello said the move might initially cost Target in margins, but that lower prices and fewer temporary price cuts may also drive sales volumes that could eventually offset eroding margins.

"At the end of the day people just want everyday lower prices and that is what Target is aiming to do."

When Target first announced in February that it would cut prices and miss full-year profit estimates, its shares plunged to a 2-1/2-year low.

Like Target, Kroger, the biggest U.S. supermarket company, has slashed prices on staples such as milk and eggs to fend off competition from Wal-Mart, discounters Lidl and Aldi, and the newly merged Amazon and Whole Foods Market.

Amazon.com's $13.7 billion purchase of Whole Foods has the grocery industry on edge, worried that the online retail giant could upend the fresh food business in the way it did with books and electronics.

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Amazon last month lowered prices on some Whole Foods groceries including avocados and beef.

"I don't think this came out of nowhere. (Target) were clearly picking up on the signals and the consumer's response to Amazon and it is clear to me Amazon encroaching on their space," A-Line Partners analyst Gabriella Santaniello said.

Shares in Amazon were down 0.7 percent, while Wal-Mart was down about 2 percent and Kroger's stock tumbled nearly 10 percent, hitting a 3-1/2 year low.

(Reporting by Richa Naidu in Chicago and Gayathree Ganesan in Bengaluru; editing by Diane Craft)
President Donald Trump delivered a stunning rebuke to Republican leaders Wednesday when he opted to side with the Democrats' plan for a short-term increase in the debt ceiling. In doing so, he returned to the forefront a question that repeatedly surfaced during his campaign for the White House: Is Trump truly a Republican?

Related: Trump sends DACA tweet after request from top Democrat Nancy Pelosi

It is a question Republicans have been asking both privately and publicly for some time. Indeed, one notable critic, Arizona Senator Jeff Flake, has even written a book about it, titled: Conscience of a Conservative: A Rejection of Destructive Politics and a Return to Principle.

During the 2016 campaign, one of Trumps chief GOP rivals, Jeb Bush, leveled the accusation that Mr. Trump doesnt have a proven conservative record. He was a Democrat longer in the last decade than he was a Republican.

There is, indeed, some truth to Bushs contention. Trumps political allegiance has flipped repeatedly during his time in the public eye.

In 1987, the year his famed book The Art of the Deal was released, Trump registered as a Republican in New York, according to Politifact. The following year, he even floated the idea of running for the party's presidential nomination. Yet, despite his stated allegiance to the GOP, Trump donated more money to Democrats than Republicans between 1989 and 2009.

Paul Ryan, Donald Trump, Mitch McConnell

Joshua Roberts/Reuters

Further demonstrating his political promiscuity, Trump turned his back on both major parties in 1989 by registering as an independent. In 2000, he mounted his first actual run for president, as a candidate for the Reform Party. Despite an early withdrawal from the contest, he won the partys primary in California.

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Trumps allegiance switched again in 2001, when he registered as a Democrat. Speaking in 2004, Trump shed some light on his rationale.

In many cases, I probably identify more as Democrat, Trump said in an interview with CNN. It just seems that the economy does better under the Democrats than the Republicans. Now, it shouldn't be that way. But if you go back, I mean it just seems that the economy does better under the Democrats.... But certainly we had some very good economies under Democrats, as well as Republicans. But we've had some pretty bad disasters under the Republicans.

Trump has previously voiced support for some traditionally liberal policies, too. In his 2000 book The America We Deserve, Trump advocated for a policy even many Democrats have failed to back.

We must have universal health care, he wrote. I'm a conservative on most issues but a liberal on this one. We should not hear so many stories of families ruined by health care expenses.

But before long, Trump was turning once again. In 2009, less than a year after Barack Obamas election win, he had switched back to the Republican Party. That would last for just two years, however, before the real-estate magnate registered as an independent in order to leave his options open for a third-party run in the 2012 election. As it turned out, Trump returned to the GOP fold just a few months later and endorsed Republican candidate Mitt Romney in his losing battle against Obama.

Since that time, Trump has been a reliable and prolific donator to the GOP. He has not, though, been a reliable follower of the party line. During the 2016 campaign, he frequently launched vociferous attacks against his Republican primary opponents, the Republican leadership and past Republican presidents. He also refused to rule out running as an independent if he failed to secure the Republican nomination.

Republicans would swallow their unease about Trump after he unexpectedly won them back control of the White House. But now, after weeks of increasing criticism of the Republican leadership and vulnerable 2018 incumbents such as Senators Jeff Flake and Dean Heller, Trump is flirting with Democrats in a way many in the GOP always feared.

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By Taro Fuse

TOKYO (Reuters) - Apple Inc (AAPL.O) has sought to stop Western Digital Corp (WDC.O) from taking control of Toshiba Corp's chip business by threatening not to buy its products in the future, people with knowledge of the deal said.

Apple, which uses Toshibas NAND flash memory chips in its iPhones, is concerned about losing pricing power if Western Digital is running the operation, the sources said on Friday.

However, if Western Digital remains a minority investor in the business, Apple, a top customer for Toshiba chips, is offering around 50 billion yen ($460 million) to a group including the U.S. firm to help finance a bid, one source said.

Apple declined to comment, while a Western Digital spokeswoman said it could not comment on details of the talks. Toshiba did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Western Digital, which jointly invests in Toshiba's key chip plant, is leading a $17-18 billion bid for the chip business, sources familiar with the talks have said.

Sources said earlier in the week that Western Digital offered to step back from the consortium's financing in return for a stronger position in their joint venture, and was roping in Apple for funding.

But it has been unclear whether other parties in the consortium, which also includes U.S. private equity firm KKR & Co LP (KKR.N) as well as Japanese government-backed investors, would pay more to cover for the 15 billion yen that Western Digital had previously planned to pay as part of the bid.

Sources have said Western Digital does want a future stake in the chip business, although it was unclear how much.

Toshiba executives, fearing that Western Digital was angling to eventually take over the chip business, are demanding that the U.S. company promise to limit the size of its stake in the company, sources said, requesting anonymity as talks were confidential.

Toshiba's board is now aiming to reach a final agreement with the consortium by Wednesday, sources have said.

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The company is under pressure to clinch a deal soon and complete regulatory approvals by the end of the fiscal year in March to ensure it does not report negative net worth, or liabilities exceeding assets, for a second year running - a scenario that could result in delisting from the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

Last week, Toshiba said it had not yet narrowed the pool of suitors and was also looking at a bid from U.S. private equity firm Bain as well as one from Taiwan's Foxconn (2317.TW).

All three bids have involved Apple, Toshiba's key memory chip customer, sources said.

($1 = 107.6800 yen)

(Reporting by Taro Fuse; Additional reporting by Makiko Yamazaki and Kentaro Hamada in Tokyo and Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Editing by Shri Navaratnam/Christopher Cushing/William Mallard/Alexander Smith)
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman on Friday said he has launched an investigation into credit reporting company Equifax's massive data breach. Equifax said Thursday that the breach could potentially affect 143 million consumers in the United States, and more than 8 million New Yorkers. With a U.S. population of about 324 million in 2017, the Census Bureau estimates, the breach affects a huge portion of the country. The breach lasted from mid-May through July, when hackers accessed names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses and, in some instances, driver's license numbers. Congress will also probe the Equifax breach. Reuters reported Friday that the House Financial Services Committee will hold a hearing on the matter. Equifax discovered the breach July 29. Schneiderman has sent a letter to Equifax seeking additional information about the breach. "The Equifax breach has potentially exposed sensitive personal information of nearly everyone with a credit report, and my office intends to get to the bottom of how and why this massive hack occurred," the New York attorney general said. "I encourage all New Yorkers to immediately call Equifax to see if their data was compromised and to consider additional measures to protect themselves." Under New York law, businesses with New York customers are required to inform customers and the attorney general's office about security breaches that have placed personal information in jeopardy. The attorney general has also previously proposed new legislation to make consumer information more secure. Schneiderman tweeted later Friday that his office had been in touch with Equifax about a controversial arbitration policy : NY AG tweet Join CNBC, the Aspen Institute and the most influential cybersecurity players from government, business and tech at the Cambridge Cyber Summit, October 4 in Boston.

WATCH: Protecting yourself from the Equifax hack



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Pakistan's prime minister has inaugurated the country's fifth nuclear power plant, built with Chinese assistance and part of Islamabad's plans to fast-track such projects in the energy-starved country.

Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said on September 8 that the 340-megawatt Chashma-IV reactor and similar projects were of "the highest priority of our government" and vowed that power projects of 10,000 megawatts would be completed by June 2018.

The facility, 250 kilometers southwest of the capital, Islamabad, is the fourth built as part of a joint effort between the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission and China National Nuclear Corp.

Chashma already has three nuclear power plants in operation, and the country has a similar plant in Karachi.

Pakistan is building two more nuclear plants in Karachi as the country looks to battle chronic energy shortages.

Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who was ousted after corruption charges last month, had vowed to solve the country's energy crisis by 2018.

China has been increasing investment in Pakistan, including a $46 billion project to link its far-western Xinjiang region to Pakistan's Gwadar port with a series of infrastructure, power, and transport upgrades.

Based on reporting by AFP, The Hindu, Dawn, and Gulf News
Re: For a local government to outlaw all strikes by its workers is a costl [ #permalink

This is a really good question! Two reasons:

a) Subtle wording in the question stem -- "must then be settled"

b) The answer choices can misguide you when you're in a hurry



For a local government to outlaw all strikes by its workers is a costly mistake, because all its labor disputes must then be settled by binding arbitration, without any negotiated public-sector labor settlements guiding the arbitrators. Strikes should be outlawed only for categories of public-sector workers for whose services no acceptable substitute exists.



The statements above best support which of the following conclusions?



(A) Where public-service workers are permitted to strike, contract negotiations with those workers are typically settled without a strike. --> INCORRECT. This is a general statement about all public-service workers. We are not told what happens when all public-service workers strike, we are only told about what happens when all strikes are outlawed , in which case the course of action is arbitration ("because all its labor disputes must then be settled by binding arbitration").



(B) Where strikes by all categories of pubic-sector workers are outlawed, no acceptable substitutes for the services provided by any of those workers are available. --> INCORRECT. This answer has verbs in the present tense. The passage only suggests what should be done, not what is currently happening ("Strikes should be outlawed only for categories of public-sector workers for whose services no acceptable substitute exists")



(C) Binding arbitration tends to be more advantageous for public-service workers where it is the only available means of settling labor disputes with such workers. --> Note the artful use of language in this answer choice. Understandably, in cases where there are no substitutes/alternative ways to resolve the dispute, binding arbitration is the most advantageous way and therefore, the more advantageous route. CORRECT.



(D) Most categories of public-sector workers have no counterparts in the private sector. --> INCORRECT. We have no information about the private sector. The information in the argument only deals with the public sector.



(E) A strike by workers in a local government is unlikely to be settled without help from an arbitrator. --> INCORRECT. We do not have information about the likelihood of using help from an arbitrator for settling a strike.



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Hurricane Irma's violent winds and outer rain bands lashed the Florida Keys on Saturday as the Category 3 storm pushed toward the state amid dire warnings of devastating gales, heavy rain and life-threatening storm surge.

With sustained winds at 120 mph, Irma slowly began turning from Cuba's northern coast up into the Florida Strait on Saturday, the National Hurricane Center said. The storm is expected to strengthen once it moves away from Cuba, turning north while remaining a powerful hurricane when it reaches Florida.

Irma's eye was due to strike the Florida Keys on Sunday morning before driving up the state's southwestern coast Sunday afternoon, according to the hurricane center. Almost the entire state is under hurricane warning.

The storm is massive as winds of at least tropical storm force covered 70,000 square miles -- larger than Florida's entire land area. Worsening conditions spawned a tornado warning in parts of northeastern Broward County and knocked power for 83,000 residents in South Florida.

As Irma drew closer to the third most populous state, officials warned the 6.5 million Floridians under mandatory evacuation orders that time was running out.

"If you have been ordered to evacuate, you need to leave now. This is your last chance to make a good decision," said Florida Gov. Rick Scott at a news briefing Saturday evening.

Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Brock Long was even more blunt when asked about people who didn't heed evacuation orders in the Keys.

"If you didn't evacuate the Keys, you're on your own until we can actually get in there and it's safe," he told CNN Saturday. "The message has been clear: The Keys are going to be impacted. There is no safe area within the Keys. And you put your life in your own hands by not evacuating."

The National Hurricane Center warned that preparations had be complete in southwest Florida in a matter of hours as the tropical storm force winds are expected Saturday night.

The major concern among officials was the storm surge, which is like a sustained high tide that can cause devastating flooding, warning that it could reach as high as 15 feet in some areas. A storm surge warning is in place for the Florida Keys, Tampa Bay, and an extensive stretch of coastline wrapping most of the way around the state.

"You can't survive these storm surges," Scott told CNN Saturday evening. "You've got to get out. You've got to evacuate. This storm is coming. Once the storm's here, we can't evacuate anybody."

Irma hit Cuba's Ciego de Avila province late Friday as a Category 5 hurricane. The storm's violent gusts destroyed the instrument used to measure wind strength, Cuba's meteorological agency reported. Waves as high as 23 feet were recorded, and bigger ones remained a possibility as Irma plodded west, officials said.

Even before hitting Cuba, Irma had proven catastrophic, killing 24 people this week in the Caribbean and leaving entire islands in ruins.

Here are the latest developments:

-- Irma's center was 110 miles southeast of Key West at 8 p.m. ET Saturday and moving west-northwest at a relatively slow 7 mph.

-- Hurricane warnings were extended north along Florida's west coast as far as Perry, and along the eastern coast to include Fernandina Beach, north of Jacksonville. A storm surge warning wraps around the state, from Brevard County to Tampa Bay.

-- More than 70,000 people have moved into 385 shelters across the state, Scott said in a news briefing Saturday evening.

-- President Donald Trump tweeted links for Florida residents looking for information.

-- As Irma barrels toward Florida, as many as 26 million people in the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Cuba could be exposed to destructive winds and torrential rain, the Red Cross said, with 1.2 million people already battered by the storm. Hurricane warnings were still in effect Saturday for parts of central Cuba.

-- Of the 24 deaths blamed on Irma, nine were in unspecified French territories, one in Barbuda, one in the British overseas territory of Anguilla, two in Dutch-administered St. Maarten, four in the British Virgin Islands, four in the US Virgin Islands and three in Puerto Rico.

Nervous Florida waits

Florida cities such as Naples, Sarasota, and Tampa are in or near the forecast path of the storm's eye.

"This will be a devastating storm for central Florida, Tampa, Fort Myers, Naples (and) all the way down to Key West," CNN meteorologist Chad Myers said Saturday afternoon.

Mass evacuations have sent throngs onto jammed highways heading north and created a severe gas shortage in some parts the state.

Florida Power and Light estimated that 3.4 million of its customers could be without power at some point during Irma, which would make it largest number of outages they have ever had to deal with in history, company spokesman Chris McGrath told CNN Saturday.

"We think this could be the most challenging restoration in the history of the US," he said.

Miami began feeling some of Irma's winds Saturday, with high-rise construction cranes sent spinning in circles.

As much as 20 inches of rain was predicted through Wednesday across the Florida peninsula and southeast Georgia, and maximum wind gusts above 100 mph are expected in much of western Florida.

Officials in other states also were preparing Saturday for Irma. South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster issued a mandatory evacuation for some barrier islands, while Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal expanded the state of emergency to include 94 counties.

FEMA warned Alabama and North Carolina also to be on watch.

Are you affected by Irma? Text, iMessage or WhatsApp your videos, photos and stories to CNN: +1 347-322-0415.

CNN's Steve Almasy, Faith Karimi, Joe Sutton, Dakin Andone, Jason Hanna, Joseph Netto, Alba Prifti, Marilia Brocchetto, Rosa Flores and Paul Murphy contributed to this report.
Undoing the harm done by the Iran nuclear deal needs to share the top of the agenda, the article insists. It then goes on to lay out common criticisms of that agreement, including the notion that it is far more beneficial to Iran than to the US or its allies. While supporters of the JCPOA argue that it lengthened Irans breakout time for a nuclear weapon and gave the international community more time to address that issue, the editorial counters that what the deal did instead was buy Iran time to continue research and development on some aspects of the nuclear program, thereby reducing its breakout time once the deal expires.

Various recent statements from Iranian officials have seemingly supported this latter interpretation of the situation. Last month, the supposedly moderate Iranian President Hassan Rouhani claimed that the country would be able to act within a matter of days to expand its nuclear enrichment beyond the levels it maintained prior to the implementation of the JCPOA. Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, has made similar statements on multiple occasions.

Iran News Update has previously observed that these remarks  some of which specifically identify a five-day deadline for a benchmark of 20 percent enrichment  cast further doubt upon Irans commitment to upholding the nuclear deal.

President Trumps intention to decertify Iranian compliance is primarily based on the idea that the Iranian regime has been in violation of the spirit of the agreement. This peripheral violation includes repeated tests of ballistic missiles, in defiance of a UN Security Council resolution that served as a side deal to the JCPOA and called upon the Islamic Republic to avoid work on weapons that are capable of carrying nuclear payloads.

But the recent comments from Rouhani, Salehi, and others represent activities that are much closer to violation of explicit restrictions on levels of nuclear enrichment and number of enrichment centrifuges that the Islamic Republic is permitted to run. As a condition for the implementation of the JCPOA in January 2016, the Iranians were supposed to permanently restructure the Arak heavy water plant by pouring concrete into the plutonium-producing core. The Fox News editorial notes that Rouhani and Salehi have specifically claimed that the Arak core could be reactivated, suggesting that Iran was never in compliance with the initial conditions of the agreement.

Whats more, Al Monitor reported on Tuesday that Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif had said in an interview that the country has kept its nuclear research and development program active. We currently have much better centrifuges, and the design of the Arak reactor is also very advanced, he said after reiterating the claim that Iran is capable of immediately reaching a better point than before the implementation of the JCPOA. This he contrasted with the resumption of multilateral economic sanctions, which would likely be a slow process involving resistance from some entities that are happy to exploit their newfound access to the Iranian economy.

Zarifs remarks were reminiscent of certain reports put out by the leading Iranian opposition coalition, the National Council of Resistance of Iran. Relying on the intelligence network of its main constituent group the Peoples Mojahedin Organization of Iran, the NCRI has concluded that at least some of Tehrans ongoing nuclear activities have been carried out jointly by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research, which is the institution that had previously been tasked with the weaponization aspects of the nuclear program.

Despite explicitly highlighting the threat that Irans ongoing activities could pose to Western national security, Zarif used the same interview to argue that Americas European allies would not follow the US in reimposing sanctions or otherwise undermining the nuclear agreement. On one hand, this raises questions about the US governments plans for ramping up pressure on the nuclear program and building consensus within the international community. But on the other hand it arguably contributes to the perception that this pressure is urgently needed, since European aversion to renewed sanctions may only grow more entrenched as European businesses secure economic agreements with state-linked Iranian counterparts.

Last week, it was reported that former US Ambassador to the UN John Bolton had authored a policy brief aimed at advising President Trump about how to build the necessary consensus among established allies and potential partners in a new policy regarding the Iranian nuclear program. Fox News called attention to this fact but also expressed concern about the absence of a serious public response from the White House to this and other calls for action. Bolton had released his plan publicly after complaining that changes in White House staff had made it difficult for him to get close to the president.

Bolton and Fox News are certainly not the only ones to express concern about the White Houses apparent lack of a comprehensive plan on how to proceed after the possible decertification of Iranian compliance. After Trump provided certification to Congress in July as the president is required to do every 90 days, it was announced that his administration would be undertaking a comprehensive review of its Iran policy in advance of the next deadline. But there is no clear indication that such a review was ever concluded and numerous reports on the future of the JCPOA have suggested that analysts are still uncertain about the White Houses overall goals in this area.

Nevertheless, during the past few weeks the administration has dispatched its UN Ambassador Nikki Haley to several meetings with the apparent intention of laying the groundwork for decertification and exploring the possibility of enhanced enforcement of the JCPOA. At a meeting with the International Atomic Energy Agency, Haley criticized the limited extent of international monitors access to possible nuclear sites in Iran, particularly military sites. And this week, in an address to the American Enterprise Institute, she argued that the president has firm ground upon which to stand if he chooses decertification.

However, as Voice of America News pointed out on Thursday, that address also seemed to betray a presidential interest in splitting the difference between endorsing the JCPOA and deliberately walking away from it. Haley asserted that discussions of this situation have tended to ignore the fact that decertification does not necessarily mean walking away. Bloomberg explained this point further, pointing out that the president is required to certify not only that Iran is in compliance with the JCPOA but also that the continued enforcement of the agreement is in the national security interest of the United States. This appears to be the very thing that the White House has been addressing as it emphasized the provocative nature of Iranian ballistic missile tests and public statements.

Bloomberg argued that the White House could use this provision to get the best of both worlds by affirming the technical continuity of the JCPOA but taking no action regarding its continued enforcement, thereby punting the issue to Congress. But while re-imposition of the sanctions that were suspended by the nuclear deal would be a congressional responsibility, the president has already used presidential authority to levy new sanctions on matters unrelated to Irans nuclear activities, as well as signing a congressional sanctions bill that also targeted ballistic missile development and support of terrorism.

These efforts have earned President Trump some praise for those who support a generally assertive policy toward the Islamic Republic. But this has not prevented the perception that the White House is failing to provide clear leadership on the nuclear issue. Voice of America quoted Alex Vatanka of the Washington-based Middle East Institute as saying that Haleys speech really didnt offer us any alternative ways forward in the event that either the president or Congress moves to walk away from the JCPOA.

Bloomberg made much the same point, saying that neither the White House nor Congress has clearly outlined what they would do in the case of Iran resuming full-scale nuclear activities in response to the re-implementation of US-led sanctions. Nonetheless, it is clear that Trump and his leading advisors are committed to continuing to push back against Iranian rhetoric on this issue and to go on enforcing and even expanding sanctions as far as is allowed by the JCPOA. This was made clear once again on Thursday when Reuters reported that the US had indicted former Turkish Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan and three other Turkish nationals on charges of evading US sanctions on behalf of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Iranian officials have repeatedly insisted that such continued enforcement by the US constitutes its own violation of the spirit of the JCPOA. But the White House has shown no more sign of being moved by these arguments than by the apparent ultimatums underlying Tehrans claims of advanced nuclear capabilities. Still, questions linger as to how the US government will address the broader issue and whether it will exert further pressure on Tehran directly, as opposed to focusing on foreign entities that do business with the Iranian regime.
Demonstrators in Baneh on Tuesday asked the governor to bring the killers of the Kulbaran to justice or resign. The protests followed the killing of two Kulbaran, and have spread across Irans cities.

The two killed on Monday were 41-year-old Ghader Bahrami and 21-year-old Heydar Faraji. Tasnim News reported that a spokesperson for the Iranian Police said that border police opened fire on them when they crossed into a restricted zone.

Brig. Gen. Saeed Montazer al-Mahdi said that the guards fired warning shots when they spotted a group of people with packages trying to sneak into a restricted area. He explained that this is a sensitive area that has a record of security threats. The warnings were ignored, so the guards were forced to open fire.

The semi-legal porters are frequently harassed by the Iranian authorities and many have been killed. They carry goods on their backs, across the mountains from the Kurdistan Region to Irans Kurdish provinces, which are some of the poorest regions of Iran.

In response to the protesters, Iranian authorities sent the military into the city and detained several protesters.

Its reported that thousands in military, both in uniform and in plain clothes, have been deployed in Kurdish cities in an attempt to control the crowds. However, more people continue to join the crowd of protestors in the capital of Kurdistan Province, northwest of Iran.

Although unconfirmed, its believed that Armed revolutionary guards have arrested 8 civilians.

On Wednesday, Turkeys pro-Kurdish Peoples Democratic Party (HDP) declared support for demonstrations by the Kurds in Iran. HDPs spokesperson Osman Baydemir stated, I, as a Kurd from Bakur [Turkeys Kurdistan], am with all our people in Rojhelat [Iranian Kurdistan]. They are not alone. Baydemir added, 40 million Kurds across the Middle East support them. Our brothers and sisters in Eastern Kurdistan are unfortunately passing through a very difficult time.

He continued, I call upon the Tehran government to leave behind its enmity and racism toward the Kurds. Baydemir also said, Those engaging in hostility against the Kurds have been defeated. Those who befriended the Kurdish people have succeeded.

Tension between the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK)-affiliated East Kurdistan Force (YRK) and Iranian forces has led to clashes in Baneh and elsewhere. Two Iranian soldiers were killed in retaliation, YRK reported.
In separate discussions, Trump spoke with Saudi Arabias Crown Prince, Muhammad bin Salman, United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) Crown Prince, Sheikh Muhammad bin Zayed al-Nahyan, and Qatars Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani.

Unity among the Arab partners of the U.S. is essential to promoting regional stability and countering the threat of Iran, Trump reportedly told them.

The leaders discussed the continued threat Iran poses to regional stability, the White House spokesperson said. The president also emphasized that all countries must follow through on commitments from the Riyadh Summit to defeat terrorism, cut off funding for terrorist groups, and combat extremist ideology.

On September 7th, Trump said that hes willing to mediate the dispute between Qatar and other Gulf Arab states, and that he thought a deal could be quickly reached.

Last June, Saudi Arabia, the U.A.E., Egypt, and Bahrain cut diplomatic, trade, air, and shipping ties with Qatar, where the largest U.S. military base in the Persian Gulf is located.

The Saudi-led group of Arab states accused Qatar of having too close of a relationship to Iran, and of being too lenient on Islamic extremists. Doha denies these accusations.

For the first time since the dispute broke out, leaders of Qatar and Saudi Arabia spoke by phone on September 8th, after which Qatars Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani expressed willingness to negotiate a settlement of their dispute, as reported by media.

Sheikh Tamim and Mohammed bin Salman had stressed the need to resolve this crisis through dialogue to ensure the unity and stability of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), in their phone discussion, according to reports.

However, shortly after the phone call that hinted at a potential breakthrough in a major diplomatic crisis in the Gulf, there was a dispute over protocol. Apparently, Qatar News Agencys (QNA) failed to mention that it was Doha that had initiated the call. QNA said that the phone conversation had been coordinated by the US President.

In the meantime, Trump and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson endorsed an effort to mediate the Gulf Arab dispute by Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, as Kuwaiti officials visited Washington during the week. On September 8th, Tillerson said, We support his efforts to help bring about a settlement.

He continued, The United States and Kuwait both recognize the important of [Gulf Cooperation Council] unity to meet the challenges of the region that we all face together, not the least of which is the threats from Iran.
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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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Bank of Montreal provides diversified financial services primarily in North America. The company's personal banking products and services include checking and savings accounts, credit cards, mortgages, and financial and investment advice services; and commercial banking products and services comprise business deposit accounts, commercial credit cards, business loans and commercial mortgages, cash management solutions, foreign exchange, specialized banking programs, treasury and payment solutions, and risk management products for small business and commercial banking customers. It also offers investment and wealth advisory services; digital investing services; financial services and solutions; and investment management, and trust and custody services. In addition, the company provides life insurance, accident and sickness insurance, and annuity products; creditor and travel insurance to bank customers; and reinsurance solutions. Further, it offers client's debt and equity capital-raising services, as well as loan origination and syndication, and treasury management; strategic advice on mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, and recapitalizations, as well as valuation and fairness opinions; and trade finance, risk mitigation, and other operating services. Additionally, the company provides research and access to markets for institutional, corporate, and retail clients; trading solutions that include debt, foreign exchange, interest rate, credit, equity, securitization and commodities; new product development and origination services, as well as risk management advice and services to hedge against fluctuations; and funding and liquidity management services to its clients. It operates through approximately 900 bank branches and 3,300 automated banking machines in Canada and the United States. Bank of Montreal was founded in 1817 and is headquartered in Montreal, Canada.
The following companies are subsidiares of Johnson & Johnson: 3Dintegrated ApS, ALZA Corporation, AMO (Hangzhou) Co. Ltd., AMO (Shanghai) Medical Devices Trading Co. Ltd Beijing Branch, AMO (Shanghai) Medical Devices Trading Co. Ltd Guangzhou Branch, AMO (Shanghai) Medical Devices Trading Co. Ltd., AMO ASIA LIMITED, AMO Asia Limited (Korea Branch), AMO Asia Limited Taiwan Branch (Hong Kong), AMO Australia Pty Limited, AMO Australia Pty Limited (New Zealand Branch), AMO Canada Company, AMO Denmark ApS, AMO Development LLC, AMO France, AMO Germany GmbH, AMO Groningen B.V., AMO International Holdings Unlimited Company, AMO Ireland, AMO Ireland Ireland Branch, AMO Italy SRL, AMO Japan K.K., AMO Manufacturing USA LLC, AMO Netherlands BV, AMO Nominee Holdings LLC, AMO Norway AS, AMO Puerto Rico Manufacturing Inc., AMO Sales and Service Inc., AMO Singapore Pte. Ltd., AMO Spain Holdings LLC, AMO Switzerland GmbH, AMO U.K. Holdings LLC, AMO United Kingdom Ltd., AMO Uppsala AB, AUB Holdings LLC, Abott Medical Optics, Acclarent Inc., Actelion Ltd, Actelion Pharmaceuticals, Actelion Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Actelion Pharmaceuticals Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Actelion Pharmaceuticals US Inc., Actelion Treasury Unlimited Company, Akros Medical Inc., Albany Street LLC, Alios BioPharma, Alza Land Management Inc., Anakuria Therapeutics Inc., Animas Diabetes Care LLC, Animas LLC, Animas Technologies LLC, AorTx Inc., Apsis, Aragon Pharmaceuticals, Aragon Pharmaceuticals Inc., Asia Pacific Holdings LLC, Atrionix Inc., Auris Health, Auris Health Inc., Backsvalan 2 Aktiebolag, Backsvalan 6 Handelsbolag, Beijing Dabao Cosmetics Co. Ltd., BeneVir BioPharm Inc., Berna Rhein B.V., BioMedical Enterprises Inc., Biosense Webster (Israel) Ltd., Biosense Webster Inc., Branch of Johnson & Johnson LLC (RU) in Kazakhstan, C Consumer Products Denmark ApS, CSATS Inc., Calibra Medical LLC, Campus-Foyer Apotheke GmbH, Carlo Erba OTC S.r.l., Centocor Biologics LLC, Centocor Research & Development Inc., Cerenovus Inc., ChromaGenics B.V., Ci:Labo Customer Marketing Co. Ltd., Ci:Labo USA Inc., Ci:z Holdings, Ci:z. Labo Co. Ltd., Cilag AG, Cilag GmbH International, Cilag Holding AG, Cilag Holding Treasury Unlimited Company, Cilag-Biotech S.L., CoTherix Inc., Coherex Medical Inc., ColBar LifeScience Ltd., Company Store.com Inc., Conor MedSystems, Cordis International Corporation, Cordis de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Corimmun GmbH, DePuy Hellas SA, DePuy International Limited, DePuy Ireland Unlimited Company, DePuy Mexico S.A. de C.V., DePuy Mitek LLC, DePuy Orthopaedics Inc., DePuy Products Inc., DePuy Spine LLC, DePuy Synthes Gorgan Limited, DePuy Synthes Inc., DePuy Synthes Institute LLC, DePuy Synthes Leto SARL, DePuy Synthes Products Inc., DePuy Synthes Sales Inc., Debs-Vogue Corporation (Proprietary) Limited, Dutch Holding LLC, ECL7 LLC, EES Holdings de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., EES S.A. de C.V., EIT Emerging Implant Technologies GmbH, Ethicon Endo-Surgery (Europe) GmbH, Ethicon Endo-Surgery Inc., Ethicon Endo-Surgery LLC, Ethicon Inc., Ethicon LLC, Ethicon PR Holdings Unlimited Company, Ethicon Sarl, Ethicon US LLC, Ethicon Women's Health & Urology Sarl, Ethnor (Proprietary) Limited, Ethnor Farmaceutica S.A., Ethnor del Istmo S.A., FMS Future Medical System SA, Finsbury (Development) Limited, Finsbury (Instruments) Limited, Finsbury Medical Limited, Finsbury Orthopaedics International Limited, Finsbury Orthopaedics Limited, GH Biotech Holdings Limited, GMED Healthcare BV, GMED Healthcare BV (Branch), Global Investment Participation B.V., Guangzhou Bioseal Biotech Co. Ltd., Hansen Medical Deutschland GmbH, Hansen Medical Inc., Hansen Medical International Inc., Hansen Medical UK Limited, Healthcare Services (Shanghai) Ltd., Hickory Merger Sub Inc., I.D. Acquisition Corp., Innomedic Gesellschaft fur innovative Medizintechnik und Informatik mbH, Innovative Surgical Solutions LLC, J & J Company West Africa Limited, J&J Pension Trustees Limited, J-C Health Care Ltd., J.C. General Services BV, JJ Surgical Vision Spain S.L., JJC Acquisition Company B.V., JJHC LLC, JJSV Belgium BV, JJSV Manufacturing Malaysia SDN. BHD., JJSV Norden AB, JJSV Produtos Oticos Ltda., JNJ Global Business Services s.r.o., JNJ Holding EMEA B.V., JNJ International Investment LLC, JOM Pharmaceutical Services Inc., Janssen Alzheimer Immunotherapy (Holding) Limited, Janssen BioPharma LLC, Janssen Biologics (Ireland) Limited, Janssen Biologics B.V., Janssen Biotech Inc., Janssen Cilag C.A., Janssen Cilag Farmaceutica S.A., Janssen Cilag S.p.A., Janssen Cilag SPA, Janssen Development Finance Unlimited Company, Janssen Diagnostics LLC, Janssen Egypt LLC, Janssen Farmaceutica Portugal Lda, Janssen Global Services LLC, Janssen Holding GmbH, Janssen Inc., Janssen Irish Finance Unlimited Company, Janssen Korea Ltd., Janssen Oncology Inc., Janssen Ortho LLC, Janssen Pharmaceutica (Proprietary) Limited, Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, Janssen Pharmaceutica S.A., Janssen Pharmaceutical K.K., Janssen Pharmaceutical Sciences Unlimited Company, Janssen Pharmaceutical Unlimited Company, Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc., Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. Japan Branch, Janssen Products LP, Janssen R&D Ireland Unlimited Company, Janssen Research & Development LLC, Janssen Sciences Ireland Unlimited Company, Janssen Scientific Affairs LLC, Janssen Supply Group LLC, Janssen Vaccines & Prevention B.V., Janssen Vaccines Branch of Cilag GmbH International, Janssen Vaccines Corp., Janssen-Cilag, Janssen-Cilag (New Zealand) Limited, Janssen-Cilag A/S, Janssen-Cilag AG, Janssen-Cilag AS, Janssen-Cilag Aktiebolag, Janssen-Cilag B.V., Janssen-Cilag Farmaceutica Lda., Janssen-Cilag Farmaceutica Ltda., Janssen-Cilag GmbH, Janssen-Cilag International NV, Janssen-Cilag Kft., Janssen-Cilag Kft. Branch Office, Janssen-Cilag Limited, Janssen-Cilag Manufacturing LLC, Janssen-Cilag NV, Janssen-Cilag OY, Janssen-Cilag Pharma GmbH, Janssen-Cilag Pharmaceutical S.A.C.I., Janssen-Cilag Polska Sp. z o.o., Janssen-Cilag Pty Ltd, Janssen-Cilag Pty Ltd (Branch), Janssen-Cilag S.A., Janssen-Cilag S.A., Janssen-Cilag S.A. de C.V., Janssen-Cilag de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Janssen-Cilag s.r.o., Janssen-Pharma S.L., Jevco Holding Inc., Johnson & Johnson, Johnson & Johnson (Angola) Limitada, Johnson & Johnson (China) Investment Ltd., Johnson & Johnson (China) Investment Ltd. Beijing Branch, Johnson & Johnson (Egypt) S.A.E., Johnson & Johnson (Hong Kong) Limited, Johnson & Johnson (Ireland) Limited, Johnson & Johnson (Jamaica) Limited, Johnson & Johnson (Kenya) Limited, Johnson & Johnson (Middle East) Inc., Johnson & Johnson (Middle East) Inc. (DHCC Branch), Johnson & Johnson (Middle East) Inc. (JAFZA Branch), Johnson & Johnson (Middle East) Inc. Service Center (DAFZA Branch), Johnson & Johnson (Mozambique) Limitada, Johnson & Johnson (Namibia) (Proprietary) Limited, Johnson & Johnson (New Zealand) Limited, Johnson & Johnson (Philippines) Inc., Johnson & Johnson (Private) Limited, Johnson & Johnson (Thailand) Ltd., Johnson & Johnson (Trinidad) Limited, Johnson & Johnson (Vietnam) Co. Ltd, Johnson & Johnson - Societa' Per Azioni, Johnson & Johnson AB, Johnson & Johnson AB Eesti filiaal (Branch), Johnson & Johnson AG, Johnson & Johnson AG (Zuchwil Branch), Johnson & Johnson Belgium Finance Company BV, Johnson & Johnson Bulgaria EOOD, Johnson & Johnson China Ltd., Johnson & Johnson Consumer (Hong Kong) Limited, Johnson & Johnson Consumer (Thailand) Limited, Johnson & Johnson Consumer B.V., Johnson & Johnson Consumer Health Care Switzerland Branch of Janssen-Cilag AG, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Holdings France, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc., Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc. (Dominican Republic Branch), Johnson & Johnson Consumer NV, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Saudi Arabia Limited, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Services EAME Ltd., Johnson & Johnson Del Paraguay S.A., Johnson & Johnson Dominicana S.A.S., Johnson & Johnson Enterprise Innovation Inc., Johnson & Johnson European Treasury Unlimited Company, Johnson & Johnson Finance Corporation, Johnson & Johnson Finance Limited, Johnson & Johnson Financial Services GmbH, Johnson & Johnson Financial Services GmbH (Branch Office), Johnson & Johnson Gateway LLC, Johnson & Johnson Gesellschaft m.b.H., Johnson & Johnson GmbH, Johnson & Johnson Guatemala S.A., Johnson & Johnson Health Care Systems Inc., Johnson & Johnson Health and Wellness Solutions Inc., Johnson & Johnson Hellas Commercial and Industrial S.A., Johnson & Johnson Hellas Consumer Products Commercial Societe Anonyme, Johnson & Johnson Hemisferica S.A., Johnson & Johnson Holding GmbH, Johnson & Johnson Inc., Johnson & Johnson Industrial Ltda., Johnson & Johnson Innovation - JJDC Inc., Johnson & Johnson Innovation LLC, Johnson & Johnson Innovation Limited, Johnson & Johnson International, Johnson & Johnson International (Belgian Branch) (European Logistics Center), Johnson & Johnson International (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Johnson & Johnson International (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. (Branch), Johnson & Johnson International Financial Services Unlimited Company, Johnson & Johnson K.K., Johnson & Johnson Kft., Johnson & Johnson Korea Ltd., Johnson & Johnson Korea Selling & Distribution LLC, Johnson & Johnson LLC, Johnson & Johnson Lda, Johnson & Johnson Limited, Johnson & Johnson Limited (Sri Lanka Branch), Johnson & Johnson Luxembourg Finance Company Sarl, Johnson & Johnson Management Limited, Johnson & Johnson Medical (China) Ltd., Johnson & Johnson Medical (Proprietary) Ltd, Johnson & Johnson Medical (Shanghai) Ltd., Johnson & Johnson Medical (Shanghai) Ltd. Beijing Branch, Johnson & Johnson Medical (Suzhou) Ltd., Johnson & Johnson Medical B.V., Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices & Diagnostics Group - Latin America L.L.C., Johnson & Johnson Medical GmbH, Johnson & Johnson Medical Korea Ltd., Johnson & Johnson Medical Limited, Johnson & Johnson Medical Mexico S.A. de C.V., Johnson & Johnson Medical NV, Johnson & Johnson Medical Products GmbH, Johnson & Johnson Medical Pty Ltd, Johnson & Johnson Medical S.A., Johnson & Johnson Medical S.C.S., Johnson & Johnson Medical S.p.A., Johnson & Johnson Medical SAS, Johnson & Johnson Medical Saudi Arabia Limited, Johnson & Johnson Medical Taiwan Ltd., Johnson & Johnson Medikal Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Johnson & Johnson Medikal Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi (Ankara Branch), Johnson & Johnson Medikal Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi (Izmir Branch), Johnson & Johnson Middle East - Scientific Office, Johnson & Johnson Middle East FZ - LLC (Lebanese Branch), Johnson & Johnson Middle East FZ-LLC, Johnson & Johnson Middle East FZ-LLC (Ghana Branch), Johnson & Johnson Middle East FZ-LLC (Kenya Branch), Johnson & Johnson Middle East FZ-LLC Branch (TSO) (Saudi Arabia Branch), Johnson & Johnson Morocco Societe Anonyme, Johnson & Johnson NCB (Belgian Branch), Johnson & Johnson Nordic AB, Johnson & Johnson Pacific Pty Limited, Johnson & Johnson Pakistan (Private) Limited, Johnson & Johnson Panama S.A., Johnson & Johnson Personal Care (Chile) S.A., Johnson & Johnson Poland Sp. z o.o., Johnson & Johnson Poland sp. z o.o. oddzial w Warszawie "Consumer", Johnson & Johnson Private Limited, Johnson & Johnson Pte. Ltd., Johnson & Johnson Pte. Ltd. Korea Branch, Johnson & Johnson Pty. Limited, Johnson & Johnson Romania S.R.L., Johnson & Johnson S.A., Johnson & Johnson S.A. de C.V., Johnson & Johnson S.E. Inc., Johnson & Johnson S.E. d.o.o., Johnson & Johnson SDN. BHD., Johnson & Johnson Sante Beaute France, Johnson & Johnson Services Inc., Johnson & Johnson Surgical Vision Inc., Johnson & Johnson Surgical Vision India Private Limited, Johnson & Johnson Taiwan Ltd., Johnson & Johnson UK Treasury Company Limited, Johnson & Johnson Ukraine LLC, Johnson & Johnson Urban Renewal Associates, Johnson & Johnson Vision Care (Shanghai) Ltd., Johnson & Johnson Vision Care Inc., Johnson & Johnson Vision Care Ireland Unlimited Company, Johnson & Johnson d.o.o., Johnson & Johnson de Argentina S.A.C. e. I., Johnson & Johnson de Chile Limitada, Johnson & Johnson de Chile S.A., Johnson & Johnson de Colombia S.A., Johnson & Johnson de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Johnson & Johnson de Uruguay S.A., Johnson & Johnson de Venezuela S.A., Johnson & Johnson del Ecuador S.A., Johnson & Johnson del Peru S.A., Johnson & Johnson do Brasil Industria E Comercio de Produtos Para Saude Ltda., Johnson & Johnson for Export and Import LLC, Johnson & Johnson s.r.o., Johnson Y Johnson de Costa Rica S.A., Johnson and Johnson (Proprietary) Limited, Johnson and Johnson Sihhi Malzeme Sanayi Ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, LTL Management LLC, La Concha Land Investment Corporation, Latam International Investment Company Unlimited Company, Legal Entity Name, MDS Co. Ltd., McNEIL MMP LLC, McNeil AB, McNeil Consumer Pharmaceuticals Co., McNeil Denmark ApS, McNeil Healthcare (Ireland) Limited, McNeil Healthcare (UK) Limited, McNeil Healthcare LLC, McNeil Iberica S.L.U., McNeil LA LLC, McNeil Nutritionals LLC, McNeil Panama LLC, McNeil Products Limited, McNeil Sweden AB, Medical Device Business Services Inc., Medical Devices & Diagnostics Global Services LLC, Medical Devices International LLC, Medos International Sarl, Medos International Sarl succursale de Neuchatel (Branch), Medos Sarl, MegaDyne Medical Products Inc., Menlo Care De Mexico S.A. de C.V., Mentor B.V., Mentor Deutschland GmbH, Mentor Medical Systems B.V., Mentor Partnership Holding Company I LLC, Mentor Texas GP LLC, Mentor Texas L.P., Mentor Worldwide LLC, Micrus Endovascular LLC, Middlesex Assurance Company Limited, Momenta Ireland Limited, Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Momenta Pharmaceuticals Inc., NeoStrata Company Inc., NeoStrata UG (haftungsbeschrankt), Netherlands Holding Company, NeuWave Medical Inc., Neuravi Limited, Novira Therapeutics, Novira Therapeutics LLC, NuVera Medical Inc., OBTECH Medical Sarl, OGX Beauty Limited, OMJ Holding GmbH, OMJ Ireland Unlimited Company, OMJ Pharmaceuticals Inc., Obtech Medical Mexico S.A. de C.V., Omrix Biopharmaceuticals Inc., Omrix Biopharmaceuticals Ltd., Omrix Biopharmaceuticals NV, Ortho Biologics LLC, Ortho Biotech Holding LLC, Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical LLC, Orthospin Ltd., Orthotaxy, PT Integrated Healthcare Indonesia, PT. Johnson & Johnson Indonesia, Patriot Pharmaceuticals LLC, Peninsula Pharmaceuticals LLC, Pharmadirect Ltd., Pharmedica Laboratories (Proprietary) Limited, Princeton Laboratories Inc., Productos de Cuidado Personal y de La Salud de Bolivia S.R.L., Proleader S.A., Pulsar Vascular Inc., Regency Urban Renewal Associates, RespiVert Ltd., RoC International, Royalty A&M LLC, Rutan Realty LLC, SYNTHES Medical Immobilien GmbH, Scios LLC, Sedona Singapore International Pte. Ltd., Sedona Thai International Co. Ltd., Serhum S.A. de C.V., Shanghai Elsker For Mother & Baby Co. Ltd, Shanghai Elsker Mother & Baby Co. Ltd Minghang Branch, Shanghai Johnson & Johnson Ltd., Shanghai Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Sightbox LLC, Sodiac ESV, Spectrum Vision Limited Liability Company, Spectrum Vision Limited Liability Partnership, SterilMed, SterilMed Inc., Surgical Process Institute Deutschland GmbH, Synthes Costa Rica S.C.R. Limitada, Synthes GmbH, Synthes Holding AG, Synthes Holding Limited, Synthes Inc., Synthes Medical Surgical Equipment & Instruments Trading LLC, Synthes Produktions GmbH, Synthes Proprietary Limited, Synthes S.M.P. S. de R.L. de C.V., Synthes Tuttlingen GmbH, Synthes USA LLC, Synthes USA Products LLC, TARIS Biomedical, TARIS Biomedical LLC, TearScience Inc., The Anspach Effort LLC, The Vision Care Institute LLC, Tibotec LLC, Torax Medical Inc., UAB "Johnson & Johnson", UAB Johnson & Johnson Eesti Filiaal (Estonian Branch), Vania Expansion, Verb Surgical, Verb Surgical Inc., Vision Care Finance Unlimited Company, Vogue International, Vogue International LLC, Vogue International Trading Inc., WH4110 Development Company L.L.C., XO1, XO1 Limited, Xian Janssen Pharmaceutical Ltd., Xian-Janssen Pharmaceutical Ltd. Beijing Branch Office, Xian-Janssen Pharmaceutical Ltd. Shanghai Branch Office, Zarbee's Inc., and Zarbee's Naturals.

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Coeur Mining, Inc. explores for precious metals in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The company primarily explores for gold, silver, zinc, and lead properties. It holds 100% interests in the Palmarejo gold and silver mine covering an area of approximately 67,296 net acres located in the State of Chihuahua in Northern Mexico; the Rochester silver and gold mine that covers an area of approximately 43,441net acres situated in northwestern Nevada; the Kensington gold mine comprising 3,972 net acres located to the north of Juneau, Alaska; the Wharf gold mine covering an area of approximately 3,243 net acres situated in the northern Black Hills of western South Dakota; and the Silvertip silver-zinc-lead mine comprising 97,298 net acres located in northern British Columbia, Canada. In addition, the company owns interests in the Crown and Sterling projects located in southern Nevada; and the La Preciosa project located in Mexico. Further, it markets and sells its concentrates to third-party customers, smelters, under off-take agreements. The company was formerly known as Coeur d'Alene Mines Corporation and changed its name to Coeur Mining, Inc. in May 2013.Coeur Mining, Inc. was incorporated in 1928 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.
Simpson Manufacturing Co., Inc., through its subsidiaries, designs, engineers, manufactures, and sells wood and concrete construction products. The company offers wood construction products, including connectors, truss plates, fastening systems, fasteners and shearwalls, and pre-fabricated lateral systems for use in light-frame construction; and concrete construction products comprising adhesives, specialty chemicals, mechanical anchors, carbide drill bits, powder actuated tools, fiber-reinforced materials, and other repair products for use in concrete, masonry, and steel construction, as well as grouts, coatings, sealers, mortars, fiberglass and fiber-reinforced polymer systems, and asphalt products for use in concrete construction repair, and strengthening and protection products. It also provides connectors and lateral products for wood framing, timber and offsite construction, structural steel construction, and cold-formed steel applications; and mechanical and adhesive anchors for concrete and masonry construction applications. In addition, the company offers engineering and design services, as well as software solutions that facilitate the specification, selection, and use of its products. It markets its products to the residential construction, light industrial and commercial construction, remodeling, and do-it-yourself markets in the United States, Canada, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, Portugal, Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Sweden, Norway, Australia, New Zealand, China, Taiwan, and Vietnam. The company was founded in 1956 and is headquartered in Pleasanton, California.
Derwent London plc owns 83 buildings in a commercial real estate portfolio predominantly in central London valued at 5.4 billion (including joint ventures) as at 30 June 2020, making it the largest London-focused real estate investment trust (REIT). Our experienced team has a long track record of creating value throughout the property cycle by regenerating our buildings via development or refurbishment, effective asset management and capital recycling. We typically acquire central London properties off-market with low capital values and modest rents in improving locations, most of which are either in the West End or the Tech Belt. We capitalise on the unique qualities of each of our properties - taking a fresh approach to the regeneration of every building with a focus on anticipating tenant requirements and an emphasis on design. Reflecting and supporting our long-term success, the business has a strong balance sheet with modest leverage, a robust income stream and flexible financing. As part of our commitment to lead the industry in mitigating climate change, in October 2019, Derwent London became the first UK REIT to sign a Green Revolving Credit Facility. At the same time, we also launched our Green Finance Framework and signed the Better Buildings Partnership's climate change commitment. The Group is a member of the 'RE100' which recognises Derwent London as an influential company, committed to 100% renewable power by purchasing renewable energy, a key step in becoming a net zero carbon business. Derwent London is one of only a few property companies worldwide to have science-based carbon targets validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). Landmark schemes in our 5.6 million sq ft portfolio include 80 Charlotte Street W1, Brunel Building W2, White Collar Factory EC1, Angel Building EC1, 1-2 Stephen Street W1, Horseferry House SW1 and Tea Building E1. In 2019, the Group won several awards including EG Offices Company of the Year, the CoStar West End Deal of the Year for Brunel Building, Westminster Business Council's Best Achievement in Sustainability award and topped the real estate sector and was placed ninth overall in the Management Today 2019 awards for 'Britain's Most Admired Companies'. In 2013 the Company launched a voluntary Community Fund and has to date supported over 100 community projects in the West End and the Tech Belt. The Company is a public limited company, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange and incorporated and domiciled in the UK. The address of its registered office is 25 Savile Row, London,
Genesee & Wyoming Inc. owns and leases freight railroads. It operates through three segments: North American Operations, Australian Operations, and U.K./European Operations. The company transports various commodities, including agricultural products, autos and auto parts, chemicals and plastics, coal and coke, food and kindred products, lumber and forest products, metallic ores, metals, minerals and stone, petroleum products, pulp and paper, waste, and other commodities. It owns or leases 122 freight railroads, including 105 short line railroads and 2 regional freight railroads located in the United States, 8 short line railroads located in Canada, 3 railroads located in Australia, 1 railroad located in the United Kingdom, 1 railroad in Poland and Germany, and 2 railroads in the Netherlands with a total of approximately 16,200 miles of track. The company also operates 6,200 additional miles of track that is owned or leased by others. In addition, it operates deep sea maritime containers and provides bulk haulage, including coal, aggregates, cement, and infrastructure services. Further, the company provides rail service at approximately 40 ports; rail-ferry service in North America, Australia, and Europe; and contract coal loading and railcar switching for industrial customers. Genesee & Wyoming Inc. was founded in 1899 and is headquartered in Darien, Connecticut.
The Travelers Companies, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides a range of commercial and personal property, and casualty insurance products and services to businesses, government units, associations, and individuals in the United states and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Business Insurance, Bond & Specialty Insurance, and Personal Insurance. The Business Insurance segment offers workers' compensation, commercial automobile and property, general liability, commercial multi-peril, employers' liability, public and product liability, professional indemnity, marine, aviation, onshore and offshore energy, construction, terrorism, personal accident, and kidnap and ransom insurance products. This segment operates through select accounts, which serve small businesses; commercial accounts that serve mid-sized businesses; national accounts, which serve large companies; and national property and other that serve large and mid-sized customers, commercial trucking industry, and agricultural businesses, as well as markets and distributes its products through brokers, wholesale agents, and program managers. The Bond & Specialty Insurance segment provides surety, fidelity, management and professional liability, and other property and casualty coverages and related risk management services through independent agencies and brokers. The Personal Insurance segment offers property and casualty insurance covering personal risks, primarily automobile and homeowners insurance to individuals through independent agencies and brokers. The Travelers Companies, Inc. was founded in 1853 and is based in New York, New York.
Morgan Stanley is the 6th largest financial institution in the US. The company is ranked 61st on the Forbes Fortune 500 list and is the 39th largest bank in the world. A financial holding company, Morgan Stanley provides a full range of financial services to clients around the world.

Morgan Stanley was formed in 1935 as a result of the Glass-Steagall Act. Glass-Steagall separated commercial and investment banking in a way that forced the then-largest bank J.P. Morgan & Co to split into two groups. J.P. Morgan & Co. chose to retain the commercial side of the business while partners Henry S. Morga, grandson of J.P., and Harold Stanley took the investment end. In its first year, Morgan Stanley did 24% of the IPO business and maintains a lions share of the market to this day.

The original company existed and grew through acquisitions until 1987 when it merged with Dean Witter Discover & Co. The new Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Discover & Co existed for 14 years until 2001 when the name was shortened back to Morgan Stanley.

The bank is credited in part with both beginning and ending the financial crisis of 2007/2008. The Process Driven Trading unit lost $300 million in one day due to a short-squeeze that popped the bubble in the housing market. After teetering on the brink of failure Morgan Stanley agreed to become a bank holding company regulated by the Federal Reserve, a key factor in the original decision to split from parent J.P. Morgan & Co. Ironically when given the chance, present-day J.P. Morgan refused to buy Morgan Stanley but that was for the better.

Today, Morgan Stanley operates through three segments via offices in 41 countries and employs more than 75,000 people. Revenue in 2021 topped $49 billion and total assets topped $1.15 trillion.

The operating segments are Institutional Securities, Wealth Management, and Investment Management segments. The Institutional Securities segment is by far the largest and most profitable. It offers a range of services and products for businesses, institutions, and entities that include capital raising, strategic advisory, underwriting, advice on M&A, restructuring, and real estate. The Wealth Management segment provides brokerage and investment advisory services for individuals and employers. The services include brokerage, financial planning, company stock-plan administration, insurance, mortgage loans, lines of credit, and retirement planning. The Investment Management segment provides investment products to a range of institutions, organizations, corporations, and governments.


Ronald Reagan

The value of a man should be seen in what he gives and not in what he is able to receive.

Albert Einstein

If you have an important point to make, don't try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time - a tremendous whack.

Winston Churchill





It isnt so much that liberals are ignorant. Its just that they know so many things that arent so.

With integrity nothing else counts; Without integrity nothing else counts.

Winston Churchill





Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life, but define yourself.

Harvey S. Firestone





It is inaccurate to say that I hate everything. I am strongly in favor of common sense, common honesty, and common decency. This makes me forever ineligible for public office. H. L. Menken



Referenda insure all have a voice in land use decisions.

U.S. Supreme Court

Listen carefully to first criticism of your work. Note just what it is about your work the critics don't like - then cultivate it. That's the only part of your work that's individual and worth keeping.

Jean Cocteau
New research by UT Southwestern cardiologists shows that people of South Asian descent with a family history of coronary heart disease are significantly more likely to have high levels of calcium buildup in their arteries - an indicator of higher risk for heart attacks.

The findings, appearing in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Cardiovascular Imaging, suggest family history may be a more important predictor for South Asians than for other ethnic groups. Therefore, a CT scan to check for coronary artery calcium may be an important test for South Asians whose parents, siblings, or children have coronary artery disease, said UT Southwestern preventive cardiologist Dr. Parag Joshi.

"The main take-home lesson here is that family history is a meaningful and inexpensive diagnostic indicator for assessing cardiovascular disease risk in South Asians," said Dr. Joshi, Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine at UT Southwestern.

Calcium accumulates in the arteries of the heart after plaque builds up and calcifies over time. South Asians in the study with a family history of heart disease were three times more likely to have calcium levels above 300 in the heart's arteries - a level likely to increase the risk of a serious coronary event to 10 percent, 15 percent, or more, he said.

The research builds upon Dr. Joshi's recent finding that patients with no calcium buildup in the coronary arteries are at very low risk of a heart attack or stroke over the following 10 years despite having other risk factors, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, or bad cholesterol levels.

More information: Jaideep Patel et al. Family History of CHD Is Associated With Severe CAC in South Asians, JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging (2017). Jaideep Patel et al. Family History of CHD Is Associated With Severe CAC in South Asians,(2017). DOI: 10.1016/j.jcmg.2017.04.015
SteamSpy, from game developer Sergey Galyonkin, has collected data from Steam and segmented it by title and country.

Valve, the company behind Steam, does not release sales figures. However, estimates suggest it is by far the dominant player in the PC digital game distribution space.

When Steam launched in 2003, it was virtually uncontested, and its aggressive seasonal sales cemented its position in the market  endearing itself to PC gamers.

Today, the digital distribution space for PC games features several big players, but Steam still reigns supreme.

Notable examples include Blizzards Battle.net, EAs Origin, Ubisofts Uplay, GOG.com, and the Humble Store.

Stats about the most popular games on Steam in South Africa, based on SteamSpys findings, are below.

Steam in South Africa

For the week of 4 September, SteamSpy showed the following:

Total active users  777,144 ( 91,449)

( 91,449) Share of total users  0.3%

Share of total games  0.33%

Owned games per user  24.27

Average playtime (2 weeks)  27:36

Average playtime (total)  978:46

Active users (2 weeks)  32%

Active users (total)  87%

Popular games on Steam in SA  Past 2 weeks

Popular Games in SA Rank By players By hours (average per user) 1 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 29.85% Space engineers 41:07 2 DOTA 2 22.99% Dark and Light 35:26 3 PlayerUnknowns Battlegrounds 15.22% No Mans Sky 29:59 4 ARK: Survival Evolved 7.16% Path of Exile 29:15 5 Rust 5.07% Age of Empires 2 HD 26:35 6 Rocket League 4.18% Rust 22:12 7 Path of Exile 4.18% Arma 3 21:44 8 Grand Theft Auto V 4.18% PlayerUnknowns Battlegrounds 21:43 9 Paladins 3.58% DOTA 2 19:42 10 Terraria 3.28% Warframe 19:27

Most popular games on Steam in SA  All time

Statistics from March 2009 onward.

Popular Games in SA Rank By total players By total hours (average per user) 1 DOTA 2 50.66% DOTA 2 530:34 2 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 34.18% Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 428:56 3 Team Fortress 2 28.65% Arma 3 313:22 4 Unturned 20.80% ARK: Survival Evolved 270:02 5 Warframe 15.04% H1Z1: King of the Kill 155:42 6 Paladins 13.27% Garrys Mod 153:26 7 Path of Exile 12.50% Rust 148:48 8 ARK: Survival Evolved 12.50% The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim 131:16 9 Heroes & Generals 11.73% Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 121:23 10 Payday 2: Ultimate Edition 11.06% Fallout 4 113:31

Now read: Samsung launches Steam Link app for smart TVs
Ambassador-at-Large: Azerbaijan's attacks on Armenia are a terrorist attack

Germany needs to diversify its business interests in Asia to reduce dependence on China

Head of U.S. Treasury Department says sanctions against Russia should remain in force even after war in Ukraine

Natasa Pirc Musar to become Slovenia's first woman president

IMF: World economic outlook even bleaker than predicted

Pashinyan: Azerbaijan calls Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh 'our citizens' and at the same time shoots at them

Turkish Interior Minister announces arrest of suspect in attack on Istiklal Avenue in Istanbul

Alpine to make 3 electric crossovers

Number of injured in Istanbul blast rises to 81

Paul McCartney sells guitar for $77,000 to support Ukraine

Erdogan says preliminary findings after Istanbul bombing point to terrorist attack

Erdogan says number of victims of Istanbul bombing rises to six

Authorities forbid TV channels to broadcast from Istanbul bombing site

Istanbul blast: Governor reports 4 dead and 38 wounded

Media: Terrorist attack considered as one of versions of bombing in Istanbul

Blast in Istanbul: victims reported

Reuters: National Bank of Ukraine prepares banking system for power outages

Explosion hits pedestrian street in Istanbul

Former Pentagon official Michael Rubin calls for Turkey to be recognized as sponsor of terrorism

Bloomberg columnist says Japan may be preparing for war with China

Reuters: U.S. to demand EU colleagues to continue aid to Kyiv at G20

Washington Post: U.S. intelligence believes UAE tried to interfere in U.S. politics

Yeni Safak: Turkey increases sales of winter products, blankets in EU by almost third since beginning of year

Fox News: Trump has been silent on social media for over 24 hours amid Republican failures

Lebanon extradites to Iraq relative of Saddam Hussein

Donald Trump's youngest daughter marries Lebanese billionaire

Financial Times: Kyiv plans to nationalize more private companies

U.S. Senate declares 'death' of Republican Party after congressional elections

Head of U.S. Customs resigned

President of Georgia Zourabichvili says about 100 thousand Russians settled in country

CNN: Democrats to retain control of Senate after congressional elections

Alen Simonyan: We are truly and sincerely committed to the peace agenda

HBO Max shows first trailer of documentary about Lizzo

Artak Beglaryan: Genocidal purpose is apparent

French maritime services rescue more than 140 migrants trying to swim across English Channel

Messi: Guardiola has done a lot of damage to football

Biden says he is satisfied with results of midterm elections in U.S.

Slovenia holds second round of presidential elections

Depardieu is closing his production center in Russia

'Witch' burned alive in India, 14 arrested

Arsenal win thanks to Martin Odegaard's double (video)

COVID-19 cases are expected to surge in Germany this winter

Dollar makes worst showing in week since early days of COVID-19 pandemic

Macron confirms France's readiness to support normalization of relations between Yerevan and Baku

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

Defense Ministry: Azerbaijani Armed Forces opened fire at Armenian positions

Putin and Raisi discuss topical issues of the bilateral agenda

Blinken: Ukraine must decide on timing and content of any talks with Russia

Body wear and tear due to stress increases risk of cancer death

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)

Documentary film about Christina Aguilera's life to be made

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

James Webb Space Telescope to help find potentially habitable planets, understand Earth's climate changes

Scholz is against establishment of ceasefire in Ukraine on Kremlin's terms

Turkologist: Turkey does not support agenda of achieving peace with Armenians

Shakira stars in Burberry's Christmas campaign (PHOTOS, VIDEO)

Study shows how amount of income affects depression

Sweden to not permit deployment of nuclear weapons on its territory after joining NATO

Real president considering option of signing up Mourinho after Ancelotti

Erdogan signs decree on appointing Turkey ambassador to Israel

Information security expert: Some Armenia officials received letter that they were victims of national hackers attack

Neymar: Level of this World Cup is going to be very high

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's daughter Lilibet could inherit 410k worth of jewelry

Armenia FM meets with France minister of foreign trade

Check it out: The king is dead, long live the king! - "House of the Dragon"

Foreign Policy: US to resume nuclear arms control talks with Russia

Armenia opposition MP: Artsakh army reduction is impermissible

Armenia medical workers testing process starting

Kevin Conroy, voice of Batman, dead at 66

Biden to warn Chinas Xi that North Korea path could lead to increase in US military presence

Messi: Its incredibly important to start World Cup right, get first 3 points

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White hackers: Cyber risk specialists

US Treasury chief: India can buy as much Russian oil as it wants

Kim Kardashian poses as miniature version of herself for 032c magazine cover (PHOTOS)

Newspaper: Armenia authorities trying to find legal grounds for signing peace treaty

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Newspaper: People of Karabakh not going to tolerate final destruction of their army

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Luis Enrique: I am best coach on face of earth

Van Gogh's painting sold for a record $117 million

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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

Pashinyan: Iran is concerned about the presence of other actors in our region, which are not in the territory of Armenia

Pashinyan: Presidents of Russia and Azerbaijan listened to presented proposals

Volvo reveals its flagship EX90 electric crossover

Pashinyan: Yerevan supports Russia's proposals for Armenian-Azerbaijani settlement

Pashinyan: Russia cannot withdraw from Karabakh unless it creates additional guarantees for peacekeeping mission

Pashinyan: We will do everything to Armenia-Azerbaijan sign peace treaty by end of year

Russia bans entry of Biden's family and White House press secretary
WASHINGTON, DC - The full U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee yesterday adopted a series of Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) supported provisions as part of its Fiscal Year 2018 (FY18) foreign aid bill, specifically calling for continued aid to Artsakh and increased assistance to Armenia ($20.7 million), and also imposing weapon and travel sanctions on Turkey and Azerbaijan.

Congress is clearly turning the corner on both Turkey and Azerbaijan, with senior legislators, from both parties, openly confronting and officially sanctioning Erdogan and Aliyev for their undemocratic abuses and anti-American actions, said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. We thank all those who worked to include these constructive provisions and look forward to remaining engaged in support of each of these issues as the legislative process moves forward.

The Senate foreign aid bill's report, which provides detailed legislative guidance for the executive branch, included language recommending: "assistance for victims of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in amounts consistent with prior fiscal years, and for ongoing needs related to the conflict. The Committee urges a peaceful resolution of the conflict."

In terms of aid to Armenia, the Committee called for roughly a $14 million increase over the President's proposed budget: $17.633 million in Economic Support and Development Fund (ESF), $1.5 million for battling narcotics trafficking, $600,000 for International Military Education and Training and $1 million in Foreign Military Financing. The Senate maintained parity in appropriated military assistance to Armenia and Azerbaijan. The Trump budget request for Armenia, submitted in May of this year, envisioned $4 million in ESF, $1.5 million for International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement, and $700,000 for Non-Proliferation, Antiterrorism, Demining and Related Programs. Military parity between Armenia and Azerbaijan was maintained in the Administration's proposed budget with each receiving $600,000 for International Military Education and Training and cuts Foreign Military Financing to both countries.

Three key amendments targeted Turkey and Azerbaijan in response to the growing human rights abuses in each country, most notably the May, 2017, beating of peaceful protesters by Turkish President Erdogan's bodyguards in Washington, DC.

Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Senate Appropriations Committee Vice-Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) introduced a successful amendment to block the use of funds to facilitate the sale of weapons to President Erdogan's Presidential Protection Directorate. Sen. Van Hollen told the Washington Post that the appropriations panel's vote in support of the measure sent a strong, bipartisan message: We are not going to let President Erdogans personal bodyguards attack peaceful American protesters on American soil  and were certainly not going to sell them weapons while they do it.

Senators James Lankford (R-OK) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) introduced and passed an amendment to restrict U.S. travel visas to any senior official of the Government of Turkey who is knowingly responsible for the wrongful or unlawful prolonged detention of U.S. citizens or nationals. The move is widely viewed as being in response to Turkey's continued imprisonment of Pastor Andrew Brunson, a North Carolina native who, for more than two decades, has ministered to the Izmir Resurrection Church in Turkey's third largest city.

Senate Assistant Democratic Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) called for similar visa restrictions of Azerbaijani government officials involved with the wrongful imprisonment of Mehman Aliyev, the director of Turan, Azerabaijan's last remaining independent news outlet. The Washington Post editorial board this week called for the Turan chief's immediate release and noted that under President Aliyev's reign, a sustained and punishing campaign has been waged against dissenting scholars, human rights defenders and journalists.
After running up this summer , stock markets in China look like they could be set to climb higher. Old-economy, mainland stocks have risen in recent months. Resource companies have performed better than the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index's (Shanghai Stock Exchange: .SSEC) rise of roughly 8.54 percent since June 1. Aluminium Corp of China, the largest aluminium producer in the country, has climbed 59.79 percent, while Baoshan Iron and Steel (Shanghai Stock Exchange: 19-SZ) was higher by 29.48 percent. The index tracking the materials sector on the Shanghai Stock Exchange gained 34.45 percent in that duration. In comparison, the Shenzhen Stock Exchange's tech-heavy ChiNext Index was up only 9.92 percent during that period. "Manufacturing and industrial companies have seen surprisingly strong results, aided by a recovering yuan as well as demand revival," said Kevin Leung, director of investment strategy at Haitong International Securities. Real estate and property developmentShares in the property market, another set of old-economy companies, have also climbed, even though not all stocks in the sector have experienced the same boost. Share prices of property developer Vanke spiked 23.14 percent from Jun. 1 until Thursday, after mostly stagnating in the first four months of the year. Poly Real Estate (Shanghai Stock Exchange: 48-SZ) has risen 11.68 percent from Jun. 1. "Up until the beginning of this summer, the main driver of emerging markets, it was quite a narrow recovery. It was very much in tech or the internet, and now we're beginning to see that widening out ... across many markets," Sean Taylor, Asia-Pacific CIO of Deutsche Asset Management, told CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Thursday. Taylor appeared confident that the widening recovery would continue."People are still very underweight China internationally, but we are going for a much broader portfolio than we had at the beginning of the year, which was probably more new economy and tech-oriented," Taylor said. Leung said he believed there was room for further upside for Chinese shares, pointing to how valuations on the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index  shares of Chinese companies listed in Hong Kong  were still cheap and continued to underperform the Hang Seng Index (Hong Kong Stock Exchange: .HSI) . "Our call has always been that there will be a reverse in the second-half where HSCEI will play catch up, with the mostly old economy constituents there likely to pick up steam," he added.Leung also highlighted improvements in the real economy as being responsible for driving the recovery in Chinese markets."People were previously focusing on new economy sectors because earnings in those sectors are relatively immune to what's happening in the real economy. But now that the real economy is confirmed to be picking up, people are revisiting," he explained.Local investors not as confident For the past few years, China has tried to rebalance its economy by shifting from a factory-driven model of economic growth to one led by consumption and services. Even though reforms are expected to be painful as overcapacity in industrial areas is reduced, recent data suggest some degree of optimism in the economy. Still, Deutsche's Taylor noted that there was a disconnect between local and foreign investors when it came to conviction in the Chinese markets."The interesting thing about China though, is that the local investors aren't as confident as the international investors. So the H-share and the MSCI China have done a lot better than the Shanghai and the Shenzhen" Composites, he said.The Shanghai Composite is up 8.41 percent this year while the Shenzhen Composite is higher by just 0.18 percent. In comparison, the Hang Seng Index has risen 25.09 percent this year alone. After running up this summer , stock markets in China look like they could be set to climb higher. Old-economy, mainland stocks have risen in recent months. Resource companies have performed better than the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index's (Shanghai Stock Exchange: .SSEC) rise of roughly 8.54 percent since June 1. Aluminium Corp of China, the largest aluminium producer in the country, has climbed 59.79 percent, while Baoshan Iron and Steel (Shanghai Stock Exchange: 19-SZ) was higher by 29.48 percent. The index tracking the materials sector on the Shanghai Stock Exchange gained 34.45 percent in that duration. In comparison, the Shenzhen Stock Exchange's tech-heavy ChiNext Index was up only 9.92 percent during that period. "Manufacturing and industrial companies have seen surprisingly strong results, aided by a recovering yuan as well as demand revival," said Kevin Leung, director of investment strategy at Haitong International Securities. Real estate and property development Shares in the property market, another set of old-economy companies, have also climbed, even though not all stocks in the sector have experienced the same boost. Share prices of property developer Vanke spiked 23.14 percent from Jun. 1 until Thursday, after mostly stagnating in the first four months of the year. Poly Real Estate (Shanghai Stock Exchange: 48-SZ) has risen 11.68 percent from Jun. 1. "Up until the beginning of this summer, the main driver of emerging markets, it was quite a narrow recovery. It was very much in tech or the internet, and now we're beginning to see that widening out ... across many markets," Sean Taylor, Asia-Pacific CIO of Deutsche Asset Management, told CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Thursday. Taylor appeared confident that the widening recovery would continue. "People are still very underweight China internationally, but we are going for a much broader portfolio than we had at the beginning of the year, which was probably more new economy and tech-oriented," Taylor said. Leung said he believed there was room for further upside for Chinese shares, pointing to how valuations on the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index  shares of Chinese companies listed in Hong Kong  were still cheap and continued to underperform the Hang Seng Index (Hong Kong Stock Exchange: .HSI) . "Our call has always been that there will be a reverse in the second-half where HSCEI will play catch up, with the mostly old economy constituents there likely to pick up steam," he added. Leung also highlighted improvements in the real economy as being responsible for driving the recovery in Chinese markets. "People were previously focusing on new economy sectors because earnings in those sectors are relatively immune to what's happening in the real economy. But now that the real economy is confirmed to be picking up, people are revisiting," he explained. Local investors not as confident For the past few years, China has tried to rebalance its economy by shifting from a factory-driven model of economic growth to one led by consumption and services. Even though reforms are expected to be painful as overcapacity in industrial areas is reduced, recent data suggest some degree of optimism in the economy. Still, Deutsche's Taylor noted that there was a disconnect between local and foreign investors when it came to conviction in the Chinese markets. "The interesting thing about China though, is that the local investors aren't as confident as the international investors. So the H-share and the MSCI China have done a lot better than the Shanghai and the Shenzhen" Composites, he said. The Shanghai Composite is up 8.41 percent this year while the Shenzhen Composite is higher by just 0.18 percent. In comparison, the Hang Seng Index has risen 25.09 percent this year alone.



More From CNBC


Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon said in CBS interview that top Trump economic advisor Gary Cohn should have resigned after disagreeing with the president's reaction to violent protests in Charlottesville, Virginia. "Absolutely," Bannon said when asked if Cohn should have stepped down. "If you don't like what he's doing and you don't agree with it, you have an obligation to resign," Bannon told CBS' "60 Minutes." A segment of the interview was posted Thursday. Cohn has said he seriously considered resigning after President Donald Trump 's response to Charlottesville, saying the administration "must do better" in condemning neo-Nazis and white supremacists. "As a Jewish-American, I will not allow neo-Nazis ranting 'Jews will not replace us' to cause this Jew to leave his job. I feel deep empathy for all who have been targeted by these hate groups. We must all unite together against them," Cohn told the Financial Times last month. Cohn met with Trump privately in the week following the protests and even drafted a resignation letter, The New York Times reported . Cohn leads the White House national economic council and is jointly guiding Trump's effort to enact tax reform with Treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin . Cohn had been rumored to be Trump's pick to succeed Janet Yellen as Fed chair, but sources told The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday that the president is "unlikely" to choose him. Read the interview on CBS News here .  CNBC's Jacob Pramuk contributed to this report.WATCH: Cohn's chances of becoming Fed chair are dropped after criticizing Trump Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon said in CBS interview that top Trump economic advisor Gary Cohn should have resigned after disagreeing with the president's reaction to violent protests in Charlottesville, Virginia. "Absolutely," Bannon said when asked if Cohn should have stepped down. "If you don't like what he's doing and you don't agree with it, you have an obligation to resign," Bannon told CBS' "60 Minutes." A segment of the interview was posted Thursday. Cohn has said he seriously considered resigning after President Donald Trump 's response to Charlottesville, saying the administration "must do better" in condemning neo-Nazis and white supremacists. "As a Jewish-American, I will not allow neo-Nazis ranting 'Jews will not replace us' to cause this Jew to leave his job. I feel deep empathy for all who have been targeted by these hate groups. We must all unite together against them," Cohn told the Financial Times last month. Cohn met with Trump privately in the week following the protests and even drafted a resignation letter, The New York Times reported . Cohn leads the White House national economic council and is jointly guiding Trump's effort to enact tax reform with Treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin . Cohn had been rumored to be Trump's pick to succeed Janet Yellen as Fed chair, but sources told The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday that the president is "unlikely" to choose him. Read the interview on CBS News here .  CNBC's Jacob Pramuk contributed to this report. WATCH: Cohn's chances of becoming Fed chair are dropped after criticizing Trump



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mess

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That's really sad.

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didn't he just have a baby? i thought this was in the past. i guess not.

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get ur life together son

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He's been to rehab several times. This is really sad. Reminds me of how badly Robert Downey Jr. did (including prison time) before he finally kicked his habit. With Jonathon, I think it's simply alcohol, not drugs, but he just can't step away from the bottle.

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addiction sucks ass

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Yep. Alcoholism has basically ruined his career, stopping it before it really started. It's horrible and sad :(

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I remember that Dracula show and he'll be in the next season of Vikings. But clearly his career has suffered from his personal struggles :(

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Man, I really hope he pulls through.

It must be tough for him and his family.

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this is so sad :(



i was watching 'bend it like beckham' the other day and i remembered why he was one of my first celebrity crushes. addiction is a bitch

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This is so sad :( Alcoholism is such a terrible disease.

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So sad

Oohhh what a hard road for him.

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Whenever I see him, which isn't often these days, I think of the other time he was escorted from an airport. That time he used a racial slur.

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I was going to say exactly the same. It's always what it comes to my mind when I think about him. In fact, the post about it here was the first time I heard about the word and I had to look what exactly was because I was scared that it was something I could have used and not even known (it was not, I never heard it before those news).

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I had to go look up the racial slur he used that time because your comment made it sound like it's something really obscure that most people wouldn't even know, so I was surprised to see it was the "n" word. I'm guessing you live in a non-English-speaking country and that's why you had never heard it before?

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Oooohh did he? smmmmmmh sigh 

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Someone here said in outtakes of the tudors, he rubbed mud all over his face and started singing "mammy" from the jazz singer. Not sure if that's true or I'm remembering it wrong.

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Dang I remember when there would be multiple posts about this guy everyday on here years ago, back when he was dating a 17 year-old actress named Reena or something



Edited at 2017-09-09 07:19 pm (UTC)

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reena hammer she was an heiress or something

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She was the daughter of one of the Ruby&Millie founders iirc

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bb :(

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AGAIN??? smh

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Didnt whoever he is with now have a baby with him? Like he needs to be in long term rehab.

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Belly up to these bar stories, brought to you by Miller Brewing Co., that explore well-loved but lesser-known taps and taverns from all corners of the city and beyond.

Theres a distillery and tasting room in town where youve likely never been. And, if you have, youre part of a fairly exclusive group who have discovered one of Milwaukees best kept secrets.

Twisted Path Distillery and its accompanying tasting room, Dock18 Cocktail Lab, are located on the Northern edge of Bay View at 2018 S. 1st St. And although GPS will get you there, finding the speakeasy-esque distillery is an adventure in itself.

When you arrive, you can park on the street or in the parking lot at the North end of the building. Then, just follow the numbers on the loading docks. Youll find both the distillery and tasting room (cleverly named Dock18), right about where the 18th dock would be, if there were one.

The door is locked, so you'll need to press the button on the Twisted Path intercom so they can buzz you in. Once youre inside the intimate tasting room, youre just a few steps away from some of the best spirits  and cocktails  in the city.

"I built a distillery where it made sense to build a distillery," explains Twisted Path Distillery owner Brian Sammons. "I wanted to be in Milwaukee, and ideally in Bay View. And the building had all the necessities, as well as space for expansion. But it was about production; it wasnt about visibility. And, in the end, that has both up-sides and down-sides. When people find us, its great. And maybe being hard to find makes us seem cooler. But, at the same time, theres so many people who havent yet found us."

Take the tour

Fortunately, there are numerous reasons to make a point of finding Twisted Path. The first is a tour of the distillery itself, which is open to the public for tours on Saturdays at 1, 3, 5 and 7 p.m.

With Sammons as host, youll get a glimpse into the distillerys operations and a peek at the still which Sammons built himself, complete with a unique heating element unlike any other.

Youll get a peek at the flavor library, an amazing collection of unusual distillates, infusions and liqueur experiments, some of which could make it to market in one form or another. Youll also taste of all of Twisted Paths spirits, which include vodka, gin, white rum and dark rum, as well as the occasional tipple of something extra special.

You might also get inside information from Sammons ... potentially about a new release like his barrel-rested gin, which is due to hit store shelves in the next six months. Or he might give you insights into his latest project: whiskey, a product which will be released in small batches, each possessing its own distinct flavor profile. In fact, if all goes well, an early test batch could be available for purchase at the distillery by the holidays.

Along the way, youll learn why Twisted Path can truly be called a "craft" distillery. Sammons started his business because he was passionate about making a superior product with high quality ingredients. Very unlike other capital ventures, Twisted Path is the story of a talented distiller trying to figure out the business, as opposed to a business guy trying to figure out how to make a decent distilled product.

The distinctions dont end there. Twisted Path is the only certified organic distillery in the State of Wisconsin. And nationally, it is among a minority of distilleries who have made the commitment to organic production. Twisted Path is also among an increasingly small percentage of distilleries that actually make their own spirits (read more in this article published in The Atlantic).

Its a differentiator that the distillery was built upon.

"Ive hung my hat on the authenticity of what I do. Were a grain to glass distillery; our products are made from scratch using raw ingredients. And theyre bottled on premise. Were sourcing organic grains from Dolan Farms in Dodgeville. The grain is stored at Lonesome Stone Milling in Lone Rock and then milled and shipped to the distillery as needed."

And then theres Twisted Paths tasting room, which is not only a place to sip Sammons' delicious dark rum, but a wonderland of creativity where talented bartenders mix up some of the best cocktails in the city.

Experience unique cocktails

Dock18, a collaboration between Twisted Path and Bittercube, serves as a laboratory of sorts for creatively constructed cocktails using Twisted Path products, unreleased small batch spirits and liqueurs made with Twisted Paths high proof vodka. And its location serves to drive its mystique.

"Everyone who comes in has a story to tell before they even walk through the door whether they walked into Enlightened Brewery by accident, or circled the block looking for us," says Brandon Reyes, bar manager at Dock18. "So, it creates a level of expectation; and we have to deliver on that. If weve done it well, they tell friends about us. And those friends tell other friends. Almost everyone that comes through the door found out about us by word of mouth."

And the proof is in the drinking. In addition to classic cocktails, Dock18 also offers a monthly themed menu featuring creative, experiential offerings that make use of seasonal ingredients, inspired house-made syrups and liqueurs and unique presentations.

The idea for themed menus came about as somewhat of an accident.

"Wed gotten violets from a local farm to make liqueur," notes Reyes. "And the day we finished the liqueur happened to be the day that Prince died. We knew we wanted to do a Prince tribute cocktail, but as we talked we decided we needed to do an entire menu dedicated to him. The response was overwhelmingly good."

It prompted them to start thinking about changing the format to include more themes. One of the first was based on the film "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas;" cocktails were themed by name and accompanied by an illustrated menu that depicted scenes from the film.

"People love that they can come in every month and have something really different," says Reyes. "And for us, as bartenders, it keeps things interesting and challenging."

Each menu finds its foundations in research, brainstorming and a visual collection of images the staff collect on the Dock18 Pinterest page. From there, its about creating the products needed for execution. And that means sourcing ingredients, making infusions and liqueurs and testing countless recipes.

"When we create a menu, were not just giving cocktails clever names," explains Reyes. "Its a multi-sensory experience. Its about incorporating ingredients that speak to the theme. Sometimes its about harnessing emotions and thoughts or triggering potential taste memories. And whenever there are visual elements that we can take advantage of, in terms of presentation, we do."

Down the rabbit hole

Alice in Wonderland is the theme for September. And it promises to be a true leap down the rabbit hole.

"It all starts with the rabbit," says Reyes. "Its an image weve played with before. In fact, it was part of the Fear and Loathing menu. And its an image that really speaks to the idea of what Dock18 is. You follow a white rabbit down a hole and you find yourself in a pretty crazy, unexpected place."

In kind, the White Rabbit cocktail is a carrot milk punch using carrot juice, pineapple and Twisted Path white rum washed with cream cheese frosting, giving it a flavor reminiscent of carrot cake.

A second drink follows Alice down the hole, where she happens upon a little door that she cant quite fit through. Nearby she finds a small vial that says "drink me," and subsequently a small cake that says "eat me."

"When we compose cocktails," notes Reyes. "Theyre generally a combination of references pulled from source material for the theme and various flavors or styles of cocktails that are inspiring us at the moment."

The cocktail  aptly named "Eat Me Drink Me"  incorporates both elements. Made with Twisted Path dark rum, housemade banana vermouth, housemade nocino (green walnut liqueur) and Bittercube Cherry Bark Vanilla bitters, it drinks like a Manhattan while mimicking elements of the flavor description of the elixir in Lewis Carrolls novel, described as tasting of "cherry tart, custard and toffee."

In keeping with the "Eat Me" premise, the cocktail will be paired with a chocolate bar from Melt Chocolate, a chocolatier whose production facility is located just steps away from Dock18 in the Lincoln Warehouse.

A third drink conjures the spirit of the smoking caterpillar. Its essentially a deconstructed Bloody Mary. But, its not like any youve tried. High proof Twisted Path vodka is infused with a combination of botanicals and tomato and then combined with clarified tomato, citric acid and Marvel Bar bitters, a soon-to-be released collaboration between Bittercube and Marvel Bar in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The cocktail is startlingly clear and its presented atop a bed of whimsical greenery and garnishes alluding to the lair of the smoking caterpillar, who sits atop his mushroom in the lush forest, asking over and over again, "Who are you?"

And "What are you?" is an apt question; after all, the cocktail evades identification as a Bloody Mary, and yet aptly captures the essence of the drink in its flavor profile.

Dock18 is open Thursday 5 p.m. to midnight, Friday 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. and Saturday from 1 p.m. to 1 a.m. Twisted Path Distillery is open for public tours on Saturdays at 1, 3, 5 and 7 p.m. Reservations are recommended for both tours and the tasting room and can be made at dock18mke.com.
Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals will headline the "Rock the Green" festival, an eco-friendly music festival that returns Saturday after a three-year hiatus. As a musician and activist, Harper and his band are seemingly a great fit for the gig.

Rock the Green takes place on Saturday, Sept. 9 at the Reed Street Yards, 222 S. 3rd St. Harper takes the stage at 8 p.m. and tickets to the show are still available.

Harper has released 12 studio albums and has toured internationally. He is a three-time Grammy Award winner, with awards for Best Pop Instrumental Performance and Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album in 2005 and Best Blues Album in 2014.

Recently, OnMilwaukee caught up with Harper to chat music, Milwaukee and activism.

OnMilwaukee: Was your willingness to play Rock The Green in part for environmental reasons?

Ben Harper: Absolutely. Its always super cool when two things that I really care about come together  in this case music and environmental awareness. Im really looking forward to it.

Your last album came out in 2016 and included the Innocent Criminals. It had been about a decade since you last made an album with them. How did it go?

It was great. It felt right, on point and matured. Im really happy that we did it.

Do you think youll make another album with the Innocent Criminals?

Im really not sure. Were going to be touring together and making live music together, but as for another studio album, Im not sure yet. I would like to make a lap steel guitar instrumental record and a reggae record, so well see after that. At this point, we're talking about 2022 or 2023 and who knows if long-plays are still going to be the medium. Maybe musicians will just release one song at a time or shorter EPs. Well see.

You have an album coming out in 2018, right?

I do. I made an album with living Blues legend Charlie Musselwhite in 2013 called "Get Up!" And I always wanted to make a follow-up record and so we did. It will come out in March of 2018. I really cannot wait for you to hear it. Ive never said this before, but it feels like the record I have lived to make. Charlie is an American icon; a jewel.

Are you still skateboarding?

Every day!

Do you worry about injury, particularly to your hands?

No, I have learned how to fall  and new ways to fall  and how to protect myself. And when Im touring, I work within my ability range and only push it when Im not being on a "touring cycle" and know I can take the time to heal up if need be.

Where is your heart in terms of activism these days?

My wife and I opened an orphanage in Calcutta, India where there is extreme child trafficking like you have never seen. Originally, my wife helped open a safe place for girls but we realized we needed to address the cause, not just the effect, and so we opened one for boys, too.

Your record with your mom, "Childhood Home," is beautiful. Have you and your mother (Ellen Chase-Verdries) always sang together?

Growing up, my mom and I sang together all the time. My mom was a professional musician but she stopped touring to raise me and my two younger brothers. When my career started to gain momentum I told my mom I wanted to make a record with her someday, but at the time she was getting her doctorate and doing other cool things. But she never stopped writing songs, and so when it finally came time, she had so much material. While I was sorting through her material and mine it was a very emotional experience. Such a great exploration.

Actually, the cover of that album is of a friend's farmhouse in Wisconsin.

Really? Thats awesome! When you think of Milwaukee and Wisconsin what comes to mind?

Summerfest, for sure. I had great times there. I also think of ice fishing, because its something Ive always wanted to do. And Im gonna date myself here, but I was a "Laverne & Shirley" fan.

Visit rockthegreen.com for sponsorship opportunities and festival updates. Stay in the know and follow Rock the Green on social media:

 Facebook: RocktheGreen

 Twitter: @rtgMKE

 Instagram: @rockthegreen
A new AI tool created to help identify certain kinds of substance abuse based on a homeless youth's Facebook posts could provide homeless shelters with vital information to incorporate into each individual's case management plan. Credit: CC0 Public Domain

A thriving ecosystem of websites that allow users to automatically generate millions of fake "likes" and comments on Facebook has been documented by researchers at the University of Iowa.

Working with a computer scientist at Facebook and one in Lahore, Pakistan, the team found more than 50 sites offering free, fake "likes" for users' posts in exchange for access to their accounts, which were used to falsely "like" other sites in turn.

The scientists found that these "collusion networks" run by spammers have managed to harness the power of one million Facebook accounts, producing as many as 100 million fake "likes" on the systems between 2015 and 2016.

A large number of "likes" can push a posting up in Facebook's algorithm, making it more likely the post will be seen by more people and also making it seem more legitimate.

Quid-pro-quo sites that give users points for liking a post in exchange for getting their own posts liked have long existed, violating Facebook's terms of service.

The researchers found that this activity has now been turbocharged because scam artists found a loophole to exploit code Facebook uses to allow third-party applications such as iMovie and Spotify to access a user's Facebook account, automating a process that formerly was manual and involved many fewer likes.

"When you become part of this network, you can say 'Give me likes on this post and as soon as you request it, you get thousands of likes on a specific post," said Zubair Shafiq, a professor of computer science at the University of Iowa in Iowa City who documented the automated networks.

Facebook told USA Today that the security flaw that made it possible for these sites to exploit users' accounts had been closed. However on Thursday, USA TODAY was able to join one of the networks and get 50 likes on a post to a newly-created Facebook page within one minute.

Facebook did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The services operate outside of the United States but hide their locations. They also disguise the fact that people who use them are engaged in activity prohibited by Facebook.

Their business model is basic: They make their money by posting ads on their sites and also selling "premium" services that allow users to get even more "likes" than they allow their regular users. Some also allow users to create fake comments that can be added to the post of their choice.

The sites operate openly, and researchers found them by entering a Google search for phrases such as "Page Liker." Among the 50 so-called collusion networks listed researchers listed was djliker.com, which described itself as "a social marketing system that will increase likes, comments and increase visits to pages."

Another claims it was set up by Indonesian students, though the contact email address given doesn't work. They offer easy-to-follow instructions and even how-to videos to walk users through signing up.

A paper outlining the research was first posted Wednesday and will be presented at the Association for Computing Machinery Internet Measurement Conference in London in November. One of the authors is Nektarios Leontiadis, a threat research scientist at Facebook.

The networks identified by these researchers do not appear to be linked to another, extensive Facebook scam involving fraudulent "likes" that Facebook said it had disrupted in April. That operation targeted popular publishers' pages with false "likes" in an attempt to gain more Facebook friends. Facebook purged millions of fake accounts connected to that scam from USA Today, one of the primary targets, and others.

In the Facebook hacking scam detected by the Iowa researcher, users are knowingly entering into a agreement to falsely obtain "likes." But they may not realize what they're giving up.

"Users think it's relatively benign, but actually they're handing over full control of their Facebook account," said Shafiq.

"They can also access all the information that's available on your profile, see your posts, get your friends list, even read your private messages. We can't tell if this information is being collected and sold to others," he said.

2017 USA Today

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
The devastation in Juchitan de Zaragoza caused by the huge earthquake that hit Mexico's Pacific coast

Police, soldiers and emergency workers raced to rescue survivors from the ruins of Mexico's most powerful earthquake in a century, which killed at least 61 people, as storm Katia menaced the country's east Saturday.

In the southern region hit hardest by the quake, emergency workers looked for survivorsor bodiesin the rubble of houses, churches and schools that were torn apart in the 8.1-magnitude quake.

President Enrique Pena Nieto said 45 people were killed in Oaxaca, 12 in Chiapas and four in Tabasco. But the actual death toll could be over 80, according to figures reported by state officials.

Meanwhile storm Katia made landfall in the east as a Category One hurricane and hours later was downgraded to a tropical storm with maximum sustained winds of 45 miles (70 kilometers) per hour.

The storm was bringing rains likely to cause "life-threatening flash floods and mudslides, especially in areas of mountainous terrain" the US National Hurricane Center said.

Katia was lashing the state of Veracruz, which borders the Gulf of Mexico, as well as parts of Hidalgo and Puebla. Forecasters were predicting the storm could unleash upwards of 25 inches (64 centimeters) of rain in some areas.

Adding to the concerns, authorities warned another massive aftershock could follow within 24 hours of the first quake.

Members of the "Topos" (Moles), a specialized rescue team, search for survivors in Juchitan de Zaragoza following the earthquake that hit Mexico

Pena Nieto toured the hardest-hit city, Juchitan in Oaxaca, where at least 36 bodies were pulled from the ruins.

The city's eerily quiet streets were a maze of rubble, with roofs, cables, insulation and concrete chunks scattered everywhere.

A crowd had formed at Juchitan's partially collapsed town hall, a Spanish colonial building where two policemen were trapped in the rubble.

Rescuers managed to extract one and were still working to save the other 18 hours after the quake.

"God, let him come out alive!" said a woman watching as four cranes and a fleet of trucks removed what remained of the building's crumbled wing.

Residents gather on a street in Mexico City on September 7, 2017, after an earthquake of magnitude 8.1, according to the US Geological Survey, struck the south and was felt as far away as the capital

His blue uniform covered in dust, Vidal Vera, 29, was one of around 300 police officers digging through the rubble. He hadn't slept in more than 36 hours.

"I can't remember an earthquake this terrible," he told AFP.

"The whole city is a disaster zone right now. Lots of damage. Lots of deaths. I don't know how you can make sense of it. It's hard. My sister-in-law's husband died. His house fell on top of him."

Record quake

A hotel mostly collapsed and many homes were badly damaged in the predominantly indigenous town of 100,000 people, which is tucked into the lush green southern mountains near the coast.

The path of hurricane Katia

The governor said tens of thousands of ration packs, blankets and cleaning kits were arriving, along with 100 federal police reinforcements with rescue dogs to search for people in the wreckage.

"The priority in Juchitan is to restore water and food supplies and provide medical attention to those affected," Pena Nieto tweeted after visiting the devastated town.

The president described the quake as "the largest registered in our country in at least the past 100 years"stronger even than a devastating 1985 earthquake that killed more than 10,000 people in Mexico City.

In Tabasco, two children were among the dead. One was crushed by a collapsing wall. Another, an infant on a respirator, died after the quake triggered a power outage.

Pope Francis, at an open air mass on a visit to Colombia, said he was praying "for those who have lost their lives and their families" in the disaster.

Map showing the epicentre of a 8.1-magnitude quake that hit the coast of Mexico late Thursday and countries in the Americas with tsunami warning

More than 200 people were injured across Mexico, officials said.

Four people were also injured in neighboring Guatemala, where President Jimmy Morales flew over affected areas and ordered urgent humanitarian assistance.

Surging waves

The epicenter of the quake, which hit late Thursday, was in the Pacific Ocean, about 100 kilometers off the town of Tonala in Chiapas.

Mexico's seismology service estimated it at 8.2 magnitude while the US Geological Survey put it at 8.1the same as in 1985, the quake-prone country's most destructive ever.

People gather on a street in Mexico City following a 8.1 magnitude earthquake that struck in the south late Thursday and was felt as far away as the capital

The quake was felt as far north as Mexico Citysome 800 kilometers from the epicenterwhere people fled their homes, many in their pajamas, after hearing sirens go off.

Officials initially issued a tsunami alert, but later lifted it. However, the quake triggered waves that reached as far as New Zealand, more than 11,000 kilometers away.

Authorities said small tsunami waves of up to 40 centimeters were recorded on the far-flung Chatham Islands, with 25 centimeter surges on the New Zealand coast, some 15 hours after the quake.

Mexico sits atop five tectonic plates, making it prone to earthquakes, and has two long coastlines that are frequently battered by hurricanes.

 2017 AFP
The US National Security Agency, which operates this ultra-secure data collection center in Utah, is one of the key US spying operations turning to artifical intelligence to help make sense of massive amounts of digital data they collect every day.

Swamped by too much raw intel data to sift through, US spy agencies are pinning their hopes on artificial intelligence to crunch billions of digital bits and understand events around the world.

Dawn Meyerriecks, the Central Intelligence Agency's deputy director for technology development, said this week the CIA currently has 137 different AI projects, many of them with developers in Silicon Valley.

These range from trying to predict significant future events, by finding correlations in data shifts and other evidence, to having computers tag objects or individuals in video that can draw the attention of intelligence analysts.

Officials of other key spy agencies at the Intelligence and National Security Summit in Washington this week, including military intelligence, also said they were seeking AI-based solutions for turning terabytes of digital data coming in daily into trustworthy intelligence that can be used for policy and battlefield action.

Social media focus

AI has widespread functions, from battlefield weapons to the potential to help quickly rebuild computer systems and programs brought down by hacking attacks, as one official described.

But a major focus is finding useful patterns in valuable sources like social media.

Combing social media for intelligence in itself is not new, said Joseph Gartin, head of the CIA's Kent School, which teaches intelligence analysis.

"What is new is the volume and velocity of collecting social media data," he said.

In that example, artificial intelligence-based computing can pick out key words and names but also find patterns in data and correlations to other eventsand continually improve on that pattern finding.

AI can "expand the aperture" of an intelligence operation looking for small bits of information that can prove valuable, according to Chris Hurst, the chief operating officer of Stabilitas, which contracts with the US intelligence community on intel analysis.

"Human behavior is data and AI is a data model," he said at the Intelligence Summit.

"Where there are patterns we think AI can do a better job."

Eight million analysts

The volume of data that can be collected increases exponentially with advances in satellite and signals intelligence collection technology.

"If we were to attempt to manually exploit the commercial satellite imagery we expect to have over the next 20 years, we would need eight million imagery analysts," Robert Cardillo, director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, said in a speech in June.

Cardillo said his goal is to automate 75 percent of analysts' tasks, with a hefty reliance on AI operations that can build on what they learn automatically.

Washington's spies are not the only ones turning to AI for future advantage: Russian President Vladimir Putin declared last week that artificial intelligence is a key for power in the future.

"Whoever becomes the leader in this sphere will become the ruler of the world," he said, according to Russian news agencies.

The challenge, US officials said, is gaining trust from the "consumers" of their intelligence productlike policy makers, the White House and top generalsto trust reports that have a significant AI component.

"We produce a presidential daily brief. We have to have really, really good evidence for why we reach the conclusions that we do," said Meyerriecks.

"You can't go to leadership and make a recommendation based on a process that no one understands."

 2017 AFP
News

Microsoft Slip-Up Suggests Skype for Business Becoming Microsoft Teams

Microsoft may have let the cat out of the bag that users of Skype for Business Online will get switched over to Microsoft Teams at some point.

The possibility of such a switch was noted in this Microsoft Tech Community discussion thread. This week, participants in that thread reported seeing an Outlook message stating that "Skype for Business is now Microsoft Teams!" The conversation was cited this week by veteran Microsoft reporter, Mary Jo Foley, who had initially speculated that Microsoft's notice was a mistake. However, more definitive language also briefly showed up in the Office 365 Message Center for some users, as noted by Microsoft Most Valuable Professional Tony Redmond in this article.

The notice in the Message Center stated that "We're upgrading Skype for Business to Microsoft Teams." It was later removed from the Message Center, according to Redmond.

In a Twitter post, Redmond stated that "Microsoft confirms Skype for Business becomes Teams." Perhaps Microsoft did that, or maybe Microsoft just leaked the concept. There's currently no confirmation from the company.

A Microsoft Tech Community post today promoting the upcoming Microsoft Ignite event happening later this month noted that Microsoft is planning to announce "exciting news" in a Monday Sept. 25 keynote talk, entitled "Microsoft 365: Transform your communications with Microsoft Teams and Skype for Business." Much of the Skype for Business talks listed in that post seem to be associated with Microsoft Teams.

Perhaps the news to come will be more about integrated capabilities, rather than some sort of a consolidation of the two services. Skype for Business Online is a separate Office 365 unified communications service enabling voice, video, presence and messaging communications. It has different capabilities from the "collaboration workspace" provided by the Microsoft Teams service, which surfaces organizational information though Office Graph search technology.

Microsoft Teams does come with Skype for Business Online communication capabilities. However, it's there to support "peer-to-peer (P2P) instant messaging only," according to a March 16 post in the Microsoft Tech Community thread by Microsoft MVP Darrell Webster.

Messaging support may not be a limitation, though. Early on, Microsoft Teams was described as having "audio calling from mobile devices, plus video on Android, which is coming soon to iOS and Windows Phone." Microsoft's Teams FAQ currently describes Microsoft Teams as "the hub for team chats, calls, meetings and messages." It seems clear that Microsoft plans to add other Skype for Business capabilities beyond messaging to Microsoft Teams.

Microsoft Teams initially was limited to internal collaborations within organizations. However, an early test capability to invite guests from outside an organization using Office 365 Groups was rolled out last month, and it has support for Microsoft Teams.
A Brazilian ex-cabinet minister was sent to prison Friday after police found his fingerprints on suitcases bursting with more than $16 million at an apartment he used in the northern city of Salvador. Federal Police arrested Geddel Vieira Lima, 58, and drove him to the Salvador airport enroute to Brasilia, footage on the news site G1 showed. The suspect was already under house arrest awaiting trial on obstruction of justice charges. An arrest warrant stated that documents and testimony, along with the fingerprints, indicated that Vieira Lima was responsible for hiding the cash. "Given the gravity of the situation," Judge Vallisney de Souza ordered "the urgent necessity" of sending Vieira Lima to prison, given that house arrest would now be "inefficient." Police also arrested Gustavo Pedreira, head of Civil Defense in Salvador state, who was identified as a Vieira Lima "emissary" who had participated in money laundering operations. The judge then ordered a search of the home of Vieira Lima's mother, stating that there was a "great probability" that further evidence could be found there. For years Vieira Lima was one of embattled President Michel Temer's confidants. He resigned last year and placed under house arrest in July. The cash, stored in suitcases and cardboard packing boxes, was discovered Tuesday during an investigation into fraud at state-owned bank Caixa Economica Federal, where Lima worked under president Dilma Rousseff. After 14 hours and with seven cash counting machines in action, police the stash amounted to more than $16 million. Until recently Vieira Lima served as a powerful ministerial-level aide to Temer, before being toppled in one of the many corruption scandals shaking the center-right government. Senior leaders across the political spectrum and high-ranking businessmen have been investigated or convicted since the sprawling "Car Wash" corruption scandal broke in 2014. The investigation centered on Petrobras, where inflated construction contracts were used by business leaders and politicians to siphon off billions of dollars. That probe led to several other cases of corruption, tainting Brazilians across the political spectrum including Temer.
Regional authorities confirmed Friday the alleged massacre of several indigenous people from an uncontacted Amazonian tribe by illegal miners in northwestern Brazil, according to the Amazonia Real news agency. Prosecutors told Amazonia Real that federal police and the Public Prosecutor's office were investigating the killings of an unspecified number of indigenous people reportedly killed in August in the Sao Paulo municipality of Olivenca, on the border with Peru and Colombia. Although the report did not confirm the death toll, suspects or weapons used, it cited other indigenous people as saying up to 20 tribal memebers were killed. Prosecutors are also investigating another complaint about the alleged killing of indigenous people from the isolated Warikama Djapar tribe. The attack would have occurred in May but has not been confirmed. Both killings would have taken place on the Vale do Javari indigenous land that lies in an area of about 8.5 million hectares (21 million acres), about 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) from Manaus, capital of Amazonas state. According to the National Indian Foundation (FUNAI), there are at least 14 references to isolated indigenous peoples in the area. Indigenous leader Adelson Kora Kanamari said in an interview with the Amazon Real portal that between 18 and 21 indigenous people "have been attacked and killed." "If these stories are confirmed, President (Michel) Temer and his government bear a heavy responsibility for this genocidal attack," Survival said. The killings were also denounced by Survival International, which said the killings allegedly took place last month but only came to light after goldminers had boasted of the killings. It said two goldminers had been arrested. Survival also condemned budget cuts to FUNAI. "All these tribes should have had their lands properly recognized and protected years ago," it said. "The government's open support for those who want to open up indigenous territories is utterly shameful, and is setting indigenous rights in Brazil back decades." A court order last week blocked a decree signed by Temer to open up a huge area of the Amazonian rainforest to large-scale mining. Speaking to Amazonia Real, Kanamari explained that the situation in the region is "very critical." "The invaders are landowners, hunters, miners. Many (indigenous) are being killed in isolation, but we don't know the exact dates or number of deaths," he said. Temer's government has come in for international criticism after rowing back on environmental and indigenous rights issues amid an economic crisis.
NAIROBI (Reuters) - Competing efforts to end South Sudan's civil war allow the government to exploit divisions among international brokers and are unlikely to halt the fighting, a confidential U.N. report said. South Sudan became the world's newest nation when it gained independence from Sudan in 2011. War broke out in late 2013 and has forced more than a quarter of its 12 million population have fled their homes. "The hostilities in South Sudan continue against a complex backdrop of competing regional and bilateral initiatives to resolve the conflict," U.N. sanctions monitors said in a report to the Security Council seen by Reuters on Friday. "These efforts suffer from several defects, including inadequate oversight, lack of enforcement and the absence of an integrated, coherent plan for peace." Among the international bodies involved in trying to bring the warring parties to the table are regional bloc IGAD, the U.N. Security Council, a troika of South Sudan's main Western backers prior to independence, and an African Union panel. The efforts of these groups are affected by "conflicting interests compounded by underlying rivalries in the region", the panel wrote, in what could refer to the role of leaders such as Uganda's Yoweri Museveni, who deployed troops in 2013 to support the Juba government and opposes an arms embargo. "The government of South Sudan has sought to exploit this division" among the competing efforts, the panel said. "Absent a significant shift toward a more coherent and unified approach" from East African nations, coupled with "broader international support for a single and inclusive political process, current efforts are unlikely to ... halt the violence in South Sudan," it said. Information Minister Michael Makuei Lueth told reporters in Juba: "There is nothing new in this report." The leaked report is by a panel mandated to document arms flows and security threats. The proliferation of diplomatic efforts has created an opportunity for parties to "forum shop", the panel wrote, saying this bought the armed groups time to organise military operations and avoid attempts to enforce a settlement. It noted the military was still able to procure weapons while opposition forces' access to arms "remains limited". The main opposition figure, Riek Machar, is under house arrest in South Africa and has declined to renounce violence. Kiir continues to buy weapons and government forces continue to attack civilians, the report said. East African leaders said in June they want the warring sides to recommit to the deal they abandoned more than a year ago. In July, Western donors said the process was no longer viable and froze support for it. There has been no comment in recent months from IGAD or the African Union about a timeline for resumption of peace talks. This week the United States imposed sanctions on two senior South Sudanese officials and the former army chief. The Security Council last December vetoed the imposition of an arms embargo recommended by the monitors. (Editing by Alison Williams)
On the inside Nairobi's Westgate mall is a shiny shopping centre, all sparkling glass shop fronts, Bose-conveyed muzak and boutiques stuffed with expensive imports. On the outside it is a fortress. Four years ago, Islamic militants raided the mall killing at least 67 people. They tossed grenades over the balustrade from the pavement then stormed through the front entrance and up the car parking ramp shooting as they went. The modus operandi was reminiscent of the Mumbai attacks five years earlier. Yet Westgate has drifted into what Caine Prize-winning Kenyan writer Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor describes as "our national propensity to amnesia for 'bad things'." Two years after the mall reopened, Westgate remains glossy and new, as if nothing happened. There's plenty for the well-heeled shopper but not even a plaque for the dead. "Westgate has been erased from the public imagination," says Patrick Gathara, a Kenyan cartoonist, blogger and curator of online publication The Elephant. "The reopening of Westgate was a narrative of triumph. That we had won somehow." On that clear September Saturday in 2013, the gunmen sought out non-Muslims and foreigners but their targeting was sloppy. They killed largely at will, for hours waylaid only by an ad hoc crew of plainclothes police and licensed civilian gun owners. - Don't ask questions - Today a repeat assault would be hard to pull off. Tall metal railings and thick bulletproof glass line the mall on the pavement side. There are metal detectors, sniffer dogs and dozens of security guards at the entrances but unarmed in line with Kenyan law. There is a 'No Stopping At Any Time' signpost close to where the terrorists stopped their car. There are cosmetic changes on the inside as well. A gourmet burger joint where many died has moved from the ground floor terrace at the entrance to the third floor food court and replaced by a noodle bar. The ground floor atrium coffee bar has been revamped, the main cafe reconfigured and the superstore - all sites of slaughter -- relocated. Other construction is still underway which means the rooftop car park where children and their parents were killed at a cookery competition is out of bounds. Gathara has pushed repeatedly and unsuccessfully for a public enquiry to answer the questions around Westgate. The government line was that security forces heroically battled as many as 15 terrorists, armed to the teeth, during a four-day siege. But in reality there were just four gunmen, the security response was too late for most of the dead who were killed in the first hours. During the subsequent days, it is alleged soldiers looted shops and blasted open safes before blowing up the rear of the building. The Government Printer, an obscure department housed in a musty downtown office, is stacked with the reports of commissions of enquiry and investigations conducted, written up, filed and forgotten. Gathara says he's often asked why he bothers, "rehashing these things that we really can't do anything about." - Condemned to repeat the past - Unlike the pure tragedies of Paris or Bamako, London or Barcelona, Kenyans know their security forces failed. Worse still, the tragedy of Westgate has been sullied and cheapened. This is one reason why Kenya has developed "a pathology of not only trying to forget but to obscure memory," said Billy Kahora, a writer and editor at the Kenyan literary network Kwani Trust. "Just throwing these things under the rug means they come up again and again and you've learned nothing," says Kahora. Two years after Westgate four more jihadist gunmen from the same Shabaab group attacked a university in the eastern town of Garissa. They held platoons of soldiers at bay while murdering 148 mostly young, Christian students. When victims' families wanted to set up a memorial for the Westgate dead, they did so alone. A monument was put up in a forest, funded by private donations, and saplings were planted. After the 2015 Garissa attack too it was left to family members and angry social activists to hold vigils. In both cases, the state was noticeably absent. "All this trauma keeps piling up on people and at some point something's got to give," says Gathara.
By Fatos Bytyci PRISTINA (Reuters) - Kosovo's newly-elected prime minister, ex-guerilla commander Ramush Haradinaj, pledged on Saturday to maintain dialogue with a former foe Serbia and put an end to endemic corruption. Haradinaj was chosen to form a new government on Thursday after his coalition struck an agreement with a smaller party, paving the way for them to take power. Lawmakers endorsed his appointment on Saturday with 61 votes in the 120-seat parliament - ending a political deadlock that has persisted since elections on June 11. "There is no alternative to dialogue with Serbia," Haradinaj told parliament. Despite "a tragic history, we can not change the fact that we are neighbours," he said. Haradinaj's coalition comprises parties made up of former guerrillas who fought Serbian forces in 1998 and 1999. That campaign led to accusations of war crimes against him, but he was acquitted twice by a United Nations war crimes tribunal. His arrest in France in January on a Serbian arrest warrant for war crimes soured relations between Belgrade and Pristina. Haradinaj said his new government would fight corruption that has been deterring investors since Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008. "We have an endemic corruption in all institutions," he said, ahead of an expected vote on his new cabinet in parliament where his party will command a slim majority. On Saturday, Belgrade officials gave support to 10 Serb deputies who have pledged to vote for Haradinaj's government in parliament in return for three ministerial posts. But opposition lawmakers criticised Haradinaj for relying on votes of Serb deputies who they say would seek Belgrade's approval for any decisions they take. "It is unfortunate that after all these years the creation of Kosovo institutions is entirely in the hands of Belgrade. This is a catastrophic cabinet," Avdullah Hoti of the opposition Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) said. Opposition MPs left the chamber as the vote took place. Central bank governor Bedri Hamza was appointed finance minister and Behgjet Pacolli, whom media refer to as the richest man in Kosovo, as foreign minister. The new government will have the difficult task of tackling 30 percent unemployment, and improving relations with Serbia, a precondition for the neighbours to move forward in their efforts to join the European Union. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, almost a decade after NATO air strikes drove out Serbian forces that had been accused of expelling and killing ethnic Albanian civilians in a two-year counter-insurgency. (Reporting by Fatos Bytyci; Editing by Ivana Sekularac and Ros Russell)
A senior North Korean official has lashed out at France after it warned Pyongyang's nuclear ambition could pose a threat to Europe, saying Paris must abandon its own atomic weapons first. Ri Tok-Son, deputy director of the foreign ministry's European department, said France's claim that a nuclear missile launched from the North could strike Europe was "preposterous". He stressed that the North's atomic arsenal was a deterrent against US nuclear threats which Paris does not face. "Recently, high ranking French politicians startled the people by saying absurd things with regards to the DPRK's (North Korea's) successful detonation of an H-bomb for ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile)," Ri said in an interview with AFP in Pyongyang on Friday. The comments came just hours before the US made a formal request for a UN Security Council vote on tough new sanctions against the repressive regime. The North conducted its sixth nuclear test a week ago -- saying it was a hydrogen bomb that could be fitted into a missile -- sparking international condemnation and calls for further measures to force an end to the perilous stand-off. French President Emmanuel Macron called on the UN Sunday to "quickly react" to the escalation and urged the European Union to come up with a "clear and united" response. His foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian warned that North Korea could have the capacity to deliver a nuclear strike on the US and even Europe "within months". In a riposte, Ri said: "They busied themselves ... making preposterous remarks like 'the nuclear missile of North Korea are military means that can strike Europe'". He did not refer to Macron or Le Drian by name. "It is ridiculous to say that the nuclear weapons of the DPRK, the deterrent force against the nuclear threat and blackmail of the US, can aim at Europe", he added. "If nuclear weapons are such bad things, then France should first give up its nuclear weapons since it is not under anyone's nuclear threat." Washington has presented a draft UN resolution calling for an oil embargo on North Korea, an assets freeze on leader Kim Jong-Un, a ban on textiles and an end to payments of North Korean guest workers. While in North Korea, which was marking the nation's founding anniversary Saturday, local media issued fresh calls for a nuclear arms buildup, in defiance of the mounting international sanctions.
MANILA (Reuters) - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Saturday ruled out the possibility of allowing Islamic State-linked militants to flee a southern city in exchange for the release of dozens of hostages. The militants seized large parts of Marawi City on the island of Mindanao in May, and a hardcore of fighters has held out through more than 100 days of air strikes and ground attacks by troops. "No way," Duterte told reporters when asked about a rumour that one rebel leader, Omarkhayam Maute, had proposed releasing hostages in exchange for the safe exit of the militants. Pockets of fighters remain in the ruins of the heart of a city devastated by artillery and bombings, in an occupation that has alarmed the region about the possibility of Islamic State, on the back foot in Iraq and Syria, making a new home in the southern Philippines. The military has launched its final push to retake Marawi, and is coming under heavy fire from gunmen as troops try to secure buildings and navigate through mines and booby-traps. The military estimates about 20 to 30 hostages are being held, some of whom it says were forced to take up arms against government troops. "If I can save one life there, I am willing to wait one year (to retake the city)" Duterte said of the hostages, after visiting wounded soldiers in Cagayan de Oro, a few hours away from Marawi. Martial law has been imposed in Mindanao, an island of 22 million people, until the end of the year, to allow the military to break up an alliance of pro-Islamic State miliant groups. On another front, the military is also fighting communist rebels of the New People's Army following a breakdown in peace talks with the government. Duterte on Saturday threatened to expand martial law to other areas of the Philippines to crack down on the insurgents. Some 655 militants, 45 civilians and 145 soldiers and policemen have been killed in Marawi, according to the military, which says it has rescued 1,728 civilians. At least 400,000 have been displaced. Army spokesman Colonal Edgard Arevalo said saving hostages was the priority of the military's mission. "We are still very mindful of the presence of civilians -guns against their heads - who were made human shields or ordered to wield firearms and ammunition, were converted to become fighters and shoot at our troops," he said in a statement. The United States has provided technical support to the Philippines military in Marawi. Visiting Manila on Friday, Australian Defence Minister Marise Payne offered a small detachment of soldiers to provide training to Philippine forces. (Reporting by Neil Jerome Morales; Editing by Martin Petty and Angus MacSwan)
Saudi Arabia on Saturday suspended any dialogue with Qatar, accusing it of distorting facts soon after a phone call between the rulers of both countries offered hope of a breakthrough in the three-month-old Gulf crisis. Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, spoke to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to express interest in talks, state media from both sides said, in the first public engagement between the leaders after the US president offered to mediate in the crisis. Saudi Arabia led the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain in cutting ties with Qatar in June, accusing it of bankrolling Islamist extremist groups and of being too close to regional rival Iran. Doha denies the accusations. The crown prince "welcomed this desire," the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) initially reported, adding "details will be announced after Saudi Arabia reaches an agreement with UAE and Bahrain and Egypt". But the prospect of a thaw quickly died down after SPA subsequently accused Qatar's state media of wrongly implying that Saudi Arabia had initiated the outreach. "The contact was at the request of Qatar and its request for dialogue," SPA said, citing a Saudi foreign ministry official. "Qatar is not serious in dialogue and continues its previous policies. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia declares that any dialogue with Qatar shall be suspended until a clear statement explaining its position is made in public." The development came after US President Donald Trump on Friday spoke separately with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE. "The President underscored that unity among the United States' Arab partners is essential to promoting regional stability and countering the threat of Iran," the White House said. "The President also emphasised that all countries must follow through on commitments... to defeat terrorism, cut off funding for terrorist groups, and combat extremist ideology." When he offered to mediate, Trump said he believed the dispute could be solved "fairly easily". - 'Climbdown from brinkmanship' - Despite the deadlock, observers said the telephone call between the Qatari and Saudi rulers itself was a sign that tensions were dissipating. "The fact that the telephone call took place and the offer of dialogue was made is significant in itself," said Kristian Ulrichsen, a fellow at the Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University. "(It) signals a climb down from the brinkmanship that has characterised so much of the Gulf standoff since June," Ulrichsen told AFP. But diplomatic efforts led by Kuwait, a key mediator in the crisis backed by Western powers, have so far failed to achieve a breakthrough. In Washington on Thursday, Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah offered Trump an upbeat assessment of his efforts so far. But in a statement early Friday, the Saudi-led bloc showed no signs of backing down as it questioned the Kuwaiti emir's statement that Qatar would be willing to accept their 13 demands. The demands include shutting Doha-based broadcaster Al-Jazeera, closing a Turkish military base in the emirate and downgrading Qatari diplomatic ties with Iran. The bloc also voiced "regret" about the Kuwaiti ruler's statement "on the success of mediation in stopping military intervention". Instead, the four Arab states stressed that "the military option has not been and will not be considered" under any circumstances. Riyadh and Doha are both key allies of the United States, which has sent mixed signals on its policy towards the nations. Trump, who chose Saudi Arabia for his first overseas visit as president in May, two weeks before the crisis erupted, immediately expressed staunch support for Saudi Arabia. Some other US officials including Secretary of State Rex Tillerson adopted a more measured tone. Qatar hosts a huge US air base, home to the headquarters of Centcom -- the regional command which leads operations against the Islamic State jihadist group. Sheikh Tamim is set to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel for talks on September 15, in what will be his first trip to a western capital since the crisis began.
By Tim Cocks DAKAR (Reuters) - Togo must go the way of other West African nations and swiftly limit presidential terms to two if it wants to prevent protests escalating into a political crisis, the United Nations envoy to the region said on Saturday. Thousands of people have taken to the streets in the past three days to demand that President Faure Gnassingbe step aside, in the most serious challenge to his family's 50-year ruling dynasty since the death of his father in 2005. Police have responded with tear gas, although avoiding the bloodshed that has tarnished previous demonstrations, and internet and phone calls have been restricted. There were no further reports of protests on Saturday, and they seemed to have died down, but the opposition said they would continue until Gnassingbe steps aside. "It has become unavoidable for Togo to join the rest of West Africa in having term limitations," U.N. Special Representative for West Africa and the Sahel Mohamed Ibn Chambas told Reuters in a telephone interview. Since Gambia's Yahya Jammeh was forced out after losing an election last December, all West African countries except Togo have accepted two-term limits on presidential office -- bucking a regressive trend across Africa to remove them and re-enable "presidents for life". "Our main perspective is to advise the Togolese to take those actions to prevent an escalation," he added. "We are in a region where the security challenges are real and menacing and so we don't want to see any deep political crisis." He said a move by Gnassingbe's government this week to propose a draft bill to reform the constitution and reintroduce a two-term limit was welcome. The opposition has rejected it because it says it would enable him to stay in power until 2030. "I suspect the devil is in the detail. We have to wait to see the formulation of the draft," Chambas said. An official in Gnassingbe's cabinet did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but Chambas said he had received assurances during his meeting with the president on Friday that he had "heard the people". The president's father Gnassingbe Eyadema seized power in a 1967 coup and ruled for 38 years before his death. He brought in a two-term limit in 1992, in response to protests, then scrapped it a decade later when he decided he wanted to run again. When he died in 2005, the military installed his son instead of the national assembly head, as was constitutionally mandated, stoking protests in which at least 500 people were killed. Faure Gnassingbe has since sought to remodel Togo as a shipping, banking and airline hub modelled on Dubai or Singapore, with some limited success in port upgrades, regional airline operator Asky and pan-African bank Ecobank. Chambas urged the government to move swiftly with changes. "My biggest fear for it to go to the national assembly and there be a total blockage. I hope there will be a clear time line...not a perception that this is a delaying tactic," he said. "That will go a long way towards building confidence." (Editing by Angus MacSwan)
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Want to boost your marketing impact? Influencer marketing is becoming an increasingly popular way of doing just that.

Influencer marketing, which entails partnering with relevant third parties who have influence with your target customers, is the marketing method that will be the focus of an upcoming event in New York. Influencer Marketing Days is slated to begin on September 25 and features speakers and sessions in a variety of niches.

For Small Business Trends readers interested in attending, you can even get a discount on tickets by using the discount code SBT15. That gets you 15 percent off conference passes.

Learn more about Influencer Marketing Days and other upcoming events by checking out the Featured Events section and the list below.

To see a full list or to submit your own event, contest or award listing, visit the Small Business Events Calendar.

Featured Events, Contests and Awards

Slack Frontiers

September 12, 2017, San Francisco, Calif.

Finding better ways for teams to work together is one of the biggest challenges facing every company and industry. Thats why Slack is introducing Frontiers on September 12  13, Pier 27, San Francisco. Slack Frontiers is a twoday conference that brings together leading thinkers, Slack customers, developers, and partners to explore how the nature of teamwork is changing. Be among the first to hear about Slacks newest products, learn how Slack improves work and workflow, and hear from customers about the ways their organizations are evolving.

Influencer Marketing Days

September 25, 2017, New York, N.Y.

IMD is the must-attend event both for marketers responsible for their companys influencer marketing campaigns, and for influencers looking to optimize monetization of their clout. #InfluencerDays

Discount Code

SBT15 (Save 15% on conference passes with code SBT15.)

ONTRApalooza

October 04, 2017, Santa Barbara, Calif.

ONTRApalooza is a three-day conference for entrepreneurs, marketers and business leaders packed to the brim with hands-on workshops, in-depth software sessions, and inspiring keynotes from leading experts. Join in on Oct. 4  6, 2017 to learn the strategies that are getting results now. Leave prepared to make a bigger impact.

Rule Breaker Awards Ceremony

October 24, 2017, Scottsdale, Ariz.

On October 24, 2017 at the Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona, the Rule Breaker Awards will honor and celebrate those entrepreneurs who have succeeded by doing it their way in a ceremony featuring the Rule Breaker of the Year and Rule Breaker Award winners.

NextCon

October 23, 2017, Scottsdale, Ariz.

At NextCon, youll gain:

 Proven techniques to garner higher customer satisfaction.

 Insider strategies from leading experts to help you provide amazing customer service.

 Methods of engaging your employees to better deliver on your customer experience.

 Hands-on training with Nextivas technology and products so you can take advantage of tools you already have, or learn about new ones.

Sales World 2017

November 08, 2017, Online

Sales World 2017 takes place November 8th to 9th, 2017, Online; Live and On Demand. It is the largest Sales Industry Event in the World and will be attended by over 10,000 Sales Professionals. Its the one sales event you cant afford to miss!

DIGIMARCON WORLD 2017  Digital Marketing Conference

November 14, 2017, Online

DIGIMARCON WORLD 2017 Digital Marketing Conference takes place November 14th to 16th, 2017. Whether your goal is to reinforce customer loyalty, improve lead generation, increase sales, or drive stronger consumer engagement, DIGIMARCON WORLD 2017s agenda will help attendees enhance their marketing efforts. Sessions will focus on building traffic, expanding brand awareness, improving customer service and gaining insight into todays latest digital tools.

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Small Business Expo 2017  Houston

October 19, 2017, Online

October 19, 2017, Online The 16th Annual Chicago Innovation Awards

October 30, 2017, Chicago, Ill.

October 30, 2017, Chicago, Ill. Sustainable Brands17

November 30, 2017, Multiple Cities

This weekly listing of small business events, contests and awards is provided as a community service by Small Business Trends.

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MDU Resources Group, Inc. engages in the regulated energy delivery, and construction materials and services businesses in the United States. The company's Electric segment generates, transmits, and distributes electricity for residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming, as well as operates 3,500 miles of transmission lines and 4,800 miles of distribution lines. Its Natural Gas Distribution segment distributes natural gas for residential, commercial, and industrial customers in Idaho, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington, and Wyoming; and offers supply-related value-added services. The company's Pipeline segment provides natural gas transportation and underground storage services through a regulated pipeline system primarily in the Rocky Mountain and northern Great Plains regions; and cathodic protection and other energy-related services. Its Construction Materials and Contracting segment mines, processes, and sells construction aggregates; produces and sells asphalt mix; and supplies ready-mixed concrete. This segment is also involved in the sale of cement, finished concrete products, and other building materials and related contracting services. The company's Construction Services segment designs, constructs, and maintains electrical and communication wiring and infrastructure, fire suppression systems, mechanical piping and services; overhead and underground electrical, gas, and communication infrastructure; and manufactures and distributes transmission lines construction equipment. It serves manufacturing, commercial, industrial, transportation, institutional, and renewable and government customers, as well as utilities. The company was founded in 1924 and is headquartered in Bismarck, North Dakota.
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.
Trinity Industries, Inc. provides rail transportation products and services under the TrinityRail name in North America. It operates in two segments, Railcar Leasing and Management Services Group, and Rail Products Group. The Railcar Leasing and Management Services Group segment leases freight and tank railcars; originates and manages railcar leases for third-party investors; and provides fleet maintenance and management services. As of December 31, 2021, it had a fleet of 106,970 owned or leased railcars. This segment serves industrial shipper and railroad companies operating in agriculture, construction and metals, consumer products, energy, and refined products and chemicals markets. The Rail Products Group segment manufactures freight and tank railcars for transporting various liquids, gases, and dry cargo; and offers railcar maintenance and modification services. This segment serves railroads, leasing companies, and industrial shippers of products in the agriculture, construction and metals, consumer products, energy, and refined products and chemicals markets. It sells or leases products and services through its own sales personnel and independent sales representatives. Trinity Industries, Inc. was incorporated in 1933 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.
21 years old Val Ismaili lives in London and studies Civil Engineering in Bristol University. But the man has a very interesting and risky hobby. He likes hiking.

Val is now in Armenia and has had a very adventurous trip here. At first he completed the 4 summits of Aragats, then walked to Batumi in 8 weeks.

Val shared his Armenian adventures with NEWS.am STYLE.

I arrived in Armenia 4 months ago! Since then Ive spent 8 weeks hiking 1500km on the Transcaucasian Trail from Meghri all the way through Armenia to finish at Batumi. I then spent more than 5 weeks working in Dilijan to help build the first hiking trail in Armenia from Dilijan-Parz Lich-Gosh-Gosh Lake. Before I came to Armenia I knew I wanted to try and complete the four summits of Aragats alone. Some of my Armenian friends kept telling me how amazing the view is from the top of the peaks, so I just had to go! On the North and East peaks, the sky was completely blue, I could see the whole of Armenia. Knowing that I had walked across the entire country was a really special feeling. By the time I reached the West peak, the weather had changed completely and it actually started snowing. It was cool to experience such different weather conditions on the same day,-says Val adding.

Yes, hiking is my hobby, it's my favorite thing to do in my free time. I never get bored of it! I also climbed Khustup (3206m) in Armenia, as well as Latraldashi (3370m) in Mestia, Georgia and mountains in Albania and Kosovo.I began my expedition in Meghri, walking through Shikahogh and Arevik NP to reach Kapan where I climbed Khustup and carried on walking to Tatev, Sisian, then through the mountains of Vaults Dzor through Artavan and to Noravank. I walked through the entire Geghama mountain range covering 120km in 4 days to then reach Dilijan where I helped build the first hiking trail in Armenia from Dilijan to Parz Lich. I then continued north towards Alaverdi and into Georgia eventually reaching Batumi.

Of course, this kind of trip couldnt pass without interesting accidents.

The trip was full of adventures from being chased by exceptionally large Armenian mountain dogs to being stuck in thunderstorms at 3000m in the Geghama range. My favorite experiences were when I was invited in by the shepherds living in the mountains and was asked to eat with them and offered a bed for the night. I don't think I'll forget those memories.

I stopped at many places. As I was always walking I had to take some days for rest when I got to the big towns like Kapan, Sisian, Areni, Sevan, Dilijan and Alaverdi. But I stopped at many other places too so I could see the history of Armenia. My favorite time was when I wasn't in cities though like the Geghama range or the forests of Syunik. There's something really special about being in the mountains alone.

Although Val was very impressed by the beauty of Armenia, he has also noticed some negative sides of it.

There are only a few things I didn't like about Armenia. I think the biggest problem was the trash that people throw on the floor. Armenia is such a beautiful country try, it's a shame to ruin it because of laziness of some people unable to carry their rubbish to a bin. I know there is the 'Clean Armenia' program to help fix the problem, so that's a good start.

Val is in Armenia for the first time, but he is sure this is not going to be the last time.

Im actually going tomorrow. So apart from eating a lot of good food in Yerevan, I don't think I'll be doing much.

I have some ideas for the future but they're not finished planning yet. Let's just say it involves a lot of walking...

I'd also like to come back to Armenia next year and help build some more hiking trails in Dilijan National Park. There is a volunteer program which local Armenians and internationals can volunteer on and learn how to build hiking trails. I've made many friends from this program and wish to come back again. This year we built 80km of hiking trail, imagine how much we can build next year if we have even more people come and help!"

Syune Arakelyan

Photos from Vals Instagram page

Follow NEWS.am STYLE on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Shinzo Abe

REUTERS/Toru Hanai

North Koreas nuclear test, by far its largest, came less than a week after it test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile that flew over northern Japan, triggering a national text-message system known as the J-Alert.

For Japan, the security implications of both these tests are immense.

The missile test showed that Kim Jong-uns regime now has the capacity to strike the Japanese mainland with relative ease, while Pyongyangs apparent grasp of hydrogen bomb technology means it could potentially vaporize a chunk of the continental US mainland.

That changes not just the magnitude of the North Korean threat, but the very foundations of Japans national security.

The USs commitment to protect Japan is currently based on the idea that the American mainland remains safe from North Korean retaliation. But faced with the reality that North Korea could soon be able to strike American soil, there is now a serious question mark over how willing the US will be to come to Japans aid while its own security is at risk.

This puts Japan in a highly difficult position. Its alliance with the US has been the bedrock of its foreign and security policies since at least the 1960s, and until now, any countermeasure against North Korea was based on the assumption that Washington will come to Tokyos help. In other words, Japan has for decades been able to invoke American military power as part of its own diplomatic clout. No more.

This long-held assumption was dashed by Donald Trumps seeming disregard for the larger implications of a military conflict with North Korea. If anything, North Korea would probably respond to US military action by deploying conventional artillery against South Korea and the massive US military presence there. As for Japan, North Korean response will either be a nuclear attack on American military installations in Japan or even an attack on Japanese cities using chemical weapons mounted on missiles currently being tested.

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In other words, the unprecedented exchange of provocative, escalatory language makes clear that a miscalculation by either the Trump administration or the Kim regime could precipitate an attack on Japan. Even the possibility of a military strike on Japan marks a significant deterioration in the regional political environment, and Trump seems to be ignorant of the consequences  or worse, willing to disregard them. That in itself is enough to put the US-Japan alliance in jeopardy.

A group of disputed islands, Uotsuri island (top), Minamikojima (bottom) and Kitakojima, known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China is seen in the East China Sea, in this photo taken by Kyodo September 2012. REUTERS/Kyodo/File Photo

Thomson Reuters

Bad neighbors

Then theres China, with whom Japans bilateral relations have markedly deteriorated since the dispute over the uninhabited Senkaku (or Diaoyu) Islands escalated in 2012.

Ideally for Japan, a Sino-US dialogue on Korean peninsula could provide a common forum for Japan and China to set aside their mutual misgivings and focus on the North Korean threat instead.

But with the two countries still mired in a territorial dispute and nationalism surging on both sides, their relationship is too poisonous for them to co-ordinate properly.

This awkwardness is complicated further by Trumps erratic approach to China. While the Trump administration thinks China holds the key to restraining North Korea, in reality, there is not much China can do. Beijing doesnt want North Korea to implode under economic pressure, and the last thing it wants is for South Korea to absorb North Korea.

While Beijing might feel blackmailed and wrong-footed by Pyongyang, it will not countenance sharing a border with a heavily militarized US ally. In short, all China can do is to hope that the tensions subside without a military escalation.

Will Japan go nuclear itself? It certainly has the know-how and the technology, but the domestic opposition would be immense  as proven by unusually large student protestsagainst the governments constitutional changes to expand the military'ss role. More than that, South Korea and other East Asian countries might well follow suit rather than be left behind. Its hardly a recipe for shoring up ones own sense of security.

This leaves Japan very lonely in what it thinks is a very dangerous neighborhood. Despite the so-called shuttle diplomacy between Japan and South Koreas leaders, meant to ensure the two are as communicative as possible, the US and Chinas behavior is what matters. Indeed, Sino-Japanese tensions show no sign of subsiding  not an encouraging development when the prospect of a nuclear war is more real than ever.

Japan is in a bind. It can do hardly anything alone, and the American nuclear umbrella is increasingly becoming a liability rather than an asset. North-east Asia is suddenly a truly dangerous place.

And in its efforts to keep safe, Japan is feeling increasingly alone.

NOW WATCH: NASA released rare footage of the SR-71  the fastest plane to ever exist

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A 13-year-old girl who died of a brain aneurysm has helped a record eight different people through organ donation.

Jemima Layzell died in March 2012 four days after collapsing as her family prepared a party for her mothers 38th birthday.

In total, eight of her organs were donated  her heart, small bowel, pancreas, both kidneys, both lungs, and her liver was split and transplanted into two people. The eight different recipients included five children from different parts of the country.

A search of the donors who have helped the most people has shown that Jemima, from Horton in Somerset, is the only recorded donor in the UK whose solid organs have been transplanted into eight different people. A typical donation usually results in 2.6 transplants.

Jemimas mother Sophy Layzell, 43, said they had discussed organ donation just a few weeks before her shock death.

Unsettling  Jemima, pictured here with sister Amelia, had found organ donation unsettling but understood the importance of it, her mother said (Picture: PA)

The conversation was prompted by the death of someone we knew in a crash, she said. They were on the register but their organs couldnt be donated because of the circumstances of their death.

Jemima had never heard of organ donation before and found it a little bit unsettling but totally understood the importance of it.

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She added: We found the decision to donate Jemimas organs hard but we both felt it was right and we knew she was in favour of donation.

We had no idea Jemima was the only person whose organs were transplanted into eight different people until NHS Blood and Transplant told us. Everyone wants their child to be special and unique and this among other things makes us very proud.

Story continues

Waiting lists  According to NHS Blood and Transplant, 457 people died waiting for a transplant last year (Picture: Getty)

She revealed that Jemimas father Harvey, 49, had initially felt unsure about donating her heart but any reservations the couple had had been changed after watching a programme about children awaiting heart transplants shortly after Jemimas death.

It affirmed for us that saying no would have been denying eight other people the chance for life, especially over Jemimas heart, which Harvey had felt uncomfortable about donating at the time, she added.

We feel its very important for families to talk about organ donation. Every parents instinct is to say no, as we are programmed to protect our child. Its only with prior knowledge of Jemimas agreement that we were able to say yes.

Jemima was lovely  clever, funny, compassionate and creative  and we feel sure she would be very proud of her legacy.

According to NHS Blood and Transplant, 457 people died waiting for a transplant last year, including 14 children, and there are currently 6,414 people on the transplant waiting list, including 176 children.

Anthony Clarkson, NHS Blood and Transplants assistant director of organ donation and transplantation, said: Every donor is special and Jemimas unique story shows the extraordinary difference a few words can make.

Hundreds of people are still dying unnecessarily waiting for a transplant because too many families say no to organ donation.

Please tell your family you want to donate, and if you are unsure, ask yourself: if you needed a transplant would you accept one? If so, shouldnt you be prepared to donate?

(Top picture: PA)
By Michelle Martin BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's Greens on Saturday all but ruled out a three-way coalition with Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives and the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) after the Sept. 24 election and a conservative said such an alliance would not be ideal. Polls show Merkel's conservatives are likely to win the election with around 38 percent of the vote but will be left in need of a coalition partner. Their rival Social Democrats (SPD) are lagging on around 22 percent. Possible coalition options include a repeat of the current 'grand coalition' between the conservatives and SPD or a 'Jamaica coalition' of the conservatives, FDP and Greens - the name referring to the black, yellow and green colours of the Jamaican flag. Katrin Goering-Eckhardt, one of the Greens' two top candidates, told regional newspaper Passauer Neue Presse: "I can't imagine Jamaica." Coalitions tend to be tested at the state level before they are formed at the national level. A Jamaica alliance was formed in the coastal state of Schleswig-Holstein after Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) won an election there in May. But Goering-Eckhardt said the Greens and FDP had "diametrically opposed positions" on issues including climate protection, emission thresholds for clean cars and refugees. "I can't see how it could work at the national level," she said. FDP leader Christian Lindner told Focus magazine he was also unable to envisage a Jamaica coalition given the hurdles to reaching agreement with the Greens on immigration and energy. Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere, a senior conservative, told regional newspaper Rheinische Post neither the conservatives nor the SPD wanted to continue the current 'grand coalition' because it "is not good for democracy", referring to the small parliamentary opposition that such a tie-up leaves. But he added that it would be harder to reach agreements with the Greens and FDP on domestic security than it has been with the SPD. "From a security perspective it would be good if the conservative bloc could choose a two-way alliance," he said. Cem Ozdemir, the Greens' other top candidate, said in an interview with Tagesspiegel am Sonntag newspaper that his party wanted to be in the next federal government, which he suggested would be formed by Merkel: "The race for first place seems to be over - Angela Merkel is out in front." But the latest polls show Merkel's conservatives and the Greens would not be able to muster enough support between them to form a two-way alliance. While support for the Greens has dropped to single digits this year - it is on 8 percent in the latest polls - a Forsa survey published this week showed half of Germans would welcome the Greens being part of the post-election government. Merkel on Saturday reiterated her warning to voters about a coalition between the SPD, radical Left party and Greens, telling voters in the southwestern city of Reutlingen that a red-red-green tie-up would be "bad for our country" and Germany should not embark on any experiments at a time of uncertainty. A red-red-green alliance, which had seemed a possible option early this year, has not been able to get a majority in polls for weeks. (Reporting by Michelle Martin; Editing by Ros Russell and Dale Hudson)
By Krisztina Than BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Hungary will not change its anti-immigration stance after the European Union's top court dismissed a challenge against migrant quotas, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday. The EU's highest court ruled on Wednesday that member states must take in a share of refugees who reach Europe, dismissing the challenge by Slovakia and Hungary and re-igniting an east-west row that has shaken EU cohesion. "We must take note of the ruling as we cannot erode the foundation of the EU - and respect of law is the foundation of the EU - but at the same time this court ruling is no reason for us to change our policy, which rejects migrants," Orban told state radio. The Mediterranean migrant crisis of 2015 flooded the Balkans, Italy and Greece with migrants, which prompted the EU to impose mandatory quotas on its member countries for relocating asylum seekers. The flow of migrants has receded, easing pressure to force compliance on nationalist leaders like Orban, who is benefiting from his tough anti-immigrant policies as elections approach in 2018. Now that the legal challenge has failed, Orban said he would pursue a political fight to force the EU to change its mandatory migrant quotas. "The whole issue raises a very serious question of principles: whether we are an alliance of European free nations with the Commission representing our joint interests, or a European empire which has its centre in Brussels and which can issue orders," Orban said. He said EU countries which let in migrants, unlike Hungary, decided to do so of their own will and now they cannot ask Hungary to take a part in correcting their mistake. "It is not us Hungarians who question the rules of the club, but the Commission had changed the rules and this is unacceptable," Orban added. He said that unlike some of the major member states of the EU, whose colonial legacy has made them "immigrant countries", Hungary did not have a colonial past. "These countries with colonial legacy, which have become immigrant countries by now, want to impose on us Central Europeans their own logic ... but Hungary does not want to become an immigrant country," Orban said. At the same time, he said Hungary was committed to EU membership, because Hungarians had decided in a referendum to join the bloc in 2004. "No government can lead Hungary out of the EU as it was the Hungarian people which decided to be inside and this is right." (Reporting by Krisztina Than, editing by Larry King)
MANILA (Reuters) - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Saturday ruled out the possibility of allowing Islamic State-linked militants to flee a southern city in exchange for the release of dozens of hostages. The militants seized large parts of Marawi City on the island of Mindanao in May, and a hardcore of fighters has held out through more than 100 days of air strikes and ground attacks by troops. "No way," Duterte told reporters when asked about a rumour that one rebel leader, Omarkhayam Maute, had proposed releasing hostages in exchange for the safe exit of the militants. Pockets of fighters remain in the ruins of the heart of a city devastated by artillery and bombings, in an occupation that has alarmed the region about the possibility of Islamic State, on the back foot in Iraq and Syria, making a new home in the southern Philippines. The military has launched its final push to retake Marawi, and is coming under heavy fire from gunmen as troops try to secure buildings and navigate through mines and booby-traps. The military estimates about 20 to 30 hostages are being held, some of whom it says were forced to take up arms against government troops. "If I can save one life there, I am willing to wait one year (to retake the city)" Duterte said of the hostages, after visiting wounded soldiers in Cagayan de Oro, a few hours away from Marawi. Martial law has been imposed in Mindanao, an island of 22 million people, until the end of the year, to allow the military to break up an alliance of pro-Islamic State militant groups. On another front, the military is also fighting communist rebels of the New People's Army following a breakdown in peace talks with the government. Duterte on Saturday threatened to expand martial law to other areas of the Philippines to crack down on the insurgents. Some 655 militants, 45 civilians and 145 soldiers and policemen have been killed in Marawi, according to the military, which says it has rescued 1,728 civilians. At least 400,000 have been displaced. Army spokesman Colonal Edgard Arevalo said saving hostages was the priority of the military's mission. "We are still very mindful of the presence of civilians -guns against their heads - who were made human shields or ordered to wield firearms and ammunition, were converted to become fighters and shoot at our troops," he said in a statement. The United States has provided technical support to the Philippines military in Marawi. Visiting Manila on Friday, Australian Defence Minister Marise Payne offered a small detachment of soldiers to provide training to Philippine forces. (Reporting by Neil Jerome Morales; Editing by Martin Petty and Angus MacSwan)
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's newly installed ambassador to Washington said on Friday that he had had a warm and constructive meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, Russian news agencies reported. "I was received by President Trump, I presented my credentials. For my part I said that we are looking forward to an improvement in the relations between our two countries," Tass news agency quoted the ambassador, Anatoly Antonov, as saying. "President Trump received me in a warm and friendly way ... The atmosphere was very genial, constructive and welcoming. At least, that was my personal feeling," Russia's RIA news agency quoted Antonov as saying. "We, together with his colleagues, his staff, agreed to continue our cooperation." "I said that I look forward to working with the U.S government in the area of Russian-American mutual interests. And I said that, as far as Russia is concerned, we are ready to do that, we're ready to take concrete steps." Antonov took over as ambassador from Sergei Kislyak, whose contacts with members of Trumps campaign team made him a central figure in the row over Russian influence on last year's U.S. presidential election. A special counsel and congressional panels are investigating allegations of Russian meddling in the election, and whether members of the Trump campaign had improper contacts with figures linked to the Russian state. Russia denies trying to interfere in the election. Antonov, born in 1955, is a diplomat by training and before his posting to Washington was a deputy foreign minister. Between 2011 and 2016, he served as deputy defence minister, a period that coincided with Moscows annexation of Ukraine's Crimean peninsula. Two years ago, the European Union put him on its list of officials subject to Ukraine-related sanctions, citing his involvement in supporting the deployment of Russian troops to Ukraine. (Writing by Christian Lowe; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
By Sarah Dadouch and Jeffrey Heller BEIRUT/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel attacked a military site in Syria's Hama province early on Thursday, the Syrian army said, and a war monitoring group said the target could be linked to chemical weapons production. The air strike killed two soldiers and caused damage near the town of Masyaf, an army statement said. It warned of the "dangerous repercussions of this aggressive action to the security and stability of the region". The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the war, said the attack was on a facility of the Scientific Studies and Research Centre, an agency which the United States describes as Syria's chemical weapons manufacturer. It came the morning after U.N. investigators said the Syrian government was responsible for a sarin poison gas attack in April. Syria's government denies using chemical arms. In 2013 it promised to surrender its chemical weapons, which it says it has done. The Observatory said strikes also hit a military camp next to the centre that was used to store ground-to-ground rockets and where personnel of Iran and its ally, the Lebanese Hezbollah group, had been seen more than once. An Israeli army spokeswoman declined to discuss reports of a strike in Syria. Syria's foreign ministry has sent letters to the U.N. Security Council protesting against Israel's "aggression" and saying anyone who attacked Syrian military sites was supporting terrorism, Syrian state TV reported. In an interview in Israel's Haaretz daily last month on his retirement, former Israeli air force chief Amir Eshel said Israel had hit arms convoys of the Syrian military and its Hezbollah allies nearly 100 times in the past five years. Israel sees red lines in the shipment to Hezbollah of anti-aircraft missiles, precision ground-to-ground missiles and chemical weapons. ISRAELI SIGNAL? The reported attack took place on the 10th anniversary of Israel's destruction of a nuclear reactor in Syria. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is due to address the U.N. General Assembly on Sept. 19, and is widely expected to voice Israel's concern over what it sees as attempts by Iran to broaden its military foothold in Syria and threats posed by Hezbollah Israeli officials have said that Russia, another ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and Israel maintain regular contacts to coordinate military action in Syria. Some Israeli commentators saw the latest strike - a departure from the previous pattern of attacks on weapons convoys - as a show of Israeli dissatisfaction with the United States and Russia. Last month, Netanyahu met Russian President Vladimir Putin, but came away without any public statement from Moscow that it would curb Iranian influence. Hezbollah and Israel fought a brief war in 2006 in which more than 1,300 people died. Both have suggested that any new conflict between them could be on a larger scale than that one. Hezbollah has been one of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's most important allies in the war and last month its leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said he had recently travelled to Damascus to meet the Syrian president. Israel is conducting military exercises in the north of the country near the border with Lebanon. Yaakov Amidror, a retired Israeli general and former national security adviser, told reporters he assumed Thursday's strike was linked to Nasrallah's visit to Damascus. "Weapons systems have been transferred from this organisation (the Scientific Studies and Research Centre) into the hands of Hezbollah during the years," he said. HEZBOLLAH In May, an official in the military alliance backing Assad said that Hezbollah drew a distinction between Israel striking its positions in Syria and at home in Lebanon. "If Israel strikes Hezbollah in Lebanon, definitely it will respond," the official said. The Syrian army statement said the Israeli strike came at 2:42 a.m. (2342 GMT) from inside Lebanese airspace. It said it had been launched in support of Islamic State. Jets flying over Lebanon overnight broke the sound barrier and Lebanese media reported that Israeli warplanes had breached Lebanese airspace. The Observatory reported that seven people were killed or wounded in the strike. "The factory that was targeted in Masyaf produces the chemical weapons and barrel bombs that have killed thousands of Syrian civilians," Amos Yadlin, a former head of Israeli military intelligence, said in a tweet. The strike sent a message that Israel would not let Syria produce strategic weapons, would enforce its own red lines, and would not be hampered by Russian air defence systems in Syria, he added. The U.N. Commission of Inquiry on Syria said on Wednesday a government jet dropped sarin on Khan Sheikhoun in Idlib province in April, killing more than 80 civilians, and that government forces were behind at least 27 chemical attacks. U.S. President Donald Trump said he had not heard a report that Syria had used chemical weapons again. "But nothing would change. We would be extremely upset if he was using chemical weapons," he said in response to a question at a news conference in Washington. "As far as Syria is concerned, we have very little to do with Syria other than killing ISIS. What we do is we kill ISIS." (Reporting by Angus McDowall and Sarah Dadouch in Beirut and Jeffrey Heller, Ori Lewis, Dan Williams and Maayan Lubell in Jerusalem; writing by Angus McDowall; editing by Angus MacSwan, Andrew Roche and Jonathan Oatis)
By Malena Castaldi MONTEVIDEO (Reuters) - Uruguay's Vice President Raul Sendic resigned on Saturday amid accusations that he misused public funds while heading state oil company Ancap. He first made the announcement at a special meeting of the Frente Amplio (FA) governing party. "I presented to the plenary of the FA my irreversible resignation from the vice presidency. I also told President Tabare Vazquez," Sendic wrote in a tweet. The party's ethics committee has ruled that Sendic used his Ancap credit cards to buy personal items including books and furniture. He headed the oil company from 2008 to 2009 and 2010 to 2013. It was the first time a Uruguayan vice president has quit the job, but the scandal should have little effect on policy. For years Uruguay has mixed progressive social policy, such as legalizing marijuana, with market-friendly regulations that have allowed the country to become known as the "Switzerland of the South," thanks to the low taxes it puts on financial assets. Uruguay's constitution says Sendic should be replaced by the senator who received the most votes in the last elections. But that person is former President Jose "Pepe" Mujica, who by law could not assume the responsibilities of president should something happen to Vasquez. Next in line would be the Senator with the second biggest number of votes. That person is Mujica's wife Lucia Topolansky. (Writing by Hugh Bronstein; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Alistair Bell)
Its never too late to enroll at Napa Valley College. Its also never too early, as Christopher Olivier of Napa will attest.

Olivier, 13, enrolled in nine units at Napa Valley College this summer  in math, business and welding. This fall, during his first year of high school, he planned to enroll in digital art and graphics, political science and library services.

Hes able to attend NVC for free, since the college board of trustees decided in June to waive fees for high school students.

In addition, Olivier has become a provisional member of the college honor society, Phi Theta Kappa.

I have been wanting to take classes that are not normally offered in high school, said Christopher.

I had chosen personal money management, a business class, because I do want to be prepared financially for my future, and the math class, because I did not feel I had a strong structure during my middle school years.

I have always wanted to learn how to weld, but not just weld. I wanted to learn the theory and academic side of welding. I have dreamed about designing a super-car since I was 8. I want to continue to take welding, design and engineering classes, along with various math classes while Im in high-school.

He is thrilled for the opportunities that have been extended, said Oliviers mother, Leti, also a Napa Valley College student.

Christopher is no stranger to community service.

In 2008, before he turned 5, he volunteered to bring attention to food allergies for the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network as a walk ambassador.

Two years later, he took up photography. In 2014, at age 10, he launched the Northern California Allergy and Asthma Advocates.

In 2015 he distributed books to victims of the Middletown fire, and continued to distribute donated books to people of all ages, including Napas homeless population. He also began to collect shoes for Soles4Souls.

In 2016 he launched Napa County Kids Care, making Valentines Day cards for local veterans.

In 2017 he was nominated as Youth Volunteer of the Year by the Center for Volunteer & Nonprofit Leadership.

This summer he graduated eighth grade and enrolled at Napa Valley College. He is planning to become a mechanical engineer.

He and his mother are working with Karen Kenkel, director of Next Generation Learning Academy of Santa Rosa, to allow Christopher the flexibility to take high school classes while attending college.

What impresses me about Christopher is his maturity, thoughtfulness, self-awareness and commitment at such a young age to his own learning, said Kenkel. Hes in in the drivers seat, driving the application to attend NGLA.

Also, hes been deeply involved in self-motivated community services, partly due to his own struggle with asthma, but also because he wants to help others.

His parents, Rich and Leti, have strived to support Christopher on all levels, said his mother. We look for ways to challenge and engage Chris intellectual curiosity and ambitious goals.

The Oliviers own TEM Machine Shop in Napa, where Rich had been working since he was a teen.
Trex Company, Inc. manufactures and distributes decking, railing, and outdoor living products and accessories for residential and commercial markets in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Trex Residential and Trex Commercial. It offers decking products under the names Trex Transcend, Trex Select, and Trex Enhance for protection against fading, staining, mold, and scratching; Trex Hideaway, a hidden fastening system; and Trex DeckLighting, a LED dimmable deck lighting for use on posts, floors, and steps. The company also provides Trex Transcend Railing products that are used in Trex decking products and other decking materials; Trex Select Railing products for a simple clean finished look; Trex Enhance Railing system; and Trex Signature aluminum railing for a contemporary look. In addition, it offers Trex Seclusions, a fencing product that includes structural posts, bottom and top rails, pickets, and decorative post caps. In addition, it designs, engineers, and markets architectural and aluminum railing systems, and staging equipment and accessories for the commercial market, as well as sports stadiums and performing arts venues. Further, the company acts as a licensor in various licensing agreements with third parties to manufacture and sell products under the Trex name, including Trex Outdoor Furniture; Trex RainEscape, an above joist deck drainage system; Trex Pergola, a cellular PVC product; Trex Latticeworks outdoor lattice boards; Trex Cornhole boards; Diablo Trex Blade, a saw blade for wood-alternative composite decking; Trex SpiralStairs and structural steel posts; and Trex Outdoor Kitchens, Cabinetry, and Storage products. It sells its products through wholesale distributors, retail lumber dealers, and Home Depot and Lowe's stores, as well as through its direct sales staff, independent sales representatives, and bidding on projects. Trex Company, Inc. was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Winchester, Virginia.
One of the less heralded  albeit, one of the more important  of the many clashes between Sacramento and Washington these days has to do with accountability for educating the states 6-plus million K-12 students.

Gov. Jerry Brown, state schools Supt. Tom Torlakson and the state Board of Education have indicated by word and deed that they want soft oversight of how local schools are performing. Thats particularly true regarding how well schools are using billions of dollars in extra state aid to close the achievement gap separating poor, Latino and black students from their more affluent white and Asian classmates.

The lack of strict accountability pleases the education establishment, but grates on civil rights and education reform groups, informally organized as an equity coalition, and with Brown and the Legislature unwilling to act, members of the coalition have often turned to the courts to press their cause.

There is, however, one more battlefield for Californias perpetual war over public education, a federal law signed by former President Barack Obama called the Every Child Succeeds Act or ESSA.

ESSA requires some of the stricter accountability provisions, particularly relating to underachieving students, that the equity coalition would like to see the state adopt, so it is pressing Brown, Torlakson and the state Board of Education for a full response to the federal mandates  so far unsuccessfully.

Among other things, ESSA directs states to demonstrate how they use federal money to identify and raise achievement for the lowest-performing 5 percent of schools and the lowest-performing groups of students in all schools.

Thats the sort of oversight that school reformers want to see at the state level and hope that if the feds force California to comply, it will bolster the case for tighter state-level accountability.

However, Torlakson and the state school board are adopting a minimalist approach to the federal law, and the equity coalition is complaining loudly.

A recent letter to board president Michael Kirst from EdVoice, one of the leading coalition members, calls Torlaksons latest version woefully incomplete in meeting minimum federal criteria  to promote basic transparency of academic outcomes, particularly in high school, and intentional programming of resources to enhance, rather than supplant, state and local activities in support of equity for disadvantaged students.

Other groups are chiming in with similar criticism, as Kirsts board prepares to finalize its ESSA response. Critics also received a jolt of support last week from an analysis by a national education study organization, finding that Californias response is subpar.

The report came from Bellwether Education Partners, which studied how states are dealing with ESSA, and it gave California low ratings, just one or two points on a five-point scale, in six of nine categories. Bellwether was especially critical of how California would identify and improve the lowest-performing schools  the crux of the reformers criticism.

It is pointedly critical of the states newly adopted dashboard accountability system, which it would use to respond to the federal requirements, echoing reformers complaints that it is unclear how it will be measured and incorporated into an overall measure of school quality.

California receives about $2.6 billion in federal school aid, or about 9 percent of overall K-12 spending, so the stakes are not immense. Even losing that aid  the potential penalty for ESSA noncompliance  would not be catastrophic.

However, if the state cannot meet even basic accountability standards for how it educates its 3.5 million high-needs students, it demonstrates callous disregard for their welfare, and the states future. Its the right thing to do, even if there were no federal law requiring it.
Thomson Reuters Corporation provides business information services in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It operates in five segments: Legal Professionals, Corporates, Tax & Accounting Professionals, Reuters News, and Global Print. The Legal Professionals segment offers research and workflow products focusing on legal research and integrated legal workflow solutions that combine content, tools, and analytics to law firms and governments. The Corporates segment provides a suite of content-enabled technology solutions for legal, tax, regulatory, compliance, and IT professionals. The Tax & Accounting Professionals segment offers research and workflow products focusing on tax offerings and automating tax workflows to tax, accounting, and audit professionals in accounting firms. The Reuters News segment provides business, financial, and international news to media organizations, professional, and news consumers through news agency and industry events. The Global Print segment offers legal and tax information primarily in print format to legal and tax professionals, governments, law schools, and corporations. The company was formerly known as The Thomson Corporation and changed its name to Thomson Reuters Corporation in April 2008. The company was founded in 1851 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada. Thomson Reuters Corporation operates a subsidiary of The Woodbridge Company Limited.
Williams-Sonoma, Inc. operates as an omni-channel specialty retailer of various products for home. It offers cooking, dining, and entertaining products, such as cookware, tools, electrics, cutlery, tabletop and bar, outdoor, furniture, and a library of cookbooks under the Williams Sonoma Home brand, as well as home furnishings and decorative accessories under the Williams Sonoma lifestyle brand; and furniture, bedding, lighting, rugs, table essentials, and decorative accessories under the Pottery Barn brand. The company also provides home decor products under the West Elm brand; kids accessories under the Pottery Barn Kids brand; and an organic bedding to multi-purpose furniture under the Pottery Barn Teen brand. In addition, it offers made-to-order lighting, hardware, furniture, and home decors inspired by history under the Rejuvenation brand; and women's and men's accessories, travel, entertaining and bar, home decor, and seasonal items under the Mark and Graham brand, as well as operates a 3-D imaging and augmented reality platform for the home furnishings and decor industry. The company markets its products through e-commerce websites, direct-mail catalogs, and retail stores. It operates 544 stores comprising 502 stores in 41states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico; 20 stores in Canada; 19 stores in Australia; 3 stores in the United Kingdom; and 139 franchised stores, as well as e-commerce websites in various countries in the Middle East, the Philippines, Mexico, South Korea, and India. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. was founded in 1956 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.
Copyright  2017 Albuquerque Journal

New Mexico Credit Union Association CEO Paul Stull is rallying the states credit unions into action to aggressively push for federal standards to protect consumers against cyber crime following credit-reporting company Equifax Inc.s announcement Thursday of a potentially massive breach of its data systems.

Stull said the breach, which could impact about 143 million U.S. consumers, was a disaster waiting to happen, because of the lack of federal laws to force adequate cyber protection by firms like Equifax.

Worse, he said, the company waited 41 days to notify the public, and before doing so, three executives sold a combined $1.8 million in stock. Equifax has said the executives in question did not know about the breach before the stock sales.

Congress has failed the American public, and, today, 143 million people are going to pay the price, Stull said in a statement.

The New Mexico Attorney Generals Office says it is investigating the Equifax breach.

We are investigating the breach, including allegations of using delay tactics to sell stocks and not comply with other regulations and laws, said AG spokesman James Hallinan. Attorney General Hector Balderas will take all steps within our power to investigate and pursue remedies for impacted New Mexicans, However, we cannot share the details of any such investigation at this time.

Stull will lead a delegation of local credit union executives to Washington, D.C., later this month to press New Mexicos congressional representatives to push for federal legislation that imposes uniform, nationwide standards for cybersecurity and public disclosure of data breaches by companies.

We must take action on setting standards and laws, Stull said. We will speak up and speak out to be heard on this issue.

Impact on NM

The Equifax breach is smaller than other incidents of cyber theft in recent years in terms of total number of people affected. But given the broad access hackers gained to sensitive personnel information  including customers names, social security numbers, birth dates, addresses and, in some cases, drivers licenses  the damage to consumers could be immense.

That information could potentially be used by criminals to not just access current bank accounts, but to take out new loans or credit cards. Stull called it breathtaking in scope.

Although its unclear how many New Mexico consumers may be directly affected, with one-half of the U.S. populations data at stake, its fair to assume about one-half of the local population will be affected as well, Stull said.

Its safe to say more New Mexicans than not will be impacted, he said.

Notification laws

Credit unions and other financial institutions have pushed for years for federal cybersecurity standards that clearly delineate responsibilities for companies that manage consumer data. But to date, only state-level laws exist.

A new data breach notification act took effect in New Mexico last April after the state Legislature approved it in this years session and Gov. Susana Martinez signed it into law.

The act mandates reasonable security measures by organizations that manage personal data, with public notification of data breaches required within 45 days after being discovered.

Only two states, Alabama and North Dakota, have not enacted data breach notification laws. But the standards vary widely among states, with some requiring public notification within 25 days of a breach, said Michael Barrio, spokesman for the public relations firm Leverage Point, which represents the New Mexico Credit Union Association.

For us, Equifax shows the critical need for uniform standards through federal statutes that must be adhered to by everyone, Barrio said.

Other countries impose much stricter mandates.

In the European Union, data breach standards require notification in just 72 hours, Stull said. Equifax took 41 days, and we still dont know the full impact of what happened.

Standards needed

National and local banking associations also want clear federal standards and mandates. The American Banking Association, for example, has made cybersecurity legislation one of its key priorities, said New Mexico Banking Association Vice President John Anderson.

We do need good, stiff federal regulations, not just state legislation, because these are interstate commerce issues, Anderson said.

But its questionable whether federal standards will change the vulnerability of data management institutions given the rapidly evolving sophistication of cyber criminals.

With technology moving as fast as it does in todays world of hackers, new cyber security protections can become antiquated almost as soon as its out of the box, Anderson said. It seems almost like Jell-O where you stomp down in one place and it pops up elsewhere. Its very hard to keep up.

But with data management growing exponentially, cybersecurity experts say uniform federal standards are important to ensure adequate protection by all firms large and small.

We want everyone to be self-vigilant and self-governing and to uphold their fiduciary responsibilities, but when that doesnt work, we absolutely need regulations to enforce it, said Srinivas Mukkamala, co-founder and CEO of the Albuquerque-based cybersecurity firm RiskSense. The government must define the responsibilities of companies, not just to their shareholders, but to the public.
DIANE GIBSON

Crime  especially burglaries and auto theft. We need police patrolling neighborhoods again. We should hire more officers via college campus recruitment, but we should also better manage our resources by dispatching only the needed number of officers to calls.

2. What measures should the city take to encourage infill development in the near Northeast Heights?

Infill projects will be more successful when inconsistencies and inefficiencies are eliminated with the new Integrated Development Ordinance that updates our zoning regulations and processes while raising the bar for quality and appropriateness of development while protecting single-family residential neighborhoods.

3. What do you believe is the optimum number of officers for APD and what, if anything, would you do to reach that number?

The CASA study recommended 1,000 officers, which should be our minimum goal. We should recruit from college campuses using our most personable and passionate officers. I sponsored one such event at the University of New Mexico campus and Im glad to do more.

4. In what circumstances, if any, would you support raising taxes? Which taxes would you be receptive to increasing?

Declining gross receipts taxes have resulted in cutbacks to city departments and critical services. I would prefer first to address taxing Internet sales. Any increase should be taken to voters.

5. In recent years, the city has been issuing revenue bonds to pay for major capital projects. Would you support the continued use of revenue bonds to fund capital projects?

Revenue bonds should be utilized sparingly and rarely. Gross receipts tax, the source for their repayment, is a volatile revenue stream that makes budgeting for city operations challenging.

6. What plans do you have to raise the quality of life for Albuquerque residents?

I have invested in our parks, libraries, and community centers that create welcoming environments and a diversity of activities.

This summer I am establishing an ad hoc committee to research and recommend options for vacant problem homes that diminish quality of life.

7. The Healthy Workforce Ordinance has garnered both praise and criticism. If approved by voters on Oct. 3 , the ballot initiative will require any business with a physical presence in Albuquerque to provide paid sick time off to full-time, part-time and temporary workers. Supporters argue that the ordinance would ensure that workers dont have to choose between their paychecks and caring for themselves or a loved one. Opponents argue that it would hurt businesses because of higher costs and record-keeping requirements. Whats your position on the ordinance?

I support giving workers sick time. It is a health issue for workers and for their clients, customers and patients. However, there are flaws in the ordinance as it is going to the voters.

8. Have you or your business, if you are a business owner, ever been the subject of any state or federal tax liens?

No.

9. Have you ever been involved in a personal or business bankruptcy proceeding?

No.

10. Have you ever been arrested for, charged with, or convicted of drunken driving, any misdemeanor or any felony in New Mexico or any other state? If yes, explain.

Over 45 years ago I was charged with shoplifting in a grocery store, an act that I still regret. It was deferred.

ERIC LUCERO

1. What is the biggest issue facing your district, and how would you address it?

While seeking more police service for our district, and as a councilor, Ill be providing more responsive and robust action to redress our lingering and chronic substandard properties; i.e., against negligent homeowners and/or their absentee owners via condemnation as needed.

2. What measures should the city take to encourage infill development in the near Northeast Heights?

Working with our mayor and fellow councilors, together wed suspend most or all development/permit fees, expedite inspections, and facilitate between stakeholders to assure full transparency and complete constituent input.

3. What do you believe is the optimum number of officers for APD and what, if anything, would you do to reach that number?

Optimum staffing levels for the APD are dependent on stable revenues and the city agreeing on actual funding priorities. With a workable budget, Ill vigorously advocate for a return to 2010-era staffing levels! No to return to work schemes.

4. In what circumstances, if any, would you support raising taxes? Which taxes would you be receptive to increasing?

After careful review of the budget, and even after priority funds movements to public safety, if staffing shortages and declining revenues persist, Id support raising taxes via a dedicated safety tax to secure our city! Officer retention must be addressed!

5. In recent years, the city has been issuing revenue bonds to pay for major capital projects. Would you support the continued use of revenue bonds to fund capital projects?

Our economic death spiral puts into serious doubt a stable bonding repayment revenue stream, given a Gross Receipts Tax (GRT) of 7.5%. Ideally, developers and their assets should be on the hook for these bonds. A major rethink is needed!

6. What plans do you have to raise the quality of life for Albuquerque residents?

Our beleaguered taxpayers have the expectation to be safe in their person, homes, and at their place of work! Ill fight to change our funding priorities for public safety via the citys budget process. Our safety must come first!

7. The Healthy Workforce Ordinance has garnered both praise and criticism. If approved by voters on Oct. 3, the ballot initiative will require any business with a physical presence in Albuquerque to provide paid sick time off to full-time, part-time and temporary workers. Supporters argue that the ordinance would ensure that workers dont have to choose between their paychecks and caring for themselves or a loved one. Opponents argue that it would hurt businesses because of higher costs and record-keeping requirements. Whats your position on the ordinance?

I oppose this ordinance, which the incumbent supported. It is not a business friendly initiative and if adopted, would not be subject to revision or repeal. Ordinance turns employee and employer adversaries in an already depressed labor market.

8. Have you or your business, if you are a business owner, ever been the subject of any state or federal tax liens?

No.

9. Have you ever been involved in a personal or business bankruptcy proceeding?

No.

10. Have you ever been arrested for, charged with, or convicted of drunken driving, any misdemeanor or any felony in New Mexico or any other state? Yes If yes, explain.

I was arrested in the late 1990s due to an outstanding warrant issued in the 1980s. Matter was resolved by making full restitution and by paying fines. No jail time and no criminal record.
GALENA PARK, Texas  Cindy Sanchez began to feel ill while barbecuing just before Harveys torrents started pelting this city just east of Houston, along a corridor with the nations highest concentration of petrochemical plants.

I started getting really, really bad headaches, said Sanchez, a 32-year-old housewife. I never get headaches.

My husbands eyes were burning, she said. He actually had a napkin that was wet over his eyes. The sewage-like stench chased the couple indoors and Sanchez, sick to her stomach, lay down.

People complained of headaches, nausea, itchy skin and throats  classic symptoms of industrial chemical exposure  as plants and refineries raced to burn off compounds that could combust in extreme weather or power loss.

Petrochemical corridor residents say air that is bad enough on normal days got worse as Harvey crashed into the nations fourth-largest city and then yielded the highest ozone pollution so far this year anywhere in Texas. The Houston metro area was ranked 12th in the nation for worst ozone pollution by The American Lung Association this year, although its air was better than the Los Angeles and New York regions.

Plants owned by Shell, Chevron, Exxon-Mobil and other industry giants reported more than 1.5 million pounds (680 metric tons) of extraordinary emissions over eight days beginning Aug. 23 to the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality in Harris County, which encompasses Houston. That amounted to 61 percent of this years largely unpermitted emissions for the county and five times the amount released in the same period in 2016. Of the known carcinogens released during Harvey, more than 13 tons were benzene. Inhaling it can cause dizziness and even unconsciousness and long-term exposure can trigger leukemia.

Asked about the health effects of the dramatic emissions spike, state environmental commission spokeswoman Andrea Morrow said all measured concentrations were well below levels of health concern and local residents should not be concerned about air quality issues related to the effects of the storm. The federal Environmental Protection Agency issued a similar statement.

Yet most air monitors were knocked out or offline during Harveys wrath, making measurement difficult.

Texas sets fines low for industrial polluters at $25,000 per day for federal clean air violations. Big plants tend to delay shutdowns for as long as possible when a hurricane is coming  then restart quickly afterward  triggering another spike in unhealthy emissions, said Daniel Cohan, a Rice University environmental scientist.

These (plants) are three and four decades old, beasts that are meant to operate all the time.

Asked if emissions could have been reduced by winding down plant operations sooner, American Petroleum Institute spokesman Reid Porter said: We are still gathering information and making assessments.

Some emissions were triggered by the sheer volume of Harveys deluge.

At an Arkema Inc. plant about 25 miles (40 kilometers) northeast of downtown Houston, organic peroxides rendered unstable by lost refrigeration exploded in flames and cast an acrid plume. At least 18 tons burned after people within a 1.5-mile (2.4-kilometer) radius were evacuated. On Thursday, seven sheriffs deputies and emergency medical responders sued Arkema in state court for gross negligence, claiming fumes from the incident made them vomit and gasp for air.

Benzene and other toxins spilled into the air outside the Valero Partners refinery on Houstons east side, as heavy rains damaged a tanks floating roof and invaded a dike.

A city health department air monitor downwind of the refinery on Friday registered an alarming level of up to 14,000 parts per billion of volatile organic compounds, some carcinogenic, said department chief scientist Loren Raun, and aerial monitoring continued to detect benzene on Monday.

On Sept. 1, Houston registered Texas worst ozone pollution this year  an average of 95 parts per billion (ppb) over eight hours. It was Harris Countys first of four straight days of unhealthy ozone levels, exceeding the EPA standard of 70 ppb.

By volume, most of Harris Countys emissions were sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds, which break down to fine particles and ozone that all can cause respiratory problems, especially for people with asthma and emphysema, said Miriam Rotkin-Ellman, a health scientist for environmental group Natural Resources Defense Council.

Of the dozen plants in Harris County reporting storm-related emissions, Exxon Mobil, Chevron Phillips and Shell Oil have been fined or ordered to pay settlements totaling $27.8 million since 2010 for violating federal environmental laws after suits by The Sierra Club and Environment Texas. A federal judge ordered Exxon Mobil in May to pay most of it  $19.9 million  for illegal emissions from its Baytown refinery. Exxon Mobil is appealing. The other two companies paid, said Philip Hilder, attorney for the environmental groups.

In heavily Latino lower middle-income communities like Pasadena and Galena Park, which sit along the plant and refinery corridor near Houstons seaport, some residents complained of feeling sick during Harvey.

Ruben Basurto, who lives two blocks from a petrochemical shipping terminal and refinery, described major flaring as Harvey hit  the burning off of volatile byproducts of petrochemical manufacture that sends flames soaring from plant stacks. The air reeked of natural gas, he said, driving him and his friends inside.

It still smelled at midweek, more during the night, said the 33-year-old construction worker.

As the storm closed in, Gov. Greg Abbott decreed the temporary suspension of emissions regulations. The state environmental agencys director said Texas law could exempt refineries and chemical plants from state fines and liability for extraordinary releases resulting from an act of God, war, strike, riot, or other catastrophe. 

In Galena Park, mothers in a private Facebook group described sickening odors like sweet gasoline, raw sewage and thick air.

Some in the city of 11,000 with a median household income of $43,000 called 911 but police were too busy to respond, said local environmental activist Juan Flores.

A lot of people are afraid to talk because their husbands work in the plants, said Flores.

People in the petrochemical corridor should be provided health screening as a next step in Harvey recovery, said Rotkin-Ellman of the environmental group NRDC.

A Harris County pollution control services toxicologist, Latrice Babin, said she was not aware of any special screening.

Sanchezs headaches still hadnt gone away on Wednesday. Nor had the sickening smell, she said.

She wants to see a doctor, but like many in her neighborhood, she said, Sanchez currently has no health insurance.

I dont even know where I would start.

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Associated Press data journalist Michelle Minkoff reported from Washington.

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For complete Harvey coverage, visit https://apnews.com/tag/HurricaneHarvey

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Get the best of the APs all-formats reporting on Irma and Harvey in your inbox: http://apne.ws/ahYQGtb
SANTA FE  Vandals hit two monuments on the Taos Plaza Friday, the same day about 150 demonstrators gathered near the Santa Fe Plaza to protest the Entrada at the annual Fiesta de Santa Fe.

The statue of Padre Antonio Jose Martinez, a 19th century priest, educator and community leader, had red paint spilled on one of his shoes. Also, a memorial to World War II Bataan Death March veterans was covered with a banner that said, Remember 1680, the year of the Pueblo Revolt.

Santa Fes Entrada is a re-enactment of the Spanish re-occupation the city 12 years later, in 1692.

Interim Taos Police Chief David Maggio said he was told about the incident by a public safety aide Friday morning but had not seen a report.

If you have a disagreement, vandalizing something isnt the answer, Maggio said. I dont know why they did it or what theyre trying to prove.

Maggio said police are seeking information that could lead to an arrest. He said the suspects face a felony criminal damage to property charge if the damage is over $1,000.
Albuquerque mayoral candidates tackled everything from economic development on the West Side to legalizing marijuana and splitting up the Albuquerque Public Schools district during a forum at the Don Newton Taylor Ranch Community Center on Tuesday night.

About 90 people attended the forum, which was hosted by the West Side Coalition of Neighborhood Associations. Organizers said all eight mayoral candidates were invited, but County Commissioner Wayne Johnson and businessman Ricardo Chaves did not attend.

While participating candidates werent all asked the same questions, economic development on the West Side emerged as one of the common themes, with several candidates being asked to address the topic.

The question isnt how we build more bridges, the question is how do we create more jobs so that people who live on the West Side can live, work and play on the West Side, Brian Colon, an attorney and former chairman of the state Democratic Party, said, attributing the insightful observation to Deanna Archuleta, who dropped out of the mayoral race earlier this year.

For me, I think we need to do infill growth Im one of the candidates thats standing tall saying, Look, I want planned growth and development here on the West Side,' Colon said. Im willing to say that we need to use economic development tools for our city to provide good planned growth. With good planned growth you can spur job creation. I want to build up businesses that we have on the West Side, but I also want to spend time attracting businesses to the West Side.

He said there are already businesses in Albuquerque that want to expand to the West Side, but theyre holding off because of the crime problem.

The first thing we have to do is address the crime issue, Colon said. Then weve got to incentivize small businesses here on the West Side to take their business to the next level and also have continued conversations about bringing in external entities to build their jobs here.

Michelle Garcia Holmes, a retired APD detective and former attorney general chief of staff, said she would hire a new economic development director and hold a summit with small businesses to discuss what the city can do to help them.

Were always looking for that next big business; we give them tax breaks, she said. When theyre done feeding off of us they leave, and then what are we left with? Joblessness, right? I want to look at our over 50,000 small businesses that we have right here. Lets give them incentives. Lets help them grow by one. If we can take 25 percent of our small businesses and help them grow by one or two we can do that. I think we can do that.

Susan Wheeler-Deichsel, co-founder of the civic group Urban ABQ, was asked how she would ensure that water would be available for West Side growth.

I dont support the Santolina project, she said. That will bring us back a lot of water possibilities because water is a huge issue with respect to that. I do think those folks that are part of that should be offered land swaps. And I think thats a real possibility that has to be looked at.

And she agreed with Colon that the city should give businesses incentives to grow on the West Side and for larger businesses to set up shop in the area.

State Auditor Tim Keller was asked to weigh in on tax breaks given to Santolina, Mesa del Sol and others.

Ive been working on tax incentive reform for almost 10 years, Keller said, noting that the bills he got through the legislature that would have required a return on investment calculation on those tax breaks were vetoed by both Gov. Bill Richardson and Gov. Susana Martinez.

What I believe is we should use these tools when there is a return on investment

and when they are good for the community, Keller said. I stood against SunCal. I was one of the deciding votes against SunCal. I have a long history fighting subsidized sprawl, and certainly I will continue to do that. But I do believe these tools are tools and they can be used for good or they can be used for bad.

Keller added that he believes in engaging the community, and he would like to have an employee at every community center in the city getting input on all major issues, including proposed industrial revenue bonds and tax increment development districts.

City Councilor Dan Lewis, who has represented the West Side for eight years, was questioned about his proposal to split up APS and whether that would segregate the Albuquerque community.

Absolutely not, he responded. Colorado Springs has eight different school districts. Its smaller than Albuquerque, has eight school districts  and they produce great results  Our numbers are failing when it comes to graduation rates. We could do so much better.

Lewis said APS can be split up in such a way that the new smaller districts would continue to share the tax base so that economic disparities arent created.

Lets make our school district smaller, closer to the people it serves, more accountable (and) more transparent, he said. Theres some great examples of that. Rio Rancho Public Schools spends half the money per student than APS does. Its one of the most successful school districts in the state, and it broke off from APS.

Recent University of New Mexico graduate Gus Pedrotty, meanwhile, drew both gasps and laughs when he talked about legalizing marijuana as a way to get a handle on the heroin epidemic and associated crime.

There are actually ways we can diminish that marketplace, and one of the ways we do that is legalizing marijuana. He said it. The 22 year old said it, Pedrotty said, as the audience erupted into laughter. Im sorry. I know its contentious, and I know that it feels uncomfortable for a lot of us. But its a trend on the state level, on the federal level and it reduces opioid deaths.

He argued that marijuana isnt a gateway drug and that if it is legalized and sold in stores, it would have a big impact on those trafficking heroin.
Editors note: This is part of a series of stories the Journal is publishing on the contested races for the Albuquerque City Council.

Two political veterans and a newcomer to city government are vying for an open District 5 City Council seat in far Northwest Albuquerque.

The winner of the Oct. 3 election will succeed Councilor Dan Lewis, who is running for mayor.

Robert Aragon, 60, an Albuquerque attorney, and Cynthia Borrego, 59, a retired city planner, each list qualifications that include decades of experience in public service and government.

Catherine Trujillo, 26, who works for a nonprofit that trains low-income workers for better jobs, said she wants the city to do more to fight crime and provide better job opportunities for its citizens.

Aragon, a former state representative, serves on the state Board of Finance and has served on transition teams for both Republican and Democratic governors. Aragon said he was a registered Democrat until 2012, when he switched to the Republican Party.

Borrego currently serves on the Albuquerque Metropolitan Arroyo Flood Control Authority Board. A self-described conservative Democrat, Borrego was a planner for the city of Albuquerque and Bernalillo County for 28 years. She has since opened her own business, Cybas & Associates LLC, a land development consulting company, and owns a store in Nob Hill.

Trujillo, who is running as an independent, works for nonprofit SER Jobs for Progress Inc., which offers training to get people back into the workforce. She is vice president of the Taylor Ranch Neighborhood Association.

All three list crime as the most important issue facing District 5.

Aragon, who has served on the New Mexico Board of Finance since 2011 and served as a state representative from 1979-1983 and again from 1985-1987, said he has extensive experience in public financing.

I know budgets, he said in a recent interview. Ive put budgets together for the state.

The citys budget needs to prioritize funding for the Albuquerque Police Department that includes funding for 1,200 officers, with raises for senior officers built into the salary matrix.

We need to get away from this nonsense about stipends for veteran officers, because officers cant rely on them from year to year, he said.

Borrego said her perception of a city in decline motivated her to run for the City Council. Borregos businesses suffered during the recession, and her store at Central and Monroe took hits from the Albuquerque Rapid Transit project and from thieves and panhandlers, she said.

In 2010 we seemed to have enough officers on the street, said Borrego, who retired that year. The city seemed to be going in a pretty positive direction. This is not the city I worked 28 years to help build.

She is proposing a five-point crime plan that includes new APD leadership, increasing the force to 1,200 officers, and a greater emphasis on community policing, crime prevention and behavioral health treatments.

Trujillo also said the citys budget should prioritize law enforcement and called for 1,300 APD officers. She also said the city can do more to train workers for higher-wage jobs to keep college graduates from fleeing to other states.

Trujillo said that after her 2014 graduation from the University of New Mexico, the best job she could find was working in a bagel shop. The city can do more to help train workers for high-wage jobs, she said.

We havent recovered from the recession, she said. We are in this huge, huge slump, and we have got to start pushing our way out.

The city should also restore after-school and summer programs for children to encourage them to stay in school, Borrego said.

I think cutting back on kids is the worst thing we can do, because that puts a bigger burden on mom and dad, she said.

More about Robert J. Aragon POLITICAL PARTY: Republican AGE: 60 EDUCATION: Juris Doctor degree, University of New Mexico School of Law, 1984; bachelor of arts, UNM, 1979; West Mesa High School, 1975. OCCUPATION: Attorney FAMILY: Wife, Peggy Muller-Aragon, three daughters. POLITICAL/GOVERNMENT EXPERIENCE: New Mexico Board of Finance member, 2011-present; Eastern New Mexico University Board of Regents, member, 1991-1996; ENMU Board of Regents president, 1991; Bernalillo County Tax Protest Board, member, 1995; New Mexico Educational Assistance Foundation Board, member, 1992-1994; Albuquerque City Charter Revision Task Force, vice chairman, 1989; New Mexico House Appropriations Committee vice chairman, 1985-1987; Joint House and Senate Interim Education Reform Committee, co-chairman, 1986; state representative, 1979-1983, 1985-1987. MAJOR PROFESSIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENT: Owning and running a law firm for the past 24 years. MAJOR PERSONAL ACCOMPLISHMENT: Having been happily married to my high school sweetheart for 34 years and raising three beautiful daughters with Peggy.

More about Cynthia D. Borrego POLITICAL PARTY: Democratic AGE: 59 EDUCATION: Master of Public Administration, University of New Mexico, 1982; Master of Community and Regional Planning, honors, UNM, 1984; bachelor of science in education, UNM, 1980 OCCUPATION: Self-employed, Cybas and Associates, LLC, owner, 2011-present; city of Albuquerque, redevelopment official (planning manager, 2003-2010; COA senior planner, planner, associate planner, 1982-2003); state of New Mexico, Taxation and Revenue, 1987-1988; state personnel, 1986 FAMILY: Former spouse deceased POLITICAL/GOVERNMENT EXPERIENCE: Albuquerque Metropolitan Arroyo Flood Control director, District 2 (West Side), current vice chairman, elected 2014; Middle Rio Grande Council of Governments; water board, member, 2017; transportation board, member, 2016; Public Employees Retirement Association board, eight years, chairman twice, 2002-2010; city of Albuquerque/Bernalillo County planner/manager, 1982-2010; Rio Grande Credit Union board, 2011-present, second vice chairman; former first vice chairman and secretary/treasurer; University of New Mexico, School of Public Administration Advisory Council, current chairman, 2008-2017; New Mexico Supervisors and Professionals Association, 1982-2000, former chairman; American Planning Association, 1982-2010; Richland Hills Architectural Review Committee, member, 2005-present; Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, Leadership Albuquerque, graduate, 1995; ABQ West Chamber, member, 2012 MAJOR PROFESSIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENT: A successful career at the city and worked to protect PERA for over 27,000 employees during a recession. Also, worked with people from all walks of life in Albuquerque on successful development projects that have influenced Albuquerques unique environment. MAJOR PERSONAL ACCOMPLISHMENT: Obtaining my education. I was lucky to have a mother, father and family who encouraged and supported me. This opportunity helped me to achieve success in my career and life, and inspired me to run for the City Council today.
We now know the motives. In backing Donald Trump, Russia's oligarchical class sought not only to disrupt U.S. politics but also to reverse sanctions, both those applied in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and those connected to the Magnitsky Act, which targeted officials involved in human rights violations. In seeking Russian support, Trump sought not only to become president but also to make money: Even as he launched his presidential campaign, he hoped to receive a major influx of money from a proposed Trump Tower in Moscow.

Along with the motives, we know the methods. As The New York Times has just graphically demonstrated, professional Russian Internet trolls, probably operating out of St. Petersburg, set up hundreds of fake Facebook and Twitter accounts during the election campaign. The trolls then posted thousands of fake stories, memes and slogans, supported anti-Clinton hashtags and narratives, and linked back to DCLeaks, the website that posted emails that Russian hackers stole from the Clinton campaign. The emails "revealed" by that hack were utterly banal. But the fake operatives said they contained "hidden truths," hinted that they were part of a secret "Soros" operation, after liberal financier George Soros, and persuaded people to click. This is a method Russian operatives had used before. Previous elections, in Poland and Ukraine, demonstrated that stolen material - any stolen material - can be used to foment conspiracy theories that never die.

We know what happened next: The fake stories, memes and slogans moved from the network of Russian-sponsored "American" accounts into the networks of real Americans. Some, such as "pizzagate," the theory that Hillary Clinton was part of a pedophile ring being run out of Washington pizza parlor, got a lot of attention. Others, such as the theory that Barack Obama founded the Islamic State, or the theory that the Google search engine was working on Clinton's behalf, got less attention but were notable for another reason: They were not only promoted on the fake Russian network, which bought advertising in order to push them further, but also were promoted on open Russian news networks, including the Sputnik English-language news services. Afterwards, they were repeated, also openly, by candidate Trump.

Now here is a piece of the story that we don't know: How did the Russians behind the fake "American" accounts know which real Americans would be most excited to read conspiracy theories on Facebook? How did they know how to target their ads? Perhaps they just got lucky. Perhaps they just happened upon broad networks of people who were willing to click on their conspiracy theories and pass them on. Or perhaps they had some help. Certainly the Trump campaign had this kind of information - recently, one of Trump's online campaign managers bragged to the BBC about their ability to "target" on Facebook and elsewhere.

Here is another piece we don't know: How did Trump happen to use the same conspiracy theories that were proliferating on Russian media, both real and fake? Again, this could be coincidence. Or, again, there could have been coordination. Messages tested by Russian trolls might have been passed on to the Trump campaign - or vice versa.

I still believe, as I've been writing for months, that Trump's sympathy for Russian President Vladimir Putin, a cynicial and vicious dictator, should, by itself, have eliminated him from U.S. politics. Nothing else that we will ever learn about him makes him more unqualified to be president of the United States.

But for those who want something more, do be aware that circumstantial evidence of Russian collusion with his campaign is already available. And direct evidence is getting very, very close.
If youre sending a child to school this fall, theres a back-to-school item that every parent should have in mind  a 529 college savings plan. New Mexicos state-sponsored 529 college savings plan, The Education Plan, is here to help families make post-secondary education more attainable. Opening an account with The Education Plan takes about 15 minutes, and the benefits are well worth the effort.

Whether the child in your life is headed for a liberal arts degree at the University of New Mexico, the plumbing trades program at Central New Mexico Community College, or another program in another state altogether, good planning and preparation now can make those costs easier to bear in the future. What you do today can help reduce the amount of debt your student may have to carry tomorrow.

The 529 college savings plans are named for a section of the federal tax code. With these plans, you contribute money that gets invested and has the opportunity to grow tax-free over time. Contributions and earnings in the account can be withdrawn, tax-free, for qualified educational expenses such as tuition, books, fees, room and board and even computers. The account can be used at any school in the country that is eligible to receive federal financial aid for its students.

If you save through The Education Plan your contributions also are deductible on your New Mexico state income taxes. Essentially time, investment growth and favorable tax incentives are all giving your savings little pushes. These can really add up over time.

Even small amounts of money can go a long way. Contributing just $25 per month from a young age can add up to thousands of dollars worth of financial flexibility by the time your child graduates high school. But if youre getting a late start, dont worry  every little bit helps.

By the way, anyone  grandparents, other relatives and friends  can contribute to your 529 account as well.

You probably have a lot to do this back-to-school season, and you might well wish to avoid another financial chore. But saving now for future higher education expenses is something that will pay back in spades in the future. This year you may have to buy some new clothes and school supplies. Buying post-secondary education for your child will be infinitely more challenging. Having some college savings on hand can make all the difference for back-to-school seasons to come.

To learn more, visit www.theeducationplan.com or call 1-877-EDPLAN8.
The womans face was contorted with anger as she thrust a finger at the media scrum covering a campaign event and yelled, I hate you all! Liars! You should be in prison!

Memory fades. I cant recall which presidential candidate this woman had turned out to support last year, but I will never forget her look of sheer contempt for the traveling press corps. I remember because I used to be one of them.

These days, its easy to distrust or dislike the media, I suppose. But lets put politics aside  please!  and take a moment to realize the worth of working journalists.

As you read this you probably know the latest about the path of Hurricane Irma and its massively destructive effect on parts of the Caribbean and the U.S. Thank reporters  and meteorologists  for spreading the word about Irmas approach. That news sparked evacuations and, surely, helped save lives.

Before Irma it was Hurricane Harvey and the immense destruction it inflicted on East Texas and Louisiana. Americans were transfixed as they sought to learn how much damage occurred or how they could help. By opening a newspaper, turning on television or radio or by hopping on the internet they could instantly become informed of the biblical wreckage Harvey had caused.

Thank the media for getting you that information.

Houston area reporters whose own homes were flooded or completely washed away somehow made it into their newsrooms  if their workplace was still habitable  and painstakingly gathered information to present to the public. Or they worked from home, wading out into their shattered neighborhoods, trudging through toxic waist-deep water not knowing if downed electrical lines might be in play. They were compelled by events to do their job. To understand the event, gather facts, interview victims and officials to better tell the rest of us about the human side of this historic storm.

Even though the KHOU-TV newsroom had been evacuated, local reporter Brandi Smith and her cameraman Mario Sandoval found a way to carry on. In a solo broadcast that kept the public informed, Smith was broadcasting live when she spotted an 18-wheeler become trapped on a lethal stretch of highway below. The audience was spellbound as this reporter chased down a passing Harris County Sheriffs vehicle and directed them to the truck that was quickly disappearing under the rising floodwaters. The driver was rescued thanks to the quick thinking of that reporter.

It would not be the only time this scenario played out.

A few days later, CNN correspondent Drew Griffin was waiting to go live on the air from Beaumont, Texas, when a pickup truck accidentally drove into a flooded ravine behind him. Without hesitation Griffin, his producer and photographer jumped into action to assist the driver as their camera continued to roll.

Have you got a power cord  or a rope, Griffin shouted to his team. And as the truck began to be swept away in the current, they struggled to bring the driver to dry land. Griffin immediately went back to work describing to the anchorman in New York what hed seen, underscoring for citizens why driving in floods can be so potentially deadly.

Griffin was soon joined on camera by driver Jerry Sumrall who, after he caught his breath, came to shake Griffins hand.

Hey, I wanna thank these guys for saving my life, Sumrall said. Thank you. His truck could be seen in the far distance being carried away by floodwaters.

When you hear about the thousands of volunteers from all over the nation who rush into devastated areas to help, as you watch the live rescues of fellow human beings trapped in deadly circumstances, or when you read about the tiny Texas girl who clung to her dead mother in the floodwaters for hours and survived  remember, it was the media that kept you informed.

These stories of courage, determination and survival  lovingly delivered to you by dedicated reporters and photographers  help bring America together in a shared sense of fellowship. Information disseminated by reporters can help the homeless, force action by lackadaisical or unfocused officials and, if only for a brief moment, bring the citizenry together in this fractured era in which we live.

For all the bias you may perceive in political coverage, realize there are countless other journalists who have dedicated their lives to work for you. They truly believe you have a right to know, and they work tirelessly to keep you up to date. And, aside from high-priced network TV correspondents, reporters usually work incredibly long hours for not much money. They do it for the love of the profession and their belief that you need them.

Some journalists bravely go to war zones to bring you the news. Others stay closer to home believing there is nothing more important than telling their fellow citizens and neighbors what is happening in their community.

Thank them for what they do. They deserve it.

www.DianeDimond.com; e-mail to Diane@DianeDimond.com.
I dont know anything about Art, but I know what I like.

 American author Frank Gelett Burgess, 1906

To turn Burgess famous phrase, we may not know anything about Art colleges, but we know just about everybody involved hates the idea of moving UNMs. In fact, the University of New Mexicos controversial plan to move art students and Honors College students into different buildings  in turn requiring multimillion-dollar renovations  appears to be far more popular with a few regents than affected students and faculty. That should get regents to reconsider.

There does seem to be widespread agreement that UNMs Student Health and Counseling Center, which shares space with the Honors College, needs to expand. The moving plan calls for the Honors College to move into the Art Annex, a sun-filled historic building designed specifically for arts programs. The graduate art students would then squeeze into vacant space in the Biology Annex.

And squeeze they, and the university budget, would: An April feasibility study by UNMs Planning, Design and Construction division notes, The Biology Annex is ill-suited for utilization as art studio and fine arts fabrication space. It is 50 percent too small and would require extensive plumbing and building envelope changes to accommodate both darkrooms and light-filled studios.

The projected costs to renovate the annexes to suit their new purposes range from $6.1 million to $7.1 million. The Biology Annex is roughly half the size of the Art Annex, and it lacks the studios and sunlight UNMs graduate art students rely on to create their nationally recognized photography, painting and arts projects. The Art Annex dates from the 1920s and was renovated in the 1950s by renowned architect John Gaw Meem, and its programs are nationally recognized  UNM photography is fifth in the nation. Meanwhile, UNMs five-year-old Honors College was created to attract high-achieving high school students, raise UNMs profile and help keep New Mexico college students here. While this should be a priority, word has it the Honors College isnt keen on a move to the Arts Annex and would prefer a model putting it closer to student housing.

At least one internal UNM analysis says moving the Honors College into the Biology Annex with some additional space and leaving the Art Annex alone saves $1 million.

At the regents Aug. 15 meeting, about 30 students and others spoke out against the proposed building shuffle. Undeterred, Regent Marron Lee, a key supporter of moving the Honors College to the Art Annex, inartfully said discussions on the moves had been ongoing for two years and things were too far along to reconsider.

That caught at least one regent off guard; Suzanne Quillen said she could not remember specific discussion about the Art Annex relocation at prior board meetings and urged fellow regents to consider the many objections being lodged. Regent Brad Hosmer suggested the board reopen the discussion and get more feedback from the UNM community. Regent Tom Clifford accused those speaking against the moves of not being team players and said the right parties had already been consulted.

And that begs the question, shouldnt faculty, staff and students in each of the colleges been in on discussions early on?

Regent President Rob Doughty said he would consult with interim President Chaouki Abdallah and interim Provost Craig White about the situation and report back at the regents next meeting, Tuesday. Abdallah said last month he would convene a meeting of the various parties to consider options and make recommendations to the regents.

There is clearly merit in getting more students and faculty, especially from Arts and the Honors College, to weigh in. Until then, like art connoisseurs, regents should keep open minds, listen to affected students and faculty, and ensure public dollars are spent on the best long-term plan possible.

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.
LONDON  Thousands marched Saturday to Parliament in central London to protest Britains plan to withdraw from the European Union.

Organizers of the Peoples March for Europe said the goal was to unite, rethink and reject the Conservative governments plan to implement Brexit by 2019. Some protesters carried the EU flag while others carried an Exit from Brexit banner.

Ed Davey, a Liberal Democrat legislator, told the crowd he is embarrassed by Britains negotiating stance.

Ive gone from anger to distress, from fury to despair. But since the Brexit negotiations begun theres a third emotion Ive been feeling: Embarrassment. Embarrassment at our countrys leaders. Embarrassment for Great Britain, he said.

Other speakers demanded that Britons be given a chance to vote on the Brexit decisions once negotiations are concluded.

Britain voted in June 2016 to withdraw from the 28-nation EU bloc but negotiations with the EU are moving extremely slowly. The talks have been stalled because of disputes over how much Britain will have to pay the EU because of their joint obligations. The two sides have not yet started to discuss future trade relations.

Parliament is expected to vote Monday on a repeal bill designed to eventually incorporate many EU laws into British law once the separation becomes final.
September 7, 2017

AbdolHamid Ismail Zahi, better known as Molavi AbdolHamid, the Friday prayer leader in Zahedan and perhaps Irans most prominent Sunni leader, thanked Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Sept. 6 for publicly addressing Zahi's open letter regarding concerns about discrimination. AbdolHamid called Khameneis response a historic, wise and final command. He said Khameneis command was a religious and legal duty for all of the officials to implement justice and equality between all the races and religions in Iran.

AbdolHamid has written a number of public letters addressed to Khamenei in recent years. His latest letter, which received a response by Khamenei, was written Aug. 2. The letter addressed the issue of discrimination and hiring of individuals across the country. In Iran, while many Sunnis are elected in local city council elections in Sunni majority cities, all provincial appointments come through the central government in Tehran. The second issue addressed in the letter by AbdolHamid was mosques in major cities in Iran, such as Tehran. While Sunnis have mosques in Tehran, the mosques  some refer to them as simply houses of worship rather than mosques  do not compare in size or stature to the mosques in Sunni majority areas in the border provinces.

What made the Aug. 2 letter by AbdolHamid noteworthy is that Khamenei gave a public response to it. In a letter published online by Ayatollah Mohammad Mohammadi Golpayegani, the head of Khameneis office, Khamenei responded that based on religious knowledge and the constitution, no kind of discrimination or inequality by the institutions of the Islamic Republic is allowed based on race, ethnicity or religion.

A number of Iranian websites published the contents of Khameneis response with headlines expressing approval of Khameneis position opposing discrimination against religious minorities. Iranian parliamentarian Mahmoud Sadeghi tweeted, Promising response from the leader of the revolution [Khamenei] to Molavi AbdolHamids letter regarding discrimination between races and religions.

While AbdolHamid appreciated Khameneis response, it will be up to the administration of President Hassan Rouhani to ensure that provincial political appointments are more inclusive. AbdolHamid last met with Rouhani in December. AbdolHamid has been critical of Rouhanis administration but has continued to support him.

Before the May presidential election, AbdolHamid and other Sunni leaders met with government officials, and he said the leaders would support Rouhanis re-election despite the presence of complaints. He said that the environment under Rouhanis administration is slightly more free when compared with Mahmoud Ahmadinejads administration. AbdolHamid spoke at the Interior Ministry in front of Rouhanis campaign staff after Rouhanis re-election. During that speech, AbdolHamid both praised Rouhani and offered criticisms. However, AbdolHamid was absent from Rouhanis August inauguration, leaving many to question why.

AbdolHamid met with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Sept. 3. While many news websites shared pictures of the meeting, it is not clear what the topic of the conversation was. AbdolHamid last met with Khamenei in January 2015 for Unity Week.
The Moto X4 could launch in the U.S. as an Android One phone according to the latest leak from Evan Blass, who has just dropped a picture of the device on Twitter showing the phone has the Android One branding on the back. If youve been following Android One for a while then this may not be too much of a surprise as it was rumored back in April that Android Ones U.S. launch would support Project Fi, and as part of that rumor it was suggested that the 2017 version of the Moto X would be the device to usher in this new offering. This new leak seems to give credit to that as this image is of the Moto X4.

All that said there are some things to consider. While this is clearly the Moto X4 and the branding clearly says Android One, that alone doesnt guarantee that this is a device headed for the U.S., so until Google and Motorola confirm that Android Ones U.S. debut will be spearheaded by the Moto X4, then its entirely possible that this may be meant for another market where Android One already exists, but in all likelihood this is probably going to be a U.S.-based version of the phone.

There are still some unknowns in all of this. For example, theres no release date. The Moto X4 was just recently announced at IFA 2017 which wasnt more than a couple of weeks ago, and that means it might be a few weeks before any information surfaces that points to when this device is landing on U.S. store shelves, Motorola has confirmed that the device will be headed to the U.S. in the Fall though, so it will be soon that much is clear. Also unknown is what the phone will cost, but this is going to Motorolas mid-range phone elsewhere so itll be a mid-range offering in the U.S. too, and that means the cost will be probably be similar to what the U.S. conversion would be for its price in other countries, which is around the $400 mark. When it comes to compatibility with carriers, the device will be unlocked so itll work with any GSM carriers in the country, which means T-Mobile, AT&T, and others, and of course the rumor still stands that Project Fi will have compatibility as well.
Rumors have recently started to circulate that HTC is selling its mobile division to Google and that it is, in fact, already in the final stages of the deal. Whether or not any such transaction is actually in the making remains to be seen, as both companies have stayed quiet about those rumors, but a deal like that could feasibly happen and the prospect has left many wondering how either company would benefit from it and what other implications of such a turn of events would be. This would not be the first time Google has bought the mobile division of a prominent  or once-prominent  manufacturer and its last effort with Motorola didnt necessarily work to its benefit. However, there are actually several things about the idea of Google acquiring HTCs mobile division that make a lot of sense for the two organizations in terms of long-term goals of both. Succinctly put, HTCs mobile aspirations are simply not panning out any longer and Google could gain a new inroad into the global mobile market by taking over its business.

Rather than losing out as a result of creating inferior devices, HTCs decline is ongoing despite the fact that the company still makes some of the best Android phones on the market. The HTC U11, for example, has been lauded by critics and is largely an exceptional example of the kinds of performance users have come to expect from a modern Android flagship. Unfortunately, it hasnt led to an improvement in HTCs sales numbers or finances in any meaningful way and similar scenarios have presented themselves to the company for numerous consecutive years now. One major reason for that failing could be marketing; the company has not been able to present itself to consumers in an appealing light and, realistically, doesnt have the staying power of many of its rivals when it comes to the financial capability to really push its devices on a global scale. Another aspect to that is that its lack of financial might makes it unable to compete with its larger rivals for suppliers and manufacturing resources. Furthermore, because HTC focuses primarily on designing the hardware and software for its electronics, it doesnt have many secondary sources of income. Namely, it doesnt manufacture its own chipsets or other components and doesnt have many secondary electronics it sells on a global scale.

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Beyond that, HTCs mid-range and budget devices have not been as consistently great as its flagships and have failed to gain the acclaim of rival devices in those tiers. With that said, the primary benefit to HTC in any deal to sell its mobile division will come in the form of relief from projects that drain heavily on its finances. In other areas of the electronics and technology industry, the company is fairing much better, which includes its Vive VR division. Although the two units of HTC are technically separate, there is an argument to be made that the companys mobile business has been or could be preventing more investments on that front.

As to Google, the firm behind the hugely successful Android OS has not necessarily seen the best return on all of its past investments either. Android currently leads as the worlds most used mobile operating system but Google has not broken into the hardware side of the mobile market, despite its 2012 purchase of Motorola Mobility. In fairness, Google was not, at that time, fully committed to the hardware side of the mobile market. However, that apparent test foray cost the company just under $10 billion since the eventual sale of Motorola only brought the company around $2.9 billion in return, though it did get to keep many of the firms patents. Bearing that in mind, the company has been taking a much more direct approach to the physical end of the market in recent years. Most notably, Google unofficially dropped the Nexus lineup in favor of Google-branded Pixel smartphones. Both ranges technically serve a similar purpose  to set a standard for OEMs to strive for  but the latter devices are no longer marketed as having been made by the companys that actually manufactured them. In the case of the first-generation Pixel devices, both were made by HTC, which seems to show that Google is ready to take further control over its ecosystem and plunge headfirst into realizing its own visions of what Android hardware should be.

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The main benefit to Google from acquiring HTC would be that the company would ultimately gain a hardware division of its own that is already fully capable of creating flagship-level hardware, including supply chains and connections that go hand-in-hand with HTCs mobile division, as well as any other related properties or assets. Moreover, it would be able to exert even more control over the hardware itself, rather than just providing guidelines, as with the now-discontinued Nexus line, or a general design along with specifications, as with the Pixel devices. Additionally, unlike HTC, Google would also be far less constrained by financial circumstances and other HTC-specific issues mentioned above, consequently being able to commit more resources to marketing and reaching a significantly larger audience.

In the long-term context, a first-party device from Google could ultimately further the prospects for Android itself if the product is well-received since it would represent precisely what Android is actually meant to be to the same degree as its biggest current competitor  iOS  essentially giving Google its own Android equivalent to the iPhone. Meanwhile, HTC would be effectively unburdened by its floundering mobile division and ultimately freed up to focus on its more profitable virtual reality ventures, not counting the possibly huge influx of expendable revenue to be gained by the sale itself. Ultimately, while a deal between the two companies would almost certainly be hugely beneficial to both, it remains to be seen whether recent rumors end up amounting to anything.
IFA 2017 is over, and that means now its time to wait for all of the new and exciting tech that was announced during the conference. There are plenty of devices to look forward to, some more exciting than others like the Galaxy Note 8. Though its worth keeping in mind that while the Galaxy Note 8 will likely be the most exciting thing for some people, others may find some of the hardware announced by different brands more appealing. Case in point, there was lots of things shown off and all of it seems like it might be cool to check out.

Aside from Samsungs Galaxy Note 8 which is the companys latest flagship device, there were also three new werables from Samsung that showed up during its press conference  the Gear Sport, the Gear Fit2 Pro, and the Gear IconX 2018, its second generation truly wireless earbuds. Of course its not all about Samsung. LG is another big-name brand and it officially announced the LG V30, which comes with a big, nearly bezel-free display as well as new and exciting features. Sony announced new phones during IFA too, including the Xperia XZ1 and the Xperia XZ1 Compact.

The big-name brand announcements for smartphones dont stop there either, as Motorola also announced the Moto X4, which had been rumored for months and was suspected to show up at Motorolas announcement from earlier this year where it officially announced the Moto Z2 Fore. Beyond smartphones there was a whole world of other products making their debut, but again some stood out more than others. Lenovo announced its Mixed Reality headset for the Windows 10 platform, called the Explorer, and Garmin announced two new smartwatches, though neither of them run on Android Wear. Sony announced some other products too, like its set of truly wireless earbuds and a new smart speaker that comes powered by Google Assistant, thus putting Sony in competition with both Samsung and Google, as Samsung is on its second run with truly wireless earbuds and Google has Google Home. Of course Sony wasnt the only one to showcase a Google Assistant smart speaker. Panasonic announced one at IFA as well, so the conference was definitely packed with a bunch of new tech. Which announcement are you most excited about?
If your personal information is ever compromised in a data breach, the hacked company might send you an apology letter with an offer of free identity theft protection from a credit-reporting agency. But what happens when the reporting agency is the one that gets breached?

This week, Equifax said that its systems had been accessed by intruders, potentially affecting 143 million U.S. consumers. Equifax Chief Executive Richard Smith called the event disappointing, which seems like an understatement for a company whose core business is collecting peoples credit information. The stolen information includes names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses and drivers license numbers. Get ready to see a lot of credit card fraud.

Once Social Security numbers are exposed, they can be circulated and misused with ease. A company called LifeLock demonstrated this back in the 2000s, when it advertised its CEOs Social Security number to display confidence in its identity protection services. His identity was reportedly misappropriated 13 times.

Before the digital age, a stash of nine-digit numbers could be kept reasonably secure in a locked filing cabinet behind closed doors. So long as consumers volunteered the numbers judiciously, most people could make it through life without ever suffering a theft of identity. But as business moved to the internet, greater amounts of personal information became accessible to intruders. In 2008, the Federal Trade Commission created the Red Flags Rule, which required businesses and organizations to collect personally identifying information from their customers, even if not necessary for service. This put Social Security numbers into the hands of utility companies, telecom providers, doctors and countless other unreliable custodians.

One paradox of digital security is that combating fraud typically requires collecting even more sensitive data. If Social Security numbers have been hacked, then well need more personal information to be sure people are who they claim to be. Legislators have proposed a biometric Social Security card that could contain fingerprints or retinal scans. Beyond that, who knows: Once hackers figure out how to replicate biometric data, maybe well have to consider digital DNA samples or virtual cavity searches.

The problem with Social Security numbers is that businesses and financial services treat them as authenticators, meaning that the mere possession of the number is enough to verify a persons identity. In practice, identification and authentication should be two different things. For example, a drivers license is a form of identification. A persons face, which corroborates with the photo on the license, provides the authentication. One is useless without the other.

The Republic of Estonia uses such a system to identify members of its e-Residency program, even with no physical presence. Each e-resident has a public numerical key that serves as a unique identifier, and a corresponding private key that is never revealed. During the authentication process, the private key is used to generate an irreversible digital signature. The signature is shared and verified by the public key without ever exposing the private key.

Thats the basic idea behind public-key cryptography. Its how computers authenticate themselves over the internet, and how Bitcoin transactions are created on the blockchain. While an individual could still accidentally reveal a private key, no single entity needs to have custody of 143 million of them.

The idea of having a universal identification number is outdated, especially when far better technology has been available for decades. The only thing Social Security numbers should be used for is to pay our taxes, which identity thieves are welcome to do.
Riding on the GMT K2XX platform, the Escalade shares many of its underpinnings with General Motors workhorses such as the Chevrolet Silverado . The backbone will be replaced by the GMT T1XX, which should adopt plenty of aluminum-alloy panels for more rigidity and less weight.As per Automobile Magazine , the change from K2 to T1 also means the 2020 Cadillac Escalade will swap the solid rear axle with an independent suspension setup. The report should become true considering the Lincoln Navigator has IRS since the 2003 model year. To make matters worse, the publication believes that GM had changed its mind to IRS late during development.The Escalade has been delayed from an early or mid-2019 calendar year launch by about six months, and chances are the all-new model will borrow fresh styling from the Escala Concept. In stark contrast to General Motors  current lineup of full-size SUVs, the publication highlights that sheet metal between Caddy, GMC, and Chevy variants will be more distinct than ever.Moving on to what makes the 2020 Cadillac Escalade tick, Automobile Magazine expects the engine bay to house a 4.0-liter V8 of the double-overhead-cam variety. That might not be the case considering the Escala takes its mojo from a 4.2-liter twin-turbo V8 . Rumor has it the force-fed motor will find its way into the mid-engined Corvette, but only time will tell what GM plans to do by slowly phasing out the small-block pushrod V8.Considering the 10-speed automatic transmission offered in the 2018 Lincoln Navigator is a combined effort from Ford and GM, the fifth-generation Escalade should make use of the slushbox. In other words, the eight-speed 8L90 will be phased out for the 10-speeder in a bid to help with fuel economy. On an ending note, an Escalade with a plug-in hybrid powertrain could be added to the lineup as early as the second model year.
The hue might be more familiar to Audi enthusiasts, and yet it seems to perfectly suit the understated aura of the R, shaved posterior and all.Nevertheless, the yelow stripes adorning the top of the Neunelfer make the machine stand out. Note that the same color was used for the " Porsche " badging on the doors, while the side stripes come in black.Then we have the yellow brake calipers, which signal the presence of the PCCB (Porsche Carbon Ceramic Brakes) hardware.Main shade aside, an incredibly important detail comes from the hue used for the wheels, which, as we mentioned above, mirrors that covering the body of the car.According to PTSRS , the Facebook page that delivered the pic we have here, we're looking at North America's first Nardo Grey 911 R. The car was delivered to Porsche of Hawaii in Honolulu earlier this year."This brings the worldwide Nardo Grey 911 R count to 2, with the other example being Lebanon's only 911 R in Beirut," PTSRS explains when describing the pic.Now, you might be wondering how such a shade looks when covering the overly extrovert lines of a GT3 RS. Well, we had a similar question back in the summer and, fortunately, we received our answer in the form of a real-world image, not a rendering.The said Porsche 911 GT3 RS had been caught on camera while awaiting delivery, with the track tool sitting quietly inside a dealer in Munich, Germany - here's the rear-engined delight , in case you didn't get to feast your eyes on its aero-dictated lines.
Also known as the Samsung QM6 in South Korea, the Renault Koleos is all-new from the ground up. Based on the CMF-CD platform of the Nissan X-Trail, the family-oriented vehicle doesnt come with knee airbags, not even optionally. This is the reason Euro NCAP rated protection to the drivers right tibia marginal in the rather violent front offset deformable barrier crash test.As for the full-width rigid barrier test, this sort of crash exposes the marginal protection offered by the Koleos II to the head and chest of the rear passengers. On the upside, the crossover offers good whiplash protection and comes as standard with an autonomous emergency braking system. In percentage points, adult occupant protection has been rated by the organization at 90%.Moving on to child occupant protection, measurements the 10-year-old crash test dummy indicated poor protection for the neck in the front offset test. For 6-year-old children, deceleration data measured by the dummy suggests weak protection for the chest. Alas, the Koleos II scored a so-so 79 percent.When it comes to pedestrian protection, results were good and adequate, with the exception of the stiff windshield pillars. Pelvis protection is a mish-mash of good and poor ratings depending on the angle of the crash and the dummys weight and height. The auto-brake system? Renault didnt design it for pedestrians, the reason why the Koleos scores zero points for AEB protection.The Euro NCAP tested the 1,623-kilogram Koleos 1.6 dCi in left-hand drive configuration, with the five-star overall rating applying to all variants of the crossover. The X-Trail , which was tested three years ago, also prides itself on five stars.
Congress is back in session and tax reform plans are expected this month. It's been 31 years since the tax system was rewritten, and Donald Trump has promised a 15% corporate tax rate and big, across-the-board cuts to individual income taxes.

Data: Office of Management and Budget; Chart: Chris Canipe / Axios

Why it matters:

The government makes its money from taxes to fund the 430 departments, agencies and subagencies, millions of employees, health care and various other initiatives and programs. Big tax cuts give the government less money to budget with, and could add trillions of dollars to the deficit. Traditionally, Republicans have supported both lower taxes and at least balancing the budget (if not attempting to tackle our national debt), but Trump's original tax plan was estimated to add $7.2 trillion to the national debt, according to Forbes.

The facts:
Only one poll number to remember this week: WSJ/NBC finds that Trump has 98% approval with Republicans who voted for him in both the primary and the general.

Be smart: Don't underestimate Trump's power to do whatever the hell he wants and still keep his base voters. If they stayed with him through Charlottesville and "Access Hollywood," they're not going anywhere over a Beltway deal.

Trump has an almost magical hold on his voters. He makes regular deposits in the Bank of Base, and has a nice balance.
9 September 2017 10:57 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

In January-July 2017, Azerbaijani banks sold $764.7 million, which is 2.6 times less than in the same period last year, according to a report of the Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA).

For the seven months of this year, customers of banks purchased 12.09 million pounds, 158.63 million euros and 1.37 billion rubles in cash.

A similar situation was observed with the purchase of US dollars by banks. During the same period, banks purchased $829.11 million, which is 2.2 times less than in January-July 2016.

For the seven months of this year, banks purchased 3.75 million pounds, 114.93 million euros and 7.48 billion Russian rubles.

There are 31 banks, including two state-owned ones, in Azerbaijan.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Editors Note: In 2011, on the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, Napa Valley Publishing newspapers asked area residents to submit their memories of the attacks. In honor of the 16th anniversary, we are revisiting some of those powerful essays.

On 9/11, David and I awoke to a glorious salmon-colored sunrise at our favorite high mountain lodge on Tioga Pass  just outside of Yosemite. We were at 10,000 feet elevation watching the vibrant sun shine off the majestic surrounding granite mountains. So close to heaven.

I walked the short pathway to the lodges lobby and dining area, and there my world changed forever.

On the lobbys TV, I saw the terrifying scene of the World Trade Center billowing black smoke, debris everywhere, people running, screaming. Oh, my God!

People in the lobby were walking like zombies, mouths agape. What is this? An accident? But two planes crashing into the twin towers? This is no accident. Are we at war?

Back in our room I told David he would never believe what had happened. We rushed back to the lobby and watched transfixed along with the others as we witnessed our safe haven, America, become a violent target.

Instantly blown away was our sense of security and national well-being. The startling realization that we were vulnerable to enemy hostility here at home, anywhere, anytime, shook my husband and I to the core. To add to this terror, we had no idea who was responsible for such hatred and destruction.

Outside the lobby the startling beauty of the high mountain morning called our souls to another direction.

With our minds and hearts full of chaos, we left the lobby, the lodge, the lifeline of reporting and headed into the mountains. There we spent the next five days hiking, cocooned by the beauty of Gods creation  contemplating the silent skies.
9 September 2017 11:30 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

Azerbaijans ADY Container has become a member of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TCITR) Consortium, Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping CJSC said in a message Sept. 8.

A decision on ADY Containers joining TCITR Consortium was made during a meeting of the founders of the TCITR International Association in Odessa, Ukraine.

The meeting participants spoke about the intensive development and future prospects of the TCITR.

The Trans-Caspian International Transport Route runs through China, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and then through Turkey and Ukraine to Europe.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
9 September 2017 11:48 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

Azerbaijans Energy Ministry and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) signed a memorandum of intent on Strategic Road Map for the development of utilities in Azerbaijan, the ministry said Sept. 8.

Baku has hosted a meeting of Azerbaijans Deputy Energy Minister Gulmammad Javadov and EBRD President Suma Chakrabarti, according to the ministry message.

During the meeting, Javadov commended the contribution Azerbaijans cooperation with EBRD made in the development of the countrys energy sector.

He informed the EBRD president about the progress of work within the Strategic Road Map for the development of utilities and noted that one of the most important priority areas, outlined in the document, is creating a central body that will play a bridging role in the effective regulation of the energy sector.

It is necessary to benefit from the European experience in the establishment of an independent regulatory body for energy. The EBRD support for the acceleration of this process is very important, Javadov said.

Chakrabarti, for his part, noted that EBRD has extensive experience in the energy sector and 30 percent of the bank's investment is channelled to this area. He pointed out that one of the banks main objectives is to increase this share up to 40 percent in the future.

He expressed interest in assisting in the creation of the regulatory body and said EBRD has made cooperation with Azerbaijans Energy Ministry its goal.

The document to be signed between the two bodies will further strengthen cooperation and ensure efficient activity, the EBRD head said.

Azerbaijan has been a member of EBRD since 1992. Since the beginning of its cooperation with Azerbaijan, EBRD has allocated $1.7 billion for implementation of 151 projects in the country.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
9 September 2017 12:03 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has sent a congratulatory letter to Kim Jong-un, chairman of the Workers Party of Korea, supreme leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, supreme commander of the Korean People's Army.

On behalf of the people of Azerbaijan and on my own behalf, I extend my sincere congratulations to you and your people on the occasion of the national holiday of your country  Day of the Foundation of the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, Ilham Aliyev said in his letter.

On this remarkable day, I extend my best wishes to you and wish the friendly people of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea peace and prosperity, he added.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Description - Stealth Raiders by Lucas Jordan

A vivid exploration of the audacious, unauthorised stealth attacks of Australian infantrymen on the German front line in 1918



In 1918 a few daring low-ranking Australian infantrymen, alone among all the armies on the Western Front, initiated stealth raids without orders. These stealth raiders killed Germans, captured prisoners and advanced the line, sometimes by thousands of yards. They were held in high regard by other men of the lower ranks and were feared by the Germans facing them.



Who were these stealth raiders and why did they do it? What made Australian soldiers take on this independent and personal type of warfare? Using their firsthand accounts, as well as official archives and private records, Lucas Jordan pieces their stories together.



A gripping account of the crucial summer on the Western Front, Stealth Raiders- A Few Daring Men in 1918 considers the stealth raiders' war experience and training, the unprecedented conditions at the front and the morale of the German Army in 1918. Lucas Jordan argues that bush skills, and the bush ethos central to Australian civil society - with its emphasis on resourcefulness and initiative - made stealth raids a distinctively Australian phenomenon.



'Depressingly often we see books promoted as "the forgotten story" or "the untold story". Yet Stealth Raiders tells such a story, of a few daring Australian infantry who . . . so demoralised their opponents that they feared to enter the line against them' - Bill Gammage

Buy Stealth Raiders by Lucas Jordan from Australia's Online Independent Bookstore, Boomerang Books.

Book Details

9780143786634

0143786636

Paperback / softback

320

(234mm x 153mm x 24mm)Vintage (Australia)28-Aug-2017Australia
Editors Note: In 2011, on the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, Napa Valley Publishing newspapers asked area residents to submit their memories of the attacks. In honor of the 16th anniversary, we are revisiting some of those powerful essays.

In January of 1970 in New York City, I began what would be a 32-year career in the insurance industry.

I lived in New Jersey and commuted daily by train to New York. The system was called PATH (Port Authority Trans Hudson) and its New York terminus was on the site of what would become the World Trade Center.

After completing a six-month training program for The Chubb Group, I was assigned to an underwriting team for commercial property. By this time the PATH station had been moved, the building demolished and a giant hole was being dug for the foundation of the twin towers.

My first rookie assignment was to the group that was helping place the necessary construction insurance for the project.

I came to San Francisco in 1972 with Chubb and had a series of different insurance jobs, which culminated in 1979 when I joined a small startup operation that specialized in catastrophic property insurance. During the next 13 years we grew and prospered, and in 1992, we sold our firm to the Aon Corp, headquartered in Chicago.

Their largest office was in New York and they had a total of about 1,200 employees in the twin towers. I visited the World Trade Center many times in the next 10 years and my last visit was in early August 2001 to discuss the end of my employment contract and my retirement.

Every time I entered that complex I remembered my beginnings there and felt a sense of pride about playing a role, though very small, in its construction. It was a beautiful and imposing site. The twin towers fell 31 years, 8 months and 11 days after I started my career. Aon lost 328 employees that day and though I only knew five of them, my heart broke and the tears flowed as I watched that terrible tragedy unfold.

One of my last official acts as an employee of Aon was to authorize payment of $1 million for our firms very small portion of the $4.5 billion insurance loss. My 32 years of insurance had begun and ended with the World Trade Center.

As an Air Force veteran and a Vietnam veteran, I grieved for the 3,500 who died that horrible day and consider them comrades in arms. They gave their lives for their country just as surely as any soldier, sailor, Marine or airman. They didnt sign up to become combatants, but they surely were.

It remains my privilege to honor them all on this the 10th anniversary of the fall of the towers. Just as previous generations never forget December 7, 1941, so shall we all remember September 11, 2001. Freedom Is Not Free.
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 09/09/2017 (1892 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Brandonites with Florida connections are anxiously watching the news as Hurricane Irma barrels toward the Sunshine State.

Charlie Clark, CEO of NetSet Communications, owns a property in Windermere, just north of Walt Disney World.

One of the reasons that we built our home where we did was to be as inland as we could be, he said. As his property is located in the centre of the state, he is hopeful it will remain outside of the hurricanes path.

The Associated Press This photo shows storm damage in the aftermath of hurricane Irma in Virgin Gordas Gun Creek in the British Virgin Islands on Friday. Irma scraped Cubas northern coast Friday on a course toward Florida, leaving in its wake a ravaged string of Caribbean resort islands strewn with splintered lumber, corrugated metal and broken concrete.

Officials at Walt Disney World in Orlando announced Friday that its parks will close this afternoon and remain closed through Monday. Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez said Friday that more than 660,000 residents have been ordered to evacuate  the largest evacuation order he can remember.

Clark expressed concern for the millions of people living in the coastal areas.

Florida is a beautiful state and this storm has the potential of causing widespread damage and catastrophic losses to thousands of properties, he said. Our thoughts are with our Florida friends and neighbours.

The Clarks built their Florida home in 2015 and spend the winter months there.The family has regularly travelled to the state for many years, drawn to its beautiful landscape, friendly people and many attractions.

As the storm gets closer to the United States, Clarks neighbours have been taking some precautions for them, such as moving outdoor furniture inside.

We, in turn, have offered the use of our home should they have friends in the southern portion of the state that are displaced because of the storm.

The hurricane scraped Cubas northern coast Friday, leaving in its wake a ravaged string of Caribbean resort islands. Irma rolled past the Dominican Republic and Haiti and battered the Turks and Caicos Islands early Friday with waves as high as 20 feet. The death toll rose to 22 by Friday afternoon.

You worry for anybody thats in the Caribbean right now, as well for Florida, said Brad Munn, who owns property in the Dominican Republic. We cant imagine, living in Brandon, seeing a storm of that magnitude.

Munn, a real estate agent with Royal LePage, has been travelling to the Dominican Republic for the past 10 years. He owns a condo in the Puerto Plata area, on the northern coast. Fortunately, this area seemed to avoid the brunt of the storm.

High winds and lots of rain, but no apparent damage, Munn said, after receiving a report from his property manager.

Its a relief for a lot of people  were very grateful and thankful that it passed by us, but  it wasnt so fortunate for some of the other islands that were certainly devastated by it.

Munn is involved with a charity called Blancos Kids DR in Puerto Plata. The charity operates a school with four classrooms, which currently assists 91 children of Haitian descent.

That has a pretty strong Brandon connection to it too because most of our supporters are from Brandon, he said.

Irma was at one point the most powerful recorded storm in the open Atlantic. It could be one of the most devastating storms ever to hit Florida, a state that has undergone rapid development since the last major hurricane struck a dozen years ago.

Florida residents and tourists faced gas shortages and gridlock on inland highways as a half-million people in Miami-Dade County were ordered to clear out.

Uncertainty over the path of Hurricane Irma has prompted Georgias governor to expand a pre-emptive emergency declaration to cover more than half of the state. By Friday afternoon, Nathan Deal had declared a state of emergency for 94 of Georgias 159 counties.

 jaustin@brandonsun.com, with files from The Canadian Press

 Twitter: @jillianaustin
Connie Johnson luxuriating in that sea of 5c coins, worth more than $2 million. She says the Big Heart Project "sustains her every day'' she is in the hospice, with memories of the strength of her community. "I'm so proud to be a Canberran,'' she said. Credit:Facebook/Love Your Sister She'd heart-wrenchingly brought a rack of her clothes to give away to the volunteers. Many of the dresses had come from the boutique of her friend and Melbourne "villager" Karen Ristevski, who had been a big supporter of Love Your Sister before she was murdered. Connie was just being her usual pragmatic self. She also happily sat at the end of the evening getting a selfie with anyone who wanted one. Love Your Sister siblings, actor Samuel Johnson and sister Connie. "And if you haven't got a selfie yet, I would suggest tonight might be the night for that," she'd said, earlier.

I first met Connie in 2013 and I'd interviewed her several times. I'd never asked for a photograph with her because I felt too awkward. But this was Connie. Social media had been the lifeblood of Love Your Sister. If someone sharing a selfie with her prompted a donation or a breast check or just a second of contemplation about the importance of breast cancer research, so be it. So I got my selfie with Connie. Connie Johnson (right) with her Canberra friend Amy English who was by her side constantly. Credit:Karleen Minney Later during a quiet moment, Connie hinted at the utter unfairness that her life might soon be over. Not even touching on the big stuff. Just incredulous that that stack of books by her bedside would never be read. That all the things on her to do list would never be ticked off. I told her I loved that the day before the Big Heart Project, the federal budget had been handed down, a day when Australia traditionally united to hate Canberra. The next day, the national capital was bathed in love from across Australia, thanks to the Big Heart Project and more than 50 million coins being tossed on to the Lyneham netball courts. Connie had actually helped to change people's perception of Canberra. She loved that. A former disability support worker and manager, Connie, who created Love Your Sister with her brother, the actor Samuel Johnson, always wanted to do a project that would match his unicycle ride around Australia.

The Canberra Times reporter Megan Doherty and Connie Johnson at one of their last meetings, in July this year. The Big Heart Project was it, raising $2.535 million for cancer research. According to the Love Your Sister website tally, the 'village' has to date raised $5.605 million towards "cancer vanquishment". A massive achievement for two siblings who had endured so much together, not least the suicide of their mother when Connie was just four and Samuel, three. All the money has gone to the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, save for $200,000 that went to The Cancer Support Group (formerly The Eden Monaro Cancer Support Group). Questacon had been a big support of the Big Heart Project. Questacon deputy director Kate Driver, who was there on that night in the Kaleen hall, confirmed an amazing array of statistics, including that the Big Heart Project reached an estimated worldwide audience of 20 to 30 million people and that both #Canberra and #BigHeart Project trended for nine hours globally on the day. Connie was chuffed, to say the least.

"The Big Heart was my dream," she told the volunteers that night. "I knew it was going to be an awesome event but what I didn't know was just how awesome and just how big it was going to be." The Big Heart Project, staged in Canberra on May 10, was essentially organised by volunteers gathered around the kitchen table in Connie's Kaleen home, the base for Love Your Sister. The LYS office was out the back in the garage. All the merchandise was packed from there. All the phone calls and emails answered from this modest house in the Canberra suburbs. Some of the volunteers at the July gathering talked about the logistics of the Big Heart Project and just how massive it became. How they'd debated about whether to get insurance to cover more than 500 people attending on the day. Would they get 500 people there? In the end, 25,000 people visited the Lyneham netball courts to toss in their five cent pieces and make the world's biggest love heart from the coins. Like all good mums, whether it's on a P and F committee or for the local sporting club, the Love Your Sister volunteers approached organisations to see if they'd donate their services for the Big Heart event. They estimated they received about $80,000 of in-kind support. If they'd paid the volunteers for all those hours they donated to the event, Love Your Sister's outlay would have been closer to $200,000. In the end, the Big Heart Project cost the committee $8000 to stage, for security.

That's right, this committee of amazing women had turned an $8000 "investment" into a $2.5 million return. In that hall in Kaleen, with tables down the back groaning with bring-a-plate food, kids playing out the back and pink balloons fluttering on the tables, Connie was determined to show her thanks. She thought, she told the volunteers, they might raise $200,000 from the Big Heart Project. "You know, we did more than 10 times that. So, go us," she laughed, to great applause. "At times during the fundraising campaign, Sam, that snotty-nosed little brother of mine, and other people tried to take it to bigger cities to make it a bigger event and I don't think it could have been any bigger if we'd taken it to New York City.

"I would like to say that I've never been as proud to be a Canberran as I am now. You guys, whether you helped out on the day, whether you helped leading up, whether you were on the committee or a sponsor, every single thing you did, all came together in that massive 80-metre heart that was like this deep with coins. "When I first conceived of the idea, I was in quite good health, my cancer was stable and in December, I started to go downhill. And there was a part of me worried that I wouldn't make the Big Heart but I did and I'm so glad I got to end my career on such a positive note. "And I'm so glad I got to do it here at home in Canberra with you guys. "Thank you so much for everything that you've contributed. It means so much to me. I can't ever thank you enough. I'm just again, I don't want to cry and end things on a sad note, so I will talk about the future a little bit." That future included a new home for Love Your Sister, in Belconnen.

"White Lady Funerals, ironically, donated some office space to us. And, yes, they've thrown in for a funeral," Connie said, laughing. "So we're going to be operating out of White Lady Funerals Belconnen, who've given us an office and some warehouse space." Love Your Sister would continue to operate with volunteers. They'd answer phone calls and emails. Run a nation-wide program for schools to fundraise for Love Your Sister. Continue to sell and pack off the books and merchandise, from hoodies to swear jars. With every cent going to breast cancer research. "I haven't been able to field all the calls that have come in and we think with your help, we'll be able to answer every call that comes into Love Your Sister," Connie said, that night. "And that means the village is only going to grow and grow. I think that we're in the a unique space of being able to build this from the ground up. I think it's only going to get bigger and better in Canberra.

"I thank everyone who came into my home, who bought me cookies, things for the other volunteers, who made it just feel so natural and so much fun, from the very beginning, it's just been so awesome working with you." The volunteers wanted to return the respect and devotion to Connie. "Thanks for having us in your life Connie. We love you," one said. Another said: "I know you always say you couldn't have done it without us, but I think I speak for all the volunteers by thanking you for letting us to your life. It was a privilege and it's also changed all of our lives "Because it put everything into perspective. You've made us all kinder and we will continue that forever. So you've not only changed all those doctors' lives and all those patients' lives but you've changed a fair bit of the Canberra community as well. So thanks for letting us in."

In some of her more candid moments, Connie was concerned about how much time Love Your Sister did take from her life and whether it should have been given to her sons, Willoughby and Hamilton. She loved them fiercely. She and her husband Mike Johnson (he took her name when they married and ran the Book Lore book shop in Lyneham) moved to Canberra in 2001. She always found a way to give of herself. "In a way we're all terminal and we're all going to die. We have the now and we have to do something with it," she told The Canberra Times in 2015. In another interview in 2013, Connie was talking about Samuel's then planned unicycle ride around Australia to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer research. It seemed another well-intentioned effort at the time but actually became a national phenomenon.
A police officer was wounded in the jaw with a pair of scissors in an alleged attack in South Brisbane late on Friday.

Police responded about 10pm to reports of a man causing a disturbance on Grey Street.

A 54-year-old male sergeant became involved in a struggle with a man allegedly armed with a pair of scissors. The officer's jaw was injured with the scissors, police allege.

The sergeant was taken to Princess Alexandra Hospital in a stable condition.

A 25-year-old Armstrong Creek man was charged with unlawful wounding, going armed to cause fear, serious assault police, possession of a dangerous drug and obstruct police.
A domestic violence victim has told how her heart went to her throat and her body went cold when she realised her personal details had been released to the person she had made every effort to hide from.

I was sitting at my dining room table when I was looking through the document that I received that I knew had been provided to this particular person as well and while I was sitting at my dining room table I turned the page and saw my address, the woman, who can not be named for safety reasons, said.

My heart went into my throat and my body went cold.

I immediately got up and grabbed my keys from the table and ran out to my car and left the house.
A Queensland man who raped his 12-year-old half-sister and molested another young sibling will stay behind bars after unsuccessfully arguing his one-year jail sentence was manifestly excessive.

The bulk of the 61-year-olds offending took place between 1966 and 1975, when he was aged between 10 and 18.

The man's victims included his sister and half-sister.

More recently the man, who can not be named for legal reasons, shoved his hand inside the underpants of his 14-year-old niece after she rebuffed his advances in 2009 or 2010.

How much money would it take to let me touch you? he had asked, according to a Court of Appeal judgment published on Wednesday.
Editors Note: In 2011, on the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, Napa Valley Publishing newspapers asked area residents to submit their memories of the attacks. In honor of the 16th anniversary, we are revisiting some of those powerful essays.

An accident of schedules brought us to New York City for that tragic day, Sept. 11, 10 years ago. Up close and personal, too personal, to the horrific events.

Visiting our brother and family near New York, that Tuesday morning we first heard about a bombing in the World Trade Center. The reports were confused. Then the tone of reporting changed from total confusion to absolute disbelief as events turned even worse.

The second tower was hit by a plane, then at 11 a.m., that South Tower imploded and collapsed. One of the twin towers that defined New Yorks skyline, overlooked the Statue of Liberty, once the tallest buildings in the world, workplace for thousands of people  falling to the street in a cloud of dust. The scene left everyone either screaming or just totally speechless  even the on-site TV reporters were speechless. The scene was surreal, the fate of all those people was too hard to imagine. But reality struck hard when the North Tower followed suite and collapsed. Somehow we now grasped the enormity of the tragedy.

Our sister, head nurse at a hospital just blocks from the scene, was mobilizing available nurses for an expected flood of injured people. But the injured never arrived. Thousands went dead or missing. But few were only injured.

Panic hit especially hard for our brothers family. Their only son, our godson, worked on the 105th floor. In the 1993 car bombing in his tower, he was floor warden and led hundreds down all those flights of stairs. Dusty and dirty, he walked 100 blocks to his sisters Manhattan apartment to call his family. Could we hope for another phone call this time?

But by mid-afternoon hope faded for Eds survival. We prayed that he perished without pain. His sisters joined an army of people on the streets, checking all hospitals, temporary morgues, posting flyers for any information, looking for any hint of his fate. It became clear we had lost Ed. A good family man, father and a good citizen. At his memorial Mass, grown men cried, testifying how Eds intervention for their alcoholism had saved their lives.

After the attacks on the twin towers, American Airlines flight 77 was crashed into the Pentagon. On board was a friend and classmate with his wife. We had just spent the prior week together at a reunion. And now they, too, were lost.

Our cousin, a retired federal law officer, immediately went to ground zero to help look for any survivors in the rubble of steel, concrete and glass. The dust took a toll on him. Eight years later, he had a double lung transplant.

We use the term hero loosely these days. But no one will deny that the New York firefighters were certainly heroes. A friend, retired FDNY fire captain, described how firemen from his old firehouse climbed up stairwells carrying 100 pounds of equipment into the danger  against the traffic of hundreds of civilians climbing down to safety. Many of his old comrades were inside when the towers collapsed.

We witnessed a tremendous transformation of New Yorkers while we were stuck there as all air traffic was grounded. Cars there were flying the U.S. flag from those 12-inch flag poles stuck out the side windows. From both sides. Big U.S. flags flying from SUV tow hitches or pickup beds. Overpasses on the expressways and turnpikes were all draped with the U.S. flag.

United we stand. That was their message. There were posters. Graffiti. Headlines. Bumper stickers. United we stand.

Eventually, we flew home. We found a different reaction in the Bay Area. We didnt get the sense that people here got it. Here, we seemed to understand the horror, but not that our country had been attacked. That relatives, friends, fellow Americans were the victims, not in some distant country. Not killed by courageous suicide terrorists, but by murderers. Thousands of innocent civilians were targeted. People who had every right to expect to return to their homes and families after work. Victims who never signed up to go into harms way  not as our military and first responders have done. They did not deserve to be targeted. The planning of this horrific attack was premeditated murder, pure and simple.

There was not that same universal rallying around the flag here in the Bay Area, not that understanding that all of us had been attacked. The flags and signs that we saw all over New York were displayed here but not as prevalent  United we stand.

Most people in our country, and around the world, came together after 9/11 to show that we were not demoralized; that, as a nation, we had strength of character. In one of our better moments, United we stood.
A commissioner able to raid Victorian employers and launch criminal prosecutions is among the sweeping reforms to be introduced by the Andrews government to tackle the exploitation of workers by labour hire syndicates.

Fairfax Media can reveal a legislative overhaul of the labour hire industry will be introduced by the Andrews government later this year and is set to be the toughest in Australia. While lauded by unions, it is likely to be attacked by some business groups and may also risk pushing worker exploitation interstate.

Foreign workers on fruit farms are among the most vulnerable to exploitation by labour hire firms. Credit:Penny Stephens

The changes come after a series of investigative reports by Fairfax Media and Four Corners exposing the systemic exploitation of vulnerable workers by labour hire syndicates. Some of the syndicates operate across state and national borders, are controlled by organised crime groups and are embedded in the supply chains of major companies, including in the retail and construction sector.

In Victoria's food bowl, thousands of mostly undocumented Malaysians work with labour hires syndicates contracted by farms, including those supplying supermarket chains.
They are alive and well and there's worse places to get stuck - but two Perth tourists have gotten far more than what they signed up for after their cruise ship got caught between Hurricane Irma and the Mexico earthquake.

Kyle Preece, 24, and Jason Tabrum, 26, are mates from West Leederville aboard the Carnival Victory cruise ship plying between Miami and Mexico - where two natural disasters striking the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean are hitting hard.

Rough seas start to pound the Florida coastline as Hurricane Irma moves through the Southern Bahama Islands. Credit:AP

At least 60 people have now been confirmed killed following a massive 8.2 magnitude earthquake, revised from 8.1, one of the biggest recorded in Mexico, struck off the country's southern coast late on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Hurricane Irma is bearing down on Florida after it made landfall in Cuba as a Category 5 storm - it killed at least 21 people in the eastern Caribbean and left catastrophic destruction in its wake.
If you're aged less than 50, I've got some bad news. The chances are that your unhappiest days are still ahead.

A burgeoning army of happiness researchers has discovered a strong correlation between age and life satisfaction.

People in their late teens and early 20s report a high degree of happiness, on average, but the level falls away among the middle-aged. The nadir comes when people are in their early 50s. Happiness levels then tend to rebound in older age.

A new study by economists David Blanchflower and Andrew Oswald has bolstered the case for this "U-shape" pattern of wellbeing through the life course. They analysed seven massive life satisfaction surveys covering 51 countries, including Australia, and involving 1.3 million people.
The Nationals have voted to remove all subsidies for renewable energy providers over a five-year period and to freeze them at their current level for the next year.

The vote at the party's federal conference in Canberra on Saturday marks the start of a new campaign among party members against renewables, as energy policy gets set to dominate Parliament again when it resumes this week.

Renewable energy sources such as wind and solar are set to receive subsidies of up to $2.8 billion a year up to 2030, according to research by economic consultancy BAEeconomics commissioned by the Minerals Council of Australia.

The Australian Energy Market Operator is forecasting a crippling 1000 megawatt energy shortfall in 2022, as Australia's coal power plants begin to shut down, potentially leading to power shortages and rising prices for consumers.
Mexico City: At least 60 people have now been confirmed killed following a massive 8.2 magnitude earthquake, revised from 8.1, one of the biggest recorded in Mexico, struck off the country's southern coast late on Thursday, causing cracks in buildings and triggering a small tsunami, authorities said.

The quake was believed stronger than a devastating 1985 temblor that flattened swathes of Mexico City and killed thousands, but this time, damage to the city was limited.

About 50 million people across Mexico felt the earthquake the government said. In the capital, the force of the temblor sent residents of the megacity fleeing into the streets at midnight, shaken by the alarms blaring over loudspeakers and a full minute of tremors. Windows broke, walls collapsed, and the city seemed to convulse in terrifying waves; the quake even rocked the city's landmark Angel of Independence monument.

The government said at least 60 people had died and warned of aftershocks.
Bill Shorten seems to be running a tight show, with a good team. Credit:Andrew Meares In politics, anything can. And often does. Back in 2001 Kim Beazley was sailing towards the prime ministership when a boat called the Tampa appeared in the Indian Ocean and a few weeks later two planes flew into the World Trade Centre in New York. Labor's primary vote, which had been as high as 45 per cent in June, collapsed to 38.7 in the November election. Labor's primary vote took a hit after two planes struck the World Trade Centre in 2001. Who can say what the political impact would be of a local terrorist attack, an outbreak of war or, heaven forbid, a nuclear exchange on the Korean Peninsula?

In such circumstances would voters opt for continuity or would they see Labor as more competent to protect us? We simply don't know. North Korea's state news agency has rebuked the US ambassador to the UN for her 'tongue-lashing'. Credit:AP But hoping no such calamitous events happen, and our next election is business as usual, it's Shorten's to lose. And the biggest challenge for the Opposition Leader seems to be not to maintain his tight ship but to make himself more likeable. The next election looks like Shorten's to lose. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

You hear it all the time, people saying, "There's something about Bill Shorten I just don't like". The party's polling shows it, as does the government's. People can't necessarily put their finger on precisely what it is. Some will say it's his voice, or his delivery, his lame zingers, or the way he shouts when he's giving a speech. Others say that he's not trustworthy, or that he is unauthentic. This unease, this dislike, is widespread. The question is, given Labor's commanding lead in the polls: does it matter? Bill Clinton had "the Elvis factor". Credit:David Burnett It's an article of faith in US presidential politics that to win, a candidate must have "the Elvis factor". He  and maybe this is why Hillary Clinton could not get over the line  needs to be a bit of a bad boy, but with a streak of something appealing. A loveable rogue, like Bill Clinton or George W. Bush. I'm not sure if Donald Trump fits this pattern, so perhaps the mould has been broken. Do Australians feel such a fervent need to like their prime ministers? Do we prefer competence? Lack of BS? Someone who knows where they want to take the country, and can take us with them?

Bill Shorten is energised by town hall meetings, his supporters say. Credit:Daniel Pockett Even an initially very popular prime minister like Kevin Rudd was not really liked. You have to go back 30 years, to Bob Hawke, to find a prime minister who was really liked and politics was different then, and Hawke was hugely popular before he even entered politics. Most people, even  perhaps especially  a lot of Labor voters, initially liked Malcolm Turnbull. A great many people still want to be able to like him but their overwhelming feeling about the Prime Minister is one of disappointment. He has let them down, he has not delivered, he has not performed well. Malcolm Turnbull is preferred as prime minister to Bill Shorten (46 per cent to 29 per cent) but the punters are not satisfied with the way either man is doing his job. Both leaders have a satisfaction rate of minus 20. His senior colleagues maintain that Shorten is growing on people. Now just one month shy of four years in the job, voters are getting used to him, they say, as they get to know him and his family, to appreciate that he is offering relevant policy alternatives to the chaos that is the federal government.

Tanya Plibersek, the deputy leader, has assumed responsibility for Labor's policy development process and for instituting the internal cultural changes that were needed to ensure the party puts behind it the instability of the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd years. This division of labour is designed to enable Shorten to concentrate on being the Leader, especially the retailing of himself to people around the country through the 53 town hall meetings he has done so far. He plans to keep doing them. They "energise him", several people told me. These meetings, the most recent of which was last week in Bundaberg, have given him a great deal of self-confidence as well as plenty of first-hand stories about the economic and other experiences of everyday Australians that he is able to put to good use when doing media, especially his recent one-on-one interview on ABC's Q&A. His best route to popularity, say his colleagues, is for people to get used to seeing him just continuing to do the job. People will see that stability has replaced the revolving door of leadership that led to Labor being turfed out in 2013, and they will begin to appreciate Shorten's substance over Turnbull the show pony.

The trouble is that this is not being reflected in Shorten's approval ratings and that makes some in the party nervous. As does Shorten's inability to get Labor's primary vote above 38 per cent. This means Labor needs the minor party preferences to flow exactly as the polls currently predict in order to win. There are a lot of "what ifs" involved which is probably one reason Malcolm Turnbull still confidently asserts he can win the next election. What can Bill Shorten do? Given the Leader of the Opposition's job is to oppose the government, Shorten is obliged to be constantly negative, something voters don't like. "He gets marked down just for doing his job," says a colleague.

Shorten has tried to counter this with his face-to-face engagements, relentlessly travelling in order to meet as many punters as possible. It paid off during the 2016 election campaign when a relaxed and smiling Shorten, totally at ease with people, produced warm and positive media images. And came close to winning the election. Shorten has two things in his favour: this track record of almost winning and the fact that while he might not be liked, he is not Tony Abbott. He is not hated. He needs to win trust by constantly presenting himself as alternative prime minister. Travelling to South Korea and Japan with Penny Wong, the shadow foreign minister, the first time he has been to an international political hotspot as Opposition Leader, is a good move. He needs to engage people with how he will deal with Australia's economic problems, especially wages and energy. He needs, in the words of a Labor elder statesman, to be able to tell a story. Loading
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Cancer isn't just a medical issue. It's a public policy issue. That's why the American Cancer Society Cancer Action NetworkSM (ACS CAN), the American Cancer Society's nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate, engages with elected and appointed officials, policymakers, and candidates to ensure that cancer remains a top local, state, and national priority. ACS CAN's advocacy work is helping the American Cancer Society lead the fight for a world without cancer.


The final results of SSC SI CPO 2016 has been published by the Staff Selection Commission. Registered candidates can check out the results online.

Where to find the SSC SI CPO 2016 Results?

SSC SI CPO 2016 Results are available on the official website of the commission, ssc.nic.in. The results are available in a PDF file.



The recruitment process for this SSC Sub inspector in Delhi Police, CAPFs and ASI IN CISF, 2016 started last year and the commission released the list of successful candidates in SI in Delhi Police, CAPFs & ASI IN CISF, 2016 paper-2 exam on January 31 this year.

Selected candidates number

Out of the total 4295 vacancies for the male candidates, SSC has recommended 4293 and from the female candidates 489 candidates have been recommended for the vacancy of the same number.

Recruitment posts

Based on the results declared, the recruitment will be done to Sub-Inspector in Delhi Police, Sub-Inspector in Border Security Force (BSF), Sub-Inspector in Central Industrial Security Force(CISF), Sub-Inspector in Central Reserve Police Force(CRPF), Sub-Inspector in Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBPF), Sub-Inspector in Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and Assistant Sub-Inspector in Central Industrial Security Force(CISF).

As per result of Paper-II, 10,575(9,649-Male & 926-Female) candidates were declared qualified for appearing in Medical Examination.

How to check the SSC SI CPO 2016 results?

In order to check the SSC SI CPO 2016 results, follow the steps given here:

Enter the official website of Staff Selection Commission, ssc.nic.in

Click on the SSC SI CPO 2016 results link given in the home page or go to the notice tab, click on the CAPF link and see the results link

A new page will open as a PDF file

The candidate can check the results there. The results are organized according to the roll numbers.

Also Read: SSC MTS 2016 Paper I Admit Card Released: Download Now!
I was quite taken aback by the recent letter published Sept 3, titled Dont feel sorry for the British by your reader Chris d. Craiker. What started as a brief review of the movie Dunkirk turned into a bitter diatribe of Britains legacy between the two World Wars. He brought up the point that the movie audiences sympathetic reaction with the British during this most troubled time is unfounded.

First the good stuff  the film is an absolutely, magnificent epic. I had the good fortune to see it on the IMAX screen. A must-see film for everyone, shows an extraordinary day in the life of the Battle of Dunkirk.

It is shown from three viewpoints: from the land, sea and air. This was not your typical blood and gore war movie. However, you are there, you feel every ricochet bullet, every thunderous explosion, every gasp of a drowning man, every twist and turn of the mighty Spitfire fighter plane.

After the movie, I drove back home along I-80, I swear I was still flying the Spitfire, I felt the bounce and lift of the plane as I traversed the Fairfield corridor gently setting it down as the traffic ahead slowly brought me to a halt. It was that type of movie.

Now the bad stuff  Mr. Craiker claims Britain is at fault for being at war with Germany and should have remained calm, less hostile and agree to Hitlers demands. This way, World War II would have been avoided.

His claims via the Treaty of Versailles (I assume) after World War I were too harsh on Germany and consequently gave rise to Hitler and the Third Reich. His claims may hold some sway to a point, but it was a treaty signed by the Big Four  Britain, France, Italy and USA. He continues his anti-British rampage, declaring that the British Bulldog and the British Empire created more troubled hot spots and unrest in the world, than it was worth.

Dont feel sorry for the British. They made their bed, they should sleep in it, he writes.

Mr. Craiker is obviously anti-British for whatever reason and probably no amount of reason could appease him. Instead I will just address the Dunkirk issue.

Well, I am a little biased in my response, I am British and American, dual citizen. I have the best of both worlds. And what a world it would be without Britain standing alone in the early 1940s after Germanys blitzkrieg of Northern Europe and subsequent genocide of certain members of its population.

Without Britain hanging on and salvaging 338,000 British and French troops from the Dunkirk beach, it lived on to fight another day. It provided a vital stepping stone with the help of its valuable American and Canadian allies to storm the Normandy beaches on D-day and eventually take Berlin a year later and defeat the Nazis.

The British were naive in their ability to defeat the powerful Nazi force in the early days of the war. Through clever marketing to improve moral they turned the Dunkirk retreat into a victory. But a victory none the less, where the common man volunteered to risk their lives to save their boys trapped on an unforgiving land and potentially watery grave.

You could say the Dunkirk spirit continues in Houston, Texas.

John Smithies
Hurricane Irma lashes Cuba, heads for Florida as residents ordered to evacuate

Hurricane Irma walloped Cuba's northern coast on Saturday as a Category 5 storm, as millions of Florida residentswere ordered to evacuate after the storm killed 21 people in the eastern Caribbean and left catastrophic destruction in its wake.

Irma struck Camaguey Archipelago with 160 mph (260 kph) winds early on Saturday, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said, after upgrading the storm late on Friday to its most powerful classification.

Irma, one of the fiercest Atlantic storms in a century, was expected to hit Florida on Sunday morning, bringing massive damage from wind and flooding to the fourth-largest state by population.

The scenes along Cuba's north central coast were gradually coming to resemble the horrors of those of other Caribbean islands over the last week as Irma barrelled in for a direct hit at Ciego de Avila province around midnight.

Choppy seas, grey skies, sheets of rain, bending palm trees, huge waves crashing over sea walls and downed power lines filled state-run television's evening news cast.

Irma was forecast to bring dangerous storm surges of up to 10 feet (3 meters) to parts of Cuba's northern coast and the central and northwestern Bahamas.

Meteorologists warned that by Saturday morning scenes of far greater devastation were sure to emerge as Irma worked her way along the northern coast westward through Sancti Spiritus and Villa Clara provinces where it is forecast to turn north toward Florida.

Irma was about 275 miles (440 km) south-southeast of Miami, the NHC said in its latest advisory.

With the storm barrelling toward the United States, officials ordered an historic evacuation in Florida that has been made more difficult by clogged highways, gasoline shortages and the challenge of moving older people.

The United States has been hit by only three Category 5 storms since 1851, and Irma is far larger than the last one in 1992, Hurricane Andrew, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

'We are running out of time. If you are in an evacuation zone, you need to go now. This is a catastrophic storm like our state has never seen,' Governor Rick Scott told reporters.

A total of 5.6 million people, or 25 percent of the state's population, were ordered to evacuate Florida, according to the Florida Division of Emergency Management.

US President Donald Trump said in a videotaped statement that Irma was 'a storm of absolutely historic destructive potential' and called on people to heed recommendations from government officials and law enforcement. In Palm Beach, Trump's waterfront Mar-a-Lago estate was ordered evacuated.

Irma was set to hit the United States two weeks after Hurricane Harvey, a Category 4 storm, struck Texas, killing about 60 people and causing property damage estimated at up to $180 billion in Texas and Louisiana. Officials were preparing a massive response, the head of FEMA said.

About 9 million people in Florida may lose power, some for weeks, said Florida Power & Light Co, which serves almost half of the state's 20.6 million residents.

Amid the exodus, nearly one-third of all gas stations in Florida's metropolitan areas were out of gasoline, with scattered outages in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina, according to Gasbuddy.com, a retail fuel price tracking service.

Mandatory evacuations on Georgia's Atlantic coast and some of South Carolina's barrier islands were due to begin on Saturday. Virginia and Alabama were under states of emergency.

The governors of North and South Carolina warned residents to remain on guard even as the storm took a more westward track, saying their states still could experience severe weather, including heavy rain and flash flooding, early next week.
Pope visits Colombian city Medellin that has put its drugs war in the past

Pope Francis today travels to Medellin, once notorious as the stomping grounds of the drug lord Pablo Escobar, to find a city transformed since his predecessor Pope John Paul visited in 1986.

Violence between cartels, paramilitary groups and guerrillas raged in the poor 'comuna' neighbourhoods on its outskirts and the late pontiff was moved to decry drug violence.

Instead, Francis is expected to honour the commitment and sacrifice of those who dedicate themselves to religious vocations when he says mass for a crowd expected to draw hundreds of thousands of people near an airport.

He also visits a home for children who were victims of violence and addresses priests, nuns, seminarians and their families at the La Macarena bullring.

In the 1980s and early 1990s, violence between cartels, paramilitary groups and guerrillas raged in the poor 'comuna' neighbourhoods on its outskirts and the visiting pontiff was moved to decry drug violence.

The city is now heralded as a model of urban development. It has installed cable cars up the steep Andean slopes that surround it to save working-class residents a punishing climb home and built libraries in neighbourhoods once host to gun battles.

Feared drug trafficker Escobar, Medellin's most infamous resident, was gunned down in the city in a US-backed operation in 1993. He was recently resurrected as a character in the popular Netflix series Narcos.

During his visit to the city, Francis will highlight those who choose the habit and the cassock over secular careers, as the number of new entrants to vocations in the Roman Catholic Church has slumped.

At the La Macarena meeting, Francis will also pray before the relics of Mother Laura Montoya, a nun who was the first female Colombian saint. Montoya was a teacher and prolific author who hosted classes in her own home when the 1895 civil war forced schools to close.

The leader of the world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics has brought a message of national reconciliation as the country tries to heal the wounds left by the conflict and bitter disagreements over a peace deal with guerrillas agreed last year.

On Friday in the tropical city of Villavicencio, he urged Colombians sceptical of a the deal with the FARC guerrillas to be open to reconciliation with those who have repented, speaking hours after a top rebel leader asked the pontiff for forgiveness..

He visits the city of Cartagena on Sunday before leaving for Rome that night.
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Suitability may be all-important in investing, but the concept can be lost on children, who probably have little to no interest in what stocks are or how to invest, says CNBC's Jim Cramer. "Let's be honest. You couldn't explain to a kid what a stock is to save his or her life," the "Mad Money" host told viewers. Cramer grew up differently. His dad taught him about stocks, giving Cramer the business section of the Philadelphia Bulletin each day so he could look at stocks' closing prices. "I liked the stock picking process so much I got the whole fifth grade class at Penn Manor involved. We would all pick stocks and keep track of the closing prices for a week to see who could make the most money," the "Mad Money" host said. But there are ways to learn about stocks even for kids who play with toys, Cramer said. While they may not know what it means to own shares of companies, they know they love their Hasbro Star Wars Lightsabers or their Mattel Barbie dolls. "I bet you they'd pick Hasbro over Mattel," Cramer added. Kids also know Disney theme parks, McDonald's Happy Meals, and General Mills' Cheerios. The rougher tykes may even be familiar with Johnson & Johnson's Band-Aids. "If you want to get your kids into investing, buy a brand name," Cramer said. "Something they can see and hear and tough and even like. Yeah, just own it. The stock won't always work. But think of what you liked when you were little, and remember that you may have a long term winner on your hands."

Find what suits you

Andy Ryan | Getty Images

There used to be an understanding in the stock market that stocks could be here today and gone tomorrow, but Cramer finds that is not the case anymore. "We've gone well beyond that," the "Mad Money" host said. "Those days are long over, and if you recommend a stock for a trade, even if you say, 'Buy it today for the analyst meeting and sell it tomorrow,' there will always be a YouTube video kicking around that shows you liked the stock but never gave it the 'sell' call." That is why Cramer wanted to explain the concept of suitability  an idea that suggests certain stocks are right for some investors, but wrong for others. Cramer thought it was obvious that stocks came with no guarantees until a Goldman Sachs executive explained the worth of knowing what an individual investor wants to Cramer, then an incoming summer intern at the bank. That opened the "Mad Money" host's eyes to the importance of risk tolerance. Clothes, cars, devices and houses either come with some level of insurance or can be returned. Stocks cannot. So Cramer decided to go through the investments suitable for investors of all ages, starting with the youngest of the young.

Investing for kids

Tom Merton | Getty Images

Investing for children can be tricky, but Cramer says that if you do it right, it can leave your loved ones much better off by the time they grow up than if you avoid it altogether. "Parents, grandparents, listen up. You can give all sorts of things to families that had just had babies. I want you to open up accounts for them. Or at least give them some shares of stock so that from the earliest moment you can start the process of saving that you have to do," Cramer said. His first suggestion was taking several hundred dollars and buying shares in an index fund like the S&P 500, then pairing that with some kind of total return fund, which provides a wider array of stocks. And for investors who are more interested in buying individual stocks for newborns, Cramer suggests picking two  a stock with a dividend that could be increased each year and then reinvested, and a stock with some more growth.

Teen habits: Not so destructive?

Image Source | Getty Images

Over the years, Cramer found that when it comes to investing, some of the best advisors have been none other than his two teenage daughters. "We all know that teenagers are incorrigible. The last thing they want to hear about is stocks. They have bigger fish to fry. To which I say, so what? I'm not going to tell them what to buy. I'm going to let them tell me," he said. Cramer started with the stock of Domino's . The "Mad Money" host thought it was a good speculative stock after CEO Patrick Doyle took up reforming the quality of the ingredients. "But that's not what made this stock a 'Mad Money' crown jewel. Nope, it was the technology behind DPZ," Cramer said, adding that until his kids discovered the Domino's ordering app, they preferred local pizza restaurants to the national chain. Cramer's daughters, like so many other millennials, hate talking on the phone, especially given the risk of the person on the other end getting their orders wrong or giving them an incorrect estimate for when their food would be delivered. "All of this technology was totally lost on me," Cramer said. "I never minded the phone, was always patient about when the pizza would arrive, never cared about the interchange with the delivery person. I kind of liked it. In short, I was not like the target audience. That's why I always call Domino's a tech company that sells pizza."

Investing through college and beyond

Investment portfolio Rafe Swan | Getty Images
At a secret farm outside of the Twin Cities in Minnesota, a pen full of genetically modified pigs are helping researchers find cures to cancer. Advancements in gene editing technology have allowed St. Paul start-up Recombinetics to mimic human conditions in pigs, like Alheizmer's and cancer, so pharmaceutical companies can more quickly get drugs to the market. "Pigs are 98 percent similar to humans," said Recombinetics' President and CEO Tammy Lee Stanoch. "While researchers have been able to cure cancer thousands of times in mice models, it still hasn't been solved yet in humans."

This pig has been edited to be born with a common genetic disorder called NF1, helping researchers find a cure. Jeniece Pettitt I CNBC

Using farm pigs for clinical trials is nothing new, but by using a gene modifying technology called TALENs, the company has created pigs that have human-like traits to improve the outcomes of trials. Stanoch said their pig model could cut the time it takes to find treatments for diseases in half, potentially saving millions in research costs. Dr. Adrienne Watson, Recombinetics' senior research scientist, explained that because mice are so different from humans anatomically, years of research often go to waste. She is currently working on two pigs that they modified to be born with a common genetic disorder called Neurofibromatosis, or NF1. It's a disease that affects one in 3,000 children, and often leads to cancer. She was amazed how similar the symptoms and tumors in their edited pigs were to those of humans. "We've learned so much from these trials," Dr. Watson said. "We've learned better ways to dose patients  as well as to see early on if the drug is being effective."

Dr. Adrienne Watson said that pig models for research are far more accurate than testing on mice. Jeniece Pettitt I CNBC

The promise of these pigs goes beyond drugs, however. Recombinetics is also working on growing human organs and tissues in pigs that could then be transplanted into people in need. A patient could have a personal pig to grow tissue from their own stem cells, greatly reducing the rate of rejection. "You would be able to use your skin cell, grow a product and then schedule your surgery at some point in the future," Stanoch said. "This will provide an amazing breakthrough and has the ability to save 22 people every day who are dying waiting for an organ transplant." Stanoch said the company is just a few years away from being able to grow human pancreas, liver and cardiac cells in pigs. They are also close to using a pig as a human blood bank.



"So these aren't ideas that are wild and ten years off," she said. "This is the here and now."

Recombinetics is working on improving human health and agriculture practices with precision gene editing. Jeniece Pettitt I CNBC
On April 20, 1951 the largest open-car, ticker-tape parade in the history of New York City occurred. For nigh seven hours, over 19 miles, retiring five-star General of the Army Douglas MacArthur gloried in the adulation of 7 million spectators.
Saudi Arabia on Saturday suspended any dialogue with Qatar, accusing it of "distorting facts," just after a report of a phone call between the leaders of both countries suggested a breakthrough in the Gulf dispute.

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman spoke by the telephone with Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani on Friday when they discussed the Gulf dispute, state media from both countries reported earlier.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain cut diplomatic and trade links with Qatar on June 5, suspending air and shipping routes with the world's biggest exporter of , which also is home to the region's biggest U.S. military base.

The nations say Doha supports regional foe Iran and Islamists, charges Qatar's leaders deny. Kuwait has been trying to mediate the dispute.

"During the call, the Emir of Qatar expressed his desire to sit at the dialogue table and discuss the demands of the four countries to ensure the interests of all," Saudi state news agency SPA reported.

"The details will be announced later after the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia concludes an understanding with the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Arab Republic of

Egypt," SPA said.
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Fidget spinners are all the rage among children, but the government recently warned that some contain small pieces that could be a choking habit for small children. For regulators for the charged with the task of keeping Americans safe, it's all in a day's work. If a product is shown to have a substantial hazard, it can be subject to recall. Consumers purchase millions of dollars of product that is later recalled every year. Up to 400 products are recalled yearly by Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), a government agency that oversees products consumers use every day. The relatively obscure agency has control over 15,000 products, ranging from everything to toys, electronics, off road vehicles and bike helmets. "We look at an injury or an incident, and we determine the volume of product in the market, how severe and how likely the injury of the incident is," said acting CPSC Chairman, Ann Marie Buerkle. Other recalls are overseen by other government agencies. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), oversee the recall of food. Meanwhile, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHSTA) oversees car recalls.

A toy truck is tested for lead at the Port of Newark, NJ. CNBC

Since the U.S. imports millions of dollars' worth of products, the process often starts at the ports. "The CPSC examines 8,000 shipments a year. When they arrive, they are unloaded, and we examine them, often box by box," said Ariel Silverman, a CPSC compliance investigator. CNBC shadowed Silverman recently as she checked a shipment of toys from China at the Port of Newark, New Jersey. She found boxes of toy trucks contaminated with lead. "We invest in and we believe in the work that's done at the ports, because that prevents it from ever getting into the hands of the consumer. And that's really where it's most effective," Buerkle said.

A helmet is tested to make sure it meets standards at the Consumer Product Safety Commissions lab in Rockville, MD. CNBC

Products flagged at the port are sent to the CPSC's lab in Maryland for further testing. CNBC observed that process, along with testing for phthalates  a chemical added to plastics to make them soft. Phthalates are banned from children's toys, as they are believed to cause hormone and neurological effects. The CPSC begins looking into products after companies or consumers report issues. Companies are required to report issues to the agency. "Our compliance staff then reviews whatever it is that that company reported and makes a determination as to whether or not a recall would be necessary," Buerkle said. Around half of reports results in a recall. Most recalls are voluntary, with the company working with regulators on how to let consumers know. But even pulling products from the shelves does not mean they are out of the hands of consumers. Buerkle noted most recalls have a 65 percent effective rate, meaning 35 percent of products are not returned or fixed. Once a recall is issued, companies are required to pull the product from their shelves, but can still be financially liable. Recently, Home Depot agreed to a $5.7 million civil penalty for selling recalled products. The retail giant"...proactively alerted the CPSC to the problem because we appreciate the seriousness of the matter," a Home Depot spokesman told CNBC in an e-mail. "We fixed a process glitch that allowed a relatively small number of recalled products to be sold through various channels," the spokesman added. "None resulted in injuries." Separately, Amazon is facing a lawsuit over glasses sold to view the solar eclipse last month. A couple alleges they never received notice the glasses they purchased were recalled, and claim they suffered eye damage. "Out of an abundance of caution and in the interests of our customers, we asked third-party sellers that were offering solar eclipse glasses to provide documentation to verify their products were compliant with relevant safety standards.The listings from sellers who did not provide the appropriate documentation have been removed and customers who purchased from them were notified last week," an Amazon spokeswoman said in an e-mail. They would not comment on the pending litigation.

A scientist tests a sample to see if it contains Phthalates at the Consumer Product Safety Commissions lab in Rockville, MD. CNBC

Trying to get the public's attention
Russian technology companies will lose out on state orders unless they switch to using home-grown software, Russian President Vladimir Putin was quoted as saying on Friday.

Putin said that, in some spheres, state institutions could not work with companies running foreign software because that represented a risk for national cyber-security.

"In terms of security, there are things that are critically important for the state, for sustaining life in certain sectors and regions," Interfax news agency quoted Putin as telling a meeting with Russian technology producers.

"And if you are going to bring in hardware and software in such quantities, then in certain areas the state will inevitably say to you: 'You know, we cannot buy that, because somewhere a button will be pressed and here everything will go down'," the agency quoted him as saying.

"So bear that in mind."

Russian state institutions have been gradually switching to using domestic technology as part of a Kremlin drive to cut imports. That drive accelerated after Western states imposed sanctions on Russia over its annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region in 2014.
When Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan wrote a letter to their newborn daughter last month, they called themselves "optimists."

It's a popular concept in Silicon Valley, where founders view themselves as improving the world through innovative disruption. And, according to a study from Stanford University, it's a philosophy rooted in 19th-century America, when an enterprising group of American businessmen revolutionized the economy via the railroad.

"They believe that the more things change, the better things get," said Gregory Ferenstein, a freelance journalist who co-authored the study, in an interview. Ferenstein wrote the paper with David Broockman and Neil Malhotra, who both teach political economy at Stanford.

The study surveyed the political attitudes and policy preferences among wealthy technology entrepreneurs. It found that the elites of Silicon Valley are difficult to categorize using today's political labels. They're neither particularly left or right and can't neatly be described as liberal or conservative, Democrat or Republican. Nor are they all libertarians in the mold of PayPal co-founder and venture capitalist Peter Thiel.

Ferenstein, a former online political editor who's spent the past five years tracking politics in the tech industry, said there's a general view that government's influence should be small and limited to areas like improving housing, education and job training.
Sir Ranulph Fiennes is hoping for a smooth sailing when he joins Saga Pearl IIs Jewels of the Canary Islands cruise in November. Saga referred to Fiennes as "the worlds greatest living land explorer" in a prepared statement.

He was the first adventurer to reach both the North and South Poles by surface travel, and the oldest Briton to conquer Everest, and added "I do get terribly seasick" when it comes to being on the ocean.

The first time I experienced seasickness was on expedition ships in the Arctic and Antarctic waters, he said. On those vessels it was the crews job to take us there, to crash through the ice, and then pick us up on the other side  if we ever got to the other side that is.

More recently, Sir Ranulph, 73, sailed around Cape Horn with Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the first man to sail solo non-stop around the world. He said: Robin is the greatest solo sailor of all time, and I was sick once again. So it hasnt gone away.

He will join the Saga Pearl II for two nights, where he plans to talk to guests about his 40-plus years of adventure and exploration.

He said: Ill be covering stories of my life and attempts at breaking world records and I will also show a film of the first vertical journey around Earth, which is narrated by the late Sir Richard Burton.

Ill also be there if people want to ask questions, which always makes me happy.

The all-inclusive Jewels of the Canary Islands cruise features the maiden port of Aviles, in Spain, and calls at Funchal, Madeira; Santa Cruz, Tenerife; Las Palmas, Gran Canaria; Arrecife, Lanzarote; Cadiz, Spain; Portimao and Lisbon, Portugal and La Coruna (for Santiago de Compostela), Spain.
Talking Points:

Hurricane Irma could be US most costly, Florida is 4 th biggest oil consumption state

Two hurricanes behind Irma, Katia and Jose could also pose demand risk

Baker Hughes Data shows US Oil Rig Count Falls 3 to 756 active US oil rigs

IGCS data showing US Crude client short positioning increases 56% WoW, favoring upside

Fundamental Forecast for Crude Oil: Bearish

Crude Oil has been a hard market to pin down lately due to the sharp rally within a Bear market. Naturally, the first thought would be that a natural disaster would boost commodity demand. However, Crude Oil is already over supplied and the upstream landscape is not affected by the storms. The downstream component of the Oil market, where demand occurs is the one in the path of storms on the horizon. Therefore, we could see a continuation of EIA Crude Oil inventory report numbers that encourage sellers to do what they do best, and buyers to hold off.

Could Hurricane Season alter the outlook for Oil? Click here to see our Quarterly forecast on what outcomes we're anticipating!

When breaking down the EIA report, there are a few things you should note and keep an eye out for in coming weeks. First, the adjustments made by the EIA due to the supply and demand imbalance, where supply exceeded demand was the lowest since April 2004 at -625,000 per day. Total exports from the US also collapsed given the reduced activity out of the port of Houston due to Hurricane Harvey induced flooding. As expected, this lead to a large build in Crude Oil inventories of 4.58 million barrels, which helped bring about only the third product stockpile build since June.

If the string of hurricanes in the Gulf continue to dampen demand at the same time seasonal demand tapers, we could soon see an increasingly unfavorable fundamental picture that could keep a lid on prices.

Technical Outlook on Crude Oil: Still Resistance Keeps Technical Bias Lower

Chart by Tyler Yell, CMT

Traders should note after the disaster from Hurricane Katrina (fall of 2005), Crude Oil fell by ~18%. The charts seem to show that without a definitive break and close above $49.64, the 200-DMA, and the plethora of resistance from trendlines (see chart below) near $50, that Bearish pressure is likely to remain. Commodities tend to rally when the USD is weak, but the US Dollar trading to the lowest levels since the opening day of 2015 has not been enough to help Crude Oil breakout. The 20-day rolling correlation between the US Dollar and Crude Oil is -0.38, which is negative as expected, but not strong enough to change the course of Oil or to dominate the drop in demand concerns.

The technical picture clearly favors a continuation of the 2017 trend if the price fails to trade above the 200-DMA and the trendlines on the chart above.

Recommended Reading: Crude Oil Price Attempts Sharp Recovery, Faces $50-Level and 200 DMA

Next Weeks Data Points That May Affect Energy Markets:

The fundamental focal points for the energy market next week:

Sunday: Hurricane Irma forecast to reach Miami

Tuesday 6:00 AM ET: OPEC monthly market report

Tuesday 4:30 PM ET: API issues weekly U.S. oil inventory report

Wednesday 4:00 AM ET: IEA Monthly oil market report

Wednesday 10:30 AM ET: EIA Weekly U.S. il Inventory report

Fridays 1:00 PM ET: Baker-Hughes Rig Count at

Friday 3:30 PM ET: Release of the CFTC weekly commitments of traders report on U.S. futures, options contracts

IGCS data showing US Crude client short positioning increases 56% WoW, favoring upside

Oil - US Crude: Retail trader data shows 51.4% of traders are net-long with the ratio of traders long to short at 1.06 to 1. In fact, traders have remained net-long since Aug 14 when Oil - US Crude traded near 4894.0; price has moved 0.6% lower since then. The number of traders net-long is 1.6% lower than yesterday and 29.3% lower from last week, while the number of traders net-short is 0.9% lower than yesterday and 56.0% higher from last week.

We typically take a contrarian view to crowd sentiment, and the fact traders are net-long suggests Oil - US Crude prices may continue to fall. Yet traders are less net-long than yesterday and compared with last week. Recent changes in sentiment warn that the current Oil - US Crude price trend may soon reverse higher despite the fact traders remain net-long (emphasis added.)
The following companies are subsidiares of Abbott Laboratories: 3A Nutrition (Vietnam) Company Limited, ABON Biopharm (Hangzhou) Co. Ltd., AGA Medical Belgium, AGA Medical Corporation, AGA Medical Holdings Inc., ALR Holdings, AML Medical LLC, APK Advanced Medical Technologies LLC, ATS Bermuda Holdings Limited, ATS Laboratories Inc., Abbott, Abbott (Jiaxing) Nutrition Co. Ltd., Abbott (UK) Finance Limited, Abbott (UK) Holdings Limited, Abbott AG, Abbott Asia Holdings Limited, Abbott Asia Investments Limited, Abbott Australasia Holdings Limited, Abbott Australasia Pty Ltd, Abbott B.V., Abbott Bahamas Overseas Businesses Corporation, Abbott Belgian Investments, Abbott Bermuda Holding Ltd., Abbott Biologicals B.V., Abbott Biologicals LLC, Abbott Bulgaria Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Capital India Limited, Abbott Cardiovascular Inc., Abbott Cardiovascular Systems Inc., Abbott Delaware LLC, Abbott Diabetes Care Inc., Abbott Diabetes Care Limited, Abbott Diabetes Care Sales Corporation, Abbott Diagnostics GmbH, Abbott Diagnostics International Ltd., Abbott Diagnostics Technologies AS, Abbott Doral Investments S.L., Abbott Equity Holdings Unlimited, Abbott Equity Investments LLC, Abbott Established Products Holdings (Gibraltar) Limited, Abbott Finance Company SA, Abbott Financial Holdings SRL, Abbott France S.A.S., Abbott Fund Tanzania Limited, Abbott Gesellschaft m.b.H., Abbott GmbH & Co. KG, Abbott Health Products LLC, Abbott Healthcare (Puerto Rico) Ltd., Abbott Healthcare B.V., Abbott Healthcare Costa Rica S.A., Abbott Healthcare LLC, Abbott Healthcare Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Healthcare Private Limited, Abbott Healthcare Products B.V., Abbott Healthcare Products Ltd, Abbott Holding (Gibraltar) Limited, Abbott Holding GmbH, Abbott Holding Subsidiary (Gibraltar) Limited, Abbott Holding Subsidiary (Gibraltar) Limited Luxembourg S.C.S., Abbott Holdings B.V., Abbott Holdings LLC, Abbott Holdings Limited, Abbott Holdings Poland Spoka z ograniczona odpowiedzialnoscia, Abbott Hungary Korlatolt Felelossegu Tarsasag, Abbott Iberian Investments (2) Limited, Abbott Iberian Investments Limited, Abbott India Limited, Abbott Informatics Asia Pacific Limited, Abbott Informatics Canada Inc, Abbott Informatics Corporation, Abbott Informatics Europe Limited, Abbott Informatics France, Abbott Informatics Germany GmbH, Abbott Informatics Netherlands B.V., Abbott Informatics Singapore Pte. Limited, Abbott Informatics Spain S.A., Abbott Informatics Technologies Ltd, Abbott International Corporation, Abbott International Enterprises Ltd., Abbott International Holdings Limited, Abbott International LLC, Abbott International Luxembourg S.ar.l., Abbott Investments Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Ireland, Abbott Ireland Financing Designated Activity Company, Abbott Ireland Limited, Abbott Japan Co. Ltd., Abbott Kazakhstan Limited Liability Partnership, Abbott Knoll Investments B.V., Abbott Korea Limited, Abbott Laboratories (Bangladesh) Limited, Abbott Laboratories (Chile) Holdco (Dos) SpA, Abbott Laboratories (Chile) Holdco SpA, Abbott Laboratories (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Abbott Laboratories (Mozambique) Limitada, Abbott Laboratories (Pakistan) Limited, Abbott Laboratories (Philippines), Abbott Laboratories (Puerto Rico) Incorporated, Abbott Laboratories (Singapore) Private Limited, Abbott Laboratories A/S, Abbott Laboratories Argentina Sociedad Anonima, Abbott Laboratories B.V., Abbott Laboratories C.A., Abbott Laboratories Finance B.V., Abbott Laboratories GmbH, Abbott Laboratories Inc., Abbott Laboratories International LLC, Abbott Laboratories Ireland Limited, Abbott Laboratories Limited, Abbott Laboratories Limited - Laboratoires Abbott Limitee, Abbott Laboratories NZ Limited, Abbott Laboratories Pacific Ltd., Abbott Laboratories Poland Spoka z ograniczona odpowiedzialnoscia, Abbott Laboratories Products B.V., Abbott Laboratories Residential Development Fund Inc., Abbott Laboratories S.A., Abbott Laboratories SA, Abbott Laboratories Services Corp., Abbott Laboratories Slovakia s.r.o., Abbott Laboratories South Africa (Pty) Ltd., Abbott Laboratories Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Abbott Laboratories Trustee Company Limited, Abbott Laboratories Uruguay S.A., Abbott Laboratories Vascular Enterprises, Abbott Laboratories d.o.o., Abbott Laboratories de Chile Limitada, Abbott Laboratories de Colombia S.A., Abbott Laboratories de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Abbott Laboratories druzba za farmacijo in diagnostiko d.o.o., Abbott Laboratories s.r.o., Abbott Laboratories(Hellas) Societe Anonyme, Abbott Laboratorios S.A., Abbott Laboratorios S.A., Abbott Laboratorios del Ecuador Cia. Ltda., Abbott Laboratuarlari Ithalat Ihracat ve Ticaret Ltd.Sti, Abbott Laboratorios Lda, Abbott Laboratorios do Brasil Ltda., Abbott Limited Egypt LLC, Abbott Logistics B.V., Abbott Management GmbH, Abbott Management LLC, Abbott Manufacturing Singapore Private Limited, Abbott Mature Products International Unlimited Company, Abbott Mature Products Management Limited, Abbott Medical (Hong Kong) Limited, Abbott Medical (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Abbott Medical (Portugal) Distribuicao de Produtos Medicos Lda, Abbott Medical (Schweiz) AG, Abbott Medical (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Abbott Medical (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Abbott Medical (Thailand) Co. Ltd., Abbott Medical Australia Pty. Ltd., Abbott Medical Austria Ges.m.b.H., Abbott Medical Balkan d.o.o. Beograd (Novi Beograd), Abbott Medical Belgium, Abbott Medical Canada Inc./ Medicale Abbott Canada Inc., Abbott Medical Danmark A/S, Abbott Medical Devices Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Abbott Medical Espana S.A., Abbott Medical Estonia OU, Abbott Medical Finland Oy, Abbott Medical France SAS, Abbott Medical GmbH, Abbott Medical Hellas Limited Liability Trading Company, Abbott Medical Ireland Limited, Abbott Medical Italia S.p.A., Abbott Medical Japan Co. Ltd., Abbott Medical Korea Limited, Abbott Medical Korlatolt Felelossegu Tarsasag, Abbott Medical Laboratories LTD, Abbott Medical Nederland B.V., Abbott Medical New Zealand Limited, Abbott Medical Norway AS, Abbott Medical Overseas Cyprus Limited, Abbott Medical Sweden AB, Abbott Medical Taiwan Co., Abbott Medical U.K. Limited, Abbott Medical spoka z ograniczona odpowiedzialnoscia, Abbott Middle East S.A.R.L., Abbott Molecular Inc., Abbott Morocco SARL, Abbott Nederland C.V., Abbott Nederland Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Netherlands Investments B.V., Abbott Norge AS, Abbott Nutrition Limited, Abbott Nutrition Manufacturing Inc., Abbott Operations Singapore Pte. Ltd., Abbott Operations Uruguay S.R.L., Abbott Overseas Cyprus Limited, Abbott Overseas Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Overseas S.A., Abbott Oy, Abbott Point of Care Canada Limited, Abbott Point of Care Inc., Abbott Poland Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Procurement LLC, Abbott Products (Philippines) Inc., Abbott Products (Spain) S.L., Abbott Products Algerie EURL, Abbott Products B.V., Abbott Products Distribution SAS, Abbott Products Egypt LLC, Abbott Products Limited, Abbott Products Limited Liability Company, Abbott Products Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Products Operations AG, Abbott Products Operations LLC, Abbott Products Romania S.R.L., Abbott Products Tunisie S.A.R.L., Abbott Products Unlimited Company, Abbott Resources Inc., Abbott Resources International Inc., Abbott S.r.l., Abbott Saudi Arabia Trading Company, Abbott Scandinavia Aktiebolag, Abbott Sociedad Anonima de Capital Variable, Abbott South Africa Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Strategic Opportunities Limited, Abbott Trading Company Inc., Abbott Universal LLC, Abbott Vascular Devices (2) Limited, Abbott Vascular Devices Limited, Abbott Vascular Inc., Abbott Vascular Instruments Deutschland GmbH, Abbott Vascular International, Abbott Vascular Japan Co. Ltd, Abbott Vascular Limitada, Abbott Vascular Netherlands B.V., Abbott Vascular Solutions Inc., Abbott Ventures Inc., Abbott West Indies Limited, Abbott drustvo sa ogranicenom odgovornoscu za trgovinu i usluge, Advanced Neuromodulation Systems Inc., Alere, Alere (Shanghai) Diagnostics Co. Ltd., Alere (Shanghai) Healthcare Management Co. Ltd., Alere (Shanghai) Medical Sales Co. Ltd., Alere (Shanghai) Technology Co. Ltd., Alere A/S, Alere AB, Alere AS, Alere AS Holdings Limited, Alere BBI Holdings Limited, Alere Bangladesh Limited, Alere China Co. Ltd., Alere Colombia S.A., Alere Connect LLC, Alere Connected Health Limited, Alere Connected Health Ltd., Alere Diagnostics GmbH, Alere DoA Holding GmbH, Alere GmbH, Alere GmbH (Austria), Alere GmbH (Germany), Alere HK Holdings Ltd., Alere Health B.V., Alere Health BVBA, Alere Health Corp., Alere Health Sdn Bhd, Alere Health Services B.V., Alere Healthcare (Pty) Limited, Alere Healthcare Connections Limited, Alere Healthcare Inc., Alere Healthcare Nigeria Limited, Alere Healthcare S.L., Alere Holdco Inc., Alere Holding GmbH, Alere Holdings Bermuda Limited, Alere Holdings Pty Limited, Alere Home Monitoring Inc., Alere Inc., Alere Informatics Inc., Alere International Holding Corp., Alere International Limited, Alere Lda, Alere Limited, Alere Limited (New Zealand), Alere Medical BVBA, Alere Medical Co. Ltd., Alere Medical Pakistan (Private) Limited, Alere Medical Private Limited, Alere North America LLC, Alere Oy Ab, Alere Philippines Inc., Alere Phoenix ACQ Inc., Alere Pte Ltd, Alere S.A., Alere S.r.l., Alere S/A, Alere SAS, Alere San Diego Inc., Alere Scarborough Inc., Alere Spain S.L., Alere Switzerland GmbH, Alere Technologies GmbH, Alere Technologies Holdings Limited, Alere Technologies Limited, Alere Toxicology AB, Alere Toxicology Inc., Alere Toxicology S.r.l., Alere Toxicology Services Inc., Alere Toxicology plc, Alere UK Holdings Limited, Alere UK Subco Limited, Alere ULC, Alere US Holdings LLC, Alere s.r.o., Alisoc Investment & Co, Amedica Biotech Inc., Ameditech Inc., American Generics S.A.S., American Medical Supplies Inc., American Pharmacist Inc., Antares S.A., Apica Cardiovascular Limited, Aquagestion Capacitacion S.A., Aquagestion S.A., Arriva Medical LLC, Arriva Medical Philippines Inc., Arvis Investments Limited, Atlas Farmaceutica S.A., Avee Laboratories Inc., Axis-Shield AD III AS, Axis-Shield AD IV AS, Axis-Shield AS, Axis-Shield Diagnostics Limited, Axis-Shield Ltd., BBI Animal Health Limited, BBI Diagnostics Group 2 Public Limited Company, Banco de Vida S.A., Bioabsorbable Vascular Solutions Inc., Bioalgae S.A., Biohealth LLC, Biosite Incorporated, Bosque Bonito S.A., Branan Medical Corporation, Brandex Europe C.V., British Colloids Limited, CFR Chile S.A., CFR Interamericas EL Salvador Sociedad Anonima de Capital Variable, CFR Interamericas Nicaragua Sociedad Anonima, CFR Interamericas Panama S.A., CFR Pharmaceuticals, California Property Holdings III LLC, CardioMEMS LLC, Caripharm Inc., Cephea Valve Technologies, Cephea Valve Technologies Inc., Colibri Medical Aktiebolag, Comercializadora y Distribuidora CFR Interamericas Honduras S.A., Concateno South Limited, Concateno UK Limited, Consorcio Tecnologico en Biomedicina Clinico-Molecular S.A., Continuum Services LLC, Cozart Limited, Dextech S.A., Diagnostik Nord GmbH, Distribuciones Uquifa S.A.S., Domesco Medical Import-Export Joint-Stock Corporation, Duphar International Research B.V., Endocardial Solutions, Epocal (US) Inc, Esprit de Vie S.A., European Chemicals & Co, European Drug Testing Service EDTS AB, European Services S.A., Evalve Inc., Evalve International Inc., FARMINDUSTRIA S.A., Fada Pharma Paraguay Sociedad Anonima, Fadapharma del Ecuador S.A., Farmaceutica Mont Blanc S.L., Farmacologia Em Aquicultura Veterinaria Ltda., Farmacologia en Aquacultura Veterinaria FAV Ecuador S.A., Farmacologia en Aquacultura Veterinaria FAV S.A., Fernwood Investment S.A., First Check Diagnostics LLC, Focus Pharmaceutical S.A.S., Forensics Limited, Forestcreek Overseas S.A., Fournier Pharma Corp., Fournier Pharma GmbH, Fournier Pharmaceuticals Limited, Framed B.V., Gabmed GmbH, Garden Hills LLC, Global Analytical Development LLC, Globapharm & CO LP, Glomed Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Golnorth Investments S.A., Gynocare Limited, Gynopharm Sociedad Anonima, Gynopharm de Centroamerica S.A., Gynopharm de Venezuela C.A., Hi-Tronics Designs Inc., IDEV Technologies Inc., IG Innovations Limited, IMTC Finance B.V., IMTC Holdings B.V., IMTC Technologies Inc., Ibis Biosciences LLC, Igloo Zone Chile S.A., Igloo Zone S.L., Inmobiliaria Naknek S.A.C., Innovacon Inc., Instant Tech Subsidiary Acquisition Inc., Instant Technologies Inc., Instituto de Criopreservacion de Chile S.A., Integrated Vascular Systems Inc., Inverness Canadian Acquisition Corporation, Inverness Medical (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Inverness Medical Innovations Australia Pty Ltd., Inverness Medical Innovations Hong Kong Limited, Inverness Medical Innovations SK LLC, Inverness Medical Investments LLC, Inverness Medical LLC, Inverness Medical Shimla Private Limited, Inversiones K2 SpA, Inversiones Komodo S.R.L., Ionian Technologies LLC, Irvine Biomedical Inc., Kalila Medical, Kangshenyunga S.A., Knoll UK Investments Unlimited, LLC VeroInPharm, Laboratoires Fournier S.A.S., Laboratorio Franco Colombiano Lafrancol S.A.S., Laboratorio Franco Colombiano del Ecuador S.A., Laboratorio Internacional Argentino S.A., Laboratorio Synthesis S.A.S., Laboratorios Lafi Limitada, Laboratorios Naturmedik S.A.S., Laboratorios Pauly Pharmaceutical S.A.S., Laboratorios Recalcine S.A., Laboratorios Transpharm S.A., Laboratory Specialists of America Inc., Lafrancol Dominicana S.A.S., Lafrancol Guatemala S.A. Sociedad Anonima, Lafrancol Internacional S.A.S, Lafrancol Peru S.R.L, Lake Forest Investments LLC, Lightlab Imaging Inc., Limited Liability Company Abbott Laboratories, Limited Liability Company Abbott Ukraine, Limited Liability Company VEROPHARM, Lung Fung Hong (China) Limited, Mansbridge Pharmaceuticals Limited, MediGuide LLC, MediGuide Ltd., Medscreen Holdings Limited, Metropolitana Farmaceutica S.A., Midwest Properties LLC, Murex Argentina S.A., Murex Biotech Limited, Murex Biotech South Africa, Murex Diagnostics Inc., Murex Diagnostics International Inc., Natural Supplement Association LLC, Negocios Denia Sociedad Anonima, Neosalud S.A.C., Nether Pharma N.P. C.V., NeuroTherm LLC, Normann Pharma-Handels GmbH, North Shore Properties Inc., Novamedi S.A., Novasalud.com S.A., Nutravida S.A., OJSC Voronezhkhimpharm, Omnilab Iberia Sociedad Limitada, OptiMedica, Orgenics France SAS, Orgenics International Holdings B.V., Orgenics Ltd., PBM-Selfcare LLC, PDD II LLC, PDD LLC, PT Alere Health, PT. Abbott Indonesia, PT. Abbott Products Indonesia, Pacesetter Inc., Pantech (RF) (PTY) LTD, Pembrooke Occupational Health Inc., Penagos S.A., Pharma International Sociedad Anonima, Pharmaceutical Technologies (Pharmatech) S.A., Pharmatech Boliviana S.A., Polygon Labs S.A., Quality Assured Services Inc., RF Medical Holdings LLC, RTL Holdings Inc., Ramses Business Corp., Recben Xenerics Farmaceutica Limitada, Redwood Toxicology Laboratory Inc., Rich Horizons International Limited, SC VEROPHARM, SJ Medical Mexico S de R.L. de C.V., SJM International Inc., SJM Thunder Holding Company, SPDH Inc., Saboya Enterprises Corporation, Salviac Limited, Scanax AS, Sealing Solutions Inc., Selfcare Technology Inc., Shandong Abbott Dairy Product Co. Ltd., Shanghai Abbott Medical Devices Science and Technology Co. Ltd., Shanghai Abbott Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Shanghai Si Fa Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Sinensix & Co., Spinal Modulation LLC, St. Jude Medical, St. Jude Medical AB, St. Jude Medical ATG Inc., St. Jude Medical Argentina S.A., St. Jude Medical Asia Pacific Holdings GK, St. Jude Medical Atrial Fibrillation Division Inc., St. Jude Medical Brasil Ltda., St. Jude Medical Business Services Inc., St. Jude Medical Cardiology Division Inc., St. Jude Medical Colombia Ltda., St. Jude Medical Coordination Center, St. Jude Medical Costa Rica Limitada, St. Jude Medical Europe Inc., St. Jude Medical Export Ges.m.b.H., St. Jude Medical GVA Sarl, St. Jude Medical Holdings B.V., St. Jude Medical India Private Limited, St. Jude Medical International Holding, St. Jude Medical LLC, St. Jude Medical Luxembourg, St. Jude Medical Luxembourg Holdings II, St. Jude Medical Luxembourg Holdings NT, St. Jude Medical Luxembourg Holdings SMI S.a r.l., St. Jude Medical Luxembourg Holdings TC S.a r.l., St. Jude Medical Mexico Business Services S. de R.L. de C.V., St. Jude Medical Middle East DMCC, St. Jude Medical Operations (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., St. Jude Medical Puerto Rico LLC, St. Jude Medical S.C. Inc., St. Jude Medical Systems AB, St. Jude Medical Turkey Medikal Urunler Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Standard Diagnostics Inc., Standing Stone LLC, Swan-Myers Incorporated, TC1 LLC, Tendyne Holdings Inc., Tendyne Medical Inc., Thoratec Delaware LLC, Thoratec Europe Limited, Thoratec LLC, Thoratec Switzerland GmbH, Tobal Products Incorporated, Topera GmbH in Liquidation, Topera Inc., Tremora S.A., Tuenir S.A., TwistDx, UAB Abbott Laboratories, UAB Abbott Medical Lithuania, Union-Madison Realty Company Inc., Unipath Limited (dba Alere International/aka Cranfield), Unipath Management Limited, Unipath Pension Trustee Limited, Veropharm, Veropharm Limited Liability Partnership, Vida Cell Inversiones S.A., Vida Cell S.A., Vivalsol, W&R Pharma Handels GmbH, Western Pharmaceuticals S.A., X Technologies Inc., Yissum Holding Limited, ZonePerfect Nutrition Company, eScreen Canada ULC, eScreen Inc.,      ( ), and Abbott Laboratories Baltics.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Marsh & McLennan Companies: 8WORKS INC., 8WORKS LTD, A. Constantinidi & CIA. S.C., A.C.N. 000 951 146 Pty Limited, A.C.N. 001 572 961 Pty Limited, A.C.N. 076 935 683 Pty Limited, A.C.N. 102 322 574 Pty Limited, ACE Insurance Agents Limited, ACE Insurance Consultants Limited, ACE Insurance and Reinsurance Brokers Limited, AD Corretora de Seguros, AFCO Premium Acceptance Inc., AFCO Premium Credit LLC, Access Equity Enhanced Fund GP LLC, Admiral Holdings Limited, Agnew Higgins Pickering & Co. (Bermuda) Ltd, Aldgate Investments Limited, Aldgate Trustees Ltd, Alexander Forbes Group Holdings Limited, Alpha Consultants Limited, Alta SA, Altius Real Assets (GP) LLC, Amal Insurance Brokers Limited (in liquidation), Anda Insurance Agencies Pte Ltd, AssetVal Pty Ltd, Assur Conseils Marsh S.A., Assurance Capital Corporation, Assurance Services Corporation, Australian Insurance Brokers Pty Ltd, Australian World Underwriters Pty Ltd., BBPS Limited, Barney & Barney Orange County LLC, Beaumonts (Leeds) Limited (in liquidation), Beaumonts Insurance Brokers Limited (in liquidation), Beaumonts Insurance Services Limited, Beneficios Integrales Oportunos SA, Benefitfocus Inc., Blue Marble Micro Limited, Blue Marble Microinsurance Inc., Bluefin, Bluefin Insurance Group Limited, Bluefin Insurance Services Limited, Boulder Claims LLC, Bowring (Bermuda) Investments Ltd., Bowring Marine Limited, Bowring Marsh (Bermuda) Ltd., Bowring Marsh (Hong Kong) Limited, Bowring Marsh Asia Pte. Ltd., Bowring Marsh Corretora de Resseguros Ltda., Bowring Marsh Limited, Broderick Piller Pty Ltd, Broker 2 Broker Limited, BuildPay LLC, Burke Ford Trustees (Leicester) Limited, C.T. Bowring Limited, CMC-Belgibo NV, CPRM Limited, CPSG Partners LLC, Carpenter Marsh Fac Chile Corredores de Reaseguros Limitada, Carpenter Marsh Fac Colombia Corredores de Reaseguros S.A., Carpenter Marsh Fac Peru Corredores de Reaseguros S.A.C., Carpenter Marsh Fac Re LLC, Carpenter Turner Cyprus Ltd, Carpenter Turner S.A., Cascade International Holdings C.V., Cascade Regional Holdings Limited, Central Insurance Services Limited, Charter Risk Management Services LLC, Chartwell Healthcare Limited, Chronos Insurance Brokers Pty Limited, Claims and Recovery Management (Australia) Pty Limited, Clark Thomson Insurance Brokers Limited, Client Provide Limited, Colombian Insurance Broking Wholesale Limited, Consultores 2020 C.A., Cronin & Co Insurance Services Limited, DVA - Deutsche Verkehrs-Assekuranz-Vermittlungs GmbH, Dawson Insurance, DeLima Marsh S.A. - Los Corredores de Seguros S.A., Dovetail Insurance Corp., Dovetail Insurance Corp., Dovetail Managing General Agency Corporation, Dovetail Technology Service India Private Limited, Draw Connect Limited, Draw Create Limited, Draw Group London Limited, Eagle & Crown Limited, Echelon Australia Pty Limited, Echelon Claims Consultants Sdn Bhd, Echelon New Zealand Limited, EnBW Versicherungs Vermittlung GmbH, Encompass Insurance Agency Pty Ltd., English Pension Trustees Limited, Epsilon (US) Insurance Company, Epsilon Insurance Company Ltd., Eustis Insurance & Benefits, Evolution Management Ltd, Exchange Insurance Services Limited (in liquidation), Exmoor Management Company Limited, Faulkner & Flynn LLC, Freedom Trust Services Limited, GC Genesis LLC, GCube Insurance Services Inc, GCube Underwriting Limited, Gama Consultores Associados Ltda., Gem Insurance Company Limited, Global Premium Finance Company, GrECo International Holding AG, Gracechurch Trustees Limited, Gresham Pension Trustees Limited, Group Promoters Pty Limited, Guy Carpenter & Cia (Mexico) S.A. de C.V., Guy Carpenter & Cia. S.A., Guy Carpenter & Co. Labuan Ltd., Guy Carpenter & Company AB, Guy Carpenter & Company Corredores de Reaseguros Limitada, Guy Carpenter & Company Corretora de Resseguros Ltda., Guy Carpenter & Company GmbH, Guy Carpenter & Company LLC, Guy Carpenter & Company Limited, Guy Carpenter & Company Limited, Guy Carpenter & Company Ltd./Guy Carpenter & Compagnie Ltee, Guy Carpenter & Company Participacoes Ltda., Guy Carpenter & Company Peru Corredores de Reaseguros S.A., Guy Carpenter & Company Private Limited, Guy Carpenter & Company Proprietary Limited, Guy Carpenter & Company Pty. Ltd., Guy Carpenter & Company S.A., Guy Carpenter & Company S.A. (Uruguay), Guy Carpenter & Company S.A.S., Guy Carpenter & Company S.r.l., Guy Carpenter (Middle East) Limited, Guy Carpenter Bermuda Ltd., Guy Carpenter Broking Inc., Guy Carpenter Colombia Corredores de Reaseguros Ltda., Guy Carpenter Insurance Brokers (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Guy Carpenter Japan Inc., Guy Carpenter Mexico Intermediario de Reaseguro S.A. de C.V., Guy Carpenter Reasurans Brokerligi Anonim Sirketi, HAPIP GP 2009 LLC, HAPIP GP LLC, HSBC Insurance Brokers International (Abu Dhabi) LLC (in liquidation), Hamilton Bond Limited, Hansen International Limited, Hayward Aviation Limited, INSIA Europe SE, INSIA SK s.r.o., INSIA a.s., INSURANCE BROKERS OF NIGERIA LIMITED, IRC Asia Insurance Brokers Limited, InSolutions Limited, Industrial Risks Protection Consultants, Ingeseg S. A., Ingeseg S.A., Insbrokers Ltda., InsurTech Alliance LLC, Insure Direct (Brokers) LLC, Insure Direct (Brokers) LLC [BAHRAIN BRANCH], Insure Direct - Jardine Lloyd Thompson Limited, International Catastrophe Insurance Managers LLC, International Loss Control Services Limited, International Risk Consultants (Asia) Limited, Invercol Limited, Irish Pensions Trust Limited, Isosceles Insurance (Barbados) Limited, Isosceles Insurance Company Limited, Isosceles Insurance Ltd, Isosceles PCC Limited, J&H Marsh & McLennan Limited, J.W. Terrill Benefit Administrators Inc., JI Holdings Limited, JIB Group Holdings Limited, JIB Group Limited, JIB Holdings (Pacific) Limited, JIB Overseas Holdings Limited, JIB UK Holdings Limited, JL Marine Insurance-Brokers GmbH & Co. KG, JLM Verwaltungs GmbH, JLT (Insurance Brokers) Limited, JLT Actuaries and Consultants Limited, JLT Advisory Limited, JLT Affinity Colombia Solutions SAS, JLT Agencies Limited, JLT Asesorias Ltda, JLT Asia Holdings BV, JLT Asia Shared Services Sdn Bhd, JLT Belgibo, JLT Benefit Consultants Limited, JLT Benefit Solutions Limited, JLT Benefit Solutions SA (Pty) Ltd, JLT Bermuda Ltd, JLT Brasil Holdings Participacoes Ltd, JLT Chile Holdings SpA, JLT Colombia Retail Limited, JLT Colombia Wholesale Limited, JLT Consultants & Actuaries Limited, JLT EB Holdings Limited, JLT EB Services Limited, JLT Employee Benefits Holding Company (PTY) LTD, JLT Employee Benefits SA (Pty) Ltd, JLT Financial Planning Limited, JLT France Holdings, JLT Group Services Pty Limited, JLT Holdings (Barbados) Ltd, JLT Holdings (NZ) Limited, JLT Independent Insurance Brokers Private Limited, JLT Insurance Agencies Limited, JLT Insurance Brokers Co. Limited, JLT Insurance Brokers Co. Limited ( Shanghai Branch), JLT Insurance Brokers Co. Limited (Beijing Branch), JLT Insurance Brokers Co. Limited (Guangzhou Branch), JLT Insurance Brokers Ireland Limited, JLT Insurance Brokers SA, JLT Insurance Group Holdings Ltd, JLT Insurance Management Malta Limited, JLT Intellectual Property Limited, JLT Intellectual Property [UK Branch], JLT Interactive Pte. Ltd., JLT Investment Management Limited, JLT LATAM (Southern Cone) Wholesale Limited, JLT Latin American Holdings Limited, JLT Life Assurance Brokers Limited, JLT Management Services Limited, JLT Marine (Pty) Ltd, JLT Mexico Holdings Limited, JLT Mexico Intermediario de Reaseguro S.A. de C.V., JLT Netherlands BV, JLT Norway AS, JLT PLA, JLT Pension Trustees Limited, JLT Pensions Administration Holdings Limited, JLT Pensions Administration Limited, JLT Peru Reinsurance Solutions Limited, JLT Peru Retail Limited, JLT Peru Wholesale Limited, JLT QFM Services Limited, JLT RE Brasil Administracao e Corretagem de Resseguros Ltda, JLT Re (French Branch), JLT Re (Northern Europe) AB, JLT Re Argentina Corredores de Reaseguros S.A.U., JLT Re Labuan Limited, JLT Re Limited, JLT Re Pty Ltd, JLT Reinsurance Brokers GmbH, JLT Reinsurance Brokers Limited, JLT Reinsurance Brokers Limited [French Branch], JLT Risk Management Limited, JLT Risk Solutions AB, JLT Risk Solutions AB Branch - Germany, JLT SA IB Holdings Company (Pty) Limited, JLT SCK Affinity Administracao e Corretora de Seguros Ltda., JLT SCK Corretora e Administradora de Seguros, JLT Secretaries Limited, JLT Sigorta ve Reasurans Brokerlii A.., JLT Singapore Holdings Pte. Ltd., JLT Specialty France, JLT Specialty Insurance Broker A/S, JLT Specialty Limited, JLT Specialty Limited [DUBAI BRANCH], JLT Specialty Pte. Ltd., JLT Towner Insurance Management (Anguilla) Limited, JLT Trust Services (Barbados) Ltd, JLT Trustees (Southern) Limited, JLT Trustees Limited, JLT UK Investment Holdings Limited, JLT Vantage Risk and Benefit Consulting Private Limited, JLT Wealth Management Limited, JLT do Brasil Corretagem de Seguros Ltda, JLTPCS Holdings Pte. Ltd., JMIB Holdings BV, JSL Securities Inc., Japan Affinity Marketing Inc., Jardine IBR Limited, Jardine Lloyd Thompson (Proprietary) Limited, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Asia Pte Ltd, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Australia Pty Limited, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Canada Inc, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group Ltd, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group plc, Jardine Lloyd Thompson India Private Limited, Jardine Lloyd Thompson India Private Limited (UK Branch Office), Jardine Lloyd Thompson Insurance Consultants Limited, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Insurance and Reinsurance Brokers Inc., Jardine Lloyd Thompson Ireland Holdings Limited, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Ireland Unlimited Company, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Korea Limited, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Limited, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Limited [Macao Branch], Jardine Lloyd Thompson PCS (Dubai) Limited, Jardine Lloyd Thompson PCS Limited, Jardine Lloyd Thompson PCS Pte Ltd, Jardine Lloyd Thompson PCS SA, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Private Limited, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Pty Limited, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Sdn Bhd, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Valencia y Iragorri Corredores de Seguros SA, Jardine Pension Trustees Ireland Limited, Jardine Risk Consulting Co. Limited, Jardine ShunTak Insurance Brokers Limited, Jardine ShunTak Insurance Brokers Limited [Macao Branch], Jardines PF- Consultoria Em Gestao De Risco Limitada, Jelf, Jelf Commercial Finance Limited, Jelf Financial Planning Limited, Jelf Insurance Brokers Limited, Jelf Limited, Jelf Risk Management Limited, Jelf Wellbeing Limited, John Lampier & Son Ltd, Johnson & Higgins (Bermuda) Limited, Johnson & Higgins Limited, KESSLER & CO AG, Kepler Associates Limited, Kessler & Co Inc., Kessler Consulting Inc., Kessler Prevoyance Inc., Key Underwriting Pty Limited, Kroll, Lambert Brothers Holdings Limited, Lambert Brothers Insurance Brokers (Employee Benefits) Limited, Lambert Brothers Insurance Brokers (Hong Kong) Ltd, Laterlife.com Limited (in liquidation), Lavaretus Underwriting AB, Lavaretus Underwriting AB (BRANCH - Denmark), Libra Insurance Services Limited (in liquidation), Lloyd & Partners Limited, Local Government Insurance Brokers Pty Limited, Lomond Macdonald Limited, Lynch Insurance Brokers Limited, M&M Vehicle L.P., M.P. Bolshaw and Company Limited, MAG JLT SpA, MERCER ALTERNATIVES LIMITED, MM Risk Services Pty Ltd (for dissolution), MMA Mid-Atlantic Employee LLC, MMA Securities LLC, MMB Consultores S.A., MMC (Singapore) Holdings Pte. Ltd., MMC 28 State Street Holdings Inc., MMC Borrower LLC, MMC Brazilian Holdings B.V., MMC Capital Inc., MMC Cascade Regional Holdings LLC, MMC FINANCE (EUROPE) LIMITED, MMC FINANCE HOLDINGS LTD, MMC Finance (Australia) Limited, MMC Finance (Singapore) Limited, MMC France Holdings (Luxembourg) S.a.r.l., MMC GP III Inc., MMC Group Services sp. z o.o., MMC Holdings (Australia) Pty Ltd, MMC Holdings (New Zealand) ULC, MMC Holdings (UK) Limited, MMC International Finance (Barbados) SRL, MMC International Holdings LLC, MMC International Limited, MMC International Treasury Centre Limited, MMC Middle East Holdings Limited, MMC Poland Holdings B.V., MMC Realty Inc., MMC Regional Asia Holdings B.V., MMC Regional Caribbean Holdings Ltd., MMC Regional Europe Holdings B.V., MMC Regional LATAM Holdings B.V., MMC Securities (Europe) Limited, MMC Securities LLC, MMC Treasury Holdings (UK) Limited, MMC UK Group Limited, MMC UK Pension Fund Trustee Limited, MMOW Limited, MMRC LLC, MOW Holding LLC, MPIP III GP LLC, MPIP IV GP LLC, MPIP V GP LLC, MPIP VI GP LLC, Mangrove Insurance Europe PCC Limited, Mangrove Insurance Solutions PCC, Mangrove Insurance Solutions PCC Limited, Manoel Management Services Ltd, Marchant McKechnie Insurance Brokers Limited, Marine Aviation & General (London) Limited, Marsh & McLennan (PNG) Limited, Marsh & McLennan Agencies AS, Marsh & McLennan Agencies Limited, Marsh & McLennan Agency A/S, Marsh & McLennan Agency LLC, Marsh & McLennan Agency Limited, Marsh & McLennan Agency Pty Ltd., Marsh & McLennan Argentina SA Corredores de Reaseguros, Marsh & McLennan Colombia S.A., Marsh & McLennan Companies Acquisition Funding Limited, Marsh & McLennan Companies Acquisition Limited, Marsh & McLennan Companies Asia Pacific Treasury Center Limited, Marsh & McLennan Companies BVBA/SPRL, Marsh & McLennan Companies Finance Center (Luxembourg) S.a.r.l., Marsh & McLennan Companies France S.A.S., Marsh & McLennan Companies Holdings (Luxembourg) S.a.r.l., Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc., Marsh & McLennan Companies Regional Holdings S.a.r.l., Marsh & McLennan Companies Services B.V., Marsh & McLennan Companies UK Limited, Marsh & McLennan Europe S.a.r.l., Marsh & McLennan GP I Inc., Marsh & McLennan Global Broking (Bermuda) Ltd., Marsh & McLennan Holding GmbH, Marsh & McLennan Holdings (Canada) ULC, Marsh & McLennan Holdings Inc., Marsh & McLennan Incorporated (for dissolution), Marsh & McLennan Innovation Centre Holdings II, Marsh & McLennan Innovation Centre Holdings S.a.r.l., Marsh & McLennan Innovation Centre Limited, Marsh & McLennan Insurance Services Limited, Marsh & McLennan Ireland Limited, Marsh & McLennan Management Services (Bermuda) Limited, Marsh & McLennan Risk Capital Holdings Ltd., Marsh & McLennan Servicios S.A. De C.V., Marsh & McLennan Shared Services Canada Limited, Marsh & McLennan Shared Services Corporation, Marsh (Bahrain) Company SPC, Marsh (Beijing) Risk Management Consulting Co. Ltd., Marsh (China) Insurance Brokers Co. Ltd., Marsh (Hong Kong) Limited, Marsh (Insurance Brokers) LLP, Marsh (Insurance Services) Limited, Marsh (Malawi) Limited, Marsh (Middle East) Limited, Marsh (Namibia) (Proprietary) Limited, Marsh (Pty) Ltd, Marsh (Risk Consulting) LLP, Marsh (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Marsh A/S, Marsh AB, Marsh AG, Marsh AS, Marsh Advantage Insurance Holdings Pty Ltd, Marsh Advantage Insurance Pty Ltd., Marsh Africa (Pty) Ltd, Marsh Argentina S.R.L., Marsh Associates (Pty) Ltd, Marsh Austria G.m.b.H., Marsh Aviation Insurance Broking Pty Ltd (for dissolution), Marsh B.V., Marsh Botswana (Proprietary) Limited, Marsh Brockman y Schuh Agente de Seguros y de Fianzas S.A. de C.V., Marsh Broker Japan Inc., Marsh Broker de Asigurare-Reasigurare S.R.L., Marsh Brokers (Hong Kong) Limited, Marsh Brokers Limited, Marsh Canada Limited/Marsh Canada Limitee, Marsh Company Management Services Cayman Ltd., Marsh Compensation Technologies Administration (Pty) Ltd, Marsh Corporate Services (Barbados) Limited, Marsh Corporate Services Isle of Man Ltd, Marsh Corporate Services Limited, Marsh Corporate Services Malta Limited, Marsh Corretora de Seguros Ltda., Marsh EOOD, Marsh Egypt LLC, Marsh Emirates Consultancy LLC, Marsh Emirates Insurance Brokerage LLC, Marsh Employee Benefits Limited, Marsh Employee Benefits Zimbabwe (Private) Ltd, Marsh Eurofinance B.V., Marsh Europe S.A., Marsh FJC International Insurance Brokers Limited, Marsh For Insurance Services S.A.E., Marsh Franco Acra S.A., Marsh GSC Servicos e Administracao de Seguros Ltda., Marsh GmbH, Marsh Holding AB, Marsh Holdings (Pty) Ltd, Marsh India Insurance Brokers Private Limited, Marsh Insurance & Investments LLC, Marsh Insurance Brokers, Marsh Insurance Brokers (Macao) Limited, Marsh Insurance Brokers (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Marsh Insurance Brokers (Private) Limited, Marsh Insurance Brokers AO, Marsh Insurance Brokers Limited, Marsh Insurance Consulting Saudi Arabia (in liquidation), Marsh Insurance and Reinsurance Brokers LLC, Marsh Intermediaries Inc., Marsh International Broking Holdings Limited, Marsh International Holdings II Inc., Marsh International Holdings Inc., Marsh Investment B.V., Marsh Ireland Brokers Limited, Marsh Ireland Brokers Limited (UK Branch), Marsh Ireland Holdings Limited, Marsh Israel (1999) Ltd., Marsh Israel (Holdings) Ltd., Marsh Israel Consultants Ltd., Marsh Israel Insurance Agency Ltd., Marsh Israel International Brokers Ltd. (in liquidation), Marsh JCS Inc., Marsh Japan Inc., Marsh Kft., Marsh Kindlustusmaakler AS, Marsh Korea Inc., Marsh LLC, Marsh LLC Insurance Brokers, Marsh LLC [Ukraine], Marsh Lda., Marsh Limited, Marsh Limited [Fiji], Marsh Limited [New Zealand], Marsh Limited [PNG], Marsh Ltd. [Wisconsin], Marsh Management Services (Bahamas) Ltd., Marsh Management Services (Barbados) Limited, Marsh Management Services (Bermuda) Ltd., Marsh Management Services (Dublin) Limited, Marsh Management Services (Labuan) Limited, Marsh Management Services (MENA) Limited, Marsh Management Services (USVI) Ltd., Marsh Management Services Cayman Ltd., Marsh Management Services Guernsey Limited, Marsh Management Services Inc., Marsh Management Services Isle of Man Limited, Marsh Management Services Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Marsh Management Services Malta Limited, Marsh Management Services Singapore Pte. Ltd., Marsh Management Services Sweden AB, Marsh Marine & Energy AB, Marsh Marine Nederland B.V., Marsh Medical Consulting GmbH, Marsh Mercer Holdings (Australia) Pty Ltd, Marsh Nest Inc., Marsh Oman LLC, Marsh Oy, Marsh PB Co. Ltd., Marsh Philippines Inc., Marsh Privat A.I.E., Marsh Private Client Life Insurance Services, Marsh Pty. Ltd., Marsh Qatar LLC, Marsh RE S.A.C. Corredores de Reaseguros, Marsh Rehder Consultoria S.A. (MRC), Marsh Rehder S.A. Corredores de Seguros, Marsh Resolutions Pty Limited, Marsh Risk Consulting B.V., Marsh Risk Consulting Limitada, Marsh Risk Consulting Ltda., Marsh Risk Consulting S.L., Marsh Risk Consulting Services S.r.L., Marsh Risk and Consulting Services (Pty) Ltd, Marsh S.A. Corredores De Seguros, Marsh S.A. Mediadores de Seguros, Marsh S.A.S., Marsh S.p.A., Marsh SA [Argentina], Marsh SA [Belgium], Marsh SA [Luxembourg], Marsh SA [Uruguay], Marsh SIA, Marsh Saldana Inc., Marsh Saudi Arabia Insurance & Reinsurance Brokers, Marsh Secretarial Services Limited, Marsh Semusa S.A., Marsh Services Limited, Marsh Services Spolka z.o.o., Marsh Sigorta ve Reasurans Brokerligi Anonim Sirketi, Marsh Spolka z.o.o., Marsh Szolgaltato Kft., Marsh Takaful Brokers (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Marsh Treasury Services (Dublin) Limited (in liquidation), Marsh Treasury Services Limited, Marsh Tunisia S.a.r.l., Marsh UK Limited, Marsh USA (India) Inc., Marsh USA Borrower LLC, Marsh USA Inc., Marsh Uganda Limited, Marsh Venezuela C.A. Sociedad de Corretaje de Seguros, Marsh Vietnam Insurance Broking Company Ltd, Marsh Zambia Limited, Marsh Zimbabwe Holdings (Private) Limited, Marsh d.o.o. Beograd, Marsh d.o.o. za posredovanje u osiguranju, Marsh for Insurance Services - Jordan, Marsh i-Connect (Pty) Ltd, Marsh s.r.o., Matthiessen Assurans AB, Mercer (Argentina) S.A., Mercer (Australia) Pty Ltd, Mercer (Austria) GmbH, Mercer (Belgium) SA-NV, Mercer (Canada) Limited/Mercer (Canada) Limitee, Mercer (China) Limited, Mercer (Colombia) Ltda., Mercer (Danmark) A/S, Mercer (Finland) OY, Mercer (France) SAS, Mercer (Hong Kong) Limited, Mercer (Ireland) Limited, Mercer (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Mercer (N.Z.) Limited, Mercer (Nederland) B.V., Mercer (Norge) AS, Mercer (Polska) Sp.z o.o., Mercer (Portugal) Lda, Mercer (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Mercer (Sweden) AB, Mercer (Taiwan) Ltd., Mercer (Thailand) Ltd., Mercer (US) Inc., Mercer Administration Services (Australia) Pty Limited, Mercer Africa Limited, Mercer Agente de Seguros S.A. de C.V., Mercer Asesores de Seguros S.A., Mercer Asesores es Inversion Independientes S.A. de C.V., Mercer Broking Ltd., Mercer Career Unipessoal Lda, Mercer Consultation (Quebec) Ltee., Mercer Consulting (Australia) Pty Ltd, Mercer Consulting (Chile) Limitada, Mercer Consulting (France) SAS, Mercer Consulting (India) Private Limited, Mercer Consulting B.V., Mercer Consulting Group Inc., Mercer Consulting Holdings Sdn. Bhd., Mercer Consulting Limited, Mercer Consulting Middle East Limited, Mercer Consulting S.L.U., Mercer Consulting Venezuela C.A., Mercer Corredores de Seguros Limitada, Mercer Corretora de Seguros Ltda, Mercer Danismanlik Anonim Sirketi, Mercer Deutschland GmbH, Mercer Employee Benefits - Medicacao de Seguros Unipessoal Lda., Mercer Employee Benefits Limited, Mercer Financial Advice (Australia) Pty Ltd, Mercer Financial Services Limited, Mercer Financial Services Limited liability company, Mercer Financial Services Middle East Limited, Mercer Global Investments Europe Limited, Mercer Global Investments Management Limited, Mercer HR Consulting Borrower LLC, Mercer HR Services LLC, Mercer Health & Benefits (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Mercer Health & Benefits Administration LLC, Mercer Health & Benefits LLC, Mercer Holdings Inc., Mercer Holdings Inc. [Philippines], Mercer Human Resource Consulting Ltda, Mercer Human Resource Consulting S.A. de C.V., Mercer ICC Limited, Mercer Investment Consulting Limited, Mercer Investment Management (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, Mercer Investment Solutions (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Mercer Investments (Australia) Limited, Mercer Investments (Hong Kong) Limited, Mercer Investments (Japan) Ltd, Mercer Investments (New Zealand) Limited, Mercer Investments LLC, Mercer Ireland Holdings Limited, Mercer Italia Srl Socio Unico, Mercer Japan Ltd., Mercer Korea Co. Ltd., Mercer LLC, Mercer Limited, Mercer MC Consulting Borrower LLC, Mercer Master Trustees Limited, Mercer Mauritius Ltd., Mercer Oliver Wyman Holding B.V., Mercer Outsourcing (Australia) Pty Ltd, Mercer Outsourcing S.L.U., Mercer Pensionsfonds AG, Mercer Pensionsraadgivning A/S, Mercer Philippines Inc., Mercer Private Investment Partners IV General Partner S.a.r.l., Mercer Private Markets AG, Mercer Private Markets Advisers (US) AG, Mercer Services Poland Sp. z.o.o., Mercer Sigorta Brokerligi Anonim Sirketi, Mercer South Africa (Pty) Limited, Mercer Superannuation (Australia) Limited, Mercer Switzerland Inc., Mercer System Services LLC, Mercer Technology Acquisitions Limited, Mercer Treuhand GmbH, Mercer Trust Company LLC, Mercer Trustees Limited, Mercer WorkforcePro LLC, Mercury Insurance Services Pty Ltd, Moola Systems Limited, Mountlodge Limited, Muir Beddal (Zimbabwe) Limited, NERA Australia Pty. Ltd., NERA Economic Consulting GmbH, NERA Economic Consulting Limited, NERA S.R.L., NERA SAS, NERA UK Limited, NERA do Brasil Ltda. (for dissolution), National Economic Research Associates Inc., NetComp Insurance Corp., Neuburger Noble Lowndes GmbH, Normandy Reinsurance Company Limited, Northern Alliance Brokers Limited (in liquidation), OWL Marine Insurance-Brokers GmbH & Co.KG, OWL Marine Verwaltungs GmbH, Oliver Wyman (Bermuda) Limited, Oliver Wyman (Hong Kong) Limited, Oliver Wyman AB, Oliver Wyman AG, Oliver Wyman Actuarial Consulting Inc., Oliver Wyman B.V., Oliver Wyman Consulting (Shanghai) Ltd, Oliver Wyman Consultoria em Estrategia de Negocios Ltda., Oliver Wyman Energy Consulting Limited, Oliver Wyman FZ-LLC, Oliver Wyman Group KK, Oliver Wyman Inc., Oliver Wyman LLC, Oliver Wyman Limited, Oliver Wyman Limited Liability Company, Oliver Wyman Limited/Oliver Wyman limitee, Oliver Wyman Ltd., Oliver Wyman Pte. Ltd., Oliver Wyman Pty. Ltd., Oliver Wyman S. de R.L. de C.V., Oliver Wyman S.A.S., Oliver Wyman S.L., Oliver Wyman S.r.l., Oliver Wyman SNC, Oliver Wyman SPRL/BVBA, Oliver Wyman Sdn. Bhd., Oliver Wyman Services Limited, Oliver Wyman Servicios S. de R.L. de C.V., Oliver Wyman sp. z o.o., Omega Indemnity (Bermuda) Limited, Organizacion Brockman y Schuh S.A. de C.V., Osbornes Insurances Oxford Limited (in liquidation), PFT Limited, PI Indemnity Company Designated Activity Company, PT JLT Reinsurance Brokers, PT Jardine Lloyd Thompson, PT Marsh Indonesia, PT Marsh Reinsurance Brokers Indonesia, PT Mercer Indonesia, PT Nexus Asia Pacific, PT Oliver Wyman Indonesia, PT Quantum Computing Services, PT Quantum Investments, PT Quantum Support Services, Pallas Marsh Servicos Ltda., Pavilion Alternatives Group (Singapore) PTE. Ltd, Pavilion Financial Corporation Holdings UK Limited, Pavilion U.S. Investments Holdco LLC, Pension Trustees Limited, Pensionsservice Benefit Network Sverige AB, Perils AG, Personal Pension Trustees Limited, Pet Animal Welfare Scheme Limited, Portsoken Trustees (No. 2) Limited, Portsoken Trustees Limited, Potomac Insurance Managers Inc., Premier Pension Trustees Limited, Premium Services Australia Pty Limited, Professional Claims Handling Limited (in liquidation), Profund Solutions Limited, Promerit AG, Promerit Hungary Kft, Promerit Schweiz AG, Pymetrics Inc., R G Ford Brokers Limited, R R B Beratungsgesellschaft fuer Altersversorgung mbh, R. Mees & Zoonen Holdings B.V., Renewable Energy Loss Adjusters LLC, Renewable Energy Loss Adjusters Limited, Resource Benefit Associates, Rightpath Reinsurance SPC Ltd., Risk Management Australia Pty Limited, Rivers Group Limited, Rockefeller Risk Advisors Inc., Rutherfoord International Inc., SAFCAR-Marsh, SBJ Holdings Limited, SCIB (Bermuda) Limited, SCM Global Real Estate Select GP LLC, SCM Infrastructure General Partner S.a r.l., SCM International Private Equity Select III GP LLC, SCM LT General Partner S.a.r.l., SCM PE General Partner S.a.r.l., SCM PE II GP Ltd., SCM PE II Scotland GP Ltd, SCM Strategic Capital Management (Luxembourg) S.a.r.l., SICAR Marsh S.a.r.l., SME Insurance Services Limited, Sail Insurance Company Limited, Scalene Re Ltd, Seabury & Smith Borrower LLC, Seabury & Smith LLC, Secure Limited, Sedgwick (Holdings) Pty. Limited, Sedgwick Consulting Group Limited, Sedgwick Dineen Group Limited, Sedgwick Financial Services Limited, Sedgwick Forbes Middle East Limited, Sedgwick Group, Sedgwick Group (Australia) Pty. Limited, Sedgwick Group (Bermuda) Limited, Sedgwick Group (Zimbabwe) Limited, Sedgwick Group Limited, Sedgwick Internationaal B.V., Sedgwick Limited, Sedgwick Management Services (Barbados) Limited, Sedgwick Management Services (Singapore) Pte Limited, Sedgwick Noble Lowndes (UK) Limited, Sedgwick Noble Lowndes Group Limited, Sedgwick Noble Lowndes Limited, Sedgwick Overseas Investments Limited, Sedgwick Private Limited, Sedgwick Re Asia Pacific (Consultants) Pte Ltd (for dissolution), Sedgwick Trustees Limited, Sedgwick UK Risk Services Limited, Sedgwick Ulster Pension Trustees Limited, Settlement Trustees Limited, Shanghai Mercer Insurance Brokers Company Ltd., Shorewest Insurance Associates LLC, Sirota Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Sirota Consulting UK Limited, Smith Long Term Disability Management Group Inc., Societe d'Assurances et de Participation Guian SA, Software Underwriting Systems Limited (in liquidation), Southern Marine & Aviation Inc., Southern Marine & Aviation Underwriters Inc., Sudzucker Versicherungs-Vermittlungs GmbH, Sumitomo Life Insurance Agency America Inc., Sylvite Financial Services, TBX Solutions Limited, Talent Tech Labs LLC, The Benefit Express Holdings Limited, The Benefit Express Limited, The Carpenter Management Corporation, The Insurance Partnership Holdings Limited, The Insurance Partnership Services Limited, The Positive Ageing Company Limited, The Purple Partnership Limited, The Recovre Group Pty Ltd, Thomsons Online Benefits (HK) Ltd., Thomsons Online Benefits Inc., Thomsons Online Benefits Limited, Thomsons Online Benefits Pte Ltd., Thomsons Online Benefits S.R.L, Torrent Government Contracting Services LLC, Torrent Insurance Services LLC, Torrent Technologies, Torrent Technologies Inc., Tower Hill Limited, Tower Place Developments (West) Limited, Tower Place Developments Limited, U.T.E. AMG, U.T.E. Marsh - Caja Castilla La Mancha Junta de Comunidades, U.T.E. Marsh - Salvado Reus (in liquidation), U.T.E. Marsh - Salvado Reus 2012, U.T.E. Marsh - Salvado Vila-Seca 2010, UAD BB Marsh Lietuva, Vezina & Associes Inc., Vezina Assurances Inc., Victor Insurance Europe B.V., Victor Insurance Holdings Inc., Victor Insurance Italia S.r.l., Victor Insurance Managers Inc., Victor Insurance Managers Inc./Gestionnaires d'assurance Victor inc., Victor O. Schinnerer & Co. (Bermuda) Ltd., Victor O. Schinnerer & Company Limited, Victoria Hall Company Limited, Wellnz Limited, William M. Mercer (Canada) Limited/William M. Mercer (Canada) Limitee, William M. Mercer AB, William M. Mercer Comercio Consultoria e Servicos Ltda., Wortham Insurance & Risk Management, everBe SAS, and realright GmbH.

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Citigroup Inc. is one of the worlds largest financial institutions. It is the 13th largest bank globally by assets and 8th by market cap with operations in consumer and institutional banking. In the US, Citigroup is the 3rd largest bank by assets and one of the Big Four deemed systemically important and too big to fail.

Citigroup Inc. was founded in 1812 as the City Bank of New York. The bank was run by Samuel Osgood who led the company with success for many years, even throughout the War of 1812. The bank was later renamed the National City Bank of New York in 1865 and by 1895 is the largest bank in the US. In 1913 it was the first contributor to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and a few years later it began to expand into overseas territories.

The bank became the First National City Bank of New York after another merger in 1955 and then later, the New York part was dropped off as part of the 150th-anniversary celebration. By 1974 the company is known as Citicorp which is still the operational branch of the business and a global banking powerhouse. A merger with Travelers insurance group in 1998 resulted in the name Citigroup but the joint venture did not last. By 2002 Travelers was publicly traded once again but Citigroup retained the new name.

Today, the company is headquartered in New York, New York but boasts more than 200 million customer accounts in 160 countries worldwide. As of mid-2022, it operated 2,649 branches in the United States, Mexico, and Asia. The company reports nearly 725 branches in the US and 1499 in Mexico with the rest scattered throughout its territory. Total annual revenue topped $75 billion in 2022.

Citigroup is a diversified financial services holding company that owns Citicorp among other assets. The companys mission is to serve as a trusted partner providing responsible financial solutions to its clients. Citigroup provides financial products and services to consumers, corporations, governments, and institutions. The company operates in two segments, Global Consumer Banking (GCB) and Institutional Clients Group (ICG).

The GCB segment offers traditional banking services including deposit and saving accounts, credit cards, personal loans, home loans, and investment services. This segment operates through local branches and digital means. The ICG segment offers wholesale banking products and services to corporate, institutional, public sector, and high-net-worth clients.
John W. Sanders, assistant professor of mechanical engineering

John W. Sanders, who joined Cal State Fullerton this fall semester as an assistant professor of mechanical engineering, specializes in developing clean energy technologies  technologies that do not rely on fossil fuels.

An example would be designing the components of a next-generation power plant, noted Sanders.

Sanders earned his doctorate and masters degree in theoretical and applied mechanics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He also holds a bachelors degree from Saint Louis University in Missouri, where he studied engineering physics and mathematics.

What inspired you to go into this field?

I give credit to my high school physics teacher, Dr. Eugene Logusch, who made science enjoyable for me. Something clicked for me in his class and it made me want to study science and engineering in college. He also inspired me to want to become a teacher. I hope that my students have a similar experience, and not only understand the concepts I teach, but also enjoy the subject more after taking my classes.

What is your research focus?

Many clean energy systems are designed to operate at extremely high temperatures. The components of these systems are made of metal, and metals behave differently at high temperatures than they do at room temperature. I model the mechanical behavior of metals at high temperatures so that engineers can design safe components that wont fail during operation. Im also interested in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education research, and how we can improve the way science and math are taught in elementary schools and high schools.

What do you hope students get from your teaching?

I want my students to become experts in their fields so that they can go on to do great things as professional engineers or researchers. More than that, though, I want my students to develop a passion  dare I say a love  for science and mathematics. The turning point in my education was when I started not just to excel at those subjects, but to appreciate the beauty in them, and then I really began to enjoy learning. My hope is that my students have a similar experience in my classes.

What would you like others to know about your work?

Id like them to know that what I do benefits them, even if only indirectly.
Cenovus Energy Inc., together with its subsidiaries, develops, produces, and markets crude oil, natural gas liquids, and natural gas in Canada, the United States, and the Asia Pacific region. The company operates through Oil Sands, Conventional, Offshore, Canadian Manufacturing, U.S. Manufacturing, and Retail segments. The Oil Sands segment develops and produces bitumen and heavy oil in northern Alberta and Saskatchewan. This segments Foster Creek, Christina Lake, Sunrise, and Tucker oil sands projects, as well as Lloydminster thermal and conventional heavy oil assets The Conventional segment holds assets primarily located in Elmworth-Wapiti, Kaybob-Edson, Clearwater, and Rainbow Lake operating in Alberta and British Columbia, as well as interests in various natural gas processing facilities. The offshore segment engages in the exploration and development activities. The Canadian Manufacturing segment includes the owned and operated Lloydminster upgrading and asphalt refining complex, which upgrades heavy oil and bitumen into synthetic crude oil, diesel fuel, asphalt, and other ancillary products, as well as owns and operates the Bruderheim crude-by-rail terminal and two ethanol plants. The U.S. Manufacturing segment comprises the refining of crude oil to produce diesel, gasoline, jet fuel, asphalt, and other products. The Retail segment consists of marketing of its own and third-party refined petroleum products through retail, commercial, and bulk petroleum outlets, as well as wholesale channels. Cenovus Energy Inc. was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.
Teleflex Incorporated designs, develops, manufactures, and supplies single-use medical devices for common diagnostic and therapeutic procedures in critical care and surgical applications worldwide. It provides vascular access products that comprise Arrow branded catheters, catheter navigation and tip positioning systems, and intraosseous access systems for the administration of intravenous therapies, the measurement of blood pressure, and the withdrawal of blood samples through a single puncture site. The company also offers interventional products, which consists of various coronary catheters, structural heart therapies, and peripheral intervention and cardiac assist products that are used by interventional cardiologists and radiologists, and vascular surgeons; and Arrow branded catheters, Guideline and Trapliner catheters, the Manta Vascular Closure, and Arrow Oncontrol devices. It provides anesthesia products, such as airway and pain management products to support hospital, emergency medicine, and military channels; and surgical products, including metal and polymer ligation clips, and fascial closure surgical systems that are used in laparoscopic surgical procedures, percutaneous surgical systems, and other surgical instruments. The company also offers interventional urology products comprising the UroLift System, an invasive technology for treating lower urinary tract symptoms due to benign prostatic hyperplasia; and respiratory products, including oxygen and aerosol therapies, spirometry, and ventilation management products for use in various care settings. It provides urology products, such as catheters, urine collectors, and catheterization accessories and products for operative endourology; and bladder management services. The company serves hospitals and healthcare providers, medical device manufacturers, and home care markets. The company was incorporated in 1943 and is headquartered in Wayne, Pennsylvania.
TransUnion provides risk and information solutions. The company operates in three segments: U.S. Markets, International, and Consumer Interactive. The U.S. Markets segment provides consumer reports, actionable insights, and analytics to businesses. These businesses use its services to acquire new customers; assess consumer ability to pay for services; identify cross-selling opportunities; measure and manage debt portfolio risk; collect debt; verify consumer identities; and mitigate fraud risk. This segment serves various industry vertical markets, including financial services, insurance, tenant and employment, collections and services, technology, commerce and communication, public sector, media, and other markets. The International segment offers credit reports, analytics, technology solutions, and other value-added risk management services; and consumer services, which help consumers to manage their personal finances and consumer credit reporting, insurance and auto information solutions, and commercial credit information services. This segment serves customers in financial services, retail credit, insurance, automotive, collections, public sector, and communications industries through direct and indirect channels. The Consumer Interactive segment provides credit reports and scores, credit monitoring, identity protection and resolution, and financial management solutions that enable consumers to manage their personal finances and take precautions against identity theft. This segment offers its products through online and mobile interfaces, as well as through direct and indirect channels. The company serves customers in approximately 30 countries and territories, including North America, Latin America, Europe, Africa, India, and the Asia Pacific. The company was formerly known as TransUnion Holding Company, Inc. and changed its name to TransUnion in March 2015. TransUnion was founded in 1968 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.
BT Group plc provides communications services worldwide. Its Consumer segment sells telephones, baby monitors, and Wi-Fi extenders through high street retailers, online BT Shop, and Website BT.com; and offers home phone, copper and fiber broadband, TV, and mobile services in various packages. The company's EE segment offers 2G, 3G, and 4G mobile network services; broadband, fixed-voice, and TV services; and postpaid and prepaid plans, and emergency services network. This segment also sells 4G mobile phones, tablets, connected devices, and mobile broadband devices from various manufacturers. Its Business and Public Sector segment provides fixed voice, mobility, fiber and connectivity, and networked IT services to retailers, utilities, public sector, healthcare, sports, construction, finance, and educational sectors. The company's Global Services segment offers business communications and ICT services comprising BT Connect, BT Security, BT One, BT Contact, BT Compute, BT Advise, and BT for financial markets. This segment serves approximately 5,500 customers in 180 countries. Its Wholesale and Ventures segment enables communications providers and other organizations to provide fixed or mobile phone services. Its ventures provide mass-market services, such as directory enquiries and payphones; and enterprise services comprising BT Fleet and BT Redcare. This segment also provides broadband and Ethernet, voice, hosted communication, mobile virtual network operator, managed solutions, machine-to-machine, roaming, and media services. The company's Openreach segment engages in the provision of services over the local access network; and installation and maintenance of fiber and copper communications networks that connect homes and businesses. The company was formerly known as Newgate Telecommunications Limited and changed its name to BT Group plc in September 2001. BT Group plc was incorporated in 2001 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.
Emergent BioSolutions Inc., a life sciences company, focuses on the provision of preparedness and response solutions that address accidental, deliberate, and naturally occurring public health threats (PHTs) in the United States. The company's products address PHTs, which include chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosives; emerging infectious diseases; travel health; and emerging health crises and acute/emergency care. It offers BioThrax, an anthrax vaccine; ACAM2000, a smallpox vaccine; Botulism Antitoxin Heptavalent to treat botulinum disease; vaccinia immune globulin intravenous that addresses complications from smallpox vaccine; raxibacumab for the treatment and prophylaxis of inhalational anthrax; Anthrasil to for inhalational anthrax; reactive skin decontamination lotion kits; and Trobigard, a combination drug-device auto injector product candidate; and Trobigard, a combination drug-device auto injector product candidate. The company also provides NARCAN, a nasal spray for the emergency treatment of known or suspected opioid overdose; Vivotif, an oral vaccine for typhoid fever; and Vaxchora, a single-dose oral vaccine to treat cholera. In addition, it is developing AP003, a Naloxone multidose nasal spray; AP007, a sustained release Nalmefene injection for treatment of opioid use disorder; AV7909, an anthrax vaccine; CGRD-001, a pralidoxime chloride/atropine auto-injector; CHIKV VLP, a chikungunya virus VLP vaccine; COVID-HIG for the treatment of SARS-CoV2; EGRD-001, a diazepam auto-injector; SIAN, an antidote for the initial treatment of acute poisoning of cyanide; and UniFlu, a universal influenza vaccine. Further, the company provides contract development and manufacturing services comprising drug substance and product manufacturing, and packaging, as well as technology transfer, process, and analytical development services. The company was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland.
Energizer Holdings, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, markets, and distributes household batteries, specialty batteries, and lighting products worldwide. It offers lithium, alkaline, carbon zinc, nickel metal hydride, zinc air, and silver oxide batteries under the Energizer and Eveready brands, as well as primary, rechargeable, specialty, and hearing aid batteries. The company also provides headlights, lanterns, and children's and area lights, as well as flash lights under the Energizer, Eveready, Rayovac, Hard Case, Dolphin, Varta, and WeatherReady brands. In addition, it licenses the Energizer and Eveready brands to companies developing consumer solutions in gaming, automotive batteries, portable power for critical devices, LED light bulbs, generators, power tools, household light bulbs, and other lighting products. Further, the company designs and markets automotive fragrance and appearance products, including protectants, wipes, tire and wheel care products, glass cleaners, leather care products, air fresheners, and washes to clean, shine, refresh, and protect interior and exterior automobile surfaces under the brand names of Armor All, Nu Finish, Refresh Your Car!, LEXOL, Eagle One, California Scents, Driven, and Bahama & Co; STP branded fuel and oil additives, functional fluids, and other performance chemical products; and do-it-yourself automotive air conditioning recharge products under the A/C PRO brand name, as well as other refrigerant and recharge kits, sealants, and accessories. It sells its products through direct sales force, distributors, and wholesalers; and through various retail and business-to-business channels, including mass merchandisers, club, electronics, food, home improvement, dollar store, auto, drug, hardware, e-commerce, convenience, sporting goods, hobby/craft, office, industrial, medical, and catalog. Energizer Holdings, Inc. was incorporated in 2015 and is headquartered in Saint Louis, Missouri.
GSK plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the creation, discovery, development, manufacture, and marketing of pharmaceutical products, vaccines, over-the-counter medicines, and health-related consumer products in the United Kingdom, the United States, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Pharmaceuticals, Pharmaceuticals R&D, Vaccines, and Consumer Healthcare. The company offers pharmaceutical products comprising medicines in the therapeutic areas, such as respiratory, HIV, immuno-inflammation, oncology, anti-viral, central nervous system, cardiovascular and urogenital, metabolic, anti-bacterial, and dermatology. It also provides consumer healthcare products in wellness, oral health, nutrition, and skin health categories. The company offers its consumer healthcare products in the form of nasal sprays, tablets, syrups, lozenges, gum and trans-dermal patches, caplets, infant syrup drops, liquid filled suspension, wipes, gels, effervescents, toothpastes, toothbrushes, mouthwashes, denture adhesives and cleansers, topical creams and non-medicated patches, lip balm, gummies, and soft chews. It has collaboration agreements with 23andMe; Lyell Immunopharma, Inc.; Novartis; Sanofi SA; Surface Oncology; Progentec Diagnostics, Inc.; Alector, Inc.; and CureVac AG., as well as strategic partnership with IDEAYA Biosciences, Inc. and Vir Biotechnology, Inc. The company was formerly known as GlaxoSmithKline plc and changed its name to GSK plc in May 2022. GSK plc was founded in 1715 and is headquartered in Brentford, the United Kingdom.
Kinder Morgan, Inc. operates as an energy infrastructure company in North America. The company operates through four segments: Natural Gas Pipelines, Products Pipelines, Terminals, and CO2. The Natural Gas Pipelines segment owns and operates interstate and intrastate natural gas pipeline, and underground storage systems; natural gas gathering systems and natural gas processing and treating facilities; natural gas liquids fractionation facilities and transportation systems; and liquefied natural gas liquefaction and storage facilities. The Products Pipelines segment owns and operates refined petroleum products, and crude oil and condensate pipelines; and associated product terminals and petroleum pipeline transmix facilities. The Terminals segment owns and/or operates liquids and bulk terminals that stores and handles various commodities, including gasoline, diesel fuel, chemicals, ethanol, metals, and petroleum coke; and owns tankers. The CO2 segment produces, transports, and markets CO2 to recovery and production crude oil from mature oil fields; owns interests in/or operates oil fields and gasoline processing plants; and operates a crude oil pipeline system in West Texas, as well as owns and operates RNG and LNG facilities. It owns and operates approximately 83,000 miles of pipelines and 143 terminals. The company was formerly known as Kinder Morgan Holdco LLC and changed its name to Kinder Morgan, Inc. in February 2011. Kinder Morgan, Inc. was founded in 1936 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.
RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. provides reinsurance and insurance products around the world. The company was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Bermuda with offices in Ireland, Australia, Switzerland, Singapore, and the US.

The company operates through two segments that include multiple underlying businesses and investment vehicles. The two main segments are Property and Casualty & Specialty. The company operates through intermediaries that include DaVinci Resinsurance Inc, Top Layer Reinsurance LTD, and RennaisanceRe Syndicate 1458 among others.

Top Layer Re is the first major venture and was started in 1999. It is a joint venture with State Farm targeting high layers of the US reinsurance business. DaVinci Re was formed in the wake of 9/11 to assist with capacity and it was given added capacity in the wake of hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma. Medici was formed in 2009 and is an open-ended fund intended to spur investment in the catastrophe bond market.

The Property segment writes catastrophic insurance policies to insure insurance and reinsurance companies against natural and man-made catastrophes. These include but are not limited to hurricanes, floods, freezes, and terrorism.

The Casualty & Specialty segment provides a wide range of consumer products including business insurance, malpractice insurance, liability insurance, workers' compensation, mortgage insurance, and health insurance among others.

Among RenaissanceRes Specialty businesses is capital management. The firm offers 6 investment vehicles and has more than $11 billion under management making it the #1 ILS or insurance-linked asset manager in the US. In regards to its credit ratings, the firm and all of its vehicles carry an A or better rating from every credit rating agency.
Pampa Energia S.A., an integrated power company, engages in the generation and transmission of electricity in Argentina. The company operates through Electricity Generation, Oil and Gas, Petrochemicals, and Holding and Other Business segments. It generates electricity through combined thermal generation plants, open-cycle gas turbines, and hydroelectric power generation systems, as well as through a wind farm. The company has an installed electricity generation capacity of approximately 4,970 megawatts; and 21,414 kilometers of high voltage electricity transmission network in Argentina. It is also involved in the exploration and production of oil and gas. In addition, the company offers petrochemicals, such as styrene, synthetic rubber, and polystyrene. As of December 31, 2020, it had approximately 12.625 thousands of barrels of oil and LNG, as well as 24.537 millions of cubic meters of natural gas; owned a refinery with an installed capacity of approximately 25.8 thousand barrels per day; and operated a network of 92 gas stations. The company was formerly known as Pampa Holding S.A. and changed its name to Pampa Energia S.A. in September 2008. Pampa Energia S.A. was incorporated in 1945 and is based in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. provides investor communications and technology-driven solutions for the financial services industry. The company's Investor Communication Solutions segment processes and distributes proxy materials to investors in equity securities and mutual funds, as well as facilitates related vote processing services; and distributes regulatory reports, class action, and corporate action/reorganization event information, as well as tax reporting solutions. It also offers ProxyEdge, an electronic proxy delivery and voting solution; data-driven solutions and an end-to-end platform for content management, composition, and omni-channel distribution of regulatory, marketing, and transactional information, as well as mutual fund trade processing services; data and analytics solutions; solutions for public corporations and mutual funds; SEC filing and capital markets transaction services; registrar, stock transfer, and record-keeping services; and omni-channel customer communications solutions, as well as operates Broadridge Communications Cloud platform that creates, delivers, and manages communications and customer engagement activities. The company's Global Technology and Operations segment provides solutions that automate the front-to-back transaction lifecycle of equity, mutual fund, fixed income, foreign exchange and exchange-traded derivatives, order capture and execution, trade confirmation, margin, cash management, clearance and settlement, reference data management, reconciliations, securities financing and collateral management, asset servicing, compliance and regulatory reporting, portfolio accounting, and custody-related services. This segment also offers business process outsourcing services; technology solutions, such portfolio management, compliance, fee billing, and operational support solutions; and capital market and wealth management solutions. The company was founded in 1962 and is headquartered in Lake Success, New York.
The following companies are subsidiares of Clean Harbors: Ace/Allwaste Environmental Services of Indiana LLC, Altair Disposal Services LLC, Aquilex Finance LLC, Aquilex Intermediate Corporate Holdings LLC, Aquilex Intermediate Holdings LLC, Aquilex LLC, Baton Rouge Disposal LLC, Bridgeport Disposal LLC, CARBER Holdings Inc., CB Canada Acquisition Inc., CB Canada Holdings Inc., CB US Holdings Inc., CH International Holdings LLC, Car-Ber Investments Inc., Clean Harbors Andover LLC, Clean Harbors Aragonite LLC, Clean Harbors Arizona LLC, Clean Harbors BDT LLC, Clean Harbors Baton Rouge LLC, Clean Harbors Buttonwillow LLC, Clean Harbors Canada Inc., Clean Harbors Caribe Inc., Clean Harbors Chattanooga LLC, Clean Harbors Clive LLC, Clean Harbors Coffeyville LLC, Clean Harbors Colfax LLC, Clean Harbors Deer Park LLC, Clean Harbors Deer Trail LLC, Clean Harbors Development LLC, Clean Harbors Disposal Services Inc., Clean Harbors El Dorado LLC, Clean Harbors Energy Services ULC, Clean Harbors Energy and Industrial Services Corp., Clean Harbors Energy and Industrial Services LP, Clean Harbors Energy and Industrial Western Ltd., Clean Harbors Environmental Services Inc., Clean Harbors Exploration Services Inc., Clean Harbors Exploration Services LP, Clean Harbors Exploration Services ULC, Clean Harbors Florida LLC, Clean Harbors Grassy Mountain LLC, Clean Harbors India LLP, Clean Harbors Industrial Services Canada Inc., Clean Harbors Industrial Services Inc., Clean Harbors Innu Environmental Services Inc., Clean Harbors Kansas LLC, Clean Harbors Kingston Facility Corporation, Clean Harbors LaPorte LLC, Clean Harbors Laurel LLC, Clean Harbors Lodging Services LP, Clean Harbors Lodging Services ULC, Clean Harbors Lone Mountain LLC, Clean Harbors Mercier Inc., Clean Harbors Pecatonica LLC, Clean Harbors Production Services ULC, Clean Harbors Quebec Inc., Clean Harbors Recycling Services of Chicago LLC, Clean Harbors Recycling Services of Ohio LLC, Clean Harbors Reidsville LLC, Clean Harbors San Jose LLC, Clean Harbors San Leon Inc., Clean Harbors Services Inc., Clean Harbors Surface Rentals Partnership, Clean Harbors Surface Rentals ULC, Clean Harbors Surface Rentals USA Inc., Clean Harbors Tennessee LLC, Clean Harbors Westmorland LLC, Clean Harbors White Castle LLC, Clean Harbors Wichita LLC, Clean Harbors Wilmington LLC, Clean Harbors of Baltimore Inc. (DE Corp.), Clean Harbors of Braintree Inc., Clean Harbors of Connecticut Inc. (DE), Confined Space Services L.L.C., Cousins Waste Control LLC, Crowley Disposal LLC, Cyn Oil Corporation, Debusk Industrial Services Company LLC, Disposal Properties LLC, Emerald Services Inc., EnviroSORT Inc., EnviroSORT Inc., Eveready, Evergreen Holdings, GSX Disposal LLC, Global Vapor Control Inc., Green View Technologies Inc., HPC PetroServ Inc., Hilliard Disposal LLC, HydroChem Canada ULC, HydroChem Industrial Cleaning LLC, HydroChem LLC, HydroChemPSC, IISG Central Region LLC, IISG Gulf Coast LLC, IISG Real Estate LLC, Industrial Service Oil Company Inc., Inland Industrial Services Group LLC, Inland Waters Pollution Control Services LLC, Inland Waters of Ohio LLC, Jesco Industrial Service LLC, LJ Energy Services Holdings LLC, LJ Energy Services Intermediate Holding Corp., Lonestar Sylvan Inc., Lonestar Vacuum Inc., Lonestar West, Lonestar West Enterprises LLC, Lonestar West Inc., Lonestar West Services LLC, Murphy's Waste Oil Service Inc., Northeast Casualty Insurance Company, Omnichem LLC, PMS Industrial Services LLC, PSC Industrial Holdings Corp., PSC Industrial Inc., PSC Industrial Outsourcing LP, PSC Industrial Outsourcing of Michigan LLC, PSC LDAR Services LLC, Peak Energy Services, Philip Services/North Central LLC, Plaquemine Remediation Services LLC, Power Vac Construction L.L.C., RMF Aquilex Corp., Roebuck Disposal LLC, Romic Environmental Technologies, Rosemead Oil Products Inc., SK D'Incineration Inc., Safety-Kleen, Safety-Kleen Canada Inc., Safety-Kleen Envirosystems Company, Safety-Kleen Envirosystems Company of Puerto Rico Inc., Safety-Kleen Inc., Safety-Kleen International Inc., Safety-Kleen Systems Inc., Safety-Kleen of California Inc., Sawyer Disposal Services LLC, Seaport Environmental LLC, Service Chemical LLC, Speed Industrial Corporate LLC, Speed Industrial Service Catalyst LLC, Speed Industrial Service LLC, Speed Industrial Service of Beaumont LLC, Speed Industrial Services of Lake Charles LLC, Speed Industrial Services of Louisiana LLC, Speed Industrial Services of Texas LLC, Spring Grove Resource Recovery Inc., The Solvents Recovery Service of New Jersey Inc., Thermo Fluids, Thermo Fluids Inc., Tri-vax Enterprises Ltd., Tulsa Disposal LLC, Universal Environmental, Veolia North Americas U.S. Industrial Cleaning Services Division, Versant Energy Services Inc., Versant Energy Services LP, and Vulsay Industries Ltd..

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Validus Holdings, Ltd. provides reinsurance coverage, insurance coverage, and insurance linked securities management services worldwide. It operates through three segments: Reinsurance, Insurance, and Asset Management. The Reinsurance segment underwrites property reinsurance products on a catastrophe excess of loss, per risk excess of loss and proportional basis; and aerospace and aviation, agriculture, composite, marine, technical lines, terrorism, trade credit, workers' compensation, and other specialty lines, as well as casualty and financial lines. The Insurance segment underwrites property, accident and health, agriculture, aviation, contingency, marine, and political lines insurance products; bankers blanket bond, commercial crime, computer crime, cyber- crime, professional indemnity, and directors' and officers' insurance products for various financial institutions and other companies; and commercial and institutional risks comprising general, professional, and product liability, as well as miscellaneous malpractice insurance products. This segment also underwrites marine and energy liability, and political risk insurance products, as well as insurance products for repair, maintenance, and upkeep of aircrafts and premises for small companies. The Asset Management segment manages capital for third parties through insurance-linked securities, and other property catastrophe and specialty reinsurance investments. Validus Holdings, Ltd. was founded in 2005 and is based in Pembroke, Bermuda.
UF's hurricane research team heads south

With Hurricane Irma approaching Florida, UF hurricane researchers headed south on Friday to meet the storm head on, measure wind speeds and use the data to help build safer houses.

University of Florida's Hurricane Research Team fills their reserve diesel tanks on the way to South Florida.

University of Florida hurricane researchers monitor storm conditions during Hurricane Irma and scout for locations to deploy data collection instrumentation.

More updates to come.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-08 23:02:54|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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MANILA, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- Australian Defense Minister Marise Payne said on Friday that Australia offered to send military specialists to the Philippines to train Philippine troops on counter-terrorism, reiterating Australia's commitment to support Manila in combating Islamist extremism.

Payne, in Manila for a visit, met with Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana inside a military camp. She and Lorenzana spoke to reporters after her meeting with Lorenzana.

"What we have discussed today is deployment of a small ADF (Australian Defense Force) team that might be able to provide some specialized training to the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines)," Payne told reporters.

"We would be, for example, able to provide that support within Philippine military bases, so, not deploying Australian troops, but working with training ... within Philippine military bases."

Payne said the details of the proposed training activities will still be threshed out by the AFP and ADF "to make sure that we put together an arrangement that works best for both of us."

She said Australia can "increase our engagement, surge if you like in the context of current affairs, and we will ask our officials to finalize this process."

"We all need to work together to defeat (terrorism). It is a threat not just here in the Philippines but elsewhere," the Australian minister said.

Lorenzana clarified that Australian soldiers will not directly fight the pro-IS terrorists operating in the country.

"We have sufficient troops to fight in Marawi," Lorenzana said, referring to the ongoing battle to retake the southern Philippine city of Marawi from Islamist extremists that overran most of the city in May.

Australia has sent two P3 Orion surveillance planes to help the Philippine security troops track the IS militants in Marawi.

Lorenzana said that Australian troops can help train Philippine soldiers in gathering and analyzing intelligence information.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-09 03:14:47|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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WASHINGTON, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. House of Representatives on Friday passed the Senate's version of a bill to raise the country's debt ceiling for three months, fund the government and provide 15.3-billion-dollar storm relief for victims of Hurricane Harvey.

U.S. President Donald Trump could sign the bill as early as Friday afternoon.

The bill was approved by 316 votes in favor and 90 against. It received support from all Democrats and more than 130 Republicans.

House Republicans had intended to tie Harvey relief to a longer-term debt ceiling hike, arguing thus can offer more stability to credit markets than a short-term fix.

However, Trump agreed with Democrats at a White House meeting on Wednesday to support a three-month plan that will have to be renegotiated in December, stunning the Congress Republican leadership.

Also on Friday, Trump defended his new alliance with congressional Democrats, slamming Republican lawmakers for failing to repeal Obamacare after their seven-year efforts.

"Republicans, sorry, but I've been hearing about Repeal & Replace for 7 years, didn't happen!" Trump said during a morning tweet storm.

"Even worse, the Senate Filibuster Rule will...never allow the Republicans to pass even great legislation. 8 Dems control - will rarely get 60 (vs. 51) votes. It is a Repub Death Wish," he tweeted. There are currently only 52 Republican senators.

The House on Wednesday passed a 7.9-billion-dollar aid package by 419-3 for victims of Harvey. The Senate bill then on Thursday added 7.4-billion-dollar in Community Development Block Grant funding for areas most affected by 2017 disasters.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated 57 percent of the money, or 8.7 billion dollars, would be spent in 2020 or later.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-09 03:14:49|Editor: Mengjie

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe addresses a meeting of the ZANU-PF Central Committee in Harare Sept. 8, 2017. Mugabe said on Friday the recently launched coalition of opposition parties is fragile and will be resoundingly beaten by his ruling ZANU-PF party in next year's general elections. (Xinhua/Stringer)

HARARE, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe said Friday the recently launched coalition of opposition parties is fragile and will be resoundingly beaten by his ruling ZANU-PF party in next year's general elections.

Addressing a ZANU-PF central committee meeting, Mugabe said one firm "blow" from the ruling party would dismantle the seven-party Movement for Democratic Change Alliance (MDC Alliance) led by Morgan Tsvangirai.

"Fortunately for ZANU-PF, these political parties are as divided as ever, fighting over leadership positions. We know that they are creatures of the West, whose sole purpose is to dislodge ZANU-PF from power," the state-run news agency New Ziana quoted Mugabe as saying.

Mugabe dismissed the opposition coalition, saying the secret to his party's victory in previous elections lied in its appeal to the people and the fact that it was people-oriented.

Mugabe reiterated his call for unity in ZANU-PF and urged party leadership to start mobilizing people for the voter registration process and ensure they vote for ZANU-PF in next year's polls.

"As we go into next year's elections, we cannot solely hope to win by riding on sheer popularity of our party, we have to make preparations to ensure victory is certain, we must galvanize the electorate to go and vote for us en-masse," he said.

Zimbabwe is using the Bio-Metric Voter Registration system for the first time and all voters, new and old, are required to register to be able to cast their vote in the polls.

Mugabe said party leaders should refrain from insulting and taking each other to court if offended, saying this was setting a bad precedent for youth in the party.

He lauded Zimbabweans for their resilience in the wake of sanctions which have worsened economic hardships in the country and called on Zimbabweans to continue working hard to overcome the challenges.

"The West, the European Union in particular, is not about to remove its illegal sanctions against us anytime soon, no, but that should not dampen our revolutionary spirit. We remain firm and where we stand, we shall continue to stand," he said.

The president said Zimbabwe was on its way to restoring its status as southern Africa's bread basket after recording a bumper maize harvest in the 2016/17 summer cropping season.

"I have no doubt in my mind that with the support we are giving our farmers coupled with the farming skills and experience they have acquired so far, another bumper harvest is guaranteed next year," he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-09 04:35:09|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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WASHINGTON, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- The United States is preparing for the worst once again as "epic" Hurricane Irma moves towards Florida, just days after record-breaking Hurricane Harvey tore through Texas, causing dozens of deaths and billions in damage.

Irma, downgraded to a Category 4 hurricane from a Category 5 on Friday, was expected to make landfall in south Florida on Sunday morning.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center cautioned in an advisory that, with winds reaching 250 kilometers per hour, it was still "extremely dangerous."

U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted: "Hurricane Irma is of epic proportion, perhaps bigger than we have ever seen. Be safe and get out of its way, if possible. Federal G is ready!"

The back-to-back major hurricanes, and two new ones, Jose and Katia, which have been gathering strength in the Atlantic Ocean this week, immediately raised one question: Is this hurricane season unusual, against the backdrop of global warming?

NOT TOO OUT OF ORDINARY

"The United States has never been hit by two Category 4 hurricanes (in the same season) before," Phil Klotzbach, a noted hurricane expert at Colorado State University, told Xinhua. "(But) this is only the second hurricane to likely hit the United States this year. We've had four major hurricanes hit (in one season) in prior years, so not too out of the ordinary yet."

According to the U.S. National Hurricane Center, an average Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30, produces 12 named storms, of which six become hurricanes, including three major hurricanes.

Over a typical two-year period, the U.S. coastline is struck by an average of three hurricanes, one of which is classified as a Category 3 or higher with winds reaching at least 178 kilometers per hour, also known as a major hurricane.

Actually, the U.S. has seen four hurricanes of at least Category 3 strength in one season before, with the most recent example of this occurring in 2005 when Dennis, Katrina, Rita and Wilma made landfall, said Klotzbach.

But it is indeed the first time three hurricanes, Irma, Jose and Katia, have the potential to hit land at the same time, according to Eric Blake, a scientist at the U.S. National Hurricane Center.

"Never seen anything like this in the modern record," Blake tweeted. "Three separate hurricane watches at once for the Atlantic? Unparalleled here and totally ridiculous given (the scale of) Irma."

ACTIVE YEAR

Richard Rood, a professor of Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, said this year is "characteristic of an active year" although Atlantic hurricanes that hit the United States vary from year to year.

"Hurricanes are organized not only with their circular flow around the eye, but also vertically. The eye wall is, approximately, straight up and down," Rood explained to Xinhua.

"During active years, the ocean is warm, but it is also required that the wind in the upper troposphere be relatively weak. If the upper tropospheric winds are strong, then they inhibit the ability of the storm to develop their vertical structure," he said.

"Another characteristic of busy years is that disturbances originating in North Africa support the organization of hurricanes. This year, all of these features are present."

CLIMATE CHANGE

Hurricanes like Harvey and Irma are not caused by climate change, but they have prompted questions about the role of rising global temperatures, which scientists say are caused by increased greenhouse-gas emissions from burning fossil fuel.

A prudent Klotzbach refused to jump to a conclusion, only saying that "it's hard to say for sure how much climate change is involved."

"The Atlantic has actually been in a fairly quiet period for hurricanes over the past few years (until this year). Also, prior to Harvey, the United States had gone through its longest record period with no major hurricane landfalls," he said.

Rood, however, was less skeptical. "We know that the air temperature is warming. More importantly, the ocean temperature and ocean heat content are increasing. Therefore, all storms that form are in this changing, warming climate," he said. "Hence, it is hard to imagine a situation where the warming does not influence the storm."

"The question might be -- is the influence of the warming large enough that we can say it is different in some way than storms, say, 50 years ago? The scientists who do attribution studies are, more and more, answering that question as 'yes,'" Rood continued.

"The amount might be on the order of 10 percent more precipitation. These storms are already extreme events, therefore, an additional 10 percent is quite important. It pushes the impacts beyond the boundaries for which we might have prepared," he concluded. "The extreme precipitation and the large geographical extent of the 2017 storms are consistent with a warming climate."

NEW NORMAL?

As to whether back-to-back major hurricanes are unusual, Klotzbach said such a situation was "fairly common."

"In 1961, in fact, the first five storms in the Atlantic were all major hurricanes," he said. "In terms of landfalls, the last time we had two major hurricanes both make landfall were Ivan and Jeanne in 2004."

However, back-to-back major hurricanes making landfall in the continental U.S. "are indeed unusual," noted Rood. He called climate policies by the Trump administration, which has mostly maintained that climate change is a hoax, "short-sighted and destructive."

"Is this (more frequent hurricanes) the new normal? I don't like the term 'new normal,' because we are in a time where the climate will be warming for the foreseeable future -- at least, the next several decades," said Rood.

"The new normal is change. The weather is changing; hence, the statistics of storms are changing. I expect the extreme storms to become more frequent and more extreme," Rood said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-09 04:45:15|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ADEN, Yemen, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- At least 10 Yemeni civilians were injured including five children when rockets fired by Houthi rebels hit a residential area in southern province of Lahj on Friday, a military official told Xinhua.

"The Houthi militants fired Katyusha rockets and struck a number of houses in Qabytah area of Lahj province, leaving 10 civilians injured including five children," the local military official said on condition of anonymity.

Most of the injured civilians were transferred by ambulances to the neighboring southern province of Aden to receive treatment, the source said.

Houses and civilians in border areas located between Taiz and Lahj province are repeatedly targeted with rockets and mortar shells due to the continuous fighting there, according to local residents.

Meanwhile, other sources said that the Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces exchanged heavy artillery shelling with the Houthi rebels on the outskirts of Lahj province.

The pro-Houthi forces keep trying to make ground advances towards the government-controlled province of Lahj, where key strategic army camps are located.

Fighting and intensified airstrikes on Houthi-controlled positions continued Friday across many areas in the war-torn Arab country particularly in the northern provinces

Yemen's internationally-backed government, allied with the Saudi-led Arab military coalition, has been battling Iran-backed Shiite Houthi rebels over control of the country for more than two years .

The coalition began a military air campaign in March 2015 to roll back Houthi gains and reinstate exiled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and his government to the power.

The coalition also imposed air and sea blockade to prevent weapons from reaching Houthis, who had invaded the capital Sanaa militarily and seized most of the northern Yemeni provinces.

UN statistics show more than 10,000 people, most of them civilians, have been killed since the coalition intervened in the Yemeni civil war that also displaced around three million.

The impoverished Arab country is also suffering the world's largest cholera epidemic since April, with about 5,000 cases reported every day.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-09 05:15:22|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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BANJUL, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- The assessment team from the Commonwealth Secretariat in London on Friday held talks with the Gambian President Adama Barrow in order to see the return of the small West African state to the British organization for former colonies.

Barrow said it was a unilateral decision by his predecessor to withdraw the country from the organization, which he described as unfortunate and uncalled for. He said the Gambians never wanted to leave.

"Nobody wants to be isolated. We want to be part of all international bodies. This was one man's decision, and not something that was put to all Gambians. If it had been a referendum, the decision would never have been taken.

"We are careful and are calculating our steps so that we do not make mistakes. We believe in the principle of democracy and we are positive about our future. Gambians are looking forward to our return to the Commonwealth. So the message is full membership as soon as possible," Barrow said.

Karen McKenzie, Head of Human Rights at the Commonwealth Secretariat, said Gambia's membership in the Commonwealth over the years had been beneficial.

"The Commonwealth Secretariat would make an assessment of how well The Gambia met membership prerequisites, and this would form part of the Commonwealth Secretary General's consultation with member states," she said.

The former Gambian President Yahya Jammeh pulled the country from The Commonwealth in 2013 claiming that the country will not be colonized twice and branded the organization as a tool for colonialism.
Summary

Company Announcement Date: September 08, 2017 FDA Publish Date: February 08, 2018 Product Type: Food & Beverages

Yogurt/Yogurt Product

Allergens

Food & Beverage Safety Reason for Announcement: Recall Reason Description Undeclared Milk Company Name: Simply Fresh Foods, Inc. Brand Name: Brand Name(s) San Francisco Foods Product Description: Product Description Seafood Salad

Company Announcement

Simply Fresh Foods, Inc. of Buena Park, CA is recalling 272 cases of one specific lot of its 4-4 ounce packages of "San Francisco Seafood Salad Made with Greek Yogurt" bearing a UPC bar code of 47502 19701 because the individual cups inside the carton may be mislabeled as Seafood Salad with Real Mayonnaise and does not declare "milk". The outer carton is correct and has the correct ingredient statement which declares "milk". People who have allergies to milk run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume this product.

The recalled product was distributed through retail stores in Arizona, Utah, Washington, Oregon, Indiana, and Georgia.

The product comes in a 4 pack of 4 ounce single serve cups, the outer carton has the Use By date code 10/15/17 B10 on the back of the carton. The Use by date of 10/15/17 B10 is also printed on the side of the individual cups.

Carton: UPC 47502 19701 San Francisco Seafood Salad with Greek Yogurt

4 - 4 oz. (113 g) cups - Net Wt. 16 oz. (1 LB) 454 g

Single Serve Cup: UPC 47502 19001 San Francisco Seafood Salad with Real Mayonnaise Net Wt. 4 oz.

No illnesses have been reported to date in connection with this problem.

The recall was initiated as a result of a consumer inquiry into a label inconsistency; the cups within the 4-pack sleeve were labeled as Seafood Salad made with Real Mayonnaise while the outer carton was Seafood Salad with Greek Yogurt.

This product may be safely consumed by individuals who are not allergic to milk and have no other concern with milk.

Consumers who have purchased 4 - 4 oz. (16 oz.) packages of "Seafood Salad made with Greek Yogurt with Use By date 10/15/17 B10" may return them to the place of purchase for a

full refund or discard the product. Consumers with questions may contact the company at 1- 855-207-2758 Monday through Friday 8:00 am - 5:00 pm Eastern Time.

Company Contact Information Consumers: 1-855-207-2758 Media: Dale Jabour 1-800-807-7335
Few industries offer the hype or growth prospects that are currently surrounding legal marijuana. A March 2017 report from GreenWave Advisors predicted that the legal cannabis industry in the U.S. could grow at a compound annual rate of 36% between 2016 and 2021, leading to a $30 billion market. Investment firm Cowen & Co. has gone one step further, predicting $50 billion in U.S. sales by 2026.

This rapid growth has meant one thing for marijuana stock investors and the businesses that operate in the industry: big returns. The average return of the 14 largest marijuana stocks by market cap is well in excess of 100%, and investors see little signs of slowing in the years to come, with favorability toward pot improving with each passing year.

Nevertheless, cannabis remains a wholly illegal Schedule I substance at the federal level. With that scheduling comes a host of disadvantages that pot-based businesses face. These include an inability to take normal corporate income-tax deductions, as well as difficulty in securing basic banking functions. Since financial institutions report to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the FDIC is a federally created entity, they simply don't want to run the risk of being fined or face criminal charges for money laundering.

This bifurcation whereby marijuana has flourished at the state level and been stymied at the federal level has gone on for some time now. As long as the federal government maintains its hands-off approach, marijuana stock investors and the industry remain cautiously optimistic regarding their growth prospects.

But what if the federal government's approach to overseeing the cannabis industry wasn't as hands-off as perceived?

Are the DOJ and IRS cracking down on pot businesses?

As reported by the Denver Post, a lawsuit filed by a legally operating marijuana business in Colorado, one of the eight states to have legalized recreational weed, alleges that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has been using the guise of tax audits to conspire with the Department of Justice (DOJ). The case, filed by the owner of Rifle Remedies, a marijuana business in Silt, Colo., is challenging IRS subpoenas to the Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division (MED) seeking information about how they've grown cannabis, and to whom they're selling their cannabis.

Lawyers representing Rifle Remedies had this to say:

The IRS is working jointly with the Department of Justice to investigate purported criminal activity of the taxpayers. To this end, the IRS has converged on Colorado and is conducting mass audits of those it has determined to be unlawfully trafficking in controlled substances... dishing out summonses like candy.

The lawyers have also suggested that the DOJ trained IRS agents in March 2016 in criminal drug law investigator techniques.

Why would Colorado businesses feel threatened by IRS audit inquiries? To begin with, as noted, businesses that sell a federally illegal substance aren't allowed to take corporate income-tax deductions under U.S. tax code 280E. More importantly, though, they're fully aware that they're selling an illegal substance at the federal level and fear the potential for federal prosecution. The lawyers representing Rifle Remedies have suggested that their clients would be willing to hand over whatever information is requested in exchange for immunity from prosecution.

For its part, the IRS and DOJ have denied the claims in the lawsuit. The IRS supports its audits and subpoenas with MED as necessary, given its need to verify financial information and ensure that Colorado weed businesses do not owe more in taxes.

Good news, bad news for legal marijuana businesses

Regardless of the outcome of this specific lawsuit, legally operating marijuana businesses in Colorado, and other legal states for that matter, have one silver lining to fall back on: the Rohrabacher-Farr Amendment. This piece of federal legislation protects marijuana businesses that are operating legally from federal prosecution. It won't protect them from tax fraud if they're purposely deceiving the IRS and not paying their fair share of taxes, but it'll keep the federal government from using federal funds to prosecute medical and recreational pot businesses that are selling a substance deemed to be illegal.

That's the good news. Now here's the bad news: Attorney General Jeff Sessions doesn't really care about states' rights. In May, Sessions sent a letter to Congressional leaders asking them to repeal the Rohrabacher-Farr Amendment so that he could go after medical marijuana businesses operating in the 29 currently legal states. Sessions has long opposed any expansion of cannabis in America and has not minced words about the drug. In effect, marijuana businesses and stocks are never fully safe from prosecution as long as Sessions maintains the office of attorney general.

For the time being, it looks as if Congress will continue to deny Sessions federal funding to go after legally operating weed businesses. But considering Republicans are among two groups of people still opposed to marijuana's expansion (the other being senior citizens), it's not out of the question that the Trump administration and Congress change their tune at some point in the future. In short, the marijuana industry should continue to remain a volatile and risky bet for both businesses and investors.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-09 05:35:35|Editor: Liangyu

People walk in front of a damaged building after an earthquake jolted Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas state, Mexico, on Sept. 8, 2017. A powerful earthquake measuring 8.0 on the Richter scale struck off Mexico's southern coast late Thursday, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said. (Xinhua/Str)

MEXICO CITY, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- The 8.2 magnitude quake which rocked Mexico on Thursday night has now left a preliminary death toll of 58, while also sparking 337 replicas in 13 hours, Mexico's national earthquake service, SSN, said on Friday.

The powerful quake, which affected at least 50 million people in 12 states at 23:49 local time, mostly affected the southern states of Oaxaca and Chiapas.

Different official sources have confirmed the deaths of 45 people in Oaxaca, 10 in Chiapas and three in the neighboring state of Tabasco.

Experts from the SSN told a press conference that the worst earthquake felt in Mexico in a century lasted 135 seconds from its epicenter all the way to Mexico City, over 400 km away.

Authorities continued to verify the material damage caused by the earthquake in Chiapas and Oaxaca, where the town of Juchitan saw the collapse of a number of buildings, including its town hall.

The Mexican government has reported that the quake did not knock out roads in Chiapas, Oaxaca and Tabasco, meaning repairs could begin quickly.

Furthermore, all airports, ports, highways, telecommunications and railways in the country are operating normally, except in the three aforementioned state.

President Enrique Pena Nieto has travelled to Chiapas to personally visit some of the most severely hit areas.
YouTube mobile app rolls out HDR support for premium smartphones News oi -Vijeta Google has started pushing out support for HDR videos for its smartphone app for handsets which include LG V30, Galaxy S8, Note 8, Google Pixel and Xperia Xz Premium.

Google has started pushing out support for HDR videos for its smartphone app. The report has already been confirmed along with a few more details regarding the roll out. YouTube will offer support for HDR playback at 1080p resolution at 60fps when changing the video quality manually. The update was rolled out without any prior announcement, however, the update was spotted by enthusiasts and tech whistleblowers.

The support for HDR videos was added to YouTube in November 2016 although the update was not facilitated to any of the smartphones that offer HDR screens. HDR support is available only on premium and high-end smartphones. Some of the handsets that support HDR are Galaxy S8, Note 8, Google Pixel, LG V30, and Xperia XZ Premium.

Google will certainly keep on offering support for high-quality video formats on several other devices that will be released in the future with HDR support.

It was later reported that the HDR support has been rolled out to a bunch of smartphones only which include Samsung Galaxy Note 8, Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus, Google Pixel, LG V30, and Sony Xperia XZ Premium.

The smartphones that support HDR do not improve the resolution of the display. Rather High Dynamic Range display on smartphones offers the highest range of color spectrum that is visible to our eyes. An HDR display handset has the capability to present the colors with more accuracy and it makes the videos and pictures look realistic and more lively.

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Google plans to redesign its privacy and security dashboard News oi -Vijeta Google plans to redesign its security and privacy dashboard to make the settings more accessible to users. It also aims to provide users with an option to keep a tab on their data.

Google will soon introduce the changes to its design to proffer convenience to users. It aims to provide a simple approach to privacy and security dashboard to users by making it more touchscreen savvy. Google will also introduce elements that will inform users about the information that each Google product, including Maps, YouTube and Search, has been storing.

Google published a blog post today which states that its 2009 launched user dashboard will be redesigned entirely. This dashboard includes tools that allow users to edit details associated with their Google accounts and activities over various Google tools and products. For those of you have yet not discovered the activity tool, it allows you to see all the activities over Google tools and products in a diversified manner. It also allows you to delete search history and manage various activities depending upon the Google product you have used.

The blog read, "As we built new tools like My Account and My Activity, it became clear that we needed to better integrate Dashboard into our other privacy controls. It should always be easy for you to make meaningful decisions about your data-and we decided we could do better."

The blog also informed about the changes that will be introduced, "The most important change was to improve usability on touchscreens, ensuring Dashboard works well on any device. We also worked to make it easier to see an overview of the Google products you use and your data in each of them. And we made the process for downloading data much easier."

Security and privacy dashboard are not too often used by an average user, however, it seems like Google wants to change the scenario and make itself more open and easily accessible to users.

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Guess which is the top smartphone brand in China currently? The answer is quite surprising News oi -Samden Sherpa Apple has about 171 million units in China, while local player Huawei has 132 million units.

There have been plenty of reports floating on the web which stated that Apple was basically having a "mid-life iPhone crisis" in China. Further reports also noted that the Cupertino based company was not able to make the most of the local booming smartphone market.

But despite all the obstacles and the problems, the company seems to be rather doing well that even the local brands. Well, the Korean International Trade Association has provided new statistics and details which show that Apple is the leading smartphone brand in the Chinese market. As per the report, Apple has about 171 million units in China, while local player Huawei has 132 million units.

Interestingly, Apple seems to have managed to outrun Huawei in its own market. It is worth noting that Huawei has also recently become the second-largest phone manufacturer in the entire world after Samsung, who is at the top.

Meanwhile, Chinese company Oppo is at the third place with 124 million units, and then Vivo with 108 million units while Xiaomi has 68 million devices in use, currently.

In the Chinese market, quite surprisingly Samsung is ranked sixth with 48 million units. Apple seems to be more popular and bigger than Samsung in China. On the other hand, Samsung might have lost customer confidence in brand due to the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco. The analysts have also claimed that Samsung has a hard time to convince users to abandon Apple and buy its devices.

"Only 7.2 percent of Samsung phone owners repurchased Samsung products in the second quarter, far lower than 53.4 percent for iPhones and 25-26 percent for Oppo and Vivo. Samsung should regain customer confidence in its brand and establish a base of loyal customer again," the research notes.

Nonetheless, Chinese brands have experienced and in fact, are experiencing a major boom currently especially in the Indian market. Given that they offer excellent value for the money, they are pretty much beating Apple and Samsung in various markets. And the other reason for Apple and Samsung sales dropping could be that these companies typically charge a premium for their smartphones.

Chinese brands are also nowadays offering a mix of affordable and premium smartphones, which makes them a direct competitor for high-end devices from Apple and Samsung.

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Xiaomi releases third batch of Open Beta MIUI 9 Developer ROM News oi -Chandrika This update is only for the China ROM and it is most likely to be the Open Beta.

Xiaomi has already released two batches of the MIUI 9 Developer ROM. Now, as spotted on Weibo, the company has announced the roll out of the third batch of MIUI 9 Developer ROM.

However, this update is only for the China ROM and it is most likely to be the Open Beta. We say this as the closed beta were released to the beta testers a few weeks ago. So talking about the new update, users whose devices are installed with MIUI 8 Developer get directly upgraded to MIUI 9 via OTA. While whose phones run on MIUI 8 Stable version, will have to go to the MIUI official website and apply for unlocking of the ROM.

After that, they will have to manually download the MIUI 8 and then flash the ROM into their model. If you are planning to do this, make sure to back up all the important data in your phone.

The list of models that will be getting the MIUI 9 closed Beta update include; Mi 3, Mi Note 3, Mi Note 2 / 2S, Mi Pad 3, Mi Pad 2, Mi Pad 1, Redmi Pro, Redmi Note 4X-MediaTek version, Redmi Note 4 (all versions), Redmi Note 3S / 3X, Redmi Note 3, Redmi Note 2, Redmi Note, Redmi Note 1S, and Redmi Note 1.

This update seems to be the largest group update Xiaomi has ever rolled out. That being said, there are some devices which will not be upgraded anytime soon due to some issues.

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Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-09 06:56:03|Editor: Mengjie

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UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- UN agencies have stepped up efforts to provide aid to refugees who are fleeing violence in Myanmar to neighboring Bangladesh, said the world organization.

The United Nations and partners in Bangladesh have developed a plan to help up to 300,000 people by providing them with food, shelter, water, health care and other services until the end of the year, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told a briefing on Friday.

UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock has released 7 million U.S. dollars from the Central Emergency Response Fund to urgently help tens of thousands of people fleeing violence in Myanmar and seeking refuge in Bangladesh, said Dujarric.

Lowcock urgently called for unhindered access to help and protect all those in need.

The number of people who fled Myanmar's Rakhine State to Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh in the past two weeks has reached 270,000, according to Lowcock's office. While, at first, people were mostly arriving in Bangladesh by land, more people are now making the journey by boat.

Five UN agencies, including the refugee agency, the migration agency, the children's fund and the World Food Program, are working in Cox's Bazar, said the spokesman.

Security operations in Rakhine following attacks late last month on Myanmar security forces by Rohingyas, a Muslim ethnic minority denied citizenship, have led to the flight of Rohingyas to Bangladesh.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has condemned both the attacks on Myanmar security forces and reported violence by the security forces in their operations.
Military Strikes Continue Against ISIS Terrorists in Syria, Iraq

From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release

SOUTHWEST ASIA, Sept. 8, 2017  U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria yesterday, conducting 19 strikes consisting of 23 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 12 strikes consisting of 12 engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Abu Kamal, a strike destroyed an ISIS headquarters.

-- Near Raqqa, 11 strikes destroyed 11 ISIS fighting positions and a command-and-control node and suppressed three fighting positions.

Strikes in Iraq

In Iraq, coalition military forces conducted seven strikes consisting of 11 engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Huwayjah, three strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed two command-and-control nodes, a vehicle, a vehicle-borne bomb storage facility and a staging area.

-- Near Qaim, a strike suppressed an ISIS tactical unit.

-- Near Rawah, three strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed four command-and-control nodes and a staging area.

Additional Strikes

Additionally, 39 strikes consisting of 42 engagements were conducted in Syria on Sept. 6 that closed within the last 24 hours:

-- On Sept. 6, near Dayr Az Zawr, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit.

-- On Sept. 6, near Raqqa, 38 strikes engaged 19 ISIS tactical units; destroyed 35 fighting positions, three vehicles, two logistics nodes, a command-and-control node, a vehicle-borne bomb and an ISIS unmanned aerial system; and suppressed eight fighting positions.

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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Conference Attendees Discuss Indo-Asia-Pacific Regional Security

By Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Robin Peak U.S. Pacific Command

VICTORIA, British Columbia, Sept. 8, 2017  The recently concluded annual U.S. Pacific Command Chiefs of Defense Conference, this year co-hosted by Canada and the United States, provided a forum for 26 senior Indo-Asia-Pacific military leaders to strengthen military-to-military relationships, discuss common defense issues and foster regional cooperation.

The conference was held here from September 4-6. Topics of discussion included the threat from North Korea, trends in the Indo-Asia-Pacific area, combating and preventing violent extremism and peace support operations.

"We share many challenges in the Indo-Asia Pacific, but through bilateral and multilateral engagements like these and cooperation with other nations in the region, I am confident that when we face these challenges together, we will prevail together," said Navy Adm. Harry B. Harris, Pacom's commander.

Canadian Army Gen. Jonathan H. Vance, chief of the defense staff, said he was honored to co-host this year's conference with Harris.

Defense, Security Issues

"This was the first time the event was held in Canada, and I want to sincerely thank the organizers for their hard work in making it a success," Vance said. "This was an excellent opportunity to discuss a wide range of defense and security issues with our Asia-Pacific partners, which only serves to enhance security and confidence in the region."

Senior enlisted leaders also came to the conference to discuss ways to bolster and promote leadership in the enlisted ranks.

"A vested enlisted force, developed through programs of merit, can more precisely understand, translate and transmit the commander's intent, which allows the commander more strategic bandwidth during operations," Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Anthony A. Spadaro, Pacom's senior enlisted leader, said during one meeting.

Topics discussed by the senior enlisted leaders' portion of the conference included the importance of noncommissioned officer development and multilateral training opportunities between partner nations.

Senior Enlisted Leaders

The group consisted of sixteen senior enlisted leader representatives from throughout the Indo-Asia-Pacific region. Spadaro said he hopes to increase that number to twenty members for the 2018 CHODS conference.

With allies and partners, Pacom is committed to enhancing stability in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region by promoting security cooperation, encouraging peaceful development, responding to contingencies, deterring aggression, and when necessary, fighting to win. This approach is based on partnership, presence, and military readiness.

"I was extremely pleased to talk with so many of our allies and partners in the region this week to enhance our military relationships, regional collaboration and discuss our shared security concerns," Harris said.

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Hurricane relief one of many Army aviation commitments, says major general

By David Vergun, Army News Service September 8, 2017

WASHINGTON -- As of Thursday morning, 110 helicopters were headed out of Fort Rucker, Alabama, to avoid storm damage that might come from Hurricane Irma, said Maj. Gen. Bill Gayler.

Gayler, who serves as commander of the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence, spoke Sept. 7, at the Association of the United States Army's Army Aviation Hot Topics forum.

Even as those helicopters are moved to safety, Army National Guard aviation assets from 20 states are still in Texas and Louisiana, assisting with recovery efforts there, post-Hurricane Harvey, he said.

Those missions, while vital and in the current spotlight, are just a drop in the bucket so to speak, of Army aviation's global commitments, Gayler noted.

In all, an astonishing 88 percent of entire Army aviation assets are committed, he said, explaining that "committed" is defined as actively participating in operations or training missions.

Those commitments include training missions at the combat training centers as well as the several combat aviation brigades operationally deployed to Afghanistan, Iraq, Kuwait, Korea and Europe. In Europe, he said, units are stretched from Estonia to Romania.

Gayler, who participated in Operation Desert Storm, recalled that at that time, Army aviation consisted of about 9,000 helicopters. Today, that number is less than 4,000.

The Army of today, Gayler said, is doing a lot of heavy lifting with a lot less rotor-winged lifting power.

Looking ahead, Gayler said he sees those commitments continuing to grow in coming years, even though the Army's budget took a nose-dive following sequestration and with eight years of back-to-back continuing resolutions.

Maj. Gen. John A. George, who serves as director of force development with the Army G-8, put into context the effect of continuing resolutions on Army aviation.

Continuing resolutions, he said, "mean we have to operate at the previous year's funding level. It prohibits us from starting new programs. It stops us from entering useful multi-year contracts. And, it prohibits increasing production rates or reprogramming funds. For Army aviation, that's 18 new starts and eight production rate increases that will not happen in FY18."

Gayler said as a result of continuing resolutions, and with the effects of the 2011 Budget Control Act that produced sequestration, Army aviation's buying power "has come down almost 42 percent since 2012. We absolutely have to address that, as it gives little room to fund readiness today and modernization for the future."

FIELDING OBSOLESCENCE

The Army currently has no new programs in the works for aviation -- that is, there are no completely new aircraft systems planned for the Army.

But even if there were new programs in the works, Gayler said that historically as new programs make their way through the various phases of development and acquisition to eventual production, it can take 40 years to completely field a new system.

In effect, as technology progresses, "we are fielding obsolescence," he candidly said.

The mindset needs to change to "introducing new capability, not replacing legacy systems," he said.

Currently, with the Army not buying new helicopters, the strategy is to make incremental improvements to existing platforms, he said.

One of the problems with that approach is that the increments usually require that the helicopter be taken off the flight line and sent to the manufacturer for the install.

That process is bringing U.S. Army Forces Command "to its knees," he said. He explained that the non-availability of those aircraft means that combatant commanders don't have the lift needed to perform essential missions.

The solution, he said, is for the Army to insist on "plug and play" standards that allow increments to be installed without taking the aircraft away from its unit.

If and when the Army does get the funds needed to acquire new aircraft, Gayler said the requirements should be flexible enough to do a smart cost-benefit analysis of the tradeoffs that result in an effective aircraft that may not be perfect in terms of everything -- range, speed, lift, size, fuel consumption, survivability, lethality and cost.

The entire range of capabilities need to be understood in the context of the threats and future threats, rather than single variables, he said.



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USS Pinckney Completes Successful MDVR In Duqm, Oman

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS170908-23

Release Date: 9/8/2017 1:29:00 PM

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Craig Z. Rodarte, USS Pinckney (DDG 91) Public Affairs

DUQM, Oman (NNS) -- The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Pinckney (DDG 91) completed a successful mid-deployment voyage repair (MDVR) in Duqm, Oman, Sept. 6.

The eight-day port visit allowed the crew and contractors to conduct vital repairs and maintenance as well as give Sailors constructive time away from the ship.

"The purpose of Pinckney's port visit to Al Duqm was two-fold," said Cmdr. Frank Walter, commanding officer of Pinckney. "When a ship is underway for a long period of time there will inevitably be repairs that need to be accomplished that cannot be done underway. Our visit to Duqm was also an opportunity to experience the culture of Oman and to establish America's relationship with one of the most important countries of the region."

Duqm is strategically located near the Strait of Hormuz, a key naval chokepoint. The Navy's interest and investment in Duqm is helping to contribute to regional stability.

"Our visit to Al Duqm ensured that Pinckney will be able to carry out helicopter search and rescue missions safely, counter-piracy efforts and ensure the main engines are in top condition," said Walter. "This MDVR ensured that Pinckney is 'Ready to Go, Trained to Fight, Proud to Serve' towards any mission that is asked of this ship. The critical repairs accomplished in Duqm made sure that we are able to serve proudly and come home safely."

Port facilities and services in Duqm have expanded in recent years offering U.S. naval warships deployed in the 5th Fleet area of operations, a wider range of maintenance and logistics capabilities.

"The city of Duqm is still growing," said Walter. "But despite its small size, the local people showed Pinckney Sailors the true spirit of Oman."

Pinckney's morale, welfare and recreation (MWR) staff coordinated events and transportation to visit local resorts providing access to the beach and swimming pool, local cuisine and the Omani culture.

"The crew needed some rest and relaxation after being out to sea for more than 60 days," said Operations Specialist 2nd Class Laneka Scott. "The crew took full advantage of being able to reset from the repetitiveness of days out to sea. We all feel refreshed and ready to continue our mission in 5th Fleet."

Pinckney is deployed in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations in support of maritime security operations designed to reassure allies and partners, and preserve the freedom of navigation and the free flow of commerce in the region.

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China urges India to adopt 'correct' attitude

People's Daily Online

(Global Times) 11:17, September 08, 2017

China urged India Thursday to follow the path of history, by doing and speaking more about things that help develop Sino-Indian relations after the Indian army chief spoke of a "two-front war."

"I'm not sure whether his speech was authorized, and whether his remarks were his own or reflect the Indian government's stance," Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said at a press conference on Thursday, adding that even the Indian media considered his remarks shocking.

"China and India are each other's most important neighbor as well as the two biggest developing countries and emerging markets the two nations shall together safeguard regional peace,"Geng said.

He made the comments in response to the Indian army chief's Wednesday remarks that India shall be prepared for a two-front war against China and Pakistan.

India has to be prepared for possible conflict along its northern and western fronts. Pakistan has launched a proxy war on India and China has started flexing its muscles, Indian media Economic Times quoted Indian army chief Bipin Rawat as saying on Wednesday.

China-India ties shall not be derailed, and the two countries will not have out-of-control conflicts, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi said Thursday. Both sides should consider each other as partners, and the notion of seeing each other as adversaries and threats is outdated, he said.

India has withdrawn personnel and equipment from Doklam after a military stand-off lasting from mid June to late August.

"Rawat made the comments after the Doklam standoff and a political consensus of the leaders of China and India. They were very inappropriate, which have severely damaged Sino-Indian ties that were already strained by the standoff," Qian Feng, an expert at the Chinese Association for South Asian Studies, told the Global Times on Thursday.

"The army chief sees China as an enemy. It's a strategic misjudgment," Qian said.

"For the Indian army, China is its competitor, not Pakistan. It wants to seek revenge for its defeat in 1962," Zhao Gancheng, director of the Center for Asia-Pacific Studies at the Shanghai Institute for International Studies, told the Global Times on Thursday.

"It's nonsense to call it a 'two-front war,'" Qian said.

The People's Liberation Army (PLA) would overwhelmingly defeat the Indian army. China would prevent Pakistan from getting involved since we can deal with it ourselves, Qian explained. Also, Pakistan would not provoke war against India, Zhao said.

Rawat probably wanted to highlight the Indian army's importance following the Doklam standoff. But India's policy won't necessarily change. Its army has limited influence on diplomacy, Zhao said.

But Qian also warned that India has been preparing for a "two-front war." "India continues to prepare itself, which includes the purchase of stealth fighters from the US and troop deployment."

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Four Arab states reject progress in Kuwait mediation efforts with Qatar

Iran Press TV

Fri Sep 8, 2017 9:35AM

The Saudi-led bloc of four Arab countries which recently severed ties with Qatar have denied statements by the Kuwaiti emir about signs of progress in his mediation efforts to help resolve the diplomatic crisis with Doha.

In a Friday statement released by the state-run Saudi Press Agency, the Saudi-led bloc expressed "regret" over the remarks by Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al Sabah "on the success of mediation in stopping military intervention."

In a Thursday press conference with US President Donald Trump in Washington, the Kuwaiti emir gave an optimistic assessment of his mediation efforts between Qatar and the four Arab states, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt.

The bloc challenged the Kuwaiti emir's remarks about Doha's willingness to accept their 13 demands, saying, "Dialogue on the implementation of the demands should not be preceded by any conditions."

The four Arab countries, however, ruled out the possibility of a war against Qatar, saying, "The military option has not been and will not be considered in any case."

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates cut their diplomatic ties with Qatar on June 5, accusing Doha of sponsoring terrorism and destabilizing the region.

The Saudi-led bloc has imposed sanctions against the tiny Persian Gulf country, including restrictions on Qatari aircraft using their airspace. Qatar's only land border with Saudi Arabia has only been blocked as a result.

The boycotters later released a 13-point list of demands, including the closure of Al Jazeera television news network and downgrade of relations with Iran, in return for the normalization of diplomatic relations with Doha.

Qatar has rejected the demands as an attack on its sovereignty.

On Wednesday, Trump told Saudi King Salman bin Abulaziz Al Saud that a diplomatic resolution was necessary in order to fulfill a commitment Washington and its regional allies had made to stay united while fighting terror.

Meanwhile, experts have touted the Qatar crisis as the fallout of Trump's visit to Riyadh in early June during which he signed the largest single arms deal in US history with King Salman to sell Riyadh $110 billion in arms.

In the early days of the crisis, Trump took to Twitter to praise the Saudi-led bloc's decision to cut ties with Qatar, implying that it was the fruit of his first visit to the Middle East.

"During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology," Trump wrote on June 6. "Leaders pointed to Qatar  look!" he tweeted.

Following Trump's harsh stance, Washington began to send a series of mixed messages on the dispute, with the State Department attempting to distance itself from the president's comments and urging calm.

On June 14, the US has signed a $12-billion deal to sell F-15 fighter jets to Qatar Qatar's Ministry of Defense said on Wednesday the country had signed a deal to buy F-15 fighter jets from Washington for $12 billion.

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US Navy ships overseas plagued with problems: Watchdog

Iran Press TV

Fri Sep 8, 2017 2:18AM

US Navy ships on overseas missions have lost operational readiness due to a slew of problems ranging from maintenance to training, a government agency warns, in the wake of two deadly maritime mishaps that badly damaged the force's reputation.

A new review by the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) has found that overworked and undertrained workers on board the state-of-the-art warships often miss to carry out vital maintenance operations on time.

"The Navy has been warning for some time that they have been keeping a pace that is unsustainable. Our work has confirmed the difficulties," said John Pendleton, a GAO director.

The organization warned that the number of soldiers with insufficient training in the Navy had increased five-fold in two years.

According to the report, the problems are mostly apparent in vessels operating under the command of the Navy's 7th Fleet, which is based in Japan and conducts high-profile missions in the South China Sea and off the Korean Peninsula.

Last month, the fleet's USS McCain guided-missile destroyer collided with a Liberian-flagged oil tanker, near the entrance to the Strait of Malacca, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. The collision killed 10 sailors and injured five others.

The incident came nearly two months after seven more US Navy sailors lost their lives on board the USS Fitzgerald, another guided-missile destroyer of the 7th Fleet, as the warship crashed into a container ship south of Japan.

US Navy vessels were involved in two more collisions in Asia this year. In January, the USS Antietam ran aground near its base in Japan, and in May, the USS Lake Champlain collided with a South Korean fishing vessel.

As of June, 37 percent of the warfare certifications for cruiser and destroyer warship crews deployed to Japan had expired, while more than two-thirds of them had been expired for more than five months, Pendleton said.

The high number of incidents prompted the US Navy officials to put on halt all operations across the world and conduct a thorough review of seamanship and training in the Pacific.

While US Defense Secretary James Mattis has pledged a "broad" probe, baffled US military officials have not ruled out reasons beyond human error, including possible cyberattacks.

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Moldovan President Demands Defense Chief's Ouster In Row Over U.S.-Led Military Drills

RFE/RL September 08, 2017

Moldovan President Igor Dodon has demanded the dismissal of acting defense chief Gheorghe Galbura after the military sent soldiers to a multinational training exercise in Ukraine against the president's wishes.

The Russia-friendly Dodon in a Facebook post on September 8 accused his country's pro-Western government of trying to "add the Moldovan Army to the NATO side" and involve it in "geopolitical confrontations."

"We see how the government is trying to make use of various legal tricks to involve Moldovans in NATO military exercises, and it is obvious that the prime minister is taking advantage of the irresponsibility of some army leaders infiltrated by liberal unionists, antistate forces, and those opposed to neutrality."

Dodon's comments come after the country's military sent 57 soldiers to join U.S.-led military drills in Ukraine. The Rapid Trident exercises, held each year since 1996, run from September 8-23 and include 1,800 troops from 14 countries.

Other countries participating are Bulgaria, Canada, Estonia, Italy, Georgia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Romania, Turkey, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.

Dodon on September 5 had rejected a request by the Defense Ministry to send the troops to the drills, saying, "We do not accept involvement by Moldovan servicemen in military exercises beyond the national borders."

Moldova, one of Europe's poorest countries, is divided between forces supporting Dodon and those backing the government, which is pushing for closer ties with the European Union and the United States.

During recent Independence Day celebrations, Dodon decorated several people for contributing to closer ties with Russia, while Prime Minister Pavel Filip reiterated his government's determination to pursue closer ties with the EU in a speech to parliament.

In his September 8 statement, Dodon stressed what he called his country's neutrality. "What NATO drills can we talk about if Moldova is a neutral country?" he said.

"For the first time, the government is giving orders to the armed forces in defiance of the orders of the commander in chief. That is unacceptable," he added.

"In a presidential country, the prime minister would be gone," he said. "We'll get to that, nothing is forgotten."

Dodon said he wanted Galbura removed from as defense minister and punishment for any others responsible for the deployment for "violating the order of the supreme commander of the armed forces."

Dodon told a news conference he had signed "an executive order" as commander in chief that "starting today, no serviceman can go abroad without prior agreement of the president of the country."

"This order will be brought to the attention of every soldier," he added.

"I also demand the resignation of the leadership of the Ministry of Defense and an official investigation [into the matter] so that those who violated the order...will receive sanctions, either in regard to their military rank or other means, depending on their position," Dodon said.

With reporting by RFE/RL's Moldovan Service

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/moldova-president-demands- defense-minister-out-after-nato-drill-row/28724652.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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Britain Announces More Support for Lebanese Army

By Jamie Dettmer September 08, 2017

Britain announced Thursday it is stepping up support of the Lebanese army, providing funds for defensive barriers to be used along Lebanon's border with Syria.

The move is being seen as a vote of confidence by London in the Lebanese army and encouragement of the ambition of its commanders to emerge as the dominant military force on the frontier with Syria  a goal that would complicate Iran's forging of a so-called 'land bridge' through Iraq and Syria and of assisting its allies in Lebanon, Hezbollah.

Britain's foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, said Thursday, "Our ambition is for Lebanon to have complete authority over its border with Syria."

The stepping up of aid to the Lebanese army (LAF)  Britain had already agreed to help fund over several years construction of 30 border watch towers and 20 forward operating bases  comes just days after LAF and Hezbollah, the country's radical Shi'ite movement succeeded in clearing Islamic State fighters from a mountainous pocket of the Syria-Lebanon border.

The clearance operations were simultaneous but LAF insists there was no coordination between its assault inside Lebanon and Hezbollah's from the Syrian side, a claim dismissed this week by Israeli officials. Any evidence of liaison with Hezbollah, designated by the U.S. as a terrorist organization, would undermine LAF's standing in Washington and Western capitals and jeopardize Western military aid for the Lebanese military.

In the end Hezbollah negotiated safe passage for some 300 jihadists and their families to eastern Syria, close to the Iraqi border.

The Hezbollah safe-passage deal infuriated the U.S. and Iraq, whose governments condemned the agreement, which appears to have been engineered to spoil claims of battlefield success by LAF. For years LAF has had to defer to the Shi'ite movement, in a complex dance of a relationship aimed at avoiding clashes between the two and upsetting Lebanon's delicate and highly charged sectarian politics.

Even so, some analysts say LAF should be seen as the bigger winner of the clearance operations rather than Hezbollah, as it drew the country's military out from the shadows and allowed it to assert itself, undercutting Hezbollah's claims that it is indispensable when it comes to Lebanon's defense.

Aram Nerguizian, a military analyst who specializes in Lebanon, noted in an interview with local media, that for the first time since Lebanon's independence LAF is now deployed almost fully along the border with Syria. "Over the last five years, areas that have been no-go zones for the Lebanese army  because they were spheres of Syrian government and/or Hezbollah preeminence  have gradually become LAF zones of control," he said.

In a paper for the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based policy research group, Nerguizian noted that "successive generations of LAF leadership have grown ever more confident and emboldened by the idea that the LAF can be Lebanon's preeminent national security actor. Still, the LAF has struggled time and again with what it sees as the false perceptions of LAF-Hezbollah collusion."

Last week, Israel's envoy to the UN, Dany Danon, accused Hezbollah of planning for its next military campaign against Israel, arguing that Shi'ite commanders are "using officers in the Lebanese Army as terror operatives who help it against the IDF [Israel Defense Force] along the border," with Israel. He claimed Hezbollah was building up its arsenals in southern Lebanon readying for a future attack and accused the UN peace-keeping force of failing to interdict the movement of arms.

Since Lebanese General Joseph Aoun, a veteran field commander and counter-terrorism expert who trained in the U.S., was made army commander in March, LAF has become more assertive. Aoun has irritated Hezbollah with some of his picks for staff positions, although Nerguizian notes in his research paper that the army is "not in a position where it can be openly antagonistic towards Hezbollah," which remains "the preeminent faction in Lebanon's sectarian political landscape."

Western powers, though, are clear in their determination to help boost LAF. Britain's ambassador to Lebanon offered congratulations to Aoun during a Thursday visit to LAF headquarters on the clearance operation known as "the dawn of mountains," of IS fighters in the mountain regions of Al-Qaa and Aarsal, on Lebanon's north-eastern border with Syria.

The ambassador, Hugo Shorter, said the assault was "complex, risky and dangerous," adding, "The Lebanese Army has shown that it is an effective, professional army capable of defending Lebanon from the threats of an uncertain region. We believe in the Lebanese Army as the sole legitimate defender of Lebanon and the only one which represents all Lebanese acting within the law and with the consent of the Lebanese state and its people."

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Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-09 07:11:07|Editor: Mengjie

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CHICAGO, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- The City of Chicago plans to join the bid after Amazon, an online retailer store, announced the decision to open its second headquarters in a North American metropolitan area Thursday.

By doing so, Chicago also aims at the 50,000 jobs the headquarters will offer.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has more than once talked with Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos about the opportunity, Crain's, a weekly business newspaper in Chicago, quoted a source close to City Hall as saying.

"We expect HQ2 to be a full equal to our Seattle headquarters," said Bezos in a news release. "Amazon HQ2 will bring billions of dollars in up-front and ongoing investments, and tens of thousands of high-paying jobs."

When choosing the location for its second headquarters, Amazon prefers "a stable and business-friendly environment" and "urban or suburban locations with the potential to attract and retain strong technical talent," the news release said.

In July this year, Amazon has doubled the size as well as the work force in its Chicago office.

It is estimated that Amazon headquarters in Seattle has contributed 38 billion dollars to the city's economy from 2010 to 2016.
UN: Destruction, Human Suffering Acute in DRC's Kasai Region

By Lisa Schlein September 08, 2017

A recent United Nations mission to the Kasai region in the Democratic Republic of Congo reports more than a year of fighting between the government and local armed groups has caused widespread destruction and enormous human suffering.

Improved humanitarian access to conflict-ridden Kasai has made it possible for U.N. refugee staff to go to the territory of Kamonia at the DRC's border with Angola to assess the situation.

This was the first time UNHCR could go to this area since the killing of a tribal chief by government soldiers triggered fighting between them and a local militia in August 2016.

UNHCR spokeswoman Cecile Pouilly says the agency's staff saw entire villages burned down, civilians in dire condition and rampant lawlessness.

"Local armed groups have systematically destroyed or pillaged health posts, schools and public buildings. Hundreds of children have been separated from their parents or have witnessed their murders. Elderly, disabled or sick people also are at serious risk."

The UNHCR estimates the conflict has displaced about 1.4 million people. Another 33,000 refugees have fled to neighboring Angola. Pouilly tells VOA the number of refugees arriving in Angola has declined drastically since July.

"We have no full account of what is happening. But, according to those we have been able to talk to and who have newly arrived, we understand that the main roads to the border are largely blocked, and so people who want to flee are forced to use unofficial border entry points."

Despite the critical situation, Pouilly says some Congolese refugees have spontaneously returned to Kasai, without explanation. She says many have found their homes destroyed and are forced to live as displaced people.

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South Sudan Says US Sanctions Unfortunate

By Waakhe Simon Wudu, Ayen Bior, Michael Atit September 08, 2017

South Sudan says the United States should rethink its decision to impose sanctions on two top government officials and a former army chief accused of obstructing peace in the country.

Washington imposed sanctions on Information Minister Michael Makuei, high-ranking military official Malek Reuben and former army chief General Paul Malong on Wednesday, saying they have taken actions that expanded South Sudan's internal conflict and blocked efforts to establish peace.

Speaking to VOA's South Sudan in Focus on Thursday, Maiwen Makol, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, called the sanctions unfortunate.

"Sanctions will not bring help. What we think is the best option for the U.S. government is to support us do what we are doing, bring the peace in the country," he said.

South Sudan has been mired in conflict between government and rebel forces since December 2013. The sides signed a peace accord in 2015, but the agreement fell apart a year later when army troops, reportedly operating under orders from Malong, attacked a rebel base in the capital, Juba.

Malong is under house arrest in Juba after a falling out with President Salva Kiir.

The U.S. accuses Reuben of profiting from the war and imposed sanctions on four companies he is believed to own or control. It says Makuei helped to organize attacks on U.N. peacekeepers and obstructed humanitarian aid from reaching people in need.

Contacted by VOA Thursday, Makuei said, "I don't respond to claims in the social media, but we wait for the official communication by the American government to the government of Republic of South Sudan. It is thereafter that we will respond."

The sanctions were announced Wednesday in statements from the U.S. Treasury and State Department.

Government critics applaud

In 2015, six South Sudanese men, including three opposition leaders, were sanctioned by the U.N. Security Council for their role in obstructing peace efforts in South Sudan.

James Okuk, a political lecturer at the University of Juba, says the latest sanctions are long overdue. He says South Sudanese leaders have proved they are not serious about ending the violence in South Sudan during the past three and a half years.

"There has been warnings several times that this is not acceptable, especially the war must stop and whoever is trying to obstruct the humanitarian delivery should stop. All these warnings ... went on deaf ears," he told VOA.

Brian Adeba is associate director of policy at the Enough Project, which has closely tracked developments in Sudan and South Sudan for years. He says the sanctions send a clear message to those in power, even though President Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar were not targeted.

"Usually you start at the bottom and hopefully the message reaches up to the top," he said. "In international relations there is also this nonstated policy that you don't really sanction the head of state, but you go after the people that are close to him, and that itself is a very clear message."

Tainted image of country

Rajab Muhandis, executive director for the South Sudan Network for Democracy and Elections, says sanctions taint the image of the country. He urges the Trump administration to support the peace process in South Sudan.

"We would encourage that they should take lead in supporting the revitalization process of the peace agreement," he said. "And increase diplomatic engagement with the parties to the conflict ... in order to agree on the best way forward."

Continued fighting between government and opposition forces has displaced millions of citizens, forcing hundreds of thousands into refugee camps in neighboring countries.

The U.S. Treasury Department has threatened to sanction more South Sudanese officials if the fighting and obstruction of humanitarian assistance does not stop.

Sigal Mandelker, U.S. undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said Wednesday the U.S government will "forcefully respond to ongoing atrocities in South Sudan by targeting individuals who abuse human rights, seek to derail the peace process and obstruct reconciliation."

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Indonesia, Malaysia Destroying Foreign Boats to Defend Maritime Claims

By Ralph Jennings September 08, 2017

Indonesia and Malaysia are reminding foreigners of their often overlooked claims in the crowded, contested South China Sea by destroying foreign boats that take fish from waters near their coastlines.

The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency on Aug. 30 burned two foreign fishing boats as they floated on the sea, a change from the less visible practice of sinking them, media in Kuala Lumpur reported. Boat operators from China, Vietnam and the Philippines often slip into waters off the Malaysian north coast of Borneo.

In Indonesia, where vessels from the same countries as well as Malaysia come uncomfortably close to shore, authorities have destroyed 317 fishing boats in President Joko Widodo's term since October 2014.

A graphic warning

The graphic warnings should reverberate among fishing operators for now, giving both countries new attention to their maritime claims, analysts say.

"Indonesia has been doing that and just this week I think we also heard the same from Malaysia, so it's maybe just intimidation," said Termsak Chalermpalanupap, political and security affairs fellow with the ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore.

Fishing boats often follow fish regardless of other countries' ocean exclusive economic zones (EEZs), South China Sea scholars say, while most Southeast Asian countries lack the fleets to stop every trawler slipping in. The boats do, however, use instruments to tell them where they're trawling.

"Sometimes they belong to let's say a fishing group, like a seafood processing group," said Oh Ei Sun, international studies instructor at Singapore Nanyang University. "Sometimes it's very orchestrated. Very often it's not like (an) individual fisherman with his very lonely fishing boat straying into the waters of other countries."

Burning boats, the Malaysian-born scholar said, "is just the way things are done here culturally."

It's unclear whether Malaysia will make boat burning a new normal. The enforcement agency did not answer phone calls Friday, but officials quoted in the New Straits Times last month called the fires a warning for other vessels.

The country's Fisheries Department as referenced on the Bernama News Channel said Malaysia loses 980,000 tons of seafood worth up to 6 billion ringgit ($1.43 billion) to illegal fishing.

Indonesia used to give boats back to their owners after collecting a fine, Chalermpalanupap said, but that process was subject to "corruption."

More fish, weak patrols

Boats may use Malaysian waters because they can get bigger, higher-value fish such as groupers, Oh said.

Chinese ships used to be spotted most often in other countries' exclusive economic zones, said Jay Batongbacal, director of the Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea at the University of the Philippines. But he said Vietnamese boats have grown more daring since 2010 as China edges them out of fishery tracts closer to their shores, such as around the Paracel Islands.

In the Philippines, he said, people in the northernmost outlying islands once burned foreign boats "without official sanction" to make a statement. Now Filipinos turn up off Indonesia in pursuit of tuna and sometimes get captured there, he said.

Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines lack coast guard power to turn away every foreign vessel that crosses into its exclusive economic zone, which extends 370 kilometers offshore, Batongbacal said.

"None of these countries would have the sufficient resources or assets to really establish a continuing presence in all of these waters," he said. "So it's inevitable foreign fishing vessels would keep probing these areas."

Six-way maritime sovereignty dispute

Countries struggle to keep foreign vessels away in some cases because six of the countries dispute sovereignty over the South China Sea, a 3.5 million-square-kilometer body of water known also for oil and gas reserves. The waters off Borneo are part of that sea.

China and Taiwan, both with active fishing populations, claim almost the whole sea. Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines claim parts of it.

Fishing boat intrusions are unlikely to become a diplomatic issue, but the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will tell their fishing operators to "respect neighbors," Chalermpalanupap said.

Destruction of foreign boats, he said, "is certainly a part of the effort to defend the EEZ better."

China defends its own boats

China, as the strongest claimant in the South China Sea, protects its fishing fleet against capture that could spark the burning of a boat, analysts believe.

Boats may get equipment to call the Chinese coast guard for help, for example. The Council on Foreign Relations, an American think tank, quoted an expert in 2016 describing a Chinese "maritime militia" of "military-controlled fishermen and fishing vessels."

As part of China's expansion of its control over the sea in the past decade, its coast guard vessels have been spotted escorting fishing boats into contested tracts of sea. Beijing has also used landfill to build up tiny islets for military infrastructure, some of which can support radar systems as well as combat aircraft.

But fishing boats will keep testing the waters of weaker countries to go after big catches, Chalermpalanupap said.

"They'll come again," he said. "I think they are desperate."

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U.S. Department of Defense

Press Operations

News Release

Release No: NR-319-17 September 07, 2017

DoD Leans Forward to Support Preparation and Response Efforts for Hurricane Irma

The Department of Defense is fully engaged with federal, state, territorial and international mission partners and remains postured to respond to requests for assistance to territories and states affected by Hurricane Irma. General Lori Robinson, Commander, U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM), is the lead for DoD's domestic response.

DoD brings unique military capabilities that are effective in disaster relief efforts. The following is an update of DoD efforts:

 The Governors of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Florida activated National Guard personnel to support state search and rescue and evacuation operations. There are 5,242 National Guard members available in Puerto Rico; 596 available in U.S. Virgin Islands; and 8,052 in Florida.

 The USS Kearsarge and the USS Oak Hill with 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) and FEMA staff embarked, will support response operations in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico starting on September 8. The USS Iwo Jima and USS New York are preparing to provide additional support. The USS Wasp, along with U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM), are executing patient evacuation operations in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

 USNORTHCOM is providing urban search and rescue capabilities in the Caribbean to assist with life-saving and life-sustaining efforts. The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) is providing generators, fuel, food, water and other life sustaining commodities to first responders and survivors. Specifically, DLA is providing 50,000 gallons of unleaded gasoline and 50,000 gallons of diesel to Warner Robbins AFB, Ga. in support of potential requirements.

 USNORTHCOM is developing logistics support solutions and has identified incident support bases at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., Fort AP Hill, Va., Moody AFB, Ga., Fort Bragg, N.C. and Warner Robbins AFB, Ga., to support response operations.

 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is prepared to conduct port surveys and dredging missions to reopen ports after the storm passes. USACE has deployed power teams and debris removal experts in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands to conduct assessments and restoration activities. In Florida, USACE is closely monitoring the levels of Lake Okeechobee and the surrounding Herbert Hoover Dike.

 U.S. Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM) and USNORTHCOM remain in close coordination with USAID, through the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), which leads and coordinates all U.S. government international disaster assistance. While no requests for assistance have been received from USAID, OFDA civilian-military coordinators are at USSOUTHCOM, USNORTHCOM and U.S. Embassy Haiti to plan for any potential requests.

The latest imagery of DoD's efforts in support of Hurricane Irma can be found online at https://www.dvidshub.net/feature/hurricaneirma.

http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/1302556/

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Military Logisticians Prepare for Hurricane Irma

By Army Sgt. Debra Cook 107th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla., Sept. 8, 2017  Florida Gov. Rick Scott declared a state of emergency on Labor Day in anticipation of Hurricane Irma's pending arrival, and while communities began stocking up on food and water, Florida's Army and Air National Guard were already activating military personnel.

Assembling Troops, Equipment

Soldiers belonging to a variety of Florida National Guard units began to report to their unit armories. It is during these early moments, when the National Guard G4, which functions as the logistics department of the Florida National Guard, implements its contingency planning and is a key department in supporting contingencies -- including natural disasters brought on by hurricanes.

"The primary mission of logistics is all-encompassing," said Lt. Col. Blake Heidelberg, the Florida Army National Guard's G4 Defense Support of Civil Authority coordinator. "We have to be positioned and prepared to support the entire Florida National Guard, to include the Air National Guard, in order to sustain long term in austere environments."

After the storm passes, the Florida National Guard will work with the state's civilian authorities to work rescue and recovery operations. Logistical staging areas and points of distribution will be set up, military personnel put in place, and supplies delivered.

Many Unknowns

"In a hurricane, there are so many unknowns. Where will it impact? What will the short- and long-term damage be? The mission is to plan and support every potential outcome," Heidelberg said. "Much of the coordination can't take place until the storm has passed."

Water, food, diapers, and tarps are just a few of the items that are coordinated and provided to displaced families. Military personnel also assist local law enforcement to provide security and assist local communities by clearing downed trees from routes so that first responders can travel unhindered and families can safely return home without concern of additional damage to homes and property.

"A natural disaster or catastrophic event usually results in significant impacts over an extended period of time. It overwhelms state and local communities while almost immediately exceeding resources," said Deputy Chief of Logistics, G4, Army Col. Frank A. Zenko. "As logisticians, it is imperative to anticipate needs and then pre-position equipment and supplies in order to rapidly respond to areas impacted by the storm."

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As Irma bears down on US, Army National Guard members deploy throughout affected region

By Lt. Col. Cindi King September 8, 2017

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- As the now-Category 4 Hurricane Irma bears down on Florida with an expected weekend landfall, the South Carolina National Guard is escalating efforts to respond to the effects from Irma, as projection models indicate South Carolina is in the path of the storm when it makes landfall in the upcoming days.

Approximately 800 South Carolina National Guard troops were mobilized Thursday, after South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster declared a state of emergency the day prior. Hurricane Irma has been called the strongest hurricane in the history of Atlantic storms as a Category 5 hurricane and has already claimed lives in the Caribbean.

More than 100 Guard troops from New Jersey were ordered to Florida for Irma duty. As of Friday morning about 3,800 Guard personnel were working in Florida but that number is expected to swell by day's end, when Gov. Rick Scott said all 7,000 state Guard members would be available.

And the devastated Caribbean has not been forgotten. About 120 National Guard troops were assisting in Puerto Rico, and on Thursday, about 20 Kentucky National Guard members deployed to the Virgin Islands with two UH-60 Black Hawks equipped for medical evacuations. Airmen from the Kentucky Air National Guard's 123rd Special Tactics Squadron also deployed as part of Kentucky's response to provide search and rescue.

More than 280 Virgin Islands National Guard members were on duty helping their fellow citizens.

"Our main job is to focus on humanitarian efforts and provide medical evacuation and triage as well as patient transfer from hurricane-affected areas in the Caribbean, especially the Virgin Islands," said 1st Lt. John Kerr, a Black Hawk Pilot with the 2/238th. "The mission will be to go where others cannot to rescue and aid any civilian personnel we can."

The New York Air National Guard also sent about 120 Airmen from the 106th Rescue Wing to the U.S. Virgin Islands to assist in the Irma response.

As Texas continued recovering from Hurricane Harvey, more than 17,500 Guard personnel were still involved, according to the National Guard Bureau.

But most of the attention now is focused on the East Coast, where Irma's path is uncertain. "Just as our Soldiers and Airmen stayed strong and answered the call during the floods of 2015, Hurricane Matthew last year and the many other recent events when our state needed support, so now is the time we must be ready for Hurricane Irma," said U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Robert E. Livingston, Jr. the adjutant general for South Carolina.

Evacuations were ongoing with the highest volume expected to begin over the weekend as highway lane reversals away from the coastline would begin based on the path of the storm. McMaster said he will determine the timeframe for official evacuations for the different coastal regions before the weekend, but wants individuals with medical needs to evacuate now.

"Team South Carolina is ready," said McMaster. "Now is the time for our citizens to be ready."

Livingston mentioned that because the South Carolina National Guard recently deployed two helicopter battalions to Afghanistan, they are coordinating with other states to bring in additional aviation assets as they are needed to support, including swift water rescue.

The California National Guard was busy assisting Texas in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, and now the 129th Rescue Wing, based in Silicon Valley, will be heading to Florida in anticipation of Hurricane Irma, which is sweeping through the Caribbean heading toward Florida.

The wing plans to deploy about 100 of its members this week, including pararescuemen, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported. They plan to operate two HH-60G Pave Hawk rescue helicopters and three MC-130P Combat Shadow aircraft out of the Hurlburt Field in the Florida panhandle, the news report said. The 129th was credited with 113 saves while operating in Texas.

Contributing: Steve Marshall of the National Guard Bureau

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US Justice Department Set to Appeal Travel Ban Ruling to Supreme Court

By Aline Barros September 08, 2017

The U.S. Justice Department is expected to appeal the latest travel ban court ruling to the Supreme Court.

According to a Justice Department official, the agency plans to ask the high court to weigh in on an appeals court ruling that says grandparents and cousins are close enough relatives to constitute an exemption from the Trump administration's travel order. The court also said that refugees accepted by a resettlement agency should be allowed to travel to the United States.

"The Supreme Court has stepped in to correct these lower courts before, and we will now return to the Supreme Court to vindicate the executive branch's duty to protect the nation," a Justice Department spokesperson told reporters.

The statement comes after Thursday's ruling by a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

President Donald Trump's travel order restricts travelers from six Muslim-majority countries: Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

'Bona fide' relationships

The Supreme Court said in a June provisional decision that travel restrictions could not be applied to people who have a "bona fide" relationship to the U.S. The high court, however, did not clarify that definition, which was then left open for interpretation.

Although the high court will hear the full case in October, the federal government has interpreted "bona fide" narrowly to mean parents, spouses and siblings, excluding other relatives including grandparents.

The list was then expanded by a judge in Honolulu, Hawaii.

"Common sense, for instance, dictates that close family members be defined to include grandparents," U.S. District Court Judge Derrick Watson wrote. "Indeed, grandparents are the epitome of close family members. The government's definition excludes them. That simply cannot be."

Watson's ruling was subsequently appealed to the Supreme Court, which allowed relatives including grandparents to continue coming to the U.S., pending a ruling from the Ninth Circuit. Refugees whose sole connection to the U.S. was through a re-settlement agency were barred until the appeals court ruled.

Refugees

VOA reported in early September that refugee admissions have dropped dramatically since the travel order took effect June 26.

In July, 1,224 refugees were admitted. In August, 910 refugees arrived in the U.S., compared to an average of 6,955 in that month over the previous 10 years.

The travel order restricts refugee admissions to 55,000. Before he left office, President Barack Obama had raised the limit to 110,000.

In the next few weeks, President Trump will determine the refugee level for fiscal year 2018, which begins October 1. His decision will help government agencies and nonprofits plan ahead to help resettle refugees.

Meanwhile, a State Department official told VOA that two cost studies the president called for in March, under his Presidential Memorandum relating to the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, or USRAP, are nearing completion.

"As the president requested, the reports will look at the estimated long-term costs of the USRAP at the federal, state, and local levels along with recommendations about how to curtail those costs, as well as how many refugees are being supported in countries of first asylum and those associated costs," the official said.

The federal official said the State Department is working with the Departments of Homeland Security and Health and Human Services on these reports.

"We are not able to characterize the reports before they are finished," the official said.

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China, Pakistan air forces launch joint training exercise

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 19:25, September 08, 2017

BEIJING, Sept. 8 -- The air forces of China and Pakistanbegan joint training exercises in China on Thursday.

China has dispatched J-11 fighters, JH-7 fighter-bombers, KJ-200 AWACS aircraft and ground forces including surface-to-air missile and radar troops, said Shen Jinke, spokesperson for the People's Liberation ArmyAir Force, adding the Chinese navy's aviation troops also participated in the training.

Pakistan has sent JF-17 Thunder fighter jets and early warning aircraft to join the exercise, named "Shaheen VI," which will run until Sept. 27, Shen said.

"To build a world-class air force, we need to learn from foreign armies and improve our capability to complete multiple tasks," said Shen, adding the Chinese air force will increase international exchanges and sharpen its combat effectiveness.

The "Shaheen" joint training was launched by the Chinese and Pakistani air forces in March 2011.

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Chinese, Indonesian navies pledge to boost cooperation

People's Daily Online

(China Military Online) 13:21, September 08, 2017

BEIJING, Sept. 7 (ChinaMil) -- Vice Admiral Shen Jinlong, commander of the Chinese People's Liberation Army(PLA) Navy, met with the visiting Chief of Staff of the Indonesian Navy Admiral Ade Supandi in Beijing on the afternoon of September 6.

Shen said that in recent years, under the strategic guidance of the leaders of the two countries, the China-Indonesia comprehensive strategic partnership has been continuously deepened with fruitful achievements in friendly exchange and pragmatic cooperation.

The navies of the two countries have conducted multi-level close cooperation in various areas, which has not only helped enhance the friendship between the two navies but also played an important role in maintaining stability in the South China Sea, Shen said.

Shen hopes that both sides can continue to maintain high-level interactions, strengthen communication in bilateral and multilateral occasions, and give full play to the cooperative dialogue mechanism between the two navies.

The PLA Navy is also willing to conduct pragmatic cooperation with the Indonesian Navy in the areas of anti-piracy, humanitarian rescue and disaster relief, joint drills and training, exchange between naval colleges and young officers as well as nautical and hydrographic survey, Shen told his Indonesian counterpart.

Supandi said that the Indonesian Navy attaches great importance to the friendly relations with the Chinese Navy, and will be committed to continuously deepen the pragmatic cooperation between the two navies at different levels and in various areas to push forward the development of bilateral relations.

Before their meeting, Shen Jinlong held a welcoming ceremony for Ade Supandi and accompanied him to review the guards of honor of the PLA Navy.

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Pyongyang's Nuclear Ambitions Stymie Education Efforts

By Kim Hyunjin September 07, 2017

Foreign-funded education institutions are scaling back their activities in Pyongyang as more and more governments issue travel warnings on North Korea after its nuclear and missile threats.

"The British Council suspended the English language teaching program in Pyongyang when the travel advice from the U.K. government changed," a spokesperson for the London-based council said in an email to VOA's Korean Service Wednesday.

Discussions the council was having about extending its program in North Korea were also put on hold, they added.

In keeping with the British government's policy of "critical engagement" with North Korea, which emphasizes reducing the chasm between the isolated country and the international community through educational and cultural exchanges, the British Council has been running the English Language Teacher Training Program (ELT program) since May 2000, when the U.K. and the North first established diplomatic relations. Since then, the council has taught more than 4,000 English teachers in Pyongyang. Four teachers covered the suspended programs.

The council's decision complies with the British foreign office's recent upgrade of its travel alert for North Korea following Pyongyang's long-range missile tests and sixth nuclear test. On Sunday, the Kim Jong Un regime announced on state media that it had detonated a thermonuclear weapon that can fit atop an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

"The Foreign and Commonwealth Office advises against all but essential travel to North Korea," the advisory states. "There remains a threat of further missile or nuclear tests, which could lead to further instability in the region."

University is adapting

Earlier Monday, Pyongyang University of Science and Technology (PUST) released a statement announcing the start of the fall semester. It said the initial arrangements for classes had been "adapted to suit the available resources" wording that reflects a U.S. travel ban that took effect Sept. 1.

A private university funded mostly by Western-based evangelical Christian groups that educate the children of North Korea's elite, PUST usually has about 60 to 80 foreign faculty members each semester, roughly half of whom are U.S. passport holders, according to the university's statement. While PUST did not elaborate on how many American academics were covered by the ban, it said it anticipates that "additional faculty will join as the semester progresses."

The university's activities however seem to have been significantly restricted. A professor at PUST's College of Dentistry, who asked to remain anonymous, told VOA Korean that dental classes will be offered only by North Korean faculty members this fall because of the recent U.S. measure, which is affecting not only American citizens, but other foreign nationals.

An unnamed PUST employee in the College of Business, who is British, said he would not be in Pyongyang this fall as his aid agency, which coordinates his teaching trips to Pyongyang, decided not to send any personnel to the school.

US travel ban

The U.S. State Department introduced the travel ban in July amid growing concerns over "the serious risk of arrest and long-term detention" to American nationals traveling to and within North Korea. The ban currently gives exceptions to individuals seeking to travel to the North for certain limited humanitarian or other purposes, though they require special approval.

Jenny Lee contributed to this report, which originated on VOA Korean.

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Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-09 07:41:11|Editor: Mengjie

Video Player Close

ABUJA, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- Nineteen people were killed and five others injured in an attack suspected to have been launched by armed herdsmen in a village in Nigeria's central state of Plateau, according to local police on Friday.

An investigation into the killing at Ancha village in Bassa area of the state is underway, said Plateau State police chief, Peter Ogunyanwo.

The police officer said a preliminary investigation had proved that the attack was carried out by some armed gunmen from the country's northern Fulani tribe.

"The Fulani herdsmen wanted to avenge the killing of a young boy resident in the village who was reported missing on August 3.

"We are told that his body was later found without the head," he told reporters in Jos, the Plateau State capital city.

Avenging the young Fulani boy's death, a reprisal attack was launched early Friday when the herdsmen unleashed mayhem on the village three days after his body was found.

Six children were among those killed, Ogunyanwo said.
Military action against DPRK not inevitable: Trump

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 11:12, September 08, 2017

WASHINGTON, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that military action against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) was not inevitable.

"Military action would certainly be an option. Is it inevitable? Nothing is inevitable," said Trump here during his joint press conference with visiting Kuwaiti Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.

Trump also warned that while he would prefer "not going the route of the military," military action against the DPRK was something that "certainly could happen."

One day before his remarks, Trump told reporters on his way to Bismarck, North Dakota that military action against the DPRK was "not a first choice."

The DPRK on Sunday detonated a hydrogen bomb that can be carried by an intercontinental ballistic missile, DPRK's Central Television announced.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reiterated Tuesday that the solution to the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue must be "political," stressing that "the potential consequences of military action are too horrific."

China's permanent representative to the United Nations Liu Jieyi on Monday condemned the latest nuclear test by the DPRK and urged the country to return to the track of dialogue.

China will not allow chaos and war on the Korean Peninsula, he said.

Liu said the suspension-for-suspension proposal and dual-track approach put forward by China together with the Russian proposal of a step-by-step approach is a realistic and feasible roadmap for the settlement of the issue, asking the relevant parties for due consideration and positive responses.

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DPRK warns U.S., Japan, South Korea against seeking additional sanctions

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 08:46, September 08, 2017

PYONGYANG, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Thursday warned the United States, Japan and South Korea against seeking additional UN sanctions for its nuclear and missile programs.

A spokesman for the Korea Asia-Pacific Peace Committee, a semi-official organ of the DPRK, said in a statement that the United States was "going desperate to apply fresh sanctions and pressure on the DPRK" following its test of a hydrogen bomb on Sunday.

He also accused Japan and South Korea of showing "utterly disgusting" and "despicable behavior" by taking the lead in seeking new sanctions.

"The U.S. should stop its rash act and not run wild, with deep consideration of the position and weight of its rival Juche Korea (DPRK) that have undergone change after its access to an H-bomb," said the spokesman.

"If the U.S. adheres to sanctions and pressure ... it will face unprecedentedly resolute counteraction it cannot hold control of," he said.

The United States, Japan and South Korea are seeking additional sanctions at the United Nations Security Council against the DPRK in the wake of its H-bomb test. The Security Council already imposed more sanctions last month after Pyongyang test-fired two intercontinental ballistic missiles in July.

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Haley 'hysteric fit' to cost US dearly, North Korea warns

Iran Press TV

Fri Sep 8, 2017 4:34PM

North Korea has warned that the US will "pay dearly" after Washington's ambassador to the United Nations said the Asian peninsular country was "begging for war" as tensions continue to mount between the two countries.

"The US administration will have to pay a dear price for her tongue-lashing," a commentary by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said on Friday.

The KCNA further described Nikki Haley's comments to the UN earlier this week as a "hysteric fit."

The United Nations Security Council held an emergency session over North Korea on Monday, where Haley insisted that Pyongyang's actions show it is "begging for war," further calling for adoption of the harshest diplomatic measures against the North.

"Enough is enough. War is never something the United States wants. We don't want it now. But our country's patience is not unlimited," Haley said, adding, "We have kicked the can down the road long enough. There is no more road left."

On Tuesday, North Korea warned the United States that Pyongyang is prepared to send "more gift packages" to Washington, two days after the peninsular Asian country sent shock waves across the world by detonating a hydrogen bomb, purportedly designed for a long-range missile.

"The US will receive more 'gift packages' from my country as long as it relies on reckless provocations and futile attempts to put pressure on the [Democratic People's Republic of Korea] DPRK," Han Tae Song, the ambassador of North Korea to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, said while addressing the UN-sponsored Conference on Disarmament.

There has been an uproar over Pyongyang's sixth and the biggest nuclear test to date, which was conducted on September 3. The bomb was also about three times more powerful than America's atomic bomb that destroyed Japan's Hiroshima in 1945.

North Korean state television said on Sunday that, "The hydrogen bomb test was a perfect success," adding that the device was capable of being loaded onto long-range missiles.

China, Russia and South Korea are among the countries that have voiced strong criticism of the North's last nuclear test. Washington has also censured Pyongyang, and US President Donald Trump has described North Korea as a "rogue nation," which has become a "great threat and embarrassment" to China, North Korea's main ally.

North Korea is under mounting pressure over its missile and military nuclear programs and has been subjected to an array of sanctions by the United Nations. However, Pyongyang says it needs to continue and develop the programs as a deterrent against hostility by the United States and its regional allies, including South Korea and Japan.

The nuclear and missile programs were in fact "an exercise of restraint and justified self-defense right" to counter "the ever-growing and decade-long US nuclear threat and hostile policy aimed at isolating my country," Han said.

The United States and its allies do not rule out a military option against North Korea, but Russia and China warn that no military solution is available for resolving the escalating crisis, saying the current standoff will only be resolved through dialogue.

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have heightened since Washington recently engineered tougher sanctions in the Security Council over the North's testing of two intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM).

On Monday, the South Korean military said the North was preparing for another missile launch, possibly an ICBM test, a few hours after Seoul conducted a live-fire ballistic missile exercise, simulating an attack on the North's main nuclear site.

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US military strike would be 'a very sad day for North Korea': Trump

Iran Press TV

Fri Sep 8, 2017 12:44AM

A US military strike against North Korea would be "a very sad day for North Korea," President Donald Trump has said.

Speaking at a news conference in the White House in Washington, DC, on Thursday, Trump said a military action against Pyongyang is still on the table while said that "nothing's inevitable."

"Military action would certainly be an option. Is it inevitable? Nothing's inevitable. It would be great if something else could be worked out," he said.

Trump added that if the United States has to a military action against Pyongyang, "It will be a very sad day for North Korea."

"I would prefer not going the route of the military, but it's something certainly that could happen. Our military has never been stronger," he added.

Trump stated since his inauguration he has increased military spending, saying that "each day, new equipment is delivered, new and beautiful equipment, the best in the world, the best anywhere in the world by far. Hopefully, we're not going to have to use it on North Korea."

Trump told Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Sunday that the US is ready to use the "full range" of capabilities, including nuclear arsenal, at its disposal in dealing with North Korea, after the country conducted a test of a hydrogen bomb that could be placed on an intercontinental ballistic missile.

In his earlier remarks, Trump warned that North Korea would face "fire and fury" should it continue to threaten the United States.

North Korea on Sunday announced it had conducted a "successful" hydrogen bomb test, hours after two tremors were detected in the country.

"The hydrogen bomb test was a perfect success," North Korean state television said, adding that the device was capable of being loaded onto long-range missiles.

The North Korean broadcaster said the nuclear test had an "unprecedentedly large power," and that it "marked a very significant occasion in attaining the final goal of completing the state nuclear force."

"We are still assessing that test," a senior Trump administration official said while speaking on condition of anonymity. "So far there is nothing inconsistent with the North Korean claim that this was a hydrogen bomb, but we don't have a conclusive view on it yet."

North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un has ordered the production of more rocket warheads and engines, shortly after the United States suggested that its threats of military action and sanctions were having an impact on Pyongyang's behavior.

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India Gearing Up for Two Major Joint Military Exercises With US, Russia

Sputnik News

11:25 08.09.2017(updated 13:50 08.09.2017)

India's joint military exercises with the world's superpowers are not reminiscent of muscle-flexing in the region but preparedness for unforeseen contingency globally, says expert.

New Delhi (Sputnik)  India and the United States are currently preparing for a joint military training named Yudh Abhyas  2017 to be held at the Joint Base Lewis McChord, Washington from 14 to 27 September. This will be the 13th edition of the joint exercise hosted alternately between the two countries since 2004. Indian Army has termed the exercise a part of a joint preparation to meet any unforeseen contingency across the globe.

"Exercise Yudh Abhyas is one of the largest joint running military training and defense corporation endeavors between India and USA. Multiple scenarios will be rehearsed during the joint exercise with a view to understand each other's organizational structure and battle procedures which would result in a higher degree of joint manship that would further facilitate interoperability between the armed forces of both countries to meet any unforeseen contingency across the globe," Indian Army said in a statement.

Exercise Yudh Abhyas is an integration level training which is considered an ideal platform to learn from each other's experiences of planning and execution of operations. Both armies will jointly train, plan and execute a series of well-developed operations for neutralization of threats of varied nature. This exercise comes close on the heels of a month-long tri-lateral Malabar naval exercise wherein India, US and Japan took part in a complex and the biggest of its kind joint exercise the Indian Ocean.

Following Yudha Abhyas with America, more than 350 Indian soldiers and several warships including a multi-role stealth frigate, an anti-submarine warfare corvette will take part in the "Indra" combat exercise in Russia from October 19 to 29. This would be the first ever tri-service joint exercise India would be conducting with another country.

There have been a lot of speculations that India's intent behind strengthening military cooperation with countries like the US and Japan was mainly a manifestation of its regional geopolitical ambitions. However, an Indian expert foresees no immediate change in India's military policy of non-interference.

"I do not think there is any change in India's policy of not getting involved in internal affairs of other countries or to launch operation outside regional mandate. But it might happen that Indian forces and American forces are both operating under UN flag then this kind of joint exercise comes to play a major role," Brigadier Rumel Dahiya, Delhi based Military analyst told Sputnik.

"It simply means that if they have to operate in certain circumstances then they should know how to operate with each other. For example, if there is a situation in the Gulf region where both the countries will have to evacuate its all the citizens residing there; then both the countries will co-operate to evacuating their people," Dahiya added.

 Sputnik

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Iraqi troops find dozens of bodies in mass grave near Tal Afar

Iran Press TV

Fri Sep 8, 2017 12:57PM

Iraqi forces have reportedly found a mass grave in an area northwest of Tal Afar containing the bodies of at least 50 people who were slain by Daesh Takfiri terrorists as government forces, backed by volunteer fighters from the Popular Mobilization Units, were engaged in a multi-pronged operation to liberate the northern city from the extremists.

Major Shaker Ghaleb told Basnews news agency on Friday that soldiers from the 16th Division of the Army made the grisly discovery in al-'Ayadiya district, which lies 11 kilometers northwest of Tal Afar, as they were clearing the area of last remnants of Daesh terrorists and explosive devices left behind by the Takfiris.

Ghaleb added that there were signs of torture on the bodies discovered, noting that the victims had apparently been shot in the head at point blank range. Some of the corpse are said to be missing limbs.

Military forces have begun transferring the remains of the victims to the forensic medicine department in Mosul to be identified by their relatives.

On August 31, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said the city of Tal Afar and the entire Nineveh province had been purged of the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group.

The recapture of Tal Afar was made possible with the help of Iraqi army soldiers, Federal Police Force, Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS), pro-government fighters from Popular Mobilization Units  commonly known by the Arabic word Hashd al-Sha'abi and the Interior Ministry's elite rapid response forces, Abadi said.

Daesh executes dozen of civilians in Hawijah

Meanwhile, the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group has reportedly executed a dozen civilians in Hawijah as army troops, backed by allied Kurdish forces, will soon launch a multi-pronged operation to liberate the town in the oil-rich northern province of Kirkuk from the militants.

A local source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Arabic-language al-Sumaria television network that the execution was carried out at al-Bakkara military base.

The source, however, did not provide any information about the exact reason for the killings, nor the method by which the victims were put to death.

Daesh female commander slain in northern Hawijah

Separately, a high-ranking militant commander has been killed along with her husband and two sons as Iraqi Air Force fighter jets pounded a Daesh position in the northern outskirts of Hawijah.

An unnamed military official said the slain top Daesh figure was in charge of Daesh's so-called women's brigade in Hawijah.

On Friday, Iraqi military jets pounded Daesh bomb-making facilities and weapons depots in Hawijah, inflicting heavy losses on the militants' military hardware.

Hawijah is one of four Iraqi towns still controlled by Daesh militants. The other three towns of al-Qa'im, located nearly 400 kilometers northwest of the capital Baghdad near the Syrian border, Anah and Rawa are in the western province of Anbar.

Daesh terrorists took control of Hawijah after capturing Mosul and several other Iraqi cities in mid-2014.

The Takfiris have frequently carried out mass executions in Hawijah. On August 6, 2016, they were said to have executed at least 100 people in one single incident.

The United Nations estimates that 85,000 civilians would flee Hawijah in the aftermath of the military operation to liberate the town from Daesh.

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Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Southeast Asia Patrick Murphy on the Situation in Burma

Special Briefing

W. Patrick Murphy

Special Representative and Policy Coordinator for Burma

Via Teleconference

Washington, DC

September 8, 2017

MS NAUERT: All right, thank you very much. Good afternoon, everyone, and thanks so much for joining us for today's call on the situation in Burma. I know there's a lot of interest in this subject. Today we're joined by Patrick Murphy, who is the deputy assistant secretary of state for Southeast Asia in the Bureau of EAP, East Asian and Pacific Affairs. Today's call will be on the record. It will be embargoed until the conclusion of the call. And with that, I will turn it over to Deputy Assistant Secretary Murphy. Great to see you again.

MR MURPHY: Thank you very much, Heather, and good afternoon to all. I'm pleased to have the opportunity to talk to you today a little bit about Burma, a country that has great importance for the United States. With regards to the situation in northern Rakhine State, we continue to be very focused on a couple of key objectives. First and foremost, restoring humanitarian assistance so that those in need can be assisted by the international community and by Burmese authorities. That restoration of access would also allow accurate assessments of those needs. This is a complicated part of the country, and more specifically, a complicated part of Rakhine State itself, and there are some knowns about actual needs and conditions.

We're very keen to see access restored for the media as well so that journalists can help tell us a more accurate picture of developments there  again, a very complicated part of the country. We continue to condemn attacks of a variety of nature  attacks on security forces; attacks on civilians; attacks by civilians  and we're very concerned about the sustained allegations of abuses being committed that is resulting in the displacement of many people. We're urging all parties to take steps to calm tensions. And on a parallel basis, for authorities and partners of the Burmese authorities to continue to address the underlying challenges that are behind the most recent eruption of violence.

There have been a few developments since Heather had an opportunity to talk with you all yesterday. UN and related agencies are getting a better assessment of those people who have crossed the border from Burma into Bangladesh, and indeed, it looks like numbers are even higher than has been discussed in the last few days. So the movement since August 25th is quite significant, and we don't have any reason to doubt, in fact, that the movements are probably well over 200,000 people.

What is less well known are the numbers of internally displaced persons, IDPs, and that would encompass a variety of populations  not just the Rohingya, but ethnic Rakhine and other minorities who habitate inside Rakhine State.

We continue ongoing discussions, primarily through our ambassador, Ambassador Scot Marciel, and his team in Rangoon, with the government  both the civilian authorities and military authorities. We're also discussing with other donors and partners, the Red Cross entities, primarily focused on a humanitarian operation to restore a presence and assistance for humanitarian needs in northern Rakhine State.

We continue ongoing discussions with neighboring countries, including Bangladesh, which is among several countries in the region who have hosted Rohingya over many, many years, and we're quite grateful for that hospitality and that safe haven.

With that, please, I'd like to answer any questions that you have.

MS NAUERT: Okay, go ahead. And with that, we'll take your first question.

OPERATOR: Thank you. And for questions, you may queue up by pressing *1. Once again, *1. And first in queue is Dave Clark with AFP. Please, go ahead.

QUESTION: Oh, hi. Thanks for taking this call. Obviously, the Burma Government is a recent convert to partially elected rule. Who is responsible for security in Rakhine? Obviously, the government, but is it under military command? Is it under command of the civilian government? And who should be held responsible for any security force massacres there or any failure to protect the civilians from non-security force attack?

MR MURPHY: Thank you for that question, Dave. I think you pointed to one of the complexities of Burma. Well, in the bigger picture we are very appreciative of the fact that the country's undergone a transition to elected civilian government  in fact, the first civilian government in half a century. This represents the country's best opportunity for progress in several generations. The reality is that that elected government inherited a constitution which accords the armed forces of Burma considerable authorities. And among those authorities is a preeminent role in northern Rakhine State.

So our discussions are both with the elected civilian government, which has overall responsibility for the country, but as well with military and other security force leaders. And our messaging is quite consistent. There needs to be a responsible reaction to the attacks on security forces that began this crisis on August 25th. Security forces, in fact, need to be there to protect civilian populations and to address the threats posed to the governing structure. At the same time, they have a responsibility to carry out those activities in accordance with rule of law and international human rights.

This is a series of messages that we carry both to the civilian government and to the security leaders there.

MS NAUERT: Okay, next question please.

OPERATOR: Thank you very much. The next question is from Matthew Pennington with the Associated Press. Please, go ahead.

QUESTION: Hello, Patrick, and thanks for doing this call. Do you feel that the U.S. has much leverage with the Burmese authorities, particularly with the military in this situation? Because there's been a lot of international condemnation, but it seems that the flood of Rohingya from the country continues, and the violence continues. And would the U.S. consider re-imposing sanctions on some entities in Burma, such as the military, for implication in rights abuses?

MR MURPHY: Matt, I don't think we have approached the relationship with Burma in terms of leverage. It is, in fact, a partnership. And since the transition to elected government, we have a dialogue and a conversation that is very comprehensive. And as partners, we are looking to help this transition to democracy succeed. As I mentioned earlier, this is the best opportunity in generations for Burma to get on the right track, and the new government inherited a host of enormous challenges  national reconciliation and peace that has eluded Burma since independence in the 1940s, communal conflicts, and the particular case of Rakhine State. This is a longstanding problem, many, many years, and the new government has been grappling with it from day one.

So our approach as a partnership is to help them build their capacity to have the tools to address the underlying problems. Now, that doesn't mean that we withhold our concerns and our criticism when warranted. And indeed, now we are calling for a cessation of the violence and tensions that tend to lead to violence.

In terms of sanctions, our sanctions were in place for the better part of two decades, primarily designed to facilitate the transition to democracy and improve human rights. The decision to lift the vast majority of those sanctions was based on the successful election and the early actions of the new government to address human rights concerns. That doesn't mean they have resolved all of their work; a lot of room for improvement. But as partners now, we can encourage, we can facilitate, we can assist. And even in a very complex situation like Rakhine State, that's what we're trying to do.

There are some shortcomings, the Government of Burma and the armed forces, and we are pointing them out, and focused on the very immediate needs, and that is primarily ending tensions, restoring humanitarian access, and beginning this difficult process of the underlying challenges that lead to these tensions.

MS NAUERT: Okay, thank you. Next question, please.

OPERATOR: Thank you. That will come from David Brunnstrom with Reuters. Please, go ahead.

QUESTION: Yes, thank you very much. You've mentioned the security forces should be doing more. Do you think that Aung San Suu Kyi, as a civilian leader, should be speaking out more, expressing concerns about the treatment of the Muslim minority? Many thanks.

MR MURPHY: I think, first and foremost, it's important to point out that Burma is a very diverse country with hundreds of ethnic groups, a long, complicated history both to achieve independence and to find its way in the modern era. There is discrimination against many ethnic minorities. And in Rakhine State, the plight of the Rohingya in particular is one of the greatest human tragedies anywhere in the region. They're not the only ethnic minority facing challenges even in that area. I mentioned earlier the ethnic Rakhine, themselves a minority population, suffering from underdevelopment and limited rights over many, many years. But the Rohingya certainly stand out, and the fact that over a million of them inside the country have been devoid of basic rights for generations has been a longstanding issue and a longstanding concern for us in the United States. It needs to be addressed.

I think in positive terms what the Government of Burma has done is to acknowledge and accept the fact that they need to address the challenges in Rakhine State. It was a year ago that Aung San Suu Kyi and her government established the Rakhine Commission under the leadership of former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. On August 25th, the very same day of these attacks which appeared to be timed with this development, the Rakhine Commission released its final report and recommendations.

Aung San Suu Kyi and her government have embraced those recommendations, and now we encourage the full implementation. It won't be easy. There are over 80 recommendations, but many of them address the underlying conditions in Rakhine State that cause so much friction and challenge. We want to work with the government, ensure they are focused on this task, have the capacity to address it. But as I say, it was Aung San Suu Kyi who established the commission and in turn has embraced their recommendations. That's encouraging. That's a process that we want to be behind and partner with.

MS NAUERT: Okay. Next question, please.

OPERATOR: Thank you. That will come from Kylie Atwood with CBS News. Please, go ahead.

QUESTION: Hi. Thank you for doing this. I am curious. You mentioned that you have been talking with the government about the shortcomings of their army and security forces. Could you detail any of those shortcomings that you've actually pointed out thus far? And I just want to clarify that at this point you do not think that Muslims are being targeted specifically; you think it's anyone in the Rakhine region? Thank you.

MR MURPHY: Thank you, Kylie. We have a very robust dialogue with the Government of Burma that covers many facets of our relationship and the challenges in the country. In fact, we have a formal partnership. I joined Ambassador Marciel a year ago November to launch that partnership in the capital Nay Pyi Taw, and some 22 Burmese ministries were represented at the table  both civilians and military entities, and the government and the military acknowledged many of their shortcomings and challenges.

I think when we talk about the shortcomings of the armed forces in particular, this is one that the government has identified. The constitution affords the armed forces of Burma, also known as the Tatmadaw, considerable authorities: control over three key ministries, 25 percent of parliamentary seats, one of the vice president slots. And it's the government that hopes and aspires to some constitutional reform so that democracy can be fully consolidated. That's an inspirational but an admirable one, and to the extent that we can, we want to support it.

Inside Rakhine State, this is a particular case where the security forces have the majority of authorities. Now, I've been there. I've been to northern Rakhine State. This is a challenge for the new government. As I mentioned earlier, there has been longstanding discrimination against ethnic minorities throughout Burma, and it's very, very much present in the case inside Rakhine State for a number of different populations. This is a country that has challenges with religion, but many religions operate and are active in the country, not just the majority Buddhist, but there's substantial Christian organizations, and Muslims are present in virtually every major town and city across the country, plus some other religions like Hinduism and animus groups.

Primarily this is an ethnic issue in Rakhine State. The Rohingya have been treated separately; they're not acknowledged as a recognized nationality, and as I mentioned earlier have been devoid of basic rights for many, many years.

The commission on Rakhine State that the government established and has now produced recommendations gets at a lot of these basic rights like the path to citizenship, efforts to improve development. This is one of the most impoverished part of a country that is already quite poor. The government has embraced these recommendations, and now it's all about implementation. And I think that's what we want to be focused on.

MS NAUERT: And the last question, please.

OPERATOR: Thank you. That will come from Michelle Kosinski with CNN. Please, go ahead.

QUESTION: Hi, thank you. I understand that this is a longstanding conversation and a long process, but in this latest escalation and the violence that we see out there, in these multiple conversations that the U.S. has had with that government, how receptive are they to doing something more quickly?

And oh, there was something else I was going to ask you. I'm doing too many things at once here. I guess just about their level of receptivity to these conversations, and have they committed to doing anything in the short term even if it's just allowing more access to, say, journalists there? Thanks.

MR MURPHY: I will reiterate in addition to the challenges here being longstanding, they're very complex and there are some new, troubling dimensions. On August 25th, the attacks on security forces were quite substantial, quite coordinated. This is relatively new. And there were casualties. That creates a lot of concern, a lot of fear, and a requirement for security forces to respond.

Obviously, in the response is where we're focused. It needs to be in accordance with rule of law and respect for human rights and in ways that protect local populations. With the movement of large number of people both across the border and internally it's quite clear that they are fearful of their security. So what we are doing with the government is not only seeking instant and very urgent reaccess for humanitarian assistance and the media but also efforts to calm tensions, that security forces act responsibly, and indeed that civilians act responsibly, because another complex, new dimension is there are local militia among local populations who are attacking civilians that adds to this cauldron and hotspot nature of northern Rakhine state.

We are finding the discussions with the government to be productive. Naturally, when humanitarian access and media access is restored we'll be able to say those discussions have produced results. But they are productive, they are ongoing, and we are identifying very willing partners within the government who understand the situation and indeed would like to see access restored for humanitarian organizations, for the media, and efforts to calm tensions.

That's our immediate focus. As I also noted, on a parallel basis it's not too early to start with implementing the recommendations of the Annan commission. Thank you.

MS NAUERT: Okay. Thanks, everyone, for joining us, and thank you, DAS Murphy, for your expertise. The embargo has now been lifted, and have a great weekend. As a reminder, that was on the record. Thank you.

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UN scales up response as 270,000 flee Myanmar into Bangladesh in two weeks

8 September 2017  The United Nations migration agency today confirmed that 270,000 people have fled violence in Myanmar for safety in Bangladesh over the past two weeks, and the number of new arrivals continues to increase.

"Humanitarian agencies are deploying mobile medical teams, installing emergency latrines, providing water, and are distributing tarpaulins for basic shelter and food rations to new arrivals. But much more is needed and we are fast running out of stock," Margo Baars, who facilitates the Inter Sector Coordination Group convened by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), said in a press release.

On Wednesday, at least 300 boats arrived in Cox's Bazar from Myanmar. Sea routes are particularly dangerous in this season of rough seas.

IOM said that new arrivals usually start by looking for space in the established makeshift settlements, where there are some services. But these are already full. Three new spontaneous settlements have sprung up in areas which still have very little services.

An estimated 130,000 of the new arrivals are now living in the registered refugee camps and three makeshift settlements of Kutupalong, Leda and Balukhali. Another 90,000 people are sheltering in host communities, and nearly 50,000 have settled in new spontaneous settlements.

IOM, which yesterday allocated $1 million from its emergency funds to boost the humanitarian response in Cox's Bazar, is working with the government and partners to scale up its delivery of lifesaving aid  most importantly shelter, drinking water, food and medical assistance  to those most in need.

Separately, the UN Central Emergency Response Fund yesterday also announced a further $7 million to help the thousands of destitute people who continue to flood into Bangladesh.

Most of the people now crossing the border are women, children and the elderly, many of whom are vulnerable and lack the ability to take care of themselves. There are also many pregnant and lactating women among the new arrivals.

Healthcare facilities are also struggling to provide adequate services as the number of people in need of emergency and basic health care continue to grow. Seven mobile health teams have been deployed to the spontaneous settlement areas, and IOM and partners are recruiting more doctors, nurses and midwives to increase the reach of the teams.

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UN: 270,000 Rohingya Have Fled Myanmar for Safety in Bangladesh

By Lisa Schlein September 08, 2017

U.N. agencies report about 270,000 Muslim Rohingya have fled violence and persecution in mainly Buddhist Myanmar over the past two weeks in search of refuge in neighboring Bangladesh. Unconfirmed media reports say more than 1,000 may have been killed by the Myanmar army since August 25 when violence erupted in that country's northern Rakhine state.

Aid agencies are scaling up their emergency relief for Muslim Rohingya in Bangladesh to meet the needs of the burgeoning refugee population. They say limited shelter capacity has been exhausted and refugees are living in makeshift shelters that have mushroomed along the road.

U.N. refugee spokeswoman Duniya Aslam Khan says refugee camps are overloaded and unable to accommodate any more people.

"The two refugee camps in Bangladesh, Kutupalong and Nayapara, that were previously home to 34,000 Rohingya refugees before this new influx, are now bursting at seams. The population has more than doubled in two weeks, totaling more than 70,000. There is an urgent need for more land and shelters."

The International Organization for Migration is allocating $1 million from its emergency fund to provide shelter, drinking water, food and medical assistance to the refugees. IOM spokesman Leonard Doyle tells VOA the refugees have no resources and are in urgent need of life-saving aid.

"They are in a desperate, absolutely desperate humanitarian state, without enough to eatThey are saying that they are living out in the open, without shelter from the tropical sun, without shelter from the rain; with their children, without enough food to eat."

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says it is releasing $7 million from the U.N. Central Emergency Response Fund to help the thousands of destitute people who continue to flood into Bangladesh.

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China appreciates Pakistan efforts in the fight against terrorism

People's Daily Online

By Raza Khan (People's Daily Online) 14:16, September 08, 2017

BEIJING: China on Friday pledged its support for Pakistan's efforts against terrorism as foreign affairs ministers of both the countries discussed regional and international situation. Addressing a press conference along with his Pakistani counterpart, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Pakistan's people, government and the armed forces rendered unprecedented sacrifices against terrorism.

He said Pakistan and China stand together amid changing regional and international situation. He also welcomed Pakistan's efforts for peace in Afghanistan and expressed Beijing's desire for better relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

He said China attaches great respect to Pakistan's interest and said relations between the two countries are stable.

Wang Yi said peace in Afghanistan is in the interest of both China and Pakistan. He said that China also wants good relationships between Pakistan and Afghanistan. "We wish to pursue security dialogue and strategic cooperation between China, Paksitan and Afghanistan", Yi said. He said that China is observing closely US policy on Afghansitan.

Speaking at the press conference, Pakistan's Foreign Affairs Minister Khawaja Asif said Pakistan and China support each other on regional and international affairs.

Asif said the China and Pakistan agreed that solution of the Afghan problem has to be fundamentally political solution and that there is no military solution to the conflict.

Referring to the US policy on Afghanistan and South Asia, Khawaja Asif said peace and stability in Afghanistan remains critical for peace and security of the region. He said it is our firm view that focus should be on politically-negotiated settlement of the Afghan conflict.

He said China is playing a constructive role in this regard and together Pakistan and China can contribute to a political solution of Afghan problem.

The Minister said Pakistan and China have close counter terrorism cooperation and Pakistan shares Beijing's strong position on three evils of terrorism, extremism and separatism.

He said Pakistan's comprehensive and all out law-enforcement actions against all terrorist groups have yielded positive results. He expressed Pakistan's gratitude to China for unflinching support in counter-terrorist efforts.

The meeting between the foreign ministers took place at the State Guest House in Beijing where they discussed whole range of regional and international issues.

Pakistan's Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif arrived Beijing in early hours of Friday.

He has been invited by his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, at a time when Beijing stressed that it saw this visit as an "important event between the two friendly countries which would further help implement the cooperation consensus reached between the two leaders".

Earlier, the Pakistani Foreign Office had released a brief statement saying that this will be a one-day visit, where the two sides will review the bilateral relations and regional developments, including the situation in Afghanistan.

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Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-09 08:36:23|Editor: Mengjie

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ISLAMABAD, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan is all set to monitor educational institutes after a group constituting of students and highly educated people was found involved in terrorist activities in the country.

In a press briefing on Friday, the country's Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal said that the National Counter Terrorism Authority is being activated to monitor the colleges and universities.

He added that the Interior Ministry will hold a meeting with vice chancellors of the universities to map out plans for monitoring their institutes.

The minister said that some elements are trying to misguide the young educated people, but the government will discourage this trend with the help of teachers, parents, and other segments of the society.

Earlier, a renowned university in the country's southern port city of Karachi shared students' data with intelligence agencies after one of its students was found involved in murder plot of a senior politician.

The move by the ministry came after law enforcement agencies arrested the chief of the outlawed organization "Ansar-ul-Sharia Pakistan," during a raid in Karachi.

The chief, who is a graduate of Karachi University and an information technology expert in the computer department of the university, confessed that all the members of the group are highly qualified from well-known universities of the city.
Syrian Regime Forces Pass Stranded ISIS Convoy

From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release

SOUTHWEST ASIA, Sept. 8, 2017  At approximately 7 a.m. Greenwich Mean Time today, the front line of Syrian pro-regime forces advanced past the convoy carrying Islamic State of Iraq and Syria terrorists and noncombatants in the eastern Syrian desert.

The pro-regime forces were mounting an assault on Dayr Az Zawr, an ISIS-controlled city in eastern Syria. Eleven buses from the original convoy of 17 remain in the desert after several vehicles returned to ISIS-held territory when coalition strikes blocked the highway on Aug. 29.

The convoy was attempting to reach ISIS-held territory near the Iraqi border as part of an agreement with the Lebanese Hezbollah and the Syrian regime. Media reports indicated that about 670 ISIS terrorists and their families, surrounded by Lebanese and Syrian pro-regime forces, attempted to secure their safe passage across Syria by offering to trade the bodies of nine Lebanese soldiers captured in 2014. The coalition was not party to the deal, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials said.

"ISIS is a global threat; relocating terrorists from one place to another for someone else to deal with is not a lasting solution," the officials said.

To avoid conflicting efforts to defeat ISIS, coalition surveillance aircraft departed the adjacent airspace at the request of Russian officials during their assault on Dayr Az Zawr, officials said.

Coalition Supports Partners

The coalition will continue to employ available assets to support Syrian Democratic Forces and Iraqi partners in the mission to defeat ISIS, OIR officials said.

"From the start of this situation on Aug. 29, we have placed responsibility for the buses and passengers on the Syrian regime, who in conjunction with Lebanese Hezbollah brokered a deal with ISIS to move its terrorists into Iraq," said Army Brig. Gen. Jon Braga, director of operations for the coalition.

"The regime's advance past the convoy underlines continued Syrian responsibility for the buses and terrorists. As always, we will do our utmost to ensure that the ISIS terrorists do not move toward the border of our Iraqi partners," Braga added.

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Syria strongly denies alleged role in Khan Shaykhun chemical attack

Iran Press TV

Fri Sep 8, 2017 5:25PM

The Syrian government has categorically dismissed a United Nations report accusing it of being involved in a suspected chemical attack in the country's northwestern province of Idlib, which killed dozens of people in early April.

The Permanent Mission of the Syrian Arab Republic to the United Nations Office in Geneva, in a letter addressed to the Head of the United Nations Human Rights Council Joaquin Alexander Maza Martelli on Friday, refuted allegations by the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria that government forces have used chemical weapons in Khan Shaykhun and elsewhere in the conflict-plagued Arab country, Syria's official news agency SANA reported.

"The Syria government has not made use of toxic gases against its people, because it is not in possession of such munitions and Damascus views their application as a serious offence," the letter pointed out.

The Syrian mission further criticized the "insistence of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria to involve itself in the case of chemical weapons and their use," arguing that the commission's action as a blatant departure from its mandate and that of the UN Human Rights Council.

"It is within the competence of fact-finding teams formed by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to announce the final results after its ongoing investigations are over," the letter read.

The Syrian mission also noted that the politicized and selective path taken by the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria since its establishment and its links to certain parties and countries have lowered its status into a cheap propaganda apparatus, which tends to serve the agendas of these countries at the expense of the credibility of the Human Rights Council.

The UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria alleged on Wednesday that a Syrian Air Force fighter jet had dropped sarin on Khan Shaykhun on April 4, killing more than 80 civilians.

Using the incident as a pretext, US warships fired 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles from two warships in the Mediterranean Sea at the Shayrat airfield in Syria's central province of Homs on April 7. US officials claimed that the suspected Khan Shaykhun gas attack had been launched from the military site.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Russian Sputnik news agency on April 21, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad described the chemical incident as "a false flag play just to justify the attack on the Shayrat base."

He noted that the Syrian army launched an attack in Idlib Province on April 4 at 11:30 a.m. local time, while the suspected chemical incident is reported to have happened at 6:30 a.m.

"We did not launch any attack at that time," Assad pointed out.

Assad cast doubt on the authenticity of the images and videos attributed to the scene of the suspected chemical incident in Khan Shaykhun.

"Even if you look at the pictures, you can see that the rescuers  presumable rescuers  were rescuing people without masks, without gloves, and they were moving freely. How? This is against all the specifications of the sarin gas that they talked about," Assad said.

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Russia Says Air Strike Kills Four Senior IS Commanders In Syria

RFE/RL September 08, 2017

The Russian Defense Ministry says it has killed four Islamic State (IS) commanders in an air strike targeting the extremist group outside Syria's eastern city of Deir al-Zour, including a former senior security official from Tajikistan.

The ministry said in a September 8 statement that 40 militants were killed in the air strike, including Abu Muhammad al-Shimali, who is responsible for foreign IS fighters, and Gulmurod Halimov, a former Tajik Interior Ministry commander.

It said the air strike targeted a gathering of IS warlords in an underground bunker near Deir al-Zour.

"According to confirmed data, among the killed fighters are four influential field commanders," the ministry said.

Halimov, often referred to as the IS "minister of war," is a former commander of the Tajik Interior Ministry's riot police, known as OMON, who had received U.S. training while serving in that position.

He made an online announcement in May 2015 that he had joined IS.

Tajikistan has issued an international warrant for his arrest, and the United States has offered $3 million for information on his whereabouts.

The Russian Defense Ministry said Halimov was present at the meeting of IS warlords and was fatally wounded in the air strike. It said he had been evacuated to the Al-Muhasan area, 20 kilometers southeast of Deir al-Zour.

There have been several unconfirmed reports from both northern Iraq and Syria since 2015 that Halimov was killed while fighting alongside IS forces.

Tajik authorities have repeatedly rejected those reports, saying they think he is still alive.

Heavy fighting continues between Syrian government forces, backed by Russia, and IS fighters seeking to reinstate a siege of Deir al-Zour.

Russian President Vladimir Putin this week congratulated his Syrian counterpart, Bashar al-Assad, after Syrian state media said government troops had broken the three-year long siege of the city by IS forces.

In the months after Russia began a campaign of air strikes in Syria in September 2015, Western officials said it mainly targeted not IS militants but other opponents of Assad.

With reporting by AP, Reuters, and AFP

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-air-strike-islamic- state-commanders-killed/28723753.html

Copyright (c) 2017. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Syrian Army Retakes Strategic Hill Near Deir ez-Zor, Lifting Blockade of Airbase

Sputnik News

19:57 08.09.2017(updated 22:20 08.09.2017)

The Syrian Army has begun an operation to lift the blockade of the Deir ez-Zor airbase, having captured a strategic hill between it and the city, a Sputnik correspondent reported from the scene.

The army and republican guard troops are breaking into the airbase area from the direction of the city's graveyard.

The offensive is being supported by aviation and artillery.

The Syrian Army, with Russian air support, managed to finally break the three-year Daesh siege of the city of Deir ez-Zor on September 5. Until that point, food and ammunition had only been delivered to the city by air. Helicopters from the city of Qamishli had evacuated the wounded and delivering essential supplies to the city's population.

The operation to break the siege of Deir ez-Zor, which lies 140 km south east of Raqqa, began after four months of planning and preparation in the wake of the completion of the operation to liberate east Aleppo in January. This operation ended serious rebel activity in western Syria, allowing pro-government forces to turn their attention to the east across the country's desert region into Daesh heartlands.

On September 7, a source told Sputnik the US Air Force had evacuated Daesh field commanders from Deir ez-Zor. The US-led coalition denied the claims.

Russia has sent humanitarian aid to the city, but there has been none from the West.

 Sputnik

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Deir ez-Zor Got No Humanitarian Aid From Western States After Liberation - MoD

Sputnik News

17:36 08.09.2017(updated 17:39 08.09.2017)

European countries and the international humanitarian organizations have not offered any aid to the residents of the Syrian city of Deir ez-Zor after the siege was lifted, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Friday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Konashenkov said that neither the Syrian authorities nor the Russian center for reconciliation of warring parties have received a "single offer" of humanitarian aid from European countries or international organizations since Deir ez-Zor was liberated.

"Such passivity and slowness of the European politicians and international humanitarian organizations that publicly promote compassion and mercy to the victims of wars, satisfies only Daesh [Islamic State terror group, banned in Russia] militants," Konashenkov said.

The spokesman pointed out that Europe is only worried about the humanitarian situation in the Syrian regions controlled by the terrorists. He said that the Western media become "becalmed," and European activists "amnesic," immediately after the settlements are liberated from the militants.

According to Konashenkov, the crushing defeat that Daesh suffered from the Syrian government forces backed by the Russian Aerospace Forces "once again highlighted the false commitment of the leading European capitals to provide real aid to the Syrian population."

Konashenkov added that as of today, thousands of square miles and thousands of settlements were liberated from the terrorists of Daesh and Nusra Front (a terrorist organization banned in Russia).

The three-year-long blockade of Deir ez-Zor was lifted on Tuesday by the Syrian army. According to Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, efforts of the Syrian government forces were backed by Russian airstrikes and cruise missile strikes.

 Sputnik

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Erdogan criticizes US for charging ex-minister over Iran bans

Iran Press TV

Fri Sep 8, 2017 3:35PM

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has denounced as "politically motivated" the US prosecutors' recent charges against a former economy minister accused of violating US sanctions on Iran, calling on Washington to review the move.

"I say clearly, I see this step taken against our former economy minister [Mehmet Zafer Caglayan] as a step taken against the Turkish republic," Erdogan told reporters in Istanbul on Friday before departing for a visit to Kazakhstan.

"These steps are purely political," he added. "The United States needs to revise this decision, there are very peculiar smells coming from this issue."

Erdogan said that he had previously told US officials that Turkey would not apply sanctions against Iran.

The remarks came two days after US prosecutors charged Caglayan, former Halkbank general manager Suleyman Aslan and two others, of "conspiring to use the U.S. financial system to conduct hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of transactions on behalf of the government of Iran and other Iranian entities, which were barred by United States sanctions."

The charges are part of an ongoing case against Iranian-Turkish gold trader Reza Zarrab and his co-defendants, who have all been accused of allegedly forging false documents and using front companies to process millions of dollars in transactions on Tehran's behalf.

Erdogan says there are "ulterior motives" in charging Zarrab, who has pleaded not guilty.

Zarrab's lawyers say the businessman was arrested together with his wife and 5 year-old daughter in March 2016, when they had traveled to the US in order to visit the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando. He has been detained in New York ever since and is expected to go on trial next month.

Caglayan and other Turkish officials are in Turkey and remain at large from US authorities.

Meanwhile, Turkish Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci has defended his predecessor, and said US prosecutors have yet to prove their accusations.

"Caglayan did not do anything against Turkey's interests. It is no concern to Turkey if Caglayan acted against interests of other countries," Zeybekci commented.

Ankara-Washington relations have been strained over US-backed militiamen from the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), who launched an operation on June 6 aimed at pushing Daesh Takfiri terrorists out of Syria's militant-held northern city of Raqqah.

The SDF is a coalition of Kurdish and Arab fighters, and is dominated by the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG). Ankara views YPG as a terrorist outfit over its alleged links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

Moreover, there has been no progress on Ankara's demand from Washington to extradite US-based opposition cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom the Turkish government accuses of having masterminded the failed July 15 coup attempt.

Gulen has denounced the "despicable putsch" and reiterated that he had no role in it.

Tensions between the two countries further soared last month, when after the US Justice Department indicting of his security personnel over assaulting protesters outside the Turkish Embassy in Washington in May.

Erdogan said on Friday he hoped to have the opportunity to discuss the case, when he visits New York for the United Nations General Assembly on September 18.

"I hope we'll get a chance to discuss this issue in the United States. You may be a big nation, but being a just nation is something else. Being a just nation requires the legal system to work fairly," the Turkish head of state pointed out.

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Turkish Minister Dismisses U.S. Iran Sanctions Case Against Erdogan Aide

RFE/RL September 08, 2017

Turkey's economy minister on September 7 dismissed a case brought by U.S. prosecutors against his predecessor for allegedly taking bribes and helping Iran violate U.S. sanctions law.

Zafer Caglayan, the former Turkish economy minister named in a U.S. indictment on September 6, was the highest-ranking of several former officials in the government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who U.S. prosecutors accused of being involved in a conspiracy to help Iran violate prohibitions against using the U.S. financial system.

"Caglayan did not do anything against Turkey's interests," current Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci told reporters in Istanbul. "It is no concern to Turkey if Caglayan acted against interests of other countries."

The indictment accuses Caglayan and several associates of lying to U.S. investigators and taking tens of millions of dollars in bribes in jewelry and cash, in addition to violating U.S. sanctions law.

"There are claims that these sanctions are violated, but the claimants are obliged to prove these claims," Zeybekci said.

Halkbank, a Turkish state-owned bank allegedly used by the defendants to circumvent the Iran sanctions, issued a statement denying wrongdoing on September 7.

U.S. prosecutors have said that between 2010 and 2015, the defendants used the bank to conceal the illegal supply of currency and gold to Iran.

To avoid U.S. sanctions, prosecutors said the defendants used front companies and fake invoices to trick U.S. banks into processing transactions disguised to appear as though they involved food sales, which are exempt from the sanctions.

Halkbank executive Mehmet Hakan Atilla is under arrest in the United States and set to go on trial on October 30, along with Reza Zarrab, a wealthy Turkish-Iranian businessman who prosecutors say masterminded the laundering scheme.

Caglayan and several other named Turkish defendants remain at large.

Zarrab, an Iranian by birth, was previously involved in a Turkish government scandal in 2013 when he was briefly arrested as part of a corruption probe that also involved top government officials. The charges against Zarrab in Turkey were later dropped.

Erdogan has said U.S. authorities had "ulterior motives" for arresting Zarrab and personally pleaded for Zarrab's release in a recent meeting at the White House.

Zarrab's attorneys say they have approached both the Turkish and U.S. governments to try to reach a diplomatic and political settlement of the case.

One of the attorneys representing Zarrab is Rudy Giuliani, a former mayor of New York City who is close to U.S. President Donald Trump.

Giuliani recently said that both U.S. and Turkish officials remain "receptive" to a diplomatic solution due to the nature of the charges against Zarrab and the importance of Turkey as a U.S. ally.

With reporting by dpa and Reuters

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/turkish-minister- dismisses-us-iran-sanctions-case-against- erdogan-aide-caglayan/28723417.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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Turkey Lets 7 German Lawmakers Visit Konya NATO Air Base

By Dorian Jones September 08, 2017

Amid rising German-Turkish diplomatic tensions, Ankara has allowed seven German lawmakers to visit German servicemen deployed at Turkey's Konya NATO air base. For several months, Ankara had banned such visits, saying the climate in bilateral relations was inappropriate.

"The way the Turkish side is billing it is that it's a multilateral visit, it's not bilateral," said political columnist Semih Idiz of the al-Monitor website. "They say this visit comes from NATO, therefore Turkey has to oblige, being a NATO member."

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg reportedly had been lobbying intensively to allow the German lawmakers' visit. The ban on German lawmakers already had resulted in Berlin relocating its reconnaissance planes that had been engaged in anti-Islamic State operations from Turkey's Incirlik air base.

"The visit by German lawmakers is significant. It eliminates one major factor, political factor, of irritation in the relationship," according to Sinan Ulgen, a visiting scholar at the Carnegie Institute in Brussels. "However, there are still a number of outstanding important problems. So this will help, but it's not a solution in and of itself in the difficulties we are witnessing."

Coincidentally or not, Friday also saw the release of the second Turkish German national, detained last Friday. The two detentions had marked a new low in German-Turkish relations, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel calling them political. Berlin claims 12 German citizens, including journalists and human rights workers, are being held for political reasons since last year's introduction of emergency rule in Turkey following a failed military coup. Ankara has strongly defended the detentions, claiming its judiciary is independent.

'Effort' by Turkey

German-Turkish relations have been plummeting in the last few months. Berlin has become increasingly vocal in its concerns over the ongoing crackdown since last year's failed coup, and Merkel on Sunday said she was opposed to Turkey becoming a member of the EU. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday shot back, accusing Berlin of following policies of the Nazis.

But analysts suggest Ankara could be trying to contain the crisis.

"There is an effort, at least part of the Turkish administration, to prevent a further degradation of the relationship," analyst Ulgen said. "There are many people in Ankara within the government which are concerned about the state of the affairs. But I think these efforts so far at least have proved to be piecemeal in nature."

'Increasing isolation'

Turkey's increasingly precarious diplomatic situation is being cited as a key factor behind efforts to contain current German-Turkish tensions. Ankara is facing strained relations, not only with Berlin, but the wider European Union and Washington.

On Friday, Erdogan slammed the indictment by a U.S. prosecutor of a former Turkish minister and former head of a Turkish state bank on Iranian sanction-busting charges, claiming they were with "malicious intent." Last month, U.S. prosecutors indicted 15 of Erdogan's security detail for allegedly attacking protesters during a visit to Washington.

"Increasing isolation has started costing Turkey a lot, not only in Europe but also the Middle East, where Turkey is being basically sidelined on issues of crucial importance to it, whether it's in Iraq or Syria," said columnist Idiz. "So as far as the [Turkish] policy planners are concerned, it's a matter of concern. But as far as the president is concerned, it seems he is more concerned, sending the right message to his constituents, a message that goes down well with his constituent."

Erdogan faces a re-election bid within two years and already is campaigning hard on a nationalist platform, with a message that a strong independent Turkey can stand up to western powers.

Some analysts suggest that given the turmoil on Turkey's southern borders and the need to maintain economic stability, Erdogan will need to balance nationalist campaign rhetoric and populist policies with diplomatic pragmatism.

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Britain's second aircraft carrier named in Rosyth

8 September 2017

HMS Prince of Wales, the second of the Royal Navy's two future flagships being built by the Aircraft Carrier Alliance, was officially named today during a ceremony in Rosyth, Scotland

The ship's new sponsor, Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Rothesay, followed Royal Navy tradition by triggering a bottle of 10 year old whisky from the Laphroaig distillery in the Isle of Islay, smashing it against the ship's hull.

This significant milestone comes just three weeks after the first aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth made her first entry into her home port of Portsmouth as part of her maiden sea trials programme.

Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon, said:

"HMS Prince of Wales is a prestigious name for what I'm sure will be a most prestigious ship. Today is yet another landmark in an incredibly busy year for the Royal Navy and shipbuilding. HMS Queen Elizabeth has undergone her sea trials and arrived into Portsmouth, I have cut the steel on the new Type 26 frigates and we announced our ambitious new National Shipbuilding Strategy this week."

"Together these magnificent carriers will act as our statement to the world. By having two we will ensure the UK will be one of the few nations able to maintain a continuous carrier strike presence on the high seas to project our power across the world."

The ship will be the eighth in the Royal Navy to bear the name HMS Prince of Wales, honouring Britain's history as a seafaring nation from the Sixth Rate gun ship in 1693 to the 'King George V' Class Battleship that fought in World War II.

Admiral Sir Philip Jones, First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff, said:

"The name HMS Prince of Wales represents many centuries of loyal service to Crown and Country, and its return to the Royal Navy today is a moment of great strategic significance for the United Kingdom. To build one carrier is a symbol of national ambition  but to build two is a sign of real commitment to our own security and to our international responsibilities."

"With two Queen Elizabeth-class carriers in Royal Navy service, one will be available for operations at all times. When paired with the F35B Joint Strike Fighter, they will provide our nation with a continuous Carrier Strike capability  a powerful conventional deterrent in a dangerous and uncertain world. I congratulate all those who have worked so hard over many years to make the Royal Navy's carrier-led renaissance a reality."

Sir Simon Lister, Managing Director of the Aircraft Carrier Alliance, said:

"Today's naming ceremony is a significant moment in the life of the programme and for each and every person involved in the design and construction of HMS PRINCE OF WALES, one of the largest engineering projects in the UK today. The Nation has come together to build this magnificent ship which will in turn protect our Nation's interests around the globe."

"HMS Prince of Wales, along with her sister ship, HMS Queen Elizabeth, reflects the very best of British design and engineering capability and has created a once in a lifetime opportunity for highly skilled employees to be involved in an iconic programme."

"I am immensely proud to welcome The Royal Highnesses and our many other distinguished guests to Rosyth today."

With a crew of 679, HMS Prince of Wales is expected to carry out sea trials in 2019 before entering Royal Navy service.

There are also currently 150 Royal Navy and RAF personnel continuing F-35 aircraft training in the United States. By the end of this year it is planned that the UK will have 14 of these fast jets, the World's most sophisticated fighter, with initial flight trials from the deck of HMS Queen Elizabeth planned for 2018. With a crew of 679 HMS Prince of Wales is expected to carry out sea trials in 2019 before entering Royal Navy service.

Trade Secretary Dr Liam Fox said:

"The HMS Prince of Wales will do more than keep us safe and project British power across the globe. With home grown talent providing 90% of the suppliers for her and her sister ship, this aircraft carrier will also promote the strength of our shipbuilding sector."

"This achievement shows what a huge amount of exporting potential the sector has and, as an international economic department, we will continue to support businesses to export their goods and services, and attract the investment that creates and supports British jobs."

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RFA Mounts Bay delivers vital aid to Caribbean islands

8 September 2017

RFA Mounts Bay has delivered six tonnes of emergency aid to Anguilla and will shortly arrive in the British Virgin Islands.

The ship has been deployed in the Caribbean since July in preparation for the hurricane season, ready to provide support at a moment's notice. Tasked by the Royal Navy, she was the UK's first military response to the Caribbean.

The ship carries a specialist disaster relief team - drawn from the Royal Engineers and Royal Logistics Corps - as well as heavy plant for lifting and shifting and emergency kit and shelters provided by the Department for International Development. Also on board are the Royal Navy's Mobile Aviation Support Force  aviation specialists, meteorological advisors and flight deck crews.

Engineers were on hand to stop a potentially-dangerous fuel leak at Anguilla's main petrol dump, restore power to the island's sole hospital and hand out shelters providing temporary homes for people left homeless by the storm. They also cleared the runway which was declared safe for relief flights.

RFA Mounts Bay's Wildcat helicopter  from 815 Naval Air Squadron based at Yeovilton - also flew Governor Tim Foy on a flight over the island - which is about the size of Plymouth - to survey the damage from the air during seven hours of continuous flying. The reconnaissance flight found widespread damage to infrastructure, schools, government buildings and power supplies.

As a result of the sortie, the island's leaders and ship's team decided to focus efforts on supporting the police headquarters as the hub of the relief effort, get the hospital on its feet again, and reinforce two shelter stations - particularly important with Hurricane Jose now barrelling towards the region.

Mounts Bay's Commanding Officer Capt Stephen Norris RFA said:

"My people worked tirelessly throughout the day with determination and flexibility to support the Governor and the people of Anguilla."

"Although Anguilla suffered extensive damage, normal signs of life were returning - some roads open and the local population beginning a recovery and clear-up operation."

RFA Mounts Bay is now making for the British Virgin Islands - 90 miles to the west - to concentrate today's disaster relief efforts.

As part of a wider military effort, Britain's flagship HMS Ocean has been diverted from her NATO mission in the Mediterranean to the Caribbean to help with the reconstruction effort - as HMS Illustrious did in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines four years ago.

Meanwhile, three flights will shortly be departing RAF Brize Norton carrying Royal Marines, Engineers, medical supplies and aid including emergency shelter kits, rations and clean water. Tomorrow a further C17 will leave from Brize Norton carrying two Puma helicopters.



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Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-09 10:46:42|Editor: Yang Yi

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VLADIVOSTOK, Russia, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- BRICS's economic agenda is helping to build a new system for innovation, which will improve the welfare of citizens and boost economic growth of the bloc's members, Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov has said.

"By and large, the economic agenda of BRICS will help us to build an entirely new innovation system, at times differing from those imposed standards that our partners have, an economic system that will be both sovereign and, at the same time, permeated with integration. And this will allow our citizens to improve their welfare ... allow us to develop our economy," Shuvalov told Xinhua in a recent interview.

Shuvalov said during the Third Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) here on Sept. 6-7 that BRICS, which groups Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, is at "a serious stage of its formation" and that it takes time to build a big, powerful organization.

"From what we see, the leaders are determined to move forward in accordance with this plan," he said.

Currently, the BRICS New Development Bank (NDB) has started operation, and will be able to work in national markets with national currencies, according to Shuvalov.

"We hope other institutions will also emerge in the process of cooperation to strengthen monetary interaction," he said.

The EEF was held following the closure of the BRICS summit held in the Chinese city of Xiamen from Sept. 3 to 5.

Speaking of Russia's economic ties with China, Shuvalov said that the two countries have an enormous bilateral trade, and that China's high economic growth rate will also help to boost Russia's economy.

Furthermore, the Belt and Road Initiative and the Eurasian Economic Union are integrating with each other, which should also increase the volume of mutual trade between the two countries, he added, listing high technologies, raw materials, cultural and humanitarian exchanges, and scientific developments as promising areas for cooperation.

In this sense, Shuvalov believed that it is possible for the two sides to reach the trade goal of 200 billion U.S. dollars by 2020, despite some negative factors.

"This is an ambitious task...We see opportunities for such a trade to develop, and this target of 200 billion dollars, of course, is not the limit. This goal can be achieved...It's hard to do, but it is possible," he said.

For this purpose, China and Russia should carry out a string of measures such as eliminating barriers to the movement of goods and investment between the two countries, enhancing trade facilitation and encouraging settlement in domestic currencies, he suggested.

The deputy prime minister said although he believes there's great opportunity across his country, Russia's Far East bears the rosiest prospects for China with its multiple advantages, including geographic proximity, rich natural reserves and excellent infrastructure facilities, allowing it to develop faster than any other region in Russia.

"Here Chinese investors have the opportunities to engage in agriculture, equipment infrastructure, joint projects in science and education, and we already see some joint ventures or enterprises in which China buys a stake or part of the shares. We encourage this," Shuvalov said.

Over recent years, the Russian government has invested massive financial resources and introduced favorable policies into the region, so as to enhance its competitive edges and investment attractiveness.

Currently, the economic growth rate in the Far East has is 4.2 percent, and fixed capital investment has increased by nearly 20 percent in the first half of this year, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the EEF's plenary session on Thursday.

More than 200 contracts with a total value of over 2.4 trillion rubles (42.1 billion U.S. dollars) were signed at the two-day forum this year, according to its organizing committee.

Starting in 2015, the EEF aims to improve relations between the international investment community, Russian businesses, and Federal and local governments while presenting the competitiveness and favorable conditions for investment in the Russian Far East region.

This year, more than 700 business representatives from 55 countries including China, India, Japan, Vietnam, Australia, Canada, the United States and Britain were present at the forum.
Ukraine Braces For Saakashvili's Possible Return

Christopher Miller September 08, 2017

KYIV -- Mikheil Saakashvili, the feisty former Georgian president and ex-governor of Ukraine's Odesa region, is gathering forces in Warsaw ahead of an attempt to reenter Ukraine from Poland -- a move that could escalate the showdown between him and his former ally, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.

Saakashvili, who was granted citizenship by Poroshenko in 2015 to assume the post of Odesa governor only to have the president strip him of the status while out of the country in July, has said he will try to reenter Ukraine through the Krakovets border crossing in the Lviv region on September 10.

It appears he will be traveling with an entourage.

Polarizing former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, currently head of the opposition Batkivshchyna (Fatherland) party in Ukraine's parliament, said on Ukraine's NewsOne channel that she would "personally" join Saakashvili.

Mustafa Nayyem, a reformist lawmaker and Poroshenko critic, said that he, too, would walk with him. Many more people -- including European parliament members, activists, and journalists, according to Saakashvili's press service -- are expected to follow along with the group in prearranged buses.

A beefed-up border-guard presence is expected to be waiting for them. RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service published video showing barbed-wire fences set up at Krakovets, while the security news site Info Resist posted images taken at the border crossing of what appeared to be a military vehicle hidden by camouflage netting.

Oleh Slobodyan, a spokesman for the State Border Guard Service, told RFE/RL that the service had erected "reinforcements for all checkpoints because of the exercises," a reference to the Zapad 2017 joint Belarusian-Russian military exercises to be held from September 14-20 near Ukraine's border. Kyiv fears Moscow may be using the exercises as a cover-up to set the stage for an attack on Ukraine.

But Slobodyan told the news site Ukrayinska Pravda that the service would "strengthen border patrols" at Krakovets on September 10, specifically to prevent possible "provocations" associated with Saakashvili's attempted entry.

What If He's Refused Entry?

What will happen when Saakashvili reaches the border is anyone's guess. Ukrainian border guards have said that they will not grant him entry, because his Ukrainian passport is no longer valid.

If Ukraine does refuse to let him pass, Saakashvili may live in a tent on the Ukrainian-Polish border, one member of his Movement of New Forces reportedly told the Kyiv Post newspaper on Sept. 4.

Officials in European Union states have said it would be possible for Saakashvili to apply for asylum in their countries, but the former Georgian leader has said he has "no intention, desire, or plans to apply for political asylum in another country," and will not give up on returning to Ukraine.

What If He's Detained?

The 49-year-old Saakashvili, who led Georgia's 2003 Rose Revolution and has been credited for Westernizing and reforming the country as president from January 2004 to November 2013, could be extradited to Tbilisi if he is detained at the border, something that his native country has sought since his time as Odesa governor. Ukraine has at least twice refused to do so.

Problems for Saakashvili in Georgia began after the country's disastrous five-day war with Russia in 2008. But they grew in the years following, as he made what critics claimed was an authoritarian turn. In 2012, his ruling party was crushed in parliamentary elections, leading to a lame-duck year before he left office in 2013.

The Georgian Prosecutor-General's Office said on August 18 that it had sent an extradition request for Saakashvili to Ukraine. He is wanted on four separate criminal charges in Georgia, including misappropriation of property and abuse of office. Ukrainian authorities confirmed on September 5 that they received the request.

Saakashvili has said the charges are politically motivated.

How Saakashvili, Poroshenko Fell Out

Saakashvili moved to Ukraine to help drive reforms after the 2014 revolution that ousted Kremlin-friendly President Viktor Yanukovych. In 2015, he was tapped by Poroshenko to govern the Odesa region. But he quickly found himself in conflict with the Kyiv authorities and quit the post in November 2016, accusing Poroshenko of abetting corruption.

Poroshenko has been accused by many Ukrainian activists and opposition politicians of obstructing reform efforts and turning a blind eye to corruption.

The beef between Saakashvili and Poroshenko deepened after the former relocated to Kyiv and announced the formation of the Movement of New Forces to challenge the president's party. Recent polls put the party's popularity in Ukraine around a dismal 2 percent.

On July 26, Poroshenko revoked Saakashvili's Ukrainian citizenship after the authorities claimed to have discovered he violated Ukrainian law by providing incorrect information on his citizenship application -- a charge Saakashvili denies.

Saakashvili was in the United States when he heard the news, which he condemned as an "illegal way to remove me from the political scene in Ukraine." He has also been stripped of his Georgian citizenship, making him a stateless person.

Saakashvili accused Poroshenko of playing dirty when Ukrainian police briefly detained his brother David on September 2. He was released the same day and fined for violating immigration laws.

"In this way, they're trying to influence me to change my mind about coming back," Saakashvili said in a post on Facebook.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-georgia-saakashvili- bracing-for-return/28724787.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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Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-09 11:06:45|Editor: Mengjie

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by Matthew Rusling

WASHINGTON, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump has made a deal with the opposing Democratic Party, a move experts say shows that he has little faith in his own party.

Earlier this week, Trump agreed to back legislation granting hurricane relief funds in a bill that also raises the U.S. borrowing limit for around three months. He signed the package bill into law on Friday.

The deal gives the Democrats leverage over the Republicans later this year, and dozens of GOP lawmakers oppose it, against Trump's wishes.

"(Trump) was facing an end of the month deadline to approve the government budget, raise the debt ceiling, and pass emergency aid for hurricane-damaged places, so he decided to avoid a possible legislative stalemate with Republicans and rely upon Democratic votes to pass the legislation," Darrell West, vice president and director of Governance Studies, told Xinhua.

"I don't think this will happen a lot going forward because it would completely alienate Republicans. But from time to time, (Trump) may work with Democrats to get a few things done. He doesn't believe the Republican leadership can deliver the majority votes he needs for specific bills," West said.

Indeed, Trump and Republicans have been at odds since the president's campaign, and he has expressed frustration with the party for not helping him deliver his campaign promises.

"He knows he is strong with his base and he is irritated with GOP leaders in Congress for their failure to repeal Obamacare," West said, citing the failure last month to fulfill the GOP's long-term vow to repeal and replace the last administration's healthcare overhaul.

Dan Mahaffee, senior vice president and director of policy at the Center for the Study of Congress and the Presidency, told Xinhua that Trump made the deal because it reflected a fundamental impatience in the White House with the Republican leadership.

"The GOP should be worried about the complex legislative calendar that it faces, as well as the anger it will face from the 2018 electorate if nothing has been accomplished," Mahaffee said.

The deal comes after Hurricane Harvey ravaged the city of Houston, Texas in one of the worst disasters on record, and some observers said one of Trump's priorities was to provide funds for the many victims of one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history.

Some analysts, however, expressed optimism that more bipartisan cooperation may be on the horizon, at a time of bitter partisanship between the two parties - so much that it has kept lawmakers in legislative deadlock at a crucial time.

Shai Akabas, director of economic policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center, said in an email to reporters that the "deal passed by Congress was a positive sign that bipartisanship is possible between President Trump and Democratic leaders."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-09 12:11:56|Editor: Zhou Xin

Outgoing UN General Assembly President Peter Thomson speaks during a press conference in New York Sept. 8, 2017. Thomson said on Friday that raising awareness of the implementation of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals is vitally important to their success. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)

UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- Outgoing UN General Assembly President Peter Thomson said Friday that raising awareness about the implementation of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is vitally important to their success.

"I have written to all heads of government asking them to get the SDGs taught in every school in the world. I have also written to heads of 4,000 universities asking them to do the same," said Thomson, who is going to finish his one-year tenure in office and step down from the presidency next week when the 72nd session of the General Assembly kicks off.

Thomson told Xinhua that "lack of awareness" would be one of the biggest obstacles hindering the implementation of the SDGs, adding that "we all have to change the way we are doing things."

An informal General Assembly meeting on taking stock of SDGs actions was held at the UN headquarters in New York on Friday.

"We met today with member states to basically account for what has been done in the 71st session, assess the progress and look at what needs to be done," he said, noting that he was happy with the result of the assessment.

"I think people feel happy with the movement forward," he said.

However, the president said citizens in many countries are still unaware of the urgency of the timetable for implementing the SDGs.

He said people have to transform their behavior and the system to "make this world more sustainable because if we carry on the way into the 21st century without bringing that sustainability, our children and grandchildren will be in trouble," he noted.

Speaking at his concluding press conference, Thomson said:" We need greater momentum and we need to scale it up."

"We've only got 13 years left. Time is not on our side," he said, urging better coordination between the public and private sectors to achieve the goals on time or even ahead of schedule.

On Sept. 25, 2015, countries adopted a set of goals to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all as part of a new sustainable development agenda. Each goal has specific targets to be achieved over the next 15 years.

While showing some concern about the low awareness among some people about the SDGs, Thomson expressed his confidence that the goals could be obtained.

"We have the resources to do the 2030 agenda to its fullest extent. I have no doubt this is within the humanity's ability," he said.

"We have the resources. We have the ingenuity. All we need is better coordination," he noted.

"We need to do a better job in partnership. The UN system has a big role to play in this regard, not just in implementation on the country levels, but we have our army of people in the field and almost every country in the world," the president stressed.

"I place great faith in young people in terms of the implementation of the 2030 SDGs," he concluded.

UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed also called for picking up the pace to ensure the 2030 deadline is met.

"The SDGs have jumped from the General Assembly Hall to communities across the world," Mohammed said at the informal General Assembly meeting.

She said the persistence of poverty in particular remains the main challenge and that tackling gender equality and the use of new technologies should be leveraged to tackle this issue.

She also highlighted the importance of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change for the success of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Mohammed also underscored the potential of the 2030 agenda for a more prosperous and peaceful world and said that its success depends on the active engagement of all actors.




Haiti - Humanitarian : EU ready for emergency response





The EU is mobilising its emergency response instruments to assist countries affected or threatened by Hurricane Irma. High Representative/Vice-President Federica Mogherini declared that The European Union fully supports our partners and friends in the Caribbean region and beyond at this time of great need, and our hearts go out to all the victims and all those affected by Hurricane Irma.



The Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides added:



The EU is working on a continuous basis to help the countries and areas affected by this disaster, and as a global player in emergency response to natural disasters we are fully alert to the latest hurricane. We have already taken immediate steps to prepare all our crisis response instruments. Our European Emergency Centre and our humanitarian aid offices in the Caribbean region are closely following all developments.



At the request of France, the European satellite mapping system Copernicus was activated, it provided maps to Guadeloupe, Saint Barthelemy and Saint Martin. Haiti and the Dominican Republic have also received Copernicus support and the system stands ready for use in other areas.



In addition, a team of humanitarian experts from the Commission is present in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Additional personnel are ready to be deployed in the area as needed. The Commission's 24/7 Emergency Response Coordination Centre has contacted the countries participating in the EUs Civil Protection Mechanism and is prepared to provide the assistance required by the affected countries. The regional humanitarian aid office of the Commission in Managua, which acts as the focal point for the Caribbean region, is fully operational to coordinate any assistance that may be required.



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - IRMA : Digicel gives free minutes and SMS





With the passage of Hurricane IRMA on several islands in the Caribbean, Digicel today announced that it will provide customers in affected markets with free calls so they can communicate with their relatives.



Digicel Haiti will accompany its customers in the affected areas by providing them with a special allowance of 10 minutes and 50 SMSs after the passage of RMA to communicate with Digicel subscribers.



"We understand the need to be able to quickly contact our relatives to ensure that they are safe and sound after an emergency and we are happy to offer our customers the means to do so," said Maarten Boute, the President of Digicel Haiti "The safety of our customers is always our highest priority. Thus, we encourage everyone to stay tuned to weather messages and to follow the safety instructions."



In anticipation of Hurricane Irma, as of Monday, Digicel has activated its emergency plan https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-22029-haiti-flash-general-mobilization-face-the-irma-threat.html



With respect to the reopening of its offices in the affected areas, Digicel will keep its subscribers informed as the situation evolves.



HL/ HaitiLibre


















For the week ending 2 September, the Canadian hotel industry reported a 5.4% increase in occupancy to 76.8%, a rise in ADR of 6.9% to 165.47 Canadian dollars ($136.53) and a 12.6% increase in RevPAR to CA127.15 ($104.91).

The Canadian hotel industry recorded positive year-over-year results in the three key performance metrics during the week of 27 August through 2 September 2017, according to data from STR.

In comparison with the week of 28 August through 3 September 2016, the industry reported the following:

Occupancy: +5.4% to 76.8%

Average daily rate (ADR): +6.9% to CAD165.47

Revenue per available room (RevPAR): +12.6% to CAD127.15



Among the provinces, Manitoba experienced the largest increase in RevPAR (+28.5% to CAD92.76), due primarily to the largest rise in occupancy (+26.3% to 79.2%).

British Columbia posted the highest lift in ADR (+13.3% to CAD205.49) and the second-largest jump in RevPAR (+21.9% to CAD172.87).

Overall, eight of the 10 reporting provinces experienced a double-digit lift in RevPAR for the week. Three of those provinces registered double-digit growth in ADR.

After Manitoba, the only other double-digit increase in occupancy came in Saskatchewan (+11.3% to 60.7%).

Newfoundland and Labrador saw the only decline in RevPAR (-1.0% to CAD116.74).

Alberta reported the largest decrease in ADR (-4.7% to CAD148.07).

Prince Edward Island experienced the only decrease in occupancy (-0.6%) even with the highest absolute value in the metric (91.8%).

STR provides clients from multiple market sectors with premium, global data benchmarking, analytics and marketplace insights. Founded in 1985, STR maintains a presence in 10 countries around the world with a corporate North American headquarters in Hendersonville, Tennessee, and an international headquarters in London, England. For more information, please visit str.com.
The U.S. hotel industry reported a 2.2% increase in occupancy to 65.9%, a 2.1% increase in ADR to $121.76 and a 4.3% rise in RevPAR to $80.22.

The U.S. hotel industry reported positive year-over-year results in the three key performance metrics during the week of 27 August through 2 September 2017, according to data from STR.

In comparison with the week of 28 August through 3 September 2016, the industry recorded the following:

Occupancy: +2.2% to 65.9%

Average daily rate (ADR): +2.1% to US$121.76

Revenue per available room (RevPAR): +4.3% to US$80.22

Among the Top 25 Markets, Houston, Texas, reported the largest year-over-year increases in occupancy (+23.4% to 69.1%) and RevPAR (+29.8% to US$70.13). ADR in the market rose 5.2% to US$101.44. STR will release a detailed analysis on Hurricane Harveys impact on hotel performance early next week.

Six additional markets experienced a double-digit lift in RevPAR for the week, led by San Francisco/San Mateo, California (+16.8% to US$183.90).

Atlanta, Georgia, posted the largest increase in ADR (+9.3% to US$118.31).

Norfolk/Virginia Beach, Virginia, experienced the only other double-digit increase in occupancy (+10.9% to 64.7%).

New Orleans, Louisiana, reported the only double-digit decreases in occupancy (-24.3% to 45.6%) and RevPAR (-22.5% to US$53.02).

Washington, D.C.-Maryland-Virginia, reported the largest decline in ADR (-2.9% to US$121.10).

View weekly U.S. hotel performance review

STR provides clients from multiple market sectors with premium, global data benchmarking, analytics and marketplace insights. Founded in 1985, STR maintains a presence in 10 countries around the world with a corporate North American headquarters in Hendersonville, Tennessee, and an international headquarters in London, England. For more information, please visit str.com.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-09 12:52:04|Editor: Liu

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UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- The United States has called for a UN Security Council meeting to vote on a draft resolution to impose additional sanctions on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), said the U.S. mission to the United Nations on Friday night.

The vote in response to Pyongyang's latest nuclear test is intended for Monday, the U.S. mission said in a press release.

At an emergency Security Council meeting last Monday, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, announced that her delegation was circulating a draft resolution on the DPRK.

The DPRK on Sunday detonated a hydrogen bomb that can be carried by an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), the DPRK's Central Television announced.

The DPRK's nuclear testing and launches using ballistic missile technology violated United Nations (UN) Security Council resolutions.

China's permanent representative to the UN Liu Jieyi has condemned Sunday's nuclear test by the DPRK, urging the country to return to the track of dialogue. China will not allow chaos and war on the Korean Peninsula, he said.

Liu said the suspension-for-suspension proposal and dual-track approach put forward by China together with the Russian proposal of a step-by-step approach offer a realistic and feasible roadmap for the settlement of the issue, asking relevant parties for due consideration and positive responses.

The idea of a dual approach involves parallel efforts to move forward both de-nuclearization and the establishment of a peaceful mechanism on the peninsula. The suspension-for-suspension initiative calls on the DPRK to suspend its nuclear and missile activities, and the United States and South Korea to suspend their large-scale war games.
Coming out of Jamaica but now making a name for himself in Atlanta, DJ Genius is K Camps official DJ as well as an artist and producer himself. Hes known to put together some stacked collabs from time to time, including Movie 2.0 & Waste to name a couple, but having been relatively quiet for the past year, thankfully that all changes here today. With a new album in the works titled A 98 Story, the ATL DJ decides to come through today and share the lead single One Year Later featuring K Camp and super-producer Sonny Digital.

Just as the title depicts, One Year Later finds K Camp and Sonny Digital flexin on the beat and reminding how everything can change within a year. K Camp kicks things off first, showcasing his melodic flow &rapping about foreign whips & adding some new diamonds on his wrist. I just had to jump out the 6/ Added some new diamonds on my wrist, K Camp spits. Meanwhile, super producer Sonny Digital shows off he can do more than just make beats, rapping about lames flexin on the gram and Rollies in the process. It acts as a pretty good reminder that things can change within a year, so keep grindin.

Take a listen to the new collab and let us know what you think.

In other related news: K Camp is coming off the release of a new song of his own this Summer called Good Problem, which will presumably see life on his upcoming Slum Lords 2 project. Look for that project, along with our upcoming freestyle with the ATL artist to be coming soon. Stay tuned.

Quotable Lyrics:

Every night you see a light show

Diamond club where the hell did he go?

Spanish team straight from Mexico

Boy used to trap at Texaco

 K Camp
Lil B is looking to help residents of Florida affected by Hurricane Irma in the way he knows best. As he did with victims of Hurricane Harvey in Houston, the Based God is offering a free verse service to the musicians affected by the storm. Florida I got yall back music and and artist effected by natural disasters are getting free Lil B verses like all Texas artist, he wrote on Twitter Friday.

Judging by the rappers retweets, some Florida artists have already reached out for a 16 from the Based God. Lil b I live in Miami and I had to evacuate bless me with a VERSE! wrote one user.

According to CNN, upwards of 5.6 million people have been ordered to evacuate due to storm risks. If you have been ordered to evacuate, leave now  not tonight, not in an hour, now, Governor Rick Scott advised. The hurricane has already done significant damage prior to hitting U.S. soil, hitting Cubas Ciego de Avila province on the Camaguey Archipelago Friday and leaving over 24 people dead in the Caribbean.

While Lil Bs offer cant stop a natural disaster, it could potentially provide a break for an artist in the state. Verses from notable artists do not come cheap these days, so a Based God verse is a valuable commodity in the rap game.

Lil B recently released his long-awaited Black Ken project, which hes described as his first official mixtape. He was recently in the news for threatening to curse Lonzo Ball in his rookie year for the Lakers after Ball questioned Nas relevance. Dont nobody listen to Nas anymore, Lonzo said. Real hip-hop is Migos, Future.

After advising Lonzo that Nas is hip hop and always relevant, Lil B has now walked back his threat, writing, we all have opinions lonzo ball was not wrong what he said.. just please respect hip hop.
New Delhi, Sept 9 (IBNS): The Tata Tigor StyleBack sedan has received a warm welcome from many Indian car buyers, who appreciate its potent combination of style, features, performance and price. Keeping in mind the growing aspirations of customers, Tata Motors on Saturday announced the introduction of the TIGOR XM variant with nine important features, in time for the festive season.

The TIGOR XM petrol has been priced competitively at Rs. 4.99 Lakhs, ex-showroom Delhi.

The TIGOR XM comes loaded with exciting features like a class leading infotainment system, manual central locking with key, power windows for front and rear, speed dependent auto door locks, follow me home lamps, LED fuel gauge, full fabric seat upholstery, interior lamps with theatre dimming and full wheel covers.

Tata Motors continues to set new benchmarks in the competitive sedan segment. Introduction of this variant will further strengthen the sedan portfolio and will provide customers with a feature-rich car at an exciting price point.

The TIGOR XM will be available in petrol and diesel fuel types with manual transmission.

The new variant will be available across all Tata Motors authorised dealerships, starting Sept 15, 2017, in a phased manner.

According to Vivek Srivatsa  Head  Marketing, PVBU, Tata Motors, We are constantly working towards filling in spaces in each segment and TIGOR XM is our response to this growing segment. As per our turnaround strategy, we are working with a renewed focus and energy to improve our market share and bring products faster to market.


Kolkata, Sept 9 (IBNS): In an unique effort, several hundreds of nature lovers, eco-enthusiasts and students from various rowing , swimming and other clubs in an around Rabindra Sarovar lake took part in an awareness march to highlight the necessity of preserving the greenery and maintaining the ecology of the precious water body in south Kolkata on Saturday.

The idea of the march , organised by Taru Mitra , an initiative of Kolkata Metropolital Develeopment Authority, along with other citizens, green activists, NGOs, morning walkers and members of all the stake holders of Rabindra Sarovar, was to create an awareness towards a green revolution and maintain the fragile eco-balance of the lake.

The green enthusiats from Lake Club, Calcutta Rowing Club, Bengal Rowing Club, Calcutta University Rowing Club, Indian Life Saving Society and other swimming clubs around the lake assembled at the Lake Club carrying posters environmental slogans and marched around the Sarovar.

Saplings were also distributed to the various clubs and organizations in Rabindra Sarovar for planting around the Lake .

Speaking on the occasion lake Club president Mukund Kulkarni said, This awareness programme is being done to ensure that in the midst of polluted surroundings, let the Sarovar be an example of a place for green and eco friendly area which would be enjoyed by the citizens of this city.

Secretary of Calcutta Rowing Club { CRC) Chandan Roy Chowdhury informed that all the rowing clubs around the Sarovar regularly take part in cleaning of this lake from time to time. {EOM}

Image:wikimedia commons
Srinagar, Sep 9 (IBNS) : Pakistan violated ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) twice in Poonch sector as a militant was killed in a fierce battle with security forces in Baramulla district on the day Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh arrived in Srinagar on a three-day visit to assess the volatile situation in the state.

According to reports, around 9.30 am on Saturday, Pakistan Army resorted to heavy firing and shelling targeting Indian defence positions in Krishna Ghati sector.

The second incident of unprovoked firing was reported from Shahpur sector of Poonch.

The Indian Army retaliated and a heavy exchange of fire was going on.

Simultaneously, a fierce encounter is going on between security forces and militants in Baramulla's Sopore in which an ultra was shot dead.

Media reports said the security forces started an encounter after suspecting the presence of militants in a particular area.

Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh met Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti in Srinagar, shortly after his arrival here on a three-day visit, reports said.

He will be in Kashmir from September nine to eleven.

According to reports, he will meet all the stakeholders to discuss the current situation in Jammu and Kashmir, dogged by insurgency and frequent crowd upsurges.
Gurgaon, Sep 9 (IBNS) : Two district Bar associations have refused to defend the conductor accused of murdering a seven-year-student as the authorities of Guraon's Ryan International school have suspended the acting Principal amid a massive outrage of parents, reports said.

Condemning the "brutal and dastardly act" of the accused, the district Bar associations of Gurgaon and Sohna on Saturday adopted resolutions stating its members will not appear in the court or in any other forum in his defence.

The accused, Ashok Kumar, has been sent to three-day police custody.

Police have said that the accused had confessed to killing the class two student after a failed attempt to sexually abuse the child.

According to media reports, the conductors family has claimed that he is being framed.



Earlier in the day, the school authorities suspended principal Neerja Batra while police took action against the security agency of the school.

NDTV quoted Gurgaon Deputy Commissiner of Police Simardeep Singh as saying that a special committee is probing the case.

According to The Times of India, hundreds of parents and locals thronged outside the school building to vent their ire and some even allegedly vandalised the school property. Two persons were arrested in this connection.

The class two student, identified as Pradyuman, was found dead inside his school's toilet with his throat slit.

The incident took place a little before 8 am on Friday morning.

Following an investigation, the police later arrested the conductor of school subs.

The accused said that he killed the boy because the latter refused to have sex with him.

He has been working in Ryan International School for the last eight years and is a resident of Ghamroj village in Gurgaon.

The victim's father said that he saw his son's body an hour after dropping him off at the school gate.

Holding the school authorities responsible, the grieving father was quoted in the media as saying, "My son had told me that the bus conductor would use the bathrooms. Does the school not take into account this kind of gross misconduct? The bigger culprits are the school authorities who mint money like an industry."

Playing down the claim, the principal had told The Indian Express, "There are many times when we undertake surprise checks. This was an unfortunate incident and we are cooperating with the police. We want the culprits to be brought to justice."
As Hemant Soren faces ED, Jharkhand prepares for two huge reforms | New boss Elon Musk ends remote working in first email to Twitter employees | Tamil Nadu medical college suspends 7 students over video of sexual harassment | Bengal: Mamata eyes Matua votes as BJP relaunches CAA narrative | Bengal teachers' recruitment scam: 2014 TET aspirants hit streets, scuffle with Kolkata Police
Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-09 12:57:06|Editor: Yang Yi

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SRINAGAR, Indian-controlled Kashmir, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- A gunfight between militants and Indian troops broke out on Saturday in restive Indian-controlled Kashmir, police said.

The gunfight erupted at village Reben- Rafiabad in Baramulla district, about 55 km northwest of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir.

"A gunfight is underway between militants and government forces in village Reben- Rafiabad near Sopore here," a police official said. " The army and police contingents cordoned off the area this morning on specific intelligence inputs about the presence of militants. As the contingents moved closer to the suspected area, it was fired upon, triggering a gunfight."

Police officials suspect two militants are holed up in the area.

"We are hearing gunfire sound," Ghulam Mohammed, a local resident told Xinhua over telephone.

On Monday two militants were killed in a similar gunfight at Chak Brath village of Sopore.

The gunfight comes ahead of Indian Federal Home Minister Rajnath Singh's four-day visit to the region. Singh is scheduled to arrive Saturday in Srinagar along with senior ministry officials. He will meet region's Governor N N Vohra and Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti during his visit.

Kashmir, the Himalayan region divided between India and Pakistan, is claimed by both in full. Since their independence from Britain, the two countries have fought three wars, two exclusively over Kashmir.
Anantnag, Sept 9 (IBNS): Suspected terrorists opened fire on a police post in Anantnag town of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday, killing at least one cop, media reports said.

A police official said that militants had fired on policemen near the towns bus stand, Hindustan Times reported.

The attack left two others injured.

More details are awaited.
Image: Internet ScreenGrab

Guwahati, Sept 9 (IBNS): The Assam police sounded high alert along the bordering areas with Bangladesh following nearly 3 lakh Rohingya have fled violence churning through Rakhine state of Myanmar into Bangladesh.

Assam Police ADGP (SB) Pallav Bhattacharya said there have no report of any exodus of Rohingya from Bangladesh in past two weeks, but we are alerted for such type of situation.

We had already alerted the district police of Karimganj, Cachar, Hailakandi, Dhubri, South Salmara district regarding the Rohingya refugee issue and discussed the top officials of BSF and other other security agencies, ADGP Bhattacharya said.

In August last, the Karimganj police of Assams Barak valley had arrested six Rohingya muslims from Churaibari area, who were entered into Assam from Tripura side.

A top police official said that, the arrested persons had fled from Rakhine state into Bangladesh and trying to flee Nepal through Assam.

Meanwhile, the Union Home ministry would likely to be discussed with the top officials of bordering states with Bangladesh and officials of BSF and other security agencies in New Delhi next week regarding the Rohingya issue.

Recently, Minister of State (MoS) Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju said that, Rohingya are illegal immigrants and need to be deported as per law.

(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)


New Delhi, Sept 9 (IBNS): Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh arrived in Srinagar today on a four-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir.

He was received at the airport by the states Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Kumar Singh, senior minister Abdul Rehman Veeri and Senior Officials of the State Government.

I am going there with an open mind and I am willing to meet anyone who will help us in finding solutions to problems facing J&K, said Rajnath Singh in a tweet before leaving for Srinagar.

Soon after his arrival the Union Home Minister had an hour long one-to-one meeting the Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti.

Rajnath Singh later reviewed the status of implementation of the Prime Minister's Development Package (PMDP) for Jammu and Kashmir with the Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister Dr. Nirmal Kumar Singh, Union Home Secretary Shri Rajiv Gauba, Chief Secretary of J&K, BB Vyas and Senior Officers of the MHA and State Government.

The Union Home Minister asked the authorities to expedite the implementation of the PMDP in a time bound manner.

Rajnath Singh said it will create jobs for the people of J&K.

The PMDP, a Rs.80,068 crore package announced by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on November 7, 2015, covers 63 projects pertaining to 15 Ministries of the Government of India.

The Union Government has already sanctioned Rs.63,000 crores for the various projects, which amounts to 78 percent of the total cost of the PMDP package. An amount of nearly Rs.22,000 crore has been released.

Nearly two years after the PMDP-2015 was announced, five of the 63 projects have been completed. These include the prestigious Chenani-Nashri tunnel costing Rs.781 crore, announcement of remuneration to Special Police Officers (SPOs) from Rs.3,000 per month to upto Rs.6,000 per month as well as assistance provided for Pucca and Kuchcha houses damaged during the 2014 flood.

The land acquisition in respect of semi-Ring Roads in Jammu and Srinagar will be completed within two months.

The four-laning of Jammu-Udhampur section of National Highway, NH-1A, is nearing completion. Nineteen road connectivity projects costing about Rs.43, 000 crore are under implementation in the State, which are progressing satisfactorily.

An investment of about Rs.5,810 crore under Power Sector is being made to improve the transmission and distribution network in the state. Besides, the Central Government is supporting the State with an investment of Rs.3,790 crore on Pakaldul hydroelectric project.

For the construction of AIIMS at Awantipora and Jammu, Rs.2,000 crore each are being made available and an amount of nearly Rs.91 crore has been released. Besides, IIT, Jammu and IIM, Jammu have already started functioning from temporary campus and the setting up of permanent campus is under progress. Similarly under the Health Sector, Rs.900 crore is available for completion of ongoing health infrastructure. Rs.200 crore has been utilized.

The work on the comprehensive management of Jhelum was reviewed and found satisfactory. The DPR for Phase-II is being prepared.

The rehabilitation plan for migrants of Jammu, PoK and Kashmiri Pandits was also reviewed. It was noted with satisfaction that the projects are progressing satisfactorily.

During the meeting, other developmental projects under Urban Development, Solar Energy, Horticulture, Tourism etc were also reviewed. The Chief Minister assured the State Governments full support in the implementation of the PMDP and on all other fronts.

Later, as many as 24 delegations of various organizations, including social, trade, travel and business from across Kashmir Valley called on Rajnath Singh.

The delegations apprised the Union Home Minister about the varied problems relating to their respective organizations and submitted memorandum and requested for their resolution of issues on priority.

Image: HMO India Twitter page
New Delhi, Sept 9 (IBNS) Tilak Marapana, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday.

Foreign Minister Tilak Marapana is on a three-day bilateral visit to India.

Prime Minister congratulated Tilak Marapana on assuming his new responsibility as Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka.

Prime Minister referred to his fruitful visit to Sri Lanka in May this year for the International Vesak Day.

Prime Minister reaffirmed the high importance that India attaches to its relations with Sri Lanka.

Both countries enjoy deep and broad-based ties. Prime Minister conveyed that he looked forward to continue to work closely with the President and the Prime of Sri Lanka to further strengthen and expand bilateral cooperation.
Kabul, Sep 9 (IBNS): At least 11 insurgents were killed in a drone strike conducted by the US Army in Afghanistan's Nangarhar province, reports said.

The raid took place in Bati Kot district of the province on Thursday evening.

The provincial government also confirmed the strike and said that several weapons belonging to the Taliban insurgents were also destroyed.

Meanwhile, in a separate airstrike, the group suffered casualties in Maidan Wardak province.

Among the three killed was a senior Taliban commander, who has been identified as Mawlavi Farid.

The Taliban has not commented on the report yet.



image: Wikimedia Commons
Toronto, Sep 9 (IBNS): A Toronto woman helped the Hurricane Irma evacuees in Georgia with air mattresses from Canadian Tire despite several initial difficulties, Global News said.

The woman went to the Canadian Tire to buy all mattresses for the evacuees but the popular store refused to sell more than 10 per person.

Cheryl Basser told Global News: "Although they had 190 in stock and agreed they had 190, they said they had a maximum (to sell) of 10 per person."

They have 1,000 evacuees but theres no possibility of having enough beds, Basser added.

Basser was not alone in the whole arrangement but aptly supported by her husband.

Her husband was in the task to arrange the trucks to send as many as 300 mattresses with the belief that Canadian Tire will sell their full stock.

All the mattresses were on the sale at $60.

We explained it was for a humanitarian cause. We werent looking for a discount, we werent looking for a donation," Basser told Global News.

Though the store did not respond to the call made by Global News, they issued a statement which reads: "As a company with strong roots in communities across Canada, we understand the urgency to provide support to those impacted by natural disasters. We have been in contact with the customer supporting the hurricane evacuation relief efforts and we are working together to provide the equipment needed. We commend their efforts to help our U.S. neighbours impacted by the hurricane.

Through a mail, Basser was informed that Canadian Tire is willing to ship 226 mattresses to Georgia for the benefit of the evacuees.

Basser informed Global News that Canadian Tire agreed to carry the full cost of the mattresses and the transportation.

After pummeling the Caribbean Islands, the powerful Hurricane Irma is lashing Cuba with strong winds and heavy rainfall, recent reports said.

The category five hurricane made landfall on the Camaguey Archipelago, off the north-eastern coast, late on Friday.

Irma has so far killed at least 20 people in the Caribbean, while destroying some of the popular tourist destinations.

Meanwhile, the Hurricane's path has forced the Florida government to warn 5.6 million people, or 25 percent of the state's population to leave before the calamity strike the US state.

This is also the first time in decades that Cuba has been hit by a category five hurricane.

Provinces like Camaguey, Ciego de Avila, Sancti Spiritus, Villa Clara and Matanzas have been placed under warnings, BBC reported.

Following the onslaught, the Barbuda Island is said to be barely habitable, while BBC news quoted officials as saying that the French territory of St Martin is almost destroyed.

Irma is said to be the most powerful Atlantic storm in a decade and had wind speeds of 295km/h (185mph).

Following the devastation, Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne said about 95 percent of the buildings had suffered some damage.

"The island is literally under water. In fact, I'm of the view that, as it stands now, Barbuda is barely habitable," he was quoted in the media as saying.

The hurricane also destroyed St Martin's airport, the third largest in the Caribbean.

Meanwhile, residents are bracing for another hurricane, Jose, which is presently a category four storm.

It is expected to exacerbate the already grim situation and hamper rescue and relief efforts.

(Reporting by Souvik Ghosh)
Emergency DACA rally in San Jose by via Action League

Please credit the photographer. PHOTOS by Deborah Hoag of an emergency rally in San Jose held on short notice to defend immigrant rights. When the South Bay community heard that Trump had rescinded DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), activists and DACA recipients gathered quickly in front of the Martin Luther King, Jr. library.

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, brought stability and hope to the lives of nearly 800,000 people brought into the U.S. as children by allowing them to work and attend school without fear of deportation. When the Trump administration announced it will end DACA on September 5, activists and DACA recipients gathered quickly in front of the Martin Luther King, Jr. library in San

Jose.



With one stroke of a pen, Trump ripped away the hope of many. The response in the South Bay city was immediate. Students speaking at the rally said their future is now in the hands of Congress and they fear a bill will not come quickly enough. Lawmakers must pass legislation to save the program, which the Obama administration implemented through an executive action.



San Jose State University is one of many California universities and colleges that have vowed to support DACA students and promised that those who receive state financial aid will continue to get that money. According to the Pew Research Center, more than 220,000 young people in California have received DACA, more than in any other state.
Is Randi Weingarten Using Teachers Union to Advocate for Israel? by IRmep





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldscNCMgt6g Five minute video documentary exposes Randi Weingarten continuing practice of past American Federation of Teachers presidents in co-opting the union to advocate for Israel.

In this short documentary, Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), speaks to J Street about her support for Israel.



As she sees it, there are people on one side of a chasm who support Israel unconditionally  never mind the occupation or democracy  and people on the other side of the chasm who think Israel is evil and doesnt have a right to exist, which justifies BDS, or worse, violence and terrorism.



The question is posed: does this position represent the teachers?



Under past AFT presidents as well as Weingarten, the union has passed a startling number of pro-Israel resolutions. She is following in their footsteps.



In a C-SPAN interview, Weingarten explained her efforts to overcome bigotry and hate among students by enlisting help from the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).



The legitimacy of the ADL is brought into question: viewers are provided with a long list of shady dealings in which ADL has participated in the past.



The documentary suggests that the ADL is not an entity that should be allowed to infiltrate US law enforcement or serve as a resource within the American education system.



The big question is, Have Randi Weingarten and past AFT presidents abused their positions as leaders to co-opt the largest US teachers union into advancing the interests of a foreign country?
Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-09 13:37:18|Editor: Yang Yi

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HONG KONG, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) announced Saturday the conclusion of the negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and a related Investment Agreement.

The announcement was made at the second ASEAN Economic Ministers-Hong Kong, China Consultations (AEM-HKC Consultations), co-chaired by HKSAR government's Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Edward Yau and Philippine Secretary of Trade and Industry Ramon Lopez, in Pasay City, the Philippines.

"ASEAN is a very important trading partner of Hong Kong. It was our second largest trading partner in merchandise trade in 2016 and the fourth largest in services trade in 2015," said Yau.

"Our economy stands to benefit from the FTA and the Investment Agreement, which will bring us more and better access to the ASEAN markets, create new business opportunities and further enhance trade and investment flows."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-09 13:52:24|Editor: Mengjie

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RIO DE JANEIRO, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- The Brazilian government Friday sent its condolences to the victims of the massive earthquake in Mexico and Hurricane Irma, which hit the Caribbean.

In statements released earlier in the day, the government expressed their "solidarity to the injured" and "condolences to the families of the victims" of both disasters. It also expressed condolences to the governments and people of the countries affected by the hurricane and the earthquake.

The Brazilian government said they are monitoring the situation carefully. So far, there are no reports of Brazilian victims in the two natural disasters. Brazilian embassies and consulates stand ready to assist any Brazilian nationals in need of help in affected countries.

On Thursday, the Brazilian government announced that the United Nations allowed part of the Brazilian contingent in Haiti to remain in the island for a few more days to render assistance to the country in case of need, as Haiti is on the route of Hurricane Irma. Brazil's participation in the UN mission to Haiti officially ended in August.

Irma is considered the most powerful hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic. On its path through the Caribbean, it has turned tourist islands into emergency zones.

On late Thursday, a powerful earthquake measuring 8.2 on the Richter scale struck off Mexico's southern coast, killing at least 61 people.
Indian Minister for Road Transport & Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari visited Tehran in August 2017 to attend the swearing in ceremony of re-elected President Hassan Rouhani. Gadkaris visit reflected the importance that the Indian government attaches to relations with Tehran.





What was remarkable was that this high-profile attendance came after Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei mentioned Kashmir and expressed concern for the Muslims living there in his Eid address in June 2017. It was also after Iran inked a deal with Russias Gazprom for the development of the Farzad B gasfields. Indias ONGC Videsh Ltd. had discovered the gasfields and was interested in developing it, but India and Iran had differences over the pricing of the development. A former Iranian presidential advisor had also used unusually strong language regarding India.





These were ignored by New Delhi, which is normally prickly to any allusions to Kashmir. The pronouncements by Khamenei came soon after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modis highly publicized and successful visit to Israel  the first ever by any Indian prime minister to the Jewish state Tehrans sworn enemy. This testifies to the diplomatic tightrope that India is having to walk in the region.





India has so far dexterously balanced its relations with the different power centers in the Middle East. The region has figured prominently in the Narendra Modi governments Look West policy and its importance for the country cannot be overemphasized. The countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), led by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia, together host around seven million Indian expatriate workers who remit back hefty foreign exchange. Indians constitute the largest expatriate community in the GCC. According to some estimates, their remittances account for almost 52 percent of all overseas Indian remittances.





The GCC is also important for Indias energy security, supplying as it did in 2016 almost 50 percent of the countrys energy needs. In 2016, India and the UAE signed an agreement to establish a strategic petroleum reserve in India, where UAE can store crude oil. This was important for India given that its energy requirements are expected to quadruple over the next 15 to 17 years.





More recently, ties between India and the GCC states have been boosted in defence and counter-terrorism, with joint air and naval exercises, intelligence sharing, and with the arrests and extradition by some of the GCC states to India of those wanted by India on terrorism-related charges. In 2015, for instance, India and the UAE entered into an agreement whereby their national security advisers would meet every six months and host regular counter-terrorism meetings.





Reflecting the importance that ties with the GCC have acquired for India, Prime Minister Modi made highly successful visits to the UAE  the first in 34 years by an Indian Prime Minister  Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. Reciprocating the upsurge in relations with India, a host of dignitaries from the GCC had also visited Delhi. Amongst them were the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and the deputy supreme commander of the UAE Armed Forces, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who had visited India twice  in 2016 and earlier this year as the Chief Guest at Indias Republic Day celebrations; as had also the Emir of Qatar, the foreign ministers of Oman, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and most recently of the UAE. Modi is also scheduled to travel to Kuwait shortly.





Simultaneously, India has been boosting ties with Iran. India had welcomed the lifting of the sanctions regime against Iran in 2015. Iran was Indias second largest supplier of crude oil, but under US pressure India had to significantly decrease its oil imports from Iran since 2006. Iran is also becoming increasingly important to India for its connectivity to landlocked Afghanistan and the resource rich Central Asian republics. India is developing Irans Chabahar port on the Gulf of Oman through which a multi-modal international north-south corridor is envisaged to link Mumbai to Russias Astrakan  considered by some to be Indias Silk Route.





Indias relations with Israel have also burgeoned, coming out of the closet with Modis recent trip to Tel Aviv  the first ever by an Indian prime minister.



To that end, Modi paid a visit to Tehran in 2016, during which India, Iran and Afghanistan signed the tripartite Chabahar agreement for Establishment of International Transport and Transit Corridor, which Modi termed as history being created. The Chabahar port gives India sea-land access to Afghanistan, bypassing Pakistan, and is also important as an offset to Pakistans Gwadar port which is being developed by China, and also for stabilizing Afghanistan. In Delhi last year, Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif said that Chabahar port would allow Afghanistan access to a global market, and help create a formal economy in the country.





Iran has also been a valuable counter-foil to Sunni radicalism in the region  till recently the Taliban  and the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Iran and India have also been on the same page regarding the Syrian conflict, with India continuing to recognize the Bashar Al Assad government as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people.





Nevertheless, bilateral ties have recently come under a cloud with the inability of the two sides to hammer out a deal regarding the Farzad B gas fields. While, in what is being seen as a retaliatory move, India, which is Irans second largest crude purchaser, decreased its purchase of crude, Iran responded by cutting by one-third the time it gives to Indian refiners to pay for oil they buy from it, and also raised ship freight rates.





Against this backdrop, Gadkaris visit can be viewed as a bid to smooth ruffled feathers. In Tehran, he promised to speed up the ports development, calling Chabahar a gateway to golden opportunities to boost trade and business.





Meanwhile, Indias relations with Israel have also burgeoned, coming out of the closet with Modis recent trip to Tel Aviv  the first ever by an Indian prime minister. Bilateral ties have been strong especially in defense  Israel currently is the fourth-largest arms supplier to India after the US, Russia, and France. More recently, other areas of cooperation have emerged, namely counter-terrorism, cyber security, agriculture and irrigation.





Modi, who is a personal friend of Israeli premier Benyamin Netanyahu, had visited Israel earlier during his tenure as Chief Minister of the Indian state of Gujarat. Bilateral ties, cultivated for decades, have acquired greater visibility under him with numerous high profile visits which included the Indian president travelling to Israel in 2015 and the Israeli president visiting India in 2016, and culminating with Modis visit to the Jewish state. In April this year, India and Israel signed defense deals worth $2 billion  the largest defense contract in Israel defense industries history  for the supply of medium-range surface-to-air missiles (MRSAM) and missile defence systems to the Indian Army. Israel is actively participating in the Indian governments ambitious Make in India scheme through collaboration and joint production of defence products, with the inauguration of Indias first private sector missile sub-systems manufacturing facilitya joint venture between Indias Kalyani Group and Israels Rafael Advanced Defence Systems Ltd. Given Indias multi-billion dollar defence market, defence cooperation with Israel holds out great prospects.





However, as the rift between Iran and Saudi Arabia widens, spreading over into ever newer areas like Qatar  with the Saudi-led bloc of countries like UAE, Egypt, and Bahrain severing all ties with that country; and as the Gulf countries tilt overtly towards Israel, India will have to walk a tightrope in its relations with all these different regional powers.





President Trumps courting of Riyadh amidst fresh sanctions against Iran and the current saber-rattling between Tehran and the White House also threaten to complicate matters for India which has been drawing closer to the US in recent years  one of the reasons analysts feel for Irans unusually provocative statements against India. Factoring in also that China  with whom India is locked in a standoff on its eastern border  with its greater economic clout has a larger footprint in Iran, India will have to carefully calibrate its policies in the region so as to withstand pressure and maintain balance in its relations with the individual power centers there.
Dateline Rakhine Violence: On the Ground in Maungdaw

Photo: The Irrawaddy

Kyaw Zwa Moe: Welcome to Dateline Irrawaddy! It has been 10 days since Muslim terrorists launched attacks in Rakhine States Maungdaw District. According to government figures as well as information weve collected, about 500 people were killed in 10 days. Our reporter Ko Moe Myint recently went to Maungdaw to interview the people there and also witnessed attacks and damage. Well discuss who he interviewed, what he saw and the situation on the ground. Im Irrawaddy English editor Kyaw Zwa Moe.

Dateline Irrawaddy : ..                Posted by The Irrawaddy  Burmese Edition on Friday, September 8, 2017

KZM: According to a government release, around 400 ARSA [Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army] members were killed. The worst thing is reports that more than 80 Hindus[Moe Myint] also interviewed some Hindu community memberswere allegedly killed. You went to Maungdaw where attacks were taking place and houses were burned down. Would you recount what you saw?

Moe Myint: As soon as we got into Buthidaung, we could feel the severity of the conflict in Maungdaw. We saw clouds of smoke billowing into the sky. As soon as we arrived at Buthidaung Jetty, we heard the bad news that four Arakanese people were killed near Zula village in Maungdaws three-mile camp. There is a village called Myo Thugyi which is just a five-minute walk out of Maungdaw. It is a big Muslim village. There are around 1,200 houses there. All the houses were torched and none of them remained intact.

I went to Maungdaw after attacks in Oct. 9, 2016. At that time, the situation was different. Myo Thugyi village was lively with bazaars and students. But now, all of the houses have been reduced to ash. The whole village is gone. This was the first sign of the immensity of the conflict on the ground. I went to [relief] camps and interviewed Hindus. After the conflict broke out on Aug. 25, Muslim crowds threatened them [they said]. Hindus live together with Muslims in No. 4 and No. 5 wards [of Maungdaw]. All those wards have been torched. Witnesses said arson attacks were carried out by religious extremists. I also witnessed [their feelings].

KZM: You mean Hindu witnesses?

MM: Yes.

KZM: You have also reported about this. Were [Hindus] killed by Muslim militants?

MM: Muslims made threats. Some shot with a gun and one [Hindu] was killed. I also interviewed the mother of a victim.

She could identify from where the gun was fired. But things are different from what we usually see in moviesnot every one of them is shooting with a gun. Some have improvised firearms, some have guns and some have swords. They are a large crowd and it is easier for them to threaten and attack small groups of people. Hindus are the minority there and they dare not talk back to them. What they can do is to avoid conflict. So, they flee. But the town is too small, only four or five wards. So, they flee to Arakanese wards. They escaped, but unluckily some were killed on the way.

KZM: According to witnesses, how many Hindus were killed?

MM: I met the survivors of a family whose members included children [and said] about four or five [members of the family] were killed. She was a Hindu woman called Kamala who was receiving treatment at Buthidaung Township Hospital. Her 12-member family came back from southern Maungdaw on Aug. 26 and 27 after conflict broke out. And they took a rest at three-mile camp where police were providing security. They followed a police convoy to go to Ward No. 4 [in Maungdaw]. But by that time, that ward had already been reduced to ashes. The security convoy encountered hundreds of Muslim militants in Myo Thugyi village on their way to Maungdaw. It was followed by an exchange of fire, and the Hindu family fled in fright to the district court, which was under construction. The security convoy didnt care about the people who were travelling behind them. Perhaps they wanted to avoid conflict with large crowds or perhaps they hadnt noticed the people travelling behind them. They left. The [Hindu] family was too frightened and so they fled into a nearby building. Some of the people in the crowd had guns and they shot [at them]. Kamala was hit. She was shot in the chest and lost consciousness. The rest were killed with swords. Witnesses told us that [attackers] said words related to religion like Allah is taking you. So you must go. [Attackers] left her because they thought she was dead. We can say her account is very credible.

KZM: Did you interview any Muslims living in Maungdaw or Sittwe? What did they say?

MM: I met about six Muslims. Most of them were educated and businesspeople. Anyway, it is fair to say they were educated. They said they condemned such violence. Violence disrupts regional stability and order. They are in hardship now. There were attacks on 30 locations in Maungdaw District, and that also impacts urban areas. Grassroots poor Muslim families who have to rely on rivers and creeks for their daily livelihoods and who know nothing about politics also suffered from the impact of that conflict. They could not go to the market. There is no food and they have to share food with each other. There are two separate things here: ARSA claimed that it fights for its political goal, but its actions have shifted to terrorism. Their acts cannot move the situation for everyday people in a positive direction. At least, they should have displayed tolerance. Kofi Annans [Rakhine State Advisory] Commission formed by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has also provided recommendations. But [ARSA] didnt wait for the implementation of those recommendations, and instead it launched attacks.

MM: We discussed this in last weeks Dateline. Attacks were launched on Aug. 25, the same day Kofi Annan submitted his recommendations to the government, the president and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. The government said it would implement those recommendations. Then, immediately, attacks followed. It is fair to say attacks were launched even before that. [ARSAs] response is that they didnt accept Kofi Annans recommendations and their implementation by the government. They responded in a violent way.

MM: I think they are undermining the positive move made by Daw Aung San Suu Kyis government to solve the problem. Viewing ARSAs recent official video clips on YouTube, its ultimate political goal is to build an Islamic State [for the Rohingya]. To put it bluntly, it is no longer about human rights. It is about self-interest, which is contrary to human rights. Reconciliation, I think, would be difficult in Maungdaw if they work to that end.

KZM: You mean it will be hard to reconcile between the two communities?

MM: Not just two sides, it is three parties now. One more party has been involvedthe Hindu community. Ive asked Hindus, and all of them unanimously said they dare not live together with [Muslims]. They will not go back to stay within Muslim quarters anymore and also refuse to accept government suggestions that they live together with Muslims. They asked the government for segregation.

KZM: What about other sub-ethnic groups such as the Mro [an Arakanese sub-group]? Did you interview them and what did they say?

MM: Mro people also dare not live [alongside Muslims]. They know nothing about politics. They dont know who the Rohingya are. To put it bluntly, they dont even know who the president of Myanmar is. Such people who lead a simple life on farms and who know nothing about urban life were killed, and fell victim to the conflict. They are frightened to death. They have lived and worked on hillside farms for generations and never experienced this before. Now, they have all moved.

KZM: Before you went to Maungdaw, the government declared ARSA a terrorist organization. Did you witness its activities on the ground in Maungdaw? To what extent is it involved in the Maungdaw [attacks]?

MM: What I found out isI didnt witness itfrom the car I was in, I saw the location of a mine explosion on the way. It is obvious that ARSA has influence over local Muslim people. When I interviewed Muslim sources about ARSA, they were reluctant to answer. We must understand this. I also understand this, so I dont disclose the identity of Muslim sources. Because if they criticize the governmentthey are businessmen and educatedit could impact their long-term relations [with the government]. But on the other hand, if they criticize ARSA and if we disclose their identitythere are previous examples of Muslim men beheaded after they gave interviews to the government. The situation is dangerous for them in the conflict zone.

KZM: Do you think this conflict will go on?

MM: It is very likely that it will continue. An Islamic State, which is the ultimate goal of ARSA according to their online video clips, will continue the conflict. This is quite sure. And regarding the geographical location of Maungdaw, it is surrounded by three large Muslim villages. There are at least 30,000 people. Of them, only Myo Thugyi is gone and two others remain intact. No houses were burned and there was no conflict there. So, it is fair to say there is still some hope for remedy. But if the goal of an Islamic State is real and people from those villages join them, the problem will get worse.

KZM: Thank you for your contribution!

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.
Burma Reporters Notebook: Understanding Maungdaws Reality

Gawdu Zara, a Muslim village in southern Maungdaw, was torched on Thursday. Non-Muslim locals were witnessed looting at the scene. / Myo Min Soe / The Irrawaddy

SITTWE, Rakhine State  I was among the 22 journalists from local and international news publications who arrived Buthidaung Township in the afternoon on August 30. We were met by news that four young Arakanese had been killed by Muslim militants in Zula village in neighboring Maungdaw Township, and that clashes were ongoing with government security forces.

The police escorted us 24 kilometers down a road linking Buthidaung and Maungdaw, crossing through the green Mayu mountain range. We saw very few cars or bikes. After nearly one hour, we reached Tha Si village, three miles from the border checkpoint where several thousand internally displaced Arakanese people (IDPs) shelter.

A couple minutes drive from Tha Si village, we reached Myo Thu Gyi village, a Muslim community of 8,600 residents located on the highway, only 1.6 kilometers from the entrance of Maungdaw town, where there is a police checkpoint.

The village has been reduced to a heap of ash. It was the worst scene I have witnessed in recent years. Myo Thu Gyi had been spared following clearance operations after last years October 9 attacks, in which tens of thousands of Muslims fled across the Bangladeshi border to Teknaf District.

Rising Death Toll

According to the latest information from the government, since the August 25 attacks by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) on police outposts, its members killed 14 Arakanese Buddhists, seven Hindus and seven Muslims, as well as 15 members of government security forces, and three civil servants.

Security forces have killed 371 suspected militants and apprehended 38 suspects since late August. There has been criticism from the international community regarding the discrepancy between the death toll and the weapons seized by the authoritiesa few assault rifles and homemade guns, as well as swords, darts and knives.

During the two-day trip to Maungdaw, displaced Arakanese and Hindu residents and government officials told reporters that at least 100 people were involved in attacks on them, mostly carried out with swords, machetes, slingshots and daggersfew of them had guns, they said.

Some security forces who have been receiving medical treatment in Sittwe hospital said attackers opened fire on police and then marched forward, and the police decided to shoot into the crowd. Otherwise, they said, they would have been killed on the spot.

A police major told The Irrawaddy that if a Muslim targeted for recruitment by ARSA refused to be involved, they were often killed. He also alleged local religious leaders had played a role in recruitmenta claim which The Irrawaddy could not verify.

Maungdaw Township administrative official U Ye Htut revealed an intelligence report that the ARSA had already recruited at least 100 members throughout Maungdaw. He also told reporters that the rest of the peoplenamely, women and childreninvolved in the attacks against security forces or civilians would be recognized as terrorists and dealt with as such.

With a death toll of nearly 400 suspected militants is highly possible that many of them would not have used firearms and applied as human shield to fight against government troops in the battle.

Reuters has discovered that ARSA leader Ata Ullah delivered a voice message to his supporters ordering the launch of an offensive against government border outposts last month. It occurred hours after the release of the Kofi Annan-led Advisory Commission on Rakhine States final report on August 24.

The message stated, if 200 or 300 people come out, 50 will die. God willing, the remaining 150 can kill them with knives.

Complexity

According to an update from the Government Information Committee this week, 6,845 houses in 60 villages have been burned down. The government said the fires were set by the ARSA, while militants cite the army as being responsible. The Irrawaddy was told by many sources from the Hindu, Buddhist Arakanese and Muslim communities that arson has been carried out by both sides.

This Irrawaddy reporter asked to stay one more night in the conflict-area to collect further information, but the request was refused by the authorities.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has released satellite images showing the destruction of 17 villages populated by self-identifying Rohingya. International rights groups have again accused the Myanmar Army of committing arson during military operations.

More than 26,700 Arakanese Buddhists and Hindus have been displaced and evacuated to 33 locations in Maungdaw, according to government figures.

The UN has stated that 146,000 Muslims have fled to Bangladesh and are living in makeshift shelters. Some of those fleeing are confronted with landmines along roads, and a lack of access to aid in temporary relief camps.

Burdens and Barriers

During a three-day trip to Rakhine, I documented several witnesses accounts, including those from internally displaced persons who were Hindu, Arakanese and belonging to the Arakanese sub-ethnicities.

But the governments guided tour did not allow us to meet with Muslim IDPs and those who had lost their homes elsewhere in Maungdaw. We were only allowed to meet with Muslim village administrative officials and a few elderly community members.

Most of the Muslim sources what we met during the trip were businessmen, who were careful to avoid criticizing either government troops or the ARSA. One such man condemned the militant attacks as having caused the collapse of commerce, education and life in the town.

Journalists have to understand the potential risks that sources take by speaking with us, especially those who live in a conflict-torn region.

There have been more than 60 homicides documented by the government since the first attacks on police outposts in Oct. 2016. Muslim sources have been found beheaded, after being suspected of speaking with the authorities or media.

These numbers suggest that Muslim sources are hesitating to speak out against or criticize either side in the conflict, as they likely find themselves standing on a tightrope.

Information and Misinformation

This reporter went to three temporary camps housing Hindu and Arakanese IDPs under the protection of government security forces. The security at these camps was questionableno one appeared to be guarding them. Landmines and ambushes plagued the area. Several hundred people bought boat tickets to the state capital of Sittweothers could not afford to leave.

During this time, unconfirmed news went viral on social media, including rumors that border outposts in Maungdaw had been deserted, and conflicting stories about which villages had been burned and by whom, and the numbers of people killed. This unfiltered information reached the IDPs through word of mouth, as many do not own mobile phones.

There have been multiple incidents of viral photos online being wrongly attributed to Rakhine State, or being misdated.

On Aug. 29, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek tweeted four pictures, encouraging the international community to stop a genocide against the Rohingya in Rakhine State. The post was retweeted more than 1,600 times and liked by at least 1,200 readers. However, none of the photos posted by Simsek were from the fresh clashes in northern Rakhine; they should have been checked for accuracy before posting.

During a phone conversation between State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and Turkeys President Erdogan earlier this week, she pointed out that these photos contribute to a huge iceberg of misinformation.

She went as far as stating that such actions create a lot of problems between different communities and promot[e] the interest of the terrorists.

Few are familiar with the situation in Maungdaw. This period of conflict requires caution, as information and misinformation spreads around the world online and encourages fear to grow among the displaced people of Maungdaw, who have already been mentally and physically harmed.
Commentary The Reality in Rakhine and Myanmars Complex Political Conundrum

Kofi Annan and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi before the start of a Rakhine State Advisory Commission meeting at the National Reconciliation and Peace Center in Yangon last year. / Myo Min Soe / The Irrawaddy

What we can say definitively about the motivation behind the recent attacks in Rakhine State is that they were a violent rejection of meaningful recommendations made by the Kofi Annan-led Rakhine State Advisory Commission and a total obstruction against implementation as promised by the Myanmar government.

The Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), led by Attaullah Abu Ammar Jununi  who was born in Pakistan and raised in Saudi Arabia  launched its synchronized attacks against 30 police outposts in Maungdaw on Aug. 25, hours after former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan presented comprehensive long-term solutions to solving the issues in Rakhine and integrating the local Muslim community (who self-identify as Rohingya).

The Myanmar government led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi welcomed the commissions final report recommendations and officially said that it would implement them within the shortest timeframe possible.

Within a few hours of Daw Aung San Suu Kyis meeting with Kofi Annan and his commission members on Aug. 24, the State Counselors Office released a statement saying: As an immediate step, the government will form a new Ministerial-led committee responsible for the implementation of the commissions recommendations.

The statement also said, We hope to set out a full roadmap for implementation in the coming weeks.

Thats not exactly what the ARSA  designated a terrorist group by the government after its attacks  had in mind when it launched simultaneous attacks.

Two weeks since the attacks, the government still cannot set out to implement the recommendations as it has been too busy trying to control the situation on the ground, which is in turmoil due to the ARSAs attacks, militant supporters attacks on ethnic Rakhine and other groups as well, and military clearance operations,  all of which have forced hundreds of thousands of Muslim refugees to the Bangladesh border and thousands of Rakhine refugees to other cities in the state.

But the ARSAs violent methods have been a victory for them, at least so far. Their attacks  which killed more than a dozen security or government officials  may be seen by some outsiders as a legitimate retaliation to alleged military oppression and human rights abuses against Muslims in Rakhine State. Beyond that, they have led to heavy criticism of the Myanmar government and its de facto leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is under attack by rights groups, campaign groups and the international media for not publicly defending the rights of the Muslim refugees.

But their criticism comes from a lack of knowledge regarding the countrys complex political situation.

Emphasis of the international community and its media on the exodus of refugees and destruction alone is not helping this complex and volatile situation. Instead, it will prove to be counterproductive.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her government are sandwiched politically by the powerful military, nationalist parties and an undemocratic Constitution.

There is no civilian oversight of the military, and it is guaranteed 25 percent of the seats in Parliament and three key ministerial positions  defense, border and home affairs.

Some observers have said that the country is driven by two parallel governments.

Nobody can clearly guess how much room the government has to use its executive power in dealing with the military in handling the latest situation in Rakhine. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has said that the government cannot tell the military not to launch offensives.

On Aug. 24, when Kofi Annan met Myanmar Army Chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing, the army chief said that the commissions report included some factual inaccuracies and questioned its impartiality.

In fact, some political groups rejected the commission from the start. In Parliament, three main groups  members of the Arakan National Party, the previous ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party formed by the ex-generals, and all military-appointed lawmakers sought to abolish the commission in early September 2016. But they didnt succeed.

Critics of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, including western media, denounced her for not criticizing military leaderships over the institutions alleged human rights violations  showing that these groups dont clearly understand the political situation.

The most important thing the country needs is genuine collaboration from the military leadership to continue this transition to democracy. The military could still return to power if military leaders believed it was necessary for the country. Critics of the military share a common view that since the current administration assumed office, military associates and USDP party members have a wait-and-see policy as the government confronts a difficult situation that may prove to be opportune for the opposition.

A handful of people can understand the complexity of Myanmar. Derek Mitchell, who was US ambassador to Myanmar under former President Barack Obamas administration, told the Associated Press that the militant attacks have in some ways empowered the military to assert themselves as saviors of the country, which is how they like to see themselves. The former ambassador added, Thats not very helpful to the transition.

Unlike him, most critics have shortsighted views without seeing the bigger picture, which is that the government and the military need to have good relations for the long-term benefit of the country.

Violence begets violence and it cannot be accepted, in response to human rights abuses or terrorist attacks. Security forces must restrain themselves from using excessive force against militants and from hurting Muslim civilians during field operations. The government should be assertively talking to military leadership to follow the principles of democratic reform.

But Daw Aung San Suu Kyi cannot afford to publicly criticize the military, which still has both seen and unseen power as the most established institution, with the experiences of coups in 1962 and 1988 and 50 years in power.

Only smooth relations between the two sides can solve the many problems facing the country, including the current Rakhine conflict and more importantly, the peace process involving ethnic armed groups. Her speaking out against the military would only backfire.

If the international community truly wants to see Myanmar as a stable country that can prosper under democratic rule, it needs to help the government halt the violence in Rakhine immediately and implement Kofi Annans recommendations as soon as possible.
Saturday, September 9th, 2017 (9:42 am) - Score 2,178

The Governments Broadband Delivery UK project has published its latest Q2 2017 take-up data for the state aid supported roll-out of superfast broadband (24Mbps+) services across the United Kingdom, which shows that many regions are seeing 40%+ adoption and that will boost clawback.

Just to clarify. The figures reflect % customer take-up of FTTC (plus a tiny number of FTTP and Fixed Wireless) broadband networks in areas that have been upgraded through the BDUK programme (i.e. % subscribed of premises passed by BDUK supported networks). At present the data only reflects the first two phases of this programme and not any recent or future contracts.

All of this complements the Governments other big announcement today about BDUK progress and clawback (here).

BDUK Phases 1 (Completed Spring 2016) Supported by 530m of public money via the Government (mostly extracted from a small slice of the BBC TV Licence fee), as well as significant match funding from local authorities, the EU and BT. Overall it helped to extend superfast broadband (24Mbps+) services to cover 90% of homes and businesses in the United Kingdom. BDUK Phase 2 (Completion by 2017/18) Supported by 250m of public money via the Government, as well as match funding from local authorities, Local Growth Deals and some from ISPs (e.g. BT, Gigaclear, Airband, Call Flow etc.). The aim is to extend 24Mbps+ capable broadband services to cover 95% of homes and businesses by around the end of 2017.

Phase One was broadly dominated by Openreach (BT) linked contracts and this has now completed. Meanwhile the on-going Phase Two contracts have seen a mix of extension deals with BT and several alternative network providers (Gigaclear, Call Flow etc.), including some use of Fixed Wireless Access technology.

Crucially the BDUK contracts include a clawback (gainshare) clause, which requires the suppliers (e.g. BT) to return part of the public investment when customer adoption of the new service passes beyond the 20% mark in related areas. The funding can then be reinvested to further improve coverage and speeds via future contracts.

So far it looks as if over 645 million could be returned via clawback and efficiency savings, which BDUK has estimated could be enough to boost the UK coverage of fixed line superfast broadband networks from 95% by the end of 2017 to 98% by the end of 2020.

The following table breaks the take-up data down by each BDUK local authority (project area), although for the proper context these percentages should ideally be considered alongside the most recent premises passed (network coverage) data (see bottom). So far BDUK has helped to expand superfast broadband services to 4.6 million UK premises and rising.

NOTE: Some of the counties have divided their roll-outs into separate projects / contracts. For example, Phase One in Shropshire doesnt include the Telford and Wrekin area because that is part of a separate Phase Two contract inside the same county.

BDUK Phase One Take-up (Average %)

Project Area

Uptake % (Jun 2016) Uptake % (Sept 2016) Uptake % (Mar 2017) Uptake % (Jun 2017) Berkshire Councils 34.8 40 46 47.9 Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire 34.1 38.1 45.8 48.4 Cambridgeshire, Peterborough 34.7 37.5 43.3 45.5 Central Beds, Bedford Borough, Milton Keynes 31 34.7 43.8 47.1 Cheshire East, Cheshire West & Chester, Warrington, Halton 35 36.6 42.9 45.5 Devon & Somerset (including, Plymouth, Torbay, North Somerset, Bath & NE Somerset) 24.4 28.7 35.4 38.3 Coventry, Solihull, Warwickshire 32.9 36.4 43.6 46.2 Cumbria 27.5 32.3 38.1 40.3 Derbyshire 22.5 27.4 34.5 37.3 Dorset, Bournemouth and Poole 24.1 29 35.8 38.4 Durham, Gateshead, Tees Valley and Sunderland 22.8 27.8 34.8 37.3 East Riding of Yorkshire 30.3 32.1 39.5 41.9 East Sussex, Brighton and Hove 29.4 34.4 41.9 44.2 Essex, Southend-On-Sea, Thurrock 26.7 32.1 40.8 44 Greater Manchester 28.5 23.4 30.1 32.5 Hampshire 31.5 34.2 40.2 42.7 Herefordshire and Gloucestershire 24.1 28.3 35.8 39 Isle of Wight 22.7 26.5 33.4 36.2 Kent and Medway 29.8 33.6 40.3 42.9 Lancashire, Blackpool, Blackburn with Darwen 32.9 29.3 34.8 37 Leicestershire 30.8 33.7 40.9 43.9 Lincolnshire 29.6 34 41 43.1 Merseyside 26.4 23 28.6 31 Newcastle upon Tyne 28 24.9 30.8 32.9 Norfolk 30.2 34.4 40.2 42.2 North Lincolnshire, North East Lincolnshire 32.8 33.9 39.8 41.8 North Yorkshire 37.1 39.1 43.9 45 Northamptonshire 40.1 39.2 45.3 47.6 Northumberland 30.8 36 42 44.1 Nottinghamshire 29.7 33.2 40.6 43.2 Oxfordshire 33.9 37.6 44.4 46.9 Rutland 53.8 51.5 54.5 55.6 Shropshire 29.1 32.6 37.1 39.6 Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent 26.8 28.8 37.1 39.7 Suffolk 33.6 36.5 42.3 44.4 Surrey 44.2 42.8 47.4 49.4 West Sussex 33.9 37.1 43.6 46.1 West Yorkshire 30.4 28.2 34.5 36.8 Wiltshire 34.8 36.1 43.5 45.4 South Gloucestershire 34.8 36.1 43.5 48 Worcestershire 26.2 31.1 40.6 43.9 Devolved Administrations Highlands and Islands 22.9 28.1 33.5 36.8 Northern Ireland 27.3 31.1 37.3 40.9 Rest of Scotland 22.3 25.8 31.3 33.1 Wales 26.4 28.8 34.3 37.3

BDUK Phase Two Take-up (Average %)

Project Area Uptake % (Jun 2017) Bedford & Milton Keynes 14.9 Black Country 14.8 Bucks & Herts 20.3 Cheshire 28.9 Cornwall 22.1 Cumbria 18.3 Derbyshire 20 Dorset 14.1 Durham 17.2 East Riding (Yorkshire) 26 East Sussex 26.4 Essex 24.4 Hampshire 23.3 Kent 23.7 Lancashire 23.4 Leicestershire 23.7 Lincolnshire 21.2 Norfolk 32 North Lincolnshire 21.1 North Yorkshire 35.4 Northamptonshire 21 Northern Ireland 17.6 Northumberland 29.0 Nottinghamshire 28.2 South Gloucestershire 16.8 South Yorkshire 21.0 Staffordshire 20.7 Suffolk 31.7 Telford & Wrekin 23 Warwickshire 34.9 West Sussex 23.9 West Yorkshire 16.5 Wiltshire 22.3 Worcestershire 27.5 Devolved Administrations Highlands and Islands no data yet Northern Ireland 17.6 Rest of Scotland no data yet Wales no data yet

IMPORTANT: Take-up is a dynamically scaled measurement, which means that at certain stages of the scheme it may go up or even down depending upon the pace of deployment (i.e. premises passed in any given time-scale), although over time the take-up should only rise.

Explained another way, early phases of the roll-out are easier and faster to deploy, so you can expect to see a bit of a yo-yo movement with the take-up % sometimes falling if lots of new areas are suddenly covered. Some contracts are also younger than others and will thus take time to catch-up. However BDUKs roll-out pace is also starting to slow as they reach tricky rural areas (Phase 2), which will give take-up a chance to climb in Phase 1.

A number of other factors can also impact take-up, such as the higher prices for related fibre services, as well as customers being locked into long contracts with their existing ISP (they cant upgrade immediately) and a lack of general availability awareness (locals dont know it exists) or interest in the new connectivity (if you have a decent ADSL2+ speed then you might feel less inclined to upgrade).

In other cases the new service may run out of capacity (i.e. demand is higher than expected), which means that people who want to upgrade are prevented from doing so until Openreach resolves the problem. However the scale of this issue is very small.

Now, for some context, heres the latest progress report on related contacts for the same period.

Funding and Premises Passed Progress (BDUK Phase 1 + 2)

Total BDUK Contracted Funding Total Local Body Funding (Councils etc.) Current Total Contracted premises Delivered to Date (June 2017) Bedfordshire & Milton Keynes 6,380,000 7,830,000 52,906 41,174 Berkshire 5,153,017 4,603,250 39,213 24,993 Black Country 2,891,500 2,988,349 39,109 33,140 Bucks & Herts 10,837,000 11,415,000 94,428 61,685 Cambridgeshire 8,250,000 17,750,000 101,620 98,124 Cheshire 6,461,000 17,282,000 82,468 75,379 Cornwall 5,960,000 12,529,786 7,738 3,895 Cumbria 19,959,519 18,798,000 120,065 112,755 Derbyshire 9,579,550 9,580,000 94,386 87,451 Devon & Somerset 52,810,499 33,575,987 338,472 284,915 Dorset 13,741,841 12,349,470 76,018 73,190 Durham 12,786,267 11,763,000 113,791 100,760 East Riding (Yorkshire) 10,507,459 5,193,079 47,332 46,535 East Sussex 13,640,000 17,000,000 62,818 59,178 Essex 13,049,000 13,049,000 138,140 92,298 Greater Manchester 3,440,000 5,923,000 41,363 39,014 Hampshire 15,262,307 14,180,000 106,434 70,675 Herefordshire & Gloucestershire 30,635,605 26,791,705 145,277 116,880 Highlands & Islands 50,830,000 75,600,000 138,861 131,085 Isle of Wight 2,490,000 2,490,000 17,617 17,649 Kent 17,063,509 14,998,391 141,088 128,794 Lancashire 14,670,000 22,540,000 147,333 139,390 Leicestershire 7,968,895 10,884,647 74,479 62,211 Lincolnshire 16,110,000 17,910,000 137,949 123,691 Merseyside 5,460,000 4,374,000 43,905 42,228 Newcastle 970,000 945,131 6,760 6,697 Norfolk 24,650,000 24,210,000 202,367 173,877 North Lincolnshire 4,320,000 1,880,963 29,442 27,878 North Yorkshire 20,840,000 16,736,378 161,044 161,115 Northamptonshire 9,856,668 12,706,064 80,209 68,865 Northern Ireland 11,453,615 21,953,615 65,745 46,949 Northumberland 10,687,867 11,986,750 49,620 45,327 Nottinghamshire 7,130,000 8,688,644 66,807 60,080 Oxfordshire 8,184,500 11,254,500 78,007 73,197 Rest of Scotland 50,000,000 107,575,000 572,563 501,887 Rutland 1,000,000 1,430,088 9,492 9,345 Shropshire 19,317,466 12,722,000 69,626 53,047 South Gloucestershire 3,370,000 3,282,250 21,616 15,728 South Yorkshire 9,845,096 9,775,096 95,664 53,263 Staffordshire 9,620,000 7,440,000 80,937 73,113 Suffolk 26,940,000 26,275,631 123,434 100,187 Surrey 1,310,000 20,000,000 76,958 77,141 Swindon 950,000 950,000 20,138 8,649 Telford & Wrekin 2,157,000 1,843,000 8,822 5,878 Wales 66,966,573 156,406,573 728,737 653,315 Warwickshire 8,505,000 8,505,000 58,869 48,233 West Sussex 8,011,243 7,510,000 53,700 47,883 West Yorkshire 11,019,827 11,175,487 99,913 76,987 Wiltshire 9,270,000 16,496,000 83,543 68,208 Worcestershire 6,887,032 10,390,000 61,248 50,707 689,198,855 903,536,834 5,308,071 4,574,645

The above figures only include 24Mbps+ capable premises in BDUK intervention areas.

UPDATE 11th September 2017

Take note that BDUK made a small mistake in the data and incorrectly listed West Sussex with a phase 1 take-up rate of 23.9%, when it should have been 46.1%. This has now been corrected.
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By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) |  

Florida Gov. Rick Scott did not cause Irma, but he enabled the Frankenstorm. Before becoming governor in 2011, Scott had been an entrepreneur who  specialized in privatizing healthcare and ran a hospital chain convicted of a massive healthcare fraud.

Scott met with Carbonmongers Charles and David Koch soon after being elected, and all of a sudden Floridas environmental laws began being gutted.

Now he will want you to give him $150 billion to rebuild his state, from your tax dollars. He and his ilk argue that it is less expensive to deal with a changing climate than to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

Scott enabled Irmas unusual severity by opposing measures to reduce carbon emissions. He even started replying to climate change questions by saying Im not a scientist. Im not a scientist either but I took eighth grade chemistry and know what a greenhouse gas is.

Scott opposed a high speed train in central Florida, which would have cut down on automobile use and forestalled thousands of tons of CO2 emissions.

Scott told Florida state employees not to use the term climate change. That included scientists working for the state. Our current head of the anti-EPA, Scott Pruitt, has taken over that Scott policy and applied it to the entire Federal government. Pruitt thinks it is disrespectful to the victims of Harvey and Irma to talk about climate change. Actually it is disrespectful to the victims to victimize them with carbon dioxide and methane emissions.

Scott backed measures that punished Floridians of all people for having solar panels on their roofs. Florida is like Disneyworld for solar power. Scotts Neanderthal policy was overturned by a popular referendum only last year.

Instead, In 2015, Florida sued the Federal government along with 23 other states over a plan to reduce carbon emissions nationally, claiming the law will increase electric rates. Yeah, right, because free sunshine and wind are more expensive than pricey coal and natural gas.

Scott has been a creature of Big Oil, covered in liquid tar, like a monster hiding out in a swamp, and the fumes he has put off have summoned Irma.

Florida emits 227,000,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide every year, over 4% of the US national output. It therefore played a role in making Irma into an incredible Hulk. And Scott has prevented emissions reductions for 6 years straight. And remember that he has had a national impact through influence on other governors and his suit against President Obama. Scotts contribution to the destructiveness of this storm is relatively small, but it actually is large enough to be quantified, and since he is helping wreck a whole planet, that simple fact is terrifying.

Manmade climate change does not cause hurricanes. Hurricanes form naturally over warm water. The warmer the water, the stronger the hurricane. There were hurricanes before 1750, when human beings decided to burn so much wood and coal (and later, oil and natural gas) that they would turn the whole world tropical.

What human beings have done is to magnify hurricanes. By driving our cars, cooling and heating our homes, making cement, and industrializing our agriculture, we have put billions and billions of metric tons of carbon dioxide into our atmosphere. We have sort of acted on the climate the way radioactivity works on Dr. Bruce Banner (nowadays played by Mark Ruffalo), turning him into a large, green, angry incredible Hulk.

Putting greenhouse gases into the atmosphere prevents the suns heat from radiating away back into space once it strikes the earth. Keeping the heat in causes the average surface temperature to rise over time. The oceans are a degree F warmer than the 20th century average.

Hotter water has some basic properties. It expands, so the sea level rises for that reason. But surface ice over land also melts and runs into the sea, which also raises the sea level. The Caribbean is a good half foot higher now than a century ago.

Higher seas lead to higher storm surges. Irmas storm surges may be as high as 12 feet, or even 20.

Hotter water also evaporates at a faster rate, putting more moisture into the atmosphere. There is 4% more moisture in the air over the Caribbean than there was a century ago. More moisture in the air means heavier rains and more flooding during storms.

How fast and destructive the winds of a hurricane are depends on how hot the water is, over which it travels. Hotter water produces more severe winds. The Caribbean waters are unusually hot, hence Irmas sustained 185 mile an hour winds, which are unprecedented in the historical record at that speed for their longevity.

Rick Scott should resign. He helped empty out his state. You wouldnt call that being a good governor.



Related Video

ABC News: Florida governor to residents ahead of Irma: Youve got to get out'
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TeleSur |  

The announcement comes as the legal heat is turning up for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu himself, for cases of bribery and fraud.

Sara Netanyahu, the wife of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could likely be indicted on charges of fraud and misuse of state funds, Israels Justice Ministry said on Friday.

The Attorney General is considering prosecuting Mrs. Netanyahu for using state funds amounting to around US$100,000 for personal luxury dining and other purchases, such as catering for private events, and paying for furniture and home improvements.

Hundreds of meals from restaurants and chefs worth 359,000 shekels (US$102,399) were received from the state fraudulently, the ministry statement said.

An indictment would lead to a future hearing, the date of which is still unknown.

Significantly, the case may also be a precedent for moving forward with charges against the Prime Minister himself.

Benjamin Netanyahu is currently under investigation for several cases related to bribery, fraud, breach of trust, and misuse of funds. He is accused of receiving lavish gifts from wealthy supporters, such as luxury goods, and of purchasing positive coverage from newspaper owners.

His personal lawyer, David Shimron, is facing a corruption case over shady interests in a defense contract deal to purchase submarines from a German company. Prime Minister Netanyahu himself will be testifying in the case.

The Prime Minister posted on his Facebook page that the charges levied against his wife are absurd and will be proven to be unfounded. He claimed in the post that she is a brave and honest woman who spends a lot of time helping children with cancer, Holocaust survivors and lone soldiers.

Benjamin Netanyahu has consistently denied all wrongdoing or corruption on the part of him and his wife. He acknowledged the sharp increase in spending at the prime ministers residence, but chose to blame it on the problematic chief caretaker.

Via TeleSur



Related video added by Juan Cole:

Israel: PM Netanyahus wife at the heart of a legal scandal for misuse of state funds
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Human Rights Watch |  

Militarys Unfinished Business Has Hallmarks of Ethnic Cleansing

(New York)  Ethnic Rohingya Muslims fleeing Burmese security forces in Burmas Rakhine State have described killings, shelling, and arson in their villages that have all the hallmarks of a campaign of ethnic cleansing, Human Rights Watch said today.

Burmese army, police, and ethnic Rakhine armed groups have carried out operations against predominantly Rohingya villages since the August 25, 2017 attacks by Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) militants against about 30 police posts and an army base. Burmese army commander Sr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing told the media that the government-approved military clearance operations in Rakhine State was unfinished business dating back to the Second World War.

The United Nations Security Council should hold a public emergency meeting and warn the Burmese authorities that they will face severe sanctions unless they put an end to the brutal campaign against the Rohingya population.

The United Nations and concerned governments need to press Burma right now to end these horrific abuses against the Rohingya as a first step toward restoring Rohingya to their homes.

Meenakshi Ganguly

Rohingya refugees have harrowing accounts of fleeing Burmese army attacks and watching their villages be destroyed, said Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director. Lawful operations against armed groups do not involve burning the local population out of their homes.

In early September, Human Rights Watch interviewed more than 50 Rohingya refugees who had fled across the border to Bangladesh and obtained detailed accounts from about a dozen people. The Rohingya told Human Rights Watch that Burmese government security forces had carried out armed attacks on villagers, inflicting bullet and shrapnel injuries, and burned down their homes. They described the militarys use of small arms, mortars, and armed helicopters in the attacks.

Human Rights Watch obtained satellite data and images that are consistent with widespread burnings in northern Rakhine State, encompassing the townships of Rathedaung, Buthidaung, and Maungdaw. To date, Human Rights Watch has found 21 unique locations where heat sensing technology on satellites identified significant, large fires. Knowledgeable sources in Bangladesh told Human Rights Watch that they heard the distinctive sounds of heavy and light machine gun fire and mortar shelling in villages just across the border in Burma, and spotted smoke arising from these villages shortly afterward.



Expand Map depicting sites where satellite sensors detected active fires between August 25 and 28, 2017. (Note that the size of the box does not represent the size of the fire detected.)

 2017 Human Rights Watch



The Burmese government has denied security force abuses, claiming that it is engaged in a counterterrorism operation in which nearly 400 people have been killed, most of them suspected militants. The Burmese authorities assert, without substantiating their claims, that militants and Rohingya villagers have burned 6,845 houses across 60 villages in northern Rakhine State. Refugee accounts contradict the claims of Burmese officials.

For example, Momena, a 32-year-old Rohingya woman from Maungdaw Township, said that she fled to Bangladesh on August 26, a day after security forces attacked her village. She first hid with her children when the soldiers arrived, but returning to the village she said she saw 40 to 50 villagers dead, including some children and elderly people: All had knife wounds or bullet wounds, some had both. My father was among the dead; his neck had been cut open. I was unable to do last rites for my father  I just fled.

At the Coxs Bazar hospital, Human Right Watch interviewed several Rohingya with bullet wounds. Some said they were hit while at home, others said they were shot when running for safety from their villages, or while hiding in the fields or hills from Burmese soldiers.

-

AP: Rohingya fleeing violence stuck at Bangladesh border

(Related video added by Juan Cole )



Usman Goni, 20, said that he and five friends were in the hills outside their village, tending cattle, when they were attacked. He saw a helicopter flying overhead and then something fall out of it. He later realized he had been hit by whatever the helicopter dropped. Four of his friends died from fragment injuries while villagers transported Goni to Bangladesh for treatment. The fragments in his torso had not yet been removed when Human Rights Watch met him in the hospital.

Human Rights Watchs initial investigations of the current situation in Rakhine State are indicative of an ethnic cleansing campaign. Although ethnic cleansing is not formally defined under international law, a UN commission of experts has defined the term as a purposeful policy designed by one ethnic or religious group to remove by violent and terror-inspiring means the civilian population of another ethnic or religious group from certain geographic areas. This purpose appears to be the occupation of territory to the exclusion of the purged group or groups.

There is no indication that the horrors we and others are uncovering in Rakhine State are letting up, Ganguly said. The United Nations and concerned governments need to press Burma right now to end these horrific abuses against the Rohingya as a first step toward restoring Rohingya to their homes.

Attacks on villages in Maungdaw Township, Rakhine State, based on interviews with Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, August 30, 2017 to September 5, 2017

Yasin Ali

Yasin Ali, 25, said that Burmese security forces attacked his village of Reka Para on August 27. Prior to the attack, tensions had been building in Reka Para and neighboring Rohingya villages as local Rakhine harassed and abused them for months. Ali said: They would come around to us and say, This is not your land. Dont cultivate this land, and dont dare take the food growing on it. If we went near their lands, they would beat us with sticks.

During the August 27 attack, all the villagers went into hiding. Ali said the women and children were sent further away to seek shelter, while the men stayed close by to wait out the attack in the hopes that they could quickly return to the village after the soldiers left. He said he hid by the roadside, about half a kilometer from where the soldiers made their approach. He heard what sounded like mortar shells hitting the village: I heard boom boom boom, and then I saw the houses just collapse. After a while, he saw the soldiers advance toward the village, and from his vantage point, he saw that they were carrying small arms and what looked like light machine guns. He also said he saw a mortar system on the shoulder of a soldier, and some apparent mortar rounds the size of a grapefruit.

Ali said that when the soldiers entered the village, they started shooting indiscriminately. He and the other men from the village then decided to run away into the hills for shelter. From the hills, he saw a helicopter painted olive green circle his village four times, and saw something being dropped from the helicopter after which the houses in the village caught fire.

Ali and his family walked to Bangladesh and were allowed to enter by the border guards. They arrived on August 31, and at the time Ali spoke with Human Rights Watch, they were waiting outside trying to sort out where they could get shelter.

Momena

Momena, 32, fled her village of Kirgari Para on August 26 with two of her three children. She said that soldiers had previously attacked the village during the military operations in late 2016, but the situation in her village had settled down since then. She described the events that prompted her to flee:

I heard the sounds of fighting around 4 p.m. on Friday [August 25]. There was a lot of noise, worse than before. I saw them [the soldiers] myself as they entered my village. I dont know how many there were but it looked like a lot to me. I fled with the other villagers and we sheltered in the jungle overnight. When I returned to the village the next morning, after the soldiers had left, I saw about 40 to 50 villagers dead, including some children and some elderly. All had knife wounds or bullet wounds  some had both. My father was among the dead; his neck had been cut open. I was unable to do last rites for my father, I just fled.

Momena said she had to leave her husband and 10-year-old son behind. She has had no news of them since then. Her husband has no mobile phone and other villagers she is in contact with have heard no news of either of them. She heard that her mother is alive but has no idea where she is or how she is.

From her vantage point while hiding in the jungle, Momena said she could see some of the houses in her village burning at night. She believes soldiers set fire to the houses as a warning to the villagers.

Momena said she did not know of any armed Rohingya militants in the village. She had heard some youth in the village talking about resisting, but she never saw anyone take any action on this, there was just talk. She said many young Rohingya men fled into the jungle after the attack.

In addition to bodies found in her village, Momena said she saw several bodies of children in the Naf River at one of the crossing points into Bangladesh.

Momena said that when she and others fleeing with her crossed into Bangladesh, the Bangladesh Border Guards stopped them and said: We have to stop you but if you shout and insist on entering, well let you in. She understood this as the guards pretending to obey their orders to refuse refugees entry to Bangladesh, but in practice helping the refugees enter the country.

Khatija Khaton

Khatija Khaton, a widow, lived in the village of Ashikha Mushi with her four children. She said that on August 25, an armed group of ethnic Rakhine youth came to her house and issued vague threats. She recognized them from previous encounters because most of them had been involved in the violence against her community in October 2016.

Khaton said she had never reported previous threats because We dont trust the police, we just escape, thats our only solution.

The youth were armed with rifles and slingshots. She heard periodic gunshots, and other villagers said that the army was helping the Rakhine youth, but she did not see any evidence of that herself.

After seeing the armed Rakhine group kill a young Rohingya man, a 22-year-old called Rahim, she decided to leave her village that day after Friday noon prayers. She said that initially the Rohingya youth in the village responded to the Rakhine groups show of armed strength and threats by protesting with bamboo poles, but the Rakhine group opened fire on them:

Jumma prayers were just over that Friday, and the men and boys were outside the mosque when the Rakhine armed men came up to them. Rahim and others took up bamboo poles, thats all they had, but Rahim panicked when they began to shoot. He started running away. I saw them shoot him  the bullet went through his cheek, right by his cheekbone under his eye. He died from that wound.

After witnessing that shooting, Khaton panicked and fled into the hills with her three teenage daughters, ages 13, 15, and 18, whose safety she most feared for. She left her 5-year-old son behind  many Rohingya thought younger children might be safe from attack  but since then, she has no news of him.

She learned that the armed Rakhine group had returned to attack her village in the early hours of August 26. While hiding in the hills, Khaton said she saw several helicopters. She also said she heard bombs being dropped near and around her village: It was a constant boom boom boom. She saw her village mosque and one house in her village burning.

Khaton and her daughters had no trouble entering Bangladesh, but she remains concerned about the security of her daughters, and is troubled by uncertainty and guilt for her young son left behind.

Nurus Safa

Nurus Safa, about 40, fled from Fahira Bazar in the village tract of Kha Maung Seik on August 29. She appeared to be in a state of shock when Human Rights Watch met her less than 24 hours after she arrived Bangladesh. Many people were killed by knives, houses burned, she said. We were threatened, people were wounded, so I just fled.

Safa said her village was attacked on August 25 by men in uniform whom she assumes were Burmese army soldiers. She and other villagers ran from the village and hid in the nearby hills for a few days and nights. She had heard rumors that some Rohingya youth in her village had been arming themselves and organizing protests, but she did not know this directly and had seen no signs of it.

In her panic to leave, Safa left behind the three eldest of her six children, ages 7, 8, and 15. She has received no news about them or her husband, Shafique Ahmed. She said that when she crossed the Naf River, the water level was up to her neck because of heavy monsoon rains. She said she saw many wounded people crossing the river into Bangladesh, but does not know who they were or how they were injured.

Safa says she and her younger children did not have any trouble from the Bangladeshi border guards when entering Bangladesh.

Mohammad Yunus

Mohammad Yunus, 26, said his village of Sikadir Para in Tat U Chaung village tract, close to the border with Bangladesh, was attacked on August 26. Although the villagers had had no prior warning of the attack, they were nervous because other people had come to his village fleeing attacks on their own villages further inland. He described the attack on the neighboring village of Falinga Ziri:

I remember army helicopters, olive green in color, flying around. I was standing on the other side of a canal, watching all this happen directly across from me. I was very close and saw it all myself. The soldiers were using guns that shoot fire, or something that explodes and sets fire.

Yunus was not sure how many soldiers were involved in the operation, but he thinks there might have been over 250. He said he saw about 25 to 30 houses set on fire in Falinga Kiri from his vantage point. He said that at the time of the attack, it looked to him like there were no villagers left; they had all fled earlier.

Yunus and his fellow villagers quickly decided to flee their village as well. The next day, August 27, as they were heading toward shelter in neighboring hills, he saw soldiers and police shooting at villagers fleeing. He learned later that one woman had been killed.

Yunus said that he did not know of any Rohingya men who had been training or arming themselves, or had engaged in any militant activity.

Begum Bahar

Begum Bahar said that soldiers attacked her village of Kun Thee Pyin on August 25. They wore olive green uniforms and she believes they were Burmese army. She along with seven of her children and other villagers fled in panic when they saw the soldiers and heard gunfire. They ran into the jungle to cross the border into Bangladesh for safety, a two-hour walk away.

Bahar said she saw at least three bodies as she fled to the border crossing. One had a cut on the back of the neck and two suffered from bullet wounds. She heard the boom boom boom of large weapons firing all day August 26 and 27, as she was attempting to cross the Naf River into Bangladesh. During the river crossing, she lost contact with her 12-year-old son and does not know if he survived.

Begum Behar said she was unaware of Rohingya militant training or anti-government activities. She said that the authorities had ordered all Rohingya villages to deposit sharp weapons to local leaders to turn over to the police, so any kind of resistance would be difficult. She did admit that her 22-year-old son had opposed her decision to leave and stayed behind when she left with her other children.

Tabarak Hussein

Hussein, 19, said that on August 27 at about 9 a.m., about 200 to 300 Burmese security forces in uniform along with local Rakhine men arrived at his village of Kun Thee Pyun (Kwashong in Rohingya). He said they were all armed, but was too frightened to have a proper look at their weapons. They began a spree of indiscriminate shooting in the village.

Hussein said that before the attack, tensions had been running high:

The local police had been harassing us, mistreating us for at least six months before this. They would take away our cows, for example. We were angry about this but we didnt protest; we knew protesting would come to nothing. Then on the Friday [August 25] before the attack, four people were killed in my village [by the police]. I dont know exactly how it happened. They were all Rohingya men. We left the village that day and hid in the hills, but came back because the police seemed to back down and leave. We thought it was all over, but it was not.

Hussein said that when the August 27 attack began, he and the other villagers fled into the hills. From atop one hill, he saw a helicopter flying over Kun Thee Pyun village, and then almost immediately after he saw houses in the village catch on fire. He doesnt know what caused the houses to catch fire.

He said that none of the villagers in his village were killed or injured during the August 27 attack. He walked for two days and on August 29 arrived at the Bangladeshi border. He said the Bangladesh border guards stopped his group at the border for a while, and then instructed them to take another route to enter Bangladesh. The group did that and they were allowed in.

Anwar Shah

Anwar Shah, 17, said that on the morning of August 27, Burmese security forces in uniform opened fire on a crowd in his village of Let Ya Chaung, killing three Rohingya men and a boy, and wounding 18 others. He said he didnt know the circumstances of the shooting, but there had been tensions between the authorities and local Rakhine and Rohingya villagers for some time. He didnt think the four were armed or posed any security threat. The dead included Shahs brother, Abdu Satter, 22. Abdu Shukur, about 50, Nur Alam, about 15, and Haroun, about 25. Their families buried them in the neighboring village of Kum Para because they were too frightened to bury them in their own village.

Shah said that after the attack he saw the local village mosque was on fire. He heard that the local police were responsible setting the blaze but did not witness that.

Shah said that following his brothers death, he fled to Bangladesh. He learned that there was a big attack on his village the next day, August 28, and that all houses were set on fire.

via Human Rights Watch



Related video added by Juan Cole:

Myanmars persecuted Rohingya refugees | The Economist
Salazar Intersects 22.42 Metres (True) Averaging 7.4 G/T Gold, 82.1 G/T Silver, 4.43% Copper and 4.41% Zinc in the El Domo Deposit and Succesfully Ends the Phase V Diamond Drilling Program at its Curipamba Project

VANCOUVER, Sept. 8, 2017 /CNW/ - Salazar Resources Limited (TSX.V: SRL; FRANKFURT: CCG.F) ("Salazar" or the "Company") is pleased to report results from the last eight holes (2,430.30 metres) of the phase V diamond drill program that was completed on the Company's 100-per-cent owned (21,500 ha) Curipamba volcanogenic massive sulphide ("VMS") project in Ecuador. Five holes represent new exploratory and development drilling around the El Domo resource and were not included in the latest El Domo resource estimate which was released on January 16, 2015. Three holes were drilled in the Barranco Colorado area, which is within the Curipamba project, to test regional exploration targets.

HIGHLIGHTS:

Hole CURI-236 2.30 metres (true) averaging 1.42 g/t gold, 51.7 g/t silver, 2.45% copper and 5.59 % zinc in massive and semi-massive chalcopyrite and pyrite.



Hole CURI-237 36.79 metres averaging 5.0 g/t gold, 53.4 g/t silver, 2.93% copper and 2.9 % zinc; which includes two intervals: 11.10 metres averaging 1.5 g/t gold, 10.77g/t silver, 0.73% copper and 0.70% zinc in Grainstone (a marker unit in the immediate hanging wall of the massive sulphides) with clasts of semi-massive sulphides 22.42 metres averaging 7.4 g/t gold, 82.1 g/t silver, 4.43% copper and 4.41% zinc in massive and semi-massive sphalerite, chalcopyrite and pyrite.



Successful finalization of the phase V drilling program

PROGRAM RESULTS:

The latest eight holes (2,430.30 metres) (Table 1) were drilled as part of the planned 40-hole (10,000 metres) drill program that was completed with the purpose of expanding the El Domo VMS deposit and exploring its margins, as well as testing geophysical anomalies and surface showings around the Curipamba Project (Figure 1). The drilling activities of the program ended on August 7th, 2017.

A total of 36 holes (10,472.62 metres) were drilled. Thirty-three (33) holes were drilled in and around the El Domo deposit and three (3) holes were drilled in the Barranco Colorado area. In addition to the significant intersections being reported here, five (5) other holes intersected significant mineralization: CURI-213, CURI-218, CURI-224, CURI-231and CURI-234 ( News Releases of March, May and August 2017).

Hole CURI-236 intersected 2.30 metres averaging 1.42 g/t gold, 51.73 g/t silver, 2.45% copper and 5.59% zinc in massive and semi-massive of chalcopyrite and pyrite. This intersection is located in the northeastern sector of the El Domo deposit, approximately 50 metres south from the CURI-231 which cut 3.09 metres (3.08 m true) averaging 0.60 g/t gold, 9.40 g/t silver, 6.43% copper & 0.18% zinc (news release of August 14, 2017 ). This new intersection extends the previously interpreted mineralization trend identified by CURI-224, CURI-198 and CURI-231 an additional 50 metres to the south, making this new trend a total length of approximately 200m. This trend will most likely be connected to the main resource body given that the CURI-236 intersection is only 60 metres northeast from the CURI-166, which previously marked the edge of the latest El Domo resource estimate.

Hole CURI-237 was a deep exploratory hole that was collared approximately 30 meters north east from the CURI-106 which was drilled in April of 2010 and intersected 36.33 metres 3.74 g/t gold, 35.85 g/t silver, 4.39 % copper and 1.5% zinc in the west-central sector of the El Domo deposit. CURI-237 was drilled vertically down to 537.80 metres to test the potential for additional underlying VMS depositional lenses and the potential for strong feeder zones related to the existing El Domo VMS body. CURI-237 intersected 36.79 metres averaging 5.0 g/t gold, 53.4 g/t silver, 2.93% copper and 2.9 % zinc; which includes two intervals:

11.10 metres averaging 1.5 g/t gold, 10.77g/t silver, 0.73% copper and 0.70% zinc in grainstone with clasts of semi-massive sulphides. The Grainstone is a marker unit in the immediate hanging wall of the VMS mineralization.

The Grainstone is a marker unit in the immediate hanging wall of the VMS mineralization. 22.42 metres averaging 7.4 g/t gold, 82.1 g/t silver, 4.43% copper and 4.41% zinc in massive and semi-massive sulphide of sphalerite, chalcopyrite and pyrite.

This intersection represents an in-fill addition to the known El Domo resource. Below the El Domo deposit drilling intersected the usual altered and mineralized dacitic unit, followed by the rhyolitic flow which is the deepest formation reached in several previous holes. Below the rhyolite another large dacitic unit with sporadic sedimentary lenses was intersected with yet another rhyolitic flow at the base. The hole intersected weak sporadic sulphide mineralization with sphalerite, chalcopyrite and pyrite all the way down to the end of the hole in the form of veinlets and fracture fillings. In addition, this hole showed that the basement marine volcanic rocks, Pinon Formation, which was believed to be at shallower depths was not encountered suggesting that the mineralization and alteration system extends as deep as 420 metres below the El Domo deposit.

Fredy Salazar, President and CEO, commented: "The culmination of our Phase V drilling program marks an important landmark in our company and the development of our Curipamba project. As a result, the El Domo resource has been better defined and important mineralization extensions have been intersected that will add significant value to the previously defined reserves. Also, the Barranco Colorado holes have shown us the additional exploration potential on the Curipamba project outside of El Domo. Salazar is very satisfied with the results and looks forward to the future possibilities that this drilling campaign has opened for us."

OTHER RESULTS:

CURI-235 collared on the same platform as CURI-234 (6.87 metres (6.45 m true) averaging 1.47 g/t gold, 10.9 g/t silver, 7.42% copper, 1.01% zinc (news release of August 14, 2017) was drilled southwesterly to test the possible extension of CURI-234 mineralization towards the east. It intersected a massive gypsum interval and the underlying dacitic unit. Gypsum frequently occurs as part of the outer shell stockwork mineralization.

CURI-238 and CURI-239 were drilled to explore the eastern limits of the El Domo mineralization. CURI-238 was drilled vertically approximately 150 metres from the El Domo resource. CURI-239 was drilled westerly around 200 metres from the El Domo resource. Both holes intersected weak mineralization in the underlying dacitic unit.

Holes BC-1, BC-2 and BC-3 were drilled on the southeast corner of the Barranco Colorado area, Curipamba Project, located approximately 10 km west from El Domo deposit (Figure 2). Previous detailed surface geologic mapping identified large phyllic altered andesite and hydrothermal breccias boulders that averaged 0.5- 8.3 g/t Au, 0.05  0.75% Cu, 0.05  0.69 % Zn. Soil sampling identified anomalous values of gold, copper and zinc: up to 0.3 ppm Au, 600 ppm Cu, and 1000 ppm Zn. Also, geophysical anomalies were recognized in the induced polarization survey completed in April 2017, which defined the three initial targets. These holes encountered moderately phyllic alterated volcanic flows with dioritic and microdioritic intrusions and an acid unit at the base. Holes BC-1 and BC 2 intersected sporadic decimetric and metric channels of silicified crackle breccias with pyrite and traces of chalcopyrite and sphalerite. BC-2 had the better accumulation of this mineralization with an interval of up to 25 metres in thickness which includes a few sporadic sphalerite and chalcopyrite filled veins of up to 2cm in thickness. In addition, the lower part of the BC-1 intersected about 30 meters of a Dacite/Rhyolite unit with a moderate anhydrite stockwork and up to 7% disseminated pyrite which exhibits similarities to the underlying dacitic unit of the El Domo deposit. In conclusion, the surface findings, the remaining geophysical anomalies and these recent drill holes results show the potential for massive sulphides in this area. More exploration is warranted in Barranco Colorado.

TABLE 1

HOLE ID EAST NORTH ELEV (M) AZIMUTH DIP DEPTH (M) ACCUMULATED DEPTH CURI-235 695351.79 9855236.17 1052.99 145 -66 338.60 338.60 CURI-236 695437.07 9855437.60 998.38 270 -90 215.65 554.25 CURI-237 695026.00 9855275.00 906.20 90 -90 537.80 1092.05 CURI-238 695600.00 9855400.00 1075.00 270 -85 330.60 1422.65 CURI-239 695762.00 9855310.00 1115.00 270 -80 300.00 1722.65 BC-01 684950.00 9851921.00 187.00 270 -75 417.10 2139.75 BC-02 684780.00 9851902.00 151.00 315 -75 167.75 2307.50 BC-03 684725.00 9852050.00 143.00 270 -75 122.80 2430.30

*PSAD_1956_UTM_Zone_17S

Figure 1. El Domo Deposit  Pierce Point Map





Figure 2. Barranco Colorado Samples and Drill Hole Map



TABLE 2

SIGNIFICANT INTERSECTIONS

HOLE ID FROM (M) TO (M) WIDTH (M) AU (G/T) AG (G/T) CU (%) PB (%) ZN (%) CURI-235 No significant mineralization encountered in this hole. CURI-236 153.16 155.46 2.3 1.42 51.73 2.45 0.11 5.59 CURI-237 56.5 93.29 36.79 5.00 53.40 2.93 0.21 2.90 including 56.5 67.6 11.1 1.49 10.77 0.73 0.17 0.70 including 70.87 93.29 22.42 7.43 82.08 4.43 0.27 4.41 CURI-238 No significant mineralization encountered in this hole. CURI-239 No significant mineralization encountered in this hole. BC-1 No significant mineralization encountered in this hole. BC-2 53.76 56.72 2.96 1.41 1.55 0.11 0.01 0.85 BC-3 No significant mineralization encountered in this hole.

Widths presented in Table 2 are downhole core lengths. Where possible, true width estimates are noted in the text.

A rigorous chain-of-custody and quality assurance/quality control program that included the insertion of certified standard control samples and blanks, and re-analysis of samples with high levels (overlimit) of gold, copper and zinc, was applied to the NQ-diameter, rock-sawn half-core samples. All samples were analyzed by Inspectorate Services Peru S.A.C. (Bureau Veritas), a certified ISO 17025 and ISO 9001:2000 laboratory.

As part of the program's sample quality assurance, twin samples were taken on all holes as described below. The samples were part of a Brecciated Dacite and gave the following results (Table 3):

TABLE 3

HOLE SAMPLE FROM(M) TO(M) LENGTH(M) AU(PPM) AG(PPM) CU(PPM) PB(PPM) ZN(PPM) CURI-235 170842 288.00 289.40 1.40 0.085 0.2 3 7 6 170843 288.00 289.40 1.40 0.089 0.3 4 8 8 CURI-236 170961 155.46 157.30 1.84 0.037 0.3 200 <5 62 170962 155.46 157.30 1.84 0.023 0.2 91 <5 34 CURI-238 170978 288.85 290.80 1.95 0.064 1.2 173 36 1073 170979 288.85 290.80 1.95 0.075 1 53 37 381 CURI-239 170988 280.86 281.80 0.94 0.067 7.8 18 236 633 170989 280.86 281.80 0.94 0.056 11.6 16 216 586 BC-01 170826 401.80 403.33 1.53 <0.005 <0.2 23 <5 <5 170827 401.80 403.33 1.53 <0.005 <0.2 23 <5 <5 BC-02 170945 154.07 156.00 1.93 0.054 0.7 75 39 362 170946 154.07 156.00 1.93 0.051 0.8 81 37 343

The scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Kieran Downes, Ph.D., P.Geo. a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.

Salazar Resources Limited

Salazar Resources Ltd. is a publicly-listed (TSXV: SRL) mineral resource company engaged in the exploration and development of new highly prospective areas in Ecuador. Led by a senior Ecuadorian management team and most notably by its namesake Fredy Salazar, this team has been instrumental in other major discoveries throughout Ecuador, including Aurelian's Fruta Del Norte discovery, IAMGold's Quimsacocha Deposit, Mozo Deposit, Ex Newmont's Cangrejos Project and International Minerals Rio Blanco and Gaby Deposit. Being an Ecuadorian based company gives the Company a strategic advantage enabling the Company to complete exploration at a rapid pace. With an excellent property portfolio (4 projects  36,269 hectares), good geopolitical positioning and a number of strategic corporate and financial partnerships, Salazar has positioned itself to be a strategic player in Ecuador.
The United States is reportedly pushing for the toughest ever sanctions against North Korea in the wake of its latest nuclear test, which experts say could have a crippling effect on the Kim Jong-un regime as it tries to advance its nuclear and missile capabilities.

It is still unclear how much cooperation Washington could draw from China and Russia -- veto-wielding permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) -- in eventually passing its draft resolution currently under discussion in the wake of the North's sixth and most powerful nuclear test Sunday.

According to media reports, the U.S. is circulating a draft resolution through the UNSC that includes cutting off oil supplies to the North, banning it from exporting textiles and sending its workers abroad, and placing an asset freeze on leader Kim Jong-un.

Washington wants to hold a vote on it Monday (U.S. time). If passed, it would put in place the toughest resolutions against the North since 2006, when it carried out its first nuclear test. It would also be the first time for the North's leader to be placed on a UNSC blacklist.

The move comes after North Korea on Sunday detonated what it claimed to be a hydrogen bomb that can be fitted onto an intercontinental ballistic missile. The explosion was around five to six times more powerful than the previous one, which was carried out in September last year.

The international community led by the U.S. was quick to condemn the North's latest provocation, calling for tougher sanctions and more pressure to make it eventually give up its decades-long nuclear ambitions.

At an emergency UNSC meeting held earlier this week, U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley urged the UNSC to adopt the "strongest possible" sanctions against North Korea.

"Enough is enough," she said. "The time has come to exhaust all of our diplomatic means before it's too late. We must now adopt the strongest possible measures."

Joining the chorus of condemnation, South Korea, which, under the Moon Jae-in government, has been placing as much emphasis on talks as on sanctions and pressure in resolving the North's nuclear issue, is also supporting measures that could inflict "pain" on the North.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-09 14:22:30|Editor: Mengjie

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NEW DELHI, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Authorities in India's western state of Rajasthan on Saturday imposed indefinite curfew in Jaipur after one person was killed and over a dozen others injured in violent clashes, officials said.

The violence was triggered Friday night over an altercation between a policemen and a couple in Jaipur, the capital city of Rajasthan.

"Curfew has been imposed in four police station areas of Jaipur to restore order and normalcy in the area," an official said.

Locals said on Friday night a policeman tried to stop a couple on motorbike during a routine checking in Ramganj area and during the process he hit couple, which led to argument and assembling of dozens of people," a local said.

"Later on the crowds went on rampage pelting stones on policemen and setting vehicles including a police vehicle and an ambulance on fire."

Reports said the mob set ablaze a power house and even attacked journalists that had come to cover the incident.

The policemen fired tear smoke shells to disperse the mob the mob.

"In the clashes one person was killed and several others including eight policemen were injured," the official said.

The mobile internet services have been suspended in Ramganj area as a precautionary measure.

Reinforcements of police have been rushed to the area to contain the situation.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-09 14:27:34|Editor: Mengjie

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KIEV, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Russia has called for deployment of United Nations peacekeeping troops in Ukraine's conflict-hit eastern region of Donbas, a move experts said could ease the three-year-long deadly conflicts despite preconditions set by Moscow and Kiev.

They said the initiative could help reduce hostilities in eastern Ukraine and pave the way for the implementation of the Minsk agreement.

However, huge costs and differences between Moscow and Kiev suggest that implementation of the initiative would neither be quick nor easy.

PEACEKEEPING MISSION

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Moscow will ask the UN Security Council to send peacekeepers to patrol the frontline in eastern Ukraine.

The confrontation since April 2014 between government troops and pro-independence rebels in Donbas region has claimed about 10,000 lives.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, who had voiced his support for a possible UN peacekeeping mission, backed Putin's initiative, though he said the mission has to be deployed on Kiev's conditions.

Kiev is ready to consider deployment of peacekeeping troops in Donbas, Ukraine's Foreign Ministry said on the same day.

"We believe that the deployment of the UN peacekeeping operation can contribute to restoring peace and security in the east of Ukraine," it said in a statement.

Taras Chernovil, an independent political analyst, said: "The task of the peacekeepers is to prevent bloodshed and any changes on the demarcation line for the period of their mandate, which can be granted for several years."

Meanwhile, the UN forces are expected to help related parties implement the Minsk peace agreement, which has reached a stalemate.

The Minsk agreement, inked in September 2014 and renewed in February 2015, envisaged a cease-fire, a withdrawal of heavy weaponry from the contact line, a prisoner exchange and local elections in Donbas, among other measures.

While the Ukrainian government has insisted that security provisions are the priority points to be implemented, rebels demand Kiev immediately perform political steps prescribed in the deal.

Observers said deployment of a peacekeeping mission would in fact help monitor security-related provisions in the deal, thus paving the way for the implementation of the following political steps.

"We need a guarantee that the parties will stop shooting at each other. It means that the UN contingent is needed on the contact line to ensure that no side is breaching the truce at the time when the political part of the Minsk deal is being fulfilled," said Dmytro Korniychuk, the head of the Center for Innovation Consulting.

CHALLENGES

However, although Moscow and Kiev expressed their support for a UN peacekeeping mission, challenges remain huge.

Observers said that in order to ensure a comprehensive peace in the region, the UN Security Council has to send a massive contingent to Ukraine, which could be a heavy burden for the world body.

"Experts are talking about between 40,000 and 50,000 troops, which is a serious military force. Such a contingent will require significant expenditures. The UN is not ready for this," said Mykhailo Basarab, an analyst at research company First Rating System.

Moreover, preconditions set by Moscow and Kiev are obstructing the initiative.

Putin said peacekeepers should be deployed only along the contact line separating the Ukrainian government and the insurgent forces, where most clashes occurred. In addition, Moscow asked Kiev to enter a dialogue with the rebels over the mandate of the mission.

However, Ukraine said it would agree to the deployment of a UN patrol only if the troops would be stationed across the whole area controlled by the rebels, including the Ukrainian-Russian border.

Kiev also rejected a direct dialogue with the rebel leadership and demanded the withdrawal of foreign troops and weapons from Ukraine before deploying the mission. It accused Moscow of sending troops and heavy weapons to Donbas, which was denied by Russia.

"Given the positions of the parties, the process will be long-lasting. Without doubts, there will be no decision on the mission this year. The prospects for the decision to be taken next year will depend on the nature of the negotiation process," said Mykhailo Pashkov, the co-chair of foreign policy and international security programs at the Razumkov think-tank.
Teenagers, twenty- and thirty-somethings have been dubbed the Millennial Generation, or simply Millennials. But what does it mean? And how old is too old to be a Millennial?

Generation Y Definition

The term Millennials generally refers to the generation of people born between the early 1980s and 1990s, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Some people also include children born in the early 2000s.

The Millennial Generation is also known as Generation Y, because it comes after Generation X  those people between the early 1960s and the 1980s. The publication Ad Age was one of the first to coin the term "Generation Y," in an editorial in August 1993. But the term didn't age well, and "Millennials" has largely overtaken it. But the terms basically mean the same thing.

Millennials characteristics

Millennials have been characterized in a number of different ways. On the negative side, they've been described as lazy, narcissistic and prone to jump from job to job. The 2008 book "Trophy Kids" by Ron Alsop discusses how many young people have been rewarded for minimal accomplishments (such as mere participation) in competitive sports, and have unrealistic expectations of working life.

A story in Time magazine said polls show that Millennials "want flexible work schedules, more 'me time' on the job, and nearly nonstop feedback and career advice from managers." Another Time story in May 2013, titled "The Me Me Me Generation," begins: "They're narcissistic. They're lazy. They're coddled. They're even a bit delusional. Those aren't just unfounded negative stereotypes about 80 million Americans born roughly between 1980 and 2000. They're backed up by a decade of sociological research." The article also points out that Millennials may be simply adapting quickly to a world undergoing rapid technological change.

A 2012 study found Millennials to be "more civically and politically disengaged, more focused on materialistic values, and less concerned about helping the larger community than were GenX (born 1962-1981) and Baby Boomers (born 1946 to about 1961) at the same ages," according to USA Today (opens in new tab). "The trend is more of an emphasis on extrinsic values such as money, fame, and image, and less emphasis on intrinsic values such as self-acceptance, group affiliation and community." The study was based on an analysis of two large databases of 9 million high school seniors or entering college students.

They have also been described in positive ways. They are generally regarded as being more open-minded, and more supportive of gay rights and equal rights for minorities. Other positives adjectives to describe them include confident, self-expressive, liberal, upbeat and receptive to new ideas and ways of living.

Though viewed as more liberal, some Millennials are bucking the trend. A study published March 31, 2017 by the Council on Contemporary Families found that high school seniors increasingly believe that the man should be the bread-winner in a relationship and a woman should care for the home. "It's been a steady reversal," said study co-author Joanna Pepin, a doctoral candidate in sociology at the University of Maryland.

In addition, it seems that this generation may be having less sex that any other generation before it. In a survey of more than 26,000 American adults, about 15 percent of Millennials between 20 and 24 reported having no sexual partners since the age of 18. Only 6 percent of GenXers (people born in the 1960s) could claim the same. The Youth Risk Behavior Survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2016 also found that teen Millennials were less sexually active that previous generations.

Millennials are also more likely to use public libraries than other generations, according to the Pew Research Center.

Generation Me

There is a spirited, if not tiresome, debate about whether Millennials are self-entitled narcissists or open-minded do-gooders; surely the truth lies somewhere in-between. Generally, however, there does seem to be more of an emphasis on the self than in previous generations, one reason why this group has been called Generation Me. Research presented at the 2016 annual meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP) in San Diego found that Millennials themselves do believe that they are more narcissistic that previous generations, but they don't like it. Also, the uptick in narcissism is only very slight when compared with other generations.

"We're not talking about two generations ago, people were just completely selfless, and in this generation we're trying to kill each other to watch the next season of something on Netflix," Joshua Grubbs, a doctoral candidate at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio. [Millennials See Themselves As Narcissistic, Too (And It Bothers Them)]

The self-centered life approach may be due to the rise of individualism in society. "There is a very consistent and reliable trend where all indicators of individualism [have] been on the rise over the course of the last 100 years," Igor Grossman, a psychologist at the University of Waterloo, told an audience at the SPSP meeting.

Other scholars have pointed out that the attempt to make generalizations about an entire generation is a futile effort. Further, some have suggested that discussion of "Millennials" tends to focus on mostly white youth from suburban areas, ignoring the unique experience of immigrants and minorities.

Additional reporting by Alina Bradford, Live Science contributor.

Additional resources
Updated Sept. 10 at 8:14 a.m. EDT with the latest imagery and video.

Hurricane Irma is a still-powerful Category 4 storm and has reached the Florida Keys as the storm makes its way up the west coast of Florida. NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are providing satellite imagery to the National Hurricane Center to aid forecasts about Irma's potential for destruction on the U.S. mainland after the storm battered the Caribbean and Atlantic Ocean island nations in the path of the storm. They are also tracking Hurricane Jose, a Category 4 storm behind Irma, and the now-Tropical Storm Katia in the Gulf of Mexico. [Hurricane Irma in Photos: Views of the Monster Storm from Space]

Below are observations of Hurricane Irma in motion taken by NASA and NOAA from satellites and planes.

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The upcoming winter might not be as brutal as some have predicted. (Image credit: Olaf Naami Shutterstock.com)

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Editor's Note: This article was originally posted Sept. 5 and was updated Sept. 8.

Follow Doris Elin Salazar on Twitter @salazar_elin. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-09 14:32:37|Editor: Yang Yi

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SHIJIAZHUANG, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- The first land compensation funds were granted Saturday to a farmer who gave up his land for the Xiongan New Area.

The New Area, which covers Xiongxian, Rongcheng and Anxin counties in Hebei Province, is about 100 kilometers south of Beijing. It will facilitate the coordinated development of Beijing and the surrounding region.

A temporary administrative center will be built in Rongcheng. For the construction, about 1,000 mu (about 66.7 hectares) of land was taken from 240 farmer households.

The affected farmers can receive 1,500 yuan (about 231.6 U.S. dollars) per mu annually as land compensation, and another 1,500 yuan in compensation for agricultural losses.

Jiang Junming from Mazhuang Village was the first to sign a land contract with the local government. He received 4,147.5 yuan as compensation on Saturday.

"The amount is greater than what I can earn from crops on the land," he said. "I am proud as a native of Xiongan. Our lives will surely be better in the future."

The temporary administrative center will include the Party working committee of Xiongan, its management committee, offices of some enterprises in the new area, and serve other functions such as hosting receptions, conferences, and exhibitions.
Google has pulled together about 20 mobile apps to help Floridians make it through the next 72 hours, as they wait for Hurricane Irma to reach land.

The collection of apps for users running the Android operating system on their smartphone ranges from Hurricane Tracker from The Weather Channel to GasBuddy, which helps consumers find open and operating gasoline stations, to Zello PTT Walkie Talkie, which relies on cell phone data plans or WiFi and is designed to operate in places where signals are weak.

The list called "storm preparedness" for Hurricane Irma also consists of the Maps app Waze, Family Locator, American Red Cross, CNN Breaking News, Expedia Hotels, Facebook, FEMA, and many more.

Google choose the apps because during a natural disaster, people typically search for this type of information with search engines. The company verified that with trending topics in Google Play, and simply took the apps focused on topics they deemed important. Google built the apps store page based on data people might search for in an emergency, even in Google Play.

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As Hurricane Harvey came ashore over Southeast Texas last week, Zello the walkie-talkie app became one of the top apps online. In fact, Bill Moore, CEO at the Austin-based company, toldThe Washington Post that the app saw an increase in use of about "20-fold."

Whether or not Google will repurpose the apps page on Play to support other emergencies remains uncertain, but "we definitely want to hear feedback from users first on what tools they find most helpful," per a Google spokesperson.

Earlier this week, Florida Governor Rick Scott announced during a CBS News briefing that ran on Twitter, the state coordinated with Google's emergency response team to close roads in Google Maps in real-time in the event that hurricane Irma forces the closure of any roads in the aftermath of the storm.
by Laurie Sullivan @lauriesullivan, September 8, 2017

Apple will change its tracking procedures with iOS 11, scheduled for release this month. The company announced changes to Intelligent Tracking Prevention in June that limit third-party tracking technology from capturing cross-site browsing data.

This means that unless a consumer converts within 24 hours of last visiting the advertiser's website after clicking on an ad, the conversion attribution will be lost.

Now Google has jumped in to address the changes for AdWords, since nearly 50% of mobile website traffic share in North America occurs in Safari on iPhones. In response, Google has created a new Analytics cookie that will capture campaign conversion data from Safari to conform to Apple's Intelligent Tracking Prevention.

On Thursday night, Google sent an email to AdWords advertisers explaining the changes it will make in response to Apple's new OS and tracking procedures. It also asked advertisers to sign a new terms and conditions agreement.

In the email to advertisers, Google said it is making the changes to ensure that conversions are reported accurately in AdWords accounts.

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Marfeel CEO Xavi Beumala said the new tracking guidelines for advertisers and publishers cannot possibly be as accurate as they are today, but the company is making the changes to protect iOS users. He believes the efficiency of campaigns will decline and that advertisers will need to spend more money for less accurate data.

"The larger players like Facebook and YouTube won't have the same challenges because they own their own first-party data and people visit these sites more than once a day," he said.

Basically, Apple is stopping third-party tracking on the Safari browser, not for third-party tracking in their apps ecosystem.

The challenge to get visitors to revisit a website every 24 hours could become daunting for some publishers. And that's why Google often sends the message to publishers and advertisers to increase the relevance of their content and advertisements, respectively.

In AdWords Help, Google explains what is changing -- and in particular calls out advertisers using auto-tagging and modeled conversions in the Conversions column of reports.

Google also outlines the impact to bidding and makes recommendations to monitor conversions in reports during the next few months to identify the necessary changes, if any, to bids.
Mikki Osei Berko is set to return to the screens with an exciting talk show programme dubbed After Hours With Mikki Osei Berko, which will be premiered tomorrow on TV3.

The late night talk show which will be aired on TV3 every Friday at 9:00pm will discuss current events, news headlines, personality interviews, among others.

The newest television talk show promises to be the most exciting programme to attract a huge following.

Mikki Osei Berko will bring his stylish presentation, great conversational skills and good fashion taste on a show that will bring together personalities in the creative industry.

Mikki Osei Berko, known in the showbiz scene as Master Richard or Dada Boat, was featured prominently in the popular television series Taxi Driver, produced by his own production outfit, Media Gold Productions.

He worked with Radio Gold, an Accra-based private radio station, before joining Happy FM in July 2003, and then relocated to Kessben FM.

He also worked with Adom FM as the host of its drive time programme, Ofie Kwanso.

The one-time assemblyman for the Ayidiki Electoral Area (Accra Newtown) has promised television viewers that he is back on television with new developed skills.
09.09.2017 LISTEN

Gospel musician, Noble Nketsiah, will launch the second phase of his social responsibility project, Kids-Off-the-Street Project, in a concert in Italy this October.

Activities lined up in Italy are as follows:

23rd September, 2017- Media Briefing- at the Golden Eagles Global Ministries in Brescia, Italy.

14th October, 2017, the Main Concert comes off at the Maranatha Assemblies of God, Via Della CascinaPontevica 40 25124 Folzano, Brescia.

The gospel artiste disclosed this to Ghanagist.com on his arrival from Italy recently where he had successful meetings with Her Excellency Paulina TangobaAbayage, Ghanas Ambassador to Italy and other partners about the preparation for the concert, according to Noble.

A surprise Guest Artistes from Ghana will join Noble, who will be supported by Italy based Ghanaian artistes MaameBirago, Anne Marrie, Francis JCarson among others.

The main event seeks to entertain lovers of Ghanaian (gospel) music in Italy, whilst raising awareness and funds to support his project back home in Ghana. TheItaly launch Concert which is fully endorsed and supported by the Ghana Embassy in Italy, Ghana National Associations in Italy, Italian Embassy in Ghana and the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, primarily seeks to support Orphanages and Homes committed to taking care of underprivileged children removed from the streets.So far, the project has identified and would be working with about 7 orphanages across the country.

The event is been organized in partnership with JabCrew and Assemblies of God, Ghana-Italy, is under the patronage of Her Excellency Paulina TangobaAbayage, Ghanas Ambassador to Italy.

Noble who recently released a worship song WoyeOwura has lined up a number of activities after this concert, including Ghana Launch Concert in December 2017 and a major event to celebrate the International Day for Street Children on April 12, 2018, in partnership with the Ministry of Women & Children Affairs among other partners.

Street children are often ignored and stigmatized because they have no support, no family, school, healthcare; and face violence and hunger daily. Kids-Off-The-Street Project, is my Social Responsibility Project, launched alongside My Vision album, to remove at least 1000 under-privileged children off the streetsby 2020 and to give them a better place and care, says Noble.

The said album was therefore dedicated to the project, where part of its proceeds was invested in creating some awareness for the project, including producing a theme song, Mmofrayi (Our Children) to drive the campaign.
Government has extended the deadline for the registration of Junior High School graduates into Senior High Schools (SHS) for the fourth time.

The new deadline according to a statement signed by the Minister of Education, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, is now the end of September 2017.

The deadline for accessing the internet to complete the computerized school selection placement (CSSPS) process, has been extended to the end of September 2017. The website is www.cssps.gov.gh. The Ministry assures parents and guardians that no child who qualified to be placed in a public Senior High School will be left behind, the statement added.

Background

The Computerized School Selection Placement System (CSSPS) initially encountered some challenges, with error notices greeting some BECE graduates who had been trying, since September 1, to access the website for self-placement.

But the government said these problems had been addressed, following the setting up of a new website.

The original website for the self-placement, www.myjhsresult.net, now contains a link that directs users to the new website, www.cssps.gov.gh.

The issues with the CSSPS began following the Ghana Education Service's (GES) announcement of an extension for the placement of BECE candidates, after it emerged that over 100,000 qualified candidates had still not been placed.

The GES asked qualified students who were not placed to go online, and select an option available during the extended window.

Prior to the extension to September ending, parents had up to midnight of Friday, September 8, 2017, to register their wards online.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-09 14:57:46|Editor: Zhou Xin

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KABUL, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Afghanistan marked on Saturday the 16th anniversary of martyrdom of National Hero Ahmad Shah Massoud to pay tribute to all those who had lost their lives in the war against invasion of the former Soviet Union and the Taliban onslaught.

Saturday also marked the start of Hafta-e-Shaheed or Martyrs Week as several official gatherings were held across the country to commemorate the week.

The late Massoud had got international fame for offering stiff resistance against the invasion of former Soviet Union in the 1980s and blocking Taliban onslaught in the 1990s to capture the whole Afghanistan.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in his message described Massoud as a great freedom fighter and national hero of the country, besides lauding his resistance against foreign invasions.

Although there is no official number of Afghans killed in the war against the erstwhile Soviet Union and the Taliban, but more than 2 million Afghans were believed to be killed in the wars in Afghanistan over the past more than three decades.

Afghans from all walks of life also visited the tomb of Massoud in eastern Panjshir province Saturday and paid homage to his services and sacrifices rendered for the freedom of their country.

Earlier in the day, Afghan government Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah laid wreath to the Resistance Monument in Massoud Square in Kabul to honor the sacrifices of the national hero while Afghan teenagers and youths marched by cars and bikes through the streets of Kabul carrying national flags and photos of Massoud.

Massoud was killed in a suicide attack by two terrorists who disguised themselves as journalists during an interview in Afghanistan's northern Takhar province on Sept. 9, 2001.
The governing board of the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) says Ms. Nana Yaa Jantuah is still a staff of the Commission despite her resignation in May this year.

Ms. Jantuah who is the Director of Public Relations of PURC in May 2017 resigned her post in the midst of corruption allegations against some top officials of the Commission.

According to the board, though she has resigned, she remains a staff of the Commission until November 15.

She is currently enjoying her accumulated leave, a statement issued by the Commission Friday said.

The board consequently justified Ms. Jantuah's return to PURC headquarters on Wednesday, which triggered a sit down strike by the workers on Thursday in Accra and some parts of the country.

Staff at the head office and those in Kumasi said they were resisting a decision to reinstate Ms. Jantuah as the Director of Public Relations.

Handing over meeting

The board explained in the statement that Ms. Jantuah's presence in the head office was purely for handing over purposes and has nothing whatsoever to do with her possible reinstatement.

In July 2017 in anticipation of the impending departure of the Director of Public Relations and External Affairs, a new managerwas recruited. This gentleman assumed duty September 4,2017.

As part of the handing over/taking over processes, a meeting was called with the new M-PREA and the outgoing D-PREA in attendance to discuss administrative process that will ensure smooth handover of duties and responsibilities from the outgoing director to the incoming manager, the statement said.

Unruly activities The board said it was however surprised at the unruly activities by the Union led by Alhaji Abubakar Jabaru [which] culminated in locking up the head office and also other regional offices of PURC on Thursday.

In view of the facts, the board questioned the justification for the action by the staff, which it said, denied some Ghanaians regulatory services.

The governing board of the PURC deemed it very regrettable the unruly activities, coupled with the unsubstantiated, unproven and potentially libellous pronouncements orchestrated by the Union of PURC, it said.

It said the action by the Union is a potential criminal actions but did not say whether sanctions would be applied against those involved in the action.
The Ghana Police Service has allayed fears citizens and foreign nationals in the country may have for visiting some suburbs in the capital following security alert by some foreign embassies.

The Director General of Police Public Affairs, ACP David Eklu, said the recent issue of security alert by the U.S. and other foreign missions in the country to their citizens especially those visiting Ghana for the first time is a normal practice.

These are not new so we are aware of them and a visit to those areas will show you there are lots of police presence on the ground, he told Joy News Gifty Andoh Appiah on The Pulse programme on JOY NEWS MultiTV channel, Friday.

His comment follows a recent warning by the US Embassy in Accra advising its nationals to avoid some communities in Accra that have recorded violence recently.

The security message posted on the Embassys website on August 24, 2017, expressed concern about the growing crime in the Greater Accra region especially in areas like Avenor, Sowutuom, Sukura, Agbobloshie, Nima and Ashaiman.

The U.S. Embassy informs U.S. citizens that, due to credible reports of growing crime rates, U.S. Embassy personnel have been instructed to avoid the following precincts of Accra: Avenor, Sowutuom Sukura, Agbobloshie, Ashaiman (located in the Tema Region) [and] Nima (Except when traveling via the main highway past Nima), the report said.

The Embassys alert comes off the back of recent skirmishes in some of the areas mentioned which have put the police on high alert for the past weeks.

In Avenor, there was a police alert to avert a possible bloodletting between articulated and spare parts dealers and workers of a private developer.

The two factions are laying claim to a piece of land said to be a state property. There is already an interlocutory injunction stopping the two factions from developing the land.

Also recently in Sowutuom, some angry residents threatened to attack Nigerians living in the community following the stabbing to death of a Ghanaian by a Nigerian, Peter Thompson, after accusing him of theft.

The Regional Police Command subsequently deployed a large number of police men to Sowutuom to curb any escalation of violence.

The other areas- Agblogbloshie, Nima and Ashaiman- which are notorious for periodic violence, have, however, not recorded any incidents in recent times.

That notwithstanding, the Embassy encouraged US citizens to review your personal security plans, remain aware of your surroundings, including local events, and monitor local news stations for updates. Be vigilant and take appropriate steps to enhance your personal security and follow instructions of local authorities.

But ACP Eklu said the security provided in the aforementioned areas is relatively okay as our focus in those areas shows an aggressive police presence. Also, other hotspots are monitored as well."
I have always joined the community of people who subject terrorists to severe chastisement and criticism whenever the need be. I have also tried with so many articles, to distance Islam from the acts of terrorism, the world over.

Most of the time, unfortunately, Islam has invariably been the main culprit of the activities of these terrorist cells.

In my previous article Islam Vs Terrorism , I made proving points indicating why Islam should not be blamed for the deeds of these terrorists. Read Islam Vs Terrorism  for details by clicking on the link below;

https://www.modernghana.com/news/492183/islam-versus-terrorism.html

The justification for blaming Islam for the stupid' acts of these terrorists is that, these terrorist cells assume Islamic names and titles and also, they speak Arabic language.

Over the period, we have debunked that grotesque averment. What we have said over and over is that, merely speaking a language cannot be the basis for assuming your religious inclination. Again, there is no scientific or empirical experiment that allows the assumption of someone's ancestry and/or faith based on mere nomenclature.

The terrorists we are dealing with are misguided and have been led astray. They believe in the cause they are fighting, they think their cause is a just one and nothing can be ruled out in terms of their operations.

We have also acquiesced that indeed, some of these terrorists are Muslims. What people should know is that, there is a vast dichotomous schema between Islam as a religion of peace and a Muslim. A Muslim believer would not engage in any act that would result in the loss of life. At best, a Muslim believer is not akin to just a person who calls himself a Muslim without adherence to the dictates and teachings of Islam.

Again, there is no denial in the averment that there are terrorists who assume Islamic names, however, their activities are not answerable by Islam. Their nomenclature cannot be the basis for assuming their religious affiliation.

In my earlier article, I enumerated a number of terrorists who assume Christian names in the world over. However, I admitted that Christianity cannot be blamed for the deeds of these terrorists, owning to the fact that Christianity does not sanction the assassination or murder of people. This code is the same in Islam. Islam does not sanction the killing and murder of innocent people.

Now lets examine what is happening in Burma in the context of terrorism. The Muslim minority in Burma have come under severe assassination spree by neither terrorists who assume Christian or Islamic names, but Buddhist terrorists under the full glare of UN, WHO, AU, ECOWAS, NAM, NATO and other international bodies. The pertinent question is; what have the Muslim people in Burma done to necessitate or if you like, warrant such atrocities and barbaric attacks against them? Have they infringed upon any law? Have they done anything offensive? Why the unprovoked murder and open assassination of these Muslim minority? Men are being massacred, women are being killed and even children are not spared.

Interesting enough, the leader or if you like, the de facto President of Burma, Aung San Suu Kyi, was a beneficiary of a Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. Why would such a person look on and sit aloof while such barbarism is orchestrated with the open connivance of the Burmese government against innocent people in Rohingya in Burma? Is Suu Kyi telling us that she no longer believes in peace after the Nobel Peace Prize was conferred on her?

Would such silence have been deafeningly noticed if the situation was the other way round? If this is not hypocrisy, then what could be more hypocritical?

I have always maintained my old mantra that the hypocrisy of the Western counties is the bane of our forward match.

How can the world survive this level of hypocrisy?

And we have powerful Islamic countries quiet about this? Cant they make a serious case and present it to the Hague in the Netherlands? Is it too complicated or it is just an acceptable loss?

In my previous article, I raised a number of questions and left them to your own conjecture.

In this article, I have raised pertinent questions and as always, I leave these questions to your conjecture.

May the dead rest in peace and the wounded convalesce. O Allah/God save the people of Rohingya in Burma.

When you say a prayer, please say one for them.

Thank you!

 Osumanu Abubakar (2017)
The Executive Director of the Africa Centre for International Law and Accountability has stated that the statement issued by the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) on anti-corruption crusade days after Joy News' Manasseh Awuni's investigative story suggest that the GJA was taking instructions from somewhere else.

He was speaking on Joy FM's flagship programme, Ghana Connect on Friday evening, hosted by Evans Mensah.

"Looking at the timing, language and context of the GJA statement, it appears that the GJA was taking instructions from somewhere else", Mr Nyarko said.

He added that the GJA should rather be seen protecting and promoting the interest of journalists rather than spearheading the interests of businesses.

This goes to affirm the statement issued by the Dean of Information and Communications Studies at the University of Ghana, Legon Prof. Audery Gadzepko describing the present state of the GJA as a "victim of corporate capture".

The GJA's caution statement released on 31st August 2017 titled "GJA on Anti-corruption Crusade" has brought divisions among many journalists in the country in their quest to hold government accountable to the people.

This development, the executive director stated that there is absolutely nothing wrong issuing a caution statement. However, the "timing was wrong and needless", he stressed.

Mr Nyarko further added that if Jospong - the company indicted in Manaseh's investigate story, had responded to Multimedia at the time the company was contacted, probably the angle of the story could have changed.

He called for the need to train more investigative journalists as their impact on the society in holding governments accountable to the people is enormous.

Last month, Joy News Manaseh Awuni released an investigative piece where he raised concern into questionable contracts the Ministry of Local Government signed with subsidiaries of Jospong Group where it was alleged that the amount of the said contract had been inflated to the tune of Ghc130m.

Jospong refused to give information, reports say. However, Multimedia and Manaseh Awuni went ahead and published their findings after which Jospong Group resurfaced with their responses.
Munroe Bergdorf was fired from her job and threaten on social media for: all whites are racists. Yet many whites stereotype all blacks as violent! Does that include white and black that die for the causes of all or were more generous to blacks than white? We need no synonym for blacks that were the worst enemies of blacks. We have since learned that racists come in different colors. Indeed, the notion that because you are black, you cannot be a racist is no longer valid. Black Massa during slave trade were more vicious to their own people than the white owners.

However, white privilege is real and all white people enjoy it without questions or inadvertently take it for granted. Even when it is obvious, most white people would rather keep quiet than be bordered with the trouble of raising hell. In a competition for a job opening, would you ... . .?

What differentiates a racist, white or colored, from a nonracist or broad-minded people is the ability to constantly ask ourselves: am I being fair or seemed fair to others that do not look or belong to the same class as me? Others define racism as power to deny individuals: economic means of sustenance, life or happiness. Slave owners that fought against their trade changed sides until they became richer after denying their conscience at the expense of human trade.

Can anyone justify exchange rate that makes Gold Coast(s) poor? We know that white privilege was created and built on the back of slaves to secure future of their children and in universities. Plantations were financed by big banks using slaves as collateral and insurance to secure their profits. In most multi-racial communities, those at the receiving end are people of color already experiencing loss of privilege taken for granted by most white people. When we deprive others of their rights, economic and social value based on skin color; that is the attitude of racists.

The fight for Civil Rights was started by Black men who born the worst brunt of it including paying with their lives. However, (mostly) white and black women gained from the Civil Right championed by black men. While white and black women have since made progress or climbed the ladder, black men are still waiting to gain step on that ladder. Where is their helping hands?

Nobody wants accusing finger pointed or directed at him, even when the accusation is true. A good answer from a seating black judge when a white man accused her of racism claiming all blacks are racists; needs examination. The judge said there is a difference between a racist and a person that examines his actions. A racist does not care one bit and would basked in depriving others of their God-given right. Some may be subtle others hiding under cover of law or culture.

Regardless of real white or black skin colors, as the child grows older, cultures around him attaches privileges to pink and brown colors of the skin. Once a child discovers that pink dolls are seen as more beautiful than brown dolls, the old study of black children preference for pink (white) dolls are noticed early. In a culture around communities or homes where both colors are equally privileged, it is not uncommon to see white children choosing black dolls.

Fair, light or white skin is a blemish in some black communities. Fortunately, governments in these few communities in Africa have to enact and promulgate laws of severe punishment to those that see Albinos as a curse. Some communities are still afraid of blue, green and other colors of eyes in their communities. Well informed people know how genetics works in any community. Until more black women gave births to blondes, some thought only whites do.

When people say colors are only skin deep and no more; those that want to discriminate would still find a way to do so. In United States, white skin Anglo used to discriminate against Irish and Italians. Today, they all discriminate against white Hispanics. The point here is discrimination based on privilege goes beyond skin colors. It is a hierarchy to gain instant advantage without working for it. India has a caste system where the fairest people are on top by division of labor.

Munroe Bergdorf created an uproar that all whites are racists and she got fired as a model. She could have said all blacks are racists and gotten away with it. After all, blacks are suspects until proven otherwise! Bergdorf experience and the point she was trying to make was just as whites thinking all blacks are violent. Black on black crimes in the ghetto, xenophobia in South Africa or religious and ethnic riots in Nigeria are based on the fight for privileges not color of the skin.

Nevertheless, people who know all these still discriminate. Assuming we settled on superficial definition of race base on skin colors, racists are everywhere. We all learn to differentiate between colors as we get older, it does not mean we are racists. Left to children, they would appreciate dolls in rainbow colors, some preferring red or green to black or white dolls.

Ms. Bergdorf, a person of white mother and a black father refused to back off or amend her declaration based on her experience. Her modeling employer fired her for that statement. She had to explain to her white mother before she understood her point. There was another point she made that did not gain much attention; which is the closer your skin complexion is to white, the better your chances and more access to privileges than a similarly situated darker skin.

We all discriminate one way or the other. Indeed, it is human to discriminate and inhuman to generalize. We sometimes discriminate between our children without realizing it until one of them points or describes how he felt. Studies show female grade teachers give privileges to male students without realizing it. While race discrimination is far greater than casual attitude, we do exhibit discrimination in our choices and preferences.

Blacks that are not conscious of their attitude towards white people based on past or historical experience could be deemed racists. So, when a white person declares that black people are racists, he may have a point based of his past experience. It is also true that all people, black or white discriminate unless they accept that fact and work against it.

Yes, some experiences are so bitter, they scar us for life. But so are good experiences we must focus on to last us for life. We must also admit that bad experience makes more impression or carve deeper wounds. They can come from a close friend, relatives and spouses but if these bad experiences come from a different skin colors, are they racists?
Nairobi (AFP) - On the inside Nairobi's Westgate mall is a shiny shopping centre, all sparkling glass shop fronts, Bose-conveyed muzak and boutiques stuffed with expensive imports. On the outside it is a fortress.

Four years ago, Islamic militants raided the mall killing at least 67 people. They tossed grenades over the balustrade from the pavement then stormed through the front entrance and up the car parking ramp shooting as they went. The modus operandi was reminiscent of the Mumbai attacks five years earlier.

Yet Westgate has drifted into what Caine Prize-winning Kenyan writer Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor describes as "our national propensity to amnesia for 'bad things'."

Two years after the mall reopened, Westgate remains glossy and new, as if nothing happened. There's plenty for the well-heeled shopper but not even a plaque for the dead.

"Westgate has been erased from the public imagination," says Patrick Gathara, a Kenyan cartoonist, blogger and curator of online publication The Elephant.

"The reopening of Westgate was a narrative of triumph. That we had won somehow."

On that clear September Saturday in 2013, the gunmen sought out non-Muslims and foreigners but their targeting was sloppy. They killed largely at will, for hours waylaid only by an ad hoc crew of plainclothes police and licensed civilian gun owners.

Don't ask questions

Today a repeat assault would be hard to pull off. Tall metal railings and thick bulletproof glass line the mall on the pavement side. There are metal detectors, sniffer dogs and dozens of security guards at the entrances but unarmed in line with Kenyan law. There is a 'No Stopping At Any Time' signpost close to where the terrorists stopped their car.

There are cosmetic changes on the inside as well. A gourmet burger joint where many died has moved from the ground floor terrace at the entrance to the third floor food court and replaced by a noodle bar.

The ground floor atrium coffee bar has been revamped, the main cafe reconfigured and the superstore -- all sites of slaughter -- relocated.

Other construction is still underway which means the rooftop car park where children and their parents were killed at a cookery competition is out of bounds.

Gathara has pushed repeatedly and unsuccessfully for a public enquiry to answer the questions around Westgate.

The government line was that security forces heroically battled as many as 15 terrorists, armed to the teeth, during a four-day siege.

But in reality there were just four gunmen, the security response was too late for most of the dead who were killed in the first hours. During the subsequent days, it is alleged soldiers looted shops and blasted open safes before blowing up the rear of the building.

The Government Printer, an obscure department housed in a musty downtown office, is stacked with the reports of commissions of enquiry and investigations conducted, written up, filed and forgotten. Gathara says he's often asked why he bothers, "rehashing these things that we really can't do anything about."

Condemned to repeat the past

Unlike the pure tragedies of Paris or Bamako, London or Barcelona, Kenyans know their security forces failed.

Worse still, the tragedy of Westgate has been sullied and cheapened.

This is one reason why Kenya has developed "a pathology of not only trying to forget but to obscure memory," said Billy Kahora, a writer and editor at the Kenyan literary network Kwani Trust.

"Just throwing these things under the rug means they come up again and again and you've learned nothing," says Kahora.

Two years after Westgate four more jihadist gunmen from the same Shabaab group attacked a university in the eastern town of Garissa. They held platoons of soldiers at bay while murdering 148 mostly young, Christian students.

When victims' families wanted to set up a memorial for the Westgate dead, they did so alone. A monument was put up in a forest, funded by private donations, and saplings were planted.

After the 2015 Garissa attack too it was left to family members and angry social activists to hold vigils. In both cases, the state was noticeably absent.

"All this trauma keeps piling up on people and at some point something's got to give," says Gathara.
Nouakchott (AFP) - A group of American anti-slavery activists were denied entry to Mauritania Friday after landing at the airport in Nouakchott, local activists and the US embassy said.

Mauritanian authorities refused to issue entry visas to the dozen activists who had arrived in the capital, Sneiba El Kory, an official with SOS Esclaves, a local anti-slavery NGO, told AFP.

Officially, slavery was outlawed in Mauritania in 1981 but the west African country remains a bastion of the practice.

The American activists left the country Friday night on a European airline after waiting for several hours at the airport, a Mauritanian security source told AFP, without giving further details.

"The United States is disappointed and concerned with the decision to deny entry to this delegation," the US embassy said in a statement released late Friday.

Mauritanian authorities did not respond to requests for comment.

The refusal to issue visas confirms that the Mauritanian government has something to hide," said SOS Esclaves vice president Ahmed Ould Weddia.

The US activists were set to be in Mauritania for a week on a trip organised by a Chicago-based anti-slavery group which is part of US pastor Jesse Jackson's Rainbow/PUSH Coalition.

Slavery is deeply entrenched in the vast, largely desert nation where light-skinned Berber Arab Moors enslaved local black populations after settling in Mauritania centuries ago.

Modern-day slavery under a hereditary system of servitude forces members of the "slave" caste to work without pay as cattle herders and domestic servants, despite an official ban.

Many Mauritanians live below the poverty line while there is huge disparity between the Arabised Moorish elites and the country's black population.

A new law adopted in 2015 doubling prison terms for offenders has been hailed as a sign the government is finally getting serious on cracking down on the practice which activists say is widespread.

The Australia-based Walk Free Movement estimated in its 2014 Global Slavery Index that there were 156,000 slaves in Mauritania, or some four percent of the population.
MTN Ghana Foundation has commissioned a 90 seater e-library for the Koforidua Technical University in the Eastern region.

The facility provides access to electronic sources of information including journals and electronic books from reputable databases and publishers.

The e-library has 90 computers with internet access, providing students and teachers access to 10 academic databases and 19,000 e-journals. The facility also has an additional 20-seater sitting area for the teaching staff of the University.

The e-library, which was set up by MTN Ghana Foundation in partnership with Koforidua Technical University was at the cost of GH560, 000.00, with MTN Ghana Foundation contributing GH240,000.00. The facility is expected to benefit over 6,895 students from the university.

Speaking at the commissioning of the project at Koforidua Technical University, the Senior Manager for Sustainability and Social Impact, Mrs Georgina Asare Fiagbenu, indicated that the provision of 90 seater e-library will contribute towards achieving the Universitys vision of becoming the leading technical University in the field of innovation and information technology in the country.

Aside achieving the vision of the Koforidua Technical University, the concept of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) is no longer a nice to have. It is a must have in todays world. As you may all be aware, ICT has become intricately woven into our very existence.

It is therefore important for us as the leading technology provider to help resource institutions so that students can enjoy and utilize ICT, she added

The Vice-Chancellor of Koforidua Technical University, Professor Mrs. Smile Dzisi expressed her gratitude to MTN Ghana Foundation for providing the e-library facility. She said, the e-resource library will enhance teaching and research in the institution.

The MTN Ghana Foundation has invested over USD13 million in more than 142 life enhancing projects in the areas of education, health and economic empowerment in all ten regions of Ghana. Some of the initiatives undertaken by the Foundation include support to the National Best Teacher Awards Scheme and the MTN Teacher Improvement Award Programme. The

Foundation has implemented 82 educational projects including 22 ICT centers, constructed & furnished school blocks, libraries and dormitories across the country.
A group calling itself, Small Scale Miners Association of Asante Region has served a notice to the government and the general public of intended march on the September 12, 2017 to register their displeasure over government inability to give the greenlight to the small scale miners to mine since the six months ban on galamsey operation is over.

The demonstration dubbed, 'Y3re br3' (We are suffering) is expected to have over 10,000 people on Tuesday, September 12, 2017 on the principal streets of Kumasi to demand of the government their constitutional right to work.

The group therefore, has assured the whole Ghanaian populace that the demonstration would be peaceful and conducted in line with the Public Order Act since the Ghana Police Service has duly been notified.

Below is the full statement;

*Y3re br3* Demonstration

We the Ashanti Regional Small Scale Miners Association wish to serve notice to the government and the general public of our intended march on the 12th September, 2017, dubbed *Y3re br3* (We are Suffering)

This is to register our displeasure at the government's stance towards Small Scale Mining after the expiry of the six months ban on our legitimate enterprises.

We have demonstrated enough goodwill towards the government's fight against illegal mining through the operations of our taskforce in dealing with defiant illegal operators within the sector.

After exploiting all meaningful avenues to get government to at least rescind its decision against our legal employment for the past seven months, we are left with no option but to hit the streets to drum home our frustration since our only source of livelihood is threatened and as a result we cannot pay back the loans acquired from various banks across the country.

With the resumption of the academic year, we find it extremely difficult to pay the fees of our wards and this might lead to untold vices in the coming weeks.

We however assure the whole Ghanaian populace that the demonstration would be peaceful and conducted in line with the Public Order Act since the Ghana Police Service has duly been notified.

Over 10,000 of our members are expected to clad in red and wield placards on the day to march the principal streets of Kumasi to demand of the government our constitutional right to work.

We hereby invite all well meaning Ghanaians who share our frustration to join us to march on the day to safeguard the future of Small Scale Mining, a legitimate business protected by our esteemed laws.

The media is also humbly requested to take note of our intended march and carry our message across for the government's attention.

Signed!

Kwabena Boakye

(Secretary)

Kwame Appiah

(Asst. Secretary)
09.09.2017 LISTEN

Disregard any prank call not from our headquarters - Ghana Police Service cautioning Ghanaians.

The Ghana Police Service has cautioned the general public to disregard any prank call that suggested to be a real call from the Service which seek to enlist people.

In a press statement issued in Accra on September 8, 217 by its Director-General/Public Affairs, David S. Eklu and cited by the media indicated that an unidentified person is impersonating some senior officers by claiming be can influence the transfers of police officers to places of their choice.

The Ghana Police Service therefore has cautioned the general to disregard such prank calls and seek clarification on policy issues concerning the service from the Public Affairs Department at the Police Headquarters.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-09 15:17:54|Editor: ying

Photo taken on Sept. 9, 2017 shows a Chinese Railway Express cargo train leaving for Duisburg, Germany, at Shenyang East Railway Station in Shenyang, capital of northeast China's Liaoning Province. The railway line for container trains from Shenyang to Duisburg was opened up on Saturday. (Xinhua/Li Gang)

SHENYANG, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- A freight train chugged out of a railway station in Shenyang in northeast China's Liaoning province on Saturday, heading for Duisburg, Germany.

It marked the start of a new freight train route stretching more than 9,300 kilometers.

The train will pass through Mongolia, Russia and Poland. A single journey takes 17 days, about half the time for traditional sea voyage.

Two trains will depart both Shenyang and Duisburg each week at the beginning, and later increase to five.

The train's cargo includes industrial products from Shenyang, as well as commodities from Japan and South Korea.

The service is aimed at boosting trade between the economic hub of Shenyang in northeast China and Europe.

As of May 13 this year, when the 1,000th Sino-European freight train left China, the country had 51 Sino-European freight train routes, with trains from 28 Chinese cities travelling to 29 cities in 11 European countries.
The construction of a liquefied natural gas terminal in Ghana to support power generation in the Kpone Power Enclave in the port city of Tema, near Accra, is reawakening hopes of an end to the energy crisis that has plagued the country in recent years.

Power outages have led to a rationing schedule that involves cutting power for 24 hours every two days. Businesses have been forced to connect standby power sources such as generators, incurring extra costs. Some have had to lay off workers.

The $600 million project, being implemented under a public-private partnership (PPP) between Quantum Power Ghana Gas and the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation, is expected to provide the West African nation with a reliable and efficient power supply.

The plant will add about 220 megawatts of electricity to Ghanas national grid. The country now has 2,900 megawatts of generation capacity, not enough to meet the growing demand, which the National Energy Policy of 2010 estimated would be about 5,000 megawatts by 2016.

We hope the project will address the dumsor once and for all, says Nancy Osabutey, a resident of Accra. Dumsor (on-off) is a Ghanaian term commonly used to describe the erratic power availability in the country.

A recent report by the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research, a Ghanaian-based think tank, estimates that the economy has lost $24 billion as a result of the energy crisis since 2010.

Like many African countries, Ghana is facing an infrastructure financing gap. Policy makers are starting to realise that PPPs can help fill such gaps.

Africa has been growing over the last few years. It will be challenging to achieve economic growth without addressing the huge infrastructure financing and access gap in energy generation and transmission, roads and ports, says TilahunTemesgen, the chief regional economist at the Eastern Africa Resource Centre of the African Development Bank (AfDB).

The AfDB maintains that the continent needs about $100 billion per year for infrastructure investment, yet the total spending on infrastructure by African countries is just about half that, leaving a financing gap of about $50 billion.

This difference should come from somewhere. Tapping into private-sector investment by unleashing the potential of PPPs is one innovative way of attracting financing for infrastructure in Africa, as this has a very high development and poverty reduction impact in Africa, states Mr. Temesgen.

He adds, Governments and development partners cannot fully close the current huge infrastructure financing gap. It is therefore vital to mobilise private-sector financing to support infrastructure developments.

Private-sector financing is succeeding in different parts of the continent, just as it soon may in Ghana through the Kpone power plant.

In Cote dIvoire, the Henri Konan Bediebridge in the capital, Abidjan, is considered one of the most successful PPP-funded projects in the post-conflict country.

The $265 million bridge, opened in 2014, connects two of Abidjans major districtsRiviera in the north and Marcory in the southand has done away with over 10 kilometres of traffic congestion. About a hundred thousand vehicles use the bridge each day.

This facility enables us to enjoy the benefits of better traffic conditions. We now take less time in traffic, meaning more time for productivity at work. A while ago we would spend more than three hours in traffic, says Abraham Kone, a resident of Abidjan.

The bridge has also opened up the neighbouring hinterland, simplifying freight transportation to the Port of Abidjan, the largest port on Africas west coast.

Public-private partnership is also diversifying the countrys energy sector. The expansion of the Azito thermal energy plant involving the construction of two 144-megawatt power plants will save $4 million in energy costs each year and will enable Cote dIvoire to move from being a net importer of electricity to being a net exporter.

With the expansion, the energy plant, located six kilometres west of the port of Abidjan, is producing over 30% of electricity generated in Cote dIvoire, with some of it going to neighbouring countries, including Ghana.

Partnering with the private sector to promote sustainable development is something the government is talking a lot about.

According to Albert ToikeusseMabri Abdallah, the Ivorian minister for planning and development, Public-private partnership is in line with Cote dIvoires National Development Plan, which outlines building and renovating the countrys infrastructure to accelerate development. The minister adds that such collaboration will also ensure job creation and poverty alleviation.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) envisage that PPPs can promote sustainable development in Africa. A key priority of the UN-founded SDG Fund is to bring together public and private entities to jointly address development challenges.

However, many African countries, according to an AfDB report, are still in the initial stages of PPP implementation because their use of PPP schemes is still uncommon and PPPs are complex to implement.

The report indicates that PPPs have historically been scarcer in sub-Saharan Africa than in the rest of the world. Telecoms transactions account form the bulk of PPPs on the continent, but energy PPPs have recently started growing significantly.

PPPs are not easy. They need a number of issues to be successful. Above all, a stable macroeconomic environment is necessary, explains Mr. Temesgen.

However, an environment characterised by inadequate regulatory frameworks, unclear rules and procedures and lack of political commitment inhibits growth of PPPs.

Uganda PPPs

Uganda is one of the countries with a solid PPP programme. According to the AfDB document, this is the result of many factors, including support from the presidency and the ministry of finance, an earlier successful privatisation programme and a well-designed framework.

At a meeting in South Korea last November, Ajedra Gabriel GadisonAridru, Ugandas state minister for finance, planning and economic development, cited the PPP Act enacted in 2015 as a major enabler of the countrys PPPs. The law spells out the specific engagements of private partners in such partnerships. It also regulates the roles and responsibilities of government bodies during the development and implementation of PPP projects.

Concerns have been raised about severe environmental hazards following PPPs. Ghana Gas Company, for example, has been accused of failing to act as areas such as Atuabo, in western Ghana, continue to suffer the effects of oil and gas exploration that have led to widespread air and water pollution.

Because of concerns like this, governments are being urged to disclose information on risk assessments, including potential environmental and social impacts, of such mega-projects. Institutions such as the Bretton Woods Project would like to see more informed consultations, broader civil society involvement and closer monitoring of PPPs by all stakeholders.
09.09.2017 LISTEN

The private sector in Africa is playing a crucial role in the continents economic developmentmore than it did a decade ago.

Following deep shortfalls in national budgets, African governments are turning to public-private partnerships (PPPs) to bridge the financing gap. Foreign investments supported by collaborative co-financing with development finance institutions offer the prospect of necessary capital to finance industries, build infrastructure, provide social amenities and create jobs.

Narrowing sub-Saharan Africas infrastructure gap could have a big effect on growth. For instance, growth of GDP per capita for the region would increase by an estimated 1.7% per year if the region were to close the gap with the median for the rest of the developing world, according to a World Bank report of April 2017.

Closing the infrastructure gap relative to the best performers in the world could increase growth of GDP per capita by 2.6% per year. The largest potential growth benefits would come from closing the gap in electricity-generating capacity.

In the last 10 years, the continent has welcomed partnerships in such infrastructure projects, with the construction of roads, bridges and dams being the most common. There are also partnerships in power generation, renewable energy, health and telecommuni-

cations.

Cote dIvoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and others have benefitted from PPPs. Examples of PPPs at work in Africa include the Henri Konan Bedie Bridge in Cote dIvoire, the Lake Turkana Wind Power Project in Kenya, Senegals Dakar-Diamniadio Road, power and water projects in Ghana, Nigeria and Rwanda and the Tanger-Med port project in Morocco, among others.

However, even as PPPs continue to change the face of Africa through megaiprojects, experts are urging African governments to be careful and learn from failed PPPs when signing on to new partnerships.

MukhisaKituyi, the secretary-general of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the UN body that deals with trade, investment and development issues, is advising governments to avoid bad debt by engaging experts with the necessary skills to negotiate favourable partnerships.

The Brooking Institutions John Mbaku, also a Professor of economics at Weber State University in the US, agrees with Mr. Kituyi on the need for African governments to ensure that PPPs work to the countries advantage. Potential negative impacts include ballooning debts and environmental damages.

The UK-based Bretton Woods Project, an institutional watchdog of World Bank and IMF policies, stresses the need for African countries to ascertain the true costs and benefits of PPPs over the lifetime of a PPP project. Governments should disclose information on risk assessments of such megaprojects, including potential environmental and social impacts.

For partnerships to work well there is a need for more informed consultations, broader civil society involvement and closer monitoring of projects by all stakeholders.
09.09.2017 LISTEN

Once in a while, Africa produces talented women politicians who, despite the odds, overcome the obstacles that impede their success in the political arena.

Some of the African women who have shattered the glass ceiling include Liberias president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf; former president of Malawi, Joyce Banda; Mauritiuss president, AmeenahGurib-Fakim; and former interim president of the Central African Republic, Catherine Samba-Panza.

For most African women, however, the political terrain is too rough to navigate. Few make the journey, perceiving that their male colleagues would try to undermine them.

In their effort to take up leadership positions, qualified African women can expect to confront gender-based attacks, including being labelled prostitutes or concubines. Sometimes they are sexually harassed, and they often contend with men seeking sexual favours as preconditions for support.

Propositions from senior male office holders as a precondition for entry into the field are unacceptable, says former Nigerian senator Uche Lilian Ekwunife. She adds that this is a tactic men have used for years to discourage women from entering the political fray.

Ms. Ekwunife recollects her 2011 re-election campaign for Nigerias House of Representatives, when her opponent superimposed her head on a naked body and sent the picture to YouTube just to demean my person. Luckily, that childish slur backfired, and Ms. Ekwunife easily won the election to the legislative body.

Four years later, when she sought election to the senate in 2015, her experience was less pleasant. Although she was re-elected to become one of six women out of the 109 senators in Nigerias upper law-making body, her political journey was short. The courts nullified her election after she had been in the senate only six months. She believes that her elections nullification was politically motivated, even though there was the issue of her switching political parties at the last minute.

Ms. Ekwunifes experience is not unique among women political hopefuls in Africa. For example, just two days after activist Diane ShimaRwigara declared her intention to run for the presidency in Rwandas general election in August this year, social media was awash with purported nude pictures of her. Her candidacy was disqualified by election officials.

In neighbouring Uganda, a member of the opposition Zainab FatumaNaigaga and some male colleagues were arrested on their way to a political rally in October 2015. But it was only Ms. Naigaga who was stripped naked by abusive police officers, while the men were left alone.

In Kenya, MP Millie OdhiamboMabona was analysing the countrys Security Laws (Amendment) Bill 2014 in Parliament when a commotion on the floor degenerated into a free-for-all brawl.

Ms. Mabona says she was assaulted by two pro-government MPs. That day I was in a dress and these men kept pulling it up while I pulled it down. They went ahead and tore my panties, Ms. Mabona told Africa Renewal in an interview.

One of the accused male MPs was quoted in the local dailies, saying, I slapped her because she wanted to assault the deputy speaker. That was great disrespect. The MPs later passed the bill on security laws.

Fighting back

Women facing sexual harassment must call the mens bluff, says Ms. Mabona. If they threaten me with exposing my sexual encounters, I tell them I would also expose those that I went out with. Ms. Ekwunife, taking a different tack, says women need to focus and ignore these distractions.

Besides issues relating to their bodies and their private lives, African female politicians, most of the time, begin their career in politics later in life, and start from a position of disadvantage of having to balance family and work. They also tend to have less money than their male counterparts to spend on campaign expenses.

Shauna Shames of New Jerseys Rutgers University-Camden, writing about Barriers and solutions to increasing womens political power, notes that when money dominates politics, women lose out. With women having persistently lower incomes for many reasons, they are far less likely than men to be in the social and business networks that pour money into political campaigns.

Major political parties rarely nominate women for elected positions during primaries because of the belief that women stand a slim chance of winning against men. In Kenya, for example, all the leading parties nominated men as presidential candidates for the August 2017 elections.

Sometimes a political party will attempt to curry favour by nominating women, yet will not fully back the female politicians to win elections, explains Ms. Ekwunife.

Women candidates are more vulnerable than their male counterparts to electoral violence, including physical attacks on the candidates themselves, their families or supporters, from the campaigns to election time, says Ms. Mabona.

The Kenyan government pledged to enhance security for women aspirants in the lead-up to the August 2017 general election. The cabinet secretary for interior security, the late Joseph Nkaissery, in June announced the governments intention to protect women candidates, but also told them to be tough, without explaining what he meant, leaving pundits to infer a tacit approval for women to be violent.

Ms. Mabona herself witnessed raw violence early this year during her political partys fiery primaries in her Mbita Constituency in western Kenya. Her bodyguard was killed and her house was burned down.

Will the ground be level anytime soon for women politicians in Africa? DismasMokua, a political analyst with Trintari International, a Nairobi-based public relations firm, says women in Africa have made some impact in politics but could do better. Most societies are patriarchal and dont expect women to take up leadership positions, explains Mr. Mokua.

Running for a public office requires resources. A lot of women candidates may not have the requisite finances, says Mr. Mokua.

Against all odds, the time is now for Africas visionary female politicians to join politics and change the narrative.
Did I hear President Uhuru Kenyatta say, in the aftermath of the Kenyan Supreme Court decision annulling the elections that: "Every time we do something a judge comes out and places an injunction: it can't go on like this ... there is a problem and we must fix it."?

What is it that he thinks he did regarding the elections that he is referring to here? Having read the Supreme Court decision, I thought that it was the Kenyan Electoral Commission that the court was criticising and not the President? Or did he do anything about the elections that caused the problem?

After reading the Kenyan Supreme Court Registrars Scrutiny report about the form 34B (their equivalent of our Pink Sheets- to record Presidential Election Results), as well as comments on some of the Form 34Bs, I am not surprised that the Supreme Court came to the conclusion that they came to.

There is no indication that President Uhuru Kenyatta or his agents manifestly did something wrong. However, I believe that the apparent sloppiness on the part of Constituency and County Returning officers and also some Presiding Officers at the polling stations was unbelievable.

It was as if they had not undergone any training before they went to conduct the elections. Having said this, I have seen a copy of the Electoral Commissions (IEBC) Training Manual, which I consider as comprehensively thorough.

The manual spells out all that needs to be done by Presiding Officers and Returning Officers in the management of the voting process.

For example the Manual indicates that documents may be rejected if they lack security features (such as serial numbers or watermarks or if they are unstamped).

So why is it that in some of the constituencies, some of the forms did not have watermarks on some pages? For example, at the Embakasi East constituency, there was no watermark and serial number on page 1; although there was a watermark and serial number onthe second page. It is also curious that during the handover from the constituency Returning Officer to the County Returning Officer, there was no entry of how many Form 34As (from the polling stations) that the Constituency Returning Officer had handed over to the County Returning officer. Above all, there was no entry on the Form 34B of the name of the Constituency Returning Officer.

In some constituencies, Returning Officer's stamp was different from the IEBCs official stamp. In others, the Form 34B did not have written on them the names of the constituency; they did not contain the names, signatures and ID numbers of the polling agents. It was strange that some of the stamps did not even bear the name of the IEBC.

In Samburu East constituency, there was no serial number on the Forms. Strangely there were two Form 34Bs instead of one. The original which was on A3 paper, while the photocopy(on A4 paper) was signed only by agents from the Jubilee Party (Uhurus party). The photocopy on A4 had been stamped on 10th August 2017, while the original on A3 was stamped on 11th August 2017. Astonishing!!!

In Uasin Gishu constituency, there was no name of the Returning Officer and no serial number on the Form 34B. In Wajir North constituency, the stamp did not bear the name of the IEBC.

In Embakasi East, no watermark and serial number on page 1; watermark and serial number is on page 2. Furthermore, during the handover from the Constituency Returning Officer to the County Returning Officer, it was not indicated how many Form 34As (the Tallying Sheet) were handed over. Above all the name of the responsible Returning Officer was not indicated.

In Chuka/Iga Mbangombe constituency, the form 34B was signed by the County Returning Officer instead of the Constituency Returning Officer.

In Loima Constituency, there was no serial number on Form 34B. Above all, it was a photocopy,signed by only one agent. Where was the original?

In Khwisero constituency, instead of using Form 34B, the Presidential results were written on Form 38B which is for other purposes.Similarly in Mt. Elgon constituency, the Presiding Officer used form 36B instead of form 34B to declare Presidential Elections. Again, there was no watermark or serial numberon page 2

In summary, out of 290 constituencies, there were 56 Form 34Bs that were without watermark; there were 31 forms without serial numbers; 32 forms were not signed by agents, 189 forms did not have the Hand Over sections completed; and 287 forms did not have the Take Over sections completed.

There was an interesting case regarding the Isiolo South constituency. None of the polling agents signed the Form 34B. The Returning Officers comment on the form was that he could not print the form due to a breakdown of the printer and he had to travel 150 kilometres to print at the county Tallying centre. In the North Imenti constituency in Meri County, there was no polling agent present at the time of announcing result. The signature and name of the Returning Officer on the form was a copy, although the stamp was original.

As regards the electronic system used for the elections, there was a pre-meeting between representatives of the petitioners, the respondents and a Supreme Court-appointed IT experts before the Supreme Court decision. There were disagreements on some issues, especially regarding access to IEBC passwords and firewalls.

One of the contentious issues concerned whether to allow live access to the log-in trails of users of the Electoral Commissions servers. Although the IEBC provided pre- downloaded logs on a hard disk for scrutiny, the Petitioners were not agreeable and rather requested that the logs be accessed from the servers as they observed. The independent ICT expert appointed by the Court asked the IEBC to demonstrate that the logs came from the IEBC servers by allowing all parties to have Read Only access and to copy the logs. They proposed that as an alternative, the IEBC was asked to access the information in the presence of the petitioners and provide copies as and when requested. Although live access was provided on 29th August, 2017 at about 3.50pm they could not be accessed or viewed.

In summary, the IEBC indicated that their inability to provide Read Only live access to the servers within the time was because they had a number of technical challenges in complying with the server Read only access order including but not limited to:

Setup of the VPN tunnel to the server

Connectivity challenges when accessing the cloud

Security protection measures that need to be upheld because we are still in the election period.

Partial access became available after the meeting had been called to a close way past 5:30pm. The IEBC however stated that if granted more time, they would have been in a position to provide more comprehensive access.

My question about this current trend of electronic and cyber transmission of election results is: what is wrong with the good old manual system of counting and transmission? With cyber-transmission of results, it is possible for cyber-criminals to hack into your servers and cause havoc with the figures. Any contestant who realises they are losing the elections can enter the Electoral Commissions servers and make the place nyamaa, then turn round to claim that the figures have changed. It is similar to a situation where a mischief maker goes upstream to muddy the river and comes down stream to ask: who has done this?

When even the USA, with all their technological knowhow and cyber-security systems, accept that their system was hacked, what chance in the world have third-world technological upstarts to securely secure their electronic data?

In some vainglory belief that we have also come of the technological age, we go and collect some bespoke system from the shelves and parade it as our answer to electronic counting. It is like trying to run when we have not learnt how to walk steadily.

Look at Ghana! What we do here is to contract a company that came to this country, primarily to fix security door locks, to manage our electronic transmission of election results. What a joke? Then we turn round to blame some Anokye for hacking the system? Na who causam?

At the risk of looking hung-up in appreciation of the system of our earlier colonial masters; in the UK, they still rely on manual counting of results. They do not even have Voter ID Cards, except in Northern Ireland. Two weeks or so before the elections, a poll card is dropped through your door which contains your unique voter number, your assigned polling station and date and time of voting. Although you do not need to take your poll card to the polling station, most people present the card to avoid questions from electoral officers.

In Ghana, we establish a biometric Electoral Identification Card, take pictures of our eyes and fingers, but we still cry foul about rigging.

When the Kenyan petitioners wanted passwords and configurations off the IEBCs server, did they realise that it could compromise the security of the servers? Strangely, they now ask for the United Nations to conduct the re-run of the elections. Will that mean that from today onwards, every Kenyan elections would have to be run by the UN?



What is happening in Kenya is the engagement of lackadaisical people as electoral officers to conduct elections, when those people do not even bother to sign the forms they are supposed to sign before submitting them.

And why is that the IEBC did not scrutinize to ensure that ALL their printed tallying forms bore the expected watermarks? Otherwise, who smuggled in the non-watermarked forms?

As for the role of international observers, there is a need for reforms of how they conduct election monitoring. When international observers declare elections as free and fair, they cannot possibly be referring to what happens in the backrooms after the votes have been counted both at the polling stations and the first collation centres. This is because, You and I were not there.

Until 2012 in Ghana, heavy-set people (Macho men) used to be sent to polling stations, to intimidate or beat up polling agents, carry away ballot boxes before the counting and stuff them with their own ballot papers.

On my way from my village after voting on 7th December 2008, I remember that on reaching Ejisu in the Ashanti Region, people were running helter skelter. When I asked what was happening, I was informed by by-standers that NDC polling agents were being chased away from the polling stations. I immediately rang the Head of Operations of the ECOWAS observer team, who promised to send people to go and investigate. Then on the outskirts of Anyinam, in the Eastern Region, where I had stopped over for my fufu at the 5 Star Chop Bar (under the palm trees), I witnessed a gentleman who was asking the ladiesworking at the chop bar to go and vote. When some of them said they had not registered to vote, the gentleman assured them: Dont worry; we have replaced the Presiding Officer with our own. Join me in my car to come and vote; you wont need a Voter ID card.

These are the sort of untoward but visible events that election monitors can rely on to determine whether elections are free.

In 2011, I was in Calabar, Nigeria, asa member of the ECOWAS Observer team to monitor the Presidential elections. The visible voting process went on smoothly without a hitch; no intimidation, no ballot box snatching, nothing. Everyone was friendly. Even at the collation centre that I attended after the voting, the polling station results were collated honestly. There again, average turnout was about 30%. Reports from my team indicated a peaceful election. However, the turn-out was extremely low throughout Calabar. It was around 30%. However, out of the 30% turnout, Goodluck Jonathan won about 90% while Buhari managed a low 6%.

The next morning after the voting, the Eastern Headquarters of the ECOWAS Observer Team,based in Port Harcourt, asked us to send our feedback, in line with a set questionnaire. At the end of it all, we were asked to indicate whether the team considered the elections as free and fair. Our answer was Yes because we did not witness any event that could be considered unseemlyor out of sync with observers guidelines. The next day, having collected all the responses from the teams, the ECOWAS team announced that the elections had been free and fair.

The following day, while waiting for my flight to Accra from Lagos Airport, I bought a copy of the Nation newspaper to follow the results. To my shock, I read that the turnout for Calabar had been recorded as 68% with Jonathan winning about 90% while Buharis vote was about 6%. I rushed to a very senior and respected member of Ghanas Electoral Commission, who had been in Abuja to monitor the elections, and who was also waiting for the same flight to Accra. When I showed him the publication and expressed my shock, he smiled and said, This whole thing is a farce; you cannot do this in Ghana.

But already, we had all penned our signatures to our findings that the elections had been free and fair. Yes it had been free during the voting, but not fair in the declaration of results.

International observer teams are always very thinly spread across the country. They are not even able to cover all the polling stations. Thus their observations could only be snapshots of what they witnessed during the voting process. They could not possibly know what happened between the collation centre and the Electoral Commissions headquarters.

With the current employment of electronic collation of results, all sides of the political divide can hack into the Electoral Commissions server. This could be done without the knowledge or assistance of the Electoral Commissioner. It is even possible that when one hacker realises that his/her side is losing s/he can make the figures nyamaa so that s/he can show that figures have changed, thereby compromising the sanctity of the electoral figures.

Perhaps in order to avoid inter-party cyber-wars, countries should consider reverting to the tried and tested manual system of counting only.

Currently, the Kenyan Electoral commission has less than 60 days to conduct a fresh ballot. With the same crop of sloppy electoral officers, one can be guaranteed that there will be more disputes ahead. As for the Electoral Commissioner, I believe that the most honourable thing to do would be to step aside. However, if he resigns, it is the incumbent, President Uhuru Kenyatta who would appoint the replacement. But with the opposition being vehement that the incumbent President rigged the elections, how would they trust the replacement?

As Kenyans find themselves in this No-mans Land, I could almost hear Heavy D and The Boyz in a rendition of Now that we found love what are we gonna do with it? I would rather be singing: Now that we found democracy what are we gonna do with it?
A Political Science Lecturer at the University of Ghana, Dr. Ransford Gyampo says politicians should be blamed for the dwindling spirit of patriotism in Ghanaians.

According to him, politicians over the years have failed to live exemplary lives to motivate Ghanaians to cling to the tenets of patriotism.

In the fight for independence, Kwame Nkrumah succeeded in whipping up patriotic feeling among the nationalist fighters. How did he do it? He associated himself with ordinary people and demonstrated to them that he was championing their course. But so far, I think the political leaders that have in Ghana demonstrate more to us that they are selfish, self-seeking, self-perpetuating and they are self-aggrandizing cabals. If you have leaders with these features then obviously it become difficult for the people to be inculcated in them the spirit of patriotism, he said on Eyewitness News on Friday.

Dr. Gyampo made the remark on the back of former President John Mahama 's lamentation that patriotism, which in the past was a dominant trait among Ghanaians has become deficient in recent times.

Nationalism and patriotism have become very deficient in Ghana today. Absolutely nobody thinks about the country first; we all think about ourselves first, our families second, our parties third, maybe, our communities fourth and Ghana comes a distant fifth or sixth or even tenth, he said at a lecture to open the National Democratic Congress' Institute of Social Democracy at the party's headquarters in Accra on Friday.

While agreeing with the former President, Dr. Gyampo said another way of boosting nationalism and patriotism in Ghanaians is to equip the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) with the necessary logistics and funds to discharge its role effectively.

We know that there is deficient civic education in Ghana. Go to NCCE, they will tell you that they don't have money. And that has been the refrain since they were formed in 1992. NCCE always does not have money to inculcate into people patriotism and political leaders are also not doing much to help deal with this particular situation because the more they inculcate this spirit of patriotism in people, the more they also enlighten them on civic rights.

And the more they become enlightened, the more they become empowered and politicians do not also want an empowered citizenry so they will continue to suffocate the NCCE, he added.
The Sekondi district hospital is among the six district hospitals that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government under the leadership of former president John Dramani Mahama promised to complete.

It was a turnkey arrangement with Messrs NMS Infrastructure and Barclays Bank Plc, London at an estimated cost of US$175m.

The six district hospitals were supposed to be built in Dodowa, Sekondi, Kumawu, Abetifi, Fomena and Garu Tempane.

On 28th of August 2013, the then Minster for Health Hanny Sherry Ayitey broke the ground to signify the commencement of constructional work on the projects which was to be sited at Kansaworodo in the Essikado-Ketan constituency.

Hanny Sherry Ayittey disclosed that the European Hospital, located in Takoradi was also going to be upgraded and re-equipped as part of the contract.

She also noted that the 120-bed capacity hospitals represented a new direction and a departure from the traditional building construction technologies.

The Minister had again disclosed that all medical equipment for the construction of the hospitals had been sourced from the United Kingdom, adding that the execution of the projects was underway and being supported by a UK-Ghana technical team.

CONCEPT

It was part of Government's efforts to eliminate health care disparity in the country to reduce infant and maternal mortality all geared towards the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals four to eight.

DEVELOPMENT

Checks conducted indicate that the construction of the six hospitals commenced in earnest, and at Dodowa in the Greater Accra with progress of work hitting completion stage.

When completed, the Dodowa district hospital would be handed over to the community. 60 percent of of work has been done on the Fomena district hospital, while 45 percent has been recorded at Kumawu, and 30 percent at Abetifi.

In the case of the Sekondi hospital, several challenges have stalled the project since the sod-cutting ceremony.

Though part of the six district hospitals, the Sekondi project is yet to commence as at the time of filing this report.

The Sekondi Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly (STMA) claims it had to abandon a 50 acre land it had earlier acquired for the construction of the hospital at Kansawrodo, a suburb of Takoradi, after learning a pipeline of the Ghana National Gas Company (GNGC ) passed through the land, which made it unsuitable for the hospital project.

This was discovered months after the ceremony.

The assembly claims it later settled on another land at Eshiam, on the outskirts of Kojokrom, for the execution of the project, but the Eshiam land was also abandoned and a new one located at Essipong was secured for same purpose.

In 2015, the Exim Bank UK considered abrogating the contract.

Apparently, the contract had detailed the funding and construction of the hospitals in the Western Region.

This was made known by the Western Regional Communications Officer for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Phamus Tumi Acquah.

CURRENT STATE

The Public relations officer of the Sekondi Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly, John Laste confirmed that the assembly has finally secured a 42 acre of land for the construction of the district hospital.

Even with that, he says the contractor had to stop working because there were challenges over ownership of the land

The land has been handed over to the contractor, over 42 square acres of land and the contractor started moving to site till we had an issue with the ownership of the land

He assured that the assembly would give the land to the ministry of health for construction works to start at the site.

He explained that the land litigation was one of the main reasons for the delay in the execution of the project.

It an issue of we getting back to the contractor and informing him of the court ruling and they will prepare to go back to site to commence work. For now i am unable to give specific date as to when the contractor will go back to site. Once that the health directorate is aware of the court decision, it is their duty to officially communicate with the contractor to get back to site

Meanwhile residents in the Sekondi Takoradi metropolis told iWatch reporters that authorities must ensure they not miss the opportunity presented by the donors.

Again, they are worried that it could affect quality health service delivery in the city due to the increasing number of patients at Out Patients Departments (OPD) of the few hospitals operating in Sekondi Takoradi.

(This report was filed by our Western Region correspondent Ina Thalia Quansah | iWatch Africa) Edited by Gideon Sarpong.
The acting Ashanti regional Organizer of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr Agyenim Boateng Daniel, has stated emphatically that Hon. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, MP for North Tungu constituency inherited his diplomatic lying attitudes from his Master John Dramani Mahama and the Camp of the opposition NDC party.

Mr Agyenim Boateng Daniel punched him with this statement, when Hon Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said that, it is his NDC Government which initiated the planning of the successful free SHS policy which is now under implementation by competent, Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo Addo and the NPP government.

This statement made by Hon Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa provoked Mr Agyenim Boateng Daniel to called him a diplomatic liar in Ghana.

He stated that, NDC members should keep mute and look at how competent NPP government, which cares for Ghanaians will drag the FREE SHS and other policies to it's successful destinations.

He also reminded Hon Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa and his NDC party of their senseless comments made against Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo Addo from 2012 to 2016 on his free SHS policy;

"1. Anything free is not quality - Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa on 14th July, 2012.

2. Ghana don't need free SHS now - Asiedu Nketia on 18th Feb. 2012.

3. Free SHS can only be achieved in 20yrs to come - Lee Ocran on 21st Nov. 2012.

4. Nana Addo can never implement Free SHS, he is deceiving Ghanaians - Mutarla Mohammed on 15th Oct. 2012.

5. Where is Nana Addo going to get the money from to start Free SHS - Kwasi Pratt on 31st July 2012.

6. Nana Addo don't understand the term free SHS and don't even know the cost - Felix Ofosu Kwakye on 3rd July 2012.

7. Free SHS is a 419 - Asiedu Nketia.

8. We need Quality education not free SHS - Incompetent John Dramani Mahama on 29 Nov. 2012.

9. Free SHS is a scam and sham - Dr Omane Boamah on 1st June, 2012."

These and many more were lamented from the camp of NDC and incompetent Mahama against Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo Addo and his free SHS policy, because they lack focus and cannot think deeply.

NDC government chopped up all our money without thinking about Ghanaians, shame onto Hon Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa and his NDC Government led by John Dramani Mahama.

Ghanaians are fortunate to have Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo Addo as their President. Within just two years Ghana will be a country where people will yearn to live under NPP government.

NPP always initiates while NDC always collapsed it. Ghanaians should keep in mind that, NDC don't have anything better for Ghana but stealing, corruption, looting and sharing only.

Now NDC party members have seen that with vision, determinations, hardworking, caring and competency all dreams can be achieved.

Okudzeto Ablakwa should be careful about his comments on this free SHS policy. What did Okudzeto Ablakwa implement when he became Deputy Education Minister in charge of tertiary? since he didn't care for Ghanaians but rather how he will grab money to establish his filling stations was his priority. Your rabbit two hundred community day Senior High Schools, you couldn't even complete quarter of it how much more to think about free SHS. Shameless so called Hon. MP!!

Free SHS is on course and it is free indeed, he added.
Checks at the business and administrative hub of Cape Coast as well as the entire Mankessim town have shown that the two notable places in the Central Region have no fire hydrants.

This means that should any fire outbreak occur in those places, the Ghana National Fire Service personnel may struggle to put it out.

A fire hydrant is a water connection point, which is part of the water pipelines in an area, where firefighters use to fight an outbreak. Per international standards, there should be one at each hundred metre interval.

However, in Cape Coast, from London Bridge, the Agriculture Development Bank area, to Kingsway, through the Ministries to GCB Bank Main and from Melcom to the National Investment Bank, a radius of about 300 metres, not a single fire hydrant can be seen.

The area also hosts the SSNIT House, MTN, GN Bank, Prudential Bank, Barclays Bank, and other notable businesses.

The Acting Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Central Regional Ghana National Fire Service, Assistant Divisional Officer Abdul Wasiu Hudu, said, it is a worrying situation, especially when there is a fire situation, it so difficult because you don't have ready hydrants to which you can connect the hoses to so that you can have a constant flow of water to fight fire.

A business owner in the enclave, Samson Amuzu, told Citi News, The situation is not only a threat to businesses but also to the people living around and those who come here to do their daily business.

Officer Wasui Hudu again bemoaned the difficult for firefighter face in movimg from the Fire Station at the Cape Coast Metropolitan Assembly to the Kingsway area because the street is a single lane.

The Mankessim Situation

At Mankessim, the situation is dire, known to be the central business centre of the Mfantsiman Municipality, the town cannot boast of even a single fire hydrant.

The town, a fast growing one, hosts one of Central Region's huge and vibrant markets while it has also become the hub of most businesses, banks and other financial institutions, but the nearest fire hydrant is at the only Fire Station within the Municipality at Abonko, several kilometres away.

The Regional PRO recounts the Mankessim situation saying, There is no hydrant there, neither is there any open source of water, so most times when there is fire at Mankessim and they realise they have inadequate water, they call the Regional headquarters or Apam, which will also take about thirty minutes.

He indicates his outfit has instituted a regular fire education at the market, and is also working together with the Ghana Water Company and the various assemblies to deal with the situations.
09.09.2017 LISTEN

Accra, Sept. 8, GNA - Madam Sheilla Kangberee, the Head of Export Diversification and Trade Facilitation at the Ministry of Trade and Industry, says the nation requires efficient management of capital and human resources to improve the lots of Ghanaians.

She said the nation had been endowed with many resources and should not rely on foreign aid to transform the economy and, thus, asked Ghanaians to support the President's agenda of Ghana beyond aid.

She noted that the Government's economic transformational agenda would only become a reality if there were well-structured programmes and policies in place to drive it.

Madam Kangberee said this at the launch of the Economic, Trade and Investment Bureau organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, in Accra.

The two-day event is on the theme: 'The New Dynamics of Economic Diplomacy: Strategies to Maximise Investments, Trade, Culture and Tourism Potentials of Ghana.

Madam Kangberee said the Ministry had instituted plans and programmes geared towards supporting government's economic transformational agenda.

They included enhancing the production capacity of the industries for domestic and export markets, creating a fair and transparent export-import regime, designing measures to open new markets and increase the volume of the non-traditional exports.

Others are re-structuring key institutions to become more competitive to leverage export opportunities, support access market for made-in-Ghana products, improve product quality of locally-manufactured products to meet international standards, as well as attract direct foreign investment in export oriented manufacturing sector.

Madam Kangberee expressed firm belief that these measures would help the nation to become a self-dependent economy that would ensure prosperity for all Ghanaians.

Mr Yoofi Grant, the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, during a panel discussion, called for attitudinal change by Ghanaians, adding that, there should be the right people at the right positions to implement government policies.

He said the Fiscal Administration Act required that persons in charge of institutions that use State funds should be held responsible for any financial malfeasance.

'For instance, if I, Yoofi Grant, the head of GIPC, spends more than my budget, I can go to jail, especially when it is proven that I spent the funds recklessly,' he emphasised.

Mr Grant expressed the belief that the implementation of the national database and digital addressing system would ensure that every individual in the country could easily be traced, which would ensure sanity in business transactions.

He said that promoting digital economy and removing human interface in public transactions would reduce bribery and corruption, which would also improve quality service delivery to the citizenry.

However, he said, all these measures would only be achieved, if Ghanaians change their attitudes and exhibit positive behaviours in line with government's transformational agenda.
Kumasi, Sept 08, GNA - The Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA) is strengthening its presence across the various districts as part of an aggressive push to substantially raise earnings from non-traditional exports.

Mr. Eric Amoako Twum, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer (CEO), said the focus was to turn the districts into strategic enclaves of export development activities, especially the agro-based products.

He was speaking at a meeting held with Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) in the Ashanti Region to discuss the implementation of the National Export Promotion Strategy vis-A -vis one district-one-exportable product.

It formed part of series of consultation with the districts to solicit their inputs into the implementation of the strategy.

Already, Eastern, Brong-Ahafo, Volta, Northern, Upper East and Upper West had been covered.

Mr. Twum repeated that GEPA was eager to identify, develop and promote at least on exportable product in every district.

This, he said, would complement the government's flagship policy of one-district-one-factory.

He spoke of the need to take the necessary steps to avoid going down the path of states that neglected other sectors after discovering oil.

The non-traditional exports, he indicated 'provide more jobs and security than the oil will do'.

Mr. Twum reiterated their determination to go the extra mile to achieve the target of US$10 billion in non-traditional export earnings in four years.

He added that the country had all it took to become the export hub of the sub-region.

He cited fertile lands combined with industrious people and committed leadership at all levels and said these could transform Ghana's economic fortunes.

He noted that Ashanti had immense potentials for agribusiness, services and related export value chains and said that should challenge the MMDCEs to do everything to transform the region into an export powerhouse.

Mr. Maxwell Osei Kusi, GEPA Director of Research and Information, said priority was being placed on products including processed cocoa, fresh and processed fruits and vegetables, fresh or chilled processed fish, vegetable oil and seed, tree crops, oil, shea, cashew and palm oil.

They were also focusing on root crops, processed gold and apparel.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-09 15:17:54|Editor: Zhou Xin

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KABUL, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Gunmen have shot dead a senior provincial religious official in Afghanistan's eastern province of Kapisa, a local official said Saturday.

Unknown armed motorcyclists opened fire on Maulavi Gul Mohammad Hanifyar, head of Kapisa Provincial Ulama Council, killing him and one of his bodyguards on the spot near provincial capital of Mahmud-e-Raqi Saturday morning, the official told Xinhua anonymously.

The assailants fled the scene shortly after the firing and police have initiated an investigation into the incident, the official said, adding further details will be shared with media later by authorized officials.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the murder. However, Afghan government regularly blames Taliban militants for the killing of religious scholars and local leaders on the charge of working with the government.

Another Ulama Council Chief Maulvi Abdul Rahim Hanafi had also been killed and five of his students were wounded in a bomb attack in the adjacent Parwan province few months ago.
Wa, Sept. 8, GNA - Mr. Amidu Chinnia Issahaku, Deputy Upper West Regional Minister has commended the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) for basing its funding of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) strictly on performance.

'I personally think that it is a very good initiative since it will go a long way to ensure that Assemblies sit up and work harder,' he said.

Mr. Issahaku gave the commendation during a UNICEF's orientation meeting with the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) and the Leadership of MMDAs in Wa.

He assured that the RCC would continue to monitor the MMDAs in the implementation of programmes and projects and will hold responsible any MMDA that failed to live up to expectation.

The Deputy Regional Minister commended UNICEF for supporting the region with US$15,000 towards the implementation of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) programmes as well as supporting the scaling up of the Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) concept in the region.

'We are grateful to UNICEF and the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) for supporting the region with $3m to reduce high child mortality rate in the region', he said.

He said other areas UNICEF had supported the region included the promotion of gender equality and basic education, HIV and AIDS, child protection, capacity building for MMDAs and support to the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) Zone to improve Monitoring and Evaluation systems.

Mr. Issahaku noted that in spite of numerous interventions, some worrying issues such as inadequate access to safe drinking water and sanitation facilities; increasing HIV and AIDS prevalence; inadequate use of iodized salt, low birth and death registration; and unsatisfactory health indicators still faced children and mothers in the region.

While expressing hope that the UNICEF's new project would tackle some of the worrying issues, he also appealed to other development partners to come to the aid of the region.

Madam Margaret Gwada, UNICEF Chief of Field Office, Tamale noted that the current UNICEF programme which was signed in 2012 had been extended to February 2018.

She explained that the new UNICEF Country Programme would start from 2018 to 2022, and the orientation programme was therefore meant to mobilise the support of the Council Members to help achieve their objectives.

Madam Gwada said UNICEF had concentrated its work in Northern Ghana to help deprived children in the region, noting that the wealth of a nation was determined by the health of its children.

Madam Evelyn Ngaanuma, UNICEF Knowledge Management Officer at the Tamale Office, in a presentation said in Ghana, one out of every five girls got married before their 18th birthday, while in Northern Ghana the situation was one out of every three girls.

The situation in the Upper West Region she explained was three out of every 10 girls.
TECHNOLOGY CONTINUES to change the dynamics of life including publishing. Paper-based systems in particular have developed into electronic systems. Literary works including God's holy Word, the Bible, are in digital format today. It is on phones, ipads and computers today.

The Bible is the Word of God. But there is one thing we must understand about having the Bible. Most Christians have various versions of the Bible, and take them to church meetings. But a Christian who holds the Bible in his hand does not necessarily have the Word of God. It may seem he has it, but he truly does not.

God's Word was not given merely to be held in one's hand or kept at a bedside or on a table as if for decoration or to express religiosity. To have the Word of God is to have it dwelling in your heart. And to have the Word of God in your heart, and you living in it, is to be a Christian.

People are made Christians by having Christ in them, and by He having them in Himself. A Christian is a person in whom Christ dwells. That is why it is written, CHRIST IN YOU the hope of glory (Colossians 1: 27). I mean we are made Christians by having the Word of God dwelling in us. Remember that Christ Jesus and the Word of God are one.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1: 1). He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God (Revelation 19: 13). The above scriptures speak about the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now, how does Christ Jesus come in us? To understand this question is to understand how people become Christians. Many Pastors teach that people become Christians merely by confessing with their mouths that Jesus is Lord and believing in their heart that God raised him from the dead, quoting Romans 10: 9.

But this teaching is superficial. Confessing Christ with your mouth and believing in His resurrection in your heart are based on the Word of God received in your heart through Spirit-inspired preaching. A person who has not heard and received the Word of Christ in him cannot believe in Christ in his heart and confess Him with his mouth to receive salvation.

Before the Apostle Paul taught about confessing Jesus with the mouth and believing in His resurrection in the heart in Romans 10: 9, he had earlier talked about the fact that, The Word is near you, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim) in Romans 10: 8.

Exactly what am I saying? I am saying that we became Christians by hearing and receiving the Word of God called the word of faith, and through it believing in Jesus Christ. Paul explained this in another way in his letter to the church in Ephesus.

In him also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory (Ephesians 1: 13- 14).

To become a Christian, Paul says a person must first hear the word of truth which is also called the gospel of salvation, and by it believe in Jesus Christ before he can be sealed with the Holy Spirit. And God told Ezekiel to hear His Word with his ears, and receive it in his heart (Ezekiel 3; 10).

God's Word is meant to dwell in our hearts. Paul told Christians in Colossae, Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly (Colossians 3: 16). All these teach us that the Word of God we have is what we have in our hearts.

When you own a big study Bible, and keep it in your house or just carry it to church meetings without spending adequate time to read it with meditation to have it dwell in your heart, your Christianity will be questionable. This is the major challenge facing most Christians today. Many of us claim to be Christians but we are unable to conform to the image of Christ. Christ is not tangibly seen in our lives. How sad! The problem is that we do not have the Word in us.

When a person hears the word of faith preached to him by an anointed minister, the seed of Christ forms in his heart. And the more he receives the Word of God in his heart the more Christ grows in him. This is why a daily reading or hearing of the Word of God with mediation is very important as a Christian. We must commit ourselves to eating God's Word daily for the nourishment of our souls.

The Lord Jesus Christ said, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. God's Word is food indeed; it is food for our spirit. If we visit the early believers who walked with God, they will teach us how often they ate the Word of God in order to have God reign and rule in their lives.

It is high time we stopped brandishing our Bibles for showmanship, and spent time to eat the Word daily to grow our inner man to conform to the image of Christ, and demonstrate the power of God in our homes, offices and communities. Get it right: To be with Christ Jesus is to be with the Word of God. I mean you cannot seek the face of God without feeding on His holy Word which is spirit and life.

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FROM James Quansah, Kumasi
THE GLOBAL lottery industry is a multi-billion dollar business and according to the World Lottery Association, in 2015, the global lottery industry saw sales of $279.9 billion, and down slightly in 2014.

The association's latest Quarterly Lottery Sales Indicator for the first nine months of 2016 suggests that growth has returned to the industry, which continues to raise many billions of dollars for good causes around the world each year, reports Total Gaming (TG).

Making it big from the industry means government or state institutions in-charge of the sector have to take every necessary step to ensure that operators adhere to laws governing the activities of the industry and also make it (industry) look more attractive for people to want to enter it and operate.

That has been difficult in the case of Ghana over the years, as many alleged illegal operators, popularly known as 'Banker-To-Banker,' continue to rip off the state through their unlicensed operations.

As a result, successive governments and Director-Generals of the National Lottery Authority (NLA) Ghana  formerly Department of National Lotteries  have from 1958 when lottery was introduced into the country, resorted to engaging the services of personnel from the Ghana Police Service (GPS) who go to arrest the alleged illegal lotto operators.

The approach over the years has been the application of brute force by way of using police personnel to raid the purported illegal operators.

Have the arrests paid off for the state or NLA over the years? Many believe they have certainly not as numerous lotto kiosks belonging to such illegal operators continue springing up all over the country, with the state receiving no tax revenue from their operations.

It would be recalled that such police arrests which many citizens term as harassment took place in 2010 and caused a sour relation between the late Prof. John Evans Atta Mills' government and some lotto operators represented then by the Ghana Lotto Operators Association (GLOA).

The operators, who had suffered alleged harassment by personnel of the Ghana Police Service, accused then President Mills of what they termed attempts to ground their business which they said would eventually render the lotto agents destitute in society.

GLOA held a press conference in 2010 and cautioned the then government to halt the use of police to harass its members, warning, The peace of this country will be disturbed if the NDC government allows the NLA to continue its vendetta on lotto operators and their agents.

Seth Amoani, secretary of the association, charged at the said press conference, We are by this serving notice to the government that GLOA will protect its businesses if government fails to do so under Section 2(4) of the National Lotto Act (Act 722).

From Harassment To Dialogue

The approach to dealing with the illegal lotto operations in the countr, which deprives government of substantial amount of tax revenue, however, appears to be going a more 'civilized' and 'responsible' direction, thanks to the appointment of Kofi Osei Ameyaw in March, 2017 as the new Director-General of the NLA.

Mr. Osei Ameyaw has taken the approach to dealing with the issue from police harassment of illegal operators to rather holding dialogue with them and doing everything possible to regularize them.

He says arresting the illegal operators has not paid off over the years and that it is time that a more practical and rationale approach is used to deal with the situation.

Well, when the police have been arresting them it has not resolved the issue. And if you arrest all of them where are you going to keep them? he quizzes.

You will keep them in jail and then what, you will feed them? There are a number of them so the best way is to regularize their current plight; bring them in and then regulate them and slowly give them equipment or the machine so they become part of the Lotto Marketing Company (LMC) system, Mr. Osei Ameyaw suggests.

And then also areas where there are no connectivity we should be able to work so that where we are present and working and they are staking lotto, there is a shortfall so they are filling the market. So we have to be practical about these issues and deal with them in a rationale way, he says.

Mr. Osei Ameyaw, unlike his predecessors, is a believer in the assertion that it is better to jaw-jaw than to war-war, and he is demonstrating this through his constant stakeholders' engagement series with the operators, agents, writers and the LMCs in the industry.

Results

The results from the dialogue so far have been impressive and the NLA, under the watch of Mr. Osei Ameyaw, is set to increase government's revenue by bringing on board most of the illegal operators.

He tells this paper that so far, over 700 of the illegal operators in the Greater Accra Region alone have opted to register with the NLA to be licensed as legal operators.

So far, we have gone 700 plus in Greater Accra alone and by the time we get to the regions, we are looking at thousands. We're hoping that we get over 5,000 across board, he indicates.

At each session of such dialogues, the Director-General usually encourages the stakeholders to openly voice out their concerns so as to enable the Authority better serve them.

The message Mr. Osei Ameyaw has always strived to drum home is the need for legal operations and strong collaboration between the NLA and all its key stakeholders, through open and frank dialogue, and not undue brutality or harassment.

This is proving to be a major game changer for the industry and NLA in particular, as numerous alleged illegal operators are now seeing the need to get regularized by the Authority and in turn pay tax as a way of contributing their quota to national development.

All has not been easy but the Director-General seems to remain committed to ensuring that lotto operations in Ghana are done legally and under an atmosphere of peace.

Amnesty

As he hopes to have the operators nationwide registered by the end of December 2017  which is the amnesty period for willingly registering  Mr. Osei Ameyaw is looking to expand his campaign to Ghanas neighbouring countries namely, Togo, Burkina Faso and Cote d Ivoire, to ensure that people who stake Ghana lotto from there to pass through the legal route.

Revolutionizing The Sector

Under Mr. Osei Ameyaw, the Authority is in the process of introducing new value-added services to make its operations more attractive and also rewarding for its stakeholders.

NLA, the Director-General earlier indicated, was in the process of introducing about 30,000 new innovative kiosks nationwide for its agents which can be used for mobile money transfers, utility payments, among others.

He said the new kiosks were expected to be rolled out by November or December this year and that when that happens, it will help the Authority to increase the commission it pays to lotto operators or agents from the current 20 percent to about 25 percent or more.

About NLA

NLA is a statutory agency of Ghana and it is under the Ministry of Finance.

As a governmental organization, the NLA is responsible for organizing raffles for the nation, for a chance for individuals to win prices thereby making lives more appreciating and better for each and everyone, including the rich and the poor.

The board of the NLA oversees the activities of the organization, headed by a chairperson, one representative of the Ministry of Interior, one representative of the Ministry of Finance, another representative of the Attorney-Generals Department, two government appointees and the Director-General.

Kofi Osei Ameyaw addressing the media on the sidelines of one of the engagement series with the stakeholders

A cross-section of regional executives of Lotto Marketing Companies during one of the engagement series

BY Melvin Tarlue
The Honourable Carlos Kingsley Ahenkorah, MP for Tema West and Deputy Minister for Trade and Industry first hit the headlines when he defeated the incumbent MP, Naa Torshie at the primaries.

Word went round that the defeated MP was so embittered that she refused to cooperate with the new NPP Candidate. The rumor mill had it that Carlos Ahenkorah went full length at every opportunity in the open to plead with her to support him. Eventually, highly embarrassed by the relentless pressure, the MP capitulated and threw her support behind Carlos.

I first saw Carlos Ahenkorah at the Greater Accra NPP Regional Rally held at Tema Community One  Naa Torshie was there and she spoke at the rally.

Carlos subsequently went ahead and true to prediction won the seat previously held by Lawyer Abraham Aidoo and later Naa Torshie, all for the NPP. Tema West is a safe seat for NPP.

In Parliament, President Nana Akufo-Addo nominated him as a Deputy Minister, so everyday, Hon Carlos wakes up both as MP and also Deputy Minister.

All of a sudden news came on the air waves that the Honourable MP for Tema West in a 'Rabon Zollo' style has physically prevented officers from Tema Metropolitan Assembly sent to demolish some unauthorized structures at Cocoa Village, Community 2, Tema.

A few days later, the Tema Metropolitan Assembly converged at an Emergency Meeting and the General Assembly voted successfully by 25 for and 9 against to SUSPEND the MP from the TMA for a period of six months.

From all indications, the battle is joined: Tema MP versus TMA  Sayooo!!! Reader, it is terrible.

The problem of Carlos Ahenkorah is the problem of every MP. I faced the same problem when I was MP for Berekum  and the root cause of the problem is that who is Number One in the community  the MP or the DCE?

Put yourself in the shoes of the MP. Imagine the huge amount of monies he spent  first on primaries, then the general elections, rallies, and then on the voting day  in a highly cosmopolitan urban center like Tema, very populous constituency, Carlos must have spent not less than one billion old cedis.

Imagine all those who acted as his cheerleaders, those vanguards, in the frontline, goro boys at the Harbour, traders at the market, those hawkers  petty middle class businessmen  then all of a sudden, you, MCE, from literally NOWHERE comes to say we are DEMOLISHING your kiosks!!!! Which concerned serious MP will tolerate that? What will happen next time around when you come for their votes?

But the painful REALITY which every MP including Carlos Ahenkorah KNOWS is that the law as it is today, you, the MP  you are literally POWERLESS when it comes to decision making at the Assembly.

According to the Local Government Act, an MP is a non-voting member of the District Assembly.

I remember when I was MP for Berekum, in my enthusiasm; I attended the first meeting of the District Assembly, and gave a ringing speech, laden with several suggestions to improve operations in the District. When I finished, during recess, one of the Assembly Members told me Captain, your ideas are very good, but we don't have money to implement them! That ended the ideas.

I painfully realized that if you are MP, you are, to be brutally frank, IRRELEVANT to the Assembly's operations, and especially where the DCE is nursing a secret ambition to replace you, then you are doomed.

Framers of the Constitution introduced something called Common Fund, and a percentage share of the common fund for the MP to disburse, but MP you do not sign cheques, so you can direct that I give 100 bags of cement to village A Primary School  the DCE can frustrate you by saying there is no money in the account!!!!

By contrast, the DCE or MCE, once in power, is a most influential person  the capo of the Assembly, the chairman of the Executive Committee, chairman of the Tender Board  he can get his ideas across, responsible only to the President who appointed him.

One day in Parliament, I asked Ofosu Ampofo, now NDC top guru that being DCE and being an MP, which is better?

Without hesitation he replied instantly: DCE!!!

I am sure he said so because unknown to the broad majority of the people, if you are elected as MP, you are supposed to be in Accra to attend the sittings of Parliament. Reader, I can assure you, if you want to be a good MP, honest and devoted, you will have to attend every sitting of House, attend every Committee meeting and what time will you have for your Constituency? By contrast, behind you, back at home sits the DCE  monarch of all he surveys, controlling a budget, running around in a convoy, living in the Residency, literally the President of the District.

The people voted for the MP, but he is in Accra, making abstract laws for Ghana, but as regards roads, markets, sanitation  the person to provide those amenities, the DCE was not elected by the people, so they vent their spleen on the MP. On the ground, it is the DCE and the Assembly, not the MP who calls the shots. Listening to the case of the Tema Assembly, you really cannot blame them. Those squatters living in unauthorized structures have been given warnings upon warnings to leave without success. So, the Assembly needed to use some force.

And, the law is very clear: anybody who obstructs the Assembly from carrying out its functions can be sent to jail!!!! If it is true that Carlos Ahenkorah has indeed obstructed the Assembly from carrying out its legitimate duties, then he should thank God he has gotten away with only a suspension.

But what is suspension, anyway? A non-voting member being suspended? It is no headache at all.

What is the way out?

Only one way-ELECT every DCE by popular ballot. That is all. Let every DCE be directly elected by Universal adult suffrage, so that if the DCE, elected by the people decides that market women should be moved from point A to point B he will weigh the consequences of his decision on the next ballot time.

For now, we can only sympathize with Honourable Carlos Ahenkorah  my brother, don't worry. Be cool. You are not alone in this quadrangle. Life is like that.

From Nkrabeah Effah-Dartey
Lagos (AFP) - Nigeria's former president Olusegun Obasanjo has urged Togo's leader Faure Gnassingbe to introduce limits on presidential terms, after huge anti-government protests this week.

Obasanjo, a former military ruler in the 1970s who was also civilian president from 1999 to 2007, told BBC television in an interview that Gnassingbe had to respond to the demands.

"I believe he should have a new constitution that will have a limit to the number of terms that anybody can be president and he should abide by that," he said on Friday evening.

Obasanjo side-stepped questions about whether Gnassingbe should step down, 12 years after he became president when his father, Gnassingbe Eyadema, died.

Gnassingbe Eyadema ruled the tiny West African nation for nearly 40 years after coming to power following a military coup.

Obasanjo, whose supporters made a failed bid to change the constitution to allow him to seek a third term, questioned whether Faure Gnassingbe still had anything to offer Togo.

"I believe whatever he has to do in terms of development, whatever ideas he has, he must have exhausted them by now, unless he has something new that we don't know," he added.

Presidents who were still in office after "12, 15 years, some of them up to 30" were becoming a "rare commodity", he said.

Two days of anti-government protests this week saw hundreds of thousands of people take to the streets of Togo's capital, Lome, and other cities across the country.

Opposition supporters are calling for a maximum of two five-year terms for presidents and a switch to a two-round voting system.

The government has proposed a bill on constitutional reform to parliament, which returns for an extraordinary session on Tuesday.
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Kano (Nigeria) (AFP) - At least seven people were killed when Boko Haram jihadists attacked a camp for people displaced by the conflict in northeast Nigeria, militia members and locals said Saturday.

The attack on Friday evening in Ngala, near the border with Cameroon, came as two people were killed in an explosion outside another camp in Borno state capital, Maiduguri.

In Ngala, a civilian militia member, Umar Kachalla, said jihadists in two pick-up trucks fired a rocket-propelled grenade at the camp, which houses some 80,000 people.

"They fired an RPG into the camp from behind the fire fence, killing seven people and injuring several others," he told AFP, saying they let off a bout of sustained gunfire as they drove away into the night.

Ngala resident Abubakar Yusuf, who corroborated Kachalla's account, said: "The casualties were relatively minimal because most people had retired for the night."

The camp in Ngala was set up in January last year after the return of thousands of Nigerian refugees from Cameroon, where they had fled the fighting.

Boko Haram seized the trading hubs Ngala and neighbouring Gamboru in August 2014 when it took over a swathe of territory across Borno state and the wider northeast.

Nigerian troops retook both towns in September 2015 with the help of Chadian forces.

However, Boko Haram fighters still launch sporadic attacks, laying ambush to troops and vehicles as well as attacking and abducting farmers.

Rise in attacks

Nigeria's military and government maintains the Islamic State group affiliate is a spent force but its continued attacks underline the lingering threat, particularly to civilians.

Eight farmers were killed in a series of raids on Wednesday and Thursday. Four others were shot dead on Tuesday.

Many of the victims had returned home to try to grow crops to alleviate acute food shortages that have left hundreds of thousands of people on the brink of starvation.

Amnesty International said Boko Haram attacks since April had killed nearly 400 people in Nigeria and Cameroon -- double the figure of the previous five months.

Nigerian army spokesman Brigadier General Sani Usman dismissed claims of a resurgence in violence as part of a smear campaign against the military.

Suggestions of security lapses or failings were "most unkind and uncharitable", he said in an emailed statement.

Checkpoint blast

In Maiduguri on Friday, two people were killed in an explosion outside the Muna Garage camp for internally displaced people (IDPs).

The sprawling camp on the edge of the city is currently battling a cholera outbreak caused by unsanitary conditions exacerbated by the rainy season.

Babakura Kolo, from the civilian militia assisting the military with security, said two women were asked to get out of a taxi at a checkpoint.

"One of the women tried to run into a crowd nearby but the explosives concealed under her hijab went off prematurely," he said.

"A female passenger in the taxi and a rickshaw driver trailing behind were killed in the explosion," he said in an account supported by a militia colleague, Musa Ari.

Five people -- the taxi driver, another passenger and three men in the rickshaw -- were injured, they added.

Kolo, who was at the scene, said a second female suicide bomber was also killed with the first in the initial blast.
Libreville (AFP) - Gabon's opposition leaders, including former African Union chief Jean Ping, are free to travel again, the government said Saturday, nearly a week after banning them from leaving the country.

The interior ministry grounded the politicians, opponents of President Ali Bongo, on Sunday because of "inflammatory comments by Jean Ping" calling for "public disorder, rebellion and insurrection".

But as of Friday evening "public order and internal security" were no longer threatened, the ministry said.

Ping, a 74-year-old career diplomat, was narrowly defeated by incumbent Ali Bongo in Gabon's presidential election last year and accused the administration of electoral fraud.

A number of demonstrations have been held in support of Ping in cities around the country, leading to numerous arrests and clashes with police in the capital and the seaport of Port-Gentil.

On August 18, Ping called on the Gabonese "to rise up as one to solemnly mark (his) rise to power", remarks which prompted the travel ban.

The interior ministry said the "temporary administrative measure" had been aimed at leaders of political parties and others at the heart of the Coalition for the New Republic (CNR), which supports Ping.

Former prime minister Casimir Oye Mba and Albert Ondo Ossa, a former presidential candidate, both said they had been prevented from boarding flights out of Gabon during the ban.
09.09.2017 LISTEN

September 8, 2017//---The United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, participated at the recent roundtable Forum organized in Paris from September 6  8, 2017, by the government of the Republic of Chad, on the financing of the National Development Plan 2017- 2021.

The Forum was opened and closed by the Chadian President, His Excellency, Idris Deby Itno.

In attendance were the President of Mauritania, His Excellency Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, all the Chadian cabinet ministers, representatives from various governments including the governments of Japan, Canada, the U.S.A, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland and from the African Union, African Development Bank (AfDB), European Union (EU), International Monetary Fund ( IMF), the International Finance Corporation ( IFC) and many others.

The Chairman of UBA GROUP, Mr Tony Elumelu was represented by the CEO, UBA Francophone Africa, Emeke E. Iweriebor.

Iweriebor who spoke at a session during the forum stated that UBAs decision to invest in Chad a decade ago turned out to be a very sound investment decision. UBA Chad has contributed to the growth of the Chadian economy through financing infrastructure, a critical lever in sustainable development.

He went further to explain that UBA Chad is one of the Pan-African banks high performing subsidiaries in Africa and encouraged potential investors to look into Chad as an investment destination.

With presence in 19 African countries and in London, Paris and New York, UBA has supported several projects in Chad including a 60 Mega Watt Central Electricity power plant in Farcha.

UBA contributed $18.5million and led the syndication that raised $80 million for the project resulting in an improvement in the access to electricity in Chad by 3.9%.

The bank continues to support the government of Chad in its development initiatives in the areas of infrastructure, Oil and Gas and other key sectors of the economy.

The Forum on the National Development plan saw many organisations and countries pledge support to Chad with about $20 billion having been raised.

Ending the forum, President Itno thanked all the people and organisations present who had come to support Chad, promising that the administration was going to put in the maximum effort to ensure that the development plan is successful.

This administration is a transparent one that is working with partners to ensure successful implementation of all the projects. It is the responsibility of the government to lead the country to sustainable development, he said.
South Africa Anti-Apartheid campaigner and social rights activist, Desmond Tutu has condemned Burma's Aung San Suu Kyi for her silence on the painful and dreaded 'ethnic cleansing' of Rohingya Muslims in her country.

The 85-year-old South African archbishop, who has formally retired from active work said he was forced to write publicly on the matter due to Madam Suu Kyi's posture.

In an open letter on Thursday to Suu Kyi, Desmond Tutu said, 'Your emergence into public life allayed our concerns about violence being perpetrated against members of the Rohingya but what some have called ethnic cleansing and others a slow genocide has persisted  and recently accelerated 

We pray for you to speak out for justice, human rights and the unity of your people. We pray for you to intervene in the escalating crisis and guide your people back towards the path of righteousness, Desmond Tutu said.

We know that you know that human beings may look and workshop differently  and some may have greater firepower than others  but none are superior and non-inferior; that when you scratch the surface we are all the same My dear sister: if the political price of your ascension to the highest office in Myanmar is your silence, the price is surely too steep. A country that is not at peace with itself, fails to acknowledge and protect the dignity and worth of all its people, is not a free country, he added

There are about 1 million Rohingya Muslims in Burma and they have for several years complained of being victims of persecution from the state.

But Madam Suu Kyi largely remained silent on the matter despite being awarded a Nobel Peace Prize winner in 1991 for her non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights.

Many global icons have condemned Madam Suu Kyi for the stance in the matter including, Malala Yousafzai, the youngest ever peace prize winner.

The UN refugee agency announced an estimated 270,000 Rohingya have sought refuge in Bangladesh over the past two weeks due to attacks from the military.

An online petition for the revocation of Aung San Suu Kyi's Nobel Peace Prize has been launched on Change.org and have so far gathered about 400,000 signatures.



By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-09 15:27:57|Editor: Zhou Xin

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TEHRAN, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Iran will honor the international nuclear deal with world powers regardless of any probable U.S. decision to withdraw from the agreement, the head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) said, Press TV reported on Saturday.

"If the United States pulls out of the agreement, but the rest of the countries stay committed -- namely Britain, France, Germany, China, and Russia -- then Iran would most probably stick with the commitments to the agreement," Ali Akbar Salehi said on Friday.

"I think our partners in this treaty have more to lose than we do" if the agreement falls through, Salehi was quoted as saying.

"The United States is trying to poison the business environment. It discourages big banks and companies from working with Iran," said Salehi, referring to Washington's new sanction pressures against Iran.

"It is fear-mongering. But in reality they cannot accomplish much," Salehi added.

The AEOI chief argued that the U.S. refusal to waive Tehran's nuclear-related sanctions constitutes "significant noncompliance" with the nuclear deal on their part.

On Wednesday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that Iran would never breach the nuclear deal it signed with international community.

Rouhani said that the nuclear deal, also known as Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), signed in 2015 by Iran with the United States, Russia, Britain, China and France plus Germany, was an important international accord.

"Today after the implementation of the JCPOA, we should not allow violating the deal," Rouhani said.

He pointed out that the International Atomic Energy Agency has verified Iran's commitment to JCPOA for several times, while the United States has not been fully committed to the deal.

"The U.S. is trying to make a media campaign against international cooperation," Rouhani said.

Iran spares no efforts in establishing stability and security in the region, he added.

In the wake of the economic sanctions imposed recently by the U.S. government, led by President Donald Trump, there have been worries about possible U.S. termination of the nuclear deal with Iran.
Harare (AFP) - Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe said on Saturday that he may name a preferred candidate to replace him as a bitter succession battle between his wife and the vice-president grinds on.

But the 93-year-old liberation leader turned autocrat ruled out simply appointing his favoured figure and said his ruling ZANU-PF party must make the final decision.

The president's wife Grace Mugabe and vice-president Emmerson Mnangagwa have been locked in an increasingly acrimonious fight over who will take power when Mugabe dies.

"I can have my own candidate but that person must fight it out with other candidates at the congress," Mugabe said at a youth rally attended by thousands of supporters in Bindura, a farming town 90 kilometres (56 miles) north of the capital Harare.

"The constitution says the leader is chosen at the congress."

Mugabe, who has ruled Zimbabwe since independence in 1980, said that it would be unprecedented for the presidency to be handed over to an appointee without the ruling party's input.

"We have never done it before that... I will leave or give power to Mrs Mugabe, or Emmerson or Mphoko as my successor," he said, referring to his wife, his deputy and former vice-president Phelekezela Mphoko who is also seen as a contender to replace Mugabe.

"I follow the regulations very strictly. I cannot leave my wife in power like they do in some French (speaking) countries. We do not do that in ZANU-PF, we have a good history."

Mugabe's wife was once dismissed as a light-weight shopping addict with no political instincts, but Grace has recently emerged as a serious challenger for power.

Aged 52, the first lady has dropped heavy hints that she aspires to the presidential palace and has publicly called on her husband to name a successor. She has been increasingly active in public life in recent months and now leads the ZANU-PF women's wing.

Mnangagwa, 74, was appointed to the post in 2014 and is seen by some foreign diplomats as the figure most likely to reform Zimbabwe's fractious politics and moribund economy if elevated.

Mugabe has already been named by ZANU-PF as its presidential candidate for polls due in 2018.

The president, who often travels abroad for medical treatment, has repeatedly condemned factionalism within his own party in thinly veiled rebukes to Mnangagwa and his wife's public posturing.
Kano (Nigeria) (AFP) - NigNigerianeria on Saturday said it had foiled Boko Haram plans for a coordinated series of attacks across the country, as the army slammed claims of security failings and that the militants were resurgent.

The country's intelligence agency, the Department of State Services (DSS), said it had disrupted "sinister plans... to cause mayhem and destruction" during celebrations for the recent Eid al-Adha festival.

"The plan was to conduct gun attacks and suicide bombing on selected targets in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Kano, Kaduna, Niger, Bauchi, Yobe and Borno states," said DSS spokesman Tony Opuiyo.

The alleged mastermind of the planned attacks, identified as Husseini Mai-Tangaran, was arrested in the northern city of Kano on August 31, leading to the detention of a number of others, he added.

Mai-Tangaran was described as a "well-known" commander in the Abu Mus'ab al-Barnawi-led faction of Boko Haram, which is supported by the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq.

The DSS also said he was behind the November 2014 attacks on the Kano central mosque, which killed at least 120.

Nigeria's security services often claim to have foiled major Boko Haram plots and made arrests but announcement of charges, prosecutions and convictions have been rare.

The most high-profile case currently in court is that of Khalid al-Barnawi, a leader of the moribund Boko Haram offshoot, Ansaru, on charges of abducting and murdering a number of foreign workers.

Spate of attacks

However, revelations that Boko Haram may have been planning high-profile attacks during the Islamic festival could be taken as a sign of renewed confidence among the Islamist militants.

The Abu Mus'ab al-Barnawi faction has promised to hit government and military targets rather than civilians, who have borne the brunt of the violence since 2009.

Nigeria's military and government maintain Boko Haram has become a spent force after more than two years of sustained counter-insurgency operations, including with neighbouring Cameroon, Chad and Niger.

But continued attacks, particularly in hard-to-reach rural areas, suggest claims of outright victory are premature.

On Friday, at least seven people were killed when jihadists attacked a camp for people displaced by the conflict in the trading hub of Ngala, near the border with Cameroon.

Civilian militia member Umar Kachalla said fighters in two pick-up trucks fired a rocket-propelled grenade at the camp, which houses some 80,000 people.

"They fired an RPG into the camp from behind the fire fence, killing seven people and injuring several others," he told AFP.

The camp in Ngala was set up in January last year after the return of thousands of Nigerian refugees from Cameroon, where they had fled the fighting.

Also on Friday, two other people were killed when two women strapped with explosives blew up outside the Muna Garage camp for the displaced, on the outskirts of the Borno state capital, Maiduguri.

'Smear campaign'

The latest attacks follow the deaths of eight farmers in a series of raids in rural Borno on Wednesday and Thursday, and of four others who were shot dead on Tuesday.

Many of the victims had returned home to try to grow crops to alleviate acute food shortages that have left hundreds of thousands of people on the brink of starvation.

Amnesty International last week said Boko Haram attacks since April had killed nearly 400 people in Nigeria and Cameroon -- double the figure of the previous five months.

But Nigerian army spokesman Brigadier General Sani Usman dismissed claims of a resurgence in violence as part of a smear campaign against the military.

In a clear reference to Amnesty, which top brass have previously criticised for claiming rights abuses by troops in the conflict, Usman said statistics claiming a Boko Haram resurgence were "concocted".

"The facts on the ground speak otherwise" and that Nigeria's "victory over the Boko Haram terrorists" was "acknowledged the world over", he said.

Suggestions of security lapses or failings were "most unkind and uncharitable", he said in an emailed statement.
Paris (AFP) - Morocco's Prince Moulay Hicham, King Mohammed VI's first cousin, said on Saturday he had been expelled from Tunisia on the day he arrived to attend an academic conference.

"Policemen came to my hotel shortly after my arrival yesterday (Friday) and I was taken to the airport," the prince told AFP.

Moulay Hicham, who lives in the United States, had travelled to Tunisia for a conference organised by Stanford University on the political transition in Tunisia after the 2011 Arab Spring uprising.

Known as the "rebel prince" for his outspoken criticism of Morocco's political system, Moulay Hicham said he had demanded to be given a "document to justify my expulsion, since I had done nothing wrong".

"The policemen were embarrassed; they only spoke about a 'sovereign decision' and agreed to cancel the entry stamp on my passport," he said.

He said his treatment had been "respectful and professional" and that he was put on an Air France flight to Paris.

"I had come to discuss the challenge facing Tunisia's democratic transition," he said, but declined to speculate why the Tunisian authorities expelled him.

There was no immediate comment from the interior ministry in Tunis.

But an organiser of the conference, Houssem Aoudi, called the expulsion order "a tough blow to Tunisian democracy".

The conference was organised by Stanford University's Centre on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law.
Bamako (AFP) - Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita on Saturday inaugurated the headquarters for a planned five-nation force to combat jihadists in the Sahel region, officials who attended the ceremony told AFP.

The HQ is located in central Mali at Sevare, about 10 kilometres (six miles) east of Mopti, in a region that has been hit by a wave of terror attacks in recent months.

The five-battalion, 5,000-strong force, decided at a summit in Bamako on July 2, is to comprise troops from Niger, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Burkina Faso.

It has an annual budget of about $496 million (423 million euros) a year, although so far only about $127 million (108 million euros) has been pledged. The participating countries rank among the poorest nations in the world.

A plan seen by AFP Saturday calls for the first battalion to be operational this month, and in October "cross-border operations will take place in the tri-frontier zone" shared by Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso.

France, which has 4,000 troops serving across the Sahel region with a counter-terror mandate, is a major backer of the initiative.

French President Emmanuel Macron has been pitching for support from other European nations, especially Germany.
Ahead of the forthcoming Drug Abuse programme spearheaded by Miss Curvy Nigeria Tourism Queen Nimat Siaka, the beauty queen paid a special courtesy visit to Governor of Ondo State, Rotimi Akeredolu to strengthen the partnership with the state government.

The event with the theme " Major Effects Of Drug Abuse Among Youths in Nigeria" is packaged by Ondo State Government in collaboration with Evergreen Global Initiative.

With the state house visit, Queen Nimat Siaka, the Founder of Evergreen Global Initiative has officially flagged off the exercise to sensitize the Ondo state youths on the dangers. The programme which is in two phases starts with a Road Walk Campaign & Senitization while the second day begins with Seminar & Exhibition, including Youth Empowerment lecture.

The exercise is expected to attract key note speakers and youths from different parts of Ondo state as the programme aims to fight against drug abuse and possibilities of avoiding the menace that has eaten deep into the Nigerian youths. Queen Nimat Siaka while speaking to journalists expressed optimism over the preparedness to host the event through her foundation and with the able partnership with the state government.

Governor Akeredolu commended the beauty queen for her passion to sensitize the youths on the dangers of drug abuse and ways to prevent it. He promised that the state will support the exercise in whatever capacity needed to ensure its a success.
Handsome Nollywood actor, Ramsey Nouah, recently featured in the movie My Wife and I where he played the role of a woman and since then, he has been getting good commendation.

The actor has indeed come a long way in the movie industry and to a large extent, he has seen it all but the good and bad side like when he and some of his colleagues were blacklisted in 2006.

Not all those that come in contact with fame are able to manage it through with heads high but Ramsey has been able to pull through with many doors opening for him.

Speaking with Sun newspaper recently, the actor stressed that part of what fame has done to him is making people especially Lagos fans to see him as ATM machine where they can get money anytime they sight him.

Fame has had its benefits. Good plays, good moments, umm and it has its downsides. A lot of people appreciate you, yeah. No, I wouldnt say it closed doors on my face. No, not exactly. But, you know, you meet lots of people who tend to appreciate you. Everyone sees you around, all your fans, most especially in Lagos; see you as their ATM machines. All their greetings have to be paid for. For instance, they will greet you Hey, good morning bros, we dey hail o You know you have to drop something, so its quite a thorn in the flesh, he stated.
'The big truck is still on ...
Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-09 16:18:03|Editor: Zhou Xin

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NEW DELHI, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- India said on Saturday that it is constantly monitoring the situation in the aftermath of the deadly hurricane Irma hitting North American countries and doing its best to provide all help to its affected nationals there.

The Indian External Affairs Ministry said that its missions in Venezuela, the Netherlands, France and the United States are in touch with local authorities in the affected countries to give all possible assistance to Indian nationals there.

"Our missions in Venezuela, the Netherlands, France and the United States are constantly monitoring the situation following destruction due to hurricane Irma," External Affairs Ministry spokesman Raveesh Kumar tweeted.

"They (Indian missions) are in constant touch with the Indian diaspora affected by Irma and with local government officials to provide all possible assistance," he added.

Hurricane Irma, a category five storm which pounded the Bahamas before making landfall in Cuba's Camaguey Archipelago late Friday night, has now been moving towards Florida in the United States. It claimed the lives of at least 19 people on the Caribbean islands.
Highway reflector stuck in Kathleen Boone's flat tire, Sept 7 2017 View Photos

Update at 8:41 a.m.: Apparently Caltrans and its contractor rethought the prospect of subjecting Mother Lode motorists to continue risking punctured tires while driving over a highway stretch confirmed to be strewn with metal parts.

This morning, Clarke Broadcasting received an email from Teichert Construction, the company handling a Highway 49/108 repaving project between Jamestown and Sonora where temporary highway reflectors also known as floppies were being affixed to the roadway with nails and other metal pieces, causing multiple recent incidences of flat tires.

In the email statement, Teichert spokesperson Clark Hulbert reports, All floppies that were nailed down were removed and replaced with adhesive only floppies last night. The striping schedule remains the same for Sunday night and Monday night shifts.

Yesterdays update to the saga follows below along with a link for victims to submit a damage claim form to Caltrans.

Friday, Sept. 8, 2017 at 3:52 p.m.: Sonora, CA  While the Mother Lodes Puzzle of the Punctured Tires mystery has been solved victims and other motorists traveling along a certain highway stretch still need to take care.

As we reported here yesterday, after Clarke Broadcasting provided evidence of metal parts in active use along Highway 49/108 between Jamestown and Sonora as part of a repaving project, Caltrans officials who previously stated that it was not possible regrettably confirmed that its contractor, Roseville-based Teichert Construction, was indeed using nails to attach temporary highway reflectors. Also stated was that the contractor would be removing the floppies, as they are commonly called, and henceforth using only adhesive, which is part of Caltrans standard operating procedures.

However, earlier today Clarke Broadcasting took note that highway reflectors containing metal  both still attached as well as some that were loosely scattered  were still clearly visible along the highway stretch.

Querying Caltrans officials to provide an update on the status of removal efforts, this reporter heard from spokesperson Warren Alford. He shares, From what I understand our contractor is in the process of getting those things removed and so, as soon as they get done with that today, then the only floppies that will be out there will be ones that are affixed with a standard glue. So, he continues, Some of those may still get dislodged but if somebody drives over [one], it will not cause any damage to their vehicle.

A Frustrated Solution For Making Floppies Stay Put?

Attempting to answer why a contractor working on a road surface would choose to use nails at all, Alford offers, Well, certainly when you have a road that is uneven [such as] when they are grinding out the pavement, I can understand that sometimes it is frustrating  because you want to have those lane markers in there for safety  but we also want to make sure that we are not having material out there that is not standard and that may be causing damage to peoples vehicles. So we have directed the contractor to take care of that  and we are confident that is going to happen.

Alford describes Teichert Construction as being among Caltrans key partners. He maintains, We certainly respect their ability to do good quality work and they are being responsive for us right now on making sure that the standard practice is being followed and resolving the issue.

A subsequent call from Clarke Broadcasting to Teichert Construction, asking when crews were being scheduled to address the issue, drew a response from spokesperson Clark Hulbert. We are going to periodically monitor the area over the weekend, he explains, adding that loose reflectors will be removed by local personnel as they are spotted. Since the scheduled crews are returning Sunday night, he estimates that by Tuesday morning all the offending reflector and metal parts should be gone. He admits that in the meantime, it is still possible for some unlucky motorists to puncture a tire.

Asked why nails are used at all, Hulbert maintains that his company does miles and miles of paving across California and has infrequently used nails before under certain conditions with no previous consequences to motorists. Now that the practice has created an issue in this instance, he says Teichert will not be engaging in it again.

Accountability For Damages, Claim Filing Options

While Alford says no one has yet filed a claim for tire damages, anyone who believes the metal in the reflectors caused vehicle damage may file a claim. As Alford instructs, People can file for a variety of things. [Claims] up to $10,000 are handled through Caltrans, which along with the contractor [who retains liability] makes determinationswhich items would fall into the category of needing to be repaired and replaced. They can essentially include a range of things but there will certainly be limits as to what we are actually able to provide.

Items that might be submitted include repair or replacement of a punctured tire. When asked if a rental vehicle or lost wages might also be considered, Alford concedes that it is possible. People are not limited to what they can legitimately say is a damage that they have incurred, he states. However, he emphasizes, Whether or not that ends up being paid at the end will be based on an investigation that will happen.

Hulbert adds his companys apologies for the inconveniences, also promising, We are going to endeavor to do the right thing here on a case-by-case basis.

To learn more about submitting a claim and to download a form, click here.
Sacramento, CA  Governor Jerry Brown issued a proclamation today to remind resident about the history of the great state of California.

Brown has declared Saturday, September 9th as Admission Day, which marks the date that the California was admitted to the Union as the 31st state. The holiday was observed for many years and in 1976 Brown vetoed a measure to remove its observance, writing: For 125 years California has celebrated its admission into the Union on September 9th. To change now comes a bit late in our history and hardly seems in keeping with the Bicentennial Spirit. However, legislation passed in 1984 ended its observance as a state holiday. Brown argues Californias early history is too often neglected in schools and among citizens. He says it is for that reason, he calls upon Californians to pause and celebrate Admission Day this year by reflecting on how it was that California became the 31st state. You can read the entire declaration by going to mml.com.

Of note, click here to get details on a celebration that is taking place in Columbia today as outlined in the myMotherlode.com events page.

Below is the Governors entire proclamation:

PROCLAMATION

Soon after the outbreak of war in 1846, United States forces invaded the Mexican province of Alta California. Seven months later, on January 13, 1847, representatives of both countries signed the Treaty of Cahuenga in the San Fernando Valley, ending the fighting. For three years thereafter, California remained under American martial law. During this period, our population exploded following the discovery of gold, giving impetus to the demand that California be admitted to the Union. In 1849, leaders from around the future state met in Monterey to draft the first constitution, which was approved on November 13 of that year by a vote of 12,064 to 811. Peter Burnett was elected governor, and in January, 1850, the State Legislature began its first two-year session.

As our lawmakers went about establishing the basic institutions of state governance, the United States Congress argued about whether to admit California to the Union as a slave or Free State or as two separate states, one slave and one free. The issue was resolved by the famous Compromise of 1850, and on September 9th of that year California was admitted to the Union as the 31st state.

The observance of Admission Day was once prominent in the civic life of our state and nation. On September 9, 1924, by order of President Coolidge, the Bear Flag flew over the White House in honor of Californias admission to the Union. In 1976, I vetoed a measure to remove the observance of Admission Day as a state holiday, writing: For 125 years California has celebrated its admission into the Union on September 9th. To change now comes a bit late in our history and hardly seems in keeping with the Bicentennial Spirit. In 1984, however, Governor Deukmejian signed legislation eliminating our traditional observance of Admission Day on September 9th in favor of a personal holidayconvenient to some but in no way respectful of our storied founding.

Californias early history is too often neglected in schools and among our citizens. For that reason, I call upon Californians to pause and celebrate Admission Day this year by reflecting on how it was that California became the 31st state.

NOW THEREFORE I, EDMUND G. BROWN JR., Governor of the State of California, do hereby proclaim September 9, 2017, as Admission Day.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of California to be affixed this 8th day of September 2017.
- Five suspects have been arrested in connection with the shooting of a Rev. Father, Daniel Nwankwo

- The incident happened in Lagos at St. Thomas Catholic Church, Onilekekere, Cement, on Friday, September 8

- The suspects are being interrogated for vital information to aid police investigation

The police command in Lagos state has arrested five suspects in connection with the shooting of a Rev. Father, Daniel Nwankwo, at St. Thomas Catholic Church, Onilekekere, Cement.

In a statement signed by the Spokesperson of the command, ASP Olarinde Famous-Cole, the suspects are being interrogated for vital information to aid police investigation.

During early morning mass at St Thomas Catholic church Onilekere, Cement B/Stop Ikeja, some hoodlums posing as worshipers at about 8:30 a.m., requested to have a dialogue with Rev. Father Daniel Nwankwo who heads the parish.

READ ALSO: Jonathan pays courtesy visit to Sarawak chief minister (photos)

The Rev Father who unsuspectingly granted the hoodlums an audience outside the church auditorium for a yet-to-be determined reason was shot by one of the hoodlums who spoke fluently in Igbo language with a locally made pistol.

The Rev. Father raised alarm, while the hoodlums jumped the fence and escaped toward an adjoining canal.

Famous-Cole said the Rev Father was immediately taken to LASUTH for medical attention where he was being treated, and that is in stable condition.

The commissioner of police, Edgal Imohimi, was at the scene and spoke with a witness who confirmed that three assailants of Igbo background who were not known to be members of the church were seen having a conversation with the Rev. Father before he was shot.

The CP has also visited the Rev Father who spoke with him and confirmed that the Rev Father is been given adequate medical care as he is recuperating fast.

The commissioner also immediately ordered a crack team of detectives and operational officers from the police command who were dispatched to the scene and area leading to the canal where an eye witness confirmed the hoodlums ran toward.

Five suspects have been arrested in connection with this act and they are currently being diligently interrogated for vital information to aid the Police investigation.

The commissioner of police in Lagos state is advising the people of the state to be vigilant and security conscious at this time and must identify and report any strange faces & suspicious movement.

He has also ordered the deployment of static police guard and instructed the area commanders and DPOs to provide static police guard on a 24-hour basis in all Churches and Mosques across the state instead of only on Fridays & Sundays like it has been done in the past .

Imohimi has also assured the people that every asset of the command will be deployed to make sure these hoodlums that made an attempt on the Rev. Fathers life will be arrested and brought to book, Famous-Cole said.

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Legit.ng had earlier reported that a catholic priest, Daniel Nwankwo, was shot by a gang of assailants on Friday, September 8 during a mass held at St Thomas Catholic Church located in Ikeja area of Lagos state.

The shooting incident was confirmed by the Command Public Relations Officer, Olarinde Famous-Cole.

Watch Legit.ng video of what Nigerians think about the police:

Source: Legit.ng
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (C) speaks at a parliament meeting in Tehran, Iran, on Aug. 20, 2017. Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said Sunday that Iran's top foreign policy priority is to protect the nuclear deal from being torn up by the United States. (Xinhua Photo)

TEHRAN, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Iran will honor the international nuclear deal with world powers regardless of any probable U.S. decision to withdraw from the agreement, the head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) said, Press TV reported on Saturday.

"If the United States pulls out of the agreement, but the rest of the countries stay committed -- namely Britain, France, Germany, China, and Russia -- then Iran would most probably stick with the commitments to the agreement," Ali Akbar Salehi said on Friday.

"I think our partners in this treaty have more to lose than we do" if the agreement falls through, Salehi was quoted as saying.

"The United States is trying to poison the business environment. It discourages big banks and companies from working with Iran," said Salehi, referring to Washington's new sanction pressures against Iran.

"It is fear-mongering. But in reality they cannot accomplish much," Salehi added.

The AEOI chief argued that the U.S. refusal to waive Tehran's nuclear-related sanctions constitutes "significant noncompliance" with the nuclear deal on their part.

On Wednesday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that Iran would never breach the nuclear deal it signed with international community.

Rouhani said that the nuclear deal, also known as Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), signed in 2015 by Iran with the United States, Russia, Britain, China and France plus Germany, was an important international accord.

"Today after the implementation of the JCPOA, we should not allow violating the deal," Rouhani said.

He pointed out that the International Atomic Energy Agency has verified Iran's commitment to JCPOA for several times, while the United States has not been fully committed to the deal.

"The U.S. is trying to make a media campaign against international cooperation," Rouhani said.

Iran spares no efforts in establishing stability and security in the region, he added.
- The father of Nnamdi Kanu, His Royal Highness, Isaac Okwu Kanu has warned the Nigerian government against re-arresting his son

- He said that his son did not commit any crime against Nigeria

- He, however advised the government to go after those who have committed offence against Nigeria

The father of the leader of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, His Royal Highness, Isaac Okwu Kanu has vowed that Nigeria would be in trouble if his son is arrested or killed.

Legit.ng gathered that Pa Kanu said the recent move by the Federal Government to get his son re-arrested would spell doom for the country.

Speaking with the Sun, Kanu, who doubles as the traditional ruler of Afara Ukwu Ibeku in Umuahia North Local Government area of Abia state also sent an SOS to the United Nations, alleging that the Federal Government planned to kill his son.

READ ALSO: Alhassan splits Buharis cabinet as Adamawa APC disowns Atiku

He said: Yes, of course, Im a human being. When they talk of re-arresting him, it means they want to kill him, but God will not allow them because my son has done nothing wrong.

"I am using this opportunity to call on the United Nations to call the Nigerian government to order because they are planning to kill my son. My son did not do anything; government should go after those who have committed offence against Nigeria.

Why will they want to re-arrest him? Did he kill anybody? Did he flout the constitution? Some people are saying that my son, flouted the bail condition given him by a Federal High Court in Abuja, but the question remains, what type of bail condition was that?

"Is it possible that a person of my sons standing in the society could stay without meeting up to 10 persons in a day or week?

So, the said bail condition was against his fundamental human rights. But that notwithstanding, I know what we are passing through in my palace; trying to stop people from coming here, but there is a limit to which we can do that.

Initially, the major gate to my palace had always been open, but since he came back, that gate has always been shut and we did that to stop people from gaining access to the compound. So, I dont know what they are talking about.

Asked what will happen if his son is rearrested, the monarch said, Yes, re-arresting my son will definitely cause more problems for the country. Why would they re-arrest my son; to kill him? God and our people will not allow that to happen.

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They should realise that Nnamdi has a boy he has not set his eyes on since he was born and it was out of respect for the laws of the land that made him not to go to London to see that boy.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng had previously reported that the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu declared that Nigeria will burn if the federal government attempts to re-arrest him.

Watch a Legit.ng TV video below of Kanu speaking about his Biafra agitation:

Source: Legit.ng
- Nigeria's information minister, Alhaji Lai Mohammed has spoken on the court case involving Mazi Nnamdi Kanu

- Alhaji Mohammed says government won't interfere in the judicial process to influence the case

- The Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) leader is billed to appear in court soon

The minister of information and culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has promised Nigerians that the federal government has no plan to influence the court case of IPOB leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.

Alhaji Mohammed stated this when he received broadcast media editors who paid him a courtesy visit in his office on Friday, September 8 in Abuja.

The minister stated that though the federal government has the right to go to court to lodge a complaint, but the power to decide on revoking the bail lies solely on the court.

Lai Mohammed said the federal government won't interfere in judicial process in the IPOB leader's case

READ ALSO: The Igbos will have trouble in Biafra - Father Mbaka warns

His words: The matter is purely a judicial matter. Once a matter is in the court, it is for the court to say these conditions I set for you, you have respected them or not.

We would not tele-guide the court on what to do or what not to do. As a government, we have a right to go to court and lodge a complaint that you gave a condition and the accused has obeyed or disobeyed the terms of the bail, then the decision will be left to court to decide.

This is simple judicial overture which has no political overtone.

The IPOB leader is billed to appear in court later this month after he was granted bail on health grounds on Tuesday, April 25.

As part of his bail conditions, Kanu was ordered never to grant any press interview pending the outcome of his trial.

The court also ordered that he should not be in a gathering of more than 10 persons at a time.

The presiding judge in the case, Justice Binta Nyako had said Kanu's bail will be revoked if any of the orders are flouted.

Kanu has repeatedly flouted the bail conditions as he has granted interviews to foreign media houses and addressed large crowds of IPOB supporters.

READ ALSO: Nnamdi Kanus warns FG, says his son must not be re-arrested

Watch Nnamdi Kanu addressing his followers on Legit.ng TV below:

Source: Legit.ng
- Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna state has been described as a man not to be trusted

- This is the view of a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Timi Frank

- Frank was reacting to recent comments by the governor concerning the 2019 presidential election

A chieftain of the APC, Comrade Timi Frank, has cautioned the presidency not to fall for the antics of Governor Nasir El-rufai of Kaduna state.

In a statement sent to Legit.ng on Saturday, September 9, Frank stated that the governor has a record of betraying all his benefactors.

He also warned that the claim by the governor of a "Buharist's group" amounts to a disservice to other Nigerians who genuinely love the president.

Comrade Frank warned the presidency to be wary of the antics of Governor El-Rufai

READ ALSO: My hope and prayer is Buhari will contest in 2019 - El-Rufai

Comrade Frank who was reacting to the position of Governor El-rufai over comments attributed to the women affairs minister, Haji Aisha Jummai Alhassan, declared that what the minister said was out of conscience, honesty and not disrespect for President Buhari.

The president knows people who are truly his own and when people are talking of loyalty, El-rufai should keep quiet because he is not known to be one. A serial betrayer like this governor has no record of loyalty to anybody, he said

On the claim by El-rufai that his group was asking President Buhari to seek re-election in 2019, Comrade Timi Frank said that the Kaduna state governor does not have any electoral value and credibility to force the president to contest in 2019.

He further said Governor El-Rufai actions are geared towards blackmailing the president to endorse his candidacy, should the president seek not to contest in in 2019.

When Nigerians were busy praying for safe return of Mr. President from his medical leave to London some months back, it was alleged that the likes of El-rufai were busy scheming on how to become the vice president.

El-rufai is known for singing sycophantic praises whenever is in government. He did it to former President Olusegun Obasenjo and later abandoned him. He did it to Alhaji Atiku, who brought him to limelight, and again turned to his enemy.

He has even repeated this same act against President Buhari, who El-rufai once said would never become president. The record is there for everybody to see. He will do it again once Buhari leaves government.

May be, El-rufai was expecting Mama Taraba to become selfish, self-centered, arrogant and turn Judas like him, and turn her back against Atiku Abubakar who will always stand by her again and again politically, he said.

President Buhari's silence on his political future has given rise to speculations among political actors. Photo credit: Aso Rock

On the statement credited to Alhaji Atiku Abubakar that the APC government abandoned him after 2015, Comrade Frank urged the president to thoroughly look at the comments and the good intention of the former vice president as one meant to add value to his government and not otherwise.

Meanwhile, the north-west zonal chairman of the APC, Alhaji Inuwa Abdulkadir has denied claims by Alhaji Atiku Abubakar that he was sidelined after he helped the party win the 2015 presidential election.

Abdulkadir, while speaking to journalists at the APC national secretariat on Friday, September 8 also said that Hajia Alhassan was trying to blackmail the president with her recent statement endorsing the former vice president for the 2019 election.

READ ALSO: APC NWC meets on Mondays Sept 11 to decide Alhassan, Atikus fate

Watch Comrade Frank give his perspective on the crisis in the APC on Legit.ng TV:

Source: Legit.ng
- Islamist group, Boko Haram has continued its attack on soft targets in Borno state

- The group launched a Rocket-Propelled Grenade (RPG) into an Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp on Friday, September 8

- The IDP camp is home to 80,000 people in the state

Seven people have been reported killed on Friday, September 8 after Islamist group, Boko Haram launched an attack on soft targets in n IDP camp in Borno state.

Reports monitored by Legit.ng indicates that the attack took place in Ngala, a community close to the Cameroon border.

A civilian militia member, Umar Kachalla, said the attackers were in two pick-up trucks when they fired the RPG at the camp, which is reportedly home to some 80,000 people.

Boko Haram now restricts its attacks to soft targets

They (Boko Haram) fired an RPG into the camp from behind the fire fence, killing seven people and injuring several others, Kachalla said.

The attack was said to have been followed by sustained gunfire as the jihadists drove away into the darkness.

An eye-witness, Abubakar Yusuf corroborated Kachalla's account, but added that: the casualties were relatively minimal because most people had retired for the night.

The inhabitants of the camp are said to be mostly Nigerian refugees from Cameroon, who fled the fighting in the francophone country.

The incident is coming barely a week after Boko Haram insurgents attacked and killed 18 people at the IDP camp in Banki town, Bama local government area of Borno state on Thursday, August 30.

According to reports, the terrorists sneaked into the IDP camp and murdered at least 18 youths at about 11 pm and forcefully took away many others, including young girls and women.

READ ALSO: An Atheist's Response to Abubakar Shekau's latest video - by Humanist Mubarak Bala

Watch Boko Haram survivors recounting their ordeals on Legit.ng TV:

Source: Legit.ng
- The Department of State Service said it arrested Husseini Mai-Tangaran, a commander of the Islamic State for West Africa, in Kano

- Mai-Tangaran was arrested while preparing some members to attack six states and the Federal Capital Territory

- The alleged terrorist is said to be an expert in improvised explosive devices

The Department of State Service (DSS) has announced it arrested a top commander of the Islamic State for West Africa, giving his name as Husseini Mai-Tangaran.

The DSS said his arrest saved the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Kano, Kaduna, Niger, Bauchi, Yobe and Borno states from being bombed between September 1 and 4 when Muslims in the country celebrated the Eid-el-Fitri

Mai-Tangaran, according to the DSS, was arrested on August 31, while other members including Abdulkadir Umar Mohammed and Muhammad Ali were picked in Kano on September 3.

READ ALSO: Biafra Security Services growing in numbers (photos)

This service wish to inform the general public that it has uncovered and foiled sinister plans by Islamic State of West Africa (ISWA) terrorists to cause mayhem and destruction that would have disrupted the Eid-Kabir Sallah festivities of 1st  4th September, 2017.

The plan was to conduct gun attacks and suic*de bombing on selected targets in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Kano, Kaduna, Niger, Bauchi, Yobe and Borno states, a statement by Tony Opuiyo, DSS spokesperson, said.

The DSS added: The mastermind of the operation is Husseini MAI-TANGARAN, a well-known senior ISWA commander who has been on the service and Nigeria Army radar since 2012, when he spearheaded the armed attacks on the office of the Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) Zone I, on 20th January, 2012, as well as other public places in Kano.

MAI-TANGARAN was also responsible for the deadly explosive attacks against worshippers at the Kano Central Mosque as well as an attack on a military formation in Yobe State in 2015, which claimed hundreds of lives.

The statement obtained by Legit.ng said under the banner of the Islamic State in West Africa (ISWA) which he belongs, Mai-Tangaran had been preparing some members to carry out attacks on some areas of the country.

DSS described the alleged terrorist as an expert in the manufacturing of improvised explosive devices.

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He was arrested in Kano, on 31st August, 2017, and further exploitation, led to the arrest of one Abdulkadir Umar MOHAMMED by the Service on 2nd September, 2017, at Kantin Kwari Market in Fagge LGA, Kano.

MOHAMMED was a fighter of the sect who left the conclave of the group in the Sambisa forest, to join ranks with ISMAILA towards carrying out the attacks being planned by the group, the statement added.

Legit.ng earlier reported that two Boko Haram suspects believed to be computer analysts and another one, claimed to be a herbalist, were arraigned recently at the Lokoja Chief Magistrates Court.

It was learnt that the suspects, Abdullahi Habib Audu, Bashiru Yahaya, believed to be computer specialists and Ahmed Momoh, a herbalist were arraigned before Chief Magistrate Levi Animoku on Friday, September 8.

Watch this video of how Nigeria's security agents have carried out attacks on Boko Haram bases:

Source: Legit.ng
- Chief Ebenezer Babatope, a member of the PDP Board of Trustees, warns the government against re-arresting Nnamdi Kanu

- Babatope advises the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari to dialogue with the IPOB leader

- He also commends the government for the way it handled the threat against Igbo people in the north

Any attempt to re-arrest Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), will lead to a national crisis, Chief Ebenezer Babatope, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has warned.

Babatope, a former transport minister and member of the PDP Board of Trustees (BoT), however said he was not in support of Kanus agitation for Nigerias break-up.

Daily Independent reports that the former minister advised the government to dialogue with Kanu for peace instead of engaging in the use of force.

READ ALSO: Biafra Security Services growing in numbers (photos)

I am not going to support any movement that is to split Nigeria, but then you cannot handle Kanu with strong hands.

You must understand what the boy is saying. You must be patient enough to listen to him and his group.

I dont agree with those calling for his re-arrest. Why must you go and re-arrest him? Let us do things that will engender peace and unity of the country.

I dont agree with Kanu on some of the things he has said but he is a young man whose life has been brutalised by unnecessary imprisonment and detention.

So, we should understand and let him and his group knows that Nigeria does not want to separate his people from what is happening in the country, he reportedly said.

The PDP chieftain commended the government for the way it handled the threat against Igbo people in the north by Arewa youths.

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The government has done very well to ban it. It is a stupid call. How do you ask Nigerians to vacate certain areas of their own country? I dont believe in it.

When Biafra war was on, I was pro- Biafra. I was hundred percent pro-Biafra because i said Biafra was demanding justice for Nigerian people in terms of how we devolve power," he said.

Legit.ng earlier reported that some members of the Indigenous people of Biafra (IPOB), have continued to defy the federal government by dressing and parading themselves as the security outfit of Biafra.

The security arm of the Biafra struggle which was recently launched by Nnamdi Kanu, leader of indigenous people of Biafra, under the name 'Biafra Security Services', has been a major source of worry for many Nigerians who fear such action might bring about confrontation with the federal government.

Watch this video as Nigerians speak on the establishment of the Biafra Security Service:

Source: Legit.ng
Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-09 17:53:31|Editor: Zhou Xin

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BAQUBA, Iraq, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi security forces on Saturday killed six suicide bombers during an operation to hunt down Islamic State (IS) militants near the Iraqi-Iranian border in Iraq's eastern province of Diyala, the Iraqi military said.

The Iraqi army, police and paramilitary Hashd Shaabi brigades, covered by helicopter gunships launched an operation to chase IS militants and advanced in three directions in the area between Naft Khana and the city of Khanaqin near the Iranian border, Lt. Gen. Mezhir al-Azzawi told Xinhua.

The troops killed six suicide bombers wearing explosive belts and are surrounding four others during the operation, while the troops destroyed three hideouts of IS militants in the oil-rich area of Naft Khana, which itself located some 155 km northeast of Baghdad, said Azzawi whose the forces under his command is responsible for the security in Diyala and other areas in eastern Iraq.

IS militants still control areas in Himreen mountainous area, including its lake, in northern and eastern parts of Diyala.

The terror group also has a major redoubt in Mteibijah area on the provincial border with Salahudin Province, which extends to the sprawling rugged area from the western part of Salahudin to the desert in the neighboring Anbar Province in western Iraq.

On Aug. 31, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared full liberation of the city of Tal Afar and surrounding areas from the extremist IS militants.

The Iraqi forces are now preparing to wage another offensive in the IS-held town of Hawijah and surrounding areas in the west of the oil-rich province of Kirkuk.
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) is instituting a suit against the Nigeria Police Force for allegedly parading some suspects with the Biafran insignia in Anambra state.

IPOB, in a statement by Emma Powerful in Awka, Anambra state, its spokesperson, said it had instructed its lawyer, Barrister Ifeanyi Ejiofor, to go to court against the police.

READ ALSO: BREAKING: DSS arrests top IS leader in charge of West Africa

As a necessary precaution, we have instructed the chambers of Barrister Ifeanyi Ejiofor our lawyers, to commence legal action against Anambra state police command for this pathetic attempt to impugn the integrity of IPOB.

It is unfortunate that the Nigerian police command in Awka, Anambra state will stage manage a crime scene simply because they have lost the argument on self-determination and are seeking for ways to label IPOB as a violent organisation to justify their murderous tendencies.

Both the police and army are in possession of the oath every IPOB family member must take before they are admitted into IPOB. They should refer to it and stop disgracing themselves before the world.

Despite the fact that IPOB congregate in their millions during rallies, has it ever been reported that any person or persons lost their personal belongings?

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The answer is no, because IPOB family members cannot even steal a common purse or wallet, talkless of engaging in armed robbery.

Legit.ng reports that Garba Umar, the commissioner of police in Anambra state, had paraded some suspects claiming that two of them, Peter Onyebuchi and Ugwuokpe Nnaemeka, were arrested with arms and ammunition as well as IPOB headgear, flag and muffler.

It was earlier reported how Chief Ebenezer Babatope, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said any attempt to re-arrest Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), will lead to a national crisis.

Babatope, a former transport minister and member of the PDP Board of Trustees (BoT), however said he was not in support of Kanus agitation for Nigerias break-up.

Watch this video as Nigerians speak concerning the establishment of the Biafran Security Service:

Source: Legit.ng
(Natural News) With hurricanes Harvey and Irma dominating the headlines one would be forgiven for wondering if these and other natural disasters are a confirmation of the catastrophic man-made global warming narrative. With large swathes of Texas already deluged by the flood waters dumped by Harvey, and Florida in imminent danger of catastrophic storms courtesy of Irma, many of the mainstream media outlets are using this as an opportunity to reinforce the idea that warmer temperatures and oceans are causing these disasters.

It is important to maintain perspective though. Natural disasters, even those that have caused massive, widespread damage, are by no means unique to our time. As The Weather Channel notes, Throughout history hurricanes and tropical storms have caused massive amounts of damage and misery in the United States. [Emphasis added]

The site goes on to list some of the most damaging weather events in U.S. history, including:

Two hurricanes which struck Louisiana and Georgia/South Carolina respectively in 1893, killing thousands;

A category 4 hurricane that killed between 8,000 and 12,000 people in Galveston, Texas, in 1900;

A devastating hurricane which took between 2,500 and 3,000 lives in South East Florida in 1928; and

Hurricane Katrina, which killed 1,200 people directly and left 80 percent of New Orleans under water in 2005.

This is a pattern which dates all the way back to ancient times, with a famous example being the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in ancient Rome in 79 A.D. (Related: Discover the truth about global warming and climate change at ClimateScienceNews.com)

The History Channel explains what happened:

[T]he volcano buried the ancient Roman city of Pompeii under a thick carpet of volcanic ash. The dust poured across the land like a flood, one witness wrote, and shrouded the city in a darknesslike the black of closed and unlighted rooms. Two thousand people died, and the city was abandoned for almost as many years.

Now, an investigation of the underwater ruins of the ancient Roman city of Neapolis has determined that that city was devastated by a tsunami back in 365 A.D.

The Daily Mail recently reported that Neapolis, located off the coast of modern-day Tunisia, was the ancient center for the production of garum, a very popular, extremely expensive fish sauce favored by the ancient Romans as a condiment and medication.

A recent expedition to discover what happened to Neapolis uncovered street signs, monuments and evidence of garum production.

Its a major discovery, Mounir Fantar, the head of the archaeological team, told AFP, as reported by the Mail. This discovery has allowed us to establish with certainty that Neapolis was a major centre for the manufacture of garum and salt fish, probably the largest centre in the Roman world.

The tsunami which partly submerged Neapolis on July 21, 365 A.D., caused extensive damage to an area stretching as far away as Alexandria in Egypt, and the island of Crete in Greece.

Little is known about the city, and the stories of its inhabitants have been lost to time. Nonetheless, the discovery that this ancient city disappeared under a massive wave, thousands of years ago, serves as a wake-up call to all the global warming hysterics who keep inferring that every natural disaster is the direct result of climate change.

The devastating reality is that natural disasters have always been a part of the human experience, and likely always will be. (Related: Global warming alarmists disappointed that Hurricane Matthew wasnt worse.)

Sources for this article include:

DailyMail.co.uk

Weather.com

ThoughtCo.com

History.com
Press Release

Natural Habitats Group, producer of the world's leading organic and sustainable palm oil is honored to be selected as a Regenerative Business Award Honoree by the Regenerative Business Alliance. The 2017 Regenerative Business Prize Global Honoree will be announced on September 25th at an awards dinner in Seattle. This invitation-only event is for business leaders and owners working to advance a field or set of industries through regenerative philosophy and practice.

The conventional Palm Oil industry in Asia continues to be a major contributor to carbon being released into the atmosphere which has a significant impact on climate change. At Natural Habitats, we manage a 100% organic supply chain in Ecuador and Sierra Leone, Africa. The farming and processing methods, and conservation efforts to preserve rainforest in these regions proves that producing palm oil can be done without the impact that continues with conflict palm production says Managing Director, Neil Blomquist. We are honored to be selected alongside this group of inspirational and devoted companies.

Natural Habitats is dedicated to improving our food systems through responsible ingredient sourcing and regenerative agriculture practices. We believe that organic, regenerative farming is the solution to preserving and improving the ecosystems, soil, and biodiversity. Through practices such as intercropping, water preservation, waste management, and land use that works in harmony with nature, we will help reverse climate change and improve our agricultural system at large.

To learn more about Natural Habitats, visit natural-habitats.com or the learn about the benefits of sustainable palm oil, visit Palm Done Right palmdoneright.com.

Other award recipients include:

2017 Regenerative Business Prize for Fooding:

Natural Habitats , Boulder, CO

, Boulder, CO New Chapter, Brattleboro, VT2017

Regenerative Business Prize for Sheltering:

Lake|Flato Architects , San Antonio, TX

, San Antonio, TX Permaculture Artisans, Sebastopol, CA

2017 Regenerative Business Prize for Transacting:

HowGood , Brooklyn, NY

, Brooklyn, NY New Hope Network, Boulder, CO

2017 Regenerative Business Prize for Adorning:

The Bark House, Spruce Pine, NC

To learn more about the Prize and how businesses can qualify for a Summit invitation, visit theregenerativebusinesssummit.com.

Headquartered in Boulder, Colorado, Natural Habitats USA, Inc. is a group fully committed to the sustainable production of Certified Organic and fairly traded products, including organic palm oil. Natural Habitats products are cultivated using only 100% organic practices by small farmers in South America and Africa, and add organic credibility to food, personal care and animal nutrition products. Natural Habitats USA, Inc. supports the communities in which it operates through promoting organic farming practices and environmental preservation. The company provides education, health care, and social support to equitably improve quality of life for all stakeholders, from Farm to Fork. For more information, visit www.natural-habitats.com and www.palmdoneright.com This group is comprised of 200 individuals who have worked with the principles, concepts and methods of regeneration for a collective six decades on three continents. Alliance members work primarily in, for, or with businesses, growing the capability to foster large-scale regenerative systems change. The Regenerative Business Alliance is supported and sponsored by the Carol Sanford Institute.
Press Release

World Coffee Research (WCR) and NSF International, an independent global organization committed to protecting and improving public health, announced the launch of the WCR VerifiedSM Program to certify coffee seed producers and plant nurseries. Until now, there has been no global standard for farmers and sponsors of coffee tree replanting programs to ensure that the purchased coffee plants are healthy and genetically pure. The lack of such a standard results in lower productivity and higher risk for farmers.

This new initiative is designed to address these challenges at the start of the coffee supply chain so farmers can have confidence that plants purchased from WCR VerifiedSM nurseries and seed farms will perform as expected. NSF International will audit and certify coffee seed producers and plant nurseries to the WCR VerifiedSM protocol.

By implementing and working with the WCR VerifiedSM technical protocols, producers on seed farms and nurseries will be able to maintain efficient management systems to ensure that their production has robust traceability and genetic purity. Through independent third-party audit reports, the producer can ensure critical points are being addressed and promote a culture of continuous improvement. The process is complemented with DNA analysis and traceability audits to ensure that genetic purity is maintained.

Coffee seed farms and nurseries certified to the WCR VerifiedSM protocol are evaluated independently based on the following criteria:

Nursery standards: The nursery follows best practices for raising healthy, disease-free plants.

The nursery follows best practices for raising healthy, disease-free plants. Genetic purity: The coffee variety has been identified using WCR DNA fingerprinting so farmers can be certain they are buying the intended variety.

The coffee variety has been identified using WCR DNA fingerprinting so farmers can be certain they are buying the intended variety. Education: The nursery provides information about the agronomic performance of different varieties to farmers so they can make informed choices.

The nursery provides information about the agronomic performance of different varieties to farmers so they can make informed choices. Breeders rights: The nursery gives credit to plant breeders and their rights are respected.

WCR began work to develop the program in 2015 and engaged NSF International in 2017 to develop it into a third-party certification program. WCR appointed NSF International to act as the WCR VerifiedSM Program registrar, to manage the certification process and to oversee the integrity of the program to ensure transparency and independence. Audits and certification for coffee seed producers and nurseries will begin in Central America starting in September 2017, with expansion planned to coffee production areas in Mexico and South America, and then the program will be rolled out globally.

Seed farms and nurseries certified to the WCR VerifiedSM protocols are listed in an online directory tied to the World Coffee Research coffee varieties catalog at varieties.worldcoffeeresearch.org. The catalog currently features 38 varieties cultivated in Central America and will expand to Africa in 2018 and globally after that. Coffee farmers interested in sourcing high quality plants can consult the catalog and identify which varieties are offered by certified nurseries. This is the first time a global directory of varieties has been available for coffee. As the WCR VerifiedSM program and the WCR coffee catalog expand to cover new production regions of the world, it will become the industrys most essential resource for coffee variety information.

To learn more about WCR VerifiedSM or apply to become a certified producer, contact WCR at [email protected] or NSF Internationals office in Costa Rica at [email protected] or +506 2253 0102.

Editors Note: Media interested in more information can contact NSF International, Liz Nowland-Margolis at [email protected] or +01-734-418-6624 or World Coffee Research Communications Director Hanna Neuschwander at [email protected], +1 503 560 7828, or Twitter: @WCoffeeResearch.

About World Coffee Research: World Coffee Research is a nonprofit collaborative research and development program of the global coffee industry to grow, protect, and enhance supplies of quality coffee while improving the livelihoods of the families who produce it. The program is funded and driven by the global coffee industry, guided by producers, and executed by coffee scientists around the world. For more information, visit www.worldcoffeeresearch.org

About NSF International: NSF International (nsf.org) is a global, independent organization that writes standards, and tests and certifies products for the food, water, health sciences and consumer goods industries to minimize adverse health effects and protect the environment. Founded in 1944, NSF is committed to protecting human health and safety worldwide and is a Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Center on Food Safety, Water Quality and Indoor Environment. NSF International provides expertise and accredited food services across all supply chain sectors, including agriculture, animal feed and welfare, produce, processing, distribution, dairy, seafood, quality management software, retail and restaurants.
A popular federal-state program that provides health coverage to millions of children in lower- and middle-class families is up for renewal Sept. 30.

But in a deeply divided Congress facing such pressing concerns as extending the nation's debt ceiling, finding money for the Hurricane Harvey cleanup and keeping the government open, some health advocates fear that the program for children could be in jeopardy or that conservative lawmakers will seek changes to limit the program's reach.

"With all that is on Congress' plate, I am very worried that a strong, wildly successful program with strong public support will get lost in the shuffle and force states to begin the process of winding down CHIP," said Bruce Lesley, president of the advocacy group First Focus.

The Children's Health Insurance Program covers more than 9 million kids  children typically from families not poor enough to qualify for Medicaid, the state-federal program that covers low-income people.

Income eligibility levels for CHIP vary widely among states, though most set thresholds at or below 200 percent of the poverty level, about $49,000 for a family of four. Unlike Medicaid, CHIP is usually not free. Enrolled families pay an average premium of about $127 a year.

Since CHIP's enactment, the share of uninsured children fell from 13.9 percent in 1997 to 4.5 percent in 2015, according to the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission.

The 20-year-old program has bipartisan support  and one of its original sponsors is Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), chairman of the Finance Committee, which has scheduled a hearing on reauthorization Thursday.

It's possible in the jampacked legislative calendar this month that other health-related provisions could be attached to a CHIP reauthorization bill  such as Republican-sponsored changes to the Affordable Care Act. Those changes could keep a bill from getting enough support from Democrats and some Republicans in the Senate for passage.

"It's the only vehicle in health care policy other than the federal budget that's going to be moving, so it's likely extraneous items are likely to be added to it," said Christopher Pope, senior fellow at the conservative Manhattan Institute.

Supporters of CHIP also worry about changes in eligibility that could dampen enrollment.

The Affordable Care Act bumped up federal funding of CHIP by 23 percentage points and forbid states from restricting eligibility rules that were in place in 2010. Both of those requirements continue through September 2019.

The added funding means a dozen states have their entire CHIP programs paid for by the federal government. In the fiscal year that ended last September, states spent less than $2 billion of the total $15.6 billion in CHIP spending, according to the conservative Heritage Foundation, which says states should pay a higher share of the program's costs.

President Donald Trump's budget request this spring called for immediately eliminating the ACA bump in funding and ending the restriction on states curtailing eligibility  often referred to as the "maintenance of effort" provision.

But that provision has kept CHIP stable at a time when the individual insurance market faces uncertainty, said Joan Alker, director of Georgetown University's Center for Children and Families in Washington, D.C.

Advocates note that if children have to leave CHIP and move to marketplace coverage, their families may be forced to pay higher out-of-pocket costs for their kids' health care.

Without the maintenance of effort requirement, advocates fear that states would be more likely to do what Arizona did during the last economic downturn: It froze enrollment from December 2009 until last June. The move was allowed because it took effect before the ACA's restriction began in March 2010.

Meanwhile, Republicans are not united in their views of the maintenance of effort requirement. Some favor it because they say it shifts more authority of the program to states. Others say it would likely lead some states to move many CHIP enrollees either into Medicaid or private insurance policies sold on the Obamacare exchanges  both areas where the federal government may pay an even higher share of the costs, Pope said.

"It's not a simple win for anything, but you can see why some governors would like it," he said.

At a House subcommittee hearing in June, some Republicans lawmakers expressed concerns about extending the enhanced federal funding for CHIP.

This increase in funding has challenged the program by both shifting the nature of shared responsibility of the state Childrens Health Insurance Program to the federal government and making states more dependent on federal dollars, said Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Texas), who heads the Energy and Commerce subcommittee on health.

A committee staff memo prepared for the hearing said taking away the extra funding  but leaving the maintenance of effort requirement in place  would not result in fewer children having coverage.

Without renewal of the program, Arizona, Minnesota, North Carolina and the District of Columbia would run out of their federal CHIP funding by the end of this year. By March 2018, an additional 27 states would exhaust their funds, according to the Medicaid advisory commission. Minnesota and D.C. officials said all children covered by CHIP will transition to Medicaid if funding is cut.

A Kaiser Family Foundation survey this summer of state Medicaid officials said 10 states would run out of CHIP funding by end of the year.

Alker said the enhanced funding has helped several states, including Nevada and Utah, expand coverage to legal immigrant children instead of having to face a five-year wait.

Given the complexity of making major changes and the tight congressional timeline, some experts say Congress may opt to pass a clean CHIP bill  without major changes to the program.

"Congress is in this month so few days that I can easily see CHIP simply being reauthorized without strings attached," said Joe Antos, a health economist with the conservative American Enterprise Institute, because lawmakers' attention is more likely to focus on the debt-limit deadline, the budget resolution and tax reform.

Update: This story was updated on Sept. 7, 2017, to clarify that the estimate of four states running out of CHIP funding this year is based on information from the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission. The Kaiser Family Foundations estimates are separate.
The failure to change gloves is common among certified nursing assistants, and may be a significant cause of the spread of dangerous pathogens in nursing homes and long-term healthcare settings, according to a new study published in the September issue of the American Journal of Infection Control, the journal of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC).

Certified nursing assistants (CNAs) are often the main providers of care in long-term care facilities (LTCFs), with significant patient contact. If a CNA uses gloves incorrectly, pathogens can easily be spread to patients and the environment, leading to healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). Researchers estimate that between 1.6 million and 3.8 million infections occur in LTCFs annually. Infections in LTCFs cause approximately 388,000 deaths per year and cost between $673 million and $2 billion annually.

"Gloves are an essential component of standard precautions, and proper use of gloves is a critical component of best practices to prevent HAIs," said Linda Greene, RN, MPS, CIC, FAPIC, 2017 APIC president. "This is especially important in long-term care, where residents are more vulnerable to infection and stay for extended periods. Facilities must continually educate healthcare providers about the importance of appropriate glove use to prevent infection and monitor adherence to this practice."

In the first-of-its-kind prospective study by Deborah Patterson Burdsall, PhD, RN-BC, CIC, of the University of Iowa College of Nursing, researchers examined the degree of inappropriate glove use in a random sample of 74 CNAs performing toileting and perineal care at one LTCF. Inappropriate glove use -- defined as a failure to change gloves, and when surfaces were touched with contaminated gloves -- was frequently observed in this study.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends standard precautions requiring all CNAs to wear personal protective equipment, especially gloves, to avoid contact with blood, secretions, excretions, or other potentially infectious materials that may contain pathogens. CNAs must change gloves as a standard precaution at the following glove change points during patient care: when the gloves have touched blood or body fluids; after the CNA completes a patient task; after the gloves touch a potentially contaminated site; and in between patients.

"Glove use behavior is as important as hand washing when it comes to infection prevention," said lead study author Deborah Patterson Burdsall. "These findings indicate that glove use behavior should be monitored alongside hand hygiene. The observations should be shared with staff to improve behaviors and reduce the risk of disease transmission."

While CNAs wore gloves for 80 percent of touch points, they failed to change gloves at 66 percent of glove change points. More than 44 percent of the gloved touch points were observed as contaminated, with all contaminated touches being with gloved hands. Of note, gloves were readily available on all units in public areas, shower rooms, patient rooms, and patient bathrooms to enhance availability and workflow.

To measure inappropriate glove use, the PI developed and validated the glove use surveillance tool (GUST), allowing them to record the type of surface, the sequence in which they touched surfaces during a patient care event, whether they wore gloves, and whether they changed gloves.

The frequency of contaminated gloved touches illustrates the significant potential for cross-contamination between patients and the healthcare environment from inappropriate glove use. This study supports the findings of earlier studies that describe inappropriate glove use by healthcare personnel. Based on information from such studies, infection prevention staff and educators should develop training programs using adult learning principles and evidence-based instructional methods to improve glove use.

Source: https://www.elsevier.com/
Strokes without a definitive identifiable cause account for up to 50% of juvenile strokes. In juvenile strokes, the range of causes is wider and their frequency distribution differs from that in older stroke patients, in whom the classic cardiovascular risk factors are primarily implicated.

Identifying rare causes of stroke in the 18-55 age group requires a great diagnostic effort. In a review article in the current issue of Deutsches Arzteblatt International (Dtsch Arztebl Int 2017; 114: 527-34), Florian Schoberl and coauthors explain comprehensively the possible causes of juvenile stroke, which affect some 30 000 persons in Germany every year. Only 40% of juvenile stroke patients return to their original place of work, about a third of these patients remains permanently unfit for work. The acute treatment of juvenile arterial-ischemic stroke, however, does not differ from that of older patients: systemic thrombolysis and/or mechanical thrombectomy are the treatments of choice.
Pembrolizumab has shown a promising response rate in patients with pretreated metastatic gastric cancer, according to late-breaking results from the KEYNOTE-059 trial presented today at the ESMO 2017 Congress in Madrid.

The expected survival of patients with metastatic gastric cancer is less than one year. Very few new drugs have been approved for this disease in the past decade. The phase II KEYNOTE-059 is one of the largest studies to investigate immunotherapy in recurrent or metastatic gastric cancer.

The study included three cohorts: 1) 259 patients with metastatic gastric cancer who received the programmed death 1 (PD-1) inhibitor pembrolizumab alone, after pretreatment with two or more lines of chemotherapy; 2) 25 patients with newly diagnosed metastatic gastric cancer who received a combination of pembrolizumab and chemotherapy; 3) 31 patients with newly diagnosed metastatic gastric cancer who received pembrolizumab alone.

The primary endpoints were safety (all three cohorts) and objective response rate (cohorts one and three).

After a median follow-up of six months, the investigators found an overall objective response rate of 12% with pembrolizumab alone in the pretreated patients (cohort one). Patients who expressed programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) were more likely to respond than those who did not, with objective response rates of 16% and 6%, respectively. Many of the responses were durable. Grade 3 to 5 treatment-related adverse events occurred in 18% of patients in cohort one and 3% had to discontinue treatment as a result.

Lead author Dr Zev Wainberg, co-director of the Gastrointestinal Oncology Programme, UCLA, Los Angeles, US, said: "The data shows that the tumors were sufficiently shrunk to warrant a response, particularly in those patients who had PD-L1 expression, and the drug was safe. The expected response rate in these heavily pretreated patients was close to zero so the findings are encouraging."

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In patients with newly diagnosed metastatic cancer, both the combination therapy (cohort two) and pembrolizumab alone (cohort three) were safe and showed some promising activity. "These results have set the stage for a larger follow-up study which is already enrolling patients," said Wainberg.

He concluded: "We hope these results, in combination with evidence from ongoing randomized trials, will support the regulatory approval of pembrolizumab in metastatic gastric cancer."

Commenting on the results for ESMO, Dr Ian Chau, consultant medical oncologist, Royal Marsden Hospital, London and Surrey, UK, said: "There is currently no standard of care for metastatic gastric cancer treated in the third line or beyond. The KEYNOTE-059 cohort 1 results confirm that the efficacy previously reported for the PD-1 inhibitor nivolumab in patients from East Asia in the ONO-4538 randomized trial can be applied to Western populations."

"The likelihood is that pembrolizumab will become a standard treatment option in this setting in the near future," he added.

Chau cautioned that while the toxicity profile of pembrolizumab looked quite favorable in KEYNOTE-059, it could be that patients had not been treated long enough to experience side effects. He said: "Unlike with chemotherapy, toxicities from immunotherapy tend to occur later on. We need to await longer-term results from an ongoing clinical trial in an earlier line of treatment to know the full impact of this drug in metastatic gastric cancer."

He concluded: "Further research should focus on refining the PD-L1 biomarker and searching for better biomarkers to tell us who benefits from these therapies. We also need more information about quality of life which should be provided by ongoing studies."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-09 18:08:39|Editor: Zhou Xin

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MANILA/HONG KONG, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- The 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) are to sign in November the ASEAN-Hong Kong Free Trade Agreement (AHKFTA) and the ASEAN-Hong Kong Investment Agreement (AHKIA), according to a joint statement on Saturday.

The agreements were reached during the ASEAN economic ministers-Hong Kong consultations, co-chaired by HKSAR government's Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Edward Yau and Philippine Secretary of Trade and Industry Ramon Lopez, in Pasay City, the Philippines.

The agreements will be signed on the sidelines of the 31st ASEAN summit in the Philippines in November.

"The signing of these agreements bodes well for both regional and national business communities particularly for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). This will also send a positive signal to the international community of ASEAN's resolute commitment to free trade and open markets," said Philippine Trade Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo.

Rodolfo said the Philippines will tremendously benefit from the two agreements. "These agreements would level up our already vibrant trade and investments relations as this would mean increased market access for Filipinos exporters," Rodolfo said.

Rodolfo said the AHKFTA is the first FTA to be signed by the ASEAN over a period of about eight years. "That's why it's very significant that this happens during the 50th anniversary of the ASEAN and during the Philippine hosting."

The total merchandise trade between Hong Kong and ASEAN amounted to 106.8 billion U.S. dollars in 2016, and total services trade between the two sides was 15.5 billion U.S. dollars in 2015, according to statistics provided by the HKSAR government.

On investment, by end of 2015, ASEAN ranked the sixth among Hong Kong's destinations of outward direct investment, with a stock of 27.9 billion U.S. dollars, and it ranked the sixth among Hong Kong's sources of inward direct investment, with a stock of 71.1 billion U.S. dollars.

"ASEAN is a very important trading partner of Hong Kong. It was our second largest trading partner in merchandise trade in 2016 and the fourth largest in services trade in 2015," said Yau.

"Our economy stands to benefit from the FTA and the Investment Agreement, which will bring us more and better access to the ASEAN markets, create new business opportunities and further enhance trade and investment flows," he said.

He said the FTA will become effective after completion of the necessary procedures.

The FTA negotiations between Hong Kong and ASEAN commenced in July 2014.

According to the joint statement, the AHKFTA included a chapter on Economic and Technical Cooperation (ECOTECH), which would be implemented through an ECOTECH Work Program.

"This would provide opportunities for our MSMEs to work together through capacity building exercises, information sharing, and internship programs, among others," Rodolfo said.

The ECOTECH Work Program would be adopted when the two agreements are signed in November.
Patients with high risk prostate cancer starting long-term hormone therapy may benefit from two new treatments, according to late-breaking results from the STAMPEDE trial presented at the ESMO 2017 Congress in Madrid.

Long-term hormone therapy alone has been the standard of care for patients with high risk locally advanced or metastatic prostate cancer since the 1940s.

STAMPEDE is a platform protocol using a multi-arm, multi-stage design to efficiently investigate a number of new treatments versus standard of care in patients with high risk prostate cancer. It included men who were starting long-term hormonal therapy for the first time. The trial previously found that docetaxel improved survival compared to standard of care (hazard ratio [HR], 0.78), and that abiraterone acetate with prednisolone also improved survival compared to the same standard of care (HR, 0.63).

First author Matthew Sydes, statistician, MRC Clinical Trials Unit, University College London, UK, said: "Right now, oncologists and urologists want to know which combination is preferable, which is why we conducted this analysis."

The analysis presented today uses prospectively collected data from the STAMPEDE trial to directly compare patients randomized to the docetaxel and abiraterone acetate plus prednisolone (AAP) research arms while both arms of the trial were recruiting. The randomizations overlapped between November 2011 and March 2013. This comparison included 566 patients, of whom 189 were randomized to receive docetaxel and 377 were randomized to receive AAP, both on top of standard of care androgen-deprivation therapy (with radiotherapy for some patients).

The estimate for the primary outcome of overall survival was a HR of 1.16, and the difference between the two treatments was not statistically significant, with confidence intervals capturing estimates favoring both AAP and docetaxel.

For the early outcome measures of failure-free survival and progression-free survival, estimates of treatment effect clearly favored AAP with HRs of 0.51 and 0.65, respectively. The estimates of treatment effect for late outcome measures of freedom from metastatic progression and freedom from symptomatic skeletal events favored AAP but the differences between treatment groups were not statistically significant.

Sydes said: "This comparison was of course underpowered, but it is the only data we have to directly compare docetaxel and abiraterone in this setting."

Professor Nicholas D. James, Chief Investigator of STAMPEDE and Consultant Oncologist at University of Birmingham and Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, UK, said: "The individual trials suggested that abiraterone may have a larger effect on survival than docetaxel, but this did not translate into a clear advantage in this study. Both drugs provide a survival advantage over standard of care alone in men with high risk prostate cancer beginning long-term hormone therapy. This study suggests that starting with either drug is acceptable and choice may depend on availability."

Sydes said: "We could only make this head-to-head comparison because of the platform nature of this protocol."

Commenting for ESMO, professor Cora N.Sternberg, Chief, Department of Medical Oncology, San Camillo Forlanini Hospital, Rome, Italy, said: "The STAMPEDE trial has a unique design and has prospectively studied more than 9,000 patients with high risk or metastatic hormone sensitive prostate cancer compared to the standard of care. By 2025 it will have reported the results of ten randomized clinical trials."

"This comparison offers strong evidence for the combination of standard of care plus AAP versus standard of care alone in terms of failure-free survival and progression-free survival and less strong evidence in terms of metastases-free survival and skeletal related events," she continued. "There was no difference in survival with standard of care plus docetaxel, as compared to standard of care plus AAP."

Sternberg pointed out that the toxicity profiles were quite different in the two trials. The AAP results are consistent with the LATITUDE trial, which also favored AAP over standard of care in high risk patients.

She said: "Both STAMPEDE randomized trials support starting hormonal therapy plus either AAP or six cycles of docetaxel. At one and two years, the percentage of patients with grade 3 or 4 (severe) toxicities was low and similar among the two groups. Toxicities associated with chemotherapy for six cycles will dominate decisions about upfront docetaxel. Toxicities associated with AAP are also likely to influence decisions. Physicians will base their choice of therapy on availability and patient characteristics and preferences."

Regarding the need for further studies, Sternberg said: "Cardiovascular follow-up will be important in patients taking AAP. In the future, we will get data on whether patients could start with both docetaxel and novel hormonal therapy such as AAP. Ongoing randomized trials in metastatic hormone sensitive prostate cancer will evaluate the combination of novel hormonal therapy and chemotherapy upfront (ARASENS; NCT02799602) as will data from the PEACE 1 trial (NCT01957436) in which two-thirds of patients will receive AAP plus docetaxel chemotherapy for hormone sensitive high risk prostate cancer."

Further research on abiraterone in patients with high risk prostate cancer will be presented on Friday, 8 September. STAMPEDE contributes substantially to the network meta-analysis presented on Sunday, 10 September by Dr CL Vale.
Nextbigfuture interviewed Alex Lidow, CEO of EPC. EPC is a leader in Gallium Nitride electronics and now is leading the charge to a new age of wireless power.

EPC is licensing gallium nitride integrated circuits which they have shown can enable furniture like tables to be made into charging surfaces.

Currently there are three kinds of wireless power.

* Inductive charging

* Airfuel Magnetic Resonance which is a standard that is taking off in Asia

* wearable wireless charging

EPC has created a new antenna which can be made onto a larger surface area and higher power levels using Airfuel. It can be made into wallpaper, table surface or even coverage of the floor of a room. It is PC board material with copper wires. The magnetic charging can be designed to only target 1 inch over the surface.

AirFuel Resonant employs the principle of magnetic resonance. It can support value-added services such as mobile payments, gaming, advertising, peer-to-peer data sharing and location based services. Airfuel technology is endorsed by the worlds leading mobile chipmakers, mobile phone manufacturers, and other key industry partners.

Scaling Airfuel would require more electronics to handle the interference at higher power levels (beyond 30 watts) and larger surface areas. The new EPC technology does not have those problems.

EPC is already speaking with companies in China and Taiwan who are interested in licensing furniture that includes the EPC technology.

They have already made a demo 165 watt charging table.

The charging wallpaper will enable flatscreen TVs or other devices hanging on a wall to be charged.

Taiwan and China companies are already looking to add charging at train stations using the EPC technology. Having this kind of charging at hotels and transportation would eliminate the problems that travelers have with incompatible plugs between North America, Asia and Europe.

EPC will be scaling their new broad area charging technology to 750 watts or more by the middle of next year to charge power hungry kitchen appliances.

In 5 to 10 years, we could begin to see entire houses or office buildings switching from costly wiring of buildings to a complete large area wireless solution.

Currently the EPC enabled power furniture would have one plug in for the furniture (night stand or table) and then the surface would provide charging.

However, in 5 to 10 years the costs for electrification of a home could be reduced as opening walls and running wires is a major area of cost for electricity. Electricians can charge $65-85 per hour to wire a house. Typical cost ranges to wire a home is $5000-25000. Removing the need to put wiring into wall could vastly reduce the costs for wiring homes and office buildings. It would also greatly reduce costs to upgrade the electricity in older buildings. Older buildings typically do not have enough plugs or do not have enough electrical capacity.

The standard for household power used to be 60 amps but modern homes often require as much as 200 amps to run air conditioners, computer equipment, high-definition televisions and home automation devices. This costs guide looks at the cost of an average size home of 1200 sq.ft.

Wiring Cost breakdown

Labor: this will depend greatly on the amount of work required as well as the skill level of each electrician. Electricians average between $65 and $85 per hour. For 1200 sq.ft. homes, this is estimated to take 2 hours per wiring connection ($130-$170).

Upgrade electrical service panel: upgrading a 60 amp panel to a modern standard 200 amp panel ranges between $800-$3000 according to the National Association of Home Builders.

Opening walls and running wires: because wiring is in the walls of a home and difficult to reach, rewiring a home requires opening the walls, removing old wires, running new wires and seal everything behind new drywall 1. For a home around 1200 sq.ft. this cost ranges between $3500-$8000. If an electrician can run most of the wiring through a basement, attic, crawlspace or floor joists, the costs will land on the lower end of the estimate. Larger homes or homes with restricted access to crawlspaces will inflate costs up to $20,000.

New wiring: laying new wires is a two-step process and is, typically, expected to be charged at 1 hour per 100 sq.ft. The material cost of new wires range between $6-$8 per ft. This places labor costs at around $7800 and material costs at around $4800 for this project.

Adding outlets and switches: add outlets and switches wherever needed. Each space needs to have 2-3 outlets per space, according to The Craftsman Book Company. Each switch or outlet can be expected to cost around $100-$185 each.

Enhancement and improvement costs

Enhance your wiring with structured wiring. This heavy-duty electrical and data cables are designed to handle modern entertainment and communication devices. Structured wiring costs $2 per sq.ft. ($2400).

Upgrade lighting fixtures for between $45 for a basic light to $150 for a mid-range light to $800+ for a luxury fixture.

In the video below, Alex Lidow explains that older schemes for wireless power generated magnetic fields that extended too far away from the powered surface and caused interference with nearby electronics. But a special antenna design eliminates that problem and makes the whole system power efficient to boot.
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Organizers of the Juba film festival pose for a photo during the second annual film festival in Juba, capital of South Sudan, Sept. 6, 2017. South Sudan's second annual film festival is screening 32 local and 37 foreign actors. (Xinhua/Julius Gale)

JUBA, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- South Sudanese local film industry, though still nascent, is slowly growing following the launch of the annual film festival last year, which encourages production of films reflecting the country's culture.

Most movies at this year's festival, which opened earlier this week, are works of young men and women inspired by their country's turbulent past and present that also includes social, cultural complexities like early child marriage and domestic violence.

Wilma Poni, 22, a budding actress and also student of accounting and finance at Juba University, plays a supporting role in the drama "Dollar" depicting the scarcity of hard currency in the prevailing economic hardship in the country.

Poni told Xinhua in Juba Thursday that she has sought inspiration from the current challenges.

"I started acting in 2014. At that time we had an event on peace following eruption of conflict in our country. There are a lot of problems like the shortage of U.S. dollars, we started to make fun of it," she said.

The other movie in which Poni stars, Tears of Street Kids, is currently a nominee in this year's second annual film festival organized by Juba Film Limited.

"When some people watch the film, they will be inspired to work hard," she said, adding that South Sudanese movies could soon compete on the regional scene.

According to John Thomas, one of the directors at Juba Film Limited, this year there has been improvement in the quality of the photos and production among the 32 local movies and 37 foreign movies being screened.

She disclosed that movies from DR Congo, Tanzania, Rwanda, Tanzania, France, Sweden and Germany with similar cultural connection to South Sudanese experience will compete in the Saturday award ceremony.

"There is big progress. The stories are nice, the screen and the scenery is very nice. After this one we are looking to improve further next year," Thomas told Xinhua.

Charles Sebit, a 33-year-old actor and film producer, said part of his work involves highlighting violence against women, and educating the population on the dangers of cholera, in the wake of the watery diarrhea disease killing hundreds.

Sebit earned an award at last year's annual film festival. He added that despite some improvement on the film quality, eyeing regional competition will help the industry to grow further.

"The challenge we still have now is mainly lack of financial support for our films. We need advanced technology equipments like cameras and stages," he said.

The outbreak of the December 2013 conflict in South Sudan has led to the killing of thousands and contributed to one of the largest refugee influx in the region since the Rwandan genocide in 1994.
Zambian President Edgar Lungu (middle) cuts the ribbon during the launch of China-funded mega-road project in Chisamba Zambia, Sept. 8, 2017. (Xinhua /Noel Wasamunu)

CHISAMBA, Zambia, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Zambia on Friday launched construction of a China-funded mega-road project that connects the southern and central parts of the country to the mining towns in the Copperbelt province.

The construction of the 321-kilometer Lusaka-Ndola dual carriageway, including the bypass roads in Kabwe and Kapiri Mposhi, and 45 kilometers of the Luanshya-Fisenge-Masangano Road will be done by China Jiangxi Corporation for International Economic and Technical Cooperation (CJIC) at a cost of 1.2 billion U.S. dollars, a loan from China's Exim Bank.

The road, to be constructed in four years, will create over 3,000 jobs for local people.

Zambian President Edgar Lungu, in remarks delivered during the launch of commissioning works in central Zambia's Chisamba district, said the project will present one of the modern symbols of the friendship between Zambia and China after the Tanzania-Zambia Railway line constructed in the 1970s.

The Zambian leader said the construction of the road will improve the flow of traffic and drastically reduce road traffic accidents that are common on the current narrow road.

He also highlighted the economic benefits of the dual carriageway, saying it was cardinal to transiting vehicles to and from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and other countries in the southern African region.

"Increased traffic on our roads due to the booming economic activities in various sectors, especially in the mining sector, requires an appropriate response such as this one," he said.

Yan g Youming, the Chinese Ambassador to Zambia, said the construction of the dual carriageway will make the country a hub of transportation in the region.

The two countries, he said, have cooperated greatly in infrastructure development over the years, adding that China will continue supporting Zambia's infrastructure improvement.

"Locating in the center of southern Africa, Zambia is poised to become a transportation hub for the region. And China is experienced in infrastructure development, leading in the world with work efficiency and project quality. I therefore see great prospect for China-Zambia cooperation in transportation infrastructure development," he said.

Xu Guojian, the president of CJIC, said that his company had attached great importance to the project and that rounds of studies have been conducted to ensure that it was perfectly done.
A girl looks after a flock of goats in Ethiopia's Somali Regional state, Gode District, Ethiopia, Sept. 1, 2017. (Xinhua/Michael Tewelde)

ADDIS ABABA, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Heads of three UN food agencies have jointly called on the global community to strengthen drought response interventions in Ethiopia.

The call was made early this week in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa by the visiting chiefs of the three UN food agencies who are David Beasley, Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), Jose Graziano da Silva, Director-General of the world Food and Agricultural Organizations (FAO), and Gilbert F. Houngbo, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

The officials, after their four-day joint visit in drought-affected Tigray and Somali regional states of Ethiopia from September 1 to 4, highlighted the critical food and nutrition security situations underway in the east African country.

Noting the need for collaborative efforts in tackling the drought scenario from deteriorating further, the three chiefs also praised the Ethiopian government's efforts in responding to the crisis.

"We need to be grateful to what the Ethiopian government has been able to achieve working with donors," said Beasley.

The government of Ethiopia and its humanitarian partners had launched the 2017 Humanitarian Requirements Document looking for 948 million U.S. dollars to reach close to 5.6 million people with emergency food and non-food assistance.

As rains failed for the third consecutive year in southern and southeastern parts of Ethiopia, the worst drought affected areas, the number of Ethiopians who are in need of emergency humanitarian assistance has since then escalated to more than 8.5 million during the second half of 2017.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-09 18:38:46|Editor: ying

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DAMASCUS, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian army captured on Saturday the key oil field of Teym as part of a progress against the Islamic State (IS) in the countryside of Deir al-Zour province in eastern Syria, state news agency SANA reported.

The new achievement comes as part of the progress the army forces have made over the past 24 hours in reaching Deir al-Zour city from its main desert road.

The Teym oil field is only a few kilometers from the graveyard area at southern entrance of the city.

Earlier this week, the Syrian army and allied troops with the backing of Russian air fire lifted the three-year-old siege by IS on Deir al-Zour city through the Brigade 137 base in western Deir al-Zour.

Now the advancing troops are fighting to break the IS siege on the air base of Deir al-Zour.

The oil-rich province is so important for the Syrian army due to its location near Iraq and also the energy fields, all of which fell to IS during the war.

Teym field produced gas and oil and is one of the most important energy fields in Syria as it supports the electricity production to most Syrian cities.

Meanwhile, a military source told Xinhua that the Syrian forces also captured surrounding areas near the oil field, proceeding toward the graveyard area where the first incursion team is advancing, coming from Brigade 123.

He said the army has taken key hilltops close to the air base of Deir al-Zour.

Both advancing troops will meet in the graveyard area, to proceed to break the IS siege on Deir al-Zour air base, where Syrian soldiers and allied fighters have been besieged for three years.

Breaking the siege of the airport will largely play in the hands of the Syrian government forces in their push to eliminate the IS presence in the city before proceeding to the countryside where IS also controls large swathes of areas near the Iraqi border.

Since entering the city, the Syrian government has sent several truckloads of food and medicine to the city, where 93,000 civilians have been besieged for years.

The Russian air force played a significant role in supporting the ground forces of the Syrian army and allied fighters of Iranian-backed troops and tribesmen fighters.

For its part, Syria's Foreign Ministry said Saturday that the end of IS near as the group is crumbling in Deir al-Zour.

The ministry urged for lifting the U.S. and European sanctions on Syria, saying that would help in the reconstruction process.
For the last three weeks, Buddhist-majority Myanmar has systematically slaughtered civilians belonging to the Rohingya Muslim minority, forcing 270,000 to flee to neighboring Bangladesh  with Myanmar soldiers shooting at them even as they cross the border.

The Buddhists are killing us with bullets, Noor Symon, a woman carrying her son, told a Times reporter. They burned houses and tried to shoot us. They killed my husband by bullet.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the widow who defied Myanmars dictators, endured a total of 15 years of house arrest and led a campaign for democracy, was a hero of modern times. Yet today Daw Suu, as the effective leader of Myanmar, is chief apologist for this ethnic cleansing, as the country oppresses the darker-skinned Rohingya and denounces them as terrorists and illegal immigrants.

And ethnic cleansing may be an understatement. Even before the latest wave of terror, a Yale study had suggested that the brutality toward the Rohingya might qualify as genocide. The U.S. Holocaust Museum has also warned that a genocide against the Rohingya may be looming.

Burmese soldiers round up Rohingya in Rakhine State. Footage acquired by The New York Times

For shame, Daw Suu. We honored you and fought for your freedom  and now you use that freedom to condone the butchery of your own people?

Theyre killing children, Matthew Smith, the chief executive of a human rights group called Fortify Rights, told me after interviewing refugees on the Bangladesh border. In the least, were talking about crimes against humanity.

My two nephews, their heads were cut off, one Rohingya survivor told Smith. One was 6 years old and the other was 9.

Other accounts describe soldiers throwing infants into a river to drown, and decapitating a grandmother. Hannah Beech, my Times colleague who has provided outstanding coverage from the border, put it this way: Ive covered refugee crises before, and this was by far the worst thing that Ive ever seen.

Rohingya refugees walk through rice fields after crossing over to the Bangladesh side of the Myanmar border on Friday. Bernat Armangue/Associated Press

Its not that Daw Suu is organizing the killings (she does not control the military), or that they are entirely one-sided. The latest slaughter began after Rohingya militants attacked police stations and a military base on Aug. 25; the Myanmar security forces responded with scorched-earth fury against Rohingya civilians.

Footage acquired by The New York Times.

Hundreds are believed to have been killed, but Daw Suu has not criticized the slaughter. Rather, she blamed international aid groups and complained about a huge iceberg of misinformation aiming to help the terrorists  presumably meaning the Rohingya.

When a Rohingya woman bravely recounted how her husband had been shot dead and how she and three teenage girls had been gang-raped by soldiers, Daw Suus Facebook page mocked the claims as fake rape.

Based on a conversation with Daw Suu once about the Rohingya, I think she genuinely believes that they are outsiders and troublemakers. But in addition, the moral giant has become a pragmatic politician  and she knows that any sympathy for the Rohingya would be disastrous politically for her party in a country deeply hostile to its Muslim minority.

We applauded Aung San Suu Kyi when she received her Nobel Prize because she symbolized courage in the face of tyranny, noted Ken Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch. Now that shes in power, she symbolizes cowardly complicity in the deadly tyranny being visited on the Rohingya.

Another Nobel Peace Prize winner, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, wrote a pained letter to his friend: My dear sister: If the political price of your ascension to the highest office in Myanmar is your silence, the price is surely too steep.

A Rohingya child is carried in a sling after his family entered Bangladesh. Bernat Armangue/Associated Press

Myanmar tries to keep foreigners out of the Rohingya areas, but Ive managed to get there twice in the last few years, and even then Rohingya were confined to concentration camps or to remote villages. Many were systematically denied medical care, and children were barred from public schools. Its a 21st-century apartheid.

I saw a 23-year-old woman, Minura Begum, lose her baby because she needed a doctor; I met a brilliant 15-year-old girl whose dream of becoming a doctor is collapsing because she is confined to a concentration camp; I met a 2-year-old boy, Hirol, who was starving after his mother died for lack of medical care.

Daw Suu and other Myanmar officials refuse to use the word Rohingya, seeing them as just illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, but thats absurd. A document from 1799 shows that even then, the Rohingya population was well established.

In Washington, Senators John McCain and Dick Durbin have introduced a bipartisan resolution condemning the violence and calling on Daw Suu to work to halt it. I hope President Trump speaks up as well.

We know that the Myanmar government responds to pressure, because thats what won Daw Suu her freedom. Yet there has been far too little outcry for the Rohingya; bravo to Pope Francis for being an exception among world leaders and speaking up for them. A basic lesson of history: Ignoring a possible genocide only encourages the persecutors.

There are petitions online calling for Daw Suu to be stripped of her Nobel. In fact, there is no mechanism to take away the prize, but I do wish that the prize money could be recovered and go to feed the widows and orphans being created on her watch.
Amazon has set off a scrum among cities that are hoping to land the companys second headquarters  with the winner getting the prize of a $5 billion investment and 50,000 new jobs over the next two decades. Were offering to help, using Amazons own criteria to identify a winning city.

The company announced in September that it was looking for a metropolitan area in North America with at least a million people, so weve started with the map above. (With apologies to Canada, weve set aside Toronto and several other large cities because theyre not included in most of the data sets weve used to determine which places meet Amazons needs.)

In the eight pages of guidance that Amazon has provided cities, one of its central requirements is a stable business climate for growth. That led us to this subset of places:

Areas where job growth is strong 

Here weve cut the contenders by half, keeping those metropolitan areas that have had the best job growth over the last decade, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Metro areas that have actually lost jobs (Tucson; Birmingham, Ala.) and those that have grown more sluggishly are out of the running.

This removes a couple of otherwise intriguing possibilities: Chicago and Pittsburgh. But its hard to argue that Chicago could have had a great chance while the finances of Illinois are a wreck.

Sentimental picks like Detroit fail this first test. Amazons request for proposals doesnt suggest that it will prioritize places it could help revitalize, but the company would certainly have that effect if it chose such an underdog.

Amazon is also clear that it needs a lot of skilled tech labor. Remember, it could ultimately hire 50,000 employees. And were not primarily talking about warehouse workers, but executives, software engineers, and legal and accounting experts.

 and the right labor pool is large and growing 

In these metro areas, more than one in eight workers is in an industry related to tech, science or professional services, according to the census. (That figure is one in five in Raleigh, N.C.; San Francisco; San Jose, Calif.; and Washington). And the segment of the labor pool that Amazon is particularly interested in  software programmers and designers  is growing rapidly, according to an analysis of tech jobs by the Brookings Institution. For its recruiting, Amazon also says it requires a strong university system nearby. All of these metro areas offer that, with colleges that include computer science degrees.

Amazon wants the kind of place that would lure and keep those workers. That means, in short, a metro area with the features that young, skilled workers like, and where they think they can afford to live.

 and the quality of life is high 

Quality of life in this context is primarily about two things  housing costs and amenities  and striking a balance between them. The Bay Area does a poor job of that, given that its high cost of living is now driving away even tech workers with six-figure salaries. New York loses out because of high housing costs, too, as measured by median rents in census data. Boston is relatively expensive, but were keeping it in the running because its tech job pool is so good. Washington is also expensive, but more affordable Baltimore is a commuter rail line away. And Jeff Bezos, for one, has a nice quality of life in D.C.  he bought a $23 million home there this year.

As for the amenities, the winning region will also have the restaurants, outdoor recreation, cultural attractions and general cool of Amazons first home, Seattle. Urban economists suggest that such amenities are important to explaining the allure of cities. We asked the economist David Albouy to rank these metro areas for us with an index he uses to measure how much people would be willing to sacrifice, in terms of housing costs and commutes, to live in desirable places. On that basis, we cut Charlotte, N.C., and Indianapolis, because they rank lower on the cultural edginess that attracts young, educated workers.

Here is one other way to consider how tech workers weigh the cost of cities against their benefits: According to the real estate site Redfin, people looking to leave the Bay Area are primarily looking for an alternative in Seattle; Portland, Ore.; Austin, Tex.; Denver; Dallas; and Washington, among our remaining contenders.

This next criterion narrows the field significantly:

 and workers can easily get around  and out of town 

An Amazon priority is mass transit, and it has asked applicants to provide their traffic congestion rankings during peak commuting hours. These remaining metro areas are among the top 15 in the country in the share of workers who commute by transit, according to the American Community Survey. Gone are those with both weak transit and bad congestion rankings according to the company INRIX: Atlanta, Miami, Dallas and Austin.

Amazon also wants easy access to an international airport with direct flights to Seattle, San Francisco, New York and Washington, which these four finalists provide. At this point, though, were going to eliminate Portland, because it makes little sense for the company to put a second headquarters so close to Seattle. So were down to three: Boston, Washington and Denver.

Amazon could easily sort through all the criteria above by itself (the company knows data, after all). But there are two questions it cant answer without information from potential host cities: What are they willing to give the company in incentives and tax breaks? And what real estate is on the table? This leads us to our winner:

 and there is space and a willingness to pay to play.

Its hard to imagine where the Boston region would find the room for a company that will ultimately want up to eight million square feet of office space (the Pentagon, for comparison, has 6.6 million). Mayor Marty Walsh also said on Thursday that Boston is not going to get into a bidding war with another city over something like this. And its pretty clear that a bidding war is what Amazon wants.

The company has asked for very specific information on all the state, regional and local incentives communities are willing to offer, and the timelines for how long it would take to approve them. Amazon concludes its proposal by stressing that this a competitive project. So let the competition among cities begin!

Denver and Washington, including their suburbs, have already raised their hands. Mayor Michael Hancock of Denver has said hes excited about this megaprospect and has begun talking to the economic development partners the region would need to make an offer. Officials in Washington and suburban Loudoun County sound eager, too. But land in the District of Columbia is expensive and increasingly hard to come by. And a far-flung suburban campus, like those many government contractors have in Northern Virginia, seems unlikely for a company that has grown out of a proudly urban home in downtown Seattle.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-09 18:53:49|Editor: ying

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NANJING, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Nanjing has become China's first International City of Peace.

In the notorious Nanjing Massacre during World War II, about 300,000 Chinese people lost their lives and 20,000 women were raped, said J. Fred Arment, executive director of International Cities of Peace in a video speech.

This history makes people remember the war and makes them more aware of the significance of peace, he said.

Nanjing in east China's Jiangsu Province was an ancient capital for six of China's dynasties. The freezing winter of 1937 saw brutal killing by invading Japanese troops. One person was killed every 12 seconds.

A total of 172 cities in about 50 countries and regions are now on the International Cities of Peace list, according to its website, including Coventry in England, Bern in Switzerland, Amsterdam in the Netherlands and Berlin, Germany.

Liu Cheng, UNESCO Chair on Peace Studies and a professor at Nanjing University, said that there were certain requirements for becoming an International City of Peace.

"For instance, the city might be traumatized by war or have witnessed big peace-related events," he said. "It should also be advanced in peace studies and activities."

More than two years ago, Liu's Institute for Peace Studies, together with the Institute of Nanjing Massacre History and International Peace, submitted an application to the International Cities of Peace.

"What was left by history was not hatred, but our awareness of peace," he said.

"Nanjing is among the cities that felt the greatest pain in World War II, and the Nanjing Massacre left us indelible memories," said Zhang Jianjun, executive chairman of the Institute of Nanjing Massacre History and International Peace. "So we understand better how valuable peace is."

Peace education has always been emphasized in Nanjing. Nanjing University is the first university to conduct research on peace studies in China.

Kawasaki Akira, a representative with the Japanese NGO Peace Boat, said that the designation of Nanjing as an International City of Peace could help China cherish peace and Japan reflect on itself.

"Peace does not only mean 'no war,'" said Lee Ji Won, a professor at Daelim University of Republic of Korea. "Peace also means reducing violence, improving justice and safeguarding human rights."

"Peace is the only way out for human beings," said Cao Lubao, a publicity official with Nanjing City. "People from all countries should take lessons from history and enhance communication."
Pennsylvania Politicians Split on Issue of Federal Online Gambling Ban

Published September 8, 2017 by Elana K

Two Pennsylvania politicians speak up about a federal ban on online gambling - one staunchly for and one staunchly against.

The issue of online gambling is a hot one in Pennsylvania, at both state and federal levels. Pennsylvania has been seriously discussing legalizing online gambling within the state for at least two years, but no forward movement has been made. And recently, two politicians have spoken up about a federal ban on online gambling, one staunchly for and one staunchly against.

For the Federal Ban

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick took up a congressional seat in 2016, and like his brother, who occupied the seat before him, he has been outspoken in his support for a federal ban on online gambling.

He is reportedly drafting a letter asking the Department of Justice to revisit the issue of online gambling, specifically, the 2011 decision that ruled that states can legalize online gambling if they wish.

Rumors link Fitzpatricks support of a federal ban to casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, who owns Sands Bethlehem Casino near the Republicans district, and who is possibly the most famous anti-online gambling proponent in the country.

Against the Federal Ban

Former US politician Ron Paul recently wrote a piece for a Pennsylvania news outlet against the federal ban on online gambling, stating that such a ban would threaten the constitutional rights of all Americans.

During Pauls tenure as a US Representative, he was known as a champion of states' rights, so his stance on the federal ban is not surprising.

RAWA Revived

A federal ban on online gambling is nothing new - the idea gained momentum in 2014 under the name RAWA - Restoration of Americas Wire Act - and was championed by Sheldon Adelson. Despite heavy lobbying, the bill petered out in 2016, mainly due to the claims that it trampled on states rights.

Today, however, some politicians are still intent on seeing it through, and may try to sneak a RAWA-esque bill into 2018 legislation. The same issue of states rights remains, however, so even with the power of Sheldon Adelson behind them, they wont have an easy time getting it passed.
From The Hill

This week President Trump, who recently had trouble unequivocally denouncing white supremacists in Charlottesville, Va., told the Dreamers who entered our country at a young age and represent the American idea made timeless by the Statue of Liberty, that he loved them.

Shortly thereafter, Trump betrayed them, telling those he had just said he loved that they are no longer welcome in America unless a divided and dysfunctional Congress enacts a Dream Act within six months, which he did not promise to sign and should promise he will not veto.

It was an unnecessary and wrong betrayal for Trump to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy initiated by President Obama. Congress must now pass a Dream Act to ensure that Dreamers are welcome in America today, tomorrow and forever.

Some Republicans who stand by Trump will aggressively oppose any legislation designed to help the Dreamers who love our country, study in our schools, obey our laws, strengthen our economy, worship in our churches and protect our security while serving in the military.

Other Republicans seek a Faustian bargain that would exchange support for the Dreamers in return for agreement to waste huge sums of taxpayer money to build an extravagantly expensive wall on the Mexican border, which Trump repeatedly and falsely promised would be paid for by the Mexican government. The answer to compromise proposals should be increased funding for border security, absolutely yes, but funding for the border wall, unequivocally no.

The Dreamers pose a litmus test for the conscience of the Republican Party. There are many good and patriotic Americans who support Trump, but there are also white supremacists who support him and should not be coddled, courted or have any place in the Republican Party.

Republicans should summon the moral and political courage to stand against the kind of GOP that Trump is attempting to create and the racial divisions that Trump is determined to escalate, exacerbate and exploit. Congress should pass the Dream Act promptly and prevent the cruel mass deportations that Trump's policy would impose and enforce.

For the same reasons, principled Republicans should join Democrats in opposing the Trump pardon of former Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio. This reprehensible pardon would sanction injustice. It is now under legal challenge that will ultimately be decided by the courts.

If the pardon stands, Trump could claim the executive power to destroy any constitutional protection and civil rights law that is violated by anyone acting under the power of the state whose violations of law are sanctioned or protected by a presidential pardon.

The Founding Fathers never intended to grant any president the power to undermine the faithful execution of law, destroy judicial review, encourage contempt of court, undermine constitutional protections or send signals to suspects in criminal investigations of foreign attacks against America that wrongdoers may expect pardons, too.

In communities across America there are young Dreamers and their families who now endure the fear, caused by the president who recently said he loves them, that six months from now there may be a knock on their door and they will be cruelly and forcibly deported from the land they love and the only homeland they know.

The Dreamers are good and decent young men, women and children. They love this country in ways unknown to a president who wears a hat about making America great while he persistently exploits the bitterly divisive politics of race and fear.

The Dreamers are American in the ways that matter the most. They make the country better by their presence. They keep alive by their patriotism the time-honored truth that America is a melting pot of shared values, and not the cauldron of racial injustice and national division promoted by the president who is the temporary occupant of the Oval Office.

Trump said he loves the Dreamers, and then betrayed them. Lets support the Dreamers, because we love America as they do.
Congress Switchboard: 202-224-3121

"The world is seemingly full of disconnected crises, but Rob Kall begs to differ. An exceptional pattern thinker, he connects a range of contemporary challenges through a framework of bottom-up solutions in a world dominated by top-down thinking. Mining extensive interviews with thought leaders and exploring an eclectic mix of leading-edge ideas, Bottom-Up describes a variety of latent and emergent characteristics of an evolutionary paradigm shift that's changing the world. Whether your focus is in business, leadership, activism, or organizations, Kall offers a practical conceptual map and toolset to engage the planetary evolution taking place all around us. If you want to make a difference and need inspiration for how to participate in this global transformation, there is plenty in this book to draw from."



Antonio Lopez, author of The Media Ecosystem
From Consortium News



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Many people still want to believe that the United Nations engages in impartial investigations and thus is more trustworthy than, say, self-interested governments, whether Russia or the United States. But trust in U.N. agencies is no longer well placed; whatever independence they may have once had has been broken, a reality relevant to recent "investigations" of Syrian chemical weapons use.

There is also the larger issue of the United Nations' peculiar silence about one of its primary and original responsibilities, shouldered after the horrors of World War II -- to stop wars of aggression, which today include "regime change" wars organized, funded and armed by the United States and other Western powers, such as the Iraq invasion in 2003, the overthrow of the Libyan government in 2011, and a series of proxy wars including the ongoing Syrian conflict.

After World War II, the Nuremberg Tribunals declared that a "war of aggression ... is not only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole."

That recognition became a guiding principle of the United Nations Charter, which specifically prohibits aggression or even threats of aggression against sovereign states.

The Charter declares in Article One that it is a chief U.N. purpose "to take effective collective measures ... for the suppression of acts of aggression or other breaches of the peace." Article Two, which defines the appropriate behavior of U.N. members, adds that "All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state..."

However, instead of enforcing this fundamental rule, the United Nations has, in effect, caved in to the political and financial pressure brought to bear by the United States and its allies. A similar disregard for international law also pervades the U.S. mainstream media and much of the European and Israeli press as well.

There is an assumption that the United States and its allies have the right to intervene militarily anywhere in the world at anytime solely at their own discretion. Though U.S. diplomats and mainstream journalists still voice outrage when adversaries deviate from international law -- such as denunciations of Russia over Ukraine's civil war -- there is silence or support when a U.S. president or, say, an Israeli prime minister orders military strikes inside another country. Then, we hear only justifications for these attacks.

Shielding Israel

For instance, on Friday, The New York Times published an article about Israel conducting a bombing raid inside Syria that reportedly killed two Syrians. The article is notable because it contains not a single reference to international law and Israel's clear-cut violation of it. Instead, the article amounts to a lengthy rationalization for Israel's aggression, framing the attacks as Israeli self-defense or, as the Times put it, "an escalation of Israel's efforts to prevent its enemies from gaining access to sophisticated weapons."



Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the United Nations in 2012, drawing his own 'red line' on how far he will let Iran go in refining nuclear fuel.

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The article also contains no reference to the fact that Israel maintains a sophisticated nuclear arsenal and is known to possess chemical and biological weapons as well. Implicit in the Times article is that the U.S. and Israel live under one set of rules while countries on the U.S.-Israeli enemies list must abide by another. Not to state the obvious but this is a clear violation of the journalistic principle of objectivity.

But the Times is far from alone in applying endless double standards. Hypocrisy now permeates international agencies, including the United Nations, which instead of pressing for accountability in cases of U.S. or Israeli aggression has become an aider and abettor, issuing one-sided reports that justify further aggression while doing little or nothing to stop U.S.-backed acts of aggression.

For instance, there was no serious demand that U.S. and British leaders who organized the 2003 invasion of Iraq, which resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, should face any accountability for committing the "supreme international crime" of an aggressive war. As far as the U.N. is concerned, war-crimes tribunals are for the little guys.

This breakdown in the integrity of the U.N. and related agencies has developed over the past few decades as one U.S. administration after another has exploited U.S. clout as the world's "unipolar power" to ensure that international bureaucrats conform to U.S. interests. Any U.N. official who deviates from this unwritten rule can expect to have his or her reputation besmirched and career truncated.

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By David Swanson

Remarks at People's Convergence Conference, Sept. 8, 2017

Here's my five-minute case for why you can't have an effective progressive movement in the United States that doesn't include working for peace. War and militarism and bases and ships and missiles and sanctions and nuclear threats and hostility make up the filter through which much of the other 96% of humanity experiences this 4%. The U.S. Congress chooses how to spend a great deal of money each year, and chooses to put 54% of it into war and preparations for war. The wars demonstrably increase rather than reduce or eliminate anti-U.S. sentiment and violence. They endanger us rather than protect us. The wars are a top cause of death and injury in the world, and a top cause of famines and disease epidemics and refugee crises that cause massive additional suffering. But war kills most by diverting resources. Small fractions of U.S. military spending could end starvation, provide clean water, end diseases, even end the use of fossil fuels worldwide. Military spending also reduces jobs in comparison to other spending or not taxing working people in the first place.

The U.S. military consumes more petroleum than most entire countries and has a bigger budget than most governments and about the size of all other militaries combined. The U.S. military destroys areas of the earth on an unfathomable scale, including back home where it is responsible for 69% of environmental disaster superfund sites. Yes, the top destroyer of the U.S. natural environment is the U.S. military.

And while Trump threatens nuclear war, scientists say that a single nuclear bomb could cause climate catastrophe, and a small number of them could block out the sun, kill crops, and starve us to death. There is no such thing as threatening nuclear war on someone other than yourself. The erosion we are seeing in our civil liberties, the mass surveillance, the militarized police: these are symptoms of a criminal enterprise called war. It fuels and is fueled by racism, bigotry, hatred, and violence. The excuses made for it are so weak and its horrors so inexcusable that the top killer of U.S. participants in war is suicide.

And yet, Trump proposes to move another $50 billion from just about everything good and decent into war, and the Democrats run around denouncing the supposed cuts without mentioning the existence of the military or the fact that it's not cuts at all, but moving the money into war. The Democratic Congressional candidates that have lost all their special elections this year to warmongering Republicans have in each case presented platforms that did not mention any foreign policy whatsoever. The same goes for their new hero Randy Bryce. The Progressive Caucus's dream budget increases military spending. And of course a certain former Senator from New York who seems to still be running for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination never met a war she didn't love.

But I think it behooves all of us to confront our own shortcomings a little more honestly than Hillary Clinton does. A Senator from Vermont just went on Stephen Colbert's show and rattled off his list of progressive goals three different times without ever mentioning war or peace. Even the question of whether to end or continue current wars just doesn't come up. During the campaign, Senator Sanders said that he thought Saudi Arabia should "get its hands dirty" and pay for more of the wars, as if Saudi Arabia's hands weren't drenched in blood, as if it weren't funding wars on the same and opposite side as the U.S. already, and as if wars were some sort of philanthropy the world depends upon. Senator Sanders falsely as well as immorally defends the murderous F-35 airplane as a jobs program for Vermont where it will damage the hearing and the brains of the children in the school it takes off over. And when Senator Sanders was asked "How will you pay for all your ponies?" (Ponies is Hillary Clinton's word for basic human rights) he didn't reply "I'm going to make a slight reduction in military spending." Instead he gave a complex answer that produced endless media screaming about tax increases. Contrast that with the popular performance of the next prime minister of the United Kingdom Jeremy Corbyn who explains that the wars are illegal and counterproductive.

So, we have to move the best and the worst of the politicians in the U.S., and we have to do so with a popular movement that changes the culture. If you go to WorldBeyondWar.org you can get involved and see a couple of events coming up here in DC, one being a flotilla of hundreds of kayaks to the Pentagon to oppose any more oil for wars as well as wars for oil, and the other being a conference bringing the peace and environmental movements together. That's at WorldBeyondWar.org. Thank you.
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Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-09 18:58:50|Editor: ying

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CAIRO, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- An Egyptian court on Saturday has sentenced eleven people to death over charges of attempted murder and violence, official news agency MENA reported.

The defendants were convicted of militant gathering for terrorist purposes, making explosives, assaulting a government institution and setting it ablaze, Jeopardizing personal freedoms, harming national unity and social peace, and providing funds and weapons to militants.

The court referred the sentence to Grand Mufti, the country's highest Islamic official who will give the religious judgment of all preliminary death sentences.

The Mufti's opinion is non-binding as it is usually considered a formality, but his final opinion could reduce the penalty.

The court will give its final sentence against other 26 accused with the same charges in October 22.

The case dated back to August 2013 when the Brotherhood members took into streets, broke into some police stations, killing security men in retaliation for the police's harsh crackdown on the supporters of the Islamist president Mohamed Morsi who was ousted by the army in response to mass protest against him.

Morsi along with prominent figures of his Brotherhood group were sentenced to death over killing protesters, spying for foreign countries amid other charges.

However, all the charges are still appealable.
Biosimilar Pipeline Analysis Market

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Biosimilar is a type of biological product that is almost identical to the original product, which has undergone patent expiration. Development and validation of biosimilars are an important part of the overall production process. Regulation for biosimilar drugs plays an important role in maintaining the efficiency and balance between original and biosimilar drugs. There are various authorities such as U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Medicines Agency (EMA), which regulate the development and commercialization of biosimilars. Biosimilar drugs are available at relatively low prices as compared to patented drugs without compromising on efficacy.Request Sample Copy of the Business Report: https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/582 Biosimilar has a complex structure, multi-layer manufacturing and immunogenicity risk due to which they require unique regulatory pathways for introduction in the market. Biosimilar ensures treatment of diseases considered to be incurable such as cancer and autoimmune disorders, they are developed independently and have same mechanism of action as patented drugs for the specific disease. There are different stages involved in the development of biosimilars such as product development, process development, clinical trial and regulatory approval and review.Biosimilar pipeline analysis market taxonomy:By Product TypeHuman Growth HormoneInsulinInterferonPeptidesMonoclonal antibodiesOthersBy ServicesClinical TrialsContract Research and ManufacturingBy TechnologyElectrophoresisRecombinant DNA TechnologyChromatographyNuclear Magnetic Resonance TechnologyBioassayMass SpectrometryWestern BlottingBy ApplicationOncology DiseaseAuto immune DiseaseBlood DiseaseGrowth Hormone DeficienciesPatent expiration and low pricing is expected to fuel the biosimilar pipeline analysis marketBiosimilar market is under the initial phase of development, they are used for the treatment of various disorders such as autoimmune disease, cancer as per National Institute of Health 2012 report, there were more than 23.5 million people living with autoimmune disease in the U.S. and low pricing of biosimilar drugs make them affordable for people. The same mechanism of action provides effective treatment for disease along with increased awareness among people are expected to fuel the growth of biosimilar pipeline market. Various companies and their R&D departments such as Pfizer Inc., Zydus Cadila are involved in the development of biosimilar, which is under clinical trial. Pfizers biosimilar clinical stage pipeline includes five monoclonal antibodies fare under clinical trial phase I to phase 3 which will be used for the treatment of autoimmune disease and oncology.There are various patented drugs available in the market, with certain drugs such as Adalimumab, the high cost of these drugs directed the biosimilar market. There are few drugs, which are under the last phase of clinical trial are BI695502 developed by Boehringer Ingelheim, PF- 06439535 by Pfizer, Biosimilar bevacizumab by Biocon, and FKB238 by Kyowa Pharmaceutical Industry Co. Increased R&D is expected to support the growth of biosimilar pipeline analysis market. There is a need for complex infrastructure in the development of biosimilar and lengthy process of clinical trial and approval are the major challenges faced by biosimilar pipeline analysis market.Browse Research Report At: https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/ongoing-insight/biosimilar-pipeline-analysis-market-582 Developed regions are expected to support the growth of biosimilar pipeline analysis marketGlobal biosimilar pipeline analysis market is segmented into North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa. Europe is expected to dominate the biosimilar pipeline analysis market due to technological advancements in healthcare facilities and regulatory affiliation. Asia Pacific is expected to closely follow Europe in terms of growth due to increased prevalence of autoimmune disease, cancer, unmet clinical needs of people, and large price conscious population of emerging economies. North America market is expected to grow significantly due to high R&D investments, which supports the growth of biosimilar pipeline analysis market in near future.Key players of biosimilar pipeline analysis marketThere are various players present across the world and competing with each other extensively in the market to attain maximum share. Companies are also involved in R&D to increase the biosimilar pipeline. Some key players are Biocon, Pfizer Inc., F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, Amgen Inc., Kyowa Pharmaceutical Industry Co. Ltd, Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH, AstraZeneca, Novartis AG, and Merck & Co.About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.
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FSCwire / Press ReleaseThe following press release was disseminated by FSCwire for Far Resources Ltd.--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---Vancouver, BC (FSCWire) - Far Resources Ltd. (CSE:FAT). has issued a press release with the following headline:Far Resources Issues SecuritiesTo 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 Far Resources Ltd., or to see additional press releases issued by this company, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser: http://www.fscwire.com/public-company/Far Resources Ltd.Source: Far Resources Ltd. (CSE: FAT, FWB: F0R, WKN: A2AH8W, ISIN: CA30734R1001, OTC Pink: FRRSF)Date: September 08, 2017Time: 7:30 PM EDT--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---The story mentioned above was issued on behalf of Far Resources Ltd. and disseminated through FSCwire.About FSCwireFSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.), is a global newswire dissemination, SEDAR, SEDI, and EDGAR / XBRL service provider.FSCwire is a full service global newswire dissemination company and is fully approved by all exchanges in Canada and the U.S. Press releases can be distributed for all sizes of public, private or not for profit companies and any other organization requiring news distribution. In addition to individual companies; public relations, communications and investor relations firms trust FSCwire to distribute press releases for their respective clients.In addition to newswire dissemination FSCwire also offers EDGAR, XBRL, SEDAR, SEDI, and additional services for publicly traded companies. For more information, please go to our website: http://www.fscwire.com Maximum News Dissemination by FSCwire. http://www.fscwire.com Copyright 2017 - FSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.)
Inc. magazine ranked Limbird Real Estate Group No. 1055 on its 36th annual Inc. 5000, the most prestigious ranking of the fastest-growing private U.S. companies. It's the first time the Northwest Arkansas firm has appeared on the list.

By: Limbird Real Estate Group

LREG was also named a Top 5 Arkansas company on the Inc. 5000

Media Contact

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404-819-0643 TC McClenning/@RealtorPRTop Cat Creative Services404-819-0643

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-- The Inc. 5000 represents a unique look at the most successful companies within the American economy's most dynamic segment its independent small businesses. Companies such as Microsoft, Domino's Pizza, Timberland, LinkedIn, Yelp, Zillow and many other well-known names gained their first national exposure as honorees on Inc. 5000.The 2017 Inc. 5000, unveiled online at Inc.com and with the top 500 companies featured in the September issue of Inc., is the most competitive crop in the list's history. The average company on the Inc. 5000 list grew by sixfold in the three-year sales growth assessment time period. By comparison, the economy grew by 6.7 percent.So, this sustained increase, like the 402 percent three-year sales growth accomplished by Limbird Real Estate Group in the competitive Northwest Arkansas real estate market, was a major achievement. It is the first time Limbird Real Estate Group has been named to the annual Inc. 5000 list for fastest-growing private companies."We couldn't believe it when we were notified," explains Principal Broker and Owner Tara Limbird. "And then, when we were told we nearly cracked the top 1000 on the listwe're one of the top five companies representing our great state of Arkansaswell we couldn't wait to share the news with our team of 28 agents and employees! After all, their loyalty and hard work were a large part of the reason we were on the Inc. 5000 in the first place."Complete results of the Inc. 5000, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, region, and other criteria, can be found at www.inc.com/inc5000.One of only 196 real estate-related firms in America to earn a spot on the list (and dozens of these were actually home builders, not residential real estate companies), Limbird Real Estate Group was the only real estate firm in Arkansas to make the 2017b Inc. 5000 list.The Inc. 5000 honor comes just weeks after the Limbird Team was named the No. 45 top sales team in the nation for most closed annual sales transactions on The Thousand Top Real Estate Professionals list. The national awards ranking is sponsored annually by REAL Trends and advertised in. It's based on 2016 sales production.Nick and Tara Limbird are also the only Arkansas agents to be endorsed by Barbara Corcoran, the real estate mogul frequently seen on ABC's Shark Tank. Visit http://www.LimbirdTeam.com to see the 30-second testimonial. Contact Limbird Real Estate Group at 855-755-SOLD.The Limbird Team, founded by Arkansas natives Nick and Tara Limbird in 2010, has rapidly grown to nearly 30 agents and support staff. They are the number one real estate team in Arkansas five years running. Prior to forming their own independent real estate firm, Limbird Real Estate Group in 2015, the team had become a top 25 team within the RE/MAX organization. The Limbird Team has been voted the Best of the Best Real Estate Agents in Northwest Arkansas multiple times by the readers of NWA Media, including NWAOnline.com and the, plus Best Team and Best Real Estate Company by bothmagazine andAll members of the company live and work in the communities in which they sell real estate. Team members are active in the community, with some actively volunteering for local schools, including Bentonville Public Schools, Rogers Public Schools, and St. Vincent De Paul Catholic School. Team members are also active in local Chambers of Commerce, with Tara Limbird serving on the Board of Directors for the Greater Bentonville Chamber of Commerce and as the director of its Small Business Committee. She is a graduate of the Leadership Benton County program and was named 2015 Small Business Woman of the Year. The team also raises funds for the Northwest Arkansas Women's Shelter, Rogers Humane Society, Helen Walton Early Childhood Development, the Miller McNeil Foundation, the Junior Auxiliary of Northwest Arkansas, Alzheimers Association, and several other locally-based charities.Striving to be unique in the Northwest Arkansas real estate marketplace, Limbird Real Estate Group offers a Guaranteed Sold Program. If a home isn't sold in 99 days, the team will buy it for a previously agreed price. They are the only team in Arkansas to offer a Guaranteed Sold Program and sold over 570 homes in 2016. The firm also offers a Love it or Leave it Guarantee. If a home buyer doesn't love the new home within the first year, Limbird will resell it free and help them buy another home.The 2017 Inc. 5000 is ranked according to percentage revenue growth when comparing 2013 to 2016. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2013. They had to be U.S.-based, privately held, for profit, and independent - not subsidiaries or divisions of other companies. The minimum revenue required for 2013 is $100,000; the minimum for 2017 is $2 million. The Inc. 500 is featured in Inc.'s September issue. They represent the top tier of the Inc. 5000, located at www.inc.com/inc5000.Founded in 1979, Inc. is the only major brand dedicated exclusively to owners and managers of growing private companies, with the aim to deliver real solutions for today's innovative company builders. Total monthly audience reach for the brand has grown significantly from 2 million in 2010 to over 13 million today.The Inc. 500|5000 is a list of the fastest-growing private companies in the nation. Started in 1982, this prestigious list of the nation's most successful private companies has become the hallmark of entrepreneurial success.
Actress Krysten Ritter, who plays the title role in Marvels Jessica Jones, makes her fiction debut with Bonfire (Crown Archetype, Nov.), a dark legal thriller in which Chicago attorney Abby Williams returns home to Barrens, Ind., to investigate the small towns largest company.

What do you have in common with Bonfires lead?

I think many of us can relate to Abbys situation. Going home is hard and oddly claustrophobic. Like Abby, Ive also left a tiny town for a big city to chase dreams and my independence. I felt like I didnt belong, and I felt out of place. At times, I felt alone, and I wasnt encouraged. I think we share a strength, and maybe even a loner quality. But Abby explores a darker corner of my brain. I do not live in that darkness day to day. But thats what the art of writing is for.

Was there anything about your high school experience that you used in the book?

Theres nothing literal in the book thats based on my own high school experiences. I sometimes felt like an outcastwe all know how teenage girls can bebut this book is fiction. I took inspiration from what girls are going through now with social media. I have a young sister, so I got to absorb and see things through her lens a little bit. I have strong feelings about girls and how they are treated, and how those things mold them.

Were you able to make use of your acting experience?

As far as the investigating Abby does, Ive had a pretty great crash course in that exact thing, because I play a private investigator on television. Its always interesting to me to see how a character can get information in new and clever wayswithout just asking. Watching the writers craft Jessicas scenes, seeing what works and what doesnt, has been a great learning experience for me.

What was writing a novel like for you?

It totally occupied every second of my mind. But thats also why I loved it so much. It was a thrill. The process was one of the most exciting creative experiences of my life. I had to protect my time while working on it. My agents would want me to go to meetings and auditions, but I couldnt shift out of that mode. I had a certain amount of time between seasons of Jessica Jones and The Defenders to write this book, and stay on the schedule that Crown had mapped out for meand the schedule was intense and not at all flexible. In order to stay on track, I had to really hunker down.
Putnam Buys French Hit

Raphaelle Giordanos French bestseller, Your Second Life Begins When You Realize You Only Have One, was acquired in a North American rights agreement by Tara Singh Carlson at Putnam. The lengthily titled novel has, according to Putnam, been bought by publishers in more than 28 territories and sold more than one million copies.

Originally published in France in 2015, the book was, Putnam explained, pitched as The Happiness Project meets The Alchemist; it is about an 38-year-old woman whose mission to cure her routine-itis leads her to lasting joy and true fulfilment. The book spent 60 straight weeks atop French bestseller lists and has become a runaway word-of-mouth bestseller, Putnam said. The novel, whichat Susanna Lea Associates sold on behalf of Editions Eyrolles, is Giordanos fiction debut. (She previously published several self-help titles in France.) Putnam has Second Life set for a summer 2018 release.

Roosevelt Picture Book to Roaring Brook

A picture book by Eleanor Roosevelt, first published in 1932, is getting a face-lift and a new shelf life. World rights to a new version of When You Grow Up to Vote were acquired by Katherine Jacobs at Roaring Book Press. Michelle Markel (The Fantastic Jungles of Henri Rousseau) will be updating the text, and Grace Lin (Where the Mountain Meets the Moon) will be illustrating. Anna Olswanger at Olswanger Literary and Liza Dawson at Liza Dawson Associates represented the Eleanor Roosevelt estate. Olswanger said the new book will, like the original, aim to introduce young readers to government by portraying government workers as regular folk, rather than faceless bureaucrats without roots in the communities they serve. Olswanger also represented Markel in the deal, and Rebecca Sherman at Writers House represented Lin. The book is slated for September 2018.

Robards Gets Seven Figures at Mira

In a seven-figure North American rights agreement, bestselling author Karen Robards sold three books to Margaret Marbury at Mira. The deal, for three standalone suspense titles, was negotiated by Robert Gottlieb at Trident Media Group. Robards has written more than 50 novels in various genres ranging from historical romances to thrillers. Publication dates for the new books have not yet been set.

HQN Inks Morgan to Three

Flo Nicoll at HQN Books inked a world rights agreement for three standalone womens fiction titles by Sarah Morgan. Morgan, who was represented by Susan Ginsburg at Writers House, is a three-time Rita Award winner and has, according to the publisher, sold 15 million copies of her books to date. HQN added that Morgan is known for happy contemporary romance mixed with her trademark humor and sensuality. Each standalone, HQN said, concerns a different multigenerational family. The first book under contract is set for summer 2018.

Stanford Undergrad Closes Cookbook Deal

Incoming Stanford University freshman and YouTube star Rachel Fong sold her first cookbook to Amanda Englander at Clarkson Potter. Fong is behind the popular YouTube channel Kawaii Sweet World; her agent, Kate McKean at the Howard Morhaim Literary Agency, said the book will feature recipes for desserts and baked goods in Fongs signature kawaii style. (Kawaii means cute in Japanese.) Fong, McKean noted, has more than two million followers across YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.

HC Lands Hidden Figures Picture Book

Margot Lee Shetterly sold a picture book based on her bestseller (turned Oscar-winning film), Hidden Figures. Karen Chaplin at HarperCollins Childrens Books took world rights to the adaptation, which Shetterly is writing with Winifred Conkling. Laura Freeman is illustrating the book, which is set for January 2018. Mackenzie Brady Watson at Stuart Krichevsky Literary represented Shetterly, Sarah Davies at Greenhouse Literary represented Conkling, and Janet DeCarlo at StoryBook Arts represented Freeman.

Orbit Nabs Debut Trilogy

Orbits Lindsey Hall took world rights to an adult fantasy trilogy by Tyler Whitesides. Ammi-Joan Paquette at the Erin Murphy Literary Agency, who represented Whitesides, said book one, The Thousand Deaths of Ardor Benn, is set in a world powered by dragon-fueled magic and follows a young con artist who unleashes a forbidden magic, which could be the one thing to save his worldor doom it forever. Whitesides is the author of the middle grade series Janitors (Shadow Mountain), and Ardor Benn marks his adult fantasy debut.
A heart-shaped formation made of balloons is seen during a commemorative ceremony in Nice,France, on July 14, 2017. Various activities were held on Friday in Nice to commemorate the terror attack on July 14, 2016 when a man drove a truck into a crowd in Nice and killed 86 people. (Xinhua/Vincent Nogier)

PARIS, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- France's anti-terrorism units have foiled 11 terrorist assaults for the January-September period, said Interior Minister Gerard Collomb, warning that eventual attacks could break the calm at home.

"Eleven attacks have been thwarted since the beginning of the year and obviously, it could happen tomorrow in France what was happened in Barcelona," Collomb said, referring to the van assault that left 16 victims last month in Spain.

During the previous two days, French police detained three men after they found equipment and material suspected to be used for making explosives in an apartment and in a box in the southern suburbs of Paris.

France remains top target of terrorist cells due to its military intervention in Iraq, Syria and the Sahel region.

It had imposed emergency security rules in the wake of Paris attack on Nov. 13, 2015. Since, then a wave of attacks struck the country with the bloodiest being at Rivera city of Nice where a man drove his truck into a crowd, killing 86 people on Bastille Day last year.
Sales were strong across much of the country this past summer, and the attitude going into the fall is positive, according to a PW survey of more than 15 independent bookstores last week.

We had a really good summer, said Ann Woodbeck, owner of Excelsior Bay Books outside of Minneapolis. Sales were way up. We expect to finish out the year with a double-digit increase over last year.

Anne Holman, general manager of the Kings English in Salt Lake City, reported that sales were up 14%15%, and Kristen Sandstrom, manager of the Apostle Islands Booksellers in Bayfield, Wisc., said sales were likely to add up to the best year ever.

Peter Reynolds, owner of the Blue Bunny Books & Toys in Dedham, Mass., said that sales are up 25% this year, 9% from last summerdespite the fact that Amazon Books opened a store less than a mile away earlier this year and his own store closed for three weeks to renovate. Our loyal customers became even more loyal, he added.

Nicole Sullivan, owner of BookBar in Denver, pegged the increase in sales at her store this summer at 20%, in part due to an influx of new residents in her stores neighborhood and the addition of an outdoor patio where customers can linger over coffee, tea, and hors doeuvres. That helps sustain us through the summer while others might be leveling off after the holidays she said.

In Athens, Ga., the Avid Bookshop saw sales 57% higher than last summer after adding a second, larger location in town, owner Janet Geddis said.

Only a handful of the booksellers surveyed reported modest gains, including Beth Black, co-owner of the Bookworm in Omaha, Neb. Things were up 1% or 2%, but thats essentially flat, she said. Colleen Kammer, co-owner of the Book Beat in Detroit, reported sales were flat, about even from last year.

Assistant manager Kate Thomas Wood of Bookstore One in Sarasota, Fla., noted that summer is out of season [for Sarasota]sales were about the same for us [as last summer]. The store, which moved to a larger location in February and has seen sales double in some book sections since the move, used the off-season to extend opportunities for local, self-published authors to hold events, which attract year-round residents.

Stan Hynds, book buyer at Northshire Bookstore, with locations in Vermont and New York, said: We were up a little bit every month this summer in the Saratoga Springs store. In the Manchester Center store we were up two out of three months this summer, and we were down a little in August only because the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child numbers from last August were so big.

A similar report came from Brandon Stout, director of marketing at Changing Hands Bookstore, with locations in Phoenix and Tempe. Stout said sales were off a percentage point or two this summer. That sounds bad, but in fact is extraordinary, because last summer, we had the Harry Potter release, which generated incredible sales, he said.

Some booksellers cited the impact of specific improvements they made at their stores as the reason for a sales boost. At the Penguin Bookshop in Pittsburgh, store manager Mary Ferris reported that sales increased 15% from last summer, crediting her effort to take advantage of offers for signed first editions and displays from publishers. We got six signed Rick Riordan first editions, she explained. I personally called five customers and said: I know you are regular shoppers with us. Would your son or daughter be interested in this? And they were over the moon, and came in the next dayand they bought other books.

Among the books identified by several booksellers as bringing customers into stores were A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles (Viking), News of the World by Paulette Jiles (Morrow), The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood (Anchor), and Golden Hill by Frances Buford (Scribner). [Golden Hill] is one of those books that we really loved, and then all the indies jumped on it and its doing great, said Holman from the Kings English.

As for nonfiction, booksellers identified Theft by David Sedaris (Little, Brown), Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance (HarperCollins), Evicted by Matthew Desmond (Broadway), Al Franken, Giant of the Senate by Al Franken (Hachette), and The Radium Girls by Kate Moore (Sourcebooks) as summer favorites.

Among the childrens and YA titles identified repeatedly were Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls by Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo (Timbuktu Labs), Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon (Delacorte), Refugee by Alan Gratz (Scholastic), and She Persisted by Chelsea Clinton, illustrated by Alexandra Boiger (Philomel).

Zane Fletcher, the childrens/YA area manager for childrens books at the Bookworm, is among those who pointed out Not Quite Narwahl by Jessie Sima (Simon & Schuster) as a top-selling title. Maureen Palacios, owner of Once Upon a Time Bookstore in Montrose, Calif., expressed appreciation for the book: Thank goodness for Not Quite Narwhalwe have sold almost 100 copies. Our first half of the year was awful, as many of our customers were still in shock that Trump was electedwhich made for a poor retail environment.

Looking ahead, booksellers are expecting excellent sales for several books to finish out the year. John Greens forthcoming YA novel, Turtles All the Way Down (Dutton), was by far the most anticipated book among booksellers surveyed. Other titles cited by booksellers as likely bestsellers include the novels Artemis by Andy Weir (Crown), Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan (Scribner), and the apocalyptic flood fiction The End We Start From by Megan Hunter (Grove), which several see as a possible sleeper hit. Hillary Clintons memoir What Happened (Simon & Schuster) has the potential to draw those hoping for a change in political leadership, according to those interviewed, and Armistead Maupins memoir Logical Family (Harper) is likely to lure loyal fans.

Booksellers are hopeful sales will remain resilient for the remainder of the year. Richard Deupree, store manager at Katy Budget Books just outside Houston, said that sales were up slightly prior to Hurricane Harvey, and while he acknowledges that buying books is not a high priority for those recovering from the storm, he remains upbeat. I feel confident that were going to see good thingsthe economy is slowly getting better [overall], he said. Im hoping that Harvey didnt take the wind out of our sails, and that well have a surge of sales. Weve got a lot to be thankful for here in Katy, and Im optimistic that the second half of the year will reflect that.

The Top Summer Bestsellers
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.  InternX, a Purdue student startup, has developed an online platform that would allow company talent recruiters to find and contact collegiate students qualified for job openings.

Nicholas Bachewicz, a senior in Purdues School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, launched InternX in March 2017. The company is part of the Anvil, a student-managed community co-working space and business incubator in West Lafayette.

InternX serves as a connection board for students to detail their skills and contact information, and for recruiters to find and connect with students. InternX requires recruiters to pay $1 to a student in order to access his or her contact information which allows students to earn passive income over the course of a semester..

Companies visit campus career fairs looking for students with very specific skill sets. These events can host thousands of students, and recruiters hope a student with ideal qualifications happens across their booth, Bachewicz said. Through InternX, recruiters can find candidates and invite them to visit the company at the career fair, making the process more efficient for all parties.

InternXs platform aims to supplement the traditional recruiting process.

Its not our goal to replace the career fair process. We understand the value of a one-on-one engagement or meeting someone in person. InternX is a great supplement though, Bachewicz said. With us, companies can increase their return on investment by targeting specific students before the career fair.

InternX differs from other recruiting platforms by relying on companies to connect with talent.

InternX focuses on recruiters knowing exactly what they want, said Bachewicz. When they search for talent, they select different criteria for their available position. Then, they can connect with students who are really eligible.

The InternX platform already includes students from five universities and recruiters from 35 companies.

We have had over 250 connections between employers and students, Bachewicz said. We are excited to continue this success in the upcoming fall semester when university recruiting will be at its highest.

Bachewiczs previous experience serving as a director for an electrical design competition at Purdue saw the difficulties recruiters have finding technical talent. InternX specifically targets student with technical experience.

We want more engineering and computer science students to join because of the low supply and high demand in the job market, but companies are also interested in business management and sales students, he said.

In the future, Bachewicz hopes the platform will include more universities, students, and disciplines beyond engineering. InternX is seeking potential university partners and is hoping to hire more web developers.

In the long run, a student being hired by the right company from the start is in the best interest of both parties, he said. Our goal is to make perfect matches: allow students to find a compatible company and allow companies to find their ideal talent.

About the Anvil

The Anvil is the largest co-working space operated by university students in the U.S. and is used by Purdue University students as well as the surrounding community. The Anvil is located at 320 North St. in West Lafayette, Indiana, adjacent to the Purdue campus.

Writer: Kelsey Henry, 765-588-3342, kehenry@prf.org

Purdue Research Foundation Contact: Hillary Henry, 765-588-3586, hkhenry@prf.org

Source: Nick Bachewicz, nick@theinternx.com
Body cameras for the Mooresville Police Department have arrived. Find out when they will be used.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-09 19:44:01|Editor: Zhou Xin

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SRINAGAR, Indian-controlled Kashmir, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- A militant of Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) was killed Saturday in a fierce gunfight with contingents of police and Indian army in restive Indian-controlled Kashmir, police said.

The gunfight between militants and government forces broke out at village Reben-Rafiabad in Baramulla district, about 55 km northwest of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir.

"Today a militant was killed in a gunfight triggered with police and Indian army at Reben-Rafiabad," a senior police official posted in Sopore told Xinhua.

Police said the search and cordon in the area was launched on specific intelligence information suggesting presence of militants.

Reports said Indian army or police have not suffered any damage in the stand-off.

Authorities have snapped internet service in the district, fearing it would mobilize people to stage protests in and around the area.

The slain militant was identified as a local cadre of the HM.

Witnesses said a residential house in which the militant was holed up was severely damaged in the exchange of heavy gunfire.

Meanwhile, protests broke out in the area against the killing of the militant.

The gunfight came at a time when Indian Federal Home Minister Rajnath Singh is on a four-day visit to the region. Singh arrived in Srinagar along with senior ministry officials on Saturday.

A local government official said Singh met Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and several delegations on the first day.

A guerilla war is going on between militants and Indian troops stationed in Indian-controlled Kashmir since 1989. The gunfight between the two sides takes place intermittently across the region.

Kashmir, the Himalayan region divided between India and Pakistan, is claimed by both in full. Since their independence from Britain, the two countries have fought three wars, two exclusively over Kashmir.
Afghan officials say unknown gunmen have shot and killed at least two people, including a religious council chief, in the northeastern province on Kapisa.

Mullah Gul Mohammad Hanifyar, the head of Kapisa Ulema Council was shot as he was about to exit his vehicle near his home on September 9, said Qais Qaderi, a spokesman for the provincial governor.

Hanifyar died from his wounds on the way to a hospital, the spokesman said. Hanifyars security guard was the second victim.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but Qaderi said that as many as eight suspects have been arrested and an investigation is underway.

Elsewhere, in the western province of Farah, four police officers were shot and killed by militants, said Mohammad Naser Mehri, a spokesman for the provincial governor.

The attack took place on September 8 when the officers were traveling from the volatile Bala Buluk district to Farah city, the spokesman said.

No one claimed responsibility for the assault, but suspicions fell on Taliban militants that are active in Bala Buluk and often carry out attacks against Afghan security forces.

Based on reporting by AP and tolonews.com
Nedzad Secerovic doesn't know if he really believes it or not. He doesn't care either. Just as long as the crowds keep snapping up the kitschy souvenir pyramids he sells.



Like Nedzad, many in the town of Visoko, in Bosnia-Herzegovina, about a 30-minute drive north of Sarajevo, are benefitting from a tourist boom sparked by the disputed discovery of what, if proven, would be the world's largest set of pyramids and underground tunnels -- even if they currently look like huge, spiked hills overgrown with foliage and layers of dirt piled high over tens of thousands of years.



At the center of attention is a decade-old claim by a once-obscure archaeologist that he had found several large pyramids disguised as pointy peaks around the former medieval capital of Bosnia.



Semir Osmanagic has since sparked a cottage industry in what he believes are 30,000 year-old structures that dwarf the pharaohs' pyramids in Egypt, even while some of the world's most prominent archaeologists have called it a pyramid-sized hoax.



"In the beginning, 90 percent of the people were against the project. But now we can say it's about 50-50," says Secerovic, who has been making what he calls a "proper living" from selling souvenirs at his stall for the past 11 years. "We used to laugh at Osmanagic, we thought he was crazy. Now we're treating him with more and more respect."



When he first went to government officials with his findings, Osmanagic's claims drew excitement.



The eyes of the world focused on the possibility that an area already seen as the cradle of the Balkans may have been even more advanced than the civilization that built Egypt's famed pyramids. Soon afterward, state funds and tourists flowed into Osmanagic's Pyramid of the Sun Foundation and, in turn, Visoko, boosting the economy of the town's 11,000 residents.

What they found were several hills -- Osmanagic claims there are three main pyramids in the area -- including the Bosnian Pyramid of the Sun, which has a shape that most closely resembles a pyramid and is aligned almost perfectly with the Northern Star, a trait common with other pyramids around the world.



"I immediately knew from the base of those two elements -- geometry and perfect orientation  that this was not a natural hill, but an artificial structure. And after thousands of years, wind, and water, and rain, the pyramids had been covered," the frenetic 57-year-old, dubbed the Bosnian Indiana Jones, says as he takes a group of tourists and volunteer diggers on a tour of the area.



Initial digging and testing, he says, proves his theory. Blocks found among seven different excavation sites were found to be consistent with what Osmanagic says is concrete with a higher quality than what can be found at present-day building sites.

Scientific Skepticism



Osmanagic's extraordinary claims were not, however, widely accepted.



Archaeologists and historians from across the globe saw Osmanagic as little more than a huckster, peddling a "cruel hoax."



The European Association of Archaeologists has said the Bosnian pyramid theory is not based on genuine science and has repeatedly criticized Osmanagic's work since.



Carl Fegan, an American archaeologist who doubts the authenticity of the pyramids, admits that real archaeological sites exist within the hills, and says genuine artifacts and features are to be found from historical times, back through the medieval Roman period, and perhaps even as far back as the Neolithic Age or before.



"It may even be that the examples of writing found as inscriptions mentioned above are genuine. But without contexts and the careful, meticulous documentation that comes with a genuine archaeological project, they are meaningless," Fegan says.



"Osmanagic has created an air of theater and spurious significance around him, which immediately casts all that he does and finds in doubt. Quite simply, it cannot be trusted to be true," he adds.



Osmanagic knows the criticism and shrugs it off.

He questions their motivations to knock down a project that now uses private money and its own equipment, and he has a plan to prove he's right.



"We claim there is a structure, there is construction below the soil. The only way to find out is to dig! We have no problem. What was their problem? Why would somebody worry about digging in the remote Bosnian hills if there is nothing there?" he asks.



He adds: "This discovery changes forever what they teach us in schools about human history. Now we need to change our history books. It's a huge change. All the Ph.Ds, all the professorships, the way they teach our kids is wrong. And now we can understand the resistance in the cultural establishment against this project."



Maria Sofie knows what it's like to believe in something even when few others do.



It's her third visit to the site working as a volunteer to help excavate the area. For two months she'll enjoy her time digging and being with others who expect they are unveiling history.



"In my town, when I talk about the pyramids they look at me like an alien. So here, we are all aliens and we can all talk about this together," she says.

'Mystical Experience'



Still, the flow of money, no matter what the reason, couldn't have come at a better time for the region.



The Bosnian conflict inflicted heavy damage on the area. In addition to the human cost  in which thousands of lives were lost -- authorities estimate the Visoko region suffered about $200 million in damage with the destruction of infrastructure and factories.



Fegan says Osmanagic "appealed readily" to a nationalist need to have something to be proud of at a time when Visoko and Bosnia were economically and socially vulnerable.



Finally, attention on Visoko was not focused on bombs, bodies, and war. Instead, the world was looking "at the one commodity Bosnians could already be proud of: its beautiful countryside."



That may be true, but Albert Coruna says he came to visit from his home in Mexico to see more than some pretty hills.



An architect with a penchant for what he calls "alternative history," the 28-year-old unabashedly proclaims his love of digging as a motivating factor in making the 6,500-mile pilgrimage east to spend two weeks as part of a volunteer excavation crew at the site.



He says he has experienced the "energy flows" that some pyramids are noted for, and that "every day there is a mystical experience here."



For Secerovic, a former tailor who gave up his job to sell the pyramid souvenirs and other trinkets, that's more than enough for now.



He enjoys meeting tourists from around the globe and believes they won't stop coming "under any circumstance."



"You see the mass of tourists arriving from all over the world. People are asking for things, and you have to take advantage of the opportunity," he says.


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
A Chinese conglomerate is buying a 14 percent stake in Russian state oil giant Rosneft for $9.1 billion in a deal that furthers Russian President Vladmir Putin's stated goal of shifting energy sales away from the West and toward Beijing.

The purchase of Rosneft shares by CEFC China Energy from the Western investment firm Glencore announced on September 8 came after the United States imposed a new round of economic sanctions on Russia that makes it difficult for Western firms to maintain and increase ties with sanctioned Russian companies like Rosneft.

Glencore said that it sold most of its Rosneft shares to CEFC at a premium price, and the Chinese company said it paid $9.1 billion for the purchase, making it one of the largest Chinese investments ever made in Russia.

The Kremlin has sought to expand its economic ties with China since the United States and European Union in 2014 imposed economic sanctions in retaliation for its aggression in Ukraine.

Russia is currently the world's top oil producer while China is the world's second largest energy consumer after the United States.

As a result of a series of oil deals, Russia now tops the list of China's oil suppliers, surpassing even its biggest rival Saudi Arabia in the Chinese market, according to the International Energy Agency.

Glencore and its partner in an investment consortium Qatar Investment Authority bought their 19.5 percent stake in Rosneft in December 2016. The surprise deal was part of Russia's drive last year to partially privatize state-owned companies.

The purchase was made at a time when markets expected an easing of relations between Moscow and Washington after the election of U.S. President Donald Trump, who had promised to improve ties with Moscow.

But this summer, the U.S. Congress passed tougher than ever sanctions against Moscow in the wake of allegations that Russia had interfered in the presidential election, and Trump reluctantly signed them into law.

Rosneft is run by Chief Executive Igor Sechin, a close ally of Putin.

On September 8, Sechin told reporters in Moscow that CEFC would get access to Rosneft's oil fields and petrochemical projects in East Siberia and that would provide synergies for the two companies.

The deal is China's second largest energy acquisition after the $15.1 billion purchase of Canada's Nexen by Chinese state oil company CNOOC in 2013.

Earlier this decade, Beijing also loaned $25 billion to Russia to help it build a pipeline into China from Siberia.

With reporting by AP, AFP, and Reuters


Yulia Latynina, a prominent Russian journalist and a searing critic of Russia's ruling political elite, says she has left Russia after unknown assailants set fire to her car.



In a Skype call to the popular radio station Ekho Moskvy on September 9, Latynina said she was abroad along with her parents and that it was unlikely that she would return to Russia anytime soon.



On September 3, Latynina, who hosts a weekly political commentary show at Ekho Moskvy, said that unknown arsonists set fire on her car, which was parked near her wooden house.



The gas tank could have exploded, and the only reason it didnt was because it wasnt full, Latynina said, adding that if her father hadnt put out the fire, it would have burned down the house because the flames were already four meters high.



In a statement on September 4, Russias Journalists Union supported Latyninas claim and said the incident wasnt a mere act of hooliganism and intimidation.



In August 2016, Latynina was doused with fecal matter by an unidentified assailant. Police launched a probe, but never identified the culprit.



Following that attack, the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta, to which Latynina is a regular contributor, said in a statement that Latynina has "regularly" received threats and that "several years ago" a planned attack on her was thwarted.



Latynina temporarily left Russia in March 2015 after her name was linked to a rumored "kill list" that reportedly included the names of numerous individuals who openly criticize the countrys leadership.



She said at the time that she decided to leave Russia after noticing that she was being followed on the street.

With reporting by medusa.io, tvrain.ru, and Interfax
MOSCOW -- Aleksandra Rastorguyeva, a university student with messy, cropped hair and a mischievous smile, looks more street protester than city councilor.



But on a recent evening after class, the 22-year-old was out door-stepping voters in a 25-floor tower block in southeast Moscow, trying to drum up support ahead of municipal elections on September 10 that are shaping up to be unusually competitive.



The preserve of local budget allocations, trash removal, and communal-stairwell renovations, municipal politics seldom stirs interest. But this year's surge of candidates, including opposition cohorts of young people like Rastorguyeva, has seen it dubbed the "fashionable trend of the Moscow summer" by the independent Novaya Gazeta newspaper.



Rastorguyeva is one of more than 1,000 candidates backed by the opposition Yabloko party, which is hoping to quietly seize a beachhead in local district councils ahead of mayoral elections next year. Mainstream political parties are also participating in droves, with more than 8,300 Muscovites -- more than twice the number in 2012 -- vying for 1,500 council seats.



"Maybe we can win Moscow," Rastorguyeva muses. "Russia is a centralized country. Winning Moscow might have serious consequences. We're living on a volcano and we don't know what will happen tomorrow. We never know when the system will collapse and everything will change."



'Municipal Filter'



Municipal deputies in Moscow have limited real power, but the elections have taken on strategic significance as political parties battle to overcome what is known as the "municipal filter."

The Kremlin reinstated direct gubernatorial elections in 2012, but it also introduced a requirement that candidates submit signatures of support from between 5 and 10 percent of city councilors -- ranks generally controlled by Kremlin allies.



The "filter" has prevented bids for the governor's office by powerful local politicians Yevgeny Roizman of Sverdlovsk Oblast and Vyacheslav Makhayev of Buryatia Oblast, according to an August report from a think tank run by former Finance Minister Aleksei Kudrin.



On September 10, 16 provinces will elect new governors, and analysts widely expect Kremlin-backed candidates to win across the board.

Opposition politician Dmitry Gudkov and his Yabloko party have backed over 1,000 candidates like Rastorguyeva with an eye to mayoral elections in the capital a year from now. Gudkov, a former State Duma lawmaker before his expulsion from the A Just Russia party in 2013, said he hopes he can propel enough support into municipal councils to get the green light to wage a bid for the mayor's seat.



Gudkov's campaign -- like anticorruption crusader and Kremlin gadfly Aleksei Navalny's improbable bid to take part in the presidential election slated for March 2018 -- illustrates how opposition forces are trying to consolidate after years of frustration.



They have been largely sidelined in the five years since President Vladimir Putin and his allies weathered mass protests in Russia's biggest cities. After his reelection in March 2012, Putin cemented his grip on power, appealing to blue-collar voters in the regions with a cocktail of religious conservativism, Soviet nostalgia, and anti-Westernism.



Russia's invasion and annexation of Ukraine's Crimea in 2014 unleashed patriotic fervor, and Putin's approval ratings have remained strong despite two years of recession from which the country is slowly emerging.



Putin is widely expected to run and win the March election, securing himself a fourth term. But with this next term expected to be his last, politicians on all sides are trying to gain a better footing for a possible post-Putin landscape.



Nikolai Petrov, an expert on regional politics at Moscow's Higher School of Economics, said that, while Gudkov's campaign at the municipal polls has reasonable prospects, it should not be judged simply by the number of mandates his allies win.



"As with Navalny, the prospects of this project lie in creating a network, infrastructure, and training a team that can be used in completely different elections in the future, regardless of the result on September 10," he said.



'Political Uber'



Gudkov and his team have undertaken registration and training on behalf of many candidates, providing all-encompassing infrastructure that has been nicknamed "political Uber" after the U.S. technology company that has revolutionized transport-on-demand in many countries.



"I just wouldn't have had the strength to dig into this, work all out the nuances, and get everything correct," Rastorguyeva said. "All we have to do is go around the apartments -- although that is really awful. I can't wait for it to end!"



Writing on his blog this week, Gudkov's fellow organizer, Maksim Kats, boasted that their work has paid off with increased participation by two segments of disenchanted citizens in particular.



"I often hear stories about how the young and [people in the] opposition don't go into politics because we don't care and that we are strange people only prepared to like things on Facebook and other such nonsense. In actual fact, people don't go into politics because it is really hard," Kats wrote. "We removed these barriers."

Rastorguyeva said that, if elected, she would like to set up divided garbage-collection points in her district. Other candidates told RFE/RL that their political bids were fueled by anger over far-reaching urban-planning decisions taken by Moscow City Hall under Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, complaining there was little or no consultation with residents.



Twenty-year-old Nikita Zdravchev, a third-year geography student and opposition activist, said he decided to seek a seat on his local council because he was "fed up" with the authorities. His candidacy and registration were backed by the Parnas opposition party, and he has allied with Yabloko's candidates in his district.



"I've always been against [the current authorities]," Zdravchev said. "Now I've found a place where I can actually do something apart from going to rallies. I can try and get elected to the local council where I will have some powers to have a direct influence on them -- not as a resident, but as a municipal deputy."

Hushing Up



Zdravchev is most concerned that there could be a low turnout in these elections, which he says would play into the authorities' hands.



In fact, just days ahead of the vote in the capital, passersby might be forgiven for not noticing elections are looming. Campaign stands are scarce, media coverage is thin, and many incumbents are not campaigning.



Opposition candidates complain that incumbents are banking on what is known as the "administrative resource" -- the use of official power and influence to inflate the vote for candidates backed by the authorities.



Zdravchev said that while door-stepping voters in this district, he had been turned away by pensioners who told him their social-welfare workers had already told them whom to vote for.



"I hope we can overcome the administrative resource," Zdravchev said. " United Russia are not campaigning at all. They're just hushing up the elections so no voters turn up and they have enough administrative resource to win the elections."



But even if they lose, it is better to have tried and failed than not to try at all, said Rastorguyeva, invoking the words of the opposition's most prominent leader.

"The wonderful Russia of tomorrow, as Aleksei Navalny likes to say, will certainly happen -- the question is when and what we will do in it," Rastorguyeva said. "It would be nice to use civilized methods. And what if they actually work. Miracles can happen sometimes."


MOSCOW -- People across Russia have gone to the polls to elect local and regional councils and governors in the last major vote before a presidential election in March.

Opposition candidates in Moscow hope for a strong showing but have accused authorities of trying to discourage voter turnout on September 10. City officials have rejected those allegations.

Aleksei Samsonov, a 46-year-old teacher, told RFE/RL that he cast his vote for municipal deputies backed by Yabloko's Dmitry Gudkov, seeing it as "the only way to get opposition forces into municipal councils."

"There is hope that a certain rebirth of civil society is taking place at the moment and that there will be a polis of young people untouched by corruption created over the course of 17 years in Russia," Samsonov said near the polling station at a central Moscow school.

Yekaterina, 41, who declined to give her last name or profession, told RFE/RL that she voted for Yabloko because she was angry about regular street maintenance and renovation work in Moscow that is ordered by city authorities without consultating residents.

"Take this road we're standing on," she said. "It has been repaved every year or at least every over year for ages. Why are my taxes being spent like this? I want this to change."

Galina Petrova, a pensioner, said she cast her vote for three young, independent candidates because she wants to see a new crop of politicians -- although she also praised President Vladimir Putin.

"In my life he is the only politician I can think of who actually understands the people," Petrova said.

Natalya Kolosova, a 72-year-old retired theater critic, said she was voting for candidates from the United Russia party, which is associated with President Vladimir Putin.

"I think United Russia have more prospects," Kolosova said. "The KPRF [Communist Party] just talks a lot, but doesn't do anything. They say nice things and promise a lot, but do practically nothing."

Late on September 10, Prime Minister and United Russia Party chairman Dmitry Medvedev said the elections were held "at a high level everywhere."

Voters cast ballots for local legislatures in six far-flung regions where councils, known as dumas, are expected to continue to be dominated by allies of President Vladimir Putin's United Russia party: North Ossetia, Udmurtia, Krasnodar Krai, Penza Oblast, Saratov Oblast, and Sakhalin Oblast.

Direct governors' races are being held in 16 of Russia's 83 regions, and complaints surfaced ahead of the elections from would-be candidates saying they had been unfairly excluded from the ballot.

In nine of the 16 regions with gubernatorial voting on September 10, United Russia's incumbent governors are running for reelection. A second round of voting is scheduled for September 24 in places where no candidate wins a majority.

A recent requirement is being blamed by some for unduly narrowing the field of candidates for governor. To get on the ballot, would-be candidates must get signatures of support from as high as 10 percent of local lawmakers. In most cases, such local legislatures are either members or allies of United Russia.

Elections were also held in Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow illegally annexed in March 2014.

Ukraine's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maryana Betsa protested against the vote, writing on Twitter: "Ukraine does not recognize any 'electoral processes' in occupied Crimea. A gross violation of Russia's international law and laws of Ukraine."

"Not worthy of substance and content," she added in a separate tweet.

'Municipal Filter'

Critics say they have little incentive to see potential opponents get on the ballot.

The rule, dubbed the "municipal filter," was introduced after Dmitry Medvedev reinstated direct gubernatorial elections toward the end of his presidency in 2012.

The Kremlin enacted even tighter controls over Russias political landscape after street protests in Moscow and other cities five years ago sparked by accusations of vote rigging in parliamentary elections in December 2011 and Putins return to the presidency in 2012.

At least four potentially formidable candidates had their bids quashed after they failed to secure the required signatures.

Yevgeny Roizman, a Yekaterinburg mayor with a reputation for being a political maverick, failed to get on the gubernatorial ballot in his native Sverdlovsk region. In an interview with RFE/RL's Russian Service in August, Roizman alleged that local authorities made sure "they cleared the entire field."

"There's not a single strong challenger," Roizman said of the process. "Not a single strong candidate was even allowed to get close." Roizman predicted that he would have won "plain and simple" if he had been in the race.

Ella Pamfilova, the head of Russia's Central Election Commission, rejected suggestions that Roizman had been unfairly targeted by the Kremlin.

"Its difficult for me to believe that the ruthless Mr. Roizman -- a senior official, a statesman, the head of a major city who has certain administrative resources -- is a sort of weak little victim hounded by the regime," Pamfilova told the Russian business daily RBK in August.

No Surprises Expected

But analysts say the choices are limited and voter turnout may be low as a result.

"There wont be any surprises in the regions because everything is under control," Dmitry Oreshkin, director of the Mercator think tank in Moscow, told RFE/RL.

Oreshkin predicted that United Russia or "people approved by United Russia" would emerge victorious in regional races.

And he suggested the current domination of the Kremlin in budgeting and other areas would spell trouble for more independent candidates for governor.

"In any case, it's not that important [who wins governors' races] because, in terms of function, any governor depends entirely on Moscow simply because that's the way the federal budget works. He receives money from Moscow and depends on Moscow," Oreshkin said. "So even if a Communist or a liberal did win, he would in any case have to become part of the system of values."

"In any case, they won't win."

Although he has not officially announced his candidacy, Putin is expected to dominate the presidential election slated for March 2018. It would be his fourth term in the presidency, a tenure dating back to late 1999 and interrupted only by a four-year stint as prime minister to avoid a presidential term limit in Russia's constitution.

With reporting by AP, Reuters, AFP, Interfax, and TASS
Vladimir Zhirinovsky, the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party in Russia, has asked the Russian Investigative Committee to seek the release of acclaimed director Kirill Serebrennikov from house arrest, Russian news media reported on September 8.

In a letter to Committee Chairman Aleksandr Bastrykin, media reported that Zhirinovsky said the arrest caused a big public reaction and he appealed to the committee to ask the Moscow City Court to alter the "measure of restraint" on Serebrennikov, releasing him from house arrest and instead order him not to leave Moscow.

Zhirinovsky and his party are nominally in the opposition but back President Vladimir Putin on most key issues.

He is one of several prominent Russians with Kremlin ties who criticized aspects of the case against Serebrennikov.

Serebrennikov, 47, is artistic director of the Gogol Center theater in Moscow and founded a dramatic collective called Seventh Studio.

He was detained on August 22 and could be sentenced to 10 years in prison if tried and convicted on fraud charges he has dismissed as unfounded and absurd.

Some 1,300 young artists and other cultural figures have signed a petition in support of Serebrennikov, who investigators accuse of embezzling at least 68 million rubles ($1.1 million) in state arts funding.

The Moscow court previously rejected Serebrennikov's appeal for release on bail on September 4.

It said it would allow him to leave his home only for two-hour walks each day. He was ordered to remain under arrest until October 19.

Based on reporting by RBC.ru, Meduza.io, and Rusreality.com


Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-09 19:54:05|Editor: ying

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TUNIS, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- The Tunisia-China cooperation in promoting tourism has great potential as China is pushing forward the Belt and Road Initiative, a senior Tunisian tourism official told Xinhua in a recent interview.

The future of Tunisia's tourism definitely rests with the Chinese market, said Leila Tekaia, manager of public relations and communication of Tunisian National Tourism Office.

"Chinese outbound tourism market is incredibly important for Tunisia, as more and more Chinese are travelling abroad," Tekaia said.

"Within China's proposed Belt and Road Initiative, we believe the number of Chinese tourists in Tunisia will be greatly boosted," she added.

To attract more Chinese tourists, Tunisia announced in February visa exemption for Chinese citizens on condition that they purchase a round-trip plane ticket and a valid hotel voucher for a period not exceeding 90 days.

"This is an excellent step which has been done, and we are already registering the number increase," Tekaia said. "Tunisia is the best well-kept secret of North Africa and Chinese people are discovering it."

Lying at the north point of the African continent, Tunisia has a history of more than 3,000 years, and is rich in tourism resources.

Tekaia believed that her country has a lot to offer to Chinese travellers.

"Bordering the Mediterranean Sea, Tunisia has long beautiful beaches, while various archeological sites provide opportunities to discover different civilization, experience the amazing Sahara desert, and also discover famous film locations of Star Wars and the English Patient," she explained.

The traditional cuisines and local handicraft souvenirs also present multicolored culture in Tunisia, Tekaia said.

According to the Tunisian official, more than 10,000 Chinese tourists will have travelled to her country by the end of 2017.

"Tunisia has gradually become an attractive destination for Chinese tourists," she noted.

Tekaia praised China's Belt and Road Initiative, which focuses on not only sharing economic development but also promoting closer people-to-people exchanges and strengthening bonds among nations.

"Tunisia is rich in historical and cultural resources, and this initiative is going to help develop our relationship and exchanges with Chinese people," Tekaia said.

The Belt and Road Initiative, or the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, aims to build trade and infrastructure networks connecting Asia with Europe and Africa, along the ancient Silk Road trade routes to seek common development and prosperity.

Tekaia described the initiative as "incredible, fascinating and very wise."

"The initiative is a way of building bridges and communication. We definitely support the initiative," she said.

The Tunisia-China relations have enjoyed a healthy and stable development since their establishment 53 years ago.

Tunisian Foreign Minister Khemaies Jhinaoui, during an official visit to China in July, said Tunisia fully supports the Belt and Road Initiative, and stands ready to be involved in the cooperation projects under the initiative.
The son of a Russian lawmaker has pleaded guilty for his role in a cybertheft ring that allegedly stole over $50 million using hacked credit-card information, the U.S. Justice Department announced on September 8.

Roman Seleznev, 33, the son of Valery Seleznev, a member of Russia's lower house of parliament and outspoken critic of U.S. policies, pleaded guilty to one count of participating in a racketeering scheme, and another count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud.

The charges were filed in two separate cases in U.S. courts in Nevada and Georgia, and the plea deal for both cases was finalized on September 7, the department said.

In April, Seleznev was sentenced to 27 years in prison for his role in a scheme to hack into computer terminals at U.S. businesses to steal credit card numbers.

He was arrested in the Maldives and brought to the United States to face charges. Seleznev and the Russian government have repeatedly criticized the arrest, calling it an unlawful "kidnapping."

Seleznev's attorney, Igor Litvak, said his client accepts responsibility for his role in the two hacking cases settled on September 8, but he intends to appeal his conviction and prison sentence in the earlier case.

"We still feel the way he was brought to the U.S. was illegal," Litvak told Reuters. "He was basically kidnapped."

The Nevada and Georgia cases involved a credit-card fraud ring known as "Carder.su," an online network used by criminals who traffic in stolen credit-card data.

In pleading guilty, Selenez admitted he got involved with the network in 2009 and sold stolen credit-card account numbers to other members for about $20 apiece. Prosecutors said the thefts resulted in losses of over $50 million for people whose card information was stolen.

At one point, the department said the schemers stole 45.5 million debit-card numbers from an Atlanta payment processing company and used them to withdraw over $9.4 million from ATMs in 280 cities around the world in less than 12 hours.

The scheme has resulted in charges against 55 individuals, with 33 of those arrests resulting in convictions, the department said.

With reporting by Reuters


An Iranian teenager sneaks up behind a cleric in the capital, Tehran, and knocks his turban off his head before dashing off.

The incident, uploaded on social media, is part of a new tactic employed by anti-government demonstrators in Iran.

Nationwide antiestablishment protests have raged across the Islamic republic since the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who died on September 16 shortly after she was arrested for allegedly violating the hijab law on women's dress.

As the authorities have waged a deadly crackdown on the rallies, some demonstrators have turned to new tactics to sustain the monthslong protests, including tipping off Islamic clerics' turbans in the streets.

Many Iranians associate members of the clergy with Iran's Islamist regime, which many blame for the repression and corruption in the country.

While some Iranians have praised the "turban throwing" as an act of resistance, others have expressed concern that low-level clerics who are not affiliated with the state could become the victims of harassment and violence.

Lawmaker Mohammad Taghi Naqd Ali on November 10 called the new trend "the devil's conspiracy" and warned that young protesters tossing clerics' turbans were "playing with the lion's tail."

State media reported the arrests of two people in recent days who were accused of knocking off clerics' turbans.

London-based human rights lawyer Shadi Sadr said the tactic was a "brave and revolutionary act." Sadr, the co-founder of the rights group Justice for Iran, told RFE/RL that protesters were "humiliating" clerics without resorting to violence. "They're [targeting] the clergy's turban as a symbol of the crimes and corruption of the past 43 years as well as the privileges clerics have enjoyed," she said.

"There is no violence in it, and it also includes youthful mischief, which highlights the spirit of the revolution," Sadr added, referring to the monthslong protests that have posed the biggest threat to the establishment in years.

But Ahmad Zeidabadi, a Tehran-based journalist and former political prisoner, said that some of the clerics targeted in the streets "may be critics or even victims of [state] policies."

"This phenomenon...mainly targets clerics who do not hold any government positions," he said on Twitter, adding that senior clerics in powerful positions rarely appear in public and are often protected by security guards if they do.

Reformist cleric Hojatoleslam Ahmad Heidari, who was jailed in the past for his support for the opposition Green Movement, warned that the new trend could taint the "beautiful face of [the] protest movement against oppression and injustice."

"You're right to be angry at those wearing turbans," Heidari wrote on the news site Esafnews.com. But he added that "those who have a hand in power and are your target" are out of reach. He said many of the clerics targeted were "young and elderly" clerics who are not sitting in "ivory towers."

Attacks on clerics, particularly those who attempt to enforce Islamic codes in public, had been on rise in Iran even before the protests erupted, forcing many clerics to appear in public without their robes and turbans.

Last week, a cleric was reportedly hospitalized after being wounded in Karaj, near Tehran, amid antiestablishment protests in the city. The hard-line Fars news agency claimed that protesters attacked the cleric with knives.

Hassan Fereshtian, a Paris-based Iranian cleric and researcher, said the turban-throwing trend was the result of the "suppressed anger of the past four decades."

"If it aims at eliminating the clergy, we could be facing the start of violence," he warned in comments to RFE/RL's Radio Farda. "In fact, the clergy should be eliminated from the centers of power. But they shouldn't be eliminated from society."

Fereshtian, a student of the late dissident Grand Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri, expressed hope that Iran will reach a point "where secular people can live peacefully next to the clergy and unveiled women next to those who choose to wear the hijab."

In the past year, regime supporters have knocked off the turbans of clerics who had criticized the establishment, including former Interior Minister Abdollah Nuri and former parliament speaker Mehdi Karrubi, who has been under house arrest since 2011 for disputing the 2009 reelection of former President Mahmud Ahmadinejad.
It's dry county in Ashgabat these days after authorities banned the sale of alcohol in the run-up to the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games that Turkmenistan (AIMAG) is hosting later this month.

At the end of August, in the space of a few short hours, strong drink disappeared from the shelves of stores around the Turkmen capital.

But, as has been seen so often when authorities attempt to impose forced temperance, where there is a thirst, there is a way.

And this recent example in Turkmenistan is no exception.

RFE/RL's Turkmen Service, known locally as Azatlyk, has been speaking with Ashgabat residents and it seems alcohol has moved off the shelves and onto wheels.

Let's get this formality out of the way before we get into the topic.

Home Deliveries

Everyone who spoke with Azatlyk did so under condition of anonymity because: one, the Turkmen government doesn't want its citizens talking with us; and two, these people are technically breaking the prohibition law.

"Right after the prohibition on selling alcohol, some people sold wine quietly from their homes," one man told Azatlyk, "but now owners of stores [that sold spirits] have given their trusted clients special telephone numbers."

One phone call and "after a little while a car comes to deliver vodka to the given address."

Of course, the price is more than double what it cost when it was legal.

A bottle of "Serdar" vodka would set you back seven or eight Turkmen manats, about $2, a month ago, but that same bottle now costs up to 20 manats.

Ironically, "Serdar" (Leader) vodka has a picture of Turkmenistan's first president, Saparmurat Niyazov, on the label.

It's a strange fate that it now must be smuggled around town out of sight of the second president, Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov.

Dubious Concoctions

Booze delivery is the ideal means to circumvent the ban, but as has also often been true in the past, there are some who take matters into their own hands and resort to homemade liquor.

The dangers in this are well documented. You never know exactly what you're getting when you deal with "samogon" or "moonshine" or whatever you call it.

And Azatlyk has heard stories of people ending up in the hospital after imbibing some dubious concoction, but no one wanted to talk much about that.

The intention of the ban on sales of alcohol seems clear enough: the authorities are concerned about the country's image when foreigners start arriving to compete in, or attend, AIMAG.

But what the prohibition on alcohol sales has done immediately is to create a new black market business.

It is likely a temporary inconvenience for the supporters of Bacchus in Ashgabat since many of the restrictions being imposed in the Turkmen capital, including the ban on sales of alcohol, will be rescinded once AIMAG is over.

The views expressed in this blog post do not necessarily reflect those of RFE/RL.


The United States on September 8 formally requested a vote of the United Nations Security Council on a U.S. resolution to impose severe new economic sanctions on North Korea over its latest nuclear test, despite resistance from China and Russia.

The resolution, which the U.S. mission to the UN said it wants the UN council to vote on September 11, would impose an oil embargo on North Korea and ban its exports of textiles as well as the hiring of North Korean laborers abroad, mostly by Russia and China, U.S. media have reported. It also reportedly would impose an asset freeze and travel ban on leader Kim Jong Un.

U.S. officials have said they want tough sanctions to maximize pressure on Pyongyang to agree to negotiations aimed at ending its nuclear and missile tests.

UN diplomats said the latest U.S. proposals would be the toughest ever imposed on North Korea as punishment for its sixth and largest nuclear bomb test on September 3.

Chinese, Russian Reluctance

North Korean ally China and neighboring Russia have resisted further sanctions, although both nations' UN representatives participated in discussions about a new round of sanctions this week.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said this week that sanctions alone could not resolve the impasse on the Korean Peninsula. Both Beijing and Moscow have called for negotiations and a diplomatic solution.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on September 8 that it was too early for a UN Security Council vote on new North Korean sanctions.

"Work is currently going on over a new resolution in the Security Council and it is still early to make predictions about its final form," Lavrov said at a news conference in Moscow after talks with his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian on September 8.

"Along with pressure on the North Korean regime to induce it to abandon provocations in the implementation of its nuclear and missile programs, it is necessary to emphasize and increase the priority of efforts to resume the political process," Lavrov said.

The Reuters and AFP news agencies cited UN diplomatic sources as saying that they doubted either China or Moscow, both of which have the power to veto UN council resolutions, would accept anything more stringent than a ban on imports of North Korean textiles.

Radioactive Isotopes

Chinese officials have expressed disquiet about imposing an oil embargo, which they said could trigger instability in North Korea, and Putin has expressed concern that such stringent measures would hurt the nation's impoverished citizens as much as the government.

The UN council earlier this summer passed economic sanctions aimed at thwarting about a third of North Korea's earnings from exports, in what were the harshest measures to date.

The renewed debate on sanctions at the UN came as South Korea reported detecting small traces of radioactive particles that could have come from the detonation of what Pyongyang said was its most powerful hydrogen bomb in an underground test last weekend.

Radioactive isotopes of Xenon were detected in samples taken on land, sea, and air, but were too small to hurt people or the environment, Seoul's Nuclear Safety and Security Commission said.

South Korean officials have said they are bracing for a possible further missile test by North Korea when it marks its founding anniversary on September 9.

Experts say Pyongyang appears close to its goal of developing a powerful nuclear weapon capable of reaching the United States, something U.S. President Donald Trump has vowed to prevent.

With reporting by AFP, Reuters, and dpa


Jupiter's Great Red Spot as Seen by Voyager

NASA/JPL-Caltech

Close-up of Jupiter's Great Red Spot as seen by a Voyager spacecraft.

Great White Spot on Saturn

Carolyn Porco and CICLOPS; NASA/JPL-Caltech/SSI

An image of Saturn taken in December 2010 by the Cassini spacecraft shows a storm with a latitudinal and longitudinal extent of 10,000 km and 17,000 km, respectively. The latitudinal extent of the storms head is approximately the distance from London to Cape Town. A "tail" emerging from its southern edge extends further eastward.

Hurricane Irene Grows Ominous

NASA via Ron Garan/@Astro_Ron

Astronaut Ron Garan tweeted this picture of Hurricane Irene from the International Space Station on August 24, 2011: "Ominous view #FromSpace of Hurricane #Irene east of the Bahamas @ 3:14pm EST today. East FL coast is calm b4 storm."

Neptune's Great Dark Spot

NASA/JPL-Caltech

Neptune's Great Dark Spot, accompanied by white high-altitude clouds, as seen by a Voyager spacecraft.

Saturn's Massive Northern Hurricane

NASA/JPL-Caltech/SSI

The spinning vortex of Saturn's north polar storm resembles a deep red rose surrounded by green foliage in this false-color image from NASA's Cassini spacecraft. The storm's eye is about 1,250 miles (2,000 kilometers) across with cloud speeds as fast as 330 mph (530 kph).

Saturn's North Pole

NASA/JPL-Caltech/SSI

The north pole of Saturn, in the fresh light of spring, is revealed in this color image from NASA's Cassini spacecraft.

Saturn's North Pole in Psychedelic Color

NASA/JPL-Caltech/SSI

This spectacular false-color image from NASA's Cassini mission highlights the storms at Saturn's north pole.

Bizarre Hexagon Spotted on Saturn

NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

A bizarre six-sided feature encircling the north pole of Saturn near 78 degrees north latitude has been spied by the visual and infrared mapping spectrometer on NASA's Cassini spacecraft.

The Perfect Storm

NASA/JPL-Caltech/SSI

Wednesday, July 13, 2011: A huge storm on Saturn has developed from a small spot that appeared 12 weeks earlier in Saturn's northern mid-latitudes. This storm, still active, is the largest and most intense observed on Saturn by NASAs Voyager or Cassini spacecraft. As seen in these and other Cassini images, the storm encircles the planet  whose circumference at these latitudes is 186,000 miles (300,000 kilometers). From north to south, it covers a distance of about 9,000 miles (15,000 kilometers), which is one-third of the way around the Earth. It encompasses an area of 1.5 billion square miles (4 billion square kilometers), or eight times the surface area of Earth. The frames at top are enlargements from the middle mosaic consisting of 84 separate images.



Tom Chao

Solar Prominence Sun 'Twister' - Solar Dynamics Observatory

NASA/SDO/GSFC

A stalk-like prominence rose up above the sun, then split into roughly four strands that twisted themselves into a knot and dispersed over a two-hour period (July 12, 2011). NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory took a video of the sun twister.

Saturn's Weird Hexagon Hotspot

NASA/JPL/GSFC/Oxford University

Cassini's composite infrared spectrometer discovered an unexpected "hot spot" at Saturn's north pole. Despite being in winter darkness for more than a decade, the hot, cyclonic vortex at upon Saturn's northernmost reaches appears very similar to that found on Saturn's much sunnier south pole, and it surprised scientists with its appearance. This image was taken Jan. 3, 2008.
A little girl stands next to a sperm whale that died after becoming stranded on a beach between Old Hunstanton and Holme on Feb. 5, 2016, in Hunstanton, England. The whale was the 29th to have died after beaching in Europe over a two-week period.

A solar storm currently affecting the Earth's high atmosphere could spell bad news for an unexpected victim: whales.

Recent research finds that the fatal stranding of 29 whales in early 2016 could have been caused by solar activity  when mind-boggling amounts of energy erupt from the sun in various forms. Magnetic waves emanating from solar storms may affect sperm-whale navigation, that study found. The navigational confusion can be deadly if whales end up swimming into too-shallow waters and getting stuck.

Just this month, on Sept. 4, one type of solar storm, called a coronal mass ejection (CME), erupted from the sun, according to the National Space Weather Prediction Center. CMEs fling charged plasma and magnetic fields from the sun's surface toward Earth, where they cause fluctuations in the planet's magnetic field. Migratory animals like sperm whales, birds and sea turtles all use the geomagnetic field to navigate. [See Photos of Whales and Sharks from Above]

Sperm whale strandings

The possible culprit for last year's sperm whale stranding seems to have occurred around the period of Jan. 8 to Feb. 4, 2016, when 29 male sperm whales (Physeter microcephalus) were found dead or dying on the shores of Germany, France, Great Britain and the Netherlands. Autopsies on 22 of the whales revealed that the animals were well-nourished and had no signs of illness, according to the new research paper published in the International Journal of Astrobiology.

With no other explanation for what might have caused the whales to become stranded, researchers wondered if scrambled navigation systems might be to blame. No one knows exactly how sperm whales use geomagnetic fields to navigate. But the animals may take into account the natural gradient in the Earth's magnetic field from pole to equator as well as the directionality of the magnetic fields, Klaus Heinrich Vanselow of Kiel University in Germany and colleagues wrote in the new paper.

Vanselow and his colleagues collected magnetometer data from the region of the whale stranding from the Norwegian Sea in the North Atlantic Ocean south to the Azores (a group of islands off the coast of Portugal). The researchers found that two solar storms (one occurring from Dec. 20 to 21, 2015, and one from Dec. 31, 2015 to Jan. 1, 2016) altered local geomagnetic fields.

At Solund, Norway, the researchers found, the intensity of the magnetic field changed from 51,150 nanoteslas (nT) to 51,450 nT, and then down to 50,520 nT. That was a change of more than 900 nT in about 18 hours, or about the same gradient change a whale might experience while swimming the 286 miles (460 kilometers) from Shetland to Norway, the researchers wrote.

The second solar storm caused a local intensity increase of 230 nT, followed by a decrease of 310 nT, changes similar to those experienced across a 172-mile (277 km) north-to-south journey for a sperm whale. On top of the intensity changes, the solar storms also changed the directionality of the local magnetic fields. Those changes could have thrown the whales' navigation systems off by as much as 186 miles (300 km), the researchers reported.

Tragic outcomes

In the open ocean, sperm whales can probably compensate for temporary disruptions to their magnetic navigation, Vanselow and his colleagues wrote. Additionally, solar storms have less impact on the geomagnetic field at low latitudes, where sperm whales are born and where females spend their entire lives. But after weaning, young males travel to northern waters, lured west of the British Isles and into the Norwegian Sea by ample meals of squid.

The whales don't typically venture into the North Sea (a body of water south of Norway and north of the Netherlands), the site of the 2016 stranding, but the magnetic field anomalies described in the new paper could easily confuse the animals, the researchers wrote. If an increase in magnetic field intensity fools the whales into thinking they're farther north than they are, for example, they might overcorrect by swimming too far south.

In the shallow, near-shore environments of the North Sea near the stranding, whales may be unable to turn around and swim back the way they came, with fatal results, the researchers concluded.

Years can pass without whale strandings occurring in the North Sea, even when the sun is active. One 2007 study found that strandings are slightly correlated with water temperatures, which suggests that perhaps prey availability and shifts in the whales' feeding grounds play a role in whether whales are vulnerable to stranding, the researchers wrote.

Original article on Live Science.
The Cassini spacecraft will take a death plunge into Saturn next on September 15 after more than a decade observing the planet and its moons. Perhaps its greatest contribution to science is helping us learn about the many icy moons circling Saturn and its elegant rings. Scientists are interested in finding life outside of Earth, to see if it's similar to what we have on our own planet.

Icy moons are likely our best shot at finding microbes. That's because they have a ready source of heat  in this case, tidal interactions with Saturn  as well as abundant water in the form of oceans and lakes. Cassini's observations from orbit showed us geysers, oceans, and other signs of liquid. Future missions on the drawing board might use submarines or little rovers to take a close-up look at the moons.

Here are some of Cassini's key discoveries.

Enceladus

Enceladus is perhaps the most famous icy moon of Saturn, as Cassini has tracked at least 101 geysers spouting water into space from "tiger stripes" or cracks in the ice. Late in Cassini's mission, in April 2017, researchers announced that Cassini detected hydrogen in Enceladuss plumes, which suggests that there are hydrothermal vents in the ocean below. These vents are warm spots that, on Earth, are places where creatures tend to congregate as it is a ready-made source of energy and food.

(Image credit: Marc Van Norden/Flickr/NASA)

Perhaps the most notable discovery was in September 2015, when researchers found evidence of a global ocean, based on how the moon wobbles as it orbits Saturn. Other key discoveries included evidence that Enceladuss spouting water lands in Saturn's atmosphere and that the south polar area changes over time, hinting at evidence of Earth-like plate tectonics. It also recorded multiple observations of the geysers composition, structure, and eruption frequency.

Saturn's moon Titan appears as a hazy ball from a distance in this photo taken by NASA's Cassini spacecraft. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute)

Titan

Scientists knew very little about the surface of Titan because observations showed only an orange blob. Cassini changed that forever, using radar to reveal a world of hydrocarbon-filled lakes that shift with the changing seasons.

Its mission began with the deployment of the European Space Agencys Huygens lander, which flew to the surface in January 2005. Huygens made the first measurements from the lower atmosphere, finding  to the surprise of investigators  methane, even though the gas is typically broken down by the sun. This means that there is likely a renewable source of methane somewhere on Titan.

Cassini also made several science discoveries of its own, such as finding a disappearing and reappearing island on Titan's surface, watching the evolution of Titan's seasons, and finding evidence of an underground ocean.

Saturn's icy moon Rhea shines in full sunlight in this new image taken by NASA's Cassini spacecraft on June 3, 2016. NASA released the image on Aug. 1. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute)

Rhea

While Rhea is not reported on as much as Titan and Enceladus, it is notable because of its size  it's the second-largest of Saturns moon, although at 475 miles (764 kilometers) it is only a third of the radius of Titan. Its surface is likely made of water ice because it is so reflective of light. High reflectivity is also apparent on the small moons Dione and Tethys.

Cassini showed that Rhea likely has a mixture of ice and rock underneath its surface. Cassini also revealed canyons on Rhea  showing that the moon must have had tectonic movement long ago  as well as a wispy atmosphere of oxygen and carbon dioxide. Rings were also found in 2008.

This view of the Saturn moon Tethys, taken by NASAs Cassini spacecraft on Jan. 30, 2017, features a huge canyon known as Ithaca Chasma (lower right). (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute)

Tethys

Tethys, a small icy moon of Saturn, has mysterious red arcs on its surface that Cassini first detected in 2004. The scientists are not sure about the source of the arcs, but speculation includes chemical impurities in the ice, or perhaps fractures that are just a little bit smaller than what Cassini's cameras were able to resolve.

Cassini also found a heat signature on Titan that resembles the shape of the 1980s video game character Pac-Man. The approximately V-shaped structure likely happens when electrons, traveling at high speed around Saturn, crash onto the moon. The electron collision turns the soft surface into hard ice, which would not heat up as fast during the day, or cool down as quickly during the night, compared to the surrounding surface. A similar heat signature is present on Mimas.

Saturn's moon Mimas as imaged by the Cassini spacecraft during its final flyby in January. The left side, lit only by reflected light, has been enhanced to better show the moon's features. The image depicts about 820 feet (250 meters) per pixel. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute)

Mimas

Mimas is often compared with the Death Star from the Star Wars movies because of the large crater on one side of its surface. Several flybys of the small moon revealed many mysteries that future missions will investigate further.

Cassini found a weird feature under Mimas' surface in 2014, when the spacecraft detected wobbling in the moon's orbit. The source of the wobble remains unknown.

Scientists are puzzled by Mimass cratered surface bereft of geysers because it has an elliptical orbit around Saturn and is closer to the planet than the ever-erupting Enceladus. Some researchers suggest that any explanation about the plumes on Enceladus should also include the static surface of Mimas, since both moons  at first glance  should have had similar environments.

Originally published on Seeker.
P olice have launched a probe over a suspected spate of sex attacks in north London after a 36-year-old was arrested on suspicion of raping two young women.

The suspect is being held at a central London police station following two late night attacks on lone women, Scotland Yard said.

A 22-year-old victim was raped close to Seven Sisters Road, Finsbury Park, around 2.30am on July 22.

A second woman, aged 21, was forced into an alleyway close to Finsbury Park Tube station by her attacker and raped just after midnight on August 29, police said.

Now, detectives have called for more victims to come forward amid claims the incidents are just two of a series of attacks.

Detective Inspector Jeremy McDermott said: I am not confident that these victims are the only women who have been targeted.

I urge any woman who thinks they may have been attacked, or even just approached by a suspicious male in the Finsbury Park area to come forward.

There is specialist support available to victims of rape and sexual assault, but even if that is not required, any information, no matter how insignificant, could provide officers with a detail that is missing from our investigation.

The suspect was arrested at an address in Hackney on Friday.

Any potential victims of similar but unreported attacks, or anyone with any information is urged to call the investigation team on 020 8217 6541 or via 101.

To give information anonymously contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or via crimestoppers-uk.org.
T ens of thousands of anti-Brexit activists marched to Parliament Square in protest at the UKs exit from the EU.

Saturday's Peoples March for EU is one of a mass wave of protests across the UK and Europe dubbed the autumn of discontent and comes just days before MPs are set to vote on the EU Withdrawal Bill in the Commons.

Organisers estimated around 50,000 marchers took part in the rally, many of whom carried banners which read "I love EU" and wearing t-shirts with the slogan: "Remoaner 'till I die".

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable was pictured arriving at Hyde Park Corner at just before 11am, shortly before the crowds set off through the streets of central London. Campaigner Sir Bob Geldof was also due to speak to fired-up crowds.

A papier mache Queen, after the monarch wore a yellow and blue hat to the opening of Parliament. / Peter Bailey

Photos taken from the throng this morning show a sea of people with activists draped in the iconic blue and yellow European Union flag.

The horde cheered as organiser Graham Hughes opened the rally, calling for a further referendum on Britain's membership of the EU.

Demonstrators arrive in Parliament Square with large banners. / REUTERS

He was joined on stage by a man purporting to be Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson's conscience and a Theresa May puppet.

Sir Ed Davey, Liberal Democrat MP for Kingston and Surbiton, told the crowd he was "embarrassed" for Great Britain.

A girl covered with EU flags and holding a Union Jack. / REUTERS

He said: "I've gone from anger to distress, from fury to despair. But since the Brexit negotiations begun there's a third emotion I've been feeling.

"Embarrassment. Embarrassment at our country's leaders. Embarrassment for Great Britain."

After being interrupted by boos, he said he felt embarrassed "that these shambolic people are supposed to be representing us. They can't even negotiate".

'Toxic Brexit', read banners in Westminster. / REUTERS

He said he wanted to personally thank Conservative and Labour Remainers who voted for him to be their MP, so he could continue to oppose Brexit.

The blue and yellow demonstrators fell silent for one minute in respect for the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire, breaking into applause as the 60 seconds ended.

Thousands of anti-Brexit activists march to Parliament in protest 1 /16 Thousands of anti-Brexit activists march to Parliament in protest Demonstrators head towards Parliament Square. REUTERS Signs include 'I love EU' REUTERS The pro-EU march began in Hyde Park Corner. Si Carrington 'NHS? Brexit Wrexit' Oliver Day The march took protesters through the streets of London. Oliver Day One protester brought along a papier mache Queen, in reference to the blue and yellow hat she wore at the State Opening of Parliament. Peter Bailey 'Exit Brexit' Jonathan Hawley The September sun shone as activists marched through the streets. Martin Tod Roads were blocked during the protest. Maggie Jones The campaigners set off shortly after 11am from Hyde Park Corner. Maggie Jones The rally saw the activists march through the streets of central London. Johann Ketel EU colours of blue and yellow were seen throughout the march. Judi Conner

A Sikh leader local to the North Kensington community, Bhupinder Singh, led them in the period of reflection.

The volunteer said: "Never have I experienced this much prejudice, racism and the difference between rich and poor.

Vince Cable at the start of the People's March for EU event on Saturday. / Richard Marks

"The Brexit vote has led to a 'them and us' society which we never had."

Jean Lambert, member of the European Parliament (MEP) for London, said she wanted the British people to have a say at the end of the negotiating process, like her.

The crowds marched from Hyde Park Corner to Parliament Square. / REUTERS

The Green Party member said, to applause: "I want a similar meaningful vote for people in Westminster.

"Not a gift from the Government but a right.

"And I also want a vote for the people of this country.

In the lead-up to the rally, an event spokesman said: "From soft to hard-core Remain, from ordinary citizens to MPs, the anti-Brexit movement has one common goal - No Brexit,

Thousands of people marched from Park Lane to Parliament. / Oliver Day

We firmly believe the UK is better off in the EU, we dont want to see the erosion of our civil rights, and those of future generations.

We will get our voices heard on the international stage.

The event was also backed by high-profile politicians and celebrities, including actor Sir Patrick Stewart and former spin doctor Alistair Campbell, who has attacked Leave campaigners for misleading the public over Brexit.

Writing on the Facebook event, which has registered more than 3,600 people as interested, organisers said they will today speak up louder than before.

The British public is increasingly concerned about Brexit, organisers said. Poll after poll shows a bigger majority for staying in the EU.

As the reality of our exit from the EU becomes clear, we hear frustrations from those who voted and campaigned to leave, but now believe that the country is headed for disaster.

But the Government is not listening. It is up to us to make them hear.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-09 19:59:07|Editor: Zhou Xin

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CAIRO, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Arab League (AL) Chief Ahmed Aboul-Gheit on Saturday left for Iraq to support efforts of reviving dialogue between Baghdad and Erbil ahead of the Kurdish independence referendum, the AL said in a statement.

Abul Gheit will meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar Abadi in Baghdad to discuss tensions with the Kurdistan region, with Erbil being its capital city, after the referendum was announced, the spokesman of the AL Mahmoud Afifi said in a statement.

The national unity after defeating Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and tackling the resulted political and developmental challenge are very important now, as well as prompting the concept of citizenship that includes the different sects of Iraqis, regardless of their political, religious and ethnic backgrounds, the statement added.

During the visit, the AL chief will also meet with President of the Kurdistan region Masoud Barzani in a bid to revive a constructive political dialogue between the two sides, it added.

"The referendum will only make the situation more complicated," Afifi noted.

Last month, Abul Gheit has sent a message to the president of Kurdistan region stressing the necessity of keeping the Kurdish as an original component of the Arab community, especially the current regional scene is highly intensified with divisions and conflicts.

The government of Kurdistan region has declared intention to run a referendum on its independence on Sept. 25, a step deemed by Baghdad as "unconstitutional and illegal."

The referendum is opposed by other countries including the Iraqi neighbors of Iran and Turkey.
S tormzy surprised crowds on Londons busy Oxford Street as the rapper launched an advertising campaign.

The south London grime artist described the crazy scenes on Twitter and thanked fans for showing their support.

Footage from the busy shopping street shows fans gathered around a double-decker bus carrying an Adidas ad and a picture of the star.

Posting footage of the scenes online on Friday, he wrote on Twitter: today was crazy big up all the supporters that came down we had a very very sick time thank you.

Ahead of the launch, the Gang Signs and Prayer rapper said: Riding through London on my JD bus, catch me if you can, adding: you ready?

It comes after Stormzy made headlines when he branded Theresa May a paigon as he collected his GQ Man of the Year Award on Tuesday.

The Labour leader paid tribute to London-born rap star Stormzy for changing the face of music as he presented him with the best solo artist award at the ceremony on Tuesday night.
B ritish police officers are being sent to the British Virgin Islands to help with the recovery effort after the devastation caused by Hurricane Irma.

The National Police Chiefs Council announced UK officers from 14 different forces across the country will join military personnel already in the Caribbean to help with the relief effort.

Two officers flew out on Friday and another 53 policemen and women will fly out from RAF Brize Norton soon.

It comes after the Government was criticised for its response to the disaster, sparking a 32 million aid package spearheaded by the military.

Hurricane Irma - In pictures 1 /153 Hurricane Irma - In pictures Boats wrecked by Hurricane Irma are seen from a plane in Sint Maarten, Netherlands Reuters A van remains in a sinkhole,at the Astor Park apartment complex in Winter Springs, Florida AP This combination of natural-color images provided by NASA Earth Observatory shows the U.S. and British Virgin Islands islands on 25 August 2017 (top) before the the passage of Hurricane Irma, and after the storm passed on 10 September 2017 (bottom) AP Property damage is seen at a mobile home park after passing of Hurricane Irma in Naples, Florida Reuters Debris lies from a destroyed building in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in Key Largo, Florida AP A house slides into the Atlantic Ocean in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida AP John Duke tries to figure out how to salvage his flooded vehicle in the wake Hurricane Irma AP Damaged houses are shown in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in the Florida Keys AP Property damage is seen at a mobile home park after the passing of Hurricane Irma in Naples, Florida Reuters The Sunrise Motel remains flooded after Hurricane Irma hit the area in East Naples, Florida Getty Images Debris from Hurricane Irma lays on the side of the Overseas Highway in Islamorda in the Florida Keys AP A mobile home, destroyed by Hurricane Irma, is seen in Naples, Florida Reuters A Florida Highway Patrol trooper inspects a closed segment of Interstate 4, near State Road 434 in Longwood AP Steve Slonan inspects a friend's home after Hurricane Irma hit the area in East Naples, Florida Getty Images Olga Teakell hugs her grandson Gabriel Melendez, 9, after he cut his finger on glass, while he and his bother Ellisha, 12, (left) help clean debris from Olga's destroyed home in the Naples Estates Mobile Home Park, Florida AP Damaged sail boats are shown in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma AP Two men walk their bicycle along a flooded street on the waterfront of Fort Lauderdale, Florida., as Hurricane Irma passes through AP Boats ride out the storm in a marina in Miami, Florida. Getty Images View of damages after the passage of Hurricane Irma, in Cojimar neighborhood in Havana AFP/Getty Images The epic scale of Hurricane Irma has been revealed in incredible satellite images sent from the International Space Station Nasa/Randy Bresnik Randy Bresnik/NASA A fallen tree crashes atop a row of cars in Miami, Florida AFP/Getty Images People waded through flood-hit streets in Cuba AP Sheryl and Rick Estes (R) take shelter from Hurricane Irma inside the Germain Arena in Estero, Florida. Reuters Cars that have been wrecked by Hurricane Irma on the British Virgin Islands. AP Debris litters the street after the passage of Hurricane Irma in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands AP People battle high winds and rain to take in the sights along the Miami River which is flooding as Hurricane Irma passes through on September 10, 2017 in Miami, Florida Getty Images A man swims on a flooded street in Havana, Cuba EPA Tourists lie on a beach, littered with palms, one day after Hurricane Irma passed the resort area in Varadero, Cuba AP A stranded manatee in Manatee County, Florida. The mammal was stranded after waters receded from the Florida bay as Hurricane Irma approached AP A houses is surrounded by water as Hurricane Irma passes through Naples, Florida AP A defiant man braves the full force of Irma and takes a selfie as the storm strikes Miami, Florida EPA Flooding in the Brickell neighborhood as Hurricane Irma passes Miami, Florida Reuters A speed limit sign stands tilted and a power line that snapped it half lays on a building, after the passage of Hurricane Irma in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands AP People tend to a car that flipped over on Cape Coral Parkway during Hurricane Irma in Florida AP Richard Branson posted this picture from Puerto Rico after revealing the devastation to Necker Island @richardbranson A woman walks her dog in the brisk wind downtown as the weather conditions deteriorate due to Hurricane Irma in Miami, Florida EPA Satellite shows Hurricane Irma as it moves on the Florida coast as Tropical Storm Jose (right) moves west in the Atlantic Ocean taken at 06:30 GMT on 11 September 2017. As Irma heads up Florida's west coast its leaving hundreds of thousands of residents without power as more than 100,000 people have taken refuge in shelters and millions have evacuated the area Getty Images Firefighters Dohnovan Simpson and Jacob McGovern carry Dolores Gevaza, 83, across the courtyard in the rain at John Hopkins Middle School in St. Petersburg, Florida. The school filled classrooms and hallways with people evacuating before Hurricane Irma makes landfall AP Samantha Belk says goodbye to her maltese, Gardolf until after the hurricane in a locker room at John Hopkins Middle School in St. Petersburg, Florida AP Debris is piled up next to the houses on the seashore in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic Reuters Heavy traffic traveling north bound on Interstate 75 moves slowly, as a major evacuation has begun in preparation for Hurricane Irma AP Soldiers board a Royal Air Force C-17 Globemaster III aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, before they are flown to help out in the areas affected by Hurricane Irma as winds of up to 175mph left death and destruction in the Atlantic PA A woman takes a break from cleaning the debris in front of a house, in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic Reuters Marie Charlotte walks through water near her house that was flooded in Malfeti, Fort Liberte, north east of Haiti AFP/Getty Images Customers buy supplies and wood to secure their property in preparation of Hurricane Irma in Miami AP Dfid aid is loaded onto a Royal Air Force C-17 Globemaster III aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, before it is flown to the areas affected by Hurricane Irma as winds of up to 175mph left death and destruction in the Atlantic PA Damage outside the "Mercure" hotel in Marigot, on the Bay of Nettle, on the island of Saint-Martin in the northeast Caribbean, after the passage of Hurricane Irma AFP/Getty Images UK Armed Forces disaster relief operation in Anguilla MoD/Crown copyright 2017 Edward Pastrana installs wood shutters at the Miami City Ballet in Miami Beach AP UK Armed Forces disaster relief operation in Anguilla MoD/Crown copyright 2017 Debris and trash is seen on a beach in Cap-Haitien as Hurricane Irma approaches. AFP/Getty Images Workers hang plywood in front of doors and windows at Mango's, a salsa club, following mandatory evacuation orders in Miami Beach, Florida ahead of Hurricane Irma AFP/Getty Images A nearly-deserted beach after residents and visitors evacuated from Miami Beach, Florid AFP/Getty Images A family readies to evacuate from a mobile home park in the Little Haiti neighborhood ahead of the expected arrival of Hurricane Irma in Miami, Florida EPA Motorists remove debris caused by Hurricane Irma from the road in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands AP A young man walks along the beach covered with debris carried by strong winds in Cap Haitian, Haiti EPA UK Armed Forces disaster relief operation in Anguilla MoD/Crown copyright 2017 the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, in St. Maarten AP Storm damage in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in St. Martin. Irma cut a path of devastation across the northern Caribbean, leaving thousands homeless after destroying buildings and uprooting trees AP Flooding caused by Hurricane Irma on Charlotte Amalie, in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands AP Volaris Airlines ticket agent Cely Vasquez (left) attends to Mexico bound passengers at Miami International Airport AP Satellite image showing the eye of Hurricane Irma (centre) is just north of the island of Hispaniola with Hurricane Katia (left) in the Gulf of Mexico, and Hurricane Jose, (right) in the Atlantic Ocean AP sStellite image shows the eye Hurricane Irma just north of the island of Hispaniola. The fearsome Category 5 storm cut a path of devastation across the northern Caribbean AP Yanina Fernandez (left) and her sister Liz, wait for an available flight to Argentina after their flight was cancelled at Miami International Airport AP damage to a post office caused by Hurricane Irma in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands AP Aerial image of several damaged houses by Hurricane Irma in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands AP Residents clear debris from the road in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands AP Cars piled on top of one another in Marigot, near the Bay of Nettle, on the French Collectivity of Saint Martin, after the passage of Hurricane Irma AFP/Getty Images Destroyed palm trees, outside the "Mercure" hotel in Marigot, on the Bay of Nettle, on the island of Saint-Martin in the northeast Caribbean, after the passage of Hurricane Irma AFP/Getty Images A car turned onto its side in Marigot, near the Bay of Nettle, on the French Collectivity of Saint Martin, after the passage of Hurricane Irma AFP/Getty Images Damage outside "Le flamboyant" hotel and resort in Marigot, on the Bay of Nettle, on the island of Saint-Martin in the northeast Caribbean, after the passage of Hurricane Irma AFP/Getty Images Devastation in Philipsburg, Saint Martin AFP/Getty Images Hurricane Irma slams Saint Martin Splash News Pleasure craft lie crammed against the shore in Paraquita Bay, British Virgin Islands Reuters Satellite image shows Huricane Irma at 12:30 UK time. Irma cut a swathe of deadly destruction as it roared through the Caribbean, claiming at least nine lives and turning the tropical islands of St. Martin and Barbuda into mountains of rubble. One of the most powerful Atlantic storms on record, Irma churned westward off the northern coast of Puerto Rico early Thursday on a potential collision course with south Florida AFP/Getty Images A street in Gustavia on the French overseas collectivity of Saint-Barthelemy in the Caribbean AFP/Getty Images Damage caused by hurricane Irma in Saint-Martin, Leeward Islands Rex Damage caused by hurricane Irma in Saint-Martin, Leeward Islands Rex Hurricane Irma evacuating traffic streaming out of Florida creeps along northbound Interstate 75 after a vehicle accident in Lake Park, Georgia, USA epa Hurricane Irma slams Saint Martin Splash News iew of the aftermath of Hurricane Irma on Saint Martin Reuters Hurricane Irma slams Saint Martin Splash News Barbuda Members of the civil defence in Fajardo, Puerto Rico Reuters A destroyed building in Gustavia on the French overseas collectivity of Saint-Barthelemy AFP/Getty Images Saint Martin AFP/Getty Images Barbuda Rescue staff from the Municipal Emergency Management Agency check a flooded car in Fajardo, Puerto Rico AP Flooded houses in Gustavia, Saint-Barthelemy AFP/Getty Images People pick up debris in Fajardo, Puerto Rico Reuters Barbuda A flooded street on the French overseas island of Saint-Martin, after high winds from Hurricane Irma hit the island AFP/Getty Images Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Jose in the Atlantic Ocean on Wednesday. Jose strengthened into a category 1 hurricane, as Irma, a category 5 hurricane continues to move through the Caribbean, battering Barbuda, St. Martin and Puerto Rico EPA The destruction at Sir Richard Branson's island of Necker Sir Richard Branson Saint Martin AFP/Getty Images A woman pushes out floodwaters on her property in St John's AP Cars left flooded in Saint Martin Saint Martin is suffering catastrophic flooding Hurricane Irma hitting Saint Martin Some of the devastation left behind at Saint Martin Hurricane Irma hits Saint Martin Floodwaters run down a street in Saint Martin Carole Greaux Saint Martin Residents in St Petersburg, Florida, carry sandbags ahead of Hurricane Irma AP A satellite image shows Hurricane Irma at 11AM UK time slamming into the French Caribbean islands. Countries can be seen outlined on the image AFP/Getty Images A view of the Baie Nettle beach in Marigot ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Irma AFP/Getty Images Employees load plywood for customers in preparation for Hurricane Irma at Lowe's in Jacksonville, Florida AP Shoppers in Florida ransacked a supermarket as they prepared for Hurricane Irma Getty Images Shoppers at Costco waited up to eight hours for water and essentials in preparation for Hurricane Irma in North Miami AFP/Getty Images Policemen talk to customers at a Costco shop in North Miami as mineral water is sold out and people shop ahead of Hurricane Irma AFP/Getty Images Members of the Civil Defense prepare their gear ahead of Hurricane Irma, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic Reuters People put boards on their windows in Saint Martin AFP/Getty Images People load up their cars with sandbags in St Petersburg as the storm approaches AP A thermal image of Harricane Irma NOAA Satellite image shows Hurricane Irma at 10.45am UK time followed by Tropical Storm Jose AFP/Getty Images

The officers will work with the local police force to maintain law and order, as well as helping to find missing people including British nationals, the NPCC explained.

The organisation's lead for international policing, Chief Constable Andy Marsh, said: "We received offers of support from officers across the country as soon as this crisis began.

"These officers, and the many others who volunteered, signify our commitment to help those in need and humanitarian instinct of the British police force, no matter where in the world."

More than 200 Royal Marines, along with engineers, specialists, medical supplies, and aid, including emergency shelter kits, rations and clean water, have been flown out to the region.

RFA Mounts Bay's crew is also providing support to the British Virgin Islands, conducting reconnaissance flights and delivering supplies and aid, while HMS Ocean is due to take equipment and aid supplies from Gibraltar to the Caribbean on Monday.
D eadly Hurricane Irma has barrelled along the coast of Cuba with strong winds and heavy rain as millions of people continue to flee Florida in preparation for devastation.

The giant storm, which was at one point the most powerful hurricane ever to hit the Atlantic, has devastated islands in the Caribbean and killed at least 21 people.

It is set to hit the low-lying Florida Keys and state's south peninsula on Sunday in a forecast 30 hours of fierce wind, rain and storm surges up to 12ft high.

Irma made landfall on the Camaguey Archipelago, the north eastern coast of Cuba, late on Friday. Tens of thousands of people were moved to safety away from the shoreline, which is a popular spot for tourists.

Devastation in Tortola, in the British Virgin Islands. / AP

The hurricane is the first category five storm to hit Cuba in nearly a century.

Today is the last chance for residents and tourists in Florida to join the mass evacuation, after officials order 5.6 million people to leave and the state saw gridlock on the roads and petrol shortages.

Officials in the Sunshine State warned "time is running out" to escape danger areas, calling on anyone remaining there to follow the mandatory evacuation orders.

Prime Minister Theresa May said work was taking place with US authorities to ensure British expats and tourists in Florida are protected.

UK Armed Forces respond to Hurricane Irma - In pictures 1 /16 UK Armed Forces respond to Hurricane Irma - In pictures UK Armed Forces disaster relief operation in Anguilla MoD/Crown copyright 2017 UK Armed Forces disaster relief operation in Anguilla MoD/Crown copyright 2017 Soldiers booking equipment in at RAF Brize Norton ready to deploy to Operation Ruman, as part of the United Kingdom's response to the emerging disaster following Hurricane Irma PA A Royal Air Force C-17 Globemaster III aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, before Dfid aid is loaded and flown to the areas affected by Hurricane Irma as winds of up to 175mph left death and destruction in the Atlantic PA Soldiers booking equipment in at RAF Brize Norton ready to deploy to Operation Ruman, as part of the United Kingdom's response to the emerging disaster following Hurricane Irma PA UK Armed Forces disaster relief operation in Anguilla MoD/Crown copyright 2017 UK Armed Forces disaster relief operation in Anguilla MoD/Crown copyright 2017 Ultra-light airfield damage repair plant ready to be loaded at RAF Brize Norton ready to deploy to Operation Ruman, as part of the United Kingdom's response to the emerging disaster following Hurricane Irma PA A Royal Air Force C-17 Globemaster III aircraft is fuelled at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, before Dfid aid is loaded and flown to the areas affected by Hurricane Irma as winds of up to 175mph left death and destruction in the Atlantic PA UK Armed Forces disaster relief operation in Anguilla MoD/Crown copyright 2017 UK Armed Forces disaster relief operation in Anguilla MoD/Crown copyright 2017 HMS Ocean, as a military task group, is on its way with several hundred UK troops to offer assistance to those affected by Hurricane Irma PA

The last flights from major airports in Miami and Fort Lauderdale left on Friday evening and the last services from Orlando and Tampa airports will be tonight.

The governor of Florida Rick Scott said on Friday: "If you are planning to leave and do not leave tonight, you will have to ride out this extremely dangerous storm at your own risk".

Among those hoping to be on one of the remaining departures was Cathy Robson, the mother of British tennis star Laura Robson.

She tweeted to British Airways: "Is TPA (Tampa) to LGW (Gatwick) still on tmrw?? Cant get through on the phone. My mum's been evacuated & planning on staying by the airport."



Following a meeting of the Government's emergency Cobra committee, Mrs May said: "I heard directly from our consul general in Miami about the support that is being given to British nationals living in Florida and also British tourists in Florida.

"We are, of course, working with the US authorities to ensure that every support is available and everything can be done before Hurricane Irma reaches Florida."



Irma, which had been downgraded to a category four storm before re-intensifying and becoming a category five again, smashed homes, schools, stores, roads and boats on Wednesday and Thursday as it rolled over including St Martin, St Barts, St Thomas, Barbuda and Anguilla.

Hurricane Irma Continues to Devastate As It Hurtles Towards US

In the ravaged Caribbean islands, rescuers began work to help some of the hardest hit areas. The UK Navy is among the international authorities rushing food, water and troops to the stricken zone.

Those who have died in the storm so far include 11 on St Martin and St Barts, four in the U.S. Virgin Islands, four in the British Virgin Islands and one each on Anguilla and Barbuda.

Authorities reported looting and gunfire in St. Martin, and a curfew was imposed in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The tropical islands face a new threat on the horizon to the east in the form of category four storm Hurricane Jose, bringing 150 mph winds that could punish some of the devastated areas.
S uperstorm Hurricane Irma has ripped through the Caribbean in a six day rampage which has left utter devastation in its wake.

As rescuers arrive on the islands, the giant storm is continuing along its path to the US where 5.6 million people in Florida have been told to flee.

The hurricane  which was at one point the most powerful storm ever in the Atlantic  has now been downgraded to a category four storm and is due to reach Florida on Sunday. At least 21 people are now confirmed dead.

This is the destruction Irma has already been caused, island by island:

Antigua and Barbuda

The islands, which is home to some 1,400 people, was devastated in the storm.

They are forecast to be battered again by Hurricane Jose, a category four storm following a similar path to Irma.

A man surveys the wreckage on his property in St John's, Antigua, in the Caribbean. / AP

But few structures have been left standing to provide shelter to those who had survived Irma, and the government is now evacuating residents in fishing boats and with the help of other private vessels. Islanders clutching salvaged possessions were lined up at wharves and the airport.

A two-year-old died after being swept away when the storm ripped the roof off the family's house.

St Martin

Nine people are confirmed dead in French St Martin and St Barts, authorities said.

A flooded street on the French overseas island of Saint Martin / AFP/Getty Images

Two others died on Dutch Sint Maarten, which shares an island with St Martin.

Across the island homes were splintered, schools were destroyed and authorities reported gunfire amid looting of televisions as well as food and water.

A man walks on a street covered in debris after hurricane Irma hurricane hit Saint-Martin, near Marigot. / AFP/Getty Images

Sint Maarten Prime Minister William Marlin said the government anticipates a serious housing shortage and is already fretting over a lost tourist season.

"We foresee a loss of the tourist season because of the damage that was done to hotel properties, the negative publicity that one would have that it's better to go somewhere else because it's destroyed - so that will have a serious impact on our economy," he said in an interview with the Dutch military.

St Barts

Irma ripped off roofs and knocked out electricity to the French island of St Barts. Video footage of the storm's aftermath showed cars and boats strewn about the island.

French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said most of the schools were destroyed on St Barts and St Martin and "we'll need to rebuild both islands."

Barbados

A 16-year-old junior professional surfer in Barbados was killed while surfing large swells generated by Hurricane Irma.

Zander Venezia was surfing on the island's east coast when he drowned as the storm churned several hundred miles away, according to family friend and surfing instructor Alan Burke.

Anguilla

One death was confirmed on the British territory of Anguilla, which suffered widespread damage to its electricity infrastructure, water supply, and government buildings.

A man looks at a car turned upside down in Anguilla. / AP

Irma inflicted "severe and in places critical" damage to the island, the UK government said.

British crews arrived to help with recovery and by late on Thursday the airport runway had been cleared of debris.

British Virgin Islands

Four people were reported dead in the British territory, according to the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency.

The storm caused major damage to the largest and most populated island of Tortola, where video of the hillside capital, Road Town, showed the scattered wreckage of buildings and piles of debris.

The emergency agency said there was a critical need for security amid instances of looting.

Billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson, who rode out the storm at his home on private Necker Island, said entire houses disappeared and the area was "completely and utterly devastated."

Richard Branson said his whole staff slept together in two rooms as the hurricane approached / Virgin.com

US Virgin Islands

Four deaths were reported in the US Virgin Islands and officials on St Thomas said they expected to find more bodies as crews struggled to reopen roads and restore power.

The hospital on St Thomas was destroyed and the harbour was in ruins, along with hundreds of homes and dozens of businesses.

Devastation in the US Virgin Islands. / AP

Adrien Reinhardt said houses in her neighbourhood were levelled, and many people had a week's worth of food and water.

"Let people know: We need food, we need supplies to survive," she said.

Puerto Rico

About a million people were without power in Puerto Rico, which was spared a direct hit as Irma passed to the north. Nearly half the territory's hospitals were relying on generators. No injuries were reported.

Turks and Caicos Islands

The hurricane caused extensive flooding in the Turks and Caicos Islands, with the water reaching above the waist in some areas.

UK Armed Forces respond to Hurricane Irma - In pictures 1 /16 UK Armed Forces respond to Hurricane Irma - In pictures UK Armed Forces disaster relief operation in Anguilla MoD/Crown copyright 2017 UK Armed Forces disaster relief operation in Anguilla MoD/Crown copyright 2017 Soldiers booking equipment in at RAF Brize Norton ready to deploy to Operation Ruman, as part of the United Kingdom's response to the emerging disaster following Hurricane Irma PA A Royal Air Force C-17 Globemaster III aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, before Dfid aid is loaded and flown to the areas affected by Hurricane Irma as winds of up to 175mph left death and destruction in the Atlantic PA Soldiers booking equipment in at RAF Brize Norton ready to deploy to Operation Ruman, as part of the United Kingdom's response to the emerging disaster following Hurricane Irma PA UK Armed Forces disaster relief operation in Anguilla MoD/Crown copyright 2017 UK Armed Forces disaster relief operation in Anguilla MoD/Crown copyright 2017 Ultra-light airfield damage repair plant ready to be loaded at RAF Brize Norton ready to deploy to Operation Ruman, as part of the United Kingdom's response to the emerging disaster following Hurricane Irma PA A Royal Air Force C-17 Globemaster III aircraft is fuelled at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, before Dfid aid is loaded and flown to the areas affected by Hurricane Irma as winds of up to 175mph left death and destruction in the Atlantic PA UK Armed Forces disaster relief operation in Anguilla MoD/Crown copyright 2017 UK Armed Forces disaster relief operation in Anguilla MoD/Crown copyright 2017 HMS Ocean, as a military task group, is on its way with several hundred UK troops to offer assistance to those affected by Hurricane Irma PA

Homes were damaged or destroyed across the most populated island, Providenciales, and a community known as Blue Hill on the northwestern side is "gone, the Minister of Instructure Gold Ray Ewing said.

Cuba

Cuba is the latest country to suffer from the effects of Irma after the storm barrelled along its north coast on Friday night.

Thousands of tourists were evacuated from low-lying keys off the coast dotted with all-inclusive resorts ahead of the storm's approach.

All residents of the area were under mandatory evacuation orders from the Cuban government, which was moving tens of thousands of people from vulnerable coastline.
I t is "too late" to leave Florida as Hurricane Irma hurtles towards the US coast, the state's governor has told those left behind.

Rick Scott issued a stark message to anyone remaining in their homes to "seek shelter and get off the roads" adding "people cannot survive this".

The terrifying warning comes just hours before the category 3 storm is due to smash into the state in the early hours of Sunday.

Gov Scott told NBC: "If you're not on the road on the west coast (now), you need to get to a shelter, get to a friend's house if you're in an evacuation zone. Get off the road."

Miami beach: High winds begin to lash Florida / EPA

As time ran out to evacuate the state, more than 50,000 people rushed to shelters, however, local media reported that they were filling up so quickly that many had been turned away.

At least 51,000 residents have hunkered down in approximately 300 hurricane shelters across the state with 15,000 people taking shelter in Palm Beach County and 13,000 in neighbouring Broward County.

Seven million residents and tourists were told to flee the Sunshine State on Saturday morning sparking gridlock on the roads and petrol shortages amid fears the coast could be hit by 15ft tidal surges and 125mph gales.

Emergency shelter: 50,000 have hunkered down in shelters across Florida / AP

Another 540,000 were ordered to flee the eastern part of Georgia, while in South Carolina, a mandatory evacuation order was issued for eight barrier islands including Hilton Head Island, which houses 40,000 residents.

Miami may have been thrown as last minute life-line as the devastating storms path veered west.

Emergency response: Police and fire crews patrol the US 1 highway out of Florida Keys / EPA

Gov Scott heeded his own advice as he and his family fled their $15 million mansion on the Gulf Coast as he warned those left behind: The storm is going faster than you are.

Officials ordered curfews on parts of the state likely to be worst hit amid reports of gun crime and looting.

Miami Beach a ghost town as Florida braces for Hurricane Irma 1 /18 Miami Beach a ghost town as Florida braces for Hurricane Irma A nearly-deserted beach after residents and visitors evacuated from Miami Beach, Florida AFP/Getty Images Edward Pastrana installs wood shutters at the Miami City Ballet in Miami Beach AP Workers finish covering the ground floor windows of the Chesterfield Hotel as the city prepares for the approaching Hurricane Irma Getty Images A 55 Chevy sits in front of the closed Oceans Ten Restaurant at the Edison Hotel on Ocean Drive as the city prepares for the approaching Hurricane Irma Getty Images The Boulevard Hotel remains open as the city prepares for the approaching Hurricane Irma in Miami Beach, Florida Getty Images The Carlye Hotel on Ocean Drive is closed as the city prepares for the approaching Hurricane Irma Getty Images The Breakwater Hotel on Ocean Drive is closed as the city prepares for the approaching Hurricane Irma Getty Images A nearly-deserted beach after residents and visitors evacuated from Miami Beach, Florida AFP/Getty Images A runner jogs on a nearly-deserted beach in Miami Beach, Florid AFP/Getty Images A nearly-deserted beach after a mandatory evacuation order from Miami Beach, Florida AFP/Getty Images The Leslie Hotel on Ocean Drive is closed as the city prepares for the approaching Hurricane Irma Getty Images AP A man takes a photo with his cellphone alongside a boarded-up restaurant following mandatory evacuation orders in Miami Beach, Florida AFP/Getty Images Trash cans and all beach items will be removed from the beach in preparing for approaching Hurricane Irma Getty Images

Traffic and pedestrian movement in Palm Beach was restricted from 3pm local time while those in Coral Springs had until 8pm to flee.

Anyone living under curfew must remain indoors until 6am on Sunday, local news sites reported.

Hurricane Irma - In pictures 1 /153 Hurricane Irma - In pictures Boats wrecked by Hurricane Irma are seen from a plane in Sint Maarten, Netherlands Reuters A van remains in a sinkhole,at the Astor Park apartment complex in Winter Springs, Florida AP This combination of natural-color images provided by NASA Earth Observatory shows the U.S. and British Virgin Islands islands on 25 August 2017 (top) before the the passage of Hurricane Irma, and after the storm passed on 10 September 2017 (bottom) AP Property damage is seen at a mobile home park after passing of Hurricane Irma in Naples, Florida Reuters Debris lies from a destroyed building in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in Key Largo, Florida AP A house slides into the Atlantic Ocean in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida AP John Duke tries to figure out how to salvage his flooded vehicle in the wake Hurricane Irma AP Damaged houses are shown in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in the Florida Keys AP Property damage is seen at a mobile home park after the passing of Hurricane Irma in Naples, Florida Reuters The Sunrise Motel remains flooded after Hurricane Irma hit the area in East Naples, Florida Getty Images Debris from Hurricane Irma lays on the side of the Overseas Highway in Islamorda in the Florida Keys AP A mobile home, destroyed by Hurricane Irma, is seen in Naples, Florida Reuters A Florida Highway Patrol trooper inspects a closed segment of Interstate 4, near State Road 434 in Longwood AP Steve Slonan inspects a friend's home after Hurricane Irma hit the area in East Naples, Florida Getty Images Olga Teakell hugs her grandson Gabriel Melendez, 9, after he cut his finger on glass, while he and his bother Ellisha, 12, (left) help clean debris from Olga's destroyed home in the Naples Estates Mobile Home Park, Florida AP Damaged sail boats are shown in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma AP Two men walk their bicycle along a flooded street on the waterfront of Fort Lauderdale, Florida., as Hurricane Irma passes through AP Boats ride out the storm in a marina in Miami, Florida. Getty Images View of damages after the passage of Hurricane Irma, in Cojimar neighborhood in Havana AFP/Getty Images The epic scale of Hurricane Irma has been revealed in incredible satellite images sent from the International Space Station Nasa/Randy Bresnik Randy Bresnik/NASA A fallen tree crashes atop a row of cars in Miami, Florida AFP/Getty Images People waded through flood-hit streets in Cuba AP Sheryl and Rick Estes (R) take shelter from Hurricane Irma inside the Germain Arena in Estero, Florida. Reuters Cars that have been wrecked by Hurricane Irma on the British Virgin Islands. AP Debris litters the street after the passage of Hurricane Irma in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands AP People battle high winds and rain to take in the sights along the Miami River which is flooding as Hurricane Irma passes through on September 10, 2017 in Miami, Florida Getty Images A man swims on a flooded street in Havana, Cuba EPA Tourists lie on a beach, littered with palms, one day after Hurricane Irma passed the resort area in Varadero, Cuba AP A stranded manatee in Manatee County, Florida. The mammal was stranded after waters receded from the Florida bay as Hurricane Irma approached AP A houses is surrounded by water as Hurricane Irma passes through Naples, Florida AP A defiant man braves the full force of Irma and takes a selfie as the storm strikes Miami, Florida EPA Flooding in the Brickell neighborhood as Hurricane Irma passes Miami, Florida Reuters A speed limit sign stands tilted and a power line that snapped it half lays on a building, after the passage of Hurricane Irma in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands AP People tend to a car that flipped over on Cape Coral Parkway during Hurricane Irma in Florida AP Richard Branson posted this picture from Puerto Rico after revealing the devastation to Necker Island @richardbranson A woman walks her dog in the brisk wind downtown as the weather conditions deteriorate due to Hurricane Irma in Miami, Florida EPA Satellite shows Hurricane Irma as it moves on the Florida coast as Tropical Storm Jose (right) moves west in the Atlantic Ocean taken at 06:30 GMT on 11 September 2017. As Irma heads up Florida's west coast its leaving hundreds of thousands of residents without power as more than 100,000 people have taken refuge in shelters and millions have evacuated the area Getty Images Firefighters Dohnovan Simpson and Jacob McGovern carry Dolores Gevaza, 83, across the courtyard in the rain at John Hopkins Middle School in St. Petersburg, Florida. The school filled classrooms and hallways with people evacuating before Hurricane Irma makes landfall AP Samantha Belk says goodbye to her maltese, Gardolf until after the hurricane in a locker room at John Hopkins Middle School in St. Petersburg, Florida AP Debris is piled up next to the houses on the seashore in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic Reuters Heavy traffic traveling north bound on Interstate 75 moves slowly, as a major evacuation has begun in preparation for Hurricane Irma AP Soldiers board a Royal Air Force C-17 Globemaster III aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, before they are flown to help out in the areas affected by Hurricane Irma as winds of up to 175mph left death and destruction in the Atlantic PA A woman takes a break from cleaning the debris in front of a house, in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic Reuters Marie Charlotte walks through water near her house that was flooded in Malfeti, Fort Liberte, north east of Haiti AFP/Getty Images Customers buy supplies and wood to secure their property in preparation of Hurricane Irma in Miami AP Dfid aid is loaded onto a Royal Air Force C-17 Globemaster III aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, before it is flown to the areas affected by Hurricane Irma as winds of up to 175mph left death and destruction in the Atlantic PA Damage outside the "Mercure" hotel in Marigot, on the Bay of Nettle, on the island of Saint-Martin in the northeast Caribbean, after the passage of Hurricane Irma AFP/Getty Images UK Armed Forces disaster relief operation in Anguilla MoD/Crown copyright 2017 Edward Pastrana installs wood shutters at the Miami City Ballet in Miami Beach AP UK Armed Forces disaster relief operation in Anguilla MoD/Crown copyright 2017 Debris and trash is seen on a beach in Cap-Haitien as Hurricane Irma approaches. AFP/Getty Images Workers hang plywood in front of doors and windows at Mango's, a salsa club, following mandatory evacuation orders in Miami Beach, Florida ahead of Hurricane Irma AFP/Getty Images A nearly-deserted beach after residents and visitors evacuated from Miami Beach, Florid AFP/Getty Images A family readies to evacuate from a mobile home park in the Little Haiti neighborhood ahead of the expected arrival of Hurricane Irma in Miami, Florida EPA Motorists remove debris caused by Hurricane Irma from the road in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands AP A young man walks along the beach covered with debris carried by strong winds in Cap Haitian, Haiti EPA UK Armed Forces disaster relief operation in Anguilla MoD/Crown copyright 2017 the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, in St. Maarten AP Storm damage in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in St. Martin. Irma cut a path of devastation across the northern Caribbean, leaving thousands homeless after destroying buildings and uprooting trees AP Flooding caused by Hurricane Irma on Charlotte Amalie, in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands AP Volaris Airlines ticket agent Cely Vasquez (left) attends to Mexico bound passengers at Miami International Airport AP Satellite image showing the eye of Hurricane Irma (centre) is just north of the island of Hispaniola with Hurricane Katia (left) in the Gulf of Mexico, and Hurricane Jose, (right) in the Atlantic Ocean AP sStellite image shows the eye Hurricane Irma just north of the island of Hispaniola. The fearsome Category 5 storm cut a path of devastation across the northern Caribbean AP Yanina Fernandez (left) and her sister Liz, wait for an available flight to Argentina after their flight was cancelled at Miami International Airport AP damage to a post office caused by Hurricane Irma in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands AP Aerial image of several damaged houses by Hurricane Irma in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands AP Residents clear debris from the road in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands AP Cars piled on top of one another in Marigot, near the Bay of Nettle, on the French Collectivity of Saint Martin, after the passage of Hurricane Irma AFP/Getty Images Destroyed palm trees, outside the "Mercure" hotel in Marigot, on the Bay of Nettle, on the island of Saint-Martin in the northeast Caribbean, after the passage of Hurricane Irma AFP/Getty Images A car turned onto its side in Marigot, near the Bay of Nettle, on the French Collectivity of Saint Martin, after the passage of Hurricane Irma AFP/Getty Images Damage outside "Le flamboyant" hotel and resort in Marigot, on the Bay of Nettle, on the island of Saint-Martin in the northeast Caribbean, after the passage of Hurricane Irma AFP/Getty Images Devastation in Philipsburg, Saint Martin AFP/Getty Images Hurricane Irma slams Saint Martin Splash News Pleasure craft lie crammed against the shore in Paraquita Bay, British Virgin Islands Reuters Satellite image shows Huricane Irma at 12:30 UK time. Irma cut a swathe of deadly destruction as it roared through the Caribbean, claiming at least nine lives and turning the tropical islands of St. Martin and Barbuda into mountains of rubble. One of the most powerful Atlantic storms on record, Irma churned westward off the northern coast of Puerto Rico early Thursday on a potential collision course with south Florida AFP/Getty Images A street in Gustavia on the French overseas collectivity of Saint-Barthelemy in the Caribbean AFP/Getty Images Damage caused by hurricane Irma in Saint-Martin, Leeward Islands Rex Damage caused by hurricane Irma in Saint-Martin, Leeward Islands Rex Hurricane Irma evacuating traffic streaming out of Florida creeps along northbound Interstate 75 after a vehicle accident in Lake Park, Georgia, USA epa Hurricane Irma slams Saint Martin Splash News iew of the aftermath of Hurricane Irma on Saint Martin Reuters Hurricane Irma slams Saint Martin Splash News Barbuda Members of the civil defence in Fajardo, Puerto Rico Reuters A destroyed building in Gustavia on the French overseas collectivity of Saint-Barthelemy AFP/Getty Images Saint Martin AFP/Getty Images Barbuda Rescue staff from the Municipal Emergency Management Agency check a flooded car in Fajardo, Puerto Rico AP Flooded houses in Gustavia, Saint-Barthelemy AFP/Getty Images People pick up debris in Fajardo, Puerto Rico Reuters Barbuda A flooded street on the French overseas island of Saint-Martin, after high winds from Hurricane Irma hit the island AFP/Getty Images Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Jose in the Atlantic Ocean on Wednesday. Jose strengthened into a category 1 hurricane, as Irma, a category 5 hurricane continues to move through the Caribbean, battering Barbuda, St. Martin and Puerto Rico EPA The destruction at Sir Richard Branson's island of Necker Sir Richard Branson Saint Martin AFP/Getty Images A woman pushes out floodwaters on her property in St John's AP Cars left flooded in Saint Martin Saint Martin is suffering catastrophic flooding Hurricane Irma hitting Saint Martin Some of the devastation left behind at Saint Martin Hurricane Irma hits Saint Martin Floodwaters run down a street in Saint Martin Carole Greaux Saint Martin Residents in St Petersburg, Florida, carry sandbags ahead of Hurricane Irma AP A satellite image shows Hurricane Irma at 11AM UK time slamming into the French Caribbean islands. Countries can be seen outlined on the image AFP/Getty Images A view of the Baie Nettle beach in Marigot ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Irma AFP/Getty Images Employees load plywood for customers in preparation for Hurricane Irma at Lowe's in Jacksonville, Florida AP Shoppers in Florida ransacked a supermarket as they prepared for Hurricane Irma Getty Images Shoppers at Costco waited up to eight hours for water and essentials in preparation for Hurricane Irma in North Miami AFP/Getty Images Policemen talk to customers at a Costco shop in North Miami as mineral water is sold out and people shop ahead of Hurricane Irma AFP/Getty Images Members of the Civil Defense prepare their gear ahead of Hurricane Irma, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic Reuters People put boards on their windows in Saint Martin AFP/Getty Images People load up their cars with sandbags in St Petersburg as the storm approaches AP A thermal image of Harricane Irma NOAA Satellite image shows Hurricane Irma at 10.45am UK time followed by Tropical Storm Jose AFP/Getty Images

The giant storm, which was at one point the most powerful hurricane ever to hit the Atlantic, has devastated islands in the Caribbean and killed at least 22 people.

It lashed Cuba on Saturday officials worked to secure Floridas toxic waste sites.

Republican Senator Marco Rubio of Florida said officials seemed "generally positive" about the prospects of toxic sites remaining secure but warned they can't guarantee it 100 per cent."

Prime Minister Theresa May said work was taking place with US authorities to ensure British expats and tourists in Florida are protected.

Some 500 British troops have been deployed to the Caribbean to help with the relief effort as Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon says the "relief operation is well under way".

Metropolitan Police officers were rushed to the British Virgin Islands in a bid to bolster units offering emergency response.

Fleeing home: Families head to a shelter at a school in Florida / AP

One inspector, two sergeants and 14 PCs were today deployed to Barbados to join the British Virgin Islands police force.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Peter Terry said: "Our thoughts at this terrible time are with all the families in the Caribbean who have lost loved ones or whose lives have been decimated by this disaster.

Devastating winds: The scene in Miami Irma approaches Florida / AP

"The team, who have all volunteered to assist at this tragic time will be providing support to their colleagues and will help to reassure local people.

"Following a request made through the Foreign and Commonwealth Office for assistance with humanitarian aid the Met immediately responded. The officers, who work in a variety of roles across the Met, will be sworn in as Special Constabulary which allows them to perform and have the same legal powers as their colleagues.

The National Hurricane Centre says the eye of powerful Hurricane Irma is expected to hit southwest Florida and Tampa sometime Sunday, but the entire state will feel the storm's effects.

UK aid: RAF crews load aid onto a Chinook helicopter / PA

Hurricane Centre spokesman and meteorologist Dennis Feltgen said today that while Miami won't get the core of Irma it will still get life-threatening hurricane conditions.

Irma smashed homes, schools, stores, roads and boats on Wednesday and Thursday as it rolled over including St Martin, St Barts, St Thomas, Barbuda and Anguilla.

Hurricane Irma: Helicopeter footage shows British Virgin Islands devastation

In the ravaged Caribbean islands, rescuers began work to help some of the hardest hit areas. The UK Navy is among the international authorities rushing food, water and troops to the stricken zone.

Those who have died in the storm so far include 11 on St Martin and St Barts, four in the U.S. Virgin Islands, four in the British Virgin Islands and one each on Anguilla and Barbuda.

On returning to the UK, British tourists Thanai Caesar and Rochelle Fyffe spoke of their fear, having been in Antigua when Irma struck.

UK Armed Forces respond to Hurricane Irma - In pictures 1 /16 UK Armed Forces respond to Hurricane Irma - In pictures UK Armed Forces disaster relief operation in Anguilla MoD/Crown copyright 2017 UK Armed Forces disaster relief operation in Anguilla MoD/Crown copyright 2017 Soldiers booking equipment in at RAF Brize Norton ready to deploy to Operation Ruman, as part of the United Kingdom's response to the emerging disaster following Hurricane Irma PA A Royal Air Force C-17 Globemaster III aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, before Dfid aid is loaded and flown to the areas affected by Hurricane Irma as winds of up to 175mph left death and destruction in the Atlantic PA Soldiers booking equipment in at RAF Brize Norton ready to deploy to Operation Ruman, as part of the United Kingdom's response to the emerging disaster following Hurricane Irma PA UK Armed Forces disaster relief operation in Anguilla MoD/Crown copyright 2017 UK Armed Forces disaster relief operation in Anguilla MoD/Crown copyright 2017 Ultra-light airfield damage repair plant ready to be loaded at RAF Brize Norton ready to deploy to Operation Ruman, as part of the United Kingdom's response to the emerging disaster following Hurricane Irma PA A Royal Air Force C-17 Globemaster III aircraft is fuelled at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, before Dfid aid is loaded and flown to the areas affected by Hurricane Irma as winds of up to 175mph left death and destruction in the Atlantic PA UK Armed Forces disaster relief operation in Anguilla MoD/Crown copyright 2017 UK Armed Forces disaster relief operation in Anguilla MoD/Crown copyright 2017 HMS Ocean, as a military task group, is on its way with several hundred UK troops to offer assistance to those affected by Hurricane Irma PA

They said the walls of their boarded-up accommodation shook and they could hear things banging against the building outside.

"I feel like the hurricane itself was like being in a nightmare and it was just horrible because the outcome wasn't actually as bad as on other islands, so I don't even want to imagine what the other people felt," Ms Fyffe told Sky News at Gatwick Airport.

"We couldn't sleep the whole night because we were just scared," Ms Caesar added.

Shilan Ghafoor and Hari Jami, who had their honeymoon cut short, called for more help for locals braced for a second storm.

"To be honest it just makes you think because the people who are out there, they're so limited, they don't have enough resources, they don't have enough help and the hurricane has been three days now, four days, and now they're just picking up the pieces, they're anticipating another one," Mr Ghafoor told Sky News.

"I think a lot more should be done from us worldwide to help them out.

The tropical islands face a new threat on the horizon to the east in the form of category four storm Hurricane Jose, bringing 150 mph winds that could punish some of the devastated areas.
A ll five living former US presidents have joined together to appeal for donations for storm recovery efforts after devastating hurricanes Harvey and Irma.

Parts of Texas and Louisiana were destroyed by catastrophic flooding in last months Hurricane Harvey while further along the coast Florida is bracing itself for deadly Hurricane Irma.

Irma, which was at one point the most powerful storm ever to hit the Atlantic, is set to hit the Florida coast on Sunday. Authorities have ordered 5.6 million people to flee their homes as a state of emergency was declared and Floridas governor pleaded for volunteer nurses to come forward.

In a video appeal, former presidents Barack Obama, George W Bush and his father George HW Bush, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter recorded messages urging people to donate to the newly-created One America Appeal.

George HW Bush, Barack Obama, George W Bush, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter. / AP

Hurricane Harvey brought terrible destruction, but it also brought out the best in humanity, ex-president Bill Clinton says as the video begins.

Barack Obama goes on: As former presidents, we wanted to help our fellow Americans begin to recover.

George W Bush, a former Texas governor who lives in Dallas, said: People are hurting down here. But as one Texan put it, weve got more love in Texas than water.

Hurricane Irma - In pictures 1 /153 Hurricane Irma - In pictures Boats wrecked by Hurricane Irma are seen from a plane in Sint Maarten, Netherlands Reuters A van remains in a sinkhole,at the Astor Park apartment complex in Winter Springs, Florida AP This combination of natural-color images provided by NASA Earth Observatory shows the U.S. and British Virgin Islands islands on 25 August 2017 (top) before the the passage of Hurricane Irma, and after the storm passed on 10 September 2017 (bottom) AP Property damage is seen at a mobile home park after passing of Hurricane Irma in Naples, Florida Reuters Debris lies from a destroyed building in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in Key Largo, Florida AP A house slides into the Atlantic Ocean in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida AP John Duke tries to figure out how to salvage his flooded vehicle in the wake Hurricane Irma AP Damaged houses are shown in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in the Florida Keys AP Property damage is seen at a mobile home park after the passing of Hurricane Irma in Naples, Florida Reuters The Sunrise Motel remains flooded after Hurricane Irma hit the area in East Naples, Florida Getty Images Debris from Hurricane Irma lays on the side of the Overseas Highway in Islamorda in the Florida Keys AP A mobile home, destroyed by Hurricane Irma, is seen in Naples, Florida Reuters A Florida Highway Patrol trooper inspects a closed segment of Interstate 4, near State Road 434 in Longwood AP Steve Slonan inspects a friend's home after Hurricane Irma hit the area in East Naples, Florida Getty Images Olga Teakell hugs her grandson Gabriel Melendez, 9, after he cut his finger on glass, while he and his bother Ellisha, 12, (left) help clean debris from Olga's destroyed home in the Naples Estates Mobile Home Park, Florida AP Damaged sail boats are shown in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma AP Two men walk their bicycle along a flooded street on the waterfront of Fort Lauderdale, Florida., as Hurricane Irma passes through AP Boats ride out the storm in a marina in Miami, Florida. Getty Images View of damages after the passage of Hurricane Irma, in Cojimar neighborhood in Havana AFP/Getty Images The epic scale of Hurricane Irma has been revealed in incredible satellite images sent from the International Space Station Nasa/Randy Bresnik Randy Bresnik/NASA A fallen tree crashes atop a row of cars in Miami, Florida AFP/Getty Images People waded through flood-hit streets in Cuba AP Sheryl and Rick Estes (R) take shelter from Hurricane Irma inside the Germain Arena in Estero, Florida. Reuters Cars that have been wrecked by Hurricane Irma on the British Virgin Islands. AP Debris litters the street after the passage of Hurricane Irma in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands AP People battle high winds and rain to take in the sights along the Miami River which is flooding as Hurricane Irma passes through on September 10, 2017 in Miami, Florida Getty Images A man swims on a flooded street in Havana, Cuba EPA Tourists lie on a beach, littered with palms, one day after Hurricane Irma passed the resort area in Varadero, Cuba AP A stranded manatee in Manatee County, Florida. The mammal was stranded after waters receded from the Florida bay as Hurricane Irma approached AP A houses is surrounded by water as Hurricane Irma passes through Naples, Florida AP A defiant man braves the full force of Irma and takes a selfie as the storm strikes Miami, Florida EPA Flooding in the Brickell neighborhood as Hurricane Irma passes Miami, Florida Reuters A speed limit sign stands tilted and a power line that snapped it half lays on a building, after the passage of Hurricane Irma in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands AP People tend to a car that flipped over on Cape Coral Parkway during Hurricane Irma in Florida AP Richard Branson posted this picture from Puerto Rico after revealing the devastation to Necker Island @richardbranson A woman walks her dog in the brisk wind downtown as the weather conditions deteriorate due to Hurricane Irma in Miami, Florida EPA Satellite shows Hurricane Irma as it moves on the Florida coast as Tropical Storm Jose (right) moves west in the Atlantic Ocean taken at 06:30 GMT on 11 September 2017. As Irma heads up Florida's west coast its leaving hundreds of thousands of residents without power as more than 100,000 people have taken refuge in shelters and millions have evacuated the area Getty Images Firefighters Dohnovan Simpson and Jacob McGovern carry Dolores Gevaza, 83, across the courtyard in the rain at John Hopkins Middle School in St. Petersburg, Florida. The school filled classrooms and hallways with people evacuating before Hurricane Irma makes landfall AP Samantha Belk says goodbye to her maltese, Gardolf until after the hurricane in a locker room at John Hopkins Middle School in St. Petersburg, Florida AP Debris is piled up next to the houses on the seashore in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic Reuters Heavy traffic traveling north bound on Interstate 75 moves slowly, as a major evacuation has begun in preparation for Hurricane Irma AP Soldiers board a Royal Air Force C-17 Globemaster III aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, before they are flown to help out in the areas affected by Hurricane Irma as winds of up to 175mph left death and destruction in the Atlantic PA A woman takes a break from cleaning the debris in front of a house, in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic Reuters Marie Charlotte walks through water near her house that was flooded in Malfeti, Fort Liberte, north east of Haiti AFP/Getty Images Customers buy supplies and wood to secure their property in preparation of Hurricane Irma in Miami AP Dfid aid is loaded onto a Royal Air Force C-17 Globemaster III aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, before it is flown to the areas affected by Hurricane Irma as winds of up to 175mph left death and destruction in the Atlantic PA Damage outside the "Mercure" hotel in Marigot, on the Bay of Nettle, on the island of Saint-Martin in the northeast Caribbean, after the passage of Hurricane Irma AFP/Getty Images UK Armed Forces disaster relief operation in Anguilla MoD/Crown copyright 2017 Edward Pastrana installs wood shutters at the Miami City Ballet in Miami Beach AP UK Armed Forces disaster relief operation in Anguilla MoD/Crown copyright 2017 Debris and trash is seen on a beach in Cap-Haitien as Hurricane Irma approaches. AFP/Getty Images Workers hang plywood in front of doors and windows at Mango's, a salsa club, following mandatory evacuation orders in Miami Beach, Florida ahead of Hurricane Irma AFP/Getty Images A nearly-deserted beach after residents and visitors evacuated from Miami Beach, Florid AFP/Getty Images A family readies to evacuate from a mobile home park in the Little Haiti neighborhood ahead of the expected arrival of Hurricane Irma in Miami, Florida EPA Motorists remove debris caused by Hurricane Irma from the road in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands AP A young man walks along the beach covered with debris carried by strong winds in Cap Haitian, Haiti EPA UK Armed Forces disaster relief operation in Anguilla MoD/Crown copyright 2017 the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, in St. Maarten AP Storm damage in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in St. Martin. Irma cut a path of devastation across the northern Caribbean, leaving thousands homeless after destroying buildings and uprooting trees AP Flooding caused by Hurricane Irma on Charlotte Amalie, in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands AP Volaris Airlines ticket agent Cely Vasquez (left) attends to Mexico bound passengers at Miami International Airport AP Satellite image showing the eye of Hurricane Irma (centre) is just north of the island of Hispaniola with Hurricane Katia (left) in the Gulf of Mexico, and Hurricane Jose, (right) in the Atlantic Ocean AP sStellite image shows the eye Hurricane Irma just north of the island of Hispaniola. The fearsome Category 5 storm cut a path of devastation across the northern Caribbean AP Yanina Fernandez (left) and her sister Liz, wait for an available flight to Argentina after their flight was cancelled at Miami International Airport AP damage to a post office caused by Hurricane Irma in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands AP Aerial image of several damaged houses by Hurricane Irma in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands AP Residents clear debris from the road in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands AP Cars piled on top of one another in Marigot, near the Bay of Nettle, on the French Collectivity of Saint Martin, after the passage of Hurricane Irma AFP/Getty Images Destroyed palm trees, outside the "Mercure" hotel in Marigot, on the Bay of Nettle, on the island of Saint-Martin in the northeast Caribbean, after the passage of Hurricane Irma AFP/Getty Images A car turned onto its side in Marigot, near the Bay of Nettle, on the French Collectivity of Saint Martin, after the passage of Hurricane Irma AFP/Getty Images Damage outside "Le flamboyant" hotel and resort in Marigot, on the Bay of Nettle, on the island of Saint-Martin in the northeast Caribbean, after the passage of Hurricane Irma AFP/Getty Images Devastation in Philipsburg, Saint Martin AFP/Getty Images Hurricane Irma slams Saint Martin Splash News Pleasure craft lie crammed against the shore in Paraquita Bay, British Virgin Islands Reuters Satellite image shows Huricane Irma at 12:30 UK time. Irma cut a swathe of deadly destruction as it roared through the Caribbean, claiming at least nine lives and turning the tropical islands of St. Martin and Barbuda into mountains of rubble. One of the most powerful Atlantic storms on record, Irma churned westward off the northern coast of Puerto Rico early Thursday on a potential collision course with south Florida AFP/Getty Images A street in Gustavia on the French overseas collectivity of Saint-Barthelemy in the Caribbean AFP/Getty Images Damage caused by hurricane Irma in Saint-Martin, Leeward Islands Rex Damage caused by hurricane Irma in Saint-Martin, Leeward Islands Rex Hurricane Irma evacuating traffic streaming out of Florida creeps along northbound Interstate 75 after a vehicle accident in Lake Park, Georgia, USA epa Hurricane Irma slams Saint Martin Splash News iew of the aftermath of Hurricane Irma on Saint Martin Reuters Hurricane Irma slams Saint Martin Splash News Barbuda Members of the civil defence in Fajardo, Puerto Rico Reuters A destroyed building in Gustavia on the French overseas collectivity of Saint-Barthelemy AFP/Getty Images Saint Martin AFP/Getty Images Barbuda Rescue staff from the Municipal Emergency Management Agency check a flooded car in Fajardo, Puerto Rico AP Flooded houses in Gustavia, Saint-Barthelemy AFP/Getty Images People pick up debris in Fajardo, Puerto Rico Reuters Barbuda A flooded street on the French overseas island of Saint-Martin, after high winds from Hurricane Irma hit the island AFP/Getty Images Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Jose in the Atlantic Ocean on Wednesday. Jose strengthened into a category 1 hurricane, as Irma, a category 5 hurricane continues to move through the Caribbean, battering Barbuda, St. Martin and Puerto Rico EPA The destruction at Sir Richard Branson's island of Necker Sir Richard Branson Saint Martin AFP/Getty Images A woman pushes out floodwaters on her property in St John's AP Cars left flooded in Saint Martin Saint Martin is suffering catastrophic flooding Hurricane Irma hitting Saint Martin Some of the devastation left behind at Saint Martin Hurricane Irma hits Saint Martin Floodwaters run down a street in Saint Martin Carole Greaux Saint Martin Residents in St Petersburg, Florida, carry sandbags ahead of Hurricane Irma AP A satellite image shows Hurricane Irma at 11AM UK time slamming into the French Caribbean islands. Countries can be seen outlined on the image AFP/Getty Images A view of the Baie Nettle beach in Marigot ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Irma AFP/Getty Images Employees load plywood for customers in preparation for Hurricane Irma at Lowe's in Jacksonville, Florida AP Shoppers in Florida ransacked a supermarket as they prepared for Hurricane Irma Getty Images Shoppers at Costco waited up to eight hours for water and essentials in preparation for Hurricane Irma in North Miami AFP/Getty Images Policemen talk to customers at a Costco shop in North Miami as mineral water is sold out and people shop ahead of Hurricane Irma AFP/Getty Images Members of the Civil Defense prepare their gear ahead of Hurricane Irma, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic Reuters People put boards on their windows in Saint Martin AFP/Getty Images People load up their cars with sandbags in St Petersburg as the storm approaches AP A thermal image of Harricane Irma NOAA Satellite image shows Hurricane Irma at 10.45am UK time followed by Tropical Storm Jose AFP/Getty Images

Jimmy Carter, 92, who was president from 1977 to 1981, adds: We love you, Texas.

The appeal made clear online that any funds would also help Americans affected by the more recent storm Irma.

What started as a specific appeal to address historic flood damage in Texas will be expanded to help victims from both storms, details about the appeal read.

The nature of that assistance will be dictated in large measure by the storms track and impact.

Mr Trump tweeted his support, saying: "We will confront ANY challenge, no matter how strong the winds or high the water. I'm proud to stand with Presidents for OneAmericaAppeal."

Harvey has caused widespread flooding in Houston and elsewhere and has been blamed for at least 71 deaths, while damaging more than 200,000 homes.

Texas governor Greg Abbott has suggested that Harvey's damages could cost up to 180 billion dollars (137bn), even more than from Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Meanwhile Qatar has said it is giving 30 million dollars (23m) to help people in Texas recover from Harvey, in what appears to be the largest donation by a foreign government following the hurricane.

It comes as Qatar works to show it is a supportive player on the world stage amid a diplomatic crisis with its neighbours.
A photographer has captured a series of powerful images of acid attack survivors to show the resilience and courage of women targeted across the world.

Ann-Christine Woehrl, a professional photographer, travelled across Asia and Africa to interview and witness the daily lives of women who had been scarred in horrific attacks.

Working with charity the Acid Survivors Trust International (ACTI), she photographed the womens horrific injuries to give a powerful insight into the lasting damage of the assaults.

An exhibition of the photographs will go on display at the Leyden Gallery in east London on Wednesday, with the capital having been rocked by a spate of horrific attacks in recent months.

Survivor Farida, who was attacked in her hometown in Bangladesh, and her niece

According to ASTI, the UK now has the highest number of reported attacks in the world, with more than 400 reported in London alone in 2016.

It also said the majority of attacks across the world are targeted at women.

A spokesman for the charity said: We want an end to acid violence and a world where survivors live in dignity and without fear.

Sokneang, 33 years old was attacked with acid while watching TV in her home in Cambodia in 2005

[Ann Christine Woehrl] gives us an intimate glimpse into the day-to-day activities of survivors as they rebuild their lives.

Her photographs capture the exceptional resilience and courage of survivors as well as their moments of despair and joy.

The exhibition will run at the Leydon Gallery, in Spitalfields, from Wednesday, September 13 to Saturday, September 16.
T he son of billionaire Sir Richard Branson has made an emotional plea for help after his fathers private island was flattened as the deadly Hurricane Irma swirled through the Caribbean on its path to Florida.

Sam Branson said he was flying out to help with the relief effort in areas hit by the devastating storm, which is now hurtling towards Florida, and pleaded: If you have boats then please get them to the BVI [British Virgin Islands]."

His fathers private Caribbean retreat, Necker, was among islands in the UK territory and wider region to be devastated by the Category 5 storm  with the 67-year-old businessman and his team keeping safe by holing up in a concrete wine cellar.

In a post on Instagram, the younger Branson shared a video of himself preparing to visit and said it would be harrowing to see his destroyed family home.

He wrote: Spent the day organising mental logistics to get myself and what people need the most out to the #bvi.

Going to do my best to help the people on the ground there. If you have boats then please get them to the BVI.

Stock them with tarpaulins, food, water, batteries, torches, clothes, water purification tablets and anything else you think might be useful.

Thanks for all those that have helped me today. It been a big one.

Going to be harrowing to see my home and so many others beloved place so decimated but will do all I can to get aid to the people that need it most!

Mr Branson said he was hoping to contribute to the general relief effort and would be taking supplies including kids clothing, head torches and tarpaulin for people who have lost their homes.

Hurricane Irma - In pictures 1 /153 Hurricane Irma - In pictures Boats wrecked by Hurricane Irma are seen from a plane in Sint Maarten, Netherlands Reuters A van remains in a sinkhole,at the Astor Park apartment complex in Winter Springs, Florida AP This combination of natural-color images provided by NASA Earth Observatory shows the U.S. and British Virgin Islands islands on 25 August 2017 (top) before the the passage of Hurricane Irma, and after the storm passed on 10 September 2017 (bottom) AP Property damage is seen at a mobile home park after passing of Hurricane Irma in Naples, Florida Reuters Debris lies from a destroyed building in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in Key Largo, Florida AP A house slides into the Atlantic Ocean in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida AP John Duke tries to figure out how to salvage his flooded vehicle in the wake Hurricane Irma AP Damaged houses are shown in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in the Florida Keys AP Property damage is seen at a mobile home park after the passing of Hurricane Irma in Naples, Florida Reuters The Sunrise Motel remains flooded after Hurricane Irma hit the area in East Naples, Florida Getty Images Debris from Hurricane Irma lays on the side of the Overseas Highway in Islamorda in the Florida Keys AP A mobile home, destroyed by Hurricane Irma, is seen in Naples, Florida Reuters A Florida Highway Patrol trooper inspects a closed segment of Interstate 4, near State Road 434 in Longwood AP Steve Slonan inspects a friend's home after Hurricane Irma hit the area in East Naples, Florida Getty Images Olga Teakell hugs her grandson Gabriel Melendez, 9, after he cut his finger on glass, while he and his bother Ellisha, 12, (left) help clean debris from Olga's destroyed home in the Naples Estates Mobile Home Park, Florida AP Damaged sail boats are shown in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma AP Two men walk their bicycle along a flooded street on the waterfront of Fort Lauderdale, Florida., as Hurricane Irma passes through AP Boats ride out the storm in a marina in Miami, Florida. Getty Images View of damages after the passage of Hurricane Irma, in Cojimar neighborhood in Havana AFP/Getty Images The epic scale of Hurricane Irma has been revealed in incredible satellite images sent from the International Space Station Nasa/Randy Bresnik Randy Bresnik/NASA A fallen tree crashes atop a row of cars in Miami, Florida AFP/Getty Images People waded through flood-hit streets in Cuba AP Sheryl and Rick Estes (R) take shelter from Hurricane Irma inside the Germain Arena in Estero, Florida. Reuters Cars that have been wrecked by Hurricane Irma on the British Virgin Islands. AP Debris litters the street after the passage of Hurricane Irma in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands AP People battle high winds and rain to take in the sights along the Miami River which is flooding as Hurricane Irma passes through on September 10, 2017 in Miami, Florida Getty Images A man swims on a flooded street in Havana, Cuba EPA Tourists lie on a beach, littered with palms, one day after Hurricane Irma passed the resort area in Varadero, Cuba AP A stranded manatee in Manatee County, Florida. The mammal was stranded after waters receded from the Florida bay as Hurricane Irma approached AP A houses is surrounded by water as Hurricane Irma passes through Naples, Florida AP A defiant man braves the full force of Irma and takes a selfie as the storm strikes Miami, Florida EPA Flooding in the Brickell neighborhood as Hurricane Irma passes Miami, Florida Reuters A speed limit sign stands tilted and a power line that snapped it half lays on a building, after the passage of Hurricane Irma in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands AP People tend to a car that flipped over on Cape Coral Parkway during Hurricane Irma in Florida AP Richard Branson posted this picture from Puerto Rico after revealing the devastation to Necker Island @richardbranson A woman walks her dog in the brisk wind downtown as the weather conditions deteriorate due to Hurricane Irma in Miami, Florida EPA Satellite shows Hurricane Irma as it moves on the Florida coast as Tropical Storm Jose (right) moves west in the Atlantic Ocean taken at 06:30 GMT on 11 September 2017. As Irma heads up Florida's west coast its leaving hundreds of thousands of residents without power as more than 100,000 people have taken refuge in shelters and millions have evacuated the area Getty Images Firefighters Dohnovan Simpson and Jacob McGovern carry Dolores Gevaza, 83, across the courtyard in the rain at John Hopkins Middle School in St. Petersburg, Florida. The school filled classrooms and hallways with people evacuating before Hurricane Irma makes landfall AP Samantha Belk says goodbye to her maltese, Gardolf until after the hurricane in a locker room at John Hopkins Middle School in St. Petersburg, Florida AP Debris is piled up next to the houses on the seashore in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic Reuters Heavy traffic traveling north bound on Interstate 75 moves slowly, as a major evacuation has begun in preparation for Hurricane Irma AP Soldiers board a Royal Air Force C-17 Globemaster III aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, before they are flown to help out in the areas affected by Hurricane Irma as winds of up to 175mph left death and destruction in the Atlantic PA A woman takes a break from cleaning the debris in front of a house, in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic Reuters Marie Charlotte walks through water near her house that was flooded in Malfeti, Fort Liberte, north east of Haiti AFP/Getty Images Customers buy supplies and wood to secure their property in preparation of Hurricane Irma in Miami AP Dfid aid is loaded onto a Royal Air Force C-17 Globemaster III aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, before it is flown to the areas affected by Hurricane Irma as winds of up to 175mph left death and destruction in the Atlantic PA Damage outside the "Mercure" hotel in Marigot, on the Bay of Nettle, on the island of Saint-Martin in the northeast Caribbean, after the passage of Hurricane Irma AFP/Getty Images UK Armed Forces disaster relief operation in Anguilla MoD/Crown copyright 2017 Edward Pastrana installs wood shutters at the Miami City Ballet in Miami Beach AP UK Armed Forces disaster relief operation in Anguilla MoD/Crown copyright 2017 Debris and trash is seen on a beach in Cap-Haitien as Hurricane Irma approaches. AFP/Getty Images Workers hang plywood in front of doors and windows at Mango's, a salsa club, following mandatory evacuation orders in Miami Beach, Florida ahead of Hurricane Irma AFP/Getty Images A nearly-deserted beach after residents and visitors evacuated from Miami Beach, Florid AFP/Getty Images A family readies to evacuate from a mobile home park in the Little Haiti neighborhood ahead of the expected arrival of Hurricane Irma in Miami, Florida EPA Motorists remove debris caused by Hurricane Irma from the road in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands AP A young man walks along the beach covered with debris carried by strong winds in Cap Haitian, Haiti EPA UK Armed Forces disaster relief operation in Anguilla MoD/Crown copyright 2017 the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, in St. Maarten AP Storm damage in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in St. Martin. Irma cut a path of devastation across the northern Caribbean, leaving thousands homeless after destroying buildings and uprooting trees AP Flooding caused by Hurricane Irma on Charlotte Amalie, in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands AP Volaris Airlines ticket agent Cely Vasquez (left) attends to Mexico bound passengers at Miami International Airport AP Satellite image showing the eye of Hurricane Irma (centre) is just north of the island of Hispaniola with Hurricane Katia (left) in the Gulf of Mexico, and Hurricane Jose, (right) in the Atlantic Ocean AP sStellite image shows the eye Hurricane Irma just north of the island of Hispaniola. The fearsome Category 5 storm cut a path of devastation across the northern Caribbean AP Yanina Fernandez (left) and her sister Liz, wait for an available flight to Argentina after their flight was cancelled at Miami International Airport AP damage to a post office caused by Hurricane Irma in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands AP Aerial image of several damaged houses by Hurricane Irma in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands AP Residents clear debris from the road in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands AP Cars piled on top of one another in Marigot, near the Bay of Nettle, on the French Collectivity of Saint Martin, after the passage of Hurricane Irma AFP/Getty Images Destroyed palm trees, outside the "Mercure" hotel in Marigot, on the Bay of Nettle, on the island of Saint-Martin in the northeast Caribbean, after the passage of Hurricane Irma AFP/Getty Images A car turned onto its side in Marigot, near the Bay of Nettle, on the French Collectivity of Saint Martin, after the passage of Hurricane Irma AFP/Getty Images Damage outside "Le flamboyant" hotel and resort in Marigot, on the Bay of Nettle, on the island of Saint-Martin in the northeast Caribbean, after the passage of Hurricane Irma AFP/Getty Images Devastation in Philipsburg, Saint Martin AFP/Getty Images Hurricane Irma slams Saint Martin Splash News Pleasure craft lie crammed against the shore in Paraquita Bay, British Virgin Islands Reuters Satellite image shows Huricane Irma at 12:30 UK time. Irma cut a swathe of deadly destruction as it roared through the Caribbean, claiming at least nine lives and turning the tropical islands of St. Martin and Barbuda into mountains of rubble. One of the most powerful Atlantic storms on record, Irma churned westward off the northern coast of Puerto Rico early Thursday on a potential collision course with south Florida AFP/Getty Images A street in Gustavia on the French overseas collectivity of Saint-Barthelemy in the Caribbean AFP/Getty Images Damage caused by hurricane Irma in Saint-Martin, Leeward Islands Rex Damage caused by hurricane Irma in Saint-Martin, Leeward Islands Rex Hurricane Irma evacuating traffic streaming out of Florida creeps along northbound Interstate 75 after a vehicle accident in Lake Park, Georgia, USA epa Hurricane Irma slams Saint Martin Splash News iew of the aftermath of Hurricane Irma on Saint Martin Reuters Hurricane Irma slams Saint Martin Splash News Barbuda Members of the civil defence in Fajardo, Puerto Rico Reuters A destroyed building in Gustavia on the French overseas collectivity of Saint-Barthelemy AFP/Getty Images Saint Martin AFP/Getty Images Barbuda Rescue staff from the Municipal Emergency Management Agency check a flooded car in Fajardo, Puerto Rico AP Flooded houses in Gustavia, Saint-Barthelemy AFP/Getty Images People pick up debris in Fajardo, Puerto Rico Reuters Barbuda A flooded street on the French overseas island of Saint-Martin, after high winds from Hurricane Irma hit the island AFP/Getty Images Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Jose in the Atlantic Ocean on Wednesday. Jose strengthened into a category 1 hurricane, as Irma, a category 5 hurricane continues to move through the Caribbean, battering Barbuda, St. Martin and Puerto Rico EPA The destruction at Sir Richard Branson's island of Necker Sir Richard Branson Saint Martin AFP/Getty Images A woman pushes out floodwaters on her property in St John's AP Cars left flooded in Saint Martin Saint Martin is suffering catastrophic flooding Hurricane Irma hitting Saint Martin Some of the devastation left behind at Saint Martin Hurricane Irma hits Saint Martin Floodwaters run down a street in Saint Martin Carole Greaux Saint Martin Residents in St Petersburg, Florida, carry sandbags ahead of Hurricane Irma AP A satellite image shows Hurricane Irma at 11AM UK time slamming into the French Caribbean islands. Countries can be seen outlined on the image AFP/Getty Images A view of the Baie Nettle beach in Marigot ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Irma AFP/Getty Images Employees load plywood for customers in preparation for Hurricane Irma at Lowe's in Jacksonville, Florida AP Shoppers in Florida ransacked a supermarket as they prepared for Hurricane Irma Getty Images Shoppers at Costco waited up to eight hours for water and essentials in preparation for Hurricane Irma in North Miami AFP/Getty Images Policemen talk to customers at a Costco shop in North Miami as mineral water is sold out and people shop ahead of Hurricane Irma AFP/Getty Images Members of the Civil Defense prepare their gear ahead of Hurricane Irma, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic Reuters People put boards on their windows in Saint Martin AFP/Getty Images People load up their cars with sandbags in St Petersburg as the storm approaches AP A thermal image of Harricane Irma NOAA Satellite image shows Hurricane Irma at 10.45am UK time followed by Tropical Storm Jose AFP/Getty Images

At least 21 people are confirmed to have died after Irma, which was at one point the biggest storm ever in the Atlantic, barrelled through the Caribbean, flattening swathes of the British Virgin Islands as well as tiny islands such as Barbuda and St Martin.

Miami Beach a ghost town as Florida braces for Hurricane Irma 1 /18 Miami Beach a ghost town as Florida braces for Hurricane Irma A nearly-deserted beach after residents and visitors evacuated from Miami Beach, Florida AFP/Getty Images Edward Pastrana installs wood shutters at the Miami City Ballet in Miami Beach AP Workers finish covering the ground floor windows of the Chesterfield Hotel as the city prepares for the approaching Hurricane Irma Getty Images A 55 Chevy sits in front of the closed Oceans Ten Restaurant at the Edison Hotel on Ocean Drive as the city prepares for the approaching Hurricane Irma Getty Images The Boulevard Hotel remains open as the city prepares for the approaching Hurricane Irma in Miami Beach, Florida Getty Images The Carlye Hotel on Ocean Drive is closed as the city prepares for the approaching Hurricane Irma Getty Images The Breakwater Hotel on Ocean Drive is closed as the city prepares for the approaching Hurricane Irma Getty Images A nearly-deserted beach after residents and visitors evacuated from Miami Beach, Florida AFP/Getty Images A runner jogs on a nearly-deserted beach in Miami Beach, Florid AFP/Getty Images A nearly-deserted beach after a mandatory evacuation order from Miami Beach, Florida AFP/Getty Images The Leslie Hotel on Ocean Drive is closed as the city prepares for the approaching Hurricane Irma Getty Images AP A man takes a photo with his cellphone alongside a boarded-up restaurant following mandatory evacuation orders in Miami Beach, Florida AFP/Getty Images Trash cans and all beach items will be removed from the beach in preparing for approaching Hurricane Irma Getty Images

Winds in excess of 150mph then lashed parts of Cuba as the hurricane drove towards Florida, where more than five million people have fled their homes in a major state-wide evacuation.

Officials in the Sunshine State warned "time is running out" to escape danger areas, calling on anyone remaining there to follow the mandatory evacuation orders.

Not far behind Irma is another storm, Category 4 Hurricane Jose, which threatens to batter islands still reeling from the first wave of destruction.

Barbuda, which suffered devastating damage at the hands of Irma, has been evacuated as residents in the Atlantic Basin endure an unusually catastrophic hurricane season.
Review at a glance









T he National have steadily risen to be the essential guitar band of the 21st century, special like R E M, smart like Radiohead, pre-eminent chroniclers of the unmagnificent lives of adults.

Their seventh album finds frontman Matt Berninger still contemplating marriage (You said were not so tied together/What did you mean?) and no less adept at arranging proper nouns and oblique imagery into melancholy configurations.

Im walking around like I was the one who found dead John Cheeve /In the house of love, he purrs on the stand-out waltz, Carin in the Liquor Store (Carin being his wife and co-writer, Carin Besser).

Still, even allowing for the slo-mo effects of the Nationals patented balm, this doesnt quite cure as of old.

The Cincinnati quintet are now scattered from Los Angeles to Copenhagen and sound like five men pulling in different directions.

Guitarist Bryce Dessner was absent for many sessions, and apparently its he who usually mediates between his brother Aarons orchestral tendencies and Berningers desire for directness.

Sparse electronic numbers like Ill Still Destroy You and Walk It Back feel underdeveloped; when the guitars come out on Day I Die and Turtleneck, were back to the leaden dynamics of their pre-Alligator albums.

But theres still a stately autumnal magic afoot and their four-night stand in Hammersmith later this month will mark a deserved triumph.
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Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-09 20:34:20|Editor: Zhou Xin

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LAGOS, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari Saturday condemned the senseless killing of persons, especially women and children in a night attack on Ancha village in central north Plateau state.

In a statement made available to Xinhua, the Nigerian leader, who described the perpetrators as cruel and evil, also expressed disappointment at the disruption of peace and normalcy that had reasonably taken root in the state.

He urged stakeholders not to allow this violent incident to destroy the progress made so far.

Buhari directed law enforcement agencies to apprehend the perpetrators of the Plateau killings and whoever their sponsors may be.

The police had on Friday in Jos, the state capital confirmed that 19 persons were killed and five others injured in an attack on Ancha village in Bassa Local Government Area.

The state's police commissioner, Peter Ogunyanwo, who gave the confirmation to newsmen, said preliminary investigation had indicated that the attack was carried out by unidentified gunmen.

Plateau State is situated in Nigeria's middle belt where the Muslim-dominated north and the Christian-majority south meet.

The state capital Jos was plunged in a pool of blood on March 7, 2010, when members of local Muslim and Christian communities fought each other in revenge for previous killings.

The state has witnessed some bomb blasts and constant rifts between Berom and Fulani herdsmen, with many, especially women and children, murdered in cold blood in the state.

Nigeria is currently grappling with security challenges, one of which is the insurgency of Boko Haram, which seeks to enshrine the Islamic Sharia law in the constitution.
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During 2017 the U.S. Air Force joined navy by continuing to extend temporary exceptions to the traditional (since the late 1940s) "up or out" policy prevalent throughout the American military. What up or out meant was that if you were not promoted within a certain number of years (of your last promotion), you had to leave. That meant capable, often very capable personnel (especially NCOs and mid-rank officers) with jobs that had little opportunity for promotion were often forced to leave because of this rule. The air force, like the other services, are slowly modifying the up or out rule so that it at least becomes tolerable and not counterproductive.

Whenever there were major reductions in military personnel (after World War II, Korea and Vietnam) it was common for a lot of very competent NCOs and officers to be up or outed and since last major round of downsizing in the 1990s all the services sought more ways to avoid losing skilled personnel who being lost for no other reason than that there were no opportunities for promotion. After 2001 the navy and air force were hardest hit and both services have implemented temporary adjustments to up or out rules to keep people they could not afford to lose and could not easily replace by retraining veteran personnel in other fields or obtain new recruits with the needed skills and experience.

This became a more frequent problem after the Cold War ended and all branches of the military sought solutions. The most common approach, which had been used successfully in the past, was retraining many of these veteran and capable personnel for other jobs where there were shortages. That did not work now because most of the people who had valuable skills, experience and (through no fault of their own) little prospect of promotion were wanted for the skill they already had.

The air force has had a particularly hard time holding onto NCOs with skills and experience in fields like intelligence, UAV operation and analyzing the vast increase in intel data from UAVs and manned aircraft sensors. These jobs often require personnel with high-level security clearances and skills not directly transferable to non-military employment. Moreover these veteran NCO want to stay in, at least until they are eligible for retirement after 20 years service. At first the air force solution was to simply extend temporary exemptions to up or out rules. The navy has established similar solutions but also has to deal with the problem of having far more people on sea duty, which takes them away from their families for extended periods, than the air force. That has been a problem for the navy, and to a lesser extent the army, since the end of World War II. With the air force, is was mainly about valuable skills and experience.

After 2001 the up or out rules became a major problem for the navy and air force because they were actually downsizing (meaning fewer promotions for those remaining) while the army and marines were expanding. Yet even with that the army and marines are paying more attention to avoiding losses of competent people by paying more attention to finding another career field they can train for and get promoted before they are hit with up or out. But the army and marines are also noting the success of the temporary exemption policies in the air force and navy would apply to soldiers and marines doing the same jobs. In all services the needed personnel most frequently forced out are relatively young (NCOs in ranks E-4, E-5 and E-6). The personnel benefitting from these policies are veterans with records of good performance, especially when it comes to supervising other troops or performing technical skills that are not easily transferred to civilian careers.

The air force has been faced with this problem for nearly two decades now. Back in 2003 air force leaders were alarmed at the increasing number of veteran airmen who were not reenlisting (often because of up or out) and sought ways to hold onto these experienced NCOs during wartime. They found that one minor change that worked wonders was to allow NCOs to remain un-promoted longer before being forced to leave the service.

But by 2008 those shortages were gone and there another downsizing effort meant to reduce strength to 318,000 (a loss of nearly 40,000 personnel). Then a change of air force leadership in 2009 reversed that downsizing plan. The earlier downsizing was partly the result of the 2008 recession, which has led to a lot more, high quality, people trying to get in. The air force took all it could get, and then decided to cut some of the less qualified people it already had. Thus the decision to make it more difficult to get promoted and many NCOs with valuable skills were being forced out.

The air force has long been accused (by members of the other services) of operating more like a corporation than a military organization. That's a little harsh, because the air force is the most tech minded of the services, and has always taken the lead in adapting commercial innovations to military use. But sometimes this thinking collides with the fact that the air force is a combat outfit. Especially during the Iraq and Afghanistan operation, more air force personnel found themselves under fire. Not pilots, but over 20,000 non-pilots that volunteered to help the army by doing support jobs in the combat zone. The air force was persuaded to create a Combat Action Medal for airmen who saw battle action on the ground while serving with the army. In two years, over 2,000 of these have been awarded. But in addition volunteering for that combat zone work and doing well helped your promotion prospects, especially as more and more air force squadrons were sent overseas. The air force sent units over for shorter (three months) more frequent tours. Thus air force NCOs with combat zone experience, became much sought after, no matter what their primary job was. But even that was only a temporary solution to the up or out problem and the air force is joining the other services to modify up or out as much as it takes.
A U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer assigned to the 37th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron, deployed from Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota, takes off from Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, for a 10-hour mission, flying in the vicinity of Kyushu, Japan, the East China Sea, and the Korean peninsula, Aug. 7, 2017 (HST). During the mission, two B-1s were joined by Japan Air Self-Defense Force F-15s as well as Republic of Korea Air Force KF-16 fighter jets, performing two sequential bilateral missions. These flights with Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK) demonstrate solidarity between Japan, ROK and the U.S. to defend against provocative and destabilizing actions in the Pacific theater. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Richard P. Ebensberger)

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Venezuela condemns this event and maintains its principled position of absolute condemnation of terrorist acts, methods and practices. | Read More
Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-09 21:04:25|Editor: ying

Photo taken on Sept. 9, 2017 shows a Chinese Railway Express cargo train leaving for Prague, the Czech Republic, from Yiwu, east China's Zhejiang Province. The train, loaded with 88 containers of cloth, clothing, shoes, hats and Christmas items, will pass through Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, and Poland and travel about 16 days before arriving in Prague. The journey is about half the time for traditional sea voyage. According to customs statistics, imports and exports via Yiwu's Sino-Europe freight service have grown rapidly, reaching 3 billion yuan in 2016. (Xinhua/Lyu Bin)

HANGZHOU, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- A train loaded with 88 containers of cloth, clothing, shoes, hats and Christmas items left east China's Yiwu City Sunday morning for Prague, the Czech Republic.

It will pass through Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, and Poland and travel about 16 days before arriving in Prague. The journey is about half the time for traditional sea voyage.

On August 4, the first train from Prague arrived at Yiwu, east China's Zhejiang province.

Before the launch of the Prague route, Yiwu, often called the "world supermarket," already boasted eight freight train routes.

According to customs statistics, imports and exports via Yiwu's Sino-Europe freight service have grown rapidly, reaching 3 billion yuan in 2016.

On May 13, a train left Yiwu to become the 1,000th freight train linking China and Europe this year. As of that time, China had 51 Sino-European freight train routes, with trains from 28 Chinese cities travelling to 29 cities in 11 European countries.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-09 21:14:28|Editor: Zhou Xin

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LAGOS, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Police authority in Nigeria's northeastern city of Maiduguri Saturday said two suspected female suicide bombers were shot dead by security agents.

Eight people sustained injuries in the incident which occurred on Friday night, Victor Isuku, the Borno State police spokesman said in a statement reaching Xinhua.

According to him, the female suicide bombers detonated explosives against a taxi on Maiduguri-Mafa highway, close to the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) checkpoint in the outskirt of Maiduguri.

The two bombers died in the incident, Isuku said.

The police Explosive Ordinance Disposal team was mobilized to the scene to render the un-exploded improvised explosive device safe, while normalcy has been restored to the area, the spokesperson added.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Army said it had rescued six herdsmen abducted by Boko Haram insurgents at Kamuya community of northeast Yobe State.

The rescued herdsmen have been re-united with their families, Brig. Gen. Sani Kukasheka, the Army spokesman said in a statement on Saturday.

Kukasheka said the troops had killed two insurgents and recovered ammunition after a gun duel with the insurgents.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-09 21:29:30|Editor: ying

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras (3rd L), Chinese Ambassador to Greece Zou Xiaoli (2nd L) cut the ribbon for the opening ceremony of the 82nd Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF) in Thessaloniki, Greece on Sept. 9, 2017. China is an honored country this year in TIF, which is Greece's largest and most prestigious annual trade fair. (Xinhua/Marios Lolos)

THESSALONIKI, Greece, Sept. 9 (Xinhua)-- Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras hailed Sino-Greek cooperation on Saturday, expressing confidence for the further deepening of bilateral ties, during the opening of China's pavilion at Greece's top annual trade fair in the northern city port of Thessaloniki.

China is the honored country in the 82nd Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF) which is the largest on terms of participants and visitors in the past decade, according to the Greek organizers.

Until Sept. 17 some 250,000 visitors from 17 countries are expected to stroll through the kiosks of 1,500 exhibitors.

The Greek leader cut the ribbon at the Chinese pavilion during a ceremony which was broadcast on Greek national broadcaster ERT, welcoming China's role as honored country at TIF as "a landmark in the bilateral relations which have become stronger in recent years and have great prospects for the future."

Addressing the event, he praised China's Belt and Road initiative, reiterated Greece's strong support and underlined the key role Chinese investments hold in Greece's efforts to overcome the debt crisis and restore growth.

"We will quickly move forward, and via the collaboration with Chinese enterprises and Chinese investments here, to transform Greece into an international transport, trade and energy hub," the Greek prime minister said.

Addressing the ceremony, Chinese ambassador to Greece Zou Xiaoli noted that it was the first time after 19 years that China is the honored country in Greece's most prestigious trade fair.

"This is a clear sign of the progress achieved in mutual understanding and trust between the two countries and peoples and of the joint efforts we make to address challenges to the benefit of all sides," the ambassador said.

"It will also broaden the prospects for development and give a boost in economic progress throughout the Balkans and the southeastern Mediterranean," he stressed.

Accompanied by several Greek ministers, the Greek leader toured the fair as well as China's exhibition hall which occupies an area of six acres, with about 170 companies including giants representing major sectors of the Chinese economy.

The entire exhibition site, as well as the streets of Thessaloniki, has been decorated with 5,000 traditional Chinese red lanterns by the municipality of Thessaloniki this year.

Later on Saturday the Greek prime minister was scheduled to deliver a keynote speech on his government's economic policy inaugurating the fair.
The provinces plan to create government-run standalone stores for recreational marijuana sales lit up pot stocks and the LCBOs chief executive Friday, but it also left many others high and dry.

Heres a look at the winners and losers in Ontario in the lead-up to legalization next July:

WINNERS

Marijuana producers: Shares of pot producers all went predictably higher on the news, including those of Canopy Growth Corp., the first Canadian marijuana company with a market value of $1 billion. It rose as much as 5 per cent on the TSX, the highest point it has reached since July 26. MedReleaf Corp. gained 5.1 per cent, Aurora Cannabis Inc. rose 1.6 per cent and Aphria Inc. increased 2.5 per cent. The companies needed some good news to move the stock.

LCBO: The booze monopoly got its long-stated wish to become the official retailer of recreational weed. Not only is LCBO chief executive George Soleas looking forward to taking on the task of overseeing the separate stores, even his workers union, OPSEU, is onside. Union president Warren Smokey Thomas has always wanted marijuana sales to be overseen by the liquor retailer, particularly as the stores will probably be staffed by unionized workers.

LOSERS

Convenience stores: Yet again the mom and pop corner stores got shut out, just as they did when the province decided to allow grocers to sell beer and wine. Dave Bryans, CEO of the Ontario Convenience Stores Association, said he is disappointed the group, which represents the 9,000 store owners across the province, wasnt even consulted leading up to the announcement. He pointed out that convenience stores have proven to be very socially responsible, and are also heavily regulated as they sell most of the tobacco and lottery tickets across Ontario.

Grocers: Gary Sands of the Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers is also disappointed that there was not a lot of private sector consultation on the matter of distribution. But, that being said, if it is not being opened up to the retail channel, then this is the most appropriate course of action to take with respect to the sale of cannabis, he said Friday. Plus, grocers are benefitting from the popular sale of vino and suds in their stores now. Loblaw-owned Shoppers Drug Mart and most other prescription drug stores were hoping to be the top distribution chain for medical cannabis, but no word on that yet.

Dispensaries: Longtime head shop owners such as Luke Reynolds predicted this outcome last May at Canadas cannabis convention, Lift, in Toronto. It will be government run and I think theyre going to crush all the little guys like us who started this movement in the first place, said the proprietor of Pipe Dreamz in Ajax. On Friday, the province, indeed, warned of a crackdown on the hundreds of existing dispensaries across Ontario, many of which have already been the subject of numerous police raids in recent years. They have been put on notice that they will be forced to close within 12 months.

Municipalities: And who do you think will be responsible for enforcement? Toronto Mayor John Tory weighed in Friday: While I support the legalization of marijuana, I do not think the people of Toronto would support future widespread location of outlets for the sale of marijuana in residential neighbourhoods or in certain retailing areas . . . . I am certain that a big part of the enforcement of these regulations will be on the shoulders of municipalities, whether through licensing, zoning by-law enforcement or municipal policing. Cities cannot absorb these costs alone and I look forward to future discussions on how the costs of legalization for Toronto and other municipalities will be funded.

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MONTREALAs the fight to defeat the terrorist group Daesh continues, a timely novel set in the Quebec city that faced a troubling wave of disappearances and terrorism arrests in 2015 looks at the forgotten victims of radicalization.

Basculer dans lenfer, which translates as Falling Into Hell, is the sixth novel by Jocelyne Mallet-Parent, a former teacher and deputy minister of education in New Brunswick who lives now in Quebecs Gaspe region. It tells the story of two students from Montreal, Elise Dube and Tariq Taboury, who fall under the sway of a terrorist group.

The book opens with Tariq setting off a bomb in the Montreal subway and Elise spiriting him away in a getaway car. They escape to France, Germany and then Turkey, where they are taken separately across the border into the ranks of a terrorist organization that has its own plans for the new recruits.

But the books power is demonstrating the impact on families when a young life is lost to extremism. They hide from the media and are absent in the literature about the scourge of terrorism, but the life of a parent is changed forever when a child chooses this path.

Montreal has had more than its share of radicalization cases. In January 2015, a group of students from Montreals College de Maisonneuve successfully fled to Syria. Soon after, there were court-ordered peace bonds against two men suspected of trying to join Daesh. A young couple will be tried this fall on charges they were planning to construct a bomb.

In May 2015 the RCMP foiled the attempt of 10 young people to leave the country, allegedly to join an overseas terror group.

The path to radicalization for the two young characters resembles in many ways the real-life cases laid out in court documents and studies into the phenomenon. Elise and Tariq are young, intelligent, strong-minded. They are fuelled by an acute sense of injustice and they are seeking an outlet through which to act.

Tariq, whose family has immigrated to Quebec from Algeria, complains about racism. Elise was traumatized by her deceased father, who offered his teen daughter to child pornographers, a crime for which he was arrested and later killed in jail.

She meets Tariq and their secret relationship builds from learning Arabic to plotting the subway bombing.

He put her in contact with those who had the answer she was looking for, the narrator says. Elise had finally found a cause.

At the heart of the novel is the guilt the mothers feel when they learn about their childs activities. Dr. Ariane Dube is an accomplished surgeon and Fatima Taboury is a receptionist at a doctors office, but their childrens decisions put them on level ground.

Elises mother cant help but acknowledge the nagging thought when she thinks of Tariqs mother.

Did this mother do something wrong? Did she mess up with her son? Was she a bad mother or is she asking herself the same questions, blaming herself? Or is she also trying to make sense of the incomprehensible?

It is a particularly sensitive investigator, Insp. Alex Duval, who unravels the terror network behind the subway bombing, perhaps because he lost a son to suicide and then lost his marriage in the ensuing distress.

A terror investigation is equal parts politics and public security. But Duval is aware that he is also deconstructing a personal family tragedy.

What will he say to his bosses? What will his bosses tell the elected officials? What will the officials tell the population? he thinks. And . . . what will he tell Ariane Dube and Fatima Taboury?

Novels  even those that take cues from the news  can tie up all the loose ends. In Mallet-Parents book, the mastermind of the subway attack  a jihadist recruiter preying on students who attended the same school as Tariq and Elise  ends up in jail, though the culprits slip through an international dragnet.

In real life, Canadas terrorism laws have been toughened, but criminal charges have been infrequent.

In the book, Tariq becomes a full-fledged terrorist, a man stripped of his soul, become a robot, a killing machine. Elise is saved by a young man whose family has been massacred and is to become a suicide bomber.

He warns her she is to be a sabaya, or sexual offering for front-line fighters, and helps to smuggle her to safety. She returns home, where she is convicted for her part in the subway bombing but works with radicalized youth upon her release.

It is another cause in her sights, the narrator says. To save lives rather than destroy them.

En Scene is a monthly column on Quebec culture. Email: awoods@thestar.ca

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Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-09 21:49:38|Editor: Zhou Xin

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DAR ES SALAAM, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian Minister of Finance and Planning Philip Mpango on Saturday ordered confiscation of assets belonging to officials implicated in the diamonds mining fraud chain that he said has caused huge loss to the east African nation.

Speaking shortly before he was shown diamonds seized last week at the Julius Nyerere International Airport, Mpango said: "All the assets belonging to officials in the diamond mining business should be confiscated forthwith."

The seizure of the diamonds was made a few days before two reports by Tanzanian parliamentary investigative committees on diamonds and tanzanite mining revealed massive corruption, secrecy, cheating, tax evasion and negligence by government officials.

The reports were presented to President John Magufuli on Thursday by Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa.

Mpango directed security organs to conduct massive investigations on all current and former officials who worked in the diamond mining and exports chain except those who had died.

"Tanzanians should get back their stolen resources," said the minister, adding that the investigations should focus on Tanzania Revenue Authority officials, security organs and minerals assessors.

Mpango said the actual amount of diamonds seized at the airport were 29.6 kilograms but it was earlier valued that the diamonds weighed 14.3kg only which was equivalent to 71,840.3 carats.

On Friday, Tanzanian police said they have started investigating senior officials implicated in the two reports by parliamentary investigative committees on diamonds and tanzanite mining.

"After President John Magufuli instructed defense and security organs to immediately start investigating all officers implicated in the reports, we have already arrested some of the officials for interrogation," said the Inspector General of Police Simon Sirro.

On Thursday, President Magufuli also ordered the suspension of senior officials implicated in the two reports.

Following the order, the Minister of State in the President's Office responsible for Regional Administration and Local Governments, George Simbachawene and Deputy Minister for Works, Transport and Communication, Edwin Ngonyani, announced they were stepping down to pave way for investigations.
In a theatre named after a famous dead princess, we rambled into a theatre to see a movie about a notorious figure skater.

Only the appearance of a Menendez brother, or possibly Ms. Lewinsky herself, could have made the occasion more 90s, so seeped was the experience, this week, of catching the world premiere of the Coenesquely comic I, Tonya (about the disgraced Tonya Harding), here at the at the Princess of Wales Theatre.

You want drama, dirty linen, and defamation?

This was the place to get it  courtesy of a Margot Robbie-starring, Craig Gillespie-directed biopic that, almost as nearly all critics later agreed, was light years beyond your expected camp-fest, and one that works as a new American gothic that at its most daring and meta head-on embraces the inherent fiction of biopics.

By the time the film had run its credits  rummaging through the main, world-stopping plot points of the 1994 Tonya-Nancy Kerrigan Olympic ice-rink scandale  it was even all pretty clear to me: not only had the film managed to make Tonya a complicated trash princess to root for, but that Margot herself is the best thing to ever happen to Tonya.

It was a sentiment I shared with the Australian siren herself at the buzzy, post-midnight, Friday-into-Saturday party hosted for the film at Montecito, sponsored by Hugo Boss. When complimenting her on a mesmerizing scene, in particular, in which Margot, as Harding, looks into a mirror, putting on makeup and practicing her figure-skater smile  all the while looking us filmgoers directly in the eye  she told me it was a very difficult scene to do. She also confirmed to me that, yes, shed never really heard of Harding before the film  having been raised Down Under, and only 3 years old when the notorious sporting saga occurred.

I quickly caught up, Robbie footnoted. Indeed, she even spent a couple of hours in Portland, Ore. with Harding herself (where the fallen skater lives, newly married and with a 6-year-old).

If there was a TIFF party that ran on a shiver of generational divide it was perhaps this one  as I quickly found out! Oh, dear. For anyone in the thick of it in the 90s, the assault on Kerrigan, and the media storm that ensued, was seared into the head  her name jiving to the wheels of a then-new-24-hour-news-cycle  just a few months before the O.J. Simpson case broke, in fact!

Not so, for someone in their 20s today, like a certain party-staple round town I found at Montecito, who admitted to me he also hadnt heard of Harding and had had to Google her before this night. He did feel glad that Robbie didnt know either, though!

Some parties make one feel older than others: moral/story.

One thing that a scuttlebutt-hound like I also definitely got a sense of while watching I, Tonya: how much the scandal played out like early reality-TV and was also a precursor to it. To the extent to which the Tonya-Nancy rivalry played out  the story of the wrong-side-of-tracks striver vs. the goody-two-shoes ice princess  it had, yes, the bitch-fest DNA of earlier rivalries (like the Joan Crawford-Bette Davis one, most recently depicted in Ryan Murphys TV series Feud), but was also paving the way for future ones, like we have now on shows The Bachelor and the Real Housewives, and even enduring tabloid bitch-fests like the one between Taylor Swift and Katy Perry.

Showing face at the I, Tonya party, too, I should mention, was the handsome Sebastian Stan (who plays Tonyas punchline husband at the time, Jeff Gillooly) and the amazing, amazing Allison Janney (who sinks her teeth, big, into the role of Tonyas mom!). The latter told me, when we spoke, that it was one of the best roles shes ever played  and not only because nearly ever line contains a clenched-teeth F-bomb.

I do love me some Janney.

Meanwhile

That was, yes, Aaron Sorkin enjoying a contemplative solo cigarette right behind the Elgin Theatre, as his movie Mollys Game played inside, when he was suddenly beset by enterprising autograph seekers! Later, the storied storyteller  whose directorial debut is being called Social Network-level good by some critics  headed off to the soiree for the movie at Citizen, on Brant St., where he celebrated with his leads, Jessica Chastain and Idris Elba.

Party watch

LeBron James and Chris Bosh making the scene with Drake at the Toronto ambassadors haunt, Frings, on King St. on Friday night  all in tow for the unspooling of the documentary The Carter Effect this weekend.

Greta Gerwig gamely working the room at the bash for her very personal film, Lady Bird, on the rooftop of Bisha.

Bryan Cranston huddling with Harvey Weinstein at a late-nighter hosted for their new one, The Upside, at RBC House, on Duncan.

Conrad and Barbara Black hosting a dinner for their old friend, the phantasmagorical Andre Leon Talley  the legendary Vogue character whose documentary, The Gospel According to Andre, just debuted at the fest.

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Jill Andrew and Aisha Fairclough are partners in life and united in their mission to combat appearance-based size discrimination.

The Toronto-based pair use their blog, Fatinthecity.com, to add their voices as queer Black women to broaden the body positivity conversation. Andrew is an academic, writer and speaker. Fairclough is a TV producer and specializes in diversity casting. Together they co-founded Body Confidence Canada (bodyconfidencecanada.com), an advocacy group that produces the Body Confidence Canada Awards (BCCAs) and is home to the national campaign #SizeismSUCKS which is campaigning to end size and appearance-based discrimination across Canada.

They have also created Body Confidence Awareness Week (#BCAWeek), which will be held the second week in October and recognized by the Toronto District School Board and the Winnipeg School Division, so more than 300,000 students in two provinces will participate. A Body Love Ball fundraiser will be held at The 519 Community Centre on Oct. 26.

They spoke to the Star about the story behind the many advocacy initiatives they have on the go:

Tell us how you began your mission, separately and together?

Andrew: Our journey towards this work was largely inspired by our own personal experiences of body-based harassment and body-shaming. I was bullied, like many people, as a child based on my body size, facial features and the colour of my skin. Aisha, too, experienced body-based harassment and like the majority of plus-size women we were both sized out of fashion. Its really important to realize that body-shaming and the body positivity is not just about body size. If body positivity isnt also addressing ableism, racism, homophobia, transphobia and the many other ways that people are discriminated against because of the skin they are in and how they define themselves then that brand of body positivity isnt positive at all. Its got to be all or nothing.

I have been a body image advocate for over 20 years, Ive been committed and actively doing this work. Aisha, who is also my life partner, and I have been working together on body positivity initiatives for 10-plus years.

How can we broaden the conversation about diversity?

Fairclough: (On) television you rarely see a plus-size person whose storyline isnt centred around their weight, My Big Fat Life, This is Us and Drop Dead Diva just to name a few. As a producer, its disheartening when you pitch someones thats bigger than size two and your executive producer says theyre too fat for television. Weight-based discrimination is encouraged: producers say they want diversity but its safe diversity. When I styled Sunny Megatron the host of Showtimes Sex With Sunny Megatron back in 2015, it was groundbreaking to see a woman of size taking about sex openly. Its an uphill battle. It is obvious that the world is ready for change and the world is ready to see more diverse bodies.

For years the fashion industry has tokenized diversity with the one Black model, one Asian model, and most recently one plus-size model. The only way that a real shift will begin is when diverse bodies are included in various campaigns not just one. On this seasons Project Runway they answered that call by including size inclusive models on the runway. Designers will have to design for models size 0-22.

What kind of interactive online responses do you get?

Andrew: Weve got responses from people who are simply so thankful to see people who look like us doing this work, leading conversations on body positivity, body-based harassment and appearance-based discrimination. We often get messages from people who want to join our movements. We often get people who share very personal aspects of their story. On the other hand, we also receive a lot of trolls, hate mail and in fact Ive actually received death threats.

What are the hashtags that have had the most traction?

Fairclough: Representation matters, and for those that didnt see themselves, they realized that they could express themselves and see their reflection online by sharing intimate stories, fashion pics, stories, insecurities and celebration. My top 5 are #goldenconfidence #celebratemysize #alternativecurves #sizeismsucks #beyondpositivity that really speak to the needs and demands of the plus size consumer.

Read more:

Canadian curve models change the fashion conversation END

Joe Fresh makes move into plus-sized womenswear market

Fashion designers have turned their backs on plus-size women: Tim Gunn

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Worried Canadians are frantically trying to get in touch with friends and relatives trapped in the wake of Hurricane Irma, after it hit the Leeward Islands in the West Indies.

A Category 5, the strongest hurricane there is, Irma has cut a swath through the Caribbean for several days, killing at least 22 people, downing power, destroying buildings and causing massive flooding.

Irma flattened Barbuda, to the north of Antigua, and both the French-Dutch island of St. Martin/St. Maarten and Anguilla, which lie to the east of the Virgin Islands.

Morvarid Sanandaji, a 24-year-old medical student from Toronto, is trapped in St. Maarten where she studies.

Right now, honestly, there is no island of St. Maarten, Sanandaji told the Star on Friday. There is no structure on this island right now that you would be able to live in.

Shes keeping shelter along with around 600 students, faculty and their families at the American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine, awaiting evacuation.

When the hurricane went through the island Wednesday, Sanandaji described a scene of sheer terror.

Not a lot of people were talking . . . . Everybody was waiting for it to pass. I know there were people who were panicking, she said.

Injuries range from cuts from shattered glass to sprained ankles to broken legs, and people are still missing, Sanandaji said.

Read more:

Canadian couple stranded on Caribbean island pleads for help, evacuation

Miami is rounding up homeless people against their will ahead of Hurricane Irma

Donald Trumps Winter White House Mar-a-Lago Club told to evacuate before Irma hits

Sanandaji resorted to using a rental car she and some others found to go out and secure provisions. Its windows were blown in, and the doors had caved, but it had to do.

As much stuff as we could fit in the car, we were just trying to get back to the building, she said.

Were lucky because we can go somewhere else, but the people who have been born here, raised here . . . they have nowhere else to go.

Geeta Wadehra cant stop calling the Global Affairs Canada crisis line out of concern for three friends, who are trapped in a St. Maarten condo, unsure how to get food or water.

The one time they tried to leave the apartment they witnessed a robbery, said Wadehra, who has been able to reach her friends over the phone intermittently.

Wadehras friends noticed a Dutch military presence, but told her they havent received guidance about how to get out of the destroyed island.

In Brewers Bay, Tortola, in the British Virgin Islands, about 150 kilometres to the east of Puerto Rico, 59-year-old Anita Gulliver is safe, but her exact whereabouts are unknown, her daughter Natalie told the Star.

The most that I know is that I got a text message with a photograph of a note that someone had written saying that she was safe, Natalie said. I have no further information; Im hoping that shes safe.

The last time Natalie talked to Gulliver, a Toronto expat now living in the Caribbean, her mother was sheltered in a shower.

It was a very emotional phone call, Natalie said. A lot of goodbyes. We werent sure that we were going to ever see each other again.

At that point, the wind was already blowing and they were already terrified. And we were still, like, six hours away from the eye of the storm actually hitting them, Natalie said.

Michael Moriarty and his wife, Meryl Zacitz, were vacationing in St. Maarten when the storm hit, and have only been able to contact family intermittently.

Please contact the Canadian consulate and tell them were stuck in Simpson Bay Resort and that we are stranded and they need to rescue us, Moriarty wrote in a text message to his sister, Monique Balmforth.

We are very frightened right now and dont know whats going on or whats happened, Balmforth said.

Natasha Nystrom, a spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada, said in a statement that the government is updating its travel advisories page, and sending affected Canadians messages over email, text and social media.

The storm raged past Cubas northern coast Friday toward the Bahamas and Florida, threatening the state with destruction not seen in a generation. The crush to leave Florida had millions of people on the move. Highways were jammed, gas was scarce, airports were packed and mandatory evacuations began to roll out as the first official hurricane watches were issued for the region, which could face destruction not seen since Category 5 Hurricane Andrew in 1992.

I can guarantee you that I dont know anybody in Florida thats ever experienced whats about to hit South Florida, William Brock Long, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said at a briefing on Friday.

They need to get out and listen and heed the warnings.

Toronto resident Gail Rutherford was stranded in Ft. Lauderdale Friday after her flight back to Toronto was cancelled.

The area where she had been staying was evacuated, so when she spoke to The Star Friday she was staying in her moms hospital room, unable to leave, she said, because she wouldnt be allowed to reenter the closed hospital.

For the next four days, I am going to sleep in a chair and eat bananas and apples I cleaned out from the cafeteria, she said.

She thought about the scores of people she saw at the airport, just trying to get out safely before Irma hits.

There are lineups outside the airport of people standing with their suitcases.

Those on islands already devastated by Irma hope for safety and to rebuild their houses.

But some are grieving over the loss of loved ones.

On Barbuda, a coral island rising a mere 38 metres above sea level, authorities ordered an evacuation of all 1,400 people to neighbouring Antigua, where Stevet Jeremiah was reunited with one son and made plans to bury another.

Jeremiah, who sells lobster and crab to tourists, was huddled in her wooden home on Barbuda early Wednesday with her partner and their 2- and 4-year-old boys, as Irma ripped open their metal roof and sent the ocean surging into the house.

Her younger son, Carl Junior Francis, was swept away.

Neighbours found his body after sunrise.

Two years old. He just turned 2, the 17th, last month. Just turned 2, she repeated. Her first task, she said, would be to organize his funeral.

Thats all I can do. There is nothing else I can do.

With files from The Washington Post, The Canadian Press and Orlando Sentinel

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MONTREALSimon Berube loves Quebec, its culture, French language and people, but he and his parents decided the best thing he could do for his future was to enrol in one of the provinces English-language junior colleges.

Berube, 18, is a francophone and as such was not allowed to attend English primary or secondary school because of the provinces Bill 101 language law.

But he and a growing number of his peers are choosing to attend Quebecs pre-university English junior colleges, which are not subject to the law.

Some people want to travel, experience things in other parts of the world and English is the key, Berube, who comes from Quebecs Eastern Townships, said in an interview.

Read more: StatCan revises census data after error over English speakers in Quebec

Parti Quebecois leader calls for new Quebec language law in reaction to 2016 census data

English junior colleges are in such a delicate position that some of them have an unwritten agreement with the Quebec government to avoid advertising their programs in francophone media or directly recruiting in French high schools unless specifically invited to do so.

During a convention this weekend, Parti Quebecois delegates will debate and possibly vote on a resolution to cut funding to English colleges, known as CEGEPs, because they are attracting too many non-anglophones.

If the PQ wins the fall 2018 election, further limiting access to English-language education could be part of its agenda.

Anglophone (colleges) shouldnt be an open bar, PQ leader Jean-Francois Lisee recently told reporters.

Its unclear whether Lisee supports the idea himself or brought it up in order to appease a restless base before Saturdays confidence vote on his leadership.

Quebecs English community is used to having its institutions threatened by political parties trying to get votes, said Geoffrey Chambers, vice-president of an anglophone advocacy group.

Its identity politics, said Chambers, who is with the Quebec Community Groups Network. I think its pandering to a very bad instinct.

Berube said he fully supports Quebecs language laws, but doesnt think they should extend to the CEGEP system.

French is part of Quebec, said the second-year Dawson College student. And if the French language is lost then the French culture in North America is basically lost and thats something people have to understand.

But English is important to learn if you want to have a good job.

The CEGEP system was created in the late 60s and the schools offer two-year pre-university programs.

In Quebec, high school ends after Grade 11 and students then enrol in a CEGEP. University programs for Quebecers are therefore three years instead of four as in the rest of the country.

Government statistics reveal the percentage of CEGEP students from the French system enrolling in English colleges has doubled from five per cent in 1993 to 10 per cent in 2015.

Those working for English CEGEPs know to lay low as not to attract attention.

Marianopolis College, for instance, a private anglophone CEGEP in Montreal, refuses to say how many francophone students it has enrolled.

Dawson, a CEGEP of 8,000 students located in downtown Montreal, wouldnt give its number either.

Donna Varrica, a spokeswoman for the college, said there is an informal agreement dating back 20 years that her institution wont advertise its programs in francophone media or actively market to French high schools.

Chambers said hes not surprised.

There are lots of practices that are just conflict avoidance, he said. If you get a message from the minister saying this is not what they want you to do  dont do it. Its not like Dawson needs more students.

In fact, English schools like Dawson arent able to recruit as many students as they can because enrolment is capped, unlike in the French system, Chambers said.

Our (colleges) are already subject to a strangulation device. Enrolment should respond to the demand, but it doesnt. Consequently, the acceptance threshold is creeping up.

Jana Abdul-Rahim, 17, is a newly accepted student at Dawson.

Born in Quebec to Lebanese immigrants, she was also barred from attending English high school.

The first couple of years in high school I thought I would stick to French college, she said. Afterwards I realized I wanted to go to law school.

I plan on going into international law and when youre working with the United Nations and similar organizations, English is more the language to use.

Chambers said if the PQ members dont vote to cut funding to English CEGEPs over the weekend, they will likely keep trying to restrict access to English-language education.

They are creative, he said about the PQ. I think what you have to be worried about is the fact they want to do such a thing at all.

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CFB GAGETOWN, N.B.Some of the worlds best snipers are gathered at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown to compete against their peers in an elite profession that is the stuff of movies and myths.

I thought it was the coolest thing in the world, basically, said Sgt. Steven Thompson, of the United States Marines reserve.

Thompson spent five years in the active forces, including two tours in Afghanistan, and said he was in the 19th annual Canadian International Sniper Concentration at this sprawling base in central New Brunswick to win.

It includes teams from Canada, France, Australia, the Netherlands and the United States.

Most of the snipers interviewed Friday took a more analytical approach to their task. Capt. John Bourgeois, officer in charge of the Canadian Forces Sniper Cell, said the event is both a competition and a chance to compare notes and improve skills.

The shooting part of being a sniper is the easy part. What were doing is challenging the snipers on every other part of being a sniper. Theyre going to be required to navigate over 40 kilometres through deep, thick woods. They have timings to meet and plan their missions to get through this exercise. Were going to push them to their limits, he said.

The event comes just three months after a Canadian Forces sniper set a record in Iraq for the longest confirmed kill, at 3.5 kilometres.

The shot killed a Daesh fighter, which the military said thwarted an attack on an Iraqi military unit.

While that sniper has not been named, Bourgeois said the other snipers are proud of him, rather than jealous.

Sgt. Ivan Sanson, of the 2nd Battalion Royal Canadian Regiment, agrees  but said it doesnt diminish the competitive nature of snipers.

Everyone in the sniper community is very competitive. I think you have to be. Its important that they strive to be the best, he said.

While most competitors are military, there are also snipers from the Halifax Regional Police, the Ontario Provincial Police and the Saint John Police Force.

The Canadian Forces are primarily using two rifles, the .338 Timber Wolf and the Tac 50  a .50 calibre weapon that was used to make the record shot in Iraq.

The Saint John force is now also equipped with the .338.

Saint John Const. Darren Milburn says his force will use it differently than the military because police tend to work in shorter distances.

Were going to use ours more as an anti-material weapon  if we have to take an engine block out of a suspect vehicle. The military are using that calibre for extended range, he said.

The competitors used Friday to test their weapons and get them zeroed in before the competition begun on Saturday.

Bourgeois said the skills required to excel include a lot of math.

Theyve got to know how far away the target is, theyve got to know how big he is, they then determine the angle, the gravity, the atmospheric pressure, the wind, the temperature of the rifle, the temperature of the air, the angle of the sun and time of day, Bourgeois said.

The good guys here will factor those things in four or five seconds and take their shots.

The competition runs until Sept. 14.

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Mabel Hunsberger was on the phone with her son when Hurricane Irma began to pummel the U.S. Virgin Islands.

He was in the bathroom and we were communicating minute by minute, said the Waterloo resident, recalling the sound of shutters banging and his concerned voice at the other end. Then we lost contact.

Four hours later, 39-year-old Jason Hunsberger texted via WhatsApp, Im alive . . . I am not injured. Love you both.

In the time between their messages Wednesday, she said, her son witnessed the roof of his three-storey condo building being sheered off by powerful winds.

Hurricane Irma has been unmerciful: the Category 5 storm, which has since been downgraded, tore through the Caribbean islands, killing at least 22 people. And hurricane Jose is threatening a second blow.

The Star made contact with Hunsberger mid-afternoon Saturday after he called the newsroom but the service was so spotty it cut out five times.

Car windows are blown out, hydro lines are all over the place, said Hunsberger, a surf shop and charter service owner who has lived in St. Thomas for three years. Theres been massive infrastructure damage. There are four dead dolphins on the beach.

Hunsberger said he had to drill holes in the floor of his condo to let the floodwater drain.

It wasnt a thought process, it was survival. Im not doing well. Our generators keep failing. Were trying to transport water to our cisterns, he said.

She said her son was determined to stay in St. Thomas to preserve his businesses, and assured her that his condo would be a haven.

I did ask him to leave and offered to pay for his flight, she said. He truly felt he could stay safe. Hes very resourceful.

Since Monday, there has been no word from Nina Deshanes son, Kieron Gill. The Toronto-born man recently moved to the French-Dutch island of St. Martin/St. Maarten to join his wife and two children.

The island was ravaged by Irma; 11 are reported dead on St. Martin and St. Barts, four in the U.S. Virgin Islands, four in the British Virgin Islands and one each on Anguilla and Barbuda.

I dont know anything now, Deshane said. I havent heard anything. Im just worried that theyre injured, no food, no water.

Deshane said she feels overwhelmed and helpless.

Unfortunately, now I cant help. My son is very good in emergencies. Now, Im just hoping he is able to look after his little family. My concern is the young children (ages 5 and 2).

An Ajax couple stranded in St. Maarten said their hotel looks like a war zone and are pleading for a flight out on Sunday  if Hurricane Jose doesnt block their way.

Meryl and Michael Moriarty along with their friends in Canada  have been begging Canadian officials to help them leave the island after it was nearly levelled by Hurricane Irma. The couple said their hotel previously told them to leave but were able to get a room for Saturday night.

Meryl, who works for the Toronto Police department, sent an email to friends late Saturday. We managed to talk our way into staying at the resort another night, so were OK again. We really do appreciate your efforts, we know its frustrating for you too and we hate having to have others fight our fights. Thank you so v much!, she wrote.

Its like a war zone here, soldiers and police all over the resort (with very very) big guns!  27 police officers sadly lost their homes so are staying at the resort in return for security. Its comforting to have them here but wish it werent for that reason.

If all goes well, she wrote, they will be on a plane out Sunday morning, possibly to another island or home. Despite repeated pleas from family and friends, the couple said theyve still had no contact from Canadian officials.

In the gated Tampa community where Toronto expatriates Andy and Kay Walker live, neighbours left en masse Saturday morning when weather reports showed the shifting hurricane was headed in their direction.

We were going to stay, said Andy, but we said, Wait a minute, this eye is going to come cruising through pretty much our part of town. So the choice was, no electricity, no water  we decided to head out and not know where were going to go.

With their three-year-old son, Carter, and two dogs they drove north on the I-75. Traffic was slow  probably too slow to get a motel or Airbnb in Nashville, Tenn., as they had hoped. Better to head out and not know where were going than to sit it out, Andy Kay said.

Were in pretty good spirits. The only thing on our mind is, whats going to happen to our house? We are very much aware that we might go back and not see much of our house again. Thats scary.

The couple knew hurricanes were a possibility when they opted out of Torontos soaring real estate market in 2014 and bought a four-bedroom house in Tampa for $300,000. It backed onto a pond, with skittish alligators who have never posed a danger, he said. The alligators are not the problem  the hurricanes are.

Canadian expat George Alexakis has decided to stay calm. Hes lived through a few comparatively gentle hurricanes since moving from Etobicoke to inland Florida in the mid-1990s, but even with the power behind Irma, Alexakis isnt leaving. His Fort Myers house is on elevated ground, far from the beach, which means it wont be affected by storm surges, he said.

If it is, then Fort Myers is in big trouble, said the 52-year-old university professor.

Still, Alexakis said friends started panicking Saturday when the storm began shifting. His next-door neighbour became extremely emotional, packed up her car and left. You usually cant outrun it, he said.

Global Affairs Canada said it is closely monitoring the progress of Irma, as well as hurricane Jose, which is currently gearing up to hit the same region in the coming days.

Officials said they had received calls from about 222 Canadians across numerous Caribbean islands requesting consular help, adding that number is expected to rise as Irma reaches Florida.

Disaster assessment teams are poised for deployment if necessary, they added.

There are many Canadians in hurricane Irmas path, and our teams are doing their best to ensure that we get in contact and help everyone as necessary, Global Affairs Parliamentary Secretary Omar Alghabra said in a teleconference.

With files from Moira Welsh and The Canadian Press

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Doug Ford, ex-city councillor and brother of the late Rob Ford, has confirmed he wants a mayoral rematch with John Tory next year.

Robbie, this one is going to be for you, Ford told a huge crowd at the annual Ford Fest party in their mothers sprawling Etobicoke backyard.

I will be running for mayor of Toronto, he said to deafening cheers from Ford Nation fans.

Tory is all talk and no action and broken promises, said Ford, 52, after speeches by councillors nephew Michael Ford, Vince Crisanti and Giorgio Mammoliti, and Progressive Conservative MPP Monte McNaughton.

Ford accused Tory of letting city spending skyrocket and vowed as mayor he would give Toronto the lowest taxes in North America and end the war on the car.

Tory said Friday he welcomes a rematch and holding up his record to Fords in the scandal-filled 2010-2014 council term in which Doug was Ward 2 councillor and Rob was mayor.

The council was dysfunctional. The relationship with the other levels of government (was) in tatters. The reputation of the city was being challenged every day in media around the world.

I think people will have to think long and hard about whether they want to go back to the old way and to the chaos that we saw just three short years ago.

The actual campaign for the Oct. 22, 2018 election does not start until May 1, so Ford is a sort of shadow candidate until then. He can talk about his intention to run but cannot fundraise, buy ads, post election signs or otherwise spend money on his mayoral quest.

Ford had been toying with running for Patrick Browns Progressive Conservatives in the June 7, 2018 provincial election.

Sources have told the Star that Premier Kathleen Wynnes Liberals were keen to have Ford as an opponent they could accuse of wanting to bring the right-wing politics of U.S. President Donald Trump to Ontario, and that some PCs were keen for him to choose a rematch with Tory instead. Ford denied those allegations.

Others have said the co-owner of Deco Labels & Tags was dissuaded from running provincially when PC officials told him that, if elected and elevated to cabinet, by law he would have to put his shares in the family company in a blind trust.

Ford was elected as city councillor, serving as his brothers sidekick and top adviser, promising to find billions of dollars in waste at city hall. At one point he wanted city staff to put a connecting door between the mayors office and his adjoining council office.

When the Star in March 2013 revealed then-mayor Rob Ford had attended a naval gala incoherent, and had a substance abuse problem that worried those around him, Doug Ford branded the assertions lies meant to keep the gravy train running at city hall.

Ford likewise dismissed as nonsense later allegations that his brother was caught on videotape smoking crack cocaine with gang members who sold drugs and guns. Doug Ford has said he became aware of his brothers addictions only after Rob Ford confessed them in November 2013.

As councillor Doug Ford could claim success in helping convince city council to pass austerity budgets, contract out garbage collection between the Humber River and Yonge St. and extract deep concessions from city workers in new contracts.

However, his behind-the-scenes push for a remake of Torontos east waterfront with a ferris wheel and boat-in hotel dealt his brother his first major policy loss. Doug Fords cut the waist challenge, in which he and his brother publicly competed to lose weight, embarrassed the mayor who failed to shed pounds and was peppered with reporters questions about his scandals.

Rob Ford successfully went to rehab but had to abandon his 2014 mayoral re-election campaign after being diagnosed with a rare aggressive cancer. Doug Ford took his brothers place late in the campaign and received 330,610 votes to 394,775 votes for Tory. Rob Ford, who was re-elected to the council seat he had held for a decade, died in March 2016.

With files from Jennifer Pagliaro and Betsy Powell

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Asad Aryubwal wanted a safe Afghanistan. When he was a boy in Kabul, his fathers family owned the biggest movie theatre in town, Aryub Cinema, and he remembers the young men and women dating in the open, blue jeans, religious freedom. After the Saur Revolution in 1978, his father was arrested and never seen again. Then the wars came in endless waves, forcing him to flee his home three times.

By the time CBC journalist Carol Off came to Kabul, he was a married father of five and he was tired of the violence. He wanted the world to know that teaming up with warlords to fight the Taliban was not a good idea.

Off was a journalist who could take his words to the world  and so in 2002, he helped her access different locations and agreed to an on-camera interview talking about life under Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum. He did it again when Off returned to film an update in 2006. There were consequences both times, but in 2007 he was ultimately told: leave Afghanistan or die.

Off has always considered herself an old-fashioned journalist: you tell the story, you keep your distance. This is the story she couldnt walk away from.

In their Toronto home this summer, the Aryubwal family talk about their eight-year journey to Canada, which Off has written about in her book All We Leave Behind. Robina Aryubwal, the oldest child, now 29, says it was hard for everybody involved, including the journalist.

I didnt suffer, Off interjects, quietly, sitting on the floor.

She suffered more than our family, Robina says.

No. No. Theres no comparing, Off says in that forceful voice Canadians are used to hearing on the radio. I was always secure. I was always safe. I was always OK. I lived a normal life.

The man who brought Carol Off and the Aryubwal family together is Abdul Rashid Dostum. The warlord turned Afghan vice-president is an ethnic Uzbek who holds great power in the north of Afghanistan and has been accused of human rights abuses. He is known for switching allegiances to survive  more often than some people change socks, as Off writes in her book. In the 90s, when Afghanistan descended into civil war, he was one of the warlords battling for control.

It was out of that chaos that the Taliban rose to power, and when it did, Dostum teamed up with some of his former enemies to form the Northern Alliance to fight the Taliban.

The CIA put them on the payroll after 9/11, even though allegations of human rights abuses and violence were known, says Aisha Ahmad, an international security professor at the University of Toronto and author of Jihad & Co.

It was counter-insurgency on the cheap, she explains  and the warlords were very happy to take the sacks of cash and crates full of guns and then restart their bid for power that they lost during the civil war.

At the time, warlords were considered by U.S. officials to be the expedient way to check the Taliban, she says, even though many analysts were screaming about the fact that you are going to set in motion forces that you cant control.

Dostums forceswere accused of murdering hundreds or possibly thousands of Taliban prisoners of war in 2001, as reported in investigations by the New York Times and Newsweek, and Physicians for Human Rights, who discovered a mass grave in 2002. (Dostum, through a spokesperson, has said that any deaths in the prison transfer were unintentional, and the numbers were not as high as those in media reports.)

Allegations like these were why Off came to Afghanistan in 2002  to find out just who the U.S. had partnered with in fighting the Taliban.

Asad Aryubwal and his family had lived in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif for a few years in the 1990s. Dostums northern stronghold was a relatively safe option during the civil war. Asad ran a wholesale business, but he says he had to join Dostums army to keep his family and property safe. He was named a general, but was a glorified gofer, as Off notes in her book. He worked in logistics, supervising construction sites and the like, but he told Off he never had a weapon, and prayed that would never be ordered to do more.

His wife, Mobina, was worried it wasnt safe to talk on camera, but she was proud of her husband. She was a teacher and they both believed in the power of education, equality and that he was doing the right thing.

Asad travelled to the north with the CBC team, helping them gain access to Dostums fortress and people who might be useful to their story. Thanks to Aryubwal, we had evidence that significant offences against human rights had occurred under General Dostums authority, Off writes.

When Off and her team (producer Heather Abbott and cameraman Brian Kelly) first met the Aryubwals, the family was living in Kabul, where life had improved since international forces had arrived. Schools reopened and the girls were star students. Women werent forced to wear the burka.

We had a good feeling, Robina says. We really loved these independent, strong women who came all the way from Canada to Afghanistan.

Off returned home, and later won a Gemini for In the Company of Warlords. Back in Afghanistan, the Aryubwals made the eight-hour drive for a summer vacation in Mazar-e-Sharif. It was here, she writes, that one of Dostums men found Asad, and told him he shouldnt have spoken to the CBC.

He didnt tell Off about this warning. She had done her job, and he was hopeful that Afghanistan would improve. When she returned in 2006 to film an update, he spoke on camera again.

Dostums people found out, and a commander visited the familys home in Kabul: Instead of execution, Asads punishment would be banishment, Off writes.

I am actually astonished that this gentleman spoke out and got out alive, says U of Ts Ahmad. Dostum has publicly boasted about shocking acts of violence he has perpetrated against his opponents.

Back in Toronto, Off hadnt heard from the Aryubwals. She knew Robina had started law school in Kabul and she imagined their lives were busy, as hers was. She had started a new job as co-host of CBC Radios As It Happens in the fall of 2007, when the phone call came from a stranger.

The man was told to find Off when he arrived in Toronto and tell her Asad needed to speak to her.

Off imagined it was about Robina. She had been in Paris to study for a month and perhaps she wanted to continue her schooling in Canada. Off emailed her, but didnt hear back.

In January 2008, Off was travelling to Pakistan to report on the election after Benazir Bhuttos assassination. She had been in touch with the family, and knew they were living in Pakistan, but she didnt know the details. In an Islamabad hotel room, she learned about the warnings in 2002, and the banishment. She asked Asad why he had spoken to her.

As he spoke in Pashto, the faces around her crumpled into tears. She waited on Robinas translation.

Because if I had not spoken up, if I had not told you the truth of what was happening, I would never be able to look into the eyes of my children again.

So many times in her career, she had thought: Geez, I wish I could help you but you know I cant really do anything  but I feel your pain.

There was always an invisible line separating her from her sources.

Once I had looked over my shoulder and seen what the consequences had been of those interviews, she says, I knew I could never walk away from that either as a journalist or a human being.

She would help them come to Canada. Asad told her she was the familys only hope. It was unusual for the self-reliant man to say something so dire to someone he hardly knew.

Off thought: how hard could it be?

Problems were quick to appear. Asads refugee application was rejected because the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees confused him with another man, Off writes. The application was soon back on track but the process was fraught.

At the UNHCR office, Asad bristled when his name was called out, or when a security guard loudly asked about his situation in front of others. Strangers sometimes approached with schemes, money in exchange for influence with the application.

Living in Peshawar, on the Afghan-Pakistani border, the family did not feel safe. Off sent money, and Asad and Mobina used it to send their children to school. If they were five minutes late, their father would call their mobiles. Where are you?

In 2012, their oldest son, Muhammad, went to the market to buy tomatoes. He was stopped by police and asked for ID. He had forgotten his university card at home, and they took him to jail.

I spent three nights with people who were addicted to drugs and criminals and killers, he says, now 26, wearing a Blue Jays hat as he sits on a stool in the kitchen.

You were so young, says Off, who experienced these crises through phone calls and texts.

The police threatened to deport Muhammad. Asad wondered if it was a plot to get him to follow his son back into the country.

In 2014, their youngest child Hossna came home from school crying. The Army Public School in Peshawar had been attacked by Taliban gunmen, and her teacher told her: Its all because of you.

Robina felt that one of the biggest problems with the refugee process was corruption. Things moved so slowly. In Toronto, Off woke early to phone the other side of the world, to push the case along, asking for information from the UNHCR office or the Canadian High Commission in Pakistan. She saw it as part of her job. She knows other journalists might disagree. She might have, years ago.

I saw it definitely as something that was my responsibility  to help get them out of the mess that I put them in.

Robina had a hard time sleeping, and when Offs emails came, sometimes in the middle of the night, shed wake her parents tell them the latest news, occasionally embellishing to see the glow in their faces.

In the kitchen, Mobina nods, tears in her eyes.

It was the only happiness for us, says Hossai, 27.

There were days when they felt like giving up. Maybe one of our family members will be kidnapped, the other will get upset, get depression, Robina says of the future she imagined. One by one our family would be finished.

She says Off would tell them there would be light at the end of the tunnel.

We had no jobs, no money, but Carol sent us money to live, she continues. We went to school with that.

Its because of Carol we have our bachelors, Hossai says.

Its all because of Carol, Robina says.

You were family, Off says quietly. You were my family.

Off has not heard them talk about her like this, and in some ways, it is painful, how concerned about her they have always been amid their own troubles. Later, on the phone, she explains that she had to push Asad into including the CBC documentary as the reason he had to flee Afghanistan when he was filling out his asylum application.

He didnt want to get me in this trouble or cause me any grief, she says. Their feelings of concern for me, all the time  thats who they are. There is nothing selfish in them.

In 2013, UNHCR recommended the Aryubwals as good candidates for settlement in Canada, and many people wanted to help. Two church groups had signed on to sponsor, but each had to change plans as time dragged on with no news. In 2014, the interview at the Canadian High Commission went well. Off sent the family encouraging emails, but privately worried she was giving false hope. Before Christmas, she thought about draining her bank account, sending it to the family, and walking away.

In Peshawar, Asad also thought about walking away  returning to Afghanistan, to Dostum  telling him he could do whatever he wanted if his family would be safe.

In 2015, Off brought immigration lawyer Lorne Waldman in to help. He found out the familys security checks cleared in 2014. He filed an application in federal court to find out why the file was held up. Not long after, the family was approved as government-assisted refugees. Off sent Robina a text to check out a map.

We were laughing and crying together, Hossai says.

The process took eight painful years, or nine, depending on when you start your count.

Asad goes to another room and returns with a framed photo of him and his sons at the Santa Claus parade in Hamilton in 2015, a few days after arriving in Canada. The family was sent to Hamilton because they didnt have relatives in Toronto. They talk about how hard it was in those first months to shake the old feelings of insecurity. Robina remembers going for a walk, and telling her mother to slow down. No one was after them in Steeltown.

In October 2016, the family moved to Toronto.

Asad works as a dishwasher at the Carlu. Mobina started a business, making samosas and mantus (dumplings) which the family sells at the Wychwood market on Saturdays.

Youngest daughter Hossna is in Grade 11. Mujeeb and Hossai work at O&B restaurant in Bayview village. Muhammad has applied to Ryerson for engineering, which he studied in Pakistan. He makes deliveries for a pharmacy, and enjoys driving around the city. Robina studies at U of Ts Mississauga campus. She hopes to one day go to law school.

Both Muhammad and Mujeeb have their drivers licences, and everyone else in the family is in the process. They all look at Robina.

In Afghanistan I was wearing the chador, Robina begins, as the room erupts in laughter. In Pakistan I was . . .

So why is Hossai doing so well? Off asks.

Oh my God, she just gets frozen when she is turning the wheel, her younger brother Mujeeb says. You have to drive with her some time.

No! Off says. Im not going to.

Asad closes his eyes in laughter. He has always wanted security for Afghanistan. To find safety in Canada is bittersweet. He wants his children to go to school and change this country for the better.

We are Canadians, with no citizenship, but we will get that, Mujeeb says. This is our Afghanistan.

On a recent Friday, Mobina and her daughters Robina and Hossna were frying beef, cutting vegetables and making dough for their dumplings and samosas, at a commercial kitchen loaned to the family. Asad came in to help before a dishwashing shift downtown.

In Afghanistan, businessperson, he said, smiling as he scraped onion skin. Here, kitchen worker.

Mobina was a teacher in the years when the Taliban werent calling the shots. She taught high school literature.

Oh I miss, she said, dreamily, stirring spices into the ground beef in the pan. Then she starts reciting some verses in Dari.

Whatever you want to do, its your own personal choice, Robina translates. But never bother anyone else.

The Aryubwal family closely follows the news in Afghanistan, which often involves Dostum.

In 2013, he made a public apology to all who had suffered in Afghanistans wars, paving his way to run for vice-president on the same ticket as President Ashraf Ghani, who had only a few years earlier called his running mate a known killer.

Romain Malejacq, a political scientist at the Centre for International Conflict Analysis and Management at Radboud University in the Netherlands, is writing a book about warlords.

In Afghanistan, he says, many of these people with a proven ability to organize violence, are involved in politics, like Dostum.

If the state collapses or gets weaker and weaker, you will see that these men, I believe, will assert more autonomy in their previous territories, and might become what I call active warlords again, he says.

Warlords exert power in different ways today but they remain warlords.

Dostums tenure as vice-president has been volatile. He is currently in Turkey, in what has been described as exile, amid allegations that he was behind the abduction and sexual torture of a political rival, former Jowzjan Province Gov. Ahmad Ishchi, last November. He has denied the charges, allegations that Amnesty International has called stomach churning.

Off tried to interview Dostum when making the documentary, but once the family was in peril, she didnt try, for fear it would endanger them.

I think that exposing him and what he did to the light of day kind of inoculates them to some extent, Off says.

When she wanted to write the book, the Aryubwals were on board. They wanted people to know what happened to them, and they wanted to highlight problems in their long journey to Canada in the hopes that life might be easier for refugees who dont have a Carol Off.

Off felt that as a result of telling the familys story, people might understand what others are going through out there.

The Aryubwals have mourned the death of Offs father and celebrated the births of her granddaughters. She has celebrated their birthdays and milestones, and chided Asad for his smoking habit. They are friends.

Before Off is sent out the door with a bag of leftovers, Robina says even though Off isnt a blood relation, she is more than a blood connection.

Wait till I start making demands on you, wait and see, Off says. Im the oldest, OK? So you have to take care of me when Im an old lady.

That would be our pleasure, Hossai says.

I will be a really miserable old lady, Off says. You will regret this. Youll say, how do we get rid of this old lady who is so miserable?

Never, Hossai says.

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MIAMIOn what is likely the last clear day in Florida before Hurricane Irmas monster wind and rain, social workers and police officers are giving Miamis estimated 1,100 homeless people a stark choice: Come willingly to a storm shelter, or be held against their will for a mental health evaluation.

With the outer edge of the storm approaching Friday, these officials  backed by a psychiatrist and observed by an Associated Press team  rolled through chillingly empty downtown streets as dawn broke over Biscayne Bay, searching for reluctant stragglers sleeping in waterfront parks.

Were going out and every single homeless person who is unwilling to come off the street, we are likely going to involuntarily Baker Act them, said Ron Book, chairman of the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust.

Invoking the Baker Act  a law that enables authorities to institutionalize patients who present a danger to themselves or others  is not something law enforcement does lightly, but officers detained at least six people by Friday afternoon. Under the law, they can be held up to 72 hours before the state would have to go to court to prolong their detention.

By then, Irmas howling winds and terrifying storm surge should be somewhere north of the city.

I am not going to sign suicide notes for people who are homeless in my community. I am just not going to do it, Book added. Thats why you have a Baker Act. Its there to protect those who cant otherwise protect themselves.

Books group was working closely with police, who acknowledged that the effort is unusual: Officials said it is the first time Miami has invoked the law for hurricane preparedness.

About 70 people willingly climbed into white vans and police squad cars Friday, joining others who already arrived at shelters. About 600 others were thought to remain outside somewhere, exposed to the storm, despite mandatory evacuation orders for more than 660,000 people in areas that include downtown Miami and coastal areas throughout the county.

Read more:

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One older man pushing his belongings in an empty wheelchair in Bayfront Park tried to wave them off.

I dont want nothing, he said, insulting a social worker.

So you are cool with dying in the streets? he asked.

Get out of my goddamn face, he responded.

Whats your name? asked Dr. Mohammad Nisar, a psychiatrist who was looking for evidence of mental illness, a necessary factor for a Baker Act detention.

None of your damn business!

Police officer James Bernat intervened.

We are here to help you. Listen to me. You are being very aggressive. We are trying to help you, Bernat said. Its very dangerous out here.

You are trying to make me go somewhere I dont want to go, he insisted.

Finally, the man was handcuffed without a struggle and taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital for a 72-hour psychiatric evaluation.

A person who has a history of mental illness and who is staying in harms way, and doesnt have a logical cohesion of what is right or what is wrong at that point, is a harm to himself, and at that point we can Baker Act them for his own protection, Nisar explained later.

Fridays encounters alone werent enough to justify their involuntary detention  Nisar said social workers and officers on the team already know these men and can testify to prior signs of mental illness to support each case.

Also, the law requires a court order to keep them detained against their will after 72 hours, and public defenders have pushed back against such requests, citing court rulings that the Baker Act can lead to unconstitutional curtailments of individual liberty.

But those hearings wont happen until Monday at least  and by then, Irmas wrath will have moved on from Miami.

After driving more than 400 people to shelters, the Homeless Trust said it would continue searching for stragglers until winds reach 72 kph, sometime Saturday afternoon.

I am not happy to have to do it, said Steven Nolan, whose face has weathered many days of Florida sunshine. But Id rather be in there than out here when the storm hits.

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WASHINGTONIt started out cold as ice, and then turned warm and friendly.

Now the tortured relationship between President Donald Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan has gone cool again, with the Republican president making clear he has no qualms about bucking the GOP leader to cut deals with his Democratic foes.

The two men dined at the White House Thursday night and discussed legislative challenges ahead for the fall, a get-together that was scheduled over Congress August recess, long before the head-spinning events of this week.

In a moment that stunned Washington, Trump cut a debt and disaster aid deal Wednesday with Congress Democratic leaders as Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell watched on helplessly, after lobbying unsuccessfully for much different terms.

The moment distilled the inherent tensions between Trump, 71, a former Democrat and ideologically flexible deal-maker, and Ryan, 47, a loyal Republican whose discomfort with Trump led him to withhold his endorsement for weeks last year.

After Trump was elected the two papered over their differences and even developed a rapport, talking frequently during health care negotiations earlier this year, as each understood they needed the other to advance individual and shared goals.

But their phone calls have tapered off of late and Trump has expressed his frustration with GOP leaders on multiple fronts, culminating in the presidents decision to ditch them and join hands with the Democrats instead.

Trump exulted in his newly bipartisan approach Thursday, declaring it a great thing for our country, while Ryan mostly grinned and bore it.

At the Capitol on Wednesday, Ryan had deemed a three-month debt ceiling increase as unworkable and ridiculous. Yet an hour later, Trump overruled his strong objections to side with the Democrats.

The presidents rebuff on the debt came just days after Trump ignored Ryans pleas not to end the program to aid immigrants brought to the country as children and living here illegally. Instead, Trump ended the program and tossed the issue to Congress to resolve in six months.

The debt deal headed for House passage Friday along with $15 billion in disaster aid and a three-month government funding extension.

Indeed for Ryan, GOP reactions to the deal exposed some lurking threats to his perch atop a conference where unrest brews nearly ceaselessly among conservatives, and there have been recent rumblings of a possible coup.

Trump remains highly popular in the conservative districts occupied by many House Republicans, much more so than Ryan himself, who is scorned by many in the GOP base as an establishment sellout. In a whipsawed moment, some House Republicans defended Trumps handling of a deal they dont like, while simultaneously criticizing Ryan, who had been overruled by the president. It also underscored the political pressure on Ryan to try to remain in the presidents good graces even when Trump is flirting with Democrats.

Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, said the message in his conservative district is that congressional Republicans need to get behind the president.

That sentiment makes him weaker, King said of Ryan.

Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona described Ryan as very unpopular in his district, while regard for Trump is pretty high.

As far as his constituents are concerned, Gosar said, theyd be happy if Ryan got the boot and Trump stayed. Thats kind of the mantra in my district, he said.

For his part, Trump has soured on the Republican congressional leadership in recent months, fuming to associates that they led him astray on their health care strategy, among other complaints.

The president has told those close to him that he regrets choosing to tackle the repeal and replace of Barack Obamas health care law as his first legislative push. He has singled out Ryan for blame, saying the speaker assured him it would pass and instead handed him an early, humiliating failure, before ultimate House passage of a revived bill, according to three White House and outside advisers familiar with the conversations but not authorized to speak about them publicly.

GOP health care efforts collapsed in the Senate in July.

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This combination of pictures created on September 9, 2017 shows then-Saudi Defence Minister and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during a press conference in the capital Riyadh on April 25, 2016; and Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani attending the 136th Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit in Riyadh on December 10, 2015.

The Qatari ruler called Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to express interest in talks to resolve a three-month-old diplomatic crisis, Saudi state media said early on September 9, 2017. (AFP Photo)

RIYADH, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Saudi Arabia announced on Saturday the freezing of talks with Qatar over news report from Qatar news agency, Al Arabiya local news reported.

The kingdom announced its consideration to initiate a dialogue with Qatar after the approval of the other three countries that severed ties with Qatar in June this year over accusations, including backing extremism and terrorism.

The announcement was made after Saudi Crown Prince, Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud had received a call from Qatari Amir, Shaikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thanki requesting for a dialogue to end the rifts.

Saudi foreign ministry confirmed that the talks will be frozen until Qatar comes out with a clear stand while accusing the agency of publishing a baseless report on the phone conversation. The ministry highlighted that its country isn't ready to tolerate any misinterpretation of agreements or facts by Qatar.

The ministry continues that the news report showed that the country doesn't want to solve the issues and created mistrust of its seriousness about the talks.

The four Arab countries led by Saudi Arabia that severed ties with Qatar on Friday denied considering any military option to end rifts, while insisting that Qatar should accept the 13 demands without negotiations.

The statement, released by Saudi Press Agency, was a response to the statement made by Kuwaiti Emir Shaikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al Sabah in Washington, which claimed that Qatar had accepted the demands and was negotiating them, and Kuwaiti mediation has helped prevent military options.

The four countries, namely Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt stressed that the dialogue on the implementation of the demands should not be preceded by any conditions.

The Saudi-led bloc regretted what the Kuwaiti leader called the success of mediation in stopping military intervention, adding that the military option has not been and will not be considered in any case.

They also highlighted that the announcement of Qatar's foreign minister rejected to initiate any dialogue without lifting the boycott, emphasizing that the only way to resolve the crisis is to stop supporting and financing terrorism.

On June 5, the Saudi-led quartet severed diplomatic ties with Qatar and imposed a blockade on the rich tiny Gulf nation, accusing Doha of supporting terrorism and extremism, interfering in their internal affairs, and seeking closer ties with Iran, a Saudi rival.

Qatar has strongly denied the charges against it, while rejecting a list of 13 demands put forward by the bloc for resuming diplomatic ties.
Re: Missile defence worth the effort, Editorial, Sept. 6

Missile defence worth the effort, Editorial, Sept. 6

Rarely have I read such an ill-advised set of suggestions as appeared in this editorial, in which the Star naively endorses Canada camping on to Uncle Sams destructive schemes to deploy anti-ballistic missiles to shoot down incoming nuclear warheads.

Does the Star not know that anti-ballistic missiles (ABM) are offensive weapons, not defensive ones? The long-term goal of the U.S. ABM program is not to protect us against a rogue North Korean missile, but rather to degrade the quality of the Russian and Chinese nuclear-deterrent forces, so the U.S. could attack Russia or China first.

This is why China is so opposed to the deployment of U.S. ABMs in South Korea. The Chinese suspect the ABMs are not aimed at North Korean missiles but are, in fact, meant to negate Chinese ones.

There would thus be several consequences of Canadas participation in U.S. anti-missile schemes:

Canada would become an unavoidable nuclear target for Russia and China. It would be militarily necessary for them to drop H-bombs on any location in Canada that was a component of the U.S. ABM system.

Russia and China would dramatically increase the number of deliverable warheads they have at the ready, to overwhelm the U.S. ABM system. This would lead to a runaway nuclear arms race.

Canada would be directly involved in, and would therefore be complicit in, American nuclear war plans. This would be an open betrayal of decades of Canadian government policies supporting non-proliferation and the eventual abolition of nuclear weapons.

Canada is not involved in the Korean standoff and is almost certainly not a target of Kim Jong Uns missiles. Canadian participation in U.S. ABM schemes would not only make us a target of North Korea but also of Russia and China.

Marcus Shields, Bancroft, Ont.

Please consider the report by leading scientists from the Union of Concerned Scientists, released in July 2016, entitled, Shielded from Oversight: The Disastrous U.S. Approach to Strategic Missile Defense.

One quote might suffice: Today, with a price tag of $40 billion and counting, and nearly 15 years of effort, the GMD missile defence system is now recognized by both supporters and critics as being in serious disarray. It has no proven capability to defend the U.S. public from missile attack; moreover, it is not even on a credible path to achieving such capability.

American GMD offers an utterly false sense of security, encourages recklessness and distracts from the hard work of diplomacy that is the only feasible way forward.

Canada should immediately get behind U.S. Senator Dianne Feinsteins call for a high-level dialogue with North Korea without preconditions.

Peggy Mason, president, Ottawa

As a Liberal who opposed Paul Martins expedient decision not to join the proposed North American anti-ballistic-missile shield, I applaud the Star for urging Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to reverse this decision in the light of the escalating nuclear threat from North Korea.

The Stars position is very well-argued, but I think two footnotes may be of interest.

First, if Canada does not have its hand on the trigger, the Americans could bring down an enemy nuclear missile over heavily populated areas of Canada, killing tens of thousands of Canadians.

Second, working with the U.S. as their partners in a purely defensive partnership might encourage the impulsive U.S. President Donald Trump to offer Canada a better NAFTA deal. He is, after all, the ultimate dealmaker.

Raymond Heard, Toronto

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Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer's decision to resign will leave President Donald Trump with a Fed Board of Governors that has more vacancies than occupants.

Fischer, who was appointed in May 2014 by President Barack Obama, said he will resign from the board, effective on or around Oct. 13. Fischer, 73, whose term was set to expire in 2020, cited personal reasons for his departure. He is married with three adult children. During his tenure at the Fed, he served as chairman of the board's committee on Financial Stability as well as the Committee on Economic and Financial Monitoring and Research.

"Stan's keen insights, grounded in a lifetime of exemplary scholarship and public service, contributed invaluably to our monetary policy deliberations. He represented the Board internationally with distinction and led our efforts to foster financial stability," Fed Chair Janet Yellen said in a statement.

Fischer joined the Fed after serving as a governor of the Bank of Israel, from 2005 to 2013, according to BoardEx, a relationship mapping service of TheStreet Inc. He is a dual citizen of the United States and Israel. Previously, he was vice chairman of Citigroup Inc. (C) - Get Free Report for nearly three years. He was also the first deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund from 1994 to 2001 and was the chief economist for the World Bank between 1988 and 1990.

Fischer, who was born in Zambia in 1943, received his undergraduate and master's degrees from the London School of Economics and a Ph.D. in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he would go on to become a professor. While at MIT, Fischer oversaw former Fed chairman Ben Bernanke's thesis and taught European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, according to Bloomberg.

Fischer's role as vice chairman meant he had an influential position, assisting and advising Yellen. In his resignation letter, Fischer said it has been a "great privilege to serve on the Federal Reserve Board, and, most especially, to work alongside Chair Yellen."

But with Fischer's soon-to-be-vacant seat, the president has the responsibility for nominating a candidate to the seven-member Board of Governors, and each much be confirmed by the Senate.

Fischer's departure means that four of the seven seats on the board will be vacant. Only Yellen, Jerome Powell and Lael Brainard will remain on the Board of Governors. The president nominated Randal Quarles, a former Treasury official under President George W. Bush, to be a governor. His nomination, however, still needs to be confirmed by the Senate.

Yellen's term as chair is set to expire in February as well. She has committed to remaining as chair through the end of her term but has declined to speculate on whether she would stay after that. There have been reports that President Trump is considering Gary Cohn, a top White House economic adviser and former Goldman Sachs (GS) - Get Free Report president, for the chair position.

Stick with TheStreet for updated Irma coverage:

Editors' pick: Originally published Sept. 6.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-09 22:04:42|Editor: Zhou Xin

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DAR ES SALAAM, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian police in Manyara region questioned three officials of Sky Associates Group Limited which owns Tanzanite One Mining Limited, a gemstone mining company, police said on Saturday.

The three officials were implicated in two reports by parliamentary investigative committees presented to President John Magufuli on Thursday.

The arrest of the officials followed a directive by President Magufuli who had instructed defense and security organs to investigate top officials implicated in the report.

Francis Massawe, the Manyara regional police commander, said the three officials were arrested in Arusha on Thursday evening, hours after the president was presented with the report and they were later escorted under heavy police guard to Babati, the headquarters of Manyara region.

Massawe said police were likely to arrest more Sky Associates Group Limited officials and officials from State Mining Corporation, a government owned mining enterprise, also mentioned and implicated in the reports presented to President Magufuli.

On Friday, Tanzanian police chief said they have started investigating senior officials implicated in the two reports by parliamentary investigative committees on diamonds and tanzanite mining.
Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. provides natural gas compression services and equipment to the energy industry in the United States. It fabricates, manufactures, rents, and sells natural gas compressors and related equipment. The company primarily engages in the rental of compression units that provide small, medium, and large horsepower applications for unconventional oil and natural gas production. As of December 31, 2021, the company had 2,023 natural gas compression units in its rental fleet with 418,041 horsepower. The company also engages in the design, fabrication, and assembly of compressor components into compressor units for rental or sale; engineers and fabricates natural gas compressors; and designs and manufactures a line of reciprocating compressor frames, cylinders, and parts. In addition, it is involved in the design, fabrication, sale, installation, and service of flare stacks and related ignition and control devices for the onshore and offshore incineration of gas compounds, such as hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide, natural gas, and liquefied petroleum gases. Further, the company offers customer support services for its compressor and flare sales business; and exchange and rebuild program for small horsepower screw compressors. Its primary customers are exploration and production(E&P) companies that utilize compressor units for artificial lift applications; E&P companies that focuses on natural gas-weighted production; and midstream companies. Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in Midland, Texas.
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.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-09 22:24:48|Editor: Zhou Xin

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JUBA, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said Saturday that one of its staff members was killed on Friday in western South Sudan while helping to deliver aid to victims of the armed conflict.

ICRC said in a statement that it was shocked and dismayed by the killing of its driver, Lukudu Kennedy Laki Emmanuel, who was killed after an ICRC convoy of nine trucks and a four-wheel-drive vehicle was shot at by unknown assailants.

The relief agency said the convoy was returning from an assistance operation in Western Equatoria.

"We are shaken and distraught by the killing of our colleague who was traveling in a convoy of vehicles which were clearly marked with the Red Cross emblem. In addition, all parties to the conflict in the area had been duly notified about our presence," said Francois Stamm, the ICRC's head of delegation in Juba.

Stamm added that Kennedy joined its team in 2014 as a truck driver in Juba. He is married and leaves behind seven children. ICRC said it is assessing the implications of this killing on its operations in the area.

According to UN, South Sudan has become a hostile environment for aid workers. Since the outbreak of civil war in the East African country in 2013, more than 80 aid workers have been killed, including 16 this year alone.

Under international humanitarian law, intentional attacks against humanitarian relief personnel may constitute war crimes.

The relief agency called on all those involved in the conflict to protect the civilian population and to ensure that humanitarian workers can perform their duties, adding that the red cross emblem must be respected at all times.

South Sudan has been embroiled in more than three years of conflict that has taken a devastating toll on the people of South Sudan.

The peace pact signed in Addis Ababa in 2015 under intense international pressure was shattered again following renewed violence between rival government and opposition troops in the capital Juba in July 2016.

The conflict has since spread to other regions which enjoyed relative peace, causing mass displacement of at least 3.5 million people from their homes, ethnic polarization and tribal violence that has killed tens of thousands of people.
BNL girls thump Mitchell at The Hive

Bedford North Lawrence defeated Mitchell 78-20 at the Hive on Saturday evening. The win moved the Stars to 3-0 on the season.
Depending on where you r staying, your place might be providing you with beach chairs and umbrellas. Beaches might have natural shade, too. We saw beach stuff sold at the back of various supermarkets in Puerto Viejo. We did not look at the prices. We made a list of 3 comparatively bigger supermarkets in PV by looking at the maps here: https://www.puertoviejosatellite.com/restaurants.php . They are all within a walking distance of each other, beach and the bus terminal.

Hone Creek supermarket had been recommended to us, but we never made it there ourselves. See https://www.puertoviejosatellite.com/hone-creek-bribri.php .
Hi Fellow Travelers,

I will be traveling to Japan for the first time October 4-15th. I'm looking for assistance on the order of my itinerary and how many days in each. I will be flying in and out of Narita airport and will be purchasing a 7 day Japan Rail Pass. The cities I have to see are as follows: Tokyo, Nikko, Kyoto, Nara, HImeji, Hiroshima, Miyajima, Kayo-San, Hakone, Kamakura. The rough itinerary I put together is:

Tokyo to Nikko - Day Trip

Tokyo to Kyoto

Kyoto to Nara - Day Trip

Kyoto to Himeji

Himeji to Hiroshima

Hiroshima to Miyajima

MIyajima to Kayo-San

Kayo-San to Hakone

Hakone to Kamakura

Kamakura to Tokyo

I would appreciate any comments or suggestions to make sure I am making the best use of my time in terms of efficient travel and cities on my list. Thank you in advance!
Have visited both. Note that the Hida Folk village in Takayama is more akin to a museum or village in miniature but with no one living there, whereas people have been living in Shirakawa-go for centuries.

In my last visit to the latter in early Nov 2015, there were tourists but not that bad. I have been recommending the latter than the former, unless being constrained by time.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-09 22:29:50|Editor: Zhou Xin

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MANILA, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- On controversy over Philippine police's killing of two teenagers in their anti-drug operations, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's spokesman said Saturday that narco-politicians and drug lords in the country are conspiring to sabotage government's efforts to fight illegal drugs and crimes.

"The President's campaign against illegal drugs has adversely affected many, including powerful narco-politicians and deep pocketed drug lords who flourished prior to this administration," presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella said in a statement.

"It should not come as a surprise that these malignant elements would conspire to sabotage the President's campaign to rid the Philippines of illegal drugs and criminality, the centerpiece program of the administration, to succeed; which may include creating scenarios stoking public anger against the government," the statement read.

Abella reminded that the recent killings targeting the youth "should be viewed with suspicion and urgency."

The Philippine National Bureau of Investigation last Thursday filed a complaint for murder and planting of evidence to four policemen who killed a 17-year-old boy during a drug raid on Aug. 16.

Another 19-year-old was killed by policemen on Aug. 18 on his allegedly robbery of a taxi.

President Duterte said on Friday that the 19-year-old was his distant relative. He told Philippine police chief Ronald dela Rosa to watch out for groups trying to sabotage the anti-illegal drug operations through the killings of teenagers.

Duterte also said the killings "were intentional" and there were people out "to discredit" the government, aiming to bring down his administration.
Hi, my family just announced that as my present for graduating high school, I may be able to visit Japan and Korea! I am currently 17 years old and will be 18 at the time of this trip, which would likely be from the end of May to about the middle of June.

The thing is, flights are obviously very expensive. I would be departing from Huntsville, Alabama, United States. The way I had looked at this was the best way to get from Tokyo to Kyoto would obviously be to take the bullet train (shinkansen), and then low-cost airlines such as Peach Aviation have flights from Osaka to Seoul. However, I've noticed that getting an "open jaw" ticket where I'd arrive in Tokyo but return to the US from Seoul is often difficult. So, I've looked at these two options:

1. Go with the itinerary I've stated, although I could buy another low-cost ticket from Seoul to Tokyo and thus instead book a round trip ticket to Tokyo. This would be a codeshare ANA/United flight, where I'd take United from Huntsville to Chicago and then ANA from Chicago to Tokyo, and same way back. ANA is currently charging $1,778 for this flight.

2. Instead buy a round trip ticket to Seoul and then fly from there to Osaka, and then take the train from Kyoto to Tokyo and then go from there back to Seoul. Essentially, a reverse trip. This would involve buying a round trip ticket from Korean Air, where I'd take Delta to Atlanta and then get on a nonstop Korean Air flight to Seoul and then, on the way back, take a Korean Air flight to Chicago and then an American Airlines flight back to Huntsville. Korean Air is charging $1,703 for this flight.

Which itinerary is a better option, and is ANA or Korean Air a better airline? I will also say that I'm not the most fond of US carriers, but I don't mind short domestic flights. I may be willing to go with a US carrier if it's cheaper, but I will say that I will avoid United at all costs for an international flight (had severe trouble with them flying to Costa Rica in 2015, and after they dragged that man off the plane earlier this year they've lost all of my respect). I was kind of surprised by how high the airfares are, which also makes me ask, does anyone know when it's the best time of year to buy flights to Asia? I appreciate all of this, thank you very much!
Hi all,

I am going to Japan in October and want to make the most out of it. I am interested in culture, history, architecture, and traditions. Not that much interested in shopping or nightlife.

My plan for Japan is:

Day 0: arrive in Tokyo

Day 1 and 2: explore Tokyo. Stay in Tokyo.

Day 3: day trip to Nikko and Lake Chuzenji. Stay in Tokyo [should I skip this for something else? Not sure about this]

Day 4: travel to Kyoto. Stop in Hakone for a few hours. Stay in Kyoto

Day 5 and 6: Explore Kyoto. Stay in Kyoto [should I consider more time for Kyoto itself?]

Day 7: Day trip to Fushimi Inari Shrine & Nara. Stay in Kyoto

Day 8: travel to Hiroshima. Stop to see Himeji castle on the way. Explore Hiroshima. Stay in Hiroshima.

Day 9: Hiroshima and Miyajima Island. Stay in Hiroshima.

Day 10: travel to Osaka. Explore Osaka-

Day 11: fly back home

I have some questions:

1) should I skip Nikko?

2) should i try to visit Hiroshima and Miyajima in one day rather than 2?

3) Is there something I am missing? For example, is it worth to try to go to Koyasan?

Your help and inputs are really appreciated!

Thanks!
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Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-09 23:20:02|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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CAIRO, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Human rights groups criticized Israel for the continued sale of weaponry to the Myanmar junta amid violence against Rohingya Muslims, local media reported on Saturday.

More than 100 tanks as well as boats and light weapons have been sold to the Myanmar government by Israeli arms companies, investigations by several human rights watchdogs have found, according to MENA news agency.

One company, TAR Ideal Concepts, has also trained Myanmar special forces in northern Rakhine state, where much of the violence is taking place, posting pictures on their website of its staff teaching combat tactics and how to handle weapons.

There is a U.S. and EU embargo on selling arms to Myanmar, which was under military rule.

Israel's high court will decide on whether to ban arms sales to the country later this month after a petition by Israeli acitivists.

The Israeli defense ministry defended arms sales, saying the courts had no jurisdiction over a "diplomatic" issue, the report said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-09 23:20:03|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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PARIS, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Injecting new breath into the divided populist National Front party (FN) and setting a "determined opposition" against "oligarchs" of Macronism are key to defending France's identity in face of globalism and market liberalism, FN leader Marine Le Pen said Saturday.

Le Pen, weakened by internal rifts and growing criticism over her failure in the presidential race, expressed "strong determination to act not for me but for you, not alone but with you," when she addressed followers in Brachay, a far-rightist stronghold in northeastern France.

"A new organization will be decided in (the party's) congress and will have a new name that you will decide," she told her supporters.

The anti-immigrant and nationalism advocate said she would work "to defend a sustainable France, its economic and social balance, identity and culture, the existence of which the president denies."

Firing at President Emmanuel Macron's liberal platform that offers "power to market hands," and the government's inaction in fixing security and migration problems, Le Pen describes the FN as "the base of political and ideological stability," and "the exact antithesis of Macronism," which she said represented "the triumph of the ruling class."

In turn, she proposed "major radical reforms," and a "renewed" and "more decentralized" party so that "France remains the country for its children and for the world."

After a disappointing performance in the May 7 presidential campaign, Le Pen was dogged by internal rifts among the party's senior officials over whether to soften her hostility against the euro.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-09 23:45:07|Editor: Mengjie

Artists perform in Tverskaya street during the 870th anniversary of Moscow in Moscow, Russia, Sept. 9, 2017. (Xinhua/Evgeny Sinitsyn)

MOSCOW, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Massive festivities will be staged on the weekend across Moscow to mark the 870th anniversary of the city's founding.

According to the Moscow municipal government, 427 events will be held in more than 300 locations. A total of 10 million visits to these events are expected.

Russian President Vladimir Putin attended a gala concert on Saturday in the Red Square, where he congratulated Moscow residents and visitors on City Day.

"This day is always marked by grand and festive celebrations, with people expressing their sincere love for Moscow, its centuries' old history and its contemporary achievements and their pride for our beautiful capital," he said.

Putin said a large-scale reconstruction is underway in the city to improve the quality of life for Muscovites, although the work is arduous.

Located in the East European Plain, Moscow is the capital of and the largest city in Russia as well as a major global metropolis.
| 2017-09-10 06:01:23|Editor: Mengjie

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by Christine Lagat

NAIROBI, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Kenya's fresh presidential elections slated for Oct. 7 offers an opportunity for the electoral body to salvage its tainted image after bungled polls on Aug. 8 while healing ethnic and sectarian divisions that have engulfed the country in the recent past, experts have said.

The experts interviewed by Xinhua admitted that fresh presidential polls ordered by the Supreme Court on Sept. 1 could radically alter Kenya's political landscape, economy and diplomatic engagement.

"Kenyans welcome the fresh presidential election as it will set the truth. They are hoping the elections will be free and fair so that the country is able to move ahead and address growing ethnic divisions," said Kioko Mutua, a scholar at the University of Nairobi's Institute of Development Studies.

Four out of six judges of the Supreme Court voted to annul the Aug. 8 vote where the incumbent, Uhuru Kenyatta, was declared the winner, setting the stage for a rerun.

Kenyatta's rival in the opposition National Super Alliance (NASA), Raila Odinga, protested his win, citing gross malpractices that included alleged hacking of gadgets used to transmit results to a national tallying center.

The apex court's decision to nullify presidential election results that was hailed as historic has triggered a heated national conversation on the credibility and impartiality of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to oversee a rerun.

Nevertheless, experts were convinced the rerun will be held on schedule despite skepticism from some political groupings while citizens will be presented with an opportunity to chart a new beginning after enduring months of heated campaigns.

Kenyatta will face off with Odinga during the Oct. 17 polls that will be held against a backdrop of heated rhetoric over the political future of the country.

Mutua predicted that both Kenyatta and Odinga will leave nothing to chance as they campaign for the highest office in the land.

He noted the two candidates will also present contrasting visions during the campaign to woo undecided voters and avoid a runoff.

"President Kenyatta is going to cement his message that he delivered to Kenyans and that he should be given another chance to finish what he started. Odinga will be keen to poke holes on the development record of Kenyatta. He will also promise delivery on projects that Kenyatta may have abandoned," Mutua told Xinhua.

Odinga and his ardent supporters scored a major victory when the Supreme Court invalidated Kenyatta's electoral victory citing rampant irregularities.

His lawyers made a case for nullification of the election results by illustrating the depth of alleged malpractices during votes tallying and transmission.

The 72-year-old veteran of Kenya's opposition politics will once again face off the well endowed incumbent at the rerun whose outcomes are hazy.

Mutua said it is hard to predict the winner of the forthcoming presidential rerun but noted the incumbent retains an upper hand based on the existing voting patterns.

"President Kenyatta has an upper hand but only if as he says the elections were not stolen. If it was free; it will be a daunting task for Odinga to cover the 1.4 million gap. Also, President Kenyatta's supporters have a high turnout compared to Odinga," Mutua said.

He said the turnout in Kenyatta's strongholds in the Aug. 8 elections averaged 85 percent while the turnout in Odinga's strongholds averaged below 70 percent.

The presidential rerun will have a huge impact on Kenya's future stability, given the high-octane competition alongside political and financial strength of both candidates, Mutua said.

"The future of this country will depend on how the repeat of elections is conducted," he said. "If the loser accepts defeat, if all goes well, the judgment will help strengthen other institutions because they now see judiciary is independent."

Ken Ogembo, a lecturer at Kenyatta University, said that free, credible and transparent repeat presidential polls will test the ability to sustain peace, cohesion and economic growth of Kenya, once an oasis of peace in the politically volatile eastern Africa region.

"We hope that the election loser will accept defeat to prevent socio-political polarization," Ogembo said, adding that it would be premature to predict the winner given that no opinion polls has so far been released to reveal the electoral strength of each candidate.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-10 00:25:26|Editor: Mengjie

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NEW DELHI, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- India's premier investigating agency Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Saturday raided residence of former Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan in southern state of Tamil Nadu, officials said.

Natarajan's house in Chennai, the capital city of Tamil Nadu, was raided.

"CBI has filed a case against Natarajan in connection with clearance given during her tenure for diversion of forest land for mining in alleged violation of laws," an official said.

Reports said Natarajan has been accused by the CBI of abusing her official position to clear diversion of forest land in Jharkhand's Saranda forest without justification. Her predecessor Jairam Ramesh had reportedly refused to clear the proposal.
- A Nairobi resident has moved to court to challenge Mike Sonko's victory in the August 8 poll

- According to the petitioner, the poll was a shamble it was not conducted in a fair and credible manner

A Nairobi resident has moved to court to challenge governor Mike Sonko's win in the August, 8 poll.

The man, identified as Japhet Muroko filed a petition in court challenging the Nairobi Governor's victory on grounds that the poll was not conducted in a fair and credible manner.

According to the complainant, the election was a shamble since there was massive non-compliance withe Election laws and the Constitution.

Mike Sonko's victory challenged in court. Photo: Nation

READ ALSO: The secret phone call from Uhuru that saw Isaac Ruto dump Raila Odinga

Muroko claimed that former governor Evans Kidero's agents were barred from accessing most polling stations.

Muroko added that some agents were allowed to access specific polling stations only after voting had taken place, something that contributed to irregularities.

READ ALSO: Raila writes to french government to intervene in his battle to prove IEBC wrong

Mike Sonko's victory challenged in court. Photo: Mike Sonko/Facebook

READ ALSO: IEBC CEO Ezra Chiloba demands apology

Muroko's petition comes barely days after several politicians moved to court to challenge poll results.

In Nairobi, former nominated Senator Elizabeth Ongoro moved to court to challenge TJ Kajwang's victory in the August 8 poll.

Others who moved to court over the same include Embakasi MP Candidate Francis Mureithi and Starehe's Steve Mbogo.

Lupita Nyong'o made me change my name - Njugush

Source: TUKO.co.ke
Five Ukrainian soldiers were wounded as a result of military operations in the anti-terrorist operation (ATO) zone in eastern Ukraine over the past day.

Ukrainian Defense Ministry's Spokesperson for ATO issues Andriy Lysenko said this at a press briefing on Saturday, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"No Ukrainian soldiers were killed as a result of hostilities over the past 24 hours. Unfortunately, five soldiers were wounded, most of them - in Mariupol direction during the shelling," Lysenko said.

ish
Ukraine's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Volodymyr Yelchenko predicts that the decision-making process regarding the UN peacekeeping mission in Donbas will last at least until the next year.

He said this in an exclusive interview with Ukrinform.

"We will see what will come out of this, but I think it will take a long time. We would like to resolve this issue during the period of Ukraine's membership in the Security Council [that is, before the end of this year]," the head of the Ukrainian Mission to the United Nations said.

At the same time, Yelchenko stressed that the peacekeeping operation cannot be approved without Ukraine. "That is, any elements that are unacceptable for us will become a barrier to the approval of the operation. Therefore, a lot depends on us, and the final word rests with us, regardless of whether we will remain at that time in the UN Security Council or not," Yelchenko said.

The diplomat confirms that this issue will be one of the main issues raised by the Ukrainian side during the session of the 72nd General Assembly of the United Nations, which will officially begin on September 12.

ish
Famous Russian rapper Vasily Vakulenko (Basta) has been declared persona non grata in Ukraine. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) banned him from entering Ukraine for a period of three years.

The SBU said this to Apostrophe online portal.

"According to Article 13 of the Law of Ukraine "On the Legal Status of Foreigners and Stateless Persons", the Security Service of Ukraine in the interests of ensuring the state security decided to prohibit the entry into Ukraine to the above mentioned citizen for a period of three years," the document reads.

As reported, despite visiting the occupied Crimea, the rapper was able to give a concert in Kyiv on June 17. The SBU did not prohibit his concert. The next concert of Basta in the capital was scheduled for December 1, 2017.

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Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-10 00:40:29|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ISLAMABAD, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Law enforcement agencies arrested seven militants during a search operation in Pakistan's southern port city of Karachi on Saturday, local Urdu media reported.

Police and paramilitary troops launched a joint operation in Gulistan-e-Johar area of the city, by acting on an intelligence tip-off regarding presence of the militants in the area, Dunya News said.

Police said that the arrested militants are members of proscribed organization Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan.

A huge cache of arms and ammunition have been recovered from the hideout of the militants.
This week on Issues in the News, prominent Washington correspondents discuss topics making headlines around the world, including North Koreas continued missile testing, and the plight of tens of thousands of Rohingya refugees displaced by violence in Myanmar. Join moderator David Rennie of The Economist, along with our panelists, Paul Brandus of West Wing Reports and Israeli-based i24News correspondent Dan Raviv.
The head of United Nations peacekeeping says rising ethnic tensions in Central African Republic are likely to spur greater conflict between the Muslim and Christian communities unless action is taken to defuse the situation.

U.N. Undersecretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix says ethnic hate speech is running in parallel with an increase in violence in the Central African Republic. And, he says, he finds this very worrisome.

We are seeing a surge in very negative messages, very negative antagonistic rhetoric to the effect that foreigners should be eliminated. Sort of putting one ethnic component or religious component of this country against the other and this is very worrying and serious.

Lacroix says it is a key responsibility of the leadership and all those in positions of influence in the Central African Republic to counter those messages.

War between the Muslim Seleka and Christian anti-Balaka armed groups broke out in 2013 after Seleka rebels toppled the Christian president, Francois Bozize.

Peacekeeping chief Lacroix tells VOA every effort is being made to redeploy U.N. forces on the ground to try to mitigate the impact of this violence and to protect civilians.

We do protect thousands of them [civilians] again in different locations in Central African Republic. We really not only protect them physically from those who want to go after them, but we help them get humanitarian assistance even though this is becoming quite challenging in many areas, Lacroix said.

The war in the Central African Republic has displaced about half a million people internally and has prompted an almost equal number of people to seek refuge in neighboring countries. The United Nations reports an estimated 2.4 million people - about half the CAR's population - are in need of humanitarian assistance.

Lacroix says the United Nations is trying to reconcile the two ethnic communities by working with religious, civic and political leaders from different walks of life. He says it is crucial to move the political process forward in the CAR to achieve a durable peace.
The White Houses decision this week to repeal the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), carries enormous repercussions for the nearly 800,000 beneficiaries: The undocumented young people who were brought to the United States as children.

But the cost, which is difficult to quantify for a workforce faced with the real possibility of losing their job and forced to leave the country, is evident to employers, who largely view both the moral and economic implications of ending the program as intertwined.

Losing [the economic contributions of DACA recipients] is a direct cost, said Kathryn Wylde, president and CEO of Partnership for New York City, which represents the citys business leadership. She said the states DACA workforce contributes several billion dollars a year to the local economy.

WATCH: DACA Repeal to Cost U.S. Businesses, Economy Billions

Its also a signal to the rest of the world that somehow America is no longer a place that is embracing talent and hard work and the energy of immigrants, Wylde told VOA. That message has a ripple effect in terms of hurting recruitment efforts by our major companies, because they need talent  multilingual talent  from all over the world.

Employers bear the brunt

To date, more than 400 U.S. entrepreneur and business leaders have signed an open letter that calls on U.S. President Donald Trump and Congress to preserve DACA and provide a permanent solution that ensures recipients ability to continue working legally in the country without risk of deportation.

Our economy would lose $460.3 billion from the national GDP and $24.6 billion in Social Security and Medicare tax contributions, the letter reads, referencing research conducted by the liberal-leaning Center for American Progress, over a 10-year period.

The conservative-leaning CATO Institute places that figure at $280 billion.

Lose-lose

Following the announcement of DACAs repeal, the White House suggested unemployed American workers might somehow benefit, based solely on the age of the workforce.

There are over 4 million unemployed Americans in the same age group as those that are DACA recipients, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters.

Over 950,000 of those are African-Americans in the same age group; over 870,000 unemployed Hispanics in the same age group. Those are large groups of people that are unemployed that could possibly have those jobs, Sanders said.

But economists and immigration analysts find fault with Sanders argument: The native-born unemployed population is not a perfect substitute for the DACA workforce, and the displacement of one worker for another does not increase productivity.

Under the repeal of DACA, CATO estimated employers would incur $6.3 billion in turnover costs, a figure that includes the recruiting, hiring and training of 720,000 new employees in often highly skilled positions. Thirty-six percent of DACA recipients 25 and older hold a bachelors or advanced degree.

Many DACA recipients are highly educated and working in positions such as health care and education, where they are more highly paid and therefore more productive, said David Bier, immigration policy analyst at CATO Institute. [Those are] the industries where youre going to see a greater impact as a result of this forced turnover caused by the DACA repeal.

Contracting the labor force, kicking people out of the country, will not create jobs. It will just shrink the overall size of the economy, Bier said.

Over the long term, Wylde said, failing to find a permanent solution for DACA workers would inhibit U.S. businesses ability to compete.

We want to be at the forefront of the attraction and support of our talent, she said. We dont want to be deporting them.

Elizabeth Cherneff contributed to this report.
The Dalai Lama on Sunday will begin a 20-day tour of Europe, where he will give public teachings on Buddhism and also meet with scientists.

The Tibetan spiritual leader arrived Friday in New Delhi, India, from which he will depart for his four-nation tour. Calling it an educational visit, he said he was looking forward to the trip, especially to a meeting with scientists in Frankfurt, Germany.

"I am looking forward to the Frankfurt's meeting. [I will be] meeting with some scientists, and also there will be some kind of commemoration [of the] late Von Weizsacker," the Dalai Lama told Reuters. Carl von Weizsacker was a quantum physics teacher to the Dalai Lama, who has long shown an interest in modern science.

The Dalai Lama will first travel to Britain, where he will give a public talk on compassion. From there, he will travel to Frankfurt for a conference on the intersection between Buddhist teachings and modern science. While in Frankfurt, the Dalai Lama will also give a talk on ethics.

The spiritual leader will also attend a symposium on science while on the next leg of his trip in Italy. He will wrap up his European tour in Latvia.

Messenger of ancient thought

The Dalai Lama said his talks come from the ancient Indian wisdom of his teachers.

"I carry wherever I go the ancient Indian thought, Indian knowledge. So I just look at myself as a messenger of ancient Indian thought," he said.

The Dalai Lama has lived in exile in the northern Indian town of Dharamsala since he fled Tibet in 1959 after a failed Chinese uprising. China denounces him as a dangerous separatist. The Dalai Lama denies this and says he is seeking autonomy for Tibetans.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-10 00:50:32|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ISLAMABAD, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Twelve people were drowned while swimming in Arabian Sea off Pakistan's southern Karachi city on Saturday, local reports quoted rescue teams and officials as saying.

The dead, including two women, went for picnic at Hawkes Bay Beach of the sea and drowned while swimming in the Hawkes Bay, said Faisal Edhi, head of the non-government organization Edhi Foundation which carried out rescue operation.

Sohail Anwar Siyal, home minister of Sindh, said that police stopped the family from swimming in the sea, but they ignored them and proceeded to the rough sea.

Chief Minister of Sindh Murad Ali Shah took notice of the incident and directed additional inspector general police to submit a report.

Hawkes Bay is one of the famous beaches in the city, which turns notorious for drowning during the monsoon season every year.

Authorities stop people from bathing in the sea during the monsoon season, but some of the tourists ignore their advice, which leads to casualties every year.

Last month, three Saudi nationals including a senior diplomat's son were killed while swimming in the sea off Hawkes Bay.
Democratic lawmakers are trying to find ways to force a vote on legislation to protect enrollees in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which safeguards almost 800,000 undocumented young people in the U.S. from deportation.

Democratic Representative Luis Gutierrez of Illinois said Friday at a news conference with fellow Democrats in Washington that if DACA-related legislation hasn't been passed by December, many Democrats will prevent passage of a bill to raise the country's debt ceiling.

"I urged, encouraged and pled with the Democratic leadership not to allow a vote on a continuing resolution on the funding of our government and not to allow a vote on raising the debt limit" unless the DACA issue is addressed, Gutierrez said.

House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer of Maryland and Representative Michelle Grisham of New Mexico, who chairs the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, announced Thursday evening that they were launching a petition to force a vote on the DACA issue. They would need a majority of House members to sign what is known as a discharge petition to allow the bill to bypass the committee process, which is where bills typically are written.

Because Democrats are in the minority in Congress, they would need at least some Republicans to support the measure for it to be successful.

As the majority party in both the House and Senate, Republicans have the power to decide which bills are brought to the floor for a vote.

Congressional action

House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin has vowed not to hold a vote on any immigration bill without the support of at least half of the Republican members of the House.

Senator Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said earlier this week that his colleagues would exercise all available legislative maneuvers to ensure a DACA bill passes, including the possibility of attaching nonrelated items to the bill.

Lawmakers have six months to come up with a plan for the more than 800,000 people who have temporary legal status under the DACA program.

President Donald Trump has said he will let the program lapse in six months if lawmakers cannot come up with a solution.

"I think Congress really wants to do this," Trump said earlier this week, adding he would like immigration legislation that includes protection for the undocumented immigrants and "something where we have good border security."

Trump has pressed for tighter immigration controls and called for construction of a wall on the country's border with Mexico to thwart more migrants' entry into the country.

Many undocumented immigrants under DACA say they were brought to the United States as children by their parents who may have come illegally and that the United States is the only country they know.

VOA's Katherine Gypson contributed to this report.
The U.S. credit monitoring company Equifax is facing a storm of criticism, lawsuits and investigations after a data breach that may have compromised personal data for about 143 million Americans.

New York state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced Friday that his office would formally investigate the data breach, saying that more than 8 million New Yorkers had been affected by the hack.

"The Equifax breach has potentially exposed sensitive personal information of nearly everyone with a credit report, and my office intends to get to the bottom of how and why this massive hack occurred," Schneiderman said in a statement.

Illinois' attorney general also opened an investigation into the data breach, and more states are likely to follow suit.

Also Friday, U.S. Representative Jeb Hensarling, a Texas Republican who is chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, said he would call for congressional hearings on the Equifax breach.

Two proposed class-action lawsuits, one filed in Portland, Oregon, and another in Atlanta, Georgia, alleged that Equifax had been negligent in protecting consumer data.

Stock price slides

Investors were also showing their displeasure about the hack by dropping their stock in the company. Equifax's share price fell more than 13 percent in trading Friday, to $123.32. The decline equates to more than $2 billion in lost market value.

The Atlanta company said Thursday that the hackers had obtained names, Social Security numbers, birth dates and addresses of more than 40 percent of the U.S. population.

"Based on the company's investigation, the unauthorized access occurred from mid-May through July 2017," the company said in a statement.

The company said credit card numbers were also compromised for 209,000 U.S. consumers, as were credit dispute accounts for 182,000 people.

Equifax discovered the hack July 29 but waited until Thursday to warn consumers.

Although other cyberattacks have been bigger than this one, such as a data breach at Yahoo last year that affected more than 500 million accounts, this one could be the most damaging because of the type of data collected.

Equifax is one the largest credit-reporting companies in the United States.
A leading humanitarian aid group has accused the European Union of being complicit in the torture, killing and rape of migrants in detention camps in Libya. The system is partially run by armed militias and people smugglers, and critics say the EU is supporting these groups in return for stemming the flow of migrants across the Mediterranean. Henry Ridgwell reports from London.
Thousands of migrants desperate to get to Europe are being held in detention centers across Libya. Some are run by foreign aid agencies, others by the myriad armed groups vying for power and money.

Joanne Liu, international president of the aid group Doctors Without Borders, has recently returned from visiting detention centers in Libya and told reporters that militia groups are detaining migrants in horrific conditions where they are subject to torture, rape, starvation and killing.

Basically, I will describe those detention centers are for me, manufacturers of suffering at industrial level, she said.

Migrants picked up at sea by Libyas EU-sponsored coast guard are sent back into the countrys murky detention system. Lui describes it as a thriving enterprise of kidnapping, torture and extortion, and accuses Europe of complicity.

Are they OK with containing and sending people back to where they will be raped, tortured and enslaved? Are they OK aiding and abetting criminals and smugglers? she asked.

Italian Prime Minister Paulo Gentiloni pledged Thursday to demand improved conditions in the detention centers.

But this commitment cannot go against our commitment to fight against the human smugglers and the flow of migrants into our countries, he said.

WATCH: Europe Accused of Complicity in 'Horrific Abuse' of Migrants in Libya

The EU is struggling to balance public pressure to end the migration crisis with the blocs much vaunted human rights values, said Libya analyst Riccardo Fabiani of the Eurasia Group.

This is the problem and the paradox here, that Europe needs, at least from the point of view of the authorities, to do something about migration, to reduce migration, he said. And the only way to do it is to reach a deal with the various parties and actors involved in human trafficking. But the price to pay for this is human rights violations and effectively accepting that a degree of violence and human rights violations will take place.

Increasingly, Fabiani says, Europe appears willing to pay that price to end the crisis.
Hurricane Irma continued Saturday to unleash powerful wind and heavy rain on the northern coast of Cuba as it churned toward Florida after killing at least 22 people and inflicting catastrophic destruction elsewhere in the Atlantic region.

In addition to Cuba, U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) hurricane warnings were in effect for the Bahamian islands of Andros, Bimini and Grand Bahama, the Florida peninsula and the Florida Keys.

The NHC said Irma had weakened from a Category 4 to a Category 3 hurricane but was expected to regain strength as it approached the Florida Keys.

The storm, one of the strongest in recorded history, was projected to begin pounding the Keys Sunday morning and approach the southwestern coast of Florida Sunday afternoon.

Florida asked 5.6 million people  more than one-quarter of the state's population  to evacuate ahead of the hurricane's expected landfall.

Almost here

Governor Rick Scott characterized Irma as "a catastrophic storm that this state has never seen before," noting that the storm was wider than the state.

Scott warned, "We are running out of time," and issued an appeal on Twitter for 1,000 volunteer nurses.

Forecasts indicatd the Keys, southwestern Florida and the Tampa Bay area might take direct hits from Irma. But southeast Florida, including Miami, could still feel the fury of the storm.

"That doesn't mean we won't have 20 inches of rain, storm surge. ... We're going to have a hurricane here," said Miami-based National Hurricane Center meteorologist Dennis Feltgen.

Alp Inal, a businessman in Miami, told VOAs Turkish service that the city looked like a ghost town as most people heeded warnings to evacuate.

South Beach, midtown, all these areas are empty. People are fleeing the city by car or by plane if they can find tickets to anywhere. You cannot find gasoline at gas stations, and more than half of the gas stations in Miami are not operational, Inal said.

He said his family was flying to Boston because it was the only place they could get plane tickets to. We searched for tickets to New York, Washington, Atlanta and Nashville, but we couldn't find any, he said.

Preparations

U.S. President Donald Trump and his Cabinet were to meet Saturday at the presidential retreat in Camp David, Maryland, to discuss the hurricane.

"It's a really bad one, but we're prepared at the highest level. Hopefully, everything will be well," Trump told reporters on the White House South Lawn Friday before departing for Camp David.

Trump posted a tweet Saturday that included links to shelters and other information that will be useful to storm victims.

Kathleen Fox, acting deputy administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), told VOA, "We've got tens of thousands of liters of water, we've got food, we've got cots, we've got medical supplies prepositioned, toddler kits, which include diapers, formula, those kinds of things."

White House homeland security adviser Tom Bossert was asked during a White House media briefing Friday about his greatest concern. "We're worried about the fuel shortages," he replied, noting five or six oil refineries in Texas were still out of operation because of damage from Hurricane Harvey last week.

Destruction in Caribbean

En route to Cuba and Florida, Irma ripped through 160-square-kilometer Barbuda, prompting Prime Minister Gaston Browne of Antigua and Barbuda to say the island was now "rubble."

The prime minister estimated about 95 percent of all the buildings on Barbuda had been destroyed or damaged.

The island nation was bracing for the impact of Category 4 Hurricane Jose.

On the island of St. Martin, shared by France and the Netherlands, there were "scenes of pillaging" as people looted stores and took to the streets in search of food and water, according to Annick Girardin, France's minister for overseas territories.

It could be up to six months before all power is restored on cash-strapped Puerto Rico, a U.S. commonwealth, where Irma knocked out power to more than 1 million people.

Irma also lashed Haiti and the Dominican Republic, which share the island of Hispaniola, with fierce winds and heavy rain, but spared those two countries a direct hit.

The U.S. Defense Department has deployed three Navy ships, about two dozen aircraft and hundreds of Marines to help with recovery efforts in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

After taking an aerial tour Friday of the destruction on St. John and St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands Governor Kenneth Mapp simply said, "It's just bad."

Mapp said St. John seemed to have been "whacked harder" by the storm's strong winds, causing "structural collapses."

Four deaths were reported in the U.S. Virgin Islands, while there was widespread destruction on St. Thomas, including its hospital, port and sewage treatment plant.



Mehmet Sumer from VOAs Turkish service contributed to this report.
The U.N. refugee agency warns overcrowding and deteriorating conditions on Greeces eastern Aegean islands are causing serious distress among refugees, leading to self-harm and riots in protest.

UNHCR reports that refugees from Syria, Iraq and other destitute and conflict-ridden countries are arriving on Greeces islands faster than the government can transfer them to the mainland for processing.

In August, it notes, nearly 3,700 people arrived by sea - nearly 1,500 more than in July. UNHCR spokeswoman Cecile Pouilly says living conditions are particularly bad for refugees on the islands of Lesbos, Samos, Leros and Chios.

Many of the people have been staying on the islands for months, and the conditions have affected their physical and mental health. The threat of violence, self-harm and sexual assault is extremely worrying and more security is needed, Pouilly said.



The agency reports facilities on the islands are seriously overcrowded, and people who lack accommodations are forced to live in containers and tents. Pouilly says on the island of Samos, more than 1,900 people remain crammed into an area intended for 700.

Among them, she says, are more than 600 children, as well as pregnant women, serious medical cases and people with disabilities.

We are concerned at the growing risks to their health and welfare, due to water shortages and poor hygienic conditions, and we have been providing assistance, such as blankets, mats, sleeping bags and so on. On Lesbos, tensions remain high at the Moria center, which has been twice rocked by riots in recent weeks, Pouilly said.

The UNHCR is calling for robust action to improve conditions in reception facilities on the islands. It says additional national staff is needed to provide health, psychosocial support and protection of unaccompanied children.
Two back-to-back storms will have a significant impact on U.S. growth and productivity, according to economists tracking the impact of Hurricanes Harvey in Texas, and Irma  expected to make landfall in Florida this weekend. Despite the potential catastrophic loss in lives and capital, economists who spoke with VOA say the damage to the U.S. economy is likely to be short-lived. Mil Arcega has more.
Protests have popped around the world over the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar. Even the Dalai Lama and South African rights leader Desmond Tutu have weighed in, seeking better treatment for the Muslim minority group.

Protesters rallied Friday in Jakarta, shouting "God is great," while in Tokyo, police had to separate those who support the Rohingya from counterprotesters who call them terrorists.

In Afghanistan's western Herat province, protesters demanded an end to violence against the Rohingya, and in Islamabad, demonstrators stomped on pictures of Myanmar's state leader, Aung San Suu Kyi.

Protests also were reported in India and Iran.

The United Nations says about 270,000 people have fled to Bangladesh from Myanmar's Rakhine state in the past two weeks, after a group calling itself the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army attacked several police posts.

Rohingya refugees say the military and members of Myanmar's Buddhist majority then attacked their villages, forcing them to flee. There are reports of villages being burned to the ground and the military deliberately targeting civilians, but access to the region is limited, so the reports can't be independently verified.

'Desperate humanitarian state'

The Rohingya are a minority group largely based in Rakhine. Myanmar's government calls them Bengalis and considers them illegal migrants, even though many families have been in the country for generations.

Sectarian violence between the Rohingya and Myanmar's Buddhist majority has flared repeatedly over the past two decades. The latest round is among the worst so far, and on Friday, the United Nations described the refugee camps in Bangladesh as overflowing as more people flooded in.

"They are in a desperate, absolutely desperate humanitarian state, without enough to eat.  They are saying that they are living out in the open, without shelter from the tropical sun, without shelter from the rain, with their children, without enough food to eat," IOM spokesman Leonard Doyle told VOA.

The crisis has drawn the attention of world figures.

The Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, urged support for the Rohingya. Those who are harassing them "should remember Buddha," who would "definitely help" the Muslims, he said.

Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak complained Friday of the burden his country bears in caring for many Rohingya.

"We will manage it on a humanitarian basis. Malaysia has always been upholding the sanctity of life," he said. "At the same time, we can't be hosting so many people in this country. We do need to solve this problem at the source."

Price 'too steep'

Retired Bishop Tutu issued a letter to Suu Kyi, his fellow Nobel Peace Prize laureate, in which he admonished her for not speaking out, despite her own years as a dissident prisoner.

"My dear sister: If the political price of your ascension to the highest office in Myanmar is silence, the price is surely too steep," he wrote.

Although Suu Kyi has been somewhat subdued on the Rohingya situation since her National League for Democracy won an election two years ago, she said Thursday that her government would protect all residents. She said it would begin to implement a reconciliation plan proposed by former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Anan.

"We have to take care of our citizens. We have to take care of everybody who is in our country, whether or not they are our citizens. It is our duty and we try our best," she said. "Of course, our resources are not as complete and adequate as we would like them to be, but still, we try our best and we want to make sure that everyone is entitled to the protection of the law."

WATCH: International Concern Grows Over Rohingya Exodus From Myanmar

Officials in Rakhine state told VOA's Burmese service they were working to help Rohingya return.

"We coordinated with village elders and imams yesterday to reorganize civilians who do not get involved in terror attacks on security forces to be able to return to their homes. We have provided food supply to the Muslim community," said Colonel Phone Tint, the Rakhine state government border and security affairs minister.

Some experts say that while Myanmar's government must be held to account for the crisis, blaming Suu Kyi entirely won't help, given that she leads a fragile new democracy.

"I'm very concerned about some of this international demonization of Daw Suu, which I think is overstated, and I think we need to be supportive," said Derek Mitchell, the former U.S. ambassador to Myanmar, told VOA's Burmese service.

He said the world understands that Myanmar needed to respond to the ARSA attacks. But he said there needed to a comprehensive approach to bring justice and stability to Rakhine. Otherwise, he said, the violence could spread throughout Rakhine and around the country.

VOA's Afghan, Bangla, Burmese, Indonesian and Urdu services contributed to this report.
Public statues and tributes to early Spanish conquerors are facing mounting criticism tied to the brutal treatment of American Indians centuries ago by Spanish soldiers and missionaries, with activists drawing ethical parallels to the national controversy over Confederate monuments.

From California to Florida, historical markers and commonplace names trace the path of the 16th century Spanish conquistadors and missionaries who explored and settled land inhabited by American Indians in what is now the U.S. Few, if any, of the monuments honoring them have come down.

The Spanish presence is particularly noticeable in parts of the Southwest, which Spaniards controlled for about 300 years. In northern New Mexico, statues and annual re-enactments recognize two colonizers who quelled armed uprisings by American Indians and meted out reprisals that included slavery and executions.

On Friday, police arrested at least 12 people in Santa Fe as protesters chanted slogans opposing an annual pageant that marks the return of Spanish conquistador Don Diego de Vargas to New Mexico following a 17th century Indian revolt.

Pageantry supporters say they are honoring their Spanish heritage, paying homage to the Roman Catholic faith and highlighting reconciliation. For Native American tribes, the monuments and events often are reminders of forced religious conversions and violence against resisters of Spanish rule.

Heres a look at Spanish historical figures whose legacies are stirring protest and debate:

Don Diego de Vargas

Police thronged downtown Santa Fe streets Friday to contain protests of an annual costumed pageant that re-enacts de Vargas 1692 arrival in Santa Fe, 12 years after Pueblo Indians from small, scattered tribes rebelled against Spain.

There were no signs of violence among the roughly 100 protesters. But police Sgt. Gardner Finney said a dozen people were arrested on charges including trespassing and disorderly conduct.

They included protest organizer Jennifer Marley, a tribal member of San Ildefonso Pueblo and leader of the activist group Red Nation. Led away in hand restraints, she said she hoped images of her arrest would stoke opposition to the re-enactment.

Organizers of the entrada, or arrival, of de Vargas say the event on Santa Fes downtown plaza portrays a peaceful reconciliation between the conquistador and American Indians in shared reverence for a wood-carved Virgin Mary known as La Conquistadora.

New Mexico Deputy State Historian Rob Martinez says the dramatization wrongfully gives the impression that Native Americans welcomed back the Spanish, and activists say it obscures the cruelty de Vargas inflicted as he stamped out resistance to Spanish rule.

Santa Fe schoolchildren have been visited by a dancing troupe portraying Spanish royalty for at least 50 years, led annually by an actor playing de Vargas who wears a shiny, feather-plumed helmet.

School district officials let children skip the presentations this year for the first time in deference to hundreds of students who might feel uncomfortable.

Conchita Lucero of Albuquerque says the Fiesta entrada recognizes perseverance of hardscrabble Spanish settlers.

Its a way to honor our ancestors, she says. The idea of the entrada is that we came back and we dedicated our lives to the city. ... The gates of hell did not open when we came.

Juan de Onate

Juan de Onates arrival in present-day New Mexico in 1598 is re-enacted at an annual fiesta in Espanola, a small city set amid several Indian Pueblos in northern New Mexico.

To American Indians, Onate is known for having ordered the right feet cut off 24 captive tribal warriors after his soldiers stormed Acoma Pueblos mesa-top sky city, an attack precipitated by the killing of Onates nephew.

Four hundred years later, in 1998, someone sawed off the foot of an Onate statue at a visitor center near Espanola named for him.

The former Onate Monument and Visitor Center reopened in August as the Northern Rio Grande National Heritage Center. Board member Patricia Trujillo said some people avoided the building for its focus on Onate, although a statue of him still stands on the path to the front entrance.

Organizers posed questions on public bulletin boards about Onate at the reopening and asked people to respond in writing, but someone crossed out messages that asked to remove the Onate statue and stop the glorification, Trujillo said.

Onate has staying power as a cultural icon, she said.

When you ask people, its kind of a blind patriotism to this pristine moment, the fact he was the first colonizer to come into New Mexico and start this settlement that persisted, she said. People find a lot of pride in that.

Maurus Chino, of Acoma Pueblo, says Onate should no longer be honored.

These monuments really mean something obscene and evil to the indigenous people here and all decent people, he said.

Junipero Serra

A Franciscan friar who founded the Spanish mission system in California, Junipero Serra believed that American Indians needed to be baptized and taught to farm. Once converted, they were prohibited from leaving the missions and became largely dependent on the Spanish, said Robert Senkewicz, a history professor at Santa Clara University.

In August, a statue of Serra in Southern California was splashed with red paint and defaced with the word murderer in white. Other Serra statues were vandalized  one beheaded  surrounding his elevation to sainthood two years ago.

The popular picture in colonial California was one of heroic Spanish missionaries and content American Indians, Senkewicz said. Recently, the California school system said children no longer would have to build replica missions in their classrooms.

The problem isnt Serra himself, Senkewicz said.

The problem is hes been allowed to symbolize everything.

Juan Ponce de Leon

Juan Ponce de Leon is credited for naming Florida in 1513. Though he did not establish a permanent settlement, statues of him are found throughout the state.

He was among Spanish explorers who forged alliances with American Indians and fought against them. Known for his search for the mythical fountain of youth, Ponce de Leon died from an arrow wound in 1521, said J. Michael Francis, who heads the Department of History and Politics at the University of South Florida, St. Petersburg.

Ponce de Leon and Pedro Menendez de Aviles, who founded St. Augustine in 1565, are less controversial than explorers in the Southwest and the Spanish never gained a stronghold over the peninsula, Francis said.

Protesters say the period of ethnic genocide and environmental degradation is nothing to celebrate.

Chase Iron Eyes, an attorney and activist from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, recognized an extinct Florida tribe on the 500th anniversary of Ponce de Leons landing.

If people want to do re-enactments, people want to be proud of their heritage, they want to celebrate these people who are heroes, thats their right, he said in an interview Wednesday. But its also a right that the truth be told.
Pope Francis continued his trip around Colombia Saturday in the city of Medellin, where he held a mass with an expected attendance of as many as one million people.

Franciss trip to Medellin hit a slight snag Saturday morning as heavy rains forced him to alter his travel arrangements into the city. He originally was scheduled to take a helicopter from the airport to the Mass, but opted instead to drive out of the Andes, which slightly delayed the mass.

The weather didnt have much of an effect on turnout, though, as crowds gathered along the streets to wave as Francis passed by in his popemobile.

Later Saturday, Francis is scheduled to meet with sick children at a church-backed orphanage before speaking with local Catholic officials and returning to Bogota for the night.

The pope will end his Colombia visit Sunday night after a brief trip to Cartagena, where he will honor St. Peter Claver, a 17th century Jesuit priest.

Prior to his Mass on Saturday, Francis spent most of the trip speaking about the need for Colombians to embrace the peace process following years of civil strife.

On Friday, Francis called for reconciliation in the country and said any efforts to permanently end the country's more than 50-year civil conflict would fail without concessions.

During a large open air Mass in the central Colombian city of Villavicencio, the pope said, "Every effort at peace without a sincere commitment to reconciliation is destined to fail."

He also said, "Reconciliation means opening a door to every person who has experienced the tragic reality of conflict."

Resist urge for vengeance

Friday's Mass took place on the third day of the pontiff's five-day trip to Colombia, where he has met with victims of the violent civil war and with leaders. He lent his support to the contested peace process, which has seen Colombias largest rebel group, the FARC, turned into a legitimate political party.



During Mass, Francis urged Colombians to overcome the understandable temptation to vengeance and work to build a lasting peace.

Two Catholic priests killed during the civil war also were beatified in a move that is a step toward sainthood in the Church.

During a speech Thursday, Francis stressed the importance of the peace process. He said his visit was meant to express appreciation for the efforts made over the decades to end armed violence and find ways of reconciliation."

On the first day of his visit to this heavily Catholic country, Francis met with President Juan Manuel Santos and first lady Maria Clemencia Rodriguez, along with other government and religious leaders, and young people.

Upon meeting with the pope, Santos recalled his countrys turmoil. For over half a century, we resigned ourselves to violence on our soil, and its ashes  of resentment, pain, of vengeance  are still ardent embers that we must extinguish.

To ease those tensions and prepare Colombians for a better future, Santos administration has promoted training.

"Education is somehow what most helps us build that different country, Education Minister Yaneth Giha told VOA. The pope's visit helps us to reinforce the message that we are on the right path."

Francis met privately with Santos. Later, Bogota Mayor Enrique Penalosa handed him the keys to the city in a brief, symbolic ceremony.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-10 02:10:42|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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BAGHDAD, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Arab League (AL) on Saturday confirmed its keenness to preserve Iraq's unity and revive dialogue between Baghdad and the Kurdistan region ahead of the latter's independence referendum, a statement by Iraqi Prime Minister Abadi's office said.

Arab League (AL) Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit on Saturday met here with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to confirm AL's keenness to preserve Iraq's unity and revive dialogue between Baghdad and the Kurdistan region ahead of the latter's independence referendum.

A statement by Abadi's office said the two sides "discussed the political and security developments in Iraq and the region and the fight against terrorism, as well as the victories achieved on the terrorist gangs."

Aboul-Gheit "reiterated the AL keenness on the unity of Iraq and not to provoke any problems that would destabilize its security, stability and unity," the statement added.

The AL chief urged Iraqi leaders to focus on "completing the liberation of Iraq's territory and resorting to dialogue, as well as to abiding by the Iraqi constitution to resolve any problems," it said.

After the discussion, Aboul-Gheit is scheduled to fly to Arbil, the capital of the Kurdish semi-autonomous region, to meet with the regional President Masoud Barzani to revive a constructive political dialogue between the two sides.

On June 7, Barzani announced his intention to hold a referendum on the independence of the Kurdish region from Iraq on Sept. 25, a step which has been criticized by Baghdad as "unconstitutional and illegal."

The referendum is opposed by other countries including the Iraqi neighbors of Iran and Turkey, which both have sizeable Kurdish minorities of their own.
Pope Francis on Saturday travels to Medellin, once notorious as the stomping grounds of drug lord Pablo Escobar, to find a city transformed since his predecessor Pope John Paul visited in 1986.

In the 1980s and early 1990s, violence between cartels, paramilitary groups and guerrillas raged in the poor comuna neighborhoods on its outskirts, and the late pontiff was moved to decry drug violence.

The city is now heralded as a model of urban development. It has installed cable cars up the steep Andean slopes that surround it to save working-class residents a punishing climb home and built libraries in neighborhoods once host to gun battles.

Feared drug trafficker Escobar, Medellins most infamous resident, was gunned down in the city in a U.S.-backed operation in 1993. He was recently resurrected as a character in the popular Netflix series Narcos.

During his visit to the city, Francis is expected to honor the commitment and sacrifice of those who dedicate themselves to religious vocations when he says mass for a crowd expected to draw hundreds of thousands of people near an airport.

He also visits a home for children who were victims of violence and addresses priests, nuns, seminarians and their families at the La Macarena bullring.

At the La Macarena meeting, Francis will also pray before the relics of Mother Laura Montoya, a nun who was the first female Colombian saint. Montoya was a teacher and prolific author who hosted classes in her own home when the 1895 civil war forced schools to close.

The leader of the worlds 1.2 billion Roman Catholics has brought a message of national reconciliation as the country tries to heal the wounds left by the conflict and bitter disagreements over a peace deal with guerrillas agreed last year.

On Friday in the tropical city of Villavicencio, he urged Colombians skeptical of a the deal with the FARC guerrillas to be open to reconciliation with those who have repented, speaking hours after a top rebel leader asked the pontiff for forgiveness.

He visits the city of Cartagena on Sunday before leaving for Rome that night.
Saudi Arabia says it has suspended any dialogue with Qatar, accusing it of distorting facts, just after reports that Saudi and Qatari leaders had spoken by phone and agreed to talks.

Saudi Arabias Saudi Press Agency said late Friday that a Qatari report about a phone call between Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman did not have any relevance to the truth.

Qatari sources reported the two men agreed by telephone to appoint envoys for possible talks to work out the differences between Qatar and its neighbors.

Five-nation talks

According to the Saudi news agency, Qatar initiated the phone call and asked for dialogue with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. All of those governments cut off diplomatic ties with Qatar in June, alleging Qatar supports extremists and has ties to Iran.

After Fridays phone call and the disputed report, Saudi news said, The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia declares that any dialogue or communication with the authority in Qatar shall be suspended until a clear statement explaining its position is made in public and that its public statements are in conformity with its obligations.

Also Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump made telephone calls to Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates a day after saying he is willing to help ease the dispute between Qatar and its neighbors.

At a joint news conference with Kuwaits Emir Sabah al-Ahmed al-Jaber al-Sabah, the president said he would be willing to mediate talks.

I would be willing to do so, and I think youd have a deal worked out very quickly, Trump said. I think its something thats going to get solved fairly easily.

Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates cut all ties with Qatar after accusing it of having ties with Shiite Iran and fundamentalist Islamist groups.

Qatars leaders have denied the charges.

The Arab nations have made several demands of Qatar, and Kuwait has been trying to mediate the dispute.

Sheikh Sabah said he had received a letter from Qatar that expressed willingness to discuss a list of 13 demands from its neighbors. He expressed hope that a great part of them will be resolved.

Saudi Arabia and Qatar are both important allies of the U.S. in the restive region. Qatar is home to the regions biggest U.S. military base.
As tens of thousands of Rohingya Muslims fleeing violence in Myanmar's Rakhine state have escaped across the border to neighboring Bangladesh, analysts warn that the situation could become a lightning rod and a recruiting tool for foreign militants if it remains unaddressed.

"There are a few militant groups active in the region, and they are based in Bangladesh. So far, no concrete evidence has been produced that al-Qaida or Islamic State has a presence in Myanmar, although we saw a sympathy statement on Rohingya by the latter," Hassan Askari, a Pakistan-based South Asia security analyst, told VOA.

"But if this chaotic situation continues or gets worse, one cannot reject the possibility of militant groups and terror movements getting active and paving their way into Myanmar," Askari said.

The Rohingya fled following the destruction of their homes and villages, allegedly by extremist Buddhists and the country's security forces. An estimated 270,000 Rohingya have sought refuge in neighboring Bangladesh in the last two weeks, the U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) said Friday.

"UNHCR is gravely concerned about the continuing conflict in Myanmar and by reports that civilians have died trying to reach safety," Duniya Aslam Khan, UNHCR spokesperson for Asia and the Pacific, said at a news briefing in Geneva this week. "It is of utmost urgency to address the root causes of the recent surge in violence so that people are no longer compelled to flee and can eventually return home in safety and dignity."

The latest violence began August 25 when Rohingya insurgents attacked police posts and an army base in what they said was an effort to protect their ethnic minority from persecution.

Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar's state counselor and the country's de facto leader, and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was on a two-day visit to Myanmar, have both blamed the Rohingya violence on extremist groups.

Suu Kyi has been under pressure for not speaking up against the violence. When she recently termed the problem as "a huge iceberg of misinformation," it was met with worldwide criticism.

Suu Kyi's characterization of a situation that caused throngs of Rohingya Muslims to flee across the border "cannot be true," Imtiaz Ahmed, a professor of international relations at Dhaka University, told VOA.

Fears of extremism

Experts charge that while extremist groups' activities in Rakhine are hard to detect, there are legitimate concerns that if the current crisis is left unresolved, the conflict could pave the way for militancy in the country, as different terror groups may try to exploit the grievances of the victims.

Al-Qaida in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) is reportedly active in South Asia, including Bangladesh, which hosts Rohingya refugees. Bangladesh is facing growing domestic threats from a variety of extremist groups, including Islamic State affiliates.

Given the presence of these groups in the region, analysts warn that they may exploit the current situation.

"There have been ties between JMB [banned group Jumatul Mujahedeen Bangladesh] and the insurgency [in Myanmar], as arrested JMB members have confessed to helping Rohingya," said U.K.-based analyst Chris Blackburn, who specializes in counterterrorism in South Asia.

The Rohingya are considered one of the world's most persecuted minorities. The predominantly Buddhist Myanmar, also known as Burma, does not consider Rohingya as Burmese and argues that the minority group are refugees from Bangladesh.

Bangladesh, on the other hand, says they are Burmese.

Protests in the Muslim world

The crisis has incited a wave of anti-Myanmar sentiment in many Muslim countries. Rohingya sympathizers, using several social media platforms, have shared photographs and videos of atrocities allegedly carried out by Myanmar's security forces against the Rohingya.

The United States has expressed deep concern about the worsening situation in Rakhine, calling on Myanmar to "avoid actions that exacerbate tensions" in the region.

"There has been a significant displacement of local populations following serious allegations of human rights abuses, including mass burnings of Rohingya villages and violence conducted by security forces and also armed civilians," Heather Nauert, U.S State Department spokeswoman, told reporters Thursday.

VOA's Bangla service and Madeeha Anwar contributed to this report.
Saudi Arabia says it has suspended dialogue with Qatar to resolve an ongoing conflict with its Gulf neighbors, following a fresh row over a phone conversation between Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Qatar's Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani. Saudi Arabia claims the Qatari News Agency misrepresented the substance of the call.



Saudi Arabia and Qatar appear to be engaging in diplomacy-by-megaphone once again, as the media of both states wrangle over a phone call Saturday between leaders of the two countries, ostensibly to mediate a three-month-old conflict.



Salman and al-Thani spoke after efforts by U.S. President Donald Trump and Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Ahmed al Sabah to bring the two sides together.



Qatari media reported that Salman and al-Thani each agreed to appoint an envoy to sit down and discuss outstanding differences, following mediation efforts by Trump. It said both sides agreed on the need to resolve their conflict at the negotiating table "to preserve the unity and stability of the Gulf Cooperation Council, while not compromising the sovereignty of individual states."



But the Saudi Press Agency made no mention of the appointment of envoys to discuss the conflict, insisting that Salman would talk to allies Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt before releasing details about the substance of his conversation with Qatar's emir.

The conflict between Qatar and its Gulf neighbors Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates, bolstered by Egypt, erupted on June 5, after those states demanded that Qatar put an end to its alleged support for terrorist groups in the Middle East and North Africa. Qatar's neighbors also imposed an economic boycott on Doha, closing their borders, ports and airspace to the nation until it fulfilled 13 key demands.



A previous row between Qatar and the GCC in 2014 was resolved after Qatar pledged to refrain from activities deemed hostile by its neighbors.



Hilal Khashan, who teaches political science at the American University of Beirut, tells VOA the fresh media row between Qatar and Saudi Arabia is merely a smokescreen for ongoing mediation efforts, and that Saudi Arabia does not want to anger its allies by giving the impression that it is giving in to Qatar.



"What matters is not what the Saudi media is saying. What matters most is that this [phone] conversation took place. The Saudis say they will not budge. They need to do that to give the impression that they did not back off [on their initial demands]."



Khashan points out that negotiations in the Arab world involve saving face as much as substantive action.



"If the Saudis decide to put an end to the conflict, they need to give everybody the impression that they prevailed. For Arabs, the question of saving face is important. They can't say 'we talked to the prince of Qatar and will put an end to the conflict.' So, as they make a move forward, they try to justify it, and move a step backward [again]."



Khashan argues that the conflict with Qatar - if it continues - will in the long term benefit Iran, and he stresses that end would be totally unacceptable to Saudi Arabia.



Doha recently resumed diplomatic ties with Tehran, following a break in relations that had been coordinated with other Gulf Cooperation Council states. The GCC has yet to resume ties with Tehran.
North Korea marked the 69th anniversary of its founding Saturday with typical ceremonies and fanfare as the international community watched for another potential missile test.

The South Korean government said it was closely monitoring activity in the North as speculation mounted about another missile launch that could be connected to the commemoration of the establishment in 1948 of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Earlier in the week, South Korea said it had seen signs of preparation for another missile test, with South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon calling the situation very grave. By Saturday evening, no test had been detected.

North Korea has a history of using its military technology to mark significant holidays. Last year, on this date, North Korea tested its fifth nuclear device. The anniversary this year comes just a week after North Korea launched its sixth nuclear test, its most powerful to date.

James McKeon, a North Korea policy analyst at the Center for Arms Control in Washington, D.C., told VOA it wouldnt be surprising if the country prepared some kind of missile or nuclear test to mark the holiday this year. Even if it does, however, he said it wont make for a major development in the already tense relationship between North Korea and the United States.

Theyve already tested, last year, more than two dozen ballistic missiles. This year theyre on pace to hit at least two dozen ballistic missile tests, if not more. Theyve already done another nuclear test, the largest test that theyve ever done, he said. No matter what they do, its still not going to be a major advancement.

Keeping a close watch

A South Korean defense ministry spokesman told the French news agency there had been no signs Saturday of further preparations for a missile launch.

He said North Korea has the ability to fire ballistic missiles from mobile launchers, so the [South Korean] military is maintaining its utmost defense posture, keeping a close watch over the North.

According to McKeon, the North has the technology to launch missiles from almost anywhere in the country, and has used tactics in the past to try and evade detection from international intelligence services.

Their last test, for example, of a missile - the one that overflew Japan - was actually launched from the airport in Pyongyang, he said. So its difficult for the American intelligence community, and the international community in general, to be able to see exactly where theyre going to be testing their missiles.

He noted, though, That doesnt mean that we wont have an idea where the tests will occur.

There are reports that because the last test, for example, was on the runway, that the U.S. government knew about it in advance, we had satellite reconnaissance that likely confirmed it before it went off, he said.

The South Korean Yonhap news agency quoted an unidentified government official as saying that the North could carry out a seventh nuclear test at its Punggye-ri test site at any moment, and it may hold another nuclear test in October to coincide with the founding anniversary of the ruling Workers' Party.
U.S.-backed Syrian fighters are preparing an offensive against the Islamic State group in eastern Syria along the border with Iraq in a race with government forces marching in the same direction against the extremists in their last major holdout in Syria.



The dueling battles for Deir el-Zour highlight the importance of the oil-rich eastern province, which has become the latest epicenter of the international war against the Islamic State group, raising concerns of an eventual clash between the two sides.



The race to reach the Iraqi border will also shape future regional dynamics, determining whether the United States or Russia and Iran will have more influence in the strategic area once the extremist group is defeated.



Iran has been one of President Bashar Assads strongest backers since the crisis began in March 2011 and has sent thousands of Iranian-backed fighters and advisers to fight against insurgent groups trying to remove him from power. The U.S. enjoys wide influence in northeastern Syria where hundreds of American troops and advisers are helping the predominantly Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), one of the most effective in fighting IS in Syria.

Syrians get there first

The U.S.-backed fighters are up against a huge challenge to reach Deir el-Zour, especially while they are still fighting to liberate Raqqa from IS. Three months into the battle, they have liberated around 60 percent of the city, and much more difficult urban fighting still lies ahead.



This week, Syrian troops and their Iranian-backed allies reached Deir el-Zour, breaking a nearly 3-year-old IS siege on government-held parts of the city in a major breakthrough in their offensive against IS. In a victory statement, the Syrian military said Deir el-Zour will be used as a launching pad to liberate the remaining IS-held areas along the border with Iraq.



The troops arrival to Deir el-Zour city brings Syrian forces and their allies a step closer to controlling the oil-rich eastern province and its capital bordering Iraq, a major boost for Tehrans growing influence in the area. The region has some of Syrias largest oil fields, whose revenue is vital to the states dried coffers.



Washington has been determined to block the formation of an Iranian corridor of Shiite-controlled land stretching from Tehran to Damascus, and for months has been eyeing the area southeast of Raqqa near the Iraqi border.



US-backed forces ready to move

U.S.-backed Syrian rebels had been gathering in Tanf in southeastern Syria to march toward Deir el-Zour, but their plans were disrupted in June when Syrian troops reached the border with Iraq, obstructing their path. The only way left for the SDF to enter the eastern province appears to be from the northeastern province of Hassakeh, where Syrian activists say the U.S.-backed fighters have been gathering and stepping up preparations for an attack.



A U.S.-trained group, the Deir el-Zour Military Council, which is part of the SDF, is expected to launch the attack against IS in Deir el-Zour under the cover of airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition within days. SDF officials say the imminent attack is not related to government forces reaching the city earlier this week, and was planned months in advance.



Syrian Kurdish official Nawaf Khalil, who is in Germany but frequently visits northern Syria, said the SDF attack on Deir el-Zour could begin at any moment, adding that the battle for Raqqa now no longer needs a large number of fighters.



Deir el-Zour is a main connection point and a very important geographic area, Khalil said, referring to the province linking several Syrian regions with western Iraq.



The U.S.-led coalition fighting IS said in an email to The Associated Press that the SDF will decide when the conditions are right for an offensive.



Asked about concerns of a possible clash between the SDF and Syrian troops, the coalition said: We urge all forces to concentrate their efforts on our common enemy (IS).

No proxy fight

Washington has welcomed Syrian troops fight against IS. Both the U.S. and Russia have an interest in avoiding a clash between the SDF and Syrian forces and may devise a strategy that will allow both sides to share control of the vast province.



U.S. officials have suggested they are not seeking a confrontation with Assads forces.



We are in the killing-ISIS business. That is what we want to do, and if the Syrian regime wants to do that ... and show that they are doing just that in Abu Kamal or Deir el-Zour or elsewhere, that means that we dont have to do that in those places, said coalition spokesman Col. Ryan Dillon in June referring to a town on the Iraqi border, and using a different acronym for IS.

Potential for conflict with Syrian troops



Ahmed Abu Khawla, the commander of the Deir el-Zour Military Council, says he commands a force of 4,000 fighters, mostly from Deir el-Zour province.



We are an organized army. We are not militias or separate brigades. We have a unified military leadership and an operations room to coordinate, he told the AP.



The plans for the Deir el-Zour campaign have been in the works for over a year and half, but Raqqa took precedence because of international considerations, said Abu Khawla.



Abu Khawla said his group has liberated 93 villages in northwestern rural Deir el-Zour including, more recently, the village of Abou Khashab. Asked about potential confrontations with government troops, he said: If the regime wants a confrontation or directs one bullet at us we will respond.



He also said that the SDF is forming a local civilian council to administer the area after the military operations.



Ahmad al-Ahmad, who heads the oppositions Syria Press center, said the SDF does not have the manpower to control Deir el-Zour, adding that government forces have brought in lots of troops and Iranian-backed gunmen for the battle.



The regime wants to reach the border with Iraq to open a land line to Iran through Baghdad, al-Ahmad said, adding that they are capable of doing that.
Turkey cautioned its citizens on Saturday to take care when traveling to Germany, citing what it said was an upswing in anti-Turkish sentiment ahead of a German national election later this month.

The advisory is likely to further exacerbate tensions between the two NATO allies, whose ties have soured following last year's failed coup against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his subsequent crackdown on alleged coup supporters.

"The political leadership campaigns in Germany are based on anti-Turkey sentiment and preventing our country's EU membership. The political atmosphere ... has actually been under the effects of far-right and even racist rhetoric for some time," Turkey's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Last weekend German Chancellor Angela Merkel said during a televised election debate that she would seek an end to Turkey's membership talks with the European Union, in an apparent shift of her position that infuriated Ankara.

Merkel, whose conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) have long been skeptical about Turkey's EU ambitions, is expected to win a fourth term in office in Germany's September 24 election.

"Turkish citizens who live in, or who plan to travel to, Germany should be cautious and act prudently in cases of possible incidents, behavior or verbal assaults of xenophobia and racism," the Foreign Ministry said.

The advisory marks a reversal of roles. Earlier this year Germany warned its own citizens travelling to Turkey about increased tensions and protests ahead of a Turkish referendum on April 16 which considerably expanded Erdogan's powers.

Merkel and other EU leaders have strongly criticized Erdogan's actions since the failed coup, saying his purges of Turkey's state institutions and armed forces amount to a deliberate attempt to stifle criticism.

More than 50,000 people have been detained and 150,000 suspended in the crackdown, including journalists and opposition figures. Some German nationals have also been targeted.

Turkey says the purges are necessary given the extent of the security threat it faces.
The United States is expressing deep concern and says it is in close contact with Myanmar's government on the situation in that country's northwestern Rakhine State. The United Nations refugee agency now says 270,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled across the border to Bangladesh to escape violence. VOA s Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports from the State Department.
The United States formally requested a vote of the U.N. Security Council on Monday of a draft resolution to establish new sanctions against North Korea, according to a statement by the U.S. mission, released late Friday.

The United States informed the U.N. Security Council that it intends to call a meeting to vote on a draft resolution to establish additional sanctions on North Korea on Monday, September 11, a statement read.

Draft of sanctions

The draft, obtained by VOA, calls for a ban on the sale of oil, as well as refined petroleum products and natural gas liquids to North Korea.

Pyongyang imports nearly all of its oil and gas from China, and without it, experts say, the economy would quickly be strangled.

The U.S. draft also aims to cut off exports of North Korean textiles, which account for hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenue.

It also seeks to tighten restrictions on North Koreas ability to send its citizens to work in foreign countries, where they often are required to send their salaries home to the government.

Russia, China oppose some sanctions

Diplomatic sources told the French news agency AFP on Friday that Russia and China oppose the measure, except for the ban on textiles.

Early Friday, the Philippines announced it had suspended trade relations with North Korea.

Foreign Minister Alan Peter Cayetano told reporters the country would fully comply with UNSC resolution, including the economic sanctions.

The Philippines is North Koreas fifth-largest trade partner. From January to June of this year, they exchanged $28.8 million worth of goods in bilateral trade.

Trump warns North Korea

On Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump warned that it will be a very sad day for North Korea if the United States takes military action against it.

During a news conference with Kuwaits emir, Trump declined twice to respond to a question about whether it would be acceptable for North Korea to keep its nuclear weapons but be contained and deterred.

After the presidents comments, a senior Trump administration official expressed concern that North Korea cannot be deterred.

Speaking to reporters, the official said there is a grave risk North Korea leader Kim Jong Un could miscalculate Americas response to its provocations, warning that Pyongyang should not underestimate American will to protect ourselves and our allies.

North Korea claims it detonated a hydrogen bomb Sunday at its Punggye-ri nuclear test site.

So far, theres nothing inconsistent with the North Korean claim that this was a hydrogen bomb, according to a senior U.S. official. But we dont have a conclusive view on it yet.

Sue Gordon, principal deputy director of national intelligence, said at a security summit Thursday, North Korea is vexing. They are on a path that seems inexorable with capability that is advancing every day with demonstrations that prove that their aspirations are not a pipe dream.

Trump speaks to allies

Trump, in past days, has made phone calls to key counterparts in Asia and Europe.

China said it would support further U.N. measures against Pyongyang in response to North Koreas sixth nuclear test.

Given the new developments on the Korean Peninsula, the U.N. Security Council should respond further and take necessary measures to deal with the crisis, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Thursday during a news conference in Beijing. But he also stressed that sanctions and pressure must go hand in hand with dialogue and negotiation with Pyongyang.

China is North Koreas biggest diplomatic and economic ally, and contends that tighter sanctions against Pyongyang will do little to ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Moon Jae-in joined forces Thursday in calling for further diplomatic and economic pressure to be placed on Pyongyang.

The two leaders, meeting on the sidelines of an economic summit in the eastern Russian port city of Vladivostok, said they would increase their efforts to persuade China and Russia to back harsh new sanctions on Pyongyang.
Scientists have accused the liquor industry of misleading the public over the link between consuming alcohol and cancer. Researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine compare the actions with the tobacco industry's attempts to dispute the link between smoking and lung cancer.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-10 02:15:44|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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TIRANA, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- The new parliament of Albania was sworn-in on Saturday evening at its first session of the IX parliamentary legislature.

The session was chaired by socialist lawmaker Besnik Bare, who also delivered a greeting speech.

The first session also served to set up the Commission on Verification of Mandates as well as the secretariat composed by three young lawmakers Anduel Xhindi, Izmira Ulqinaku and Kejdi Mehmetaj who late Saturday confirmed that all mandates were valid.

Later on, the lawmakers voted to elect the new Speaker.

Gramoz Ruci, the only candidacy nominated by the ruling Socialist Party (SP), was elected as Albania's new parliament speaker. He was elected only with the votes of SP lawmakers, who enjoy a majority in parliament, while the Democratic Party voted against and the Socialist Movement for Integration left the session before voting started.

The general elections on June 25 produced 140 lawmakers, who were elected through the regional proportional system.

The ruling Socialist Party won 74 mandates, while the Democratic Party garnered 43 seats and thus became the largest opposition party.

Among the rest seats, 19 went to the Socialist Movement for Integration, while three for the Party for Justice, Integration and Unity and one for the Social Democratic Party of Albania.
The Earth is not the only place with volcanic activity. Active volcanism also occurs at at least 3 other bodies in our Solar System.
D.C. public school teachers have overwhelmingly approved a new contract, ending a labor impasse that had lasted for five years.

The contract, ratified on Friday by union members, includes salary increases of 9 percent over three years. It does not apply to teachers who work in public charter schools.

The contract must be approved by the D.C. Council. District Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D), who is up for reelection next year, called on council members to quickly sign off on the agreement.

Having gone five years without a contract failed to demonstrate the appreciation we have for our teachers, she said in a statement. This contract fulfills our commitment to the teachers that we entrust with our children.

Teachers have not had their base salaries increased since 2012, when their last contract expired under the previous DCPS schools chancellor Kaya Henderson. The new chancellor, Antwan Wilson, took over in February.

[Teacher contract proposed in D.C. for the first time in five years]

The contract is retroactive to last October and includes a 4 percent increase for the year that ends Sept. 30. Teachers would see a pay raise of 3 percent for the next fiscal year and 2 percent for the year after that.

Union leaders said that the five-year period without pay raises had been frustrating and difficult for the unions more than 4,500 members.

Washington Teachers Union President Elizabeth A. Davis said that in addition to the raises, the new contract gives teachers more of a voice in crafting the educational policies that affect their students and signals the era of top-down management might be coming to an end.

School system leaders, Davis said in a statement, are signaling their willingness to take the first step in beginning to develop a truly collaborative relationship with D.C. educators to ensure that all D.C. public school students receive the education they deserve.

The raises would cost $61.6 million over three years, according to city officials. Another $51.2 million would be set aside to cover public charter schools as part of a legal requirement for equity in funding.

The new contract is scheduled to take effect Oct. 1, so the D.C. Council would need to vote before then.

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The woman wearing a mint-green dress with tiny pink flowers is trying not to cry.

She is explaining that she has Temporary Protected Status, which was granted to 58,000 Haitians after the 2010 earthquake that devastated the country. She had been living in the United States for more than a decade when the quake struck, but found herself a beneficiary of the program that allowed Haitians to stay.

So every 18 months, she renewed her status without much thought. Then came May, and an announcement from then-Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly. He told Haitian TPS holders that the program may soon come to an end. That they would be given a six-month extension, but they should prepare to leave the United States and return to Haiti by January 2018.

His reasoning: Things were improving in Haiti since the quake killed more than 230,000 people and did an estimated $14 billion in damage to buildings and roads.

Critics called the decision shortsighted. The effects of the earthquake are still visible. Many people still reside in tents and makeshift homes. A cholera outbreak followed in 2010, infecting at least 770,000 people and killing more than 9,200. And on Saturday, Hurricane Irma brought more heartache to the already devastated Caribbean island nation as reports of flooding began to surface.

But for the woman in the mint-green dress, struggling not to cry, her reasons for wanting to stay are much more personal.

The Washington area, where she has lived for more than two decades, is her home  and home to an estimated 800 Haitians with TPS. Her husband and 2-year-old daughter are there. Her job as a nurse is there. And her church, with its majority Haitian congregation, is there. So despite pleas from family and friends that she should follow the exodus of Haitians afraid of a return to Haiti and instead head to Canada, she will not.

I think its lack of faith for me to get up and leave, said the woman, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because she feared she would become an easy target for deportation. I have two sisters and a brother in Montreal. They ask me to come every time. People are coming, they say. I say, Is it easy to pack up and come? It is not. I dont want to hear people tell me that kind of stuff.

Deep roots in the community

An estimated 11 million people live in Haiti, the poorest country in the western hemisphere. A Category 5 hurricane like Irma could cause flooded roads and mudslides, which could destroy houses built on hillsides  a repeat of the devastation caused by the earthquake in 2010 and when Hurricane Matthew hit the country in October 2016.

It is for that reason that many Haitians with TPS in the United States say returning to Haiti is not an option. In August, Canadian officials reported a surge in Haitians crossing the border from the United States. According to the Quebec immigration ministry, as many as 150 Haitian asylum seekers are arriving in Canada each day after making border crossings from New York into Quebec. According to the Canadian Broadcasting Corp., about 700 Haitians were waiting to be processed for claims of asylum from the United States this year.

Canadian soldiers are building tent villages near U.S. borders to house Haitian asylum seekers. Olympic Stadium in Montreal is being used to house refugees, the CBC reported.

The growing panic can be seen across the country. Haitian radio stations and other media outlets talk about the issue almost nonstop. Marleine Bastien, executive director of the Haitian Women of Miami, said that more than 32,000 Haitians with temporary status live in Florida. Many have been living in the United States for up to 20 years.

We are talking about people who have deep roots in the community, Bastien said. These are people who own homes, who have reached the American Dream to own a home, and started business. Eighty-five percent of them are working.

I receive calls every day, Bastien added.  Marleine, what should I do? Should I put my house to sale? Do I take my children to a country still reeling under remnants of an earthquake, a country where the entire south peninsula has been destroyed? Where people are dealing with food scarcity because Hurricane Matthew destroyed crops? 

The heart-wrenching questions the families are asking are difficult to answer, she said. How do you tell a parent what to do with U.S.-born children? How do you answer a mom sitting in front of you with tears in their eyes?

Jean St. Ulme, senior pastor at Eglise Baptiste Du Calvaire in Adelphi, Md., said he is also dealing with similar questions.

It is a sad situation. They dont know what will happen, St. Ulme said.  They dont have anything in Haiti. They come here for a better life. They are afraid to go back.

Health concerns

The woman in the mint-green dress is a member of St. Ulmes congregation. She and her husband, who is also in the country on temporary status, pray every morning before the sun comes up and again at night before midnight. It is the same prayer: That the U.S. government will not return to Haiti the more than 58,000 Haitians living here.

She was 18 when she left Haiti in 1995 on a visitors visa. Since then, Ive never been back. I have no house there, said the woman, who is now 40. I wouldnt know how to live there. How would I survive going back there?

She rubs her swollen belly. Her second child is due in three weeks.

Now she can no longer hold back her tears.

My child is a U.S. citizen, she says. Would you take my child from me? Would you send me back and take my child? What would she become? Would you break a family?

The health-care system in Haiti is terrible, she says. Patients wait on hospital beds with no sheets, clutching brown paper bags of medicine they brought with them, hoping doctors not stopped by strikes will see them. In Haiti, she said, You call 911, the ambulance has no gas to come help you. There is no security. There is no place to render justice.

Rony Ponthieux doesnt want to go to Canada either, but the prospect of returning to Haiti is not one he can see. He has lived in the United States since 1999, and he and his wife were granted TPS after the 2010 earthquake.

While here, he has gone to school and become a registered nurse. Since 2015, he has worked at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami.

I have two children born here, Ponthieux said. The eldest son is 16, going on 17. I have a girl who . . . spoke at Washington in Congress. She was giving some speeches. She is gifted. She just turned 10. She was champion spelling bee for her school.

Moving to Canada would be a last option. I heard the news. I see the borders. I dont think its a good idea.

On the other hand: If I go to Haiti, I would struggle to live. To take care of children will be hard. If I leave children here, it will be family separation. It is not good to leave children here.

But, he added, Imagine children born here and go to a place with no pure water. No shelter. No food. No house in Haiti. It would be a bad situation.
Staff writer

I had been covering D.C. police for several months when my editor got an angry phone call from Isaac Fulwood Jr. Fulwood was second in command of the Metropolitan Police Department in the District of Columbia, and he bluntly informed my boss that he did not like my stories, some of which were critical of the police force.

Youve got to take this white Jew bitch off the police beat and assign someone else to cover us, Fulwood told my African American editor, whom he knew and trusted.

It was 1987, and I was a rookie reporter on the Metro staff of The Washington Post. My editor pushed back. No, he told Fulwood, Horwitz is covering the police. The editor then came to my desk and suggested I reach out to Fulwood to try to establish a better working relationship.

So, I asked Assistant Chief Fulwood to lunch. It did not go well. He told me in no uncertain terms that I didnt understand the police. I didnt understand the town. And I certainly didnt understand the black folks who lived here  like him. When I tried to convince him otherwise, he just stared at me.

Across that lunch table, Fulwood saw a young, white, Jewish woman who grew up in Tucson, came east to college and had been in Washington for only a few years. He also saw a reporter who was eager to move beyond the cops beat to cover a higher-profile assignment at the newspaper.

Fulwood could not have been more different. Tall and muscular, he wore street cred on his sleeve and appeared to relish the stature and privilege of his rank. A native son of Washington, he grew up poor, in a family of nine children, not far from RFK Stadium. After graduating from Eastern High School, he repaired machinery in a laundromat before joining the police in 1964 because it was a stable $6,000-a-year job. And then he fought his way through the ranks of a department that in the 1960s did not allow black officers to ride in the scout cars.

As difficult as it was, that lunch broke the ice. It launched a conversation between the chief and me  and eventually a deep friendship  that lasted for 30 years until he died on Sept. 1. It was a decades-long tutorial with one lesson after another, and another and yet another. Ultimately, it became a bridge over chasms of race, religion and culture, a bridge between one family and another.

At Fulwoods funeral Monday, city leaders will honor him as the Districts top cop during one of the most tumultuous times on the streets of the nations capital. The city earned an international reputation then as the murder capital of the nation. The front page of The Post chronicled each death, sometimes daily. And we at the newspaper marked the end of every year with several yearbook-style pages of the faces of those who had fallen in the citys neighborhoods. In 1992, there were 482. (By contrast, the District had 135 homicides in 2016.)

[Ike Fulwood, Washington police chief in tumultuous era, dies]

If readers of The Post saw the bloodshed one way, through record-breaking numbers, Fulwood saw it in a deeper way.

He saw bodies of young black boys lying on the street. He saw frightened people in the neighborhoods of his community. He saw a whole generation of black men going to prison. The bodies were the same age as his son; the neighbors were his friends and relatives; those bound for prison were his one-time schoolmates who had taken the other fork in the road. He saw no end, and felt he had to bear witness, time and again.

Its not just the volume of murders, it is the viciousness  the kind of wounds that you see, Fulwood wrote in the opinion section of The Post. Ive got men and women assigned to the homicide branch who are seeing wounds similar to those that were found in Vietnam. People shot with high-powered weapons, their bodies literally shattered beyond repair. Often these detectives cant sleep, after theyve witnessed these incidents . . . I see the kids out there dying. And I see my officers who are suffering because they are fighting a war and losing.

Fulwood wanted me to see it as he did. After our lunch, I spent much more time out of the office. I saw firsthand those he saw dead on the street. The Post gave its police reporters custom-fitted body armor, and I trekked through open-air crack markets with undercover cops. I watched medical helicopters landing on school playgrounds to ferry the wounded out of an urban war zone. I followed the chiefs challenge to learn the city, and I was willing to go anywhere and talk to anyone, including gang members.

Always, I saw the chief amid the carnage. He was big and strong and moved with swagger. Behind that veneer, I came to learn that he was all heart. And that heart was breaking. At each crime scene, he stood with his commanders near the red flashing lights of the police cruisers, pain etched on his often haggard face.

1988 changed us, whether we realized it or not, he wrote. We can never go back to what we were.

Teddy

On the night of Jan. 18, 1990, I waited outside Fulwoods office until 2 in the morning to ask him about what had just gone down. Mayor Marion Barry Jr. had been arrested in a federal sting after he was videotaped smoking crack in an ex-girlfriends room at a hotel in Thomas Circle.

[Ike Fulwood, embroiled in turmoil]

It had been three years since my get-acquainted lunch with Fulwood, and we had grown to respect and trust each other. I wasnt sure how much Fulwood knew about the FBI sting beforehand, even though two of Fulwoods detectives were involved in the investigation. The feds, led by a white prosecutor, had been suspicious of how close Fulwood was to the mayor. Fulwood had helped save the mayors life years before when a group of Hanafi Muslims took over the District building  and Barry had appointed him chief just five months before.

Shortly after the arrest, I confronted Fulwood privately: Did you know about the sting beforehand, and did you consider tipping off the mayor who made you chief?

He looked at me incredulously. I aint never been nobodys boy. Ive never been in anybodys pocket, Fulwood said in his deep, gruff voice.

And then: I didnt interfere with the investigation of the mayor. And I didnt interfere to help my own brother.

I didnt know about Fulwoods brother. It turned out Teddy Fulwood was in prison for selling drugs on the same city streets where the chiefs force was battling the violence fueled by crack cocaine.

I had to write that story. I drove out to Lorton prison in Virginia, to talk to Teddy Fulwood. I didnt feel I needed the chiefs permission, but I was wrong. Fulwood was so angry that he quashed the interview request when a prison official called to tell him I was there.

Months went by. I finally convinced him of the importance of the Fulwood brothers story.

In a barren Lorton interview room, I met Teddy Fulwood, a tall and lanky man dressed in drab prison clothes. He called the chief by his nickname, Junior, and recounted how Junior had repeatedly pulled him under his wing growing up. We talked about their sister who burned to death when they were young, a brother hit by a cab who suffered brain damage and two brothers who drank themselves to death. On the night Fulwood was named chief, Teddy watched the TV while sitting on a prison cot, feeling so ashamed, he told me.

As we parted ways that day, Teddy walked toward his prison dormitory, stopped and turned back to me. Tell my brother I love him.

When I next was in the chiefs office, I did. His eyes welled up.

He had tried for years to help his brother fight addiction, but finally understood that Teddy had to save himself. You know, people say, Hes an embarrassment to you,  the chief told me. No, Im not hung up on that. Theodore Fulwood is Isaac Fulwoods brother. And Theodore Fulwood means something to Isaac Fulwood. And I hurt when he hurts.

Two years later, Teddy, who had been released from prison, was shot to death. He was found in a pool of blood on a rain-drenched sidewalk three blocks from their childhood rowhouse. He was 43. Fulwood cried for 40 minutes when a police captain knocked on his door to tell him. I put my emotions in check and wrote the story.

Fulwood stepped down as chief in 1992, after 28 years on the force. There were more killings that year than any other in the citys history. His brothers was the 401st.

Mayor Barry was sent to prison on a drug conviction. The new mayor, Sharon Pratt Kelly, wanted her own chief, even though Fulwood had a loyal following among city residents, street cops and the department's brass. Daniel P. Hickson, a white officer who served under Fulwood and was on the force 32 years, recalled that the chief inspired him to be a strong officer but also taught him empathy and compassion.

Friends

Fulwood went on to work with kids in city neighborhoods, trying to help them before they got into trouble. He knew the police were never going to arrest themselves out of the problems in his community  the need for better schools, social services and drug treatment.

In 2004, President George W. Bush nominated Fulwood to the U.S. Parole Commission. Five years later, President Barack Obama appointed him chairman. He was now able to free prisoners instead of lock them up. The all too familiar tug of war between who he was and what he was followed him into his new post.

Always, the black has taunted the blue, Post writer Wil Haygood wrote of Fulwoods dilemma.

Fulwood grieves. Over black crime feeding black recidivism feeding, at times, black stereotype, Haygood wrote. Some way, weve got to figure all this out, he wrote, quoting Fulwood.

You have to ask yourself the question: [Does society] ever forgive a black person when they do something wrong? Thats why the issue  rehabilitation and reform  can turn on the issue of race, he said as he pondered how to act on the case of a former Black Panther who had killed a white officer and spent more than 30 years behind bars.

[Ive locked up more people than anyone in America]

I moved on to cover the D.C. schools, poverty in the city, long-term investigations and now the Justice Department for the national staff. The chief and I kept talking, and somewhere along the way, we became friends. Real friends.

I came to know his family and he got to know mine. A man of faith, Fulwood came to respect and appreciate mine. He invited my husband and me to the Christmas party at his house, and he and his wife, Ruth, came to my daughters bat mitzvah. He called to wish me happy new year on Rosh Hashanah and ask about my 84-year-old mother, and he shared his familys sweet potato pie recipe at Thanksgiving. He was still the chief who laced his lessons with profanity, but I also came to know Ike, who was wise, warm, empathetic and very funny.

One of Fulwoods favorite places for Southern cooking was B. Smiths, and it was there that I first noticed his frailty, his difficulty walking. I visited him at rehab after he was later hospitalized. It was hard to see the chief so thin and using a wheelchair.

On Monday at Ebenezer AME Church, Fulwood will be eulogized for his enormous contributions to the Metropolitan Police Department and the District of Columbia. But I will remember him for the tremendous influence he had on me. In hundreds of conversations over three decades, the chief made me a better reporter  and a much better human being.
DACA beneficiaries and their supporters gather at the CASA Multicultural Center in Hyattsville, Md., on Sept. 7, 2017, to get legal information and other support in response to the recent announcement that DACA is to be rescinded. (Bonnie Jo Mount/The Washington Post)

President Trumps decision to wipe out deportation reprieves for young undocumented immigrants has unleashed a frenzied rush to renew 154,000 permits before an Oct. 5 deadline, a process advocacy groups say will cost millions of dollars in fees and stretch their resources to the limit.

In hurricane-ravaged Houston, lawyers are clearing their calendars to help immigrants fill out the forms. In Maryland and Virginia, advocates are holding emergency meetings and recruiting volunteers. Nationwide, immigrants and nonprofits are raising money online to help cover the $495 renewal fees.

Its definitely one disaster after another: one of natural causes and one man-made, said Maria Rodriguez, executive director of the Miami-based Florida Immigrant Coalition, which was preparing for Hurricane Irma on Friday. Its heartbreaking.

The Trump administration announced last Tuesday that it will eliminate Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, an Obama-era executive action that protected hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children. Nearly 700,000 people have that protection now, government officials said last week. Critics say that President Barack Obama did not have the authority to create the program when he set it up in 2012 and that DACA beneficiaries take jobs and other benefits that should go to legal residents.

Those whose deferred-action status is expiring between Sept. 5 and March 5, 2018, have a month to apply to renew their work permits. A successful application would be only a reprieve, valid for two years.



Attorney Nicholas Katz speaks with DACA recipients at the CASA Multicultural Center in Hyattsville, Md. (Bonnie Jo Mount/The Washington Post)

It fell on people like a bag of bricks . . . and its only starting to sink in, said Joshua Hoyt, executive director of the National Partnership for New Americans, a coalition of organizations providing legal services to immigrants. Its 5,133 [renewal applications] every day, including today. Thats 214 per hour, if we work all night long.

Advocates are urging Trump to extend the Oct. 5 deadline to give immigrants a chance to raise money to pay the renewal fees  which could surpass $76 million if all those who are eligible apply. They also say that immigrants in Texas and Florida, which have large undocumented populations, could miss the deadline because of the extreme disruption caused by the recent hurricanes.

There are whole neighborhoods that are still flooded, said Leslie Crow, a lawyer with BakerRipley, a Texas nonprofit organization helping immigrants apply for work permit renewals. People have lost their cars. People have lost all of their belongings. . . . I have heard from a few parents: I have no idea how Im going to be able to make that payment now. 

In Virginia and Maryland, advocates are mobilizing volunteers to quickly review renewal applications, tapping a network of lawyers that formed after Trumps January executive order banning entry to the United States by citizens of certain majority-Muslim countries. The stakes, the advocates say, are high.

A small clerical error might get their application kicked back, and then they wont meet the deadline, said Sirine Shebaya, a lawyer who volunteers with the Dulles Justice Coalition. Its an all-hands-on situation.

Barring action from Congress, thousands of DACA recipients will begin losing their legal status in March. About 200,000 will be phased out of the program in 2018, followed by 320,000 in 2019. The program would cease to exist by 2020, federal officials said Friday.

DACA beneficiaries are bracing for a return to being undocumented, unable to work legally for the first time in five years. Many would lose health insurance, drivers licenses and other benefits. And they would be at risk of deportation under an administration that is aggressively enforcing immigration laws.

This is my home. Thinking about not being protected in your own home is very scary, said Vishal Disawar, 22, a fellow at a tech incubator in Chicago and a citizen of India. His parents brought the family to the United States in 2001, when he was 6, so that his younger sister could undergo heart surgery. He and his sister have deferred action; his expires first, sometime next year.

Disawar graduated last year from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign after majoring in computer science and political science. He said he feels encouraged that Microsoft and other tech giants are vowing to defend DACA beneficiaries who lose their status, and he said he hopes more people in the program will come forward to share their stories and push for a new reprieve.

DACA beneficiaries and their advocates are fighting battles on multiple fronts: in Congress, the courts and at the state level, where some are renewing efforts to secure in-state tuition and drivers licenses for undocumented immigrants, even if they do not have DACA status.

Deferred-action beneficiaries can get drivers licenses in all 50 states, but only 12 states and the District issue licenses to other undocumented immigrants, according to the National Immigration Law Center. In Texas, for instance, DACA beneficiaries would be unable to renew their drivers licenses if their status expires, said a Department of Public Safety spokesman.

The most urgent battle is in Congress, where multiple bills are pending to address the situation of young immigrants.

Many advocates are throwing their weight behind the bipartisan Dream Act, which would make 1.8 million immigrants  including those in DACA  eligible for conditional residency, according to the Migration Policy Institute. Those who met additional requirements, such as completing their education, could apply for permanent residency and get on a path to U.S. citizenship.

In exchange for a bill to protect young immigrants, Republican lawmakers are likely to push for concessions that would put at greater risk of deportation the rest of the nations estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants, including the parents of DACA beneficiaries. Trump, meanwhile, has called for funding to expand the wall on the border with Mexico and to hire thousands of additional Border Patrol agents and personnel to handle deportations.

Advocates for immigrants say they would settle for nothing less than a clean Dream Act that would not be tied to immigration enforcement. But critics of illegal immigration  and some lawmakers  have called that position unreasonable.

I know they dont want that, but the whole rationale for DACA was that they didnt have any choice in the matter, said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, which favors tougher enforcement. The parents did not grow up here and did have a choice.

Trump has sent mixed signals on the deferred-action beneficiaries. During the presidential campaign, he vowed to end the program immediately on taking office. But he acted only months after entering the White House, after Texas and several other states threatened to sue the administration to take action on DACA.

After last week's announcement, Trump reassured young immigrants on Twitter that they would be safe from deportation during the coming six months and urged Congress to pass a law to permanently resolve their status. Otherwise, he said, he would "revisit" the issue.

On Friday, Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez (D-Ill.) said he was hopeful that Congress would pass the Dream Act, which has not cleared both houses since it was introduced 16 years ago. He acknowledged that a law that would protect only young immigrants brought here as children would be difficult for DACA beneficiaries to swallow, since their parents would remain at risk of deportation.

But he said they should take up one battle at a time.

You are the most beloved, the most cared for, the most recognized of our immigrants, he said Friday. What chance do I have for your mom and dad if I lose you?
Angelica Mendoza heads a massive protest in October 2004 in Lima. People affected by the 1980-2000 armed conflict in Peru, which caused more than 69,000 deaths, marched toward the Congress to demand compliance by the government with the recommendations of the truth commission. (ALEJANDRA BRUN/AFP/Getty Images)

Angelica Mendoza de Ascarza was a 54-year-old indigenous Peruvian mother of eight when, in the pitch-black early hours of July 3, 1983, the door of her tiny concrete-block home in the city of Ayacucho was kicked in by a group of men pointing assault rifles and wearing black hoods.

As she tried to fight them off with her bare hands, they sought out her 19-year-old student son Arquimedes, dragged him from his bed and bundled him, in his underwear and barefoot, to a waiting vehicle she recognized as a military armored personnel carrier.

I clung to my son but they dragged me with him onto the street, punching me, kicking me and twisting my arm until I let go, she told the Associated Press later. Arquimedes shouted back to me: Mama, dont cry. Im a big man now. Dont worry. I havent done anything wrong. 

That was the last time she saw her son. He became one of Peru's "desaparecidos" (the disappeared ones), just one victim of a 20-year "dirty war" that never got as much global media coverage as those during the military governments of Argentina and Chile. More than 69,000 Peruvians were known to have died between 1980 and 2000 and 7,000 disappeared, even though the three successive Peruvian governments of the era were not military-led like those in South America's Southern Cone.

Mrs. Mendoza, who died Aug. 28 at 88, personally campaigned for an independent Truth and Reconciliation Commission to investigate the disappearances, and her demand was finally met in 2001 by a caretaker government. The commission  made up mainly of academics, priests and lawyers, and before which she testified in her native Quechua language  issued its damning report in August 2003.



Angelica Mendoza, center, whose son disappeared, cries while giving testimony during a public hearing of Peru's Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Huamanga, Ayacucho, in 2002. (Silvia Izquierdo/AP)

It said the Marxist Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) group had been responsible for more than half the deaths, massacring with machetes anyone they considered government sympathizers, including indigenous peasants.

But the report also blamed the three successive ostensibly democratic governments of the era for the rest of the killings and human rights abuses, concluding that the state had given too much power to the military, which launched a scorched earth policy against villagers in the Peruvian highlands. Seventy-five percent of the dead were innocent indigenous Quechua speakers caught between the military and the guerrillas.

After her son was hauled away, Mrs. Mendoza waited anxiously for dawn  until the end of a 12-hour curfew during the ongoing state of emergency in which anyone venturing out risked being shot. She went to the Los Cabitos military base to ask about her son.

"No sabemos nada" (we know nothing), she was told. Same at the police station, same at the paramilitary National Guard.

But she did bump into other mothers or relatives looking for their loved ones. They later formed a group they called the National Association of Families of the Kidnapped, Detained and Disappeared of Peru, known by the Spanish acronym ANFASEP, with the motto Verdad y Justicia (Truth and Justice). She became its leader and most public face, known nationwide as Mama Angelica.

In 1985, she organized their first march, accompanied by Argentina's 1980 Nobel Peace Prize-winner Adolfo Perez Esquivel, when she and other relatives carried crosses, photos of their missing loved ones and placards saying "No matar" (Do not kill). She would participate in such marches, though increasingly frail, for the rest of her life. Her lawyer Gloria Cano confirmed her death, in Ayacucho, of complications from pneumonia.

Mama Angelica is not only a symbol of the battle for justice in Peru, but a symbol for all the countries in the region which lived through terror situations during the same epoch, the Peruvian branch of Amnesty International said in a statement. Women like Mama Angelica are the ones who achieved a transformation in all our countries. She was among those who showed us the way. Now we must continue to follow her example, in her memory and for all who are still in the struggle.

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Mrs. Mendoza never learned about her son but, through her efforts, other mothers and relatives did have their loved ones deaths confirmed.

With her strongly Inca features and her white high-crowned peasant's hat, Mama Angelica, became a symbol of the parents or other loved ones of those who disappeared between 1980 and 2,000  her son during the presidency of Fernando Belaunde Terry, others during the term of Alan Garcia and the rest during the near-dictatorship of Alberto Fujimori, who is now in prison for human rights abuses and corruption.

Fujimori had once accused Mama Angelica of being a Shining Path terrorist and threatened her with jail, forcing her to go underground in Peru for two years. On coming to power in 1990, Fujimori absolved all military or state security forces of any guilt during the previous 20 years.

Belaunde had been president of Peru from 1963 to 1968 until he was deposed by a military coup. After fleeing to the United States and teaching at Harvard, Johns Hopkins and George Washington universities, he returned home and was democratically elected president in 1980.

He preached democracy but became close to the military dictators of Latin America, supporting  vocally and with naval vessels and fighter planes  the Argentine invasion of the British-governed Falkland Islands in 1982. He also became cozy with, and learned from, the Argentine and Chilean intelligence services in their efforts to get rid of leftist dissidents. Hence the detention and disappearance in 1983 of Mrs. Mendozas son Arquimedes, a student of business administration at the San Cristobal of Huamanga National University in Ayacucho, which the state security services considered a hotbed of Shining Path activity.

With her fellow parents or loved ones, Mrs. Mendoza made frequent visits to garbage piles around Ayacucho, where rumor had it some of the desaparecidos had been dumped. She climbed over fly-infested mounds of mutilated, decomposing bodies, unrecognizable but which she believed were mostly students from the university, killed by soldiers seeking information about Shining Path.

She said she saw bodies with eyes gouged out, jaws broken, fingernails torn out, fingers cut off, at least 15 bodies without heads. She never found her son.

She later asserted that there had been more than 100 bodies in the dump and that the military had burned many dissidents bodies in a large oven in Los Cabitos before disposing of their bones in among the garbage.

Just two weeks before she died, Mrs. Mendoza, although ailing, traveled from her home in Ayacucho to the capital, Lima, to witness a court verdict against two former military officers  in absentia  finding them guilty of more than 50 cases of arbitrary detention, torture and disappearances of civilians. The two men are believed to be still alive and free.

Angelica Mendoza Almeida de Ascarza was born in San Gabriel de Huarcas, south of Ayacucho, on Oct. 1, 1928. Her husband, Estanislao Alcarza Barron, died in 2015. She is survived by several children.

In a statement last year, the Geneva-based International Committee of the Red Cross described Mrs. Mendoza as a tireless advocate for these women who lost their loved ones. The ICRC quoted her as saying: We cannot forget them even as we grow old and die. How can we forget our sons, our husbands, our fathers? Its impossible. Women came to see me from the countryside, asking if I could speak on their behalf. I told them that they wouldnt kill us if we stood united. We were many and together we were strong.
Nicolaas Bloembergen, a Dutch-born American scientist who ate tulip bulbs to survive during World War II and went on to win the Nobel Prize in physics, died Sept. 5 at a retirement community in Tucson. He was 97.

His son, Brink Bloembergen, who confirmed the death, said the cause was cardiorespiratory failure.

Over a much-honored career that included 40 years on the faculty of Harvard University, Dr. Bloembergen became a pioneer and major contributor in three significant areas of physics, all of which have significant applications in daily life.

He was one of the pioneers in the development of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques, which have become invaluable to modern medicine for creating images of the tissues of the body.

A paper published by Dr. Bloembergen and co-authors on the subject of NMR was said for many years to be one of the most quoted articles in the physics literature. Published in the Physical Review, it was by Dr. Bloembergen, Edward M. Purcell and Robert V. Pound and relied heavily on Dr. Bloembergens doctoral thesis.

In physicists shorthand the paper was known as BPP.

Dr. Bloembergen was also recognized for making important advances in the development of the maser, a device similar to the laser but that amplifies microwaves rather than light waves.

He was one of three physicists awarded the Nobel Prize in 1981, along with Kai M. Siegbahn of Sweden and Arthur L. Schawlow of the United States. The Swedish Academy cited Dr. Bloembergen for his work in nonlinear optics. Of all his accomplishments, it appeared that Dr. Bloembergen was proudest of his pioneering work in nonlinear optics. The field has important applications in modern optical communications, among other areas.

Dr. Bloembergen, who once described physics as the science that explains the how and why of things, can be seen as part of a generation of scientists trained in Europe before World War II who later came to the United States. Many arrived before the war. Their contributions helped put the United States at the forefront of scientific discovery.

Nicolaas Bloembergen was born March 11, 1920, in Dordrecht, the Netherlands. His father was a chemical engineer and executive. His maternal grandfather was a high school principal with a doctorate in mathematical physics.

Dr. Bloembergen began to concentrate on physics not because he found it easy but because he considered it the most and difficult and challenging subject.

He enrolled at the University of Utrecht in 1938 and obtained the equivalent of a bachelors degree (in 1941) and masters degree (in 1943) before the Nazis shut down the institution. He later went into hiding and endured such privation that he recalled the winter of 1944 as the hunger winter.

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Concealed from the Nazis, with food almost impossible to find, he ate tulip bulbs. They required long preparation and provided little nourishment, he recalled. But they staved off the worst hunger pangs by filling his stomach.

After the defeat of the Nazis in 1945, Dr. Bloembergen was accepted into graduate school at Harvard, where he worked on NMR under Purcell, one of his two co-authors on the often-cited 1948 Physical Review paper, and a 1952 Nobel laureate.

Certain laboratory techniques, he said, he found difficult to master. But he once wrote, I found that many abilities can be acquired by perseverance.

Dr. Bloembergen received his PhD in physics at the University of Leiden in his home country in 1948. This was said to have come about because he had completed preliminary qualifications there. The next year, he returned to Harvard, where he remained on the faculty until retiring in 1990.

He was said to have never missed a class in his four decades on the faculty at Harvard, where he was known for his kindness towards students. He became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1958.

In later years, he joined the faculty of the University of Arizona.

Survivors include his wife of 67 years, the former Huberta Deliana Brink of Tucson; and three children.

The title of Dr. Bloembergens PhD thesis was Nuclear Magnetic Relaxation. In this context, relaxation refers to a change in the energy state of a magnetic system composed of the spins of atomic nuclei. The spins of electrically charged particles, such as protons in the nucleus, create circulating electric currents, permitting individual nuclei to be treated as subatomic magnets.

In the process of relaxation, these nuclear magnets, which line up with or against a fixed magnetic field return to their original positions. In NMR spins that have lined up in one direction may flip to the opposite direction in response to an oscillating electromagnetic field.

The frequency at which the nuclei respond is the resonant frequency. It can be used to find out about atoms, molecules and the substances they compose and the environments in which they exist.

Edward Purcell was one of the first to demonstrate NMR in certain materials, and at Harvard, Dr. Bloembergen became his first graduate student. It was my good fortune to arrive at the right time at the right place, Dr. Bloembergen later said of coming to Harvard. .

Following his NMR work, Dr. Bloembergen devoted his attention to the amplification of microwave energy and the device for producing this effect, the maser. The word is the acronym for microwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation.

The device was a forerunner of the better-known and more widely used laser, in which the L stands for light.

With the ability to create extremely intense light beams, it was possible to open up the barely known areas of nonlinear optics and nonlinear spectroscopy.

In nonlinear processes, the consistent correspondence between signal and response breaks down. An increase in the intensity of one no longer creates an equivalent increase in the other. One of Dr. Bloembergens major contributions was enabling these nonlinear effects to be understood.

If for any of his scientific accomplishments, his son said, he wanted to be remembered as the father of nonlinear optics.

Despite the seriousness with which he approached his work, Dr. Bloembergen was not without wit and humor. After his retirement at Harvard, he was made professor emeritus. He described his change in status this way: A professor can do as he pleases, but a professor emeritus can do as he damn well pleases.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-10 03:15:53|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ANKARA, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Turkey's Foreign Ministry issued Saturday a warning for its citizens visiting or living in Germany ahead of German general elections slated for Sept. 24.

In a written statement, the ministry warned Turkish citizens to "be cautious," and "keep themselves out of political discussions and absent from rallies held by terrorist groups ahead of the elections."

The ministry said the political atmosphere in Germany was under the effect of increasing far-right and even racist discourses as the campaign was based on anti-Turkey rhetoric and the aim of blocking Turkey from becoming a member of the European Union.

There was "discrimination" against Turks "on the basis of their political views," which has led to "verbal attacks against some of our citizens," said the statement.

Ties between Turkey and Germany have been strained recently. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last month called on Turks living in Germany not to vote for German Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union, the Social Democratic Party or the Greens, as they were "enemies of Turkey."

On Sept. 3, Merkel said in a televised debate with her center-left rival Martin Schulz that she would seek to halt Ankara's EU membership talks, drawing reactions from Ankara.
Troy Gentry, one of the members of the country music duo Montgomery Gentry, which had several No. 1 hits, died Sept. 8 in a helicopter crash near Medford, N.J. He was 50.

He was killed hours before the band was set to perform in Medford. The pilot of the helicopter, James Evan Robinson, 30, also died in the crash, Medford Township Police Chief Richard Meder told the Newark Star-Ledger.

Along with his fellow bandleader, Eddie Montgomery, Mr. Gentry found success on the country charts and radio in the 2000s, scoring No. 1 hits with Roll With Me, Back When I Knew It All, Lucky Man, Something to Be Proud Of and If You Ever Stop Loving Me. The group won awards and reached platinum status with many hits, some of which cracked the Top 40 on the pop charts.

Montgomery Gentry mixed country music with Southern rock and was known for its blue-collar anthems. The group was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry in 2009 and into the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame in 2015.

Montgomery Gentry released its debut album, the platinum-selling "Tattoos & Scars," in 1999. Two other albums, "My Town" (2002) and "You Do Your Thing" (2004), also attained platinum status, while several of their albums earned gold records.

We didnt want to be an overnight success like acts that have one or two hits and then go away, Mr. Gentry once said in a statement. We wanted the longevity like Waylon [Jennings], Willie [Nelson], Charlie [Pride], [Johnny] Cash, [Kris] Kristofferson. All those cats; and they werent about No. 1 hits all the time. They had enough success with their music to be appreciated, to be able to play as long as they wanted to, and they did it the way they wanted to.

Mr. Gentry was born April 5, 1967, in Lexington, Ky., where he and Montgomery formed their group.

 Associated Press
Investigators have found the vehicle of a pregnant Maryland high school teacher reported missing last week, Montgomery County police said Saturday.

Laura Elizabeth Wallens black 2011 Ford Escape was discovered Thursday evening in Howard County at an apartment complex in the 10600 block of Gramercy Place in Columbia. The apartment complex is less than a five-minute drive from Wilde Lake High School, where Wallen, 31, teaches in the Social Studies department, according to the schools website.

Montgomery police have called her disappearance suspicious.

[More on the reported disappearance of a Maryland high school teacher]

Wallen, of Rolling Meadow Way in Olney, was last heard from Monday morning, when she sent a text message to her family, police said. Relatives found the message concerning and called police. Investigators have not released the text message.

She also didnt show up for the first day of school Tuesday, police said.

Wallen is described as white, 5 feet 5 inches tall, and 200 pounds, with blonde hair and blue eyes.

Anyone with information can reach police at 301-279-8000.
Montgomery County police are searching for a pregnant woman who has been reported missing and said they believe the circumstances of her disappearance are suspicious.

Laura Elizabeth Wallen, 31, who is four months pregnant and is a teacher in Howard County, was last heard from by her family on Monday, police said.

Wallens family received a text message from her phone , and the message concerned family members enough they called the police, said Capt. Paul Starks, a spokesman for the Montgomery County Police Department. Starks declined to say what the text stated.

Police and family are concerned for Wallens emotional and physical welfare, police said.

Starks said Wallen had spent the last several weeks preparing her classroom in Howard County, where families and students say she is a beloved teacher.



Montgomery County Police Department is looking for a pregnant Olney resident Laura Elizabeth Wallen, 31, who has been reported missing. (Montgomery County Police Department )

But she didn't show up for the first day of classes this week, and friends, family and coworkers have taken to social media to share pictures of Wallen, alert people of her disappearance and pray for her safe return. In school, students were asked to put notes on her classroom door to "show how much we miss & appreciate her," according to a tweet from the Wilde Lake High School Twitter account.

Police describe Wallen as a white woman who is 5 feet 5 inches tall, 200 pounds with blonde hair and blue eyes. Anyone with additional information is asked to call the county police non-emergency number at 301-279-8000.
A federal judge has said he will wait until at least Sept. 19 to decide whether to prohibit a Maryland state contractor from cutting down mature trees on the Georgetown Branch Trail until a lawsuit opposing the Purple Lines construction is resolved.

U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon said he needs time to determine whether he has jurisdiction in the case and whether a tree-cutting ban would effectively be undercutting an appeals court that allowed the state to begin building the light-rail line in the trail corridor while it considers the lawsuit.

The states contractor, Purple Line Transit Partners, closed the three-mile wooded recreational trail between downtown Bethesda and Silver Spring last week. Workers immediately started clearing underbrush and cutting down trees less than nine inches in diameter to install fencing, which has been allowed to continue.

[The legal arguments for and against allowing tree-cutting to continue]

A lawyer for the Maryland Department of Transportation told Leon in a court filing Thursday that the state had planned to begin cutting all trees Sept. 18. Pushing back that date would result in a two-week delay and cost the state $6.1 million, but the contractor could hold off on clearing larger trees until Sept. 20, according to the filing. Leon is scheduled to hold a hearing Sept. 19 on Purple Line opponents request to ban all tree cutting until their 2014 lawsuit is resolved.

The opponents have argued that allowing trees to be cut down before the court case is decided would cause irreparable environmental damage.

The state is appealing Leons previous ruling that would require transit agencies to reopen the projects federally required environmental review  a process that could take months  to consider what impacts Metros declining ridership could have on the Purple Lines ridership. State officials have said Metros ridership would have no significant impact.

The 16-mile Purple Line would run between Bethesda in Montgomery and New Carrollton in Prince Georges County.
A sign shows the new train that will run on the new Purple Line, during a groundbreaking ceremony on Aug. 28, 2017. (Oliver Contreras/For The Washington Post)

The light-rail Purple Line is designed to help commuters leave behind sluggish, unreliable buses and, for the first time, take a train directly between Maryland suburbs without having to ride Metro through the heart of Washington.

If all goes according to plan, passengers will step aboard in about five years.

But not much on the Purple Line project has gone according to plan  a court fight delayed construction by a year, and the project remains the focus of a federal lawsuit  and even supporters say motorists and residents along the 16-mile alignment should brace for some ugly construction.

Since the Aug. 28 groundbreaking, the project has moved at breakneck speed  and caught flak for it. Maryland transportation officials say they have to make up time lost to the legal delays. Meanwhile, local officials say they were blindsided last week when the states contractor abruptly closed the popular Georgetown Branch Trail in Montgomery County for four to five years of construction after less than a weeks notice.

[Closure of popular trail for Purple Line sparks community anger]

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), a Purple Line supporter, wrote last week to Maryland Transportation Secretary Pete K. Rahn, Unfortunately, the project seems to be off to a rocky start.

One day after the Trail Closed signs appeared, word spread that state officials had recently  and quietly  agreed to change the projects voluminous contract to cut from 30 days to seven the amount of time required to notify the public in advance of certain construction work.

That change prompted criticism from even longtime Purple Line supporters, who say theyre worried the public is being kept in the dark on a construction project that will affect hundreds of thousands of people.

They have to play by the rules, said Montgomery Council President Roger Berliner (D-Potomac-Bethesda), who first raised the public-notification issue. If the rules have changed, they better let people know. Theyre off on a very bad foot.

Rahn confirmed the contract change Thursday when asked by reporters. He said the state and the main contractor on the project, a consortium of companies called Purple Line Transit Partners, can change the contract at any time by mutual agreement.

He said the trail-notification period was reduced to speed up work delayed by the legal case. He said the state would not agree to change parts of the contract that pertain to sound walls, landscaping and other mitigation measures that communities have been promised.

I find it hard to believe that anyone didnt know the trail was going to be closed, Rahn said. Theres been talk about it clearly for over a year. I believe theres been more than enough notice about the trails closure.

[Purple Line opponents ask judge to ban tree cutting while lawsuit is pending]

The previously undisclosed contract change didnt sit well with some local officials, including those representing residents who will have construction behind their back fences.

This is a contract between the people of the state of Maryland and a private business consortium, said Mary Flynn, mayor of the Town of Chevy Chase. There has to be some public accountability here.

Representatives for Purple Line Transit Partners (PLTP) declined to comment on the broader criticisms about project officials openness so far.

However, they said the trail had to be shut down completely to allow workers and equipment to move safely along the construction corridor, where work will be done in different areas simultaneously.

Its now become a work zone, PLTP spokesman Chris Doherty said.

Almost all of the Purple Line will run aboveground. East of the Georgetown Branch Trail, tracks will be embedded in  and stations will be built along  heavily congested roads. Those roads include University Boulevard, Kenilworth Avenue and East-West Highway in the Riverdale Park area.

In other cities where light-rail lines have been built, residents say the worst impact is the awful traffic caused by roads that are closed or narrowed so tracks can be put down and stations built.

[Charlottes light-rail construction brought horrendous traffic]

Local officials say theyve yet to see any construction schedules detailing when and where Purple Line work will be done or the plan listing which streets will have lane closures and when. Even so, theyre beginning to prepare residents for a long haul. The line will be built between Bethesda in Montgomery and New Carrollton in Prince Georges County.

Theres going to be a lot of inconvenience  Im not going to pretend thats not the case, said Bradley Frome, a top aide on the project for Prince Georges Executive Rushern L. Baker III (D). But were going to make sure our residents know exactly what the impacts are, where they are and what detours they need to follow to lessen those impacts as much as possible.

A key problem: The public officials closest to the residents and the motorists who will have to endure the construction appear to have little say in when and where construction will occur and how the public is notified. County officials refer questions to the Maryland Department of Transportation, which has begun referring all questions about construction to Purple Line Transit Partners. The consortium of private companies is building and will operate the line as part of a $5.6 billion, 36-year public-private partnership.

It isnt clear whos calling the shots, Berliner said.

Ralph Bennett, president of Purple Line Now, said Maryland Transit Administration officials promised the group  the projects most ardent advocates  that the state would remain out front during construction. Instead, he said, it seems to be punting responsibility to its contractor. The group is a coalition of businesses, organizations, activists and residents.

Bennett questioned why the projects community advisory teams of residents have yet to meet and why no construction schedule has been publicly released.

Were disappointed in MTAs apparent unwillingness to behave as the owners of this project, Bennett said. You cant have the state saying, Sorry, this is the way its going to be.  They need to feel obligated to explain why theyre doing things.

In Prince Georges, about a dozen homes along East-West Highway in the Riverdale Park area have already been torn down to make way for a wider road with train tracks. Much of the construction already underway is on a train operations and maintenance facility in Glenridge, but the work isnt easily visible to passing motorists.

Prince Georges County Council member Dannielle Glaros (D-Riverdale Park), a longtime Purple Line supporter, said her constituents along the construction corridor have a lot of questions about whats to come. She said she expects to see an updated construction schedule soon and wants to make sure residents know about job and contracting opportunities on the project.

I think the plan for communication is still being dusted off, Glaros said. Now that this is real  and its a little hard to believe its really happening  I think the key is getting MTA and Purple Line Transit Partners back out into the community.

A sign-up for project alerts is available under the "construction" tab on the project website at www.purplelinemd.com. The construction hotline is 240-424-5325.
Rendering of the planned TSA headquarters in Springfield, Va., to be completed in 2020. (Gensler & Associates/Boston Properties )

The federal Transportation Security Administration plans to move its headquarters from Pentagon City to Springfield in 2020, bringing 3,400 jobs and two key road extensions to a part of Fairfax County that has been waiting for years for a makeover.

The $316 million deal announced late last month will create a new office complex in the Northern Virginia suburb and includes new roads linking Northern Virginia Community College to the Franconia-Springfield Metrorail station and the recently renovated Springfield Town Center mall.

In other words, it fills in several pieces of a decades-old puzzle: how to turn what has been a no mans land of federal warehouses in the shadow of Interstate 95 into a vibrant village of high-rise apartments, office towers and parks.

Were cementing this area as being friendly to federal employees, said Supervisor Jeff C. McKay (D-Lee), who represents the area. Its a big win for us across the board.

He said he hoped TSA's move, which happened in large part because of a lawsuit filed against the federal government by a disgruntled bidder for the 15-year lease, would strengthen Springfield's status as a contender for the stalled FBI headquarters project. The Trump administration announced in July that it would table plans to move the FBI's 11,000-employee headquarters out of Washington  a major blow to Springfield and the two Maryland sites that had been named finalists for the project.

The TSA project also seemed unlikely to go to Fairfax County as recently as a few years ago, when the federal government signed a lease to move the agency into the vacant Victory Center complex in Alexandria.

Boston Properties LP  whose Springfield site was a runner-up in the bid competition  filed a complaint, arguing the terms of that lease offered more space to the TSA than the 625,000 square feet Congress had authorized.

Peter Johnston, Boston Properties executive vice president for the Washington region, said his company pursued the legal argument when it learned the owners of Victory Center were planning an addition to the building, which would make the total amount of space available 665,000 square feet.

"The numbers, in our mind, didn't really seem to add up," Johnston said. In late 2015, a federal judge voided the government's lease, opening the door for Springfield once again.

A spokesman for Prudential Real Estate Investors, whose subsidiary, Eisenhower Real Estate Holdings LLC, owns the Victory Center, declined to comment.

TSA officials say moving to Fairfax will allow the agency to consolidate three offices in the Washington region into one larger headquarters. Employees are scheduled to begin moving to the secure complex in August 2020. The project includes a fitness center and cafeteria and 30,000 square feet dedicated to a conference and training center.

The Frontier Drive and Springfield Drive extensions will be combined to connect Loisdale Road to the Franconia-Springfield train station, with four lanes of traffic and bike lanes, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation.

Fairfax County officials say the TSA project will also include a small plaza near the Metrorail stop that will be partially available to the public.

Those improvements should add momentum to plans to build 3 million square feet of offices, a hotel and residential buildings, said Heather Crowell, spokeswoman for Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust, which owns the Springfield Town Center site. The company told investors last month it is in discussions with a major office user over some of the town centers undeveloped space.

There is no specific timetable we can share, but we are moving our plans forward, Crowell said in a statement.

Bruce Waggoner, president of the Springfield Civic Association, said area residents are encouraged by the planned improvements and the TSAs deal, especially after years of delays surrounding the town center and other projects  such as the FBI headquarters  that never materialized.

Over the years, Waggoner said, the community has come to view the idea of a revitalized Springfield as something thats frustratingly elusive, even though it seems within reach.

Nobodys coming into Springfield; everybody is leaving, Waggoner said, describing the daily morning commute at the Franconia-Springfield station, when far more people are boarding trains than disembarking.

People are anxious, saying: Okay, whens this going to happen? When are we going to see the cranes and things happening?

The TSA certainly spurs that kind of effort.
RICHMOND  Republican gubernatorial candidate Ed Gillespie said Friday that the the 800,000 young immigrants who have been protected from deportation under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals should not be forced to leave the country.

He made those comments after initally declining to take a firm stance on the Trump administrations announcement Tuesday that it would rescind DACA, putting the future of the so-called dreamers in question.

Gillespies Democratic rival, Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam, joined other Democrats and some Republicans to immediately slam the DACA decision when it was announced.

I strongly disagree with President Trumps decision to pull the rug out from under Dreamers who came out of the shadows to build a better life for themselves and their communities, Northam said.His decision lacks compassion, lacks moral sense, and lacks economic sense.

In the following days, the presidents position seemed to waffle. Trump suggested he would revisit the issue if Congress didnt come up with a solution within six months and he sought to reassure dreamers.

On Friday, after a joint appearance with Northam in Richmond, Gillespie spoke about the DACA decision.

,

Im the son of an immigrant, he told reporters after the event. My father came here as a child from Ireland. He was eight years old.  Now, they came here legally. He was processed through Ellis Island. But obviously, it wasnt his choice to move to America and in the case of these dreamers, it wasnt their choice either. And so, I think that clearly is a factor and I do not think they should be deported. And I hope Congress takes action to make sure that theyre not.

Earlier, his appearance at the forum had been briefly interrupted by immigration advocates.

Ed! a man yelled from the back of the auditorium. Reports confirm ICE [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement] wants to deport 10,000 migrants!

A woman chimed in: They want to deport all of us, all of the migrants! What are you going to do?

A handful of protesters tried to get a chant going  Not one more de-por-ta-tion!  but were ushered out before it could really catch on.

Gillespie made the briefest nod to the commotion  We live in a country with freedom of speech. Were blessed to have it then went on with his standard pledge to be a faithful servant-leader as if nothing had happened.

[Trump administration announces end of immigration protection program for dreamers]

Gillespies stance on immigration is complicated  as is his relationship to President Trump. To beat Northam in November, Gillespie needs the support of both Trump voters in the state as well as moderates.

I dont believe that children should be punished for decisions that were not their own, but at the same time, it is important for us to enforce our laws, he told the Richmond Times-Dispatch in the immediate aftermath of Trumps decision.

Gillespies Democratic opponent, Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam, has voiced straightforward opposition to Trumps move.

I strongly disagree with President Trumps decision to pull the rug out from under Dreamers who came out of the shadows to build a better life for themselves and their communities, he said in a written statement Tuesday. His decision lacks compassion, lacks moral sense, and lacks economic sense.
A billion-dollar spacecraft named Cassini is about to burn up as it plunges into the atmosphere of Saturn this month. That's the plan, exquisitely crafted. Cassini will transmit data to Earth to the very end, squeezing out the last drips of science as a valediction for one of NASA's greatest missions.

Dreamed up when Ronald Reagan was president, and launched during the tenure of Bill Clinton, Cassini arrived at Saturn in the first term of George W. Bush. So it's old, as space hardware goes. It has fulfilled its mission goals and then some. It has sent back stunning images and troves of scientific data. It has discovered moons, and geysers spewing from the weird Saturn satellite Enceladus. It landed a probe on the moon Titan.

It has also run out of gas, basically, though precisely how much fuel is left is unknown. Program manager Earl Maize says, One of our lessons learned, and its a lesson learned by many missions, is to attach a gas gauge.

The spacecraft is tracked in the Charles Elachi Mission Control Center of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. Mission Control is a darkened chamber with no external windows. The room (named after a retired JPL director) is dominated by glowing screens and people peering into consoles. Someone wandering into the place by accident would think: This looks like the kind of place where they fly spaceships.

On the far wall is a screen showing the operations of the three huge radio antennae  in the California desert; near Madrid; and in Canberra, Australia  that together make up NASAs Deep Space Network. As the Earth turns, theres always a big dish looking out for Cassini, and for JPLs other spacecraft roaming the solar system.

The navigators have a computer model that tells them where the spacecraft probably is and probably will be.

We need to be able to point instruments to objects. Nothing is static. Everything is moving. The timing is critical, said navigation team leader Duane Roth. We dont know exactly where Titan is at any given moment, or where Saturn is, or where Cassini is. When you want to propagate that out to some future time, all our errors grow.

But theyre getting it done.



Inside the Charles Elachi Mission Control Center at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. There, scientists track the Cassini spacecraft on its journey through the solar system. (Kyle Monk/for The Washington Post)

Cassini's final orbits have taken it, amazingly, inside the rings of Saturn, where the spacecraft practically skims the tops of the planet's clouds. These orbits can plausibly be compared to Luke Skywalker flying into that narrow trench on the Death Star.

The navigators here at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory do not boast of their prowess, however. For them, its just . . . math.

The key is to calculate this change in velocity, said navigation team member Mar Vaquero as she explained a complex set of equations on a whiteboard in her workspace at the lab. So you use math. You have matrices. And you have partials. Those are changes in your trajectories with respect to each parameter. So you use your matrices, your vectors, position and velocity and your partials to come up with this delta V that you see here.

So theyve done the calculations, and theyve plotted the trajectory. If the atmosphere is thicker than expected, they might have to send a slight course correction using small hydrazine thrusters. But really, theres not much to do other than let gravity handle everything, and watch the data come in, and clap, and maybe shed a few tears.

Were kind of going through the mourning cycle, said Julie Webster, head of spacecraft operations.

You form a family, said Linda Spilker, the Cassini project scientist, speaking of the team. Your kids grow up together.



Julie Webster, head of spacecraft operations at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, uses models to demonstrate the Huygens probe detaching from Cassini. (Kyle Monk/for The Washington Post)

Cassini closes out an era in NASA space science. This is hardly the end of solar system exploration, but its essentially the end of the first, heroic phase  the initial reconnaissance of the planets.

Sixty years ago, the Soviet Union put the first satellite, Sputnik, into orbit. Within a few years, there were spacecraft flying by the moon, crashing into the moon, even landing softly on the moon. More would go winging by Mars to see for the first time the craters and canyons and volcanoes of that desert planet.

Forty-one years ago, NASA soft-landed the two Viking probes on Mars and scratched the surface looking for signs of life (the results are disputed, but the smart money says the surface is sterile).

This year, NASA marked the 40th anniversary of the astonishing Voyager program  two robotic spacecraft that explored the outer solar system, the first Voyager flying by Jupiter and Saturn, the second flying by Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune  a solar system superfecta, to borrow a term from the horse track. The two Voyagers are now out in the exurbs of the solar system, far beyond the orbit of even the dwarf planet Pluto.

The colossal scale of Cassini is a legacy of the go-big mentality of the early days of space exploration. The United States put men on the moon with a jumbo rocket, and NASA for a long time skewed toward muscle-bound spacecraft even when humans werent along for the ride.

No single event changed everything, but what happened to a spacecraft called Mars Observer in 1993 certainly had an impact. It was large and fully adorned with instruments. And then, one day shortly before it was to go into Mars orbit, it simply went silent.

Webster was part of the Mars Observer team and remembers how, for many days, JPL staffers tried to reconnect with the spacecraft. But Mars Observer was never heard from again. Webster said that the fuel tanks were being pressurized with helium in advance of the Mars orbital insertion. Probably the pressurization system had a leak somewhere and it essentially blew up.

Space is hard. Space will break your heart.

Its like a loss of a family member, Webster said.



The radio science team, with Richard French at the computer, receives signals through Saturns rings for the last time. (Kyle Monk/for The Washington Post)

By that point, Cassini had already been conceived, the instruments already coming online, and so it was essentially grandfathered in to the old-fashioned go-big protocol. NASA Administrator Dan Goldin wasnt a fan. He had a name for Cassini: Battlestar Galactica.

Actually, it wasnt simply the Cassini mission. It was the Cassini-Huygens mission. The Europeans designed the Huygens probe, a separate vehicle that detached from Cassini when it passed close to Titan.

After Cassini, launched in 1997, arrived at Saturn in 2004, Huygens disengaged from the main spacecraft and dropped through Titans thick clouds. It sent back details of an alien world that possesses a stew of complex organic molecules, including liquid methane. Hydrocarbons rain from the sky. There are lakes and rivers.

Its the only place in the solar system other than Earth known to have rain and open bodies of liquid on the surface.

Cassini also discovered something amazing about Saturn's moon Enceladus: It has geysers spewing from its south pole. Almost certainly it has an interior ocean, sealed beneath ice, that contains great volumes of water and possibly hydrothermal vents.

Someday NASA or some other space agency is likely to send a probe to Enceladus to sample those geysers and test them for indications of life.

The legacy for which Cassini will be remembered will be Enceladus, said project scientist Spilker.



Mar Vaquero, on the Cassini spacecraft navigation team, has done the calculations to steer Cassini into Saturn. (Kyle Monk/For The Washington Post)

Exploration begets more exploration. Every mission drops a rope ladder in its wake.

Cassini has slowed down slightly in its final few orbits as it has passed through the outermost layers of Saturns atmosphere. The drag on the spacecraft hastens the final plunge slightly.

At about 1:37 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time on Sept. 15, the spacecraft will roll into position to enable one of its instruments to sample Saturns atmosphere as it gets closer and closer to the planet. It will stream data back to the Deep Space Network.

In the final minute of its life, Cassini will fire its thrusters in an attempt to keep its high-gain antenna pointing to Earth. But that is a battle Cassini is destined to lose.

The navigators at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory are still calculating precisely when the spacecraft will send its final signal on Sept. 15. At last report, it will be 4:55 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time, about 13 minutes earlier than the time calculated a couple of months ago.

But it will actually be already gone, in a sense. It will actually have been destroyed 83 minutes earlier. Thats how long it takes at the speed of light for news to travel from Saturn to Pasadena.

Cassini wont exactly crash into Saturn, because its a gaseous planet and theres no surface to hit. In the last moments, the spacecraft will go into a tumble and lose contact with Earth. Then it will burn up as it plunges through Saturns atmosphere. It will disintegrate.

And then nothing will be left.

Itll just be vaporized and completely disassociated, said Maize.

It will become part of Saturn.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-10 03:20:54|Editor: ZD

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HELSINKI, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Finnish officials on Saturday confirmed that U.S. Undersecretary of State Thomas Shannon and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov will meet in Helsinki Monday and Tuesday next week.

They will also meet Finnish President Sauli Niinisto, the Finnish presidential office confirmed to local media.

The agenda of the meeting has not been reported. The U.S. State Department noted that the two ministers will address "areas of bilateral concern and cooperation."

Russian newsagency RIA Nowosti also reported the upcoming meeting on Saturday, quoting Russian diplomatic sources.

Teija Tiilikainen, director of the Finnish Institute for International Affairs, told newspaper Helsingin Sanomat that in the current international political situation the meeting has a greater importance than usual.

Although the agenda has not been released, Tiilikainen said it could be long. She mentioned the issues such as the situation in Syria, the Baltic Sea and the North Korea.

U.S. and Soviet politicians and diplomats used to meet in Helsinki especially during the 1980s.

Tiilikainen commented that during his visit to Washington in late August, Niinisto got a lot of attention from U.S. President Donald Trump. "Perhaps the impression was obtained in Washington that Finland has a perspective and that it has a strong dialogue with Russia," Tiilikainen said.

Commentators have seen the Helsinki meeting also as a prelude to the planned talks between foreign ministers Sergei Lavrov and Rex Tillerson, later in September in New York.

The announcement came after the U.S. and Russia was in a diplomatic row for months about the mutual actions to reduce the size of the diplomatic missions of each other.

During Niinisto's visit to Washington, Trump voiced the willingness to improve the relationship with Russia and halt the downward spiral.

"I hope that we do have good relations with Russia," Trump said at a joint press conference with Niinisto. "I think it's a good thing if we have great relationships, or at least good relationships, with Russia."
Deputy editorial page editor

There is no reason to trust the Trump administration and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos when it comes to policing sexual assault on college campuses. Actually, make that stronger: There is every reason not to trust them.

Not only because of the president's own words and behavior, but because of the dismissive comments of the department's top civil rights official, Candice Jackson, about campus sexual-assault claims: that "the accusations  90 percent of them  fall into the category of 'we were both drunk,' 'we broke up, and six months later I found myself under a Title IX investigation because she just decided that our last sleeping together was not quite right.' " Jackson may have apologized; there is no erasing the underlying attitude.

And yet it is also true that the current regime under which campus sexual-assault allegations are investigated and adjudicated is seriously flawed. Before the Obama administration instructed colleges and universities that they had to take sexual-assault allegations seriously  or risk losing federal funds  the system was way too disposed to discourage complaints. But the Obama administrations move also prompted an overcorrection at some institutions that failed to do enough to protect the rights of students accused of wrongdoing.

Which is how I find myself in the unexpected position of writing not to lambaste DeVos but to praise her, albeit tentatively and preliminarily, for announcing plans to rework the departments approach to Title IX, the federal law prohibiting gender discrimination at educational institutions.

An assault, especially an assault left unpunished, can ruin a students life. A finding of liability can ruin a life as well, with a student potentially expelled and branded a sexual predator. So any accusation must be thoroughly investigated, but in a way that affords the alleged perpetrator the essential elements of due process  among them the right to full notice of the allegations and representation by counsel; the opportunity to cross-examine witnesses and present a defense; and the chance to have the dispute overseen by an independent and impartial decision-maker, preferably based on a standard higher than a mere preponderance of evidence.

"The truth is that the system established by the prior administration has failed too many students," DeVos said. "There must be a better way forward. Every survivor of sexual misconduct must be taken seriously. Every student accused of sexual misconduct must know that guilt is not predetermined."

The condemnation was swift. "This administration wants to take us back to the days when colleges swept sexual assault under the rug," said Arne Duncan, education secretary under President Barack Obama. "Don't be duped by today's announcement," said Fatima Goss Graves of the National Women's Law Center. "What seems merely procedural is a blunt attack on survivors of sexual assault."

The proof will be in the details of what the Trump administration produces. Still, you dont have to be a DeVos-like conservative to have serious qualms about the existing approach  and to bristle at the dismissal of such concerns. Indeed, you could be a feminist legal scholar at Harvard Law School.

Four such experts  Elizabeth Bartholet, Nancy Gertner, Janet Halley and Jeannie Suk Gersen, hardly DeVos clones  wrote to the Education Department last month describing how many "terrified" college administrators "over-complied" with the Obama administration's directive.

Colleges have adopted definitions of sexual wrongdoing, they wrote, that include conduct that is merely unwelcome . . . even if the person accused had no way of knowing it was unwanted, and even if the accusers sense that it was unwelcome arose after the encounter. Meanwhile, the procedures for enforcing these definitions are frequently so unfair as to be truly shocking.

In a disturbing new online series for the Atlantic, Emily Yoffe describes University of Massachusetts student Kwadwo Bonsu's encounter with a fellow student who began to perform oral sex on him after they smoked marijuana together, then decided she wanted to stop. After exchanging phone numbers and leaving Bonsu's room, the female student "realized I'd been sexually assaulted" and reported the incident. Amherst police closed the case without charges, but Bonsu was barred from living on campus and then suspended. It took him years to win admission elsewhere.

At its worst, Title IX is now a cudgel with which the government and school administrators enforce sex rules too bluntly, and in ways that invite abuse, Yoffe writes. If DeVoss legacy is to defuse Title IXs effectiveness in combating sexual assault, that will be a tragedy. If her intervention means that that weapon is wielded with more precision and fairness, that will be an impressive achievement from a surprising source.

Read more from Ruth Marcus's archive, follow her on Twitter or subscribe to her updates on Facebook.
THURSDAY'S SPEECH by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos had been billed as a major policy address on Title IX enforcement, and the expectation was that she would immediately rescind Obama administration guidelines on how colleges and universities handle campus sexual assaults. Given this administration's disregard for matters of civil rights, it seemed best to gird for the worst: full retreat. That Ms. DeVos instead opted for a deliberative approach, including public input about potential changes, was a welcome surprise. It should be encouraged by those who want a just handling of these fraught cases.

In remarks at George Mason University's Antonin Scalia Law School, Ms. DeVos said the Education Department would begin a notice and comment period to gather information and evidence to revamp federal guidelines dealing with campus sexual assault. A "Dear Colleague" letter issued by the department's Office for Civil Rights in 2011 fundamentally changed how colleges and universities respond to complaints of sexual misconduct by outlining the responsibility of schools receiving federal funds to provide equal access to education under Title IX.

Being held accountable  with the threat of a loss of money  forced colleges and universities to finally confront the problem of sexual assault and other misconduct. They were obliged to investigate, rather than cover up, complaints and to offer protections to victims of sexual abuse. At the same time, legitimate questions have been raised about whether there was an overreach by the Obama administration in its prescriptions that resulted in imbalances and injustices. Ms. DeVos, while crediting the Obama administration for bringing the issue of campus sexual assaults "into the light of day," blasted the current system as failing both victims and the accused and being too onerous for administrators.

Advocates for survivors of sexual violence seized on her criticism  in particular her concern about the need for due process for the accused  as a betrayal that backtracks on protections for victims. But Ms. DeVos was unequivocal in stating that there must be no tolerance for sexual misconduct and that universities and colleges have a responsibility to combat it.

She is not alone in seeing some problems with how the guidelines have been implemented, as she illustrated with stories from students  both survivors and those accused  about how the system failed them. In a detailed examination, the Atlantic's Emily Yoffe argued that many remedies pushed on campuses "are unjust to men, infantilize women, and ultimately undermine the legitimacy of the fight against sexual violence." Groups such as the American Association of University Professors and the American College of Trial Lawyers have called for changes in the standard of proof used in campus disciplinary proceedings. Professors in the law schools at Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania and other institutions wrote an open letter about their concern over the absence of due process.

Given the Trump administration's track record and some of Ms. DeVos's dubious staff appointments, it's understandable that there would be wariness about where the department might be headed on this critical issue. But Ms. DeVos promised to "seek public feedback and combine institutional knowledge, professional expertise and the experiences of students to replace the current approach with a workable, effective and fair system." She shouldn't be attacked for that but rather made to live up to it.
Columnist

"Congress has been dropping in relative power along a descending curve of 60 years' duration, with the rate of fall markedly increased since 1933. . . . The fall of the American Congress seems to be correlated with a more general historical transformation toward political and social forms within which the representative assembly  the major political organism of post-Renaissance Western civilization  does not have a primary political function."

 James Burnham, Congress and the American Tradition (1959)

Today, worse is better. The president's manifest and manifold inadequacies might awaken a slumbering Congress to the existence of its Article I powers and responsibilities.

As a candidate, Donald Trump vowed devotion to all 12 of the Constitution's seven articles. As president, Barack Obama, discerning a defect in the work of the 1787 Constitutional Convention, supplied Article VIII, which has expired. It stipulated: "Between Jan. 20, 2009, and Jan. 20, 2017, the president shall have the power to do whatever Congress declines to do." So, when Congress did not confer legal status on "dreamers" (immigrants brought to the United States illegally as children), he did it. He conferred such status and attendant benefits on a large category of people and called this patently legislative act a routine exercise of law enforcement discretion.

As a candidate, Trump's policy regarding dreamers made up in concision what it lacked in reflection: "They have to go." As a president whose incoherence has a kind of majesty, he says he has "a love for these people" who are "incredible" when they are not engaged in rampant criminality. When he is not pardoning Arizona's scofflaw sheriff Joe Arpaio for his anti-immigrant criminality, Trump casts immigration as a law-and-order issue.

So does Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who preaches fire-and-brimstone law and order when he is not encouraging legalized theft under " civil forfeiture ," whereby government enriches itself by seizing the property of persons not convicted of crimes. Sessions, whose canine loyalty to Trump is not scrupulously reciprocated , seemed to relish the privilege of announcing Trump's policy that, absent action from a Congress that is especially loath to act on immigration, could punish 690,000 children for what their parents did long ago.

Trump's policy now is to state that Obama's policy will expire in six months unless Congress chooses to "legalize"  Trump's word  it. If Congress does not, Trump will do . . . something: "I will revisit this issue!" Perhaps his exclamatory punctuation foreshadows something as forceful  meaning as unilateral  as what Obama did.

What Obama did was popular and unconstitutional. The latter attribute probably does not interest Obamas successor, but the former attribute evidently does. Hence Trump has sent this hot-potato issue where it belongs, to Congress, which now faces the unaccustomed agony of actually setting national policy.

The day Trump and Sessions disturbed Congress's serenity, Nikki Haley did likewise. The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and former executive (as South Carolina's governor) intimated that the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran might yet wind up where, constitutionally, it should have started  in the national legislature. An international pact of this complexity and gravity should have been a treaty, submitted to the Senate for committee hearings, floor debate and ratification by a two-thirds supermajority. Instead, as a redundant expression of Obama's disdain for Congress and the separation of powers, it was submitted to the United Nations, and then to Congress. The House voted disapproval, and the Senate attempted the same, although the margins were too small to override an Obama veto in any case.

Haley suggested Trump might declare Iran not in compliance with the agreement, thereby initiating a 60-day congressional review, potentially culminating with the administration leaving Congress to decide for or against U.S. withdrawal from the agreement. Just as many Republicans, after years of denouncing Obamacare, flinched from repealing it, many critics of the Iran agreement might flinch. Haley said, "I get that Congress doesn't want this." Which is a reason  exercising atrophied institutional sinews  for hoping it happens.

In 1959, before the exhilarating experience of Ronald Reagan's presidency, congressional supremacy was still a tenet of conservatism. Then, James Burnham, a founding editor of the then 4-year-old National Review, wondered whether Congress could "survive as an autonomous, active political entity with some measure of real power, not merely as a rubber stamp, a name and a ritual, or an echo of powers lodged elsewhere." The slope of the long descending curve might be changing.

Read more from George F. Will's archive or follow him on Facebook.
IF ED GILLESPIE wrote a memoir about his current campaign as Virginias Republican gubernatorial candidate, he might call it The Art of the Tightrope.

Caught between the right-wingers, nationalists and racists who form the core of President Trump's support and the hard fact that Virginia hasn't elected a Republican to statewide office since 2009, Mr. Gillespie is treading the narrowest of political paths. A longtime Republican insider and former consigliere to George W. Bush, he is a moderate by disposition. But giving voice to that moderation risks alienating the Trump coalition. In the spring's GOP primary, he narrowly avoided defeat at the hands of Prince William Board of County Supervisors Chairman Corey A. Stewart, a Trump fan.

That has left Mr. Gillespie in an awkward position in his race for governor against the Democratic nominee, Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam. He endorsed Mr. Trump during last years campaign but ever since has studiously avoided nearly any mention of the presidents name. He has called for criminal-justice reforms that would keep many small-time offenders from prison, but he ducked the tougher question of restoring felons voting rights by proposing a commission to be named later.

Mr. Gillespie said localities should decide what to do about Confederate monuments, then shifted almost immediately to adamantly oppose their removal. He declined to join in the divisive dog whistling so relished by Mr. Trump, then hired Mr. Trump's own field director for Southwest Virginia, Jack Morgan, a blowhard who says America is headed for a civil war and that the movement to take down Confederate monuments is a communist plot to subvert the nation.

Mr. Gillespie isnt the first politician to walk a political tightrope while trying not to alienate ideologically divergent factions of his party and the broader electorate. Yet the question arises: Does he have any core principles?

Many who have known him for years regard Mr. Gillespie as a centrist and a pragmatist  in other words, an establishment Republican of the sort loathed by the partys ascendant Trump loyalists. Yet by hiring a provocateur such as Mr. Morgan and using Confederate monuments as a wedge issue, he may be solidifying the GOP base while at the same time courting white nationalists already energized by Mr. Trumps race-baiting.

There is a moral cost to winking at the most noxious elements in the electorate; there may also be a political cost, especially in Virginia. Increasingly dominated by the cosmopolitan suburban precincts of Northern Virginia, the states electorate has not rewarded candidates who have flirted with extremists. Mr. Gillespie might bear that in mind as he zigzags his way across the commonwealth.
Columnist

It is a rare opportunity. Seldom does the voting public have the chance to watch their elected politicians confront very specific false promises in real time. Usually campaign promises are either too vague to be contrasted with reality (Make America Great Again) or too long term. By the time that guaranteed growth either arrives or doesnt, the person who said it would happen is long out of office.

But in Britain right now, something different is unfolding. During the referendum last year, politicians advocating their country's departure from the European Union gave some specific assurances. Some derived from ignorance; as it turned out, few of them really understood how the E.U. works. Others were lies, which they knew to be lies at the time.

Because they didnt expect to win that campaign, they didnt expect either their ignorance or their dishonesty to be revealed. But then they won  and now its happening.

The most egregious lie was about money. During the campaign, leading Brexiteers drove around the country in large red buses, emblazoned with a slogan: "We send the EU 350 million pounds a week, let's fund our NHS [National Health Service] instead." This was a very influential argument, as the Brexit campaign managers have admitted. It was also an invented number  Britain does not send the E.U. 350 million pounds a week, as fact-checkers showed over and over. Some of those on the winning side admitted as much after the campaign.

But now, instead of receiving "350 million pounds a week," negotiators are trapped in an argument about how much money Britain owes Europe  for budgetary promises not kept, for agreements signed and not honored. More ominously, the British government is just now realizing that leaving the European single market, which is far more than an ordinary free-trade zone, will cost it in other ways, too. Jointly designed European agencies and arrangements may now have to be re-created, at vast expense, from scratch: pharmaceutical and nuclear regulators, for example. It is possible that a vast new customs service, complete with parking lots at the border, computer systems and customs agents, will be needed to cope with new tariff regimes once Britain is outside the European customs union. In the long term, Britain will have more bureaucracy, and less money to spend on the NHS.

The second falsehood, frequently repeated during the campaign, was that leaving the single market would be fast, simple and easy. Liam Fox, now Britain's top trade negotiator, said a new trade deal with Europe would be "the easiest in human history." David Davis, now the minister in charge of the whole process, declared that "we can do deals . . . and we can do them quickly." With breathtaking insouciance and eye-watering obliviousness, others implied that all sorts of trading arrangements with countries all over the world could be ready in a matter of months.

In practice, more than a year has passed since the referendum and nearly six months have passed since Britain invoked Article 50, the "exiting the E.U." procedure. During that time, almost no progress has been made. The British government itself is divided about its own position, which makes it difficult to talk to Brussels. This Last week, Davis told the House of Commons  to howls of derisory laughter  that "nobody pretended [Brexit] would be easy." It's as if he has actually forgotten that he himself repeatedly pretended exactly that.

What happens next is unclear. We know that the Brexiteers promises were hollow. Their assessments were wrong. Whatever remaining credibility this government still has should have vanished. Still, elections are complicated things, party loyalties are strong and there are other issues in play. During the referendum campaign, voters werent bothered by facts. During the recent snap elections, they seemed uneasier about the ruling party and refused to give it an absolute majority. Will the Brexiteers now be further punished at the ballot box? Well see.

The answer matters, because a parallel moment is about to arrive in the United States. As a candidate, Donald Trump also made some very specific electoral promises, including, for example, the construction of a wall along the Mexican border, to be paid for with Mexican money. It didn't matter how many Mexican politicians denied that this would happen; Trump kept repeating the promise. Now the budget battles are looming and, unsurprisingly, Mexico seems no more likely to pay for a border wall than Brexit is to free up 350 million pounds a week for Britain. Will Trump's voters punish him for failing to do what he said he would do? We'll see about that too.

Read more from Anne Applebaum's archive, follow her on Twitter or subscribe to her updates on Facebook.
Columnist

The ritual for the removal of the two stained-glass windows at the Washington National Cathedral honoring Confederate generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas Stonewall Jackson was performed during a Wednesday evening service with a solemnity reserved for the final closing of a church. It was an occasion to render a verdict and a moment for deep reflection. Not a time for celebration.

The Cathedral Chapter, the cathedral's governing board, had little choice but to vote Tuesday evening to remove the 4-by-6-foot windows immediately. Those windows, installed 64 years ago, served as silent symbols of a bloody war fought to uphold a traitorous Confederacy rooted in slavery. (Full disclosure: My wife, Gwen, a member of the Cathedral Chapter, voted to remove the windows.)

Thursdays deconsecration ceremony was performed quickly and quietly in a manner prescribed by church liturgy. Music was limited to a rendition of the Negro spiritual Didnt My Lord Deliver Daniel, which preceded the procession of clergy into the sanctuary, and a closing hymn In Christ There Is No East or West with piano accompaniment only. No choirs. No organ. Everyone stood throughout the event.

Left unaddressed during the brief service was whether those Rebel army leaders should ever have been placed on hallowed church property in the first place.

But the cathedrals dean, the Rev. Randolph Hollerith, explained the context in which the windows were dedicated in 1953 with money raised by the United Daughters of the Confederacy and a private donor.

"We remember," said Hollerith, "that [the windows] were received as a gift to this Cathedral memorializing the leaders of the Confederacy in a time when segregation was still the law of the land, when racial division in all aspects of life was social practice and when the most segregated time of Christian America was on Sunday morning."

The solemn truth was inescapable: The windows honored a system that rested upon black subjugation and white supremacy. They were a stain on the cathedral and were, as the chapter's removal resolution stated, "inconsistent with [the church's] current mission to serve as a house of prayer for all people." They had no place in the cathedral's sacred fabric. They had to go. Along with the myth under which they were created.

To contend, as do some defenders of Old Dixie, that those who went to war under the Confederate battle flag did so in valorous defense of their homes and families miscasts history. Just as it was wrong for President Ronald Reagan in 1985 to mourn the 2,000 soldiers of Nazi Germany buried at Bitburg cemetery as innocent human beings "crushed by a vicious ideology." The German war dead, like soldiers of the Old Confederacy, fought and died on behalf of a wicked cause that started a war.

The cathedrals decision to remove and store the windows in a secular space until such time as decisions about their fate are reached was right and overdue.

But there were no cheers at the end of the service. No compliments for the worship leaders, including the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, the Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde. No words of praise for the Cathedral Chapter, no expressions of satisfaction for a job well done.

Because the reality is that the present-day rage over Confederate memorials, statutes and flags is proof that the beloved community where the divisions of race and color, North and South, segregation and separation exist no more, referred to in Holleriths remarks, is a distant dream.

The arc of history is long and . . . it bends toward justice, said Budde in her closing prayer. Though laws have been passed and milestones reached, we still have, she said, far to go to realize Gods beloved community in our midst.

How far?

If the nearly 700,000 young undocumented "dreamers" in this country were of Scandinavian, Irish or Eastern European descent, would we be talking about them today?

Would there be a Trump administration-sponsored voter-fraud commission and voter suppression measures popping up around the country, if ballot-casting African Americans and other minorities were regarded as reliable Republican voters?

The small gathering at Wednesdays liturgy asked that burdens from the past be lifted, that sins be forgiven, and that wounds and division of the present time be healed. They prayed for reconciliation. As did I.

Then I stepped outside the cathedral back into the world of President Trumps followers, who seem to have little use for diversity of races and cultures, or for people who differ most from themselves. From the cathedrals place of consecrated worship to the unsanctified space we now consign the windows of Jackson and Lee.

Didnt my Lord deliver Daniel? Didnt my Lord deliver Daniel?

Didnt my Lord deliver Daniel?

And why not every man?

Read more from Colbert King's archive.
IF WE needed more evidence that the country is undergoing a housing crisis, we can look no further than the Department of Housing and Urban Development's latest assessment of worst-case housing needs. According to the biennial report to Congress, more than 8.3 million "very low-income renters" were eligible for, but failed to receive, federal housing assistance in 2015. This means there are 8.3 million more households living in sub-par conditions, or spending more than half their paychecks on rent, than there should be.

The 2015 figure is the second highest on record, behind the record of nearly 8.5 million households in 2011 because of the mortgage foreclosure crisis. The report attributes this to shifting preferences from homeownership to rentals, which have resulted in rising rents and a large gap between the number of very low-income renters and the federal assistance available. Though very low-income people in cities in the South and West face the greatest difficulties, the lack of affordable housing reaches across all racial and geographic demographics.

The numbers are alarming, and the Trump administration is threatening to make a bad situation worse. Its budget proposal includes the most dramatic cuts to HUD since the Ronald Reagan era. It proposes gutting federal housing assistance and federal funding for neighborhood improvements  the very initiatives that could reduce the affordable housing crisis. The White House claims it will redirect the savings from these HUD programs to "higher priority areas." But what could be of higher priority than ensuring that millions of hard-working Americans have access to safe, affordable and adequate housing?

HUD Secretary Ben Carson has responded to his agency's report by calling for a more "business-like approach" that boosts private-sector participation. Mr. Carson is not entirely wrong in claiming that private-sector involvement could help create more affordable housing. States and localities have seen varying degrees of success in streamlining permitting processes and curbing regulatory barriers. Yet, as advocates and experts have repeatedly pointed out, the private sector has proved unable to meet the needs of low- and middle-income families.

There are several common-sense policies that could help reduce the ongoing crisis. It is long past time to reform the mortgage-interest deduction, a costly tax break that favors higher-income homeowners. Reducing the mortgage cap could save billions that could be redirected to funding for the most vulnerable. The administration could also look into ways to make the low-income housing tax credit program more targeted and effective. But, with just a quarter of very low-income households receiving federal assistance, one thing is clear: Reducing federal funding where it is needed the most will hurt millions of families nationwide.
Democratic leaders have been running victory laps in the days since they struck a deal with President Trump, over Republican objections, to extend the nations borrowing limit and keep the government open for three months.

But new divisions among Democrats show that peril may yet lie ahead for Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), whose newfound connection with the president has put them in a similar spot as many Republicans this year: working with an unreliable and unpopular partner to attain legislative goals that may never materialize.

Trumps abrupt overtures to Schumer and Pelosi this week have raised difficult questions for the party out of power about how much to collaborate with a mercurial president whose policies and rhetoric have stirred widespread anger and fear on the left.

A growing number of Democratic lawmakers and activists are voicing worries about getting too close to Trump, whom they have held up as the opposite of what they stand for on issues of race, immigration, the environment and the economy  and whom they hope to campaign against in next years midterm elections.

At the same time, party leaders are trying to build on the surprise dynamic that materialized this week in hopes of advancing elements of an agenda that has been largely shut out of the legislative process since Republicans assumed control of the White House and Congress in January.

[Debt-ceiling shift signifies a remarkable political evolution for Trump]

The challenge of that balancing act is compounded by existing struggles that erupted in the party after last years election losses and have yet to settle. While they have stood united against Trump this year, Democrats have also been riven by ideological divisions, competing power centers and the lack of a clear identity or leader.

Now, they are at yet another crossroads.

Our base is deeply alienated from this president, Rep. Gerald E. Connolly (D-Va.) said in an interview Friday. Our base is not saying, Work with him; try to find some common ground. 

That base, he added, will be quite jaded about any overt attempts to make him look good or somehow normalize what weve experienced here.

Connolly, like many Democrats, hopes Trumps sudden willingness to work with them will pave the way for a legislative deal to help 690,000 young undocumented immigrants brought into the United States as children, who now face an uncertain future after Trump decided this week that in six months, an Obama-era program to protect them will end.

Trump sided with Pelosi and Schumer this week when he backed a three-month extension of the debt ceiling and government funding as part of a package that also offers more than $15 billion in disaster relief funding related to Hurricane Harvey.

[Trump signs $15 billion Harvey aid package after Republicans booed top White House officials]

Congressional Republican leaders wanted a longer-term deal  in part to avert a December showdown that is likely to give Democrats leverage to usher in a replacement for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that Trump pledged to end. Republicans had also hoped to avoid voting more than once on raising the nations borrowing limit before next years midterm elections.

Still, some Democrats are frustrated that party leaders did not demand more in the package that passed this week  notably a more immediate solution to the immigration question.

I pled with the Democratic leadership not to allow a vote on a continuing resolution on the funding of our government, not to allow a vote on raising the debt limit, if we didnt bring you with us, said Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez (D-Ill.) at a news conference Friday. He later added: We didnt prevail.

In an interview with reporters Friday, Pelosi did not back down from her negotiating tactics. She said she does not think Democratic voters believe that she and Schumer should avoid finding common ground with Trump.

I make no apology for doing that with the person who is going to sign the bill, said Pelosi, who was also able to persuade Trump to tweet a reassuring message to young immigrants this week. It gives you great leverage.

Others were skeptical.

Short-term tactics may not serve progressive interests in the long term, said Norman Solomon, a delegate last year to the Democratic National Convention for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). I think this whole path of getting chummy with Trump is fraught with land mines and pitfalls, and Trump is an expert at detonating under peoples feet.

Some Democrats think Trump has warmed to Democrats as a way to punish Republican leaders, with whom he has had troubled relations and with whom he has not achieved any major legislative wins.

For that reason, those Democrats are approaching the president cautiously. They are also reminding themselves of how much they disagree with the ideas that have defined the early months of his presidency.

Those include his proposed ban on entry to the United States by citizens of certain countries, his controversial blaming of both sides after a deadly white supremacist rally in Charlottesville and his rollback of Obama-era environmental policies, as well as his decision to end DACA.

Democrats have used these developments to begin building a case against the president ahead of the 2018 midterms and the 2020 presidential election. But some strategists said the legislative tactics of the minority party in Congress are a separate question from where the partys center of gravity lies as the next presidential race approaches. Democrats got something at almost no cost in the deal with Trump, some said.

[Rep. Charlie Dent, outspoken GOP moderate, will not seek reelection]

The Democrats havent lost anything. If you can get a deal entirely on your terms, youd be nuts not to take it just because Trump is on the other side of the table, said Brian Fallon, who was Hillary Clintons presidential campaign press secretary and a former aide to Schumer.

The question of whether cooperating with Trump poses reputational risks for Democrats now or later comes amid echoes of the bitter rift between supporters of Clinton and Sanders during last years Democratic primaries.

Those battle lines have re-formed in recent days with the leaking of portions of Clintons 2016 memoir, What Happened, including a broadside against Sanders for allegedly weakening Democrats and creating an opening for Trump.

His attacks caused lasting damage, making it harder to unify progressives in the general election and paving the way for Trumps Crooked Hillary campaign. I dont know if that bothered Bernie or not, Clinton writes.

Sanders suggested Thursday that the blame lies elsewhere.

Look, you know, Secretary Clinton ran against the most unpopular candidate in the history of this country, and she lost, Sanders said during an interview on CBSs Late Show with Stephen Colbert. And she was upset by that. I understand that.

In addition to the lingering bitterness from the end of the campaign, some Democrats have also openly questioned the efficacy of their current leaders, including Pelosi. What looks like a wide-open 2020 Democratic primary has left the party without a clear political standard-bearer. Heated intraparty debates have also opened up over whether candidates for office should face litmus tests on abortion and health care.

But when it comes to the first few months of Trumps presidency, there is far more agreement among Democrats, who have stood forcefully against the president. Still, some have found a way to separate that from the gears of governance.

I think at the end of the day, if its Trump acceding to Democratic demands or Democratic priorities, Democrats believe in government working, said Neera Tanden, president of the liberal Center for American Progress and a former Clinton aide. Thats a big difference between us and the other side. People are pragmatic to that extent.

Asked Friday whether Trumps agreement with Democrats might become a habit, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said voters expected pragmatism and bipartisanship from Trump. She brushed aside questions about Republican annoyance.

The most important thing is that the deal got done. The president acted on it, and he worked with Democrats to get it done, Sanders said. And I think hes going to continue to work with whoever is interested in moving the ball forward to help the American people.

For many unconvinced Democrats, the question that remained unanswered was how long Trump will be interested in working with them. Few are wagering they are at the beginning of a lasting relationship.

I dont see it as anything but whats necessary to get us beyond the moment, said Rep. James E. Clyburn (D-S.C.), the assistant House Democratic leader. I dont see it as anything that is sustained for any relationship going down the road.

Kelsey Snell and Mike DeBonis contributed to this report.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-10 03:20:55|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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CAIRO, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian Defense Minister Sedqi Sobhi left Cairo for an official visit to South Korea over talks on military cooperation between the two countries, the Egyptian military spokesman said in a statement on Saturday.

"The Egyptian defense minister is expected to hold several talks with his South Korean counterpart and a number of senior government and military officials, where he will discuss several topics related to military and security cooperation between the two countries," Egyptian military spokesman Tamer al-Refaay said in the statement.

Refaay noted that the visit comes in response to an invitation from South Korea's Defense Minister Song Young-moo within the framework of enhancing military cooperation between the two friendly states.
President Trump prepared for the pivotal meeting with congressional leaders by huddling with his senior team  his chief of staff, his legislative director and the heads of Treasury and the Office of Management and Budget  to game out various scenarios on how to fund the government, raise the debt ceiling and provide Hurricane Harvey relief.

But one option they never considered was the that one the president ultimately chose: cutting a deal with Democratic lawmakers, to the shock and ire of his own party.

In agreeing to tie Harvey aid to a three-month extension of the debt ceiling and government funding, Trump burned the people who are ostensibly his allies. The president was an unpredictable  and, some would say, untrustworthy  negotiating partner with not only congressional Republicans but also with his Cabinet members and top aides. Trump saw a deal that he thought was good for him  and he seized it.

The move should come as no surprise to students of Trumps long history of broken alliances and agreements. In business, his personal life, his campaign and now his presidency, Trump has sprung surprises on his allies with gusto. His dealings are frequently defined by freewheeling spontaneity, impulsive decisions and a desire to keep everyone guessing  especially those who assume they can control him.



Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell R-Ky.), flanked by Sen. John Thune R-S.D.), left, and Majority Whip John Cornyn R-Tex.) speaks Wednesday at the Capitol after President Trump overruled Republicans and his treasury secretary to cut a deal with Democrats. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

He also repeatedly demonstrates that, while he demands absolute loyalty from others, he is ultimately loyal to no one but himself.

It makes all of their normalizing and Trumpsplaining look silly and hollow, said Rick Wilson, a Republican strategist sharply critical of Trump, referring to his partys congressional leaders. Trump betrays everyone: wives, business associates, contractors, bankers and now, the leaders of the House and Senate in his own party. They cant explain this away as [a] 15-dimensional Trump chess game. Its a dishonest person behaving according to his long-established pattern.

But what many Republicans saw as betrayal was, in the view of some Trump advisers, an exciting return to his campaign promise of being a populist dealmaker able to cut through the mores of Washington to get things done.

In that Wednesday morning Oval Office meeting, Trump was impressed with the energy and vigor of Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) relative to the more subdued Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.). Far from fretting over the prospect of alienating McConnell and Ryan or members of his administration, he relished the opportunity for a bipartisan agreement and the praise he anticipated it would bring, according to people close to the president.

On Thursday morning, he called Pelosi and Schumer to crow about coverage of the deal  The press has been incredible, he told Pelosi, according to someone familiar with the call  and point out that it had been especially positive for the Democratic leaders.

At the White House later that day, Trump asked Rep. Peter T. King (R-N.Y.) how he thought the deal was playing. I told him I thought it was great, and a gateway project to show there could be bipartisan progress, King said. He doesnt want to be in an ideological straitjacket.

In some ways, White House officials said, Trump is as comfortable working with Democrats to achieve policy goals  complete with the sheen of bipartisan luster  as he is with Republicans. Though he did not partner with Democrats to spite McConnell and Ryan, aides said, he has long felt frustrated with them for what he perceives as their inability to help shepherd his agenda through Congress, most notably their stalled efforts to undo former president Barack Obamas signature health-care law.

On Thursday, Trump took to Twitter to express dissatisfaction with his adopted political party, complaining about Obamacare: Republicans, sorry, but Ive been hearing about Repeal & Replace for 7 years, didnt happen! He also bemoaned the legislative filibuster, which requires Republicans to work with Democrats to meet a 60-senator threshold for most votes, writing, It is a Repub Death wish.

Ari Fleischer, press secretary under President George W. Bush, said that Trump deserves credit for staving off, at least in the short term, a possible default and government shutdown.

Its going to internally hurt him that he didnt work with Republicans on this one, but by avoiding a mess, he likely saved Republicans from themselves, Fleischer said. I consider it a small victory that congressional Republicans didnt once again trip themselves up over this issue. At least for now.

King, a moderate who represents a Long Island district that Trump carried, said: I think this could be a new day for the Republican Party.

Trumps agreement with the Democrats is hardly the first time the president has flouted his allies, including those around the world, sending them skittering nervously in response to a threat or a sudden turnabout.

In April, Trump thrust Canada and Mexico  as well as many of his advisers and Cabinet officials  into a state of panic during a frenetic, if brief, period when he threatened to withdraw from the North American Free Trade Agreement. In May, speaking in front of NATO's sparkling new headquarters, Trump alarmed European allies when he chastised them for "not paying what they should be paying" and refused to embrace the treaty's cornerstone  that an attack on one represents an attack on all. And in September, as the crisis with North Korea escalated, Trump abruptly threatened to withdraw from a free-trade agreement with South Korea.

Foreign diplomats euphemistically describe the president as unpredictable, and even those with good relationships with the United States say they are cautiously optimistic that Trumps behavior will continue to benefit their nations.

On the issue of the debt-ceiling extension and short-term government funding, a GOP aide familiar with Wednesdays meeting said many Republicans viewed Trumps decision as a spur-of-the-moment thing that happened because the president just wanted a deal.

He saw a deal and wanted the deal, and it just happened to be completely against what we were pushing for, said the aide, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to offer a candid assessment. Our conclusion is there isnt much to read into other than he made that decision on the spot, and thats what he does because hes Trump, and he made an impulsive decision because he saw a deal he wanted.

From the outset, the meeting did not go as Republican leaders and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had hoped. They began by pushing for an 18-month extension of the debt ceiling, with Mnuchin lecturing the group of longtime legislators about the importance of raising the debt ceiling, according to three people familiar with the gathering who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

It was just odd and weird, one said. He was very much a duck out of water.

The treasury secretary presented himself as a Wall Street insider, arguing that the stability of the markets required an 18-month extension.

At one point, Schumer intervened with a skeptical question: So the markets dictate one month past the 2018 election? he asked, rhetorically, according to someone with knowledge of his comment. I doubt that.

At another, Pelosi explained that understanding Wall Street is not the same as operating in Congress. Here the currency of the realm is the vote, she told reporters in a news conference Thursday, echoing the comments she had made privately the day before. You have the votes, no discussion necessary. You dont have the votes, three months.

The Republican leaders and Mnuchin slowly began moderating their demands, moving from their initial pitch down to 12 months and then six months. At one point, when Mnuchin was in the middle of yet another explanation, the president cut him off, making it clear that he disagreed.

The deal would be for three months tied to Harvey funding, Trump said  just as the Democrats had wanted.

On Friday morning, at a closed-door meeting of House Republicans, numerous lawmakers vented their frustrations to Mnuchin and White House budget director Mick Mulvaney. One of them, Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.), stood up to say he thought Trumps snub of Ryan  who had publicly rejected Democrats offer hours before Trump accepted it  was also a snub of Republicans at large.

I support the president, I want him to be successful, I want our country to be successful, Zeldin said in an interview afterward. But I personally believe the president had more leverage than he may have realized. He had more Democratic votes than he realized, and could have and would have certainly gotten a better deal.

Democrats remain skeptical about just how long their newfound working relationship with Trump will last. But for Republicans, the turnabout was yet another reminder of what many of them have long known but refused to openly admit: Trump is a fickle ally and partner, liable to turn on them much in the same way he has turned on his business associates and foreign allies.

Looking to the long term, trust and reliability have been essential ingredients in productive relationships between the president and Congress, said Phil Schiliro, who served as director of legislative affairs under Obama. Without them, trying to move a legislative agenda is like juggling on quicksand. It usually doesnt end well.

Mike DeBonis contributed to this report.


Rubina Rehman, a government family welfare worker, counsels a young mother. Her job includes promoting family planning and providing contraceptives to limit family size. (Pamela Constable/The Washington Post)

For years, Pakistan's soaring population growth has been evident in increasingly crowded schools, clinics and poor communities across this vast, Muslim-majority nation. But until two weeks ago, no one knew just how serious the problem was. Now they do.

Preliminary results from a new national census  the first conducted since 1998  show that the population has grown by 57 percent since then, reaching 207.7 million and making Pakistan the worlds fifth-most-populous country, surpassing Brazil and ranking behind China, India, the United States and Indonesia. The annual birthrate, while gradually declining, is still alarmingly high. At 22 births per 1,000 people, it is on a par with Bolivia and Haiti, and among the highest outside Africa.

"The exploding population bomb has put the entire country's future in jeopardy," columnist Zahid Hussain wrote in the Dawn newspaper recently. With 60 percent of the population younger than 30, nearly a third of Pakistanis living in poverty and only 58 percent literate, he added, "this is a disaster in the making."

[Shes a Nobel winner heading to Oxford. But Malala hate is still real in Pakistan.]

The chief causes of the continuing surge, according to population experts, include religious taboos, political timidity and public ignorance, especially in rural areas. Only a third of married Pakistani women use any form of birth control, and the only family-planning method sanctioned by most Islamic clerics is spacing births by breast-feeding newborns for two years.



Pakistan has a high birthrate and soaring population growth. (Pamela Constable/The Washington Post)

Even if the birthrate slows, some experts estimate that Pakistans population could double again by midcentury, putting catastrophic pressures on water and sanitation systems, swamping health and education services, and leaving tens of millions of people jobless  prime recruits for criminal networks and violent Islamist groups.

But instead of encouraging fresh ideas to address the population crisis, the census has triggered a rash of arguments over whether certain areas have been over- or undercounted, or reclassified as urban instead of rural. These squabbles amount to fights over political and financial spoils, including the number of provincial assembly seats and the amount of funding from the central government.

A few people, however, are paying close attention to the larger picture. One is Shireen Sukhun, a district officer for the Population Welfare Department in Punjab province. Her mission is to persuade Pakistani families to have fewer children and offer the families access to contraceptive methods  but she is keenly aware of the obstacles.

The fatal combination we face is poverty and illiteracy, Sukhun said. It takes a long time to change peoples mind-sets, and we dont have the luxury of leaving it to time.

One outpost in her campaign is a tiny, bench-lined room in Dhoke Hassu, a congested working-class area of Rawalpindi. Inside, Rubina Rehman, a family welfare worker, listens all day to womens problems with feverish babies, painful deliveries and other woes. Once they feel comfortable with her, she broaches the topic of contraception.

It has not been an easy sell. All the clients are Muslims, and most have little education. Some have been taught that God wants them to have many children. Some have husbands who earn too little to feed a large family but keep wanting another child. Some would like help but are too shy to discuss a taboo topic.

When we first opened this post, women were frightened to come, and some people asked why we were against increasing the ummah [Muslim masses], Rehman said. But we explained how the prophet taught that you should have a gap of 24 months between each child, and that you should consider the familys resources when making decisions. Now we do not face such opposition.

On Thursday, a dozen women crowded into Rehmans office, some carrying infants or toddlers. Several leaned close and whispered to her, then slipped packets of birth-control pills into their purses. One woman named Yasina, 35, explained proudly that she had gotten an implant  a hormone dose injected under the skin that prevents conception for several years.

I already have five children, and that is more than enough, she said. At first she had agreed to a tubal ligation, which the government arranges at no cost, but her husband, a laborer, would not allow it. So I got the implant instead, and I didnt tell him, she said, bursting into laughter as the other women smiled.

Outside, the markets and alleys of Dhoke Hassu were teeming with a mix of Afghan refugees, migrants from rural Punjab and government workers. Some expressed confidence that God would provide for any children that came. But many said that it was important to balance family size with income and that their Muslim beliefs did not conflict with such practical needs.

If half of our population is young, what will happen to their lives, their jobs, their needs? mused Rizvi Salim, 29, a government railways employee carrying his only child, a 2-year-old girl, in his arms. Salim said that he was raised with seven siblings but that today, things have changed. We do believe that God will take care of us all, but we also need to plan for our futures.

But upwardly mobile urban communities are more open to such perspectives than rural areas, where two-thirds of all Pakistanis live. In village life, the influences of traditional culture and Islamic teachings are stronger, and the reach of public media campaigns about baby spacing is much more limited.



Awais Hussain, 15, had to leave school after third grade to help support his family and is now an apprentice in a small tailor shop. He is among the more than 60 percent of Pakistanis younger than 30, millions of whom never finish school. (Pamela Constable/The Washington Post)

Attempts to open rural family welfare offices are often met with community suspicion and political opposition, but health officials say more mothers are asking about birth control. The remaining major taboo, they said, is permanent contraceptive practices such as vasectomies or tubal ligations.

In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the population nearly doubled, from 17.7 million in 1998 to 30.5 million this year. The province is home to several million Afghan refugees, numerous Islamist militant groups and conservative religious leaders suspicious of supposed foreign plots to sterilize Muslims. But their views, too, are evolving.

Islam does not contradict the idea of family planning, but it challenges the Western concept of birth control, said Mufti Muhammad Israr, a religious scholar in Peshawar, the provincial capital. He said Islam allows natural family planning via breast-feeding but not stopping the reproductive system permanently. The prophet Muhammad asked believers to marry and produce children.

Hospital officials in Mardan, a large district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, said this month that they frequently deal with cases of child malnutrition and often see mothers with several very young children. They said that although more married couples are seeking family-planning services, women still have difficulty getting their husbands to cooperate.

One pregnant housewife waiting to see a gynecologist in Mardan had a small child on her lap and a 5-year-old girl by her side. All looked weak and malnourished.

My husband doesnt care about my health or the health of our children. He can barely support us, but he wants more, said Zarina Bibi, 34. She said that a doctor had advised her to take a break from childbirth for several years but that she had no choice. My husband doesnt want birth control.

Correction: The headline on an earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the rate at which Pakistan's population has grown.

Haq Nawaz Khan in Peshawar contributed to this report.

Read more

Trumps new Afghanistan policy has Pakistan angry and alarmed

The most shocking political assassination of the past decade remains an utter mystery

A much-feared Taliban offshoot returns from the dead

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world

Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news
Ahmed Abu Kholeh, head of the Deir al-Zor military council which fights under the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), speaks during a press conference in the village of Abu Fas, Hasaka province, Syria. (Rodi Said/Reuters)

U.S.-backed forces in Syria announced a fresh offensive around the Islamic State's most important remaining stronghold Saturday, accelerating a global scramble for control of the country's oil-rich east.

Islamic State militants are under pressure from all sides in the border province of Deir al-Zour, facing down competing offensives involving almost all of the six-year wars major players, as the extremist groups self-declared caliphate crumbles across Syria and Iraq.

The Syrian Democratic Forces, a Kurdish-dominated militia supported by U.S.-led coalition airstrikes, said Saturday that they would clear the Islamist militants from territory east of the Euphrates River.

We at the military council decided to start this decisive operation, said Abu Khawlah, a spokesman for the militia. Dubbed Operation Jazeera Storm, the offensive will take place in the Khabur River valley, the coalition said in a separate statement, adding that it planned to hand the area over to a civilian council.

The morale of our forces is strong and we are ready for victory, said Khawlah.

But in one Syrias most complex battlefields, that achievement is far from assured. Government forces backed by Russian warplanes and Lebanese militia reached Deir al-Zour city this week, lifting an almost three-year Islamic State siege and boosting President Bashar al-Assads argument that his forces should retake the countrys final Islamic State-held pockets.

[A boost for Assad as the Syrian army makes gains against ISIS in eastern Syria]

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group, pro-government troops continued their advance Saturday, shelling Islamic State positions while Russian planes launched bombing raids.

In Damascus, Syrias foreign ministry said the advance foreshadowed the end of terrorism.

With SDF forces in control of more than 65 percent of the Islamic States de facto Syrian capital, Raqqa, and most of the militant groups Iraqi strongholds recaptured, Deir al-Zour province has become the Islamic States most important refuge.

Leadership figures are understood to have been sighted in its southern cities of Mayadin and Bukamal, among them the groups most senior leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Although U.S. officials have insisted that they do not anticipate clashes with the Syrian-backed force, the growing complexity of the battleground could make unintended flash points more likely.

A foothold in Deir al-Zour province would provide Washington with an opportunity to block Iranian expansionism in a strategically important area along the Iraqi border. Victory for the Iran-backed force, meanwhile, would strengthen what has effectively become an unbroken line of control running east from its Lebanese proxies Hezbollah through Syria, Iraq and Iran.

It would also provide the Assad government with a vital economic lifeline, as the province is rich in oil wealth. Six years of war have caused some $226 billion in losses, according to the World Bank, leaving the state heavily dependent on credit lines from Russia and Iran.

In the posturing on both sides, analysts saw early attempts to set a narrative of success, even while neither appeared to be mustering adequate troop numbers to finish the job.

Assad and his allies rushed to Deir al-Zour fully aware that he does not have a force capable of capturing all of the city or to wage an effective campaign to seize all of the province, said Nicholas Heras, a fellow at the Washington-based Center for a New American Security.

That harsh reality doesn't matter; what matters to Assad and his allies is their ability to undermine the U.S. claim that Assad is not able, or willing, to fight ISIS.

Heba Habib in Stockholm contributed to this report.

Read more

U.S. warplanes are called off surveillance of ISIS convoy, at Russias request

U.S.-backed forces seize Raqqas Old City from ISIS, but a tough fight lies ahead

After victory over ISIS, Mosul discovers the cost: Homes were turned into graves

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world

Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news
Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-10 04:36:10|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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CHICAGO, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) grains futures closed mixed over the trade week which ended Sept. 8, as traders turn to technical selling ahead of Tuesday's U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) crop report.

The most active corn contract for December delivery added 1.5 cents weekly, or 0.4 percent, to 3.5675 dollars per bushel. December wheat delivery fell one cent weekly, or 0.23 percent, to 4.3775 dollars per bushel. November soybeans rose 12.5 cents weekly, or 1.32 percent, to 9.62 dollars per bushel.

Corn futures ended just marginally higher, and traded in a rather narrow range this week.

There's just not much enthusiasm to establish sizeable new positions ahead of next week's crop report, and more importantly ahead of actual harvest date - the point being the market is no more clear on corn yield than it was in August.

Otherwise, South America continue to ship record amounts of corn, a trend that will continue into mid-autumn.

Biofuel demand is rising, though, and global feed wheat is offered at a premium to corn, and is rising slowly amid seasonal trends and as the wheat market is finding better global demand interest.

It's likely that a seasonal bottom was scored last week, but a sideway or choppy pattern should be expected through the remainder of September.

Wheat futures ended low, and all classes of U.S. wheat likely scored their seasonal lows in late August.

Russian interior prices continue to drift lower as a record harvest overwhelms the pipeline there, but this is already largely reflected in Black Sea fob offers, and analysts doubt Russian wheat will be offered below 180 to 182 U.S dollars per ton.

The U.S. dollar's ongoing collapse, and general strength in other exporting currencies, continue to weigh on farmer profitability, with winter planting just around the corner. Australia's drought will worsen in the next two weeks, and the U.S. position in the world market is second only to Russia through November.

Analysts say a longer term bullish outlook requires adverse South American weather this winter, but on the margin they look for a modest rally into late year.

The soybean market posted good gains at the end of trading week. Fund short covering on concerns over limited August rains and a dry September forecast could lower yields, as well as steady demand from China supported the week's trade.

Chinese soybean imports in August were better than expected and indicate that the USDA is slightly underestimating old crop imports.

There is no indication that demand is slowing, and U.S. export sales last week were well above expectations. Commercial demand for exports should remain strong into the end of the year, but the trade's debate over yield and crop size will continue until harvest is in full swing.

The USDA will weigh in with their best guess on yield early next week, which will direct price trends into the end of the month.
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Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 09/09/2017 (1892 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Dear Miss Lonelyhearts: Straight ahead of me down the road lives trouble. Hes about 6-2, his eyes are sea green, he has an athletes body you just want to climb on and says exciting words Ive never known before.

I pass his house every time I leave my yard, and my husband and I sometimes see him or his wife in their yard, doing work or playing with their kids.

I went out with him in Grade 12 and lost my virginity to him. We both went to other cities, and moved back after university.

We ran into each other again last year through a school committee for our kids and he has turned into a sex god. Now that school is starting again, Ill see him at meetings and activities.

We managed to stay away from each other most of the summer, but now well see each other in the flesh again, and thats always how the trouble happens. We get in the committee meetings, and at some point he catches my eye and lifts an eyebrow to say, Can you come with me?

I cant say no to him! Well, my mind can, but my body cant deny him and his deep voice and hot moves. My body yearns for his touch, and he knows it.

He always offers me a ride home after meetings, and somehow we end up in an abandoned farm yard or on some back road in the bushes and we just go wild with each other. We cant help it.

I dont know how to stop this, and if we dont, two families could get really hurt and maybe break apart. What can I do?  Helpless and Hopeless, South Winnipeg

Dear Helpless and Hopeless: This suggestion can work, though your helpless attitude wont help.

First, allow yourself to picture in detail what happens when you get caught: the breakup, the kids crying themselves to sleep, your husband broken and humiliated, a move to a lesser place, lack of money, awkward visitation meetings and your husbands new girlfriend, because he will get one in a hurry to salve his pride.

Second, ask your lover outright how he feels about you. If you have romantic fantasies about him, the answer might be just what you need to back off. Do you think this hot guy will stick by you, or break up his family unit, when this is mostly about hot sex?

Is this affair more to you than a bit of fun on the side? Also ask him if its his first extra-marital fling. Its quite possible its not.

Dear Miss Lonelyhearts: I met a boy at camp this summer and weve been talking online a lot. He lives far away from me and were both too young to drive.

We said I love you at camp on the last night, but now he doesnt say it anymore. I have been signing my messages with Love and then my name. Does this mean he doesnt love me like he did?

Do you think we should try to be true all the way to next summer? I could do it, but I really wonder if he wants to. Were both planning to go back to camp to be together.  Mixed-Up By Camp Love, Manitoba

Dear Mixed-Up By Camp Love: Both of you will be meeting other people over 10 long months  thats only natural  so you should be free to do that, and remain special friends.

Can you work a deal like that? When camp time comes along next summer, be boyfriend/girlfriend for a second year if youre both up for it.

For now, both of you are young and should have the freedom to live fully.

Dont worry about letting the I love yous stop. Sign Hugs instead of Love if he has stopped.

Let the romance fade down a little on both sides so you are both comfortable in your different worlds for the next three seasons. When you get back to camp next summer, see how you feel.

Dear Miss Lonelyhearts: This woman was alone with her child in a busy restaurant when the kid, about three, started screaming to get his own way about dessert.

The mother was offering him everything in sight to make him stop crying, but he was just yelling about wanting ice cream. She was offering him french fries from her dinner, which he threw at her and screamed all the louder. Everybody in the place was visibly upset.

Finally, this other woman at the next table went to the restaurant manager and loudly demanded he do something. He walked over to the woman and told her he would take care of the bill, but she and her child had to leave.

She got up very angry, grabbed the kid and hauled him outside. Thats when I became a convert to spanking. What do you think?  New Pro-Spanker, Winnipeg

Dear New Pro-Spanker: Trying to appease this child with food from her plate was just like telling him hes the boss when he misbehaves, and hes a mightier force than she is.

I dont advocate hitting anybody of any age, although, like a lot of people, I have felt like it.

In this case, the mother should have thrown some money on the table with a tip, then said, Sorry, folks to the diners in the general vicinity, and hauled Junior out of there.

Back home, mom should have assessed a punishment and kept to it. After a showdown like that, it would be wise to stop taking the child out to eat for a while, except at kid-oriented restaurants.

Please send your questions and comments to lovecoach@hotmail.com or Miss Lonelyhearts c/o the Winnipeg Free Press, 1355 Mountain Ave., Winnipeg, MB, R2X 3B6
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Brandon-based head shop B.O.B. Headquarters has jumped into the international scene as part of a multi-company merger that will create one of North Americas largest wholesale networks for marijuana dispensaries and retailers.

B.O.B. Headquarters and Windship Trading Co. have simultaneously acquired Vapor Outlet with financial backing by Green Acre Capital, a Canadian-based private investment fund geared toward the legal cannabis market, B.O.B. Headquarters CEO Robert Ritchot said.

The three businesses  B.O.B. Headquarters, Windship Trading Co. and Vapor Outlet  will operate as one international company, sharing inventory and allowing B.O.B. Headquarters to increase distribution outside the Canadian market.

The group is currently in the process of balancing inventory levels in their warehouses and deciding on a new name. Individual retail outlets, such as the B.O.B. Headquarters storefront, will remain unchanged.

This is a pretty interesting time, Ritchot said. Its a big step. It wasnt the capital that was enticing for us, but rather the connections and the ability to grow.

Given the political climate  especially in Canada  I think its necessary to be prepared. Theres going to be a lot more competition moving in and were just trying to stay ahead of that.

Having Green Acre Capital on board also adds a level of comfort amidst the uncertainty of how the provincial government will decide to handle the legalization of marijuana, Ritchot said.

We have no clue what the provincial government is planning but if they require the facility to meet certain standards, for example, or if they impose policies or procedures that are expensive, (Green Acre Capital) has the capital to help in that regard, Ritchot said. When it comes to distribution and retail sales of cannabis itself, though, its really hard to tell whether or not we should be focused on it each province needs to outline what thats going to look like.

While Ritchot will oversee Canadian operations, the current president of Windship Trading Co., Nathan Todd, will lead operations in the United States.

As the industry continues to mature and diversify, there hasnt been a more exciting time to expand, Todd said in a statement. This merger will allow us to offer our customers a broader range of products and greater reach.

 Brandon Sun
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Finding the franchise structure too restrictive, Brandon business owner Blake Trotter said he was compelled to break free from the Browns Socialhouse branding.

Located across from the Keystone Centre in Brandon, the restaurant shut down on Thursday, putting most of its 50 employees out of work.

By mid-day on Friday, all of the buildings Browns Socialhouse markings had been removed and a skeleton crew of staff they kept on board was busy at work inside the building scrubbing away any remnants of the restaurants former life.

Tim Smith / The Brandon Sun Blake Trotter has left the Browns Socialhouse chain and hopes to reopen a new eatery in its place by months end.

Trotter said that he plans on opening a new restaurant in the space by the end of the month, by which time he hopes to rehire a majority of the employees he laid off this week.

The building was constructed from the ground up to accommodate the franchise and Trotter said that it was a significant investment he does not plan to turn his back on.

Sitting in a booth in the vacant restaurant space on Friday, a visibly exhausted Trotter said that hes been disheartened to read rumours percolate via social media about the restaurant during the hours that followed its sudden closure on Thursday.

Keen on setting the record straight, he said that although it appeared to be a sudden change, hed been working with Browns Restaurant Group for the past three months in order to break free from the franchise.

We mutually agreed that it was the right thing to do for my business, he said, adding that his goal is to better localize whatever restaurant takes the place of Browns Socialhouse later this month.

Im at a point in my life where I dont want to be part of a large corporation and feel like I work for someone else, he said. There are a lot of things we want to do that just arent part of Browns.

That said, Trotter added that he respects the franchise, in that they have a great brand and amazing food and amazing cocktails, but they were going in a different direction than he thought would best serve the Brandon marketplace.

Although he was a big fan of the menu, he said that he saw a need for something more local than the West Coast menu that Browns offered.

I love that food, but that doesnt mean everyone in Brandon loves that food, he said.

We want more basic, I think more basic grassroots Brandon food Brandon food is a meat and potatoes town. Were in the Prairies, and I think that its simple.

He said that theyd almost nailed down a menu and were narrowing in on a name for the new restaurant, with a few options still bouncing around.

Emails and a call to Browns Restaurant Groups head office in Vancouver yielded no comments by press time on Friday.

 Brandon Sun
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Martin Shkreli, the former hedge fund manager awaiting sentencing for defrauding his investors, should have his bail revoked after offering his Facebook followers US$5,000 to grab a strand of Hillary Clintons hair during her book tour, federal prosecutors say.

Shkrelis conduct since his conviction in early August has escalated and he poses a threat to the community, the prosecutors said in a letter to the judge late Thursday.

In addition to his Facebook post concerning Clinton, which drew the attention of the Secret Service, he has made harassing comments to other women online, they said.

Shkreli has engaged in an escalating pattern of threats and harassment that warrant his detention pending sentencing, prosecutors said in their letter to the judge in the case.

The Court should further find that there is no condition or combination of conditions to which the defendant will abide that will ensure that he does not pose a danger to the community.

As a result of Shkrelis Facebook post on Clinton, the Secret Service has expended significant additional resources to ensure Secretary Clintons protection, the letter said. There is a significant risk that one of his many social media followers or others who learn of his offers through the media will take his statements seriously  as has happened previously  and act on them.

Shkreli later amended his post on Clinton to say that the offer was satire. But prosecutors note that Shkrelis apparent animus toward Clinton includes standing outside her daughter Chelseas home when Clinton was reportedly there recuperating after falling sick.

Shkreli spent approximately two hours live-streaming while providing commentary and heckling Secretary Clinton, they said.

The Secret Service requested an interview with Shkreli, but he declined, according to the letter.

Shkreli is currently out on US$5 million bond.

The judge who heard his case, United States District Judge Kiyo Matsumoto, scheduled a hearing next week to consider the prosecutors motion to have Shkreli jailed pending sentencing.

Shkrelis attorney, Benjamin Brafman, could not be reached immediately for comment.

Shkreli, 34, is best known for raising the price of an AIDS drug by 5,000 per cent but was convicted by a Brooklyn jury of defrauding the investors in his hedge funds. Shkreli lied to obtain investors money then didnt tell them when he made a bad stock bet that led to massive losses, prosecutors argued.

Instead, they said, he raised more money to pay off other investors or took money and stock from a pharmaceutical company, Retrophin, he was running.

Shkreli, who has indicated that he will appeal his conviction, argued at trial that he ultimately made money for his investors and did not intend to defraud them.

He faces up to 20 years in prison, though his lawyers have said he would likely get much less.

Since his conviction, the loquacious executive has kept an active  and combative  online presence.

In addition to asking for someone to grab a strand of Clintons hair, he has bought the domain names of reporters covering his case and promised to smack Daily Show host Trevor Noah if he ever sees him on the street.

Shkreli is also apparently carrying out a grudge against the musical group Wu Tang Clan. Shkreli purchased the only known copy of Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, a Wu Tang Clan album, for $2 million in 2015 and didnt release parts of the album until after U.S. President Donald Trump was elected.

He later lashed out at the hip-hop group for distancing itself from him. If I hand you $2 million show me some respect. At least have the decency to say nothing or no comment, he said on Twitter.

Even potential jurors took notice of the beef. One told the judge during jury selection that it would be difficult to remain impartial because Shkreli had disrespected the group.

Now, Shkreli is offering to sell the album on eBay.

I will donate half of the sale proceeds to medical research, he said. The sale is not prompted by a money crunch, he said. (Shkrelis lawyers have said his stake in Retrophin is still worth US$30 million to US$50 million.)

I hope someone with a bigger heart for music can be found for this one-of-a-kind piece and makes it available for the world to hear, he added.

The most recent bid was more than US$1 million.

These types of antics could hurt Shkreli when it is time for the judge in his case to decide his sentence, legal experts said.

Most convicted criminals try to fly under the radar as they await sentencing. Theyre concerned that actions they take in the public sphere could impact the sentence the judge imposes, said James Goodnow, a lawyer with Fennemore Craig, a corporate defence firm.

Matsumoto, the judge in Shkrelis case, could consider whether Shkreli has shown contrition when handing down a sentence, said Goodnow.

It certainly is not beyond the realm of possibility that Shkrelis recent behavior could become a topic of discussion as evidence of his lack of remorse or the fact that he may be a potential repeat offender in need of deterrence, he said.

 Washington Post
Opinion

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It was turning into such a nice, smooth harvest for farmers  until the taxman cometh.

Now, instead of enjoying the fine harvest weather, farmers are spending their time in the field brooding over what proposed changes to federal tax laws could mean for their tax liabilities.

Their lawyers and accountants are hounding them to voice their opposition before the consultation period ends on Oct. 2.

Mona Brown, a Carman-based lawyer, said every farmer and small-businessperson should be reviewing the implications with their advisers.

The government is trying to compare business owners who have variable income, no benefit plan or pension through work (and) no job security to salaried employees who have reliable income and possibly benefit plans, pensions and job security  not a fair comparison, she said.

Business owners assume risks that employees do not and often go long periods taking little income so that the profits of the business can be reinvested in the business.

Incorporated farmers, which account for about one-quarter of the countrys farm operations, are included in proposed amendments to the Income Tax Act aimed at closing loopholes used by small-business owners to avoid paying taxes.

Specifically, the proposals target incorporated-business owners who share income with family members to reduce their tax liability and maximize use of the capital gains exemptions.

For example, a family member who works for the farm corporation and gets paid in shares or dividends will have to meet a more stringent test to determine whether their compensation is reasonable relative to the work they are performing.

If the Canada Revenue Agency decides the family member is getting unreasonable compensation, it will be taxed at the highest marginal rate.

Tax authorities want to ensure the individual is actually contributing to the corporation. Where this gets dicey in agriculture is in the fact that family members routinely pitch in during critical seasons.

The proposed rules as stated require that contribution to be on a continuous and substantial basis. Seasonal help is a substantial contribution, but not continuous.

There are also concerns over how these proposed amendments to capital gains exemptions will affect succession planning for farmers. As farm sizes have grown, so have the number of incorporated farms. Many have been advised to incorporate as a succession plan as well as a tax-management strategy. It now appears the rules will discriminate against those taking over the family business.

This is a tough battle for farmers to fight.

The federal Liberals have little to lose politically from going after farmers, who are perceived by many Canadians as wealthier than most. Most of these farm folks didnt vote for them.

The real question is whether this crackdown will be a setback for a sector that the federal government has also identified as a key pillar in its plan for economic growth. .

The average age of farmer in Canada is 55. A huge bubble of land and assets will transfer to a new generation over the next two decades. The reality is, most of todays farm operators dont have offspring who are feeling a call to the land.

The 2016 Census of Agriculture noted only 12 per cent of farm operators have a succession plan.

Changes to provisions that retired farmers currently use to reduce their tax burden on income from land they have rented out may instead create an incentive for them to simply sell it.

Will it go to young farmers getting started, or to the growing number of land aggregators, who manage the land as an asset and lease it?

Changing tax rules now injects new uncertainty into a sector that is already entering a transitional phase. Uncertainty discourages the investment needed to continue the industrys growth.

Laura Rance is editorial director for Glacier FarmMedia. She can be reached at 204-792-4382 or by email: laura@fbcpublishing.com
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Had U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and British Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn won the lofty offices to which they aspired, Steve Ashton reckons wed have a pretty good notion where hed be taking the Manitoba NDP.

The former cabinet minister says the 2015 federal election destroyed the myth young people dont care, yet six months later, when the province went to the polls and elected Brian Pallisters Progressive Conservatives, tens of thousands of them didnt vote.

So, how to reach young Manitoba voters? The template is there, he says, and he is the person to achieve it.

You start with the lesson from Bernie Sanders and Jeremy Corbyn, Ashton says, listing off progressive policies, such as a $15-an-hour minimum wage and reduced tuition moving to eliminating tuition. Inequality and the environment are very progressive (issues)  they do worry about climate change.

Sanders, who lost the Democratic nomination to Hillary Clinton despite a strong backing from younger supporters, and Corbyn, whose party narrowly lost in Britains general election last June, are both older men. Ashton, likewise, reckons hes the candidate to appeal to young voters, much like they did, notwithstanding that Wab Kinew is 26 years his junior.

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Steve Ashton, former cabinet minister.

I was 25 when I was first elected, my daughter Niki was 26 (when she became an MP). I believe in a grassroots party  the next few years theres going to be a significant renewal, Ashton says during an interview at an Osborne Village coffee shop.

Oswald to delegates: Choose someone who can actually win Theresa Oswald is a former NDP cabinet minister, leadership candidate, and one of the rebels who tried unsuccessfully to convince Greg Selinger it would be in the partys best interests if he stepped down. She wont discuss current leadership candidates Wab Kinew and Steve Ashton, but heres Oswalds advice for New Democrats when they vote Sept. 16: I can say, generally, that I have deep respect for the personal toll it takes on anyone who throws a hat into the leadership ring. I mean this. I have these feelings for the NDP leadership candidates, and the Liberal leadership hopefuls as well (Manitoba Liberals are also in the process of selecting a new leader). I think the armchair quarterbacks and the comment-section-trolls have little understanding of what it means to put oneself out there for public scrutiny. Every rotten and vicious thing that is said gets read by ones partner, ones parents, and sometimes, ones children. Its a heavy burden to carry. Every candidate, in his or her own way, really believes they can make a positive difference, so they invest time, energy (and moneylots of money) in trying to sell the ideas and the policies from which others can draw inspiration. Nobody signs up for public vilification, but it happens nonetheless. To every delegate at the NDP convention, I would say what I have said in the past: you need to choose someone who can actually win. Its one thing to serve as a left-wing think tank in perpetuity, but its entirely another to actually have the responsibility of governing. When you govern, you get to enact the policies that make a difference for people. You can affect change. Its a huge responsibility. Its a sacred trust. So, in addition to choosing someone who can win, delegates need to choose someone who is worthy of winning not someone who is perfect, but someone who has a heart and a mind that is capable of weighing difficult decisions, and choosing thoughtfully.

He says he would encourage the party to move to early nominations, such as 18 to 24 months before the next provincial election, which means ridings could choose their candidates as early as next spring. He says he wouldnt appoint or parachute in candidates.

An MLA in Thompson from 1981 until his defeat in April 2016, Ashton says hes an economist, not a career politician, having taught some courses over the years, and hes also a man of the deep, having worked underground for the mining company Inco in his younger days.

I was elected off the picket line, points out Ashton, who is a big-tent leader, encompassing not only youth, but women, minorities, labour, Indigenous people, and the LGBTQ* community.

Ashton launched his campaign in front of Concordia Hospital, vowing to reverse the closing of ERs and urgent care centres, but has made few sweeping policy statements since. He said he would make it illegal to utter racial and homophobic slurs and hes demanded Kinew reveal details of domestic assault charges against him stayed in 2003.

Veteran political observers believe that with Ashton, what Manitobans will get will be more of what theyve seen for decades and with a leader whose buttons are easier to push.

Steve is a career politician. His entire life has been as a political actor, says Chris Adams, a political scientist based at St. Pauls College. He would lead a party thats part of the past 25 years of the NDP  nothing too surprising. We would see a traditional NDP, pro-organized labour, steady as we go, not unlike Greg Selinger, Gary Doer, Howard Pawley.

Ashton is far more experienced, obviously, says retired University of Manitoba political scientist Paul Thomas. Hes an opinionated person. At times, he flies off the handle. People across the aisle liked to bait him and get him to explode.

His whole life is about politics. Steve still sees himself as part of a social movement, Thomas says. Gary Doer was very much a pragmatist  Ashton opposed some of those (Doer policies)  he was still a true believer. Hes a man on a mission.

Says University of Winnipeg Prof. Shannon Sampert, editor and director of the Evidence Network: Steve Ashton is pretty much steady as you go  hes not presenting much difference. Youd see more alliances with what the federal NDP are doing.

Longtime NDP cabinet minister Gord Mackintosh, who served many years with Ashton, says his decision to focus public attention on domestic violence charges against Kinew that were stayed 14 years ago dont sit well with some New Democrats.

I have no big problems with Steve. It remains to be seen whether Steves hit on Wab strengthens support for Wab  some in the party were offended by that, Mackintosh says. Steves campaign is very highly organized on the ground.

The NDP must realize that the real opponent is not within the NDP, Mackintosh adds. We have to leave the rebellion behind  theres so much we have to take on together. We have to build a stronger party from the scars.

MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Theresa Oswald speaks after losing her bid to be the leader of the provincial NDP on Sunday at the NDP Convention in 2015.

Wab Kinew was courted by the federal and provincial Liberals as well as both wings of the New Democratic Party before choosing to run under the NDP banner in Fort Rouge last year.

The author, former broadcaster, musician and university administrator was seen as a catch, despite several run-ins with the law when he was a young adult that resulted in convictions for assault and drunk driving.

Kinew, a father of two boys aged nine and 12, grew up on a First Nation in Lake of the Woods as well as in St. Boniface and Southdale. At 35, he would become the provincial NDPs first leader from the millennial generation, something he sees as an asset for the party.

I have the life experience of a lot of millennials. And, while Im getting older, I still have some of the vocabulary and interests of a lot of young people. That piece is important, he said in an interview this week at a coffee shop in Osborne Village.

The other thing I bring to the table is that I have a very unique life experience relative to other politicians, for better or worse. I started life on a reserve. I come from a family where we had to work really hard and we had to do a lot in order to find success. And I think thats given me an understanding of some of the barriers that people from different communities can face. Ive also lived a life where Ive been in trouble with the law, where Ive had to re-examine my character, and rebuilt myself in a lot of ways to become a more healthy individual.

In their words I think hes got to own up to what happened. I thought it was absolutely unacceptable that he made statements that dont reflect what happened.  Steve Ashton, on Aug. 21, reacting to revelations that domestic assault charges against Wab Kinew were stayed in 2003 Its a growing threat to our social fabric in this country. We have to stand up against fascism and Nazism.  Ashton, on Aug. 15, announcing he would make it illegal to utter racial and homophobic slurs in public There is rebuilding that needs to be done, and lessons that need to be learned. Were going to put the democracy into the New Democratic Party. We need to be the progressive alternative. We cant be running on what we did five, 10, 15 years ago.  Ashton, on June 27, the day he announced his candidacy for the partys leadership - Manitobans sent (the NDP) a message. They put us on a timeout. The timeout is over. I will hold Brian Pallister accountable.  Wab Kinew announces his leadership candidacy on April 10 We know that a big part of what we want to do with immigration is not just bring people to Manitoba, but retain people in Manitoba for the long term.  Kinew, on Aug. 14, in announcing he would scrap a $500 fee levied on successful immigrant applicants I have a unique perspective on what we can do to change our society for the better because Im somebody who made good on a second chance. And so I have hope that other people in our society who are struggling can have a better tomorrow, too.  Kinew in a Sept. 5 interview with the Free Press

While once pursued by the Liberals, Kinew says his values align with those of the NDP.

Asked whether he would steer the party to the political left or more to the centre, Kinew resists such characterizations.

Like most millennials, he says, he is relatively centrist on financial issues, such as balancing the provinces books, and very left leaning on social issues such as equality for the LGBTTQ* community, Indigenous rights and so on.

There are those within the NDP who feel the party didnt lose the last election because of their platform, but Kinew has a rejoinder to that: The platform didnt win us the election, either, he says.

He says some of the partys ideas  particularly as they relate to jobs and health care  need to be modernized.

We need a jobs plan for the next 30 years, he says, one that takes into account huge looming technological changes that are going to put a lot of people out of work.

On health, he agrees with the Progressive Conservatives that long-term sustainability is a challenge, but he thinks the Brian Pallister government is going about it in the wrong way. To me, were not going to cut our way out of the sustainability challenges the way Pallister is doing. To me, we have to shift the focus of the health-care system into keeping people healthy at home.

During the leadership campaign, Kinew has promised a $15-minimum wage by the end of a first NDP term in office. He would invest every dollar collected from a carbon tax to reducing and mitigating the effects of global warming. A government he leads would provide free tuition and books to qualifying students who have aged out of the child-welfare system. He also backed calls for universal pharmacare coverage, pledged stronger mental health supports, and urged increased support for recreation and active living facilities. He also set a goal that at least half of the next NDP caucus would be made up of women, transgender and non-binary people.

Kinew appears to have the lead in delegate support going into next weeks convention despite recent revelations that he was charged with two counts of domestic assault back in 2003. The charges were stayed, and Kinew says there was no substance to the allegations.

Organized labour has come out overwhelmingly in support for the former CBC broadcaster, and Kinew says he has also been pleased with the party support he has received in rural areas.

A veteran political observer says Kinew, as someone relatively new to the NDP, doesnt carry the same political baggage as some longtime party members.

Wab brings in the traditional NDP but also different dynamics, St. Pauls College-based political scientist Chris Adams says. Hes got the freedom he can go a different route.

Adams says Kinew will appeal to a growing Indigenous population in Manitoba. Wab is tapping into that an Indigenous urban MLA who can transcend across the North.

Paul Thomas, professor emeritus of political studies at the University of Manitoba, says Kinew would present an interesting leadership style.

Hes a very passionate and effective communicator, Thomas says.

Thomas likens Kinews political style to that of Gary Doer. He (Doer) didnt come across as highly ideological; he didnt alienate people.

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Wab Kinew, Fort Rouge MLA.
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A man accused of stabbing a teenage girl inside a Winkler church has been found fit to stand trial.

Maksym Kravchenko, 39, was assessed by a psychologist and deemed mentally competent to face the criminal charges against him. The result of the assessment was confirmed Thursday in mental-health court in Winnipeg.

Kravchenko is charged with aggravated assault and possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose. He is accused of entering a washroom inside the Pembina Valley Baptist Church and stabbing a 15-year-old girl.

Kravchenko speaks Russian and had assistance from an interpreter during his first court appearance in Morden last week.

The accused didnt know the victim and is not a member of the church congregation, according to a statement posted on the churchs website from Pastor Michael Sullivant.

Approximately 12:55 p.m. (about 30 minutes) after our church service let out, a man entered our facility and went into the ladies washroom and injured one of our young ladies. He immediately exited the buildings and went and sat in a car, the statement said, adding the suspect was captured on video surveillance footage.

The statement said the teen underwent surgery for serious injuries and is making progress in her recovery. We have been assured that with an event like this, there were no precautions that were missed as this is seemingly so random.
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The Pallister government has announced it is moving ahead with three new personal care home (PCH) projects that will add a total of 258 beds to the provincial system.

Included is a 108-bed project slated for Bridgwater in southwest Winnipeg that had been previously halted by the Progressive Conservatives because of its high budgeted cost.

The government cancelled or froze several nursing home projects planned under the former NDP government, balking at construction costs in the neighbourhood of $400,000 per bed. When they came to office last year, the Tories said they would be prepared to fund new PCHs to the tune of $133,000 per bed.

BORIS MINKEVICH / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Health, Seniors and Active Living Minister Kelvin Goertzen

Health Minister Kelvin Goertzen admitted Friday that the new funding guidelines upset some organizations that were sponsoring new care home projects, but the high cost of new facilities was no longer sustainable.

I think we went through a few stages of shock and denial. But then, as people often do, they kind of rolled up their sleeves and got to work, he said.

In an interview, Goertzen said all the projects approved Friday, including the one slated for Bridgwater, either met the new funding guidelines or came close to doing so.

In addition to the Bridgwater development, two facilities outside of Winnipeg will be expanded. Up to 140 beds will be added to the Rest Haven Personal Care Home in Steinbach. And, the Boyne Lodge in Carman will see up to 10 new beds, 70 replacement beds and up to 30 new transitional-care beds.

Cost estimates for the three projects were not disclosed.

Goertzen said the approved projects are going to areas in the greatest need of service. The health minister, who represents Steinbach in the Manitoba legislature, pointed out that city has not seen a net new personal care home bed since the early 1970s.

The community has gone from probably being the 10th largest city to the third largest city in the province (in that time), he added.

The Bridgwater project, sponsored by Winnipeg Mennonite Seniors Care (WMSC), had been ready to go to tender early this year before the government slammed the brakes on it.

John Thiessen, executive director of WMSC, was out of town Friday and unavailable for comment.

Goertzen said the group was subsequently able to submit a plan that was acceptable to the government.

Design work for all three projects is about to get underway. No estimated completion dates were provided.

Goertzen said groups wishing to sponsor new personal care homes in Manitoba should be able to learn from the organizations whose projects were approved on Friday.

Im not suggesting that they can build them for $133,000 a bed, but thats what government is providing, the minister said. And if the numbers are higher than that, then they find a way to bridge that.

With an aging population, the demand in Manitoba for new personal care homes is expected to increase in the coming decades. The PCs promised in the last election to fast-track the construction of 1,200 nursing home beds and spend more than $160 million over the next eight years to make it happen.

The beds announced Friday were the first to be formally approved by the PCs.

NDP health critic Matt Wiebe said the Pallister government cancelled hundreds of PCH beds barely six months ago, causing deep confusion and uncertainty in communities across the province. One of them was Lac du Bonnet, where proponents had spent nearly $2.5 million on project design when the plug was pulled on that project.

(Fridays) announcement is a failed attempt at playing catchup for projects (they) cancelled when they came into government, Wiebe said of the Tories.

There are 9,697 licensed personal care home beds in Manitoba. A study five years ago by the Manitoba Centre for Health Policy determined the province could need as many as 6,300 additional personal care home or supportive housing beds in the next few decades.

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca
Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-10 06:11:29|Editor: An

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras delivers a speech on his government's economic policy during the 82nd Thessaloniki International Trade Fair (TIF), Greece's largest annual trade fair hosted in the northern port city Thessaloniki, Greece, Sept. 9, 2017. (Xinhua/Marios Lolos)

By Maria Spiliopoulou, Alexia Vlachou

THESSALONIKI, Greece, Sept. 10 (Xinhua)-- Greece is exiting seven years of steep recession, setting the foundations for fair growth for all, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on Saturday while inaugurating the 82nd Thessaloniki International Trade Fair (TIF), Greece's largest annual trade fair hosted in the northern port city.

In a keynote speech on his government's economic policy, the Greek leader referred to the achievements of the past few months, the prospects of the ailing economy and his vision of a new production model and development to the benefit of all Greeks.

With China holding the role of the honored country in this year's TIF, he praised bilateral cooperation, called for the further enhancement of ties in many fields and underlined the great significance foreign investments and strategic partnerships play in Greece's efforts to overcome the debt crisis and build a new healthy economy.

"We are linked with cordial friendship and mutual respect for decades. But particularly in the last few years, we are constantly deepening our cooperation with financial and cultural exchanges. The Thessaloniki International Fair is one more great opportunity to deepen our bilateral cooperation," the prime minister said on Sino-Greek relations during the speech which was broadcast live on Greece's national broadcaster ERT.
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Fewer than 200 of about 4,500 Manitoba forest fire evacuees were still without a hotel room Friday afternoon  and the Banjo Bowl was part of the problem.

When we book people, we want to make sure they can stay for at least five days because we dont want to book them in and move them right away, Canadian Red Cross spokesman Jason Small said.

But hotels get busy with events on weekends, such as CFL fans arriving for todays Banjo Bowl rivalry game, which pits the Winnipeg Blue Bombers against the visiting Saskatchewan Roughriders.

The WSF Soccer North complex on Leila Avenue has become the temporary home for many wildfire evacuees. Evacuees Maggie Keno (from left); her nine-month-old daughter Jewels; Kloey Harper, 6; Janeda Day, 3; her mom, Jamie Day; Kloeys mother Bonnie Beardy; and Bonnies son, Kleon Harper, 2. (Alexandra Paul / Winnipeg Free Press)

Evacuees are staying in hotels in Winnipeg and Brandon, plus a few were moved Thursday to Selkirk. About 40 are in Thompson, where they are receiving specialized medical treatment, Small said.

All meals for evacuees are paid for by the federal government, and each receives a hygiene kit containing a toothbrush, toothpaste and deodorant. Evacuees also get small payments to tide them over, also funded by Ottawa.

Adults receive $4 a day, paid in five-day increments of $20. Children receive $3.20 per day.

As well, after five days, evacuees receive a voucher of $120 for an adult and $100 for a child. The vouchers can be redeemed only for items such as clothing, toiletries or baby supplies.

 staff
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OTTAWA  Riding Mountain National Park is holding the first Pride event organized by Parks Canada.

Our national parks exist for all Canadians to enjoy, and visitors to Canada, Cal Martin, the parks visitor experience manager said in an interview. Weve tried to take a leadership role.

While the Alberta mountain town of Jasper has a Pride festival for the past eight years, its been a grassroots effort within a national park. Riding Mountains is advertised on Parks Canada letterhead, and run by park staff.

SUBMITTED Riding Mountain National Park will hold Pride events this weekend.

Martin says the idea came about from two LGBTTQ* staff, as the park tried to boost its shoulder-season slump. It also fit into one of the Liberal governments four Canada 150 themes, diversity and inclusion.

The local chamber of commerce helped organize the events, and not all of them touch on themes about gender and sexual minorities.

A Wednesday evening convoy had people drove through the park in a line and listened to a guide speak live through a radio connection. A Thursday night lecture by University of Winnipeg biologist Heather Hinam had 25 guests learn about how the animal kingdom determines species sex.

Martin said the park has bucked its trend of a drop in visitors as kids return to school after Labour Day. The park still has to tally its numbers, but full-service cabins that would normally be mostly empty are almost full.

Yet Martin is cautious to say the good weather and the free Canada 150 park pass may have contributed to the uptick. In any case, he said the experience has definitely led to a rethink, with some staff taking diversity training.

While many single-person washrooms are gender-neutral, those in busier areas are segregated along gender lines, which can be difficult for people who look androgynous or identify as non-binary. Temporarily making some washrooms gender-neutral has led staff to mull asking Ottawa to change permanent signage around the park.

We want to make sure that people of all backgrounds and all genders feel welcome in Riding Mountain, Martin said. We can always do better to take down the barriers, so that everyone feels comfortable when they come.

Conservative MP Robert Sopuck, whose riding includes the park, said he sent a staff member to the Tuesday opening ceremony, because he couldnt make it there himself.

I am pleased to see Riding Mountain National Park be the first national park to organize and host a Pride Week in Canada, wrote Sopuck, who is the Tory parks and conservation critic.

Parks Canada has done a great job in bringing these events together and creating a welcoming atmosphere for everyone.

Martin says the park hasnt gotten any complaints yet, but hes prepared to field them.

When you ask people what Canada stands for, the diversity among Canadians is our strength. So why would we pick and choose what diversity is good, he said. Weve matured a lot as a country, and its a lot easier to have this discussion openly than it has been in the past.

The events wrap up Sunday.

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca
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A Manitoba judge is mulling the proper penalty for a 16-year-old boy who shot a man with a pellet gun during an armed robbery and then spent about eight months in an adult jail by mistake.

Ive never had this situation before, and its very unique, provincial court Judge Robin Finlayson said during the sentencing hearing on Friday.

The teen, who cant be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, was arrested in January and sent to Milner Ridge Correctional Centre, a minimum-to-maximum security facility for adult males, while awaiting trial.

GOVERNMENT OF MANITOBA Milner Ridge Correctional Centre

He was 15 at the time of the offences, but, because his permanent residency card had the wrong birthdate, he was charged as an adult and booked into adult jail. The error only came to light months later.

The teen was transferred into a youth facility last month, after the court received a copy of his birth certificate and an affidavit from his mother. He has pleaded guilty to youth charges.

The last nine months of his life have been nothing less than horrific, defence lawyer Jody Ostapiw told the judge on Friday.

Not to say that a young person in a youth facility isnt going to have a difficult time, but certainly, things he experienced in the adult facility as a 15-, 16-year-old boy  theyve left an impression on him.

That period of time has sent such a strong message to (the accused), she added.

Its stronger than any message this court can send.

The teen and his family came to Canada after spending time in an African refugee camp, Ostapiw told court.

His mother paid an immigration agent to help with their paperwork, but the agent filled it out incorrectly, the lawyer said. The mother noticed her son had been assigned the wrong birthdate, but was told it would cost extra money to fix the error.

After they arrived in Canada, the teens permanent residency card was issued using the incorrect birthdate  which made him out to be some three years older than he really is. It also meant his mother didnt receive federal child tax benefits on his behalf, Ostapiw said.

There was no advantage to her to have the birthdate wrong. It was just a matter of not being able to afford to fix it in the Sudan and then really not knowing how to fix it here, she said.

Ostapiw argued her client should be given extra credit for the months he spent incarcerated at Milner Ridge and put back on a plane home to serve probation in Guelph, Ont., where his family now lives.

Crown attorney Jennifer Comack, however, told court the teens crime is worthy of a lengthier sentence. She asked the judge to impose an additional year-long youth sentence.

He was the one with the loaded gun, he was the one banging on the door, broke the window and ultimately was the one who injured the victim, Comack said.

The teen, who was 15 when he and three other youth broke into a Kennedy Street apartment suite on July 25, 2016, moved with his family to Guelph before he was identified as a suspect. Video surveillance led police investigators to arrest three others  a 13-year-old boy, a 14-year-old boy and a 17-year-old girl  before an arrest warrant was issued for the teen in Guelph.

In pleading guilty to robbery and discharging a weapon with intent, the now-16-year-old admitted he broke into the apartment to get marijuana. He fired the pellet gun after a run-in with the victim in a stairwell, leaving the 23-year-old man with a pellet lodged in his palm. The victim needed surgery to remove the projectile, as well as four stitches to mend a cut on his head.

His behaviour in custody at either institution hasnt been particularly good, Comack told court. Nonetheless, given the situation and how things transpired, the Crown obviously is agreeing that he should receive one-and-a-half (days) credit for each day hes already spent in jail.

Ostapiw argued her clients behaviour in custody was rooted in his attempts to protect himself and he deserves more than 1.5 credit for being held in an adult facility.

His behaviour was essentially posturing for his own protection, things that he would be directed to do that he felt he had to do as a small, younger teenager in that facility, she said.

You can see how small he is, you can see how young he looks and you can only imagine how difficult it would be for a 15-, 16-year-old kid to be in an adult facility like Milner Ridge Correctional Centre.

Its not common for a youth to face adult charges in Manitoba, but it has happened, particularly in cases involving refugees who dont have proper identification documents.

Judges are then tasked with holding hearings to determine the accuseds true age.

The Youth Criminal Justice Act, which governs criminal charges for those under 18, states youth must be kept separate from Canadas adult criminal justice system. Its meant to follow principles emphasized in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which says every child deprived of liberty shall be separated from adults unless it is considered in the childs best interest not to do so.

katie.may@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @thatkatiemay
Opinion

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This article was published 09/09/2017 (1892 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The solitary horseshoe is hard to miss, even in a stable full of thoroughbred hoofs.

It hangs below a clock, adorned with cobwebs.

The clock is in Barn 5 at Assiniboia Downs, and it looks to a first-time visitor like a symbol of the time that appears to be running out for North Americas horse racing industry, and the rich, romantic sport of kings as it was once known. And for the nomadic trainers, groomers and jockeys who still trek from track to track in search of a win and the purse that goes with it.

Gordon Sinclair Jr. / Winnipeg Free Press At age 76, retired from a career in food processing he took to provide for his young family, Assiniboia Downs trainer Murray Duncan is finishing the back stretch of his life the way he started and wished he could have spent his entire working life  in the barns and at the track.

People like Murray Duncan.

The clock reads 8:45 a.m. when I arrive in the barn where Duncan will introduce me to recent Manitoba Derby winner Plentiful, the horse he trains and co-owns. Duncan woke up nearly four hours earlier in the nearby trailer he shares with Patricia, the wife he met decades ago at a track in Toledo, Ohio.

You gotta get the horses out, he explains in a voice that sounds like it belongs around a cowboy campfire.

But 5 a.m., the time he gets up each morning, isnt the number that impresses me most about Duncan. Its 76. Thats the age he turned last March. In his case, that number suggests a story about the agelessness of the human spirit that has less to do with horseshoes and more to do with the persistence to pursue what makes one happiest in life.

And those who refuse to see a personal finish line.

Although, in Duncans case, he thought he had crossed it decades ago.

He grew up on a farm near Carberry, riding ponies as a boy and dreaming of watching them at the track in Winnipeg, back when it was on the land that Polo Park shopping centre now occupies.

There were 6,500 racing fans in the stands on the June day in 1958 when Assiniboia Downs opened.

I came here when I was 18, Duncan said. Or maybe 19, I guess.

That was 1960, when he got a job walking and cooling off sweaty horses after their workouts.

For a time, young Duncan worked and lived on the farm owned by horse-racing legend John Sifton, whose family owned the Winnipeg Free Press and whose daughter, Patti, flew here from her home in Toronto to present the J. W. Sifton Memorial Trophy at the track Saturday night, Sept. 9, on the final weekend of the 2017 season at Assiniboia Downs.

Two years after arriving at the track, Duncan had his trainers licence and had started to assemble a stable of his own horses. That was a different kind of hay day at Assiniboia Downs.

But then he and his wife had a couple of girls around the time the horse-racing industry began to decline, precipitated in part by the proliferation of casinos that would lure gamblers to a different venue.

By the late 1970s, Duncan couldnt make a living, even by running his horses at tracks in the eastern United States. If he bought a horse for $10,000 or $12,000, he explained, it would have to win three races just to cover the purchase cost.

It was a losing battle. Thats kind of why I got out of it, and when you got kids

He was finished with the track after he lost his last horse in a claiming race.

Or so he thought.

Duncan went home to Carberry and started driving a tractor at what became the McCain Foods potato processing plant that makes french fries for McDonalds.

I did about anything and everything. I worked on the lines for the last few years.

The shifts were 12 hours.

Gordon Sinclair Jr. / Winnipeg Free Press The clock and horseshoe, covered in cobwebs, in Barn 5 at Assiniboia Downs.

But there was something, beyond the plants location and the stability of a steady paycheque to feed his family, that attracted Duncan to the job and kept him at it.

Theres a little bit of pension here, he recalled thinking. I cant quit. So I stuck it out. Which Im glad I did.

By 2010, he had his pension.

And, as he neared 70, he had a second chance to do what he had wanted to do since he was a young man  get back in the saddle and into the stables.

By that time, the track was subsidized through VLT gaming revenue and purses were better. Duncan started by taking a run to Oaklawn, a track in Arkansas, where he knew some springs there were good horses to buy. By this season he was having a career year, with a 38 per cent winning percentage thanks to horses claimed at Oaklawn like Plentiful and CJs Flair.

  

We left the barn and were having breakfast in the cafe behind the track where the trainers, jockeys and their agents gather late in the morning when I asked Duncan if he had always wanted to return to racing.

Well, he said in his understated way, I always liked it.

As we were finishing our coffees, I had one last question. It was about how old thoroughbred horses are when they stop running  before theyre retired.

After 12 years Ive hardly seen any horses running, Duncan answered.

But youre still running, I responded.

We both laughed.

And so Murray Duncan keeps galloping even on the back stretch of his life  even with a horseshoe adorned with cobwebs hanging under the clock in his barn.

We should all be so lucky.

gordon.sinclair@freepress.mb.ca
Opinion

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This article was published 09/09/2017 (1892 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Recently, the Trudeau government introduced a series of initiatives to further Indigenous self-government and self-determination  including the splitting of the Department of Indigenous and Northern Affairs into two separate ministries. The new Department of Crown-Indigenous Relations will be tasked with accelerating self-government and self-determination agreements based on new policies, laws and operational practices.

This is a very tricky policy file  replete with political land mines, twists and turns and huge impediments  but one that cant be ignored forever.

In July, the federal Justice Department released its 10 principles that will guide the governing Liberals in securing reconciliation with Canadas Indigenous peoples. The very first principle is strikingly clear: The Government of Canada recognizes that all relations with indigenous peoples need to be based on the recognition and implementation of their right to self-determination, including the inherent right of self-government.

Sean Kilpatrick / The Canadian Press files Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Perry Bellegarde, national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, celebrate National Indigenous Peoples Day in Ottawa in June.

To begin, the concept of Indigenous self-government is not a new idea in Canada. One could go back to the 1966 Hawthorn-Tremblay Report, Pierre Trudeaus 1969 White Paper and the (Keith) Penner Report of 1983 right up to the third order of government proposed in the ill-fated 1992 Charlottetown Accord and the 1996 Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples.

Furthermore, there are already several self-government agreements with the Cree in Quebec, the Nisgaa in British Columbia and the Inuit of Nunavut. There is also a groundbreaking self-government arrangement  the Mikmaq Education Act  between the Mikmaq and the government of Nova Scotia.

But much of the debate in non-Indigenous circles has surrounded the exact definition of self-government and its wider implications. Stated differently, all levels of government and office-holders in Canada want to know how it will impact existing power structures, constitutional and justice matters, fiduciary arrangements and economic/resource/land development issues, among other things.

Another key sticking point is the precise nature of the self-government model in question  that is, will it be based on a current municipal (urban), provincial or federal template? It is important to note that many First Nations reserves or bands in Canada have fewer than 1,000 members. So would that require the creation of, say, a regional self-government model?

What does seem a non-starter, though, is any move to impose a cookie-cutter or one-size-fits-all approach to Indigenous self-government  which federal government departments in Ottawa have traditionally favoured. A way forward will have to be found that allows for diversity, flexibility, unique circumstances and differences and a tailoring to specific Indigenous needs.

One of the key issues, of course, is whether Indigenous self-governments would have the requisite economic base and revenue-generation capability needed to support such a political system. In short, who is going to pay for all of this, especially given the desperate state of Indigenous communities in Canada?

The principal objections to Indigenous self-government have not changed much over the years. And they remain a significant brake on moving forward in any way on this thorny political file.

There are federal concerns about what the overall cost will be to enable self-government to get up and running, the termination of the paternalistic Indian Act, how all of this would affect off-reserve Indigenous peoples (such as the Metis) and the need for financial accountability and transparency structures.

There are provincial reservations about legislative/legal paramountcy  whether provincial laws would, if they conflict, take precedence over laws passed by Indigenous self-governments. The business community in Canada, which has the power to influence the policy direction of provincial governments, is deeply worried about who will dictate resource development on Indigenous or Crown lands.

Much of this resistance can be traced to fear (particularly among federal Indigenous Affairs officials) of losing control and power over Indigenous communities in Canada. Indeed, it is hard for some people to alter their idea of Indigenous peoples as dependent, as wards of the state.

Yet we all have to recognize that the existing Indigenous-governmental attitudes, systems, processes and structures are not working well. Reserves in Canada are plagued by a host of socio-economic and health problems that are not being properly addressed under the current policy regime. Dramatic change is desperately needed.

So we must begin serious negotiations  building upon the successful 2005 Kelowna Accord  on advancing the self-government agenda. What is needed, more than anything else, is the necessary political will on the part of the Trudeau government to move forward.

No one is suggesting that this process will be easy, uncomplicated or free of any bumps along the way. But we have to try. Besides, Indigenous peoples cant do any worse than non-Indigenous already have in their past efforts to rectify the systemic problems inflicting Canadas Indigenous communities.

Peter McKenna is professor and chair of political science at the University of Prince Edward Island in Charlottetown.
Opinion

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If there are any schools named after Sir John A. Macdonald in Manitoba, I havent been able to locate them. Winnipeg has a school named after his son, Hugh John, who lived here. There are lots of city schools named for colonial figures from far away or close to home: Cecil Rhodes, Isaac Brock, General Wolfe and Wolseley, for Colonel Garnet Wolseley who led British troops into Red River Settlement, where modern Winnipeg now is, in 1870.

That Manitoba has no schools named after Canadas first prime minister tells us something about the politics of commemoration, how they develop and how they can change. When people argue in favour of taking down statues or renaming schools, they arent erasing history: they are looking it squarely in the eye. Statues, plaques and commemorative names arent history: they are commemorations, and usually celebrations, of select and revealing parts of it.

Who is chosen to be venerated usually tells us more about the people who named the school or paid for the statue than it does about the time and place they evoke. South of the border, most statues to Confederate generals were put up long after the U.S. Civil War, when white privilege was under particular threat: during the Jim Crow years of intense racial segregation in the early 1900s, and again during the height of the Civil Rights movement in the 1950s and 60s.

WAYNE GLOWACKI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Sir John A. Macdonald Park in Transcona

In Canada, discussions about the politics of commemoration in general, and about Macdonald in particular, are not new. Arguments in favour of removing Macdonalds name have been made in the pages of the mainstream press with some regularity over the past three years.

Since last month, newspapers and timelines have been filled with discussion of the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontarios recommendation that the province rename schools bearing the name of Macdonald. Writer Robert Jago points out that this is hardly the most pressing issue for Indigenous Peoples. But it is perhaps one we can keep in proportion and learn from.

Macdonald inspired a modest number of namings around the end of his life in 1891, including Manitobas Rural Municipality of Macdonald. But it was in the 1960s and 70s that Canadians began to really name things after the first prime minister, who, 80 years after his death, could become a general symbol of nationhood, stripped of much of its messy, partisan and often violent history.

The Macdonald-Cartier Freeway got its name in 1965, and the $10 bill first bore Macdonalds face in 1971. A quick Google search suggests that many schools were named after Macdonald in these years, including Calgarys Sir John A. Macdonald Junior High School (1967), Scarboroughs Sir John A. Macdonald Collegiate Institute (1964) and Hamiltons Sir John A. Macdonald Secondary School (1970). In the 1990s and 2010s, some high-profile places were renamed after Macdonald, including Ottawas River Parkway, which in 2012 became the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway at a cost of $60,000 in signage.

These commemorations occurred in spite of critiques of Macdonald and what he represented. To say that Macdonald was a man of his time is too easy, by far. Macdonalds commitment to white supremacy and his centrality to a suite of policies that meet the usual definition of genocide were noted during his lifetime. Of course, he wasnt the only one. The system of residential schools functioned because it was just that, a system, and such things inevitably go well beyond any one individual, government or party.

The schools and roadways named after Macdonald mainly tell us about the aspirations and anxieties of some English-speaking Canadians in fairly recent decades. The 1960s and 70s were years of English-Canadian nationalism: think Expo 67, Canadian content requirements, bilingualism and biculturalism.

Those years were also marked by Quebecois nationalism, Indigenous resistance, the challenges of feminism and a Canada that was less and less white. In this context, some Canadians chose Macdonald as a symbol. They may well have had other aspects of his legacy in mind, but the choice effectively worked to enshrine someone tied to the dispossession of Indigenous peoples and the marginalization of racialized people.

Names and statues are not history, but brittle symbols of the society that chose them. We might have made other choices and we still can. When we admit this, we are taking history very seriously indeed.

Adele Perry is a professor of history and a senior fellow at St. Johns College, University of Manitoba.
Opinion

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There are many dark pages in the history of the 20th century, notably the tens of millions of deaths cased by Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin. Caught between the regimes of these cruel dictators was the Poland in which Karol Wojtyla came of age.

The leaders of Nazism and Soviet communism tried to convince people that they were part of a great cause. The problem was that neither respected the dignity of individuals.

Wojtyla believed that while we can all work together for a common cause, each of us is not only significant, were sacred beings and were loved.

Andrew Medichini / The Associated Press Files Pope John Paul II seen here in 2005, was the right leader for his time.

After Stalinist Russia took control of Poland and much of Eastern Europe after the Second World War, Wojtyla studied and then taught the philosophy that ultimately led to the downfall of communism. The Catholic Church in Poland became the greatest voice in opposing the state and Wojtyla, seen as open to dialogue, rose through the ranks of this institution.

In 1978, Wojtyla was named Pope John Paul II. Few outside of Poland knew who he was or what he had accomplished, but he immediately began using his global influence to help bring down the Iron Curtain.

His message was quite simple: Be not afraid. He told people that they were loved and sacred. He told them to embrace their dignity as humans, and to stand together for justice and freedom.

It didnt take long for workers to organize in his native Poland. The Solidarity movement became a powerful force. The government first tried to crush the movement through violence, arrests and intimidation. But with the world watching, their efforts only served to strengthen the resolve of the people. Wojtyla embraced his identity as a Pole and as an Eastern European, and the ideal of freedom spread.

By the end of the 1980s, the Iron Curtain had collapsed and the world was changed forever.

By studying the thoughts of Wojtyla, you see what inspired and motivated the person who led the revolution against a cruel dictatorship without ever speaking of violence.

As with all people who accomplish great things, Wojtyla knew he had a mission. This was expressed in a discussion with a friend while Wojtyla was recovering from an assassination attempt in 1981.

There is nothing more beautiful than to be a tool in the hands of God, he said.

In 1983, the Pope actually visited the jail cell of the man who tried to kill him, and forgave him. There were other attempts on his life, but he moved forward without fear. Millions of people took inspiration from him, especially in Eastern Europe, and did the same.

While no leader and no institution is perfect, John Paul II was the right leader for his time. No one but an Eastern European in a position of global leadership could have led a movement to overthrow the powerful communist regime.

Its significant to note the similarities between the peaceful movements that overcame oppressive governments in the 20th century and brought about lasting change. Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela all had clear visions and offered messages of personal empowerment, forgiveness, courage, acceptance and love.

No force on Earth is more powerful than a movement that embraces these truths. It may take time, but triumph is inevitable.

Its important to see beyond todays issues and apply whats worked in the past. The words of John Paul II still ring clearly: Be not afraid.

Gerry Chidiac is an award-winning high school teacher specializing in languages, genocide studies and work with at-risk students.

 Troy Media
China protested US military escalation in the Korean Peninsula yesterday and sought European mediation. Chinese President Xi Jinping contacted both German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron to coordinate sanctions against North Korea after its nuclear tests, and ask them to help prevent the crisis from escalating into all-out war.

Beijing formally protested the deployment of the US THAAD radar and missile system in South Korea, saying it could be used to monitor, identify, and attack targets inside Russia and China. I strongly urge the US and South Korea to value the security interests of China and other regional countries and immediately halt the deployment and remove the relevant equipment. China has lodged stern representations with South Korea, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang.

While his remarks were couched in diplomatic jargon, Geng was making quite clear that Beijing views THAAD as a major threat that could lead to direct war between the major powers. Speaking to Chinas state-run Global Times, Zheng Jiyong of Shanghais Fudan University attacked the THAAD deployment, saying it was as dangerous as the North Korean regimes testing of a hydrogen bomb on Sunday.

The deployment, which is similar in nature to North Koreas missile tests, cannot solve the Korean Peninsula issue, but would merely exacerbate the already chaotic situation and drive the Peninsula closer to war, Zheng said. China has done a lot to denuclearize the peninsula, and its the US who does not want to see a peaceful peninsula, because a chaotic situation gives it an excuse to deploy strategic weapons in the region.

The Chinese protest came as Trump and US defense officials again threatened North Korea with war. At a press conference Thursday, Trump declared, I would prefer not going the route of the military, but its something certainly that could happen. Pentagon officials have said they are preparing cyber-attacks and other operations against North Korea.

Significantly, Beijing reacted by seeking out and obtaining support from Washingtons European allies to contain growing military tensions and prevent a US escalation.

The German chancellery announced yesterday that Merkel and Xi had organized a phone call late Thursday to discuss the Korean crisis. The chancellery published a statement saying Xi and Merkel were very preoccupied by the current situation in North Korea. [The North Korean nuclear test] represents a considerable danger for the entire region and a violation of international law.  The two speakers agreed to reinforce sanctions against North Korea in order to find a peaceful solution" to the crisis.

Yesterday, Xi called Macron and subsequently issued a statement about their telephone call on Chinese television. China hopes that France, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, will play a constructive role to calm the situation and restart dialog, Xi said on CCTV. The Korean crisis cannot be resolved except by peaceful means, by dialog and consultation, Xi said, adding that his government was seeking the de-nuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula.

Chinese state media reported that Macron responded positively to Xis phone call. He reportedly said that China and France were comprehensive strategic partners. He added that France attaches importance to Chinas peaceful approach to solving the issue and promised cooperation with China to push for a proper settlement of the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.

The Chinese outreach toward Europe, and the positive response from Berlin and Paris, reflect the extraordinarily sharp military tensions and danger of war, as well as the crisis of the traditional post-World War II alliances between Europe and America. Relations between the major European powers and Washington have collapsed since Trumps election, amid growing US-European trade tensions and moves by the European powers to ratchet up defense spending to build up their armed forces.

The 68-year-old NATO military alliance between Washington and the European powers is rapidly fraying, after Trump declared it was obsolete during his 2016 presidential campaign. US and European positions during the Korean crisis have repeatedly clashed. Already in August, after Trump threatened North Korea with fire and fury like the world has never seen, Merkel publicly declared that she did not see a military solution to this conflict. Trump responded by declaring that the US military was locked and loaded for combat in Korea.

Earlier this week, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the conflict over North Korea could escalate into world war. Daniel Davis, a retired US military officer formerly stationed in Korea, published an article in The National Interest that gives a picture of what officers on the ground in Korea are expecting.

Warning that the situation on the Korean Peninsula is now at the brink of majorand potentially nuclearwar, Davis wrote: If a war were started now, it could quickly get out of anyones control and escalate into a nuclear exchange. The dead could quickly climb into the millions. Though North Korea doesnt yet have the ability to strike the American mainland, any use of nuclear weapons that resulted from a US attack could have profoundly negative consequences for American national security.

Tacitly referring to US national security adviser H.R. McMasters call for a preventive war with North Korea, Davis said advocates of preventive war risk starting a war with China: Beijing has publicly stated that if North Korea were to start a war, China would not come to its aid. If, however, an external power started a war against North Korea, Beijing would then come to Pyongyangs aid. Thus, use of a so-called preventative war against North Korea has the distinct possibility of equaling war with China.

The working class cannot leave the task of opposing the US war drive to the European imperialists, acting in concert with the Stalinist business oligarchy in Beijing.

The European powers, fearing that a US conflict with North Korea would likely escalate into one with North Koreas neighbors, China and Russia, are well aware that this would entail war fought between US and Russian forces in Europe. Their countries would rapidly be devastated. They are pursuing a two-track policy, agreeing to US demands for sanctions against North Korea, but indicating their growing support for Chinas position against Washington.

In the short term, insofar as this policy coincides with Washingtons call to isolate North Korea with sanctions, it serves to hide the growing danger of war with North Korea and among the major powers. More broadly, however, this effort does not represent a peace policy by European imperialism. Not only have Berlin and Paris participated in numerous US-led wars from the former Yugoslavia to Libya, Syria, and Afghanistan, but they are all moving to spend billions more on building up their military machines and pursue an ever more independent and aggressive imperialist policy of their own.

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UN chief warns against the march to world war

[8 September 2017]
The most intense earthquake to hit the area in one hundred years, measuring 8.2 on the Richter scale, shook southwest Mexico and Central America on Thursday. At last count, at least 61 were dead in Mexico and at least 200 have been injured, mostly in the state of Oaxaca. The death toll is expected to rise.

The epicenter of the earthquake was 40 miles (69 kilometers) under the surface of the Pacific Ocean and parallel to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec that separates North America from Central America, 60 miles (100km) from the city of Tonala, in the state of Chiapas. Tsunami warnings were issued for the coasts of Mexico, El Salvador and Guatemala.

The earthquake struck at around midnight Thursday; some 50 million people felt it across southern and central Mexico. In Mexico City, the swaying buildings were reminiscent of the 1985 quake that killed well over ten thousand of its inhabitants.

While there were scenes of panic in Mexico City, there were only two casualties of people hit by falling debris. Following the 1985 earthquake, the government tightened earthquake regulations for that city and installed alarms that woke citizens up and gave them time to escape.

However, given Mexicos endemic corruption and cronyism, it is not completely possible to determine how effective the new codes are, since the epicenter of this latest earthquake was two times the distance from Mexico City relative to the one in 1985.

Power lines fell, buildings collapsed and walls fell in the eastern part of the sprawling metropolis of twenty million inhabitants. Throughout Mexico, nearly two million people were left without electricity.

The citizens of Morelia, Puebla, and Guadalajara also felt the earthquake, which triggered tsunami waves one meter high (3.3 feet), near the Oaxaca port of Salinas Cruz. The Mexican Navy evacuated eight thousand people from low-lying areas along the coast.

The earthquake also affected El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras resulting in injuries, power outages and the widespread destruction of poorly built buildings and roads. In northwest Guatemala the earthquake took a heavy toll in the impoverished communities surrounding the municipality of Tacana, along the border with Chiapas; homes were demolished, as was the public school in Sujchay.

Both in Oaxaca and in Chiapas, and on the Guatemalan border, many homes built of adobe clay and palm leaves quickly collapsed. Many residents were rescued by neighbors but more victims may still be trapped beneath the rubble.

The destruction was not limited to adobe buildings, however. Also affected were apartment and other buildings in cities across Chiapas and Oaxaca, despite higher earthquake standards that were established after the 1985 quake.

Oaxaca authorities reported damage in most of the municipalities in that state. In Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas the walls of the city hall cracked, also damaged were the two towers the Church of Saint Lucia. A historic monument was knocked over in the Chiapas capital city of Tuxla Guerrero. In the same city, the Church of San Vicente Ferrer, a sixteenth century structure, was destroyed.

In the city of Oaxaca, capital of the state of Oaxaca, the city hall was partially destroyed. A hotel collapsed in Matis Romero, Oaxaca.

By far the most damage was concentrated in Juchitan de Zaragoza, a city of more than 100,000 inhabitants and third largest in the state of Oaxaca. A reporting team touring the city discovered many collapsed buildings and homes. There is no electricity and only intermittent Wi-Fi.

The only public hospital was heavily damaged; the injured were being treated out of doors. Also in ruins is the citys government house, schools, churches, bridges and roads. As news reporters travelled the city, neighbors informed them of people trapped in the rubble, including in the government building.

The Juchitan Fire Department, which even before the quake was insufficient for a city of its size, was unable to fully respond to all the calls for help. Many of those that were transported to clinics outside Juchitan did so in vehicles volunteered by residents of the city, since there are not enough ambulances. Juchitans suburbs are in the same sad shape.

The near destruction of Juchitan is an indictment of the authorities criminal neglect of public safety and the failure to implement proper infrastructure and emergency measures in anticipation of major earthquakes, particularly in an area where three major seismic faults coincide.

While Mexico City residents benefited from early warning systems, and perhaps from updated building codes, this was not the case for the residents of Oaxaca and Chiapas. The Juchitan earthquake building codes proved woefully inadequate, as did the size of its fire department, search and rescue system and the number of available emergency vehicles, leaving residents on their own.
During a visit to Burma (Myanmar) this week, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi explicitly endorsed the ongoing military repression of Rohingya Muslims in Burmas northwestern Rakhine state. His government and Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina are both moving to forcibly deport thousands of poverty-stricken Rohingya refugees.

Since August 25, the Myanmar military (Tatmadaw) has stepped up its violent attacks on Rohingya in Rakhine state where most of the Muslim minority live. Rohingya have been tortured, women raped, houses torched and villages destroyed in ethnic cleansing operations throughout the state.

According to UNICEF, over 400 Rohingya have been killed and 164,000 have been forced to flee80 percent are women and children. Tens of thousands are seeking refuge in neighbouring India and Bangladesh. The Burmese government claims the military operations are in response terrorist attacks by insurgency groups linked with the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army which purportedly killed 12 security officers.

During his visit, Modi fully backed the military repression declared, We share your [the Burmese governments] concerns about the extremist violence in Rakhine state and especially the violence against the security forces and how innocent lives have been affected and killed.

Modi praised Myanmar Foreign Minister Aung San Suu Kyi for her courageous leadership and issued a joint statement in which he promised to work with her to solve the terrorist problem. In return, she thanked India for its strong stance with regard to the terrorist threat and claimed her government was defending all the people in Rakhine state.

Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy are directly responsible for the brutal repression, having given a blank cheque to the military and defended all it has done. Last week she attempted to deny the military violence unleashed against Rohingyas, claiming that news reports about the attacks were a huge iceberg of misinformation.

Modi signed 11 joint agreements in Myanmar last week, his first trip to the country. The Hindu newspaper reported on September 6 that these included maritime security, strengthening democratic institutions in Myanmar, health and information technology.

Prior to the trip, Deputy Home Minister Kiren Rijiju declared that India would deport Rohingya refugees, including those registered under the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). They are illegal immigrants in India, he declared, and as per law, they stand to be deported.

Early last month, Rijiju told the Indian parliament that about 40,000 [Rohingyas] were staying in India illegally. The Home Affairs Ministry also declared that Rohingya refugees and others deemed to be illegal immigrants were responsible for the rise of terrorism in last few decades and called on Indians state governments to deport them.

Thousands of Burmese Rohingya have sought refuge in India from previous persecutions, settling in Jammu and Kashmir, Hyderabad, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi-NCR and Rajasthan. In these areas, poor and oppressed Rohingya communities are being targeted for racialist attacks. According to thewire.in website, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Jammu in April threatened to identify and kill Rohingya refugees in Jammu if they were not immediately deported. Up to 7,000 have taken refuge in the north Indian state.

These threats are encouraged by the Modi government, which is promoting racialist and religious divisions in an attempt to divide Indian workers and undermine the growing opposition to New Delhis social austerity attacks on the working class and the poor.

The governments support for the ethnic cleansing attacks on the Rohingya are in line with its attempts to develop closer ties with Myanmar and undercut Beijings influence in that country. This is directly connected to Indias active involvement in the US-led diplomatic and strategic confrontation with China.

Burma is also crucial to Indias so-called Act East Policya strategic outreach to South East Asia and East Asia. This includes boosting Indian trade and investment with Myanmar to exploit the countrys rich resources. Much of this has focused on Rakhine, where India has completed work on the Paletwa Inland Waterways Terminal and Sittwe port as part of the Kaladan project. Both countries share a 1,600 kilometre border.

Last week two Rohingya immigrantsMohammad Salimullah and Mohammad Shaqirfiled a petition with the Indian Supreme Court opposing any deportation of Rohingyas. Both men are registered refugees under the UNHCR.

Their plea states that their deportation is illegal under the Indian constitution and violates the principle of non-refoulement which bans sending a refugee back to where his or her life or freedom is threatened on account of his race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion. The two men stated that they were forced to seek refuge in India due to widespread discrimination, violence and bloodshed in Myanmar.

Indias threat to deport thousands of Rohingya refugees has been widely condemned. Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, said the UN was concerned about Indias treatment of refugees. Once refugees are registered they are not to be returned back to the countries where they fear persecution, he said.

Bangladesh has also declared that it wants to expel Rohingya refugees. There are currently 400,000 Rohingyas living in desperate conditions in Bangladesh, having fled there in response to previous attacks by the Myanmar military and anti-Muslim thugs.

The Bangladesh government has mobilised security forces along its border to prevent more refugees entering the country. Late last month 20 Rohingyas, including 12 children, died when boats carrying them across the Naf River, which borders both countries, capsized. The International Organization for Migration said last week that thousands of others are stranded in a no man's land between the two countries.

While there are no accurate figures, the Inter Sector Coordination Group of Humanitarian Agencies in Bangladesh estimates that over 160,000 Rohingyas have entered Bangladesh since the latest pogroms began on August 25.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-10 06:31:32|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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By Burak Akinci

ANKARA, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- The recent new school year's kickoff in Turkey has been roiled by controversial textbooks in which the Evolution Theory has been largely removed to give way to a more religious and conservative education, a move criticized by secular circles.

Education policy has for a long time been contentious in Muslim Turkey, and once again, especially since the conservative Justice and Development Party (AKP), led by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, came into power some 15 years ago.

Erdogan has said frequently that he wants to raise a more "pious generation." Courses on Islam have become compulsory in 2012 following an education overhaul.

Since then, religious vocational school, known as Imam Hatip, are on the rise though their academic success leaves a lot to be desired, according to official data.

The new curriculum, defined by a group of experts at the Ministry of Education, includes more classes on religion, an introduction to the general concept of Jihad (holy war in the Quran) and less time allocated to learn about Turkey's secular founding father Kemal Ataturk.

The religion-oriented curriculum prompted a political and social firestorm before the start of the school year on Sept. 18 for some 18 million students.

The secular opposition and the civil society claim that Erdogan and his government are trying to reshape the society in a more conservative and religious way.

Following criticism, Education Minister Ismet Yilmaz announced that the Theory of Evolution of Charles Darwin will be removed from secondary school books, as to avoid "confusing children, because it is too hard to learn."

"We have cleansed school books from repetitive subjects, that is all. The accusations are groundless. We have prepared scientific and contemporary curriculum," he told reporters on Friday, adding that the changes were made in accordance to public perceptions.

Some 189 million textbooks will be distributed free to students across Turkey next week.

Alparslan Durmus, head of curriculum of the Education Ministry, rejected criticism on the contentious chapters, arguing that the new curriculum "is in line with the constitution and various education laws."

Other controversial changes include teaching children "to obey your husband" and "do not marry an atheist or a convert," meaning people who left the Muslim faith for another religion, according to press reports.

Turkish students will learn from the textbooks that "the earthquake is a way for God to test his servants" and the books have also devoted a large chapter to the failed coup of July 2016 aiming to topple Erdogan.

Turkish parents and academics have voiced concerns about the new changes, fearing that schools will not be able to highlight scientific knowledge to young minds. The controversial revision stipulates also that school must have worship rooms.

"I do not understand why learning more about Ataturk or the Evolution Theory is detrimental to our kids, on the contrary, science should be a beacon of light for them throughout their life," Leyla, a 36-year-old mother of two in the residential Yildiz district of Ankara, told Xinhua.

"Instead of teaching prayers to 10-year-old children, they should teach them to be polite to others, to greet them by a 'good morning', this is more important," said Leyla.

Some teachers unions such as the secular Egitim-IS, Turkey's biggest teachers union, have denounced the changes.

"We do not want a curriculum which denies Ataturk. What we want is a secular and scientific education in our country for our children," said Mehmet Balik, head of the Union, arguing that the revision is ideological.

"How can you not teach the Evolution Theory in schools? We are already lagging behind in academic success compared with Western countries, this revision will only drag Turkey further down in global ranking," he pointed out.

Some 160,000 people have signed a petition online on Saturday, demanding authorities to restore all previous chapters of Ataturk in schoolbooks.

Main opposition party Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who slammed the ruling AKP of having caused the "collapse" of the education system in Turkey, called for a broad scientific seminar on the issue soon.

Bulent Tezcan, spokesman of CHP, accused the government of imposing a "backward curriculum" in schools.

Describing the changes as "unacceptable," Orhan Saribal, a CHP lawmaker said the new curriculum is "a defiance to the secular and scientific education" and that the ruling party was identifying itself with Ottoman history rather than with the republican history, which was initiated in 1923 with Ataturk's major reforms.

Lale Karabiyik, another CHP MP, said the government's contentious measure had only consulted some pro-government teachers unions.

On the other hand, Erdogan's supporters hail the changes, saying that the AKP is founding a "new Turkey."

"I want my children to study their religion in schools. We live in a Muslim nation, it is only natural that schoolbooks contain proper material of Islam," said Bulent Kara, a father who came to visit his children's new school in Ankara.

"If children are taught the right Islam in school, we will not have to worry about perverted minds who create such things like the Islamic State," said Bulent Kara.

A series of progressive reforms have also been adopted in recent years like offering Kurdish and other minority language elective courses in schools.
Caty Davis, Miss Tennessee, will compete in the Miss America competition on Sunday, with a platform inspired by her late father. (Photo: Courtesy of Miss America)

When Caty Davis, Miss Tennessee, takes part in the 2018 Miss America competition on Sept. 10, shell be doing so for her dad  a man who took his own life four years ago after a long battle with alcoholism and opioid addiction.

I know Im honoring him today, being able to share the message that he tried to [share] for so, so long and just couldnt, unfortunately, Davis, 22, tells Yahoo Beauty. The disease was the problem. His intentions were good.

Miss America is a platform competition, after all, and mixed in with a lineup of other important issues  military families, mental illness, diabetes, disabilities, STEM for girls  is Daviss passionate personalized platform: Attacking addiction: Prevention, recovery, and restoring families.

Its the culmination of dealing with the effects of multigenerational addictions, including but not limited to her father, grandfather, uncle, and stepbrother, who took his own life five years ago, when he was just 23.

Its an emotional ride a lot of the time, but its nothing that Im not capable of doing, Davis, of Knoxville, says about speaking so publicly about her pain. I think that what Ive been through, and the loss, technically allowed me to become stronger and handle things differently than others. But I think it has allowed me to heal too. By sharing my story, Im kind of sharing what I was ashamed of for a really long time, and it doesnt have power over me anymore.

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Davis adds that she is always very aware of her hereditary risk of addiction. Honestly, just knowing that Im predisposed to it has helped me make decisions in my life and even handle peer pressure very differently than my peers, she says.

Davis first got involved with pageants when she was a teenager, joining local competitions as a way to showcase her singing talent. She won her first title as a junior in high school and moved into the Miss America Outstanding Teen pageant, placing second runner-up. Competing for the title of Miss America, she says, is an absolute dream come true.

Miss Tennessee Caty Davis says her father passed on to her a love of music. (Photo: Courtesy of Miss America)

Still, Davis is haunted with memories of the night, just after finishing her freshman year of college, when she learned her father had hanged himself in his garage and was found by her stepmother.

There was an undercover-looking squad car in my driveway when I returned home from dinner, Davis shares with Yahoo Beauty. They were like, We have to alert you as the next of kin, and she repeated the story, and I had to specifically ask how he had taken his own life. Then we had to wait for my sister [in high school at the time] to come home and relay the message to her, going through it all again. It was just absolutely horrific.

Her father had gone through rehab four times. I honestly knew he had taken a turn for the worse, she says. He had bounced back multiple times, hed gone to recovery and treatment centers before, so, this is horrible, but I was like, I hope he hits rock bottom and comes back up. And that didnt happen.

Davis hadnt been in contact with her dad during her freshman year of college but had seen through someone elses Twitter feed that hed been arrested for public intoxication. I was so ashamed but so worried the whole time that I wasnt speaking to him, she shares. But he was such a charismatic and fantastic, full-of-heart guy.

She didnt know much about her dads demons as a kid, as he did his best to protect Davis from them, she says.

He saw his own father battle with addiction and alcoholism, and he died in a drunk driving accident when my dad was 14. I realize now that when he wasnt there he was protecting us. Unfortunately, to us, it just felt like he was choosing drugs or alcohol over us, Davis explains. I realized he had an addiction, and I was a very intuitive child. The first time he relapsed was when I was in sixth grade, and we were actually at Myrtle Beach by ourselves. That was the first time Id ever seen my dad like that.

She says that competing in pageants was a way to make sense out of the chaos she grew up with.

Im a perfectionist to the tee. And with the pageants, I feel like I have control over things  things I couldnt control in my life, says Davis, who just received her degree in psychology from the University of Tennessee and hopes someday to work with kids and families who are struggling with addiction. I almost wanted to grab my dads attention, so pageants were a way. I know he is proud of me.

The 2018 Miss America Competition airs Sunday, Sept. 10, at 9 p.m. EDT on ABC.

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.
After spending much of this week telling his listeners that Hurricane Irma was fake news, Rush Limbaugh his fled his home base in Palm Beach, Florida, in anticipation of landfall.

On Thursday, Limbaugh announced he would not be able to host his nationally syndicated radio show on Friday due to the security nature of things, adding that he was heading to parts unknown.

After CNNs Brian Stelter shared the news on Friday, noting that Mark Steyn was filling in for Limbaugh, Today meteorologist retorted, Wait. What?

Earlier in the week, Roker was one of those quick to admonish Limbaughs controversial comments that the media is purposefully creating fear and panic about Hurricane Irma to advance this climate change agenda.

Do not listen to @rushlimbaugh when he says #Irma is not a dangerous #storm and is hype, Roker wrote on Twitter. He is putting peoples lives at risk.

He added in a second tweet, To have @rushlimbaugh suggest the warnings about #Irma are #fake or about profit and to ignore them borders on criminal. #ShameOnRush.

Do not listen to @rushlimbaugh when he says #Irma is not a dangerous #storm and is hype. He is putting people's lives at risk  Al Roker (@alroker) September 6, 2017

To have @rushlimbaugh suggest the warnings about #Irma are #fake or about profit and to ignore them borders on criminal. #ShameOnRush  Al Roker (@alroker) September 6, 2017

President Donald Trumps Mar-a-Lago Club, also located in Palm Beach, is also being evacuated in advance of Irmas landfall.

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In Limbaughs Monday comments about the hurricane, he claimed, There is a desire to advance this climate change agenda, and hurricanes are one of the fastest and best ways to do it. You can accomplish a lot just by creating fear and panic.

You dont need a hurricane to hit anywhere, he asserted. All you need is to create the fear and panic accompanied by talk that climate change is causing hurricanes to become more frequent and bigger and more dangerous, and you create the panic, and its mission accomplished, agenda advanced.

Limbaugh further told listeners on The Rush Limbaugh Show that These storms, once they actually hit, are never as strong as theyre reported.

On Tuesdays show, Limbaugh doubled down on his comments, lashing out in his own defense and slamming the media.

The media takes every extreme that is in a forecast such as this and runs with it as though it is gospel, he said. And then they hype it and hype it and hype it. And then they tie it to climate change, and they tie it to whatever. And its not the hurricane center doing that. That is the media.

Limbaugh told his listeners that he was simply explaining to people how it works, claiming that, Theres corruption everywhere in our politics, and it is epitomized during national disasters and emergencies because the left is always working on moving their agenda forward, climate change, radical environmentalism, and so the occasion of this hurricane is an exciting thing for them!

Its not a question of if Floridas going to be impacted, its a question of how bad Floridas going to be impacted and where the storm ends up, FEMA official William Long told The Washington Post. Evan Duffey, a meteorologist with AccuWeather, further told PEOPLE that winds of at least 130-156 mph will cause a catastrophic amount of danger to Florida.
Not so fast, folks burying Craig Carton  the arrested sportstalk radio host is himself a victim of this whole Ponzi scheme thing, attorney Robert C. Gottlieb said on Friday.

The governments allegations against Craig Carton demonstrate a gross misunderstanding of what happened, the lawyer started his statement to the media. Craig is a victim who was deceived, manipulated and used by individuals seeking to gather assets for their own fraudulent schemes.

Craig is a good man, devoted to his family with a long-time personal commitment to giving back to his community, Gottlieb continued. The defense counselor then backed that up with four more sentences about Cartons charitable efforts.

Also Read: Craig Carton 'Is Gonna Get Whacked' Over Ticket Scheme, Radio Rival Don Imus Says (Video)

Carton (pictured above, right) was arrested by the FBI Wednesday at his Manhattan home and charged with securities fraud and wire fraud.

The 48-year-old former New Jersey 101.5 FM Jersey Guy and co-conspirator Michael Wright allegedly told investors that they had access to discounted blocks of tickets to sporting and music events, which they could turn around and sell for a profit. That access never actually existed and written agreements provided to investors were fraudulent, the FBI says. The millions raised were misappropriated and used in part to pay personal debts and repay prior investors as part of a Ponzi-like scheme, per the federal agency.

Some of the funds were purportedly used to cover Cartons gambling losses.

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Craig Carton Arrest Fallout: Mike Francesa Has Been 'Unbelievable' Off-Mic, Boomer Says (Video)

NBC Sports' Lead Baseball Writer on Craig Carton Arrest: 'Pardon Me if I Die Laughing'

'Boomer & Carton' Host Craig Carton Arrested by FBI, Accused of Running Fake Ticket Scam
Mel B is speaking out after her estranged husband, Stephen Belafonte, filed court papers on Sept. 1 asking for stepparent visitation with her 10-year-old daughter, Angel. Angel's biological father is actor Eddie Murphy.

Mel B -- whose real name is Melanie Brown -- also has a teenage daughter, Phoenix, with ex-husband Jimmy Gulzar, and 6-year-old daughter Madison with Belafonte. In the court papers obtained by ET, Belafonte claims that after his and Brown's separation, he feared for the children's safety, claiming that the 42-year-old America's Got Talent judge has an alcohol and cocaine addiction.

In an exclusive statement to ET on Thursday, Brown said she trusts the legal process "to show the truth."

Is Mel B Making a Statement About Her Divorce With Her MTV VMAs Dress?

I have remained silent these past six months for the sake of my children," the statement reads. "I refuse to be a victim any longer and trust the legal process to show the truth.

Belafonte claims in his filing that Angel has only spent time with Murphy twice. He also claims that Angel had no idea that he was not her biological father until after he and Brown separated.

"Angel has called Respondent 'dad' since Angel began to speak," the court papers claim.

Belafonte claims he and Brown initially made arrangements allowing him to maintain frequent and continuous visitation with both Angel and Madison, and that they had an intermediary -- Dr. Charles Sophy -- present at a meeting where they explained their separation to the children. However, he says Brown "abruptly" took the children away from him the very next day -- March 19 -- and left their home. He claims he then texted both Brown and Sophy because he was concerned about the children.

"The biggest reason for my concern with respect to the safety of the children was due to Petitioner's habitual and consistent addiction to and abuse of cocaine and alcohol," Belafonte alleges in court papers. "To make matters worse, my fear for the children's safety was amplified due to the fact the Petitioner had fired the children's nanny, who had been in the children's lives since 2010 and I did not want Petitioner using drugs and drinking around the children, especially without anyone else present to care for the children."

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"Petitioner's drinking and drug abuse had been a major issue throughout our marriage, and was witnessed by the nanny, the children, and her own therapist, Dr. Sophy," he continues to claim. "Simply put, this was a constant problem and issue in our marriage."

Belafonte also provided alleged text messages between him, Brown and Sophy, in which Sophy writes that he [Sophy] came to an agreement with Brown "regarding any substance abuse and child safety." According to the text messages, Sophy says Brown agreed to start taking medications and undergo random drug testing, beginning on March 19. Medications listed in the alleged text messages include a daily dose of Antabuse -- an alcohol antagonist drug used to help prevent the user from drinking -- to continue indefinitely, and a Vivitrol shot -- injections used to prevent relapse in people who become dependent on opiod medication as well as to treat alcoholism -- every 30 days. Brown would also be subjected to a "hair test" on a regular basis -- not to exceed more than 60 days between each test -- and random drug testing on a weekly basis.

"My intent and the purpose behind my request for stepparent visitation with Angel is to ensure that Angel is alright and knows that I have not abandoned her," Belafonte also writes. "I miss Angel dearly, and I can assure that Angel misses me, and I do not want to lose the opportunity to spend quality time with her and continue to raise her."

EXCLUSIVE: Mel B Laughs Off 'Embarrassing' References to Her Single Life During 'AGT' Live Show

Brown filed for divorce from Belafonte in March after nearly 10 years of marriage. One month later, she was granted a temporary restraining order against her estranged husband, after alleging that he beat and threatened her throughout their marriage.

"I desperately wanted to leave the relationship and tried to do so during our first year of marriage and every year thereafter," Brown alleged in the court papers. "When I threatened to leave, [he] informed me he has videos of our sex life and other private moments. [He] would threaten that if I left, he would release the videos to the tabloids. I have lived the past decade in fear that [he] would release intimate videos of me that would embarrass me and damage my reputation and my career."

Belafonte has vehemently denied the allegations.

"What matters most to Mr. Belafonte is the safety and well-being of his daughters and stepdaughters," Belafonte's lawyers told ET in a statement regarding the abuse allegations. "It's a shame that Ms. Brown elected not to proceed in a respectful and amicable fashion in this very private matter. In due course, Mr. Belafonte will be filing his response to the outrageous and unfounded allegations made by Ms. Brown, which allegations he vehemently denies."

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Man, Dog Trying to Flee Hurricane Irma Turned Away from Flight Because of Pet Carrier Rules

Man tells @randikayeCNN he can't get Miami evacuation flight because he needs carrier for dog, but couldn't buy one https://t.co/4jYf9lYmQl  CNN (@CNN) September 8, 2017

With Hurricane Irma surging toward Florida, many residents are attempting to evacuate the state with their pets  and some are facing trouble.

Matt Varga of Kendall, Florida, tried to leave by plane on Thursday, but was denied entrance to the flight he booked because he didnt have a carrier for his dog, Meeka.

Varga told CNN reporter Randi Kaye that he checked 10 different locations for a pet carrier before arriving at Miami International Airport, but every store was sold out. Because of the dangerous circumstances, Varga hoped the airline would make an exception and allow him to carry his dog on.

I waited an hour in line at the agent office, and I dont have a pet carrier and they wont let me on without a pet carrier, he told CNN.

Varga did not mention which airline he booked a ticket with, and while many airlines are dropping their pet travel fees for those leaving states in Hurricane Irmas path, no airlines have announced exceptions to the regulations they have in place regarding pet travel safety.

In 2006, following the devastating effects Hurricane Katrina, Congress passed the Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act, which mandates that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) have evacuation plans for people and their pets, reports The Huffington Post.

But even with this legislation in place, airlines and private businesses, like hotels, are not required to adjust their current pet policies in the event of a natural disaster.

For Varga, this means hell be riding out the storm at home: He told CNN that he plans to return to Kendall with Meeka, because leaving his dog behind is not an option.
WASHINGTON, D.C.  Steve Bannon said the campaign crisis created last year with the revelation of Donald Trumps ribald conversation with Access Hollywood host Billy Bush proved to be a moment that showed who was loyal to Trump and who was not.

In an interview with Charlie Rose of 60 Minutes, Bannon said that the release of the Bush tape during the fall campaign was a litmus test.

And I said it the other day to [White House Chief of Staff] General [John] Kelly during the Charlottesville thing, afterwards. Its a line I remember from the movie The Wild Bunch,' he said. William Holden uses it right before that huge gunfight at the end. When you side with a man, you side with him, okay? The good and the bad. You can criticize him behind, but when you side with him, you have to side with him.

CBS This Morning released more excerpts of the interview on Friday. The full interview will air Sunday on 60 Minutes.

After The Washington Post released the tape on Friday, Oct. 8, it created a crisis in the campaign and over that weekend, a number of Republicans called on Trump to drop out of the race. Bannon, who served as campaign CEO and later White House chief strategist, said that Reince Priebus, then the chairman of the Republican National Committee, told Trump, You have two choices. You either drop out right now, or you lose by the biggest landslide in American political history.

But Bannon said that he told Trump that he still had a 100% probability of winning.

And thats what Billy Bush weekend showed me, Bannon said. Billy Bush Saturday showed me who really had Donald Trumps back to play to his better angels. All you had to do, and what he did, was go out and continue to talk to the American people.  People didnt care. They knew Donald Trump was just doing locker room talk with a guy. And they dismissed it. It had no lasting impact on the campaign. Yet, if you see the mainstream media that day, it was, literally, he was falling into Dantes Inferno.

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Trump dismissed his conversation with Bush as locker room talk. But in the interview, Rose pressed Bannon on that characterization, given that Trump talked about grabbing a woman by the p-. Bannon, though, insisted that it was merely locker room talk that working class voters didnt care about.

As they weighed their options after the tapes release, Bannon said that he continued to insist Trump would win.

Appealing to the American people and to the working class people in this country, absolutely. You know why? Cause  it was a winner. Thats why I told him double down every time. And on that day, thats the first time and only time he ever got upset with me. He goes, Come on, its not 100%. I go, Its absolutely 100%. And I told him why. They dont care.'

Bannon also said that Chris Christie, who had endorsed Trump, fell out of favor that weekend when he didnt show up to support Trump.

I told him, The plane leaves at 11 oclock in the morning. If youre on the plane, youre on the team. Didnt make the plane, Bannon said.
UPDATED with video: Republican establishment is trying to nullify President Donald Trumps election, ousted White House chief strategist Steve Bannon tells Charlie Rose in an excerpt of his 60 Minute interview that played tonight on CBS Evening News. Watch the video below.



Thats a brutal fact we have to face, Bannon asserted, incorrectly.

The Republican establishment? Rose asked, playing along. Wants to nullify the 2016 election? he added, as if not believing what he was hearing.

Absolutely, Bannon said. Absolutely is to Bannon what very is to Donald Trump  among the things weve learned about Bannon in these clips CBS News has been rolling out in dribs and drabs in advance of the full interview on Sunday.

Rose asked Bannon to name names.

I think Mitch McConnell and, to a degree, Paul Ryan, Bannon said. They do not want Donald Trumps populist, economic nationalist agenda to be implemented. Its very obvious. Its obvious as night follows day, its what theyre trying to do.

Rose asked for an example.

Bannon said that, at Trumps first post-election Trump Tower meeting with McConnell, the Senate Majority Leader said, I dont want to hear any more of this drain the swamp talk.

Flat-out, he goes, A guy up on Capitol Hill cant buy a Coke unless its got to be reported. He says, I cant  I cant hire any smart people, because everybodys all over them for reporting requirements and  and the pay, et cetera, and the scrutiny. You know, You got to back off that.

Mitch McConnell did not want to go there. Wanted us to back off, Bannon added.

Rose pointed out Bannon was attacking the people Trump needed to get things done.

Theyre not going to help you unless theyre put on notice, Bannon shot back.

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Theyre going to be held accountable if they do not support the President of the United States. Right now theres no accountability.  They do not support the Presidents program. Its an open secret on Capitol Hill. Everybody in this city knows it.

Bannon no longer has a seat in the White House, Rose observed, saying, So therefore, now that youre out of the White House, youre going to war with them?

Absolutely, said Bannon.

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Working across the aisle isnt so bad on Trumps psyche, after all.

Axios co-founder Jim VandeHei was a guest on Morning Joe Friday to give the scoop on President Trumps jubilant attitude after he reached an agreement with Congressional Democrats about Hurricane relief and raising the debt ceiling.

Axios reported Friday that POTUS was seen hate-watching the MSNBC show at the White House residence and feeling cocky.

Trump was on cloud nine yesterday, VandeHei told Joe Scarborough. He was so jazzed that he watched your show, watched others, saw people praising him, got on the phone with Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, was all jacked up and bragging about the coverage. Nancy Pelosi asked him to tweet something positive about DACA and he does it, its like a movie and the guy is just loving the last 24 hours.

Also Read: Jennifer Lawrence Suggests Hurricanes Are 'Mother Nature's Rage and Wrath' at Trump Win (Video)

So, is this a long term strategy? VandeHei continued. Who the hell knows. But, it certainly  he likes the instant gratification of the results that hes getting.

Trump said on Thursday that the deal was a meeting that we all wanted to get together and do something. He said the primary reason for bipartisanship was because you look at North Korea, you look at the hurricanes, you look at whats going on in the Middle East, and I said, frankly, its time that we walk out and shake hands and have the deal.

Also Read: Geraldo Rivera Takes Credit for Trump's DACA Pivot: He 'Heard My Heartfelt Plea' (Video)

And I will tell you, there was a lot of spirit in that room, a lot of good spirit, the president said Thursday (see in the video below).

Despite Trumps rocky past with the hosts of MSNBCs morning show (earlier this year, he made a graphic comment about Mika Brzezinskis appearance, and Scarborough has routinely blasted the president) that good spirit apparently continued long enough for POTUS to view their Friday broadcast.

Story continues

Related stories from TheWrap:

Jennifer Lawrence Suggests Hurricanes Are 'Mother Nature's Rage and Wrath' at Trump Win (Video)

Geraldo Rivera Takes Credit for Trump's DACA Pivot: He 'Heard My Heartfelt Plea' (Video)

Steve Bannon Says Chris Christie Lost Cabinet Job Over Trump 'Access Hollywood' Tape (Video)

Graydon Carter's Parting Shot? Melania Trump Left Off Vanity Fair's Best Dressed List, and Conservatives Aren't Happy
The Florida Keys suffered worst on the US mainland at the hands of Irma - 2017 Getty Images

The devastation wrought by Hurricane Irma across the Caribbean will not dampen the regions resolve to continue to be one of the worlds most popular holiday destinations, tourism bosses have said.

Though some islands, notably the British Virgin Islands, Barbuda and St Martin, suffered extensive damage from one of the strongest storms to hit the region in a decade, the Caribbean tourist board said fewer than 10 per cent of hotels and resorts are set to be closed for longer than a week.

The best way to help us rebuild is to continue with your holiday plans, keep making your holiday plans, said Colin James, the CEO of the Antigua and Barbuda tourist board, the latter of which was reduced to rubble by Irma, which damaged 90 per cent of the islands buildings. We are working very hard to help Barbuda, but it will take a year for repairs to be fully completed.

But despite the destruction seen on newsreels around the world, Mr James said Antigua, Barbudas larger and better-known sibling 40 miles to the south, was largely unscathed.

If you came to Antigua now you would not be able to tell [it had been hit a hurricane, he said. The contrast is night and day between Antigua and Barbuda.

In an effort to spread the message that the Caribbean, visited by about a million British holidaymakers each year, is open for business, its regional tourism organisation (the CTO) has been issuing regular updates on the progress of the islands recovery.

Which island have been worst hit?

Anguilla

A number of hotels have begun clean up operations, while the Malliouhana and Quintessence Boutique Resort anticipated more extended recovery times.

Antigua and Barbuda

The majority of hotels on Antigua are welcoming guests again, while the CTO said though Barbudas 100 hotel rooms have been damaged, the overall effect on tourism should be minimal.

The Bahamas

The Bahamas is getting back to business as airports are open in Nassau, Grand Bahama Island and on nearly all Out Islands, said the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism and Aviation. Parts of the southern islands were more heavily impacted with damage ranging from cosmetic to severe structural damage. However, the tourist board said the majority of hotels and resorts throughout the Bahamas are operating as usual.

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The British Virgin Islands

The British Overseas Territory received significant damage but many hotels report that they can reopen shortly. The Anegada Reef Hotel said it was fine.

The BVIs were hit hard Credit: Alamy

Dominican Republic

The CTO said all the hotels it had heard from were fully operational.

Haiti

All services remain in operation and the country continues to welcome visitors, said the CTO.

Montserrat

The same is true of Montserrat which said it has emerged unscathed.

Puerto Rico

The Puerto Rico Tourism Company said that nearly all hotels are operational and receiving guests, including a number of Marriott properties which welcomed some 700 guests from nearby islands worse hit.

Millions were left without power in Puerto Rico Credit: AFP/RICARDO ARDUENGO

St Maarten/St Martin

The Franco-Dutch island was hit hard by Hurricane Irma and the relief effort is continuing. Nearly all resorts and hotels were damaged, some seriously, and the vital aid is currently the focus of the authorities. Some guests were evacuated to Puerto Rico.

Turks and Caicos Islands

Club Med, which has a resort on the island, said all guests had been flown home and that it will not be accepting new guests until the beginning of October. While a number of other resorts remain open, others, including Gansevoort, said they will close for a month or so to assess the damage.

US Virgin Islands

Ports and airports have reopened and the majority of hotels on St Croix are welcoming guests again. St Thomas, however, suffered more damage. Nearly all resorts on the islands have said they will remain closed until further notice.

Cuba's capital, Havana, suffered flooding Credit: REUTERS/STRINGER

Cuba

Thomas Cook is continuing to evacuate its customers from the island, the northern coast of which was hit badly by Irma. The operator said it was offering customers due to travel to Cayo Coco up to the end of October free cancellations or rebookings. Thomas Cook said the Cayos, a popular holiday destination, had received considerable damage and that it was reviewing the status of its hotels in Havana.

Rachel OReilly, the head of communications at luxury operator Kuoni, said the impact varies from island to island but that some had escaped unaffected, including St Lucia, Barbados and Jamaica. She said some guests whose holidays had been disrupted by Irma had been relocated to one of these.

At a glance | Caribbean hurricanes

What about the US?

Florida suffered whiplash from the tail of Hurricane Irma when it made landfall earlier in the week. All the of states airports have now reopened, after the cancellation of some 10,000 flights, and Britain's key airlines, including British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, have resumed operations.

The Florida Keys, however, and its airports remain closed to holidaymakers, with commercial flights suspended to Key West International.

The Florida Keys remain closed Credit: Getty

Virgin Atlantic continues to offer anyone flying to Orlando, Miami or Atlanta before September 17 the opportunity to rebook to an alternative destination.

Many of the impacted area have limited communication or are still under curfew so it is difficult to gauge the full impact a spokesperson for Virgin Atlantic said. However, as a precaution Virgin Holidays has taken Cuba, Miami and Naples and Marco Island in Florida, off sale until the situation can be thoroughly reviewed.

British Airways said flights had resumed to Miami, Orlando, Tampa and Fort Lauderdale, but that it continued to offer those booked to fly up to September 20 the opportunity to rebook onto a later date up to October 14.

Hurricane Irma | Key articles

Have flights been affected?

More than 14,000 flights have been cancelled across Florida and Caribbean, with 10,000 from Florida alone, as Irma approached the US mainland.

A spokesperson said Princess Juliana International on St Maarten - one of the worlds most famous airports thanks to the proximity of incoming aircraft to tourists on the beach - had sustained significant damage and is currently unreachable. San Juan, on Puerto Rico, has reopened following damage to the airports radar facilities.

The maximum sustained speed of Irmas winds was recorded at 152 knots, more than twice the speed at which airports are forced to shut.

Florida's airports, including Orlando and Miami, have reopened but Key West remains closed to commercial flights.

Virgin Atlantic said in a statement: "The adverse weather conditions caused by Hurricanes Irma and Jose mean our flights to and from Florida and the Caribbean are severely disrupted. We ask customers check the status of their flights at flight status before they travel to the airport." Customers booked to travel up to September 17 have been offered a variety of rebooking options.

A spokesperson for BA said that anyone due to travel to or from Florida before September 17, inclusive, can rebook for dates up to October 14.

Will there be long-term damage?

Euromonitor, which analyses travel trends, especially in the wake of terror attacks or natural disasters, said that the US stands to lose about 1.2 per cent of its arrivals, amounting to 1.2 million people globally. Caroline Bremmer, head of travel at the group, said she also anticipates that Cuban tourism could be negatively impacted, with 56,000 less visitors thanks to Irma.

Hurricane Irma batters the Caribbean, in pictures
What you gave to me in 20 months is more than I could ever even have dreamt of having in a thousand lifetimes. (Photo: Facebook/Jake Coates)

A grieving husband has written a heartbreaking Facebook tribute to his late wife on what would have been their one-year wedding anniversary.

Jake Coatess wife, Emmy, died from thyroid cancer three months ago. In his post, Jake recounted how amazing he felt the night before they exchanged their vows last September.

this time a year ago I couldnt sleep, Jake wrote in his post on Saturday. I was way too excited that I was going to get to marry this girl, the love of my life, in the morning. There wasnt a day that went by when we were together that I didnt pinch myself  why someone like you would choose someone like me. But Ill forever be grateful that you did. We made the best team. Miss you more than ever my gorgeous girl. Xxxxx

Jake and Emmy met nearly two decades ago when they were both 11 and quickly became childhood sweethearts. At 13, Jake playfully nicknamed Emmy his lobster, and by the age of 16 they started dating. They dated for three years  but similar to most childhood romances, they decided to go their separate ways after high school.

It wasnt until October 2015, 10 long years after being apart, that Jake and Emmy reconnected and discovered that the spark was still there. Jake was working as a doctor in Australia, while Emmy was working as a primary-school teacher in London. They negotiated the time difference and FaceTimed each other daily while traveling back and forth between continents.

The couple made plans to spend their life together back in the U.K.

A life we had always dreamed of together was finally coming true, Emmy wrote on her blog. Unbeknownst to me, Jake had planned to propose to me on a holiday to the Philippines in March [2016]. However it was the day we were due to travel that I received the heartbreaking news that the thyroid cancer had spread and I was advised not to fly.

One of my favourite ever photos of my favourite person of all time! It was taken in April 2016 just after she was diagnosed. She was told she couldn't sunbathe ever again due to the medication she was just about to start so we ran away to Dubai for 5 days! She never saw this photo  but I think it's one that everyone should see so here it is! That smile!! Love this girl Xx A post shared by Jake Coates (@jakeycoates) on Jul 5, 2017 at 4:05pm PDT

Despite following a healthy lifestyle, Emma was diagnosed with medullary thyroid cancer on March 22, 2016. With only 300 cases diagnosed in the U.K. over the past 12 years, Emmys was one of the youngest ever reported. The cancer reached stage 4 and had spread to her spine, lungs, liver, and bones  she experienced debilitating chest pain due to a fractured rib caused by the cancer.

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It was at this point we learnt that the disease had become so advanced that it is now unfortunately incurable, she wrote.

But Jake was with her every step of the way  he didnt let the heartbreaking news derail his plans to ask the love of his life to marry him.

My beautiful girl. A new blog at our ejtandemonium FB page xxx A post shared by Jake Coates (@jakeycoates) on Jun 11, 2017 at 2:56am PDT

Jake promptly proposed the next day, in bed with a cup of tea  it was perfect! Emmy gushed. Given the circumstances and a new outlook on life, we thought why wait and I will be walking down the aisle to meet him on Sept. 3rd, 2016.

Emmys health continued to deteriorate, but the couple enjoyed every precious moment together, even embarking on a 2,000-kilometrer tandem bike ride from London to Copenhagen to raise money for the Royal Marsden hospital, where Emmy was being treated.

I was needing to empty my bowel every 15 minutes, day and night, which was having a severe impact on my quality of life, including extreme fatigue, a fissured and blistered anus, weight loss and erratic menstruation, she wrote.

Although all of this news has been a shock and challenging at times, it has also made me realize how important and precious every day is and to enjoy and treasure every moment.

Just bloomin LOVE him SO MUCH!!! #loveconquersall A post shared by Emmy Coates (@emmycoates_16) on May 28, 2017 at 11:54am PDT

They fulfilled their dream and exchanged vows that September.

On their wedding day, Jake said he bawled his eyes out trying to tell Emmy how proud he was of her and of how she had managed to keep smiling throughout her ordeal.

You, my girl, are simply incredible.

In late June, Emmy lost her battle with cancer.

What you gave to me in 20 months is more than I could ever even have dreamt of having in a thousand lifetimes, Jake wrote in a blog post. Who you are to me  and who you are and what you have become to so many, makes me prouder than I ever thought possible.

My forever always. X A post shared by Jake Coates (@jakeycoates) on Sep 3, 2017 at 4:28am PDT

A fundraising page was set up in honor of Emmy and has so far raised close to $185,000 for the Royal Marsden hospital, the institute where Emmy was treated.

As Jake recounted, Emmys life has had far-reaching effects, even after death.

I have had people emailing me every day telling me that their loved ones have been diagnosed with a terminal illness, and because of you, they are able to cope with it that little bit better. That they themselves may have been given months to live, but because of you they have made peace and have realized what to prioritize. That they have left abusive partners, changed their jobs, taken up a hobby, chased a diagnosis, walked into an exam or interview more confidently or just told themselves to get a grip and embrace the positives in their own lives because of YOU  you are a shining beacon  a guiding light  to more people than you can ever have imagined.

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WASHINGTON, D.C.  Steve Bannon, giving his first extended interview to 60 Minutes, after his resignation from the White House, criticized Catholic Church leaders who condemned President Donald Trumps decision to end the program that allowed young undocumented immigrants to stay in the U.S.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York was among those who spoke out after the decision.

But speaking to Charlie Rose, Bannon said the bishops have been terrible about this. By the way, you know why? You know why? Because unable to really  to  come to grips with the problems in the church, they need illegal aliens, they need illegal aliens to fill the churches. Thats  its obvious on the face of it. The entire Catholic Bishops condemn him.

Bannon said that the church has an economic interest in unlimited immigration, unlimited illegal immigration.  As much as I respect Cardinal Dolan and the Bishops on doctrine, this is not doctrine. This is not doctrine at all.

He added, This is about the sovereignty of a nation. And in that regard, theyre just another guy with an opinion.

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, put in place by President Barack Obamas 2012 executive order, allowed children who were under 16 years old when they came to the United States to say in the country and work here under a set of conditions.

Bannon defended Trumps decision, even though he said he did not agree with it. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced on Tuesday that the program would be phased out, unless Congress comes up with a legislative solution in the next six months. After Trump faced criticism and protests throughout the day, he tweeted on Tuesday that he would revisit the DACA program in six months, if there is no congressional action.

I understand how he struggled with it, I understand how hes giving the possibility of a legislative thing, Bannon said. And he said even last night in a Tweet  even in a Tweet, he would rethink it. Trust me, the guys in the far right, the guys on the conservative side are not happy with this.

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CBS News released excerpts of the interview that ran on CBS This Morning. The full interview will air on Sunday.

Bannon also told Rose that his public image is pretty accurate and that he was a street fighter.

And by the way, I think thats why Donald Trump and I get along so well. Im going to be his wing man outside for the entire time, he said.

He told Rose that he would make sure his enemies know that theres no free shot on goal.

Bannon also defended Trumps response to the Charlottesville violence. Trump was criticized for not immediately calling out white supremacists groups who took part, and for equating their actions to those of the counter-protesters. But Trump also questioned the movement to remove Confederate statues.

Bannon said that what Trump was trying to say is that people that support the monument staying there peacefully and people that oppose that, thats the normal course of  of First Amendment. When hes talking about the Neo-Nazis and Neo-Confederates and the Klan, who, by the way, are absolutely awful  theres no room in American politics for that. Theres no room in American society for that. And all Donald Trump was saying is, Where does it end? Does it end in taking down the Washington Monument? Does it end in taking down Mount Rushmore? Does it end at taking Churchills bust out of the Oval Office?'

He said that he was the only guy who came out and tried to defend him, while other members of the administration expressed their dismay as unnamed sources or, in the case of economic adviser Gary Cohn, publicly.

Bannon said that if you dont like what hes doing and you dont agree with it, you have an obligation to resign. Rose asked him whether Cohn should have resigned and Bannon answered, Absolutely.
As state legislators, the four of us represent diverse communities. Yet we share something in common: We were all brought to this country as children by parents who wanted to provide a better life for their families. Each of us spent time in our young lives without documents. Our stories vary  we grew up in different states, our lives took different paths  but this country gave us the opportunity to get an education, to work hard, to gain citizenship and to eventually run for office. It is that opportunity that makes America beautiful. Being elected to represent our communities felt like the true culmination of the American dream  and the idea that anyone who works hard and contributes to their community can succeed.

Donald Trump was elected president the same night that we were first elected to serve as legislators, and we knew this would give new meaning to our first terms in office. President Trump has now announced his intention to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, and kicked the decision to the federal legislature. We wish to make clear to leaders in Congress and the White House what this would mean: ending the dreams of a generation.

DACA recipients, known as Dreamers, are 800,000 of the hardest-working young Americans in this country. Like us, they were brought to this country as children by parents who dreamed of a better future. Like us, this is the only country they call home.

DACA is not just ink on a piece of paper  its also the opportunity to aspire to a better job, to earn higher wages and to have better working conditions, as well as the ability to buy a car or even own a home (which, yes, leads to increased state and local tax revenue). Dreamers enrich and strengthen our cities, states, schools, businesses, congregations and families.

If Republicans and the Trump Administration remove these protections from Dreamers, thousands of young Americans would be forced back into the shadows. Families would be torn apart; jobs would be lost; academic careers would be interrupted; communities would be made less safe. Weve invested in these Dreamers already. We must respect their potential and give them the chance to succeed and return that investment by contributing to the country as adults.

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For a politician to toy with the futures of so many young people is unconscionable. But when you consider the impact that repeal would have on our economy, its also reckless. The progressive think tank the Center for American Progress estimated that ending DACA would wipe away at least $433.4 billion from our nations GDP. Dreamers are not eligible to receive federal benefits like food stamps or financial aid, but they do pay taxes  the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy estimates that Dreamers pay over $1.2 billion annually in federal, state and local taxes. Thats $1.2 billion that may disappear from our budgets if President Trump repeals this program. Its time to put politics aside and do the right thing for our communities by giving Dreamers the certainty and respect they deserve.

The four of us chose to enter public service because we want to give back by protecting the very best of what America represents: opportunity, hard work and caring for your neighbor. Our families started with very little, but in America, they were able to make it. Our communities  and our country  invested in us, and we felt that is was important to give back.

We also know what it feels like to be in the shadows. We speak for the millions of Americans and hundreds of thousands of Dreamers who want to continue to make our communities thrive  and to do so openly. This country has given us incredible opportunities, and we are so proud of what weve been able to build. The next generation of Dreamers deserves the same opportunity.
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The Food and Drug Administration sent a warning letter this week to a Pfizer-owned facility that manufactures EpiPens for the drugmaker Mylan, citing "significant violations of current good manufacturing practice."

The FDA's letter to Meridian Medical Technologies in Brentwood, Mo., cited hundreds of complaints the company received from 2014 to 2017 about EpiPens failing to operate, and noted that an unspecified number of people had died after allergic reactions. The agency asserted that Meridian failed to thoroughly investigate the complaints or the deaths.

The FDA also noted that Meridian continues to manufacture EpiPens that contain a component that might fail to operate properly during activation.

Regarding the letter, Nina Devlin, head of global communications at Mylan, told CR that "Pfizer is continuing to work with the FDA to resolve the points raised."

"Mylan will do whatever it can to support this process," Devlin said. She added that the company was "confident in the safety and efficacy of EpiPen products being produced at the site."

According to another Pfizer spokeswoman, Kimberly Bencker, the drug company "intends to carefully analyze the FDAs concerns. She added that "its not unusual to receive product complaints, especially when the product is frequently administered by non-medically trained individuals."

We don't yet know the full scope of the investigation and the number of people affected. But there are five steps EpiPen users should take right now to minimize their risks:

1. Confirm That Your EpiPen Hasn't Been Recalled

Earlier this year, Mylan issued a worldwide recall of 13 lots of EpiPen and EpiPen Jr. auto-injectors after finding that some of them had a defective part that could prevent them from working properly during an emergency.

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If you're worried that you may have a potentially faulty EpiPen, check the lot number on your device or carton. Recalled lots numbers are listed on Mylan's website, along with further instructions on what to do if you have a recalled product. We confirmed that Mylan will still replace the recalled EpiPens and that their website instructions are up to date.



Until the problem is resolved, you might also consider getting a prescription for an EpiPen alternative: generic Adrenaclick or Auvi-Q.

2. Carry Two With You

There's a reason EpiPens and other epinephrine auto-injectors are sold in two-packs. During a life-threatening allergic reaction, there's a chance that you or your child might continue to experience symptoms after administering the first dose. In a 2010 Boston Children's Hospital study of more than 1,200 children treated in the ER for food allergies, 12 percent needed a second dose of epinephrine.

3. Stay Up to Date

Our medical experts recommend making sure you replace your epinephrine auto-injector before the 12- to 18-month expiration date stamped on it. While theres some evidence that epinephrine can maintain its potency well after its expiration date, relying on an expired EpiPen is still risky because it may be less effective or not effective at all.

The epinephrine in your auto-injector should be colorless. But if it's pink or brown, cloudy, or contains particles, thats a sign that it has decayed, and you shouldn't use it. Dispose of it at a location near you. Go to SafeNeedleDisposal.org to find one.

4. Get Trained

Research has found that people forget how to use their EpiPen over time, and when asked to demonstrate proper usage, some make serious mistakes, including not holding the auto-injector in place long enough and pressing the wrong end into their thigh.

In a 2015 University of Texas study of 102 patients prescribed an epinephrine auto-injector, 86 people made at least one mistake, and more than half made three or more mistakes.

Our medical consultants recommend getting trained, especially when switching auto-injectors, say, from EpiPen to Auvi-Q or generic Adrenaclick. If your doctor doesnt offer a training session, ask for oneor set up one with your pharmacist. If your child carries epinephrine, be sure he or she learns its proper use, as well as family members, caregivers, close friends, and teachers who might need to assist during an emergency.

And because there might be a time lapse between when you're trained to use an auto-injector and when you use it during an emergency, be sure to practice regularly using a "trainer"a reusable version that doesn't contain a needle or medicine. You can find training instructions and videos on the manufacturers website. (Its here for generic Adrenaclick, here for Auvi-Q, and here for EpiPen and its generic.)

5. Seek Emergency Help After EpiPen Use

Its just as important to get emergency care after using your auto-injector as it is to use it correctly during a severe reaction. While epinephrine is a safe drug, you might need additional medical treatment after an attack.

As soon as you or your child removes the device, call 911 or head to an emergency room for additional care, even if the shot seems to be working.

Editors Note: This article and related materials are made possible by a grant from the state Attorney General Consumer and Prescriber Education Grant Program, which is funded by the multistate settlement of consumer-fraud claims regarding the marketing of the prescription drug Neurontin (gabapentin).





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Consumer Reports is an independent, nonprofit organization that works side by side with consumers to create a fairer, safer, and healthier world. CR does not endorse products or services, and does not accept advertising. Copyright  2017, Consumer Reports, Inc.
This week Yale University rededicated Calhoun College, making it the latest in a procession of public spaces to have Americas white supremacist past scrubbed from the landscape.

Stoked in part by white supremacists emboldened by Donald Trumps presidency, a heatedand often violentdebate over whether to remove monuments to the Confederacy has raged across the United States this summer.

The violent Unite the Right white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virigina, in August only intensified the discussion.

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Justin Ide/Reuters

Held ostensibly to protest the proposed removal of a statue of Confederate Army General Robert E. Lee from the citys Emancipation Park, hard-right militias showed up to offer protection to white supremacists.

Video emerged from the rally of young white men beating African American Deandre Harris. A member of the KKK fired a handgun toward counter protesters. And Heather Heyer was killedand 19 others injuredafter they were rammed by a car that police say was driven by a white supremacist.

How can America handle these symbols without more violence? According to the Southern Poverty Law Center the problem goes beyond monuments. The civil rights nonprofit has identified at least 1,500 markers of the Confederacy in public spaces around the U.S.

No fewer than 10 U.S. military bases are named after Confederate figures, including Fort Lee, Fort Benning, and Fort Gordon.

The SPLCs list of names is not exhaustive either. A Newsweek analysis has identified dozens more. There are many places left off, including churches, schools, streets, bridges, and counties.

Read more: Republican says black Democrat will go missing over Georgia Civil War statue row

After Charlottesville, President Trump argued those pushing to remove Confederate symbols are changing history and changing culture. Is there a chance he could be right?

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This debate needs a big dose of humility. It needs to slow down. It needs deliberation, said David Blight, a professor of history at Yale University specializing in the Civil War and African American history. Theres a danger here that we lose hold of learning from the past just by trying to make it feel and look better, he said.

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Removing monuments can erase history, Blight argues. Historians prefer things to be preserved because we want it to be there to study, he added.

Im torn on this, Blight continued. If cities keep Confederate monuments in central squares thats a problem because thats a city saying to the world this is the most important part of our past. He wonders if there isnt some middle road.

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Bryan Woolston/Reuters

At Yale, Blight sat on the Calhoun College renaming committee. The buildings namesake: South Carolina politician John C. Calhouns vigorous defence of slavery and Southern interests from perceived Northern threats offered a political foundation for the Civil War.

On Tuesday the college was officially renamed the Grace Hopper College after the female U.S. Navy Admiral and co-inventor of the computer language COBOL.

The renaming project and movement to take down Confederate monuments really began with the massacre in Charleston in 2015 where nine black parishioners were killed by white supremacist Dylan Roof, Blight said. Roof appeared in multiple pictures holding a Confederate flag.

After the Charleston shooting people began to protest the Confederate flag and eventually it was banned from the South Carolina State Capitol and other places. This led to questions about other symbols of the Confederacy. Protests on Yales campus against Calhoun College in 2016 prompted the university's president to challenged the committee to come up with principles they could apply when considering whether something should be renamed or removed.

It is one of those shocking events on which history can turn, Blight said, of the Charleston massacre and the change that it spurred. He added that the presidency of Barack Obama and virulent resistance to him from the American right wing, as well as the police shootings of young black men that prompted the Black Lives Matter movement, and the rise of Trump have all added to the political moment as well.

In mid-August, Baltimore removed a Confederate monument overnight. In Durham, North Carolina, protesters toppled a monument to Confederate soldiers. Plans have been announced to relocate two Confederate statues in Lexington, Kentucky. And a proposal to relocate statues is under way in Texas.

The movement is targeting other less prominent symbols too. In Washington State on August 18, just days after the Charlottesville rally, the city of Bellingham removed signs identifying Pickett Bridge after community members complained. The bridge was named after Captain George E. Pickett, a U.S. Army officer who built Fort Bellingham in the 1850s and returned to his home in Virginia in 1861 to fight in the Civil War.

Last year Robert E. Lee Elementary in Austin, Texas, was also renamed Russell Lee Elementary School, celebrating a local photographer.

In Georgia, former state house Representative LaDawn Jones agrees with Blight. She doesn't want to see Confederate monuments disappear completely.

I do not want to destroy history, said Jones, who proposed a bill in Georgias state assembly that Stone Mountainthe largest monument to the Confederacy in the worldbe rededicated as a park memorializing the Civil War. The carving of the rock face coincided with the revival of the KKK at Stone Mountain in 1915.

Jones said she is very much opposed to sandblasting the 825 foot carving of Civil War generals Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee, and Confederate President Jefferson Davis on the rock face in Stone Mountain Park. I just dont think that that is a reasonable idea, she said.

Nor does she want to destroy 170 monuments and an unknown number of street names. There are probably more than you can count, she said. What she would like to see, however, is an effort to move the state's Confederate monuments to Stone Mountain Park and then supplement them with accurate history.

It would allow generations to come to go there and not see this anymore as a place reserved for people who still want to split our country, but rather a place of education that we can learn from the ugly portions of our history, she said.

The park would be filled with historical information about the women of the Civil War era, the African Americans both free and enslaved who fought for the Union and the Confederacy, and the Native Americans who fought on both sides of the war, she said.

In addition to current Confederate monuments being inaccurate because the Confederacy didnt win, Jones said, its also inaccurate "because it doesnt truly show all the Americans that fought and died as a result of this war.

As an African American woman, Jones said, she feels compelled to speak up. I think that my generation should be the last generation that has to go in any public square and question whether or not the government of that city, that county, or that state supports the ideas of secession from the United States of America.

There will be school children that come generations later who will be affected by it the same way that I am generations after the Civil War is over, she said. For those people I want to be able to say that Georgia was on the right side of history and did the right thing as it relates to these Confederate memorials so we can, frankly, just stop having this debate.

The University of Mississippi has also been wrestling with its past. Parts of the campus were built with the slave labor of African Americans. The school also has monuments to dead Confederate soldiers. This summer, instead of taking them down, the university is contextualizing them with signs including historical information.

If we can help Americans and the rest of the world understand the damage, the incredible damage that the lost cause ideology did to our culture, thats a great plus in this debate, said Blight. But thats not going to happen just by removing monuments. We need to learn about what ideology, what culture put them here. Why, when, and then understand how that could happen again someday.

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Joshua Roberts/Reuters

There are dozens of monuments to the Confederate dead scattered throughout cities in the American south. The push to take down one of these monuments in the Texas town of San Antonio provoked Brandon Burkhart, vice president of the This Is Texas Freedom Force to show up at city council meetings with an armed militia in tow. We are not going to stand by and let you remove a monument that represents veterans, not race, Burkhart told councillors.

Why not consider an additional monument? Blights asks, urging cities like San Antonio to instead include a monument to the one or two oldest black churches. Hes not for taking down monuments to the common soldier who died in the Civil War either.

If monuments were put up during the Jim Crowe era when segregation was codified, he said, the old AME church or the old Baptist church should be celebrated because through those churches black communities survived.

Theres a way of adding to memorialization, he said. At Yale, Calhouns name and image are not going to be erased around campus, Blight points out.

The principles the Yale committee used to make the decision, he said, can be applied elsewhere, including a city, business, or a state. If theres some kind of mission statement, or declaration, you can examine a name on a site and ask: 'does this person uphold or violate that?' he said.

The key principles to evaluate a monument or name are raritywhether memorials are commonnon erasure and whether the person, event or object violates a core mission statement. If it does violate the mission statement, then you can and perhaps should rename, Blight said.

Willy Nilly acting is not a policy, he added. Im not saying [there is] a perfect set of guidelines, Blight said. But this political moment offers the possibility for a great deal of good public education.

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By Tulay Karadeniz and Dirimcan Barut ANKARA (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump and Turkey's Tayyip Erdogan spoke on Saturday and agreed to continue to work toward stronger ties and regional security, Erdogan's office said, a day after he lashed out at U.S. authorities for indicting one of his ex-ministers. Ties between the United States and its NATO ally have been strained by Washington's support for the YPG Kurdish fighters in the battle against Islamic State in Syria. Turkey considers the YPG a terrorist group. Ankara has also been frustrated by what it sees as Washington's reluctance to extradite the Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen. Turkey blames Gulen, who has lived in Pennsylvania since 1999, for last year's failed coup. "Noting the strategic partnership between Turkey and the United States, the two leaders emphasised the importance of continuing to work together to further strengthen bilateral relations and increase stability in the region," the Turkish Presidency said in a statement. The two leaders agreed to meet in New York at the United States General Assembly, scheduled for this month. The call was notable for its timing, coming a day after Erdogan described a U.S. prosecutor's indictment against Turkey's former economy minister as being politically motivated and tantamount to an attack on Ankara. The former minister, Zafer Caglayan, and the ex-head of a state-owned Turkish bank were charged this week with conspiring to violate Iran sanctions by illegally moving hundreds of millions of dollars through the U.S. financial system on Tehran's behalf. The indictment marked the first time an ex-government member with close ties to Erdogan had been charged in the on-going U.S. investigation, which has strained ties between the two countries. [nL8N1LO4RO] "For the moment, it is impossible to evaluate this within legal logic," he told reporters on Friday. "I see this step against our former economy minister as a step against the Turkish Republic. He had also called on Washington to re-think the charges. "I hope we'll get a chance to discuss this issue in the United States. You may be a big nation, but being a just nation is something else. Being a just nation requires the legal system to work fairly." (Writing by David Dolan; Editing by Ros Russell)
Rio Djiwandana stared into the empty classroom during his prep period as he processed the mornings news.

He felt frustrated and a little numb but also worried  not just for himself but for his students too.

Djiwandana, whos Indonesian-American, is a Teach For America educator in New York who is enrolled under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The Tuesday announcement that Trump would terminate DACA made the threat of deportation real for him and almost 800,000 other Dreamers who call the U.S. their home. For many, its the only home theyve ever known.

(Photo: Courtesy of Rio Djiwandana)

But today, the 22-year-old mulls over what would happen to his students if he were deported. The school year has just begun and he already has a lot on his mind.

Itd be a very traumatic experience for the kids, a concerned Djiwandana, who teaches 8th grade math and special education classes in the Bronx, told HuffPost. Its one thing to have a teacher quit for personal reasons or for a teacher to get fired. But its another thing for a teacher to be physically taken from the classroom or the school community.

(Photo: Courtesy of Rio Djiwandana)

Djiwandana represents a significant number of DACA recipients, or DACAmented people, who have gone into the education field. More than a fifth of recipients are employed in educational and health services, a survey showed. In fact, Teach For America alone has employed nearly 200 Dreamers who have served more than 10,000 students.

Djiwandanas parents brought him to Los Angeles when he was 4 months old, and like many immigrant parents, they hoped their son would receive a good education and a stable future in America. Growing up, the teacher didnt question his own status or background much. He didnt stick out as a person of color or an immigrant as his neighborhood was predominantly Asian and Latino. While his parents dropped hints about his status, like dodging questions about going back to visit Indonesia, he only discovered he was undocumented when applying for college financial aid.

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When I asked my parents for a lot of the forms, which included a copy of a green card or an American passport, they told me that we didnt have them, Djiwandana, a Georgetown University graduate, explained. Thats when I figured out I was undocumented.

Luckily, his status wasnt a hindrance to his admission to the school or to receiving an appropriate financial aid package, since the university provides services to undocumented students. He enrolled in DACA his freshman year and though it hadnt occurred to him at the time, the program would end up being a lifeline for him as he prepared to enter the workforce. While there are still limitations on the jobs he is eligible to apply for, the program has opened him up to several options and thankfully, teaching in New York was one of them.

I would honestly probably be chilling at home, trying to get a job under the table, he says.

Djiwandana currently teaches in a public school that serves mostly low-income families of color. And in many schools in urban, communities of color, the teacher turnover rate is high. Across the country, high-poverty, high-minority urban schools are suffering with a turnover rate of almost 20 percent annually. And according to the National School Boards Association, up to half of new teachers leave the profession within their first five years. Teacher turnover isnt cheap either. It could cost the nations public schools more than $7.3 billion a year, the National Commission On Teaching And Americas Future indicated.

DACAmented teachers, particularly the ones in the TFA program, often teach at these very urban institutions. And many of them want to be there. Djiwandana says that so many of the teachers can relate to their students backgrounds. Theyve lived it. He explained that many of his own pupils come from immigrant families like he does and often dont have college-educated parents. As a first-generation college student himself, hes familiar with the added obstacles kids face when their families arent proficient in the U.S. education system.

In the classroom, Djiwandana tries to explain the college application process to the students, relaying how difficult the pathway can be when they dont personally know anyone whos gone through it. Other times, hell remind the pupils about how crucial it is to get homework help  whether its from a teacher or someone in the community  if their parents are unable to assist them. He says that oftentimes these students simply lack access to pertinent information.

Hes there to help fill in the gaps.

Its similar things that I can relate to, being a first-generation American or student from a low-income working class background, he says, explaining that his own parents werent able to help him with algebra or other subjects growing up  not because they didnt want to but because they just didnt know how.

Djiwandana adds that his background also helps him empathize with the pupils emotional challenges  particularly during a time when he feels immigrants are under attack. Following the string of attempted crackdowns on legal and illegal immigration, Djiwandana says his students have a pessimistic view of the administration. The students may not understand the specifics of their policies, he says, but they, too, feel the fear in their immigrant communities.

The 22-year-old, who renewed his DACA permit a few months ago, told HuffPost it expires in 2019. While Trump allegedly told House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) that hed support and sign the Dream Act, which would give legal status to young undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children, Djiwandana feels uncertain of what the future holds. However, he believes its important to be present for his students.

I see a lot of myself in my students and partially because of that I think its important for me to stay strong. But its also important for me to be vulnerable and human so my students can also see themselves in me, he says of the situation.

But one thing Djiwandana knows for sure. Immigrants arent so easily broken.

The immigrant community is super resilient. If theres one thing Im optimistic about, its that, he said. I have no doubt that documented and undocumented immigrants will find ways to fight back and hold leaders accountable.

Also on HuffPost

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I'm an immigrant, son of a farmworker, & honored to serve as a U.S. Congressman. We should all have this opportunity. #ImAlreadyHome pic.twitter.com/bi54szApXF  Rep. Salud Carbajal (@RepCarbajal) January 27, 2017

Great love of my life, my abuelita, became a US citizen when she was in her 80s. She was so proud. #ImAlreadyHome pic.twitter.com/ygJXGaTdh5  MariaElena Fernandez (@writerchica) January 27, 2017

My dad is a Mexican immigrant who risked it all 2 live & raise a family here +start his own business.He makes America great #ImAlreadyHome pic.twitter.com/0y1SYIWXIV  Belle (@esabelleeden) January 26, 2017

This is my Mexican fam failing @ taking a pic. We're just a family. Some are citizens some have green cards. #ImAlreadyHome #werealreadyhome pic.twitter.com/oTKiziZF6H  Francesca Gamez (@cescathebesta) January 26, 2017

This sits on an island in my apt. A source of inspiration and strength. @DefineAmerican #ImAlreadyHome pic.twitter.com/VHfb3iuW5W  Jose Antonio Vargas (@joseiswriting) January 27, 2017

My single mother from Mexico put all three of us through college. Her dignity & hardworking rhetoric make this country great. #ImAlreadyHome pic.twitter.com/Ocra7jJsze  alejandra l-g (@exploding_girl) January 26, 2017

#ImAlreadyHome My grandpa served for the USA NAVY from The #Philippines award The Purple Heart  Great Grandparents came for #Freedom #USA pic.twitter.com/la96TaUj0Q  Nanette Fabros (@ntfabros) January 27, 2017

Happy early-birthday to my Mexican-Immigrant father who came to America with two gallons of water and a box of crackers. #ImAlreadyHome pic.twitter.com/MirFVMzcJp  Yasmin Rey (@myasminrey) January 26, 2017

My U.S.-born grandmother got illegally deported. But nothing or no one will stop us. We persevered!! #ImAlreadyHome https://t.co/wq42Uop97O pic.twitter.com/CUWwDdhP1L  araceli cruz (@chelipj) January 26, 2017

Worked in the CA CV fields next to my parents. Earned a BA, MS..have taught 100's of children to read. #ImAlreadyHome pic.twitter.com/aWS1aP8NOB  Solymar (@1phototeach) January 27, 2017

My mother raised 4 kids on her own. 3 went to college, the other serves in the @USMC

She works helping the community #ImAlreadyHome pic.twitter.com/E2fCEiZA6F  Susana Orozco (@SusanDelCampo) January 26, 2017

#ImAlreadyHome My Grandma, the one in the middle, is 1st generation. Her mom came to the US at age 6 in 1909. Proud to be an American Woman pic.twitter.com/jloVszt7V2  Jo Booklover (@jolovesbooks) January 26, 2017

My 90 year old grandmother is a natural born citizen,but my father is an immigrant.#ImAlreadyHome pic.twitter.com/YpFRKErQUl  Summer Salazar (@slsanf) January 26, 2017

my dad is an immigrant who risked it all to give his family a better life than what he had in Mexico. #ImAlreadyHome pic.twitter.com/G12hOA7Bzn  pattie (@pattieamaranth) January 27, 2017

My grandparents left Cuba to escape a dictatorship and cleaned floors for years to help me get into school #ImAlreadyHome  Christopher Mendoza (@DozaChris) January 27, 2017

I immigrated from Ireland and my husband from Chile.

Our kids are Chirish. #ImAlreadyHome pic.twitter.com/Arnx73Vhxf  Sarnata Reynolds (@SarnataReynolds) January 27, 2017

My #Abuelitas came here in the 70s & sacrificed so we could have enough.



This year I graduate with my Masters Degree. #ImAlreadyHome pic.twitter.com/qdXtyoh7ql  Daniel T. Clark (@Danieldcclark) January 27, 2017

My mom-in-law left a tiny Honduras village 48 years ago 2 raise 3 kids alone in NOLA & run her biz. #ImAlreadyHome pic.twitter.com/zTaadi3RbA  MariaElena Fernandez (@writerchica) January 27, 2017

My grandfather, Afro-cuban immigrant. Came to play baseball in a racist south. Refused to allow segregation defeat his pride. #ImAlreadyHome pic.twitter.com/i5oIw4zLDw  Thatninjajay (@julianelijah) January 27, 2017

Both my parents were first-generation middle school, high school, & college students. They graduated & gave me the best life. #ImAlreadyHome pic.twitter.com/T0erRikatY  Levi (@Levi_Har) January 27, 2017

My dad immigrated from , worked 3 jobs to put himself thru college, sometimes only had enough $ to buy bag of rice to eat. #ImAlreadyHome pic.twitter.com/DOAfO8ec6u  Paulina Vera (@Pnvera) January 27, 2017

Born to a military  dad and an Argentine  Syrian mom who expriencd gov abuse in her own cntry that we wont allow here #ImAlreadyHome  Roxanne Krause (@rgenteeny) January 27, 2017

Born during the civil war of El Salvador  worked hard to become a citizen of  USA #ImAlreadyHome pic.twitter.com/php4pbXrsR  Erika E (@evesbk) January 27, 2017

My parents came here from South Africa to live in a country that strives to value everyone #ImAlreadyHome pic.twitter.com/St2qOoXBcH  JanksMarc (@janksmarc) January 26, 2017

My mom braved the desert to get here in search for the American Dream & raised 3 proud Americans who give back to the world #ImAlreadyHome  Alba King (@psychenoel) January 27, 2017

Here's me with my dad, who came to the U.S. from Hong Kong seeking opportunity. Eternally grateful to be an American! #ImAlreadyHome pic.twitter.com/yny3JBDkjI  Curtis M. Wong (@c_wong79) January 26, 2017

At my college graduation in 2014. My sister is now a sophomore @BarnardCollege my dad came to this country for this #ImAlreadyHome pic.twitter.com/tRh2EdTHlf  Marlene (@MMarleneS) January 26, 2017

When my mom was my age (24), she took a risky 3 day bus ride with a bag chips and bottle of water in search of a better life #imalreadyhome  Celeste Zumwalt (@celestezumwalt) January 27, 2017

My Ama came to the US legally & raised 10 kids alone & fostered many more, worked in the fields & marched with Cesar Chavez #ImAlreadyHome pic.twitter.com/svC5X7cDF1  Jessica Carmen (@yoyeska) January 26, 2017

My parents built themselves from the ground up. Raised me to work hard & have strong core values. #ImAlreadyHome #1stGenLatinx #WeDIDVote pic.twitter.com/fUSMoekbjM  La LuchaNora (@xdswgx) January 26, 2017

Papi. Who came to this country, fought for this country & served in this country for over 30 years! #VietnamVet USAirForce #ImAlreadyHome pic.twitter.com/GO5F3I5fIr  Meralis Hood (@meralishood) January 26, 2017

Grandma from Ciudad Juarez, great-grandparents from MX. Laborers, educators, WWII vets. Me and my family love this country. #ImAlreadyHome  Rob Trucha (@RobertTheJr) January 27, 2017

This woman taught herself English to become a US citizen while being a single mom of three #ImAlreadyHome pic.twitter.com/WeXgRg1tc4  Arleene (@ArleeneValdez) January 27, 2017

my parents escaped Venezuela & its dictatorship so i could have a future full of opportunity & freedom. trust me when i say #ImAlreadyHome  y: (@mariahernvndez) January 27, 2017

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
By Benjamin Cooper Sydney - (Reuters) - Australia will send troops to assist Philippine forces in the ongoing battle against Islamic State fighters in the southern city of Marawi, Australias Defense Minister Marise Payne said on Friday. Small contingents of Australian soldiers will be sent to train Philippine troops, Payne said during a press conference with her counterpart, Delfin Lorenzana in Manila. "We are very committed to supporting the Philippines in its efforts to defend itself against terrorist threats," Minister Payne said. "This is a threat to the region (that) we all need to work together to defeat." But no Australian troops will be actively involved in the fighting, Lorenza said. "It would not look good if we would be needing troops to fight the war here. We are happy with the assistance we're getting from Australia." The militants swept through Marawi on May 23 and have held parts of it despite sustained ground attacks by hundreds of soldiers and daily pummeling by planes and artillery. The southern Philippines has been marred for decades by insurgency and banditry. But the intensity of the battle in Marawi and the presence of foreign fighters fighting alongside local militants has raised concerns that the region may be becoming a Southeast Asian hub for Islamic State as it loses ground in Iraq and Syria. The Australian troops will compliment those from their country already sent to the Philippines to train local personnel, Payne said. Philippine troops fighting Islamic State-linked rebels in a southern city have encountered armed resistance from women and children who were likely family member of militants, the Phillipine military said on Monday. A spokesman for Payne said further details of the training contingent would be determined in coming days. (Reporting by Benjamin Cooper; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)




Dear Retailer, a panel that took place at theCURVYcon Saturday afternoon, provided a voice from a number of big brands that plus size women are looking to hear from. But there was one representative from Lane Bryant that stood out in his call for a more inclusive industry.

Celebrating the diverse shapes that women come in is only one goal of CMO Brian Beitler, who differentiated the Columbus, Ohio-based company as a listening brand, as theyve been around for 113 years.

Do you know how many apparel brands have been around for over 100 years? Not many, he told the audience. Lena, who founded the company, by the way in 1904 before women could vote, right? Think about that as an entrepreneur at her time and in her day. And the way she achieved that was by listening.

Beitler went on to prove his own role as part of the listening brand by explaining his personal interactions with customers, as well as the women close to him.

Were learning in this space, but its personal to me, he said. My daughters are women faced with body issue and body pressure every day. And its just flat wrong, and it has to stop.

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Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. For Twitter updates, follow @YahooStyle and @YahooBeauty.




Sao Paulo (AFP) - Regional authorities confirmed Friday the alleged massacre of several indigenous people from an uncontacted Amazonian tribe by illegal miners in northwestern Brazil, according to the Amazonia Real news agency.

Prosecutors told Amazonia Real that federal police and the Public Prosecutor's office were investigating the killings of an unspecified number of indigenous people reportedly killed in August in the Sao Paulo municipality of Olivenca, on the border with Peru and Colombia.

Although the report did not confirm the death toll, suspects or weapons used, it cited other indigenous people as saying up to 20 tribal memebers were killed.

Prosecutors are also investigating another complaint about the alleged killing of indigenous people from the isolated Warikama Djapar tribe. The attack would have occurred in May but has not been confirmed.

Both killings would have taken place on the Vale do Javari indigenous land that lies in an area of about 8.5 million hectares (21 million acres), about 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) from Manaus, capital of Amazonas state.

According to the National Indian Foundation (FUNAI), there are at least 14 references to isolated indigenous peoples in the area.

Indigenous leader Adelson Kora Kanamari said in an interview with the Amazon Real portal that between 18 and 21 indigenous people "have been attacked and killed."

"If these stories are confirmed, President (Michel) Temer and his government bear a heavy responsibility for this genocidal attack," Survival said.

The killings were also denounced by Survival International, which said the killings allegedly took place last month but only came to light after goldminers had boasted of the killings.

It said two goldminers had been arrested.

Survival also condemned budget cuts to FUNAI.

"All these tribes should have had their lands properly recognized and protected years ago," it said.

"The government's open support for those who want to open up indigenous territories is utterly shameful, and is setting indigenous rights in Brazil back decades."

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A court order last week blocked a decree signed by Temer to open up a huge area of the Amazonian rainforest to large-scale mining.

Speaking to Amazonia Real, Kanamari explained that the situation in the region is "very critical."

"The invaders are landowners, hunters, miners. Many (indigenous) are being killed in isolation, but we don't know the exact dates or number of deaths," he said.

Temer's government has come in for international criticism after rowing back on environmental and indigenous rights issues amid an economic crisis.
Madrid (AFP) - The president of Spain's Catalonia region on Saturday vowed to press ahead with an independence referendum, that Madrid insists would be illegal, calling for mass demonstrations next week in support of a split.

"We have the full force of the state against us," Carles Puigdemont told a meeting of party officials in Barcelona.

"Faced with judicial proceedings and threats... the regional government is more determined than ever" to hold the plebiscite as planned on October 1, he said.

After sparking Spain's deepest political crisis in 40 years this week by voting to push ahead with the referendum, Catalonia's separatist-controlled regional parliament upped the ante by passing a bill early Friday outlining a transition to a possible independent republic.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy shot back at the Catalan government's plans.

"There will not be a referendum," Rajoy told officials from his conservative Party Popular on Saturday.

"It's my duty to preserve national unity," the premier said, adding that the laws passed by the regional government paving the way towards a referendum "illegal and anti-democratic."

Puigdemont, a lifelong proponent on independence for the region in northeast Spain, is hoping to mobilise supporters in a show of legitimacy in the face of Madrid's threats to halt the vote by any means possible.

He urged supporters of independence to take to the streets on Monday -- the region's national holiday.

"On Monday we will overwhelm them peacefully and democratically, as always," he said.

Opinion polls show that Catalans are evenly divided on independence. But over 70 percent want a referendum to take place to settle the matter, similar to the plebiscite held in Scotland in 2014.

The Catalan government staged a symbolic independence referendum in 2014, when more than 80 percent of participants voted to split from Spain -- though only 2.3 million of Catalonia's 5.4 million eligible voters took part.
(Repeats story first published late Thursday)

By Krishna N. Das and Nazimuddin Shyamol

CHITTAGONG, Bangladesh, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Mohammed Idrees, a 10-year-old Rohingya boy, does not remember how he landed at the hospital in Bangladesh with a part of his right ear blown off.

But he says he won't return to his home country, neighbouring Myanmar, until there is peace.

Idrees is one of around 60 badly injured Rohingya Muslims admitted to the hospital in Chittagong since violence flared in Rakhine state in the northwest of Myanmar in late August.

Rohingya insurgents attacked several police posts and an army base on Aug 25, leading to a military crackdown that has resulted in the deaths of at least 400 people and sent 146,000 people fleeing to Bangladesh.

Apart from creating a humanitarian crisis, the unrest has also brought waves of international criticism of Myanmar's leader, the Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, for not speaking out for a minority that has long complained of persecution. The Rohingya are denied citizenship in Myanmar, a mainly Buddhist country.

Almost all the Rohingya being treated at the Chittagong Medical College Hospital, the largest in southeast Bangladesh, have been injured by gunshots or bomb blasts, according to a hospital document given to Reuters. Around a third of the total injured are teenagers or younger, including a six-year-old boy.

The Myanmar military has repeatedly said that it has been targeting only insurgents in the crackdown.

Ajoy Kumar Dey, who is in charge of the hospital, said he had not seen similar wounds during previous influxes of Rohingya from Myanmar. He said the large number of young men and children, like Idrees, underlined the gravity of the situation in Rakhine.

"I don't remember what happened to me, but I want to go see my mother," Idrees said, lying on his bed in a soiled white shirt and a checked longyi, a Myanmar-style sarong. His head was bandaged and he was clutching the hand of his father, sitting by his side. "It hurts a lot."

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He cried as his father, Mohammed Rasheed, described how Myanmar security forces sprayed bullets into their village, Kyauk Chaung, on the morning of Aug. 25.

One bullet took off a chunk of Idrees' ear as his family crouched behind a canal near their house. Six fellow villagers from Kyauk Chaung died in the hour-long shooting, said Rasheed.

A bleeding Idrees was carried on a bamboo stretcher over some hills near the border to reach Bangladesh the same night. His mother, three sisters and a brother arrived on Sunday.

"We are lucky all of us are alive," said Rasheed.

Across the ward, a Rohingya man with bullet wounds in one shoulder, the back of a thigh and a shin, writhed in agony. A plastic nasal pipe was helping him breath.

OVERCROWDED

The government hospital in Chittagong is usually crowded at the best of times; now it is receiving twice as many people as it has beds - many of them Rohingya with shattered faces, shredded legs and damaged eyes who are fighting for their lives.

Around two dozen young Rohingya men, some groaning in pain, were laying on blue hospital mattresses on the floor of a corridor on Wednesday, their legs or hands heavily plastered.

Zaw Htay, Aung San Suu Kyis spokesman, said Thursday that Myanmar was in discussions with Dhaka on what to do about what he said were "terrorists" in the hospital, a charge the Myanmar military made earlier in the week.

The Bangladeshi foreign secretary, Shahidul Haque, denied being contacted by Myanmar about militants being treated at the hospital.

However, he said that Bangladesh had previously handed over two terrorists after being given their names by Myanmar. He did not provide further details, but said Bangladesh would hand any terrorists to Myanmar if it provided more names and the individuals could be found.

A United Nations source said that on Sept. 3 alone, 31 Rohingya with bullet injuries and six with burn injuries were admitted to the Chittagong hospital.

"There have been many people who have come with bullet wounds on the backs of their bodies," said H.T. Imam, a political adviser to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh. "That is most reprehensible. This is a killing mission, plain and simple."

Myanmar officials have said the country has the right to defend itself from attack, adding that security personnel were told to keep innocent civilians from harm.

Rohingya who have fled to Bangladesh are in urgent need of medical and humanitarian assistance given the massive scale of the influx, Doctors Without Borders said Wednesday.

"Many of the arrivals have serious medical needs, such as violence-related injuries, severely infected wounds, and advanced obstetric complications," Pavlo Kolovos, the humanitarian group's head in Bangladesh, said in a statement. "Without a scale-up of humanitarian support, the potential health risks are extremely concerning."

One such person with severe injuries is Mohammed Jubair, 21, who, according to doctors treating him in the burns and plastic surgery department, is on his deathbed.

The right side of Jubair's face has been smashed up completely; the left has severe burns, as does his lower body.

He was fleeing his village in Rakhine with his five-year-old sister when Myanmar forces in a helicopter hurled a bomb at them on Aug. 26, killing the girl on the spot, according to his older brother, Nur Mohammed.

"Unlike me, my brother was carrying our young sister as we fled to the hills when the army came and started setting our houses on fire," he said. "I could move ahead faster, now Allah save my brother."

Like the attack on the village reported by Rasheed, it was not possible to independently verify Mohammed's account. (Reporting by Krishna N. Das; Editing by Philip McClellan)
BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jinping told President Emmanuel Macron on Friday he hoped France could play a "constructive role" in restarting talks on North Korea, state TV said. The French presidency said the two leaders had agreed in a telephone call on the need to put more international pressure on Pyongyang to get it back to the negotiating table and avoid a dangerous escalation. Chinese TV quoted Xi as saying: "The Korean peninsula nuclear issue in the end can only be resolved through peaceful means, including through dialogue and consultations." North Korea has tested a string of missiles this year, including one flying over Japan, and conducting its sixth and biggest nuclear test on Sunday. China hosted on-again, off-again six-party talks on North Korea, including Japan, Russia, the United States and the two Koreas, that fizzled out in 2008. Experts believe the isolated regime is close to its goal of developing a powerful nuclear weapon capable of reaching the United States, something U.S. President Donald Trump has vowed to prevent. Xi discussed North Korea in calls with Trump on Wednesday and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday. Trump has urged China, North Korea's only major ally, to do more to rein in its neighbor. (Reporting by Michael Martina and John Irish; Editing by Nick Macfie and Robin Pomeroy)
Three employees from a Cleveland Taco Bell reportedly opened fire on two armed robbers Wednesday, police said. The restaurant's branch owner, Arthur Giles, claimed the employees killed one of the robbers out of self-defense.

Two masked assailants entered the restaurant and instructed three works to lie on the floor. However, three additional employees pulled out handguns to protect themselves. The suspect that suffered a fatal injury was shot in the ribs six times, whereas the second suspect managed to run away by foot. No customers or Taco Bell workers were injured from the incident.

"Everyone at the store is okay, from my understanding," Giles told Cleveland.com Wednesday. "All the employees and all the customers are safe."

Members of the Cleveland Police Department's (CPD) Homicide Unit, along with the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner Office (CCMEO), arrived at the scene. De'Carlo Jackson, 24, was identified as the dead robber. He was reportedly found with a loaded gun in his hand before being transported to MetroHealth hospital, according to Time. His accomplice's identity still remains unknown.

"Taco Bell and Sigma Bell, LLC., the franchise owner of this Cleveland, Ohio location, are shocked this happened at the restaurant," a Taco Bell media representative told International Business Times Thursday. "Our franchisee is fully cooperating with the Cleveland Police Department in their investigation."

"The employees are very shaken up from yesterday's events, and our franchisee is offering them counseling," Taco Bell added.

The employees who utilized self-defense are said to be two 19-year-old men and a 23-year-old man. No charges or arrests have been made.

"Officers responded to the Taco Bell Restaurant at 1531 W. 117th street on Sept. 6, 2017 at approximately 2:45 a.m. for a robbery with shots fired," the CPD told IBT Thursday. "Upon arrival, one suspect was located on the floor near the counter with multiple gunshot wounds."

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"Officers administered first aid until the arrival of EMS. The suspect was conveyed to Metro Hospital where he was later pronounced deceased," CPD added.

The incident is still under further investigation by local law enforcement.

Taco Bell isn't the only restaurant to have an armed robbery experience, but they are among a select few that have employees effectively defend themselves from armed robbers.

Santucci's Restaurant in Warminster, Pennsylvania, was robbed at gunpoint Sept. 2. An armed, masked man forced staff members into an office and demanded money. The robber took an unknown amount of cash before fleeing the scene. The suspect has not been determined after local law enforcement completed a thorough investigation on the matter.

Employees and customers were forced by an armed robber to hide in a freezer at Ted's Montana Grill in Columbus, Ohio, Sept. 3. George Higgins, 32, was identified as the robber and arrested by the Columbus Division of Police SWAT. Higgins, a former employee of the restaurant, primarily stole money from a charity the establishment supports called No Kids Hungry, according to WBNS-10TV.

Taco Bell

Photo: Getty Images

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By Philip Pullella and Nelson Bocanegra VILLAVICENCIO, Colombia (Reuters) - Pope Francis urged Colombians skeptical of a peace deal with guerrillas to be open to reconciliation with those who have repented, speaking hours after a top rebel leader asked the pontiff for forgiveness. "Dear people of Colombia: do not be afraid of asking for forgiveness and offering it," he said, at an emotional meeting that brought together victims of the 50-year civil war with former guerrilla and paramilitary fighters. The Argentine pope, leader of the world's Roman Catholics, is visiting Colombia with a message of national reconciliation, as the country tries to heal the wounds left by the conflict and bitter disagreements over a peace deal agreed last year. Francis flew to the city of Villavicencio in Meta province, a vast cattle ranching area which was a hotbed of right-wing paramilitary and Marxist guerrilla violence during a conflict with successive governments. As he arrived, former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebel leader Rodrigo Londono, now the head of a new political party, issued an open letter to the pope asking for forgiveness for the suffering the group inflicted. [nL2N1LP0UZ] "Your repeated expressions about God's infinite mercy move me to plead your forgiveness for any tears or pain that we have caused the people of Colombia," Londono, who goes by the alias Timochenko, said in the letter. Tens of thousands of ecstatic people in this humid area of savanna and shantytowns packed the roads as the pope, riding in the front seat of a simple car, passed by on Friday morning after his plane arrived from the capital Bogota. The pope's afternoon prayer meeting in Villavicencio with about 6,000 survivors of the brutal conflict was the centerpiece of his five-day trip to overwhelmingly Catholic Colombia. He listened to personal accounts from four people, including a woman who joined a paramilitary group when she was 16, a former FARC guerrilla, and two victims of violence between the guerrillas and paramilitary squads. One of the victims, Pastora Mira Garcia, told how she lost her father, husband and two children in the conflict. To great applause she urged forgiveness to "break the cycle of violence" and said she could now "name the unnamable and forgive the unforgivable". On the wall of the stage was a destroyed statue of Jesus Christ recovered from a church attacked by the FARC in 2002 in the rain forest village of Bojaya. About 80 people were killed as they sought refuge from rebel bombings inside the humble church. The plaster figure, without arms or legs, has become an enduring symbol of the war. "As we look at it, we remember not only what happened on that day, but also the immense suffering, the many deaths and broken lives, and all the blood spilled in Colombia these past decades," the pope said. DEEPLY POLARIZED Conflict between right-wing paramilitary squads, Marxist rebels, and government forces since the 1960s has killed more than 220,000 people and left millions more displaced. Now Colombians are deeply polarized as they prepare to receive 7,000 former fighters, such as Londono, into society. Many are furious that under last year's peace deal, FARC leaders accused of kidnapping and murder will avoid jail sentences and may receive seats in congress as members of a new political party. [nL1N1DN22O] Francis addressed this hesitancy head-on. "Undoubtedly, it is a challenge for each of us to trust that those who inflicted suffering on communities and on a whole country can take a step forward," he said. "Let us heal that pain and welcome every person who has committed offences, who admits their failures, is repentant and truly wants to make reparation." As he left Villavicencio, he stopped to pray at the Reconciliation Cross, a memorial to survivors and those killed during the war, and planted a tree as a symbol of peace. Earlier, Francis celebrated a Mass for hundreds of thousands of people on a muddy field to beatify Pedro Maria Ramirez, a priest who was killed in 1948 during a period of political violence known as "La Violencia," and Bishop Jesus Emilio Jaramillo, killed in 1989 by the National Liberation Army (ELN) for suspected collaboration with the military. (Additional reporting by Helen Murphy and Anastasia Moloney in Bogota; Writing by Helen Murphy and Phillip Pullella; Editing by Alistair Bell)
A one-room schoolhouse from Billings earliest days will soon be converted into a drive-through coffee kiosk.

The building, at 4028 Central Ave., was sold along with the rest of the former Mark Cetrone Photography property in January. Buyer David Eggebrecht plans to call the coffee kiosk The Holy Bean and hopes to have it running by spring.

The developments are the most recent in a wave of change hitting the far West End, with corn and beet fields giving way to housing subdivisions. The area, located at Central Avenue and Shiloh Road, will soon be home to a new 126-unit apartment complex called Shiloh Commons. Shiloh Crossing, an outdoor shopping mall, is just a mile south.

Eggebrecht also owns the Shiloh Village Estates mobile home park across Shiloh Road from the newly bought property. He said that in addition to the coffee kiosk, the property will eventually include an ice cream and pizza parlor and a brewery. Eggebrecht plans to start the new ventures from scratch rather than lease the space to independent businesses.

Eggebrecht said the new coffee drive-through will have a nostalgic feel.

Were trying to keep it preserved as much as we can, he said. It is a landmark, you know.

The old schoolhouse was gutted by a fire set by vandals in July 2016. Eggebrecht plans to pour a new foundation for the building and retrofit the inside for coffee sales, but he hopes to keep as much the same as possible.

Last years fire damaged another, larger building on the property, which housed a vocational education center and served as a haunted house each Halloween before becoming home to the Cetrone photography studios. Most of the larger building will be demolished, but a couple of walls will remain and be used for the new restaurant and brewery.

Eggebrecht, a Billings native who lives part time in California, said hes not rushing those projects and doesnt have a timeline.

Lisa Centrone, former owner of the property, said the lot had been on the market for a couple of years and shed gotten plenty of interest in the late 19th century Shiloh School, which the Cetrone photography company used in photo shoots. Some people expressed interest in the building being preserved rather than torn down.

But Elisabeth DeGrenier, community historian at the Western Heritage Center, said that if its done right, local history buffs like seeing old buildings repurposed for new uses, including commercial.
A Democratic congressman has introduced a bill that would force the White House to announce any presidential pardons publicly within three days of being granted. But could President Trump really pardon someone in secret?

The short answer: In theory, yes.

Presidents have broad authority to issue pardons, as determined by the Constitution. Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution says presidents shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment.

The President doesnt need approval from anyone else in the government to issue a pardon, and can even pardon someone before theyve been formally charged with a crime, which is the key to answering this question.

In general, pardons are vetted by the Office of the Pardon Attorney in the Justice Department. But the regulations governing that process dont interfere with or supersede the presidents constitutional authority on this issue, which mentions nothing about needing to notify the public of a pardon.

Trump has already demonstrated that hes interested in the limits of his pardon power. He pardoned controversial former Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio without going through the typical lengthy pardon vetting process in the Department of Justice. And the Washington Post reported in July that Trump was asking around about his power to potentially pardon family members, aides or even himself in connection to special counsel Robert Muellers investigation. (On that last point: no, he probably could not pardon himself.)

Trump even tweeted on July 22 to note that the U. S. President has the complete power to pardon, showing that the issue has been on his mind.

While all agree the U. S. President has the complete power to pardon, why think of that when only crime so far is LEAKS against us.FAKE NEWS  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 22, 2017

Theres a real historical example of a secret pardon scandal on the state level. In 2003, it came to light that South Dakota governors had granted numerous pardons over decades, the names and records of which had been kept hidden under a 1983 law. It created an uproar in the state, the New York Times reports, and brought attention to the law, which said every document from arrest to conviction could be sealed after a pardon was granted.

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But thats a state law, so it wouldnt work the exact same way in the White House. If a recipient of a presidential pardon were indicted, the pardon would be revealed during the proceedings. The way a pardon could stay under the radar is if Trump pardons someone before theyve been charged with a crime. In that case, that person could have a presidential pardon in their pocket to use if they ever do get charged with a crime, but if they arent, the public wouldnt necessarily ever know.

Long-term secrecy is not the danger because if authorities ever attempt to file charges or pass a sentence, the pardon would come to light, Illinois Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, who introduced the bill to promote transparency in pardons, told TIME in a statement. The danger were facing is that President Trump could sabotage the Special Counsels investigation through pardoning his own aides and family members in secret before charges are filed. These pardons could fundamentally derail Special Counsel Muellers investigation because key witnesses could feel no obligation to speak to investigators due to the knowledge that President Trump had already shielded them from prosecution.

Whether or not its legally permissible, members of the White House have said that Trump isnt considering pardoning aides or family membersor himself.

The Presidents thinking about pardoning nobody, because it has been coming up a lot, former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci said in July after Trumps pardon tweet. Theres an undercurrent of nonsensical stuff.

The same day, Jay Sekulow, a member of the presidents legal team, said, We have not, and continue to not have conversations with the president of the United States regarding pardons. Pardons have not been discussed and pardons are not on the table.
President Donald Trump once said he got $17 million in a hurricane damage insurance payout for his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, but an Associated Press investigation couldn't find much evidence of the supposed damage.

The 2016 AP investigation is newly relevant as a massively powerful Hurricane Irma swirls toward Florida. The storm is expected to engulf much of the state, and Mar-a-Lago  where Trump often spends his weekends  is in the storm's path.

SEE ALSO: Reporters call out Trumps claim that he saw Harvey horror & devastation

During a 2007 deposition for a civil lawsuit that didn't have a whole lot to do with the insurance payment, Trump said he received the $17 million from an insurance policy and that the money went toward fixing up the "landscaping, roofing, walls, painting, leaks, artwork in the  you know, the great tapestries, tiles, Spanish tiles, the beach, the erosion," and added that the estate's "still not what it was."

He also mentioned that some of the insurance money went into his wallet, which was allowed based on the terms of the policy. However, the AP couldn't figure out which insurance company paid the bill, and the only confirmation of the payout amount is Trump's word at the deposition.

The payment allegedly comes from 2005, the year Hurricane Wilma hit Florida. Though the storm was powerful, the AP could only find evidence of some downed trees and missing roof tiles at Mar-a-Lago. The estate is valued at around $150 million, so, when you think about $17 million in damage, you'd think winds and water wrecked more than 10 percent of the structures and facilities.

Donald Trump Jr. got married there two weeks after Hurricane Wilma, which seems like an event unlikely to have taken place had Mar-a-Lago been the cracked, water-stained mess Trump seems to have claimed.

The AP also asked around, and couldn't find anyone who could come close to a reason for Trump's eight-figure claim.

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When reporters asked Mar-a-Lago member and former Palm Beach Mayor Jack McDonald about the sum, he said, "I am unable to comprehend $17 million in reimbursable damage."

Twelve years after Wilma, Mar-a-Lago is inside Florida's mandatory evacuation zones and is closed ahead of Irma.

NEW: An update from the Trump Organization on storm prep  Mar-a-Lago, which is in a mandatory evacuation zone, is closed #HurricaineIrma pic.twitter.com/KGo4X5KfoB  Betsy Klein (@betsy_klein) September 8, 2017

"Our teams at the Trump properties in Florida are taking all of the proper precautions and following local and Florida state advisories very closely to ensure that everyone is kept safe and secure," a Trump Organization spokesperson told CNN.
A DNA analysis has proven that there were female Viking warriors, so people shouldnt jump to conclusions about the roles of men and women in ancient societies, scientists say.

Experts had previously assumed a well-furnished warrior grave from the Viking era in Sweden was the burial site of a man, according to a study in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology, but a new genetic analysis on the skeletal remains inside suggest the warrior was a woman. The researchers say the warriors DNA did not have a Y-chromosome, thus marking a female because all women carry two X-chromosomes while men carry one of each. The finding confirms a previous and controversial study of the bones structure that had suggested the dead warrior was female and backs up unsubstantiated narratives from hundreds of years ago that describe male and female Vikings fighting together.

The grave is in southeastern Sweden, just outside of Stockholm. During the Viking Age, which ran from the late 8th century to the mid-11th century, the island town Birka where this warrior was buried was a key trading center for the Scandinavians, a cultural and economic hub for those people from modern-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden. That urban center was home to hundreds of people and it was a popular burial site, with more than 3,000 known graves surrounding the town, about a third of which have been excavated.

viking-grave

Photo: Evald Hansen/American Journal of Physical Anthropology

In the case of this female warrior, the study explained, her grave was prominently placed on an elevated terrace between the town and a hillfort, right near Birkas defensive fortress. It was excavated in the 1880s. The grave goods include a sword, an axe, a spear, armour-piercing arrows, a battle knife, two shields, and two horses, one mare and one stallion; thus, the complete equipment of a professional warrior. Furthermore, a full set of gaming pieces indicates knowledge of tactics and strategy, stressing the buried individuals role as a high-ranking officer.

There were Viking-era women whose graves contained weapons, but there was a debate about whether the weapons were simply buried with the deceased as heirlooms or if their male skeletons associated with the weapons were missing. This is the first confirmation of an important female warrior from that time.

Written sources mention female warriors occasionally, but this is the first time that weve really found convincing archaeological evidence for their existence, researcher Neil Price said in a statement from Uppsala University.

The researchers say that in addition to looking into the female Birka warriors DNA, they attempted to analyze the chemical isotopes in the bones to determine her mobility  a technique that relies on the fact that different environments leave different chemical signatures in people, hinting at where they came from and whether they moved around. The skeletons genetic material shows the female warrior is closely related to todays northern Europeans, particularly southern Swedes, but the results of the chemical analysis could not conclusively say whether she was local to her burial site during her life, although the scientists were leaning toward a mobile person who had moved to Birka later in life.

The identification of a female Viking warrior provides a unique insight into the Viking society, social constructions, and exceptions to the norm in the Viking time-period, according to the study. The results call for caution against generalizations regarding social orders in past societies.

While being buried with weapons doesnt necessarily mean the person was a warrior, the researchers argue in their study that all people buried in this manner should be viewed in the same way, regardless of sex.

What we have studied was not a Valkyrie from the sagas but a real life military leader, that happens to have been a woman, study leader Charlotte Hedenstierna-Jonson, from Stockholm University said in the statement.

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President Donald Trumps seaside resort Mar-a-Lago and the surrounding barrier islands have been ordered to evacuate as the ferocious Hurricane Irma approaches Florida.

Palm Beach County officials ordered that residents of the islands and low-lying areas should start to leave by 10 a.m. on Friday, the Miami Herald reported.

Around 125,000 people are thought to live in the area. All of Florida is under a state of emergency and the Miami-Dade, Broward and Monroe counties have also been ordered to evacuate.

Trump has not commented on the evacuation of the private club, but he did tweet to say that Irma was of epic proportion and told his followers to be safe and get out of its way, if possible.

Hurricane Irma is of epic proportion, perhaps bigger than we have ever seen. Be safe and get out of its way,if possible. Federal G is ready!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 8, 2017

An 11-bedroom mansion owned by Trump in St. Martin and the luxury home of Richard Branson on the Virgin Islands have already been destroyed by the now Category 4 storm.

Hurricane Irma has killed at least 14 people as it tore through the Caribbean, including Barbuda and Turks & Caicos, and is expected to arrive in Florida as early as Sunday morning.
Equifax issued a statement Friday saying that victims of a recent massive security breach wont have to waive their right to file a class action lawsuit against the company, after people noticed language buried in Equifaxs terms of service that barred customers from doing so.

We have made it clear that the arbitration clause and class action waiver included in the Equifax and TrustedID Premier terms of use does not apply to this cybersecurity incident, the company said in an update to its website.

Equifax announced Thursday that it had discovered in July it was the victim of a massive hack that exposed the personal information of an estimated 143 million Americans. Social Security numbers and credit card numbers were among the information exposed.

The company offered those affected by the hack a free one-year subscription to its credit-monitoring service TrustedID Premier. Those who opt to use Equifaxs free service will be charged after a year if they do not actively cancel their subscriptions.

Shortly after the announcement, people on social media pointed out the arbitration clause buried in the products terms of use, which bars customers from participating in any class action lawsuits against the company.

DO NOT SIGN UP FOR EQUIFAX'S CREDIT MONITORING "SOLUTION" TO ITS BREACH. YOU WAIVE THE RIGHT TO ENJOIN A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT.   Lauri Love  (@laurilove) September 8, 2017

You know you cant be part of the Equifax class action lawsuit if you use their credit monitoring service, because you read the ToS, right?  Johnny  Xmas (@J0hnnyXm4s) September 8, 2017

Don't sign up for the credit monitoring from Equifax. If you do you are agreeing to NOT join a class action lawsuit! Spread the word. pic.twitter.com/H4KJJw4h8Z  Kevin Nether (@TechNinjaSpeaks) September 9, 2017

Equifax clarified its terms of use after New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman on Friday called the language in question unacceptable and unenforceable.

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Later Friday, Schneiderman said he was launching a formal investigation into Equifaxs security breach and encouraged all of Equifaxs customers to reach out to the company to see if they were affected.

I am launching a formal investigation into the #Equifax breach. Today, I sent a letter to @Equifax seeking additional information. pic.twitter.com/qlZIs8OKnO  Eric Schneiderman (@AGSchneiderman) September 8, 2017

So far, two class action lawsuits against Equifax have been proposed, alleging that the credit monitoring company was negligent in protecting its customers private information and should have spent more money protecting the data against cyberattacks.

Also on HuffPost

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Limit Social Networking

Be careful with sharing your most basic information, such as full name and date of birth in your profile. As well, limit children's names, pet names and nicknames, which are often the basis for passwords and PIN numbers. You never know who might be out there trying to steal your identity.

Register To Vote At Your Current Address

If youre not registered, a criminal could register you at another address. When you move homes, always deregister and re-register at the new one. That way, the people who move into your previous home cant offer apparent proof that they are you.

Check Your Credit Report Often

Check your borrowings and repayment record to spot unfamiliar accounts and activity.

Keep Your Computer/Tablet/Phone Secure

Keep your antivirus software up to day and have a firewall running. As well, if you carry a laptop, tablet or phone don't leave it in your car or other places it may be tempting to thieves.

Know Your Online Scams

Learn about the latest online and email scams. If it sounds to good to be true, chances are it is a scam. Check out the top 10 scams of 2012.

Be Wary When Using E-Commerce

Know which sites are safe and stick to those. Use secure payment methods when online shopping. Watch out for banner and pop-up ads that ask you to register or purchase free software - these could be viruses.

Protect Your Passwords

Don't use the same password for every site you visit. Be careful if you record your passwords. Make sure they are in a secure place.

Be Careful When Away From Home

Suspend paper delivery while away. Thieves may see piled-up papers as an opportunity to steal your mail, which includes a wealth of identity info.

Watch Your Wallet Or Purse

When you're out and about keep an eye on your personal things. Make sure you don't leave them unattended, and be sure to close zippers and flaps.

Guard Your Receipts

Don't leave your receipts at the till or ATM. Cross check your credit card bills against the receipts.

Protect Your SIN

Don't carry your SIN card and don't hand out the number unless necessary.

Shred Unwanted Documents

Use a sheddar for disposing of old bills and records.

Get Rid Of Old Card

Don't carry more credit cards than you need and cancel unused accounts.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
Jared Letos wild style stood out, even among the floss and gloss of the Harpers Bazaar Icons party. (Photo: Getty Images)

Defying all logic and laws of physics, it seems, actor Jared Letos suit at the Harpers Bazaar ICONS party completely overshadowed everything else  for better or for worse. Depending on your particular style bent you might call Letos floral suit  replete with embroidered peak lapels  either bold, or you might call it brash. In either case, even among the perhaps most stylish and fashionable crowd in the civilized world, its something you will probably never unsee.

In an interesting turn of affairs, Letos suit nearly matched with the outfit of another party attendee (again, we said this whole thing seems to defy logic). Model Gigi Hadid showed up in a strikingly similar ensemble. No word on whether the two coordinated their looks.

Photo: Getty Images

As mentioned the crowd at the Harpers Bazaar event were some of the most fashionable around, running the gamut of stars, models, fashion designers, and socialites. Unlike some other high-profile fashion-friendly parties, there seemed to be no sensible theme or trend being broadcast. The fashion ranged from bold and garish (see above) to the ongoing lets-reveal-as-much-as-possible trend to generally classy and formal on down to what youd wear to pick up some milk at Whole Foods.

The Hamlin sisters and mom Lisa Rinna representing the leggy look and the underboob brigade

Photo: Getty Images

Winnie Harlow going for lace and fringe

Photo: Getty Images

Kendall Jenner carrying on the Jenner-Kardashian see-through tradition

Photo: Getty Images

Brooklyn Beckham just doing his thing, no big deal

Photo: Getty Images

Snoop Doggs son Cordell Broadus even wore a bathrobe

Photo: Getty Images

Back to our original topic: Jared Letos bold floral suit, as eye-catching as it is, is very much in line with the actors off-screen presentations. Hes become known for extravagance over the years. So perhaps it would have been much more groundbreaking if hed just shown up in some khakis and a polo shirt.

Read more from Yahoo Style + Beauty

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Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. For Twitter updates, follow @YahooStyle and @YahooBeauty.




Washington (AFP) - Donald Trump's former strategist Steve Bannon vowed in remarks aired Thursday to serve as the president's "wing man," willing to take on even the Catholic Church for its opposition to Trump's immigration policy.

A pugnacious defender of populist and nationalist policies, Bannon was ousted from office last month amid intense blowback over Trump's remarks on the violent protest in Charlottesville, Virginia. But he immediately returned to work with the right-wing Breitbart news outlet, promising to "go to war" for Trump.

In excerpts aired Thursday of an interview with CBS's program "60 Minutes," Bannon made clear that he relishes the prospect of defending Trump from outside the White House, proudly calling himself a "street fighter."

A Roman Catholic who said he respects church leaders on doctrinal matters, Bannon nonetheless took aim at American bishops for criticizing Trump's decision Tuesday to wind down the so-called DACA program that gives legal status to undocumented immigrants who entered the country as children.

"The bishops have been terrible about this," Bannon said. "They need illegal aliens to fill the churches."

- Says Cohn should resign -

Bannon said he alone among presidential aides had defended Trump's controversial remarks about the clashes between white supremacists and their opponents in Charlottesville -- the president found fault on "both sides" -- and Bannon called for Trump economic adviser Gary Cohn to resign after saying the president "must do better."

While Bannon said that neo-Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan are "absolutely awful," he supported Trump's comment that if statues of pro-slavery Confederate leaders are taken down, statues of founding fathers like George Washington could be next.

"Does it end in taking down Mount Rushmore?" Bannon asked. "Does it end at taking Churchill's bust out of the Oval Office?"

The full interview is set to air on Sunday.
When it comes to Russian propaganda, things are seldom what they seem. Consider the case of the Internet Research Agency.

The shadowy St. Petersburg-based online-influence operation came under fresh scrutiny this week after Facebook disclosed that entities linked to Russia had placed some 5,000 phony political ads on its platform during the 2016 election cycle. The IRA, which was the subject of a 2015 New York Times Magazine investigation, may have been behind many of the bogus Facebook ads, the company says.

Of course, things arent as simple as that. Russian corporate records indicate Internet Research Agency has been inactive since December 2016. But that doesnt mean that Russians no longer engage in such activity. According to Russia researchers at the liberal advocacy group Center for American Progress, theres reason to believe the Internet Research Agency is operating under a new name: Glavset.

A Russian tax filing reveals that Glavset, which launched in February 2015, operates out of the same office building---55 Savushkin Street in St. Petersburg---that once housed the Internet Research Agency. The filing lists Mikhail Ivanovich Bystrov, former head of the Internet Research Agency, as its general director.

These ties undermine the idea that IRA is no longer a threat, says Diana Pilipenko, principal investigator on CAPs Moscow Project. Its there," she says. "Its alive and well and operating.

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Glavsets ties to IRA have been reported in Russian media. Russian outlets have been following so-called troll farms, businesses that create fake social-media accounts to spread propaganda, since 2015, when an undercover mole documented an account of her time working for IRA in a Russian newspaper. Those ties are less well known in the US.

Its not clear whether Glavset purchased political ads on Facebook, or any other platform. A Facebook spokesman could not immediately say whether Facebook uncovered any ads placed by Glavset in the investigation it revealed Wednesday. That probe found 470 inauthentic pages and accounts affiliated with Internet Research Agency; Facebook turned that information over to special counsel Robert Mueller

Pilipenko says establishing the connection between IRA and Glavset---and identifying other entities connected to IRA---is crucial to understanding the scope of Russian propaganda efforts on Facebook and other social-media platforms.

"If Facebook has only identified ads purchased by one of these companies, there needs to be an immediate investigation into activity by everything in this 'Kremlebot' empire," Pilipenko says. "This may just be the tip of the iceberg."

Investigators probing Russias efforts to interfere with the 2016 election are asking similar questions, of Facebook and other internet companies. On Thursday, Democratic Senator Mark Warner called on Twitter to share what it knows about Russian entities purchasing ads on its platform. Twitter did not answer WIREDs request for comment. Meanwhile, Google said it has found no evidence this type of ad campaign was run on its platform. Finding this evidence, of course, requires knowing what to look for. As recently as July, Facebook was saying the same thing.

For now, Facebook has remained tight-lipped about how exactly it discovered the connection to Internet Research Agency. It is also not saying much about the substance of the ads or their reach, except to say they cut across the ideological spectrum and contained content related to divisive social issues like immigration and LGBT rights. But thats more forthcoming than some other tech giants. This unwillingness to share means that while every platform is facing the same threat, they are all working in silos to fix it. That may be good for one-upping the competition, but maybe less so for democracy.
Travelers check in at a United Airlines counter at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. The violent removal of a doctor from a United flight in Chicago in April was investigated by federal officials. (Photo: JOSHUA LOTT via Getty Images)

Federal officials have decided not to punish United Airlines over a violent incident in April when passenger David Dao was dragged off of a plane in Chicago to make room for airline employees.

The incident left Dao with a concussion, broken nose and two missing teeth, according to his attorney.

A letter dated May 12 and addressed to United said that the Department of Transportation found no evidence that the airline discriminated against any of the passengers  including Dao, an Asian-American physician from Kentucky  based on race or nationality. The letter also said that the conduct of the Chicago airport police was not part of the investigation.

According to the letter, a federal investigation did find that United had violated some rules on bumping passengers. The investigation also found that United violated federal rules by not providing Dao and his wife a copy of overbooking procedures, though it noted that United was unable to because Dao sought medical attention after being removed from the flight. Those violations didnt warrant a fine, the letter concluded.

The letter, written by a Department of Transportation lawyer, was obtained by the nonprofit Flyers Rights via a Freedom of Information Act request.

@United overbook #flight3411 and decided to force random passengers off the plane. Here's how they did it: pic.twitter.com/QfefM8X2cW  Jayse D. Anspach (@JayseDavid) April 10, 2017

Dao had already boarded United Express Flight 3411 from Chicago to Louisville, Kentucky, on April 9 when staff asked for volunteers to give up their seats to United employees who needed to be in Louisville the following day. United offered in exchange money and a hotel voucher. When no one volunteered, even after more money was offered, staff randomly selected four people to remove, including Dao.

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When Dao refused to leave the plane, saying he was a physician who needed to see patients in the morning, staff enlisted the help of law enforcement officers who forcibly yanked Dao out of his seat and dragged the doctor down the aisle, as seen in a widely viewed video of the confrontation.

Dao suffered a broken nose and required reconstructive surgery, according to his attorney Thomas Demetrio. Nearly three weeks after the confrontation, United reached a settlement with Dao for an undisclosed amount of money and took full responsibility for the incident.

The deal included Dao agreeing to not sue the city of Chicago, whose Department of Aviation police officers physically removed him, Demetrio told Crains Chicago Business.

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DUBAI (Reuters) - Five suspected al Qaeda militants were killed in drone strikes on two villages in Yemen's al Baida governorate on Saturday, a local official and residents said. "The strikes targeted two villages where al Qaeda is known to be active," a local official said, adding that a total of five were killed in the strikes in central Yemen. Residents said two suspected militants were killed when a drone targeted the car they were traveling in. Three people were injured in the strikes, they said. Yemen's al Qaeda branch, known as Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), has taken advantage of a more than two-year-old civil war between the Iran-aligned Houthi group and President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi's Saudi-backed government to strengthen its position in the impoverished country. The United States has repeatedly attacked AQAP with aircraft and unmanned drones in what U.S. officials say is a campaign to wear down the group's ability to coordinate attacks abroad. (Writing By Maha El Dahan; Editing by Ros Russell)
Nairobi (AFP) - On the inside Nairobi's Westgate mall is a shiny shopping centre, all sparkling glass shop fronts, Bose-conveyed muzak and boutiques stuffed with expensive imports. On the outside it is a fortress.

Four years ago, Islamic militants raided the mall killing at least 67 people. They tossed grenades over the balustrade from the pavement then stormed through the front entrance and up the car parking ramp shooting as they went. The modus operandi was reminiscent of the Mumbai attacks five years earlier.

Yet Westgate has drifted into what Caine Prize-winning Kenyan writer Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor describes as "our national propensity to amnesia for 'bad things'."

Two years after the mall reopened, Westgate remains glossy and new, as if nothing happened. There's plenty for the well-heeled shopper but not even a plaque for the dead.

"Westgate has been erased from the public imagination," says Patrick Gathara, a Kenyan cartoonist, blogger and curator of online publication The Elephant.

"The reopening of Westgate was a narrative of triumph. That we had won somehow."

On that clear September Saturday in 2013, the gunmen sought out non-Muslims and foreigners but their targeting was sloppy. They killed largely at will, for hours waylaid only by an ad hoc crew of plainclothes police and licensed civilian gun owners.

- Don't ask questions -

Today a repeat assault would be hard to pull off. Tall metal railings and thick bulletproof glass line the mall on the pavement side. There are metal detectors, sniffer dogs and dozens of security guards at the entrances but unarmed in line with Kenyan law. There is a 'No Stopping At Any Time' signpost close to where the terrorists stopped their car.

There are cosmetic changes on the inside as well. A gourmet burger joint where many died has moved from the ground floor terrace at the entrance to the third floor food court and replaced by a noodle bar.

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The ground floor atrium coffee bar has been revamped, the main cafe reconfigured and the superstore - all sites of slaughter -- relocated.

Other construction is still underway which means the rooftop car park where children and their parents were killed at a cookery competition is out of bounds.

Gathara has pushed repeatedly and unsuccessfully for a public enquiry to answer the questions around Westgate.

The government line was that security forces heroically battled as many as 15 terrorists, armed to the teeth, during a four-day siege.

But in reality there were just four gunmen, the security response was too late for most of the dead who were killed in the first hours. During the subsequent days, it is alleged soldiers looted shops and blasted open safes before blowing up the rear of the building.

The Government Printer, an obscure department housed in a musty downtown office, is stacked with the reports of commissions of enquiry and investigations conducted, written up, filed and forgotten. Gathara says he's often asked why he bothers, "rehashing these things that we really can't do anything about."

- Condemned to repeat the past -

Unlike the pure tragedies of Paris or Bamako, London or Barcelona, Kenyans know their security forces failed.

Worse still, the tragedy of Westgate has been sullied and cheapened.

This is one reason why Kenya has developed "a pathology of not only trying to forget but to obscure memory," said Billy Kahora, a writer and editor at the Kenyan literary network Kwani Trust.

"Just throwing these things under the rug means they come up again and again and you've learned nothing," says Kahora.

Two years after Westgate four more jihadist gunmen from the same Shabaab group attacked a university in the eastern town of Garissa. They held platoons of soldiers at bay while murdering 148 mostly young, Christian students.

When victims' families wanted to set up a memorial for the Westgate dead, they did so alone. A monument was put up in a forest, funded by private donations, and saplings were planted.

After the 2015 Garissa attack too it was left to family members and angry social activists to hold vigils. In both cases, the state was noticeably absent.

"All this trauma keeps piling up on people and at some point something's got to give," says Gathara.
Crystal McDowell went missing on Aug. 25, 2017. Her body was discovered on Saturday. (Photo: texasequusearchorg)

UPDATE: 11:08 p.m.  Steve McDowell, the ex-husband of realtor Crystal McDowell, was arrested and charged with murder on Saturday in connection with her death.

Sheriff Brian Hawthorne told the Houston Chronicle that authorities arrested the 44-year-old man based on circumstantial evidence and interviews with his ex-wifes friends and family, as well as a very forthcoming interview with the suspect.

Crystal McDowells body was located earlier on Saturday, according to Texas EquuSearch, which did not release any additional details.

#BREAKING: Steve McDowell arrested and charged in murder of Crystal McDowell. #khou11 pic.twitter.com/MtAZGGA2rP  Tan Radford (@tanstelevision) September 10, 2017

PREVIOUSLY:

BAYTOWN, Texas  Dozens of members of Texas EquuSearch, many of whom are still reeling from the effects of Hurricane Harvey, gathered in south Texas this week to search for missing realtor Crystal McDowell.

Several of our people have water in their homes or they are nearly destroyed, and they left what they were doing to come out here, Texas EquuSearch founder and director Tim Miller told HuffPost on Wednesday. We have about 100 people out here  ground searchers, ATVs, drones, boats and the list goes on.

McDowell, a 37-year-old mother of two from Baytown, was last seen on the morning of Aug. 25  the day before Harvey ravaged the area. She was captured on video leaving her boyfriends house and was reportedly on her way to pick up her children from her ex-husband, Steven McDowell. The Chambers County Sheriffs Office has said it does not believe the missing woman was a victim of the storm. Authorities suspect foul play in her disappearance, but have yet to name any suspects or persons of interest.

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A member of Texas EquuSearch searches for missing realtor Crystal McDowell. (Photo: Joseph Rushmore for HuffPost)

McDowells black C-class Mercedes was found on Aug. 27, submerged in water at a Motel 6 in Mont Belvieu. Authorities said they suspected it had been parked there prior to the storm.

About two dozen members of the Army National Guard joined EquuSearch, making their way through thick underbrush along West Bay Road in Baytown, north of Highway 99. Searchers focused on the Cedar Bayou and surrounding areas.

Information came in on the investigation that [authorities] want this area searched, Miller said. Were going where they want us to go and were spreading out from there.

Volunteers spent about 12 hours searching for McDowell on Wednesday and were back at it on Thursday morning.

We flew this area with two different kinds of aircraft, said Gene Robinson of Drone Pilot, Inc. We used high-resolution cameras, and when we came across things we had no way of identifying, we sent in ground crews with GPS coordinates.

Searches are ongoing this weekend.

Volunteer searchers use side scan sonar in Cedar Bayou. (Photo: Joseph Rushmore for HuffPost)

Miller coordinated the search efforts just days after rescuing members of his family who were trapped in a Dickinson attic with rapidly rising water.

My granddaughter calls and shes panicked, Miller told HuffPost of receiving a call from Natalie Weir, 28.

Grandpa, were in the attic, he recalled her saying. We called 911 and they cant even tell us when theyre going to get us. Weve got so much water down the stairs and they told us dont go down the stairs because the electric is still on, so you dont want to take a chance on getting electrocuted.

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Tim Millers granddaughter Natalie (front right), with other members of her family boating to safety in the aftermath of Harvey. (Photo: TIM MILLER/TEXAS EQUUSEARCH)

Two of Millers other grandchildren, a 1-year-old great-granddaughter, Millers ex-wife and a dog were also trapped. Miller, who had 4 feet of water in his own driveway, managed to get his boat running, and headed over to the house where his family was trapped.

At that point in time I was really fearing that I lost the remainder of my family, he said. Luckily, he and Texas EquuSearch member Oden Odie Walder were able to get everyone out safely.

Tim Miller, founder and director of EquuSearch, sits in his office in front of a portrait of his daughter, Laura, who was abducted and murdered in 1984. Miller founded EquuSearch in 2000 in honor of her. (Photo: Joseph Rushmore for HuffPost)

Miller said hes grateful his loved ones are safe, and that his heart now goes out to McDowells family.

We certainly feel the worst has happened and the sooner we find her the better chance there will be evidence for law enforcement to move forward with the investigation, he said. The biggest issue here is that she went missing before the storm got here. So, did she float into an isolated area thats more difficult to get to? Thats the challenge, but hopefully we can bring some closure to this case.

Crystal McDowell is described as 5-foot-4 and about 110 pounds. She has blonde hair and green eyes. She was last seen wearing a pink and purple dress. Her family is offering a $10,000 reward for information on her whereabouts.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Chambers County Sheriffs Office at 409-267-2500.

If youd like to support Texas EquuSearch, you can donate online.

Tips? Feedback? Send David Lohr an email or follow him on Twitter.

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Sabastian the sea turtle was found in July in a debilitated state in the Indian River Lagoon just south of the Sebastian Inlet near Melbourne, Fla.

He was brought to the Brevard Zoos Sea Turtle Healing Center, where he arrived emaciated and covered in barnacles, algae and leeches.

The center gave him nutritious food, vitamins, antibiotics, and helped clean him up, as well as getting treatment for intestinal parasites. Gabriel even gained 20 pounds.

After his two month stint in rehab, the experts felt it was time for Gabriel to return home to the ocean.

On Thursday morning, staff and volunteers from the center brought Gabriel to a beach in Melbourne and let him crawl back into the water.

Read: Center of the Storm: Simulator Shows What Happens in a Category 5 Hurricane

The experts were not concerned about Hurricane Irmas potential impact and danger to Gabriel.

Gabriel is a strong, healthy animal, said Melanie Stadler, the Zoos sea turtle program coordinator said in a statement. Sea turtles have been swimming in our oceans for millions of years and they are more than equipped to deal with this kind of weather.

Watch: Sea Turtle Named 'Rapunzel' Released Back Into Sea After It Was Found Tangled in Fishing Line

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All flights from Miami International Airport have been cancelled: AP

All flights have ceased operations in preparation for Hurricane Irma: that is the blunt message on the front page of Miami International Airports website.

The last take-off from the usually hyperactive airport was shortly before 10pm on Friday night: an Air Europa departure for Madrid.

There are no scheduled flights for Saturday and Sunday, says the airport.

Along the coast at Fort Lauderdale, it was a similar story. Well re-open as soon as possible, tweeted the airport.

UK airlines have cancelled many flights to Florida, and rescheduled others.

Going nowhere: Cancellations on the departure screen at Fort Lauderdale airport

Virgin Atlantic, British Airways and Thomas Cook Airlines are flying out to Orlando before the airport closes at 5pm local time on Saturday (10pm BST) to bring back several thousand passengers  mainly to Gatwick but also to Manchester, Glasgow and Stansted.

At nearby Sanford airport, the only departures on Saturday are Thomson Airways, flying passengers home to Bristol, East Midlands and Gatwick.

The Independent understands that the crew of the outbound flights which are operating will travel back on the inbound sector as passengers, rather than being stranded in Florida.

BA flew its planned Gatwick-Tampa flight today, but rescheduled the Boeing 777 jet so that it can leave the Florida city at 5pm, shortly before the airport closes.

British Airways is flying another 777 from London out to Bermuda to wait on the ground until Florida's airports re-open. Its crew will then fly to the state to pick up stranded passengers, and return to the UK.

Virgin Atlantic plans to operate several more rescue flights from Orlando as soon as it is safe to do so.

We dont yet know how long Orlando Airport will be closed for, said a spokesperson for Virgin Atlantic.

The Foreign Office is urging British visitors to Florida, the Carolinas and Georgia to follow the advice of the local authorities, including any evacuation orders.

The situation could deteriorate significantly, warns the latest travel advice bulletin.

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Our ability to provide assistance may be extremely limited. You should ensure you have your own contingency plans in place and consider your travel plans very carefully.

US airlines have been mounting airlifts to clear passengers from Florida. Delta sent Boeing 747 Jumbo jets from Detroit to help clear the the backlog.

British Airways has also cancelled Saturdays round-trip to Antigua due to a change in the path of Hurricane Jose.

Virgin Atlantic says: We anticipate being able to operate a rescue flight from Antigua on Sunday.

To bring passengers home from St Kitts, BA chartered two planes from the Caribbean airline, Liat, to fly them from St Kitts to Barbados. An empty aircraft was flown from London to bring them back from Barbados. It left the island at 5am and is due back at Gatwick at 6.30pm on Saturday.
Paris (AFP) - Hurricane Irma has caused more than $10 billion (8.3 billion euros) in damage across the Caribbean so far, making it the costliest storm ever to hit the region's island nations and territories, disaster risk experts said Friday.

Compiled by the Center for Disaster Management and Risk Reduction Technology (CEDIM) in Germany, the estimate covers a dozen island nations and territories hit by Friday, along with projections for the Turks and Caicos, which are on the hurricane's path.

"This will likely be a $10 billion loss across the Caribbean -- a huge loss," said James Daniell, senior risk engineer at CEDIM, and head of its Forensic Disaster Analysis Group.

The Caribbean tally is sure to rise as the super-storm hits the Bahamas on its way toward Florida, but already surpasses the costs -- excluding the United States and Mexico -- inflicted by Hurricanes Ike in 2008 and Hugo in 1989 (9.4 billion each, in 2017 dollars), Daniell said.

Hardest hit by Irma have been the Dutch Sint Maarten ($2.5 billion) and the US Virgin Islands ($2.45 billion), followed by Saint-Martin ($1.55 billion) and the British Virgin Islands ($1.4 billion).

The US territory Puerto Rico was not hit head-on by the storm, but is projected to sustain $790 million in damage, the CEDIM reported.

The $10 billion bill also excludes the more densely populated Dominican Republic and Haiti, which followed later on destructive path, and for which the tally is likely to be high.

The total bill for loss and damage could hit $120 billion once the United States is included, according to data modelling firm Enki Research.

Irma is projected to hit Florida late Saturday.
IBMs Watson AI software is best-known for winning at Jeopardy! in 2011. (IBM Photo)

IBM is making a 10-year, $240 million investment in artificial intelligence research through a new lab its creating in partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The investment will support research by IBM and MIT scientists at the newly created MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab in Cambridge, Mass., the two partners announced today.

Through this collaboration, we will target innovations that will move us beyond specialized tasks to more general approaches to solving more complex problems, with the added capability of robust, continuous learning, Dario Gil, IBM Researchs vice president of AI and IBM Q, said in a blog post.

Gil and MIT engineering dean Anantha Chandrakasan will be co-chairs of the lab, which will bring together more than 100 AI scientists, professors and students for joint research into AI hardware and software.

The aim will be to take advantage of big data and find better ways to augment human intelligence, Gil said. Health care and cybersecurity lead the list of potential applications.

In a statement, MIT President L. Rafael Reif said he was delighted by the collaboration.

True breakthroughs are often the result of fresh thinking inspired by new kinds of research teams, Reif said. The combined MIT and IBM talent dedicated to this new effort will bring formidable power to a field with staggering potential to advance knowledge and help solve important challenges.

This isnt the first IBM-MIT research collaboration: Last year, IBM Research said it would work with MIT neuroscientists to advance the field of machine vision, an important aspect of AI. IBM and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard also have a five-year, $50 million research collaboration on AI and genomics.

Neither is it the only case of a major corporation working with an academic institution on AI. For example, Amazon and Microsoft have each contributed $10 million to the University of Washington for a new Computer Science & Engineering building on campus, and both companies collaborate with UW researchers on AI projects.

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Artificial intelligence is one of the hottest frontiers in tech  not only for Microsoft, Amazon and IBM, but for Facebook, Google and a host of other companies as well.

Over the past week, two high-profile commentators from vastly different quarters drew attention to the high stakes of the AI race.

During a meeting with students in Yaroslavl, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the development of artificial intelligence raises colossal opportunities and threats that are difficult to predict now.

The one who becomes the leader in this sphere will be the ruler of the world, Putin said.

Elon Musk, the billionaire CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, took note of Putins comments and said many countries, including China and Russia, would soon be vying for AI supremacy, with potential military implications.

Competition for AI superiority at national level most likely cause of WW3, Musk tweeted. May be initiated not by the country leaders, but one of the AIs, if it decides that a preemptive strike is most probable path to victory.

However, the power of AI can sometimes be overestimated. Today a STAT investigative report said that IBMs Watson AI technology isnt living up to the lofty expectations IBM created for it in the field of cancer research.

More from GeekWire:
A 13-year-old rape survivor who was allowed to terminate a late pregnancy by India's Supreme Court has given birth to a pre-term baby boy, a doctor said Friday.

The teenager was 32 weeks pregnant, well beyond India's 20-week legal limit after which terminations are only allowed where there is a danger to the life of the mother or the baby.

On Wednesday in a rare ruling the top court had allowed the girl to terminate the pregnancy in view of the "trauma she has suffered... and the agony she is going through at the present", according to the copy of the order reviewed by AFP.

Nikhil Datar, a Mumbai-based doctor who had examined the girl earlier, said the doctors took a call to save the foetus, a decision they said was in line with the Supreme Court order.

"Terminating pregnancy as sought by the Supreme Court means discontinuing the pregnancy and not killing the foetus," Datar told AFP.

"The Court focused on mother's health as she is a minor and after the termination we have to accept the consequences as they come."

The baby, who is in intensive neonatal care, will be put up for adoption, the hospital said.

The girl, who cannot be named as per Indian law, was raped allegedly by her father's colleague who has been arrested.

In recent months courts have received a number of petitions from women -- including young rape survivors and trafficking victims -- seeking abortions where pregnancies had gone beyond 20 weeks.

Activists say the restriction should be extended to 24 weeks as victims of rape are often late to report their pregnancies.

India has a gruesome record of sexual assaults on minors, with 20,000 cases reported in 2015, according to government data.
The future of the Iran deal is again under question. President Donald Trump garnered much attention in July by stating he no longer wanted to certify that Iran is in compliance with the agreement, which is required by law to occur every 90 days and thus due again next month. European leaders reacted by affirming their support for the deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and the Iranian government responded by claiming that it was in compliance  but would take measures to accelerate its nuclear program if Washington were to stop its compliance. Meanwhile, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) certified Irans compliance again in June, weakening the presidents case.

But given the extraordinary threat that Iran poses with its expansionism in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and elsewhere, as well as the ongoing administration review of Iran policy, the status of the JCPOA cannot be sacrosanct.

Its clear that those within Trumps orbit are already thinking hard about the best way to remake U.S. policy toward Iran. Former Ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton recently published a detailed game plan for pulling out of the agreement and adopting a course of political pressure on Iran amounting almost to regime change. And this week, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley laid out the case for Irans non-compliance in a speech at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), without endorsing a specific action by the administration.

The Trump administration, Haley noted, sees the agreement as flawed because it is time-limited, front-loaded in Irans favor, and does not end enrichment. Thus, it does not totally exclude Irans path to the accumulation of sufficient fissile material for a nuclear device. Moreover, it does not effectively address prior nuclear weaponization efforts, which were left to an opaque side deal between the IAEA and Iran, which now blocks inspections of military facilities.

But a primary problem with the agreement, in Haleys view, is that it does nothing to curb Irans aggressive regional expansionism. This behavior, which profoundly worries every friendly Middle East leader, kicked into high gear just weeks after the JCPOA was signed in 2015. International agreements, particularly concerning weapons of mass destruction, are obviously important in themselves, but their strategic context should not be ignored. For example, while there has been little genuine angst over the Israeli nuclear weapons program, regional and global concern about Iranian nukes has been profound due to its destabilizing regional policies.

The Obama administrations behavior stoked Irans aggressive regional approach. U.S. officials in the previous administration were slippery on the issue of linkage between the agreement and Irans disruptive regional agenda. At times, such as a speech Vice President Joseph Biden made at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy in April 2015, officials argued that the agreement was simply concerned with nuclear restraints, and Irans regional behavior would be dealt with in other ways. But it never was  not in Syria, Yemen, or elsewhere. Rather, the administrations implicit position appeared best reflected in President Barack Obamas 2015 interview with the Atlantic, wherein he argued that the long game engendered by the agreement would help return Iran to respectability and calm the region, while also signaling that he was not overly troubled by Irans depravations. He opined that Saudi Arabia had to find a way to share the neighborhood with Iran, and that backing U.S. allies in the region too strongly against Iran would only fan the flames of conflict.

But Irans behavior is now too dangerous to ignore. Tehran has facilitated Bashar al-Assads scorched-earth policy, encouraged Russia to intervene in Syria, and abetted the rise of the Islamic State by allowing Assad and its clients in Iraq to oppress Sunni Arabs to the point of embracing the jihadist organization. While the JCPOA itself did not enable Irans regional policies or finance its expeditionary campaigns  which were well-funded before 2015  the agreement encouraged Irans behavior. Certainly its huge arms purchases from Russia would not have been possible under the oil export and foreign deposit sanctions, and the agreement gave Iran a seal of approval facilitating its aggressiveness.

Leveraging the Iran deal to pressure Tehran, or even negotiating a more restrictive agreement, may look at first blush like mission impossible. Despite the nibbling at the edges described above, there is as yet no serious Iranian JCPOA violation. Under these conditions, as Richard Nephew and Ian Goldberg argue in Foreign Policy, there is little likelihood that the United States could convince the agreements other signatories and third parties to again implement U.S. sanctions on Iranian oil exports, which brought Iran to the negotiating table last time.

While this fact seemingly argues for leaving the agreement alone, there are other considerations that the administration must take into account. This includes a looming crisis in the Middle East: The Iranian-Assad-Russian campaign for dominance in Syria, and the American-led Coalition campaign to destroy the Islamic State, are both coming to a close. This leaves the United States and its partners with the choice of pulling out of enclaves in Syria and northern Iraq, which were established to fight the Islamic State but useful to counter the Iranian alliance, or if not, face possible direct military confrontation with Iran and its surrogates in both countries, as they see these enclaves as obstacles to Iranian domination of the Levant. Under such circumstances, no aspect of Iranian relations, including the JCPOA, can be immune from a re-think.

The United States can take measures here short of a full-scale JCPOA annulment  which, given the difficulties imposing international sanctions, would likely be a diplomatic disaster. European allies, for example, recently joined the United States in challenging an Iranian missile test in defiance of U.N. Security Council Resolution 2231, which endorsed the JCPOA. The issue of blocked IAEA access to Iranian military facilities should also be reviewed.

Irans expectation of commercial benefits from the JCPOA is also its Achilles heel. The administration could discourage global firms from doing business with Iran by leaving open its final position on the deal, and thus placing at risk their business with America. This is a technical violation of the JCPOAs terms, but of the most unrealistic condition  the commitment to support Iranian economic development. While such actions would disappoint Iran, they are unlikely to drive Tehran from an otherwise beneficial agreement.

Furthermore, as Haley signaled in her AEI remarks, the law passed by the U.S. Congress requiring the president to certify that Iran is abiding by the Iran deal defines compliance more broadly than the JCPOA terms does. In contrast to the Iran deal, the president is required to certify that sanctions relief is in the vital national security interests of the U.S. The president thus could hold Iran in non-compliance under that act without necessarily stopping  or allowing Congress to stop  American compliance with the terms of the JCPOA. Under JCPOA Paragraph 36, the United States could also reinstitute token or partial sanctions in response to Iranian actions without pulling out of the agreement.

To many in the international community  especially Europe, but less so in the countries closer to Iran  such steps are anathema. But few if any countries really consider preserving the JCPOA their overriding interest in the Middle East: Even in Europe, what really impacts populations is threats from the Islamic State and unchecked refugee flows, which are largely a result of Irans policies in Syria. Moreover, a possible collapse of the U.S.-led Middle East security system by an unchecked Iran endangers them more than it does the United States.

No matter what Trump or another president does, the Iran deal is poised to run up against an uncomfortable political reality. Under the JCPOA, Congress must formally terminate sanctions  which until now have only been waived by the executive branch  by January 2024. It defies credulity to think that anything like todays Congress, given anything like Irans current behavior, would take such a step by 2024. But not doing so would violate a key JCPOA provision and block Iranian formal adherence to the Non-Proliferation Treatys Additional Protocol. Under these conditions, it may be feasible to pressure those in the international community favorable to the JCPOA to rethink overall relations with Iran, as the price for salvaging the agreements nuclear restraints.

ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images
Cuban doctors on a trip to Dominica to help after Tropical Storm Erika: Granma

Cuba has sent doctors to several Caribbean islands ravaged by Hurricane Irma.

More than 750 health workers have arrived in Antigua, Barbuda, Saint Kitts, Nevis, Saint Lucia, the Bahamas, Dominica and Haiti.

They have been told to follow the guidelines of the Ministry of Public Health (Minsap) and to contribute to aiding the recovery of regions that have been hit by the hurricane.

"The collaboration of the Central Medical Cooperation Unit, together with the Minsap Management Center, and our embassies, have maintained the communication to assess the damages and assess what help our own collaborators could provide," Regla Angulo Pardo, the director of the Central Unit of Medial Cooperation in Cuba, told Granma.

The nation of 11 million people has a history of sending medical staff when other nations are in need, having done so during west Africa's Ebola crisis in 2014 and 2015.

A brigade of more than 600 Cuban health workers went to Sierra Leone in 2014 to help tackle the crisis.

They also sent 1,200 health workers to Haiti after the nation was hit with an earthquake in 2010.

Cubas international medical mission has won the socialist state many friends.

This tradition can be traced back to 1960, when Cuba sent a group of doctors to Chile, who had been hit by a powerful earthquake, followed by a team of 50 to Algeria in 1963.
The syntax and language we use during natural disasters can have a huge impact, from communicating the severity of an approaching storm to post-disaster relief efforts, and the island of Barbuda is the latest example.

SEE ALSO: With Hurricane Irma, Miami could be facing its nightmare storm scenario

First, make no mistake: What Irma did to Barbuda was absolutely devastating. The tiny island that makes up part of the single nation of Antigua and Barbuda was slammed head-on by Hurricane Irma at its strongest, with maximum sustained winds of 185 mph and gusts that at times reached over 200 mph.

The hit was so direct, Irma so big, and Barbuda so small  at around 62 square miles  that the island fit completely in Irma's eye.

The huge eye of Category 5 Hurricane #Irma completely engulfed the island of Barbuda last night, captured by the Suomi NPP #VIIRS overpass. pic.twitter.com/BKNFgx8r4V  UW-Madison CIMSS (@UWCIMSS) September 6, 2017

The last 24 hours of Category-5 Major Hurricane #Irma via microwave imagery. Four islands have been engulfed by the "eye" of #Irma. pic.twitter.com/NNbygSXxeV  Michael Ventrice (@MJVentrice) September 6, 2017

Prime Minister Gaston Browne has already surveyed the damage, saying that roughly 95 percent of buildings on the island suffered damage, many being destroyed. Speaking to local media, Browne said, "The extent of damage in Barbuda is unprecedented."

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And the human devastation is still unknown: how many have died, how many have been hurt, making sure there are resources like clean water and food, medical supplies, etc.

According to Browne, half of the island's 1,800 residents are now homeless. The full carnage is still being surveyed and Browne is talking about evacuating residents to Antigua ahead of Hurricane Jose, which may strike the island Saturday. As of Thursday afternoon, there was just one confirmed fatality with the number expected to rise.

But, Thursday morning, a few hyperbolic headlines managed to do the unthinkable in over-estimating the damage to the island. Particularly, the New York Post, whose headline screamed, "Hurricane Irma wipes tiny Caribbean island off the map."

Barbuda still very much exists, though. Battered, bruised, and with long rebuilding ahead of it, but the suggestion that an entire island has been wiped away carries with it the implicit suggestion it's done, there's nothing to rebuild.

In a time when climate change is making very real changes to the globe's landscapes, though, it's important to make these differences clear. Not just for the sake of accuracy but to make sure that the general perception that's passed around isn't that this island  and its people  have ceased to exist.

If anything, these people will need the help and support of the international community now more than ever and that includes making sure the world is aware of their plight and recovery. Misleading hyperbole that so easily seeps into our brains from skimming social media and word-of-mouth is just another obstacle for Barbuda and unnecessary one at that.

Barbuda has been through hell and faces another test this week in Hurricane Jose. But they've survived before and will again. Just as New Orleans and Houston have and it's going to take keeping the same attention  and accuracy  on point to fully help.
Marigot (AFP) - Battered and weary after being pummelled by Hurricane Irma, terrified residents were on Saturday gearing up to face a second monster storm which was heading for the Caribbean.

"Return to the safest shelters before the hurricane arrives, and avoid areas which could flood," police in the French part of St Martin pleaded, only three days after it was ravaged by Irma.

Jose, a Category Four storm, will bring heavy rains and winds of 130 to 150 kilometres per hour (up to 93 miles per hour), meteorologists said.

But it is possible the storm could miss the islands of St Martin and St Barts when it hits later Saturday, and veer about 100 kilometres to the north.

Many on St Martin, a popular tourist destination with vibrant nightlife and pristine beaches which is divided between France and The Netherlands, will be wondering where to go.

Irma left at least 12 dead and hundreds injured across the island, and with the clean-up barely begun, authorities are struggling to get aid to the stricken population.

When the hurricane hit on Wednesday, it ripped off roofs and uprooted trees, tossing cars and boats about like matchsticks.

- Deadly debris -

Debris still clogs the streets, many homes are uninhabitable, communications are still down and tens of thousands are without food, water or power.

Dutch Navy commander Peter Jan de Vin said it was "an illusion" that islanders could prepare properly for Jose's arrival.

"Everything that is loose and lying around and which can be picked up by the winds and thrown around is a projectile that can injure or kill," he told the Dutch newspaper NRC.

On the southern Dutch half of the island, 70 percent of the infrastructure has been destroyed in the storm, officials said.

Sint Maarten's Prime Minister William Marlin told RTL television that repairs could take months. "We are expecting a huge drop in tourism. It will have a huge impact on our economy," he said.

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At the only fully-operational airport, located on the French side, exhausted women including one with a newborn baby, children and the elderly waited for flights out to nearby Guadeloupe or even mainland France.

Amid reports of looting, French and Dutch troops have also fanned out across the island seeking to restore order, while curfews are in place across several islands.

"The atmosphere is grim. People are walking around with weapons," De Vin said, while insisting that Dutch troops were "getting more of a grip on the situation".

- Armed gangs -

One Dutch holidaymaker told the Telegraaf tabloid that he and about 50 guests had barricaded themselves into their hotel in Philipsburg for safety.

"Groups of several people, sometimes whole families, are roaming the streets with knives and firearms," said Dick Algra, 61.

"Shops are being broken into and everything carted away."

Another tourist, Iwan IJzer from Amsterdam, said guests were hunkering down in two large windowless rooms in his hotel.

"The toilets, unfortunately, can't be flushed as there is no water. So we have brought sea water in a large container," he told Dutch broadcaster NOS. Other hotels looked like a "bomb had gone off".

- Race against time -

In a race against time, Dutch and French troops and aid workers have been sent to the region.

Photographs showed lines of people, some standing in the sea, helping to unload aid packages hand-to-hand at the damaged port.

The French interior ministry said some 1,105 people had been deployed including police, troops, firemen, health workers, and electrical engineers.

The Netherlands has sent two military planes full of troops and aid to the island, while the Red Cross and KLM also sent a plane with 60 tonnes of supplies, the military said.

Authorities on the British Virgin Islands and Anguilla, both self-governing British territories, were also racing to clean up the devastation before the arrival of Hurricane Jose.

Britain on Saturday confirmed six deaths in its Caribbean territories as Irma passed.

"We're trying to get rid of most of the debris seeing as we're going to be facing Jose in a few hours," said Sherrie Brooks, an officer with the Royal Anguilla Police Force.

"We're praying for no kind of disaster, we just don't need it, we cannot deal with that right now."
Janet Jackson  shown here in 2016  is impressing everyone wiht her post-baby body in 2017. (Photo: Getty Images)

Janet Jackson, 51-year-old empress of the Rhythm Nation gave birth to her first child Eissa just about 8 months ago. Now that Ms. Jackson is out and about for the launch of her new concert tour, folks are finally getting a look at what kind of shape she is in. Fans from all over the world, as it turns out, are amazed at what theyve seen. No less than Kim Kardashian  not unfamiliar with the travails of a post-baby body in the public eye  gave Jackson a public shout-out today.

Posting a pic from the Lafayette, Louisiana, leg of Jacksons State of the World tour, Kardashian simply stated, Wait can we take a minute to appreciate @JanetJackson and how amazing she looks after JUST having a baby!!!!

Wait can we take a minute to appreciate @JanetJackson and how amazing she looks after JUST having a baby!!!! pic.twitter.com/suj3wRCJTi  Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) September 9, 2017

Eight months seems like a decent amount of time to get a body back in shape  especially for a person of Jacksons means  with the added motivation of going on a world tour. Regardless, the bounce-back and shape-up Jackson revealed are remarkable.

In between fans suspecting plastic surgery in the mix  in particular on Kardashians Twitter feed  plenty of people decided to look at Jacksons post-baby body reveal as inspiration and testament to Jacksons strength and presence as a pop icon.

She looks 'amazing' because of post baby plastic surgery- pathetic that our young women idolize false gods like the Kardashians & Jackson's  barbara davidson (@photospice) September 9, 2017

She can loose weight like no other  Kiwamna brown (@Kiwannambrown) September 9, 2017

Yes lets!!! What a bounce back! She didn't play no games! She's showing us all how it's done!  Bri (@KimKDelRey) September 9, 2017

Interest in the affairs of Jackson didnt rest simply on her physical appearance, however. She is, after all, on tour and her musical performance is impressing folks just as much as her bounce-back.

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Janet over here not missing a beat and looking youthful as ever #SOTW pic.twitter.com/h62Sno0mN3  Chris (@byalienmeans) September 8, 2017

Jackson is also being lauded for taking time from the tour to drop in on evacuees from Hurricane Harvey, along with a slew of other stars, including Houston native Beyonce, Demi Lovato, and others.

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Former Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, who helped establish the program that shielded some 800,000 undocumented immigrants from deportation, has joined the growing list of groups suing to keep it in place.

On Friday, Napolitano, who now serves as the president of the University of California system, announced that lawyers had filed a lawsuit against the Trump Administration for ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, known as DACA, on behalf of her and the school system.

At the University of California, we see the exceptional contributions young dreamers make every day, Napolitano said on a conference call with reporters. They really represent the spirit of the American dream.

The lawsuit accuses the Trump Administration of failing to follow proper administrative procedures and violating the due process rights of University of California students, around 4,000 of whom are undocumented, by so quickly ending the program. The lawsuit also claims the Administrations decision, which was announced by Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Sept. 5, is not supported by reasoned decision making.

On the call with reporters, Napolitano also said that in deciding to phase out the DACA program over the next six months, the Trump Administration had dashed the dreams of immigrants across the U.S. Those who benefit from DACA were usually brought to the U.S. by their parents as children and some have few connections to their country of origin.

The U.C. California suit is the latest filed against the Trump administration over the DACA decision. Earlier this week, attorneys general from 15 blue states and D.C. filed a suit asking a federal judge to strike down Trumps rescission of DACA. The attorneys general claim that the decision was grounded in racial animus based on statements Trump made about Mexicans during the 2016 campaign for the White House.

As former Secretary of Homeland Security, Napolitano is uniquely positioned to challenge the Trump Administration. In fact, it was her 2012 memo establishing DACA that was rendered moot by Acting Secretary Elaine Duke on Sept. 5. Napolitano said Friday she is confident in her challenge because the program was designed through a careful legal analysis and it has never been deemed illegal by a U.S. court.

Though the suit has been filed, Napolitano said Friday she would still encourage any DACA recipient whose deferral or work permit is set to expire by or before March 5, 2018 to apply to have those documents renewed by the Oct. 5 deadline. Napolitano said shes also calling on Congress to come up with a legislative solution to DACA, which President Trump has also asked for.
Former Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), a fiscal moderate who, as chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, presided over the passage of the Affordable Care Act, expressed his support on Thursday for the creation of a single-payer health care system.

My personal view is weve got to start looking at single-payer, Baucus said in remarks at Montana State University, according to the Bozeman Daily Chronicle. I think we should have hearings... Were getting there. Its going to happen.

Single-payer health care, in which the federal government insures all citizens through one large program, is a model for universal coverage in many developed countries, including Canada, France and Australia. But it has long been viewed as a pipe dream in the United States, where a plurality of people receive coverage from their employers.

Baucus endorsement of the idea speaks to just how dramatically the health policy debate has shifted within the Democratic Party in recent years  particularly since the 2016 presidential run of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who made what he called Medicare for all a central issue of his campaign.

Baucus was the subject of progressive frustration for his stewardship of the ACA, also known as Obamacare. Critics argued that he held the bill in committee far too long in hopes of winning the support of moderate Republicans who did not end up voting for the final bill. The lengthy negotiation period he initiated gave Republicans much-needed time to mobilize opposition to reform, according to Baucus detractors.

Obamacare itself relies on a hybrid model, once favored by conservative policy experts, that combines the creation of a new private, individual insurance marketplace and an expansion of Medicaid.

Given Baucus history as a fiscal moderate active in the ACAs passage, his positive remarks about single-payer could provide a boost to progressive activists agitating for its implementation.

As Senate Finance Committee chairman, Baucus ruled out consideration of single-payer from the beginning, and declined to invite the testimony of single-payer advocates at hearings. The latter decision prompted disruptive protests from activists, and Baucus later said that he regretted not engaging more with the policys proponents.

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In September 2009, Baucus also voted against two amendments that would have created a public health insurance option on the Obamacare individual insurance exchanges.

Baucus kept single-payer off the table during the development of Obamacare because he believed the country was not ready for it at the time, he told NBC News on Friday.

I just think the time has come, Baucus said. Back in 09, we were not ready to address it. It would never have passed. Here we are nine years later, I think its time to hopefully have a very serious good faith look at it.

Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), a moderate who represented Montana alongside Baucus from 2007 to 2014, also expressed openness to single-payer this week.

Maybe its something we should, quite frankly, take a solid look at, Tester said Wednesday.

Tester does not support single-payer legislation, however. When Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), aiming to put Democrats in an awkward political position, introduced a trick amendment creating a single-payer system to the Obamacare repeal bill, most Democratic senators voted present on the motion, but Tester was one of four Democratic senators to vote no on it.

Former Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.)  a moderate who vehemently opposed creating a public health insurance option during the passage of Obamacare  told HuffPost that unlike Baucus, he believes it is unlikely we will get a single-payer system in the foreseeable future.

Single-payer is improbable, Conrad argued, because funding a federal health insurance program would cost taxpayers so much and because medical providers are so opposed to radically transforming the system.

Instead, he said, the best system combines universal coverage with private not-for-profit insurance with the government assisting those who cannot afford insurance.

He also favors empowering Medicare to negotiate bulk discounts on prescription drugs, just as the Veterans Affairs health care system does.

Former Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) now says he supports the creation of a fully public federal insurance program. (Photo: Kim Kyung Hoon / Reuters)

In addition to Sanders presidential run, the collapse of Republican efforts to repeal Obamacare has increased grassroots energy behind single-payer as activists seek to go on the offensive. Progressive pressure groups like Credo have launched efforts to make support for the policy a litmus test for 2020s Democratic presidential candidates.

Single-payer now has more support in Congress than at any other time in recent history. Single-payer legislation introduced by Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) has more co-sponsors than ever, with the support of a majority of the House Democratic Caucus.

Sanders plans to unveil a much-anticipated version of single-payer legislation next Wednesday. Sens. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), a rumored 2020 presidential contender, and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) have already announced plans to co-sponsor the bill.

Polling suggests that the idea of single-payer is popular with the public, especially among Democrats. In a May 2016 Gallup poll, 58 percent of Americans and 73 percent of Democrats said they supported replacing the ACA with a federally funded healthcare program providing insurance for all Americans.

Even elected Democrats who remain wary of single-payer have begun trying to capitalize on the ambitious proposals popularity. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus political action committee, Bold PAC, has repeatedly alluded to the Medicare for all fight in fundraising e-mails  even though half of the 30 CHC members have yet to actually endorse single-payer, and the PAC does not make support for the policy a condition for its financial support.

Of course, it is much easier to talk about single-payer than to actually implement it. Replacing the current system with one large federal program would require a massive tax increase in exchange for what advocates believe would result in net cost reductions thanks to the governments considerable bargaining power.

It would also force the nearly half of Americans who get insurance from their jobs to enroll in a new government program. Given the outcry that Obamacare elicited for canceling the plans of a fraction of that number of people, enacting single-payer would likely prove an extraordinary political challenge.

In the meantime, though, the excitement around single-payer has already widened the spectrum of acceptable debate about health care. Expansions of coverage that once seemed radical now seem downright moderate by comparison. In August, Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) announced plans to introduce legislation allowing Americans of all ages and incomes to buy into Medicaid. And earlier this week, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) revealed his intention to introduce a bill creating a comparable universal buy-in option for Medicare, which he said may be the fastest way to a single-payer system.

This article has been updated with comments from Tester and Conrad, as well as additional comments from Baucus.

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Taking Security Seriously

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) talks with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) before the start of a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing concerning the roles and responsibilities for defending the nation against cyberattacks, on Oct. 19, 2017.

With Liberty And Justice...

Members of Code Pink for Peace protest before the start of a hearing where U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions will testify to the Senate Judiciary Committee in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on Oct. 18, 2017. Committee members questioned Sessions about conversations he had with President Donald Trump about the firing of former FBI Director James Comey, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy, the ongoing investigation about Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and other subjects.

Whispers

Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), right, speaks with Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) before a confirmation hearing for Christopher Sharpley, nominee for inspector general of the CIA, on Oct. 17, 2017.

Not Throwing Away His Shot

Lin-Manuel Miranda, creator of the musical "Hamilton," makes his way to a meeting of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies in the Rayburn Office Building during a round of meetings to urge federal funding for the arts and humanities on Sept. 13, 2017.

Medicare For All

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), center, speaks on health care as Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), left, and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), right, listen during an event to introduce the Medicare for All Act on Sept. 13, 2017.

Bernie Bros

Supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) pack his office on Sept. 8, 2017. Members of the "Draft Bernie for a People's Party" campaign delivered a petition with more than 50,000 signatures to urge the senator to start and lead a new political party.

McCain Appearance

Sen. John McCain, second from left, leaves the Capitol after his first appearance since being diagnosed with cancer. He arrived to cast a vote to help Republican senators narrowly pass the motion to proceed for the replacement of the Affordable Care Act on July 25, 2017.

A Narrow Win

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, center, speaks alongside Sens. John Barrasso, left, John Cornyn, right, and John Thune, rear, after the Senate narrowly passed the motion to proceed for the replacement of the Affordable Care Act on July 25, 2017.

Kushner Questioning

Jared Kushner, White House senior adviser and son-in-law to President Donald Trump, arrives at the Capitol on July 25, 2017. Kushner was interviewed by the House Intelligence Committee in a closed-door meeting about contacts he had with Russia.

Hot Dogs On The Hill

Rep. Frank Lucas (R-Okla.) prepares a hot dog during the American Meat Institute's annual Hot Dog Lunch in the Rayburn Office Building courtyard on July 19, 2017.

And Their Veggie Counterparts

Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) visits the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals veggie dog giveaway on July 19, 2017, countering a National Hot Dog Day event being held elsewhere on Capitol Hill.

Poised For Questions

Callista Gingrich, wife of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, waits for a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on her nomination to be the U.S. ambassador to the Vatican on July 18, 2017.

Speaking Up

Health care activists protest to stop the Republican health care bill at Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on July 17, 2017.

In The Fray

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) speaks to members of the media after announcing the revised version of the Senate Republican health care bill on Capitol Hill on July 13, 2017.

Anticipation

Christopher Wray is seated with his daughter Caroline, left, as he prepares to testify at a Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on his nomination to be the next FBI director on July 12, 2017.

Up In Arms

Health care activists protest to stop the Republican health care bill at Russell Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on July 10, 2017.

Across A Table

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) meets with South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Capitol Hill on June 29, 2017.

Somber Day

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) speaks about the recent attack on the Republican congressional baseball team during her weekly press conference on Capitol Hill on June 15, 2017.

Family Matters

Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), right, and his sons, Jack, 10, and Brad, arrive in the basement of the Capitol after a shooting at the Republican baseball practice in Alexandria, Virginia, on June 14, 2017.

A Bipartisan Pause

Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), right, coach of the Republican congressional baseball team, tells the story of the shooting that occurred during a baseball practice while he stands alongside Rep. Mike Doyle (D-Pa.), left, a coach of the Democratic congressional baseball team on June 14, 2017.

Hats On

Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.) reacts about the shooting he was present for at a Republican congressional baseball practice in Alexandria, Virginia, as he speaks with reporters at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on June 14, 2017.

Public Testimony

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions is sworn in to testify before a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Capitol Hill on June 13, 2017.

Comey's Big Day

Former FBI Director James Comey testifies before a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Russia's alleged interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election on Capitol Hill on June 8, 2017.

Conveying His Point

U.S. Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats testifies at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on his interactions with the Trump White House and on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act on June 7, 2017.

Selfie Time

Vice President Mike Pence takes a selfie with a tourist wearing a "Make America Great Again" hat inside the U.S. Capitol rotunda on June 6, 2017. The vice president walked through the rotunda after attending the Senate Republican policy luncheon.

Budget Queries

Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney testifies before the House Budget Committee about President Donald Trump's fiscal 2018 budget proposal on Capitol Hill on May 24, 2017.

Flagged Down By Reporters

Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, leaves a closed committee meeting on Capitol Hill on May 24, 2017. The committee is investigating possible Russian interference in the U.S. presidential election.

Shock And Awe

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) hold a news conference on the release of the president's fiscal 2018 budget proposal on Capitol Hill on May 23, 2017.

Seeing Double

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Honoring Officers

President Donald Trump speaks at the National Peace Officers Memorial Service on the West Lawn of the Capitol on May 15, 2017.

Whispers

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Skeptical

Former acting Attorney General Sally Yates arrives to testify before a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election on Capitol Hill on May 8, 2017.

Differing Opinions

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Real Talk

United States Naval Academy Midshipman 2nd Class Shiela Craine (left), a sexual assault survivor, testifies before the House Armed Services Committee's Subcommittee on Military Personnel with (2nd from left to right) Ariana Bullard, Stephanie Gross and Annie Kendzior in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill on May 2, 2017. Kendzior, a former midshipman, and Gross, a former cadet, were both raped twice during their time at the military academies. The academy superintendents were called to testify following the release of a survey last month by the Pentagon that said 12.2 percent of academy women and 1.7 percent of academy men reported experiencing unwanted sexual contact during the 2015-16 academic year.

In Support Of Immigrants

Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chair Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-N.M.), center, is joined by dozens of Democratic members of the House of Representatives to mark "Immigrant Rights Day" in the Capitol Visitor Center on May 1, 2017 in Washington, D.C. The Democratic legislators called on Republicans and President Donald Trump to join their push for comprehensive immigration reform.

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
Any fan of Keeping Up With the Kardashians knows by now that Kim Kardashian Wests first two pregnancies were no easy battle. Both North West and Saint Westthe realty TV stars children with husband Kanye Westwere considered high-risk pregnancies, and Kardashian West shared the struggles she faced every day of each pregnancy with fans on the E! reality series and through social media.

So its not all that surprising that Kardashian West and her rapper husband would opt to conceive their third child through the use of a surrogatea person who agrees to carry and deliver a baby for someone else, whether with their own eggs or ones that have already been fertilized via in vitro.

Kanye West and Kim Kardashian are expecting their third child via surrogate

Larry Busacca/Getty Images

On Monday, People magazine confirmed the couple were expecting a new babya girl, according to a sourcewith the help of an African-American woman who is said to be in her 20s. While details about the surrogate are being kept under wraps, TMZ reported the woman has some experience with childbearing and is a mother of two young boys whom she shares with her husband of five years.

Given Kardashian Wests previous trials with carrying a baby, the couples decision to have another through the use of a surrogate is understandable. After all, surrogacy is a common practice for people who have trouble conceiving or cant bear children like, for instance, same-sex couples or people who are infertile.

While it is unknown how much Kardashian West, 36, and her 40-year-old husband of three years are paying their surrogate, one thing is certainthey can afford to pay whatever it may cost.

Surrogacy prices can vary depending on who you are and where you are. There are laws prohibiting surrogacy in some states, which has resulted in wealthy parents-to-be paying top dollar for overseas surrogates. But the overall costs to hire someone to have a baby on your behalf are inevitably high. Reproductive Possibilities, a surrogacy agency in New Jersey, estimates in-vitro fertilization surrogate pregnancy costs anywhere from $60,000 to $80,000.

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Those who can't afford such costs can always turn to adoption, which also could be a pricey option, or give up their procreation dreams entirely.

With more than 415,000 children in the U.S. living in foster care, according to 2015 data from the Childrens Bureaus Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System, adoption costs range anywhere from $8,000 to $40,000.

Its unclear how many children in the U.S. are born each year through a surrogatedata on the subject is incredibly limitedhowever, an estimated average of nine children are born through surrogates in each state each year, according to Modern Family Surrogacy, a parenting and surrogacy agency in California. A 2013 Reuters report found nearly 1,600 babies were born through surrogates in the U.S. in 2011 alone, although the figures could be higher because not all reproductive clinics are required to report figures.

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Paris (AFP) - Hurricane Irma regained strength to a Category 4 storm on Sunday as it began pummeling Florida and threatening landfall within hours.

The eye of the Category 4 storm slammed into the lower Florida Keys and was 15 miles (24 kilometers) southeast of Key West as of 7:00 am local time (1100 GMT), bringing winds up to 130 miles per hour and threatening dangerous storm surges.

The storm was expected to move along or near Florida's southwest Gulf coast later Sunday and into Monday.

Authorities in the state have ordered more than 6 million people to evacuate.

At least 25 people have been killed since Irma began its devastating march through the Caribbean earlier this week.

It made landfall in Cuba's Camaguey archipelago late on Friday.

A second Category 4 hurricane, Jose, followed part of Irma's track, but spared the storm-hit Caribbean islands of St Martin and St Barts, which had already suffered catastrophic damage from Irma.

Jose is expected to veer north and pose no threat to the United States.

- Toll from Irma -

The death toll stands at least 25: 12 in the French island of St Barts and the Dutch-French territory of St Martin; six in British Caribbean islands; at least four in the US Virgin Islands; at least two in Puerto Rico; and one in Barbuda.

The International Red Cross says 1.2 million people have already been affected by Irma -- a number that could rise to 26 million.

The bill for loss and damage could hit $120 billion (100 billion euros) in the United States and Caribbean, according to data modelling firm Enki Research.

- Barbuda -

Irma hit the tiny Caribbean island of Barbuda on Wednesday with winds up to 295 kph. The island suffered "absolute devastation," with up to 30 percent of properties demolished, Prime Minister Gaston Browne said.

One person is known to have died on the island of 1,600 residents, apparently a child whose family was trying to get to safer ground.

- St Barts, St Martin and Anguilla -

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Irma then slammed into the holiday islands of St Barts and St Martin, wielding monster winds and torrential rain.

St Martin is divided between France and the Netherlands. France said 10 people had died on its side of the island, while the Netherlands said the storm killed two on the Dutch side, called Sint Maarten.

On the Dutch side, 70 percent of the infrastructure has been destroyed.

In the British archipelago of Anguilla, one man was crushed to death in a house collapse.

- British Virgin Islands -

Five people have been killed in the British Virgin Islands, according to the local government.

Just east of Puerto Rico, it is home to roughly 28,000 people and includes British billionaire Richard Branson's Necker Island.

- US Virgin Islands -

At least four people have been killed in the US Virgin Islands, officials told AFP.

- Puerto Rico -

At least two people were killed in the US territory of Puerto Rico, and more than half of its three million residents were without power after rivers broke their banks in the centre and north of the island.

- Dominican Republic -

Some 20,000 people were evacuated and more than 2,000 homes affected by floods in the Dominican Republic, the eastern part of the island of Hispaniola, which is also shared with Haiti.

- Haiti -

Irma brought flooding and caused several injuries in Haiti, but passed further north than had been forecast, sparing the impoverished island the worst. A number of roads were washed out.

- Cuba -

Irma made landfall on the island's Camaguey Archipelago late Friday, knocking down power lines, uprooting trees and ripping the roofs off homes.

Authorities said they had evacuated more than a million people as a precaution, including about 4,000 in the capital.

Ambulances and firefighters patrolled streets littered with hunks of roofs, power lines and tree branches brought down by strong winds that blasted over Cuba on Saturday.

- Irma: Where next? -

Irma roared in to the Florida Keys early Sunday, tracking along the peninsula's western coast, which faces the Gulf of Mexico, rather than the more heavily populated Atlantic side, according to the US National Hurricane Center.

The US military is mobilising thousands of troops and deploying several large ships to help with evacuations and humanitarian relief.

A state of emergency has been declared in the states of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Virginia. Georgia ordered the evacuation of the city of Savannah and other coastal areas.

- Hurricanes Jose and Katia -

Hurricane Jose, after strengthening to Category 4 status, passed 135 kilometres (83 miles) north of St Barts and 125 kilometres from Saint Martin.

France's meteorological agency had issued its highest warning, saying Hurricane Jose could become a "dangerous event of exceptional intensity".

But "thanks to a passage which was further away than anticipated, the effects on the territory were markedly less," the meteorological agency said.

Another hurricane, Katia, made landfall in eastern Mexico late Friday killing two people, just as the country grappled with the deaths and damage inflicted by its worst earthquake in a century.

burs/wdb/boc
Leslie Van Houten, the 68-year-old American murderer who was serving a life sentence in relation to the killings of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca was granted parole by a California parole board on Wednesday. It was the 21st time that Houten appeared before the parole board.

The parole decision will now be reviewed by the Governor of California, Jerry Brown, who may decide to modify, approve or uphold the decision, and in case any action isn't taken, Van Houtens parole would stand.

LaBiancas nephew Louis Smaldino was particularly miffed and opposed the decision of granting any parole to the Manson family. No member of the Manson family deserves parole, ever. She is a total narcissist and only thinks of herself and not the damage she has done, he said.

Van Houten who was 19-years-old when she was convicted of brutally murdering supermarket executive Leno and his wife Rosemary LaBianca, was arrested a couple of weeks after the incident and later convicted at the Charles Manson trial.

Being the youngest defendant at the original trial that took place, it was speculated that Van Houten could receive a recommendation for mercy, which she subsequently lost as she giggled during the testimony about the murders. After this incident, she was sentenced to death in March 1971 along with Manson and two others, Susan Atkins and Patricia Krenwinkel, and became the youngest woman that was ever sentenced to death in California.

The execution, however, was halted in 1972 because of a Supreme Court ruling which stated that the death penalty was unconstitutional in 1972. In 1977, Van Houten was awarded a retrial which was rendered pointless as the jury could not agree upon a verdict. A third trial was then awarded to Van Houten where she was first set free on bail but later found guilty again. It was during this third trial that she was asked to serve a life sentence with a possibility of parole.

Van Houten was the youngest member of the Manson Family, that terrorized California in the late 1960s. Its cult leader Charles Manson was convicted and found guilty of seven murders in 1971, including that of actress Sharon Tate, who was eight months pregnant at the time.

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Van Houten, who was born in a middle-class church going family in Los Angeles was traumatized after her parents got divorced when she was 14. She later became pregnant when she was 17 years old. She later dropped out of school and adopted a hippie lifestyle and started living in a commune.

It was at this commune in Northern California that she started living with Catherine Share and Bobby Beausoleil. Van Houten then later joined Mansons cult at the age of 19 with her roommate, Share. According to a report in the Independent, Houten was influenced by Manson because she was captivated by his appeal and regarded him as Jesus Christ.

Post her arrest after the La Bianca murders in December 1969, Van Houten provided adequate information about the Manson family. She also helped identify the people who were responsible for killing Tate after which she admitted to having knowledge of the LaBianca murders. Today, after more than four decades of imprisonment, Van Houten has turned out to be a model prisoner and has also earned several college degrees while serving her time.

This is not the first time that Van Houtens parole is hanging by a thread. Her application was over ruled by the Governor last year too, because she had failed to explain how a first rate teenager from a fairly privileged family turned into a merciless killer, after she was granted parole by a similar panel at the California Institution for Women in Chino, California.

At the hearing, Van Houten spoke about pinning down Rosemary La Bianca and stabbing her multiple times. "I don't let myself off the hook. I don't find parts in any of this that makes me feel the slightest bit good about myself," she said in her hearing, as reported by TIME.

However, Van Houtens lawyer put Share on the stand in Los Angeles this week, so as to increase the parole chances. Share then shared with the parole board that Van Houten was very young and vulnerable at the time she joined the cult. She also mentioned how Manson threatened to have her (Share) tortured and killed if she tried to leave. "Some people could not leave. I was one of them that could not leave," said share, TIME reported.

Share ended her testimony by saying that she regretted encouraging Houten to join the cult.

However, there have been arguments and petitions from both the Tate and LaBianca families, over the years, against granting parole to her or any other Manson follower who was responsible for the killings.

None of the convicts of the murder trial have been freed with Van Houten being the first one who was granted parole.

While Susan Atkins, a woman involved in the killings died in jail in 2009, Charles Manson, the mastermind, now 82, remains in custody, currently serving multiple life sentences in California State Prison in Corcoran, California.

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Maseru (Lesotho) (AFP) - When rival officers gunned down Lesotho's army chief and were then killed by his bodyguards, hopes that the mountain kingdom had escaped its cycle of violence also perished.

The shoot-out this week at a military barracks in the capital Maseru underscored the struggle between the military and politicians over who is in control.

Elections in June were meant to be a fresh start after years of efforts by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) regional group to strengthen democratic governance in the tiny nation engulfed by South Africa.

But the bloody gunfight left the SADC exasperated at Lesotho's continued record of political violence.

"We have a problem of long drawn-out politicisation of the army," National University of Lesotho political science lecturer Mafa Sejanamane told AFP.

"Politicians plot, murder and steal public resources without fear of consequences as a result of their alliance with elements of the military."

The officers who died on Tuesday after killing army commander Khoantle Motsomotso were also suspected of involvement in the 2015 killing of former army chief Maaparankoe Mahao.

SADC had called for their prosecution over Mahao's murder -- provoking stiff resistance from the military elite and the previous government of prime minister Pakalitha Mosisili.

Criminal charges became more likely when Mosisili lost power in the June election to Thomas Thabane, who was aligned with Mahao.

Thabane has vowed to implement the SADC's recommendations on prosecutions and on major army reforms -- making enemies within the military and in Mosisili's camp.

- Vendettas and factions -

The competing factions, which stretch across the military and politics, pursue a tit-for-tat vendetta that was further reinforced by the recent election -- the third vote since 2012.

"Only the rule of law and the depoliticisation of the security forces, as well as harnessing of regional support, could end Lesotho's troubles," political analyst Nthakeng Pheello Selinyane told AFP.

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Selinyane said a key player behind the unrest was former army chief Tlali Kamoli, who was sacked in 2014, then led soldiers in an apparent coup attempt where they seized control of police headquarters.

Kamoli was later reinstated before being forced to retire last year.

"Kamoli was openly voicing hatred towards Prime Minister Thabane ... while enjoying the opposition's cheers," Selinyane said.

A SADC report into the 2014 crisis stated that the Lesotho military had a "disregard of civilian rule" dating back to a coup in 1986.

The new government admits the army has held the levers of power in Lesotho, a country with a population of just two million.

"The military can only be brought to order through the unadulterated implementation of the SADC recommendations on reforms," Home Affairs assistant minister Machesetsa Mofomobe told AFP.

SADC has since sent a rapid-response team to Maseru to investigate the shoot-out, expressing dismay that the region's high hopes for the election may have been dashed.

"From the SADC point of view, we thought that the Lesotho problem had ended" with the election, said South African President Jacob Zuma, reacting to the army commander's death.

Stable government would help Lesotho tackle its gruelling poverty and the world's second-highest HIV rate, but its politicians and military look set to be preoccupied by in-fighting for years to come.
At least 32 people were killed after a massive 8.1 magnitude earthquake, one of the biggest recorded in Mexico, struck off the country's southern coast late on Thursday, causing cracks in buildings and triggering a small tsunami, authorities said.Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto said in a press conference that the quake was the biggest to strike the country in a hundred years, larger even than a huge temblor that struck in 1985, killing thousands.Enrique Pena Nieto: Desafortunadamente, se tiene reporte de personas fallecidas. Mis mas sentidas condolencias para sus familiares.Chiapas Governor Manuel Velasco Coello said four people in his state had been reported to have died, including a child, adding that there had been 12 aftershocks. He advised people to evacuate their homes due to the tsunami warning.A number of buildings suffered severe damage in parts of southern Mexico. Some of the worst initial reports came from the town of Juchitan in Oaxaca state, where sections of the town hall, a hotel, a bar and other buildings were reduced to rubble.Alejandro Murat, the state governor, said 23 deaths were registered in Oaxaca, 17 of them in Juchitan.A spokesman for emergency services said seven people were also confirmed dead in the neighboring state of Chiapas. Earlier, the governor of Tabasco, Arturo Nunez, said two children had died in his state.WavesThe quake triggered waves as high as 2.3 ft (0.7 m) in Mexico, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said. Mexican television showed images of the sea retreating about 50 meters, and authorities evacuated some coastal areas.President Enrique Pena Nieto said the tsunami risk on the Chiapas coast was not major.There was no tsunami threat for American Samoa and Hawaii, according to the U.S. Tsunami Warning System. The national disaster agency of the Philippines put the country's eastern seaboard on alert, but no evacuation was ordered.The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said the 8.1 magnitude quake had its epicenter in the Pacific Ocean, 54 miles (87 km) southwest of the town of Pijijiapan in the impoverished southern state of Chiapas, at a depth of 43 miles.The USGS has reported at least five aftershocks so far, with magnitudes ranging from 4.9 to 5.7."It's a big quake. It's about 70 miles offshore, but it's not an unheard of quake," Randy Baldwin, a geophysicist at the U.S. Geological Survey National Earthquake Information Center, told NBC News in a phone interview, noting that the mid-American trench has producing a lot of big quakes in the past.Luis Felipe Puente: #Atencion en zonas bajas de #Oaxaca y #Chiapas ante probabilidad de oleaje de una altura de hasta de 4.2 metros."Any time that you have a large quake like this, that is shallow, you can expect aftershocks to occur for even the next several months," he later told CNBC. Reuters reported that people in the capital Mexico City ran into the streets after the quake, adding later that parts of the city were without power. Mexico City is more than 500 miles from the quake's epicenter. The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said that the quake was also felt in Belize and Guatemala. It estimated that the population in the "felt area" was around 90 million people.ESMC: Map of the testimonies received so far following the #earthquake M8.0 Offshore Chiapas, Mexico 40 min agoClasses were suspended in schools in Mexico City, Chiapas, Oaxaca, Puebla, Tiaxcala, Guerrero and Edomex to review the infrastructure, Mexico's Secretary of Public Education Aurelio Nuno said via Twitter.In a preliminary report, the National Institute of Anthropology and History said there didn't appear to be any damage to archaeological areas.Mexico's Secretary of Communications and Transportation Gerardo Ruiz Esparza said that national airports were in operating condition.Pena Nieto said that operations at the Salina Cruz refinery were suspended temporarily as a precaution, Reuters reported. At least 32 people were killed after a massive 8.1 magnitude earthquake, one of the biggest recorded in Mexico, struck off the country's southern coast late on Thursday, causing cracks in buildings and triggering a small tsunami, authorities said. Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto said in a press conference that the quake was the biggest to strike the country in a hundred years, larger even than a huge temblor that struck in 1985, killing thousands. Enrique Pena Nieto: Desafortunadamente, se tiene reporte de personas fallecidas. Mis mas sentidas condolencias para sus familiares. Chiapas Governor Manuel Velasco Coello said four people in his state had been reported to have died, including a child, adding that there had been 12 aftershocks. He advised people to evacuate their homes due to the tsunami warning. A number of buildings suffered severe damage in parts of southern Mexico. Some of the worst initial reports came from the town of Juchitan in Oaxaca state, where sections of the town hall, a hotel, a bar and other buildings were reduced to rubble. Alejandro Murat, the state governor, said 23 deaths were registered in Oaxaca, 17 of them in Juchitan. A spokesman for emergency services said seven people were also confirmed dead in the neighboring state of Chiapas. Earlier, the governor of Tabasco, Arturo Nunez, said two children had died in his state. Waves The quake triggered waves as high as 2.3 ft (0.7 m) in Mexico, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said. Mexican television showed images of the sea retreating about 50 meters, and authorities evacuated some coastal areas. President Enrique Pena Nieto said the tsunami risk on the Chiapas coast was not major. There was no tsunami threat for American Samoa and Hawaii, according to the U.S. Tsunami Warning System. The national disaster agency of the Philippines put the country's eastern seaboard on alert, but no evacuation was ordered. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said the 8.1 magnitude quake had its epicenter in the Pacific Ocean, 54 miles (87 km) southwest of the town of Pijijiapan in the impoverished southern state of Chiapas, at a depth of 43 miles. The USGS has reported at least five aftershocks so far, with magnitudes ranging from 4.9 to 5.7. "It's a big quake. It's about 70 miles offshore, but it's not an unheard of quake," Randy Baldwin, a geophysicist at the U.S. Geological Survey National Earthquake Information Center, told NBC News in a phone interview, noting that the mid-American trench has producing a lot of big quakes in the past. Luis Felipe Puente: #Atencion en zonas bajas de #Oaxaca y #Chiapas ante probabilidad de oleaje de una altura de hasta de 4.2 metros. "Any time that you have a large quake like this, that is shallow, you can expect aftershocks to occur for even the next several months," he later told CNBC. Reuters reported that people in the capital Mexico City ran into the streets after the quake, adding later that parts of the city were without power. Mexico City is more than 500 miles from the quake's epicenter. The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said that the quake was also felt in Belize and Guatemala. It estimated that the population in the "felt area" was around 90 million people. ESMC: Map of the testimonies received so far following the #earthquake M8.0 Offshore Chiapas, Mexico 40 min ago Classes were suspended in schools in Mexico City, Chiapas, Oaxaca, Puebla, Tiaxcala, Guerrero and Edomex to review the infrastructure, Mexico's Secretary of Public Education Aurelio Nuno said via Twitter. In a preliminary report, the National Institute of Anthropology and History said there didn't appear to be any damage to archaeological areas. Mexico's Secretary of Communications and Transportation Gerardo Ruiz Esparza said that national airports were in operating condition. Pena Nieto said that operations at the Salina Cruz refinery were suspended temporarily as a precaution, Reuters reported.



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Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak on Saturday said Rohingya Muslims face systematic violence including torture, rape and murder in Myanmar.

Predominantly Muslim Malaysia has spoken out strongly against mostly Buddhist Myanmar over its treatment of its Rohingya minority since violence erupted last October.

In the past 15 days, nearly 300,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh after raids by Rohingya militants triggered a Myanamr security forces crackdown in Rakhine state.

"Based on the reports we have received, (the Rohingya) are discriminated and no mercy is accorded to them," he told reporters at the Subang Airforce base on the outskirts of the capital Kuala Lumpur.

"Actually, it is done in a planned manner so that they are tortured, discriminated, killed and raped," he added.

Earlier Najib witnessed the deployment of two airforce cargo planes with food and medical supplies to the port city of Chittagong in Bangladesh.

"We are sending two planes with biscuits, rice and soap. Malaysia will do whatever it can to help since this is a huge disaster," he said.

Najib also said a reconnaissance team would arrive in Dhaka on Monday consisting of diplomats and military officers to identify further assistance needed by the Rohingya.

Malaysia's armed forces chief said Saturday that Kuala Lumpur would provide a 200-bed military field hospital in Bangladesh if the government there granted permission.

Describing Myanmar's inaction to halt the violence against innocent civilians as "rather disappointing", Najib said he will raise the Rohingya humanitarian tragedy with President Donald Trump on September 12 during an official visit to the White House.

"We have to help because the Rohingya tragedy has reached terrible proportions," he said.

On Friday, the powerful youth wing of Najib's dominant Malaysia's ruling party led a noisy street protest urging Kuala Lumpur to sever diplomatic ties with Yangon.

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Malaysia on Tuesday summoned the Myanmar ambassador to voice its "deep concern" over the situation in Rakhine state, where witnesses said entire villages have been burned.

Over 1,000 people -- more than twice the government's total estimate -- may already have been killed in Rakhine, mostly Rohingya, said Yanghee Lee, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar.

As of June this year, there are 59,100 Rohingya refugees registered with the UN Refugee Agency in Malaysia.

jsm/amz
Photo credit: HBO

From Esquire UK

Of all the characters on Game of Thrones, the mysterious Red Priestess Melisandre has certainly been the most difficult to pinpoint. She gave birth to a shadow baby! Remember that? She took off that necklace and turned into an old hag! Yeah, that was just a continuity error! She literally killed a child. Oh, and she resurrected our hero Jon Snow. She's all over the place. And when we last saw her in Season Seven, she shot a not-so-subtle threat at Varys before announcing that she was going to sail across the Narrow Sea to Volantis, which is one of the Free Cities of Essos. But that's not the last we'll see of her-she told us as much. "I will return, dear Spider, one last time," she said to Varys. "I have to die in this strange country, just like you."

Ohhhh, ominous. So what's going to happen when Melisandre is back in town, besides die? Well, she has a pretty major role to play.

As we know, she's a Red Priestess in the religion of R'hllor, the Lord of Light, which has played a supporting role throughout the series, but has never been fully explained. Volantis is home to one of the largest Red Temples in the religion of R'hllor, and also happens to be where Kinvara-the Red Priestess we met in Season Six-is from. If you'll recall, Kinvara met with Tyrion and told him she believed that Daenerys is the Princess That Was Promised. She also agreed to convince her people to follow Daenerys, which is great news, because she's kind of a big deal where she's from (her full title is High Priestess of the Red Temple of Volantis, the Flame of Truth, the Light of Wisdom, and First Servant of the Lord of Light). Considering they're both going to converge in Volantis and they're both part of the same crew and they both believe in Daenerys' cause-it's safe to assume Melisandre and Kinvara will team up.

And that's a good group to have on their side! As fans have pointed out, Volantis is guarded by a massive army called the Fiery Hand, which Tyrion sees in A Dance With Dragons. The army is described as such:

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The Fiery Hand is a group of slave soldiers employed as guards for the red temple of R'hllor in the Free City of Volantis. The Fiery Hand are all Slaves of R'hllor and wear ornate armor over orange robes. They wield spears whose points are shaped as writhing flames. Their faces are branded with tattoos of flames.Their number is one thousand; never more, never less.

Sounds pretty awesome, except for the whole slave part. But, if the followers of the religion of R'hllor are the crazed zealots we've come to know, they'll certainly travel across the sea to fight for someone they believe is the Princess That Was Promised.

Plus, wouldn't it all-around be a pretty good thing to have a group of magic people who worship fire fight a group of ice zombies who are vulnerable to fire? Also, remember they can resurrect people? Also, remember the shadow baby Melisandre used to kill a king? Yeah, do that again please. Problem solved.

[h/t: Time]

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By David Alire Garcia and Jose Cortes JUCHITAN, Mexico (Reuters) - At least 61 people died when the most powerful earthquake to hit Mexico in over eight decades tore through buildings and forced mass evacuations in the poor southern states of Oaxaca and Chiapas, triggering alerts as far away as Southeast Asia. The 8.1 magnitude quake off the southern coast late Thursday was stronger than a devastating 1985 temblor that flattened swathes of Mexico City and killed thousands. The tremor rattled Mexico City and shook Guatemala and El Salvador, but the Oaxacan town of Juchitan bore the brunt of the disaster, with sections of the town hall, a hotel, a church, a bar and other buildings reduced to rubble. Dalia Vasquez, a 55-year old cook, said she watched emergency workers haul the bodies of her elderly neighbor and her middle-aged son from their collapsed home. Her own house was badly damaged. Frightened by the possibility of aftershocks, she planned to sleep with dozens more in the streets and parks. "We have nothing now. We don't have any savings," she said. President Enrique Pena Nieto flew to the battered town to oversee rescue efforts. The town's mayor, Gloria Sanchez, called it "the most terrible moment" in Juchitan's history. Facades of shattered buildings, fallen tiles and broken glass from shop fronts and banks littered the pavements of Juchitan while heavily armed soldiers patrolled and stood guard at areas cordoned off due to the extent of the damage. Startled residents stepped through the rubble of about 100 wrecked buildings, including houses, a flattened Volkswagen dealership and Juchitan's shattered town hall. Scores paced the terrain or sat outside warily, mindful of the frequent aftershocks and reliving the night's terror. "It was brutal, brutal. It was like a monster, like a train was passing over our roofs," said Jesus Mendoza, 53, as he milled about in a park across from the damaged town hall. Alma Rosa, sitting in vigil with a relative by the body of a loved one draped in a red shroud, said: "We went to buy a coffin, but there aren't any because there are so many bodies." All the deaths were in three neighboring states clustered near the epicenter that lay about 70 km (40 miles) off the coast. At least 45 people died in Oaxaca, many of them in Juchitan, while in Chiapas the count reached 12 and in Tabasco four people lost their lives, according to federal and state officials. In Chiapas, home to many of Mexico's indigenous ethnic groups, thousands of people in coastal areas were evacuated as a precaution when the quake sparked tsunami warnings, but only two-foot waves were produced by the quake. State oil company Pemex said there was no structural damage to it's 330,000 barrel-per-day Salina Cruz refinery, which it had shut down as a precaution, but it said it was checking problems in the electrical system before restarting the plant. WOKEN IN THE NIGHT At least 250 people in Oaxaca were also injured, according to agriculture minister Jose Calzada. Classes were suspended in much of central and southern Mexico on Friday to allow authorities to assess the impact. Dozens of schools were damaged, officials said. People ran into the streets in Mexico City, one of the world's largest metropolises and home to more than 20 million, and alarms sounded after the quake struck just before midnight. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake's epicenter was 54 miles (87 km) southwest of the town of Pijijiapan at a depth of 43 miles (69 km). John Bellini, a geophysicist at the USGS National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colorado, said it was the strongest quake since an 8.1 temblor struck the western state of Jalisco in 1932. Across the Pacific, both the Philippines and New Zealand were on alert for possible tsunamis. OUTAGES, AFTERSHOCKS Windows were shattered at Mexico City airport and power went out in several neighborhoods of the capital, affecting more than 1 million people. The cornice of a hotel came down in the southern tourist city of Oaxaca, a witness said. Mexico City is built on a spongy, drained lake bed that amplifies earthquakes along the volcanic country's multiple seismic fault lines. The 1985 earthquake was just inland, about 230 miles from Mexico City, while Thursday's was 470 miles away. Authorities reported dozens of aftershocks, and President Pena Nieto said the quake was felt by around 50 million of Mexico's roughly 120 million population. Mexico is evaluating whether the quake will trigger a payout from a World Bank-backed catastrophe bond, Finance Minister Jose Antonio Meade said on Friday. Meade said the bond's coverage could reach $150 million, depending on magnitude and location. But he said Mexico has sufficient funds to pay for a cleanup whether the bond was triggered or not. (Reporting by Mexico City Newsroom; Writing by Dave Graham; Editing by James Dalgleish, Jonathan Oatis & Shri Navaratnam)
Miami Beach stands out on the long list of cities most vulnerable to the risks of climate change  including sea level rise and hurricanes  as one of the few that has actually taken meaningful steps to prepare. Three years ago, the city launched an elaborate $500 million plan to elevate streets and install pumps that remove water during times when the city would otherwise flood.

But as Hurricane Irma approached the city carrying wind speeds topping 150 mph, Miami Beachs mayor had a simple message for the citys 100,000 residents: leave immediately.

It remains to be seen how Miami Beach will fare  theres still an increasingly slim possibility that the storm shifts direction  but the city offers a cautionary tale about the nature of climate change and human adaptation. Scientists expect the most extreme weather events to happen with increased frequency in the coming years, and human adaptation can only offer so much cover. No sea walls or water pumps can adequately prepare for the most dangerous storms.

Were headed for a total environmental catastrophe if we just keep doing this, Harold Wanless, a geology professor at the University of Miami, said last year of failure to address man-made climate change. Its going to get messy, and its not just high tide.

The challenge lies in adapting to both the everyday challenges of climate change and the potential for extreme events. Until recently, streets in Miami Beach flooded frequently even without rain  called sunny day flooding  as water seeped in through the ground. Those floods, which are exacerbated by sea level rise attributed to warmer temperatures, are a major annoyance for residents and businesses, even if they do not immediately threaten human life or cause widespread destruction of property. The pumps, along with the elevated streets, solved the frequent flooding problem, at least for now, but did little to protect against a hurricane like Irma.

I dont think there has been such a focus on the extremes, in part because of what you would need to do to combat them, says Robert Muir-Wood, chief research officer at RMS, a risk modeling company. You would need to build walls around the edge of Miami Beach, you would need to block off every possible way in which water can come through land, through pipes and through natural cavities in the rock.

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Many engineers and scientists remain skeptical that such a solution would be technologically feasible, given the difficulties of plugging the porous limestone that forms the citys foundation. And, even it were feasible, engineers say its cost would likely be prohibitive.

That difficult reality has driven many critiques of Miami Beachs adaptation efforts. Officials in the region acknowledge that pumping water will not work forever if humans do not reduce greenhouse gas emissions and, in turn sea level rise, but they hope that the aggressive program will buy them time. Weve been tasked with run before you crawl, said Miami Beach Public Works Director Eric Carpenter last year.  Weve won the first battle, but we still have a long way to go.

Unfortunately, hurricanes like Irma may force the next battle sooner rather than later.

Correction: The original version of this story misstated the status of the $500 million Miami Beach is spending to prepare for climate change. The city is in the process of spending the money, but has not spent all of it yet.
By Tom Polansek CHICAGO (Reuters) - Monsanto Co filed a petition on Thursday asking Arkansas agricultural officials to reject a proposed date next year that would end sprayings of the herbicide dicamba, which has been linked to crop damage across the U.S. farm belt. A state task force recommended last month that Arkansas bar sprayings after April 15, 2018, to protect plants vulnerable to the chemical, after farmers complained that soybeans and other crops were damaged when the weed killer drifted away from where it was sprayed this summer. The recommendation amounts to an "unwarranted and misinformed ban on dicamba" because the chemical is designed to be sprayed during the summer over genetically engineered crops, according to Monsanto. The deadline "is not based on scientific data, much less on any scientific consensus" about crop damage attributed to the chemical, the company said in a filing with the Arkansas State Plant Board. Monsanto, BASF and DuPont sell dicamba herbicides under different brand names to be sprayed on top of growing U.S. soybeans and cotton modified by Monsanto to tolerate the weed killer. Chemical companies have blamed the damage on farmers misusing dicamba. Specialists, though, say the weed killers are risky because they have a tendency to vaporize and drift across fields, a process known as volatility. High temperatures can increase volatility. In July, Arkansas temporarily banned the use and sale of dicamba herbicides after farmers said the chemical was drifting off target. Monsanto, in its filing, said weed scientists who investigated the reports of damage from dicamba predicted it would probably not cause significant yield losses. The company also called into question the objectivity of Arkansas weed experts Jason Norsworthy and Ford Baldwin, whom Monsanto said advocated bans on dicamba. Monsanto said in its petition that Baldwin works as a paid consultant for Bayer Crop Science, which makes glufosinate, a competing herbicide, and that he is serving as a retained expert witness for plaintiffs in a lawsuit against Monsanto involving dicamba. With its petition, Monsanto submitted an affidavit from Baldwin stating that he works as a consultant for corporate clients including Bayer and endorses a competing weed control technology called glufosinate. "Baldwin spoke at the first task force meeting in support of a statewide ban on dicamba herbicides in 2018," Monsanto said in its petition. Baldwin, a private weed consultant and former weed scientist for the University of Arkansas, told Reuters he did not speak in favor of the April 15 ban at the meeting. He declined further comment. Monsanto also included advertising literature on Bayer's LibertyLink product that quoted Norsworthy saying: "The next best technology is already available in the LibertyLink system." Norsworthy, a University of Arkansas professor, could not immediately be reached for comment. Bayer , which is seeking to buy Monsanto for $66 billion, told Reuters that Baldwin and Norsworthy "are two of the preeminent weed scientists in the country." "Their voices along with other scientists are critical to ensuring sound science that supports the regulatory system," Bayer spokesman Jeff Donald said. POSSIBLE LAWSUIT Monsanto's petition also requested the Arkansas plant board change its regulations to allow farmers in the state to use the company's dicamba weed killer, called XtendiMax with VaporGrip, on crops engineered to withstand it "in 2018 and beyond." Arkansas previously blocked XtendiMax herbicide because the company did not provide testing data that state officials wanted. The plant board said it had received Monsanto's petition and may consider the company's requests at meetings this month. Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson has repeatedly encouraged the board to vet the science behind dicamba sprayings when making its decision, said J.R Davis, spokesman for the governor. "Agriculture is the state's number one industry, and the governor understands the importance of getting this right," he said. Monsanto may take legal action against the board if it denies the petition, Scott Partridge, the company's vice president of global strategy, told Reuters. The April 15 deadline "puts Arkansas farmers at an incredible disadvantage," he said. Monsanto's dicamba-resistant soybeans, called Xtend, will be the company's biggest ever launch of a seed with a biotech trait. U.S. farmers planted Xtend soybean seeds on about 20 million acres this year, and Monsanto is targeting that by 2019, farmers will plant Xtend soybeans on 55 million acres, or more than 60 percent of the total acreage planted with soybeans this year. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is separately considering banning sprayings of dicamba herbicides after a set deadline next year because of this summer's crop damage, state officials advising the agency told Reuters. (Reporting by Tom Polansek in Chicago; Editing by Grant McCool and Richard Pullin)
Follow the money. Mark Felt, the deceased FBI executive who was Watergates Deep Throat, may not have actually whispered those words to reporter Bob Woodward. But they reflect a practice federal agents and prosecutors heed in criminal investigations into activities that range from drug dealing to terrorism, cyberintrusions, and political corruption.

No one should be surprised that Special Counsel Robert Mueller is reportedly looking into the finances of President Donald Trump and his associates. But in July, the president warned that Mueller would be exceeding his mandate if he sought information on the Trump familys finances unrelated to Russia. And now Rep. Ron DeSantis has filed a proposed amendment to a House spending bill to prevent Mueller from investigating matters that occurred before June 2015, when Trump announced his presidential run.

The president not only seems to misread the broad mandate that Mueller was given by the Justice Department, but the positions that he and DeSantis have taken suggest they are also unfamiliar with how investigations like Muellers work. Finances that are not on their face related to Russia could nonetheless prove relevant to the Russia investigation. And the contrived date restriction that DeSantis proposes would improperly inhibit investigators, prosecutors, and ultimately the grand jury. For example, seemingly unrelated financial matters that predate events central to the investigation could show a pattern of behavior related to the issue in question or a state of financial distress that could speak to motive.

In this post, as a former U.S. attorney who has led numerous investigations in which financial evidence established key elements for conviction of serious crimes, I offer a brief explanation of why the special counsel is right to probe the finances of the subjects of his Russia investigation and why he surely will ignore the presidents warning if the evidence leads him there.

I oversaw many cases in which a suspects personal finances were often intimately linked to whatever wrongdoing that person had engaged in. The finances either created a motive (naked greed, for example), contained evidence or fruits of the illegal scheme itself, or provided evidence of how the scheme was concealed. For example, in one conspiracy case that my office prosecuted, we established the complicity of Russian hackers by examining related financial crimes and connecting complex schemes involving the transfer of funds to the conspirators. Similar evidence of financial transactions can establish overt acts proving the conspiracy or can connect the alleged conspirator with the crime, whether or not the crime itself is financial in nature. In fact, ignoring such evidence would severely hamstring most federal criminal investigations.

It is hard to imagine how payments by foreign governments, including Russia, would not be central to Muellers investigation, given what is already known. To start, Donald Trump, Jr. admitted at a real estate conference in 2008 that Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets; say in Dubai, and certainly with our project in SoHo and anywhere in New York. We see a lot of money pouring in from Russia. As Reuters reported in March, wealthy Russians invested nearly $100 million in revenue to several of Trumps properties in Florida and New York in recent years. And beyond Russian money flowing to Trump properties in the United States, Trump had tried to develop properties in Russia since the 1980s. In 2007 he declared, We will be in Moscow at some point, and in 2013 his hosting of the Miss Universe pageant in Russia was financed by Aras Agalarov, an oligarch who is close to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Agalarov later worked with Trump on plans to build a Trump Tower in Moscow, though the deal fell apart. Late last month, the Washington Post reported on emails revealing that Trumps personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, played a role in that deal, working to connect the Trump Organization with a spokesperson for Putin to help finalize it. Agalarovs son also reportedly sought to arrange the now-infamous meeting between Trump Jr. and the Kremlin-connected lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya.

These financial relationships are relevant to the Russia investigation because they may speak to Trump or his associates motive or opportunity to collude, or else provide evidence of collusion. Recently these facts were recounted as part of a civil lawsuit filed against the Trump campaign by three voters whose private information was exposed to the world as part of the Russians hack of the Democratic National Committee. Discovery will likely be allowed in that case. Surely the special counsel must look into these issues as well.

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein granted Mueller a broad mandate to probe financial records when he authorized an investigation into any links  between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump (emphasis added). There is ample reason for Mueller to believe based simply on information in the public sphere that there are financial links between Trump and Russians close to the Russian government. The only way he would be able to tell if any of these financial links connect Trump to the Russian government for purposes of influence operations is to investigate them.

Given that investigating Trumps finances is within Muellers mandate, the presidents warning that Mueller not look at Trump family finances beyond any relationship to Russia is highly inappropriate. My bosses at the Department of Justice once tried to interfere in an election-related investigation within my purview. In 2006, I was fired along with eight other U.S. attorneys for what many believe was an attempt to politicize criminal investigations and install political loyalists to oversee important federal investigations. The investigation report issued by the Justice Departments Office of the Inspector General and Office of Professional Responsibility concluded that the Department failed to ensure that the removals were not undertaken for an improper political purpose and that several department officials assertion that the removals were performance-based was inaccurate and misleading with regard to several of the U.S. Attorneys.

In my view, we were fired because we chose loyalty to the law and our oaths to the Constitution over loyalty to the president and his political party. The scandal that flowed from that moment rocked the country and resulted in the resignation of top Justice Department officials, including the attorney general, Alberto Gonzales.

Mueller, who served as FBI director under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, doesnt need anyones advice on how to investigate and prosecute cases. His experience and integrity speak for themselves to anyone but the willfully ignorant or those who have little regard for the truth. Whether ignorance, disregard for the rule of law, or something else explains the antipathy of the White House and others, Mueller deserves and may require the active support of Congress  and perhaps eventually the judiciary, if we want the truth.

Photo credit: WIN MCNAMEE/Getty Images
Camps will be set up to provide aid for displaced Muslims inside Rakhine state, state-backed media said Saturday, the first time in a 16-day crisis Myanmar's government has offered any relief for Rohingya scattered by violence, many to Bangladesh.

Around 270,000 Rohingya have fled since August 25 when militant attacks sent unrest churning through Rakhine, arriving in Bangladesh hungry and exhausted and squashing into already overcrowded refugee camps.

Tens of thousands more are believed to be on the move inside Rakhine, fleeing burning villages, the army and ethnic Rakhine mobs -- who Rohingya refugees accuse of attacking civilians -- only to become stranded in hills without food, water, shelter or medical care.

Bangladesh has urged Myanmar to stem the exodus by providing for the displaced inside the country and provide 'safe zones' for the Rohingya.

Around 27,000 Buddhists and Hindus have also been displaced following attacks by Rohingya militants and are receiving government help in monasteries and schools.

But the Rohingya, a stateless group refused citizenship by Myanmar, have been left to fend for themselves in what rights groups allege is a part of systematic campaign to force them out of the country.

Two weeks after violence scorched through the country, the government has said it will establish three camps in north, south and central Maungdaw -- the epicentre of the violence and a Rohingya majority area.

"Displaced people who are currently spread out will be able to receive humanitarian aid and medical care" distributed by local Red Cross workers, the Global New Light of Myanmar reported on Saturday.

The report did not refer directly to the Rohingya but mentioned village clusters where the minority lived until the unrest.

Branded 'Bengalis' -- shorthand for illegal immigrants from Bangladesh -- the Rohingya have long been subjected to discrimination in mostly Buddhist Myanmar.

More than 350,000 have fled since October when a new Rohingya militant group launched attacks on police posts.

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That represents around a third of the estimated total of Rohingya in Myanmar.

Around 120,000 have languished in basic displaced camps following religious violence in 2012, while the rest are subject to suffocating restrictions on their movement and rights to work.

Yanghee Lee, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, on Friday said over a thousand people may have been killed in the subsequent army crackdown, the majority likely to be Rohingya.

In an interview with AFP she said Myanmar's star politician Aung San Suu Kyi, a fearless democracy campaigner under the former junta, had failed to use her moral authority to defend the Rohingya.

"I think we need to delete our memories of the imprisoned democratic icon," Lee said, explaining that Suu Kyi was now a politician not a rights defender.

The Nobel Peace Prize winner has been condemned for her refusal to bend to pressure and speak out for the Rohingya including by Suu fellow Nobel laureates Malala Yousafzai and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
Seoul (AFP) - More than 1,000 people may already have been killed in Myanmar, mostly minority Rohingya Muslims -- more than twice the government's total -- a senior United Nations representative told AFP on Friday, urging Aung San Suu Kyi to speak out.

In the last two weeks alone 270,000 mostly Rohingya civilians have fled to Bangladesh, overwhelming refugee camps that were already bursting at the seams, the UN said.

Others have died trying to flee the fighting in Rakhine state, where witnesses say entire villages have been burned since Rohingya militants launched a series of coordinated attacks on August 25, prompting a military-led crackdown.

On the basis of witness testimonies and the pattern of previous outbreaks of violence, said Yanghee Lee, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, "perhaps about a thousand or more are already dead".

"This might be from both sides but it would be heavily concentrated on the Rohingya population."

The Rohingya have long been subjected to discrimination in mostly Buddhist Myanmar, which regards them as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and denies them citizenship even if they have lived in the country for generations.

Bangladesh has struggled to cope with the latest influx, which takes the number of Rohingya refugees in camps on its border with Myanmar to around 670,000.

Of these, nearly 357,000 -- a third of Myanmar's total Rohingya population -- have left since October when the latest upsurge in violence began.

The UN said there was a sharp increase in arrivals on Wednesday, when at least 300 boats from Myanmar landed in Bangladesh.

Scores of Rohingya have drowned trying to make the perilous sea journey in boats that the Bangladesh authorities say are woefully inadequate at this time of year, when the sea is rough. Many of the dead were children.

- Worst disaster in years -

Lee, a South Korean academic, told AFP she feared "it's going to be one of the worst disasters that the world and Myanmar has seen in recent years".

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The figures she gave are far higher than official tolls, which total 432, including 15 security personnel and 30 civilians -- seven Rohingyas, seven Hindus and 16 Rakhine Buddhists.

In an interview at Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul, where she is a professor in the department of child psychology and education, Lee said it was "highly possible" the government had "underestimated numbers".

"The unfortunate thing, the serious thing is that we can't verify that now with no access."

Lee expressed scepticism about authorities' claims that the Rohingya were burning their own houses, pointing out that nearby Buddhist villages were untouched -- and it is the rainy season.

"If you have got people with guns and you're running away and it's damp, how easily can you set your own house on fire?" she asked.

- Forget the icon -

Myanmar's Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, who spent years under house arrest when Myanmar was a military dictatorship, is now the country's de facto leader with the title of State Counsellor.

She has faced criticism for failing to condemn the violence, leaving her global reputation in tatters.

Earlier this week Suu Kyi, 72, condemned a "huge iceberg of misinformation" on the crisis, without mentioning the Rohingya flocking to Bangladesh.

On Thursday she told Indian news agency ANI the situation in Rakhine was "one of the biggest challenges that we've had to face".

"I think it is a little unreasonable to expect us to resolve everything in 18 months," she added.

Rights groups, activists -- including many who campaigned for her in the past -- and her fellow Nobel laureates Malala Yousafzai and Archbishop Desmond Tutu have condemned her.

In a letter Tutu told his "dearly beloved younger sister" that "the images we are seeing of the suffering of the Rohingya fill us with pain and dread".

"It is incongruous for a symbol of righteousness to lead such a country; it is adding to our pain," he added.

Lee pointed out that around 86 percent of Myanmar's population is Buddhist.

"What we forget is that she is a politician through and through. People expect her to have that big high moral voice but she's a politician, and what's the most important objective if you are a politician? Getting elected," she said.

"I think we need to delete our memories of the imprisoned democratic icon."
Kano (Nigeria) (AFP) - Nigeria on Saturday said it had foiled Boko Haram plans for a coordinated series of attacks across the country, as the army slammed claims of security failings and that the militants were resurgent.

The country's intelligence agency, the Department of State Services (DSS), said it had disrupted "sinister plans... to cause mayhem and destruction" during celebrations for the recent Eid al-Adha festival.

"The plan was to conduct gun attacks and suicide bombing on selected targets in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Kano, Kaduna, Niger, Bauchi, Yobe and Borno states," said DSS spokesman Tony Opuiyo.

The alleged mastermind of the planned attacks, identified as Husseini Mai-Tangaran, was arrested in the northern city of Kano on August 31, leading to the detention of a number of others, he added.

Mai-Tangaran was described as a "well-known" commander in the Abu Mus'ab al-Barnawi-led faction of Boko Haram, which is supported by the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq.

The DSS also said he was behind the November 2014 attacks on the Kano central mosque, which killed at least 120.

Nigeria's security services often claim to have foiled major Boko Haram plots and made arrests but announcement of charges, prosecutions and convictions have been rare.

The most high-profile case currently in court is that of Khalid al-Barnawi, a leader of the moribund Boko Haram offshoot, Ansaru, on charges of abducting and murdering a number of foreign workers.

- Spate of attacks -

However, revelations that Boko Haram may have been planning high-profile attacks during the Islamic festival could be taken as a sign of renewed confidence among the Islamist militants.

The Abu Mus'ab al-Barnawi faction has promised to hit government and military targets rather than civilians, who have borne the brunt of the violence since 2009.

Nigeria's military and government maintain Boko Haram has become a spent force after more than two years of sustained counter-insurgency operations, including with neighbouring Cameroon, Chad and Niger.

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But continued attacks, particularly in hard-to-reach rural areas, suggest claims of outright victory are premature.

On Friday, at least seven people were killed when jihadists attacked a camp for people displaced by the conflict in the trading hub of Ngala, near the border with Cameroon.

Civilian militia member Umar Kachalla said fighters in two pick-up trucks fired a rocket-propelled grenade at the camp, which houses some 80,000 people.

"They fired an RPG into the camp from behind the fire fence, killing seven people and injuring several others," he told AFP.

The camp in Ngala was set up in January last year after the return of thousands of Nigerian refugees from Cameroon, where they had fled the fighting.

Also on Friday, two other people were killed when two women strapped with explosives blew up outside the Muna Garage camp for the displaced, on the outskirts of the Borno state capital, Maiduguri.

- 'Smear campaign' -

The latest attacks follow the deaths of eight farmers in a series of raids in rural Borno on Wednesday and Thursday, and of four others who were shot dead on Tuesday.

Many of the victims had returned home to try to grow crops to alleviate acute food shortages that have left hundreds of thousands of people on the brink of starvation.

Amnesty International last week said Boko Haram attacks since April had killed nearly 400 people in Nigeria and Cameroon -- double the figure of the previous five months.

But Nigerian army spokesman Brigadier General Sani Usman dismissed claims of a resurgence in violence as part of a smear campaign against the military.

In a clear reference to Amnesty, which top brass have previously criticised for claiming rights abuses by troops in the conflict, Usman said statistics claiming a Boko Haram resurgence were "concocted".

"The facts on the ground speak otherwise" and that Nigeria's "victory over the Boko Haram terrorists" was "acknowledged the world over", he said.

Suggestions of security lapses or failings were "most unkind and uncharitable", he said in an emailed statement.
North Korea is about to celebrate its 69th anniversary as the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK), and its southern neighbours are on high alert for a possible missile test.

South Korean intelligence reports of launch preparations in the North, just a few days after Pyongyang, North Korea, claimed to have tested a hydrogen bomb that that could fit an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

The situation is very grave. It doesn't seem much time is left before North Korea achieves its complete nuclear armament, South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon told a meeting of defense ministers in Seoul on Thursday, according to CNN.

Some believe North Korea may launch another intercontinental ballistic missile on the 9th, this time at an ordinary angle."

Rumors of another missile test launch also were fueled by North Koreas chief diplomat at the United Nations, Han Tae Song, warning the U.S. that it could expect more gift packages" coming its way.

September 9 is significant as it marks North Korea's anniversary of its founding. The day is usually celebrated with parades and mass dances around Pyongyang, but last year it also became an occasion for Kim Jong-un to conduct an underground nuclear test, the fifth since the country first began nuclear tests, in 2006.

North Korea Foundation Day

Stefan Schinning/Getty Images

North Koreas missile test launches are usually held around historically significant dates. The July 4 launch of its first-ever ICBM rocket was seen as a gift for the American bastards for U.S. Independence Day. A second ICBM test was expected on the anniversary of the Korean War armistice on July 27, but weather conditions delayed the missile launch for a day.

On the anniversary of the Japanese annexation of Korea on August 29, Pyongyang flew an intermediate range ballistic missile over the Japanese island of Hokkaido.

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Experts believe that Pyongyangs missile-launch threat for a date in or around September 11 is significant, but it may prove to be empty, as the North Korean leadership has proven hard to predict.

Theres been no diplomatic intervention to stop the continued testing, and the pace has been consistently fast, John Delury, associate professor of Chinese studies at the Yonsei University Graduate School of International Studies in Seoul, told The Washington Post.

North Korea could be playing with us, looking like theyre moving stuff around just to keep people on edge, he continued. If theres nothing on the 9th, there will be a sigh of reliefbut its sort of meaningless, because weve set this expectation.

One of the most important annual holidays in North Korea, National Day, or Foundation Day of the Republic, commemorates the 1948 declaration of the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea under Kim Jong-uns grandfather, Kim Il-sung. He won the Soviet Unions support to lead the country, effectively created after Moscow and Washington agreed to divide the Korean Peninsula along the 38th parallel in 1945, following the defeat of Japan in World War II.

Portraits of Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il

Reuters Pictures

Having ruled for two thirds of the countrys 69-year-old history, Kim Il-sungs reign was marked by war and terror. He started the Korean War in 1950 and was responsible for two (failed) attempts to kill South Korean leaders: the 1968 Blue House raid against Park Chung-hee that resulted in the deaths of 26 South Koreans, four Americans and 28 North Koreans; and the 1983 Rangoon bombing in Myanmar against president Chun Doo-hwan that left 17 government generals dead.

Also during his rule came the axe murders of two U.S. soldiers in 1976, and the 1987 bombing of a Korean Airlines plane that killed all 115 passengers and crew aboard.

For all of Kim Jong-uns missile tests and provocations, the only direct foreign casualty was U.S. student Otto Warmbierwhose death, North Korea said, was a mystery to them.

The young dictator has so far turned against his own family and his entourage to ensure unrivaled control and loyalty over the party and the country, with the South Korean Institute for National Security Strategy, a think tank, estimating more than 340 executions ordered in his first five years in power.

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Seoul (AFP) - North Korea's state media marked the nation's founding anniversary Saturday with calls for a nuclear arms buildup, in defiance of mounting international sanctions.

South Korea's military said it was keeping close tabs on the North amid speculation it could stage a missile launch or another nuclear test to mark the 1948 establishment of the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea.

North Korea conducted its fifth nuclear test on September 9 last year, and then carried out a sixth a week ago, saying it was a hydrogen bomb that could be fitted onto a missile -- prompting global condemnation and calls for further sanctions.

In July, it tested two intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) that appeared to bring much of the mainland US into range.

"The defence sector, in step with the party's Byungjin policy (of developing the economy and nuclear weapons at the same time) must make cutting-edge Juche weapons in greater quantities," the Rodong Sinmun said in an editorial, referring to the national philosophy of "Juche" or self-reliance.

The mouthpiece of the North's ruling party called for more "miracle-like events" such as the two ICBM tests to deter the United States which it said was bent on "decapitating" the nation's leader Kim Jong-Un.

"No matter how the US and its puppets kick up a ruckus, our republic, which has a strong military and the most powerful Juche bombs and weapons, and whose territory has all turned into fortresses, and all its people armed to the teeth, will remain an eternal iron-clad citadel," it said.

In another commentary, Rodong Sinmun said the US would continue receiving "gift packages in different shapes and sizes" as long as it sticks to what it said was a hostile policy against the North.

- 'Gift packages' -

Kim himself has called the ICBM tests "gift packages" that the North was delivering to the "US bastards".

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A South Korean defence ministry spokesman said there were no signs of the North preparing a missile launch or a nuclear test on Saturday.

"The military is maintaining its utmost defence posture, keeping a close watch over the North. But there is nothing out of the ordinary," he told AFP.

But he warned the North could fire ballistic missiles at any time from easily concealed mobile launchers.

South Korea's Yonhap news agency quoted an unidentified government official as saying that the North could carry out a seventh nuclear test at its Punggye-ri test site at any moment.

The official also said the North could choose the founding anniversary of the ruling Workers' Party, which falls on October 10, to hold another test.

Meanwhile, two Japanese fighters and two US bombers carried out a joint exercise over the East China Sea on Saturday, Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera said in Tokyo.

"It is important for us to display strong Japan-US relations for Japan's security," Onodera was quoted as saying by broadcaster NHK.

The United States wants the UN Security Council to vote on Monday to impose tougher sanctions against North Korea despite resistance from China and Russia.

A US-presented draft resolution calls for an oil embargo on North Korea, an assets freeze on Kim, a ban on textiles and an end to payments of North Korean guest workers.

Diplomatic sources said Russia and China opposed the measures as a whole, except for the ban of textiles, during a meeting of experts Friday.
MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippines has suspended trade relations with North Korea to comply with a U.N. Security Council resolution over its repeated missile tests, Manila's foreign minister said on Friday. The United States and other Western countries have asked the United Nations to consider tough new sanctions on North Korea after its test last week that it said was of an advanced hydrogen bomb. "We can say we have suspended trade relations with North Korea," Foreign Minister Alan Peter Cayetano told reporters after a meeting with the U.S. ambassador on cooperation on an anti-drugs program. "We will fully comply with UNSC resolution including the economic sanctions." Tension on the Korean peninsula has escalated as North Korea's young leader, Kim Jong Un, has stepped up the development of weapons in defiance of U.N. sanctions. It has tested a series of missiles this year, including one that flew over Japan, and conducted its sixth and biggest nuclear test on Sunday. The Philippines is North Korea's fifth-largest trade partner, with bilateral trade from January to June this year worth $28.8 million, according to the state-run Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency. On an annual basis, North Korea imported $28.8 million of products from the Philippines in 2016, an increase of 80 percent from the previous year, while Manila's imports from Pyongyang surged 170 percent to $16.1 million. According to the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the main exports to North Korea in 2015 were computers, integrated circuited boards, bananas and women's undergarments. "The U.N. Security Council is quite clear," Cayetano said. "Part of these are the economic sanctions and the Philippines will comply. We have been communicating with the DTI secretary and I think it was yesterday and the other day, we have gotten direction from the (presidential) palace to support the U.N. Security Council." Cayetano said the trade ban covered raw computer chips from the Philippines. (Reporting by Manuel Mogato; Editing by Martin Petty, Robert Birsel)
An earthquake struck off the coast of Mexico Thursday night, shaking buildings hundreds of miles away and killing at least 15 people.

The quake was of 8.2 magnitude, with its epicenter about 87km (54 miles) southwest of the town of Pijijiapan, in Chiapas state.

Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto said on Twitter that morning school was being suspended across large swathes of the affected area in order to determine whether the school buildings were safe to return to.

He added that 1.85 million people had faced disruption to their electricity; 74 percent of them had already recovered service by Friday morning, when Nieto sent the tweet.

According to the president, the quake is the "most intense" faced by the country in nearly a century. He expressed his "deepest condolences" to the families of those killed.

He also warned Mexicans to pay attention to official updates in case of aftershocks or further quakes.

The national emergency committee will remain active to assess damage and coordinate actions of care for the population, said Nieto.

Luis Felipe Puente, Mexicos civil defense chief, said Friday that the death toll was at least 15. At least 10 people died in Oaxaca state, three in Chiapas state and two in Tabasco state.

In the capital, Mexico Citylocated 1,000 miles away from the quakes epicenterthe effects were strong enough to shake buildings and send concerned residents scattering into the streets.

The damage comes as Mexico is bracing itself for another, unrelated, natural disaster. Hurricane Katia is expected to make landfall on the Gulf Coast at the weekend and could bring winds of up to 111 miles per hour, driving rain, flash floods, mudslides and sea-level surges of between 5 and 7 feet.

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Warsaw (AFP) - Poland's rightwing premier Thursday said she believed her country had the right to demand World War II reparations from Germany but added that her government was still mulling its official position.

"The position of the Polish government on war reparations will be officially expressed when a political decision is taken," Prime Minister Beata Szydlo told the commercial radio station RMF FM .

"In my opinion, Poland has the right to this (reparations) and the Polish state has the right to ask for them," Szydlo said.

"We are ready to go ahead with this procedure," she said.

The government disputes the validity of a 1953 resolution by Warsaw's then communist authorities, who dropped claims against Germany. The deal was made under the diktat of the Soviet Union, the government argues.

Szydlo said Wednesday that Warsaw was "proposing dialogue" with Berlin about war reparations.

Her foreign and interior ministers have previously said EU and NATO neighbours Poland and Germany should hold "serious talks" about reparations, adding that the figure could be as high as one trillion dollars.

Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the powerful leader of the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, has accused Germany of shirking responsibility for the damage it inflicted on his country.

Six million Polish citizens, including around three million of Jewish origin, were killed under Nazi occupation between 1939-45. The capital Warsaw was virtually razed.

According to a survey by the independent Ibris pollsters published late last month, 51 percent of Poles oppose any reparations claims against Germany, while 24 percent believe claims ought to be made.

The talk of reparations comes as the PiS government faces heavy fire both at home and abroad since taking office in 2015 for a slew of reforms that critics say erode democratic standards and the rule of law.

French President Emmanuel Macron said last month that Poland was going "against European interests", while German Chancellor Angela Merkel called Poland a "serious issue".

The EU launched legal action in July against the government over reforms that it fears will limit judicial independence.
Theres good reason why U.S. presidents have kicked the can down the road on confronting North Korea. But as U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley put it this week, there is no more road left. Maybe. What are President Trumps options, then?

Option 1: Strike a grand bargain.

Begin with the triumph-of-hope scenario  a brokered deal between North Korea, the U.S. and other stakeholders (read: South Korea, China, Japan and Russia) that eliminates the nuclear threat from Pyongyang while allowing for continued survival of the Kim regime. Problem is, those two goals appear mutually exclusive. Kim Jong-un is aggressively pursuing nuclear weapons because he believes they offer his only real guarantee against a future U.S.-led regime change. Is he wrong? Ask Saddam Hussein.

But any deal that allows Pyongyang to keep a nuclear weapon that it can attach to a missile capable of hitting the U.S. is a non-starter for Washington; some analysts estimate that threat will become a reality as soon as next year. Theres no middle ground. Even China and Russias proposed temporary freeze on North Koreas nuclear program in exchange for the U.S. ratcheting down its military exercises is too much for Washington, which bristles at the implied equivalency between legal military exercises with South Korea and the illegal pursuit of nuclear weapons by North Korea.

Option 2: Impose more sanctions.

If, as Vladimir Putin correctly noted this week, Kim will eat grass  or let his people eat grass  to keep his weapons, more sanctions wont make a difference. The U.S. and the U.N. have had sanctions in place against North Korea since 2006 (when Pyongyang conducted its first nuclear test). According to a study by the Peterson Institute for International Economics, sanctions only work about a third of the time in getting countries to change their behavior somewhat, and theyre most likely to work when the goal is modest and limited. It also helps when the government burdened with sanctions wants to escape international isolation. Thats not the case here.

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Of course, North Korean sanctions are really sanctions against China, North Koreas main benefactor. China provides more than 90% of Pyongyangs trade and most of its food and fuel. The U.S. has already sanctioned some Chinese entities doing business with North Korea, with little result. But theres a limit to how much the U.S. can push China before it triggers a full-blown trade war  the U.S. does $650 billion a year in trade with China. The U.S. would win a trade war, but at a very high cost, given the lack of international support for the Trump Administration. Not to mention that Chinas authoritarian leadership will weather the domestic blowback from a sharp economic slowdown far better than elected leaders in the U.S. or anywhere else.

Option 3: Attack weapons sites.

Direct targeting of North Koreas nuclear weapons might seem a logical option, but U.S. intelligence estimates that North Korea has anywhere from 30 to 60 bombs. What might Kim try to do with the weapons the U.S. misses? A U.S. ground invasion would give Kim plenty of time for quick attacks on South Korea, Japan and U.S. troops, to say nothing of the hostile response it would provoke from China.

But the biggest risk of any military strike against North Korea is the Seoul problem. North Korea has hundreds of pieces of well-fortified artillery trained on Seoul, which sits just 35 miles from North Korean territory. Experts believe North Korea could kill 100,000 people in the first few hours of shelling.

Option 4: Regime change.

North Korea has an army of 1.1 million personnel, in addition to 4,300 tanks, 2,500 armored vehicles, 70 submarines, 300 helicopters and 1,300-plus aircraft. That wont save North Koreas government from an all-out U.S. attack, but its more than enough to delay the inevitable long enough to kill large numbers of soldiers and civilians on the way down.

An even bigger problem with regime change is multinational conflict over what comes after. The Kim family has ruled North Korea for more than 70 years. Generations of North Koreans have known no other system. Should the regime collapse, rough figures estimate that upwards of 3 million North Korean refugees would flee into China (crossing to South Korea is much harder because of the militarized and heavily mined boundary between the two countries). First questions include: Where will North Koreas nuclear material go? Where will U.S. troops go? Bigger questions: What will China want, and what will it do to get that outcome? Will Korea reunify? Who will pay? No government is ready to answer these questions.

Option 5: Do nothing.

Were left with one option. There are now nine countries that have nuclear weapons  the U.S., Russia, China, the U.K., France, Israel, India, Pakistan and North Korea. Each time a new country has acquired a nuclear weapon, there has been anticipatory anxiety from outsiders followed by grudging acceptance  consider Pakistan in 1998, when it tested its nuclear weapons for the first time. It was slapped with sanctions (along with India, which also conducted tests), but those were gradually lifted as the world found no alternative to this new geopolitical reality. Can the same weary resignation prevail with North Korea? Mutually assured destruction prevented a U.S.-Soviet nuclear exchange.

But Pakistan and India had allies with whom to communicate and a broad set of interests to protect, and U.S. and Soviet leaders had a common interest in fighting by proxy to avoid suicide. Can any U.S. president assume its safe to live within target range of the worlds most belligerent government? Has North Korea given the world reason for long-term confidence in its maturity? There is no bet President Trump could make that comes with higher stakes.
The House and Senate have sent legislation to lift the debt limit and fund the government through December and to support Hurricane relief to President Trump, who is expected to sign it as soon in the next day or so. The bill passed despite large GOP defections over Trumps decision to cut the deal with Democrats. The three-month extension on the government funding and debt limit set up an end-of-year fiscal showdown that will likely be the stiffest legislative test of Trumps first year in office. As the president prods lawmakers to move forward on tax cuts and tax reform by the end of the year, his relations with his adoptive party are more strained than ever. And the newfound alliance with Democrats is set to be short-lived, erased by the next impolitic presidential comment or by Democratic demands contravening Trumps agenda. But the White House was still celebrating Friday. The President is pleased Congress acted quickly to provide support to the victims of Hurricane Harvey, a White House official said. This bill will also provide funding for any necessary relief following Hurricane Irma. By ensuring government funding for the next three months, it gives Americans the certainty they deserve and we look forward to finding a permanent solution in the months to come.

As Hurricane Irma appears set to make devastating landfall in Florida, Congress will certainly need to do more on disaster funding by the end of the year, but conservative lawmakers are still struggling with balancing deficit worries with disaster relief. The five living former presidents join together for hurricane relief. And DeVos moves on sexual assault investigations.

Here are your must reads:

Must Reads

Democrats Dread Hillarys Book Tour

Reliving the 2016 nightmare is the last thing the party needs right now, many say [Politico]

The Fake Americans Russia Created to Influence the Election

How Russia interfered [New York Times]

Mueller Seeks Interviews With WH Staff Over Trump Tower Meeting Statement

Comes as part of obstruction investigation [CNN]

Story continues

For Trump and Ryan, a Tortured Relationship Grows More So

Theres no love lost [Associated Press]

Trump Jr. Says He Wanted Russian Dirt to Determine Clintons Fitness for Office

He says it wasnt worth his time [New York Times]

Betsy DeVos Moves to End Obamas Guidelines for Campus Sexual Assault Investigations

Rolling back Obama Title IX policy [TIME]

Sound Off

Military action would certainly be an option. Is it inevitable? Nothing is inevitable  Trump to reporters Thursday on North Korea

Florida is as well prepared as you can be for something like this and well see what happens.  Trump Thursday on Hurricane Irma

Bits and Bites

White House Considering at Least Six for Fed Chair [Bloomberg]

McCaul emerges as a leading candidate for DHS secretary [Politico]

Sean Spicer to make his late night debut on Jimmy Kimmel [CNN]

Here Are All the Senators Who Voted No on Hurricane Harvey Relief [TIME]

All living former presidents launch ad for Harvey relief [CBS]

President Trump Says Hes Open to Eliminating the Debt Ceiling [TIME]

Read Betsy DeVos Speech About Changing Obama-Era Policies on Campus Sexual Assault [TIME]
Riyadh (AFP) - Saudi Arabia on Saturday suspended any dialogue with Qatar, accusing it of distorting facts soon after a phone call between the rulers of both countries offered hope of a breakthrough in the three-month-old Gulf crisis.

Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, spoke to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to express interest in talks, state media from both sides said, in the first public engagement between the leaders after the US president offered to mediate in the crisis.

Saudi Arabia led the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain in cutting ties with Qatar in June, accusing it of bankrolling Islamist extremist groups and of being too close to regional rival Iran. Doha denies the accusations.

The crown prince "welcomed this desire," the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) initially reported, adding "details will be announced after Saudi Arabia reaches an agreement with UAE and Bahrain and Egypt".

But the prospect of a thaw quickly died down after SPA subsequently accused Qatar's state media of wrongly implying that Saudi Arabia had initiated the outreach.

"The contact was at the request of Qatar and its request for dialogue," SPA said, citing a Saudi foreign ministry official.

"Qatar is not serious in dialogue and continues its previous policies. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia declares that any dialogue with Qatar shall be suspended until a clear statement explaining its position is made in public."

The development came after US President Donald Trump on Friday spoke separately with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE.

"The President underscored that unity among the United States' Arab partners is essential to promoting regional stability and countering the threat of Iran," the White House said.

"The President also emphasised that all countries must follow through on commitments... to defeat terrorism, cut off funding for terrorist groups, and combat extremist ideology."

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When he offered to mediate, Trump said he believed the dispute could be solved "fairly easily".

- 'Climbdown from brinkmanship' -

Despite the deadlock, observers said the telephone call between the Qatari and Saudi rulers itself was a sign that tensions were dissipating.

"The fact that the telephone call took place and the offer of dialogue was made is significant in itself," said Kristian Ulrichsen, a fellow at the Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University.

"(It) signals a climb down from the brinkmanship that has characterised so much of the Gulf standoff since June," Ulrichsen told AFP.

But diplomatic efforts led by Kuwait, a key mediator in the crisis backed by Western powers, have so far failed to achieve a breakthrough.

In Washington on Thursday, Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah offered Trump an upbeat assessment of his efforts so far.

But in a statement early Friday, the Saudi-led bloc showed no signs of backing down as it questioned the Kuwaiti emir's statement that Qatar would be willing to accept their 13 demands.

The demands include shutting Doha-based broadcaster Al-Jazeera, closing a Turkish military base in the emirate and downgrading Qatari diplomatic ties with Iran.

The bloc also voiced "regret" about the Kuwaiti ruler's statement "on the success of mediation in stopping military intervention".

Instead, the four Arab states stressed that "the military option has not been and will not be considered" under any circumstances.

Riyadh and Doha are both key allies of the United States, which has sent mixed signals on its policy towards the nations.

Trump, who chose Saudi Arabia for his first overseas visit as president in May, two weeks before the crisis erupted, immediately expressed staunch support for Saudi Arabia.

Some other US officials including Secretary of State Rex Tillerson adopted a more measured tone.

Qatar hosts a huge US air base, home to the headquarters of Centcom -- the regional command which leads operations against the Islamic State jihadist group.

Sheikh Tamim is set to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel for talks on September 15, in what will be his first trip to a western capital since the crisis began.
President Donald Trump gestures toward reporters as he walks with first lady Melania Trump to board Marine One: AP

Republicans have again voted against forcing Donald Trump to release his tax returns.

In a 21-14 vote, the tax committee of the House of Representatives rejected another Democratic resolution directing the Treasury Department to provide Congress with the Presidents tax returns and other financial information.

Democratic congressman Bill Pascrell had introduced the resolution shortly before the House left for its month-long August recess.

We know that the tangled web of the Presidents potential conflicts cannot be understood without a full picture of his business empire, Mr Pascrell said at the time. And with the Congress scheduled to consider tax reform, requesting the returns of the President and his business interests should be the first order of the day.

Mr Trump was the first presidential candidate in decades to not disclose his tax returns  much to the chagrin of Democrats, media outlets and other members of the public.

In January, less than a month before Mr Trump would become President, the Pew Research Center released a poll showing that 60 per cent of 1,502 people surveyed said he had a responsibility to release his tax returns.

Democrats latest attempt to get Mr Trump to do so came as the President started prioritising a US tax code overhaul.

During an interview with the Economist in May, Mr Trump was asked whether he would release his tax returns in exchange for Democratic support for his tax plan.

I doubt it, Mr Trump responded. Nobody cares about my tax return except for the reporters. Oh, at some point Ill release them. Maybe Ill release them after Im finished because Im very proud of them actually. I did a good job.

During his campaign, Mr Trump said he would not disclose his tax returns because he was being audited by the IRS. But the IRS said he could release them, regardless of an audit.
Robert Mueller - AP

Robert Mueller, the special counsel investigating any links between Donald Trump's campaign and Russia, has indicated he may interview six of the president's closest advisers.

Those Mr Mueller has suggested he probably wants to speak to include former press secretary Sean Spicer, former chief of staff Reince Priebus, and Mr Trump's trusted long-time aide Hope Hicks, the Washington Post reported.

Sean Spicer Credit: EPA

He was said to believe they may have been witness to events and discussions that he is investigating.

That included Mr Trump's decision to sack James Comey as FBI Director, and the handling of a controversy involving former national security adviser Michael Flynn and his contacts with the Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak.

The other three aides Mr Mueller may want to speak to were White House lawyer Don McGahn, one of his deputies James Burnham, and a White House spokesman Josh Raffel, the Washington Post reported.

Mr Mueller's investigation is trying to establish whether anyone involved with the Trump campaign engaged in coordination with Russia in an attempt to influence last year's presidential election.

He is also looking into whether there was any attempt to obstruct justice in relation to the sacking of Mr Comey

Hope Hicks Credit: Reuters

Neither Mr Spicer, nor Mr Priebus commented to the Washington Post. The White House declined to comment for the four current presidential aides "out of respect for the special counsel and his process".

No interviews have yet been set up, the Washington Post reported.
Rush Limbaugh may no longer believe Hurricane Irma is a "liberal hoax." The conservative radio personality will reportedly evacuate South Florida ahead of the storm, despite previous beliefs.

Limbaugh's announcement comes three days after he claimed Hurricane Irma wouldn't hit the United States. The commentator claimed climate scientists and the liberal media were in favor of the validity of global warming, which he deemed a "lie."

"I'm not going to get into details because of the security nature of things, but it turns out that we will not be able to do the program here tomorrow. That will be in the hands of Mark Steyn tomorrow, Limbaugh said on his radio show Thursday. "We'll be on the air next week, folks, from parts unknown."

"We'll be back on Monday, it's just that tomorrow is going to be problematic. Tomorrow, I think, it would be legally impossible for us to originate the program out of here," Limbaugh added.

Limbaugh said that he had to cancel a variety of things in wake of Hurricane Irma including a private movie screening for Dylan O'Brien and Michael Keaton's upcoming flick, "American Assasin." However, he then claimed that he had a feeling that the show's cancellation was on the horizon.

Limbaugh, however, didn't retract his previous statement about the tropical storm being fake. He also didn't encourage listeners to evacuate Florida ahead of the storm. Instead, he continued to support his original conspiracy theory of Irma. Before announcing his evacuation plans, Limbaugh said, "The views expressed by the host of this program [are] documented to be almost always right 99.8 percent of the time," according to ThinkProgress.

Limbaugh has never been an advocate for climate science. He reiterated his opposition towards it when providing his thoughts about the inexistence of Hurricane Irma on his radio show Tuesday.

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"There is a desire to advance this climate change agenda, and hurricanes are one of the fastest and best ways to do it," Limbaugh said Tuesday on his radio program. "You can accomplish a lot just by creating fear and panic. You dont need a hurricane to hit anywhere."

"All you need is to create the fear and panic accompanied by talk that climate change is causing hurricanes to become more frequent and bigger and more dangerous, and you create the panic, and it's mission accomplished, agenda advanced," Limbaugh added.

Twitter users were not having Limbaugh's comments. Many users vocalized their opposition towards Limbaugh's hoax claims and his decision to evacuate South Florida despite them. The conservative figure has been deemed as "crazy" and "irrelevant" by Twitter.

"First @rushlimbaugh puts people's lives at Risk by telling people Irma is a liberal hoax and now he RAN away," one user wrote in a tweet. "His viewers need to know!"

"So it's all a liberal hoax but he evacuates anyway," a second user tweeted. "Hypocrisy, thy name is Rush Limbaugh. Be safe, people, evacuate if you're told to!"

"His disciples will believe him and not evacuate," a third person wrote in a tweet.

Rush Limbaugh

Photo: Getty Images

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As Washington and its allies push for sanctions on North Korea after its latest nuclear test, Russian President Vladimir Putin has emerged as one of the most strident voices against punishing Pyongyang.

The United States, South Korea, Japan and EU are keen to ratchet up pressure on Kim Jong-Un by cutting oil supplies and freezing his assets, while President Donald Trump has not ruled out military action.

But Putin -- whose country enjoys relatively warm relations with Pyongyang rooted in a Soviet-era alliance -- insists further sanctions and threats are "useless" against a regime that feels cornered.

"They (North Koreans) will eat grass but will not give up this (nuclear) programme if they don't feel safe," Putin said at a summit in the Chinese city of Xiamen this week.

In pushing back against the West over North Korea, analysts say the Kremlin strongman is seeking to protect Moscow's long-term strategic interests and maximise his own short-term political gains as ties with the US remain in the doldrums.

Moscow has "completely cynical, geopolitical reasons," Andrei Lankov, professor at Kookmin University in Seoul and director at consultancy Korearisk.com, told AFP.

For the sake of regional stability and influence, the Kremlin will look to shield the Stalinist regime from serious retribution because Russia sees the current status quo as a lesser evil.

- 'Disastrous consequences' -

Moscow fears that if the confrontation with Pyongyang spirals into a punitive strike or regime change then that could create chaos -- and a potential new democratic US ally -- on its border.

Lankov said the Kremlin -- which has repeatedly voiced concern over NATO encroaching on its borders -- does not want a new "democratic, national, pro-American" state on its eastern flank if the Kim dynasty is ousted.

"That scenario does not suit either China or Russia," said Lankov, who lived in the isolated state and is the author of "The Real North Korea: Life and Politics in the Failed Stalinist Utopia."

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The prospect of a US nuclear strike and subsequent chaos and a refugee exodus is even more scary than a democratic country on Russia's doorstep, said another Korea scholar, Alexander Zhebin.

"A military conflict on the peninsula would have disastrous consequences for the Koreans and the entire region," said Zhebin, director of the Center for Korean Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences, adding that South Korea -- with its 25 nuclear reactors - was especially vulnerable.

"Where would 70 million people go to live?" said Zhebin, referring to a combined population of the two Koreas. "Radiation will also badly affect Russia and China."

While the doom-and-gloom scenario is still seen by many as an unlikely occurence, experts say Putin is seeking to use the global jitters to reap benefits on the international arena.

- 'Trump card' -

Promoting himself as a negotiator capable of dealing with pariah regimes, Putin will once again polish his foreign policy credentials ahead of a 2018 presidential election which he is expected to win.

The veteran Kremlin leader has positioned Moscow as a buffer between a bellicose Trump and unyielding Kim and is keen to be seen as a voice of reason amid all the super-charged rhetoric.

Over the past days, he has discussed Korea with foreign leaders as he sought to impart his knowledge of the North to his counterparts.

He says Kim would not forget the fate of Libyan dictator Moamer Kadhafi who gave up his country's nuclear programme but ended up being killed in an uprising in 2011.

Russia, a veto-wielding permanent member of the UN Security Council, has refused to say whether it will support a draft sanctions resolution against North Korea.

Washington wants to have a vote at the Security Council on Monday, diplomats say.

By contrast, Moscow and Beijing, North Korea's sole major ally, have called for a simultaneous freeze on North Korean nuclear and missile tests and military exercises by Washington.

"As practice shows, China does not decide anything -- either it can't or does not want to or both. And other countries can count on Russia becoming a communication channel," said Andrei Baklitskiy, an expert with PIR Center, a Moscow think tank.

"This can be used by Russia as a trump card."

Fyodor Lukyanov, the Kremlin-connected chairman of the Council on Foreign and Defence Policy, wrote in a government paper that whoever will manage to solve the Korea crisis and force Pyongyang to back down, will become the "most influential 'free agent' in Asia."
Russia has compared the recent U.S. decision to close a Russian consulate and offices to an occupation and confirmed the decision will come to court soon.

We underline that presence on such premises and on such territory without the consent of the rightful owner is occupation, Russias Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told the Interfax news agency on Friday. Although "occupation" is often associated with military and conflict situations, Ryabkov insisted that it is also totally appropriate for use with respect to what the Americans have done.

The U.S. decision last month to close Russias consulate in San Francisco and two annexes in Washington, D.C., and New York is the latest move in a chain of attempts on both sides to punish the other by streamlining their respective diplomatic missions. The U.S. struck first in December, announcing the shrinking of the Russian Embassy mission by 35 staffers as punishment for alleged Russian interference in the U.S. election. The move targeted intelligence personnel and also closed luxury property in upstate New York once available to Russia.

Despite initially announcing Moscow would not respond, the Russian government changed its mind and struck back harshly in July, barring 755 U.S. diplomats and staff from the U.S. mission in Russia. The size of the ban alarmed Washington, who then announced the closure of the annexes and the West Coast consulate, which was promptly searched by authorities.

Ryabkov said Russia would insist on referring to the situation as an occupation to the public, and the Americans will be told this too.

American special services agents came on our territory, which has diplomatic and consular immunity, and started opening drawers, folders, looking through rooms, lifting ceiling panels. What sort of search is this? If this is a simple search, I do not know what they must call a raid.

Russian President Vladimir Putin urged the Russian government to bring the issue to court earlier this week; Ryabkov said the work on it is ongoing.

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This will happen in the near future, he told state news agency Itar-Tass on Friday. The question is quite serious. We need to prepare ourselves well, and that is precisely what we are doing now.

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MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's newly installed ambassador to Washington said on Friday that he had a warm and constructive meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, Russian news agencies reported. "I was received by President Trump, I presented my credentials. For my part I said that we are looking forward to an improvement in the relations between our two countries," Tass news agency quoted the ambassador, Anatoly Antonov, as saying. "President Trump received me in a warm and friendly way ... The atmosphere was very genial, constructive and welcoming. At least, that was my personal feeling," Russia's RIA news agency quoted Antonov as saying. "We, together with his colleagues, his staff, agreed to continue our cooperation." "I said that I look forward to working with the U.S government in the area of Russian-American mutual interests. And I said that, as far as Russia is concerned, we are ready to do that, we're ready to take concrete steps." Antonov took over as ambassador from Sergei Kislyak, whose contacts with members of Trumps campaign team made him a central figure in the row over Russian influence on last year's U.S. presidential election. A special counsel and congressional panels are investigating allegations of Russian meddling in the election, and whether members of the Trump campaign had improper contacts with figures linked to the Russian state. Russia denies trying to interfere in the election. Antonov, born in 1955, is a diplomat by training and before his posting to Washington was a deputy foreign minister. Between 2011 and 2016, he served as deputy defense minister, a period that coincided with Moscows annexation of Ukraine's Crimean peninsula. Two years ago, the European Union put him on its list of officials subject to Ukraine-related sanctions, citing his involvement in supporting the deployment of Russian troops to Ukraine. (Writing by Christian Lowe; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia on Saturday suspended any dialogue with Qatar, accusing it of "distorting facts", just after a report of a phone call between the leaders of both countries suggested a breakthrough in the Gulf dispute. Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman spoke by the telephone with Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani on Friday when they discussed the Gulf dispute, state media from both countries reported earlier. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain cut diplomatic and trade links with Qatar on June 5, suspending air and shipping routes with the world's biggest exporter of liquefied natural gas, which is home to the region's biggest U.S. military base. The nations say Doha supports regional foe Iran and Islamists, charges Qatar's leaders deny. Kuwait has been trying to mediate the dispute. "During the call, the Emir of Qatar expressed his desire to sit at the dialogue table and discuss the demands of the four countries to ensure the interests of all," Saudi state news agency SPA reported. "The details will be announced later after the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia concludes an understanding with the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Arab Republic of Egypt," SPA said. The phone call was the first publicly reported contact between the two leaders since the start of the crisis. Qatar's state news agency QNA said the phone call was based on coordination of U.S. President Donald Trump who had earlier talked with Sheikh Tamim. Trump on Thursday said he would be willing to step in and mediate the worst dispute in decades among the U.S.-allied Arab states and Qatar, and said he thinks a deal could come quickly. Both Qatar's Emir and the Saudi Crown Prince "stressed the need to resolve the crisis by sitting down to the dialogue table to ensure the unity and stability of the GCC countries," QNA reported. Sheikh Tamim welcomed the proposal of Prince Mohammed during the call "to assign two envoys to resolve controversial issues in a way that does not affect the sovereignty of the states," QNA said. Saudi Arabia later issued a second statement citing an unnamed official at the ministry of the foreign affairs denying the QNA report. "What was published on the Qatar News Agency is a continuation of the distortion of the Qatari authority of the facts," SPA reported citing the Saudi official. "The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia announces the suspension of any dialogue or communication with the authority in Qatar until a clear statement is issued clarifying its position in public." (Reporting by Rania El Gamal; additional reporting by Mohamed El Sherif and Mostafa Hashem in Cairo; Editing by Sandra Maler and Lisa Shumaker)
North Korea's plan to launch an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on the anniversary of the reclusive country's founding day Saturday could be deterred due to a current outbreak of severe geomagnetic storms that can pose a risk to electronic equipment, Bloomberg reported. On Thursday, South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon said Kim Jong Un could launch another ICBM on Sept. 9, calling the situation very grave.

Saturday is the 69th anniversary of the founding of the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the holiday in Pyongyang could mean another propaganda effort from the Kim regime to show its nuclear advancement. As tensions on the Korean Peninsula escalated following North Korea's sixth nuclear test, the country promised the United States of more gift packages soon.

I am proud of saying that just two days ago on the third of September, DPRK successfully carried out a hydrogen bomb test for intercontinental ballistic rocket under its plan for building a strategic nuclear force, North Koreas chief diplomat Han Tae Song said at a UN meeting, held in Switzerland Aug. 6.

The recent self-defense measures by my country, DPRK, are a gift package addressed to none other than the U.S., the diplomat said. The U.S. will receive more gift packages from my country as long as it relies on reckless provocations and futile attempts to put pressure on the DPRK, he warned.

As South Korea closely watches the North over the possibility of another provocative action Saturday, Lance Gatling, an aerospace consultant with Nexial Research in Tokyo, said that it is likely there won't be a launch due to the solar storm.

Gatling said that while missiles are mostly heavily shielded against radiation, Kim may decide not to risk firing one during the solar flares as it may result in loss of data or ancillary equipment.

Amid concerns of another launch, the National Security Council met Thursday to discuss plans in case Kim fires a missile to celebrate the founding day of North Korea Saturday.

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Another possible date for a missile launch from North Korea is Oct. 10, a holiday marking the founding of the country's ruling party, according to Seouls Unification Ministry spokeswoman Eugene Lee.

North Korea, which is pursuing its nuclear and missile program in defiance of international condemnation, successfully test fired a hydrogen bomb on Aug. 3. Experts said that the country's sixth nuclear test was ten times more powerful than earlier tests conducted over the years.

These recent Pyongyang actions have raised global concerns of a war that could lead to thousands of deaths if North Korea fired a missile or if the United States chose military action in retaliation to the isolated country's provocations.

While President Donald Trump said that all options are on the table to deal with North Korea's threat, there is not much support for a military action against Pyongyang.

Military action would certainly be an option, Trump told a White House news conference Thursday. I would prefer not going the route of the military, but its something certainly that could happen.

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JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Retired South African cleric and anti-apartheid campaigner Archbishop Desmond Tutu urged Myanmar leader and fellow Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi on Thursday to intervene to help Rohingya Muslims fleeing her country. Western critics have accused Suu Kyi of not speaking out for the Rohingya, who have been fleeing to neighbouring Bangladesh, following an army counter-offensive against militant attacks. Tutu said in an open letter to Suu Kyi that: "I am now elderly, decrepit and formally retired, but breaking my vow to remain silent on public affairs out of profound sadness about the plight of the Muslim minority in your country, the Rohingya." "My dear sister: If the political price of your ascension to the highest office in Myanmar is your silence, the price is surely too steep ... We pray for you to speak out for justice, human rights and the unity of your people. We pray for you to intervene," Tutu wrote. Tutu, 85, has been living with prostate cancer for nearly two decades and has largely withdrawn from public life. The Rohingya comprise some 1.1 million people who have long complained of persecution and are seen by many in Buddhist-majority Myanmar as illegal migrants from Bangladesh. "We have to take care of our citizens, we have to take care of everybody who is in our country, whether or not they are our citizens," Suu Kyi said earlier on Thursday in comments to Reuters Television's Indian partner, Asian News International. Suu Kyi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 as a champion of democracy, did not refer specifically to the exodus of the minority Rohingya. (Reporting by Ed Stoddard; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
(SEOUL)  South Korea is closely watching North Korea over the possibility it may launch another intercontinental ballistic missile as soon as Saturday when it celebrates its founding anniversary.

Seouls Unification Ministry spokeswoman Eugene Lee said Friday that Pyongyang could potentially conduct its next ICBM tests this weekend or around Oct. 10, another North Korean holiday marking the founding of its ruling party.

North Korea has previously marked key dates with displays of military power, but now its tests appear to be driven by the need to improve missile capabilities.

The North is just coming off its sixth and the most powerful nuclear test to date on Sunday in what it claimed was a detonation of a thermonuclear weapon built for its ICBMs. The country tested its developmental Hwasong-14 ICBMs twice in July and analysts say the flight data from the launches indicate the missiles could cover a broad swath of the continental United States, including major cities such as Los Angeles and Chicago, when perfected.

North Korea fired the ICBMs at highly lofted angles in July to reduce ranges and avoid other countries. But South Korean officials say the next launches could be conducted at angles close to operational as the North would seek to test whether the warheads survive the harsh conditions of atmospheric re-entry and detonate properly.

In Washington, President Donald Trump reiterated Thursday that military action is certainly an option against North Korea, as his administration tentatively concurred with the pariah nations claim to have tested a hydrogen bomb. A senior administration official said the U.S. was still assessing last weekends underground explosion but so far noted nothing inconsistent with Pyongyangs claim.

Military action would certainly be an option, Trump told a White House news conference. I would prefer not going the route of the military, but its something certainly that could happen.

Pressed on whether he could accept a scenario in which the isolated nation had nukes but was contained and deterred, Trump demurred. I dont put my negotiations on the table, unlike past administrations. I dont talk about them. But I can tell you North Korea is behaving badly and its got to stop, he said.

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North Korea broke from its pattern of lofted launches last month when it fired a powerful new intermediate range missile, the Hwasong-12, over northern Japan. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un then called the launch a meaningful prelude to containing the U.S. Pacific island territory of Guam and called for his military to conduct more ballistic missile launches targeting the Pacific Ocean.

South Korean experts say that the launch was Pyongyangs attempt to make missiles flying over Japan an accepted norm as it seeks to test new projectiles in conditions close to operational and win more military space in a region dominated by enemies.

Kim, a third-generation dictator in his 30s, has conducted four of North Koreas six nuclear tests since taking power in 2011. His military has maintained a torrid pace in testing weapons, which also include solid-fuel missiles built to be fired from road mobile launchers or submarines.

In accelerating his pursuit of nuclear weapons targeting the United States and allies South Korea and Japan, Kim is seen as seeking a real nuclear deterrent to help ensure the survival of his government and also the stronger bargaining power that would come from it.

Washington, Seoul and Tokyo have been pushing for stronger sanctions to punish Pyongyang over its nuclear activities, such as denying the country oil supplies. China and Russia have been calling for talks, saying sanctions arent working against North Korea.
By Christine Kim SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea braced for a possible further missile test by North Korea as it marked its founding anniversary on Saturday, just days after its sixth and largest nuclear test rattled global financial markets and further escalated tensions in the region. Throughout the week, South Korean officials have warned the North could launch another intercontinental ballistic missile, in defiance of U.N. sanctions and amid an escalating standoff with the United States. Pyongyang marks its founding anniversary each year with a big display of pageantry and military hardware. Last year, North Korea conducted its fifth nuclear test on the Sept. 9 anniversary. Tension on the Korean peninsula has escalated as North Korea's young leader, Kim Jong Un, has stepped up the development of weapons, testing a string of missiles this year, including one flying over Japan, and conducting its sixth nuclear test on Sunday. Experts believe the isolated regime is close to its goal of developing a powerful nuclear weapon capable of reaching the United States, something U.S. President Donald Trump has vowed to prevent. Celebrating its founding anniversary, a front-page editorial of the Saturday edition of North Korea's official Rodong Sinmun said the country should make "more high-tech Juche weapons to continuously bring about big historical events such as a miraculous victory of July 28.". The July date refers to the intercontinental ballistic missile test. Juche is North Korea's homegrown ideology of self-reliance that is a mix of Marxism and extreme nationalism preached by state founder Kim Il Sung, the current leader's grandfather. South Korean nuclear experts, checking for contamination, said on Friday they had found minute traces of radioactive xenon gas but that it was too early to link it to Sunday's explosion. The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC) said it had been conducting tests on land, air and water samples since shortly after the North Korean nuclear test on Sunday. Xenon is a naturally occurring, colourless gas that is used in manufacturing of some sorts of lights. But the NSSC said it had detected xenon-133, a radioactive isotope that does not occur naturally and which has in the past been linked to North Korea's nuclear tests. There was no chance the xenon "will have an impact on South Korea's territory or population", the agency said. Trump has repeatedly said all options are on the table in dealing with North Korea and on Thursday said he would prefer not to use military action, but if he did, it would be a "very sad day" for North Korea. "Military action would certainly be an option. Is it inevitable? Nothing is inevitable," Trump told reporters. "If we do use it on North Korea, it will be a very sad day for North Korea." Even as Trump has insisted that now is not the time to talk, senior members of his administration have made clear that the door to a diplomatic solution is open, especially given the U.S. assessment that any pre-emptive strike would unleash massive North Korean retaliation. North Korea says it needs its weapons to protect itself from U.S. aggression and regularly threatens to destroy the United States. South Korea and the United States are technically still at war with North Korea after the 1950-53 Korean conflict ended with a truce, not a peace treaty. US CARRIER ON THE MOVE The USS Ronald Reagan, a nuclear-powered carrier, left its home port in Japan for a routine autumn patrol of the Western Pacific, a Navy spokeswoman said. That area included waters between Japan and the Korean peninsula, she added, without giving any further details. The Ronald Reagan was out on routine patrol from May until August, and was sent to the Sea of Japan with the another carrier, the USS Carl Vinson, to take part in drills with Japan's Self Defense Forces as well as the South Korean military. North Korea vehemently objects to military exercises on or near the peninsula, and China and Russia have suggested the United States and South Korea halt their exercises to lower tension. While Trump talked tough on North Korea, China agreed on Thursday that the United Nations should take more action against it, but it also pushed for dialogue. The U.N. Security Council is expected to vote on a new set of sanctions soon. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that it was too early to draw conclusions about the final form of the U.N. resolution, Russia's Interfax news agency quoted Lavrov as saying at a news conference on Friday. The United States on Friday told the U.N. Security Council that it intends to call a meeting on Monday to vote on a draft resolution establishing additional sanctions on North Korea for its missile and nuclear program, the U.S. Mission to the United Nations said in a statement. U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said last Monday that she intended to call for a vote on Sept. 11 and then the United States circulated a draft resolution to the 15-member council on Wednesday. The United States wants the Security Council to impose an oil embargo on North Korea, ban its exports of textiles and the hiring of North Korean laborers abroad, and to subject Kim Jong Un to an asset freeze and travel ban, according to a draft resolution seen by Reuters on Wednesday. It was not immediately clear how North Korean allies China and Russia would vote, but a senior U.S. official on Friday night expressed scepticism that either nation would accept anything more stringent than a ban on imports of North Korean textiles. Chinese officials have privately expressed fears that imposing an oil embargo could risk triggering massive instability in its neighbor. North Korea offered fresh vitriol against the pending sanctions, specifically targeting Haley, who this week accused Kim of "begging for war". "There is nothing more foolish than thinking we, a strong nuclear state, will endure this evil pressure aimed at overthrowing our state," the North's official news agency said in a commentary. "Even if Nikki Haley is blind, she must use her mouth correctly. The United States administration will pay for not being able to control the mouth of their U.N. representative." China is by far North Korea's biggest trading partner, accounting for 92 percent of two-way trade last year. It also provides hundreds of thousands of tonnes of oil and fuel to the impoverished regime. China's economic influence has been felt by South Korea as well. The two countries have been at loggerheads over South Korea's decision to deploy a U.S. anti-missile system, the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, which has a powerful radar that can probe deep into China. Shares in South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor <005380.KS> and key suppliers slid on Friday on worries over its position in China after highly critical Chinese state newspaper comments. The military section of China's Global Times newspaper on Thursday referred to THAAD as "a malignant tumor". (Additional reporting by Nobuhiro Kubo in TOKYO, Hyunjoo Jin and Ju-min Park in SEOUL, Christian Lowe in MOSCOW; and Michelle Nichols in UNITED NATIONS; Writing by Nick Macfie; Editing by Robert Birsel, Mary Milliken & Shri Navaratnam)
Southwest Airlines is helping displaced pets affected by Hurricane Harvey find their forever homes.

On Wednesday, a cabin full of 64 dogs and cats were flown from over crowded Texas shelters to San Diego, Calif. in order to make room for family pets whose humans are currently displaced from their homes.

Southwest Airlines coordinated with Texas rescue group, Operation Pets Alive!, and San Diegos Helen Woodward Animal Center, where the 64 animals have relocated to after their 1,400-mile flight.

Four medical personnel from HWAC flew to Texas to help the organization and provide medical care for shelter animals.

Needless to say, this was one furry rescue flight, with plenty of love to go around! pic.twitter.com/mtBuDBGDw1  Southwest Airlines (@SouthwestAir) September 6, 2017

These are the silent victims, said Mike Arms, President of Helen Woodward Animal Center. There are shelters that have been devastated by Hurricane Harvey, without electricity, without supplies.

Operation Pets Alive! has taken in an overwhelming number of orphan dogs and cats who had inhabited those shelters before the storm and were suddenly facing euthanasia simply because they had no place to go. We are honored to help save those lives and we are lucky to have incredible friends like Southwest to help make this all possible, Arms statement concluded.

Yesterday, we had the opportunity to fly 64 cats & dogs from Austin to @hwac in San Diego, to help them find a forever home. pic.twitter.com/NSmYoWExxD  Southwest Airlines (@SouthwestAir) September 6, 2017

Rescue efforts are still underway as thousands in the Houston, Texas, try to recover from Hurricane Harvey.

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Also this week, Illinois charity group Wings of Rescue flew 180 dogs and cats from Texas to Waukegan, as reported by local media outlet, WGN-TV.

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Former White House strategist Steve Bannon argued that Catholic bishops in the United States only support undocumented immigrants because they need them to fill the pews.

In an interview with CBS News Charlie Rose, Bannon, who is Catholic, criticized bishops support for recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival program, which President Trump recently moved to end in six months.

They need illegal aliens, Bannon, who is Catholic, told CBS News Charlie Rose. They need illegal aliens to fill the churches. Thatsits obvious on the face of it.

A number of prominent bishops voiced their opposition to the Trump Administrations move to end DACA. To all Dreamers, please know that the Catholic Church loves you, welcomes you, and will fight to protect your rights and your dignity, Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York wwrote on Twitter. Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, issued a statement on behalf of the conference calling the decision reprehensible.

The interview is Bannons first televised one since he left the White House in August, following months of reported controversy with his West Wing colleagues. After he left the White House, Bannon resumed his position as Chairman of Breitbart News.

However, he told Rose he and Trump are still on good terms, and he is prepared to fight for his legislative agenda.

Im going to be his wing man outside for the entire time, he said. Our purpose is to support Donald Trump.
People are wrong to think President Donald Trumps decision to pave the way for the deportation of 800,000 immigrants who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children plays to the far-right, former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon said in an interview.

Trust me, the guys in the far-right, the guys on the conservative side, are not happy with this, Bannon told CBS News host Charlie Rose in an interview to air on 60 Minutes this Sunday.

Many on the far-right argue that America's immigration laws are helping to make whites a minority in the U.S.

On Tuesday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced Trump has decided to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Trump has given Congress a six-month lead time to create a new immigration law that could allow such immigrants to remain in the U.S.

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Carlos Barria/Reuters

The DACA program gives two-year work permits to nearly 800,000 young people who entered the U.S. illegally as minors, granting them a reprieve from deportation. It was set up by the Obama administration in 2012.

I dont agree with that DACA decision, Bannon said. People on the far-right side of the political aisle, he added, dont like that Trump is pushing Congress to pass an immigration law that would make the program permanent.

Trump said even last night in a tweeteven in a tweet, he would rethink it, Bannon said, referring to a message the president sent out late Tuesday.

Congress now has 6 months to legalize DACA (something the Obama Administration was unable to do). If they cant, I will revisit this issue! Trump wrote.

Rose challenged Bannona devout Catholicon his stance after Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York, railed against ending DACA Tuesday, and after the church issued a statement calling Trumps decision contrary to the spirit of the Bible and of our country.

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Bannon said Catholic leaders have been terrible and need to come to grips with the problems in the church and that they they need illegal aliens to fill the churches.

They have an economic interest in unlimited immigration, he said.

Bannon was ousted from the White House on August 18 amid a shake-up that removed a number of controversial figures from the Trump administration. He had quickly risen to become one of the presidents chief advisers after running Trumps campaign for three months.

The day he was ousted, Bannon returned to his old job heading the hard-right online news outlet Breitbart, which during the 2016 campaign he called a platform for the alt-right. The alt-right is a movement of white nationalists, white supremacists and conspiracy theorists, and Bannon is seen as a representative of hard-right thinking in America.

During the interview, Bannon said that his image in the media is pretty accurate and that hes a street fighter.

Related: What is DACAthe program for young illegal immigrants Trump wants to end?

Im going to be [Trumps] wingman on the outside for the entire time, Bannon said. After the violent white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August that resulted in a counterprotesters death, Bannon said, he was the only guy that came out and tried to defend the president after Trump accused both sides of violence. Police said the car that killed counterprotester Heather Heyer was driven by a white supremacist.

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By Shoon LeiWinNaing and Simon Lewis YANGON/COX'S BAZAR, Bangladesh (Reuters) - Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi said on Thursday her government was doing its best to protect everyone in the strife-torn state of Rakhine, as the estimated number of Rohingya Muslims who have fled to Bangladesh leapt by 18,000 in one day, to 164,000. Suu Kyi did not refer specifically to the exodus of the minority Rohingya, which was sparked by insurgent attacks on Aug. 25 and an army counter-offensive, but said her administration was trying its best to take care of all citizens. Western critics have accused Suu Kyi of not speaking out for the Rohingya, some 1.1 million people who have long complained of persecution and are seen by many in Buddhist-majority Myanmar as illegal migrants from Bangladesh. Some have called for the Nobel Peace Prize she won in 1991 as a champion of democracy to be revoked. "We have to take care of our citizens, we have to take care of everybody who is in our country, whether or not they are our citizens," Suu Kyi said in comments to Reuters Television's Indian partner, Asian News International. "Of course, our resources are not as complete and adequate as we would like them to be but, still, we try our best and we want to make sure that everyone is entitled to the protection of the law," she said during a visit by Indian Prime Narendra Modi to Yangon. Suu Kyi on Tuesday blamed "terrorists" for "a huge iceberg of misinformation" on the strife in the northwestern state of Rakhine but made no mention of the Rohingya who have fled. She has come under increasing pressure from countries with Muslim populations, and this week U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned there was a risk of ethnic cleansing in Myanmar that could destabilise the region. In Washington, the U.S. State Department on Thursday voiced its concern "following serious allegations of human rights abuses including mass burnings of Rohingya villages and violence conducted by security forces and also armed civilians". "We urge all in Burma including in the Rakhine state to avoid actions that exacerbate tensions there," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told reporters. The U.S. ambassador has met Myanmar officials to discuss "allegations of violence conducted by both the security forces and civilians" and access for humanitarian groups, she said. 'WE NEED TO WIPE OUT TERRORISM' Myanmar has said it is negotiating with China and Russia to ensure they block any Security Council censure over the crisis. Suu Kyi said the situation in Rakhine has been difficult for many decades and so it was "a little unreasonable" to expect her administration, which has been in power for 18 months, to have resolved it already. Myanmar says its forces are fighting a legitimate campaign against terrorists responsible for a string of attacks on the police and army since last October. Officials blame Rohingya militants for killing non-Muslims and burning their homes. "We need to wipe out the threat of the terrorism in those regions," Ko Ko Hlaing, a presidential adviser of the previous government said on Thursday at a forum arranged by military-owned media to discuss the crisis. He said rehabilitation and development are important and the citizenship issue must be settled, but the first priority needed to be "the detoxification of dangerous ideology of extremism". Suu Kyi's spokesman, Zaw Htay, on Thursday posted what he said were "photos of Bengalis setting fire to their houses". The pictures of several sword-wielding women wearing headscarfs and men in Islamic prayer caps, or "Kufi", setting a house on fire, which were published in one of the country's leading newspapers, were also shared widely by the military. "These photos showing that Bengalis are torching their houses emerge at a time when international media have made groundless accusations of setting fire to Bengali houses by the government security forces and the killings of Bengalis," said the Eleven Media daily But the photographs sparked controversy on social media with many people who identified themselves as Myanmar Muslims saying they appeared staged. EXODUS COULD REACH 300,000 Rights monitors and Rohingya fleeing to Bangladesh say the Myanmar army has been trying to force them out of Rakhine state with a campaign of arson and killings. Boatloads of exhausted Rohingya continued to arrive in the Cox's Bazar region of neighbouring Bangladesh on Thursday. The latest estimate by U.N. workers operating there put arrivals in just 13 days at 164,000, up from 146,000 from the day before. U.N. officials in Bangladesh now believe the total number of refugees from Myanmar since Aug. 25 could reach 300,000, said Dipayan Bhattacharyya, who is Bangladesh spokesman for the World Food Programme (WFP). [nL4N1LN4N3] The surge of refugees - many sick or wounded - has strained the resources of aid agencies and communities already helping hundreds of thousands from previous spasms of violence in Myanmar. Many have no shelter, and aid agencies are racing to provide clean water, sanitation and food. "Many refugees are stranded in no-man's land between the border with Myanmar," medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said in a statement. "Even prior to the most recent influx, many Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh lived in unsafe, overcrowded and unhygienic conditions, with little protection from the elements." It said more nurses, midwives and doctors had been brought in to tackle violence-related injuries, severely infected wounds and obstetric complications. (Corrects title of U.N. Secretary General in 8th paragraph, dropping extraneous words 'Security Council'.) (Additional reporting by Wa Lone in Yangon, Nurul Islam and Danish Siddiqui in Cox's Bazar and Mohammad Zargham in Washington; Writing by John Chalmers; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Shri Navaratnam)
Paris (AFP) - On the night of November 13 2015, Paris was plunged into horror as jihadist killers launched simultaneous attacks on bars, the national stadium and a concert hall, leaving 130 dead.

If the bloodbath sought to crush the city's much-envied lifestyle of pavement cafes, boozy meals, skimpy skirts and partying, it failed.

Even as it mourned its dead, Paris defiantly resumed its traditional behaviour, recasting itself in its role as the City of Lights.

Tourist numbers this year have surged, testifying to the French capital's enduring allure. For the January-June period, hotels in the Paris region reported 16.4 million guests, the highest in a decade.

But emotional scars remain, and even the physicality of the city has in some ways altered.

"When I'm in the cinema, I tend not to linger just behind the entrance, and when I'm in the restaurant, I don't like to have my back to the window... I don't feel safe," said 39-year-old Aurore Humez, who admitted it was "horrible" to be so fearful.

Parisians these days are used to the sight of security railings erected in front of concert halls and concrete bollards placed on pavements and outside schools to prevent ramming attacks by cars or trucks.

Armed soldiers, typically patrolling in groups of three, also now seem to be part of the city's landscape. France has mobillised 7,000 troops to strengthen security in a mission called Operation Sentinelle.

Police -- a major target for the string of smaller attacks that have occurred since November 2015 -- routinely don bulletproof vests while on patrol and tout a gun on their belt.

Workers, shoppers and tourists are expected to have their bags searched when they enter offices, department stores, the Eiffel Tower, Notre-Dame Cathedral or other monuments and museums.

Jeff and Lauren Stieritz, an American couple aged 35 and 33 interviewed outside the Arc de Triomphe, said the attacks were still in the back of their minds.

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They found that there were more police in Paris today than in their last visit seven years ago, but the city felt secure -- "It's not the Middle East!" said Lauren.

- Subway anxiety -

For some Parisians, there has been a small but indelible change in thinking, tinged by fear.

The metro, or subway, is one place where people seem to take special caution.

Posters and loudspeaker announcements repeatedly urge passengers to be vigilant and report suspicious items.

Stations are frequently closed temporarily while bomb squads examine a forgotten package or bag -- in 2016, there were 2,600 such callouts, double the figure of 2014.

Stephane, a 56-year-old man, said he scanned the the faces of fellow passengers to see if they were a potential risk, admitting to a twinge of regret that this felt like racial profiling -- the jihadist attackers had Arab ancestry.

"There's a stereotypical mugshot which has been applied to part of the population -- Frenchmen of immigrant background, usually young people, the ones who look like the guys who have been carrying out these attacks," he said.

Ahmed Alaya, 28, interviewed as he sat on a bench outside a mosque in eastern Paris, said he had had "problems with racism" on a few occasions.

"People have associated Islam with terrorism," he said sadly.

Other Parisians, though, said that, for them, life went on, and they did not feel trapped in the security treadmill.

"I didn't have the feeling that I was living in a dangerous town until my friends cancelled their stay," said Vivien Chazelle, 31.
Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Pakistan's major cities Friday to condemn a crackdown on Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, with many carrying placards stating "Shame on Aung San Suu Kyi".

The largely peaceful rallies were spearheaded by Islamist party Jamat-e-Islami (JI), but other groups including mainstream political parties joined in.

Leaders including JI chief Siraj ul Haq called for an end to the "genocide" of the Rohingya and for Pakistan to break off relations with the government in Myanmar.

Pakistan has previously expressed "deep anguish" at the violence.

Many protesters also slammed Suu Kyi, Myanmar's de facto leader, over her silence. The Nobel Peace Prize winner has faced criticism for failing to condemn the violence, leaving her global reputation in tatters.

A senior United Nations representative told AFP Friday that more than 1,000 people may already have been killed in the military-led crackdown, which has seen 270,000 mostly Rohingya civilians flee to Bangladesh in the last two weeks alone.

Others have died trying to flee the fighting in Rakhine state, where witnesses say entire villages have been burned since Rohingya militants launched a series of coordinated attacks on August 25, prompting the crackdown.

In Pakistan's southern port city of Karachi, which hosts one of the largest Rohingya populations outside of Myanmar, more than 2,000 people demonstrated outside the Karachi Press Club.

"If our leader gives the call, we will lay down our lives for the Burmese Muslims," one protester, Maulana Ahmed, told AFP.

In the capital Islamabad a similarly sized crowd gathered at the entrance to the diplomatic enclave, inside which the Myanmar embassy is situated.

Many carried placards reading: "Why are these Muslims being killed? What is their crime?" as chants of "Allahu Akbar", or "God is the Greatest", reverberated.

There were also some sporadic calls for "jihad", or holy war.

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Security forces with protective riot gear stood nearby and containers blocked off access to the enclave, with some small scuffles.

But police appeared relaxed as the demonstrators, some armed with batons, showed no signs of trying to go further into the diplomatic area.

Protests were also held in deeply religious neighbouring Afghanistan Friday.

Hundreds of placard-waving men marched in the eastern city of Jalalabad in support of the Rohingya while smaller demonstrations were held in the capital Kabul, including one outside the compound of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, and other cities.

Earlier in the week the Afghan foreign ministry condemned the "barbaric and inhumane attacks". The Taliban insurgents have also spoken out in support, urging followers to help the "oppressed Muslims".

Malaysia and Bangladesh also saw protests Friday evening.

The Rohingya have long been subjected to discrimination in mostly Buddhist Myanmar, which regards them as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and denies them citizenship.

The death toll given to AFP by Yanghee Lee, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, is far higher than official tolls totalling 432.

str-jaf-ak-st/amz
By Catherine Ngai

HOUSTON (Reuters) - More than 55 public school and charter districts in Texas remained closed on Friday, officials said, and tens of thousands of the state's students must be relocated to unfamiliar schools this year after Hurricane Harvey damaged their homes or classrooms.

In some districts, officials still have not said when schedules can resume. An undetermined number of schools will remain too damaged to use for much of the year, adding more uncertainty to families recovering from Harvey's aftermath.

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) said nearly 10 of the 55 districts that are closed will remain so until further notice. In Houston, the seventh largest U.S. school district, the first day of school was set for Monday, though many schools will remain shut due to flooding damage.

Some Houston school buildings will not reopen this year. A total of 6,800 students from nine schools that suffered the worst damage will start classes at the end of the month after being relocated to temporary campuses, officials said.

"We've already started identifying other campuses close to these schools to relocate and co-locate," said Houston independent superintendent Richard Carranza.

Earlier this week, he said as many as 20,000 students could be affected through 20 campuses.

In Aransas, near where the storm first made landfall, every school building received some damage, officials said. In nearby Corpus Christi, a spokeswoman said the district has received 118 students from other regions who have been displaced by the storm. She said the number could grow.

Planning is difficult in Texas, where students can show up to a neighborhood public school and enroll on the first day. State and federal laws allow displaced students to attend the school nearest their temporary home or be bused to their original school, according to the TEA.

Officials at YES Prep Public Schools, a charter school system in the Houston area with nearly 13,000 students, opened Thursday, said Mark DiBella, chief executive.

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"Part of why we want to open this week is about who shows up and who doesn't," he said.

In Port Arthur, classes are scheduled to begin Sept. 18. In nearby Beaumont, the school district, with nearly 20,000 students, is still assessing damages.

Opening classrooms for the first time is a must to help students adjust, said Anna Caudle, who works at a YES Prep high school. She met some YES Prep students while volunteering at a Houston emergency shelter.

"I saw some of my kids' faces light up when they saw me," she said. "Their first question was, 'When does school start back up? I want to be at school.'"

(Reporting by Catherine Ngai; Editing by David Gregorio and Leslie Adler)
Hope Hicks, President Donald Trumps aide and serving White House communications director, has hired a personal attorney in the wake of an ongoing investigation into the Trump presidential campaigns alleged ties to Russia, Politico reported Saturday.

Hicks had been part of Trumps campaign from the early stages and was promoted to the role of communications director last month after Anthony Scaramuccis turbulent 11 days on the job. Hicks is one of six high-ranking current and former officials whom special counsel Robert Mueller is interested in interviewing as part of the Russia investigation, according to the Washington Post.

As a result, Hicks has hired respected Baltimore attorney and Justice Department veteran Robert Trout, according to multiple sources to whom Politico spoke on condition of anonymity. Neither Hicks nor Trout commented on the report.



The Trump campaigns alleged collusion with Russia is the subject of congressional probes and an investigation by the Department of Justice. Trump has refused to condemn Russian President Vladimir Putins agenda, and the U.S. presidents relationship with Russia has become a toxic issue in Washington.

Confirming undisclosed contacts with the Russian Embassy cost Mike Flynn, Trumps former national security adviser, his job in record time earlier this year, while Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from the investigation for similar reasons. James Comey, the former FBI director, also lost his job in highly controversial circumstances, and Trump ultimately suggested he had fired Comey because he disagreed with the latters handling of the investigation.

Also thrust into the limelight because of the controversy is Trumps son Donald Trump Jr., who confirmed he attempted to secure dirt on his fathers rival Hillary Clinton from a woman he thought represented the Russian state. Other campaign officials have also been of concern to U.S. lawmakers on account of their previous work alongside Russian state enterprises and Moscow allies.

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The White House has denied any of the campaigns dealings led to improper contact with the Kremlin, while Trumps son-in-law Jared Kushner, also implicated in Donald Jr.s controversy, reportedly said the campaign was too disorganized to collude.

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Update: Friday, Sept. 8 at 4:05 p.m. EDT  Montgomery Gentry confirmed Troy's death in a public statement.

Update: Friday, Sept. 8 at 3:59 p.m. EDT  Radio personality Shooter Jennings seemingly confirmed Gentry's death in the helicopter crash. He took to Twitter to mourn the country star. "Sad about Don Williams but Troy Gentry was my friend. I had great times with him. I'm stunned, angry and upset at the moment. I'll miss you," he tweeted.

Original story:

Country star Troy Gentry of the band Montgomery Gentry reportedly died in a helipcopter crash Friday, sources told local Lexington, Ketucky news outlet Lex18.com. The crash occured at Flying W Airport in Medford, New Jersey.

Two people were killed in the crash. The second person's identity was not revealed.

Gentry, 50, is one half of the band Montgomery Gentry. His brother, Eddie, was not onboard.

One person was pronounced dead at the scene and the other was removed from the wreckage and rushed to the hospital where he later died, a spokesman for the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office told the Courier-Post.

Montgomery Gentry canceled their upcoming concert. The band was best known for their hit, "Our Town."

Lex18 was the only news outlet to confirm Gentry's identity at the time this article was published.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Troy Gentry of Montgomery Gentry

Photo: Getty Images

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Friday that churches in Texas should be able to receive money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for helping victims of Hurricane Harvey. Trump tweeted: "Churches in Texas should be entitled to reimbursement from FEMA Relief Funds for helping victims of Hurricane Harvey (just like others)". Trump's tweet followed a lawsuit filed by three Texas Churches seeking federal aid to repair severe damage to their structures by Harvey. It was not clear whether the churches had provided aid to victims. In the complaint filed on Monday in federal court in Houston, the Texas churches said they would like to apply for aid but it would be "futile" because FEMA's public assistance program "categorically" excluded their claims, violating their constitutional right to freely exercise their religion. They said FEMA's ban on providing relief where at least half a building's space is used for religious purposes, a policy also enforced after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and Hurricane Sandy in 2012, contradicted a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision making it easier for religious groups to get public aid. Becket, a nonprofit that advocates for religious freedoms and represents the churches, said the same principle should apply to federal FEMA relief for Harvey victims. "The principle is that governments can't discriminate on the basis of religious status, and that is unapologetically what FEMA is doing here," Daniel Blomberg, a lawyer for Becket, said in a phone interview. A FEMA spokeswoman said in an email it would be inappropriate to discuss pending litigation. The Texas churches that sued are the Rockport First Assembly of God in Rockport, which lost its roof and steeple and suffered other structural damage, and the Harvest Family Church in Cypress and Hi-Way Tabernacle in Cleveland, which were flooded. The case is Harvest Family Church et al v Federal Emergency Management Agency et al, U.S, District Court, Southern District of Texas, No. 17-02662. (Reporting by Eric Beech; Additional reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Writing by Eric Walsh; Editing by Andrew Hay)
Gary Drake moves slowly these days, his body fragile, his head bald after a rugged course of chemotherapy to combat stage 4 non-Hodgkins lymphoma.

Battling cancer for the second time has pushed him to make the difficult choice to retire as director of development for the Montana Rescue Mission. Drake, 64, has been involved with the MRM on the board, leading the ministry and now as a money raiser, for 25 years.

He will be missed, MRM's executive director Perry Roberts said Thursday.

Gary always had a vision for what needed to be added, what needed to be started, what the need was that wasnt being filled, Roberts said. It was evident in his entire career: the people we serve came first.

Drake, always witty, is a pleasant presence at the rescue mission, he said, and someone who sees the good in others.

We all need to be that way, but its good to have someone thats that way by default, Roberts said.

A dark time

Drake, in an interview at his southwest Billings home, said that back in 1985, the Montana Rescue Mission actually rescued him.

I went through a really dark time in my life, just a really low point, he said, sitting at his dining room table. Id been transferred to Denver for a job and that didnt work out the way we planned, and we ended up coming back to Billings.

Not long after, walking downtown, Drake was approached by a panhandler who asked if he had any spare change. Drake brushed him off and kept walking.

Drake felt a clear impression from God, to turn around, go back to the man and apologize.

I said I had no reason to treat him that way and asked for his forgiveness, Drake said. He said thats OK, it happens all the time. So I gave him what money I had in my pocket and went on my way.

Before he left, though, Drake asked the man where he was staying, and the man told him the Montana Rescue Mission. Then the following Sunday at Faith E Church, the president of the MRM board approached Drake and asked him if hed ever thought of joining the board.

Back then, the MRM had only the mens shelter on Minnesota Avenue.

Two things crossed my mind, Drake said. One, I cant believe this is not a coincidence, and the second thing, still feeling low, was that I have nothing to offer the mission.

But he reconsidered his initial decision and agreed to join the board. It was a time of turmoil among the staff, with a constant turnover of executive directors, Drake said.

When the last of a series of directors was asked to leave in the early 1990s, the board temporarily took over the running of the ministry. Drake was asked by a number of people if he had considered applying for the job.

Again Drake hesitated, still feeling the weight of his past failure. But he ultimately applied for the top job and was hired in July 1992.

Through my work with the mission, associating with people serving on the board and the staff, and the opportunities I had to really put my faith into practice, it was transformational for me, he said. I dont know if it could have happened anywhere else.

Meeting challenges

Drake had some challenges before him. The Women and Children's Shelter had opened in 1991 in a downtown building that was more than a century old and in need of constant repair.

The ministry had only 13 employees, including Drake, and few programs available to the homeless population it served. The most immediate problem, though, was a staff struggling with the aftermath of an emotionally stressful time.

One of the first things I felt I needed to do was meet with every one of them and ask for forgiveness as a board member not seeing what was happening, Drake said. I think God used that to heal some wounds very quickly, which allowed us to move beyond that.

Drake, who previously worked in the business world, used his skills to move the ministry forward. With both shelters full almost every night and more resources needed to invest in the lives of those people, he began to reach out to the community for support.

Over time, the staff grew to about 80 employees, and at its peak had a budget of $4.5 million. What that allowed was the chance to help its clients in the best possible ways.

That included a buffet table with many resources, Drake said, to meet someone at their point of need, not to be one-size-fits-all.

It was a paradigm shift for us, to recognize that homeless wasnt a problem to be solved, but the homeless were people to be served, he said. It was taking it from the big problem down to the individual.

By 2010, Drake was beginning to feel burned out. When the MRM received a large grant to establish a formal development department, he decided to apply for the director of development job.

At the same time Roberts, who was a board member, applied to be executive director. Drake called it a win-win.

We were able to raise not only a significant amount of dollars for the ministry, but we brought in somebody who had fresh eyes to look at things, he said. I really felt I was doing something Id been built for.

Time to go

Drake initially was diagnosed with stage 3 non-Hodgkins lymphoma in 2008. After treatment, it stayed in remission until this spring.

This time around Drake went through four cycles of very intensive chemotherapy, but a PET scan revealed the cancer wasnt responding.

So he is starting radiation not as a cure, but to reduce the tumor size and the pain Drake constantly battles. The hope is that new therapies may come along in time.

With the drain of the disease and its treatment, Drake and his wife, Sharon, decided it was time for him to retire to give me the greatest chance of getting healthier.

Sitting in the hospital during the chemo treatments has given Drake time to contemplate life and God and all the blessings he has received, including his wife and his family.

He recently had lunch with a hospital chaplain friend who compared Gods will to a river. Gods will can take you somewhere, his friend said, only if you surrender and let go of the idea that you can control the destination.

Thats tough for someone whos always tried to be in control of his life, Drake said, be it a career or health or life.

For me, I think this has been about not trying to swim upstream, not trying to take myself out of the stream, he said. But to trust God to see where hes going to take me, believing wherever that is, hes got my best interest at heart.
Washington (AFP) - US President Donald Trump spoke by telephone Saturday with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and discussed working more closely with its NATO ally to improve regional security, the White House said.

"President Trump emphasized the common commitment of the United States and Turkey to work together to increase regional stability," a White House statement said.

The phone call came amid a backdrop of deteriorating relations between Washington and Ankara, NATO allies whose relations have soured over the US decision to arm Kurds in Syria to fight Islamic State. Turkey regards the Kurdish militias as "terrorists."

Turkey has also repeatedly demanded, without success, that the United States extradite Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish preacher who lives in Pennsylvania and is accused by Ankara of being behind a failed coup against Erdogan in July 2016.

US authorities have also charged several Turks with violating financial sanctions against Iran, including former economy minister Zafer Caglayan.

Erdogan denounced the charges as a politically-motivated decision against Turkey.

But he has said that, if the opportunity arises, he will meet with Trump on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, which begins September 19 in New York.
Ankara (AFP) - Turkey on Saturday asked citizens to be "cautious" in Germany and stay away from political gatherings ahead of this month's election, as tensions ratcheted between the NATO allies.

Ties have plummeted since last year's attempted overthrow of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Germany's strong criticism of an ensuing crackdown which saw more than 50,000 people arrested.

Relations further deteriorated after the detention of several German citizens including Deniz Yucel, a correspondent for the Die Welt newspaper.

The Turkish foreign ministry urged citizens living in Germany or planning to travel there "to be cautious, taking into account the situation in Germany where they could risk xenophobic or racist treatment".

It asked them to "stay away from political debates, political party gatherings ahead of the general election" on September 24.

Ankara claimed there was "discrimination" against Turks "on the basis of their political views", which has led to "verbal attacks against some of our citizens".

Erdogan last month urged Turks in Germany not to vote for Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the Social Democratic Party (SPD) or the Greens, as they were "enemies of Turkey", enraging German politicians.

Merkel on Sunday provoked a wave of anger in Turkey and claims of German "populism" after she said she would seek to end talks on Ankara's accession to the European Union.
At least 11 people were killed by Hurricane Irma, but President Donald Trump had a message for the Category 4 storm wreaking havoc in the Caribbean: No need to fear, Federal G is here! He didn't say that, exactly, though that seemed to be the general message.

The president took to Twitter Friday to write about the storm thats heading toward Florida. While he cautioned people to stay safe, he also added that the federal government would help.

Hurricane Irma is of epic proportion, perhaps bigger than we have ever seen. Be safe and get out of its way,if possible. Federal G is ready! he wrote. Our incredible U.S. Coast Guard saved more than 15,000 lives last week with Harvey. Irma could be even tougher. We love our Coast Guard!

Many deemed Trumps response to be odd. The post was shared more than 6,000 times and garnered over 25,000 likes. The term Federal G became a top-trending Twitter topic Friday.

His tweet sparked a slew of responses, including some hilarious memes. Some of the reactions from netizens have been posted below:

This collabo between Federal G and Easy D is destined to be a banger. pic.twitter.com/uGJzwRDmzB  Dab Aggin (@DabAggin) September 8, 2017

Hey Hurricane Irma move out of the way because Federal G is coming for you! pic.twitter.com/xVnULltjcy  Elis (@EMilweiz) September 8, 2017

Federal G In Da' House!!! pic.twitter.com/VcL72O1UBF  Charles Records (@CharlesRecords0) September 8, 2017

Thousands of motorists clogged the highways in southern Florida as thousands of people tried to flee. An estimated 6 million people live in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties. It could become the largest evacuation in U.S. history, CNN reported Friday. Gas stations throughout the south part of Florida ran out of fuel.

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The motorists were heeding the warning of Gov. Rick Scott, who said residents should flee while they had the chance. We cannot save you when the storm starts, Scott said in a press conference Thursday. So, if you are in an evacuation zone and you need help, you need to tell us now.

Hurricane Irma was expected to slam into southern Florida Saturday and Sunday. The National Hurricane Center warned people Thursday to leave Florida as soon as possible.

You do not want to leave on Saturday, driving through Florida with tropical storm-force winds, CNN meteorologist Tom Sater said.

This is not a Category 1. This is not one to ride out and say, 'Oh, it's just a blow, we'll be fine.' No. If you're in the Keys, you need to go. This isn't an always fine kind of storm, CNN meteorologist Chad Myers added.

President Donald Trump

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By Dustin Volz and Jonathan Landay WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Twitter Inc is expected to brief U.S. congressional investigators soon on whether Russia used its advertising platform to promote divisive social and political messages during the 2016 election, Senator Mark Warner said on Thursday. The news came a day after Facebook said an operation likely based in Russia had placed thousands of U.S. ads with polarizing views on topics such as immigration, race and gay rights on the social media site during a two-year-period through May 2017. Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said the suspected Russian placement of such ads may have gone far beyond what Facebook disclosed, and that Twitter and other technology companies should also examine the issue. "It was my belief that the Russians were using those sites to interfere in our elections, and the first reaction from Facebook was, No. You're crazy." Warner said at the Intelligence and National Security Alliance conference in Washington. "I think what we saw yesterday in terms of their brief was the tip of the iceberg," Warner said. He also told reporters he expected Twitter to soon brief the Senate Intelligence Committee, one of the panels investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 election and whether members of President Donald Trump's campaign colluded with Moscow. A Warner spokeswoman later confirmed that was expected to occur. Twitter declined to comment. Facebook briefed U.S. lawmakers on the issue on Wednesday and also turned over information about the ads to Robert Mueller, the special counsel who is leading his own investigation into alleged Russian interference in the election, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. That information included copies of the ads and data about the buyers, the source said. Warner said he wanted to have Facebook brief lawmakers again and that he wanted Twitter and other companies to do the same. "As you see for example in the case of Facebook, they denied that they were being used in any way. They didnt do anything," Warner said. "But by the time of the French elections, Facebook was working with the French" and they shut down 50,000 accounts. Warner said legislation may be required to change how social media platforms can be used for political advertising to bring federal disclosure rules in line with those governing television advertising. (Reporting by Dustin Volz and Jonathan Landay; Writing by Susan Heavey; Editing by Paul Simao)
BEIRUT (Reuters) - U.S.-backed Syrian militias are set to announce an operation against Islamic State in the north of Deir al-Zor province, a senior SDF official told Reuters on Friday. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) will formally declare the operation on Saturday, with the aim of pushing Islamic State back from northern parts of Deir al-Zor, the official said. They will launch the assault from the south of YPG-controlled Hasaka, the official said, part of a wider offensive to drive Islamic State out of Raqqa city and territory to its southeast. With U.S.-led air cover and special forces on the ground, the alliance of mostly Kurdish and Arab militias is fighting to seize Raqqa, upstream along the Euphrates River. Spearheaded by the Kurdish YPG militia, the SDF says it has taken 65 percent of Raqqa city from Islamic State. In the Deir al-Zor assault, the SDF would push toward the Euphrates River from the east of the province, which borders Iraq. The operation will likely bring the U.S.-backed militias into closer proximity with the Syrian military and allied forces, who have advanced on Deir al-Zor city. The Syrian army reached its enclave in Deir al-Zor city this week, on the western bank of the Euphrates, breaching an Islamic State siege that had lasted three years. With the help of Russian air power and Iran-backed militias, the advance capped months of steady progress east against Islamic State across the desert. The eastwards march has on occasion brought the Syrian army and its allies into conflict with U.S.-backed forces. Still, the rival campaigns have mostly stayed out of each other's way, and the U.S.-led coalition has stressed it is not seeking war with Damascus. (Reporting by John Davison; Writing by Ellen Francis; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Matthew Lewis)
By John Davison and Rodi Said BEIRUT/AL SHADADI, Syria (Reuters) - U.S.-backed militias and the Syrian army advanced in separate offensives against Islamic State in eastern Syria on Saturday, piling pressure on shrinking territory the group still holds in oil-rich areas near the Iraqi border. Syrian government forces fought their way to an air base on the outskirts of Deir al-Zor city that had been besieged for years by the jihadists, said a commander in the military alliance fighting in support of President Bashar al-Assad. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a U.S.-backed alliance of mostly Arab and Kurdish fighters, meanwhile launched attacks against Islamic State in the north of Deir al-Zor province in an operation to capture areas east of the Euphrates river. The advances against Islamic State, another blow to its control over territory it held for years as part of a self-declared caliphate, will likely bring U.S.-backed forces and the Syrian government side, backed by Russia and Iran, into closer proximity. A U.S. warplane shot down a Syrian army jet near Raqqa in June and the SDF accused the Syrian government of bombing its positions, showing the risk of escalation between warring sides in a crowded battlefield. The Syrian conflict, which started as a popular uprising against Assad in 2011, has drawn in the United States, Russia and regional powers. Peace talks have failed to bring an end to a war where Islamist groups have increasingly dominated Syria's armed opposition. The SDF operation in Deir al-Zor province aims to capture areas in its northern and eastern countryside and advance towards the Euphrates, according to the Deir al-Zor Military Council, which is fighting as part of the SDF. "The first step is to free the eastern bank of the Euphrates and the areas Islamic State still holds," Ahmed Abu Kholeh, head of the military council, told Reuters after the announcement. "We're not specifying a timeframe but we hope it will be a quick operation," he said at the town of al-Shadadi in Hasaka province. Abu Kholeh would not say whether there were plans to advance on Deir al-Zor city itself. "We don't know how the battles will go after this," he said. He said SDF fighters did not expect clashes with Syrian government forces, but if fired upon "we will respond". The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group reported that SDF forces had advanced against IS in Deir al-Zor's northwestern countryside, seizing several hilltops and a village. SYRIAN ARMY RELIEVES AIRPORT Syrian government forces and their allies reached Deir al-Zor military airport on the other side of the Euphrates, where troops had been holed up since 2014, surrounded by Islamic State, the commander in the pro-Assad alliance said. The alliance includes Iran-backed militias and the powerful Lebanese Shi'ite group Hezbollah. The advance came days after the army and its allies broke the siege of the main part of the city, which had been separated from the airport by IS attacks a few months before. Syrian troops also recaptured the Teym oilfield southwest of Deir al-Zor and seized part of a main highway running downstream to the city of al-Mayadeen, to which many IS militants have retreated, the British-based Observatory said. That advance would help block potential IS reinforcements from al-Mayadeen, it said. Islamic State in Syria still holds much of Deir al-Zor province and half the city, as well some territory further west near Homs and Hama, where government forces recaptured several villages on Saturday, pro-Damascus media reported. But the group has lost most of its caliphate which from 2014 stretched across swathes of Syria and Iraq, including oil-rich Deir al-Zor. The SDF is still battling to eject IS from the remaining areas it holds in Raqqa, northwest of Deir al-Zor and once the group's main Syria stronghold from where it planned attacks abroad. Talks between Russia, Iran and opposition backer Turkey in the Kazakh capital Astana are to take place next week, possibly followed by a separate track at the United Nations in Geneva in October or November. Assad's government has participated in previous rounds from a position of power as Damascus has clawed back much territory, including the main urban centers in the west of the country and increasingly eastern desert held by IS. Syria's non-Islamist opposition holds some pockets of territory in western Syria, and the SDF, which is dominated by the Kurdish YPG militia, controls much of Syria's northeast. (Additional reporting by Laila Bassam in Beirut; Editing by Gareth Jones)
In the short time between the immense flooding in Texas wrought by Hurricane Harvey and the destruction to come in Florida wrought by Hurricane Irma, one of the most powerful earthquakes in Mexico's history rocked the country.

Mexico City, more than 600 miles away, shook amid the tremors. The death toll has surpassed 30 and continues to climb as Mexico, too, prepares for a hurricane  Katia, Category 2, expected to slam into Mexico's east coast on Saturday.

SEE ALSO: Reporters call out Trumps claim that he saw Harvey horror & devastation

The Mexican government will stretch itself as it tries to ensure the safety of its citizens, and it's perhaps worth wondering whether its neighboring government to the north will lend a hand.

The United States, as noted earlier, is handling the aftermath of one unprecedented disaster (Harvey) while trying to ready itself for yet another potentially unprecedented disaster (Irma). It, too, will stretch itself trying to ensure the safety of its citizens.

But in the wake of Harvey's catastrophic flooding, the Mexican government offered its assistance to Texas even while President Donald Trump again insisted Mexico would pay for his wall along the border between the two countries.

On Aug. 27, the Mexican Secretary of Foreign Relations office released a statement rebuking Trump, but concluded by offering help to anyone in the U.S. reeling from Harvey:

"The Government of Mexico takes this opportunity to express its full solidarity with the people and government of the United States for the damages caused by Hurricane Harvey in Texas, and reports that we have offered the US government all the help and cooperation that can be provided by the different Mexican government agencies to deal with the impacts of this natural disaster, as must good neighbors in times of difficulty."

The Mexican government, in contact with the State Department and the government of Texas, reportedly offered to help residents affected by Harvey in the same way the nation's government helped victims of Hurricane Katrina, which rocked Louisiana and other states in 2005. Texas Governor Greg Abbott accepted the offer.

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Following Katrina, Mexican soldiers found themselves on U.S. soil for the first time in more than 150 years. They stayed for three weeks in Louisiana and Mississippi, according to The Washington Post, where they delivered about 184,000 tons of supplies, and around 170,000 meals.

A State Department spokesperson wrote in an email that Mexico hasn't requested aid following the earthquake, but that the U.S. government is "in close contact with Mexican authorities as we monitor the situation."

"In addition to Mexico, we are monitoring the situation in Guatemala and El Salvador closely regarding earthquake and tsunami-related impacts," the spokesperson wrote.

Trump has so far not publicly spoken about potential aid to Mexico, and, yes, that means no tweets, either.

President of Mexico Enrique Pena Nieto, however, tweeted his thanks to friendly nations and leaders for their solidarity and support.

En nombre de los mexicanos, agradezco las muestras de solidaridad y apoyo que hemos recibido por parte de lideres y naciones amigas.  Enrique Pena Nieto (@EPN) September 8, 2017

Maybe that tweet is genuine. Maybe it's a subtweet. Maybe both.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State said on Friday its surveillance aircraft had moved away from an Islamic State convoy which has been trying to reach territory in east Syria. The Islamic State convoy has split in two, with 11 buses remaining in the open desert after others turned back into government-held areas. The Syrian government and Lebanon's Hezbollah group offered the convoy of originally about 300 lightly armed Islamic State fighters and about 300 family members safe passage in return for the militant group surrendering an enclave on the Syria-Lebanon border. However, the coalition has blocked the convoy from entering Islamic State territory in east Syria, near the border with Iraq, by cratering roads and destroying bridges. "To ensure safe de-confliction of efforts to defeat ISIS, coalition surveillance aircraft departed the adjacent airspace at the request of Russian officials during their assault on Dawyr Az Zawyr," the coalition said in the Friday statement, using an acronym for Islamic State. The coalition said Syrian pro-regime forces had "advanced past" the convoy. "The regime's advance past the convoy underlines continued Syrian responsibility for the buses and terrorists," Brigadier General Jon Braga, director of operations for the coalition said. (Reporting by Idrees Ali; Editing by James Dalgleish)
GENEVA (Reuters) - A European and African deal to stem the flow of migrants coming through Libya to Europe fails to tackle the abuses they face, the top U.N. human rights official wrote on Friday. The 28-nation European Union has long struggled to reach a coherent answer to the influx of migrants fleeing war, poverty and political upheaval in the Middle East and Africa, and the crisis is testing cooperation between member states. On Aug. 28, the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Chad, Niger and Libya agreed a plan to tackle illegal human trafficking and support nations struggling to contain the flow of people across the desert and Mediterranean sea. U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein said it was significant that the agreement they struck in Paris recognized that a comprehensive response was needed. "But it is very thin on the protection of the human rights of migrants inside Libya and on the boats, and silent on the urgent need for alternatives to the arbitrary detention of vulnerable people," he wrote in an article published by the United Nations. Zeid's office published a report last December on abuses faced by migrants in detention centres in Libya, "but memories are short when facts are inconvenient", he wrote. Since then the situation had worsened, with far too many allegations to verify and reports of bodies "in the desert, in the forest, on the beaches". Libya's morgues were overflowing, he said. Apart from the families awaiting word from missing relatives, hardly anybody seemed to care, Zeid wrote. The EU faces a moral and legal dilemma because it relies on cooperation with Libyan coastguards and plays down their abuses, which include shooting at aid workers trying to rescue migrants, Zeid said. "A coastguard that sometimes rescues migrants in distress  but sometimes chooses not to. Like the militias onshore, coastguards also sometimes beat, rob and even shoot the migrants they intercept," he said. Zeid said he agreed with a letter to European leaders from Joanne Liu, the head of Medecins Sans Frontieres, a charity that has sent aid workers to rescue migrants. The letter, entitled "European governments are feeding the business of suffering", asked: "Is allowing people to be pushed into rape, torture and slavery via criminal pay-offs a price European governments are willing to pay?" "I fully support her analysis, and share her disgust at this situation," Zeid wrote. (Reporting by Tom Miles; Editing by Alison Williams)
Cox's Bazar (Bangladesh) (AFP) - Some 164,000 mostly Rohingya refugees have now crossed into Bangladesh in the last fortnight to escape fighting between militants and Myanmar's military, the United Nations said on Thursday.

The latest figures means more than a quarter of a million Rohingya Muslims have fled Myanmar since fighting first broke out last October, plunging neighbouring Bangladesh into the middle of a major humanitarian catastrophe.

The most recent exodus was sparked by a military crackdown following a series of deadly raids by Rohingya militants on August 25.

A further 87,000 refugees had already fled to Bangladesh between October and August 25.

Myanmar's more than one million Rohingya are denied citizenship and face severe restrictions in the majority Buddhist country, which has come under increased criticism over its apartheid-like treatment of the Muslim minority.

Despite many living there for generations, they are viewed in Myanmar as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

Yet Bangladesh, which by last October already hosted some 400,000 Rohingya who had fled previous episodes of violence, also does not view them as its citizens making them the largest stateless community in the world.

The fighting is the most fierce Myanmar's western Rakhine state has witnessed in years.

The region, Myanmar's poorest state, has been a crucible of communal tensions between Buddhists and Muslims for years.

Myanmar says some 27,000 mainly ethnic Buddhist Rakhine have also fled in the opposite direction since August 25, accusing Rohingya militants of targeting their communities.

Earlier this year United Nations investigators said the Myanmar military's response to the ambushes had unleashed "devastating cruelty" on Rohingya civilians which may amount to ethnic cleansing.

Those flocking into Bangladesh have brought with them harrowing testimony of murder, rape and widespread arson at the hands of Myanmar's army.

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Myanmar's government, led by Nobel peace prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, has rejected allegations of atrocities, accusing the international media, NGOs and the UN of fabrications.

On Wednesday Suu Kyi said global sympathy for the Rohingyas was being generated by a "huge iceberg of misinformation".

Myanmar's government has placed the blame for the violence squarely on the militants, saying they are setting fire to their own homes.

In updated figures released by the authorities on Thursday, Myanmar said 6,600 Rohingya homes and 201 non-Muslim homes had been burned to the ground since August 25.

They added some 30 civilians had been killed -- seven Rohingyas, seven Hindus and 16 Rakhine Buddhists -- in the fighting.

Myanmar's army has previously said it has killed around 430 Rohingya militants.
FORT WORTH, Texas  Jaime Carrillo emerges from his faded pink house wearing blue jeans, boots, and a black cowboy hat. After a long day at work laying cement for city streets, he is ready for a second shift  this time as a volunteer for the Fort Worth Police Department. He straps a walkie-talkie to his collar, slaps a Citizens on Patrol sticker on the side of his blue Nissan Sentra, and settles in the drivers seat, hands gripping the steering wheel decorated with his daughters Hello Kitty decals.

Tigre, Tigre, Carrillo calls into the radio, addressing his partner. His own code name is Meneaito, the title of a popular salsa song. I like to dance, he explains in Spanish, shimmying his shoulders.

As he weaves his way around the roughly four miles of his regular patrol route through Polytechnic Heights  a low-income, largely immigrant neighborhood of Fort Worth known as Poly by locals  Carrillo, 40, never stops scanning his surroundings. He checks on the paleteros (popsicle sellers) who have been robbed repeatedly, the unsupervised children playing in the street, and the people loitering by the dismal-looking car wash. When he sees something amiss  front yards with mounds of trash (a violation of city code) or possible drug houses (identified by the suspicious number of cars parked out front, night after night)  he uses the radio to call his boss at the police department.

We are doing what the police do, Carrillo says. We check to see that everything is tranquilo.

In 1991, after a decade of explosive crime rates that gave Fort Worth the ominous nickname Murder Worth, the citys police force launched a department overhaul, which included community policing initiatives like the Citizens on Patrol program that Carrillo joined seven years ago. It now boasts more than 730 volunteers, who each spend five to 14 hours a week monitoring their neighborhoods, and is credited with lowering the citys rate of homicides, assaults, and auto thefts, as well as helping police keep gang activity in check.

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For Carrillo, this volunteer job is a calling. If he could have become a police officer, he says, I would have been one.

A big obstacle has kept him from achieving that dream: Carrillo is not a U.S. citizen. Originally from Zacatecas, Mexico, Carrillo crossed the U.S.-Mexico border when he was 19. And though he has lived in Fort Worth for more than 20 years, has car insurance, steady job opportunities, and two American-born children, he has never been able to obtain a drivers license or a Social Security number.

An estimated 1.6 million undocumented immigrants call Texas home, and many of them, like Carrillo, were drawn to fill low-skilled jobs in the states booming economy. Most have eked out industrious existences for years in full view of the government, sending their children to school and working for restaurants, gas stations, and construction companies.

When a police car drives by, Carrillo waves. Maybe I know him, or maybe he knows me, he says.

Police are aware that Carrillo, like many Citizens on Patrol participants, is not a citizen. But Fort Worths approach to law enforcement treats the citys undocumented community as an asset  not a target. The police forces general orders explicitly forbid officers from asking people about their immigration status for minor infractions. If youve been stopped for traffic violations or for loitering somewhere by a police officer, its not going to escalate to getting your documents, says Officer Daniel Segura, the Hispanic community liaison for the police department.

Besides working with the undocumented community through the Citizens on Patrol program, the police also host Spanish-language workshops at the department headquarters, where anyone can learn about police protocol, personal safety, and even how to shoot a gun.

Critics of this approach argue that not strictly enforcing immigration laws creates a government-protected class of rule breakers, and ultimately acts as a magnet, drawing increasing waves of migrants who feel no need to respect U.S. immigration laws. We should not be encouraging this behavior, says Ira Mehlman, the media director of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, a think tank encouraging the U.S. government to clamp down on immigration. Theres nothing that says illegal aliens shouldnt worry that there might be some consequences for violating our laws.

But representatives of the Fort Worth Police Department argue that they are following commonsense tactics employed by many other large, diverse cities, like Dallas and Houston. It keeps police focused on responding to criminal activity and ensures that all residents feel safe to report crimes. Volunteers are our eyes and ears, Segura explains. If you are a person [who] is working hard and taking care of your community and involved in our city, then we dont care about your legal status. Years ago, he was also living illegally in Fort Worth. But thanks to President Ronald Reagans 1986 immigration reform bill that allowed nearly 2.7 million people to legalize their status, Segura became a citizen and eventually a police officer.

In the current political climate, there is little hope for a similar reprieve for the estimated 11.3 million people living illegally in the United States. President Donald Trump has promised to implement a deportation force, build a wall on the southern border, and cut legal immigration in half. If anything, Texas is leading the crackdown. This month, a new state law is scheduled to go into effect: Senate Bill 4, which will allow police officers to ask anyone theyve detained for their documents  for any reason. It could potentially upend Fort Worths policing strategy of working closely with immigrant communities to combat crime. Who are they going to trust? Segura asks.

The mood in Poly has darkened in recent months. Shoppers at a local market say theyve made plans for their children to live with relatives if they are deported. Some tell stories of neighbors who, emboldened since the election of Trump, repeatedly call the police on them, apparently hoping they will be rounded up.

But Carrillo isnt too concerned that his work for the department will be affected  yet. And he doesnt like to dwell on the possibility of being sent back to Mexico. He listened to Trumps notorious speech calling Mexicans rapists and heard Texas Gov. Greg Abbotts promises to bring the hammer down on sanctuary cities. But to Carrillo, Fort Worth is home, and the police officers he works with have assured him that they respect and value his contribution.

Three years ago, Carrillo won the first-place award for his work with the Citizens on Patrol program  an honor that included a special ceremony. I said, Golly! Me? He beams, relishing the memory of hearing his name called. It was a surprise to be recognized in such a setting, with the mayor and police chief in attendance. I felt very  he searches for the word, finally settling on English  happy.

As dusk falls, he heads home for the evening. I would like to become more than this. To be a police officer, he says wistfully. I wish they would make laws to allow that. Ojala. God willing.

This article originally appeared in the September/October 2017 issue of FP magazine.
The Department of Transportation announced Wednesday that United Airlines will not be fined for dragging Dr. David Dao off of an aircraft in April.

United was originally notified of the departments decision in a May 12 letter, however that letter was only made public this week by passenger advocacy group Flyers Rights, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The now infamous incident sparked national outrage after a viral video showed the 69-year-old man being violently dragged from his seat. As Travel+Leisure reported in April, the airline wanted to put four crewmembers on the flight who needed to work the next day and requested that Dao give up his seat. When he refused, crew called airport security who forcibly removed him.

According to Reuters, the government came to its decision not to fine the airline because it had already provided correct compensation for four out of five passengers on the Chicago flight that Dao was removed from. The airline also reached its own settlement with Dao.

United CEO response to United Express Flight 3411. pic.twitter.com/rF5gNIvVd0  United (@united) April 10, 2017

Paul Hudson, president of Flyers Rights, told Reuters for the Department of Transportation to conclude that United Airlines conduct did not warrant an enforcement action is a dereliction of duty.

This incident should never have happened and we are implementing all of the improvements we announced in April, which put the customer at the center of everything we do, United said in a statement, on the government's decision.

We still have work to do, the airline noted in the statement, but added that it has made meaningful strides that improve our customer experience demonstrated by an almost 90% reduction of involuntary denied boardings year-over-year since May 1.
Abu Fas (Syria) (AFP) - US-backed fighters launched a new offensive on Saturday to oust the Islamic State group from swathes of Syria's eastern Deir Ezzor province, a top commander announced.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are already fighting for IS's de facto capital in Raqa, and they will now aim to clear the jihadists from territory east of the Euphrates River, said Ahmad Abu Khawlah.

Abu Khawlah, who heads the SDF's Deir Ezzor Military Council (DEMC), read the statement at a press conference in the village of Abu Fas in Syria's northeast Hasakeh province.

He said his forces had begun fighting to push IS out of remaining territory in Hasakeh province and further south in the strategically vital province of Deir Ezzor.

"Pivoting towards Deir Ezzor was inevitable... We are taking the first step to liberate territory east of the Euphrates River in Deir Ezzor," Abu Khawlah told AFP.

Since 2014, IS has held swathes of the eastern province, which border Iraq, and about 60 percent of the provincial capital, Deir Ezzor city.

Saturday's announcement came as Russia-backed Syrian regime forces were waging a separate offensive to oust IS from Deir Ezzor city.

"We are not coordinating with the regime or with Russia. We are coordinating with the international coalition," said Abu Khawlah.

He said US-led coalition air strikes had already helped them advance "around 30 kilometres (20 miles)" in their first clashes.

The coalition has carried out air strikes against IS in Syria since 2014 and is now backing the SDF's assault to retake Raqa from the jihadists.

The SDF has seized around 65 percent of Raqa since it first entered the city in early June.
United Nations (United States) (AFP) - The US has formally requested a UN Security Council vote on Monday on tough new sanctions against North Korea despite resistance from China and Russia, as Pyongyang's state media calls for a nuclear arms buildup.

Washington has presented a draft UN resolution calling for an oil embargo on North Korea, an assets freeze on Kim Jong-Un, a ban on textiles and an end to payments of North Korean guest workers.

Diplomatic sources said Russia and China opposed the measures as a whole, except for the ban on textiles, during a meeting Friday of experts from the 15 Security Council members.

"This evening, the United States informed the UN Security Council that it intends to call a meeting to vote on a draft resolution to establish additional sanctions on North Korea on Monday, September 11," a statement from the US mission to the UN read.

The statement declined to say what text would be voted on -- the original draft Washington first presented Wednesday, an amended text or another version.

In North Korea, which was marking the nation's founding anniversary Saturday, local media issued fresh calls for a nuclear arms buildup, in defiance of the mounting international sanctions.

"The defence sector, in step with the party's Byungjin policy (of developing the economy and nuclear weapons at the same time) must make cutting-edge Juche weapons in greater quantities," the Rodong Sinmun said in an editorial, referring to the national philosophy of "Juche" or self-reliance.

North Korea conducted its fifth nuclear test on September 9 last year, and then carried out a sixth a week ago, saying it was a hydrogen bomb that could be fitted onto a missile -- prompting global condemnation and calls for further sanctions.

In July, it tested two intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) that appeared to bring much of the mainland US into range.

The mouthpiece of the North's ruling party called for more "miracle-like events" such as the two ICBM tests to deter the United States which it said was bent "decapitating" leader Kim Jong-Un.

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In another commentary, Rodong Sinmun said the US would continue receiving "gift packages in different shapes and sizes" as long as it sticks to what it said was a hostile policy against the North.

Kim himself has called the ICBM tests "gift packages" that the North was delivering to the "US bastards".

- Deal on the horizon? -

One month after a ban on coal, iron and shellfish imports from North Korea, diplomatic sources said council members are seeking new measures to punish Pyongyang for its sixth and largest nuclear test on September 3.

The diplomats expressed optimism for the US-backed measure, despite Russia and China's reticence.

"I don't really see a veto at this point, and I think we will reach agreement," because all members have shown a "willingness to negotiate," an expert on the matter said on condition of anonymity.

A ban on oil and oil products is the "toughest point," a source familiar with the discussions said.

"The Russians and the Chinese are categorically opposed."

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said it is too early to talk about a vote at the Security Council on new North Korea sanctions, insisting any pressure should be balanced against restarting talks.

"Along with pressure on the North Korean regime to induce it to abandon provocations in the implementation of its nuclear and missile programs, it is necessary to emphasize and increase the priority of efforts to resume the political process," Lavrov said.

Russia is also opposed to sending back to their country North Korean expatriates who are an important source of revenue for the Pyongyang regime, sources said.

The United States wants tough sanctions to be imposed to maximize pressure on Pyongyang to come to the table and negotiate an end to its nuclear and missile tests.

The proposed raft of sanctions would be the toughest-ever imposed on North Korea.

Britain has given early backing to the measure.
Washington (AFP) - The US military was mobilizing thousands of troops and deploying several large ships Friday to aid with evacuations and humanitarian relief from Hurricane Irma, as the Air Force removed scores of planes from the region.

The governors of Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands and Florida have together activated nearly 14,000 National Guard personnel to support search-and-rescue missions and evacuations, a Pentagon statement read.

Meanwhile, the USS Kearsarge and the USS Oak Hill -- an amphibious assault ship and a dock landing ship -- are being sent to aid in relief efforts. The ships will not be in the Irma's path and were due to start response operations in the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico on Friday.

Hundreds of Marines aboard the ships had initially been deployed late last month to help with relief operations in Hurricane Harvey in Texas.

Additionally, the USS Iwo Jima and USS New York are preparing to provide support, while the USS Wasp -- an amphibious assault ship bedecked with helicopters -- is conducting patient evacuation operations in the US Virgin Islands.

The Wasp is evacuating critical care patients from St Thomas to St Croix and so far has launched six search-and-rescue missions and evacuated more than 20 patients.

The Navy said the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier was also instructed to get underway to the region to provide help if needed.

As Irma roared towards the mainland United States, the Air Force evacuated dozens of warplanes based in the South, including 50 F-16s from the Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina.

Northern Command, which is coordinating military efforts, is also "providing urban search-and-rescue capabilities in the Caribbean to assist with life-saving and life-sustaining efforts," the Pentagon statement read.

And the Defense Logistics Agency is supplying 50,000 gallons of gasoline and 50,000 gallons of diesel to an air base in Georgia.

The US Army Corps of Engineers was preparing to conduct port surveys and dredging missions to reopen ports after the hurricane passes.
Fashion isnt just for rich, skinny people.

Thats according to style expert Stacy London, who along with a panel of fashion-forward women spoke at theCURVYCon, a two-day, body-positive conference to celebrate size diversity in fashion. The event included a plus-size fashion show with models such as Liza Golden and WWE wrestler Nia Jax showing off new collections from designers Rachel Roy and Rebel Wilson and wrapped with an empowering conversation from some of fashions most influential names.

Style expert Stacy London speaks about size diversity at theCurvyCon. (Photo: YahooStyle)

London aside, the panel included Fern Mallis, founder of New York Fashion Week and former executive director of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, Emme, who is considered the worlds first mainstream plus-size supermodel, Dia&Co co-founder Nadia Boujarwah, and plus-size model Marquita Pring.

(Photo: YahooStyle)

When reflecting on her fashion journey, which began as a fashion editor at Vogue, London described her daily routine, saying, All I did was dress six foot, double zero models. And that was really easy. Its not really hard to put something on a pole and make it look like something. She added, But what I found was that very quickly, it didnt satisfy me in the way that I was hoping that it would.

The women also discussed the strides they were making in the plus-size world  Emmes initiative Fashion Without Limits is reshaping fashion design courses at her alma mater, Syracuse University, Boujarwahs company Dia & Co is a plus-size style subscription service, and Pring played a role in convincing her agency IMG to not segregate curvy models from their slimmer counterparts. And all the women shared their fashion evolution and their hopes for an inclusive future.

London also detailed her time as a stylist and host on the now-canceled show What Not to Wear, explaining that the program, which lasted 10 seasons, exposed her to varying body types and broadened her notion of style.

Her lesson straight from the fashion trenches: There s a weird cultural idea that you have to be young, skinny and rich to look good in clothes, and that is bullsh*t. Amen.

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Day 2 of theCURVYcon is Saturday, September 9th. It will be live-streamed exclusively on Yahoo Style. Tune in here from 9:45am on.

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Day 2 of theCURVYcon is Saturday, September 9th. It will be live-streamed exclusively on Yahoo Style. Tune in here from 9:45am to 4pm on Saturday, September 9th.
Harare (AFP) - Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe said on Saturday that he may name a preferred candidate to replace him as a bitter succession battle between his wife and the vice-president grinds on.

But the 93-year-old liberation leader turned autocrat ruled out simply appointing his favoured figure and said his ruling ZANU-PF party must make the final decision.

The president's wife Grace Mugabe and vice-president Emmerson Mnangagwa have been locked in an increasingly acrimonious fight over who will take power when Mugabe dies.

"I can have my own candidate but that person must fight it out with other candidates at the congress," Mugabe said at a youth rally attended by thousands of supporters in Bindura, a farming town 90 kilometres (56 miles) north of the capital Harare.

"The constitution says the leader is chosen at the congress."

Mugabe, who has ruled Zimbabwe since independence in 1980, said that it would be unprecedented for the presidency to be handed over to an appointee without the ruling party's input.

"We have never done it before that... I will leave or give power to Mrs Mugabe, or Emmerson or Mphoko as my successor," he said, referring to his wife, his first deputy Mnangagwa and his second-vice president Phelekezela Mphoko.

"I follow the regulations very strictly. I cannot leave my wife in power like they do in some French (speaking) countries. We do not do that in ZANU-PF, we have a good history."

Mugabe's wife was once dismissed as a light-weight shopping addict with no political instincts, but Grace has recently emerged as a serious challenger for power.

Aged 52, the first lady has dropped heavy hints that she aspires to the presidential palace and has publicly called on her husband to name a successor. She has been increasingly active in public life in recent months and now leads the ZANU-PF women's wing.

Mnangagwa, 74, was appointed to the post in 2014 and is seen by some foreign diplomats as the figure most likely to reform Zimbabwe's fractious politics and moribund economy if elevated.

Mugabe has already been named by ZANU-PF as its presidential candidate for polls due in 2018.

The president, who often travels abroad for medical treatment, has repeatedly condemned factionalism within his own party in thinly veiled rebukes to Mnangagwa and his wife's public posturing.
Allow me to paraphrase a statement made by the late Elie Wiesel. While its true, he said, that not all the Germans murdered Jewsall the victims were Jewish. While its true that not all the Muslims are jihadists or terrorists, all (or at least an overwhelming majority of) the victims of the killing sprees across Europe are Christians (the Jews have not been a target so far, but rather a by productrandom victims).

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In the Middle East, terror organizations have been fighting each otherand Israelfor years, but this is only the situation in our region. What is the goal of the different jihadist organizationsthe Islamic State, al-Qaeda and their likesconcerning Europe? To return to a situation that existed in the not-so-distant past in a number of countries in Europe, following the Ottoman Empires occupation expeditions. In other words, their declared aspiration is an Islamization of Europe and an elimination of the heretics.

Scene of recent terror attack in Barcelona. There is no, and never will be, justification for terrorismand to hell with political correctness (Photo: AFP)

But Islam doesn't necessarily need murderous terror attacks to take over the continent. Any intelligent person understands that if Western European countries fail to wake up soon, they may find out within several decadesor maybe even by the end of the centurythat the Muslims have become a majority in the population. Not only is the natural growth among Muslims much higher (some say 10 times higher) than the natural growth of any other group in the population, but huge waves of immigration from Islamic countries in Africa and the Middle East keep flooding the continent. If this immigration continues, the portend of an occupation of Europe will turn into a reality.

Lets take Britain, for example. Islam is today the second biggest religion in the country, every third child who is born there is given the name Muhammad in its different variations, and the Muslim communities in its main cities are only growing. Some of them have Muslim quarters that are essentially run as autonomies.

Many of the millions of Muslims living in the kingdom are second- and third-generation immigrants from countries that used to live under the rule of the Empire and whose residents automatically received a British citizenship. For example, the parents of Sadiq Khan, Londons Muslim mayor, arrived in Britain from Pakistan in the 1960s. Khan is an example of a successful integration, but he is not the exception that proves the rule. By the way, in a survey conducted about a year ago only 44 percent of Londons residents described themselves as white British.

Statements, protest marches or attempts to engage in a dialogue with imams will do no good when it comes to terror. The only thing that will work in this case are drastic measures making it possible to thwart attacks before they take place, even if they involve a violation of what the West refers to as human rights. Instead of neutralizing terrorists and prosecuting them after they carry out an attack, doing everythingand at all coststo prevent the execution of a terror attack.

Hundreds of British Muslims who fought on behalf of ISIS in Syria and Iraq have returned to Britain recently. They are ticking bombs in their country. As someone who has been closely following the situation in Europe for years, I have often encountered explanations from different experts trying to find extenuating circumstances for the internal terrorists motivesfrom cultural maladjustment through integration problems to different mental difficulties. They have apparently failed to comprehend that there is no, and never will be, justification for terrorismand to hell with political correctness.
Russia's newly installed ambassador to Washington said on Friday that he had had a warm and constructive meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, Russian news agencies reported.

"I was received by President Trump, I presented my credentials, for my part I said that we are looking forward to an improvement in the relations between our two countries," the agencies quoted the ambassador, Anatoly Antonov, as saying.

"President Trump received me in a warm and friendly way. We, together with his colleagues, his staff, agreed to continue our cooperation."
The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces are set to announce an operation against Islamic State in the north of Deir al-Zor province, a senior SDF official told Reuters on Friday.

The operation, which aims to push Islamic State back from northern parts of Deir al-Zor, will be formally announced on Saturday, the official said.

With US-led air cover and special forces, the SDF alliance of mostly Kurdish and Arab militias is battling to oust Islamic State from Raqqa city, upstream along the Euphrates river.
Leaders in Qatar and Saudi Arabia spoke by telephone on Saturday in what was their first high-level contact since an Arab diplomatic crisis engulfed Doha three months ago, but now even terms of what they discussed have created a new dispute.

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That even this small step toward a resolution creates new tension shows how deeply the boycott of Qatar has cut across the typically clubby politics of the Gulf Arab states.

The call also comes after Kuwait's emir, who so far has been unsuccessful in mediating the dispute, met Thursday in the White House with President Donald Trump, who offered to arbitrate himself.

Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

Both governments acknowledged a call between Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, next in line to the kingdom's throne, and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

After the call, the state-run Saudi Press Agency said Crown Prince Mohammed would talk to Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emiratesthe other Arab nations boycotting Qatarand then release details.

The state-run Qatar News Agency immediately published details of the call, saying that Riyadh and Doha had agreed to send two envoys to discuss the dispute.





Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (Photo: AFP)

Qatar said that call came after Trump personally spoke with its ruler, Sheikh Tamim. The White House earlier acknowledged Trump spoke with Sheikh Tamim and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed, as well as with Abu Dhabi's powerful crown prince.

The Saudi and Qatari leaders "stressed the need to resolve this crisis by sitting down to the dialogue to ensure the unity and stability" of Gulf nations, the Qatar News Agency account read.

US Pres. Trump (Photo: AFP)

Saudi Arabia reacted angrily to the Qatari statement, issuing a second message saying Doha's statement did not have "any relevance to truth."

"This proves that the authority in Qatar is not serious in dialogue and continues its previous policies," the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said. "The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia declares that any dialogue or communication with the authority in Qatar shall be suspended until a clear statement explaining its position is made in public."

The Qatar crisis began June 5, with boycotting nations cutting off Doha's land, sea and air routes over its alleged support of extremists and close ties to Iran, among them Gaza-based terrorist group-turned political party Hamas. Qatar long has denied funding extremists and recently restored full diplomatic relations with Iran, with whom it shares a massive offshore natural gas field.
The new chief of terrorist group turned political party Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, arrived in Cairo on Saturday to hold talks with senior Egyptian intelligence officials over its blockade of Gaza. This is Haniyeh's first venture out of Gaza since his election, a spokesman for the organization stated.

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In the past few months, Hamas has sought to mend relations with Egypt, which controls their one border crossing and has, under President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, been highly wary of ties between Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood, ousted from power by al-Sisi after mass protests.

Hamas controls the Gaza Strip and shares borders with Egypt and Israel. For much of the last decade, Egypt has joined Israel in enforcing a partial land, sea and air blockade of Gaza.

Haniyeh (Photo: AP)

In return for easing the blockade on Gaza, Hamas is willing to aid in Egypt's fight against ISIS forces in the Sinai Peninsula.

It is yet unclear whether the two sides will discuss the matter of three living Israeli civilians and the remains of two IDF soldiers, whom are currently held captive by Hamas in Gaza.

In addition to Haniyeh, the Hamas delegation includes top ranking officials from Gaza and abroad, such as Mousa Abu Marzook and Salah al-Arouri. Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said the talks with Egypt will focus on alleviating the blockade and mending a longstanding rift with rival group Fatah, headed by Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Abu Marzook (Photo: Reuters)

There was no immediate comment from Egyptian officials on the talks.

Haniyeh was elected Hamas leader in May. The group maintains a sizeable armed wing in Gaza since seizing the enclave from Fatah in 2007.

Israel, which signed a 1979 peace treaty with Egypt and coordinates closely with it on security, is maintaining a close watch on discussions between Egypt and Hamas..
Terrorist group Hezbollah claimed Saturday it has uncovered an Israeli spying device that had been placed inside a rock in Kfarchouba, a village in southern Lebanon, the Hezbollah-affiliated news agency Al Mayadeen reported.

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The rock that allegedly held the hidden device was reported to be equipped with a thermal camera that is able to record visuals during the day and night.

"This discovery comes while the enemy is holding army maneuvers in northern Israel while specifically focusing on the border area," said Hezbollah's website.

The rock allegedly containing the Israeli spying device

Lebanese news website A-Nashra quoted a source in the Lebanese army who said a patrol of the army's intelligence corps found the object near the Rawisat outpost and is working to dismantle it along with army engineering.

Earlier Saturday, Lebanon's Foreign Ministry stated it will file an "urgent complaint" against Israel with the United Nations Security Council over claims Israel violated Lebanon's airspace while conducting an airstrike against a Syrian government installation on Thursday.

This attack on the Syrian Scientific Studies and Research Center (SSRC) located in the western outskirts of the Hama district allegedly killed two soldiers, the Syrian army claimed.

The CERS center allegedly attacked by Israel (Photo: Intelli Times)

The Syrian army went on to caution against the "harsh ramifications these belligerent actions may have on the region's security and stability," and made clear it's "determined to obliterate terror and root it out from every inch of Syrian land, regardless of the assistance given these terrorist gangs."

The Syrian regime's SSRC was tasked with developing missiles as well as chemical weapons. The center, a contemporary of the Israeli Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, was known for making S-60 missiles that were then handed over to Hezbollah. It's also one of the locales mentioned as a prospective site for an Iranian precise missile factory.

Israel cautioned recently it would not accept the construction of factories manufacturing precise weaponry for Hezbollah. IDF and its Spokesperson's Unit refused to confirm or deny these reports.
A Holocaust-era missive a girl sent her twin sisterwho made Aliyah and now resides in Israelhas only recently been recovered in Spain, decades later.

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The events that led to the letter being written and eventually found begin in Germany during World War II, when the parents of Rachel and Fanny Gewertzthen teenstried saving them from the clutches of the Third Reich. They were able to get Rachel a visa to Palestine, and she made Aliyah.

Fanny, however, was forced to stay in Germany. She survived the Holocaust and in 1944, only a year before Germany surrendered, escaped to Spain through the Pyrenees along with a group of 60 other Jews.

The lost WWII missive

She settled down in Sort, a small village there, and only then did she find the time to write the letter to her sister, with whom she was forced to part because of the war.

The missive made its way through Portugal and Egyptwhere it was examined by the country's censorsbut was never delivered to Rachel upon reaching Israel for an unknown reason, and was thus returned to sender.

Rachel and Fanny Gewertz

Meanwhile, Fanny moved to Barcelona but the letter was sent back to the inn where she lived with the other Jewish survivors, and the owner tucked it away in a storeroom.

A short time before Israel declared its independence in 1948, Fanny also made Aliyah, and was finally able to meet her long-lost sister Rachel.

The letter Fanny wrote her sister in the 1940s

The letter, however, gathered dust in the Spanish inn and only recently, when someone was tidying up, was it found and given to Spanish historian Joseph Calbet.

Calbet was somehow able to track down Rachel, who's now 93 and residing in Rishon Lezion. Her sister had already passed away, but the historian was able to find her son, who also lives in Israel, and share the find with him.

Israel's ambassador to Spain Daniel Kutner was also apprised of the letter's story, and was asked by the Spaniard to organize a ceremony in Israel finally delivering it to Rachel.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will leave Sunday for an official trip Latin America in the first visit of a sitting Israeli premier in the region.

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Netanyahu will be joined in his visit to Argentina, Colombia and Mexico by a delegation of Israeli businessmen from the fields of agriculture, water, communications and energy.

Members of the business delegation will hold commercial meetings with their local counterparts, while economic events will also be held in Argentina and Mexico, led by Prime Minister Netanyahu and the Argentine and Mexican heads of state.

Prime Minister Netanyahu (File photo: Moshe Milner)

Netanyahu will begin his trip in Buenos Aires, where he will meet with Argentine President Mauricio Macri. The two countries will sign a series of agreements on public security, customs and social insurance as well as an archives agreement regarding the Holocaust.

In Buenos Aires, the prime minister will attend ceremonies in Embassy Square, the site of the 1992 terror attack, along with family members of the Israeli diplomats who were killed in the bombing. He will also visit the Jewish community building (AMIA), the site of a 1994 terror attack, along with family members of those who were killed in the attack and survivors.

Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes will travel to Buenos Aires to meet with Netanyahu.

From Argentina Prime Minister Netanyahu will fly to Bogota, where he will meet with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos. The two countries will sign several joint agreements, including an MOU in science and a tourism cooperation agreement.

From Colombia, Netanyahu will fly to Mexico City, where he will meet with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto. The two countries will sign several agreements, including an MOU on space, an aviation agreement, a communications agreement and a MASHAV cooperation agreement.

Netanyahu will attend events with local Jewish communities in Argentina, Colombia and Mexico and meet with community leaders.

At the end of his visit to Latin America, the prime minister will fly to New York to attend the UN General Assembly, where he will deliver an address on its opening day. He is also due to meet with various world leaders.
Lahore: Pakistan Railways has transferred land on GT Road to the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) for a substation of the under-construction Orange Line Metro Train, a news source quoted the project Chairman Khwaja Ahmad Hassan. The transferred land will be used to set up a high-voltage power substation.

Hassan, during a weekly progress review meeting, said that development work at the GT Road and Multan substations will be completed by the end of this month. In order to ensure speedy and efficient construction, the latest machinery has been imported to create girders for the project, he added.

Hassan also revealed that train wagons will reach Lahore by mid-September, for which the parking depots for the wagons have already been set up at Dera Gujran. Commenting on the project status, he said that 74% development for the metro train project has been completed.
When I was a 9-year-old Presbyterian girl, I was told that if I matched my birthday with the same verse in Proverbs 31  the chapter all about a godly woman  I would have a direction for my life.

Proverbs 31:9 was my verse. Open your mouth, judge righteously, maintain the rights of the poor and needy. (RSV)

Earnestly I meditated on those words, especially open your mouth. About that same time, I wrote my first little book. Rather than speaking out, as the NIV version says, over the years, I honed my pen.

The second phrase, judge righteously, I skimmed over for decades. Those four syllables carry a wealth of ambiguity. Didnt Jesus say judge not, that ye be not judged? Yet here is Solomon, the wisest man in the Bible, advising just the opposite.

I have often been too judgmental in my life. Did the person, place or thing I was judging want my opinion, anyway? Still, I would dip my pen in poison, and then reap the predictable, negative results. Ive never received a gift for saying that the emperor has no clothes.

But here we are told to judge those to whom we give. I almost never give to persons, mostly men, who stand on street corners with a sign. I travel a set route most days, and see the same person at the same intersection again and again. Yet, I have given a dollar or two occasionally when I felt that still, small voice prompt me.

As for larger donations to our local charities, I rate them on whether they respect those they wish to help.

A hand up, not a handout? Im okay, youre not okay, just let me fix you is a formula for disaster. Gravity being what it is, its much more likely that the helper will be pulled down than the needy person will be lifted up. In almost 30 years in a recovery program, Ive never been able to discern who would stay clean and sober and who would not. And what about those who are homeless because of bad luck, disability or a mental illness?

Jesus was respectful even to those who didnt deserve it, my sister said to me recently. None of us deserves it, I answered. Thats the whole point of salvation. And grace.

The most important gift you can give to another human being is respect coming from a fountain of unconditional love.

Which brings us to the third phrase. Maintain the rights of the poor and needy. According to my NIV concordance, of 177 references to the poor, only two, in Proverbs, speak of a lazy person or a person illegally claiming to be poor. We are told to take care of the poor 171 times with no qualification as to their worth or even their ability to work. A verse in each Gospel also reminds us that we will always have the poor among us.

Our Bill of Rights, written by that great skeptic, Thomas Jefferson, (legend says that he cut everything out of the New Testament to which he didnt agree) affirms the right of every one of us to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. In order to stay alive, we need food, shelter and basic medical treatment.

What is your opinion of the poor here in Billings? Do you see them as lazy, on the dole, while supporting people in countries far away?

Because I have a limited income, I often shop the second-hand store. During one visit, at the beginning of the month, I noticed a well-dressed woman who was about to check out two carts full of clothes that had been marked down to a dollar each. I asked the sales person what she was doing with it all.

Shes sending it to Africa, the clerk answered.

Im sure the woman thought she was doing a wonderful thing. But could she not see the needs of the other shoppers around her? A friend of mine calls this selective blindness Afghanistanism.

I will end with a word from St. Paul. All they asked was that we continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do. I hope that you will be eager, as well.
Fling killed at Siparia

South Western Division police found his body, with gunshot wounds to the head, slumped in the drivers seat of a B15 car in Siparia.

Duntin, of Samuel Cooper Road, Fifth Company Village, Moruga, was the neighbour of 24-year-old Brian Happy Warren, a security guard. Warren, who is also his cousin, was gunned down in his Allied Security Services uniform on July 29 near Samuel Cooper Road junction .

According to police reports on Duntins killing, shortly after 10 pm police on patrol received a report of an unknown car parked at Murray Trace, Siparia. Police went to the location and found Duntins body. The cars lights were on and its transmission in the drive position with the engine still running. The area was bushy.

At the familys Moruga home yesterday, his brother Makesi Duntin said he was perplexed as to the reason why his brother was in Siparia in the first place.

Duntin worked as a private for hire driver but previously owned a palour, now operated by a relative.

I want to know what he was doing so far down there in the first place. I never know him to be in any kind of thing (meaning any illegal activities). Makesi said his brother often stayed elsewhere but frequently visited home.

Only on Thursday night, Warrens relatives held a prayer service at his house to mark the 40th day of his death. Earlier in the evening, Duntin was seen in the community.

Another neighbor, Marvin Ravello, 47, was shot at Sixth Company, Moruga, on August 17 last year.

Police were unable to confirm yesterday if any of the three killings of the neighbours are connected.

Homicide Bureau Region III are investigating.
Soldier charged with assault on minors

The charges are related to alleged offences dating back to 2014.

The soldier, who holds the rank of Lance Corporal, appeared before Seventh Court Magistrate Adia Mohammed and was granted bail in the sum of $80,000 with surety.

The soldiers father was accepted as the surety and up to midday yesterday relatives were trying to secure bail.

The army officer was arrested on Thursday following an intensive investigation by officers of the Carenage Police Station as well as the Child Protection Unit .

It is alleged the soldier indecently assaulted a 14-year-old and an eight-year-old starting in 2014.

Corporal Reyes of Carenage Police led the investigation.

The soldier is to reappear in court on September 22. He was represented by defence attorney Brent Winter.
Man charged with possession of weed, ammo

A short while later, they executed a search warrant at his home at Kumarsingh Street, Gordon Village, Tortuga and also discovered a further 24 packets of compressed marijuana and 100 rounds of 9 mm ammunition.

Police said the drugs seized had an estimated street value of $129,000.

The suspect was subsequently charged by Sgt Ali of the Couva CID with possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking and possession of ammunition . According to a police report, at about 8.30 pm on Thursday, Ali along with Cpls Harriot and Duncan and officers of the Gran Couva Police Station were conducting a roadblock exercise at Indian Trail, Gran Couva when they had cause to stop and search the vehicle driven by the suspect. He was expected to appear in the Couva Magistrates Court yesterday
Family wants answers into suspected bandits killing

We are hearing all kinds of stories, said one relative who did not want to be named, we dont know what to believe.

Police said at about 6.30pm, Tyree Charles of Demarara Road, Arima and another man attempted to rob the Play Whe outlet at the corner of Prince Street and Broadway. The security officer saw what was happening, and attemtped to stop them.

Charles drew a gun and fired at the guard and when the security guard returned fire, Charles was shot several times about the body, while his accomplice escaped.

However, relatives are saying this was only one version of the story which they received.

We are hearing that it was a security guard, then we heard it was an ex-police officer, and we are also hearing that it was some bald-headed man. said relatives at the Forensic Science Centre yesterday, We are hearing all kinds of things but police are not saying anything to us. Relatives told Newsday Charles was originally from Wallerfield but spent a lot of his time at his grandmothers house in Malabar.

The teen was the eldest of two boys and would have celebrated his 19 th birthday on September 27. Charles father died while he was very young, leaving his mother and his two grandmothers to take care of him. His family members told Newsday that he was a loving child, but had gotten into trouble with the police before. They added that he was a quiet individual who would keep his emotions to himself.

An autopsy confirmed Charles died from multiple gunshot wounds.
FINDERS, KEEPERS

The man said he was stunned yesterday when he was contacted by Acting Senior Superintendent Ajith Persad and informed the cash was now his.

When asked yesterday how he felt about his good fortune, the man told Newsday, Awesome. He said he immediately contacted his girlfriend and close relatives to share the good news.

He was met at the Port of Spain CID yesterday by Persad who again commended him for his honesty and gave him the cash.

Persad told the man his actions demonstrated there are still honest people around and he should encourage others to practise honesty as he did when he handed over the money which could have belonged to someone who may have withdrawn the money for medical purposes, or to pay bills. He also advised the man to spend the money wisely.

The man was even accompanied by police to a nearby bank to deposit the money and was escorted back to his job.

He told Newsday he felt he was already rewarded for his honesty last year when he received the keys to a new HDC home and was wondering where he would get the money to furnish the house. He said he even contemplated getting engaged to his girlfriend but was financially constrained.

Now that he has received the money, he intends to furnish his kitchen and engage his girlfriend because he believes the time is right.

I feel really awesome, I feel great, I feel richly rewarded and I believe in my heart that honesty really pays off, he said. I have seen this happen in my life, so I am advising other young people that doing the right thing is always the right thing to do. Recalling the day when he found the money, he said he never for a moment thought about keeping it. He said his parents taught him about practising honesty and that is how he has lived his life.

Asked by Newsday if he was aware he would be entitled to the money if no one claimed it, he said he was advised of this by relatives but chose to wait until the police contacted him.

Newsday was told PC Anil Bharath conducted investigations, including interviewing people at the hotel, but no one claimed to have lost the cash.

Persad consulted ACP Irwin Hackshaw and Section 52 of the Police Service Act Chapter 15:01 was invoked.

The act states, Where the owner cannot be ascertained and the finder makes a claim after three months, the property shall be handed over to him. Such finder shall be required to sign a bond of indemnity with respect to the delivery in accordance with Section 52 of the Police Service act Chapter 15:01.
No one immune to crime

He said the issue of crime and lawlessness is especially challenging, but was optimistic that new police initiatives were yielding success in arresting rampant crime, citing recent improvements in detection rates.

Unfortunately, Trinidad and Tobago is fighting the scourge of crime and no community and no family is immune to understanding this particular pain.

However, I think that the police are to be commended on their work, he said.

I am confident that we are working on every issue possible as a country and we know that there is so much to be done, so many sectors to approach I think we are headed in the right direction and I am satisfied to see the detection and arrest ratios improved, be it in kidnapping or other offences. Broadbridges sons, Christopher and Stephen delivered a heartfelt eulogy in which they recalled their childhood and memories of the woman many affectionately referred to as Two Gun Claire.

Officiating priest, Monsignor Emmanuel Pierre denounced Broadbridges death and said that coping with the death of a loved one, who had died peacefully was enough but, the pain of coping with the death of a relative who was murdered, was much worse.

Pierre added that while comfort and healing will eventually come to the grieving family, it was the duty of friends and relatives to lend their support in their time of need.
Alexandrov, FSC director clash during interview

The incident arose when Newsday visited Alexandrov at his office at the centre yesterday for a brief interview on his career and experiences in TT.

Less than ten minutes into speaking however, Director of Forensics at the centre Arlette Lewis, interrupted the meeting and ordered reporters to leave the office as media were not allowed inside the facility, due to security concerns.

However, Alexandrov would not accept that excuse and questioned Lewis motives for wanting the reporters out of the office, saying the interview was not about the centre specifically, but about his own personal experiences as a medical practitioner in TT.

Do I need you to give me permission to talk about my personal life and my personal experieces and plans? Why do I have to talk to them outside of my office. Its not the secret service, its not the CIA, they are not in the firearm lab or the DNA lab, they are in my office.

Im not going to provide them with any information pertaining to forensics.

They are asking me about my resignation and I am free. Lewis said that while she was not opposed to Alexandrov giving the interview, she said that it would have to be done outside the compound, however, Alexandrov continued to question her wanting the interview outside his office adding that in the past other media have entered the facility without hinderence.

Who gave information to a newspaper that on Monday due to your intervention that the crisis was resolved in the matter. What intervention are they referring to? Lewis said that in order for the interview to take place, it would have to be outside of his office.

Alexandrov further dismissed Lewis concerns as spy paranoia.
CAL suspends flights to hurricane-hit areas

CAL, in a statement yesterday, advised that due to damage to the St Martin Airport, it was re-routing Flight 456 on Sunday to avoid the hurricane-hit island.

Instead of Flight 456 passing through St Martin/St Maarten, it will fly directly from Port of Spain to Kingston.

Likewise Flight 457 the same day will also fly directly from Kingston to Port of Spain, avoiding St Martin.

Please be advised that St Maartens Princess Juliana International Airport remains closed due to significant damage from Hurricane Irma. The statement said affected passengers travelling today could change or cancel their reservations without penalty subject to conditions, chiefly that they had a confirmed ticket issued before September 9.

The statement said passengers travelling between September 6 to September 15 to destinations affected by hurricane Irma (namely St Maarten, Antigua, Bahamas, Fort Lauderdale, Miami and Orlando) would have all penalties waived once re-booking for the same cabin.

Passengers must make these changes or request refunds on or before September 30, the statement said.

CAL advised passengers to visit their web-site, and check their flight status before going to the airport, or to call the CAL call centres for further details.
US Air Marshalls will now be onboard US-TT flights

This was announced yesterday by the US Embassy in Port of Spain, which said the agreement to do so is in line with (both countries) deep and expanding programme of security and law enforcement cooperation. The agreement provides for the continued security presence of In-Flight Security Officers (IFSOs); more commonly known as Air Marshals in the US, between the TT and the US. Air Marshals are security officers deployed on aircraft for the purpose of carrying out duties pursuant to aviation security.

The US Embassy said, The renewed commitment will ensure that the US and TT continue to be on the forefront of the latest methodologies and security concepts. More importantly, this agreement allows the US and TT to continue to be part of an evolving joint global strategy to thwart terrorism in the civil aviation community now and into the future.
A judge on Friday sentenced a carnival worker to a maximum of 115 years in prison for sexually assaulting a 5-year-old boy whom he kidnapped from a Casper bowling alley last year.

As Natrona County District Court Judge Thomas Sullins handed down the sentence, the mother of the victim hugged her boyfriend while former carnival worker Joshua Winters rocked back and forward on the soles of his feet.

Joshua Winters received a 50- to 70-year sentence for kidnapping and 30 to 45 years on merged charges of first and second-degree sexual abuse of a minor. That sentence will begin after Winters completes his first sentence, meaning he would need to serve 80 to 115 years in prison He received credit for 416 days served.

Winters, 34, was convicted in May after a four-day jury trial in which he took the stand in his own defense.

At his sentencing hearing Friday in Natrona County District Court, Winters maintained his innocence. He said he still did not remember the entirety of the July 2016 day when he kidnapped and molested the child.

"I know deep down in my heart I would not harm a child," Winters said, despite a jury finding beyond a reasonable doubt that he had done just that.

Winters claimed he had a problem with alcohol, rather than "with children."

"I beg you to give me the chance to live my life again," he said. As Winters worked toward the conclusion of his remarks, the victim's mother whispered, "How much longer?"

Soon after, Sullins handed down the sentence, asking that Winters also have access to "any and all" substance use treatment available to him in prison.

Unusual start

The hearing began just after 10:30 a.m., with Sullins considering whether to allow the victim's father and step-mother to listen in on the proceedings by phone from their out-of-state home.

The judge eventually decided to allow them to listen in without speaking, although he noted it was a procedure typically confined to civil cases, rather than criminal ones. The couple was not allowed to speak during the hearing, but did provide a written statement to the court.

The victim's mother spoke soon thereafter, saying "It takes a lot of courage to come up here."

She said Winters had HIV, and her son had to be tested for the virus.

Thus far, the results have come back negative, Oldham said later.

The victim, who splits time between his parents' homes, visited Casper over the summer, which his mother described as traumatic. She said he may not return to the town again.

Halfway through her statement, she said "I have so much more to say but I don't know if I'm gonna be able to," as her voice quivered.

She said her son was undergoing counseling as a result of the trauma he endured at Winters' hands, and said Winters will "have to live with (his actions) the rest of his life."

A man who described himself as a "long-time friend" of Winters spoke next, alternating between questioning the quality of Winters's defense counsel, bemoaning Winters's fraught childhood and referencing the Sermon on the Mount.

Jim Arcane of Massachusetts concluded his remarks by asking the judge to sentence his friend to probation and allow Winters to stay with him on the east coast.

In contrast, the prosecuting attorney sought a 125-year-to-life sentence for Winters, describing the victim's tears on the morning of the crime as "the kind of crying that shakes the entire community."

After Oldham asked for leniency in sentencing his client, he said his request seems "ridiculous to just about everybody in (the) courtroom except me and my client."

When Winters spoke, he described the investigative interrogation process as "intense and deceitful."

That did little to sway Judge Sullins, who noted that jurors had found that Winters committed the kidnapping specifically to sexually assault the boy.

"The aggravating factors are many in number," Sullins said.

After being sentenced, Winters waved to his friend and was escorted out of the courtroom.

"Justice has been served"

After the hearing ended, prosecutor Kevin Taheri described the sentence as "appropriate when you consider the crimes (Winters) was convicted of."

The victim's mother said the boy and his brother were both having a hard time healing from the event. She described the past year as "the most horrifying...year ever in my entire life."

Winters "blaming" his alcohol use and childhood trauma for his actions was "unbelievable," she said.

"I'm glad he's gone," she said. "Justice has been served."
Imbert: Helicopter sent to Antigua and Barbuda was on private mission

Imbert said there have been preliminary talks with the Antigua and Barbuda government about TT assisting in rebuilding structures on Barbuda. He said no decision has been taken as yet and the situation is being monitored with Jose expected to hit the island today. Before the sitting, Imbert held a news conference to outline Governments plans to help TT nationals who have been stranded in different parts of the region by Irma and other storm systems.
Young: Former ministers may go to court

He explained, Alexandrov would be expected to come back if his evidence is required in court. Young added, Someone stopping being in their position does not negate them going to court. The minister did not expand on his comment about former ministers going to court. Oropouche East MP Dr Roodal Moonilal has threatened legal action against Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley for comments which Rowley made at a news conference at Piarco International Airport last week, before leaving for a medical check-up in California.

Rowley said Moonilal may have questions to answer regarding the alleged mishandling of more than $400 million at the Estate Management and Business Development Company Limited (EMBD) in August 2015.

Moonilal was the EMBDs line minister at that time.

Young said Alexandrov is not performing any autopsies at this time.

He said Dr Hughvon Des Vignes is currently doing autopsies at the Forensic Sciences Centre and Dr Eslyn Mc- Donald-Boris will be joining him fully from October 21.

Young said Boris has made herself available to assist in the interim.

In response to another question, Young said the Police Service has acquired a total of 1,591 vehicles from 2010 to 2016.
Colm: Well not aid colonies

This, from Acting Prime Minister Colm Imbert and Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs and National Security Stuart Young at a news briefing yesterday at Tower D, Wrightson Road, Port-of-Spain.

The briefing revealed that in the storm-hit areas, all TT nationals were safe. Young said three TT nationals were in the British VIrgin Islands and seven or eight were in St Martin.

While Young mulled offering an Air Guard C-26 airplane to assist against Irmas devastation, in addition to a State-owned helicopter already committed, he did not want such assets to get stranded up the islands by Joses arrival.

Imbert said was receiving demands from members of the public for Government to assist St Martin but that islands two parts were each, respectively, colonies of France and the Netherlands. Countries that were better positioned than TT to help the island. Amid reports of a breakdown in law and order he said a Dutch warship is near St Martin.

They are dependencies, Imbert said. We are focussing on our Caricom colleagues. He added, Within reason, with our financial difficulties, whatever assistance we can render to Caricom countries we will. So far its Antigua and Barbuda. Barbuda has been virtually flattened. Imbert said yesterday morning that he had talked Antigua and Barbudas foreign minister and that as most of Barbudas infrastructure had been flattened, their population had been evacuated to Antigua as both islands now awaited the arrival of Hurricane Jose.

Hurricane Jose is projected to hit Antigua or Barbuda tomorrow (today), Imbert said. Imbert said aid would be chiefly by the loan of a 12-seater Agusta Westland helicopter (owned by State-run National Helicopter Services) already in Dominica on private business.

We will re-route it to Antigua. It is expected to arrive in Antigua this (yesterday) morning, he said. Well make it available for one week to assist in Barbuda. Imbert said the Government would absorb the cost of providing the helicopter, while the Antigua and Barbuda Government would provide accommodation to the flight crew. He added that he expected private citizens of TT to help Antigua and Barbuda.

Regarding Saint Martin/Sint Maarten, Imbert said several TT nationals were stranded there.

Young said all TT nationals in the hurricane- hit areas were safe, including nationals now in Tortola and the British Virgin Islands.

He said he had, earlier yesterday, held a meeting of relevant agencies, notably the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and National Security; Defence Force; Caribbean Airlines Limited; Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM) and the Immigration Division.

The aim was to put in place plans, protocols and logistics. Young said he was in close contact with allies such as the United States.

He said a statement will be issued advising how TT nationals in hurricane-hit areas can register their location, and to advise that the collection of relief will be coordinated by the ODPM. The Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force is on standby, he said. We are also in contact with the Venezuelan Government who are sending troops and military supplies to assist. ile some foreign military aircraft have managed to fly in to the devastated Saint Martin Airport but not civilian craft, Young did not want to send assets from TT that could get stranded there by Joses impact.

Asked about the 8.2 magnitude earthquake in Mexico yesterday, Young advised any TT nationals in Mexico to contact the TT embassy in Washington DC, even as the TT Government would liaise with the Mexican Embassy in Port-of-Spain.
AG: I will protect TTs children

He said the forms to accompany the legislation will be going to Cabinet next Thursday and Cabinet will subsequently set a date for the legislations proclamation.

I do consider that 26 years of discussion on the abolition of child marriages deserves some haste, Al-Rawi told Ramdial.

However, he reminded her and other Opposition MPs, legal operationalisation is a critical factor. In that context, Al-Rawi said, I make no apologies, whatsoever, for taking care and caution with the forms. He said under the former Peoples Partnership (PP) administration, forms to accompany the Proceeds of Crime Act were not prepared.

Al-Rawi said this resulted in the PPs own AG, now in private practice, sue the State for the lack of availability of forms. He said this led to the payment of damages by the countrys taxpayers.
Garcia: Contractor stopped work on San Juan schools

Education Minister, Anthony Garcia, responded to the protest on Monday, the first day of school, when over 200 students protested in front of the school gates demanding that the school be completed.

At a press conference yesterday at the Education Towers in Port-of- Spain, Garcia said, I understand the concern of the parents in that they want to ensure that the new school is built.

We have some problems that we are trying to rectify.

A major problem is the contractor himself has stopped work on that project. He stressed that while the Ministry worked to iron out the challenges, the students were being housed in a building in Tunapuna and were receiving an education.

With respect to reports that school guidance counsellors had not been paid in two months and were staying away from work because of years of non-payment of outstanding allowances, Garcia said the reports in the press were totally inaccurate. Dr Lovell Francis, Minister of State in the Ministry of Education said that he toured schools in Tableland on Thursday and had a discussion with South Eastern guidance counsellors who were conducting a cluster meeting.

There was no indication of any kind they had ever stayed away from work or there was any kind of a boycott.

That report is totally in error. He also denied reports of counsellors not being paid for two months but admitted that some had been paid late due to administration issues within the Ministry.
The Japanese government is considering meting out additional punishment to Shoko Chukin Bank as the scale of its fraudulent lending is now believed to be larger than earlier thought, officials said Friday.

The government-linked lender plans to finish by end-September its own probe into the malpractice, which involved a low-interest loan program set up after the 2008 global financial crisis to tide small firms over temporary difficulties caused by natural disasters and financial system crises.

The government will decide how to punish Shoko Chukin after examining the investigation results. President Kenyu Adachi, former vice minister of economy, trade and industry, may be held responsible, informed sources said.

"We'll shed full light on the matter and tell the bank to clarify the responsibilities of relevant officials and executives, strengthen its governance system drastically and take other necessary measures," Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Hiroshige Seko told a news conference.
Hakuho on Friday pulled out of the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament getting underway Sunday due to pain in his left knee, becoming the third yokozuna to withdraw from the meet after Kisenosato and Kakuryu.

Based on official records kept by the Japan Sumo Association since the Showa Era (1926-1989), it is the first time for three yokozuna to miss the opening day of a tourney.

Harumafuji is now the only yokozuna set to compete on the first day of the 15-day meet at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo.

Hakuho, who was seeking his third straight Emperor's Cup and an unprecedented 40th title overall, will sit out a tourney for the first time since the March event in Osaka where he pulled out on the fifth day due to injuries to his right toe and thigh, and sixth time in all.

The 32-year-old Mongolian also missed part or all of the Autumn Basho the past two years.

"I think (Hakuho) felt until the last minute that he wanted to compete but his knee was not healed," his stablemaster Miyagino said. "He shouldn't strain himself and perform poor sumo. We have no choice but to have him recover promptly."
Japan's Daichi Nakamura won the first prize in the violin category at the International Johannes Brahms Competition in Poertschach, southern Austria, on Friday.

"I am relieved now," Nakamura, 27, who is originally from Kitakyushu in the southwestern Japan prefecture of Fukuoka and currently lives in the Austrian capital of Vienna, told the press.

He added that he wants to perform in a manner that would reflect the intentions of composers as much as possible.

Nakamura has performed with numerous orchestras both inside and outside of Japan, including the Kyushu Symphony Orchestra, based in the city of Fukuoka, when he was nine years old.
The state of Montana could see hundreds of government jobs eliminated, safety in jails and prisons diminished, and even a reduction in the states ability to collect the taxes that keep it operating under plans to cut spending because of lower-than-projected revenue.

Documents submitted by state agencies and released Friday detail the 10 percent budget cuts called for by Gov. Steve Bullocks office in an effort to trim at least $226 million in state spending over the next two years.

The cuts are necessary because of lower-than-expected state revenues due to low income tax collections, which are down about $70 million from what was projected. There has also been a reduction in tax revenue from natural resource extraction, and the state is experiencing high expenses fighting wildfires that have torched more than 1 million acres so far this summer, with several major fires still burning.

Montanas Constitution does not allow the state to operate in the red and gives the governor authority to make mid-year reductions. The state has to have an ending fund balance, or cash in the bank, of $143 million at the end of fiscal year 2019.

The cuts proposed Friday are not final. Two legislative committees will make recommendations on how to cut spending, and starting Sept. 26, Bullock will start an agency-by-agency review. He has the discretion to decide which cuts are made.

Some very tough decisions are going to be made over the coming weeks and months as I work to responsibly balance our budget, Bullock said in an emailed press release Friday. I remain hopeful that the legislature will work with me during this process to identify more responsible solutions to deliver a balanced budget that does not substantially impact education, healthcare, child protective services and public safety.

Unless a special session of the Legislature occurs, the decision on the cuts will fall to Bullock.

This round of cuts comes on top of a 5 percent reduction across most of the state government implemented by the Legislature this spring. That was followed by another $70 million in cuts triggered when revenue came in lower than projected. Those cuts halved the states fire fund, which is now empty, and resulted in 20 people losing jobs, mostly at the Montana Historical Society and the State Library.

The Department of Public Health and Human Services already reduced services to children in foster care, the elderly and disabled and is trying to cut rates Medicaid providers are reimbursed by 3.47 percent.

That department, the biggest in state government, is also the hardest-hit agency under the proposed cuts released Friday. Bullock asked the department to cut $105 million more in spending over the next two years, including in senior and long-term care, child protection services and addictive and mental disorder programs.

While every state agency will be impacted, 85 percent of the states general fund budget is dedicated to the Department of Corrections, the Department of Public Health and Human Services and the primary, secondary and higher education systems.

"To say this has been difficult is a tremendous understatement," health department director Sheila Hogan said in an emailed statement. "We will do the best we can to minimize the impact on Montanans as much as possible, but we remain hopeful the legislature will work with the governor to find more responsible solutions."

Documents released by the state after 5 p.m. on Friday detail more than 110 pages of cuts, with varying degrees of clarity as to which divisions and programs in the health department would be affected. Officials were not available to offer clarification on unclear proposals.

Some health department programs, such as a federal entitlement program that helps infants with disabilities, appears to be cut entirely. Other divisions would see furloughs in staff hours and layoffs, though it wasnt clear exactly how many jobs would be lost.

High-cost dental procedures for 44,774 adult Medicaid patients would no longer be covered. Operating costs at Montana State Hospital would be cut by $2.2 million over two years. Earlier this year, the hospital almost lost its federal funding because of unsafe conditions caused in part by a shortage of staff.

The Department of Corrections will lay off numerous employees, which it said will make conditions worse for inmates, possibly risk public safety and open the state up to several lawsuits. It would cut up to $40 million over two years under its proposal.

"Unfortunately, there are no good options for such significant cuts," director Reginald Michael said in a statement. "We hope that throughout this process we can identify more responsible solutions to this situation, but for now we'll keep making public safety decisions in the best interest of Montanans."

Cuts will mean already overflowing county jails will continue to hold state prisoners. Reducing that burden was a major part of corrections-related discussions during the last session of the Legislature, with some advocacy groups discussing potential lawsuits if county jail populations did not come down.

The cuts are deep enough to even limit the batteries parole and probation staff buy to use in their radios. If batteries die during shifts, that could put their safty at risk. The department would also not be able to replace broken cameras at Montana State Prison for two to three months.

The infirmary in Lewistown would also be closed, leaving 25 inmates without access to nursing home care. Medical costs and equipment would still need to be provided at the Montana State Prison.

The Office of the Public Defender would no longer use contract attorneys, who handle a significant amount of cases. That may cause legal issues by denying people a right to a speedy trial and "disruption to the judicial system," the agency said.

Cuts to the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education would reduce state financial aid available to Montana College students. Reductions to resources for maintaining federal grant programs could jeopardize a $5.4 million annual Carl D. Perkins Grant. Public service and research agencies attached to Montana State University and the University of Montana will face cuts.

The state university system must identify a total of $44 million in spending reductions. State lawmakers already slashed the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education's budget in the 2018-2019 state budget passed in April.

Those previous cuts left a $19 million shortfall that resulted in tuition hikes, and Deputy Commissioner Tyler Trevor said tuition may have to go up again. It will be up to the Board of Regents to approve the cuts and tuition hikes, Trevor said.

"They all will have the ability to weather the storm, it's just a matter of the tactics we take," Trevor said of the state's colleges and universities.

At the Department of Justice, 10 percent cuts would mean closing a satellite lab in Billings, as well as scrapping plans to build a morgue there. Both were considered a huge improvement in dealing with an influx of drugs and crime in that region that came with a boom in the Bakken oilfields in Eastern Montana. The department also predicted the change would result in the departure of the state medical examiner because its difficult to recruit that job under current conditions.

The Motor Vehicle Division would leave vacant positions unfilled, resulting in increased wait times for customers.

The plan we submitted represents the worst case scenario, if required to cut the full ten percent of general fund dollars from our budget, Eric Sell, a spokesman for the department, said in a statement. If these cuts go into effect, it will clearly have a negative impact on the services we provide to the people of Montana.

The Office of Public Instruction would cut $5.8 million over two years in local assistance to districts, a move the office said would have "severe" impacts since districts have already budgeted for that amount and can't get money elsewhere.

It would also implement a hiring freeze and put additional restrictions on travel and attending conferences. "The impact of this reduction will significantly alter the way OPI provides services to Montana schools and students," the department wrote in its plan.

The Department of Revenue pointed out by cutting its budget, the state would have less ability to collect revenue and disperse it to state, local and tribal governments. An estimated 116 full-time equivalent positions would be cut over two years, many from the property assessment and business income taxes divisions.

That will "severely impact the security, efficiency and effectiveness of the department's tax administration, thereby negatively impacting the state's general fund, school funding and local government funding," the department wrote.

Montanans can comment on the proposed cuts at http://balancedbudget.mt.gov/.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Boko Haram jihadists killed eight people in a series of raids on farming communities in northeast Nigeria, civilian militia members and local residents told our reporter on Friday.

The attacks were carried out by gunmen travelling in pick-up trucks and on motorcycles outside the Borno state capital, Maiduguri, on Wednesday and Thursday. Homes were razed, and food and livestock seized in an apparent reprisal attack against young men joining the civilian militia, which helps the military with security.

They killed eight farmers in the raids and burnt three villages which forced farmers to abandon their farms, said one militia leader, Ibrahim Liman. Some 17 Islamist fighters stormed Mallan village at about 8:00 am (0700 GMT) on Thursday, killing two farmers.

Three people were shot dead in the same village on Wednesday night, said resident Jidda Kori, who fled to Maiduguri. They mainly targeted young men in the attacks because they believe every young man is a member of the civilian vigilante he added.

They burnt down the entire village and took away our food, livestock and 13 bicycles. Kesa Kura village, which is near Mallan, was also attacked on Wednesday night, killing three people, said resident Mohammed Ahmed. Another village, Manjita, was razed but residents managed to flee after they were alerted by people fleeing Mallan, he added.

The eight-year Boko Haram conflict has forced farmers and their families to flee their homes and fields, leading to a shortage of food and exacerbating a humanitarian crisis. Many were living in camps for the displaced in and around Maiduguri but had moved back to their homes because of apparent successes in the counter-insurgency.

A cash funding shortfall for feeding programmes has also forced people to leave the camps to try to resume farming in liberated areas after three missed seasons. At least 20,000 people have been killed and more than 2.6 million others made homeless by the violence, which began in 2009. The latest attacks come despite the repeated insistence of Nigerias government and military that Boko Haram is a spent force.

On Monday, four people were killed in a drive-by shooting on a group of farmers working on their fields in Ngawo Fato Bulabulin village outside Maiduguri.

Last week a farmer was shot dead and four others were abducted by the jihadists as they worked on their farms near the town of Konduga, 38 kilometres (24 miles) from Maiduguri.
Saint Martin after Hurricane Irma. Photo: Lionel Chamoiseau /Getty

Islands devastated by Hurricane Irma earlier this week received a small measure of good news on Saturday, as it appeared that Hurricane Jose, a powerful Category 4 storm, would stay largely to the north of the Leeward Islands, sparing most inhabitants from its worst effects.

As of Saturday afternoon, Jose remained a hugely destructive storm, with maximum sustained winds of 145 mph. But its northward track means that hurricane warnings for Saint Martin were downgraded to tropical-storm warnings, and tropical-storm warnings were discontinued for the smaller islands of Saba and St. Eustatius.

Barbuda, Saint Martin, and the U.S. and British Virgin Islands may still experience heavy winds and rain but not the storms full fury.

This was a meager consolation for places rendered all but uninhabitable from Irma, which hit some of the Leeward Islands as a rare Category 5 powerhouse. And the threat of Jose still hindered relief efforts, delaying the chance to reach people who needed food and water, or even take account of the storms death toll.

On Barbuda, the smaller of the two islands that make up the nation of Antigua and Barbuda, almost every structure sustained severe damage, and all 1,700 residents had been evacuated to Antigua in anticipation of Hurricane Jose. One person, a two-year-old boy, was left dead.

Jose would have only added to the debris, Sir Ronald Sanders, ambassador to the U.S. from Antigua and Barbuda, told the Washington Post. Theres no one there now. Its like a scene from winter without snow. No grass. No trees. It is just rubble. We now have refugees from Barbuda in Antigua, and will have to sustain their lives for months, probably years, as we rebuild.

A drive through the streets of Barbuda. The damage is truly horrendous pic.twitter.com/WuBBEcQce7  Laura Bicker (@BBCLBicker) September 8, 2017

Saint Martin, which comprises Dutch and French overseas territories, was flattened by Irma; video conveys the sheer level of annihilation.

The Dutch government said that 70 percent of the homes on its side of the island were badly damaged or destroyed, and that looting had broken out before Dutch military personnel arrived.

U.S. military aircraft evacuated more than 500 Americans from the island.

Other islands in the area, like the British Virgin Islands, saw extensive damage from Irma as well. At least five deaths had been reported there.

Video taken from helicopter flying over the British Virgin Islands shows sheer devastation caused by Hurricane #Irma https://t.co/coA8SMAUr0 pic.twitter.com/bhIm3Ec5nZ  ABC News (@ABC) September 8, 2017

Cuba sustained a major hit as Irma passed over it on Saturday, but it was too early to say how much damage the storm inflicted.

To make matters even worse, communications on many of the affected islands were still spotty days after the storm, leaving many agonized relatives and friends elsewhere to wonder how their loved ones had fared.

This post has been updated to reflect forecast changes.
Amy Wax, a University of Pennsylvania Law School professor who co-authored a controversial column about bourgeois values. Photo: Penn Law

Its rare for an 800-word newspaper column to generate as much controversy as the one published a month ago in the Philadelphia Inquirer. In it, Amy Wax and Larry Alexander, law professors at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of San Diego, respectively, argued that the collapse of bourgeois values  defined by the duo as, among other things, being neighborly, civic-minded, and charitable, not using bad language, respecting authority, and eschewing substance abuse and crime  can go a long way toward explaining what they see as Americas recent socioeconomic difficulties. They believe it accounts for social trends ranging from low male labor-force participation to the opioid crisis.

Key to their argument is the idea that some cultures embrace bourgeois values more than others:

All cultures are not equal. Or at least they are not equal in preparing people to be productive in an advanced economy. The culture of the Plains Indians was designed for nomadic hunters, but is not suited to a First World, 21st-century environment. Nor are the single-parent, antisocial habits, prevalent among some working-class whites; the anti-acting white rap culture of inner-city blacks; the anti-assimilation ideas gaining ground among some Hispanic immigrants. These cultural orientations are not only incompatible with what an advanced free-market economy and a viable democracy require, they are also destructive of a sense of solidarity and reciprocity among Americans. If the bourgeois cultural script  which the upper-middle class still largely observes but now hesitates to preach  cannot be widely reinstated, things are likely to get worse for us all.

Its worth pointing out that this is not a new argument, of course  its a mix of, among others, brand-name conservative figures like Richard Nixon and David Brooks and Charles Murray. Conservative critiques of the counterculture ethos, of the reckless individualism of the liberal ideal, have been going on for decades (or longer). Still, the Inquirer column caused an uproar on the Penn campus, and that uproar became a full-blown conflagration when Wax gave a provocative quote to the Daily Pennsylvanian, a Penn student newspaper, for an article about the growing controversy: Everyone wants to go to countries ruled by white Europeans, she said, since those countries embody bourgeois values.

Nearly half of Waxs colleagues at Penn Law School denounced her  33 of them  signing an open letter, also printed in the Daily Pennsylvanian, in which they noted that while Wax had a right to say what she wanted and that they werent calling for any sort of punishment, they wanted to make it clear that they categorically reject Waxs claims. Penn Law Schools chapter of the lefty National Lawyers Guild, on the other hand, did imply that she should maybe be punished, arguing in a statement that it was worth considering whether her co-byline on the op-ed should disqualify her from teaching a course required of Penn first-year law students.

All this local controversy, in turn, became a temporary focus of the roiling national debate over campus activism, free speech, and so on. NYU professor Jonathan Haidt, a leading figure in that conversation, wrote a statement defending some of Waxs claims and arguing that collective actions like the letters published denouncing Wax are only appropriate when colleagues have clearly and flagrantly violated their professional duties. Conservatives, meanwhile, had a field day  well, field weeks at this point  arguing that Wax and Alexander were being unfairly attacked by the left for making common-sense observations about hard work and so on.

Since this controversy has quickly come to touch upon so many of the fiercest debates current raging about academia, racism, and other subjects, Daily Intel asked Wax if she would be willing to do an interview. She initially said yes, but later agreed only on the condition that we would both record the conversation and that New York run it verbatim. The entire interview, save for pleasantries at the start and finish and some light copyediting for clarity, is printed below:

I know this wasnt the first time youve written about some of these issues, but what inspired you and Larry Alexander to write this particular column?

Oh, I dont know. He sent it to me, and he said Do you want to co-author it? and I said, Sure, but I want to change some of it, because I dont like all of it. So I proposed some changes, and he said, Okay, and we submitted it a bunch of places. I knew someone at the Philly Inquirer whod asked me to write before, so he took it.

Did any of your changes touch upon the stuff thats ginned up controversy?

No. I didnt like the kind of, you know, bubble-wrapped, Yale or jail part of it, which was, if you adhere to the bourgeois virtues, then youll get to rise to the top of the heap, which is just this direction that elite people always end up going in. And I think, Wait a second, how is that some kind of viable program for all society? It just doesnt compute. You know, we cant all be in the top 5 percent. So I said, no, the whole point of this is that people from all walks of life, up and down, that their life will be better  and that communal life will be better  if, you know, they behave themselves, basically.

Gotcha. Yeah, theres a sentence in there where you specifically say, this might not mean you become one of societys winners, but youll at least lead a better life. That was sort of the point you wanted to get across, right?

Yeah, well I wouldnt even use the word winners, because once again, were sort of succumbing to this Yale or jail mentality. (Im reviewing Richard Reeves book [Dream Hoarders] right now. He just constantly has this tic, which drives me crazy.) But yeah, thats the basic point. I would say winner is not the word I would use. I would say, you know, elite, just numerically at the top of the heap, as opposed to the middle of the heap or somewhere else on the scale of distribution of affluence, or prestige, or whatever.

Were you anticipating much of a response to this?

[Laughs] I was a little bit blindsided, I have to say. I wasnt paying much attention.

When did the full weight of it hit you?

I wrote the op-ed, we published it, then I did the DP interview, and then all of this stuff started coming at me. Actually, what happened was people poured  I mean all of these emails and calls thanking me. Thanking me. I mean, what was striking about it was the forgotten men came out of the woodwork, and told me how grateful they were that somebody quote-unquote had the courage to say what we were all thinking but dont dare to say. And I heard from, you know, college students, I heard from law students, as well as just ordinary people and all walks of life.

And that was really interesting. But then I got tipped off to some of the statements of the Penn students, [National] Lawyers Guild, and the anthropology students and all of that stuff. I kind of started to find out about all of this, so and I cant say I paid that much attention to it, because it just struck me as the usual agitprop.

And then half your colleagues in the law school ended up signing a letter sort of denouncing your views, right?

There was a Gang of 33, yes. I call them the Gang of 33.

What did you make of that letter?

Actually the most interesting part about it was the reaction to it, which was effusive enthusiasm for me, and scathing criticism of my colleagues. I mean, if you read the comments on the Daily Pennsylvanian  the comments posted after the letter  they are 97 percent critical. I dont know what the word is, contemptuous would be more like it. The theme of it was, you know, Moms, dont let your children grow up to be Penn law students. Thats how I would summarize it. Thats how I would summarize the gist of the comments.

So just jumping into substance, I mean, you define bourgeois culture as, quote, Be a patriot ready to serve the country. Be neighborly, civic-minded, and charitable. Avoid coarse language in public. Be respectful of authority. Eschew substance abuse and crime. I guess the main reason  you know, setting aside the responses to it, to your column  the main reason Im skeptical, and a lot of other folks are skeptical, is it seems like there are so many examples of really powerful people violating all these rules, and yet succeeding regardless because of the resources they have available to them and the connections they have available to them. Doesnt it feel like these rules dont apply as much to people already near the top, or already successful?

Well, first of all, I would contest that there are so many people who routinely violate these rules and dont suffer for it. Im going to contest that. The people that we know about are, you know, celebrities. Theyre a teeny, tiny tip of the iceberg. People who have outside resources. People who are the people who are in the media that we hear about  and I agree with you, many of them do violate these rules  but if you go down just a little bit further on the scale, to people I would call upper-middle class, you know, the upper-middle-class worker bees  the people that you know, the people that I know, the people that we socialize with, we went to school with, the people in our neighborhoods, because were part of this sort of well-educated elite, you and I. Those people, they do not behave that way. If they did, they wouldnt stay where they are for long. Maybe a few do, but its nothing near to the norm.

I mean, Im married to an academic oncologist, a cancer doctor, okay? He and his colleagues are some of the most conscientious, devoted, hard-working, conventional bourgeois people in the known universe. They are the people that keep this society going. So I just dont agree with that, we know so many people. Thats not the norm.

I grew up in Newton, Mass., which is a really upper-middle-class place, very affluent, and I know a fair number of kids who got into some legal trouble as teenagers that I think would have absolutely, completely, derailed the life of someone who, for example, had to work full-time at 18 years old, or didnt have bail money. But these are just minor roadblocks for more affluent teens, so it just strikes me that a lot of people violate the rules or slip up at one point or another. You dont think society treats people coming from different stations differently, and punishes them to different degrees?

Well, Im not denying that. Im not saying that there arent youthful infractions, right? There are. People arent perfect. But theres a difference between a lapse and a way of life. So when we have whole swaths of people who abandon key elements of these precepts, you know, on a routine basis, that is going to produce a lot of trouble. Pulling apart from one little infraction, and, you know, lesson learned, doesnt happen again. And, you know, the list that we gave in that op-ed is radically incomplete. You know, were talking about thrift, punctuality, order, temperance, prudence, diligence, industry. I mean, the list goes on and on. Im not saying, you know, the adolescents of the upper-middle class are perfect in every respect. But I can tell you, if they made a habit of it, their life would not go well.

But if youre a 15-year-old, and you get caught with a little bit of weed  which we can agree happens to rich kids and poor kids alike  if that leads you to going to jail, or to missing a part-time job you need stay afloat, couldnt that kick off a much more serious process? In terms of the question of whether this becomes a way of life, or just a one-off youthful indiscretion.

Well, first of all, I think youre focusing on this one little fact of the potential discrepancy, based on, you know, how well off your parents are. And I think thats just gotten wildly mythologized, okay? And youre also assuming that having committed one infraction, and getting into maybe more severe trouble for it, that that somehow destines you to, you know, proceed on a complete downward spiral where you father children out of wedlock, where you commit other crimes, where you dont work at all. I dont think you appreciate the extent to which there has been a departure from some of these precepts. I mean, I know people in the medical community, you know, once again, I know a lot of people who are in the medical community whove told me that it is routine in West Philadelphia to encounter men who have never, ever worked. Never held a job. So, you know, I think to say you go from being busted for marijuana  which, by the way, is never a felony, so thats a myth 

No way, whats never a felony?

 to never taking a job, never working, fathering three kids by three different women, you know, getting in trouble with the law, getting high all the time. Im sorry, its very hard for me to see that sequence, and I am not denying there are inequalities in our society. I am not denying that. I dont think, you know, that defeats our basic point, which is about trends, big trends.

But in terms of big trends, how does your theory account for the fact that, for example, serious crime has been going down for decades, and youth pregnancy

 Okay, well, compare it to 1940, compare it to 1950, everybody always compares it to the high-water mark of crime, when crime was rampant, it was out of control. Thats the 70s, the late 70s, okay, the early 80s. That is not the point of comparison for somebody my age, who was a child in the 50s. You know, we left our cars unlocked, we left our bikes unlocked, our houses unlocked. You know, never saw a gun, never saw a policeman. Im sorry, it just depends on what your benchmark is, what your touchstone is. So this mantra that keeps being repeated, crime is going down, has been going down for decades, well, I dont think youre looking back to the right era. The other thing is, yes, crime is going down, but the fact is that there are places where homicides are a fairly routine occurrence, so thats geographically concentrated. So, you know, it may be that crime is going down, it may be its not going down. Its still a good idea to be law-abiding.

A lot of the problems we have in our criminal-justice system, you know, the problem of over-incarceration, the problem of prosecutorial abuse, the problem of just this sort of mass crop of people, of plea bargains, they all have to do with the system being overloaded. If crime was lower, many of the problems would go away. I actually think the criminal-justice system is out of control. We ought to be reassessing the over-criminalization that occurs, but theres no substitute for rectitude, to designate a bourgeois value. Theres no substitute for it. Unless you think there is a substitute for it. I dont know.

Well, I guess in terms of talking about the 40s and 50s, back then, Congress literally held hearings over comic books, and how they were supposedly contributing to out-of-control youth crime. What I have trouble with is that it seems like theres some potential when you talk about these big, not always strictly defined things [like bourgeois values], that some element of moral panic creeps in. You dont think theres any risk of that?

Well, I mean, we have moral panic, its just about other things, you know? Theres always moral panic. I mean, Im not praising every single aspect of the 50s. That is a straw man. We just dont do that. I think people have this bizarre idea that because there were things about the 50s that were undesirable, ergo, everything about the 50s was undesirable. I mean, this is really a logical error of the first order  its the baby with the bathwater problem. Everything about the 50s is tainted because there were some awful things about the 50s. I mean, its perfectly possible to have an era in which there were some bad things, and there were some really good things. There were things that were worse than the way they are now, and there were things that really were much better than the way they are now. I mean, why is that not possible?

Sure, but by that same token, couldnt you say that the era you describe as one when things were better, from the 40s to the 60s, a lot of that was sort of the postwar boom, and America emerging as the worlds primary superpower. So you guys argue that it was adherence to bourgeois values that quote was a major contributor to the productivity, educational gains, and social coherence of that period. I guess, from a social-scientific perspective, why should I look to adherence to bourgeois values rather than, say, the fact that there was a huge boom in investment, and all these men were coming back and starting families? Why should I pick out bourgeois values as the most important thing?

Well first of all, why cant we have both? The second is, the way that the men behaved is part of bourgeois values. I mean, the men could have come back and basically said, Oh, I dont want to get married, I want to just sleep around, hook up, and have a grand old time, and Im not interested in having kids anyway, thats passe. I mean, they could have done all that stuff. I mean, let me give you the counterfactual  even though I agree with you, our economy was booming for structural reasons, and, there were many favorable conditions. Suppose that those conditions prevailed but people had just wholesale repudiated and rejected every single bourgeois value? Suppose they had done that. Do you think things would have gone well?

No, but I think if GIs had come home, and had been told, Youre going to have to go hundreds of thousands of dollars into debt to get an education, wouldnt that have affected their decision over whether or not to start a family and get more education?

Well first of all, the percentage of GIs who actually went to college, even with the GI bill, was very small.

Sure, but I meant that as a proxy for the broader question of how will society treat your decision to settle down, and buy a home, and start a family? You could switch out the GI bill for mortgage rates, or wages [in my hypothetical]. It just seems like theres a lot of endogeneity here  where I decide to adhere to bourgeois values, because I know that I will get a good deal. When people are robbed of that prospect of a good deal, dont you think that affects their decision-making?

Im not saying it doesnt, but I simply have a lot of trouble seeing, given whatever hardships and difficult and challenging conditions exist in the economy  and Im not denying that they do  how can behaving worse be a better decision than behaving better? I just dont get that. I just dont get that. It doesnt make your life better. It increases the probability that your life will go badly. Whatever conditions prevail, the people who engage in prudent personal behavior, on average, are going to do better. That is all Im saying. That is all were saying.

Not every single one, because theres all the vagaries of human existence, but I think on a demographic level, on the population level, we can confidently make a statement. And this is not a right-wing idea. The Brookings Institutes Isabel Sawhill has data that shows if you follow three simple rules, even in the current challenging environment, your chance of being poor is in the small single digits. All right, three simple rules: graduate from high school, take a job, any job, and keep at it; wait until youre graduated to get married; and get married before having kids. And that doesnt even add sobriety, or avoid crime, or be thrifty, or all of that other stuff that we added. You dont even need that, although obviously that helps.

Sure. I mean, I guess the point that to me is just hard to reconcile here is, you know, whatever your views on something like the minimum wage, wages for a big chunk of the country have been stagnant for decades. So, I guess, to tell people, like, Take a minimum-wage 

Yes, but for high-school graduates theyve simply been stagnant. They have not actually declined. I know this data. Ive looked at it very, very carefully. And heres the other thing, even if your income as a high-school graduate is pretty modest, or even a high-school dropout, how can it be better to get a loan go it alone [note: this was a transcription error], and have children out of wedlock  how can that be a better choice than getting married and staying married to someone who also works at least part-time and contributes to the household, and sticking with that? I mean, on simple economic, microeconomic principles, that is a better choice, that is a better life course, that is a better plan for someone. It just is. So, you know, youre gonna have to prove to me that, you know, adversity makes it quote-unquote rational to shoot yourself in the foot.

But do you think the response to your article is people saying, No, its great to have as many kids as you want without a partner, or do you think it has to do with this idea that as individuals, people make a cool, calculated decision, whether to embrace virtue or vice?

Well, I think heres the problem. First of all, I have no idea what theyre objecting to. To me it is just totally incoherent, and of course none of my colleagues will even consider  one of them wrote a response on the Heterodox Academy website, which I thought was not entirely persuasive, or even very persuasive  but they wont even engage on the merit, okay? Thats just off the table. But I think the idea is here that once again, you know, I dont really know what theyre saying. I mean, I guess theyre not saying its a great thing to do  But what are they saying then?

I think theyre saying, or my argument at least, is that to a certain extent, the decisions that people make about marriage or 

Vice or virtue. Theyre maximizing their well-being given the circumstances  thats a commonplace argument. So let me tell you why that argument is really 

Sure, just so were clear, thats not my argument, but 

Its the rational actor model, but its too simple. Im actually talking to Glenn Loury on Bloggingheads about that. The better model is game theoretic model, which says that people get into dysfunctional equilibria, people fall into dysfunctional equilibria, which actually are to their disadvantage. And you know what, heres how we know that. In ordinary life, with ordinary people, heres some of the things we say: That person is dysfunctional, That person made a really bad decision, That person shot themselves in the foot. Right? If the person had made decision X instead of decision Y, done Z instead of R, they would be better off. We say that about our kids. So, we dont believe that people maximize their well-being through their decision-making. We honestly dont believe that, because we dont talk like we believe that.

But isnt the issue less  Lets move into a rural setting, an opioid-ravaged city, where industry has fled  there are a lot of cities like this, and they helped decide the election. One reaction to the behavior of people in a setting like that is, Well, theyve abandoned bourgeois values. The other way to react is to say, There is a drug-abuse emergency here  how do we solve that? And then maybe once we stabilize things that will affect peoples behavior. Is that unreasonable?

Well I dont see those two as incompatible. Obviously there is a drug-abuse emergency. Obviously it is partly driven by the economy not being what it should be. But there have been a lot of past years in which there has been economic adversity  and it hasnt necessarily resulted in opioid epidemics. But there are a lot of things that feed into that, absolutely. I dont know how to get out of it, but I can tell you this, just stepping back from it, sobriety is a virtue. Ive actually had progressives sneer at me and look down on me for saying that, because its so unhip  that is so unhip, sobriety is a virtue? Where does that come from?

But if someones actually struggling with addiction, what does that do for them? Do you think theyre unaware that sobriety is a good thing to strive for?

Im not sure, because I think theyre getting a lot of mixed messages from society. And, you know, its not even so much, What do you do now, now that youre addicted? Although it is partly that, because people who know that sobriety is the road to a good life, and that they cannot function, and cannot have any hope of improving their lives if they stay addicted. And if we give them a good reason to improve their lives, those people will  and there are wonderful books about this, Gene Heymans Addiction: A Disorder of Choice. But what it really does is it stops people from even starting  thats the thing. As discouraged as they are, as difficult as the environment is, it might stop them from starting.

So your read of the literature is that among a group of people who are vulnerable to something like addiction, increasing awareness about the benefits of sobriety could inoculate them against it?

I dont think its an intellectual exercise. Its a matter of habits and values, thats all. Habits and values. Its Aristotelian, its not Kantian.

So norms, in other words.

Yeah, norms. Of course. Norms and expectations about how people are supposed to behave.

One thing that jumped out a little was this idea of the anti-assimilation ideas gaining ground among some Hispanic immigrants. Where does that concern come from? I mean, do you see that as something thats burgeoning at the moment? I ask just because there is a big conversation about undocumented immigration going on.

Well, I think that its a way for people to sort of wall themselves off into a separate culture, and you know, not necessarily a culture that fits well with the demands of our current society. You know, people come from cultures all around the world. Many of those cultures, you know, are not terribly successful. You can tell because you go to the countries and theyre doing really poorly, and a lot of why theyre doing poorly is because of the outlook, mind-set, and behavior of the people. Take corruption, right? Take political corruption. Europe, the Anglosphere, northern Europe, has been kind of a miracle zone  and Im not saying theres no corruption, of course  but in being somehow able to minimize political corruption. Paul Collier at Oxford has written about this, and I think very persuasively. If you cannot banish corruption from your public dealings, your private dealings, even business, you know, on the lowest levels of operation, you have no hope of building a prosperous, orderly, safe society. You just dont. Its a nonstarter, its just a nonstarter.

But isnt this sort of a version of the Clash of Civilizations argument Samuel Huntington made in the 90s? I thought that at least when it comes to Latino immigrants, that idea had basically been debunked  that they wont learn English, that they wont assimilate. Because its one thing to talk about corruption levels as measured by the World Bank in different countries. Its another to address the question of immigrants who come here. And my sense is that the data shows they assimilate, their kids all speak English. That is what I got from [your use of] anti-assimilationist.

Well, I think the data is very equivocal on that. The children of Hispanic immigrants, some of them are doing well of course. Others, kind of have trouble in school. They actually have the lowest educational completion rate of any group  blacks get more years of education than Hispanics do. Their out-of-wedlock birthrate is soaring. This is a data point that, you know, the New York Times doesnt want you to know about, but its actually occurring. So theres trouble on the horizon here. I think the jury is out here, but I think theres a lot of gilding the lily here. A lot of selective data citation. So were arguing about appearance here, arent we? And Im not going to set myself up as any expert, but I think its a much more mixed picture than youre making it out to be, and of course, you know, were talking in the near term. We dont know what the result will be in the far term.

Theres also another thing, that people who do extremely well when they come into the dominant culture in small numbers. When theres mass migration things change. So the numbers matter, they really, really matter. The pace matters, and all of that. I didnt write an op-ed about the immigration problem. Im just saying that this can be troubling. Its potentially troubling 

Sure, but 

 for maintaining a unified cultural, you know, set of cluster, of norms and attitudes, it can be.

Sure, yes 

And thats one of the restrictionist arguments, right, thats one of the cultural restrictionist arguments. Certainly not a popular argument. Its an argument that in academia is verboten, right? Verboten.

But do you think it, could it just be possible that Huntington was wrong, and some of these fears are overstated, and assimilation in the U.S. works better than some people think it does?

Well, Huntington might be wrong, but he also might be right.

So you write that, I think this is my last question, you write that, quote, Restoring the hegemony of the bourgeois culture will require the arbiters of culture, the academics, media, and Hollywood, to relinquish multicultural grievance polemics, and the preening pretense of defending the downtrodden. What do you think that process would look like in your view?

Oh. I think something like what Charles Murray says. You know, right now the upper-middle class is living the 50s and preaching the 60s, and I think they should either just shut up, and stop pushing these radical progressive ideas or they should start preaching what theyre practicing. One or the other.

Gotcha. Anything else that you wanted to at that I should have asked you?

No, but dont get me in trouble with this interview, okay? Dont take things out of context.

We agreed that well do it verbatim, and if we dont do it verbatim then I have to check the quotes with you.

No doctoring. No doctoring.

There will be no doctoring. I exist in a world of strong norms against doctoring.
Mueller. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty

Special counsel Robert Mueller has said he will interview six of President Trumps aides as part of his ongoing probe into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

Among them are prominent current or former members of Trumps West Wing staff, including former White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, former Press Secretary Sean Spicer, and White House Communications Director Hope Hicks.

Also on the list are White House counsel Don McGahn, associate counsel James Burnham, and spokesperson Josh Raffel, who was hired by Jared Kushner.

The Washington Post reports that, according to sources familiar with Muellers thinking, the advisors were witnesses to several episodes relevant to the investigation of Russias meddling in the 2016 election.

Its no surprise that Mueller would want to speak with members of Trumps inner circle, though the ex-FBI director has seemed, in the months since he was appointed, to direct more of his energy to slightly more peripheral figures in Trumps orbit, like onetime campaign manager Paul Manafort and disgraced national security advisor Michael Flynn. Recent subpoenas indicate that Mueller is digging into Manaforts complex political dealings in Ukraine and Flynns in Turkey. He has also put increasing pressure on Manafort to co-operate with his investigation and has shrewdly taken away Trumps power to pardon him.

But Mueller is known for his doggedness, and he seems to be approaching the investigation from multiple angles while working gradually toward the man at the center.

More and more, Mueller has homed in on President Trumps ill-fated decision to fire FBI director James Comey, and whether the president obstructed justice by pressuring Comey to go easy on the Russia investigation. He obtained a letter President Trump wrote outlining his reasons for dismissing Comey, which make it clear that Comeys refusal to publicly exonerate Trump was the driving force behind his dismissal. The letter contradicted the official account that Trump dismissed Comey because of his handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation.

Another point of interest is the White Houses unwillingness to take action against Michael Flynn after it was revealed that he lied about meetings with Russias U.S. ambassador. Flynn was finally let go 18 days after the disclosure.

CNN reported on Thursday that Mueller is also investigating the drafting of a misleading statement written aboard Air Force One, which offered a false version of the now-infamous June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower between Trump campaign officials and Russian operatives. On Thursday, Donald Trump Jr. testified for hours before the Senate Judiciary Committee about his role in that meeting.

Whatever the outcome of the Mueller probe, its been a bonanza for Washington area attorneys. On Friday, Hope Hicks became the latest White House staffer to lawyer up.
As Hurricane Irma nears Florida, everyone is in a rush to fill up their tanks. About 40 percent of the gasoline stations in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale region are now without fuel. Floridians have turned to the Crowd-Sourced Gas Buddy App to determine which stations still have gas.

(Click to enlarge)

The above image from the web version of Gas Buddy Tracker. Zoom into the area youre looking for gas to see the red and green symbols indicating fuel shortages. Gas Buddy says the mobile app is more accurate.

Patrick DeHaan, the senior petroleum analyst at Gas Buddy, said their newest feature  the Gas Availability Tracker  has now been rolled out to those who could be affected by Hurricane Irma in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas.

The tool seeks to help motorists in need to find gasoline, and certainly in some cases. will also help motorists find stations that have power, DeHaan said.

The app was developed during Hurricane Harvey in Texas. People can log in to view gas stations in their area. A red fuel pump icon indicates the station currently has gas. A red lightning bolt icon indicates the station has power, especially helpful for those in areas affected by power outages.

The data is largely crowdsourced by users who submit information through the app.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott announced in Miami that hes asked the governors of Alabama and Georgia to waive trucking regulations so tankers can get fuel into the city, which is experiencing one of the largest shortages statewide as residents prepare for the hurricanes landfall. Related: Russias Comeback In The LNG Race

He told residents of the Florida Keys that were doing everything to get fuel to you as quickly as possible. Tourists are under a mandatory evacuation order, which began Wednesday morning.

Residents will then be ordered to evacuate, but the fuel shortage is putting a hitch in that.

Governor Promotes Gas Buddy, Expedia, Google Maps, Xfinity

TechCrunch reports As Irma nears, Florida Governor tells residents to use Gas Buddy, Expedia, Google Maps.

Speaking at a press conference this morning, Florida Governor Rick Scott told state residents to turn to apps and other online resources, including Gas Buddy, Google Maps, Expedia and Comcasts Xfinity Wi-Fi hotspot finder, to help them find fuel, navigate safely, and stay connected both ahead of and following Hurricane Irmas arrival.

The lack of readily available gasoline, in particular, has been a huge problem facing the state  something that Scott admitted he knew had been frustrating in this time of crisis. Not only have some gas stations had long lines, many simply keep running out of gas entirely, as people prepare for possible evacuations by topping off their tanks.

The company tells TechCrunch that its now seeing hundreds of gas stations across Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina without fuel. It says the hardest hit cities are Miami (30 percent of stations are out of gas), West Palm Beach (29 percent), Fort Myers-Naples (20 percent), Tampa (13 percent), and Orlando (9 percent are out.)

The app has seen a ton of usage following Harvey and ahead of Irma  its App Store ranking has jumped 150 spots over the past week or so, and is now in the top 50 Overall.

In addition to Gas Buddy, Scott noted that the state was working with Google to keep its mapping app updated with the most current information on road closures.

Real time traffic information and evacuation routes is available at FL511.com, said Scott. We have traffic cameras on every major roadway in the state and are clearing traffic issues in real-time so we can keep people moving, he continued. Were coordinating with Googles emergency response team to prepare to close roads in Google Maps in real-time in the event that Hurricane Irma forces a closure of any roads in the aftermath of the storm, Scott added.

Of course, the Google-owned Waze app may be more useful ahead of Irmas landfall. The crowdsourced navigation tool is great for finding out about traffic incidents, road closures, speeds, and other hazards in real-time as well. This information is additionally fed into Google.orgs Crisis Maps, which displays other details like precipitation, public alerts, evacuation routes, shelters, forecasts and more.

If you need a hotel, go to Expedia.com/florida, said Scott. Expedia is working on hotel occupancy in real-time.

Scott noted that Comcast was opening 137,000 hotspots to help people stay connected, too. These Xfinity Wi-Fi hotspots will be made free across the state for non-Xfinity customers and subscribers alike. AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile are all setting up additional Wi-Fi hotspots as well, he said.

Hurricane Preparation

The Florida.Gov website has updates on Hurricane Irma Preparedness.

Related: Oil Prices Rise As Texas Braces For Hurricane Harvey Landfall

Today, Governor Rick Scott received a full update on Hurricane Irma from the State Emergency Operations Center. The Governor is traveling the state today to meet with local officials, ensure communities have all the resources they may need, and to encourage families and visitors to be fully prepared. Evacuation orders have been issued in Monroe County and additional orders are expected as the storm nears the state. The Governor will continue to be in constant communication with state and local emergency management officials, city and county leaders, and utility officials who are also working to ensure the state is prepared to respond to any potential impacts from Hurricane Irma.

Evacuation Notices and Orders

- Broward County has issued voluntary evacuations of mobile homes and low-lying areas beginning today.

- Collier County has issued voluntary evacuations of Marco Island beginning today.

- Monroe County has issued mandatory evacuations for visitors beginning this morning. Mandatory evacuations for residents will begin this evening.

- Individuals with special needs started being evacuated from Miami-Dade County this morning.

- Additional evacuations are expected throughout the state. All Floridians should pay close attention to local alerts and follow the directions of local officials.

- To find available shelters by county, visit floridadisaster.org/shelters

By Zerohedge.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
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The longtime president of Caspers NAACP branch, Jimmy Simmons, resigned Tuesday amid what he said was a leadership struggle within the organization.

Simmons gained national attention in 2013 for organizing a meeting with a Klu Klux Klan representative over the objection of senior NAACP officials.

NAACP-KKK meeting in Casper grabs world's attention A private  and likely first  meeting between the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the Ku Klux Klan in a small Casper hotel meeting room on Saturday night grabbed the worlds attention.

I started to get unpopular, Simmons said in an interview. He became president in 2001.

Simmons said that factions had developed within the local branch and that some members wished to see him step down or for the branch to be disbanded.

They may think Im too big, he speculated. Theyre thinking its the NAACP for Jim Simmons.

After a recent trip to Senegal, Simmons said he returned to find an election scheduled on the organizations calendar. Because he had typically been appointed by acclamation to two-year terms as president, Simmons was confused by the notice and got unclear answers from other NAACP members, he said.

He took that as his cue to resign.

Simmons generated controversy four years ago with his invitation for a Montana-based KKK recruiter to meet with local NAACP officials in Casper, following a spate of hate crimes against interracial couples in northeast Wyoming. The meeting ended with kleagle John Abarr joining the NAACP and making a small donation.

Simmons said he has no regrets over hosting the meeting and is still in touch with Abarr.

I did the right thing, he said.

Simmons said that the meeting sparked a backlash from officials at the NAACP Colorado Montana Wyoming State Conference. But conference president Rosemary Lytle said thats not true and that she did not try to push Simmons out.

I was surprised by his resignation, she said. Mr. Simmons has served for a long time -- going back to before my tenure as state president -- and has worked with the NAACP with vigor.

Lytle specifically praised his work surrounding the attacks around Gillette, which sparked an advisory from the organization for couples traveling in the region.

Casper NAACP branch treasurer Leanne Woodfield also complimented Simmons leadership of the group.

Hes defended the civil rights of people of all colors and ethnicities, she said.

Woodfield said that elections are an annual event and the calendar notice was not meant as a jab at Simmons.

Simmons said that he has accepted a job overseeing the drilling of water wells in Senegal, but that he will remain based in Casper.

Ill fly back and forth, he said. This is my home.

Simmons helped build the NAACP branch in Casper in 2001 after a previous president stepped down. He said several of his proudest accomplishments involved advocating for minorities during employment disputes and working to combat racism across central Wyoming.

He said the Casper NAACP currently has just under the 50 members generally required to maintain a branch charter.
With the hurricanes barreling through the Atlantic Ocean, a powerful earthquake in Mexico and other tragedies at home and abroad, the commemoration of 9/11 is taking on a special meaning.

St. Michaels the Archangel Church in South Glens Falls at 80 Saratoga Road will hold a special prayer service at 7 p.m. Monday to recognize the 16th anniversary of the worst terrorist attack on American soil.

All are welcome to this service, regardless of religious affiliation or ideology, according to a news release.

The church is asking people to come together to deal with the painful, sad, bad, difficult and challenging incidents.

Coming together for a brief period of time to pray can be very uplifting, encouraging and supportive for one another and all who are frightened, worried, anxious, uncertain and wish to be reassured of Gods loving mercy and tender care, the release said.

This event is one of several 9/11-related observances taking place throughout the region.

Glens Falls

The Glens Falls Fire Department will hold its 16th annual 9/11 ceremony at 9 a.m. at the Ridge Street fire station.

Firefighter Ric Stafford, who organizes the event, said it will begin with a prayer and brief remarks from department chaplain Patti Girard. There will then be a moment of silence followed by the ringing of the bells in a pattern of four rounds of five bells.

This is the last alarm bell that signals a fallen firefighter. There will be another moment of silence followed by Amazing Grace performed by Galloway Gaelic Pipes & Drums. The Glens Falls Fire Department Color Guard also will perform.

Its a simple ceremony, yet its powerful. Theres not a lot of pomp and circumstance, Stafford said. Its a ceremony to complete the mission that we set out to do, which is to always remember, and thats exactly what we do.

Saratoga Springs

Saratoga Springs will hold a ceremony at 8:30 a.m. at the Tempered by Memory sculpture in High Rock Park. Mayor Joanne Yepsen will preside over the event. It will feature a color guard from the Saratoga Springs police and fire departments under the direction of John Betor, who is a retired assistant fire chief and lieutenant colonel.

There will be a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m. to mark when the first plane hit the North Tower of the World Trade Center. The Saratoga Springs High School Choraliers will perform the national anthem, and the keynote speech will be delivered by U.S. Army Col. Jim Pabis, according to the citys website.

Warrensburg

Warrensburg will hold its 16th annual 9/11 remembrance ceremony at 7 p.m. at the bandstand.

This story appeared in print in only some of Sundays editions because of a late-breaking story. It is being rerun in all editions Monday.
In order to stop North Korea from taking reckless actions, there is no other way but for the international community, including China and Russia, to keep in step with each other and exert maximum pressure on the country, centering around the limiting of its crude oil supply.

The U.N. Security Council held an emergency meeting in response to North Koreas sixth nuclear test.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley told the meeting emphatically that only the strongest sanctions will enable us to resolve this problem through diplomacy. She also indicated that the United States is considering shortly distributing a draft of a new security council resolution for imposing sanctions on North Korea.

The United States has called for putting the draft to a vote on Sept. 11, probably based on their conclusion that the situation has become critical, with North Korea highly likely to take provocative action again, such as firing a ballistic missile, to mark its national foundation day on Sept. 9.

Koro Bessho, Japans ambassador to the U.N., echoed the U.S. call, saying that the international community must apply maximum pressure on North Korea to make the country change its policy. Swift adoption of an effective resolution is called for.

The United States and Japan aim to include a restriction on crude oil supply to North Korea in a new resolution. This is because a reduction in crude oil shipped via Chinas pipelines to North Korea would deal a serious blow to Pyongyang both economically and militarily, possibly prompting the country to change its hard-line stance.

U.S. President Donald Trump has hinted at his country expanding its own sanctions against those enterprises doing business with North Korea, pressing China to respond positively. He is also discussing taking military measures against North Korea.

Unless China and Russia change their cautious stance toward intensifying pressure on Pyongyang, their position will invite more provocative actions from North Korea, making a peaceful solution less likely. Both China and Russia should realize that such a stance would also become detrimental to their economic interests.

It is worrisome that North Korea is making use of loopholes in sanctions via various means. After China suspended coal imports from North Korea, Pyongyang rerouted its coal exports to Malaysia and Vietnam.

North Korea is also suspected to have carried out a cyberattack on an account held by Bangladeshs central bank, stealing 9 billion by fraudulently transferring it out.

Not to be left intact either is the current state of affairs in which North Korea has dispatched large numbers of workers abroad, earning foreign currency.

At an out-of-session meeting of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, Foreign Minister Taro Kono pointed out that in the Middle East, there is a country that takes in North Korean workers in units of 1,000. He also indicated that he plans to raise this problem during his visits to countries in the Middle East, which start on Friday.

It is important for all member countries to implement sanctions on North Korea steadily, and to reinforce international efforts to contain the country.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has repeatedly held telephone talks with the leaders of the United States and South Korea. The more tense the situation over the North Korean issue becomes, the more important close cooperation among Japan, the United States and South Korea becomes. Abe has also asked Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone to cooperate. Abe should make his summit talks with Putin, to be held in Vladivostok, Russia, an opportunity to close the gap between the position of Russia and that of Japan and the United States.
Editor:

As a lifelong resident of Bolton Landing, the process of electing local residents to represent and protect the interests of our community is a subject which I consider very important. We are fortunate to live in a very special place, and I believe its critical that we elect individuals that will ensure it remains that way. For that reason, I am supporting Joe Connally to be the next Bolton town justice and encourage all of my fellow Bolton residents to do so as well. My reasons are simple and straightforward. He is fair, he is honest, and he has the relevant experience as a leader and a decision-maker.

As a successfully retired business founder and CEO, he is known for exercising sound judgment. Also, as an honorably discharged veteran of the United States Marine Corps, where he achieved the rank of sergeant, he served many roles including working closely with the Military Police. There are many other leadership roles which he has held throughout his life. For example, I especially admire him for his volunteer work while he served as an officer and eventual commander of a 530-plus member American Legion Post.

I know Joe Connally, I trust Joe Connally, and I encourage the residents of Bolton to vote for Joe Connally. Without question, he is the most qualified based on his experience as a leader and a sound decision-maker. He is clearly the best choice to represent our community in yet another leadership role, this time as our next town justice. Please cast your ballot for Joe Connally on Sept. 12.

Thank you.

Tom Davis, Diamond Point
Oct. 31 marks the 500th anniversary of the date Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to a church door in Wittenberg, Germany, an action historians consider the beginning of the Reformation. That makes it an especially good time to visit Germany, with many special events and exhibits honoring the occasion both now and in the years ahead.

Plus, the towns where Luther lived and worked are unspoiled gems in their own right. But, since Luther traveled so extensively and left his mark in so many places throughout Germany, its difficult to decide the best bets to visit. Here are four quintessentially charming cities to consider.

ERFURT

Luther called this town his spiritual home. Legend has it that he vowed to become a monk after an especially close call with a bolt of lightning, and Erfurts Augustinian Monastery is the place he chose to answer the call. Visitors today can still see the church where he prayed, the cloisters he walked in silent meditation, and the chapter room where he publicly confessed his sins. Look long and hard at that tomb on the floor of the monastery church. The entire night prior to his ordination, Luther lay there in the shape of the cross.

Its easy to imagine Luther striding through the streets of Erfurt. Its like a fairy-tale city with half-timbered medieval structures and Renaissance townhouses standing side by side in one of the best preserved cityscapes in Germany. On hills overlooking the town square are two Catholic cathedrals and a huge Renaissance fortress.

Stroll Erfurts charming streets aimlessly, and dont miss the 400-foot-long Kramer Bridge, like Florences Ponte Vecchio lined on both sides with artisans shops. Theres even a puppet maker.

EISENACH

Eisenach is a town important to Luther at two different times in his life. As a young boy, he attended school there and sang in the choir of the imposing St. Georges Church dominating the town square. The home where he boarded with a local family is now a museum called the Luther House with fascinating exhibits describing his translation of the Bible into German.

But its the magnificent castle on the mountain overlooking Eisenach thats of greater significance. A UNESCO World Heritage site, Wartburg Castle is where Luther hid out for nearly a year after he refused to recant and the pope declared him an outlaw. Luther resided there as Squire George, allowing his hair and beard to grow and disguising himself in aristocratic clothing. The room he occupied at the castle is where he supposedly flung an inkwell at the wall in battle with the devil.

Like Erfurt, Eisenach also has charming architecture, including a high tower over a gate that was an entrance to the walled medieval city. Johann Sebastian Bach was born here, and at the museum in his boyhood home its possible to hear frequent concerts on Baroque keyboard instruments or to sit in bubble chairs and listen to Bachs music in a form of surround sound.

TORGAU

In modern times, the town of Torgau is the site where Russian and American troops met and shook hands for the first time in the waning days of World War II. The significance to Luther are the ties to Katarina von Bora, his wife, a former nun who fled here after her escape from a convent. She also died in Torgau after being thrown from a horse cart and is buried in the towns St. Marys Church.

With 500 Renaissance and late Gothic structures dominating the central city, Torgau is another architectural gem. Most visitors, however, make a beeline to Hartenfels Castle with its stunning outdoor spiral staircase and a pit outside the main gate that for centuries has been the home of shaggy bears. Behind an ornate doorway in the castles courtyard is a church deemed the first Protestant place of worship, personally consecrated by Luther himself. Its said that its simple design is what Luther favored.

Elsewhere in town, enjoy the whimsical fountains in the town square, the oldest toy store in Germany, and a restaurant called Herr Kathe for one of the best meals of German food anywhere. The name translates to Mr. Katie, Luthers playful name for his wife, a skillful household administrator who supposedly wore the pants in the family.

WITTENBERG

Since Wittenberg is the city where Luther lived and worked the longest, its the epicenter of Reformation tourism at the moment. The site of the famous church door where he posted his 95 theses is now a monument on the exterior of All Saints Church, which burned in the 1800s taking the door with it. Luthers simple tomb can be found inside the restored interior.

More significant to Luther is the nearby St. Marys Church, where he preached as many as 3,000 sermons. Look closely at the mural on the churchs altar. In its depiction of the Last Supper, it includes Luther and several of his contemporaries. Just steps away from the church is the main town square with one of the most impressive town halls in Germany and cobblestones that Luther himself very likely trod.

The very pulpit where Luther preached, his monks cowl, and other impressive memorabilia are currently on display at a special exhibition called 95 Treasures, 95 People, which closes on Nov. 5. After that date, theyll likely be moved back to the adjacent Luther House, the sizable structure where the Luther family resided with as many as 50 to 60 other people, including relatives, servants, and boarders.

The house is now the largest museum devoted to Reformation history in the world with thousands of documents and artifacts. Theres not much sense in the Luther House of a family home, with the exception being the famous Luther Room, where he retreated after dinner every evening with his students and guests for what have come to be called his Table Talks on important matters of the day. With its original windows, plank floors, wainscoting, and period furniture, theres still a sense, even across five centuries, of the Great Reformers presence.
MUSCATINE  The city of Muscatine has filed an appeal with the Iowa Supreme Court, requesting a reversal of a district court ruling that ordered the transcripts of closed session meetings be used as evidence in Mayor Diana Broderson's case.

Lawyers for the mayor argue the city's appeal in Supreme Court is an attempt to delay court proceedings past the upcoming election, in which Broderson is running for re-election.

Background

The Muscatine City Council voted the mayor out of office in May, and about a month later, a judge ordered that she be reinstated. She has been serving as mayor since and now awaits a final ruling on her appeal in Muscatine County District Court.

Over the summer, Broderson's appeal was stalled while a judge determined if minutes from closed sessions held by the council are relevant to the case. The closed sessions were held throughout the mayor's term to discuss pending litigation.

Broderson's lawyers asked that minutes from seven closed sessions be used as evidence to determine if the council violated her right to a fair hearing in the removal process. The judge ordered the city to transcribe the minutes, and the city was able to produce only five transcripts.

Upon reviewing the minutes, Judge Mark Cleve determined the entirety of the five meetings are relevant to Broderson's appeal. He ordered the city provide Broderson with the transcripts immediately.

City Administrator Gregg Mandsager then asked the judge to keep the closed sessions confidential, despite them being included as evidence, in order to protect his reputation. Two of the meetings were held to discuss his job performance, according to Mandsager, along with imminent litigation.

On Aug. 31, the judge ruled the transcripts will still be used as evidence but issued a protective order, prohibiting either party from releasing the minutes to any person or the public. By issuing the order, the judge said Mandsager's job evaluation would remain confidential.

The judge ordered the city to provide Broderson with the minutes immediately and said both parties have until Monday to submit more evidence. To date, Broderson has not received the closed session transcripts.

Supreme Court appeal

Despite the district court judge prohibiting the closed session minutes from being released to the public, Muscatine is asking the state Supreme Court to stay district court proceedings. The city filed an appeal in Supreme Court Thursday.

The judge ruled the closed sessions can be used as evidence because the city waived its attorney-client privilege by allowing third parties to be present in the meetings and discussing the content of the meetings during the mayor removal hearings.

The city argues the meetings are still confidential under attorney-client privilege. In its appeal, the city's attorney writes Mandsager's presence at the meetings  despite threatening litigation against the mayor  was necessary to plan for a potential lawsuit against the city.

Attorney Amy Reasner also said although general questions about the closed sessions were answered during the removal hearings, the city attorney and administrator did not reveal the content of the meetings.

"Moreover, there is no need to resort to the closed sessions to prove or disprove the Mayor's 'baseless' accusations at issue in the removal hearing," Reasner wrote. "All of the evidence necessary to determine if the accusations were baseless or substantiated was admitted at the removal hearing."

The district court judge determined the closed sessions were relevant because they show if the council held personal bias or animus toward the mayor, plus if council members were involved in the prosecution process. Despite the judge issuing a protective order, Mandsager wanted the ability to redact sections of the minutes before they are sent to Broderson.

Friday, lawyers for the mayor filed a resistance to the city's appeal to the Supreme Court, essentially claiming the city's request is a tactic to delay the proceedings.

"Allowing [the city] an additional bite at the apple by staying the District Court proceedings only delays the proceedings even further," Broderson's lawyers wrote.

The lawyers argue the city is attempting to delay the proceedings past the November election. The mayor's attorneys said "no harm" will come to the city by allowing the proceedings to move forward, because the confidentiality of the closed sessions is already secure.

While the district court judge ordered the mayor's appeal to be closed on Monday, the final ruling on the constitutionality of the council's removal of Broderson now depends on a decision from the Supreme Court.
Alejandra Marin, 30, of East Moline, says she and her three sisters are living the next six months in a state of uncertainty that is frightening after President Donald Trump announced earlier this week that he will halt the program known as DACA.

Marin said Friday that she and her sisters, Dalia, 28, Rubi, 27, and Maggie, 23, all arrived in the United States 22 years ago when their parents entered the United States with the hope of providing their children with better opportunities than they would have had in Mexico City. She added that each of her sisters has a child.

The four Marin sisters are currently receiving protection from deportation under DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, and each refers to herself as a Dreamer, someone who one day gets to become an American citizen.

The program began under the Obama administration in 2012. It has meant that the Marin sisters and nearly 800,000 other so-called Dreamers can obtain a work permit, have a drivers license and be protected from deportation.

My father was forced to retired as a railroad engineer, Alejandra Marin said as she spoke during a vigil for DACA recipients during the Mercado on Fifth held Friday in the Floreciente Neighborhood in Moline. When he began collecting his pension, he realized it would never be enough to feed us and support the family.

My parents talked about it and they decided to come up here, she said. They were scared we would starve to death in Mexico, and they wanted a way to provide something better for us, to provide us with a chance at a better future.

You talk to other Dreamers and I guarantee you 100 percent of them will tell you the exact same thing, that their parents wanted their children to have better than what they had, Marin said.

English citizens came to New World seeking religious freedom, she said. Eventually, they wanted freedom from England and to govern themselves.

Marin, who works for Avadyne Health in Moline said, We are todays immigrants.

Rubi Marin said that neither she nor her sisters has ever visited Mexico, and while Alejandra may have some cloudy memories, none of the other sisters has any memory of Mexico City.

I havent been in Mexico since I was 5, and you dont go back because you dont know whats going to happened, Rubi Marin said.

My children were born here, she said. I have a 2-year-old and a 1-year-old. Theyre American citizens. Its scary to think they could possibly grow up without me around. I wouldnt want to take them to a different place.

I dont even know Mexico, Rubi Marin said. I grew up in the United States. This is the only country I know.

Alejandra Marin said no one is sure what is going to happen at this point.

From what I last heard theyre giving a six-month period for Congress to come up with something, she said. If that fails then Trump will revisit DACA.

Bob Ontiveros, chairman and founder of Group O in Milan, said that while he understands those protected by DACA are frightened, Trump's decision to end the program may be a blessing.

I think this has brought much needed attention to the nearly 1 million people protected by DACA, Ontiveros said, adding that as children they had no choice in coming to the U.S. with their parents.

A lot of people do not know what DACA is or the requirements for someone to be protected by DACA, he added.

The problem with DACA is that it does not provide a pathway to citizenship, he said. And it was never intended to. It was to protect the children while they applied for citizenship, which takes about 15 years, which is crazy.

Those under DACA pay taxes and many have served in the U.S. military, he added.

So now, Congress has six months to act, Ontiveros said. If members of Congress will do their job they could fix an immigration system that is broken. But who knows? They havent done anything in years.
"You shall not mistreat a foreigner or oppress him, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt." -Exodus 22: 21

If U.S. laws on immigration seem murky, the Bible seems clear. For a nation that touts its Christian bonafides and the strength of its melting-pot culture, booting folks from the country seems decidedly un-Christian and un-American.

In the case of Audemio Orozco-Ramirez, an area immigrant who has been detained for little more than simply being a "non-violent undocumented worker," he has been mistreated at least twice.

What may be even more frustrating is that the shabby treatment has been followed by an impenetrable silence from the federal government that would be impossible if it were happening to one of our citizens.

Here's what we mean: Because Orozco-Ramirez is an undocumented worker, the government doesn't have to provide much information about why he's being detained or what the process will be for deportation, leaving an entire family in limbo about their father.

If this were happening to a U.S. citizen, due process and other protections would make it nearly impossible for the federal government to be so silent. In other words, we are not treating the foreigner with the same justice that we would demand for ourselves. That reminds us of another biblical line -- something about loving our neighbor as ourselves.

And if any of these Bible verses mean anything to us, we must stand up for Orozco-Ramirez  not because of his status, but because of how he's been treated.

Orozco-Ramirez is undoubtedly an undocumented worker. No one  not even his attorney  is arguing that point. However, during his long tenure in America he's proven to be a hard-working, tax-paying resident who has raised a family here. Six of his children are U.S. citizens. In many ways, Orozco-Ramirez has demonstrated that he wants exactly what we want for ourselves -- a chance to work hard and raise a family. His crime is wanting the American dream. In a very real sense, his immigrant story mirrors the same experience as so many of ours.

However, federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have refused to talk about why he's being detained. It appears that he's been singled out when there are literally thousands of other undocumented workers in the West. Why was Orozco-Ramirez singled out? Was he just an easy target? Was he taken because he routinely showed up at his scheduled appointments and therefore was convenient? Did he irritate authorities because a group like Billings Sanctuary Rising often came along with him?

A more likely scenario is that Orozco-Ramirez was an embarrassing reminder to the law enforcement community. After all, he prevailed in a lawsuit against Jefferson County in which he received a $125,000 settlement because he was raped in a county jail after being detained during a traffic stop.

We can't help but believe that Orozco-Ramirez is being punished because he had the audacity to report that he'd been raped while in custody of the county officials who should have protected him. If this were another case in which a rape victim was being singled out because he or she reported it, we'd be outraged. But once again because Orozco-Ramirez is an undocumented worker, his horrible treatment can be discounted, as if the rape didn't matter quite as much because he wasn't supposed to be here in the first place.

Meanwhile, his wife and children face an uncertain future. They are understandably reticent about speaking out for fear that it will just make it worse for their father and husband. And yet there's no escaping the fact that our government has a role in breaking up a family. However, we believe we're about to see the government break up many more families as it announced on Tuesday the end of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

If the government has a reason why Orozco-Ramirez deserved to be singled out and treated this way, then it has the obligation to say so. And residents should be outraged and concerned because if the federal government can round up a person and imprison them without a full explanation, then it puts everyone at risk for the same kind of questionable treatment.

Our Congressional delegation has remained non-committal on the issue, probably because it's fraught with political landmines. And that leaves Orozco-Ramirez with few voices to speak up.

But no one is questioning Orozco-Ramirez' status. We're questioning why he was whisked away and singled out? If that can happen to him, what's stopping the federal government from doing that to others? Are we really certain that a father who works a ranch job while trying to send his kids to school and college is really the biggest threat to American security?

We may be discussing walls on the Mexican border, but don't be fooled: One of the epicenters of the immigration debate could be right outside the federal building on Fourth Avenue North in Billings.
CEDAR RAPIDS  The Iowa Teamsters, representing 10,000 Iowans, has joined five other labor unions in endorsing state Rep. Abby Finkenauer in the 1st Congressional District race.

The Teamsters, which represents both public- and private-sector employees, cited Finkenauers defense of working Iowans in endorsing the Dubuque Democrat for Congress.

When the Republican majority in the state legislature attacked Iowa workers rights, pensions and wages earlier this spring, Abby was always on the front lines standing with us, said Teamsters State Political Coordinator Jim Romar. Finkenauer will be unafraid to stand up for working families against the deep-pocketed, right-wing agendas that want to shortchange them.

In announcing its endorsement, the Teamsters noted incumbent Dubuque businessman Rep. Rod Blum this past week applauded Iowa legislative Republicans for passing legislation the union considers anti-worker  limiting public employees collective bargaining rights and workers compensation benefits. Blum said he was jealous he couldnt enact the same agenda in Washington.

Blum applauded his Republican friends for undercutting hardworking teachers, snowplow drivers, correctional officers and truck drivers, Finkenauer said. The deck is still stacked against Iowa working families, and Im tired of out-of-touch politicians like Congressman Blum who put their ideology ahead of putting money back in the pockets of our friends and neighbors.

The Teamsters support will help send Finkenauer to Congress to finally bring the voices of working men and women to the table, she said.

Finkenauer, 28, who is in a four-way race for the Democratic nomination, has won endorsements from SMART Local 91, AFSCME Council 61, Dubuque Building and Construction Trades, Ironworkers Local 89 and Plumbers and Pipefitters of East Central Iowa Local 125. Shes also been endorsed by EMILYs List, NARAL and more than 20 elected officials and activists.

George Ramsey III of Marion, Thomas Heckroth of Cedar Falls and Courtney Rowe of Cedar Rapids also are seeking the Democratic nomination.

Finkenauer is part of the first generation in her family to graduate from college, earning her degree from Drake University. She has worked for the Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque and was the state director for Make It Work, an organization dedicated to creating equal pay in the workplace. In 2014, she was elected to the Iowa House.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has often been the silent man in the Trump foreign policy team. But out of the spotlight, he appears to be crafting a broad strategy aimed at working with China to resolve the North Korea crisis and with Russia to stabilize Syria and Ukraine.

The Tillerson approach focuses on personal diplomacy, in direct contacts with Chinese and Russian leaders, and through private channels to North Korea. His core strategic assumption is that if the U.S. can subtly manage its relations with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin -- and allow those leaders to take credit for successes -- complex regional problems can be solved effectively.

Tillerson appears unfazed by criticism that he has been a poor communicator and by recent talk of discord with President Trump. His attitude isn't exactly "take this job and shove it," but as a former Exxon Mobil chief executive, he doesn't need to make money or Washington friends -- and he clearly thinks he has more urgent obligations than dealing with the press.

Tillerson appears to have preserved a working relationship with Trump despite pointedly separating himself from the president's controversial comments after the Charlottesville unrest. Although Trump didn't initially like Tillerson's statement, it's said he was ultimately comfortable with it.

The North Korea crisis is the best example of Tillerson's diplomacy. For all the bombast of Trump's tweets, the core of U.S. policy has been an effort to work jointly with China to reverse the North Korean nuclear buildup through negotiations. Tillerson has signaled that the U.S. is ready for direct talks with Kim Jong Un's regime -- perhaps soon, if Kim shows restraint. Tillerson wants China standing behind Kim at the negotiating table, with its hands figuratively at Kim's throat.

Despite Pyongyang's hyper-belligerent rhetoric, its representatives have conveyed interest in negotiations, querying details of U.S. positions. But Kim's actions have been erratic and confusing: When it appeared that the North Koreans wanted credit for not launching missiles toward Guam, Tillerson offered such a public statement. Bizarrely, North Korea followed with three more weapons tests, in a reckless rebuff.

Some analysts see North Korea's race to test missiles and bombs as an effort to prepare the strongest possible bargaining position before negotiations. Tillerson seems to be betting that China can force such talks by imposing an oil embargo against Pyongyang. U.S. officials hope Xi will make this move unilaterally, demonstrating strong leadership publicly, rather than waiting for America to insert the embargo proposal in a new U.N. Security Council resolution.

Tillerson signaled his seriousness about Korea talks during a March visit to the Demilitarized Zone. He pointed to a table at a U.N. office there and remarked "maybe we'll use this again," if negotiations begin.

The Sino-American strategic dialogue about North Korea has been far more extensive than either country acknowledges. They've discussed joint efforts to stabilize the Korean Peninsula, including Chinese actions to secure nuclear weapons, if the regime collapses.

The big idea driving Tillerson's China policy is that the fundamentals of the relationship have changed as China has grown more powerful and assertive. The message to Beijing is that Xi's actions in defusing the North Korea crisis will shape U.S.-China relations for the next half-century.

Tillerson continues to work the Russia file, even amid new Russia sanctions. He's known Putin since 1999 and views him as a predictable, if sometimes bullying, leader. Even with the relationship in the dumps, Tillerson believes he's making some quiet progress on Ukraine and Syria.

On Ukraine, Tillerson supports Russia's proposal to send U.N. peacekeepers to police what Putin claims are Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko's assaults on Russian-backed forces in eastern Ukraine. The addition of U.N. monitors would help implement the Minsk agreement, even if Putin gets the credit and Poroshenko the blame.

On Syria, Tillerson has warned Putin that the real danger to Russian interests is increasing Iranian power there, especially as Bashar Assad's regime regains control of Deir el-Zour in eastern Syria. To counter the Iranians, Tillerson supports a quick move by the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces to capture the Lower Euphrates Valley.

Trump's boisterous, sometimes belligerent manner and Tillerson's reticence are an unlikely combination, and many observers have doubted the relationship can last. But Tillerson seems to roll with the punches -- and tweets. When Trump makes a disruptive comment, Tillerson seems to treat it as part of the policy landscape -- and to ponder how to use it to advantage.

Tillerson may be the least-public chief diplomat in modern American history, but that's apparently by choice. By Washington standards, he's strangely uninterested in taking the credit.
Thumbs up to Madison Keys however Saturday's women's final of the U.S. Open turns out.

The Rock Island native again made Quad-Cities proud this week. She walked into the grand slam in Queens, New York, seeded No. 15, made easy work of her early competition and, on Thursday, played a near flawless match in the semifinal to oust CoCo Vandeweghe with relative ease. Keys never faced a break point in the semifinal and committed just nine unforced errors.

She heads into Saturday's final match against unseeded Sloan Stevens. They're among the four all-American field made the semifinals on the women's side of the Open.

Last year, Keys made the medal round in the Olympics. Following some wrist injuries, she's breaking out in 2017. Win or lose, she's worth a watch.

We will be.

Thumbs down to just how bad things are in Illinois.

It was a hollow victory, of sorts, when Gov. Bruce Rauner announced Thursday that he would borrow $6 billion to start paying off the state's debts.

Only now that the budget standoff is over and schools are funded, Illinoisans can take full stock of just how low the state sunk in the past two years.

It's good Illinois is finally making good by creditors. But the fact that it ever came to this is an embarrassment.

Thumbs up to Scott County Administrator Mahesh Sharma for drafting common sense regulations for the good of the taxpayer.

Every year, Scott County doles out dozens of grants to various organizations offering services and doing good work. The county has, traditionally, relied on Quad-Cities Chamber of Commerce to grade the various services and what's needed.

It's not an unreasonable approach, but, still, the county's interests are in some cases different from the chamber's. To that end, Sharma has proposed drafting a pact with the chamber that clearly spells out a grading system for applications and defines the county's agenda.
Former Bettendorf Community School District Finance Director Maxine McEnany was a wonderful asset to our district. Her intelligent, capable handling of the district's finances was exceeded only by her honest, trustworthy commitment to the community as a whole." This commendation from Ilona Durey, former member of the West Delaware School Board, matches my own assessment of Maxine's work and service since 2002 when she first came from West Delaware to Bettendorf.

An open letter from some former Bettendorf School Board members claim they were burdened with conflicts and personal agendas. Yet, the turmoil, administration ineptitude, and wrong-doings happened on their watch. It has been a conflict of interest for many years that over 50 percent of the current board represents less than 3 percent of the student population - the 100 students or so who attend Jefferson Elementary School.

As a former Bettendorf School Board member, I'm convinced that no one is more prepared to represent the community with the experience, knowledge, objectivity and integrity that Maxine has demonstrated during her employment with the district.

Tom Luton

Bettendorf
Debris and muck were all that remained where homes once stood, tens of thousands spent the night in shelters, and others would weather another long day without safe drinking water or electricity. Yet, in churches across storm-ravaged South Texas, parishioners saw hope amid the devastation, and sought strength in faith.

Gov. Greg Abbott declared Sunday a "Day of Prayer" and urged residents to be steeled by their beliefs at a time of crisis. One Catholic congregation exiled by floodwaters held a makeshift service at a high school, another set out bug spray along with holy water, while pastors and priests talked of helping those in need and restoring a region left in shambles by Harvey.

___

Only days before Harvey hit, congregants at Christ United Church of Cypress, Texas, had celebrated returning to their beloved church after a long absence.

In the spring of 2016, the building had been devastated by a storm that forced the congregation to gut the historic structure and rebuild. Now, with the small brick church extensively damaged, the work must start again.

About 60 people gathered for a service Sunday at the church about 30 miles northwest of Houston, where Pastor Jeffrey Willey said he reminded his congregation that "the church is not the building. We are the church."

"We have to tear down all the walls again," he said in a telephone interview.

The church holds a significant place in the area, Willey said, its construction dating to the early 1900s. He's been buoyed by an outpouring of concern from people and other churches around the U.S., eager to help.

"We have a God that restores, that heals," he added. With faith, "we walk above the troubled waters of this earth."

"It's not the end," Willey said.

___

At the Pine Forest Baptist Church in Vidor, Texas, along the coast about 110 miles east of Houston, 45 people gathered for a service in the parking lot, after the church was flooded in the storm.

Pat Lawrence and her fiance, Jim Frasier, arrived on a tractor after navigating the floodwaters that had left some homes cut off, like islands.

"You can't hardly comprehend all the water that's around," Lawrence said.

"My house is not flooded, but getting out is flooded. I've been in my house since last Saturday," she added. "We came on the tractor because we wanted to come to church."

A few tears were shed.

Associate Pastor Dale Prudhome told the congregants that prayer would help sustain them. After the service, he announced where supplies were being distributed, and what roads were passable.

With people around the world praying for Texas, "that's going to give you the strength to carry on," he said. "To know that your brothers and sisters are there beside you. That they're mourning with you. They're struggling on your behalf in prayer."

___

In Port Aransas, the Rev. Kris Bauta celebrated Mass in the darkened sanctuary of St. Joseph Catholic Church, just four blocks from the Gulf of Mexico. It was spared from the destructive storm surge by just 3 feet, suffering only a leaky roof.

As workers outside dragged toppled palm trees to the corners of the church's parking lot, the priest asked for God's blessing as "we rebuild our lives and our beautiful island."

"We will remember the destruction of this uninvited guest, but we will never stop being a people of hospitality. The peace will return," Bauta told parishioners.

___

At the First Baptist Church in Humble, Texas, a morning service was held for about 2,000 people in the parking lot. A pile of debris was stacked at one end of the lot, the church that was once flooded with more than 2 feet of water on the other. Hundreds of volunteers have been helping strip the building of damaged materials.

___

The service at Joel Osteen's Houston megachurch was filled with talk of the deadly storm and its aftermath, and the way forward.

"Harvey came, but it didn't take us out," Osteen said, after congregants listened to a live band accompanied by a light show, while many of the attendees stood and waved their arms. "We are going to come out of this stronger than before."

The televangelist and his Lakewood Church had been criticized last week on social media for not offering to shelter people driven out of their homes. The church later opened its doors for those in need.

Osteen urged those at the service and those watching online, "Don't run away from your faith, run to your faith."

He assured them, "Joy comes in the morning."
The Roman Catholic cathedral in Kosovo's capital has been consecrated to the saint formerly known as Mother Teresa of Calcutta.

Kosovo President Hashim Thaci and religious leaders from Kosovo and Albania were among the hundreds of people in Pristina who attended a consecration ceremony on Tuesday for the landmark, now named St. Teresa Cathedral.

The Italian-style cathedral with two 70-meter (230-foot) towers opened in 2010. Local Catholics had long hoped it would bear the name of the nun who dedicated her life to society's outcasts.

It will now house a new office for the Catholic Church's most senior cleric in Kosovo, which has a population that is more than 90 percent Muslim and a small Catholic community.

Tuesday was the 20th anniversary of Mother Teresa's death. Pope Francis canonized her last year.

"That great saint is in heaven, Mother Teresa, that simple woman who with her example told millions and millions of people in the world to love each other, to help each other," said Cardinal Ernest Simoni, the pope's representative at the consecration ceremony.

The 88-year old priest from neighboring Albania served 18 years in prison because of his faith during Albania's communist regime, which banned religion from 1967 until its collapse in 1990.

Born Agnes Gonxhe Bojaxhiu on Aug. 26, 1910 to Albanian parents, Teresa went to India in 1929 as a sister of the Loreto order. In 1946, she received what she described as a "call within a call" to found a new order dedicated to caring for the most unloved and unwanted, the "poorest of the poor" in the slums of her adopted city, Calcutta.

The Missionaries of Charity order went on to become one of the most well-known in the world, with more than 4,000 sisters in their trademark blue-trimmed white saris doing as Teresa instructed: "Small things with great love."

On Wednesday, the Vatican also declared Mother Teresa a patron saint of the Archdiocese of Calcutta at a Mass in the city where she dedicated her life to the poorest of the poor.

The honor came 16 months after Pope Francis declared Mother Teresa a saint.

About 500 people attended the Mass at a cathedral where Vicar General Dominique Gomes read the decree instituting her as the second patron saint of the archdiocese.

Mother Teresa's name will be mentioned whenever people under the archdiocese pray or a Mass is held.

The Vatican's ambassador to India, Giambattista Diquattro, led the Mass and inaugurated a bronze statue in the church of Mother Teresa carrying a child.

The Roman Catholic Church declared St. Francis Xavier the first patron saint of Calcutta in 1986.

The archdiocese still retains its old name, Calcutta, even though the city's official name was changed by the state government to Kolkata in 2001.

The archbishop of Calcutta, Thomas D'Souza, said every diocese in the world has a patron saint and since Mother Teresa belonged to the city, "we decided to declare mother our patron."

"We are very happy that Archdiocese of Calcutta has declared her as its patron, acknowledging her great work for the people," said Sister Prema, the head of Missionaries of Charity, the order of nuns started by Mother Teresa in 1950.

Catholics in Kolkata said they were delighted with the Vatican's decision.

"We are very happy that our Mother Teresa, who has done so much service for the poor and destitute in the city, irrespective of religion, caste or creed, has been made the patron of the Archdiocese of Calcutta," said housewife Karabi Kanjilal
Blessed Sacrament to host healing retreat

The St. Faustina Divine Mercy Prayer Group at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church is sponsoring a Healing Retreat with Fr. Richard McAlear on Sept. 15 through Sept. 17 at the church on Jackson Boulevard.

The retreat weekend will feature a series of talks on eucharistic adoration, reconciliation and a healing Mass. Since 1976, Father McAlears Ministry has been offering hope, healing, love and peace to tens of thousands of people all around the world.

No registration is required and there is no fee for attending the retreat; a free-will offering will be collected to cover retreat expenses.

For more information visit www.blessedsacramentchurch.org or Fr. McAlears website www.frmac.org. You may also call Jean Hohm at (605) 399-9522.

Welsh history event at United Methodist Church

The Knollwood Heights United Methodist Church at 320 E. College Ave. in Rapid City is hosting at Welsh history event Friday, Sept. 15 at 6:30 p.m. The event, titled "Wales: The Nation and it's People," will feature a talk by Welsh historian Wil Griffith and Welsh music by Kay Griffith.

The program is free and open to the public. For more information call the church at (605) 343-7145

Back to Church Sunday at Faith Temple

Faith Temple Church in Rapid City will hold two Back to Church Sunday, events as part of a national movement of churches across America, on Sunday, Sept. 17 at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.

For the event, Faith Temple Church will have a special service that features lively music, welcoming and friendly people and good food.

Bishop Troy M. Carr feels the day is a great opportunity for Faith Temple Church to connect to the Black Hills Community with the loving gospel message of Jesus Christ.

Black Hawk Community Church produce sale

Black Hawk Community Church on Mill Road will host a produce sale Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The sale will include Woonsocket melons, local produce, baked goods, sloppy Joes, hot dogs and drinks.

Prayerful painting at St. Martin

A prayerful painting class will be held Saturday, Sept. 16 from 9:15 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at St. Martin Monastery on City Springs Road in Rapid City. Cost is $20 and includes lunch.

To register call Sr. Therese Marie at 605-343-8011
DEADWOOD  Deadwood History will host the One Book South Dakota Program featuring Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 12. The discussion will be led by Dr. Joanna Jones at the Homestake Adams Research and Cultural Center (HARCC), 150 Sherman Street, Deadwood. Refreshments will be served. Advanced reservations are appreciated; please call 605-722-4800. Admission is by donation.

Kitchens of the Great Midwest centers on Eva Thorvald, born into a food-obsessed family and blessed with a uniquely sensitive palate. By turns quirky, hilarious, and vividly sensory, this book tells an unexpected mother-daughter story about the bittersweet nature of life  its missed opportunities and its joyful surprises. Books are available at the Homestake Adams Research and Cultural Center library to borrow and return following the discussion.

Dr. Joanna Jones forty-year teaching career took her across Texas, New Mexico and Arizona before she returned to the Black Hills of South Dakota. At Arizona State University, Jones completed her doctorate in reading education. She has presented on a variety of literacy topics at state, regional, and national conferences. Internationally, Jones shared research with educators in Portugal, Scotland, New Zealand, and China.

The workshop is co-sponsored by the Deadwood Historic Preservation Commission, Deadwood History, Adams-Mastrovich Family Foundation, and South Dakota Humanities Council, an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
September 6, 1917

Men, can you cook? Napoleon said an Army fights on it stomach, so does a Navy. Your Navy is appealing to you to enlist if you know anything about preparing food. The pay is from $35.50 to $65.50 a month in additional all your clothing, food, rent, medical attention and other expenses. You will find the work easy and pleasant.

The American Red Cross has sent out an appeal asking for 1,500,000 knitted sets to be distributed among our soldiers, those of our allies and the civilian population of France. There will be a desperate need for these articles. Winter will soon be here and our men in the trenches will need all the comforts we can possibly give. Here is your chance to prove your patriotism and make the lives of your men at the front more comfortable.

September 8, 1927

There was a large attendance at Newel Labor Day, there were various sporting events. The womens broom throwing contest was one of the most interesting events, with 30 women participating. Winners were; Mrs. H. Pierce 1st with a distance of 70 feet and 2nd Mrs. Piekkola 57 feet.

Stanley Smeenk, Charles Kirk, Lloyd and Marjorie Heston of the Twilight Community have enrolled in the Newell High School for this coming school year.

The Horse Creek Missionary Society is in receipt of a Thank You card from Mrs. Grace Coolidge for the flowers presented her and President Coolidge at the Butte County Fair.

September 9, 1937

Ceremonies dedicating the figure of Abraham Lincoln on Mount Rushmore National Monument in the Black Hills on September 17, in connection with the nationwide 150th Anniversary of the adoption of the US Constitution, will be broadcast over the Blue Network of the NBC from 10:00 -10:30 will transmit out of the park.

Mr. & Mrs. Martin Jackley returned last week from Iowa City, Iowa, where Mr. Jackely attended Iowa University. He is a member of the Sturgis High School faculty. Mrs. Jackley is the formerly Helen Kingsbury, Vale.

September 4, 1947

Residents should be careful buying magazines subscriptions from strange solicitors, a local sheriff has warned. Salesmen recently worked a number of vicinities and at one place urged their customers to place a large order for magazines so as to give them needed contest points, if you pay by check; it is cashed immediately at some business other than a bank. So when the customer attempts to cancel the checks, they found they were already cashed.

Maurice Schuster and F. Thacker of Deadwood are spending the week in Newell helping with the combining at the KLT Ranch north east of town.

There will be a field demonstration of the Dawson Land Leveler on September 15 at the A. B. Doud farm  mile west of Vale. This Pacific Terraplane which was shown at the Butte County Fair and created a lot of interest among the farmers in the Irrigation District.

September 5, 1957

Funeral services for Martin J. Varland, 82, long time Newell resident who died Saturday were conducted Wednesday afternoon from the First Lutheran Church, Rev K.L. Knutson officiating, burial in Newell Cemetery. Mr. Varland came to Newell in 1911 and was an early-day freighter from Newell to Sulphur and Mud Butte areas. He also had been employed by the State and County Highway for many years.

September 7, 1977

School children who wish to march in parades, go on band trips and be part of a hard working group learning to play all kinds of music should bring their parents to a meeting Monday at 7:30 PM at Austin Auditorium. There will be an instrumental demonstration by area music stores and students will be able to buy or rent instruments that evening.

NVN Senior Citizen Band entered a float in the Labor Day parade and served lunch to members who participated. Inside work is being done in the new building and is hoped that it will soon be ready for use. Many members and friends have visited the structure and seem pleased with the progress.

September 9, 1987

Fred Sulzbach, Vale, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, made a trek up Bear Butte on Monday, Labor Day. He developed multiple sclerosis in the late 1960s, before he could climb Bear Butte. His dream always was to climb the butte which took 7 hours to achieve the fete with the assistance of Jerry Knutson and Jarvis Follette. He raised $1,200 for muscular dystrophy, another debilitating disease.

John and Veronica Youngberg, Newell, were honored at the SD Sate Fair at Huron along with 2,000 other farmers and ranchers. The Golden Anniversary certificates were given to those people who have reached fulltime farm operations for fifty years or more since their 14th birthday and that the farm has been in the same family for at least one hundred years.

September 3, 1997

Tresa Howie and Tim Donaldson were honored for their 5-year services last week at the pre-school staff picnic in the Newell City Park. The awards were presented by Superintendent Bryce Knudson.

The passing of a legend occurred this week when Rose (Kenstler) Karnen of Mud Butte passed away. She was quite a woman, taking over the family ranch; raising sheep, cattle and horses. Born on November 11, 1905, she was a giant among ranchers and didnt take any B S from anyone. She could be seen on the street in her usual garb, big hat, western clothing and a bright neckerchief scarf.
It looks like President Donald Trump isn't going to keep his word.

Back in February 2016, while on the campaign trail, Trump gave us kooky 9/11 truthers a ray of hope when he told his audience that, if he won, "You will find out who really knocked down the World Trade Center. It wasn't the Iraqis. You may find it's the Saudis."

His words clearly implied what several million people, including myself, had come to believe; that there were masterminds behind the attacks other than Osama bin Laden and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

Trump has now been in office for nearly eight months; more than enough time to learn who these masterminds were and inform us as to their identity and motives. But we haven't heard a peep.

It could well be that Trump was just blowing hot air when he made that promise. Or maybe he did intend to determine the truth and share it, but thought better of it once the real rulers of America let him know the score. Was he perhaps treated to a private showing of the Zapruder film?

In any case, he's failed to keep his word  something we should all keep in mind whenever he talks about any major issue.

Richard Miller

Thermopolis, Wyo.
The Deadhorse community southwest of Chadron are celebrating family, freedom, rural life, agriculture, pride in America, and their heritage this year.

During the Nebraska Quicentenial, families and friends who grew up in the Deadhorse community are celebrating other milestones in history. The Rose Hill Club, once an Extension education club, celebrates 105 years in existence with members all living at one time or currently in the Deadhorse community.

The members of the Happy Hustlers 4-H Club are celebrating 60 years of education, supporting and valuing the importance of Making the Best Better, leadership and service. One of the annual events sponsored by the club is the Flag Butte Flag Raising each July 4, a tradition thats lasted 55 years. The event is open to the public and supported by the Rose Hill Club members, the community at large and the American Legion Honor Guard.

Another group of people from the Deadhorse area formed the Flag Butte Corporation May 20, 1977, to preserve the Flag Butte School as a gathering place each year for events and celebrations. The corporation marks its 40th year this year, and on Sept. 16, members of the corporation and community will hold a potluck at 5:30 p.m. at the Flag Butte School to open the time capsule buried 30 years ago.

Each of these clubs, events or groups exist because of individuals who cared for and about the importance of freedoms existing in America  family, rural life, agriculture, service and building leaders for tomorrow. The Rural way of life of those who live in the Deadhorse community continues because of the dedicated and proud Americans who wish to continue a legacy from the past and build a future for generations to come.
ELLSWORTH AIR FORCE BASE, S.D. | The Ellsworth Retiree Activities Office will host a Retiree Appreciation Day luncheon Sept. 15, 2017, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Dakotas Club.

The luncheon is an opportunity to thank all retirees and their families for their past service as well as provide information about resources available for them on base.

Speakers for the event will include Col. David Linkh, the 28th Medical Group commander; Brad Richardson, Hot Springs Veterans Home superintendent; Maj. Brooke Van Eeghan, 28th MDG Diagnostic and Therapeutics flight commander; and Capt. James Phillips, 28th MDG Physical Therapy officer in charge.

The pay-as-you-go luncheon is open to everyone with base access; however, anyone wishing to attend must RSVP by calling (605) 385-3600.
ELLSWORTH AIR FORCE BASE, S.D. | Airmen from the 28th Bomb Wing participated in Wingman Day activities Aug. 25, 2017.

Wingman Day is hosted twice a year as part of the Comprehensive Airmen Fitness Program to develop over-arching Airmen fitness and resiliency.

The focus of this particular Wingman Day is to ensure Airmen have the emotional stamina and spiritual well-being needed to execute the bases bomber mission.

Wingman Days give us an opportunity to build on our pillars and strengthen as a team, said Chief Master Sgt. Adam Vizi, the 28th Bomb Wing command chief. It forms bonds and gives our Airmen a chance to listen to dynamic speakers.

The days events educated Airmen, helped bolster relationships between co-workers, and showed the benefits of mental and spiritual fitness.

One of their more popular events, were the two guest speakers at the South Dakota Air and Space Museum. The first was Robert Liebman, a former B-1 Bomber pilot who shared his experiences about flying out of Ellsworth during the final years of the Cold War. Second was Robert Schilling, a gunner on the AC-47 Spooky gunship who served with the famous Airman 1st Class John Levitow, Medal of Honor recipient.

I really liked the speakers at the museum, said Airman 1st Class Kaleb P. Ferrell, a sortie support technician assigned to the 28th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron. It was really cool to hear from someone who flew B-1 bombers when they were brand new and hearing from someone who actually served with John Levitow.

Some of the other events focused on First Amendment rights, freedom of religion and emotional intelligence. There was also a Wet Lab, where the 28th Security Forces Squadron showed the reality of driving under the influence and how dangerous it is.

I never knew that alcohol took that long to actually take effect in your system, said Airman 1st Class Justine Wilson, personal property counselor assigned to the 28th Logistics Readiness Squadron. The Wet Lab definitely opened my eyes to what only a few drinks can do to you.

Another lecture was called DUI: The Rest of the Story, where three people who have been affected by drinking and driving spoke to Airmen about how it can not only damage your life and career, but others lives as well.

It was pretty crazy to hear about how bad something like this can end up, Ferrell said. It almost ruined one of the presenters careers and nearly ended the life of another.

Many of the lectures touched on controversial topics, but invoked thought and sparked conversation amongst Airmen across the base and may help them in a situation presented to them later on in their careers.

To wrap up the day, the Ellsworth Chapel and Active Airmans Council hosted a Summer Bash picnic. There was also a DJ and multiple activities like bean bag toss, horseshoe and volleyball in which senior and junior enlisted Airmen competed against each other.

My favorite part of this event was the young Airmen collaborating to make this event happen and how we were able to make Airmen smile, said Staff Sgt. Brendan Sparks, a chaplains assistant assigned to the 28th Bomb Wing Chapel. The event encompassed the whole Airmen concept and got people together."
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The head of the state Wildlife Division said Friday he wont need to request fee increases from outdoors people who hunt, fish or trap in South Dakota during 2018.

Director Tony Leif said his wing should get through the coming year, even it means tapping some of the $15 million-plus thats accumulated on his side of the books.

As for the Parks and Recreation Division, officials are looking for $580,000 in revenue increases for 2018, according to deputy director Bob Schneider.

He said the bulk wouldnt involve higher fees, however.

Instead the additional revenue would come from moving 22 campgrounds to top class from middle class, Schneider said.

The campgrounds would pick up $2 more per site per night by charging $21 rather than $19.

Schneider detailed a variety of price increases that will be requested for other camping and boating services, such as charging more per night for camping cabins and lodges.

Well bring em to you at the October meeting, Schneider told members of the South Dakota Game, Fish &Parks Commission.

Governors appoint the eight commissioners, who generally oversee the department on budgets, fees, seasons, bag limits and other rules.

The state Senate has confirmation authority over the commissioners, but none comes to mind having suffered a rejection.

Game, Fish & Parks Secretary Kelly Hepler also told commissioners Friday the department would be taking a pause in its land acquisitions after the two or three currently in the pipeline are done.

Leif said the pheasant brood-route surveys that were completed in August indicated hunting would be more difficult this fall. The count was 1.7 pheasants per mile, down 45 percent from last year and down 65 percent from the 10-year average of 4.8.

The last time there was such a drop, in 2013, sales of nonresident small-game licenses also fell, from about 95,000 to about 76,000.

Leif told commissioners that fee increases arent necessary at this point. He doesnt know about 2019.

He said his divisions budget runs in the $49 million to $50 million range and he tries to keep about $12.5 million as reserve. He said he has about $3 million of additional money this year.

Commissioner Barry Jensen of White River said he appreciated the effort to keep costs down. For this year well be status quo, Jensen said.

Commissioner Doug Sharp of Watertown said he doesnt want maintenance deferred and positions left open. Im not so sure I would oppose a dollar increase, Sharp said. We can use the money. We need the money.

Leif acknowledged, There is an argument to be made for that. But, Leif continued, the division has a need-based budget. What we have for operating capital is above our target and will carry us for now, he said.

Next came a question from commissioner Paul Dennert of Columbia, who previously was a longtime Democratic legislator. Will the Legislature start frowning at you if you get that too high?

Leif answered, Absolutely  and I think you speak from experience.
Editor's note: This is the final installment in a three-part series on the candidates for South Dakota's seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2018.

Shantel Krebs is South Dakotas secretary of state and is a candidate for the Republican nomination for South Dakotas seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2018.

Why shes running: When President Trump was elected, I was all in, Krebs said.

She said South Dakota voters tell her they are frustrated and want the mess cleaned up in Washington, D.C. Its not working, Krebs said. I want to help him deliver results. Thats what my logo is: Get it done.

How shes organized her campaign: Krebs said its a lot of evenings and weekends. Her daytime focus is the office in Pierre. I was elected to be secretary of state, she said.

If someone on the office staff is out sick, Krebs said she or another staffer answers the office phone. She said the staff buys into her message: We work for the taxpayer.

Her office oversees South Dakotas elections on a constant two-year cycle and handles an increasing workload of business filings. That led her to adopt zero-based budgets that start from scratch each year.

There is no reason we cant challenge the federal government to do that, she said.

Krebs grew up in a farm family in Arlington about 50 miles east of Huron. The State Fair was an annual event, and she remembers the family stopping to buy a halter or a horse blanket before returning home.

The 1997 Miss South Dakota still wears her blue Future Farmers of America jacket when the organizations young leaders visit the Capitol each year.

Krebs was a Sioux Falls businesswoman and a part-time state legislator in her fifth two-year term when she filed paperwork in 2013 to run for secretary of state. After that, Republican Jason Gant, the incumbent, decided he wouldnt seek re-election.

Krebs said she was the only person in the U.S. House race who has had to make payroll and rent. She said only 36 of the current U.S. House members come from rural districts.

After she won secretary of state in November 2014, Krebs inherited an office that she said was in disarray, with business applications many weeks behind waiting in boxes. She brought in a different team, including some people who left the office after Gant won the nomination in 2010. She said her crew dug in and caught up.

She said they set accountability measures, delivered on letters of intent to the Legislature and increased revenue to state governments general fund. The office website reports daily on her offices progress in keeping pace on filings.

Krebs looked like she might run in 2010 for the U.S. House seat held at that time by Democrat Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, but ultimately chose not to.

Another legislator, Kristi Noem, won a three-way primary for the Republican nomination and defeated Herseth Sandlin. Noem won re-election three times and is seeking the Republican nomination for governor in 2018.

Krebs said running for Congress wasnt the next step when she decided to go for secretary of state. That was a big choice, she said..

She wants to serve on the House Agriculture Committee. Krebs said its possible that Congress wont approve the farm bill in 2018 and she wants to be ready. We dont want to rely on other countries for our food supply, she said. We feed the world, literally.

How shes raising money: Krebs formally announced her candidacy for the Republican nomination for the U.S. House seat March 14. Ive outraised my (Republican) opponent the last two quarters, Krebs said. It shows people want someone real, someone rugged and independent. I dont just sit back  I challenge, I push.

Krebs said people are mad and passionately frustrated with Congress. She said its amazing people have been willing to invest in her candidacy. The average contribution was less than $200, she said.

How she greets people: Krebs looked enthusiastic and interested. Its me, and thats about it, she said. Its family and a few friends. Thats about it.
A judge has thrown out a lawsuit that challenged voting by absentee ballot in Detroit, saying a Republican candidate for secretary of state failed to produce any evidence of violations. Wayne County Judge Tim Kenny says critics have raised a red flag of election law wrongdoing. But Kenny says his ruling takes down that flag. Kristina Karamo and others sued to try to force Detroit voters to vote in person or go to the city clerks office to get an absentee ballot. They made a variety of allegations about how Detroit reviews signatures on absentee ballots and monitors ballot drop-off boxes. The judge says they failed dramatically to back up any of it.
SIOUX FALLS | After a bit of fine-tuning the South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks Commission approved a special rule Friday that lets its members decide who can use several dozen lakes.

The rule allows any landowner along 27 lakes to ask that public water over private property be restricted from the publics recreational use.

The Legislature identified the lakes by name and location in the law passed in the June 12 special session. They are defined as non-meandered. That means territorial surveyors didnt officially designate them as permanent waters prior to South Dakotas 1889 statehood.

Jon Kotilnek, a new lawyer for GF&P who began work after the commission proposed the rule two months ago, added a requirement that adjoining landowners receive notice when a petition is filed and rewrote the proposal to flow smoother.

Substantively nothing has changed, Kotilnek explained to commissioners Thursday afternoon. Largely its just restructured.

On Thursday night he added an appeal provision that commissioner Gary Jensen of Rapid City wanted as an additional safeguard.

We believe what you have in front of you right now will work, Kotilnek said Friday.

The commission agreed, right down to Jensen accepting Kotilneks suggestion that the phrase reasonable time be removed as meaningless.

The new law came in the wake of the South Dakota Supreme Court declaring in a Day County case that neither landowners nor recreational users had a superior right to public water over private land.

The justices said only the Legislature could break the tie. GF&P took the issue up a notch by closing public boat ramps on some of the non-meandered lakes. The Legislatures Executive Board appointed a 15-member task force to recommend a solution. That led to the June 12 special legislative session.

The new law identified 27 non-meandered waters, known as Section 8 basins because of their spot in the legislation, that are to be open unless landowners ask the commission to restrict or close them.

The new law also gave landowners authority to close any of the other non-meandered waters across South Dakota, so long as they notify GF&P and prominently mark the waters with signs or buoys.

Another provision directed the commission to set rules, so an owner of private property underlying any of 27 non-meandered lakes listed in the law could seek permission to restrict recreational use of the water overlying the owners private property.

The law designates authority to the commission to grant, deny, or modify the petition based on seven factors.

Those are privacy, safety, substantially affected financial interests of the owner of the private property underlying the water, history of use, water quality, water quantity and the publics interest in recreational use of the water.
I continue to hear from South Dakota producers and ag groups who are concerned about the future of trade agreements. At Dakotafest, the State Fair and other events across the state last month, producers repeatedly told me that opening up new markets for American exports will greatly benefit their operations.

Foreign markets absorb approximately 20 percent of all U.S. agricultural production today, which significantly contributes to the overall health of the farm economy. The economic benefits of agricultural exports also extend to businesses in rural communities, while overseas farm sales help to buoy a wide array of industries linked to agriculture, including transportation, processing and farm input suppliers.

In recent months, President Trump has indicated his desire to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and modify  if not completely withdraw from  our trade agreement with South Korea. Both of these agreements benefit South Dakota producers because we have no tariffs or limits on the quantity or value of products that can be imported and exported with countries such as Mexico and Canada.

In 2016, American farmers sent $20.5 billion worth of exports to Canada and $17.8 billion worth of exports to Mexico, which is the largest market for U.S. corn and soymeal, the second largest market for U.S. soybeans and the third largest market for U.S. beef. Additionally, South Korea is one of our top export markets, with $6.2 billion in ag exports last year alone.

We all want the best deal we can get, and I support the presidents goal to make the best possible trade deals that will improve Americas ability to export products. However, simply withdrawing from long-standing trade agreements without a similar structure in place would cause significant harm to South Dakotas producers, and I would strongly oppose such action.

Earlier this year, I sent a letter to the new U.S. Trade Representative, Ambassador Robert Lighthizer, to encourage him to maintain strong relationships with our allies in NAFTA and work to open up new markets around the world for American ag products.

I also met with him prior to his confirmation to discuss increasing trade opportunities for U.S. producers. I was pleased to hear that he agrees with me on the importance of trade for our ag economy, and in fact, this spring, the Trump administration announced an agreement had been reached to allow for U.S. exports of beef, poultry and natural gas into China.

South Dakota ranchers are now able to sell high-quality beef in this new and lucrative market. I continue to encourage the administration to increase trade access to markets in other parts of Asia and the Pacific Rim region as well.

As we continue to discuss new opportunities for trade, I will work with the administration to promote and prioritize South Dakotas agricultural industry. Opening up new markets for trade will bring a much-needed boost to South Dakotas farm economy and lead to higher-paying jobs across the state.
Fathers, sons, and generational differences were, appropriately, at the forefront of our minds as my good friend Keith Seppel and I departed for Thompson Falls in the pre-morning dark for trip 45 of our mission to fish together once a month for as long as time allows us.

My fathers formative years were spent fishing the Clark Fork in Thompson Falls. The river was his childhood canvas. He spent hours in the pursuit of the giant bull trout and pike minnows that owned the river at that time, tossing thousands upon thousands of casts into the river, with each cast brushing up against that powerful human emotion - hope. When the fishing would slow or the summer sun became too oppressive, he would put down his pole and plunge into the cool waters of the Clark Fork.

Trips to Grandma and Grandpas house in Thompson Falls were a staple of my childhood. As I grew, and Grandpa grew older, my easiest conversations with Louis involved fishing. Despite the enormous generational difference between someone who was raised during the Great Depression and someone who was raised during the onset of computers and gaming systems, fishing connected us.

I cant hear the name of the town of Thompson Falls without thinking of my grandfather, or my father, and without some memory flickering on like a street light in the night.

Furthermore, on the morning of July 31 at 9:11 a.m., Keith's wife Rachael gave birth to a healthy baby boy. Strangely, we talk of newborn babies and fish landed in the same terms - measurements. Baby Seppel was 20 1/2 inches, and weighed a whopping 10 pounds 13 ounces. His name, appropriately, is Fisher Rae Seppel.

So it was, squeezing in our August trip at the end of the month, we cut through the silence of the morning heading north, and our usual talk of trout, bass and pike didnt fill the hours of travel. It was the bond between grandfathers, fathers, and sons that owned the discussion.

While Keith and my adventures often inspire me to take my son on a mirrored journey, Augusts trip was the reverse. Two weeks before Keith and I headed to Thompson Falls, I spent a couple days in town with my family and my in-laws. Finn and Lila spent hours together on the banks of river, Finn, shirtless, sporting a pair of muddy swimming trunks, and Lila in a multi-colored, blue and pink one-piece swimsuit featuring a huge zebra on the front. They fished together, chatting and smiling, yanking fish out of the water as fast as I could keep their hooks baited. When the fishing slowed, like my father more than 50 years before them, theyd toss down their poles and plunge into the water to refresh.

Bordered by the Clark Fork River, with fishing accesses throughout town, Thompson Falls offers wonderful fishing variety for adults and kids alike. The river has evolved into a warm water fishery since my fathers time, boasting a healthy population of pike, bass, pumpkinseed, and perch, as well as the occasional walleye. You will find the pike, bass, pumpkinseed, and perch eager to eat in August, aggressively chasing plastic baits, spinners and streamers. Mixed in with the warm water fish, especially at the mouth of the cold flowing Thompson River or Prospect Creek, you will also find a population of trout. The trout, as is their nature, are little more finicky, but if you are patient at the mouth of one the cool mountain streams, you can coax them to hit both dries and nymphs alike.

Thompson Falls offers wonderful access to fishing right in town at Island Park off Maiden Lane. The island sits between the dams. From the island the trail leads to an old trestle style bridge that used to serve as the only access across the river to the Prospect Creek area. It provides a breathtaking view of the Clark Fork and a small section of the canyon the huge river has carved over the millennia.

As Keith and I crossed this walking bridge toward our day of fishing, my mind traveled back to stories of my grandfather and father driving the bridge during hunting season. My father said at times the rear wheels of their 61 yellow Ford, Ol Yeller, would slip off the planks, and in the split second of drop his heart would skip a beat.

Keith and I fished together for nearly eight hours. Sticking with tradition, we too used a cool dip in the Clark Fork to beat the Thompson Falls summer heat. We wandered the banks in all directions, catching fish nearly everywhere we went.

Near the end of the days adventure, as I watched Keith, rod tip bent under the scorching sun, battling another northern pike, I had a prescient vision.

I am standing next to the same waters that my grandfather and father fished, that my son and I have fished. I am watching Fisher Rae Seppel, rod tip bent in battle against a toothy northern. He is focused, determination etched across his brow. Keith, the ever hopeful father, is watching in earnest a few feet away, prepared to help if need be, hoping his son lands the fish. After a tense battle, he does. Fisher reaches down excitedly to grab the flopping pike. He lifts the fish, cradling it against its protests. His eyes meet his fathers. He shows his dad his catch. A proud joy spreads across Fishers face. That joy is magnified tenfold by his father next to him. Keith crouches down, extends a hand to Fishers shoulder and says a few words I cannot hear, yet I know exactly what they mean.
As Thomas Bearstail walked along the perimeter of the Lone Star Arena at United Tribes Technical College in Bismarck, his classmates and other students turned around to admire his brightly colored regalia, which had bells that chimed with every step he took.

"Thomas!" one student yelled and waived. He smiled and waived back. The students stared at Thomas' clothing, something many of them had probably never seen before.

Thomas, a fourth-grader at Bismarck's Lincoln Elementary School, was one of several young dancers who performed for local students on Friday at United Tribes Technical College International Powwow. Each year, fourth-grade classes in Bismarck and Mandan attend a special event for youth prior to the kick-off of the powwow.

"Some of these kids dont get to see this," said Margaret Landin, whose son, Elijah, 12, and daughter, Sophie, 8, danced for the crowd. "This is the first time that they ever go out to a powwow or see the culture besides hearing about it in their classroom."

The powwow is tied to North Dakota history curriculum in fourth grade, and it serves as an educational field trip for students.

"With Native people making up nearly 9 percent of our student body, and the story and the culture of Native people being such a big part of who we collectively are as a state, this, to me, is the best eyes-on, ears-open opportunity to learn rather than learning from a textbook," said Bismarck Public Schools Superintendent Tamara Uselman.

Schools in the neighboring state of Montana also have students attend powwows each year. The state has a law called Indian Education for All, which requires students learn about Native American culture. North Dakota is also planning to integrate Native American culture and history into curriculum, though it is not tied to state law.

About 1,100 Bismarck students attended the event on Friday. Students from Light of Christ Catholic Schools in Bismarck and Mandan Public Schools attended, as well. This year, the turnout exceeded what organizers had expected; more than 1,500 students crowded bleachers and sat on the grass inside the arena for the event.

Its a pathway into the community, and its a way of learning about other cultures," said Sam Azure, principal of the Theodore Jamerson Elementary School on the UTTC campus, which partners with BPS to put on the program each year.

Azure said the powwow is also an opportunity for people to learn more about United Tribes and Native American history and to get people out to the college to learn about activities going on there.

"Its a great thing that happens once a year," he said.

The day began Friday with a short history lesson from UTTC instructor Dakota Goodhouse, who explained the history of Native Americans in the area dating back to 1863. Then, students cheered for the Native American hoop dancing routine. After that, Bismarck students danced for the audience, and then all students jumped in to learn various styles of dances.

(The powwow) reinforces that idea that were not historical people; were still here. We still have a vibrant culture that we want the kids to experience," said Chadwick Kramer, coordinator of BPS office of Indian Education and enrolled member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.

The event also helps Native American students explore their culture with their peers. Last year, during the Dakota Access Pipeline protests, the youth event had a lower turnout of around 800 students. Kramer said he spoke with a BPS employee and enrolled member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians whose fourth-grade daughters class did not attend the powwow last year. The employee's daughter, who had wanted to share her culture with her classmates, was disappointed.

"I think it is a source of pride for our students to share their culture, and it probably starts those discussions at an earlier age," Kramer said.

The powwow continues through Sunday. For more information, visit www.unitedtribespowwow.com.
A breath of fresh air is on the way for young students in Ravalli County.

Eighty High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters arrived at the Ravalli County Public Health Office, Thursday, for distribution to local schools and most vulnerable children.

The Ravalli County Public Health Department spent $11,600 of an Emergency Preparedness Grant to purchase the 80 HEPA filters that can capture ultrafine particles up to .3 microns from the wildfire smoke socking in the Bitterroot Valley for weeks. Air quality all week was in the "unhealthy" range, according to state monitoring stations.

Those are being dispersed to public schools in the valley on a loan basis, so we can get them back and use them for years to come, said Angie Allen, director of Public Health for Ravalli County. Its obviously a problem every year.

Allen said the air filters are being dispersed per population and need.

We are sending filters to the most sensitive groups and those are young children and kids with lung conditions, she said. We are recommending schools put the filters in highest areas of need, which include spots like a kindergarten room, or to create a clean air space like in a library so all kids can go in and breathe clean air. We are helping the schools prioritize.

Allen said she used the research and systematic review done by Climate Smart Missoula to decide which HEPA filters to purchase.

I read the reviews and then picked the one that covers the most square footage  a 350-square-foot room, Allen said. The manufacturer, the Winix Company, gave us a discount of $50 per unit and no shipping as a contribution to the students in the schools.

Neoma Greenfield, emergency preparedness coordinator, said the units have carbon, HEPA and Plasma Wave ion filters.

The HEPA filters are washable so we are giving care and instruction details on delivery, Greenfield said.

Allen said the Emergency Preparedness Grant is a federal grant created after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks for counties to be prepared for emergencies.

Allen said 80 HEPA air filters will not be enough to provide fresh air for all of the children in the county.

The positive thing about the Bitterroot is that people collaborate well together to help this community in vulnerable times, Allen said. If anyone wants to help the schools obtain more filters, contact them to donate.

According the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, wildfire smoke can make your eyes sting, irritate respiratory systems, and worsen chronic heart and lung diseases.

Wildfire smoke is a mix of gases and fine particles from burning vegetation, building materials, and other materials, the CDC website reports. Wildfire smoke can make anyone sick. Even someone who is healthy can get sick if there is enough smoke in the air.

According to the CDC website, breathing in smoke can cause a scratchy throat, coughing, trouble breathing normally, irritated sinuses, chest pain, headaches, tiredness, asthma attacks, and a rapid heartbeat. High risk groups like older adults, pregnant women, children, and people with pre-existing respiratory and heart conditions may be more likely to get sick if they breathe in wildfire smoke.

The CDC offers tips to protect health from wildfire smoke including paying attention to air quality reports and avoiding spending time outdoors. Air quality can be estimated on how far you can see, so pay attention to visibility guides.

Keep indoor air as clean as possible by closing windows and doors, not burning candles or fireplaces, not vacuuming, and not smoking. Running an air conditioner or a genuine HEPA filter can help keep indoor air clean. An N95 mask can offer some protection but the dust masks found at hardware stores do not filter out the small particles of smoke.

Allen said the key to masks is the fit.

If people are going to use any type of mask, a good fit test is essential for proper use, Allen said. People with chronic heart or lung conditions (like congestive heart disease or asthma) should consult their health care provider before using a respirator.

Tom Korst, superintendent of Hamilton Schools, said the school appreciates the efforts and care of their students.

Im glad the Ravalli County Health Department was able to make such a wonderful and much-needed contribution to the area schools in the community during this time of need. Allen said. Hopefully we will see some relief soon.
Montana students who graduated high school in 2017 performed about on par with their peers on ACT tests, a national college readiness test that Montana gives to all juniors.

Montana was tied for fifth among 17 states who tested all their juniors in 2016, with an average score of 20.3. The score differs from scores previously reported by the state, as the scores encompass only graduates, not all students tested as juniors.

The score is about on par with regional peers  Wyoming, which tests all juniors, scored 20.2. North Dakota, which tested 98 percent of juniors, scored 20.3. ACT scores are reported on a 36-point scale.

Montana State University students have a 25.4 average score. The University of Montana lists a score of 22 as a "primary requirement" for admission.

Among states that tested all students, scores loosely correlate with the child poverty rate. Montana's scores are about average with the trend. A handful of states stand out, like Mississippi, with a score of 20.4 despite a 31 percent child poverty rate, or Wyoming, with a score of 20.2 with only an 11 percent child poverty rate.

"Underserved learners (low-income, minority, and/or first-generation college students) continue to struggle in terms of their achievement levels and readiness for college," a report released by the ACT company says. "Less than a fourth of graduates who qualify as underserved met or surpassed three or four of the ACT College Readiness Benchmarks, compared to more than half of ACT-tested graduates who are not underserved."

A long-held achievement gap between Native American and white students persisted; Native American students averaged a score of 16, while white students averaged 20.8.

Girls outperformed boys in reading and English, with 8 and 12 percent more girls hitting college-ready benchmarks in the topics. But three and two percent more boys hit benchmarks in math and science. For both sexes, 23 percent of students hit benchmarks in all four subjects.

The report also released data on students who met benchmark scores  scores that indicate students are ready for college. Montana students ranked 10th in English among the 17 states that tested all students, with 55 percent meeting the benchmark. Montana excelled in reading, ranking third with 44 percent of students meeting the benchmark. Students ranked fourth in math with 37 percent meeting the benchmark, and ranked seventh in science, with 33 percent of students meeting the benchmark.

States that test fewer student generally had higher scores, as college-bound students are more likely to take the test. For example, New Hampshire had the highest average score in the nation at 25.5, but tested only 18 percent of students  the second lowest.
The Montana Department of Justice has issued a Missing Endangered Person Advisory for Savanah Carelock. She is a 17-year-old suicidal female that is missing from Helena since Sept.6.
A mans body was found in the Bitterroot River near Lolo Saturday morning, according to the Missoula County Sheriffs Office.

Sheriffs were dispatched to a report of a body in the river at 10:30 a.m., MCSO spokesperson Brenda Bassett said.

The county coroner is not releasing the name of the 65-year-old man recovered from the river near Riverside Park until the family is notified.

The coroner said in a statement the death does not appear suspicious, but an autopsy will be performed at the Montana State Crime Lab.
Glacier National Park announced Friday that it will not issue new overnight backcountry permits due to developing critical fire weather conditions.

Isolated dry thunderstorms are possible Saturday, followed by gusty winds Saturday afternoon into Sunday associated with a cold front passage.

There are no backcountry evacuations at this time, and there is no immediate threat at this time to backcountry users.

The intent of this action is to reduce the number of people overnighting in the backcountry, the park said in a news release.

In the event of a new fire start or rapid growth of existing fires, the park has significantly fewer resources available, due to ongoing fire operations, to assist a large number of people out of the backcountry.

The duration that no new overnight backcountry permits will be issued is unknown due to ongoing dry conditions, extremely high fire behavior and the extended fire season outlook.

The park is currently fighting three large fires and is preparing for the potential of a fourth, the Kenow Fire coming down from Canada near Goat Haunt.

Information on the Sprague and Adair Peak fires is available on Inciweb.

Elder Creek fire lies on the Montana and British Columbia border, and started on the Canadian side on Sept. 2. It is currently 2,055 acres, with 260 acres on the U.S. side. Firefighters have begun implementing structure protection around the Kishenehn Patrol Cabin and surrounding areas.

The Kenow fire burning in Canada could potentially impact northern portions of Glacier National Park, and Parks Canada has issued an evacuation order for all of Waterton Lakes National Park. As a precaution, firefighters have started on some structure protection in the Goat Haunt area of Glacier National Park.

Due to these fires, trail and road closures change frequently. Information is available at https://www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/conditions.htm.
America must return to conservative principles of less government,reduced taxes, less spending and a balanced budget! Cut,cap and balance!
The Left Closes Ranks to Protect the Great Charlottesville Whitewash

Mark J. Fitzgibbons

The violence in Charlottesville on August 12 has been used to promote the left's box of political chocolates: Republicans are addicted to racism. President Trump's ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals "on the heels of Charlottesville . . . is [a] signal[] to champions of hate and bigotry that their voices matter most." It is cause to end President Trump's voter fraud commission. Defund the Jefferson Memorial. Ban open carry of firearms. Attack free speech. Redouble Linda Sarsour's Women's March activism. Rename New York's Trump Park.

Charlottesville became a rallying cry for Democrats and social justice warriors. This helps explain the false narrative about Charlottesville promoted by the liberal news media.

At his August 22 rally in Phoenix, President Trump did his best (and funniest) New York, street-talking, blue collar verbal dismembering of the increasingly of out-of-touch, ideologically blinded elitists in the liberal news media. He lambasted the "fake news" reporting about his comments that "both sides" were responsible for violence in Charlottesville earlier that month.

Trump knew Americans outside the liberal political establishment bubble would understand exactly what he was saying as he goaded the hopelessly deranged and dishonest liberal news media.

The liberal news media took the bait and fell hard over that speech. CNN's Don Lemon seemed to fight back a fit of weepish emotions by first insisting Trump's criticisms of the press had nothing to do with Lemon's upcoming smug and melodramatic response about an "unhinged" president. CNN's Eric Bradner, pushing the narrative that Trump is mentally unstable, called the speech "a 77-minute presidential therapy session in front of thousands of supporters."

Then came news reported on August 29 by Josh Meyer at Politico that the Department of Homeland Security warned Charlottesville and Virginia officials three days before the tragic events of August 12 that leftwing antifa and white supremacists were preparing for violence at their competing protests, and that it would likely be the worst clash to date between these two groups of maladjusted reprobates.

In other words, Trump was not only right after-the-fact about Charlottesville, but the violence from both sides was predicted, and city and state officials were warned about it. It has been over a week since the news about this DHS warning broke, but The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, and the major networks and liberal news media have ignored it.

At least one protester injured that day has filed suit against the city and state police chiefs for allegedly issuing a stand-down order that allowed the violence to escalate. There is a clear case of negligence by public safety officials for failing to take basic security precautions and snuff out violence early in the protests, which led to escalation and tragedy.

The lawsuit, however, is the work of liberal social justice warriors, blaming only the police chiefs, ignoring the role of the violent left that day and in events leading up to it, and failing to mention Governor Terry McAuliffe and his administration's clear role in preparations for the security of events that day. Objective lawyers would have sued the deep-pocket Commonwealth of Virginia, especially given McAuliffe's official press release the day of the violence saying, "In the days and weeks leading up to this event, my Administration engaged in extensive planning and preparation to ensure that the rally in Charlottesville could be held in a safe and lawful environment."

That's gold for plaintiff attorneys.

What this SJW lawsuit does to protect Democrat political officials by omission is startling. The Charlottesville police chief, after all, seemed to handle a July 8 protest by the KKK in textbook fashion. He was later criticized by city social justice warriors, however, because his department only arrested violent antifa counter-protesters but no KKK members at the July event.

In other words, the chief's good law enforcement in July wasn't politically correct enough for his leftwing critics. The disengagement of the police at the deadly August 12 protest noted by multiple witnesses -- including the ACLU of Virginia, and the subsequent spread of violence, seem rather clearly to have been the result of political pressures from the left.

But that never fitted the SJW's or liberal news media's dishonest narratives.

The tragic events gave the ambitious Governor McAuliffe a national platform, and left-wingers could point a finger at white supremacists, giving cover to their violent, strong-arm allies in antifa. Certainly, the August 12 Charlottesville events provided better ratings for the news media than the July 8 arrests of over 20 leftwing antifa protestors. Adding to the appearance of a whitewash, the City of Charlottesville hired their own investigator, a Democrat and Obama-appointee former U.S. Attorney who happens to be a donor to the city's mayor. The events leading up to Charlottesville's violence require a Department of Justice investigation instead

As everyone outside the liberal establishment bubble had already gathered, however, Trump was right all along about Charlottesville. Don Lemon and nearly everyone else in the liberal news media except Politico have been AWOL in reporting about this DHS warning to Charlottesville and Virginia officials. The DHS warning devastatingly crushes their false narrative about Charlottesville, Trump's comments, and, well, conservatives who believed Trump and were therefore considered racists.

The liberal news media's refusal to acknowledge the role of leftwing politics and the thuggish antifa in the Charlottesville violence then took another hit in a second piece by Josh Meyer at Politico on September 1, that in 2016 the Obama DHS classified antifa as a domestic terrorist organization.

Quoting a senior law enforcement official tracking domestic extremists, Meyer writes, "These antifa guys were showing up with weapons, shields and bike helmets and just beating the sh** out of people.  They're using Molotov cocktails, they're starting fires, they're throwing bombs and smashing windows."

As repulsive as the white supremacist message is, it appears their additional arming in preparation for their Charlottesville protest was in response to the known and expected violence of the leftwing antifa. Meyer's report continues, "Almost immediately, the right-wing targets of the antifa attacks began fighting back, bringing more and larger weapons and launching unprovoked attacks of their own, the documents and interviews show."

In describing how the law can be so stubborn that it reaches sometimes foolish results, Charles Dickens used the character Mr. Bumble in Oliver Twist to say that "the law is a ass - a idiot."

Not that many Americans didn't already know the mulishly stubborn and foolish ways of the liberal news media, but Charlottesville has proven these ideological purveyors of propaganda, with their constant false narratives and refusals to be fair, to be an even bigger ass than we thought.
ROME, Sept 8: The United Nations is preparing to deploy up to 250 Nepalese guards to Libya to protect its base in the capital as part of a plan to return its operations to the country, the head of the organizations mission there said on Friday.

Backed by Western governments, the United Nations is trying to heal a rift between Libyas rival factions in order to stabilize the country and to tackle militant violence and people-smuggling from Libyas northern coast.

The mission has been based in Tunis since 2014, when fighting among rival Libyan brigades forced out most foreign embassy staff, but it has gradually increased its presence in Libya and has been planning for months for a fuller return.

The military unit would probably consist of around 150 guards, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, told a news briefing in Geneva.

To make sure that we protect our colleagues as they deploy in Tripoli there will be a guard unit which will be basically UN military personnel coming from Nepal, Lacroix said.

Envoy Ghassan Salame told Italian newspaper La Stampa that a little under 250 could be deployed in the coming weeks.

To make sure that we protect our colleagues as they deploy in Tripoli there will be a guard unit which will be basically UN military personnel coming from Nepal.

 Jean-Pierre Lacroix, UN Under Secretary General for Peacekeeping Operations

Deploying the guards to the base in Tripoli will mean that around the beginning of October we can carry out a significant part of our work in Libya, said Salame, who has headed the mission since June.

Security in Tripoli and other parts of western Libya is fragile, and armed groups that are largely unaccountable hold power on the ground.

Most foreign embassies closed and pulled out their staff in 2014 when heavy fighting between rival factions destroyed the capitals airport. It was the worst fighting since the fall of long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

Libya slipped into turmoil after the NATO-backed uprising that toppled Gaddafi. A U.N.-backed government set up in Tripoli last year has struggled to assert its authority and is opposed by factions that control eastern Libya.

In July, rival leaders pledged to work toward elections in 2018 and a conditional ceasefire. Salame said constitutional and electoral laws would have to be written to ensure any vote brought lasting

We need to be sure everyone accepts the final result, he said. Lets not forget that presidential elections would be the first ever.
Two people engaged to be married face a raft of drug-related charges after police reportedly found marijuana, methamphetamine and paraphernalia at their residence.

Jiqueal Surdaren Simmons, 24, and Niomie Carmen Rath, 20, both of Bismarck, were arrested Tuesday for distributing meth. They each face eight similar charges, including felony conspiracy to deliver meth and felony possession with intent to manufacture or deliver meth and marijuana, respectively, as well as multiple misdemeanors including unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia.

Bismarck Police generated their arrests from information provided by an accused meth distributor picked up in a confidential informant operation earlier this year. Police found Rath's address and reportedly discovered drug paraphernalia from there. Court documents say officers acting on a search warrant discovered items including 3.5 grams of meth, baggies totaling 19 grams of marijuana, a vial of THC residue, digital scales, pipes with residue and plastic baggies.

Police reported the drugs found in a way that indicated packaging for distribution. The drugs' value could total over $1,200, the case's affidavit said.

Simmons and Rath are set for preliminary hearings on Oct. 9. Simmons reportedly told police Rath is his fiancee. Their most serious charges include three Class B felony drug counts. Class B felonies in North Dakota are punishable by up to 10 years in prison and $20,000.
Education Reporter

Mathew Burciaga is a Santa Maria Times reporter who covers education, agriculture and public safety. Prior to joining the Times, Mathew ran a 114-year-old community newspaper in Wyoming. He owns more than 40 pairs of crazy socks from across the globe.
Investigations in to a rash of murders that occurred over a three year period in and around Santa Maria, led police to discover the internatio
A Dakota Access Pipeline protester accused of shooting at officers last year awaits her release to a halfway house as attorneys debate a change of venue for trial.

Red Fawn Fallis, 38, is charged federally with felony counts of civil disorder, discharge of a firearm in relation to a felony crime of violence and possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon. Her charges stem from the Oct. 27 incident last year when she allegedly fired a gun three times as police tried to arrest her for disorderly behavior near a DAPL protest camp.

Fallis has pleaded innocent. A four-day trial is set to begin Dec. 5 in Bismarck. Defense attorney Jessie Cook filed a reply brief Aug. 30, reinforcing the request for a venue transfer to one outside of North Dakota due to publicity.

"In short, negative community attitudes have not dissipated, governmental agencies invited prejudicial attitudes against the defendant and water protectors generally and such hostility has tainted the jury pool in North Dakota," Cook wrote, acknowledging that venue transfers are typically for "exceptional and rare circumstances."

She also wrote that the prosecution's suggestion to transfer the case to Fargo or to gather eastern North Dakota jurors is "insufficient." Defense attorney Bruce Ellison originally motioned for the venue transfer in June.

Also in June, Chief Judge Daniel Hovland granted Fallis release to a halfway house in Fargo, pending available bed space. Online jail records indicate she is in custody at the Stutsman County Correctional Center.
In honor of Muni Heritage Weekend, which is this weekend  this will explain why you're seeing so many vintage streetcars and other vehicles around  we're revisiting SFist's favorite Muni lines  not necessarily to get where we're going, but the ones on which we most find ourselves enjoying the ride, because of the above-ground scenery. While she's an easy target to kick with her many flaws and breakdowns, Muni deserves some love sometimes too.

22-Fillmore

You get the full socioeconomic spectrum of San Francisco on this iconic Muni route, from the east-of-Bayshore Bayview neighborhood to its final stops in the Marina. Yes, the 22 is a crazy-person bus with tagged-to-the-bejesus interiors and it's unbearable when the kids are getting in and out of school. But this bus has left its imprimatur on so many of your favorite local memories and deserves inclusion not least of all for sentimental purposes. The San Francisco Bay view from the top of Broadway never fails to make one gasp.  Joe Kukura







K-Ingleside/T-Third Street

There are a lot of things to love about the KT, from the fun trip it takes you down a still quirky Ocean Avenue to the swift and oftentimes-less-packed alternative it offers travelers within the city. But my favorite thing about the T is when you're heading back from the Bayview towards SoMa, how as you take the turn into Mission Bay, the ballpark suddenly rises up in your window. I don't know why, but even though I take that trip on a weekly basis, that moment gives me one those "I can't believe I get to live here" chills every time.  Eve Batey





33-Ashbury/18th

Sometimes, Muni drivers are nothing short of heroic. And when the 33 headed from the Mission makes that huge, sweeping turn off Market Street and onto Clayton, toward Ashbury Heights (opposite direction of video) with the front of the bus nearly kissing a cement wall, I could kiss the driver. The 33 is also the first bus I took regularly in San Francisco when I lived on Ashbury for a few months in '07, so you better believe it's a sentimental journey. Caleb Pershan





Photo credit: Sergio Ruiz

F-Market

The Muni line perhaps most loved by tourists and most despised by locals is the F, with its array of historic streetcars from around the world  the most hateful, of course, being the rickety, rattly, old and loud orange ones from Milan. But you have to admit they add some charm and color to the Market Street scene, and that open-topped boat car they pull out on sunny days is just the best. Also, in addition to the cross-section of the city one can see riding the F all the way up Market to Castro, the full route includes much of the Embarcadero too, with views of the Bay and a bevy of tourists who don't know which way the Ferry Building is. Also, until the Central Subway is completed and extended, this is actually one of the quicker ways to get to Fisherman's Wharf via public transportation, like it or not.  Jay Barmann





A rebuilt 1969 GMC T6H-5307 3574 at the Golden Gate Bridge stop of what is now the 28 line. Photo: FYBklyn1959

28-19th Avenue

Look, I can't lie: 19th Avenue is a hellish shitshow. I don't care if you're a driver, a transit rider, or a pedestrian crossing the road just hoping neither of those other things squash you like a bug. That stretch of the 28 is more of a gruesome necessity than a pleasure, but once you get north of Golden Gate Park, it turns into a fun and lovely ride through some of the Richmond's cutest architecture, then suddenly you're at the Golden Gate Bridge, then heading through the sexy new Doyle Drive. That section comes damn close to making the other, crappier parts of route worthwhile.  Eve Batey

J-Church

There's a lot to say about this line that runs through Dolores Park and rambles around backyards in Noe, but I'll instead just quote from Thom Gunn, whose poetry of witness during the AIDS epidemic is startlingly, heartbreaking good. Caleb Pershan

From "The J Car:"



Last year I used to ride the J CHURCH Line,

Climbing between small yards recessed with vine -

Their ordered privacy, their plots of flowers

Like blameless lives we might imagine ours.

Most trees were cut back, but some brushed the car

Before it swung round to the street once more







Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Hyde Street Cable Car

If you have parents or tourist pals in town who don't want to deal with crowds, you may want the California Street line to give them their first cable car experience. But on an off-hour, or if you can manage to get on along the route without too much trouble, try for a ride on the Powell-Hyde Line  particularly the portion after Nob Hill when it snakes up through Chinatown and over to Hyde, and then makes the very pretty journey through Russian Hill down to the water. Just make sure to get on the one that says Hyde on it, not the Powell-Mason.  Jay Barmann





Image: Joe Kukura

43-Masonic

Despite its name, the 43 Masonic is only on Masonic Ave. for 7 of its 89 scheduled stops. Known to most as a Haight St. bus, the 43 Masonic is actually a critical connector for unfashionable and less-trafficked neighborhoods like the Excelsior, the Portola District, Forest Hill, Laguna Honda (seen above) and the Presidio. Some of the 43s stops arent even cross-streets, theyre just random arbitrary addresses. The winding route and tiny residential streets of the 43 Masonics path make it not a particularly time-effective route, but available seats are generally plentiful, the buses are usually clean, and there is an adorable Clancys Pumpkin Patch hidden at 7th Ave. & Lawton should you want to score a jack-o-lantern this Halloween season.  Joe Kukura





The Coit bus will take you allll the way up here. Photo: Super Bowl 50

39-Coit

For most San Franciscans, the 39-Coit isn't the route they take to get to work, school, or other obligations. It's the ride they take when they're showing SF off to guests, or are playing tourist in their own town. That, alone, makes it more fun than our utility-driven routes, but it's also a beautiful ride, heading up Telegraph Hill to Coit Tower (hence the name), past Washington Square, and down one of the prettiest stretches of Powell. Every time I ride the 39, I think "why don't I do this more often?" before remembering that I always have shit to do. But this is one Muni ride that merits a pause from the daily grind, a stashing of the phone, and a window seat.  Eve Batey





Image: lpcmidst0128 via Flickr

18-46th Ave.

The 18 46th Ave. is a zen ride thanks to very few passengers, the comfy and stylish biodiesel model Muni buses, and a spectacular array of San Francisco scenery. Though it no longer does the full loop around Lake Merced (that distinction now goes to the 57 Parkmerced), the 18 46th is the only Muni route that travels the Great Highway, plus it also passes the Dutch Windmills and goes right to the Legion of Honor. Its a Muni ride so quaint you could take a date or visiting family on it without shame. But be aware that on weekdays the 18 can get suddenly mobbed with children taking field trips to the SF Zoo, which it also glides by.  Joe Kukura
Vice Chairwoman of the municipal Peoples Committee Nguyen Thi Thu told visiting Italian Undersecretary of State of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism Donari Bianchi on September 8 that tourism is among the citys key industries, contributing greatly to the local socio-economic development.



Thu asked Bianchi, in her position, to continue enhancing partnership between HCM City and Italys localities, especially through cultural exchanges, art performances and tourism, dedicating to increased mutual understanding, solidarity and friendship between their people.

Highlighting the development of the two nations relations in recent years, Bianchi vowed that Italy would step up cooperation with Vietnam and HCM City in particular in culture and tourism.

Italy is willing to send experts to help the Vietnamese city preserve historical and cultural relic sites as well as provide scholarships for officials in charge of arts and culture and museum preservation, she noted.

The two sides should ramp up tourism promotion campaigns to introduce their people to cultural heritages and tourism potential of Vietnam and Italy.

Vietnamnews
SIOUX CITY | Briar Cliff University will host a special reading of "It Turns Out Like This" by writer Stephen Coyne.

The event will be held at 7 p.m. Sept. 20 at Meis Recital Hall. The reading is sponsored by Briar Cliff's English Department.

Coyne is a creative writing and American literature professor. "It Turns Out Like This" was published in 2016. His writing has been featured in literary journals such as The New England Review, The North American Review, and Prairie Schooner. He has received numerous awards for his fiction work.
SIOUX CITY | Since word spread that hackers could potentially take control of a brand of pacemakers -- devices implanted to keep the heart beating at a normal rhythm -- Sioux City cardiologists say they've received a number of phone calls from concerned patients.

Roque Arteaga, a cardiologist who practices with Cardiovascular Associates, said the hypothetical risk that pacemakers could fall victim to cyberattacks has been known for years. He described today's pacemakers as small computers with antennas.

He said Dick Cheney's pacemaker's wireless capabilities were turned off when he was vice president to prevent a potential assassination attempt. A hacker would have to be within 20 feet of a pacemaker and bypass encryption codes in order to gain control, according to Arteaga.

"This is the first time the FDA decided to take action," he said. "The risk is there, but it's the risk that exists with most devices that have an antenna and a computer."

After conducting an investigation, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved an update to enhance the security of the firmware that runs certain Abbott (formerly St. Jude Medical) pacemakers in effort to reduce the risk of patient harm due to potential cyberattacks.

According to the FDA, 465,000 implantable pacemakers are eligible to receive the update, but there have been no known reports of patient harm related to hacking. Arteaga said it's likely that other medical device manufacturers will introduce their own software updates in the future.

The following St. Jude Medical pacemaker and CRT-P devices have been found to have cybersecurity vulnerabilities: Accent, Anthem, Accent MRI, Accent ST, Assurity and Allure. Implantable cardiac defibrillators or cardiac resynchronization ICDs aren't included in the firmware update.

The FDA says Abbott pacemakers manufactured on and after Aug. 28, 2017, will have the update pre-loaded.

"The risk is so low that I wouldn't recommend from a medical perspective to get the software downloaded," Arteaga said. "If it makes the patient more comfortable, the option exists."

Fayaz Hakim, a cardiologist at Mercy Medical Center -- Sioux City, said hackers would have to have extensive knowledge of pacemaker software in order to alter programming.

"He can stop it. He can start it. He can change the heart rate. He can do anything, provided he has the information," he said. "It should be an unusual circumstance that somebody who doesn't know about these things would be able to hack into this system."

Hakim said some firmware updates have already been performed at the Mercy Heart Center. He said Mercy is notifying patients about the cybersecurity issue by letter. Cardiovascular Associates, which provides UnityPoint Health-St. Luke's cardiology services, is doing the same.

"Nobody has to freak out. Their pacemaker is going to function whether they would update it or not," Hakim said. "It's not that they have to do it right now. They can do it when they are due for their scheduled pacemaker check."

The firmware update requires an in-person patient visit with a health care provider. The update process takes about three minutes to complete. During this time, the FDA says the device operates in backup mode, pacing at 67 beats per minute. Once the update is complete, the device will return to its pre-update settings.

According to the FDA, there is a very low risk of an update malfunction, including complete loss of device functionality. In those rare cases, Arteaga said the pacemakers would have to be replaced.

"I don't know if I would want to risk that the device could potentially malfunction and then I have to have a procedure because of a hypothetical, theoretical risk," he said. "For patients that feel too anxious about this and they are threatened, the software is available."
SIOUX CITY | A loaded firearm was found on a passenger at a security screening checkpoint Friday morning at Sioux City's Sioux Gateway Airport.

A Transportation Security Administration press release said the .45 caliber Smith & Wesson was detected in a carry-on bag during an X-ray screening.

The Sioux City Police Department responded and took the weapon and interviewed the passenger who was later allowed to continue. Whether the passenger faces criminal charges is unclear.

I would like to remind passengers that firearms are prohibited at TSA security checkpoints, TSA Federal Security Director David Dailey said in the release. Firearms can only be transported in a checked bag that is declared to the airline at the ticket counter and properly packed in a locked, hard-sided container.

The release went on to add firearm parts, ammunition and realistic replicas also are not allowed through checkpoints but can be transported in checked bags.

This is the first firearm found at the airport checkpoint this year.
SIOUX CITY | Deana Bottei can't help licking dough off of her fingers.

"You know a cookie will be good if you eat it before you bake it," the Sioux City woman said in the kitchen of St. Thomas Orthodox Church. "And these gribbe cookies (a Lebanese butter cookie) are outstanding."

Bottei is one of the cooks preparing food for the church's Syrian-Lebanese dinner, taking place from 12:30 to 6 p.m. Sunday.

The open-to-the-public dinner -- a tradition at the 1100 Jones St. church for more than 60 years -- was discontinued three years ago.

"You could call it a case of volunteer burnout," Bottei admitted. "The volunteers that we had relied upon were getting older and the younger generation wasn't able to step up."

That was the case until a few months ago.

"As a church, we missed hosting our diners," Bottei explained. "More importantly, the community missed having a chance to taste Middle Eastern cuisine."

However, this year's dinner will be a bit different, according to volunteer cook Erica Stickney.

"In the past, we'd serve sit-down dinners and we'd have people waiting a long time to eat," she said. "While we'll have tables set up, this year's dinner will be carry out."

In addition, a portion of the proceeds will be going to The Warming Station, a public charitable organization that provides temporary emergency shelter at 916 Nebraska St. for men, women and families in the Siouxland area.

While some things have changed, the delicious Mediterranean cuisine remains the same.

This year's menu will include kibbee (a baked meat dish made with wheat); yabrah (a cabbage roll stuffed with beef, rice and tomatoes); lubee (green beans served in a rich tomato and meat sauce); ruz (Syrian rice accented with tiny orzo); salata (a Syrian salad with a homemade Mediterranean salad dressing); and talamee (a traditional Syrian bread).

"I'm spoiled because this is the food that I grew up eating," Bottei said. "It is the food that my family has always made and it is a tradition that is passed down to every generation."

Glancing at a recipe, Stickney formed oval-shaped pieces of dough made of butter, sugar, flour and finely-chopped pecans.

"This is a very traditional Syrian pastry but other countries have it as well," she said. "It's been called a Russian Tea Cake, a Mexican Wedding Cake, even, a Hawaiian Delight. But I still associate it with Syria."

Stickney said she's been volunteering her culinary expertise for more than 25 years.

"I was a kid when I started and it's still fun to share our recipes with the community," she said.

Continuing to shape pieces of dough, Stickney recalled all of the camaraderie and laughs she's had in St. Thomas's kitchen.

"You forget how much you enjoy Mediterranean food when you stop making it," she said. "Whenever I eat kibbee or lubee or baklawa (a classic dessert made with phyllo dough, chopped walnuts and a lemony syrup called attayr), I call it Middle Eastern soul food."

"This food is unpretentious, comforting and, yeah, it's good for your soul, Stickney said with a smile.
DAKOTA CITY | Dakota City will unveil its brand-new fire station Sunday afternoon during a ribbon cutting and open house.

The new $2.2 million station at 208 S. 21st St. features eight bays and is nearly twice the size of the former station, allowing the 26-member volunteer department enough space to store all of its equipment and complete additional training.

City administrator Alyssa Silhacek said the building was completed last week, and the department was able to move in last weekend.

"It's good for them to have the room they do," she said. "In the old station, they couldn't get all of the equipment and trailers in there."

Sunday's two-hour event, which will begin with a ribbon cutting at 2 p.m., will feature tours of the new building, refreshments, activities for children and a demonstration by the Nebraska Public Power District.

The Dakota City Council and Dakota-Covington Rural Fire Board accepted a bid for the project in July 2016. Nelson Construction & Development provided general contracting services for the project.

The new station was made possible by a county-wide half-cent sales tax increase that Dakota County voters approved in November 2014, which paid for approximately $1.9 million of the station. Other funding came from the Dakota-Covington Rural Fire District, the city's EMS funds and fire department fundraisers.
SHELDON, Iowa | A northwest Iowa city has "adopted" a Texas community that shares its name to assist with its recovery from extensive flooding damage caused by Hurricane Harvey.

For more than a week, residents of Sheldon, Iowa, have contributed items to assist with relief efforts over 1,000 miles away in Sheldon, Texas, an unincorporated community of approximately 2,000 residents in the Houston area that includes a school district.

The flooding hit hard in the Texas Sheldon, where nine of the local district's 11 sites received water damage, including extensive damage to four of those sites.

A truck of donated bottled water will leave Sheldon, Iowa, bound for Texas, this weekend, followed next week by a load of donated items.

The relationship between the two communities began a few weeks ago as city leaders in the northwest Iowa town of 5,100 were struck by the destruction and need in Houston and looked for a way to help.

Walt Pruiksma, Sheldon's emergency manager and the general manager at the local radio station KIWA, said as he was scanning a Houston map, he spotted a "Sheldon" in Texas and then began reading about it online.

He said adopting a community with the same name was the unique, personal angle the city was looking for.

"We wanted that connection," he said. "We wanted to be specific, and it was right there in front of us."

Sheldon City Manager Sean Hutchinson, who used to manage a city about 135 miles north of Houston, made contact with the school district and learned of its needs. He said he saw this as a way to put the city's slogan, "Where families come first," into action.

"We wanted to make sure that that isn't just a statement, but that it's a way of life," he said.

The response was almost immediate. Two hours after launching the "Sheldon 4 Sheldon" campaign at a press conference Sept. 1, Mayor Katricia Meendering said someone approached her and told her he had enough friends to help purchase enough bottled water to fill a semi trailer.

A driver volunteered to haul the cargo, and then donations poured in to cover his fuel costs. That semi will leave Sheldon this weekend and should arrive Monday.

Another trailer stocked with donated items -- such as cleaning supplies, nonperishable food items and clothing -- will leave in the middle of next week. Meendering said the donations are piling up as businesses, schools and families respond to the need.

"Were not there physically; were there in spirit," she said. "Were praying for them, and were going to collectively do the best we can to help them get back on their feet."

Hurricane Harvey made landfall Aug. 25 along Texas' Gulf Coast as a Category 4 hurricane. The system broke the North American rainfall record for a single storm system, and the resulting flooding has left thousands of Houston-area families homeless.

A Twitter hashtag, #SheldonStrong, turns up photo after photo of people in Sheldon, Texas, bouncing back from the disaster, with backdrops including severely warped gymnasium floors, piles of damaged belongings looming outside every house for city blocks and extensive cleanup efforts.

Good Morning America co-host Michael Strahan reported live from Sheldon on Tuesday, bringing national media attention to the damage.

WATCH: @DeionSanders surprises a Houston high school with @michaelstrahan with a huge gift to help them out: https://t.co/jGJ0mfxdGD pic.twitter.com/phxu5WDDsu  Good Morning America (@GMA) September 5, 2017

Classes have been postponed and won't resume until Sept. 18 as crews work to clean up and make repairs. The school district has distributed a list of needs via social media, with needs ranging from school supplies to bedding to food and water.

Pruiksma said the community response has shown the best of the Northwest Iowa community's spirit.

"This, I would say, is neighbor helping neighbor," he said. "It's the same thing, just a little bit farther away. This is what we're all about in the Midwest."
A roundup of some of the most popular, but completely untrue, headlines of the week. None of these stories are legit, even though they were shared widely on social media. The Associated Press checked these out; here are the real facts:

NOT REAL: Computer Models Show IRMA Destroying New York City On Sept. 10

THE FACTS: The government's Global Forecast System produced a computer model on Sept. 1 that projected Irma would hit the New York City area on Sept. 10. The model was adjusted within a few days to show Irma's target as south Florida, but that didn't stop several sites from posting stories based on the old model. A YouTube video included in some of the stories used model images taken from weather site Tropical Tidbits. Levi Cowan, who runs the site, tells the AP the forecast is "obviously nothing like what is portrayed."

NOT REAL: Trump's Border Wall Gets Full $1.6B Funding In 'Big Win'

THE FACTS: President Donald Trump's planned wall along the Mexican border hasn't been funded by Congress despite this headline from Daily Wire. Trump has asked Congress for an initial $1.6 billion in funding, but Congress has yet to approve that request. A measure that cleared the House to give the White House the funds to start construction hasn't been taken up by the Senate.

NOT REAL: CORONER'S REPORT: Woman Found On Clinton Estate Was Dead 15 Years, Suffered Torture And Malnutrition

THE FACTS: This story from The Last Line of Defense continues an ongoing hoax about bodies being found on Bill and Hillary Clinton's property in Chappaqua, New York. Police have dismissed the hoax and say they have investigated no such thing. The Last Line of Defense includes a disclaimer on the website that notes it presents "fiction as fact and our sources don't actually exist."

NOT REAL: New "Child Support Card" CONTROLS What Mothers Can Buy With Child Support Money

THE FACTS: This hoax story claims that a Delaware debit card linked to an account funded with child support payments prevents parents from using it to buy alcohol or cigarettes or to make car payments. The debit card does exist, but its terms and conditions list no such restrictions.

NOT REAL: Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson Dies at 45 After a Terrible Stunt with Double Failed

THE FACTS: The actor and pro wrestler is alive even though a slew of viral headlines are claiming he died. The stories offer no information aside from the headline and include a video featuring Fox News anchor Neil Cavuto. Cavuto announces "some very sad news" before the video cuts off and the viewer is prompted to share the story.

___

This weekly fixture is part of The Associated Press' ongoing efforts to fact-check claims in suspected false news stories.
1) What are your priorities for building projects, including new schools?

First, we must finish current and planned projects in a timely and efficient manner. We need to ensure that completion of the new Bryant building is on track. Next, we will need to make sure that the plans for the new Hunt school fit the needs of the community and will integrate seamlessly into the neighborhood. We also need to prioritize getting air conditioning to all students in the district.

In addition, we need to emphasize maintenance and longevity of our existing buildings, especially our aging high schools, since we do not yet know if the Legislature will extend the SAVE program. If that program is not extended, we will likely need to begin looking at repurposing and retrofitting existing buildings to meet new needs.

2) On what education issues at the state level should the local Board of Education take a leadership position?

We must push the Legislature to extend the SAVE program (the penny sales tax that supports construction and maintenance of school infrastructure). Without that extension, we will not have funding for future building projects and may have difficulty funding proper maintenance of our buildings.

In addition, we must insist on adequate funding through state supplemental aid (SSA) and adjustments to the state funding formula so that all school districts are treated equally. There is no excuse for the state continuing to fund our district at a lower rate than others. Finally, we must advocate for an alignment of our student assessment process with our classroom curriculum so that we can obtain more accurate information about where we are succeeding and where we need to improve.

3) What steps do you advocate our school system take to meet the challenges of a student population growing in diversity?

Our districts diverse population provides both challenges and opportunities. We should find more ways to emphasize language skills in early grades for all students. This will put our students in better position to learn and excel in the substantive language-based classes in later grades, such as English, history and civics. We will also need to make sure we are reaching out to parents from all parts of the community for input and evaluate whether there are better communication outlets to reach our diverse populations. We should also encourage interested students to take advantage of open enrollment to specialty schools across the district so that students from different parts of our district have an opportunity to interact with one another and learn from each other.

4) What is your opinion on how the school board responded earlier this year to allegations made by John Chalstrom, former chief financial officer for the district, about Superintendent Paul Gausman? How would you seek to protect the publics right to know the business of the local school district?

Supervising the superintendent is a fundamental part of the boards job. Just as an allegation of employee misconduct would be handled by a supervisor, so too should allegations against the superintendent be handled initially by his supervisor: the board.

However, if the board determines that there is a significant risk of liability or that the available resources are inadequate to yield accurate and independent facts, the board should consider hiring an outside investigator to make a report and recommendations.

Without access to the confidential facts, I cant determine whether the board struck the right balance in this case. In general, the board can only perform its supervisory function properly if it has adequate information and resources. Ultimately, however, it is up to the board to make the final decision on these matters and to answer to the electorate for its decision.

5) What principles will guide your decisions when salaries and benefits for employees of the school district are discussed during budget deliberations? How, if at all, will changes made during the last legislative session to the states collective bargaining laws impact your approach?

The guiding principle for all of my decisions on the board will be the welfare of students and advancing student achievement. Because strong, well-trained teachers are the most important factor in student success, salary and benefits decisions should always consider our districts need to attract and retain the best teachers. As we face tight budgets in the coming years, input from teachers will become even more vital to that process.

Recent legislative changes notwithstanding, I want teachers at the bargaining table helping the district figure out how to attract and retain the best and the brightest in the face of difficult economic circumstances. Working together will allow us to make sure our students arent short-changed by tight budgets.

6) What steps will you support and do you believe the Board of Education should take if state budget challenges result in allowable growth of 1.1 percent (the figure approved by the Legislature this year) next year?

Difficult budgets will require the board to be creative as we try to do more with less, to reduce costs without reducing services to our students. We must consider working with the city, the county and other school districts to find synergies and efficiencies in purchasing and in the delivery of services. We will also need to work with employee groups to find savings. We must continue to find ways to streamline our processes  such as reducing meetings and paperwork so that teachers can focus more energy on teaching and preparing to teach  to maximize our resources while keeping class sizes manageable.

In addition, we need to focus on energy-efficient infrastructure and equipment in our new buildings and existing buildings to reduce operating costs.
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.
ANNAPOLIS

(Sept. 08, 2017)Governor Larry Hogan today announced Maryland's coordinated efforts to support areas in the southeastern United States that will be impacted by Hurricane Irma in the coming days. State agencies have rapidly assessed and readied resources and personnel to send to other states when requested."Thankfully, Maryland appears to be out of harm's way from the worst impacts of Hurricane Irma, however there are millions of people in our region and surrounding states in the path of this deadly storm," said Governor Hogan. "As always, Maryland stands ready to support our friends and neighbors. We are prepared to provide any and all resources needed in the wake of Irma, as well as continued help for those recovering from Hurricane Harvey."The Maryland Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) continues to monitor this system and any requests for assistance, as well as prepare for any potential hazards Maryland may experience."The most intense threats from Hurricane Irma are not predicted to hit Maryland at this time," said MEMA Executive Director Russell Strickland. "MEMA continues to monitor requests for assistance in areas that expect to be impacted by Irma or are recovering from Harvey. We are actively working with our state and local partners to coordinate resource support available throughout the Maryland emergency management system."The following State agencies are available to support states affected by Hurricane Irma: MEMA has staff ready to support local and state emergency operations centers in affected areas and teams available to conduct damage assessments and recovery operations. The Maryland Military Department is able to deploy a Helicopter Aquatic Rescue Team (HART) and search and rescue utility helicopters, aircraft and personnel. The resources of the Maryland State Police Special Operations Division are on stand-by to assist if requested to respond. Those resources include the Maryland State Police Underwater Recovery Team of divers and a rescue boat; trained search and rescue personnel; tactical paramedics, and a Mobile Field Force Team of troopers for law enforcement support. Maryland State Fire Marshal would be able to provide boats, drone, investigation unit personnel, fire protection engineers, and additional first response personnel. MIEMSS has identified Advanced Life Support (ALS) Ambulance Strike Teams (AST) ready to assist. Each team has 5 ambulances and a leader with support/response vehicle, each unit staffed for 24/7 operations. MIEMSS has a staffed Medical Ambulance Bus with a supervisor and has personnel with vehicles to lead and support deployed Maryland EMS resources. The Governor's Office of Homeland Security has alerted all personnel to be available for staffing requests consistent with weather forecasts, response planning or actual occurrences. Homeland Security has proactively contacted counterparts in forecasted affected States offering assistance. Homeland Security personnel remain available to assist storm affected jurisdictions with personnel consistent with availability and type. The Maryland Department of Aging has spoken with the Director of the Florida Department of Elder Affairs to offer our support and stands ready with Aging expert personnel to assist however possible. This includes providing training to shelter staff about older adults and assisting in relocating older adults back to their homes. The expertise available includes Certificated Information and Referral Specialists with Maryland Access Point, and Long-Term Care Ombudsmen services for individuals who live in long-term care facilities. The Eldercare Locator (1-800-677-1116 or eldercare.gov ) serves as a resource for older adults and long distance caregivers. MDA is prepared to respond to requests to assist with intake of companion animals at pet-friendly shelters in an affected state. MDA is prepared to respond to requests to assist with animals in distress. The Maryland Department of Commerce is able to assist other states affected by Hurricane Irma by identifying hotel and motel vacancies in Maryland to accommodate those seeking temporary housing. The department will conduct economic impact analysis by identifying companies in affected areas and the number of affected people and employees. The Department of Disabilities is prepared to support response and recovery operations in impacted states in the following ways: Technical assistance and support for assistive technology Evaluate documents and websites for conformance to universal design and accessibility to assistive technology. Train emergency managers on the essential nature of information accessibility, and how to create social media that is accessible to all viewers. Assist public information/media officers, as requested, to remediate documents and social media messages for universal accessibility. Advise senior leadership and policy teams on emerging issues that impact people with disabilities and others with access and functional needs. Examine planning documents to ensure inclusion of the whole community. Identify and resolve issues that affect individuals with disabilities and others with access and functional needs. Guidance to ensure that response, sheltering, and recovery policies affecting people with disabilities are consistent and appropriate. Provide resource referral and information. The department's partner organizations have inventories of DME such as wheelchairs, walkers, etc. available for short term loan in the event equipment is destroyed. Provide support and guidance to Local School Systems and families for the immediate enrollment of displaced students into Maryland Public Schools. The enrollment of students would need to be expedited with or without transcripts, student records, any specialized documentation of services including Special Education, etc. Work with the school systems regarding immunization requirements and temporary admission/retention. The MSDE would facilitate communication with the Maryland Department of Health. Provide support and guidance to student services personnel (Directors of Student Services, school counselors, nurses, psychologists, social workers, pupil personnel workers, etc.) Address the needs of students who are in crisis and who are experiencing trauma as a result of the displacement by collaborating with community partners, other Maryland State agencies, and school systems Coordinate with appropriate offices to meet the needs of English Learners, migrant and homeless students Coordinate the collection of school supplies for students who are displaced Work with transportation in order to transport students to schools Collaborate with non-public schools as needed Post information on the front page of MSDE's website to provide assistance and guidance to families regarding enrollment and resources Environment has HazMat response teams and inspectors with various expertise related to emergency and disaster response and recovery. The Health Department's Office of Preparedness & Response also coordinates the Maryland Responds Medical Reserve Corps, in which thousands of volunteers could be deployed in the event of a public health emergency. The Office of Preparedness & Response also has worked with State partner agencies such as Department of Human Services, the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems and the Maryland Emergency Management Agency to review procedures for accepting potential evacuees from storm zones. The Maryland Department of Human Services has human service, mass care, sheltering, and recovery workers prepared to deploy to affected states. Human Services has communicated with facilities and staff in case it was necessary to open disaster shelters and coordinated planning with the Red Cross. Following the storm, the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation will offer unemployment and workforce resources and services to U.S. residents affected by Hurricane Irma, to include assistance with the intake of unemployment claims. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources has trailer-able boats and experienced operators, if needed. Our coastal resiliency and restoration teams have already been in contact with our sister states to discuss shoreline rebuilding and reconstruction. We have a team of water quality experts on hand to assist with monitoring and sampling post-storm. Natural Resources Police has equipment, officers and supervisors available to assist affected states and communities. They can help with boat deployments, mission control support, search and recovery/rescue missions and security. Information Technology is capable of providing the following services to other states in the form of staff augmentation, hardware, and technical assistance in the following IT technical domains: GIS Services and Professionals (mapping and analyzing data, mapping disaster areas, this can be done from Maryland)Networking LAN/WAN Support (running cables, setting networks up in temporary facilities) Server and Storage (temporary use of of back end systems) End User Computing/Desktop Support (staff augmentation) IT helpdesk call center Disaster Recovery Management  Assist in DR failover and Reconstitution Web applications and content management Mainframe COBOL Programmers Mainframe zOS and DB2 support Radio Technicians 57 Handheld Radios P25 Motorola Radios Staff of the Maryland Historical Trust is available to assist State Historic Preservation Offices in the affected region by carrying out damage assessments and analysis of historic and cultural resources in communities affected by Hurricane Irma to determine the extent of damage and prioritize recovery operations. The Maryland Historical Trust is also available to provide guidance on repair, rehabilitation, and protection of historic and cultural resources as requested. The Maryland Department of Transportation would be available to assist by providing equipment and personnel in the following areas: Equipment and personnel for light debris removal, particularly along and adjacent to highways and roadways Technicians to assist with signal light repair Bridge Inspectors to ensure bridges and overpasses are not damaged by the storm or flooding conditions The Maryland Transit Administration is prepared to deploy assets from its police force in order to help with the aftermath of Hurricane Irma. As a member of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, the Maryland Insurance Administration has a team of trained insurance professionals available to provide help and support with insurance issues to sister state insurance departments that might be impacted by the storms. The Maryland Public Service Commission continues to coordinate with the Maryland electric companies on their storm preparation efforts. All of the major Maryland electric companies continue to monitor the storm and are prepared for any potential impacts. They are also participating in regular calls regarding the provision of mutual assistance to areas impacted by Irma once the Maryland threat from Irma has subsided. If property is damaged by the storm, residents may qualify to have their property assessments reduced. Once it is safe to do so, SDAT assessors will distribute applications to affected areas encouraging residents to apply, and will also perform on-site inspections. If a storm occurs and residents qualify to have their property assessments reduced, SDAT will coordinate with local governments to ensure any corrected tax bills or refunds are issued in a timely manner.
WASHINGTON

Coherent Technical Services Inc., Lexington Park, Maryland (N00421-17-D-0048)

J.F. Taylor Inc., Lexington Park, Maryland (N00421-17-D-0050)

$486,952,035

(Sept. 08, 2017)The U.S. Department of Defense recently announced the following contract awards that pertain to local Navy activities., are each being awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, multiple-award contracts to provide prototype air vehicle modification, mission systems, aircraft stores and support equipment designs, build-to-print technical data packages, kits and installed systems for test and evaluation of new systems and capabilities as well as fleet introduction. These services are in support of the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division's Aircraft Prototype Systems Division (APSD). The scope of this contract is to cover all phases of APSD projects from feasibility studies and concept development through prototype development, systems integration laboratory standup and testing concluding with production in limited quantities to meet test and evaluation, fleet evaluation or urgent fielding requirements. The estimated aggregate ceiling for all contracts is, with the companies having an opportunity to compete for individual orders. Work will be performed in Patuxent River, Maryland; and at contractor facilities, and is expected to be completed in September 2022. Funds are not being obligated at time of award, funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. These contracts were competitively procured via an electronic request for proposals in two lots: Lot I, competitive unrestricted, and Lot II, competitive small business set-aside. Seven proposals were received for Lot I; 10 proposals were received for Lot II. The, is the contracting activity., is being awarded afor modification P00002 to a previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N00019-16-D-0051). The modification provides for the procurement of 11 standard and five SEED retrofit kits to support the H-60 Automatic Radar Periscope Detect and Discrimination program. Work will be performed in Farmingdale, New York (82.77 percent); Owego, New York (17.10 percent); Oldsmar, Florida (0.11 percent); and Syracuse, New York (0.02 percent), and is expected to be completed in October 2020. Fiscal 2015 and 2017 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $26,991,426 are being obligated at time of award, $9,992,822 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The, is the contracting activity., is being awarded afirm-fixed-price delivery order (4018) against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N00019-14-G-0019) in support of the Navy and the governments of Australia and Denmark. This order provides for the procurement of non-recurring and recurring efforts required to manufacture, test and deliver 69 Generation VI Mission Computers, 87 Moving Map Integration Retrofit Wiring Kits ( Navy, Australia, and Denmark), and 24 Audio Management Lite Computers in support of the MH-60R/S platform. Work will be performed in Owego, New York (80 percent); Farmingdale, New York (11 percent); and Clearwater, Florida (9 percent). All work in support of this effort is expected to be completed in February 2020. Fiscal 2015, 2016 and 2017 aircraft procurement (Navy); Navy working capital funds; and foreign military sales funds in the amount of $23,141,340 are being obligated on this award; $2,082,280 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This order combines purchases for the Navy ($21,216,546; 92 percent); the government of Australia ($1,445,544; 6 percent); and the government of Denmark ($479,250; 2 percent), under the Foreign Military Sales program. The, is the contracting activity., is being awarded acost-plus-fixed-fee task order to a previously awarded basic ordering agreement (N00174-12-G-0001) to provide labor, material and services required to deliver and preserve open, inspection and repair of Mk 38, mod 2/3 machine gun system components. Work will be performed in Louisville, Kentucky, and is expected to be completed by May 2020. Fiscal 2017 operations and maintenance (Navy) funding in the amount of $1,325,708 will be obligated at time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured, in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1(a)(2). The, is the contracting activity.
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GRAND FORKS  Most Americans would do just about anything their doctors told them to, or at least feel guilty when they disobeyed. But doctors, like any other professionals, have flaws. Doctors occasionally find themselves in trouble, but those instances are rare in Minnesota and North Dakota.

Just under 2 percent of actively licensed North Dakota physicians have been disciplined by the North Dakota Board of Medicine in the last five years, research shows. Fewer than 1 percent of the licensed physicians have experienced some form of punishment from the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice.

Americans put more faith in doctors than they do in cops, pastors, professors or politicians. A 2016 Gallup Poll found health care providers to be the most trustworthy professionals in the U.S. Eighty-four percent of Americans rate nurses as highly ethical; 67 percent say the same of pharmacists; and 65 percent find their medical doctors to be very honest and ethical.

So, who checks up on the doctors?

In North Dakota and Minnesota, and across the U.S., its mostly doctors themselves. Both states have medical review boards with a majority of practicing doctors from varying specializations and a small civilian section. The medical boards are independent government organizations solely charged with reviewing complaints and dishing out punishments or revoking licenses if necessary.

Doctors are punished for an eclectic collection of wrongdoing: insurance issues; failing to maintain records; poor billing practices; malpractice; improper prescription practices; personal criminal activity; substance abuse; and sexual relations with clients.

Minnesota has 23,642 licensed doctors and surgeons, 17,903 of whom reside in the North Star State. In the past five years, just 168 have received some form of discipline from the board. From 2012 to July 2017, 61 Minnesota doctors have had their licenses suspended; 18 have surrendered their licenses or had them revoked, according to data from the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice.

There are 4,022 actively licensed physicians in the state of North Dakota, 78 of whom have been disciplined by the board of medicine. In the past five years, 15 physicians have been indefinitely suspended and 20 more suspensions have been stayed, according to the North Dakota Board of Medicine.

North Dakota has received 81 complaints so far in 2017, 78 against physicians and three against physicians assistants, according to the board of medicine.

Devils Lake has 17 actively licensed physicians, two of whom have been disciplined by the medical board at some point. Both currently have licenses in good standing. None of Graftons five active doctors have been disciplined.

The North Dakota board meets three times a year, in March, July and November. The board has 13 members: nine medical doctors, two doctors of osteopathy, one physician assistant and two members of the public.

The Minnesota board has 16 members: 11 physicians and five members of the public. The board meets six times each year, in January, March, May, July, September and November.

Area cases

Seven doctors actively licensed to practice medicine in Grand Forks have been disciplined by the board, records show.

Two were not properly monitoring prescriptions for opioid drugs such as OxyContin and oxycodone. Two were punished for alcoholism, one of whom has been reinstated and another, Dr. Gerardo Lantoria, signed a non-practice agreement on Aug. 10.

One doctor, former University of North Dakota chairman of Family and Community Medicine Dr. Robert William Beattie, lost his license to practice medicine in Minnesota and North Dakota after being convicted of child porn possession.

Dr. Thomas Lohstreter of Hallock, Minn., was reprimanded by the Minnesota board in 2013 for improper prescribing practices, the only northern Red River Valley doctor besides Beattie punished in Minnesota in the past five years.

Opioid abuse has swept across the U.S. and the Grand Forks region in the past five years, leading many medical boards to re-evaluate best practice procedures when it comes to prescribing opioid medications.

A review found of the 168 physicians who were disciplined by the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice since 2012, 29 were cited for improper prescribing practices. Doctors typically received a reprimand, and many were required to read a model policy for pain by the Federation of State Medical Boards and a book on responsible opioid prescribing.

In 2014, Grand Forks doctor and part-time UND School of Medicine instructor Charles Christianson was reprimanded by the board after an investigative complaint ruled that on at least eight occasions between 2008 and 2011 he overprescribed opioids.

One patient was allowed to obtain 400 extra Endocet tablets and more than 400 extra OxyContin tablets because Christianson failed to adequately monitor the number of early refills he prescribed to the patient between March and June 2009, according to a report from a investigative panel from the state board.

Christianson signed documents admitting to the findings and received a one-year ban from prescribing prescription drugs with a high potential for addiction and abuse.

Christianson said he stands by the decisions he made in his family health practice.

I felt I could explain it, the board did not think that, he said.

The board felt he over-prescribed patients, but Christianson believes he was following standards of care at the time.

Theres been a huge change in how we look at this, he said.

In the 1990s and 2000s, he said physicians were trained to aggressively treat chronic pain, and opioid medications were a recognized form of that treatment. Many patients in Grand Forks suffer from chronic pain, he said, adding he looked closely at standards of care for such patients.

For 20 years we were told we needed to be diagnosing and treating more, and that would include, in selected circumstances, using opioids, he said. As you know, that led to a huge unanticipated problem.

Now retired apart from occasional instruction at UND, Christianson said he and the board disagreed on his work. His license is now in good standing.

Another Grand Forks doctor, internal medicine specialist William Zaks, was also issued a one-year prohibition from prescribing opioids after the board found he failed to properly monitor prescriptions for two patients in 2011 and 2012. His license is now in good standing.

In November 2016, Grand Forks gynecologist Laura K. Andreson received a two-year stay from having her license suspended for one year by a Board of Medicine investigative panel, which found from June to September 2013 she saw a patient for pelvic pain three times and did not order a Pap test, which resulted in an unnecessary delay in a cervical cancer diagnosis.

She was ordered to complete a Physician Competency Assessment and was ordered to pay legal fees for the board of medicine.

Andreson and Zaks work for the Altru Health System, which declined to comment. Altru added that for both doctors, it is their only instance of discipline.

While most Americans trust and appreciate their medical care, any resident of Minnesota or North Dakota who feels they received poor care can submit a complaint to their respective medical boards at any time that will be reviewed.

We receive complaints, and then we evaluate each complaint based on our current rule structures, North Dakota Board of Medicine executive secretary Bonnie Storbakken said.
As floods from Hurricane Harvey continue to submerge Houston, a trailer full of donations gathered at a Kelso-based coffee shop is making its way south to help displaced Texans.

Ray and Melissa Vandervalk, owners of the Red Leaf coffee chain, launched a fundraiser last week to gather donations at their three locations in Kelso, Longview and Woodland. Donations poured in and within a week, filling a trailer within a week.

Weve been really overwhelmed with the response from our customers and the community, Melissa Vandervalk said. Its been tremendous to see piles and piles of supplies come in through the morning and afternoon.

She said her husband was reading an article about volunteerism last week when he decided spontaneously to make a trip to Houston with donations.

Instead of saying he wished he could do something for the victims, (Ray) said he was going to do it. And an hour later he was planning it, she said.  If its meant to be, its up to me. 

She added that even though they have two small children, they both wanted to use their time and ability to help those in need  even if it meant driving across the country.

Their initial goal was to raise $25,000 in 10 days. Within seven days, they had gathered $18,000 in cash donations, bought six queen-sized mattress and box spring sets and filled 40 large crates with donated toiletries, cleaning supplies, blankets, toys and diapers.

Due to the popularity of the event, Red Leaf has now extended the fundraiser to 12 days, ending this Tuesday.

Ray Vandervalk and a maintenance employee left for Houston at 4 a.m. Friday with the current load of donations. They plan to drive for two days straight, taking turns at the wheel. A family member in Houston will spend a day helping Vandervalk find locations to donate the supplies. Then they will turn around and drive straight back.

General Manager Ann Lucas said Vandervalk plans to take a second trip to Houston, after a few days of rest.

Even with the trailer on its way south, donations are still flowing into Red Leaf locations.

Employees have had to move donations to the warehouse every hour because the back room was overflowing and supplies were starting to pile up in front of the store counter.

Weve had multiple employees donate their time to monitor the supplies  and separate the supplies (into bins), Lucas said.

She added that donating supplies can be more beneficial than sending money because then the recipient doesnt have to fight crowds to purchase what they need.

The Vandervalks 10-year-old daughter Emily had hoped to join her father on the journey. She ultimately wasnt able to go but Emilys mom said the fundraising experience has been educational.

To try to get beyond yourself and be able to serve  (Emily) is super excited to have that opportunity, Vandervalk said.

Red Leaf customers have shared their appreciation and excitement about the fundraiser.

We created a platform for people who really wanted to help but didnt know how, Lucas said. We gave them a place where they can bring things and we can be the ones to deliver it  and give back to people going through a tough time.

Red Leaf acknowledged generous donations from Cowlitz Coin, Ecological Land Services Inc., McGowan Chiropractic, Highlander Dental, Rivers West Trailers, Masters Electric, Morkert Garage Door, Mattress Superstore, Patricia Devon, Jeanne OConnor and many more who wanted to remain anonymous.
Editors note: Todays editorial originally appeared in The Columbian. Editorial content from other publications is provided to give readers a sampling of regional and national opinion and does not necessarily reflect positions endorsed by the Editorial Board of The Daily News.

The devastation is far from finished, and yet the sense of loss already is overwhelming.

The Columbia River Gorge  our gorge, one of the signature landmarks of the Pacific Northwest  is ablaze. Beloved hiking trails, forests, meadows and scenic areas are engulfed in flames, leaving those who long have been inspired by the region to wonder what will remain once the damage is known.

The conflagration started Saturday  the result of teenagers playing with fireworks, according to officials  and by Wednesday, some 30,000 acres had burned. The scope of wildfires often is difficult to comprehend, but the 30,000-acre benchmark provides an easily understood context. That is about the size of the city of Vancouver. Imagine a fire large enough to scorch the earth from 192nd Avenue to Frenchmans Bar Park, from Vancouver Mall to the Columbia River, and you can envision the breadth of the Eagle Creek Fire once it joined forces with a blaze already underway in the area.

The fact that the Eagle Creek Fire is the result of human carelessness is reprehensible. The fact that officials said a 15-year-old Vancouver boy  possibly with others  was the perpetrator is equally disappointing. And as residents throughout the region have expressed reactions that mix sadness with rage, many opinions have been shared about what will constitute appropriate punishment.

For now, it is far too early for the court of public opinion to hand out a sentence. Not all the facts are publicly known about the genesis of the fire; not all the details are clear about what charges might be brought. But the price should be high for careless actions that will require generations to rectify, and the lesson should be clear to all: Dont do stupid stuff.

For the immediate future, the focus must be upon providing any possible assistance to firefighters and to relief efforts for people who have been displaced. That applies to both sides of the Columbia River, with the blaze having jumped to Washington on Tuesday.

Many people have asked about the use of specially equipped airliners to drop water or flame retardant on the blaze. But the U.S. Forest Service does not allow the use of a converted Boeing 747 known as the SuperTanker, and Oregon Gov. Kate Brown has said that weather and wind conditions are not conducive to the use of conventional air tankers. Forest Service officials will not comment on their disapproval of the SuperTanker, but if and when the plane can be used safely, this is no time to limit firefighting capability out of budget concerns. The alternative is even more costly.

Meanwhile, residents throughout the region, including Clark County and Portland, are engulfed in a haze of smoke and ash that serves as a constant reminder of the man-made devastation taking place some 30 miles to the east. The smoke and ash, eventually, will clear, yet for now they generate nothing less than mourning for many people. The Columbia River Gorge is one of the areas defining characteristics, and the fact that it is being irrevocably altered is a tragedy of enormous significance.

The Eagle Creek Fire has not been accompanied by the kind of human devastation seen recently in Texas with Hurricane Harvey. It does not pose the kind of threat that is nearing Florida with Hurricane Irma. It does not command round-the-clock news coverage on a national scale.

Yet, as local residents understand, a little piece of our communitys soul is in the process of burning up, and the sense of loss is overwhelming.
Washington state hunters

According to a 2011 U.S. Fish and Wildlife study, about 219,000 Washington citizens hunt each year. This represents about 3 percent of the states total population and means 97 percent the state doesnt share our passion for hunting.

We find many people whove never hunted, nor even shot a gun, have a negative perception of hunters. And the perception is made even worse when news stories about poaching are published.

The recent news about bears, deer and elk being poached is just horrible, but it doesnt represent who and what hunters are. The hunters we know are environmentally sensitive conservationists, who respect the land, the animals and the law.

So when you read news stories about poachers, please understand these folks are not hunters.

The poodle whisperer

In last Saturdays newspaper, Jackson Hogan wrote a story about 15-year-old Silver Lake resident Alexis Shook.

The teen is the nations number one junior (ages 9 through 18) poodle dog show handler and is ranked the nations number eight non-sporting dog handler.

Alexis started showing dogs when she was 7 years old thanks to the encouragement of her mother, who was a dog handler as a child, Hogan wrote.

Showing dogs can be exhausting and time consuming. For Alexis, she spends two weekends a month traveling to show her dogs. It takes most of a day to prepare and groom the animals. To show the animals structure and movement during a show, she jogs with one of her dogs in the ring. And she wears dress shoes!

Her schedule doesnt leave time for traditional schooling or for traditional classmate friendships. She takes classes online via the Insight School of Washington. She makes friends at dog shows and meets people when she travels.

According to Hogans story, Alexis plans to continue part-time as a dog show handler as an adult while pursing another career.

Kudos to Alexis for her love of her dogs, her desire to be a great handler and her confidence in what she does. And, a big thumbs up to her family for encouraging her and supporting her in her efforts.

School funding

By most indicators state school funding seems to be mostly fixed. Of course, any new legislation will require tweaks and fixes, but here are some statistics to put school funding in perspective.

According to the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, for the years 2000 thru 2012, the state added 2,374 teachers to the payroll. From 2012 thru 2016, the state added 6,034 new educators to classrooms. This is a huge jump in the number of new teachers and, as of last year, reduced the teacher student ratio down to 17:9.

With all the new teachers added over the last several years you might not think the state would be planning to add more, but it is. The 2017-19 state budget includes money to add another 2,400 educators to the payroll. Schools have the option on how to spend the money, so not all districts will see another jump in the number of teachers, but the money is available to do so.

Hartford, Connecticut bankrupt?

Is it a debt problem or a spending problem?

The city of Hartford, Connecticut is warning creditors it will possibly file for bankruptcy in the next 60 days. Hartford may follow the cities of San Bernardino and Stockton, California, which filed for bankruptcy protection back in 2012.

What we find disconcerting is some of the quotes from city officials. In a Wall Street Journal story, Hartford officials indicated they have a debt problem, not a spending problem. Currently more than half of the citys annual budget is eaten up by debt service, health care and pension costs.

In July, the financial rating firm Standard & Poors dropped Hartfords bond rating to a junk rating. When investments are rated junk, they are otherwise called non-investment grade. Not good.

Bloomberg News called Connecticut one of the richest states in the U.S., home to an untold number of hedge funds. The state per capita income  not per household, but per capita  in 2016 totaled over $71,000, higher than every other state in the country.

Maybe Hartford needs to realize they dont have a debt problem, they have a spending problem.
Netanyahu 1st Israeli PM to visit Latin America

AFP, Jerusalem :

Benjamin Netanyahu is set to become the first sitting Israeli premier to visit Latin America, in a trip that includes Argentina 25 years after the country's embassy was bombed there.

The tour, which will see agreements boosting trade and cooperation with South American countries, is part of Israel's move to broaden the scope of its diplomacy and trade to new regions, including parts of Asia and Africa.

Netanyahu will leave Israel on Sunday to visit Argentina, Colombia and Mexico between September 11-15 before heading to New York for the United Nations General Assembly.

He will also meet with Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes while in Buenos Aires.

The "historic" visit will be the first to Latin America by a sitting Israeli premier, Netanyahu said ahead of the trip.

"We're now developing ties with Latin America-it's a huge market in a large bloc of important states," he said at a Jewish New Year's toast with Israeli diplomats on Wednesday.

According to Netanyahu, the ongoing conflict with the Palestinians is less of a concern to the international community than in previous years.

"The underlying assumption was that if we reach an agreement with the Palestinians, which we wanted and still want, it will open the world to us. There's no doubt that would help, but the world is opening even without it," he said.

The visit is expected to enable further growth in commercial ties between Israel and Argentina.

"There is a good opportunity to increase investment and trade," a senior official in the Argentine foreign ministry said.

The Argentina trip will have special significance, with Netanyahu attending memorial ceremonies for the 1992 bombing of the Israeli embassy and 1994 bombing of a Jewish centre there.

The embassy bombing killed 29 people and wounded 200, with members of the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah blamed for the attack.

Eighty-five people were killed and 300 wounded in the Jewish centre bombing.

Argentine investigators accuse five former Iranian officials of ordering Hezbollah to carry out that bombing. Iran denies any involvement.




Saudi Arabia suspends dialogue with Qatar after leaders talk on phone

Qatar\'s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, phoned the Saudi Crown Prince to express interest in talks to resolve the three-month-old diplomatic crisis in the gulf.

Reuters, Dubai :

Saudi Arabia on Saturday suspended any dialogue with Qatar, accusing it of "distorting facts", just after a report of a phone call between the leaders of both countries suggested a breakthrough in the Gulf dispute.

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman spoke by the telephone with Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani on Friday when they discussed the Gulf dispute, state media from both countries reported earlier.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain cut diplomatic and trade links with Qatar on June 5, suspending air and shipping routes with the world's biggest exporter of liquefied natural gas, which is home to the region's biggest US military base.

The nations say Doha supports regional foe Iran and Islamists, charges Qatar's leaders deny. Kuwait has been trying to mediate the dispute.

"During the call, the Emir of Qatar expressed his desire to sit at the dialogue table and discuss the demands of the four countries to ensure the interests of all," Saudi state news agency SPA reported.

"The details will be announced later after the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia concludes an understanding with the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Arab Republic of Egypt," SPA said.

The phone call was the first publicly reported contact between the two leaders since the start of the crisis.

Qatar's state news agency QNA said the phone call was based on coordination of US President Donald Trump who had earlier talked with Sheikh Tamim.

Trump on Thursday said he would be willing to step in and mediate the worst dispute in decades among the US-allied Arab states and Qatar, and said he thinks a deal could come quickly.

Both Qatar's Emir and the Saudi Crown Prince "stressed the need to resolve the crisis by sitting down to the dialogue table to ensure the unity and stability of the GCC countries," QNA reported. Sheikh Tamim welcomed the proposal of Prince Mohammed during the call "to assign two envoys to resolve controversial issues in a way that does not affect the sovereignty of the states," QNA said.

Saudi Arabia later issued a second statement citing an unnamed official at the ministry of the foreign affairs denying the QNA report.

"What was published on the Qatar News Agency is a continuation of the distortion of the Qatari authority of the facts," SPA reported citing the Saudi official.

"The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia announces the suspension of any dialogue or communication with the authority in Qatar until a clear statement is issued clarifying its position in public."

Despite the deadlock, observers said the telephone call between the Qatari and Saudi rulers itself was a sign that tensions were dissipating.

"The fact that the telephone call took place and the offer of dialogue was made is significant in itself," said Kristian Ulrichsen, a fellow at the Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University.

"(It) signals a climb down from the brinkmanship that has characterised so much of the Gulf standoff since June," Ulrichsen told AFP.

But diplomatic efforts led by Kuwait, a key mediator in the crisis backed by Western powers, have so far failed to achieve a breakthrough.
WILLISTON  The highly skilled labor force that comes to work in the Bakken pays more to eat, sleep and drink than they would pay in other areas of the country where they could put their highly lucrative skills to work. Those other areas include some of the Bakkens biggest competitors, like the Permian Basin, which is now busting-out busy with 400-some oil rigs in play.

Cost of living is one of many factors that gives other basins a big edge over the Bakken when it comes to keeping the oil and gas sector investing in North Dakota, industry representatives told lawmakers on the Energy Development and Transmission Committee today in Williston. The hearing is the first of a series that will also take place in Minot and Dickinson to investigate whether hub city funding needs to continue.

The fact that the Bakken is competing with other basins for oil and gas investments is a big part of why the state must continue to support the infrastructure improvements created by Williston, Williams County and its school districts, industry leaders testified. These improvements will serve not only industry demands, but also the needs of residential customers  their workforce  who want to live in a community with the same level of services they have become accustomed to elsewhere, in what feels to them like an affordable manner in a city where the cost of living is generally higher than average for everything from a gallon of milk to a carton of eggs.

The point was made after local officials were peppered with questions by eastern lawmakers about all the multi-million infrastructure investments that the city, county and school districts have made. These include expanded jail capacity, expanded water and sewage treatment, a state-of-the-art high school that is already at capacity again, and other improvements that they contend were not only necessary, but were made in a thoughtful, frugal and forward-thinking way.

With those investments, however, has come significant debt. City officials are counting on at least some help from the Gross Production Tax that pays for continued hub city funding, so that citizens do not bear the brunt with dramatically increased property and sales taxes.

Fargo representatives, however, wanted to know why more of the cost for such facilities shouldnt now shift to the users of those services  particularly industry  now that the tip of the booms spear has passed.

Williston city officials focused on the long-term debts they face and their efforts to ensure they met all the infrastructure needs in a frugal, thoughtful manner. But industry leaders focused more on how the situation plays out for the common everyday worker, and what that means for the continued health of the oil and gas industry.

John Lee, with Oasis Petroleum, told lawmakers that during the boom, Williston had people coming from all over the country for jobs. But the situation today has changed dramatically.

All the other basins are kicking off, and we are second- or third-fiddle at best, Lee said. We have to keep the community strong and growing. We want people to want to be here, because if we dont our people will leave, and that will be hard on everyone.

Lee has talked with his human resources personnel to ask them how the employees are viewing certain quality-of-life factors.

The school district is good, he said, indicating its one of the reasons people are choosing to stick around.

The college is a great asset, he said. The building here, TrainND, this is also vital to the success of the industry on the oil and gas side.

Another important improvement from industrys point of view is the new airport.

Youll have lots of happy people there, he said. We have 10 people out of Houston every week. They fly into Denver and stay in Denver the night before, or sometimes for a day or two.

Fire stations and places to eat have added to the overall outlook for the citys retention of workforce, Lee added.

If you look around, the city is getting more robust, he said. There are places to eat and shop  thats much more important for my wife. Im good with Menards.

For his part, Lee said he and his family are happy to be in the Bakken, but he fears if workers become too difficult to recruit and retain, the oil and gas industry will shift its efforts to other basins.

Oasis Petroleum has 600-some employees, 250 of whom are based in the Williston area proper. All its assets are in the Bakken, and these produce 60,000 barrels of oil per day. They have a gas plant in Watford City producing 80 million mcf of gas per day to help with the flaring issue and have recently been permitted to expand the plant.

Infrastructure like Dakota Access has helped their industry tremendously, Lee added, tightening the old differential in transportation costs for Bakken crude to $3 a barrel.

Industry, meanwhile, has done its part to become more economical, Lee said. Rigs that used to do 12 wells a year now do about 24.

That means the 54 rigs operating now are more like 108 rigs of old.

Improved hydraulic fracturing is using more sand, but thats been pulling enough additional oil out of the ground that it is cost effective. Improved methods for water delivery, meanwhile, have reduced some production costs and taken some trucks off the road.

Lucas Gjovig, with Go Wireline, seconded Lees perspective on workforce retention and the need for continued hub city funding.

Like John said, there are other areas that are pretty hot right now, he said. There are 400 rigs in the Permian. A lot of people with oil rig experience are from down south, and they prefer to work down south.

The rest of the nation was in a recession during the 2010-2015 boom, which made it a little easier to persuade workers to come to North Dakota. That situation, however, is shifting substantially.

The rest of the economy has gotten better, so people are not as inclined to move their families, he said. These are uphill challenges we are facing.

The state needs to continue investing in the Bakkens infrastructure and quality of life, he suggested, if it wants to keep its oil and gas sector robust and contributing an estimated $6 billion in oil tax revenues to the state.

Schools, infrastructure, those things matter in a big way, he said. We need those things. This is a new normal for Williston. Thirty thousand for Williston is probably the new base.

If workers have to pay increased prices for food and services and on top of substantially increasing fees for utilities and services, that would be another factor driving up the price of labor, and further tilt things in favor of other basins.

Its a boomtown philosophy all over again, he said, but if we can keep some stability by building our infrastructure, that will help us.
Know your learning style?

Joanna Hughes :

Success in school relies on many things. One aspect many new college students may underestimate when first starting out? Their individual learning styles. The truth is that all learning styles are not created equal: We each learn, absorb and master information differently. The more you know about how you learn, the more prepared you'll be to seek out classes, professors, programs, and schools which best suit your unique preferences.

About Learning Styles

According to an article published in the Current Health Sciences Journal, the term learning style "refers to the fact that each person has a different way of accumulating knowledge." This concept was first proposed in the 1970s, with a number of different models emerging to represent the way researchers believe human beings learn.

It's important to note that while learning styles may indeed reflect individual preferences for how information is received, there's no conclusive evidence indicating that identifying a person's preferred learning style impacts outcomes. Still, many schools assess learning styles to help teachers and students alike better understand the process.

Understanding Learning Styles

Proposed by Fleming and Mills in 1992, the VARK model is one of the most commonly accepted classifications of learning styles. It comprises four modalities, including the following:

1. Visual (V)

Do you feel like you learn better through graphics? If so, you may be a visual learner. This mode includes the depiction of information via "maps, spider diagrams, charts, graphs, flow charts, labeled diagrams, and all the symbolic arrows, circles, hierarchies and other devices, that people use to represent what could have been presented in words."

Visual learning methods typically include patterns, shapes, designs and whitespace, but do not include pictures, photographs, videos, movies or even PowerPoint presentations. While words in boxes may be preferable for different types of learners, visual learners prefer that information be conveyed via diagrams, meaningful symbols, and other graphic formats.

For visual learners, seeking out courses which incorporate lots of visuals is a great start. Drawing visuals of problems; using graphing calculators; and developing your own visual aids, such as cognitive maps and charts, can further enrich your learning experience.

2. Aural/Auditory (A)

Do you feel like you take in information better when you hear it spoken aloud or say it out loud to yourself? If so, you may be an aural/auditory learner. According to VARK-Learn's definition, individuals in this category learn best from "lectures, group discussion, radio, email, using mobile phones, speaking, web-chat and talking things through."

Also included in this learning mode? Email-because it is often conveyed and received "chat-style." Aural/auditory learners also prefer sorting out their thoughts and questions aloud-often repeating what they've heard aloud in their own words.

If you fall into the aural/auditory learning mode category, recommended study strategies include attending lectures; reading textbook information aloud; recording text materials as well as lectures; and choosing classes with opportunities for oral discussion.

3. Read/Write

Are you all about words? Do you remember what you read better than what you hear? If so, you likely have a preference for the read/write learning modality. One of the most popular modes of learning for teachers and students, this category comprises "text-based input and output," such as reading and writing assignments, essays, reports and manuals. Commonly relied on resources for read/write learners include dictionaries, quotations, the internet, PowerPoint, and lists.

Study strategies for students who prefer this learning style include reading textbooks; taking good notes; and choosing courses which focus on writing assignments.

4.Kinesthetic (K)

Do you learn best by doing? If so, your preference may be the increasingly prevalent kinesthetic model, which prioritizes the use of experience and practice over concepts and theory. According to VARK-Learn, "people who prefer this mode are connected to reality, either through concrete personal experiences, examples, practice or simulation." This active, tactile approach includes everything from demonstrations and simulations to videos and movies. Case studies, applications and practice (either real or simulated) are also preferred kinesthetic learning methods.

Kinesthetic learning can be particularly valuable to STEM students, according to edutopia, because it helps them breach mental barriers, accept different approaches to information, and ultimately assume a more "receptive state required for learning."

Manipulative study strategies work well for kinesthetic learners, including writing, making visuals and models, using your fingers, and preparing index cards. Furthermore, incorporating movement while studying-from chewing gum to tapping your pencil-can help support focus and attention.

One last thing to keep in mind? Learning styles aren't mutually exclusive. In fact, research indicates that many students amalgamate a mix of learning styles. Even better? There's no proof that a single learning style or combination of learning styles is more effective or less effective than another. Rather, it's all about what works best for you.

(Joanna worked in higher education administration for many years at a leading research institution before becoming a full-time freelance writer. She lives in the beautiful White Mountains region of New Hampshire with her family).
Identity theft on campus and off

Alyssa Walker :

Among some of those most vulnerable populations susceptible to identity theft, university students are also among the least worried-and they should be. In a recent study published by Javelin Identity Fraud, over 64 percent of university students reported feeling "not very concerned about fraud." The flip side? They're four times more likely to be victims of "familiar fraud"-friends, family members, and casual acquaintances-than an average consumer. What's going on and what should you do about this threat? We've compiled six super tips for you.

1. Beware public computers and unsecured WiFi

Limit your usage on any public computer and any WiFi that does not require a password. Do nothing with banking or billing on any public computer-and always remember to log off.

Whatever you do, avoid the lion's den-unsecure WiFi. Sure, in your campus library, you're probably fine-as long as you stay connected to secure WiFi. Once you start to roam though, you may weave in and out of unsecured networks-and ensnare yourself in a trap. Internet predators often open up "hot spots" on campuses that lure students looking for better internet connections. Once you've entered one of these tangled webs? An internet predator can easily hack into your phone, implant Malware-and have access to every password that you have open on your phone.

A quick note on Malware: it's any software that aims to damage or disable computers and their systems. You're susceptible to it on your phone. You can have it removed-if you're unsure how to do it yourself, visit your campus tech center for some help.

2. Maintain strong passwords

First of all, secure both your phone and your computer with passwords or appropriate passcodes. It only takes a few seconds-and you can easily remember 8-12 characters, or a few swipes across a screen-to add some security.

When you create your passwords, no one should be able to guess them. What does this mean? Don't use your name, email address, phone number, pet's name, birthday, or social security number. Use a mix of capital and lowercase letters, numbers, and characters. Pick something that only you will remember. Consider using a tool like 1Password or LastPass that creates and maintains passwords. Final tip? Change your passwords frequently. Emerson had it right: "consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds"-that want to steal your information. Best place to store those passwords? In your brain.

3. Dispose of personal info appropriately

Anything with your name and any financial information, social security number-even snippets of it-should be shredded and recycled. This includes those "pre-approved" credit card applications that you may receive in the mail, bank statements, student loan paperwork, credit card bills, and any other information that requires you to interact with any financial institution. Don't throw it away or recycle it as it is-trust no one with this information except yourself-especially on campus.

4. Lock your dorm room

While this isn't rocket science, it flies in the face of dorm norms. Do it anyway. Your roommate and hall mates don't need unnecessary access to your personal information-and neither does anyone else who happens to wander in. Key cards to dorms help, but they're not surefire. With universities ripe for identity theft, even the most innocent-seeming visitor may be looking for more than just a friendly face.

5. Safeguard your Social Security Number

Your SSN is the key to your finances. Memorize it. Never carry your card with you-keep it in a safe. The only ones who need it? Your financial institutions. Your employer. That's it. If anyone else asks you for it, ask if you can give an alternative. If you can't give an alternative, don't give any number at all. Walk away. Never write it on your checks. Ever.

Check out the Social Security Administration's safety tips.

6. Monitor your credit report

Check it at least once a year. What are you looking for? Any suspicious activity. Debts you don't recognize. Names you don't recognize. You can get a free credit report once a year at Annual Credit Report, or by calling 877-322-8228.

What should you do if you suspect you're a victim of identity theft? Contact your financial institutions immediately and let them know. Consider a credit freeze, which allows you to refuse others access to your credit.

Yes, you're a university student, but as invincible as you may feel, you are never immune to identity theft. Enjoy your years at university-and play it safe, especially with your identity. After all, you have only one.

(Alyssa Walker is a freelance writer, educator, and nonprofit consultant. She lives in the White Mountains of New Hampshire with her family).
Rohingyas making trouble in Ctg, Cox's Bazar, Bandarban'

A Correspondent :

'Rohingyas making trouble in Ctg, Cox's Bazar, Bandarban' Activist of a number of Islamic organizations including Chittagong unit of Islam Andolon Bangladesh brought out a procession protesting persecution of Rohingya Muslims by Myanmar government after Jumma prayer in the port city on Friday.

The procession was everal lakh Rohingyas, who have taken shelter in the country's Chittagong, Cox's Bazar and Bandarban regions after fleeing their native country to escape persecution there, are creating much trouble as many of them have got engaged with criminal activities. The law and order situation and living environment are being severely hampered in these districts owing to the Rohingya people.

The Rohingyas are involved with arms smuggling, trading of Yaba and drugs and underground political activities here in Bangladesh, law enforcement officials and district administration officials say. Moreover, following the attack on 31 police outposts and one army camp at Rahkaine state in Myanmar on August 25 last, tense situation is prevailing there. Fearing the fresh attack, thousands of Rohingyas have already been gathered at the Bangladesh and Myanmar border area at Teknaf now to enter into the Bangladesh territory.Meanwhile, several thousands of Rohingyas reportedly entered the Bangladesh territory in last week, said locals. In the mean time, the Additional District Magistrate of Cox's Bazar Khaled Mahmud said, "Cox's Bazar district authority wants to make 50 acres of Balukhali forestland available for Myanmar refugees fleeing a brutal crackdown in Rakhine state. Several thousand refugees who came last year are living there. The ones who are fleeing now will also be allowed to set up makeshift houses to live in there."

"The Rohingya refugees have been asked to take shelter around the older camps instead of being scattered all over the area." Around 125,000 people, mostly Rohingya Muslims, have fled to Bangladesh following renewed violence in Rakhine state, UN workers have said.

They have set up numerous tiny plastic-sheet tents in the five kilometers between Ukhia's Kutup-alang and Thaingkhali. There are similar slums in Teknaf's Howaikyang Union and surrounding places.

The refugees have been coming across various border points, locals said. The slums popping up in random places pose a threat to the law and order situation, they said.
Trump urged to speak up over potential Myanmar genocide

The Trump administration is under growing pressure from Congress and human rights activists to condemn Myanmar's government for what some call a potential genocide by its security forces.

Amid reports of massacres and the flight of more than 150,000 minority Muslim Rohingya civilians from the country, neither the White House nor the State Department have issued recent statements on the growing crisis in a long-isolated country with which former President Barack Obama worked hard to restore relations.

That has bolstered the perception among activists that President Donald Trump and his advisers are indifferent to human rights and the power of the United States to defend the oppressed abroad. Critics say Trump has been particularly slow to condemn violence against Muslim communities, both abroad and within the U.S.

Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona are among a handful of U.S. lawmakers who are calling attention to the escalating violence in Myanmar, also known as Burma. "Sen. Cardin always expects the State Department to react to atrocities and uphold international human rights norms in line with the values of the United States," said Sean Bartlett, a Cardin spokesman. "He's consistently expressed concern that the president and the secretary of state are not vocal enough about human rights, and particularly as we work to support Burma in moving past its troubling history, he is concerned." The National Security Council and State Department have provided boilerplate statements expressing "deep concern" about the situation to reporters who ask. And Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, issued a statement last week urging Myanmar's security forces to respect humanitarian law.

By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time. But activists say that only direct messages from Trump or Secretary of State Rex Tillerson are likely to influence Myanmar's famously repressive military and save civilian lives. During the State Department's press briefing Thursday afternoon, after this story was published, spokeswoman Heather Nauert insisted that the Trump administration cares about the crisis. "We urge all in Burma to avoid actions that exacerbate tensions there," she said. Nauert added that the U.S. is engaging at multiple levels with the Myanmar government, but could not specify any outreach by Tillerson. She further stressed that it's difficult for U.S. diplomats to access areas under siege in Myanmar to verify reports of atrocities. It was not clear why those officials could not talk to the tens of thousands of Rohingya who have have fled to neighboring Bangladesh in the past two weeks.

The Rohingya are a long-marginalized Muslim community in the Southeast Asian country. The country's security forces say they are targeting Rohingya militants who have attacked them. But activists say the military operation is exacting a cruel toll on civilians, who have reportedly been executed by the hundreds. Complicating the situation is that the civilian government, whose de facto leader is Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, has limited influence over the country's military leadership. In 2012, Obama became the first U.S president to visit Burma, which spent decades closed to the outside world and run by a military dictatorship.

Obama restored U.S. relations with the country and celebrated Suu Kyi as the country's political savior. But in recent years, Suu Kyi has drawn international condemnation for refusing to criticize the military's actions toward the Rohingya, a group she generally avoids mentioning in any way. Majority-Buddhist Myanmar officially does not consider the Rohingya its citizens, insisting they are Bengalis despite their long history in Myanmar.

During their time in office, Obama and former Secretary of State John Kerry both called on Myanmar's government to stop discriminating against the Rohingya. Kerry did so while visiting with Suu Kyi. As the violence has escalated in the past two weeks, fellow Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani, has called on Suu Kyi to speak up.

Some critics have demanded Suu Kyi's Nobel prize be revoked. "We are hearing consistently from witnesses in Bangladesh that the Burmese military is undertaking an extremely heavy handed and abusive operation, while the civilian government there says nothing," said Sarah Margon, Washington director for Human Rights Watch.

"The Trump administration may not like to project publicly its intentions, but given the scale and scope of this crisis this is not a moment to sit idly by." The State Department did not offer a response to questions Thursday about why it has stayed relatively quiet and not issued a public statement under Tillerson's name. Members of Congress have grown increasingly outspoken on the situation. "Your government and the military have a responsibility to protect all of the people of Myanmar, regardless of their ethnic background or religious beliefs. These atrocities, the latest and most severe against this minority group, must end," House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-Calif.) wrote in a Wednesday letter to Suu Kyi. McCain also appealed to Suu Kyi in a Sept. 5 letter: "If you take steps to hold the military and other human rights violators accountable for their actions, you will have my full support and I will work with my colleagues in the Senate to ensure that your government has the assistance it requires to do so," wrote McCain, who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee and has taken a longtime interest in Myanmar's political progress.

McCain and a handful of other Republican and Democratic senators also introduced a resolution Thursday condemning the violence and urging Suu Kyi to "address the historic and brutal repression of the Rohingya." The administration's quiet approach to Myanmar underscores its muddled messaging on human rights.

Trump, for instance, has invited Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte to visit the White House, even though Duterte has overseen a crackdown on drugs that has led to thousands of extrajudicial killings. In May, Tillerson said that pressing a human rights agenda at times "creates obstacles" for U.S. foreign policy.

The latest violence in Myanmar began on Aug. 25 when Rohingya insurgents attacked police posts, killing 12 security force members. The State Department issued a statement that day condemning the insurgents' attacks and urging that security forces respond carefully. But as security forces in Myanmar's Rakhine state have responded with what they call "clearance operations," other governments, especially in the Muslim world, have grown infuriated by the pressure placed on Rohingya civilians.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused Myanmar's government of genocide. U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres has said there is a risk that the killings could turn into an ethnic cleansing and destabilize the region. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted on Wednesday: "Canada is deeply concerned by the flow of refugees from Myanmar & reports of serious abuse against the Rohingya. Civilians must be protected."

Politico
Non-sustainable use of surface water may threaten food security

IF Bangladesh fails to maintain environmental flow requirements (EFRs) in river ecosystems, it will face a food production loss of up to 23 percent in the future, says an international study as reported in The New Nation yesterday. It highlights the fact that India, Bangladesh, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Italy and Greece, among others, would face a food production decline of 15-23 percent for lack of water flow in rivers.





Safeguarding river ecosystems is a precondition to attainment of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to water and the environment, while rigid implementation of such policies may hamper achievement of food security, says the study published recently in a peer reviewed journal - Nature Communications.





River ecosystems provide life-supporting functions that depend on maintaining environmental flow requirements. And the current food production thus heavily relies on water that would actually be needed to sustain riverine ecosystems. The study tilted, 'Reconciling irrigated food production with environmental flows for Sustainable Development Goals implementation' indicates that 41 percent of current global irrigation water use (997 km3 per year) occurs at the expense of EFRs.





This number is significant, given that irrigation water sustains only 15 percent of total global food production, illustrating that maintaining EFRs will impinge on about a third of the current overall contribution to agricultural production made by irrigation - in the absence of water management improvements, according to the study. Freshwater is a finite resource, which is over-exploited around the world, and aquatic ecosystems are rapidly degrading in many regions.





Restoration of currently compromised river ecosystems through securing environmental flow requirements (EFRs) - that is, the daily river flow needed to maintain aquatic ecosystem services and the human livelihoods that rely on them - would entail a substantial reduction in water availability for irrigated food production.





One way of securing EFRs is by improving on the surface irrigation methods which we currently use. This will ensure that flows remain constant throughout a long period of geologic time. We can combine river with rainwater harvesting to ensure that use is optimal. Non-optimal usage will reduce our food security which is of tremendous importance to us as we have a huge population which is still increasing.





Producing more food reduces our vulnerability to other nations who we would be dependent on for food production. It reduces the burden on our foreign exchange reserves and makes us more self-reliant. There is no substitute for it but to use our riverwater in a sustainable manner. We don't have any options in this regard.






Hefajat to besiege Myanmar Embassy on Sept 19

Staff Reporter :

Hefajat-e Islam, a Chittagong-based religious organisation, on Saturday programmed to besiege Myanmar Embassy in Dhaka on September 19 in case of the continuation of genocide of Rohingya people till then.

Hefajat General Secretary Junaid Babunagri made the announcement in a press briefing at Chittagong Press Club around 11:15am.

The atrocities against the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar's Rakhine state is unacceptable, he said. The Hefajat-e Islam will also present memorandums to the United Nations (UN) and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on September 21.

It also announced to organise a countrywide protest and long march on September 16.

The Hefajat leader also called upon the Bangladesh government to put diplomatic pressure on the Myanmar government to stop the atrocities against the Rohingya people immediately.

If the "genocide" of the Rohingya people continues, Hefajat will hold a long march towards Rakhine State of Myanmar.


Denmark donates Tk 256 m for Rohingyas

The Danish government has allocated Tk 256 million to United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) as relief efforts for the newly-arrived Rohingya refugees coming to Bangladesh from Myanmar.

Ulla Tornaes, the Danish Minister for Development Cooperation, expressed her grave concern about the situation in Rakhine and condemned the violence against the Rohingyas in Myanmar, said a press release.

She also urged the involved parties to ensure protection of Rohingyas as well as other civilians and humanitarian access to the thousands of people that need urgent assistance.

"Denmark stands ready with immediate financial support when our international humanitarian partners can provide assistance to all indigent people in Rakhine" Ulla Tornaes said, adding that they are strengthening their support to the refugees in Bangladesh.

The efforts from Bangladeshi authorities have been crucial in supporting the stranded refugees, she also said. The Danish contribution will go through WFP and United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), which Denmark has a very strong and close cooperation with and which are implementing crucial and important activities in the affected areas. During the last weeks more than 150,000 people have escaped to Bangladesh following extreme violence in Myanmar's Rakhine State, said the release. UN expects that the number will increase to 240,000 shortly, it added. In June, Denmark contributed with Tk 3.6 million to IOM for disaster relief of Rohingya settlements near Cox's Bazar in the wake of Cyclone Mora.
JS 17th session from today



Parliament goes into its 17th session on Sunday after a recess of 58 days. Before the House resumes at 5pm, the business advisory committee of parliament will meet at 4pm with Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury in the chair to fix the duration and businesses of the coming session.

This session is expected to witness a lively debate over the Supreme Court observation on the 16th amendment verdict.

A seven-member bench led by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha on July 3 last upheld the High Court verdict that declared illegal the 16th Amendment to the Constitution.

Parliament passed the 16th amendment to the Constitution on September 17, 2014 empowering Parliament to remove Supreme Court judges on ground of incapacity and misconduct.

President Abdul Hamid on August 22 last called the 17th session of the 10th parliament exercising the power bestowed upon him as per Article 72 (1) of the Constitution.

On July 13 last, the 16th session (4th budget session of 10th parliament) of the Jatiya Sangsad was prorogued after 24 sittings that passed the national budget for 2017-18 fiscal year.
60-km tailback on Tangail highway

Long tailback on Dhaka-Tangail highway on Saturday causing massive delay in movement.

Staff Reporter :

A 60-kilometre tailback jammed the Dhaka-Tangail highway due to a heavy rush of vehicles beginning since Friday night.

Thousands of passengers suffered immensely on the highway as vehicles were moving slowly.

Several hundred vehicles were at a stand-still on Friday night at several points on the highway, including Korotia of Tangail.

Vehicles were moving slowly for nearly 60 kilometres stretching from Chandra of Gazipur to Elenga of Tangail, Khalilur Rahman Patwari, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Gorai Highway Police Station, told The New Nation on Saturday.

Vehicular movement was very slow from Mirzapur to Elenga intersection of Tangail, said the OC. Sukanta, a passenger, who started his journey after spending his Eid holidays in Bogra around 8:30pm on Friday night, said that he reached Zirani of Savar on his way to Dhaka after a 14-hour long suffering. He said that hundreds of vehicles were stuck for 11 hours from Korotia of Tangail to Chandra of Gazipur.

The vehicles remained stuck for six hours in Mirzapur of Tangail alone, he added. Bahalul Ahmed Fahim, a businessman, told this correspondent that he was on the way till at 8pm on Saturday after he started his journey from Kushtia at 10am. "It is very disgusting to sit in the slow moving bus. The bus left Kushtia at 10am and I do not know when it will enter the capital. The long tailback broke all intention for going home," he said.


Stop ethnic cleansing

Mounting global pressure on Myanmar

Kazi Zahidul Hasan :

International pressure is mounting on Myanmar authorities to halt violence against Rohingya Muslims that has sent nearly 270,000 people fleeing over the border to Bangladesh in just two weeks.

In the wake of mass Rohingya exodus, Bangladesh earlier urged the international community to mount pressure on Myanmar to stop pushing its nationals into the country and take back Rohingya refugees who are crossing in thousands following fresh military crackdown in Rakhine State.

Responding to the call, international agencies and governments around the world condemned the violence against Rohingya and continued to put pressure on Myanmar authorities for de-escalation and safeguard the rights of Rohingya people.

Besides, thousands of people on Friday took to the streets in major cities of Iran, Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan and Philippines to protest against the harsh crackdown on Rohingya that triggered the mass exodus of Rohingya Muslims to Bangladesh.

The demonstrators have condemned the ongoing crime against the Rohingya in Myanmar and called on the international community to take action to end the violence, which they described as 'ethnic cleansing'.

They also asked for the dispatch of humanitarian aid and a fact-finding committee to the region to investigate the atrocities against Muslims.

The latest violence in Myanmar's in the north- western Rakhine State began on August 25, following alleged attack on dozens of police posts and an army base by insurgents.

The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned of a looming humanitarian catastrophe in western Myanmar after the killing of nearly 400 people - mostly Rohingya Muslims - in the worst outbreak of violence in years.

"The secretary-general is deeply concerned by the reports of excesses during the security operations conducted by Myanmar's security forces in Rakhine State and urges restraint and calm to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe," said a statement issued by his office last Friday.

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Secretary General, Yousef A Al-Othaimeen, wrote separate letters to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and State Counsellor of Myanmar Aung San Suu Kyi on the issue.

Al-Otheimeen referred to the 'indiscriminate use of force against the civilian populations in Rakhine (the area in which the Rohingyas live), which put a huge number of civilian populations in a "miserable situation".

He reiterated OIC's call on the UN to continue exerting pressure on Myanmar to end the violence and to restore basic rights of the Rohingyas.

He also expressed the hope that "the United Nations Security Council could urgently and effectively address the issue."

The secretary general further noted that the current crisis has the potential of destabilizing the entire region unless the core issues of inequality, justice and citizenship are resolved.

The United States (US) on Thursday expressed deep concern about the situation in Myanmar's northwestern Rakhine State, where tens of thousands of Rohingya Muslims have been forced to flee across the border to Bangladesh.

"We are deeply concerned by the troubling situation in Myanmar's Rakhine state," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told reporters while briefing on Myanmar situation.

She said, "There has been a significant displacement of local populations following serious allegations of human rights abuses, including mass burnings of Rohingya villages and violence conducted by security forces and also armed civilians".

The US also condemn reported attacks on Burmese security forces and urged all parties in Myanmar to prevent further violence and protect local populations in ways that are consistent with the rule of law and with full respect for human rights.

It welcomed acknowledgement by the Myanmar government of the need to protect all communities, and its pledge to implement recommendations of the advisory commission on the Rakhine state aimed at addressing long-standing challenges that predate the country's democratic transition.

US Senators John McCain and Dick Durbin also introduced a resolution condemning the horrific acts of violence being committed against the Rohingya ethnic minority in Burma, and calling on Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi to take action to stop this humanitarian tragedy.

The resolution is co-sponsored by U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein, Cory Booker, and Bob Menendez.

Turkey expressed deep concern over the ongoing incidents in Myanmar, called on the Myanmar government to show utmost sensitivity and cautioned not to harm civilians.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, in a message to Burmese de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi, termed the deaths of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar 'genocide and crimes against humanity'.

He called for an immediate halt to the atrocities against the ethnic minority.

Turkey has warned Myanmar that the ongoing attacks on Rohingyas may turn into a serious humanitarian crisis.

Turkey's first lady Emine Erdogan and a delegation including Turkish politicians and heads of Turkish aid agencies on Thursday visited Kutupalong refugee camp in Cox's Bazar district hosting Rohingya Muslims fleeing violence in Myanmar's Rakhine state. She also distributed aid while getting information from the camp authorities.

The first lady told reporters that Turkey will do everything possible to help the Rohingya, and that her husband, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, would take up the issue to the U.N. General Assembly meeting in this month.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo has sent his Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi to Myanmar to urge its government to halt violence against Rohingya Muslims.

President Widodo added that concrete actions are needed and the Indonesian government is committed to help solve the humanitarian crisis and that Marsudi will also travel to Bangladesh to prepare additional aid for refugees there.

The Maldivian government has said that it is "deeply concerned by the recent cycle of violence that resulted in the death of dozens of Rohingya Muslims and displacing several thousands."

"The Government of Maldives requests the United Nations Secretary General and the United Nations Human Rights Council to look into the grave violations of human rights against the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar." The Foreign Ministry press statement said.
It sits low, lower than the kitchen tables they make these days, its claw shaped feet at the bottom of the wooden pedestal look like theyre clutching the hardwood floor. Without its three leaves its perfectly round and could seat four for a card game. With its three leaves it seats six quite comfortably for a meal.

Years ago, in that little brown farmhouse over the hill, one of those six people was my dad as a curly haired kid, stabbing a pancake under the neon glow of the kitchen light serving its purpose before the sun rose, before heading out to milk the cows, before the bus rolled in down the red scoria road under the dark sky and crisp morning air that only farm kids know.

I pull all three of those leaves out now, cradling them in my arms as I head to the basement to lean them against the wall and out of the way to make room for our new kitchen table arriving that day, custom made and ready to serve us.

If only these kitchen tables could talk.

This old claw-foot table had a short life with us, but a long life under the elbows of generations of my family out here, belonging first, I think, to my great-grandmother Gudrun, who arrived in America when she was only 17 and went on to raise 12 children just down the gravel road.

I doubt she brought many possessions with her. I doubt she had many to bring. And Im not certain at what stage that claw-foot table entered her life, if it was brand new or refinished, but I imagine it was a big deal.

How many plans were made there, passing the bread, the top worn slowly by cups of coffee finding their way up to worried or laughing mouths and down again. How many dishes were passed between the hands of relatives and neighbors? How many prayers sent up of gratefulness or despair? God is great  God is good 

Ive said those prayers there too, feeling the roughness of my uncles working hand in mine, the other hand squeezing my cousins, too hard the way kids do, anxious to move on to the Jello salad dessert my grandma always forgot in the fridge in the bustle of preparing a big holiday meal.

Years later my oldest cousin had it in her home for some time, after our grandparents died and the people left behind have to make decisions about how important these things are to us. My aunt counted that table at the top of the list and kept it useful and in the family, holding on in resourcefulness and nostalgia, the way we were all raised here it seems.

I wipe off the sticky, fifth generation fingerprints one last time and take notice of it again. Worn and beautiful it sits, now free of all the papers and place settings, quaint and clutching the ground the way it does, hanging onto the memories and the beauty of the generations the way only old and precious things can.
Govt to use biometric tech to enlist Rohingyas

Intel agencies increase vigil on refugees: CTTC Chief

Sagar Biswas :

The government has decided to enlist the Rohingya refugees using biometric technology in a bid to thwart possible terror threat and also avert complications during their return in the future.

"The decision of using biometric technology for Rohingya refugees has been taken in the meeting of district administration. The new refugees, those entered Bangladesh after August 25, would be brought under the system," Additional Deputy Magistrate of Cox's Bazar district Khalid Mohammad said on Saturday.

"To trace them easily, we will also take their photographs along with finger impressions. Not only that, we have started a process for keeping the new comers at a selected place. So, the district administration is trying to get 5,000 acres of land of Forest Department in Balukhali area. The work will start very soon," Khalid Mohammad said.

The decision of using biometric technology has taken at a time when the government is apprehending probable outbreak of terrorism using the young generation of Rohingya refugees.

Security officials said the intelligence agencies have increased vigilance in the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox's Bazar district and its surrounding areas so that none of them could be recruited by any terrorist outfit.

Head of Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime Unit Md Monirul Islam on Saturday said, "The intelligence agencies are in vigil so that militancy issue could not be gear up again using the Rohingya refugees. Besides, precautionary measures have been taken as none could use Rohingya issue for political violence or create unstable situation in the country."

Intelligence reports earlier had mentioned that Rohingya terror group Aqa Mul Mujahideen [AMM] was in touch with terrorist outfits active in Jammu and Kashmir including Lashkar-e-Taiba [LeT] and Jaish-e-Mohammed [JeM].

The AMM emerged from Harkat-ul Jihad Islami-Arakan [HuJI-A] in Myanmar. The terrorists of the AMM were said to be trained in Pakistan. The AMM had been held responsible for bombing in border regions of Myanmar, the reports added.

Not only that, senior ministers, including Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader, recently have expressed grave concern about the possibility of entering arms and drugs with the influx of Rohingyas.

"The government is very much concerned about possible conspiracy of local and international axis with the trafficking of arms and drugs when Rohingya influx continues. The Government is now facing history's hardest challenge," Obaidul Quader said on Saturday.

Local sources said that a good number of Rohingya refugees have already taken shelter in different upazilas of Chittagong and other parts. In this regard, Khalid Mohammad further said, "Those went to other districts will be brought in the refugee camps.So far we've identified 17 points through which the Rohingyas are entering Bangladesh."

A recent report prepared by Indonesia-based Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict warned that Islamic State-backed terror groups may catch the Asian region off-guard by using Rohingyas. So, the Rohingya insurgency can be a new phenomenon along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border.

According to the report released on May, the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army [ARSA], previously called Harkat al-Yakin or the Faith Movement, has been trying to get money, arms and training support from other South Asian radical groups.

"The existence of an armed group on the border with mounting attacks on Myanmar security forces could inspire pro-ISIS groups in Bangladesh, Indonesia and Malaysia to do more systematic recruiting among their respective Rohingya communities to find individuals willing to carry out attacks on their own," it further said.

About 3,00,000 Rohingya people - an estimated 80% of them women and children - have crossed into Bangladesh since 25 August, when ethnic Muslim militants attacked 24 police posts and one army base. Apart from them, about 5, 00,000 Rohingya refugees are staying in Bangladesh since 1982, officials said.

Although satellite images and other sources confirmed that Myanmar army was involved behind torching houses of Rohingyas, the Burmese government claimed that "terrorists" were behind the arson attack on 2600 houses. Some recent pictures, released in mainstream and social media, showed that columns of smoke were seen rising from several houses in the empty Rakhine villages.


Living in sickness of fear is not freedom, we have to be free

When in an African country like Kenya its President has no difficulty in accepting the judgement of the court that annulled his election victory that should be enough for our government to be ashamed of for the angry rhetoric used against the judgement of the Supreme Court declaring an amendment of the Constitution as unconstitutional.





The sitting President of Kenya said he did not agree with the verdict but nevertheless he would accept the court's ruling. What is interesting is that even the United Nations observers found the election had the acceptability.





It is known to all that Philippines is under one of the most fearful dictators who have killed hundreds of people in the name of fighting drug problem. There also the elected Senate had no fear to ask his son and son-in-law to appear before it to face the charges of drug related crimes.





In our country for the judgement on protecting the independence of the judiciary, no election was set aside or nobody had lost job. Nevertheless the government was furious and used all sorts of contemptuous language against the judges more so against the Chief Justice Mr S.K Sinha.







The retiring Attorney General of Brazil did not allow fear to stand in the way of pursuing corruption charges against the current President together with filing criminal charges against two former presidents for running the country like a criminal enterprise. It was horrid of me to be impatient with my friend and an eminent freedom fighter General Ibrahim (Rtd) Bir Pratik when he was not ready to go public himself for the missing of his party's Secretary. Secret missing is the worst kind of insecurity of life that befalls a person. My idea of a freedom fighter is a fearless fighter for freedom for anybody and everybody for whom he fought the war of freedom.





The situation in the country is bleak. So leaderless and so anarchic that only the people with no sense of patriotism or conscience can live joyfully unconcerned. The public suffering for the mess and mismanagement is everywhere for everyone to see. The foreigners who reluctantly come to our country find the trolleys at the Dhaka Int'l Airport are not where luggage come for collection.





The overwhelming police power has created sickness of fear in the minds of the people long yearned and suffered for securing freedom.





Blaming ex-Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia or the present Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina alone cannot be right. They were not trying to be where they are now. They do not want to go back where they were. Addiction to power develops easily.





George Washington, a founding father of America, refused to accept the offer of lifelong presidency. His argument was that one must not be in power for too long to be affected by the addiction of power. One who has not the future of the country in mind is not a politician.





Freedom is not for those who do not have the courage to unshackle themselves from the dark sickness of fear.





Most of us feel sad and sorry for the vanishing respectability and decency from our public life followed by its unavoidable repercussion on our social life. As there is no accountability, the people in public life feel no obligation to show civility expected in a civilised nation.





Bangabandhu reminded the public functionaries in more than one public meetings to respect the people as their master and serve them humbly. Surely, he did not exclude the ministers or members of the parliament whose expenses are also borne by the people.





The ways of politics shown by great political leaders like Husseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, AK Fazlul Haq and Moulana Bhasani are forgotten in favour of wisdom of the retired and abandoned technocrats to make politics impossible for the politicians.





What every politician worth his name knows that end of power politics does end brutal struggle for power. Either the politics of the country will be tolerant to dissent or politics of intolerant violence will grow as the other alternative. The police force shall remain busy fighting forces of violent politics called terrorism but for no results.







Preparations of making bombs or gathering of weapons are not a sign of peaceful times. Dangerous crimes like killing, rape and kidnapping for extortion are frequent affairs. One has to be lucky not to be a victim of abuse of power in their own country. The people are helpless and unprotected. Police are not as they were or supposed to be. Many are politicised and feel like politicians. Our police are efficient but cannot save themselves from misdirected politics.





Bangladesh has become isolated internationally is clear from the fact on the crisis faced by Bangladesh with the surge of Rohingya refugees. All the three countries considered by our government their closest friends have been supporting openly the Myanmar government. All the support and sympathy are coming from the Western countries which are considered enemies by our government since the inception of Bangladesh.





Our government is wrong in many ways for lack of political leadership.


157 British MPs urge to suspend UK training of Burma`s army

Boris Johnson has been urged by 157 MPs and peers to suspend Britain's training of the Burmese armed forces given the military offensive against Rohingya Muslim civilians in the south-east Asian nation.

The Foreign Secretary has already warned Burma's de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi that the treatment of the ethnic minority group is "besmirching" the country's reputation. The parliamentarians welcomed his statement but urged the Government to suspend British training of the Burmese military, which cost the UK around 305,000 last year, given reports of beheadings, rape and children being deliberately shot.

Answers to written parliamentary questions show that the UK does not provide combat training but instead seeks to educate soldiers in democracy, leadership and the English language.

In November last year, then-defence minister Mike Penning said the Government does not know if any of the soldiers trained by the UK are involved in operations against Rohingya Muslims, and said officials have not evaluated how the training has led to improvements in human rights.

The letter came after the United Nations said 270,000 Rohingya Muslims had crossed into neighbouring Bangladesh in the past two weeks.

The exodus began after Rohingya insurgents attacked police posts in Burma, prompting the military to respond with "clearance operations" to root out fighters hiding in villages in Rakhine state, prompting accusations of ethnic cleansing.




DICKINSON  Digging up dinosaur fossils means getting into the dirt, often on your knees and under the blazing sun. But seldom has the work ever been more rewarding than a field trip taken to north-central Montana this summer.

Denver Fowler, paleontologist at the Dickinson Museum Center, along with Liz Freedman-Fowler and their four-person volunteer team, returned to Dickinson on Aug. 28, 2017, with 38 jackets of fossils and smaller pieces of fossilized bone. Among them was a dinosaur that was previously unknown to the scientific world  a type of nodosaur from 76 million years ago.

This will be a new species  it will need a new name because no one has ever found one of these kind of dinosaurs before. We have the skull, which is the most important part to tell what species it is, Denver said.

What they do know is the dinosaur is a relative of the ankylosaurus  a dinosaur with a club on its tail and spikes on its body.

This one doesnt have a tail club, but it has big spikes on the body and is a member of the same family, Denver said.

Because of the ankylosaurus discovered in the area, they nicknamed the site Akloymania.

It was better than we expected and everything we hoped for, Liz said.

It was the best field season Ive ever had, added Denver. As a prospector, we found so much, it was ridiculous. Every day was completely amazing. Every day was crazy discoveries. Next year, we will be applying for 10 excavation permits.

He expects the team will be busy for at least the next three or four years on the same site at Rudyard, Mont.

You have to be careful, too, he added. If you find a big bone, you can dig one meter square around the bone without a prospecting permit. So if the bones develop, youve got to find a good stopping place. You dig until you know what youve got and then cover up the site until next year.

Its to protect it for the winter, Liz added.

And frankly, its to protect the cows from stamping on it, Denver added. We have to make it unattractive to the cows. If something kind of looks interesting, they will go over to it.

The Fowlers worked on the Late Cretaceous Judith River Formation  badlands-like land owned by Dan and Lila Redding north of Rudyard.

Usually, how this works is you prospect an area, I find a few sites that look promising and then apply for a special permit to dig a bigger hole the following year. We usually follow up on sites from last year and look for new ones, Denver said. Liz does the quarrying and I do the prospecting.

Denver likes to prospect, so he walks around and finds the dinosaur fossils and I prefer to quarry  that is, I dig them up, Liz said.

Denver is employed by the Dickinson Museum Center while Liz is an adjunct professor at Dickinson State Universitys natural sciences department. She teaches three of the labs there. She is chair of the exhibits committee for the board of the directors of the Stark County Historical Society, which advises the museum.

They were in the field for five weeks  east of Malta and north of Rudyard.

We had a couple of volunteers, who were our students when we were doing on Ph.D.s at Bozeman, Liz said.

Liz has been digging at Rudyard since 2004 when she was a student and teaching at Montana State University Bozeman.

Two years ago, Denver was helping Liz with a field trip at Rudyard when he came across bones sticking out of a cliff. It was an ankylosaurus. Also last year, they found another site on BLM land where they applied for a permit to dig for a Centrosaurus  described as more like a triceratops, but half the size.

The first half of the trip we were supposed to dig the Centrosaurus, but with so many fires, the BLM didnt have time to survey the site for us, Denver said. We didnt have an excavation permit so we had to explore the area instead.

The dig this year was in partnership between the Dickinson Museum Center and the Rudyard Depot Museum.

These sites dont have much overburden  the hill above the bone layer, said Liz. Luckily, it was pretty soft rock. We used picks and shovels to get close to the bone layer and then used small chisels and knives.

Yes, we get very dirty  we were digging through a coal mine at Rudyard, she added.

We found a lot of amber, Denver added. Im hopeful I have a bag of amber with insects.

The terrain was very old  up to 79 million years old, which would have resembled Louisianas modern-day swamps. It served as habitat for the dinosaurs, along with turtles and crocodiles.

On the very last day, we found a horned dinosaur  only one piece of skull that looks quite promising, Denver said. To dig it properly will be quite an undertaking. We didnt know the site would turn into something this great.The piece is in a jacket all wrapped up, he said.

The Fowlers were able to date the site because two volcanic ash deposits are preserved there  ash from volcanoes when the Rocky Mountains were still rising up.

Now that theyre back home, they will begin writing a paper describing the new species.

First, the skull must be cleaned, preferably by fossil preparators.

Basically, we need money to pay a preparer to clean it, Liz said.

Denver said his interest in dinosaurs started as a youth in Manchester, England, when hed explore with his dad.

When I was like 4 or 5 years old, we went on holiday to the beach and found an ammonite, he said. After that, we started looking for fossils, my brother as well. Fossils is like treasure hunting. It was great fun, he said.

Hes been collecting dinosaur fossils all over the world or 20-odd years. One new species has already been named after him  ojoceratops fowleri, found in New Mexico.

We like the Northern Plains region  its very close to field areas, Denver said. The last 10 years, weve been living in Bozeman  it's warmer here and not as much snow. Dickinson is ideal.

Liz is originally from Florida, a state she described as far too hot and having no dinosaurs. She worked at Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman throughout college career,

Their vision is to make the Dickinson Museum Center a world-class fossil museum.

Thats my mandate, Denver said. It takes time, it takes money, it takes staff. We have world-class specimens. Im working on getting this museum as a federal repository. Right now

BLM fossils we collect are technically being stored in Bismarck. For a repository status we need to do few things like new fossil storage units.

Liz added, Once we get approval, any fossils we collect on BLM land can remain here in Dickinson.

Dickinson Museum Center director Bob Fuhrman was impressed with their research.

When Id get texts, emails and phone calls during the course of the fieldwork, I was impressed by their excitability. When they talked about the best field season ever, they meant it. It was phenomenal. Their excitement was contagious.
North Dakota will serve as the test site for a new entrepreneurial event.

The first of its kind for the Kauffman Foundation, in partnership with the North Dakota Department of Commerce, Emerging Prairie and the Startup Champions Network, the Entrepreneur EcoSummit will be held Sept. 22 at the Stone Building, 613 First Ave. N., Fargo. If the event is deemed successful, the Kauffman Foundation aims to duplicate it in other areas of the country, said Jared Stober, entrepreneurship program manager for the Department of Commerce.

The one-day summit will include presentations on the regions resources for fostering entrepreneurship, with speakers from the Kauffman Foundation, the Startup Champions Network and other entrepreneurial leaders. Attendees will have an opportunity to network and share best practices with fellow attendees.

The event is aimed at anyone who aids entrepreneurs in starting and growing their businesses: the University of North Dakota Center for Innovation, the Idea Center - Center for Technology & Business, Start Bismarck, Evolve ND, Emerging Prairie, economic developers, small business development centers and the U.S. Small Business Administration. By combining these entrepreneurial supporters from across the state and from other states, the organizers say they are hopeful they will be able to help each other with similar challenges they may be facing or have faced.

One significant way to expand our economy is to support entrepreneurial startups and grow businesses within the state, Stober said of Commerces support for the event.

He said, so often, entrepreneurs dont reach out for help until theyve hit a wall. So this conference aims at sharing success stories and best practices between entrepreneurial advocates for reaching those startups sooner.

Stober said Fargos growing entrepreneurial atmosphere makes it a good choice for this maiden event. The citys weekly 1 Million Cups event, which serves as a platform for entrepreneurs to talk about their businesses, is the programs record-holder for largest attendance, according to Emerging Prairie. The Drone Focus conference has made the city an international destination, with attendance doubling from 300 in its first year to 600 in its second year and plans to double those numbers again in the third year. Fargo was also named the ninth best metro area in the nation for young entrepreneurs in 2017 by personal finance company Nerdwallet.

Register online at www.eventbrite.com/e/entrepreneur-ecosummit-tickets-37100056267, as space is limited.
ROLLA -- A proposed ballot measure that would impact worker injury insurance in North Dakota is getting closer to the day when petitions could be on the street.

The measure could affect volunteer first responders, as well as address such issues as covering workers who suffer mental health issues or chronic pain related to their jobs. It would also remove Workforce Safety & Insurance from self-regulation and place it under the purview of the North Dakota Insurance Commission.

Rep. Marvin Nelson, D-Rolla, said supporters are working on the final language and should have a measure committee named shortly. Once those items are in place, the measure can be submitted to the Secretary of State for language approval so petitions can be circulated.

Currently, petitions are in circulation for a statewide ballot measure repealing the remaining restrictions in state law on Sunday opening for businesses.

Nelson hopes to have his group's petitions out soon because they must collect 13,452 signatures or more by a July 7, 2018, deadline to get on the November 2018 ballot.

"We are very close to having enough volunteers to form the committee," Nelson said. It's not a matter of finding members but ensuring a broad representation, he said.

"We could have the committee, but we want members from really all the different groups that are significantly affected," he said.

Among groups that would be affected are volunteer first responders. The measure would change the way WSI calculates benefits of an injured volunteer to allow payment based on either covered wages or the average weekly state wage. The change is necessary because volunteers, being unpaid, could receive nothing, Nelson said.

Another change would ensure that if a volunteer suffered a heart attack or stroke within 24 hours of a call, a presumption would exist that the incident is related to the volunteer activity.

Along with first responder issues, the proposed WSI measure covers other matters that Nelson said have been problematic for workers. His efforts to make those changes legislatively have been unsuccessful because of Republican resistance, he said.

One change would add work-related post-traumatic stress as a covered injury. Because WSI does not cover these mental health injuries, employers are subject to being sued, Nelson said. Changing WSI coverage would protect both workers and employers, he said.

The language would address situations such as one earlier this year involving Williston police officer Bill Holler, who was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after responding to a call that resulted in a gruesome suicide. WSI denied his claim. Mental harm accompanied by a physical injury is eligible for compensation but a mental injury arising from mental stimulus is not covered.

Rep. Dan Ruby, R-Minot, previously has stated coverage of PTSD would open up a "vast gray area for future claims" and significantly raise premiums for employers. Nelson argues premiums would rise marginally, but employers would save the cost of potential lawsuits or the cost of private insurance to cover possible PTSD claims that go uninsured by WSI.

Nelson also said WSI needs to be removed from self-regulation and placed under the purview of the North Dakota Insurance Commission. Insurance Commissioner Jon Godfread had no comment on the proposal, having not seen the measure. However, previous commissioner Adam Hamm had at one time supported the idea.

The measure draft would require the insurance commissioner and director of WSI to evaluate and develop a plan for transferring the regulation of workforce safety and insurance to the insurance department. The insurance commissioner could contract with a third party to perform the evaluation and assist in the development of an implementation plan.

The proposed measure also seeks to ensure coverage for chronic pain and would close a loophole that leaves workers uncovered by either WSI or traditional health insurance, Nelson said. Currently, a WSI ruling can be overturned only if a reasoning mind could not have reached the conclusion WSI reached.
If you are looking for the new Immoral Minority posts, you should know that they can be found here at our new home Please stop by to get caught up on politics, join the conversations, or simply check out the new digs.
DEVILS LAKE -- A report on a Devils Lake jail that has been threatened with closure details numerous violations, including a lack of written policies in multiple areas, alleged group strip searches that violate federal laws and undertrained staff.

The North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (DOC) has given the Lake Region Law Enforcement Center until Oct. 1 to fix several violations discovered during an inspection in early August. Inspectors listed 40 violations in documents obtained by the Herald.

(LEC) policies have not been updated since October 2015, the report stated. Many policies were inadequate to provide staff with clear and concise direction for operations.  When (inspectors) asked about the post orders, (LEC) staff did not even know what post orders were.

Post orders are written documents that outline duties, responsibilities and expectations for officers.

Federal inmates have been removed, cutting the inmate count in half and putting a dent in the LECs income.

If the jail does not correct certain violations within 30 days, it will be closed, according to the DOCs orders issued Sept. 1.

The jail has made moves to meet the orders, LEC Director Rob Johnson said Friday. Staff is in constant communications with the DOC, and Johnson said he is confident the jail will not close.

Believe it or not, weve actually made a lot of progress over the last year or so, he said. This is just an indicator of how far we have to go.

The most critical of the violations, according to the DOC, was the lack of a healthcare administrator since February, and no documentation medical training for jail staff.

There is no proof staff have been trained to handle emergency situations; administer first-aid and CPR training; recognizing mental illness, intellectual disabilities, emotional disturbance and chemical dependency; and are qualified to deliver medicine, the DOC said.

Staff also failed to perform health appraisals of inmates in a timely manner, the report stated.

The jail hired a doctor in late August and plans to medically train its staff, Johnson said.

The LEC doesnt require fire drills or have plans in place if severe weather, like tornadoes, occur, according to the report. Staff also do not know how to manually override the locking system in the event of a fire or power outage, the report stated.

Johnson said he was unaware staff were not trained to do that.

Our staff should know that, he said.

There is no policy on use of restraints for pregnant women, the transfer of medical records or prescription medication, notification to crime victims and witnesses or inmate death notification.

The LEC also couldnt provide a copy of its suicide prevention plan.

At least one inmates death, John W. Wilkie Jr., 42, was ruled a suicide when he was found dead in May 2015 in a holding cell. An investigation found he ingested alcohol and a mixture of medications.

There were indications he was suicidal, but officers felt he didnt need medical treatment, so he was taken to the LEC for detox. The jail was short-staffed the night of his death and didnt check on him enough, according to the BCI.

No charges were filed.

Inmates complained to DOC inspectors about access to medical services but felt they were safe and were treated by staff with respect.

Because the jail doesnt have a kitchen, it orders food from a local restaurant. During the inspection, investigators noted the food containers were not searched for contraband.

The DOC alleges the LEC allowed unclothed searches of inmates returning from court to be conducted as a group in front of the booking area in view of other staff, inmates and master controls. The DOC stated the LECs policies on searches violate requirements of the Prison Rape Elimination Act.

Johnson said he plans to contest the group strip search allegations, saying he is unaware of any such incident.

Thats not how we operate, he said.

There are no policies on cross-gender or transgender searches, the DOC said.

Other violations include multiple housing areas having one toilet for 14 to 18 inmates when it should have two, being unable to verify inventory and an absence of an inmate population management plan.

Kick in the butt

Its rare for a facility in North Dakota to have as many violations as the LEC or to come under threat of being closed, said Don Redmann, director of facility operations with the DOC. Another visit is planned to review progress, he added.

I believe and have faith that theyre committed to (improving), he said. I know they are putting in significant effort based on conversations to date.

Johnson said the LEC had a young staff, adding they have gained experience. He also cited outdated policies, some of which are 30 years old. He estimated there are 160 policies that need to be reviewed.

Its been a long process, and we have been working on that, he said. Now it has become the highest priority to what we are doing.

The jail is more than 40 years old and is in need of capital updates, as Johnson and the DOC noted. Its unclear how much the jail would spend on updates or a new facility, if possible.

But with the decrease in inmate counts, the probable solution is increasing costs to those who use the facility -- mainly Devils Lake and five surrounding counties.

Johnson admitted staff may not meet all training requirements by the deadline, but he said the DOC may give the LEC leeway as long as it is making progress.

I feel they have done us a service, he said of the DOCs inspection. Nobody wants to deal with these types of situations, but we are looking at it with a positive attitude, as giving us the road map we need and ... maybe a little kick in the butt to make sure that we are making steady progress.

To review the report, visit grandforksherald.com.

Herald reporter Andrew Hazzard contributed to this report.
"The pipefitters and plumbers, and nurses, and police officers  all the people like you who pour their hearts into every penny earned in both the offices and oilfields of America  you're the ones who carry this nation on your back, and it's time for you to get the relief that you deserve."

 President Donald Trump, during Wednesdays speech at the Andeavor Mandan Refinery.

q q q

"We love this state, so it's always a pleasure to be back here. And you treated us very, very well in November and have continued to, so we like sharing the love back."

 Ivanka Trump, addressing the crowd at the Andeavor Mandan Refinery on Wednesday.

q q q

"It's not every day that the president of the United States comes to your workplace, so it's very exciting."

 Randy Binegar, an environmental superintendent and 28-year employee of the Andeavor Mandan Refinery. He added that employees were honored to host the president.

q q q

"We had a great time. We didn't really think we'd be able to shake his hand, but he took a lot of time and shook everybody's hand."

 Trevor Kronberg, an oilfield worker whose cousin works for the Secret Service, on greeting President Donald Trump at the Bismarck airport on Wednesday.

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"We need somebody like Trump that changes the whole format of our thinking. I don't care if it's our county commissions to our township boards. The more we let other people lead us, that is the direction you're going to go. You have to get involved a little bit or be satisfied with the direction from your county to your township to your state."

 Robert Tweeten, a Hensler farmer and rancher and Trump supporter, as he waited for Trumps motorcade to arrive on Wednesday.

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"I don't think the fact that they weren't citizens was really relevant to them at the time. There's always been the desire to protect and serve the country where you live."

 Marilyn Hudson, longtime director of the Three Affiliated Tribes Museum, on Native Americans who served in World War I.

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"Our philosophy and our practice is we reach out to all of the tribes and share information and ask them if they're interested in talking to us. It is in our best interest, as well as for the project and all stakeholders, to be as open and transparent as possible."

 NextEra spokesman Steve Stengel, on how the company works with tribes when planning wind farms.

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"This small parcel is not going to make or break the lease sale, but it could make or break the park as it relates to the visitor experience."

 Valerie Naylor, former superintendent of Theodore Roosevelt National Park and a consultant for the National Parks Conservation Association, discussing a possible Bureau of Land Management oil and gas lease near the North Unit. BLM is collecting public comments.

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"The taxation is not about greed. Its about need."

 Mark Fox, chairman of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, explaining to the Legislature's Tribal Taxation Issues Committee why the tribes want more taxes from oil development on the Fort Berthold Reservation.

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"To whom much is given, much will be expected."

 Molly Zosel, of Mandan, explaining her motivation for volunteering with the Red Cross.

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"We want businesses to understand this value ... not just work with us because of a charitable mindset. We truly believe our specialists are the most qualified fit for the roles we're placing them in."

 James Whirlwind Soldier, business development director for Mind Shift, a Fargo-based nonprofit with the goal of finding meaningful careers for people on the autism spectrum.
By Trend

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is interested in cooperating with Azerbaijan in the sphere of domestic waste management, EBRD President Suma Chakrabarti said during his visit to the municipal solid waste incineration plant in Baku.

Chakrabarti pointed out Azerbaijans success in the sphere of domestic waste management, according to a message of Azerbaijani Economy Ministry.

Azerbaijans Minister of Economy Shahin Mustafayev, for his part, informed the EBRD head about the plants activities.

Chakrabarti further visited the Balakhany landfill for solid waste disposal and also familiarized himself with the conditions created around the Boyukshor lake.

On Nov. 1, the EBRD Board of Directors plans to approve a loan for Azerbaijans Tamiz Shahar JSC, established to improve the ecological condition of Baku.

A loan in the amount of up to $39 million will be allocated for financing investments in the solid domestic waste management in Baku and adjacent settlements on the Absheron peninsula (Big Baku). The funds will be used to finance the construction of two transfer stations and sorting facilities, which will allow optimizing the transportation of waste and reducing the volume of its utilization.

The projects goal is to improve the efficiency of solid domestic waste management in Big Baku.

Total cost of the project is $39 million. In total, the EBRD, together with the technical assistance, will allocate $40.3 million for the project.

Azerbaijan has been a member of EBRD since 1992. Since then, the bank has invested more than $2.8 billion in 161 projects in Azerbaijans financial, corporate, infrastructure and energy sectors.
By Trend

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has sent a congratulatory letter to President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon.

On behalf of the people of Azerbaijan and on my own behalf, I extend my cordial congratulations to you and all the people of your country on the occasion of the national holiday of the Republic of Tajikistan - Independence Day, President Aliyev said in his letter.

Azerbaijan-Tajikistan friendship has rich traditions. I believe the high level of our current intergovernmental relations will always be a solid foundation for deepening the bilateral cooperation in all areas of mutual interest.

On this remarkable day, I wish you the best of health, success in your activities, and the friendly people of Tajikistan peace and prosperity, added the Azerbaijani president.
Industry leaders and experts from across the globe will be in Abu Dhabi for a major summit of the Islamic Financial Services Board, IFSB 2017 which kicks off next month.



The Central Bank of the UAE will host the event under the theme "Reinvigorating the Momentum of Islamic Finance: Solidifying Resilience and Sustaining Growth" from October 22 to 24 at The St. Regis Abu Dhabi.



It takes place against the backdrop of a world economy that is undergoing a paradigm shift resulting from the new uncertainties emerging from a changing global geopolitical landscape, evolving monetary policy tightening in the US, sluggish recovery in oil prices and a general uncertainty in the economic outlook, said the organisers.



The summit will see high-level participants from regulatory and supervisory authorities, institutions offering Islamic financial services, international organisations, multilateral development banks, academics, scholars, market players, and think tanks among others.



The three-day IFSB Summit 2017 seeks to discuss the issues and challenges facing the Islamic financial services industry in the present conditions with a view to finding opportunities to reinvigorate the growth momentum across the various sectors while solidifying resilience of the institutions offering Islamic financial services.



These efforts need to be considered in conjunction with supportive policy reforms by the regulatory and supervisory authorities, particularly at this time of ongoing implementation of post-financial crisis strengthened regulatory requirements, they stated.



The panelists will discuss a range of issues including Islamic finance: From Niche to Mainstream; the FinTech Innovative Progression: Boon or Bane For Traditional Financial Institutions?; Implementing New Regulatory Reforms: Balancing Between the Soundness and Competitiveness of Institutions offering Islamic Financial Services; Islamic Capital Markets: Towards Greater Harmonisation in Cross Border Activities and the Way Forward for Islamic Finance: Strengthening Value Proposition, Sustaining Resilience.



Previous IFSB summits have been held in Kazakhstan (2015), Mauritius (2014), Malaysia (2013), Turkey (2012), Luxembourg (2011), Bahrain (2010), as well as Singapore and the UK.-TradeArabia News Service
GTreasury, a global leader in treasury management solutions for organizations, has announced the opening of its new office in London as part of its expansion strategy for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region.



The launch of the new West End office at 1 Neal Street will give GTreasury both an expanded presence in Europe for the servicing of its new and existing treasury management customers and a foundation for greater support, service and future growth.



The London-based GTreasury team will include new additions such as Terry Beadle, as global head of corporate development, and Christopher Seaman, as EMEA managing director.



Beadle was the global leader of Bloombergs treasury management team for three years and is a former managing director of Wall Street Systems.



Seaman was with Bloomberg since 2007, and was most recently in charge of global sales of its corporate treasury management solutions.



GTreasury is experiencing strong growth and continues to be an influential global leader in the liquidity management and payments arena. Adding a London office and strong management enhances our support for EMEA customers, increases our access to global talent and local partners, and will help us drive business opportunities worldwide, remarked Orazio Pater, the founder of GTreasury.



GTreasury, he stated, is the only company that offers both an installed and a SaaS solution.



"Its solution illuminates a treasurys liquidity by centralizing all incoming and outgoing banking activities, along with tracking all financial instrument activities. This gives GTreasury practitioners real-time insight and access into their global liquidity, he added.-TradeArabia News Service
The UAE has retained its number one position as the most appealing country to invest in real estate in the world for GCC residents, while Dubai is the most preferred city, according to new research.



The latest Real Estate Barometer study, conducted in partnership between YouGov and Cityscape Global, asked GCC home buyers and real estate investors where they feel most comfortable investing their money globally and 45 per cent of respondents cited the UAE, up from 42 per cent in 2016, while 63 per cent chose the UAE from among countries in the Middle East specifically.



Collectively, 69 per cent of respondents chose Dubai as the go to city for real estate investment, with two thirds (66 per cent) expecting the impact of Expo 2020 Dubai to increase property buyer interest in the UAE, said the survey.



The research has been revealed ahead of three-day Cityscape Global, the annual barometer for the real estate industry in emerging markets and one of the largest, most influential property events globally, which kicks off at Dubai World Trade Centre on September 11.



Tom Rhodes, the exhibition director, Cityscape Global, said: "The research findings give us a great insight into the current market conditions and certainly help us and our exhibitors to set forecasts for upcoming real estate investment expectations."



"With on-site sales permitted for UAE-based projects the first time at Cityscape Global this year, we anticipate a lot of interest from investors who will be able to attend the event to capitalise on attractive price options and make informed purchasing decisions directly on the show floor," he added.



More than half (59 per cent) of respondents who intend to buy a property in the next year prefer to buy in the GCC, with the average GCC budget sitting at $717,000, compared to the average global budget of $561,000. The most highly sought-after residential property to buy is the two to three bedroom apartment; 53 per cent of respondents opted for this unit size.



Kailash Nagdev, the managing director for YouGov in the Middle East region, said: "The annual Real Estate Barometer is designed to track Middle East property market sentiment to help the industry expand with its future investors in mind."



The 2017 study indicates a minor decline in sales and rental property prices in the UAE but overall real estate investment sentiment for the UAE looks positive. Respondents are telling us a strong regulatory framework, good supply of residential properties at different price points and the upcoming Expo 2020 will be the key drivers of a healthy outlook for Middle East real estate, noted Nagdev.



Within the residential property price movement, the expectation in the market is for prices to come down; 56 per cent of the survey respondents expect the sales price of properties to decrease in their country of residence, while 59 per cent expect the rental price of properties to also decrease in their country of residence.



Survey respondents in the GCC indicated the importance of location in residential properties in the study, with 43 per cent opting for close proximity to educational facilities, 42 per cent for healthcare facilities, followed by grocery stores (35 per cent) and place of work or business (33 per cent). UAE residents, however, particularly prefer properties close to grocery stores, at 40 per cent.



Rhodes added: The research tells us that investors are seeking value for money (88 per cent), good quality of housing (87 per cent) and easy access to major roads (75 per cent) when buying residential units, so these are all factors our exhibitors can promote and communicate to visitors at their stands this year.



Additionally, weve seen a change of investor mind-set when it comes to the size of property sought after, shifting from one-bedroom and studio apartments in 2016 to a majority (54 per cent) seeking two- to three-bedroom apartments shown by this years results. This could signal a vote of confidence from investors and homebuyers as reports point to a rejuvenation in the real estate sector, observed Rhodes.



The survey also highlights that exactly half of respondents feel that affordable housing is missing from the GCC real estate market, while 31 per cent believe there is a lack of reliable brokers and 28 per cent wish for better access to data comparing existing properties.



Certain macro-economic factors emerge as elements of concern for potential investors; 72 per cent cite the state of the local economy, 68 per cent highlight a lack of trust in brokers and developers, and 67 per cent show concern for the security in the market of interest, said the organisers.



With more than a third of UAE respondents (35 per cent) aware of Dubais initiative of becoming the first blockchain government by 2020, the organisers of Cityscape Global are preparing to highlight the implications of blockchain in the real estate market at the Cityscape Global Conference, taking place one day before the exhibition, on Sunday (September 10) at Conrad Dubai, they added.-TradeArabia News Service
Leading oilfield services provider Baker Hughes, a GE company, said it has won a major subsea contract from Egyptian group Petrobel to develop the second phase of the 'supergiant' Zohr Gas Field situated in the Mediterranean Sea, off the Egyptian coast.

Petrobel is a joint venture between IEOC (an Eni subsidiary in Egypt) and Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) and is in charge of the development of Zohr Field on behalf of PetroSherouk, a joint venture between Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) and IEOC.

The project underscores the companys position as the worlds first and only integrated fullstream provider of cutting-edge subsea technology, products, services and digital solutions.

As a long-term partner to Egypt, BHGE will provide project management, engineering procurement, fabrication, construction, testing and transportation of a subsea production system, including seven manifolds, tie-in systems, long offset subsea and topside control systems, SemStar5 HIPPS (high integrity pressure protection) Systems, workover systems and tools, and will support the installation, commissioning and start-up operations.

"This landmark agreement reinforces our commitment to provide competitive offerings for our partners, strengthened by BHGEs local presence and cutting-edge technology," remarked Lorenzo Simonelli, the president and CEO of BHGE, after signing the agreement with Tarek El Molla, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Egypt.

The Zohr Field is one of the most significant developments of its kind, and through this project we can show the efficiency gains that such complex projects can achieve through our enhanced portfolio, said Simonelli.

"This project has the potential to meet Egypts growing gas demand and save the country billions of dollars that would otherwise be spent on importing gas. Together with our partners, BHGE can support Egypts needs and vision for the energy sector and demonstrate its leadership in the subsea space, he added.

El Molla said maximizing domestic energy resources and optimizing reliability of their supplies were core elements of Egypts vision.

"We are able to increase the value and efficiency of the sector by driving a sustainable and energy-efficient economy through the ministrys Modernization Program in partnership with companies such as BHGE. The Zohr gas field is playing a major role in the development of Egypts domestic energy resources, revenue generation and economic growth," he stated.

Atef Hassan, the chairman and managing director, Petrobel, said: "Partnering with BHGE on this project demonstrates the growing need for long-term service and equipment providers that complement our efforts in driving optimized production."

"The Zohr Field will contribute to the development and sustainability of Egypts resources, and BHGEs investment and expertise across oilfield services and equipment will help us drive further efficiencies along the way," he noted.

According to him, this project draws on the experience of BHGE in large bore, long offset gas fields and incorporates an integrated HIPPS system and positions BHGE as a market leader in this field.

For the first time, BHGE will also provide 10 e-EHXT trees, manufactured at its subsea center of excellence in Aberdeen, Scotland.

"The trees were designed in collaboration with Eni as part of a standardization exercise, applying field-proven products and systems gained from previous projects with Eni on a range of successful deep-water projects in Africa. In addition, BHGE will provide wellheads via a separate contract awarded by Petrobel earlier this year," observed Hassan.

Simonelli pointed out that the award underlined the global scope and breadth of BHGEs fullstream portfolio and local capabilities, with engineering support for the project coming from the UK, Italy and Norway.

"The steel structures will be manufactured in Alexandria, supporting local employment in Egypt, as well as the UK, Norway and Italy," he noted.

"Project management services will also be supported from Egypt and from the UK. Leveraging decades of expertise in-country and growing its local manufacturing ecosystem, BHGE is committed to helping secure Egypts energy future through the development of local talent and efficiency-driven solutions," added Simonelli.-TradeArabia News Service
Lebanese government has extended a deadline for bids in its first licensing round for offshore oil and gas exploration by four weeks to October 12, the state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported on Friday.



Prior to this development, the last date for submitting the bids was September 15, stated the report, citing the country's energy ministry.



The decision was taken based on the recommendation of the Lebanese Petroleum Administration (LPA), it added.



As per the original plan, the pre-qualification exercise got over in March and the prequalified companies were set to submit their bids this month followed by signing of the EPAs in November.



Earlier this year, Wissam Chbat, chairman of LPA board, said Lebanon was on target with its first licensing round and that oil and gas companies still had a big appetite for investing in the country.



"The road map to the first licensing round will start with a second pre-qualification round for both operators and non operators interested in exploration and production contracts," he noted.



Minister of Energy and Water Cesar Abi Khalil had earlier announced that three partially-disputed offshore blocks bordering Israel will be among the five up for bidding in Lebanons first oil and gas licensing round. The assigned blocks are 1, 4, 8, 9 and 10, he added.

The key players in the race include global giants Petrobras, Maersk, Total, Eni, Petronas, Shell, Statoil, Chevron, ExxonMobil and India's ONGC Videsh.



Chbat pointed out that the promotional strategy of the LPA had shown to be quite successful, raising additional interest by the industry to invest in the Lebanese petroleum sector.



"LPA has adopted two main tools - de-risking investments through making (geologic) data available prior to any commitment with the (Lebanese) state; and relying heavily on local, regional and international forums and exhibitions to also promote Lebanon," he noted.



Lebanon is committed to transparency in its oil and gas activities, and that has been a very important factor in creating confidence and in attracting international investors, added Chbat.-TradeArabia News Service
Infill developments are now a growing trend within Dubais heavily populated urban areas, signalling the start of a new phase of maturity in the local real estate market, says an expert.

Infill development, defined as the process of developing vacant or under-used parcels within existing urban areas that are already largely developed, offer opportunities to developers and investors alike. It allows them to capitalise on established sub-markets with existing demand bases, well established transportation and infrastructure networks, as well as surrounding amenities and employment hubs, says Maher Sweid, the managing partner of Dubai-based property developers Sweid & Sweid.

In recent years, Dubais main population hubs have crossed a critical threshold with the urban landscape becoming a highly developed environment where few pockets of vacant land remain. While developers continue to expand and launch projects inland (away from the coast), there has also been a resurgence of activity within more developed areas such as Dubai Marina, Jumeirah Lakes Towers (JLT) and Downtown, says Sweid.

However, as Sweid explains, infill development not only comes with great opportunities, but with an even bigger social responsibility.

There is clearly an opportunity for this kind of development in Dubai, but the onus is on the developer to recognise the opportunities and to work responsibly to create something that not only complements the surrounding context - but that is seamlessly woven into the urban fabric, he says.

In many ways, it is easier to start with a blank slate than to add something to an existing framework. Developers need to consider various aspects of their surrounding neighbourhood such as architecture, pedestrian passageways, traffic circulation, and view corridors  and not only the views from their own development, but others as well. Too often we see projects built with an island mentality where anything outside the boundaries of the plot is not really considered, he added.

DMCCs JLT district is a prime example of a community with great infill opportunities, having an established population base, a burgeoning F&B scene, and superior connectivity to the rest of the city through new road links and two metro and tram stations. This has piqued the interest of several developers, including Sweid & Sweid.

After carefully reviewing the infrastructure and public facilities enhancements planned by DMCC, we quickly recognised the area had large untapped potential and would continue to improve and outperform others in the medium to long term future.

We have also experienced first-hand how DMCC in its capacity as the master-developer is incredibly focused on continuously upgrading and investing in its infrastructure, adds Sweid.

Sweid & Sweid recently completed The Edge, a commercial building in Dubais Internet City, home to Oracles regional headquarters, after handing over another commercial tower, The 47th, in Cairo, Egypt.

The geographical location of DMCCs JLT district, close to Dubai Marina and JBR with access to not only Dubai World Central, but also Business Bay; Downtown Dubai; DIFC; Dubai World Trade Centre and Dubai International Airport is drawing a lot of attention from investors and continues to be a popular location for tenants.

According to figures from Core, JLT was the only central and established apartment district to report growth in Q2 2017 (2 per cent). The report also revealed that buyers get 8 per cent more space for their dirham in JLT compared to Dubai Marina.

JLT is also a hotspot for savvy investors, with gross rental yields currently performing at between 7 per cent and 8 per cent, the report said.  TradeArabia News Service
The longtime president of Caspers NAACP branch, Jimmy Simmons, resigned Tuesday amid what he said was a leadership struggle within the organization.

Simmons gained national attention in 2013 for organizing a meeting with a Ku Klux Klan representative over the objection of senior NAACP officials.

NAACP-KKK meeting in Casper grabs world's attention A private  and likely first  meeting between the National Association for the Advancement 

I started to get unpopular, Simmons said in an interview. He became president in 2001.

Simmons said that factions had developed within the local branch and that some members wished to see him step down or for the branch to be disbanded.

They may think Im too big, he speculated. Theyre thinking its the NAACP for Jim Simmons.

After a recent trip to Senegal, Simmons said he returned to find an election scheduled on the organizations calendar. Because he had typically been appointed by acclamation to two-year terms as president, Simmons was confused by the notice and got unclear answers from other NAACP members, he said.

He took that as his cue to resign.

Simmons generated controversy four years ago with his invitation for a Montana-based KKK recruiter to meet with local NAACP officials in Casper, following a spate of hate crimes against interracial couples in northeast Wyoming. The meeting ended with kleagle John Abarr joining the NAACP and making a small donation.

Simmons said he has no regrets over hosting the meeting and is still in touch with Abarr.

I did the right thing, he said.

Simmons said that the meeting sparked a backlash from officials at the NAACP Colorado Montana Wyoming State Conference. But conference president Rosemary Lytle said thats not true and that she did not try to push Simmons out.

I was surprised by his resignation, she said. Mr. Simmons has served for a long time  going back to before my tenure as state president  and has worked with the NAACP with vigor.

Lytle specifically praised his work surrounding the attacks around Gillette, which sparked a advisory from the organization for couples traveling in the region.

Casper NAACP branch treasurer Leanne Woodfield also complimented Simmons leadership of the group.

Hes defended the civil rights of people of all colors and ethnicities, she said.

Woodfield said that elections are an annual event and the calendar notice was not meant as a jab at Simmons.

Simmons said that he has accepted a job overseeing the drilling of water wells in Senegal, but that he will remain based in Casper.

Ill fly back and forth, he said. This is my home.

Simmons helped build the NAACP branch in Casper in 2001 after a previous president stepped down. He said several of his proudest accomplishments involved advocating for minorities during employment disputes and working to combat racism across central Wyoming.

He said the Casper NAACP currently has just under the 50 members generally required to maintain a branch charter.
One of the highest performing school districts in Wyoming is hoping to spread its model of teacher collaboration  which has drawn praise from educators and the governor  to more areas of the state as the education world here grapples with shrinking budgets.

Its a way to improve Wyoming schools, said Craig Dougherty, the superintendent of Sheridan County School District No. 2. We think the state should adopt a statewide (professional learning community) framework with a statewide director and regional directors.

A professional learning community, in the Sheridan 2 context, is when all of a schools teachers from a grade level meet together to discuss whats working and what isnt, which students are struggling and which are excelling.

To increase the presence of the learning communities in Wyoming, Doughertys district is offering a PLC Principal Academy in the fall. Three districts  including Natrona County  will send two principals to Sheridan to receive training on how to start a learning community in their schools. Officials from Sheridan 2 will also visit those districts to meet with any interested principals and provide further help.

In a statement, Gov. Matt Mead called the learning community approach innovative and praised the success it brought to Sheridan.

Through (Sheridan 2s) PLC Principal Academy, others in Wyoming can now be introduced to this learning model, he said.

Sheridan 2 needs only to point to its recent results to show the success of its methods: Four of its eight schools were given the highest performance rating last week, and all were at least meeting expectations. Sheridan 2s juniors had the highest ACT scores in the state, a 21.5 average thats nearly two points ahead of the statewide average. It also crushed the Wyoming average for percentage of third- through eighth-graders proficient and advanced in math and reading.

Dougherty attributes this success to the districts use of professional learning communities. He outlined the four questions that teachers deal with in those weekly meetings: What do we want our kids to learn; how do we measure that; what do we do with the kids that struggle; and what do we do with the kids who are hitting it out of the park?

Our job is to meet the needs of those kids, he said. Address issues of kids not meeting it. We can only do that by teachers working together versus independently, in isolation.

The district instituted the learning communities about a decade ago, and each school in Sheridan 2 has its own framework and model. Dougherty said before they were instituted, his district was very average.

Some schools, their results were horrible, he said. When we took this on, with integrity, we said were not going to do anything else. PLCs are how were going to do that.

The district placed an absolute emphasis on student achievement, and within a year, proficiency levels in math rose to 90 percent  up from around 20, Dougherty said.

He acknowledged that its challenging work and that teachers in his district have a high degree of accountability; if an instructor isnt producing results or working hard enough, he or she may be booted from the district.

Theres a sense of urgency, he said, that comes with instituting learning communities. Teachers can intervene with students quickly if they show theyre lagging behind.

In a statement, Natrona County School District associate superintendent Walt Wilcox said officials here are interested in rolling out learning communities.

Sheridan 2 is the top district in the state because of its dedication to professional learning communities, he said. PLCS work. The Principal Academy will help our leaders and their teams implement an effective PLC approach in Natrona, which will measurably improve student success across our district.

In a time of budget cuts in Wyoming education  with the potential for more on the horizon  the natural question is if instituting a learning community will cost an already cash-strapped district even more. But Dougherty said it wouldnt, that schools have professional development money and teachers can meet during school hours.

Plus, he said, it can help lift Wyoming schools performance levels. Key legislators  including Sen. President Eli Bebout  have suggested that the state isnt getting enough return on the more than $16,000 it spends per student annually.

The proof is us, Dougherty said. The proof is our teachers. And weve gotta do something. Our states in trouble economically. We see a sense of urgency, like this shouldve been done years ago. But we are where we are, so lets get after it.
GILLETTE  Jayde West had no idea she would burst into tears when she decided to walk over to the donation drive in the Walmart parking lot recently.

The connection starts with Stacy Imus, president of the Gillette Rotary Club.

Sara Martin, Wests sister, cuts Imus hair.

The two got to talking when Martin told Imus that the girls mother, Lori Cesar, lives in Rockport, Texas, a port town on the Arkansas Bay on the Gulf of Mexico.

Rockport was one of the first towns hit by Hurricane Harvey.

When it started, Rockport was warned to brace for a tropical storm. Then it changed to a Category 1 hurricane. Two days later, West said, the whole town of about 8,000 was evacuating immediately.

Cesar was born and raised in Gillette, but moved to Rockport about 10 years ago. West said she kept up with her mother as much as she could during the storm.

West said that it took her mother, her husband and her mother-in-law four hours to travel 60 miles during the evacuation.

I talked to her after she had left and she said she couldnt remember if she packed any of our pictures or anything like that, West said. All she remembers is packing, but not what she packed.

Cesar will have to live in an RV park for at least a month before they can move back into their home.

These are the people Keegan OBrien, owner of FireTech and Rotary Club member wants to help. She decided to host a donation drop-off and drive to Texas to deliver the donations to those affected by Hurricane Harvey in Houston and the surrounding areas. And because of the strange connection that the Rotary Club found, OBrien and his nephew, Trevor, now officially have a destination.

The pair planned to leave Gillette last week and guess theyll spend 30 hours in the truck driving to Rockport. Its usually a 20-hour drive, OBrien said, but with two trailers full of donations like cases of water bottles and cans of food, all that weight will surely slow them down.

Last Thursday, as car after car came formed a line in the Walmart parking lot, Martin and West talked to their mother on Facetime to show what her hometown was doing for her and the thousands of other people who were affected by Harvey.

Thats when they all cried.

Its been amazing, OBrien said. Its bigger already than we thought it would be. It just shows how much the community is willing to open up and help out.

The staff at Buds Auto Repair had a similar idea to OBriens, so they paired up and worked the trailer and tents at the donation location.

Its awesome, Trevor said. Makes me feel good about myself, helping out like this.

OBrien said he saw the same people come two to three times to donate. Some came by, asked what was needed and went into Walmart to buy it just for the donation.

Tucker and Brittany Johnson did just that and made a special trip to the store.

We did it just (because) we felt like it was the right thing to do, Tucker said.
DENVER  Acrid yellow smoke clogs the skies of major Western U.S. cities, a human-caused fire in the Columbia River Gorge rains ash on Portland, Oregon, and a century-old backcountry chalet burns to the ground in Montanas Glacier National Park.

Wildfires are chewing across dried-out Western forests and grassland, putting 2017 on track to be among the worst fire seasons in a decade.

A snowy winter across much of the West raised hopes that 2017 wouldnt be a dried-out, fire-prone year, but a hot, dry summer spoiled that.

Heres what happened, and how bad things are:

How did we get here?

Heavy snows last winter brought relief from a long, brutal drought across much of the West and produced a lush growth of natural grasses  thicker and taller than many vegetation experts had ever seen. But the weather turned very hot very fast in the spring, and the snow melted much faster than expected.

All the grass that grew high dried out, and so did forests at higher elevations, leaving plenty of fuel for wildfires, said Bryan Henry, a manager at the National Interagency Fire Center, which coordinates wildfire-fighting.

Summer lightning storms then dumped less rain than usual and weather conditions kept the humidity low, creating a natural tinderbox in many states.

It was kind of a bad combination of things, Henry said.

How big are the fires?

By Thursday, more than 76 large fires were burning in nine Western states  including 21 in Montana and 18 in Oregon, according to the interagency fire center.

So far this year, wildfires have burned more than 12,500 square miles (32,000 square kilometers) nationwide. In the past decade, only two years were worse at this point in the wildfire season: 2015 and 2012.

For all of 2015, a record 15,800 square miles (41,000 square kilometers) burned. In 2012, 14,600 square miles (38,000 square kilometers) were scorched.

What about climate change?

Its making things worse for fires, said Jonathan Overpeck, dean of the School for Environment and Sustainability at the University of Michigan.

Hotter and drier weather is a symptom of human-caused climate change, and thats making fires worse by leaving forests and other vegetation more flammable.

Its not of course playing the only role, he said. Theres natural variability at work.

Humans are contributing to an ever-increasing degree to wildfires in the West as they emit greenhouse gases and warm the planet and warm the West, Overpeck said.

Tree-eating beetles

Two dozen species of beetles have killed trees on nearly 85,000 square miles in the Western U.S. since 2000. Theyre responsible for about 20 percent of the 6.3 billion standing dead trees across the West, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

Researchers disagree on whether forests with beetle-killed trees are more likely to burn, or if they burn differently, than healthier forests.

Any standing dead tree  whether killed by beetles, drought, lightning or other causes  can crash down, posing hazards for firefighters who must adjust their tactics to avoid them.

Whos fighting the fires?

More than 26,000 people are fighting the fires, backed by more than 200 helicopters, 1,800 trucks and 28 air tankers dropping water and fire-retardant slurry. Three of those tankers are military C-130 planes.

The military has also assigned surveillance aircraft and at least 200 active-duty soldiers to fight fires and the National Guard has been called out in at least four states  California Montana, Oregon and Washington.

Were stretched thin, said Jennifer Jones, a spokeswoman for the interagency fire center.

Sometimes the center gets requests for more crews and equipment than it has, so fire managers on the ground are adjusting their tactics and strategies to accommodate the resources they can get, Jones said.

We dont pack up our tents and go home.

How bad are the losses?

Nine firefighters have died and 35 have been injured this year, according to the national Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center. Two of the deaths came during training.

Fires have destroyed an estimated 500 single-family homes and 32 commercial buildings this year, the interagency fire center said.

Janet Ruiz of the Insurance Information Institute sees a hopeful trend in fewer houses lost to wildfires in recent years. Ruiz credits better-equipped firefighters and homeowners who take steps to minimize the danger such as clearing trees away from buildings and installing screens over dwelling openings to keep embers out.

Its a better-informed public and fire services better able to fight fire, she said.

What about the smoke?

Its unusually bad, said Henry, of the National Interagency Fire Center.

Smoke is lingering from northern California and central Nevada to Montana. The air over parts of northern California, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington is rated very unhealthy on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agencys AirNow website. It was not clear whether sources other than fires were contributing.

The air over the towns of Cottonwood and Porthill, Idaho, were listed as hazardous, the worst of six categories.

Fires spew particulates into the air, which are linked to premature death and cancer and can make asthma and chronic lung disease worse, said Dr. Norman H. Edelman, a senior science adviser to the American Lung Association.

It certainly is bad enough to cause symptoms in people with chronic lung disease but also normal people, he said.

A volcanic eruption is probably the only thing that pumps more particulates into the atmosphere at once than a fire, he said.

How much has it cost?

Federal spending to fight fires appears to be headed for a record.

The two main firefighting agencies, the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Department of Interior, report spending of more than $2.1 billion so far. Thats about the same as they spent in all of 2015, the most expensive wildfire season on record.

Those figures do not include individual state spending, which no single agency compiles. Montana has spent $50 million, exhausting its firefighting reserve fund in just over a month. Oregon has spent $28 million, but the state expects to be reimbursed for part of that by the federal government and others.
ISTANBUL  Coming from the airport into this city of about 15 million people and 5 million cars, as my driver describes it, I pass ancient Roman ruins and blocks of upscale shops; an old hotel where Agatha Christie penned Murder on the Orient Express, smoke shops and modest restaurants, and luxury car dealers. It is a metaphor for the choices Turks are being forced to make under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan: forward to a better future and a recapture of their secular state, or back to a nostalgic past when Islam was the official religion of the Ottoman Empire.

Recent waves of terrorist attacks throughout the country have raised security levels. My car was stopped and given a cursory search before being allowed to proceed to the hotel entrance where I was then required to pass through a metal detector and have my hand luggage scanned before approaching the registration desk.

Here, where the Bosphorus Strait divides Europe from Asia, President Erdogan seems bent on imposing his brand of radical Islam on what has for decades been a nation ruled by secular leaders. It was the late president Mustafa Kemal Ataturk who helped establish the Republic of Turkey, modeled on Western governments and their belief in church-state separation.

Erdogan, it appears, hears more than the Muslim call to prayer. Its as though he hears a call to tear down the wall separating mosque and state and, writes the Christian Science Monitor, restore Turkey to its historical Ottoman influence.

The controversial election last April resulted in just over 51 percent of voters approving constitutional reforms, which eliminates the office of prime minister and allows Erdogan to possibly hold onto power for years to come. There is still disagreement over whether Erdogan and his party cheated in order to win.

In addition to questions about Turkeys future role in NATO, how would a Turkish Islamic state change the fight against radical Islamic terrorism, as President Trump called it until recently when that label seems to have disappeared from his rhetoric?

An American citizen who has lived and worked in Turkey for some time, but wishes to remain anonymous for fear that his comments might bring him harm, tells me that Turks who have the resources to leave the country are getting out. He says there has been an upsurge in property purchases in the U.S., particularly in Florida.

An August 2016 article in The Wall Street Journal reported: luxury-condo developers are seeing about 5 percent of preconstruction inventory sold to buyers from Turkey.

My American friend says there is no convincing political opposition in Turkey at the moment. Clerics no longer define Islam, Erdogan does.

In 2004, Erdogan participated in a panel at The Academy of Achievement in Chicago. Asked about Islamic terrorism, he responded: Turkey is not a country where moderate Islam prevails. This expression is wrong. The word Islam is uninflected, it is only Islam. Others would disagree, so who gets to decide? That is a question debated throughout the Islamic and non-Islamic world. Who SHOULD decide is the larger question. In Turkey, Erdogan has set himself up as the lone decider.

Further contributing to instability in Turkey is a referendum on independence scheduled for September 25 by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). Daniel Pipes, who heads the Middle East Forum, says while he supports Kurdish independence and a single, grand Kurdish state, I see the referendum as a danger to all concerned by further unsettling a highly unstable region, perhaps provoking any of Turkish, Iranian, or Iraqi central government invasions of the KRG, perhaps leading to a confrontation between U.S. and Russian forces.

As if we dont already have enough to worry about.

One of Turkeys main exports in addition to Turkish towels, the Turkish bath and Turkish coffee is the delicious confection known as Rahadlakum, or Turkish Delight.

Unfortunately, with their prospects declining, many Turks today worry that their future may not be anything in which they can take delight.
PHOENIX  Levi Conlow and Nathan Cooper have been boarding all their lives  skateboarding, wakeboarding and snowboarding.

The pair met at a Minnesota mixer before college, but when they reconnected in a dormitory hall at Grand Canyon University, they realized their passion for boarding could make a great business.

They launched Lectric Longboards in 2016, and the company already has sold more than 1,500 of the motorized devices. The startup continues to grow and has generated about $700,000 in sales, according to an email from a GCU spokeswoman.

Conlow, 21, and Nathan Cooper, 20, said the price and speed of their boards sets their product apart in the growing industry.

We focus on whats important to us, which is speed, range and price, said Conlow, the companys CEO and an entrepreneurial studies graduate student.

Prices for electric longboards can range between $150 to $1,600 on Amazon.com. Lectric Longboards is selling its two models on preorder for $299 and $429, according to its website.

Cooper and Conlow said they have kept the cost low by employing student workers to help assemble the boards.

They said their goal isnt necessarily to make huge profits, but they want to make the boards more accessible so more people can join the boarding community. Conlow said he has been boarding since childhood.

I really wanted to own my own skate shop, he said. And then reality started to come through.

Conlow said he realized many skate shops struggle financially, and he would need to pick a more reliable career path.

It was a bummer because I realized I would have to work in a cubicle, Conlow said.

The idea for the business came to Conlow during a class that brought together students from various majors, such as business and engineering, and challenged the students to work together.

The pals transferred their idea to the Lopes Lab, an incubator that helps students start businesses. They eventually joined an entrepreneurial competition at GCU, which they lost.

We were really sour about it, Conlow said. I sent Nathan a text the moment after I found out we got eliminated from the competition, and I said, The best revenge is success. At that moment, it was like, lets launch a real business.

At that point, Conlow and Cooper made boards in their dorm room and sold them on Craigslist. Conlow said they began spending about 85 hours a week in the lab perfecting the product.

They decided to use hub motors, and placed two on the board.

Hub motors are more efficient, more powerful, said Cooper, a marketing major. We saw the technology emerge and basically went out, grabbed it and capitalized on it.

According to the Lectric Longboards website, because the motors are inside the board, they are less noisy and require little maintenance.

There are many electric longboards on the market. Some boards can reach speeds of up to 26 mph and can carry the rider for about 7 to 16 miles without having to recharge the battery.

The companys more expensive board, the Lectric LS, has a maximum speed of 26 mph and can travel up to 18 miles without recharging, according to the companys website.

(The board) is just wicked fast. The performance of this board beats just about all other companies in speed, Conlow said. So to be able to beat them in the true key performance areas, and then in addition be half to one-third of the price, its a huge win for us.

Lectric Longboards next goal is to push the limits on speed.

Were starting to realize that a theres a line between safety and fun, and were starting to get close to it, Conlow said.

We would like to be the fastest in the market, Cooper said. I want to go 61 mph because the land speed record for an electric longboard at this point is 60. I want to beat the record, but obviously not sell it to the public.

In addition to creating a community for riders, the pair believes in conscious capitalism, the idea of using the business to enrich the lives of others.

Conlow and Cooper plan to give back to the skateboarding community this holiday season by using scrap wood from campus construction sites and turning it into skateboards. They will give the boards to foster children at Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.
OCEAN SPRINGS, Mississippi -- "We're amazing," Shea Dobson said.

The Ocean Springs mayor beamed with pride as he addressed fellow officials and residents alike inside the city's community center as they celebrated the City's 125th birthday.

Ocean Springs had never before celebrated the day it became the City of Ocean Springs, choosing instead to focus on the landing of French explorer d'Iberville in 1699.

Yet Ocean Springs did not become Ocean Springs until more than 150 years later, when Dr. William Glover Austin, local historians believe, coined the name Ocean Springs because he believed in the healing powers of natural springs found there.

But it was on Sept. 9, 1892 Ocean Springs was incorporated by the state as the City of Ocean Springs.

New alderman Rob Blackman, upon learning the City was about to turn 125 years old, worked to put together a celebration, calling upon the organizational skills of former alderman Chic Cody to assist.

The celebration kicked off with an enthusiastic, if abbreviated, parade from the Mary C. O'Keefe Cultural Arts Center on Government to the community center on Washington.

Aside from the obvious irony in having the Ole Biloxi Marching Club leading a parade honoring Ocean Springs, the event was deemed a success, with a surprisingly large number of people turning out for the parade despite the short time frame.

Following the parade, officials and residents were treated to a reception at the Ocean Springs Community Center, which included a City birthday cake.

"I think it was a great success," Blackman said, "given the limited time we had to put it together. People are still filing into the community center here. It's just a great time."

Alderman John Gill, who -- contrary to urban myth -- was not a member of the City's original board of aldermen, has nevertheless served on the city board for 32 years and was equally pleased.

"I think this is awesome," Gill said. "We had a good turnout for the parade. It's certainly something to celebrate -- 125 years. We've come a long way in those 125 years."

Gill said he fully supported the idea of growing the celebration and making it an annual event.

"This is Ocean Springs," he said. "All we need for a party is an excuse."

Blackman agreed.

"That's the goal -- making it an annual event. I think we're all in favor of it. John's right -- all Ocean Springs needs is an excuse to throw a party and we're going to take full advantage of that. Next year, we'll begin the planning well ahead of time and work to make it bigger and better."

Dobson read a proclamation honoring Ocean Springs, as did State Rep. Hank Zuber on behalf of the state.

"Rob did a great job getting this off the ground," Zuber said. "It's a fun day. It's a chance for local citizens to embrace the history of their city. To me, that's what it's about. Not just celebration and food and having a good time, but a chance to take time to learn about the history of the city we live in.

"It's a good time to reflect on that history, as well as to look forward, because the future is bright for Ocean Springs."
We've collected a few front pages from newspapers.com to give you a look at some Sept. 9 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.
Thirty days after triple slayer Charles H. Schmid disappeared for several hours at the Arizona State Prison at Florence, the "Pied Piper of Tucson" has escaped.

But unlike the Oct. 12 incident, when Schmid was found hiding in a prison locker, he is believed this time to be outside the walls with another convicted triple murderer, Ray Hudgens.

Warden Bud Gomes said footprints believed to be those of the two men were discovered 3 miles northeast of the prison, as were other prints just outside the 25-foot wall surrounding the prison.

Outside of those clues, however, Gomes said there was no hint as to where the men might be headed. Roving patrols are serarching within 25 miles of the prison and the Department of Public Safety has set up roadblocks as far away as Oracle Junction, he said.

But Gomes added that "It's raining like the devil," which has hampered the search effort.

Lt. John Czech of the Pima County Sheriff's Office said Tucson is the only place Schmid would want to go. "He has friends and family here, and they would probably help him." Department of Public Safety officials said they were in fact headed for Tucson. "It's hard to predict where a nut will go," one partolman said.

Czech, claiming Schmid was last seen at the prison at 6 a.m., said shortly after 7 p.m., "It's too late for roadblocks."

Gomes said, however, that Schmid was probably seen in the prison as late as 10:30 a.m. The two escapees were reported missing about 4 p.m.

An off-duty guard said he saw two men at 2:30 p.m. walking across a field where the tracks were later discovered, but did not report the sighting because he had not been told of the escape.

The Tucson Police Department said that witnesses who testified against Schmid in his 1965 trials would be protected.
Arizona could become one of the first states in the country to impose work requirements and five-year lifetime limits on able-bodied adult enrollees in Medicaid.

Arizonas request to the federal government to tighten its Medicaid eligibility has been delayed by more than five months, but state officials say they are still moving forward. An answer is expected in 2018  and the Trump administration appears favorable to the plan.

Critics worry that kicking people off Medicaid for not having a job will penalize vulnerable Arizonans, and force them to get care in emergency rooms, which in the end is more costly for the health-care system.

Among populations that could be shut out of health care if the restrictions are put in place, critics say, are adults who are caregivers for disabled children or elderly relatives, people with felonies who have trouble finding jobs and people with untreated mental illness.

Its easy to say these people need to work. But you need a place to live if you need a job, said Rick McCallum, who volunteers at a welcome center for homeless people at the Z Mansion in downtown Tucson.

People will die, McCallum said of the work requirements. Diabetics will lose their hands and feet.

But proponents say the countrys Medicaid program is growing by double digits in states like Arizona that expanded Medicaid under the Afforable Care Act. Reforms like work requirements not only incentivize financial independence from government support, they are critical to maintain the Medicaid programs viability, they say.

Instead of a safety net, Medicaid has become a poverty trap for some, where people are not working in order to keep free health care, said Naomi Lopez Bauman, health-care policy director for the Goldwater Institute, a Phoenix-based conservative think tank. That is not good policy for anyone.

And supporters appear to have the Trump administration on their side.

A March 14 letter to the nations governors says the administration wants to approve states Medicare provisions related to training, employment, and independence. The letter also says that expanding Medicaid to nondisabled, working-age adults without dependent children was a clear departure from the core, historical mission of the program. It was co-written by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Tom Price and U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Varma.

The first indication of whether adding work requirements to Medicaid becomes a trend could be when the federal government responds to Kentuckys request, which could be as early as this month, said Joan Alker, executive director of Georgetown Universitys Center for Children and Families.

Secretary Price and Administrator Verma have sent some pretty clear signals that they are open for business for these kinds of approaches, Alker said. We are expecting Kentuckys to be approved in some form.

Medicaid is a federal health-insurance program for low-income people; Arizonas $12 billion program is called the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS). It enrolls one in four Arizonans  1.9 million people, among them nearly 300,000 Pima County residents.

Arizona restored AHCCCS coverage to childless adults in 2014 at the same time it expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. The current upper income limit is $16,642 annually for an individual or $33,948 for a family of four.

Able-bodied

Arizonas proposals to tighten Medicaid eligibility are rooted in a state law  Senate Bill 1092  that passed in 2015.

The law says Arizona must apply to the federal government to impose a five-year lifetime limit as well as a work requirement on able-bodied AHCCCS enrollees over the age of 19 by March 30 of every year.

A draft of Arizonas request released earlier this year said attending school or a job-training program at least 20 hours per week would also satisfy the work requirement.

The term able-bodied is defined as anyone over age 19 who is mentally and physically capable of working. There are exceptions, including anyone over 19 who is still in high school, sole caregivers of children under age 6, anyone who qualifies for the Arizona Long Term Care System (ALTCS) and anyone receiving long-term disability.

Able-bodied also excludes anyone who has been determined to be physically or mentally unfit for employment by a health-care professional in accordance with rules adopted by the administration.

But the draft is thin on other information, including data. Some critics worry that the language does not specifically exempt people with disabilities and mental-health issues.

0ther provisions in the draft proposal:

Enrollees must verify the work requirement and any changes in family income on a monthly basis.

AHCCCS can ban enrollees for a year if they knowingly fail to report a change in family income or make false statements about their compliance with work requirements.

AHCCCS can limit lifetime coverage for all able-bodied adults to five years except for certain circumstances.

The federal government already rejected Arizonas proposal to put SB 1092s measures into place once  in the fall of 2016  on the grounds that work requirements and lifetime limits could undermine access to care. And to date, no states request for Medicaid work requirements has been approved.

But the Trump administration has indicated it will make a decision on such requests faster than the Obama administration, the Goldwater Institutes Lopez Bauman said. In the coming years there will be more of a focus on how to move people from Medicaid to private insurance, she predicted.

The truth is the most vulnerable among us are the most likely to be hurt if Medicaid reforms such as work requirements are not enacted, said state Sen. Nancy Barto, a Republican from Phoenix who sponsored SB 1092.

Right now one in four Arizonans is on our AHCCCS program. That should alarm everyone, Barto said, adding, Furthermore, the exceptions outlined in the law exempt truly vulnerable individuals from the work requirements.

A Kaiser Family Foundation report says a majority of Medicaid enrollees are already working. But the work requirements could nonetheless have a significant and negative impact, said Alker of Georgetown.

It creates an unwelcome climate and it creates a lot of red tape and paperwork barriers, which increases state administrative costs. Some folks will get lost in the shuffle, Alker said.

I think it is a misguided policy to begin with. If you want to encourage people to work, which we all do, they need to be healthy. Taking their health care away from them is backwards, in my view.

Missed deadline

Arizona did not submit its request to the federal government by March 30 of this year, as Senate Bill 1092 had ordered. Thats because the efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act were occurring at the time. Among other things, those efforts would have substantially changed Medicaid.

Though they missed their own deadline, AHCCCS officials still plan to seek federal approval to put the measures contained in SB 1092 into effect. They expect to submit an application this year, which means a federal decision will likely come in 2018.

AHCCCS spokeswoman Heidi Capriotti said her agency is working with Gov. Doug Duceys office on an application. The states submission will take into account 631 pages of public comment AHCCCS officials received, plus verbal comments at public forums , she said.

The public comments have been overwhelmingly negative. Opponents include the United Way, the United Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, disability advocates, the Phoenix-based Childrens Action Alliance and the Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, which says high unemployment rates on reservations mean tribal members will have trouble meeting work requirements.

Some critics say monthly employment and income verification will require unnecessary administrative work. And complying will be difficult for many enrollees due to the chaos that often comes with poverty, opponents say.

Punitive enforcement measures aimed at fostering self-responsibility can instead prevent enrollees from maintaining continuity of health care and coverage, the Childrens Action Alliance wrote in its public comment to AHCCCS.

The Childrens Action Alliance is particularly concerned about work requirements being placed on the approximately 1,000 Arizona young adults who have aged out of foster care and are now on AHCCCS. Under the Affordable Care Act, those young adults are allowed to remain on Medicaid until age 26 with no income limit. They are a vulnerable population with disproportionate rates of chronic medical and mental-health conditions, the group says.

The Z Mansion in Tucson has a first-aid clinic staffed with volunteers that help homeless and near-homeless individuals with minor health needs, but its no substitute for what AHCCCS provides, program leaders say.

Private charities will never be able to meet the need if all these people lose their insurance, said McCallum, the Z Mansion volunteer.

AHCCCS provides relief from the uncertainty of poverty, which we know has more tangled roots than simply a lack of work or education, echoed Joan Serviss, executive director of the Arizona Coalition to End Homelessness, in a written comment to AHCCCS.

Please consider the over 9,000 individuals, families, and veterans living without a safe, affordable place to call home in our state when guiding our Medicaid system toward sustainable policy solutions that will benefit all Arizonans, she wrote.

Disabilities

While long-term disability counts as an exception to the work requirement, not everyone with chronic health issues qualifies for long-term disability through the Social Security Administration, critics note.

Many people are denied  63 percent of initial disability claims were rejected in August, federal data show. Some end up waiting months and even years for an administrative hearing upon appeal. A pro bono legal team goes to the Z Mansion once a month to help people through the application process.

I applied and was turned down, said 45-year-old Jackee Brown, who has been living on the streets for eight years.

Im going to apply again. I get bad headaches, and I have PTSD.

AHCCCS has been a help to Brown, particularly when it comes to getting medication for her asthma and high blood pressure, she said.

Pulling up to the Z Mansion on her bike one recent Tuesday, 50-year-old Mary Knight took a volunteer aside and told him she was worried about terrible stomach pains. She was previously diagnosed with a peptic ulcer.

I dont really believe in going to the hospital unless I am really sick or dead, Knight later said in an interview.

AHCCCS comes in handy now. Ive had a little bit of a hard time lately.

Knight has been living on Tucsons streets for 25 years. Originally from Maine, she left home at 17 after her father died. She moved to Tucson with a friend in 1991 but started drinking a lot, lost her job, got evicted, and ended up homeless.

Knight, who is missing most of her teeth, is on probation for drug possession and says she likes her probation officer, who may help her find a place to live. She blames herself for becoming dependent on alcohol.

You just conform to that way of living (on the street). It does affect you mentally, living like that for so long, Knight said. It would be a major adjustment, a lot for me to grasp, to go to work. But Id work if I could get a job.

Without AHCCCS, Jim Truitt says hed be dead. The former truck driver says AHCCCS paid for his defibrillator, his heart medication and also for the medication he needs to keep his severe psoriasis at bay.

Truitt, who has had several strokes and looks much older than his 57 years, has applied for long-term disability but says hes been turned down three times.

Liberty Carter, 38, says she is living on the street because her job at a call center wasnt paying enough to cover her bills after her husband lost his income.

Carter, who has diabetes, got evicted. Her transient life made it too difficult to work. Shed like to work again, but needs housing and stability, she said. For now, AHCCCS is paying her health bills.

Bridge out of poverty

While most of the public comments submitted to AHCCCS earlier this year were negative, a few were supportive of tightening eligibility, saying too many people are dependent on the program. AHCCCS officials redacted the names of individuals who wrote in with comments.

After working with AHCCCS patients since 2010 at the psychiatric hospital setting, it is clear to me that there is no personal accountability in our AHCCCS system, one commenter wrote. Health insurance is not a human right, but a service provided by government and taxpayers.

Other commenters had mixed reactions, saying the program needs some reform, but that the monthly reporting requirements seem burdensome.

Ducey supports work requirements as a bridge out of poverty, and not as a measure to hurt vulnerable people, spokesman Patrick Ptak said.

He stressed that as Arizona drafts its application, critics concerns expressed during the public comment period will be carefully considered.

Ptak said a cornerstone of Duceys leadership has been removing barriers to employment for a variety of populations, including those with criminal convictions.

For example, under Duceys direction the state recently opened employment centers in three state prisons, including one in Tucson, Ptak said. Ducey also recently signed legislation to reduce occupational licensing fees, he said.

Arizona runs one of the most effective and efficient Medicaid health-care programs in the country, Ptak said. It is widely recognized and we are always looking for ways to improve the program for all beneficiaries. We want to make sure we continue to improve.
Social Security is conservatively financed and managed. It has no borrowing authority and cannot spend itself into a deficit. To ensure that all benefits can be paid in full and on time, Social Securitys Board of Trustees reports to Congress annually, projecting the program's income and expenses over three-quarters of a century. That is a longer valuation period than private pensions or most other countries project for their counterpart programs.
SAN FRANCISCO  The University of California sued the Trump administration Friday over its decision to end a program protecting young immigrants from deportation, saying thousands of its students and some faculty would be affected if they are ordered to leave the country.

University President Janet Napolitano, who was Homeland Security secretary in the Obama administration and helped implement the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, is listed as a plaintiff in the lawsuit filed in federal court in San Francisco.

Napolitano said it's important for the public university system to stand up for members of its community.

"They represent the best of who we are  hard-working, resilient and motivated high achievers," she said. "To arbitrarily and capriciously end the DACA program, which benefits our country as a whole, is not only unlawful, it is contrary to our national values."

The program protects about 800,000 people who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children or came with families who overstayed visas. It currently includes hundreds of thousands of college-age students.

The lawsuit said the university will lose students and employees because of President Donald Trump's decision to end the program in six months if Congress doesn't take action first.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions has said President Barack Obama's decision to implement DACA was an unconstitutional exercise of his authority.

"While the plaintiffs in today's lawsuit may believe that an arbitrary circumvention of Congress is lawful, the Department of Justice looks forward to defending this Administration's position," DOJ spokesman Devin O'Malley said in a statement.

Fifteen states have sued separately over the president's decision, although California is not among them.

The UC system has about 4,000 students who are in the United States illegally, "a substantial number of whom have DACA, as well as teachers, researchers and health care providers who are DACA recipients," the university system said in a statement announcing the lawsuit.

Napolitano said the university system could pursue damages for interference with the relationship it has developed with its students and staff and for deprivation or interference with the investment it has made in students to give them an education.

In a conference call with reporters, she said there was no conflict between her previous role as Homeland Security secretary and her decision to file the lawsuit.

"It went through a careful legal analysis. No court has ever held that DACA was illegal and I believe it to be a legal exercise of prosecutorial discretion," Napolitano said. "There's no conflict and no thought of recusal."
I don't see how looking at Tucson businesses "honors" Labor Day, a day saluting the labor movement, workers, and their contributions to American society and the economy. It was an interesting article, but a poor choice for a story about Labor Day! Perhaps the Star next year could look at honoring workers who have made an impact on Tucson, or Tucson's labor organizations.
The Obama administration was often lawless. When Congress wouldnt act on some Democrat desire President Obama simply issued an executive order, despite the lawlessness of the order. DACA was one such example.

President Trump was exactly correct in rescinding the DACA order and putting the monkey back on Congress back. It is Congress job to enact laws regulating immigration.

The criticism by Sens. Flake and McCain of President Trumps rescission of DACA is emblematic of Congress refusal to perform their duties. Both of the senators should be ashamed of their criticism of President Trump. They should shut up and do what they were elected to do.

Rick Cunnington

Oro Valley
The writer points out that Trump had pardon power, so that should be the end of discussion. I say, boloney! Just because the president can pardon federal crimes, as in the case of Joe Arpaios pardon, we must speak out until the presidents ears ring with the sounds of our indignation. If we sound off enough, maybe he will find his moral compass and act in the true spirit of the Constitution and let the law take its course in the future.
Another batch of state standardized AzMERIT test scores have been released by the Arizona Department of Education, and the results are depressingly predictable  Catalina Foothills students did the best, and Tucson Unified and Sunnyside students had the lowest scores in reading and math.

The low scores across the board, including the county and state, are discouraging. Only 40 percent of public school students passed the math test, and 39 percent passed the English language arts test. In Catalina Foothills, more than two-thirds of students passed either test, or both. Sunnyside had the lowest scores, with 23 percent passing English language arts and 27 percent passing math.

Such flagging scores are troublesome and unacceptable. But theyre also not the full story.

A community can respond in several ways  which sounds familiar to you?

Pay no attention, its not news, its the same old, same old. Rich schools will always be better than poor schools, thats just how it is. Thats the status quo.

Sigh, shake your head, proclaim that the teachers and principals must be terrible, that the parents dont care and the students are slackers who dont try because theyve tuned out. This is the blame approach. Throw up your hands and say, by gum, learning meant something in my day, and teachers and districts better stop complaining about not having enough money and do their jobs well enough to show they deserve it.

The those poor kids approach leaps to the assumption that students from low-income households just cant get it together enough to do well in school. Their parents must be a mess, or addicted to something or not care enough to get a good job to better support their kids. The teachers are selfless heroes who care more about helping children than earning a living. Tests dont matter.

None of those responses is fruitful. Each treats schools and education as if they were fixed entities existing in isolation, best judged by a standardized test score. Unless youre judging a pie contest, a single snapshot is never enough to determine success, or failure.

Education is a complicated endeavor, and does not exist in a vacuum. Students are in school for around six hours a day, and their lives outside the campus gates directly affect what happens in their classroom.

Success doesnt look the same at every school  this doesnt mean lower standards or easier expectations, but it does require the community to evaluate schools more thoroughly than through standardized test scores.

We take heart from the example of Louisiana Sen. John Neely Kennedy. Hes been a substitute teacher in an elementary school outside Baton Rouge for 14 years. He was state treasurer when he had a light-bulb moment during a state legislative hearing.

It occurred to me that none of us had really been in a public school for 20 or 30 years, he told ABC News. So I called up the East Baton Rouge Parish school system, and I said, Do you need substitute teachers? They said, Yeah, badly.

The experience has helped him understand the complicated job teachers do, and we agree with his prescription: Youve got to experience this to appreciate it. Every single person that makes policy for elementary and secondary education, needs to substitute once a year.

We broaden that challenge.
A criminal investigation launched Friday into a former deputy governor of the State Bank of Vietnam will leave no impact on the countrys monetary policy, the central bank said later the same day.

The State Bank of Vietnam said the investigation on charges of neglect of duty into Dang Thanh Binh, who served as the institutions deputy governor for nearly ten years, will not affect the central banks operations and the management of the countrys monetary policy.

Vietnamese police announced in a statement Friday afternoon that the ex-deputy governor has been placed under investigation for his role in multimillion-dollar financial damages to the state budget from wrongdoings at the erstwhile Vietnam Construction Joint Stock Commercial Bank (VNCB).

The 63-year-old was not taken into custody, but is restricted from leaving his place of residence.

In a statement later the same day, the State bank of Vietnam said it will closely cooperate with investigative police if requested, and will give no further comment until an official conclusion for the case is released.

Binh was appointed deputy governor of the State Bank of Vietnam in May 2005, following a career in state banking management that spanned decades. He held the position for nearly ten years, before entering retirement in 2014.

As a deputy central bank governor, Binh was in charge of overseeing and inspecting local banks.

The central banks inspectorate has been found to work impassively and have many conduct violations between 2010 to June 2015, according to the Government Inspectorate of Vietnam.

The State Bank of Vietnams inspectorate had been tasked with strictly overseeing the operations of VNCB, but failed to prevent it from causing massive state budget loss of more than $401.79 million.

The former VNCB chairman, Pham Cong Danh, was last year sentenced to 30 years behind bars on charges of violating lending regulations of credit institutions and deliberate act against state regulations on economic management, causing serious consequences.

The ruling to Danh followed a month-long trial involving nearly three dozen other defendants who received between three and 22 years imprisonment each.

The defendants wrongdoings were found to have incurred more than VND9 trillion ($401 million) in losses on VNCB between 2012 and 2014, according to court documents.

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While more and more mural villages have appeared in Vietnam, a local movie director has expressed concern over the trend, warning that there is only a thin line between an artwork and a disaster.

Some of the new mural villages in Vietnam lack educational and cultural value, documentary film director Doan Hong Le said in a piece sent to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.

Besides the well-known Tam Thanh village in the central province of Quang Nam, the Thanh Thuy village in the nearby Quang Ngai Province has also been redecorated into a mural village as a part of a VND1.5 billion (US$66,079) program to turn the neighborhood into a tourist destination.

Thanh Thuy village was decorated with colorful fresco paintings drawn directly on the walls by a group of artists from Ho Chi Minh City, hoping to lure more tourists to the Ganh Yen area, where the village lies.

A few of the 3D paintings were drawn to raise awareness of ocean environment protection, and some others depict the sea floor and beautiful scenarios of Ganh Yen.

However, many other murals are just random simple paintings oddly similar to those in childrens books, Le commented.

The filmmaker also criticized that the artworks at Thanh Thuy had been done in a hasty manner.

Sau, a villager, said villagers were only informed one day before the artists from Ho Chi Minh City came to begin their project.

The painters did not have any time to get to know the area and its culture and people, so the paintings did not reflect the true colors of the village, the filmmaker said.

While most of the villagers are fishermen and farmers, not a single painting of men fishing or women growing shallots can be seen in the village, Le continued.

Instead, the village received pictures of elephants, zebras, tigers, bears, dragons, rivers with cherry blossoms and a French-styled gate, none of which seem appropriate in the simple and natural scenarios of Thanh Thuy fishing village, she elaborated.

Cultural value is more important

Some villagers are more than happy with the mural renovation.

Duyen, who runs a small cafe in Thu Thuy, said a number of young people have come to the village and take selfie with the paintings since it became a mural village.

During weekends, her coffee shop would be packed with customers, Duyen happily said.

Many other people stopped going fishing and started making living by opening coffee shops and parking lots.

Even though these people seem delighted to make a living with a stable income thanks to the citys renovation, director Le still strongly disagrees.

Le believes that people like Duyen are only collecting coins. On the other hand, there are many other options that will help the villagers increase their income significantly while preserving the traditions.

Le also believes in the importance of tourists falling in love with the locals rather than just paint randomly to turn a mural village into a disaster.

Consequently, it is important for artists to understand and feel the cultural values so that they can put it in their artwork and make any observer fall in love with the city, she said.

Like any other tourism attraction, mural paintings attract tourists with its cultural significance.

Le took the ancient town of Malacca in Malaysia as a perfect example for this.

In Malacca, wall paintings on local houses were all designed with the concept Connect past and present by a group of Malaysian artists. These paintings are mostly about Malaysian traditional customs such as forging, carpentry, and traditional games and thus provide tourists with the insight to the Malaysian culture, Le said.

This culture is also promoted on souvenirs such as T-shirts, childrens toys and wooden statuaries.

In 2016, Tam Thanh village in Quang Nam was turned into a mural village thanks to lively colorful pictures depicting villagers ordinary lives drawn by South Korean artists. The village soon attracted many tourists. Since then, many villages started decorating streets with fresco paintings on the walls. Besides Tam Thanh, there is also Tam Hai mural village in Quang Nam. In Quang Ngai, there are also two mural villages: Ly Son and Thanh Thuy.

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The art of making bamboo curtains was once the pride of a rural commune in Ho Chi Minh City, but local craftsmen are struggling to find worthy successors.

Residing in the small commune of Tan Thong Hoi in Cu Chi District, about 30 kilometers from the center of Ho Chi Minh City, are families that have for decades dedicated to the craft of making bamboo curtains.

The arduous process begins with chopping the stem of the phyllostachys plant, a genus of Asian bamboo that is typically smaller in diameter, into six centimeter long sections.

The cigarette-like bamboo pieces are then left to dry in the sun, before being strung together into a curtain.

This stage alone has created jobs for hundreds of house-bound locals in the suburban commune, who are either unqualified or too old to find other jobs.

Located about 25 kilometers from the center of Ho Chi Minh City is a commune famous for its colorful bamboo curtains. Photo: Tuoi Tre

The stem of an Asian bamboo genus is chopped into six centimeters long sections and left to dry in the sun. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Dried bamboo pieces are strung together into a curtain. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Plain bamboo curtains are strenuously hand-painted by skilled artisans to breath a new life into the monochromic furniture.

Each artisan can finish painting around three curtains per day, at the wage of VND100,000 (US$4.4) apiece.

Forty-seven-year-old Nguyen Van Bens is among a few families in Tan Thong Hoi that still hold onto the decades-old business.

There are currently 30 workers employed by Bens workshop.

Nguyen Van Ben, owner of a bamboo curtain workshop in Tan Thong Hoi Commune, Cu Chi District, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Tuoi Tre

An artisan carefully hand-paints tiny pieces on a bamboo curtain at the workshop of Nguyen Van Ben. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Ben spoke of how he had seen the craft at its prime between 1980 and 2000, when as many as four million square meters of bamboo curtains were produced yearly by workshops across Cu Chi, most of which were exported to the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.

According to Ben, the handcrafted products are still today widely favored by customers in Europe, the U.S. and Japan, which has helped keep the tradition alive by providing enthusiasts like himself with a stable income.

However, unfavorable working conditions and the dirty nature of the job have discouraged youths from inheriting the family business, he said.

An artisan carefully hand-paints tiny pieces on a bamboo curtain at the workshop of Nguyen Van Ben. Photo: Tuoi Tre

An artisan marvels at his works at the workshop of Nguyen Van Ben. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Workers hand-paint bamboo curtains at the workshop of Nguyen Van Ben. Photo: Tuoi Tre

An artisan carefully hand-paints tiny pieces on a bamboo curtain at the workshop of Nguyen Van Ben. Photo: Tuoi Tre

The job of hand-painting bamboo curtain can be dirty and strenuous. Photo: Tuoi Tre

An artisan carefully hand-paints tiny pieces on a bamboo curtain at the workshop of Nguyen Van Ben. Photo: Tuoi Tre

A worker drinks water as he takes a short break from work at the workshop of Nguyen Van Ben. Photo: Tuoi Tre

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The Amata intersection in the southern Vietnamese province of Dong Nai is not only a traffic bottleneck but also a frequent place for patrol of local traffic police officers.

Amata is an intersection of National Highway 1A and Dong Khoi Street in the provincial capital of Bien Hoa, known for frequent traffic jams and accidents. There is a flyover to cross the intersection.

During the last three weeks of June, Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper noticed that traffic officers were present at the location almost every day.

Motorcyclists were often pulled over for forgetting to use their turn signals, while car drivers were fined for not complying with traffic light signals.

Many motorists claimed that they had been trapped as whenever the traffic cops were on duty, the traffic light usually switched from green to red suddenly, without changing to yellow.

Fining procedure

The traffic police officers on duty at Amata will follow an organized procedure when they want to pull a driver over.

As observed by Tuoi Tre, when catching a vehicle violating the rule, one officer would walk straight to the middle of the intersection and signal the driver to stop underneath the flyover.

The officer would then greet the driver, explaining his offense and asking to see his driving license and relevant documents.

At this point, the policeman would not book the case. Instead, he would keep one of the drivers papers, and ask the traffic offender to walk a few dozen meters across the street towards the security guard booth of the Amata Industrial Park, where two other traffic police officers were waiting inside.

The glass windows of the booth were covered with cardboards.

Traffic violators sometimes had to queue up in front of the cabin to wait for their turn to see the officers.

Once getting inside, some people would spend one or two minutes there, while other would walk out after less than 30 seconds.

Traffic offenders walk into the security guard cabin of the Amata Industrial Park to meet traffic officers.

Finally, the offender would return to the policeman under the flyover, where he would get back his paper and go.

As observed by Tuoi Tre, one driver once offered to pay the traffic officer right under the flyover after being pulled over. However, the officer refused and directed him to the security guard booth.

According to the law, fining traffic offenders without making a report is against protocol.

Similar activities have been observed from traffic cops near Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City in June, which was recently reported by Tuoi Tre.

The revelation has sparked concern among Tuoi Tre readers, many of whom have reported similar situation at multiple locations in the southern hub.

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Police had been ordered to verify the case, Deputy Minister of Public Security Nguyen Van Son, asserted to Tuoi Tre in an interview on Friday.

If violations are detected, those individuals responsible will be sternly punished, he pressed.

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Check out the news you should not miss today, September 9

Politics

-- Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc received Ivica Dacic, Serbian First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, in Hanoi on Friday, affirming his country's consistency in the employment of multilateral and multifaceted diplomacy to enhance traditional partnerships with the Balkan state.

-- Vietnam's Deputy Minister of Defence Nguyen Chi Vinh and his South Korean counterpart Suh Choo-suk co-chaired the sixth Vietnam-South Korea defence policy dialogue at deputy ministerial level in Seoul on Friday.

-- Vietnam and Russia look to effectively implement the Vietnam-Eurasian Economic Union Free Trade Agreement to meet the bilateral trade goal of US$10 billion in 2020, according to agreement reached at the 20th meeting of the Vietnam-Russia Intergovernmental Committee for Economic-Commercial and Scientific-Technological Cooperation in Ho Chi Minh City on Friday.

Society

-- Workers at the S&H Vina, which stipulates that employees request leave over family funerals at least three days in advance, contributed to go on strike for the third day on Friday as their demands were not met by the company.

-- Some 130 trees on Kim Ma Street in Hanoi will be relocated or chopped down on September 12 to make space for the Hanoi-Nhon urban railway construction.

-- A new cold spell is forecast to hit northern Vietnam on Sunday, bringing heavy rains to the region.

-- Police in the southern city of Vung Tau said on Friday they have enough ground to prosecute a 77-year-old suspect for raping four different minor girls between 2012 and 2014.

Business

-- The legal proceedings launched against a former deputy governor of the State Bank of Vietnam on Friday will not affect the country's monetary policy, the central bank said later the same day.

-- Vietnam's rice production is expected to reach 44.1 million metric tons 2017, the Vietnam News Agency quoted the Department of Cultivation under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, as saying on Friday.

--Danish brewer Carlsberg wants to increase its stake in Habeco, one of Vietnams biggest brewers, from the current 17 percent to at least 51 percent, the Vietnamese firm's deputy general manager told reporters on Friday.

-- Vietnam's current benchmark VN Index rose 0.56 percent to close at 801.2 points on Friday, passing the 800 point mark for the first time since February 2008.

Lifestyle

-- Four films from Belgiums Mons International Love Film Festival (FIFA Mons) are being screened free of charge in Hanoi from September 8 to 11 under a joint program organized by the Wallonie-Bruxelles delegation in Vietnam and the National Documentary and Scientific Film Studio.

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Police in Ba Ria- Vung Tau have recommended that a 77-year-old suspect be prosecuted for molesting four preteen girls at a local apartment complex in the southern coastal province.

Police in the provincial capital of Vung Tau said on Friday they had concluded the investigation into Nguyen Khac Thuy, who was suspected of sexually abusing different children at the Lakeside Apartment Complex from 2012 to 2014.

During the probing, Thuy denied all accusation against him, creating difficulty for officers.

However, police said on Friday there is now sufficient evidence to prosecute him, adding that the case file has been transferred to the citys procurary.

An official from the Vung Tau procurary said they are completing the last steps to transfer the case to the local court.

Molesting different children

The investigation into Nguyen Khac Thuy was initiated in July 2016, when Tran Thi Thu Thuy, 37, a Lakeside Apartment resident filed an official complaint, denouncing that the elderly man had sexually abused her eight-year-old daughter, T.T.N.

The mother did not have any evidence as she was only aware of the incident through her daughters recollection, which officers said was not stable.

However, she did provide additional information about the suspects molestation on other girls at the apartment complex. Police looked into these allegations and eventually concluded that Thuy had sexually abused four other girls.

Tran Thi Thu Thuy helped police to discover multiple child molestation of Nguyen Khac Thuy, but police still could not conclude if her own daughter is also a victim of the elder man.

Police have also provide the case files of the four victims of Nguyen Khac Thuy.

According to the documents, in 2012, N.A.T., who was ten at the time, was playing in the premise of the apartment building when Nguyen Khac Thuy called her over.

The man talked to the young girl while touching her body and private parts. The victim then told the story to her grandmother.

In April 2014, N.N.A.D., born in 2004, was playing at the slides with her older brother and father.

When D. was about 30 meters away from her dad, Thuy told her to come over before groping the young girl.

Her brother spotted the incident and told the father, who then slapped Thuy and asked for help from security guards.

In May 2014, Thuy approached N.K.N.N., who was 11 at the time, and hugged the girl why she was talking to her friend in front of an apartment.

In June of the same year, Vijay Akumar, an Indian man who live at the facility, witnessed Thuy placing his hand inside the underpants of D.T.N., born in 2009.

As soon as Akumar approached, Thuy stopped his action. However, Akumar managed to take a photo of Thuy with N. standing nearby.

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New UK thriller Fearless begins next Sunday on ABC.

The 6 part drama stars Helen McCrory (Peaky Blinders, Penny Dreadful) as human rights lawyer Emma Banville, who sets out to prove the innocence of Kevin Russell, convicted for the murder of schoolgirl Linda Simms.

The series is created by Patrick Harbinson (Homeland, 24) and aired in the UK in June.

Firmly believing there has been a miscarriage of justice, Emma is determined to reveal the truth behind Lindas death and is prepared to go to extreme lengths to discover what happened and free Kevin. However, as Emma digs deeper into the case, risking her career, personal life and reputation, she begins to sense powerful forces at play within the police and intelligence services who want to stop her uncovering the truth.

9:30pm Sunday September 17 on ABC.
In the last 18 months weve seen 2 sprawling period dramas attempted by US cable, both set in New York in the 1970s.

While HBOs Vinyl tackled the music industry, Netflix series The Get Down sunk its teeth into the rise of hip hop. Now HBO turns to the porn industry in The Deuce in 1971.

But rather than chart Playboy and Penthouse origins, or even the industry of the San Fernando Valley, The Deuce depicts the legalisation of porn and the push to remove prostitution from the streets.

If youre just tuning in for a flesh-fest you should probably look away now. Its there fleetingly, but it isnt always pretty (overweight clients, girls that are trying to maintain some level of desire). Instead The Deuce is a character and social drama from David Simon &

George Pelecanos (The Wire, Treme) and is something of a slow burn.

Theres a plethora of characters, many seemingly disparate, in the 90 minute opening episode.

The central figure is Brooklyn bar tender Vinnie (James Franco) working 7 nights a week for his young family despite the fact his indifferent wife Andrea (Zoe Kazan) is having affairs. But then, Vinnie is no poster boy for fidelity, either. He also has a twin brother Frankie (Franco in dual roles) whose gambling debts see him in deep with the mob, and pressure is put on Vinnie to get square.

Amongst the ensemble are several prostitute and pimp roles including Candy (Maggie Gyllenhaal) is a streetwise prostitute whose son lives with his grandmother while Candy turns tricks. No kissing thanks. The flamboyant pimp C.C. (Gary Carr) tries to recruit Lori (Emily Meade) from Minnesota into prostitution, but not everything is as it seems. Then there is Darlene (Dominique Fishback), whose elderly client just wants to watch movies with her instead of having sex.

Meanwhile NYU student Abby (Margarita Levieva) is busted for trying to buy speed in Hells Kitchen but cant talk her way out of an arrest by officer Flanagan (Don Harvey).

How the jigsaw pieces fit together is rarely apparent, but there is a lot being set up here under director Michelle MacLaren and it uses power, exploitation, politics and survival as part of its symphony. Simon and Pelecanos bring authenticity to the dialogue straight off the street.

Visually the attention to detail is outstanding. The gaudy fashions and meticulous hairstyles are surrounded with authentic locations and trappings of the era: shoeshiners, jackhammers, traffic, transistors, smoky pool rooms, peephouses, adult cinemas, Times Square.. theres even the distant twin towers. If The Get Down had splashes of theatrics, The Deuce has gritty realism.

James Franco (possibly upstaged by Ewan McGregors double take in Fargo), Maggie Gyllenhaal and Margarita Levieva are the early stand-outs here, in a cast that captures the Brooklyn vernacular. Gyllenhaals best moment is with a nervous young client hoping for more than her services provide. Levieva poses the premieres best moral question, Ever wonder what its like to be objectified? 1970s, this is 2017 calling.

Yet the parts are sometimes more satisfying than the whole which doesnt always hang together as yet, perhaps a consequence of setting up a big ensemble, and having to play in a world full of rough diamonds where our sympathies hover, looking for a home.

In between Game of Thrones and Westworld drinks, The Deuce may have to work hard for broad cable TV appeal, but it is surely in good hands.



The Deuce premieres 11am Monday on Showcase.
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Afroz Alam Sahil, TwoCircles.net

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New Delhi : As the central government is working on the new Haj Policy (2018-22), the Minister for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi has already proclaimed that new Haj Policy will be transparent and will be friendly to Haj devotees.

Not to say that previous Haj Policy (2013-17) earned flak from various quarters. For its review and suggesting reforms new policy, a committee comprising retired IAS Afzal Amanullah who also served as secretary and Counsel General for Indian Consulate in Jeddah, Former Judge of Mumbai High Court Justice (retired) S S Parker, former Chairman of Haj Committee of India and retired IRS officer Qaiser Shameem, eminent CA and Muslim intellectual Kamal Faruqui, former CMD of Air India Michael Mascarenhas and joint secretary in ministry of minority affairs and Haj Incharge J Alam has been constituted. The deadline for the committee to submit its report was 31 August but till date nothing has been brought under public domain.

With the Haj there are several myths which are often targeted towards Muslim community. Haj pilgrimage which is one of the five tenants of Islam has in fact become a hub of corruption to facilitate the officials and rich.

Here is a quick look at the some of the myths and corrupt means associated with Haj pilgrimage.

Haj Subsidy :

Time and again Muslim community bears the brunt of enjoying heavy subsidy for Haj pilgrimage. Often it is regarded as appeasement policy of the government towards Muslims but it is the government officials and even ministers who are reaping the benefits of Haj subsidy.

Not mincing any words, in past one decade thousands of crores have been siphoned away in the pretext of Haj Subsidy.

The pertinent question is What is Haj Subsidy?

Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi in reply to a question in Lok Sabha has categorically stated that Haj Subsidy is the amount paid to Airlines which ferry pilgrims. It is given to meet the difference between the actual fare of the airline and the amount paid by the devotee. This amount is directly paid to airlines and devotees have no role.

In figures, an amount of Rs 405 crore was paid as Haj Subsidy in 2016, Rs 529.51 crore in 2015, Rs 577.07 crore in 2014, Rs 680.03 crore in 2013 and Rs 836.55 crore in 2012.

With huge amount involved, Haj Subsidy becomes a good hunting ground for corruption.

In 2011, a Special Leave Petition was filed in Supreme Court by Ministry of External Affairs against the decision of Mumbai High Court regarding private tour operators. SC took it as a Public Interest Litigation.

In this case, Secretary, Foreign Ministry Vivek Zef filed an affidavit. Needless to say there are several discrepancies in the affidavit. As per the affidavit, in 2011, government claimed that it doled out Rs 685 crore as Haj Subsidy but as per information obtained through RTI the amount in same year is 605 crore which means there is a difference of 80 crores.

As per records, in 2011, a total of 124921 pilgrims went for Haj through Haj committee of India. Central government claimed of giving a subsidy of R 38800 per pilgrim to the airlines. On this calculation the amount comes to only Rs 484 crore. So where did the balance Rs 284 crore went, it still remains unanswered.

Between five years (2007-11) the amount comes to Rs 790 crore. The actual figures can be seen here Haj Subsidy Scam: Where were 790 Crore Spent?

Now the question arises what is the need of Haj Subsidy. Muslims across the country have raised voice for scrapping it.

If we analyse it a bit closer in 2016 Haj pilgrims had paid Rs 45000 as air fare. In 2017, the amount is maximum Rs. 70085 and minimum Rs. 58254. On an average the ticket from a government airline comes to Rs 65-70 thousand only.

Not only this if any Mehram (unmarriageable kin) accompanies a pilgrim (above 70 years of age) then the air fare also increases. Suppose if this Mehram is accompanying from Assam, then air fare will be Rs 111723 while if he is from Bihar, it will be 106868. Similar air fare can be seen in the table below :

If private tour operators are to be believed the ticket ranges between Rs 25-30 thousand only. Even if we check it online, the ticket is available between 30-35 thousand only.

Then you can very well imagine, who is benefitting from Haj Subsidy. It is also a means to survive the white elephant India Airlines.
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By Auqib Javeed for TwoCircles.net

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Pulwama: Family members of a freelance photojournalist from South Kashmir, Kamran Yousuf, who was arrested by National Investigating Agency (NIA) on Tuesday on charges of stone pelting have contested the NIA claims that he was a stone pelter and was mobilising others to pelt stones on government forces.

Kamran a resident of Tahab village of South Kashmirs Pulwama district has been accused of inciting youth to pelt stones by NIA.

Rubeena, mother of the Kamran while talking to TwoCircles.net denied that his son was a stone pelter, saying that he was carrying his professional duties and that he has no links with stone pelting.

She said her son used to cover every incident that took place in south Kashmir for a Srinagar-based English newspaper and was very focused on his work.

I dont know why my son was arrested. I have not seen him since Eid. We were living for each other, he was supporting me in running the house, said Rubeena who works as a clerk in a private school in Pulwama.

Rubeena said her son is being implicated in a fabricated case as he was reporting from truth ground zero.

While slamming the organisation and media fraternity of the valley for not taking a stand on his arrest, Rubeena said her son was putting his life at risk while covering encounters and other incidents in the South Kashmir.

No one from any media fraternity except few local Journalists approached me. At least the organisation with whom Kamran was working for past three years should have called me and shown their concern and sympathy, she told TwoCircles.net.

Kamran is living with his mother at his maternal home as his father divorced his mother 18 years ago.

He was the only hope for his mother, said his maternal uncle Irshad Ahmad.

Kamran was not involved in any kind of case, we fail to understand why he was arrested and that too by a central agency. Why didnt Pulwama police summon him if he was a stone pelter before his detention? asked Irshad.

He along with another youth Javid Ahmad of Pulwama district was arrested by NIA on the charges of stone pelting on Tuesday. The duo was taken to New Delhi for interrogation.

Kamran is also accused of uploading Provocative video on his Facebook profile while Javaid, a labourer by profession, is accused of instigating violence via WhatsApp.

In August 2017, Yusuf was named among nine emerging photographers in Jammu and Kashmir by With Kashmir, a digital media company.

The NIA has also summoned senior lawyer and Kashmir Bar Association chief Mian Abdul Qayoom for questioning at its New Delhi headquarters.

The central agency is probing the militancy and separatist funding in Jammu and Kashmir.

An official from the senior official from the Jammu and Kashmir Police said that the Kamrans case is under investigation by NIA and they cant comment on it.

Meanwhile, the heads of three separatist groups in the Valley had announced on Wednesday about their plans to fly to Delhi on September 9, to volunteer arrest before the NIA but were put under house arrest by the state police. This decision according to them was taken to end harassment by the NIA in Kashmir.
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Patna, (IANS): Four labourers died on Saturday after they were exposed to poisonous gas inside a septic tank in Bihars Siwan district, police said.

Four labourers died in the newly-built septic tank in an under construction building in Nai Basti under Mahadeva Police outpost in Siwan, a police official said.

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Police said that the labourers died due to suffocation after they climbed into the septic tank to remove construction material.

According to police officials, the labourers were later pulled out of the septic tank and taken to a local hospital where they were declared dead.

Siwan District Magistrate Mahender Kumar said prime facie, it is suspected that they died of suffocation inside the septic tank.

The district administration will provide a compensation to victims family under disaster management, he added.

A case has been registered in connection with the incident.
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By Shamsul Islam for TwoCircles.net

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The Information and Technology minister in Modis Cabinet, Ravi Shankar Prasad, a seasoned RSS cadre slammed online trolls for expressing happiness over the killing of senior journalist Gouri Lankesh. Prasad in a Twitter expressed his anger against those cheering Gouris killing. His Twitter read: I strongly condemn and deplore the messages on social media expressing happiness on the dastardly murder of Gouri Lankesh.

Very kind of this minister! But Ravi Shankar Prasad must tell us whom he is advising. Those criminals who are celebrating vadh of Gouri Lankesh on social media or otherwise are hardened Hindutva practitioners who believe in converting democratic-secular India into a Hindu Pakistan. In fact, it has been an old practice of Hindutva practitioners to celebrate the killing of opponents as vadh. They did it after the killings of Narender Dhabolkar, Govind Pansare and Professor MM Kalburgi.

In fact, they did the same after the killing of Gandhiji by Hindu nationalists. This debased practice was brought to notice by the first Home Minister of India, Sardar Patel. Sardar Patel in a letter dated 11 September 1948 to the then boss of RSS, Golwalkar wrote: The RSS men expressed joy and distributed sweets after Gandhijis death.

If someone believes that these celebrations took place without the without the knowledge of RSS/BJP top leadership, you are grossly mistaken. A prominent Hindutva organization, Hindu Janajagruti Samiti (HJS), allied to RSS has been regularly holding national conventions for Establishment of Hindu Nation in India. In 2013 one such convention was held in Goa. It is to be noted that members of one avtar of HJS, Sanatan Sanstha have been found indulging in bomb blasts at Muslim institutions and are under investigation for the murder of renowned secular intellectuals like Govind Pansare and Narendra Dhabolkar. This convention started its proceedings with a felicitation message from the then CM of Gujarat, Narendra Bhai Modi wishing HJS all success in its project of turning India into a Hindu Nation.

Shockingly, from the same dais in this convention from where Modis felicitation message was read, one of the prominent speakers, K.V. Sitaramiah, declared that Gandhi was terrible, wicked and most sinful. Rejoicing the killing of M.K. Gandhi, he went on to declare, As Bhagwan Shri Krishna said in the Gita, Paritranaya Sadhunam Vinashaya Cha Dushkritam/ Dharamasansthapnaya Sambhavami Yuge-Yuge (For the protection of the good, for the destruction of the wicked and for the establishment of righteousness, I am born in every age) On30th January 1948 evening, Shriram came in the form of Nathuram Godse and ended the life of Gandhi.

K.V. Sitaramiah has also authored a book titled Gandhi was Dharma Drohi and Desa Drohi in which the text at the back cover, quoting from the epic Mahabharata, demands Dharma Drohis must be killed and Not killing the deserved to be killed is great sin. He goes to, the extent of warning members of Indian Parliament that where the members of Parliament seeing clearly allow to kill Dharma and truth as untruth, those members will be called dead.

Prasad must talk to his alma mater RSS and other Hindutva organizations to discard this inhuman and barbaric practice.

For some of Shamsul Islams writings in English, Hindi, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali, Punjabi, Urdu & Gujarati, please click here:
Bernie Sanders has called on his former Democratic primary opponent, Hillary Clinton, to move past the 2016 elections. The two, who have been among the most vocal critics of President Donald Trump, may have been driven further apart due to Clintons criticism of Sanders and the behavior of some of his supporters during the primaries.

Sanders proposes unity of progressives

Sanders appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert as a guest on Thursday and answered some questions about the current developments in the Trump administration. He, however, took a surprising turn when asked by Colbert for advice on what to ask Clinton when she visits in two weeks.

Bernie Sanders said that the 2016 elections have long been over and that they should stop talking about it. He then urged Hillary Clinton to unite with other liberals and progressives to stop Trumps divisive tactics. We need her help to go forward, he said. He tried convincing Colbert to ask her plans to help America push a progressive agenda.

Clintons book

The comments of Bernie Sanders about Hillary Clinton were made after some pages of her new book leaked on Twitter in the past few days. In Clintons new memoir, What Happened, the former Secretary of State talked about how Sanders criticism of her may have had some lasting effects on her campaign.

She also insisted that some of Sanders proposals may have been too ambitious and unrealistic, and should have been supported more by former president Obama during the primaries preceding the 2016 elections.

The New York Times reports that Hillary Clinton has also put some blame on her loss to former FBI director James Comey. Comey infamously released a letter ten days before the election day, informing Congress that he was reopening investigations into her private email server issue. She also blasted the New York Times for their negative coverage of her campaign, with her saying that she already expects the paper to publish a scathing review.

Even a week before the book is released in stores, the media buzz about What Happened has resulted in it shooting to the top of the Amazon best-selling books list, already making it one of the top selling titles of the year.

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert will be welcoming Hillary Clinton to its stage in less than two weeks. The show airs Mondays to Fridays at 11:35 pm ET on CBS. What Happened by Hillary Clinton will be in bookstores by Tuesday, September 12.
Hurricane Irma has reportedly devastated the island of Barbuda, having passed over it early this morning. Residents of Antigua And Barbuda were awakened to howling winds and debris clattering against their homes. Eyewitnesses say that the seas around Barbuda rose more than two meters. Given that the island is only 38 meters above sea level at its highest point, there are now fears that many people have drowned. The full extent of the damage won't be known for some time but authorities have confirmed that several roofs were blown off.

Communications cut in Barbuda

Nicknamed the "Land of 365 Beaches", Antigua and Barbuda is a sovereign state in the Americas, known more popularly for being part of the Lesser Antilles in the caribbean. Antiguan officials have confirmed that many power lines have been uprooted in Barbuda, mobile phone signals are currently down and water supplies have been turned off nationwide. As many homes on the islands are not built on concrete foundations, a lot of structural damage is expected to be reported.

Irma is one of the most powerful storms to be recorded. With winds of 185mph and strengthening, authorities are warning that it could be especially catastrophic if it hits islands at high tides. Storm surges are expected to reach seven feet and more in some places.

Irma is currently passing over the islands of St Barts and St Martin, with power at the St Bart's weather station completely knocked out. It is traveling in a west-north-westerly direction at 15mph toward Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Cuba.

Evacuations ordered

The natural disaster is also expected to affect, to some degree, St.

Kitts and Nevis, the US Virgin Islands and the Bahamas before making its way to Florida over the weekend. A 36- hour curfew began this morning in the US Virgin Islands as heavy rain and winds were expected. Evacuations have been ordered in several areas, including six southern islands in the Bahamas. Officials there have canceled vacation time for members of the police and defense forces.

In Florida, a state of emergency has been declared in all of its 67 counties and 100 members of the Florida National Guard are on active duty across the state. Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez confirms that voluntary evacuations may begin this afternoon and has called on residents to stock up on at least three days' worth of food and water. Tourists and others are being urged to immediately leave coastal areas and Miami beach.

While thousands would be pleased to see the end of Irma, a new threat looms ahead. Tropical Storm Jose is currently located over the Atlantic Ocean and is located approximately 1,255 miles east of the Lesser Antilles. The National Hurricane Center confirms it has maximum sustained winds of 60 mph and is strengthening. It is expected to turn into a Hurricane by Wednesday night and beat its path to some of the same islands currently being battered by Hurricane Irma.
Hurricane Irma strengthened to become a category five hurricane as it barrels its ways through the Atlantic. Now, it is going on its projected path right towards South Florida as it moves through the northern Lesser Antilles and other Caribbean island nations. However, the storm hit new, historical highs as it strengthened today, becoming one of the strongest hurricanes ever recorded.

Irma recorded as the second strongest hurricane ever

Yesterday, after reaching category five status, Irma's maximum winds were recorded reaching 185 miles per hour, making it the second strongest storm ever observed in the Atlantic Ocean.

In fact, the National Hurricane Center Atlantic Operations tweeted out that it is the strongest hurricane on record in the Atlantic basin outside of the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico.

Irma is expected to fluctuate over the next few days in intensity but will remain at least a category four over the next couple of days. Tropical storm force winds are expected to arrive in parts of Florida as early as Friday, with landfall taking place on Sunday based on its current track.

Models of the hurricane are all basically in agreement that it will be approaching the Florida Keys on Saturday with Irma taking a sharp turn north into Florida. It is here the models vary, as some have it trending along the eastern coast, other the western coast and some models have it going down the dead center of the state.

#Irma is the strongest #hurricane in the Atlantic basin outside of the Caribbean Sea & Gulf of Mexico in NHC records https://t.co/tW4KeGdBFb pic.twitter.com/P8ebbQJR4k  NHC Atlantic Ops (@NHC_Atlantic) September 5, 2017

The hurricane force winds in #Irma are wider than Florida. You wont need a direct hit to get Wilma-type winds & storm surge on both coasts. https://t.co/qz5xsVSuUT  Bryan Norcross (@TWCBryan) September 5, 2017

Here's where #Irma currently ranks on the list of strongest Atlantic Hurricanes, oddly high pressure compared to the rest. pic.twitter.com/4s5hE7NWnp  Brad Panovich (@wxbrad) September 5, 2017

Evacuations and preparations already taking place in Florida

If Irma makes landfall in the US as a category four (same as Harvey), this will be the first time two storms this strong will have hit America in the same hurricane season.

With the power of this storm and the destruction from Hurricane Harvey fresh in the minds of officials are preparing for the worst.

On Monday, Governor Rick Scott declared a state of emergency for all of Florida's 67 counties. Yesterday, President Donald Trump approved Scott's request for a pre-landfall emergency declaration, which will lend the state important federal resources and assistance.

Yesterday mandatory evacuations were also announced for those living in the Florida Keys starting today for both tourists and residents. Miami-Dade country is also planning to start evacuating special needs residents today, as officials are urging people to stock up on food, water, and supplies.

According to research by Barclays, Irma could be the largest ever hurricane in terms of insured damage in American history. Jay Gelb wrote that it could be the largest ever in the U.S. perhaps equivalent to Hurricane Katrina.

He went on to say that catastrophe modelers at AIR Worldwide and Karen Clark and Co. have found that if this hurricane takes the path that the 1926 Miami Hurricane did there could be $125 to $130 billion in insured damage.

I have declared a state of emergency for every FL county to help state, federal and local governments work together as we prepare for #Irma.  Rick Scott (@FLGovScott) September 4, 2017
Looking at the world through the eyes of the Web
Hurricane season is upon us, and so far, it's been a bad one. Officially for 2017, the Atlantic hurricane season began on June 1 and went until November 30. Since June 1, there have been twelve named storms, and four of those became hurricanes.

Just last week, Hurricane Harvey hit the state of Texas. The category four hurricane caused at least 60 deaths and over $180 billion in damages. It's a long road ahead for some areas of Texas as they rebuild and recover from this catastrophic storm.

Hurricane Irma on the move

Now all eyes are on Hurricane Irma.

Another monster storm, this category 5 hurricane barreled through some of the northern Caribbean islands on Wednesday. So far, three deaths have been confirmed. According to Antigua and Barbuda's Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, close to 90% of Barbuda has been destroyed. The island of Barbuda is home to around 1,600 people. It's known for its beautiful pink sand beaches but isn't a huge vacation destination.

Irma also made landfall in Puerto Rico on Wednesday. Of the nearly 3.4 million people who live there, It's been reported that there are 600,000 without power and 50,000 without water. President Trump reached out to the governor of Puerto Rico to let him know that help will be available.

The President also declared a state of emergency on the island and in the state Florida.

Speaking of Florida, that is where Hurricane Irma is projected to strike next. Those tracking the storm say that Irma will hit the sunshine state sometime this weekend. There is a mandatory evacuation for all of those in the Florida Keys, and more mandatory evacuations will likely be put into place once Irma's path is better known.

Hurricane Allen

Hurricane Irma is a near record breaking storm. With sustained winds of 185 mph, Irma is one of the strongest storms on record in the Atlantic. The only other hurricane that was stronger than Irma was Hurricane Allen. Allen struck in August of 1980 with wind speeds reaching 190 mph.

The category 5 storm that was Allen hit St.

Lucia, Haiti, Mexico and the southern area of Texas. Nearly 250 people were killed, and damages from the historic hurricane exceeded $1 billion.

The American Red Cross

The Red Cross has received an unprecedented amount of donations to assist those in need after Hurricane Harvey. They are also now taking donations to help the people who need and will need assistance after Hurricane Irma. The monetary donations that they receive are used to provide food, shelter, and emergency support.
With Hurricane Irma just days away from reaching Florida, millions have evacuated their homes in search for safer grounds. After First Lady Melania Trump sent out a pair of tweets about the storm, she was instantly hit with backlash from those who oppose Donald Trump and the administration.

Melania on Twitter

It's been just two weeks since Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Texas and devastated parts of the state. The city of Houston was hit worst of all as thousands of residents were forced to leave the area in an attempt to avoid the damage. The storm was labeled a Category 4, hitting the Lone Star State with winds that reached more than 130 mph.

In the days after the hurricane touched down, Donald Trump and Melania Trump made their way to the state, but received criticism for how the president handled his arrival. Trump spoke to a group of supporters in Corpus Christi, about an hour outside Houston, and was quick to brag about the size of the crowd. In his second trip just days later, the former host of "The Apprentice" made sure to put in a better effort, and has since kept up with the storm, as well as Hurricane Irma which is headed to Florida this weekend. As seen on her Twitter account on September 8, Melania sent out warnings to those who could be impacted by Irma.

If you are in or near projected path of #HurricaneIrma please listen to local law enforcement in the area. Stay safe!!!  Melania Trump (@FLOTUS) September 8, 2017

Taking to her Twitter feed on Friday was Melania Trump was urged anyone being effected by the storm to take action and be safe.

"If you are in or near projected path of #HurricaneIrma please listen to local law enforcement in the area. Stay safe!!!" Melania tweeted out.

In a follow-up tweet, Melania Trump once again addressed the preparation of Hurricane Irma. "Look fwd to hosting members of the cabinet & their spouses at #CampDavid this weekend. Much work to be done as we monitor #Hurricane Irma," she wrote.

Look fwd to hosting members of the cabinet & their spouses at #CampDavid this weekend. Much work to be done as we monitor #Hurricane Irma.  Melania Trump (@FLOTUS) September 8, 2017

Twitter reacts

Not long after Melania Trump sent out her tweets in regards to Hurricane Irma, critics of the president lashed out on social media.

"Don't forget your stiletto heels though," one tweet read in reference to the shoes Melania wore during her first trip to Texas after Hurricane Harvey.

Don't forget your stiletto heels though  Fraracci (@fraracci) September 8, 2017

And Melania what about the million or so displaced in the Caribbean? Guess these folks don't count!  Doug Johnson (@cellardoug) September 9, 2017

@FLOTUS my son keeps asking me if your the president daughter, will you give your husband a 3 sec kiss, I know it's hard, just try.  Omari R Smith (@omarirashad35) September 8, 2017

"Melania will do nothing at Camp David. She knows nothing. She should really go to college because her modeling career is obviously over," another Twitter user wrote.

"@FLOTUS my son keeps asking me if your the president daughter, will you give your husband a 3 sec kiss, I know it's hard, just try," an additional social media post added.

Did the Donald wrote this for you. Cause it sounds something he would say  Donny Gomez (@nydonny10) September 8, 2017

Melania will do nothing at Camp David. She knows nothing. She should really go to college because her modeling career is obviously over.  David P. Hale (@davidphale16) September 8, 2017

WHAT FOOTWEAR DO YOU SUGGEST  Brook Lundy (@brooklundy1) September 8, 2017

"And Melania what about the million or so displaced in the Caribbean? Guess these folks don't count!" another tweet pointed out. "Did the Donald wrote this for you. Cause it sounds something he would say," an additional message noted. The negative reaction from critics continued as much of Florida waits for Hurricane Irma.
bethenny frankel knows what it means to run a successful business. But she's now proving that she also knows what it means to run a business that's full of heart and soul. Last year, Frankel decided to start a charity, where she would help women in need. This was something she wanted to do after going through a rough divorce from her ex-husband, Jason Hoppy. Jason was briefly featured on "The Real Housewives of New York" and everyone thought he was a complete sweetheart. However, after he learned that she wanted out of the relationship, he turned into an evil person.

She started her charity, B Strong, to offer women the support they need to get out of similar situations.

But Bethenny recently did something amazing, as she learned of the devastation that Hurricane Harvey caused in Houston. According to a new tweet, Bethenny Frankel is now revealing that she's selling out of her merchandise, as she's donating proceeds to people in need. She's been raising money over the past couple of days, and she recently revealed that they had reached around $30,000 in support. However, after reaching out to larger companies, the amount is upwards of $300,000 in support.

Giving back

Bethenny is revealing that giving back and doing something wonderful for people in need is something she can feel very good about.

She loves what she does and she's clearly very satisfied with everything she has accomplished thus far. Many fans have donated money to her business, as they are buying t-shirts to support Houston and the surrounding areas hit by the hurricane.

Please be patient while updating my site with new inventory. We are blowing out of #thisisacrisis tees bc of your love for Texas #BStrong  Bethenny Frankel (@Bethenny) September 3, 2017

Of course, it is admirable work that she's taking time off her business to help others in need.

Many other celebrities have donated money and many famous people have reached out to their fanbase to get people involved. It sounds like asking for money in exchange for a t-shirt is working.

Not necessarily first-to-market

Her idea to raise money for Harvey victims proves one thing; you don't need to be first-to-market or have a great business idea to do business that will make you feel good.

One can imagine that Bethenny Frankel is proud of everything she has accomplished with these donations, especially when it comes to paying it forward. It is this kind of idea that will result in success, not necessarily coming up with an original idea. As Frankel later revealed on Twitter, it is this kind of business work that makes you feel good.

What do you think about Bethenny Frankel raising so much money for victims in need?
After yet another week of drama and controversy in the White House, Donald Trump is facing an onslaught of criticism from many in the media. For liberal comedian Bill Maher, he made sure to rip into the president over a variety of issues.

Maher on Trump

It didn't take long for Donald Trump to make enemies in both the media and in the more liberal-leaning Hollywood. Once the former host of "The Apprentice" labeled illegal immigrants as "rapists" and "murderers," he quickly created a divide and many talk show hosts wasted no time hitting back. During the 2016 presidential election and since Trump's upset win over Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, Bill Maher has been one of the most outspoken critics of the billionaire real estate mogul.

Nearly every Friday night for the past two years, Maher has centered much of his HBO program around Trump and his political agenda, which has only increased since Election Day. In the months that followed the inauguration, Maher has kept his foot on the gas of criticism, and held Trump's metaphorical feet to the fire, never holding back his thoughts. As seen on the September 8 edition of "Real Time with Bill Maher," the comedian still isn't letting up.

"We are thinking about Florida right now. They are looking at a Category 5 Liberal Hoax."  @BillMaher #RealTime pic.twitter.com/UeUvNDAB5N  Real Time (@RealTimers) September 9, 2017

Kicking off Friday night's episode of "Real Time," host Bill Maher started with his routine monologue where Donald Trump was the hot topic.

"We are thinking about Florida right now. They are looking at a Category 5 Liberal Hoax," Maher said mocking the Republican position of denying climate change in reference to Hurricane Irma heading to Florida. "The right-wingers are still saying, 'can't blame climate change,'" Maher went on to say, before adding, "My theory is it has something to do with Hillary's emails."

Raw Story: An inconvenient truth: Maher mocks Republicans with lavish vacation homes about to suffer Irmas wrath https://t.co/fkurLUPoZV  Will Smirk 4 Food (@WillSmirk4Food) September 9, 2017

Bill Maher then went on to hit Donald Trump over his response to Hurricane Irma.

"I've seen colors on the hurricane maps I've never seen before," he said. "If you see yellow like Trump's hair, take extra care. If you see orange like his face, shelter in place. If you see red like his ties to Russia, just evacuate now," the comedian said.

The right-wingers are still saying, "We can't blame climate change." My theory is it has something to do with Hillary's emails.  @BillMaher pic.twitter.com/yzj6hq97aQ  Real Time (@RealTimers) September 9, 2017

"The people in Florida can take solace in the fact that they will soon get a visit from Donald Trump," Bill Maher sarcastically pointed out.

"Did you see him in Houston?" Maher asked, while noting that the president brought First Lady Melania Trump with him. "He brought a date to a flood," he stated to the laughter of the audience.

Next up

While Bill Maher and other high-profiled names in the media and in Hollywood continue to poke fun and call him out, Donald Trump is facing a laundry list of problems in the White House. From the ongoing scandal surrounding Russia, to the dissension within his own Republican Party, as well as constant push-back from Democrats, Trump's inability to get much done has resulted in just a 35 percent approval rating.
Lydia Mclaughlin decided to return to "The Real Housewives of Orange County" this year after having spent a few years with her husband and children. When Lydia first joined the show, she revealed that it was too dramatic for her and she had no interest in continuing with the show. McLaughlin had even walked off the reunion special because she felt that her co-stars were too much. She even broke down crying, as she had never experienced this level of drama before. Despite all of this, something made her return to "The Real Housewives of Orange County." She is now ready to address all of the drama and she feels more secure in herself and her religion.

According to a new report, Lydia McLaughlin is now opening up about her religion, which hasn't played a big role on the show. While she did pray for her friend Tamra Judge and briefly filmed a bible study meeting with her co-star, religion has been on the backburner for Lydia. But when the ladies went out drinking one night, dressed up as men, she felt her religious views were challenged. At one point, she had to excuse herself from the party, as things were taking a turn.

Walking away

Lydia McLaughlin decided to walk away after hearing where the conversation was heading. She thought that it was too much and she started to feel awkward and uncomfortable. Perhaps some people thought that Lydia appeared weak by walking away, but it sounds like she's just putting her religion before the drama.

"I take my faith very seriously. It is personal and affects (hopefully) every part of who I am. I never want my religion to be a gimmick or storyline, but just a part of who I am. I think everyone has conversations of faith and belief, I just happen to be on a Reality Show," Lydia McLaughlin explains in her Bravo blog.

A hot topic

Of course, religion is a hot topic on "The Real Housewives of Orange County." When Lydia was filming the show before, she was very open about how Christ was her number one priority in life. She also revealed that her husband and her children were important and nothing ever made her question her religion. Throughout the years, Alexis Bellino and Tamra Judge have discussed religion and tried to explain how a proper Christian should act.

When Tamra joined the show, she was not religious, but she claimed to have found God during the drama with her daughter.

What do you think of Lydia McLaughlin's comments about her religion? Do you understand why she feels awkward at times on the show?
Right-wing radio host Rush Limbaugh has made a living attacking Democrats and the so-called "liberal agenda." After mocking Hurricane Irma as nothing more than a left-wing conspiracy, Limbaugh has decided to backtrack and flee the state of Florida.

Rush on Irma

For decades, Rush Limbaugh has been the most popular right-wing talk radio show host in the country. Limbaugh has used his popularity to influence millions of conservative Americans around the country, in turn making his program the highest rated on the radio dial. Where Limbaugh often runs into criticism, in addition to his well-known issues with drug use, is his far right-wing stance which he backs up with questionable sources.

Limbaugh has even been debunked over many of his theories, but he continues to stand by them as he caters to the conservative viewers that tune in on a weekly basis. The latest controversy that Limbaugh has found himself in took place earlier this week when he dismissed the warnings about the upcoming Hurricane Irma, claiming it was simply a media and liberal hoax. Despite this, the radio host changed course and fled from his Florida home before quickly becoming the butt of the joke on social media on September 8.

After claiming Hurricane Irma was a liberal hoax, Rush Limbaugh evacuates South Florida pic.twitter.com/NVvceqZWwx  Media Matters (@mmfa) September 8, 2017

"Theres corruption everywhere in our politics," Rush Limbaugh said earlier this week, before adding, "it's epitomized during national disasters and emergencies, because the left is always working on moving their agenda forward." "Climate change, radical environmentalism, and so the occasion of this hurricane is an exciting thing for them," Limbaugh continued, while also claiming the "deep state" media was "exaggerating" the strength of the storm.

As reported by Media Matters on Friday, Limbaugh was not on the air from his studio in South Florida and was made to evacuate due to Hurricane Irma.

"I'm not going to get into details because of the security nature of things, but it turns out that we will not be able to do the program here tomorrow," Rush Limbaugh told his audience on Thursday's program.

In response to the news, critics lashed out and had a little fun on social media.

Twitter reacts

After the news made the rounds that Rush Limbaugh would be unable to broadcast due to Hurricane Irma, which he believed was a hoax, Twitter quickly went viral in their mockery. "Strong-winded destructive force that's already caused untold suffering and devastation, Rush Limbaugh, flees some storm.," comedian John Fugelsang tweeted out.

Strong-winded destructive force that's already caused untold suffering and devastation, Rush Limbaugh, flees some storm.  John Fugelsang (@JohnFugelsang) September 8, 2017

Rush Limbaugh flees Florida after he cavalierly said Irma was overblown. Do us a favor and turn in your FL card.  Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) September 8, 2017

Hmmm...Rush Limbaugh also is not planning to return next week to his broadcast studio in Florida after the liberal hoax Irma sweeps through.  Kurt Eichenwald (@kurteichenwald) September 8, 2017

"Rush Limbaugh - who called Irma coverage a liberal hoax - has decided to flee the liberal hoax," Kurt Eichenwald of Newsweek posted. "Mark Steyn is filling in on Rush Limbaugh's radio show today, because Rush has had to evacuate his FL home/studio," CNN's Brian Stetler added.

Yesterday Rush Limbaugh said Hurricane Irma was a liberal hoax.



Today he evacuated.



Rush Limbaugh is a conservative hoax.  God (@TheGoodGodAbove) September 8, 2017

Who's to blame for Hurricane Irma



Rush Limbaugh- The Liberals



Kirk Cameron- God to teach us to be humble



Scott Baio- Can I borrow a buck?  Tony Posnanski (@tonyposnanski) September 8, 2017

Rush Limbaugh spent show mocking fears raised by scientists @ #Irma. People listen to that, they believe him. Now HE is evacuating. #shame  Juliette Kayyem (@juliettekayyem) September 8, 2017

(RL) is now fleeing #Irma after endangering Floridians by mocking the hurricane as a liberal conspiracy," Mark Follman noted. "(RL) spent show mocking fears raised by scientists @ #Irma.

People listen to that, they believe him. Now HE is evacuating," Juliette Kayyem tweeted. As the backlash continued, it was made clear that the opposition to the conservative radio host was not going to end anytime soon.
After two students made claims they had been raped by Carabinieri officers, prosecutors in Italy are now investigating those claims. The two unnamed students say the officers escorted them back to their apartment from a nightclub, after which they raped them. The U.S. State Department is taking the claims seriously.

According to authorities in Italy, the two students were questioned by prosecutors for a number of hours about the Rape allegations. The Carabinieri officers (Italian paramilitary police) are yet be questioned about the allegations.

Fight breaks out at a Florence nightclub

As reported by The Local, the alleged rape incident happened on Wednesday night, when the 19 and 21-year-olds spent the evening in a Florence nightclub. A fight broke out in the club, leading to a group of police officers being called out. While four officers left the nightclub after the incident, two Carabinieri officers approached the students, offering them a lift back to their apartment. CCTV surveillance footage captured the moment the two women climbed into the police vehicle. The women claim that on arrival at their central Florence apartment the officers then raped them.

Two American college students in Italy say police raped them - New York Daily News https://t.co/lL7OMX2cfU #college #collegestudents pic.twitter.com/NmOnj5fo5I  School Money (@schoolmoneyorg) September 9, 2017

Investigations ongoing into alleged rape of U.S. students

After they reported the incident, the two women underwent an examination at a Florence hospital.

Investigators also took the clothing they were wearing at the time of the incident to run analyses.

Both students had been in Florence for several months and were reportedly studying the Italian language at an institute in the city. An official with the U.S. State Department said they are aware of the reports in the media of two students sexually assaulted by Italian police.

An official said they are taking the allegations very seriously.

When the U.S. Embassy in Rome was contacted for comment, a spokesperson said that due to the sensitive nature of the case, they need to protect the privacy of the two women involved. However, the U.S. Consul General did meet with the police chief in Florence on Friday morning relating to the rape allegations.

Italian police officers investigated over alleged rape of US students https://t.co/AJsvfE3pLD via @TheLocalItaly  My Info (@beatlesjad) September 9, 2017

Ashley Olsen was murdered in Florence

As noted by the New York Daily News, Florence was the location of the January 2016 murder of 35-year-old Ashley Olsen, an American woman, in her apartment in the city. In that case, a Senegalese man was convicted of her murder later in the year and was sentenced to 30 years behind bars. According to an autopsy run on Olsens remains, she had skull fractures and had been strangled by the man. Witnesses said in court that Olsen and her attacker met in a Florence nightclub, just hours before her murder.
A child with congenital heart disease from Afghanistan is prepared for an operation at the First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University in northwestern China on Saturday. The program is part of the Red Cross Society of China's humanitarian activities in countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative. WANG JING / CHINA DAILY

Youngsters with heart conditions flown to Xinjiang for crucial treatment. Mao Weihua in Urumqi and Cui Jia in Beijing report.

Doctors in northwestern China have performed lifesaving surgeries on 17 Afghan children with congenital heart disease, the first of many expected to receive help through an ongoing Red Cross program.

It comes after a Chinese medical team visited Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, late last month to prepare desperately ill youngsters to be flown to China for free advanced treatment.

The first group of 21 children, aged 2 to 14, arrived at the First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University on Aug 30. As of Monday, 17 had undergone successful operations and were recovering well, according to Zhang Haibo, head surgeon for the program.

"The first day of operations (on Friday) all went well," he said. "Doctors from across China have become a great team in the operating room."

Angiza, 2, was among four children who received surgery on Friday. It took seven doctors three hours to fix an atrial septal defect, a serious condition that can affect oxygen levels in the blood.

Other children, like Marwa, have been receiving nonsurgical treatment. The 3-year-old has an abnormal heart structure, which means she is weaker and thinner than an average child of her age. Due to complications, doctors decided that surgery was too risky.

Joma Gull, the child's grandfather, has accompanied her on the trip to Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, which borders Afghanistan.

"I heard about the program about two weeks ago, so I took her to Kabul from my hometown to see the Chinese doctors," he said. "I trust the highly skilled doctors will help Marwa become healthy and have a normal life."

The children and their guardians were expected to stay at the hospital for 15 days, during which staff members will help them to relax in their new environment.
The continent should be pragmatic about implementing labor and environment laws, says Chinese academic

Chinese academic Li Xiaoyun believes it is important that Africans do not put up unnecessary barriers to attracting manufacturing jobs leaving China.

It is estimated by the World Bank that China could shed 100 million low-skilled manufacturing jobs over the next few decades.

But the professor of development studies at China Agriculture University believes whether Africa gets a signicant proportion of these depends on how attractive a location it is for investors. The vast majority of jobs are currently going to Southeast Asia.

"The number of jobs China eventually releases could be as much as 20 to 30 percent of Africa's effective workforce.

"The problem for Africa is that it has some of the highest standards of labor protection, with labor unions very protective and similar to those in Britain and the US, as well as high standards of environmental protection."

Li, who was speaking at the Hilton Addis Ababa after the rst day of the Africa-China High-Level Dialogue and Think Tank Forum addressing poverty in Africa, says there is nothing wrong with setting safeguards but there is a need for more pragmatism.

"I would say it is a huge barrier. It could, in fact, be the only barrier. They can have this political correctness and there is nothing wrong with that but it can also be a rich man's ideology."

Li says one of the problems for Africa is that it has become enmeshed in an aid culture, which has put in place a wide range of standards that in the end do not benet the people.

This culture, he argues, is partly the result of the World Bank and aid agencies having too large a control over much of Africa's recent development.

"They are what I call a psuedo safety net concept and they do not really help," he says.

Li believes Ethiopia, whose government has strong links with Beijing, has adapted the right approach to attracting Chinese manufacturers.

One of the biggest manufacturing success stories is Huajian, the Chinese shoemaker which set up operations in 2012 and now employs 6,000.

"Huajian is exactly the model that Africa should learn from. They are taking advantage of what Justin Yifu Lin (the former chief economist of the World Bank and an advocate of African industrialization), says is their comparative advantage, which is labor.

"If this is your advantage you need to create an environment where labor can be employed. This can then generate what I call inclusive growth and then you could have poverty reduction."

Before the forum, a Financial Times report highlighted World Bank data that showed manufacturing shrinking from 7.8 percent of gross value added, or GVA  an alternative measure of national output  in 1997 to 4.1 percent in 2015.

"It is actually not declining but it is not growing as fast as other sectors. You have sectors like telecommunications and transportation growing faster. Manufacturing might be growing by 7 to 9 percent a year but as a percentage of GDP it is becoming actually lower."

Li insists industrialization holds the key to poverty reduction across Africa because it is labor intensive and provides jobs.

"Telecommunications and sectors such as mining are highly capital intensive and do not hire a lot of people."

Li, 55, from Dingbian in Shaanxi province in the Northwest and whose father was a Party official and mother a teacher, did a bachelor's degree in soil science and agronomy at Ningxia University.

He then went to Beijing to do his master's and doctorate at China Agriculture University, where he studied crop science and ecology.

Following his studies, he worked as a research scientist for the government at the Development Research Center of the State Council.

He later studied at the Catholic University of Nijmegen in the Netherlands before returning to China Agriculture University in 1994 as a professor of development studies and he has remained there ever since. He was also dean of the College of Humanities and Development there until 2014.

Li, who has written numerous research papers and regularly attends conferences, makes numerous trips to Africa every year, advising on agriculture projects.

He believes his scientific background gives him particular expertise in the whole area of development studies.

"It has given me a lot of advantages. I understand a lot about meteorology and soil sciences. I can say to people that they can't plant this because the soil is not right.

"People ask me how I know this and I say to them that I am a scientist and it is very basic. Like ABC, you know."

He is known for his hands-on approach and has been the team leader of a number of agriculture and poverty reduction projects in Africa.

He has done extensive work, in particular, in the Morogoro region of Tanzania, where he has worked with local farmers.

"I worked in one village, where they were producing three or four bags of maize per acre. I told them that I was an ecologist and that they needed to increase plant density. Within ve years they were producing 20 to 25 bags an acre," he says.

He says this is a completely different approach than that of the World Bank or the African Union.

"They would just say that there needs to be investment in fertilizers and irrigation to do this, but there just isn't the money for that. You can organize farmers into communities where they can have their own water collection systems, their own small canals. It is so simple and there is no need for really big investment."

Li, a spry, wiry figure, works closely with the farmers in their own communities and likes the contact with local people.

"I nd this work very interesting. I don't actually stay in the villages because you can easily contract malaria. I stay in very remote and often not very good local hotels," he laughs.

Li believes many of the problems Africa now faces relate to the colonial period when many African countries were run by European powers.

"There was very little in the way of industrialization and agriculture was not very developed. You had these very little colonial economies within the countries that just basically hired local labor. It was often about just transporting raw materials out to Europe."

The academic insists the experience was very different in white Commonwealth countries of Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

"These were not really colonies but settler economies. People settled there and invested in infrastructure and there were genuine technology transfers. When the colonizers left Africa in the 1950s and 1960s, the (indigenous) people who were left didn't know how to manage anything. There was no industry anyway and no manufacturing.

Li says that, in contrast, China pioneered irrigation techniques more than 2,000 years ago during the Qin Dynasty (221-207 BC) and that by the time of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) had quite advanced agriculture.

"Chinese agriculture was very much green crop-centered, such as wheat and rice, basically food crops. Because Africa is mainly tropical, the main crops were dry, like bananas, cassava and millet. Maize is quite new to Africa," he says.

Li says China's strong agriculture base meant it could also build the foundations of an industrialized economy and this is something that has been a problem for many African countries.

"This is the big difference between China and Africa. China began industrializing from the 1950s onward."

One of the focuses of the debate at the Addis Ababa forum was the book, Up and Out of Poverty, a collection of speeches and articles by President Xi Jinping when he was Party chief of Ningde prefecture of Fujian province almost 30 years ago.

"One of the principles of the book is the importance of self-reliance and that is something that Africa needs to think about," Li said.

"It has been used to being supported by aid and other initiatives and this is very bad."
Nicholas Ho Lik-chi says he has proved himself with his accomplishments, so he is not shy about disclosing his distinctive style. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY

Nicholas Ho Lik-chi was only 27 years old when he took on the tough task more than three years ago of transforming his Hong Kong-based architectural rm into an international business.

As the deputy managing director of Ho & Partners Architects Engineers & Development Consultants (HPA), Ho has already made major progress in his stated mission by securing large-scale projects in the Philippines and Malaysia.

He said the company's growth was driven by the opportunities offered by the Belt and Road Initiative. Proposed by President Xi Jinping in 2013, the initiative aims to connect countriesinvolved for closer economic and cultural cooperation.

Ho is not the conventional interlocutor of grand corporate plans. At 31 he is slight and soft-spoken, with rectangular glasses and a narrow chin beard. He wears a short-sleeved black T-shirt, exposing extensive tattoos that cover both his arms.

He is not shy about discussing his distinctive style. "This is how I usually look when I attend business meetings, even with government officials," Ho said.

The inked message on his right forearm declares, next to a sketching pencil: "Leave this world a little better than you found it." Encircling his entire left arm is a oral, gurative tattoo. And he gives his collar a tug to reveal the latest decoration on his upper chest, fresh from a tattoo shop in Taipei.

Initially, in 2013, when Ho took up this role at his family's architectural rm, suit and tie was his standard attire.

"I was young, hoping to prove myself," he recalled. "Now that I have proven it with my accomplishments, I prefer my down-to-earth style."

HPA was established in 1980 by Ho's father, Bosco Ho Hin-ngai, an architect of local repute. During the past four decades, the firm has completed architectural design for projects mostly in Hong Kong and Chinese mainland cities.

Some of the most recognizable works by HPA in Hong Kong include the Hong Kong Baptist University and the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

As tighter housing policies hit the Chinese mainland market, Ho was tasked three years ago with consolidating and expanding the rm's presence in Southeast Asia.

The young architect leaped at the chance offered by the Belt and Road to accomplish the rm's crucial goal of regional expansion.

Ho joined various Hong Kong business delegations to Southeast Asian countries and gained a fuller understanding of the opportunities the Belt and Road would bring his professional services rm.

"Hong Kong will be exporting its high-quality services and technologies in China's infrastructure projects under the initiative, while big Chinese mainland corporations will serve as the ignition key that unleashes the economic potential of the developing countries," Ho said.

The architectural rm decided to set up an office in Malaysia, as its overseas headquarters, with a specific focus on serving Belt and Road projects.

In the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, HPA has been involved in the master plan for the Taman TAR district, the facade and interior design for the Subang Avenue shopping mall, and the residential development of the Sungai Long district.

Earlier this year, the firm successfully won the bid to design the New Manila Bay International Community in the Philippine capital, Manila. Dubbed the City of Pearl, the project is a 407-hectare reclamation project, which will also be a high-tech commercial and tourism center.

A memorandum of understanding was signed by the Philippine Reclamation Authority and the project's Chinese investor, UAA Kinming Group Development Corp, in February. As one of the China-Philippine projects under the Belt and Road Initiative, it received the backing of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and the city government of Manila.

Governments' top-down support for Belt and Road projects is reassuring, Ho said.

"In our past efforts in the Southeast Asian market, our company had to work in isolation. But now with the Belt and Road Initiative, we can team up with governments and major developers in large-scale projects," he said.

Apart from the City of Pearl, HPA is also involved in the development of an industrial park and an office building in the Philippines.

HPA is an example of how professional rms from Hong Kong can benet from the Belt and Road Initiative, according to Ho.

The Southeast Asian markets, especially Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia, have always had strong condence in Hong Kong's ability to offer professional services, he said.

"In a Belt and Road project, Hong Kong will serve as the conductor of the orchestra.

"We see ourselves as the chief planner and development consultant in a Belt and Road project, rather than merely a designer. We can also provide valuation services and a network of business partners to the local companies," he said.

HPA's projects in Belt and Road countries currently account for around 20 percent of its total revenue, according to Ho, and he aims to expand that to one-third, with the rest split evenly between its Hong Kong and Chinese mainland businesses.

As the company shifts its focus south, he hopes to repeat its success in Malaysia and the Philippines in other Southeast Asian markets.

Ho said Hong Kong will team up with the Chinese mainland in these overseas investment projects, and this will be "HPA's direction in the decades to come".

He sees this new direction as essential for the rm to remain competitive and sustainable. "I treat it as the (new corporate strategy) of the company established by my father," he said.

Ho recalled that he showed an interest in design at an early age in his obsession with Lego toys.

When he was around 6 years old, he started to "go to work" with his busy father, who would sometimes give him fun tasks to build models. At the age of 13, he would accompany his father on business trips.

Growing up, Ho eventually recognized his passion to become an architect, like his father. He headed to the United Kingdom to obtain a bachelor's degree and a diploma in architecture, where he also worked for some renowned names in the eld including the late Zaha Hadid.

Having learned from some of the world's most talented architects, Ho believes that the very best design would somehow integrate British architects' attention to detail, the Americans' innovation and audacity, and the Chinese application of traditional culture.

And yet, Ho's father remains his most important inspiration as an architect.

"My father always told me that a successful architecture rm is one-third design, one-third execution and one-third service," he said.
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HCM City  Some top experts in payments, e-commerce and retail gave their insights into the future of online trading in Viet Nam at a two-day seminar in HCM City this week.

The content and structure of Seamless Viet Nam were designed to cover the entire omni-channel journey.

Participants heard some experts speak about digital marketing, merchandising, pricing, and in-store technologies.

Others spoke about payments, staff training, multi-channel, call centres, home delivery, click & collect, supply chains, packaging, customer service, loyalty and retention, and product returns.

Attendees were from major Vietnamese banks and leading e-commerce and retail giants.

With a population of 95 million, the highest retail sales growth in Asia of 10.4 per cent, an e-commerce market predicted to be worth US$10 billion by 2020, and a regulatory environment increasingly opening up to foreign investment, there has never been a better time in Viet Nam for senior executives from across the e-commerce eco-system to come together and discuss future strategies, partnerships and solutions.

The State Bank of Viet Nam had kicked off the conference with a keynote address on Moving towards a cashless society in Viet Nam by 2020.

Cashless payments have strongly increased in Viet Nam recently with 65 banks providing internet banking, 35 others providing mobile banking and many other credit organisations launching electronic payments, Tran inh Cuong, deputy director of the central banks HCM City office, said.

The cash payment ratio has reduced to 12 per cent in comparison with 14 per cent in 2010 and the figure will be less than 10 per cent by 2020.

Le Anh Tuan, head of VietinBanks electronic banking division, said: Low fees and safe, secure, fast technologies are the two most important things to attract customers to electronic payments.

Nguyen Huu Phuc, director of Sacombanks credit card centre said: Adopting the most modern banking technologies is also a way to satisfy customers.

ong A Bank has persuaded 40,000 seniors to receive their pensions through bank accounts and hopes to increase the number in future.

Nguyen Phu Vinh, head of the HCM City Electricity Corporations business department, said his company has already tied up with 22 banks and eight fintech companies to collect electricity tariffs online.

As of the end of July there were 1.7 million customers paying through banks and other credit organisations, accounting for 60 per cent of our revenues.

We plan to reach 100 per cent by 2020.

A leading player in payment technologies, Switzerland-based BPC Banking Technologies, led the discussion on How to forge partnerships and move towards cashless payments and digital banking?

BPC Banking Technologies is happy to partner with Seamless Viet Nam to share its payments technology expertise with the local financial industry, its senior vice president and managing director for Asia Pacific, Rajan S. Narayan, said.

With our global practice and strong presence in Viet Nam we continue to provide thought leadership on digital payments transformation to our valued customers and industry partners.

Another session was delivered by local e-commerce superstar Tiki, whose COO Huan Nguyen presented a keynote address on how Vietnamese online retail is reaching an inflection point and how both disruptive and established businesses can benefit from the ever-growing market.

On the sidelines of the conference was held an exhibition of the products and services offered by major players from across the payments, retail and e-commerce vendor communities.

Seamless is Asias largest and longest running conference focused on cards and payments.

It was the first time it was organised in Viet Nam, a country with a young, mobile and internet-savvy population where e-commerce is taking off, a growing middle class with disposable income, rapid growth in payments infrastructure and uptake, and an educated population with an increasingly international outlook.

Over 400 senior executives and experts attended the event.  VNS
Viet Nam is home to a growing number of tech-savvy connected consumers that global corporations will increasingly seek to court, according to a study conducted by Nielsen in cooperation with Demand Institute. Photo dantri.com.vn

HA NOI Viet Nam is home to a growing number of tech-savvy connected consumers that global corporations will increasingly seek to court, according to a study conducted by Nielsen in cooperation with Demand Institute.

The study found that companies looking for growth opportunities are increasingly unable to target the traditional middle class, whose incomes have grown sluggishly in recent years. Instead, they may turn to a new emerging type of consumer, said Rakesh Dayal, executive director of Consumer Insights, Nielsen Vietnam.

Connected spenders are a fast-growing new segment of consumers: digitally savvy consumers with discretionary income and are avid shoppers who punch above their income class in spending, the director said. Our research shows that Vietnamese connected spenders will spend $800 billion over the next decade. Therefore, for consumer-facing businesses seeking to grow in Viet Nam, these are the consumers whose needs will need to be addressed.

The study found that the so-called connected consumers will account for nearly 40 per cent of the global population by 2025, contributing more than 50 per cent to annual global spending. They are defined by their residence in urban areas, a preference for online shopping, price-consciousness, and their use of social media and other online tools to make purchasing choices.

Due to growing access to the digital economy and all that comes with it, the East Asia-Pacific region will witness the greatest increase in the number of connected spenders, especially in emerging markets like Viet Nam, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand.

There were 23 million connected spenders in Viet Nam in 2015, according to Nielsen Viet Nams latest study, and that sum is expected to grow nearly double to reach 40 million people in 2025. Their spending will rise from US$50 billion annually in 2015 to $99 billion by 2025.

Connected spenders span a range of ages and income groups.

Around one-third of Vietnamese connected spenders are between the ages of 21 and 34 (34 per cent), the report showed.

Over three-quarters of the consumers within the higher income bracket are connected spenders, while nearly two-thirds of middle-income Vietnamese are connected spenders. In the lower income bracket, 43 per cent fall into the category.

Connected spenders tend to be confident in the future: The Nielsen Confidence Consumer Index revealed that in 2015, connected spenders had a consumer confidence score of 117, versus 99 for other Internet users. VNS
Despite a new US requirement that foreign exporters demonstrate their food safety control system is equivalent to American regulations, no backlog has been recorded in Vietnamese tra fish exports to that country. Photo invivo

HA NOI  Despite a new US requirement that foreign exporters demonstrate their food safety control system is equivalent to American regulations, no backlog has been recorded in Vietnamese tra fish exports to that country.

The US Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) began applying the new regulations for Siluriformes fish on August 2, instead of September 1 as announced earlier, mandating the checking of all shipments for records, packaging and labels.

Siluriformes fish include tra, basa, tre and lang fish.

The United States lags behind China as the second largest importer of Vietnamese tra fish, receiving 22 per cent of Viet Nams total exports of the catfish. US imports of tra were worth $220.8 million in the first eight months of this year, up 3.3 per cent over the same period last year.

Only three or four Vietnamese firms have been able to export several tra products, including cut catfish, frozen catfish fillet, frozen rolled catfish and powdered fillets, to the US, said Viet Nams Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

A report from the Viet Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) showed that the country earned US$1 billion in exports of seafood in the first seven months of this year, a year-on-year increase of 8.2 per cent.

Although tra fish exports to EU states dropped 23.5 per cent, new markets such as Brazil, Mexico, Colombia and Saudi Arabia were seeing steady growth.

According to MARD , the price of tra fish from the countrys hub in the Mekong Delta is stable at a relatively high level and is even increasing in some places. It currently runs from VN22,000 (90 US cents) to 25,000 per kilo, depending on the quality and payment method. Due to the increase in prices this year, farmers have stabilised production and are now farming on an area of 4,746 hectares.

In the first eight months of this year, the production of tra fish in Mekong Delta provinces reached 815,500 tonnes, up 10 per cent year-on-year. ong Thap is the province with the largest harvest at 303,400 tonnes, up 25.4 per cent over the same period in 2016.

According to the head of the ong Thap Aquaculture Product Department, Le Hoang Vu, tra fish are raised on 1.504 ha in the province, more than 809 ha of which are certified under the standards of VietGAP, GlobalGAP, Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) and Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC).

The province has 20 seafood processing factories with a total designed capacity of more than 467,000 tonnes per year. It has produced an estimated 180,000 tonnes of tra fish in the first eight months of this year, reaching nearly US$500 million in export turnover.

The province plans to expand its breeding area to 2,000 ha by 2020, with an output of more than 541,000 tonnes per year.  VNS
Only about 17 per cent of listed companies comply with information disclosure regulations, lower than the figure in 2016, according to the Vietnam Association of Financial Executives (VAFE). Photo tapchitaichinh.vn

HA NOI  Only about 17 per cent of listed companies comply with information disclosure regulations, lower than the figure in 2016, according to the Vietnam Association of Financial Executives (VAFE).

The figure was reported by VAFE in its latest survey on companies that are listed on both the HCM City and Ha Noi stock exchanges over their compliance of information disclosure regulations.

Information disclosure is an obligation that listed companies, whose shares are traded on the two local exchanges, must fulfill to prove their transparency and accountability towards investors and shareholders.

The latest VAFE survey consisted of 672 firms whose shares were traded on the HCM and Ha Noi stock exchanges between July 1, 2016 and June 30, 2017.

According to VAFE, the latest result was slightly lower than the number in 2016 (18.47 per cent), but higher than between 2012 and 2015.

Of the surveyed companies, 22 firms or three per cent of the total were large-cap companies, 140 companies or 21 per cent were mid-cap, and 76 per cent were small- and micro-cap firms.

Large-cap companies have market capitalisation of at least VN10 trillion (US$444.4 million), the number for mid-cap firms is VN1 trillion, and the market value of small- and micro-cap firms is at most VN100 billion.

According to the survey, large-cap firms had the highest percentage of companies complying with information disclosure regulations (50 per cent), while the group of small- and micro-cap firms had the lowest percentage (12.35 per cent).

VAFE reported that most violations were delayed release of financial reports and late announcement of annual shareholder meetings. Inappropriate compilation of financial reports was also a common violation among surveyed firms, committed by 30 per cent of surveyed firms.

Specifically, the fourth-quarter earnings-report season saw the highest number of inappropriate financial reports (242 companies or 36 per cent of the total), followed by the third-quarter earnings-report season (219 companies or 33 per cent).  VNS
Entertainment / Music

by Staff reporter

Actress Anne Nhira, who successfully applied to government so they bar South African socialite Zodwa Wabantu from taking part in the 10-day Harare International Carnival which ends today, is celebrating the cancellation of the controversial Durban personality's Zimbabwean tour.The former Studio 263 actress believes Zodwa's decision to abort her second trip to Zimbabwe, despite receiving the necessary approval from the Board of Censors, was a victory for "what is right.""I am ecstatic that my voice was heard as a young woman in Zimbabwe standing up for what is right. The only way is up for our communities for as long as we speak with one voice on issues that require attention."My inbox is full with congratulatory messages for this initiative from all over the world including some South Africans too," Nhira told the Daily News.The embattled actress was, however, quick to point out that her decision to appeal against Zodwa's visit was not personal."As I said before, it was never a personal attack on a particular individual. It was against the practice and for standing for what I believed in for the greater good for Africa and the world," she told the Daily News.Though Nhira was attacked left, right and centre for blocking the South African socialite's tour, she insists that she has no regrets for standing for what she believes in."I know I have been vilified for standing for what I believe in but that to me is what defines freedom of expression and association. What I spoke against is not an individual but a practice which doesn't sit well with me."All the attacks did not affect me at all as freedom of expression is highly important. I have millions of people supporting my voice and my standing who are just not as vocal," she said.Nhira added she was willing to accept the South African socialite's offer for a meeting but on her own terms which she was not prepared to divulge."That could be possible as it was never personal. However, the meeting will depend on the conditions that I will stipulate," the former Studio 263 actress said.Since Nhira is based in South Africa, several people have slammed her for working against a national of a country in which she has stayed for many years.Yesterday, Nhira refused to comment on the matter and on whether she will be returning to South Africa soon.In a related Facebook post, Nhira denied that her letter to government seeking Zodwa's ban was successful because of an alleged improper relationship with acting Tourism and Hospitality minister Patrick Zhuwao."Allegations have also been thrown around to the fact that I only got government attention because of inappropriate' relations with government ministers but the truth is it is not every woman who sleeps their way to their goals and objectives."My engagement with government over the Zodwa issue was not only with the ministry of Tourism but also with the ministry of Women Affairs, ministry of Youth as well as the ministry of Culture."All this was not inspired by malice but a standpoint which probably resonates with many though they may not be as vocal," she claimed, adding that her action was in keeping with her support of the local arts sector."Prior to this engagement I have always stood for empowerment of local artistes and I still feel it can be done."For example, if we can have Zodwa performing for God knows how much, why not having Gonyeti or Bev performing for the same amount? While some question the logic behind having one performer stopped, it goes without saying that you can't have wholesome advocacy."
HA NOI  Equitisation of State owned enterprises (SOEs) has progressed well in 2011-2016 period and the first eight months of 2017 thanks to various ministries and sectors, economic groups and localities getting onboard, said an official from the Ministry of Finance.

Nguyen Duy Long from the ministrys Corporate Finance Department made the statement at a seminar entitled Equitisation of SOEs from the perspective of foreign investors held by the National Assembly Economic Committee and the American Chamber of Commerce in Ha Noi on Friday.

The seminar aimed to provide opportunities for managers and enterprises at home and abroad to meet and exchange experiences in the divestment of State capital in equitised enterprises.

It is expected to help the Economic Committee advise the National Assembly and recommend legal policies on the management and use of State capital and assets in enterprises.

Long said Viet Nam equitised 508 businesses in 2011-15, which had more than VN189 trillion (US$8.4 billion) of State owned capital. In 2016, the State approved equitisation plans for 58 businesses, six of which were SOEs.

The system of SOEs has been restructured from 1,500 enterprises in 2010 to about 600 in 2016, mainly operating in key sectors to ensure macro balance for the economy, said Long.

According to the report, equitisation has helped restructure human resources for firms and society, along with developing the capital market and stock market. It has also changed corporate management, helping raise business efficiency.

However, equitisation in a number of ministries and localities has fallen short of plans. The rate of State capital at equitised companies is still high because the amount of publicly offered shares was low compared with corporate equitisation. In particular, the mechanism of SOE equitisation has revealed several shortcomings which need to be studied and fixed.

At the seminar, participants mentioned things hampering equitisation. Among them, besides some objective reasons, the SOE equitisation process was influenced by global factors and regional economies.

Many participants said several ministries, sectors, localities, economic groups and State corporations have not actively organised equitisation.

Many equitised SOEs, who are meant to list on the stock market, have not yet listed after launching initial public offerings (IPOs). In addition, employees at various levels, sectors and enterprises are still afraid of equitisation and worried about their role after the process, which slows down its progress.

Tran inh Thien, director of the Vietnam Institute of Economics, pointed out a paradox of the equitisation process that although 96.5 per cent of enterprises have been equitised, only eight per cent of State capital was transferred to the private sector.

According to Thien, that is because the proportion of State capital for sale is very limited. Therefore, private enterprises are excluded from the right to participate in the management, not to mention corporate controlling rights. This is also one of the reasons why private investors, including foreign ones, are not interested in buying SOEs, said Thien.

Participants said that it was necessary to complete a system of mechanisms and policies for the restructuring of SOEs, to carry out the roadmap for equitisation and divestment of State capital approved by State agencies and to ensure transparency in the restructuring of state enterprises.

Adam Sitkoff, executive director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ha Noi, said that in order to increase the confidence of investors, equitisation and divestment must be transparent and investors must be provided with full information related to the businesses.

Meanwhile, Tony Foster from Freshfields, a law firm in the UK, said that to attract serious and long term investors, they should be able to buy controlling stakes of equitised businesses or divestment of State owned enterprises.

At the seminar, many participants also said that to overcome the shortcomings in the equitisation, the country would need to apply asset assessment methods that suit the market mechanism, ensuring State capital and assets and corporate values are properly assessed.

At the same time, it would be essential to select independent valuation consultants with prestige, encouraging investors to buy shares and contribute capital to enterprises when they carry out equitisation and divestment of State capital.  VNS
A graduate came up with an idea after completing a bike trip around Viet Nam.

That was to start a tourist accommodation centre in a Nang where people could cook, wash up and clean up for themselves.

In spite of it being a self-service centre, Phan Mai Thien Tam has some students working for her.

She understands them well because she was once a student herself.

After graduating from college and working at a bar in Hoi An, Phan Mai Thien Tam decided to start out on her own.

Tam, 24, got the idea to start a homestay service after going on trans-Viet Nam and trans-ASEAN bike trips

With her own money, she rented a full house in an alley on Hoang Dieu Street in a Nang.

Tam and her friends decorated the house in a freestyle manner and called it "An Nhien House".

The two-storeyed building, which is isolated from most of the noise in citys downtown area, offers three rooms for short vacationers in a Nang.

We intentionally set up a self-service at An Nhien-Homestay so that guests can feel like they are at home. Visitors can share kitchen, washing machine, bathroom and dining room with the hosts at their price, Tam said, adding guests could put whatever they want for using these services.

I dont care how much they pay for what they use during their stay here, I just offer them a homely space when visiting a Nang, a free and relaxing time.

Tam, known as Ha Di on her Facebook, said she started the business to do something that made her feel free and helped others feel the same.

The three-storeyed building, which was rented from a family living far away from a Nang, has seven rooms, including double-rooms for couples and family rooms for four people with prices of between VN300,000 and 400,000 each day.

I founded the service as my favourite start-up businesses, allowing tourists to explore real life in a Nang. Visitors can design a vacation that helps them immerse with locals and enjoy local cuisine. They can also cook their meals with fresh fish and farm produce from a market near An Nhien Homestay, Tam said, adding that the home has two rooms where four-member families or a group of six could stay.

She said guests themselves clean the rooms, wash their clothes and cook their food.

Its like their home. They come and go as they like. Security in the living quarter is quite good, and the home is a registered business, she added

Tam said the An Nhien Homestay can host 20 visitors at a time in its seven rooms.

She said she does not spend much time at the house, because guests do everything themselves.

The a Nang native also employs students to take care of the house, offering them free accommodation.

Ive studied in college and understand the difficulties of students living away home. I employ them to work at the house as a chance for them to practise a vocation and pick up some life skills before graduating from college, she said.

Students also get a little money from my home services profit every month, and that should help them with small expenditures, since accommodation at the house is free, Tam said.

Hippy house

Tam has opened a new homestay service on Mai Xuan Thuong Street in Thanh Khe District near the citys bus station and airport, offering six rooms that can accommodate 30 travellers.

Tu Thanh Binh, 22, a student of the Duy Tan College in a Nang, said he was employed as a manager in the new-opened An Nhien-Hippy home.

We are a group of five students including three managers and two staffs. We assign each other work and studying schedules. When I was away in college, other managers will take care, Binh said.

Binh a native of Binh inh Province, said employees at the An Nhien-Hippy enjoy group work and free accommodation, and get a little money from the home service.

The temporary job helps us gain real life skills and practice. It also saves money for us with free accommodation and shared cooking. All of us clean the house, decorate it and host BBQ and music parties on the weekend for tourists, Binh said.

The new home offers more choice for tourists as it is located in a residential area with many restaurants, markets and shopping centres. We have bikes for rent and links with travel agencies, booking centres and eateries, he said.

The student manager said the home is just 500m away from the coast, so guests can enjoy the sea and its breeze after a short walk.

Its cheerful home for young hippy types in a Nang at reasonable cost.

He said the Hippy house has a room for couples with VN350,000 (US$15.5), while a room for four costs VN400,000 ($17.7).

Laurent, a tourist, said about her time at the An Nhien Homestay: If you are looking for a great and relaxing spot in the middle of a Nang, this is the place to go. Just a few steps from the busy city you will find this beautiful house with the great hosts  they will immediately make you feel at home and will help you with any questions you may have during your stay. I strongly recommend you to stay here if youre in a Nang.

Another visitor, Till, said: What a nice house in the heart of a Nang. I could not imagine a better homestay. Its quiet and has a wonderful terrace where you can enjoy eating outdoors or just have a cup of coffee.

Homestay service is the latest hospitality sector entrant in the coastal city, following investors pouring funds into international standard hotels and resorts.

I plan to open more such places in quiet streets near the beaches of a Nang and the tourism hubs of Hue and Nha Trang, said Tam.

I just want to create an easy choice for tourists when they come to a Nang, as I have experienced in my own bike trips in ASEAN and Viet Nam. The opportunity to stay in a safe and peaceful house in a Nang would lure more tourists to the city.  VNS

GLOSSARY

With her own money, she rented a full house in an alley on Hoang Dieu Street in a Nang.

To rent a house means to have the use of it in exchange for paying the owner some money every month.

An alley is a narrow street.

Tam and her friends decorated the house in a freestyle manner and called it "An Nhien House".

To decorate a place means to make it look attractive.

Freestyle means without rules and restrictions.

The two-storeyed building, which is isolated from most of the noise in citys downtown area, offers three rooms for short vacationers in a Nang.

Each floor of a building is a storey.

Isolated means far away from.

Vacationers are people who are on vacation, or holiday.

We intentionally set up a self-service at An Nhien-Homestay so that guests can feel like they are at home.

To intentionally set up a self-service means to set about doing that as the plan you wanted to achieve from the beginning.

A self-service, in this case, is an accommodation centre that involves no waiters, cooks or cleaners. People simply help themselves.

I dont care how much they pay for what they use during their stay here, I just offer them a homely space when visiting a Nang, a free and relaxing time.

A homely place is a place like home.

I founded the service as my favourite start-up businesses, allowing tourists to explore real life in a Nang

Founded means started from the beginning.

Security in the living quarter is quite good, and the home is a registered business, she added.

Security means being free from threats and danger.

A registered business is one that is on the books of the authorities and has met certain standards that the authorities require.

The a Nang native also employs students to take care of the house, offering them free accommodation.

A a Nang native is someone who is from that city and nowhere else.

To employ students means to give them jobs.

I employ them to work at the house as a chance for them to practise a vocation and pick up some life skills before graduating from college, she said.

A vocation is a job you do with a great sense of duty and interest.

Graduating from a college or university means passing at the end of your course.

Students also get a little money from my home services profit every month, and that should help them with small expenditures, since accommodation at the house is free, Tam said.

Expenditures are times when you spend money.

We assign each other work and studying schedules.

Assign means give someone something to do.

Schedules are programmes.

The temporary job helps us gain real life skills and practice.

A temporary job is one that you do for a little while and not permanently.

The new home offers more choice for tourists as it is located in a residential area with many restaurants, markets and shopping centres.

A residential area is an area where people have their homes and is not one where there are businesses and factories.

Its cheerful home for young hippy types in a Nang at reasonable cost.

Hippies are free-thinking, free-living people.

I strongly recommend you to stay here if youre in a Nang.

Recommend means advise.

Homestay service is the latest hospitality sector entrant in the coastal city, following investors pouring funds into international standard hotels and resorts.

The hospitality sector is the part of the economy that is involved with offering people food and accommodation for recreation.

Investors are people who spend money on things in the hope of making more money out of them.

The opportunity to stay in a safe and peaceful house in a Nang would lure more tourists to the city.

An opportunity is a chance.

To lure more tourists means to attract them.

WORKSHEET

Find words that mean the following in the Word Search:

A word that describes free-thinking and free-living people. A type of two-wheeled vehicle you can rent at An Nhien-Homestay. The number of people who may stay in a VN400,000 room at An Nhien-Homestay. A place in a Nang where people like to visit that is not far from An Nhien-Homestay. A place on the Internet where Phan Mai Thien Tam is known as Ha Di.

y i m o y t u j s g u d g t b s b l b d h f e l j p h i p p y s j o w p v a b i k g w r t u d s b h v b o e r s z r m c r e h h w m b t h c p a b s a c b r u t b n b p g f a c e b o o k a c m b t q v h l x d k r f m h i w d r k n w r d d r

ANSWERS:

 Duncan Guy/Learn the News/ Viet Nam News 2017

1. Hippy; 2. Bike; 3. Four; 4. Beach; 5. Facebook.
QUANG NAM  Solid waste produced by the central province of Quang Nam has risen in recent years but the province lacks high capacity waste treatment systems, according to the provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment (DoNRE).

Le Thi Tuyet Hanh, deputy director of the provincial DoNRE, said that most waste in the province was buried.

The province has 20 rubbish dumps, but only six, in Nui Thanh, ai Loc, ong Giang, Que Son and Bac Tra My districts, were up to hygiene standards.

The province has only one waste treatment plant in Hoi An City with a capacity of 55 tonnes per day.

The biggest problem in the province was that rubbish was not classified at its source properly, creating big obstacles for treating it afterwards, said Hanh.

In past years, solid waste discharged from industrial zones, enterprises and trade villages was collected and treated with daily waste.

Recently, different big dumps including the Tam Xuan No 2, ai Hiep and Cam Ha have become overloaded, while waste transport is unhygienic and foul-smelling, causing pollution.

Earlier, to treat the rubbish, temporary waste treatment systems were set up, allowing water from waste to sink into the ground and affect the surrounding area. These systems had deteriorated as time went by, said Hanh.

A spokesman from the Nui Thanh District Peoples Committee said that Tam Hai sea had been seriously polluted due to increasing waste, and a pollution treatment system was needed.

However, local residents opposed the construction of an incinerator as they were afraid that rubbish from other places would be brought to the district if a large waste treatment system was set up.

Deputy Director Hanh said that finding a place to build a waste treatment plant far enough from residential quarters was difficult.

Earlier, the Quang Nam Peoples Committee agreed for the Construction, Technology and Development Joint-stock Company to build a waste treatment plant. The company proposed building the plant in the Tam Xuan No 2 waste treatment zone in Nui Thanh District.

But the provincial DoNRE rejected the proposal as the area had been promised to the Urban Environment Joint-stock Company. Moreover, the area is only 28m from the Phu Ninh Clean Water Plant, an unsafe distance.

In a conference recently, permanent vice chairman of the provincial peoples committee Huynh Khanh Toan asked localities to work with the provincial DoNRE to adjust management of solid waste in the province.  VNS
QUANG BINH  After an initial visual survey, a Quang Binh expert said that the grave recently unearthed by local farmers is not an ancient one, but actually dates to the era of the Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1945). More testing, however, remains to be done.

Nguyen Mau Nam, director of the local Department of Culture and Sports, led an expert group to the site in Phap Ke Village in Quang Phuong Commune on Friday to examine the cubic monolith grave unearthed on Wednesday.

Nam said this grave is old and might have been built for a rich person who lived in the countrys last monarchical era.

He denied the popular local theory that the grave was constructed for an 11th century prince because no fencing and gate system was found at the site. Nam added that the characters transcribed on the monolith surface were faded, making the initial dating process more difficult.

This is not also a grave for Champa people as the Champa did not have burial formations like this, Nam told local media.

However, he failed to offer conclusive evidence to support his comments, such as via forensic tests on the monolith or bones inside the grave.

An archeologist, who did not want to be named, said Nams comments were made after an initial visual survey of the grave. Further archaeological work could uncover other clues.

A fencing and gate system could fall down due to deterioration over time, he said.

Earlier, farmers in the village dug to remove the roots of bushes and found the 0.5m under the ground. They found Chinese Han characters transcribed on a single stone used as the grave cover, and guessed that the grave was an ancient one.

The site is located 1.5km from the Con Nen archeological site, where thousands of stone, bronze, iron, ceramic farming tools and daily items were found. The oldest items date back to 3,500 years ago, inspiring locals theory that the newly discovered grave could also be thousands of years old.

The elderly in the village said the bushes at the site had been kept untouched for hundreds of years. Officials in the commune blocked curious locals from the site as they waited for the expert group to arrive.

It is unusual to find a person buried in a monolith grave like this one in fields around populated areas of Viet Nam.  VNS
HCM CITY  Developing ways to attract more Chinese and Malaysian tourists to Viet Nam was the main topic of discussion at several seminars held in HCM City within the framework of the three-day International Travel Expo (ITE) HCM City 2017, which ends today.

Participants discussed the citys key tourism products for Chinese and Malaysian tourists and the ways inbound travel companies could strengthen connections in the city.

Over the last few years, the Malaysian market has been one of the top 10 Asian tourist markets for Viet Nam.

At a seminar held at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre (SECC) on Friday, inh Ngoc uc, the director of the market department under the Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism, said the city should consider opening more airline routes between Malaysia and Viet Nam, create new, interesting tours, and open more Malaysian restaurants.

In the first eight months of the year, about 295,500 Malaysian tourists visited the city, an increase of about 17 per cent compared to the same period last year, a gain of nearly 3.5 per cent of Viet Nams total international arrivals.

Abdul Hadi Che Man, director of Malaysias Travel Promotion Department based in the city, said the citys tourism sector should pay more attention to Halal tourism, including foods and drinks, cultural activities and accommodations.

He said the citys tourism should offer more conveniences for Malaysian guests such as prayer rooms at international airports, Halal restaurants at hotels and shopping malls, and tour packages inclusive of Halal meals.

I hope the city will step by step improve and apply these solutions, and ensure that services for Malaysian tourists are offered in the near future, he said.

Zosimo Jimeno, general director of Kok Thai (Quoc Thai) Travel, said between 3.5 and 4.5 per cent of the total international tourists to Viet Nam are Malaysian. I believe the number of Malaysian tourists to Viet Nam will increase year by year, he said.

Malaysia is diverse and has many kinds of tourists, he said, adding that businesses and services must know what to do and what to avoid, especially in communications and operations.

There are many components in tourism and hospitality, but the traveler will only see it as one single experience, he said.

Tourism companies should also offer promotions on Malaysias national holidays, he added.

Chinese market

Another tourism seminar held on Thursday which focused on ways to attract Chinese tourists attracted more than 120 people, including representatives from Viet Nam National Tourism Administration and the citys tourism associations and Department of Tourism, and officials of airlines, tourism businesses, schools, restaurants, hotels and relevant agencies.

Zhang Hailin, a professor at Guilin Tourism Universitys Asian Tourism Research Centre, spoke about Chinas tourism and outbound markets, and the role of the Chinese market in Viet Nams tourism.

China is the largest outbound tourism source market for the world and the number one spender in international tourism, according to the United Nations World Travel Organisation.

Ten per cent of Chinese own a passport, and 62 countries and territories give free visa on arrival for Chinese passport holders, so there is growing potential for the Chinese outbound market, he said.

Around 2.7 million Chinese tourists visited Viet Nam in the first eight months of the year, an increase of 51.4 per cent compared to the same period last year, accounting for 31.3 per cent of Viet Nams total international visitors.

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has reported that Viet Nam leads Asia in tourism growth rate.

Early this year, Viet Nam ranked sixth among the top 10 countries with the most powerful tourism growth in the world, according to the Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism.

At the seminar, Xie Yuanbo from Guilin Tourism University discussed Chinese tourists characteristics and offered recommendations on how to promote Viet Nam tourism to the Chinese market, such as improving advertisements, applying new payment systems, and promoting local Chinese-speaking staff.

Phan Xuan Anh, CEO for Viet Excursions (Du Ngoan Viet), suggested that the tourism sector focus on operating high-quality tours with sustainable prices instead of a large number of poor-quality tours.

He recommended that the city tourism sector invest in building luxury shopping centres to sell jewelry, pearls, aloe wood, and products made with natural rubber, and build areas for luxury seafood dining.

Nguyen Thi Bich Thuy, inbound director for Vietravel, said that city authorities should include the Chinese language on traffic signs and write a tourism code of conduct in Chinese.

TPO-business networking workshop

Twelve member cities of the Tourism Promotion Organisation for Asia Pacific Cities (TPO) participated in a business networking workshop held yesterday (September 8) within the framework of the 13th International Travel Expo HCM City.

The aim of the event was to promote tourism products and services between HCM City and 11 cities in South Korea: Busan, Jeonju, Haeundae, Tongyeong, Andong, Gimhae, Incheon, Ulju-gun, Goyang, Jeollabuk-do, and Geoje.

La Quoc Khanh, deputy director of HCM Citys Tourism Department, said HCM City, as one of TPOs founding members, had always supported the TPOs activities.

This is a good opportunity for travel agents from TPO and Viet Nam to exchange information to open up future cooperation, Khanh said.

The South Korea-based organisation has more than 100 members, including city governments, NGOs and businesses across the Asia Pacific region, offering a network for tourism exchange and co-operation.  VNS






HCM CITY  Tourism will become a key economic sector of the northern province of Ninh Binh by 2025, local officials said at a tourism conference held yesterday in HCM City.

Pham Duy Phong, director of the Ninh Binh Tourism Promotion Information Centre, made remarks at the conference, jointly held by the Vietnam Tourism Association, Ninh Binh Tourism Promotion Information Centre and HCM Citys Tourism Association.

Speaking of the tourism targets, Phong said that last year the province welcomed 6.5 million visitors, earning revenue of over VN1,700 billion (US$75 million). The province aims to receive 6.7 million visitors this year and 7.6 million visitors by 2020, reaching revenue of VN3,000 million ($132 million).

Ninh Binh Province is an increasing favourite destination for many tourists in Viet Nam. It is land of renowned landscapes, historical relics, traditional trade villages, and varied cuisine. One particularly notable site is the Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex, a UNESCO-recognised World Heritage Site in Viet Nam. But the tourism industry in the province wants more help from local officials.

The conference heard many opinions about the challenges facing Ninh Binh Provinces tourism industry. Representatives of many travel agencies, for example, complained about high prices for goods and services.

They suggested Ninh Binh Province tourism industry leaders pay more attention to developing souvenirs, diversifying local specialties to meet visitors different tastes and seek effective solutions to the issue of overcharging.

According to Nguyen Quy Phuong, head of the travel industry department under the Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism, the provincial sector should be concerned about promoting itself to the international market. He also suggested the province invest in its infrastructure and human resources to develop tourism sustainably.

Bui Thanh ong, the general director of Ninh Binh Provinces Department of Tourism, said that the province is diversifying souvenirs by researching and introducing new ones, such as duplicates of Thai Binh Hung Bao coins, the first coin in Viet Nam. He added that the sector will co-operate with related industries to enhance the tourism services of the province and offer favourable conditions to travel agencies.  VNS
Ha Noi Railway Station (HNRS).  Photo 24h.com.vn

By Mai Khuyen

For the second time in two years, a proposal put forward by the Ha Noi Police Department to move Ha Noi Railway Station (HNRS) and all inter-provincial railway tracks to the suburbs has been rejected by many experts and citizens.

The move, according to Major General Pham Xuan Binh, deputy-director of the department, would help eliminate traffic congestion at rail and road intersections, ease traffic pressure in the inner city, and reduce accidents.

Opponents to the proposal, including the Railway Corporation and the Ministry of Transport, argue that the HNRS is an important urban transport hub. It is also a hub for transport planning in the city by 2030, which was approved by the prime minister, so it is not possible to move it without significant disruption. Additionally, as the cost of relocation, including alterations and repair of infrastructure, will be enormous, a final decision should be given a lot of consideration.

As a Hanoian who has spent almost all of my life in the capital city and enjoyed the HNRS as the final stop on many of my trips around the country, I too object to the move. Although Binh is attempting to put forward progressive solutions to a severe issue in the city  the congestion, I dont support this particular idea.

Putting aside my personal attachment to the issue, Ill turn to a more serious and probably more pressing issue that currently faces the Government, authorities and policy-makers: the management of public assets, particularly the so-called golden land in big cities.

Viet Nam is involved in efforts to solve the worsening congestion in big cities by moving many government offices, universities and hospitals from the inner city, to provide more space for residential areas and transportation.

A number of satellite urban areas were built on the outskirts of cities to prepare for such a move.

A master plan for the construction of the capital set an ambition to turn it into a beautiful and modern city by 2030.

But after 10 years of implementation, the plan seems to have gone off the rails. So far, results have been limited, and the process itself has been progressing at a snails pace.

While thousands of billions of ong were pouring into building new headquarters in the satellite cities, many government departments and authorities were still trying to keep using the old land to do business, either by leasing the premises or allowing investors to put up buildings for sale or for rent at exorbitant prices.

How could such a situation happen?

The case of HNRS is only one among many that are part of the above larger picture. The issues raised relate to the increasing dispersal or abuse of public assets. It is a problem that seems to be growing out of control.

The dispersal or abuse of public assets is sophisticated and hard to handle due to loopholes resulting from weak management of authorities.

Although I personally dont support the proposed move of HNRS, which is currently located on some of the citys golden land, the issue does deserve deliberation.

If the move was going to go ahead, the question would be how best to utilise the vacated land

It is estimated that the total land area occupied by HNRS in central Ha Noi stretches to about 21 hectares, or 210,000 sq.m. Based on the value of surrounding land, it could also be estimated the total cost of the land is no less than US$3 billion.

This is clearly an attractive proposition for real estate investors and developers.

Authorities could insist on using such golden land to build a public centre for cultural activities, but no one could be sure that a shopping mall or residential buildings wouldnt be built and claimed to benefit culture.

A recent report by a local newspaper revealed in the first phase of a Government inspection campaign on suspected projects that were built on golden land, among 60

"golden" land lots which had been submitted to the Government for inspection, Ha Noi accounted for nearly 50 per cent of the total.

Most of these "golden" land lots were in prime locations and used to be public assets, but now have become private real estate or housing projects for sale.

The land, which should have been used for the construction of public facilities like parks or cultural centres, has been turned into high-rises with high population densities.

The result is more profit for investors, but surely more traffic chaos and the further degradation of the citys beauty.

Even worse, among these projects, many have been found to have violated the law on land use causing losses for the State budget.

It is critical that while the equitisation of State-owned enterprises is promising to revitalise the national economy, there is a tendency among individuals or private estate companies to take advantage of this guideline for profit and self-serving purposes. They try to manipulate and acquire as much of the citys golden land as possible. This has caused the loss of property which used to belong to the State.

The manipulation may occur in many other places in the inner city, such as the four bus stations of Gia Lam, Giap Bat, Nuoc Ngam and My inh, which are planned to be removed after 2020. The enormous areas taken up by these four stations, and the vast value they could bring on the real estate market, will ensure they are an "apple of discord" between social benefits and private interests.

The wave of dispersal of state assets and the abuse of public real estate is a side effect of the equitisation process and it is now becoming more obvious.

Along with Government efforts to boost reforms in State-owned sectors, particularly for socio-economic development, the number of equitised SOEs is likely to increase. However, there is a growing risk of losing public assets.

A variety of projects have been built on golden land lots in the city including the old State-owned Cat Linh Brick factory, the Tran Hung ao factory at the end of Ba Trieu street, and the old parking lot on Thanh Nien Road.

There may be many more commercial projects developed in the city that bring vast profits for investors, but the benefits for society as a whole are unclear.

As a general issue, there needs to be more effective management of land use in cities.

The Law on the Management and Use of Public Assets, which was just adopted by the National Assembly in July, is a necessary step, but it has created only a basic legal framework.

What is needed are specific decrees, circulars and guidelines to ensure that the law is strictly enforced.  VNS
HCM CITY  The HCM City Department of Home Affairs has called on the Peoples Committee to expand the public complaint app Binh Thanh Online city-wide following its successful trial in Binh Thanh District.

Since April the district administration has been trialling the app, which allows the public to report violations related to garbage dumping, pavement encroachment and illegal construction.

A complaint, once sent to the authorities, is processed within two hours after which the complainant is informed how it has been disposed of.

In more than four months of testing, the app helped deal with around 4,000 complaints.

The expansion is likely to begin in December.  VNS
QUANG TRI  Transport authorities in central Quang Tri Province are planning to collect tolls according to the actual distance commuters travel, which could be a breakthrough initiative for Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) roads nationwide.

The Quang Tri Department of Transportation has requested the approval of the local Peoples Committee for its proposal.

According to department director Le Nhu Tien, this method would be fairer to commuters than the current system on BOT roads, reducing 70 per cent of total fees for drivers in the provinces ong Ha City, Trieu Phong, Huong Hoa, Cam Lo, akrong districts.

Commuters from Quang Tri Town and Hai Lang District would pay 60 per cent less while those in Vinh Linh and Gio Linh districts would cut their toll payments by 20 per cent.

Road users throughout Viet Nam have complained bitterly about the price of the tolls and their non-progressive nature. Fees are collected at the same rate for those who travel on an entire road or part of the road, while some toll booths are located in places where drivers are forced to pay a toll for a road they dont use.

According to Quang Tri authorities, such opposition can endanger social stability and should be handled wisely.

Recently, commuters in central Nghe An, Ha Tinh, and Tien Giang voiced their anger by paying the toll fee with small change, aiming to slow traffic around the booth to a crawl. Some even put notes in plastic bottles or soaked the notes in water before they arrived at the booth.  VNS
HA NOI  Ride-hailing services like Uber and Grab have already transformed the urban transit landscape. With new options for consumers, however, come planning challenges for city leaders, experts said yesterday at a conference in Ha Noi.

Nguyen uc Thanh, director of the Viet Nam Institute for Economic and Policy Research and organizer of the "Urban Transport Planning Policy in the Digital Age" conference said that Uber and Grab are significantly different from traditional taxis. Urban planners havent yet figured out how to regulate them proactively, he said.

In Viet Nams big cities, he noted, reactive policies have included efforts at prohibiting operation and limiting the number of ride-hailing vehicles allowed to operate.

At the roundtable, experts said banning services like Uber and Grab would likely prove impossible. Instead, the Government should enact policies to level the playing field between ride-hailing apps and traditional taxis.

The ride-hailing services, experts said, represent just one aspect of a much broader movement towards new technologies that are changing the countrys socioeconomic situation. For example, Uber and Grab have disrupted traditional taxi drivers employment.

According to Pham The Anh, an economic expert from the National Economics University, how the Government chooses to respond to the rise of Uber and Grab could be a litmus test for how it will react to the increasing role of science and technology in peoples daily lives.

"If we reject the Uber and Grab or impose barriers to this type of technology, it will mean we are claiming that we promote technology and business, but the reality will not be so, " he said.

But he added that there was a need for the effects of Uber and Grab on consumers, service providers and traditional taxi drivers to be regulated.

ang Quang Vinh, economic expert from the Central Institute for Economic Management, said that if the Government restricted ride-hailing apps, it would be stifling innovation and competition.

It will slow down the countrys innovation, the stimulation of the economy, he said.

On the same point, lawyer Truong Thanh uc, Chairman of the BASICO law firm, said that Uber and Grab represented a modern new model that was bringing convenience to consumers and reducing costs for society, users and businesses. Instead of banning ride-hailing companies, he said, the state should encourage them.

"Why is there a fight between the traditional taxi and Uber and Grab? he said. Because we have tight and strict policies for traditional taxi. Since there are 13 conditions for normal taxi business, it is very difficult and costly for them to compete with new services.

A traditional taxi driver, Pham Van Ha, admitted that Uber and Grab bring significant benefits to customers. He still had concerns, however, about unfair competition.

While the Uber and Grab cars could change a per-minute fare, the traditional taxi meter rates could only be set by authorities, reducing taxis ability to lower prices to meet the competition. Moreover, Uber and Grab cars, frequently unmarked, are able to travel routes that traditional taxies cannot.

Recently authorities in Ha Noi, HCM City and Khanh Hoa Province recommended the Government ban new ride-hailing cars because of urban congestion. At a recent meeting, Vice Minister of Transport Nguyen Hong Truong said that the ministry would not ban Uber and Grab cars but would temporarily stopping granting new operation licences in five cities. VNS
News / Africa

by online

Two Ugandan men have been charged in a court in Kenya's coastal city of Mombasa for being in possession of a snake without a valid licence, and for operating a business without necessary documentation from the Kenyan wildlife authorities, the Daily Monitor reports.Yassin Lokorobe and Ronald Nganga are said to be part of a gang of five who stage-managed a supposed display of witchcraft in the city on Wednesday.In the incident, which drew a lot of attention, two Kenyan men pretended to be possessed by a spell after they allegedly stole a car from a man who had consulted a witch doctor to catch the alleged thieves.The duo, who the court ordered to undergo psychiatric testing, danced and drank their own urine while performing several other bizarre acts for close to an hour, the Monitor reports.Lokorobe and Nganga then appeared at the scene, posing as witchdoctors to exorcise the two men.Police say that the whole spectacle was a ploy to "boost their sorcery business".The prosecution told the court they had more evidence from CCTV cameras at the scene, which they say gives proof that the event was stage-managed.The story was widely shared on social media:
The investigating police have just issued a decision to prosecute ang Thanh Binh, former deputy governor of the State Bank of Viet Nam.  VNA/VNS Photo

HA NOI - The investigating police have just issued a decision to prosecute ang Thanh Binh, former deputy governor of the State Bank of Viet Nam.

ang Thanh Binh was prosecuted by investigators from the Ministry of Public Security today on the charge of lacking responsibility, causing serious consequences in a case relating to Pham Cong Danh, former chairman of the Construction Bank.

Last year, Danh was found guilty by the Ho Chi Minh City Peoples Court of intentional wrongdoings and violations of lending rules and sentenced to 30 years in jail.

Danh, the ex-Chairman of the Viet Nam Construction Bank (VNCB) Board of Directors, Chairman of the Board of Members and General Director of the Thien Thanh Group, was found guilty by the HCM City Peoples Court for illegally withdrawing more than VN9 trillion (US$404 million), the biggest such loss ever uncovered in the countrys banking sector.

Binh was prosecuted for his involvement in the "grand scheme" of Pham Cong Danh and his accomplices. He was put under house arrest.

Binh has 25 years of experience in the banking industry. In 1994, he started as Director of the Department of Financial Institutions, and after three years became Director of the Legal Department of the State Bank. In 2002, Binh was appointed the Director of Personnel Department of the State Bank. In 2005, together with Nguyen ong Tien, he was appointed Deputy Governor of the State Bank.

According to the decision on the assignment of the work, Binh helped the Governor deal with banking inspection and supervision, anti-money laundering, credit information, legal work, the operation of peoples credit funds, deposit insurance activities, and the operation of associations in the banking industry. He was directly in charge of the Banking Inspection and Supervision Agency, Legal Department, and Credit Information Center.

Binh served as deputy governor of the State Bank of Viet Nam from 2005 until he retired in August 2015.

On August 28, the Ha Noi Peoples Court opened the first hearing in the case of ex-banker Ha Van Tham and 50 other defendants for serious violations of State monetary policies.

In one of the biggest economic crime cases in Viet Nam, Tham  former Chairman of the Board of the Ocean Commercial Joint Stock Bank (OceanBank)  and 50 other former executives and employees of the bank face charges of appropriating assets, breaching loan regulations of credit institutions, abusing power while on duty, and intentionally acting against State regulations on economic management causing serious consequences.

Apart from violations that resulted in losses of nearly VN2 trillion (US$88 million) for the bank, Tham was found to have directed his subordinates to approve a loan for former Chairman of the Vietnam Construction Banks Board Pham Cong Danh without guaranteeing the lending conditions, collateral and proper purposes, causing losses of nearly VN350 billion ($15.3 million) for the Ocean Bank.

A week ago, government inspectors issued a report on violations that took place at the central bank between 2010 and 2015. The report said the quality of supervision on detecting potential risks was low and the risk assessment on credit institutions was improper.VNS
HA NOI  No transport constructions carried out under the build-transfer-operate (BOT) and build-transfer (BT) mechanisms in Viet Nam have been carried out with bidding, according to the Government Inspectorate.

The ministry-level agency on Wednesday announced the results of their inspections of a number of BOT and BT projects in transportation on the Viet Nam Government Portal (chinhphu.vn).

Their report pointed out five major shortcomings in the implementation of these projects, with one contractor appointment.

The contractors for more than 70 BOT and BT transport projects were appointed by their investor, the Ministry of Transport(MoT), without bidding. Some of them were not capable of implementing the projects, proposing several items whose costs did not correspond to budget estimation.

Second, MoT did not announce project portfolios for public-private partnership (PPP) investments in January each year as required in order to call for investments in time.

Third, some of the MoTs investment decisions were illogical and unable to maintain a consistent investment master plan.

Fourth, the process of determining the value of BOT constructions was not done properly. Most of the completed projects that are in use have been collecting toll fees longer than planned.

Fifth, capital investment for these projects was not mobilised from a variety of sources and economic sectors, and their financial plans were developed in an incomprehensive manner and inaccurate manner.

Recommendations

Based on the inspection, the Government Inspectorate proposed Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc direct collaboration between the transport, construction, finance, and planning and investment ministries to adjust regulations on PPP investments.

Contractor selection must be done through bidding, not appointment, they proposed, while the feasibility of projects that attract only one contractor should be reconsidered.

Regulations on determining, approving and managing construction costs should be revised, with focuses on unit price and market price index.

Inspection, supervision and management of the BOT constructions quality, total value, toll fee and toll collection duration must be done under the same mechanism as constructions that use State funds.

Criteria for toll stations should be added to the national plan for the transport system and toll stations in unreasonable locations should be removed, according to the report.

Toll collection should be supervised with advanced technologies to ensure complete transparency. Electronic toll collection (ETC) should be made compulsory.

Toll fees on the BOT renovated stretch of the Phap Van-Cau Gie Highway should be adjusted as soon as possible according to its capital investment. Toll fees on the stretch have been reported to be equal to that on the newly-built BOT Cau Gie-Ninh Binh Highway.

Since late Monday, drivers have been using small change to pay tolls at the BOT toll station No 1 on the stretch of the National Route 5 in Hung Yen Provinces Van Lam District, some 60km to the southeast of Ha Noi.

Some drivers said they did so to object to toll collection at two toll stations on the route, Colonel o inh Hao, police chief of the province, told Zing.vn online newspaper.

The manager of the toll stations on the route, the Viet Nam Infrastructure Development and Finance Investment JSC, requested the Government to investigate the case, according to the report.  VNS
More than 30 delegates representing youths of Viet Nam, Laos and Cambodia gathered at a conference in HCM City yesterday to share experience in organising youth unions.  VNA/VNS Photo Manh Linh

HCM CITY  More than 30 delegates representing youths of Viet Nam, Laos and Cambodia gathered at a conference in HCM City yesterday to share experience in organising youth unions.

The event marks the 55th founding anniversary of Viet Nam-Laos diplomatic relations, 40 years of the signing of the Viet Nam-Laos Treaty of Amity and Co-operation, and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of Viet Nam-Cambodia ties.

The participants discussed measures to enhance the efficiency of education among youngsters on the friendship among the three countries, as well as ways to promote connectivity among young entrepreneurs.

They also shared experience in supporting youngsters in launching startups, along with solutions to foster co-operation among the youth of the three countries in volunteer activities.

Le Quoc Phong, First Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union Central Committee, said that the youth organisations had worked together bilaterally and multilaterally. They have also co-ordinated at multilateral youth forums such as the ASEAN, ASEAN Plus, the Mekong Sub-region Youth Forum and the World Federation of Democratic Youth.

Nguyen Van Thang, Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union of Ha Noi, said that the youth organisations should focus on three major issues: popularising the Party and States policies in encouraging innovative startups, supporting youths in accessing capital and connecting domestic and foreign startup communities and providing policy advice for young peoples startups.

The Lao delegation suggested that youngsters of the three countries should alternately hold a forum to share experience in startups and attracting investment.

Meanwhile, the Cambodian delegation proposed forming a young entrepreneur council of Cambodia, Viet Nam and Laos, and an annual forum for young businesspeople.

In the framework of the conference from September 7-9, the participants laid flowers at the statue of late President Ho Chi Minh and visited historical sites in HCM City as well as the Viet Nam National UniversityHCM City and the Sai Gon Hi-Tech Park.

The Viet Nam-Lao-Cambodia Youth Cooperation Forum was first held in Viet Nam in 2014 as an initiative of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union. The annual forum has been held in turn among the three countries.  VNS
HA NOI According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Viet Nam is among the countries with the fastest aging rate in the world. This phenomenon has widespread and long-term impacts on the country, requiring comprehensive proactive policies for the elderly.

In 2017, Viet Nam has an estimated 10 million older adults. This number is expected to rise to 19 million by 2030 and 28 million by 2050, according to information made available in a workshop held earlier this month on the implementation of the national action plan on health care for the elderly.

The action plan, approved by the Ministry of Health last December, aims to improve health outcomes for older people in the 2017-25 period.

Experts said that Vietnamese culture, which emphasizes filial duties as well as respect for the elderly, should combine with a fast-growing economy to enable the Government to achieve its stated goals for elderly care.

Experts said geriatric care in Viet Nam faces a range of difficulties. An increasing number of older patients put an ever-growing burden on the already struggling healthcare fund. Most diseases that afflict older people are chronic and non-communicable, requiring frequent check-ups, constant monitoring and medications.

Pham Thang, director of the National Institute of Gerontology, said the most frequently seen diseases are high blood pressure, diabetes, joint disorders, cancer, or strokes, which demand care for the rest of the patients life. Elderly people are also the heaviest user of medicines, accounting for 50 per cent of all medicines taken. This causes the cost for elderly care to be five to seven times higher than care for younger adults.

In addition, older people have different health needs compared to other demographics, making it a necessity to formulate a specific plan that caters to these needs.

With improving socio-economic conditions, Vietnamese life expectancy has increased to 75.6  putting it in second place in the region and 56th in the world. However, the countrys disease burden is tremendous, with each individual suffering from 15.3 years of illnesses during their life.

Socioeconomic development also brings new challenges for comfortable aging. Though 72.3 per cent of elders live with their children, Vietnamese families are becoming increasingly nuclearised, raising the spectre that future retirees will live alone.

Comprehensive implementation

Geriatric healthcare has started to receive attention from the local to central level, with many community-based care models being implemented. However, the geriatric healthcare component in the general healthcare system has not caught up with the drastic demographic change.

Currently, throughout the country, only 49 out of 69 city-level and provincial-level hospitals have gerontology faculties, and only three institutes offer gerontology studies.

The action plan aims to remedy this critical shortage by requiring that all city-level and provincial-level hospitals have gerontology faculty and even a separate specialised centre for the older patients.

Furthermore, one of the action plans targets is that 80 per cent of the elderly are able to care for themselves, by providing them with necessary basic knowledge and practices, which will help to alleviate crowding in hospitals.

According to the plan, authorities at all levels will need to make sure that 100 per cent of elderly people have health insurance cards by 2025, and that 80 per cent receive at least one medical check-up a year and maintain up-to-date health profiles.

Presently, 17 centrally-directed cities and provinces have submitted their own action plans for review.

The General Office for Population and Family Planning is tasked with overseeing the implementation of the action plan in the country.  VNS
CEDAR FALLS  Virginia Fredericks lived in University of Northern Iowas Lawther Hall just three years after it opened as she attended college during World War II. She was the only one in her class who made it to the rededication ceremony Friday for the 77-year-old residence hall.

It was really new. I didnt realize it was that new of a building, Fredericks said Friday after speakers offered up the history of the building. It was interesting to be here with the group I was with. Theyre all gone. I cant find them anymore, so theyve passed along.

Fredericks, of rural Iowa Falls, and her family have their own history with the building. She was the first of three generations who lived in Lawther Hall. In fact, she and her granddaughter shared a room decades apart.

Fredericks and her daughter, Jeannette Fredericks-Weber, of Early, were among more than 50 people who came out to Friday to celebrate Lawther Halls reopening.

Lawther Hall, named for Anna Lawther, the first woman appointed to what became the Iowa Board of Regents, closed for about two years for renovations and opened to students again this fall.

The project cost about $21 million. The bonds that funded the project will be paid by students who live there, according to UNI Director of Residence Glenn Gray, so no state or tuition dollars were spent on the project.

Fredericks-Weber, who attended UNI during the Vietnam War, said the ceremony was a chance for her 92-year-old mother and herself to share memories from their years in the dormitory and see how it has been modernized.

I probably requested Lawther, I dont know, and our daughter grew up knowing she had to request Lawther, Fredericks-Weber said.

She summed up the feeling living in Lawther gave her.

It was a family, Fredericks-Weber said. We had houses, and each house was a family. The house I was in, in fact, still gets together once a year  just to see whats going on.

UNI's Lawther Hall closes in on completion CEDAR FALLS  Michael Hager, University of Northern Iowas senior vice president of finance 

That fit the message from speakers at the rededication ceremony.

We know that students who live on campus adjust to college quickly. They have meaningful relationships with faculty and staff. They perform better academically, and they engage in out-of-class programs and activities, said Jessica Moon, director of the university honors program.

Fredericks and her daughter got their first glimpses of the building in years. They recalled details of living on campus. For Fredericks, it was being packed four to a room during World War II. For Fredericks-Weber, it was the curfew she had and sunbathing outside.

Once they got indoors, Fredericks-Weber noticed the doors were renumbered so theyd have some difficulty finding their old rooms. But it didnt take long to adjust. When they happened past Olivia Nelsons room, Fredericks-Weber recalled the friend who had lived in that room.

Hopefully, she would approve, Nelson said.

She would approve, Fredericks-Weber responded.

UNI capital plans to be focus at Regents meeting CEDAR FALLS  The University of Northern Iowa will ask the state for $2.1 million next year 

Nelson said she welcomed the amenities the new building has to offer. A senior criminology major, Nelson said it is the first time shes lived in a dorm with air conditioning. She also appreciates the security and the size of the rooms.

I definitely loved Lawther before, but now I think its got some better perks, Nelson said. She had friends who lived there before the renovation who have approved of the remodeling. Its a needed improvement.  Its much nicer.
CEDAR FALLS  Rescinding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program did not silence the so-called Dreamers  children brought to the United States by their immigrant parents. In fact, theyre voices have gotten louder.

Members of the group, who defenders note were brought here through no fault of their own, are tired of immigrants being divided by their status.

When Republican President Donald Trump announced a phase-out of DACA last week, those who qualify for the program spoke up for themselves, their 800,000 fellow DACA recipients and all 11 million immigrants living here without official status.

We talk about Dreamers a lot. We say, This is all theyve ever known. Theyve built a life here. They are Americans in every sense of the word. But so is my mother, said Nilvia Brownson, who was brought from Mexico at 14 months old and now has DACA status. So, I am sick and tired of people demonizing our parents.

Field of Dreamers: Immigration activists grow their network WATERLOO | Sisters Monica Reyes and Nilvia Brownson were literally just two Dreamers with a 

She and sister Monica Reyes, both founders of Dream Iowa, have been here nearly 23 years. But so has their mother.

Shes made a life here too. Shes your favorite waitress at your favorite restaurant, Brownson said. They all belong here. There are so many.

Brownson was drowned out by applause before she could finish.

She was one of about a half-dozen speakers at a march for Dreamers Friday evening. More than 300 supporters marched through downtown Cedar Falls to the office of U.S. Rep. Rod Blum, R-1st District.

Blum supported Trumps announcement, saying Democratic President Barack Obama overreached in creating the program, and immigration policy should be written by Congress. Iowas Republican Sens. Charles Grassley and Joni Ernst made similar statements.(tncms-asset)ebde68c2-2405-11e4-8973-00163ec2aa77[1](/tncms-asset)

The childhood immigrants have taken them up on that pronouncement. They agree Congress should act, and so do other advocates for a comprehensive immigration policy.

We will no longer stand in silence, and we will no longer let our voices be shut down. This is a time where we must rise to be heard and to be courageous, said Ashley Sanchez, president of the University of Northern Iowa chapter of Dream Iowa, called Panthers for Dream Iowa. We will no longer accept the bare minimum, for the reason that it has set us up to fail. For decades, our people have been marginalized and discriminated against. But we are here to demand intelligent reform that includes all 11 million immigrants.

Sanchez also was drowned out by applause.

Several speakers directly addressed Dreamers, encouraging them not to give up and saying they would stand beside them. Others were Dreamers, encouraging continued activism and a comprehensive immigration policy that welcomes them and their families and invites future generations of immigrants.(tncms-asset)99a1a25a-94f4-11e7-9746-00163ec2aa77[2](/tncms-asset)

For too long myths about immigrants have served to divide us, said Lisa Munoz of the Cedar Valley Advocates for Immigrant and Refugee Reform. Now more than ever, it is imperative we base policy decision on facts not fears.

Munoz said the United States has a long history of immigration but also a long history of welcoming only certain groups.

Marching from Gateway Park to Blums office, protesters chanted along the way. Cheers of Education not deportation and No racism, no fear, immigrants are welcome here echoed across the Parkade.

As they marched down Main Street, they heard applause and honks of support. Many people stopped to snap photos or videos.

But Thomas Kessler, coordinator of the Peace and Justice Center of the Cedar Valley, a ministry of the Cedar Falls Mennonite Church, told supporters simply showing up and chanting are not enough.

May our steps now be followed by ongoing action and advocacy in the days ahead, Kessler said.
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a. Show proof of good health (a recent and valid medical report must accompany the application).

b. Show a clean criminal record (certificate from the police is required).

c. Undertake to return to Zimbabwe on completion of studies

d. Be prepared to be bonded by the Government of Zimbabwe.

e. Provide a detailed curriculum vitae accompanied with certified copies of '0' and 'A' levels certificates, and certified copies of the National Identity and Birth Certificates.

f. Provide a letter of motivation in support of the application, indicating briefly proven family history and social background.

g. Provide two referees one of whom must be the Head of the last school attended.

h. All applicants should provide contact telephone numbers; at least 2 numbers.

i. Students currently at or accepted by any local or foreign university or institute of higher learning or college should disclose this in detail, failure to which their applications will be disqualified.

j. Prospective applicants must be in possession of a valid passport a copy of its last page

k. should accompany the application where possible.

The Executive Director of the Presidential and National Scholarships Programme invites applications for scholarships for the 2018 academic year. The Presidential and National Scholarships Programme targets able but disadvantaged students mainly from rural areas in remote districts of the country's provinces, intent on pursuing undergraduate studies at foreign Universities in the following disciplines*PLACES OFFERED**ENGINEERING* (40)Mining, Chemical, Electrical, Mechatronics, Mechanical, Civil, Mine Surveying, Aeronautical,Industrial*Health Sciences* (10)Pharmacy, Veterinary Science, Denistry, Bio-Medical Sciences, Bio- Kinetics*Science* (10)Actuarial Sciences, Geological Sciences, Archeological Sciences*Agricultural Science* (20)Horticulture, Animal Science, Soil Science, Agricultural Economics*Commerce/ Management Science* (20)Accounting, Financial Intelligence, Business Economics, Insurance and Risk ManagementPreference will be given to applicants who satisfy the following criteria:1. Applicants must be resident in one of the ten provinces, preferably in the remote districts of the rural provinces. Students from remote districts, which have not benefited from previous selection, will be given preference.2. Priority is given to deserving orphans and less privileged applicants.NB: THE DISTRICT OF ORIGIN AND PROVINCE OF THE APPLICANT SHOULD BE CLEARLY MARKED ON THE CURRICULUM VITAE3. Candidates for undergraduate studies must be under 25 years of age and should possess a minimum of ten (10) points in relevant 'A' level subjects for chosen degree studies.4. Emphasis will be on gender balancing.5. Sciences Programmes above require good 'A' Level passes in Mathematics Physics, Chemistry and or Biology and all the programmes require 'A' or 'B' grade in English Language and Mathematics at '0' Level.6. Accounting requires good 'A' Level grades in Mathematics, Accounting with Economics or Business Management coupled with A or B grades in '0' Level Mathematics and English Language.7. Prospective students must:-All applications should reach the Executive Director's Office by 20 September 2017.*PLEASE NOTE THAT LATE APPLICATIONS WILL NOT BE ENTERTAINED*. Only successful applicants will receive acknowledgement and notification from the Programme Executive Director.ALL APPLICATIONS SHOULD STRICTLY BE DIRECTED TO:The Programme Executive Director,DEPARTMENT OF THE PRESIDENTIAL AND NATIONAL SCHOLARSHIPS OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT AND CABINET10th Floor, Compensation Building, Corner 4th Street and Central Avenue, Harare, Zimbabwe*BEWARE OF SCAMS*: *Do not pay anyone to get an interview or employment*
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David L. Ulin at the LA Times:

Nathan Englander is a fabulist: Thats the first thing to keep in mind. Even when hes trafficking in the naturalistic  in his story The Wig from For the Relief of Unbearable Urges or in the magnificent collection What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank  he aspires to the lesson of the parable.

Wouldnt I hide you? he writes in the latter, channeling Raymond Carver and the Holocaust. Even if it was life and death  if it would spare you, and theyd kill me alone for doing it? Wouldnt I? That such questions are being asked in the pantry of a suburban house in Florida is the point entirely; we never know where our fables will come from or what form the allegory might take.

A similar sensibility marks Dinner at the Center of the Earth, Englanders second novel (his first, The Ministry of Special Cases, came out in 2007): a kaleidoscopic fairy tale of Israeli-Palestinian reconciliation  or its inverse. Shifting fluidly among characters and settings, the book divides its action between 2002 and 2014.

The central character, if we can call him that, is Prisoner Z, a young American Jew-turned-Israeli operative who betrays his mission (or does he?) for a larger cause. That we do not understand, until late in the novel, what this means suggests the complex dance that Z must undergo.

more here.
News / National

by Staff reporter

SELF-CONFESSED hooker and dancer Nokhutula Marcia Chapwanya popularly known as Bootylicious has challenged South African dancer Zodwa Wabantu to a booty display contest on stage.However, Nokhutula may have to wait until after the Carnival to battle it out with the popular South African dancer Zodwa as her show at Private Lounge Friday is off after the socialite indicated that she is no longer coming.On Thursday, Zodwa Wabantu posted on her Instagram page a picture of one of an H-Metro poster headlined "Zodwa wins" accompanied with a caption that read:"I am not going to Zimbabwe, I won though. I can't be in a country run by pu**y @annenhira"South Africa, its home. We make friends with other nations."Organisers of the event Devine Assignments could not be reached for comment as their phones were unavailable but H-Metro understands the event will be rescheduled or even be shelved.Nokhutula has been testing her support base by moving around the CBD recently dancing without her panties.The video clips are now the talk of town.Some are describing the 26-year-old Nokhutula on social media as 'chimbuya musvo' while some remember her for running berserk and stoning her clients in the Avenues area.In her message to her followers, Nokhutula brags of her ability to shake her booty without panties claiming that she is popular with influential people she bedded during her time in the Avenues before she got employment."Zodwa cannot dance better than me and I have a bigger following than her in Zimbabwe; all the big fish know me and some tasted my sweetness," Nokhutula says.Nokhutula recently made headlines when she clashed with police in the Avenues who wanted to arrest her colleague over dangerous drugs.She quit the 'old profession' and has been a merchandiser for a mineral water company for the past months.
Mary Beard in The New York Times:

The very first word in the history of Western literature is rage or wrath. For that is how Homers Iliad begins. Composed some time in the eighth century B.C., it starts with a call to the Muse, the goddess of inspiration, to help tell the story of the wrath of Achilles (menin in the original Greek)  and of the incalculable sorrows and the terrible deaths of so many brave warriors that this wrath caused. Homers epic, set during the mythical war between Greeks and Trojans, is as much about anger, private vendetta and its fatal consequences as it is about heroic combat and the clash of two ancient superpowers. What happens, the poem asks, when your best warrior is so furious at a personal insult that he withdraws from the war and simply refuses to fight? What are the costs, to use the modern coinage, of Achilles sulking in his tent? In Enraged, Emily Katz Anhalt, a professor at Sarah Lawrence College, offers an engaging and sometimes inspiring guide to the rich complexities of the Iliad. Her underlying point is that, from its earliest origins, Western literature questioned the values of the society that produced it. The Iliad is no jingoistic Greek anthem, proudly celebrating the achievements of its warrior heroes and their struggles for military, political and personal glory (their struggles, as she sums it up, to be best). The poem both encapsulates and simultaneously challenges that worldview, by asking what "bestness is and what the costs of such a competitive culture are.

The 10-year Trojan War was fought to protect the honor of one Greek king, whose wife, Helen, had been stolen by  or had run off with  a Trojan prince. It must always have been very hard to listen to the Iliad (it was originally delivered orally) without wondering whether being best really should mean deploying almost unlimited resources and sacrificing the lives of countless friends and allies to avenge such a personal slight. Or, to put it in our terms, was the military response proportionate to the provocation? The dilemma in Homers plot, which focused on a few days slice of the action, is similar. In a public contest of bravado, clout and honor, Achilles had been forced to give up a captive girl, who was his favorite spoil of war, to the Greek commander in chief, Agamemnon. It was for that reason  the dishonor more than the girl herself  that he sulked off from the fight and by his absence caused the deaths of many dear to him. Was he justified? is the obvious and, in terms of traditional heroic codes of honor, the radical question. She has some powerful words too on the modern unreflective complacency about the democratic political process, as if so-called free and fair elections were its only touchstone. One of her chosen tragedies, Sophocles Ajax, explores the consequences of a popular group decision that was morally wrong: After his death, the armor of Achilles was unfairly awarded as a prize to Odysseus, not to his rival Ajax  and bloody mayhem came from Ajaxs rage at the decision. Anhalt urges us to look harder, as Sophocles did, at the way democracy works, to face the uncomfortable fact that democratic decisions can be wrong and can sometimes serve the ends of tyranny and ignorance rather than of justice and equality. Her implication that it is the job of a democracy to debate and to deal with democracys mistakes as well as to celebrate its successes is important, even if she is occasionally unfair to some human political achievements. In many parts of the world today, Anhalt writes, slavery and ethnic inequality persist and women still lack equal rights and cannot vote  which in some general sense is true, though the last part is misleading. It is certainly the case that in some places voting may not amount to much, and that women face all kinds of political disadvantage almost everywhere, but to my knowledge it is only in Vatican City that women are allowed nowhere near a ballot box.

More here.
In that taxing (and inherently salacious) milieu, Robin cant help but finally track down her long-lost daughter  now a supremely pained, if pampered, 17-year-old named Mary (Alice Englert). How pained? In one of the six-hour tales many brazen stretches of credibility, she happens to be in love with Alexander (David Dencik), a much-older Svengali whos secretly connected to the killing (and who has all the charm of Gollum from The Hobbit). Who needs The Handmaids Tale-style dystopia when weve already got this small, weird world?

Gallows humor abounds. To offset Robins dour personal storyline (and perhaps Moss curious penchant for awkward stares and wan smiles), the writers have cunningly given her an endless supply of vibrant foils. Gangly Gwendoline Christie of Game of Thrones is lovable here as a novice cop whose messy love life makes (celibate) partner Robins nose wrinkle. As Marys well-off adoptive mother, Julia, Kidman doesnt mind portraying a woman who seems to be more concerned about her self-image than her daughters happiness. (Someone start prepping an Ordinary People remake!) And as Mary herself, Australian wonder Englert resonates with the sort of raw, precocious angst that inspired many a John Hughes flick. Really, the actress is so true in the role, she helps elucidate the adults around her.

There are chases and shootings and a kidnapping. Flirtations and affairs and delusional romances. Twists and shocks and laughs (Robin says she hasnt just been burned by guys, Ive been deep-fried). Lake offers waves of enthrallment over its entire run (cresting with a major confrontation in hour three), but the mystery's unusual resolution is key. The lingering message seems to be that the need to love and be loved need not control your life, let alone destroy it.








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Many people across the United States were amazed by the once-in-a-lifetime total solar eclipse that took place on 21 August, the first one in almost 100 years.

However, this beautiful and unique event has also raised concern among some researchers like David Meade, author of the book Planet X  The 2017 Arrival.

According to report published on British online newspaper Daily Mail, Mr Meade affirmed that the Great American Eclipse of 21 August, 2017, is a major  huge  harbinger of the end of the world.

Earlier this year, Mr Meade claimed that Nibiru [a giant planet] would clash with Earth in October after being driven here by the gravitational pull from a 'binary star' twinned with the sun, states Daily Mail. The conspiracy theorist said that after the eclipse Nibiru will appear in the skies on September 23 before colliding with Earth, the article says.

The American researcher believes that this catastrophic event is described several times in religious texts like the Holy Bible. The Daily Mail suggests that he [Mr Meade] pointed to Chapter 13 of the Old Testament Book of Isaiah, which said: '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.

However, Nibiru will not come alone. Mr Meade expressed that a star, which could be a binary twin of our sun, is coming at us towards the South Pole. This star would also bring other seven celestial bodies, among which the most representative is Nibiru.

This system is, of course, not aligned with our solar system's ecliptic, but is coming to us from an oblique angle and toward our South Pole. This makes observations difficult, unless you're flying at a high altitude over South America with an excellent camera Mr Meade affirmed.

On the other hand, officials from NASA have recently stated that Mr Meade theories are just an internet hoax. Nibiru and other stories about wayward planets are an internet hoax. Obviously, it does not exist, the US space agency declared.

Draw your own conclusions

For further information: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4767852/Will-September-s-solar-eclipse-cause-world-end.html
News / National

by Staff reporter

POLICE Commissioner General, Dr Augustine Chihuri has pledged to pay school fees for 600 pupils to mark the 18th edition of the ZRP Commissioner General's Fun Fair in Bulawayo today.National Police spokesperson, Senior Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba, who jetted into the city last night for the event said this was part of the corporate social responsibility projects that the police force was engaged in."The Commissioner General will be donating and paying fees for disadvantaged children in the community and also for children of deceased members of the police force. These are some of our efforts to improve our society and plough back to the community," said Snr Asst Comm Charamba.She invited the Bulawayo community to head to White City Stadium for a funfilled day as she said the stadium will be the place to be for fun loving families this weekend."All roads should lead to White City Stadium. It is very important to have such events so that civilians get to interact with members of the police force so that we strengthen relations and trust and be able to fight crime and maintain peace in the country," she said."We are inviting members of the public to our annual family funfair at the White City Stadium in Bulawayo. Members of the public are cordially invited to come and share a day of fun with the members of the police force."Various artistes are set to perform including Sandra Ndebele, Mai Charamba, Sulumani Chimbetu and Jeys Marabini, Ezimnyama Dance Group and rapper Cal_Vin.There will be activities for adults and children.Snr Asst Comm Charamba said proceeds of the funfair will go towards charity."We believe in ploughing back to the community therefore the proceeds of the funfair will go towards charity because we want this event to be for a worthy cause. Come in you numbers as there are lots of prizes to be won," she said.The Commissioner General's Funfair, which is an annual event, is a brainchild of Dr Chihuri, who will be the guest of honour.








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Russia and China - allies of North Korea- have strongly defended the nuclear actions of North Korea. The latest Hydrogen Bomb test has sent tremors across the western world represented by the NATO. USA, Japan and South Korea have condemned the missile firing in the strongest possible ways.

China has once again urged diplomatic talks to address the crisis with an emerging nuclear power North Korea and warned at the UN Security Council that it will not allow chaos and war on the Korean peninsula.

Chinese Ambassador Liu Jieyi said that the situation on the peninsula is deteriorating constantly as we speak, falling into a vicious circle. "The peninsula issue must be resolved peacefully. China will never allow chaos and war on the peninsula." His appeal was echoed by Russia, which said that diplomatic negotiations were the only way to settle the crisis over North Korea's nuclear and missile programs.

Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said there was "an urgent need to maintain a cool head and refrain from any action that could further escalate tensions." Russia backs China's proposal for a freeze on North Korea's nuclear and missile tests in exchange for a suspension of US-South Korea military drills.

US Ambassador Nikki Haley however rejected the proposal as "insulting" and said it was time to ratchet up the pressure on North Korea by enacting the "strongest possible measures." "When a rogue regime has a nuclear weapon and an ICBM pointed at you, you do not take steps to lower your guard. No one would do that. We certainly won't," she declared.

Russia and China did not specify whether they would support additional sanctions on North Korea. The communist state has test-fired dozens of missiles and conducted three underground nuclear tests over the past year and a half in defiance of punishing UN Security Council sanctions and diplomatic pressure. It also has tens of thousands of soldiers and artillery positioned near the heavily fortified border that divides the peninsula.

The USA, Britain, France, Japan and South Korea requested the urgent meeting after North Korea detonated what it described as a hydrogen bomb designed for a long-range missile.

South Korea's defense ministry warned Monday that Pyongyang may be preparing another missile launch after two tests in July of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) that apparently brought the US mainland into range.

Meanwhile, North Korea has been observed moving what appeared to be an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) towards its west coast, South Korea's Asia Business Daily reported, citing an unidentified intelligence source. The rocket started moving a day after North Korea's sixth nuclear (Hydrogen) test, and was spotted moving at night to avoid surveillance, the report said. North Korea has launch facilities for its missile program on its west coast. South Korea's defence ministry said they were unable to confirm the contents of the report. The ministry said in parliament that North Korea was considered ready to launch more missiles, including ICBMs, at any time.

South Korea is seen taking retaliatory steps to stop north from moving further with its nuclear blasts. Its defense minister said it was worth reviewing the redeployment of American tactical nuclear weapons to the Korean Peninsula to guard against the North, a step that analysts warn would sharply increase the risk of an accidental conflict.

And even as concern over Korea deepened following North Korea's huge nuclear test Sunday, South Korea's defense ministry said that Pyongyang might be preparing to launch another missile into the Pacific Ocean, perhaps an intercontinental ballistic missile theoretically capable of reaching the mainland USA.

USA also feels the heat. In New York, Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the United Nations, said the regime of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was "begging for war." President Donald Trump and his South Korean counterpart, Moon Jae-in, spoke on the phone for 40 minutes, some 34 hours after the nuclear test and more than 24 hours after Trump took to twitter to criticize Moon's "talk of appeasement." The two agreed to remove the limit on allowed payloads for South Korean missiles -- something Seoul had been pushing for - as a way to increase deterrence against North Korea, according to a read-out of the phone call from South Korea's Blue House. They also agreed to work together to punish North Korea for Sunday's nuclear test, including by pushing for tougher sanctions through the United Nations. In a later phone call, Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel came to the same conclusion.

At a Security Council meeting, Haley pressed for the "strongest possible" sanctions against the North for openly challenging American power. . She did not spell out US proposals or how she would overcome the objections of veto-wielding permanent members China and Russia. But she cautioned, war is never something her country wants. We don't want it now. But our country's patience is not unlimited. We will defend our allies and our territory."

Haley ruled out the "freeze for freeze" proposal backed by China and Russia, which would suspend US joint military exercises with South Korea in return for suspension of North Korean nuclear and missile tests. "When a rogue regime has a nuclear weapon and an ICBM pointed at you, you do not take steps to lower your guard. No one would do that. We certainly won't," she said. Instead, she reiterated a White House threat to cut off trade with any countries that also trade with North Korea. That would presumably include China, with which the USA had nearly $650 billion worth of trade in goods and services last year. She said the USA will look at every country that does business with North Korea as a country that is giving aid to their reckless and dangerous nuclear intentions.

Haleys remarks appeared to be unpersuasive. Russia's UN ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, said. China will never allow chaos and war" in Korea, said Liu Jieyi, the Chinese ambassador to the UN Sanctions alone will not solve the crisis.

Meanwhile, South Korea, under pressure from Washington masters, is ready to install four more launchers to complete the deployment of a controversial US missile-defense system to counter the growing threat from the North, the defense ministry said. The ministry made the announcement as tensions spiked following North Koreas sixth nuclear test, which raised fears of military confrontation as the United States warned all options are on the table in dealing with the communist state. It didnt give a date but suggested the remaining launchers would be installed soon.

US Forces Korea began deploying the anti-missile battery known as THAAD with two launchers and the radar in late April in an overnight operation that many saw as an effort to rush it into place before May 9 elections to replace ousted President Park Geun-hye. It made the THAAD agreement with Washington despite local protests and objections from China, which fears the systems powerful radar could be used against it as well.

New SK President Moon Jae-in suspended the THAAD deployment shortly after taking office but reversed that decision as the North conducted increasingly advanced missile tests and rebuffed his efforts to pursue dialogue. Moon said the installment could be completed at least on a temporary basis pending a full environmental assessment of the site. The final administrative hurdle was cleared when the environmental ministry said that it has given conditional consent after finding the adverse impact on the area from THAAD was limited. The Ministry of National Defense then said it is planning to deploy the four additional launchers temporarily sooner or later in order to cope with North Koreas growing nuclear and missile threats.

One thing is very clear. USA would not dare attack North Korea chiefly because Russia and China, tow veto powers, oppose any such American misadventures. Pentagon would not switch on its terror machinery towards Pyongyang chiefly because North Korea is not Afghanistan. True, North Korea is seen in Washington challenging the US military power, knowing full well it had terror attacked Japan with its newly invented atomic bombs several decades ago and destabilized a powerful Iraq under Saddam Hussein and assassinating him in the crudest manner. .

Moreover, USA cannot hate North Korea as much as it hates Islamic world which is its major civilizational foe.
THIS AND THAT: Being there helps one appreciate history
News / National

by Staff reporter

President Mugabe heads to Mashonaland Central Province today for the eighth leg of the Presidential Youth Interface rally to be held at Chipadze Stadium in Bindura.Another memorable event is on the cards with the province yesterday saying it was expecting over 150 000 people to attend the event, where the President interacts with the youths on the challenges they face and their expectations of Government and the ruling party.Zanu-PF has 406 party districts in the eight administrative districts in Mashonaland Central.Party supporters from distant areas started arriving in Bindura yesterday and a musical gala was expected to be held last night.Zanu-PF secretary for the Youth League, Kudzanayi Chipanga said the province was ready."We had a final preparatory meeting yesterday (Thursday)," he said."From what we saw, it is all systems go. We gave them 10 000 litres of fuel as well as 10 000 T-shirts to supplement what they mobilised as a province."He said the province had displayed unity in organising the rally."Everyone is playing a part," Chipanga said."Several National Assembly Members attended the final preparatory meeting together with Provincial Affairs Minister, Advocate Martin Dinha and vice chairperson of the province Kazembe Kazembe. Central Committee members were also present. We expect nothing short of another top-notch event."Chipanga said the discipline displayed in other provinces where rallies have been held should be maintained."We have had incident-free events and we expect another good outing," he said.Mashonaland Central provincial youth chair Isaiah Mandaza said they were ready to welcome the First Family."We are now ready to have Baba and Amai in our province, which is home to them considering that most of the First Lady's projects are housed in Mashonaland Central," he said."Logistically, we are done and we do not have any challenges and with the train wagons which have been availed, we expect the numbers to increase."He added: "We have lined up a number of activities today (yesterday) to set the tone for the main event. We are at the moment having an orientation programme with students at Bindura University of Science Education. Other activities are being held across the town."We urge people to come in their numbers and listen to the wise counsel of our party leader, President Mugabe."President Mugabe has been visiting provinces around the country interacting with the youths and directly responding to their concerns.He has been to Mashonaland East, Manicaland, Masvingo, Matabeleland North, Mashonaland West, Matabeleland South and Midlands.He is left with Bulawayo and Harare provinces.The interface meetings are being organised by the Zanu-PF Youth League.Zanu-PF is using the platforms to launch a massive campaign for voter registration of youths ahead of the 2018 harmonised elections.The revolutionary party is also using the rallies to show its mobilisation prowess, as each rally has been highly subscribed.During the interface meetings, the youths are articulating social, economic and political issues affecting them.Among other issues, the Youth League is pushing for young people to have access to land, agricultural inputs and participate in mining activities.The main engagements are expected to end next month.
Aiken, SC (29801)

Today

Sunshine and clouds mixed. High 56F. Winds NE at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy. Low around 45F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.
Assyrians Caught in the Middle Between Turkey and Syria

Dayr al-Zafran, the Assyrian Saffron Monastery in Mardin, Turkey. ( Esther Judah) Mardin, Turkey -- "I am almost tempted to say that we were better off under the Ottoman Empire, when the millet system gave us more autonomy," says Father Gabriel, a Syriac-Orthodox priest whose white beard lies between the black of the tunic and his headgear. He points to the land belonging to the Saffron Monastery, a wonderful stone complex in the Southeastern Turkish province of Mardin -- founded over one thousand and five hundred years ago, it had been the house of the Syriac-Orthodox Patriarchate, whose headquarters is now in Damascus. The Christian community here is one of the oldest in the world, and Father Gabriele explains how, once again, they are going through a difficult time. The Turkish authorities recently reconsidered their position, after having confiscated Syriac properties, including monasteries, churches, lands and cemeteries. However, they have not decided to give them back yet. "We claimed them back, and initially it seemed that things were going well. The Diyanet, the Turkish Ministry of Religious Affairs, had to return the property to the Treasury Department. Now they are stuck there, as in a limbo. The inability to regain them would cause a severe blow to our community." Father Gabriel looks at the landscape from the top of the monastery walls, his worried gaze on the Syrian horizon. With a one hour drive, one could cross the border and get on the other side, where the war is raging. "The problem of the Syriac community is that it was not recognized as a religious minority in the Lausanne Treaty in 1923," says Michelangelo Guida, an Italian-Turkish professor at the 29 May University in Istanbul. The treaty put an end to the Greek-Turkish conflict, the latest act of the Ankara liberation war. Then, "only Jews, Armenians, and Greeks-Orthodox were recognized as minorities. For the Syriac, this means that not only they are forbidden from running their own schools and have other limitations, but also that they could have issues with the judiciary power regarding the recognition of their property." The Syriac-Orthodox community in Turkey has decreased over the years, in the face of serious clashes with institutions. The massacres of young Turks, which killed 250,000 among Syriac Christians in the years concurrent with the Armenian genocide , devastated the community about a century ago. More recently, emigration reduced the number of faithful to only 25,000 people, a number which continues to drop. The historical homeland of Syriac Christians in Southeastern Turkey is certainly not an easy place to live in. The war between the Turkish state and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a movement for Kurdish democratic independence which is considered a terrorist organization by Ankara, stains the region with blood and ends up complicating life for Christians, even though they are not directly involved in the conflict. "The clash between two kinds of nationalism can only bring misfortune to a minority," says Father Gabriel, in the Saffron Monastery, so beautiful but equally emptied of foreign tourists. Visitors are also missing in the other monasteries scattered in the original region of Tur 'Abdin - "mountain of the servants (of God)" in Syriac -, including that of Mor Gabriel, one of the oldest in the world. Today, these are the lands in between Syria and Turkey -- among refugees fleeing the war and foreign jihadists who want to go fight it, Kurdish guerrilla fighters and Turkish army soldiers, the Syriacs are left to themselves. And they continue their legal battle with the institutions. "Our survival is at stake," says Father Gabriel. "Today, the main Syriac-Orthodox communities are in India, the United States, Germany, Sweden," he says while walking on the saffron-colored monastery stone. "Some are still in Syria and Iraq, even though the massacres of the recent years have reminded us of the nightmare of 'Seyfo' (literally 'sword', or 'year of the sword'; it is the term with which Syriacs remember the massacres of 1915)." Father Gabriel arrived at the Saffron Monastery after the monastic stages in Jerusalem and Damascus, home of the Syriac-Orthodox Patriarchate since 1959 (after having been in Homs). He lives there with thirty other monks, trying to navigate the many pitfalls of local politics and praying in Aramaic -- "the language spoken by Jesus" as he likes to point out. "We were much more in agreement with local AKP authorities, Recep Tayyip Erdogan's party, rather than with the current pro-Kurdish HDP party, but for sure the confiscation of our property is not good for our relationship with the government," he says. Within a few minutes' drive from the monastery one can reach the historic center of Mardin. Its ancient stone houses stand under the castle that in the 14th century resisted the advance of Tamerlan, and marks the highest point of the village. Some of them belong to members of the Syriac-Orthodox minority in diaspora. They come back to their ancestral homeland only in the summer, and follow the fate of the community from afar and with concern.